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What we are doing right?

Hello everyone,

I've been having some troubles lately (poor sleep) and am in need of some positivity.

Even though there might be some potential drawbacks to this, spiritual ego and all that stuff, and the yang in the yin and the yin in the yang, let's have a thread to celebrate some of the things we are doing right.

No need for this to be a hollier-than-though thread, we're all flawed (Mistakes R US as Genkaku would say), but equally I know that we are all trying to be better and practice on a daily basis towards our aspirations and Boddhisatva ideals.

Three things I'm doing right these days:

  • Over half a year and more of not taking my phone to the toilet :) a.k.a. practicing not being a phone zombie. Great success! I know that it's the small things that eventually snowball towards better things.
  • Three established projects of a socially-useful variety (the already mentioned Kiva + two through my highschool Alumni foundation, organising Alumni lectures for the pupils + a scholarship ). One big project of this type in (purposefuly slow) development, hopefully it will slowly come to fruition.
  • Quit drinking 4-5-6 months ago, feeling good about it.

What are some things you are doing right?

personJeroenVastmindWalkerlobsterJeffreyShoshin1FosdickRen_in_black

Comments

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran
    edited January 24

    I think you are absolutely right to say we need to stand still with the things we are doing right, it is important to realise that we are doing positive things.

    I have been involved in…

    • Helping my fellow Osho commune ex-kids get their story out there. For me the stories of abuse in the Osho communes were a turning point, and in various public media I am making myself heard, owning my voice as it were and doing some good with it.
    • Caring for my mother, by helping her with trips to the hospital, arranging her appointments for her, making sure her medicines are delivered, bandaging the wound on her leg every day, and providing cups of coffee, cake and moral support.
    • Developing my skills as a writer by following Alan Moore’s course on BBC Maestro. It has been excellent so far to learn from him about language, story and writing. It has helped me a lot in developing a story idea that came to me while listening to the course intro.
    • I drink minimally, perhaps one Trappist beer every couple of months, I feel happier not drinking.

    I think the intention to do right, to live with honesty, transparency, kindness and reliability is maybe even more important than the results. But that is a major reason why I spend time on Buddhist forums, because people here live by these high intentions.

    marcitkoJeffreypersonShoshin1
  • marcitkomarcitko Veteran
    edited January 24

    Great stuff @Jeroen <3!

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @Jason said:
    seeing a psychiatrist

    The neurodivergent movement seems to be having a bit of a moment, that is for sure. But my experience with psychiatrists is that they are generally more interested in prescribing you pills than in genuine mental health. Music and Buddhism have done me more good in recent years than anything else.

    marcitkolobsterSteve_B
  • JasonJason God Emperor Arrakis Moderator

    @Jeroen said:

    The neurodivergent movement seems to be having a bit of a moment, that is for sure. But my experience with psychiatrists is that they are generally more interested in prescribing you pills than in genuine mental health. Music and Buddhism have done me more good in recent years than anything else.

    Glad to hear it. In my case, music and Buddhism weren’t quite enough 🤷‍♂️

    marcitko
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    We all sort out our world/milieu as best we can... or can-can in my case

    Amen (A version of Aum)

    marcitko
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @Jason said:

    Glad to hear it. In my case, music and Buddhism weren’t quite enough 🤷‍♂️

    I found an investigation into my views and their origins to be helpful. Generally the stronger the opinions that you hold, the more difficult it is to live as kindness, softness, mellowness. Living with one’s being in that space means being more forgiving, holding fewer grudges, and acts as a general protective measure against much mental ill health.

    Hence I practice metta even for bodhi Trump.

    personmarcitkolobster
  • Shoshin1Shoshin1 Sentient Being Oceania Veteran
    edited January 26

    What we are doing right?

    Regularly checking in and monitoring my thoughts as they come and go helps me maintain balance. Occasionally, unwholesome thoughts—those capable of disrupting the mind's flow—slip in unnoticed. But for the most part, this practice keeps things (and thoughts, as they are indeed things) in check.

    Oh and the other thing...Not taking my life too seriously....

    WalkerlobstermarcitkoJeffrey
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran

    A small victory today. I had an early breakfast and didn't really have time for my morning meditation. Mid day I was feeling a bit stressed and down and sat down for a 20 minute meditation. Normally if I miss my normal routine I'll have a hard time pulling myself out of the momentum of the day to do something like that.

    lobstermarcitkoWalkerJeffrey
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    Hence I practice metta even for bodhi Trump.

    You must be some sort of Super-Saint these days... :mrgreen:

    Looking after the Alaskan sheep and ex-blasphemers is now available...

    Outwardly I've stopped spewing strings of blasphemies every time I fumble or drop something. Very pleased about this generally.

    All together now - [karaoke sing song - Godson style]

    Oh and the other thing...Not taking my life too seriously....

    Ah ha! A master-plan emerges... KUM BA YA o:)

    Shoshin1VastmindWalker
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    @Shoshin1 said:
    I laugh a lot

    I’m a great believer in hugs, myself.

    "Beware of unhappy Buddhists... They are not really practicing, just being intellectual "

    This is a great line, and I totally agree.

    Shoshin1Walker
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    Dear Friends I have found who is responsible for the Unhippy and Unhappy Buddhists, B)

    It is the domestics or servants. Domestic terrorists and 'others'.
    https://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?issue=20250127#sitenews
    [lobster faints]

    I am so sorry that I am an 'other' and a 'domestic terrorist' (soon available in other countries than good Olde Boys of USA). Please become a Bible Thumper Trumper, before they come looking for your heathen Buddhist statues. Your Bambi eyes won't save you

    Now please excuse me whilst I go to confession... Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.

    Our Big Brother who art in The Whitey House on the prairie.
    Hellacious is they brand name...
    Thy Kingdom, Cum
    Thy Will, done for
    etc...

    "Wot a fiend we have in cheeses"

    marcitkoWalkerShoshin1Fosdick
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    Now that I am an X-tian Uddhist (like a buddhist without a blessed Bee in their bonnet and more like a Mu Cow) and GPH (General Purpose Heretic):

    • I will be joining any new age cults that offer brain washing for a dirty mind
    • I will be having breakfast so early that even my tum-tum won't know what hit it
    • Trying to reintroduce ye olde crucifixion for non Buddhists, chocolate eggs for the infertile etc

    More fun things to do for a Free and sacrilegious world wind tour, as I come up with them. Thank you for the opportunity... :mrgreen:

    P.S. won't be watching this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cults_and_Extreme_Belief
    They seem a little tame. Good for a dose of outrage I suppose...

  • Even the best of us have those times when we find the little gremlin has picked the lock and run out to break dishes, overturn teacups and generally create mischief and mayhem. Eventually, we are able to get our gremlin, kicking and screaming, by the scruff of the neck and toss it back into it's cage, slam the door shut and put a new lock on the door. Then we return to trying to develop our mercy and compassion - until the next time. And there will continue to be next times until we eventually get it right (maybe).
    But that is just part of life, of living. After all, the gremlin and the Bodhisattva are one and the same.
    Don't kick yourself when you trip or fall or momentarily step "off the path". Just get back up, reset your feet, step back on the path and move ahead. You have just learned one more way not to screw up and one more way to recover.
    Welcome to the life of a Human Being.

    Peace to all

    lobsterShoshin1marcitkoJeroen
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran
    edited February 4

    If you have an Android phone (that is most of them)
    Try a daily Buddha quote app
    https://f-droid.org/packages/org.bandev.buddhaquotes/

    For example

    Leave behind the passive dreaming of a rose-tinted future. The energy of happiness exists in living today with roots sunk firmly in reality's soil
    ~Gautama Buddha

    Edit:
    Wait a minute... The Buddha never said that. I have been contaminated by misinformation. Fortunately we should be able to remove the roses tints and smell the roses. Glad someone said that before it was too late...

  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran
    edited March 9

    A few things I have been doing yesterday and this morning…

    • Gently tell visitors what can be done to improve communication
    • Give people hugs and back rubs
    • Send birthday wishes to elderly relatives
    • Phone your dad who is sitting by himself in a flat
    • Make coffee for house guests
    • Write emails to distant friends
    lobster
  • personperson Don't believe everything you think The liminal space Veteran
    edited March 9

    I stopped putting sugar in my tea. I usually have 4 cups on workdays and 2 on days off. For many years I had used Truvia sweetener, but a couple studies now have shown that it increases the clotting effect of blood in higher doses and I have a stent from an old accident. I tried allulose with monk fruit for a bit, but it was pretty expensive and would make me slightly nauseous sometimes if I had tea on an empty stomach. So I switched to sugar, which wasn't as sweet. I was away from home but brought some tea with, I couldn't locate any sweetener when I made it in the morning so I went ahead without it and it was fine. I never really drank it for the taste anyway.

    It hasn't been that long, but I seem to have noticed a decreased desire for sweets and I think craving in general has been down. I think this move is likely related in some way to my recent stomach virus/food poisoning incident.

    I was also persuaded by this Kurgesazt video to start buying more ethical meat (non torture meat). However, unlike the price claims in the video I'm finding all except beef to be about twice as expensive. I don't make meat a center piece of my meals and I'm not living paycheck to paycheck. But the extra cost isn't minor and is felt, so there is an internal struggle related to continuing.

    marcitko
  • Shoshin1Shoshin1 Sentient Being Oceania Veteran

    When I do something wrong, I'm also doing something right,
    For whatever I do at the time will always shed some light.
    Right and wrong are relative, they shift with every clue,
    In every stumble, I find grace, and learn something new.

    lobsterpersonWalker
  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    @Shoshin1

    Well said. Hard to fathom that one that is two...

    So my gardening includes death and destruction of 'weeds, insects, etc. I am not as skilful as @How more pragmatic. Maybe.

    JeroenWalker
  • JeroenJeroen Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter Netherlands Veteran

    I must admit to paying a gardener to come in and prune, tidy and clear the place. It had been neglected for a number of years…

  • lobsterlobster Crusty Veteran

    1. Gonna turn off the computer and meditate

    2. See above

    3. Same as 1.

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