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moderndayruth

~ Tarot inspired essays and more

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Tag Archives: Zen Habits

Tarot Mysteries, Moscow’s Pubs & The Art of Life

01 Saturday Dec 2012

Posted by moderndayruth in Essay, Photography

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Arts, Booze Bub Moscow, Education, Kabbalistic Teshuva, Leo Babauta, Philosophy, Tarot The Fool, Thelema, Zen Habits

art_of_life_0

In Kabbalah we speak of ” Teshuva”, which does not mean repentance, as it usually goes translated; instead – it means going back to one’s true self; in Christian Bible it’s said “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2); Crowley speaks of doing ‘as thou wilt’ as the main   law of the system of believe he founded, Thelema… You’ll find it everywhere, in every single reputable religion and school of thought, but “being who you are” might seem easier than it is.

Albeit many of us, i guess, would like to escape the rat race – that’s close to impossible because even within the most liberal and unconventional of the professions – there are strict codes for just about anything. At the time i used to hang out mostly with DJs, non-commercial writers and directors of independent movies; the thing is that all of them were successful in their respective fields  – and the rules for success are oddly the same, never mind is it a career in finances or in liberal arts; there are strict dressings codes even among the most casually dressed artists; there are linguistic etiquettes and dozens of other (un)written rules one should master – in any given field.

Often it’s said that if we choose what we’d like to do – most would turn into overeating couch potatoes… Not so. Whomever i met in life who mastered the art of going with the flow (they are few i must say), long ago was done with watching reality TV and pigging out on junk food; somehow, as we search for the ways to unshool our minds, the latter becomes so picky that most of the trivial activities become out of  question by default.

That being said – Lin Ai Wei has posted recently a great essay on what going with the flow is Not; something he wrote there i find to be of fundamental value:

“When one follows the flow of things, they are just followers. They have a desire, they go with it. They have a thought, and they revel in it for hours. Someone yells at them, and they take it either to yell back, or walk away indifferent. Following the flow of things is simply just planting causes and reaping the outcomes. It is quite ordinary, and people do it without realizing it. It is nothing special.

The only difference between someone who follows the flow of things and one who is of high wisdom, a Sage, is that the Sage doesn’t look to the outcomes; the Sage is more concerned with the causes. The Sage thus creates the flow consciously, wisely.”

That being said, I’ve noticed lately that many use two antonymous words – elitism and snobbery – interchangeably, where as the latter actually excludes the former; one of the possible etymologies of the noun snob is its being rooted in the abbreviated form of the Latin  sine nobilitate – ‘without nobility‘; by the early 19th century snob was firmly established as the word for the vulgar social climbers of humble background who copied the manners of the upper classes. (See: Oxford Dictionaries.)

An elite is defined in plethora of ways as well – by its wealth, power, talent and whatnot; in Montenegro usually if one is referred to as such it means (at least) two preceding generations in their family had higher education – and that’s the definition closest to my own understanding; anyhow – being elitist by default excludes copycatting; an elite sets the standards in any given filed, while snobs merely follow  without giving it all much of a thought. But, i digress.

I know many say – it is possible if you are child-free; not so – Leo Babauta does it, albeit it’s a challenge to the norms and nevertheless he has a big family, or, better to say, his kids are one of the main reasons he is doing it.

For myself, long ago i came to the realization that – couple of enlightened gurus aside- we, as a kind, are playing roles like actors do (albeit most make the choice unconsciously), as the time goes by we identify with the characters we impersonate – and then pretty much the whole script is quite predictable, it becomes one of the so-called “master plots” which number is, according to some, narrowed down to merely twenty… And while hardly anyone wants to be a part of a B-rated movie – metaphorically speaking, to become a director of one’s own independent movie does take guts – and skill too.

Language  – that wonderful human peculiarity that distinguishes us as a kind – can be one’s captor or one’s liberator, depending on its use; we are served on a daily basis ready made verbal cliches, by the teen age one is already equipped with all the phrases they might ever need in each and every situation they would encounter in life – sad or happy – and even for the unpredictable and surprising ones.

Long story made short – we are given preexisting patterns of speech which further condition our behavior – in addition to the infamous socialization  which in all societies basically means adjusting the masses to the needs of the ruling class(es); the easiest way to go on is to adapt to the existing rules and norms, while the only way to achieve true fulfillment is always found within the realm of one’s individuality and far from anything conventional and widespread.

The thing is that once we are outside the known and commonly accepted – there are no maps and charts and we can rely only on our own intuition (presumably judgement as such was left behind together with the conventional thinking – novelty is always beyond the logic and pre-existing experiences.)

Where will this road less traveled take us – nobody knows, the thing is that we will be fulfilled spiritually and not in any kind of lack – as long as we stick to it and don’t succumb to the usual ‘shoulds and musts.’

Nothing is a must, not a thing.

I get it theoretically too, but the practice takes daily effort. As soon as i wake up, i have obsessive thoughts about what i must accomplish during the day – and at what time; for me – it’s the meditation that enables me to prioritize among the countless tasks i schedule daily.

Unlike Leo Babauta, i can’t say i am goalless; i do have pretty clear goals in life – i am fully aware where i like to spend my time, what activities have the best chance of truly fulfilling me and with what kind of people i am happy with, the thing is that mine is not fixed, i rather navigate towards those non-goals without obsessing too much about anything and by leaving a good part of it to the Universe and its mysterious ways.

Here are some shots of my not-so-goalless wanderings through the city of Moscow and an illustration i fancy; in Tarot spontaneity is synonymous with The Fool which some list as the first Major Arcanum – and some, like me, as the last major mystery in the sequence of the 22 Tarot Trumps.

With Elena at my favorite Moscow’s pub – Booze Bub:

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Many agree with me that it’s actually the bast pub in the city – and you can read some of the amazing reviews at this absolutely cool WordPress blog on Russia.

These are some more pics of “ Cheers, just without Woody Harrelson” and of the best bartender on this side of the Pacific, an American in Moscow, a polymath and a friend of mine – Pete Cato.

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Copyright notice: Art of Life Tarot was created by Charlene Livingstone who  taught Art for over 25 years and currently works as a guide at the Art Gallery of Ontario; cards feature well-known works of art paired with inspiring quotations; the deck was published by U.S. Games Systems Inc. in 2012; All Rights Reserved.

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Just For Fun

15 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by moderndayruth in Tarot, Zen

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Failure, Fun (band), Hiking, Leo Babauta, Osho, Religion and Spirituality, Zen, Zen Habits

Post written by Leo Babauta of zenhabits.net

Just about everything I do is just for fun.

While some people like to focus on being disciplined and achieving goals and sticking to their plans, I find this to be meaningless. What’s the point? You’ll fail about a third to half the time, and then feel like a failure for not being disciplined or sticking to a plan or goal.

In contrast, if you do the exact same thing, but let go of the expectation you’ve set for yourself and just have fun doing it, it’s a complete success.

Let’s repeat that for emphasis: if you do the exact same thing, it’s a failure if you have expectations, but a complete and absolute success if you let go of the expectations and do it for fun.

Let’s take a few examples:

  • If you set out on a really tough 3-day hike through some mountains, and make it through the first day and night but get too tired in the middle of the second day, is that a failure? It is if you are mad at yourself for not getting to the end, for not being disciplined. It’s a success, though, if you decided at the beginning to do it “just for fun” and had a great time while you were doing it.
  • If you start writing a book but only get about halfway through, is that a success or failure? It’s a failure if you expected to get finished and are disappointed in yourself for not sticking it through to the goal. It’s a success if you decided to do it for fun and had a wonderful time writing.
  • If you start an online venture and it doesn’t take off and you have to call it quits after a year — is that a failure? Well, by now you know the answer. Have fun doing it, and it’s always a success.

If you go for a walk, a run, a hike, do it for fun, not for the benefits you might get. Do experiments in your life for fun, not for the results. Wake up each day and do something for fun, not to accomplish something. Every waking moment should be just for fun.

It shifts everything. It doesn’t only determine whether something’s a success or failure — it changes your attitude while you do anything, while you’re talking with someone or reading or watching something. Your mood lifts, you are kinder to others, you have a smile on your face.

Do handstands. Dance. Bound up a hill. Sing with your child. Write something with a light and lifted heart. Be love, and compassion, and joy. Live life just for fun.

Post inspired by my (that’s – Leo’s) friend Suraj. 

“Life is a moment to celebrate, to enjoy. Make it fun, a celebration, and then you will enter the temple. The temple is not for the long-faced, it has never been for them.” Osho, I Celebrate Myself

Copyright notice: Three of Water – Celebration, Osho Zen Tarot© 2012 OSHO International Foundation, All Rights Reserved.

Leo Babauta, great soul that he is, made his work free of copyright, but PLEASE if you are resharing, reblogging or in any other way reproducing his writings,  make sure that you are giving him due credit.

 

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A Journey Without a Goal

10 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by moderndayruth in Zen

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Flow, Goal, Health, Learning, Leo Babauta, Mental Health, Motivation, Self-Help, Zen Habits

by Leo Babauta, reblogged from zenhabits.net

Nearly every activity we do has a purpose, a goal in mind.

We drive to get to work, to the store, to a class or party. We walk for fitness, or to get to a specific destination. We work to achieve something, to reach certain numbers. We workout to get healthier, to get a nicer body.

But what would happen if we gave up the goal?

What would a journey without a goal be like?

Imagine setting out for a walk with no particular purpose — you might go in one direction because there’s a nice explosion of flowers over there, but then explore a different direction when you see someone playing music, then go in another direction because you’re curious about what’s there.

No destination in mind. Nothing to achieve. Just curiosity, fun, not knowing.

What would it be like to work without a goal? You might write something for fun, because you want to get it out of you, without knowing what the effect of the writing would be. You would figure out the work as you go, without knowing what the finished product would look like.

What would it be like to live life without a fixed plan? Without knowing where you’ll be living in five years, or what you’ll be doing, or what you want to achieve?

I don’t know the answers, but I do know that I’ve been freer as I’ve learned to let go of goals, fixed plans, fixed destinations.

How to Flow

I’ve long been a planner and a goal setter, but I’ve been learning a different way over the last few years. It’s a radical shift in thinking and doing, to a freer-flowing mode of being.

How does it work? Well, to be honest, there’s no one way. But it goes a little something like this:

You wake up, excited about being alive. You wonder, “What do I feel like doing today?” You aren’t constrained to anything at this point, but the question is important.

So you get started, doing something you’re excited about, having fun doing it. Is that thing you’re doing a destination, a goal? Well, in some ways, yes, but it’s not fixed. There’s no set plan, and the destination doesn’t matter as much as the process, the journey.

You start, but you might shift as you go, depending on the flow of ideas, on working with others who might have ideas you didn’t foresee, on things that happen along the way. You couldn’t have predicted these things when you got started, so you have to adapt — no plan can anticipate all of this, no goal would be adequate to the task.

You might even completely shift, if something new comes up, if a new opportunity presents itself. You let go of your idea of what today was going to be, because these ideas of what should be are lightly held. They mean nothing, really, and the important thing is the flow.

You learn to be flexible instead of set. You learn to be good at change and uncertainty, instead of fearing it.

As things arise, you adapt, and let go of your plans and goals. You move with the flow of water, with the changing landscape. You are free to do this because you don’t care where you end up — you just want to be present in your journey, be compassionate with each step, have fun each moment along the way. The destination becomes irrelevant.

No destination or goal matters if they are all good. Each step along the way, then, becomes the destination, and is exactly where you should be.

 

Copyright Notice: Leo Babauta released copyright on this content, BUT be a darling &   credit him for any work of his that you use, and ideally, link back to the original.

 

 

Song Dynasty painting in the Litang style illustrating the theme “Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism are one”. Depicts Taoist Lu Xiujing (left), official Tao Yuanming (right) and Buddhist monk Huiyuan (center, founder of Pure Land) by the Tiger stream. The stream borders a zone infested by tigers that they just crossed without fear, engrossed as they were in their discussion. Realising what they just did, they laugh together, hence the name of the picture,Three laughing men by the Tiger stream.
Source: from http://www.npm.gov.tw 

 

 

 

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Be able to walk away | mnmlist.com

21 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by moderndayruth in Zen

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

BMW, Closet, IPad, iPhone, Leo Babauta, mnmlist, Sport utility vehicle, Zen Habits

English: Zen Habits Logo

Image via Wikipedia

In any kind of negotiation, your ability to walk away is your strongest tool.

Those who can walk away from the negotiation — legitimately walk away, not just make a show of it — are in the strongest position. Those who are convinced they need to make the deal are in the weakest position.

This is true of negotiating when you’re buying a car, closing the sale of your new home, haggling in a foreign flea market, or trying to get a raise.

It’s also true of anything in life.

Know that there’s almost nothing you can’t walk away from.

If you are convinced you need a nice house with a walk-in closet and hardwood floors and a huge kitchen, you now have a weakness. You will give away precious life hours and savings to get it. Someone else who knows that those things aren’t absolutely necessary can walk away, and not need to spend so much money (and thus work hours) on that kind of house.

If you are convinced that you need Stabucks grande lattes every day, or an iPhone or iPad, or an SUV or Cooper Mini or BMW … you are in the weak position, because you can’t give it up. Someone else might know that those aren’t essential to happiness, and can walk away.

If you know that the man who is treating you badly (but who you just know will change someday, because, you know, he loves you) isn’t necessary for you to be happy, you can walk away. If you know that you can be happy alone, and that you need no one to make you happy, you can walk away.

If you know that there’s almost nothing you can’t walk away from, you can save yourself tons of money. Years of time. Mountains of headaches and heartaches. Boatloads of suffering.

You don’t need to walk away from everything, but you should know that you can. And when the cost of the deal is too great, too dear … walk away.

uncopyright: mnmlist.com  is a site by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.

Leo Babauta has released all claims on copyright and has put all the content of this blog into the public domain.


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