Coach Kenji

This is a 10-minute Dharma talk I wrote about "Right Thought" in relation to the Pandemic (and what we 'feed' our minds).  – Me

What Would Happen If We Let Go?   the three candles represent the trinity the trinity of life, death, and what falls in-between weather that’s the literal life, the literal death or something in-between what happens when we awaken to something that is changing us? or has annoyed us? or that we love? what happens between that and the outcome that shift, that change something so much like this world is going through there was before there will be the after there is the in-between what would it be like to sit still in the in between to not know to be in discomfort to let go what is that we're cleaning onto so strongly requires us to hold what are we holding onto? what might we find if we let go? what might we find if we let go and let whatever version of our god comes through us?  amen – Unknown

I Never Quite Feel Right  I never quite feel right until the effects of wind reach my head and kick it back like a mule might whose hoofs just landed a clean solid blow. My vision mount corrected in aimed towards the heavens and my ticket of intoxication firmly in hand for at least an hour, There seems so many interesting possibilities But I wasn't fully aware of before. – Hafiz (Daniel Ladinsky – Interpretation) 

This is an audio recording of my cat, eating, and purring at the same time. 

Hi Folks! Just a note of caution that I intend on bringing more spirituality into the blog by posting both prayers and Buddhist teachings. I hope you'll stick around and if not, I won't take it personally!   Blessings, - Kenji

       Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things.  – Frank A. ClarkDaily Habits are small constructive actions done on a routine basis that quickly give you a sense of accomplishment and forward momentum.  Daily habits form a foundation upon which major change takes place.  What action, if taken on a regular basis, would make a difference for you? (at the end of the post there's a free worksheet to download).Here's an example, drawn from the the book The Slight Edge: if you ate a cheeseburger everyday of your life, what would your health be like in 20 years?  What if you did ten minutes of light exercise everyday for 20 years?What would you accumulate?I use these sheets for: exercise, these blog postings, homework from my coach ... everything and anything.  They keep me on track and keep me moving forward.Tip #1:  Instead of shaming yourself for days you don't do the habit, just watch and learn.  For instance: I see a pattern in the days that I'm doing my exercising and it tells me where I need to expand.Tip #2:  Put the worksheet up on a wall.  Someplace that will jog your memory.Tip #3:  If you have something like exercises (I have them for my back) staple the worksheet to one side of a manila file folder, and the exercise sheets to the other side of the folder. Use colorful folders!Tip #4:  New habit?  Make it small.  5 minutes.  Do-able.  5 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 5 weeks.  That will establish the habit!Let me know if this helps!  I'd love your feedback, suggestions, and ideas!Here's the FREE  Daily Habits Worksheet  to get you moving forward! (it's just a PDF, no surprises, no email lists, just my gift to you).

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.– Simone Weil

To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.- Ralph Waldo EmersonIt amazes me to actually pay attention to the difference between slowing down and being present, something I give lip service to all the time, and ACTUALLY doing so. How my mind sees and feels the illumination of "the whole world," instead of when I clog my mind up.Last night I was working on a mechanical project. Half of it I spent doing it and listening to music, working on the project while playing music, the other half I spent doing it and watching a movie. One is "more skillful" then the other, not better or worse: during the portion with the music I could feel a presence of this natural ability (is it channeling?) to mechanically repair things, and muck about with tools. During the movie-watching portion, doing the same project, I'm not quite drugged, but I am, for certain less present in the powerful NOW .... that's so silently illuminated with just being.

In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.- Howard Thurman

The grateful heart is a manifestation of one's true self. Nothing sidelines the ego more effectively than a grateful heart.- Albert Nolan

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.- A.A. Milne - Winnie-the-Pooh

Great compassion is the root of all forms of worship.- His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Love one another but make not a bond of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. - Khalil Gibran

Fame or integrity: which is more important? Money or happiness: which is more valuable? Success or failure: which is more destructive? If you look to others for fulfillment, you will never truly be fulfilled. If your happiness depends on money, you will never be happy with yourself. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.- Lao-tzu

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with nature. - Joseph Campbell

The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Honor your own complexity. - Mark Gerzon

No society has ever yet been able to handle the temptations of technology to mastery, to waste, to exuberance, to exploration and exploitation. - Margaret Mead Don't blindly believe what I say. Don't believe me because others convince you of my words. Don't believe anything you see, read, or hear from others, whether of authority, religious teachers or texts. Don't rely on logic alone, nor speculation. Don't infer or be deceived by appearances. Do not give up your authority and follow blindly the will of others. This way will lead to only delusion. Find out for yourself what is truth, what is real. Discover that there are virtuous things and there are non-virtuous things. Once you have discovered for yourself give up the bad and embrace the good. - The Buddha

The love of one's country is a natural thing. But why should love stop at the border? - Pablo Casals

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today. - Indian Proverb