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Zen Warrior

~ Igniting a Revolution of LOVE

Zen Warrior

Monthly Archives: July 2013

We Conquer Ourselves

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by Thomas D. Craig in Tao of a Zen Warrior

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

buddha, buddhism, eastern philosophy, god, inspiration, journey, life, love, mountains, peace, quotes, self improvement, sir edmund hillary, we do not conquer the mountain but ourselves, well being, Zen

alone on a moutain top black and white with taglineBuddha stated “you cannot travel the path until you become the path itself.”

These thoughts from Buddha were in my mind a few weeks ago. I felt in a rut, restless, and a busy mind as if life was winning. I felt defeated in many ways, I was resisting and I was tired. I’ve always found solace traveling, typically by myself, and driving for long periods of time. I enjoy the simplicity of driving, one singular action, a physical mantra that allows the non action part of my brain to dream, to explore, to sort things out. When we are in the middle of the forest and consumed by the busyness of life our subconscious aches to get out, to resolve the challenges we face. Driving is my cathartic action to purge this suffering that had crept within me, this clinging to past people and events and any hopes for the future. Driving and traveling force me to be in the present, like a curious child where everything is new.

For two weeks I drove over 4000 miles with no itinerary. I drove when I felt like it, I ate when I needed to and slept when I was tired, just like the Zen proverb ‘when hungry eat, when tired sleep.’ On some days I drove for over 12 hours at a time, and on other days I stopped and visited family or explored. I hiked into canyons, and immersed myself in nature’s museum where the silence and magnitude of beauty ignited pure happiness. The kind of happiness you don’t think about, it rises from the depths of your soul and you find yourself smiling, smiling because you are a witness to the grace and beauty of the universe, to that of some greater power beyond yourself, beyond those superficial concerns that held you so tightly before. It is here, in this classroom of the universe that I learn so much. It is here that I see the beauty in every moment, that my concerns and frustrations in life are self-induced, illusions of suffering that I’m clinging to in the midst of such wonder and beauty around me. For two weeks I experienced…

  • Exploring life with a close family member, taking each day as an adventure with no plans, just a commitment to exploring and fun. I met amazing people and laughed….really laughed. Life is filled with laughter if you are open to it.
  • An initial awe in seeing the Arizona fires from the freeway where I looked in wonder at the raging flames, in their sheer power and glowing lights only to hear moments later they had just taken the lives of 19 fireman. I saw a veil of sadness cover Sedona, a black haze, that clung to the landscape reminding me of how precious life was in every moment.
  • I hiked into a remote canyon in Sedona, a vortex of energy that you can feel in every step. I had left the car this day tired, tense and hot. I couldn’t shake the haze within myself or the haze from the fire. I stopped in the hike and closed my eyes on top of a boulder. I needed to reconnect with nature, with the universe, with the root of my inner being. I breathed, and cleared my mind. The noise in my mind stopped, and the wind answered me, announcing its presence. The dark clouds followed as if on cue to purge my sadness and the sadness of the lost lives. I opened my eyes and found a hummingbird next to me, the whir of its wings loud and intentionally sucking the nectar out of a flower. A row of ants marched next to me bringing life back to their home. I looked through the trees and saw two deer staring at me, not frightened but curious, wanting to know more. I felt alive again, refreshed, connected. I hiked back in a thunder and lightning storm, the booms and flashes danced above me as the rain washed away the sadness and clinging I was carrying on my bare back. I was reminded that I was that deer, and hummingbird, and flash of lightning, I was all of it. We are one in this symphony of life and death, a cycle of connectedness. The only moment we have is right now.
  • I slept in my car and bathed in rivers. I met people with the curiosity of a newborn seeing them for the first time. I hiked under nature’s arches and canyon lands. I found the joy in the simplest things, a glass of cold water after a long hike, the surprise of seeing something unexpected, the laugh of a child. I watched and listened, not as an observer but as a participant in my own play, the creator of my own existence. In suffering I’m not a participant I’m an observer, looking at my life as a victim with no responsibility for my own creation. In the shadow of the moon and the stars I could no longer make this claim, it was clear that my life was a reflection of my own context and creation. I had no where else to look but in the mirror.
  • I traveled north of San Francisco and went to sleep with the sunset over the ocean, and woke to a bed of fog. I met a new friend, connected long ago but never met in person, had an amazing conversation and became clear that our connections in life are intentional. There is a reason why people are in our lives. His kindness amazed me as he offered me his open apartment to stay for a night, even though he just met me. I trained in martial arts with a new club, they opened their arms to me and again I was reminded of the power of the human heart. I realized that life happens and it is through our lens in life, our view in how we perceive it. I saw kindness and love. This was the world that I was seeing.
  • I traveled north to Mt. Shasta. I wanted to climb a mountain on my birthday. A solo, single day climb, a final purge of my attachment, a final cleanse in connecting to all that is in this universe. I left at 9 pm at night as I was told it would be 12 hours to the summit and another 6-7 hours down. I hiked for 3-4 miles in the dark of night, and the trail became faint and steep. It was clear that I was not on the trail any longer. In the darkness of the mountain I could only see 20 feet or so in front of me with my headlight. Initially I was frustrated and wondering what to do as I was by myself. Instead I took out my sleeping bag in my pack and sat on a flat rock. I turned off my headlight and sat in the grandness of the moment. I was sitting around 8000 feet on a mountain, far from any city, darkness consumed me, yet above was the glory of the universe spread out like I had never seen before. The milky way twisted above wrapping the billions of stars in a comforting blanket. I was a speck in the vastness of life itself. A drop from a vast ocean of love. If I hadn’t become lost, I would have missed this moment having been intent on my next step up the mountain, just as in life itself. Yet, in stopping and turning my light off, I saw it all. I sat for an hour breathing in this moment until I saw four headlights come up the trail. I quickly packed and joined my new group and off we went up the mountain. Many hours later and high up the mountain I saw the break of the sun, a long orange curve far off on the horizon. A beautiful red and orange slice of light breaking the extreme darkness, like a drop of water to a man in the desert. I kept going, hour after hour up that hill until finally I sat on top and looked down to the valley below, thousands upon thousands of feet below. In announcing I was on top of the mountain a friend posted, TC 1…Mt. Shasta zero. I smiled in this thought. Sir Edmund Hillary stated ‘it is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.’ I did not conquer a mountain that day, in fact I am still dealing with messed up feet having paid my price for a 19 hour hike. What I did conquer or come to the realization of was that I myself control my life. I myself can accomplish anything, through any pain or suffering, as I just need to keep moving forward, keep stepping, keep breathing. This is life isn’t it? Life brings whatever it brings to us, and removing our reminiscing of the past and our hope of some expected future, we realize life is beautiful right now. When we turn off our headlight, and sit on a rock we see the grandiose of life itself. It is there in front of us, it is created by each and every one of us. Life can be angry and cruel or it can be filled with love and beauty, it is all in our context. It is all created by us. We alone are responsible.

As Buddha stated we cannot travel the path until we become the path itself. I set out on this trip to find something only to realize my path is within me and I am already on it. The path is beautiful, it is filled with love and compassion and happiness. It is all right in front of me. All I need is presence and curiosity and a willingness to be in these moments.

A Zen proverb states that when you get to the top of the mountain to keep climbing. This is life. One step, one breath, always moving forward. In every moment I have gratitude and I am blessed for this experience, for this lifetime.

Keep climbing…..

Namaste and blessings…

Call to Action:

  • Stop looking for ‘the path’ and become your path. Everything you need, everything you want is right in front of you.
  • Be curious in the present, live like a child. Everyone is a teacher and a student at all times.
  • Create your world, only you are responsible, there is no where else to look.
  • Be LOVE.

Thomas D. Craig

Author of A Cup of Buddha

Writer. Seeker. Adventurer. Warrior

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To the Divine Goddesses

10 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by Thomas D. Craig in Tao of a Zen Warrior

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

buddha, divine goddess, god, inspiration, life, love, men, peace, relationships, spiritual, tao te ching, women, Zen

divine goddessIf you are a woman, this letter is to you.

I have so much to say, so many years, so many experiences, so many apologies, so much gratitude to express.

First I need to express my apologies. I apologize for the times in my life I have viewed you as an object, as only a physical being on this planet. I apologize if I have ever viewed you as not equal to me, if I ever doubted the powerful being that you are. I apologize for any resentment or shying away from your emotional power. All of my actions were based in fear, and not understanding the divine goddess that you are. All of my actions in the past have been as a little boy.

Life is too short and the world too big to play small, to play in this lifetime as a little boy. I am no longer interested in this role.

I see who you are now. You are a divine goddess, the giver of life, the epitome of nurturing and compassion, the manifestation of LOVE itself. You inspire me to be better. You burn the fire within me and I bow down to you. To ask if you are my equal is an insult to you, and an embarrassment that some on this planet still do not see the goddess that you are. You are beyond my equal, you are my partner as a human being, a joint light fused by the vibration of love. At our root, outside of this physical luggage that we carry and for some reason label with our sex, or our race, we are the same vibration of love.

I grew up with my mother and two sisters and karma has brought me two daughters, and it took until now to finally see the beautiful being that you are. Any conversation holding you back, or limiting you in any way is a dishonor to that which you represent. You are capable of anything on this planet. You are a powerful being that wraps this world in love and nurturing and I am honored by who you are and I bow to you in your grace and power. I love you deeply within my soul for who you are.

To all of the women on this planet, I see you, I see the light and love that is within you. You are beautiful. You are love. You are nurturing and compassion. Thank you for who you are and for honoring this light and power within you.

To my daughters, I love you unconditionally. You are capable of anything on this planet, there is nothing that can hold you back. You are powerful beyond recognition and I will always stand for this within you. I will always love you no matter how you look, or what happens in your life, you inspire me and I am honored to be your father. I am humbled by who you are and who you will be.

To my partner in this life, I am honored to give my entire being and soul to you. We are one. I breathe in your power and love fueled by the goddess that you are. I bow to you and give you my heart, my gratitude and my love. There is no greater honor for me.

To all men, you may comment and make remarks to my words. To this I will still respect and love you no matter what you say. I am not afraid, nor threatened by your fear and insecurities. I challenge you to move beyond being a little boy and viewing women as objects and a threat to you. I challenge you to see the grace and beauty that every woman represents. Life is too short to be a little boy, be a man, and join in union with the sisters of this world.

I thank you for your patience and for my blindness until now. You see, fear is a powerful foe and it blinds us and binds our love. It keeps us small and insignificant and wastes time, and lifetimes.

I see you now and I am grateful for all that you represent.

Thank you and blessings to all of the goddesses on this planet.

Thomas D. Craig

Author A Cup of Buddha

writer. seeker. warrior

Do Nothing

08 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by Thomas D. Craig in Tao of a Zen Warrior

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

buddha, chop wood carry water, eastern philosophy, life, love, meditation, quotes, self improvement, travel, well being, Zen, Zen quotes

the grass grows by itself“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself” Zen proverb

I’m two-thirds of the way through a 3700 mile spiritual road trip through the southwest and northern California. I started the journey with the thought of cleansing…cleansing a routine life and the past that still clings to my thoughts, yet the further I go on this journey the more I realize I have nothing to cleanse. Everything is before me and there is NOTHING to do.

Shackles unbound with this realization.

As human beings I think we tend to over think, and compensate for challenges in our lives. We look to fill our pain and suffering with busyness, or self-help books, or superficial masks, yet none of these things give us peace. We travel, we eat, we fill up with stuff and yet inside our pain still exists. It isn’t until we grasp the concept of NOTHING that we find peace. The concept that everything is exactly the way it is supposed to be, and we are exactly how we are meant to be right at this moment. There is nothing to fix or change. There is only this moment.

A Zen master was asked ‘what is enlightenment?’ His response, ‘When hungry eat, when tired sleep.’

The simplicity to this message is life altering. At first glance, similar to the Zen words ‘before enlightenment chop wood carry water…after enlightenment chop wood carry water,’ the words seem obvious and almost comical in this direct nature of living life. Yet, look at your own life and ask yourself where you truly follow this guidance in this stripped down simplicity?

We complicate life with meaning. We live inside the pain of our meaning of the past and our hope of the future, yet we miss that which is present in front of us at this moment. When we quiet our mind, and remove all of our fear and anxiety we begin to see and hear our world around us. A Zen proverb tell us “The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.”

The other day I hiked into Boynton Canyon in Sedona Arizona. When I first left the car, my mind was filled with thought after thought. Do I have enough water? Is it too hot? Where am I going to sleep tonight? Where should I go next on my trip? I wonder what this person is doing right now?….On and on and on my mind went, in a mindless sprint. Finally a couple of miles into the hike the thoughts began to slip away and it was as if colors opened up for me. The red rocks on the cliffs became bold in orange and red hues. The abstract noises muffled and the world around me became alive. The energy vibrated and the lift was palpable to the point I sat on a rock to meditate and breath in the entirety of the moment. When I opened my eyes the entire space around me was different, same spot but my context was different. It was as if I was in harmony now with the world around me. There was no longer me and this space around me. There was now just space and I was simply the energy within along with everything else. I was one with this space, part of the whole, no longer an observer.

A hummingbird buzzed next to me sucking the nectar out of a flower. Ants marched by carrying life to their home. Two deer peered through the trees to watch me, not afraid, but curious to join in my moment. The clouds rushed in above growling and rumbling in their thunder language. The trees spoke back and danced in the wind vividly shaking in their expression. Moments before I was on a mindless, hot hike adrift in a space far away from my present moment and now I was dancing in the wind connected to everything.

I floated back to the car amidst the thunder and lightning as the rain pounced on my shirtless back. All of my concerns and pain disappeared in this connection. Everything I wanted, everything I needed was right there, all from a space of NOTHING.

“Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself.”

Yes, it does, and I’m not an observer but a participant in this dance of life. Life is beautiful and free in knowing this and I’m grateful to experience the full expression of the universe in this form, right here….right now, doing nothing.

Blessings.

Call to Action:

  • Look at your life, where are you pressing life to be different from where it is. Stop resisting, flow with life and DO NOTHING….Breathe and accept.
  • Find the present in every moment, this is your dance. Find it and live it.
  • Be love.

Thomas D. Craig

Author A Cup of Buddha

Writer. Seeker. Adventurer. Warrior

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