“How to Make a Journal of Your Life”

by Dan Price

Dan Price is the creator of the 'Moonlight Chronicles', a wonderful little zine full of drawings, photos, quotes, and thoughts self-published in Joseph, Oregon. I've been a fan of Dan's since I picked up my first copy of "Moonlight Chronicles #16" back in 1995. Even though we've never met, I feel I know him as I've followed his life through his ramblings and sketches. And through all of life's turmoils and setbacks, he still continues to write and publish at least three issues a year. How to Make a Journal of Your Life seems a natural for his first book. Written or should I say drawn, in the same style as his Moonlight Chronicle zine, Dan really tries to get the reader not only excited about starting a journal, but to explore drawing too. It's a little book, but well worth the read.

Back Cover:
Has your intuition been telling you to get an empty journal and begin filling it with all those interesting events in your life? Well time is racing by. All those neat things that happened just last week have quickly become the past. Lost in all that white noise of our fast paced, modern lifestyles. So why not begin a new journey today? Find a nice empty book and start what could be the most fascinating and fulfilling activity of your entire life.

Meaningful Quotes:
Your personal being, sitting back in there behind those sparkling eyeballs, has a totally unique perspective on this world, shared by no one else.

“It is in description that the keeper of a diary becomes artist. All description is art, and in describing an event, an action or a being, you enter into the joy of art. You are more than the mere secretary of life, patiently taking down dictation; you become its singer, the expresser of its glory.”

Stephen Graham in “The Gentle Art of Tramping”

Yes, it is our duty, our everlasting need, to be the one's who go marching into our unknown futures. We will make that endless journey to the east, fasting until given food, wandering until offered shelter. We, the proud journal makers who cower not at life's sacred offerings, who hardly tremble at destiny's doorway, willingly and with lots of courage, take up our armaments of battle, our pens, notebooks, cameras, and dreams, and plunge headlong and with reckless abandon into the gathering storms...

And as you're going along, stop lots and learn to how to look, listen, and feel again. Like you used to do when you were just a child. Before you got picked up and hurriedly carried into the deluge we call adulthood.

Drawing is also a form of meditation and makes you more aware, more living in this present moment. By sitting quietly and looking out onto the world, instead of inward to our old thoughts and desires, we express our wonderment of everything around us. By taking the time to render them with lines on paper, you acknowledge the sacredness of each and every little thing. Even ants and bugs and stuff.

“The sketchbook is a private visual diary. In it you are free to study and to learn, to experiment, to splash and paddle around with the ink. It is a record of your own relationship to the world, the notes of inner progression. Keep your sketchbook alive. Make it a part of yourself. Each time we open our eyes we create a world which is unique to ourselves. A line is an idea given energy.” by Fred Gettings in “On Drawing”

If you keep on this path you may become wise and drop the narrow judgments of likes and dislikes and come to realize the beauty in all things. From simple weeds blowing on a windy hill, to the classic curves of old automobiles. Every thing is sacred. And everything that our eyes behold matters and can be meaningful if looked at in an open and appreciative way.

"Be strong and do not betray your soul. Carry your light to illuminate your destiny. Rejoice, for you are part of the great mystery." old Indian saying

"Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity. Believe in your goodness. Seek adventure. Climb high mountains. Run wild rivers. Live daily with this spirit. Take care. Follow your dreams, but watch your step. Have fun, sing, dance, laugh, and spread joy wherever you journey." Royal Robbins

When you find yourself lost in observing a trail of ants or frantically sketching boats moving in and out of some sunny harbor, you'll realize you've arrived and will smile. You have trained yourself to be a chronicler of life and your long days will be filled with wonder.

How to Make a Journal of Your Life
available at Powells and Amazon

Other books:
Moonlight Chronicles: A Wandering Artist's Journal
Radical Simplicity: Creating an Authentic Life

Links:
Moonlight-Chronicles.com
Where is Dan now? blog

"The Wisdom of Solitude"

A Zen Retreat in the Woods
by Jane Dobisz

From the book jacket:
Inspired by her Korean Zen master's discipline of long, solitary retreats, Jane Dobisz strikes out to a lone cabin in the countryside of New England, armed with nothing but determination, modest food supplies, and an intensely regimented daily practice schedule. The unfolding story of her experience is threaded through with Zen teachings and striking insights into the miracles and foibles of the human mind when left to its own devices, with little distraction at hand.

Meaningful Quotes:
The practice of Zen (as opposed to the study of Zen) is... to give yourself completely to each moment as it is - whether it is doing a mantra, stumbling in the dark, or feeling the fire's warm heat on your skin. It requires a complete suspension of disbelief, which amounts to trusting that there is something much deeper than reason and logic, and that if you follow it, you might just end up where you belong.

There is nothing new, really. We just keep revisiting the same lessons over and over until we digest them. As we digest them, they become who we are.

I appreciate this chance to watch time and space disappear in the repetition and simplicity of something so ordinary as cutting wood.

How many times in life do we want something, get close, and then back away at the last minute, afraid to take the risk? We humans are all like that.

"On the bones of the Great Mountain
flowing water cleans the ancient Buddha's mind.
Do you understand the true meaning of this?
You must ask the pine tree." Zen Master Man Gong

Moment by moment the choice is there: to surrender to infinite possibility or to lock myself inside the walls of pessimism, limitation, and subjectivity.

Having the mind and the body in the same place at the same time solves about ninety-nine percent of the matter. The other one percent, of course, is what you do with it.

The Wisdom of Solitude available at Powells and Amazon

"Radical Acceptance"

Embracing Your Life
with the Heart of a Buddha
by Tara Brach

From the book jacket:
"Believing that something is wrong with us is a deep and tenacious suffer," says Tara Brach at the start of this illuminating book. This suffering emerges in crippling self-judgments and conflicts in our relationships, in addictions and perfectionism, in loneliness and overwork - all the forces that keep our lives constricted and unfulfilled. Radical Acceptance offers a path to freedom, including the day-to-day practical guidance develped over Dr Brach's twenty years of work with therapy clients and Buddhist students.

Meaningful Quotes:
"The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis but rather the feeling of not belonging." Mother Teresa

Wanting and fearing are natural energies, part of evolution's design to protect us and help us thrive. But when they become the core of our identity, we lose sight of the fullness of our being.

...Zen master Seng-tsan taught that true freedom is being "without anxiety about imperfection." This means accepting our human existence and all of life as it is. Imperfection is not our personal problem - it is a natural part of existing.

"We must plant ourselves again in the universe." D.H. Lawrence

Without judging yourself, simply become aware of how you are relating to your body, emotions, thoughts and behaviors. As the trance of unworthiness becomes conscious, it begins to lose its power over our lives.

The way out of our cage begins with 'accepting absolutely everything' about ourselves and our lives, by embracing with wakefulness and care our moment-to-moment experience.

Clearly recognizing what is happening inside us, and regarding what we see with an open, kind and loving heart, is what I call Radical Acceptance.

"Don't turn away. Keep your gaze on the bandaged place. That's where the light enters you." Rumi

By accepting the truth of change, accepting that we don't know how our life will unfold, we open ourselves to hope so that we can move forward with vitality and will.

...psychologist Carl Jung describes the spiritual path as an unfolding into 'wholeness'.

"There is only one world, the world pressing against you at this minute. There is only one minute in which you are alive, this minute here and now. The only way to live is by accepting each minute as an unrepeatable miracle." Storm Jameson

When we pause, we don't know what will happen next. But by disrupting our habitual behaviors, we open to the possibility of new and creative ways of responding to our wants and fears.

In the midst of a pause, we are giving room and attention to the life that is always streaming through us, the life that is habitually overlooked.

Yes is an inner practice of acceptance in which we willingly allow our thoughts and feelings to naturally arise and pass away.

"A tiny bud of a smile on your lips nourishes awareness and calms you miraculously...your smile will bring happiness to you and those around you." Thich Nhat Hanh

When we put down ideas of what life should be like, we are free to wholeheartedly say yes to our life as it is.

Being alive includes feeling pain, sometimes intense pain.

"Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional." anonymous

"When the resistance is gone, the demons are gone." Pema Chodron

"We have to face the pain we have been running from. In fact, we need to learn to rest in it and let its searing power transform us." Charlotte Joko Beck

Fear is the anticipation of future pain.

In order to embark on a spiritual path we need faith that our own heart and mind have the potential to awaken.

The Buddha taught that our fear is great, but greater still is the truth of our connectedness.

"We have been raised to fear...our deepest cravings. And the fear of our deepest cravings keeps them suspect, keeps us docile and loyal and obedient, and leads us to settle for...many facets of our own oppression." Audre Lorde

"True love and prayer are learned in the hour where prayer has become impossible and the heart has turned to stone." Thomas Merton

Feeling compassion for ourselves in no way releases us from responsibility for our actions. Rather, it releases us from the self-hatred that prevents us from responding to our life with clarity and balance.

"Prayer is the voice of longing; it reaches outwards and inwards to unearth our ancient belonging." John O'Donohue

Whenever we feel closed down, hurt or unforgiving, by simply breathing in and gently touching the rawness of our pain, we can begin to transform our suffering into compassion.

"I live my life in widening circles
That reach out across the world.
I may not ever complete the last one,
But I give myself to it." Ranier Maria Rilke

Each person is precious, each person is fragile, each person matters.

The most fully we offer our attention, the more deeply we realize that what matters most in life is being kind.

"Is there a greater miracle than to see through another's eyes, even for an instant?" Thoreau

"We can do no great things - only small things with great love." Mother Teresa

Trungpa...says that the essence of human bravery is "refusing to give up on anyone or anything."

"There is only one heroism in the world: to see the world as it is, and to love it." Romaine Rolland

No matter what appears - burning rage, gnawing anxiety, cruel thoughts or utter despondency - by offering forgiveness directly to each, we give permission of our inner life to be as it is. Rather than forgiving a 'self', we forgive the experience we are identified with.

Forgiving ourselves is a process that continues through our whole life...With each round of freeing ourselves through forgiveness, we strengthen our recognition of our basic goodness.

If we feel hatred toward anyone, we remain chained to the sufferings of the past and cannot find genuine peace. We forgive for the freedom of our own heart.

We forget that every person, including ourselves, is new every moment.

Everybody just wants to be loved.

"One moment of unconditional love may call into question a lifetime of feeling unworthy and invalidate it." Rachel Naomi Remen

"Life is this simple. We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and the divine is shining through it all the time. This is not just a nice story or a fable. This is true." Thomas Merton.

...no matter how much we meditate or pray, we still need others to help us dismantle the walls of our isolation and remind us of our belonging. Remembering that we are connected to others and our world is the essence of healing.

We are wounded in relationships, and we need to heal in relationship.

We are social beings - we eat, sleep, work, love, heal, fulfill ourselves and awaken each other. Even when we are completely alone, we carry within us the sense of whom we belong with and our concerns about how others regard us. Feeling the care of others allows us...to awaken from (the) trance and become whole. All of our relationships have the potential to nourish this flowering, whether they are with teachers, therapists, colleagues, family or friends. ...this is our sangha, and it encompasses the whole web of conscious relationships within which we heal and awaken.

"There is sitting meditation. There is walking meditation. Why not listening and speaking meditation? Isn't it sensible that one could practice mindfulness in relationship and so get better at it?" Gregroy Kramer

"When we recognize the spark of God in others, we blow on it with our attention and strengthen it. No matter how deeply it has been buried or for how long... When we bless someone, we touch the unborn goodness in them and wish it well." Rachael Naomi Remen

Although scriptures guide us and practices focus and quiet us...the living experience of love reveals our intrinsic wholeness and radiance.

Realizing the truth of belonging, that we are all suffering and awakening together on the path, is the most powerful antidote to personal feelings of unworthiness.

Radical Acceptance available at Powells and Amazon

"Not Always So"

Practicing the
True Spirit of Zen
by Shunryu Suzuki

From the book jacket:
In Not Always So (long awaited companion volume to Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind) Suzuki voices Zen in everyday language, with humor and good-heartedness. While offering sustenance much like a mother and father lending a hand, Suzuki encourages you to find your own way. Rather than emphasize specific directions and techniques, his teaching encourages you to touch and know your true heart and to express yourself fully. Suzuki's words do not seem to come from outside, but awaken a voice arising from your own being.

Meaningful Quotes:
When you are not thinking that you have another moment, then naturally you can accept things as they are, you can see things as they are.

What makes your practice go deeper and deeper is the day-by-day effort of sitting.

"Hitting the mark is the result of ninety-nine failures." Dogen Zenji

So the secret is just to say "Yes!" and jump off from here. Then there is no problem. It means to be yourself, always yourself, without sticking to an old self.

The kind of life you have is not so important. The most important thing is to be able to enjoy your life without being fooled by things.

Instead of galloping about, we walk slowly, like a cow or an elephant. If you can walk slowly, without any idea of gain, then you are already a good Zen student.

When you see plum blossoms or hear the sound of a small stone hitting bamboo, that is a letter from the world of emptiness.

And ordinary mind is not something apart from what is holy.

Please take care of your practice. Be very kind with yourself.

When our life is based on respect and complete trust, it will be completely peaceful.

Our practice is to help people, and to help people we find out how to practice our way on each moment.

With big mind and with pure sincerity and respect, love can really be love.

Words by themselves are not good enough to actualize (Buddha's) teaching, so it is transmitted through activity or through human relationships.

...in our busy life we should wear (like a robe) this civilization without being bothered by it, without ignoring it, without being caught by it. Without going anywhere, without escaping it, we can find composure in this busy life.

From ancient times the main point of practice has been to have a clear, calm mind - whatever you do.

"I go my own way. Wherever I go, I meet myself." Tozan

Yet wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and with the stars that you see.

In short don't be involved in making too many homemade cookies, your ideas of big or small, good or bad. Make only as many as you need. Without food you cannot survive, so it is good to make cookies, but don't make too many.

When you laugh at yourself, there is enlightenment.

Not Always So available at Powells and Amazon

Other books by Shunryu Suzuki:
Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind