SPIRITUAL PRACTICE ONE + zazen meditation

"The discipline of sitting and simply paying attention to one's breath naturally brings forth the first fruit, as one is able to "center" one's whole existence in the here and now of every breath, bringing together all the mental. emotional, psychological, and other elements that constitute our personality and otherwise tend to get dispersed in our usual hectic daily lives. A strengthened power of concentration is a natural result of disciplined attention and awareness, in sitting as well as in the activities of daily life. One who practices zazen for a considerable period of time tends toward a greater integration in one's life, bringing the pieces together, so to speak, toward a wholeness that is also wholesomeness" LIVING ZEN, LOVING GOD, Ruben L.F. Habito pg 3 Those of us in the west have become numb and non-aware of what is going on around us. We are filled with noise and the constant flow of images that make us blind to what is really happening around us. We have lost the ability to encounter the heart. It is not so much having lost the ability to encounter the heart as much as not recognizing that deep call of the heart... Encountering the heart is to encounter our true self and when we encounter our true self we encounter God within us... This is scary as hell because this encounter causes us to realize that we are connected... all of us are connected to all of creation... It is a call to holiness, liberty and true freedom... a call to be fully AWAKE... Breath in...Breath out...