We are a dream
Dreamt up by a brain
So vivid is the dream
The brain’s forgotten it’s dreaming!
Vivid the dream
08 May 2014 Leave a comment
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Consciousness, Dream, Enlightenment, Online Writing, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, Zen Mirror
Our reason to live for
01 Sep 2013 1 Comment
in Poems Tags: inspiration, meaning of life, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, Zen, Zen Mirror
It is not enough to live
Without a reason to live for
Not a trite reason we mouth and then forget
But an answer we strive the rest of our lives for
Growing deeper by the day
Such that in the seeking not the finding
We find our meaning
The Hand
30 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Poems Tags: focus, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, Zen, Zen Mirror
Without the hand the mind has no focus,
Nothing to grip or turn around
No way of learning if these thoughts speak true,
Or just follow their own tail in the dark.
Exploration
28 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Enlightenment, Martial Arts, Philosophy, spirituality, Zen, Zen Mirror
My exploration of Zen and the Martial Arts helps me to understand myself and my place in the universe. I could travel across the world without finding the answers I have found staying in one room, devoted to one punch or kick, one sword cut or koan. These answers do not sit still however, every day I must find them anew. Once I regarded this as a curse that the final answer of enlightenment would one day cure. But now I realize what a gift the endlessly enquiring mind really is, and that the real curse would be having no more questions to answer. My enlightenment has been realizing I have no choice but to continue asking.
Eddy
14 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Poems Tags: Enlightenment, Haiku, inspiration, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, Thought, writing, Zen, Zen Mirror
Eddy in the flow
Thought strives to overcome thought
Eddy joins current
Self Defence for the Mind!
13 Aug 2013 3 Comments
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Happiness, inspiration, life, New Zen Book, Online Writing, Philosophy, Religion and Spirituality, Self-Defence for the Mind, spirituality, writing, Zen, Zen Mirror
I have finally published my book: Self Defence for the Mind, in Kindle format on Amazon!
My motivation, back in 2011, was to write a Zen philosophy book that would be enjoyable to read and more importantly would make sense to anyone. This is a far cry from many of the mystical, obscurely written, and frankly boring books I have read on the subject!
SDFM is divided up in 10 chapters.
Chapter 1 discusses Stress and introduces the reader to techniques for managing it and later, learning to use it to grow.
Chapter 2 tackles happiness and how to build a kind that lasts.
Chapter 3 discusses the tricky subject of emotions and how we can influence them for the betterment of life.
Chapter 4 introduces a concept called New Eyes, by which we change our view of the world by changing ourselves, and vice versa.
Chapter 5 talks about Coexistence, and how by understanding others we enrich our view of life, and how by understanding ourselves we can avoid the pitfalls that await the unmindful.
Chapter 6 is the centrepiece of the book, teaching the reader how to be Spontaneous.
Chapter 7 delves into personality and how by understanding ours, we can avoid the problems that come from the dark side of our persona.
Chapter 8 builds on understanding gained in the last chapter to set a map for self growth, personalised to the reader.
Chapter 9 wraps up the book and Chapter 10 contains all the references for continued inspiration and development.
The book is 222 pages long; you can preview it for free (you get all of Chapter 1 and some of Chapter 2), either by using the Amazon ‘Look Inside’ option, or by getting a sample sent to your Kindle or PC here: UK, USA.
You can also find it by typing ‘Self Defence for the Mind’ into the search tab.
I would be most grateful for any feedback, particularly comments on the Amazon page (you need to have bought something, not necessarily my book!).
Butterfly
08 Aug 2013 Leave a comment
in Poems Tags: Creativity, Happiness, inspiration, life, Online Writing, Perception, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, Zen, Zen Mirror
Poetry, a butterfly’s wings
A delicate supposition, neither here nor there
Hinting at more than can be said
Places these words might take you
But look too closely and you’ll fall
To where nothing has any meaning at all
Attention
28 Jun 2013 2 Comments
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Consciousness, Learning, Philosophy, spirituality, Thought, writing, Zen, Zen Mirror
All learning comes down to this:
putting your attention in the right place.
I think therefore I am
18 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Egotism, Enlightenment, Evolutionary Psychology, Happiness, inspiration, life, Philosophy, spirituality, Thought, writing, Zen, Zen Mirror
The purpose of the brain is not for us to realise we are the agent of all our actions. This is the ultimate egotism. A sense of self was an evolutionary necessity so that external behaviours could be fed back for examination and improvement, for an advantage to be gained over bigger teeth or longer claws. The ego is merely a by-product, not the cause of thoughts, or ‘our’ actions. ‘I think, therefore I am’ is a sham. The truth is there is no independent ‘I’, just the thought that thinks ‘I am!’
Clouds
05 Jun 2013 Leave a comment
in Zen Thoughts Tags: Enlightenment, free will, inspiration, Online Writing, Philosophy, Poetry, spirituality, writing, Zen
I can no more control my thoughts,
than the clouds in the sky.
So how can I control what I do?


