Six Powerful and Wise Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt

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• Six Powerful and Wise Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt
• Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 9/16/2012
• Batchelor's crazy understanding of nirvana
• Lineage means little in science and art. Why so important in religion?
• Indiana Firm Recalls Chicken Strip Products
• Jesus meditating

Six Powerful and Wise Quotes from Theodore Roosevelt Posted: 16 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT Do you ever find yourself wondering how to achieve success, how best to live your life, and how to make progress towards your goals? Sure, we all do. But let's not over-think the source of the solution. You don't need to seek answers from the latest self-help books or seminars. Truly great advice rings just as true today as it did a hundred years ago. These six quotes from Theodore Roosevelt (US president from 1901 - 1909) are all fully relevant in the 21st century. Which ones might you begin applying to your life today? "The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." What man or woman do you know who truly stood alone and had a successful life? Even the archetype of the rugged individual, John Galt in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, seems to be missing the vital component of community and quality relationships. Quality relationships at home, work, and in our communities are a vital catalyst in making things work. Exercise What do you observe when people do not have the ability or the desire to get along with others? What specific relationships in your world need your best efforts to create the shared successes you desire? "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Many of us are waiting for the perfect time, the perfect person, for all the stars to align before we take action, and before we will be happy. Even if this were to happen occasionally, it never seems to last. What then? Roosevelt was both a visionary and a realist, charting the course to a better future while still taking into consideration the reality of our daily lives. Exercise Look at! the day ahead of you. What can you do with what you have and where you are? You may surprise yourself. "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." How often do you find yourself on the playing field versus in the stands as a spectator? As spectators to a sporting event, or even a business interaction, we find ourselves in a relatively safe spot where we risk little or nothing. When we actually suit up and get in the game, we are putting ourselves to the test. Will we win and achieve success, or will we lose and fail? One sure thing is that without risk, without getting in the game, we will never truly test ourselves, grow fully, and turn our potential for success into glorious triumphs. Exercise: Where in your life and career can you shift from being a spectator to getting on the field, so as to experience the excitement of participating – and yes, the potential of defeat. It's better to be fully alive on the field than to simply survive in the stand. Live your life; don't play it so safe that you never go anywhere. "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Some say that all great journeys begin with the first step. This quote suggests that belief, which comes before actually taking your first step, puts you halfway towards your destination. It's clear that without belief, we are all pretty much stopped before we ever begin. Our belief in a goal, a cause or a person, or even our spiritual belief(s), have the mysterious power to mobilize all kinds of forces or resources to pull or propel us forward. Exercise: What can you do to clarify or strengthen your belief in yourself or others, to help make dramatic leaps forward towards your profes! sional o r personal objectives? "If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month." Did you ever realize that you can't ever get away from yourself? Sure, sometimes we find a temporary escape through various methods. But when these methods wear off, we often find ourselves right where we started with things no better ... and maybe worse. Taking full responsibility and being 100% accountable for one's life is a bold and challenging endeavor. Doing this, however, has great rewards, since much of life is a matter of perspective, attitude, intention and commitment. Exercise: What percent of your troubles are caused by or negatively influenced by the person looking back at you in the mirror? How would taking greater responsibility for these problems lead you to a happier and more fulfilling life? "Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you've got to start young." We have all heard that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, and the second best is now. When is the best time to begin living your life fully, so that when you are old, you have no regrets? Many people, including myself, raced through parts of our lives hoping to get to the good stuff faster – but we simply found ourselves not paying attention as the days, weeks, and even years slipped by. Did you ever look into the mirror, surprised to see an older person looking back at you? Exercise: As with the tree, how can you plant your intention to lead an extraordinary life each and every day? How can you close your eyes each night with no regret, with the hope that you will have this opportunity again tomorrow? Written on 4/28/2011 by Barry Demp. If you'd like to receive a daily! dose of inspiration and motivation straight to your inbox, head on over to Barry Demp's site, The Quotable Coach and pop your details in the sidebar. You'll get a daily email with a great quote, plus a short commentary to help you reflect, and an exercise to encourage you to take action. Photo Credit: Wesley Fryer Do you have a bucket list? Here are 101 things to do before you die. Includes a tutorial on how you can create your bucket list too! Read More @ Source

Early Morning Buddhist Inspiration - 9/16/2012 Posted: 16 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT "A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden."   ~The Buddha Technorati Tags: Buddha Buddhist Buddhism Meditation Dharma Read More @ Source

Batchelor's crazy understanding of nirvana Posted: 16 Sep 2012 07:00 AM PDT According to Stephen Batchelor, "Samsara and nirvana are two antithetical conditions of existence both of which hinder the fullest possible actualization of human potential" (Batchelor, Alone with others, pp. 119-20).   Batchelor's words may sound nice to some ears but they are out of kilter for those who are familiar with the Stress Reduction canon and Stress Reduction ideas.  His words belie the fact that he believes, as far as human potential goes, there is something higher than nirvana!  Such an opinion coming from a Westerner like Batchelor who claims to be a Stress Reduction, however, contradicts the Dhammapada in which it is said:  "Patience and forgiveness is the highest ascetic practice. The Buddhas declare Nirvana to be highest (paramam)" (184). What the Buddha is saying is that nirvana is the fullest actualization of the human potential; there is none higher.  Looking at the matter from Batchelor's position, one has to wonder what could be higher than nirvana?  Does Batchelor know?  So we read more, but find no answer.  Batchelor can only manage to be diffuse.  Where concision is called for, he backs away from it.    The Buddha, on the other hand, is just the opposite of Batchelor.  The meaning of nirvana and liberation (vimutti) are inextricably linked (cp. S. iii. 189).  In this regard, nirvana is liberation from the travails of the conditioned, phenomenal world.  It is also within the human potential to accomplish nirvana. One sees, for the first time, the way things really are free from delusion.  What can be wrong with that?  Apparently, there is something wrong with that, according to Batchelor, but he never goes on to explain. Read More @ Source

Lineage means little in science and art. Why so important in religion? Posted: 15 Sep 2012 10:00 PM PDT When you learn about an important scientific discovery, does it matter to you what "line" of scientists the researcher is associated with? When you listen to a scintillating musical performance, does it matter to you what "line" of musicians the artist is associated with? No. At least, not much. Likely not at all.  Recently the Oregonian had a story about a classical guitarist who is going to play in Portland. It was mentioned that Scott Kritzer was the "grandson" of famed guitarist Andres Segovia, because his teacher was a Segovia student. But that fact has no bearing on Kritzer's reputation as a guitarist, or why people are going to see him perform. He's a great guitarist. Period. That's obvious to anyone who appreciates music.  So why is it that religions, spiritual paths, and mystical practices usually are so obsessed with who gave a thumbs-up to someone else, certifying that the second person is as enlightened, God-knowledgeable, pure, or whatever other quality is important to the faith as the first person?  And so on. Down through a lineage that might extend for a thousand years or more, as is the case with Buddhism. Also with Catholicism, which traces its Popes back to the apostle Peter. Believers are supposed to be impressed by the purported continuity of... something or other... in the faith's leaders. Four words in that last sentence are central to the question of why lineage is so important in religiosity: something or other and faith. Because religions are focused on the supernatural, and/or on ineffable qualities of physical existence, there's no there there. Meaning, religiosity is insubstantial, unprovable, evidence-free. In short, founded on faith. So something or other has to be taken on faith: salvation, enlightenment, god-realization, etc. Science and art are much different. "Show me what you've got" is the catch-phrase of scientists and artists. A discovery lacking evidence isn't a discovery. An artistic creation lacking observability isn't an artistic creation. So it's understandable why religions place so much emphasis on lineage: they've got nothing else to back up their empty claims. I got thinking about this stuff after reading recent comments on this blog post relating to the lineage of Sant Mat gurus in general, and those of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) in particular. Having been a member of RSSB for quite a few years, I find this sort of discussion mildly interesting from a historical perspective, yet meaningless from the perspective of whether the organization's teachings point to a transcendent truth or whether the RSSB gurus truly are "God in human form." For that, demonstrable evidence is needed, not just proof that one guy who claimed to know a transcendent truth and supposedly was God-realized certified that his successor had those same qualities, so could take over the job of guru, so forth and so on down through an unbroken lineage. Again, the religious obsession with lineage is a symptom of how lacking in anything supernaturally substantial religions are. If a highly spiritual dude or dudette could perform obvious miracles, clearly foretell the future, or reliably transform the consciousness of believers into an evident more-than-human form, there wouldn't be any need for a chain of "believe me, this guy is real" testimonials from previous people with supposed spiritual accomplishments. Since taking up dancing about six and a half years ago, my wife and I have taken lessons from quite a few different dance instructors. Our concern about who they learned how to dance from is essentially zero. What we care about is whether they know how to dance now, and can teach that to us. It's pretty darn obvious whether someone is a good dancer. You just watch them dance. But with religion, it isn't obvious at all whether someone is a good... something or other. You see, I can't even think of what words to put after... How can you tell whether someone is a genuine prophet, saint, guru, master, yogi, enlightened being? I have no idea. If anyone else does, please, um, enlighten me. And don't, repeat DON'T, describe some quality of a human being which could apply to any non-religious person. Like: kind, compassionate, wise, charismatic, giving, selfless, inspiring, loving. I know lots of atheists and agnostics who have these qualities.  And also don't tell me that genuine spirituality is demonstrated by getting a stamp of approval from some other supposed genuine spiritual person. I need to know how it's possible to discern the genuineness of the first genuine spiritual person. Bottom line: with religions, don't trust lineages. Don't care about lineages. Be like a scientist or artist. Say "show me what you've got." Now.  Read More @ Source

Indiana Firm Recalls Chicken Strip Products Posted: 15 Sep 2012 09:00 PM PDT CREDIT: FSIS. Serenade Foods, Inc., a Milford, Ind., establishment, is recalling approximately 2,250 pounds of crunchy chicken strip products that may contain foreign materials, fragments of plastic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced. The following products are subject to recall: 7.5-lb cases containing 30-oz. cartons of "Milford Valley Farms Crunchy Chicken Strips" The cartons bear the establishment number "P-2375" inside the USDA mark of inspection and the UPC code 0-73981-32286-7. The products have a use by date of Jan. 17, 2014. The products were packaged on Jan. 17, 2012 and shipped to a distributor in Lakeland, Florida for further distribution. The company alerted FSIS of the problem after receiving two consumer complaints. FSIS and the firm have received no reports of injury or illnesses associated with consumption of this product. Anyone concerned about an injury should contact a healthcare provider. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks (including at restaurants) to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and to ensure that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. Media and consumers with questions about the recall should contact Janelle Deatsman, Communications Manager, at 1-866-873-7589. Read More @ Source

Jesus meditating Posted: 15 Sep 2012 08:00 PM PDT Somewhere on the web I came across this interesting rendition of Jesus sitting in meditation posture. I'm normally turned off by modern pictures of Christ, either because of the crucifixion aspect, or the general sappy vibe that a lot of them have, but I rather like this. Read More @ Source

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