I thought this would be a good book to connect me back to being present. I wanted to connect a bit more with Zen meditation. So, here we go. These were the key points below.
The overall mission was:
Smile… and Breathe (Breathe in. Breathe out.) Be present. That sums up the book.
- We are very good at preparing to live but not very good at living.
- Our smile affirms our awareness and determination to live in peace and joy.
- Smiling – I know immediately that he or she is dwelling in awareness.
- Thinking is important. But a lot of it is useless.
- If we are angry, we are the anger. If we are in love, we are love.
- Sometimes we can use meditation as a way of hiding from ourselves and from life, like a rabbit going back to his hole.
- I did not have to think of the future. I did not regret the past. Be present.
- Not having a goal can be a good thing. Be present. When we meditate, we shouldn’t have a goal. We should just be. We should just enjoy sitting for the entire time we do it.
- When we get angry, we may want to go outside and do walking meditation.
- When we live together, happiness is no longer an individual matter. If the other person is not happy, we will not be happy either.
- When angry, we should reserve seeds that are beautiful and happy to go to. (Similar to Happy Gilmore’s happy place)
- Understanding and love are not two things, but just one.
- If you are thinking of the past, worrying about the future, or possessed by anger- you are not present.
- Reminder of how much work gets put in… just in a paper and pen. We’re all connected together.
- Without a rose, we cannot have garbage, and without garbage, we cannot have a rose.