I love the ideas presented in the Bodhisattvas Vow and thought that I would like to share it with you. The Vow is taken by those Buddhists who are enlightened as a vow to stay on earth and to continue to incarnate until all people have been released from the cycle of birth and death and suffering these bring to the unenlightened. These are lofty Ideals that many may say are unachievable but like everything else if you do your best to live up to even a portion of this vow then you are doing great things for the world and the people around you.

Bodhisattvas vow

May I be a guard for those who are protectorless,
A guide for those who journey on the road;
For those who wish to go across the water,
May I be a boat, a raft, a bridge.

May I be an isle for those who yearn for landfall,
And a lamp for those who long for light;
For those who need a resting place, a bed,
For all who need a servant, may I be a slave.

May I be the wishing jewel, the vase of plenty,
A word of power, and the supreme remedy.
May I be the trees of miracles,
And for every being, the abundant cow.

Like the great earth and the other elements,
Enduring as the sky itself endures,
For the boundless multitude of living beings,
May I be the ground and vessel of their life.

Thus, for every single thing that lives,
In number like the boundless reaches of the sky,
May I be their sustenance and nourishment
Until they pass beyond the bounds of suffering

What can we do as individuals during these times when so many are struggling and fearful. What can we do when everyday we are bombarded by the media by sensational stories meant to inflict fear, panic, and insight anger? Everyday people are fed this negative toxic information from more and more sources. You may have noticed that it is hard to escape even in general conversations it seems to be all that anyone can talk about. This in and of itself is not a bad thing it would be foolish to not stay some what informed but it is the way that it is presented. There is little to no balance of the positive with the negative. When all you do is talk about the negative aspects and do not look to find the positive (no matter how tiny) you are building up the negative energy in your system and spreading the fear, anger, and in some cases hatred to others.

I know that most of the people that read this article are already pretty mindful of the effects of their words on others and they choose not to add to the negative processes in the world. But I am seeing more and more people unable to escape the effects of this energy. So what can we do? How can we change any of this.

The first things to do is to practice mindfulness of  what we say,what we ingest( take into our minds and bodies),and what we think about. Mindfulness will guide us back to a healthy non-judgmental state. Mindfulness will help us limit our Media ingestion, and help us from spreading this toxic thinking and words to others.

The second thing and this is why I am writing this is to start telling positive stories. Start finding something positive or even neutral to talk about. Talk about the food drive that you helped with, Talk about your neighbor who has such a beautiful yard, talk about the anything and everything that you like,love, and are inspired by. When someone  Starts talking about the “problems of our country” remain silent. Silence is powerful it says that I will not join you in this. Write blogs about tiny inspiring events that are about love and compassion  not fear and hatred.

If you are so inclined write to your local media and tell the that you would enjoy some more positive stories instead of stories about war, poverty, crime, and politics. They may not change but atleast you put it out there that you want something different. Do not settle for this state of negative influence and negative energy. Fight to keep some lights burning. It is sometimes difficult to not wallow in the rest of it with everyone else but if you strive for the best and highest influence you can reach from where you are you can help change the world.

Oneness

There are a lot of people and things out there. Some of them we find enjoyable and others we wish to avoid.
So how is it that we are one with all of these things how is it that we are one with people such as murders,
and sex offenders. You might say that it is impossible that you share any similarities with any of these people.
You would be mistaken if  you truly believed that.

How can I make such claims? Well first of all it is a matter of science and the Law of Conservation.
The Law of Conservation states that you cannot create or destroy matter. Matter can only be changed
from one form to another. As it is changed, matter releases energy as it releases bits of the more
complex form becoming simpler in form ; or it requires energy to add bits as it goes from simple to
complex. This Law of the natural world shows that there is a finite amount of the stuff called matter.
Matter is what makes up our physical forms. It is also what the foods we eat, the water we drink, the air
we breathe, the planet we live on, and the stars in the sky are all built from.

So we are all built from the same stuff called matter; Matter that has been recycled through every physical
form that can be found on this planet. You are air, water, fire, earth, dog, cat, bird, and people.
On the physical level we are the same. You might say, but that is not the same as being one with something else.
Just because our bodies might have the same bits making them work does not mean that I Am the same as they are.
That is on a physical level, I don`t think like they do, I have too much compassion to harm another, I have a
different soul than they do. You are correct this is not the same as being one with something or someone else.
I think differently than other people. I feel differently than other people. My perspective is unique because
of my experiences. These are arguments that many will make meaning that because of our thoughts and experiences
we are separate beings with no connection. For all of our similarities in our atomic and molecular make up, each
of us is unique in our specific physical design.

There is another level we are seldom aware of. It is the level of Universal Consciousness.
This Level of being has been talked about in every major belief system that exists on the Earth at this
Time. This is the realm of Mystery. The realm Where we as humans lose the ability to understand with our
human minds. This is the Tao that Taoist say can Not be known. This is the Chi that Flows in Chinese
medicine. In Hermetic teachings this is the Mind of the Unknowable all. The essence of these thoughts when they
are boiled down is that we are all part of and inseparable from the Universal Consciousness. It can be
said that Creator and Creation are one and the same.

The ALL could be viewed as an ocean and we are the waves. We are water, Inseparable from the ocean until
suddenly we find that we have form,we have consciousness,we have physical characteristics. We soon learn to
Identify with our form and differentiate between our form and others. We begin to say” I am taller than
that wave.” or “I am faster than The other Wave.” We become so engrossed in the world of form that we
forget that we all started as water. We are all still water. and as we rush towards the shore and we see
the other waves disappearing we begin to worry about what will happen to us when we get to the shore.
Being so Identified with forms that we now have forgot our origins as water and part of the ALL. Finally
we hit the beach and our form dissolves and we return back to the water and settle into the peace of being
simply the ocean, the ALL once more.

It is this Identification with the world of forms that causes us to forget our origins as part of the
Universal Consciousness. This Identification brings us so much suffering as we attach ourselves to the
world of forms all the while forgetting that we Will eventually return to the peace of the source.

We are truly One we are the waves on the ocean who have forgotten that we do not exist separate form the
ocean. When we are still and our minds are quiet we begin to sense our true being as part of the Divine
Whole.

The mind emphasizes these differences. In fact the Mind creates all of these differences.

Breathing

Our breathing is a stable solid ground that we can take refuge in. Regardless of our internal weather- our thoughts, emotions and perceptions- our breathing is always with us like a faithful friend. Whenever we feel carried away, or sunken in a deep emotion, or scattered in worries and projects, we return to our breathing to collect and anchor our mind.

We feel the flow of air coming in and going out of our nose. We feel how light and natural, how calm and peaceful our breathing functions. At any time, while we are walking, gardening, or typing, we can return to this peaceful source of life.
We may like to recite:

“Breathing in I know that I am breathing in.
Breathing out I know that I am breathing out.”

We do not need to control our breath. Feel the breath as it actually is. It may be long or short, deep or shallow. With our awareness it will naturally become slower and deeper. Conscious breathing is the key to uniting body and mind and bringing the energy of mindfulness into each moment of our life.