MSI Press Blog

  Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication) from   Pathways to Inner Peace  by Diane Dreher, currently available on pre-order. TAKING A MINDFUL MOMENT WEEK 1, DAY 2 We’ll begin this week’s practices by mindfully bringing our attention to the present moment. Mindfulness, according to Jon Kabat-Zinn, “is awareness, cultivated by paying attention in a sustained and particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally” (2012, p. 1). So much of life can pass us by when we are disconnected from the present moment. Becoming mindfully present is simple, but not easy, especially in our Western world that emphasizes external accomplishments and offers so many distractions. The present moment embodies the Taoist concept of wu-wei— being, not doing. When we’re in a state of being, we are present, in touch with our feelings. We’re not distracted, not emotionally numb, not driven by stress or feeling disconnected and alone, but present in this moment, connected t...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -20-   The quality of one's life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you pay attention to will grow more important in your life. Deepak Chopra   Achieving artistic and financial success by the early 1890s, Claude Monet purchased his home in Giverny, France and set to work developing a landscape that would inspire his painting in the last 30 years of his life. He received permission from local authorities to divert water from the Epte River to create a pond for cultivating water lilies. Monet spent long hours in his gardens, tending to them, and joyfully observing the constant unfolding of light, colors, and texture. He commented on his attention to his lily pond:   It took me a while to understand my water lilies. I cultivated them without thinking about painting them. A landscape doesn’t captivate you in just one da...

  Today's meditation from  Weekly Soul: Fifty-two Meditations on Meaningful, Joyful, and Peaceful Living   by Dr. Frederic Craigie. -19-   When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment. This is the beginning and the end of spiritual practice. Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless. Only here can we find the love that we seek. Love in the past is simply memory, and love in the future is fantasy. Only in the reality of the present can we love, can we awaken, can we find peace and understanding and connection with ourselves and the world. Jack Kornfield   Thanks substantially to work by Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, and a small number of other pioneers in this area, the idea of mindfulness—paying attention, in the present moment, without judgment—has embedded itself in the American consciousness. A man suffers flashbacks and remorse about a motor vehicle acci...