Conscious Collective

We need to realise that the Earth is not just our environment. The Earth is not something outside of us. Breathing with mindfulness and contemplating your body, you realise that you are the Earth. You realise that your consciousness is also the consciousness of the Earth. Look around you–what you see is not your environment, it is you. ~Thich Nhat Hanh #collectiveawakening #wakeup #weareone #loveallbeings #loveyourself #allisself

The many problems we face in society — whether ecologic, economic, social, political, or personal — are the result of human behavior. Human behavior is a reflection of human consciousness. The way we see the world, and the way we see ourselves in relation to the world, determine how we act in the world. Currently, the majority of human beings are living with a consciousness of separation. We feel, believe, and act as if we are separate from the world and everything in it. This fundamental duality is our biggest delusion, and the root cause of both our personal and collective suffering. On a personal level, it produces a deep feeling of aloneness and disconnection from life. This feeling of separateness then gives rise to fear, which leads to defensiveness, greed, and ultimately, violence. It is because we feel separate from others that we can justify causing them harm. It is because we feel separate from nature that we can justify harming it and ignoring the effects of our actions. Ultimately, this perception of separation leads to the mentality of “me against the world," and it is the greatest sickness of the human mind. In truth, we are not separate from nature, or from each other. We are all interconnected with nature, and with each other. This consciousness of unity produces a deep feeling of connection and belonging to life. This then gives rise to love, kindness and compassion towards others. Feeling one with others causes us to understand their suffering and desire to help alleviate it. Feeling one with nature causes us to value nature and take care of nature as a means of taking care of ourselves and of all life. Ultimately, this perception of unity leads to the mentality of "I and the world are one," and this is the greatest medicine for the dis-ease of separation and the suffering that it causes. The greatest need of our times is a collective transformation of consciousness. However, this transformation must take place on an individual level, within each one of us. We must take responsibility for ourselves, our minds, and our way of relating to life. We must be the change we wish to see in the world 🙏

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Has the most wonderful moment of your life arrived? If we are mindful, we can make the present moment the most wonderful moment of our life. How is this possible? It is possible because with mindfulness we can recognize and deeply touch all of the wonders of life, and the wonder of being alive, in the here and the now. This very moment can be the most wonderful moment of your life when you can appreciate it fully and experience it deeply. You are alive! You can see beauty, hear wonderful sounds, taste nourishing food, smell pleasant aromas, feel pleasant sensations, and experience mental states of happiness and joy. All of this is available to us in the present moment, if only we know how to see it. 🙏 ~@josephpkauffman Video via @thichnhathanh #thichnhathanh #mindfulness #beherenow #livefully

Mindfulness helps us slow down and be present with ourselves. It can also help us face and transform the painful feelings that so many of us store deep within ourselves and are afraid to confront. As we begin to heal ourselves from our trauma, our social conditioning, our sorrow, regrets, fears, anxieties, grievances, and other emotional pains, we begin to awaken to a totally new way of being, one that is not dependent upon empty consumption and entertainment to distract us. We awaken to joy, to love, to freedom, peace, relaxation and ease. This new way of being is actually always here, and always readily available to us, even in the midst of our suffering. We do not have to wait until we are fully healed to touch the peace and joy of the present moment. In fact, we cannot wait. It is through touching the peace and joy of the present moment that we begin to finally heal our stress and our suffering. Mindfulness is so much more than just a practice of paying attention to the present moment, it is the foundation for our healing and awakening. It is the medicine for our psychological dis-ease and the ticket to our freedom. The beautiful thing about mindfulness is that it is always available to us, at any time, under any circumstance. It is not limited by race, nationality, social or economic status, or any other external condition. It is only limited by our ability to be present with our immediate experience. We created a 14 Day Mindfulness Training to help you learn and master the foundations of mindfulness practice. Comment "Mindfulness" and we will DM you a link to the training 🙏 #mindfulness #awareness #meditation #healing

The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddhist teachings: 1. Dukkha: Life involves suffering. 2. Samudaya: The cause of suffering is ignorance, craving and attachment. 3. Nirodha: Letting go of craving and grasping brings an end to suffering. 4. Magga: The Eightfold Path provides the way to freedom and lasting peace. By understanding and practicing these truths, we can cultivate wisdom, heal our minds, and find inner peace and liberation from suffering. 🙏 Video Via @teachings_of_the_masters #buddhadharma #buddhism #dharma #fournobletruths

Can you recognize the simple space of pure consciousness within you? It cannot be seen, because it is what sees. It cannot be heard, because it is what hears. It cannot be experienced, because it is what experiences. However, we can recognize it as this presence that is experiencing. It is the light of awareness that witnesses all phenomena without being affected or altered by them. This knowing awareness is our deepest, innermost self, but it is not the self-concept of the mind or the ego. It is important not to make a concept or identity out of it. It simply is. It is formless, ever-present awareness, beyond any labels or definitions. Realizing this unchanging presence as the ground of our being helps us let go of our attachment to all that is changing and impermanent. In this awareness, we can rest with ease, knowing that no matter what arises and passes away, we remain in unshakeable peace. Right now, in this moment, allow yourself to rest in this unshakeable peace of awareness. This is your true nature—your mindful awareness that is ever-present, free, and always at peace. ~@josephpkauffman #consciousness #awareness #nonduality

In English, love is often understood as a strong feeling of affection or attachment, while compassion is commonly seen as a feeling of concern for others' suffering. However, the Buddhist understanding of these qualities goes far beyond mere emotions or fleeting feelings. Love in Buddhism is referred to as metta—loving-kindness—an unconditional, selfless wish for all beings to be happy and free from suffering. It is not based on attachment, and it is not limited to people we like or care about. Metta is a quality of the heart that extends to all beings, regardless of their relationship to us. Compassion, on the other hand, is referred to as karuṇā. It is the desire to alleviate the suffering of others. While metta wishes for others' happiness, karuṇā arises when we recognize the pain and suffering in the world and feel moved to act with kindness to relieve it. Compassion is an active quality of the heart that naturally arises when we deeply see and feel the suffering of others. It is rooted in the understanding that we are all interconnected, that the suffering of others is our suffering, just as their happiness is our happiness. When we truly see the suffering of others, compassion arises naturally. This compassion is not something we have to force or fabricate, but something that emerges from our recognition of shared humanity and the collective experience of suffering. ~@josephpkauffman #lovingkindness #metta #maitri #karuna #compassion #love

The cause of suffering lies within us—in our own thoughts and feelings. When we aren’t aware of our thoughts and emotions—we are controlled by them, and they often cause us immense suffering. When we are mindful of them, however, we can bring understanding to our thoughts and emotions, transform them and find peace. Certain thoughts, feelings, and actions create suffering, while others guide us toward peace. It is up to us to choose how we think, feel, and act. We must be vigilant about the thoughts and views we allow to take root in our minds. ~@josephpkauffman #mindfulness #suffering #presentmoment #mind

Nothing exists independently. Everything arises through a web of interconnected causes and conditions. In truth, you are intricately interconnected with the whole of nature. And yet, despite this profound truth, many of us do not feel this, do we? We do not feel like we are an intricate part of the cosmos, but instead feel ourselves to be a separate, isolated entity that exists in the world, but is not of this world. This sense of being a separate and isolated self is a mental construct, one born from our ignorance of the interconnected nature of reality. This false sense of separation is often referred to as the "ego." The ego is not a tangible thing but rather a set of ideas and beliefs about who we think we are—our identity, preferences, roles, and the stories we tell ourselves about our place in the world. It is the illusion that we are an independent, self-contained entity, distinct from others and the environment. This is not to say that we do not exist, but rather that we do not exist as a separate, isolated entity apart from everything else—as most of us perceive ourselves to be. Instead, our existence is deeply interwoven with the web of life, arising and evolving in connection with countless conditions and causes. To see this clearly is to begin to dissolve the illusion of separateness and touch the truth of our interconnected being. This realization is incredibly liberating, as it frees us from the narrow focus on being an isolated and separate self and the immense suffering that comes from this. ~@josephpkauffman #interconnectedness #interbeing #oneness #ego

Thoughts don’t actually define what they attempt to. A thought about a tree is not a tree. Therefore, we can’t truly know a tree—or anything—by creating labels, definitions, and stories about it. Not only that, but all of these words, concepts, and beliefs are based on the past; they are rooted in memory and shaped by what we have learned through our education and experiences. Yet life is always unfolding in the now. And the now is always unknown. It cannot be captured by our ideas of the past. It can only be known by being awake to it, by being in touch with it as it is in the present moment. To truly be present and relax into an open awareness of the present moment, we need to surrender our need to intellectually grasp, define, and create a story for everything we experience. We need to allow ourselves to let go and open to the unknown. 🙏 ~@josephpkauffman #thoughts #reality

Be here now 🙏 Via @archaic.wisdom Speaker @babaramdass #ramdass #mindfulness #beherenow