Thursday 3 September 2009

Nourishing our Minds

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the way we "live".
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the way I see that we humans are harming each other, ourselves and the planet.
Excess almost everything is killing us.


I was watching a Lonely Planet episode where Ian Wright ventures of into an icy wilderness dog trek with a very experienced sled driver.
The first thing she said was. “Think basics!
We need to think about the basic things we will need.
Some shelter, some food and good clothing protection.”
She also said "I love going out into the wilderness, it helps me find myself again."


I think many of us really do not know who we are and what we really need to be happy.


I am reading Matthieu Ricard's book titled "Happiness. A guide to developing life's most important skill".
Here are some quotes from the introduction
"achieving durable happiness as a way of being is a skill. It requires sustained effort in the training of the mind and developing a set of human qualities, such as inner peace, mindfulness and altruistic love."
" this book is intended for the heart and mind of anyone who aspires to a little more joie de vivre and to let wisdom and compassion reign in her or his life".

Many of the members of our group already practice meditation and experience how nourishing it is for them and those around them.


I found this video of Matthieu Ricards called Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions for Authentic Happiness.


This is an excellent talk to help us nourish our minds in the same way that we nourish our soil, so treat yourself to spend a long tea break and enjoy what this “jolly good fellow” has to say.

1 comment:

Andrew said...

Hi Maggie
I listened to that talk, and enjoyed the humour and anecodotes, but also his fundamental message that meditation lifts one's basic level of happiness whereas materialistic changes make only a small difference
Thanks for posting that - I like your idea that gardeners can cultivate their minds while cultivating their gardens
Cheers
Andrew