Hotei pointing with the finger to the moon

The nun Wu Jincang asked the Sixth Patriach Huineng, "I have studied the Mahaparinirvana sutra for many years, yet there are many areas i do not quite understand. Please enlighten me."

The patriach responded, "I am illiterate. Please read out the characters to me and perhaps I will be able to explain the meaning."

Said the nun, "You cannot even recognize the characters. How are you able then to understand the meaning?"

"Truth has nothing to do with words. Truth can be likened to the bright moon in the sky. Words, in this case, can be likened to a finger. The finger can point to the moon’s location. However, the finger is not the moon. To look at the moon, it is necessary to gaze beyond the finger, right?"

The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon is the essence here. But what does this mean on a deeper level? How does it relate to todays everyday life? How can we understand the meaning in an useful manner?

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One of the blogs in the personal development field that sticks to it’s name is ThinkSimpleNow.com run by Tina Su. In this interview, as a part of the AwakeBlogger Interview Series, I talk with Tina about her blog, her philosophy towards life and of course about personal and spiritual growth.

Photo of Tina from the Happy Birthday Post of Think Simple Now

Hi Tina, could you please give us a small introduction about yourself and how you came to blogging?

I am the Chief Happiness Officer at Think Simple Now – a highly practical blog on personal happiness and fulfillment. I wanted to meet others interested in personal development and wellbeing, so I started writing as a way to share life lessons I’ve learned, hopefully to connect with others who are also working on their own personal development.
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Photo courtesy of fotologic

"To comprehend a man’s life, it is necessary to know not merely what he does but also what he purposely leaves undone. There is a limit to the work that can be got out of a human body or a human brain, and he is a wise man who wastes no energy on pursuits for which he is not fitted; and he is till wiser who, from among the things that he can do well, chooses and resolutely follows the best." ~ John Hall Gladstone

Time-Management is not only something for managers and leaders. It is a topic that everyone can benefit from, especially if we want to get ahead and make a difference in our lives: "Where should I spend my time on? What is important?"

On the other hand we have questions like "How can I spend my time in the best way possible? How can I get the most out of it?"

It is the the art of focus and decision-making combined with effective productivity.

In this post I want to take a broader look on the topic and give an overview about time-management …
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Photo courtesy of Shermeee

"It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going." ~Brian Tracy

Does your reality look like you envisioned it 10 years ago? Have you created and expressed what is inside of you? Have you mastered the art of conscious creation?

I think it is very helpful to really know the process of how we manifest the things around us into existence. If we want to improve our life and get the things we are looking for, it is necessary to become totally aware of the process and then use it in our favor. If we can master it we can progressively produce the life we desire. I am a huge fan of proactivity, of acting from our desires in opposition to reactivity, and this post delivers the mechanics to do this. Anthony Robbins called the process the success-formula, consisting of 4 steps.

The thing is – and that struck me once I realized it – if you can think what you want, then it is a matter of mechanics to create it. Sure it will not be overnight, but within this thought is the seed to use this 4-step process and create the reality you want.

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Painting of Lao Tzu

Lao Tzu was the most important spiritual Chinese sage. His name, which is also often called Laozi, literally means “Old Master” and is generally considered an honorific.

He lived in the 6th century BC, at the same time as Confucius, who was born a generation after Lao Tzu. He once sought out Lao Tzu who told him “Strip yourself of your proud airs and numerous desires, your complacent demeanor and excessive ambitions. They won’t do you any good. This is all I have to say you.”

Las Tzu is the father of the Chinese spiritual tradition Taoism, mainly because of his text called Tao te Ching (Tao: the way of all life, te: the fit use of life by men, ching: text or classic).

It is based on the Tao (The Way), which is the creator and sustainer of all things in the Universe, and the practice of doing by nondoing (wu-wei) that enables the disciple to unite with the Tao.

Lao Tzu wrote his only book Tao Te Ching just before he walked away from the Chou empire he served. There are a lot of translations of Tao te Ching, which begins with the very first words of …

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Steve Jobs presenting iCal

"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." ~ Steve Jobs

This is a very practical posting in which I will show you my personal weekly planning process. I hope you can use and adapt it for your own productivity and success. It is basically my own mixture of systems from Anthony Robbins, Stephen Covey and David Allen with a little bit of today’s technology powered by Steve Jobs ;)

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"To give your sheep or cow a large, spacious meadow is the way to control him." – Shunryu Suzuki

Note: This is a post by Aaron Gaul. Aaron is a Stress Relief Trainer. He has studied in India and has a four year degree from Antioch University in spiritual psychology. You may visit his website at StressReliefTraining.com

A quiet mind is the centerpiece of any relaxation technique. And a quiet mind is developed only through skill and practice. Because, stress is automatic but relaxation is learned.

Not all stress is bad. Stress is a necessary and important element of daily life. In an instant, stress can prepare the body and mind for situations that require immediate strength and action. A little stress can improve concentration and job performance. But when stress continues throughout the day or longer, it becomes chronic stress. There is no good side to chronic stress. Chronic stress suppresses the immune system, causes rapid aging, makes the body retain excess fat, dulls thinking, increases pain, is the root cause for more than 80% of illnesses today, and generally reduces quality of life.

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