"I tried to find a way to meditate..."

Photo by Nguyet Vuong

 "I tried to find a way to meditate throughout my teenage years including going to Buddhist temples, parks, candles, baths and none of it worked. It was probably because my mind didn't know what to do. Until I took a modern dance class in college that I find a method that worked for me (of all places). We had to write a paper about our unconscious thoughts about our body.

"The assignment was to lay on my back for an hour, with my eyes closed, consciously and mentally describe everything I could think of about my body's position and how I feel. If I am uncomfortable, how would I move or change my body's position. And then in my mind, imagine myself going on an adventure, doing something outrageous...for a whole hour! Then, get up and write a short story about what my body just went through in my imagination.

"It worked, because for a whole hour, I didn't think about myself in context with my past or future, rather just being conscious of whether I was physically comfortable or not, and then going on the adventure for myself was exhilarating.

"Our mind is powerful; it makes such an amazing survival tool. Use it well and your body will thank you."

~ Nguyet Vuong

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Two monks stood by a river...

Photo by Sharon Tschirhart

Two monks stood by a river and saw a prostitute trying to cross. She was having trouble and couldn't make it so one of the monks offered to help. He picked her up, carried her across, set her down and then rejoined his friend.

The monk who didn’t carry her got more and more agitated, finally saying, “Why did you do that? You know we are not supposed to even touch women like that!”

The monk who carried her said, “I left her by the river. Why are you still carrying her?”

"I like to wake up pretending I'm an alien..."

"I like to wake up pretending I’m an alien. My mission from the mother galaxy is to land in random bodies across the Universe and figure out where I am and solve their problems. Today I woke up in this body. Odd, I feel anger about something. I explore it in my body. Oh, it’s nothing. Better to focus on getting this body in shape, happy, productive. I have 24 hours in this body. Who is this beautiful woman lying next to me. What food can I eat today? What’s the best things I can do with it. Clearly the wrongs I suffered in the past are not worth spending time on. I’m an alien only here for 24 hours after all." ~James Altucher