A Shift to Love

Three Elements to a Spiritual Practice


 

H

ello from Jax and me in beautiful Colorado!

While I was at the monastery for 14 years, I learned a few key things:

1) Where your attention goes, so goes your life. Just like The Buddha taught. So if you want to have peace, joy, and happiness you must keep your attention on peace, joy, and happiness. Because one process does not lead to another. I learned this in my personal practice when I discovered that wanting does not lead to having. Wanting simply leads to more wanting (more dissatisfaction). Only having will lead to having (an experience of fulfillment).

2) Once you learn how to train your attention, through Zen meditation, the next step is to keep it on what supports you. Instead of allowing your attention to habitually wander off with the voices swirling around in your head, you must keep your attention on the loving, compassionate, and wise mentor inside of you who can guide you through life perfectly.

3) Lastly, it takes another person who is further along on the path than you and a group of people who are practicing in order to keep the practice alive within you. It’s too difficult to do this work in isolation and on your own. Which is why The Buddha said Sangha is one of the three jewels of spiritual practice. And it’s why I love to participate in public forums where we are supporting each other and we’re all attempting to do the same thing.

Blessings to you.

 

In lovingkindness,


If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume One).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Two).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness (Volume Three).

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons by Alex Mill.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, Meditation and Reinventing Yourself.

If you enjoyed this article, you can find a version of it in my book, The Zen Life: Spiritual Training for Modern Times.

 


  Alex Mill trained in a Zen Buddhist monastery for nearly 14 years. He now offers his extensive experience to transform people’s lives and businesses through timeless Zen principles.

He is the creator of three powerful 30-day programs, Heart-to-Heart: Compassionate Self-Mentoring, Help Yourself to Change, and Your Practice, as well as the online Zen meditation workshop, Taming Your Inner Noise (now offered as The FREE Zen Workshop).

Alex has also written seven books on Zen awareness practice. The latest are entitled A Shift to Love: Zen Stories and Lessons (Get it for FREE here) and the 3-book series Living the Zen Life: Practicing Conscious, Compassionate Awareness.

He is a full-time Zen Life Coach who offers guidance and life-changing support to his private clients worldwide. Book a call.