Tag Archive | wisdom

Happy Green/White Tara Day!!! <3

Dec8

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(Green Tara – not my photo)
“There is a true feminist movement in Buddhism that relates to the goddess Tārā. Following her cultivation of bodhicitta, the bodhisattva’s motivation, she looked upon the situation of those striving towards full awakening and she felt that there were too few people who attained Buddhahood as women. So she vowed, ‘I have developed bodhicitta as a woman. For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman.'”
~Dalai Lama, 1989

Today is Tara Day!!

Tara is the female Buddha of love and compassion. She represents Perfected Wisdom.

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE

This is the mantra for Tara. It appeals to longevity, merit, and wisdom.

Listen here:

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE – mobile

OM TARE TUTTARE TURE – desktop

It may be easier to understand at first if you read the mantra while listening.

Om
ah- essence of awakened body
o- essence of awakened speech
m- essence of awakened mind
Tare –
quickly with boldness
Tuttare –
clearing away all fear, distress and suffering of all beings
Ture –
complete victory of truth over all negativity
Soha/svaha –
all accomplishments

Tara’s Vow

“There are many who wish to gain enlightenment
in a man’s form,
And there are few who wish to work
for the welfare of living beings
in a female form.
Therefore may I, in a female body,
work for the welfare of all beings,
until such time as all humanity has found its fullness.”

White Tara(1)

(White Tara – not my photo)

Tara is often mentioned as Green Tara or White Tara.
Green Tara represents youth and vitality. Green Tara is depicted as being youthful and girlish. White Tara is more womanly and mature and more “motherly” or maternal. White Tara is full – breasted and represents day while Green Tara represents night.

Green Tara is said to help people with immediate and worldly concerns such as wealth while White Tara responds to problems relating to emotional and physical health. She is associated with health and beauty. Her love is said to be so powerful, it can cure diseases.

Isn’t that beautiful?!

Also, check out these beautiful  legends.

“Origin of White Tara

According to legend, White Tara originated from the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.  When Avalokiteshvara witnessed all of the suffering in the world, he was so moved that he began to cry.  It is said that White Tara emerged from the tears flowing from his left eye.  Her essence is the compassion within Avalokiteshvara’s tears.”

“From the Tears of Avalokitesvara
Tara is a female form of Avalokitesvara, the bhodhisattva of compassion.  There are many legends of how Tara came into existence. One legend, similar to the legend of Kuan Yin says that as Avalokitesvara wept for those sentient beings trapped in the lower realms Tara was born from a lotus flower that grew from his tears.  Another version of this story tells of how the Green and White forms of Tara were born from 2 tears of Avalokitesvara.  Yet another version of the legend says that Tara was created from a blue beam of light emanating from Avalokitesvara’s eye.”

How inspiring these myths are! We can look to this beauty, Tara, in both her White & Green forms, for inspiration. We can channel our inner Tara to be more compassionate to others and be more loving in everything that we do.
When we chant her mantra, we can summon all the love and goodwill and strength we have within, bringing it to the surface of our mind to be more conscious of it.

Here is me channeling my inner White & Green Tara!

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Celebrating our femininity. ❤

There are 21 praises of Tara. Here are some of my favorite ones.

1
Homage to Tara swift and fearless
With eyes like a flash of lightning
Lotus-born in an ocean of tears
Of Chenresig, three worlds’ protector.

2
Homage to you whose face is like
One hundred autumn moons gathered
And blazes with the dazzling light
Of a thousand constellations.

3
Homage to you born from a gold-blue lotus
Hands adorned with lotus flowers
Essence of giving, effort and ethics,
Patience, concentration and wisdom.

9
Homage to you beautifully adorned
By the Three Jewels’ gesture at your heart.
Your wheel shines in all directions
With a whirling mass of light.

10
Homage to you, radiant and joyful
Whose crown emits a garland of light.
You, by the laughter of TUTTARA
Conquer demons and lords of the world.

12
Homage to you with crescent moon crown
All your adornments dazzling bright.
From your hair-knot, Amitabha
Shines eternal with great beams of light.

15
Homage to the blissful, virtuous, peaceful one
Object of practice, nirvana’s peace
Perfectly endowed with SOHA and OM
Overcoming all the great evils.

16
Homage to you with joyous retinue
You subdue fully all enemies’ forms
The ten-letter mantra adorns your heart
And your knowledge-HUM brings liberation.

18
Homage to you who holds in your hand
A moon like a celestial lake
Saying TARA twice and the letter PEY
You dispel all poisons without exception.

19
Homage to you on whom the kings of gods,
The gods themselves and all spirits rely.
Your armor radiates joy to all
You soothe conflicts and nightmares as well.

21
Homage to you, adorned with three natures
Perfectly endowed with peaceful strength
You destroy demons, zombies and yakshas
O TURE, most exalted and sublime!

They are all beautiful but here are just some.

You can find all 21 and other information about our Tara here!

http://cubuddhism.pbworks.com/w/page/24906657/TARA

I hope to one day receive a Tara Empowerment at the Buddhist center. I received the one for Avalokitesvara, the masculine version of Tara.

So, in honor of Tara and Tara Day, which is the 8th day of each month, here’s this post! Sometimes I attend the chanting ceremonies at the center. They are beautiful and inspiring. We chant together to Tara to generate positive energy and receive her love & wisdom into our own minds. Even if you aren’t a Buddhist, it’s an inspiring way to open your mind to greater love for all and just as a state of being. It’s a great ritual to develop inner strength and deepen our wisdom. Tara symbolizes great love & beauty and equality which is good for anyone. Tara is to remind us that a woman can do many things as well as a man can and we can do this while cherishing our feminine nature.

“For all my lifetimes along the path I vow to be born as a woman, and in my final lifetime when I attain Buddhahood, then, too, I will be a woman.”

Happy Tara Day!! 😀

Much love to you,

Xoxo Kim ❤

Kindness <3

Dec6

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(I made this! Isn’t it pretty?! Lol It’s a picture of a container of vanilla frosting with confetti pieces in it! Perfect for the quote, don’t you think? I wasn’t baking a cake! I ate this whole thing right out of the container! In one night! I do that lots of days! My favorite is buttercream! And I put bokeh effects on it.)

Any act of kindness is never really small, no matter how simple. In the moments the person is receiving that kindness, and even years later in memory, it can really uplift, help heal, and inspire someone. And even if someone is not thankful for our kindness, it’s ok! We are still putting loving energy out into the world and planting seeds of love, strengthening our own kind way of life. And it’s not about being appreciated, it’s about truly wanting to help.  

Recently I was struggling to carry stuff at work. Things were almost falling. My arms were so full. My boss’ mom helped me. She’s a sweet little lady around 80 years old and is the cutest thing! Her name is Dolores and she wears little pink pj’s in the summer and reminds me of a baby doll! Lol She still drives and walks and gets around so well! She wears makeup sometimes and gets dressed up. And she still has good vision! Probably better than mine!  
Her car looks very old fashioned like something out of a movie! 

You definitely don’t want to get on her bad side because as little and sweet as she is, she will have no problem telling you off! And that’s scary! Lol

I would know. I have been a victim of her wrath on more than one occasion!

I remember one day years ago, shortly after I met her, she thought I lost grocery store coupons (I don’t know if it was really me who lost them!) and she was yelling there’s going to be hell to pay! Lmao I remember telling my coworker later and we both burst out laughing about this little old lady fuming over store coupons. I still laugh hysterically when I remember that!  

;-D

Anyway, she helped me and I am so incredibly thankful! I couldn’t have gotten out the door with all that stuff without her helping me along with another sweet lady, Margie, I know at work! 

I like to remember and honor all acts of kindness I receive (which is too many to always remember!) even if just in my own head. It’s great to forget what good we do for others but always remember what others do for us! 

“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.”

Each act of kindness is timeless, even years later it can still have an effect on those who witness and receive. It’s not just about the practical help but just the fact that someone cares to help is sweet. So let’s scatter some kindness around everyplace we go! 

I would like to encourage everyone to savor each kind thing someone does for us and always remember it if it feels the world has grown cold. Each simple act of kindness can warm up any cold moments. There’s so much more goodness & love than negativity within and around us, we just have to look and summon it when it feels like there’s more bad than good. 

Let’s focus more on the love! 

❤ 😀

Much love to you!  

Xoxo Kim 

Uniformly Considerate

Dec4

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“The habit of being uniformly considerate toward others will bring increased happiness to you.” ~ Grenville Kleiser

😀

I agree with this. I think it’s important to be mindful of others and how our words/actions may affect them, not just for what we get out of it but because it can help them be happier and put more love out into the world. ❤

It's a great reminder that I think most of us can use sometimes. It can be tempting to be thoughtless or rude on occasion, especially when other people are unpleasant first.

I found this quote in the book on my Kindle app, "Happiness 365." It's a whole book full of happy quotes!

Also, I love it because the authors dedicate their book to us & our happiness.

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I love when an author dedicates a book to people in general or certain people they don’t even know! ❤

Much love & happiness to you!

😀 ❤

xoxo Kim

Pro-act

Dec2

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“You cannot prevent the birds of sadness from passing over your head, but you can prevent their making a nest in your hair.” ~ Chinese Proverb

I love this! We cannot always control what happens to us but we can choose how to react. Sadness and negativity will probably occur for most of us but we don’t have to let it conquer us.

What a great reminder! 😀

hugs & love,

xoxo Kim ❤

A Message

Dec1

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“Her name is Noelle
I have a dream about her
She rings my bell
I got gym class in half an hour
Oh, how she rocks
In Keds and tube socks
But she doesn’t know who I am
And she doesn’t give a damn about me
‘Cause I’m just a teenage dirtbag baby
Yeah, I’m just a teenage dirtbag baby
Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me”

This is a song I first heard by Wheatus many years ago one Summer night when I was a kid. It’s a really funny song. I only ever heard it on a few occasions and liked it but did not really pay attention to the lyrics. When I was listening to songs on YouTube recently, it suggested this one and I remembered it all those years ago. 

At first it doesn’t seem like a positive song. Teenage dirtbag? Lol 

But if you pay close attention to the lyrics, it’s actually inspiring and uplifting. It’s also hilarious! ;-D

The kid singing is in love with a girl he believes doesn’t know he exists and probably wouldn’t care about him if she did. 

“She doesn’t give a damn about me.” 

She already has a boyfriend and the boy singing thinks he doesn’t stand a chance with a girl like her. He refers to himself as a “dirtbag” and thinks the girl is way out of his league. 

But then something amazing happens! 

Check it out:

“Man, I feel like mold
It’s prom night and I am lonely
Lo and behold
She’s walking over to me
This must be fake
My lip starts to shake
How does she know who I am?
And why does she give a damn about me
‘I’ve got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby
Come with me Friday, don’t say ‘maybe’
I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you'”

It turns out, the girl does know he exists and is interested in him. She doesn’t see herself as much different than him. He is her equal. 

“Come with me Friday, don’t say ‘maybe’
I’m just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you”

I love the message here! Someone who we think doesn’t care for us at all, can care very much! And someone we feel is way better than us for whatever reason, may not feel that way at all. We are all equal in worth even though we all have different skills and flaws and experiences.

It reminds me of two quotes:

“Someone somewhere is looking for exactly what you have to offer.”

& 

“Don’t frown, you never know who is falling in love with your smile.” 

😀

Also, I think this is a good reminder to pay attention to song lyrics, even ones that seem disturbing or negative or nonsensical at first glance. There may be deep wisdom where we least expect it!

If nothing else, this song may give you a good laugh!

Teenage Dirtbag – mobile

Teenage Dirtbag – desktop

;-D

Hugs & love ❤

Xoxo Kim 

Beyond the Darkness

Nov29

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“Beyond the darkness, the Light laughs.”

Isn’t this a beautiful quote?!

I love it because it’s full of hope and also playful. 

My picture above is one I took recently in Center City, Philadelphia. It’s perfect for this post because it’s so dark but with a few lights in the buildings off in the distance. Even small specks of light are strong.

Here is that hilarious and very popular video, “Charlie Bit My Finger!” It’s so cute and funny! My professor in college showed us it years ago. He is of the same country these little kids are but he moved here and teaches psychology classes. I love their accent! I remember laughing hysterically at this video and couldn’t stop even when everyone else stopped laughing! And it’s still just as funny today! Laughter can brighten any day and lighten a heavy heart. I hope this uplifts you if you’re in need or just gives you a good laugh and maybe you find the quote inspiring like I do!

Charlie Bit My Finger – mobile

Charlie Bit My Finger – desktop

Hugs & love today & always,

❤ 😀

xoxo Kim 

Honesty vs. Being an asshole {let your heart lead the way}

Nov28

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“If you find yourself saying ‘But I’m just being honest,’ chances are you’ve just been unkind. Honesty doesn’t heal. Empathy does.” ~ Dan Waldschmidt

Honesty is one thing. Being an asshole is quite another. Lol ;-D

So many people brag about “telling it like it is” or how they are “brutally honest” or love when people are “honest to a fault.” Like that’s a good thing. But I don’t see how it necessarily is.
Maybe it’s cute when a three year old blabs everything that’s on her mind but for adults…not so much. Honesty is a good quality and a good thing in general or in theory but it’s not always necessary. Too many people, in my opinion, have jumped on this bandwagon or trend of “I tell it like it is” or “speak my mind without hesitation” and “if I don’t like you, you’ll know it” and act like it’s a good or cool thing when it’s really often just an excuse to be insulting or say uncalled for things at the expense of others. That’s a turn off to me. What is so cool about it? What is good about it? How is that a good quality to possess to make it a point to always make it known you don’t like someone or something about someone? It’s ok not to like someone. And not to like things about people. But we don’t have to be vicious about it. As adults we can not like people and not like things but suck it up and be civil when we have to encounter them. It’s not being fake; it’s being mature and being kind.  So, yes honesty in itself is surely a good thing. But it’s not always necessary to express something merely for the sake of honesty. I’m not saying never, but just not always. And in many cases, I don’t believe it’s really about honesty but about being rude just because someone feels like being rude but not owning up to it and pushing it off on being “real” or honest. 

For example, commenting on someone’s picture of her new haircut or new dress or glasses with something rude like “meh” or “this isn’t one of your best outfits or pictures…” or “wow you put on some weight!” or “what happened you used to be so hot, you really  let yourself go!(yup, I actually saw a man write this on his girlfriend’s old pictures of herself a while ago!)” in the name of honesty. Is it really necessary for your honesty in this case? This is just a random example, not meant for any specific incident or person now. But I have seen these comments and heard similar things in person to/about various people.
It’s uncalled for in my opinion. 

I love the brilliant quote above. Empathy helps heal. If we don’t like someone’s new haircut or someone’s new clothes or whatever someone does, we can still be happy for that person for getting something s/he likes or being happy. If someone puts on weight, so what, and don’t you think saying that to a woman is very rude and can be damaging? If we don’t like how someone acts, we can tap into our empathy and try to better understand.  

I think when people are “brutally honest” in a rude way, it’s probably often because they aren’t happy either with themselves or current circumstances or just in a bad mood that day and want to try to drag others down or get out their unpleasant emotions being rude to others. So instead of calling them an asshole (like I just did lol), we can try to also show compassion and tap into our empathy for them. I don’t always do this. Sometimes when someone is unkind, I react with more unkindness(either to the person directly or complaining about the person to someone else), which is tempting sometimes but not helpful. I’m much better with reacting to negativity and unkindness with patience and love either being kind in the face of it or just holding my tongue (which can also be an act of love) so as not to further fuel the negativity, pain, or anger of someone. But I’m still not perfect at it. 

So this is a good reminder to me as well!

Let’s chuck that brutal honesty out the window once in a while, kick it to the curb and give empathy a try instead! 

Here is a beautiful and heartwrenching song and video about holding off on the unpleasant words and letting love lead the way!

What Do You Say – Reba McEntire – mobile

What Do You Say – desktop

“So what do you say in a moment like this
When you can’t find the words to tell it like it is
Just bite your tongue and let your heart lead the way…”

😀

Hugs & love, 

❤

Xoxo Kim ❤

Inspiring quotes & pictures! {beauty} <3

Nov27

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Here are some lovely quotes and my pictures!

“If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb. (Don’t Hesitate)” ~
Mary Oliver

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This is an old picture of me kissing my puppy last year shortly after he was born! His mommy ran out of milk and we had to feed him and his sister with a dropper. His name is Woody and he’s a big boy now!

“Beauty doesn’t have to be about anything. What’s a vase about? What’s a sunset or a flower about? What, for that matter, is Mozart’s Twenty-third Piano Concerto about?” ~Douglas Adams

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“Kindness and awareness work together. Through awareness we understand the underlying beauty of everything and every being.” ~Amit Ray

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This is me! as a kaliedoscope! lol

“Compassion is all inclusive. Compassion knows no boundaries. Compassion comes with awareness, and awareness breaks all narrow territories.” ~Amit Ray

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“The beauty of that June day was almost staggering. After the wet spring, everything that could turn green had outdone itself in greenness and everything that could even dream of blooming or blossoming was in bloom and blossom. The sunlight was a benediction. The breezes were so caressingly soft and intimate on the skin as to be embarrassing.” ~Dan Simmons

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This is me with no makeup or photo effect/filter. I just made the picture lighter because it was a bit dark. I love makeup but don’t always wear it even when I go out. I usually wear makeup in my pictures and usually put photo effects on them. I love photography and editing pics and hope to learn more!  These are my Winter pj’s but I don’t think they match! Lol oh well! 

“Beauty is an inner light that shines on the outside.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita

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My mom put the Christmas tree up a couple weeks ago! We just need candy canes now! I love how the lights turned out in this picture! The way the colors go out like that. I don’t know what that’s called. It’s the only pic that turned out like that!  My mom loves decorating and is very proud of the tree. The animals wrecked the last trees we had! Lol And there’s Lacey sleeping next to it, she loves the tree! ❤

“Niagara Falls is the hanging tongue on the face of the earth, drooling endlessly over its own beauty.”~ Vinita Kinra

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These are my pretty babies. Aren’t they so cute?! They love their cucumbers! A lot of people don’t know this but they can feel when their shells are touched and love to be petted and brushed with a toothbrush. They cannot switch shells and cannot live outside them. They cannot live if their shells break too much and if they have minor breaks, they can be super glued. 
The shells get bigger as the baby snails grow up. They are cold blooded and have to be kept warm and moist. Some snails can live to be older than fifteen years old! 😀 ❤

“Explore the wonders of different shades of colours. It is purely lovely.” ~Lailah Gifty Akita

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I read this on Google:

“Most snails have thousands of microscopic tooth-like structures located on a ribbon-like tongue called a radula. The radula works like a file, ripping food into small pieces.”

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I can feel their little teeth sometimes when I hold them. It’s not painful but tingly. Those things love to eat! Lol

My mom is afraid of them. lol

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“Ah yes, the beauty of nature…once we understand life’s delicateness, then we will surely protect and cherish all of its forms.Ah yes, the beauty of nature…once we understand life’s delicateness, then we will surely protect and cherish all of its forms.” ~ Shannon Leigh Warren

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“Looking at beauty in the world, is the first step of purifying the mind.” ~Amit Ray

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I don’t have dirty fingernails. lol I had on ugly nailpolish and took it off quickly before work and not all of it came off.

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“If you realized how beautiful you are, you would fall at your own feet.” ~Byron Katie

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Beauty’s Only Skin Deep – Temptations- mobile

Beauty’s Only Skin Deep – desktop

This is an Oldie song sung by the Temptations about how inner beauty is more important than physical beauty which I completely agree with. But i think he has nerve because he tells his girl she is beautiful on the inside but does not have a pretty face! Whaatt?! What girl wants her love to tell her that?! And he got the gall to tell her his friends ask him what he sees in her! i’m offended! lol And he says a pleasing personality is rare. I disagree. Lots of people have a lovely personality!

❤ 😀

Much0 love to you!!

xoxo Kim ❤