11. Peace and kindness
Peace and kindness are the attributes of a kind, wise and meek person. He always welcomes anybody, he is always generous, he always welcomes you in his house, every time he has a chance. This is the type of kindness we are looking to attain through humbleness and wisdom. The virtue of kindness can favor the development of true unconditional love, that can be attained rather difficult, during one’s lifetime, especially in our current society, because most of the people today expect something back when they are giving something. By understanding peace and kindness through practice, through sharing them with others freely, we soon find out pure and unconditional love. This is the kind of love that we give out to anybody, every day, with no need for us to receive anything back. We soon start to share more of it and that is what is going to make us happier in the long run. Happiness can spring as well from giving unconditional love in any form that we can, as a reward for our selfless act. After all, our mission on Earth is to share the love, so we can transform the face of our planet for the better.
12. Enlightenment
Without suffering there would be no Enlightenment. Japanese do say that "the greater the doubt, the greater the Awakening". Enlightenment is the supreme state of being where one realizes his Buddha-nature and clears away all causes of suffering. If you can understand the root cause of your own suffering, once the after effects of suffering will subside and dissipate, you will discover your Buddha-nature which is a deep state of aliveness, joy and peacefulness. Other than that, Japanese Zen masters say with confidence that we are already enlightened, and when we meditate we do not look for Samadhi or Enlightenment, we are “Enlightened beings, just assuming Buddha’s posture in meditation”. We are already enlightened, we all have innate Buddha-nature, it’s just a matter of assuming the responsibility of being enlightened beings and then acting as such. The usual spiritual path to Enlightenment, means practicing for years and years one or even more Buddhist paths, involves lots of studying and tons of practice, going up through many levels of consciousness until you realize through wisdom your Buddha-nature or your awake state of being. This might be a longer and more complex path, but the result pays off every second of it.
13. Presence or mindfulness
Mindfulness is the conscious act where you focus your awareness in the present moment. Basically you are aware of the Here and Now, continuously, and you witness the present moment with direct experience. By being present or mindful, you gradually come to be aware also of your body, body sensations, perceptions or being aware through your senses, emotions, thoughts and even your consciousness. By being more present every day, you will find ways of maintaining presence or mindfulness in both physical activities and those activities that require a more mental approach, as writing or sitting at the computer.
Practicing meditation, prayer or other spiritual practice will make you understand that being present or mindful is not something important that we should have, practice or develop, but even much more than that, it is an inseparable thing that we must have while doing our regular daily tasks. You will begin to understand that you need to do your tasks in order to continuously support your mindfulness or presence, not the other way around. Keep in mind that awareness brings mindfulness and mindfulness brings more awareness.
Be present in any situation. Be mindful. Be aware, still and peaceful. Don't forget to love as much as you can and be compassionate and kind to everyone. Life is always simple and great, you just have to see it with mindfulness through your clear, loving and kind eyes.
14. Yin and yang
In the traditional Chinese medicine system, Yin and Yang stand for the feminine and masculine symbols. Everyone of us holds inside both the masculine and the feminine aspect, no matter what gender we are. The balancing of our own internal energetic system is very important. By maintaining an equal balance of masculine and feminine energies, we are in perfect balance, we are healthy and we can easily manifest what we desire. Manifestation comes with applying steady awareness to the process of giving and receiving. Also, the more you give, the more you get back. The giving side relates to our masculine aspect while the receiving side does relate to the feminine aspect. One has to know the importance of sharing and giving unconditionally but one has to be opened to receiving, as well. One has to be fiery but one has to be gentle also. One has to be like fire but one has to be like water too. One cannot be too high or too low, one has to find the middle way, the balance, in which both shoes will be worn out equally. Being a balanced person will ensure that all our needs are met and that we will get the most out of our lives.
15. Nowness
Drop the perception of events as being done one after another, thinking in a linear time fashion. Everything happens Now, in a continuous flow, in the present moment. Knowing this, the concept of time will dissolve at the mental level and there will be no difference between putting a glass of water on the table Here and Now and putting it on the same table the next day. You are always Here, and Now. Remember that when you wake up tomorrow, that it is still the same Now. Also keep in mind that in the present moment, nothing begins and nothing ends. Everything just is and manifests. The stillness and clear view that this insight gives you, allows you to live your life with presence or mindfulness and gives you no reason not to be joyful all the time. Presence or being Now manifests effortlessly when you surrender to what is, when you feel you really are a part of this world, when you love the world of form around you. If you can ride the wave of the present moment and be able not to attach to anything that comes up for at least 3 minutes, second after second, with other words not favoring some things and rejecting others, then you are starting to understand what the present moment feels like. This practice is very similar to practicing being humble, where you accept everything that comes your way with equanimity. So by not rejecting anything that is around you, by not rejecting the world of form, you will begin to feel more grounded and at peace with everything. A deep feeling of joyfulness and of belonging starts to manifest in your day. You also no longer depend on your past, or even your future, because you are Now, when everything is and manifests. Again, you do not depend anymore on past events and you do not imagine your future all the time, living in a dream-like state of mind. You are Now, you exist Now and try to make the best possible choices, as you ever did. Be present, the Now is one of the most precious gifts one may get in his lifetime.
16. Desire and manifestation
Drop right now the desire of having anything, except if it is something you need so you can continue on your path. The very desire to have those things that we regularly don’t really need, will create an attachment to those things. We feel that we cannot exist or live without them, in a short time. So, desire creates attachment to worldly things, and even more desire. By recognizing when desire arises and by recognizing the thought or emotion that pushes you in that direction, you can gradually take small steps towards not being attached anymore to that thing. Not needing anything anymore with your whole heart open, in your heart you will have the realization that you Now have actually everything. You can now feel your whole being opening up to the so many possibilities that you actually have, in the present moment. Being without desire makes way for being grateful for all the small things you already have. You start to rejoice in the small treasure that you have and this will make way for the virtue of humbleness to manifest, with ease.
Desire fuels the world of consumption indeed, and by dropping any desire of any kind, you will have the whole world at your feet, with no need to have any particular thing, in order to be happy. Once you've transcended desire, once you have risen above desire, once you understood and let go of the concept of desire, you will be free, liberated from the constant need to acquire things or to get the next thing that will grant you happiness. Now, since you don't want anything in particular, you can be happy just because someone else is happy. You share in others' accomplishments and you rejoice in that. You appreciate everything with a certain respect and reverence. You love everything. You don't need anymore any particular person or thing to make you happy. You rejoice in the whole world, as it is, and see that everything