Present Moment Wonderful Moment: Mindfulness Verses for Daily Living

I do about one poem a day, in the morning, and then start over again, giving about a two month cycle. These verses are valuable reminders to embrace this moment, reality, from an inclusive and fulfilling perspective. Ordinary practice, love it!

We live, whether we acknowledge life/action, or we simply 'go through the motions', we live.We may live fully, capturing the moment (as we might during a carcrash or orgasm) or we might wish to 'just get this over' (as we might during a trafficjam or while on our last hour at the office on Friday). Either way, we live.Stress (which smirks beneath many masks: anger, greed, lust, jealousy, obsession, selfishness, pride, hate) haunts, terrorizes, debilitates, consumes... if we allow stress to run wild. Living in the present moment and embracing the present moment as a wonderful, unique, meaningful moment strips stress of its power... it can even vanquish stress. Thich Nhat Hanh compiles (and shares with us) gathas utilized at Plum Village. These gathas can help us focus our thoughts/actions, to facilitate living each moment in appreciative fullness. These gathas are not tools of rote memorization, meant to be cure all's simply because they are memorized. These gathas are methods to focus, liberating us to meaningful action: "When we focus our minds on a gatha, we return to ourselves and become more aware of each action. When the gatha ends, we continue our activity with heightened awareness," (viii). This book helps me both through the Plum Village gathas, and through the inspiration to create my own pertinent gathas (gathas for: walking my dog, opening the mailbox, charting on residents, reading books, listening to music, playing basketball, shaving my face, etc.). Hanh even encourages creating gathas: "Composing new verses is a way of enriching the tradition," (ix).This book is inexpensive, purchase it and experience peace and freedom in each moment -- your own peace and freedom.

Thich Nhat Hanh is simply one of the easiest, most gentle authors on the practical application of eastern thought available today. Present Moment, Wonderful Moment is a delight to read. It is a collection of useful verses to keep us mindful throughout the day, recognizing how easy it is to lose sight of the present moment when the crash of life clamors about us constantly. Thich Nhat Hanh uses the technique of memorizing "gathas" for the purpose of focusing the mind on the thing you are doing now rather than on whatever other chatter is going on in the mind. Further, with each verse there is anywhere from a paragraph to a few pages of commentary that give the reader not only insight into the application of the verse, but also insight into the mind and soul of Thich Nhat Hanh. The result is inspirational, soothing, and useful. Of particular importance is the fact that the author, while a monk, is not in the least unaware of the realities of modern life, and included in his verses are ones for talking on the phone, turning on the television, and turning on an electric light. Those not familiar with mindfulness practice might wonder at the insignificance of those daily, mundane experiences, but Thich Nhat Hanh helps us to recognize that there is life "spent" in each of those (and countless other) little activities, and without recognizing that life mindfully, it is life wasted. This man has a simple message...live life fully, abundantly, happily and peacefully, with full awareness of that life as you experience it in the moment. This is a book you will refer to often as you practice mindfulness.

Ever sit down in a chair, grab a big bowl of popcorn and watch a movie? Ever notice too late that you're full, but you didn't realize it and now your stomach hurts? Such are the consequences of mindless eating. It's hard on the furniture, isn't it? You feel rotten for being a glutton. You feel sick from the popcorn. It sucks.Sure, we've all done it. What this wonderful book strives to teach us is that mindful activities are meaningful activities, that eating without thinking is harmful to the body *and* the spirit. Indeed, any activity can become a meditation - walking, bathing, washing dishes, cleaning the bathroom (!). And it all starts with breathing, and thinking about breathing. If you drive in traffic, get this book and road rage will be a thing of the past.The art in this book is fitting - simple sketches and paintings of simple things. That is fitting and fits the message - nothing is mundane if done thoughtfully.Please, don't be afraid of this book. This is not weird New Age stuff that promises happiness in twelve chapters. Waking up is non-sectarian. It is also very, very difficult. And you will wax and wane and have good days and rotten days, but overall, you'll be more mindful of what you do, when you do it, and its effect on the rest of the world.Present Moment, Wonderful Moment is a practical manual, a small but powerful guide to mindful living. It is one of my ten favorite books, and I have high standards.P.S. If you like this, you'd probably like Being Peace, another great book.

This book is about THE REST OF YOUR LIFE BEING THE BEST OF YOUR LIFE AND THE BEST OF YOUR LIFE BEING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE... Learn how to be in the moment and enjoy the here and now instead of letting your mind race through to the future or slow down to the palsy of the past. More than that, learn to value and cherish each moment of each day and to create awareness of every little thing that is part of your world. "Gathas are short verses which we can recite during our daily activities to help us dwell in mindfulness." Enjoy every "gatha" given in this book, as they help you open your eyes to the real truth and beauty of each little moment we live.