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Contemplation Life Reading

LISTEN LEARN SHARE by James R Martin

Listening mindfully is a different type of listening than what we may hear with our ears. In fact our human sense of hearing is subjective and filters out much of what might be heard if we pay attention to the sounds around us.

Mindfulness involves, being aware of what is happening now, in the moment in four areas. First we are aware of our body, movements, sensations and posture. We listen to our breathing and to our hearts. The next aspect of mindfulness is to listen to and be aware of what we feel is pleasant and unpleasant. Being aware of feelings is important because it shows what we may be clinging to, judging or condemning. The third thing we listen to is our consciousness. We are aware of all of our mental states like anger or fear and their impermanent nature. The fourth aspect of mindfulness is awareness of the cosmic order and/or the Dharma, life and the true nature of our existence.

To listen mindfully is to be aware of our environment, our bodies and minds in the present moment. Being mindful in any of these areas brings clarity and balance to the mind. Being mindful is listening and being aware in the present moment.

 

Available on Amazon

 

 

 

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Contemplation Meditation News People Reading Relationships

LISTENING IS THE KEY TO LEARNING

 

 

Reviewers have written about Listen Learn Share

“What the book ‘The Secret’ is to intention, ‘Listen, Learn, Share’ is to positive thought process and awareness.”

“Liked James R. Martin new book “Listen, Learn, and Share”. An impressive collaboration of eastern and western thinking, there is much to learn from it about the world as a whole.”

The stated purpose of this book is to share some simple truths to help people along their life paths. The book delivers on this purpose in a clear, gentle, and compelling way, providing many helpful insights into how to think about and consider our thoughts and feelings...”

 

It’s very easy to lose or shut down your learning ability. You can’t grow or make changes to your life if you’re not listening. Without listening and learning you keep creating similar outcomes, which are not always what you desire.

It’s like the sound of a recording, a word or note, stuck on the same glitch in the track, repeating itself endlessly, unable to get passed the glitch.

You can’t reset the recording if you don’t hear the glitch. You can’t move ahead if your tires are spinning.

You need to stop looking in the rear-view mirror, while you try to drive forward.

Listen, Learn, Share is a book that will help you get unstuck. It explores this phenomenon, exposing the causes of not moving forward, as it reveals how to move your mind into the present.

 

LISTEN LEARN SHARE IS AVAILABLE ON AMAZON AND APPLE iBOOK

Listen Learn Share: How & Why Listening, Learning and Sharing can Transform Your Life Experience In Practical Ways

 

 

ALSO BY James R Martin Available on Amazon

Actuality Interviewing and Listening: How to conduct successful interviews for nonfiction storytelling, actuality documentaries and other disciplines … (Documentary and Nonfiction Storytelling)

 

Categories
Contemplation News Reading

LISTEN LEARN SHARE

Have you ever asked yourself questions like: “Why does this always happen to me?” I’m successful but why am I not happy? Why is life so stressful? Why do certain things make me so angry? What causes rage? This book will help you to answer these questions and others, as it takes you on a step-by-step journey exploring ideas about how the human mind works and how listening, learning and sharing can resolve these issues.

Listen Learn Share is a story inspired by a question. “If you had to choose just one of the things you do, would you choose teaching, making films and documentaries, or writing?” My answer to the question surprised me. I realized they were all the same experience so there was no need to choose. My life was listening, learning and sharing. It did not matter what form it took, it was all the same practice. How did this happen? Was listening the key to learning? What role did sharing play? I found that listening is a state of mind rather than a tool by itself. I discovered that listening is more than what is heard via sound waves entering the ears.

“It seems that there should be one word that exemplifies the concept of listening, learning and sharing. This word should describe a state of mind with a sense that embodies the combined spirit of all three words. I believe the word is “mindfulness.”

“Twenty-six centuries after Buddha taught his philosophy science has begun to recognize that much of what he taught supports their research. Psychologists are now confirming the concept of “No Self” and the fact that “I” and “Me” are just constructs of the mind.”

This story draws from the authors forty-six years of teaching, making documentaries, fiction work, and writing. The book explains how the practice of listening, learning and sharing works and how it is tied in with meditation and mindfulness.

Print version of Listen Learn Share available January 17th.   

 

 

 

Listen Learn Share: How & Why Listening, Learning and Sharing can Transform Your Life Experience In Practical Ways

 

Actuality Interviewing and Listening: How to conduct successful interviews for nonfiction storytelling, actuality documentaries and other disciplines by … and Nonfiction Storytelling Book 1)

 

Categories
Contemplation Life Observations

The Stranger In The Room

The Path

After some dinner nearby, my son and I headed into the Dr. Phillips, Disney Theater in Orlando to see a live performance with Steve Martin and Martin Short. There in the busy lobby I felt consciously present, in the moment aware of the environment, absorbed by the people and ambiance of this place and time. Anticipating the two-hour performance I headed into the restroom, which appeared to be a long room with facilities on either side. As I walked along looking for an open place, I noticed an older man walking toward me, almost like he knew me, he smiled, as he grew closer I noticed that he had a baseball cap on just like mine, and I started to say, “we have the same cap,” but as I reached up, pointing to my hat, my arm came into contact with the wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling mirror at the end of the room. I realized that the stranger coming toward me was my reflection in this mirror.

I’ve seen my photograph and reflections in the mirror a million times, but this was always from my subjective perspective. It seemed this time, for a moment, perhaps for the first time; I saw this body that I call me, as a stranger, in what could only be a mindful, “not self,” reflection.

One of the tenants of Buddhist philosophy is the “No Self” concept.   Whoever was there a moment ago is no longer you. The notion of “I” or “Me” or “I Am” does not exist. There is no “mini me” in the body’s mind, head or heart, making decisions. There may be memories of the past but those are thoughts stored in the archives of the mind’s modules that render a subjective point-of-view to what is experienced. The feeling of joy or pain is also not you; it’s an impermanent, passing thought or state.

Insight Meditation and the resulting Mindfulness facilitate mind and body living in the present moment, bare attention, non judgmental awareness of what is being experienced now, not thinking about past or future events and conversations.

Written by James R (Jim) Martin

Categories
Contemplation Life Observations Reading

Selected Readings on Mindfulness and Meditation

Selected Readings on Mindfulness and Meditation by Jim Martin

These are a few, of the many excellent titles available that we have found informative and well written on the topic of Buddhism,  Mindfulness and related subjects. This includes both nonfiction and fiction titles.

If you have a favorite book on these subjects  that you would like to recommend please leave the name of the book, details and any thoughts about the title as a comment and it will become part of the list.   If you have read any of the books on the list and wish to comment that is also appreciated.

 

Nonfiction

The Foundations of Buddhism – Rupert Gethin – © 1998 

ISBN 978-0-19-2892223-2 – Oxford University Press

The Foundations of Buddhism (Opus S)  

“Rupert Gethin is Lecturer in Indian Religions in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, and co-director of the Centre for Buddhist Studies, at the University of Bristol. He  is the author of The Buddhist Path to Awakening (1992) and is a specialist in Theravada Buddhism.”

“Buddhism is a vast and complex religious and philosophical tradition with a history that stretches back over 2,500 years. In this book, Rupert Gethin investigates the common threads connecting diverse traditions of Buddhist thought and practice: the story of the Buddha, the scriptural tradition of his teachings, the four noble truths, monastic and lay ways of life, karma and rebirth, ethics, meditation and philosophy. While concentrating on the formative phase of Buddhism in India, he also considers the ways in which these foundations have shaped the development of Buddhism beyond India and into the twentieth century.”

 

Mindfulness In Plain English – Bhante Gunaratana – © 2011

ISBN 978-0-86171-906-8 – Wisdom Publications

Mindfulness in Plain English: 20th Anniversary Edition

Bhante Gunaratana is also author of Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English and the memoir Journey to Mindfulness

“ A Masterpiece.” Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindfulness In Plain English is said to be “one of the most influential books in the burgeoning field of mindfulness and a timeless classic introduction to meditation.”

Excerpts from Mindfulness In Plain English:

“Within the Judeo-Christian tradition we find two overlapping practices called prayer and contemplation. Prayer is a direct address to a spiritual entity. Contemplation is a prolonged period of conscious thought about a specific topic, usually a religious ideal or scriptural passage. From the standpoint of mental cultivation, both these activities are exercises in concentration.”

“Out of the Hindu tradition comes yogic meditation, which is also purely concentrative.”

“Within the Buddhist tradition concentration is also highly valued. But a new element is added and more highly stressed: the element of awareness. All Buddhist meditation aims at the development of awareness, using concentration as a tool toward that end.”

 

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation – The Buddha’s way of Mindfulness – Nyanaponika Thera

  © 1954, 1962, 1996 – Buddhist Publication Society – This edition published in 2014 by Weiser Books – ISBN 978-1-57863-558-0

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation: The Buddha’s Way of Mindfulness

Excerpt from Foreword, by Sylvia Boorstein, to The Heart of Buddhist Meditation:

The Heart of Buddhist Meditation was the first serious, didactic Dharma book I read. It was the early nineteen-eighties. My teacher, Jack Kornfield, suggested it as the beginning of formal training to become a Mindfulness teacher. “

“Apart from the meticulous yet accessible writing style with which the Venerable Nyanaponika builds every point, I feel a warmth and friendliness in his tone that makes me feel as if he is talking to me.”

Jon Kabat-Zinn writes: “This is the book that introduced Vipassana and Mindfulness to the West. Its content is timeless — and universal. All teachers of mindfulness-based programs would do well to carefully red and re-read this book…”

 

Full Catastrophe Living – JonKabat-Zinn – Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness 

Revised and updated Edition © 1990, 2013 by Jon Kabat-Zinn – Published in the United States by Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-345-53693-8

Full Catastrophe Living (Revised Edition): Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness

“Stress. It can sap our energy, undermine our health, even shorten our lives. It makes us more venerable to anxiety and depression, disconnection and disease. Based on Jon Kapbat-Zinn’s renowed mindfulness-based stress reduction program this classic, groundbreaking work—which gave rise to a whole new field in medicine and psychology-shows you how to use medically proven mind-body approaches derived from meditation and yoga to counteract stress, establish greater balance of body and mind, and stimulate well-being and healing.”

 

Where Ever You Go There You Are – Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life10th Anniversary Edition

© 1994, 2005 Jon Kabat-Zinn Published by Hackette Books ISBN 0-7668-8070-8

This is a well-written, thoughtful guide and reminder what meditation and mindfulness is all about.  In many ways it is the soul of Full Catastrophe Living. If you are practicing meditation and living mindfully, this book will remind you why. After you read it once, you can just pick it up, open to any page and find something inspiring.

 

Living As If Your Life Depended On It! Twelve Gateways To A Life That Works

© 2000 Cia Rico – ISBN 0-9678-849-1-8 Published by Life Care, Inc

Self help in keeping with Buddhist tradition, meditation and modern psychology. Spiritual and psychological growth.

 

 

Fiction

TheDharmBums coverThe Dharma Bums – Jack Kerouac © 1958 — Published by Penguin Books

(See full review here: https://www.almostseventy-one.com/2016/03/28/jack-kerouacs-the-dharma-bums-book-review-by-jim-martin/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Island – A Novel – Aldous Huxley © 1962 – Published by Harper Perennial Modern Classics ISBN 978-0-060156179-5 (pbk)

Island

In this amazingly prophetic novel written in 1962, Aldous Huxley creates the fictional island of Pala in the Pacific, somewhere in Southeast Asia, not far from a neighboring country with a powerful corrupt dictator who has a plan to take over Pala, which has been basically left on its own for 120 years because it didn’t have anything desirable until now, after oil is discovered. A billionaire, oil magnate, who also owns newspapers, has enlisted a reporter, William Farnaby to see if he can get a line on how to get the island government to work with his oil company.

But the leaders of Pala have their own agenda, one that has been nurtured for many generations, over  a hundred years, a utopian society built on science, mainly Buddhist philosophy and Hindu traditions. Science, medicine and psychology are being used in ways that are still not put into practice in major countries in the world today. For example education that teaches children skills to stay healthy mentally and physically. Sex education and practices that help keep population growth under control and preventive medicine, rather than treating illnesses with drugs after they occur. Early psychological testing to help children develop their talents and gifts without succumbing to  antisocial behaviors. Meditation and a form of mindfulness practiced by most of the population.

Will Farnaby, the reporter, gets himself ship wrecked on the island and is taken in by key citizens of Pala. They agree to let him stay for a month while they show him their island utopia, discuss their culture and plans for the future. The novel facilitates the exploring of Pala’s history and goals for the future against the backdrop of a world still recovering from Hitler, fascism, political turmoil, television, consumerism, health issues, poverty and racism.

Buddhist philosophy, begun over 2500 years ago, foreshadows many of today’s scientific principles like evolutionary psychology, modern psychology and how the mind works. Huxley writes, in 1962, about concepts that are just beginning to be discussed today.

jrm

Categories
Contemplation Life News Photography Uncategorized

Pullman Case Contemplation and Time Travel by Jim Martin

Smelling like old paper, film negatives and musty storage, a cloud of old memories slowly filled the air as I opened the venerable Pullman suitcase. Old family photographs, and other pictures I took, some a half a century ago, waited with negatives stored in protective sleeves. There were people, places and faces, including my own, stuck in time. The difficult part was being there in that moment again, retaking the picture or being in the photograph in that place and that time.8J4A0419Acamp

Is it possible to smell the heather and feel the morning breeze gently drifting off the English hills in the Lake District, all those years ago? The actual event can’t be relived, but the mind makes magic sometimes. The photograph acts as a visual reminder, conjuring up bits of experience from the archives in the mind, like an artist creating a painting. Wellington boots seen through a tent flap, “two bob” said the woman wearing the boots and  collecting the camping fees. This and other memories stored in the same picture.

A black and white picture, taken on a sunny day, of a friend and I standing next to a sports car I owned. The friend and the car are remembered. The city street we’re standing on looks familiar. What was the name of that street? Why were we there in suits and ties? Does the mind have a librarian checking the stacks for this event? It may take a while, but sometimes, a day or two later, the librarian pops up with the information. Events, places, and people in memory are abstract, subjective thoughts lost in context, perspective and time.8J4A03812ndmg

The object and the people in a photograph may bring back memories for some time after the picture was taken. How long the memory replays depends on how significant the event and how much attention it was given. Human imagination only needs a few clues to create what feels like a mountain breeze, the smell of a rose or a loved one’s touch. But everything the mind and body experiences in a lifetime is not remembered. In addition what is remembered is a subjective interpretation of the person or event, and so is the photograph.

No dates and places written on the backs of most photos. Still every picture has an inherent date and place in the past, my past and other people’s pasts even if it can’t be fully visited; reflections of a time and place that only exists there on the paper. The face on the paper is not my face anymore. The beautiful woman in the picture no longer looks or is the same. These things only existed for that photographic moment.8J4A0378TOM&...

I used to think that “I” was the sum of my experiences and memories. But this cannot be. The past is like those old photographs, moments frozen in time that do not exist beyond the shutter’s opening and closing. Here in the present, there is no past, no current me that remains from those pictures; every second this mind and body are changing. The body and mind in the picture no longer exist. Each memory is only a silent sketch, faded a bit more each day. The mind is like that old Pullman suitcase, stuffed full of folders with pictures, some in better shape than others, but all moments frozen in time. However, the mind, like the case may be opened occasionally for time travel to see the past, to imagine and perhaps explore those fleeting moments.

8J4A0389Wen

Written by James R (Jim) Martin, Author, Documentary Filmmaker, Photographer and student of  Mindfulness.

Create Documentary Films, Videos and Multimedia: A Comprehensive Guide to Using Documentary Storytelling Techniques for Film, Video, the Internet and Digital Media Projects.