Power of Mind (Link #744)

Speaker: Maki Okabayashi. Maki-san offers her reflections on how the power of our mind can move us in a positive direction. We engage the outer world with our body, speech and mind, but the mind is the driving force behind it all. In order to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in our lives, we must learn how our mind holds power over us through habitual patterns. If we try, our mind also has the power to transform itself because all habits are created by the mind itself. Maki acknowledges the difficulty of changing habits formed over a lifetime, but reminds us that habits are temporary, formed by causes and conditions and therefore are not absolute. Dharma offers us the skillful means and for Maki, tsewa is key. Tsewa or "a radical open heart" allows us to access a peaceful mind by generating warmth and tenderness within ourselves. We all have a desire to be understood by others. At the same time, do we make an effort to understand others? Starting the flow of giving and receiving tsewa creates a cycle of kindness where we nuture ourselves by nurturing others. It can start with a smile. As our hearts open with tsewa our reach can be limitless because it is generated from within. With this, our joy can also become limitless.