Day 280, Morning
Today’s morning meditation is available below in audio and script formats. The audio version is also available for free download on the player.
Reading
As an archer aims the arrow, the wise aim their restless thoughts, hard to aim, hard to restrain.
—The Dhammapada
Quiet
As your day begins, spend a few moments in silence and stillness.
Commentary
Thoughts are things, even though we cannot hold them in our hands or see them with our eyes.
This is very different from our usual view. Usually we consider thoughts as immaterial, so we are not aware of how a fleeting thought can affect us.
If I throw a beach ball at you, it won’t hurt much; in five minutes you will have forgotten about it. But if I say something harsh to you, you will not be able to forget that thought; you will take it home in your mind, have nightmares about it, and wake up oppressed the next morning.
We all know from personal experience how a harsh comment from a parent or a friend can rankle in our consciousness for years. This is the immense power of thoughts.
(WLB)
Podcast Feeds
Abbreviations
(BC) The Belgic Confession
(CAC) The Center For Action & Contemplation
(CD) The Canons of Dort
(CIB) Church In Bethesda Prayers
(DZ) Donna Z.
(HC) The Heidelberg Catechism
(IO) Inward Outward
(MAO) Michael A. O’Sullivan
(NT) The New Testament
(OT) The Old Testament
(RP) Ryan Phipps
(TAO) The Tao Te Ching
(WC) The Westminster Confession
(WLB) Words To Live By
(WLC) The Westminster Larger Catechism
(WSC) The Westminster Shorter Catechism