Everything is based on mind ...

Today reminded me of days in late July/early August before the cooling mornings lead the way toward fall. It was hot, muggy, dare I use the word oppressive? In the evening we drove to Little Sand Bay to experience some of Lake Superior's refrigerated air. What a relief!

Something is still not right with my body. I want someone to tell me what it is and what I can do to fix it and ... that's not going to happen. In the meantime, I sleep a lot, have high blood sugars, cough and feel pressure in my chest.

During my TCC practice this evening my heart rate was up again. I used whatever available strength I had to simply make it through the movements. Yet it was good to engage myself in my practice because it's so easy to get caught in the clutches of an overactive mind and then one knows they are lost.

I'm reminded of a quote by the Buddha from The Little Zen Companion (p. 346):

Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a polluted mind, suffering will follow you, as the wheels of the oxcart follow the footsteps of the ox. Everything is based on mind, is led by mind, is fashioned by mind. If you speak and act with a pure mind, happiness will follow you, as a shadow clings to a form.