The Heart of the Matter
May 30, 2009
In Plain Sight

This 3D animation, by Joel Metzger, is quite lovely -- a simple story that communicates the basic need we all have to discover what often seems hidden from sight. Joel worked on this project for a year and "would love to see everyone expressing their best discoveries in their own medium." Well then, what IS your medium? And how can you use it more effectively to help make visible that which often seems hidden from sight?

Plain Sight from Joel Metzger / JoelM3DM on Vimeo.

Related story

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:21 AM | Comments (1)

May 23, 2009
You're Right!

00019_s_8aoowifpp0008.jpg

There is a scene from Fiddler on the Roof that has taught me more about life than most holy books I've read.

In it, two men are arguing over the age of a horse. When they see Tevye, the town milkman/sage, each begins passionately pleading his case.

"Tevye!" blurts the first, "I've been cheated! Last month I bought a horse from this sorry excuse for a man. He told me the horse was six, but it was 12!"

Tevye listens carefully, strokes his beard, nods his head, and smiles. "You're right!" he says.

"What!" screams the second. "No way! Not true! The horse I sold him was six years old and I have the papers to prove it!"

Again, Tevye listens, strokes his beard, nods his head, and smiles. "You're right!" he says.

A third man, who'd been watching the argument from the beginning, boldly steps forward.

"Tevye... with all due respect for your great insight and wisdom, how can he be right" (pointing the the first) "and he be right" (pointing to the second).

Tevye listens, strokes his beard, nods his head, and smiles. "You're right!

Then he starts dancing like a madman.

Next time you think you're right... remember Tevye.

large_Fiddler.JPG

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:26 AM | Comments (0)

May 22, 2009
What is Waiting Within Us

Quote.jpg

Source

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:45 PM | Comments (1)

May 20, 2009
MAHARAJI IN AMAROO: May 1

(Excerpts of Maharaji's talk, as recalled by two World Wide News Reporters.)

"In Australia, sometimes on the land, the Milky Way is very visible at night. Looking at this vastness, one could feel very insignificant; all those questions come rolling in about how small you are in comparison to these galaxies."

"Even the Earth, itself, is tucked away in some small corner of space, way outside the Milky Way, and billions of stars and galaxies."

"You, though, are not small. No, no, you are a part of this creation... and to feel how connected you are to all of life and how that light is not bound by form, but suffuses throughout, connecting to the energy that is at the heart of all existence."

Read the complete World Wide News report Download file

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2009
58 Seconds of Remembrance

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2009
The Art of Seeing the Invisible

See that FedEx logo to your left? What do you notice? Letters? Colors? Height? Width? Shape? Probably. But if that's all you see, you are missing something -- something essential.

Take another look. Do you see an arrow? No? Look again. More specifically, look at the space between the "E" and the "x". The white space. See it? Cool, huh?

The first time someone pointed this out to me, I was astounded. Something that was there, for years, had been completely invisible to me.

FedEx's savvy logo designer, Lindon Leader (Leader Creative), had embedded an arrow in the "negative space" to subliminally indicate a message -- forward movement -- but I had never seen it.

Such is life...

Life. There's so much in it, staring us right in the face, but we often don't get it. We look, but don't see. We listen, but don't hear. We touch, but don't feel.

From what I can tell, all the great Teachers, Sages, and Masters have been committed to helping people see the "white arrow" -- that which is present, but not always easy to see.

They don't create the arrow or require people to go to the Himalayas to find the arrow -- they simply make the discovery of the arrow much, much easier.

They have the knack of redirecting attention to what is already there.

Not Next Day service. NOW service.

More info

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:44 PM | Comments (0)

May 16, 2009
Maharaji in Auckland, New Zealand

This just in. Hot off the virtual press. Coverage of Maharaji's May 9th event in Auckland, brought to you by the newly launched World Wide News Pool. Download file

A few excerpts from Maharaji's talk:

"What if we bypassed all fear, all excuses, and fully accepted that power in our life? What would happen if we did that?"

"Do you have real passion in your life? If you don't, you are missing something. Longing cannot just be a 'hood ornament.' It has to be real. It has to be deeply felt and permeate right through you. This longing... is the magic... the beautiful dance of the quenching of the thirst."

To subscribe: worldwidenews@1207.dk
Heart of the Matter poll

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:47 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2009
The Heart of the Matter eBook Poll

Dear Lovers of Life,

In an effort to get the content of the Heart of the Matter into as many hands as possible, I am in the process of producing a FREE, downloadable ebook version of the blog (140-160 pages). Woo woo!

Response to The Heart of the Matter has been very positive since it's launch 13 months ago, but there are still lots of people who have never seen it. For them, having a "Best of The Heart of the Matter" in their hands or a pdf file to view may be all they need to dive in.

Towards that end, I am requesting 5 minutes of your time to respond to this online poll. Your feedback and ideas will go a long way towards helping me spread the word. Thanks!

Bonus treat

And another...

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

May 13, 2009
Mimi and Mahatma-Ji

n1442994497_166850_6235.jpg

For the past two days, my wife Evelyne and I have had the good fortune of hosting Charananand at our home, in Woodstock, New York. (He's been here to speak at an introductory program featuring the message of Prem Rawat.)

Last night, about an hour before he left for the event, Mahatma-ji saw our 12-year old daughter, Mimi, reading a book on the couch in the living room. With great respect, he approached.

"Mimi," he said," what is more important, money or life?"

Mimi looked up from her book and smiled. "Life," she said.

"That's right," Mahatma-ji replied. "And what is the most important thing in life?"

She thought for a moment. "Friendship."

Mahatma-ji paused, then asked why friendship was important to her.

"Because friends are nice and loving," Mimi replied.

"And friends make you feel... what?" responded Mahatma-ji.

"Happy!" said Mimi.

"Ah," Mahatma-ji said. "Then happiness is the most important thing in life. Yes?"

Mimi smiled and agreed. Then the two of them just looked at each other for a few seconds.

I found this exchange completely fascinating.

That Charananand would take the time -- getting ready as he was for the intro program -- to engage my 12-year old daughter in a very nuanced conversation about life was completely delightful.

His exchange with her was spontaneous, diamond-like, and timeless. He wasn't preaching. He wasn't moralizing. He wasn't trying to teach her a thing. He was just being with her and letting the moment evolve.

As I watched, I saw how two minutes of conversation, inspired by genuine curiosity and a heartfelt desire to share the truth, can make a huge difference in a person's life. (Mimi's and mine.)

Later that night, as I was putting Mimi to bed and attempting to summarize her moment with Charananand, she corrected me three times. My recollection of their conversation was a bit fuzzy, but she remembered every single word.

What I'm learning these days is this: it's the small moments that count -- the stuff I all too often miss on my way to "something important."

Life is happening now. The moment of truth is happening now. The chance to give and receive is happening now. The miracle of life is happening now.

PS: 82 people attended the Woodstock intro event. And that included 40 guests. Prem, if you're reading this, please know that Woodstock is ripe for a visit from you and we all love you very much.

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:53 AM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2009
Bleeding Hearts at 8:07

My daughter's school bus comes at 8:07 every morning -- at an intersection just 500 feet from our house. Today, at 8:00 AM, she asked me if I would drive her to the bus stop.

"But Mimi," I said, "it's a perfectly beautiful Spring day and your bus stop is only 500 feet away."

She paused, gathering the many forces at her disposal almost all the time.

"But Daddy," she replied, "I want to be with you."

Helpless to be logical in the presence of a present 12-year old, I told her I'd be "right there," fetched my sweater, grabbed my car keys and drove to the bus stop.

She was already there, smiling, and hopped in the car.

Then she opened her hand and showed me a pink bleeding heart she had just plucked from a bush.

"Look, Daddy, it's two perfect hearts... And if you look closely, you can see a tiny, tiny drop of water between them."

More inspiration

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:32 AM | Comments (1)

May 03, 2009
This is the true joy in life....

Read this one aloud. Good medicine for what ails you. Then forward it to any friends of yours who may be complaining about this, that, or the other thing...

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."
- George Bernard Shaw

OTHER QUOTES FROM GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

"Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once or twice a week."

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."

"The man who writes about himself and his own time is the only man who writes about all people and all time."

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:45 AM | Comments (2)

Welcome to Mitch Ditkoff's blog about what's really important in this life: Peace, gratitude, love, joy, clarity, and the effort required to wake up and smell the roses. Enjoy!

   Contact me   
© MITCH DITKOFF