The Heart of the Matter
March 25, 2023
On Simplicity

butterfly.jpg

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." -- Confucius

"If you can't explain it to a six-year old, you don't understand it yourself." -- Albert Einstein

"It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials." -- Bruce Lee

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -- Leonardo da Vinci

"The more simple we are, the more complete we become." -- August Rodin

"Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple." -- Pete Seeger

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life." -- Socrates

"Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." -- Lao Tzu

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." -- Albert Einstein

"Simplify. Simplify. Simplify." -- Henry David Thoreau

"Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art." -- Frederic Chopin

"The less you have, the less you have to worry about." -- Buddha

TimelessToday

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:09 AM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2023
Last Night I Googled Longing

womanlonging.jpg

Last night I googled longing.

What I found surprised me. Ninety-five percent of the images were women: Women dreaming. Women staring out windows. Women brushing their golden hair beneath the full moon. Oh... and lots of Goddesses, too.

Where were the men?

Hunting buffalo? Watching the Superbowl? Mowing the lawn? I'm guessing their absence had something to do with the male concept of survival. After all, wars, hunting, and politics aren't all that conducive to inspired questings of the heart, are they?

OK. So, maybe men don't stare out windows or wait by doors for their wives to return home from war, but surely they are feeling something. Surely, men want more out of life than just a cheeseburger, beer, and tattoo. No?

To put it bluntly, most men consider longing a girly thing, a sign of weakness, a minor holiday card invented by Hallmark.

Dear brothers and sisters and those beyond gender, I suggest we put an end to this madness once and for all. Longing is not a girly thing. It is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of strength. And before I go on, let me make one thing abundantly clear: when I refer to "longing," I am not referring to a poetic kind of eye-rolling "desire" or a beatific "wanting." No. I am talking about something else -- the innate, ancient, holy, soul-infused, irreducible, on-fire, uncontainable, off-the-grid, socially unacceptable, messy, irreverent, moon-howling, highly uncomfortable, often unhinged, not-conversation-fodder-for-the-first date, unbridled aching for something timeless, pure, and unconditional.

Poets write about it, but it's got nothing to do with words. Composers symphonize about it, but it's got nothing to do with notes. Artists paint about it, but it's got nothing to do with color.

Feeling. That's what it's about. Deep, deep feeling. What holds you when you fall. Why you leap and why you don't. What lovers feel when they must take their leave, no one left to hold, but something quaking in every cell to behold when all alone. The celebration of the soul's thirst quenched for the last time or is it the first and then, without a single thought, a puppet at the end of God's beautiful string, raising your voice and your glass to the sky and singing, Leonard Cohen smiling down from the Great Beyond, "Whoever you are, my friends, the next round's on me!"

And so, with great respect for who you are, dear wayfarers who have made it this far, as the self-appointed President and Chief Hun of the Longing Liberation Front for Muscle Bound Males, allow me to (Chest Bump! High Five! Shot of Red Eye!) refer you to someone who truly understands the game of life, this play within a play, this illusion that's as real as you want it to be, a fine gentleman, indeed, one who knows, in his bones, and yours too, I might add, that the ones who get to where they are going, are the ones who are already there -- rising like waves from the pull of the moon, sea spray in their hair.

May I introduce you to Prem Rawat?

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:07 PM | Comments (5)

March 03, 2023
What People Find Compelling About Prem Rawat's Storytelling

260720990_10158654556791158_1875884535447394043_n.jpg

Prem Rawat is considered by many to be master storyteller. Indeed, his most recent book, Hear Yourself: How to Find Peace in a Noisy World, is filled with some of his favorite and most entertaining stories. Below are a selection of comments from various people who are big fans of Prem's storytelling with a focus on WHY they find his storytelling so compelling.

"His stories have the power of transforming something that is so complex to a very simple message that can be understood easily." - Uma JL

"I love how his stories take us back to the simplicity of life, with wisdom and kindness at the root." - Joanne Dorrance

"The stories renew my sense of childlike wonder. They are often playful with an invitation to laugh at life and our humanness. They are kind and provoke thought. Even though some are ancient. they remain relevant today." - Sigrid EA

"I think he has the best sense of humor. He has a way of communicating that helps me feel free." - Elise Lee

"His story telling addresses the innocence of childhood in us. The story always contains a truth that is universal and even a child can understand. His storytelling is not a showcase of his cleverness. It is the express lane, conduit to the heart." - Alla Rogers

"Stories from Prem are lovely expressions of wisdom for my heart's delight." - Allen Feld

"What do I like about Prem and his storytelling? It is an art, and for Prem, it is art straight from clarity, with a sprinkling of wisdom, and a side dish of kindness. Beautiful stories which somehow engage everyone in the audience. Engaging. Amazing." - Heather Joy Westley

"My experience with Prem's storytelling is that he is telling it from his heart to mine. If someone else told me the same story it just doesn't resonate the same. I guess it is the love between the master and the student why his stories make such a profound shift." - Lalita Mohini

"Prem's storytelling goes straight to my heart. My heart says a very big YES." - Patricia Ade

"His stories take me back to myself. They are an amazing way to communicate his messsage." - Nim Lal Bhandari

"I like his cleverness and wisdom -- like in the story about a place where everything costs three cents. Teachers/Masters, like Prem, are known for their clever, insightful wisdom." - Janice Wilson

"The stories he tells are educational and entertaining. I always feel like I'm enjoying and learning at the same time, not being lectured or preached to." - Josephine Robinson

"I find it compelling when he quotes Kabir or the Gita or Ramayana -- making his points through ancient texts or something he thought about last night. He is the best storyteller, explaining in the deepest and most simple ways at the same time. A very divine experience." - Bob Ellmer

"I think it is his timing and that wonderful grin of his. The way he approaches 'I'm going to tell you a story,' there is something in the way he says that, that just makes you want to hear it." - Jane Mirano

PremRawat.com

Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

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