Eye on Faith

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Quickie Resolutions

(Public Domain)

New Year’s resolutions don’t have to entail flowery speeches and tedious endeavors. They can even be short and sweet.

Vivian Nunez of PopSugar (it doesn’t get sweeter than that) lists 52 one-liners that can get you going in the right direction. These include such treats as home-prepared meals, daily walks, unitasking, regular time off, nutritious foods, travel adventure, date nights, kindness to strangers, regular time off (there, we’ve said it again), morning meditation, self-care, advocacy for others, journaling, dancing, DIY projects, limiting social media, handwritten cards and (yes) regular time off.

In other words, you don’t have to bite off huge chunks at a time. Food for the soul may be more digestible in smaller doses.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/smart-living/52-one-sentence-resolutions-to-try-in-2017/ss-BBxCPNd?li=BBnb7Kz#image=2

Monday, January 2, 2017

Atheist's Guide to Meditation

Sam Harris in 2016 (Photo by Christopher Michel)

Well-known atheist Sam Harris has taken up meditation. Within a Huffington Post blog titled “How to Meditate,” Harris even preaches what he practices.

Because his target audience consists mainly of secularists, Harris strips meditation down to its bare essentials. Devoid of doctrines and theologies, his step-by-step instructions seem simple, but are far from easy.

Step one: Breathe in. Step two: Breathe out. Step three: Notice each inhalation and exhalation. Step four: Notice your mind wandering. Step five: Gently bring it back to the breathing. Step six: Notice other “objects of consciousness – sights, sounds, sensations, emotions, and even thoughts themselves.” Step seven: Refocus on either the breath or these objects when the mind again wanders.

But will all this be meaningful without the karmic implications? Harris points out some known benefits. Such practice has been shown to “modulate pain, mitigate anxiety and depression, improve cognitive function, and even produce changes in gray matter density in regions… related to learning and memory, emotional regulation, and self awareness.”

It sure is sounding like a piece of cake. But only if you chew each morsel at least 50 times.

Resources

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/how-to-meditate_b_861295.html

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Zsa Zsa's funeral: Let them not eat cake

Von Anhalt in 2008 (Photo from Udo Grimberg)

Zsa Zsa Gabor was not fond of most funeral eulogists.

According to Frederic Prinz von Anhalt (“Love Potion Number Nine,” but who’s counting), Gabor would sit back and say: Look at those phoney people... They talk,

there are tears in their eyes. They are so fake. They are only coming for a piece of cake.

There was no such nonsense at Zsa Zsa’s funeral. Only two people took center stage, and one of them was dead. The other was Von Anhalt.

Warm-up “acts” included a Catholic priest, Father Edward Benioff, who praised Gabor for everything Jesus said not to do. He told the 100-or-so guests: She epitomized and personified Hollywood glamour.

Then it was Frederic’s turn to crow. In recounting this May-December relationship (his 73 to her 99), the word “fun” came up time and again. Fun at the White House, fun with the Queen of England, fun even with the Pope – fun, fun, fun!

But fun alone does not a marriage make. What truly sealed their vows was the dedication that Von Anhalt showed after Gabor’s car accident and stroke. He promised not to leave her side, and he never did. She was right there next to him, ashen within her favorite Louis Vuitton bag.

Resources

http://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrity/zsa-zsa-gabors-husband-gives-bizarre-and-touching-funeral-eulogy-details-red-carpet-obsession/ar-BBxJU5v?ocid=BHEA000