Michael has been involved in a number of Buddhist organizations over the years, has served as a Trustee of the Buddhist Hospice Trust been a Committee Member of the Lifestyle Movement, which is dedicated to simple, green living and was a Member of the Gandhi Foundation. A few years ago he spent two years living in a Franciscan Friary, engaging his time with meditation, walking, yoga and deepening his writing practice. He has spent the last 25 years teaching and supporting a variety of different groups, e.g. young offenders, young unemployed people, children at risk, children with special needs, adults with learning difficulties and adults with mental health needs.

Michael-Lewin.jpg

Michael Lewin

<h4>MICHAEL LEWIN shares his experience and idea on how to bring simplicity
 into daily life, through lifestyle changes and practices.</h4>
My hut lies in the middle of a dense forest;
 
 Every year the green ivy grows longer. 
 No news of the affairs of men, 
 Only the occasional song of a woodcutter. 
 The sun shines and I mend my robe; 
 When the moon comes out I read Buddhist poems. 
 I have nothing to report, my friends 
 If you want to find the meaning, stop chasing after so 
 many things.

—Ryokan (1758 – 1831)
Before you started reading this, what were you doing? Where was your mind attending?
 Were you concentrating on one particular task, fully focused, giving your best effort? Or were you mentally
 elsewhere, distracted by a stream of fragmented thoughts, totally unaware of your lack of mindfulness?
If you are anything like me you are probably in the latter category, over-reaching
 and dissipating your energy, chasing after so many things.
Our preoccupation with doing and achieving is an anxiety that largely accumulates
 from our exposure to fiercely competitive, economic environments, financially driven market cultures (now
 increased to global proportions) that constantly strive to maximize material production, performance and
 consumption at all costs. In the process of busying ourselves with all these activities we can be lost, away
 from looking deeper into life and from asking those questions that can lead us into enriched understanding,
 deeper awakening and true liberation.
<h4>THE PATH CAN BEGIN THIS VERY MOMENT</h4>
Life gets difficult when we try to meet so many expectations, often imposed on us by
 us. We overburden ourselves with multiple tasks and end up feeling guilty when we do not accomplish the desired
 results. Leading a better life, a simplified, saner life, means letting go of so much that preoccupies us
 unnecessarily. Letting go of that, which we know deep within us, is not essential to our true being.
A new and spiritually enriched life that will take us off to deeper appreciation is
 only a choice away. So do we continue to cling to our acquisitive, materialistic values and allow ourselves to
 become over-stressed in a situation that is unsustainable for us, and for the planet, in the long term? Or do we
 follow the lead of Ryokan and try to simplify our existence to manageable proportions?
<img decoding="async" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/path_of_simlicity2_e861e01897.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T05:45:11.585Z">

<h4>THE PATH CAN START HERE</h4>
Once, a self-confessed over-worked, over-stressed friend of mine was late for an
 important meeting. He dashed to his car and headed towards his destination only to find heavy traffic congestion
 all along the route. He tried to take alternative shortcuts, but to no avail. There seemed to be traffic jams
 everywhere. At a crawling pace, getting very agitated, he suddenly and for no apparent reason made the decision
 that he was going to be late.
I like that. He reframed his normal response of anxiety and denial and accepted the
 reality of a situation he couldn’t change. This marked his entry point into a whole new way of thinking, a whole
 new way of being in the world. His busy lifestyle of trying to juggle so many different things was in sharp
 focus like never before, and he knew he that he had to trim down his commitments in order to achieve more peace,
 contentment and easiness in his life. Soon thereafter he started to attend retreats and engage with the
 pragmatic teachings of Buddhism (Dharma).
To reduce our burden of over-achieving, over-reaching and over-stretching we must
 start somewhere, like my friend. We need to simplify whatever we are doing. This decision then becomes our
 starting point, our entry into a new life. Instead of making adjustments to keep up with the runaway schedules,
 timetables, performance targets of a fierce economic culture, the latter may be scaled down and humanized to
 meet our real needs and desires.
Our lives are precious, our time is precious – greater than the value of the Stock Market’s trading or the value
 of the FT Index.
<h4>THE PATH CAN BE MY LIFE, MY LIFE CAN BE THE PATH</h4>
We can travel a long way and do many different
 things, 
 but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. 
 It is born from letting go of what is unnecessary 
 and knowing ourselves to always be at home.
—Sharon Salzberg
‘Being at home’ is what we should aim for. 
 A space that allows us to rest mindfully in non-attachment. 
 A space where contentment and deep happiness abide. 
 A space that allows healing and restoration to take place.
It seems that everything we touch today has now, now, now wired into it, and unless
 we challenge our mindsets we may just go on repeating the same old patterns of behavior. We do not have to be
 driven by turbulent thoughts, which tell us that we must be constantly doing; that rest is lazy and
 unproductive. On the contrary, rest can quite often be uniquely productive.
Take nature for instance. During the dormant winter months an apple orchard is at
 rest, but within every tree, right down to its deepest roots, there is a promise of what is to come: the full
 fruits of its creative cycle. Without that rest there would be no apples to harvest. The latter is simply a
 product of the former, all expressed in the natural cycle of seasons.
Rest nourishes growth.
<img decoding="async" class="lazyload img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/path_of_simlicity3_fa5fbb6fc0.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-06T05:46:21.747Z">he
 more we can quiet our mind of its restless and neurotic thoughts, the more we open up for a listening to take
 place. A listening so deep, so still, that we may never be the same again. In Buddhism this is known as
 yoniso manasikara, which means ‘wise attention’.

Letting go creates space for letting in. Ryokan was very much aware of this. That’s
 why he dedicated his life to the pursuit of simplicity, in order to be able to somehow touch the truth of his
 existence. How else can we start to touch our truth in a world that provides so many materialistic distractions?

Simplicity means living lightly, and this involves not only watching our consumption
 levels but also following Earth-friendly strategies for a more sustainable future. Then we can rest knowing that
 we have done all we can to make this world a better place. Living in harmony with the natural world, paying due
 respect to its universal gifts, is an imperative that we cannot afford to ignore anymore. And whilst we may not
 be able to influence global environmental policies, we can at least make certain that we are engaged and
 committed to doing what we can.
The deeper we venture into simplicity, the deeper we experience a knowing that
 transcends the rationalistic surface thought that we readily accept as normal. Simplicity helps to focus clarity
 of vision and insightfulness, bringing us the realization that less is often more. And within this knowledge
 lies sacca, or truth.
The mystery does not get clearer by repeating the
 question, 
 Nor is it bought with going to amazing places.

Until you’ve kept your eyes 
 And your wanting still for fifty years, 
 You don’t begin to cross over from confusion.

—Rumi
Journey well. Journey into simplicity.
Reprinted with permission from
 http://www.michaellewin.org/articles/simplicity/path-of-simplicity/
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by MICHAEL LEWIN</h4>
<hr>

The path of simplicity

<h4>MICHAEL LEWIN explores the expression of patience in Nature, and how easy it is
 to learn lessons from the natural world around us.</h4>
Nikos Kazantzakis, the author of Zorba the Greek and The Last Temptation of
 Christ, once wrote about a chrysalis that he came across nestled in an olive tree. The infant butterfly,
 within its cocoon, was just starting to break through to greet a new life when Kazantzakis, anxious to shorten the
 natural process, breathed intensely on it. The butterfly eventually emerged, but because it was prematurely induced,
 its wings were insufficiently formed. Unable to take flight, the butterfly soon died. This intervention, in nature’s
 slow unfolding of a life, gave Kazantzakis a stirring lesson to reflect upon. If he had let nature take its own
 course, if he had been more mindful and patient, the small butterfly would have felt the expression of life through
 its wings, but because Kazantzakis impatiently intervened in a process that he did not fully understand, he had
 unintentionally denied this butterfly a life.
Impatience seems to enter into all our lives. Sometimes it surfaces in a small act of
 unconscious intervention, such as Kazantzakis’; at other times it changes form into an explosive, blind rage, where
 people get physically and emotionally hurt. But in whatever way it finds expression, in whatever way it manifests
 itself, it’s all impatience, it’s all about letting our frustration get the better of us.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Responding to situations in a considered, 
 reflective manner brings out the best in us, 
 and reacting to situations in a hasty 
 “let’s get it over with” approach 
 invariably brings out the worst in us.</h5>
<hr>
<h4 style="color: #bd588e;">WHY HURRY?</h4>
Impatience seems to be a growing modern malaise that we all have to contend with in our
 lives, either as perpetrators or recipients. I have often felt in myself, and seen in others, the welling up of
 irritation, annoyance and frustration that can change people’s personalities in an instant. The feeling of
 exasperation that keeps us away from being present in the moment, calm and attentive to the unfolding of life as it
 is, and not as we want it to be.
<img decoding="async" alt="" width="223" height="311"
 class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/patience2_7575a4a363.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T09:53:36.753Z">Responding
 to situations in a considered, reflective manner brings out
 the best in us, and reacting to situations in a hasty “let’s get it over with” approach invariably brings out the
 worst in us. Impatience rarely gets us the results we want. It just forces its way forward with an “I know best”
 attitude that tangles us up in irritation and disappointment.
My impatience is something that I constantly work with in order to cultivate a more
 relaxed state of mind, a more relaxed state of being, where I’m fully attending, fully accepting of the present,
 fully engaged with the now. But it isn’t easy. Whether I’m waiting for the kettle to boil on the gas ring, or
 delayed in traffic congestion, if I’m preoccupied with the thought that I’m far too busy to be wasting time, that I
 should be elsewhere, then my impatience is winning.
Even when I’m writing, I can sometimes feel the company of impatience gnawing away in
 the background, pressurizing me to quickly form appropriate sentences and paragraphs, to move the writing along, to
 reach out for closure. But this rather forceful way of operating only stifles creative flow, which has its own
 rhythm to effectively deliver what is needed. My only obligation is to listen attentively to this rhythm, place
 myself within its presence, and patiently work along side it. I have to constantly remind myself that the writing is
 in charge, not me. All I really have to do is attend, with a concentrated but relaxed mind, and wait.
Impatience can be a sign of something much deeper, not just a distracting mind that
 keeps us away from the present, but an anxious and sometimes neurotic one as well. Impatience cannot change anything
 for the better; it only makes us feel worse. It tries to rush us swiftly into the next moment without due regard for
 experiencing the present one.
Giving up our sense of urgency and frustration – “I want it now” – is the road to
 relaxed awareness that can offer us so much in terms of appreciating what life, in all its infinite richness, can
 offer. On the contrary, quick fix, quick solutions, quick results, with no intervening incubation period for
 reflection, are increasingly gaining a strong foothold in our culture and closing down our potential for deeper,
 fuller possibilities.
The Greek origin of the word patience is pathos – suffering.
<h4 style="color: #bd588e;">THE SEASONALITY OF LIFE</h4>
<h4 style="color: #bd588e;"><img decoding="async" alt="" width="223" height="651"
 class="lazyload img-float-right has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/patience3_43bc349fb9.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T09:55:11.020Z">
</h4>
I vividly recall, at the age of nine or ten, my class taking hyacinth bulbs to school on
 the instruction of our teacher. The bulbs were placed on the tops of narrow-necked glass jars, full of water, and
 then placed on a shelf. The class was told to wait until shoots started to appear. Days came and went, but there
 were no signs of any shoots. Boredom quickly set in as we waited and waited. Finally, when we all had started to
 really lose interest in this process of “looking and not seeing,” we suddenly started seeing.
Slowly at first, but very much visible, were small, white tendrils growing out of the
 base of the bulbs, stretching out in order to reach the water. In time the tendrils grew so long that they curled
 around the base of the jars in loops. Top growth also came, giving birth to full, scented blossoms that make me
 heady even today as I continue to grow hyacinth bulbs.
Through my experience at school I learnt a valuable lesson about patience and letting
 nature unfold in its own time. Much later I realized that the blooms of the hyacinths were in the bulbs all the
 time, just waiting to find expression.
Spring comes and the grass grows by
 itself. 
 —The Zenrin

In our technological, postmodernist world, where we even get agitated over the response
 time of the fastest computers, we run the risk of missing out on a valuable lesson about waiting. In the natural
 world there is no rushing. The sun never tells the moon to hurry up to complete its cycle, because it’s busy and
 needs extra time to do so many things. It just follows its natural path of slow awakening into the new morning
 according to the set laws of nature.
Are we any different? It is in nature that we must look for guidance, not in technology.
 Aren’t we all sentient beings, flesh of nature, instead of printed circuit boards?
<h4 style="color: #bd588e;">PATIENCE FOR PEOPLE</h4>
People may irritate and aggravate us, but how do we respond to those self-generated
 feelings? By allowing a sense of bitterness and anger to develop, we are the ones who really suffer. If we could
 accept with an attitude of equanimity, where we are prepared to offer a tolerant space for others (as we seem to
 make available for ourselves), we may avoid slipping into an entrapment of corrosive feelings that cause us untold
 damage, psychologically speaking.
Perhaps we do not have such an all embracing, clear, informed perspective on things as
 we may think we do. 
 Perhaps we are prone to misinterpreting situations and individuals. 
 Perhaps we are, at times, too insensitive to other people’s feelings, too judgmental. 
 Perhaps we need to relax more around certain issues.
Opening up, and expanding an inner landscape on which we can accommodate the faults of
 others and our own faults, is important for our spiritual growth. But we do need to recognize where there are
 serious problems to overcome. Patience, per se, cannot heal them. It just provides the necessary space in which
 compassion and forgiveness can hopefully surface, so that the healing can take place.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">Opening up, and expanding an inner landscape 
 on which we can accommodate the faults 
 of others and our own faults, 
 is important for our spiritual growth. 
 But we do need to recognize where 
 there are serious problems to overcome.</h5>
<hr>
<h4 style="color: #bd588e;">LISTENING</h4>
On the road to developing patience for others, as well as ourselves, we automatically
 begin to awaken a listening within us that can uncover and reveal deeper truths. A listening that pays attention to
 not only what is said but also what is not said. A listening that absorbs verbal communication as well as non-verbal
 communication, into a deeper understanding. People then start feeling comfortable and relaxed with us, may be for
 the first time, because a ground has been prepared for them to be themselves. Too often we keep other individuals at
 a distance from ourselves, on the periphery of our lives, and consequently we deny ourselves the opportunity to know
 them better. And without fully engaging with others, without fully listening to them, how can we claim to be fully
 alive?
Listening is the oldest and perhaps 
 the most powerful tool of healing. 
 It is often through the quality of our listening 
 and not the wisdom of our words 
 that we are able to affect the most profound 
 changes in the people around us. 
 When we listen we offer sanctuary for the 
 homeless parts within the other person. 
 That which has been denied, unloved, 
 devalued by themselves and others. 
 That which is hidden. 
 When you listen generously to people, 
 they can hear the truth in themselves 
 often for the first time. 
 —Rachel Naomi Remen

<h4 style="color: #bd588e;">NO ACTION</h4>
The pace of modern life can push us all over the place, insisting that agendas are
 prepared, decisions are made, actions are taken, and we may get lost amongst it all. We may get confused and
 frustrated about our responses.
In these moments, never be afraid to pull back and wait a while, allowing an acceptance
 to form around the process of letting go. Good, well-understood decisions can never really flow from pressurized
 feelings, self-imposed or otherwise. It can only flourish when we are relaxed and reflective, drawing on our inner
 wisdom to arrive at the best judgments.
Pavlovian, knee-jerk responses (which we all tend to make at times) run the risk of
 working against us, of bypassing our deeper thought processing, and throwing us into anxiety and regret. Waiting
 does not mean doing nothing. It means reflecting, relaxing and seeing what develops. Perhaps things can work out
 fine without our interference, without our intervention, if we make the decision not to make a decision!
Do you have the patience to wait until 
 the mud settles and the water is clear?
Can you remain un-moving until 
 the right action arises by itself? 
 —Lao Tzu

Perhaps we should be patient and leave things alone. Learn from the lessons of nature,
 of which we are all an integral part, and let everything unfold as it should. Nature has its own time, but it’s not
 the time of ticking clocks and flashing digital readouts. It’s not the time of busy schedules and set agendas. It’s
 the time of seasonality, where everything has its own internal breath of life, which we have no right to influence
 or change because we haven’t the patience to stay present and wait.
<hr>
Perhaps we should be patient 
 and leave things alone. 
 Learn from the lessons of nature, 
 of which we are all an integral part, 
 and let everything unfold as it should. 
 Nature has its own time, but it’s not the time 
 of ticking clocks and flashing digital readouts.
<hr>
Patience is deeply embedded in nature, and we do need to honor this. If Kazantzakis had
 shown more patience, and not interfered with the natural cycle of life, there might have been 10,000 more
 butterflies flourishing in this world of ours. So next time that you feel called to respond in a given situation,
 think deeply about the possible outcomes that might develop, and act mindfully, act patiently, for all our sakes.

Journey long. Journey well.
Republished with permission from the author, whose blog is
 at <a style="color: #bd588e;"
 href="http://www.michaellewin.org/articles/personalgrowth/patience-the-spiritual-path-to-personal-growth/"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer">http://www.michaellewin.org/articles/personalgrowth/patience-the-spiritual-path-to-personal-growth/</a>

<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by MICHAEL LEWIN</h4>
<hr>

Patience: the spiritual path to personal growth

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<h4>
 MICHAEL LEWIN shares his own experience
 of the value of writing a journal, including embracing imagination, feeling,
 expansive thinking, creativity, spiritual growth, self-development and much
 more.
</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 Similar to other art forms, journal writing can only be perfected in actual
 practice and nowhere else. Through this process of sustained commitment to
 self-exploration and discovery, a process of discrimination and refinement
 slowly surfaces to aid our learning and take us forward into new territories
 of language development and expression – an adventure into the heart of our
 existence. This has certainly been my personal experience, making me leave
 behind a rather cold, fixed, rationalist, analytical shell to embrace an
 imaginative, expansive, psycho-spiritual mode of feeling and expression,
 which has brought my life so much richness.


 At times I have been so engaged with my writing, trekking into a wilderness
 of a previously unknown psychological life. It has involved learning,
 clarifying, refining, growing, and has allowed a self-forgetfulness to
 quietly and without warning descend upon me, dissolving momentarily all
 traces of the normal functioning of the ego-driven self to reveal an
 underlying spiritual presence. And in these moments of self-forgetfulness I
 realize that I’m in meditation.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img
 alt="art-of-journal-writing2"
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/art_of_journal_writing2_img_488f732564.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T06:26:09.805Z"
 />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<h4>Suggestions for Journal Writing</h4>

 In order to access some of the depths within us for our journal writing to
 be authentic, real and true, we need to cultivate prolonged periods of
 stillness and silence. Avoid the busy-ness of normal, everyday routines that
 contribute to a deadening of creative energies. This is not always easy to
 manage, but it is essential.
 


 Rise earlier than normal in the mornings and, after meditation, go quietly
 to your place of writing and write. Do not edit at this stage or engage in
 any critical, judgmental attitudes towards your work. Record the previous
 day’s events, thoughts, feelings etc. without literary embellishments,
 unless the latter is what you are seeking and they come easily and naturally
 and are not too labored. Remember that later corrections are always
 possible. Avoid being too critical too soon, because time itself is the best
 editor.


 Pay attention to the minutiae of the life that surrounds you. What are they
 saying to you? How do they impact you? Try to understand them, describe
 them, search for the underlying values and truths, but never ignore them or
 you could be missing out on a vital dimension, a crucial lesson. Everything
 in your life is your life and is therefore worthy of your full
 attention.


 I am part of all 
 that I have met.


 —Alfred Lord Tennyson


 Our mind never stops; it is constantly enmeshed in a continuous process of
 thought creation. Therefore, should we not try and utilize this vast
 reservoir of power to expand our understanding of what constitutes
 significance, meaning and reality in our lived experiences, through the
 creative medium of exploratory writing? Try to absorb and assimilate, in a
 mindful way, everything you see, feel and touch for a future meeting at the
 keyboard. All our thoughts are possible future prose that could reveal
 hidden, imaginative, life affirming insight to sustain us.


 Although inevitably there is a chronological structure to journal writing,
 there is always scope to make detours, to follow interesting ideas and
 thoughts to see where they may lead, in case they can throw up some form of
 fresh view unrealized before. Journal writing is not a straightforward
 recording function, but a full and open canvas where many possibilities for
 looking, exploring and change exist. After sufficient engagement with this
 process the world may never seem the same again.


 The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of
 grass, 
 it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in
 itself.


 —Henry Miller


 Sometimes the writing goes well, and it seems to reach out to touch a
 hidden chord within us that resonates with such clarity. At other times, a
 possible moment of self-deepening is abandoned in the face of agitation,
 lack of concentration, impatience, doubt … But this is the very time to
 persevere, and in working this through we may come to realize another
 important facet of journal writing, namely, its therapeutic dimension.
 Writing can uncover what we are really doing within our lives and thus pave
 the way for our self-curative potential to develop.


 
 I am both changed and developed by writing, 
 and am changing and developing myself 
 and others in the process. 
 My emotional, intellectual and spiritual landscape is always on the
 move.


 —Nicki Jackowska


 Journal writing, the chronicling of events, appears to be a universal
 phenomenon in all world cultures. Whether we filter the story of our lives
 through the modern Word Processor or use the time-honored oral tradition of
 telling stories over a night’s campfire, it makes no real difference. They
 are both equally valid. Both fulfil a deep-seated need for human expression
 and validation.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <img
 alt="art-of-journal-writing3"
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/art_of_journal_writing3_img_be7a598110.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-15T18:00:39.987Z"
 />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 Working mindfully with words, crafting their potential fine beauty into
 shape, seeing if they dovetail together to give a coherent imaginative,
 accurate expression, a life, to your thought processes, is a fine and noble
 activity indeed.


 … And every phrase 
 And sentence that is right (where every word is at home, 
 Taking its place to support the others, 
 The word neither diffident nor ostentatious, 
 An easy commerce of the old and
 new, 
 The common word exact without vulgarity, 
 The formal word precise but not pedantic, 
 The complete consort dancing together) 
 Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, 
 Every poem an epitaph …


 —T.S. Eliot


 Pursued over time, with commitment, the style, range and depth of journal
 writing may expand beyond all recognition, sparking off even more fresh
 thoughts and ideas for us to follow up in a self-reinforcing, creative act.
 Thus the journal becomes one vast repository of written material to be
 revisited, and sections can be independently reworked into more structured
 and coherent forms at later stages if required.


 Finally, as the journal develops and opens up, we may find that it also
 helps highlight, in a fundamental way, our literary, emotional and
 psycho-spiritual progress as we move through life, recording its experiences
 and our growing and changing responses to them. And the more we give to this
 process the greater will be its rewards, until in the fullness of engagement
 it brings deep understanding and clarity to our life hitherto
 unrealized.

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

 Excerpt edited and reprinted with permission from the author. 
 Read the full article at:
 <a
 href="http://www.michaellewin.org/articles/creative-writing/journal-writing-as-a-spiritual-practice/"
 >http://www.michaellewin.org/articles/creative-writing/journal-writing-as-a-spiritual-practice/</a
 >

<hr class="vertical-space1" />
<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Article by MICHAEL LEWIN Illustrations by GAYATRI PACHPANDE
</h4>
<hr />

Michael Lewin

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