A b o u t B a r b a r a S h e r
Barbara Sher is a business owner, career counselor, and the bestselling author of six books on goal achievement and teamwork. She has taught team building, goal-achievement, communication skills, networking and brainstorming in schools, companies and at conferences all over the world.
She has appeared on national and local radio and television, including Oprah, The Donahue Show, The Today Show, 60 Minutes, CNN and Good Morning America.
Her first book Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want (Viking, Ballantine Books) has sold over a million copies since its first printing in 1979. The book came from Sher's 1972 motivational innovation, Success Teams, small groups whose members meet weekly to help each other find and achieve their dreams. The Success Teams were an instant hit and were written up on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and in The New York Times. By 1976, Sher was running workshops to teach people how to create Success Teams throughout the United States and Europe. Today, Sher's teams are operating in colleges and universities, career centers, Fortune 100 companies and entrepreneur associations in countries from the US. to Nepal, Siberia, Israel, Canada, Thailand, Australia, and Bulgaria.
When Sher discovered that many people were unsure of their goals, she began hosting problem-solving sessions and developing dozens of powerful techniques that freed people from "goal-paralysis." These techniques are developed and refined in all her books, workshops, audio courses and television specials.
Barbara Sher's next three books were published by Dell/Delacorte: The New York Times best-seller I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was was followed in 1996 by Live the Life You Love in Ten Easy Step-by-Step Lessons, which won the first award ever given for "Best Motivational Book of the Year" by the Books For A Better Life Award Commission.
Her fifth book, It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Now, How to Create Your Second Life at Any Age, a highly unconventional look at the second half of life, has turned ideas of midlife on their ear and her hilarious hour-long PBS special by the same name has been submitted for an Emmy nomination and is winning accolades wherever it is shown.
The latest book, Barbara Sher's Idea Book, published by Genius Press Unltd in 2003, is the first in a new series called How to Do What You Love Without Starving to Death. This book and other new books and tapes can be found as they become available at www.geniuspress.com.
Two more PBS specials followed her first: "Live the Life You Love/Map to Success," and "Barbara Sher's Idea Party". Her originality, humor and compassion continue to create excitement and draw new supporters to public television year after year. Her work has been called "standup comedy with a message," In 2000, She won an honorary PhD from Lasell College in recognition of her "extraordinary achievements .. and inspirational leadership in helping people to attain their personal and professional dreams.
Presently, Barbara consults with individual clients, runs lively interactive workshops as well as telephone classes and idea parties, speaks in front of companies and organizations around the world and travels every spring and fall to her second home in Central Turkey where she has started a foundation called Hands on Hips, Inc., to teach e-commerce to village weavers. (To see photos of the village, go to www.kilimwomen.com)
Some of Barbara Sher's clients include...
Find out what they're saying about Barbara's presentations....
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IS OSHO MAITREYA?
Here follows a portion of a discourse given by Osho ( talks on Zen),
"This, This, A Thousand Times This," Discourse #4
By the way, just a few days ago I received an invitation from the Soto sect, founded by Tozan. They were celebrating a thousand-year-old tradition on a great scale. And the chief of Soto Zen must have read my books. He must also have heard the story that I have accepted that I am the fulfillment of Gautam Buddha's promise that he will be coming after twenty-five centuries and his name will be `friendliness' -- maitreya.
The representative of Tozan and his sect -- there are only two sects of Zen, Soto is the more ancient... And you will be happy to note that the chief of Soto Zen has recognized that I have the consciousness and awareness, that I have fulfilled the promise. He asked if I could come to their ceremony, and if I cannot come, I should at least send my robe -- that is an old tradition in Zen.
I have sent one of my robes -- with my message -- to their ceremony. In the ceremony almost a million people are participating, and more than two hundred fifty government officials are deputed by the government of Japan to be present in the ceremony.
I have told my sannyasins there to go with my robe, my note and message. The chief of the sect presented my robe and my message to the whole gathering with deep love and devotion. He has informed me that he will be coming here soon to visit me and to see my people.
In fact this is the only alive Zen assembly. In those one million people and two hundred fifty government representatives, not a single person knows exactly the space that you are feeling every day.
One anecdote about Tozan:
WHEN TOZAN WAS WITH NANSEN, another great master, ONE OF BASO'S DISCIPLES... Baso is the ultimate as far as Zen is concerned. NANSEN OBSERVED THE ANNIVERSARY OF BASO'S DEATH AND SAID TO THE ASSEMBLY, "WILL BASO COME BACK TO US?"
TOZAN SAID, "IF THERE IS COMPANY FIT FOR HIM, HE WILL!"
NANSEN APPRECIATED THE ANSWER VERY MUCH.
... Because the words -- Buddha or Bodhidharma or Nansen or Baso -- are just names of the forms. They all represent the same space; and whenever there are people who are ready to receive, they suddenly descend there.
I have received many letters saying that in the meditations a strange feeling happens -- as if something is descending, a deep silence from beyond, heavy, almost tangible. In that silence Baso is present, Buddha is present. When you are absent all the awakened ones are present to you. Then this assembly becomes an eternal phenomenon.
We have been here always and always. Once in a while you forget who you are, but it is immaterial: Sooner or later you recognize again, sooner or later you again see your crystal clear being.
Neither time matters, nor space, you are the one who never comes and never goes, the one who simply is.
THIS!
WHEN TOZAN WAS STUDYING WITH ISAN, HE ASKED ISAN ABOUT CHU KUKUSHI'S "SERMONS BY INSENTIENT CREATURES."
ISAN SAID, "SERMONS BY INSENTIENT CREATURES ARE GIVEN HERE FOR US TOO, BUT FEW CAN HEAR THEM."
Do you hear the bamboos? These are the sermons referred to, sermons from insentient beings. Once you are silent, even roses start speaking to you.
(THE WIND IS BLOWING AND THE BAMBOOS START COMMENTING WITH THEIR CREAKING.)
Do you hear the loud speaking of the bamboos?
The deeper your silence, the louder you will be able to hear it.
TOZAN SAID, "I AM NOT YET CERTAIN ABOUT THEM, WOULD YOU PLEASE TEACH ME?"
ISAN SAID NOTHING, BUT RAISED HIS STICK STRAIGHT UP.
TOZAN SAID, "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. WOULD YOU EXPLAIN IT TO ME?"
ISAN SAID, "I WOULD NEVER TELL YOU ABOUT THIS WITH THE MOUTH GIVEN TO ME BY MY PARENTS!"
THIS WAS HIS WAY OF TEACHING.
This mouth, given by your parents is not capable of saying it; but the being is not given to you by your parents. You have come through them, they have been vehicles, but you are not part of them. Your body is made by your parents, the temple is raised by them, but the deity in the temple, the being, comes from eternity, it cannot come from mortal bodies.
ISAN THEN SUGGESTED THAT TOZAN VISIT UNGAN WHO TOZAN LATER SUCCEEDED. COMING UP TO UNGAN, TOZAN ASKED, "WHO CAN HEAR THE SERMONS OF INSENTIENT CREATURES?"
"INSENTIENT CREATURES CAN HEAR THEM," ANSWERED UNGAN.
"WHY CAN I NOT HEAR THEM?" ASKED TOZAN.
UNGAN RAISED HIS STAFF STRAIGHT UP AND SAID, "DO YOU HEAR?"
"NO, I DON'T," ANSWERED TOZAN.
UNGAN SAID, "DON'T YOU KNOW THE SUTRA SAYS, `BIRDS AND TREES, ALL MEDITATE ON THE BUDDHA AND THE DHARMA?'"
AT THIS TOZAN SUDDENLY BECAME ENLIGHTENED.
HE WROTE THE FOLLOWING VERSE:
WONDERFUL! HOW WONDERFUL!
SERMONS BY INSENTIENT CREATURES;
YOU FAIL IF YOU LISTEN WITH YOUR EARS;
I repeat:
YOU FAIL IF YOU LISTEN WITH YOUR EARS.
LISTENING WITH YOUR EYES, YOU HEAR THEM.
By the eyes he does not mean the ordinary eyes, he means the eyes of an awakening clarity of your being. If you can hear in your silence, if you can see in your silence, then everything in the world is speaking, giving sermons, singing songs, dancing.
Can't you see? But these eyes and these ears won't do. You will have to dig deep within yourself to find the right approach to see the eternal dance of existence, to hear the music and to see the beauty of it.
TOZAN CONTINUED PRACTICING ZAZEN AND WAS EVER WATCHFUL. ONE DAY WHILE HE WAS SWIMMING IN A STREAM, HE SAW HIS SHADOW CAST ON THE WATER AND EXPERIENCED HIS GREAT ENLIGHTENMENT. HIS VERSE ON THAT OCCASION WAS:
LONG SEEKING IT THROUGH OTHERS,
I WAS FAR FROM REACHING IT.
NOW I GO BY MYSELF;
I MEET IT EVERYWHERE.
IT IS JUST I MYSELF,
AND I AM NOT ITSELF.
UNDERSTANDING THIS WAY,
I CAN BE AS I AM.
Tozan has talked about two enlightenments. The second one he calls the greater enlightenment. The first enlightenment was upon hearing the sutra of Gautam Buddha, that insentient beings are not insentient. They are also living, loving. They are also singing, giving sermons. And he became enlightened; this sutra pierced his very being. But he calls it just enlightenment.
The Great Enlightenment happened when he saw his own shadow in the river and suddenly became aware that, wherever you go to seek, to find the truth, you are going far away. Your being is with you just like your shadow. You don't have to go anywhere, you have just to look in the mirror of your being.
Naturally he calls it a Greater Enlightenment, because it is no longer concerned with anybody else. It is authentically his.
Question 1
Maneesha has asked:
BELOVED OSHO,
I UNDERSTAND TOZAN TO BE SAYING THAT NOTHING IS TO BE AVOIDED, ON THE CONTRARY, TO MEET EVERYTHING HEAD-ON. AND THAT TOTALITY IS TRANSCENDENCE.
COMPARED TO ZEN, OTHER, FORMAL RELIGIONS, SUCH AS CHRISTIANITY AND HINDUISM, SEEM TO BE SO CHILDISH IN THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE -- WITH THEIR GODS AND ALL THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PARAPHERNALIA THAT GOES WITH GOD-WORSHIP -- AND SO INSENSITIVE TO THE SUBTLE AND THE POETIC.
IN FACT, IT SEEMS AS IF EITHER ZEN IS A RELIGION AND THE OTHERS ARE NOT; OR ZEN BELONGS TO A CATEGORY ALL OF ITS OWN. WOULD YOU PLEASE COMMENT?
There is no need of any comment. You are all experiencing Zen. It is not a religion in which you have to believe. It is an experience, like love, which you have to live, which you have to experience.
In other words, Zen is the most essential religion -- without anything unnecessary. Just the core, the essential. You can call it religion, you can call it science, it does not matter what name you give to it. In its pure simplicity it is experiencing your own being. And the moment you experience your own being, you have experienced the being of this whole universe because your heartbeat is part of the heartbeat of the universe.
Just be silently aware, and you are filled with Zen inside and out. It is not a formal religion like Christianity or Hinduism. It is very individual, unique, a category of its own. It is only for the eccentric people, only for the very intelligent. It is not for the mediocre, for the crowd. It is only for the individual who has the guts to stand up alone and listen to his own being without being bothered about what others are saying or believing or worshipping.
It is not an argument, it is not a belief. It is a pure experience, just like love or beauty or silence. It is anonymous.
Before we enter into Zen, although you are already standing on the door steps of the temple, I would like you to have a few laughs. Because I want you to enter into the temple laughing and dancing, joyous.
(Osho tells a few jokes, before leading Gibberish, Let Go Meditation.))
OSHO Discourses are available in the Osho Library at Osho.com
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Gently gaze at this picture for 30 seconds and then look at a white wall or background .
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Blessings of Rosh Hashanah
(begins at sundown Oct. 3rd)
JEWISH NEW YEAR'S BLOOPER
Bif in Times Square
Wednesday, October 3, 2005 / Show #2434
by Michael Z. McIntee
(Mikemack@aol.com)
News From The Late Show Home Office
Freddie Prinze, Jr.; and Beck.
Before the show, our stage manager Biff Henderson asked Dave if he could say a few words. Being a longtime and loyal Late Show staffer, Dave allowed the request.
We find Biff LIVE via satellite from Times Square. It is night time and he is dressed in a warm winter coat. He is holding a CBS microphone.
Biff: “Thanks, Dave. I’m standing here in Times Square in honor of Rosh Hashanah. You could feel the electricity surging through the air as we usher in . . . the . . . newish Jew Year.”
Biff immediately realizes his mistake. Paul howls with laughter as does Dave and the audience. Obviously, “newish Jew Year” is not what Biff meant to say. He edits himself right in the middle and advises he is going to start all over. He tries it again.
Biff: “Thanks, Dave. I’m standing here in Times Square in honor of Rosh Hashanah. You could feel the electricity surging through the air as we usher in the Jewish New Year.”
(applause from the audience)
“The crowd is still a little thin, but pretty soon this place is going to be packed with people waiting for the big ball to drop. Back to you, Dave.”
Dave asks about Biff’s coat.
Dave: “It looks newish.” “They don’t drop the ball for the Jewish New Year. Times Square only drops it on January 1st.”
Biff: “Hey, New Year’s is New Year’s.” Biff takes a swig from a bottle of Champagne.
Dave: “Biff Henderson, ladies and gentlemen.”
Happy Jewish New Year!!!
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Teachings By Lama Zopa Rinpoche:
Click on the subjects b
elow to read the teachings:
Lama Zopa Rinpoche on the Medicine Buddha Puja
The Benefits of Chanting "om mani padme hum"
Vajrasattva Purification Practice
Practices to Counteract the SARS virus
Lama Zopa on The sutra of Golden Light
Lama Zopa on the Sanghata Sutra
Origin, Benefits and Practice of Namgyalma Deity
The Benefits of Offering Music such as Bells
NYUNG NA INSTRUCTION FROM LAMA ZOPA RINPOCHE
To read about the importance of Holy Objects, click here.
Lama Zopa Rinpoche's Advice Book:
Mantras and Practices for Help on many subjects,
such as Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Polution, What To Do When Someone Dies,
To Eliminate Obstacles, Methods To Correect Spirit Harm,
Destroying All The Negative Karmas and Defilements, World Peace, etc.
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***Zazen Wasan Song of Zazen, by Hakuin
From the beginning, all beings are Buddha;
Like water and ice, without water no ice,
Outside us, no Buddhas.
How near the Truth, yet how far we seek!
Like one in water crying, "I thirst",
Like the son of a rich man
Wandering poor on this earth,
We endlessly circle the Six Worlds.
From dark path to dark path
We've wandered in darkness.
How can we be free from the wheel of Samsara?
The Perfection of freedom is Zazen-Samadhi,
Beyond exaltation, beyond all our praises,
The pure Mahayana.
Observing the precepts, repentance and giving,
The countless good deeds, and the Way of Right Living,
All flow from this Zen.
Even one meditation extinguishes evil;
It purifies karma, dissolving obstruction.
Then where are the dark paths to lead us astray?
The Pure Lotus Land is not far away.
Hearing this Truth, heart humble and grateful,
To praise and embrace it, to practice its wisdom,
Brings unending blessings, brings mountains of merit.
But if we turn directly, and prove our True Nature,
That true Self is no-self,
Our own Self is no-self,
We stand beyond ego and past clever words.
Then the gate to the oneness of cause-and-effect is thrown open:
Not two, and not three,
Straight ahead runs the Way.
Now our form is no-form,
So in coming and going we never leave home.
Now our thought is no-thought,
So our dancing and songs are the voice of the Dharma.
How bright and transparent the moonlight of Wisdom!
What is there outside us, what is there we lack?
Nirvana is openly shown to our eyes.
This earth where we stand is the Pure Lotus Land,
And this very body, the body of Buddha!
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Whirling Dirvishes
A JOKE
Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing.
He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."
"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"
His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.
Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion ?"
Ze Zennism, like Taoism, is the worship of Relativity.
One master defines Zen as the art of feeling the polar star in the southern sky. Truth can be reached only through the comprehension of opposites. Again, Zennism, like Taoism, is a strong advocate of individualism. Nothing is real except that which concerns the working of our own minds.
Yeno, the sixth patriarch, once saw two monks watching the flag of a pagoda fluttering in the wind. One said "It is the wind that moves," the other said "It is the flag that moves"; but Yeno explained to them that the real movement was neither of the wind nor the flag, but of something within their own minds.
Hiakujo was walking in the forest with a disciple when a hare scurried off at their approach. "Why does the hare fly from you?" asked Hiakujo. "Because he is afraid of me," was the answer. "No," said the master, "it is because you have a murderous instinct."
This dialogue recalls that of Soshi (Chauntse), the Taoist. One day Soshi was walking on the bank of a river with a friend. "How delightfully the fishes are enjoying themselves in the water!" exclaimed Soshi. His friend spake to him thus: "You are not a fish; how do you know that the fishes are enjoying themselves?" "You are not myself," returned Soshi; "how do you know that I do not know that the fishes are enjoying themselves?"
Chapter III
TAOISM AND ZENNISM
from
BY
OKAKURA-KAKUZO
More Spontaneous Happenings: Pg. 3