discipline as dharma

when we think of discipline, most of us release an audible heavy sigh. the thought of another to-do, thing to get done, is not what we want to add to our life list.

i think we've got it all wrong. discipline is not about the drudgery of excruciatingly hard work. it is the art of right effort. faith inspires our desire to have the discipline to do what needs to be done. it's about taking time to do what really matters; those things that connect us to our faith, and our faith is our one true love. whatever you believe in matters not, it matters that you are true to your Self, and yet you honor something greater with devotion. discipline is our dharma. our work on the path, the path of right effort, where everything aligns effortlessly and we begin to recognize the essence of who we are.





copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

turning passion into soulful work

Your art is the Holy Ghost blowing through your soul.
- Jack Kerouac


For many of us, our work is our art. For me, it is a vehicle through which I can realize my passion, express my creativity and surround myself with beauty. I am a smart enough to know that when I surrender to the process, the greatest gifts come through. It is as if I too am merely a vehicle through which all of this is realized. An instrument, a tool.
When I show up to be that, it is a very different experience than when I barrel in with great guns, ego at the ready to accomplish, achieve and acquire. It just feels different.


Yes, I must have the discipline to show up. That is my duty.After that, I try to be inspired by the spirit itself that I might inspire others. It is not easy and I am not always successful at this endeavor. My ego is strong and willful character that loves to act out its part. But with the spirit, my work becomes a holy thing.
That is how I want to live.


copyright 2009 Alisa Barry

dharma art

At this point and time in my life, I am often asking different questions. I am looking to live life differently than the previous decades. Less accomplishments and doing, more living and being. Chogyam Trunpa calls this the "the art of living" and he says this is where our art must begin. Like ancient masters who have practiced for years, we too must practice. Our practice is our intentional daily lives. The way we fold our clothes. How we make our bed. The attention with with we wash dishes or clean our kitchen. When our basic foundation is ordered we can move out into the world with less neurosis and confusion. {we hope!}

We can bring that way of being to our art. Until we are that we of being, we have no art. We have struggle and ego and aggression and confusion.

When I meditate, which I don't do nearly enough, I can feel the difference. It is a practice that grounds me. I see things and people and situations more clearly. I let go. I am calm, despite the crazy conversations that spontaneously take place inside my head. If I am not meditating, I can spiral down into a million stories. None of which serve me well. None of which most likely resemble any truth of actual reality. But for me, for that moment, it is real.
When I meditate, I have signaled to my Self that I matter. That I am prioritizing my life to take care of my well-being.
Those parts of me that work without my interruption appreciate it greatly. Those parts of me that struggle and strive and toss and turn welcome the permission to just "do nothing" and be, if only for ten minutes out of my day.

Sundays are sacred for me and this is where dharma art reveals itself- in the quiet, in the calming down, in the space where the divine can be heard and allowed to show its grace.
How to make everyday our sacred dharma art?




copyright 2009 Alisa Barry