Thinking Less

While we practice conscious breathing, our thinking will slow down and we can give ourselves a real rest. Most of the time, we think too much, and mindful breathing helps us to be calm, relaxed, and peaceful. It enables us to be in touch with life, which is wonder ful in the present moment.

Present Moment, Wonderful Moment

In our busy society, it is a great fortune to breathe consciously from time to time. There are many exercises we can do to help us breathe consciously. Besides the simple "In-Out" exercise, we can recite these four lines silently as we breathe in and out:

Breathing in, I calm my body.

Breathing out, I smile.

Dwelling in the present moment,

I know this is a wonderful moment!

Conscious Breathing

Breathing in and out is very important and enjoyable. Our breathing is the link between our body and our mind. Sometimes our mind is thinking one thing and our body is doing another, and mind and body are not unified. By concentrating on our breating, "In" and "Out," we bring body and mind back together and become whole again. When we breathe consciously, we recover ourselves completely and encounter life in the present moment.

The Dandelion Has My Smile

If in our daily lives we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyon wil profit. If we really know how to live, what better wahy to start the day than with a smile? Our smile affirms our awareness and determinations to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind. Smiling helps you approach the day with gentleness and understanding.

If you have lost your smile and yet are still capble of seeing that a dandelion is keeping it for you, the situation is not too bad. You still have enough mindfulness to see that the smile is there. The dandelion is one member of you community of friends. It is there, quite faithful keeping your smile for you.

In fact, everything around you is keeping your smile for you. You don't need to feel isolated. You only have to open yourself to the support that is all around you, and in you.

Twenty-Four Brand-New Hours

Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four brand-new hours to live. What are precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness to ourselves and others.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.

This book is an invitation to com back the present moment and find peace and joy.

Foreword

By H. H. THE DALAI LAMA

Although attempting to bring about world peace through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way. Whenever I go, I express this, and I am encouraged that people from many different walks of life receive it well. Peace must first be developed within an individual. And I believe that love, compassion, and altruism are the fundamental basis for peace. Once these qualities are developed within an individual, he or she is then able to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony. This atmosphere can be expanded and extended from the family to the community and eventually to the whole world.

Peace Is Every Step is a guidebook for a journey in exactly this direction. Thich Nhat Hanh begins by teaching mindfulness of breathing and awareness of the small acts of our daily lives, then shows us how to use the benefits of mindfulness and concentration to transform and heal difficult psychological states. Finally he shows us the connection between personal inner peace and peace on Earth. This is a very worth while book. It can change individual lives and the life of our society.

Peace is every step.

The shining red sun is my heart.

Each flower smiles with me.

How green, how fresh all that grows.

How cool the wind blows.

Peace is every step.

It turns the endless path to joy.

THICH NHAT HANH

The Waves of Hawaii taken by Clark Little

Clark Little

Waimea Bay shore-break surfing pioneer, husband, and father of two, Clark Little has gained nationwide recognition for his photography with appearances on Good Morning America, Inside Edition, and many local news stations across the U.S. Clark Little on Good Morning America (2009).

It all started in 2007 when Clark 's wife wanted a nice piece of art to decorate a wall. Voluntarily, Clark grabbed a camera, jumped in the water, and starting snapping away capturing the beauty and power of monstrous Hawaiian waves from the inside out. "Clark 's view" is a unique view of the ocean that most will only be able to experience safely on land while studying one of Clark 's photos.

Now with a camera upgrade and an itch to get that better shot, Clark has taken this on full time and has moved his office from land, to the inside of a barrel. Since the recent stir of Clark 's work, his images have been run on the Today Show, ABC World News Now, Nature's Best Photography, Paris Match (France), La Vie (France ), Hana Hou (Hawaiian Airlines) magazine, Surfer magazine, Surfer's Journal as well

as multiple publishers and newspapers in the U.S. and overseas.

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Sun glints off wave
Clark Little/SWNS

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Sand in surf
Clark Little/SWNS

This shot captures sand from the ocean's floor being swept up by a monstrous wave and resembles a sandstorm.

Little calls it the Sandmonster.

There were clouds of sand ten feet high and I'm standing there.

I'm holding on to my camera and my trigger as long as I can.

Then I have to jump into the cloud of sand to try to get out of danger's way.

His fans pay as much as $4,000 for his gorgeous photos.

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Tubular shining
Clark Little/SWNS

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Beach - surf crashes down
Clark Little/SWNS

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Molten liquid gold
Clark Little/SWNS

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White tumultuous water
Clark Little/SWNS

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Splash - stunning shot
Clark Little/SWNS

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Red mysterious shot
Clark Little/SWNS

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Break - wave crashes down
Clark Little/SWNS

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Beauty - water drops
Clark Little/SWNS

This shot is his favorite.

With a high shutter speed he caught the brilliant fanned effect of two waves intersecting each other and throwing out this beautiful fan of water.

These incredible images of waves in the Hawaiian Islands were taken

by Clark Little, the number one photographer of surf.

He is dedicated to photographing the waves and has published a selection of his best images.

He captures magical moments inside the tube as surfers say.