Trust yourself is about how only you can really know what’s right for you and whether you’re doing your best or not. Only you have a direct line to your deepest truth. The original lojong slogan is: Of the two witnesses, hold the principal one. The two witnesses are you and others, but you are… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Trust Yourself
Get over yourself is about not letting your ego hijack whatever you’re doing, whether that’s mind training and meditation, or writing. It helps to get your ego out of the way and remember who you really are. The original lojong slogan is: All dharma agrees at one point, which means that all spiritual practices and… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Get Over Yourself
Don’t waste your life is about facing up to your mortality and remembering not to take your life for granted. Your time is limited and life is precious. The original lojong slogan is: The mahayana instruction for ejection of consciousness at death is the five strengths: how you conduct yourself is important. The five strengths… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Don’t Waste Your Life
Designing a book cover is lots of fun and a welcome change from word wrangling and beating your novel into shape. But it can also be a frustrating experience. I scheduled two days to work on the cover for The Shining Ones, but in the end, it took a week – and it still needs… Continue reading The Shining Ones Cover Considerations
Practice the Five Strengths is about taking your mind training practice and writing seriously, and finding a way to keep motivated and focused on what matters to you. The five strengths empower you to remember who you really are and to put it into practice every day. The original lojong slogan is: Practice the five… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Practice the Five Strengths
I’m up to my red eyeballs with editing and proofing The Shining Ones – putting commas in and taking them out again – so here’s a short post about things I’ve never done. (And my eyes really are red! The heating is back on and they’re not happy about it, and staring at a computer… Continue reading Write What You Know: Things I’ve Written that I Don’t Know
Whatever you meet is the Path is about remembering to be mindful no matter what’s happening. Whatever appears in front of you, that’s what you need to be dealing with because anything you experience can be used to wake you up. The original lojong slogan is: Whatever you meet unexpectedly, join with meditation. When things… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Whatever You Meet is the Path
They always say you should never give up on your dreams, but what if your dream isn’t worth fighting for? What if it turns out to be a nightmare? I’ve been writing and sending my work out for years, trying to get the publishing industry interested in what I’m doing. But the publishing industry has… Continue reading Why I Gave Up the Dream of Getting Published
Practice the four methods gives you four practical ways of being in the world that encourage you to face difficult emotions and situations rather than avoid them. These methods should form the foundation of your mind training practice. The original lojong slogan is: Four practices are the best of methods, and these are: Do good… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Practice the Four Methods
The title of this post sounds like a bad thriller, but anyway…last time I promised to tell the story of how the tax credit office almost killed my novel, The Shining Ones, but first, some context: A few years ago I was made redundant in the Tory public sector cuts and, what with one thing… Continue reading The Tax Credit Office and the Sword of Damocles
Your true Self has the answer is about seeing how everything is interconnected and interdependent, and using this to wake up to your Buddha mind. In fact, underneath all the confusion, your ordinary day-to-day mind is Buddha mind. The original lojong slogan is: Seeing confusion as the four kayas is unsurpassable shunyata protection, which needs… Continue reading Buddhist Writing Prompt: Your true Self has the answer
I’m amazed to announce The Shining Ones is finished – well, apart from a final polish edit and proof. No matter how many times I tried to kill this book, it wouldn’t die, which is appropriate because it features characters who are reborn from long ago – but that’s a spoiler so forget I said… Continue reading The book that wouldn’t die: A History of The Shining Ones
Jessica Davidson 