Kornfield Classics

I've always been a big fan of Jack Kornfield's work so I thought I'd share 10 of his finest offerings.

1. Letting go is a central theme in spiritual practice, as we see the preciousness and brevity of life.

2. The independence and rebelliousness of our adolescence offer us yet another quality essential to our practice: the insistence that we find out the truth for ourselves, accepting no one's word above our own experience.

3. As we age, having seen many cycles of birth and death, there is a detachment and a wisdom that grows within us.

4. Who am I? who is carrying this body?

5. To see the preciousness of all things, we must bring our full attention to life.

6. Our consciousness contains all these rolls and more, the hero and the lover, the hermit, the dictator, the wise woman and the fool.

7. We can bring an open and respectful attention to the sensations that make up our bodily experience.

8. The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

9. It is the place of feeling that binds us or frees us.

10. The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do, for the net is full of holes.

8 & 8

Success requires rules and a plan. If you're struggling out there, you're probably breaking the rules and trying to wing it. Most of the information flying around today regarding how to get from here to there in life doesn't cover the basics because it's boring and not new. I believe that the self imposed pressures of the modern world steer us away from the basic rules of life. One of those rules is rest and hydration. I call this combination the 8 & 8. I've see people follow these simple laws of nature and get their lives back. I'm telling you that if you get eight hours of sleep at night and drink eight oz. of water eight times a day some of your problems will disappear and your life will improve.

Our bodies are 72% water give or take, and this water circulates nutrients and hormones, distributes heat and provides the medium in which chemical reactions take place. Most importantly, water flushes out the toxic substances and waist materials via the kidneys. It's how our basic balance of body chemistry is maintained. Proper hydration plays a huge role in the prevention of disease. Drinking eight glasses of water daily can decrease the risk of colon cancer by 45%, bladder cancer by 50% and can potentially reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Eight hours of sleep every night restores the powers of the mind, body and spirit. Proper rest combined with healthy food and supplementation is the best way to improve the immune system, restore cognitive and motor performance and replenish your energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead. Countless studies have shown that people suffering from irritability, sadness, depression and anxiety no longer needed medication for these aliments after discovering that proper sleep was the key ingredient to stabilize brain chemistry and improve cognitive performance.

Do yourself a big favor and try this experiment for one week. Hit the hay eight hours before the alarm goes off and drink water (nothing else) eight times in a day. Eight oz. is a small glass so spread them out throughout the day. Don't try to drink large amounts all at once because you'll lose out on the benefits and stress out the kidneys. Follow this simple 8 & 8 plan every day and you'll find that life will get a little easier, a little less stressful and a lot more productive. It also contributes to weight lose and better health.