Mindful Thoughts for Stargazers

Mark Westmoquette is an astronomer, ordained ex-Zen monk and pilgrimage walker. He regularly teaches courses and workshops in mindfulness, meditation and yoga. Mark was a scientist researching astronomy at the European Southern Observatory in Munich and at UCL in London. He regularly blogs at www.youruniverseyoga.co.uk about the mindful journey of the outer universe to the inner universe. He is the author of Mindful Thoughts for Stargazers, Stars and The Mindful Universe.

Prelims  pp1-5

Introduction  pp6-9
Author’s personal self-development journey in discovering astronomy to practicing Zen and mindfulness. Purpose of book to share how astronomy can be a tool for connecting more deeply with life here on Earth.

1.  The Mystery of What’s Up There pp10-15
Connecting to sense of wonder and awe shared with people past, present and future.

2.  Cloudy Nights  pp16-21
What to do when it’s cloudy? Dealing with frustration and anger: the three Buddhist poisons of greed, hate, and delusion.

3.  A Twinkling Mind  pp22-27
Twinkling = scintillation. Atmospheric “seeing”; focusing on point, and concentrating. Different types of meditation. How to deal with distractions and a twinkling mind. Kindness and patience. 

4.  Finding Meaning  pp28-33
The importance of finding meaning through lens astronomy/astrology. Finding our own patterns, meaning in stars and cycles of life. How to use them for our own inner alchemy.

5.  Navigating  pp34-39
Life is complicated – the need to navigate life. Navigating by the stars. Problem of accurate time-keeping and latitude/longitude. Entering the stream, letting go of swimming against the current.

6.  Red Sky at Night  pp40-45
Sensing emotions and changing feeling state. Terrestrial weather, space weather.
The four foundations of mindfulness and how to sense internal weather.

7.  The Moon  pp46-51
We have all stared at the moon. Seeing the same moon from different parts of world and feeling connected. Sending out compassion and loving kindness to anyone else that might be looking at the moon at that moment.

8.  Under Mother Nature’s Protection  pp52-57
Being shielded, protected all the time. Under mother-nature’s wing. Gratitude. Silent majestic dancing lights. Magnetic field shields us from solar radiation and cosmic rays.

9.  The Planets  pp58-63
Wandering stars. The story of Buddha and morning star. An insight into types of people and their karma. What is karma?
 
10.  Man-Made Stars  pp64-69
Satellites and satellite flashes. Steadily moving stars seen after dusk and before dawn. 
We are all interconnected electronically and intentionally. How to use technology mindfully.

11.  Polluted Skies  pp70-75
Human pollution is everywhere. Awareness of environmental impact of our modern way. Sadness of city light pollution. How to become more connected with nature, stars and natural rhythms of nature.

12.  Through the Looking Glass  pp76-81
There is much more information in what we see than we might expect. What changes when we use a lens? The splitting of light into a spectrum, measuring speed, and star formation. What is color, how do we see? What is reality? Ways of perception and yogacara theory of mind/psychology.

13.  Time and Space  pp82-87
Relativity of space and time. Space and time are just human ideas and constructs of the mind. When we look up at space we’re actually seeing back in time. The significance to mindful awareness.

14.  A Sprinkling of Stardust  pp88-93
Every chemical was once made inside a star. We’re all made of stuff that was created in stars millions of years ago. What can this mean to us in our everyday life and actions?

15.  A Photon’s Journey  pp94-99
We can see starlight, rain, and soil in every leaf; interconnectedness of all things. We need to protect this planet. The journey of a photon from creation in the sun out into space, through the Earth’s atmosphere to a leaf and photosynthesis to food for all life on Earth.

16.  Is Space Really Empty?  pp100-105
When we see the Milky Way we are seeing through a disk of stars. Galaxy formation and evolution. All things are processes, no matter how slow. Processes/change = Buddhist idea of emptiness.

17.  Shooting Stars  pp106-111
What they are? World’s biggest craters. Craters on moon. One asteroid could spell end of all life on Earth. Discussion of death. Meditation is practice for death. Death and life are intimately connected. 

18.  Rhythms and Cycles  pp112-117
Wheeling of the stars and changing constellations. Sun and moon rhythms. Insomniacs finding comfort in regularity of night sky. Astrology and prediction. Finding our personal rhythms. Reconnect with nature and cycles. Fundamental teaching of Buddha – things are always changing.

19.  Lunar Cycles  pp118-123
Full moon connection to word “lunacy”. Mindfulness of emotional cycles. Tide, modulation of magnetic field. All animals have magnetic field sensors in the brain.

20.  Zoom Out and Wake Up  pp124-129
Follow scales out from smallest atomic scale to largest Mpc scale. The connection to avatamsaka sutra. Dazed mind state is very conducive to waking up. What is awakening/enlightenment? Right here for all of us.

21.  The Most Exquisite Jewels  pp130-135
This book can only exist because the universe and everything in it is exactly as it is. Thich Nhat Hanh’s concept of interbeing. The deep interconnectedness of all things.

22.  How Many Stars Are There in the Sky?  pp136-141
The wisdom of how to approach a seemingly insurmountable task. Great suffering. How do we help all beings on this planet? Start where you can.

23.  Is There Anyone Out There?  pp142-147
Extrasolar planets, potential for life, UFOs. Chances of intelligent life miniscule. We have a responsibility to do the best with what we have and to live well.

24.  The Overview Effect  pp148-153
The experience of seeing first-hand the reality of the Earth in space, which is immediately understood to be a tiny, fragile ball of life, shielded and nourished by a paper-thin atmosphere. It reminds us how small but such a perfect part of the whole we are. Our daily problems pale into insignificance.

25.  Bringing It Back to Earth  pp154-159
Author studied space to escape real life. But we can’t escape. The relevance of astronomy to everyday life. Coming back to your life, here, right now.

Endmatter: Acknowledgments  pp160