thank you for b-day wishes. strange day spent largely in rehearsal on the brink of tears. I think it was going back to being so 'the universe revolves around me and MY birthday'- ish, ironically, which made me so fragile. mmm interesting.
Back to the gruelling schedule now which I can't quite get my head round, and a terrible headache which is rare for me. hey ho. It's all part of the journey! perhaps I'll start sitting last thing at night after my bath since I'm always completely sober (a rare thing!)
Yes. I believe in Sundays! Go Lorraine! I think a lazy unpressurised morning if not whole day once a week is essenital.
Did the Heart Chakra this morning, for the first time in a week; started in near-darkness and watched the sky brightening, changing from grey to blue, out of the corner of my eye. It's going to be a fine day, but I'm going to be indoors. Sigh.
Sat for 25 minutes, quite calmly but with some distress in my middle back. Either my posture isn't quite right or I need more exercise (probably the latter).
Monday. Ugh. Slept badly. Got up late. Still sat for the usual 20 minutes. Felt pretty woolly-headed, but really, really glad to be able to roll up and do it on such a morning.
Ruth, take good care of yourself - whatever it takes.
Amazing how largely importunate pets feature here! 'Being present in the cat moment', what a lovely way to put it Nicole :-)
Monday. Ugh. Slept badly. Got up late. Still sat for the usual 20 minutes. Felt pretty woolly-headed, but really, really glad to be able to roll up and do it on such a morning.
Ruth, take good care of yourself - whatever it takes.
Amazing how largely importunate pets feature here! 'Being present in the cat moment', what a lovely way to put it Nicole :-)
I didn't end up sitting yesterday. Took a warm bath before bed and slept nearly immediately. Woke in the wee hours sometime, however. But with less anxiety and eventually back to sleep for another hour or so.
Had a good sit this morning for 15 minutes after breakfast and getting a few emails out of the way so I wouldn't be thinking about them.
It's snowing heavily here. 5-10 inches expected. Have a great day everyone!
yes, the cat moment. I know it well and it tugs at my heart strings. In such Moments I have observed my very physical impulse to put everyone elses's needs before my own, but I can't unfortunately explain that to my cat!
Ruth, I'm not sure if I sent birthday wishes or not -- but here they are! May it be a wonderful year ahead. Please take good care of yourself on this difficult schedule.
I had a good weekend and a very long night's sleep last night. Snowy and cold here; like Jean, I am facing a lot of work as Monday begins but feeling better than last week. Still no results from last week's tests but I hope they would have told me by now if there were anything very serious. I am trying hard to stay in the moment; this period of time has shown me how bad I am at it, but when I succeed, I can also see how valuable and important the practice is. Wishing you all a good week to come.
I sat for 20 minutes earlier this morning, and I hope to do bows later in the day, when I need an energy boost.
Jean, following up on yesterday's comments...I didn't mean to imply that *you* go around telling folks what you get out of meditation. I just find it a widespread human tendency to justify "what we do" in terms of "what we gain." So when someone asks us why we're on a particular diet, for instance, we'll try to "sell" that diet (to them or to ourselves!) by noting how much weight we've lost, how much more energy we have, etc.
Since meditation is the ONE THING we do that has NOTHING to do with results, this human tendency to "sell" or "justify" the practice usually falls flat. We don't meditate "because" we get stuff out of it. Meditation is the one thing in our typically results-focused lives (apart from Beauty!) that is its Own Reason For Being. :-)
So if folks say they could never meditate like you do, ask them if they've ever tried. And if they say they tried but failed, ask them what they were *expecting* to get & where that expectation came from.
And if all else fails, ask them to meditate with you. You'll laugh to see the facial expressions you'll get in response! :-)
still here, still walking, still sitting ... not much new or interesting to report except that my son and grandaughter came for the weekend ... that's a BIG event in my life because I only see them once or twice a year ... sleeping arrangements get quite complicated and comical is this small apartment, also meal preparation for the vegetarian/non-vegetarian members of our happy trio
been reading some of your blogs and getting to know you better - hi to Udge, another Canuck (do you vote today?) ... and hi to MB, your poetry is so lovely, it touches my heart every day
to the rec centre later this morning to find out if strength training with weights might be a good idea ... walking and yoga for as long as I can remember ... maybe that's enough
lots of talk here recently about cats and dogs ... makes me a little sad because we're not allowed pets in this building ... but, I do love hearing about yours, please don't stop
Janice, thank you. I've peeked a bit at your books and they're wonderful. I want to show them to my daughter—she's about to embark on making an altered book and I think she'd find some of your approaches inspiring. I'm curious, though, why do you call them "brownie" pictures?
Jean and Lorianne, I haven't even tried to explain meditating to people. I don't bring it up much, and when it comes up I just say I'm doing it and I don't get too many questions. (I figure if they're really interested, they'll ask.) I did have a friend notice one of my books and ask if I was converting to Buddhism. I don't know how to explain her tone, but it seemed to me it had a sort of skeptical undercurrent. I simply replied that I'd been meditating and the book had some interesting things to say about meditation and then changed the subject.
Udge, I'm not going to question you about your exercise, but I will say that the right posture makes all the difference to me.
Leslee, I'm glad it sounds like you are sleeping a bit better.
I've not referred to "brownie pictures" in any of my PictureTrail albums, and I don't do altered books (although I make my own books) ... might be that you're looking at another artist's books ???
udge - the Heart Sutra - how wonderful - do you chant from memory? what time would that be? I'm guessing 6:30 your time? it would be great if we could chant and sit together
Sorry, Janice, I didn't mean to be confusing. I know your books aren't altered, but they use drawing and collage techniques my daughter would appreciate seeing, I think. And you call your online page "menahune" which I understood was the Hawaiian equivalent of "brownie" or "elf"? I was just wondering about that.
Yes, pets can be importunate, as Jean says, and I frequently complain about the disruptions my four animals cause. But lately I've noticed that whenever I go into my room to meditate, the two dogs follow me--as if they know this is an important time and want to share it with me. I set a timer, and lately, I've noticed that when it dings, the dogs rise even before I do.
Janice: ah no, it's the Heart Chakra, not Sutra. Not chanting, but an active yoga/breathing exercise to music. (Though we could certainly do some long-distance synchronized chanting!)
No, I didn't register to vote. I have so little contact to Canada, that I know too little about the issues in the election (if there be any). One might say "I vote X on principle", but the older I get the less such principles seem to be worth.
14 Comments:
morning everyone.
thank you for b-day wishes. strange day spent largely in rehearsal on the brink of tears. I think it was going back to being so 'the universe revolves around me and MY birthday'- ish, ironically, which made me so fragile. mmm interesting.
Back to the gruelling schedule now which I can't quite get my head round, and a terrible headache which is rare for me. hey ho. It's all part of the journey! perhaps I'll start sitting last thing at night after my bath since I'm always completely sober (a rare thing!)
Yes. I believe in Sundays! Go Lorraine! I think a lazy unpressurised morning if not whole day once a week is essenital.
Gruß Gott, zusammen! (as the pietistic Swabians say, literally "greet God")
Did the Heart Chakra this morning, for the first time in a week; started in near-darkness and watched the sky brightening, changing from grey to blue, out of the corner of my eye. It's going to be a fine day, but I'm going to be indoors. Sigh.
Sat for 25 minutes, quite calmly but with some distress in my middle back. Either my posture isn't quite right or I need more exercise (probably the latter).
And now: breakfast. Hooray!
Monday. Ugh. Slept badly. Got up late. Still sat for the usual 20 minutes. Felt pretty woolly-headed, but really, really glad to be able to roll up and do it on such a morning.
Ruth, take good care of yourself - whatever it takes.
Amazing how largely importunate pets feature here! 'Being present in the cat moment', what a lovely way to put it Nicole :-)
Monday. Ugh. Slept badly. Got up late. Still sat for the usual 20 minutes. Felt pretty woolly-headed, but really, really glad to be able to roll up and do it on such a morning.
Ruth, take good care of yourself - whatever it takes.
Amazing how largely importunate pets feature here! 'Being present in the cat moment', what a lovely way to put it Nicole :-)
I didn't end up sitting yesterday. Took a warm bath before bed and slept nearly immediately. Woke in the wee hours sometime, however. But with less anxiety and eventually back to sleep for another hour or so.
Had a good sit this morning for 15 minutes after breakfast and getting a few emails out of the way so I wouldn't be thinking about them.
It's snowing heavily here. 5-10 inches expected. Have a great day everyone!
yes, the cat moment. I know it well and it tugs at my heart strings. In such Moments I have observed my very physical impulse to put everyone elses's needs before my own, but I can't unfortunately explain that to my cat!
Ruth, I'm not sure if I sent birthday wishes or not -- but here they are! May it be a wonderful year ahead. Please take good care of yourself on this difficult schedule.
I had a good weekend and a very long night's sleep last night. Snowy and cold here; like Jean, I am facing a lot of work as Monday begins but feeling better than last week. Still no results from last week's tests but I hope they would have told me by now if there were anything very serious. I am trying hard to stay in the moment; this period of time has shown me how bad I am at it, but when I succeed, I can also see how valuable and important the practice is. Wishing you all a good week to come.
Good morning, everyone!
I sat for 20 minutes earlier this morning, and I hope to do bows later in the day, when I need an energy boost.
Jean, following up on yesterday's comments...I didn't mean to imply that *you* go around telling folks what you get out of meditation. I just find it a widespread human tendency to justify "what we do" in terms of "what we gain." So when someone asks us why we're on a particular diet, for instance, we'll try to "sell" that diet (to them or to ourselves!) by noting how much weight we've lost, how much more energy we have, etc.
Since meditation is the ONE THING we do that has NOTHING to do with results, this human tendency to "sell" or "justify" the practice usually falls flat. We don't meditate "because" we get stuff out of it. Meditation is the one thing in our typically results-focused lives (apart from Beauty!) that is its Own Reason For Being. :-)
So if folks say they could never meditate like you do, ask them if they've ever tried. And if they say they tried but failed, ask them what they were *expecting* to get & where that expectation came from.
And if all else fails, ask them to meditate with you. You'll laugh to see the facial expressions you'll get in response! :-)
good morning
still here, still walking, still sitting ... not much new or interesting to report except that my son and grandaughter came for the weekend ... that's a BIG event in my life because I only see them once or twice a year ... sleeping arrangements get quite complicated and comical is this small apartment, also meal preparation for the vegetarian/non-vegetarian members of our happy trio
been reading some of your blogs and getting to know you better - hi to Udge, another Canuck (do you vote today?) ... and hi to MB, your poetry is so lovely, it touches my heart every day
to the rec centre later this morning to find out if strength training with weights might be a good idea ... walking and yoga for as long as I can remember ... maybe that's enough
lots of talk here recently about cats and dogs ... makes me a little sad because we're not allowed pets in this building ... but, I do love hearing about yours, please don't stop
Janice, thank you. I've peeked a bit at your books and they're wonderful. I want to show them to my daughter—she's about to embark on making an altered book and I think she'd find some of your approaches inspiring. I'm curious, though, why do you call them "brownie" pictures?
Jean and Lorianne, I haven't even tried to explain meditating to people. I don't bring it up much, and when it comes up I just say I'm doing it and I don't get too many questions. (I figure if they're really interested, they'll ask.) I did have a friend notice one of my books and ask if I was converting to Buddhism. I don't know how to explain her tone, but it seemed to me it had a sort of skeptical undercurrent. I simply replied that I'd been meditating and the book had some interesting things to say about meditation and then changed the subject.
Udge, I'm not going to question you about your exercise, but I will say that the right posture makes all the difference to me.
Leslee, I'm glad it sounds like you are sleeping a bit better.
((Beth))
mb - curiouser and curiouser
I've not referred to "brownie pictures" in any of my PictureTrail albums, and I don't do altered books (although I make my own books) ... might be that you're looking at another artist's books ???
udge - the Heart Sutra - how wonderful - do you chant from memory? what time would that be? I'm guessing 6:30 your time? it would be great if we could chant and sit together
Sorry, Janice, I didn't mean to be confusing. I know your books aren't altered, but they use drawing and collage techniques my daughter would appreciate seeing, I think. And you call your online page "menahune" which I understood was the Hawaiian equivalent of "brownie" or "elf"? I was just wondering about that.
Yes, pets can be importunate, as Jean says, and I frequently complain about the disruptions my four animals cause.
But lately I've noticed that whenever I go into my room to meditate, the two dogs follow me--as if they know this is an important time and want to share it with me. I set a timer, and lately, I've noticed that when it dings, the dogs rise even before I do.
Janice: ah no, it's the Heart Chakra, not Sutra. Not chanting, but an active yoga/breathing exercise to music. (Though we could certainly do some long-distance synchronized chanting!)
No, I didn't register to vote. I have so little contact to Canada, that I know too little about the issues in the election (if there be any). One might say "I vote X on principle", but the older I get the less such principles seem to be worth.
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