Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 29)
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
So, I babysat Johan today for awhile, about three hours. Anna had just put him down a few minutes before my arrival. She left for work, and five minutes later, Johan woke up.
It's pretty amazing to watch a developing kid interact with the world. The little guy was a pleasure to be with for the whole time, even with two mega-poops to clean up. The fun is watching him pay attention to certain things. I noticed something about myself as well, something different from my parenting days of 30 years ago. I have no ego attachment to how he turns out. Furthermore, I had no particular attachment to how we spent the time together, whether he ate food or not, etc. And lo and behold, everything was just fine! Even when he was moderately unhappy, things were just as they should be.
I wonder what role meditation practice plays in this? For me, anyway.
Well, here is Puppetji on meditation practice; maybe I won't fart when I go to sit in just a minute!
It's pretty amazing to watch a developing kid interact with the world. The little guy was a pleasure to be with for the whole time, even with two mega-poops to clean up. The fun is watching him pay attention to certain things. I noticed something about myself as well, something different from my parenting days of 30 years ago. I have no ego attachment to how he turns out. Furthermore, I had no particular attachment to how we spent the time together, whether he ate food or not, etc. And lo and behold, everything was just fine! Even when he was moderately unhappy, things were just as they should be.
I wonder what role meditation practice plays in this? For me, anyway.
Well, here is Puppetji on meditation practice; maybe I won't fart when I go to sit in just a minute!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 28)
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
I read an interesting article about language earlier this evening. It was called Beyond Language: Finding freedom through thoughts and words, by Zoketsu Norman Fischer. The closing paragraphs particularly resonated with me:
but here's where I am in my current, chosen approach to meditation. As I practice concentration through following the breath, I am perhaps turning to the body, but not the emotions or the mind. I know this is the next step, but concentration seems to be the place to work right now. It is interesting to note that my breath-following has become almost wordless. I noticed this tonight as I sat. the following is more like a visualization of the movement, a sort of recognition of the stations that the breath passes, but without really naming the stations.
I'm going to look at this more closely when I sit tomorrow.
I read an interesting article about language earlier this evening. It was called Beyond Language: Finding freedom through thoughts and words, by Zoketsu Norman Fischer. The closing paragraphs particularly resonated with me:
Going beyond language through language is something we can practice and develop through meditation, study, and awareness in daily life. In meditation we can learn to pay attention not only to sensation but also to emotion and thinking. Learning to let thinking come and go, we can eventually understand a thought as a thought and a word as a word, and with this understanding we can find a measure of freedom from thoughts and words. We can begin to appreciate Buddhist thought not as a new set of concepts that we are to adhere to, but as a kind of mental yoga, a counterweight to the concepts we already unconsciously hold and that hold us, locking us into a small, temporary, atomized self.
When in daily living we learn to return again and again to where we are in body, emotion, and mind, we are learning to hold our language and views lightly, to see that they are ever-evolving currents of being, that they are not only ours but belong to everyone else as well. When we cultivate the practice of paying close attention to the way we talk to ourselves, we won’t fool ourselves too much. Another old Zen master used to call out to himself, “Don’t be fooled by anything.” And he would answer, “I won’t be!”
but here's where I am in my current, chosen approach to meditation. As I practice concentration through following the breath, I am perhaps turning to the body, but not the emotions or the mind. I know this is the next step, but concentration seems to be the place to work right now. It is interesting to note that my breath-following has become almost wordless. I noticed this tonight as I sat. the following is more like a visualization of the movement, a sort of recognition of the stations that the breath passes, but without really naming the stations.
I'm going to look at this more closely when I sit tomorrow.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 27)
Monday, June 27, 2011
Late night sit. Stayed pretty concentrated, with only a few thought strands flaring out, softly. A cat came by twice. A chihuahua came and sat on the cushion with me, then left. In one of the thought strands, the garden needed watering!
Late night sit. Stayed pretty concentrated, with only a few thought strands flaring out, softly. A cat came by twice. A chihuahua came and sat on the cushion with me, then left. In one of the thought strands, the garden needed watering!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 26)
Sunday, June 26, 2011: Sitting quietly and doing nothing.
And that's what this morning's sitting (45 minutes with sangha friends Angelika, Marilyn, and Jennifer) was like. 45 minutes without a thought. Just following the breath. A literal following of
nose>heart>navel>pause>navel>heart>nostril>pause!
I'm pretty sure this is a first for me. Now, what to make of that?
And that's what this morning's sitting (45 minutes with sangha friends Angelika, Marilyn, and Jennifer) was like. 45 minutes without a thought. Just following the breath. A literal following of
nose>heart>navel>pause>navel>heart>nostril>pause!
I'm pretty sure this is a first for me. Now, what to make of that?
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 25)
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Daily routine. That's what's shown above for the woman in question. And that's what today's sitting was, just a daily routine. Just sitting, breathing, following. In. Out. 30 good minutes with very few wayward thought strands. Routine.
Daily routine. That's what's shown above for the woman in question. And that's what today's sitting was, just a daily routine. Just sitting, breathing, following. In. Out. 30 good minutes with very few wayward thought strands. Routine.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 24)
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 23)
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 22)
Photo of Daniel IngramWednesday, June 22nd. Finally, an external motivator! (Given that internal motivation was lacking on Monday and Tuesday...) We had book group/Sangha tonight, and--of course--there is sitting. There was also a discussion. Just Bill, Deborah, Anthony, and myself. Great discussion of Chapters 5-5 of No Problem No Self, particularly as pertaining to sitting meditation. The next day, I read the following passage from MASTERING THE CORE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA, An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book by The Interdependent Universe but conventionally attributed to
The Arahat, Daniel M. Ingram, MD MSPH:
The first odd phenomenon I have noticed is that when students of
meditation gather together to discuss Buddhism, they almost never talk
about actual meditation practices in depth and detail. They almost never
talk about their diligent attempts to really understand these teachings in
each moment. It is almost an unacknowledged taboo that nearly any
politically correct topic under the Sun is acceptable as long as it doesn’t
have to do with trying to master meditation techniques. While there are
sporadic moments of “dharma combat” or heated discussion for the
purpose of learning and sharing the dharma, even these tend to be
mostly on the philosophy of all of this.
For once, we actually broke this taboo in sangha tonight. We had a great discussion of what explicitly goes on in meditation; each one of us sketched it out. It was most helpful!
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 21)
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Days 20)
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Days 17-19)
SITTING QUIETLY, DOING NOTHING
What does it look like when people get together, sit quietly, and do nothing? It looks like this:
But all-in-all, a good sit.
Last night was a token sit. After a long, hard day of errand-running, gardening, birthday partying, I sat for ten minutes after a shower, just before bedtime. This could have been me on my cushion!
I didn't even sit on Friday... (Shame, shame. Bad Dog!!!)
What does it look like when people get together, sit quietly, and do nothing? It looks like this:
I do this with my sangha friends every Sunday morning. What's the value in doing this with others, given that meditation is primarily an individual activity? Reinforcement, encouragement, and community. Being present while others practice reinforces my own practice, encouraging me to be persistent and consistent. Being present while others practice also creates a sense of community of like--minded people engaging in a meaningful activity.
It's not unlike participating in a church service, I suppose. Not that we do church-like stuff. What I mean is those qualities of reinforcement, encouragement, and community. Our particular sangha (gathering of spiritual friends engaged in Buddhist study and practice) is devoid of any church-like ritual; we ring a chime three times to start the sitting and we ring the chime three times (45 minutes later) to end the sitting. No chants, no songs, no prayers, etc. Just sitting.
Is it easy to sit quietly and do nothing for 45 minutes? That's actually a trick question because--to an outside observer--it only looks like the person sitting is doing nothing. Inside--both body and mind--all sorts of stuff is going. And sometimes being still with that is easy, and sometimes not.
As for today, following the breath for 45 minutes was a mixed bag. Sometimes easy, sometimes not. Several times I nodded. (And was secretly happy to observe someone else nod a time or two! Sad, eh?) And several times thoughts spun out from the center like those images of solar flares/filaments erupting from the sun, like this:
But all-in-all, a good sit.
Last night was a token sit. After a long, hard day of errand-running, gardening, birthday partying, I sat for ten minutes after a shower, just before bedtime. This could have been me on my cushion!
I didn't even sit on Friday... (Shame, shame. Bad Dog!!!)
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Days 15 and 16)
So, I'm getting ready to go to a potluck supper in a few minutes...
Sometimes sitting meditation is just like a potluck supper. You walk in the door, you never know what you're going to get. You sit down on the cushion, you never know what you're going to get!
I gotta say this, however; recently my sittings have become more regular. I won't say that I can predict what will be on the table, but this (new) approach to following my breath has resulted in sittings that are more focused and less likely to have thought-threads spinning out from the center. I've modified my visualization of the breath as I "follow" it. As noted earlier, I was visualizing this in my mind:
But Wednesday, I re-visualized it to a horizontal movement more like this:
I follow the movement while naming the "stations" where the air flows, as follows:
On inhale... Nostril > Heart > Navel > pause >
On exhale... Navel > Heart > Nostril > pause >
This following has required me to be focused in order to stay with it. From time-to-time, I can follow without the labeling.
I wonder if I will regress to potluck meditation, or if not, will I miss it?
But Wednesday, I re-visualized it to a horizontal movement more like this:
I follow the movement while naming the "stations" where the air flows, as follows:
On inhale... Nostril > Heart > Navel > pause >
On exhale... Navel > Heart > Nostril > pause >
This following has required me to be focused in order to stay with it. From time-to-time, I can follow without the labeling.
I wonder if I will regress to potluck meditation, or if not, will I miss it?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 14)
Today we planted watermelons; not from seeds, but rather from plants. For two hours we were mindfully engaged in bed preparation, tilling, bed shaping, planting, mulching, and watering. Perhaps that was why I was tired as I sat a few minutes ago, just prior to bedtime. My old friends sloth and torpor dropped by. I must say, however, that the instructions for following the breath (that I've taken to heart and implemented) do provide a stronger ground of focus that I might have otherwise brought to a late night, drowsy sit.
(Male watermelon flower)
Monday, June 13, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 13)
The word for today is...
Why no sitting? Well, I could use having to have an emergency root canal for an abscessed canine tooth as an excuse, but still, I could have sat for a few minutes, I suppose. Well as Mason Jennings says,
"Be Here Now"
Be here now, no other place to be
Or just sit there dreaming of how life would be
If we were somewhere better
Somewhere far away from all all worries
Well, here we are
You are the love of my life
Be here now, no other place to be
All the doubts that linger, just set them free
And let good things happen
And let the future come into each moment
Like a rising sun
You are the love of my life
You are the love of my life
Yeah, you know you are
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
And it's all new today
All we have to say
Is be here now
Be here now, no other place to be
This whole world keeps changing, come change with me
Everything that's happened, all that's yet to come
Is here inside this moment, it's the only one
You are the love of my life
You are the love of my life
Yeah, you know you are
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
It's all new today
All we have to say
Is be here now
The sun comes up and we start again!
Why no sitting? Well, I could use having to have an emergency root canal for an abscessed canine tooth as an excuse, but still, I could have sat for a few minutes, I suppose. Well as Mason Jennings says,
"Be Here Now"
Be here now, no other place to be
Or just sit there dreaming of how life would be
If we were somewhere better
Somewhere far away from all all worries
Well, here we are
You are the love of my life
Be here now, no other place to be
All the doubts that linger, just set them free
And let good things happen
And let the future come into each moment
Like a rising sun
You are the love of my life
You are the love of my life
Yeah, you know you are
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
And it's all new today
All we have to say
Is be here now
Be here now, no other place to be
This whole world keeps changing, come change with me
Everything that's happened, all that's yet to come
Is here inside this moment, it's the only one
You are the love of my life
You are the love of my life
Yeah, you know you are
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
Sun comes up and we start again
It's all new today
All we have to say
Is be here now
The sun comes up and we start again!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Days 10-12)
Friday, June 10th
The sit for Friday was pretty straight-forward. 45 minutes of following the breath. I sat early enough in the day to be fully awake.
Saturday, June 11th
"Nothing concentrates the mind like pain." I read this somewhere, probably in a cheap action-adventure-spy novel.
My friend visited me late Saturday afternoon to bring me some Darvocet. The 1000mg of Tylenol just weren't handling the pain from the abscessed tooth I've been dealing with (out of town and away from my dentist) all week. I told him that I hadn't actually meditated yet that day, but that's not entirely true. Enroute Wilmington from Monroe, the pain was so intense that I spent most of the trip in following my breath to deal with the pain. How bad was it? Well, check out the possibilities:
It came in waves, from 6.0 to 9.5 on the scale above. I didn't think of it as meditation, but that's exactly what it was. Suffice it to say that I didn't actually sit on my cushion on Saturday!
Sunday, June 12th.
Well, today was a regular Sunday sitting at Angelika's house. Lots of folks there, nine, to be exact. It was a good sit. Stayed in concentration pretty much the entire 45 minutes, with only the occasional distracted thought stream, usually of very short duration.
I returned home to more intense pain and finally popped the Darvocets. Just taking the edge off. I don't know what's frustrating me more, the funky tooth or my ongoing investigation of dharma texts related to meditation. So many lineages, so many teachers, so many stories about the "one, true teaching" about meditation and liberation. Sheesh.
One of these two frustrations will be dealt with tomorrow; I'm going to the dentist first thing.
The sit for Friday was pretty straight-forward. 45 minutes of following the breath. I sat early enough in the day to be fully awake.
Saturday, June 11th
"Nothing concentrates the mind like pain." I read this somewhere, probably in a cheap action-adventure-spy novel.
My friend visited me late Saturday afternoon to bring me some Darvocet. The 1000mg of Tylenol just weren't handling the pain from the abscessed tooth I've been dealing with (out of town and away from my dentist) all week. I told him that I hadn't actually meditated yet that day, but that's not entirely true. Enroute Wilmington from Monroe, the pain was so intense that I spent most of the trip in following my breath to deal with the pain. How bad was it? Well, check out the possibilities:
It came in waves, from 6.0 to 9.5 on the scale above. I didn't think of it as meditation, but that's exactly what it was. Suffice it to say that I didn't actually sit on my cushion on Saturday!
Sunday, June 12th.
Well, today was a regular Sunday sitting at Angelika's house. Lots of folks there, nine, to be exact. It was a good sit. Stayed in concentration pretty much the entire 45 minutes, with only the occasional distracted thought stream, usually of very short duration.
I returned home to more intense pain and finally popped the Darvocets. Just taking the edge off. I don't know what's frustrating me more, the funky tooth or my ongoing investigation of dharma texts related to meditation. So many lineages, so many teachers, so many stories about the "one, true teaching" about meditation and liberation. Sheesh.
One of these two frustrations will be dealt with tomorrow; I'm going to the dentist first thing.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 9)
I had a few minutes to myself as Rebecca, her mom, and Bill investigated the Charlotte Ikea. I just couldn't do it. (Investigate Ikea, that is.) So, I pulled up a chair in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows in the eatery overlooking the parking lot, determined to meditate. My meditation was not like this:
I followed my breath for a few minutes before Bill joined me. He'd had has his fill of shopping, so we chatted until the ladies were ready.
Back at the house in Monroe, I managed to sit for awhile just now. Nothing to report, really. This is what happens sometimes when you sit quietly and do nothing!
I followed my breath for a few minutes before Bill joined me. He'd had has his fill of shopping, so we chatted until the ladies were ready.
Back at the house in Monroe, I managed to sit for awhile just now. Nothing to report, really. This is what happens sometimes when you sit quietly and do nothing!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 8)
Did I mention that we saw one of these yesterday?
Rebecca and I were sitting in the same chairs where we saw the fireflies, when all of a sudden, she goes, Oh, oh! Oh, oh!" "What? I asked. "It's a snake! she said.
Sure enough, Ol' Mr. King Snake was meandering through the field-stone border of the terrace. We watched him until he disappeared up the hill. Had I been been braver, I could have grabbed him! Whatever for I do not know!
Here's how I visualized my breath during a 45 minute sitting today.
Rebecca sat with me, and she remarked that it was her longest sitting ever. I was able to stay concentrated for the entire time using this visualization!
Rebecca and I were sitting in the same chairs where we saw the fireflies, when all of a sudden, she goes, Oh, oh! Oh, oh!" "What? I asked. "It's a snake! she said.
Sure enough, Ol' Mr. King Snake was meandering through the field-stone border of the terrace. We watched him until he disappeared up the hill. Had I been been braver, I could have grabbed him! Whatever for I do not know!
Here's how I visualized my breath during a 45 minute sitting today.
Rebecca sat with me, and she remarked that it was her longest sitting ever. I was able to stay concentrated for the entire time using this visualization!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 6 and 7)
We just returned from a lovely meal with Linda and Mitchell Polk, my sister and brother-in-law. We ate at The Old School Mill and Fresh House Restaurant in Locust, NC, about 20 miles NE of Monroe.
r
The food was decent, the decor entertaining, and the company was great. As I said, a lovely visit.
Shortly before Linda and Mitchell arrived to escort is to The Fresh House, I finished up 35 minutes of sitting meditation. I was practicing a new approach to "following the breath" to achieve "access concentration." The technique was an adaptation of the tecnique advocated by Buddhadasa Bikkhu here.
Sati is able to pay attention to the entire path of the breath from the inner end point (the navel or the base of the abdomen) to the outer end point (the tip of the nose or the upper lip). However fine or soft the breath becomes, sati can clearly note it all the time. If it happens that we cannot note (or feel) the breath because it is too soft or refined, then breathe more strongly or roughly again. (But not as strong or rough as before, just enough to note the breath clearly). Fix attention on the breathing again, until sati is aware of it without any gaps. Make sure it can be done well, that is, keep practicing until even the purely ordinary, unforced breathing can be securely observed. However long or short it is, know it. However heavy or light it is, know it. Know it clearly within that very awareness as sati merely holds closely to and follows the breathing back and forth the whole time you are meditating [2]. When you can do this it means success in the level of preparation called "chasing after all the time."
The adaptation was to visualize the movement of the breath as three dimensional rather than two dimensional. The start point of inhalation is the nostril; the end of inhalation is the fully expanded lung-space. The start point of exhalation is the fully-expanded lung-space and the end of exhalation is--of course--the nostril.
This worked for me!.. Visualizing the entire path of air during inhalation and exhalation, I was able to stay focused for the entire 35 minutes. My attention wavered only once. The goal is to practice such that this can be done effortlessly and quickly, entering the state of access concentration so as to study the four foundations of mindfulness.
As for yesterday's meditation--Day 6--the combination of sleepiness and too much wine brought me to The Land of Sloth and Torpor. A bust.
rThe food was decent, the decor entertaining, and the company was great. As I said, a lovely visit.
Shortly before Linda and Mitchell arrived to escort is to The Fresh House, I finished up 35 minutes of sitting meditation. I was practicing a new approach to "following the breath" to achieve "access concentration." The technique was an adaptation of the tecnique advocated by Buddhadasa Bikkhu here.
Sati is able to pay attention to the entire path of the breath from the inner end point (the navel or the base of the abdomen) to the outer end point (the tip of the nose or the upper lip). However fine or soft the breath becomes, sati can clearly note it all the time. If it happens that we cannot note (or feel) the breath because it is too soft or refined, then breathe more strongly or roughly again. (But not as strong or rough as before, just enough to note the breath clearly). Fix attention on the breathing again, until sati is aware of it without any gaps. Make sure it can be done well, that is, keep practicing until even the purely ordinary, unforced breathing can be securely observed. However long or short it is, know it. However heavy or light it is, know it. Know it clearly within that very awareness as sati merely holds closely to and follows the breathing back and forth the whole time you are meditating [2]. When you can do this it means success in the level of preparation called "chasing after all the time."
The adaptation was to visualize the movement of the breath as three dimensional rather than two dimensional. The start point of inhalation is the nostril; the end of inhalation is the fully expanded lung-space. The start point of exhalation is the fully-expanded lung-space and the end of exhalation is--of course--the nostril.
This worked for me!.. Visualizing the entire path of air during inhalation and exhalation, I was able to stay focused for the entire 35 minutes. My attention wavered only once. The goal is to practice such that this can be done effortlessly and quickly, entering the state of access concentration so as to study the four foundations of mindfulness.
As for yesterday's meditation--Day 6--the combination of sleepiness and too much wine brought me to The Land of Sloth and Torpor. A bust.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 5)
While my Wilmington sangha friends were sitting quietly and doing nothing, Rebecca and I sat for 45 minutes overlooking Lake Twitty just east of Monroe. We were inside, as the humidity had already risen and it was quite muggy. The view was still spectacular, however.
I continued to work towards access concentration, a la Kenneth Folk's description. Hard to say (in this sitting) if I was in that safe state. My goal this week is to pay attention to that.
We preceded the sit with another lovely breakfast out on the deck. An omelet with onions, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, swiss cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and avocado, with Gimme Lean and pork sausage on the side! Maybe that's why I had a tendency to nod off at the end of the meditation!
I continued to work towards access concentration, a la Kenneth Folk's description. Hard to say (in this sitting) if I was in that safe state. My goal this week is to pay attention to that.
We preceded the sit with another lovely breakfast out on the deck. An omelet with onions, red pepper, cherry tomatoes, swiss cheese, mushrooms, spinach, and avocado, with Gimme Lean and pork sausage on the side! Maybe that's why I had a tendency to nod off at the end of the meditation!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 4)
Look at the end of the short video below. When the shot ends on a tree, you can just barely see my bookbag on the ground. I attempted to meditate here prior to taking the video. Man, talk about distractions! Traffic, skateboarders, punks, rockers, motorcycles, and... ants! All I could do to sit still for about ten minutes. I had been reading about Access Concentration While waiting for Rebecca. I was reading in the Common Market, and after reading, I was all hepped up to sit and practice. Maybe I was hopped up, too. Hopped up on too much coffee! Well, tomorrow's another day. It'll be Sunday, so maybe I'll sit still and do nothing!
The Dharma Lounge
We took a short day trip in to Charlotte today so that Rebecca could attend Audrey Ipapo-Baran's yoga clqass at the Dharma Lounge in Charlotte. By night, it's a funky nightclub. By day, it is a yoga space from time to time. Here's their logo...
Just seeing the logo led me to believe the interior would be funky. I took some video outside, and when the class was over, went inside to look around and say "hi" to Audrey. Audrey is the daughter of my brother-in-law Virgil. My sister Kathy is married to Virgil, and we're staying in their home.
More later!
See The Dharma Lounge online here.
Just seeing the logo led me to believe the interior would be funky. I took some video outside, and when the class was over, went inside to look around and say "hi" to Audrey. Audrey is the daughter of my brother-in-law Virgil. My sister Kathy is married to Virgil, and we're staying in their home.
More later!
See The Dharma Lounge online here.
Auspicious Beginning!
Rebecca and I are house-sitting for Kathy and Virgil. They live on a beautiful lake in the hills outside of Monroe. Rebecca got up early to see them off on their trip to Aruba while I slept in. We switched places, and I went downstairs to make breakfast.
I took my omelet out on the deck and sat down to eat and soak in the view of the lake. Kathy and Virgil have a wonderfully landscaped and decorated yard leading down to the lake. While waiting for them last night, Rebecca and I sat on one of the little terraces to enjoy the view. Her view was partially obscured by a rather large yard sculpture of a firefly. (She says "firefly; I say "lightnin' bug.")
Flash forward to my breakfast a few minutes ago. I took the first bite of omelet and looked over to the right. Holy shit! Perched on the firefly sculpture was a red-tailed hawk! Looking straight at me.
Sitting very still (and doing nothing!), I observed him for about three or four minutes. Then, I turned to my food, wondering if the bird would fly away. It didn't. It stayed there for another five minutes or so until a crow interrupted the vigil of the hawk, which spun around and flapped away.
It seems to me this sighting is a very auspicious beginning for a wonder-filled week!
I took my omelet out on the deck and sat down to eat and soak in the view of the lake. Kathy and Virgil have a wonderfully landscaped and decorated yard leading down to the lake. While waiting for them last night, Rebecca and I sat on one of the little terraces to enjoy the view. Her view was partially obscured by a rather large yard sculpture of a firefly. (She says "firefly; I say "lightnin' bug.")
Flash forward to my breakfast a few minutes ago. I took the first bite of omelet and looked over to the right. Holy shit! Perched on the firefly sculpture was a red-tailed hawk! Looking straight at me.
Sitting very still (and doing nothing!), I observed him for about three or four minutes. Then, I turned to my food, wondering if the bird would fly away. It didn't. It stayed there for another five minutes or so until a crow interrupted the vigil of the hawk, which spun around and flapped away.
It seems to me this sighting is a very auspicious beginning for a wonder-filled week!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 3)
Rush. Rush. Rush. Up at 4:30AM today. The A/C felt nice. Did some paperwork then sat for 10 minutes in a chair. then off to Folk's Cafe for a morning of work. Hard to stay focused for that brief time.
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 2)
Today was hot again, and after months of procrastination, I finally replaced the collapsed return duct in the A/C system so that we could have central air conditioning once again. I was still under the house at 9PM, sweating off lunch, tasty adult beverages, and supper. By the time I washed up and got on the cushion--determined to stick to the challenge--it was 10PM...
Man, talk about work! I set the timer for 15 minutes but forgot to push "start." Thirty minutes later, I was still nodding as I tried to do nothing more than follow my breath. That 30 minutes on the cushion was more trying than the five hours I spent beneath the house.
Note to self: meditate early in the day when energy is high!
Man, talk about work! I set the timer for 15 minutes but forgot to push "start." Thirty minutes later, I was still nodding as I tried to do nothing more than follow my breath. That 30 minutes on the cushion was more trying than the five hours I spent beneath the house.
Note to self: meditate early in the day when energy is high!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Summer Meditation Challenge! (Day 1)
And we're off! I set for 30 minutes this morning. The view from my cushion is our backyard. A swamp myrtle partially obscures the view of the garden. A brown thrasher kept jumping around on the limbs of the swamp myrtle. Here he is...
I followed yesterday's technique again today. The point is to stay focused on the breath while noting other things that claim attention. The thrasher, of course, was one of those other things. I also noted my thoughts. Sometime a single thought would occur in isolation. At other times I could witness a chain of thoughts unfolding. The unfolding was aimless yet connected, as if each thought triggered a subsequent thought that was tangentially related. Sometimes I could follow this while continuing to follow my breath; other times not.
I followed yesterday's technique again today. The point is to stay focused on the breath while noting other things that claim attention. The thrasher, of course, was one of those other things. I also noted my thoughts. Sometime a single thought would occur in isolation. At other times I could witness a chain of thoughts unfolding. The unfolding was aimless yet connected, as if each thought triggered a subsequent thought that was tangentially related. Sometimes I could follow this while continuing to follow my breath; other times not.
Labels: Bill, meditation, sitting
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