SOMETIMES

Sometimes
if you move carefully
through the forest,

What I Have Learned So Far

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.

Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of — indolence, or action.
Be ignited, or be gone.

~ Mary Oliver

No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it is not the same river,
and he is not the same man.
-Heraclitus

...is worth overdoing. That was their mantra.

Completely Recommend.
( is worth overdoing.Collapse )

Having a relaxed mind is very useful in meditation. Relaxation is the foundation of deep concentration. When the mind is relaxed, it becomes more calm and stable. These qualities in turn strengthen relaxation, thus forming a virtuous cycle. Paradoxically, deep concentration is built on relaxation.

A similar mechanism works in the practice of mindfulness. I found lightness to be highly conducive to mindfulness. Lightness gives rise to ease of mind. When the mind is at ease, it becomes more open, perceptive, and nonjudgmental. These qualities deepen mindfulness, which in turn strengthens lightness and ease, thus forming a virtuous cycle of deepening mindfulness.

--Chade-Meng Tan in Search Inside Yourself; The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace), (a 2012 book on meditation by an emotionally intelligent Google engineer), page 69.

Downward facing dog aka Adho Mukha Svasana. Re-invigorates the person who has settled into a slouch. Enlivens the gaze. Practice for at least five minutes after 4 hours of sitting. Ok to play with it, go into Wild Thing or whatever variation makes you happy. Try getting around on all fours--feet and hands, no knees. The dog knows how. The heart is the center for this asana.

What do you think? Have you ever fallen into that pit where you had no "real" life and your entire life existed through a keyboard and screen? Have you found your way back into the land of living and breathing? Have you discovered your body? Are you OK being alone with yourself??

Got me started thinking about this (again):
http://vimeo.com/70534716

I had a housemate once who would become completely obsessed with a new video game and play it continuously until he had completed all the levels. It took a couple months for him to master Grand Theft Auto. He took me for a ride in it. Our virtual reality was shared in living and breathing space, and he was not a lost cause. I don't think. I hope not.

I have a friend who lives a good fraction of her life in second life. She is married in this life and has a significant other in second life. Her 2nd life SO is known to her and her husband. He has a wife and kids. They visit together, eat icecream, break ankles, breathe the same air. Second life has merged with first life.

I have a sister whose occupation is building things for the second world. That is, she obtains or develops images and sounds that she can sell for virtual money. Her reality is beyond my comprehension, except that when she is there beside me she is just as solidly herself as she has ever been, with a sharpened wit.

I have a boyfriend who barely exists on the internet. I told him how many fb friends I have now and he laughed at me. I think he is afraid that I will go where my sister went, or my friend. He likes to exercise and play his guitar and garden and read. Doing all those other things sounds far better than this. I'm outta here.

In Sanscrit, from the Upanishad, this is the mantra:

Om Purnam-Adah Purnam-Idam Purnat-Purnam-Udacyate
Purnashya Purnam-Adaya Purnam-Eva-Avashisyate
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

And this is the meaning:
Om, that is Full, this also is Full, from Fullness comes that Fullness,
Taking Fullness from Fullness, Fullness Indeed Remains.
Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

Modified for readability from:
http://greenmesg.org/mantras_slokas/vedas-om_purnamadah_purnamidam.php
Discovered because of a beautiful recording by Shantala on the album The Love Window

ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ

Tis best to procrastinate on complex decisions, but to just act on simple items. But somehow I am able to put off things that I dread for some time, then one day I do them, the dread dissipates, and I feel so much better. I need to get on with it. And I think our newly established morning meditation routine is helping me do that. At the very least it helps me see my own dread.