2011.09.09 _ 8

Formal sitting spot, short sitting. Realized meditation before bed sets conditions for sleep in which I'm more sensitive... like a domino effect of letting go, relaxing. Amazing how much tension I hold on to generally, even in sleep. Seem to see that mostly in retrospect.

::: Yellow butterfly
::: On a bright yellow flower
::: Brings up a big smile

Did the meditation when I came back from bringing the kids to school.
Worked on the relaxing of the eyes, and got into the no effort/no no-effort dilemma again. Realized that one of the points of mediation is not to "understand" the unity of opposites, but to practice embodying them.

Today I followed Eos' example, and clicked the Droplet app, on my laptop, while having a beer in a RL pub. Only me present according to the web site; 9:30 am SLT. A deep breath, and an awareness of three and a half years of 9-sec breaks, shared in multiple ways with a few hundred individuals.

A few minutes into today's recliner sit, I imagined my entire body and all its senses to be an antenna designed by evolution to acquire signals from the environment. The nervous system conveys these to a central node of itself called the brain. The brain collects, prioritizes, organizes, and amplifies whatever signals it receives. The body and brain connect "me" to "my" environment. My term for this connection is "participation." What could enhance reception in this network? --- I heave a big shrug and feel that this "mechanical" image leaves little room for mystery and wonder. edited 21:46, 9 Sep 2011

Went into a dream state while sitting, and nearly fell asleep and out of my chair. To bed. I'll try again tomorrow.

Decided not to draw today. Instead, I sat, meditated and tried to go "deeper" and see what that might mean. I asked myself certain questions, one logically leading to the next--like Russian dolls. Like a child, I kept asking "but why?" Going deeper. The answer rose reluctantly; it was a sad truth. edited 04:24, 10 Sep 2011

Tai Chi in the living room, cat slepted through it instead of participating. Thought about how to remember what I was doing to I can re-do it later when thinking about doing it, step by step, move by move, in my mind, not in my body. Plan on continuing to practice while I lay in bed ... at least the first few moves.

In addition to the start-of-day, end-of-day bookends, and maybe-shared pauses, practice this 9/11 internet/tv weekend as suggested: "watch the space between you and the screen."