2012.01.28 _ 40

Standing meditation in the evening. My body felt heavy.

Having gone to bed early, and without any appointments in the morning, a wonderful chance to practice, while playing in the tidal waters between waking and sleeping. Many short dreams, very colorful, some while asleep, some while clearly awake, some while somewhere in between. My main practice, meanwhile, was to just rest, radically rest. Layer after layer after layer of resting swam into view.

Thinking about how much I talk now I am in SL. Talking brings reassurance...validates us with others. David Brazier says '...Nor do we have to rely entirely upon our own investigations. We listen to one another. We read what other spiritual explorers have found. We approach their words sympathetically, trying to feel our way into the context of their experience. We try to achieve an empathy which is not a reduction of their experience to our categories, is not a jump to agreement or disagreement, but is a willingness on our part to be disturbed and challenged by theirs..'

http://amidatrust.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-bit-of-research

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tEE84JdnQA _/ \_

201201280314
Woke up first at 03:14 and went back to sleep almost instantly thanks to cardiac coherence breathing, a technique I used to practice but had forgetten about. Then again at 05:55, falling back to sleep again after a few breaths. It's so easy: you breathe out all your air, wait for a count of 6, breathe in deeply for a count of six, wait again for a count of 6, and breathe out on a count of 6. I woke up at 08:00, completely refreshed for a very busy day. Now, there will be rest :) #timestamp edited 03:18, 29 Jan 2012

In the echoes of the present actual...

"There will be rest, and sure stars shining
Over the roof-tops crowned with snow,
A reign of rest, serene forgetting,
The music of stillness holy and low."

- Sara Teasdale, from "There Will Be Rest"