2014.04.24 _ 2

Rolled out of bed and sat, entertained by the many layers of thoughts and counter-thoughts drifting about in my mind. At one point I had an image of the nose of a mouse poking out from below a piece of furniture, sniffing at the world, and thought of the curious and cautious Mouse Mind as an alternate story to the hyperactive and noisy Monkey Mind. edited 07:51, 24 Apr 2014

Hi Pablings - I had so much fun reading everyone's notes that I decided to join you also. Its nice to be around you peeps - you are all so inspiring :) Hmm not sure yet what I wanna do but mainly I want to focus on doing yoga, exploring ways of meditation that works for me.

Another little project that might be real nice - yesterday I got into a long chat with two kids that came to ask for food and money. Usually its only one of them coming and lately he has been coming very often which made me ponder why - what is the cause for him coming and ringing the bell. Yesterday we had a long talk about things that happened to him and the reason for him asking for food. After chatting about this and that I mentioned that his English is really good and that he should try and work on that - and I told him to get a notepad and write a story. He was laughing and said ok thats a good idea. His friend agreed. Lets see what happens next. I plan to write a bit about him as time goes on.

So to summarise - I want to find time to do yoga ( can you suggest good teachers? ) meditation everyday - I don't need it to be very structured - it can be Stormy's metta meditation - or other ones the idea is to find the ones that suits me best - just explore and enjoy the process.

afro-greetings to all, looking forward to reading your stories, poems, and following how everyone progresses :)

Morning practice consisted of "restorative qi" exercises that I found more difficult than expected. The instruction for a particular standing meditation asks that one raise arms (by wrists, as if pulled like a puppet) to shoulder level, and the teacher suggested five minutes. I couldn't sustain this. I allowed myself to 2 minutes then 3. I've had similar issues with yoga warrior poses but there the instruction is to try to stay with the pain and often teachers have pushed or held me there - not so here: "pain, no gain." There was another exercise that I had a better time with, and I think that is because the guidance was visually easy to embrace - wide eyes (seeing inside and out - awareness as wide and deep as can be), and that exercise moved. I notice how easily energy feels to pool in my hands, or push me around... which sounds funny but inner/outer lines become quite thin or nonexistent.

It amazes me how intricate the human body is - how many muscles and mechanisms. Due to walking and return to consistent meditation I've felt stronger recently, and mentally have turned toward stronger themes like courage, however this seemingly simple standing meditation calls upon seldom called upon faculties. I really wanted to skip it, but didn't. Knowing I was coming here helped. :)

Szavanna ~ lovely to *see* you here and inspiring practice ideas! For home yoga I like Maya Fiennes, and there are quite a few videos on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBsB67P2ZQ4

Lovely to read our postings: perhaps, Szavanna, we are all writing our stories just as you are encouraging your little visitor to do. And Wol, not sure why I read 'the rose of the mouse' instead of the nose of the mouse, maybe my own private story emerging: roses and noses as portals into the world unfolding.

Again, impressed that my attention here goes to gratitude for the fellow travelers, rather than a focus on clarifying my own 'wobbliness'. Maybe sometimes we steady ourselves 'with a little help from our friends'.
Thanks again to all

Yesterday was busy and noisy, no time for quiet and yet I didn't want to miss out. I typed on my phone and found it difficult to find words. Today I am home working and it is very quiet :)
lets see what comes

In my minds eye I see
a girl
a child
holding out her hand
come she says
run
play
be

joy and happiness
pain and sorrow
all are one and the same

sunshine and cloud
water pouring down
images
words at play
mind at rest
quiet

Hi Maxine, I wonder why you read roses hmm there must be something important about roses then :)

Liz thank you so much, I will check out her videos ;)

Cat - I love your words at play :) some simple and beautiful ... it could be a mantra that one repeats ... or one could turn it into a song ...

Thank you all :)

A few notes on yesterday, and today...
Yesterday my husband had work and while he was working he asked me to visit his mom who is in the very last stages of hospice care. She is in her late eighties and is choosing this over the experience of being hooked up in a hospital. She only drinks sips of water with her pain pill... so in this last week or so she is shrinking.There is an incremental change going on that has been in process for quite a while now. My husband has been going twice a day during this time of not working...it has been good to have the time to spend with the transition that is happening.
As I drove to see her and sit with my father in law I got a flat tire and my neighbor helped me get help and 4 tires it turned out. All went smoothly.

Today I made it to my sitting spot by 6:30 am!It feels like a special time....
Today I drive my daughter and her husband and his parents to the airport on the new tires so that they can fly to Japan...The parents will be introducing the younger ones to friends and professors he studied with many years ago when he was an exchange student in college. I find it interesting that both our families have experience with exchange programs...when I was in elementary school my mother signed us up to host an English teacher from Kobe. When my kids were young we had 4 different exchange students...3 from Japan and one from Korea. I am marveling at the cross cultural exchange that has been a thread in both our families.
The threads that are interweaving...exploration,home, appreciation of life.

hello and good wishes to all 33-day seekers ~ am jumping in late, due to a slowness of focus — with intention and aim to pick up a sitting practice that has gone gradually into a non-sitting non-practice. no need to force, I've thought, but some effort is indeed required — aiming for encouraging gentleness and a time for stillness. looking forward to reading and sharing in your experiences during these days.

awakened to bird song, brightness through low grey clouds over the water. air fresh, mind sleepy and refreshed. glad to be alive. beginning now

I have a warm feeling reading your posts. I know how great is to share and how sharing makes energy increase… So, thank you very much to all!

I would like to clarify that my goal is not to write a story every day, but to let imagination work and to take note of anything that may cross my mind. I’ve been writing children’s tales during last months and I need far more time than a day to finish one. So, I put it more easy for me and I’ll be very happy if I take note of ideas that maybe later can be useful for a tale, I know that if I don’t write it I forget quick.

Today I was taking care of my 7 years old niece because she was ill and she has explained to me a complete book she has just read about the adventures of a Witch called ‘Basin’. And, after telling me that if she had gone to school she would be feeling ill, she has fallen asleep. … and… I’ve fallen asleep as well, we have met in our dreams and started to live wonderful adventures through the world, fighting against dragons and monsters and looking for the words that were missing in a book we have found hidden under a rock… (to be continued…in Catalan :-)

I need nothing more than to read all your words and watch the northern sky go from pale pink to pale grey. That is enough.

So tired. Small offering, in the cup you, we, all hold together.

Today was strange. I got zero sleep the previous night, for whatever reason. So today I bumbled around in an exhausted fog, which words on a page didn't seem to penetrate. Hard even to read what you've all written, let alone may useful comments. I'll read more tomorrow!

Sorry I'm late... I was having internet problems in-house last night after PaB w/ Paradise. Was a hectic day with very little time for me (an excuse, not reality, as I can always make time for me.) Hoping this sense of who has time for what will slowly change to find I always have time for the things that end up being what I enjoy, specifically time for Tai Chi. However in this case I was watching Jon Stewart, Meditating during commercials which are quite long and doing 10 minutes of Qi Gong during the show... I slept like a log. The first time in on week. Mainly because the cat did not invade the bedroom and insist on going under the covers and clawing us at 4:00 am