Swimming as the sea.

Words divide. A word is constructed to indicate a discrete item, idea, or concept. This division leaves undefined space between words. So, we are limited by language. The only way to experience indivisible essence is non-verbally.

Petals and parts make up the whole  

When all else fails…

love

Death in View

It's one thing to understand, in the abstract, that you will die. It's another to be able to see your own death.

Elizabeth Kubler Ross mentioned often in her writings that children knew when they were going to die. Dying adults were also reported as knowing the day and helping friends and family to accept it.

This is what makes those arbitrary decades uncomfortable, i.e., 30, 40, 50. Because suddenly you understand that one day you will die and you can see it. Not only is death real and you have no say in the matter but you begin to get a sense of the length of your life. A feel for the end.

The cult of youth makes death much more frightening than it needs to be. For some time I felt it was my fault that I was aging. That I had missed some critical exercise and had allowed myself to age. All this emphasis on staying young makes death a personal failure. Stupid. When accepting your death is really the smartest thing you can do.

If you ignore the popular culture, it is possible to follow the natural path to death. From fear to acceptance to embracing the change. Taking the path is inevitable, so you may as well make a good job of it and do yourself a favor by going clear eyed into that good sunrise.

Written in 2013. Belatedly published. 

For the light

To be open and aware. To accept the light and be the light and welcome the light at all times.

Easy practices for honoring ancestors

Lots of good, plainly described ways to honor ancestors.

”You don’t have to be an indigenous shaman or ghost whisperer to have a direct, intimate, and healthy relationship with your ancestors. We all have loving ancestors who want us to fulfill our destiny as happy and well-adjusted people, and in my experience, our ancestors are the ideal guides for family healing as they are invested in seeing their future generations thrive.”

Looking West

My life is all about sunsets. I suppose that’s what happens when your main opening faces west. 

Today was a magical day beyond recording. 

Sacred Sunset

For the past five days, since the beginning of December, I have been lighting candles at sunset. There is something sacred about the action. I don't know what. It's a silent offering. I merely light them and watch them, blowing them out when the time seems right. I plan to do this until solstice.

White candles and a red tea light. 

wide mind, open heart

Once bodhicitta has been aroused in you, whatever Dharma practices that you do will lead to the attainment of perfect enlightenment. — Patrul Rinpoche

No known path

So, I'm asked what my preferred path is and I answer, "I don't know." I have never found it.

How to make sense of life

Whatever we do we should think, “I am doing this to make others happy. This is my job; this is my purpose in life.” From the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep this should be the motivation for every action we do. With a good heart, with a mind sincerely wishing to benefit others, our life will make sense. —Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Avalokiteśvara

Blessings and light. Gratitude and thankfulness for being in the world. 

Unattachment.

This is what the buddha and taoism propound. Yet it is emotions and attachment that bring us the greatest lessons. How could one live without love? Without compassion? It’s all about the right distance and being able to handle emotions without having them destroy good judgement. Or something like that.

Image from mr. Wallpaper

falling off

Out the Window (multiple adjustments)

As in, falling off of practice. Once upon a time it was said if your meditation becomes difficult, quit for a while. Give it up.

In my case this is dangerous as it is so easy for me to give up habits. Seems like I'm constantly starting and ending routines.

The Topeka environment is very different from Richmond in so many ways: psychologically, spiritually, politically, geographically, meteorologically. It's been a bigger adjustment than I anticipated. I may have worn out my welcome in the time it has taken me to adjust.

I once had a "This will be interesting" attitude. I have had enough of the interesting life. I now prefer the ordinary life. An ordinary spiritual life, that is. Plain, consistent, ordinary living from one day to the next.

Time to absorb all those interests.

Patchy

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Why not? Shall I compare thee to a spring day? Or a winter's night? You are all these. And throughout you are my autumn afternoon. Bright. Breezy. Warm. Promising. Relaxed. Blessed.

Drifting

Some days I feel like meditating all day. Sitting at a window watching the light arc across the sky from sunrise to sunset. Or at least from the time I get up until sunset.

I wonder what this means. Am I escaping ordinary life or flying into a spiritual plane? Avoiding creative expression or connecting to a higher self? Actually, I'm doing neither because I think about it. I don't actually do it. The meditating.

Still, something calls me to a deeper practice, a more committed practice, a more active practice. I am a thinker. I tend to think a lot before doing. I like to be clear on intention and implementation before I begin. I suspect this may be a chicken-and-egg situation. I won't fully know what to do until I do it.

In the meantime, I have a sporadic practice. My standard meditation time is now 30 minutes. I journey once a month for 20-30 minutes. I consult the tarot and exercise my intuition. None of this happens in a disciplined way. It just happens.

Still thinking.

Moon phases

Half moon = half day, half night
Full moon = night
New moon = day

Missing something

Feel as though I ought to write something useful or serious before the end of the day. Can't think what though.

Details

There is time enough for everything under the sun.

Disembodied.

There's something comforting about listening to the non-visual voices of others. They are present yet unseen and they don't see me either. Or I see them and they don't see me. There's something sneaky about it and safe. No bodies makes everything less complicated. Life at a distance. A mildly removed distance which requires no expectations. I can be with them without them expecting me to behave a certain way. I can be sure they won't or can't judge me.

Not the end of the world

It's just a thing used for conveying. When the content has been conveyed the thing moves on or goes away. It is quite trivial compared to the essence of life. Focus on what is, not on what is not.