The biggest lessons sometimes come from the smallest things. This was the case for me this morning in meditation. It started with a small sandfly of some sort that flew in and landed on the windowsill right beside the Buddha statue I was focussing on in meditation. It landed, wandered around a little, then just stayed in the one place. I shifted my focus to it and watched it waiting for it to move again but it didn’t, it just sat there.
Continue reading “Sandfly life”
Miss Daisy was feeling a little poorly last night and still appeared very lethargic this morning. As the little girl has had a heart condition for some time ( see 441 Days ) Molly and I started mentally preparing ourselves for the worst. However I repeated this mantra in my mind all through my meditation session this morning. Later, when it came time for breakfast, our old bouncy Daisy reappeared from her bed as if nothing had happened and tucked into her breakfast with the same enthusiasm as always.
Continue reading “Healing Mantra for Daisy”
All of us who meditate regularly develop our own little quirks and idiosyncrasies in our practice. I haven’t tested this personal theory but here is an example of one of mine and I would appreciate any comments you might have about your practice.
As I have stated before, I do open eye meditation from the Zen school of Buddhism. That is, I keep my eyes open throughout the meditation and keep my gaze fixed on a single spot in front of me, usually an image in my iPhone meditation timer which I place in front of me. However, most people in our Western communities learn meditation in the traditional method with eyes closed. Continue reading “Meditation Direction”
Why? Why am I paying a barber to cut my hair with a clipper on #2 setting when there is hardly any hair left on top? Why am I bothering? What is the difference between #2 and #0 I thought? Not much I thought. Why not just start shaving it off and save myself the barbers fee? So I did, I shaved it all off that weekend, secure in the knowledge that I could always let it grow back if I didn’t like it. But little did I know that my biggest lesson in how attachment works were to be found in that seemingly simple rational decision.
Continue reading “Duggy’s lesson”
I awoke naturally, rested and calm about 6:15 am. Snug and warm in my sleeping bag, revelling in waking without the alarm. Eager to get up and go for a walk but given the darkness outside reading a little of Lama Surya Das’s “Awakening the Buddha Within” seems the better option. As is becoming usual his words lift my spirits and keep the course processes rolling. Pale dawn light starts to lift the darkness through the window so out of the cocoon, into warm clothes and off for my walk. It has been some time since I have been able to indulge in the pleasure of an early morning winter walk and I have been looking forward to this.
But which way?
Weekly episodes on whatever catches my eye but with a keen interest in hearing the story behind blues musicians and craftsmen
Mike Stacey 2016
