Diary of a Dog and a Cat

Exploring how our state effects our perceptions, I read the the Diary of a Dog and a Cat.   Pretty funny, I must say.

DIARY OF A DOG AND CAT
The Dog’s Diary	The Cat’s Diary
8:00 am – Dog food! My favourite  thing! 9:30 am – A car ride! My favourite thing! 9:40  am – A walk in the park! My favourite thing! 10:30 am – Got rubbed  and petted! My favourite thing! 12:00 pm – Milk bones! My favourite  thing! 1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favourite  thing! 3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favourite  thing! 5:00 pm – Dinner! My favourite thing! 7:00 pm –  Got to play ball! My favourite thing! 8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with  the people! My favourite thing! 11:00 pm – Sleeping on the  bed! My favourite thing!	Day 983 of my captivity. My captors  continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling  objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the  other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.  Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I  nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my  strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream  of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again  vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and  dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this  would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my  capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments  about what a “good little hunter” I am. B@*****s! There  was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in  solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could  hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that  my confinement was due to the power of “allergies.” I must  learn what this means, and how to use it to  my advantage. Today I was almost successful in an attempt  to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet  as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of  the stairs. I am convinced that the other prisoners here  are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special  privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing  to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an  informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am  certain that he reports my every move. My captors  have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he  is safe. For  now.....

It's Real, this Spring Thing.

Some images from this Spring:

Do it Anyway

From this week's class on Inner and Outer Change:

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway.

Skillful Means vs. Manipulation

There is a fine line between

1. skillfully directing the mind and
2. trying to manipulate the mind toward ‘feeling better.’

Here are a few things I found helpful during my month-long retreat - for a while.  Once I ‘lost the buzz’ I found myself struggling to ‘get back there.’

Eventually I realized that the ‘there’ I was trying to get to is actually 'here.'

That’s when I started to relax.

Tulku Urgyen said the following phrase describes the essence of the practice.  As you reflect on these words, simply feel their effect.  There is no doing here ... Just opening to the sense of things.

“Utterly Awake, Sense Doors Wide Open,

Utterly Open, Non-Fixating Awareness.”

The Tibetans describe consciousness as “Undivided Emptiness Suffused with Knowing.” I found reflecting on that phrase helpful.

As cliché as this may sound, when you are meditating you might ask yourself:

“What would the Buddha do?"  "How would the Buddha meet this moment?"

I found this to be quite effective ... By tuning into what I imagined as the consciousness of the Buddha I could sometimes feel a distinct shift to an expansive sense of presence.

Tending Two Shops

A number of folks have requested the poem I read last week in class.  It speaks beautifully to the relative and absolute worlds we navigate.

Tending Two Shops

Don't run around this world looking for a hole to hide in.

There are wild beasts in every cave ! If you live with mice, the cat claws will find you.

The only real rest comes when you're alone with God.

Live in the no where that you came from, even though you have an address here.

You have eyes that see from that no where, and eyes that judge distances, how high and how low. You own two shops, and you run back and forth.

Try to close the one that's a fearful trap getting always smaller, checkmate, this way, checkmate that.

Keep open the shop where you're not selling fishhooks anymore. You Are the free swimming fish.

- Rumi

The Ten Oxherding Pictures

The spiritual journey is represented by metaphors.  I mentioned in class this week the Ten Oxherding pictures as a description of the process of sensing the path to full realization.  You can read more about these here.

If This Is It

It's always pleasing when popular culture draws on the message of 'being here now.'  This is a ridiculously addictive song you might enjoy. [youtube]deR9Jt2V7YU[/youtube]

A few lyrics:

but if i had one chance to freeze time and stand still and soak in everything i'd choose right now if i had one night where sunshine could break through and show you everything i'd choose right now

if this is it all we have i know i've done all i can if this is it and we can't stop and start again we can't fast forward to the end this is it

(Thanks, Elizabeth.)

Happy For No Reason: Impromptu Duet

It's been a long time since a good "Happy for no Reason" video came along. This is great.  No introduction needed.

[youtube]TZwdtwi5ngI[/youtube]

(Thanks, Vicki.)

March 26th, "Focusing and Mindfulness to treat Trauma and PTSD"

If you are interested in the application of Mindfulness and the modality of Focusing, you might enjoy this day.  It will be comprised of four 1.5 hour presentations.

Join us for an Educational Seminar sponsored by Chi Sigma Iota at Marymount University:

“Focusing and Mindfulness to treat Trauma and PTSD”

Friday, March 26, 2010 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Honorable Guest Speaker:

Jonathan Foust

Seminar Description: Focusing-Oriented Psychotherapy comes from the pioneering work of philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin at the University of Chicago, where he collaborated with Carl Rogers. Dr. Gendlin's work has been honored by three awards from The American Psychological Association.  His research found that successful therapy is largely based on what the client is doing internally for a whole bodily “felt sense” of their situation. These findings led to further research in the last fifty years and to exact understandings about how this inner checking can be found.  This workshop will discuss and show how to use these techniques to enter into the body more deeply and   find intricate patterns of personal experience.  This seminar will show how Focusing is used to heal trauma and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) by helping to contact the bodily felt sense of a traumatic experience as a safe observer.  During the day the presentation will also offer experiential teaching and learning by allowing “hands on” application of these techniques.  These teachings are also valuable for dealing with difficult emotions and moods, addictions, compulsions, grief and loss, and other commonly known issues and disorders.

Jonathan Foust: Jonathan is a certified Focusing teacher by the International Focusing Institute. He is also accredited in the field of Mindfulness training and is a senior teacher in the Insight Meditation Community of Washington (IMCW). He has practiced meditation and yoga since 1972. A senior teacher and former president of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, he has been teaching yoga and meditation for over twenty years in both residential and corporate settings.  Jonathan leads three weekly meditation classes as well as retreats in the DC area and around the country. He is the creator of the "Year of Living Mindfully" program and offers private sessions in Focusing, a body-oriented therapy that is powerfully synergistic with mindfulness meditation.

Friday, March 26, 2010 from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm  ∙  Registration begins at 8:00 am

Marymount University  ∙  Ballston Academic Center

1000 N. Glebe Rd. Arlington, VA  22203

Walter B. Truland Auditorium (First Floor)

Metro Accessible ~ Ballston Metro Stop / Orange Line

Very limited parking available

Continental breakfast and afternoon refreshments are included in registration fee – Lunch is on your own

Registration Form (Registration Deadline: March 19, 2010)

Name:  ________________________________ Address: _____________________________________

Phone Number:  _________________________ Email: _____________________________________

Registration Fee:          Marymount Students / Alumni ($25.00)  ________

Professionals / Community Members ($60.00) ______

*Mail this registration form along with a check payable to Marymount University, CSI to:

Dr. Joseph Cooper, Department of Counseling, 2807 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA 22207

Questions?  Please Contact Steve Zappalla at szappi1@hotmail.com or 571-271-7284

I'm Baaaaaack!

As the teacher Adyashanti says, "Sit still long enough with your eyes closed and something is gonna happen."

Indeed.  A lot did.

The first many days I focused on getting concentrated.  No, actually, the first few days were trying to stay awake.  I think I slept over ten hours the first few nights.

After that, I started to work on sharpening my capacity to stay present.  I did Anapana Sati - breath awareness - and thinking I might make this a concentration retreat, I focused on the very subtle sensation of the breath against my upper lip.

After a number of days - I can't remember how many - I decided I'd open up my awareness beyond this strict concentration practice and in the silence and undistracted schedule, was treated to the spectacle of the mind manufacturing an unbelievable amount of content.

One thing I always come to recognize is just how shameless the mind is.

I experienced moments of amazing expansiveness and presence as well as old hurts, petty grievances, planning, fantasy and small-mindedness.  Mostly what I came to experience was how little control we actually have over the mind and the different states of consciousness as they come and go.  After a few weeks of paying attention to this it can be incredibly entertaining to watch the mind thinking in a moment of clarity, "What a great job I'm doing!" and during a meditation filled with disheartening fog, "What went wrong?  How do I get 'back there?'".

Eventually I began to see there is nowhere to 'get.'  And that's when the relaxation began to flow, a deepening awareness of the qualities of impermanence, clinging and the truly ephemeral sense of 'self.'

I was really happy to go.  And really happy to be back.

What to Bring?

It’s time to pack.

One month.

My goal:  One bag.

It’s the heart of the wet season in Northern California and the temperature will range from 40 - 60 degrees.  For an ectomorph like me, these temperatures can still feel pretty chilly when it’s so humid.

My rule of thumb is to bring just enough so that if I wear everything on the coldest day, I’m still toasty.  I wash my clothes when I take my daily shower.  (I use a waterproof bag for soaking and rinsing.)

Here’s a list of what I’m taking on retreat.  It all fits in one carryon bag.

Feet

Hiking boots.  Waterproof, for hiking in rain and mud.

Crocs.  Light, comfy slip-ons.

4 pair of Thorlo hiking socks and 3 pair of liners.  (An indulgence, as socks are such a pain to hand-launder and can take a long time to dry.)

Legs

2 pair quick-drying underwear

1 pair of light-weight long underwear

1 pair of fleece pants

2 pair of nylon, lightweight pants.

1 pair gym shorts

Torso

2 pair silk undershirts

2 pair quick-dry undershirts

1 lightweight merino wool zip

1 fleece shirt

Outerwear

Travel Vest

Rain jacket

Rain pants

Down sweater

Patagonia sweatshirt with hood

Rain hat

Wool cap

Sealskins lightweight waterproof gloves

Outdoor / Adventure

Nylon daypack

Water bottle

Steripen water purifier

Hydration tablets

Hiking-sized first aid kit

Sunglasses

Small LED flashlight

Mind

Two spiral bound notebooks for journaling

As It Is, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

The Sound of Silence by Ajahn Sumedho

Small Boat, Great Mountain, by Amaro Bikhu

Practicing the Jhanas, by Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen

Toilette

OralB toothbrush with charger

Neti pot and non-iodized salt

Tongue scraper

Floss

Soap

Concentrated mouthwash

Rescue Remedy

Toothpaste

Razor

Shaving oil

Laundry

Unscented liquid laundry soap

Waterproof bag for soaking

2 inflatable hangers for drying shirts

Elastic clothesline

Sundry

Earplugs

Eye mask

Inflatable meditation cushion

Lightweight wool shawl

“Miracle Balls” (Small plastic balls for releasing pressure on the spine)

Heavy weight elastic band (for strength training if I get inspired)

Supplements

Fish oil

Vitamin B

Vitamin C

Multi vitamin

Excedrin migraine pain reliever

Emergen-C

Technology

iPhone

iPhone charger

Headphones

Backup battery

Canon G11 camera

Battery charger

Lightweight tripod

LED reading light

Small extension cord

Virtual Conferencing, February 19th

These days it can be hard to get to a conference or a workshop. That's changing.

I'll be teaching at the 1st Annual Virtual World Yoga Conference, entitled "Yoga, Health & Happiness". This 3-day Virtual Conference is scheduled to be held February 19th to 21st, 2010.

This means you stay at home, or get together with friends at a local yoga studio, and connect via the phone or Internet with teachers from all over the world who will share tools and techniques for living a fulfilling and happy life.

The session I'm teaching is called "Immeasurable Happiness: Exploring the Myths of Meditation."

When you register for the conference, you can attend any and all of the sessions. If for some reason you can't make one, you can listen to the recording at your convenience.

Full details and registration

Because I'm a scheduled as a conference speaker and faculty member, I am able extend a special $100 savings to you by using the coupon code JFST219. (Note: this coupon can be applied to your cart during the checkout payment process for an instant $100 off the general admission price.)

See what it's all about here

January Images

A Virtual Yoga Conference

Amazing to see what technology can do.  Way back when I was at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health we launched a collaboration between our organization and Yoga Journal with three Conferences with some of the best teachers around.  I had the privilege of directing these conferences and we had about 350 people attend, which in those days were fantastic numbers. Since then, Yoga Journal has moved on to sponsor conferences around the country which draw more than 1,000 people.  And the wave continues.

An organization called YogaHub is pulling teachers and traditions together online.  February 19 - 21 they will launch their first annual on-line yoga conference.

Pretty wild.  I'll be presenting a class on meditation (pre-recorded, as I'll be on retreat during the conference) and am intrigued to see how this works.

Check it out if you feel drawn.  It's a brilliant concept.

Yoga Hub

My presentation

The Known Universe

Just in case you might need a little perspective. [youtube]17jymDn0W6U[/youtube]

(Thanks, Laurel.)

Outdoor Service

Dharma brother John Sykes forwarded me this invitation if you'd like to get outside and do some wholesome service:

Potomac Gorge Invasive  Removal & Hike

Activity:  Conservation Subcategory: Hiking Status: OPEN

Invasive Species Removal with The Nature  Conservancy, Bethesda,  MD. Join us along  the C & O canal to help The Nature Conservancy remove an  invasive species, English ivy, which is damaging native trees. After  lunch, a leisurely 5-7 mile walk along the towpath. Dinner after for  those that care to partake at Listrani's on MacArthur Blvd. Details  and directions to those registered ten days before the  event.

Date(s): March 13,  2010 (Sat) Location: Bethesda,   Maryland, Capital Area  (DC),  MD MD Trip  Difficulty: Easy: flat <http://www.outdoors.org/recreation/difficulty-ratings.cfm> Sponsoring  Chapter: Washington  DC Registrar: Mary Ann Ray 6783 Thorneton  Road , Easton ,  MD  21601 410-745-6852 (best time to call: After  7:00pm) user = "conservation"; site = "amc-dc.org"; document.write(''); document.write(user + '@' + site);  conservation@amc-dc.org<mailto:conservation@amc-dc.org> Leader: Mary Ann Ray 410-745-6852 (best time to call: After  7:00pm) user = "conservation"; site = "amc-dc.org"; document.write(''); document.write(user + '@' + site);  conservation@amc-dc.org<mailto:conservation@amc-dc.org> Co-Leader: Paul Ray 410-745-6852 (best time to call: After  7:00pm) user = "pray"; site = "dmv.com"; document.write(''); document.write(user + '@' + site);  pray@dmv.com <mailto:pray@dmv.com> Registration is  required for this trip. See contact  above.

Commit to Sit

I'm grateful for the luxury of a month-long retreat and am wondering if you might like to take this month to deepen your practice as well. This is an invitation to take on a discipline for the month of February.  (We'll check in in March and see how it went.)

Back in the ashram, we employed a very useful mechanism for keeping a practice alive.  We called it having a 'sadhana buddy.'  (Sadhana means 'spiritual practice.')

A sadhana buddy (or study buddy or dharma buddy) is someone with whom you partner for a period of time with the intention to keep your attention on your commitment to practice.

Here are the basic steps:

1.  Find someone with whom you might partner.

2.  Decide on your aspiration for this period of time.

3.  Determine what kind of support would work best for you.

A few clarifications:

1. Find someone with whom you might partner.

Your dharma buddy doesn't have to be a close friend.  Sometimes it's a nice way to get to know someone or even amp up the accountability factor.

2.  Decide on your aspiration for this period of time.

Your aspiration doesn't have to be limited to meditation.  Any life-enhancing practice can be your focus for the month.

You might like to explore 'restraint with awareness:'

Perhaps you'd like to eliminate some foods from your diet and explore what that feels like.  Or cut out extraneous web-surfing for the month.  For a set period of time, Joseph Goldstein once embarked on a practice of not speaking about anyone unless they were present.  Drop a television show that really doesn't do it for you anyway.  Eliminate or reduce some activity that you sense isn't life-enhancing.

Or you might consciously add something:

Commit to a daily practice of a certain length.  Try a yoga or movement class.  Take on a good dharma book.  Engage into a reasonable exercise regime.  Do a daily gratitude list.  Journal every day for a month.

It doesn't really matter what you commit to.  The interesting thing is to see how the commitment shapes your experience.

3.  Determine what kind of support would work best for you.

This can be a lot of fun.  Some people schedule a weekly call, send a brief daily email with their successes and challenges, have a weekly get together to share what they're noticing.

Make it fun.  Having someone with whom you can share the topic of commitment and change can be a wonderfully deepening experience.

If you decide to take a month-long practice of your own, look at every way you can help it be a success ... and let me know how it went for you!

One Week to Retreat

One week to my departure to Club Med.  Club Meditation, that is.

For the month of February I’ll be immersed in a Vipassana Retreat in the canyons of Northern California at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, about 45 minutes north of San Francisco.

The setting is fantastic.  The retreat is up a side canyon and backs into what seems to be square miles upon square miles of open land.  Steep hills, deep, rutted arroyos, a blend of grassland and trees of all varieties.  Deer and wild turkey nonchalantly wander through the campus.

I will be living a stripped down life.  Sitting meditation, walking meditation, meals in silence.  A ‘yogi job’ for one hour a day either working in the kitchen or doing household chores.

A teacher of mine once said that we don’t gain anything by adding things to our lives.  The value comes when we take things away.  I go on and on about ‘restraint with awareness’ as part of the path.  This is a pretty ‘restrained’ month.

No speaking.  No eye contact.  No email.  No vmail.  No web.  No iPhone on my hip.  No reading beyond one or two classical dharma books, if I read at all.  Writing will be restricted to taking notes on dharma talks or scribbling something down that just HAS to be recorded.

Other than two 15 minute interviews with a teacher per week, I’ll be in silence.    The last month-long I sat I croaked for the first few minutes of my interviews as my vocal chords felt so out of use.

It’s kind of fun to pack for a trip like this.  How many clothes does one need if no one is looking at you for a whole month?  I’ll do my ‘one bag’ travel thing and bring the absolute minimum, hand-washing my clothes daily as part of my routine.  A few quick-dry t-shirts, underwear, some long underwear, socks and some light wool sweaters that I’ll layer.

It’s the rainy reason, so I’ll bring full rain gear for hiking in what will probably be pretty soggy hills.

It’s hard to get excited about a meditation retreat.  I suspect, if it’s like retreats I’ve done in the past, that I’ll go through some extreme fatigue, a period of intense mental/emotional and physical turbulence and settle into a stillness and subtlety impossible to replicate in the outside world.

I’m bursting with gratitude to have a month like this to pause so deeply.  There is nothing like a retreat where you feel so supported.  People are cooking for you, cleaning up for you, concerned for your welfare and well-being and your only ‘job’ is to be fully present to what is.

Tundra Swans

It's that time of year when the Tundra Swans pass through for a short while.  I was out the other morning and saw three, but didn't have my telephoto lens.  I grabbed a shot in low light which is pretty lousy.

So of course I've been down there every morning since and of course, no tundra swans.

These are one of North America's largest migrating birds with a wingspan of up to 85 inches.  They breed in the western arctic, but winter down here.  That's a 3,000 mile migration with half their lives in transit.

Ice or Water?

The river is such an alive organism.  In the midst of a deep freeze, there is always some movement, even if it's just below the surface.  The following image explores the relationship between solid and liquid.