Settling Down Before the Storm

Posted on by

The last few days have been relatively quiet. I’m trying to settle down a little before the house closes. Although, the stress of moving, and losing, so much is hard to dismiss from my mind.

I’ve been discouraged in my search for a new home. Apartments in the area I’m looking are quite expensive and not the best in quality or space. I’ve finally found a few buildings which look promising, but they have no units available until the August time-frame. I’ll try and call them back again closer to the end of this month and hope that some units become available.

In the meantime, I only have a few weeks to move out and that may entail moving all my belongings into a storage space as a stop-gap measure. I wish I could just have things settle down and become stable — for everyone. But alas, that will take some time and much more patience.

My meditation is going well. I feel much better about my Tuesday night class and am happy that some of the members of the introduction course have now moved over to this next class.

Origins is only two weeks away and I haven’t booked my hotel yet. I’ve been waiting for a secured Visa to arrive so I can begin calling around for a hotel. I am looking forward to going again this year — especially with my oldest son for the first time! I will try and let all my worries and stress fade away and enjoy this special time with him.

Picking the kids up tomorrow night for the long weekend. Going to try and do something fun with them — just not sure what yet. I’ll let you know.

Namaste,
Lone

Thank You

Posted on by

Tonight was my last meditation class of a 8-week introduction course.

Thank you Gwen for teaching with warmth, patience and humility.

I will continue on with the next 16-week session. I hope to see some of the Sangha from the first course in these next sessions.

With gratitude,
Lone

Concentration

Posted on by

This weekend was the first time I’ve had the opportunity to use a real tripod during my photography. I have a small table-top tripod I’ve used for some macro work, but I’ve never taken that tripod outdoors.

I visited a conservation site on Friday evening which holds a special meaning for me. It’s been a refuge to me on many occasions and I visit it when I need to get away to solitude and think — or just be at peace.

It was a treat to use my new tripod during this visit. I arrived a little late and it made taking some photos a little more challenging. I didn’t get a chance to hike very far from the parking lot so I made the best of the small area traversed to take some photos and frame some shots.

I like the sky in this photo and the break in the center of the frame adds interest.

The sun was setting just beyond this overgrown stairway. I really love the impermanence this photo represents.

I took a few more shots in the short time I had light available and packed up my gear and headed back to the car. I didn’t realize, when I was taking these photos, just how concentrated my mind had become. It was so still, it came as a shock to return to my car.

While I was setting up and shooting I had become completely immersed in the experience of photography — to the point that I forgot everything else. Where I was, what time it was, who I am — all completely missing until I returned to my car. I was shocked and pleasantly surprised.

I wished I could have stayed longer and hiked further that night. I will make time in the future to do so. This small expanse of wilderness truly is a refuge. And if I can find refuge here, why not also in my mind…

Namaste,
Lone

Walking on the Path

Posted on by

Another busy weekend and an equally busy mind.

I completed my first day-long meditation retreat this past Saturday. I enjoyed the experience and it was very well lead. I found that my mind was far too restless to become settled over the course of the day.

Partly, this was due not enough sleep the night before. I went to see The Avengers on Friday night with my two sons and the early-evening shows were all sold out. So we waited until the 10:35pm showing. We were all tired at that point, but the movie helped keep us awake and we all enjoyed it.

It was really nice to spend some quality time with both my sons and I think waiting for the movie to start was a very good thing in the end.

So, on the meditation retreat, this was the first time I’ve had any formal instruction in walking meditation. I found that the walking meditation really worked well to calm my mind and concentrate my awareness. It is something I will have to continue in the future — looking forward to it.

After dropping my kids off on Sunday evening, I stopped close to home and took a nice slow walk along a trail as the sun was going down. Just me, my little dog Cocoa, and my camera. It was a great way to wrap up a busy weekend and I arrived home later that evening much relaxed. I even had a few nice photos to edit that night.

Ladybug

Today is fairly busy for a Monday and I have tomorrow off work to get some items knocked off my to-do list for the house closing. I still haven’t found a place to move to yet and that is going to keep me on edge until I can sort it out. I’ll work towards resolving that this coming week.

Namaste,
Lone

Use This Body

Posted on by

It is truly amazing what a difference a simple workout makes.

I felt completely drained yesterday. I did not have enough sleep over the past few days and I definitely didn’t feel like working out last night. But I forced myself to do so — discipline, after all.

Not working out for the past two weeks, I was not surprised that my weight limits had decreased — not too dramatically though. It felt great to work out and I slept very well last night. Woke up this morning feeling rested and refreshed — even though I only had 6 hours of sleep.

What I didn’t expect is how the physical activity affected my mind. I am feeling much more at peace this morning. My tinnitus is considerably better today — it had been getting worse over the past few weeks. And best of all, my headache has finally gone away!

Lesson learned! I won’t slack off again or make any excuse to not work out. I realize it is far too important to my life and well-being.

I am looking forward to working out this evening and getting to bed a little earlier tonight.

Namaste,
Lone