In the White Space

I just took a weekend retreat from the news this past weekend. On Monday, I found myself engrossed checking the papers online for any important stories I may have missed. I should have waited a few more days becaue the big story of Congress reconvening to put its stamp on the feeding tube case just got my goat. I was somewhat shocked by the overt hypocrisy. Does anyone believe Congress and the President are sympathetic for these two parents who suffer over their adult child who has been brain dead for 15 years? I do not.

Here we have the Legislative and the Executive branches of the national government working overtime on a bill that affects only one family. How much money did it cost to keep the government open over the weekend, fly members of Congress and Air Force One back to Washington, to debate and then vote on the bill that was signed at 1:30 AM on Monday? Congress as a collective body has turned its back on thousands of human lives killed for the so called "war on terror".

Congressional leaders showed their greedy pencil vision over the weekend pandering to a simple-minded few who seem to learn their lessons from Sunday services and the television. These faithful but powerful few then scoff at other intellectual thought. I gather there are many in this group who are more concerned with the state of this woman whom they do not know, than with their own family's health; in fact I'm sure of it. These are the same few who support killing through war, capital punishment and gun freedom then storm the doors of Wal-Mart exploiting the worlds poor.

After my weekend retreat away from the news and other negative stimuli, I thought of a way to describe my life. I am one who lives in the white space of a double-spaced paragraph. It is somewhat boring but essential to the whole.

Takes Commitment and Resolve

I know I can get caught up when I go window shopping on the computer. I was doing some reading at Buddhanet and I had this great idea to get a larger Buddha statue for the meditation room. There is a small one in the room now that is suffient but of course my untrained mind went looking on the internet. This led to an onslaught of information I did not need and some craving I did not need. I saw some beautiful Buddha statues I could not afford and for what? After a web page loaded that was full of advertising and flashing colors I thought what am I doing and I regained control. I could try to blame this on something I learned today about meditation but that would be wrong. I know you don't need anything special for your mediation practice. It was just another example of my western conditioning to be a wasteful consumer. To fight the impulse takes commitment and resolve and I did it today.

Another Lesson in Acceptance

What makes something hard to do? I look at things that I don't want to do as "hard to do". I feel these are things I have to do but I don't want to do them. So I ask, why do I feel I have to do them? It must be the conditioning I have received. The pressures from society and the onslaught of marketing that have created an unconsciousness that leads to internal conflict. Such as, I want to love everybody and see them as a part of myself but I still allow people to piss me off.

I have made progress but my anxiousness still bubbles up from time to time. Oh. This must be another lesson in acceptance. I just needed to write it down. I can and do accept it. So really I do not have to do anything. Every moment is a choice and if I am truly present I will make the right choice for that moment. Through right action I can undo the conditioning I believe has made it imperative not to be present in our lives.

I Have a Notion

I have spent the past hour or so reading about the artist Gregory Colbert. I am fascinated by what he is able to do. His experience is amazing and speaks of finding truth in what you do with your life. It started with an article about his new exhibit at Pier 54 in NYC that was in the NY Times today. From there I wanted to see some of his work so I searched and found plenty to read and see. The temporary museum built of recyclable materials and shipping containers is terrific. I have a notion to go visit some friends in NYC and take in the exhibit. Who knows maybe we will get to meet Colbert and share our story. We could even end up on the next exhibition with Colbert to live with elephants and meditate. Unfortunately, as with so many things these days, there is a gentle hand that holds at bay those who can not pay.

I Went With It

Over the weekend, I attended three yoga classes. I had only planned to attend one class on Friday morning. This class was great. It set me up for a peaceful day at work. Greg and I agreed to meet for another class the next day.

On Saturday, the yoga class was full with 20 people compared to Friday’s class of five in the same space. It was clearly a different experience with a heightened energy. The music during class was by the Maharaj-ji inspired artist Krishna Das. His music is wonderful for yoga. I love it. Bryan, the yoga teacher, let me borrow the cd as long as I came to Sunday’s class to bring it back. So riding home we had Krishna Das lead us in kirtan that kept the mood peaceful and free.

Then on Sunday, there were only four students. This class was very different because it began with a meditation and ended with a meditation. The class lasted for two hours when only one hour was scheduled. The energy this day was very special and I went with it. Doing our asanas with our backs to the circle was a change that worked for me. I felt more at ease looking at the wall even though I keep my eyes softly closed during practice. We all got to focus on our core energy rather than on the inabilities of our physical bodies. We were in the moment and although we all seemed to suffer from a bit of congestion or cold, we found stillness and peace.