Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
How was your day?
Simonthepilgrim
Veteran
This may be "off the wall" but I am starting a thread with that question:
How was your day?
A chance to rejoice, moan, weep and laugh about the day we've had and share it with out sangha brothers and sisters.
So far, today, I have vacuumed four rooms, the stairs and the hall, while a friend came behind me, shampoooing the carpets. It has rained stair-rods but now the sun is beating down. The rain was quite spectacular as were the rainbows. We get some wonderful rainbows here.
Now I am 'cream crackered' and shall make myself a cup of Lady Grey tea before settling down to one of the following: the crossword or reading. But, if reading, shall I carry on with the new Phil Rickman or dive further into Sangharakshita's The Eternal Legacy which is a wonderful introduction to and analysis of 'canonical' literature in Buddhism. All decisions!
How was your day?
A chance to rejoice, moan, weep and laugh about the day we've had and share it with out sangha brothers and sisters.
So far, today, I have vacuumed four rooms, the stairs and the hall, while a friend came behind me, shampoooing the carpets. It has rained stair-rods but now the sun is beating down. The rain was quite spectacular as were the rainbows. We get some wonderful rainbows here.
Now I am 'cream crackered' and shall make myself a cup of Lady Grey tea before settling down to one of the following: the crossword or reading. But, if reading, shall I carry on with the new Phil Rickman or dive further into Sangharakshita's The Eternal Legacy which is a wonderful introduction to and analysis of 'canonical' literature in Buddhism. All decisions!
0
Comments
Life is difficult.
We're having a series of legal problems, and due to certain administrative and bureocratic circumstances, have absolutely no income of any kind whatsoever at this time...
I don't want to go into great detail because these matters do not only concern me, but I tell you, we've had more than our fair share of knock-backs this year....
So sundays are our sod'em days....
The weather has been glorious for the past week or so... clear warm blue skies (very Buddha Mind!) and a freshness promising an autumn full of colour....
I'm really lucky to have a small peugeot 205 convertible.... we drove home yesterday evening from Nick's dad's house, with the roof down and a sky so full of stars it was breath-taking.....
Things like that can help put life in perspective......
If nobody objects, (especially Brian!) I'm going to "sticky" this thread so that people can perpetually add to it, and we can all look back and read it, and our own posts, and think....
Man, she sure is lazy!!
I woke up to a phone call from a staff member from my other site saying that the site was down. yay!
I have a headache this morning. I have headaches a lot. I'm starting to worry about it. I think I should see a doctor.
We are still out of sugar. I am drinking my coffee with honey this morning, and it's actually pretty good. (by this morning, I mean 13:00)
I am excited about the possibilities for today, though. I recently got a free subscription to a magazine called "Outdoor Photographer" and flipping through these photography magazines always inspires me. I read an article about creating exciting contrast and now I can't wait to go out and shoot some pictures to fool around with this stuff. We're going to pick up my kids from my mom's (she watched them last night) and go somewhere to hang out and shoot pictures.
Get those headaches seen to!
I'm sorry to hear about Tracey's grandfather, as well as your recent headaches. If they are quite frequent and unlike the avergage ache I would suggest that you get checked out.
Simon,
Interesting idea.
Anyway, it's 10:00 am and my girlfriend and I are about to get ready to visit our two friends, Mike and Tara. Today we are all going to do a ritual for the fall equinox (they are a pagan couple), then afterwards we will have dinner (chicken I believe), and finally finish the night off with a continuation of our D & D game.
If you are unaware of what that is, it is a role-playing game called Dungeons & Dragons: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/whatisdnd We began this game a month or two ago. It's my first time ever playing it, and I find it is quite enjoyable. It beats monopoly any day.
Jason
You may need your eyes re-tested if you get constant headaches.... you don't spend much time infront of a PC by any chance, do you?
It could be a trapped nerve in your neck, or even a dental problem.
As everyone says - get it checked!
Yea, we're a little bit late because we were all unable to get together on Thursday. Besides us there are two more people joining in. Sunday is usually the day we are all able to get together. What can you do?
Jason
Brian - may I suggest that you cut caffine out of your diet for a week? Drink water instead! If the headaches persist then a doctor may be the best idea. Ever considered visiting a master in TCM? (Traditional Chinese Medicine).
I've had a heavy two days. I just split up with my girlfriend of 2 years. We've been living together for a year and a half so I've spent most of today sifting through stuff...
Of course it's been difficult but I find myself smiling at the simplicity and reality of life, as I take refuge. One moment sad the other happy. Isn't life a wonder!
Here's wishing all my sangha brothers and sisters a good weekend and an even better Monday!
_/\_
Yeah, I celebrated the Equinox (or Mabon) as well on Thursday night.
Today (Sunday) I have been washing clothes and studying my three college online courses and catching up with course work that needed to be done. Tomorrow starts the new work week for me and school for Jennifer.
Adiana :type: :mullet:
Got up relatively early - meditated - played a couple of games with my son this morning after breakfast and then went to band practice. Practice went well. Went and got McDonald's with my son and went to eat it in a local park.
Came home back and did some laundry and watched my son play a new video game and yacked with him. Took him home and then went for a long motorcycle ride outside of town where there is a lot of wheat farming. Saw cut fields, lots of deer grazing in the fields, meandering streams and lots of beautiful blue sky.
Came home hopped in the internet and am sitting here trying to finish a song that I'm writing for the band from some of the discussions we've had here about things going on in our world. Incorporating some "om mani padme hum" ala Mr. George Harrison (he did it with Krsna... why not Buddha!) into the chorus and verses - we'll see how it pans out.
Meditate this evening, a little Harry Potter before bed and then it's getting back to work for me. That's the only bad thing about impermanence.... weekend always end.
-bf
Oh, Bummer, BSF!! Sorry to hear that... keep your chin up pal, and lean on folks when you need to...:)
It just needed to happen and so it did...
I am also sorry to hear about your separation. I hope that it is not too painful for you or your partner. That is one experience I do not envy nor delight in hearing about.
Jason
Please do not worry - for everything is but another chance to deepen our practice!
I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. :sadc: :hair: I have never had to experience anything like that and I consider myself most fortunate for not having to do so. I will be chanting and praying for you this evening.
Adiana :type: :mullet:
Thank you greatly for your kind words.
Please accept my thanks for any positive action you may take on my behalf.
Can I only ask that you not pray solely for me but for the limitless beings entangled in the world of samsara. That we all may truely realise and live the reality of life.
Ohm Mahni Padme Hum.
_/\_
Dave
The horse returns, followed by two more wild horses, and his neighours say "Oh, what good luck!". The farmer says "Maybe..."
The farmer's son breaks his leg after being thrown from one of the wild horses, and his neighours say "Oh, what bad luck!". The farmer says "Maybe..."
A passing army, looking for recruits, decides to bypass the farmer's injured son, and his neighours say "Oh, what good luck!". The farmer says "Maybe..."
...
When my wife got pregnant years ago, we decided to get married. When she lost the baby, we were devastated, but we decided to get married anyway. When we decided to adopt, we had been married just long enough to qualify for a Korean child. And now we have a beautiful daughter who is the light of our lives. Now I know that the heartbreak of that failed pregnancy was the seed for something wonderful in the future.
You never know how something is going to turn out.
Chin up, BSF. I don't know you, but I feel for you...
Very happy day.
Many thanks.
My chin is at a good altitude - thank you all!
While reading an extensive poem on a tombstone, my son's tooth fell out finally. That made his day.
Today was back to work day. I didn't get much done because I was at one client's for most of the day. Oh well.
The weather was cool so I just finished cutting my grass. Now I'm hot, itchy, and sweaty.
This is also day 1 of *beautifulspringtimefist*'s no-caffeine diet. I drank no caffeine today. I feel fine.
Time for a beer
The tiredness, I attribute to my blocked arteries. I have bad days and worse ones ATM but, today, I got a letter from my cardiologist who thinks that PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) is a possibility but will know more after my CT scan. It is so annoying when I find myself dozing off, sometimes in the middle of writing!
As for the angry thoughts, it is Party Conference season and, as one who has been politically cative as long as I can remember, I find these modern, stage- (or stooge-) managed Labour Party bunfights deeply depressing. Add to that the writing I have been doing on democracy and it is a recipe for discomfort!
Alongside all this is the disturbance in the atmosphere caused, as each year, by Autumn. There is enormous energy built up around these islands just now, bringing rain and gales. Whilst they are nothing like the hurricanes, they do upset psycho-emotional balance. It is strange that we do not have names for our prevailing winds in the way that they do in France, Germany or North Africa (among others). In Germany, surgeons are asked not to operate when the Foehn is blowing. In France, the Mistral can be used as an explanation for murder. But we, who have as much wind as anywhere, simply try to ignore them!
I am coming in a little late! I spent every minute with my daughter yesterday because she was sick. At first we thought it was croup, but turns out to be just a nasty cough. So we snuggled all day. Even though she was sick, I enjoyed every minute of relaxing with her. Since she is a toddler, when she is feeling good, it is impossible to get her to sit still!
Saturday was a sad day for me...it was the 14th anniversary of my father's death. My husband and I had dinner with some good friends, so that helped a little. The hardest part for me is seeing my mother alone. It breaks my heart.
Anyways....the weather here is wonderful. Fall is my favorite time of the year! I can't wait to do some yoga tonight and meditate - I missed it yesterday since I was spending every minute with my daughter.
Simon...I am sorry you are not feeling so well lately. hang in there and I hope you get your energy back soon. My thoughts are with you.
BSF - sorry to hear of your split with your girlfirend, but you seem to be in good spirits!
Fede - sorry to hear of your troubles as well. Hang in there.
Brian - sorry to hear about your wife's grandfather passing away. I hope your family is doing well.
Did I miss anyone??
Have a wonderful day everyone!
Simon, I'm really sorry to hear that you've been feeling so out of sorts and ill-at-ease for so many reasons.... like number 33 buses, things all seem to come at once, and every now and then, even the strongest among us feels the floor tipping, and the plates we're spinning look dangerously close to tumbling.....
I know, for a fact, that the different phases of the moon have an extremely strong and real effect on both my Humour and Nick's.... when it's a new moon, the atmosphere is variable between tetchy and tearful.... when it's a full moon - man, it's balistic....! Whenever we realise we're 'biting', the first thing we do is check the calendar. The French hold great store by the Moon - there are booklets sold on when and how to do EVERYTHING - from laundry, to cutting hair and - naturally - gardening, according to the lunar phases. And yes, you're right, The Mistral is often cited as a cause for many "ills" of mankind - ! The local gendarmes even have an 'atmospheric & barometric' calendar (on which, incidentally, the moon's phases are also noted) in their Bureau....!
Let us not forget that for all our sophistication, we are still mammals. but unlike our "lowlier" counterparts, we have shrugged off Nature's signaletic timetable, and prefer to do things in a man-made structured fashion. But this is a time (according to TCM*) of transition - it is the overlap period between the time of Summer Fire and Autumn Metal.... a time to sit back, look back on the year's developments and progress, and to evaluate and take stock. And a time to look ahead to the autumn period of harvest and gathering, and decide on how best to tackle the 'dark Yin' period of Winter Water..... Most animals slow down and/or hibernate.... but oh no! not us.... we actually plan a period of festive excess and 'gluttony' thereby going against what Nature advises..... Any wonder then the spring diet and spring clean - ?!?
(* = Traditional Chinese Medicine.... the Five Phases of..... well, everything, really..... If anyone is interested, I can start a new Thread to discuss TCM further. Let me know by PM... if enough are interested, I can bore you all quite happily to tears...!!)
As for me, I choose to enbrace the energy inturruption, by simply facing brother wind and allowing him to flow through me. We have always been connected with nature and mother Earth. And thus we feel the changes much the way she feels them.
The only time I get out of balance is when everything goes silent. Which happens usually around the 1st of October.
As for the political aspects. Well need I say more. :grumble:
Thank you. It is so good to have a place I can come and simply be "simple Simon"!
Here, too, F., it is a time of transition, a 'threshold' time. The equinoxes mark this special time and I embrace the discomfort as showing me that I have managed to shake off some of the 'civilised' conditioning that was laid on me.
This morning, I walked (very slowly) up to the Tops, to a local standing stone, to let the Sou'Westerly speak to me as it liked. Got rather wet and chilly but no cobwebs left! Gave me a chance to tidy up round the stone as well.
Moonlgt...
Aren't the Santa Ana winds (which are awful this time of year because of how dry the forests get and the chance of fire) called
El Nino!?!?!?!?
Reminds me of Creature Feature when I was a kid and all the Japanese running away from "Godzirrrrra!"
-bf
While it is true the Santa Ana winds are Dry ( mostly because they come in off the deserts).
They really are not a part of an El nino or La Nina.
http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/tao/elnino/nino-home.html
-bf
P.S. I've heard that a large dinner of baked beans and pears can create some nasty winds too...
cabbage
eggs
beans
pears
jerusalem artichokes (these are worse than anything else, believe me!)
parsnips
lentils
my mum's prune and fig cake.....
-bf
N E 1 else....?
Whoever made "deviled eggs" must have known what it's like to sit beneath the bowels of Satan...
-bf
I woke up very late today. I feel pretty bad about that. I spent too much time playing video games last night.
i'm such a big kid
I have also heard that people who stop drinking a lot of coffee suffer with headaches as part of the withdrawal from caffiene...
Just something to think about.
-bf
I really don't drink that much caffeine. I have basically two cups of coffee a day, and rarely ever drink pop (soda).
Unless it's a food allergy that I'm not aware of yet - I've thought that maybe that could be the case. I should analyze what I ate the day before and the day of a headache....
As the equinoctial gales blow stronger, so my body accumulates energy. Year by year, I have expressed (= pressed out, like a mother's milk) this energy in many ways. This year, my body is very tired and little effort exhausts me so the energy has been coming out as combative rather than constructive. I have been engaging in controversies that I have learned to ignore. I read posts, here and elsewhere, that set my teeth on edge and I want to weigh in!
I can step aside from the feeling, watch it evolve, rise and fall. But, when I do that, I fail to honour the energies of earth, sky and sea, oak, ash and thorn. The trees are being stripped of their leaves, the clouds are scudding across the sky, and I am part of this great upheaval. So I have found, just today, a way of dipping in and out.
But it is such hard work! Thank the Powers that this time passes away into the gentleness of full Autumn and the deep peace of Winter.
Please strangle away!
Seriously I only suggested cutting the caffiene because it dehydrates - a major source of headaches.
Plus it's always nice to cut out any sneaky drug dependencies!
Even if it means you're a bit :mean: for a while!
Day 2 of no caffeine, and I'm feeling proud.
Wait: A bit of quick backstory:
My mother is a diabetic, and so we always have a bottle of diet pop (diet pepsi, diet coke, whatever) in the fridge for when she comes over. She likes it. We can't stand the stuff and it sits in the frige between her visits.
Well I opened the fridge and for some reason I really wanted a nice cold glass of diet pepsi. A weird, weird thing for me, since as I said, I hate the stuff.
I think, "that's okay, it's caffeine free, I can drink it."
I pour a glass, and drink half of it, and then I happen to see the ingredients on the bottle:
CAFFEINE
:rant:
I had no idea there was caffeine in diet pop!
oh well.
My day was long. From 5am - 1pm I made delicious bagels for the city of Santa Cruz. After that I wandered around downtown, only to discovered that there are no less than two cd's I must have! But alas, my better judgement kicked in and I passed them by..... I drank lots of coffee today. Probably not a good thing, but it keeps me awake long enough to work.
Hmm, maybe not love. Perhaps just like very much with the clinging and attachment of my sense organs.
Anyway, I rushed home to post on my favourite Buddhist forum and here I am!
I ended up ...... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ........and then ......*drools*.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
May I suggest something for the disrupting energies you are feeling. Here is what i do. I go and find a tree to sit as close to as I can. This way i can share my energies with that of the tree. And if the energies are disruptive, brother or sister tree as the case may be, can help me brush it away.
I somtimes use a sweet grass and sage rope while I am doing this. It just depends on how much I need to let go. ( P.S. If you need a rope Pm me and let me know where to send one)