I suppose you never know what tiny wildness will curiously wander by during your sitting practice. I, too, am curious to see what sitting practice may bring. Just have to sit to find out...
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Pascal on Sitting
All man's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Sitting X 2
Indeed, I am having a beautiful last day of 2011. Wishing the same for all...I spent time painting the new treehouse in the pine after a brief morning sitting practice. The children are visiting their grandparents, so my love and I had a late lunch. I rifled through the last unpacked box from our move in August and recycled most of the items before spending time in reflection. It felt important to write some of the memories of the year. A friend on FB asked about three favorite experiences in 2011:
1. Traveling to Rwanda
2. Faculty appointment at the Center for Arts in Medicine
3. Nestling in with my family for a long winter's nap (three weeks to be exact)
After a bit of writing to reflect, I turned to a final sitting practice for the year. This time, I sat with a purpose. I had some very specific 'relinquishing' to do. And afterward, I simply sat.
Ring in the True
“Ring out the old, ring in the new.... Ring out the false, ring in the true.”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Based on Tennyson's "ring in the true", what is one thing you know to be true in your life? How will you amplify it today?
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Based on Tennyson's "ring in the true", what is one thing you know to be true in your life? How will you amplify it today?
My artist friend
On his New Year's Eve FB post, my artist friend Paul Flack wrote, "Best wishes for a banging new year. This year I am going to change colors, inside and out. And, wear only what fits."
Sitting Day Three
Today is my third day of sitting and I decided that the first few days would be practice in determining where and what time I will sit, since my family and I are on holiday break and out of our routine. I hope to establish a routine time and place, at least during the week. This morning I sat immediately as I rolled out of bed. It was much harder to relax during my sitting because my joints weren't quite awake and my body was screaming to move. I don't know how the saints and sages sit first thing in the morning...
I am hoping for a nice long sit later this afternoon to clear my mind for ringing in the New Year.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Sitting Day Two
Today was a very busy family day with a long hike on a charmed local trail called the Moonshine Creek Trail. We also had an afternoon of play time with dear friends from our old home town. DH was busy rebuilding the treehouse in the pine in the backyard. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. So, I find myself sitting quite late tonight. Still, it was a wonderful time to just sit still and allow myself to grow quiet inside and out. What a gift! I noticed the 'crunch' of the day alive in parts of my spine and yet I didn't attach to any particular sensation in the body. Just witnessed and kept still with a gentle breath and inner focus. Lovely!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Rumi's One Song
One Song
by: Jalaludin Muhammad Rumi, 13th c.
translated: Coleman Barks
Every war and every conflict between human beings
has happened because of some disagreement about names.
has happened because of some disagreement about names.
It is such an unnecessary foolishness,
because just beyond the arguing
there is a long table of companionship
set and waiting for us to sit down.
because just beyond the arguing
there is a long table of companionship
set and waiting for us to sit down.
What is praised is one, so the praise is one too,
many jugs being poured into a huge basin.
All religions, all this singing, one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity.
Sunlight looks a little different on this wall
than it does on that wall
and a lot different on this other one,
but it is still one light.
many jugs being poured into a huge basin.
All religions, all this singing, one song.
The differences are just illusion and vanity.
Sunlight looks a little different on this wall
than it does on that wall
and a lot different on this other one,
but it is still one light.
We have borrowed these clothes,
these time-and-space personalities,
from a light, and when we praise,
we are pouring them back in.
these time-and-space personalities,
from a light, and when we praise,
we are pouring them back in.
A Bit of Rumi
"Sit, be still, and listen,
because you're drunk
and we're at the edge of the roof.”
because you're drunk
and we're at the edge of the roof.”
- Jalaludin Muhammad Rumi
Sitting Day One
Good morning. This morning, I began my sitting practice and sat for 10 minutes while the children watched a movie in the bedroom and DH chatted on the phone with a friend outside. I snuck it right in the middle of the action and sat twice as long as I had planned.
Sitting felt delicious. I stretched into it like a cat in the sun. And would have gone on sitting if time permitted. Yahoo!
Sitting felt delicious. I stretched into it like a cat in the sun. And would have gone on sitting if time permitted. Yahoo!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Invitation to sit with me
If anyone would like to join me in a daily sitting practice, please feel free to begin posting your experience of a daily sitting practice in the comments to hold yourself accountable as I will try to do the same.
Resolve to sit, and then to share about it
Now that I have announced my resolve to sit for 5 minutes daily, I am feeling brave enough to commit to posting regularly about sitting practice. I may share about my my sitting experience from the day, or out myself if I don't sit on a particular day, or I may share little wisdom that inspires my daily practice.
I was taught to pray as a small child, and was guided to keep daily quiet since I was very young. But it has just never come easily. I have always resisted. As a young adult, I became heart-connected friends with a teacher, Kay. Kay has urged me to sit daily since the day that we began heart-chatting right up until late last week.
When I was 19, I was introduced to Authentic Movement and I enjoyed the intersection between keeping quiet and moving. And when I turned 20, I began a fairly consistent hatha yoga practice that has waxed and waned over the last 15 years. Rarely does a week pass that I don't practice hatha, pranayama and meditation at least once. However many a day DOES pass that I do not sit still for a moment. When I was pregnant with Cora Jane, I meditated almost every single day for the entire pregnancy. But I was not 'alone'. So, here I go...
I was taught to pray as a small child, and was guided to keep daily quiet since I was very young. But it has just never come easily. I have always resisted. As a young adult, I became heart-connected friends with a teacher, Kay. Kay has urged me to sit daily since the day that we began heart-chatting right up until late last week.
When I was 19, I was introduced to Authentic Movement and I enjoyed the intersection between keeping quiet and moving. And when I turned 20, I began a fairly consistent hatha yoga practice that has waxed and waned over the last 15 years. Rarely does a week pass that I don't practice hatha, pranayama and meditation at least once. However many a day DOES pass that I do not sit still for a moment. When I was pregnant with Cora Jane, I meditated almost every single day for the entire pregnancy. But I was not 'alone'. So, here I go...
Path to simply sitting
Path to simply sitting feels dense, well-lit, and clear, yet the view is limited.
New Year's Resolution to Simply Sit
When I ask inside, "what is the most essential resolution I might make in 2012?", it is clear. I am invited to simply sit. At least five minutes a day, I will sit silently and rest. There it is. Now may it be so...
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