I am looking forward to head up to Vermont to celebrate the summer solstice with John Friend leading the way. He writes about the solstice here.
When I was a kid, my friend who lived next door and I would use small pieces of slate to draw hopscotch boards and such on the pavement.
In recent years, more and more of my Hill neighbors have been decorating the sidewalks with chalk drawings–mostly done by children.
In south India, many of the thresholds were decorated with beautiful designs made with chalk or colored powder, and I kept thinking how delightful it would be if we engaged in that practice here.
It is on my wish/to do list to get some chalk to draw some welcoming decorations of my own on the sidewalk in front of my house.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
A raccoon at the
Night bus stop starts quite a cheer-
Ful conversation.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
I cannot tell from looking at the image on my Blackberry whether the words “faith” and “hope” that appear on this statue can be discerned in the photo, but they are there when standing and seeing the statue in person.
This morning, when I was reading through the news, I came across a curious headline that averred that the killing of Osama Bin Laden had brought us a “rare moment of unity.” This saddened me, as did the reportage of spontaneous celebrations.
I am calling on my reserves of practice so that my sense of faith and hope for humanity, for peace, and for social priorities is not as faint as the way the words appear in the photograph.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
One of the things most likely to keep us from having a steady home practice (whether asana or meditation or both) is being unable to live up to our own expectations or preconceived notions of what is a proper or good home practice. If we think that we need to do a certain amount for an established length of time or that we have to feel fit enough to do a particular range or poses than inevitably we will be challenged in practicing regularly in a busy life.
It is good to have a set time and place for our practice and to try and practice for a length of time that will foster the growth and balance in ourselves that we seek from our practice. To stay steady, though, we have to be flexible with our expectations. When we are sick or injured or exhausted, it will be appropriate to do restoratives or a gentle practice rather than a more vigorous one, even if we are accustomed to doing more advanced asana. If we are pressed for time, even if we like to spend 45 minutes to an hour in the morning, perhaps we will do 25 minutes. If we usually meditate in a special place in the house, but we have to leave for the airport at 6am, we can find a quiet moment to breathe for three minutes before we leave the house and then meditate on the plane.
This morning, for example, I knew that the only opportunity to have a walk would be early morning because the electricians are coming for more work towards installing the solar panels. Having a walk on days I am working at home is critical for my ability to sit at my desk and concentrate. Instead of doing my usual 45-60 minutes of practice, which gives me time for some asana and pranayama before sitting for meditation followed by savasana, I chose to sit for 25 minutes and then go for a walk. I will practice more this evening when I am off work.
Once we give ourselves permission to be flexible about how much to practice and what, then it will be easier to stick to practicing. I think it is far more important to practice several times a week than to have a practice that is thorough and “by the book” but is only done sporadically. What are your challenges in developing a steady practice? If you have a steady practice, what has helped you stick to it? Have your expectations about what a practice should be interfered with your practicing?
This morning I again joined “Living Classrooms DC,” which I found through the “Sustainable DC” volunteer website, removing invasive shrub honeysuckle. It is only one of the invasive species threatening the balance of health on the islands. Just because a nursery sells an invasive (for example English ivy) and you see it around, does not mean it is healthy to plant. Please check and do not plant any invasives.
