A visit

           My friend K arrives in an hour and we will be spending the next few days together. My aspiration for this visit is establish a strong working  meditational relationship using her skill in mythology to learn how to become an adept at metacognitive understanding . The insights that I have gotten so far in our relationship have been quite profound and I wish to expand upon them and learn even more. It is a great honor to have her visit and though I am a bit nervous about this I am determined to see the depths of  being that can be fathomed with a guru/teacher/friend such as her.  It also should be a lot of fun. I plan to do a lot of meditation as that is what we both are good at and to be around someone who is practicing the same meditation as I am and has comparable skill levels if not even better is a real privilege.

the midnight blogger

      Using meditation one can change the way one feels. Yesterday there was a bit of anxiety emerging from the unfolding of the day. Sat down and by focusing on the physiological sensations and watching the breath gradually transformed the anxiety into a state of delight and contentment. When I write about it does not seem like that big a deal but when I experience it the rewards are wonderful. Knowing the technique of changing ones mental state and practicing it. It is a learned behavior . For me that is amazing. With more practice I believe I can change more situations into states of contentment and as I progress through the process of learning Shamatha I will be able to transform these states faster and more deeply.
         I learned Thursday of what is called the Jahnas which translated means meditative adsorption . It is being able to become so involved in the meditation that all of what is around becomes peripheral to the meditation and the one pointedness is so profound and fulfilling that all else is dross. That skill looms close and I understand what in my mind needs to be observed to achieve that now it remains a matter of practice. Just like playing music or any other skill.
        I have had the good fortune and blessing to be around people who have helped me learn these skills,

        THis week another teacher will be spending several days with me and I anticipate much meditation and learning with a very profound teacher.

Every now and then

           Every now  and then I get an insight into the lives of people whose social mask slips a bit . One of my neighbors whose life is devoted to church ,family , and career was talking to me about what the process that  is happening in this life of mine.
             I described the day I had had in which I had spent six hours meditating. I used the analogy of not having my feet touch the ground. He looked at me wistfully and said he  did not remember when that had last happened to him.
             I was filled with compassion,  He ,his family, you reader,  deserve no less.
May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you enjoy ease of heart.
        
      

Body awareness and mountain hiking

         Awoke feeling okay and then did 40 minutes of body awareness meditation something happened during the meditation that made me very relaxed. Enjoyed it but did not follow up on anything. THen read Andrew Weil's newsletter about the effects of high blood pressure and the feelings of loneliness. Lights went off and I got the answer to my question the other day about loneliness and what to do about it. Body awareness meditation to start . Went for a hike in which the pictures will be included below and on the way home spoke to my cousin who is a nurse. She told me that salt puts blood pressure up. Now I had a second strategy to deal with the situation. Cutdown on salt. Going to try this awhile using both meditation and low salt diet to see what transpires. Interesting how things seem to flow together.
          Below are the pictures I took today.

Smudge

         Being the last of virtually all of the people to know what a smudge ceremony is I had never done one until a week ago. I did not think that I had done a very good job although it was sincere at the end. THis time I did it with some research as to how. So equipped with a gift shell from a shaman,as well as white sage, cedar sawdust from the altar. I played the Hanuman Chalesa and bowed to the spirits of the ten directions. Learned to be inspired  to do this stuff and make up  ceremony that will honor the moment .
       Burned the sage in the shell and moved around the house into every room cleaning the home of that which needed to leave. In the name of Hanuman , be free.

        Did the ceremony right after sunset on the night of the new moon.
Had several hours of meditation and a reiki healing. THe energy around here is getting quite amazing. The reiki healer was having trouble remembering things she needed to do. Had to drive her car down the hill. Had a lot planned to do today found that it was all done by 8:30. Meditation  and reiki filled the day.
    

Last Hike up Picacho Peak

         The state park at Picacho Peak is being closed due to lack of creative thought.  Today was the best weather day left to do the hike so this  blog is going to be more pictures than verbiage.
         The view from the top

                                           The mountain in the distance is Mt Lemmon the snow covered peak outside Tucson.

The Hike down

This is every bit as rickety as it looks

The trail immediately below.

The trail is under the wire

The trail is where the wire is. THis is straight down.

And straight up        

Those are  large saguaros                   Beautiful rocks flowers and saguaros 

The trail runs from the lower right of the picture  to the center left of the picture where the saguaro is.

The picture from behind the saguaros in the previous picture.

          This is the path that runs at the bottom of the sheer face of rock

The rock face that one has to go around.

The end of the trail.

The rest of the day was spent listening to the Dalai Lama book Universe in a Single Atom and routine work including lifting weights.

         Among the other events was I spoke to another of the wrathful deities , My ex. It was fascinating I can tease apart the emotional response to give her the respect that she wants and deserves , keep my own sense of propriety and self worth, and have compassion on the lives of both of us. Takes a little meditation but I feel wonderful.

Pickup Meditation

           Saturday I spent 6 hours meditating, a wonderful series of meditations that were deeply fulfilling. Sunday I decided to do the same thing but knowing that one the afflictive emotions that often happens to me on a Sunday afternoon is loneliness I felt that it would be a good time to address this emotion with meditative quiescence . I sat down and started meditating and the phone rang. It was a good friend of mine IP who called up and wanted to know if he could come over and meditate. I immediately invited him and he arrived about ten minutes later.
            We were doing Alan Wallace's timed meditations (24 minutes) and we did one realizing that the theme of it was sloth and torpor. Repairing to the kitchen we had a cup of green tea when the phone rang . IP's girlfriend was on the line and was invited so the meditation grew. After another 24 minutes I called several other people and invited them and another showed up .In the mean time the girlfriend left.
             This is the first time I have ever played a game of pickup meditation. People would come meditate for as long as they could and leave and others would arrive. I am going to do this more often. I did not however get to meditate on compassion for loneliness .
             This morning another fascinating meditation. However it was not about light and happiness. It was a meditation whose form is  called settling the mind in it's natural state. That is the process of being aware and watching the mind like something that is on a movie screen. What was playing on the screen was feeling and being a failure. All of the things that I labeled as failures in my life, not becoming an eagle scout, losing money on various investments, getting divorced, not living  up to my parents expectations,not living up to my expectations.  Everything that the mind labeled as failures emerged along with the physical feelings that go with those emotions. All of them held in the spaciousness of awareness . All of them just models that did not meet my expectations. The meditation last nearly two hours after which I was amazed and gratified to realize that all the energy that I used to suppress all of that stuff was free and I was happy.