H-E-L-L-O, Anyone Out There??

Wow I feel so abandoned by you guys...hardly any comments at all. Is anyone reading this?

Oh well, even if not it makes me feel better to write it.

Since coming here I have been introduced to a new word, a new way of thinking. The word is impermanence. I mean we all know "nothing lasts forever" , but the concept that when something goes, (i.e. waistline, hair, youth, fortune, love of one's life, health, etc. ) it is as it's meant to be.
I found this book in the library called "201 Little Buddhist Reminders, Gathas for Your Daily LIfe"
by Barbara Ann Kipfer. By the way a Gatha is a short verse that you can recite during the day to help you attend to the present moment. Unlike a mantra, which is the same for all occasions, there are specific gathas for specific activities. The idea is that when one recites the gatha, one focuses one's mind and returns to what they are doing. After finishing the gatha one is said to return to the task at hand with a heightened awareness. Gathas focus on the small everyday things of life and express how everyone and everything is connected. We spend our lives individuating, separating, making one another separate and distinct. Our minds are constantly writing the story of our lives. But this creates suffering. Gathas are meant to help us be in the present moment, stop writing the story, and reconnect to life and people.

The gatha for "awareness of impermanence" is " With precision, I watch the wave of impermanence. The temporariness of everything teaches me the principle of harmony. When I do not struggle against it, I am in harmony with reality."

Here are a few more that I am sending to you...

"life's basic suffering"
Suffering is what I feel when I want to be in a state other than what I am in-wishing I was elsewhere. Suffering is what happens when I struggle with whatever my life experience is. Instead, I take the antidote: resisting less, grasping less, and identifying with things less.

"working out a solution to a problem"
I seek to be grounded in calmness and moment-to-moment awareness. With awareness, I feel creative and see new options, new solutions to problems, and am able to maintain my balance and perspective in trying circumstances.

"integrity"
I choose to do my job and live my life with integrity,compassion, mindful observation and a healthy sense of humor. In both large and small matters, may I always be true to my deepest principles so that my integrity may be a gift to others.

and finally...

"mindfulness"
Mindfulness is loving all the details of my life. Right now, I come back to my breath with mindfulness.


Anyway I thought it was a pretty cool book....I learned something new and interesting that I thought I would pass on to you.


Yesterday I went for a run and ended up getting caught in a hail storm...ouch! But the cool thing is a woman stopped to see if I wanted a ride. I was almost back at the center so I declined but it was nice to see the outreach on her part.

Not much else is happening...same routine as yesterday.
I am a bit more peaceful though. I am practicing being in the moment....it helps given I am still in the habit of counting the moments till I am back home.

In peace and sparkles...
lotus girl