tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1879794346710820462024-02-20T14:20:17.624-06:00Roam, Roam, with OmAn occasional chronicle of art, travel, events, musings, and other miscellany of life.
Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.comBlogger103125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-12329845664099510542014-12-25T12:49:00.000-06:002014-12-25T12:49:07.063-06:00Christmas New Year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas is always the new year for me. It's the time when I start cleaning out files, closets, cupboards, you name it. I think about getting tax documents together thanks to the recently received tax packet, a yearly Christmas present from the accountant. I actually spend more time dreading tax prep than actually doing it. So, this year it starts today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other things also start today, such as resolutions. Resolutions that I might keep for only a month are, nevertheless, beneficial. In fact, I'm working on one now --</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Resolution Two: more silence, in all areas of my life,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">beginning with these snowy pine trees in honor of the silent winter months.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-70367626159796864062014-11-27T10:02:00.000-06:002014-11-27T10:02:09.465-06:00Interstellar Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My friends and I recently saw the new film, Interstellar. While the science may be accurate the anthropological motivations underlying the various characters' behavior are blatantly Western. That's not surprising since it is an American film. What's interesting to me is pondering how someone with a different cosmological view might react to the prospect of a dying earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the trailer suggests, the earth is dying and humans must find an alternative abode on a new planet. Finding that planet is the crux of the film. Or so we're led to believe. There is another option. Or perhaps several options other than Missions A and B that the film posits.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyE2rWCCDePAsh7cjHlfVMPFvQXUCyEK-Xi6On9uZ2oD38nEh2S-LXnA2ozGLYhbNAa_auuEdxl72CTQTrDqWN4awvQmnuLerXTe-J_UAC-YZTK4oiisjgO3At2bpE1cMZHP6s72rdUqN/s1600/interstellar+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQyE2rWCCDePAsh7cjHlfVMPFvQXUCyEK-Xi6On9uZ2oD38nEh2S-LXnA2ozGLYhbNAa_auuEdxl72CTQTrDqWN4awvQmnuLerXTe-J_UAC-YZTK4oiisjgO3At2bpE1cMZHP6s72rdUqN/s1600/interstellar+photo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What if the film's underlying premises are questioned? If humans have created the conditions for a dying earth can we not collectively reverse that process? Of course we can but then there would be no exciting space film to watch. So grant that there is an unsolvable crisis on earth so we can have a rip roaring adventure story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Western view of time is linear and progressive. Despite global communications, we ignore the possibilities of cyclical time and ascending and descending ages of consciousness as some Eastern philosophies hold. Given this view, would a dying earth and a lack of collective will to work together to solve the problem merely be the nadir of one of these great cycles of consciousness? If so, we merely reap what our level of consciousness has sown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Science declares that energy is neither created nor lost, merely transformed. If we die as a species, would we not simply transform into another type of energy? In other words, is death, either individual or of our species, such a bad thing? Judging by the multitude of research regarding near-death experiences, life between lives, and past-life regression there's a lot more going on after we die than some of us have ever imagined. A simple Amazon search for authors such as Raymond Moody, Kenneth Ring, Michael Newton, and Brian Weiss will lead one to a multitude of information that indicates that death is not to be dreaded or feared. In addition, there are multitudes of metaphysical writings that posit a rosier scenario of life after death than the usual Christian options of a saccharine heaven or a beastly hell. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So my question is, how would a Buddhist, Hindu, or Vedic philosopher approach the questions that Interstellar poses? It would be enticing to see what kind of film another culture would create. It's also enticing to ponder how other cultures would attempt to solve some of our current social and political crises.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-25662929243337731442014-06-21T11:33:00.000-05:002014-06-21T11:33:05.080-05:00Over the Learning Hump . . . Sort Of<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-D7zii7cY_lHk7vRzcIqUoI5G72pzHcJBkS34_dCkHWp0LILPVhrzKaPf7NffvGIn9tbNKWzKKUrDKhUYS5xx6X4NF2WAeuy1Y3DOsckuE2bw-1rQ5G275BDnHYEJPgxmLRb02DnqO1zu/s1600/20140608_102058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-D7zii7cY_lHk7vRzcIqUoI5G72pzHcJBkS34_dCkHWp0LILPVhrzKaPf7NffvGIn9tbNKWzKKUrDKhUYS5xx6X4NF2WAeuy1Y3DOsckuE2bw-1rQ5G275BDnHYEJPgxmLRb02DnqO1zu/s1600/20140608_102058.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've just spent a couple of beautiful "morning hours" reading on the porch. That's the good part. The bad part is that I was reading a really good but really depressing current events book, Anand Giridharadas' <i>The True American. </i>I had to take a break for beauty and creativity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since April, I've been participating in a couple of online sketch classes. First, was Danny Gregory's and Koosje Koene's <i>Sketchbook Skool - Beginnings</i> and then Koosje's <i>Awesome</i> <i>Art Journaling. </i>Over the course of these two classes, I've been coaxed out of my art comfort zone. I've sketched outdoors, sketched in public, used new materials, attempted ever larger scenes and more complex subjects, and tried new techniques.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My first attempt at sketching solely with colored pencils was frustrating. It seemed to take forever and I had to resort to labeling the object in order to remember what it was that I was trying to capture in my sketchbook.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx3OVsmjpThB3ajO-ak4QxAKyh9DFclLQfaLz0dfwMgejP_WlGH5Rdy8z4EKAaVarI9J3OS-X6AruWCX56_MMCkBmao-YfgevZzxX0iYRIz0rmhsK4lAJNEAzwzmhW_y95UWSpLIkn4ei/s1600/20140609_111113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxx3OVsmjpThB3ajO-ak4QxAKyh9DFclLQfaLz0dfwMgejP_WlGH5Rdy8z4EKAaVarI9J3OS-X6AruWCX56_MMCkBmao-YfgevZzxX0iYRIz0rmhsK4lAJNEAzwzmhW_y95UWSpLIkn4ei/s1600/20140609_111113.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a seashell in case you can't read the small print. Along the way, I've found that my art proficiency doesn't progress in a steady, upward line. At times I turn out sketches that blow me away such as the ones below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At other times, my eye hand coordination reverts back to left brain imaging, childlike drawings of what my brain says things should look like instead of what my eyes actually see. Below is a good case in point.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gE8UaBYJvfJ0cC0kGjqUVZXMHfz62ctwC-hLJvPRulz9QEw-jUQINxiKU52PSt0Z60e_-6lzLPd5EMw77P3fpVBHOiSmYIsDHkKTLtehsoSeewp25V5CkTNxaQP_tRdWdw5BSeoe3Csw/s1600/20140621_105511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-gE8UaBYJvfJ0cC0kGjqUVZXMHfz62ctwC-hLJvPRulz9QEw-jUQINxiKU52PSt0Z60e_-6lzLPd5EMw77P3fpVBHOiSmYIsDHkKTLtehsoSeewp25V5CkTNxaQP_tRdWdw5BSeoe3Csw/s1600/20140621_105511.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is supposed to be a Talavera birdbath. It's wildly out of proportion and the basin area bears little resemblance to its actual roundness, size, and depth. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I do art mainly to balance my excessively left-brained mode of rational <i>thinking</i> with some right-brained creativity and <i>doing</i>. On to <i>Sketchbook Skool 2 - Seeing,</i> which begins July 4th and where I will continue to get in my "100 bad drawings." The concept being that you've got to do lots of 'bad' drawings before you start creating lots of good drawings. If you like Malcolm Gladwell, this is also known as the "10,000 Hour Rule".</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-79517708881117353672014-05-25T11:03:00.000-05:002014-05-25T11:03:30.006-05:00Anand Giridharadas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIDqC0ui6iFuBSpwBlTAQn_xcUrTex8RFr4H7xIjCVzxn9EXRJ75gEEVgnU9LXFgX0N4nTP7pn6jMsDwdZil50xRs0RFXsxzPu2NlqhVB9jZ-s5wEhqCFEJkRHbILYyeEfBk8PJu_hMxg/s1600/Anand+Giridharadas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGIDqC0ui6iFuBSpwBlTAQn_xcUrTex8RFr4H7xIjCVzxn9EXRJ75gEEVgnU9LXFgX0N4nTP7pn6jMsDwdZil50xRs0RFXsxzPu2NlqhVB9jZ-s5wEhqCFEJkRHbILYyeEfBk8PJu_hMxg/s1600/Anand+Giridharadas.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The face of a talented writer and teller of perceptive cultural, social tales. Giridharadas' writing does more than anything I've come across recently to convey the nuances of modern, global life. His books, while not easy or pleasant reads, are worth anyone's time and emotional energy. They've instilled in me as much compassion for the struggles of others as has years of meditation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I first encountered Giridharadas' writing in preparation for a trip to India, when I picked up <i>India Calling</i>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_13QbpP7VK-tK2GMYPunJbWrXehDF14eysFz9S-FnaZCc1GoPgKlG4xCyN-71VwqkjcnKQcJOOee3vL0lV5J76D0HS_FqT_ooCPVb0PSad3llUfGTY09-JRPmn8Dxg2L-DVVnSuxbZRcD/s1600/India+Calling+book+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_13QbpP7VK-tK2GMYPunJbWrXehDF14eysFz9S-FnaZCc1GoPgKlG4xCyN-71VwqkjcnKQcJOOee3vL0lV5J76D0HS_FqT_ooCPVb0PSad3llUfGTY09-JRPmn8Dxg2L-DVVnSuxbZRcD/s1600/India+Calling+book+cover.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's an eye-opening, perception changing look at modern India, globalization, and a developing world's desire for, and headlong rush into, modernization. Giridharadas', on the ground, up close and personal look at such hot-button issues challenges liberal notions. It's far too easy for those of us in wealthy countries, already enjoying the positive and negative effects of globalization, to tsk tsk about other countries' eagerly, and "mistakenly," seeking what we so blithely want to throw away or longingly wish to roll back. Such views strike me as another version of Colonial-era paternalism. Who are we to thwart another country's path to self-determination? And, yes, I acknowledge that multinational corporations and corrupt world financing schemes complicate the issue. There will always be a boogeyman available to give people leave to dictate another's choices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, Giridharadas has turned his attention to the collision of the 'other' and us in his new book, <i>The True American. </i>This one especially hits home as it recounts events that took place in the Dallas area shortly after 9/11. And, in the oddest of synchronicities, as I was reading the <i>Waco Trib's </i>article about our county prosecutor's successful death row conviction rate, I learned that he's the same prosecutor who secured the death penalty for the man profiled in Giridharadas' new book. Globalization comes full circle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again, Giridharadas provides a deeply researched, highly nuanced look at all of the actors involved in the tragedy he recounts. There are no easy bad guys or good guys, only sad, bewildered human beings suffering a "collision of perspectives." Giridharadas' books are some of the few that I can say have changed me. Read him if you dare. The perceptions that collide may just be your own.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-2360913732724817572014-05-13T08:29:00.003-05:002014-05-13T08:29:43.132-05:00The Power of Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week, at the Peace Garden Meditation, our group talked about influential stories. That brought to mind two recently watched movies that elegantly and eloquently illustrated the power of story, not only to help us make sense of the world but also to heal. The first one is an unusual, slow-moving fantastical tale filled with wonderful British and Australian actors, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135968/">My Talks with Dean Spanley</a>. When the principal character realizes the story behind a pivotal event in his life it dramatically changes his misanthropic treatment of people, especially his son. I'll never look at a dog the same way again.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKji5WkkeDKIw0Uz0V39m3QLfKi8skPF9s89YbiCSN3TBeArkd_g9YqQ4lujySoklinAx8bV5k3hmRndLIRuLy1JtSJj7BQLvQ7_Y8CJFiIfcDYptPcGFRnr5KYzqmpJ0nzI92nzXQf82R/s1600/Dean+Spanley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKji5WkkeDKIw0Uz0V39m3QLfKi8skPF9s89YbiCSN3TBeArkd_g9YqQ4lujySoklinAx8bV5k3hmRndLIRuLy1JtSJj7BQLvQ7_Y8CJFiIfcDYptPcGFRnr5KYzqmpJ0nzI92nzXQf82R/s1600/Dean+Spanley.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The second story is a movie that had been hanging in my Netflix queue for sometime, <a href="http://www.magpictures.com/themagicofbelleisle/">The Magic of Belle Isle</a>. The draw was Morgan Freeman but my delay in viewing it was my fear of it being a smarmy, Hallmark-type movie full of feel good cliches. Well, it has the classic theme of redemption but it also demonstrates the power of imagination and story to make life bearable and perhaps even understandable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you tire of life's daily drama, get out your popcorn and enjoy the power of story.</span><br />
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-55109570683864532002014-05-05T09:27:00.000-05:002014-05-05T12:44:43.794-05:00Junking the Journals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_RwK5cTjZxj5s0YnRRWUS7mlU_zy-aq0Il2ZcQC2JMHcxAc08l1MoHypWVAuMU_x20BKBgwgD3MDfme3eqhydBvBrycw7vNUTJi-UPU-D4jeuHa23fkPJEXbKidxQIHeuvv9SgoNJpAo/s1600/20140505_091321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_RwK5cTjZxj5s0YnRRWUS7mlU_zy-aq0Il2ZcQC2JMHcxAc08l1MoHypWVAuMU_x20BKBgwgD3MDfme3eqhydBvBrycw7vNUTJi-UPU-D4jeuHa23fkPJEXbKidxQIHeuvv9SgoNJpAo/s1600/20140505_091321.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there anything more freeing than junking old journals? Ah, the drivel, the angst, the self-importance of plumbing ones psyche. Yes, it's useful to reflect on one's life and actions and even self-help workshops and books have their place. But, really, all of this obsessive self- interest is very much a "champagne problem." The kind of problem that can only arise from the good fortune of living in a first-world country where war, hunger, and privation are rarely encountered.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-35308003896113579252014-04-14T12:35:00.000-05:002014-04-14T12:35:37.382-05:00Seaside Meditation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
1. Have friends who invite you to stay at their fabulous place on Molokai, the most undeveloped of the Hawaiian Islands.<br />
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2. After number 1 is fulfilled the rest is easy.<br />
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3. Walk across the parking lot, saying hello to a resident peacock, then on to the beach path.<br />
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4. Follow the path through the waving grass.<br />
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5. Soon you start hearing the breakers. They're especially loud today.<br />
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6. Keep walking, taking in the beauty and the majestic sound of the waves.<br />
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7. Find a good rock to leave your shoes.<br />
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8. Keep walking, enjoying the resistance of the sand, feeling it cover your feet as you move down to the softer areas. Marvel at the unbounded power and beauty of nature.<br />
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9. Take enough photos to satisfy your desire to preserve this moment. (No breaker or spray on the rocks is safe from my camera!) <br />
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10. Find a flat rock that's fairly comfortable with a good view that you will eventually force yourself to ignore.<br />
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11. Give thanks for it all. Fill your eyes with the glory of nature and being here at this peaceful moment. Then, do the hardest thing of all - close your eyes. Focus on that other glorious beauty, which is eternal and all-satisfying: the spiritual eye.<br />
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-77126919378727520812014-04-05T10:07:00.000-05:002014-04-05T10:07:04.910-05:00Nature's Presence Makes One Whisper<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The past two days we've been visiting the north end of Molokai, which is higher and more lush. The old growth trees are magical, causing one to whisper if one speaks at all. I half expected Yoda to appear to give us enigmatic advice.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's quite difficult to do mobile blogging so I'll keep this short and add as many photos as will upload, which is another difficulty.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyhVa3IxgyCBmc76Y360aIBIL9RYqgaQA_RhCuzMZbgOsL7_OvUmGWG_2Z4vHdlcrqZd8g8p1hge2YN5n5R-KlZ4qctEodCKfS_TJO_Z9CD_SetTN3klL78oJHmp4TiertrFkBn9BcliX/s3200/20140404_135615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJyhVa3IxgyCBmc76Y360aIBIL9RYqgaQA_RhCuzMZbgOsL7_OvUmGWG_2Z4vHdlcrqZd8g8p1hge2YN5n5R-KlZ4qctEodCKfS_TJO_Z9CD_SetTN3klL78oJHmp4TiertrFkBn9BcliX/s3200/20140404_135615.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bottom photo is the valley that's in the opening shot of Jurassic Park. This view was on our way up the mountain. While there the weather changed from bright, almost hot sun to cool, windbreaker breezes to what the locals call "pineapple" mist to sprinkling rain. The top photo is the same valley later in the day.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x58eu8S4ri8RRjTlSPC-3jdYSqJUwn-w4YOzPQsbRutKnLSx2ZfQbcRWouOscFxPMl_eDXgiVLynY9WYuX2kO8wK7a4E7Ai-N9kbETfFStdoNAD7H9KeiyyAklUDICuc5kInT3GnQSJC/s3200/20140404_134222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8x58eu8S4ri8RRjTlSPC-3jdYSqJUwn-w4YOzPQsbRutKnLSx2ZfQbcRWouOscFxPMl_eDXgiVLynY9WYuX2kO8wK7a4E7Ai-N9kbETfFStdoNAD7H9KeiyyAklUDICuc5kInT3GnQSJC/s3200/20140404_134222.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can see the problem with mobile blogging, double photos with no way to delete them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's been a delightful time with Karen and Darrell, who've been fabulous hosts.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-85904586203345246412014-04-02T21:41:00.001-05:002014-04-03T13:29:21.300-05:00I Get IT Now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've been on the island of Molokai, Hawaii less than 24 hours and I see now why people love it. Why they will completely reorganize their mainland lives so that they can get back to their island paradise. Yes, I know, in this world there is no perfect paradise. Human and mechanical problems will follow </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">us to the end of our days. But you know what I mean. Paradise in the sense that being here puts world news and problems in a larger perspective. A place where the world may indeed be going to hell in a hand basket, but look at that sunset, those endless waves, feel the soft winds of the 'trades.' It's a place where TV and the Internet are available but you don't want to access them. Even this is too much verbiage. Simply be here. Just listen, feel, experience. </span><br />
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-32386496095565611392014-03-10T13:08:00.000-05:002014-03-10T13:08:55.842-05:00Who knew?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWELflQygM078eP_NYc_CZcMa3M6mmDTiuR9uYfAqJut9PtyAYjKEkgJ7buIj-FIv92eDFduJQI08u-xR9WoulaiH4j7sj3QTXoFApwVf4KA9IUQkpqty2au8NSU7cIYB7xcFhsF8wpN0/s1600/20140310_103850.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWELflQygM078eP_NYc_CZcMa3M6mmDTiuR9uYfAqJut9PtyAYjKEkgJ7buIj-FIv92eDFduJQI08u-xR9WoulaiH4j7sj3QTXoFApwVf4KA9IUQkpqty2au8NSU7cIYB7xcFhsF8wpN0/s1600/20140310_103850.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That wondering about the outcome of a college basketball game would almost ruin a good meditation. I wait all week for the chance to enjoy the power and deep vibrations of a group meditation and then I almost let my distracted thoughts destroy it. All because the Baylor Lady Bears basketball team is fighting a heart-stopping semi-final game with Oklahoma State, at the same time as our weekly meditation. My sister kindly texted me the results (65-61 Baylor). I'm looking forward to watching the last half of the game, which so rudely interrupted my meditative afternoon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My sister and I are the last people anyone would think of as being rabid fans of any athletic endeavor, both of us having been total washouts in high school P.E. classes. Thankfully, we found ways to get the essential P.E. credits to escape the prison of high school.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm not only reading the sports page(!) but also reading sports autobiographies. And, next year, instead of sponging off my sister's extra season tickets, I'll buy my own, <b>and</b> the Women's Tip-Off Club membership. Clearly, I've "drunk the Kool-aid."</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBzLRjxoMxbADc4r0ECedgJQSam7aS970gdUJzLFJ0X4Nq-0IS8Bgwx9SiD7A8nbseoYrq6pYcb6E0yoWdcGy5Js-gYrrgvsdvXynYRBTcH5rB4qTK1QV7JZ3H4VCD2K-yJXs9aB4op43/s1600/1-Kim+Mulkey+400th+win.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDBzLRjxoMxbADc4r0ECedgJQSam7aS970gdUJzLFJ0X4Nq-0IS8Bgwx9SiD7A8nbseoYrq6pYcb6E0yoWdcGy5Js-gYrrgvsdvXynYRBTcH5rB4qTK1QV7JZ3H4VCD2K-yJXs9aB4op43/s1600/1-Kim+Mulkey+400th+win.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">This game marked Mulkey's 400-win milestone. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm starting to understand how and why sports can be a life-saver for so many young people. Reading about how a good coach, like Kim Mulkey, can inspire confidence and channel competitiveness into a cooperative team effort is not only informative but inspiring. For example, after subbing out one player who all season was reluctant to shoot and not making any of her attempts in this crucial game, instead of berating her and eroding a player's fragile confidence, Coach Mulkey assured her with instructions to "keep shooting the ball with confidence." She is truly developing in these diversely talented young people essential and noble life skills. College and professional sports can be too filled with money and oversized egos but, at least, Coach Mulkey is doing the right thing in our part of the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, it's not just the fun of watching a winning team or reading about a coach's philosophy that makes this new obsession so fun. It's also that it gives my sister and me something we can do together. We have such different personalities and interests that when we do find an intersection it makes for some fun "sister time." So here's to athletics and family bonding!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the best tonight in the final with West Virginia tonight.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-43884876075977943532014-03-08T10:41:00.003-06:002014-03-08T10:41:45.564-06:00Out of My Comfort Zone!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some dear, wonderful friends have invited me to join them for a visit at their new condo on Molokai!!!!! I don't know how I've attracted such great friends but I'm running with it. Earlier this week Karen asked me if I was excited about visiting Hawai'i and I played it cool and said, 'yeah, I'm looking forward to it.' No, no, no, I am absolutely, totally, profoundly excited about doing my first ever sunny island trip. Can you tell? I've already started packing, and reading, about Hawai'i weeks in advance. Got to get the books, don't ya know. For Enneagram Fives, it's all about the information. Thankfully, I also have just enough relational skills to warrant friends asking me to spend time with them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9BYEHOruDqCOG1ZJvK6CxVuAdeLg6CpApaHUQz3Yk4eMfvJ8oaMVC4TD8ZHj1ogu0sQrLT9LsgWGIWyzr6AgFELrMB-sjpH-7x7k_mjjwBfA1PWrf-adwNrw3unFA4k2j7AOL-qWhAcq/s1600/2014-03-08+09.39.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9BYEHOruDqCOG1ZJvK6CxVuAdeLg6CpApaHUQz3Yk4eMfvJ8oaMVC4TD8ZHj1ogu0sQrLT9LsgWGIWyzr6AgFELrMB-sjpH-7x7k_mjjwBfA1PWrf-adwNrw3unFA4k2j7AOL-qWhAcq/s1600/2014-03-08+09.39.53.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This kind of trip is quite foreign to me and way out of my comfort zone. I'm not a beach, swimsuit, sandal and shorts kind of gal. I'm the person in hot, humid Central Texas who spends the summer in long pants and lace up sneakers. Ever since a childhood trauma sent me squalling to the ER I've never liked to have my toes exposed. After a glider ripped off my big toenail, I've protected those little guys with soft socks and comfy, fully-enclosed shoes. It's just in the past few years that I've ventured into Keen and Teva sandals with an open weave but closed toes. However, as you can see, I'm not only sporting open, slip on sandals, but also shorts and the requisite Hawaiian shirt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My legs hardly ever see the sunlight but in a couple of weeks they will. And, we won't even 'go there' regarding swimsuits. Some bodies just look best fully clothed. I am taking a swimsuit but it will be no <i>From Here to Eternity </i>or <i>Beach Blanket Bingo </i>moment. Not being able to see without my prescription glasses takes the fun out of water sports, but I'm sure that I'll enjoy the surf even though it's just a blur.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, with a fully loaded Kindle, a few hard copy books, sunscreen and a couple of Hawaiian shirts I'm ready for the adventure. Let the great Comfort Zone Expansion begin!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and Karen, don't gasp at the amount and size of the luggage. I plan to take very few clothes, knowing that there just might be a seductive boutique that I have to explore. Can't travel without picking up a few tchotchkes to remember the trip. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>a hui hou </i>(till we meet again) </span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-64424882518073864782014-03-01T10:39:00.000-06:002014-03-01T10:39:42.599-06:00So Much for Home Remedies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or, for any remedies. Colds just have to run their course. Supposedly, a typical cold lasts from 7 to 10 days. Well, this one didn't get the memo because I swear I must be on the third week of feeling awful. Lethargy and irritability are at the max, so friends and relatives beware: I can reach cranky in an instant and words come out my mouth that completely bypass the politeness center in the brain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add to this the Cosmic Joke of having umpteen social functions for which I and my house are the host, plus a jury summons, all come in the same two week period. Not funny at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, so it goes, in the land of the living. When I watch the news, especially Al Jazeera or BBCAmerica, I am reminded that I'm infinitely more blessed than 98% of the world. So, if a cold and continuous sinus drainage is all I have to worry about, I'm thankful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Note to my Enneagram friends: According this philosophy, fives (one of the Withdrawing Stance numbers) have a "repressed 'doing' center." So, in an effort to do, instead of merely to think I've taken time from the Kleenex box and neti pot to write this blog. Take that you Enneagram experts! (I warned you that I was cranky.)</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-44631774977594792682014-02-08T10:04:00.000-06:002014-02-08T10:04:59.240-06:00Structured Procrastination<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that's what I've been doing all this time! I just thought that I was ADD or lacked the discipline to stay on task. But, no, by ignoring my To Do list and usual morning routine I'm actually getting things done, other things, to be sure, but completion of tasks is being accomplished.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By avoiding book group reading, exercising (never difficult for me to ignore), and cleaning the kitchen I've finished the tax prep, paid bills, and balanced the checkbook. Don't ask me why such dull and unpleasant tasks all of a sudden seem more compelling than reading a book in front of the fire. Perhaps, because lately these are the items that I've become obsessed with getting off the desk, their presence eating away at my peace of mind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's always a pleasure when university experts, this one from Stanford, no less, puts a name to and writes books about something our Puritan forefathers would consider a sin. Of course, I heard about this concept multitasking with an audio book, nowadays, is another big sin. Despite the current brain research demonstrating the ineffectiveness of multitasking, I still find it strangely compelling with regard to books. Plus, my bookshelves are cluttered enough. I find it much better to listen to a book while dressing or emptying the dishwasher than to do those things by themselves. I can hear the mindfulness experts screaming in the "you're not doing it right" part of my brain. In our age of information overload, it's good to defy the "experts" occasionally with a little stab of personal freedom.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo6PGtW5jEZn8O-wa7XnYTl5I2FFVDQPaIF4DBsRir0nZdJnY9d4mujoPTspGSb4mJA9Ux3DKVdaUXeSFym43_lYOPtyLssE9e1hxhqplkHnwjnq-lUJqC7qIwEu-A-bqNXToWv5j6LYz/s1600/20140208_075934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPo6PGtW5jEZn8O-wa7XnYTl5I2FFVDQPaIF4DBsRir0nZdJnY9d4mujoPTspGSb4mJA9Ux3DKVdaUXeSFym43_lYOPtyLssE9e1hxhqplkHnwjnq-lUJqC7qIwEu-A-bqNXToWv5j6LYz/s1600/20140208_075934.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The one flaw in this justification is that I also put off my morning meditation, which sets not only the tone of the my day but of my life. My lame excuse is that I have a headache and doing Kriya with a headache is decidedly unpleasant. Also, I reason, falsely I'm sure, that I will meditate more deeply later, after I clear my mind and desk of the clutter of unfinished tasks. And, s</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ometimes a later meditation <i>is</i> better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you, too, would like to get more things done by ignoring the things you "should" be doing, try visiting the link below. Or, you could get the audio book and have fun thumbing your nose at the mindfulness experts. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.structuredprocrastination.com/">Structured Procrastination</a></span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-88691444645231237592014-02-06T08:35:00.001-06:002014-02-06T08:35:47.338-06:00Fun in Ft. Worth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharon, Loty, and me</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Sharon's suggestion of a trip north to view The Age of Picasso and Matisse exhibit at the Kimbell Museum, the three of us drove to Ft. Worth this week. Happily, we went on a Tuesday, which we learned is half-price day. Yippee! More money for the gift shop. While waiting for the museum to open we met a friendly couple visiting Texas from upstate New York. He offered to take a photo of the three of us and we returned the favor, getting a shot of them on their camera. We had a fun ten minute conversation. You meet the nicest people when traveling; everyone's in a relaxed mode and open to enjoying life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a wonderful exhibit and, of course, just a gorgeous museum to wander in. The gift shop had the same Chinese Brush Painting book that I've been using as inspiration for the Practically Pikasso ceramic items. And, of course, some truly luscious sketchbooks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the gift shop, we enjoyed a lovely lunch and leisurely conversation in the cafe, where we got to know each other better. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The new museum addition, designed by Renzo Piano, was open so we strolled though it, finding some lovely Buddha statues and Chinese brush painting.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kimbell Museum</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New addition by Renzo Piano</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">more inspiration for ceramics!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still not quite ready to go home we decided to walk over to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. This museum has certainly gotten a lot larger since my UTA student days of the 70s! What a lovely walk we had on such a dreary, overcast day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By now it was mid-afternoon and time to beat the rush hour out of Ft. Worth and head for home. It's fun to travel with people you don't know very well because you have so much conversation time together. Who knew that Loty was such a good dog trainer!? Or that Sharon had lived in St. Louis? This is what girlfriend days are all about. We had a blast and vowed to arrange future get togethers. Thanks, ladies, for a great day and a treasured memory!</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-26047527568023288202013-12-14T15:34:00.001-06:002013-12-14T15:35:42.340-06:00It's All So Simple<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No pilgrimage required. No need to visit beautifully adorned temples or visit holy sites. No need to climb sacred mountains or gaze upon the sea. No need for great ceremony or even for great preparation. No need for a <i>sangha </i>(community), although, being a part of one can certainly be a bonus. No, the only things needed are time set aside, a chair, and a meditation technique to quiet the body and still the mind. Kriya Yoga works for me, but other paths and traditions work just as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sages have been telling seekers this for millennia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enter into thy closet and pray. (paraphrase of Matthew 6:6)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Retiring alone to a quiet place, the yogi should constantly try to unite with the soul. (Bhagavad Gita, Ch. VI, v.10)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. (Buddhist tradition)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, once again, I experienced the truth of these traditions. Sit still, quiet the mind, and launch oneself into the Infinite. Truth never fails. Neither does simplicity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(My thanks to all who joined our Christmas Meditation this morning, the devotion of our <i>sangha</i> helping to elevate our own individual efforts.)</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-8020707700257120222013-11-12T09:40:00.000-06:002013-11-12T09:40:41.454-06:00Happy to be Here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could be anywhere. It's true. I have the money and the health and the ability to wake up just about anywhere in the world. I have done just that and, no doubt, will do so in the future. But, for now, I'm happy to be here in suburban Central Texas. It's not the most beautiful part of the world nor does it possess the most favorable weather. But, it's home to me, to most of my family, and to my friends. Plus, it's familiar. Introverts love the familiar, so much less psychic energy to expend in confronting new people, new customs, new traditions. And it's easy. The grocery store, gas station, bank, doctor, dentist, you name it are all within minutes of my driveway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On this cold, blustery day I'm happy to be here, bundled up with my coffee and a notepad, rocking in the latest and greatest addition to my life -- the swing chair.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rocking on the porch, I realize that I'm living in the midst of man-made bliss. For some, "man-made bliss" is a contradiction in terms. But, as I listen to the sound of the packaging plant one row of houses away, which during work hours emits a constant dull, roaring, hard to describe sound. It's not really offensive. It's just there, like the dull roar of the ocean is just there. It's one of the endless ocean of man-made sounds -- the rumble of traffic, heard even on suburban streets, distant sirens, delivery trucks, garbage trucks (that pretty much says it all -- bring it in, cart it out) -- that are a part of the modern era in which we live.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meditative types are supposed to denigrate these sounds and tsk, tsk over modernity. It's not natural, disruptive to heart and brain rhythms, sending out all the wrong kinds of vibrations. But, if there were no packaging plants, no manufacturing, no trucks cluttering up the highways we wouldn't have our life. I wouldn't be rocking in my manufactured, truck-delivered swing chair contemplating and being grateful for the society that has secured such a moment for me, and for everyone else, in our modern "astral world" of comfort that is suburban America. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A friend in India, where even the simplest things such as planting a tree and installing irrigation to keep it alive during the hot season is endlessly complicated and expensive, once described American life as living in the heavenly, astral world. No going to Lowe's or Home Depot for off the shelf supplies and reasonably priced mature trees. The fantasy of living a simple life in a simpler town or country created and sustained by cottage industries and farmers' markets is just that -- a fantasy. It's unrealistic to expect cottage industries and local farmers to provide goods and services for the 224,000 people who live in Waco and the surrounding area.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No, if I'm to appreciate my life I have to honor and appreciate those who make it possible, including the manufacturers and the truckers. And as I take my morning neighborhood walk, accompanied by both the man-made sounds of packaging plants and cars as well as the natural sounds of rustling leaves and birds, I can appreciate what it took to create this quiet, suburban life that affords me the comfort and the stability and the ease to live a contemplative life.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-79843658192059612262013-10-14T08:38:00.000-05:002013-10-18T07:19:46.488-05:00I Don't Know Anything . . . But<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LcR-VpK5k4vJlGF5nuDrnMmaQGZpqO3-L0hdS8pdjUro7t4B0tZqhmmnp5DmOV2HVEIu7E-VBUgk997K3ANh2TcfXEV7Kg4aUyrpRLkuhiPoELMHJ77VPij6tpBVGW8fkz5GRwh867uz/s1600/Glacier+Bay+moon+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5LcR-VpK5k4vJlGF5nuDrnMmaQGZpqO3-L0hdS8pdjUro7t4B0tZqhmmnp5DmOV2HVEIu7E-VBUgk997K3ANh2TcfXEV7Kg4aUyrpRLkuhiPoELMHJ77VPij6tpBVGW8fkz5GRwh867uz/s320/Glacier+Bay+moon+crop.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Moon over Glacier Bay, Alaska</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, after meditation, the conversation turned to those unresolvable, eternal questions having to do with faith, doubt, and suffering.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know that God exists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know that God doesn't exist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't know why there's suffering or why the whole system of creation exists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, I've read the masters and the speculators and considered various explanations. But, I don't <i style="font-weight: bold;">know</i>. I haven't had that consciousness-changing realization that explains all things, that makes all things bearable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, I do feel. And when quietude, nature, meditation, love, whatever trigger it happens to be, takes me to another level of being, no matter how fleetingly, then I believe. Then, I have faith that somehow all of this is not only necessary but is good, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll close with the words of one of the great mystics, Julian of Norwich, set to music by </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meg Barnhouse. (Click the link below.)</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kadbd3tCqc">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kadbd3tCqc</a></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-2675991169822867482013-08-04T23:59:00.001-05:002013-08-04T23:59:29.251-05:00Back to Basics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Dateline: Sunday, August 4, 2013</div>
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Catalina Ballroom, Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles</div>
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Picture a darkened room, air conditioner humming, muted silence all around. The quietude and inner focus a palpable presence. A man's photo in a simple frame the only focal point in the long, narrow room. </div>
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No semi-precious gemstone or high vibration mala. No flowery devotional soul calls or wordy affirmations. Just the breath. And love.</div>
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Thus begins the annual Convocation transformation from a world of mindless busyness and distractions to one of inner stillness. The miracle is that it can occur in one of the busiest hotels in one of the most worldly cities. </div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-16980641377994950382013-06-21T09:51:00.000-05:002013-06-24T08:30:16.031-05:00When My Inner Life Blossoms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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. . . . <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">or why I don't exercise in the morning.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVf8i6MGqF5zND6USKz_RgGIDL4P9C_RYIEkZNxkSPo8Wc11ohKkk7BWKLridlO1gE5fRow4sIwyDMaXbjAjgvJNgH5KQnkqixSFfL8v9elzrypU_e4ftjLRG4_cS7Wc5-njuf9cRiAwC/s1600/1-Anole+on+agave+plant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyVf8i6MGqF5zND6USKz_RgGIDL4P9C_RYIEkZNxkSPo8Wc11ohKkk7BWKLridlO1gE5fRow4sIwyDMaXbjAjgvJNgH5KQnkqixSFfL8v9elzrypU_e4ftjLRG4_cS7Wc5-njuf9cRiAwC/s320/1-Anole+on+agave+plant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Morning is the quiet time, the time before the world wakes up, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">before I wake up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's the bewitching time of my soul, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">when I'm transported ever deeper in peace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A time that feeds my mind and quickens reflection.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A time for birds and light breezes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A time for natural stillness, when one has absolutely no desire to move </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">but every desire to be aware.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A time for thoughts to run, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">from the grocery list to 'why creation?'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Surely, the bliss of nothing should have been sufficient. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Big Bang versus particles floating in a cosmic soup of vibrating energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know which one I would have chosen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Morning is a time of listening.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To birds, seen and unseen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To backyard fountains. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To distant garbage trucks taking away the excess of our lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To rustling leaves assuring us of</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">a small bit of respite in the growing heat of summer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's also a time of noticing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The hypnotic reflections of my neighbor's pool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blossoms slowly uncurling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lizards darting and stopping.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Snails going from here to there for some incomprehensible reason </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at an incomprehensible pace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The joys of suburban living are many and profound.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a life of vibrating in the cosmic void isn't possible then this will do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, this suburban life will do very nicely.</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-69149603975238810352013-06-13T09:43:00.002-05:002013-06-13T09:43:50.984-05:00Morning Creakiness and Cultural Dilemmas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning's creakiness and muscle aches brought to mind a funny mental dilemma I had while in India recently at a silent retreat. In many Eastern religious traditions it's customary to bow in reverence at the feet of a holy man or one's Guru. Indeed, many devotional texts and chants refer to this custom:</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Think ye of thy Guru's lotus feet"</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Bow to the Guru's feet . . .</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Guru's lotus feet emanate the great Truths . . . "</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ime1eDW72tMUYdQu7iwRgrKzLY3oxKA2OMOzkOtHX5Ltvoyvtq9uEn8XEHEKfdhVDsxqZPmhALWfspz62BusXNsED7CPDOeM27WdGK4TttCmJqdjRQj1nhyxEQQJb5AY5VUjt3EJvXle/s1600/1-touching+feet+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Ime1eDW72tMUYdQu7iwRgrKzLY3oxKA2OMOzkOtHX5Ltvoyvtq9uEn8XEHEKfdhVDsxqZPmhALWfspz62BusXNsED7CPDOeM27WdGK4TttCmJqdjRQj1nhyxEQQJb5AY5VUjt3EJvXle/s1600/1-touching+feet+1.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After a special devotional service, the senior monastic was greeting us as we filed out of the chapel. The four of us visiting from North America were the only Westerners present. All of the Hindus were calmly bowing down in a full pronam at the monk's feet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This created quite the dilemma for me. Since I was several people back in the line, my thoughts had plenty of time to play multiple disaster scenarios. These days getting down and up usually requires reaching for something, especially after sitting in meditation. I immediately had visions of going down to touch the monk's feet only to start grabbing wildly for support as I tried to get up, resulting in me pulling off the monk's skirt-like robe. This vision, along with my continuing manic inner dialogue, replaced whatever devotional peace I had garnered during the evening's ceremony.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Four people away. What to do? Full pronam or simply stand and bow?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three people away. I can do it! Surely, I can get down and up without creating havoc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two people away. Maybe I should play it safe. He knows I'm Western and won't expect a full pronam. On the other hand, a full pronam would demonstrate my devotion and honor his service. What to do? What to do? I'm almost there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One person away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Then, face to face with this beautiful man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I opt for the safety of a standing bow, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">finally silencing the inane thoughts in my head. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geez, what a way to ruin a beautiful evening of peace.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwftfFvTdK-obzDIiLGLl_Ctw-iCbmWz6x5E4eokP9lb-_nvO63xDuEhMzv2q-YrfgaLSWi9Mw9quPKVeEnJf2cSZEb701ENir4v1t2ckXH8A_CbM6eGN0vmTuAsqyFfGDtvko6zC5z9sh/s1600/1-touching+feet+statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwftfFvTdK-obzDIiLGLl_Ctw-iCbmWz6x5E4eokP9lb-_nvO63xDuEhMzv2q-YrfgaLSWi9Mw9quPKVeEnJf2cSZEb701ENir4v1t2ckXH8A_CbM6eGN0vmTuAsqyFfGDtvko6zC5z9sh/s1600/1-touching+feet+statue.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the future, I'll stick to something I can manage, like touching statues. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For an enlightening article about the physical and metaphysical significance of touching the feet of enlightened beings please see the following link.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.hardlight.org/info/gita_idea18.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.hardlight.org/info/gita_idea18.html</span></a></span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-25801715983245139142013-06-08T17:54:00.001-05:002013-06-09T07:23:23.390-05:00There's Just No Excuse . . . <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for not keeping this space neat and organized.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9C7IpAdEaJvFD94gHps0p6eK6BdX9Jb-Y5N8_BoeNyLjBo85p8PhTeWeb8o0t5BAZoELdsucp91DgwCzd5yTaiShKUIvzMh2_jsOEq4x24ibVV8pijVNi2tpaKYx_ZZth51riIaN9H6V/s1600/20130608_083231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9C7IpAdEaJvFD94gHps0p6eK6BdX9Jb-Y5N8_BoeNyLjBo85p8PhTeWeb8o0t5BAZoELdsucp91DgwCzd5yTaiShKUIvzMh2_jsOEq4x24ibVV8pijVNi2tpaKYx_ZZth51riIaN9H6V/s320/20130608_083231.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is clutter and delayed decision making from four years ago when I moved into this house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no excuse for it because:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. I had cabinets built so that I could <b>put away </b>the clutter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. I'm not working so I have the ability to take time to clean up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. There are Goodwill and Salvation Army donation drop off sites within minutes of my house.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. The weather in Texas is mild. I also have ceiling fans in the garage. I can clean and organize the garage almost any day of the year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, today became the day I decided to make some decisions, purge some of the excess, and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">clean the garage!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTvjbK2Vs_DpKqTqdvnr46oeV2PIRVmEUcGAazm549HLQ70G8SPRjw1H44jR9HFnIFT4au18XYvv0K7zNz4bjZn_zYJvwxyx7dsnU6SYGPbMD6YGcWARgK-XdBJGhXTEwFLNLPpevNTUQ/s1600/20130608_154336.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSTvjbK2Vs_DpKqTqdvnr46oeV2PIRVmEUcGAazm549HLQ70G8SPRjw1H44jR9HFnIFT4au18XYvv0K7zNz4bjZn_zYJvwxyx7dsnU6SYGPbMD6YGcWARgK-XdBJGhXTEwFLNLPpevNTUQ/s320/20130608_154336.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The "reveal" as they say.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50qLO7fKbL4zFOhr8q663Sxfeup-EAJOytGmWa08lJvZlx0lo9LlSqLYl1JwylP96NderRgmsuLMrtRxEhmjR6hgMVkz7l-JCm2WFszNQzTH0Vao50rnCiCVmu6-5SX_MKlPzkCykwjmg/s1600/20130608_120644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi50qLO7fKbL4zFOhr8q663Sxfeup-EAJOytGmWa08lJvZlx0lo9LlSqLYl1JwylP96NderRgmsuLMrtRxEhmjR6hgMVkz7l-JCm2WFszNQzTH0Vao50rnCiCVmu6-5SX_MKlPzkCykwjmg/s320/20130608_120644.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The peg board and Shop Vac got a good work out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHTupf8W6r0r6aDzacHdqGK8My-49nGOSC7r4xoSexUbJzOftFRz_5GLZBXP8fsSm002WV5PNG5DmHJASbHdzNcm1pCrb17RplxWrqACjD-6tL1nkBR4gOBUzL3gFw3g5_NY7M5T72sK8/s1600/20130608_154404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHTupf8W6r0r6aDzacHdqGK8My-49nGOSC7r4xoSexUbJzOftFRz_5GLZBXP8fsSm002WV5PNG5DmHJASbHdzNcm1pCrb17RplxWrqACjD-6tL1nkBR4gOBUzL3gFw3g5_NY7M5T72sK8/s320/20130608_154404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As did the trash can and the Salvation Army drop off site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you to my three friends, who are moving, for the inspiration to get my house in order.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, it's back to purging and cleaning the closets, cupboards, and drawers inside the house. . . . . As they say, "it's a process, not an event."</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-85558656517454854532013-05-19T12:58:00.000-05:002013-05-19T12:58:18.547-05:00Decadence . . . . Binge . . .<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of Control? . . . . In need of an Intervention?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0pcdLipp8XQBZ0cU44LTr9KUbnbFkVf-3Q6QR7OqZKxNqb9L7eeXHiprJyo0NSvNpmFzJHhE0cMo6ilwPt3I1_dHd3mm0XIRm1M9KzfJAEeKKUagdz6XncvlqRIdYe98wD7NnHPn5sfr/s1600/1-Donut+decadence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV0pcdLipp8XQBZ0cU44LTr9KUbnbFkVf-3Q6QR7OqZKxNqb9L7eeXHiprJyo0NSvNpmFzJHhE0cMo6ilwPt3I1_dHd3mm0XIRm1M9KzfJAEeKKUagdz6XncvlqRIdYe98wD7NnHPn5sfr/s320/1-Donut+decadence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not to worry, though, I've included vitamins for necessary nutrients, the Dr. Oz recommended handful of anti-inflammatory walnuts, some fruit (anti-inflammatory cherries and blueberries), and some cheese for protein and fat to help with vitamin absorption. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and I have stevia in the coffee. And Dan Brown's new page-turner novel, not that that will encourage mindless eating or anything. I'm good. Yeah, I'm good. No need to worry about health, or weight.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's on tomorrow's To Do list.</span>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-63759194869199851842013-05-15T09:32:00.000-05:002013-05-15T09:32:51.298-05:00Push . . . . . Pull<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxBZibAWHrY4O53h2KYUvgRSr8ia-go_f0fyntnvE6DnJMoARb8ClZrWcU80RKA2FKnbTV4QbXIdukKq4rGjqUa3aNO10AMy94zuSE0EnQoji1s3s0iWlbGkq0GUi0k1h7DEZLLP70rG3/s1600/20130515_083416.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRxBZibAWHrY4O53h2KYUvgRSr8ia-go_f0fyntnvE6DnJMoARb8ClZrWcU80RKA2FKnbTV4QbXIdukKq4rGjqUa3aNO10AMy94zuSE0EnQoji1s3s0iWlbGkq0GUi0k1h7DEZLLP70rG3/s320/20130515_083416.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I want only You, Lord.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fill me with Thy Presence."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This mantra came to me the other day. It's not original. I've seen or heard it before. It's the type of devotional chant that we're taught in <a href="http://www.yogananda-srf.org/">SRF</a>. It helps to awaken devotion, to quicken our desire for spiritual bliss and to put in the meditation time necessary to access it. It stills the endless mental chatter, allowing the ever present, but always hidden, inner quietude to bubble to the surface.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cringe at the words, at their emotion, at the obvious Christianity, at the pleading. If I heard these words from another I'd recoil; from the sentimentalism, from the naivete of calling on something called God, of being so needy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, it's exactly such pleading devotion, a mantra repeated as often as memory and will remind me to push back the endless chatter and distractions, that transports me to that equally endless meditative bliss and quietude.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can I dislike meditation so much when after just a few moments I don't want to move, desiring only to exist in the stillness of the body, the quiet of the mind? But, oh the work it takes to get to the meditation chair. If meditation is so good for me why do I resist? What's behind the mental chatter, behind the darkness of closed eyes that despite my constant pushing away continually pulls me in?</span></div>
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Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-23543236735496059782013-05-11T10:06:00.000-05:002013-05-11T10:06:27.227-05:00Beyond Neutral<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIP9Tes-qtlg7DlbkBhlLUy-5Xbxjr4sp6tkJhwxzJpdl6L1e6CTFOYape98Gvk8tFPK7cYryJ0L-OMa81WUyWqAkFeGtmLlYYuazxOykPT1qoQCWAzvw_-PfrcTnLQMWJ0nWLJ1rrBiy/s1600/20130511_082515.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIP9Tes-qtlg7DlbkBhlLUy-5Xbxjr4sp6tkJhwxzJpdl6L1e6CTFOYape98Gvk8tFPK7cYryJ0L-OMa81WUyWqAkFeGtmLlYYuazxOykPT1qoQCWAzvw_-PfrcTnLQMWJ0nWLJ1rrBiy/s320/20130511_082515.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Time for a change. Spring is here and everything is blooming, reminding me that there's more to the color palette than neutrals.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh849v-mXabGt1QyaRX4N-_3OUCWulblxzbn_fcakPzS-1MhZnnDT3DsVbaYBsNPDn3b7X6VSMSfkgHTAXat31A_kVRe26jkTPgJIGBY8W55m_8wjEt7u2GiXh-4B5b2O7h72u_Fs_n07wS/s1600/20130511_082631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh849v-mXabGt1QyaRX4N-_3OUCWulblxzbn_fcakPzS-1MhZnnDT3DsVbaYBsNPDn3b7X6VSMSfkgHTAXat31A_kVRe26jkTPgJIGBY8W55m_8wjEt7u2GiXh-4B5b2O7h72u_Fs_n07wS/s320/20130511_082631.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not being brave enough to go beyond neutral with my house, every so often I break out of the box and bring in colorful accents. This year it seems to be turquoise and orange that's pushing my happiness buttons.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcsimqhGWTxaM8k6Ojv9dOPUrUXWMUe8MoJWmqbqAEIIDVZSIAnte67sYj7lcBmLLBdIatzMml0xJm-kV2vzKZadYbkWlsxaTMO_tms4cUEO99G3kanEesBDBrHJkcE0mxNZk930TVvsh/s1600/20130509_172101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcsimqhGWTxaM8k6Ojv9dOPUrUXWMUe8MoJWmqbqAEIIDVZSIAnte67sYj7lcBmLLBdIatzMml0xJm-kV2vzKZadYbkWlsxaTMO_tms4cUEO99G3kanEesBDBrHJkcE0mxNZk930TVvsh/s320/20130509_172101.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSy_fq2kTIR_f7NuVV4OPHLyI7WnX7aT8i9WhpBqSb-9ACgmwmCEdaYBrTLeOhd9TTtr2MrQQ6nO_9iyjJCYPY66nsBfrLEMhZ5RHKlfV6ssWMZa2gPkhgQ2nQOqGiUI0ZELnLoAdPgZH/s1600/20130511_075134.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSy_fq2kTIR_f7NuVV4OPHLyI7WnX7aT8i9WhpBqSb-9ACgmwmCEdaYBrTLeOhd9TTtr2MrQQ6nO_9iyjJCYPY66nsBfrLEMhZ5RHKlfV6ssWMZa2gPkhgQ2nQOqGiUI0ZELnLoAdPgZH/s320/20130511_075134.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5wg9E4bEvjfHUqoXTEz6YB7zstyHtBDekcBPhAOcuJTlAYSOvoPKw97WF2UeDzjjR47bZAgrNIFJZXfVW4WcPjpDwPSILOOhrkVEE_LDN7BZ11ywQrK9NckuJ-_-wUP0q-ju10dFF-xG/s1600/20130511_075220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5wg9E4bEvjfHUqoXTEz6YB7zstyHtBDekcBPhAOcuJTlAYSOvoPKw97WF2UeDzjjR47bZAgrNIFJZXfVW4WcPjpDwPSILOOhrkVEE_LDN7BZ11ywQrK9NckuJ-_-wUP0q-ju10dFF-xG/s320/20130511_075220.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Still trying to find the right shade of turquoise for bathroom towels.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMr9-jUll7CI0AizcyfWixITq5WgvE4eUu0o5w2SwWLjJvFyos-ZeXmEMsyJ3VmO7ezhdfiCx_3wMf0eKLuLU6xmHJOyyDhSGwBDjauz4pxPSrUiTHi_BJBoctiLqNMgD-uLp3_izf2LB/s1600/20130511_075501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMr9-jUll7CI0AizcyfWixITq5WgvE4eUu0o5w2SwWLjJvFyos-ZeXmEMsyJ3VmO7ezhdfiCx_3wMf0eKLuLU6xmHJOyyDhSGwBDjauz4pxPSrUiTHi_BJBoctiLqNMgD-uLp3_izf2LB/s320/20130511_075501.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that concludes the trivia from my part of the world.</span></div>
Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187979434671082046.post-7788245558205089412013-05-06T08:21:00.000-05:002013-05-06T08:21:05.721-05:00Color . . . Change . . . Beauty?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawMwTcu-1AWvYHgfIM85OzHyeAx8qCx6fW92epzG1rP6dxeOrsfCNwpM5xtdo2zNLSz_MyiJ_RViZag4z_ceuboGA_nvIsw-yYo_PyIn0wojQxppxMwzwT31lfxbLS94kjNn-rNSAy3I-/s1600/2013-05-06+07.43.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiawMwTcu-1AWvYHgfIM85OzHyeAx8qCx6fW92epzG1rP6dxeOrsfCNwpM5xtdo2zNLSz_MyiJ_RViZag4z_ceuboGA_nvIsw-yYo_PyIn0wojQxppxMwzwT31lfxbLS94kjNn-rNSAy3I-/s320/2013-05-06+07.43.34.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I changed the flower arrangement on the meditation room altar. Since then, I've been amazed by how much joy this small change in my environment has given me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The altar went from this . . .</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVkHzzpfwG9VmBjeysUHZ_Ux5n7EJwzyp5-8cYd1OiVlJozor2uawVL00tbsZ3wz69CfRFAIIwVdO9uiEMK8xJDzv8kMW7boWIYUzpMBWWOccVQyFqjqqSCLO6hFvNkTE5iVxzd-l3UYf/s1600/2013-05-06+07.42.26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxVkHzzpfwG9VmBjeysUHZ_Ux5n7EJwzyp5-8cYd1OiVlJozor2uawVL00tbsZ3wz69CfRFAIIwVdO9uiEMK8xJDzv8kMW7boWIYUzpMBWWOccVQyFqjqqSCLO6hFvNkTE5iVxzd-l3UYf/s320/2013-05-06+07.42.26.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to this . . .</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6GHeso5103NNb8piwVE_yuZtqey7OWsAQ_8XCbhNKZwPSpf-5rxuYPdNrkfTZa_eA_dEy6Lp-fNEqvnrNtnDKIyUbJkJR1KbohAa1iB8480Jeata6YdHopd1NJkGObIUPirhEMTSvO3s/s1600/2013-05-06+07.40.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6GHeso5103NNb8piwVE_yuZtqey7OWsAQ_8XCbhNKZwPSpf-5rxuYPdNrkfTZa_eA_dEy6Lp-fNEqvnrNtnDKIyUbJkJR1KbohAa1iB8480Jeata6YdHopd1NJkGObIUPirhEMTSvO3s/s320/2013-05-06+07.40.55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I never realized how washed out the previous flowers were until I bought new ones in brighter tones. Of course, updating from my great aunt's cut glass vase to a more contemporary vase, sent to me last year by a dear friend, has helped enormously.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, I'm scouting out more areas around the house to update and freshen. Watch out, world. No surface is safe when I get in one of these moods.</span></div>
Brendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03499862104582806701noreply@blogger.com1