ALL HALLOWS EVE, OCTOBER 31 TO CNY FEBRUARY 12 year of Metal Ox
Holidays: (individual schedules TBD) Halloween, All Hallows Eve, Day of the dead, remembrance Oct 31 Gratitude fest - Thanksgiving Celebrate Buddha’s life and teaching Buddha’s BD Winter Solstice, longest night begin silent meditation retreat through End Calendar year Chinese New Year Weekly: Write an article about the things we like about SEOH Athens Volunteer, help out somewhere locally Sangha meeting Complete an item on the honeydo list Drumming session Visit others 2 days off mid week resupply Daily: 4:00-6:00 Meditation - positive higher frequency vibration joyous rampage 6:00-8:00 Personal Hygiene, journaling/morning pages, animal care Qigong, Jiang gan, YoQi 0800 Breakfast 9:30 discuss/plan work etc 10-1 Work practice, volunteer, visit 1:00 Lunch with chants and oryoki 2:00 Tea, animal care, creativity, nap, read, write, sewing, puttering, walking, gardening, etc 3:30 Meditation - take turns being Doan, explore different kinds inc hypnosis, locations Dharma talk, study - random various revisit old and discover new teachers Chanting - Aum, revisit heart sutra, theravada standards, jediyana 6:00 Prep for next day, complete projects, animal care, drumming, meeting 8:00 Personal hygiene, health practice: soaking feet, self massage, acupressure, tapping, acupuncture, moxa, cupping, guasha, isometric exercises, meditation, Sleep We have an alter, a meditation hall, bells, oryoki, wear the “robe” except on 2 days off and appropriate work clothing, avoid news media, unwholesome escapist entertainment, practice present moment awareness and acceptance, abide with flexibility the schedule and routine, appreciate this opportunity and our Noble Friends.
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Practice, Patience and Persistence ... I have some good news and some bad news - which do you want to hear first? Ok, the bad news is life's ups and downs persist forever. The good news is our Practice does create a toolbox, haven, armor, however you see it that also persists forever and is ever upgrading and changing to meet the unfolding demands that present to us.
We need to cultivate Patience with our whole being, that includes our idea of self and our ideas of others. Remember to find the silver lining in every cloud, the hidden gift in every adventitious moment, the hidden teaching in every adversarial interaction, the beauty in every encounter. Cultivate Discernment - that inner wisdom that discerns true happiness from false, biased, inflationary, mythic happiness with meditation and insight. Hold to our practice and acknowledge the ripple effect as it spreads like a contagion to reach the hearts and minds around us. Painful sad angry and fearful emotions are there for us to change with equanimity, compassion, loving kindness and sympathetic joy. Being in the present moment with as much attention as you have the energy to allow is essential to our Practice. For this we need to be as healthy as we can be in body and mind. Aware that memory is a construct of the imagination and the future is utterly open ended, anything is possible, unexpected and unplanned for, exciting and amazing, wonderful things are always happening for us. We have to be awake to see them. That which offers all to us deserves our fullest attention. How can we pass up this moment by being inside our head? It takes a lot of energy to be present, awake and aware and cultivating that energy takes constant assessment, evaluation and tweaking of our lifestyle, diet and activities. It's a full time job to be alive, but what an amazing adventure that is. It often involves challenge and difficulty but those allow us to fully appreciate the joy and pleasure of being. We keep at it to benefit others, to bring joy and pleasure to others, our Noble Friends known and unknown or unknowing around us. That community is where our roots and fibrils extend to and where we contribute and derive sustenance from. Sadhguru says we are responsible for/to all that is. Meaning we can respond to everything we perceive. Not that everything is our fault or due to what we do but that we can respond if not act on everything we know of consciously and subconsciously. I was once told by a high school teacher that we could not be aware of subconscious thoughts and perceptions but I disagreed then and I still disagree with this today. Is the pond not aware of the mud in its floor? of the life in that mud? That is as much the pond as the water itself. As the currents and depths that stir it. As the light and wind that move on its surface. We are awake to much more than we are conscious of and feel those stirrings and respond to them not with thought, speech or action but through our innermost energy patterns and chemistry. We become more and more aware of these deeper layers of being as our Practice unfolds. Once upon a time a monk might create a portrait of their teacher, their Noble Friend, an effort similar to answering a koan. With that in mind I am beginning a portrait in the form of a graphic novel to illustrate the life and times of Jedi Master Sensei KC WarEagle, guide and inspiration to myself and Great Determination Buddhist Sangha, founder of Jediyana. I hope you will find it moving and enlightening as well as entertaining. As you will see, her destiny in this lifetime is clearly linked to her family of origin. It's a path I think only she could have turned into such a positive destination. Get to know her here. Author: Cleo Kalyana WolfKC and I met as Thru Hikers on the Appalachian Trail in 1999. We made it about halfway but the journey continues and we evolved from hiking partners to Noble Friends. I struggle with art, it is both a tonic and a drain for me. I have to fight my way back to earth after getting the balloon to launch and fly. I don't want to get lost and have a tactile sensation of clawing the ground to gain an anchor when I make something important. But this project is vital to me and to our Sangha, I want to introduce my friend and mentor to you, to the world. |