Reading

A quickie to let you know I haven't forgotten all you regular readers! Just get distracted some days by other exciting fun things to do! Like watching the grass in the yard die from lack of water. When will it rain again?---Actually, I'm still struggling with stopping my reading streak. My Kindle has hold of me now - I've found daily 99 centers to order from Amazon and get completely wrapped up in reading them--mysteries so far--and don't do anything I don't absolutely have to do! Thank God I love to read! Life would be very dull without my reading escapades.

First 4th Sunday at 4 o'clock

Our first 4th Sunday at 4 o'clock meditation session was glorious! Six of us shared the silence. The photo is the altar covered with a creation of Bob's grandmother more than fifty years ago.----- Synchronicity is at work! Just a few minutes ago I received a Yoga Journal article "Surrendering to Silence." Here is a short paragraph:

..........It's a quietness of heart rather than an imposed cessation of speech or activity. It is the recognition of a depth in each of us that has never spoken, a quiet that simply allows anything to arise and pass through the mental landscape. Rather than straining to try to silence our minds (a practically hopeless task). we can simply relax into the quiet that contains the mind; then we become more accustomed to noticing the quiet rather than fixating on the noise of mostly useless thoughts. The habit of relaxing into the still center of pure presence, no matter what the mind may be doing, becomes an effortless living meditation, rather than an effort to meditate and still the mind.

Mark your calendar now for the second 4th Sunday at 4 o'clock - September 25. This time we'll end with a labyrinth walk and you are welcome to stay in silence here in the Yogatorium or the labyrinth as long as you like. You are also welcome to borrow any of the books.

Smiles

What a lovely walk this morning - cool - fall will come. Already a few of the maple and yellow poplar leaves are showing up yellow and I even found a red hawthorne leaf. I've begun a board collecting the fall indicators I find on my morning walks. The walks have become a habit now - one of my activities that always brings a smile to my face. What brings a smile to your face? About 15 years ago I went through a long self-inquiry answering that question over several months of journaling and came up with six things: learning, travel, reading romance novels, clothes, center stage, and physical activity. Can you come up with six activities that make you smile? Perhaps I should now add "writing my blog posts." :)

New store in 96 with old stuff.

What a Friday! Busy, Busy, Busy. But then, it was time. All day yesterday I spent doing nothing but reading for fun - a mystery set in Santa Fe which I bought in Ninety Six for $2 - a hardback book! This store is a real find - books, movies, etc - for $1 or $2!!! Last week I bought a white straw cowgirl hat from her for $5! What fun! ----Today I washed windows of the Yogatorium - with an expandable handle mop so I can reach them from the ground - and the outdoor Windex stuff on my hose - actually two hoses hooked together. I made a mistake and didn't have an outdoor faucet put in the Yogatorium when I built it. Oh well, otherwise it's perfect! ----- Then just now I poached some wild-caught salmon that looks perfect! I do love salmon and the poaching method is so easy even I can succeed at it.----Randy cut the weeds (no grass growing) and trimmed up the labyrinth so everything looks really neat again. Tomorrow will be a busy one with yoga session in the morning and in the evening to 96 for Cateechee Fest where I'll display my materials advertising the Yogatorium and Silent Retreat for Sunday. So, the rest of this day - reading for pleasure and watching TV weather for Irene info out of the corner of my eye. I'm learning to pace myself with acivity and stillness interchanged.

Finding Joy in Nature, etc.

Beautiful walk again this morning - cooler now and that makes for a more pleasant walk - even a bit later. Even now, at nearly ten o'clock, there is a nice breeze on the porch causing the wind chimes to sing and cooling the air. What a delight to notice the changing seasons. This morning I picked up three red/orange natural things - a trumpet vine flower, a sassafras leaf (three-pronged one), and another leaf I can't identify-have to get out my book. I've found a canvas framed to pin them to so I can enjoy them longer. Also have three feathers to add that I picked up at the swing in the Asheville Botanical Gardens this past weekend. -----It was delightful yesterday to get back with my yoga students at the Y and last evening here, too. They all add joy to my life. Today I'll see the church classes students. How blessed I am to be able to live a life doing just what I love---well, not just what I love. I, too, have occasions when unpleasant chores arise, but mostly I am doing from moment to moment just what I love. The trick, I've learned, is to at least think "this is really OK" especially if it's a chore that makes my life in general more pleasant--like cleaning out the bird bath fountain--or filling the bird feeders--or even washing windows and mopping the floor.

Acting on an Intention - with Help

Hi! I'm back home again. If you're turned off by God talk, just skip this one.

The Elder Quest weekend was very fruitful - fun and frolicking (See Sara swinging.) and much inspiration to be a happier, better person. Each of us set an intention and now the hard part comes - living that intention. In my morning reading in ACIM I ran across a helpful thought when one takes on a challenge: "Through your holiness the power of God is made manifest----------There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the power of God lies in it." See Lesson 38 if you're turned on by this. ---- And now, I'm back to getting my head screwed on to write more specifically, purposefully, with some notion of the skeleton of my book to come. I've been just writing whatever pops into my head and now it's time for a more directed effort. I just hope this phase is as much fun as the first one was!

Rearranging Life Stuff

Here it is already Thursday afternoon! I've managed to begin rescheduling my everyday practices and somehow the blog got lost in the shuffle. Not totally forgotten, just temporarily set aside in preference to book writing.------Life is truly good. I'm walking each morning and leading the yoga classes and learning to eat better, and it is all paying off big time. How fortunate I am to be able to enjoy my life in so many ways! ------Tomorrow I'm going to Asheville to a weekend Elder Quest, the third with this same small group of women who are all on a spiritual journey. (Isn't everybody?) Anyway, we share thoughts, questions, inspiration, encouragement, and more. What a joy to have such companions! ----For the next few days, I'll be away from my laptop, but will get back to it Sunday evening or Monday morning at the latest. Have a blessed few days till I return! ----------By the way, the Saturday morning yoga class will meet as usual Saturday at 10:00 in the Yogatorium. Martha Busterna has graciously agreed to lead it in my absence.

Pauses Produce Peace

It's early Sunday morning. The last two days have been full of contemplation time bolstered by reading. One of the true joys of my life in this Adulthood II (as Mary Catherine Bateson calls it in her Composing a Further Life) is the permission to spend time within myself drawing on the accumulated resources of a long life. So, these two days have been fruitful, rewarding me with the joy of introspection. The recognition of a life lived well enough to base an even more rewarding next phase upon. I like to look at these years as the WisdomYears knowing that my wisdom is just now beginning to rise to the surface. It is the quiet time that allows this to happen. As I've written before, it is in the gaps, the pauses, that I find God. This morning, sitting on the porch in the morning cool, still air overcast by a gray sky, I am at peace.

Deer in Beaver-dam pool

You've got to see this photo! Click on it to enlarge - there's a deer in the middle of the little beaver-dam pool! She visited me yesterday on my walk down the road - first time I've ever taken my camera with me - something told me I would need it!! Just as I leaned over the bridge guard rail and focused on the pool, she jumped in and then immediately out and off into the woods. What a great gift!

Meditation Event at the Yogatorium

For those of you who may miss it on fb, I have scheduled a new event. Beginning August 28, we will hold a one-hour meditation retreat in the air-conditioned Yogatorium. We will begin with two 20-minute Centering Prayer sessions separated by a 10-minute walking meditation. My plan is to hold these silent retreats each 4th Sunday at 4:00 pm. This is your opportunity to share time in contemplation with others on a spiritual journey--an enriching, inspiring time. Your pathway may be Christian or any way you choose. In case you don't already know, the Yogatorium is 2 miles south of the Ninety Six Historic Site just past Kinard's Church. Four miles from Ninety Six on Hwy 248, turn left to 1909 Tillman Territory Road. Turn left at the first driveway and at the second building, park anywhere in the yard and enter the red door. Call 223-7945 (land) or 864-506-4063 (cell) for more info. There is no fee. ------When the weather cools, we will walk the labyrinth, but for now, we'll stay inside for the hour. Chairs, cushions, blankets, mats, and two kneeling benches are available for your use. -----I'm excited about this event. It is always inspiring to share sacred time with others. Please invite your friends!

Why I am here.

Monday morning - a new week - church yesterday after missing many weeks in a row while on vacation - nice to be back home. On my walk this morning it hit me why I am living here. It's the opportunity to be in nature - with God - as easily as stepping outside my door - either one - on the back porch over the Pond to the fish, turtles, wasps, heron, ducks, geese and/or egret - or the front door into open space with spiders, birds, squirrels, dandelions, bright blue sky and trees---many trees. And now, everything is mostly brown - even the trees have branches of brown leaves. We need rain. ----- This morning Randy is coming to redo the bed between the walk and the cottage. The daisies are still struggling, but other than the sago palm, everything else is dead. Even the weeds which I treated with Roundup. I am giving up on annual flowers and, with Randy's labor, will reclaim the bed with some new garden soil, covered with weed control paper, and topped with mulch from the dead oak that was removed last year. When I can decicde what, I will plant two or three shrubs of some kind--maybe azaleas? -----My goodness! There are FOUR cats on my walk! Granted, two are youngsters, but well on their way to adulthood. I don't feed them, the neighbor does. But, I don't have mice and I'm sure they don't either.

Romance Novels

My writing coach, Lisa, recently suggested I read some romance novels and write reviews. So, I headed for the library and Harlequin and Silhouette paperbacks. Oddly, the first paperback that jumped out at me was neither of those publishers, but a Louis L'Amour entitled Passin' Through. His books have always been a favorite of my first-born son, Tate, and I have enjoyed them in the past, too. As it turns out, for me, this book stirred romantic notions in me (not sexy) because of his painting such a detailed picture of the surroundings - mountains, plants, sky, people, buildings, situations. Such wonderful memories were stirred. For example, one of the loveliest sights I have ever seen were the quaking aspens in the fall on top of Glorietta Baldy - approx. 12,000 feet or so in New Mexico. I climbed a fire tower a ways in order to get a photo of the sea of gold--but the scene has never left my memory. This book reading has given me a new perspective on my pleasure in reading. I have often said that I read romance novels for relaxation and restoration when I have been under much stress. And, until now, I thought it was the love scenes, which often included sexual acts. Not so, what really cleans my slate is the removal to another place and time and the mental and emotional reactions that transfer to me. It's the process of getting inside the players minds. Louis L'Amour writes so that occurs readily. At least for me. I am glad Lisa suggested I do some analysis of my reading pleasure. I'll do some more.

Lotus Flower

Had a hound dog following me on my walk this morning. Don't know who he belongs to, but his persistence was surprising. Can't imagine why a dog simply wants to follow along. But he did. I was worried about a car hitting him, but he stayed right behind me all the way out and back. Makes me think maybe it's time for me to get a dog of my own again. Such loyalty is a wonderful gift.---but not now----I'm still in the traveling mode.------My reading this morning gave me this: "Be like the lotus flower in the water; .....untainted by the world around you." I recall seeing the lotus blossoms out at Park Seed Co. around the time of the Festival of Flowers and being inspired by their beauty and simplicity floating on top of the water with the mud beneath "untainting" the blossoms. I've also seen them in the lake at Kanuga, near Hendersonville, NC. And probably other places, too. Reminds me of the admonishment to be: in the world, but not of the world (somewhere in the Bible) often quoted in spiritual works. Something I think about quite often.

Hummingbirds, Ticks, and HOT weather

The hummingbirds are here - eight of them this morning! What a joy they are to watch from my seat at the table. They sometimes seem to be fighting over the four openings chasing each other away and at other times, it seems they are just enjoying flitting around sharing the feeding spots. Most often, they land on one of the little roosting bars and feed quietly. Occasionally they eat without landing on the bars. In that case, they must be using up all the energy they are eating while they eat with their wings fluttering. When I returned from vacation, the feeder was empty but I refilled it and within ten minutes, a bird showed up! After two weeks of no feed! Was it just an accident or is there some sensor they have to know when to come back???------I found a tick on the back side of my thigh yesterday. It was so tiny I didn't realize it was a tick until a couple days went by. Anyhow, he turned loose and is now gone. Yes, I marked it on my calendar. But I've forgotten how long I have to wait before the all clear signal sounds - 21 days? ----- Such is life at the Pond. I LOVE IT! Even if it is HOT! Over 100 yesterday. So, I've cranked the ac up to 80. 20 degrees difference is still a lot of cooling.

How we live our days

Goodness! I've already missed two days and here I am late this morning. Oh well, at least I'm back at it. These last two days have been truly fun getting back into the swing of things - two yoga classes both Monday and Tuesday and new students at three of the four! Now, today is my day off (except for an evening class here). I use Wednesdays to rest, relax, and restore--specifically, I avoid "must-do's". The only must-do is to end the day happy and relaxed and know that all is right with my world. ------This morning's reading is on my mind--a quote from Annie Dillard - how we live our days is how we live our lives - from Sarah Ban Breathnach's Simple Abundance Day Book. Think about that.