I am soooo sleepy. I just got home. It's about 7.30pm and I have been out and about since 8.30am. I had a 9am-5pm meditation seminar today. It was really tough, but good. My mind is always racing so learning to "turn it off" for a while was extremely difficult. It will take lots of practice to really get it going, but I was pretty proud of myself, I turned off the thoughts more than I would have thought I could, for periods of time at least.
Our teacher was pretty funny. He's one of those guys that's walking a fine line with me between sincerity, common sense, wisdom, and philosophy and BS. I agreed with a lot of what he said, and I disagreed with quite a bit here and there, but could totally understand where he was coming from even when I didn't agree. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? I mean, some things I was experiencing for the first time, or hearing for the first time, so it was like taking a sip of lemonade and swallowing the sweet bits I liked and spitting out the bits I didn't like (the seeds).
So, it was a good day, albeit a long one. My co-workers on Friday were like, "Can you last that long without talking?" and I dared them to take bets on me. Even though everyone who knows me says I could "talk underwater" I have realised that I don't really talk much on Sundays. Sundays are usually my quiet days. I think I have gone some Sundays without speaking to anyone! (Pick yourselves up off the floor, those of you who have fainted.) I probably have a nightime chat with friends every now and then on Sundays, but usually that's my day of writing/reading/lounging around, with just me, myself, and I.
I only spoke to people today during the two tea breaks. During lunch we were asked to go eat alone and do this special meditation while eating and do a walking meditation through Hyde Park (Virtual Tour). Before lunch we did a laying-down meditation. That was pretty cool. We all laid down on the floor, our heads all pointing towards the middle of the circle, the lights were out, just a candle an some incense burning. Very relaxing. After lunch we learned about Zen meditation and did it for about 45 minutes. It was so strange. I actually did it pretty well towards the beginning and had this incredible urge to giggle and laugh. I felt giddy. And I kinda felt buzzed and "high" even though I've never done drugs before and have no idea what it's like to feel high due to them. But I do know what it feels to be high naturally...sky-diving does that. So it kinda felt like that on a smaller scale. It was pretty cool. But then the thoughts started to invade again and every now and then I'd feel like I just couldn't take it anymore, and I had that antsy "Is it over yet?" feeling, and then I'd chill out again and go with it and it was good. The class next door was talking about culture shock and it was really hard not to let that get into my brain. That whole mantra thing (I said "Kuuuuuu" instead of "Ooooohmmm") does actually help block out everything else.
Our teacher today gave me a lot to think about. It's not as if I hadn't thought of some of these things before, but it was a good reminder. He talked a lot about a good diet and did the whole "you shouldn't eat red meat...it is in the nature of human beings to be vegetarians" thing and he brought up the same points that several authors I've enjoyed have pointed out. Human beings have to cook their meat a LOT and season it and do all sorts of things to hide the meat because it wouldn't naturally taste good to us etc etc. And there are a lot of other valid points too. Now this doesn't mean I'm going to become a vegetarian, but I have noticed that I have become more vegetarian over the last two years. I still eat meat, but not as often as I used to, and I definitely eat a lot less red meat than I used to. Some days I could really go for a good juicy prime rib, but I guess the point is finding moderation. A little bit of anything is fine. When he got into the "eat more fresh foods" spiel, I started thinking that I have been eating too much crap lately and too much soda. So I'm not giving up my junk food or soda cold turkey, but I'm just going to try to eat healthier/better foods and keep the junk to a minimum. So that's more water, less Coke :) I ate pretty healthy today, so we'll see how long it lasts.
The teacher also slagged "psychology" quite a bit and I found it very amusing. He was right about some things. I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of dodgy things involved in psychology and plenty of crap is being thrown around, but he sounded a bit disillusioned to me. Psychology is like any other field or area of study. There's good stuff and bad stuff and it's up to individuals to pick and choose between what they agree with, and what they don't, and you always have to be careful to keep an open mind.
The main thing that I found a bit disconcerting is how he kept talking about "your people" and "my people" etc. etc. He kept making that distinction. When I looked around the room at the other "white people" I wasn't thinking, "These are my people!" I know he was really just making the distinction between western culture/philosophy and eastern culture/philosophy, and that's very relevant, but every time he said, "Your people often like this" or kept using the collective "you," it just felt weird. He was born in part of Persia which is now Iran, but he's been in Australia for 20 years now. He had a great smile and was quite the character. I think more than anything, he just reconfirmed my belief that there are admirable qualities in eastern philosophies and western philosophies and it's good to sift through them and choose what you like to try to find that balance in everything you do.
I have been extra extra tired these last 2 weeks regardless of the amount of "sleep" I've been getting, mostly because the quality of my sleep has been quite poor. So many dreams, lots of shallow sleep. I wake up completely drained. I think it's one part "not enough relaxation" and one part "not enough exercise." I live right across the street from an amazing pool. Ideally I'd like to go swimming for maybe 45 minutes before work, perhaps 3x a week? If I woke up at 6.30, I could fit it in. In my dream world, I'd do 45 minutes of either swimming or Tai Chi in the mornings, then take a shower, then do 25 minutes zen meditation, then eat breakfast, then power-walk to work while doing the walking meditation. Then, after work, I'd do the walking meditation on my way home, come home, do the zen meditation, eat dinner, do my writing for a while, read, then do a bit of Tai Chi, and then finally, the laying-down meditation....it's supposed to give you deep dreamless sleep. I know, I sound absolutely insane! But I think all of that would give me lots more energy and that's what I want! I should really start taking some more Tai Chi classes--I'm really into the relaxation/exercise combo. Anything that gives you a work-out and clears your mind at the same time is SO my bag, baby. Seriously, after my 2 months of Tai Chi, I could really notice the difference. It was very relaxing, and my thigh muscles were strong. I have slacked off in the last couple months and my body is consequently slack as all hell, so time to to start it up again! I'm really in this whole "try new things, see if they're any good, have an open mind" sort of mode, as I think you can tell.
Today was a weird day weather wise. Rainy and crappy (yet warm) this morning, then the sun came out and it was beautiful. Then no idea what happened between 9am-1pm, it was okay during lunchtime, then started raining again, yadda. I went to Broadway to read/write for a couple hours after class (after 5pm) and when I was heading outside the sunny weather changed to rain immediately. I nearly pulled a Mary Poppins as the wind was ripping up and my umbrella kept blowing inside out, but as I was crossing Broadway I saw a rainbow. It was gorgeous. Half of it was coming out of Broadway Shopping Centre and the other half was coming out of the Telstra building. (At least from my perspective.)
Off to do some writing now. Woo-hoo.
Our teacher was pretty funny. He's one of those guys that's walking a fine line with me between sincerity, common sense, wisdom, and philosophy and BS. I agreed with a lot of what he said, and I disagreed with quite a bit here and there, but could totally understand where he was coming from even when I didn't agree. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? I mean, some things I was experiencing for the first time, or hearing for the first time, so it was like taking a sip of lemonade and swallowing the sweet bits I liked and spitting out the bits I didn't like (the seeds).
So, it was a good day, albeit a long one. My co-workers on Friday were like, "Can you last that long without talking?" and I dared them to take bets on me. Even though everyone who knows me says I could "talk underwater" I have realised that I don't really talk much on Sundays. Sundays are usually my quiet days. I think I have gone some Sundays without speaking to anyone! (Pick yourselves up off the floor, those of you who have fainted.) I probably have a nightime chat with friends every now and then on Sundays, but usually that's my day of writing/reading/lounging around, with just me, myself, and I.
I only spoke to people today during the two tea breaks. During lunch we were asked to go eat alone and do this special meditation while eating and do a walking meditation through Hyde Park (Virtual Tour). Before lunch we did a laying-down meditation. That was pretty cool. We all laid down on the floor, our heads all pointing towards the middle of the circle, the lights were out, just a candle an some incense burning. Very relaxing. After lunch we learned about Zen meditation and did it for about 45 minutes. It was so strange. I actually did it pretty well towards the beginning and had this incredible urge to giggle and laugh. I felt giddy. And I kinda felt buzzed and "high" even though I've never done drugs before and have no idea what it's like to feel high due to them. But I do know what it feels to be high naturally...sky-diving does that. So it kinda felt like that on a smaller scale. It was pretty cool. But then the thoughts started to invade again and every now and then I'd feel like I just couldn't take it anymore, and I had that antsy "Is it over yet?" feeling, and then I'd chill out again and go with it and it was good. The class next door was talking about culture shock and it was really hard not to let that get into my brain. That whole mantra thing (I said "Kuuuuuu" instead of "Ooooohmmm") does actually help block out everything else.
Our teacher today gave me a lot to think about. It's not as if I hadn't thought of some of these things before, but it was a good reminder. He talked a lot about a good diet and did the whole "you shouldn't eat red meat...it is in the nature of human beings to be vegetarians" thing and he brought up the same points that several authors I've enjoyed have pointed out. Human beings have to cook their meat a LOT and season it and do all sorts of things to hide the meat because it wouldn't naturally taste good to us etc etc. And there are a lot of other valid points too. Now this doesn't mean I'm going to become a vegetarian, but I have noticed that I have become more vegetarian over the last two years. I still eat meat, but not as often as I used to, and I definitely eat a lot less red meat than I used to. Some days I could really go for a good juicy prime rib, but I guess the point is finding moderation. A little bit of anything is fine. When he got into the "eat more fresh foods" spiel, I started thinking that I have been eating too much crap lately and too much soda. So I'm not giving up my junk food or soda cold turkey, but I'm just going to try to eat healthier/better foods and keep the junk to a minimum. So that's more water, less Coke :) I ate pretty healthy today, so we'll see how long it lasts.
The teacher also slagged "psychology" quite a bit and I found it very amusing. He was right about some things. I will be the first to admit that there are a lot of dodgy things involved in psychology and plenty of crap is being thrown around, but he sounded a bit disillusioned to me. Psychology is like any other field or area of study. There's good stuff and bad stuff and it's up to individuals to pick and choose between what they agree with, and what they don't, and you always have to be careful to keep an open mind.
The main thing that I found a bit disconcerting is how he kept talking about "your people" and "my people" etc. etc. He kept making that distinction. When I looked around the room at the other "white people" I wasn't thinking, "These are my people!" I know he was really just making the distinction between western culture/philosophy and eastern culture/philosophy, and that's very relevant, but every time he said, "Your people often like this" or kept using the collective "you," it just felt weird. He was born in part of Persia which is now Iran, but he's been in Australia for 20 years now. He had a great smile and was quite the character. I think more than anything, he just reconfirmed my belief that there are admirable qualities in eastern philosophies and western philosophies and it's good to sift through them and choose what you like to try to find that balance in everything you do.
I have been extra extra tired these last 2 weeks regardless of the amount of "sleep" I've been getting, mostly because the quality of my sleep has been quite poor. So many dreams, lots of shallow sleep. I wake up completely drained. I think it's one part "not enough relaxation" and one part "not enough exercise." I live right across the street from an amazing pool. Ideally I'd like to go swimming for maybe 45 minutes before work, perhaps 3x a week? If I woke up at 6.30, I could fit it in. In my dream world, I'd do 45 minutes of either swimming or Tai Chi in the mornings, then take a shower, then do 25 minutes zen meditation, then eat breakfast, then power-walk to work while doing the walking meditation. Then, after work, I'd do the walking meditation on my way home, come home, do the zen meditation, eat dinner, do my writing for a while, read, then do a bit of Tai Chi, and then finally, the laying-down meditation....it's supposed to give you deep dreamless sleep. I know, I sound absolutely insane! But I think all of that would give me lots more energy and that's what I want! I should really start taking some more Tai Chi classes--I'm really into the relaxation/exercise combo. Anything that gives you a work-out and clears your mind at the same time is SO my bag, baby. Seriously, after my 2 months of Tai Chi, I could really notice the difference. It was very relaxing, and my thigh muscles were strong. I have slacked off in the last couple months and my body is consequently slack as all hell, so time to to start it up again! I'm really in this whole "try new things, see if they're any good, have an open mind" sort of mode, as I think you can tell.
Today was a weird day weather wise. Rainy and crappy (yet warm) this morning, then the sun came out and it was beautiful. Then no idea what happened between 9am-1pm, it was okay during lunchtime, then started raining again, yadda. I went to Broadway to read/write for a couple hours after class (after 5pm) and when I was heading outside the sunny weather changed to rain immediately. I nearly pulled a Mary Poppins as the wind was ripping up and my umbrella kept blowing inside out, but as I was crossing Broadway I saw a rainbow. It was gorgeous. Half of it was coming out of Broadway Shopping Centre and the other half was coming out of the Telstra building. (At least from my perspective.)
Off to do some writing now. Woo-hoo.
posted by Lori @ Verbalicious at
8:36 PM
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