My friends all know I meditate. Recently, one was asking me for ideas on how to get started, and it got me thinking about the styles of meditation I've used and what I like and dislike about them. And then I figured I might as well blog about it. 🙂 The three types of meditation… Continue reading Three Types of Meditation and My Pros and Cons
In pop culture, I often hear people say "it's complicated" to indicate their relationship status. Usage has expanded to cover just about any aspect of life. Everything, after all, is complicated in the sense that there are a million moving parts and facets acting upon each moment. Yet, many also contend it is simple. Either… Continue reading It’s Not Just Complicated, It’s Downright Slippery
After having a carcinoid tumor removed from my stomach and then developing SIBO, my GI system has been having a rough year. I got to the point this year that I could barely eat anything without bloating and nausea. Antibiotics helped, but I was still having a lot of food sensitivities, dyspepsia, and general uncomfortableness.… Continue reading Black Seed Oil is Saving My GI System
Yesterday I went to a healing sound meditation event at a local park. The day was cool but sunshine beautifully filtered through the trees and only a light breeze swept over the small fishing pond. Just enough movement to keep the sage smoke traveling over the group. It was not a Buddhist event, yet I… Continue reading Z is for Zen and My (Currently?) Favorite Zen Author
Several months ago, I attended a yoga mudra class. Previously, I viewed yoga as the stretchy, bendy, whole-body practice I'd done since my early 20s up until my back injury. I've tried yoga several times since the injury, but I could never make it work. Even gentle styles seemed to irritate the injury. So I… Continue reading Y is for Yoga Mudra
Xenogogy is a guidebook for tourists or visitors. Since I am definitely in an exploring-the-mind place, I decided to talk about a guidebook to the psyche. After all, it can definitely feel like you are a tourist when you delve into your own, but that's what makes it fascinating. You probably aren't surprised that I'm… Continue reading X is for Xenagogy: A visitor’s guide to the psyche
Today is the last day of sharing a tarot card for the A to Z Challenge. Wheel of Fortune is card ten. In Buddhist thought, there is the concept of impermanence. This states that everything that exists is always changing, in every moment. Therefore, we must embrace the groundlessness of our existence and realize there… Continue reading W is for Wheel of Fortune – the #tarot card, not the TV show
Is there value to life when it all leads to death? What actually provides value in this life? These are questions I don't know the answer to. Hence, I am calling them a koan, a starting point for meditative inquiry. I have come across several takes on the story of Buddha's enlightenment. In case you… Continue reading V is for Value: A Koan
Yesterday, I wrote about the Tower tarot card. One challenge of it is not viewing the difficult changes in life as necessarily bad. I've also been doing a good deal of Buddhist readings and recently came across several articles about viewing the "bad" or hard things that happen to us as a teacher to help… Continue reading U is for Upsides to Life’s Crap
Today, back to my tarot deck. I'm highlighting the Tower card, which is card 16 of the major arcana. The Tower indicates swift, sudden change. Traditionally, the card shows lightning striking a tower and people falling from the building. It is utter, irrevocable destruction. In other words, it indicates change from which there is no… Continue reading T is for Tower #tarot #AtoZchallenge
Suicidal Tulip 