mojito

the thought manifests the word;

the word manifests the deed;

the deed develops into habit;

and habit hardens into character;

so watch the thoughts and its ways with care,

and let them spring forth from love

born out of compassion for all beings.

as the shadow follows the body,

as we think, so we become.

                                  ~ dhammapada

good morning!

my new..relatively new..

morning practice..

to attempt to catch myself 

between sleeping and waking ~

to see if i might maintain some awareness 

of  deep consciousness..

just before habitual thought takes over ..

here is how it went today

amusing to intercept my first word/thought..

mojito ~ 

it was mojito..!

an adult beverage i have yet to try..

though maybe i was thinking wohelo

the campfire girl's set of values..

work

health

love

given my proclivities this seems 

to me more noble than *mojito..

yet who can say?

or maybe it was mosquito 

recalling the tlingit totem pole of strong boy

in myrtle edwards park / seattle..

it's been said that mosquitos 

are rarely included on totem poles..

yet the brave grizzly bear is holding one..

warning us all is not easy..

which is to say..

this new practice is not ..

the first word/words out of my mouth..

as i come to..to the new day..

hmmmmmmm?

remembering.. in the early 70's..

 my dear friend barbara and i attended 

a week-end silent yoga retreat in santa barbara 

with the integral yoga institute clan..

we were silent wee mice, purging ourselves in ditches, 

eating bland sattvic food and  probably counting the minutes 

until we were free at last.. and when we were, 

as we drove away and opened our mouths,

the first word to explode in the ethers was muffins !

maybe it was muffins, 

this morning...? 

whatever a practitioner keeps pursuing

with their thinking and pondering,

becomes the inclination of their awareness ~

                             -  the buddha

my prayer -

to be wise in my thinking of thought..

that habitual, recycled thought-train..

entering into the silence just before..

noting the space, the interval..

and expanding it..

riding that stillness as a wave..

into samadhi..

into union/communion

with all and everything thing..

may it be just so..

*mojito - cuban spanish - mojo

grudge grinch

purge out of every heart the lurking grudge.

give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere.

give us the grace to accept and forgive offenders.

forgetful ourselves, help us to bear cheerfully the forgetfulness of others.

give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind.

spare us to our friends, soften to us our enemies.

                         ~  robert louis stevenson

my mama had this in our house..tucked away in a desk drawer..

where lots of interesting and colorful notes, quotes and missives

were snestled..along with important papers, un-noteworthy bits and scribbles..

it was always a meritorious rustle when i was granted permission

to enter into the innermost jumble of her secretary...

now it is amongst my jumbled collection

and i pull it out often to re-read or post and share ..

grudge partners well with forgiveness..as RLS petitions -

which is an every day, maybe an every hour assignment

for one thing or another..

whether it is forgiving the teacup for her topsy-turviness

or a friend who voted for the other guy

or my laziness or foot-in-mouthedness..

( life is very short.. but it is wide, i have heard )

my letting go must be that empty harbor

where no grudgeboats can dock and rest at sea..

where there is loyalty to all humanoids for being just that..

(the one thing i don't like about being human.. is.. being human... )

at this beginning of the new year 2021,

may the true debt jubilee be to forgive those

who we think have caused us harm..

*oh, the thinks you can 

think up if you only try!

forgive ourselves for being a self and claiming hurt..

perceived or true.. 

for declaring the self as a target..

forgive the grudge grinch within us!

lift up the self by the Self

and don't let the self droop down,

for the Self is the self's only friend

and the self is the Self's only foe.

            ~  bhagavad gita  chapter 6, verse 5

there was a headline in the washington post:

march 21, 2020..

a debt jubilee is the only way to avoid a depression

ha! indeed..

to be free of depression we must unhinge our grudges

and set them sailing..

let them float away in the great ocean's vastness

evanescing into emptiness..

(don't you love the word evanesce?)

the art of forgiveness is a life skill.. yes?

like the art of happiness..

skillful means to perpetuate a life of open-heartedness

if i can liberate my grudges, i can liberate the self to the Self ~

the back of my hand to you, insults, injuries, self-importance, grudges!

in the buddhist tradition there are three dharma seals..

impermanence, no-self and nirvāna

nirvāna = sanskrit = to extinguish = to blow out..

whoooh! gone, gone, gone beyond..

impermanance!

no-self!

these are my skillful means 

to open the doors, 

windows, 

pathways of the heart/mind..

forgiveness rides on the coattails of these three golden keys..

or.. vice versa ~

i make a plea to all i have unknowingly 

(for it is unknowingly)

harmed, hurt or misled..

been selfish and stupid and unkindly.. 

...like a bird on a wire,  

like a drunk in a midnight choir

i have tried in my way to be free.

if i have been unkind

i hope you can just let it go by

if i have been untrue

i hope you know it was never to you...

                               ~ leonard cohen

                    

* most ginormous gratitude to dr. seuss

for the grinch! and so much more....