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