Wednesday, October 3, 2007

<---- )( ---->

That's me in the middle. Today I practiced feeling torn, and being okay with it. That is, just feeling what it felt like to not know and be unsure about the right answer. It is much more natural to fret and fret about a situation, because at least I feel like I'm DOING something. But it is, admittedly, a lot easier to simply do nothing, at least about my emotions, for the moment. Instead, I imagined my (hypothetical) insides: two swaths of cloth-ish something twisted and twisted around a pole, their ends pulled out in opposite directions, constricting my thought processes and stomach, and causing a lot of pain. So, I just stopped looking for the next thought, instead directing my gaze inward, literally imagined my "insides," noticed that I was unsure of and in conflict with myself, and said "that's ok." Time will pass and the answers will present themselves as they are meant to do. MUCH less stressful.

Scope #2



In Buddhist legend, the udumbara is a rare flower that blossoms unexpectedly every few millennia. It portends the imminent arrival of a miraculous breakthrough, as it did when it appeared near a lake at the foot of the Himalayas before the birth of Buddha. Many people in Fremont, California, believe they recently saw the udumbara blooming on an oleander tree, its threadlike stalks erupting with tiny white blooms. Was it real? Alas, no scientists were on hand to confer the blessing of authentication. But that doesn't matter for my purpose, which is to let you know that you'll soon have a close brush with the equivalent of an udumbara. Be alert. Don't be so lost in your fantasies that you're blind to the fantastic omen that's right in front of you. You've got to actually see it in order to be ready for the wondrous event it foreshadows.