home sweet home

I'm home! Miss Kate has been glued to be since our arrival.

I have a few "offering" posts to catch up on - and I'll be honest there is no way I'll catch up on four days of being away from Live journal - so if something totally friggin' awesome happened; or you took a jaw-dropping photograph; or just have something to share - hit me with a comment and let me know.

I'm very glad to be home - and can't wait to see David later. For now? A busy afternoon of laundry, taking Miss Kate out for one last spin in the minicar - then turning it over to its new owner at 8pm.

The Queen Mary

Yesterday I visited the amazing Queen Mary in the harbor in Long Beach, CA.

the whole flickr set here

a personal journey

"it’s easy to become convinced of the value of meditation, generosity, patience, and so on. But what happens when, based on theory alone, you try to bring these qualities into everyday life? If you’re like me, not much. I need to practice these skills over and over before they begin to make sense.... - Susan Piver's 7 day "Freedom From Fear" Meditation Retreat.

- - - - thats how the self guided retreat I went on this weekend began. So - a lot of what I journaled about (handwritten) and thought about during my weekend away is some deeply personal "where is my life" sort of stuff - so I won't be journaling here on LJ in great detail honestly.

What the weekend did for me though - that I will say? Is assure me that this new path I've set myself on the last two to three years is the correct path for me. My choices and guiding principles are attracting like-minded durable friendships - strengthening the friendships in my life and relationships in my life that are truly reciprocal. Those that weren't reciprocal or that were negatively focused or oriented - - aren't going to get too much attention any longer.

Flying to Long Beach and conducting this retreat for myself in a fresh, undisturbed environment was one of the best gifts I've given myself in years. Both before and after the retreat - I spent time with my hosts Bruce and Larry - who are you just the best guys ever.

the next four days will have me journaling about the things I dove into on my retreat and declaring some things for myself personally.

What I hope what you'll see next - is a lot more practice.

(#113, #114, #115, #116/365) Offerings

#113 - "If one were truly aware of the value of human life, to waste it blithely on distractions and the pursuit of vulgar ambitions would be the height of confusion." Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

#114 - "The only source of blame is the confusion that reigns in our minds, a chaos which Buddhism calls ignorance" - Matthieu Ricard

#115 - "The mind is restless, unsteady, hard to guard, hard to control, the wise one makes it straight, like a fletcher straightens an arrow. How good is it to rein the mind? Which is unruly, capricious, rushing wherever it pleases. The mind so harnessed will bring one happiness. Your worst enemy cannot harm you... as much as your own unguarded thoughts. A well-directed mind creates more happiness than even the loving action of your parents" - The Buddha (translated by Joseph Goldstein)

#116 - "To exercise right mindfulness, the mind must be neither too taut, not too relaxed, like the string of a vina." Kalu Rinpoche


Flickr Title: Introducing the the ancient Rudra Vina
Flickr User: Witness108