Truly, I can’t recall have such a difficult time just
sitting on the meditation cushion as I had this weekend; hence the title of
this post. I still find the Lotus position challenging but I usually can settle
after the first hour of sitting in a position that allows me to keep my head
and shoulders with minimum leg discomfort. Now I have been experiencing occasional
pain in my thigh just above my left knee. I’m seeing the doctor in a week about
it. However, this weekend, it was my left knee, both feet and ankles which seem
to have painful flares up that kept me changing my position, or pulling my
knees up or any variation that would achieve relief. Finally, in the last two
hours of sitting, I found straddling a gomden with zafu on top comfortable. Yes,
I have the option of sitting in a chair; but from experience, I am more likely
to doze off in a chair than sitting on a cushion.
This weekend marked the end of the foundational series of
Shambhala teachings. It’s an achievement, but what is more important to me is
that I followed my heart and mind and stepped away two years ago to focus and
practice what I’d learned in the previous year and half accompanied by study to
really understand the view, philosophy and implementation of the teachings.
What those two years gave me is a real aspiration to take
the Bodhisattva Vow.
I haven’t knit as much as I aspired to. I just finished the
first of the Diagonal Rib Socks and will cast on the second sock today. But I
am still knitting from stash, which is a good thing.
I listened to a marvelous audio book, The Palace of
Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. It is the Mahabharata narrated from
the point of view of Panchaali, the wife of the five Pandava brothers. The Mahabharata
is a marvelous Indian epic, comparable to the Iliad and the Odyssey in Western
literature that his part myth part history with underlying moral and ethical
lessons. I’ve actually seen two productions done for television. One a
truncated Western retelling of the story as a play and the 89-episode Indian television
production. Most Westerners have heard of the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is a part
of the Mahabharata.
Toupie was slightly traumatized by the installation of the
new HVAC unit and system. I think it was the drilling and banging that got to
him. He still stares at the unit when it comes on, but it was about two weeks
before he would jump up on to go to the windowsill. I was amused by the
Internet video sensation of the cat who defended the little boy being attacked
by a dog. Cats are territorial not just of their space but of the people they
live with. In the days when I would order a Chinese food delivery. Toupie would
chase the deliveryman down the hall, return to the apartment and attack the bag
of food. I’m sure the local Chinese eateries are happy that woman with the mad
cat doesn’t call anymore.