Fire It Up

Wow. I’ve been away (but right here) for a long time. It’s winter here on the South Dakota prairie. It’s been an unusually (and blessedly) warm and snowless winter so far, but we’re having a little cold snap right now that takes temps down below zero. That means less time on the move, less time out soaking up that healing Vitamin D, and muscles that start twisting up into tense little pincurls.

This cold snap and housebound-ness make it a perfect time to fire up the wood stove. It’s also a perfect time to fire up my daily meditation practice…

I’ve just started doing some reading on the Tibetan lojong/tonglen mind training practice of taking/sending. I’ve barely scratched the surface, but the practice includes “taking in” the suffering of the world, and “sending out” bliss and joy. It also includes 59 slogans or aphorisms designed to help one train the mind. So Pema Chodron’s The Compassion Box—a  box set that includes a 59-card set of the aphorisms—is on its way, and my plan is to do a 59-day meditation cycle, 1 card each day. What can I say…I’m a college English teacher, and I LOVE structure.

I’ve also been reading lately The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Eric Swanson and Daniel Goleman. It’s a wonderfully readable book on a sort of “meeting of the minds” between meditation & science, with some fascinating info on the neuroscience behind meditation practices and their benefits.

I’m also sending out a vision of myself at a meditation retreat somewhere in the U.S. (maybe somewhere warm, with a beach), so the Universe can start aligning things to make it happen soon. It really does help to have a community to practice with, and such communities are few & far between (or nonexistent?) here in South Dakota.

Anyway, on we go. Fire up the hearth & heart, and stay warm.