Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Shit Happens...YAAAY!

Ah, the interesting experiences of Dharma gates. It is very interesting to me that most Dharma gates (ways in which the Universe teaches us lessons) are unpleasant in nature. I'm not going to go into discussing the latest lesson the Universe is teaching me, but I can say that the mantra, "Gate Gate Paragate Parasam gate Bodhi Svaha" is really coming in handy!

A couple interesting things came up while talking with my mother this morning. I often say about dance that, "Social dancing is a series of mistakes that is linked by the occasional correct movement." What this saying points to is that the creative aspect of Dance lies in recovering from that which was introduced unexpectedly. If no unexpected events happened in dancing, then one would only be a robot of the dance floor...there would be no reason to be creative.

The same is true of life, "Life is a series of mistakes (unexpected events) linked by the occasional correct action." The creative force of living happens in how we respond to the unexpected events in life. If it weren't for the unexpected, then we would be robots from birth to death, and what fun would that be?! I've found that those who approach life from the viewpoint that the unexpected is the "spice" of life are much more creative and interesting. Why even talk to those who view the unexpected as a impediment to the smooth flow of their lives? No knowledge can be gained such a one that couldn't be gained from reading a book.

So, Shit Happens...how can we most skillfully respond? I try to look at each event of Shit Happens as a lesson in creative response. I could react, but that just invokes old habit patterns of thought and action...there is no creative growth in that. Sometimes, I forget and do react, but I find creative response happening more and more often. This is very positive as the repetition of creative response ingrains a more skillful habit than feeding old habits. The new habits I choose to cultivate (with varying levels of success) are creative, open, and growth producing. I can always tell when I am responding rather than reacting: when I respond, I feel empowered. When I react, I feel diminished. Of course, I had to learn to pay attention inward to be able to distinguish the difference between the two at very subtle levels of awareness, but once that work had grown, the rest became much easier.

So, I guess the question is for the reader, and for myself, "Have I reacted to the latest event, or have I creatively responded?" For me, a future now will provide me with more information to decide the answer.

May your life be skillful and creative.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

My 50th birthday anniversary.

Finally! I've gotten my computer back!! It cost more than I would've liked, but much less than a new computer. My hard drive totally crashed. That means I've lost 1000s of songs (for dance), the last several months of writing, a number of contacts, and quite a few programs. The hard drive now in my computer was taken from an external hard drive and has just the very basic of programs on it, just enough to allow me to be somewhat productive. One thing is sure, I am going to back up everything even somewhat important on a regular basis now. It seems quite a shame to have lost all that information. I was so used to having the computer sign me into sites that I've forgotten sign in names and passwords.

So, my 50th birthday anniversary was interesting and fun. I believe I already mentioned that my mother is getting me a camper trailer for the bike. Still haven't gotten the hitch. I upgraded my cell phone to a Samsung  Galaxy SIII, but today I had issues with it most of the day. While doing research on how to fix the problem, I found that it REALLY isn't as good a phone as the professional reviewers suggest. I think I may take it back and get a different one. My mom made two wonderful pineapple upside-down cakes and bought a 1/4 sheet cake and a couple gallons of ice cream. I got to teach a group class...and boy, was I ever rusty! Surprised me. One of the highlights of the evening was when a young teenager let me into her world a little bit. It is such a joy and honor to be invited deeper into the mind and experience of another. Sometimes, I can even help them move forward on their path. I got to dance with lots of wonderful people that I haven't seen in a long time. It was very pleasant to reconnect.

Upgrading the cell phone pretty much took all of my financial resources for the moment, well, that and the cost of the computer repair, which I still owe $40 for. It is in my mind that the Universe will provide me with more, soon. I have a farmer's market to work in Coos Bay tomorrow as well as a couple $25 dance lessons to teach and a festival this weekend. Perhaps the combination will help me rebuild my "reserve".

Next week, I have a 20 year old woman flying up from Florida to study with me next week. She used to work for my sister and brother at Firehouse Subs. I met her a couple years ago and thought she had a great deal of promise to Awaken in this lifetime. We had lost touch a while back and a few weeks ago, she contacted my sister to get my number. It has been delightful teaching her! I am even more confident that she is a blessing to the world and will continue to grow into even more of a blessing as she gains skill in living. There is even the possibility that she might want to help me to start a larger teaching program that may launch me into the teaching circuit. Whether that happens or not, I am honored to work with her.

Okay, perhaps I will post another update soon. They were difficult to do on the tablet, as nice as the little machine is; MUCH easier on an actual computer!

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Long catchup post. I have a new rolling home!

I was reminded recently by a couple folks that I haven't made an entry in a while. So I guess is time for me to make one. I have got a new home! For my 50th birthday, which is on Saturday, my mother is buying me a camping trailer for my motorcycle. It has come to me in the way the gifts from the universe often do, with coincidences that are just too obvious to ignore. I placed on one of the motorcycle forums a request for any information leading to my getting a camping trailer at a reasonable cost. 3 people replied with Craigslist ads from around the country. One of the campers is located in Olympia, Washington.

While on the site, I noticed that I had gotten a private message from a user named, Chromo. He said that he has been following my blog and that he used to be a clown and a magician and was thinking about pulling his stuff out and trying what I do. So I replied to him. Then I signed off and called on the trailer in Olympia. Jim, the owner, didn't answer so I left him a message, and sent him an email. I was answering a friends email to me, and had just written, " I found a trailer in Seattle" when the phone rang and it was Jim, about the trailer. He told me that there was a guy in Michigan, I think, that was interested in buying the trailer but he didn't know for sure if the guy was going to  buy it so he was going to call the guy and give him the first dibs. He hung up with me and called the guy and then called me back. It turns out that the guy that was interested in buying the trailer, was none other than Chromo the guy from the forum.

Jim told me that chromo had said to sell me the trailer as I could make better use of it than him. He said that chromo had said that he knew me and told him about the blog. So I now have a trailer, well, not quite yet. I ordered a trailer hitch which should be here sometime next week, then I will put it on, and I will drive up to Olympia on the 18th to pick it up. I'll stay in it that night, and then go pick up my friend from the airport in Eugene. The trailer will give me room for suitcases.

Backing up in time, I left Bellingham for the Buddhist monastery in Oregon a few weeks ago. I had planned to stay throughout the end of August into September 2nd, however, I have hurt my back while still Washington. It became too hard to stay at the monastery and so I left a few days early. While at the monastery though, I was able to give several people rides on the bike who had never been on motorcycles before. I even gave the abbot of the monastery a ride. That was fun. Actually giving all of them rides was fun.

The first thing I did when I left the monastery was to stop and get gas. While at the gas pump, I was accosted and abused by a  Christian preacher. I had never been through such an aggressive verbal assault. I was literally afraid for my life. If he had got next to me on the road with his vehicles, I have very little doubt that he would have tried to run me off the road. He was very ignorant about Buddhist practices and acted like I was worshipping the devil. He was actually yelling, I knew that there was nothing I could do to sway his opinion so I just bowed and politely said,"May you have a beautiful life and find peace." I actually had to talk over him in order to be able to say those things. He yelled, "Don't you go acting pious with me! I am giving you the truth!"

"Giving?!" I wonder if he actually thought that he could convert me with that behavior. I had told him that I had just come out of a Buddhist monastery  that should have indicated that I was somewhat serious about my Buddhist faith. His tirade raised my defenses and made it much more difficult to hear his message. Since his message was delivered in such an abusive way, even if I hadn't come out of a Buddhist monastery there is no way that I could have taken him seriously. He was obviously  in such fear of what might come next after death that he could not stand the possibility that someone would say something that could make him question his faith. He actually told me that he did not have any reason to study any other religious  tradition as he already knew the truth.