From a source I am beginning to have a great deal of respect for...

"Be soft in your practice. Think of the method as a fine silvery stream, not a raging waterfall. Follow the stream, have faith in its course. It will go its own way, meandering here, trickling there. It will find the grooves, the cracks, the crevices. Just follow it. Never let it out of your sight. It will take you" ~ Sheng-yen

Goals/Life Update

I have been training hard. My muscles ache every day, and the pain is welcomed. I train in the dojang daily (#35), I run every other day (#1), and I do not sleep (#97) until I have performed push-ups with correct form (#5) to muscle exhaustion. In training, I find peace and energy. I am looking forward to a visit, and a tea ceremony, from a Warrior of the Flower and Willow World.

'Ol Number 3 has been moved and I am safe, although I am temporarily without external power. I still have work and Texas LPC stressors, although my other practice has been picking up. There is still time to focus on my training. Family concerns continue, although my mother is recovering well from a recent skin cancer surgery, and a 'random doughnutting' episode had perfect timing to brighten up my mother's day. I have taken care of my basic needs, and I'm eating well (#26). I do not have as much internet access, but I am finding more time for reading (#28, #62) and haiku (#69).

#62

I just finished Das Energi, by Paul Williams. A reviwer wrote: "This "strange little book" has been an underground bestseller for over twenty years. Its message has never been more necessary for human survival: Everything will change. You will never be the same. And all this will happen just as soon as you're ready."

"A person who competes is a person who does not know who she is.
She is suffering from stilted awareness.
A person who feels jealous is a person who does not know what he has.
He is suffering from stilted awareness.
The amazing thing is, it's not that easy to stifle awareness.
It requires constant diligence.
You really have to work at it to be miserable." - p. 25

"When you finally realze how really tough it is, when you finally accept life, when you finally find there is no way out but self-awareness and the incredible pain and loneliness and responsibility it brings, then and only then will you begin to be alive, and begin to know the joy of freedom." - p. 37

"Open yourself to absolutely everything that gets thrown at you - including death and life -
Open all the way.
Don't worry about picking out the important stuff.
Just let it all get thrown at you and the important stuff will be what hits you.
All you have to do is not shut everything out." - p. 119