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Tag Archives: meditate
Swimming makes the heart ‘go’ fonder
“Smile, breathe and go slowly”~ Thich Nhat Hanh Continue reading
Do not disturb a man who’s sweating it out
500th milestone within October 1st reach
Conceal the word until all are ready for it
Buy yourself a friend – read his good word
“Make yourself a Rav, and buy for yourself a friend.”
— Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Perachya Continue reading
The Great Awakening can be hard on a guy
Swimming meditation floats troubles away
Swimming meditation can work. You heard it here first. One can “nudge” out most thoughts and focus on the “here and now” as you swim one lap after another. I did. Got so relaxed, I lost count for a while, but then didn’t care how many lengths I had traversed.
Got into something Tibetan Buddhists call “analytic meditation,” where you focus on one subject and one subject only, viewing several aspects of an idea without clinging to, or being repulsed by, it. Works better while swimming on my back. Breathing, that is. You anchor meditation by your breathing, you know. Can’t raise your level of consciousness in shallow water. Must use deep long breaths. At least I have to. The kind of breathing I can safely do only while swimming the back stroke. Over and over again. Counting from one to 36 the number of lengths of the pool making up a half mile.
Kind of like a “walking meditation,” but at a faster clip. If I slowed to the pace I usually take while walking meditatively, I would sink like a stone. Drop to the swimming pool floor, and be forced to seek reincarnation quicker than I had hoped to see a new Life evolve.
I’m exercising my body and my mind while in the water. Exercising the mind, you ask? Yes. Stretching it out. That’s how I view meditation now a days. I try to use more than that 2 percent of the brain we normally use. Push my mind to the limit, try pushing the envelope toward the rare space where only the Mystics get to breathe.
You can do it. Swimming creates endorphins that lay the foundation for raising your consciousness, for rising to that spiritual Upper World where you become One with the Universe. OK, you’re not going to win the lottery by divining the daily number. But, you will open yourself to an awareness of an interconnectedness between all of us. Democrat and Republican. Jew and Arab. Me and You.
Care to try it? Just close your eyes, take a deep breath, and dive in. The water temperature is just right.
Saying ‘I Love You’ over & over again!
Recovering from my road rage confession
Living like I’m one of ‘All God’s Creatures’
Can Hell Actually Be Just ‘Other People?’
Bestowing spirit & essence to a new friend
Forgive warrior’s defense of the sensitive
Walk a Labyrinth full with love & no desire
Amy, you smile & I find pure paradise!
Sit and do nothing, but only do it better
Pitching pennies provides pinch per police
Radio Plays to My No. 1 Heart’s Desire
Abraham, Martin & John Live On Within
Guest Post’s Embarrassing Announcement
The shame of it all starts an upward ascent
Attract Them to a Higher Calling in Life
St. Michael strikes and heals all at once
Act of Contrition Helps Regain My Purity
I See You for the Very First Time, Don’t I?
I ‘intend’ nothing but positive bestowals
Willie, 20 years later, I still mourn you
Suffocate? Let go of control & open up self
Pain endures from struggles in a ‘Back’ Life
Hawk carries HSPs to their highest ideals
Unexplained ‘Pull’ leading me back Home
‘I confess!’ I cut school with Franny O
Nature Provides Bird’s Eye View of Living
Kabbalah ‘receiving’ helps me in ‘giving’
You can’t make promotions your life’s goal
“Start Over’ the instant you feel a need to
Concealing & finding Self –a life-long effort
Falling in love with the Love of Your Life
Nysiros holds secrets of life and death
Angels re-enter when you’re open to ’em
‘Open your eyes’ to journey of Lifetime
Women Elevate all our Desire for God
Can ‘spiritual indigestion’ be all that bad?
Weekend Euphoria needs time to set
The Greatest Weekend — No. II
Continue reading
When coincidence occurs, look out & in!
Conspiracy of Love to Heal Us All, Now!
‘Five Jaunts’ create a life-long harmony
Monkey see, and, alas, Monkey will do
‘None else besides Him,’ ‘none besides me!’
Looking for Self among all the wrong cards
Even on bad days, music can lift me higher
Won’t let go until animal instinct tells me to
Hello! What would God do if He was you?
Oleg guides me on a “make ‘believe’ ” path
I delete persons withholding ID from me
Unconditional love; language we all know
Labyrinth opens a hidden maze inside me
See you in a ‘next life’ Sombitch Rooster
(Cont’d from series on a-mean-rooster) Continue reading
Reading and writing open different ways
Step into a reality governed only by ‘Now’
Imagine there were Two Realities.
The one you see, hear and experience daily. And another one, where you pass through a veil that causes Amnesia once you step all the way through. You no longer have a past. You have no concern for the future, since you’ve accepted the fact that all you really need in this “New” world will be provided.
Taking First Steps on the Kabbalah Path
Going Kabbalahing!
Joined a Meet Up which will require me to read and discuss something called “Kabbalah,” a belief system revered by Jewish mystics. Felt I was being “called” to explore it. Read a post by a fellow Greek, which led me to surf to a site on Kabbalah Yoga, and left a lengthy comment on a technique called the “ten-five rhythm.” You breathe in for 10 seconds, hold for five, and release for another 10.
Next, you “visualize” something that I’ve done on my own for over a year now and have never been able to accurately put into words or feel someone else on this Planet would understand.
Visualize Love flowing from my heart and into space.

Seeking, I’m Always Seeking
That’s the message I got from the site and it resonated inside, almost forcing me to want to know more. I googled “Kabbalah,” “Philadelphia Yoga,” five or six others terms I thought of, and couldn’t find anything remotely close to this reference of the heart. You see, I’ve experienced that sensation dozens of times while meditating.
Feeling love “pour out” of me and into the Cosmos because my small 5’6″-frame was too small, too inadequate, to contain the volume of energy flowing through me. I gotta let it out, and I’ve described that “opening process” as a “feeding of myself” — my essence — to those unloved in this world, this universe. The sick old man in Calcutta; the lonely orphan in Bangladesh; the desperate single mother in Birmingham, Alabama; the lost little Greek boy in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.
Found a Kabbalah site outside Philadelphia (KABBALAH-BNEI-BARUCH-PHILADELPHIA). Read a few comments, saw several names with Ph.Ds and rabbi attached to ’em, and read a description of the organizers who seem to be searching as much as I have the past two years. Not sure what I’m searching for . . . maybe answers . . . Peace . . . God . . . Enlightenment. Perhaps all the above.
Going to the Congress for Kabbalistic Practioners
Committed myself to attending a Congress for Kabbalistic Practitioners meeting locally to discuss whatever serious Kabbalah students talk about. ( See: Kabbalah Mega Congress 2010.) Hope we’ll focus on the same God that Abraham spoke to, and who fathered three religions, one for the Jews, another for the Christians, and the third with the Muslims. According to my limited Kabbalah reading, one can find traces of the Jewish language in Hinduism, Buddhism, and, of course, many of our New Age beliefs.
All came from one single language, according to one view of the Kabbalah.
May have been more to the Story about Babylon than what I thought.
Wish Me Luck!
Don’t plan to convert. Just became a Buddhist, and have yet to break in my new sandals and robe. Think I’ll like this path. If I can pick from what my heart tells me is “True.”
Goin’ to farm; pick blueberries barefooted
Cousin Rosemarie Lieb.
You opened my heart to something I closed years ago.
Not ready to look inside. Almost, but not just yet.
Your words touched me with a warmth I haven’t felt in a long time. They caressed me, and I liken it to a mother’s love and pride I couldn’t handle at the family reunion last Saturday.
Explore the stillness found deep within you
I find a Vibrant Life in Stillness.
I “Come Alive” inside, as my body comes to a complete rest and I let the mind follow suit. Sound boring? It’s anything but! And it’s been one of the toughest things I’ve ever attempted.
Couldn’t do it some 30 years ago when I tried to “halt” my active state of mind. Thought I “got through” and tamed the busy monkey once or twice, but it was wishful thinking on my part.
Renewal can come Once a Month in Life
“Once a Month, You Deserve to Die.”
Bizarre! Is this just a Curse?
Or a Wish for Good Fortune?
Not sure where this came from. Was meditating on the subject of “stillness,” and tracing my awareness of the world around and inside, when these words “arose.”
Spirituality’s fun, whether you like it or not!
Something’s wrong. I shouldn’t enjoy this much fun in Life.
Laughing so hard, the five of us had to hush up, quiet down to prevent diners at the other restaurant tables from staring at our ruckus.
What caused all the belly laughs and guffaws? God. Well, let’s say the Spirit of God. How about something ‘Spiritual, but not Religious?’ Would you believe “Mystical?”
A Hagel/Westergom union fits my granny
The only grandfather I ever knew was a hobo.
He rode the rails from East to West Coast, eating chicken and other foods he’d “gather” during the years crossing this great land, even ending up in Alaska, where he prospected for gold.
Don Quixote battles PTSD in Philly courts
I never felt more like Don Quixote than when I represented a woman charged with a crime.
And while I didn’t want it, I’d feel called to “champion” her, even when it cost me my reputation, my sanity and my very career as a trial attorney.  Continue reading
War stories penetrate a family gathering
The knife “broke skin” and went an inch into my back.
I felt the pain all the way to the emergency room, believing the knife was still lodged there. I could not tell . . . I dare not turn to try to see or touch it.
‘Evidence for Mister God?’ Look Around
Vivienne, you asked what I liked about the book “To Mister God, this is Anna.” All of the following are the direct quotes of the author Fryn, also known as Sydney Hopkins:
“Mister God wants you to be ‘I Am,’ like he is.”
“This is the curious nature of Mister God: that even while he is at the center of all things, he waits outside us and knocks to come in. It is we who open the door; Mister God doesn’t break it down and come in; no, he knocks and waits. Continue reading
The Gospel According to Bobby Darin
Wasn’t sure a Gospel Song would fit in with Highly Sensitive Persons (HSPs) at a music appreciation meet last week.
Still can’t understand why I chose Bobby Darin, the “Splish Splash” originator, to represent my musical taste. We were encouraged by the hosts, a young couple, to bring music that meant a lot to us, perhaps meditative offerings and/or those pieces that represented a special time in our lives.
SPCA Agent Ensures Care for all Animals
The SPCA Raided my Property Last Week.
Their probe followed closely on the heels of a police officer who paid us an unsolicited visit.
A neighbor complained of the Sombitch Rooster, who could not keep crowing to a minimum and has raised such a ruckus, so we have to find him a new home, away from the Philadelphia area, and some less dense place like New Jersey.
Answer is Within, 2nd Coming Proclaims
“The Gospel Writers got it All Wrong!“
Those are the words Jesus said on reappearing in public in 2012.
The Kingdom of God is Within, He added.
But each of us must seek it ourselves through ourselves.”
‘Divine Madness’ Reaches Out To Me Daily
“Divine Madness.”
When I first saw the term, I thought of Zorba the Greek, played by Anthony Quinn, who embraced the fullness of life through robust emotions and actions. To laugh in the face of hardship and spit in the face of death, enjoying that special moment of life as if it was the last, and to hell with what anyone thinks.
To hell with negative thoughts. Live Life with the smile God meant us to project outwardly as well as within.
Connect to ‘Mother’ for Enlightenment
I saw the “Observer” of my Thoughts the other day.
Watched from within. Saw “me” facilitating and acting on all the senses. “I“ nudged away a thought, then focused on the feeling of breath at the top of my nasal passage. Tasted the slight chemical taint of eye drops I had placed in my left eye minutes earlier. And, I listened to the soft sounds of a budgie chirping in the distance.
City differences create a variety in my life
Cherry-Chocolate
Soda
I’d give anything to taste the flavor of a that drink again.
Not the ones from a bottle. A soda fountain drink! Nothing compares to the delicious mixture of “realchocolate” and cherry syrups combined with that seltzer-like substance that produced a drink that could have originated only in Paradise.
Continue readingAl Brown Taught me a Lesson of a Lifetime
I always looked up to Al Brown. I met him when I was only eight-and-a-half years old in the 1950s. Nowadays, I guess you would call him a “community organizer,” someone in the neighborhood a person could turn to with questions about the block, the new and older people who lived on your street. Like that section of Brewerytown where I grew up in North Philadelphia.
Seeing improves with my cataract removal
My “Fishbowl” Look is Gone.
So is my astigmatism. Not to mention a cataract in my left eye.
Bliss arises in cherishing of another’s woes
Out for Jury Duty; Please leave a message
‘Letting go’ today frees me for tomorrow
Taking a step today that scares me. Going to become an “Initiate“ Buddhist at a morning ceremony. Do a prostration, touch my forehead to the floor, and recognize a Power greater than myself.
That’ll be the easy part. Saw enough Catholic priests drop to the church floor during a 40-hour service that I’m used to seeing American Buddhist ladies and gentlemen do the ritual at the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia.
‘Do the right thing’–do what’s right for you
Part II from Escaping-Brewerytown
The moment of truth came down to one question: “Who else was with you?”
I looked to the floor and didn’t answer until the head of a juvenile aid panel from Philadelphia Family Court asked me to speak up.
Escaping Brewerytown in 1 piece not easy
I never took my eyes off the gun. The man’s hand shook. I was afraid it would go off. Raising my own hands, I prayed that he would not shoot, and said “I’m coming out,” slowly climbing out of the window, placing one foot on the ground and then the other as I exited the ACME supermarket warehouse building two blocks from my home. Continue reading
Love generates within for no reason at all
I tasted Love before I ever “entered” an Age of Reason.
I had not reached 7, but I remember it as if it was yesterday. I was attending a birthday party for a friend of my brother, John, who is two years older than me. Her name was Carolyn, and the love I felt came from her sister, Regina Gross, who the older kids enjoyed “fixing up” with me, her school classmate.
‘Garlic’s imprint’ holds many limitations
A friend dreamed she could not swim well in water, and had to return to the shore or face peril. It seems the dream reflected her real life. (See “to be me.”) She said she was not a very good swimmer, and she wondered why — even in one’s dream — we impose such limitations on ourselves?
I told her about a spiritual teacher who described this dilemma differently, using a piece of garlic as an example of a “delusion” that one can learn to remove from his or her eyes to see a much brighter and clearer pathway in the world.
Need a Joyful Effort to Remove Delusions
‘Sound Bath’ Calms & Heals us with Love
I feel a healing begin, as tears form, and I am so grateful to release what’s building inside — something so wonderful it becomes too good to contain.
I wish I were bigger. I’d have a greater capacity to handle the joy that’s flowing to all parts of my body. It’s like a liquid, this healing I feel, almost palpable like an elixir that cures each and every doubt, concern, and thought from one’s past or future.
Love & compassion’s for all God’s creatures
Did not know what a Buddhist sangha could mean to me, until four of us aspiring students focused on a multi-colored insect at lunch, discussed its past and future life-aspects, and showed compassion to a sentient being whom we might have swatted away before gaining our insight on Sunday.
Freedom of Religion depends on religion
Read some comments attacking the Dalai Lama on someone’s Blog which championed freedom of religion on its website.
Noticed it also pushed for a vote against gay marriage in California.
I guess freedom of religion, in that world, is only for those whose beliefs and way of life is like his own. Hate to see it extended to people with different views who really don’t deserve it, is the message he’s encouraging.
That’s the American way, though, isn’t it? Freedom of religion as long as it’s my religion?
I’m heartily sorry for having offended Thee
“Michael J,
The biggest lie you ever told was that you could say something about sexual orientation and not hurt someone whose way of life might be different from yours. You said you lied when you told an ex-girlfriend that you were gay to avoid having sex with someone you were not ready to have a long-term commitment.
Courtroom awakens karma understanding
One of the most humbling times in my life occurred in Court.
Philadelphia Police Sgt. Washington motioned to me that he wanted to talk. This was odd, I represented the “other side” as a public defender whose client was the defendant charged in an auto theft case. Washington was the arresting police officer whose testimony would ensure a conviction.
Going back home sans the Maidenform bra
What’s the biggest lie you ever told?
I’m talking “whopper” now. None of the “little white lies” kinda story. But one that would qualify as a Bold-Faced LIE!
Mine was to an ex-girlfriend. Not a lie to hide, I had been with another girl. Or why I forgot an anniversary or her birthday.
Values don’t change in impermanent world
I was 18 when I asked Janet to marry me, and she turned my request down flat.
We were never romantically involved, even though I’m sure a mutual love would have grown out of our teenage friendship.
Saigon Lady offers wisdom at check out
Saigon Lady taught me about Life and Buddhism last night.
Continue reading
Dance floor good place to learn to play ball
Two girls fought over me once.
Well, it really wasn’t me that caused the fight. It was my dance steps.
Hopping Trains Fools No One but Myself
I’ll Never Hop a Train Again.
Got dragged and nearly fell beneath a train before finally letting go of a freight car’s metal handholds. Don’t know how far my legs scraped and bumped along the wooden beams and fistfuls of rocks strewn from track to track. Don’t remember how long I lay on the ground, long after the train rolled by, thanking God for letting such a foolish boy like me continue to live.
Dream of Swinging on a Star Rings Out
Part II Smith’s Playground inspires years later
Reaching out with my right hand, I’d grab the metal ring. I would stand on my toes to pull it closer to the wooden platform I was balanced on. Gotta pull the ring back. Pull it so I can get the proper swing to the next ring. If you glide out without an extra pull, you’d fall short and drop to the ground, a failure.
Dream of Smith’s Playground Inspires Me
Childhood long gone, I’d dream about the “monkey swing” at Smith’s Playground whenever I wanted to achieve something worthwhile in my life. I’d see myself climb from one achievement to another, always going forward as I stretched out an arm to grab one metal ring and then the next one on down the line.
Blogging creates craving when ‘Net’s down
I’m hooked. Couldn’t go an hour without needing a “fix.” I wonder how many others this phenomena effects? And how dangerous this addiction could be to my health?
I can’t stay away from my Blog. My need to go on the computer is a little frightening. I feel lost without being able to tap into what has become a major part of my life.
Cyberspace
PTSD Creates New ‘Cause and Condition’
Causes and Conditions.
That’s what Life is all about.
Causes and Conditions.
The sooner I realize this,
the easier it will be to
Reach Enlightenment.  Continue reading
Remember to enjoy the ride getting ‘there’
I entered the “Twilight Zone” yesterday.
Drove full of gusto to complete a task before visiting a doctor in the early afternoon. Only to realize by the time I turned onto the major road, I forgot where I was going.
And worse, why!
