Walt Whitman, a fav poet of mine, is experiencing some what of a renaissance. A poem about a meteor shower in ‘Leaves of Grass” has been researched by Texas State astronomers http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/3512/the-walt-whitman-meteor-mystery for some time now to reveal the exact rare meteor shower that inspired the poem and many other pieces of art at that time! [as if he just made it up, peeps.... come on now!]

Walt’s poetry, which was controversial and ground-breaking for its time, touched on issues of spirituality, sexuality, sensuality, nature, politics and human rights, definitely hallmarks him as a divinely inspired writer.

I recently watched an ABC doco on walt which confirmed for me the divinely inspired nature of his writing, where just prior to the writing of leaves of grass, his writing reflected a loss of self/ego, and complete resurrection creatively where his on soul was his muse… profound and interesting…

‘I know thee, savage spirit—we have communed together,
Mine too such wild arrays, for reasons of their own;
Was’t charged against my chants they had forgotten art?
To fuse within themselves its rules precise and delicatesse?
The lyrist’s measur’d beat, the wrought-out temple’s grace—column and
polish’d arch forgot?
But thou that revelest here—spirit that form’d this scene,
They have remember’d thee.’

my interpretation of this poem -most likely off-the-mark- i will not go into for fear of being a complete and utter drongo [too late?!] however, I cannot wait to immerse myself with the “guide to whitmans poetry” [intended audience: 15 y.o american youth]  that i downloaded last week, plus my complete works of the man himself, on the plane to LAX surrounded by seppos [seriously just learnt that term from heathcliff - don't shoot me for racist rhyme slang] who’ll think im an absolute wanker or american equivalent, and declare my nerdom openly, reliving the halcyon days of my literature inspired youth… –it is the equivalent of a german exchange student on berlin direct tulla reading banjo patterson and expecting not to be regarded as some kind of freaq… fret not, one is totes prepared for a large array of response…

oh yes… plane reading… happy days…

I know, I know! if there is one thing this blog is a testament to it is my ingenius ability to look like a piker, breaking promises left right and centre…But I promise, cross my heart, that I have continued my month of meditating 30 mins per day. Unfortunately what I did not factor in to this experiment, despite my amazing prediction power, was that I would fall in love in the month of june… june 9th to be exact… right about when the blogging subsided… www.EGG-ON-FACE.me!

hence, each spare moment has been spent musing with my long distance lover and not documenting effects of said meditation. Suffice it to say, the experiment bloomin’ rocked! without my 30 minutes each day, [not forgetting my long distance love chats] i probably would have ended up not-very-namaste… thanks to full moon eclipse [actual astrological event, not the movie - although did see that last night, twas twi-mendously four stars] of past weeks my life was equal bits hell, equal bits [insert LDR and affected sigh...] heaven…

one thing is for sure, my daily meditation practice has made LDR possible, due to time difference sleep deprivation. My healthcliff is working over in the U.S currently, so this little cathy has been tapping at the skype screen till the wee hours in the morn!  You know, “its me cathy, let me in, i’m in melbourne and its F___ing cold outside!”

i’m fairly sure buddha would condone such use of mindfulness, non?!

So meditation workshop on july 19th will discuss some of my little meditation tricks for serenity and sanity in our modern world, minus pretentious, ungrounded B.S one is sometimes fed under the pretense of “spirituality” or even worse [voming just a lil as i type this], “new age” – sorry, that IS v-non-namaste, but each is entitled to one’s personal opinion, and that from experience, is mine…

so please come along, just prior to my leaving to the U.S for ‘wuthering heights v.2010′

xo

Its been a LONG time coming!!!!

but finally…

as per request…

a mindfulness meditation workshop which will focus on:

• simplified, unpretentious meditation techniques
• calming, grounding and centring exercises totally designed around breathing

includes take home notes so you can begin daily practice

Monday July 19th

7pm-9pm

check out http://www.somapilates.com.au/download/Workshop.pdf

for more info

okay, today is the 3rd day in the past 5 days i’ve eaten at SLOW DOWN!@ Harley Court on Acland Street. I’m practically part of the furniture. I’m ab.so.lutely lovin’ their food – it’s local, organic, sustainable cuisine.They’re staff are friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is ultra homely. Honestly, you CANNOT go past this place if you are an ethical eater!

Check their food-made-with-love here: www.slowdown.net.au

nadi shodana, [aka, the sweet breath] is alternate nostril breathing. nadi shodana means channel cleaning and calms the mind, reduces anxiety and stress, balances the brain [In kinesiology you give this to clients who are "switching" or whose polarity was out of whack] and promotes clear thinking .

1. Hold your right hand up and curl your index and middle fingers toward your palm. Place your thumb next to your right nostril and your ring finger and pinky by your left. Close the right nostril by pressing gently against it with your thumb. Inhale through the left nostril.
2. Now close the left nostril – pressing gently against it with your ring finger, open your right nostril by relaxing your thumb and exhale.
3. Inhale through the right nostril, close it, and then exhale through the left nostril
4. One round of nadi shodana is –Inhale through the left–Exhale through the right–Inhale through the right nostril–Exhale through the left.
5. Repeat for 5-10 rounds and return to normal breathing
6. Remember to breathe slow, easy and full. cease if feeling short of breath, pain in chest or heart area or discomfort
7. check out this online video for more info: nadi shodana

DO NOT DO THIS BREATHING IF YOU HAVE BREATHING DIFFICULTIES OR ARE OF ILL HEALTH. SEEK MEDICAL ADVICE

Wayne Dyer’s words of wisdom for me today where:

“when you are inspired, you’re not judging others or yourself, You aren’t bothered by behaviours or attitudes that in uninspired moments are frustrating. When you’re inspired, your heart sings in appreciation for every breath… you’re tolerant, joyful and loving.”

Mood: honestly, lack lustre

Colour: the palest blue
Day Rating: 5/10
Diet: 3 out of 5 carrots: gyoza too tempting
Highlight: receiving a blessing from Maitreya Buddha @ the heart shrine relic tour

Top 5 Post Meditation Experiences

1. honesty
2. eating in moderation…
3. being in the presence of the beautiful buddhist relics
4. relishing alone time with my deaf kitten. mad men v.3 and Walt whitman
5. I took inspiration to include breathing and practiced Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village meditations: http://shop.soundstrue.com/

photo by Wonderlane

In this, there is not a thing to be removed, Nor the slightest thing to be added. It is looking perfectly into reality itself, And when reality is seen, complete liberation.

– Ornament of Clear Realization, V, 21 and Sublime Continuum, I, 154[i]

My friend and I went to the Maitreya Project Heart Shrine Relic Tour in Melbourne yesterday.

The tour exhibited ancient and sacred buddhist relics found among the cremation ashes of buddhist masters. The relics are small crystals or pearls that the Buddhists believe embody the qualities of the master, their compassion, their wisdom, etc, and have been deliberately produced by the master as they ascend/at death, so they may share their blessing with the world beyond their death. when the tour concludes, the relics will be enshrined in a 500ft bronze statue of Maitreya Buddha,  in Kashinagar, Norther India.

Sunday 6th of June is the last day you can see the relics in Melbourne prior to their move to Sydney. They are located at the Koorie Heritage Trust, 295 King St [near little Lonsdale] until 7pm. more info from www.fpmta.org.au

People have reported experiences of healing and inspiration in the presence of the relics. For me, the experience was v calming and relaxing and hopeful. We received a blessing and read from a sutra which is believed to incite world peace it lifted me up and made me feel much happier. The monks that were meditating by the relics certainly gave the place an amazing vibe. Experience it for yourself.

1. become aware of your breath
2. count your next inhale as one
3. your next exhale as two
4. your next inhale as three
5. your next exhale as four
6. and so on…
7. continue to count each breath
8. if you lose count start again
9. try to get to 50 without losing count…
10. then set a new target each time

Start the swap: substitute the time you spend social networking with this breathing exercise! http://somapilates.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/swapping-social-networking-for-soul-nurturing/

Joy is the feeling of grinning on the inside.
- Dr. Melba Colgrove

In my 30days of 30mins, I’ve been meditating on concepts that can enrich my life. today my inspiration was to ‘make friends’ with joy. get joy to hang out with me, take her for a soy mocha somewhere, perhaps go watch a movie togez. Friday is the best day for a joy quest anyway, so far, so joyful…

who is joy, you may ask?

she’s the biatche that makes you laugh, forget bills, your ex-boyfriends new, hotter-than-you GFs [asif! you rule], toe stubbings, bad photos, that extra bit of chocolate cake you should’ve said ‘n’ + ‘o’ to. yeah, she’s pretty cool. she hangs with the dalai lama real often, she’s always popular on saturday nights…

Mood: umm, i think that’s obvious…
Colour: lipstick red
Day Rating: 8/10
Diet: 4 out of 5 carrots
Highlight: changing the channel just in time to watch “the perfect vagina” on SBS. Seriously.FUQIN.Fanny. Funny yet scary Vagina Hate. WTF??

Top 5 Post Meditation Experiences
1. less talking, more listening – everyone’s a winner.
2. despite shoe store girl’s attitude, reminded self of joy. avoided pass-aggress ‘chat’ re asking other store for my size. phew!
3. judgement reduction
4. permission to do less, sleep more
5. listening to this tune Little Joy Unattainable

— John Bunyon

Wayne Dyer’s inspirational cards rendered my rear a swift kick and a word of advice this morn: ‘practice generosity.’ [NB: advice offered generally, not directed exclusively to ass. Wayne Dyer - not in habit of inspiring giving ass generously! if anyone is encouraging generosity of ass, that would be J.Akermanis, non?! I knew about his hand-standing and his grand-standing but never realised he had such an amazing BACKFLIP].

I digress.

So during my 30 mins of meditation today i pondered Mr. Dyer’s sage advice to extend unexpected generosity to someone as often as possible for two weeks.  Yet, this is not Bethlehem, 33AD. In a world of cyber-socialising, soy chai lattes and iPhones where DOES one schedule in giving time?! I could hear my ego pouting, “ugggh, wayne, as if i don’t have enough on my plate with my recent commitment to give up FACEBOOK AND MEDITATE for 30 mins a day??!!”

I decided I needed to find some modern generosity trailblazers. Bored of dredging through the history books to find inspiration from Jesus, Mother Teresa and well, those other dudes who’d been sainted, i went where any intelligent, altruistic melbournian would go when in need for inspiration…

The Herald Sun: Look no further than the rich pages of this tabloid for modern role models of giving!

It was at that moment that I realised modern Melbourne had SO many generosity champions. I list them below, in slogan format, for your inspiration.

1. Please give to the homeless as selflessly as jason akermanis gave advice to homosexuals

2. Please shout your needy friends at happy hour as generously as a Gen Y gave  to their employer until they’d saved enough to backpack through europe

3. Please welcome refugees as freely as Samantha from SATC2 gave her genitals

4. Please extend kindness to strangers as openly as Rebecca Twiggly gave her back  to the Brownlow medal..

if these modern champions of giving can do it, gosh dang it… so can i!

Proof Below:

Mood: open, like a book.
Colour: gold, like the coins i was showering the needy in..
Day Rating: a smug 8 out of 10
Diet: 5 out of 5 carrots: enjoyed wholesome sustainable food at SlowDown! @ Harley Court on Acland St.
Highlight: coming across this generously confusing quote from Barbara Bush re generosity:“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.” in the words of one bigoted lady to another… “Please Explain?????”

Top 5 Post Meditation Experiences
1. despite early morning rise, was blazing till well past 11pm [non-caffeinated]!
2. my mother visited – i didn’t once get angry [enough said] although, I did generously and selflessly extend her styling advice… afterwhich I extended myself a bitter choc pudding! I call that  an act of  GEN-Y -rosity! [as a cuspian of GEN Y I can tell you, unsolicited advice is SOOOO HOT right now!]
3. ate mindfully until about 7pm when i was slightly hypergly, but otherwise i was like Thich Nhat Hanh at meal time
4. when had a chance to gloat “i told you so” i bit my tongue… that a definate first.
5. shouted dinner, coffee, gave a nice waiter a tip, rolled around in my generous nature.

but seriously… giving IS rad.

Do try it. If  not for me, at the very least for all the confusing reasons generosity-cheerleader barbara bush suggests and more..

DO YOU HAVE ANY GEN Y HS INSPIRED SLOGANS FOR GIVING??? BEST WILL BE POSTED IN COMMENTS