Saturday, May 31, 2008

What is Meditation

Meditation is Non-doing

When people come to me and they ask, "How to meditate?" I tell them, "There is no need to ask how to meditate, just ask how to remain unoccupied. Meditation happens spontaneously. Just ask how to remain unoccupied, that's all. That's the whole trick of meditation - how to remain unoccupied. Then you cannot do anything. The meditation will flower.

When you are not doing anything the energy moves towards the centre, it settles down towards the centre. When you are doing something the energy moves out. Doing is a way of moving out. Non-doing is a way of moving in. Occupation is an escape. You can read the Bible, you can make it an occupation. There is no difference between religious occupation and secular occupation: all occupations are occupations, and they help you to cling outside your being. They are excuses to remain outside.

Man is ignorant and blind, and he wants to remain ignorant and blind, because to come inwards looks like entering a chaos. And it is so; inside you have created a chaos. You have to encounter it and go through it. Courage is needed - courage to be oneself, and courage to move inwards. I have not come across a greater courage than that - the courage to be meditative.

But people who are engaged outside - with worldly things or nonworldly things, but occupied all the same, they think ....and they have created a rumor around it, they have their own philosophers. They say that if you are introvert you are somehow morbid, something is wrong with you. And they are in the majority. If you meditate, if you sit silently, they will joke about you: "What are you doing? - Gazing at your navel? What are you doing? - Opening the third eye? Where are you going? Are you morbid? Because what is there to do inside? There is nothing inside."

Inside doesn't exist for the majority of people, only the outside exists. And just the opposite is the case - only inside is real; outside is nothing but a dream. But they call introverts morbid, they call meditators morbid. In the West they think that the East is little morbid. What is the point of sitting alone and looking inwards? What are you going to get there? There is nothing.

David Hume, one of the great British philosophers, tried once... because he was studying the Upanishads and they go on saying: Go in, go in, go in - that is their only message. So he tried it. He closed his eyes one day - a totally secular man, very logical, empirical, but not meditative at all - he closed his eyes and he said, "It is so boring! It is a boredom to look in. Thoughts move, sometimes a few emotions, and they go on racing in the mind, and you go on looking at them - what is the point of it? It is useless. It has no utility."

And this is the understanding of many people. Hume's standpoint is that of the majority: What are going to get inside? There is darkness, thoughts floating here and there. What will you do? What will come out of it? If Hume had waited a little longer - and that is difficult for such people - if he had been a little more patient, by and by thought disappear, emotions subside. But if it had happened to him he would have said, "That is even worse, because emptiness comes. At least first there were thoughts, something to be occupied with, to look at, to think about. Now even thoughts have disappeared; only emptiness....What to do with emptiness? It is absolutely useless."

But if he had waited a little more, then darkness also disappears. It is just like when you come from the hot sun and you enter your house: everything looks dark because your eyes need a little attunement. They are fixed on the hot sun outside; comparatively, your house looks dark. You cannot see, you feel as if it is night. But you wait, you sit, you rest in a chair, and after few seconds the eyes get attuned. Now it is not dark, a little more light........

You rest for an hour, and everything is light, there is no darkness at all.

If Hume had waited a little longer, then darkness also disappears. Because you have lived in the hot sun outside for many lives your eyes have become fixed, they have lost flexibility. They need tuning. When one comes inside the house it takes a little while, a little time, a patience. Don't be in a hurry.

In haste nobody can come to know himself. It is a very very deep awaiting. Infinite patience is needed. By and by darkness disappears. There comes a light with no source there is no flame in it, no lamp is burning, no sun is there. A light, just like it is morning: the night has disappeared, and the sun has not risen.... Or in the evening - the twilight, when the sun has set and night has not yet descended. That's why Hindus call their prayer time sandhya. Sandhya means twilight, light without any source.

When you move inwards you will come to the light without any source. In that light, for the first time you start understanding yourself, who you are, because you are that light. You are that twilight, that sandhya, that pure clarity, that perception, where the observer and the observed disappear, and only the light remains.

Osho - from the book What is Meditation?

Bearghan

Here they are. All covered in fur. They have tiny little teeth already.

I think they are trying to get comfortable for a nap here...LOL

Baby girl bearghan.



And this is what is on my hook now. Another pineapple shawl. I love this pattern.

I just found out that my neighbour's daughter is due mid-July. Guess what!?!?! She doesn't know the sex of the baby either. LOL. Scott's cousin chose not to find out as well. She is due end of July, beginning of August. What is with these women who don't want to know pink or blue???? I just don't understand. And as a crafter, I need to know!!!!! Ah well, I will just make up a few sets of pink and a few sets of blue just to be safe.
GREAT BUY of the week. I bought a HUGE Winnie the Pooh fleece blanket for $5.00. It was in the clearance section of WalMart and I just couldn't say no. I will Edgerydoo the blanket and put it in the baby pile.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Sad news

Well, one of the baby bunnies passed away today. It was the smallest of the bunch and I wasn't quite sure if it was strong enough to make it. The other three are fine and starting to make their way around the cage. Their eyes aren't open yet....probably in the next few days or so.

I didn't get much crocheting done today. Maybe tomorrow.

God now has a little tiny smokey grey baby bunny hopping around in heaven.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Crazy Ladies Club

So I finally had a chance to meet with Cindy and the Girls of the Crazy Ladies Club.
We chatted and crafted for 2 1/2 hours. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to September when we meet again.
I managed to get these three hats done. You can tell there was a lot of chatting...LOL

Those will be added to these for Covered With Love.

And here is another Corners blanket that I have on my hook.

I need to start on dishcloths for CFAC (Crafting for a Cause). These will be sent to Pine Ridge Reservation in June and the Pretty Bird Women's Shelter in July. It's a two month challenge and you know I love a challenge....LOL I also have a ton of cotton in my stash.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Bearghan, baby bunnies and Ebay win

hehehe, this guy turned out pretty cute.



Here are the baby bunnies. They are now 5 days old.

Proud Mommy.

Ebay win...15 steel hooks.

9 aluminum hooks

12 bamboo hooks

and gifts.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Front planters and a baby blanket

One planter.

Two planters.

One baby blanket.

Close up of edging.

Right now I am working on my version of the Bearghan.
I will be using fleece squares.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Hat and baby blanket

Hat for Casting off the Cold

Baby blanket.

Close up of edging.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Shawl is finished!!!




Update on Shawl

I am almost done the pineapple shawl. Just putting the final pineapples on. Pictures will be posted as soon as I am finished.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hooking for a Cure thank you pics

This is the Thank You card I received from Daisy and Bonnie for making 401 squares for the Hooking for a Cure blitz in March. ((that's my green square in the middle))

Inside of the card.

Keychain - has a crown on it and a little charm that says "I love 2 crochet".

Stitch markers. One of these also has a crown...LOL

Beaded bookmark thong. I love this one, it is just so pretty.

Yup, you guessed it...another baby blanket. This one is larger and wouldn't fit on my coffee table so I had to fold it.

Close up of edging. This is one of the combos that I wound myself. Combo of pink baby yarn and varigated bamboo....so soft.

And this is what is on my hook right now. It will be a shawl when I am done.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Finished baby blanket

One more finished baby blanket. I love the paw prints.

Close up of edging.

Crazy Couch Cat.

Hm, can crazy couch cat come out to play?

Look, more flowers opened. Aren't they beautiful???

Monday, May 19, 2008

Garden pics

Finally...the sun came out for a few minutes and I raced to the back of the property to take these pics. Funny thing is that a few minutes before these were taken it was actually snowing a bit.





These are my absolute favorite type of flower. I treated myself to a plant on Saturday. None of the buds were open when I bought it. Look at all the unopened ones yet to come...woohoo!
Flannel blanket.

Close up of edging.

Another flannel blanket.

Close up of edging.

On the hook now.

Colour combo being used.

Also on the hook.

Close up of edging.