thanks for doing that

by kye on February 13, 2010

I just finished writing a thank you note to my mechanic.  The other night he spirited my cell phone out of a mysterious black hole under the driver’s seat.

Why a thank you note for such a small thing?  …because he didn’t know the size of what he’d just done.  I wanted him to be able to share the depth of meaning hidden in that one-minute job.

My mother and sister are both seriously ill.  They are in two different hospitals in two different cities.  It’s possible my mother won’t survive this time.  Because he got my cell phone back into my hands, my mother and sister were able to connect with each other last night.

Having thanked him, now I want to thank you, dear reader.  Because just as he had no idea of the significance of what he did, there are also undoubtedly times you’ve done things like that and never knew what you did.

So thank you for being you, and doing what you do.

Life is so much more than we know…

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by kye on February 2, 2010

“We do not meditate to create altered states of consciousness.  In fact, most of modern life is spent in altered states of consciousness and meditation is the practice of returning to an unaltered state.”

–William Martin, from A Path and a Practice

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how to keep your laptop from turning into a pain in the neck

December 30, 2009

A reader just wrote and told me that he was trying my focusing/relaxing exercise for his shoulders–but he suspected that his own tension was from hunching over his laptop.  I wrote back with what I’ve done myself about the laptop-in-lap problem.  At some point in the ensuing interaction I realized that this might be helpful [...]

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letting your body show you how to empty the tension from your shoulders

October 27, 2009

[Yesterday in my post about restorative walking, I mentioned 'emptying the shoulders' in passing.  A reader picked up on the phrase and commented on it, which prompted me to write more about it today.]
Notice how your shoulders feel right now.
If you’re really lucky, they may feel like you haven’t got a care in the world.  [...]

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restorative walking 101

October 25, 2009

This past week, I was dealing with a difficult, time-consuming situation.  By the time I could step back a little I was drained of energy.  My body was tense and tight.  I needed a restorative walk.
I just got back from that walk feeling balanced, relaxed, and at peace.  I’d like to share with you part [...]

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rumors of my death are highly overrated

October 13, 2009

Last week I nearly lost my sister.  She was not a good candidate for surgery, in a life-threatening situation.  The hospital staff tried everything they could think of all week, to get the problem to resolve without surgery.  But it didn’t, and she was running out of time.
So, Thursday night the surgeon went ahead.  I [...]

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it’s not just the note, it’s the beat

September 21, 2009

On my walk just now, I was stopped in my tracks by a bush densely covered with creamy blossoms, barely tinted rosy-gold.  They were shaped something like trumpet flowers but more blunt.  The leaves were a very light sage green.
I wondered, ‘is this a member of the sage family?’  I rubbed a leaf, smelled my [...]

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just what I’m hungry for

September 13, 2009

It’s midday, and my hunger feels luxurious: luxurious in its intensity and its incipient knowing.
So I’m sitting down with it.  I’m like a lover, asking my loved other, ‘where do you want to go?’ —and then waiting with no hurry.
Like a little child, my hunger is just pure raw desire.  It’s too hungry to tell [...]

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the irresistable force…

September 13, 2009

“Each of us possesses, at our very root and core, a profound and irresistable longing…”
—Reginald Ray, Touching Enlightenment: Finding Realization in the Body

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…and the immovable object

September 13, 2009

“To discover your projects… notice… what you reckon are obstacles…  The desire does not reveal the obstacle; the obstacle reveals the desire.”
—Adam Phillips, On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored

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