Chanting (or reading sutras) generates an energy field/vibration of its own, both in you and your environment….never thought I’d like it until I tried it.

I agree with Judith, this is beautifully written and so evocative. A word snapshot of a moment of your life. I’m looking forward to many more of these.

As for me, re: mindfulness. After my friend Wendy’s death I went into a horrible downward spiral, especially after testifying against the murderers. When it finally came time to start on a healing path, a book about Buddhism made its way into my hands and I started meditating twice a day. At the time I was attending the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and if I hadn’t been meditating I don’t know how I would have dealt with all the human rights horrors and ghosts people brought in with them.

I haven’t meditated in years, but the Buddhist idea of mindfulness has stuck with me in small daily actions. Like, being mindful not to rub my eyes or touch my mouth after being on a tram. Being mindful of the children I care for, being patient, being careful how I speak with them and to them if they are naughty. Being mindful of the people around me and spending time with people who make me a better person instead of those who drag me down. I’m not always successful being mindful, especially if I’m stressed out or travelling (oh man, how I detest travelling now!), but I still do my best.

Thank you for sharing this gorgeous post, and Happy Wesak Day.

oxox

Because it was a volunteering activity (I even took a day off from my work), I poured my heart and (hopefully) my soul into the mundane reading, and there I realized again that the real power of experience exists in what we bring to it, not what is given to us… No I didn’t have any enlightening moment, but it was nice to have that insight (and muscle ache and sore throat).

The underlying face is a terracotta garden sculpture from Thailand (see more here) and an antique map of the region I handcolored.

I wasn’t aware of the Vietnamese-American artist you mention, thanks for pointing him out.

You’re probably right, my time in Asia was very trying but also great material and conditioning for the future.

One of our finest playwrights, Eugene Stickland, will be spending time in Turkey in June and July. His drama Queen Lear has been running in Istanbul for six months now at the theatre run by Yildiz Kenter. (I hope I got her name right).

You should definitely check out Queen Lear! It’s worth a look.

When I first found myself in an English-speaking environment at the age of 12, I absolutely refused to speak for the first two months or so. In class, I would write notes to my teachers instead of speaking. I was fortunate to have a very patient and understanding teacher, and eventually I sensed my English language skills were mature enough to warrant speaking. The rest, of course, is history.

I recently started lessons in Portuguese (http://bit.ly/MangoPortuguese), and the pressure to start speaking before I’m ready is immense. Perhaps it’s a good time to try changing my tried-and-true “silent” approach to language learning.

And yes, speaking to the cat helps. Though, as I’ve repeatedly observed, even multilingual individuals are strongly inclined to use their first language when speaking to babies and animals. Now that’s an interesting topic for research.