Wake Up to Your Life in Columbus Ohio
Discovering the here and now in Columbus, Ohio
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Liz Osborn
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- Delaware, OH
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- I have been on my way here for years :-) I recently listened to books on CD while driving back from Chicago. One was Pema Chodron's "Getting Unstuck" and the other by Thich Nhat Hahn, can't remember the title right now. Prior to this, I had read some of Sharon Salzburg's work, which I really liked. Their sense of humor, self-deprecation and plain talk was reassuring. This is my whole history with Buddhism to date! A couple of years ago I attended a week-long retreat at Mount Madonna in S. California, with Geneen Roth, and three other teachers. There I was reintroduced to something below my neck - ah - a body! I am not just a brain that never stops! I learned a bit about meditation there, including a whole day of silence, which I loved. That was another surprise. Anyway, for a lot of reasons I am here today and take great comfort in what I am learning. I have been looking for someplace locally to continue learning and on this path, whatever it may be.
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Thank you
I am a novice at this blogging business so didn't know if I am supposed to respond to everyone separately or what. So I'm doing this instead! THANK YOU to Ruth, Jim and Todd - each of your messages work for me! I get that there is no "wall" between the Practicing Liz and the Real World. Thank you for taking the time to be supportive. I really appreciated it.
Posted on February 16, 2009 at 7:34pm — 1 Comment
Feeling Overwhelmed
I got the dream job I've wanted, and am finding it's overtaken my life. I am struggling - heck - I'm not even trying - to find some balance. Well, I know that being "present" is hard for me - just had a funny thought. Maybe I need to schedule some "presence" into my calendar. OK, that made me laugh. I think I really *do* need to plan some time each day - put a reminder on my calendar - to just practice. If I don't, the day is spent before I know it.
Posted on February 10, 2009 at 7:12am — 4 Comments
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Thanks again, Kate, and welcome.
We haven't heard from you in a while? Did you survive the holidays? I hope all is well!
The meeting on the 28th might be cancelled. I've been invited to head down to North Carolina with a group from the Indonesian sangha to meet Bhante Sombat, the primary abbot for their temple. We've been talking about a trip there for some time and I'd rather not go over Xmas but that works for the others. I'm trying to arrange dog care for the 25th. If I find someone I'll be going. Normally someone else would take over but we're reconsidering that model. So we might not be having any meetings until after the new year. Hopefully you'll still find a day to join us then.
About the retreat, I understand completely what you mean by your reaction to others who reported so many insights. I tend to feel numbness more than the flashes of light, heat, or the other dramatic bodily reactions that people sometimes report. It's been helpful for me when Ken teaches that if we feel frozen or stiff, that we bring our awareness into the frozen or stiff feeling. That's where we're at now, so that's where we need to be. Eventually it will melt (well, maybe not in this weather!)
BUT, I also wonder sometimes that people who show overly dramatic reactions to bodily sensations aren't living more in their thoughts than they admit. I don't know. I can never experience being in the bodymind of another person. All I can do is speculate. And that always brings the danger that I'm projecting my own inner state on theirs.
But I've also practiced bodywork at an Aikido dojo with people who are meticulous about it. I've learned from them that bridging the mind-body gap doesn't come quickly or easily. It's as if most of us are in deeply disembodied states. It can take a lot of deliberate practice to become bodies that can walk, dance, sing, and talk instead of just talking heads that sometimes walk.
So, friend of many words, I look forward to meeting you when the time comes! .
It's good to hear back from you. We've been meeting for about two years now but we've just started an online presence within the past few months. So it interests me to know how you found us. Before I forget, we're no longer meeting at Shambhala. So if you decide to join us any time soon, we're at the Buddhist Center of Ohio (big name for a small building!) at 1005 King Ave, a few blocks west of Olentangy next to a UDF. It's a small Indonesian sangha that is very welcoming to the outside community so we thought we'd give them our support.
I think it's great that you've been exploring Buddhism and are making an effort at meditation. There are many different practice opportunities here in Columbus. The group, Central Ohio Buddhism, has a good portal to all of them in case you haven't seen it yet. http://www.buddhismcentralohio.org/ (and that reminds me, we need to let them know of our move!)
As for meditation, I was struck by your profile comment about discovering the body beneath your neck! Many of us have gone through that same experience. In fact, we've learned to pay close attention to the body and see it as a font of wisdom and awarness that we'd largely ignored most of our lives. A common question in our "probing presence" sessions is, "what are you sensing in your body right now?" It's amazing how focusing on that sensory information can really bring the world into awareness. You may enjoy listening to a recording from a session we had with Janaki Symon on meditating with the body. We're getting better at sound recordings but it's still audible enough. You can find the file posted way down at the bottom of the forum on Releasing Emotional Reactions.
One more thing, when you meditate, do you try to clear your mind as you said? If you do, you might find you're in for a real struggle. It helped me a lot to see that I have a brain that thinks, a body that sensates, and emotions that run between the two. If I view any of them as an obstacle to practice, I'll end up in inner turmoil that leads nowhere. In our approach to practice, we learn to "return to what is already there, and rest." So it's as much about relaxing with what the bodymind experiences as anything else.
Hopefully we can talk about it more if I'm not being clear here. You might also find Ken's meditation instructions helpful: http://unfetteredmind.com/guide/3.php
So, sorry if this is too long of a comment! I tend to be wordy sometimes. I look forward to meeting you if you can join us on a Sunday or Thursday!
Shanti,
Todd
Welcome to the WUTYL group and thanks for posting all the great photos. I wonder, how'd you hear about us? I thought maybe Chris met you at his recent retreat in Niagara Falls but I guess he didn't! We've started this online group to reflect a little bit of what we do in our group meetings. Drop me a message if you have any questions about who we are, what we do, and when we meet. Looking forward to meeting you in person!