My music of choice these past few days has been provided by Live. I was able to find an entire live concert online that has superb quality and spent much of my weekend listening to it. I now wish I could see them live more than ever. I’ve also been listening to thier albums more than usual this weekend and my appreciation for them is growing constantly.
Yesterday I made use of two of the gifts my dreaming disciple sent me. In the afternoon I decided to brew some of the Coffee Beanery coffee and selected the Beanery Blend packet. I don’t have a coffee percolator, so I searched for an alternative and chose what is called campfire coffee. I used a variation of the methods suggested there and made a slow pot of coffee. The final product wasn’t overly impressive, but I had some nice cups of coffee.
Later in the evening I decided to watch the copy of Lord Love A Duck that Sarah sent me. Watching the film for a second time allowed me to notice some of the more subtle elements and added to my appreciation it. Tuesday Weld is just as mesmerizing each time I see her. I hope to someday be able to see her other movies as well. I’m certainly very happy to have a copy of this film that I can watch whenever I please and that I’ll be able to share with my friends.
I’m currently reading Meditations & Dreamwork by Tara Ward. The opening chapters have been quite useful in understanding meditations and for discovering new methods to conduct them. While some assumptions she makes have been rather distracting, the books has been rewarding to read. The Tao of Inner Peace by Diane Dreher, which I read during the summer, did include many important meditation-related parts, but this book focuses on meditation and goes farther into the depths of the subject. I certainly feel I am learning valuable skills with this book.
This exciting new book is a map for a rewarding journey of personal discovery. For most of us, the routine tasks of cooking, cleaning, ironing or waiting for the bus are just chores that get in the way of really enjoying life. In this unique and thought-provoking book, Tara Ward offers a structured, step-by-step course that helps readers to redefine their daily existence in a positive way. With practical exercises in meditation, communicating with spirit guides and dreamwork, readers can learn to enjoy every moment of their lives. With the help of this book, they can fully appreciate what is working well, and learn to turn negative scenarios into positive and encouraging ones. [x]
This evening I dedicated an hour to meditation at long last. It’s been months since I last focused on meditation for any sustained time. The meditative excercise I chose to work on was a cleansing exercise the book suggested. The goal was to create a mental sanctuary for use in cleansing during the initial stages of the meditative process. After some conflict with stray images, I was able to focus on the creation of a sanctuary and was successful in providing myself with a personal place in which I could be free of outside conflicts.
The vision I developed came together in parts, evolving from several very calming locations. I came into the place sitting with my legs crossed (though I was in fact lying down while meditating). I was on a very high tower, with a bone-white exterior. Before me there was a beautiful and vast landscape. A forest surrounded the tower, but gave way to a coastline, which circled to each side and created a sheltered harbour (Was it a subconscious play on words, considering that the word harbour also can mean a place of shelter; a refuge?). Behind me the forest (filled with mostly green deciduous trees) stretched out for miles and eventually met with a range of impressive, snow-topped mountains, which also formed a cyclical enclosure, this time around a fresh water lake. Gradually I became aware that the tower itself was becoming enveloped by falling water. Above me on the top of the tower floated a finely cut blue stone, roughly the size and dimensions of a cell phone, though sharp at the ends. From this stone the water had its source and flowed through the air to form a dome that became broken at intervals no shorter than half a minute with waterless spaces through which I could see the beautiful landscape surrounding the tower. The tower became a a circular waterfall in the center of the forest, flowing into unseen rivers and streams that would move to the harbour. My cleansing and departure from this beautiful place took place when I cupped my hands, filled them with the dome-water, and drank deeply of it.