Low Impact

For the month of July, I have committed to another low-impact consumption month. I am a little uneasy about it, considering that during the summer is harder because I'm off of work and have more time to . . . desire things.

Here are my plans:

• Purchasing of nothing except necessary groceries.
• Making more clothe grocery bags out of fabric from my stash.
• Walking when possible.
• Talking to my daughter about our shopping habits and what it means to the larger community.
• Inviting others to join me.

Here are some exceptions:

• Starbucks is allowed if I bring my own cup and request that they not print a receipt.
• Necessary groceries is a pretty flexible term to include things like ice cream and coffee and coffee cream, which are not essentials, but are groceries.
• I am throwing a 40th birthday party for my best friend that includes a guest list of more than 70 people. I am going to be using disposable dishes for this event.
• I will need to buy a few birthday presents.

The undecideds:

• The last time I did this, allowed myself to buy digital items: songs, digital scrapbooking graphics, etc. I'm not so sure about that this time. Part of why I am doing this is to practice letting go of the process of acquisition. Shopping for digital items is shopping.
• Last time I allowed myself to go to non-take out restaurants. The problem is that I usually end of bringing home food in a large styrofoam container or just leaving food to be tossed. Both are wasteful. Another option is to commit to ordering only what I know I want to eat.

Objectives:

• To establish a pattern of more responsible consumptive patterns.
• To practice letting go of the process of acquisition.
• To give myself more time for the things I love: my family and friends, my hobbies, my Buddhist practice, the Dharma.

Care to join me?

One a different note: I was reminded of the importance of mindfulness when I realized I had over-dosed my son with Tylenol by giving him the dose for Children's Tylenol but with the Infant's Concentrate. Luckily, I realized it before I had given him another dose. The problem with Tylenol, as I learned from Poison Control, is that it's not just the one dose that is the problem; you have to look at how much they've had over a 24 hour period. Two doses would have meant a trip to the ER. More than that may have meant liver failure, even possibly death. This is what happens when your mind isn't clear, and you're being reactive to the stressful environment, rather than in control of yourself.

Spiritual Laziness, Part II

Now that I am officially done with work for the summer, I have found that my pace is much slower than before. I am spending more time with my children, just being with them as well as "doing" things with them, like going to parks, tea parties, reading, etc. I am enjoying the quiet time with them in the back yard as they play, throwing balls with my son, dress dolls with my daughter.

I am also meditating more. And being present a lot more. Without the constant concern of the items on a to-do list, I can be more present, more mindful, and more spiritual.

The key is going to be to find a way to slow down during the school year so that I can still be the spiritual person I want to be.

I think an important point is to define spiritual, at least in how I see it. To me, being spiritual isn't about mysticism. It's about the tiniest movement I make as I live my life. This moment as I type is an opportunity for spirituality. As I drink my latte, I have the opportunity to be spiritual. Choosing the be fully present with my children is a spiritual choice. Meditating is important, but spirituality is there as a way of life twenty four hours a day.

When I first started studying Buddhism (one short year ago), my first book was Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das. He talked a lot about his time in Tibet and about Tibetan monks. For example, in discussing the preservation of life, he explained that during the rainy season some monks will sweep the ground in front of them as they walk to prevent any beings from being stepped on and that some don't venture outside for that very same reason. Reading this, I thought It's easy to live the Dharma when you're a monk living in a cave. Harder when you're a working mother of two. (Listen, I know it sounds petty, but I'm trying to be honest here.) But after some time it occurred to me that there was another way of looking that this. I could think that being a working mother of two children makes it difficult to be spiritual. I could also look at it a different way: that being a working mother of two small children makes it that much more important that I be spiritual.

I practice for me, for sure. But I also practice for my children, my husband, my students, my friends, my family. Being a more spiritual person hopefully makes me better at all the roles I play in life.

Well, I think my thinking has meandered enough. Off to clean the house while I have the place to myself.

Peace, love and happiness to you all.

What's Happening?

Our sangha gave ourselves the homework assignment of asking a "radical question." This stemmed from Day 2 of the retreat we had where I had only attended the first one, so it's not all entirely clear to me. Anyway, our homework assignment was to ask ourselves What's happening? at least three times a day. The idea is to help us be more present and to begin an inquiring process that can lead to discovery (I think). If it isn't making sense to you, it's probably because it's still unclear in my own head what I'm talking about, but I'm hoping to learn more.

On a different note, today my friend and I took our daughters to Bell's Tea Cottage in Reno, NV. The kids loved the tea, the provided hats and scarves, and the food. We liked our food, the tea, and the quiet atmosphere. We weren't so excited about the price ($14 for my meal, $8 for DD's). The kids got a PB&J with a small scone and a small plate of candy. Too many sweets even for my lil' sweet tooth. The final decision was that we could have just as much fun with a tea party at home for a much more economical price, although it may be a nice treat for the ladies to go one Sunday for an afternoon of shopping.

Later we met friends at the pool for some tot swim time. I LOVE summer!

More Communication

I attended a professional development course today and will finish it Monday. It's called "Cognitive Peer Coaching," which is a fancy way of saying How to Talk to Colleagues. It's a process used to help people come to their own conclusions about challenges that they face as educators. A lot of it is common sense, really, the kind that is still good to spend time thinking about and practicing.

What I found especially interesting was how much of it overlapped with the teachings of wise speech.

For example, in the coaching class we were taught about the benefits of pausing before speaking and how important it is to be mindful of what we say and how we say it.

Sounds familiar.

The main difference is that in the coaching process you are simply trying to be a mirror for the other person's ideas to reflect off of. It's not that any of the teaching conflicted with wise speech, but rather it has a very focused intention attached to it.

It's Not Always So Easy

I have been working on my sangha homework - to not talk about people who aren't in the room. Although I have done some refraining, I could definitely do better. I'm beginning to see why monks live in caves. It's definitely difficult to live the Dharma when you're interacting with the world. Of course, if it were easy, we'd all be enlightened.

I haven't been remembering about the being in the body homework, let alone actually doing it.

I did a short mediation (10 minutes) when I got to work today (Since kids are gone, my schedule is more flexible.). I focused on my intent for the day - to not talk about those not in the room. It helped. I ought to consider moving my meditations to the morning.

Signing out.

May you live in peace and happiness.

My Homework Day 1

My homework has been to not talk about anyone who isn't present. Yesterday's posting explains it further. I wasn't so successful today until after work when I told my friend what I was doing. Then, if we ventured into a discussion about someone, even a harmless one, I could easily opt out of the discussion.

Tomorrow I will try to be better at work.

Tomorrow I will remember how effective it can be to let people know my intentions. If I want to work on something -- whether it's right speech, stress management or my diet -- letting others know about my intentions can be invaluable.

Tomorrow I will start the day with a short meditation in which I establish my intentions for myself.

More to come later. . . .

My Homework

My sangha is currently working on wise speech. I have two homework assignments:

1. Focus on being in the body. This allows us to think more carefully about the intention behind what we're saying. The goal is to be at 50% in the body, 50% in the conversation.


2. One week not talking about someone not present. This isn't an exercise in how we should all live, but rather an exercise in mindfulness. It makes us more aware of how much we talk about others.

I will be reporting on my homework over the course of the next week.

On a completely separate note, I have had fun playing with my new camera's macro feature. I can get some pretty close pictures. of the week.

Graduation

We went to graduation today and participated in the "teacher tunnel," where teachers stand and applaud the seniors in their procession. It was a wonderful moment that made be a blubbering fool when I saw students I know worked hard to be wearing their caps and gowns with pride. I don't feel I can post pictures of people who haven't given consent, so I am including this one picture that doesn't reveal any identities.

Congratulations, class of 2008!

Spiritual Laziness

I have been too busy lately. I expected that things would slow down at work these last two weeks, but they haven't. We're all busy, I know, so I will not bore you all with the details. Let's just say that I have had long work days (one was 14 hours long), little weekend time, etc. Fitting in time for family, let alone meditation, blogging, working out or sewing, has been difficult.


So what does this have to do with laziness, you ask? In Buddhist teachings, we are taught there are different kinds of laziness. One of these types in busy-ness.


Here is a quote I found from Sogyal Rinpoche's book Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (found on the web page A View on Buddhism web page): "Naturally there are different species of laziness: Eastern and Western. The Eastern style is like the one practised in India. It consists of hanging out all day in the sun, doing nothing, avoiding any kind of work or useful activity, drinking cups of tea, listening to Hindi film music blaring on the radio, and gossiping with friends. Western laziness is quite different. It consists of cramming our lives with compulsive activity, so there is no time at all to confront the real issues. This form of laziness lies in our failure to choose worthwhile applications for our energy."


For me, spirituality doesn't come in the mystical; spirituality is present in the smallest detail of every day life - how I interact with the cashier at the grocery store, my decision to either go watch TV or instead read a book to my child, my tone when I say good morning to my coworker.


Being too busy usually means making decisions in the details of life that do not fit with my spiritual path. If I am rushed to get somewhere, that's when I'll get angry at another drive. When I feel like I have two hours worth of work to do and one hour to do it, that's when I will show irritation when a colleague comes to me for help. When I feel tired because I've worked a 14 hour day, that's when I'll decide to not meditate and turn a movie on for my kids.


Living a life that is compassionate requires hard work and attention, but it also requires a commitment to not over-committing myself. This is especially an issue at work. I know that ultimately I am responsible for how busy I am. And I know that my busy-ness is what detracts from my spiritual path.


I am looking forward to the summer when I will still have an active life, but at the same time will have time to refocus myself on my priorities and decide where I can streamline my life next school year so that I am not over committed.

Grandmas Rock!

What would we do without grandmas? My kids love both of their grandmas. My mom, pictured here with her adoring granddaughter, stayed home today with my sick son so that Jason and I could go to work and administer finals. (The pediatrician thinks he might have roseolla .) She is always there at the last minute to back a cake, babysit, buy clothes, or whatever may be needed. Thanks, Grandma!

Pic Happy

I love taking pictures of my kids. Here are a few from preschool grad and from the Ashland trip.