Namaste to the Universe ... What a day! ... I have just taken a new breath and posted some new photos and thoughts on the "about iris" page (at the bottom) ... and I have also included some more teachers on the skinny right-hand column ... down at the bottom ... thank you to the teachers ... and thanks to you ... As always, life is full of the lessons ... I am breathing and hanging on to my buddhanature ... open to all the help I can get! 

I AM … a Buddha in Disguise ... Where is the Buddha of Me?  With the costume of life sometimes hiding my buddha-nature, I must remember to close my eyes, breathe, and see.  Oh, yes! … here I AM.  Thank you.

Namaste ... For some reason, I had a couple of quotes going through my head ... the words, the authors' names, the connective force of them that drew them together ... were spiraling through me ... lots of information that I had to breathe into to get it together.  

Upon some looking into my notes, I was able attach the names and the right verbiage ... I must admit ... my recollections were slightly different than the published quotes ... you know how it is with our perceptions.  Anyway, here they are ...

I should not talk so much about myself 

if there were anybody else 

whom I knew as well. Unfortunately, 

I am confined to this theme by the 

narrowness of my experience.

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden

and

From their experience or from the

recorded experience of others (history),

men learn only what their passions and

their metaphysical prejudices 

allow them to learn.

--Aldous Huxley

So my question is ... are both of these 

quotes saying the same thing?

From the ponderings of iris on a Sunday ... first Sunday of Summer ... I wonder what that means?  

Thank you ... Thank you ...

 

Namaste ... to YOU on this Saturday Eve ...  I awoke this morning thinking ... This is Saturday ... What does that mean?  (This could be one of your thoughts.)  

Saturn Saturday Saturn Saturday ... Knowing that this day was named after Saturn, I delved into my mental archives ... I admit my "astrological  knowing" has always been used on the playful level.  With that being understood, I have let the astrologers be useful guides  in my life and my interactions ... thank you to our astrologers ... I love you!

Still wanting to know more about Saturn near the day's end, I couldn't help myself from doing some exploring ... again looking for the spiritual relevance of this thought of having a day of the week named after Saturn.    Saturn ... Saturn ... I know you are there. ... 

A drawing by Jed, my Sun ... a Saturn-ruled Capricorn.

I found an article written in 1967 by Dane Rudyar (an author, modernist composer, and humanistic astrologer).  He led me to some interesting interpretations of Saturn.  Here is the fabric of it in the palm of MY hand?!?!  To start, Saturn is a god of Roman and Greek mythology who is associated with the Golden Age, the age of "purity and innocence."

When trying to understand the Saturn principle, Rudyar goes into the Indian culture for obtaining a better understanding.  Here is my perception of his findings.  He asks us to look at the Indian cycle in time called Satya Yuga.  Saturn and Satya are very similar words is spelling and in definition ... both are cycles of time.  The 'sat' in Satya means "essential being" and the 'ya' is the pushing force of it.  More explanation is given but the summary of it is that Saturn can be looked upon as the "urn of the essential being."  Remember our 'essential being' and that place of 'purity and innocence' is that place of beingness before "we become polluted by the environment."  And being that, Saturn can be looked upon as the seeds of our beginning, we are that "urn of essential being."

I can see that Rudyar is saying that within all of us, we have that Saturn element ... that essential being ... that fundamental nature ... which remembers our true untarnished nature ... and in this life, this energy reminds us to keep going forward, it gives us the inner discipline to stay on our pathways ... to keep practicing on the pathway that leads to the Truth of our being.   It sounds like we can call on our Saturn energy to guide us and help us to keep in touch with our true selves.  This is good.

Most importantly, I am looking at how powerful Saturday is to us with this look at its etymology. That is all for now ... for a more in depth explanation and better understanding you can go here:  
http://www.khaldea.com/rudhyar/astroarticles/meditationsonsaturn.php    

       Thank you for being here 

                      in little and the big picture.                                    

Namaste ... Happy Summer Solstice 2012 ... I bow to you and I bow to the Sun.  My wish is for all of us to be aware of the powerful energy flowing through us these days!

 I AM ... the Rising Sun ... I close my eyes and see the solar energy of me swirling around and through my being.  My breath joins this healing light calling forth the opening of my body, mind and soul.  In one moment of this morning light, I see the Lotus of me Awakening.  Yes! to seeing.   I AM ... the Sun ... the Lotus ... Everything!

Thank you for being here ... and joining me in our Awakening!

Namaste to YOU ... Here is a lovely photo to bring a smile to your face ...

This BuddhaFace makes me feel happy.  I am also drawn to the red hibiscus flower and upon some research a while back, I learned more of its significance.  With knowing it is the state flower of Hawaii and wanting to use its design on a clay piece, I turned to the internet for symbolism.  I found it to mean "delicate beauty" and according to Japanese language of flowers, "gentle."  Both of these are sweet, but I was determined to find a sacred meaning and I found it.

The hibiscus flower has been used traditionally as an offering to the Hindu diety, Ganesh.  He is a protector and looks after our welfare by cleansing us of negative energy.  

Ganesh

It is said:

"The Ganesh principle is present in the universe . It gets attracted towards the central space of the red colored Hibiscus flower .  This  is emitted in the form of circles. The Ganesh principle which is absorbed by the stem of the flower gets emitted through the petals in the atmosphere. The stamen of the flower absorbs the Ganesh principle present in the atmosphere and emits the particles which donate vital energy."

You can learn more of the Ganesh principle, offerings, and healing meditations using these concepts by going to the MahaGanesha website:
 http://theemerald.wordpress.com/2009/06/27/why-is-hibiscus-offered-to-ganesha/ 

And remember, I AM with YOU.  Thank you ... and thank you to the Buddha and Ganesh both with the red hibiscus flower!

•  

Namaste to You ...  I have been thinking about walking ... and about how I can use all of my steps as an exercise in awareness.  Again, I have gone to one of my teachers ... 

Thich Nhat Hanh 
May we be with you in this moment.

This is a simple one.  When we are walking 

outdoors, this peaceful monk 

suggests we really look at nature 

and open ourselves up to a Divine conversation 

with the world.  As I have mentioned before when 

I worked with children, I would remind 

them that we can use our imagination to get into 

 spirit play and talk to nature ... 

I love you, water ... I love you, tree ... I love you, flowers ... just go for it and it becomes easier to 

connect with your inner child. 

I would say we can push this to the limits.

Walking Meditation in Nature

         Here is one meditation that Thich Nhat Nanh suggests:

"Breathing in, good morning, birds

Breathing out, thank you for your songs ...

Breathing in, hello, blue sky

Breathing out, thank you, dear blue sky, 

   for being there for me." 

***

  

And then there are those moments of being in a crowd ... perhaps, we can apply that same kind of practice of showing appreciation for what is happening in the moment ... Thank you, people ... Thank you, streets ... Thank you, signs ... Thank you ...

I

Street Walking Meditation

                                                            

This one is not as easy as walking meditation in nature.  
It is different.  Although I love the contrast,
being in a city or with groups of people 
with lots of movement calls on me to 
be mindful of the different kinds 
of sensations ... the feel of Earth 
through the concrete, the city
 sounds, the different city
 scents, the signs ... 
breathing in the new experiences
... can bring joy, too, just
knowing that I am a part of it all.   
And I think witnessing myself in all the 
different situations of life is a growing experience.

***

And then there is this ... the primal practice of the "walking meditation" of our teachers ... concentrating on breathe, on our feet and on our steps is where it all begins ... staying in the moment of just walking.
Thank You

Monks ... Walking Meditation at Sunset

                                                   ***
                                                  

I do so much walking during the days of my life.  

I want to turn every step into a meditation.   

Yes, even during the mundane activities of life, I can

 walk in mindfulness and turn them into a spiritual event ... those steps from from room to room, out to my car, 

all of them ... can be looked upon 

as a practice in mindfulness that will lead me to an 

evolution in the awareness of knowing who I Am and where 

I Am.

 What do YOU think?
Have you picked up this
thought, also?
All is One

Thank you for being here.  

Thank you for joining me in 

our Awakening.  

What a journey!

           

Namaste to You ... and the Sun, Venus and All ...

We have experienced the Venus Transit ... Venus crossed the face of the Sun.  I could imagine the rays of our powerful sun intermingling with the love and compassion energy of Venus beaming healing light to our planet.   Thank you.  

Sun Buddha

Being conscious of this extraordinary event, I was open to any changes in vibration during the afternoon.  Paying great attention and being aware of different bodily sensations, I did feel an extreme grounding sensation ... with feelings of being pulled toward Earth.   

I hope this is so!  What were your experiences?  Thank you for joining me today in our Awakening.

I AM ... A Flame ... The flame of my true nature, my awakened self, is calling your flame.   We keep gathering and gathering.  With our flames burning brightly in Oneness, we shall melt away the darkness of ignorance.  Loving-kindness prevails. 

Happy Day to YOU ... I came across Torei Enji and wanted to bring him onto this page and into your awareness.   He is a most-revered Japanese Zen Master, writer, and artist.  Hands palm to palm ...

Torei Enji (1721-1792)

Here is a fine sample of his writing taken from the Bodhisattva Vow:

Now on each thought

a lotus flower blooms,

and on each flower:

a Buddha.

The Light of the Tathagata*

appears before us, soaking

our feet

May we share this mind

with all beings so that we 

and the world together

may grow in wisdom.

* Tathagata is the name the Buddha called himself in his teachings.  I looked up the definition and thought I would pass it along:

           One who has thus gone/One who has thus come

 I am thinking about this.  My mind goes to the moment every time.  

Now ... on to one of Torei's paintings.   I will let you discover some more.

Zen Jewel

Thank you, Torei!

And thank you for being here 

in the little picture and the 

    Big Picture.  

I AM ... seeing a day filled with 

Love for All.