thelerner

I'm so old. How old? I saw this in a movie theater. .. and there was a piano player who played along w/ it.

In Ki-Aikido they separated breathing exercises from meditation practice. I've always liked trying different breathing rhythms, in Aikido they'd do very long 1 minute cycle, a minute in, minute out. Quite difficult, but cheating was allowed til it was doable. Lately, I like 7in-7hold-7out for 30 minutes. After doing a breathing exercise, your normal unguided breath lengthens, allowing you to move deeper faster during meditative sitting.

I tend to throw out the bible and look to mystics for my concept of God. Been working on- I'm a creature of many filters. Cultural, physical, emotional, logical, irrational.. The great mystics don't seem to have so many filters. We're here, God is here.. want to see God, open your eyes. That's hard intellectually and (for me) hard bordering on impossible, experientially. But that's what I strive for. Walking silently in nature I get inklings. I'm meditating outdoors more these days, I like it, but what I'm looking for has to be outside meditation, outside looking. Beyond satori into something lasting. It feels like a retreat, a great substraction, might be the push I'd need to come closer to it. But being a material guy I'm loath to give up my material ways.. but the time will come.