Colorado Sage Posted January 14, 2013 Just checking in. I hope to learn a lot while I'm here. Been waking up for about 4 years now. Chat with you soon! - T 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sati Posted January 14, 2013 Welcome at TTB, Tobraham Enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 28, 2013 So, I spent the last four years in a self-imposed hermit mode. I emerged about a year ago with a new understanding of myself and of what matters most to me. I am far more relaxed and less affected by the negative things that happen around me in a daily basis. It started with reading many translations of the Tao Te Ching. Then I just began ammassing anything by Thomas Cleary. I'm in a great place now and fully enjoying my quest. Glad to have found this forum! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted January 28, 2013 Very impressive. Were you in hermit mode far away from civilization or within it? What kind of existence was it? Thanks Michael P.S I was kinda hoping your screen name was Colorado Sage, cause that'd be cool Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) My hermit life started as an accident. My job moved me to a new city after having lived 30 years in Dallas and building a lifetime of friends and family. I focused on work and then was moved again to another city. Then another move to a new state. So over 3 years I moved further and further away from my comfort zone and became a serious introvert.I stopped going out and remained single. I started telling others I was just too busy to date or go out and that I was just too picky to find a girlfriend. I knew somewhere deep down there was more to it than that so I started to reflect on myself.This is about the time I moved to Colorado. It doesn't hurt that it's so beautiful here and easy to get away from the world. My first big awakening was when I took a four day weekend and drive out to a remote cabin on top of a mountain by myself. I wanted to have a moment. I took my Tao te Ching with me, took a canoe to the center of a lake and read. It took all day to read because I paused to reflect with almost every passage. I spent the next three days in that cabin, just sitting on the tiny porch and listening to the wind and the bees, reflecting on life, myself and the world. I left with a better appreciation for life and a better understanding of myself.I was encouraged by my trip and hungered for more. I realised that I would never be happy until I truly understood who I was and was able to accept me for who I am, warts and all. Once I could be happy with myself, only then could I go out into the world and be unaffected by life's ups and downs.Three years after I moved here I finally came out of my coccoon. Able to accept myself, I found it was much easier to accept others' flaws as well. As a manager, I found myself more tolerant of my staff and less affected by negative events in my day. I am less concerned with hiccups of the day that negatively impact my work.Additionally, for the first time in my life, I find myself working to live rather than living to work obsessively. My career decisions are affected by my life and not the other way around.My next phase is to work meditation into my life. I'm very high strum and find I can't sit for more than 15 seconds before my mind wanders. I do tend to take long showers, almost 45 minutes sometimes, where I sit quietly effortlessly so I have come to realize that may be my little twist on meditation. I'm going to attempt to deliberately work that into my routine.I'm about to go get my teeth scraped at the dentist, so I have to sign off, but that's the condensed version of my story. I was still in the real world but I took the rest of my free time to myself for several years. It was well worth it! I quit drinking and smoking and now look inward for those feelings of satisfaction. I seek out the smells, sights and sounds of the outdoors for my intoxication. I've got a wonderful girlfriend (who is a Buddhist) who loves me for who I am on the inside and I love her for the same reasons. It's great and now my life is on a new journey... Edited January 28, 2013 by Tobraham 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan Posted January 28, 2013 (edited) i would trade my whole world for a life in the mountain cabin... No, maybe not yours, or that one... probably not colorado (Bless the Pacific Northwest! ) But the mountains, the clean air... THE EVERGREENS........... yeah... roughin' it with an internet connection... LOL Edited January 28, 2013 by Northern Avid Judo Ant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 28, 2013 Thelerner: now that you mention it - that WOULD be a cool username. Is there a way to change it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted January 28, 2013 Thelerner: now that you mention it - that WOULD be a cool username. Is there a way to change it? Lately we've had a couple people change there name. You could probably ask in the Forum and Tech Support Discussion Center at the bottom. Great story Colorado Sage, if I may call you that. Classic meditation is still and silent, but for some walking in nature or being taken away by classical music is pretty close. Much of the Taoist energy meditation systems mentioned here can be helpful to those who have a hard time staying still for long. Ultimately stillness is road that must be walked. My shower meditation is chanting, usually Rawn Clarks IHVH's. When I wake up I'll listen to a guided meditation (I collect them) something experiential or trippy. And I'll try to spend some time just sitting each day. Again Welcome to the Bums. Michael Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 28, 2013 Here is the cabin mentioned above: And here is the canoe at the lake: 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted January 29, 2013 Beautiful. So thats the remote cabin. How rural is it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 29, 2013 Pretty darn rural. My poor Scion xB almost didn't make it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hydrogen Posted January 29, 2013 Welcome to the forum. You seem to have a good life already. Maybe you want to have music in your meditation initially. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 30, 2013 'Good' is relative, is it not? We all have the potential for a happy existence -it's all about the choices we make, including how we choose to let obstacles and hardships affect our minds and lives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 30, 2013 (edited) Hey there. I'm shutting the Tobraham account to make room for this new [Colorado Sage] one. Thanks. Edited January 30, 2013 by Colorado Sage Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 30, 2013 Maybe you want to have music in your meditation initially. Hydrogen: Funny you should mention that. I've been a musician for over 30 years. One of the reasons I was drawn to music was because of the way it affects me. I don't have any kind of synesthesia but I can without a doubt say that music has a neurological affect on me greater than the average person. I can completely get lost in it when listening and even moreso when playing. My attention deficit issues disappear when I play music, almost as if it quantizes my brain functionality. Listening to music almost immediately shuts down external thoughts for me and allows me to concentrate. I already use music to help clear my head when I soak in the shower. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cat Pillar Posted January 30, 2013 Hydrogen: Funny you should mention that. I've been a musician for over 30 years. One of the reasons I was drawn to music was because of the way it affects me. I don't have any kind of synesthesia but I can without a doubt say that music has a neurological affect on me greater than the average person. I can completely get lost in it when listening and even moreso when playing. My attention deficit issues disappear when I play music, almost as if it quantizes my brain functionality. Listening to music almost immediately shuts down external thoughts for me and allows me to concentrate. I already use music to help clear my head when I soak in the shower. I have a similar experience with music. It's a very emotional experience for me - well written music to me is like a story, it has something wordless to say that can't be expressed in any other way than the music itself. Music is often the determining factor in whether or not I like a movie, show, or (back when I played them) video game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colorado Sage Posted January 30, 2013 Oddly enough the lyrics are practically invisible to me. The vocal melody is important but the lyrics go in one ear and out the other. I just get wrapped up in the sonic textures. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cat Pillar Posted January 31, 2013 Oddly enough the lyrics are practically invisible to me. The vocal melody is important but the lyrics go in one ear and out the other. I just get wrapped up in the sonic textures. It's exactly the same for me. That's why I can listen to some things I would otherwise never listen to. The story is in the music, not in the words. Sometimes, even when the words are vile, the story told by the music is beautiful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
