A STUDENT QUESTIONS HIS TEACHER
A new student approached the Zen master and asked how he should prepare himself for his training. "Think of me a bell," the master explained. "Give me a soft tap, and you will get a tiny ping. Strike hard, and you'll receive a loud, resounding peal."
Although this is a very short koan (koans are saying, phrases, or questions meant to be contemplated), it is profound in the depth of the teaching message.
What are your thoughts on this story?
Many blessings,
Judy
This picture of an owl comes from an email so the source is unknown.
Owl is a night-time creature so we do not expect to see it during the day. However, when Owl has pressing messages, she will fly at any time. Owl has these messages to share.
“Owls have very good vision. It is time to practice improving your vision. Do not look only ahead. Look to the sides. Increase the flexibility of your neck and shoulders, and learn to look behind you. What comes up behind you is as important as what is ahead.”
“Owls sit in the branches of trees and watch the ground to spot tasty morsels to eat. This is also a good way to observe the patterns of animal life on the ground. Take time to get up high or to step back ten paces from your life so that you can see your daily routine objectively. What is it that you do over and over that gives you no pleasure and no gain? Why do you do it? What old pattern drives this? Think about what you can do differently.”
“Owls operate best at night and in the early morning because that is our high energy time. Do you shun the night and the early morning? This is the high energy time for humans too. You feel the pull of the Sun and the pull of the stars and planets. This is the time to gather the energy of peace. Try changing your routine for three months to see when you feel like you have more energy and will. Do you feel better on your current routine or getting up earlier, for example, at 5:30am?”
Blessings,
Judy
A second 10-foot wide sinkhole appeared about a foot away from a 25-foot-wide sinkhole that appeared in January at Cape Kiwanda. May 8, 2023, Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Oregon.
Courtesy of Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area
Last week, a 10-foot-wide sinkhole appeared at Cape Kiwanda on Oregon’s north coast. This is the second sinkhole to appear at the cape this year, just inches away from the one that emerged in January.
A sinkhole is a depression in the ground that has no external drainage. So, when it rains the water stays inside, ponds up and then drains down into the subsurface.
——-Information and picture comes from https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/20/2-sinkholes-have-appeared-on-oregons-north-coast-heres-more-on-why-they-happen/
I was wondering why there have been so many sink holes appearing all around the world in 2023.
The guidance that came to me is that humans have been pressuring the Earth for the last thirty-five years, and covering huge parts of her with cement in the form of roads, parking lots, big buildings, runways, and developments. These “coverings” have choked off the Earth’s natural ability to breathe. Even though, in some cases, Man has created huge craters in the form of open pit mines, the holes are not natural and do not allow the Earth to breathe properly.
As with any creature, the Earth is finally struggling not to choke and die. She therefore opens up huge breathing holes, similar to the whales opening their blow holes, where ever it feels natural and right. Earth pays no attention to what is on the surface.
If we saw another human cruelly choking an animal, we would cry out in outrage, and work to stop the human who was doing the choking. It is now helpful to have that same view around the sink holes that are appearing. Yes, it is too bad that people are loosing houses and garages. Maybe they are required to move elsewhere.
If you are having difficulty picturing the difficulty that Mother Earth is having with her breathing, take a few minutes to do this meditation.
1. Put on some very tight clothes.
2. Sit as comfortably as you can in meditation position – perhaps full lotus.
3. As you start the meditation, breath in deeply for a count of seven, hold for seven, and release for seven.
4. Do this for a minute.
5. Notice how difficult it is to take a deep breath? Even after you have done several of them, the going seems to get tougher, and not easier.
6. Try it again to see if it easier the second time.
7. Now, go and change clothes and get into some very comfortable, loose clothing.
8. Try the same exercise again.
9. Do you see the difference? Do you feel the difference? Do you feel like stretching after you get into the looser clothing?
10. It is the same for Mother Earth.
11. Now, do the breathing, taking in very deep breaths, and imagine that you are harmonizing your breath to the Mother’s.
12. Feel your anxiousness subside. Feel the Earth become calmer. Feel the Oneness, and the peace.
13. Do this breathing exercise for ten minutes.
14. When you are finished, bow to Mother Earth nine times to honour her journey, and thank her for providing the greater home that you live on.
15. Clear your space, and return to the Now.
Have a great day!
Blessings,
Judy
