lara simmons

"Love Locks" from Osaka, Japan  "We are flawed receptacles of wisdom moving between moments of seeing a little clearly and moments of being in the darkness." --Kaspalita Thompson I have been on a bit of a Buddhist trip lately. It started with Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha  by Jack Kerouac, which I started reading for my bookclub, veered off into Just As You Are: Buddhism for Foolish Beings  by Kaspalita Thompson & Satya Robyn, which I read because it was free on Amazon, then back to Wake Up  and on to  Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki and Why I am a Buddhist: No Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey by Stephen T. Asma, PhD (the latter I am not sure I would recommend, but it has further deepened my understanding of Buddhism, from a decidedly American academic perspective). Perhaps the most fruitful outcome of all this Buddhist literature has been a rededication to my meditation practice, which had been in a bit of a maintenance mode...

"Meditate as though your hair were on fire. " --Pema Chodron Tomorrow night set your whole body on fire! Learn the Violet Flame Meditation at Mosaic Coffeehouse in Wallingford (4401 2nd Ave NE, 98105). 7:00pm - 8:00pm. The cost of the class is whatever you can pay, with 10% of all donations going to support Mosaic, a community coffeehouse in Seattle.  See the sidebar for more information on the Violet Flame Meditation . Hope to see you there!   

"May you be filled with lovingkindness; may you be well. May you be peaceful and at ease; and may you be happy." --from a Karen Drucker song , based on the Buddhist practice of lovingkindness We sang this a few weeks ago at Seattle Unity and I have been humming it to myself ever since. A nice way to practice lovingkindness, you sing this for first for yourself (May I...), then for another (May you...), then for yourself as well as others (May we...) and finally for all (May all...). Add power to the practice by singing for someone you are struggling with right now by name (May X...). It may be hard at first, but soon you will find the going easy and maybe the relationship as well. May you be well!