Rest and rejuvenation
I had a great weekend. No green beer, but a great weekend all the same. Instead of partying at home, my mom and I drove up to Harbin Hot Springs and met my aunt and cousin for a day of relaxation and rejuvenation.
Harbin is clothing optional, which can be a little confrontational the first time you experience it. But being a spiritual retreat, it's really safe, so there's no weird energy about it. After the nervousness of the initial stripping, it just feels natural, like it's a non-issue.
Harbin is a place where you just kind of naturally slow down. Just entering Harbin,, I start to become more present, and moving between the hot and cold pools I find myself naturally falling into slow meditative steps. Before I was deeply relaxed in body and mind.
After the baths, we stopped in Berkeley on our way home to go to a Kirtan (a musical event where the audience participates in the chanting of sutras) featuring Karnamrita.
Karnamrita was just absolutely sweet in every way -- crystal clear voice, loving disposition, playful, kind. I bought her cd, but found that it doesn't do her justice. She's far, far better in person than she is on the cd, and the cd itself is good. She's pretty famous in other countries. In Australia, South Africa, and India people come by the hundreds to hear her sing. So we were lucky to have been able to see her in such a small venue.
I danced through most of it and chanted at the top of my lungs even though I was off key. I didn't care. It was a delightful ending to a delightful day.
In other really good news, I figured out that somewhere in the past two or three weeks, I've lost five pounds. All that walking is doing me good. :)
Oh, and I came across two great writing quotes today:
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
-- Cyril Connolly
Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.
-- Edward Gibbon
Harbin is clothing optional, which can be a little confrontational the first time you experience it. But being a spiritual retreat, it's really safe, so there's no weird energy about it. After the nervousness of the initial stripping, it just feels natural, like it's a non-issue.
Harbin is a place where you just kind of naturally slow down. Just entering Harbin,, I start to become more present, and moving between the hot and cold pools I find myself naturally falling into slow meditative steps. Before I was deeply relaxed in body and mind.
After the baths, we stopped in Berkeley on our way home to go to a Kirtan (a musical event where the audience participates in the chanting of sutras) featuring Karnamrita.
Karnamrita was just absolutely sweet in every way -- crystal clear voice, loving disposition, playful, kind. I bought her cd, but found that it doesn't do her justice. She's far, far better in person than she is on the cd, and the cd itself is good. She's pretty famous in other countries. In Australia, South Africa, and India people come by the hundreds to hear her sing. So we were lucky to have been able to see her in such a small venue.
I danced through most of it and chanted at the top of my lungs even though I was off key. I didn't care. It was a delightful ending to a delightful day.
In other really good news, I figured out that somewhere in the past two or three weeks, I've lost five pounds. All that walking is doing me good. :)
Oh, and I came across two great writing quotes today:
Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self.
-- Cyril Connolly
Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.
-- Edward Gibbon