the third factor of the most auspicious luck
I slept all morning. I concocted a plan for using all the vegetables that I found myself bringing home from the market yesterday. I made a cumin-spiced onion & chard omelette. I did some laundry. I unpacked my books! I suppose I'm in the mood to square away bits of my life today, although I'm still not convinced I have the energy for reading blogs regularly again...
I also returned to a book I started at the end of August -- Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read the Italy part ('eat') while I was at camp; today I started the India part ('pray') and pondered the idea of a Guru. Gilbert explains, 'A great Yogi is anyone who has achieved the permanent state of enlightened bliss. A Guru is a great Yogi who can actually pass that state on to others.' She says one actually receives from one's Guru a 'state of grace', discovery of our own peace, revelation of our 'hidden greatness'.
I'm sure I don't have a Guru now; perhaps the senior pastor in the church where I grew up filled that function until I was 15, if the charismatic, authoritarian cult-leader type can substitute for a Guru. I thought, do I know anyone who could be my Guru? I think I take great care to seek advice from many friends; I consider or emulate any elements of their character that I respect. But I don't know if that's the magnitude of example that Gilbert defines as Guru-level. I certainly don't have a spiritual leader. I can't even focus on pursuing any spiritual practice(s) or ritual(s) consistently! Sigh. There's another thing to add to my list, 'regular actions that would make me feel like a successful adult'.
I think I may be able to attend some of the Eid celebration this year.
That's all for now. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this...
ETA: A quote that I liked. 'Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise.'
I also returned to a book I started at the end of August -- Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read the Italy part ('eat') while I was at camp; today I started the India part ('pray') and pondered the idea of a Guru. Gilbert explains, 'A great Yogi is anyone who has achieved the permanent state of enlightened bliss. A Guru is a great Yogi who can actually pass that state on to others.' She says one actually receives from one's Guru a 'state of grace', discovery of our own peace, revelation of our 'hidden greatness'.
I'm sure I don't have a Guru now; perhaps the senior pastor in the church where I grew up filled that function until I was 15, if the charismatic, authoritarian cult-leader type can substitute for a Guru. I thought, do I know anyone who could be my Guru? I think I take great care to seek advice from many friends; I consider or emulate any elements of their character that I respect. But I don't know if that's the magnitude of example that Gilbert defines as Guru-level. I certainly don't have a spiritual leader. I can't even focus on pursuing any spiritual practice(s) or ritual(s) consistently! Sigh. There's another thing to add to my list, 'regular actions that would make me feel like a successful adult'.
I think I may be able to attend some of the Eid celebration this year.
That's all for now. I'm not even sure why I'm posting this...
ETA: A quote that I liked. 'Yoga is about self-mastery and the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise.'