5 things that made me happy:
* Birthday party!
* Mini-golf
* GOW2
* Holiday, extra day off work
* Seeing all my family

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Stop and think before I talk.
* Do it now.
* Get good sleep.
* Sit.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Speech

Posted on Sep 07.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Band practice
* Garage Sale
* Lowered interest rate on a whopper of a debt
* Football draft
* B-day party prep

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Stop and think before I talk.
* Do it now.
* Get good sleep.
* Sit.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Intention

Posted on Aug 30.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* First week of school: success!
* TCHS won, and the girls had a blast
* 5 year photoshoot
* Jam session
* Golf with dad and brother

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Sit. Every day.
* Execute ZTD at work, with MITs
* Get good sleep.
* Journal (and find my old one)
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: View

Posted on Aug 23.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Successful sleep-over
* Awesome time at the football game
* My girls are now kindergartner
* Didn’t stress about weight
* MNC!

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Sit. Every day.
* Really study my new Reddit classes.
* Get good sleep.
* Finish at least one more home-improvement project.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Concentration
“The eighth principle of the path, right concentration, refers to the development of a mental force that occurs in natural consciousness, although at a relatively low level of intensity, namely concentration. Concentration in this context is described as one-pointedness of mind, meaning a state where all mental faculties are unified and directed onto one particular object. Right concentration for the purpose of the eightfold path means wholesome concentration, i.e. concentration on wholesome thoughts and actions. The Buddhist method of choice to develop right concentration is through the practice of meditation. The meditating mind focuses on a selected object. It first directs itself onto it, then sustains concentration, and finally intensifies concentration step by step. Through this practice it becomes natural to apply elevated levels concentration also in everyday situations.” - From The Big View

Posted on Aug 16.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Deck scrubbed and power-washed
* Parker’s birthday party
* Football is starting soon (J already started two-a-day’s!)
* I remembered to post Mindfulness Monday on Monday
* Monday Night Combat comes out this week (on Wednesday, interestingly enough).

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Sit. Every day.
* Really study my new Reddit classes.
* Get good sleep.
* Finish at least one more home-improvement project.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Mindfulness
“Right mindfulness is the controlled and perfected faculty of cognition. It is the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness. Usually, the cognitive process begins with an impression induced by perception, or by a thought, but then it does not stay with the mere impression. Instead, we almost always conceptualise sense impressions and thoughts immediately. We interpret them and set them in relation to other thoughts and experiences, which naturally go beyond the facticity of the original impression. The mind then posits concepts, joins concepts into constructs, and weaves those constructs into complex interpretative schemes. All this happens only half consciously, and as a result we often see things obscured. Right mindfulness is anchored in clear perception and it penetrates impressions without getting carried away. Right mindfulness enables us to be aware of the process of conceptualisation in a way that we actively observe and control the way our thoughts go. Buddha accounted for this as the four foundations of mindfulness: 1. contemplation of the body, 2. contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral), 3. contemplation of the state of mind, and 4. contemplation of the phenomena.” - From The Big View

Posted on Aug 09.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Started 2 new classes on University of Reddit
* Made a new recipe that I like
* Significant work project turned out great
* Make home-made salsa from all garden ingredients
* Under 200 consistently now

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Sit. Every day
* Keep taking meds regularly to develop good habit
* Start a new novel
* Get good sleep
* Really study each week’s path item

This week: Effort
“Right effort can be seen as a prerequisite for the other principles of the path. Without effort, which is in itself an act of will, nothing can be achieved, whereas misguided effort distracts the mind from its task, and confusion will be the consequence. Mental energy is the force behind right effort; it can occur in either wholesome or unwholesome states. The same type of energy that fuels desire, envy, aggression, and violence can on the other side fuel self-discipline, honesty, benevolence, and kindness. Right effort is detailed in four types of endeavours that rank in ascending order of perfection: 1. to prevent the arising of unarisen unwholesome states, 2. to abandon unwholesome states that have already arisen, 3. to arouse wholesome states that have not yet arisen, and 4. to maintain and perfect wholesome states already arisen.” - From The Big View

Posted on Aug 03.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Enjoyed GoW2 20x XP weekend.
* Swimming!
* Organized my office.
* Sleeping without ear plugs every once in a while.
* The garden is coming along!

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Recover from Sunday’s food-fest (yep, again).
* Find out if I’m going to have to take my blood pressure medicine or not.
* Say less, listen more.
* Get a routine for sitting.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Livelihood
“Right livelihood means that one should earn one’s living in a righteous way and that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. The Buddha mentions four specific activities that harm other beings and that one should avoid for this reason: 1. dealing in weapons, 2. dealing in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), 3. working in meat production and butchery, and 4. selling intoxicants and poisons, such as alcohol and drugs. Furthermore any other occupation that would violate the principles of right speech and right action should be avoided.” - From The Big View

Posted on Jul 26.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Awesome run yesterday! Don’t know if it counts, because it was on Monday night, but still…
* Got into Rescue Me; great show.
* Free tea at work now!
* Fun night with Dalt in Indy.
* Site I might be working on is beginning to take shape.
* In case the first one doesn’t count: New hat!

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Get those weekend lbs back off. (Qdoba, you evil mistress!)
* Find a new decent book to read.
* Rediscover patience.
* Take my BP regularly…and keep it low.
* Really study each week’s path item.
* Bonus: Work on the track that struck me this weekend.

This week: Action
“The second ethical principle, right action, involves the body as natural means of expression, as it refers to deeds that involve bodily actions. Unwholesome actions lead to unsound states of mind, while wholesome actions lead to sound states of mind. Again, the principle is explained in terms of abstinence: right action means 1. to abstain from harming sentient beings, especially to abstain from taking life (including suicide) and doing harm intentionally or delinquently, 2. to abstain from taking what is not given, which includes stealing, robbery, fraud, deceitfulness, and dishonesty, and 3. to abstain from sexual misconduct. Positively formulated, right action means to act kindly and compassionately, to be honest, to respect the belongings of others, and to keep sexual relationships harmless to others” - From The Big View

Posted on Jul 20.10 to Life | No Comments »  

5 things that made me happy:
* Watched a great concert with Brian and Dalt.
* Swimming on Sunday.
* Found a bunch of books that I think I’ll enjoy.
* Slept better last night than I have in years.
* Relatively clean bill-of-health after check-up at the NP’s office on Friday.

5 things I’m going to try to do this week:
* Recover from Sunday’s food-fest.
* Make contact with study group.
* Say less, listen more.
* Get a routine for sitting.
* Really study each week’s path item.

This week: Speech
“Right speech is the first principle of ethical conduct in the eightfold path. Ethical conduct is viewed as a guideline to moral discipline, which supports the other principles of the path. This aspect is not self-sufficient, however, essential, because mental purification can only be achieved through the cultivation of ethical conduct. The importance of speech in the context of Buddhist ethics is obvious: words can break or save lives, make enemies or friends, start war or create peace. Buddha explained right speech as follows: 1. to abstain from false speech, especially not to tell deliberate lies and not to speak deceitfully, 2. to abstain from slanderous speech and not to use words maliciously against others, 3. to abstain from harsh words that offend or hurt others, and 4. to abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth. Positively phrased, this means to tell the truth, to speak friendly, warm, and gently and to talk only when necessary.” - From The Big View

Posted on Jul 12.10 to Life | No Comments »  

My 4th

Posted on Jul 06.10 to Life | No Comments »