My Poem ~ Fitness

Fitness in the body, mind, spirit

~ thats what this year is going to be about.

fitness in the body, mind, spirit

~ thats what this year is going to be for

fitness in the body, mind, spirit

~ thats what which expands our heart, intuition, aura

fitness in the body, mind, spirit 

~ focusing out and have that manifest in plenty fold for all

fitness in the body, mind, spirit 

~ with concrete baby steps

fitness in the body, mind, spirit 

~ let's get going!

Torma

Torma Display and Demonstration 
by monks from Jamchen Lhakhang Monastery Nepal
was held @ Esplanade Singapore 15-17 April 2011


I liked the explanation given in the brochure:

Tormas, made of barley flour, brightly decorated with coloured butter and shaped according to rituals requirements, are sacrificial cake-offering in Tibetan Buddhism. These beautiful sculptural cakes are imbued with much symbolic meaning, and are offered to various spiritual entities from the protectors of Buddhist law, who are said to shield all sentient beings from malignant forces, to the bodhisattvas that delay their own enlightenment in order to help others along the same path. For the Tibetans, the practice of offering tormas is an important aspect in the generation of merit towards their journey to enlightenment.


The word torma - the first syllable, tor, is a verb that means to throw out: Tormas are placed outside as a gesture of making offering - a gesture of generosity. Almost invariably it can also be scattered for eating by birds and animals after the ceremony, and occasionally be consumed during the ritual. In an inner sense, the notion of throwing out can be understood as severing attachment to the desirable things. That is, cutting through entrapment in desire. It may also be thought of as throwing out kleshas - severance of conditioned emotional reactions that cause suffering.


The second syllable, ma, is a feminine ending. It evokes the maternal, a nurturing quality. Understanding the true meaning of this simple syllable is a means of cultivating loving kindness for all beings much as a mother feels love for her children. So, in a way, with the first syllable one severs attachment to self-centeredness. Having cut that, with the second syllable one radiates love and sympathy to others. This is the inner sense of offering torma.

When I loved myself enough

by Kim McMillen with Alison McMillen
Published by Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-07337-3. www.panmacmillan.com
Kim McMillen was a writer, teacher, consultant in organizational development and a volunteer chaplain at Boulder Community Hospital.

This book began as one woman's gift to the world, hand-made by Kim McMillen and given to her friends. As word spread, its heartfelt honesty and universal truths won it a growing following.

When I Loved Myself Enough is a collection of wisdom that is startling in its simplicity. By the end of the book the message becomes clear: loving yourself holds the key to loving others and having others love you.

By sharing insights, Kim McMillen teaches us how to fill our life with peace and quiet joy. Moved by the insights and the story behind them, all who have read this special book have been illuminated by it.

Where The Truth Is

“Some disciples are always asking where the truth is,” said Maal-El.



“So one day I decided to point in one direction, trying to show them how important it is to follow a path, and not just to think about it.

“Instead of looking in the direction I had pointed, the man who had asked the question started examining my finger, trying to find out where the truth was hidden.


“When people seek out a master, they should be looking for experiences which can help them avoid certain obstacles.
“But unfortunately, reality is different: they adopt the law of minimum effort, trying to find answers to everything.”


“The person who accepts, without question, the truths of his master, will never find his/her own path.”

this is an excerpt taken from http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2011/04/14/truth/

Reverse Psychology!

I am a kind of paranoid in reverse.
I suspect people of plotting to make me happy. J.D. Salinger
* * *

My Poem ~ Lati Rinpoche 1st Anniversary

Tonight, my heart was with my dear guru.
It is Lati Rinpoche's first anniversary
I heard his voice on the videos' rewind

I could not split myself either or 

Here i am i say, dear guru

Walking a path that 

I asked to be aligned, be an embodiment 

Of exalted wisdom and truth

I asked, what is a warrior's path?

A genuine path

Is it the same

As being in spirit all the time?

Being in channel  

Being in devotion 

But yet being in attachment

Is this the same?

Being with presence

Being in awareness

Yet attaching to love, to belong

Is this the same?

Is the dual self one, 

Or is the dual self in twos, 

In one sitting, in the same presence

Is it possible, is this the same?

What is and what isn't

What's the end that i desire?

Isn't desire one of the six hindrances

One of the mental defilement

Awareness and knowledge

Brings us out of our house

To see beyond

To see what's true

Attachment, once caught up

Brings us out of spirit

I thought it did 

I think it does

Can we love freely? 

Let go, it came freely

Can love give freedom

Let go, it came to give freedom 

It is such that we cannot hold 

If we tried, it meanders bold

Like a strong river cold

It's own nature holds

Tonight, my heart was with my dear guru

He was all i felt 

I remembered his voice

I remembered my vow

I remembered my path

Tonight, my heart was with my dear guru

It was a natural phenomenal

It was the warmest blessing

To be within this embodiment 

This is what i asked

This is what i seeked

This is what i choose

This is my path

music & laughter

There are two things that don't have to mean anything; one is music, the other is laughter
- Immanuel Kant
(to give deep pleasure)