What is Your Zen?

Time every day to turn off the mind. Stops all thst whirling that goes on constantly if you don't get a grip on it.

My Zen is ironing. So that is what I am doing today. Laundry and ironing.

but not in the bathtub

Also, right now I'm watching March of the Penguins for the tenth time since Xmas. The two year old is into it. Something about the quiet voice of Morgan Freeman relaxes him. He is half asleep.

So March of the Penguins times 10 is pretty zen, I think

I haven't seen March of the Penquins but everyone tells me I should.

it is a lovely, quiet story of nature and life. I am totally mellowed and I'm pretty sick. High fever.

I have a sore throat, swollen glands and ear ache. Hopefully it isn't contagious.

Thanks...

Put eucylyptus oil in water on the stove and breathe the steam. Careful not to burn yourself. That stuff will knock a sinus infection flat.

Then use warm salt water to bathe the irritated sinus. Just kind of carefully breathe it in and gently blow it back out.

I used to get sinus infections until I learned to do that. Haven't even had a cold since then.

Don't use the stuff that dries up your sinus. That will make it much worse. Use warm saltwater and moisture.

I mean, I have a euclyptus TREE in the front yard, but don't know how to reduce it to oil. Drugstore?

Places with natural foods departments.

If you can't find that use Tea Tree Oil. It isn't so strong to breathe but it will work. Get the 100% oil and put some in a pan of steaming water and then breathe the steam. Just be careful not to burn yourself.

...while listening to jazz music.
Me, listening to different news broadcasts from around the world via Sirius satellite radio.

So you get this multifold experience. You can watch all the wrinkles disappear. That's a nice one, too.

News just gets me depressed and wound up. And for what? Tomorrow will be just like today.

But I also love Gregorian Chant. I should try that with ironing and see what happens.

You haven't listened to the news from Canada then.

Our News is just one awful crime after another. Can't stand to listen for very long.

New Wave and/or Punk music on my CD player. It lets me turn off my mind, reduce stress, and enjoy my favorite music. :)

Any dog, whether it be mine or someone else's.

Also woodworking. When I start working with wood, time does not exist. I love the smell of sawdust, I love to see a new form take shape from this precious resource, to handle it with care and patience and appreciation for its strength and beauty. :)

I tried carving but I wasn't good at it. I guess you could just start with a block and then carve it until it's gone. That wouldn't take much talent.

I use a few hand tools but mostly power tools. :7

:evilgrin:

Pot would be a better choice. Not to be judgemental.

Each person's Zen is their own.

Just drink more.

Besides, who said I don't smoke weed? The two are far from mutually exclusive, after all :evilgrin:

To be remotely serious about the subject, though, I don't really have a Zen activity. I guess I have a very high tolerance for stress. I just don't get stressed out. Ever. About anything. Oh, sure, there's the occasional panic attack that comes from all the pot smoking, but other than that, I don't really need a quiet-time, stress-relieving activity. I just don't have that much stress. :shrug:

Zen is for - nothing.

I mean, if it's nothing, why do it? I got a whole bunch of somethings that need doing.

(I know, I know. Somewhere, a Zen Buddhist is wincing in agony ;) )

That may work out just fine.

Twice a day.

now that I am not working.

I used to just get up at four and meditate for a couple of hours. But that doesn't seem to work very well for me now.

So I try to do the actual meditation in the afternoon or at night.

Sometimes the middle of the night is good.

But my mind is in a Zen zone pretty much always. It's an outlook I've adopted over the past couple of years.

It's strange, though, because I'm neither Zen nor a Buddhist at all. But certain aspects of the religion reflect what I truly am, so I have no problem with incorporating them into my life. :)

You can mix it up with anything.

Arising from an interpretation of Buddhism, it's a variation of practices taught by Siddhartha himself. Zen follows the 4 Noble Truths and the 8-Fold Path. It requires the utmost dedication, and true students sequester themselves from everyday life in order to devote themselves fully to it.

I would agree, however, that most Westerners (myself included) use Zen as a kind of philosophy or technique, as a means of relaxing, refocusing, or improving our minds and balance, rather than adhering to the religion of it. But without the religion, Zen is weakened.

But yes, the technique can be incorporated into other religions. The same can be said of Christianity, though--which has been incorporated both into native cultural religions (such as Santeria) and Buddhism itself (such as that practiced by Thich Nhat Hanh).

It doesn't matter if I catch anything, I don't much like fish (I have friends who do, though, so nothing goes to waste.) But there is something totally mind blanking and utterly physical -- very "now" -- about fishing.

Of course, the correct answer to, "What is your zen?" would be something along the lines of "That which can be explained is not zen." Or as a friend of mine -- a practitioner of Zen Judaism -- would put it: Zen is the taste of a bagel's center.

I can't really explain the ironing. But I can say that ironing is Zen. That doesn't really say very much.

I was just given a book for Xmas that is called "the Power of Now" or something like that.

I was kind of taken with the fact that he spends so much time trying to explain. I never trust that approach.

the less you think, the better off you are.

Cheers
Drifter

turn off your mind, relax, and float downstream.

But I found it stressful. I got compulsive about it - which was the opposite of what I needed to do.

I think running would be good but my knees don't run.

An activity during which I NEVER, EVER whistle...

:)

I'm at the library and we only get so long on the computer.

Have a good day everyone.

I can do that spring summer, and fall.

In the winter --- I do beadwork and hibernate.

But I used to love to plant flowers.

I don't like for my feet to be off the ground.

They have taught us all to meditate. ;) Animals are a very calming influence, I recommend a pet (preferably not a high strung one) to achieve this calming influence similar to meditation.

Other than cats, excercise, gardening, yard work, reading.

We actually call it Zen mowing. I have a riding mower and six acres of paths to mow. I really miss it in the winter. Plowing the driveway is not the same.

sounds more like active meditation to me then zen. Zen is a school of thought.

SteppingRazor ever thought about Rastafarian? :smoke: I don't smoke as much as i usedto but when i did nothing better then having a smoke and sitting for an intense meditation session.