Today is Sunday. Last night we had some friends over. They stayed pretty late and I had pretty much whiskey. I wake up an hour and a half later than I normally do. But, I get up and barely get my five miles in before running through the shower and getting ready for church.
The lesson at church today is “Are you a vacuum or a sprinkler?” Great question. I think in many areas of my life, I am a sprinkler, giving more than I get. Maybe too much. But, when it comes to finances, I am definitely a vacuum. There’s a practice a guy did to break that where he gave away a dollar a day. Unity of Garden Park has primed the pump by providing everyone who came today with a dollar to give away. I need to consider this practice.
Today, as I do my meditation I realize it’s 50 consecutive days of meditation. That’s my longest streak to date. The Christian holiday of Pentecost (Ancient Greek: Πεντηκοστή , Pentēkostē , “the fiftieth ”) is celebrated 50 days from Easter Sunday, counting inclusive of Easter Sunday itself, i. e. 49 days or 7 weeks after Easter Sunday. Therefore it always occurs on a Sunday.
Someone recently asked me where I go when I meditate. I wish I had out of body experiences or visions or heard voices, but I get none of that. I have learned to slow my mind, to sit and non-judgemtally observe my thoughts. I do find that when I close my eyes and take that first deep breath, I immediately go to a state of mind that is peaceful and rested. The 20-30 minutes that used to seem forever now often seems to fly by. Instead of impatiently checking the timer to see how much time i have left before I can get up and “do something”, I relish the time on the cushion.
50 days. That’s a pretty good accomplishment.
