Well .. after yesterday's poor effort where the most constructive thing I did was to delete 900 text messages from my phone (that was fun !); Today has so far been reasonably constructive. Woke up at 8am and after a quick cuppa, did an hours chanting this morning which was good .. and still only 10am when I'd normally be thinking of dragging myself out of bed for my first cuppa. After that, I did a fairly quick tidy and clean of the flat .. looking better now .. more relaxing.
Also .. did some work .. yes .. on a Sunday !. One good thing about not having any money come in is that it's spurred me to start 2 or 3 new business ventures .. nothing huge but will hopefully bring a few thousand a year in .... I need to just get ahead a bit .. so that's the work plan for the week really .. get some of these up and running. Also went for a swim .. so quite a full Sunday morning for me !
And that's it so far .. time for brunch now and yes I am still listening to the excellent Julia Biel CD
Such a rubbish day
And I'm gonna spend it indoors !
Weird day ... after last nights Discussion meeting, I fancied a bit of a lie in the morning .. The plan being to start earlier in the week and then catch up at weekends. Unfortunately, I woke up about 7am .. wide awake ! I made a valiant attempt to watch a DVD in bed but got bored so I was up by 8 .. most irritating .. especially as I've agreed to do Gongyo again tomorrow at 9am so no lie in there either.
Thought I'd use the time to get on and do some work but that has only happened in a minor way really .. also went to the shops but the weather is weird .. hot one minute and raining the next .. and it's November !!
Anyway ... decided to write the day off really ... so I'm going to try to do a bit mor ework then watch the Guns of Navvarone on TV with a cuppa .. bit of a TV night ahead I suspect !!
Weird day ... after last nights Discussion meeting, I fancied a bit of a lie in the morning .. The plan being to start earlier in the week and then catch up at weekends. Unfortunately, I woke up about 7am .. wide awake ! I made a valiant attempt to watch a DVD in bed but got bored so I was up by 8 .. most irritating .. especially as I've agreed to do Gongyo again tomorrow at 9am so no lie in there either.
Thought I'd use the time to get on and do some work but that has only happened in a minor way really .. also went to the shops but the weather is weird .. hot one minute and raining the next .. and it's November !!
Anyway ... decided to write the day off really ... so I'm going to try to do a bit mor ework then watch the Guns of Navvarone on TV with a cuppa .. bit of a TV night ahead I suspect !!
B 'ell (That's Biel)
Well after the worry and stress of where the hell is my rent coming from .. might have just got a bit of work .. not enough but it's a start.
Anyway ... it was nice to go to the Jazz in the evening and chill with some whisky and an excellent gig. To be honest, I'd hoped it would be good but there were little doubts going through my head whether it might venture into Sade territory .. thankfully it didn't ... Julia Biel has got an excellent voice .. I'd describe it as 'Dusty' I guess .. some well written songs and backed by some great musicians .. especially Jonny Phillips on Guitar .. nice to hear some thoughtful Jazz guitar instead of the 'showy' variety. Also excellent Cello and Bass ... Trumpet and Drums were pretty decent too .. though as an ex drummer, it was a shame Seb Rochford wasn't playing as whilst the drummer was pretty good he seemed a little cautious as I suspect he'd been drafted in at the last minute ... but that's nit picking .. excellent gig ... so good I bought her CD ... and got it signed .. how sad is that at my age lol
Also, for a change, I managed to go to bed without falling asleep on the sofa until 4am as I usually do ... must have taken it steadier last night :-)
Oh well .. onwards with the day do my morning Gongyo and Daimoku (Buddhist chanting stuff) and see if I can do something towards scraping rent together and there's a Buddhist Meeting tonight which I've just remembered I'm moderating .. better do a bit of research methinks
also ... Just want to post yesterday's post again so I remember to read it as I thought it was excellent :-)
"'What kind of future do I envision?', we may ask ourselves. 'What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?' We should paint this vision of our lives in our hearts as specifically as possible. This 'painting' becomes the design for our future. The power of the heart enables us to actually execute a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing three thousands realms.
The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration.
Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. If we decide that something is impossible, then consistent with our minds in thinking so, even things possible will become impossible. On the other hand, if we have the confidence that we can definitely do something, we are already one step closer to achieving it.
In accordance with the principle of a life-moment possessing three thousand realms, pessimistic thoughts or feelings take form, just as they are, in reality, producing negative results. People who have negative thoughts create effects for themselves that perfectly match their thinking."
(Learning From the Gosho by Daisaku Ikeda, p. 128)
Anyway ... it was nice to go to the Jazz in the evening and chill with some whisky and an excellent gig. To be honest, I'd hoped it would be good but there were little doubts going through my head whether it might venture into Sade territory .. thankfully it didn't ... Julia Biel has got an excellent voice .. I'd describe it as 'Dusty' I guess .. some well written songs and backed by some great musicians .. especially Jonny Phillips on Guitar .. nice to hear some thoughtful Jazz guitar instead of the 'showy' variety. Also excellent Cello and Bass ... Trumpet and Drums were pretty decent too .. though as an ex drummer, it was a shame Seb Rochford wasn't playing as whilst the drummer was pretty good he seemed a little cautious as I suspect he'd been drafted in at the last minute ... but that's nit picking .. excellent gig ... so good I bought her CD ... and got it signed .. how sad is that at my age lol
Also, for a change, I managed to go to bed without falling asleep on the sofa until 4am as I usually do ... must have taken it steadier last night :-)
Oh well .. onwards with the day do my morning Gongyo and Daimoku (Buddhist chanting stuff) and see if I can do something towards scraping rent together and there's a Buddhist Meeting tonight which I've just remembered I'm moderating .. better do a bit of research methinks
also ... Just want to post yesterday's post again so I remember to read it as I thought it was excellent :-)
"'What kind of future do I envision?', we may ask ourselves. 'What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?' We should paint this vision of our lives in our hearts as specifically as possible. This 'painting' becomes the design for our future. The power of the heart enables us to actually execute a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing three thousands realms.
The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration.
Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. If we decide that something is impossible, then consistent with our minds in thinking so, even things possible will become impossible. On the other hand, if we have the confidence that we can definitely do something, we are already one step closer to achieving it.
In accordance with the principle of a life-moment possessing three thousand realms, pessimistic thoughts or feelings take form, just as they are, in reality, producing negative results. People who have negative thoughts create effects for themselves that perfectly match their thinking."
(Learning From the Gosho by Daisaku Ikeda, p. 128)
Ikeda Quote
Not a lot to report and not a lot of time to post so I thought I;d just post this quote I found today which I thought was pretty good ... Enjoy !!
"'What kind of future do I envision?', we may ask ourselves. 'What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?' We should paint this vision of our lives in our hearts as specifically as possible. This 'painting' becomes the design for our future. The power of the heart enables us to actually execute a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing three thousands realms.
The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration.
Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. If we decide that something is impossible, then consistent with our minds in thinking so, even things possible will become impossible. On the other hand, if we have the confidence that we can definitely do something, we are already one step closer to achieving it.
In accordance with the principle of a life-moment possessing three thousand realms, pessimistic thoughts or feelings take form, just as they are, in reality, producing negative results. People who have negative thoughts create effects for themselves that perfectly match their thinking."
(Learning From the Gosho by Daisaku Ikeda, p. 128)
"'What kind of future do I envision?', we may ask ourselves. 'What kind of self am I trying to develop? What do I want to accomplish in my life?' We should paint this vision of our lives in our hearts as specifically as possible. This 'painting' becomes the design for our future. The power of the heart enables us to actually execute a wonderful masterpiece in accordance with that design. This is the doctrine of a life-moment possessing three thousands realms.
The more specific and detailed the blueprint we have in our hearts, the better. The point is to continue vividly painting the target we have and to advance toward that goal single-mindedly. Then, at each instant, the reality of our lives will gradually approach the painting that is our aspiration.
Everything depends on what is in our hearts. Heartfelt prayers will definitely be answered. If we decide that something is impossible, then consistent with our minds in thinking so, even things possible will become impossible. On the other hand, if we have the confidence that we can definitely do something, we are already one step closer to achieving it.
In accordance with the principle of a life-moment possessing three thousand realms, pessimistic thoughts or feelings take form, just as they are, in reality, producing negative results. People who have negative thoughts create effects for themselves that perfectly match their thinking."
(Learning From the Gosho by Daisaku Ikeda, p. 128)
Another day another poverty
God .. it's like old times .... Work is so scarce at the moment and there's no money coming in ... got to change soon. Kind of know when I've accepted it when I go to the shop to buy chick peas and tin tomatoes to make a curry
Seriously .. obviously a bit worried but funnily enough not that concerned .. I know it will change again .. it did this time last year but could be a bit tricky until it does ... it will sort itself out I' m sure (guess what I'm chanting for )
I suppose one good thing is the change in the weather .. at least I don't feel the need to go out so much and enjoy a coffee in the sun so hopefully Winter will be more work oriented. Also going to start a new business doing web design more geared to the budget market.
On the Buddhist front .. went to Charmain's new place this morning to 're enshrine' her Gohonzon and have a meeting this Friday so need to prepare for that as I'm moderating it.
Other than that ... all pretty quiet really .. hopefully something interesting to report soonish
Seriously .. obviously a bit worried but funnily enough not that concerned .. I know it will change again .. it did this time last year but could be a bit tricky until it does ... it will sort itself out I' m sure (guess what I'm chanting for )
I suppose one good thing is the change in the weather .. at least I don't feel the need to go out so much and enjoy a coffee in the sun so hopefully Winter will be more work oriented. Also going to start a new business doing web design more geared to the budget market.
On the Buddhist front .. went to Charmain's new place this morning to 're enshrine' her Gohonzon and have a meeting this Friday so need to prepare for that as I'm moderating it.
Other than that ... all pretty quiet really .. hopefully something interesting to report soonish
Daimoku Domei
Well .. I finally got rid of that virus .. nasty little sod ... each time I got rid of it, it came back in a slightly different disguise each time !! Anyway .. gone now.
Bit of an early start this Sunday morning for me as I'd agreed to do Daimoku Domei with an SGI member in Hertfordshire. I'd not heard that term before but basically means chanting at the same time as someone else but in a different location. Anyway, this guy was my 'buddha buddy' on the recent mens course and we each chose 3 things that we wanted to change by January 7th so agreed to chant together at set times to have the determination to make them happen. I guess in a small way, actually getting up at 8.30 on a Sunday morning is a start for me as my third one was to actually do more things and not be so lazy .. so that's a good start .. though I'll probably lie on the sofa and watch a film now I've done lol
On the third point, also started a bit of a flat clean/tidy yesterday which I'll continue in a few minutes ... got most of it done .. but got to sort through a big thick pile of papers that I seem to have accumulated ... big throw out time !!!
And that's about it I think ... maybe a coffee in town later .. but will the sun come out ????
Bit of an early start this Sunday morning for me as I'd agreed to do Daimoku Domei with an SGI member in Hertfordshire. I'd not heard that term before but basically means chanting at the same time as someone else but in a different location. Anyway, this guy was my 'buddha buddy' on the recent mens course and we each chose 3 things that we wanted to change by January 7th so agreed to chant together at set times to have the determination to make them happen. I guess in a small way, actually getting up at 8.30 on a Sunday morning is a start for me as my third one was to actually do more things and not be so lazy .. so that's a good start .. though I'll probably lie on the sofa and watch a film now I've done lol
On the third point, also started a bit of a flat clean/tidy yesterday which I'll continue in a few minutes ... got most of it done .. but got to sort through a big thick pile of papers that I seem to have accumulated ... big throw out time !!!
And that's about it I think ... maybe a coffee in town later .. but will the sun come out ????
Just a small one please
Had a letter today saying I have the opportunity to receive a Omamori gohnozon (that's a small version of a scroll that we chant to for non buddhists out there) ... for all my hard work !!.... that has to be the first time anyone has said I've worked hard lol. Pretty sure I'll accept as the opportunity doesn't come along very often .... Not sure what the significance for me is but I guess time will tell that.
Another quiet day .. could do with some work ... so if anyone wants a web site doing let me know !
Another quiet day .. could do with some work ... so if anyone wants a web site doing let me know !
Kinda Kindergarten
Kinda Kindergarten
After a period of being out every night for 8 days buddhism/beer/jazz .. ending with a pretty good study meeting on Friday, I had dreams and visions of a nice quiet peaceful weekend to recover .... WRONG !!!!
I did get a lie in on Saturday morning but then mat Charmain and Simon in town for a coffee and Charmain decided to come round to mine to stay overnight ... wasn't too bad though as I got to watch TV whilst she looked at Pics of Orlando Bloom on my PC whilst singing a song called 'happy pants' !!!
Sunday added another Youth Division member to the contents of my flat .. sorry ... Sokka Kindergarten ... Swamp .. or more correctly, Sidecar Swampy ... actually got a bit of musical talent even if it isn't really my cuppa .. ( http://www.myspace.com/sidecarswampy ) .. so that wasn't a particularly peaceful weekend .. though it was pretty funny I guess ..
But onwards ... I've managed to start my week by getting up just after 8 and doing morning gongyo .. planning to work more as one of my determinations to to avoid being so skint all the time ...
and here's a pic of the old man and the Youth
After a period of being out every night for 8 days buddhism/beer/jazz .. ending with a pretty good study meeting on Friday, I had dreams and visions of a nice quiet peaceful weekend to recover .... WRONG !!!!
I did get a lie in on Saturday morning but then mat Charmain and Simon in town for a coffee and Charmain decided to come round to mine to stay overnight ... wasn't too bad though as I got to watch TV whilst she looked at Pics of Orlando Bloom on my PC whilst singing a song called 'happy pants' !!!
Sunday added another Youth Division member to the contents of my flat .. sorry ... Sokka Kindergarten ... Swamp .. or more correctly, Sidecar Swampy ... actually got a bit of musical talent even if it isn't really my cuppa .. ( http://www.myspace.com/sidecarswampy ) .. so that wasn't a particularly peaceful weekend .. though it was pretty funny I guess ..
But onwards ... I've managed to start my week by getting up just after 8 and doing morning gongyo .. planning to work more as one of my determinations to to avoid being so skint all the time ...
and here's a pic of the old man and the Youth
Existentialism and all that Jazz
Another late start this morning .. I seem to be losing a big chunk of each day to inertia .. and possibly the whisky I drank at last night's Jazz gig which caused me to fall asleep on the sofa when I got home until nearly 3am !!
Whilst I'm a great believer in not running around like a headless chicken and in allowing for leisurely time, I'm also aware that it's a dominant trait of mine and whilst it can be enjoyable, it probably is one of the root causes of my 'sufferings' ie lack of money (don't do enough work) ... So, true to the Buddhist spirit of Honin Myo (starting from this moment), yet again I'm determined to change that aspect of me (though starting work at around 11am might not be the best start to get off to !
Anyway .. to inspire me, whilst having my morning Cuppa, I listened to part of a recording from our HQs Buddhist course last year at Taplow Court with Robert Samuels talking about 'The time is Now' and using a section from President Ikeda's 1998 Peace Proposal where he discusses Berdjaev's view on Existential Time and I've transcribed it below ... because it realy just sums up what I need to sort in my life ... so here goes ....
"In the course of our daily existence, we tend, idly, to allow time to slide by, letting tommorrow come as a mere extension of today without purposeful exertion.
Such days become expanses of inertia and we lose sight of the critically important fact that a fruitful tommorrow comes only after a well lived today."
He also goes on to note that we have to break free of the daily inertia and experience the sense of joy and fulfilment that comes from seizing the moment and fulfilling our inate human mission.
So that's my blog for today .. and now to do some daimoku (chanting) and to paraphrase the above .. kick my ass into gear .. !!
Whilst I'm a great believer in not running around like a headless chicken and in allowing for leisurely time, I'm also aware that it's a dominant trait of mine and whilst it can be enjoyable, it probably is one of the root causes of my 'sufferings' ie lack of money (don't do enough work) ... So, true to the Buddhist spirit of Honin Myo (starting from this moment), yet again I'm determined to change that aspect of me (though starting work at around 11am might not be the best start to get off to !
Anyway .. to inspire me, whilst having my morning Cuppa, I listened to part of a recording from our HQs Buddhist course last year at Taplow Court with Robert Samuels talking about 'The time is Now' and using a section from President Ikeda's 1998 Peace Proposal where he discusses Berdjaev's view on Existential Time and I've transcribed it below ... because it realy just sums up what I need to sort in my life ... so here goes ....
"In the course of our daily existence, we tend, idly, to allow time to slide by, letting tommorrow come as a mere extension of today without purposeful exertion.
Such days become expanses of inertia and we lose sight of the critically important fact that a fruitful tommorrow comes only after a well lived today."
He also goes on to note that we have to break free of the daily inertia and experience the sense of joy and fulfilment that comes from seizing the moment and fulfilling our inate human mission.
So that's my blog for today .. and now to do some daimoku (chanting) and to paraphrase the above .. kick my ass into gear .. !!
The Morning after the day before
Bit of a late start this morning as I completely overslept .. feeling prety exhausted from the Mens SGI course at the weekend.
Quite an interesting story really as I wasn't too keen on the idea of single sex courses but actually quite enjoyed it and came away feeling inspired despite one of the main speakers basically using management guru 'life style' techniques which really annoyed a lot of people and on the last day he was pretty much sidelined and much more relevant things put in its place which hugely made the course !!
We also had one to one 'buddy' sessions .. another thing I'm not too keen on but I got 'buddied' with Kenji a 59 year old Japanese guy who has practised since he was 11 and was one of the first members in the UK so that was fascinating and inspiring too.
So .. inspired .. yes, and tired too, though true to the laws of cause and effect, I guess drinking heavily and sleeping IN THE BAR probably explains that :-)
Anyway .. made it to the last half hour of the Kosen Rufu meeting this morning which was quite an effort and acheivement and now I'm going to catch up on my missed Neighbours episode and have a great fried brunch .. yummmmmmmmmm
And here's a pic of me and Kenji walking in the grounds running from the storm about to break ... Think i need to abandon the bag .. how gay do I look
Quite an interesting story really as I wasn't too keen on the idea of single sex courses but actually quite enjoyed it and came away feeling inspired despite one of the main speakers basically using management guru 'life style' techniques which really annoyed a lot of people and on the last day he was pretty much sidelined and much more relevant things put in its place which hugely made the course !!
We also had one to one 'buddy' sessions .. another thing I'm not too keen on but I got 'buddied' with Kenji a 59 year old Japanese guy who has practised since he was 11 and was one of the first members in the UK so that was fascinating and inspiring too.
So .. inspired .. yes, and tired too, though true to the laws of cause and effect, I guess drinking heavily and sleeping IN THE BAR probably explains that :-)
Anyway .. made it to the last half hour of the Kosen Rufu meeting this morning which was quite an effort and acheivement and now I'm going to catch up on my missed Neighbours episode and have a great fried brunch .. yummmmmmmmmm
And here's a pic of me and Kenji walking in the grounds running from the storm about to break ... Think i need to abandon the bag .. how gay do I look
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