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Include
Include is a powerful word. When I meditate, I tend to be drawn towards pleasant sounds, like birds chirping, the wind chime’s melodic ding, while screening out the unwanted sounds, like a noisy car zooming around the corner. I realized I was subconsciously labeling the sounds while listening. To purify my meditation, I should include…
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An Enchanting Moment
Love to sit in the yard at dusk, doing nothing, emptying the mind so I can have space to soak it in with all my senses. It’s the most tender time of the day, watching the sky slowly darken, like the stage curtain lowering before switching to next scene. Solar lights flicker on one by…
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Valentine’s Gift
Today’s sunset afterglow was amazing! Totally unexpected, all is dark and cloudy, people almost totally gone, giving up hope for a picturesque sunset. Close to 6pm, I saw a hint of rosy cloud show up, and my hope went up. In less than 5 minutes, the sky was totally burning, with the reflection on the…
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Gift from Dream
Yesterday on my way out, I saw some people standing on the sidewalk cutting my flowers. Not again! In spring time I caught a lady cutting my flowers, made quite a distinctive memory. When I was closer, realized it’s our neighbors trimming their own flowers. Whew! Trouble avoided, fight or flight, confrontation or call the…
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Narcissus
Recently I got quite an opportunity to get up early, so I got a chance to see the fresh night, the version of night I rarely got to see. Today, it was 5:00 AM when I stepped out in the yard, it was pitch dark. The neighborhood was all dark and quiet. Nighttime like this sharpens…
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Slip Out of Time
Have you ever slipped out of time? The moment you are zoned out, forget about your trouble, your plan, yourself and whereabouts… just soak in for whatever you’re doing. This morning, when I stepped out to the yard, the morning sun had just started to climb up on the neighbor’s tree. It’s a poplar tree, half…
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Moonlight Yoga
The moonlight has magic, so mesmerizing, makes the yard so intimate. I had an urge to do a yoga flow under the moonlight. When I started the flow, my moves seem ignited by the pure moonlight. The moon is so bright, almost like daylight, washing out all the darkness. The shadows are so sharp; the edge is so…
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Grinding Rock in the Sierra
We went to Indian Grinding Rock State Park, ancestral grounds of Central Sierra Miwok and where the largest grinding rock in North America lies. Chaw’se, is the Miwok word for “grinding rock”. The “grinding rock” is marbleized limestone with 1,185 mortar holes, which is the largest collection of bedrock mortars anywhere in North America. The Miwok used the…
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It’s Already There
Today is Full Moon Day, lunar August 15th, to Chinese, it’s like Thanksgiving in the western world. It’s harvest moon, we celebrate our harvest by eating moon cakes with the family. Moon cake is round like the full moon, resembles the fullness of family, a returning towards the family, a complete circle. No edge, no…
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A Timeless Moment
I taught an amazing Yoga class today. It’s my usual weekly yoga class; although some of my regular patrons didn’t even show up. I was prepared for my sequencing, intermediate challenging; I noticed some people were struggling with their balance. I cheered them up and moved on. At the end, even I was tired. After…