November, 2021
Like most things in meditation, there are lots of opinions about the “right” posture, and lots of people who will sell you props to help you sit comfortably. At many yoga centers or spa retreats the meditation classes are stocked with yoga mats, blankets, backjacks, round cushions called Zafu in Zen meditation and for the teachers even low wooden benches.
Some people think you should be sitting flat, and other think you should prop your behind and hips a little above the level of your knees. The underlying idea is to sit with intention, no slouching, but it is also important that you be comfortable enough, at least in casual practice, to not sabotage your ability to stay still. After all, we aren’t talking here about the kind of meditation you do for six weeks at an ashram where triumphing over physical pain is part of the program.
I’m kind of a minimalist, at least for right now, but that could change as my body continues to age and change. I sit cross-legged (no, not full lotus or half lotus, or anything like that). The most I may do is wedge a pillow a little under my backside, but not all the time. Often, I will put a pillow in my lap and hold my hands to the side or underneath – I’m not sure why, it just feels right to be, kind of the same feeling as sleeping under a weighted blanket I think.
Here’s the thing, though, there are a lot of options and I’ll talk about some more of them as time goes by. Meanwhile, don’t let concerns about posture be a hurdle – if you want to sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground, or anything else, do that. No one is watching.
November, 2021
I’m lucky to be part of several great online art groups, one of those pandemic silver linings, and this project is my attempt to kill three birds with one stone, so to speak. The book structure is the October 2021 project from @handmadebookclub with Ali Manning of @vintagepagedesigns. It’s called a Stiff Leaf structure, and I like it because it gives you the option of permanently or temporarily mounting pieces on individual pages, then assembling them into signatures with hinges of paper, tyvek, or in my case with adhesive linen bookbinding tape. The contents are my pages from September 2021’s #coloricombo color palette challenge with @estemacleod and @lorisiebert.studio – it gave me a way to store the pieces from that challenge in one decorative place. If I had to do it again, I would probably have used photo corners so I could remove the pieces from the pages at some point if I wanted to. The fun lettering on the frontspiece was from a monthly exercise with the #paperpalscollageclub with @lucieduclos.
Oh, and the paper for the covers is marbled by Jemma Lewis. Look for her videos on Instagram @jemmalewismarbling – they are so soothing, you can listen to great music and watch her lift paper from the magical marbling baths.
November, 2021
So it started with a unicorn. My niece has a thing for unicorns, what little girl doesn’t these days, and I’m trying to make a dent in my stash of yarn (and every other art stash). The unicorn was a big hit, I even got status as the favorite sleep-with stuffy and the one that had to get packed for any trip. That’s like winning an Oscar or something. BUT, it turns out that polyester stuffing comes in pretty big bags, and I have no sense of how much it takes to stuff a unicorn, so there was a lot of leftovers. Which led to a lion (for a nephew), a monkey (for a professional speaker friend – there’s a story there) and a rabbit and horse that are so far homeless but adorable. At least now the stuffing is used up – the yarn stash, not so much!
These patterns, by the way, are generous freebies from Jess Huff – find her at www.jesshuff.com or on Instagram @jesshuffco.
October, 2021
Not gonna lie, I’m pretty happy I found a challenge I could see through to the end. First of all, color is my jam, so a series of color palette prompts was perfect for me. Then, the hosts Este MacLeod and Lori Siebert wisely (for me) made it an every-other-day prompt. It did exactly what it was supposed to do, helped to reinforce a daily practice habit at least for September. It even helped me get into a more regular Instagram posting habit. Here’s what my #coloricombo month looked like.
October, 2021
There is only one rule I try to follow in my mediation practice – just don’t get up. I set one parameter for myself when I sit down and that is how long I would like it to last. It doesn’t matter what that number is. It doesn’t matter what happens in my head or my body during that time. All that matters is, don’t get up. That’s it. Over time, what I have found is that it is a great muscle-builder to resist distraction.
These days, when there is profit to be made in grabbing our attention, to have the discipline to resist impulse is a gift.
Distraction is only one of the temptations to get up and give up. The other seems to be an unrealistic sense of what it means to be “good at” meditation, or how you know whether or not it is working.
As with most things, I find the simplest answer is the best. You are good at mediation if you meditate. That’s it. The idea that you aren’t good at it or it isn’t working if you mind doesn’t go blank is just as much a fiction as any other advertisement for a perfect body, perfect family, perfect home, perfect life. Just sit there. That is enough.
