donutszenmom.com

I’m happy to find myself back in a normal weekend. Last weekend, the parents were here, and the weekend before, we went to Tucson to see Richard Freeman. So thank God for this weekend, when I can relax, spend time with The Cop, clean the house — normal stuff.

Led class was good yesterday. Very hot, not too crowded. I practiced between The Cat and Crim Girl. Perfect conditions.

I’m checking out the weather in New York, as I head there on Wednesday. Last trip, I was in Chicago, where I looked like someone prepared for a polar expedition. Overdid it a bit in the warm clothing department.

Seems like there is a lot of discussion lately about beliefs. Crim Girl and I chatted a bit about it yesterday — she’d read something about Western religions being high on establishing and adhering to beliefs, and Eastern religions being less concerned with that. I’ve found that most of the zen monks or Tibetan lamas I’ve talked to have indeed been uninterested in pinpointing “the truth” (generally, they’ll laugh at you if you try to go down that road) and simply interested in practicing (whatever the practice might be). The whole “figuring everything out” impulse doesn’t seem to factor in for them.

I seem to be heading in that direction as well. Not at all long ago, I was wondering about what would happen if I relinquished my “mind” (i.e., tons of discursive thought) in a corporate environment. As it turns out, nothing “happens.” The world does not disintegrate, all hell doesn’t break loose, and basically, you just end up exactly where you started, but without an impulse to control it all. Just as much gets “done,” and with considerably less pain.

This is all a function of practice, and I’m grateful for it. Interestingly, I feel less and less inclined to write about it.