Recently in Zen Category

I'm making tremendous progress with one of my "goals" for 2005;

#12. Minimize. Start with the garage. Sell, donate or give away all the shit in the boxes stacked up along the sides of the garage. Next, stop paying for the storage space I've had for going on 3 years - sell, donate or give away all that shit in Public Storage. Next, minimize the interior of my house - sell, donate or give away furniture and other things I no longer need or want.

I'm so proud of myself I've reduce clutter in my home and storage unit. I sold an unwanted formal love seat, chair, coffee table and dining room set and profitted $475.00 this weekend! Thanks cr.aigslist.org!

Upon reading through an interior design magazine at our local B.arnes and No.bles this afternoon I discovered a feature on Wabi-Sabi. In reading the article I realized that this is exactly what I'm practicing, just didn't know it...

What is Wabi-Sabi?

Wabi-sabi asks that we "set aside our judgements and our longing for perfection," and concentrate instead on "the beauty of things as they are." Its about uncluttering your home and in my opinion, essentially uncluttering your life in the process.

Simply put, wabi-sabi is the marriage of the Japanese wabi, meaning humble, and sabi, which connotes beauty in the natural progression of time. Together, the phrase invites us to set aside our pursuit of perfection and learn to appreciate the simple, unaffected beauty of things as they are. Wabi-sabi can be found in the deep cracks of a weathering pine table. It is flea markets, wildflowers, and cobblestones. Intimately tied to Zen Buddhism, wabi-sabi is an aesthetic that welcomes comfort and a subtle spiritual component into the home. It is not a decorating style, per se, but a mind-set. To create a true wabi-sabi environment, one must slowly strip away excess and learn to be satisfied living in the moment.

I was reading B.reathe magazine and came across an article on t.antric s.ex. Never heard of it before... Very interesting....

Seems Tantric sex is a 7,000 year old Hindu practice that cultivates sexual energy for spiritual enlightenment and enables lovers to heighten pleasure and connection by generating a powerful sense of union between each other and with the devine.

From reading I was able to decode that the purpose is to connect with your partner beyond his or her l.ingham or y.oni. For you t.antric s.ex novice l.ingham = p.enis :sick, y.oni = v.agina, :tongue and a.mrita = y.oni fluid.

T.antric Tips:
*Delaying o.rgasm to build and prolong pleasure and enhance intimacy.
*Breathing consciously to heighten emotion and distribute sensations throughout the body.
*Extended kissing, at least an hour.

In a futher read of the article it suggest f.emale e.jaculation can also be achieved through the practice of t.antric sex.

2005 the year of the y.oni!!!
Zen~

A friend of mine contacted me this past weekend. She invited me and my significant other to she and her partner's Buddhist Wedding next month in Houston.

After reading the email I thought *now that's a new one for me, a lesbian buddhist wedding* The lesbian part isn't new, lol I identify with that - just the combination of the buddhist religion is new. It made me curious about buddhist's view of gay marriage. I did some research and discovered that a buddhist ceremony is equivalent to a civil ceremony. I would like to learn more about the buddhist religion, I recently purchased a book about Buddha and his teaching - boy is it a tough read!

More on Buddhist Weddings:

Buddhist ‘weddings’
There is no set wedding service in the Buddhist faith, as the Buddha (founder of the religion) did not consider marriage to be a sacred ceremony. Instead, marriage is considered to be a social rather than a religious occasion. The Buddha stated only that marriage should be based on deep mutual respect between partners and that it should be a partnership of equals (a remarkably progressive standpoint, bearing in mind the low status of women in India at the time). Buddhists can marry anyone from any religion and their union should be a harmonious blend of the differing strengths and abilities of the man and woman.