Zazen
Yesterday I tried zazen for the first time. I did this for two reasons: the first is in order to focus and calm myself in hopes of being able to push through the workouts. The second was in order to see if it could aid in overcoming some obsessive-compulsions I have and to see if I could calm my over-active mind. I'm just starting to learn about zazen, so forgive me if I'm doing it for the wrong reason.
I sat for fifteen minutes trying to clear my mind. I could only do it for a few seconds at a time. I really enjoyed it, though, and found that fifteen minutes flys by quite quickly. I'm interested in seeing what I can learn about myself and my mind in the many days to come.
Taste
I'm always amazed at how more sensitive my taste buds are becoming. The other day I put too much soy sauce on my rice (watch out for the high amounts of sodium), and hardly enjoyed my rice at all. I used to douse my rice in the stuff -- no more. With the right amount of soy sauce the flavor of both the sauce and the rice are eminent.
One month left. I'm going to try to push harder than I ever have.
4 comments:
Ah! Soy sauce. This last week I found myself sneaking up to the cupboard, high up on the top shelf, and pulling down the soy sauce, clutching it closely to my chest and glancing from side to side like a novice kleptomaniac on his first big heist.
I've been so worried about using it that I've deprived myself of its salty, soybeany taste since the project started but now I think I'm going to use it every once in a while, or at least whenever I'm having plain white rice (because I'm too lazy to spend the massive amounts of time cooking brown rice).
Gotta make sure not to overdo it, though. I mean, I know it's soy sauce and by definition I guess it has to have a bit of sodium in it but, man, it's almost insane how much there actually is in there. I'd get the low sodium kind but that stuff's got lactic acid in it and that's a big nuh-uh for me (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid#Lactic_acid_in_foods). Which totally bites the big one.
a little soy sauce won't kill you, relax guys. We're going for low sodium, not no sodium.
As for zazen, we all suck at it. That's the point.
Zazen is a rich practice that can be an entirely new doorway to your life. But it unfolds at its own pace. The progress we make in zazen is like stacking sheets of phonebook paper--each time we practice, we add another sheet. And over time, the stack begins to grow.
Blake,
I really enjoyed it when I tried it. I need to find a studio where I can sit with others. I think that would really help. Thanks for your wisdom and great analogy.
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