#theenlightenedmind

[xuemo]

悟心契佛心 离心无佛身

[lookuptheuniverseiswaiting]

My first EVER mix. Completed it on a really cheap program. Just some random sounds I put together, no major structure, just thought I'd experiment as to what sounds go together. Really need some pointers, tips and ideas.

[piatorendain-blog]

It's Monday.  I love Mondays that follow a really relaxed, productive, and experiential weekend because I always feel really capable and dare I say it-- optimistic--about my week. 

This weekend my partner and I attended a Couple's Workshop at The Enlightened Mind.  It was a rejuvenating look at our relationship.  We laughed, we cried, we shared. 

I am not sure what I was expecting, but I guess I thought that perhaps after 7 years of being together, maybe we were doing a few things that most couples that have been with each other for that length of period are guilty of and, therefore, needed some improvement.  

Don't get me wrong.  We DO have some things we can work on. Every couple does. But, in the evening, as my partner and I talked and laughed over parts for our day, we realized that we do and say many things that tell each other we love each other.  We were surprised to notice that on many levels we were doing many things well.  It was heartening and inspiring to want to do the things we needed to improve our relationship. 

Sometimes it is good to hear that what you are doing is good. 

Other things I did this weekend: 

I started a watercolor piece of a family portrait, which I am too chicken to finish because it is intricate, a little too intimate, and that makes it intimidating.  But, I started it, which is a victory! 

I meditated.

Continued reading A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. This was the first book Kevin gave me 7 years ago.  It discouraged the hell out of me because I couldn't get past several pages without feeling totally inept at reading comprehension.  It turns out that I wasn't ready for it back then.  And, today, I may not get all of Eckhart's existential musings and philosophies, but I appreciate, am open, and am receptive to just enough that I feel this budding of awareness and consciousness.  It is exciting.  It is hopeful. 

I got the first part of my belay certification down and went indoor rock climbing!  This was an incredible experience.  I have been rock climbing before, but at other people's invitation.  This time I went and rallied some friends to go.  I also did a rather challenging climb at the end that I didn't think I would finish.  No thinking, I just felt.  And, all I felt was grit.  My forearms ached, I was hungry.  I fell and hung in mid-air then swung back to the place that I left off.  There was a piercing, laser-focus and a voice that came from somewhere in my depths that said, "we're going to get up this bad boy."  And lo and behold, I scrambled up and over the hardest section up to the top, a little breathless and elated.  When I looked down and asked for the "tension" rope to let me down, it was with total triumph! 

Ate brunch with some new friends.

Made Pork Chops with a Pear Compote.

Cleaned the house.

It was a full weekend and  I hope to take the energy from the small productive things I did to the big empowering experiences into this new week and keep on thriving.