1 September, Spring Day, in the southern hemisphere, was always the day the public swimming pools opened in Johannesburg when I was a child. I’m sitting on my lovely “stoep” catching the last warmth of the setting sun. I tried dipping my feet into my pool and they became completely numb, so no swimming for [...]
In mid-June the cold creeps in as the sunsets. I have just come in from the cold where I braved a bowl of soup while watching the sky colours change and the waxing sickle moon and Venus and Mars growing brighter as the darkness crept in. The welcome wood-burning stove is now glowing, bringing needed [...]
So winter approaches with its offerings of warm fires and “fresh” days. The landscape is changing, the colour of the sky is fabulous and the mornings and evenings are rather chilly (and we are still in Autumn). Eish winter is gonna be a cold one! Living in the countryside is a bit of a conundrum [...]
A weekend of guided meditations, contemplations, and exploring the above Milarepa quote.
Goodness, I am showing my age. Way back in 2007, when Clive Holmes visited South Africa, I was fortunate enough to attend his Better Health through Meditation Retreat at the Randburg Centre. It was in the good old days, long before Drupon Rinpoche pointed out that taking notes was not the best way to benefit [...]
On my first visit to India, after attending teachings by H.E Tai Situpa, I decided to go to McLeod Ganj where H.H. Dalai Lama was giving all-day transmissions at his monastery. Anyone who has visited this monastery will know that approaching and entering it is not straightforward for a first-timer. I arrived when the teachings [...]
Sitting indoors sheltering from a thunderstorm with my petrified dogs wanting reassurance is time for reflections. My so-called retirement time continues to be full of activity both at home, on-site and less so in Rietvaly. The weather has been hugely challenging for the gardens and residents with a period of searing heat followed by heavy [...]
A Contemplation from Alan Muller "With shamata practice, we learn to detect impulses in their early stages. We can check an impulse toward anger before exploding like a volcano. If we do not recognize that impulse, then the repetition of angry outbursts strengthens the tendency toward anger and creates its own karmic energy, it's own [...]
We are usually busy taking care of everybody and everything else in our lives, forgetting we too need love, care, and kindness. This weekend will focus on compassion and self-care
2021 is here and for those of us living in South Africa the year got off to a rather peculiar start. Like a teenage time-warp, we had a 9 pm curfew on New Year’s Eve! This is neither the first nor the last change that living through a pandemic has brought to our lives. At [...]
