Wht a week.. DIane and I are just returning from a 4 day silent yoga retreat at the Wond Dharma cneter in Claerack NY. It was such an amazing expereince.. I don’t even know where to start to describe it.. ..  I can say i wasnt sure what to expect.. i knew I would liek the meditation part.. as I’ve been meditating for many years.. but I wasnt really lookign forward to the yoga part. I kinda like yoga, but i really love diane.. so I deceded I would give it a try . In the end I loved it all.. it wasnt easy.. byt it was so worthwhile

Logistically it was pretty simple.

We arrived there sunday night. at 8PM the 50 of us there all stopped talking..a dn did not speak until8PM last night.. Our  days there all went pretty much like this

5:30 wake.. 3 mile run

7:30 Breakfast

8:30 Meditation

9:30 – 12:30 yoga

12:30 lunch

1-2 fast hike

2:30-3 walig meditation

3-4:15  yin yoga

6 dinner

8 meditation

9:30 light out

 

that as the first three days.. with a linger day on thursday. from 7 AM- 8PMc.. 7 meditation sessions, 3 yoga session

Meals were simpel and womderful.. a cool blend of korean and non koren food. no alchohol.. but plenty of cofeee..

Our sleeping room was basic and nice.. though very warm.. last two nights it was really too hot to sleep well.

until last nightall we ew of our 48 co retreatants was what they looked like, and how they moved.. it was only really today at breakfast when we figure out who was from where.. it was so funny to knwo soemoen for alost a week before you realize they were from england or australia or abu dabi .

our retreat leaders  sarah and ty powers were really wonderful teachers. They were wise, funny and inspiring. I would love to come back. I could see how i could get hooked on that…

but that would be attachment.. and this week I learned.. attachementgivesrise to suffering

maybe its worth suffering liek that ?

 

will scan my written journals for the blogging days I missed andpost them here tomorrow

until then..

 

nite all, nite sam

-me

Hi friends,

I’m going to b completely offline from today until Thursday night with no access to phone or computers.  Diane and I are going to a silent Yin Yoga Retreat ..Its 14 hours a day of silence, meditation and yoga. I’m looking forward to clearing my mind.. and I’m also terrified of being away from all of my beloved screens a, phones, email, txts… etc. That means no blog entries this week.. the last time I missed a day completely was back in 2009 when I was on the reality show…  that alone says i need a screen break.. no ?

I’ll be writing down my thoughts   on the days off and will post them here.. if appropriate… when I get back.

until then.. namaste !

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

Note: I will be offline from tomorrow until thursday night.. and unable to blog… see you when I get back !

Today woudl have been  Jon Puckett’s 25th brithday. Puckett was a good friend  of ours, a good friend  of Sam’s. He was a smart, funny and very lovable guy. He died last December .. and we all miss him very much.

Puckets girlfriend and athe mom of his kids Sam and Logan had a bunch of us over to her house  to remember pucket and mark his birthday  . It was really wonderful being all together.

 

there were a couple of new babys and several others on the way.. there were lots of kids too.. life and play everywhere. it made us all feel good to see.

here’s baby allie

 

 

baby Zen

 

Meg and Brad’s baby on the way

 

we got to hold them.. .. so nice just to smell a baby

 

it was a happy and sad day..

Jon you are loved and missed…

 

nite all, nite sam

-me

 

Early start to the day..at 7:30 our wonderful freind Avery came by Avery has been living on the Johnson Atol for the last 6 months counting ants with just 4 other folsk on the island. It was SO cool hearing about her adventures.

overall sh really liked it !  she had soem great samstone pics ehich I will psot when I get them

 

ps. Avery made the Love sign !

 

later in the day , diane took me out to the garden to see what was eating our kale. I was not prepared for this.. it’s a HUGE goper hole right in the center of the garden..

 

diane too real offense that a woodchuck would steel our food.. so she took soem extreme countermeasures..

 

first, sh foudn all the dog poop in the yard and shovedit in the hole.. then seh made this plug of chicken wire.. and shoved it in the hole..

 

 

then seh used an anima replenet.. (see.. no armadillos this morning  :-?) 

 

note the ingrediants actually sound like a greta thai meal.. fish, cloves, garlic, wintergreen !.. might be yummy if it werens to gaggy !

 

take that you gopher !!!!

 

nite all nite sam

-me