tonglen unhinged i haven't had time to really start practicing, but i have a feeling this will change my life. the right frame of mind and a beautiful vision is all it takes. i'll be happy someday. if it kills me. 040622 ... cr0wl beautiful practice 091118 ... unhinged i'm happy now and it didn't kill me ;-) 091118 ... cr0wl she came up to me as i sat in the low backed chair. she placed her hands on my bare neck and i closed my eyes. open window ash view of the world inside me beautiful to you this you give give you this 100107 ... unhinged felt like the only thing i could do eighteen months ago; still my go-to when plain embodiment pushes my trauma buttons breathe in the badness, visualizing a dark toxic smoke. use the light of your heart to transform it. breathe out love and healing. we were in the bowels of the building where the shipping and receiving, processing rooms were and she was talking about breathing in the good and releasing the bad (something i had heard before from the positivity, manifesting crowd) so i explained to her that buddhists, at least of the sect that I belong to, do the opposite. that we take in the badness and put goodness back into the world. she got quiet for a minute, thinking, processing, 'i like that!' me too 210912 ... tender_square i reached for him as our bodies passed like ships in the hallway channel. his arms limp and loose at the base of my back. i hugged him with everything i had, aligned my heart with his, wrapped my arms around his shoulder blades and nuzzled to his neck. i want a better hug than that, i said. not a tepid one. he relaxed into being held and met me there. i began taking in deep breaths and releasing them with equal force: breathe in pain, breathe out love. i sustained him for a while, the air in my lungs lulling him. did you feel that? i pulled back and searched his eyes. he nodded, solemn. i brought my right palm to his heart and rubbed his chest. good. 211106 ... unhinged (sometimes i try to do this for people i know are having difficulties from far away, take their pain and replace it with love. i always wonder if they can feel it. i imagine my witchy powers are strong enough that they can feel the load lifting from their heart) 211106 ... nr this is neat, unhinged. my best friend does this with therapeutic touch. i'm never sure how much effect it has on me, but the fact that she's even doing it for me helps on its own. 211106 ... unhinged this practice was the first one i latched onto...decades ago now. one of my current teachers said 'that must be a heart practice for you' a deeper connection than just the rational the first teacher i learned this practice from (the tibetan book of living and dying by sogyal rinpoche) being tibetan, vajrayana said it is a secret practice. so i usually keep it that way out of tradition. i did some tonglen on the bus on my way to work recently. breathing in all the frustrations of the strangers around me sending out relief, hugs 211107 what's it to you? who go blather from