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My Monkey Mind – A Meditation Journal #5

Hi there! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on this, with all that’s going on it gets a bit hard to keep the momentum going on everything.

I have been keeping up on my meditation routine…but… I missed a couple of days over the last two weeks. I was gutted… seriously I had got in over 50 days continuous meditation and then poof – back to zero.

I know I shouldn’t be counting it like that and it shouldn’t matter but I guess when something’s important to you, these things do matter. I also missed one last week. I had forgotten until about bed time and I was laying there wondering if I should get up and do it… but I think the day had passed. I was too tired.

The next thing I’ve been noticing is how each session can feel different from the last, no tow are the same either that or I forget which would not be unusual for me. But I’m also finding new way to reach peace and even if sometimes I don’t feel like it’s working I at least use it to get some peace and sometimes to let thoughts wash over me. It’s funny what memories come to the surface, things I had long forgotten.

That’s it for now, I hope I’ll post again sooner.

Simon’s Blog

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My Blogging Career

Kate over at Aroused.blog has put this post up about the blogging career of those that follow her. As I’m always a keen follower of Kate I felt inclined to answer this…

From what lead you to start?
I started blogging becasue I realised something – I had some things to say, ideas to convey to others and all kinds of other stuff. I wanted to speak to the world.



Has your motivation changed since starting?
Yes, I started wanting to talk to the world and then I realised I had stories to tell as well, and then made friends and well it became pretty cool.

What has the experience been like?
Hard work, rewarding, disappointing, and sometimes nerve wracking. But all worth it.

Have you learnt anything?
Where do I begin? I can’t, I’ve learned more about myself, how to be creative, re-discovering my creative side and my perspectives on life have changed.



Has your writing style changed?
for writing blog posts, yes, but then it depends what kind of blog post I write.

Are you planning to write a novel or are you already published?
I would like to…. when I’ve written it perhaps I can publish it.



What advice would you give to a new blogger?
Have fun, don’t overstretch, do what feels right for you and it’s hard work.

And please don’t forget to mention some of the highlights along the way – such as the people you’ve met, things you’ve learnt …

I’ve met so many great people along the way, one of the big influences for my blogging was Charley of Books and Bakes who helped me along a bit at the start.

Then there’s Erika who has been inspiring, Rachel for the Blog Battle s and helping me to write. I also have Helen of Cawcraft Beasties to thank for the little fella below… There have been so many and some who are not about anymore, some even I think are no longer with us… But they all left their mark!

Thanks to all of you 🙂

Simon’s Blog

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Big Rocks

Big Rocks

I posted this maybe nearly two years ago as I struggled with a great deal of life and bad things. While I’m in a different place now, it’s important to remaber this and I wanted to share it with you all again.

Dr. Stephen R. Covey,
First Things First

One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either.

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

What are the big rocks in your life? A project that you want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these Big Rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.

Simon’s Blog

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Old and Abandoned – The Titanic

I have a fascination of old and abandoned things. Things that are old and abandoned have a story to tell, they’ve been somewhere, maybe done something and that story can turn something relatively worthless into something of value.

This si the start of a new feature where I will put before you old and abandoned things and try and detail the story behind them.

I’ve always had a fascination with the Titanic and it’s story. The Titanic story is well known and whenever I see pictures of the sunken wreck of that great liner. When it sank it took with it not only the lives of all of those people but the dream of man’s superiority  of creating and unsinkable ship. It’s a testament to human achievement and folly all at once. It is also a rotting museum to life at the turn of the 20th Century.

The story of how the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank is well known. Despite variations in witness reports the events of the sinking  have been worked out. The ship struck the iceberg, the bow sinking lower into the water with the heavy stern lifting higher out of the water until the ship broke in two and sank roughly 2h 40m after hitting the iceberg. The news was met with shock and subsequently martime safety rules were drastically changed to increase safety, many of the rules we rely on today were put in place in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic.

What is less well known was the plan to release many of the bodies trapped in the wreck by sending down explosives to tear the ship apart and release them, but the exact location of the wreck was unkown and with the outbreak of war 2 years later the Titanic was forgotten. The location of the wreck was debated decades later and finally found by team led by Bob Ballard in 1985. The wreck was found over 13 miles away from where the inaccurate wireless messages had radio’d in their last position.

In not many years the rust eating bacteria will finally claim the wreck totally and it will fall apart into a pile of old rust. The story will forever live on and maybe one day will turn into legend or folklore. Arthur C Clarke wrote a book called the Ghost from the Grand Banks where the Titanic wreck featured heavily. As with this style the book ended thousands of years int the future with the reader led to believe the wreck was re-discovered by an alien race visiting Earth. This will not happen in reality, the wreck will rot, but maybe the story will last thousands of years.

No ownership claimed on images

Simon’s Blog

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Mourning The Loss Of Common Sense — Garfieldhug’s Blog

This is so magic… look on this society and hang your head in shame!

aroused

An Obituary printed in the London Times…..Absolutely Dead Brilliant!! Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
– Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
– Why the early bird gets the worm;
– Life isn’t always fair;
– And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; …..

via Mourning The Loss Of Common Sense…

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My Monkey Mind – A Meditation Journal #4

Hi there bloggies, so this is the first meditation post of the new year and I can say I’m rather pleased with myself, I have managed to get in about ten minutes every day. But it was by no means plain sailing. But I’ve found out a few things over the break that I wanted to share.


1. It doesn’t matter if you don’t meditate at the same time every day, in fact sometimes you can get some great results byt meditating at a different time of day. One evening I found peace very quickly, I had obviously worn out my inner monkey.


2. Steal your time. Sometimes you have just got to steal yourself from it all. Do it no matter how much you might not want to becasue you will get a lot from the peace you find in that time.


3. If you get up early to meditate, I find that it works best to do a few small things first to wake you up. But I stayed away from screen time before I started, because once you start that it’s hard to break away and it gives something for the monkey to squawk about.


4. Be patient with yourself, sometimes it doesn’t go to plan for no reason at all. Stick it out and go through that time, sometimes the best time is just before the end sometimes it doesn’t happen. Try again next time and over a busy time it stands to reason there’s more on your mind.

Did any of you have any similar experiences?



Simon’s Blog

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