Meditation and Mindfulness

Can you remember the last time you didn't have a thought running through your mind? Can you remember the last time you smiled at a stranger and truly wished the best for that person? Can you remember the last time you weren't thinking of the past or future but were entirely in the present?

My dearest friend, Abhi, sent me a book called "The Power of NOW" by Eckhart Tolle. Every word, every sentence, every page...I cannot find the right English words to describe it. I could use powerful, clarity, any word but it can't possible do it justice. It's like standing on top of mountain and being completely overcome by the view, the awe, the moment. You can't describe it, can't label it; you have to experience it. Let me try to "explain" it.

I always start with breathing meditations. By focusing on your breath in a number of ways, you are bringing yourself into the present. You are only conscious about your breath - how it feels, the coolness of an inhale, the warmth of an exhale - and not thinking about what you did earlier in the day or your plans for the rest of the day. Find a comfortable place to sit and make sure that you are grounded. Some prefer to sit cross-legged on the floor but sitting in a chair with good posture and feet firmly on the ground also work. My personal favorite is sitting against a tree to be extra grounded; surprised? Now close your eyes. Do a quick body scan - feel the pressure of the ground on your feet and legs. Feel the spine holding you tall and strong. Feel the shoulders and arms relaxed by your sides. Now focus on your breath. Count breaths if you like to keep focused in the present. Breathe normally; your breath will deepen naturally. Try to stay focused on your breath as long as possible. When you notice your mind drifting from the breath, gently acknowledge that your mind is elsewhere and bring it back to the breath. 

My other favorite meditation is one of love and compassion. Again sit comfortably and grounded to Earth. Close your eyes and bring your attention inside your body. Focus on an object/God/Goddess/person that you feel embraces the concept of love and compassion. For some, it might be your mother or father, grandparents, a religious figure, or a young child. Or it might be embracing the feeling you had when you first held your baby. Whatever it is, focus on that feeling and image. Let that feeling cascade over you. Some would call it a "warm fuzzy feeling." Now try to extend that feeling into everyone in the room. The building. The city. The state. The country. The continent. The hemisphere. The entire World. Focus on compassion and wanting the best for absolutely everyone and everything. Just try it.

Another thing I've noticed is how similar religions truly are. After being raised Catholic and exploring other religions, the similarities are striking. We really aren't different from each other at all. We are all striving for the same thing - an end to suffering. Some believe the ultimate end to suffering is called Heaven; some call that Nirvana. We try to get there in different ways. Just think, who wants to be suffering when they can be at peace?

Have some quotes. Maybe one of these will strike a chord.

*Words have the power to destroy or heal. Words that are both true and kind, they can change our world.

*The heart is like a garden; it can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there? 

*We are not independent but interdependent.

*Stay centered, do not overstretch. Reach from your center, return to your center.

*Take time everyday to sit quietly and listen.

*We inter-breathe with the rainforests, we drink from the oceans. They are part of our own body.

*If you wish to know the Divine, feel the wind on your face and the warm sun on your hand.

Pilot Mountain

Hey y'all! It's another beautiful day in The South! Have no worries, tomorrow will drop 30 degrees and we will join y'all in the arctic blast. I celebrated today by running outside in shorts and a tshirt and walking home instead of taking the bus! If only every day in winter could be like this...maybe in Guatemala...

Anyways, when it's nice and cold down here I'll have to study for 707. This class is the complete opposite of my expertise :(  So when I say study, I mean trying desperately to understand. But the X-Games are on so I can take study breaks! I can't believe I have exams already - classes just started for some people in Wisconsin.

Last Monday, a group of 8 climbers went to Pilot Mountain! We didn't have class and the weather was nice so we decided to crush some rocks. I learned how to set up an anchor and tried out some new techniques. The first climb I couldn't feel my fingers because the rock was cold. Let's just say it didn't turn out so well. Awhile later, I tried the climb again and was successful! I spent a long time attempting a 5.10 (which didn't turn out so well). 

On top of Cowboys and Heroes!!

I was going to do my first lead climb ever but...that didn't happen. My friend Josh started a lead on a 5.9 but getting to the first and second clips was sketch. As we was downclimbing, his handhold literally broke off. The rock caught my shin as I got yanked towards the wall. It was a beautiful sight. Naturally, I took of a picture of the viscous rock and Josh to show y'all it wasn't a pebble. After that happened, I decided that wasn't a good climb for me to do my first lead on...

Attempting to get over the roof - I really need to work on those!!

Josh and the rock that broke off.

BUT, I did get lead certified at the climbing gym (TRC)!! Now all the climbs I was getting sick of top-roping are now new and exciting for leads! Oh guys I have some wicked news. Remember when I told y'all about the 5.11 I was projecting? Well...let's just say it's no longer a project :D  Now I'm projecting a 5.10 that has a ton of slopers! Bring it Rami! Rami is a route-setter at TRC and I love the routes he sets. I usually seek out his routes first and work on those!! Scott & JP also create awesome routes.

Now I must make myself study before I go to TRC. Here's a little hint for you. If I'm not at home or out running, I'm probably at TRC. It's my second home.

This is why I love climbing - you get awesome views like this!!

Road Trippin It

Where did we go? Who came along? Well, I'll tell y'all. Kiley, Anna, Drew, Zac, Joe and I left at the crack of dawn to drive back to my place in Raleigh! Naturally we hit Chicago rush-hour, a blizzard, more traffic jams, incompetent drivers, unexpectedly unplowed lanes, windshield wash fluid line froze, an interstate shut down, mountains, Raleigh rush hour traffic. But hey, we made it.

So that lovely blizzard that hammered the northeast...yeah, we were driving through that the entire first day. The drive wasn't bad at all except for the people going like 25 on salted, plowed highways. That got a little irritating to say the least. Oh yeah, and then in Kentucky they decided to shut down the interstate. Yes, they SHUT DOWN AN INTERSTATE!!! For what? A freaking inch of snow. So we took a detour for 4 miles that lasted over an hour. Are you kidding me? Anyways, we stayed the night on the KY/WV border. The next day we left early in the morning again, ate lunch at Applebee's and then I took over the wheel to carry us home sweet home. I've missed the South!

The South, The place where: 1-Tea is sweet & accents are sweeter 2-Summer starts in April 3-Mac'n'Cheese  is a vegetable 4- Front porches are wide and words are long 5-Pecan pie is a staple 6-Y'all is the only proper noun 7-Chicken is fried and biscuits come with gravy 8-Everything is darlin' 9-Someone's heart is always bein blessed

Oh, that day when it was -55F with the windchill back in Wisconsin. Yeah, it was a sunny 45F in Raleigh (psst! That's 100F warmer than y'all!) My friends got to experience a typical winter of 50s and a nice day of 60 as well! I took them to my 2 favorite bars - Flying Saucer and Raleigh Times Bar, toured the capitol (Madison's is a million times more stunning that Raleigh's), went to a few museums, showed them my lab, had a few drinks, cooked a dinner or two, relaxed, walked around Cary, and then had to say goodbye. 

View from Raleigh Times Bar

Downtown Cary, NC

Then as they left for Washington D.C., I took a shower to get ready for class. How lovely. Saying goodbye is the worst! I want my 5 roommates back!! Y'all can clutter my room as much as y'all want! I won't even complain about stepping on chargers and stubbing toes on suitcases and being woke up in the middle of the night!! Just please come back!! And what's even worse...today Anna flies back to London :'(  If I could shrink the ocean, I totally would! As much as I love my international friends, I hate them for having to live so far away!! As long as we keep in touch and visit each other when we actually have a savings account...I can't imagine anything more worthwhile than that! No lie.

Look at the globe :( So far away!!

Anyways, I need to get back to analyzing toxin data! I need to crank out an extension paper sometime in the near future. I should work on that...

When Anna Came to Visit...

As most of y'all know, Anna came back to the States!! So naturally, that was one of the biggest highlights of my winter break. I got some awesome gifts, visited my Wisco friends, spent some quality time with the pup-dog, trekked from family event to family event, ate too much food, and froze. I know I know! The suspense is killing you! I guess I'll tell y'all.

Y'all know how much fun it is to go from moms' to dad's to stepfamily and dad's to mom's and blah blah yak. Moral of the story, I believe I saw every single family member I have. Luckily, I was able to visit Great-Grandpa Koenig before he passed away. To be over 21 and celebrate a holiday with a great-grandparent is something most people can't do, so I'm glad I did. 

Here comes the best part. Make sure you're sitting down with feet flat on the floor. Take a few deep breaths. This. Will. Blow. Your. Mind.

On 28 December 2013, at 11:48am on a bright, cold, Wisconsin winter day, Megan was picked up by her friend Joe to go to Milwaukee. Meeting them in Milwaukee was Mr. Casebeer. After throwing her suitcases and other travelling bags into the bed of Casebeer's truck, Megan squeezed into the back seat as Joe claimed shot gun. They took of towards Chicago O'hare. After paying a few tolls, they managed to find a parking spot in the airport. They searched for food in all the terminals but had to settle for Mickey D in the international terminal. When the flight was about to land, they kept a close eye on the arrival board. Eventually Megan got sick of looking at the board and told the boys she was going to go check the baggage claim for the incoming Dublin flight. As she neared the entrance, she stood on tiptoe to get a better view. From across the room, their eyes met and she knew she found the one she was looking for. They ran - well, actually pressed through the crowd - towards each other. Then at the very last moment, Megan opened her arms and embraced the one and only Anna. And that, folks, is how we were reunited after a long 9 months apart.   ** Remind me to never write a book haha **

Naturally, Chicago traffic needed to be jammed up the wazoo and more tolls seemed to pop up out of nowhere. We managed to keep Anna awake and fed her goldfish courtesy of Kiley. I don't really remember what we did that night besides catch up on each other's lives and manage to not fall asleep until after 10pm (4a London time). Saturday morning, Zac made a yummy breakfast for us, went to the grocery store, did a little shopping, then went to the Old Fashioned for supper. DISCLAIMER: After not having real Wisconsin cheese after 6 months makes you want to have cheese curds for every single meal for a week at the very least. Spotted Cow goes perfectly with cheese curds.

Soooo good. Wisconsin should really sell legit cheese curds in Raleigh, NC.

We watched a few episodes of Game of Thrones, Archer, some other stuff I wasn't fully conscious for and card games. Then Kiley finally arrived and the real party began. We went to Lena's to celebrate New Year. We ended up on the roof, why? I'm not sure but it was fun! The next day was one of recovering from hangovers and eating lots of food, and napping on the couch. Then, we went to bed early and woke up even earlier to start an adventure...

Where did we go? What did we do? Who was along? Why did it take so long to get to our destination? When did we get to paradise? Stay tuned for the next installment of "Life as a PlantPath Girl: Adventures with Anna"