Elephant in the Room

It's been uneventful - well, for the most part. Actually, that's a lie. I've been bouncing around lately and I love it. In case if you forgot, I have problems sitting still for very long. I'm an active sleeper - ask anybody who has spent a night in the same bed as me.

This is why I need Annie to come visit me :(

First things first. Last Wednesday through Saturday was my department's recruitment weekend. We had 7 recruits come and visit - one of which was a classmate from Madison!! We can never have too many Badgers in the Triangle! I picked up a recruit from the airport (after sitting there waiting for 2 hours because of delays) Wednesday night. Me and a few other grad students had breakfast with them on Thursday and Friday morning (free food? I'm there). Then Friday night, we all had dinner at the Mellow Mushroom :)

The other exciting news is that I ended up in the hospital Thursday night. I had been battling a fever and other symptoms all week and my body finally had enough and decided it would be fun to faint. Y'all know me. I almost never take medicine so me deciding it was time to go visit the doctors...you know it was bad. Thankfully, I have some of the sweetest friends in the universe. David took me into the hospital and stayed with me the whole time. Emma, bless her heart, still is offering to help me out in any way I need it. No worries, it was just the flu. THE FLU. I haven't gotten the flu since I like a toddler or something. Apparently my body didn't know what to do so it freaked out. No worries, I'm back into running and climbing. The only thing that isn't up to par is my laughing. I laugh which then turns into a terrible coughing up a lung fit. Hopefully that disappears soon!

Pushing that aside, let's talk about the meaning of "Om mani padme hum." It is sometimes called the compassion or Chenrezig's mantra. Most of y'all have heard of it and have probably said it once or twice without knowing what it really means. Om mani padme hum is a 6 syllable mantra: om ma-ni pad-me hum. Each syllable has a very deep meaning and purification.

OM: think of giving love/time. Purifies ignorance of true mind nature which is the root of samsara.

MA: think of morality & ethics. Purifies anger - the worst negative mind state.

NI: think of patience. Purifies stinginess.

PAD: joyful mind/joyful effort. Purifies attachment.

ME: concentration. Purifies jealousy.

HUM: wisdom. Purifies pride/arrogance.

Oh dear. I found the cute puppy links....

D'awww!!! Daddy please please please bring Annie!!

 "People in America have funny way of saying things. You say 'There's an elephant in the room' when something important needs to be talked about but isn't. In Tibet, we don't say that. Of course there is an elephant in the room! Your mind is an elephant and you must tame it and have it walk calmly next to you. Silly Americans!" -Geshela Gelek Chodha

"The environment is our body. The air is our breath. The water is our blood. The trees are our limbs. The environment is very sacred." -Geshela Gelek

Love will draw an elephant through a keyhole. -Samuel Richardson