Hi All,

I hope you have all had a day where you feel like you have achieved something and have been able to benefit from the ideas and advice that has been offered here in this thread regarding all sorts of themes and ideas.

It is wonderful when people get together and share their knowledge, advice and suggestions. Sometimes for one reason or another we may find it hard to do so in person, so this is a wonderful alternative and an extra way to connect.

Our weather here has gone from one extreme tot he other. I sat in the sun this morning reading and became almost sunburnt and now it is pouring with refreshing rain. I spent some time in the garden and felt like I was about to be blown away by the wind. It was so refreshing and revitalising.

Hope you all have a good week.

Cheers for now from Lauren

 

 

Hello Yggy

So much for my guess at your country of origin. My family are all in the UK as well as the friends I grew up with and went to school with. I still keep in contact although it is more spasmodic these days.

I had a huge pot that I bought many years ago and planted a Ponytail tree in it. The pot tapers in towards the bottom and the Ponytail develops a huge bulbous root so eventually the pot split down the side. I replanted the tree in the garden where it is now flourishing but I have been reluctant to throw away the pot. A friend of mine is a potter and she said she could save it. So we filled in the crack then put a hessian strip down both sides and sealed that. Now the area of the crack is painted and looks OK. However my friend tells me not to plant directly into the pot but put a plastic pot inside. So nearly at the last stage of pot repair.

I will be planting an ivy geranium in it. It was a present from a neighbour who taught me lots about gardening. That is when she stopped laughing at my first attempts. Sadly she died two years ago so I have lost my mentor.

However I have made progress on making my garden almost maintenance free. Well the front garden at least. Working on the back but I suspect it will always need work.

Have a good day folks.

Mary

Hi Lauren

oh my goodness had a giggle hen I read about your pretty noxious weeds. That's something I would do too! Yes Pinterest is very good for gardening ideas art ideas actually everything you could want it's certainly worth a look. Our soil here is quite hard and like you geraniums grow differently depending on what side of the house they are. Recently at our local markets I found seeds that produced a variety of multi coloured flowers and  fruit blue strawberries,rainbow roses,black tomatoes and rainbow coloured cherry tomatoes 

ill try the cherry tomatoes see how they taste all genetically modified no doubt but great for children to see.

stay happy everyone :)

Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons' is a treasure. I never tire of it. The Baroque period produced some of the most glorious music ever written. I am not inclined to a belief in God but when I listen to the music of J.S.Bach I sense the divine, an ineffable feeling of timelessness that I bath in and imagine 'such things'.                                                                     All this talk of gardening reminds me of all the gardens I have built over the years but have had to leave behind - When my Mother was alive we lived in the Blue Mountains and because of the amount of land available I built different types of gardens in certain areas.                                                                                                                                                                                             In one area I built a Japanese garden with plants appropriate for such a garden. I focused on leaf shape and different textures of green. Azaleas are a very good option combined with Dwarf Bamboo and various small Maple trees. The feature plant was a weeping Japanese Maple which I had to buy when still very young as the larger ones were very expensive. It was brilliantly purple in winter but modest enough to not overly attract the eye as plants in such gardens should not do - Unfortunately its Botanical name was unashamedly immodest. It was 'Acer Palmatam Dissectum Atropurpureum'. Quite a mouthful.                                                                                 Fatsia Japonica was another plant that is well suited for a Japanese garden. I can't remember the names now of other plants that I used.                                                                                                                                                             Other parts of the land I used for other types of gardens. Philip.

Yes it has a rather ceremonial aspect to it. I haven't been to the kind of ceremony that you mention although that is something that I would like to do.                                                                                                                                               I make many types of masalas to use in cooking as well as Chai and really enjoy the experience. I've been in Nambucca Heads now for about 2 years and find getting most of the spices I need impossible. Before moving here I lived in Liverpool in Sydney which has the largest number of Indian migrants there than in any other part of Australia and there were many Indian markets there where you could buy every spice that you would ever require - I was spoiled but that is not the case now so perhaps I may be able to access them through mail order in the future.                                  I've seen coffee served the way you mention on TV but not personally. It must be something to witness.                  What a great teapot you bought. Now that is the way to serve tea.                                                                                      Philip.

Hi Mary,

interesting about your pot mine has done the same except I don't have a friend the is a potter.

when we returned to Australia a few years ago we chose to live rural which I just love however I'd forgotten where I was and knelt down to weed our flower bed lost in the task at hand to find the clump I just removed had a baby brown snake under it oh my goodness scared the living daylight out of me! Let's just say I won on the day and that piece of the garden wasn't touched for over a year. 

I love this country but it has taken a while to adapt to all the living creatures and re adapt my gardening skills.

stay happy :)

Hi Mangof and Everyone,

Oh yes. The snake in the garden! I grew up in a small country town where we had tiger snakes in the wood heap and we had a wood stove!

As a child I liked to look for lizards and other creatures and would often come across snakes. How I was never bitten I don't know. I think my guardian angel was  working hard on keeping me safe! I also had a collection of red-backed spiders that I showed Mum. She belted the living daylights out of me when I showed them to her, all lined up in her jam jars!

Once again we are living in the country. We had been in the house three weeks and had three brown snakes come and visit us! We had a few scorpions inside as well! I'm pleased to say these creatures have not been around for the last two years.

My morning client has cancelled so I am hoping to do some weeding later on this morning if it is not raining too much.

Wishing you all a lovely day.

Cheers, from Lauren.

Hello Everyone

Snakes in the house! They terrify me and I have had more snakes inside than I ever wanted. Even the cat brought one inside. I disturbed a green tree snake in a bush while I was weeding a couple of months ago. It may well be harmless but it did nasty things to my peace of mind.

I really love living in Australia and would not return to the UK for anything. If only all the snakes would emigrate to somewhere I am not, it would be perfect. I am fortunate to be able to walk to the seafront in five minutes and still feel I am away from the city, even though I live on a small block.

Do any of you folk have pets? I have had pets all my life, usually cats and dogs. I have lived in my current home for 15 years without a pet, except goldfish, although I have been 'gonna get a dog' for a long time. Do you think you can be too old for pets?

Mary

Good morning All,

Lauren, have you investigated in using your time in the car? I have months of listening to audio books and often used the time to learn new skills. Lately I have problems to concentrate, so I tried my poems a couple of times, but have not even started the Italian course.

Philip, I checked online, and am amazed how much has been translated. It is different, similar to translations from English into German, but at least you can see the beauty and depth of German poetry.

My Bob Hope Camellia has just gone into flower, I love the deep red.

Lauren, Holland is a great little country, but very different to Switzerland as you mentioned.  Are you planning another trip to Holland? Holland is very flat and Switzerland is all about the Alpes. I miss the Alpes. I also miss my family and friends, but I made a choice to live here and I am making new friends here.

Mary, people often get my country of origin wrong, as I have lived in many places and my husband is from the UK – so I have adapted. I had to look up what a ponytail tree is – wow that is amazing, I love trees! Recently I made a little planter with bonsai trees, so I can bring the forest to a room. I also have many different types of geranium.

Philip, I love the idea of a Japanese garden, it is amazing to create spaces around the house that have such a different feeling, we also have different little feature gardens at home and it feels like a little holiday chosing where to spend a couple of hours .

Creepy crawlies and snakes still make me alert, but I have learnt to spot the poisonous. Before I came to Oz I was told to check under the toilet seat for spiders - I did this for a year or so until I saw my first outback toilet - then I understood, that in my city home the likelyhood of having a redback under the toilet seat, was not really that high. Still makes me laugh, when I think about the things that spooked me when we first got here.

Mary, I don't think you can ever be too old for a pet - just consider if your pet may outlive you, like a large parrot, and make sure to have someone to look after them later in life. Recently my friend took over her grandma's Galah and I think this is important for the pet.

Have a lovely weekend!

Hi Mary,

I don't think you can be too old for pets unless you are unable to look after and provide for them.

For many years I have wanted a dog, but my husband does not like dogs at all and curses the neighbours dogs all of the time.

We do have a cat, chickens, goldfish, canaries and have "borrowed" 14 sheep to eat the 2 1/2 acres of grass at the back of the house. I like to go down and watch the sheep and am hoping they will recognise I am not a threat to them.

I care for the elderly in their home. One lady is 88 and she has tropical fish and a couple of tree frogs. She would also like to have another canary. She feeds live crickets to her frogs which I help her to purchase on a regular basis.

You are supposed to put the crickets in the fridge for a short period of time so they become more docile to handle before putting them into the frog enclosure. Sometimes she has a little problem with this and I find crickets all through her house! Ha. Ha.

I have dear friends in Holland who have said they will not come to Australia because of all our dangerous creatures! They must think we are infested by them like some people think we have kangaroos hopping down the main street of every town and city! Ha. Ha.

A lady I know has pet snakes. My nieces discovered a tiger snake in their stove one day when they wanted to do some cooking when their parents were not home! Somehow they managed to turn the stove off then went to a neighbours for some help and advice on what to do next! They never did see where the snake went!

Wildlife. Don't you just love it!

Cheers from Lauren

Good morning Mary,

i agree you're never to old for pets. I love cats and dogs and have two of each along with three chickens the cats help me relax and lately I've found I really love chickens lol who would have thought! They are amazing to watch and became quite a time waster for me when we first got them but most of all  our cats win every time. I've always had a ginger and am famous now with my children I do think jealousy raises issues with them hahahaha 

recently I went to collect a kitten and ended up with the mother and her kitten so typical of me. I just couldn't separate them. Now we love them to bits. 

Cats are a lot easier to care for don't need walking and are self sufficient a lot of the time great companions and very sensitive hope you get one Mary :)

stay happy :)

Hi BKYTH thanks for the reply.

wow sounds like you have done some amazing gardens. Japanese themes always look radiant. And I agree classical music is just beautiful .

chai tea, spices ,flavors sends my tastebuds soaring my husband and I enjoy cooking and the aromas in the kitchen is amazing at times you could close your eyes and be transported to any destination.

you are fortunate to have lived in the blue mountains sound wonderful. As for snakes in your nieces oven Lauren (shivers down my spine! )

I think my reluctance to exit the house would have been forgotten vey quickly! Leaving a dust trail behind me hahaha

stay happy:)

 

Yes it was wonderful in the Blue Mountains but you had to be on your guard for funnel web spiders. I encountered many in the years that I lived there. I never wore gloves when I was gardening and one day one wrapped itself around my finger but I reacted quickly enough to flick it off before it could bite me.                            I started to capture them and take them to the local barber shop where they were collected and sent to Katoomba Hospital so that their venom could be used in creating an antivenin.                                                             I've spent a lot of time in the bush and encountered snakes of all sorts. My first job was on a farm in Central Queensland and part of my work involved rolling up bails of hay. The hay was a good hunting place for snakes so you had to be alert at all times. One day I heard a strange sound coming from some hay I had yet to roll up and went to investigate. It was being made by a frog that was in the jaws of a brown snake. I managed to save it from its fate. Years later I saved a mouse from a similar fate.                                                                                                      Philip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is another animal story to share with you all.

One of my clients exclaimed to me one morning that she had seen the most extraordinary creature out on her front porch and believed it to have been the cause of the midnight raucous that had kept her awake in freight.

That creature was a possum, an animal she had never encountered before. Upon phoning the local council to see if they could provide a humane trap to catch and relocate the intruder, she was told, yes they could provide a trap, but the possum had to released 50 metres from where it had been captured!

Thankfully for the lady, the possum moved off on its own accord.

People I know had a pet possum for a while until it decided to rearrange all of their kitchen items as well as redecorating the rest of the house while they were asleep.

They are cute looking creatures, but you certainly don't want them inside your house!

Cheers all from Lauren

Where have all the flowers gone? I miss this thread and mourn its passing. Philip.

Hello Philip,

how are you?

There are many flowers now that it is spring. I love seeing all the pink flowers, the trees without leaves, but full of flowers - I never experienced that before I came to Australia. I love spring and I also love seeing all the weeds flower and even the tiny little flowers on the grass. It is amazing. And then I love the fresh green growth on the trees, another special in spring. Our garden is a sea of flowers in all different colours and forms. Often I stop and have a close look at the funny shapes of flowers in our garden. One of my favourites (but in secret I think ALL flowers are my favourite) are the wattles - I love the fresh yellow of the wattles :)

My orchids are also in flower. I have one orchid, which has 8 lovely white flowers on one stem and another orchid with 4 separate yellow flowers. Hopefully I will have many orchids flower this year, so far I have not been very lucky - my friend believes, I moved them too many times.

Apart from flowers I also enjoy seeing a lot of baby birds. In my local pond there is a swan family and the baby swan is just starting to get some black feathers, I try to visit them at least once a week :)

How is your garden these days Philip? Take care, Yggy

 

What I meant by "where have all the flowers gone" I was referring to all those who had been making posts here.     Spring is certainly here and so many plants have dressed themselves in their finest attire for the occasion.               Some dare you not to look at them with their extravagant display while others peep meekly at you in quiet repose.  My favourite weed has the somewhat unfortunate botanical name "Cirsium Vulgare' amoung others and is commonly called Scotch Thistle. When I was studying Horticulture one of our assignments in first year was to collect weeds and to write an assignment about the ones we had selected. I have seen it in all parts of Australia and often see it in movies I have watched that were filmed in various countries around the world.                                                                                                                                                      It is not a plant which invites you to touch it but I find it an utterly fascinating plant with such a variety of interesting characteristics.                                                                                                                                                       Where I live I am unable to have a garden so I am confined to growing plants in pots. I have a variety of seedlings started at the moment and am waiting for their true leaves to appear so I can identify which particular plant that they are. I don't know if you have grown plants from seed but if you haven't the first two leaves that appear are not indicative of which particular plant that it is but the second pair of leaves are.                                                         I grow as much as I can from seed, especially open pollinated traditional varieties as much as possible. Open pollinated seeds are pollinated by natural forces such as insects, birds and wind etc.                                                  I am constantly delighted by the many shades of green which one encounters. In fact if the space were available to me I would build a garden designed specifically to highlight that feature. Azaleas have a very rich green to their leaves which I love and I find their shape very appealing. In fact you could build a garden highlighting the contrasting shape of various plants. The possibilities are endless. The garden, if you build it from nothing, can be a blank canvas upon which you can evoke a wonderland of moods which will, for the rest of your life, enchant you as it absorbs you into the boundless beauty which is inherent in nature.                                                                  I wish you well because you seem to have eyes that don't just look but see. Regards. Philip.

Hi Philip and Yggy,

I was only thinking of this post yesterday. I have not spent much time on the computer for the last couple of weeks. I'm back now and hope to be posting more frequently once again.

Thanks for refreshing this thread Philip. You beat me to it.

As you have both mentioned, spring has definitely sprung! A lady I know has some delightful tulips growing. I am amazed by the different colours and how bold the flowers appear.

The Scotch Thistle certainly is a very attractive weed in its own right. I remember being amazed by them as a child. When we moved into our home here in the country, I discovered some curious little plants growing and wondered what they were. Their leaves looked so delicate and attractive. I later learnt they were Salvation Jane!

Some of the hills in our region are covered in them. The scene is spectacular with the gorgeous purple spreading amongst the gum trees surrounded by vines and paddocks of green.

Another view I have been admiring is a vivid yellow canola crop, nestled amongst the rich green of grain crops. The other day the sky was a stormy black with the sun breaking through the clouds and highlighting the canola crop. It was so spectacular. I wished I had a camera on me so I could have captured the image.

Our fruit trees are in bud so I am hoping we actually have some fruit produced this year.

One of the towns close to us is lined with tree that are in full bloom. The wind was howling down the street, causing the blossoms to fly off the trees looking like a huge mass of confetti. It was so pretty.

Ah. It is a lovely time of year! I would just like an army of gardeners here to help with the weed eradication process! Ha. Ha.

Cheers all from Lauren

Salvation Jane aka as Patersons Curse must have made for a spectacular sight as you observed it. Of course there is no such thing as a weed but rather plants that can create problems, both large and small, when they grow in large numbers where people would wish them not to.                                                                                                            I am involved in a coast care project where I live which means helping to eradicate(or restrict) certain invaders from threatening coastal plants which are natural to the area. Unfortunately those 'invaders' will have non of it and mock you at your efforts. Many more hands are needed but we do what we can.                                                        I have a certain respect for invasive plants (weeds) simply because they have the ability to flourish in such a wide variety of conditions - Of course I am not raising horses or cattle in paddocks flush with Patersons Curse. There are some plants which would flourish if grown in nuclear waste. I also like plants that thrive on neglect as they are able to look after themselves in most circumstances. One such being Nasturtiums which will produce large leaves if you fuss over them (fine if you want them for salads) but will produce few flowers. If you want a good flower display they are best left alone.       Many of the plants in the garden at the local senior citizens hall are being watered too much and are struggling because of it. I keep quite about it as someone there had the job of tending to it and I don't want to offend anyone. But if you examine its location (which is at the bottom of a steep slope) it is obvious that the water being absorbed by the soil on that slope when it rains will  work its way down into the garden for weeks of no rain. It provides a kind of reservoir for the garden below it - With gardening its just as important to know when to do nothing as it is to know when to do something.                                                                                                                     More of the seeds that I planted are announcing their presence to the world each day. It doesn't matter how many times that I have experienced that it still amazed me. Each pin head of green that emerges from the soil is a testament to the very genesis of life itself. The world can never lose its 'wonder' but people in their rush toward "what next" can lose their capacity for a sense of wonderment.                                                                            Philip.

Hi BKYTH,

I have spent a great deal of time today out in the garden eradicating "plants" that I do not appreciate encroaching on my specially selected varieties that I hope will flourish!

Some plants are very resilient and do well as you mentioned while others struggle if not planted in an appropriate area or zone.

Apart from the neighbours dogs barking at me, I had a very pleasant time in the garden. There were a couple of black birds pottering about in the garden near me and I heard what I presume was a large lizard scratching around under the leaves. I didn't investigate in case it was a snake slithering about, feeling like it needed to sun itself.

I let the chooks out for a while and placed their eggs in a pot plant ready to take inside, but I forgot to do so. When I went to retrieve the eggs one was missing altogether, one was about 3 metres away from where I had left it with a hole in it and the third was half eaten. I presume it was crows that ate the eggs. I have learnt my lesson and will take the eggs inside straight away next time!

A couple of our borrowed sheep broke into the neighbours yard yesterday. I was at work so my husband had the job of rounding them up and trying to get them back into our yard. It would have been very comical to watch and to have participated in. He has since added more chicken wire to the fence so the sheep can not crawl under it again.

Considering the size of a sheep, it amazes me that they could actually squeeze under the fence in the first place!

As tomorrow is going to be glorious again, I might spend a little more time pulling up unwanted plants!

Cheers for now from Lauren

I'm listening to some 'Fado' music at the moment. Fado is the Portuguese word for fate or destiny and it has a somewhat melancholic flavour to it but, I think, the same can be said of life. I have spent the day transferring seedlings into pots. In selecting the strongest ones for the process and discarding the weaker ones I am reminded of how it is that some living things are better equipped to the task of life than others.                                                      Most of the music I listen to is in a language I can't speak (in this case Portuguese) and so I am obliged to provide my own words, or rather feelings, to what I am experiencing. Of the two I prefer the latter as feelings always precede our thoughts, our words. Feelings are in the moment while words express what was, even if it just was, they speak of the past - They are reflections on 'what was' and are but ripples left when the moment has passed.                                                                                                                      In my practice of Mindfulness whatever is in the moment is all there is. There can be no right or wrong to it, no good or bad present in its nature. When sadness arises there is sadness. When indifference then indifference. If there is no struggle to escape whatever arises then whatever it is that presents itself cannot effect our peace. Only our protest against and aversion to the experience can do that. Paradoxically suffering can only get worse by our resisting it. Would we resist our happiness? Or that which gives us pleasure?  If that is all that you will accept from life then when suffering arises you will suffer from your resistance to it as much as that which is the cause of that suffering.                                                                                                                                                       Philip.

Hello Philip

I do agree with you about resisting sadness or any painful emotion. Letting it wash over you rather than trying to block it in some way is actually easier. It certainly uses less energy than a fight. Having said that, of course I recognise it's not easy. I guess it's part of the fight or flight reaction. As you say, accepting the good stuff is almost automatic, no need to decide what we want to do with it.

And music evokes so much emotion. I really like listening to all sorts of music. Choice tends to depend on my mood at the time but can also change my mood.

Going back to fight or flight, if there is no struggle how did mankind grow to such knowledge. Without struggle do we have anything of value? I'm not talking about this world's goods but of our inner selves. If we don't struggle to find meaning and to grow will we always be stuck in the grip of our emotions? It is from our desire to know that we have reached where we are. Bit of a catch 22.

Mary

Hello everyone,

Music is wonderful therapy. So is dancing for me, not that I am very good at it! Ha. Ha. A few years ago I joined a wonderful group where we were taught traditional dances from around the world. Some of the music was haunting, some very joyful, and other tunes were very rhythmic. If there were words accompanying the music, most were not in English.

I attended this group while I was recovering from Chronic Fatigue which scrambled my brain. While everyone else was going left, I was going right and bumping into people. While the ladies were going forward, I would quite often decide to go back wards.

The teacher tried to show me 8 repetitive steps for once dance thinking I might be able to get the hang of that, but my mind and body had other ideas. After step three I totally forgot what I was to do next!

In the end the group accepted that I was just going to dance to my own beat when my brain was scrambled. We all had a lot of laughs, I was laughing the most! I do miss those very special afternoons!

 

No I was not referring to resisting difficult emotions. In the world of Psychology were often hear emotions being characterized as being "positive' or 'negative'. And while such distinctions can have their place in enabling people at times to seek some clarity in what they are experiencing such a dichotomy can intrude more broadly into the 'human condition' and create problems.                                                                                                                                     When I experience difficult emotions it would seem to me to that to attempt to fight them or flee from them is not possible. The 'fight or flight' response is a response that is not appropriate to the situation. That response is more designed to deal with a different kind of situation such as a life threatening one. In such a situation if one chooses to fight, or that is the only option, then physiological changes occur within the body to best enable it to respond to the threat.        Blood is diverted to where it is most needed such as the muscles where it can serve a more useful service and less is directed to those areas of the body  where it is less needed in dealing with what one has to confront.           If you have an experience of profound despair then the 'fight or flight' response will not occur because  the body will not be making the necessary adjustments to best meet the perceived threat. Of course, that response can occur even if one is not confronted with an actual threat but the mind perceives a situation as such. This can occur with Agoraphobia where there is no actual threat to ones life but the mind perceives a situation, which most people would think nothing of, as being dangerous and threatening based on past experiences of such situations as the response would occur.                                                                                                                                In my understanding of mindfulness, a term which I think is largely misunderstood, and used in a rather a blase fashion even by those use it as a method in their professional work. The real value of it resides in examining the nature of whatever is experienced. In this case "profound despair'. There is no judgement made about the feeling and therefore there is no resistance to it. I'm running out of words so I must conclude this. Whatever you run from or attempt to avoid is within you so you must fail. Wherever you go it will be waiting .                                 Philip.

Good morning everyone so great that this thread has been refreshed!

I too have missed the conversations :)

Spring warmer weather, newly budding trees filling with bird life ,a hint of warmer days in the garden brings a smile doesn't it.

The days are moving along as they do new ideas for what to plant in the verge garden and flowers popping up all over, spring bulbs sprouting bringing anticipation of colour and shapes. One of my favourite seasons. I recently for the first time got to hold a newly hatched chick, so tiny, uncertain and beautiful it mesmerised me watching it as it found its feet and in no time was heading towards the food and water. Made me think of myself and how I had somewhat forgotten the importance of doing what comes Naturally in my life, no self help books or laws or rules just being who I am and being comfortable in growing naturally.

The days when the clouds part for a time is when we need to make the most of this ,very healing to just be.

sending warm spring wishes to you all

stay happy

Mangof :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Mangof and everyone else reading,

I am really noticing SPRING this year. It is astounding how life is regenerated and the season is full of renewal and promise of brighter things to come. Nature certainly puts on a spectacular display.

Recently I was taking one of my clients to the shops. I chose a different street to travel along so she could view the gardens. One the way home we took a different route again. Just a couple of extra minutes travel time, and it made all the difference to this lady whom I know loves gardens and plants.

This morning I stood for a while and observed the cat watching the female canary gather bits in her cage for nest making. I try putting in a variety of things she may be able to use. She didn't like the feathers I bought from the craft shop, she has tried to toss those out of the cage!

I also enjoy watching the birds in the bird bath outside of the kitchen window. I like to let the chooks out when I am gardening. One in particular hangs around where I am digging to see what goodies I uncover for her. Just observing our 4 chooks is interesting to see how they interact and behave.

It is amazing how birds and animals know so instinctively what they need to do to survive. Somewhere in all the business we create each day, we seem to miss out on so much!

Cheers all from Mrs. Dools

 

 

G'day one and all. Spring is busily attending to some of the needs of my emerging seedlings so I must be patient and allow it to tend to its business.                                                                                                                                            Do any of you use philosophical or spiritual means in dealing with your psychological issues? Medication does what it can and therapists are not really equipped to deal with much that ails the human spirit. Feelings of depression or despair are not necessarily psychological conditions which need to be treated as though they were. Sometimes depression is a natural response to circumstances that any of us can find ourselves in at any moment. Suffering is intrinsically a part of the human condition.                                                                                                                        The Buddha stated that "life is suffering". And that is not to be understood as meaning that he was saying that there is nothing but suffering. While such a statement seems self evident and obvious we resist suffering, we have an aversion to it, and as such, its expression needs to be reflected upon - Why did the Buddha state such an obvious thing? What did he observe in the world that made him feel that such a statement need be made?       I would offer forth at least two reasons as to what he was actually saying based on my understanding of his teachings. Firstly he witnessed the aversion to suffering that I alluded to earlier and realized that that aversion resulted in people actually suffering more because of it and secondly he saw that suffering was inescapable. That we are compelled to deal with it.                                                                                                                                    The Buddha is not a god. Nor is he the prophet of a god. He was just a man whose name was Siddhartha Gautama. The word buddha is a sanskrit word meaning 'enlightened'(sanskrit is an ancient indian language). He was, to all effect, an agnostic but the truth is more complex than that but that is another subject and not relevant here. He proclaimed one basic tenet upon which all the rest of his teachings are based, and that is, "I teach suffering and the cessation (ending) of suffering". A rather bold assertion indeed.                                            I am running out of words and must finish now. Philip.

Hello Philip

Enjoyed your post. I believe we need our spirituality to get us through life in the most profitable way to ourselves. It's not a selfish or self-centred profit. It's about doing the best we can using our innate spiritual gifts and instincts to guide us. I meditate using Christian Meditation and also some mindfulness, though not much of this. I also read philosophy and spiritual books. Without my beliefs I would be indeed lost.

Meditation keeps me in touch with myself, with my inner God, keeping me grounded for much of the time. I also fall over, so to speak, and end up in a ditch which hard to climb out of. But as many of us say, we do get up again. Without my faith I think I would stay there without the strength to act positively.

Much of the meditation teaching and mindfulness is akin to the Buddha's teaching and walk hand in hand. The statement you give is indeed bold and I agree that the more we fight it, deny it and complain, the worse it gets. We learn love and compassion during our various journeys mostly because of our life experiences.

Can't write more at the moment but would love to pursue this.

Mary

It seems to me that what the Buddha intended in meditation,especially insight meditation, was to develop the ability to see and then to accept conditions for what they are. There are many Buddhist meditation methods each designed for a different purpose. Insight meditation focuses on penetrating the inherent reality of life, or rather, its conditions. The first of these is impermanence and the suffering that that involves. There are others but as many people have a belief in God I will not say anything on these.                                                                                       Intellectually impermanence is a simple concept to grasp but that is of no use to us when its affects our lives particularly in a very painful way. I have spent much time on the subject as it is so central to our existences - The practical outcome of this, to give an example, is that I do not assume that I will finish this post because to do so is to assume that I will continue to be alive to do so or will continue to be in a state where I am capable of finishing it - That is something that we generally take for granted and never consider that that may not be the case.                                                                                           Such an attitude may seem somewhat odd or very uncomfortable but in these considerations is the acceptance of impermanence. To intellectually accept impermanence but to live as though the next moment will occur as we have planned is to act in way inconsistent with with that acceptance and to effectively deny it.                             Its requires a rigorous examination of impermanence and its actual reality within our lives before we not only agree with the idea of it but live with the understanding and implications of what it means from moment to moment.                                                                                                                                                                                       When the Buddha stated that "I teach suffering and the cessation of suffering" he was not proclaiming that he could end other peoples suffering because he was not a God or have any supernatural capacities which could allow him to do so. What he meant was that he had achieved an end of suffering for himself by rigorously meditating on suffering and its causes and, if you were to do the same, you could achieve that yourself and, to that end, he offered a way.                                                                                                                                                         Philip.

Hi Lauren.  Pip here.  Feel a bit of a fool, but have learned from the mistake.  A few days ago someone from the U.S.A (don't ask me how) contacted me on fb with compliments about how beautiful I looked.  Never had this before, so took a few days to reflect then (stupidly) replied.  So began 2 days of endless, empty compliments about how he admired me, thought I was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen.  He reckoned he was divorced with a son who he adored.  There was even a whole fb issue about how he was a retired part time manager of a huge mechanical company.  Anyway, then came the 'bite'.  How did I live, did I own my home outright, was it mortgaged etc.  I told him I had no money, was living on a pension in a tiny house in a village.  Next morning, all contact was blocked.  Obviously a load of rubbish.   As I said, never been 'scammed' like that before, laughing about it now, but the moral of the story is, ignore everyone you don't know who contacts you via fb.  Can't believe there are people who fall for this type of thing.  I've heard stories about it but never had it happen to me.  The way it was done was so professional.  I was angry with myself, but over it now.  Just thought I'd share so others can be made aware.  Hope this story is posted.

Thanks for letting me 'vent'.  Pip. xx