Thittato

6th session of kayaking this year Wow. This is the longest and most demanding trip I've ever done. I paddled around 3 islands, one of them really big. Distance is approximately 25 to 30 km. It took me 4 hours and 40 min. Almost didn't stop. There was open ocean coming in towards one of the sides of the biggest island, so it was a challenge to cross that stretch, especially since this was my first time around this island. In total it was really, really awesome.

45 min meditation today. Really, really nice. Deep concentration. Been inconsistent with my meditation suddenly. I think something has been triggered. Been a lot of resistance. But I do meditate with my girlfriend over videochat occasionally. In order to work on our relationship we have started to study the buddhist meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh together, and having this as a common ground has really improved our relationship. It has given us some tools to stear our relationship in the right direction, and a conceptual framework we can both agree on when it comes to having an understanding of what kind of climate we wish to have in our relationship. Also work has been really demanding lately. Or I guess both work and the relationship has required quite some focus and energy, and I've been having quite some resistance towards my formal meditation practice. But suddenly my relationship feels much more like a safe haven with a loving and supportive girlfriend who is there for me. She is very fun and nice, when she is not dissatisfied with the relationship hehe.... Anyways. We have been exploring walking meditation together. We read Thich Nhat Hanh together, and then we do walking meditation, and then we share about our experiences with the meditation and buddhist studies in general. A very nice format seems to have emerged. And I'm super-happy I can have someone there to study buddhism together with. She is also a nerd, like me, so it is pretty cool.

5th session of kayaking this year Wow. So awesome. I'm totally getting into a very decent 4th season with this activity. 2021: 20 sessions 2022: 30 sessions 2023: 11 sessions 2024: 5 sessions so far. So kayaking really peaked in the 2nd season I was doing it. Then I was a bit lukewarm about it in the 3rd season. And this year I thought was maybe going to be my last year, but now I'm really enjoying it again.

Friday: No meditation Saturday: No meditation Today (Sunday): 30 min walking meditation in the morning after working night-shift. Very nice. I've been getting stressed about the progress (or lack of progress) in my guitar-studies, so I sacrificed my meditation-practice in order to practice more guitar for a few days. This dissatisfaction with my guitar-studies I have to take seriously, so I will contemplate more on what to do with this.

45 min meditation today as well. 30 min walking meditation and 15 min sitting. Really nice.

45 min meditation today as well. 30 min walking meditation and 15 min sitting meditation.

4th session of kayaking this year Wow. Today was really awesome. I think I'm getting fully into this again. My body feels so strong and vital after these sessions. I had forgotten how it feels like to feel like this. It is excellent as an exercise for bringing mindfulness into daily life. And regarding screen-time, which I have way too much of, it is an really excellent way of getting my focus away from my smartphone and over to beautiful nature instead. I hardly touch my phone during these trips. When I came home I did 25 min of walking meditation and then 20 min of sitting meditation, so 45 min formal meditation today as well. It was really nice.

Sunday: 1,5 hours mantra-singing with the local bhajan-group. And 3rd session of kayaking this year after the mantra-singing. Wow. I think I'm starting to get into it again. Monday: 45 min sitting meditation.

Thursday: 45 min sitting meditation and 15 min walking meditation Friday: 45 min walking meditation Saturday (today): 45 min sitting meditation

45 min meditation today as well. Really nice and smooth concentration. Before my mind settled down it also processed some important issues in my life right now, and it was just perfect how smooth my mind worked on these things and then settled down into smoothness and ease when it was satisfied.

Yesterday: 2nd session of kayaking this year But no meditation. This is my 4th year of kayaking. Doesn't seem like I have the drive on it the same way I used to, but I will at least try to get something out of it this season as well before I might ditch it. Today: 45 min meditation. Really nice. Very good momentum into concentration.

45 min meditation yesterday and 45 min meditation today.

45 min meditation today as well. Much nicer again today.

45 min meditation today. Challenging. Lots of tensions.

1 hour meditation today. Wow. Very profound. Really melting into concentration. The mind becomes still. There is softness and ease in all of my being. I feel like a united ball of white healing energy where everything flows in harmony and simplicity. It was very interesting that before my meditation a friend overstepped some of my boundaries and I felt pretty angry, but I was able to decide to not churn around in the anger (usually I don't have any choice). I have realized more and more lately that I have quite a lot of anger in me, and this can lead to a self-righteous mentality, so I want to soften up around this type of mentality. Meditation today really highlighted this possibilty.

45 min meditation today as well. Today I went into full-blown concentration. Really softening and heart-melting. Very beautiful.

Hey! :-) In my living room on the floor on a meditation cushion in front of my alter where I have a peaceful Buddha. For the most part I don't think much about locations, except it is nice to have a steady routine with sitting in the same place most of the time. But it is only for practical purposes. Having a habit of sitting down to train the mind. But I think of my home as my little temple, so it is nice to sit in the center of it, and do my act of devotion. I probably said some paradoxical things here.... :-)

45 min meditation today as well. Very nice.

Thank you ❤️🙃🙌

45 min meditation today as well. Today I did melt into the concentration. I was able to identify what was going on yesterday, and I went beyond that obstable. I'm often accessing a state these days that in traditional buddhist text is called Equanimity, and in low equanimity there is an obstacle called "slippery mind" which will prevent you from getting traction so that you can go deeper into Equanimity. It is sort of like you are getting to a place that is pretty pleasant / or at least enough Ok for you to lose focus and just sit there and simmer in well-being and day-dreaming, but you don't get any traction to move beyond it, and it is kind of tricky to identify it. But simply with the concept of "slippery mind," at least today, it really helped to just notice, "oh, I'm in slippery mind," and then I was able to gain traction again.

45 min meditation today as well. Deep concentration and stillness. Something could have been softer about the experience, though. I didn't fully melt into the states of concentration.

45 min meditation today as well. Supernice!

45 min meditation today as well. First 25 min walking meditation, and then 20 min sitting meditation. Very nice.

45 min meditation this morning. Very sweet. Lots of joy and well-being, but my mind was still active in a very subtle way that prevented it from landing fully in concentration. I have to understand better the suffering in this type of well-being so that I can go deeper into peace.

45 min meditation today as well. Had to do it right now late at night, so I did walking mediation instead of sitting to stay awake. It was a pretty sweet way of rounding off the day. Also: 1st session of kayaking this year Not sure if I'm going to journal about here like I've done the previous years, but this is my 4th year kayaking, and it was really sweet. Me and a friend went for a 2 hour long trip around two islands nearby. It was so good to be out there again. Pretty nice that this is my 4th year doing this as well.