This is an 8″ x 10″ oil on canvas signed and dated 2018. We are having some bone chilling weather and it isn’t even winter yet. So my mind is roaming the southern hemisphere where the weather is warming and the sun always shines. I took a photo of this door when we were in Montevideo, Uruguay. Uruguay is a country that reminds one of a very old Europe. There’s something mystical about doors they can lead one to another dimension.
Many good thoughts here, Mountain Energy Yoga. Thank you for sharing with us.
Leslie
This past year, I have experienced some conflicts at work and in my personal life. My conflicts have inspired me to learn more about anger. Anger is natural, and in my case, it came about as a combination of self-preservation and as a reaction to my ego being attacked. This lesson has made me aware of how I want to protect myself in order to be of service to the greater whole. To do that, I need to be aware of when I become defensive in order to protect myself, as opposed to protecting my ego. My practice is to learn how to protect myself without having conflicts where I harm others. It is a new practice for me.
In the essay titled “Blame Everything on One Thing,” found in the book All the Rage: Buddhist Wisdom on Anger and Acceptance, B. Alan Wallace writes about a traditional Buddhist maxim…
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I started a drawing of this young musician last week and now I’m working on a full portrait. I thought you might want to hear him play. BTW, the guy at the start of the video, on the tenor sax, isn’t Etienne. 8:07 min
This is a sketch in pencil I did last Friday morning and I’ve already started a larger one on canvas. I will use oils for this. Etienne Charles is from Trinidad and Tobago and is currently on the Toronto jazz scene. I’ll try to find a video of his playing for Friday. He just looks like a nice person and he caught my eye.
Thank you Mountain Energy Yoga for sharing your thoughts with us.
Leslie
During my yoga teacher training, I taught one class to the group I trained with. I was very nervous about teaching the class. After teaching this class, one of my teachers mentioned that I had mountain energy. That is how I decided that I would take that name for my business. I take a lot of time with things; is that like a mountain? You don’t see mountains moving around a lot; they move very slowly. That’s how I have interpreted mountain energy. Mountains are made of rock, and that means they are strong.
I know that people are easily injured. Asana practice is a great example of where we fall into the ego trap. We want to get into a physical posture because it looks amazing. I love this aspect of asana practice myself. But it is an attachment to something outside of ourselves — an image that we…
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Sunday is November 11th and it is a time to think about those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the peace we have today. The first World War was suppose to be the last. They didn’t get that quite right. The song and video Never More reflects on the issues. Rajiv Chopra wrote the stunning lyrics and Big Dio and I do the narration. 3:22 min.
I did a drawing of this on October 5th, 2018 and decided to try it in oil. So I took a 12″ x 16″ canvas and made a start with oils. I added some faces on the left hand side because I thought it needed them. It’s far from being finished. Each face (some will be out of focus others not) needs work and the foreshortening of the hands isn’t right yet. Lots of challenge there.
original sketch is here:
Once again thank you Mountain Energy Yoga for your wonderful post.
Leslie
Aparigraha is one of the yamas which Patanjali writes about in the Yoga-sutras. Aparigraha is a Sanskrit word which means nongreediness or nongrasping. It is releasing control and freeing the self of anxieties. An example of grasping is holding on in the body. You might notice clenching in your hands or in your feet or in your jaw, so to let go and release this clenching is aparigraha. Holding a grudge is also a type of grasping, whereas forgiveness is a way to practice aparigraha. Trying to control others is another way that we are grasping, so when we stop trying to control others, we are practicing aparigraha.
“Greed is good,” said Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street.
Greed is seen as something that benefits civilizations because without greed there is no ambition. It is said that if we did not have greed, we would…
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The song in this video is called Jahan’s Tribute. It was a February when we were in India. The weather is cooler then and very pleasant. The flowers were abundant and it was magical there. Jahan’s Tribute was the creation of the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife in the city of Agra. I believe it is one of the seven wonders of the world and a must see. The architecture is phenomenal. It was commissioned in 1632 and opened in 1648. Built of ivory white marble, it has a lustre that makes it sparkle in the sunlight. 3:17 min.
This is a 24″ x 36″ oil on canvas I started last year. The title of the piece keeps changing because the tableau keeps changing. It started out as a moonlit night in the woods in the winter season. I added the moose on the right hand side then decided to add the wolves on the left. The woods on the left side was turned into a rocky cliff. The stream is running through it but I haven’t got that right yet. Also the wolves need a little more work.
