“Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.”

― Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost 

The eagle-eyed among you might have spotted there were no blog posts last week. I was both sick and preparing for helping to run a day long Zen retreat.

So, today’s offering is more of an update on various things than about any one subject, on the basis that we are one third of the way through what is, to all intents and purposes, a pretty unusual year.

1. Zen Retreat

Yesterday, my Zen community hosted an online day of Sesshin (retreat) consisting of Zazen (meditation), Kinhin (walking meditation), Oryoki (ritual eating), Samu (work periods) and ceremony, including ceremony for all those who have lost their lives to SARS CoV-2.  I led practice sessions on Zoom from 7am to 12pm which was lovely although tiring for someone with ME to get up that early.  Since I only fell asleep around 1am and woke just before 5am, my energy reserves were running low.  However, all went well, and the retreat continued after me for the remainder of the day.  I slept for the afternoon and then 8pm to 10am yesterday morning. Continue reading →