Opening a Heart

Here is part one of my new book:

 

“Good Lord, It’s 4 AM”, I moaned.  “Whaaaaaa?!”

But the Jack just smiled and thumped his big tail and pushed his cold nose into my face again.  I knew this meant that he needed to go outside and pee.  As he had only been house trained for a month or so, and he was a big dog, I trusted that he was telling the truth and needed to go outside. 

“Well, this is a win I guess, better than the consequences.” I mumbled to no one in particular. 

I pulled myself up and shoved my arms into my too big terrycloth robe and shuffled through the kitchen to the back door, opened it, and let Jack out. 

“I would never do this for anyone else” I said loudly to Jack as he trotted out the door.  Then a bright flash of realization blazed across my mind.  There was no one that I was willing to get out of my warm bed to help do anything, let alone a bodily function. 

I watched Jack run out to his favorite Norwegian pine and do his business, run back with his big smile, looking very proud of his accomplishment.  As I shuffled my way back to my bedroom thoughts kept racing through my head.  I was awake now, no hope of returning to sleep.  I sat up in bed and pondered. What is going on with me?  What has really happened to me in these past 3 months?

This is about how a normal life can be transformed by awakening one’s heart.  It’s about how a normal person that has normal challenges, normal heartbreaks, disappointments, successes and failures and thinks life is ‘fine’.  But as the years pass, one doesn’t recognize that in this normal life one shuts down subtly, covertly and silently.  In the process of life itself our most treasured core of whom and what we are gets closed off:  our heart.  It takes someone or something to open ones heart again. My 'opener' was a 100 lb German Sheppard that was willing to come home with me.

Meditation With Dogs pt3

Ah, yes.  This mornings meditation with the dogs was slightly more challenging today.  I got myself in my spot to meditate, Rook, my white boxer, snuggled up to me using her somersault method.

 In this method, she turns a somersault using my body as her guide and slides her head down my side and under to roll  and flip so her legs are now by my side and her head is further away.

When she does this the little one, Sprocket,  sees it as a perfect opportunity for play,   She  runs, from where ever she is,  and pounces on top of Rook,  and, as we say, "Oh, it's on now!".

So much for a quite meditation. 

I remembered what one of my mentors told me.  Whatever is in your space, IS your meditation.  The more you resist what comes to you the slower your development in awareness.  Awareness is why you meditate in the first place.

So, I surrendered that my dogs were going to take this opportunity to play and wrestle with each other, and I maintained my meditation.  I didn't do the full 30 minutes, but I did get in 20 minutes.

Ah, thank goodness I get another chance to meditate this afternoon.