Chris Meistre

Over the weekend I heard a variation of this story at least 2 times in 2 different movies:

A student goes to visit his Zen master.  They sit down and the master prepares some tea for the both of them.  The master pours the student’s cup to the brim, and then carries on pouring.  This causes the tea to run over and into the tray.  Not being able to sit and wait any longer, the student stops the master by shouting, “Stop, it’s over full!  No more can go in!”.  The master just replies, “How can I show you anything, unless you first empty your Cup”.

Simply put the above means that if you go into a situation thinking you either know everything about it, or not willing to change your perception about it, you are too full to be able to accept any more information or knowledge.  It’s a total waste of time if you’ve already made up your mind about it.

This is quite significant to our (Bernadette and I) life at the moment, because we’re walking a spiritual path together and making the appropriate changes in our lives.  The main obstacle we’ve had to overcome in all the things we’ve started with lately is the preconceived ideas that we might have about something or someone.  I say we, but in some cases it’s perhaps more me than Bernadette that had to adjust, because I’m more left brained.

I’ve always believed I am a very open minded person and it’s really been put to the test.  When it came esoteric subjects I’ve never really felt a connection to it, even though I’ve had a few dealings with it.  So although I could appreciate someone’s belief system, I just never felt like it was for me.  Even though I tried in the past not to judge things or situations before they happened, I knew I wasn’t really trying hard enough.

This time around though I made a concerted effort to empty my cup and be open to the experiences without any preconceived ideas or judgments.  This has led to a number of experiences and things happening in our lives.  Most of these things we don’t even discuss with people because we realise it will just not be understood by people.

Next time someone says FU to you, accept it with a smile.  In Chinese, Fu, is a very lucky word.  In fact, it’s the word for LUCK!

Wonderbra National Cleavage Day

Today, 26 March 2010, is National Cleavage Day in South Africa. On first glance it might look like just another excuse for men to look at boobs, but there’s more to it than that.

Every 3 minutes, another woman is being diagnosed with breast cancer throughout the world. I’m not sure of the statistics in South Africa, but in the United Stats, 1 in every 8 women has got breast cancer.

You can read more Breast Cancer Facts on http://www.cleavage.co.za/.

So, National Cleavage Day is all about celebrating what you still have. Be glad that you’re not one of the ladies that have to go through this terrible experience, and at a same time spare a thought for them today.

Bernadette and I decided to put up Cleavage.co.za as a fun website where we’ve put together some information on Cleavage Day and other Breast Cancer information. The brave ladies can also upload an image of their cleavage in support of this day.

WonderBra also has a nice competition running at the moment, check out the picture on the right hand side.

Today’s life has become so fast paced and so busy that I’m willing to put money on the fact that you cannot go 1 hour being around people and not hear at least one person say how busy their life is, or how stressed out they are.

Our stress and tiredness make us feel unhappy, impatient and frustrated. Combine this with the feeling of not having enough hours in a day and you’re a ticking time bomb.

You need to stop and get some quiet time for yourself. This is where meditation comes into the picture. Meditation is not about opening yourself up to evil spirits or praying to a god. It’s about taking time for yourself to make your mind calmer and more focused. You also don’t need to become a Zen master in order to appreciate meditation, because it’s a lot easier than most people think.

A simple ten minute breathing meditation will help you overcome stress and help you on your journey to find inner peace. Using meditation you can become familiar with your own mind and start understanding it. That sounds like a funny thing to say, but how often have you thought to yourself “Who am I?”.

Using meditation you can transform your negative mind to positive and take the un out of the unhappiness.

Here is a guide to a simple breathing meditation:

1. Choose a quiet place to go and sit

Make sure any distractions are switched off. TV, radio, cellphone, etc. The more you do this, the less any distractions will really make a difference.

2. Sit in a comfortable position

The best is to sit in a cross legged position, as you’ll get the most benefit out of your meditation from this position. You’re opening up all your energy points in your body as well as creating an energy force around you. You can even sit on a chair if you want to, just as long as your are comfortable. Try to keep your back straight, as this prevents your mind from becoming sleepy.

3. Close your eyes and listen to your breathing

While sitting, slowly close your eyes. Start focusing on your breathing. Breathing through your nose, do not attempt to control your breathing. Feel the sensation in your nostrils and throat, listen to it as your breath in and out.

4. Keep focusing on your breathing

This is the focus of this meditation. By focusing on your breath, you are getting your mind off other things that are bothering you in your life. Don’t worry if other thoughts come into your mind, just refocus on your breath.

You do this for as long as you feel comfortable doing it. The more you do it, the easier it will become to focus your mind and stop it from drifting off. Do it whenever you feel like you need it, your body will tell you when it’s time.

This is a very basic form of meditation, and perhaps it’s all you need. I’ve found some nice Youtube videos and documents about the different meditation forms.

If you’re interested, below are 6 videos you might want to watch.

How to meditate – Introduction

How to meditate – Part 1

How to meditate – Part 2

How to meditate – Part 3

How to meditate – Part 4

How to meditate – Part 5

Everyone knows the Yin Yang symbol, and for each of us it has a different meaning. Some might associate alternative healing with it, others associate martial arts with it and then there are those that think of spirituality whenever they see it. We see this symbol almost every day in different places, and it’s good to see that a symbol like the Yin Yang can be so universally accepted by people for different reasons.

Yin Yang

People use it as tattoos, on martial art clothing, in jewelery, and website logos. And each time you see it, you can bet that it has a different meaning to the person that used it than to the person that created it.

Images of the Yin Yang Symbol

Where does the Yin Yang symbol originate from though? I searched and researched a bit and found the answer to be quite fascinating. It stems from ancient Chinese Astrology.

After observing the universe for quite some time, they found that it is changing every day. Based on this they were also able to observe seasonal and annual changes and cycles happening.

They decided to start measuring and recording these changes. They observed the sky at night, and recorded the position of the Dipper. During the day they would watch the shadow off a 8 foot pole.

Dipper

With this they were able to determine four directions. Sunset in the direction of West, sunrise in the direction of East, the shortest shadow is South and the longest shadow is North. During the darkness of night, the direction of the Polaris star would be North.

While determining the four directions, they noticed the seasonal changes as well. Whenever the Dipper points towards the East, it would be spring, and when it points to the West, it would be fall. When the Dipper’s point shows towards South, it is summer and when it’s North, it’s winter.

Using the 8 foot pole at a right angle to the earth’s surface, they were also able to determine that a year’s length is 365.25 days. This was done by recording the positions of the shadows.

Now it becomes a bit more complicated. Using the year’s cycle, they divided it into 24 equal segments. Some of the segments include the Vernal Equinox, Autumnal Equinox, Summer Solstice and Winter Solstice. Then with six concentric circles they divided the segments into 24 sectors. On this diagram they marked the length of shadow every day using the 8 foot pole.

Marking it in different colors for the Summer Solstice (Yin) and the Winter Solstice (Yang) you were left the following image:

Yin Yang

You will see the ecliptic angle of 23 26’19″ marked on the image. This is the apparent path of the Sun around the Earth. Not saying that the Sun rotates around the Earth! Perhaps this image will provide a clearer understanding of what I mean to say:

Ecliptic Angle