Enso365

I've certainly less than committed to this practice in the last month. Today, I declare a re-commitment to daily practice.

I can attribute the lull in practice to:

1) A very busy and erratic work schedule this past month, which is pretty typical for me as someone who is self-employed.

2) The start of a new relationship, and wanting to spend a lot of time with the new guy in my life.

Hi Jennah!Sure...I got all my supplies at a local art store. This is what I am using:

- Japanese rice paper- Japanese calligraphy brush- Ink stone- Ink stickIf you live near an Utrecht or Blick art store, both those chains carry the supplies, or you could order online.

For nearly two weeks, I did not paint any ensos. Mainly, this was a result of a rather hectic schedule.

The experience was a good reminder to me that when life gets busy, it's easy to let practice slip. I was also irregular in my morning meditations. And, it's at these times that practice can be most beneficial, if nothing else for creating pause amidst the busy-ness.

The most significant outcome of this break for me was noticing my own internal judgments of myself in light of straying from my original intention, or  rather the lack thereof. As a recovering perfectionist, type-3 enneagram, super-driven overachiever sort, missing even a day would have, in a past part of my life, led to loads of self-criticism and feelings of failure. In this situation, I am at complete peace and in a blissfully equanimous state, knowing that life goes on and that being content with not practicing is just as much a practice as practicing.

When I painted last night's enso, a bit of a thrill ensued, and I realized how much I love the expression this practice allows. As I felt into the sensation of my hand moving the brush, there was nothing but delight.

It's good to be back on the enso wagon.

Love,

Today is Day 65 of the Enso365 project. I have not painted 65 ensos, despite my original intention, due to two breaks in practice: one two weeks ago while at a conference, when I was arriving back to where I was staying late and exhausted each evening, and this past weekend when I was away cooking for a retreat and forgot to bring the enso supplies with me.

In both cases, the breaks were in fact quite nourishing, and when I returned to the practice upon arriving home each time, I felt more excited to re-approach it than previously. Sometimes breaks in practice can be healthy. And by the same token, adhering rigidly to a practice simply to meet a goal can be unhealthy. When breaks were taken with mindfulness, the spirit of discipline can grow stronger. In the latter case mentioned above, I was somewhat un-mindful in forgetting my supplies, but once I had realized they were not with me, I practiced remembering each day that I was not painting, which became a variation on the practice.

03.06.2013