 The trip in California was definitely the highlight of this summer. My mind was still in the west coast even after few days coming back to New York. I felt like I was in the Matrix movie, when walking in Manhattan. Everything was moving in fast forward and yet, I was like in a double slow motion ‘migrating’ my way around the city. Each of my steps was clear and firm; each breath was calm and easy. The more I enjoyed my ‘turtle’ pace; the more my running thoughts were slowing down. The trip was arranged as perfectly as I could want it to be – We simply followed the flow of whatever came along. My ‘No plan’ trip brought me lots of enjoyable and meaningful time - seeing old friends in San Francisco and Davis; visiting places between city and country; listening to the sound of Pacific ocean and mountain streams; smelling breeze of old pine trees and flowers by the roadside; eating a Ghirardelli chocolate sundae and the freshest wild blackberries. By the end, I did and saw lots of things. I felt so much gratitude especially the time spent in nature, the four days that my friend and I were in Mt. Shasta City and the retreat nearby, in Mt. Shasta. Mt. Shasta is one of the seven sacred mountains in the world and has been the setting for many reports of spiritual activities. It is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and is the second highest volcano in the continental United States. We went hiking, took the mineral bath at the retreat, drank the fresh Mt. Shasta city water, (which, by the way, is primary from Cold Creek Springs, located at an elevation of 4,400 feet on Mt. Shasta), saw an amazing crystal singing bowls demonstration and meditated with the guru and his retreat group. My body, my mind were feeling joy and ease; my soul absolutely reunited with nature – the mesmerizing landscapes, the city skyline, the unfolded flatlands, the extensive vineyards and the enormous redwoods. At moments, I was as strong as a tree rooting down to the earth, and yet, as free as a bird flying in the sky. I hope to visit again one day. Right now, I just use my pictures to keep refreshing my memories oI reserve my memories through my pictures. Love and light, Mandy
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 It was another usual afternoon - sitting in a cafe to connect with the world behind a screen. I had what I called my ‘happily ever after’ set up - a cup of tea, a sandwich, music, headphones and my phone. I was enjoying my time until the incident happened: tea spilled onto my laptop! A guy sat next to me accidentally pushed my tea cup with his power cord while I was helping him to plug his laptop’s AC adaptor to the wall outlet. "Oops!" was my reaction. I ran to get tissue paper to soak the tea out right away. My laptop was still on, but after two minutes - BLACK OUT - It shut down! Oops!! I kept trying to dry it out - using the hand dryer in the bathroom, cleaning with more tissue papers for 10 minutes. I still could not bring it back to life. The guy deeply apologized a couple of times. I smiled and said, "It’s ok. Nothing we can do at this moment." I was seeing "what is" rather than "what was". I was aware of myself responding rather than reacting to the moment. And yet...it was just a laptop. There was no need to be upset about material things which can be replaced by another material thing like money. (Certainly, I still cherished my beloved machine.) Finally, I gave up...really nothing I can do, technically. When I was packing my things to leave, the guy offered to split the repair cost. Really!!? I said it in my mind. I was delighted and surprised with the offer. I expressed my appreciation and got his contact information. I left the café. My backpack was heavy, but my heart was light. "Hey, what was just happening?" my little voice was curious of the moments. I was, surprisingly, feeling joy and lightheartedness....and my ‘mind muscle’ was definitely stronger than I thought, since I was able to stay emotionally grounded, to respond ‘what needed to be done’ rather than react on an unproductive energy like anger, annoyance or frustration.The more we breathe mindfully, the more we smile peacefully. The more we are aware of our reaction to things, the more we expand our capacity to turn an unpleasant situation to a pleasant consequence. Life is so good to me as always. I really like my new laptop! Love and light, Mandy |
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