13.8.2008 Planting trees… It's been raining for the past few days so we spent most of our time indoors, reading, knitting, napping, talking.... Both Takako and Sharon are very good at being still, not doing anything but being happy about it. We had a conversation yesterday about our differences and how I found it hard not to do anything. But Sharon inspired me in the way that she can just watch the clouds go by in the sky and be very still and silent. Doing n...

7.8.2008 For every old sock there is an old shoe… I realise how little I have been writing this week, even though my mind has been pretty busy. Yet today some things have shifted and I feel a lot lighter after a few long conversations I have had with John and Lucy. I also found more strength and faith in the yoga today during John's class. His voice is so deeply engraved in my heart now that I feel that his place in my life has grown a lot bigger. And simply ...

3.8.2008 Every death is a creation… Death is always here, we only chose to see its face sometimes and ignore it at other times. It's been an interesting day today as we found out that one of the students' grandmother died. Emma lives in Doha with her husband Greg and she's from New Zealand originally. She only arrived 2 weeks ago for a big birthday celebration of her grandmother's 90th. And this morning had a phone call from her mother to find out that she wa...

31.7.2008 Home sweet home is Stillpoint! I'm so happy to have returned and be practising with John and Lucy again. Although I seem to have lost all my strength in the past 2 weeks it is slowly coming back and my trust in John's hands have increased incredibly. And he continues to share his teaching and takes time to explain his logic. Oh I thank everyday for whatever brought me to John. There wasa big storm in Nelson yesterday with trees falling, roofs flying...

Vipassana Diary Day 0 Things are never what they turn out to be, there is so much planning you could do in your life and yet nothing is predictable. I'm having a good reminder again (thanks universe). We arrived at the Vipassana centre with Liz, all ready for our 10days of sitting and meditating…Until an hour after the registration I was approached and asked if I could serve as they were very short staffed in the kitchen. It wasn't something I had prepared ...