- I've been cooking in the evenings rather than sitting down and meditating, though for the second day in a row I was up until past 11:00 PM because of cooking. (And yet, I still woke up before my alarm went off at 5:00 AM.) This time it was a pumpkin spice gingerbread (recipe here: [1]), inspired by a gingerbread my co-worker had taken into the office on Monday. This recipe produced a lot of cake-like bread – so much so, it was too big for the 10-inch cast iron skillet I'd originally planned to use. I had to transfer the batter into the Griswold 11.5-inch skillet instead. It rose in the shape of an orange UFO, but came out well. I then found out my plastic cake carrying containers are missing or misplaced (more likely); so I've had to take the bread in to work in the Griswold skillet, covered with its iron lid. Needless to say, I'm keeping a close eye on it, and taking it home tonight whether or not there is any bread left over.
- Meanwhile, a good moment occurred as I was relaxing during my morning walk before work. Each day before work, I take a walk to the store about half a mile away, and buy a no-calorie drink (usually flavored seltzer water). Since I've started with meditation, I attempt to breathe and relax as I'm walking, making it into a kind of walking meditation. I have to keep my eyes open and watch my surroundings as I watch, of course, but I still manage to achieve the feeling of relaxation that comes when I concentrate on my inner self, while breathing calmly. This morning, the feeling occurred as I was walking, like a glowing but relaxing flame that began inside my mind at the back of my skull. As I walked back to work, I envisioned the feeling and let it grow, enveloping my head like a soothing, warming fire that didn't burn me, in a manner not unlike the halo of flame surrounding Muhammad's face in those (rare) medieval depictions of the Prophet. I then let the flame grow, feeling it spread onto my shoulders and down my arms, so that if I raised my hand, my mind's eye envisioned it enveloped in flame (like the Human Torch). This was entirely imaginary, of course, created by my own mind…but it was a good feeling, and I let it continue as the flame then moved down my torso into the pit of my stomach, finally flowing down my legs and into my feet and toes. By the time I walked up the hill to my office building, I envisioned myself as a figure of flame, completely enshrouded with a bluish fire, the energy radiating from me and flickering off of my inner self. It was a very good, encouraging and uplifting feeling, one that I know I should strive to repeat when I meditate. Even though the clouds were thick this morning and it was cool enough to see my breath (barely), I was walking with my jacket open and feeling warm. This was a good walking meditation.
- Tonight, however, I really should get some more sleep. While I'll probably make a stir fry upon my return home from work, I don't plan on doing any more elaborate cooking projects…unless I suddenly get the urge to do one.
- The Surf-n-Turf Chowder received some good comments at work, though as usual most of it remained uneaten. I gave the rest of it to the call center, where it should be quickly finished off.