slub a dub dub...

Robert Allen slub linen zafus continue to be a bestseller at ZafuChi,

 and most frequently hearted/favorited...

I don't know exactly why, but "I can take it"!

I enjoy working with this particular fabric. It has a nice weight to it

 so it handles very nicely for cutting and sewing.

And in response to my query about her repeat purchases 

of slub linen products one California buyer said 

that after several years of studio use it wears well, and

 they just like the look of the fabric/zafu. Good to know!

slub linen zafu - dyed with natural dye materials from my yard

slub linen bolster pillowcase

slub linen zafu, with machine stitched reed design

charcoal slub linen zafu

 

Tree of Life Gemstone Pendant Necklace

Tree of Life Pendant

(hot link above)

Two inch wide copper colored pendant, with chakra colored gemstones. 

 

Beautiful vintage style loop chain measures 24 inches long, and has a lobster clasp closure.

 

Ships in 1-3 days by USPS 1st Class Mail.

 Smoke-free, cat friendly home.

Thank you for shopping at earthnsky888.

discount closeout zafus now on ebay...

If you're a consistent bargain shopper (like I am very frequently) you may be delighted to know that my discount/closeout (unfilled) zafu covers will for the most part be available here: earthnsky888 -ebay discount zafu store

My regular priced zafus (buckwheat hull filled, and unfilled) will still be available here: etsyseller ZafuChi  

geometric print - new stock on etsy - 11/15/18

woodblock leaf print - new stock on etsy - 11/15/18

natural dyed - new stock on etsy - 10/18

reeds design - on etsy

on “dying before we die” - to truly live...

From Krishnamurti Notebook...

“There was a great delight among the trees and among the birds and the few men that passed by were not too wrapped up in their own affairs. There was the slip of the new, young moon, just a line, just a suggestion and there was the beauty of a day that was over. A woman in a green sari was carrying a big bundle on her head, her arms swinging freely by her side. You have to die to all things to be aware of this beauty that had no resting place; you couldn’t find it if you sought it; it was not in the museums, in books nor in faces; the smile fades and there are tears. You would never find it if you set out to capture it.

You have to die to all things that you have pursued. You have to die not knowing; you have to die without a purpose, without a motive, maturing in a day and dying in a day, without a past. An aeroplane droned overhead, somebody was taking flying lessons and above the plane were the vultures, endlessly circling, without a beat of the wings; there was delight in their movement but soon they would be coming down to be lost in the darkness of the night. You lived for something, you worked for something and your life was intended for something. You had to be useful to society; everything had its use and you of course were of the highest use—for the church, for the government, for the revolutionary. What was the use of that leaf, that flower and those birds taking their evening bath? But that beauty cannot be used; it had no value, there was no market for it and all life is travail and sorrow. Without that beauty there is no love.

The clouds were gathering around the sun leaving the sky empty. Every bird was now silent and the trees were withdrawing for the night. The moon was too young to cast any shadow but that would come later as she grew older. Innocency and youth were always with death, with the ending of thought. And with death comes that immensity, unapproachable, measureless. And it was there.”

 

This post brought to you by

 Zafuchi - a handmaker of zafu meditation cushions and bolster pillows

 

listening to hear...

"Practice listening to others in the most literal sense, believing exactly what they say without attaching a future to it, and do your best to resist falling into your own interpretations about the information they share with you.

For example, someone might give you a compliment, and you interpret that to mean that the person has ulterior motives. Our interpretations of what we hear people say to us are often far more painful or frightening than what people actually say. We can hurt ourselves with our misconceptions and our thinking for others.

Try trusting that what they say is exactly what they mean: not more, not less. Hear people out.

Catch yourself when you want to finish a sentence for someone, either aloud or in your mind.

Listen. It can be amazing to hear what comes out when we allow others to complete their thoughts without interruption. And when we are busy thinking we know what they are about to say, we often miss what they are actually saying.

You might want to consider these questions:

- What can be threatened if I listen and hear literally? - Do I interrupt because I don’t want to really know what people have to say? - Do I interrupt to convince them that I know more than they do? - Am I attempting to convey an image of self-confidence and control? - Who would I be without the need to possess those qualities? - Do I fear appearing unintelligent? - Would people leave me if I heard them literally and no longer engaged in manipulative games? "

- Katie

Loving What Is-The Work of Byron Katie1August 23, 2017

"Hooter" - 6/18

 

our version v.s. reality...

"Try this: Imagine you are in a situation or with a person that you find unpleasant and that you would ordinarily avoid. Now observe how your [mind] instinctively becomes active, insisting that you avoid this situation or try to change it. And if you stay on there and refuse to change the situation, observe how the [mind] insists that you experience irritation or anxiety or guilt or some other negative emotion. Now keep looking at this unpleasant situation or person until you realize that it isn't they that are causing the negative emotions. They are just going their way, being themselves, doing their thing whether right or wrong, good or bad. 

It is your [mind] that, thanks to your programming, insists on your reacting with negative emotions. You will see this better if you realize that someone with a different programming when faced with this same situation or person or event would react quite calmly, even happily. Don't stop till you have grasped this truth: The only reason why you too are not reacting calmly and happily is your computer that is stubbornly insisting that reality be reshaped to conform to its programming. Observe all of this from the outside so to speak and see the marvelous change that comes about in you."
~ Anthony de Mello (20th century Indian Catholic mystic)

photo shopped image - from facebook

This post brought to you by ZafuChi a handmaker of zafu meditation cushions and bolster pillows.

Blessing by John O Donohue

"May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
Wind work these words
Of love around you,
An invisible cloak
To mind your life."
- Blessing by John O'Donohue

photo source - unknown

"Oh, for a closer walk with Thee..." 

posted by the owner of ZafuChi - a maker of zafu meditation cushions

the little things...

Yesterday evening I heard a banging noise that I thought it was coming from inside the house. More banging. So, I decided to see if someone was at the front door, and sure enough. It was G--, one of my elderly neighbors. (There IS a doorbell, and it works!) His wife works, and he is often lonely. And is, or pretends to be, hard of hearing - I can't tell which. Consequently, he likes to get in my face, and I do my best to avoid it as inconspicuously as possible. So, yesterday I just lowered the window on the screen door and spoke to him through the screen. He got angry with me and ordered me, in his heavy German accent, to open the door...barking out "I have a cheesecake pie, and I made it to give to you. Eat it, and tell me what you think of it." Seriously, not the most courteous of people. I let him save face by asking "Are you OK? You seem a little upset." Then he became shame-faced, lowered his voice, and said “no, he wasn't feeling all that well. The heat was getting to him.” 

It's July in Florida. Tempers can flare more easily.

~ ) 0 ( ~ 

...a cat named Pretty Boy - who once upon a time lived in my house...

What good is longevity if it is not enjoyable...

"Follow your bliss."

~ Joseph Campbell

Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles detail the ten rules to help find personal ikigai.

 Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

1. Stay active and don’t retire

2. Leave urgency behind and 

adopt a slower pace of life

3. Only eat until you are 80 per cent full

4. Surround yourself with good friends

5. Get in shape through daily, gentle exercise

6. Smile and acknowledge people around you

7. Reconnect with nature

8. Give thanks to anything that brightens our day 

and makes us feel alive.

9. Live in the moment

10. Follow your ikigai 

What keeps us from feeling joy at being in this life experience? Without understanding that longevity may not be as fulfilling as it could, or can, be.

JOY

STEADY CALM

ZafuChi - online purveyor of zafu meditation cushions

to see God in everything

To see God in everything we must (obviously, right?!) abandon all other ideas we hold consciously or subconsciously about everything.

‘The unavoidable choice to face everything that is not yet awake, both within you and in the world, is the movement of awakeness. Along the way, you may meet a huge amount of suffering or you may meet very little; it doesn’t matter either way. What matters is your unwavering willingness to meet this suffering all the way. This is not feeding the suffering but, instead, allowing consciousness to move through you according to divine will. It’s what the Indian mystic and poet Rabindranath Tagore meant when he said, “To find God, you must welcome everything.” In this willingness to unconditionally welcome every single thing in the field of your experience, you become a bodhisattva, dedicated to the illumination of all beings, one drop at a time. It’s a choiceless choice.’
-Amoda Maa

...photo source unknown...

is time collapsing?

“My grandmother saw a lot of change during her lifetime. We're seeing as much, and more, change in a much shorter period of time...like time is collapsing. Not that it is. Things seem sped up because we/humans make them happen much more quickly, and the internet is a large part of making this happen. It narrows the distance between things and that shortens time. Again, not that it does. It seems to. Go out into nature for a weekend without any digital devices and see that nature still has her own pace.” 

 ~Sarah Nolt

 

Etsy is making changes* that affect all etsy sellers, and buyers. Change is inevitable with growth. (* etsy's increase in seller fees from 3.5% to 5%, including that 5% fee on shipping too,  affects every etsy account.) Not to worry...ebay has been doing this for years. It's done to avoid seller fee avoidance, by listing an item below value and then "padding" the shipping to make up the difference.

In view of these fee increases I did need to add 10% to all of my etsy shop items. It's simply one of the realities of life.

Zafu Meditation Cushion. Floor/Dorm Pillow. Repurposed Green Cotton Print. Buckwheat Hulls. 15x5. 6"Sidewall Velcro Closure. Handmade, USA 

 

 

 

the value of solitude...

“Solitude is very different from a 'time-out' from our busy lives. 

Solitude is the very ground from which community grows. 

Whenever we pray alone, study, read, write, or simply 

spend quiet time away from the places where we interact 

with each other directly, we are potentially opened 

for a deeper intimacy with each other.” 

~Henri Nouwen

beautiful space at Intent Space in St. Pete, Fl.

(this array of zafu meditation cushion covers purchased from ZafuChi)

intentspace.com
(407) 301-1800 • 327 11th Ave n. 2f. st. petersburg, fl 33701

to purchase wholesale/bulk zafu covers from ZafuChi on etsy click on this link... 

Remember, everything has wings.

“You do too. Use your wings for health and for good. To fly away, to fly near, to fold and hide, to keep to the arduous surprising blessed journey. This comes with love for la mariposa, the sacred butterfly in your heart. Butterflies, these tiny creatures of mere painted paper and strength of will, fly thousands of miles in migration, can be torn easily, yet rise and rise and rise. You too. Dont forget. Where there has been one, there will be another. And another, and another. The butterflies are progenitors of life and life and life... the tiniest of the tiny ones, living bold and beautiful, even in tempest, even at rest, they are nonetheless Beauty with wings. Deep breath. I mean it: DEEP BREATH Remember who you truly are. Winged. Beautiful. Wise. Love from my heart to your heart.”

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes

 

 

a sense of true belonging...

“The mystic Thomas a Kempis said that when you go out into the world, 

you return having lost some of yourself. Until you learn 

to inhabit your alone-ness, the lonely distraction and noise of society 

will seduce you into false belonging, with which you will only become empty and weary. 

 When you face your alone-ness, something begins to happen. 

Gradually, the sense of bleakness changes into a sense of true belonging.”

 

~John O'Donohue, 

poet, priest, intuitive mystic

~ ~ ~ 

photo source: pixabay

our reality is a collective, overlapping, hallucination...

"Right now, billions of neurons in your brain are working together to generate a conscious experience -- and not just any conscious experience, your experience of the world around you and of yourself within it. How does this happen? According to neuroscientist Anil Seth, we're all hallucinating all the time; when we agree about our hallucinations, we call it "reality." Join Seth for a delightfully disorienting talk that may leave you questioning the very nature of your existence." 

(youtube link - as follows - for a 17 minute video)

Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality | Anil Seth 

 one youtube comment:

Kasun Liyanage

"This hallucination of the self is called "sakkhaya drishti" in Buddhism. And its the foundation of advaita tradition. Nothing is real, even your precious Self. Finally, science is catching up with the ancient wisdom."

photo source: pixabay

"Row, row, row your boat,

 gently down the stream...

..........

...life is but a dream."

Light bringers...

"How can I stay completely present to this world—the light and the dark—while still keeping an open loving heart: Who ever promised me the world would be perfect...I need to set a different course by reminding myself that humankind has always been flawed...and Love and light continue to exist anyway. The news should simply inspire me to be extra loving and tender...Today I resolve to balance every dose of darkness I receive with an equal, if not greater, dose of light...I resolve to check the balance daily and provide myself with the silence and solitude I need to maintain it. I truly believe it does matter what energy we put out into the world. " 

- Ann O’Shaughnessy

photo source: pixabay

connecting with Joy, our innermost essence...

"Times are difficult globally; 

awakening is no longer a luxury or an ideal.
It’s becoming critical. We don’t need to add more depression, 

more discouragement, 

or more anger to what’s already here. 

It’s becoming essential that we learn how to relate 

sanely with difficult times. 

The earth seems to be beseeching us to connect with joy 

and discover our innermost essence. 

This is the best way that we can benefit others."
~Pema Chodron

~ ~ ~ ~

...meditate...

zafu meditation cushion by etsyseller ZafuChi

Zafu Meditation Cushion. Round Floor/Dorm Pillow. Buckwheat Hulls. Dark Floral Cotton Print. 15x5. 6"SidewallZipper. Handmade USA by ZafuChi 

waking up from the hypnotic dream state...

"It is false to speak of realization. What is there to realize? 

The real is as it is always. We are not creating anything new 

or achieving something which we did not have before. 

The illustration given in books is this. We dig a well

and create a huge pit. The space in the pit or well 

has not been created by us. We have just removed the earth 

which was filling the space there. The space was there then 

and is also there now. Similarly we have simply to throw out 

all the age-long samskaras [innate tendencies] which are inside us. 

When all of them have been given up, 

the Self will shine alone."

~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

 

photo source: pixabay

 

inner beauty...

"There are times when beauty reveals itself slowly. 

Human culture seems to build its temples of meaning 

in the wrong places, in the garish marketplaces 

of transient fashion and public image. Beauty tends to avoid

 the siren call of the obvious. Away from the blatant center, 

it prefers the neglected margin. Beyond the traffic of 

voyeuristic seeing, beauty waits until the patience 

and depth of a gaze are refined enough to engage 

and discover it. In this sense, beauty is not a quality 

externally present in something. It emerges at the threshold 

where reverence of mind engages the subtle presence

 of the other person, place or object.” 

~ John O’Donohue, Beauty

photo source: pixabay

This blogpost brought to you by etsyseller ZafuChi.

filled and unfilled zafu meditation cushions - ZafuChi