LOSAR

THE TIBETAN NEW YEAR BEGAN ON  FEB. 22.  LOSAR. LET'S CLEAR AWAY OBSTACLES AND MAKE AN AUSPICIOUS START. THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE YANG  WATER DRAGON. THIS OCCURS EVERY 60  YEARS , THE LAST ONE WAS 1952,  THE WATER DRAGON PERSONIFIES CREATIVITY AT ITS BEST

 WATER COVERS 2/3 OF THE EARTH AND COMPRISES 95% OF OUR BODIES

THESE LIZARDS ARE ASIAN WATER LIZARDS

Cherishing Others

"Cherishing others is the source of all Happiness"

 Lama Zopa Rinpoche

SHAMAN

SHAMAN

A watercolor by Si

Si has been INACTIVE on the TX list since he as had a fever. He is ACTIVE on the list again as of today.  It has been almost 2 weeks since Si started getting a fever/flu, and five days since he went back into the hospital. Today Si needs to start walking to get his strength back.

Praise to the Jewel in the Lotus

 IT IS SAID THAT ALL THE TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA ARE CONTAINED IN THIS MANTRA

OM MANI PADME HUM

PRAISE TO THE JEWEL IN THE LOTUS

"SiRealism " last day

HeaL SiLas

Trying to stay calm within the influenza storm.

End-stage lung disease

In advanced end-stage lung disease resulting from CF the options of treatments are limited. Lung Tx is the only effective therapeutic option not only to prolong survival but also to improve quality of life. SiLas will be 27 on May 29th.

Diagnosis

    Results just in>>>Complications from the Flu virus>>>Influenza A
 ( so much for the flu vaccine Si  got last fall. ) Most people who get influenza will  recover in 2 days to less than two weeks but some people will develop  complications from the flu ........pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus and ear infections...........Silas, having CF, puts him at high-risk for these complications.

Si's Flu complications took his lung function back down to 13% and put him back into the hospital.

Lion Man

2011

more IV drugs

We are waiting for a room because  Si will need to have  another course of IV drugs.
This is the second time in the past 4 months that  a viral infection has put him back into the hospital soon after getting discharged.

Fever

 Si has been battling something this weekend,  He finally ate   2 meals yesterday and got a bit of sleep last night. He is feeling much better but  his breathing isn't the greatest , he has had to increase his oxygen. We are going to the clinic at 3:30. This has been exhausting for all of us, Dan stayed home for 2 days to help......

Trust in the process

 2 weeks of IV antibiotics.
Si is discharged today.

Almost anything is appropriate if an action is in accord with the time and place. But we must be vigilant and prepared. We can miss our chance if we hamper ourselves with doubts and second thoughts. When life presents and opportunity we must be ready to seize it without hesitation or inhibition.

from 365 Tao- Daily Meditations

Zen Salamander

 A link to a new video of Si doing a cover of a Phil Oches song, "When I'm Gone"

Zen Salamander

PUTUO

"Putuo" is a chinese name for "Potalaka" the mythical mountain where Chenrezig (Guanyin) resides according to Buddhism.  Mount Putuo is an Island and one of the four Buddhist Mountains of China.  Si is getting out of the hospital to go to Dobra Teahouse with me tomorrow.  I think I will order Putuo, a tea picked by monks on the island of  Mount Putuo.  It is one of my favorites.

Full Moon

 Si got out with Dan for a brief walk  in Wingra woods at the Arboretum this afternoon. Si said it felt  good to stretch his legs and move.
He had a weird pain when he breathed in deeply last night and it lasted on and off  into this morning. Now the pain seems to have vanished, for good I hope. It is hard to believe there are only 6 more weeks til Spring!

Trippin' Lizard HOUSE (the song)

Here is a link to the song from Si's "Robot Ghost" album:

trippin-lizard-house

Silence

Contemplative stillness turns us away from everyday clamor and allows us to hear, thru inner listening, the subtle in our own lives. This is why so many religious traditions pray, sing, or chant as a prelude to silence. They understand the repetition and absorption of sound leads to sacredness itself. The deepest sound is silence.

IV Antibiotics

Si went into the hospital on Friday for a course of IV antibiotics. His pulmonary function test (FEV1) was 14%. He was 18% on discharge from a course of IV antibiotics 7 weeks ago. Si says he doesn't feel sick,  but he wants to push his FEV1 back up to baseline and  breathe better.  He is on Cipro and Merepenem, this is what pushed him back up  to 18% last hospitalization.

Beginning

  

1

BEGINNING

THIS IS THE MOMENT OF EMBARKING. ALL AUSPICIOUS SIGNS ARE IN PLACE

In the beginning all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start anew. Though we may be intent on the journey ahead, all things are contained in the first moment of our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our optimism, our innocence. In order to start we must make a decision. This decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous. Alone and naked we negotiate life's travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments  for experiencing the deepest spirtitual essence of life. Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation, They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even the rock will come alive. In that same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys reverberate to the sound of our purpose.

from 365 TAO   daily meditations     by Deng Ming-Dao