My Favorite Dalai Lama Prayer

I have been attending Buddhist meditation sessions on and off for the last seven or eight years. Through that time I have gradually learned a little bit about patience, compassion and love for all sentient beings. There is one prayer that we recite to close our session that has had a tremendous impact on me. Why? Well, from the very beginning when I would read it aloud, I would get so choked up that I had to stop and listen to the others in the group finish it. Often I would visualize these things actually occurring and I just could not go on. Then over time, I was actually able to read it aloud.

Even now, after having read it hundreds of times, I still feel it affecting me in very loving ways. Just read it, let it take you to a very nice place...

Dedication Prayer
by His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

May all beings everywhere
plagued by sufferings of body and mind,
obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
by virtue of my merits.

May no living creature suffer,
commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
with a mind weighed down by depression.

May the blind see forms,
and the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.

May the naked find clothing,
the hungry find food.
May the thirsty find water
and delicious drink

May the poor find wealth,
those weak with sorrow find joy.
May the forlorn find hope
constant happiness and prosperity.

May there be timely rains
and bountiful harvests.
May all medicines be effective
and wholesome prayers bear fruit.

May all who are sick and ill
quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world
may they never occur again.

May the frightened cease to be afraid
and those bound be freed.
May the powerless find power
and may people everywhere think of benefiting each other.

A New Discovery

Today was a whirlwind of activity, running here and there, trying to fit in all the meetings prior to a doctors appointment at one. The meetings all went well and on time, I actually had a few extra minutes to spend with a friend who also had a few extra minutes. Then it was on to the appointments and finally finished at 2:15.

No small wonder I was hungry...breakfast was lots of hours ago. But what to eat? I wanted to get in a quick bike ride since the 60ish weather will soon be a thing of the past...but I'm hungry.

Scanning the fridge I saw a loaf of home-made bread, I remembered a fresh jar of extra crunchy peanut butter in the pantry and was willing to settle for that on toast..but wait. There is an old jar of some kind of jelly, I'll use that up.

I sliced the bread, stuck it in the toaster and retrieved the jelly; a cherry-ameretto jelly from Colorado. Must have been in there for ages! Ugh...it is almost crystallized, so I popped it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
The toast was ready so I slathered it with crunchy peanut butter and was about to spread the jelly but then I noticed that it was now a liquid. So I poured it over the peanut buttered toast. OMG!!!

It was wonderful! Try heating your jelly and pouring it on your sandwich! You will not be disappointed. If done correctly, you may need a knife and fork.

It's Official

Thanksgiving is now behind us and Christmas is just around the corner...
So here is a little something to put you in the mood. Enjoy!

Cold Snap!!!

The last few days have brought severe weather changes around here, too much for me to keep up with for my backyard wildlife. I guess I didn't think it would be flooding and then freezing in a matter of hours. Many have suffered and sadly...many have died. I am trying to make things a little better for these folks though
First, I looked out on Thursday morning to see about a hundred worms on my patio. They were there because we had so much rain that they we drowning in the grass! It was cold but not freezing, so I gathered them up and

gently put them on this dish so I could replace them to the grass before it gets so cold they will freeze to death. It seemed to work...they had several hours before the temperatures plummeted to the twenties

These sparrows seem to be complaining to me...what was the point of getting a heated bird bath IF YOU DON'T PLUG IT IN??????? They don't know about the complications of three way plugs into two-way timers. I will get it fixed though. After much trying with several extension cords I think all I really need is an outdoor timer. That should have a three-way plug...which is what I need on both ends.

Eye Buy

A couple of weeks ago I was watching Dr OZ and as always I came away with something useful. I mean REALLY useful; that is for those of us who wear glasses. He was pushing this website that makes eyeglasses and interestingly enough it is named Eye Buy Direct , Com. I quickly jotted down the URL and kept watching.

I was not really ready for an eye exam (so I thought) since my last one was only about 14 months ago, but I got to thinking about the savings and after going to the website a few times, decided to get the exam and my new prescription so I could get lots and lots of new glasses for really cheap! I did my homework by making sure I got all the measurement information I needed from my optometrist so the glasses I selected would be right for me. In particular...something they call the pupiary distance...that is the distance between your pupils. This is easily obtained when you get your exam.

I did have a little difficulty getting the right length for the side pieces of the glasses and if I had it to do over again, I would probably call them before I placed my order, just to be sure I get the right stuff.

So anyway I thought I would show you the comparison of what I got the last time when I went to a National eyeglass chain and what I got when I ordered from EyeBuyDirect.com.

Take a look:


From the national chain I got one pair of sunglasses and one pair of progressive lenses. Standard quality. No, wait, the sunglasses fell apart and they charged me $35 to get them replaced, since I was within a year of purchase. They need adjustment at least once a year, that is free since I bought them there. Price for the package: $ 452.00

From EyeBuyDirect: I got one pair of reading glasses, one pair of progressive lenses and clip-on sunglasses for them. I had to go to a local eyeglass store to have them adjusted properly; I went to a new place that did not charge me for either of the new glasses shown above, nor for adjusting the sunglasses that I purchased from the national chain a year or so ago.
Price for the package: $127.00

Oh, I forgot to add...each pair of glasses arrived in its own little box, with a rigid eyeglass case and wrapped in an eyeglass cleaner cloth. Those cloths are a few bucks each at the local National chain store.

Now for the bad news...
In getting my eyes examined it was discovered that the cataract condition I have is a rather fast moving one; something they call posterior subcapsular cataracts. In English it means that very soon I will need cataract surgery or I will no longer be able to drive at night. This was quite a shock for me since the first mention of these was last year, I felt pretty sure I could make it till I was old enough to have medicare help me pay for it. That will not happen. I am seeing an eye surgeon in a couple of weeks to put the plan in place.

Wouldn't you know it, I find this great eyeglass place and after I have the surgery, I won't need them anymore....HA!

Elephant Sanctuary

One of the Blogs that I follow Bailey's Buddy posted something about an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. That same day I saw a new article showing that the woman who founded the sanctuary had been fired and efforts were being made to stop the relationship that had formed between the woman, the elephant and the dog. Yes, that's right...the dog. Watch this (hopefully BEFORE you have seen the news)


Now, here's the news

For some reason the video that I posted earlier cannot be viewed.

The Prohibition and More

During my trip on the Katy Trail we were fortunate enough to stop in Augusta, Missouri and listen to a presentation by Anita Mallinckrodt, Ph.D, the town's Historian (among many other things!).



We listened to a delightful presentation about the Prohibition and how it affected the little town of Augusta; how the Revenuers ascended on the town and discovered alcohol being sold in several establishments!!! She then told the story of how all the townspeople rose to the occasion, modified their ways and managed to survive this most interesting period of American History. She has written a book entitled: According to the Law and it has been released this week. I am sure it will be very interesting and enjoyable. Anyone who may be interested in obtaining a copy, please email me.

Then we toured the building and discovered a old wooden box with drawers and a functional lid (see below) It was the record keeping system for the local General Store during the early years of the 1900's







Since I spent the majority of my life in accounting, I find this fascinating because, if one were to look closely at these little slips of paper, you would find everything, every little thing that they purchased...which would indicate the kind of life they lived back then. There was a system for credit as well, which showed the struggle a lot of people went through and how the merchants helped them to make it through the hard times. All very interesting stuff! I think Anita may be working on yet another book!