Now is good.

For the last month I've had blogging on my mind but then kept telling myself the old adage of 'I'll do it later' except later never came, because when you live your life in the future you stop living in the present. 

In the early days when I read of successful bloggers 'taking a break' from writing I scoffed, how could they stop doing something they love? But now having taken a short sabbatical myself I realize how important it is to take your foot off the accelerator. 

As with most moments of realization in life they tend to just happen. My best friend who I rarely see due to him being a mountain guide all over the world, bought me a book recently called;

'The Power of Now,' by Eckhart Tolle. 

I sat for two hours straight devouring this book and then went through it again with a pencil underlining all the amazing quotes I knew I need to refer back to. 

'The reason people like to engage in dangerous activities (i.e. surfing), although they may not be aware of it, it forces them into the now- that intensely alive state that is free of time, free of problems, free of thinking, free of the burden of personality.' 

It made me think of surfing instantly of how surfers tend to have this otherworldly glow about them, because they practice that mindfulness every time they get on a board. Catching waves forces you to be completely present. 

When we dwell in the past or keep our eyes fixed on the future we lose our present and invite problems into our life. How can we possibly be happy if we are constantly fixating on time? Time is an illusion, as are our problems - in a real emergency did you have time to dwell or did you just act?There are numerous examples of people doing amazing things in genuine crisis and that is because they acted in the now. 

Look around you, is the sun shining, are you doing a task at work, having a cup of tea? Prioritize what your doing right this second. If you have a bill to pay, do it now! Don't delay gratification i.e. put things off, if you have a big dream you want to accomplish remember now is the first step so your already successful! 

I am massively glossing over the complexities of the book but this is how I'm applying it to my life. 

Right now I'm writing to you and I'm enjoying every minute of that dear blog reader! I'm sat with sunshine streaming in through the window and my rabbit is running around my feet. I'm still in my PJs and have hair that needs washing but I am 100% in the now not worrying about what happens next. 

Until next time 
stay strong and surf well 
Love

The NEW new years resolution,

Take a look at the list below and just for a minute think about how much time you spend on each in a week.

• Family & Friends
• Career
• Finances 
• Travel
• Entertainment
• Culture
• Hobbies 
• Exercise

Done that? Ok now look at the next list and do the same. 

• Meditation
• Contemplation
• Gratitude 
• Self awareness 
• Mindfulness 
• Spiritual pursuits (retreats, church etc, etc). 
• Compassion 

If your anything like me, your priorities lie with that first list and barely any time gets dedicated to the second - am I right? 

The reason I'm highlighting this to you, is because as one year ends and another starts there tends to be this mass exodus for fitness, diets and a sudden sense that it is imperative to improve all the external factors in your life. 

I love nothing more than starting a fresh page in my diary and writing down all my projects and hopes for the new year, its incredibly carthic and I think an excellent step in trying to make dreams a reality. 

What I tend to always neglect though is this simple theory: 

Cultivate your internal landscape through tending to your spiritual practice, nurturing mindfulness, compassion and investing in regular meditation. Do this and like flowers in a garden your dreams will have an environment in which to grow. 

(I'm quite proud of that metaphor)! I'm starting to realize that by focusing my attention inwards I'll have greater clarity and will be better able to scope out opportunities and truly follow my dreams. 

I too hope for fulfillment in my career, to continue to flourish in a loving relationship, to surf and surround myself with great people, plants, pets and the beautiful outdoors. Those things will come but first I'm saying hell yeah to meditation, reflection, gratitude and compassion! 

Until next time 

Stay strong and surf well 

Love 

Tonglen.

    

Two weaknesses leaning together constitute a strength. therefore the one half of the world leaning against the other half becomes firm.' - Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) 

Why am I sending you a big kiss today world? Because the news lately is utterly terrifying with horrors happening against innocent people. In our grief for those victims its hard to comprehend suffering or begin to understand it. It is here I retreat to Buddhist teachings of absorbing negativity and sending out healing. I don't pretend to be able to solve the world's problems, but despite the shame, drudgery and broken dreams it is still a beautiful place, good exists and as Ghandi rightly said we must be the change we wish to see.

In Buddhism there is a practice of transforming pain called Tonglen, it allows us to help heal suffering in the world, transforming it through positive loving thoughts. After spending most of Tuesday sobbing after hearing about the sieges in Australia, Pakistan  and the awful, awful suffering endured by Kenyan street children at the mercy of quite frankly an evil man, I was feeling both furiously angry and frustrated. I was so troubled I couldn't sleep so sat on the floor of my bedroom reading books. 

I recalled an extract written by the Dalai lama on the subject of the Chinese. For many years the Chinese had been killing and trying to wipe out Buddhism in Tibet, behavior which should have elicited anger and hatred from the Dalai Lama. Instead he saw his enemies as an opportunity to learn of tolerance and visualized the Chinese during their decision making processes. He sent them healing and positive thoughts so they perhaps might act more compassionately when making choices about Tibet. 

In my little attic room in my parents house, I tried to visualize the Kenyan street children and the victims of the sieges sending them all the love and healing my heart possesses. Of course this alone is not enough to help, we must act practically and behave with compassion but as Confucius rightly said; 

'First there must be order and harmony within your own mind. Then this order will spread to your family, then to the community and finally your entire kingdom. Only then can you have peace and harmony.' (Confucius 551-479BCE). 

I'm sharing an apple with Bruh bunny as we speak and reflecting on what I can do in the parameters of my own life to try and make positive ripples out into the world. I'll let you know what I come up with...

Until next time, 

Stay strong and surf well

Love

I am the ocean.

How cheerful are you when your on your surfboard? Waiting for a set to roll in are you thinking about your next maneuver, whether your going to catch the wave, or look good when you pop up and find yourself worrying about what you need to do back on dry land? It is so easy to use your surfing as another opportunity to be burdened with over thinking, which will inevitably effect your performance. Through studying Pantajali's Yoga Sutras, The Bagavad Gita, Jivamukti Yoga and works by beloved Buddhists such as Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, Thich nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama I'm starting to understand that the road to happiness is not found by avoiding unhappiness, but rather is a continuous and sustained effort. 

We are all in process and by accepting that happiness is something we don't possess (i.e. like water if we grab at it we'll never hold it, but rather let it flow through our hands we'll hold it for longer), we have to make the effort to think positively and work against negative emotions. 
Part of my yoga teacher training is sitting down and really studying ancient Hindu and Buddhist philosophy which has been both mind boggling and eye opening. Its amazing how much correlation there is between the two religions and how apt they are for modern day life. A consistent theme present in both is something called 'Ahimsa' which means 'to not cause pain.' It is most commonly interpreted as non violence, but goes beyond killing as sometimes you can cause more pain by words and thoughts rather than action. 

Just as I wish to be free from suffering and experience only happiness, so do all other beings. In this respect, I am no different from any other being; we are all equal.  
- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

As a surfer I feel it is a deep respect to the ocean to not eat fish. I hope in this statement I'm not sounding too self righteous or judgmental because I pride myself on being tolerant and not using my veganism as an excuse to heckle carnivores. That being said I honestly feel that as an ocean dweller with the capacity to avoid eating fish this is the greatest gift you can give back to the saltwater. The ocean is the biggest misunderstood ecosystem on the planet, it is voraciously pillaged for its resources, abused by contaminates derived from humans and at best is feared. We have so much as a race to apologize for. 

Thankfully there are people out there who realize our misdemeanors and are actively trying to rectify them. You know I love a strong female lead and that is exactly what you get in the oceanographer Sylvia Earle. I recently watched her documentary Mission Blue on Netflix and absolutely fell in love with her. She's this charismatic scientist who paved the way not only for female empowerment but ocean awareness during the seventies. She also has many books she's written The world is Blue, Sea Change: A Message from the Oceans, Blue Hope to name but a few on my Amazon wish list! 

I'm starting to think we can lead purposeful lives when we consider the welfare of others before our own, compassion acts as a mirror, the good we put out is reflected back in ourselves. I'm not sure how yet, but I wish to show my gratitude to the ocean and endeavor to try and be part of the change, surfboard in hand. 

Until next time 
Stay strong, surf well

Life of a land locked surfer.

Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

- Bruce Lee

The life of a land locked surfer girl consists of missing waves, wanting waves, yearning waves and getting frustrated about not having waves. As a Buddhist apprentice (this is my unique way of saying I'm an uninformed wannabe Buddhist) I return to Buddhist philosophy remembering that attachment to contaminated karma i.e. lust, greed, anger, fear and desire are root causes of suffering. Rather than trying to eradicate these from our lives by ignoring them, it is through acknowledging there existence that we are able to find mental peace. 

In other words, stressing about not getting waves and focusing on the fact that I don't live by the ocean, won't help me feel better about being a land locked surfer. 

So when I'm not near the ocean I live my life trying my best to be present and enjoy the beautiful ordinary moments. With this in mind I've been instagramming incessantly my week in pictures so I could create a photo diary on this here blog. 

So without much further ado: 

THE LIFE OF A LAND LOCKED SURFER GIRL (in pictures). 

Its so easy to miss things in life, these are roses from my garden I happened to take note of thanks to my yoga practice, which I've taken to doing out there. How beautiful are they?! 

  

The selfies above and below are taken in one of my favorite places, this is sat up in my parents garden on the rocking chair (supervising Bruh the bunny having free time)! I go up there all the time hence my different outfits, its a small everyday pleasure that brings me much mirth and happiness!  

Meet Holly the cat, she belongs to my neighbors but is often found hanging about our garden. She's another sentient being who happens to make my life a tiny bit more awesome. 
I'm really embracing the veganism these days and have been trying some new recipes. Above is orange & apricot cous cous with dessicated coconut and nectarine. Below is walnut salad with spinach & seed pesto with a couple of veggie sausages. Don't let me fool you though, I've also enjoyed bourbon biscuits and vegan ready made pizza! Life is all about balance so a little of what you like isn't going to hurt you! 

 

A large part of my life is spent with the delectable Mr Sunny the boyfriend, as we're both explorers we love nothing more than jumping in the car and having a mini road trip somewhere rad. Being that he's not from here originally we have a lot of fun investigating the local area. Amazingly this beautiful castle and gardens was a mere 40 minutes away from Birmingham city center! We had a lot of fun on our date day out, climbing the ruins and finding interesting spots to take photos. 

 
 

This is one of my favorite photos of Mr Sunny and I, because it was taken on a really beautiful day in the sunshine (rare in September in England)! 

 

I know, I know not another food picture! Sorry but this has a nice little story to it- its vegan Thai curry that Mr Sunny and I made together, its always something to talk about when a vegan meal goes down well with a carnivore!! 

*Prepare for unprecedented amounts of soppiness* 

I love Mr Sunny with all my heart, these photos were him just being him really! Obviously the gold camera bag (below) was posed but the photo above was him just sitting down watching the world go by...yup he's that cool (makes me look like an escaped hippie vagabond all the time)! He's a massive consolation of being land locked and makes every day amazing- ok, gush fest over!!! 

 
 

The photo above and two below are from around Birmingham city center, I'm still amazed after years of moaning about this place that I discover beautiful areas like this and actually learn that I quite like the place! Wearing my favorite hat again! 
 
 


I couldn't talk about a regular week without mentioning my beloved Bruh Bunny. Me and him are latch key kids ferrying between my home and Mr Sunny's house, he is however the most unflappable rabbit I've ever encountered. Today I was cleaning and happened to put Mr Sunny's skateboard down, which Bruh then promptly climbed upon - he most definitely takes after his owner! 

Whatever your circumstances, whether a sea dweller or a land locked surfer like me I hope you find great moments of extraordinary ordinary in your life. Live it well saltwater yogis! 

Until next time 

Stay strong, surf well

Love

Around 2am I was vomiting, which at the time I couldn't deduce whether was because of stress bought on by grief, or just a bug I'd inherited. 
Waking up a few hours later, weary and with that cotton wool head you tend to get after a restless nights sleep, I blundered through my day like a newborn baby deer. 

That was until I did three things. 

I took a duvet day, I meditated and I began reading eat, pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert. 

I'm not sure about you but I don't do stillness. I find it almost impossible. Wreaked with illness I will still work out or walk the dog, I can only manage two hours max of watching television/reading (if that) and sitting doing nothing is comparable to shutting my fingers in the door - impractical and unnecessary. 

Except stillness is completely necessary. 

How are you supposed to hear or feel anything if your not able to stop and listen? 
Imagine we are like a TV antennae, to pick up a signal it is necessary for us to stop stationary in one place long enough to catch something. 

To stop fidgeting I meditate. 

Today I chose to finally do a visualization meditation for healing which my good friend Jemima has been raving about. Her exuberance for the fifteen minute tutorial was well founded, I dreamily transcended through layer after layer of consciousness until I was able to walk around in a place of complete sanctuary. I came back to myself feeling lightness and strength. 

I love hippie dippie stuff. I know to the novice it sounds weird, or a bit far out but there's a reason Buddhists are always smiling. Meditation helps you silence the inertia of destructive thought processes and with it the ability to accept samsara (suffereing) as an inevitable part of life. 

Samsara is Nirvana. 

- Which basically means no pain, no gain. If you accept that happiness is fleeting and suffering is a much a part of life as oxygen is, your far more likely to be receptive enough to accept happiness when you are actually blessed with it. 

Now I know I'm about eight years behind the hype but I finally picked up a copy of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Unfortunately I'm one of those terrible people who see the film before reading the book, but I knew I loved the Julia Roberts movie so discovering the book feels like a spiritual endeavor. 

I love her warmth and the candor of her words, this is a woman not afraid to explore her self indulgent tendencies (which we all have) or her vulnerabilities. Its making me think about my impending trip to South Africa, how much of a whim it was deciding to go. It's also making me think long and hard about where I want to study. I got into two Universities literally opposite ends of the country. 

One means seaside living, surfing and a course of my dreams. 
The second is town life, world wide placements and the man of my dreams. 

I think I'm going to need a lot of prayer and love to figure this one out...

I'll keep you posted. 

Beautiful things I saw. 

      

































Until next time, 

Stay strong, Surf well 
Love