#Happy Yoga Day 2021

[fascinationstreetmp3]

other books from Daniel’s apartment i’ve been able to pick out are “ADVICE AND DISSENT: WHY AMERICA SUFFERS WHEN ECONOMICS AND POLITICS COLLIDE” by Alan S. Blinder (2018), Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could by Adam Schiff (2021) and Them: A Memoir of Parents by Francine du Plessix Gray (2005)

i really wish we could see all the books the set designers chose! i feel like the ones we can see/read more clearly might've been intentional choices but i wonder how intentional others are. were they just randomly picked as set dressing, or can they offer any insight into daniel? have some been left behind by someone else? an ex-wife/daughter/etc... (did anyone else ever live in this apartment too? or has it always been just him?)

i can make out a few by the tv:

Dairy Queen Days by Robert Inman (1997)

Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble by Lester R. Brown (2006)

Attila: The Judgement by William Napier (2008)

In a Heartbeat by Rosalind Noonan (2010)

The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal (2008)

Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism by Jacques Dupuis (1997)

Strawberry Hill: Horace Walpole's Gothic Castle by Anna Chalcraft, Judith Viscardi (2007)

The Yoga Book: A Practical Guide to Self-realization Through the Practice of Ashtanga Yoga by Stephen Sturgess (1997)

A Pictorial History of the Talkies by Daniel Blum (1958)

(yes i already pointed that last one out but i wanted to include it in the list)

[beautifulmindset111]

MY JOURNEY/ PROGRESS WITH THE VOID STATE

If you checked my post below this one at the bottom of the post I was saying i was trying to enter void state using yoga nidra (Jason Stephen yoga nidra his worked the best for me) I didn’t enter last night bcuz my muscle was jerking so I thought it would mess up my progress buttt it was just falling asleep quickly so if I js ignore it and didn’t pay so much attention I would’ve entered the void state and that’s what it’s going to happen tonight im deciding and allowing myself to go in the void state finally after so long (since 2021) im gonna stop yapping and update yall later but yesterday was night 1 so the first update will be from yesterday night

5/16/24 - did the guided meditation (Jason Stephen’s) at 2:00 am 2x and affirmed and didn’t enter bcuz of the muscle jerks I was having .

same day - At 5:00 am rn i did the meditation and affirmed but i was not in right state it helped feel relaxed kinda but i was not focused on the meditation. so it didn’t get me into that state of deep consciousness that i tapped into 2 days i wasn’t focused on what he was saying and was kinda late to his commands some i didn’t even know what to focus on buttt i sooo recommend his yoga nidra and I spelled his name wrong it’s Jason Stephenson yall 😭but like i was saying i recommend his vid sm 2 days ago when I was focused on it I felt idk how to explain it but like a good light headedness when I was done . So I js wasn’t focused enough tho. I needed to ground myself kinda but yh guys happy manifesting and shiftingggg🫶🏾✌🏾

5/17/24- didn’t do it 😁

5/18/24- i just tried a 2hr yoga nidra guided meditation by ally boothroyth and I didn’t even do deep breaths I js laid there focusing on my breath listening to her talking. I didn’t do any deep breathing exercises bc I’m not really good at them and I’m lazy 😭 i wanted to do a longer version bcuz I js thought it was better bc it’s 2hrs and Ik I’m gonna probably enter/wake up in the void by then and I’m not a fan of silence it makes me bored and fall asleep i started seeing a light white flashes it wasn’t literally flashing at me but like yk when ur under water and u see the waves type shii thats how it was and then my left hand started feeling floaty and then I started feeling like I was spinning like I was a roasted pig on a bonfire and yea then I opened my eyes! im definitely going to try this tn !!! I’ll update u guys tmrw!!!!!!

5/19/24- I tried it this morning and my hand felt floaty that’s it my end time was 23:22.

5/25/24- hey guys ik I’ve been distant and im ngl i haven’t rlly been doing anything these past few days i going to stay off of tumblr for a while and stay consistent with my void journey but off social media i love u guys sm and im thankful for u guys sticking by me and watching my progress. once I get into the void I’ll come back and tell u guys my experience and what I manifested im going to stay on tumblr and give u guys advice !! So farewell for now my bunnis until I come back 🩷 - ariisrealities

[originallandlockedmariner]

2023

Pickleball. Generative AI. Lula takes office in Brazil, Amazon Rainforest throws a party. Prince Harry refusing to stop talking about his frozen penis no matter how many times society begged him to stop. UFOs are real. Viral cat dubbed ‘largest cat anyone has ever seen’ gets adopted. Pee-Wee’s big adventure ends. Musk & X. Turkey-Syria earthquake kills thousands. India surpasses China as ‘country squeezing in the most peeps’. Tucker Carlson ousted. Miss USA and her 30 lbs moon costume. Wildfires in Kelowna and Hawaii. Macron tinkers with retirement age of the French. Paltrow can’t ski. Big Red Boots. Bob Barker leaves us. Alabama mom delivers 2 babies from her 2 uteruses in 2 days. Charles III. Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces as the war drags on. Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year. African ‘coup belt’. Flo-Jo dies in her sleep. Chinese spy balloon shot down. Hollywood writers strike. Human ‘nice mugshot’ Shitstain and his 91 indictments. Highest interest rates in 2 decades. The Bear’s Christmas episode. War in Gaza. Shinzo Abe is assassinated. Alex Murdaugh. Ocean Cleanup removes 25 000 lbs of trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Vase purchased for $3.99 sells for $100 000 at auction. Barbenheimer. A third of Pakistan is flooded. Lionel Messi is the GOAT. Travis Kelce. The Sphere opens in Las Vegas. Regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, resulting in two of the three largest bank failures in U.S. history. “The Woman In Me”. WHO declares COVID ain’t a thing no more. Titan sub sinks, rich people die. Matthew Perry drowns. Dumbledore Dies (again). Massive sales of ‘Fuck Trudeau’ flags for jacked-up micro-dick trucks. Everything Everywhere All At Once. June-August was the hottest three-month period in recorded history across the Earth. Tina Turner dies. And the Beatles release a new song?! Wow… You got big shoes to fill 2024.

Archives for context:

2020

Kobe. Pandemic. Lockdown. Koalas on fire. Harry and Meg retire. Toilet paper hoarding. Alcoholism. Impeach the f*cker. Parasite. Bonnie Henry. Tiger King. Working from home. Sourdough bread. Harvey Weinstein guilty. Zoom overdose. Dip your body in sanitizer. 6 feet. Quarantine. OK Boomer. Home schooling (everyone passes). Murder hornets. Dolly Parton. Don’t hug, kiss or see anybody, especially your family. Chris Evans’ junk. TikTok. Glory holes. Face masks. CERB. West Coast wildfires. Stay home. Small Businesses lose, big box stores win. F*ck Bozos. ‘Dreams’ and cranberry juice. Close yoga studios, but thumbs up to your local gym. Speak moistly to me. George Floyd. BLM. F*ck Trump. Phase 2, 3 and Summer. RBG. Baby Yoda. Biden wins. Bond and Black Panther die. No more lockdown. Back to school and work. Just kidding... giddy up round 2. Giuliani leaks shit from his head. Resurgence of chess. UFOs are real. Restrictions. Dave Grohl admits defeat. Monolith. “F*ck... forgot my mask in the car”. No Christmas shenanigans allowed. Bubbles. Alex Trebek. Use the term ‘dumpster fire’ one too many times. Jupiter and Saturn form 'Christmas Star'. Happy New Year Bitches!!!! 2021... you better not sh*t the bed!!

2021

“We love you, you’re very special”. Failed coup attempt at the Capital. Twitter, FB and IG ban Donny. Hammerin’ Hank goes to the Field of Dreams. Bozo no longer richest man but still a twat. Leachman, Tyson, and Holbrook pass. The economy is worse than expected. Kim and Kanye split. Brood X cicadas. Dre has an aneurysm and nearly has his home broken into. Bridgerton. MyPillow CEO is a douche. Covid restrictions extended indefinitely. Captain Von Trapp dies. Proud Boys officially a Terrorist Organization. Richard Ramirez. Cancer takes Screech. Travel bans. Impeachment trial (again?… oh and this was barely February? WTF??!!) Suez Canal blockage. Myanmar protest. Kong dukes it out with Godzilla, while Raya watches. Olympics. Friends compare elective surgeries. F9. Canada Women’s Soccer Gold. Free Britney. Multiverses. Residential Schools in Canada unearth children’s bodies. Kate is Mare of Easttown. Cuomo resigns. Disney and Dwayne cruise together. Wildfires. Delta variants. Musk passes Bezos. Candyman x 5. Capt. Kirk goes to space. F*ck Kyle Rittenhouse. Astros didn’t win. Squid Game. Goodbye Bond. Dune is redone. Angelina is Eternal. Astroworld deaths. Meta. Omicron. Three Spidermen. Tornados in December? World Juniors cancelled. Pills against Covid. School opening delayed. And Betty White dies. 2022… my expectations are ridiculously low…

2022

Wow… eight billion people. Queen Elizabeth II passes away after ruling the Commonwealth before dirt was invented. The monkeypox. Russia plays the role of global a**hole. Wordle. Mother Nature rocks Afghanistan. Hover bike. Styles spits on Pine. Olivia Newton John, Kristie Alley, and Coolio leave us. Pele was traded to team Heaven. FTX implodes. Madonna and the 3-D model of her vagina. Pig gives his heart to a human. Beijing can brag that it is the first city ever to host both the Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics. Uvalde. $3 trillion Apple. Keith Raniere gets 120 years. The Whisky War ends with Canada and Denmark going halfsies. Mar-a-Lago. Nick Cannon brood hits a dozen. Shinzo Abe is assassinated. Inflation goes through the roof (if you can actually afford to put a roof over your head). Volodymyr Zelensky. European heat wave. Bennifer. Salman Rushdie is stabbed on stage, Dave Chappelle tackled, and Chris Rock is only slapped. Thích Nhất Hạnh. Heidi Klum goes full slug. Cuba knocked out by Ian. Liz Truss and 4.1 Scaramuccis. Taylor Swift breaks Ticketmaster. Human shitstain Elon Musk ignores helping mankind and buys Twitter instead. Riri becomes a mommy. NASA launches Artemis 1. Trump still a whiny little b*tch. Music lost Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie, and Meat Loaf. Democracy died at least three times. Pete Davidson continues to date hottest women on the planet (no one understands how?!) Microplastics in our blood. Alex Jones is a c*nt. So is DeSantis. Argentina wins the World Cup. Meghan and Harry. Eddie Munson rips Metallica in the Upside Down. tWitch. Roe vs Wade is overturned by the micro dick energy of the Supreme Court. CODA. James Corden shows he is a "tiny Cretin of a man". Amber (and the sh*t on the bed) Heard (round the world). Sebastian Bear-McClard proves he’s one of the f*cking dumbest men alive. Latin America's ‘pink tide’. Anti-Semitic rants by Ye. Bob Saget. A verified blue checkmark. Godmother of punk Vivienne dies. And, Tom Cruise feels the need for speed yet again. 2023… whatcha got for us?!? Nothing shocks me anymore.

@daily-esprit-descalier

[gakkyun66]

[Leaflet Translation] ☆IDOLiSH7☆ Fan Festival☆ vol.4 – Welcome! AI-na-night!

Translation of the short interview to the seiyuus featured on the “ IDOLiSH7 Fan Festival vol.4 – Welcome! AI-na-night! ” leaflet distributed on the event of the same name. Dates from April 29, 2019. Oomiya Sonic City, Saitama.

⚠️ It contains mid hints about Part 4 of the Main Story ⚠️

Translated from Portuguese to English using Yuunyashi’s translation: https://yuunyanshi.wordpress.com/2021/03/23/traducao-panfleto-idolish7-fan-festival-vol-4-welcome-ai-na-night/

🌈 Toshiki Masuda (Iori’s voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

🌈 I drink chamomile tea, warm my face on the vapor machine and sleep in a room with such a comfy ambience that it’s hard for me to get out of bed. I also force myself to eat something even if I don't want to. 

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

🌈 Of course, the plot is about Nagi. Will IDOLiSH7’s bonds cross the barrier between countries? The plot is serious but it also has that easy-going atmosphere like always.

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

🌈 I would like to talk about all our Ainana memories and how things will develop in the future. Let me hear about your likes/loves and dreams. I’ll be waiting.

💜 Atsushi Abe (Sougo’s voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

💜 I drink a café latte while I relax on a giant puff.

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

💜 There are many but i would like you to pay more attention to ŹOOĻ! And to us in MEZZO” of course.

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

💜 When I realized, we were already at the fourth Fan Festival! Let’s all have fun together again, alright?

🎼 Wataru Hatano (Gaku's voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

🎼 To change the scenario, I try to play a game on the TV but my cat stays on the sofa so I end up leaving the game aside and play with it instead. Those are the moments where I feel more relaxed.

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

🎼 I think Nagi and those who surround him. I would also like you to pay more attention to the new characters. As for TRIGGER, there’s such a realistic scene, so look forward to it!

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

🎼 This is a fan’s festival to enjoy the ainanaverse! This time the veterans of Re:vale will join us! I’m sure it will be fun! Let’s rock together!

🐉 Takuya Sato (Ryunosuke’s voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

🐉 I relax my body while I watch a video of “easy yoga to do at home”. By just doing that I see a difference the next day, so even if I feel tired at night, I try to take at least 5 minutes to do this.

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

🐉 Yes! I wanted to talk about this, this and that but there are things I cannot say. What I would like to say in the first place is that there’s no challenge that cannot be surpassed. Many things have happened in the past but we’ve seen them lift their heads up and keep going forward each time. I would like you to expect the same this time.

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

🐉 I’m really happy to be at the Fan Festival once again! I’m so grateful to spend this time with those who always support me. And I'm not the only TRIGGER member this time! This is incredible! Let’s do our best together! Everyone, let’s have fun!

🍑 Soichiro Hoshi (Momo’s voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

🍑 I like to take long and relaxing baths~~ Well I’m someone who enjoys doing that but on the other side i end up not having much time to sleep. I wish i could do both~~ 

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

🍑 We finally arrived to Part 4. Wait, no, isn't it a bit early??? Things have started to diffuse again! What–? …Well, everything: there are so many things happening in Ainana. Have you managed to catch up~? I also end up a bit overwhelmed (laughs). With Momo and Yuki, part 4 will be really fun!

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

🍑 My first appearance at a Fan Festival! Rather than with excitement, I would like to spend a relaxing time with you. I hope it’ll be like a big rest for everyone. A lot of fun things are waiting for us in Ainana, so let’s enjoy together with the excitement that represents it!

💚 Shinnosuke Tachibana (Yuki’s voice actor)

Q1: About the title “AI-na-night!” What'd you do when you get back home tired at night?

💚 Well, I play. Instead of mobile games that I can carry on wherever I go , I prefer to sit down and play PC or console games, even if it’s just a bit.

Q2: The 4th part has begun! Are there any details you would like people to pay attention to?

💚 Now…body…Yu-...from…Re-...suffers…expo- Aaaaaaaah i can't say it!! (laughs)

Q3: To conclude, leave a message to the fans that shows your enthusiasm about Fan Festival vol.4

💚 We have members of three groups this time at the Fan Festival. We’ll have an amazing event from beginning to end, so let’s enjoy it from the bottom of our hearts! ☆

[scara-meow-che]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀♡⠀W O R K S⠀I N D E X⠀[ L I Y U E ]⠀♡⠀

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

≡⠀CHILDE

O1⠀childe has breeder balls

O2⠀modern au! childe giving head while ur own ur phone

O3⠀seeing you in yoga pants (with kaeya)

O4⠀being his cockholder after getting caught

O5⠀getting railed by ceo! childe while he's in a meeting

O6⠀size kink and breeding kink + his foul legacy form

O7⠀soft hcs (with diluc and zhongli)

O8⠀orgy! with diluc and zhongli

O9⠀s/o with an only fans! hc

1O⠀with a hybrid! reader

11 ⠀leaving marks all over him

12 ⠀possessive childe in modern au!

13 ⠀pussy whipped! childe

14 ⠀exhibitionism hcs

15 ⠀sugar daddy! childe

16 ⠀he fucks you while you're gaming

17 ⠀overstimulating him (with albedo)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

≡⠀MASTER ZHANG

O1⠀kana being horny over him

O2⠀kana being feral over him part two

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

≡⠀SMILEY YANXIAO

O1⠀dilf! smiley yanxiao bcs

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

≡⠀XIAO

O1⠀being an adeptifucker

O2⠀jealous xiao rails you in an alleyway

O3⠀deep-throating you as a way to release his anger

O4⠀he takes you out to fuck you

O5⠀punk! xiao railing you under the stars

O6⠀his karma acts up

O7⠀xiao loves seeing you in a skirt

O8⠀xiao with a corruption kink

O9⠀getting railed by him in a public bathroom

1O⠀s/o with an only fans! hc

11⠀ a cross between soft and hard dom

12⠀ red xiao and green xiao

13⠀ he lowkey ends up loving to overstim you

14⠀ getting breed full by xiao

15⠀ he loves it when you suck on his fingers

16⠀ turned on from giving you a creampie

17⠀ cockwarming him while you do his eyeliner

18 ⠀xiao cumming 5x the normal amount

19 ⠀he fucks you while you're gaming

2O⠀getting railed as a reward for doing a good job

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

≡⠀ZHONGLI

O1⠀worshipping the god that fucks you

O2⠀sharing you with dilf! crepus

O3⠀happy mother's day!

O4⠀dick analysis

O5⠀late night talks

O6⠀mirrors (with kaeya and diluc)

O7⠀getting railed in his dragon form

O8⠀pegging professor zhongli

O9⠀soft hcs (with childe and diluc)

1O⠀orgy! with childe and diluc

11⠀ s/o with an only fans! hc

12⠀ teaching you how to masturbate on cam

13⠀ fucking you in his half-dragon form

14⠀ unrelated ask but the answer speaks abt his horns

15 ⠀he fucks you while you're gaming

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

⠀⠀scara-meow-che © 2021 ┃ do not copy, modify, or repost ANY of my content

[angesaurus]

I’m amazed at you guys posting little monthly recaps. I can hardly remember what I ate yesterday 😂

2022… felt way more challenging than 2020 and 2021. I think I gained 20 lbs. I didn’t even try? I feel like everyone just assumes I just sit and eat all day and I don’t? I just am dealing with health issues and stresses about the kids and my job and my marriage and I just feel like I haven’t had any control over anything. I got some diagnoses and it’s helped but I still just feel like I’m having out of body experiences and that I can’t certainly be someone who is about to go tested for certain things a second time and is trying medication and will most likely be dealing with chronic pain and fatigue the rest of my life.

I have thought a lot about the word of the year thing and I think my word will (loosely) be care. Just in the sense that I’ll be taking care of myself first. No rules, no goals, no restriction just caring for my body and my mind.

I have thought about finding a therapist just to talk out things. I have decided I’m going to start yoga again (YWA anyone? The 30 day thing is starting tomorrow!). I’m going to continue using my bike. I’m going to continue to keep reading books that make me happy or interest me and not care what people think.

[sussex-newswire]

"Once upon a time, Meghan Markle was a TV actress who worked on a successful show and ran a popular lifestyle blog called The Tig on the side. In her adopted home of Toronto, Canada — where Suits filmed for seven seasons — she spent most of her time hanging out with her castmates, practicing yoga and taking her beagle, Guy, for walks. Then she met Prince Harry.

"The pair wed in May 2018 and welcomed son Archie the following year. Meghan had found her Prince Charming, but life behind palace doors was no fairy tale. There was tension with Prince William and Princess Kate, and Meghan took a beating in the U.K. press. 'You’re established in one world and then you enter another and your narrative is dictated by external forces,' a family friend shares in the latest issue of Us Weekly. Amid intense backlash, Meghan, 43, and Harry, 39, left the U.K. in early 2020. They eventually landed in scenic Montecito, California (they purchased their $14 million mansion in July 2020), and had their second child, daughter Lilibet, in June 2021.

"While trying to process the events of the previous few years, she and Harry spoke candidly about some of the trauma they say they faced within the monarchy, first in a March 2021 bombshell TV sit-down and again in their hit 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan. Harry covered similar ground in his more expansive 2023 memoir, Spare. Meanwhile, Meghan shared additional revelations about royal life on her Spotify podcast, 'Archetypes,' until mutually parting ways with the streaming giant in June 2023.

"She briefly appeared to take a breather. But in recent months, Meghan’s been back in the game full throttle. She’s set to launch her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, and her new Netflix series, centered around cooking, entertaining and gardening, has finished filming. In July, she joined a slew of Hollywood heavyweights, including Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow, at the Hamptons home of power broker Amy Griffin for a one-day business summit. 'Meghan was there to network,' says an insider. 'She was very kind and humble and eager to learn.'

"She’s been busy with philanthropic endeavors, too. In August, Meghan and Harry sat down with CBS News to discuss their new campaign, The Parents’ Network, which aims to protect kids from online harm. Two weeks later, they wrapped up a four-day visit to Colombia, marking their second international tour of the year following their May trip to Nigeria. '[I’m] looking at this as my chapter of joy,' Meghan said while attending an August 18 panel.

"'Meghan has transitioned from actress to royal to entrepreneur,” says a second insider. 'She’s worn many hats, but she believes age and experience have [prepared her] for a bigger purpose in life. She’s very happy with the role she’s carved out.'

"Here, Us talks to insiders close to Harry and Meghan about how she’s boldly stepping into her next act."

[lazyyogi]

Spiritual Fitness, Physical Alchemy

When I was growing up, I loved to play. I would run around outside, pretending I was some hero, wizard, or secret agent. I would climb trees, leap from rock to rock across small creeks, and just generally scamper about. In my room, I would put on music and dance all over the place.

Using my body didn't feel like work; it felt like celebration. It was the kind of joyfulness taken entirely for granted, as I had known no alternative at that age.

The Fall

I remember being in elementary school and looking at the middle schoolers who no longer played or enacted pretend games and it made me sad. Their world seemed so boring and I didn't want to join it. But alas, eventually I did.

When I grew older, my recess games were replaced with mandatory sports. The other kids started competing, weight lifting, and finding identities in the teams they had joined. I wanted no part of it.

I attended an all boys private school from kindergarten through high school graduation. While it was a fantastic school, there were plenty of problems inherent in its structure. My experience of athletics and fitness at that time was off-putting and, in a word, toxic. Although 'toxic masculinity' wasn't in the common lexicon at that time, it was that precisely.

It didn't help that I was a terribly sore loser and therefore loathed competition sports. I didn't like how they made me feel; I had no chill about any of it--curse of being the youngest child, I'm told.

I've always been underweight. It's something about which my family never missed an opportunity to tease me. It made me feel bad about myself and influenced my self-image. Nonetheless I was required to partake in 3 sports per year, one for each season. By the time I graduated high school, I was in excellent physical condition even if still underweight.

Yet the depressing impact left upon me by the transition from childhood play to teenage athletics never left me. Having outgrown childish games but without finding a place in athletics, I simply abandoned the matter. And so, in a way, I had also abandoned my body.

When I attended college, I stopped all physical fitness and sports. And that's how it was for the next 10 years of my life.

Crisis Averted

For those of you who have yet to discover this firsthand, once you get past the age of 25ish, your body doesn't feel as happy. Especially if you work a desk job after college. It's around the age of 25 that you first begin to feel the weight of your lifestyle choices.

When I began medical school at the age of 28, my body was unbalanced and unhappy. Spending hours sitting and studying over the previous 3 years during my post-baccalaureate premedical program really fucked me up. I barely ate, barely slept, and was living with chronic musculoskeletal and nerve pain. I was suffering and I wasn't happy with my appearance. That's another story in itself.

Things gradually improved over the next 4 years in medical school. They had free yoga classes, the cafeteria food was palatable, and I enforced a regular sleep schedule. My body started to normalize.

It was my transition to residency in 2020 when I actually started to thrive.

As a resident physician, I never know when I will have a chance to eat. So I learned to pay attention to how my body feels in order to determine if I need to eat rather than relying on the hunger sensation to prompt meals. I started doing elliptical cardio regularly and yoga occasionally. And, after a heart-rending breakup in 2021, I began using free weights.

Reanimation

A major turning point was early Spring 2022 when a friend introduced me to something called the X3 Home Gym. It heralded my moment of reckoning with strength training.

At the time I would do cardio 3-5 days per week, strength training 1-3 days per week, and some yoga on my off days. All at home or in my building's gym.

The X3 system brings the entirety of a weight lifting gym setup into your home. It is convenient, effective, and time-efficient. I could go on and on about it. The website looks like something out of an infomercial and if it weren't for the fact that my friend is incredibly muscular and swears by it, I wouldn't have tried it. But I did and it works really, really well.

Plus there is no toxic masculinity involved (unless you join their facebook group, which I did for the lolz and workout tips).

Adding essential amino acid protein pills was the finishing touch. I started to gain weight and muscle!

Now I do strength training 5-6 days per week, I do cardio 1-3 days per week, and I do yoga 1-3 days per week. This will fluctuate depending on my work schedule and level of exhaustion. If necessary, I cut out yoga and cardio while trying to preserve my days of strength training. Here's why.

I love cardio. It makes me feel physically happy. It boosts my overall mood and it has a legitimate cleansing effect. I love yoga. It works out the kinks in my body and repairs the idiosyncrasies of my postures and habits of movement. I love these practices so much that they are easy to pick up again after stopping.

But something I learned from yoga is that it's often the poses you avoid that are the ones you really need. For me, that was strength training.

As you might have surmised, strength training doesn't come naturally to me. It doesn't feel good to do it; it is painful. But I've come to recognize that for my body type, strength training is what balances my physicality most.

Self-Healing

I mentioned before that I have always been underweight and it's true. I have a body type that, if I'm not careful, I can easily start shedding pounds.

When I'm stressed, I lose my appetite. If I'm engaged in something, I wont notice when I'm hungry. And even if I eat a ton of crappy food, I won't put on weight if I'm not doing some form of exercise to signal my body to do so. I have often struggled with and resented these aspects of my human form.

Similar to how women face societal expectations to be a certain weight and shape, men aren't supposed to be skinny. Overweight is okay; it can still be manly. But underweight men will be teased, feminized, and often deemed unattractive or sickly-appearing. I know this from experience.

Combining that with the aversions from my school days and it is safe to say I had a fair bit of baggage lodged in my mind and body. I recognized this and learned to work through it with meditation, somatic spiritual practices, and other therapeutic methods. Exercise helped significantly in that process.

I now continue my exercise practice for two reasons:

I want my body to feel happy, healthy, and capable. My job literally depends on it.

I want to live a long enough life to make the most of my spiritual practice and ideally realize enlightenment.

There are two large purchases I've made during residency that truly revolutionized my lifestyle. They are the X3 and the Theragun massage gun. I can confidently say that my body is happier and healthier than it has been since graduating high school.

Side note: I fucking love massages. My first treat-yo-self splurge after I finish residency will be buying a balls-to-the-wall tricked out massage chair.

Somaticism

There is a secret third reason behind my fitness journey: somatic spiritual practice.

The first ever lifestyle habit that I made for myself was daily meditation. Spirituality, to me, is a matter of life and death. There is nothing else about which I am more sincere and concerned. So when something connects with that, I find it easier to make it a part of my daily life. Physical exercise has grown to be a part of my spiritual practice.

Similar to how sitting meditation focuses the mind's attention, somatic spirituality focuses the physical feeling of the body. And just as sitting meditation frees you from the mind, somatic practice frees you from the body.

Freedom from the body does not happen by rejecting or in some sense leaving the body. It happens by completely inhabiting the body, releasing traumas, relaxing tensions, stretching out contractions, breathing strength into numb and abandoned areas, and then letting go of the body from within.

It's not about transcending the body so much as it is an integration and liberation.

When it comes to inhabiting, releasing, relaxing, stretching, and strengthening, physical exercise when combined with somatic methods has been an effective means. Its effects go beyond the physical body to intimately involve the subtle energy body as well.

So, if there is a single takeaway from this story, it would be this:

When paired with spiritual practice, physical exercise may become an alchemical process.

My own story is an example of how one may transform their relationship with their body and gender, as well as their overall health.

Meditation doesn't make you into a different person, it helps you to discover and be as you are with exquisite and divine ease. Physical exercise, when approached as part of the spiritual path, does exactly the same.

I hope that one day I will be in a position to teach this to others.

LY

[itsthebethblogever]

What I Learned from Vipassana, a Ten Day Silent Meditation Retreat

Part One

What did I learn from Vipassana? : An Executive Summary

That it is possible to experience joy, elation, ecstasy, from within. From becoming fully present through breath. That when the mind chatter dies down, you can discover what’s left - in my case, it’s poetry, songs, rhymes. That the feeling of utter, electric excitement, like going to bed the night before a trip to the amusement park as a child, can be accessed from inside. That the feeling I had in the back of my mind that I should stop relying on external sources to produce certain feelings and instead learn how to access them myself was right. That even though I’ve been in a funk for months now, there is hope for me to reconnect to my inner joy.

In life, everything you do, there are patterns repeated, whether or not you are conscious of them. Through meditation, you can observe these patterns and have the opportunity to work on improving yourself, which is both physical and mental work. For example - as I write this, I am pausing after every sentence or so to stare off into space as my mind falls down a tangent. This also happens in meditation. Physically, sitting down for extended periods of time brings out pain that are opportunities to practice remaining “equanimous”, a key term from Vipassana meaning remaining neutral. We are taught that all sensations are just temporary, so it is pointless to attach to them. Then, mentally, we go back to the breath/body scan/mantra/visualization/etc (depending on the style of meditation) to anchor our concentration.

S. N. Goenka, the teacher whose recordings are played at the 380 Vipassana centers throughout 94 countries, guides us to smile when we realize we have wandered off. Lovingly, he tells us to be curious, aware, attentive, and come back to the breath, without feeling anger or frustration - remaining equanimous. The number of times I have heard “come back to the breath” during yoga classes, inspirational speeches, etc is countless, yet, after this experience, these words mean something entirely different to me now. I feel I have learned a tool that I KNOW has brought me back to peace. By continuing to practice, I feel will improve my ability to reach equanimity faster and for longer periods of time. Eventually, it may even become my natural state. A life without suffering, misery, agitation, frustration… Enlightenment: the ultimate phase of meditation. Sounds pretty sweet to me.

Do I recommend signing up for a Vipassana course near you? Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt, I feel every single person would immensely benefit. This is one reason I want to share my experience, because I know this has changed my life dramatically for the better. That being said, from the first time I heard of Vipassana to actually attending, three years of contemplation passed. It is important to understand what you are getting yourself into, as it is a serious undertaking. By reading my insights, I hope whoever reads this learns something that brings you more peace, happiness, and love.

Link to find a Vipassana course near you: https://www.dhamma.org/en/courses/search

“Bhavatu sabba-mangalam - May all beings be happy!” - S. N. Goenka (30 January 1924, Mandalay, Myanmar aka Burma - 29 September 2013, Mumbai, India)

How did I hear about Vipassana? What was the application process like?

I first heard about Vipassana through my sibling Jesse, who told me about it when I ended my relationship in 2021. Even though Jesse had not done a course, they reckoned it would be helpful for navigating that big transformational period. My first application was for a course in Idaho in March 2022. Apart from the standard personal information, the online form asks for detailed information about your physical and mental health, substance use, and previous meditation and therapy experiences. They really want you to get specific, including dates, types, frequency, etc. As it was covid times, they required I had my own private vehicle in case I got sick. However, I was not willing to pay for a rental during that time, so I canceled my spot. The idea was put on the back burner, as I began working full time and honestly forgot about it.

Fast forwarding to my move to Australia, I remembered the idea and decided to apply to a center in Tasmania in February 2023. Again, I was accepted, but canceled because I didn’t feel like investing in going to the island just for the course, and it would have been too cold at that time to stay on and travel there. I kept it on my radar and applied to another center near where my brother and sister and law live in Queensland for December 2023. This one rejected me, saying because I disclosed that I had used magic mushrooms, the course teacher advised I should wait six months and reapply. This confused me, as there were a number of other substances I listed that felt more damaging than shrooms, yet, I could do nothing but wait. I did try to apply to another center, thinking another center’s teacher may have different rules, but they informed me they saw the other teacher’s decision and felt the same way. Whoops.

Finally, at the end of April 2024, I applied to Dhamma Pasada, a smaller center near Sydney, New South Wales, that was running a women’s only course at the end of May. At that moment, I had been traveling full time since February, and I was craving stability and direction. Sitting for ten days in meditation sounded like the perfect way to achieve that, so I prayed it would finally work out. You see, many centers fill up months in advance, as this is a free, donation-based course with limited spots. After two weeks, I was told the course was full but could put my name on a waiting list. I confirmed, crossing my fingers.

Four days later, I got another email saying a space had become available! The day I received this news was also the first day I began volunteering at the Krishna Village in Eungella, NSW. My commitment was to be there for four weeks, so it meant I would have to cut my volunteering short in order to attend. Thankfully, I asked the volunteer coordinator if I could go and then come back and was told yes. The location of the Vipassana center wasn’t the most convenient, as I was now a nine hours drive north of Sydney, so I decided to leave my car at the village for friends to use while I was away and book a train back down the coast.

Vipassana: Days Zero to Four

My ten days at the Dhamma Pasada Vipassana Meditation Center in Lower Portland, New South Wales (about an hour and a half’s drive out from Sydney in the mountains) was spent in almost total silence, avoiding eye contact and physical touch, with twenty five female students, one teacher, one site manager, and a few servers. Going in, I did not have any expectations, and had tried my best to know the least about what was in store. I did set the intentions to explore and become acquainted with my inner self, as well as reconnect with my inner joy. However, I have to say that nothing you can hear or expect can prepare you for the reality of the course. Yes, it was painful - bordering torturous at times. I can definitely see how some people give up and leave the course early - it was actually nice I didn’t have my car with me, because I couldn’t even entertain the idea of packing up and leaving (there’s a Vipassana center-specific rideshare website where I found another student who gave three of us rides there).

Above all, it was absolutely transformational. I will share some stories and lessons to provide a peek into the reality of surrendering myself to a highly structured, quite extreme environment in the name of self development. Oh, what it is to be a human.

//

Day Zero is when students are arrive between three thirty and five thirty pm. We have time to get settled in our rooms, hand over our phones, journals, food, and any other items not allowed during the course, and eat dinner together. At eight pm, the vow of Noble Silence begins, as does the official start of the course. On the first full day, Day One, our teacher Suzanne shared with us that we are in boot camp for the mind. Oh my, was she spot on. My feeling was that she waited until we had all taken our vow of silence and agreed to stay to then reveal that we are in for something more intense than we may have imagined.

During the first three days, we learn Anapana meditation, a style where we only focus on feeling the sensations of our breath coming in and out of our nose. We focus all of our attention on the area above our upper lip and around our nostrils, paying attention to the change of temperature when the air comes in cool versus when it leaves warmer. I would get furious with myself at how challenging it was to stay focused on my breath.

To make matters worse, I was deep in the trenches of examining myself, feeling guilt and shame over my recent and past behavior. You see, every night at seven pm, we have the evening discourse, which I like to call “Movie Night”. Instead of just audio, we get to watch an hour and fifteen minutes or so video of Goenka lecturing to a hall of Vipassana students.

Tangent: A source of entertainment from the videos were their trademark eighties style of recording. For example - his wife Elaichi Devi Goenka sits beside him, who you can sometimes see when the camera person exercises their artistic license by randomly zooming in and out. It made me nostalgic, taking me back to the family home video era, where mastering the technique of smoothly pressing down on the camcorder’s grooved zoom adjuster was a skill in itself. Noticing any hint of disorder within our highly structured day provided me with a reminder of Life Before Vipassana, a reality which feels so distant when five minutes can feel like ages and you still have a WEEK to go. Jesus, was it hard.

To circle back, Goenka talks in these discourses about challenges that may be arising based off commonly asked questions/complaints/doubts from past students, teachings from Dhamma, the “cosmic law and order” moral codes and virtues taught by Buddha, along with stories from his personal experiences, teachers, and culture. In my opinion, if one were to just watch these discourses, it would be enough to change your life. Goenka is able to share ancient wisdom with such clear examples, gripping stories, and - best of all - HUMOR. Anyone of any culture can grasp the meaning. After a long day of sitting with all of my inner demons, I would always look forward to Movie Night, as it was a reliable, fresh spring of renewed inspiration and determination to keep fighting.

When learning the Anapana meditation technique, there were times I doubted whether I was feeling any kind of sensation outside my nose at all. Thoughts of all the chemicals I’ve snorted made me wonder if that decreased the sensitivity inside my nasal cavity. I decided to request a meeting with Suzanne, who is available to meet with students every day for an hour after lunch. Sitting on a raised platform facing us at the front of the meditation hall, she is responsible for beginning the recordings, keeping us on time, and our overall wellbeing. About every other day, she calls up students row by row to ask us questions and check in with our progress. This means we not only get to talk about how we are, but also hear how our fellow meditators are doing. Additionally, she is available for questions after the last meditation of the day ends at nine pm. So, despite what I expected, you definitely do speak during the ten days.

At our afternoon meeting, she reminded me to be gentle, kind, and compassionate with myself. Aye yi yi, oh how my patterns continue to arise - every friend/coach/therapist I’ve spoken to in the past couple years always says the same thing. It’s tiring how hard I am on myself, and I’m so ready to give that up, but it’s quite an engrained pattern that takes time to erode.

By bringing a smile to my lips, even when happiness was far from what I was feeling, slowly I made progress on becoming less negatively reactive when I got distracted. Here is an example of the unexpected benefits of meditation - I can use this same attitude when something goes wrong outside of the practice. Goenka teaches that all misery stems from attaching yourself to either feelings of craving or of aversion, which is by far one of my biggest takeaways from the course. When broken up into these two categories (craving and aversion), it becomes so obvious to identify the root of any discomfort.

So often, if I make a mistake, waves of resentment, regret, disgust overtake me, and I make no effort to shake them off. I feel I must punish myself… God, that is some ugly conditioning to un-do. This deals with craving a different outcome, or wishing it had not occurred - aversion. On Day Two or Three, when this concept was explained during Movie Night, the truth bomb exploded inside of me. It left no doubts surviving in regards to why or who was the cause of the heaviness I have been carrying: me. The clearest example of this is in my poetry found on my blog. ESPECIALLY the last post, which might as well be used as a Before Vipassana advertisement.

A life changing realization I had was that I recognized I had been in a CONSTANT state of craving: craving money, craving clothes, craving a van, even craving other people’s lives - from the moment I woke up to the moment I fell asleep. Instinctively, I knew I had everything I needed and more. I would remind myself: I am in Australia, free to travel and pursue whatever I feel like doing, with family and friends who love me, a lifetime of achievements under my belt, a healthy body, etc etc… yet, still be left with feelings of unhappiness/unfulfillment/emptiness. UGH. This is that funk I referred to previously. Now, I could identify what thoughts were causing the funk, and begin to work on decreasing them.

On the other side of the coin, there was my addiction to pleasure. To fill this emptiness caused by my craving, I’d turn to: weed, food, sugar, orgasms, social media - any external source to feed my hunger for positive sensations. Craving pleasure to avoid pain. These habits I was more aware of, and had already started seeking out ways to healthily satisfy this urge, knowing deep down I should be able to generate this feeling myself. Lo and behold, on Day Two during the pre-dinner meditation, I felt a surge of joy, peace, love - a feeling of being high, and this was simply through focusing on my rhythmic breathing. This accounts to what Goenka explains, about how it brings you to the present. Body and mind can reconnect to the omnipresent miracle that is to be alive, by escaping the confines of my pleasure-pain cycle addicted mind.

Feeling ecstatically high, as pleasant as it is, also comes with its danger- we are not meant to make this a goal to chase. All sensations are temporary, we are taught, so holding on to the desire to maintain a sensation will make us miserable. It’s one thing to hear and understand a concept, but in order to truly learn it, we have to experience it for ourselves. This ties into one of the teachings from the Buddha that Goenka speaks about: “panna”, the Sanskrit word for wisdom. Panna has three levels: “sutra-maya panna” = received wisdom, “cinta-maya panna” = intellectual wisdom, and “bhavana-maya panna” = experiential wisdom. When we listen to Goenka’s words (received wisdom) we can try to understand it (intellectual wisdom), and then try out the techniques through meditation (experiental wisdom). Luckily for us, we are there for ten days, so we have ample time to integrate the panna until reaching the final phase.

The very next day, feeling bright and fresh after the breakthrough moment, a delicious meal of daal was served for lunch. As eating was one of the few external pleasures to look forward to, I indulged with two helpings. Reveling in the spicy warmth brought to my taste buds thanks to the chili flakes I generously sprinkled on felt like a form of enlightenment, especially after a cold foggy morning spent bundled up for hours in the meditation hall.

After the two hour lunch break concluded, the sun had come out and things started heating up. Perhaps it was the added spice, or the fact that the daal was cooked in ghee and aroused my lactose intolerance, or that it was day three and I was sitting with the reality of “oh my god there is still an entire week left of this, what have I gotten myself into, how can I survive, this is too much for me, nuh uh” that broke me. The post lunch sits seemed like the longest and hardest part of the day, as there are three meditations in a row with only a short break of ten to fifteen minutes in between. At this stage, I was playing my usual game of How Far Can I Push Myself by setting the goal to attend every meditation in the hall (as some you have the option to stay in your room), as well as to not get up from my sitting position.

With a full, spicy belly, I was finding it torturous to stay awake, which also meant I could not concentrate on my breath at all. The number of times I got distracted peaked and it felt like I had regressed on the progress I had made, only adding more fuel to my fire. Pluuus, I hadn’t gotten the hang of positioning my body, but I was determined to not move as that was the goal I had set for myself. For the first time in my life, I felt desperate enough to start pleading to any and all unknown forces to help me make it through, to ease the pain, in return for promises to change my behavior from then on out. The physical and mental pain were actually so bad I was fighting back tears. As SOON as I heard Goenka’s chanting which signified the end of meditation, I stretched my legs out, sending what felt like excruciating, unbearable jolts of pain from my knees through to the top of my spine. It took everything in me to not burst out in tears then and there, as I wanted to wait until I was alone to wallow in my despair.

I still had enough wits about me to decide to grab the two measly pieces of fruit given to us for “tea”, Vipassana code for the evening meal. This is what the New Students, aka those who have not ever done a Vipassana course before, were allowed, and the Old Students who have sat a ten day course before had just lemon water and honey for their ‘dinner’.

Immediately after, I rage stormed back to outside my cabin with an apple, orange, and chamomile tea in hand. Setting them aside, the floodgates opened and I began sobbing, the kind that you feel your whole stomach lurching and your shoulders rocking up and down. RELEASE. I felt SUCH a release. Later in my room, I checked and my knees actually had bruises from over extending them or who knows what. You see, another pattern of mine is not complaining/moving even when things are bad. So, for me to have gotten to that extreme meant I pushed way past what would be considered a normal limit, and kept going until finally I reached my at times self deprecating level of pain endurance.

Of course, Goenka had advised us to leave a quarter of the stomach empty for meditation, and of course, I had to learn to heed that advice the hard way. Alert, alert, alert - another pattern of mine! More often than I’d like to admit, I see myself above the advice given by authority figures/laws/you name it. The rules apply to other people, but not to me, if I find them in conflict with my preferred way of operating.

It was confronting to go from feeling such satisfaction to such dejection. This is where I learned the bhavana-maya panna, the experiential wisdom, of what can come of attaching myself to pleasant experiences.

On Day Four, we switch from Anapana, concentrating on the breath, to Vipassana, a body scan. Just that morning, my Anapana meditations had gone great. I was feeling giddy from the simple sensation of sensing the outgoing breath on my upper lip and loving life. In the afternoon, we had the first sit to learn the Vipassana method. From three to five pm, all students are encouraged to stay inside the meditation hall during the entire time. Until then, we had been allowed to leave to take breaks if necessary, such as go on a walk, go to the bathroom, blow your nose, etc.

These two hours, we listen to Goenka guiding us “part by part, piece by piece”, to observe the sensations in our entire body. I could feel myself floating away. The more present I became by focusing on my body, the less attached I became to my physical form. I became so relaxed, light, and alert that I could intuit how practicing this could lead into being able to separate myself from mind and matter. It also reminded me that I had felt this before in guided meditations I had done, mainly under the influence of weed and/or rapé. This was a breakthrough moment for me, filling me with motivation that I was experiencing something I thought I needed weed to do. Boop - new neural pathway achieved! I can do this without external influences!

However, this excited feeling did not last long. After this initial guided body scan, we were then set loose to practice this method ourselves. It had taken me three days to become comfortable with Anapana. Now, I’d have to switch from focusing on one part of my body - again, which had taken me three days to get the hang of - to scanning my WHOLE body?!

The amount of time Goenka suggests the average body scan should take is ten minutes. I kid you not, I would get SO distracted, that in the period of one hour, I managed to do two body scans. Ohhh how the WAVE of FRUSTRATION and agitation and self-bullying overtook me again! And HARD! The mind chatter was back, buzzing with realizations inspired by the nightly discourses that were bringing to light the reality of my shadows, and I was digging deep to find the source of these patterns.

…To be continued!

[oh-yeah-just-watch-me]

It was my boyfriend D’s birthday today so when I came over I made him a mocha honey cappuccino with the espresso machine I bought him for his birthday and topped it with whipped cream I whipped by hand (because I didn’t want to use the loud machine that might wake him up).

I worked out intensely for 30 minutes. Was dripping sweat all over the yoga man doing a 30 minute HIIT work out. I’ve been trying to push myself these last two days and I feel great. Maybe it’s because I allow myself to eat a little before I work out and I have been working my physical therapy exercises into my routine.

I went to work for 5 hours. During work I sent macarons to my boyfriend’s house because it’s his bday. He was so happy he came to work and shared them with me when I was able to take my 15 minute break. Came back home and went to my community meeting for an hour. There were ribs and chicken and pork chops. Got approval from the CEO to leave for a week for vacation in New York/Massachusetts for May 27-June 2.

When I came back to my boyfriend’s house I had the left over steak and Brussel sprouts and he had already booked every part of the vacation. The flights, the car, the hotels, the shows on broadway, everything. I really love him but I haven’t said those words yet to him. It’s been 4.5 months and I only just started kissing him 2 days ago…

I soaked in the bath with a lush bath bomb. Then We ordered in sushi (even though we’d been saying we’d cook more to gain control over the ingredients in our food, only because we agreed that we should because it was his birthday. Then I enrolled for my summer classes and he payed for them. 🩵

We haven’t figured out the FAFSA situation yet but I do know that I have to get some information about my 2021 W-2’s.

We will do that tomorrow. I wonder what else I will do, I have a 4 day weekend.

[criticallyacclaimedstranger]

I was tagged by @movievillainess721 for this. Thank you! Haven't been tagged for anything in a long while so this was fun!

1. Are you named after anyone?

I supposedly am named after a daughter that my grandmother on dad's side miscarried. She and grandad ended up with two sons but there should have been a girl in the middle.

2. when was the last time you cried?

Shed a couple of tears about an hour ago when watching the last two episodes of Derry Girls.

3. Do you have kids?

Absolutely not, nor do I want any.

4. Do you use sarcasm?

Oh no, absolutely never!

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

How annoying they are.

6. What's your eye color?

Blue.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

I can't watch scary movies unless it's in the middle of the day in the summertime, so I guess happy endings. Mind you: I loathe romance movies, so it has to be drama with happy endings. But the ending has to make sense, you know?

8. Any special talents?

I don't really know what this means. I taught myself to knit and that's pretty special to me, but a gazillion people worldwide knit better than I do.

9. Where were you born?

In a hospital.

10. What are your hobbies?

Knitting. Ashtanga yoga. Used to do kung-fu for 12 years but then the pandemic came and when practice started again in 2021 I had grown lazy. Still miss it though.

11. Have you any pets?

I live with the best cat in the world <3

12. What sports do you play/ have you played?

See above: kung-fu. I hated all sports and avoided them like the plague until I found kung-fu. Not that I consider it a sport per se, it's more of a very physical philosophy in the same way yoga is.

13. How tall are you?

Around 162-164 cm, I have no idea.

14. Last book you read?

A book on knitting by a knitter. It was a simple, quick read. Nothing special.

15. Dream job?

I don't dream about working.

Tagging @lovesbiggerthanpride @pazizz @pretty-girl-likes-tea @scorpiowidow @vending-machine-witch

Do you want to be tagged in different games? Let me know. I only tag those who ask. Don't be shy to ask to be on the list: I want those of you who feel you never get involved in these things to be included as well.

[ivelovedhimthroughworse]

I posted 1,485 times in 2022

That's 1,175 more posts than 2021!

122 posts created (8%)

1,363 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@urban-sith

@bookish-bogwitch

@facewithoutheart

@cutestkilla

@captain-aralias

I tagged 1,365 of my posts in 2022

Only 8% of my posts had no tags

#simon snow - 406 posts

#baz pitch - 375 posts

#snowbaz - 338 posts

#wip wednesday - 135 posts

#six sentence sunday - 133 posts

#inktober 2022 - 74 posts

#goatober 2022 - 55 posts

#ofmd - 43 posts

#fic rec - 37 posts

#fallen from the sky with grace - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 120 characters

#i wish it could be a book in your bookshelf and my bookshelf and i could tuck it in someone's hands and say 'read this'

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Happy Inktober Goatober!

@foolofabookwyrm-activated made the perfect prompt list for 2022.

Day Five - CHAOS

Day Three - Friends : Link

Credit to @krisrix for his Watford era hair styles: Link

121 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

#4

Happy Inktober Goatober!

Happy Halloween! I made it to the end this year! Woot woot!

Day Thirty-one: Spooky

Who ya gonna call? GOAT BUSTERS!

Cheers to @foolofabookwyrm-activated who came up with the idea of Goatober and frankly made a prompt list that was way more fun than the regular one!

And cheers to my fellow participants : @tea-brigade @superchlorine @thelostkat @milady-pink @erzbethluna

You're all awesome!

Day Twenty-Nine - Fairytale : Link

138 notes - Posted October 31, 2022

#3

Happy Inktober Goatober!

@foolofabookwyrm-activated made the perfect prompt list for 2022.

Day 8 : Kids

Baby goats in pajamas! Is apparently a thing!

Day 6 : Yoga

141 notes - Posted October 8, 2022

#2

Feeling cheeky...

Thanks to @krisrix for guidance and encouragement.

145 notes - Posted March 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

New Art Commission for

Fallen From the Sky with Grace

Yes, it's true. I commissioned a second piece of art for my story. And look at it! Isnt it gorgeous?

The incomparable, breathtakingly talented @cynopoe made this afterglow scene for chapter two - Turbulence

I've cropped the middle out so Tumblr doesn't flag the nudity, but stop and take a closer look. There are so many details in the composition. Look at their body language. Zoom in to see the expression on Simon's face. Omg that dappled light which turns a London park (strewn with bottles) into the most romantic spot to fool around with one's boyfriend.

See the full post

157 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[whenyourbirdisbroken]

I posted 1,235 times in 2022

That's 1,235 more posts than 2021!

39 posts created (3%)

1,196 posts reblogged (97%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@merseydreams

@basiut-mccartney

@inspiteallthedanger

@thebeatlesordie

@rarebeatles

I tagged 211 of my posts in 2022

#paul mccartney - 18 posts

#john lennon - 16 posts

#lol - 12 posts

#mclennon - 10 posts

#prev - 8 posts

#fic recs - 5 posts

#the beatles - 5 posts

#ringo starr - 5 posts

#:( - 5 posts

#george harrison - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 108 characters

#sounds like my college roommate telling me my crush didn't look as much like john lennon as i thought he did

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

179 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

#4

PaulMcCartney.com: When and how did you first get into yoga?

Paul: I like yoga, and I practice when I can. I think I first got into it when we were with the Maharishi in Rishikesh, in India. There was a bit of it there and there were people – some of his colleagues - who were very good at it, and I got a bit interested. Through the years I’ve just learned a couple of tricks, like a headstand! 

For years I used to do it with some friends in the Hamptons. We called ourselves ‘The Yoga Boys’ even though we were old crocks! It was fun – we met up a few times a week and did it together. In fact, the picture that I put up online recently of John Eastman and I was at one of those sessions. He was a ‘Yoga Boy’. 

PM.com: You mentioned the headstand, but have you got any other favourite poses?

Paul: Not really. The headstand is my show-off moment when I'm in the gym and there are a lot of guys doing big weights and I'm doing weedy weights. I can’t do what they’re doing as they’re flexing their big muscles, so at the end of my session I finish off with the headstand and they often come over and say, ‘Hey, that’s pretty impressive’! [Paul laughs] It’s pathetic really! No, it’s good to do and I was once told by a yoga teacher that it keeps you young. You turn all your body organs upside down and seeing as for the rest of the day they’re either lying flat in bed or standing upright and got gravity pulling them down, apparently the inversion is supposed to be good. But it’s fun to do too!

195 notes - Posted September 30, 2022

#3

Paul in a translucent polka dot shirt with “P” cuff links.

208 notes - Posted November 2, 2022

#2

Happy McLennon Day!

My favourite McLennon fics, in honour of the most important partnership in music history:

No More Situations, skeletondance

Whatever Gets You Through the Night, sleeprettydarling     

Going Nowhere, inspiteallthedanger  

The First Year, candle_beck

Lifting Latches, thinkpink20       

Close the Door Lightly When You Go,  RosalindBeatrice

Don't Think About It, merseydreams    

French Connection, smothermeinrelish, Unchained_Daisychain    

To Lead A Better Life, novelized

Slip of the Tongue, moeexyz  

I Gave Her My Heart (But She Wanted My Soul), muzaktomyears                             

All beautiful love stories about our boys!     

213 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

295 notes - Posted November 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[iffoundreturntosea]

October 13, Day 286/287

Day 286 2015

Cheese burrito!

#rolledup #niece #burrito #crazyhair #smile #laugh #goodtimes #love #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Doing yoga with kids around is a lot like doing it with animals around. They climb all over you. haha

Day 287 2016

Very excited to get to Magnus Chase!

#magnuschase #rickriordan #books #read #amazing #love #orange #purple #green #shadesofspooky #october #picoftheday #project365 #day287

Day 286 2017

Happy Friday the 13th! Stay out of trouble!

#kitty #cat #catsofinstagram #meow #fridaythe13th #uptosomething #onthelookout #outdoors #plants #lookingforbugs #catober #october #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Day 286 2018

Game Night!!

#firsttimeplayer #thisgameisnuts #cardsagainsthumanity #family #friends #laugh #laughtilyoucry #sofun #gamenight #popart #inspiration #wildwarhol #october #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Day 286 2019

Will it be disappointing if I imagine this is a big peanut butter brownie sundae?

#cravingsarebrutal #tryingtobegood #healthy #food #fruit #veggies #turkey #eatbetter #nationaltrainyourbrain #october #october13 #nationalday #nationaldaycalendar #picoftheday #project365 #day286

I'm pretty sure I was extremely disappointed. ha

Day 287 2020

Furnemies 😹

#brick #wall #brickwall #cats #kitty #leo #stray #catsofinstagram #meow #chilling #frienemies #furnemies #punny #breakthrough #theotherside #picoftheday #project365 #day287

The strays outside loved taunting Leo and maybe Leo enjoyed the controlled companionship.

Day 286 2021

Going all in

#nature #outdoors #texas #fall #bee #lunchtime #wings #flower #lantana #color #closeup #october #october13 #2021 #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Day 286 2022

My mornings have been unfolding into glorious days.

#morningglory #flowers #unfold #beautiful #nature #outdoors #growth #october #october13 #2022 #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Day 286 2023

"Sailing for adventure on the big, blue wet thing!"

#onespot #ocean #seawall #water #waves #fishingboat #bigbluewetthing #october #october13 #2023 #picoftheday #project365 #day286

Day 287 2024

Today was a little rough pain wise so I’m snuggled in with my emotional support Shawnda 🤣🥰

#undercover #dailytheme #blankie #friends #comfort #october #october13 #2024 #picoftheday #project365 #day287

[xprojectrpg]

This Day in X-Project - September 16

Gabriel Cohuelo's birthday. 2015: Maya posts to her journal that adults suck and that she hates living at the mansion, before disappearing into the woods; Wade emails Marie-Ange for advice on dealing with Maya’s flounce; Clint emails Angel about Maya’s post and the weirdness of her stalking his email; Xavin asks for help in finding their roommate, and the Generation X kids organise a search party, which is stymied by Wade stepping in; Alison texts Xavin about Wade being a total buzzkill; Wade texts Logan about not laughing at him and needing beer; Maya posts, letting people know she’s back in her room and texts Bas asking if he’s mad at her. Gabriel asks Jean-Paul what he’s up to and they arrange a hookup. New grad student, Hank McCoy, introduces himself on the journals; Hank meets Miles and winds up becoming a tutor. Paradise Lost: Emma emails Doug, Julian and Adrienne with an update on what’s been discovered about the Black Rook’s death already and with further tasks for the morning; Emma, Julian, Doug and Adrienne meet with the Black Court and a new Hellfire Club structure is agreed on. Miles wishes Gabriel a happy birthday and brings him unwelcome news in the shape of a letter from Gabe’s sister about their sick grandmother. Megan and Clea talk after magic class and decide to help each other study. Quentin tracks down his former teacher (and lover) and when he reveals he’s a telepath, Tom reacts badly, accusing him of possibly influencing him psychically to have a sexual relationship; after the scene with Tom, Clint finds Quentin drinking away his sorrows and offers support and perspective.

2016: Gabriel announces the party is on and announces the S’moretini. Warren shows up to the party with a gift for Gabriel, who is left speechless though not necessarily in a good way; a drunk Quentin lets Maya know exactly what he thinks of her; Sharon F. talks to Xavin about taking a swim; Miles and Bobby sneak alcohol at Gabe's party and are caught by Angel. The Dulcet Sound of My Voice: Hope A. meets CJ and introduces her to Doug and Darcy.

2017: Green-Eyed Monster: Artie emails X-Force, attaching what info he’s recovered from his sources. Psi War: After the battle with the Shadow King using her body, Jean wakes up in a hospital bed, and Haller is there to greet her. Gabe texts Quentin asking when and where they’re meeting to celebrate birthdays. Marie hears the telling notes of Air Supply and goes to see what's wrong with Garrison and they talk about Adrienne. Kyle helps Laurie move out of the suite she shared with Doug, Wade and Marie-Ange.

2018: Clea makes a journal post inviting one and all to help celebrate her birthday. Alani makes an introductory post to her journal.

2019:

2020:

2021:

2022: Maya talks about watching GBBO and invites others along. Gabe texts Quentin about going out for drinks. Jean shares a patch she’ll stick on her med bag that says ‘Ouch Pouch’. Clint leaves a present outside Gabriel’s door. Amanda leaves two bottles of tequila on Gabriel’s desk with a Happy Birthday message. Gabe texts Clint a thank you and asks who told him about Gabe’s birthday. Maya wishes Gabe a happy birthday and tells him he’s not allowed to laugh at her bad Spanish accent.

2023: Alani announces a belated egg-themed celebration of Agatha Christie’s birthday, with her chicken namesake as Guest of Honour. Shatterstar and Match chat and then show off their powers to each other. Sharon S. encounters Arthur doing yoga and has questions.

[parasparivaar]

India's Spiritual and Religious Heritage 

Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust Spread India’s Value

According to Mahant Shri Paras Bhaiji Said India's spiritual environment is a lively patchwork, strongly entrenched in ancient traditions yet constantly developing in reaction to contemporary influences. The interaction of spirituality and religion in India is particularly intriguing, demonstrating a complicated dynamic that impacts both individual beliefs and community standards.

From the bottom of our hearts, we extend a warm welcome to you into the Paras Parivaar Charitable Trust family. In our Sanatan Dharm, this Parivaar was founded and is now being maintained by our  Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji of Sanatan Dharm to contribute to the welfare of the underprivileged and needy people. Because he consistently states, "happiness of maa is behind their smile." This idea of Mahant Shri Paras Bhai Ji has become the focus of our family's daily activities.

The Sanatana Dharma's Fundamentals 

Sanatana Dharma, often known as Hinduism, is more than a religion; it is a way of life encompassing a wide range of beliefs, practices, and ideas. Its believers incorporate a variety of deities, rituals, and spiritual practices, giving it a distinct character. This ancient faith uses principles like karma (the law of cause and effect), dharma (goodness and responsibility), and moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth) to guide its followers' moral and ethical frameworks.

Variations Within Oneness

Hinduism's variegated character allows for a wide range of interpretations and practices. According to recent surveys, many Hindus hold several interpretations of their faith, with 47% believing that there is more than one correct way to understand Hindu teachings. This versatility has enabled the coexistence of several sects and philosophies under Sanatana Dharma, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism, each having its own distinct perspective on spirituality.

The Importance of Other Religions

India is home to a wide mix of religions, including Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Jainism, all of which contribute to the country's spiritual fabric. Approximately 14.2% of the population identifies as Muslim, making it India's largest minority religion, with Christians accounting for about 2.3%. The intermingling of numerous faiths frequently leads to common beliefs and practices, such as veneration for sacred rivers like the Ganges, which many people of many religions regard as purifying.

Rituals and Spiritual Practices

Many Indians' daily lives are centered around religious activities. The majority of the population engages in frequent prayer, with 60% praying every day and 71% visiting places of worship at least once per month. These traditions are used not only as expressions of faith, but also for community building and cultural continuation.

Modern Influences and Challenges

As India becomes more globally connected, the relationship between spirituality and religion will face new problems. Younger generations, influenced by Western ideas and modern lives, frequently question established beliefs. A 2021 study discovered that younger people and those with higher levels of education are less likely to believe in some religious notions, such as the Ganges' purifying power or the concept of karma.

Searching for Meaning 

Despite these shifts, the search for spiritual significance continues. Many Indians are turning to ancient disciplines such as yoga and meditation, which have gained worldwide popularity. These activities allow people to connect with their cultural heritage while also providing opportunities for personal growth and well-being.

Conclusion

India's spiritual milieu is a dynamic mix of ancient traditions and contemporary influences. Sanatana Dharma, with its immense diversity and depth, continues to affect millions of lives, and the coexistence of numerous religions creates a distinct cultural character. As India faces modern-day problems, the essence of its spiritual heritage remains a source of strength and guidance for its people.