4. STAY AWAKE (Half Crossed Out)
5. Start Koan work as soon as I wake up
6. Get Up at the wake up bell every morning
8. Don't count days (Half Crossed Out)
So thats how I did. 1,2,and 3 I did with little problem.
#4 well I did the best I could but I still fell asleep a few times. All in all I was able to stay awake mostly for meditation during the retreat. I certainly did better than the last couple when it came to that so I felt good about this one. For those of you who are curious I've learned how to fall almost completely asleep while sitting upright in half lotus. This is not the best skill to gain for meditation.
#5 I honestly forgot that I had made this a goal. I did pretty well with this one but forgot it as a goal so I can't count it.
#6 I did this one day. I don't know why it is but I really enjoy sleeping in even if it's just for an extra couple of minutes. I find it a nice little rebellion that doesn't hurt anyone. Still I wish I jumped out of bed when it rang. For anyone who is curious the wake up bell rang at 4 in the morning during this retreat.
#7 I did with little problem though I have gotten out of the habit of doing bows this week. I have a vow to do 108,000 bows of atonement. It's going to take a while I've done something like 10,000 or so. It will take even longer if I don't apply myself
#8 I tried very hard not to count days, but I still did a few times. I have to check the tapes in the camera and put food away. But I know that counting days is not a good thing. It never helps make the retreat seem shorter or keep you focused on what you are supposed to be doing.
#9 I did before the retreat and #10 We did every night anyway so the community really helped me out with that one.
Doing this task during a sesshin (Long meditation retreat) was interesting and I liked the idea of a to do list that was a list of goals instead. I list of repeatable tasks instead of just one offs. It was like a habit to do list which really helped me keep momentum going the whole week. If I can be creative like this during long retreats I think I can keep my vows going during those times. In either case I do intend to start the practice of writing a list of intentions before a retreat in order to keep my focus while I'm in retreat. So that's it for week3.
I'm going to say week 4 starts yesterday, b/c I took last week off and then for some reason I thought week 3 was week 4 and I needed to pick a new topic and I didn't realize my mistake. Ah well so here is week 4's list
1. File letter with DHS
2. Work on proposal for Discernment committee.
3. Call Angela
4. Start Exercising again (I did good last week, but this one <---SLACKER)
7. work on Dharma School version of Wagon Wheel
8. work on case for DDLL
9. make list of intentions for next retreat
10. clean up older stuff from my computer as prep for sale
11. clean up my cube
12. start smiling practice again
