Remains of the Day Journal and printed fabric

Below is my cover for a book I made in an online class called,"Remains of the Day". The Cover is made from Fabric scraps and the pages are made from paper scrapes, all of which i have a lot.  I could make hundreds of these journals if I had the time.   The teacher of the class is Mary Ann Moss and you can find her here, http://dispatchfromla.typepad.com/  While I was on her site watching the videos for the class, Mary Ann mentioned some beautiful hand printed fabric on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/maramiki whose site I promptly went to and bought some of her scraps (Syd and I shared the remnants, one of which you can see just slightly on the far right of the open book cover, little red leaves), and since I had been printing paper I thought I should try to print some fabric.  That is the pomegranate surrounded with words that you see on the left and below and the silhouette of crows on the top.  You can also see an example of my printed fabric on the page below, the bird in a nest being held up by a woman's arm.  I have been working on some small zippered pouches in my spare time.  I truly loved making this journal though I didn't follow directions very closely as May Ann works more in production line and I filled in the pages as I went. The beauty of this journal is that you use up all of the stuff you may not ever use otherwise but hate to through away.  Hence the name, Remains of the Day. I have not,as yet written in my journal nor finished filling all the pockets.  Soon I will.

Thanks Mary Ann.  I truly enjoyed this odyssey.

Zen Habits: loving-kindness meditation from the Dalai Lama

I just got this email from a site I subscribe to, Zen Habits [zenhabits@gmail.com] and had to share it with you:

The practice of loving-kindness can knit us together.
Loving-kindness is an ancient spiritual practice. As Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield says, “Love and compassion are not the possession of any group or religious system. They are woven into our human spirit.”
I want to share with you a very simple loving-kindness meditation which the Dalai Lama teaches:

As you breathe in – cherish yourself.
As you breathe out – cherish all beings

If you find it difficult to cherish yourself, lay a hand gently on your heart as you do this meditation.
This is my back-pocket meditation. It’s the one I pull out at odd moments during the day. When my alarm clock goes off in the morning, or when I’m waiting for the water to run hot in the shower; when I stand at the window looking out at the rain, or walk under tall trees. Breathing in, I cherish myself; breathing out, I cherish all beings.
It’s simple. But it can transform life.
This meditation will make you happier, especially if you make it a daily practice. As your heart’s capacity for love and kindness grows, you’ll find a great fullness of being, and discover a warm kinship with all beings.
Mary Jaksch is a Zen Master and writer. Read more on her blog Goodlife ZEN and join her free Virtual Zen Retreat The Miracle of Kindness.

Crow's intelligence

If you know me, you know I love crows. Often I am asked why I love crows so much  and what is their significance.  Crow represents creation, intelligence, tenacity, adaptability and survival. One of my favorite stories about crows comes from Ted Andrews in his book, Animal Speak, in which he explains that his Grandfather told him "Crow was the smartest of all birds. What's more, it even knew it was the smartest bird and enjoyed it to the fullest. In fact, it was so smart it chose to stay a crow, rather than move onto some other area of evolution." This link to a presentation on TED is very telling in a scientific way for those not inclined toward ancient knowings.
http://www.wimp.com/intelligencecrows/   It will be well worth your time.