Listening to the Heart

I could feel it contracting as it was closing in on itself.  The wide, open feeling of lightness was narrowing with each consecutive breath.  I actually felt the seed of anxiety rooting within me.  Physically, my spine must have moved from an elongated upright posture to a shorter, hunched position.  That’s when I finally realized what I must do.  How grateful I am to have had such an extreme physical reaction to the tone of someone’s voice.  It is not wise to allow the fear of hurting others cause us to falter.  Rather, it is wisdom’s voice that allows us to free our hearts from succumbing to those who fail to recognize the source of happiness.

When we realize we’re going in a direction that’s not maintaining the integrity of our authentic being, may we be grateful.  And when we have the drive (and sense) to keep following the true path ingrained in the heart, may we rejoice.

I often find myself advising others to do what makes them happy, to follow their dreams.  Just as often, I have allowed self-discipline to weaken.  When there is knowledge of self, truth, and the source of happiness, love, and light... the weakening of self-discipline leads one to lazily take the downhill offshoots of paths that aren’t the most appropriate.  The laziness conceals awareness, covering it up, veil by veil.   To kick that laziness is to re-open the eyes, heart, and breath.  To kick that laziness is to allow my body to, once again, be that beautiful channel of pure love and light.  To kick that laziness is to acknowledge and remember the Voice of the Heart.  Welcome home.    Thank you, Mearm the catalyst.  

The Gayatri Mantra

Om Bhur Bhuvah Swaha

Tat Savitur Varenyam

Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi

Dhiyo Yonaha Pracho Dayat Om.

May we meditate on the effulgent Light (or Power) 

of the Worshipful One Who Has given birth to all worlds.

May this One direct our Mind-rays towards the path of Good.

Solo night out

Ten minutes down the road, by foot, there lies the Jeju Culture and Art Center.  Dozens of times, on the way to the park or while out wandering, I’ve passed by without entering.  For the past seven months, I’ve noticed fliers for shows and exhibitions posted on boards throughout the city.  Finally, this past Tuesday, I had the chance to attend a performance that struck my fancy.  After work, I strolled down to see the Jeju Chamber Orchestra play Mozart.  The theater is quite nice and the seats are comfortable.  The cost of 10,000 won (less than 10 USD) was well worth it.  To anyone in Jeju for a little while, I highly recommend catching a show or performance at the center.  

I didn’t realize how long it’d been since I’d had the pleasure of hearing such quality musicians until the tears starting welling during the opening Overture “Die Zauberflte”.  I thought it was pretty cool that all three soloists (one horn, two pianos) were females decked out in fancy, sparkly gowns.  The icing on the cake was getting to see a French Horn solo for the first time.  Initially it sounded odd, but once I got over the strangeness of beauty in a petite Korean girl blowing into a super-shiny horn, I sat back and melted with the grandiose melodies.  

Rest & Digest

Returning to the Land of the Morning Calm, I knew what I was getting into with regards to food.  My favorite Korean staple is the Bi-Bim-Bap, a big bowl of rice, veggies, a barely fried egg, and a dollop of spicy red pepper sauce.  Mix it all together and it's a decent, filling meal.  The very spicy Soon-Do-Boo (tofu soup with egg) was another favorite during the chillier winter season.  Commonly, the food is based around either rice or noodles, much of it being peppery-spicy.  During my time here I've gotten out to taste a nice variety of foods, and have also enjoyed cooking for myself.  


Being vegetarian with an adventurous need to try new things, I'll start with the least expected.  It was early November when my Korean Aunt AeSim stopped by for a visit.  After a nice walk overlooking the sea, she and her sisters took me out for some fresh, raw, Jeju fish.  Some of it was awesome, some I didn't care for.  I'm on an island, I had to try it.  Before I leave here, I'm hoping to be in the mood for a taste of another local specialty, sea urchin soup.  The fish in the photo is, according to translation, either snapper or bream. 



Next, this salad is the first thing I threw together after our kitchen was finally in working order.  Raw tofu with little green leaves, walnuts, almonds, carrot, seaweed, olive oil, and a dash of soy sauce.



I'd never cooked pumpkin before coming to Jeju, but I've always liked everything made with it.  Discovering my deep love of this vegetable would have been reason enough for the trip out here.  Excuse the blurriness, this is steamed pumpkin with tofu, brown rice, raisins, cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. 



Just a sandwich:  tofu with garlic, spinach, and strawberries on grainy toast. 



Overall, my experiences with restaurants here have been great.  Though many restaurants specialize in meat dishes, I've had some delicious vegetarian food.  I've been to a few pure vegetarian restaurants that were outstanding.  Here's a photo of a typical Korean table spread... including the pork being cooked in the center of the table.  The variety and quantity of side dishes (including egg, vegetables, soup, & tofu stew) was enough to keep me satisfied. 



This past fall, I had the opportunity to do an overnight temple stay.  The food is pure, non-spicy vegetarian.  The three meals we ate included seaweed soup, rice, and various vegetables and tofu.  Nothing too fancy.  Here, we learned proper eating etiquette.  Take only what you will finish, wasting nothing.  Lift the bowl, take a bite, set the bowl down.  Repeat.  After eating, we had to clean out the dishes.  Not everyone tried it, but I did it the "proper way":  wipe out the dish with a sliced radish (stabbed with a chopstick), eat the radish.  Lastly, rinse out the food bowls with a bit of water, then drink the water.  Yum.  



One of the cultural activities included in the temple stay was making rice cakes.  Not the sweet/salty crunchy puffed kind you can buy at Publix.  Glutinous, chewy rice cakes coated with crushed peanut (I think that's what it was) are a traditional Korean snack/dessert.  I'm not a big fan.  They're really bland and too chewy for my taste.  Here are some monks smashing up the rice.  



For special occasions, people buy cakes.  Two common flavors here are green tea and sweet potato.  The cakes are light and airy, and usually not too sweet.  Not nearly as delicious as the cakes back home, but they always look awesome on the outside.  Here's a typical bakery cake.  At least there aren't any cherry tomatoes on this one.  


Many things around here may be flavored with green tea.  Cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream, lattes.  In Japan, we found green tea Kit Kats.  



There's also a lot of Hello Kitty.  Thanks to Jen, we can even make Kitty-head waffles.  Delicious with peanut butter & Canadian maple syrup.  



Last, but not least, Jeju's famous Hallabong (named after Jeju's Mount Halla, which the nippily-tip of the orange resembles) .   Developed in Japan, it's a sweet seedless hybrid.  They're harvested in January/February and sold through May. Hallabongs are really expensive, overhyped oranges.      



Bon appetit!  

Un-lazy Sunday

Formed by volcanic activity, Jeju Island is a gem of the Pacific.  Populated with a mere 500,000 inhabitants, she boasts gorgeous beaches (each being unique from the next), rare, geometrically wonderful basalt rock formations, and hills in every direction. From almost anywhere on the island, including the roof of my living quarters, the 1950 meter high Halla Mountain can be seen.

 

Shortly after my arrival, I recall a conversation with a man named Moon. A group of us were enjoying a warm evening up on the roof. He informed us that, surrounding the centrally located Halla-san, there are precisely 368 hills.  Looking out towards Halla, there’s one hill that always catches my eye.  Her name isn’t important. I just appreciate her form. Locally, my favorite mini-mountain is Sara-bong.  A twelve-minute walk from my abode, she’s a pleasure to traverse.  And so I do, multiple times each week. 

When I have at least an hour, I walk Sara-bong and ‘her sister’, the hill beside her.  On any given day, there are always a few dozen people enjoying the climb to and view from her peak. Today being a mild Sunday, there were scores of walkers out. I enjoyed the company of my friend, Jen.  When I go it alone, it’s usually with the added benefits of sweaty, faster movements. Today’s benefits were different.  Walking more slowly, without music, my senses were fully tuned-in to the smells, colors, and sounds of everything:  feet on the walkway, birds, blossoming plants, and the noises of other people. They're alive! 

At the base of Sara-bong, after descending the far side, we took a break.  For a cool, delicious drink, there is a stone fountain-type trough with multiple faucets and metal drinking tins, surrounded by stone sitting area. There’s a lovely pebble foot-massage path that I enjoy.  As my bare feet slowly walked from one end to the other, I could hear the rhythmic chanting of monks from the temple around the bend.  Continuing on, I escorted Jen around to the ‘sister hill’.  (I have a thing for sisters, and “Sara” is a girls’ name).  A treat for Jen, she’d never walked this path, from which the sea is always visible.  Winding around and down, we come to a clearing that houses exercise machines and rounded wooden bench-planks for stretching… or lying and gazing up at the sky, as I’m wont to do. Rather than turn around, we take it forward to the road, making the walk a loop.  This allows us to pass over a riverbed, walk through a small neighborhood, and ease our way back home via the sidewalk of a main thoroughfare. Oh, and I also had the chance to introduce Jen to my Greek (or is he Roman?) boyfriend.

Run-on sentence

Only in Korea can I go to the supermarket (where there's usually an annoying mix of Korean pop music either urging me to dance or pull my hair out), hear Boy George's "The Crying Game", and know that there's not one other person in the store who, at that moment, is also having visions of transexuals and Jim Carrey.  

You only live once

I can’t figure out if it was Mae West or Joe E. Lewis who once said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”.  I’ve always loved that quote.  With each moment and breath, we’re a moment and breath closer to death.  It’s an obvious part of life, and a healthy thought to contemplate now and then.  Thoughts often creep in while I’m out on walks.  The newness of the day and the breathtaking beauty of where I live naturally push me to be grateful for my present state of impermanence.  


How often does everyone really ‘seize the day’ and live as though they could die at any time?  How often do we forget or ignore the truth in that last statement?  Not just ourselves, but the people we love, the people we know.  Who’s it going to be?  The aging grandfather who’s been bedridden for over a year, whose quality of life has been plundered by disease?  The adventurous, sweet, young man who works in the kitchen, plays intense music, is best friend to his widowed father, and sends twisted, funny text photos to his friends?  Or will it be the carrier pigeon that finds your yard to be a great place of rest until he drowns in the swimming pool?  


Now is the time to embrace life… while we’re still alive.  Neither for the charms of yesterday, nor the promises of uncertain tomorrows… we must tap into awareness and give thanks for the present.  Every day is different; every day must be a fun, treasured gift.  Live it up.     

Wake up

Wake up each morning.

Step back and out.

There is life. 

There it is,

perfect.  

Beyond petty complaints, let it hit

like a big, fluffy pillow

widening

sleepy eyes.  

Consciousness.  

Movement.  

Sound.  

Vision.  

Senses. 

Fun.

Awareness.  

Wonder.  

Sky.  

Breath.

different 

new

sky.

sky.

sky.

sky.

sky.

sky.

sky.

seven layers,

seven heavens.

infinite blues.