BEING Buddha

This is my 6th year Blogaversary. Once a month for the past 6 years, I've journaled a blog that was topical to what's going on in my life (that includes world or local events, soapbox issues, flaws, victories, things I've learned or overcame, life with my hubby, family, friends, neighbors, hopes and dreams, fears and faith, pet peeves, and pets). For my 6th Blogaversary, I'm happy to share something wonderful going on in our lives. We have welcomed a new furry-child into our lives: Buddha.

My name is Buddha Brandt. I’m a Tibetan terrier.  
I was born in Florida.  I’ve only been on this earth for 10-weeks. I’ve been living with Kim (mom) and Rich (dad) for 2-1/2 weeks. 

They told me they named me Buddha because my breed comes from Tibet. And while they follow Christ, they also appreciate Buddha’s wisdom of letting go of thoughts that create suffering (like our tendency to ruminate on the past) and instead to live in the present moment. I’m a reminder of that wisdom. And it’s pretty much what I do well. BEING Buddha. 

First thing some people say, “Oh another terrier?” As if that was a bad thing. I’m actually not of the terrier dog breed. Tibetan Terriers (TT’s for short), were given the name by European travelers because we resemble terriers. I personally don’t see it. The Tibetan name for the breed is Tsang Apso, loosely translated, ‘shaggy or bearded dog.  I think we look like miniature sheep dogs. Our breed dates back thousands of years when TT’s were kept as good luck charms, mascots, watchdogs, herding dogs and companions. We were also considered the Holy Dogs of Tibet. TT’s were never to be sold. Instead, they were given as gifts by monks to promote good fortune. So Kim and Rich are lucky to have me.  

I'm small now, but I'll probably grow to weigh up to 30lbs and be about knee high. I'm told I have beautiful eyes. (presently, they are a hazel color). TT's come in many different colors. I'm a white and gold TT. I have panda feet. They are broad, flat feet with hair between my toes. Which are ideal for mountain climbing. I'm not sure how much mountain climbing I'm going to do in Florida? But I can dig to Tibet with my big paws in the sand or high-five people I meet on the beach. 

I'll probably grow my hair long and put it up in a man bun. I think that looks cool. Don't worry about the hair getting in my eyes; it's what I was bred to look like. I have damn good eyesight. Plus, I have long eyelashes to keep the hair actually out of my eyes. I don't shed but rather slough hair off like human hair. Mom is already got me on the grooming area everyday for 2 minutes to get me used to the brushing. Daily grooming is a TT requirement if I'm going to continue to look selfie-ready. 

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I came home on June 12^th. The car ride was 4-hours. Kim sat in the back with me. She put up a soft crate with a cushy bed and a few soft toys to chew in it. She left the flap open so I could go back and forth between her lap and my crate. We had no issues our whole ride home.  I was curious about everything and wanted to look out the windows. I was calm, but I never settled down or slept for more than 10 minutes. 

 Once we got home I was able to check out where I’ll be doing my ‘business’ if you know what I mean? I walked through the house and check things out. They set up two crates: one in the bedroom, and one in the kitchen/family room. The kitchen crate has an attached X-pen (exercise pen). It was filled with toys. It was like Christmas in June. They sat in there with me to keep me company. I had my first dinner at home with Kim and Rich, then passed-out. I was exhausted from all the excitement that day. Kim and Rich officially are my new mom and dad. I could tell they were trying hard to make me happy and comfortable. I was both.

The soft crate was brought into the bedroom right next to mom’s bed. I wasn’t crazy about having the zipper flap closed, but mom was right there all night. She even slept with her hand and arm in there so she could pet me if I woke up. I did wake up, a few times to go outside.

It’s almost been 3-weeks since I’ve come to live here. Mom and dad are more sleep deprived then they imagined. I pass out around 9pm. But I wake up sometime around 3-4am to go potty. And I’m HUNGRY. I have a yelp that could wake up the neighborhood and the dead. They seem a bit grouchy about my barking. Hey, you and the neighbors will thank me if I ever have to wake up the whole neighborhood for any reason, like a zombie apocalypse.

Mom had me alone for the first 12-days. Dad was traveling for work. We did a lot of hammock time. She loved being with me but was shocked at how tired she was by 10:00am. We napped together on and off throughout the day. When dad came home, he took over. He was also surprised how wide-awake I am in the middle of the night, how piercing my bark is, and tired he was by 10:00am too. I think they are going to become morning people whether they like it or not! 

 I’m doing really well with my potty training. Although they watch me like a hawk. Just when I get distracted by a shadow or cardboard paper roll I’ll think, ‘aw, what the heck, I’ll just go here.” They scoop me up and we fly out the door. I’ve only had a few accidents and they swear it’s their fault. Okay, if you say so! 

I have grown 2x my size in just a few weeks. I have a ravenous appetite too. I’m eating 4x a day, plus snacks if I impress them with come, sit, and gentle (gentle is the positive for no biting).  I’m told I’m smart and a real pussy cat except for the one incident where I may have almost took off mom’s hand because she was removing my bowl that had food in it to teach me how to not be dominant about my food. And I may have turned into an ancient werewolf that snapped and growled so fierce that it required mom to back away and ask for professional help from a trainer. So because of that one time I was trying to let her know ‘Back off bitch, I’m not finished’, I no longer get to eat out of a bowl. For the next 2-3 weeks, maybe a month, I have to eat out of her hand like a lowly peasant. She keeps saying that she forgives me for scaring the shit out of her, and that in the end this will be a positive thing. I’m learning to passively receive, passively sit well, eat slowly, by gently licking her hand after each bite of my food she gives me. I don’t get another bit of food until she says, “Gentle’ and I lick her hand. After some time, she will feed me by dropping food into my dish so my brain rewires and knows that she only gives me food and never takes it away. 

 And while I’m on the subject of biting, puppy biting that is. I just have to say, ‘deal with it.’ I’m a puppy. It’s what I do. You took me away from my rough and tumble litter-mates. You are my new playmates. I didn’t mean to rip most of your clothes or rip your flesh. I’ll just be in a bitey mood for a while longer. The cue, ‘sit’ and ‘gentle’ with a treat is helping me ease up. Mom and dad are so desperate they are going to learn how to say Tibetan prayers that I’ll learn soft mouthing and bite inhibition soon. I do well at this age for about 10-15 minutes of free play. Then I usually end up in my X-Pen if I get too much like a crocodile on crack. 

When I’m out of the pen I love to “zoomie” all over the house.  They tell me I’m lighting fast. And with their eyebrows all crinkled and worried, they say it looks like I’ll be able to bound over furniture like an obstacle course real soon. I like the shoes in the hallway (that I’m not suppose to grab). It’s hilarious when they chase after me. I like any kind of cardboard boxes or rolls, plastic water bottles, and ropes to play tug-o-war. I’m pretty good about keeping myself content in my X-Pen for an hour or two while mom and dad are home. If I get bored, I sleep in the corner of the X-pen and the crate. I’m not sure why I do that, but I do. Mom and Dad have started to finally go out and leave me alone for a few hours. I go into my crate without a fuss. It’s nice and roomy. I usually nap the whole time they are gone or chew on something for kicks and giggles. 

I’ve been hearing a lot about their previous dog, Fred. He sounds like a furry dude I would have liked to hang out with. At least once or twice a day they accidently call me Fred. Which they really need to stop doing because I can hardly remember my name is Buddha at this age. I know he was special dog. When they talk about him I can feel their hearts (they don’t know I can feel their hearts, but I can.) They still have an ache for Fred. That actually makes me happy because they loved him so much. Which means, I’ll be loved so much too. That makes me feel peaceful and safe. And long after I’m gone, they will have an ache in their hearts for me too. But for now, I’m going to be their Guardian of BEING. I’ll teach them how to live in the present moment and enjoy life right now. And anyone else that wants to learn how to live in the present moment (which is the only moment we have, you can follow me on Facebook at BEING Buddha. I'm going to share what BEING is all about. I'll make lot of new friends and go on adventures. This life is pretty spectacular. Mom reminds me of that all the time when she's cuddling me. 

 https://www.facebook.com/BEING-Buddha-226244617743889/

Dear Thomas

Dear Thomas,

You’ll get a bunch of graduation cards with money. You’ll spend it in no time at all (probably on a pizza or hot plate for your dorm). Instead, I thought I’d give you something else of considerable more value: words of wisdom and affirmation as you enter into your first year of college, and your first year on your own in life. 

I went into adulthood clueless. I wish I’d been more prepared for the nuances of life by a wise elder friend or relative; it’s probably why I appreciate sagacity to this day. (Yeah, look up that word, it may be on a test.)

Someone once told me ‘5 minutes Can Change The Rest Of  Your Life’ (for good or for bad):

You’re going to be FREE, finally. It’s going to feel amazing and probably overwhelming. You may be tempted to go crazy because your brain is trying to take it all in. Caution gets thrown to the wind. PAUSE. PAUSE. PAUSE. Do that a lot. That 5-minutes you took to observe your actions, and the actions of others, instead of reacting will make all the difference. It may save your life; it may save the life of another. That 5-minutes you choose to go to class or blow off your class will determine if you’re proud of yourself or kicking yourself later and putting extra stress on yourself. That 5-minutes you choose to ask for help may just give you the one answer you need for everything to make sense. That 5-minutes you took to put yourself out there to make a connection with a new friend, a new teacher or adviser, may just make life at school better (even easier or fun), or land you the next job. You may even meet the love of your life? 

Question your thoughts:

Don’t believe every thought that comes in your head. They are just thoughts. Those fearful thoughts, insecure thoughts, sad thoughts, angry thoughts, lustful thoughts, stressful thoughts, are just good feedback. Don’t get attached to them. Observe them. What are they telling you? Don’t act on them. Be curious. It’s your intuition. Maybe they are trying to tell you to get more sleep, or stop goofing off, or maybe take life in and have more fun? Your thoughts will tell you if you’re living in the past, present, or future.

We have this incredible internal ‘observation tower’ in our mind and spirit. It’s called consciousness. Scan it. From experience, I can tell you that if you believe those past or future thoughts, they will just circle around up in the sky of your mind endlessly. Those kinds of thoughts are problematic. Test it. It’s true. People who are suffering and miserable are living in the past or in the future. Past thoughts cause anger and hurt. Future thoughts cause anxiety and fear. Both cause us to stay stuck. So take a deep breath, get into the present moment; land the ‘thought’ plane safely. And then, move on. Many people falsely believe that their conditioned thoughts are who they are. Not true. What you do with those thoughts is who you are. Have fun with that. 

You will be the same person you are now in 5 years except for two things: the books you read and the people you hang around with:

I’ve found this to be so true in my life. I’ve only grown proportionally as a person by reading interesting books (quality magazines, online sources, trainings and workshops materials) and choosing good friends; friends who make me ‘level up’. I’ve had some friends in the past who were not good for me. They kept me complaining about my life, my husband, my kid, school, etc. There was a negative energy we were exchanging and believing. But those positive friends that were doing well, loved others, had a good outlook, had good character, they impressed the hell out of me. And even though I wasn’t always their age, or not at their maturity level, I hung out and learned how to grow up by surrounding myself with them. My marriage got better. School got better. My enthusiasm for career and life purpose got better. And thankfully, I’m not the same person I was 5 years ago.

Family (though flawed) will always care about you:  

Call them. Text them. Go home. They are your biggest cheerleaders. And they know you like a book. You can bullshit others and even yourself, but you can’t with your family. Ask for advice. Take it. And give back to them too. They have been there for you. As we mature, ALL our relationships will be about reciprocity. Your emotional tank will always be full if you both give and receive. If we always ‘take’ we’ll be spiritually as dry as a desert.

You are so friendly, thoughtful, kind, funny, and loving. Because you’re not a kid anymore, you have a lot of value and influence in this family. However, find that sweet balance of taking care of you, being you, and offering yourself. You are your own individual. It’s important to always have good boundaries.  But don’t be an island either; God also created us for community. 

Job, career, calling, or vocation: Do what you love:

What will make you love to get up out of bed each morning? Do that!

You are more than your identity as___________(fill in the blank):

This was one of the hardest things to comprehend. I was a mother and my identity was in actively mothering. I loved that role. However, when Kevin moved away, who was I? I was still a mom but my role had changed. But I had falsely put my entire identity in being that label. This is just one example of a dozen. I’m not a label: mom, wife, aunt, or daughter, yoga teacher, etc. I’ll only always be Kim the spirit (not Kim who is young or old, pretty or ugly, skinny or fat, smart or stupid, interesting or boring, etc.). I’m just me, with no label. It’s liberating. It’s NOT for anyone else to define me. Only I get to decide who I am and how I want to express myself as a human on this planet. 

Because you will graduate, have many jobs, titles, live many places, maybe even have many girlfriends (hopefully you’ll choose well and only have one wife), have kids, maybe some animals, etc., the ego mind will want to identify and keep you frozen in time. But life is transient. Allow it to unfold and hold on loosely. You’ve yet to even discover who you are. I’m almost 53 and I’m still amazed what changes and then shows up in me.

Don’t let life just happen to you:

You’re on a front end of an already great adventure that God has invited you into. Life will show up and mirror back to you what you’re thinking about. If life sucks, your thoughts have been sucky for a while. What are you attracting into your life? If life is great, it means you’ve done the work to fight against cynicism and distrust. Good for you. All our collective (many) thoughts will co-create the life we’ve been thinking about—that’s Quantum Physics at work. There are many many many possibilities to each experience. You’re in charge and more in control then you think. Don’t be passive. Set an intention. Where your thoughts go, the energy will flow. And at any given moment, you can change it. Again, don’t take my word for it. Test it. Notice how life shows up in other people. What are their thoughts like? Mostly, play with this magical experience called life. There is more to it after four years of college.

We can only meet God and heal in the present moment:

Whatever happens, there will be times when it will feel unbearable. You’ll have dark nights of the soul. You’ll be confused. You’ll probably be in your head believing your stressful thoughts. You’ll have set backs. It may feel like your world is ending or should end. You’ll think, “What the heck, I thought I was doing good?” It happens to all of us. You’ll take it personally (you may even feel tempted to blame God….He gets blamed for everything that doesn’t work or make sense.) Hang in there. Don’t be too hard on yourself (or God). 

I can tell you what has healed me: Get still and silent. Breathe. That is all you can do. The breath will bring you out of your head (and stressful thoughts) and into the present moment. And it’s in those quiet moments when your spirit will meet God’s Spirit. It will feel like peace. Get into the present moment where, actually, all is well deep in your soul. You can feel it even when your world feels tipped over. And it is from that place within that you’ll find courage again to move forward one moment at a time, one day at a time. Any longer, faster, and you’ll miss the blessing God is offering (which is this incredible ‘voiceless knowing’ that you are loved by Him). Return to that Love. Often. 

Trust me:

You’ve got a remarkable life ahead of you. I’m excited that I get to be up in you balcony watching and cheering you on.

It won’t be easy. But it will be worth it to lean in and engage fully at each juncture.

If I died tomorrow (and I will….but hopefully not like next day tomorrow…LOL), I’d want you to know that I adore you. I’ve been a big T-Man fan. I’ve delighted to see your Mega-Watt smile each time you were in my presence; it often made my day. I’ve enjoyed your sense of humor; I love laughing with you and at you. I’ve watched you be kind, thoughtful, loving, playful, and understanding towards others at many ages. It’s who you are, Thomas. I’m just one person in your orbit. A lot of people are going to come and go. Some will have more gravitational pull and hang out like the moon above. There are a lot of others out there who will need you to show up in their life and bless them (like you blessed me). Go find them. 

I wish you TONS of happiness my sweet, nephew. God is for you! Always! Mostly, I hope you'll be present in your mind, body, and spirit as often as possible. For that is where I've found my greatest contentment, awe, and joy: this Present Moment. Actually, there is no other moment other than the present moment NOW. Trippy, but true. Enjoying and dealing with one moment at a time will only add up to a fascinating lifetime. You may have many trips around the sun, but only once chance to do it well. Take it all in and have a blast! 

Remember you are never (truly) alone. God is here for you. I'm here for you, and so are others in your family. 

I love you, T. We all love you! ! 

~ Aunt Kim 

Meditation In A Parked Car

I had the sweetest minute of bliss the other day. 
It wasn't chocolate or a few minutes of extra sleep. No, it happened when I pulled into a parking space at my least favorite grocery store in town. 

I had been running around for hours spending money on things I didn't want to spend money on. I was irritated. Instead of a grocery list in hand, I had a long list of disappointments in my head.

I turned off the car and just sat there. I didn't want to move. People were walking around in the parking lot doing their own thing. I didn't care. I gave no thought to anything. I sat with the radio and engine off. Time stopped. I stopped. The mental rushing around stopped. I noticed how my body felt: tired. I noticing my breath: it had been the first time that I paid any attention to it that day. 

In that moment, intuitively, I needed to just BE.
Sitting, existing, in silence, observing nothing and everything.  

That one minute was worth a month of therapy, a good nights sleep, or a pat on the back from a supportive friend. 

The daily act of meditation can be transformative spiritually, physically, and emotionally. You can actually retrain your brain to spiritually crave meditation. 

The benefit of daily practice is my 'conscious awareness muscle' is developing; I know when I'm 'off' sooner than later. Often, something unexplainable (maybe it's consciousness, maybe it's God?) gently nudges me to meditation. 

I don't get hung up on how long to meditate. Science has shown that meditating for 20-minutes 2x a day is optimal. I'm lazy. I only do 20-minutes once a day; I'd be an unhappy crazy person if I didn't. But even if I only mediated for 1-minute or 5-minutes (and I have) it's beneficial. Breath, stillness, awareness is all you need to meditate. It's the ultimate mobile device. 

After formal meditation is over, I try to do my best to live mindfully (using my 5 senses in the present moment). Some days Mindful Living is a walk-in-the park (literally, a walk in the park). Other days, poof, the day is over and I missed it because I was stuck in my head ruminating. 


But the other day, sitting in the grocery parking lot, feeling depleted and mildly depressed, after 1- minute, I knew everything was going to be alright. Nothing was wrong in THAT moment (except what I was believing in my head). I had everything I needed in that one moment of stillness. That 1-minute of BEING still, got me out of my head. The Here and Now enveloped me. Like I said, it was bliss. 

1-minute Parked Car Meditation: Try it, you may like it. 

#FeelTheBern

Rich and I have been following politics our entire 30 years together. We've watched nearly all the debates, primaries, and conventions of both political parties since 1988. We were strict Republicans up until 2008. So we have a pretty good understanding of the agendas on both sides.

This presidential election has been of particular interest because in all of our years of analyzing candidates, there has never been anyone quite like Bernie Sanders.

When Bernie first announced his candidacy, and we heard about his platform, we loved what he stood for but didn't think he had any realistic chance of winning. However, we hoped at least he'd create a conversation about issues that nobody else was addressing-issues that we too had concern and passion around.

One of the major concerns was the fact that the average salary for the working class has stayed the same since 1978. Meanwhile the average salary of CEO's went from 15x higher than the average worker, to 350x higher. So basically, our economy has been growing over the last 40 years, but the only people to benefit from it have been the wealthy. The unmitigated greed of the upper class was most dramatically seen in the total collapse of our economy in 2008 when corporate avarice nearly drove this country to bankruptcy. To make matters worse, it was the middle class who had to bail out Wall Street. The reason for this terrible inequity over the last 40 years is because of tax breaks, deregulation, and other legislation favoring corporate America and the wealthy since Reagan. Consequently the rich now (through campaign funding, Super Pacs, and lobbyists) control elections and legislation. And every presidential candidate in recent history has been apart of this marriage between money and government-both Democrats and Republicans. That's why the phenomenon of Bernie Sanders is so amazing, because he is the one exception. Not only does he refuse to take money from corporations or SuperPacs, but he is aggressively attacking this injustice and calling it what it is-an oligarchy.

(PAID FOR BY BERNIE 2016 -NOT THE BILLIONAIRES) 

Many of our other political concerns ( health care for all Americans, protecting Social Security Benefits, reducing college debt, raising the minimum wage, addressing climate change, regulating the food industry, providing immigration reform) will only be fixed if someone is bold enough to try and stop wealthy corporations from controlling every decision in Congress. Otherwise, it's more of the same!

Much to our surprise millions of other Americans feel the way we do (especially younger voters). For not  only were our initial hopes of Bernie changing the conversation realized, but now he unexpectedly is an extremely viable contender for the Democratic nomination. And all the polls show him beating Republican candidates in November by an even bigger margin than Hillary Clinton.

Our passion has been stirred up to such a degree that for the first time ever we made telephone calls for a presidential candidate, we have donated money, and we attended a huge rally of 9,000 people in Tampa FL where we got to see Bernie in person.

I know many people are afraid that his ideas are unrealistic or unaffordable. The truth is, he only wants to correct the unfairness that has developed in the last 40 years by making the wealthy pay their fair share, ending corporate subsidies and tax breaks for millionaires, and taxing Wall Street speculation. This alone will increase government revenues by a few trillion dollars. Taxes on the middle class will go up slightly (a few percentage points), but they will actually end up with more money in their pockets because they will no longer need to pay for health insurance under a public healthcare system.

The other concern non-Bernie supporters have is that he is a socialist--which for many Americans is a dirty word. It doesn't mean he is a communist, nor does it mean he opposes capitalism. He simply believes that the government should guarantee certain rights to its citizens. So in that sense, America has been socialist for a long time. Social security, medicare, unemployment benefits & a federal minimum wage are all forms of socialism. So are public services like parks, sanitation & the fire department (even tax many write offs, grants, or loans we get for buying a house or collage loans). And every tax break for corporations is also a form of socialism. All that is different about Bernie is that he wants the government to help the working class, and the poor, instead of the wealthy. He wants to call out a corrupted system that has no accountability.

Because of our Christian faith, we feel that helping the underprivileged is the priority, and are appalled at the rise of poverty in this country because a full-time worker is expected to live on less than $8 per hour.  That is absurd, greedy, and immoral! I also love how Bernie is willing to shine a light on the insurance and pharmaceutical industry that's crippling families financially with debt and high deductibles. We don't care if others do not feel the same way about these policy issues. However, we do feel an obligation to speak up for Bernie Sanders and what he stands for.

Lastly, yes, there is something idealistic about Bernie Sanders. His message is resonating with millions of people (of all ages, races, and religions).  Millions of people are not looking to give or receive handouts (sorry, Republicans, you have it ALL wrong if you think that about us). We are looking for RADICAL reform of outdated system. Bernie's sincere and has a vision for a country that is no longer in bed with Wall Street, and run by mere Washington puppets.  Part of his efforts include overturning Citizens United that buy elections through SuperPacs. Don't we all agree that the Koch brothers giving $900 million to their favored candidate contradicts the whole idea of democracy, where every one should have an equal say.  Bernie is he only candidate without a SuperPac.

I'm both an idealist and an optimist. If Bernie wins there is no way Congress will work with him. Perfect! Bernie wants to give the power back to the people. We The People will make phone calls to our congressmen and senators and demand change. We'll rise up and march on Washington and take back our country (without guns). It happened with woman's suffrage in the 20's, it happened with civil rights in the 60's, now it is our turn to insure this country's policies are fair for all of us, not just some of us.