Wednesday 31 December 2008

good bye 2008






Due to confusion and bureaucracy I didn't get a visa from the sultanate of Oman on time and so Sami and I had to stay here while the others are having fun in the sun and sand.

But remember I was complaining that I didn't have time to go on a silence retreat to Samye Ling? Well, I decided to have my own Samye Ling here. Disconnecting phones and covering TVs I've tried my best to have a buddhist retreat. Meditating, T'ai chiiing, eating vegetables (and some salmon left from Christmas, and pudding and actually quite a lot of meat and sweets) and making the best of my surroundings.
I've had long walks in Hampstead Heath, visiting a Rembrandt and a Vermeer who live in Kenwood House. Also I finally visited my neighbour, some Karl Marx fellow who lives in the cemetery five minutes from here. Also reading mountains of abandoned books, watching loads of DVDs and practicing the mandolin for hours as there is no one to annoy. So at the end is not such a spiritual retreat but I'm enjoying it anyway.
Today I burned brushes and the mandala I've spent ages drawing. The idea came from an entry in Aurelio Asiain's blog. He writes about this beautiful japanese rite in which at the end of the year, the monks burn brushes and paper thanking them for their services. You can see loads of his pictures in here.

6 comments:

Martha, la de siempre said...

Querida Jazmín:
¡Maravilloso cierre de año! Y aunque no fue como un retiro silencioso sí me parece una terminación de ciclo muy espiritual: entregada al enriquecimiento del espíritu a través de lo que te gusta (lecturas, películas, paseos, visitas a los museos y a amigos como Karl...), y haber quemado tan bellísimo mandala como lo sugieren los monjes que narró Aurelio, me parece más que significativo.
Que el 2009 sea tan pleno como lo sugieren estos días tuyos. Un abrazo desde acá hasta allá... :)

Louise | Italy said...

Jazmin, this sounds like heaven on earth. Enjoy!

diego molina said...

Feliz año chamaca!!! Un abrazo a ti y al Colin

Jazmin velasco said...

Thank you! gracias guys! happy año nuevoooo!!!!

Christine Clemmensen said...

Awesome post! What a cool ritual:) So great that you had a retreat of your own:))
Happy Glorious 2009 to you:)

Mario C said...

Saludos por la paz que transmites, buen 2oo9, un abrazo al Colin y también a Sami, otros para ti, Mario