The Fountain Pen: Art of Writing

My friend Tanjot asked about fountain pens the other day. I hadn't written with mine in a long time. I remember doing a lot of research before buying mine. I missed the fancy Pelikan (German) pen my father had gotten me when i was in 5th grade, and had just begun cursive or as we called it "joint-handwriting". The letters were all joined, thus the name, we never knew of cursive until moving here.

Tanjot posted a picture of his handwriting with his new-old pen. It was old because it was his grandfathers, how romantic is that! Most people use micro-tip, or ball point pens, so it was awesome to see another fountain pen fanatic, of course the story behind his pen is amazing.

My current fountain pen has no amazing story. The amazing pens I did have are all long gone, ie. the Parker pen which my dad let me have, after he had it since he was at Case, the Pelikan pen, and many others. By 12th grade I had over 10 amazing fountain pens. Anyway, enough mourning  over the loss of my material obsession, now I have one Sheaffer fountain pen. It writes smooth. Anyway I had filled it up a few days ago for no apparent reason, and today I began to write with it, so I could post it on Facebook, like Tanjot had, and realized it was tough. 

It had been a year since I had last written with it. My handwriting was all over the place. I really had to focus. I was having a hard time flowing with the ink, I was hesitating before my 'L's. I wanted to get this post done, so I focused and ended up writing three pages of  a quote from Buddha. That's when it struck me.

This is art. This is meditation. Why was writing so tough? Why was I hesitating on certain words? It was amazing to introspect, and such a similar process to meditation. I found out things about myself, and worked through it until my 'L's were smoother. I learned to "let go" in a way, and go with the flow.

There is a value in arts and culture. It is what we fight for. Art and culture is what we cultivate within when we have peace, freedom and time. Which is all the time, and a state of mind. I know there's a push to get cursive writing out of school, but it's such a skill, a learning in patience, introspection, control, and going with the flow (being present). Why would we take away this amazing experience from our children, just because lost our sight of creativity, art, and began valuing/ focusing on other things?

As much as we like the big hullabaloo of a big success, wealth and riches, we always realize that the joys are in family, friends and the little things in life. We get sucked in, and sometimes we're sucked into a tornado of life, that we forget the things that matter. Stop and smell the roses, write with a fountain pen, take some time to meditate, go for a walk in the park, life's too short to miss these things.


Breathe 

Meditation and Change

Most people are so amped-up about the world's goings on, and are full of opinions, arguments or debates as they like to call it, and so on. We are struggling with the changing world around us... although nothing has truly changed. Material aspects, lifestyles, food, and the "culture" which is a mummer's farce is what has changed, and a lot of us don't like that. We are resistant to change!

This affects our health. So I learned how to breathe through it, the things I don't like, the changes I can not control, meditate upon it, let it go, and I am able to deal with it.

Next time you are faced with a "who moved my cheese" scenario, and are unable to deal with it; you feel stuck; you are upset... Think about what in this "change", this situation you have no control over, upsets you, angers you, excites you. Meditate on the query, till you find the answer, and let it go. Find the peace in this process. Understanding yourself better in the process, and helping you with future "changes". Move on to the NEW cheese. I dare you to read the book ;-)  (it's a good book). However DO meditate upon it, let it go, and breathe freely and deeply.

Love
Pree

Birthday Meditation

On my birthday in March, my friend hosted a huge 30th birthday party for me. Like 50+ people showed up, and it was combined with St. Patty's day celebrations! However I wished to hold a meditation session before the festivities.

A few of us showed up early, and after helping decorate the place, we went up to the attic, where it was quite, and there was a little corner perfect for meditation. Cushions, a little chair, and a little window with a green view. If this spot was made for meditation or just a hang out, I'm not sure, but it was perfect. I sat in the corner and asked my 5 friends to close their eyes, find a comfortable position and to observe their breathe. Some of them were beginners and others had meditated before, but I set an intention of peace, and calmness, joy and love for the rest of the night. This is what I wanted to carry with me for the rest of the year.

We only meditated for about 10 minutes, give or take a few, but it was special for me, and I really felt the love, and appreciated them being there for me. We all hugged after I awkwardly ended it. I did not want to do too much talking as it takes away from the focus of observing the breathe. My sister did help me prepare a meditation for the birthday, but it was too distracting reading off my phone, especially for others.

I want to get better at setting a timer on my phone, and then using my "singing bowl" (Tibetan Singing Bowl) to gently bring people back to now. I want to try to help people go further with their meditation practice than just observing breathing, eventually.

I'm excited that this Tuesday, weather permitting, I teach my first Sunrise Meditation and Yoga class in a park! Nervous, but excited, and I will try my best. I will hopefully remember to take my singing bowl!


Namaste!

Picture Courtesy Conscious Culture