Lessons From the Art of Juggling  

hehehe, I am on the first step, which is deliberately dropping one ball. Sometimes I don't drop it though, because when I toss it up, it comes down and lands in my hand!

A problem that I am sure many wished they had.

Hey positive! Yeah, I am a single mother of two so I know exactly what you are talking about!

But I wonder what you are talking about when you say magic doesn't take place over there where you are?!? You have your darling baby, now don't you? What was that if not 'magic'??? I've never heard such a story as that one!!! That is even more amazing than my juggling balls story!!

Heheh...I mean nothing happens that makes my mouth hang open in surprise. LOL!! I see plenty of miracles around me, but they don't surprise me. That's what I meant when I said "only the expected happens." The baby (who is on my lap drumming on the keyboard right now) is the biggest miracle that ever happened. But I was expecting him any day since I was planning, thinking, dreaming, and talking about him for years. I guess, for me, "magic" ought to be something unexpected, something that makes your mouth "hang open in surprise." Nothing like that has happened.;)

Cheers!

Well, I did expect some tennis balls to turn up, but this went way beyond what I expected! Your baby story had my mouth hanging open! I didn't know you had been 'paving the way' for so long, but even if I had known I would still be amazed... that was an extraordinary turn of events!

From age 17, to be exact! But my Mom disliked my idea of adopting and wanted me to produce one the usual way...you know, get married and all that. So that's why I got married and the fool turned out to be as a$$hole of the first order. Then, I had to battle with depression and anxiety for years till yoga and pranic healing put me right. Spent some more years wondering if a loser like me really deserved a baby. Finally decided that yes, a loser like me can also become a wonderful Mom. That's how Shashi was born. ;) I just love babies...well, anything small and alive...

Cheers!

Well I'm sure glad things worked out as they did for you! And I love your baby's name! Did you already tell me what it means and I have just forgotten? I used to have a kitty named Sasha, hehehe.

That's very funny about your mother wanting you to have a baby the normal way! If getting married is what constitutes normal, then I did not have my babies the normal way either!

Do you still practice yoga? I have not practiced in months, and boy am I feeling the lack of it. My body is soooo stiff and sore. Winter was too cold and the cat and dog hair constantly floating in the air has been driving me crazy! I've pulled all the carpeting out of my 'yoga' room and minimized the furnishings so that the dust and hair will be easier to manage. I'm going to give it one more thorough cleaning and I think I will be able to get my yoga routine re-established by Monday. I never ever want to let it drop out again!

Sasha is a cute-sounding Russian name. I dunno what it means. :) I don't think I told you the meaning of my baby's name. His name is NIRANJAN SHASHIDHAR. We call him Shashi for short. These are Sanskrit words. Niranjan can be split into two parts. "Ni" means "no" and "ranj" means color. So, the name means "no color" or "pure white." And "Niranjan" means "all that is good," "all that is uncolored and untouched and unpolluted," and "all that is pure." Since this is an attribute of God, "Niranjan" also means "God" (not the baby-killing Jehovah, but the benevolent God of the Vedas). Now for Shashidhar. "Shashi" means "Moon" and "dhar" means "holding." So, "Shashidhar" means "he who holds the moon."

Check out this link. It is a picture of Lord Shiva, the destroyer, who is also called "Shashidhar." See that sickle moon on his head?

http://media.photobucket....

A bit about Shiva---In the Vedas, "Shiva" is simply a name of God. It means "good." Later, some people with a wild imagination dreamed up that form you see. The Vedic God has no form.

So, "Shashidhar" is a name given to Lord Shiva. We call the little one, "Shashi," which simply means "moon." :)

With five cats around, you will naturally be surrounded with hair. The house requires regular vacuum cleaning or sweeping. I sweep my house twice and mop it once a day. This is because my two cats deposit soil, hairs, legs and wings of dead insects, and an occasional rat, cockroach, or garden lizard for me to clean up.

Nopes, I don't do yoga now. :( But I guess it is about time I start. I am already feeling the low energy level in my body. I need regular yoga as well as meditation to stay fit and sane.

Cheers!

Yep, that is a wonderful name!

Personally I love a lot of color around me... I am working on a 'costume' that will represent the chakras. It will be hip-hugger pants made out of some blood red draperies that I have laying around here, then I will wrap an orange fringed scarf around my hips and a yellow corset type thingy around my midriff, with a green top, a blue choker and a violet crocheted cap with amethyst dotted through it. Hehehe. Although in the summer I like to wear white. It is soooo much cooler!

That is a very lovely image someone conjured up for 'he who holds the moon'. But I prefer to think of the 'God' force as pure formless energy (just like you said), expressing Itself through It's physical creations... all physical creation.... rocks, rivers, cockroaches, everything, including of course our magnificent and illustrious selves!

Yeah, I had a 1600 dollar vacuum that used water to filter the air, but the water canister broke and I am having a very hard time finding a replacement part for it! I can't believe that a company that produces such an expensive piece of machinery would be so service DISoriented! I have searched the internet high and low and every place in between and finally found an outlet in Czechoslovakia but they have not answered my email. No surprise there.

In the meantime, that is why I have removed the carpeting from not only my 'yoga' room (which is also my computer room... it has a HUGE mirror in it), but also from every room that I spend time in. My plan is to sweep and mop every day, but I have become so friggin' lazy and breaking that habit has been a long time coming!

And yeah, yoga and meditation are definitely practices that are imperative for my health, sanity, energy, and sense of well-being! I am looking very much forward to tomorrow when I can get going with it again! I have reinstated my breath work already, and have been doing some Ujjayi breathing - and regular deep breathing - with my back up against a very old apple tree (apple tree is the meaning of my name, although it is also an island paradise where a lot of apple trees grow, hehehehe)... anyway, it feels so good to be getting back to my center. It is like returning home after an extended absence!

Yeah, the word coincidence implies an accidental happening, and there is nothing accidental about these kinds of occurrences!

And WOW! I am soooo impressed that you know how to juggle! Do you use 'the juggler's box'? What made you learn how to juggle? When did you pick up the balls? Or do you juggle flaming sticks?

Well I did once juggle flaming balls, but that was because I accidentally dropped a charcoal briquette into my lap when barbecuing, but it's not quite the same thing I don't think..... I used to practice with oranges actually! I'd spend ages jugling 2 oranges with the one hand and then progressed to the 3 oranges with both hands. Once you get the basic hang of it, it's not too hard! I have no idea how they manage to juggle with more than 3 though as this is something I never managed to work out. Nowadays, all I seem to be juggling are my responsibilities and the complexities of life! lol.

Sorry, I got off track and ignored a couple of the other questions there! lol. I first started trying when I was in my early teens and it was after seeing a variety act with jugglers at a charity event that my Parents took me to. The guys in this act were juggling up to 10 pins between them and it was insane! I've never tried pins before though. From this point I mucked around with fruit. It used to drive my Mother crazy at first!

I sure hate it when I don't get notifiers! I had to come here and check to see if you responded back to my comments and questions.

Yes, juggling burning briquettes counts! In fact that puts a very practical use to juggling! And while juggling responsibilities and the complexities of life also gives a practical use for juggling, it does not sound like too much fun!

So I guess you don't use the juggler's box? In this book they describe it and that is the only way I have been able to manage catching the ball once I toss it up! It is amazing to me how the ball will actually land right in my hand without my having to lunge for it or move my hand at all when I toss it to the right spot in the air! They tell you how to juggle 4 balls in this book. You have to juggle 2 in each hand, but you probably already have figured that out! I'm still just practicing with one ball, hehehehe.

The full title of this book is 'Lessons from the Art of Juggling: How to Achieve your full Potential in Business, Learning, and Life'. I really think you would enjoy this book, well, the other one too. I'm sorry you are waiting till you get back to Australia to read them!

Zig have you ever thought about writing a book about how to juggle two balls in one hand or four balls in two hands, I bet it would be a best seller.

Yeah, I LOVE watching it work! It makes me high!