The sounds of bliss: the gentle lapping of the lake against the gravely shore; stiff madrona leaves rustling as a breeze freshens; swallows chirping as they loop above the green water; mallards skimming the lake as they touch down, then a flutter of wings as they shake off water; the distant roar of a stronger wind rushing down the Olympic Mountains and spilling into the glacial cavern that embraces Lake Crescent. Near the woods you can smell fir cones opening as the day warms, drawing pitch out of the woody blooms.
Continue reading...21. June 2009
I was middle-aged before I ever rowed a boat, but since moving to the Olympic Peninsula, I’ve made up for lost time. In this magnificent region, there really is water, water everywhere—and most of it is safe to row in during the warmer/calmer months of the year. Most people up here paddle around in kayaks, but I wanted to be able to take my dog with me, and I needed a boat I could manage all by myself. So I got an inflatable boat, which tucks into the trunk of my car and allows me to explore some wonderful places. All I have to do is hook up the pump to my car’s lighter and voilà—in 15 minutes I have a boat.
Continue reading...24. May 2009
In my corner of the far northwest, there is almost always plenty of water. Here in Washington state, we are famous for the prodigious rain that falls. So it won’t surprise you that most springs our many rivers roar down out of their snow-capped mountains, full, frothy and icy cold. This spring I stood at the edge of such a river, the Dosewallips, which tumbles down from the Olympic Mountains through mixed woods of fir, alder and big leaf maple. I feel the energy, the power generated by the outpouring—even if it isn’t ever transposed into electricity. I attune myself to such life force, such vivacity, and inhale the highly ionized oxygen. Unlike the rhythm of the sea which often relaxes and soothes me, the relentless rushing of this river charges me up, as if I were a battery connected to its current.
Continue reading...14. April 2009
Can you find a place that reflects you back to yourself, a place that shows you the way toward inner stillness? Can you find a place where the cares of daily life slip off your shoulders like a silk shawl slipping to the ground? Can you create such a place in your mind, color it richly and make it real? Can you go there whenever you like? For me that place is Lake Crescent in the Olympic Mountains. This is how it looked last week when I returned from Neah Bay, with the blushing alders painting the lake pink. I am never more centered, grounded and calm than when I walk along and sit beside this magnificent lake.
Continue reading...27. October 2008
The promise of a string of perfect fall days lured me on a jaunt down the Hood Canal, stopping at some of my favorite places on the Olympic Peninsula and discovering some new ones. My ultimate destination was a solo meditation retreat at Alderbrook. First stop: Dosewallips River in Brinnon, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town, but home to the fabulous Whitney Rhododendron Garden.
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Click on any of the following links for more information:
What Is Meditation?
How To Meditate in 5 Easy Steps
Setting the Mood to Meditate
Benefits of Meditation
Expanding Your Current Meditation Practice
Why I Meditate and How It Affects Me
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16. July 2009
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