1. noun: a religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order

Meditation:

Every morning with few misses, for 43 years. No matter what, we settle into our respective chairs.  Do alternate breathing.  Lord’s prayer and gratitude to the Guru.  Awaken the reiki.  Reach inside to connect to the shakti.  Seek that surge up the spine, the sinking deep into the waveless lake. Sometimes it’s found.  Sometimes maya intervenes. More about this later.

Children:

Always the bath before bedtime.  Always reading aloud, side by side.  Then a song with a soft chorus and lots of verses.

My daughter fell asleep sucking her thumb and wrapping my hair around her finger.  Once she twisted our hair together.

Saturday morning cleaning the bathroom:

I’d call my Aunt Joan and talk while I cleaned the shower.  One gloved hand managed the sponge, the other bare hand held the cell phone.  A good time and activity for philosophical conversations. Now Aunt Joan is gone, but every time I clean the shower, I want to call her.

Reading before sleep:

It’s important to choose the right book out of the few I’m reading. The text can’t be violent or disturbing.  Maybe a little boring is good.  Too interesting, and it’s hard to put the book down.