The Secret of the Willow – Blogging U – Poetry 201 – Day 1

The secret of the Willow

Weeping willow dips

Bows blow, golden tears hang low

Conceal sweethearts lips

Cheryle Baker

Oct 8, 2015

Blogging U – Writing Poetry 201 – Sonnet, Future, Chiasmus

10^th Assignment – Sonnet – Future – Chiasmus

 

When Summer Comes

 .

I can’t wait to see what my future will be

I’m itchin’ to get on the road

All the camp gear is stowed

For me and my little RV

 .                  

What my future will be, I can’t see

My food and camera are stowed

Zipping along on down the road

My little RV and me

 .

Where will I go, fast or slow

What will I see when I stop.

Here and there, to and fro

On a dime the awning I’ll drop

 .

Like a float on the river I’’ll go with the flow

Up or down, city or town, love the view from a hilltop

 .

Cheryle March 1, 2015

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Assignment #4 – Blogging U 201 – Poetry – Concrete, Animal, Enjambment

Assignment #4 – Concrete, Animal, Enjambment

Difficult, difficult difficult……What a challenging assignment.  I did it!.  It is lame, but done.  I do need to remember that if I keep at it and don’t quit I can do anything.  A Life Lesson while writing poetry.  WhaWhoo can it get any better!.     In case It isn’t clear, this is a Concrete Snake.

    _{a snakes tale}

_S                                 ^l_e

lip                         t^t       t

pery                      rat          a

slider             speed                     i

slow              of                      l

glider             burst                    _wa

grab               a                      ^rn

ing a                for             ⁱⁿ

spot              ways                   g

of sun         side

                  ^Sl _{i t h} ^{e r}

A Concrete Snake Poem

Assignment 2 – Writing 201 – Limerick, Journey, Alliteration

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_assignment/writing-201-journey/

Assignment #2 Blogging U – Writing Poetry 201

I am late with my offering for day two.  I love writing poetry, but it is such a difficult task for me, like pulling teeth. One word at a time.

The assignment was to create a Limerick about a Journey that uses alliteration as a device.   It’s a little weak on alliteration but I think I achieved the idea of a journey and the sense of a limerick.   The Journey is the struggle or the work that is done while meditating to move your mind from chaos to tranquility.

Journey from Chaos to Peace

Once on my cushion, I sit still

To tame the emotions to my will

Dismiss from my mind

Chaos not in line

With the peace I wish to instill.

Cheryle  Feb 18, 2015

4th Assignment – Feb 4 – Statistics

I am not someone who is interested in the technical aspects of blogging, especially the statistics.  Math and numbers are not even one of my weakest strengths.  However I do understand their importance regarding marketing and promotions.  I am just figuring out this blogging activity and not concerned with marketing or promoting my blog.  Maybe one day, but now I am just having fun.

The traffic on my blog increases in the days just after I have posted my response to an assignment, a new post under “The Meditation Cushion” or reblogged from another site.  eg:  the 2K International Writers Blog Tour.  The most interest was exhibited during the week I received the Liebster and Sisterhood of World Bloggers awards.

Visiting friends and checking out new blogs can be very time consuming, therefore, I try to keep my posts short, as not to take up too much time of the people who stop by.  It appears that once someone pops in to take a peek, they also take a boo at one or two other posts, much the way I do when I visit a blog.  I haven’t posted much this week, except to reblog the artist interviews posted on The 2K International Writers Blog Tour.  I am featured near the end of the month.

Here is a  video produced by Khan Academy introducing statistics to the uninitiated.  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EYEJ32oQ8

Feb 7/2015

The Meditation Cushion

Meditation:  What are we doing

What is It we are doing, while we sit with our eyes closed, our rhythmic breathing coming and going quietly?

Our mind is running amuck, all of the thoughts are coming forward, begging for attention.  Look at me, I am significant, I can make you look smart, beautiful.  I am lonely, you are failing, not worthy, hide beneath the dark blanket of shame and all will be well.  Your shopping list for today includes………. Don’t forget to drop the kids off.  What a jerk, who does he think he is, treating me like a minion, I am not worthy.  I just want to disappear, let’s go shopping…. Never ending conversations with yourself, running your mind ragged with their interference.  Too much to focus on not enough mind.

Our backs straight, shoulders relaxed, hands gently resting on our laps, right over left.  We are ignore the aches, pains and itches our bodies are giving us in retaliation to the unfamiliar stillness.  It wants to run, jump and play.  Move as it pleases.  We are keeping these impulses in check, they are there, we do not pay them any attention.  We remain still, they will disappear we will become oblivious to the wants of the body.

Take a slow deep breath, hold it for just a moment, let it go slowly, pay attention to the quiet it brings, breathe in, – slowly, hold for just a moment, breath out slowly.  Drop your shoulders, they are starting to tense, hold you back straight, breathe in —-hold —- out.   Relax, maintain the position.    Where did I leave my keys, did I finish that memo?  Your mind breaks in on the silence, driving your concentration away.

Your thoughts create your reality, but what of your emotions.  They bring you joy, pain, and fear.  Sadness overwhelms your happiness, Joy launches you to the sky and beyond.  Up and down, High and low, how the drama of your life comes and goes.

To retain your equilibrium repeat a single word over and over until it disappears and your emotions are filtered through it.   Buddho, Jesus, Allah, a word of prayer, or any word you wish.  A word which does not carry an emotion.  Table would work well, unless you stubbed your toe earlier in the day, then, the word table would be fraught with pain and anger.  Emotional words will only make it impossible for your mind to calm and relax. Unable to slip into the stillness that is a natural part of your makeup.

Your mind, the naughty two year old has gotten loose trying to run your thoughts again.  Like a toddler your mind needs a focus to keep it occupied, to overcome its’ wanton desire to be in charge, looking, touching everything and anything all the time forever.

As any good parent would, gently take your mind, focus all of its’ energy on one thing. The spot on your forehead between your eyebrows, the tip of your nose, your throat, your heart or your navel.  Select one, touch it with your finger if you need to feel the sensation of where this is.  Keep your attention focused on this point.  It is called the focal point. This is where the work begins.

Any irrepressible child will resist training, any discipline, wanting only to do as it wishes, when it wishes and how it wishes. When you catch your mind wandering back to the thoughts looping through each other, refocus its’ attention, gently, back onto this point, in the middle of your forehead, between your eyebrows.   Every time it wanders, bring your mind back, lovingly, gently, to this point without recrimination that you are failing.  You are not, you are learning, slowly, improving your willpower over the itinerant wanderings of the wild child, your mind.

You are learning to be in charge of your thoughts, increase the strength of your willpower.

By Cheryle L. Baker                              February 3  2015

1st Assignment Blogging U201 – Set Three Goals

The first assignment for blogging U 201 is to set 3 goals for my blog.   This assignment has me re-evaluating why I started to blog and what I  expect.

In the first assignment for Blogging U 101, I wrote I wanted accountability, a supportive environment and to develop a discipline to the “act of writing”.  To further explore and develop my meditation practice and to connect with people, who like me, wish to feel comfortable with themselves in order to live a happier life.

I realized re-reading my post, three goals were already created and spoken.  I just have to pull them out, set down their criteria and determine the measurement of success for each.

Discipline to Writing:  Many writers advise newbies to write every day.  Practice, practice and more practice.  Rewrite and Edit.   This would translate into:   regular posts, my readers anticipate and enjoy;  an accountable, consistent writing schedule.

I have registered to Blogging U 201 – Branding and Growth, Blogging 201 – Writing Poetry and the Photo Bloggers Challenge.  I also have a Feature “The Meditation Cushion” to which I want create a regular posting schedule.  The Blogging U assignments require daily posts.  Photo bloggers challenge is on a monthly posting schedule and The Meditation Cushion is on a post when I feel like it schedule.   I am not sure I can keep up the pace of daily posts beyond Blogging U and feel that a once a month post for each activity will keep me busy and happy.

I will re-evaluate this timeline three months after Blogging U has been completed.  If I determine I want to post more or less often at that time I will set a new schedule.

Further Explore and Develop my Meditation Practice.  Explore my abilities, increase my knowledge and experience, strengthen my instructors’ tool kit, and improve my voice as a virtual instructor.

To achieve this I would maintain a daily practice, read, experience and write about a variety of meditation techniques and philosophies. Post a monthly feature “The Meditation Cushion”

To Connect with People   The difficulty here is I have no idea how to get people to like me.  I did increase my twitter followers once by retweeting a news story about a woman who lifts weights with her vagina.  That is not the way I want to increase my blog statistics.

I believe being kind and honest with the people who like or follow me and who I follow,  is a good place to start.

I will continue my habit of looking at new blogs, commenting on posts I enjoy, engaging with my Blogging U colleagues and responding to those who stop by and like my posts.   I am now posting to the Facebook page “Lightwalkers Blog” and tweeting on Twitter. I will continue to update and retweet the tweets I find interesting or in case of the weightlifter lady controversial.

I will honour my goals by maintaining the posting schedule set out.

 Increase my Readership   Math is not something I understand or even pretend to be able to do, so suggesting I will increase my readership by 20 0r 30 % by the end of the month or year doesn’t make any concrete sense to me.

Currently, I have 71 followers gathered from Blogging U 101 alone.  I am embarking on 3 new endeavors’.  One which may have many of the same people I already follow and two in which I may encounter many new people.  My calculation works like this:  71 / 2 / 2 = approx. 17.

My goal is to increase my followers by 17 people over the next 30 days.

There, my goals are set down clearly and concisely, a new practice for me.  Over the next 4 months, I will see how I well I achieve them.