Our week is over. It felt strange to arrive after Dharmavidya had left hospital, a lot like fixing the barn door after the horse has come home.
By now you wouldn't know he had been unwell. At the start of our week he was calm and present, but with s
Today has felt like the first spring day. We have had periods of warm sunshine and it has been he first day of the year in which we have had our coffee break outdoors and have not lit a fire in our bedroom. The warmer weather has brought new activity
Read more…Today Damian, Susthama, Selena and Dorian left after breakfast to make the journey back to their home in Watford in England. They are in the process of buying a new apartment and need to be in UK in order to handle the legal and financial tasks. Eleu
Read more…After two days of much sleeping I feel a lot better today. Thanks to a cold, I had an good excuse to spend some extra time in bed.
Eleusis woodland
Today was a full day. After breakfast we all took a nice walk in the woods together. We followed the m
Read more…Today we woke up to snow, just a sprinkling. It looked very pretty. The day continued mostly rather cold. Later we had rain and then again in the evening more snow.
Between these various showers I managed to get out and get a bit of exercise for thre
It's been four days since we arrived here. When we first got here, we were invited to stay where Annette lives, a Buddhist community called Oasis before eventually moving over here to Eleusis.
"What is Oasis?", Damian asked.
"It's a place where peo
Days here are full of life. This morning the nurse arrived to take a sample of my blood while we were all sitting round having breakfast. I'm looking forward to getting back the lab result because this will tell something about what difference it has
Read more…DAVID:
Full House
Eleusis is full. Susthama, Damian and their two chilren, Selena and Dorian have joined us so the place is a-buzz with activity and little voices. Together we have done a certain amount of reorganisation of rooms and spaces. We are g
This morning first thing was bright and clear and Elja got me to go out for a walk to collect some daffodils from the area of the Eirene shrine. Then we walked back and I was feeling OK so we went on to visit the Demeter and Artemis shrines as well,
Read more…I measure progress by what I can do. Today I do better than yesterday by walking round the house twice, instead of once, and find great satisfaction in doing a small task in the garden, cutting back a bramble that was encroaching on the mint bed -
Read more…Little things... little things that make you happy.
There where a lot of these little things today.
Stay in bed a little bit longer.
Breakfast table ready when I came into the kitchen.
Having breakfast with David and Adam.
Stay at Eleusis all day.
Me
Read more…It has been quite a day of ups and downs. Last night I was allowed to sleep at home but had to be in the hospital for injections, blood tests and oxygen treatment first thing this morning so we were up at a good hour and on the road to St Amand again
Read more…David is on parole for this night. Officially he will be allowed to leave the hospital tomorrow afternoon. However, yesterday he got a new roommate, a patient who shouts all day and all night. The poor man is clearly in much distress. Of course, it a
Read more…This morning I was able to have a talk with the doctor from which I was able to ascertain that he thinks it will be six months before my lungs are completely clear of blood clots. During that time they will keep me on blood thinners. He says that I c
Read more…At around 2am Emma and Mike arrived at Eleusis. We saw each other at breakfast. We left for the hospital and arrived around noon. We spent three hours together. David is doing better everyday! He is starting to feel bored, so that is a very good sign
Read more…Last night I slept and slept and slept in the oblivion of swoon induced by pain killers. It did me good. Staff came and went waking me for blood pressure checks, to take blood, to give injections, take temperature and so on and I would be roused brie
Read more…This morning I am in the hospital around nine o'clock. Normally I get there about ten. I know that David has had a wretched night and I am awake anyway, so I go to the hospital earlier. I arrive just in time to go downstairs with him for an x-ray.
Gr
Read more…Behind the scene Amida members are working to organise some extra hands at Eleusis. I am quite healthy... except a leg problem. This morning I postponed my operation for a new hip. I was supposed to be operated on next week. As long as David is still
Read more…So here I am, in hospital. It is not so different from being in a monastery. There is a routine, even ascetic practices, like regularly having needles stuck in one in a variety of places, plus the odd unexpected extra one to test one's equanimity. F
Read more…Dear Dharmavidya, word of your illness saddened me much more deeply than I would have imagined.Though I've been involved in spiritual practice for many years, I've never had a true teacher/student relationship until recently with you.The thought o
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