Far away, far away. I wanna go far away...

Life has been crazy here in the burg but that's how I like it! My classes are going great and I'm not hating any of them yet. Next week is mid-terms but I don't have any :) it's great. The only assignment I'm still having trouble with is the photo assignment I mentioned in an earlier post. We are learning about the colors of light and we have to take pictures before or after sunrise. I've been waking up around 6 am (an amazing feat, I know) to shoot pictures and haven't taken anything really spectacular yet. I talked to my teacher about this and he said that i should just keep getting up that early and trying new things...so that's what I'm doing.

So lately I've been meditating for 5-10 minutes every day. It's amazing how sitting still for that short amount of time can really calm me down and help me focus for the rest of the day. Usually try and just concentrate on my breathing, but sometimes I try and make lists of things I have been blessed with or people who need my help. Sometimes I pick a word and say it over and over (I know: cheesy...but it helps!). Here are some interesting quotes about meditation:

"Let that be something to remember-you do likewise. Take time to meditate. Many times you will be wrestling with problems, the solution of which can be spiritually discerned. Don't get so busy that you don't have time to meditate. Take the time.”
-Harold B. Lee

"I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation, a principle of devotion. In our worship there are two elements: one is spiritual communion rising from our own meditation; the other instruction from others, particularly from those who have authority to guide and instruct us. Of the two, the more profitable introspectively is meditation. Meditation is the language of the soul. Meditation is a form of prayer. We can say prayers without having any spiritual response. Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord."
-David O. McKay

“Someone asked a Hindu how he was able to maintain the great serenity and peace he had about him, no matter what pressures he faced. His answer: ‘I never leave my place of meditation.’ Every morning he meditated for thirty minutes. Then in his mind and heart he never left that place—he maintained the spirit of that place throughout the day amid his pressures."
-From an article in the April, 1989 Ensign

We've also been learning a lot about the Buddha this week. I never realized that Buddhism really isn't a religion with god's and stuff but more of a spiritual practice. Here are some quotes by the Buddha:

"Work out your own enlightment with dilligence"

"Recognize our delusion that happiness exists outside of ourselves."

Miss you!
Rachel Marie