For the past twelve years I've been writing a book about my time at Brandeis University where my interactions with the religious Jewish community inspired me to become a more spiritually committed Buddhist. Lately, my Buddhist practice has all but slowed to a halt. I'd like to once again draw inspiration from Judaism in order to rekindle a once strong Buddhist practice. So, I've come up with a new practice that combines both traditions. First, some background info.

Meah Brachot literally means 100 blessings in Hebrew. Each Observant Jew is supposed to say at least 100 blessings each day. The implication is that if you can't find 100 things to bless each day, you're not paying attention.

Metta is the Pali word for loving-kindness. Interestingly enough, Hebrew has a word for this concept, too - Chesed - one of the ten attributes of G-d according to followers of Kabbalah - Jewish Mysticism. You begin the practice by repeating to yourself a set of affirmations:

May I be filled with loving-kindness
May I be well
May I be peaceful and at ease
May I be happy

You do this for 15 - 20 minutes a day. Once you cultivate loving-kindness within yourself, you move on to loved ones, acquaintenances, then to your "enemies" and finally to the whole universe.

Each entry will begin with a list of 100 things that I am grateful. I will then list the focus of my metta practice. As time permits, I may include a reflection of the day. I hope you enjoy this devotional journal and feel free to cheer me on!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

February 10, 2010

Today, I am grateful for….

1. Jessica giving me a ride to work even though I didn’t expect one
2. Having lost ten pounds since Christmas
3. The Porter interception not getting old yet
4. Discovering that I have more money than expected
5. Bacaro’s new bar menu – can’t wait
6. Balvenie Doublewood
7. Discovering the Greg Fitzsimmons podcast
8. All these podcasts that pick up the slack when I get tired of Sirius
9. Nissan not charging me for fixing a slight alignment issue
10. The great positive feedback we got from Corporate
11. Free steak at work today
12. The fantastic chicken from Texas Roadhouse of all places
13. Moore’s Family pork
14. Not worrying about running out of firewood
15. A warm fire going on a cold night
16. Paul Kahane
17. Not having to file FSA claims anymore
18. Roger Ebert for his Martin Scorsese book
19. Bob McGinn’s Super Bowl book
20. How cute Jessica looks in her purple winter jacket
21. Relearning that sometimes things go wrong and there’s no one to blame even myself
22. My stereo amplifier finally being fixed
23. Seeing Saints DC Gregg Williams evolve even at his age
24. Drinking on a weeknight
25. MS Office 2008 not pissing me off yet
26. Watching The Fugitive for the first time since moving to the Midwest
27. How rewatchable The Fugitive is
28. Finally getting the new FB to work the way I want it to
29. Things chugging along
30. Consensus building at work
31. DVR
32. The cookie that Jessica left me
33. Sky Cake!
34. Jessica finally being home
35. Long Slavic names
36. Hoisin sauce
37. The sheer number of good beer available here
38. Job security
39. A great part time job that gives me constant contact with creativity of the highest order
40. My new Macbook - I now believe the hype
41. Some semblance of financial security after some scary and lean years
42. Jessica - everyday I am surprised at how much we love each other
43. Not worrying about where my next meal is coming from
44. Facebook being an easy means to keep in touch with friends all over the world
45. How exciting this year is shaping out to being
46. How Jessica and I can’t seem to stay mad at each other for very long
47. Adam Carolla podcast
48. How much Jessica and I make each other laugh
49. Reconnecting with old friends
50. Breathing
51. Any form of nuanced thinking
52. Clean sweats to lounge around in
53. Keeping my cynicism in check
54. Still not completely believing in the concept of being comfortable
55. The ability to have some fucked up and entertaining dreams
56. Having a washer and dryer in our apartment
57. Mike Ross, the director of Krannert Center
58. Foreign languages
59. Life forcing me to multitask
60. Anthony Bourdain
61. The rush of positive thoughts and feelings I have every time I see Jessica
62. Tiki
63. My smart and talented friends old and new
64. My increasingly reliable intuition
65. My Brita filter especially on those days when Illinois Water decides to put WAY too much chlorine in it
66. The music playing in my head – Mahler Third Symphony
67. Competent and dedicated coworkers at both of my jobs
68. How great I feel after riding my bike to work
69. This computer stand from Ikea
70. Jessica's cute faces
71. How Jessica can pick me up when all seems lost
72. How good of a listener Jessica can be
73. Google Wave
74. Clothes that fit me even though I’ve gained too much weight
75. Bill Simmons
76. No longer worrying if today will be the day our car will completely fall apart
77. My new Ted Baker glasses
78. The moktak that my mom sent me
79. The copy of the Korean Zen Buddhist prayer CD that my mom made me
80. How good cracking various joints feel
81. My new earmuffs that don’t mess up my hair
82. Jackson 5 version of "Who's Loving You"
83. The fact that my seasonal eczema is finally subsiding
84. Everything I have yet to learn
85. My passion for music slowly returning
86. Our Simmons Beautyrest
87. My cautious optimism
88. The bizarre yet surprisingly effective baby talk that Jessica and I have developed for communicating
89. Jessica's hourglass figure
90. Memories, good and bad
91. The pavlovian response Jessica induces in me when I hear her keys just before she opens the door when coming home from work
92. My desire to seek out the positive in my life
93. Sensodyne
94. Free floss from the dentist
95. My orthotics
96. Not having to worry too much about what to wear for work
97. Having hope
98. My Brandeis BPA free Nalgene bottle
99. A new day
100. Completing my eighth post

Object of my metta practice - myself

Reflection of the Day – Nothing today
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