I've been making some slow progress on the SFX for Lakini's Woods again. And hopefully this will be the last time, that I have to post an old screenshot of the game world on this blog. It's been moving along really slow over the last month, but at least I'm making some sort of progress. I have been doing some work on a short film. I also gave a ton of lessons, did a second workshop and did a lot of research on game design. That last part is a lie. Sort of. I spent my nights watching Twitch streamers play games, that I never would have touched if it wasn't for them. And I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed them and how well the game design was thought out (for instance "Slay The Spire" or "Castle In The Darkness")
Since then I have been reading up a lot on Shambala Buddhism, especially in relation to the concept of the "Shambala Warrior" as described by Chögyam Trungpa. I learned something important from all this and I hope I can integrate it into my life from now on:
- The way you move, is a reflection of what is going on inside of you
- If your immediate environment is in disorder, it will have a negative impact on your mind as well
- If your clothes are in disarray, it will in some form cause you to be in disarray as well
- True courage comes from embracing suffering with empathy, embrace your own, as well as others
- Every task that you accomplish throughout the day, can lead you to immediate instant awareness
- Discipline is equivalent to caring for yourself and others. Lose discipline and you lose yourself
- Meditation needs to be on point, and your posture as well as your breath matter tremendously
Ever since I came into contact with Shambala Buddhism, I started working out and meditating again. I even built a small Buddha shrine in my bedroom. Shambala Buddhism has given me a roadmap to navigate through this enormous darkness that my life has been throughout the last year. Death, loss, financial drains, losing someone I still love ... all at once ... it never ends. And I'm honestly afraid, that if I lose this new found discipline that I discovered, I will get lost. And I'm terrified of what will happen then. And so I run and clean up my house and I meditate and I lift weights and do pushups. Because I can't figure out any of this other stuff, so I might as well clean up my own body and my environment.
Every night, I light a big candle in my room. A couple of weeks back I received a candlestand from someone who still is really important to me. I light that candle every night and it spreads a beautiful atmosphere in my room. Chögyam Trungpa speaks of the so-called "Dralas", invisible warrior spirits, that guard the ones, who are worthy of their presence. They represent part of our inner forces and energies. An open clean space, that is created with guests in mind rather than the person living there, a calm and determined mind, upright posture, an open heart, courage to endure suffering, courage to open your heart to others and solid discipline .... these are the things that will invite the Dralas. If all else fails and my life goes to shit, I would at the very least like to be someone, who is representing these values. I'd rather be this, than anything else. And if everything else comes crashing down all around me anyway, then so be it.
