Talks Archive

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Text and Textile

Text and Textile 

OLGA DE AMARAL

I had the great good fortune to travel to Paris
to see the Columbian weaver
Olga de Amaral's - The Texture of Time show at the
Cartier Foundation, there til March 16, 2025. 
The space and the 80 plus weavings were
extraordinary.
Each intricate weaving challenging my perception
of how they were made. 
 
In the show, there's a description: 
"text" and "textile"
share
the same root, in Latin “Texere”, which means both 
to weave and to tell. 

Each of Olga's textiles tells a unique story. 
Her connection with nature is felt throughout
the exhibition.  The large slate
boulders on the first floor, communing with
her large woven sculptures, give
way to nature's textures. 
Color, Technique, Light emanating from inside. 
It was all there.

Connecting explicitly with our meditation practice and studies.
Olga states, 
”The vitality of a rock is its presence.”

How Vedic can you get?

I recall in more than 3/4 of my life, how I would feel
after going to a show like this. Jealousy,
despair, critical of my underachievements.
A persistent drumbeat in my mind that I will
never be good enough. 
"Snap out of it" I would say to myself. "Stop
bullying yourself."  
Honestly, it wasn't until I learned this technique of meditation,
to calm my nervous system, to see
what I was doing to myself.
This is what allows us to 
transcend all of these small self
indoctrinations. 
And let go of this discrimination of ourselves and of others. 
Vedic Meditation brilliantly brings the joy and light of life
into focus.  

In this way, I can be fully open to these incredible,
intricate, delightful pieces and be enamored by
Olga's weaving techniques that could bring 
intrigue, happiness, life and love to 
the craft that I behold.

12.15.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Steady is a State of Being

Steady is a State of Being

Weaving creates a steady state. This particular piece
reminds me of the spine. Vertebra by vertebra. 
Consistent “picks” between each material
holding the structure in place.
All too often, through too much weight strain, 
too much sitting, too much repetitive motion,
we sense damage to the
structural apparatus that holds us upright. 
Or is it muscle memory around the spine? And 
tension we put upon ourselves?
Dr. John Sarno wrote books about the subject of
back pain and how it comes from too much stress.
I'm beginning to realize that there is
something to the books that Sarno wrote
which makes sense. 
Add our awareness of the possibility to
allow ourselves to be in a steady state,
without desires, beyond our self and back pain.

That gives us a path to move forward.

I love this quote from the Bhagavad-Gita:
"When a man completely casts off all desires
that have gone (deep) into the mind… when 
he is satisfied in the Self through the Self alone,
then is he said to be of steady intellect."

This means then… if we allow ourselves to rest
in the state of blissful Being and realize that this 
steady Self is different from the mind, engaged
with all kinds of desires and activities, then
we can recognize our steady Self is really 
all we need.
And let go of the stresses and to-do's.
It's not that we become inactive. 
It's that we stabilize our body and mind,
with our twice-a-day meditation practice,
to recognize the difference between 
our steady state of Being and an overly fraught,
desire- and object-driven mind. 

Weaving our way into Happiness.

12.08.2024 info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Knowing Yourself

Knowing Yourself 

Hoping you all had a peaceful day of giving Thanks!

Being with family always gives me a quick check up 
on how my nervous system has evolved. 
Thinking about the concept of "who am I" coming 
into the lives of my brother’s family and reframing 
it to "what am I" feels a lot more like how I want to feel.
 
Who am I feels so separate, almost
defensive;  what am I, feels more contented.
If I can stay in that field of Being 
the observer of all things going around me. 
Then I can be of service to others and 
be of the most help. 

I stepped into my nephew’s room, who was 
home visiting too, and was thrilled to see
the vastness of
his collection of shoes. @samtick_footwear
Some he made -- prototypes
that were brought to market, some
never destined to be on the market.
Others, he simply liked and collected. 

I was struck by the vast personalities of each shoe.
Each with their own unique nervous system. 
It sent me looking for a favorite passage in Alistair Shearer’s book: The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 
he writes: 
”According to yoga, we suffer because
we live in ignorance. We are ignorant of our real nature.
Our true nature lies beyond the restrictions of
our careworn and humdrum existence,
ecstatically free and untouched by suffering.
Deep within the mind, beyond the faintest
flicker of thought, it is experienced as an
undying and omnipresent vastness. 
It is absolute consciousness.
Animating everything in creation,
this is the source and goal of all life… 
The more developed the nervous system,
the more it will express the qualities of pure
consciousness---intelligence, creativity, and bliss.”

Recognizing this year feels different than any 
other year of visiting, I am left with 
this quote
by T.S. Elliot
”We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring 
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.” 

Giving thanks to all of you that 
are curious and in my life.
Sharing our lives together
growing and expanding
is the absolute best.

12.01.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
Go Beyond the Point of No Return

Go Beyond the Point of No Return

I had rested with this small stainless steel woven
foundation for a bit, until I realized
I was going to run out
of the special metal fiber I had acquired in 
Paris. I was there some ten years ago. The fiber
was awaiting the perfect piece.
So I pulled it all apart this week to start afresh.  
I have saved the metallic thread to 
cast it in another direction for this ground weave.
A 3+1 twill, the strongest weave, that
Levi Strauss has used 
for years in their jean structures.  

Recognizing the concept to stop ignoring
the inevitable, I needed to redirect this project.  
Like life, and some dark laden relationships.  
We must recognize if propositions, friendships,
products, weave structures are failing, then best to 
redirect your energies onward before the Used
by Date gets you.  
Building a strong foundation for 
friendships and for weavings
(at least in my life) never ends.  
It’s the style of relating to find 
fulfillment and fullness that changes and we are 
looking for.  
A better way to relate.  A better use
of the materials at hand.
Couldn't help but recognize the strength 
of the number 3 + 1 here.
A point for discussion.
As nature teaches us we are always evolving
so, let go of the ever-repeating known and 
take action in a new direction if you are at
a point of no return...

11.24.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
A Long Time Ago Before Cell Phones

These pastel portraits were drawn by my grandmother,
Annette Sayler.  
Gingi, as we called her, worked at the local photography gallery,
where she spent her time coloring black and white portraits with pastels. 
She grew up in rural Illinois on a farm and moved to
the city to work and take evening classes
at Illinois Wesleyan.
This was when models would come to sit so artists could practice 
on coloring portraits. 

What a batch of Beings found in the box of my
parents’ home. 
All pastel portraits carefully housed in their own plastic sleeves.
The colors are stunning and pure.
Each Being is a unique blueprint of consciousness
embedded in their own physiology and recognized thru their eyes.
The eyes, the entry point to the brain. 

These days we can barely get a glimpse of peoples’ eyes. 
They are so transfixed on their cell phones.  
Or too anxious and uncomfortable to take the time for a long
healthy conversation.  
Favoring texting.
Expanding one’s awareness can be difficult, as problems are consciousness states that don't know how to 
use all of the resources before them. 
Connection with ourselves, with our art, with our
friends is so important.
Settling the nervous system is key to gaining knowledge.
Knowledge has organizing power.
The mind
creates a solution field
if given access to these subtle states of awareness from meditation. 
What can we do to be perceptive and have capabilities
of comprehending what is going on at any 
given time?  Meditate. Come to group practice. And then Take action. 
Create a Solution Field.  
Be aware. Be yourself. Be Bold.
Be the blueprint of what 
you want to be.  
Enjoy this very powerful Full Moon about to come
over the horizon in NYC.
This is the time to build inner strength for the winter. 

11.17.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
WHEN IN DOUBT, DO ART!

This week I must have received a half dozen
messages from friends with the same heartwarming message
from 'the' Toni Morrison. 
It reads like this:  

This is PRECISELY the time
when artists go to work. 
There is no time for despair,
no place for self-pity,
no need for silence,
no room for fear. 
We speak, we write...
That is how civilizations heal. 

So this week, in the midst of the turmoil, I refrained from
the news, social media; and I taught, I wove,
I responded to friends,
I took a class, I collaborated with a friend,
I listened to Thom Knoles podcasts, I colored, 
I selected fabrics for the Teknion showroom. 
I entertained and cleaned out closets. 
And this morning at 7:30 a.m. 
I helped a friend in need.

Recognizing what the need of the time is, helps
iron out the difficulties. Keeping in a good-spirited
Creative mode, enhances all that we do.
Being awake and doing what feels charming,
is essential.

What I didn't do was sink into a dark hole
of despair over the what ifs?? 
Recognizing that all that is happening
is an evolutionary process, that I may not understand
at this moment… but will soon come to 
realize why the change is happening.  
It has been heartbreaking to hear how much despair
there has been in our collective. 
Now is the time to help each other.

stay light, be light  

We will continue to activate our creativity through
our twice a day practice. 

11.10.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
GOLDEN RULE

"Golden Rule" the name of this Weaving,
seems apropos to share for these last few days
before the election.
It is woven with yellow happy face mylar balloons
found on the beaches here on Fire Island
and golden mylar balloons from celebrations
of friends, that I'm the thankful recipient,
for producing my weavings.
I love embedding moments of celebration
into my weavings.
It gives the weavings their own consciousness.

This morning I woke up to the golden glow
of the sky just before sunrise.
Yellows and Golds.
Yellow the color of Optimism and Golden,
as in the rule, outlines:
treating others as they would like to be treated
and/or asking people not to treat others
in ways that they would not enjoy being treated,
…comes to mind…
as I observe behaviors so amplified
by the fear of the unknown outcome of what this election will bring.

In the Vedic Meditation community
we have been discussing with fellow meditators,
how important, especially at this time,
to not miss our twice a day practice.  
If you have a meditation practice, no matter what kind…
Let's help the collective consciousness of our
community to keep the rising heat
of the collective down and do our part in
lessening the madness.

We survive to the extent that we change.  
You live inside the consciousness you are in.
There are 5 elements of Progressive Change.

The first is Stability - complete inner contentedness.
and the fifth is A Willingness to Grow.
With Entheos which is the root of the English word "enthusiasm".
This state of consciousness has a most
optimistic approach to everything that holds supreme.  

We see these traits in Kamala! 

Please VOTE
Please Meditate!
Please treat all as you would like to be treated.

We will discuss all five elements
of Progressive Change and meditate together...
and hold room for all to share and learn from.
Life is golden.

11.03.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
Mantrapeace/ Mantlepiece

Mantrapeace/Mantlepiece
This is what 8' of recycled drycleaning hangers kept
from the landfill for a piece of art can look like.
The first of 5 metal strands woven for a new commission.  
I get so thrilled every time I weave this material.
The weight of this coat of armor is evident.
When I gently un wrap it from the loom beam,
I can feel the loom beam on the last revolution
want to cast it off.  
This cast off is similar to the weight that gets
released from our physiology
with the effortless practice of vedic meditation.  
It's like no other meditation technique that
I have tried that,
#1. I could do 
#2. I continue doing 2 x a day 
#3. It's effortless and simple.

We have all felt the effects of adrenaline on our physiology.  
It is produced abundantly in time of stress reactivity.
Stress is a biological survival technique.
A fight or flight response.
It comes from an overabundance of expectations
we put on ourselves.
We feel resentment=rejection chemistry fills
our entire system and provokes irrelevant reactions.
We feel anxious=Our adrenal glands fill up and
we cast off a scent.

The aftereffects of a huge bout of adrenaline are
tiredness, lethargy and sometimes confusion.  
The body gets addicted to these rushes of adrenaline,
and acting out old behaviors become a hallmark
of a stressed person.  

Consistent practice of Vedic Meditation dissolves
adrenal chemistry, and the exhaustion
that has been masked by elevated adrenal
activity is being highlighted for deletion. 

The beauty of this practice is that
the more you practice and willingly surrender
to it, the better you feel.
The nature of the mind is to look for greater happiness.  
The nature of the body is to throw off stress.
 
Like the loom beam throwing off the completed strand.
Once it's off the loom, I rewind, rewarp
and begin weaving the next strands. 
Each time with more clarity, joy and stability.  
If you would care to learn about this Vedic Meditation practice.
Or are interested in weaving or weavings.  Reach out. 

10.27.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Deck Talk and Meditation:
The Ever Repeating Known

The Ever Repeating Known
(Getting caught in the Maintenance operator mode of evolution)

We have been watching nature's destruction for a very long time.
It’s cyclical... It's repetitive.
We, as a collective, sit back and watch, time and time again
hurricanes, fire, destruction...imposing itself on our
communities and our lives.
What can we do when we perceive the ever-repeating known?

We highlight behaviors, actions and ways of being
that are no longer relevant for our growth,
our community, our planet...for Deletion. 
For instance, if we luxuriate in the shower for hours on end,
shorten that time. 
If we sit and chat while the water is running and not in use.
Stop it.
Overconsumption of anything causes destruction.  
The beauty of all of this is, after destruction comes
Creation
in the ever-repeating cycles in life.  

This weaving was started in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina where Graft Architects,
in conjunction with Brad Pitt for Make it Right Foundation,
conceived of a project to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward.
This was 2007, approximately 2 years after the hurricane.
They took action and conceived of constructing
150 Pink tents to house people in need. 
Destruction turned to Creation.
When my son went to college at Tulane in 2010,
I met up with local architect Trey Trahan and
introduced him to my textile collections and
my weaving of recycled materials. 
He had been one of the architects that participated
in the campaign and asked if I would care
to have one of the leftover pink tarps for a weaving. 
I jumped on it.
So every year when I would go and visit my son,
I would have a little box in my luggage
filled with detritus from NOLA and I stashed it away for
use in a weaving.  
Recently and long overdue, I cleaned out a storage
unit and brought all my art and things back,
and there she was, partly completed.
It has maintained its presence in my storage unit.
Instead of destroying it...Now, it's back up for Creation.   
We excavate and discern how we utilize
Creation Maintenance and Destruction to move on.

10.21.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
Stabilizing the Heat 

Stabilizing the Heat

The news of the weather and water temperatures
reaching peaks that are beyond where they have ever
been is a warning call which we feel inside us.
These calls have been going off for some time.
The heat from fighting around the world is reflected
in the raising of temperatures.
There are infinite correlations as to why the heat is rising.
The political climate adds stress which culminates
in heat and we go on and on. 
What can we do as individuals to decrease the heat?
Stabilize our inner being.
This allows us to learn to cultivate a calmness that doesn't add to stress levels.
I have found that Vedic Meditation gives us this capability.
Growing up as a 4th generation recycler,
I watched artists from all fields,
coming and rummaging amidst the discards of everyday life.
Looking for pieces that would inspire their next sculptures. 
This early childhood experience is embedded in my
sense of Being. It's that inner sense of innocence
that triggers the creativity.
It's that sense that sustains my life's mission.
When I learned to meditate I was able to sense what I needed to do.
That  enabled me to build a new brand of textiles,
LUUM for the A + D community with the support of David Feldberg at Teknion, the focus was sustainability.
This has been a steady mission for the past 24 Collections. 
Now with art commissions, I recognize that the need of the time is to follow that passion and continue on.  
The weaving process takes time in the making.
Winding the warp, Dressing the loom, Threading the warp.
Collecting the hangers, cutting the hangers, winding the bobbins...
all a sequence that is both rewarding and calming.
When we sit twice a day we cultivate our baseline happiness.

It comes from inside us. Not outside us.  
We cool down.
Shown and grateful for this next wire commission.
Two strands of 5 to be woven. 

Concentrating on innocent and natural stabilizing.
And recognizing what’s needed.

10.13.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
The Seeds we Sow 

The Seeds we sow. 

Love this time of year in the northern hemisphere
when the tops of grasses are sprouting their seeds for
next spring to take root. They are fluffy and fanciful.   
Nature’s natural seasonal flow takes us to our closets as well.
Boxing or moving our summer clothes to make 
room for our autumn and winter clothes. 

This weaving of cotton and autumn grasses holds this changing
transitional time of year woven with beauty and content.
It holds both richness and rustic textures.
It’s in these transitional times
that we feel our senses more in our individual practices.
Dawn comes later and dusk comes earlier.
Both great times to do our meditation practice.
These four transitional morning times.
As colors shift.

Vedic Meditation offers us the use of a "Bija" (seed)
mantra which is used in our twice a day practice.  
Each day, twice a day we sit with our eyes shut and draw
the mantra into our awareness. That’s all we need to do.
The effortless attention to the "mantra" (mind vehicle)
 is essentially watering the seed.  
The technique takes over, transcending.
Our thoughts sprout up which have no meaning in our
practice and we let them go and come back to watering the seed.
This seed turns into a stabilizing factor in our lives.
Just as the warp and weft stabilize the grasses.

We are essentially rooting ourselves and establishing
ourselves in our true sense of Being.
We get a sense of who we are minus all the stress
and anxiety, anger and sadness. That is not to say that
we don't get stressed or angry at times.  
Actually meditators feel their senses much stronger
then non meditators. It means we simply
don't stay stressed. Which is the real cause of dis ease. 

As we clean our closets, weave our art pieces, and
prune our gardens we recognize the importance
of all natural materials.
What we wear, that we are surrounded by and
what we design or create with.
These are the materials that have true stabilizing energy.
Deep in our roots we find meaning…

Sowing the seeds of stability in everything we do.

10.06.2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
Green with Envy or is it Jealousy?
Is it Sustainable? 

Green with Envy or is it Jealousy?  Is it Sustainable? 

This week I was delighted to hear the Vedic Worldview on
the differences between Envy and Jealousy
from my ultimate Guru, Thom Knoles.
With a broader discussion with my teachers
Melanie and Neil Kirkbride last night
that brings me to this post today.  
(I would be remiss if I didn't share this weaving
commissioned awhile back by Ken Cohen...
on his birthday week! HB Ken and Thanks. )

We have all felt the heightened state of watching
someone having an experience that inspires us.  
An enviable position that was self created.
I felt it this week at "Lunch at a Landmark" as I watched
with pure joy Shigeru Ban being honored and speak of his work. 

I pondered as I started my trek homeward
how wonderful his mission in helping aid so many people in crisis
by creating housing for them around the world In times of disaster.
It felt wonderful to be in his presence in this enviable state.
Not to mention, seeing his numerous masterpieces.
I believe that Nature organizes for those that help others.
He is a case in point. 

We can't speak about envy without discussing
the anti evolutionary, consuming state of low
self worth called Jealousy.
Jealousy arises when one wants to have unity
with someone or thing and cause the other not to have it.
To have something that others have.
If you have waves of this....stop before it takes over.
As it is self fulfilling and causes others not to be around you.
Jealousy is considered a comfort tactic not a strategy for growth.
Melanie and Neil stated that as
we get older our most important mission is 
to continue on a spiritual path of learning,
growing and helping others.
And Thom stated that these moments are all opportunities
to share our practice.  
In becoming more and more conscious of our deeper
states of awareness.  

Step aside states of Jealousy.
Weave / Build / Create -- Be sustainable! Be Green.

Reach out, if you care to discuss this
and how Vedic Meditation aids
in all that we do to evolve and grow.

9. 29. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation:
Need of the Time

Need of the Time

A year and a half ago during a Luum design charrette, we were
pondering what the need of the time would be for September 2024.  
I discussed with the team that these are the months leading up
to election day and the collective will be kinetic.

You could see it back then. Election time, democracy divided,
war in Russia. Strong divisions.  The best way I thought to handle
this kinetic energy is to match it with energetic patterns,
bright use of color and optimism.
AI was being discussed in a big way,
so that had to be adopted to the collection by us of
pixelation and collage. 

Where attention goes energy flows was our theme for 2024.

Our discussions revolve around the collective
consciousness of the universe. 
We as individuals are filled with energy, mostly in constant movement.
Our minds are the same.  Flickering from one thought
to the next, cascading on the currents of life.
Tapping into what to do, why is this happening?
what to eat? why would they vote that way? who is that person?
do I have enough time? why do I feel this way?
what to say at this meeting?  On and on is our questioning.  
Our questions are not who we are.

Meditation allows us to see that these thoughts
as they bubble up and to "let them go".
The thought is meaningless in our Mantra based practice.
What happens after that, is that we start 
recognizing in our active state outside of meditation,
what we truly want to do for every moment.  
Each meditation cleans the slate of the unnecessary
60,000-80,000 thoughts we have everyday.
And opens up the door to our true Dharma.  

We recognize we aren't a single individual wave,
in the ocean, we are the ocean.  
We are not these individual thoughts we are a being.  
Searching and then therefore recognizing
what is the best use of our time.  
In service to the collective.

Welcome, Kinetic Energy Collection.
It's upbeat, happy, sustainable, energetic,
supple, performance driven and colorful.
Definitely the need of the time.  
Special Collage discussion.

9. 22. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Work/Create/Produce

Work Create Produce

In recent weeks, Its becoming quite evident that I was expected
to create something with my free time.  
This is called social indoctrination.
In early age we are given ideas and attitudes about what we
should be doing and the mold is set.  

These first two weeks of September I am noticing
art projects that I made as a child. 
This string art piece was from the late sixties.
 My father would go to Chicago each Tuesday to see his therapist.
 It was a two hour train ride from the town I grew up.
As he would stop at a Chicago Deli and
bring home all kinds of delightful foods, then go to Old town
to his favorite bookstore for books on Asian philosophy,
and then the art store to find the latest kits for me :)
I loved it. Little did I know that that was the start
of the habit that formed me.  

Pantanjali wrote about the Sutras, a word in Sanskrit
that means sutures or stitches.  
From string to twine to cord to rope it's the habits,
the addictions that binds us. 
Like the string art, each strand, each layer
each time we do a repetitive behavior
it binds us to this behavior.  
Some habits are better than others. There are eating,
drinking, working, sexting, now phone addictions.  
 Addiction switching is inevitable unless we are aware of it.
This is where we resolve a problematic behavior
and re-route the same behavior towards
other areas of our lives. Same pattern, different fixation.
 This does not address the feelings driving the
addictive behavior.  
This requires a lot of awareness, self-honesty
and accountability. 
If we want to create habits pick good ones.
 Meditation twice a day helps us to realize
the strings that bind us. 
Pantajali says with each practice we clip a strand
until we are free from the binding effects of addiction. 

Take a tip from my pops. Read a book, Do art.
See a therapist if you are struggling,
Meditate and join our group. 
Thanks Meg Reynolds for your insights

9. 15. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Mom aka Lucille “Lucy” Van Pelt

Mom aka Lucille "Lucy" Van Pelt

In grade school we were given an assignment
to sculpt a person or object out of clay.
 At the time, I was struggling with
navigating my mom.  A strong force of nature,
a stay home mother that was so filled with creativity
and energy she felt stuck.
And as a daughter, I could feel something uneasy
but did not know what.
 She designed sets for the local community theater at night.
Cooked for the food fair and
was active in the art community we lived ...
but that did not fulfill her.  

There are so many people in our communities
that are not fulfilled in the lives that they are living.
 That are afraid to make the move to something new
and something different.
They stay in their lane frustrated. 

It takes strength and stability to make a move.
First one needs to tap into their inner silence
to understand all possibilities are out there
to live a dynamic life.  
The best way to find it is stilling our inner state.
Once we are still we can then take action
in the direction of progressive change.  
An action towards grace. Thats the beauty
of our daily meditation practice.  It allows us the stillness
to sense the directions of our desire. And evolution.

Back to grade school..
I picked Lucy from the comic strip Peanuts. 
I connected with her.
She was bossy and opinionated.
 She bullied Linus and Charlie Brown.  
My hidden secret was that Lucy and my mother
seemed to be the same character.
Most of my friends moms were kind and
not as openly verbose.
I have lived with this sculpture of my mom
since grade school and as each year passes
I am thankful for that screaming
tenacity. An exemplar of a woman that wanted more.
.
 Her "being" made it clear that I needed to follow
the charm presented to me and not stay in my lane.
 To move in the direction of creation for work,
for myself and service for others.  
My mom, like all of us evolve with three evolutionary forces
Creation, Maintenance and Destruction
and they are there as our teachers to
provide guidance. 
Lets tap into yours.

9. 08. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Don’t Yuck my Yum

Don’t Yuck my Yum. A few months ago, a dear friend and architect
Michael P Johnson sent me a gift.  
He was clearing out things from his home in AZ and sent a
handwoven vest from the 60's with huge bundles of wool and hair.
A tactile connection. I was touched and immediately put it on.
I sat with it, pondering what to do and
discounting all the fun loving comments by friends,
"not sure you should wear that in public."
 I thought. Ok they have a point.

This week a new phrase came into my life..
 a phrase that has been around for quite awhile but new to me. 
Don't Yuck my Yum. 
In reading the The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali,
the eight limbs of yoga lead me to the concept of Yama.
Yama (in paraphrasing) is the abstention of harming others.
 We are to live so that no harm or pain is caused
by our thoughts, words or deeds to any other being.
 In a positive sense, this means
that we must cultivate love for all
and try to see that love within everybody.
Our words and thoughts must
be truthful and not causing harm to ourselves and to others.  
In teaching the 4 day course this week,
there is a common concept in beginners thinking:
 'all my thoughts get in the way
and I can't get a restful deep meditation,
especially in the morning'.
In all actuality, this is untrue.
 A thought filled meditation is
a good thing happening,
as we are essentially ridding ourselves of stress.
 As we deepen into the least excited state,
thoughts arrive and we simply let them go.
Releasing stress with each thought.
  
In a way, the critical thinking
we do to ourselves each and everyday
IS Yucking our own Yums.
 Turning a positive yummy practice
into something negative. 

This leads me to the vest.
I released all notions of what it was
 I contacted my favorite cut and sew company
and turned this textile into pillows.  
When Michael saw them he muttered
 "I knew you would come up with something" . 
Loving Life.  Letting go.

9. 01. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Uni (one) Verse

Uni (one) Verse

We have been working with this embroidery
mill down south for the last 9 years.
I remember walking into the facility and seeing
miles of navy blue fabric on the machines and
thousands of white bobbins
being prepped and wondering
what are they embroidering.

We had just elected the 45th President
and I was feeling less than patriotic at the time.
And I thought to myself,
Oh dear have we made a mistake.

Then they walked me past the machines
of dark blue and we came upon our beautiful
light gray felt substrate
being embroidered with Celadon thread
to create Navigate.

This moment .. was followed
by one of their thirty year quality control
employees engulfing me with the
most wonderful hug and exclaiming
“bless you darlin - now I don’t have
to go to sleep every night with these stars
embedded in my brain..after 30 years,
now. I will mend these beautiful subtle colors,
“I thank you and my family thanks you”.

The mistaken intellect is very active in our minds.
Casting judgements, activating fear,
indulging hopelessness, inciting worry
and worthlessness which all seem
very real in the time while we are deep in these thoughts.
.
An active meditation practice allows
the awareness to seep in before being overtaken
by negative dark thoughts. And giving us the ability
to cast them away.
In most cases a good meditation (two times a day),
spending time outdoors, a long walk,
a talk with a friend you trust, a good nutritious
meal and staying socially active will give
us the answers we need.
And trusting that all decision we make
will lead us to the right answer.

Nature has organizing powers far beyond our own.
This past week we all felt the palpable shift
from a country that could have been ruled by
fear based administration to reclaiming
our patriotic spirit and be proud to be a part of this
UNI (one) VERSE.

One song, sung with each other.
Helping each other without knowing
As we are all worthy to believe in the American dream.

Cheers to Embroidered stars for the American flag.

8. 25. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: Pearls of Wisdom

Looking for the pearly teeth in all things…
The wisdom in living a life of fulfillment is
becoming aware of your thought patterns.
There is a pearly teeth element in everything.
A person could be 90% bad traits but we focus
on the 10% good traits.
When we choose to focus on the good qualities,
they multiply… Sprouting from a seed
of good thoughts, and then to branches,
and then to the fullness of the tree manifested.
We always have the appreciation of good qualities.

Habitually when we think of ourselves,
it’s so easy to fall into our negative thought pattern.
“Why am I still having thought filled meditations?”
(I get that question a lot.)
“I would think by now that they would be smoother.”
“What’s wrong with me or my mantra?”
“Am I not using the mantra properly?”

We are persistent in looking at the negative signs.
My answer at times is to stop and look around you.
Look at what and how your life has changed
since you began meditating.
Focus on the appreciation of the good qualities.
We want to grow in the good.

This weaving is a collection of materials found
when cleaning up the house I grew up in
central Illinois.
My mother saved everything, including jewelry
from my great grandmother and grandmother.
Family members asked “What the heck are you
going to do with all of that jewelry?”
I had a weaving in mind.
Secretly looking at a way of getting closer
to the matriarchs in my family..
A hanky embroiderer and a portrait painter.
I would mutter to my family. “Perhaps an art piece.”
Though I was holding my breath thinking,
“Wow, am I like my mom. Not letting go of things.”

Happily I realized that this weaving
“Grandma’s Pearls” is in essence the story
MMY speaks of in his lecture entitled
“Maharishi on positivity.”

Merrily I weave along.....
And will stick to collecting detritus and
keeping it out of the landfill in honoring
the planet in which we reside.
And look for the pearly teeth in the everyday,
inside my thoughts and outside in the universe.

08. 18. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Sunday Deck Talk and Meditation: The exchange

Meditation exchanges energy for creativity, and creativity takes me to the loom. This small detail of a large whimsical woven sculpture has been in the making for over a year. Hand woven like a tapestry. First the materials are processed. All in random sequential order. Alphanumeric is a new commission measuring Fifteen feet long and Six feet high... Woven from materials collected by the client. Utilizing recycled ledger paper from the 1980’s, 1,200 dry cleaning hangers and 30 mylar balloons collected on FI. What this weaving depicts is “happy,” “strong,” “vibrant,” “energetic” - as described by dear friends due to the immensity of size, seen in this image of the shadow. That beautiful shadow. The reflection of what IS. The Is Ness. The faint remains of the intricate personality of the piece.. strong/delicate, transparent/opaque, straight/entangled. In reflecting on the teachings of MMY, it is written that people try to make a mood of equanimity in pleasure and pain, in loss and gain. They try to create a mood of equable behavior and unaffectedness while engaged in the diverse activities of the world. And what remains from this generality is a feeling of discomfort and a loss of balance. This is a shadow that gets cast over the collective. While others create a feeling of hope and optimism and joy and comfort. We make choices and the flavor of our choices, in our moods, in our giving, in our sharing or not sharing, and what remains, is either a shadow or light. Shadows - what remains - are the reflection of what actions we take and who we are. The essence of what is left after we have left? The quality or state of existence. It’s so lovely to be in the presence of this big weaving. Today I will say goodbye and usher it to its new home. We will talk about what essences we leave behind and their long lasting effects on the collective in this week’s deck talk. What is that state of Being we tap into each time we meditate.

08. 11. 2024 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

De-Excitation Brings Abundance

A discussion on the techniques of Vedic meditation and the world of unbounded color choices.

04.28.2021

Transitioning / Transcending

Comparing the adaption ability of multipurpose textiles with the adaption energy gained through a twice daily meditation practice.

03.24.2021

Creation Operation

Suzanne talks about how the cycle of nature operates and organizes around the notion of creation.

02.24.2021

DesignBiz: On Creative Intelligence with Cindy Allen

Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen (@thecindygram) chats with Suzanne on Creative Intelligence, Suzanne's experience in India, Vedic Meditation, Mentorship and Product Development Innovation for 2021.

01.19.2021

Introduction to Vedic Meditation

A virtual Election Day wellness event, “#BeWell” hosted by Design Stands Together and Novita Communications.

11.08.2020

Tick Talks: Life and Design Integration

A 15-minute monthly series with Luum Textiles on how to design confidently, strengthen relationships and energize yourself and your team through a Vedic perspective.

08.18.2020

Tick Talks: Following Charm (How the Mind Works)

A 15-minute monthly series with Luum Textiles on how to design confidently, strengthen relationships and energize yourself and your team through a Vedic perspective.

07.11.2020

Tick Talks: Let’s Un-Stress the Vedic Way

A 15-minute monthly series with Luum Textiles on how to design confidently, strengthen relationships and energize yourself and your team through a Vedic perspective.

06.16.2020

Tick Talks: The Mechanics of Vedic Meditation

A 15-minute monthly series with Luum Textiles on how to design confidently, strengthen relationships and energize yourself and your team through a Vedic perspective.

05.19.2020