The Art of Zen

I have had requests for explaining how one zens one’s home and what is involved. So, here is my explanation:

Zenning involves looking at a room in detail and deciding what should stay and what needs to go.

Stay: objects with good karma: home made, collections that evoke an emotional response(positive), practical objects that one uses often.

Go: objects that one has no feeling toward, objects one isn’t fond of, objects that are not practical.

It also involves letting go: allowing my children to keep some collections I view as junk but mean something to them.

It involves a large mind picture of one’s ideal home. in my case it is a minimalist, Buddhist inspired retreat. So, with that home in mind, I jettison all objects (paintings too) that I would not put in my ideal home. I prepare for my ideal home now. So zenning involves living in the present–not the future. Treat one’s existing home as one’s ideal home–only the best allowed inside.

In the case of not being able to afford all that one’s ideal home requires, I keep some objects that am not fond of but are needed now and used often– so there for, they are practical objects; ie: ugly sofa in the family room and old desk used for storing my art presently.

One should not spend a lot of money zenning one’s home as it follows in the Buddhist tradition of living simply and without excess, however, one may purchase items to simplify the home such as storage items. For example, I have 2 ugly plastic recycling boxes on full view in my kitchen because they enable me to organize my kitchen, recycle easily. Even though they re not attractive, I keep them because they are practical and they help my day flow smoothly.

In conclusion, zenning is about creating a home with positive karmic flow through simple, organized, tidy, practical, and loving means.

PS I will attend a talk tonight downtown in the orchard museum with CBC and the UBC writer in residence Lynn Cody on “The Life of a Writer”–should be good. Mist has a rock concert tonight, so Peter will have to attend without me. Tabs had a musical concert at school today that Peter attended and The Pip and I volunteered for Hot Lunch at the school.