Since launching the Gaia Project in 2011 Orly Faya has painted people into landscapes all around the world.
Each ‘merging’ as she refers to the body paintings is a unique experience for both the subject and the artist.
(Found on Vimeo, thank you, ” saunders“)
I may have. It’s not all done yet but it’s coming closer to the end. As today is Author Chat day with @homeclothesfree I thought it a good moment to show you the cover of the new book. 
So there you have it. I hope to finish the work on it soon. My aim is to get it out into the open in December or January. Let’s hope the world isn’t interfering too much!
Hi everyone,
I’m sorry to report
that the Author Chat is postponed. The generous host of the chat has become ill and didn’t feel it responsible to do the chat anyway.
I’ll keep you up to date on when we’re giving it another go. Sorry once more…
Paul / P.Z. Walker
Don’t forget! Coming Sunday, October 25th, I’ll be in a writer’s chat on Twitter.
Follow the hashtags #clothesfreereaders and #clothesfreereadingclub from noon to 1pm EDT.
I’m on twitter as @zjuzdme (how surprising!)
Welcome to part 6, probably then end of this short and simple trip into the world of meditation. How are you doing? Are you feeling more comfortable with meditating? Do you experience anything out of the ordinary?
If you want you can post your experiences here in the comments. If you feel unsure that’s a good idea you can of course always drop me an e-mail.
Note for norther hemisphere people: the weather is getting colder now. If you notice that meditating isn’t going that great because you focus on shivering, be smart and pull a blanket or so around you.There’s no need to feel cold while meditating – in fact that won’t help you at all. Don’t use anything restricting like clothes: a blanket will work. You’ll be naked and warm beneath that.
Notice:
If you already feel that this form of meditation is not working for you, that’s okay. Perhaps you are not one for a “sitting still meditation”. You can look for a yoga class near you and practise the forms you learn there naked, at home. Or you might even find a naked yoga class near where you live. Just don’t give up on this form of meditation too quickly. As I said before, it may take weeks or even months for your overloaded mind to accept this peace and quiet-stuff as a good thing. It will happen.
Hi all,
Yes, I’m still on vacation and yes, there will be another, probably final post on Meditation after I come back. But…
There’s something I want to ask you. Are there specific naturist issues or topics you’d like to see addressed in Naked Crow 5? Because yes, I’m already planning a fifth book in the series. I love the internet because that way I can ask you questions like this.
I’m curious if there is something coming from this question. It would be great to have a few suggestions because that gives me an idea what lives among you other nudists and naturists.
Have a good and nude Sunday!
Hi everyone,
I’m on vacation now (yes, this is a pre-programmed post!) and I have nothing serious to tell for that reason, I though it a good time to show you the cover of the new Naked Crow book that’s going to come out soon. You already caught the title, I’m sure.
Naked ladies and nude gentlemen, I present to you:
The book should come out soon after I return from nakation!
Here is another sort of active meditation for people who prefer one to the passive, sitting-down ones. This form of meditation is done lying down so for many people that is an attraction in itself. 😉
Lie down on your bed with your arms and legs spread out, not touching another body part.
(And try to keep your dog or cat away for this one! 😉 ) Close your eyes and focus on your breathing for a short while. As soon as your breathing is calm and relaxed, the meditation starts.
Focus on your left arm. “Know” that it is there. Feel how it rests on the bed. Feel how the muscles in your arm relax, how the tension seeps away from it. Notice your fingers relaxing as well. Keep your attention with that arm until you know it is entirely relaxed. The best way to know that is when your arm ‘feels’ heavy. Then you focus on your right arm and you repeat the process.
After that you focus on your right leg. (Notice that this is opposite from the arms where we started on the left. We’re going around our limbs in a circle.) “Know” that your leg is there. Feel how it rests on the bed. Feel how the muscles in your leg relax, first in your upper leg and then in your lower leg. Notice how the tension seeps away from it. Notice your feet relaxing as well, your toes and the sole of your foot. Keep your attention with that leg until you know it is entirely relaxed. The best way to know that is when your leg ‘feels’ heavy. Then you focus on your left leg and you repeat the process.
Now you focus on your lower torso; your abdomen, your hips. Feel how relaxation sets in as you pay attention to your lower body. Don’t hurry, keep your attention with your hips for as long as you need to. After that you focus on your chest, the muscles in your back and even your lungs. Calm them down, give them the attention they deserve. After all, they serve you all day long without asking for much. Envelope yourself with the serene calmness that you are bringing onto yourself. Your breathing will go a little slower once your chest area is calming down, that’s okay.
Finally you shift your focus to your head. Your forehead, the back of your head, your facial muscles. Slowly allow them to relax while keeping your attention focussed. After relaxing your head you go back to your left arm and confirm to yourself it is still relaxed and heavy. If you feel like it you can go over the relaxing attention routine again. Keep your focus on that arm and be grateful that it’s there. Repeat this for your right arm, right leg and left leg. Your limbs need that extra attention because they do so much for you every day.
After completing that second cycle you can remain silent on the bed for a few minutes, allowing your body to relax completely. Try to keep your awareness focussed on your body, on feeling the stillness that enters it. Any thoughts of other things that come up will have to wait until you’re done with this relaxation technique.
After a few minutes you can start moving the fingers of your left hand and slowly stretch that arm to come to the end of this exercise. After the left arm you move and stretch your right arm. Note that there is no reason to rush or hurry, take your time for this.
Wiggle the toes of your right foot next, and bend your knee a little. After that you ‘wake up’ your left leg in the same way.
Finally you consciously speed up your breathing a little to awaken the rest of your body. Stay down for a few more minutes. Then you open your eyes and slowly get up.
Yes, it is going to happen. I’ll let you know about the place, the time and time zone. If there are things you’d like to ask me, then be there!
🙂
Hello, and welcome back to meditations.
I hope you did your best at meditating over the last days. If not, that’s fine. Meditation is not a must. It should become a ‘want’ once you discover how good it feels and finally it turns into a ‘need’.
Many of you may have found that the first few times this meditating thing went quite well. Some may still struggle. It’s normal for the first few times to go well and then suddenly the whole thing becomes a mess.
You count to 3 and then thoughts are flooding in as if your personal Hoover Dam just broke, and there’s no stopping the bloody thing. Yes, sounds familiar. It’s normal. What happens is that your mind, the thing that’s been taught to be active all the time, suddenly notices you’re not paying attention to the gazillion thing it tries to tell you so it becomes oppressive. It will do what it can to annoy you and yells
LISTEN, DAMN YOU!
But take heart. Meditation will take hold. It will teach your brain to listen to you. Whenever this kind of flooding happens, or when random thoughts pop up, just tell your brain, your mind that it’s okay and that you’ll deal with that later. “but first we meditate.”
This can take a long time (I’m talking months, up to a half year) but as you go on and progress you will find that the practice gets better and easier.
As I promised, here is:
Again this is done sitting down. For this exercise you need an object, preferably a simple object like a cup, a mug or a simple vase.
Take a few minutes to look at the object as it stands in front of you. Just look and see how it is shaped. Don’t turn it to see the other side, just picture the thing.
Then close your eyes and repaint that object, let’s stick with the vase, in your mind. Recreate the vase. The shape, the colour, the reflections on its surface (oh yes, there are reflections of light). You will notice that your mind starts yapping at you again, begging for attention.
Remember to tell yourself, “Sure, mind, you’ll get your attention. When we’re done here.”
And you return to the image of the vase in your mind. Keep creating it, improving it, making it as real as you can.
Keep your eye on the time you spend on creating that vase. Do this for about 5 minutes. Then look at the vase and see if you missed some details. If you did, great. You’ll notice them next time. If you had it perfectly shaped, well done too.
Feel free to try this meditation. It may suit you better than the counting one.
There is no need to stick with that first cup or vase, you can take different objects for repainting them in your mind. Just don’t take things that are overly complex or difficult. Meditation is meant to be easy so take easy subjects.
The idea behind these forms of meditation is to bore your active mind. Your mind is meant to keep you busy but in these modern times it’s taking over too much. You have to be up and at it 24/7, if possible even more. That is insane and not what a human is made for. Alas, the economy demands it. You can resort to the Fukitol pill and just run with the fl
ow, or you can meditate
Teach your brain to be quiet a few times per day so your inner Self, your Soul, pick your name for it, has time to breathe and make itself known.
This is the way you can tap into your Self. Your Self is something else than your mind. Your mind picks up things from outside you and acts on those. Your Self has lots of things to tell you, for instance creativity and understanding and love of nature. Scraping off the layers of stress that you gathered with all your mind-thinking will open up the way to that inner part of yourself. I hope you will persist in the practice and find out wonderful things about yourself you never knew existed.
Happy meditating!
