Today some random notes.

I'm enjoying this new Zen blog. So far separating my posts on Zen from my other blog feels nice.
Went to my doctor yesterday and was told that I was healthy. I was surprised by that. I had been telling myself that I was not healthy and in fact I was about to check out. The mind is a funny thing. One odd bit of information (one high blood pressure reading) and a couple of funny sensations in the body (neck muscle twitching) leads to confusion and delusion.
There is a retreat/sesshin coming up in a couple of weeks and I'm enrolled! Branching Moon a seven day residential retreat on the Puget Sound with Jack Duffy and Seattle's Three Treasures Sangha of the Pacific Northwest .
Today, in "Miniatures of a Zen Master" 4/200 Robert points to how easy it is to be duped by our "self-concerns". The small me which happens to be the loudest voice in my head. Funny how the small me is loud and Big Mind is silent. I guess not so funny, more like sad. Look at the world and the effects are plain and oh so sad usually.
What would the world be if the roles of small me and Big Mind were switched? Genpo Merzel claims to have a method for doing this. Even though all my conservative Zen friends poo-poo Genpo Merzel's Big Mind process, I'm fascinated.

How are my small "self-concerns" getting in the way of actualizing what is real? Can I even identify all of these "self-concerns" without letting any slip through?