Thoughts

Images:
One strand of Counterbalance at a time
Peter and Amir at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
helping me install.
The office of CEO Dr. Pablo Celnik.


Parallel Universe is Simply a Correlation

The more actions I take in BEING in the flow, and allowing
the fine level of feeling to take me on my journey, the more I hear
my teacher, Guru Ji Thom Knoles, ringing in my ears.

This week, I arrived in Chicago to install a piece
woven around 2013.
At the time, we were doing discovery on weaving recycled
dry cleaning hangers.
I had completed the piece for the Gates Foundation, which was
representative of the strength of my mother.
And I wanted to weave
a piece presentational of my father.
The warp was very narrow, representing
the spinal column, and the wires being the energy flowing
through the nervous system.

Everyone’s physiology is different.
Their physique, their consciousness,
their abilities. Their embedded stress levels.

A dear designer friend and meditator,
who had worked on this building,
suggested to them that they look at my work for their space.
My next trip to Chicago, we met; and I saw all the incredible
work being done.
I immediately felt the correlation of Counterbalance
for one of their offices.

This week, I arrived in Chicago to install.
Memories of visits here
with my parents were abundant.
On the morning of the install, I was mourning a bit, the fact that
this piece would no longer be in my possession,
when I stumbled past the Board of Trade Building… (I always
stop myself when I stumble)

SNAP…

My dad’s first job in Chicago was at the Board of Trade.
It’s the City where he met my mother.
A hospital that helps people with rehabilitation from all levels.
My dad’s relationship with his own physiology.
My relationship with my dad.

I recognized at that very moment that this piece was
meant to be in this City, in the office of a person
that loved it, for a friend who saw my work in this space.

And I realize everything is connected with everything.
We simply have to get out of the way and let it BE.

03.22.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Images:
Spectral Dimension-90,000 loops, 2025
Recently installed
Details of Final installation and weaving and looping
frame looms together.
18′ Weaving, composed of 90,000 loops of paper
detritus kept from the landfill, for corporate offices.


IN THE FLOW –  Weaving as Meditation

2025 was a flurry of activity in the studio, encompassing
an 18′ weaving of colorful paper detritus.
The weaving took me most of the year,
as three layers of weaving were required.

Warping… then one full layer of weft strips were woven through.
The third layer of strips were woven in…
then, delicately, loops were pulled out,
to create an overall texture of 90,000 loops.

Last night, in a mentoring talk with my teacher,
Guru Ji Thom Knoles, we discussed,
from the Vedantic worldview,
the difference between Karma and Kriya in relation to fate.

Using the river as a metaphor…

Karma, being something that is immobile
and Kriya, as frictionless flow.

Karma, being the River bank and Kriya, being the River.
He described both as flowing;
one is simply flowing faster than the other.
Karma, from an aeriaI view, shows movement
after years of the river flowing 
through it… to see change.
While Kriya is recognized as flexibly flowing.

In weaving projects, I find myself slowly
plodding through the weaving and,
as long as there is frictionless flow,
I am feeling the Kriya zone
working thru me.

I’m ok if it’s a slow process, as it gives me time
to think and reflect.
Whether the binding
effects of Karma are at play…
everything we do is telling us something.

Our evolution is always happening; the flow of that evolution
is merely happening at a quicker pace for meditators.
And it feels more frictionless.
The process of Meditation is a win-win,
no matter how you look at it…
The process of Weaving, even if it is complex
and time consuming,
shows me
that ‘quick to complete’ is not the best way.
Enjoying the flow is key.

The more you touch or care for something, the
longer lasting it will remain relevant for all to enjoy.

(photos: Martin Crook, 2026)

03.15.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Images:
Sketch for new weaving
Weaving in process using 
recycled dry cleaning hanger hooks and 
Metallic sheath core fiber

No Expectations-Detaching from the Outcome

“No expectation, no anticipation of the outcome,” is a common
phrase that we use when commencing our meditation.

Useful in all aspects of life.

Sometimes new students get all tripped up when they begin
their first days of practice and their meditations are loaded
with a multitude of thoughts.
“This is not what I expected.”
“I thought it would feel different.” 

When weaving new structures, each time I try something
new, I use the same simple, innocent technique I was taught in
meditation class.
Take it as it comes.
No anticipation or expectation of the outcome.
Let’s see how it goes. Keep it simple and natural.

In meditation, we sit comfortably with our back supported…
Close our eyes and, after half a minute, bring our special word
“mantra” as taught by a VM teacher into our awareness
and let it go from there.

Thoughts come and thoughts go; we don’t hold onto them.
After all, we have 60,000 – 80,000 thoughts rambling around
in our heads at any given time.
We don’t need to hold onto them.

Like weaving, it takes time to see the outcome.
I can do a drawing and perceive an outcome,
but not until you sit at the warped loom and
begin the weaving process, do you understand how it feels to weave it.

It doesn’t work if you are in a hurry to get it woven quickly.
We simply take it as it comes
and gently and effortlessly weave.

Things take time.
Practice takes time.
The repetition of an action like
meditation, where we can dig into our least excited state twice a day,
takes time, to get through all of the overabundance of expectations that
we put on ourselves. This is what stress is.
And that stress gets embedded in our cells.
Releasing that stress, a meditation at a time,
is our goal.

Every meditation is different;
every weave structure is different.

Give yourself the time to embody it.
+ to Enjoy it. 

03.08.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Images:
Weaving the selvedge.
3/4 point
1/2 way

Abundant Reflections

Abundant Reflections is a weaving for dear friends.
It started from conversations years ago
and is coming to full fruition this year.
Aptly named, as there are so many reflections
woven into this piece.
This weaving is filled with the consciousness
of multiple Books on Audible,
Podcasts and a movie here or there.
It takes about 12 Hrs to complete 5″ in this weaving,
so many ticks around the clock.
And… An Abundance of Reflections.

Reflections are also a hallmark of our meditation practice.
We recognize that many times our practice
is so full of thoughts, our meditation practice feels unbearable.
Yet we do it.
‘Lots of thoughts’ means that a GOOD THING IS HAPPENING.
Each thought, we are letting go of stress,
as each thought is part of a stream of an accumulation
of expectation we put on ourselves.

As we settle down to see the source of thought,
we begin to recognize that this is consciousness.
That knowledge has organizing power.
The baseline field of consciousness
are the laws of nature.
We recognize what feels good to us and what doesn’t,
and we begin to feel comfortable in the letting go
of what doesn’t feel right to our physiology.

What’s good about that is that once we let go of
maintaining, work, friendships, situations that are untenable,
things open up for better improvements
in our lives.

A meditation at a time.
A release of thought at a time.
An expansion of our awareness at a time,
so we can
resolve unnecessary badgering.
This is a slow practice that requires patience.
Just like the weaving. It requires patience
and perseverance. It’s about taking your time.

I’d suggest thought-filled podcasts like the Vedic Worldview by Thom Knoles,
my ultimate teacher, for your listening pleasures.
Mixed in with a good comedy!!
I love The Moth.
All that we do brings about an abundance of reflection,
so keep them on the light,
joyful side.

03.01.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com

Images:
Thursday Night Workshop
at Praxis Fiber Workshop in Cleveland, Ohio
Beginning Weavers of all Ages
Happy ending…!
(Sorry, 7 folks left before the final pic)

United in Creativity

The art of performing an action so it remains a joy,
is about bringing energy and intelligence into the space
and not allowing resistance to come into play in any way.

In that way, we receive the art of co-operation from everything.

The action must not become taxing to the ability.
We must have self-confidence, efficiency
and the ability to concentrate, so that
one feels no action is beyond our abilities.

It’s our true nature to be creative beings.
Anything done in accordance with the
nature of the mind, pleases it;
and anything done against its nature, displeases it.

Whenever we find ourselves caught in worry or taxation,
the energy of flow turns into
distrust and it immediately changes the outcome.

This week, I installed an 18′ weaving into a corporate facility.
Flew in on Monday and worked every day
for at least 10 hours a day, weaving it all together.

By Thursday, though exhausted,
I was energized, when leaving the job site to enter
the Praxis Fiber Workshop,
where I would teach weaving to 30 designers.

The energy in the space was upbeat and joyful.
When we are in that mind state,
the performance of any action will be joyful.
If the mood is miserable, tense or
people were worried about the outcome
or the anticipation of the outcome,
then any action will become a means of added tension.
And the outcome of the workshop
will be lost in anxiety and expectation.

If the mind is not in a natural state of happiness,
then no attempt to be joyful and happy,
while performing an action, will succeed.

Likewise, when first learning meditation.
If you have expectations for an immediate outcome,
and are anticipating that you should feel different right away,
you are hindering the ability to attain the joy-filled
outcome that will become you.
One must let go of trying to control the outcome
and go into your practice
with joy and reverence to the teaching.

Thrilled to see all of the amazing weavings that were produced
at the workshop.

(photo credit: Martin Crook, 2026)

02.22.2026 Deck Talk available upon request info@fifthfloormeditation.com