A rose by any other name....

I'd just like to notify the world in general that last week was the second time in my life that I've received flowers from a male (the first time being from my father, of course and I'm excluding the times I've received flowers from street vendors in Spain and India alike). Correct, never from any boyfriend or love interest, but this time definitely in the interest of universal love.
A friend of mine here who's a serious yoga practitioner and long-time Vipasana meditator said that he'd read too many times about an open-eye meditation practice simply meditating on a rose. He said it was such an incredible experience, just you and the rose, and it really pulls you in so beautifully. And what do you know, the next day I find 2 roses left in front of my apartment door!!!
And it's amazing. I'm totally happy with my daily transcendental meditation practice but wow, the rose is a beautiful thing. You can try different techniques, like the kriya practice of looking at an object (or candle light) and not blinking and continuing to gaze until your eyes water and you cry (which I did twice with my rose- so beautiful!). You can also drink in the beauty of a most perfect flower. Now I understand why so many poets write about roses. Such a wonderful creation. So many details, such shading and different tones of color. Such depth, such shadows. And every day is different! The rose changes every day. And it lasts such a long time. As you enter in union with the rose, there is energy transfer (like ET did) and you see visible differences from day to day. Or you can experiment and meditate on one, ignoring another rose, and compare the difference in the roses days later. In general, when I focus on the rose, I only see the rose and everything else fades out except a glowing halo around the flower itself. I've been practicing meditation and trance states in different places around Mysore, my favorite being the Satchitananda Ashram (which is my favorite place in Mysore and thus all of India). Wow! The experiences I've had there! More later!