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 9 Feb 2006 @ 09:33, by jazzolog. Children, Parenting
There's no need to discuss the principles of koan study;
just listen carefully
to the wind outside
the pines and cedars.
---Ryonen
Someone else
looked at the sky
with the same rapture
when the moon
crossed the dawn.
---Izumi Shikibu
What silence can there be,
What lack of sound compare
to a snowfall from dark air
falling quietly to sea?
---H. D. Eshleman
The lovers last summer, together in Kinzua, Pennsylvania.
Yesterday a letter arrived from Espana. It is from a university student who has become very dear to our family these past several months. She is my son's young lady, finishing her advanced degree in Pamplona. He remains here, helping to manage his business. They both are 22.
How well I remember separation at 22. I was at Harvard and she was in Maine, not so far apart as Jeroch and Karen (pronounced KARR-in, as they do in Norway---although few in her life have learned to say it that way). There was a 4-lane highway a few miles outside Cambridge that went right up there. Maybe that made it worse. I only had a bicycle though. Some nights I used to ride it all the way out to that road, and just stand on an overpass, looking North...howling at the moon. More >
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 8 Feb 2006 @ 01:44, by delphinius. Violence, War
Violence intensifies over Mohammed cartoons. Hmmm . . . .
We have western nations publishing laughs involving an alien deity because they can, legally speaking. And as a consequence we have minions of respectful followers feeling devoutly offended, becoming uncontrollably angry and violent, obviously unable to see any humour in the portrayal. It reminds me of my school days where teasing of peers was a common practice. There was always someone who had something destructive to say, name calling for example, to mock a fellow classmate. The person being teased could pull a sour face of dislike, which they failed to recognise as an approval for the teasing to continue and not to stop. The teased could eventually get unduly upset by the taunts and lash out, give the teaser a good clout around the ear for instance. That may have stopped the teasing or, as often as not, provoke a physical counter strike leading to a fist fight, a crowd gathering to watch, and ending with a scene before the teachers. The smart person being teased simply ignored the teaser. Pretended that they were deaf and the teaser wasn’t there no matter how intense the teasing developed, failing to identify themselves with anything that was being said. The teaser, invoking a zero response, very quickly stopped their teasing and did something else.
More >
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7 Feb 2006 @ 23:50, by nemue. Legal, Justice
“Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression, in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.”
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
Wise words indeed, however, what level of tolerance are we expected to show when the freedom to express is taken to an unacceptable level.
The events of recent days with thousands of Muslims around the world protesting (many in the most violent way) in response to the cartoons that were published by the Danish Press (in September last year) really brings home to me in the most graphic fashion the total of lack of acceptance and tolerance of the population at large. For me this is particularly worrying because this is symptomatic of how so many respond now to any number of issues that they do not agree with.
Expressing your opinion and the freedom to express your opinion is the essence of a responsible society. Many of our forebears lost their lives and others faced jail terms fighting for this right. Expressing your opinion and the freedom to express your opinion in a non-violent and responsible manner is not only the expectation of most of us but also the gift that we return to those who have gone before us. What we have witnessed over recent days and what we continue to witness in our everyday lives is not people expressing their opinion in a responsible manner but people rioting, destroying property, threatening death to innocent people, killing others (there have been a number of deaths reported as a result of the current protests) and whipping up hatred. The sight of young children carrying banners with messages such as death to all who insult Allah (and this is in London) are frightening and begs the question what are we teaching the young today.
Frenzy breeds frenzy.
One of the most chilling responses is that of British law enforcement operatives who have openly stated that they will not arrest people for inciting hatred and violence because it will only lead to more violence. They fear for themselves and with some justification. In see similar responses to a number of recent (what turned out to be violent) demonstrations in Sydney. So now we have a situation where radical Muslims can storm the streets whipping up violence and we stand by and do nothing.
“Laws alone can not secure freedom of expression, in order that every man present his views without penalty there must be spirit of tolerance in the entire population.”
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
The more I think about this the more I am convinced that the ‘law’ firstly has removed the freedom of expression for the majority and has effectively placed the control in the hands of the minority. Death of tolerance…..
The legal system is now impotent when it comes to dealing with unacceptable behaviours of the minority. Trust me if I carried a placard with death to all Muslims and praise be to those who blow them up I would be arrested immediately and jailed for inciting hatred and violence and so I should be. But Muslims do this in the streets of London, and nothing happens. So why doesn’t it work in the reverse? Why would I be arrested and others now? But most importantly our spirit of tolerance and responsible freedom of expression is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.
What a sad state of affairs and what a frightening future we have if we can’t stem the tide. More >
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 7 Feb 2006 @ 17:54, by ming. Religion
For those coming here for the Mohammed cartoon controversy, my two posts where the action is are here and here. More than 8000 people came by yesterday, and, as somebody commented, it looks a bit like WWIII, but there's also some useful dialogue going on in-between the abusive name-calling.
Wikipedia has an excellent page with lots of information, history and references on the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. Clearly being updated daily. The best place to get an overview. More >
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7 Feb 2006 @ 13:09, by vector8. Spirituality
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4: 4)
"Causal-bodied beings feast only on the ambrosia of eternally new knowledge. They drink from the springs of peace, roam on the trackless soil of perceptions, swim in the ocean-endlessness of bliss." Autobiography of a Yogi
Last night I watched a documentary on television about people who are considered to be "morbidly obese." There was one man they dubbed "half ton man" who weighed over 1000 pounds and ended up losing hundreds of pounds. One man interviewed talked about always thinking about food and needing to eat all the time.
I find it interesting how I can go for a whole day and not have any food, or I can live on one meal a day. Is it because I don't need to eat? Of course not. Everybody needs food it's just that we all need different types of food according to our beliefs. More >
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 7 Feb 2006 @ 11:28, by shimanta. Ideas, Creativity
And yet another poem... More >
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6 Feb 2006 @ 06:58, by skookum. Visual Arts, Graphics
I have no pic yet. More >
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 5 Feb 2006 @ 19:59, by ming. Philosophy
Once in a while I wake up and notice something I haven't noticed for a long time. Some small thing. Like the contents of the stack of paper I have lying next to me on my desk. When I actually looked at it last month, I realized that it was mostly just some old papers I hadn't decided exactly where to file, some unopened letters that weren't important, and some notes on stuff I had to do on some particular day, last year. Nothing important, really. But, for several years, that stack has been lying there next to me, symbolizing that I had a lot of stuff to do, and that I was busy, and fairly disorganized.
And then, when one actually is present, things become very simple and obvious. That stack of paper disappeared in a half hour, and it becomes abundantly obvious that the right thing to do is deal with things when they happen, and not letting old unprocessed stuff lie around, cluttering things up. And, ok in this case, my desk has remained clear and organized since then. But that's usually not what happens. It is easy to stop noticing that which one noticed before. It is easy to forget being present.
I might suddenly remember something or someone or somewhere. Like, my home when I grew up, somebody I went to school with, or some particular thing I took great joy in earlier in my life. And I suddenly remember, and I also notice that I haven't thought of it for maybe 10 years. And I marvel at that. I rediscover something that has great meaning for me, and I really GET it, and I feel awake and alive. And at the same time I feel like a robot who's asleep most of the time. Because, it seems, there are certain things I will notice only once every 10 years. Things that are wonderful and important and meaningful to who I am. But I forget them again. Every 10 years, that would mean I'd think it another 3 or 4 times before I die. That's sort of depressing.
What I'm saying is that I'm doing most things on automatic. Some things I'm good at, some things I'm not, and I still keep doing them. And only once in a rare while do I actually pay attention. Meaning, I become present and conscious of what I'm doing. And I'm actually in a position to change it. You know, to change something, you have to at least be conscious of what is there. Once you see what is here, you might actually decide what else you'd like to be there, or where else you'd like to go.
It is something one is likely to do piecemeal. I.e. I might be quite present and aware of certain aspects of my life, and quite able to make good decisions about it, while other aspects are thoroughly forgotten. And at other times it changes, or various things pop up once in a while and suddenly, wow, I get it, why didn't I look at that before.
But the sum of that awareness, that presence, that consciousness, that clarity of mind, it doesn't really add up to a whole hell of a lot. Sort of like I might add it up over my life, and it is like I've only really been present for a few hours, or a few days. Seems like a waste, to go to all that trouble, and then not really pay attention.
Oh, it is not black and white. Of course I've been conscious enough to do many things, and of course I have to be partially present to write this here. But, truthfully, I can write inspiring philosophical essays while half asleep. I'm talking about something more.
What if you actually could be fully present here and now, fully conscious, keenly perceptive, and you could do that all the time?
OK, some people will wonder what the hell I'm talking about. Sounds like nonsense if you haven't particularly noticed any difference between being aware of BEING or not being aware of being. Sounds like just some new age mumbo jumbo if you haven't actually ever noticed that you exist. And, it is fascinating, but many people haven't really realized that they exist. Probably a majority of humanity is people who haven't ever been conscious of their own existence, of if they have, they've thoroughly forgotten.
The culprit is the mind. Both our strongest asset and our prison. We can think abstractly, which allows us to do amazing things. And it allows us to trap ourselves in stuff that isn't really there. It allows us to make abstract ideas as real or more real than what is really there.
The mind stores and processes incoming perceptions, and it stores and processes abstract representations of what things mean, and extrapolatons of what those abstract representations mean.
That allows you to learn about and influence circumstances way outside your local area of what you can directly perceive. For example, it allows you to be able to vote. That's a terribly abstract thing. You most likely haven't actually met any of the people involved, and you don't have any direct experience with any of the issues that are considered important. Your vote won't directly do anything either, but you can feel that you're part of something meaningful, and it does make a difference. Now, you could only do that because you have some fairly complex abstract models of cause and effect and connections and probabilities in your mind. Most likely they're ridiculously over-simplified, but you do have some structure there that tells you something.
But this abstract mental stuff easily gets to mean that you spend all your time doing stuff your mind tells you to do, and zero time actually looking for yourself.
Yes, I know, if you think that you ARE a mind, such a statement makes no sense. Even worse, if you think you're a brain, you've already locked yourself away and thrown away the key.
There's a certain circular reasoning thing which makes minds get out of hand. You prove abstract ideas only with other abstract ideas. That works some of the time. But if one has gotten so used to taking certain abstract ideas as The Truth, one forgets at some point that they're just ideas, and one no longer checks in with reality.
I'm saying we pretty much all do that, but you can see it most dramatically at the extremes, with people who're very religious or who're very scientifically, materialistically oriented. In the fundamentalist way. I.e. people who wouldn't recognize reality if it bit them in the nose, but who live inside a mental structure, and who deny the existence of anything that isn't situated and labeled within that structure.
But most people in the "civilized" world go around spending most of their energy on keeping up with abstract ideas. All your "shoulds". You should get up in the morning, get the kids to school, go to work, have meetings, file reports, do shopping, pay your bills, etc. Most of which you aren't doing because it is what is in front of you, but because of some mental structure you have in your mind. A structure that will predict the consequences of not doing some of those things, so you do the logical thing, and you do them.
But, back to my point. You're so busy being busy that you aren't even there most of the time. OK, maybe you are, so I'll speak for myself. I will frequently catch myself in not having been present for an extended period of time.
You know, how you find yourself in your driveway, having driven home, maybe from work, maybe something you do every day. And you notice that you weren't present the whole way, and you don't remember the trip at all. Maybe you were busy thinking about something, and that's where your awareness was. But you still drove the car perfectly fine, for a half hour, through rush hour traffic.
I'm talking about that in your life. Despite going through the motions somewhat successfully, you suddenly wake up and realize, where was I?
And, to get to the point, the ability of actually being fully present here and now is what we could call "enlightenment". Oh, I'm sure one could define it different ways, but I find that the most useful. You have somehow transcended your identification with the mind, plugged into a fundamental source of peace of mind, and you can comfortably be present here and now, without having to have anywhere else to go.
That's not necessarily any hocus pocus spiritual thing that you will attain after 33 years of chanting. Probably is a terribly simple and pragmatic thing. Just being present and not giving in to mental delusions. Noticing what is really going on, what is really there in front of you, and what is really there inside of you, and not obsessively overlaying a lot of opinions and filters and 'shoulds' on top of it.
Anyway, this is just a note to myself, to BE more of the time, and to not put up with being absent. To pursue enlightenment, although I strongly suspect it can't really be pursued. There's nowhere else to go to. It is right here, right now. No fancy technique or secret knowledge to learn. And that's a hard one. Would be so much easier if one could just go and take a class. No, one actually has to pay attention, really pay attention, be quiet and notice the obvious. More >
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5 Feb 2006 @ 17:37, by poetsong. Spirituality
A million voices and countless choices call to us from all directions, saying, “Truth is here! …No, wait; it’s over here!”
Some espouse Plastic Truths that stretch unending, having no fixed boundaries. “Truth bends like a reed in the wind, forever changing, stretching and turning. You can never know anything with certainty. Believe in nothing! Have no convictions! Nothing separates the wise from the fool! A living person is no better off than a dead dog! Buy my book and don’t forget to give me a tax free donation so I can spread my truth! Well…it’s not really truth; because there is no truth…er…it’s all in my book.”
Others call with rigid inflexible dogmas, handed-down pre-packaged beliefs. They say, “Do not bother to think, because I will think for you. Thinking is not safe, and you will be best served if I tell you what to think. …I caught you…you had a question…Don’t you dare think or question what I tell you to think!”
They may promise freedom, but at what cost? “Check your intellect at the door, and simply do as I say, and follow my way. Look at me; I haven’t thought an original thought in decades and wouldn’t even think to think; but believe me, I know what I’m saying, because someone told me it was the truth and never to question it! I have come to the truth without ever questioning anything I’m told. And what’s more; I can get you a discount on a leaders book, which tells you what to think, what not to think. It’s risk free, but do not expect any money-back guarantee!”
It’s sad. So many plead for, even demand our total devotion; and yet, when we sift through the large words and arguments, we find emptiness and smelly wind.
Belief is not benign. Whatever we believe colors our lives. There is no such thing as “risk free” thinking. What we believe impacts who we are, what we will do, and most importantly how we see and treat each other. If we are motivated toward action or inactivity, it will ultimately have consequences.
Packaged thinking is for not for me. If not thinking is a requirement to get into heaven, then I am eternally lost. I reason, in a reasonable universe of dolphins and eagles and children, reason cannot be an evil thing. In a Universe of mysteries, thinking must be permitted. I refuse to check my brain at the door, whether it makes others uncomfortable or not. There is something wrong with a picture in which I am not allowed to make my own choices, or question another’s point of view.
Some would say there is a homing device inside each of us searching for answers? Why is it in our very nature to question, “Why daddy”, if questions offer us no advantage?
If mankind drops out of the quest for truth, deciding to numb its senses through a barrage of constant entertainment and countless distractions; I will keep seeking. Some believe, “Truth is for misfits, not sensible people!” Are they better off bombarding their senses with every pleasure inducing devise and chemical known to mankind? The human heart is not content with this world, and grasps for what is beyond. Seeking is the better choice; and seeking with our eyes open is better still.
I once pondered, “Is it better to be dumb and happy if the truth isn’t as pleasant as I’d like; or is it better to be deluded? None should prefer delusion; but the nature of truth is that it doesn’t bend to fit our wants, but rather forces us to deal with whatever reality might be. In other words, if I’m an ugly duck, I might prefer to be self-deluded that I am the most beautiful duck in the world; but there is some mechanism inside me that wants to know where I truly stand.
If you are like me, you also have this homing devise, an insatiable desire ‘To know!’ Long ago, when I first entered the crossroads of reason, I realized truth may not be all bliss. There is nothing like the stark reality of suffering in this world to cause us to question the nature of all things, including good and evil. I had no clue whether there was a God/gods, whether he/they/whatever were inherently good, or mixed, or worse. All I knew is that my concept of reality didn’t change anything. If someone exists, I can’t make them not exist. If they don’t exist, I can’t blink them into being like “I dream of Jeannie.” God/gods were not dependent on me. They just are; if they are. And my quest, if I should take it, is to seek to know, if knowing was possible. (This was, and is my approach) I'm not saying I know nothing. However, what I believe was not a package handed to me, but something tested, thought out, and through this approach, we come to know it's what "we believe", and not what we were told to believe or swayed to believe, or tricked to believe.
I have beliefs, but will not tell others what to think, because that is only an opinion, right or wrong. If they desire to know what I believe and why; I'm glad to share my journey. None of us should imply that truth means shutting our minds off, which is the ultimate control and manipulation tact.
However, I am one on a quest speaking to others on a quest. We may know few things fully in this world, but there are breadcrumbs of truth all around us if we are looking. We gain a clearer picture of truth through following the trail before us. I'm not saying we need a mystical experience to grow and learn. Mystical experiences do not make superior people. I'm not against Mystical experiences; but they can’t always be relied upon as a clear path to truth. An exerience should never make or break a person’s beliefs. They should be seen in a context.
Those who have studied will tell you that virtually all religions believe in lying spirits. A religious experience can therefore be as false as a liar's voice. Therefore, wisdom will question all things with the intention of knowing whether truth is in a matter or not.
Thinking is good. Observing and questioning help us come to realizations. This World, and this Universe speak volumes. We can look at eagles, and learn. We can look at the instincts in animals and derive answers to questions. We can look at macro or micro, looking at the cells of any organism, or the order of the stars, and come up with conclusions. If we cannot question what we believe, then we are likely bound to Archetypical* thinking; in which we follow pre-digested thoughts and beliefs. This does not mean we will never come to answers, but answers that are tested and tried and go through fire are the strongest answers. This does not mean a person cannot accidentally be right in what they think; but a belief untested is a belief that cannot be relied upon; and I think some things are worth scrutiny for the sake of knowing that we have found a bedrock, and are not standing in silt.
* My own definition of Archetypes differs from Jung’s own. I see Archetypes as mostly deriving from conscious arguments at the first. These arguments become so deeply rooted, they become an excuse not to think, and wind up deeply ingrained societal beliefs which are handed down through fortified arguments for so long, entire people groups become enslaved to them. They swallow them whole without actually engaging their minds. From the time we are children, beliefs and microbeliefs are taught to us. And by the time we are adults, we may not realize how many pre-digested arguments we have accepted without question. Perhaps it is in our natures to fall into Archetypical thinking, and never to question, “Why?” This inherently lazy thinking is so Universal, where others would rather have another think for them, one has to wonder if it is a flaw in human nature? Because of this, I believe part of coming to know anything requires breaking down what we already accept, and asking, “Why?” If we come to the same conclusion, at least this time we know why we believe something.
texthere More >
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5 Feb 2006 @ 16:56, by swanny. Spirituality
I AM AFRAID
I AM Afraid...
Because this world is so big and I am so small...
Because I try to be prepared and do my best but still I make mistakes...
Because I pray and such and still it takes so long and sometimes
it seems they go unheard...
Because I try to help and don't even get noticed or thanked and it hurts...
Because I'm getting old and tired....
Because I am going to die and I haven't even lived yet...
Because I try to be good but it doesn't seem to pay...
Because it so hard to care when it would be easier not too...
Because I get angry and I don't like being angry...
Because the world is changing and sometimes I can't keep up...
Because I poor and weird...
Because I wonder if anyone except me likes me...
Because there are too many variables...
Because sometimes I forget and I don't know why...
Because there seems more and more things I can't really understand...
and maybe will never understand...
Because sometimes there's not enough food in the house...
Because I can't afford to keep healthy...
Because I sometimes feel things are irrational and will never make sense...
Because sometimes I am my own worst enemy...
Because I am forgotten from time to time and it doesn't bother me anymore...
Because I don't have the strength and endurance I used to...
Because I don't like some of the things of this world...
Because it hurts to see what we're doing to this planet and one and other...
Because I don't like hurting peoples feelings so I end up hurting me...
Because I let people take advantage of me... and then forgive them...
Because I don't have all the answers...
Because I'm running out of time...
Because I don't have anyone special...
or no sons or daughters...
Because I don't always know what I want...
Because I don't always know what I feel...
Because I don't like to lie when it would be better too...
Because I've been punished for being truthful...
Because because because...
Because sometimes it seems no one understands me and I'm all
alone in this Universe...
Because I'm afraid of being afraid...
Yea I guess I'm afraid but what's new?
ed More >
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