Loved this talk about the introvert/extrovert spectrum. Twenty minutes of good ideas, well worth the time.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
What Does Your Mind Weigh?
Message from my dream this morning-- the only true ownership is self-ownership. Meaning, own thyself. Not the air, or the water, or the incorporated labor. Work is abundant. It grows from the stone, out of nothing. Tweaking the twig and replanting brings forth more life.
We can be sustainable. We can help secure the conditions conducive to life. Doing so sustains us all.
But what does it mean, really-- this self-ownership?
I think it means that no one can own another. Slavery is a no-no. A big bad. Cocka-poopoo.
And just as that is so, one cannot own the things that are sacred. The elements of the source that sustains us all. The land, the wind. The life force that turns seed into oak tree, plain into canyon.
The river cuts its way through it, finding its path around obstacles. So does our consciousness.
For me, spirituality is the source through which we are all understood, along with everything.
But I fear I'm not making myself clear. Please know that I am trying.
Religion is one thing; spirituality quite another. Religion is like a menu at a diner-- follow instructions and you'll be nourished, albeit with a greasy hangover. It says that if you read what is written and follow the way of the word, there is salvation. There is promise and hope for something much better than the reality that we encounter with our senses.
But much of what religion promises cannot be delivered. At least, as far as we know. There's been thousands of years of religion and attempts to communicate beyond what we experience as a collective reality, and far too little has been passed back, through the keyhole, to prove or explain or plainly justify the rules and regulations that have been written down in an attempt to capture the lightning in a bottle.
Our reality is a lie. It's an estimate at best. We've measured from here to the stars and back and down into the bloodstream and beyond the chemistry and the molecules and the atoms and the imagined building blocks of the building blocks. And still we have no answers. Only more questions.
Questions are the fuel of the imagination. They get us out of bed in the morning. It is this practice of judgement, not the actual ruling, that is important. As was said in Angels In America about justice-- and now I am paraphrasing, because I don't have a photographic memory-- the process of law is what is justice, not the verdict. The verdict may feel like salvation, but it too can be questioned again, under the right circumstances. We question and ponder, and that reshapes and hones reality and law and is the basic process of our justice system. And it is what is wrong-- very wrong-- about many religions.
Religions stake a claim to some holy sanctity, some static entity, of eternal truth. They build their rituals around this claim, purporting to have found the answers to what is right and what is wrong, and simply cleaning up all the messy grey areas and printing it up in black and white. But true divinity does not solidify. It is always in motion. Alive. Breathing. Blooming.
This is what spirituality is, for me. The acknowledgement of a greater than thou. A simple greater than. There is more, abundantly, in perpetuity, and it grows freely out of nothing.
At least, that was what has been on my mind today. And several other days in my life. What is the mass of the mind? And is it heavier with though or without?
Questions are greater than answers.
Today, I weighed myself. I looked down and saw a number. I realized that I was much more than that number, that my ultimate self was actually much lighter than the number. I am on a journey, and I believe that my mind and body are on that journey with me. But I am not the number. I am oh so much more than that number.
We can be sustainable. We can help secure the conditions conducive to life. Doing so sustains us all.
But what does it mean, really-- this self-ownership?
I think it means that no one can own another. Slavery is a no-no. A big bad. Cocka-poopoo.
And just as that is so, one cannot own the things that are sacred. The elements of the source that sustains us all. The land, the wind. The life force that turns seed into oak tree, plain into canyon.
The river cuts its way through it, finding its path around obstacles. So does our consciousness.
For me, spirituality is the source through which we are all understood, along with everything.
But I fear I'm not making myself clear. Please know that I am trying.
Religion is one thing; spirituality quite another. Religion is like a menu at a diner-- follow instructions and you'll be nourished, albeit with a greasy hangover. It says that if you read what is written and follow the way of the word, there is salvation. There is promise and hope for something much better than the reality that we encounter with our senses.
But much of what religion promises cannot be delivered. At least, as far as we know. There's been thousands of years of religion and attempts to communicate beyond what we experience as a collective reality, and far too little has been passed back, through the keyhole, to prove or explain or plainly justify the rules and regulations that have been written down in an attempt to capture the lightning in a bottle.
Our reality is a lie. It's an estimate at best. We've measured from here to the stars and back and down into the bloodstream and beyond the chemistry and the molecules and the atoms and the imagined building blocks of the building blocks. And still we have no answers. Only more questions.
Questions are the fuel of the imagination. They get us out of bed in the morning. It is this practice of judgement, not the actual ruling, that is important. As was said in Angels In America about justice-- and now I am paraphrasing, because I don't have a photographic memory-- the process of law is what is justice, not the verdict. The verdict may feel like salvation, but it too can be questioned again, under the right circumstances. We question and ponder, and that reshapes and hones reality and law and is the basic process of our justice system. And it is what is wrong-- very wrong-- about many religions.
Religions stake a claim to some holy sanctity, some static entity, of eternal truth. They build their rituals around this claim, purporting to have found the answers to what is right and what is wrong, and simply cleaning up all the messy grey areas and printing it up in black and white. But true divinity does not solidify. It is always in motion. Alive. Breathing. Blooming.
This is what spirituality is, for me. The acknowledgement of a greater than thou. A simple greater than. There is more, abundantly, in perpetuity, and it grows freely out of nothing.
At least, that was what has been on my mind today. And several other days in my life. What is the mass of the mind? And is it heavier with though or without?
Questions are greater than answers.
Today, I weighed myself. I looked down and saw a number. I realized that I was much more than that number, that my ultimate self was actually much lighter than the number. I am on a journey, and I believe that my mind and body are on that journey with me. But I am not the number. I am oh so much more than that number.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Something From the Past
A haiku from May 4, 1979.
The rain is so nice,
But sometimes it's a pain when,
It hits fiberglass
The rain is so nice,
But sometimes it's a pain when,
It hits fiberglass
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Planting an Occupation
So what I really want to do is write, right? I want to tear open a hole in the garment that holds this thing called the economy together (is it a girdle? A pair of slacks?) and make room for my existence. Make possibility for my existence. Pay for me, that is.
I'd like to come into some cash so that I can get out from underneath these bills that I've amassed through being sick and so on. I've got a terrible eating regimen that costs too much and doesn't give me the nutrition that a healthy me seeks. So I think I will turn to growing my own food.
I already have oranges-- right now-- that I can eat. And I just planted an artichoke plant today. Soon I will add other vegetables to the garden, and an assortment of vines to replace the front yard lawn. Blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, and different grape varietals as well. I'll plant squash and carrots and beets. Asparagus and... mushrooms? Can I do that?
I guess I'll become a vegetarian. I'll plant tofu.
All kidding aside, I do need to continue to monitor and adjust my lifestyle so that I am more in line with nature and health. I do not need to eat at the likes of Taco Bell, Weinerschnitzel, and Jack in the Box all in the same day. I really don't need to eat that crap at all. But I'll adjust instead of deny, cold turkey. (Mmm, turkey...)
So I'll be the constant gardener, even though I haven't seen the film (or even read the screenplay). My yard work will produce nourishment for me and my family and friends, and the neighborhood. I will be creating wealth with my produce.
So do I have to sell it so I can be a writer?
I don't think I want to be a writer "full-time" anyway. I think it would drive me nuts. Maybe that's just me resisting work-- something I can do. I know how to procrastinate.
There's a way for me to make a living and still be true to my soul without selling out to the highest bidder. There's just gotta be. I believe it. I want it. I'm going for it. It has to be there.
It will all work out somehow.
I'd like to come into some cash so that I can get out from underneath these bills that I've amassed through being sick and so on. I've got a terrible eating regimen that costs too much and doesn't give me the nutrition that a healthy me seeks. So I think I will turn to growing my own food.
I already have oranges-- right now-- that I can eat. And I just planted an artichoke plant today. Soon I will add other vegetables to the garden, and an assortment of vines to replace the front yard lawn. Blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries, and different grape varietals as well. I'll plant squash and carrots and beets. Asparagus and... mushrooms? Can I do that?
I guess I'll become a vegetarian. I'll plant tofu.
All kidding aside, I do need to continue to monitor and adjust my lifestyle so that I am more in line with nature and health. I do not need to eat at the likes of Taco Bell, Weinerschnitzel, and Jack in the Box all in the same day. I really don't need to eat that crap at all. But I'll adjust instead of deny, cold turkey. (Mmm, turkey...)
So I'll be the constant gardener, even though I haven't seen the film (or even read the screenplay). My yard work will produce nourishment for me and my family and friends, and the neighborhood. I will be creating wealth with my produce.
So do I have to sell it so I can be a writer?
I don't think I want to be a writer "full-time" anyway. I think it would drive me nuts. Maybe that's just me resisting work-- something I can do. I know how to procrastinate.
There's a way for me to make a living and still be true to my soul without selling out to the highest bidder. There's just gotta be. I believe it. I want it. I'm going for it. It has to be there.
It will all work out somehow.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
A Weak One
So here we are. At the end of a project. The end of the journal jar. The final prompt. On this, the final day of February, 2012. A leap year. A leap day. It's kinda like I received an extension on this project already. But I said I would complete it this month, and so here goes. Happy leap day, everyone.
Describe or draw a picture of your favorite birthday present.
Uh. Okay. What was it? I don't remember most of my presents... What ever was my favorite?
I am at a total loss here. I have no recollection of presents that I've received. So maybe I can recount some of the favorites that I've given? But no, I'm not coming up with anything there either.
This is ridiculous. I can't come up with anything. The final prompt and I have failed. What does this say about me? What does this say about my blog? Am I a writer or a fake?
Okay-- so maybe I've got it. I think my buddy Mike got me tickets to see Sinead O'Connor in Berkeley around my birthday in 1989 or so. She was fantabulous and I was so stoked and amazed. It was one of the best shows I've seen, and I've seen a lot of shows.
So there. That was a great present.
So. Now what?
weak. what are you gonna do...
Describe or draw a picture of your favorite birthday present.
Uh. Okay. What was it? I don't remember most of my presents... What ever was my favorite?
I am at a total loss here. I have no recollection of presents that I've received. So maybe I can recount some of the favorites that I've given? But no, I'm not coming up with anything there either.
This is ridiculous. I can't come up with anything. The final prompt and I have failed. What does this say about me? What does this say about my blog? Am I a writer or a fake?
Okay-- so maybe I've got it. I think my buddy Mike got me tickets to see Sinead O'Connor in Berkeley around my birthday in 1989 or so. She was fantabulous and I was so stoked and amazed. It was one of the best shows I've seen, and I've seen a lot of shows.
So there. That was a great present.
So. Now what?
weak. what are you gonna do...
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Take Me Out to the Food
The journal jar is almost done. Here is the 2nd to last prompt.
Where do you like to go to eat out? What do you order?
I like to go out to a lot of different places. I go out to eat a lot. We'll often walk to dinner, we have so many good choices within walking distance for us. There's a steak house, several Mexican places, and even a Thai restaurant. We also happen to have the first drive-thru Indian restaurant in North America (!) right here on the corner, about a block away. So we have a lot of options.
I've been meeting my friend for lunch about once a week for the last several years now. We used to work together, and we'd meet for lunch at least once a week while we were working out in the same area of town. She's retired now, but we still meet, usually on Mondays, and have lunch. We almost always go out to eat. We like to frequent Mexican places, as well as pizza parlors and sandwich shops. But we'll try other stuff too.
When Suzy and I go out, we like to find places that serve wine and beer. Suzy likes chardonnay; I like a finely crafted micro-brewed beer (usually a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale draught). To that end, we like Andy's Barbeque because they have the wine and beer we like, they're within walking distance, and they have really good garlic bread. Thaibodia has Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap and the food is first rate tasty.
What I usually order when I go out is always up in the air. I love so many kinds of food. When tasting Thai, I like the yellow curry, or other curries with the coconut milk. Yum. I LOVE pizza. Usually my favorite pizza is sausage, mushroom, and olive. I also like a good calzone-- last week my friend and I went to Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi's in Mountain View and I got a sausage calzone-- had to take half of it home with me (made for a really good breakfast!)
Man, I'm just all over the place today-- here we go talking about food again!
I love a good steak, and Andy's does a good job. Their ribeye is good. I also like their pork chops and their brisket. But mostly we like to go and drink, sit in the bar, and have interesting conversations with the people that go there. We've met quite a number of characters there.
I love a good burrito, too. One of my favorites is Freedom Burrito. Also good is Mondo Burrito. I've had many a burrito from each of these places, and it has always been a good experience.
Man oh man, I could go on for days like this, except that I'm getting hungry and I can't concentrate when I get hungry. Gotta EAT! (Besides, I just got a phone call, so my rhythm is off. That's okay, blogs are meant to be short, right?)
Now, what will I eat? Oh, man... decisions, decisions...
Where do you like to go to eat out? What do you order?
I like to go out to a lot of different places. I go out to eat a lot. We'll often walk to dinner, we have so many good choices within walking distance for us. There's a steak house, several Mexican places, and even a Thai restaurant. We also happen to have the first drive-thru Indian restaurant in North America (!) right here on the corner, about a block away. So we have a lot of options.
I've been meeting my friend for lunch about once a week for the last several years now. We used to work together, and we'd meet for lunch at least once a week while we were working out in the same area of town. She's retired now, but we still meet, usually on Mondays, and have lunch. We almost always go out to eat. We like to frequent Mexican places, as well as pizza parlors and sandwich shops. But we'll try other stuff too.
When Suzy and I go out, we like to find places that serve wine and beer. Suzy likes chardonnay; I like a finely crafted micro-brewed beer (usually a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale draught). To that end, we like Andy's Barbeque because they have the wine and beer we like, they're within walking distance, and they have really good garlic bread. Thaibodia has Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap and the food is first rate tasty.
What I usually order when I go out is always up in the air. I love so many kinds of food. When tasting Thai, I like the yellow curry, or other curries with the coconut milk. Yum. I LOVE pizza. Usually my favorite pizza is sausage, mushroom, and olive. I also like a good calzone-- last week my friend and I went to Frankie, Johnny, and Luigi's in Mountain View and I got a sausage calzone-- had to take half of it home with me (made for a really good breakfast!)
Man, I'm just all over the place today-- here we go talking about food again!
I love a good steak, and Andy's does a good job. Their ribeye is good. I also like their pork chops and their brisket. But mostly we like to go and drink, sit in the bar, and have interesting conversations with the people that go there. We've met quite a number of characters there.
I love a good burrito, too. One of my favorites is Freedom Burrito. Also good is Mondo Burrito. I've had many a burrito from each of these places, and it has always been a good experience.
Man oh man, I could go on for days like this, except that I'm getting hungry and I can't concentrate when I get hungry. Gotta EAT! (Besides, I just got a phone call, so my rhythm is off. That's okay, blogs are meant to be short, right?)
Now, what will I eat? Oh, man... decisions, decisions...
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Making a Fresh Difference
Just something to talk about. That's all we need. And it brings enlightenment.
Finding your way-- that is the ultimate. Knowing what it is that you need to do. Knowing that what you want to do matters. This is the stuff of legend.
I fixed a faucet today-- outdoor hose bib that had been leaking, and wouldn't turn off all the way for several months. I had stopped the leak by adding an auxiliary shut off to the faucet, so that I could shut it off at the added shut off. But today I turned off the water supply at the house and set to work at solving the primary issue. And I succeeded. New faucet, turns off at tap. Yeehaw.
In the process, I also tried to replace a leaking sprinkler valve. Wasn't successful in this endeavor, because I didn't have any viable PVC cement. Need to go shopping before we can remedy this problem. So I started a shopping list and deferred the completion of the task. Hope to get to the store tomorrow. Today? I'm just too busy to go shopping.
I've since closed up the plumbing shop and started working on my computer. I made connections through facebook to meet with an old friend from grade school next week-- someone I don't think I've seen since about the 5th grade. Amazing that I could even make a connection with him, let alone meet up with him again in the present. Looking forward to that.
Tonight we have a get together at our friends' house for a casino night/fundraiser for a guy that had a bit of a hardship-- he was hit by a car and doesn't have medical insurance. The person who hit him didn't have insurance either, so he is in a fix and needs some help. So to the rescue comes our friend Jan who is hosting this casino night to raise funds for the treatment of the guy and his medical bills and such. So we'll be going over there for the festivities this evening. Meanwhile, my wife has already been at work at the Special Olympics fundraiser, the Polar Plunge, where she waded into the cold bay water along with several other crazy folks and raised money for the Special Olympics. She will be home soon to finish preparation of her "hasty hots" appetizers and then we will be on our way to the casino night for more generous fundraising.
The house across the street is getting some updates-- construction sounds are being emitted as we speak. They are apparently getting a new bathroom added on to the back bedroom of the house. A tiny but functional addition, indeed. We hope to do something similar soon with our homestead.
So. The neighborhood continues to change... the house that has been for sale for several months now has finally got a sale pending sign-- good news for the family that moved out, I would think. Would be nice to get a new family in there and hopefully get to know them and prosper... We'll have to see what happens.
Much cooler today, but still kinda spring-like. Inspiring to get out and put some plants in the ground. I think I will be planting a bunch of vines soon-- grapes, blueberries, raspberries and the like. And maybe asparagus and other stuff as well. Looking forward to planting a wide variety of goodies. Transforming our homestead into a well spring of produce. Such is the hope.
We really do have a lot of land to use in this gardening endeavor. Should be interesting how we decide to accommodate it all. Little by little, we will make the difference that we hope to make.
Can't wait to have blueberries at our disposal. Maybe we'll even plant bananas, I don't know.
Dream big, and bring forth the greater reality.
Onward, my friends.
Finding your way-- that is the ultimate. Knowing what it is that you need to do. Knowing that what you want to do matters. This is the stuff of legend.
I fixed a faucet today-- outdoor hose bib that had been leaking, and wouldn't turn off all the way for several months. I had stopped the leak by adding an auxiliary shut off to the faucet, so that I could shut it off at the added shut off. But today I turned off the water supply at the house and set to work at solving the primary issue. And I succeeded. New faucet, turns off at tap. Yeehaw.
In the process, I also tried to replace a leaking sprinkler valve. Wasn't successful in this endeavor, because I didn't have any viable PVC cement. Need to go shopping before we can remedy this problem. So I started a shopping list and deferred the completion of the task. Hope to get to the store tomorrow. Today? I'm just too busy to go shopping.
I've since closed up the plumbing shop and started working on my computer. I made connections through facebook to meet with an old friend from grade school next week-- someone I don't think I've seen since about the 5th grade. Amazing that I could even make a connection with him, let alone meet up with him again in the present. Looking forward to that.
Tonight we have a get together at our friends' house for a casino night/fundraiser for a guy that had a bit of a hardship-- he was hit by a car and doesn't have medical insurance. The person who hit him didn't have insurance either, so he is in a fix and needs some help. So to the rescue comes our friend Jan who is hosting this casino night to raise funds for the treatment of the guy and his medical bills and such. So we'll be going over there for the festivities this evening. Meanwhile, my wife has already been at work at the Special Olympics fundraiser, the Polar Plunge, where she waded into the cold bay water along with several other crazy folks and raised money for the Special Olympics. She will be home soon to finish preparation of her "hasty hots" appetizers and then we will be on our way to the casino night for more generous fundraising.
The house across the street is getting some updates-- construction sounds are being emitted as we speak. They are apparently getting a new bathroom added on to the back bedroom of the house. A tiny but functional addition, indeed. We hope to do something similar soon with our homestead.
So. The neighborhood continues to change... the house that has been for sale for several months now has finally got a sale pending sign-- good news for the family that moved out, I would think. Would be nice to get a new family in there and hopefully get to know them and prosper... We'll have to see what happens.
Much cooler today, but still kinda spring-like. Inspiring to get out and put some plants in the ground. I think I will be planting a bunch of vines soon-- grapes, blueberries, raspberries and the like. And maybe asparagus and other stuff as well. Looking forward to planting a wide variety of goodies. Transforming our homestead into a well spring of produce. Such is the hope.
We really do have a lot of land to use in this gardening endeavor. Should be interesting how we decide to accommodate it all. Little by little, we will make the difference that we hope to make.
Can't wait to have blueberries at our disposal. Maybe we'll even plant bananas, I don't know.
Dream big, and bring forth the greater reality.
Onward, my friends.
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