Who We? Violent?!

Who, violent?!  No, we are not violent; we are simply the embodiment of violence.

A case in point...  Finally, a male cow took a leap (of faith) into humanity in Spain. Maybe he didn't find our sense of humor or purpose very entertaining.

Needless to say, we know what fate awaits him. Somehow I am feeling slightly perturbed being a member of our superior order... of cruelty.

Seriously, this seemingly joyous event was, is and will always be full of bull!
That is about it.  I say it and believe it so.

Man fears no others but God. To that end, Man projects his complexes onto God. Perhaps this is why there is always tension between the two which is basically fear. Candidly, we worship through fear for power, which ultimately is also known as God.

Unfortunately, barbarians, Christianize or not, are always ready to use brutality to those less barbaric. In the name of their God or Gods which is also the projection of their innate impurities, convert or get trampled! The inception of this mentality has paved the basis and the development of our history.

Wash, rinse then repeat. Do it over again and again until all are but worshipers of power. This decay permeates everywhere and there is no end in sight.

It's hard to look at a box when one is in it. To wake up, one must first learn how to sleep. If we cannot stop and look in the name of God, maybe do it then in the name of survival. Perhaps the answer lies not in this nor that, but in the proper examination of our perception and reflection.

As always, assumption and ignorance are poor substitute for reality. In the wake of the raging bull, did he manage to deliver some reality to the spectators? Again, are we violent or simply violence itself?

So is there duality in honesty?
Perhaps, the spectators should take a hard looks inside themselves.

Cioppino: San Francisco–Style Seafood Stew

Cioppino is a grand San Francisco Seafood dish. Cioppino is modeled on the common coastal Italian "Zuppa di Pesca", ("Soup of Seafood"), which is cooked as village specialties all along those ancient coasts, and some of which bore names that came off the tongue sounding like cioppino. San Francisco's fishermen and their families have been Italian, and Portuguese, for generations, and this Cioppino recipe is derived from the old fishing and cooking traditions of these seafaring peoples, the restaurateurs of San Francisco, and the stunning variety and quality of seafood that the coastal waters there provide. I have always been curious about how to make this dish myself. With that in mind, it's time to share this recipe from Epicurious.com with everybody.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Active time: 45 min

Total time: 1 1/2 hr

Main ingredients: White Wine, Scallop, Shrimp, Snapper, Clam, Parsley

 

Ingredients

• 7 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 Turkish bay leaf or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
• 1 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black or yellow pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil and some butter
• 1 green and/or red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1 (28- to 32-ounces) can whole plum tomatoes, drained, reserving juice, and chopped
• 1 cup bottled clam juice (or from a whole fish and use the head and bones to make fish stock)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 (1-pound) king crab leg, thawed if frozen
• 18 small (2-inch) hard-shelled clams (1 1/2 pound) such as littlenecks, scrubbed
• 1 pound skinless red snapper or halibut fillets, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 pound large shrimp (16 to 20), shelled (tails and bottom segment of shells left intact) and deveined
• 3/4 pound sea scallops, tough muscle removed from side of each if necessary
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

• Garnish: shredded fresh basil leaves and small whole leaves
• Accompaniment: focaccia or sourdough bread

 

Preparation

Cook garlic, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and red pepper flakes with salt and pepper in oil in an 8-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bell pepper and tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and boil until reduced by about half, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juice, clam juice, and broth and simmer, covered, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. 

While stew is simmering, add crab pieces and clams to stew and simmer, covered, until clams just open, 5 to 10 minutes, checking every minute after 5 minutes and transferring opened clams to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon. (Discard any unopened clams after 10 minutes.)
Lightly season fish fillets, shrimp, and scallops with salt and add to stew, then simmer, covered, until just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaf, then return clams to pot and gently stir in parsley and basil.  Serve cioppino immediately in large soup bowls.  Enjoy!

Resignation, clinging and self

Once a rich man said to the Buddha, “I see you are the Awakened One and I would like to open my mind to you and ask your advice. My life is full of work, and having made a great deal of money, I am surrounded by cares. I employ many people who depend on me to be successful. However, I enjoy my work and like working hard. But having heard your followers talk of the bliss of a hermit’s life and seeing you as one who gave up a kingdom in order to become a homeless wanderer and find the truth, I wonder if I should do the same. I long to do what is right and to be a blessing to my people. Should I give up everything to find the truth?”

The Buddha replied: “The bliss of a truth-seeking life is attainable for anyone who follows the path of unselfishness. If you cling to your wealth, it is better to throw it away than let it poison your heart. But if you don’t cling to it but use it wisely, then you will be a blessing to people. It’s not wealth and power that enslave men but the clinging to wealth and power.

“My teaching does not require anyone to become homeless or resign the world unless he wants to, but it does require everyone to free himself from the illusion that he is a permanent self and to act with integrity while giving up his craving for pleasure.

“And whatever people do, whether in the world or as a recluse, let them put their whole heart into it. Let them be committed and energetic, and if they have to struggle, let them do it without envy or hatred. Let them live not a life of self but a life of truth, and in that way bliss will enter their hearts.”

- from Majjhima Nikaya

What is something more fearful than any doomsday prediction?

As December 21, 2012 approaches, what is something more fearful than any doomsday prediction?

The God's wrath?

The eventual Judgment Day?

Or adherents to a truth where life is reduced to "true or false" standardized test?

A righteous man would say: coercion and fear are poor agents to do good.

Maybe it's more constructive to think outside of the tiny box, self creates.

It's Getting Real in A Whole Foods Parking Lot

It's getting real in a Whole Foods parking lot... with a sneaky, stealthy, frugal Prius...  

Is it just me? Do you also find this guy looks a lot like G.W. Bush, or perhaps his rhyming twin who is a Snoop Dogg fan? Anyway, this dude is definitely channeling some Bush mojo to make this funny video! 

Yes, a joke is only a joke... but hidden here is a certain truth... An opulent struggle from the privileged class.  Is it also getting real in the wholesale petrol lots?  

 A parody, perhaps... of a pseudo eco-gangsta from the West.  

Oops, I mean from the west side of LA - Lost Angels!  

 

Lyrics:

Intro (spoken)

Yo man...
Yo I know you see me here dude!!
I've been waiting here like 10 minutes, man!
No, no no... this is MY parking space man.
What you need to do is put your little hybrid in reverse,
And go out the way you came in.
WHAT?!?!
Yo its about to get REAL in the Whole Foods parking lot man...

Chorus (with feeling)

It's getting' REAL in the Whole Foods Parking Lot
I got my STEEL and you know it gets sparked a lot
Im on my grind homie... It's on my mind homie!
These fools with clip boards are lookin' at me like they know me!

It's getting' REAL in the Whole Foods Parking Lot
You know the DEAL with the little shopping carts they got...
Check out what I say, it happens every day...
It's how we LIVE on the west side of LA!!

Verse 1

... Im ridin' slow in my Prius...
all leather, tinted windows... you cant see us!!
Everybody's trying to park, you can feel the tension
I'm in electric mode... can't even hear the engine (Shhhhhhh)

Just then I saw a spot open up,
My timings perfect... Im creepin' up...
But then this other dude tried to steal it going the wrong way
Yo man, I've had a LONG DAY!

Chorus
(same as before)

Verse 2

Now I'm on this inside, looking at my list
Organic chicken, Kale Salad and a Lemon Twist.
Some girl in yoga pants is lookin at me funny
I'm just trying to find a decent Pinot Noir for under twenty!

Then I take it to the cheese counter, Humboldt Fog?
We just ran out sir! Really Dog?
Take it easy man, I try to calm myself...
I've been on edge ever since they took Kombucha off the shelf...

Chorus

(same as before)

Verse 3

This Busters on his iPhone talking to his friends,
Picking up some cayenne pepper for his master cleanse.
You're the most annoying dude I've ever SEEN brah...
Could you PLEASE move? You're RIGHT in front of the Quinoa.

Damn, I'm about to check out.
Pay my 80 bucks for 6 things and get the heck out.
The express lane is moving hella slow...
Man, these fools don't know... that shit is getting REAL....

Chorus
(same as before)

The Crystal Cave of Naica, Mexico

To see the full size, click on each slide.

Freedom, Ethics & Liberation

Freedom is the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under restraint. It is an essential and quintessential quality of human evolution.

Liberation is the act of setting someone (including oneself) or something free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression. Extensively, it could mean the freedom from all imposed limits on thought or behavior.

Freedom can be perceived through individual behaviors. By letting go of the obsessions, compulsions and inhibitions of our psychological conditioning, and so freeing ourselves to respond appropriately in every situation. In a way, freedom is a point of departure for liberation.

Very often freedom takes the form of restraint - the ability to say "no" to harmful habits, compulsions, craving or dependency. But sometimes freedom can also take the form of saying "yes" - a yes that overrides habitual fears, prejudices and inhibitions. Comparably, this is how moral principles from various cultures are viewed as rules which intend to regulate behavior and thought or as proven guidelines outside of which exist infinite possibilities.

However, does the pursuit of individual freedom easily leads to selfish interests? In the struggle of asserting individuality, the ego thus gets born and reborn. It is important to know that only true freedom exists in harmony between individual and collective interest. If a person insists on treating others and elements of his environment as objects of his calculation, exploitation and consumption, he cannot be free from his self-contentedness. Consequently, this person is imprisoned by his own views, his ego.

All great religions embody one form or another "golden rule" - do unto others as you would have them do unto you. As a training in loving oneself and others, it's a real and constant challenge to intent carefully and to act skillfully in order to set us all free, which leads to personal liberation.

In short, it's ok to love ME but not ONLY ME.

Say I Am You

Jelaluddin Rumi is a 13th century mystic poet. He is arguably one of the most passionate and profound poets in history. Today, his presence still remains strong, due in part to his words which seem to drip of the divine, and startle a profound remembrance that links all back to the essence of human experience. Born in what is present day Afghanistan in 1207, he produced his master work the Masnawi which consists of over 60,000 poems before he died in 1273. The best way to understand his impact is to feel how his words aim to describe the Indescribable, Ineffable -- God.

Here is a selection of two Rumi poems which echo and permeate with love!

This We Have Now This we have now is not imagination. This is not grief or joy. Not a judging state, or an elation, or sadness. Those come and go... This is the presence that doesn't. If you want what visible reality can give, you're an employee. If you want the unseen world, you're not living your truth. Both wishes are foolish, but you'll be forgiven for forgetting that what you really want is... love's confusing joy.

Only Breath Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion or cultural system. I am not from the East or the West, not out of the ocean or up from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not composed of elements at all. I do not exist. am not an entity in this world or in the next, did not descend from Adam and Eve or any origin story. My place is placeless, a trace of the traceless. Neither body or soul. I belong to the beloved, have seen the two worlds as one and that one call to and know, first, last, outer, inner, only that breath breathing... human being.

Alan Watts - A Conversation With Myself

This is a 1971 television recording where Alan Watts was walking in his backyard and talking about the limitations of technology and of trying to track an infinite universe with the mind.
He passed away 2 years later in his sleep at his home in Mount Tamalpais.

Time has passed since but many of his ideas are still relevant today.
Watts often said that he wished to act as a bridge between the ancient and the modern, between East and West, and between culture and nature.

Although he did have a fellowship for several years at Harvard University, when questioned sharply by students during his talk at UC Santa Cruz in 1970, he responded that he was not an academic philosopher but rather "a philosophical entertainer".

The video is a bit long but it is still "entertaining"...

I propose that we listen to him in a way that he is not just talking to himself.  Of course, not that he cares one way or the other as he is dead, but for the sake of our potential growth and expansion.

Farinelli performs the Lascia ch'io pianga while Händel is watching

[Libretto:] Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà! E che sospiri, e che sospiri la libertà! Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà! Il duolo infranga queste ritorte de' miei martiri sol per pietà, de' miei martiri sol per pietà. Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà! E che sospiri, e che sospiri la libertà! Lascia ch'io pianga la cruda sorte, E che sospiri la libertà!

[English translation:] Let me weep over my cruel fate And that I long for freedom! And that I long, and that I long for freedom! Let me weep over my cruel fate And that I long for freedom! May the pain shatter the chains of my torments just out of mercy, of my torments just out of mercy. Let me weep over my cruel fate And that I long for freedom! And that I long, and that I long for freedom! Let me weep over my cruel fate And that I long for freedom!

In remembrance of Knut, a little polar bear from the zoo

Translation:

Knut, is the cuddly bear He has everything but no mom Yet he is cheeky and happy And a star in the zoo A little rascal all in white With four very soft paws All have the love for Knut It's so nice that you are here Knut, Knut, a little polar bear from the zoo Knut, Knut, you're doing really well Knut, you are a teddy bear Who will always be cute You can run so well Keep it up, be brave Baby bottle in the mouth Fine formula, that is healthy

Then You must go to sleep Little Knut, sleep well Knut, Knut, a little polar bear from the zoo Knut, Knut, you're doing really well Knut, You are a cute cuddly bear It is hard not to like you Caressing your belly Then you are happy too Your teeth are still so small But powerful bite, that must be You will soon be big and strong Indeed, that is obvious Knut, Knut, a little polar bear from the zoo Knut, Knut, you're doing really well Knut, Knut, a little polar bear from the zoo Knut, Knut, you're doing really well

R.I.P. Knut (12/05/2006 - 03/19/2011)

Forbidden black rice - the next superfood

Black rice, regularly used in China but uncommon in the West, could be one of the healthiest foods, say experts.

According to the scientists, the cereal is low in sugar but packed with healthy fibre and plant compounds, which can prevent heart disease and cancer. It contains more dietary fiber, and therefore the starch digestion rate is much slower (only 55 on the glycemic index); it does not cause the dramatic fluctuations in blood sugar. Additionally, the potassium, magnesium and other minerals in the rice help control blood pressure and reduce the risk of cardio-cerebral vascular diseases. Therefore, individuals with diabetes and cardiovascular disease can be nursed back to health eating black rice as part of their diet.

Centuries ago it was known as "Forbidden Rice" 御稻 (yù dào) in ancient China. The classification of this rice is an imperial tribute to the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, who spent 30 years at the hybrid breeding and harvest times of this unique rice. However, it was commonly misunderstood that black rice is forbidden for consumption to the commoners at the time.  Quite the opposite, as a part of his agricultural reform, Emperor Kangxi intends to create a breed of superior rice which he wants free distribution to his people.  

Sure enough, his free program did not last very long.

So why the misconception? A short answer has a lot to do with the political play at the time. As usual, greed for power could corrupt even the Emperor's contribution. Today the black rice is commonly available in China, since its seeds have long survived after Emperor Kangxi passed.

According to research presented at the 240th national meeting of the American Cancer Society, just a spoonful of black rice bran contains more health promoting anthocyanin antioxidants than are found in a spoonful of blueberries, but with less sugar, and more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants.  

As berries are used to boost health, why not black rice?  
If he knows now, Kangxi would be smiling at the revival of his "forbidden" rice.  

How to Access RadNet Data

RadNet near-real-time data can be viewed on EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) website at
http://www.epa.gov/cdx.

Radiation emergency response experts can request access to a restricted RadNet data site, where all RadNet data is housed before being released for public access. As EPA develops a unified federal transparency system, additional data summaries and characterizations will be developed for wider communication and access.

The classification of the data requires the user to create a username and password before accessing the
site. 

Instructions for accessing the RadNet CDX website:
  1. Go to www.epa.gov/cdx
  2. On the left side select “Login”
  3. On the new left side select “registration”
  4. Select “continue”
  5. Select “I accept”
  6. Enter your information including a password
  7. When given the list of access programs, select Radiation Network (RadNet)
  8. There is one more required field that pops up and enter N/A into that
  9. After an option to select more programs, you will be taken to the RadNet page.

RadNet filter data gets posted quarterly to Envirofacts for public access:
http://www.epa.gov/enviro/facts/topicsearch.html#radiation. 

EPA is currently examining ways to enhance the accessibility and characterization of the data.

Pancasikkhapada - Observance of the Five Precepts

Pañca-Sīlāni [Pali with English translation:]

1) Pānātipātā veramanī sikkhāpadam samadiyami

I undertake the precept to refrain from the killing of living creatures.

Pānātipātā: ‘the killing of living beings'
veramani: ‘to refrain from’
sikkhāpadam: ‘the Precept’
samadiyami: ‘I undertake’

2) Adinnadana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami

I undertake the precept to refrain from taking that which is not given.

Adinnadana: ‘taking that which is not given’
veramani: ‘to refrain from’
sikkhāpadam: ‘the Precept’
samadiyami: ‘I undertake’

3) Kamesu micchacara veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami

I undertake the precept to refrain from sexual misconduct.

Kamesu: ‘sexual’
micchacara: ‘misconduct’
veramani: ‘to refrain from’
sikkhāpadam: ‘the Precept’
samadiyami: ‘I undertake’

4) Musavada veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami

I undertake the precept to refrain from incorrect speech.

Musavada: ‘incorrect speech’
veramani: ‘to refrain from’
sikkhāpadam: ‘the Precept’
samadiyami: ‘I undertake’

5) Suramerayamajja pamadatthana veramani sikkhapadam samadiyami

I undertake the precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

Suramerayamajja: ‘sura = fermented liquors, merya = distilled liquors, majja = intoxicating liquors’
Pamadatthana: ‘anything which destroys mindfulness’
veramani: ‘to refrain from’
sikkhāpadam: ‘the Precept’
samadiyami: ‘I undertake’

What is meditation?

Meditation has became a common word of so many meanings for so many people.  Now let's add another one into the mix. This chapter is long to read but should be well worth the time.  Without further delay, here is what J. Krishnamurti thinks on this very topic:

We all want experiences of some kind - the mystical experience, the religious experience, the sexual experience, the experience of having a great deal of money, power, position, domination. As we grow older we may have finished with the demands of our physical appetites but then we demand wider, deeper and more significant experiences, and we try various means to obtain them - expanding our consciousness, for instance, which is quite an art, or taking various kinds of drugs. This is an old trick which has existed from time immemorial: chewing a piece of leaf or experimenting with the latest chemical to bring about a temporary alteration in the structure of the brain cells, a greater sensitivity and heightened perception which give a semblance of reality. This demand for more and more experiences shows the inward poverty of man. We think that through experiences we can escape from ourselves but these experiences are conditioned by what we are. If the mind is petty, jealous, anxious, it may take the very latest form of drug but it will still see only its own little creation, its own little projections from its own conditioned background.

Most of us demand completely satisfying, lasting experiences which cannot be destroyed by thought. So behind this demand for experience is the desire for satisfaction, and the demand for satisfaction dictates the experience, and therefore we have not only to understand this whole business of satisfaction but also the thing that is experienced. To have some great satisfaction is a great pleasure; the more lasting, deep and wide the experience the more pleasurable it is, so pleasure dictates the form of experience we demand, and pleasure is the measure by which we measure the experience. Anything measurable is within the limits of thought and is apt to create illusion. You can have marvelous experiences and yet be completely deluded. You will inevitably see visions according to your conditioning; you will see Christ or Buddha or whoever you happen to believe in, and the greater a believer you are the stronger will be your visions, the projections of your own demands and urges.

So if in seeking something fundamental, such as what is truth, pleasure is the measure, you have already projected what that experience will be and therefore it is no longer valid.

What do we mean by experience? Is there anything new or original in experience? Experience is a bundle of memories responding to a challenge and it can respond only according to its background, and the cleverer you are at interpreting the experience the more it responds. So you have to question not only the experience of another but your own experience. If you don't recognize an experience it isn't an experience at all. Every experience has already been experienced or you wouldn't recognize it. You recognize an experience as being good, bad, beautiful, holy and so on according to your conditioning, and therefore the recognition of an experience must inevitably be old.

When we demand an experience of reality - as we all do, don't we? - to experience it we must know it and the moment we recognize it we have already projected it and therefore it is not real because it is still within the field of thought and time. If thought can think about reality it cannot be reality. We cannot recognize a new experience. It is impossible. We recognize only something we have already known and therefore when we say we have had a new experience it is not new at all. To seek further experience through expansion of consciousness, as is being done through various psychedelic drugs, is still within the field of consciousness and therefore very limited.

So we have discovered a fundamental truth, which is that a mind that is seeking, craving, for wider and deeper experience is a very shallow and dull mind because it lives always with its memories.

Now if we didn't have any experience at all, what would happen to us? We depend on experiences, on challenges, to keep us awake. If there were no conflicts within ourselves, no changes, no disturbances, we would all be fast asleep. So challenges are necessary for most of us; we think that without them our minds will become stupid and heavy, and therefore we depend on a challenge, an experience, to give us more excitement, more intensity, to make our minds sharper. But in fact this dependence on challenges and experiences to keep us awake, only makes our minds duller - it doesn't really keep us awake at all. So I ask myself, is it possible to keep awake totally, not peripherally at a few points of my being, but totally awake without any challenge or any experience? This implies a great sensitivity, both physical and psychological; it means I have to be free of all demands, for the moment I demand I will experience. And to be free of demand and satisfaction necessitates investigation into myself and an understanding of the whole nature of demand.

Demand is born out of duality: 'I am unhappy and I must be happy'. In that very demand that I must be happy is unhappiness. When one makes an effort to be good, in that very goodness is its opposite, evil. Everything affirmed contains its own opposite, and effort to overcome strengthens that against which it strives. When you demand an experience of truth or reality, that very demand is born out of your discontent with what is, and therefore the demand creates the opposite. And in the opposite there is what has been. So one must be free of this incessant demand, otherwise there will be no end to the corridor of duality. This means knowing yourself so completely that the mind is no longer seeking.

Investigation into this whole question is meditation. That word had been used both in the East and the West in a most unfortunate way. There are different schools of meditation, different methods and systems. There are systems which say “Watch the movement of your big toe, watch it, watch it, watch it”; there are other systems which advocate sitting in a certain posture, breathing regularly or practicing awareness. All this is utterly mechanical. Another method gives you a certain word and tells you that if you go on repeating it you will have some extraordinary transcendental experience. This is sheer nonsense. It is a form of self-hypnosis. By repeating Amen or Om or Coca-Cola indefinitely you will obviously have a certain experience because by repetition the mind becomes quiet. It is a well known phenomenon which has been practiced for thousands of years in India - Mantra Yoga it is called. By repetition you can induce the mind to be gentle and soft but it is still a petty, shoddy, little mind. You might as well put a piece of stick you have picked up in the garden on the mantelpiece and give it a flower every day. In a month you will be worshiping it and not to put a flower in front of it will become a sin. Meditation is not following any system; it is not constant repetition and imitation. Meditation is not concentration. It is one of the favorite gambits of some teachers of meditation to insist on their pupils learning concentration - that is, fixing the mind on one thought and driving out all other thoughts. This is a most stupid, ugly thing, which any schoolboy can do because he is forced to. It means that all the time you are having a battle between the insistence that you must concentrate on the one hand and your mind on the other which wanders away to all sorts of other things, whereas you should be attentive to every movement of the mind wherever it wanders. When your mind wanders off it means you are interested in something else.

Meditation demands an astonishingly alert mind; meditation is the understanding of the totality of life in which every form of fragmentation has ceased. Meditation is not control of thought, for when thought is controlled it breeds conflict in the mind, but when you understand the structure and origin of thought, which we have already been into, then thought will not interfere. That very understanding of the structure of thinking is its own discipline which is meditation.

Meditation is to be aware of every thought and of every feeling, never to say it is right or wrong but just to watch it and move with it. In that watching you begin to understand the whole movement of thought and feeling. And out of this awareness comes silence. Silence put together by thought is stagnation, is dead, but the silence that comes when thought has understood its own beginning, the nature of itself, understood how all thought is never free but always old - this silence is meditation in which the meditator is entirely absent, for the mind has emptied itself of the past.

If you have read this book for a whole hour attentively, that is meditation. If you have merely taken away a few words and gathered a few ideas to think about later, then it is no longer meditation. Meditation is a state of mind which looks at everything with complete attention, totally, not just parts of it. And no one can teach you how to be attentive. If any system teaches you how to be attentive, then you are attentive to the system and that is not attention. Meditation is one of the greatest arts in life - perhaps the greatest, and one cannot possibly learn it from anybody, that is the beauty of it. It has no technique and therefore no authority. When you learn about yourself, watch yourself, watch the way you walk, how you eat, what you say, the gossip, the hate, the jealousy - if you are aware of all that in yourself, without any choice, that is part of meditation.
So meditation can take place when you are sitting in a bus or walking in the woods full of light and shadows, or listening to the singing of birds or looking at the face of your wife or child.

In the understanding of meditation there is love, and love is not the product of systems, of habits, of following a method. Love cannot be cultivated by thought. Love can perhaps come into being when there is complete silence, a silence in which the meditator is entirely absent; and the mind can be silent only when it understands its own movement as thought and feeling. To understand this movement of thought and feeling there can be no condemnation in observing it. To observe in such a way is the discipline, and that kind of discipline is fluid, free, not the discipline of conformity.

   - Chapter 15,  “Freedom from the Known”

FAGE Total - Plain Extraordinary

A visual poetry about FAGE:

Plain was the same as it ever was the same.
Plainly plain...
Samely same...

But then...someone lit the flame.
Plain rode away on lion's mane.
Where plain met fruits with strangely names.

Such wonderful things they did contain.
A shot of life to a hungry vein.
The captive beast who broke the chain.

And there upon that fruited plane,
is where plain became what plain became.
So much more than more than plain.

Plain will never be the same.

How To Decipher 9 Common Words Used By A Woman

1) "Fine"

This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2) "Five Minutes"

If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3) "Nothing"

This is the calm before the storm. This actually means something, and you should now be on your toes. While standing, think really hard and fast on what went wrong before it gets ugly.  Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in "fine".

4) "Go Ahead"

This is a dare, not permission. Don’t do it!

5) "Loud Sigh"

This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6) "That’s Okay..."

This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That’s okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7) "Thanks"

A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you’re welcome. (Note: this is true, unless she says "Thanks a lot" – that is PURE sarcasm and she is NOT thanking you at all. Don't say "you’re welcome" - that will only bring on a "whatever").

8 ) "Whatever"

This is a woman’s way of saying F– YOU!

9) "Don’t worry about it, I got it."

Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself! 
Start to panic because this will later result in a man asking "What’s wrong?" And for the woman’s response, refer to #3.

A Social Experiment - $32 and some pennies

Introducing Joshua Bell, a world-class violin virtuoso from the United States. In this video, he showcases Bach's Chaconne with his 1713 Stradivarius, reportedly worth $3.5 million.

In the following video, Joshua shares his view on how simple music is often difficult to express due to its nuance:





On Friday, January 12, 2007, in the middle of the morning rush hour, Bell with his Stradivarius played incogito in a metro station. In the next 43 minutes, as the violinist performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by. He began with Bach's "Chaconne" and in the end, made a grand total of $32.17.

During his performance, the only one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy, but his mother tugged and eventually dragged him away. The boy looked back several times at Joshua but to no avail.
The same was repeated by other children passing by.





I am uncertain what this social experiment means as opinions differ.

However, I guess it is safe to say that innocence, purity and the perception of beauty are not too far apart.

And we were once children, were we not?

What is Dukkha?

What is Dukkha? No, it's not Ducca, a popular Italian restaurant & bar in San Francisco.  

From Wikipedia, the etymology for the word is: 

The ancient Aryans who brought the Sanskrit language to India were a nomadic, horse- and cattle-breeding people who travelled in horse- or ox-drawn vehicles. Su and dus are prefixes indicating good or bad. The word... kha, in later Sanskrit meaning 'sky,' 'ether,' or 'space,' was originally the word for 'hole,' particularly an axle hole of one of the Aryan's vehicles. Thus sukha … meant, originally, 'having a good axle hole,' while duhkha meant 'having a poor axle hole,' leading to discomfort.

LA TONTERIA

Now here we have a picture of "a poor hole which leads to discomfort."

My question is this: "Is this case of Dukkha necessary for both parties?"

While Existential boredom and pain is real and unavoidable,  as human,

unnecessary suffering such as this should always, always be... optional.

 

Gayatri Mantra - The Song of Spiritual Light

Gayatri Mantra: (the Mother Mantra)

Oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ
tát savitúr váreniyaṃ
bhárgo devásya dhīmahi
dhíyo yó naḥ pracodáyāt


General Translation:

I invoke the Earth Plane, The Astral Plane, The Celestial Plane, The Plane of Spiritual Balance, The Plane of Human Spiritual Knowledge, The Plane of Spiritual Austerites, and The Plane of Ultimate Truth. Oh, great Spiritual Light which is the brilliance of all Divinity, we meditate upon You. Please illuminate our minds and reveal the Reality.

Syllable Translation:

Om: Para Brahman
Bhur: The Physical plane
Bhuvah: The Astral plane
Svaha: The Celestial plane
Tat: Ultimate Reality
Savitur: The Source of All
Varenyam: Fit to be worshiped
Bhargo: The Spiritual effulgence
Devasya: Divine Reality
Dhimahi: We meditate
Dhiyo: Intellect
Yo: Which
Nah: Our
Prachodayat: Enlightenment