The recently series of disasters in Japan triggered serious fear in some folks in America. This is curious considering how far removed we are from the actual experience. This, I reckon, is key to what sets us apart from other animals. Thinking enables us to make matters worse than they would otherwise be (of course the opposite is also true). The fluctuating stock market is a perfect example of both cases. On the other hand nightly newscasts focus on the negative; bad news sells. Continue reading ‘Fear Rules’
They say, nothing is certain but death and taxes. I’d add to that spending! The current haggling over spending, taxes, and the debt problems this country faces is an interesting example of the ‘blind spot’. In the arguments I hear, each side fails to step back enough to see the problem broadly. I know that’s how nature intends it; competitive interaction fleshes out fitness and all that. Still, it helps to pull-head-out-of-sand to see where we may be headed.
Eventually science will discover most everything that is discoverable(1). Recently research, reported in the Science News’ article, Cerebral Delights, flushed out some primary neurological links between fear and need.
I have felt for a few years now that fear stood at the head waters of all emotion, including those related to need. Additionally, what fear and need mean is not as straightforward as often thought, at least as I use those words. So before getting into the meat of this issue, I should clarify my sense of these words, especially need. For starters, you might review my caveats concerning need and fear. Continue reading ‘Reward, Fear & Need’
The details of Buddha’s Four Noble Truths vary somewhat depending on the source. I recently dug up the source for the version that I found most useful. Why useful? Mostly because it was the most sensible and succinct I’d seen.
Nevertheless, I had a minor problem with how the Third Noble Truth was stated, and long ago changed a word or two. Rereading my original source makes me want to revisit this and ponder why I revised in the first place. Here is the sequence of events:
The original says: “He who conquers self will be free from lust. He no longer craves and the flames of desire find no material to feed upon, thus they are extinguished.” Continue reading ‘He Who Conquers Self’
I think of desire as the glue of attachment, which makes them pretty synonymous in my book. (Of course beneath it all is the foundation: need and fear.)
Saying attachment is always good is perhaps being facetious. Still, I find non-attachment can be a little hairy when it goes too far. After all, life and attachment go hand in hand (i.e., they correlate: life=attachment, death=detachment). Continue reading ‘When Is Attachment Good?’
This is a two-in-one post. Does that mean this is going to be twice as confusing? Could be… I bit off more than I can chew probably (I have the flue today). At least it is a rather post short if you don’t count the Science News quotes.
I’ve long touted the benefit of watching for mysterious sameness. Seeing differences, while often stimulating, is just not as satisfying in the long run. Being able to discern differences enhances survival… up to a point. For example, being able to distinguish a snake from a crooked stick. On the other hand, imagining mountains of difference out of actual mole hills of similarity is just plain counter productive and stressful. The recent Science News article on human relationships, Getting to not know you, offers evidence of the wisdom to let mole hills remain mole hills, or as they say, let sleeping dogs lie. Continue reading ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’
This short lecture, John Cleese on creativity, shows he may be a ‘defacto taoist’ or perhaps a ‘natural taoist’. Meaning, anyone who has this contrarian point of view is a ‘taoist’, although they may never have heard the word Taoist.
The Blind Spot
This idea of backing off in order to move forward, and the humorous way he talks about the “blind spot”, parallels core Taoist principles. Continue reading ‘John Cleese, A ‘Taoist’?’
I am a bit amused by how frustrated people are with Obama. It is a classic example of how one’s expectations are the seeds of one’s disappointments. It also shows people’s depth of maturity.
Maturity, as I see it, is simply how gracefully I can accept a reality that doesn’t match my expectations. Children get their hopes up for this or that, and when life goes the other way they crash – lack of maturity(1). This is what we expect from children. But adults? This shows how little difference there is between children and adults – we’re just big children struggling to ‘look adult’. Continue reading ‘Change we can believe in?’
I wrote this Yoga manual[1] in 1979. While it still holds up well, I decided it’s worth updating. As part of this, I am attempting to sum up the Principles (the “spirit of yoga”) as I see it today.
Yoga is a process, not a destination. So many folks think of yoga as something you need flexibility for. Just the opposite. If anything, the more flexible you are, the harder yoga becomes. Again, unlike most secular things in life, yoga isn’t about the destination. It is about the journey…the way. Continue reading ‘The Spirit of Yoga’
Noticing differences really aids survival… up the point of diminishing returns. Continuing along this path is counterproductive and eventually leads to anxiety of some sort. Of course, in the wild, such discernment would seldom turn as worrisome.
Civilization, in taming the wilderness, removes natural stresses that would otherwise counterbalance us, and before we know it, we’ve become neurotic nitpickers in one way or other. Continue reading ‘Balancing Difference With Similarity’
CenterTao is The Center For Taoist Thought And Fellowship, a non-profit religious (Taoist) corporation founded in California, 1982.
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What is Taoism?
That differs among people! For me, it is about perception.
That deeply affects the life we live. Accordingly, CenterTao focuses on the how, what, and why we think what we think.
(See: The Why and What of Taoist Thought)
Speaking of thinking, the Tao Te Ching cautions us that: "One who knows does not speak; one who speaks does not know."Read more…
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