ā Who are you? ā Before you answer, consider the influences engulfing your entire lifeāfacts and traditions, politics and religion ā all the ins and outs of civilization. Deeper down come the personal needs and fears, desires and worries, friends and enemies, loves and hatesā¦ everything that is possible to name and remember! All these […]
Continue reading…Autobiographical
Refreshing Redundancy
Research reported in Science News, That familiar feeling comes from deep in the brain, sheds light on a problem affecting those who want to remember their life-priorities. This quote sums it up, āThe research suggests that novelty and familiarity are two sides of the same brain cells. Turn them down, and even the new is […]
Continue reading…Free Willers Anonymous
Members of Alcoholics Anonymous and similar addiction management programs begin recovery by first acknowledging their addiction and powerlessness over it. Clearly recognizing a problem is an indispensable prerequisite for finding a solution. Such Right Comprehension is the first step on Buddhaās Eight-Fold Path. Until then, life is always a dog chasing its tail. Primal instinct […]
Continue reading…The Proof is in the Pudding
Buddha felt that we needed to rely on our personal experience to verify his Four Noble Truths, and presumably any other alleged truth. Thereās no ātake my word for itā hoodwinking here. Nowadays, modern science is steadily helping us discern fact from myth. Still, personal experience must always be the final arbiter. Keep this in […]
Continue reading…Religionā¦ an Opiate?
Karl Marx famously said, āReligion is the opium of the peopleā. He went on to identify āreligious distressā as the symptom of a social ācondition which needs illusionsā.(1) Blaming cultural conditions for the dysfunction he saw is putting the cart before the horseāsomething we do frequently. To see it this way, he must have had […]
Continue reading…You are Immortal!
Preface: Our mind irresistibly seeks out stories to fill its cognitive space. Taken to heart, this story may help nurture what chapter 16 alludes to as The way therefore long enduring, nearly rising beyond oneself. The idea of immortality arises from our selfās keen sense of mortality, so Iāll begin by addressing this side of […]
Continue reading…Emotion Speaksā¦ Literally
I learned to speak a number of languages during my traveling years. Learning a language in country is an easy, quick and enjoyable way to learn. During those years, my interest was to communicateānot eloquently mind you, but just enough to get by. Several hundred words and some fearless pantomime (especially at first) worked wonderfully. […]
Continue reading…I Look, But Do I See?
In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus says, āAsk, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be openedā. While true, I suspect this may often misinterpreted. For example, […]
Continue reading…Science’s Baby Steps
Every now and then, Iām struck by the āWellā¦ duhā discoveries science finally arrives at. My āWellā¦ duhā relationship with science began early. As a child who enjoyed playing with fire, I discovered that putting ice or cold water on a burn worked great. Even so, the standard first aid treatment at that time was […]
Continue reading…Worthy of a Noble Life?
Last night I dreamed I was about to be hanged. I was adjusting the noose (made of wire of all things) around my neck so that it would kill me efficiently and swiftly rather than slowly suffocate me, I assume. Youād think that would have been a nightmare. Maybe having such a dream in my […]
Continue reading…Earn It to Learn It
Knowing, in the Taoist sense of the word, is not knowledge, per se. As chapter 15 puts it, Of old, the adept student was minutely subtle, open and deep beyond knowledge. As chapter 56 notes, Knowing doesnāt speak; speaking doesnāt know. Times are different now. Our modern electrified pace of life is continuously updating every […]
Continue reading…Feeding the Worry Gene
Have you noticed how there is always something wrong? No matter how ideal circumstances are, something will go awry shortly. All this may be obvious, I suppose. What is less obvious is how the perception and experience of good fortune and misfortune are complimentary. As chapter 58 puts it, Misfortune, yet of good fortune its […]
Continue reading…Soaking in Inspiration
I began taking a morning hot bath every morning to get my arthritic joints in the mood for morning yoga(1). It works, but I found an unexpected bonus. The bath brings about nearly unavoidable insights. Indeed, sometimes I deliberately Squeeze exchange, shut the gates, as chapter 52 puts it, in the hope of cognitive stillness. […]
Continue reading…A Tao of Parenting
Breeding, and the parenting that follows, are the most significant things we do in life; without this, none of us would be here. Most would agree that the best gift you can give children is raising them as balanced and wisely as possible. This has become more daunting in civilizationās post Agricultural Revolution environment. Gone […]
Continue reading…Insatiably Curious at 70?
In the book, The Ravenous Brain(1), the author Daniel Bor refers to my age group. He argues that consciousness is a āchronic mental hunger.ā That has certainly been my experience. He also says, āDuring aging, the insatiable brain becomes less so. We are less ravenous for new jewels of wisdom, and our entire existence, examined […]
Continue reading…Begin New Years with a smile
For once, a post you don’t need to read!
Continue reading…Undecided? You bet!
Up until today, I have remained undecided whom to vote for President. Searching for a photo to accompany this post, I came across this one. It highlights the chorus of ridicule Iāve heard aimed lately at the undecided āwishywashersā among us. Slinging ridicule back is tempting; however examining this from a symptomatic point of view […]
Continue reading…Can we pull the plug?
A short video essay on cell phones gave me food for thought. Of course, I need more of that like I need another hole in my head, but I canāt pull the plug on thinking. The essay is ostensibly about the wide use of cell phones. However, scratch the surface and it offers insight into […]
Continue reading…Yamaguchi San
I was going to name this post The Real Lesson, but somehow that felt a little off base, so I named it after my shakuhachi flute teacher, Yamaguchi Goro. This photo is of him and Aoki Reibo playing a beautiful suizen piece, Shika No Tohne (The Distant Cry of Deer). To see this performance, google […]
Continue reading…āFixation on same sameā
Recently my friend Andy teased me about my āfixation on same sameā, as he put it. My habit of noticing similarities between apparent opposites bugs him a little. āFixation on same sameā was his response to my comment, āFolks on the left use folks on the right as scapegoats and vice versaā. The underlying needs […]
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