What I learned today

Self-awareness…what’s that?

Yesterday at the Happiness workshop I gave at the SVCC Woman’s Festival I felt so at home there with the twenty women who attended. None fell asleep when I talked, and all we responded as we looked at our minds as if its contents were the furniture in the house that we lived in. We live looking out through the sensory windows of the mind, wanting... [Read more of this review]

Hurt Locker: The Movie

For some reason I was really looking forward to seeing the Oscar Nominated Hurt Locker, even dreaming about it. I knew I was going to get a lot of metaphorical mileage out of this film just from watching the promotions on TV. War is an Addiction is the theme message of the movie, but it is a little more than that if you dig a little deeper. One could... [Read more of this review]

I AM HERE

What I’ve discovered in my search for self is that it can’t be found in time. What is good or bad is in the past, what I wish to experience is in the future. Neither past or future is who I am because I am here! I taste, I smell, I hear, I breathe, I see, I talk, I write, I think, I move….all here. So I must be here. Who I am..is here.... [Read more of this review]

Dive, Dive!

Suddenly I remember my days in the submarines. (1957-1960) When a submarine is on the surface, it behaves like a surface ship. when it submerges, it behave like a fish. But there is a very dangerous transition when the sub first submerges, and a large wave could tip it over as it ballast tanks are half full and half empty. And so with the path of liberation…there... [Read more of this review]

Backyard Talban

“Eat that, you terrorist,” I yelled at the backyard squirrels that defeated my best technological efforts to have a bird feeder that would keep them out of my seeds. This feeder had cost $70 and guaranteed that squirrels could not break through its defensives. But ti didn’t take their squirrel mind long to figure out that they could... [Read more of this review]

I ate Jesus

Went to Mom’s church last night for Christmas Eve service, at Mom’s request, and there we were Me, Mom, Tilly, Shannon and David..and our friend Sam. The seats were mostly empty, but the preacher did his best and spoke as if the whole church were full…but the truth of the service got through my critical mind. I found my mild resistance... [Read more of this review]

A clear mind lasts forever

You hurt me years ago; My wounds bled for years. Now you are back, But I am not the same. (from 365 Tao by Deng Ming-Dao) When we meet enemies from our past—some friend, family member, parents, a person on the street, acquaintance who has wounded us—and the mind’s tongue doesn’t suddenly lick a remembered sore, we know we have healed.... [Read more of this review]

Solder the wound

This morning in meditation the image of a circuit helped me see clearly what healing is. The present moment is fluid, impermanent, a flow of energy manifesting in interconnected patterns and systems. When our conscious mind selects some form as a conscious object and then holds onto that form (like a person who just attacked you), either through attraction... [Read more of this review]

Am I a Buddhist?

Every since I declared agnosticism at the age of 18 I have not claimed allegiance to any religion. And yet I’ve been a seeker of God or truth or self realization all my  life. Being an agnostic makes you take responsibility for who you are and what you believe. One starts on the path of liberation from the ground of not knowing. Now, having studied... [Read more of this review]

There are no problems…or solutions

We are told that opportunity is in every difficulty or a solution is in every problem. That sounds great and is very encouraging, but it really doesn’t help us untie our knot. Let’s take a look. First we must challenge our assumptions, think outside the box, so to speak. Here’s a good assumption: we believe if we look we will find.... [Read more of this review]

My mother’s dog is nuts!

My mother’ little toy poodle, Ebony, is certifiably nuts. She bought it to replace little Tiffy, and not wanting another puppy bought a four year-old poodle. Pedigree notwithstanding, the dog has some baggage. Yet, while others might be dismayed, the dog’s neurosis fits my mother perfectly. Let me explain. The dog, having been raised in... [Read more of this review]

Don’t buy it!

Commercials have great truths, that why they sell products that have little to do with truth. Their mantras like “Where’e the Beef?” or “Just Do it!” ring though our culture and play in our mind like the wisdom droppings of the Buddha. Right now I’m thinking of the commercial for Fios and the cable guy who has good... [Read more of this review]

Blithe Spirit,a review

I hope I don’t spoil the play for those who haven’t seen it; I hope my thoughts will make you want to see it. Plays are mirrors of our souls, and great mirrors are hung on our culture’s walls and polished up for continued viewing decade after decade. Look how long Shakespeare’s mirrors have been viewed. Noel Coward’s Blithe... [Read more of this review]

The ongoing revolution

We think the American Revolution stopped with the dethroning of King George, but if we look around clearly we can see that it has just shifted to a psychological, even spiritual level where the institutional powers are still falling. If you want a key word to find this insight, then type in the words INTERACTION in your supermind. No longer are we... [Read more of this review]

Steer by criticism, Captain

We are all captains of our ship and we sail by the stars and reading the sea that supports our trip. But what are the best signs and how can we quickly log our correct position on the chart. I would say look to the criticism and not to praise to find the reefs that would detour our journey or possible sink our ship. Praises while pleasant, only flatter... [Read more of this review]

Take off the mask

Halloween is coming and we purchase costumes, mostly scary for our kids and/or ourselves, to get ready for the one night of the year when death and fear are tamed and given to children for play. But few of us realize that beneath the Halloween mask is another disguise, our persona, that we wear beneath our skin. We wear our karma like clothes bought... [Read more of this review]

The Map of God

We are always in a map that is larger than we think. We open our map of reality with our mind and zoom right in on what delights or pains us. We see the streets next to us as threatening and in general we are confused about where we actually are. We never think to hit the zoom out button to see the grander scale. Zooming out is like asking directions,... [Read more of this review]

We are our habitat

One of our Western assumptions is that an object exists on its own and separate from its environment. Upon this foundation belief our medical and religious institutions are constructed like world towers, growing higher and higher. But now they are beginning to topple. Everywhere we are rediscovering that we are our habitat—and our habitat is larger... [Read more of this review]

In the presence of the Lord

I love this song by Krishna Das, “I have found a way to live in the presence of the Lord,” and it plays with other spiritual chants on my ipod player in the kitchen so when I enter the room my mind has a reference point outside my mundane worries. Throughout my house I have little altars, pictures of saints, statues, an incense burner, flowers.... [Read more of this review]

Open the port hole…please

For some reason I feel like its Sunday, but no its a busy Saturday with a bridal portrait at 11 and a wedding at 3…yet I can’t get over the feeling that it’s Sunday. Ah, I feel a sermon coming on…For me everyday is Sunday, every day is church day, every day is a communion service. Somewhere Protestants cut off church from the... [Read more of this review]

Reflections on 9/11

The calendar says it’s 9/11 and I’m glad I don’t watch much TV anymore, especially cable because I’m sure the wound is once again opened and squeezed for every drop of blood. We seem to have a fascination with death and suffering in our culture. Turn on the TV and someone is always dying and someone grieving, and the more dead... [Read more of this review]

Drinking and Yoga, two paths to God

My sister-in-law sent me a current Internet joke comparing yoga with drinking, and I thought this was a valid comparison, as the postures of the drunks and the asanas of the yogis are pretty much the same. So I thanked her for pointing this out to me. Yes, I know, this is a great boost for those who seek the value in drinking…but it may not be... [Read more of this review]

Blow Negative

When I was in submarines, everyone had to know how to blow the negative tank. This was the place where the shit went, and as it would fill up, we had to blow it empty. There was a procedure that was carefully learned, let me tell you, because any wrong twist of a value and the tank could blow up in your face. Hey, I saw this happen, and to a seasoned... [Read more of this review]

The Great Passage

California used to be a land that required a great passage to reach, either by stormy seas or over hostile land. My great grandmother Gussie went from Holland to San Franciso by way of the stormy Cape Horn, married a gold miner who sturck it rich and divided his treasure before he took off for the high life. He spent his; she invested in houses in Pocatello,... [Read more of this review]

Acceptance, why bother?

We hear a lot about acceptance or forgiveness, which is the same, and why we should do it, but for the ego, while it may want to think of itself as an accepting and forgiving person, true acceptance in the face of an attack is not easy. So we usually find some logic or justification for not accepting. “My God, did you see what that person did... [Read more of this review]

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