Filed under: health, philosophy, thinking | Tags: meditate, monk, silence, word
Attention please.. 
From the very birth of a child, when he discovers that from his sound that he makes, he can get attention, the child begins to control his surroundings. At first is was the crying, then the words, until one realizes that by talking and presenting ideas, one could control his environment. Sometimes the sound could be quiet and alluring, and other times harsh- loud sounds that are intended to control and to manipulate.
But what about the sounds of silence at a monastery, where the inhabitants have taken a vow of silence. How do they control their environment? In true reflection, they do not. They do not speak, they look and signal with their body signs, but for the most part the monks try to avoid any outward signs of communication. They try to focus inward and hear the sounds of their own thoughts which guides them through the day. They know when to arise in the morning, they hear the birds outside, and they know when to eat and go about their chores. So it is with the monks and those who meditate, words have no value to them, for their seek not to control, but be control with their own thoughts from within.
Try to go about your day without talking with anyone, it is a strange and refreshing feeling.
Moral: The one who speaks first, seeks to control.
I remember when I was….
The USS United States is a great cruise liner. No, it is the fastest cruise liner, and it represents the US entry into the commercial liner industry. Not really, it does not exist any more. It is now “mothball” in a port in the US, not to be used any more.
During the 1950s, in its maiden voyage, The USS US was the fastest liner around. Its purpose was to carry troups around the world in a wartime event, but practically speaking it would serve to carry passenger around the globe in one of the fastest vessel that sailed the ocean. It represent the pride of the American ship industry due to its speed. But a short 17 years after its maiden voyage, it was put up and kept out of commission due to rising operation cost.
So, lost and not forgotten, the ship rest on bobbing waters, until the builders heirs, sons and grandchildren of the ships operators, and passengers are now calling for a revival of the ships services. In the past these people enjoyed the thrill, romance, and time when cares and feelings were put aside for just a brief time. While that long by gone days are wispfully thought about the issue of trying to bring back that moment is still being debated.
Money is a strange by product of lost memories. Once we experience a content and happy sensation, we always long to bring it back, if not only to capture it in a time capsule and preserve it forever.
Time move on, different factors affect a different point in time, too many factors. And to try to recapture a certain time would be unreasonable to have happen. Each factor changes another factor until the myriad factors that once came together, now no long exist.
So to think that we can capture a moment in time when we are most contented and happy is not going to happen. Live each moment like it will never happen again, enjoy the time that one is involved in, for good times and bad times, and then move on. Use the mental snapshot call memory to capture the moment because it is impossible to turn back time.
moral: live now, live well, live forever in your memory.
When in the course of human events, one places so much expectation or have no expectation in another, we are pleasantly surprised, a little glow of bliss surrounds us.
June, my 10 year old daughter, surprised me not only in her writing but in her depth of understanding in her own work. So I would like to share some of her work with others.
Vigil 
Every day by her husband’s grave.
She stands, with no one to talk to
Except those who will not talk back.
She has not passed, though
She knows as her statue stands
By her husband’s grave,
Someday his statue will stand by hers.
Mirror
I am a deceiving object.
I have the ability to make people
Young again.
Most of the time I am bright and pure.
I have seen always the young,
Never the old.
I realize I am a liar.
I am not truthful.
In me is a gray heart.
I give people what they want,
But I have to lie to do it.
Moral: Excellent is never where expect to be, when you expect it.
Filed under: philosophy, profound thoughts, thinking, truth | Tags: conscious, head, heart, mind, motivate, philosophy
When in the middle of the forest, when a tree falls, and no one is there to hear the sound, is the sound actually there? This is an old age question and philosophers have pondered this question for a long time.
The adage can also hold some truth for those who are passing on an act of kindness. Do they do so because it is the right thing to do as dictated by their heart, or is it an act that is motiviated by their head.
If one is hermit and lives alone, with no responsibilities, he only has to think of how he would move through the day for himself. Each action that he takes only impacts himself and the things around him, plants and animals. He moves through his daily ritual with an unconscious effort as he has done so many times before. His life is very predictable. He gives reverence to the plants that impacts him and pays attention to the animals that he meets, and should he need to consume them, he expresses appreciation for their contribution to his life. So goes the daily life of the hermit, until, he must interact with another human being.
Now the many years of solitude must give way to a new arrival. Confusion and moreso, distrust follows. If the human is smaller or non threating, the hermit may feel a superiortiy over it, since the human can see that he can vanquish the small being. If the human is larger, then fear and distrust sets in the mind of the hermit. So, how can the hermit extend generosity and kindness to the other human? How can the hermit truly give to the other human? This can be done with feelings from the heart, and not the mind.
The mind tells us from the many years of breeding and learning how to react to social settings. The heart is the only tool that does not give us any clues as to how we should behave. The heart introduces us to many emotions that links two people together, yet these emotions would not exist if there were only one person. Emotions like hate, jealousy, envy, etc need two people to exist before the emotions can occur.
So, when one wishes to pass forward an act of kindness, there first must be another who is the recipient of the act. And when one passes the act, there must a mental act that exist to motivate the action. And when the mind dictates the heart now must take a back seat to the mind. Therefore the act of kindness is not truly an act of kindness, but is motivated by the mind and one is waiting for another to acknowledge the act, and when that occurs there are strings attached to the act.
Moral here: give from the heart, where there is no recognition except yourself, or give from the mind and wait for the results.
Filed under: health, philosophy, profound thoughts, thinking | Tags: analog, digital, meditate, pay attention
After the joy of birth, and the fumbling around to discover what needs to be done, the real challenge of raising a baby begins. You know that dropping food on the floor, and the persistent screaming has got to stop, otherwise your nerves will not take it. Yet slowly as the baby turns into a toddler, life in the real world begins to take shape for the youngster.
My daughter has a nickname for my grandson, Stop It. Every other word is punctuated with Stop It. Now the only response the kid has is to see if the words Stop It is there before he continues on with his actions. If the words are not there, he goes on doing what he likes and if the words are there, he stops what he is doing and waits a few second before his mischievious nature takes him off into another direction.
So begins the life and development of the human child, a combination of digital stops which eventually stretches out into a series of analog practices that forms his/her life. As children turn into young adults, their lives are governed by adults who tell them the things they must do. The youngster pieces together these series of request into a flowing pattern until they make sense in his life, a series of digital request that forms an analog picture of a persons life.
So, now as an adult there are fewer request from others as to what one should, or need to do, and the only request are from either employers or mates. Patterns set in and one begins to appreciate his analog life and does not think about his digital life until. Until is the time that problems begin to develop. Problems are when issues that one has not ever experience comes into his life. These problems could be a lost of value/money, lost of mate/social relations, lost of family, etc.
In an analog world this is a disruption of ones life. People go into tail spins and struggle to find meaning in problems, yet all the time they wish for answers. they may turn to a sold foundation of religious precedent or to others who have experienced the same problems. But how they take these advice from others, will depend upon how they come out of their tailspin.
The many religious sects would tell on to pray, meditate, surround one in silence, and pause. This is where the digital phenomenal comes back into play in ones life. “Stop it” is only 20 or 30 years ago when ones care taker caution one to take heed of what he needed to pay attention to. One needs to realize that his analog actions and life need to take a back seat to his digital teachings. Stop, look, and listen and become you own voice from the past, pay heed, repair the problem and move on.
Sincerety, loyalty, and consideration.
Confuscius, thought several thousand years ago, about man’s relationship with his fellow man, and came up in a very brief concept of sincerety, loyalty, and consideration. He said for man to real relate, govern, and deal with others, he must have these qualities. And hopefully, others that he related to, would strive to have and develop these qualities.
So for several centuries, the Asian countries, and it’s people strive to develope and abide by these practices. Yet in a shallow overview of the people, many of these qualities do not seem to exist anymore. Why? Difficult to answer, but perhaps the challenge of survival and the pursuit of money is more paramount than living qualities for life.
If you say it, try to mean it, otherwise keep quiet.
Bad for my eyes.
I asked my daughter, 10 years old, what to write about and she suggested “why are you so ugly?” Is this a rhetoric question or just a statement. How thin is the line between beauty and ugly?
I was watching the Marilyn Monroe videos on Youtube, and it is incredible how many people commented on her beauty, not only in the way she looked, but also on her inner beauty via her soft spoken and sincere answers to questions. While during her time period, most people have accepted her as the example of beauty. Then comes the contrast as to what is ugly.
When the public is not exposed to a situation, then when they are made aware of the situation, in ones amazement, he quickly labels it as being ugly. It is the the easiest and quickest way of making a rash observation. If he should have time to think, then soon the veil of ugliness falls.
So, beauty is in the eyes of the exposed beholders.
Where is Heaven, do you know the way?
Mr. Kim, grayed hair and determined to save as many souls as possible, was vehemently advocating his point to a foolish person, John. John asked why do we need to go to heaven? And Mr. Kim answered, because you will not be in pain and have all the lovely joys that your body did not enjoy here on earth. John quickly asked why should we be pain free, why is it that I can not enjoy pain. So in frustration, Mr. Kim concluded that he was talking to a fool.
John is a fool indeed. He questions why do we need to argue and fight over words, persuade others to go somewhere where they might not be there, or happy. Most of us are not willing to accept the heaven here on earth and seek to find another place where we can be happy. The grass is greener on the other side concept.
Yet in the quest to convince and convert, we have no patience for others and discover that the easiest solution for getting others to heaven is to destroy them and expidite their travel to heaven. So be the conflicts of religious war, each helping the other quickening their journey to heaven. The leaders being excellent conductors in getting the followers to wage war to help with the population control.
Alternatively it would be nice to have someone here on earth guide each one of us to realize the bliss and beauty that we have here. Also to practice the appreciation of life here and care for oneself via discipline and restraint. Oh, but that would be too much to ask.
So the current indoctrination train is quickly leaving the station, get your ticket now!
Tongue and cheek, tongue in cheek, which is it?
I went to the qigong gathering early this morning about 7am. Dark as usual and we are not quite into the daylight savings time. Yet for those over 60, what is daylight savings time anyway? But in anycase, we were doing the tongue in cheek exercise. What’s that?
Funny you should ask. It is a simple exercise where you push your tongue into your cheek, say starting from the left side, then you continue pushing it [your tongue] over to the top of your mouth, going around to the right side, down and back to the left. While doing this in a clockwise circle, about 5 or 6 times, you are standing with your feet flat down on the ground, and you rise onto your toes. Meanwhile you press your hands to your intestine.
Interesting process, so what will it do for you besides make you look funny to others as you ride the subway? This process will stimulate your salivation glands and put the juices in your mouth, which then will flow down to your stomach to help make more acid for you to digest your food.
Well, if you don’t believe this, then you need to take all this in “tongue and cheek.”
I went to a Buddha Temple in New York. It was like many of the buildings in the area, gray, uninviting, and mixed with the traditional gothic buildings. Once inside, I was able to make my way from the small formal entrance to the lighted eating and meeting area. Though food was not the driving factor, I always remembered that people congregated about that area. And as ususal it did not surprise me to find it to be the center of comfort. It was surrounded by tables, microwave, water tank, faucet counter, etc. Around the room was posting on a bulletin board of the upcoming activites, and most notably was a picture of one of the senior monks shaking the hand of former President Bill Clinton.
But what did catch my attention was the three line quote next to the picture. ” Believe what I say and you are foolish. Believe what you learn and you gain wisdom.” Or something to that effect was what the quote said.
I pondered on that for a while and noticed how profound it was. The buddhist monks though sagely did not wish that you believe in what they said, but would rather you discover on your own what truth really is.
