8 years ago today I met the most wonderful person in the world. He brought me out of a deep depression after the end of a 12 year relationship and I can never thank him enough for being in my life .....
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
8 years ...
Daily Tao - 363 / Night
| NIGHT |
In night's vast ocean,
Sun, moon, and earth align,
Pulling the earth out of roundness
And making tides rage.
Such is the power of night.
Night. You are mother of all. You existed before all. You are the background, the fabric, the whole underpinning of the universe.In you is abstruse mystery, darker than the deepest water, blacker than the sleep of sleeps. You are an inconceivable fertility, a wild and uncontrollable realm from which strangeness and power and creativity and mutation and life spring. The miracle of birth comes from you. And the horror of death. That is why you both comfort and frighten us.
Stars and planets are scattered through you like luminescent pearls. You string them on your current effortlessly, and the pull of syzygy is so tremendous that the birth shape of the earth is pulled out of roundness, the seas exceed their brims, and the heads and hearts of all the creatures on this planet are made to pound and wonder in dazzled confusion.
When stars and novas burst, energy untold is unleashed -- explosions of such magnitude that human intellect and instruments could never hope to measure even if made superior by a hundredfold -- and yet these flames burn out, sputter, become mere dim coals in the supreme expanse that is night.
Night. You are mother without a mother. You are mystery and power and ruler of all time.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Ghosts of Christmas Presents Past ...
At what point in our lives do we grow up and start asking for practical Christmas presents ???
Being a child of the late 60's / early 70's i can remember eagerly waiting for the Sears "Wish Book" each November ,
I would spend hours and hours pouring over this catalogue ( always after getting my homework done , of course ) dreaming of each and every new item i saw and how much I wanted it.
I can remember my first really monumental present -
- a woodburning kit ... a sharp piece of metal that you would plug into the wall which heated up to near nuclear temperatures, then you would draw images into the provided pieces of wood .... or the carpet ... or your grandmother's table .... or your brothers arm. A totally safe and sane gift to give any aspiring 8 year old arsonist.
Then came -
- the Rock Tumber ..... this was great . You put ordinary rocks into this drum-type thingy with some special liquid, turned it on and magically , in about 4 days , you would get ...... shiny rocks !!! wow ..... I mean - WOW !!!! I. LOVED. IT. ( yeah i was a geek even back then ).
This year for Christmas , when I was asked by my Mom what I wanted. What i wanted most out of everything in the whole wide-world , what my heart yearned for more than anything .....
.... a blender. a. fucking. blender. ( to be fair - my magic bullet was about to bite the dust)
I should have asked for the woodburning kit .....
Monday, December 27, 2010
Daily Tao - 362 / Emptiness
| EMPTINESS |
Dust cannot gather
If there is no mirror there.
Some people have compared a pure soul to the unsullied brightness of a perfect mirror.Others have retorted that if there is no mirror there in the first place, then there cannot be anything to be sullied. The soul is empty.
We should not think of our souls as discrete and separate from the rest of creation. We are indeed one with everything, so there is no need to think of our souls as isolated entities. Thus, it is the concept of the soul as separate being that is empty.
It is impossible to live in this world and not be sullied by it. The red dust will settle on you no matter how often you clean. It is good to strive for purity, but if you conceive of purity as a fight against the filth and the dust of the world, you doom yourself to obsession and futility. The only way to achieve actual purity is to realize your essential oneness with all things. If you are one with everything, then even filth is pure. For this to happen, you must transcend all distinctions in yourself, resolve all contradictions. With this erasure, the mirror-bright soul and the dust are all dissolved in a single purity.
Friday, December 24, 2010
01001101011001010111001001110010011110010010000001 00001101101000011100100110100101110011011101000110 11010110000101110011
To all my friends & family - Merry Christmas
E ku odun, e ku iye'dun!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Daily Tao - 350 / Hourglass
| HOURGLASS |
Life is like an hourglass.
Consciousness is the sand.
Imagine an hourglass.Its shape is like the symbol for infinity. Its form recalls the double helix of DNA. Its two sections represent polarity. The material on one side, the immaterial on the other. The male on one side, and the female on the other. Hot and cold, positive and negative, or any other duality.
The sand runs in a stream, the same stream as the course of energy that runs up your spine, the same stream that is the road of life.
The movement of that sand is what we call Tao. Our consciousness alternates between the various states represented by the hourglass. It is as difficult to grasp as a stream of sand. Therefore, it is foolish to examine things minutely. It is unwise to focus on the material. It is wisdom to understand the movement.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Daily Tao - 349 / Water
| WATER |
Drops.
Water cleanses,
Gathers in the earth.
Tender. Invasive. Subtle.
Emerges a shining river.
When small, it is weak.
When great, it tumbles mountains,
Rendering great cliffs
Sand.
Classic wisdom says that there is nothing weaker than water, yet when united, it can become a titanic force. Like a tidal wave. Or a river that cuts through gorges. This is called the yielding overcoming the hard.Let's look at it another way. Water does not overcome because it yields. It overcomes because it is relentless. It perseveres and does not give up. It is constant. Rock can block water. Rock can even hold water in a lake for thousands of years. Why can't the yielding overcome the hard then? Because it cannot move. It cannot work its magic of being relentless.
Just as water must be able to express its true nature in a relentless way, so too must we simultaneously and relentlessly express our true natures if we are to be successful in life. Otherwise, we will find ourselves hemmed in by the hard walls of reality, and we will never be able to break through.
But how do we acquire such perseverance? We start small. As drops.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Well , I've done it now ....
yes , i started back working out ..... and i'm going to put my thoughts & (maybe) accomplishments online. All the better keep the motivation up. So if you want to follow what i'm trying to do head oner to ScootrMonkey's Gym Life . And if anyone works out at 24 Hour Fitness in Lowry and wants/needs a workout partner ......
Daily Tao - 348 / Spine
| SPINE |
Tao is the road up your spine.
Tao is the road of your life.
Tao is the road of the cosmos.People are often confused about Tao because there are references to it on so many different levels. After all, it permeates all existence. Indeed it might be said that Tao is existence itself. It might seem odd that we can talk about Tao on a level so mundane as physical exercise and on a level as exalted as holiness itself. Those who follow Tao do not think of divinity as something "up there." They think of it as everywhere.Tao can be tangible when it wants and intangible when it wants too. One tangible aspect of Tao is the road in the very center of our spines. That is the path of Tao in us. It is the spirit road connecting the various power centers of our bodies.
On a philosophical level, Tao is the road through life. It is the change from one stage to another, the dealing with circumstances, the expression of your inner character against the background of nature and society. On a metaphysical level, it is the evolution and movement of the cosmos itself.
Now take these three levels -- the movement of energy up the spine, the philosophical understanding of one's own path in life, and the very progression of the universe -- and meld them all into one combined concept. Then you will have a glimpse of the genius of Tao.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Daily Tao - 347 / Clarifying
| CLARIFYING |
Express yourself:
That is meaning.
Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?"Whatever it is, bring it out. But be judicious. The rantings of mad people do not yield greater freedom. Those who are with Tao use expression to find greater understanding of themselves and so find liberation from ignorance and circumstance.
All that is good and unique in you should be brought out. If you do not do this, you will be stunted. Never hold back, thinking that you will wait for a better time. The good in you is like the water in a well : The more you draw from it, the more fresh water will seep in. If you do not draw from it, the water will only become stagnant.
What is dark, perhaps even evil, inside you must be expressed in a proper way too. Lust, hatred, cruelty, and resentment -- these must all be carefully taken out of yourself, like finding a bomb and taking it to be detonated harmlessly. Your heart may be quite a mine field, but you must persevere in clearing it if you are to plant crops and frolic without concern.
Ask yourself each day, "What remains unexpressed within me?" Unless you can express it, you will not clarify your inner nature.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Daily Tao - 346 / Purpose
| PURPOSE |
Suddenly, things snap into focus.
I've been pursuing unity all my life,
But could only glimpse the monstrous vision in fragments;
It has haunted me for years.
Each time I sighted it, I struggled to make it concrete.
At first, it seemed I only had a sculptor's yard of unfinished figures --
Then it slowly began to make sense,
Gathered from glimpses and inferences.
More and more, this mysterious life comes together.
It may take years more to reveal the whole.
That's all right.
I'm prepared to go the distance.
One's life's destiny is not easily revealed. It's too big. You may certainly set your sights early, but you will still have to make changes and adjustments as your true purpose is clarified. When it does begin to come together, there is a tremendous feeling of assurance.Then with each step upon the path of Tao, your certainty rings from peak to peak.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Weekend Meme: Kitty the Cougar, Sex and the Poor Girls, and Kathy Griffin Returns to CNN New Year's Show | | AfterElton.com
So Bea Arthur always denied she was in the military, but The Smoking Gun found photographs and documents proving Bea was actually not just in the military, she was one of the first female Marines.
Why wouldn't you be proud of this?
via afterelton.com
i Love it !
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Daily Tao - 345 / Worthwhile
| WORTHWHILE |
Inside me, it was quiet all day :
I waited until midnight for a sound.
Outside me, it was noisy all day :
I waited all night for silence.
Tao's power is sound.
Tao's potential is silence.
It is said that even if one hears Tao before the day is over, then that day has been worthwhile. Even if one hears about Tao before one's life is over, then one's life has been worthwhile.But sometimes it takes a long time to hear about Tao. There are some days when Tao does not manifest itself right away. It seems that the more you want to love, the more hatred tempts you. The more you want to be pure, the more negativity pursues you. The more you want serenity, the more chaos assaults you. The ordinary have common problems. Those who pursue Tao struggle against titanic forces. What can you do but accept it and persevere? If you fret about it, then you have not only spent the day away from Tao, but you have ruined that day with emotional turmoil too.
Sometimes Tao does not appear until the very end of the day. Maybe it's just that you are more relaxed and have put aside all your cares. Maybe Tao is capricious. It is hard to say. When Tao does come, it is as if you are just now hearing a true sound. When it does come, such a feeling of serenity overcomes you that it quiets all the noise of the day.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Daily Tao - 343 / Alienation
| ALIENATION |
Why yearn for a promised land?
The true land is in the heart.
Today Jews meet with Tibetans. They believe they have something in common in that they have both been exiled from their homelands. They are not alone. Chinese find themselves strange natives of lands outside China. Some Europeans have been forced far from their birthplaces by war and arbitrary boundaries. Native Americans are alienated in their own ancestral lands. And African descendants of slaves are still victimized by institutional shackles.Those who follow Tao recognize the importance of place, people, and nation. But these factors cannot be allowed to hold ultimate sway. Tao affirms the responsibility of the individual over the people. We cannot allow ourselves to be hobbled by the woes and alienation of our race or nation. It is our responsibility to overcome these, even if we can only succeed in our hearts.
By following Tao, we join a larger spiritual order. There is a great comfort in being part of something that is not tied to place or state. Indeed, since Tao is not wholly relegated to the material level, it can never be taken away from us. Even if we are exiled from our homes and thrown into the most miserable prison, Tao is there for us. Once we enter it, we need never be frightened by the threat of alienation again.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Daily Tao - 342 / Manifestation
| MANIFESTATION |
Watching a performance of warriors, I was told,
"This fighter's tradition is six hundred years old."
And I saw a performance so mired in ritual --
As if nothing valid had happened in six hundred years.
We must honor the classical without being irrelevant.
Followers of Tao place great value on ancient traditions. A living and valid tradition is like a river with a long course : It brings freshness, richness, and fertility. Just as a drought-ridden place cannot bring forth sweet fruit, those without tradition have less support for their endeavors.What makes a tradition alive? The adherents must be fully capable of manifesting the greatness of their tradition in contemporary settings. If someone says that they are expert in traditional medicine, then they must be able to heal others today. If someone says that they are capable in traditional calligraphy, then they must be able to write beautiful words today. If someone says that they have mastered esoteric spiritual traditions, Then they must be able to manifest the power of that spirit today.
We should not ape the habits and theories of a long dead people and time in the name of tradition. We must be ruthless in this respect. Unless the force of tradition allows us to manifest a unique greatness, there is no reason to keep it.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
'Tis the Season ...
In response to StevieB's Christmas Rant , I'd MUCH rather see this ( or more likely DO this ) than see a semi-inflated Rudolph or Snoopy on someone's front lawn ...
Daily Tao - 341 / Simplicity
| SIMPLICITY |
"Be aware of Tao."
Isn't that simple?
No -- let's reduce more :
"Be Tao."
Why go through all this rigmarole? Why endlessly examine scriptures and debate obscure actions of long-dead saints and equally dead words? We need to affirm experience over words, individuality over dogma.After all this study of Tao, there should only be this simple conclusion : There is only us and Tao.
No, more simple still is to be Tao itself. Then everything that is Tao is us.
Those who follow Tao reduce everything in complexity until they reach the final irreducible conclusion : You are Tao. When you can be that without any contradictions, then you have truly achieved sublime simplicity.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
My Unfabulous iPod
What's been playing on my iPod this week ...
I Have to thank my friend Brian for turning me onto this series -
The Reindeer Room : A Christmas Chillout
Nice series with Trance - style versions of Christmas songs. A great way to relax while putting up the tree with a martini
Daily Tao - 338 / Expression
| EXPRESSION |
There's nothing to paint anymore.
We've seen everything from the classical to the absurd.
There's nothing to write anymore.
As many books are shredded as read.
There's nothing to sing anymore.
The once avant-garde is now background music.
In a world where expression seems futile, it is hard to maintain creativity. But creativity is a primal impulse. Cave people painted on walls; everyone's house has some image on display. Primitive scribes wrote records of their experiences; people still keep diaries. Early shamans sang; we still live with music. We cannot abandon creative expression in our daily lives, though it seems hard to come up with something new.The only way to have fresh expression is to go deep within. In a sense, today's extreme pluralism eliminates the obligation to do the same as others. At one time, artists, priests, writers, musicians, and craftsmen were obligated to their feudal lords. Today we are not constrained by hierarchical standards. We are free to commune directly with our inner callings.
By coincidence, this mirrors a more sophisticated understanding of the divine. We are no longer in a position of supplication with what is divine. Rather, divinity is a quality from within ourselves.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Untitled
Tuesday was the day , up early to get the puppy to the vet. Bladder surgery to remove 4 calcium deposits and a teeth cleaning and extraction. Then back home to nervously wait for the vet to call and let me know how he was doing. 10 o'clock ....... 12 o'clock ...... 2 o'clock ..... check my phone to make sure that i hadn't missed a call.
2:30 - I decide to call them .... CALL FAILED ..... try again , and again , and again , and again ...... somewhere around try 11 or 12 i started to think that maybe some was amiss ( i'm nothing if not astute ) . Walk down the block 4 houses the phone works , step across the threshold , nada .....
so time to start frantically texting Marck ( yes my msgs were getting through as well as my internet connection ) ...... " i can't call the vet , you'll have to " ...... "why?" ..... " I don't know , phone's not working" .....
4:30 - message : "Vet's keeping him overnight " ... oh crap
"everything's fine , just want to watch him " .... ok
Wednesday morning 9am message - He's ready.
Poor guy. Only had to have 2 teeth pulled , but it looks like they tried to give him a sex-change then decided against it. 10 staples right up the "business". He looked at me as if to say " you already cut off my balls , now this ??? "
Now it's a game of keeping him quiet. In a house of 5 dogs , a fairly impossible task. I switched out the Cone-of-Shame for an "Inner-tube of Embarrassment" because i couldn't stand to see him walk into any more walls due to lack of peripheral vision. Now he just looks like he's doing the safety drill on a Caribbean Cruise.
Oh - and the phone ?? My freakin' micro-cell from AT&T wasn't working right .......
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