Saturday, July 31, 2004

Not Being Alone

To be alone with yourself is to be alone. To be in the company of others is to be alone together.

The only time you are not alone is when you forget yourself and reach out in love -- the lines of self blur, and just for a wild, flickering moment you experience the miracle of other.

And now you know the secret.

Friday, July 30, 2004

Sing

Sometimes, it is when you are happiest that you have the least to say, and when you are saddest that you have the most to say. At other times, things reverse.

To add another layer of difficulty, most of us constantly cross the line from one to the other. In the process our words seem to betray us. We feel helpless, at the mercy of our mood-based verbal communication.

To regain control over your inner state… speak not a word.

Sing.

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Lessons of History

History does not repeat itself. It uses new terms each time -- new shapes, locations, principal actors.

It is our obligation to discern the running motif and recognize the same play, because we are its playwrights.

History is -- and has been always -- under our control.

If anything, may this one thought always empower you.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Soul Mates

Don’t look for a soul mate.

Make one -- out of the complex fabric of the human being already with you.

Instructions are never included. They vary with the strength of your ability to see, the measure of your selective blindness, the limits of your mercy, and the intensity of your desire.

Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Birds and Fish: Meditation Puzzle

Behold -- the birds swim through the sparkling air, and the fish fly in the shimmering water -- all in the depths of this sky ocean.

Where are we?

Monday, July 26, 2004

Lavender Crescent

When hope is fleeting, stop for a moment and visualize, in a sky of silver, the crescent of a lavender moon. Imagine it -- delicate, slim, precise, like a paper-thin slice from a cabochon jewel.

It may not be very useful, but it is beautiful.

And sometimes it is enough.

Sunday, July 25, 2004

Circle

The Circle, the Spiral, and the Pendulum, all point to the cyclic nature of the universe, things returning on themselves.

There is no proof of course, only patterns. They seem to indicate eternal repetitive movement within the confines of the universal rules, the boundary.

If life is a great circle, then why not hold hands with the one who is closest to you and partake in a circle dance?

Saturday, July 24, 2004

The Passionate and the Polite

Passion and courtesy are two polar opposite traits that serve to balance each other into a full-blooded whole.

Without socialization, passion is a crude barbarian, and without passion, the elegant and polite are dead.

Allow both passion and courtesy into your life in equal measure, and be complete.

Friday, July 23, 2004

Giving of Yourself

They say, "Give of yourself."

Who are they? Well, most everyone, it seems. This notion has become ingrained in many of our human societies -- a mixture of religious, moral, ethical, humanistic, and humanitarian sentiment.

And what does it mean, to give of yourself? Besides, why should you?

Maybe, just possibly, we are all made of the same thing. No matter how "good" or "bad," worthy or unworthy, it is the same living matter, the same building blocks, the same energy.

So when we give of ourselves, we simply add a little bit of this common "self" to the other person who might be in need of a little self-boost.

How do we do this? By communicating.

The neat trick is, no matter how many of our bits and pieces we dole out, we still end up complete and whole. We lose nothing.

Makes it very easy to be generous.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

The Passing On of Wisdom

Wisdom is restating the obvious and commonplace in a novel way, so that it makes sudden pertinent sense.

Why do you think there are so many words out there? So many synonyms for the same thing? So many human languages?

It's because we all learn wisdom for ourselves, and in our own words.

And then we go on to teach others.

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Rulebook of the Universe

Life is but detail, the flow of data.

Conclusions based on this data are to be derived, and organized into the Rulebook of the Universe.

The coolest thing is, the Rulebook is an ongoing joint project and we are all freelance contributors.

And, as such, one of these days we are bound to get paid.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Why Persist?

Persistence is an amazing thing.

It can be motivated by so many things, or even combinations of things inside you -- pride, competitiveness, desperation, urgency, duty, passion, need, love, hate, self-confidence, desire, curiosity, stubbornness, courage, expediency, money, status, patriotism, loyalty, intensity, job description, boredom…. The list does not end.

However, persistence is impossible when the road ahead of you is obscured.

So, clear out that confusing debris and futile garbage and disappointing junk that is getting in the way of your goals, and you will suddenly find it is much easier to persist at your task indefinitely -- for as long as it takes.

Monday, July 19, 2004

Giving It All or Nothing

There's nothing like a real life problem to take your mind off wallowing in your own self.

The sudden adrenaline rush, the sense of purpose, the focusing of energies to overcome the obstacle, and all your mental faculties sharpened and working hard to deal with the problem.

And the irony is, now is when you wish most that life was back to the boring empty state and you can get back to that existential navel gazing.

Well, there's got to be some middle ground. It does not have to be all laze-and-sleep or fight-or-flee.

A part of the solution is setting up a series of real life goals -- both short-term and long-term -- and not getting sidetracked.

So, how are your goals shaping up?

Sunday, July 18, 2004

Method Acting

Method acting is a great tool for becoming.

In method acting, an actor immerses himself or herself into the role to the point of living 24/7 as that person, and never stepping out of character.

You and I don’t need to be Laurence Olivier or Katherine Hepburn, but we can certainly try the method acting experiment to change ourselves by trying on another personality, and pretending to be what we are not… yet.

There is nothing stopping us -- think about it. A game of pretend is one of those things we've enjoyed and excelled at since our childhood.

Saturday, July 17, 2004

True Love

The truest love is always one-sided. It only matters that you love, not whether the subject of your love responds to you.

Expect nothing in return.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Religious Interlude

When you come out of your Churches, o people, remember that God is present just as much in the open fields of morning, the wind, the mountains, and the sky, the expanse of the sea, the radiant sun, in the sad eyes of the old dog on the roadside, and in the gaze of your mother upon you, when she thought you were too young to see her love.

For those of us who do not look for religious interludes -- simply go outside and take a deep invigorating breath of air.

With or without faith, oxygen is always a good thing.


Thursday, July 15, 2004

The Scientific Method of Forgiveness

To forgive is not to forget, but to re-examine in light of universal truth.

Okay, so some people do not believe in universal truth or any other absolutes or constants (well, possibly with the exception of the speed of light, or Planck's Constant, or Faraday's Constant, or Newton's Constant, or Avogadro's Constant…. okay, a number of scientific-community-approved constants).

So, then, how about this -- instead of absolute, universal, perfect truth, imagine a truth that is just relatively larger in its scope that any individual person's.

Now, multiply it by the number of possible persons, sentient entities and perspectives in the universe.

And there you have it, a finite truth, and yet about as "absolute" as it can get under the circumstances and with our limited homo sapiens brains to quantify and grasp it.

So, in the light of that Very Large Truth, to forgive often involves seeing the other side from another rather stereophonic perspective -- a whole bunch of perspectives, in fact -- and most of all, seeing from the perspective of the actual person who has wronged you.

In doing this, you reexamine the event and the action itself from all possible sides. No panel of judges can do it, only you and your suddenly "expanded" imaginary perspective.

And in light of such observations, you just might possibly come to understand why the person did what they've done to you, and why, and how, and all the myriad life decisions and reasons and cause-and-effect chains that made it all happen.

And after such close and complex scrutiny, there is a very good chance that you will be able to forgive.

Of course, even that's not a guarantee of forgiveness, but a possibility.

But it's better than nothing.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Life's Legumes

When trouble or misfortune hits, it is time to collect the pieces of your life together, like a bowl of spilled mixed grain, peas, and beans, and make some bread.

Or savory soup. Or some glue. Or some sand paintings. You've got imagination, you know. So, go wild, already.

And forget that spiel about the lemonade. Life never gives you lemons. That would be too easy.

Monday, July 12, 2004

To Trust or Not?

Responsibility and Trust -- these two are like Yin and Yang, together perfectly complete, and each one requiring the presence of the other.

The next time you mistrust someone, consider this -- does that person feel responsible for you in any way? If the answer is yes, then go ahead and trust them. Very likely, they are looking out for your best interest.

Sunday, July 11, 2004

A True Immortal

Hope is the last thing that dies.

Maybe because hope is one of those dratted things that is truly, honestly, genuinely immortal.

Saturday, July 10, 2004

Fog and Desire

Desire is like fog on a bathroom mirror -- its presence incites you to wipe the mirror, and see yourself clearly again.

Friday, July 09, 2004

Narrow Perspective

Losing perspective is being stuck in one single view of things and becoming distant from other views.

Imagine yourself stuck in a cable car or a ski lift somewhere halfway up a mountain. While the cable car is moving, you can see the whole world for miles around. Everything is beautiful and you are in control. But when you are locked in place, suddenly the world seems to narrow in on you. Not only are you stuck, but you are also afraid and, quite frankly, unable to think clearly.

Fear and limitation are both the result of a limited perspective.

So, avoid both by always reaching out with your mind.

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

The Flow of Wisdom

Once opened, like a dammed-up river, the flow of wisdom may not be quelled.

What the heck does that mean? Well, it's like they say, it'll open a can of worms.

Thing is, sometimes you want those worms all over the place. New idea worms can aerate the old stuffy soil of your mind.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

An Opportunity

The holidays are a great opportunity to reboot your life.

Be sure to return to the routine with a hair-fine degree of deviation from your original plans.

Friday, July 02, 2004

Chasing Love

Don't look for love. That's like your dog chasing the beam of a laser pointer.

Exactly like that.

Think about it. Really, really think about it.

Thursday, July 01, 2004

The Function of Life

What is the meaning of life? So goes the eternal popular unanswered question.

Well just possibly it's the wrong question.

Everything and everyone in the world seems to have one or more function, an ability to perform or carry out a task or action. A function is a property of an object or an entity. It is like a jigsaw puzzle piece that through its specific shape is capable of filling an empty place in a greater whole -- whether filling it with a material presence or action or effect or influence or movement. And, many entities and objects can fill more than one empty place along more than one dimension, and serve as multi-dimensional puzzle pieces.

A human being is a jigsaw puzzle piece for an almost infinite range of dimensions. We can do and be so many things and fill so many roles -- lover, parent, enemy, confidant, foil, savior, cheerleader, deceiver, teacher, friend. The list stretches to infinity.

And one of our most complex and fulfilling roles is that of being alive, living.

Thus, the act of living is a function of us -- the marvelous function of life.

No need to dwell on meaning. Simply let us perform this function to the best of our abilities.