21 Oct

Posted at 21:42h in Observations

One day two sushi chefs in New York went to the Fulton Fish Market looking for sushi grade tuna. They both happened upon a fishmonger who had what they wanted. The fishmonger offered them tuna from the east and west coasts. He said that the east coast tuna just came in, he had lots of it and was offering it at a lower price than the west coast tuna of which he had less and had come in a couple of days back. As the two tunas looked alike and the east coast tuna was presumably fresher and clearly cheaper, one of the sushi chefs purchased the east coast tuna. The other sushi chef smelled, touched and tasted the two tunas and purchased the west coast tuna as the east coast tuna didn't feel quite right. Some months later the sushi chef who purchased the east coast tuna closed his restaurant for lack of business. The other sushi chef saw his business thriving. Our eyes and ears often deceive us, but generally the nose knows. Best to engage all our senses to make sense of things....

21 Oct

Posted at 01:18h in Observations

Early on, humans trapped and hunted animals for food. Trapping requires more ingenuity and patience but is otherwise less taxing and dangerous. Grabbing water from a stream will not quench our thirst as quickly as collecting the water by cupping our hands. We can catch more fish in a net than by rod and reel. But it takes longer to construct a net than a rod and reel. Courting potential mates with wining and dining is not as effective a mating strategy as showing up as the best version of who we are which might get mates to court us. In business, a good product or service sells itself by word of mouth, less expensive than hiring salespeople. Best not to effort running after what we desire but to figure out how to have it come to us....

18 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"Don't look back, you're not going that way." When driving, more than a occasional glace at the rear view mirror is an accident in the making. The past is an illusion our mind makes seemingly real. Focusing on the past distracts our attention from the right here, right now and what's next; limiting our ability to make the best of the present, the present-passed, as it unfolds before us....

17 Oct

Posted at 15:16h in Observations

In college I took a philosophy course that was taught by an Indian (dot, not feather) professor. While not part of the curriculum, the professor was always encouraging us to take up Transcendental Meditation. He felt TM changed his life; a bit enlightened, he went from lethargic to energetic, from careless to responsible. One wintery Tuesday at 11 in the morning, the professor didn't show up for class. Funny, odd, as there was no notice on the door indicating the class was cancelled. In any event, after a while we realized he wasn't coming so each of us left to get on with the rest of our day. A couple of days later, the professor did make it to class and explained his earlier absence: "I woke up early enough to make the class Tuesday morning. However, before class I did an hour of TM. It was fabulous, a total awakening like never before; felt terrific; so good that I decided to go back to sleep and missed the class." I guess that sometimes, when we glimpse enlightenment, we choose to return to the sleep state in which we were previously, simply because it feels warm and comfortable. Maybe the professor should have just slept through the morning without the TM interruption....

16 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Images, Observations

Thousands of these presumably votive "Eye Idols" have been found in a building now called the Eye Temple in Tell Brak. They depict a deity who observes the world but lacking ears and a mouth does not hear or speak. The deity's view is pure, unadulterated by the words of others which could have the deity see the world as they would wish the deity to see it. Lacking a mouth, the deity knows but does not speak; implying that those who speak do not know and those who know do not speak. In the contemporary world, seeking enlightenment, some monks take a vow of silence. To view other eye idols, click here....

15 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"Rather than Communists and Marxists on the extreme 'Left' and Nazis and Fascists on the extreme 'Right,' I think the political spectrum should be 'Up' and 'Down' --Up towards individual freedom and Down towards control of the individual by the State. The extreme Up would be Anarchy, no government at all, while the extreme Down, at the bottom of the spectrum, would be all forms of totalitarianism; both Fascism and Communism, Nazism and Marxism, which together in common advocate the abolishment of individual freedom. On this spectrum, I place myself on the Up side, far from the extremism of anarchism, but as an advocate of individual liberty in accordance with a constitutional democracy and rule of law." (1) "Up" is close to heaven and "down" is hell. In a constitutional democracy, a republic, a nation is governed by clear laws, generally well-understood, that brave time as they are difficult to change.  A representative democracy often leads to a self-serving government, controlled by wealthy and voting bloc special interest groups; not unlike totalitarian regimes where people in a conference room decide what's best for all which is generally what's best for themselves. (1) Transcribed by Jack Wheeler, October, 1965 at a speech given by Ronald Reagan at UCLA...

12 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." In school we are taught by others and learn to repeat what's taught us when taking exams. This is the road to success in school. But our education in life comes from observing the universe about us and asking ourselves difficult questions about ourselves and our observations; to which there are many answers, each somewhat relevant or revealing of the truth and engendering further questions. "School is very limited. Learning is unending!" William Wisher "I always like to learn but I sometimes don't like to be taught." Winston Churchill...

11 Oct

Posted at 18:05h in Images, Observations

This shaman figure, made of bone, is depicted wearing a hat with seven heads, presumably representing ancestors, historically important clan members or wise men. The heads are the shaman's helper spirits or guides in the world underpinning the world of the living; the world before it's tangible to our senses. The spirit helpers provide the shaman with multiple perspectives which is the essence of wisdom, the stock-in-trade of shamans. The triangular shaped head, pointing down and perfectly balanced on the torso, implies an open mind with no predilections. The figure has a disproportionally large head (40% of its entire body while man naturally is 14%), implying that, unlike others who use their physical body when working, the head plays an outsized role in the shaman's work. Moreover, the figure is sexless as, unlike most work in tribal societies which is exclusively the domain of one sex or the other, a shaman can be male or female. As well, without sexual identity, the shaman's perspective is unbiased, nondual....

06 Oct

Posted at 10:15h in Observations

"How do you dress, sir?" I was first asked this question when getting fitted for a handmade suit in the 1970s. At the time I didn't understand what the tailor was asking. Seeing me a bit befuddled, the tailor explained that he wanted to know whether my penis naturally lays to the right or the left so he could give me a bit more room in the trousers on the right or left. I hadn't theretofore focused on my penis's natural bend, so I told him to proceed as he thought best as my penis is like me politically; sometimes a bit left, something right. A bit more fabric on one side or another creates a bit of a bulge in the trousers which implies the presence of a somewhat larger than average penis. I guess those who need to present themselves wearing a handmade suit also need to make certain other statements about themselves....