28 Apr Governments
Governments often sing and dance to different music. They sing of doing wonderful things for mankind as they dance on people's bodies....
27 Apr Eye idol, 3700 – 3500 B.C., Tell Brak, Levant
This 5500 year old female figure comes from the time before the dawn of the written word. Much has changed since then but perhaps men have not. The figure is depicted with eyes, nose, breasts and a vagina; but no mouth or ears. Perhaps that's how most men like their women. More seriously, what this apparently sacred object (it is referred to as an "idol") means is open to interpretation. Eye idols are almost invariably depicted with eyes only; no mouth, nose or other body parts. Perhaps that's the nature of a presumably all-knowing deity, they observe and do not speak. As Lao Tzu observed more than 3000 years later: “He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak." ...
25 Apr The Burning Bush Is The Tree Of Life
In the Bible, God appears to Moses in the form of an eternally burning bush. The bush however is not burning. As its flames are not devouring the branches, the flames must be light, not fire. The light however appears as fire, our mind perceiving it based on our past experiences where light in a bush can only be fire. The mind's preconceptions blind us from seeing things as they are. The burning bush, as the entire universe, is a manifestation of God. Moreover, the bush metaphorically reveals the nature of the universe: ever-changing (flames) and eternal (not burning). The light that appears as flames represents wisdom (Proverbs 3.18). The light unveils the bush, the eternal soul, from darkness. The bush is seneh, a bramble, a rough prickly shrub which bears raspberries, blackberries or dewberries. As a prickly shrub with light abounding, the bush's thorns are "the fiery ever-turning sword" that guards the path to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3.24). The path leads to the soul's soul, the Tree's fruit. Those who can see the fiery ever-turning sword as light and thorns can, without fear of burning or hurting, partake of the fruit to sustain themselves (Book of Enoch) as they become one with the soul's soul. When we understand the burning bush, we understand the universe; ever-changing and eternal. Then, we can find the soul's soul and be one with everything forever. In the image of God, the burning bush, is the Tree of Life. When we dispense with the mind, its preconceived notions and the fears they engender, we can see the universe as it is and ultimately connect as one with God....
23 Apr Robin S. Sharma
"The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master." The mind is a wonderful servant when we use it to learn from our past experiences, successes and failures to make good choices going forward. However, the mind is a terrible master when it creates stories and meanings that frame our experience of the present. Our stories are like a prison, not allowing us to experience the present as it is. Prison guards, however friendly, rule over us....
19 Apr Stars
The size of a star is a function of how distant it is. Stars in the Milky Way seem tiny from Earth but are unimaginably huge up close. Popular stars who are far from our real lives seem huge but aren't bigger than us up close. The popular stars who think their big are ridiculously funny in the context of real stars....
18 Apr Inflating The Deflated
Yesterday, I pulled out of my driveway for my weekly trip to the Darien Cheese Shop and a hundred feet later the car started seriously shaking. A flat tire awoke me from my routine. I stopped the car and started working with an air pump to inflate the tire. As it was taking some time, I wondered whether the tire would hold enough air for me to make it to a repair shop or I'd need to get it towed. Either way, it sounded like a bit more fun than the routine trip to the cheese shop. Soon a passing car pulled over and an elderly woman with grey hair came out and asked: "Do you need any help?" To which I replied: "Actually I'm terrific; blessed with a high-class problem, a flat tire." We both laughed, connected by compassion and wisdom as the truth was revealed: temporary common problems are not problems but experiences to be enjoyed by all....
18 Apr Easter Monday
Easter is the most important holiday in Christianity. Easter commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ which Christians believe is proof Jesus Christ was the messiah, the one who would bring peace on Earth. The historical events of Easter are the basis for the ubiquitous symbol of Christianity, the cross or Jesus on the cross (the crucifiction). It's a funny symbol for a religion espousing peace. As Christ preached brotherly love among people regardless of their religious identities and was ultimately crucified for his heretic views, the symbol suggests that those who preach peace will be crucified. True to this view, murder and horror is what many who have walked under the banner of Christianity have brought to peaceful non-Christians since the time of Christ. Ultimately, Christians believe that Christ, the messiah, will return and bring peace on Earth. Perhaps so, but in light of the violent history of the those professing to be Christians, clearly Christ is not a Christian....
14 Apr George Washington
"We should not look back unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dearly bought experience." The past can teach us valuable lessons. However, defining ourselves by stories we create about our past has no value and distracts us from making the most of things to come....
11 Apr Nuriya Khakimulla
"Silence is the greatest secret in the world." "He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak." --Lao Tzu. "Silence is the only voice of our God." -- Herman Melville. In true silence we not distracted by sounds or other stimulation or by our mind's thoughts. In true silence, we are in the present, the pre-sent, the space before the universe expresses itself and time begins. In true silence the universe is revealed as an ineffable ethereal experience. Attempting to share these revelations through words with others breaks the silence, shrouds its revelations in oblivion and keeps silence a secret....
10 Apr Alice (from Alice in Wonderland)
"It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then." Every day is a life in a day, not a day in a life. We've lived thousands of lifetimes, dying in the evening and born anew in the morning into circumstances similar to those in which we died yesterday. Upon rebirth, we resemble the person we were yesterday but are not the same person; though we assume we are and live in the context of our past identities. As to who we are now, it is difficult to say beyond "I am who I am" as we, like everything, are ever-changing....