When stock market prices rise dramatically and unjustifiably based on the earnings prospects of companies, it's called a bull market; when they precipitously fall it's called a bear market. According to Investopedia: "The terms 'bear' and 'bull' are thought to derive from the way in which each animal attacks its opponents. That is, a bull will thrust its horns up into the air, while a bear will swipe down. These actions were then related metaphorically to the movement of a market. If the trend was up, it was considered a bull market. If the trend was down, it was a bear market." Alternatively, perhaps a bull market is like a bull charging at a matador's red cape. The bull is charging ahead at something it sees as real and alive (the moving red cape, rising prices), but which ultimately is a mirage, a delusion. as there is nothing behind the cape or to justify rising prices. Likewise, a bear market is like a hibernating bear which cannot be enticed to eat food it's offered (like buying stocks that are easy to be had, cheap) because it is sleeping....

CAT is an acronym for a sheriff's Criminal Apprehension Team which tracks and arrests offenders wanted for serious felony crimes.  Cats don't scratch when they purr. Cats don't like any sort of water. Some years back, I lived in Westport, CT. One day, as I was driving to play squash, I was on a business phone call and startled by red lights in the rearview mirror. Soon enough, I was parked on the side of the road with a police car behind me. An overweight officer came out of his vehicle. He was livid, screaming: "You were on our cell phone." I said: "Officer, I know I was on the phone, I shouldn't have been, poor judgement on my part. But I'm a bit late for a squash game. How about I give you my license and registration and meet you back at the station house after the game and we'll sort it all out?" He then got even angier and screamed: "You can't do that." As our temperatures were rising, I said: "Officer, I see you are upset. I think you are upset with me. I feel terrible. We are here to take care of each other and I'm not doing a good job of it. Please, tell me, what can I do to make you feel better?" At that point, our minds calmed and he said: "Let's forget about it." A cat doesn't scratch when it's purring. I told this story to a lawyer friend from Spain. He said that he often gets stopped for traffic infractions but never gets ticketed. Simply, when stopped, as the police officer comes asking for his driver's license, my friend puts his right hand finger, which is out of the officer's view, to his nose. From his left side, it appears his finger is sloshing around in his nose. He then takes out his driver's license with his right hand and offers it to the officer who invariably refuses it and tells him to be considerate (perhaps prophylactically) of others. Cats don't like all sorts of water....

When a circle is very small we mostly see its perimeter, its surface. As it gets bigger and bigger we focus on the space inside. Bigger still, the perimeter disappears the concept of inside and outside disappears. All that remains is one thing. It cannot be described as it has no surfaces. It is what it is whatever it is.   Those who are very small see small circles everywhere. They focus on surfaces, appearances, and think they know what they see....

As there are few who are enlightened, being enlightened might seem lonely but to those who are enlightened. The enlightened embody wisdom and compassion; feel connected as one with everything; see everything as unique and fascinating; and have lots to laugh about as people are absurdly funny when they are blind to the light and see only with their mind. When we are connected with everything, engaged with the world and are laughing much of the time, we are not lonely....

Our time on Earth is an entertaining journey as long as we don't forget it's a temporary holiday from our space in heaven. For us who don't remember, even the most wonderful lives at times are hell....

As babies, milk supplants crying with joy. As adults, the Milky Way can have the same effect. In the dark-sky we can fully engage looking at the stars in the Milky Way and realize the essence of happiness; beyond thoughts, beyond words, the overwhelming beauty of it all; right here, right now. Once our basic needs of food, shelter, security and health are satisfied, it's hard to take too seriously much that's happening in our infinitesimally small space in the universe. When our mind engages our attention, we take its thoughts seriously which is the root of much of our unhappiness. While 100 years ago everyone lived under the dark-sky, today 99% of people live with some degree of light pollution; precluding their eyes from drinking the light from the Milky Way....

“One of the most uncommon things in life is common sense.” We perceive the world through ideological and personal associations which cloud our thinking. On the rare occasions we are dispassionate, the sun comes out and we can see clearly....

When we perceive ourselves as an individual cell with an independent existence, we live and die imprisoned in our cell. However, when we realize each of us is a unique cell in a body of infinite cells whose purpose is to serve the body, then we know the presence of God. The soul is ineffable and ethereal. Neither our body nor our mind can experience the soul. However, we know it exists when it connects with another soul. It is then that we know the presence of God....