19 Feb The Way Of The Way 102
Few people buy things, most are sold things. A true buyer chooses what they buy. A passive buyer is sold things....
18 Feb The Way Of The Way 101
A circle creates spaces inside and out. Seemingly separate spaces, yet as they are interdependent their separation is an illusion. As likewise goes for everything, beyond illusions there can be nothing new under the sun....
17 Feb The Way Of The Way 100
Those who love the universe, love all its manifestations. Harmful things they fear, but not hate....
16 Feb The Way Of The Way 99
At birth we seem to separate from being one with the universe. At death, we reunite with the universe. Blessed are those united with the universe in life, for they do not suffer death....
16 Feb The Way Of The Way 98
Who we are is revealed by how we describe others. But that's rarely how we see ourselves....
14 Feb Religious Structures
Religious practices vary considerably such that there is no scholarly consensus about what precisely constitutes a religion. However, religions are generally founded on matters supernatural, transcendental and spiritual. Standing on this foundation, all early adherents are on equal footing. As more adherents join a religion, structures are built upon its foundation to house them. The structures have many stories, stories upon stories; each sustaining the story above it. The most desirable living spaces in these building structures are those with the best views, those on the highest stories, the stories raised to reach the heavens. These living spaces are given to religious leaders and their wealthy supporters. Then, all adherents are no longer on equal footing. In fact, as soon as the structures are a couple of stories tall, their foundations are buried underground and not visible. All that remains are the stories....
09 Feb The Way Of The Way 96
Many folklore and religious beliefs hold that God created man from clay. Perhaps so. But clearly, "civilization" has refined the clay man; sanding and polishing, sanding and polishing; again and again and again. Now what remains of God's clay man may still not be perfect, but there is more clay dust on the floor than anything else. This parable speaks to the divide between "progressive" and "conservative" approaches to the political order. Simply, progressives aim to realize an idealized world in which individual freedoms are progressively more limited, while conservative, speaking for the clay man, say: "enough already." As each side has compelling arguments, it is difficult to say which way to vote; but if God didn't get it right when man was first created, it's unlikely progressives will....
06 Feb The Way Of The Way 95
Keep smiling until there is something to laugh about. Real smiles anticipate and welcome laughing. By smiling, we open ourselves up to seeing things in a funny way. That is, smiling has a powerful placebo effect that precipitates laughing. Smiling is highly contagious. Our smile moves others to smile, making them likely to see something as funny. As others see the funniness of something, we're infected by their laughter. What's funny (as in odd or ironic) is that nothing is funny but almost everything is. What makes anything funny is when people are unaware and take seriously individual or collective self-serving or delusional perspectives; when deceit is revealed; when the truth reveals what was held as meaningful is meaningless. That is, when people take illusions seriously. But laughing is a serious matter. It's an essential part of the purpose of life: to have a wonderful time, realize our potential and help others likewise. When we're laughing, we and others are having a wonderful, liberating and soulful go of life. In any event, laughing is one of the keys to health as it's a non-poisonous remedy for pain or stress. We lose our self-consciousness when we're laughing and forget whatever pain or stress was ailing us. Moreover, laughing with others connects our souls and energizes us which further relieves pain or stress. Not all smiles however are created equally. Plastic smiles are not real smiles and have little therapeutic value. They're artificial, man-made, like masks. Wearing a smiling mask limits our facial muscles from extending to broad smiles and soulful laughing....
05 Feb Wisdom And Compassion
Wisdom and compassion are the essence of divine consciousness. Wisdom is embracing many perspectives, not solely our personal perspective. Compassion is treating others as we wish to be treated. Wisdom is light. Compassion is love. While seemingly mutually exclusive, wisdom and compassion are mutually dependent as one doesn't exist without the other. Wisdom is the realization that "every thing" is a different aspect of one thing. While "every thing" appears as a distinct thing that seems it can be variously described, "every thing" is temporary and ever-changing. Thus, "every thing" cannot be described as it is not the same thing at the end of its description as it was at the start. Ultimately, "every thing" is a manifestation of one thing that cannot be described beyond that it is what it is whatever it is. Thus, "every thing," when viewed as independent of the one thing, is illusionary. Though illusionary, "every thing" appears real, different from every other thing and as a function of our individual perspectives and attitudes. Thus, to truly know some thing, and ultimately realize it is part of the one thing, we need to embrace all perspectives and accept that our personal perspective is not better than that of others. This is wisdom. With wisdom, we embrace others and their perspectives as dear to us as ourselves and our own. This is compassion. With compassion we treat others as we wish to be treated as we realize we and others are just seemingly different, temporary manifestations of one thing. Thus, with compassion, we identify with others and embrace their perspectives. Hence, compassion and wisdom are one. Ultimately, as in Dante's "Divine Comedy," wisdom is the light that leads us to compassion, the love of everything, as "every thing" is everything....
05 Feb The Way Of The Way 94
Om Now know now Our senses and mind create the now; an illusion of infinite manifestations that are engaging, distracting and often frantic. To know now is to know the present. The present is not now. The present is the pre-sent, the space before we are sent what our senses and mind experience as now. The pre-sent is empty, nothingness; a peaceful place, like the space between when we exhale and before we inhale. The pre-sent cannot be described, it is what it is whatever it is. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti "Om Shanti" is invoked at the end of every Upanishad. The Upanishads are ancient Hindu scriptures on the nature of ultimate reality. "Om Shanti Shanti Shanti" means peace in body, mind and soul; peace individually, collectively and universally. The peace beyond understanding. The peace when all is nothing....