01 Jun

Posted at 23:39h in Observations

"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage." Presumably, without freedom of choices like in the extreme case of slavery, happiness is elusive. Moreover, it takes courage to fight for our freedom. However, the connection between happiness, freedom and courage may be otherwise. The key to happiness is gratitude, optimism and freedom from karmic prison. Gratitude and optimism are self-evident; freedom from karmic prison less so, that's why it's the secret of happiness. Simply, karma is the stories, categories, relative descriptions, meanings, etc. our mind has created based on our past experiences in this life. Karma affects how we experience the present, essentially imprisoning us from experiencing the present as it is. As much of karma is not particularly happy, karmic prison precludes us from happiness in the present. Our karmic prison is also the basis of our identities. Escaping from karmic prison means letting go of our identities. Doing so is scary as we're very comfortable with our karmic identities, however difficult they may make our lives in the present and limit our choices. We fear the seemingly unknowable experience that follows; fear of  the loneliness and loss of self that our mind tells us we will suffer if we are free. Hence, it takes great courage to turn the key that allows us to escape from karmic prison. However, the presumed loneliness and our karmic identities are illusions. Freeing ourselves from these illusions that keep us locked in karmic prison requires wisdom and compassion. Wisdom is viewing a situation from many perspectives, at least one of which is funny. If we can't see our karma as funny, we need conclude we don't truly know what we're seeing and we shouldn't take our karma seriously. We are then free to leave our karmic prison. However, as this is obvious, wisdom is not the secret that allows us freedom. Compassion is the realization we are inextricably connected to others and thus treat others as we treat ourselves. Compassion is love. The etymology of courage is "heart" which represents love. The identity of oneness, not our person identity that's based on our karma, that comes from love is the courage that allows us to escape karmic prison. Love is the secret of freedom....

31 May

Posted at 11:12h in Observations

We can comprehend a situation with our eyes and/or with our mind. Our eyes reveal to us the world as it appears, with judgements. Our mind shows us the world after our mind interprets, categorizes and judges a situation. Our eyes provide us a simple but more enlightened view. A simple question identifies how we comprehend a situation, through our eyes or mind: How do we feel when our life partner engages sexually with someone other than ourselves? If we feel angry or betrayed, clearly we are seeing the situation through our mind. Alternatively, seeing the situation through our eyes, we're happy that two people are enjoying themselves....

31 May

Posted at 01:41h in Observations

In the last years of my mother's life, she was mentally clear but otherwise incapacitated. Living in a nursing facility, she couldn't do much but be carted around to group entertainment activities like movie watching. Her days must have been intolerably long. With little for her to do, I asked her if she was often bored to which she replied: "Oh, I am busy all day; barely have time to do anything." What was she busy with? "Thinking about my life." My mother traveled to the land of her memories. Her memories must have been happy as she never complained and had no regrets. That's how my mother transitioned, living in her memories until she and her memories became one and what remained were my memories of her which also are only happy. No wonder why I am who I am....

30 May

Posted at 00:52h in Observations

Each of us has a soul, a minor soul. Our soul is part of God’s soul, the great soul. Our soul reunites with God's soul each time we're asleep and returns to reawaken us. But this is an illusion. Once we truly awaken we realize there is only one soul which is why I am who I am and one with everything....

29 May

Posted at 23:15h in Observations

The past is an illusion from which we've selected some memories and woven them into stories that define us. However, the person we are today is not the person we were in days passed. Thus, identifying with our stories is delusional, though real in that our stories affect how we experience the present unfolding. While we're convinced our stories are real, we can view them otherwise. That is wisdom, the ability to hold several, often conflicting, views with at least one view as funny. Without wisdom, we are foolish not to concede we don't know at what we're looking.  With wisdom, we can avail ourselves of our stories as funny. That in turn frames our experience of the present unfolding in a happy light. Happy memories make for a happy life.    ...

28 May

Posted at 02:33h in Observations

Very few people are recognized as brilliant; yet very few are not brilliant. There are few commonly recognized brilliant individuals in academic pursuits, art, business, science, cooking etc.  However, as everyone has a unique experience and view, almost everyone is brilliant in one way or another. When meeting someone who seems seems dull, it’s not that they are not brilliant but that we are too dull to see their brilliance. Maybe their brilliance is to remind us that at times we are dull....

27 May

Posted at 01:44h in Observations

Much of socialization is based on fear and ignorance, negatively characterizing potentially fun experiences like sex and drugs. So socialized, we reactively say "no" when initially offered a try of that which is prohibited. Yet, once we know them we're unlikely to say no again....

26 May

Posted at 00:30h in Observations

Most people want to have something special as long as it's vanilla. Special is such an overused word; what's described as special cannot truly be special. Those who want something special reveal themselves as having a limited appreciation of things. For those with taste and appreciation, everything is special. While many people desire to differentiate themselves in a special way, they want to do so only in the context of accepted social norms. They don't truly want to be themselves which is the most special thing of all....

25 May

Posted at 01:10h in Observations

“Take your work seriously, but don't take yourself seriously." Our work is that which we do to benefit others. Benefiting others is part of our purpose in life. Not taking our work seriously defeats it's purpose, our purpose. Taking ourselves seriously is the essence of selfishness. Selfishness precludes happiness. Taking ourselves seriously and not our work seriously makes it not much fun for ourselves and those who work with us. Taking our work seriously and not ourselves seriously leads us to a purposeful and happy life....

24 May

Posted at 02:45h in Observations

I long thought passionfruit was named as such because sucking out the seeds inside the fruit with our tongue seems akin to a certain passionate sex act. However, apparently, passionfruit was named by "Catholic missionaries in 16th-century Brazil...