exploration of self

Dhammapada : Flowers

white_wizard — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 11:22:39 GMT

4. Flowers Who shall conquer this world And the world of death with all its gods? Who shall discover The shining way of dharma? You shall, even as the man Who seeks flowers Finds the most beautiful, The rarest. Understand that the body Is merely the foam of a wave, The shadow of a shadow. Snap the flower arrows of desire And then, unseen, Escape the king of death. And travel on. Death overtakes the man Who gathers flowers When with distracted mind and thirsty senses He searches vainly for happiness In the pleasures of the world. Death fetches him away As a flood carries off a sleeping village. Death overcomes him When with distracted mind and thirsty senses He gathers flowers. He will never have his fill Of the pleasures of the world. The bee gathers nectar from the flower Without marring its beauty or perfume. So let the master settle, and wander. Look to your own faults, What you have done or left undone. Overlook the faults of others. Like a lovely flower, Bright but scentless, Are the fine but empty words Of the man who does not mean what he says. Like a lovely flower, Bright and fragrant, Are the fine and truthful words Of the man who means what he says. Like garlands woven from a heap of flowers, Fashion from your life as many good deeds. The perfume of sandalwood, Rosebay or jasmine Cannot travel against the wind. But the fragrance of virtue Travels even against the wind, As far as the ends of the world. How much finer Is the fragrance of virtue Than of sandalwood, rosebay, Of the blue lotus or jasmine! The fragrance of sandalwood and rosebay Does not travel far. But the fragrance of virtue Rises to the heavens. Desire never crosses the path Of virtuous and wakeful men. Their brightness sets them free. How sweetly the lotus grows In the litter of the wayside. Its pure fragrance delights the heart. Follow the awakened And from among the blind The light of your wisdom Will shine out, purely.

Sex And Matriarchy: Explorations Of Male Sexual Deprivation And Other Social Ills

white_wizard — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:32:39 GMT

I discovered this book quite by accident and thought I might share some of it . . . had me in stitches! ;-) Some people claim our lives are ruled by a system of patriarchy, but Victor Woodhull (a name suspiciously close to that of a founding mother of modern feminism) uses evolutionary psychology principles to argue convincingly to the contrary in this entertaining blend of satire and science. Find out some generally unknown truths about male-female relationships, including: HOW females have been breeding males for their own ends for eons, WHAT are the root causes of male sexual deprivation, WHY combating the hidden scourge of male sexual deprivation should be a national priority, and HOW to bring equity to America's distorted sexual economy. -- Chapter I A MANIFESTO Sexuality is God's good gift given to all people. (Evangelical Lutheran Church1) If the burden of Woman is giving birth, then the burden of Man is having orgasms. (Men's Restroom Graffiti, Harvard) IF WE TAKE a global perspective of humankind we find that sex is a universal need. There are, admittedly, some people (mostly women) who barely or rarely feel that need, yet it's so pervasive it must be termed basic. One anthropologist lists sex as one of four primary "bio-psychological principles" (along with eating, being active, and having love or affection),2 while another describes pleasure, including sexual pleasure, as an "evolutionary entitlement " as essential for human health and happiness as friends and food.3 And according to the wisdom of Ann Landers, "The sex drive is the strongest human drive after hunger.... There must be an outlet."4 Introductory psychology texts commonly present the late Abraham Maslow's concept of a "hierarchy of needs". The lower level needs are the physiological drives (thirst, hunger and sex), and these must be satisfied before higher level needs, such as for self-expression or spiritual fulfillment, can be fully realized. Unsatisfied needs lead to ill health (mental or physical or both); a cure is achieved by satisfying these needs. On the flip side, loss of interest in sex is a telling symptom of mental depression as well as a variety of physical ailments, clearly showing that having a sexual appetite is healthy. Research has indeed shown that human health and happiness depend on the satisfaction of basic needs. Healthy and happy people create a healthy and happy society, which ours is obviously not. The importance of individual health and happiness to society as a whole is implicit in our Declaration of Independence's inclusion of "the pursuit of Happiness" as an unalienable right. Unfortunately, our government has totally abdicated its responsibility to uphold the natural right to sexual fulfillment. Law after law has been passed in the name of every other imaginable right, to ensure that each citizen has at least minimal access to an education, the voting booth, the TV airwaves, and so on and on without ever a mention of what virtually every man and many women as well consider essential to their well-being: sexual fulfillment. Fact is, after more than two centuries of independence, our national sexual economy remains a distorted shambles. Any woman who wants to lead an active sex life has it, while tens of millions of men suffer from extreme sexual deprivation despite heroic efforts. This book is for those of us who are intimately acquainted with such suffering on a daily basis. By revealing the sources of male sexual deprivation and presenting viable solutions to one of society's most debilitating yet most denied scourges, this book truly serves as a manifesto for our cause. In counterpoint to feminists who view the world through a filter that makes it look like men run everything for their own interests, we'll don the equally valid filter that women are actually, though quite subtly, in control. It is they who "created" the macho male through their own eugenic mating choices over eons of evolution, who breed fighting men to plunder on their behalf while dying early by the hordes, who decide whom among men will be allowed full sexual lives, who blame men for the world's mess while manipulatively hoarding the key to balance and sanity under their skirts. But we blame them not, for they are rarely even conscious of their controlling role. We only wish to work with them to create a better world for all. APT METAPHORS As we shall see in later chapters, the world sociopolitical stage has been constructed by women in uneasy alliance with a relatively small number of leading men. We sexually deprived males are the teeming extras who provide the living backdrop before which women chase their dreams of genetic multiplication into realms of ever higher status. The eyes and minds of women only fleetingly examine and reject us, instead focusing on men of star quality strutting on center stage, quintessential men who are clearly more "man" than we could ever hope to be. Yet we fail to comprehend that we're mere extras whose names won't be in the credits and that our cultural scripts are written to make us act as if we matter so the whole show will seem authentic. So daily we wander the fringes of life's stage wrestling piles of paperwork and their associated headaches or exuding sweat while we labor, constantly confronted by women easily imagined as passionate participants in sensuous encounters. Most of them have spent stupendous amounts of time, effort and money getting attractive in the dressing room, suggesting they're sincere in their appearance of yearning and inviting us to envision the placid surfaces of their pampered faces growing animated with ecstasy if we were to share that magical mutuality of physical intimacy. If .... But women dress to kill only leading men, only leading men are "real", only leading men have sets with beds and scenes with sex. We are mere extras, toiling at our roles in the out-of-focus background. Another apt metaphor for the plight of the sexually deprived male minions is that of being surrounded by water yet having barely a drop to drink. We've been stranded on a barren deserted isle by the passing tides of the Sexual Revolution. Potable water on the island usually turns out to be a mirage, but not always, so we join the teeming male horde scrabbling towards distant enticing images. The images usually disappear though, and if they are for real, on closer inspection they usually turn out to be weed-choked, mud-filled, mosquito-infested, quicksand-pitted. Our struggle for survival, and that of millions of other parched souls, barely succeeds as we subsist on raw imagination and the few drops of pleasure we manage to wring out with our own hands. WHAT IS SEXUAL DEPRIVATION? Sexual deprivation is surprisingly common in our so-called Land of Plenty, afflicting an estimated 27 million American men at any given time (the derivation of this estimate will be explained in detail in Chapter IV). Male sexual deprivation is a complex phenomenon, but it basically boils down to a shortage of sexually willing women relative to the sexual needs of men. We should clarify here that this book is about the sexual deprivation of heterosexual men , which makes the beliefs and behaviors of heterosexual women a critical issue to be explored in depth. Although many homosexual men have indeed been tormented by women, overall they don't suffer much sexual deprivation because of their great willingness, generally, to engage in sex with each other. In this book we don't elevate one form of sex above another, since sexual desires are so variable and, after all, an orgasm is an orgasm. Indeed, in a later chapter we'll come to the point of considering the gay option as a possible partial solution to the daunting problem of male sexual deprivation. As we indicated in the very first paragraph, we humans have a need for sex. The term sex drive is part of common parlance today, but was first used many decades ago by biologists and psychologists to denote the natural impulse that brings living creatures who might otherwise want nothing to do with each other into sexual union. The "hydraulic drive model" groups hunger, thirst and sexual desire as basic needs characterized by an inexorable buildup of "pressure" that, once it passes a critical point, propels the individual to seek relief. Hunger and thirst are obviously different in nature from sexual desire because food and water are essential for immediate survival, while people can survive without sex. Yet sexual desire must be satisfied to ensure the long-term survival of an individual's genes and, hence, the species. Without an innate sex drive, humankind would not have evolved. On the other hand, humankind will survive even if many of its members forgo or are forced to do without sex, which is indeed the current situation. The issue then becomes: what are the effects on the individual and society when the sex drive is suppressed or given no outlet? Although it will be denied by the many who believe abstinence to be virtuous, the unfortunate answer is that most sexually deprived individuals suffer psychological warping that, collectively, causes society's gears to grind. All of us pay a price, for sexual deprivation leads people to behave in uncivilized ways, from use of demeaning sarcasm to rape and even mass murder. One way to clarify the meaning of sexual deprivation is to contrast it with what the United Nations' World Health Organization calls sexual health : "Sexual health is the integration of the somatic, emotional, and social aspects of sexual being in ways that are positively enriching and that enhance personality, communication and love."5 The bedrock of sexual health is mutual genital stimulation by interacting individuals who, however fleetingly, experience a concomitant positive emotional bond. Human beings who are obstructed from interpersonal sexual contact soon experience a state of sexual deprivation. They may try to escape this painful state through self-stimulation, like caged zoo animals, but such acts give only brief relief while accentuating feelings of sexual isolation. We can now present a definition: sexual deprivation is an absence of sexual fulfillment for long enough time to result in emotional imbalance and/or behavioral deviance . It isn't possible to be more precise as to how long is too long because sexual deprivation is a relative thing, just like every other aspect of the human experience. Sex drive isn't constant, even for a single individual, since it varies according to a myriad factors ranging from life stage to exposure to beer commercials. One man might feel deprived after a day or two without sex while another might not feel deprived for months. However, two generalizations are possible. First, sexual deprivation is a male problem. No sex-seeking woman could fail to find a partner within a single day if she set her mind to it. Second, sexual fulfillment for heterosexual males means sex with (human) females. That second generalization derives from how the male brain is wired. Show a heterosexual man a picture of a nude woman, or better yet a video of a couple making love, and his pupils will widen and his penis will probably twitch if not harden. It's automatic. By contrast, few women are easily aroused by something so mundane as the mere sight of genitals. In the same way that a cat goes into hunting mode when a small moving object enters its field of vision, men are automatically aroused when presented with such stimuli as female breasts, genitals, and curvaceous figures, or even just hints that such are present under clothes. The greater a man's sex drive, the more readily he's stimulated by increasingly less quintessential female stimuli. All human societies have gone to great lengths to maintain social order by severely limiting the situations in which men may act on their arousal. But it's cruel and inhumane when a society, such as ours, denies so many men the opportunity to achieve what their bodies demand, which is sex with a woman. To leave them no options besides self-stimulation is like tormenting a caged cat with a parade of free-roaming mice and tweety birds. ;-) -- more at: http://members.aol.com/vwoodhull/chapter1.htm

Dhammapada : Mind

white_wizard — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:25:48 GMT

3. Mind As the fletcher whittles And makes straight his arrows, So the master directs His straying thoughts. Like a fish out of water, Stranded on the shore, Thoughts thrash and quiver, For how can they shake off desire? They tremble, they are unsteady, They wander at their own will. It is good to control them, And to master them brings happiness. But how subtle they are, How elusive! The task is to quieten them, And by ruling them to find happiness. With single-mindedness The master quells his thoughts. He ends their wandering. Seated in the cave of the heart, He finds freedom. How can a troubled mind Understand the way? If a man is disturbed He will never be filled with knowledge. An untroubled mind, No longer seeking to consider What is right and what is wrong, A mind beyond judgements, Watches and understands. Know that the body is a fragile jar, And make a castle of your mind. In every trial Let understanding fight for you To defend what you have won. For soon the body is discarded, Then what does it feel? A useless log of wood, it lies on the ground, Then what does it know? Your worst enemy cannot harm you As much as your own thoughts, unguarded. But once mastered, No one can help you as much, Not even your father or your mother.

Dhammapada : Wakefulness

white_wizard — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:46:39 GMT

2. Wakefulness Wakefulness is the way to life. The fool sleeps As if he were already dead, But the master is awake And he lives forever. He watches. He is clear. How happy he is! For he sees that wakefulness is life. How happy he is, Following the path of the awakened. With great perseverance He meditates, seeking Freedom and happiness. So awake, reflect, watch. Work with care and attention. Live in the way And the light will grow in you. By watching and working The master makes for himself an island Which the flood cannot overwhelm. The fool is careless. But the master guards his watching. It is his most precious treasure. He never gives in to desire. He meditates. And in the strength of his resolve He discovers true happiness. He overcomes desire - And from the tower of his wisdom He looks down with dispassion Upon the sorrowing crowd. From the mountain top He looks down at those Who live close to the ground. Mindful among the mindless, Awake while others dream, Swift as the race horse He outstrips the field. By watching Indra became king of the gods. How wonderful it is to watch. How foolish to sleep. The beggar who guards his mind And fears the waywardness of his thoughts Burns through every bond With the fire of his vigilance. The beggar who guards his mind And fears his own confusion Cannot fall. He has found his way to peace.

Forgotten Memories . . .

white_wizard — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:24:22 GMT

A few months ago, I began to experience a strange phenomena . . . recalling seemingly random events from my distant past for no apparent reason, and with no conscious trigger as much as I could understand. They would tend to arise at surprisingly mundane times . . . cleaning my teeth, making tea, going about my daily chores etc . . . Now I've had similar experiences of forgotten memories arising in the past, however, their would always be a stimulus of some sort, whether it be internal or external . . . where these recent recollections literally come out of no where. Which makes them rather surprising and a little unsettling. I wouldn't go as far as to say they are Flashbacks, however, there tends to be a strong emotional element . . some negative, some positive. They have continued to plague me with little sign of stopping, and with sometimes as many as half a dozen episodes a day, continuously bringing to the surface aspects of my former self that I had long forgotten. . . Trying to make sense of this new condition has led me to a number of conclusions. Either my sub-conscious is trying to tell me something, although I can find no pattern or relevance, apart from the fact they are all memories I have never recalled before (as opposed to memories I clearly remember remembering previously ;-) Or, I have entered into a new mind state as a result of a more integrated approach to meditation, or in response to some other life experience. In the past I would definately have classified myself as someone who 'lives in their head' . . . mind my rarely pausing for breathe . . . thinking, planning, dreaming . . . constantly. I used to have trouble sleeping because my mind was turning so fast. Over the last few years I have been gradually training my mind to slow down, through meditation and mindfulness. I would say that I am now able to hold the reigns for the most part, and prevent most unwanted and discursive thought, either prior to it happening . . . or shortly into the process. I am acutely aware of idle thoughts, fantasies, and activity in response to external stimuli, and try to create a balance between relevant thought, no-thought, and dedicated 'free thinking' time - where anything is allowed. It is generally, although not specifically, during these times of no-thought that the old memories arise. Could it be that by emptying my mind of conscious thoughts, I am creating the opportunity for these old memories to surface? Reversely, could it be that my mind has been so active in the past that no opportunity for contemplation of these memories was ever possible? Whatever the reason, should there be one . . . it seems these memories will continue until such times as they are exhausted, if at all . . . I'm starting to get used to it anyhows.

Dhammapada : Choices

white_wizard — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 21:03:06 GMT

1. Choices We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with an impure mind And trouble will follow you As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world. Speak or act with a pure mind And happiness will follow you As your shadow, unshakable. "Look how he abused me and hurt me, How he threw me down and robbed me." Live with such thoughts and you live in hate. "Look how he abused me and hurt me, How he threw me down and robbed me." Abandon such thoughts, and live in love. In this world Hate never yet dispelled hate. Only love dispels hate. This is the law, Ancient and inexhaustible. You too shall pass away. Knowing this, how can you quarrel? How easily the wind overturns a frail tree. Seek happiness in the senses, Indulge in food and sleep, And you too will be uprooted. The wind cannot overturn a mountain. Temptation cannot touch the man Who is awake, strong and humble, Who masters himself and minds the dharma. If a man's thoughts are muddy, If he is reckless and full of deceit, How can he wear the yellow robe? Whoever is master of his own nature, Bright, clear and true, He may indeed wear the yellow robe. Mistaking the false for the true, And the true for the false, You overlook the heart And fill yourself with desire. See the false as false, The true as true. Look into your heart. Follow your nature. An unreflecting mind is a poor roof. Passion, like the rain, floods the house. But if the roof is strong, there is shelter. Whoever follows impure thoughts Suffers in this world and the next. In both worlds he suffers And how greatly When he sees the wrong he has done. But whoever follows the dharma Is joyful here and joyful there. In both worlds he rejoices And how greatly When he sees the good he has done. For great is the harvest in this world, And greater still in the next. However many holy words you read, However many you speak, What good will they do you If you do not act upon them? Are you a shepherd Who counts another man's sheep, Never sharing the way? Read as few words as you like, And speak fewer. But act upon the dharma. Give up the old ways - Passion, enmity, folly. Know the truth and find peace. Share the way.

WHo the F&*k am I?

white_wizard — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:34:28 GMT

Everytime I sit down to write a new post recently, I find myself analyzing the validity of what I am about to say . . . so much so, that by the time I have fully considered the subject, I have determined that it is no longer necessary to write anything at all. Which is rather annoying, and resulted in the somewhat lack-lustre, random postings of late just to satisfy a self-imposed quota. I hope this is just a phase, and that I will be back to my old self soon. Hmmm . . . old self? Now there's a thing. I have also determined without any shadow of a doubt, that there is no 'me' or old self to return too. I am completely transitional, apart from a few habitual tendencies that I have managed to retain thus far, acquired due to a slight addiction with the old pleasure receptors . . . and that there is absolutely nothing that I can find that constitutes a 'me' that is not subject to change, expiration, or significant evolution, sometimes over significantly short periods of time. As such I have decided to change my mind and write this post anyways . . . just to prove the point. It makes me wonder, when we talk about 'getting to know someone', that we are setting ourselves up for trouble from the outset. Assuming that whatever we discover is likely to remain constant for any significant period of time is a ludicrous assumption. People are worse than the weather. Furthermore, trying to establish a sense of identity for oneself is counter-intuitive. surely? I really do have no idea who I am anymore, and I have ceased to worry about it. I'm enjoying being not-me. It opens up all sorts of new possibilities when one releases any ideas of constancy. Speaking broadly, and without being sexist . . . it has been noted that women, moreso than men, have a tendency to change their minds, and their personality rather often . . . this is in no small part due to the intuitive and emotional advantage their physiology offers. Men the on the other hand, in their rational capacity can be fixed in their ways, and stubborn to the extreme, even when it makes no sense to be so. The sooner we more readily accept our capacity for change, and the transient nature of our being, the less conflict there would be in this world . . . as there would be less to argue and fight about. Obviously I reserve the right to change my mind on this matter without notice . . . so don't quote me. ;-)

Happiness

white_wizard — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 09:24:04 GMT

Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. — Nathaniel Hawthorne After deciding to post the above quote, which on first reading, appeared to be a sound philosophical perspective, I went in search of a suitable image to depict happiness. After wading through swathes of happy, smiley people, butterflies and feel-good foder . . . I stumbled upon this graph "The first published map of world happiness" by the social psychologist Adrian White - which stopped me in my tracks. Suddenly Nathaniel's words don't resonate so soundly. Andrew Cohen of the Ottawa Citizen has a new piece that discusses the study by Adrian White of the University of Leicester. The study, entitled “A Global Projection of Well Being: A Challenge to Positive Psychology?,” employed more than 100 studies to rank countries by their citizens’ level of happiness. Below an excerpt of Cohen’s article. * * * When they say that the Danes are the happiest people on earth - as a widely publicized study by the University of Leicester found in 2006 - the Garden of Mythology comes to mind. After all, an airport garden, in a country that is dreary for much of the year, is fundamentally human. When the sun finally comes out, people have a heightened sense of well-being. The study was done by Adrian White, a social psychologist. Using a battery of statistics and a survey of attitudes among 80,000 people around the globe, he created “a world map of happiness.” Of 178 countries, he found Denmark the happiest. An odd choice, you might think, for a people known for herring and Hamlet. Or for a people described as brooding, remote and dour. No matter. Professor White concludes that happiness is about being healthy, wealthy and wise. While much of his study is subjective, he measures levels of GDP, health and education. He also finds that countries of low population and high social cohesion tend to be happier. Denmark, for example, is a generous welfare state. Health care is excellent. University is free and students are paid to attend. Paid holidays extend to six weeks a year. Violent crime is rare. Unsurprisingly, the next half-dozen countries on the list - Switzerland, Austria, Iceland, The Bahamas, Finland, Sweden - are also (with some variations) small, safe, affluent and homogenous. Canada is 10th on the list, which would seem about right given its prosperity (though not its distinctive diversity). The United States (where happiness is virtually a constitutional right) is 23rd, Germany 35th, Great Britain 41st. Japan, which is wealthy and healthy, does surprisingly badly at 90th place. more at: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/opinion/story.html?id=5ae89c5c-e2f6-4ee3-b48d-6054acf5c30f http://www.le.ac.uk/users/aw57/world/sample.html

Bhavachakra

white_wizard — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:04:01 GMT

When this is, that is. From the arising of this comes the arising of that. When this isn't, that isn't. From the cessation of this comes the cessation of that.

Stop climate change before . . .

white_wizard — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:21:12 GMT

Pirate Girl

white_wizard — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:28:21 GMT

I wish I was a Pirate . . . and I had a Pirate girl. We'd sail the seas, on every breeze, and call our ship The Pearl.

Blonde on the slab . . .

white_wizard — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:26:24 GMT

From 74. THE FOUR INTENT CONTEMPLATIONS {Mahâ-Satipatthâna-Sutta} Translated from the Digha-Nikâya, and constituting Sutta 22 But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body one day dead, or two days dead, or (MSS.308) three days dead, swollen, black, and full of festering putridity, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person, as respects the body, observant of the body, or in other persons, as respects the body, observant of the body, or both in his own person and in other persons, as respects the body, observant of the body; either observant of origination in the body, or observant of destruction in the body, or observant of both origination and destruction in the body; and the recognition of the body by his intent contemplation is merely to the extent of this knowledge, merely to the extent of this contemplation, and he lives unattached, nor clings to anything in the world. Thus, O priests, does a priest live, as respects the body, observant of the body. Cemetery the First But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body being eaten by crows, or being eaten by eagles, or being eaten by vultures, or being eaten by dogs, or being eaten by jackals, or being eaten by various kinds of insects, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Second But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body consisting of a skeleton with its flesh and its blood and its tendonous connections, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Third But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body consisting of a skeleton, stripped of its flesh, but stained with blood and retaining its tendonous connections, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Fourth But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body consisting of a skeleton without its flesh and its blood, but retaining its tendonous connections, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Fifth (MSS.3522) But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body with its bones unconnected and scattered in all directions--the bones of the hands in one direction, the bones of the feet in another, the bones of the shanks in another, the bones of the thighs in another, the bones of the hips in another, the bones of the spine in another, and the skull in another--he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Sixth But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body with its bones as white as a conch-shell, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Seventh But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body with its bones scattered in piles and washed by the rains of years, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Eighth But again, O priests, a priest, if perchance he sees in a cemetery a decaying body with its bones rotting and crumbling into dust, he compares his own body, saying, "Verily, my body also has this nature, this destiny, and is not exempt." Thus he lives, either in his own person [etc., as before]. Cemetery the Ninth End of the Intent Contemplation of the Body.1 (MSS.3918) Joseph Heller, Catch-22 Man was matter, that was Snowden's secret. Drop him out the window and he'll fall. Set fire to him and he'll burn. Bury him and he'll rot like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden's secret. Ripeness was all. Isaiah 40: 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

yes you can . . .

white_wizard — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 10:21:42 GMT

. . . but you might pay for it later . . . :-)

A slice of Zen . . .

white_wizard — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:54:37 GMT

1. Do not walk behind me, I may not lead. Do not walk beside me, for the path is narrow. In fact, just bugger off and leave me alone. 2.The Journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a flat tyre. 3.The darkest hour is just before dawn, so if you're going to steal your neighbor's milk . . . that's the time to do it. 4.Sex is like air, It's not important unless you aren't getting any. 5. No one is listening until you fart. 6. Never test the depth of the water with both feet. 7. If you think nobody cares whether you're alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments. 8. If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you. 9. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. 10. There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither of them works. Oh . . .one more . . . 11 . Don't listen to a word I say . . . ;-)

Zero Energy Media Wall

white_wizard — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:24:50 GMT

GreenPix is a groundbreaking project applying sustainable and digital media technology to the curtain wall of Xicui entertainment complex in Beijing, near the site of the 2008 Olympic Games. Featuring the largest color LED display worldwide and the first photovoltaic system integrated into a glass curtain wall in China, the building performs as a self-sufficient organic system, harvesting solar energy by day and using it to illuminate the screen after dark, mirroring a day’s climatic cycle The Media Wall will provide the city of Beijing with its first venue dedicated to digital media art, while offering the most radical example of sustainable technology applied to an entire building’s envelope to date. The building will open to the public on June 24, 2008, with a specially commissioned program of video installations and live performances by artists from China, Europe and the US.

Solstice Blessings . . .

white_wizard — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:41:58 GMT

soak it up :-)

Handful of Beach Sand

white_wizard — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:07:52 GMT

When you tell your trouble to your neighbor you present him with a part of your heart. If he possesses a great soul, he thanks you; if he possesses a small one, he belittles you. Progress is not merely improving the past; it is moving forward toward the future. A hungry savage picks fruit from a tree and eats it; a hungry civilized man buys it from a man who, in turn, buys it from the man who picks it. Art is one step from the visibly known toward the unknown. The earth breathes, we live; it pauses in breath, we die. Man’s eye is a magnifier; it shows him the earth much larger than it is. I abstain from the people who consider insolence, bravery and tenderness cowardice. And I abstain from those who consider chatter wisdom and silence ignorance. They tell me: If you see a slave sleeping, do not wake him lest he be dreaming of freedom. I tell them: If you see a slave sleeping, wake him and explain to him freedom. Contradiction is a lower degree of intelligence. Bravery is a volcano; the seed of wavering does not grow on its crater. The river continues on its way to the sea, broken the wheel of the mill or not. The greater your joy or your sorrow, the smaller the world in your eyes. Learning nourishes the seed but it gives you no seed of its own. I use hate as a weapon to defend myself; had I been strong, I would never have needed that kind of weapon. There are among the people murderers who have never committed murder, thieves who have never stolen and liars who have spoken nothing but the truth. Keep me away from the wisdom which does not cry, the philosophy which does not laugh and the greatness which does not bow before children. O great intelligent Being! Hidden and existing in and for the universe, You can hear me because You are within me and You can see me because You are all-seeing; please drop within my soul a seed of Your wisdom to grow a sapling in Your forest and to give of Your fruit. To Repair The Indestructible and to Paint the Ocean Wave with Sand. -- By Kahlil Gibran

Bundle theory of No Self

white_wizard — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:46:42 GMT

Bundle theory, originated by the 18th century Scottish philosopher David Hume, is the ontological theory about objecthood in which an object consists only of a collection (bundle) of properties, relations, or tropes. According to bundle theory, an object consists of its properties and nothing more, thus neither can there be an object without properties nor can one even conceive of such an object. For example, bundle theory claims that thinking of an apple compels one also to think of its color, its shape, the fact that it is a kind of fruit, its cells, its taste, or at least one other of its properties. Thus, the theory asserts that the apple is no more than the collection of its properties. In particular, there is no substance in which the properties inhere. The difficulty in conceiving of or describing an object without also conceiving of or describing its properties is a common justification for bundle theory, especially among current philosophers in the Anglo-American tradition. The inability to comprehend any aspect of the thing other than its properties implies, this argument maintains, that one cannot conceive of a bare particular (a substance without properties), an implication that directly opposes substance theory. The conceptual difficulty of bare particulars was illustrated by John Locke when he described a substance by itself, apart from its properties, as "something, I know not what." Whether a relation of an object is one of its properties may complicate such an argument. However, the argument concludes that the conceptual challenge of bare particulars leaves a bundle of properties and nothing more as the only possible conception of an object, thus justifying bundle theory. Objections to bundle theory concern the nature of the bundle of properties, the properties' compresence relation (the togetherness relation between those constituent properties), and the impact of language on understanding reality. ... A famous Madhyamaka philosopher, Chandrakirti, used the aggregate nature of objects to demonstrate the lack of essence in what is known as the sevenfold reasoning. In his work, "Commentary on the 'Middle Way'", he says: "A chariot is neither asserted to be other than its parts, nor to be non-other. It does not possess them. It does not depend on the parts, and the parts do not depend on it. It is neither the mere collection of the parts, nor it is their shape." He goes on to explain what is meant by each of these seven assertions, but briefly in a subsequent commentary he explains that the conventions of the world do not exist essentially when closely analyzed, but exist only through being taken for granted, without being subject to scrutiny that searches for an essence within them. http://www.arrod.co.uk/essays/bundle.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundle_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Substance_theory http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatta

Approaching Solar Maximum

white_wizard — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:26:34 GMT

According to some theories the Sun is about to enter into a much larger cycle than the previous 23 cycles (which were recorded since 1755). This new, larger cycle may lead to 50% more Solar activity and perhaps even a new quality to the luminosity of our Sun. This is due to increased radiation coming into our Solar system as a result of its position relative to the Galactic equator. As the Sun pass the Galactic disk it may acquire more mass and start spinning at a slower rate. Since Sol is 99% of the mass in our solar system increased energy output will radically heat up all its orbiting planets as well (which we observe today). To regain stability it may even eject a certain amount of its plasma into our solar system which actually may accumulate to form new planetary bodies or lead to higher energy levels within our system. There is also greatly increased activity observed in Jupiters magnetosphere these days which, theoretically, could ignite its atmosphere, creating another Sun! Interestingly the date of this cycle's maximum is at the end of 2012, which corresponds perfectly with the end date of the Mayan calendars "Age of the Fifth Sun". According to their prophecies (or calculations?) the Sun would enter into a new cycle and gain an entirely new quality - along with the consciousness of its orbiting Living Spheres.This would be The Age of The Sixth Sun. Some ancient predictions also speaks of a Second Sun being born in the transition to this new age (which is why Arthur C. Clarke incorporated into his film the ignition of Jupiter in "2001: A Space Odyssey"). Also, it seems relevant, that from more energy in our Solar System we should expect increased seismic activity resulting in more frequent and stronger earthquakes and more volcanic activity. Not to mention an overall more tropical climate - stronger storms, polar cap melting etc. As temperatures increase sea levels may also stabilize at a new equilibrium which may be quite a bit higher than today. -- thanks to Andreas Bjerve for the text -- images of solar activity 1996/1999 courtesy of NASA

Trends in Natural Disaster . . .

white_wizard — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:41:57 GMT

Significant Extremes

white_wizard — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:33:21 GMT

Art for Life

white_wizard — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 22:20:08 GMT

And then I remember the things that please me . . . . . . in solitary refinement. Check http://www.slashTHREE.com

The Truth about success through the ages . . .

white_wizard — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:57:20 GMT

At age 4 success is ... not peeing in your pants. At age 12 success is ... having friends. At age 16 success is ... having a drivers license. At age 20 success is ... having sex. At age 35 success is ... having money. At age 50 success is ... having money. At age 60 success is ... having sex. At age 70 success is ... having a drivers license. At age 75 success is ... having friends. At age 80 success is ... not peeing in your pants.

Why are men so happy?

white_wizard — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:44:19 GMT

It's easier to see why men are happier than women -- at least, from their point of view. One woman's list: * Your last name stays put. * The garage is all yours. * Wedding plans take care of themselves. * Chocolate is just another snack. * You can be president. * You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. * Car mechanics tell you the truth. * The world is your urinal. * You never have to drive to another gas station because this one's just too icky. * Same work, more pay. * Wrinkles add character. * Wedding dress - $5000; tux rental - $100. * People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them. * The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. * New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet. * One mood all the time. * Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat. * You know stuff about tanks. * A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. * You can open all your own jars. * You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness. * If someone forgets to invite you to something, he or she can still be your friend. * Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack. * Everything on your face stays its original color. * Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. * You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut or a bolt. * You almost never have strap problems in public. * You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes. * The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. * You don't have to shave below your neck. * Your belly usually hides your big hips. * One wallet and one pair of shoes, one color, all seasons. * You can "do" your nails with a pocketknife. * You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache. * You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives, on December 24, in 45 minutes.

Replicator

white_wizard — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:48:16 GMT

Replicator I have no volition. I have no purpose. I replicate. Why? It happens. I have ancestors. You are their product. I have brothers. You are our medium. I am the nagging jingle. You sing. More hear. They sing. More me. You will sing. Why? Builtins -- desires and fears -- courtesy of my ancestors. I have bait. Spread me and you will have (peace of mind | a pleasurable afterlife | friends who know my truth). Try to ignore me and I will (haunt you | torment you in the afterlife | excommunicate you)! ...and your family! You're hooked. I am the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and bad. You eat. Where did I come from? It matters not. OK, a million monkeys banging on typewriters and eating alphabet soup for a billion years. What's the difference? My pattern now exists in you. I am a replicator. You are my vector. -- by Joel Meulenberg