silence is the medium

Ruth Whippman’s short article (on page 22 of the August 8th issue of Time Magazine) on “Women’s empowerment” was eye-opening. In her write up, Time mentions she has a book coming out October 4th entitled How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks.

I know a little about the subject of pursuing happiness. She is right. It’s the pursuit that’s the culprit.

Here’s the deal, most psychology professionals will agree that when we pursue something we have to have, the pursued tends to be harder to catch. So, to obtain it, somehow we must get to the point where it doesn’t matter whether we have it or not.

This is the point where many professionals may part company. The ancients say a deep-down satisfaction cannot be found, it finds you. So here’s where the “somehow” comes in. How can this happen? The ancients say satisfaction is residing inside of us, and when we do helpful things for ourselves and others, happiness or satisfaction will happen. What could happen to influence us to be more helpful?

The ancients say the top most respectable thing we can do is to honor and be truly grateful for our own human animal.

They say our happiness is not out in the world around us; it’s in our animal, and we can commune with it and do it on a regular basis as you would commune with a loved one.

Silence is the medium.

Our animal is our all. Our appreciation of our being’s skills, talent and awareness is key.

Our animal keeps us safe in a pattern in its brain. [I don’t know if the ancients would agree with that statement.] And long ago, our animals put you an me in charge of their care about the time we learned to respond to our names.

So, how does this communing work? We use the animal’s awareness. Classical meditation (using a mantra and correct posture) helps at this point and allows us to drop our language habit for longer and longer periods and in different circumstances.

When there are no thoughts, you and I do not exist and our animal responds to this recognition of its total underpinning of our existence. Awareness or sleep happens. We need to practice being in the moment until we no longer need to practice it.

When we are in regular touch with our animal, our being, it can give us a continuous deep satisfaction even when we experience sad or hurtful situations. Happiness is something else and happens in a wide spectrum from joy at an enemy’s death to giving birth to a normal and healthy baby.

Deep satisfaction happens and is available if we don’t have to have it.

Meditation without expectation.

the big n and g words

Out I go a-walking; as I go I want to be out in nature which deserves a big n; yet it doesn’t care; there’s no reason to nature; it just does whatever is happening; nature built this structure I’m on. It’s the case; there is no doubt in my mind n has built many structures in other star systems.

There’s a special hill I’m walking by and I’m looking up its steep and curving slope, and I pass it by for now.

As I go it seems I’m beginning to notice everything and sense the life under my feet and on the surface and above me in the leaves of trees. I think of how the DNA code in my every cell is designed to work like all life on earth and as I consider this, there’s the feeling of non-separateness.

After these thoughts, I’m relaxed and taking it all in and ready to face society with a more positive attitude and will be able to better enjoy it by paying more attention.

Later, I think about how I was told a human body is made of the most common elements of the universe. I feel a part of everything when I stop thinking and start a simple noticing.

My animal supports me and balances me as it moves me across the face of our massive home while gravity (should have a big g but it doesn’t care) is responsible for everything. 

Is gravity the only viable candidate for pulling off the Big Bang and for our present state?

we are looking or not

Leave it.
Say good by 
and don’t promise
yourself you’ll not be back;
it’s one moment at a time time.
It’s a highway. One
could say
we’re
moving
and conscious
and our view is 180
degrees in all directions
and things happen as change
moves through us in one direction.
Is the future always behind us and reveals itself automatically
because its future world needs no props.
And the view is always here
whether we are
looking
or
not…

It’s what one says or does, and
it’s what the other gets out of it
that’s a new creation.

willing & able

Is normality an idea we
are already
using?

What
else is there
besides our default mode?

Is being willing & able to say “no”
in a gracious manner
a start?

something physical

When I go out into nature and notice the life around me, I see trees, blades of grass, animals, insects, other humans, friends, and sometimes I remember the innumerable creatures living in the topsoil and in my gut.

We know all of the diverse life on earth has DNA as its sole architect and builder. We humans are all cousins and are related to everything living on and in the earth, and in a sense, the earth is our mother and the universe our father. We all belong and are not separate. We are bound with unbreakable ties to each other and to all existence.

My body’s source is recorded in my DNA. But…what about me, the identity, the one responding to the name Marvin? What’s my source? The human animal? Who or what else could have created me? Where do I exist? Am I a very useful electrical pattern in my body’s brain and don’t actually exist as something physical?

If so, does this mean I will not be punished after my body’s death for my misdeeds during life because I will cease to exist without my innocent body’s support? Is there no magical judge in the sky or are there thousands?

words of the wise

We all know by now:
Our thinking can hold us back
because it can be too negative and too wishful.

And don’t
we need some
negative to spare us disasters
&
some wishful to spur visions?

In the
wise words
of the wise everywhere:
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
In new words, Don’t take the
spices and knowhow
out of the
kitchen.

And the
saying could mean:
Notice what you’re doing! or
Don’t reveal your strategy before a contest, etc.

—

Teachers can use the putting of wise sayings into one’s own words to give their students a creative exercise using sayings like the one above. And afterwards ask, Who would like to read their translation? Then have them take turns reading what they have created and fun is likely to happen.

As you know, their are many books of great quotes and sayings to draw from. The combination of exposure to your selections of great thoughts and a child’s deep participation in the essence of the sayings can build a reservoir of lifelong positivity and practicality. This is my opinion, obviously, but it may actually happen. It surely can’t hurt can it?

Also, a parent can write a saying on a piece of paper and give it to their child and say “See if you can put this saying into your own words.” And afterwards, talk about what he or she has written. And a parent can also put his or her child’s suggested saying into their own words and then talk about it. A daily exercise taking turns?

• Parents and teachers should give an example
or two when introducing the exercise.
• Suggested time allowed for creation: 3 minutes or
until the class noise begins to rise.
• Suggested age: The child should know
how to read and write.

To your students or child you might say, You may be asking Why are we (or) Why am I doing this?

You can answer, It’s an exercise in creative writing. It gets your mind working to create something original. You’ll catch on and it’s fun…creation feels good.”

maybe atoms

Does
gravity affect
everything? My first thought
was that it does, ultimately. Without it,
the universe would be full of lifeless drifting stuff
of who knows what,
maybe atoms?

Is gravity
the cause of
everything’s shape
and is affecting everything?
Yet, does it have an effect on the process
of understanding something?
Or ideas of any kind?
Or feelings?

Is gravity
everywhere? Is it
always stronger or weaker? 
And do all things naturally adapt to it?
Is that what
we have
done?

Had the
earth been larger,
wouldn’t its creatures
have more muscles
and stronger
bones?

its everyday use

The
constant
wishing to have
and do what others have and do

makes us miss looking after ourselves, and
what’s more, we are entranced 
by this language habit.
All the while,
away it
goes, our
precious time.

As a steady stream of time comes from a hole in
one’s time balloon, does our being
in the language trance make
us too busy or so lost
to notice it?

The
idea of
time comes up
once in a while, but
what about its everyday use?

Would having better health lower the volume
of time escaping daily, all things
being equal for
tendencies
sake?

Are all
things tending
one way or another?

to spur visions

We all know by now:
Our thinking can hold us back
because it can be too negative and wishful.

But don’t
we need some
negative to spare us disasters
&
some wishful to spur visions?

In the
wise words
of the wise everywhere:
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
In new words, Don’t take the
spices and knowhow
out of the
kitchen.

And the
saying could mean:
Notice what you’re doing! and
Don’t reveal your strategy before a contest. Etc.

—

Teachers can use the putting wise sayings into one’s own words to give their students a creative exercise using sayings like the above “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” And later ask, Who would like to read theirs? Then have them take turns reading what they have created and fun is likely to happen.

As you know, there are many books of great quotes and sayings to draw from. The combination of exposure to your selections of great thoughts and a child’s deep participation in the essence of the sayings can build a reservoir of lifelong positivity. (This is an opinion, obviously, but it may actually happen. It surely can’t hurt can it?) Also…

Parents can write a saying on a piece of paper and give it to their child and say “See if you can put this saying into your own words.” And afterwards, talk about what he or she has written.

Parents and teachers should give an example
when introducing the exercise.
Suggested time allowed for creation: 3-5 minutes or
until the class noise begins to rise.
Suggested age: The student or child should know
how to read and write.

To your students or child you might say ”You may be asking yourself Why are we doing this? It’s an exercise in creative writing. It gets your mind working to create something original. You’ll catch on and it’s fun…creation feels good.”

air water food and fellowship

How can we improve the
quality of life on
our planet?

We need to 

find and install cleaner technologies and more
and more energy sources which are renewable and nonpolluting
(sun, waves, wind, thermal, gravity, and maybe fusion)

get better information about health by promoting more research into what can keep us and our surroundings healthy
(based on past performance, we can’t depend on our government to get it right because special interests spoil the process, so, each of us needs to find our own path to health)

find out how to provide ourselves with better governance
(take the money out of politics)

find better and better ways to eliminate poverty
(starting now, make sure everyone gets a high-quality education and let the top-tier rich pay for it because they will receive a huge financial benefit down the road and will be able to reminisce about how they saved the country), and…

Today, we
humans are
polluting the air
we breathe, the water
we drink, and the food we eat.

What needs to be changed? We need the United Nations to strictly enforce antipollution laws and complete its goal of spreading basic human rights throughout the world. Our UN needs to get some backbone and fly right. It needs to be a better tool for humanity.

Is the UN a start in the right direction? Does the world need a president and a congress with the presidents of countries becoming governors of their countries?

With everyone having the right to vote in a world with police but no soldiers and no weapons of war. It wouldn’t be a utopia but there’d be a lot less suffering in the world which would probably produce more happiness, contentment, and security.

This is a dream of many folks, and sometimes dreams come true. When? Will it be now or during the next generation, or will it happen when it’s too late?

We are all
in the same pot,
so, shouldn’t we admit it and
forgive old wounds for the sake of the future?

Will we be able to stop poisoning ourselves and the life around us? Otherwise our home could slowly degrade to the point all life will be choked out except bacteria.

If bacteria survive, they would be the parents of earth’s second generation which might turn into a nightmare because of the pollution left by the first generation.