(OB1 Avers)
There is only One Way
to be free from sin:
Give up the idea of it.
2007-07-11
2007-07-02
Cogito
(OB1 thought)
Kaleidoscope, axonic thought,
The colors of my mind explode:
Ex nihilo or not, they're there,
The cortical umbilicus
Of what and why and who and where.
Conception or genetic thought,
The process is the same I think:
Potential infinite unknowns
Are concretized in time and space,
In mental gardens they are grown.
The genesis of me unknown,
This piece of paper captures time
From three dimensions in my head,
In two dimensions smacks them down
As time itself will smack me dead.
The unformed, caught in webs of life,
Are given shape in shapeless nows;
Into the finite world they fall
From shapeless possibilities,
And structure solid I-am walls.
Kaleidoscope, axonic thought,
The colors of my mind explode:
Ex nihilo or not, they're there,
The cortical umbilicus
Of what and why and who and where.
Conception or genetic thought,
The process is the same I think:
Potential infinite unknowns
Are concretized in time and space,
In mental gardens they are grown.
The genesis of me unknown,
This piece of paper captures time
From three dimensions in my head,
In two dimensions smacks them down
As time itself will smack me dead.
The unformed, caught in webs of life,
Are given shape in shapeless nows;
Into the finite world they fall
From shapeless possibilities,
And structure solid I-am walls.
Refiner's Fire
(OB1 struggled)
I hurt to search for god(s)
Inside or out:
The empty, echoing
Unanswered questioning . . .
Refiner's fire.
How hard to uncreate realities
When none are given sure
Except the choice
To make the world or not.
But then, who knows?
Do I? I do.
But what do I
Except by chance?
Refiner's fire.
And then what choices do I make
That were not made for me
When random chance and circumstance
Prescribed reality for me
Within my web of flesh,
My brain, my animal?
Refiner's fire.
From time and space the DNA from two
And thousands yet before,
Linked up
And made the space I am in time,
Like looking at the images of selves
While sandwiched in between
Two mirrored walls,
The twisting molecules with patterns set
To replicate and grow a me,
A vehicle for changeling mind
That builds on pasts and banished ghosts,
Yet reaches out to find the new.
Refiner's fire.
I know I came from stars.
I know I'll fall apart again, dissolve.
But what of in between?
What now, what then, what god(s), what
surety?
Alone, I feel alone
And search the deep inside or out.
I do not know.
I know.
Refiner's fire.
I hurt to search for god(s)
Inside or out:
The empty, echoing
Unanswered questioning . . .
Refiner's fire.
How hard to uncreate realities
When none are given sure
Except the choice
To make the world or not.
But then, who knows?
Do I? I do.
But what do I
Except by chance?
Refiner's fire.
And then what choices do I make
That were not made for me
When random chance and circumstance
Prescribed reality for me
Within my web of flesh,
My brain, my animal?
Refiner's fire.
From time and space the DNA from two
And thousands yet before,
Linked up
And made the space I am in time,
Like looking at the images of selves
While sandwiched in between
Two mirrored walls,
The twisting molecules with patterns set
To replicate and grow a me,
A vehicle for changeling mind
That builds on pasts and banished ghosts,
Yet reaches out to find the new.
Refiner's fire.
I know I came from stars.
I know I'll fall apart again, dissolve.
But what of in between?
What now, what then, what god(s), what
surety?
Alone, I feel alone
And search the deep inside or out.
I do not know.
I know.
Refiner's fire.
2007-06-29
Christ at the Door
(OB1 lamented)
Christ, if you came knocking
At my door another time,
And not so close to death,
I might have answered.
But you've wrapped yourself in
Others' flesh too many times
To force your presence on me.
Without an answer back,
Without an acknowledgment,
You ignored me when
I cried out to you,
When I pled you my case.
Too many times I've splintered
My fists on the unopened door:
There, in the rasp and click
Of mechanical breathing
Machines and suction tubes;
There in charred children's
Flesh and bandaged bodies;
There in parents' anguished looks—
The grief, the pain unfolding.
I've seen enough of you
There, in old bodies, pleading
To be released in death,
To suffer not long
Endless days of nothing
There in wasting forevers
In the prisons of the old;
There, beside dead father's
Corpse, the widow grieving and
The child not touching,
The flesh growing cold,
The anguishing feeling,
The truth of separation:
No more tomorrows of him;
There, in cheap wine mists of
Consciousness clouded clots of
Memories fading
In a green bottle
Sea of forgetfulness:
There is no room in the inn
For the alcohol children;
There, there in a hundred
Deaths' hundred thousand dyings,
Where I have seen your face,
I reached out to them,
I reached out to hold them
Because I saw them crying.
And now I am burned out.
Now I am burned out and dead.
The little left to me—
My specially loved—
You have begun to eat.
And when I cry out to you,
You crucify me with pain.
Once more, from your left hand,
The unfolding question-marks,
The tear-rimmed eyes brimming,
The coming of death,
The silent anguish they
Strain to hold within themselves,
Within their webs of aching.
Thus, god, I am tired.
Thus, god, so goddamned tired:
No resurrecting strength
Is left where fires
Consumed my heart, and
Left cremated ashes in
My flesh, an empty vessel.
Christ, if you came knocking
At my door another time,
And not so close to death,
I might have answered.
But you've wrapped yourself in
Others' flesh too many times
To force your presence on me.
Without an answer back,
Without an acknowledgment,
You ignored me when
I cried out to you,
When I pled you my case.
Too many times I've splintered
My fists on the unopened door:
There, in the rasp and click
Of mechanical breathing
Machines and suction tubes;
There in charred children's
Flesh and bandaged bodies;
There in parents' anguished looks—
The grief, the pain unfolding.
I've seen enough of you
There, in old bodies, pleading
To be released in death,
To suffer not long
Endless days of nothing
There in wasting forevers
In the prisons of the old;
There, beside dead father's
Corpse, the widow grieving and
The child not touching,
The flesh growing cold,
The anguishing feeling,
The truth of separation:
No more tomorrows of him;
There, in cheap wine mists of
Consciousness clouded clots of
Memories fading
In a green bottle
Sea of forgetfulness:
There is no room in the inn
For the alcohol children;
There, there in a hundred
Deaths' hundred thousand dyings,
Where I have seen your face,
I reached out to them,
I reached out to hold them
Because I saw them crying.
And now I am burned out.
Now I am burned out and dead.
The little left to me—
My specially loved—
You have begun to eat.
And when I cry out to you,
You crucify me with pain.
Once more, from your left hand,
The unfolding question-marks,
The tear-rimmed eyes brimming,
The coming of death,
The silent anguish they
Strain to hold within themselves,
Within their webs of aching.
Thus, god, I am tired.
Thus, god, so goddamned tired:
No resurrecting strength
Is left where fires
Consumed my heart, and
Left cremated ashes in
My flesh, an empty vessel.
2007-06-27
Not-So-Original Sin
(OB1 wrote)
Our ancestors in Eden fell
And helped us all go straight to hell
Without the need to give a hoot
About the choice to eat the fruit.
The many billion souls of us
Have never had to make a fuss
About the prodding of the snake:
It is assumed we're on the take.
Our ancestors in Eden fell
And helped us all go straight to hell
Without the need to give a hoot
About the choice to eat the fruit.
The many billion souls of us
Have never had to make a fuss
About the prodding of the snake:
It is assumed we're on the take.
2007-06-26
No Need for a Prime Mover
(OB1 reflects)
I read the words “Prime Mover” this morning, while reading a geographer's thoughts on the Nevada deserts of the Great Basin.
When I think about the universe, when I look around, and think there is no need for a prime mover as an explanation for existence, my experience becomes richer, awesome, alive, fertile. I am a part of a living thing.
If I think there was a prime mover, the universe becomes a thing, and I feel dissociated from it.
Without a prime mover, I can talk to the universe and be heard. I can completely express myself, say anything I want. There is no judgment, only the unfolding present.
My consciousness arises, and my consciousness will fade away.
I look at the beauty of the universe’s existence, watching it flow, from wonder, into wonder.
This is not about reason, nor what has to be, but my experience of what is.
The universe is a great smorgasbord, and though I cannot partake of it all, I am a participant in it.
I read the words “Prime Mover” this morning, while reading a geographer's thoughts on the Nevada deserts of the Great Basin.
When I think about the universe, when I look around, and think there is no need for a prime mover as an explanation for existence, my experience becomes richer, awesome, alive, fertile. I am a part of a living thing.
If I think there was a prime mover, the universe becomes a thing, and I feel dissociated from it.
Without a prime mover, I can talk to the universe and be heard. I can completely express myself, say anything I want. There is no judgment, only the unfolding present.
My consciousness arises, and my consciousness will fade away.
I look at the beauty of the universe’s existence, watching it flow, from wonder, into wonder.
This is not about reason, nor what has to be, but my experience of what is.
The universe is a great smorgasbord, and though I cannot partake of it all, I am a participant in it.
2007-06-24
2007-06-14
Q.E.D.
(OB1 thinks)
The truth about all of us
That is only acceptable to some of us
Could exterminate all of us
By an ignorant few of us.
The truth about all of us
That is only acceptable to some of us
Could exterminate all of us
By an ignorant few of us.
2007-06-13
Reality
(The Universe--through OB1--observed)
Things are not what they appear to be;
unless you think they are.
Things are not what they appear to be;
unless you think they are.
2007-06-12
2007-06-08
2007-05-30
In Memorium
(OB1 observes)
Depending on who does it,
the only two things lost in death
are ignorance and idiocy.
Depending on who does it,
the only two things lost in death
are ignorance and idiocy.
2007-05-13
Stranger Than We Can Imagine
(OB1 notices)
The person who asks,
"Is this all there is?"
Hasn't even started the race.
The person who asks,
"Is this all there is?"
Hasn't even started the race.
2007-05-04
2007-05-03
The Ship of Fools
(OB1 observed)
Most human primates make no distinction between
their thoughts and their existence.
If you threaten their beliefs, you threaten them with annihilation.
Most human primates will fight to survive by rejecting the perceived threat.
Human primate ideas about the meaning of existence and events
and their causes,
are the attempt to survive.
It is extremely difficult for an ignorant human primate
to understand the natural process of cause and effect,
but they will give it meaning.
(“Ignorant" is not used as a moral judgment,
but as a statement of the lack of information).
If a human primate believes the survuval-based idea
of a reality-creating god, who rewards and punishes
disobedient non-believing human primates,
and, that idea is threatened,
they will vigorously defend themselves (idea = self-concept),
and even try to eliminate the threat by whatever means serve their survival.
A great dilemma in our time
is how to ameliorate ignorant, survival-based, in-group absolutism.
Most human primates make no distinction between
their thoughts and their existence.
If you threaten their beliefs, you threaten them with annihilation.
Most human primates will fight to survive by rejecting the perceived threat.
Human primate ideas about the meaning of existence and events
and their causes,
are the attempt to survive.
It is extremely difficult for an ignorant human primate
to understand the natural process of cause and effect,
but they will give it meaning.
(“Ignorant" is not used as a moral judgment,
but as a statement of the lack of information).
If a human primate believes the survuval-based idea
of a reality-creating god, who rewards and punishes
disobedient non-believing human primates,
and, that idea is threatened,
they will vigorously defend themselves (idea = self-concept),
and even try to eliminate the threat by whatever means serve their survival.
A great dilemma in our time
is how to ameliorate ignorant, survival-based, in-group absolutism.
2007-04-11
The Other Conscious Mind
(OB1 noticed)
God and Satan;
One and the same,
Each hiding in the same place,
Inside you,
Until you recognize the Other.
Does the Other recognize you?
God and Satan;
One and the same,
Each hiding in the same place,
Inside you,
Until you recognize the Other.
Does the Other recognize you?
2007-04-08
2007-04-07
On Religious Fanaticism
(Former US President Bill Clinton said)
"In other words,
they thought their differences were more important
than their common humanity.
It is the central, psychological plague of human kind
in the twenty-first century."
On accepting a 2007 TED Prize
http://www.ted.com/
"In other words,
they thought their differences were more important
than their common humanity.
It is the central, psychological plague of human kind
in the twenty-first century."
On accepting a 2007 TED Prize
http://www.ted.com/
2007-03-22
Being Real
(OB1 said again)
No matter how outrageous the lie you tell,
or how many masks you wear,
you are always your authentic self.
No matter how outrageous the lie you tell,
or how many masks you wear,
you are always your authentic self.
2007-03-20
2007-03-13
2007-03-09
2007-03-02
Another Serving of Heat, Please
(OB1 Observed)
I love experiencing the "laws" of the universe at play, in the stars of the night sky, the roaring of waterfalls, the blossoming of fragrant flowers. I am not so thrilled to view the top of my desk as an expression of the second law of thermodynamics.
I love experiencing the "laws" of the universe at play, in the stars of the night sky, the roaring of waterfalls, the blossoming of fragrant flowers. I am not so thrilled to view the top of my desk as an expression of the second law of thermodynamics.
2007-02-25
2007-02-20
You are Here
(OB1, being an expression thereof, said)
The Universe is its own destiny.
(Unless something bigger eats it.)
The Universe is its own destiny.
(Unless something bigger eats it.)
2007-02-04
Never Never Never Never, Maybe
(OB1 says)
Self-deception is the easiest thing to do,
And the hardest thing to admit.
Self-deception is the easiest thing to do,
And the hardest thing to admit.
2007-02-03
Ashes, the Unstruck Match Burns
(I write)
The path I walk is, at the same time,
like a straight line, from day to day; yet
meandering here and there, from moment to moment;
both purposeful and purposeless,
depending on the shifting sands of my attitude;
and most certainly like a labyrinth,
if I am willing to surrender and not surrender
at the same time.
Wandering in circles, loops, back and forth,
I walk a straight path,
from beginning to end,
here in one moment, gone the next.
Existence, regardless.
The path I walk is, at the same time,
like a straight line, from day to day; yet
meandering here and there, from moment to moment;
both purposeful and purposeless,
depending on the shifting sands of my attitude;
and most certainly like a labyrinth,
if I am willing to surrender and not surrender
at the same time.
Wandering in circles, loops, back and forth,
I walk a straight path,
from beginning to end,
here in one moment, gone the next.
Existence, regardless.
2007-01-26
2007-01-24
2007-01-21
Truth and Consequences
(OB1 says)
One of the greatest lies:
the truth will set you free.
Depending on the circumstances,
the truth is likely to get you killed.
One of the greatest lies:
the truth will set you free.
Depending on the circumstances,
the truth is likely to get you killed.
2007-01-04
A Moving Experience
(OB1 said)
A Chinese sage said something like, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
But I say unto you, "Moving my office two blocks was way more of a pain in the ass."
A Chinese sage said something like, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
But I say unto you, "Moving my office two blocks was way more of a pain in the ass."
2006-12-31
2006-12-26
With Number 7 You Get Egg Roll
(OB1 says)
Three Wise Men came to the manger from the East bearing gifts,
Which they bought for 50% off at a Pre-Christmas sale,
Causing the Chinese, who manufactured the goods,
To look at their balance of trade statistics with the United States,
And thus sing, "What a friend we have in Jesus."
Three Wise Men came to the manger from the East bearing gifts,
Which they bought for 50% off at a Pre-Christmas sale,
Causing the Chinese, who manufactured the goods,
To look at their balance of trade statistics with the United States,
And thus sing, "What a friend we have in Jesus."
2006-12-23
2006-12-21
Who Knows?
(Ob1 said)
I don't know. I believe.
I don't know, I believe.
I don't know I believe.
You know?
You know.
You believe you know.
I know.
I know I believe I know.
I don't know. I believe.
I don't know, I believe.
I don't know I believe.
You know?
You know.
You believe you know.
I know.
I know I believe I know.
2006-12-20
2006-12-19
Crazy for You
(Ob1 says)
It's 8:30 a.m. and I'm about to enter the assylum
to play with the other inmates.
Or, you might say,
I'm leaving the house.
In either case
they let us have the keys.
It's 8:30 a.m. and I'm about to enter the assylum
to play with the other inmates.
Or, you might say,
I'm leaving the house.
In either case
they let us have the keys.
2006-12-16
2006-12-08
The Joy of People
(OB1 said)
Some days I feel like the therapist,
some days like an inmate in the assylum.
Other days all I want to do is lock the gate
and go home.
Some days I feel like the therapist,
some days like an inmate in the assylum.
Other days all I want to do is lock the gate
and go home.
2006-10-31
Bang
(OB1 observes)
In defining oneself,
everyone defines others:
in or out,
enemy or friend,
good or bad,
trying to decide who is safe or not.
There is no escape from death,
as we think we know it.
It isn't a matter of "if,"
but "when,"
sooner or later.
There are no enemies.
We do not point nuclear weapons at others,
but at ourselves:
we point the gun
at our own head.
The circle includes everyone.
And everything.
In defining oneself,
everyone defines others:
in or out,
enemy or friend,
good or bad,
trying to decide who is safe or not.
There is no escape from death,
as we think we know it.
It isn't a matter of "if,"
but "when,"
sooner or later.
There are no enemies.
We do not point nuclear weapons at others,
but at ourselves:
we point the gun
at our own head.
The circle includes everyone.
And everything.
All Forms from the One
(OB1 learned)
All-that-is manifests from one essence,
Continually changing forms.
Lao Tzu expressed it this way:
"From wonder, into wonder
Existence opens."
Tao Te Ching
All-that-is manifests from one essence,
Continually changing forms.
Lao Tzu expressed it this way:
"From wonder, into wonder
Existence opens."
Tao Te Ching
2006-10-30
This Blog's Purpose
(Consider this)
The purpose of this blog is to explore spirituality
as a common phenomenon among all people,
placing it in the context of human primate experience and expression,
with the essential understanding that we are an example of the universe
that is awake and aware as us, seeking to know itself, in us.
I believe, in my experience, that the ultimate question for human primates is about identity. Everything we experience flows from our sense of self.
My questions have shifted from, "Who am I, and what is my place in the universe?" to "What is the universe, and how are we a manifestation of it?" "We" includes all that is, as we are capable of seeking and perceiving the all-that-is.
Curiosity is certainty's spiritual guide.
Scientific exploration is today's spiritual practice, and produces a sense of awe and wonder.
Awe and wonder are the most profound expressions of spiritual experience.
You are the universe,
in primate form, in primate mind,
awake and aware of itself,
seeking to know itself,
as best it can,
in you, as you.
The purpose of this blog is to explore spirituality
as a common phenomenon among all people,
placing it in the context of human primate experience and expression,
with the essential understanding that we are an example of the universe
that is awake and aware as us, seeking to know itself, in us.
I believe, in my experience, that the ultimate question for human primates is about identity. Everything we experience flows from our sense of self.
My questions have shifted from, "Who am I, and what is my place in the universe?" to "What is the universe, and how are we a manifestation of it?" "We" includes all that is, as we are capable of seeking and perceiving the all-that-is.
Curiosity is certainty's spiritual guide.
Scientific exploration is today's spiritual practice, and produces a sense of awe and wonder.
Awe and wonder are the most profound expressions of spiritual experience.
You are the universe,
in primate form, in primate mind,
awake and aware of itself,
seeking to know itself,
as best it can,
in you, as you.
2006-10-15
2006-10-12
Waiting for Godot
(Bishop Keller said)
There are floaters
And there are sinkers,
And I'm somewhere in between.
(OB1 wondered)
I'll bet there's a difference
between the trip up
and the trip down.
There are floaters
And there are sinkers,
And I'm somewhere in between.
(OB1 wondered)
I'll bet there's a difference
between the trip up
and the trip down.
2006-10-03
Awakening Somewhere in the Middle
(Bishop Keller contemplated)
I've spent all this time
trying to rise to the top,
only to discover
I have become a floater
in the cesspool of life.
I've spent all this time
trying to rise to the top,
only to discover
I have become a floater
in the cesspool of life.
2006-09-28
2006-09-24
More Synodical Sayings
(OB1 mentioned to Bishop Keller)
If you don't want to feel like shit,
stop being the fertilizer
for soneone else's flower.
If you don't want to feel like shit,
stop being the fertilizer
for soneone else's flower.
2006-09-22
Then There's That
(Overheard in the Synod of Bishops)
OB1: Bishop Keller, one day you're really going to get [understand] it.
OB3: I already get it; I just don't want it.
OB1: Bishop Keller, one day you're really going to get [understand] it.
OB3: I already get it; I just don't want it.
2006-09-19
Amen and Amen
(Bishop Keller said, in a moment of rare clarity)
I may know what the truth is,
but that still doesn't mean
I'm going to do the right thing.
I may know what the truth is,
but that still doesn't mean
I'm going to do the right thing.
2006-09-14
2006-09-13
2006-09-12
2006-09-11
Conundrum
(ON1 observed)
Belief is both a blessing and a curse.
It is a blessing when it provides you with direction;
It is a curse if the direction requires you
To condemn someone else for theirs.
Belief is both a blessing and a curse.
It is a blessing when it provides you with direction;
It is a curse if the direction requires you
To condemn someone else for theirs.
2006-09-08
2006-09-07
Beyond the Trauma Drama
(Jae Woong Kim wrote)
Who wrote this play
in which we have to laugh, cry,
and exit according to the script?
No god can write it, nor can Buddha.
Only your own mind can write it.
Polishing the Diamond
(Go to: How to Change Your Drama)
Who wrote this play
in which we have to laugh, cry,
and exit according to the script?
No god can write it, nor can Buddha.
Only your own mind can write it.
Polishing the Diamond
(Go to: How to Change Your Drama)
2006-09-06
2006-09-02
Another Problem Solved
(God reports)
555 and I are close to developing theological suppositories for fundamentalist human primate leaders of all religions. It should relieve them of what little thinking they do, as well as provide them something tangible to do with their teaching.
555 and I are close to developing theological suppositories for fundamentalist human primate leaders of all religions. It should relieve them of what little thinking they do, as well as provide them something tangible to do with their teaching.
2006-09-01
And That Changes What?
(OB1 wrote)
Lazarus from his tomb sprang out
And on his face he wore a pout:
"My God, why did you cause this fuss?
Are you afraid of death, Jesus?
I mean, I was content to die,
So why not simply let me lie
Within the tomb I had called mine?
Now must I die a second time?
I mean, this is beyond belief--
Now all will have a double grief,
A funeral to pay again!
Why did you wake me up, my friend?"
And Jesus said,
"I know it's awful,
But Johnny here is writing gospel.
So really, Laz, don't act so groggy--
I could have brought you back a froggy.
And if you push and gripe and goad
I'll change you to a hoppy toad,
Or better yet, a pig!"
"Oh no, sir!
That wouldn't be at all quite kosher!"
So Lazarus came 'a smiling out,
And six months later died of gout.
JOHN 11:44-45
Lazarus from his tomb sprang out
And on his face he wore a pout:
"My God, why did you cause this fuss?
Are you afraid of death, Jesus?
I mean, I was content to die,
So why not simply let me lie
Within the tomb I had called mine?
Now must I die a second time?
I mean, this is beyond belief--
Now all will have a double grief,
A funeral to pay again!
Why did you wake me up, my friend?"
And Jesus said,
"I know it's awful,
But Johnny here is writing gospel.
So really, Laz, don't act so groggy--
I could have brought you back a froggy.
And if you push and gripe and goad
I'll change you to a hoppy toad,
Or better yet, a pig!"
"Oh no, sir!
That wouldn't be at all quite kosher!"
So Lazarus came 'a smiling out,
And six months later died of gout.
JOHN 11:44-45
2006-08-29
Original Sin (Or Not)
(OB1 wrote)
Our ancestors in Eden fell
And helped us all go straight to hell
Without the need to give a hoot
About the choice to eat the fruit.
The many billion souls of us
Have never had to make a fuss
About the prodding of the snake:
It is assumed we're on the take.
Our ancestors in Eden fell
And helped us all go straight to hell
Without the need to give a hoot
About the choice to eat the fruit.
The many billion souls of us
Have never had to make a fuss
About the prodding of the snake:
It is assumed we're on the take.
2006-08-27
The Universe Awakening
(OB1 remembered)
Good, fond memory of rock and trees,
when you ran your hand over the bark,
and felt kinship with the towering pines.
They were alive to you,
and you understood your kinship.
You held the smooth stones
in your hand and felt their hardness.
Rock and earth, birthplace of being,
alive from the dust and the earth.
See the elements from which you came.
Know that the wind will blow your ashes away,
and you who were will be scattered once again to the stars.
Now, this consciousness,
now this precious consciousness
for which you shout thanks!
To be alive and experience—
there is nothing greater!
Dark night, with stars sparkling in the sky,
a sense of unity and profound awe.
Tears at the sudden understanding,
and the expansive inner leap into the universe.
O this inner sense you cannot name!
Thrill in the wind once again!
O the profound unknown,
and the thrill of it!
Good, fond memory of rock and trees,
when you ran your hand over the bark,
and felt kinship with the towering pines.
They were alive to you,
and you understood your kinship.
You held the smooth stones
in your hand and felt their hardness.
Rock and earth, birthplace of being,
alive from the dust and the earth.
See the elements from which you came.
Know that the wind will blow your ashes away,
and you who were will be scattered once again to the stars.
Now, this consciousness,
now this precious consciousness
for which you shout thanks!
To be alive and experience—
there is nothing greater!
Dark night, with stars sparkling in the sky,
a sense of unity and profound awe.
Tears at the sudden understanding,
and the expansive inner leap into the universe.
O this inner sense you cannot name!
Thrill in the wind once again!
O the profound unknown,
and the thrill of it!
2006-08-26
2006-08-25
2006-08-24
2006-08-23
2006-08-22
2006-08-21
Jesus is My Gardener
(Marvin Meyer quotes)
For, one who has not known oneself
has not known anything,
but one who has known oneself
already has acquired knowledge
about the depth of the universe.
The Unknown Sayings of Jesus, #45
For, one who has not known oneself
has not known anything,
but one who has known oneself
already has acquired knowledge
about the depth of the universe.
The Unknown Sayings of Jesus, #45
2006-08-20
Will We All Wake Up?
(OB1 says)
Listen, Monkeys: some of the people who are asking the really important questions are scientists. It might surprise you how profoundly they feel a great sense of Awe, standing at the edge of perception, staring into the face of the universe, and realizing that the thing they study is awake and aware in us, staring back at itself.
Listen, Monkeys: some of the people who are asking the really important questions are scientists. It might surprise you how profoundly they feel a great sense of Awe, standing at the edge of perception, staring into the face of the universe, and realizing that the thing they study is awake and aware in us, staring back at itself.
As If He Knew
(The Universe asked OB1)
Where am I headed?
And what was my beginning?
Will I ever really know?
Where am I headed?
And what was my beginning?
Will I ever really know?
2006-08-19
The Appropriate Use of Surface-to-Surface Missiles
(OB1 said)
Do not commit entropy unto others,
as you would have others not commit entropy unto you.
As if.
Do not commit entropy unto others,
as you would have others not commit entropy unto you.
As if.
2006-08-17
The Absolute Truth
(OB1 wondered)
You might have all the facts,
but how many ways can you assemble them?
Is there a proper sequence?
Here are five facts: 1. 4; 2. 2; 3. =; 4. +; 5. 2.
Actually, it took twenty facts to convey five facts.
So what is their proper sequence?
What is the truth of “42 = +2”?
You might have all the facts,
but how many ways can you assemble them?
Is there a proper sequence?
Here are five facts: 1. 4; 2. 2; 3. =; 4. +; 5. 2.
Actually, it took twenty facts to convey five facts.
So what is their proper sequence?
What is the truth of “42 = +2”?
2006-08-16
A Pearl of Great Price on Sale
(The Rev. Mr. Pat Robertspawn said)
A fool and his money are soon parted.
Praise the Lord!
A fool and his money are soon parted.
Praise the Lord!
The One True Path
(OB1 said)
There is only one path:
It is wide enough for everyone.
Why push and shove?
It leads us all to the same place.
No need to jostle for position along the Way,
Nor at the Door:
We all pass through.
We all have the best seat in the house.
There is only one path:
It is wide enough for everyone.
Why push and shove?
It leads us all to the same place.
No need to jostle for position along the Way,
Nor at the Door:
We all pass through.
We all have the best seat in the house.
2006-08-15
2006-08-14
2006-08-12
2006-08-11
Om Tat Sat
(And the Universe said)
I am your eyes,
and all that your eyes see;
I am the thoughts in your mind,
and all that gives rise to them;
I am the sounds you hear,
and the ears that hear them;
I am every feeling you have,
the hidden meanings at your core;
I am the fragrance of flowers,
and the wind that brings aromas to you;
I am the taste of honey in your mouth,
and your lips and tongue;
I am the air that you breathe,
and I am your breath;
I am your body, your mind and your soul:
I am All-that-is,
and you are that;
There is none other.
I am your eyes,
and all that your eyes see;
I am the thoughts in your mind,
and all that gives rise to them;
I am the sounds you hear,
and the ears that hear them;
I am every feeling you have,
the hidden meanings at your core;
I am the fragrance of flowers,
and the wind that brings aromas to you;
I am the taste of honey in your mouth,
and your lips and tongue;
I am the air that you breathe,
and I am your breath;
I am your body, your mind and your soul:
I am All-that-is,
and you are that;
There is none other.
2006-08-10
Big Monkey in the Sky
(And the Universe said)
Human primates, in one way or another,
need a bigger loud scary monkey to believe in,
to save them from other big loud scary monkeys.
Human primates, in one way or another,
need a bigger loud scary monkey to believe in,
to save them from other big loud scary monkeys.
Here I Am
(Rabindranath Tagore said)
The time that my journey takes is long
and the way of it long.
I came out on the chariot of the first
gleam of light, and pursued my voyage
through the wilderness of worlds leaving
my track on many a star and planet.
It is the most distant course that comes
nearest to thyself, and that training is the
most intricate which leads to the utter
simplicity of a tune.
The traveler has to knock at every alien
door to come to his own, and one has to
wander through all the outer worlds to
reach the innermost shrine at the end.
My eyes strayed far and wide before I
shut them and said “Here art thou!”
The question and the cry “Oh, where?”
melt into tears of a thousand streams and
deluge the world with the flood of the
assurance “I am!”
Gitanjali, #12
The time that my journey takes is long
and the way of it long.
I came out on the chariot of the first
gleam of light, and pursued my voyage
through the wilderness of worlds leaving
my track on many a star and planet.
It is the most distant course that comes
nearest to thyself, and that training is the
most intricate which leads to the utter
simplicity of a tune.
The traveler has to knock at every alien
door to come to his own, and one has to
wander through all the outer worlds to
reach the innermost shrine at the end.
My eyes strayed far and wide before I
shut them and said “Here art thou!”
The question and the cry “Oh, where?”
melt into tears of a thousand streams and
deluge the world with the flood of the
assurance “I am!”
Gitanjali, #12
2006-08-09
The Essence of Fundamentalism
(The Rev. Mr. Jerry Scarewell said)
God loves you so much
that if you don't believe him
He'll torture you in Hell forever.
God loves you so much
that if you don't believe him
He'll torture you in Hell forever.
2006-08-08
Point Counterpoinnt
(And the Universe said)
There is a central point
from which your life manifests.
It is located at the nexus
between the distinction your mind makes
between the light and darkness.
There is a central point
from which your life manifests.
It is located at the nexus
between the distinction your mind makes
between the light and darkness.
Out of Stock
(OB1 Says)
Sin the the second greatest gimmick.
Unfortunately, we have none for sale here.
Sin the the second greatest gimmick.
Unfortunately, we have none for sale here.
Intense Stuff
(Ron Smothermon, M.D., wrote)
What is interesting about intense stuff
is that everyone can see the unreality of it
except the person responsible
for the mind that invented it.
Winning Through Enlightenment
What is interesting about intense stuff
is that everyone can see the unreality of it
except the person responsible
for the mind that invented it.
Winning Through Enlightenment
2006-08-07
War and the Rumor of War
(OB1 observed)
Fear and identity create the context for aggression.
It is a downward spiral of exclusion.
There will always be someone to exclude,
Until there is only one human primate left.
That one will then be at war with him/herself.
How do we create identity?
Fear and identity create the context for aggression.
It is a downward spiral of exclusion.
There will always be someone to exclude,
Until there is only one human primate left.
That one will then be at war with him/herself.
How do we create identity?
2006-08-06
Danger!
(OB1 observes)
The essential problem with us human primates is something like this: we've eliminted the threat of any other preditor waiting in the darkness for the chance to pounce on us and eat us. However, we're still fundamentally afraid of the dark. So we invent things to account for that fear. Any "enemy" or issue we invent will do. We become the object of our own fear. As Walt Kelly so knowingly misquoted, in his Pogo cartoons of years ago:
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
The essential problem with us human primates is something like this: we've eliminted the threat of any other preditor waiting in the darkness for the chance to pounce on us and eat us. However, we're still fundamentally afraid of the dark. So we invent things to account for that fear. Any "enemy" or issue we invent will do. We become the object of our own fear. As Walt Kelly so knowingly misquoted, in his Pogo cartoons of years ago:
We have met the enemy, and he is us.
2006-08-05
The Essence of All Things
(Swami Chetanananda wrote)
All things are nothing more
than condensations of the creative energy of Life.
The Breath of God
http://www.rudrapress.com/products/books/breath.htm
All things are nothing more
than condensations of the creative energy of Life.
The Breath of God
http://www.rudrapress.com/products/books/breath.htm
2006-08-04
God Muscles
(Sister Martie Neely said)
I don’t know if I heard it or read it somewhere, but somehow I came up with the phrase, “I’m flexing my God muscles today.” At first it made me laugh, yet felt strangely powerful. So, what does it mean to me?
We know that physical muscles become weak if not used—the old saying “use it or loose it” comes to mind. I suspect that’s true of our spiritual muscles as well.
Flexing my God Muscles is using my spiritual awareness, my knowingness. It’s knowing there’s a Power far greater than I, yet very much available to me. It’s accepting who and what I am by divine design. It’s knowing that God is all there is—omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient; that there is no place where God it not. It’s awareness of being connected to all life, and that there is nothing to fear, but fear itself. It is being truly grateful for God’s Power and Presence in my life. It’s not letting appearances or others control or dictate my fate. It’s knowing that under all the layers of humanity there is god, always available; that if I step out of my humanity (the worries, the cares, the what-if’s) and into the Light of my Source, surrounded by God’s Grace, the results are spectacular.
I could probably go on for days about all the meanings, but suffice it to say: God is all there is, and when I really feel this at the core of my being, I am truly flexing my God Muscles.
I don’t know if I heard it or read it somewhere, but somehow I came up with the phrase, “I’m flexing my God muscles today.” At first it made me laugh, yet felt strangely powerful. So, what does it mean to me?
We know that physical muscles become weak if not used—the old saying “use it or loose it” comes to mind. I suspect that’s true of our spiritual muscles as well.
Flexing my God Muscles is using my spiritual awareness, my knowingness. It’s knowing there’s a Power far greater than I, yet very much available to me. It’s accepting who and what I am by divine design. It’s knowing that God is all there is—omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient; that there is no place where God it not. It’s awareness of being connected to all life, and that there is nothing to fear, but fear itself. It is being truly grateful for God’s Power and Presence in my life. It’s not letting appearances or others control or dictate my fate. It’s knowing that under all the layers of humanity there is god, always available; that if I step out of my humanity (the worries, the cares, the what-if’s) and into the Light of my Source, surrounded by God’s Grace, the results are spectacular.
I could probably go on for days about all the meanings, but suffice it to say: God is all there is, and when I really feel this at the core of my being, I am truly flexing my God Muscles.
Genesis
Our life is shaped by our mind;
we become what we think.
Buddha, The Dammapada
Eknath Easwaran, Trans.
we become what we think.
Buddha, The Dammapada
Eknath Easwaran, Trans.
2006-08-03
Seriously
(And the Universe said to the Angel)
The human primates' favorite game is "let's pretend."
(And the Angel asked)
What's their second favorite game?
(And the Universe said)
Let's pretend we're not pretneding.
The human primates' favorite game is "let's pretend."
(And the Angel asked)
What's their second favorite game?
(And the Universe said)
Let's pretend we're not pretneding.
2006-08-02
Waking Up
(OB1 said)
Cosmic birth,
The Universe unfolding stardust
Into the emptiness of space . . .
Star birth,
Ancestor star,
Living, growing, bursting again,
Galactic nursery of our kind . . .
Sun igniting,
Earth condensing
From the cloudic nebula . . .
Earth,
The Sun’s companion,
Primordial life soup of stardust
Coming alive . . .
Stardust,
Crawling from the sea,
Evolving,
The myriad host of living things . . .
One night
I looked into the night sky
And saw my birthing in the stars,
And understood
I am the Universe
Conscious of itself . . .
Cosmic birth,
The Universe unfolding stardust
Into the emptiness of space . . .
Star birth,
Ancestor star,
Living, growing, bursting again,
Galactic nursery of our kind . . .
Sun igniting,
Earth condensing
From the cloudic nebula . . .
Earth,
The Sun’s companion,
Primordial life soup of stardust
Coming alive . . .
Stardust,
Crawling from the sea,
Evolving,
The myriad host of living things . . .
One night
I looked into the night sky
And saw my birthing in the stars,
And understood
I am the Universe
Conscious of itself . . .
2006-08-01
Tao Te Ching
(Lao Tsu said)
Existence is beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.
Weitter Bynner, Trans.,
The Way of Life According to Lao Tsu,
New York, Perigee Books, 1972,
Existence is beyond the power of words
To define:
Terms may be used
But are none of them absolute.
In the beginning of heaven and earth there were no words,
Words came out of the womb of matter;
And whether a man dispassionately
Sees to the core of life
Or passionately
Sees the surface,
The core and the surface
Are essentially the same,
Words making them seem different
Only to express appearance.
If name be needed, wonder names them both:
From wonder into wonder
Existence opens.
Weitter Bynner, Trans.,
The Way of Life According to Lao Tsu,
New York, Perigee Books, 1972,
Life Explained
(And the Universe said)
Your life has three parts:
The beginning, the middle, and the end.
This is the middle part.
Your life has three parts:
The beginning, the middle, and the end.
This is the middle part.
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