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A New Era (For Me Anyway)

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

If you read my post last week you know that my blog is switching format a little. I’d originally set up my blog hoping to gain interest in my novel (a link for which is located conveniently to the right of the screen). After a year of rambling on about a version of God hopefully a bit more palatable for those disinclined to read Mother Goose as though an exact history of the reality of all existence, I have decided, for the sake of having time to do my real art, to begin writing short stories and posting them here, since, I have come to the inevitable conclusion that either I have time to blather about the divine, or write stories, but not both. Not to the exclusion of observation about the whole of the universe, if anyone wants my two cents on something pertaining to theology, just ask and I’ll be happy to answer in this medium.

In the meantime, my inaugural work in this format will be substantially shorter than what I’ve already written. I have much more in the works, but the first thing to come to mind was short, so that is what I’ll be sharing this week. That, and, it is some coincidence that my new software cannot be set up fully at this time anyway, so, I actually have to write the whole story out again, blessedly short though it is, rather than having the convenience of “cut and paste.”

Bear with me these first few weeks as lately my writing seems to be more expressive of my own mind than something pondering a universal question as I have been accustomed previously.

Without further adieu:

Porch

Loudin sat down by his father’s side and asked him a question. “Dad, what’s the point to living?”

His father thought but briefly as a smile arose to his lips, “My son, not so much you, or your brothers and sisters, but your Mother.”

That said, they sipped sweet-tea on the porch as the sun set, the crickets chirped, and the lightning bugs began to dance to the sweet music of the cicadas.

photograph courtesy Philip Greenspun

photographs courtesy Philip Greenspun

Namaste!

Photograph courtesy of Philip Greenspun

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Transitions . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 18, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I’ve felt myself in a bit of a rut lately; I find I’ve been having a similar conversation again and again. In this conversation I am asked about my writing to which the response is always the same, “I find myself keeping up with my blog consistently, but am hard-pressed to find time to write any stories.”

If you’ve read my “About” page you know that I started this blog originally to facilitate interest in my book. I think it’s a very good exercise for many reasons, amongst them it keeps me writing, but something finally occurred to me. Feeling my rutage, but not quite sure that it was a rut, I decided to give myself a day to find a quiet place away from what I was used to, where I could be alone. And by quiet, I don’t mean physically. I decided I’d like to find a beach I’d never been to some ways away from where I live; preferably a beach with very little people visiting it. My idea was to find a beach I could have to myself for a short period so that my mind could be uncluttered, and thus un-compact itself in such a way that I could be presented from the whole of everything an answer to what was irritating me. And so, I found my isolated beach and asked my question. And so I was pointed to an answer. . .

You see, if you’re serious about asking a question to the whole of all existence, it happily guides you toward the answer. Being aware that a lot of stimulus might confuse me as to what was an answer and what was background noise, I began my journey in a “quiet” space. I put myself into a meditative state so as to be open to a response, and then . . .

First I needed to relax myself, because I haven’t been relaxed lately and just taking a moment purely for myself to unwind under the sun on a blanket on a nice day was the first step to realizing what would be helpful from where I was. To put it another way, the first step toward doing what is most helpful in one’s life is always to begin by doing anything helpful for one’s self, anything health-full for one’s self.

And so, after some time in the sun I felt like putting my shirt back on, at which point I decided to check the time. And so I noticed at that point I had no cell-phone reception, since, my phone is also my “watch.” And that irritated me to start moving to somewhere with reception, because, I didn’t mean to be completely cut off.

I’ll not bore you further with the rest of the details, but, as I was in-transit, I was reminded of a conversation I had a couple nights prior with Natasha Muse. She’s pretty funny . . . Anyway, we had been discussing monotony, and as I thought about our conversation about doing the same thing again and again, I was reminded of the conversation I’ve been having exactly the same recently about not having time to write stories lately, but consistently finding time to write at least 500 words a week for my blog. And then the obvious hit me . . .

So, what I am saying is this: 1) If you ask a sincere question from the whole of everything, A) Ask it under a circumstance that is “quiet,” i.e. under which you can be receptive to an answer beyond background noise that might distract you, and B) You will receive an answer, make no mistake.

2) This blog as it has been is undergoing, as of now, a transition as I begin what I pray is the last leg of a journey leading to, amongst other things, getting back to writing stories. This doesn’t mean there won’t be more posts by me, it just means that a few things are going to change, first and foremost, quite possibly, how often a post goes up.

And when the posts do go up, I’m thinking I’ll be posting fiction.

The conclusion was inevitable provided I be serious. If I’m irritated that I can’t find time to write stories, the time I’m spending writing, since it is quite a bit over time, ought to be devoted to writing stories.

Now, that being said, I think I’ve laid out over the last year a pretty clear conception of the divine that is more helpful to one’s hand and life than many other story books that have been written over the years. And, for the careful reader, I have also provided ample links to texts for continued reading for anyone who is legitimately curious at all about the rather simple workings of the whole of creation. If I receive any questions for clarifications sake, however, on the topic matter about which I have been expounding the last year, I’ll be happy to post for the week in response. My intention as of after this post, however, is that the posts that go up will be my work at my craft as I would intend it to be, rather than wiseacring over the general workings of G-d.

So with that I bid you adieu for the moment. Check back next week and I’ll have a story prepared . . . until then . . .

PEACE! . . . er . . . Peace.

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God In The City . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I was walking past a laundromat in San Francisco tonight and, glancing through its window, I noticed the paintings on the upper parts of its wall. Different cities were depicted there, as well as certain religious icons like the Buddha. And the pictures, in this laundromat, were vivid, bright, and colorful. And it seemed somehow that there was a blog posting to be derived from that colorosity in an otherwise drab, typical laundromat.

As I was thinking about the entire world, sort of, pictured on the walls in this city laundromat, I thought about the city itself. I considered that something from all over the world, culturally speaking, was assimilated into the city in one form or another. It seemed to me as though the city itself was a city because it strove to adapt itself as a microcosm of the entirety of the world in which is resided. And then I wondered whether the same might be thought of other cities in the world.

Each city has a uniqueness of it’s own due not only to the over-all culture creating it, but the individual circumstances of its creation. While you can find “head shops” in just about any city, at least in the U.S., there’s something a little more rooted in the experience of walking down Haight Street. And other cities have similar peculiarities unique to them. You can find Jazz music in any city more or less, but, you walk through the French Quarter of New Orleans, and you can feel a spirit of Jazz in the streets in a way you simply can’t in any other city on the planet. Each city has it’s own identity, but, each city also stretches beyond its own identity.

Since the monetary prosperity of a city usually revolves heavily on people coming for a short time, leaving their money with the city, and then leaving, it becomes beneficial simply from a maintenance standpoint for a city to be inviting to those from different cultural backgrounds if it is to thrive. That, and, people from different cultural backgrounds, no matter what their background, gravitate to where opportunity is. And thus, the more cultural options are available in any given city, the easier it is to facilitate visitors to the uniqueness of the city. Likewise, if there is a cultural center of being for those not used to a city’s native culture, it is easier to reside in the place of one’s work, which in turn makes it easier to visit for those of that particular culture. The more available a city is made to those of different backgrounds, the easier it is to facilitate workers, the easier it is to increase revenue from travelers.

And so I see a city as centered in its own uniqueness due to the causes of its creation, which, to thrive, naturally incorporates elements of the uniqueness of other such cities. To thrive it naturally incorporates elements from elsewhere in the world, just as to thrive it contributes the good derived from its own uniqueness. Cities thus are naturally reciprocal centers of transmission of thought if they are to flourish.

And as a successful city naturally makes of itself a unique microcosm of the world, so too is it micro-cosmic of some of the more macrocosm aspects of the divine. Which is to say, as above, so below.

The interaction between cities as a representation of the interaction between celestial bodies. The interaction between cities as representative of the interactions within the city. The interaction between cities as representative of the interactions within a person; as representative as the interactions between a person and its environment; as representative as the interactions between the celestial bodies; as representative of the body of the divine. Hence “As above so below” and thus we are created “In the image of the Divine.”

Can anyone say Triamazikamno? Aside from this guy?

And, as always, a pleasure to share food with you!

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Koan . . .

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

What does God think of God?

Follow up question: Does God think of God?

Or at least, if the first question could be classified under the heading of Koan, perhaps then the follow-up question is a good place to begin the train of thought that might lead to a state of mind that is more helpful for one’s subsequent usage . . .

It seems to me that the only way to be able to conceive in terms of divinity is, firstly, to turn off the thoughts one typically associates with one’s “self.” Or at least turn away from those thoughts. And I’m not necessarily just talking about one’s typical identity of person-hood.

For example, a person might identify with “their” country. A person might identify with their “God.” A person might identify with their planet, etc . . .

Now, don’t get me wrong, as long as I can remember my cells have formed strands of DNA classifying me as a human being native to the planet Earth. What I’m saying is merely that in order to get into a “mind-set” a little more in alignment with a state of being capable of perceiving the divine of which all existence has sprung, it seems helpful to me to stop calling the cells commonly attributed to my consciousness “mine; it seems helpful to conceive I might be something transcendent of species; it seems that it might be helpful to consider that as life itself, I need not concern myself with the planet I happen to be tethered to aside from my day to day life.

In point of fact, when attempting to consider the divine, it seems as though trying not to conceive of myself at all might be most beneficial in attempting to conceive the divine.

Let me put it another way . . .

Dear reader, if you ceased to be entirely, what would there be?

And all the rest of existence working, apparently incapable of existing without being so intertwined and interconnected, what would that look like if there was no concern whatsoever with one’s own discomforts of existence? I mean, even if you happen to find a moment of perfect comfort, aren’t you only perceiving the comfort you find yourself embodying, perhaps at most only your immediate comfortable surroundings the only conception of “outside” beyond your person? What happens when comfort is transcended and there’s no you nor your immediate surroundings to consider? When you cease to be, what remains?

Personally, I think it a little funny that one would think that in death finally “God” would reward them with personal physical comfort. I think it a bit odd that so many people perceive that a divinity that created them is so flawed that it must have gotten existence so wrong that only in apparent non-existence, from the perspective of all other existence, is perfection finally realized. I contend that if even for a moment one could transcend their own minds, one could catch a glimpse of why one need not die to realize Heaven.

Of course, consciousness at our level is rather divided, isn’t it? I wonder if we truly have the potential to transcend our separateness in interacting with each other to fulfill what may be a potential unique only to conscious individuals, of sharing realized unity for the sake of enjoying our common existence . . .

Peace

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Re-view of the Game

Posted in Uncategorized on August 21, 2011| 1 Comment »

Time to ramble in the late hours once again . . . I actually considered relating a metaphor about socks to God. I decided my audience might object on the grounds of silliness. So, it’s ramble time . . . until the magical hand of the almighty guides me to a topic worthy of expanding upon . . .

I would have a topic picked out in advance, but, the tail-end of this video game that’s been engrossing me for the last two months is at hand, so, that’s my focus. And this video game so strongly has my focus because at this point it is truly a group effort. I am a part of a community that is trying not just to win a game, but to win a competition. You see, while this game is taking place in a virtual world, its implications will have results in the real world; the winning community or “tribe” of this online game gets a special concert invitation from the Man himself.

And so, while the medium may be virtual, the game is not merely confined to the virtual, and thus a blurring between the real and unreal takes place through a medium of communication amongst real people in a forum that mimics a real-world environment of sorts; or, at least reflects many aspects of the “real” world. And this becomes a topic worthy of this blog, because, the game is not only micro-cosmic of the macro-cosmic reality we all share, but also effects physical reality thusly, and so becomes in scope a demonstrable example of God in action.

And so the game’s designers, a microcosm of God, or Game Operation Designers as they are referred to within the context of the game, create a world in which different events took place. And sure, the physics of the game are tweaked a little, but the premises upon which the game are built, trading and community cooperation, are part-in-parcel to the realities of how the real world operates; albeit the world as we know it tends to operate on a bit of a bigger scale in which we haven’t been forced to flee the dry land . . . yet.
In other words, the mind that have created the virtual world of the game with a language of creating such a virtual world, the G.O.D.s speak if you will, and the world is created. Then, people enter the world and use it as best they can given what they have to work with. The language creating the world acts as the active principle of creation, the players using what has been created already act as the passive principle of creation, and the results of the interaction between what has been created and what uses that creation takes place accordingly. Can anyone say Triamazikamno?

And thus the metaphor of God is complete: The God that creates, the God that utilizes that creation, the God that results between the two; the God harmonization of results between the passive principle and the active one. And this is a metaphor of the reality of the divine. The determinant component of creation winds up being consciousness. Metaphor or reality, as one acts upon consciousness, so are the results obtained. As one acts unconsciously, so does destruction take place. Again, the active principle, consciousness; the passive principle, unconsciousness.

For example, if one is led by a fear, one’s mind is determined by something else and, whatever is directing that fear can convince one subject to fear that, say, a ritual of killing people is helpful in solving a conflict or protecting one from the harm that a person is afraid will be done unto them. Whereas a conscious person will perceive that engaging in further conflict increases the odds of harm being done to one. Even if the “enemy” is incapable of another physical assault, you see, what resources are used up to continue the escalation of conflict? What price is paid thus against one’s well being? Is it possible that when fear leads one to encourage a war without them thinking it through entirely, one awakes in a land in which their resources have bankrupted them physically in such a way that eating becomes harder because putting all of one’s money toward war has made it harder to find food, to find a job from the people who have given all of their money to war?

So, there are no wars in the game in which I am engaged, merely a bit of friendly rivalry because, after all, there is a physical stake to be had from the results of the competition. But even amongst us rivals, a fair trade is a fair trade. And when a tribe decides to make life harder for us, but one of their tribe-mates happily trades because their own tribe won’t offer good trades, their name is sung within our tribe as a friend. And the bottom line winds up being that some items one tribe has more of then another, and thus the tribes trade together if they really want to win, because, in the end, the winners win because of the resources they’re able to pull together given the same set of physical resources and rules. The winning tribe wins because of the level of thought they can raise, the consciousness they can bring to working together to create the best synthesis of togetherness. And I’ll tell you what, so far in this game, even though my tribe is still a bit ahead, it does look very much as though our competitors are starting to come to the same conclusions, and they too are realizing they’re consciousness just as we are. Whoever wins this battle, in the end, none will be the worse for wear, and we will definitely have a strong respect for what the other must have gone through to win this friendly competition with those upon whom we must have, in part, relied on to get as far as we did. And the deciding factor, apparently, will be our consciousness of what we have had to work with, that we may have used it accordingly. May the best tribe win!

May The Cube Be With You!

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Midnight Rant

Posted in Uncategorized on August 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Very late Saturday night, and I’ve not thought of anything to write, and I’d like to go to bed . . . oh where to begin?

I would say, “What can be spoken that cannot be seen with one’s own two eyes? Experienced directly.” But then I’m reminded that the source of confusion seems to be that some, that those who apparently have no direct experience and thus regard as “sources of something helpful,” have over time taken it upon themselves to instruct people in such a way that many seem to have learned to believe things that they have never in any manner, way, shape, or form experienced directly. And to be fair, I understand that if you make a religion about the ocean to a desert iguana, it too has no basis of comparison for the vastness and, to it, seemingly God-like enormity and power of the sea. But a) Personally I only believe in the enormity of substance of either desert or ocean because I’ve visited either, and b) what does an iguana gain from fearing the swells of waves that it will never behold, nor has any reason to attempt to? And c) even if the ice caps were to melt and the iguana is doomed accordingly, what is it going to do about its predicament?

And all of that is to say, that if the divine isn’t useful, you might as well be learning about it from Mother Goose as any other book. And to be clear, I don’t think you need to read about the Egyptians being swallowed by the Red Sea to understand that if you push someone down at the playground, you’re a jerk. And if your parents haven’t taught you that, they’re probably jerks too; the kind of jerks that yell and throw fits and talk behind people’s backs and try to manipulate their lives in self-serving ways . . . and then go to church on Sunday to “worship” an image of self-sacrifice and service.

Here’s the secret to it all: Anyone who would glorify any death in any way aint pro-life, no matter how much they’d like to thump their special book against someone else’s head as “proof” that they’re conception of violence is somehow anything any divinity would approve of. And here it is: better to let someone else face the consequences of the choices of life and death in their own lives, than make a mess for the whole bloomin’ lot of us to clean up after. If it aint in your experience, it aint none of your business.

If you wish to understand any God, of any background, first see if you can go five minutes without judging something; without calling it a name. For in the divine, there is only good, and thus not even good is existent.

And as for myself, so as to be clear, I know who irritates me and why. But then, the answer becomes not to burden others with the fact that I am irritated. But I’ll tell you what, those who indiscriminately irritate everyone in their path, well, you may not be able to fool all of the people all of the time, but if you irritate enough of them all at once, like a wave coming back from the other side of the ocean, when one creates a mess for many others, one oughtn’t be surprised when many others come together to make a mess for that one!

Peace!

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A Non-Religious Prayer

Posted in Uncategorized on August 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Today I celebrate anniversaries, old times made new as something borrowed and recreated, and the best of the people who have shaped my life. As the day is sacred to me, and full, I will offer a short and simple prayer:

To the Entirety Of All Existence Without Exception,

Thank You for my continued existence,

and thank you for the opportunity today

to become something better able to serve you,

and something better capable of enjoying my own endeavors,

than I was yesterday.

Please guide me to serve You and I better this day accordingly,

than I was able the day before.

How grateful I am for such a beautiful life!

May all others experience overwhelming gratitude to be existent as well!

Amen!

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Sacred Substance

Posted in Uncategorized on July 31, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I mentioned the other day that I was going to donate platelets, to which the initial response to one of the people I was speaking to was, “Why?” And the answer was, “Because someone needs them.”

Then, the other person to whom I was speaking said, “Well, have you gotten checked out to be put on the bone-marrow donors list?” To which my answer was, “Well, if I were picked for that, that sounds mighty painful.”

And I am reminded of the story of a person who had a sort of neurosis in which their desire to give was so great, they decided to donate all of their vital organs while still alive, or in other words, donate their self to death.

So, what I believe is, whatever pain a person can tolerate undergoing to help another in a real way, it is a true blessing not only to one who gives, but to the one who receives.

The truth is, there are rewards for donating blood; physical rewards a person can take home with them. “Goodies” if you will . . . But, the most ego-centric “goody” is the immediate gratification of knowing that someone else’s life was maintained by the giving of the substance that keeps me alive.

And quite frankly, that is how the world works, and not only that, the means by which it works best and most pleasantly: The quality of what one gives of their life is of direct benefit and raises the quality of life for everyone else. As a result of everyone else’s quality of life improving, so to does the quality of life improve for whomever has put forth their best efforts and the work of their hands, or whatever contribution they are able to give from the fullness of their being.

This is the governance of the divine. It is why every human being ought to strive to create even a smile upon their face through their own individual suffering. It is what the governance of man should strive to attain in their land with their leadership.

The flow of blood in our veins, ultimately, is not there for the sake of the person in whom it flows. It is there for the opportunity it gives the person in whom it flows to share the worth of that blood with all others.

A Christian would say that the blood of Christ was spilled for our sake. I say the blood of anyone is meaningless if it does not flow in any direction for the well-being and happiness of all others in existence. It is the measure of its worth for if other’s quality of life is not raised as the result of the flow of blood in us, so others are deprived the opportunity for serving us in kind and thus raising the quality of our life. Which reminds me of a lyric by Mr. Robert Hunter, “What good is spilling blood? It will not grow a thing.”

So, I give blood because I can, because someone needs it, because I can tolerate the pain of doing it, and because it may give someone else the opportunity to save my life in a way I cannot conceive. It may be that a time comes when I need someone else’s blood, in which case, I ought be willing to give to a stranger what I would ask from a stranger. I give because I know the action is helpful to someone, and I thank God that there is something I am capable of doing that will cause joy rather than pain to another absolutely. I give because I rejoice in the ritual of gratitude; the joy of being grateful to give what in all likelihood is grateful to be received.

Mahalo.

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Video Game Review

Posted in Uncategorized on July 24, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I’m going to try to make this a quick one. You see, I’m in the middle of playing a video game that’s lately been consuming my free time, and I’d like to get back to it as soon as I can. Before I do, however, let me tell you about this game that has so lately captured my attention . . .

It takes place on a vision of the world if it had been torn apart by world leaders mad for power, and not caring about the consequences of using the technology at their disposal anyway they pleased for the immediate gratification of their self-serving aims. And so, as a result, something happened that made the land uninhabitable, the people lose their memories, and the only safe place to go, the ocean heading North.

So, the object is to go North. There is no ice cap apparently, and it is said to be the only place with fresh air, away from the poison mists that keep creeping up on the land. And the way to get North? You make trades for items with other boat captains going the same way.

There are Nine different tribes that help each other, and alliances with other tribes are possible, and may be helpful. Thus the mode of operations of the game is to help each other complete sets as you help each other toward a place where everyone can breathe easy and create a floating city where life is most pleasant: the top of the world.

When you begin, you have no notion of what happened or what to do in this strange but familiar world. Then, by giving back and forth what you have that others want for what they have that you want, slowly everyone starts heading to the better place together. And there are characters and stories and activities that pop up along the way, but ultimately everyone is just trying to get to where life is best lived for anyone and everyone involved. Until, finally together, all people from all tribes cohabitate the same patch of water, from the comfort of their own individual vessels: The Floating City.

I highly recommend this fun excursion from the “real” world. Please come be a part of my tribe: A Map Of The Floating City At the time of this posting, we’re in the lead!

Oh, and did I mention that this is all to promote Thomas Dolby’s upcoming new album? So you know there’s some good music involved!

May The Cube Be With You!

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Off To Walk . . .

Posted in Uncategorized on July 16, 2011| Leave a Comment »

No post this week as such. I’m on my way to do a 24-hour walk to raise money for cancer research called Relay For Life. As is such, I highly recommend last week’s post if you haven’t read it all ready.

In the meantime:

Peace

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