Category Archives: General

Just another way (metaphor) of explaining that it’s not selfish to take care of yourself first, but maybe the only way to be in a position to help others.  Think of the people that have helped you the most … your mentors.  Were they balanced?  Were there lives in order?  Mostly likely, yes. Just as a person mired in quicksand cannot help another until he has himself reached firm ground, our ability to help others depends chiefly on keeping our own balance. – Andrew Olendzki, “Keep Your Balance”   http://www.tricycle.com/thus-have-i-heard/keep-your-balance

Another one of those articles that makes me realize just how judgmental we are by nature.  Even when we are being non-judgmental, we can have underlying judgmental motives.  Here, in this article from Tricycle, compassion is thrown into the mix.  Do we develop compassion out of trying to make ourselves feel better about ourselves – “glad we’re not them”?  Or, can we truly feel their pain? “Compassion is not condescension, but a leveling of the playing field, a recognition of yourself in others and an acceptance that their stress is your stress, that their happiness is your own. The gulf between us all is imaginary, born of insecurity and fear.” … Continue reading →

Unity bonding cannot just happen with anyone anywhere anytime; rather it happens with everyone everywhere all the time.

Well, one reason at least.  His guard is always down.

“The Buddha didn’t talk about Buddhism. He was concerned, simply, with the truth, the truth of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering; —and that, I’d submit, is a good thing for anybody to learn.” – Peter Doobinin, “Tough Lovingkindness” Couldn’t we very easily switch the name Buddha to Jesus and Buddhism to Christianity.  Therefore, another  opportunity to accept that all religions are pure at their pre-organizational conceptions. \

To further elaborate on the “Translation and Time” post – is SILENCE a better way to communicate than verbally? No, I was not intending this to be a Koan.

Metaphorically, is this what reincarnation (both Buddha’s major Karma paradigm and the Hindu Sacred Cow) comes down to? Treat all living conscious life as if it were a rebirth of another.  It could be you someday.

We’ve mentioned before about Buddhism’s focus on “truth” as opposed to “metaphor.”  Not that metaphors can’t be the truth, they’re just up for interpretation. Of course, there is the whole reincarnation aspect, but I’m not ready to call that a metaphor just yet. However, both metaphors and truth face the same challenges in the confines of “standard” religions: Translation & Time. Misinterpreting or “taking what you want” from scripture/history/truth crosses all religions.  Those were originally written in a different time, in different languages (many times), and a different set of social-political and even moral values. Therefore, misinterpretation becomes misleading. It doesn’t mean we can’t still find value from these words.  … Continue reading →

In college, one of my best friends (Rick Ramell) and I took a class from Dr. Soo Bach Choi.  At the beginning of the first class, he asked this question. Recently, I was listening to the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell.  This is what JC said about what Myth is: “Myths are clues to the experience of life.”

Although referred to as a part of Buddhist protocol, we can apply this to our own metaphor. For instance, there are things around your home that you have done to make it comfortable and appealing to you.  But, let’s say, you have to switch jobs and move. Therefore, some of that comfort you’ve created will have to be left behind.  But, thinking back, isn’t that what you did before?  And, wasn’t it better the second time. I think about a fire pit and back patio cover I had built at my last home. It was perfect.  So, when I moved, I did it again.  And, again, it’s perfect.  So, if … Continue reading →

Is this why religion was “invented”? If there’s no heaven, would that mean more chaos? Is it our way of dealing with death? Can’t we be good because being good it our nature? Does having heaven (or whatever) as an incentive to be good make being good a good reason? Doesn’t being good bring good things, and isn’t that a good reason? Or, are we being good to bring good things, and is that a self-serving reason? Just because man created religion, doesn’t mean there is no God.

A friend is someone who is still your friend, even if you’ve done something that does not coincide with their beliefs.  I’m sure there are those that have murdered, stolen, cheated, lied – but they still have friends.  Those friends say things like – “That just wasn’t who that person was. I know that person, and he is still my friend.” Can’t we all be friends?

Things will work out!  Be happy and your outlook changes.  Be caring. Be kind.  Wave a people.  Smile at people. Say this, believe it, and then see what happens: “I am more helpful today than I was yesterday.”

Name the two players that played on a Bellefontaine, OH, basketball and baseball team that went to the State Tournament in the same year.

Some mornings (most?) as I lather up in the shower, my mind begins to think of what I will be doing, or, frequently, what has been bothering me. I notice that I talk as if I’m talking to another person – typically someone that has been bothering me. I know that this brings negative energy, but I wonder why it feels “good” to me to get this off my chest?  Maybe it doesn’t, maybe it’s just bringing more of what I don’t want. So, how do I stop this? One way is to think of the good people and those that have helped you in your life.  I sometimes have … Continue reading →

From the movie: “I am”

When you plant seeds in the garden, you don’t dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet. You simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time. Similarly, just do your daily practice and cultivate a kind heart. Abandon impatience and instead be content creating the causes for goodness; the results will come when they’re ready. http://www.tricycle.com/feature/meditators-toolbox

I am nice to people and people are nice to me. I give money freely and my own bank account grows. I have a good thought, something good happens. I think of nice people I know, nice people come to know me. I trust people, people trust me. I am peaceful with people, people are peaceful with me. I love and I am loved. I accept others, others accept me.  

One way that the giver sees his or her generosity return is found in “instant karma,” the Buddhist idea that acts that you do have direct consequences on the state of your mind and heart, even as you do them. The consequences of giving are quite wonderful in the present moment; if we are present for them, we can receive these wonderful consequences during the act of giving.  http://www.tricycle.com/feature/joy-giving

A profound statement: Brothers can’t live beside each other once they’re married, but sisters can.

“When talking about others is motivated by thoughts of ill will, jealousy, or attachment, conversations turn into gossip. “These thoughts may seem to be subconscious, but if we pay close attention to our mind we’ll be able to catch them in the act. Many of these are thoughts that we don’t want to acknowledge to ourselves, let alone to others, but my experience is that when I become courageous enough to notice and admit them, I’m on my way to letting them go. “Also, there’s a certain humor to the illogical way that these negative thoughts purport to bring us happiness. Learning to laugh at our wrong ways of thinking … Continue reading →

Read this today, along with having some conversations recently with friends who are unsure of their gifts in life.  Sometimes, it seems, that we base distrust on very few situations, and trust on not too many situations. Overall, are we in a better place in life to trust than to distrust? Granted, we get taken advantage of on occasions, but do those situations outweigh what trusting situations can bring us? Overall, I would say – what can we do to make things better?  I’m not just talking right here, or at work, or home or anywhere geographically. I’m talking about a lifestyle of helping, trusting, believing and, as I think … Continue reading →

Accept Where You Are and Work From There In human life, if you feel that you have made a mistake, you don’t try to undo the past or the present, but you just accept where you are and work from there. Tremendous openness as to where you are is necessary. This also applies to the practice of meditation, for instance. A person should learn to meditate on the spot, in the given moment, rather than thinking, “…When I reach pension age, I’m going to retire and receive a pension, and I’m going to build my house in Hawaii or the middle of India, or maybe the Gobi Desert, and THEN … Continue reading →

From Tricycle: When people genuinely meet the dharma, they realize it directly within themselves. So the Buddha said that he is merely the one who shows the way. In teaching us, he is not accomplishing the way for us. It is not so easy as that. It’s like someone who sells us a plow to till the fields. He isn’t going to do the plowing for us. We have to do that ourselves. http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/meeting-dharma-alone

The Choppy Seas of Conversation Like surfing, staying present is always a challenge, but doing it while interacting with others tends to be like managing in choppy, cross-current seas. We have not only our own thoughts and impulses to contend with but also those of our conversational partners. So if we can stay present and compassionate when, say, a coworker is kvetching, odds are we can do it anytime. http://www.tricycle.com/feature/talk-buddha Welcome to the Revolution The Buddha was a revolutionary, a radical advocate for personal and social transformation. He rejected the religious forms of his time and renounced all forms of greed, hatred, and delusion. He dedicated his life to going … Continue reading →

Lead by Being Led. – MLK

A – The beginning of life. The wonder. Ahhh. U – The life itself. Full of experiences, agony, pleasure, love and distrust. M – Life’s end.  Hmmm. It was a good life. Then, the silence before the cycle continues.

“Your life evokes your nature and you learn more about yourself as you go on. Put yourself in situations which evoke your higher nature.”  — Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

When we recognize our metaphysical connection to others, we enable the Hero within us.

“I don’t know.”