silent thunder

Been learning from the animals, plants and insects all my life. I've also lived with several zen masters... all of them feline.

Hey Bud! I have the next few weeks completely open of all engagements aside from being and presence and an as yet unplanned solo camping trip. Are you in town any time soon?

majestic

shift

dancing

snuggle

two lip

nature's filter

I appreciate the concept used in the Greek language with their nouns. If I am holding an apple in my hand and offering it to you, that is one word. If we are discussing the concept of an apple, the formless idea of apples in general... then that is another word. But too damn lazy to learn Greek and move there to enjoy the use of it. alas... what a quagmire I'm in

One of the Live feeds we watch. It's from a ranger station in Katmai Park. Brown Bears continually fishing for salmon at this site... we've counted over two dozen at times.

I'm still on this. It's on all day, every day... for weeks now.

Wang Li Ping's book: Ling Bao Tong Zhi Neng Nei Gong Shu translated by Richard Liao is a very practical guide from an 18th generation lineage holder whose method dates back to 861 and Qiu Chu Ji. And thanks for the reminder, think I'll revisit this one myself.

who determines good from bad? who is the arbiter of truth? who affirms such decisions as just and true?

Ah-choo!

without eyes... where does light exist?

$40 is a great price. While seeking my copy, I looked every few weeks for over a year and the cheapest I found was then 330.00 with one plucky copy going for 1,051.00. I was happy when I found one for $51.00 and didn't hesitate to grab it as a birthday present from me to me.

@Papayapple Here is the excerpt Rene shared years ago... that when I read it, prompted in me, such a poignantly familiar resonance that I spent years scouring booksellers for a copy @ a palatable price. I'm only part way through and find the book a pearl-laden pleasure. Blofeld's manner of sharing his encounters and personal insights are eerily and wonderfully familiar, simple and authentic.

when one who is awake, sits... i wonder. is it to achieve something? or is it simply sitting? a being at rest?

I read that as well. 33 scientists backed it up. I can see where the genetic oddities are a bit boggling... but to jump to the theory they offered in support of how that genetic oddity appeared here with us... was rather staggering to me. Though with a creature as incredibly magical and unlikely as the octopus, Heisenberg's disembodied voice rings in my ears. 'Reality isn't stranger than you think it is, Creighton. It's stranger than you can think it is.' My son has been fascinated by them since he was a toddler. We've spent many hours researching them and as of now... however they came to be, I find my opinion of them something like "Given the octopi's remarkable mental acuity, problem solving abilities and advanced, anticipatory predation techniques, combined with their innate ability to completely alter their physical shape and color. Nature limits them to a 2 year life span, simply to allow the rest of the Earth's species, a fightin' chance."

Sure. I should have added the title in the first place, thank you for asking. It's from Blofeld's book The Secret and Sublime. In it, he shares many gems garnered in his encounters with various taoist sages and buddhist recluses in his 17 years wandering China in the 1920's and 30's.

This awesome conversation has reminded of Fritjoff Capra's book: The Tao of Physics. Where he shares his experiences of the similarities and mirroring of western physical science and ancient eastern esotericism. Like spokes to the hub of a wheel, all phenomena stem from and return to source... it's natural that any sincerely deep enquiry would result in similarities of realization and insight. He sums it up rather succinctly in the epilogue with this: and the resonant nods of understanding from Heisenberg and Bohr are telling: Werner Heisenberg's insight resonates harmonically for me with taoist realization in his quote "reality isn't stranger than you imagine, it's stranger than you can imagine.". as does Niels Bohr when he expresses his understanding of quantum physics... 'everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.' These emanate the very core insights of Lao and Zhuangzi to me. Echoes of ancient esoteric truths yet resonating from modern, material scientific perspectives. Niels Bohr, when knighted, chose as his coat of arms the black/red yin/yang symbol, ringed by marching elephants with the latin phrase 'contraria sunt complementa' ~ opposites are complimentary. Esoteric and Scientific are complimentary, not oppositional and like spokes to the hub of a wheel, will eventually all lead to similar truths when studies in depth and sincerity. (this same principle applies for me in all seeming dualistic antipodal relationships... these phenomena are not experienced as oppositional conflicting separates... but two complimentary expressions of one unified phenomenal process).

Source is source and gives rise to all. All phenomena arise from it and return to it. Seek it from the persepctive of a tibetan buddhist and you will encounter it. Seek it from the perspective of a taoist recluse and you will encounter it. Seek it from the perspective of a physicist and you will encounter it. Or perhaps you may not encounter it in awareness. None the less. Source is source and we are never separate from it... ever. No matter what we do, think, say or wei wu wei.