silent thunder

Facing clearly and not shying away from my own untruths is painful. Shocking and acutely painful to witness the patterns of selfishness and repeated words and actions that support pure illusion which encapsulated nearly every action and perception of others, as for decades I blamed the external for what I projected in the state of illusion. Gratitude for the seemingly inevitable fatigue that resulted from the process of the selfish illusion that rested in moments of unavoidable clarity and stillness. Gratitude for the unshakable impetus to no longer turn away from what is and three cheers to being in the world, but not of it.

Good quality food. Good rest. Exercise and stillness. Don't clean your body with poisonous chemicals. Don't fill your mind with poisonous thoughts.

Arboreal

Auroral

Denmark is a prison... I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself the king of infinite spaces were it not that I have bad dreams...~ Hamlet

Agreed. The idea of it is absurd and rather terrifying to me.

I contend two of the greatest and most harmful revolutions of man, were the invention of the idea of the value of paper money and the concept of land ownership... what ridiculousness... we don't even own our own bodies but we can 'own' land? It's comical in the extreme, yet ala the 11 monkeys, we have grown to accept it without question because that's the way it's always been... I guess there's some merit in the shared idea of paper money value... it's hard to carry all that gold around. But at their base, to me, those concepts are born of predatory gang leaders for the sole purpose of extortion. As proof, I submit any newspaper of any date, anywhere.

That is one of my favorite piano pieces... simple and profound. I have found much Music to be a profound aid. It acts like a carrier interrupt signal for both persistent inertia of negative emotional states and overt mental static. Not quite as potent as silence and following the breath, but it's more social.

had to look that one up as I was unfamiliar. How awesome! Thanks mate.

seems we are also the cause of our own content... (pun intended)

tag teamed... static... not sure about any of that... However, the tea here today is sublime, the Ravens are chanting their thanks for the offerings out back and my son is quietly singing impromptu songs of love to his close friend/cat Rama while they lounge on the sofa. Gal is thumbing through a book next to them and my friend/cat Maya is resting her head on my forearm as I type this... it's more like this...

I've been sitting in a new manner since December of last year and of late, I routinely smell something that I am unfamiliar with... It comes frequently, briefly, sometimes during my sit, almost always after a session on and off for some minutes, then at random seeming times throughout the day, I smell something intense and new. I would describe it as earthy, leafy, green and wet, yet spicy... zingy. It's tough to nail down. I'm fortunate that it happens when I'm not sitting and when my family is around because I've been able to ask them if they smell it. It's pungent. While the scent is very pleasant, the intensity of it almost is not... They smell nothing, not in the room, not near me, not on me. One of the core processes of this new manner (for me) of sitting, is the turning of the senses inward. So I'm sharing this small, pleasant oddity and wondering if anyone has experienced similar? edit to add: I'm aware of the potential causes of phantosmia, such as respiratory infections, onset of parkinson's, temporal lobe siezures, etc. and while I haven't had a brain scan recently, my health is currently a beautiful thing, so there's that.

That is a fantastic idea CT. Done and done. *deep bow of respect*

Eternal life was the first breaking point in Christianity for me. As a concept it was terrifying right off the bat. Within the context of eternally enduring, unending and unchanging... both heaven and hell seem like hell to me.

The founding fathers owned people. Women and non-land owners were not allowed to vote, nor given equal protection under the law at our founding. The people who were created equal were land owning men. Without slave labor, it's a crap shoot whether the colonies would have been profitable and viable. Remember how vehemently the South resisted the loss of slave labor. It was unimaginable that their way of life could continue without this resource. And without the near absolute destruction of the indigenous people on the continent and the establishment of the reservation/forced dependence program for the few survivors, we'd still be in a land war in America to this day.

I think I've got it. The origin of man. 1 part source 2 parts duality 3 parts motion 10,000 parts sensation/perception/fear/love/paradox/irony/projection...

I'm in line with CT when it comes to projecting the scent of those who are in extreme suffering, though I bet they smell of sweat and fear. I can comment on the scent of goats though, as I've spent time on a goat farm in my youth. Their scent is good, it's earthy and quite pleasant if everyone is healthy. It's been very surely put to rest that I am the only one in my house smelling this scent. So it's not an external scent being generated or propagated, it's an 'internal' experience, usually while I'm sitting or just after as I'm stretching and getting back up. Though it's still showing up randomly during the day as well. I have let it go at this point. So many processes happening simultaneously. This is just one of them.

Haha... you guys crack up my confusion with your incessant word play... good stuff!

In times like that I have to override my emotions with logic. I forcefully tell myself that things cannot remain the same. One of the few constants in life is change and this feeling and this time in your life will pass, like clouds. In fact, the more intense the emotions the quicker they tend to fade as the energy required to support them will dissipate. Like the heaviest storms, they blow themselves out. Hang in there. Reach out. Change your daily lineup. Do something nice for yourself... anything. And know that no matter what, you are never alone and this will not continue, you will not be in this place for long.

I'm often confused... I wonder if that means I'm a concept. although correlation does not mean causation...

When I was very young 4-7 we had an American Water Spaniel named Sarge. Sarge ate at the table with us. He sat on a chair and ate from a plate with surprising care.

If you study the history and the alternative histories. There's not that much to be proud of in this or any country. America was founded on the enslavement of one race and the genocide of another, as were most. I'm wondering if there were a country ever founded not on bloodshed and slavery... hmm,

trolls trolls and where is the bridge?

In my mind it started with the establishment of the Military Industrial Complex which was founded on the Federal Reserve. It's why Kennedy was assassinated and it was promoted most effectively and solidified by the policies of Reagan and his economist pal.

No but I'll be checking out the Frantzis title soon, for sure. For me, I'm currently rereading The Once and Future King.