silent thunder

are all delusions equal?

All Perception is gamble. Projection. Assumption filtered through translation and illusion. But skewed toward survivability, so... works good to keep us in food and viable offspring it seems.

Attacks without any provocation are rife in Los Angeles in recent years, particularly in a few areas near downtown. There is a prodigious explosion of homelessness that has given rise to systemic attacks on locals some areas and so far, the police's hands are seemingly tied by bureaucracy or indifference, it's been hard to tell... it's been allowed to get so extreme. Venice Beach is particularly violent in the last six months, as well as any area within a few mile radius of Down Town, Echo Park, Silver Lake... I won't visit there for the last year and a half or so. I work in the film industry and our security on any locations in those areas is vamped up to maximum in the last two years and still there are regular altercations. I only go into those areas when I have work and even then, there are times I turn work down rather than go there.

No longer taking the universe personally. Readily one of the most magnificent and appreciated side effects of my life path. i highly recommend it to anyone who'll listen. eta: and when i find myself shifting off-center, or becoming emotionally extended, etc... it more often than not, traces back to falling into taking conditions/situations personally.

When dealing with matters such as these, to me it's always good to remain grounded and continually health check the direction of contact and always always remind oneself. Just because they don't have a body, does not mean they are smart, or necessarily have a desire to help.

cahootz

An intriguing claim. Depending where you live right now... this might not be considered a simple idle call for attention.

I no longer underestimate the potency of small, or tiny actions, for I have come to realize: One spark can burn down an entire forest. And the slow dripping of water can fill a reservoir.

I resisted, held out. on joining the cell phone revolution... until my gal got pregnant. Summer of 2005 I finally got my loathed digital leash. Thank the gods it has a power switch which is its one redeeming feature.

Was surprised to find out my son could not read cursive, so now I'm teaching him, as it is no longer part of the curriculum in our elementary system.

Welcome to the Bums Dev.

That is precisely the quality that makes me the perfect juror on any trial.

Well... at least you're not bitter about it.

While I've not had that specific sensation, I've experienced some that are similar... and a whole slew that are not. for what it's worth, here are some that come to mind. Sensations of warm oil (or a liquid more viscous than water), cascading slowly under the skin, usually downward. The sensation of air sliding along under the skin, very cool but not quite cold. Magnetic pulsing in various organs, started in the liver but later expanded to involve the entire abdomen. Throbbing or pulsing in the Middle Dan Tien with a trickling sensation moving downward. Incredible electrical crackling of the bottoms of my feet, as if 220v were plugged into the yong chuan points. Very distracting thrumming of the entire abdomen, incredibly pleasurable and unignorable (usually makes practice impossible at the time. Seeing vibrant, oscillating Mandalas of light when eyes are closed. A hollowness or spaciousness in the Niwan Palace area. These come and go during and sometimes between moving or sitting meditations, along with others that don't come to mind. I wouldn't worry if it's not destabalizing. Some of them are so distracting that a session will basically end when they kick in, but I don't worry much about length of sessions any longer, so I just go with it until I feel practice is done. So far, strong sensations don't often last beyond the mat more than an hour or a few. At times these sensations will arise between sessions of practice. Though in recent years, meditative states and sensations arise regularly in daily life 'off the mat'. I've chalked that up to the body and mind settling into new arrangements and accept them as natural and let them do their thing without fretting or interfering beyond just awareness of it and acceptance. So far, nothing has developed into anything that is distracting enough to seek treatment for, or be concerned over, so I treat them as unexpected guests and all has been well. I hope your practice continues to bear fruit. Be well mate.

My absolute favorite Queen song. '39 written and sung by Brian May. Brian May. Rock Guitar God, and PhD Astro-Physicist. He combined both into my favorite Queen song '39 For a long time, I assumed it was about a ship-wreck and the eventual return of the survivors and I deeply resonated with the paradox of the line 'for the day I take your hand in the land that our grandchildren knew'. When I tried to research what shipwreck the song was based on, I disovered it wasn't. '39 is a hypothetical accout about a crew of Astronauts who experience Time Dilation. After leaving Earth in '39 and traveling for a one year at near light speed then returning, only to find it's still '39 but 100 years later... and all they knew has passed and now resides 'in the land that our grandchildren knew'. So '39 has got Theoretical Physics, Freddie Mercury singing backup and happens to also be played on a 12 string (sigh)

I've always appreciated the translation of wei wu wei as 'action without forcing'

Hey! Someone's karma ran over my dogma!

Solaris was my first experience of his work. I went into it utterly blind, just chose it based on the title and was fortunate to catch a rerelease of it at an Art house on a big screen. I was rapt, absolutely drawn in from the opening sequence, and as the scope of it slowly expanded and the process played out throughout the entire story... it was a unique experience. For many hours after, the influence it had on my perception was intense. He was truly gifted at perceptual manipulation. He posits deeply penetrating questions in his work. I deeply appreciate that. Tarkovsky's style reminds me of and seems to have a similarity with Stanley Kubrick's approach, particularly in shot length and editing and in tackling deeply philosophical topics. They both weave in their control of perception and their pacing of shot length and editing that for me, crafts a deeper experience than more traditional 'quick shot' films. Walking out of the theater, and back into my world after viewing one of their films is often surreal. I adore that.

Solaris is a fantastic film! It was like a bolt of lightning from a clear sky to me. Have you also seen his film Stalker? It's my favorite sci-fi/philosophy film of all time, also based on a book, written by the Strugatsky Brothers called 'Roadside Picnic'. It addresses a deeply penetrating philosophical question. "if you were able to acquire what you most deeply want out of life... could you survive it? More deeply it posits that we don't really know what our deepest desire is, but if it were revealed to you, by some force, would you be able to live with yourself knowing what it is?" I highly recommend it. Tarkovsky was a magnificent film maker. I recently picked up the box set of his films, I'm rationing them to stretch out the experience. His control of perception and his use of long shots in timing out moments, crafting tension and drawing one into the world of the film is second to none in my opinion.