silent thunder

Gave up news along with broadcast television/cable and satellite 11 years ago. One of my best decisions ever for long term health and clarity of mind for myself and my family and the tone of our home. What we think is a major part of our experience of reality. What i choose to consume with mind, is more important for long term health to me these days than what i eat, for it determines much of the framework and quality of my inner life. News for decades now, no longer seems meant to educate, elucidate, enlighten, or help. Its focus seems to be intentionally crafted to sensationalize, marginalize outright traumatize and manipulate feelings so you're ripe for a talking head to sell you a cure-all at the commercial break... Broadcast news is scripted by three main sources and redundant beyond belief. Surreal. Like something out of a Terry Gilliam film. Print news has a bit more leeway, but suffers the same sensationalist, manipulative craftingness syndrome.

Thank you for letting us know. Sweet Liberation!

Nice One!

The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. ~Socrates

The Tao of Physics by Fritjoff Capra adroitly details many of the shared, harmonic and resonant realizations of modern quantum physics and ancient (particularly Eastern) philosophies and cosmology. But the reflection of the shared visions and inherently mirrored realizations of high accomplishment of seemingly diametrically opposed fields of theoretical physics and eastern spirituality is perhaps best exemplified for me through the 25 year collaborative work of David Bohm and J Krishnamurti. Bohm, an American physicist who was ostracized by Einstein and Oppenheimer and who was literally chased out of the American Scientific community and whose subsequent work was actively suppressed from being taken seriously by the ruling elite of Quantum Science of his day... in his exile happened to read and then actively seek out and meet Krishnamurti. It is said that when the two sat to meet they struck a chord of immediate resonance and deep shared understanding, but at one point Krishnamurti, hearing Bohm's descriptions of perception and reality stood and exclaimed "At last! Someone who sees!" They forged a deep friendship and bond and worked in resonance together for many years after this, each from their respective perspectives, yet always in a harmonic, complimentary collaboration, to the benefit of anyone who happens on their sharings... (in my opinion). Their relationship reminds me of Niels Bohr's coat of arms quote "Contraria sunt complementa" Opposites are complimentary. David Bohm's introduction to J Krishnamurti About Bohm and Krishnamurti

music. where does music exist? where does music live? in the instrument? in the musician? in the air? in the fingers? in the breath? or the strings? in the mind? in the ear? in the air? when i think of music, when i hear music only in my mind but not my ear, is this music? where does music live? is there a difference between music arising and music abiding? is there an appreciable difference between arising and abiding? I share this not to distract, but because @Sketch reminded me of this question that arises often for me in recent years. This metaphor of musician instrument and music is a resonant one for me... And a triad, not a duality (which pings a resonant significance) And after pondering where music lives for a time... i found mind substituting the word awakening for music to rather interesting results.

Who can see the miracle of 'the ordinary' any more? I contend, there are more miracles playing out in a square yard of 'ordinary dirt'... than in all the religious and philosophical tomes of humanity, combined.

Absolutely. I would imagine there are also a bunch of youtube resource videos posted by folks offering tips on everything from shading and how to hold the pencil for various effects and techniques, to various mediums and even how to make your own paper. I used to love to sketch and did it regularly, it's quite meditative. Pen, pencil, charcoal, oil pastels... I particularly loved architectural sketching and had several books full of just bridge drawings. I loved to hop on my bike, ride to a bridge, make a sketch, have a bag lunch. Great stuff. One of my more profound experiences of Sammadhi occured while sketching The Getty courtyard and often I would drop into deep meditative states with an ink pen while sketching highly detailed geometric forms for hours on end. But aside from grabbing techniques and tricks from books, videos, or even formal classes... just put pencil to paper and play around.

those words arose in the moment yes... in response to the conversation.

I love this film.

Reminds me of the thought I had pondering a Buddha sitting. Do the Awakened sit to achieve something? or do the Awakened simply sit, while awake?

I tend to gravitate towards folks who love me the way my open hand loves the rain.

The following quote is not a favorite. It causes me physical nausea whenever I reread or contemplate it. It is a quote i revere for its potency of revelation. The revelation of the mind-set/paradigm of 'The Great Project' of 'Western civilization' in devolving humanity away from dao... diverging humanity to a new path. A path of Colonialism. Industry. Progress(dry wretch)... A path of Rampant, Euro-centric humanist expansionism... devoid of nurturing... a path of wholesale consumptionist delusionary violence. This is the opening, page 1 of Howard Zinn's: A People's History of the United States of America. Shared on the Day after Thanksgiving here in 'Murica, the current manifestation of that energy 500ish years later... a day marked by its Black Friday acquisitionist/purchase riot behavior...

Always love it when life brings @gentlewind our way! Nice to see you Brother! Speaking of 2001... This Monolith someone installed in a remote valley in Red Rock County Utah is a fun bit of news. Park services found it while surveying Bighorn Sheep.

This day is always bitter with a hint of sweet. Bitter in what it represents and what it is culturally. Sweet in what it is (to me in my little circle of life) and what it represents (to me in that context).

Yup. Tao.

reminds me of this excerpt of Tseng Lao-weng speaking to John Blofeld:

If I make it there, I'll definitely look you up, but would be more interested in the best noodle houses, tea shoppes, parks and temples...

omg thank you!

Decided to remove this sharing...

I've had myriad personal experiences from my earliest memories in my toddler days to just last year, that are beyond my rational mind's ability to explain. I've had experiences that were shared with others in duos and small groups. I've had experiences with teachers and random strangers. I've had so many alone I've lost count. Suffice to say that for me, there are myriad unexplainable natural occurances in life, on a constant basis at this point in my life. None of these experiences are supernatural to me. Just natural things that I can't explain with my rational flashlight consciousness. Flashlight (rational focus on one thought at a time waking life cosciousness) is only one of many, and it seems to me to be the most restricted and least broadband of what's always playing out. I could describe my unexplainable occurances here and many times in many threads I have over the years, some in exquisite detail, but as freeform adroitly stated it... description on a forum will never be proof. If it happens, it's natural. If I can explain it, that just means it's something small enough to fit into words that the flashlight consciousness is capable of relating to...

No Twitter. No Facebook. No Instadorf. No news. Sipped a bit of 'the news' occasionally during the covid thing this year... but wow, that had to end with the election. After an 11 year break from media news, watching it again was like viewing a Terry Gilliam film on acid with my racist Uncle. Most of my internet time is this forum and one other... and youtubez in the background with music or lectures playing.