manitou

Is there another way of saying this? Turning all the way around? Or 180 degrees? Is this the light that is finally revealed upon self realization? As you say, maybe ego and identity are dissolving? But I don't see the connection to light specifically in that. Oh. Wait. Yes I do. Where ego and our personal identities meet - that would be very dense. If it is dissolved, the light would be seen. But why 'turn'? Do you turn left or right? A U-ey? From darkness to light? But alas, the light would be faster than the turn so that eliminates that line of thinking. Aah. I think I have it. When you become capable of seeing the divine in another (an enlightened one), you should turn your focus inward and realize that you too are one. If you weren't you wouldn't recognize it.

That whole scenario you just laid out would have been unusual four years ago. Today, it's business as usual over here.

That's one furled fault fold.

Limmers - When we kiss, do you close your eyes, pretending that I'm someone else?

I think this paragraph finally gets to it. All paths do lead to the void in the center, but to see it as void we have to remove our conditioning. Once someone has gotten to the place of minimal conditioning, the more clarity they have. The self-mastery at this point becomes very subtle. It's not even actions that we monitor within ourselves, it's also thoughts. Like the Nazarene said, to keep your eyes high up on the hill. Our manifestations change. Certainly all attitudes. Recognizing the oneness of everyone and everything is a cause for real joy. You are never a stranger. You aren't at odds with people any more, because you realize that you and the other are one and the same. Your thoughts, through training, are nothing but supportive, never critical. You accept every single thing that happens for what it is, not what you think it should be. You cease becoming competitive with others because you are totally sure of yourself. All paths have been transcended. 'Learning' is no longer the important thing, but how to live out your new identity becomes the daily practice. For those who have yet to relieve themselves of conditioning, and yet have the desire for enlightenment, the only path forward is inward. You can start from where you are. Start noticing your patterns, and any memories that may be attached. Look truthfully at the part you played in all arguments and sour relationships. Don't blame anyone for anything, it's not ours to judge. If there are things you need to apologize for, this is the time to do it. Just get this stuff out of the way; stand up to your full stature and own your behavior. Correct that which needs to be corrected for full clarity. Resentments, hatreds, and judgments are the very thing that keep us from enlightenment. The loving heart must be found.

At least we know his prostate is in good shape.

There's left brain predominant drawing, and there's right brain. The left brain art is second nature to people who are highly organized and like to see things fit into where we think they belong. Right brain art is the total opposite - it is used to express feelings, or to create a feeling of stillness, etc. Left brain art is precise, you are duplicating what you are using as a subject. This type of art is very appealing to me because of my detective brain - I can work on a piece for days, a little at a time. Right brain art is done in the moment - I do this as well, but it doesn't come naturally. I love the abstractness of right brain art, so I have to trick myself into doing it by doing a squiggle and closing my eyes - but the pieces always come out very creatively. In your case, I would first ask yourself what type of artist you will be. Do you want to draw pictures as you see them? Or would you be more comfortable doing an impressionistic or abstract and not worry about any particular form? These are things that you might want to figure out before you begin. Also, there are so many mediums. My advice would be to first start with pen, ink, colored pencils, good heavy drawing paper. It doesn't cost much at all to start, and it will give you an idea of what you like to do, rather than spending lots of money on paints, brushes, etc. Becoming proficient as an artist or a musician involves being willing to do the art, knowing it's going to be imperfect, and continually doing imperfect art until you get better. If you think you'll be a left brained artist (precision), then the thing to do is figure out where things are going to be in relation to each other. If I'm going to draw a human figure, I first determine how much space on the paper I want her to take up - lightly mark with a pencil the top of her head, the bottom of her feet. Then, I go to the picture (I'm currently doing a drawing of a lady in a clothing catalog) and determine the size of the head in relation to the rest of the body. I'll figure out how many 'heads' piled up upon one another will equal the height of her body, and then lightly make marks on the paper, so that each body part will be in relation to something you've already measured out. Once you've drawn one part of the body, then look at where that part of the body is located in relation to another part of her body - and actually, at some point, it sort of just becomes mathematics. You just keep your eye on the relationship of one thing to another, distance-wise. There is a real easy technique for having your drawings pop. If you're using a nice thick drawing paper, it works best. Very lightly, with a pencil, shade an area of something. Then use your finger and smear it (within the section) to where it's all just a muddy pencil area. then, take a GOOD eraser (not one that leaves marks, but a good pink one) and erase a round area that is in the center of the area you have shaded. Kind of blend it together so it doesn't look obvious, and voila! You've created 3-dimensionality. Another thing to do with the shaded area (I've done this with horses) is to shade the whole figure and then 'erase out' the parts you want highlighted - you draw the veins, muscles, angles by removing the pencil shading with a good pointed eraser. Whatever you do, it will evolve. I can promise you that. Have fun, and develop a skill that will be with you forever.

And quantum physics seems to be the connector, IMO. It has occurred to me often that the best physical manifestation of 'god' is the sun. Something exploded. The Intelligence exploded, wanting to be made manifest. The templates for form must rest in the intelligence of the sun. Our planet is an extension of the sun, molten at the core. And WE are the form that has been borne of the earth, of the sun - the form that is most suitable to enjoying the blessings of the earth. We Are the Intelligence.

You should make up more shit.

A beautiful metaphor for total acceptance. Did you just make that up?

that explains perpetual motion. finally.

I think of that every time I order from Amazon - but with all the accredited discounts and stuff, damn! And what an appropriate name.

An odd mixture of unkindness and probably knowing what you're talking about.

What an interesting concept. Through the lens of metaphysics, we manifest from the inside to the outside. Those two situations are aligned in the same time and space. I would say the answer is likely yes. Back when Obama was president, I noticed occasionally that he seemed to know how to wu-wei around/through a situation. The way Mr. Biden is handling this transition runs contrary to his fighting Irish personality. Exactly the opposite, if you ask me. He's not buying into any provocation, at least not publicly. It is possible that he is knowingly keeping his hands off provocations so that the intelligence of the unseen will handle things to perfection? I guess we can only hope.

I'd love to understand what this is saying - but for the life of me I can't figure it out. I see a fireman rescuing a white (and no doubt deaf) kitty from the second floor of a house in a flood. Obviously, I'm missing the bigger picture.

No? It's there somewhere under all the conditioning. The question is whether they've decided to do the inner work of removing the stuff that gets in the way. Any of us may or may not be a Sage - but I think a way to put it into practice is to pretend that you are one when stepping into a crowded elevator. Lose all thoughts and try not to breathe. Just ohm it out. If you're not thinking, you're in a sagely state of consciousness.

Could you elucidate, JD?

That's what they say. But for people who won't mask up, apparently they're not real concerned with others anyway. I think it should be also stressed that the masks are for the good of the wearers too.

I have absolutely no clue what you are talking about. hopefully others will. Is that a draped figure of some sort? A religious icon, perhaps? * * * * * * post-Urban Dictionary: Dooner. An uncool stoner. Someone who gets high alone, doesnt shower typically found in Government Camp Oregon. Wow, look at that dooner down the road in his gross, smelly flannel. So now I ask you: why have you thrown a cover over the Dooner? Is that because he hasn't showered? Does he mind the snap, snap, snap thing? Are you doing his laundry? Wash the flannel in cold.

Now that's a joke that went one frame too far.

What I keep in mind - or try to - is to remember who I Am. At the same time, I realize that the Sage is not harmed by anything. I know that in some circles I'd be locked up, but I guess I'm okay saying it here. Recognizing that we are the Sage is the Practice. Yeah, I wear a mask too. Just in case I'm crazy.

LOL. By not doing?

Okay. What's 8:46?

Yet another translation says the master butcher never has to sharpen his knife. I asked a master butcher about this once (he referred to himself as one). He said, that's because the bone actually sharpens the knife, they cut it so close to the bone. Pretty incredible. I'm in full agreement that the very best we can do to change things is to change ourselves first. The change to enlightenment affects all energy fields, and there's really nothing we have to do other than be kind.

Damn, Apech! I love this: "It doesn't really care about anything except its own survival and the consumption of what is needed to survive." Once again, straw dogs. Impersonal. Rain falling equally on everybody. And we are its human form. You said: "As a kind of equal and opposite is a clear sighted observational awareness which feeds the being with pattern and insight. Being a pure observer is a passive state for us, so we are being fed what might be called conceptual essences which give us the ideas and patterns with which we make sense of reality. " What I see here is the same as the "is it a particle or a wave?" in quantum physics. When I think of past, present, and future - in relation to ancestors and descendants - I like to remember that linear time is an illusion. I see it as a disc, not a stretched out slinky. It's all here and now. We are swimming with both our ancestors and our descendants. Yes, being a pure observer is a passive state - and to really see the truth contained within, it is best seen from a place of no-ego, not caring which way it appears because everything just 'is'. The mind is quiet, with no preconceptions.