Still here!

Less Writing Recently

Well, it's again been too long since I've posted. There are a few reasons for this. First, I tend to use this blog as my own personal one-to-many soapbox to shout my opinions. But that's also how I use Facebook. Given the higher level of interaction on FB versus a blog, that's where I've been doing most of my recent writing. It does pose a challenge, however, since FB posts must be more succinct and to the point than a rambling blog post. And I do miss my longer form writing practice.

More significantly, however, many of my blog posts evolve over time. They start as a gut reaction to something I've read or experienced. Then I mull over the concept in my mind for a while. Sometimes a couple hours, sometimes a couple weeks. During this internal mulling period, the topic and key points will take shape in my head until I've worked through various details and paths, then I set it to "paper" in a post. Many times, the post follows quite well the script in my head (although any faithful reader will find the exceptions in poorly thought out posts like this one!).

This process has been curtailed recently. Nowadays, as I practice more often "present moment awareness" and "be here now" philosophies, I still find myself running an internal monologue. These are the seeds to blog posts. However, that internal conversation of rehashing opinions and refining arguments is counter to present moment awareness. Thus, I consciously turn off my monologue, partake in an abbreviated breathing meditation, then move on with my day. The end results is that my obsessive train of thought gets stopped at a station, never to reach its destination.

I've started to mitigate this a bit by jotting down notes of topics I'd like to think and write about in the future. It's certainly not a bad thing to spend time thinking about the issues of the day -- yet I do believe it's a bad thing to live your life with that constant Ego voice running amok all day long.

So let me catch up a little here with a few different topics and plant a couple seeds out there for others to think over (but not to ruminate!). I hope to get back to some 'real' writing soon.

Reading

I often read several books at a time, inching my way through each. My recently purchased iPad provides me a more mobile platform (using the Kindle app, which is quite good) and lets me catch up on some books I have in PDF format (hint: email it to your @kindle address with "convert" as the subject line). I've never been able to read books in front of a computer, so this helps. Here are a few things I've been exploring recently:

Bhagavad Gita
Most ancient texts are not simply republished in the latest translation. Instead, they're translated and published along side commentary. After reading some of these, I really wish someone would publish the New Testament in this format. (To be honest, however, I have not looked that hard for this yet.)

For my exploration of the Bhagavad Gita, I'm actually reading two translations/commentaries at once. I'll finish a chapter in Bhagavad Gita As It Is and then I'll read the same chapter in Jnaneshwari. These books could hardly be more different even though they cover the exact same ancient text. I quickly discovered the first is written from the perspective of the Krishna Consciousness movement. I have nothing negative to say about that movement, except that I do not prescribe to it. In their view, they place Lord Krishna above all else - they draw clear distinctions from the Buddhist and other Hindu views that "we're all one." Regardless, they come from a pure and well-intentioned place, and there are many parallels easily drawn from their interpretation.

Jnanashwar lived 800 years ago and is a fascinating person. All of his writing was done before he died at the young age of 21. His commentary on the Bhagavad Gita became so famous that his name and the works title are nearly synonymous. His commentary is wonderfully uplifting and I am enjoying it quite a bit.

I'm only into the 3rd chapter of the Gita. The first chapter harped a little too much on justification of war for my taste, but I am learning a lot and will be diligently finishing these commentaries in short order (I hope!).

Essays Divine and Human
This is a collection of works by Sri Aurobindo. I recommend finding this (or I can send over a PDF if you'd like). The author addresses many subjects from poetry to European influences in Hindu India to divine topics. His writing style as crisp and powerful as his insights. I can only read one or two essays in a sitting because this is one of those works that you have to reflect on what you just read to really let it sink it. A cursory overview won't do it justice.

Politics

It's the start of the next political season in the USA. The next Republican debate is tomorrow evening, and the Democrats will debate soon. My personal opinion is that the entire GOP slate is un-electable. Each of the candidates has numerous positions on issues that I strongly disagree with, but there are many common themes as well. The GOP is well underway continuing it's War on Women and it's misguided evangelical Christian motivations. Eventually when the field thins some more, maybe I'll treat each candidate individually. For now, I'll just address two:

Donald Trump
Trump is the biggest egomaniac I've ever seen. While I write a lot here about working to reduce one's Ego, Trump brings this to an entirely new level. He's racist, misogynistic and classist. I read an analysis of his speeches that determined he speaks at a 3rd grade level -- well below any President in history, and below all of his contemporaries. The problem here is that when you rant like a 3rd grader, you end up with a bunch of 3rd graders following you.

My son quipped over the weekend that he heard people only like Trump because he's not afraid "to tell it like it is." I've heard variations of this theme for months. The challenge here is that nobody else says those things on a national stage because they're not bigoted buffoons. If you really think Trump is the best person to lead this country, you really need to spend some time in self examination of your beliefs and priorities. Sadly, most of his followers likely lack the cognitive capacity required for that much-needed introspection. My fingers are crossed that people will wake up to his antics soon.

Bernie Sanders
Sanders is my current candidate of choice for many reasons. In comparison with the rest of the field, Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz are more aligned on big-government business-as-usual issues than Clinton is with Sanders. That's very revealing. Sanders has proven leadership, a solid platform, and a no-nonsense approach. The media slander (or outright ignoring him) and the "socialist" label hasn't damped his campaign so far, and he has much room for growth. He recently addressed the Christian Liberty University, and it was all-around wonderful.

If we can get out the word regarding his platform (because the media isn't helping him) I think many middle-of-the-road voters will find solace in his viewpoints. I'm planning to head down to DC next month for a rally in support of Sanders. Hope to see you there!

Conservatives (in general)
While my Facebook feed is relatively cleared of Fox News junkies (they've either been unfriended or hidden), sometimes likes/shares still filter through. I am continually amazed at how negative all of it is. From the Drudge Report (which is barely news -- a blog opinion isn't a news source, and neither is a UK tabloid) to Allan West's disgusting website, nearly every article is strongly negative. I've repeated many times that the right wing is driven by fear, so it's not worth diving into again, but keep an eye out on this as you read their content. Fear and hatred are no basis for a political party. As a contrast, I do see many posts from the left wing edge as well. They too fall into the same missing-sources trap sometimes, but even in those cases, the message is often "this good thing happened" or "we need to address this issue" or "how can help with this tragedy" versus the right-wing standards of "this is horrible", "blame this person for this situation", and "look at this tragedy". The differences are startlingly obvious if you take a moment to look.

Parting Shots

I truly hope to write more in the coming weeks. But even if I don't, let me depart for now with just a few more points.

Diet -- nearly every non-genetic physical ailment can be resolved by moving to a whole-grain plant-based diet. Avoid meat, minimize dairy, minimize processed foods. You don't need to spend 4 days a week killing your joints in a gym to lose weight. Just make better choices and stay active. It really is that simple. See Forks Over Knives for more.

Patience -- the opposite of anger is patience. Every task or event in your life is an opportunity to practice patience. The point of practicing something is that it will eventually become the default response. It's easy to be angry, everyone knows how to do that. But anger makes absolutely nothing better. Nothing. Be patient. When you have a new "problem" arise in your life (from mundane traffic situations to serious home repairs), if you face the necessary actions as a set of tasks, patiently moving to the goal without attachment, everything works much better than the alternative of facing it with anger and self-righteousness.

I experience suffering in my life. But countless others are experiencing more suffering than I am. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all be free from suffering?


Man may be, as he has been defined, a reasoning animal, but it is necessary to add that he is, for the most part, a very badly-reasoning animal. -- Sri Aurobindo

The Search for More

Ram Dass tells many stories of people vying for success for the sake of success. Many illustrations are used, and one of my favorites is when an eminent scientist is awarded the Noble Prize. When being interviewed by a reporter, the scientist is asked, "Now that you've won the Noble Prize, what's next?"

One could cynically view this kind of story as "what's the point then?" if all your work is for naught. But that misses the key concept - you still need to do your daily tasks, accomplish things for the good of society - but those accomplishments aren't the goal. Because if you worship success, you're setting yourself up for lifelong suffering because there's no concept of "enough success".

I was reminded of this during lunch today when flipping through the classic Benjamin Hoff book The Tao of Pooh. In that book there's this story of a Stonecutter, attributed to a Chinese fable. Whenever you find yourself envious of another person, or feeling downtrodden in general, it's a good story to think about.

There was once a stonecutter, who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.

One day, he passed a wealthy merchant's house, and through the open gateway, saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter. He became very envious, and wished that he could be like the merchant. Then he would no longer have to live the life of a mere stonecutter.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever dreamed of, envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. But soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants, and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around, who had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer day, and the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"

Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"

Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, hated and feared by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it -- a huge, towering stone. "How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a stone!"

Then he became the stone, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock, and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?" he thought. He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stonecutter.

---

"Lots of people talk to animals," said Pooh.
"Maybe but..."
"Not very many listen, though," he said.
"That's the problem," he added.

Reading

I was hoping to post more on the Upanishads series, but I've been woefully distracted lately. Unemployment leaves one with lots of time, but I haven't felt like sitting in front of the computer lately. However, I have been working my way through several books. I can't recommend these books highly enough! I was going to link each, but I'm sure anyone capable of finding and reading this blog can navigate amazon.com.

• The Power of Now, A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. Usually one of the first books people read when traveling down the spiritual path I've been discovering. As such, I haven't found it as ground-breaking as a new reader on the subject would, but ever chapter includes insightful commentary or new ways of looking at things. The Q/A format is a little distracting at times, but not a major hindrance.
• The True Believer, Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. I have learned a lot and am only half way through. Truly, I learned a ton in the first chapter. Some pieces are a little dated (the original text was published in 1951, just after the "Hitler decade"), but when you're discussing historical context, that's not a bad thing. I do wish some of the movements in the last half century were included as examples, but it's not hard to draw the parallels. It provides some great techniques to view and understand current events, from the Tea Party to ISIL. 
• Bhagavad Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Following a very thorough introduction, this book presents the core of the ancient Indian Vedas verse by verse in the original Sanskirt, phonetically, word-by-word translation, English prose, and then a commentary on the meaning of the verse. Honestly, it's taxing to read both this and the Upanishads (which don't have the commentary) in the same day. While I do not currently identify as a Krishna Devotee, this volume is nonetheless well worth the time.
• A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin. The third book in the Game of Thrones series. This series would be a very difficult read if it weren't for the HBO series to allow me to link back and recall the plethora of characters. It's quite good, but I've always read more non-fiction than fiction, so this has taken a back seat for now. It's my "light reading" book ;-)

I've got a few more texts I intend to read soon that I just haven't gotten to yet.

• The Way of the Explorer by Dr. Edgar Mitchell. Dr. Mitchell was an astronaut on the Apollo 14 mission, and the sixth man to walk on the moon. During the mission he experienced savikalpa samadhi, and I want to know more of the details!
• The New Testament by various authors. Tolle includes many biblical quotes and anecdotes in his book, and I'd like to take a fresh look for myself. 
• Other books by Ram Dass and Richard Bach are on the list as well. TBD

Some day, maybe I'll read one book at a time, but I like the changing of gears throughout the day!

Book recomendation

The God Delusion
I just started reading this book, but already can tell it will be a winner. It's extremely well written with a very logical style. Of course logic doesn't matter that often when speaking of religious topics, but it's necessary when "discussion" turns to "debate". It is also a wonderful source for finding other sources. The varied sources and references are very wide and thorough, so those interested in going deeper have lots of places to start.

I've always loved a good quote, and this book is full of them too. I usually dog-ear the bottom corner of a page where something catches my eye or there's a quote that I want to come back to later. My copies of books like The Moral Animal and The Doors of Perception are full of a dozen or more bent corners, sometimes with margin notes or underlined sentences. I was of course tempted to start doing that while reading this book as well but quickly realized almost every page of the first two chapters would be marked! There are too many good examples and applicable quotes to start marking anything. Plus, I look forward to loaning this book out, and I don't want to bias future readers.

I'll close with the quote with which he opens the book:
"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"
-- Douglas Adams
(Adam's books)

Highly recommended - the paperback version can be found in any bookstore or ordered online.

Perception

We live together, we act on, and react to, one another; but always and in all circumstances we are by ourselves. The martyrs go hand in hand into the arena; they are crucified alone. Embraced, the lovers desperately try to fuse their insulated ecstasies into a single self-transcendence; in vain. By its very nature every embodied spirit is doomed to suffer and enjoy in solitude. Sensations, feelings, insights, fancies—all these are private and, except through symbols and at second hand, incommunicable. We can pool information about experiences, but never the experiences themselves. From family to nation, every human group is a society of island universes.

I read the paragraph above recently in the early pages of The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley. Huxley is probably best known for Brave New World (which I highly recommend if you've never read it). I was looking forward to reading this essay, but this paragraph caught me a little off guard. It reads not as if written by an enlightened intelligent person, but like a depressed and lonely sole. If that was any indication for the rest of the story, I wasn't going to be impressed.

Luckily, things turned around and this marked paragraph now seems a little out of place, though there is some follow up explanation in the book to bring it back down since we "are sufficiently like one another" so that we can understand and care about each other. But then I went back again after I finished the book and re-read this section that stood out so strongly. There is a very powerful imagery contained there and I can't really agree with but I do appreciate. No matter how well you know another person or how well connected you are to your community in your corner of the planet, in the end your "soul" - what makes you you - exists entirely within your own head, isolated from everyone and everything except through your senses, your perception. Maybe that's obvious, but I had never thought about it like that before.

I'm looking forward to reading more of his works.

PS - I linked the full text of The Doors of Perception, but this is one that is better read on a comfortable couch or lawn chair, so get the printed version.

Harry Potter

I just finished the 7th and final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was good. A very good ending for the series. And as a whole, the series was actually very good. Not many books can follow an eleven year old through school and teenage years as well as J. K. Rowling has done here. Many criticize the later books for being darker and less humorous, but in reality it was the first couple movies that brought out the humor initially rather than the early books. I think for an eleven year old to pick up the first book and read them as they were released, the maturity level increases appropriately. The final book isn't one I would recommend to many pre-teens.

I resisted reading the series until the third or fourth book was on its way and everyone was raving about getting it. So I picked them up to key in on this cultural phenomenon that I had let pass by without much regard. I was so engrossed, I read through the series non-stop and became one to eagerly anticipate the next story. Since then, once another book was announced, I would re-read the previous one to get back up to speed and then read the next installment. A strategy much required for the later books that follow previous events closely and draw upon your growing store of knowledge of past characters and events.

While they can be classified as children's books, I really whole-heartedly recommend them to everyone. They're good stories and a nice escape from the real world. The movies are good too, but no match for the books -- think of them as Cliff's Notes that cover the high points of the stories. It's sad to see the series end, but I am confident any number of side projects and parallel universe books will crop up in the future. Think about the Star Wars and Star Trek series of novels. Most of us just know the movies, but there are entire legions of books that fill in every void and cover all the important historical events left out of the core set. I look forward to seeing the Harry Potter universe expand in this way as well. The various characters are just too rich to let die: Luna Lovegood, Hagrid, the Longbottoms, etc. With the first couple books, some of the text books students were to buy were published along side the novels, so it would be nice to see The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore in print too. I think. That has the potential to be done very poorly, however.

Anyway, read the whole series. It's worth the time.

Darwin's God

Interesting article from the NYTimes. Kind of goes along the lines of the latest book I've been reading The Moral Animal. Some thought-provoking concepts.

I wish I had more time to read....