Shirley TwoFeathers

Finding Gollum

2012-01-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

OMG! I must be a really successful ranger! I just found Gollum - and I didn't almost die, nor did I have to go hungry, or kill Orcs, or hang out in an ale house. Turns out he's alive and well, and right here, right now! Don't believe me? Here's a picture:

And... if it works... an audio clip too!

Why Does It Cry

The Hunt For Gollum

2012-01-02T20:50:00.002-05:00

Check this out! I just found a movie about Rangers. It's an award winning unofficial prequel to The Lord Of The Rings dramatising Aragorn and Gandalf's long search for Gollum directed by British filmmaker Chris Bouchard. Based faithfully on the appendices of the books this is a non-profit, serious homage to the writing of J.R.R Tolkien and the films of Peter Jackson. I watched the trailer - and it wasn't terrible.

So I went on a search and found the official Hunt For Gollum website, and discovered that I could not only WATCH it on YouTube, I could embed it here so you can see it too! How cool is that?. I figure that I need all the help I can get in finding and releasing my inner Ranger - so hey, I'm watching it now! How cool is that?

Ok... I watched it.

Not bad for an indie film with a really small budget and volunteer actors. I think my favorite thing about the movie was this comment I found on YouTube -

"So, when Gandalf told Frodo 'I looked everywhere for the creature Gollum' what he really meant was 'I sent another guy to look for him and he almost died'."

Finding My Inner Ranger

2012-01-02T20:32:00.001-05:00

Well, day one of finding my inner Ranger has gone pretty well, I think. I have an idea that this could possibly be the one year when I actually succeed in my quest to "be" who I want to be. But I dunno... it's just the first day. I'm posting a clip from Lord of the Rings to give me some inspiration and some umph... especially when I just want to sit around and eat cookies... here it is:

I think it's really interesting how I've decided NOT to be Aragorn AGAIN since I've finally come to the conclusion that I will never succeed with that idea... and yet here I am thinking I can be who? a ranger? is that what I'm calling him now? a ranger? and in my head, am I really thinking Strider? and when I think Strider am I really seeing Aragorn? and what video am I playing? who is that cool guy? and why do I always want to be the guy and not the girl in the movie?? So we'll see what happens...

I did think it would be a good idea to come up with a "how to be a ranger" list - and here is my first draft:

Get up in the morning and take hold of the day.
If something needs doing - do it. Don't sit around wishing someone else would do it for you.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going - that does not mean they go to bed... nor does it mean they go to the couch and watch tv.
I can take out my own trash.
I can clean up my own messes.
It's not going to kill me to be hungry.
If someone you love dies - be sad, bury them, and then kill something - preferably an Orc or something meaner and more dangerous. The point is - channel your grief into action - the bloodier the better.
Spend most of your time listening and paying attention to what's going on around you.

I also think I'm going to have to focus on physical fitness - I wouldn't have lasted 20 minutes on that trek out of Bree... plus I'm looking at working out a new wardrobe... something to fit my new persona. That will be the fun part - taking on the role - how will it look to be the Ranger Twofeathers - lurking in the shadows... no pipe - but for sure the candle, the cloak, and the ale. Lots of black - and hopefully leather too... how fun!

It's Not My Fault

2011-12-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

Every year - on the first day of the year - I watch the Lord of the Rings. I watch the whole thing, the extended edition, all the way through, start to finish. I totally immerse myself in Middle Earth, and I think about if The Lord of the Rings was real and true, and if I was an actual person in that real and true story - who would I be? who have I been? and most importantly who do I want to be?

I've blogged this before (Gandalf Changed My Life) - but last year I didn't talk about it at all. Which I find interesting. And because of that, I'm not entirely sure what my thoughts were - I do remember that I was pretty damn sure that I was a miserable failure at "being Aragorn." And since I'd failed time and again in my quest to personify the coolest character in the trilogy, I decided to try something totally different.

I decided that I'd give "being Frodo" a go. I had this idea that I would spend the year "taking the ring to Mordor." The ring being a metaphor for my sugar and crap food addiction. The idea being that how could I ever hope to achieve Aragorn if I couldn't even defeat the craving for a cookie.

My daughter helped out by giving me a ring... which was really interesting because it did periodically just fall off my finger and try to get itself lost. And I came to really love it... and now that it's the last day of the year I had to give it back - and I'm missing it quite a bit... my precious...

And no! I did not succeed with Frodo either. Which I think has got to be Sam's fault and not mine - because we all know that Frodo would never have made it all the way to Mount Doom without Sam - and I didn't have a Sam, or a Merry or a Pippin. I didn't have Aragorn, Elrond, Arwyn, or even Gandalph... I was all alone in the dark woods with Grima Wormtongue and Gollum! Both of whom stuck to me like glue for the entire year. So, you can see that my failure to get the ring to Mordor was totally NOT MY FAULT.

Which brought me to the conclusion that it also wasn't my fault that I couldn't produce a credible Aragorn persona. Who would Aragorn be if he didn't have Arwyn, Elrond, and Gandalf? What would he do if he didn't have a fellowship to lead? Or a destiny to fulfill? I think he'd be sitting around eating cookies and talking to Grima Wormtongue... that's what I think.

Ok... maybe not... but I'm just saying...

So, this year, I'm going to try something a little more practical. Unless I change my mind after my LOTR marathon tomorrow, my plan is this:

I'm going to be a Ranger. More like Strider than Aragorn. Lurking in the shadows, looking dark and dangerous, protecting the shire - but doing it alone.

Who are the hobbits I protect? My kids... What is the shire? My property... my little piece of the planet. Is there an Arwyn? No, sadly she's gone to the Grey Havens, hence the lurking about in shadows, and long bouts of alone time. Is there a Frodo and a One Ring? Not my problem. That's for Aragorn aka Strider to worry about ... Me? I'm just a mysterious, unknown Ranger. Instead of taking Frodo and the gang to Rivendale - I take James to MMA practice and Whisky Tango. What about Orcs and Trolls? Some of the dogs I bathe at work fit the bill and some of the people too... And the Nazgul? well, Bank of America comes to mind, they're probably going to try to sue me - so there's that looming in the horizon...

Anyway I like it. Self sufficient. Capable. Strong. Dependable in a pinch but not necessarily nice about it. Definitely I've got your back. Not afraid of the dark, or dark places, graveyards, dark magick, or difficult questions. That's who I'm going to strive to be in the new year.

And a ring...

I need a ring...

I miss my precious...

my preciousss...

But wait! Maybe I did succeed after all... because if I remember correctly, Frodo did NOT throw the ring into the fires of Mount Doom. He changed his mind at the last minute - and it was Gollum who actually (and inadvertantly) saved middle earth. Had it been up to Frodo, the outcome would have been way different.... So... clearly last year's self improvement project was doomed from the start!

My Ecology Rant for the New Year

2011-12-31T15:22:00.000-05:00

So, I've been watching Public Television recently... and I saw this show about the glaciers in Greenland, and how they are melting faster than anyone thought possible. It was really interesting and I started to feel really bad about the ways I contribute personally to global warming. The biggest thing being the burn pile... which is where all my trash goes. (The why's and wherefore's of that is a whole other story).

Then, on the heels of that show there was another one about Antarctica and what would happen if all that ice melted... talk about gloom and doom...

I probably could have started to get really depressed and scared about the whole thing, but there was this wonderfully wicked part of me that was thinking how cool it would be if suddenly the polar ice caps did melt and the world was totally reshaped. It would be so exciting and dramatic - like a disaster movie - only for real!

I don't know if other people have that small core of wickedness.. but it's the same thing that compells me to want to drop everything and watch whenever a plane flies overhead... and then be mildly disappointed when it didn't drop out of the sky in flames... My dad would probably say it's the Devil in me, and I don't know, maybe he's right... nevertheless, whatever it is, I have it. And let's face it - I'm probably not a "good person."

Anyway - then I watched a movie called "Bag It." It was a documentary about plastic bags, plastic, and our ridiculous notion that we should make a gagillion disposable bags, wrappers, and containers out of a non renewable substance that will last virtually forever in the environment... Here's a trailer for the movie:

So I watched it, and then I did get depressed - and angry too. Seeing whales beached and dead because their stomachs were full of plastic bags... birds feeding plastic to their babies because it was floating in the ocean and looked like food... And then there's this whole thing about great swirling "isalnds" of trash in the ocean - take a look at this really interesting and cool graphic Through The Gyre after you watch this video:

The wicked part of me was not at all titillated... and I was starting to think that maybe I should do something about it... actually, the wicked angry part of me wanted to walk into the boardrooms of those giant corporations who care more about money than they do about nature and blow their brains all over the boardroom floor...

But... I don't have a gun... and well... I'd have to get dressed and get into my car... and figure out where those boardrooms are... find my way into them...get past security... and then there would be the screaming.. and the blood... probably a lot more cool in a movie than in person... not to mention the life in prison ordeal and having to eat crappy prison food... deal with other inmates... mean bitches way more wicked than me... the whole thing just seemed... well... like way too much work... Plus there's this other thing annoyingly true thing: if we - the consumers - weren't buying what they were selling - that would be the end of it! Interesting how easy it is to blame the faceless "others" when it's really myself who holds at least some responsibility.

And then I hit on the ideal solution! Global warming! I just need to help Antarctica melt in a hurry - and ta da! Problem solved.

The planet could get really warm - people could die off in huge numbers - those that remain would learn a really good lesson about ecology and fossil fuels - all those gagillion bits of plastic would eventually be assimilated somehow - and yes - I'm sorry about the polar bears and the penguins - but let's face it - some things have to be sacrificed for the greater good!

So... here's my plan. No more plastic bags from the store - and no more plastic bottles of water. At least - not if I can help it. And whatever plastic I end up with... well... hey! I'm going to burn it in my burn pile and pray for the Arctic ice to melt in a hurry... it'll be my sacrifice - my prayer - my ritual to the God of Global Warming. And if nothing else, I can have the comfort of knowing that none MY plastic bags will end up here:

45 Tips for A Good Life

2011-12-29T09:41:00.003-05:00

Here's something kind of mushy and sentimental - but still, it's nice. The piece was written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
When in doubt, just take the next small step.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. Stay in touch.
Pay off your credit cards every month.
You don't have to win every argument... Agree to disagree.
Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone..
It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
It's OK to let your children see you cry.
Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
Over prepare, then go with the flow.
Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
Always choose life.
Forgive everyone everything.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
Believe in miracles.
God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
Your children get only one childhood.
All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
The best is yet to come.
No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
Yield.
Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Where have I been?

2011-12-28T07:21:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I've blogged here at ShirleyTwofeathers - or anywhere else for that matter. And no - I didn't drop off the face of the earth - I'm never that lucky - but what I did fall into was a pandora's box called Cafe Press.

My daughter and I have been busy making a little store filled with all kinds of cool stuff made from my mandala art. Naturally, I can't do just a few things and be happy with that. No. I had to make a gagillion different designs. Of course we got excited and made a bunch of stuff with those designs, only to realize that we'd jumped the gun and needed to get organized first, and then I totally over thought how to organize the shop (imagine that - me over thinking something), and finally, after redoing it 3 times - we now have a cute little store with about 1% of our stuff uploaded and saleable.

We called it "Cool Mandala Art" so go check it out. I did all my christmas shopping at our store - and they were all really cool. My favorite thing is the tile boxes, but the mugs were a big hit too...

Don't want to go visit the store? Ok... that's fine... I'll show you my designs anyway. Here's sampling of what's at the store as of today:

The Secret To Lifelong Happiness

2011-12-27T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have discovered the secret to lifelong happiness and peace of mind!! How cool is that? Are you curious to know what it is? It's quite simple, actually, here's the step by step tutorial:

Move in with a nice, easy to please person who already has a lot of money.
Use their money and go on an extended vacation to a tropical island paradise.
While you are there, say hello to one of the locals, and next thing you know the two of you will be hanging out together and on the way to becoming very good friends.
Make an offering at an ancient temple.
Accumulate good karma by being nice to people.
When you get home from vacation invite your new friend to come for a visit. The two of you will hit it off and in no time at all you'll be in love and making plans for marriage.
Because of your good karma, a mysterious person will leave a magic lamp on your doorstep in the middle of the night.
When you find the lamp, keep it safe until you are in a really good mood, and then rub the lamp.
A genie will appear and give you three wishes. Isn't that nifty?
Wish for peace of mind. (Save the other two wishes for later).
You will then be in a permanent state of grace - and lifelong happiness will be yours for the taking.
Now, marry your friend from the islands, and when that person is in a really good mood, give them the lamp so they can wish for their own peace of mind... and the two of you will live happily ever after!

I know this to be true because I played the Sims all day yesterday and that's exactly what happened! Here's the back story:

I've been having this urge to play the Sims - which usually means there's an important lesson about life that I can learn from it. So I powered up my game and created a person just like me. And of course, right away I realized that she was going to be a real pain in the ass because I couldn't get her to make friends with anyone. She flat out wasn't interested in talking to people at all... and spent all of her time making sure her 3 cats didn't destroy her house. She didn't have any money, and she couldn't find a job she liked. It was sounding way too familiar!

So, I decided I'd populate my neighborhood with copies of me and see if I'd even like myself if I happened to meet myself on the street. I love social experiments like this... Anyway... she'd never talk to herself when she walked by - and if I made her stop and chat - she'd spend like... I dunno... 2 seconds saying "hi" and then she was out of there.

It was obvious that she was going to die alone and unhappy.

So I decided to try something different. I made a copy of my person and her 3 cats and then I moved her in with a total stranger, a nice, easy to please stranger with money. They hardly spoke and never became friends but now my person had someone to take care of her animals while she went on vacation - and off to the islands she went. Once there, she wanted to learn some of the local customs - so she said hello to one of the locals and they just hit it off. I had never seen my sim person so animated and interested in talking to anyone ever.

When she got home from vacation, their friendship continued, and somehow she accumulated some good karma and the magic lamp showed up on her doorstep. I have no idea how that happened. I suspect it might have something to do with the offering at the ancient temple... I dunno... but whatever it was, she is now in love and permanently happy.

Ok... yeah I know, life is not a sim game... but I'm just saying... all it takes is enough money for a cool vacation.. an offering at an ancient temple... and who knows...

Playing at Life

2011-12-27T10:41:00.000-05:00

When I was a little girl, I used to fantasize that I had a box under my bed, and in that box was a tiny world of people. Miniature living people with hopes and fears, families and lovers, dreams and ideas. To them, I was like a God - sometimes I was a benevolent and gracious God and other times... well... it's safe to say:

Don't piss the God off,

Stay out of sight and well hidden when she's having a bad day!

And so, when I discovered The Sims - it was like having a childhood dream come true. A tiny world of people "alive" in my computer ... how cool is that?

Probably I've talked about this before... and you're bored stiff.. and wishing I'd get to the point already. So, here's the thing. Whenever I play The Sims, I learn something important about life. For example:

Physical comfort is important.
If you aren't having enough fun, you won't want to do anything at all.
If you don't get enough sleep, you won't want to go to work.

And probably you're thinking to yourself "well duh" because you already knew that. But I was astounded by that realization - oh... when I'm tired I should sit down... and not only that, but I should sit down in a comfortable chair! I did know that all work and no play made Johnny a dull boy - what I hadn't realized was that all work and no play made Shirley a cranky bitch.

Other things (some of which I already knew) include the following:

If you want to make friends you have to talk to people.
It's impossible to get a good night's sleep if the TV is on in the bedroom.
Untrained pets can ruin your house in two seconds flat.
You rarely make good decisions when you are really tired and in a very bad mood.
Just because you hire someone to do something, it doesn't mean they will do a good job.
If you want to fix dinner, there has to be food to fix it with.
Don't jump into a swimming pool if there's no way to climb out of it when you're done swimming!
If you don't know how to fix a garbage disposal - and you're not mechanically minded - don't even try.
If something in your house is on fire - don't just stand around screaming "fire" "fire" - do something! Call the fire department and grab the fire extinguisher, and if neither thing is an option, then at least get out of the house!
Life is easier if you have a maid that comes every day and cleans up your mess.
Even loners can get lonely.

So there you have it... some tidbits of Sim Wisdom. Coming up next I'll be sharing the secret to peace of mind and lifelong happiness - which I discovered just last night!

Happy Birthday!

2011-09-19T04:18:00.003-04:00

“When 900 years old, you reach…

Look as good, you will not.”

~Yoda

It's Still Here!

2011-09-05T18:04:00.000-04:00

Yowsers! I haven't posted here since March!! Probably because I've been so busy posting a gazillion posts a day over on Gypsy Magic in between bouts of working my fingers to the bone at the Hell Mouth and sitting like a brain fried zombie in front of the TV.

So what's been happening while I've been away? Well, while I wasn't paying attention, someone was very busily hijacking my blogs. And since I have like... I dunno... 27 of them which is a ridiculous number... I didn't even notice until just now!

Which sent me on a rather annoying journey of clicking on a blog link - finding out it's redirecting to hotlinkfiles.com - having a short but foul mouthed shit fit - replacing the cool template that I really liked a lot or it wouldn't have been there in the first place - with a makeshift hastily found template that I really don't like but I'm in a hurry and it's the only way to get my blog back - and then fiddling with it until I realize I'm too pissy to make anything nice out of it - deleting the spam comments just in case they somehow had something to do with it - some sneaky malware code embedded in the totally off topic comment - and then on to the next one...

Happily - this blog is still A-OK. And I'm glad I visited because I had forgotten how much I like this little nook I made in that tangled web I wove... So... Hello and goodby. I hope I'll be back soon with something cool and surprising.

Snakes Like Rats!

2011-03-21T17:17:00.000-04:00

OK... so I tell the world I have rat blood and what shows up in my house almost immediately? A snake!! And of course I have no idea what kind of snake it is... and I did take a picture.. actually several, the one on the right is the only one that came out.

It's kind of freaky to have a snake in your house - especially when he right away hides under the furniture, and you don't know what kind of a snake he even is because you didn't get a close enough look what with all the screaming... ok... I didn't actually scream... but I wasn't exactly calm either.

So, I left him in his little hiding place, called my son-in-law to come help me, and while I was waiting for him, I went on a web search for how to catch a snake in your house.

I found a tutorial on how to catch a snake, I called my son-in-law up and made him come over and help me find it. He wasn't hard to find, and catching him was amazingly simple - I'll post that tutorial here in a minute.

At first we thought he kind of looked like a baby copperhead. His little head did look triagular - and his markings (although you can't see them in the picture) did seem to go crossways, he was kind of a coppery color, and what with the pond so close to the house ... (I hadn't read the part about the brightly colored tails yet). But I couldn't bring myself to kill him, he was so cute! So we just let him loose in the field.

Then I started to worry that I might have saved a baby copperhead - and how smart was that really what with my granddaughter and my cats... so I looked up Poisonous Snakes in Missouri. Here's what I found:

According to the University of Missouri Extension Center, it's easy to figure out which snakes are poinsonous. Here's what they say on their website:

All of Missouri's poisonous snakes are members of the pit viper family, and you easily can distinguish them from harmless snakes. Three ways exist to distinguish poisonous snakes in Missouri:

Identifying a poisonous snake by its pupils.

Harmless snakes have round pupils (the black part in the center of the eye). Poisonous snakes have egg-shaped or cat-like (elliptical) pupils. In good light, you easily can see the pupil shape from a safe distance because snakes cannot jump, nor can they strike, from more than one-third of their body length.

Poisonous snakes in Missouri also have a conspicuous sensory area or pit (hence the name "pit viper") on each side of the head. The pit looks somewhat like a nostril and helps the snake locate warm-bodied food. It is located about midway between and slightly below the eye and nostril. Harmless snakes do not have pits.

Identifying a poisonous snake by its tail.

The underside scales of a poisonous snake's tail go all the way across in a single row from the anal plate. The tip of the tail may have two scale rows. Nonpoisonous snakes have two rows of scales from the vent to the end of the tail. This characteristic also can be seen on skins that may have been shed.

Other features may help you identify a poisonous snake at a distance:

Usually, poisonous snakes have a triangular (wide at the back and attached to a narrow neck) or "spade-shaped" head. Be aware that many other harmless snakes flatten their heads when threatened and may appear poisonous.

Usually, rattlesnakes sound a warning rattle (a buzz or a dry, whirring sound) when approached. However, many nonpoisonous snakes (black racers, corn snakes, rat snakes, milk snakes and pine snakes) and several poisonous snakes (copperhead and cottonmouth) often vibrate their tails when threatened. The sound produced by this vibration often imitates a rattle or hissing sound when the snake is sitting in dry grass or leaves.

Snakes with lengthwise-striped markings are nonpoisonous. Most solid-colored snakes also are nonpoisonous, except the adult western cottonmouth, which has dark crossbands that often are indistinct. If a snake is marked in any other way, use other characteristics for identification.

You easily can recognize young cottonmouths and copperheads by their bright yellow or greenish yellow tails.

Whew! Now that's a sigh of relief -

As you can see though, his pupils are round, he was probably just flaring his head trying to look scary. and his tail was the same color as the rest of him... so... probably it was just a little garter snake...

Oh and by the way!

Here's something else I found out. Snakes in Missouri are protected by state law. The Wildlife Code of Missouri treats snakes, lizards and most turtles as nongame. This means there is no open season on these animals, and it is technically illegal to kill them. Of course, realistic exceptions exist, such as when a poisonous snake comes in close contact with humans, which could result in someone getting bitten. You should get a collecting permit from the Missouri Department of Conservation before attempting to catch and keep a snake.

How'd we catch it? We found his little hiding place and threw a towel over him and then picked him up.

Here's a tutorial with some other ideas.

Occasionally, homeowners find a snake inside the home, usually in a basement or crawl space. Snakes are attracted to these areas by the warmth on cold days and the shade on hot days. They may enter through a hole around the foundation or an open or loose door or basement window. If this occurs, you need to get the snakes out, then seal the holes.

You increase your chances of capturing a snake in the house by placing in areas where snakes have been seen some rumpled, damp cloths covered by dry cloths. Snakes are attracted to these areas. You then can remove the whole works, snake and cloths, or capture the snake individually. A good way to remove a snake is to sweep it with a broom into a large bucket.

Here he is.

Isn't he cute?

Rat Blood

2011-03-21T14:50:00.002-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about Charlie Sheen and his Tiger Blood. And I say, good for you Charlie! As for me? I have rat blood!

Seriously! My life does seem to unfold as a series of mazes and traps! Not only that, I live in what would definitely pass for a rat hole, my mind scurries around constantly gnawing on a variety of savory and not so savory things, when cornered I absolutely will turn and fight... the list goes on.

And who's to say that rat blood isn't a good thing? Read this quote:

If a man be ridden with a great weight of sleep, as one who has tasted mandragora, so that his eyes glue themselves together, and all his functions are dried up in drowsiness, the blood of a rat poured into his veins may avail to remove the curse and call back the soul into his body.

That quote came from a Time Magazine Article! So you know it must be true!

Did you know that a group of rats is called a mischief? How fun is that? Here's something else that's fun to know, a rat's fur smells like grape soda. I know that's true because mine does too! It's also true that when rats don't have companionship, they can become lonely, depressed, anxious and stressed. Rats love games and are highly curious – as curious as cats. Rats adore snuggling up in your lap while you watch a movie or read a book. Me too!

Not only that, Rats can sniff out landmines and bombs and identify tuberculosis; they can be used in search and rescue. They are also very tasty, which is comforting to know if you're ever trapped in a sewer.

The first year of the Chinese zodia is the Year of the Rat - and I'm sure that Rat year is first year for a very good reason. And what about the "Rat Pack"? The Rat temple? Did you know there's even a rat fan club?

Awww...

Isn't that cute?

The Rat Pack Live

2011-03-21T10:26:00.002-04:00

The Rat Pack live at the "Kiel Opera House", St. Louis - June 20, 1965. Only known filmed "The Rat Pack" concert from the 1960s. It was originally aired as a charity event that was beamed live (via closed circuit) to audiences at movie theaters around the country.

Host: Johnny Carson.
Songs: Send Me The Pillow and You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You.

The Rat Temple

2011-03-21T10:09:00.002-04:00

The Karni Mata Temple is an important Hindu site. It is a beautiful temple made of marble with solid silver doors. However, it is not the architecture of this temple that attracts tourists; it is the thousands of rats that inhabit it. There are special holes and tunnels around the temple to facilitate the rats' movements as well as a wire screen over the courtyard to protect them from birds of prey.

Pilgrims are anointed with ash while the scurrying critters run over their feet. This is considered very auspicious as is spotting a rare white rat. Bowls of milk and water are strategically placed throughout the temple and pilgrims feed the rats balls of sugar. You may be asking, "Why all the fuss about rats?" Well, these pilgrims believe that the rats are their ancestors.

Here's a video:

Winning Recipes With Charlie Sheen

2011-03-15T14:43:00.000-04:00

Charlie Sheen's Winning Recipes from Charlie Sheen

Too Too Funny!!

Digging Charlie Sheen

2011-03-15T14:36:00.002-04:00

Some of the people I know are absolutely appalled by the stuff Charlie Sheen has been saying lately - but not me! I am totally enjoying him! Totally! I mean... WINNING! He just cracks me up. And he tells the truth. And yes, his truth is sometimes a bit of a stretch, but hey, plenty of what he says is my truth too!

Here's my favorite quote:

I was people pleasing for too long. And when you're people pleasing, your soul is dead. Cause at the end of the day you're left with yourself and you think, god, I didn't take care of myself, again.

(Link) View more Charlie Sheen: Winning Sound Clips and Charlie Sheen Rant Sound Clips

Hopefully this audio clip will work! If not, here's a link to the webpage where I found it: People Pleasing. I love the way he says it!

I didn't used to be a Charlie Sheen fan. I always thought he was kind of lame. Two And A Half Men is probably the stupidist show on television, I've never watched an entire episode even once. So it boggles my mind to think it's even slightly popular. But after watching his interview - I was hooked - not on his show but on him. The stuff he comes up with ... well, I'm digging it.

My favorite Charlie Sheen quotes:

“I’m tired of pretending like I'm not special. I'm tired of pretending like I'm not bitching, a total freaking rock star from Mars and people can't figure me out, they can't process me. I don't expect them to. You can't process me with the normal brain.”

"I’m here and I’m ready. Bring it."

"If you borrowed my brain for five seconds, you’d be like, ‘Dude! Can’t handle it, unplug this bastard!’"

"I blinked and I cured my brain."

"We have a few rules here. Nobody panics. There’s no judgment. You park your judgment at the door. Nobody dies. And — enjoy every moment. What did I miss? Drink chocolate milk. We just have fun. There’s a ton of laughter in this house. A ton of love in this house. There’s a ton of nobility in this house."

"Women are not meant to be hit. They’re to be hugged and caressed."

"That was an old brain, I have a new brain. I have a 10,000-year-old brain and the boogers of a 7-year-old. That’s how I describe myself."

"Well, life all comes down to a few moments. This is one of them."

“I am grandiose because I live a grandiose life; what's wrong with that?”

"I'm a winner and their lives look like they're - you know, ruled by losers."

"I got tiger blood, man. My brain:.fires in a way that is -- I don't know, maybe not from this particular terrestrial realm."

"I finally extracted myself from their troll hole and started living my life the way I want to live it."

"I was actually disappointed because I thought, I think the mistake, the mistakes, I made is that people misinterpret my passion for anger."

"I'm not interested in people treating me like a 12-year-old."

"I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will weep over your exploded body."

"Tiger blood will drip from my veins in my quest. Defeat is not an option."

"I don't count my days because it puts a premium on them and you walk around with your days, where did my days go? Keep coming back, keep coming back, here's your one day..."

"I'm not fair game. I'm not a soft target. It's over. There's a new sheriff in town. And he has an army of assassins."

"I'm sorry man but I've got magic. I've got poetry in my fingertips."

"I have 'mondo' gratitude for this life. Life is a fantasy."

“I don’t live in the middle anymore, that’s where you get slaughtered, that’s where you get embarrassed in front of the prom queen and I just…it’s just not an option.”

"Guess what we were doing all day, every second of the day? Winning."

“Don’t be special, be one of us.’ Newsflash: I am special, and I will never be one of you!”

“My motto now is ‘You either love or you hate and you must do so violently’”

"I have one speed. I have one gear. Go! And I dare you to keep up with me."

"I don't speak to them anymore. I speak past them. I don't have any interest in being stuck in the mire of their stupidity. I lead with the truth. I've been inside the truth."

"That's how I roll. And if it's too gnarly for people, then buh-bye."

"Lead by example and teach your kids right and wrong. If my right and wrong is a little bit different than anybody else, then my kids will be different too."

"I've never been in trouble [financially]. Something will fall out of the sky, I don't believe in panic."

"They give me oxygen......we love trees, let's keep as many as we can and marry a tree, marriage for me didn't work so I am just going to marry a tree."

"I healed really quickly, but I also unravel really quickly, so get me right now, guys. Get me right now."

"I'm crazy, I'm passionate and I speak the truth."

"I'm grandiose. I have a grandiose life and I'm embracing it. ... It doesn't fit into their model and their model sucks."

"When I step between the lines, it's on. And I'm there to show others how it's done. It's not really rocket science."

"I closed my eyes and made it so with the power of my mind. I had to unload 22 years of fiction and just decided I don't believe that anymore."

"It was nice to have police come to my house and for once I didn't leave with them."

“People are mystified by this odyssey that refuses to quit calling itself Charlie Sheen.”

Ponderisms

2011-02-26T17:37:00.002-05:00

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.If it is hard to pull out, and grows back anyway, it was a weed.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its butt."

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

Why does your OB-GYN leave the room when you get undressed if he's going to look up there anyway?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Do you ever wonder why you even came to this website in the first place?
Big mistake!! Huge!! Still!!

In the Garden

2011-02-25T19:46:00.002-05:00

In each century since the beginning of the world wonderful things have been discovered. In the last century more amazing things were found out than in any century before. In this new century hundreds of things still more astounding will be brought to light. At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done—then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago. One of the new things people began to find out in the last century was that thoughts—just mere thoughts—are as powerful as electric batteries—as good for one as sunlight is, or as bad for one as poison. To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live.

So long as Mistress Mary's mind was full of disagreeable thoughts about her dislikes and sour opinions of people and her determination not to be pleased by or interested in anything, she was a yellow-faced, sickly, bored and wretched child. Circumstances, however, were very kind to her, though she was not at all aware of it. They began to push her about for her own good. When her mind gradually filled itself with robins, and moorland cottages crowded with children, with queer crabbed old gardeners and common little Yorkshire housemaids, with springtime and with secret gardens coming alive day by day, and also with a moor boy and his "creatures," there was no room left for the disagreeable thoughts which affected her liver and her digestion and made her yellow and tired.

So long as Colin shut himself up in his room and thought only of his fears and weakness and his detestation of people who looked at him and reflected hourly on humps and early death, he was a hysterical half-crazy little hypochondriac who knew nothing of the sunshine and the spring and also did not know that he could get well and could stand upon his feet if he tried to do it. When new beautiful thoughts began to push out the old hideous ones, life began to come back to him, his blood ran healthily through his veins and strength poured into him like a flood. His scientific experiment was quite practical and simple and there was nothing weird about it at all. Much more surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one. Two things cannot be in one place.

"Where, you tend a rose, my lad,

A thistle cannot grow."

While the secret garden was coming alive and two children were coming alive with it, there was a man wandering about certain far-away beautiful places in the Norwegian fiords and the valleys and mountains of Switzerland and he was a man who for ten years had kept his mind filled with dark and heart-broken thinking. He had not been courageous; he had never tried to put any other thoughts in the place of the dark ones. He had wandered by blue lakes and thought them; he had lain on mountain-sides with sheets of deep blue gentians blooming all about him and flower breaths filling all the air and he had thought them. A terrible sorrow had fallen upon him when he had been happy and he had let his soul fill itself with blackness and had refused obstinately to allow any rift of light to pierce through. He had forgotten and deserted his home and his duties. When he traveled about, darkness so brooded over him that the sight of him was a wrong done to other people because it was as if he poisoned the air about him with gloom. Most strangers thought he must be either half mad or a man with some hidden crime on his soul. He, was a tall man with a drawn face and crooked shoulders and the name he always entered on hotel registers was, "Archibald Craven, Misselthwaite Manor, Yorkshire, England."

He had traveled far and wide since the day he saw Mistress Mary in his study and told her she might have her "bit of earth." He had been in the most beautiful places in Europe, though he had remained nowhere more than a few days. He had chosen the quietest and remotest spots. He had been on the tops of mountains whose heads were in the clouds and had looked down on other mountains when the sun rose and touched them with such light as made it seem as if the world were just being born.

But the light had never seemed to touch himself until one day when he realized that for the first time in ten years a strange thing had happened. He was in a wonderful valley in the Austrian Tyrol and he had been walking alone through such beauty as might have lifted, any man's soul out of shadow. He had walked a long way and it had not lifted his. But at last he had felt tired and had thrown himself down to rest on a carpet of moss by a stream. It was a clear little stream which ran quite merrily along on its narrow way through the luscious damp greenness. Sometimes it made a sound rather like very low laughter as it bubbled over and round stones. He saw birds come and dip their heads to drink in it and then flick their wings and fly away. It seemed like a thing alive and yet its tiny voice made the stillness seem deeper. The valley was very, very still.

As he sat gazing into the clear running of the water, Archibald Craven gradually felt his mind and body both grow quiet, as quiet as the valley itself. He wondered if he were going to sleep, but he was not. He sat and gazed at the sunlit water and his eyes began to see things growing at its edge. There was one lovely mass of blue forget-me-nots growing so close to the stream that its leaves were wet and at these he found himself looking as he remembered he had looked at such things years ago. He was actually thinking tenderly how lovely it was and what wonders of blue its hundreds of little blossoms were. He did not know that just that simple thought was slowly filling his mind—filling and filling it until other things were softly pushed aside. It was as if a sweet clear spring had begun to rise in a stagnant pool and had risen and risen until at last it swept the dark water away. But of course he did not think of this himself. He only knew that the valley seemed to grow quieter and quieter as he sat and stared at the bright delicate blueness. He did not know how long he sat there or what was happening to him, but at last he moved as if he were awakening and he got up slowly and stood on the moss carpet, drawing a long, deep, soft breath and wondering at himself. Something seemed to have been unbound and released in him, very quietly.

"What is it?" he said, almost in a whisper, and he passed his hand over his forehead. "I almost feel as if—I were alive!"

I do not know enough about the wonderfulness of undiscovered things to be able to explain how this had happened to him. Neither does any one else yet. He did not understand at all himself—but he remembered this strange hour months afterward when he was at Misselthwaite again and he found out quite by accident that on this very day Colin had cried out as he went into the secret garden:

"I am going to live forever and ever and ever!"

The singular calmness remained with him the rest of the evening and he slept a new reposeful sleep; but it was not with him very long. He did not know that it could be kept. By the next night he had opened the doors wide to his dark thoughts and they had come trooping and rushing back. He left the valley and went on his wandering way again. But, strange as it seemed to him, there were minutes—sometimes half-hours—when, without his knowing why, the black burden seemed to lift itself again and he knew he was a living man and not a dead one. Slowly—slowly—for no reason that he knew of—he was "coming alive" with the garden....

From: The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Chapter 27

Log Off Warning

2011-02-24T19:12:00.002-05:00

I got this error message today...

I didn't know what to do!

Then I got this message in my inbox!

Yowsers!
So I sent this reply:

Here's a thought!

2011-02-24T17:35:00.003-05:00

Wouldn't I be nice if whenever we messed up our life

we could simply press 'Ctr Alt Delete' and start all over?

More toothbrush pictures!

2011-02-23T18:21:00.017-05:00

Looks like some people don't know where a toothbrush is actually supposed to go!

Except for maybe Darth Vader here...

He just doesn't have...

well... teeth!

Brushing Some Big Teeth!

2011-02-23T17:58:00.010-05:00

While researching photos for the post about how internet games are taking over - I found these!

Aren't they fun?

Speaking of Games

2011-02-23T17:47:00.004-05:00

That one guy looks kind of worried!

Games Are Taking Over!

2011-02-23T12:12:00.001-05:00

From CNN we have this interesting and creepy interview with Jesse Schell, a game designer and professor of Carnegie Mellon University. It's all about why games will take over our lives - there are even plans for a game in your toothbrush! Gamepocalypse is fast approaching!! Here's the article:

(CNN) -- If you think an electric toothbrush is high-tech, wait until you hear about the Internet-enabled version. Jesse Schell, a game designer and Carnegie Mellon University professor, says toothbrushes will be hooked-up with Wi-Fi Internet connections within five years.

The point? If the entire Internet knows how often you brush your teeth and for how long, there's an incentive to brush more often.

Toothbrush makers could offer rewards for frequent brushers, too. Say you brush your teeth twice each day for three months. A company like Crest or Procter & Gamble could reward you with coupons for more toothbrushes, since your well-used bristles would probably be frayed by then.

Schell says dental hygiene -- and, really, just about everything else -- will become a game. He thinks the "gamepocalypse," the moment when everything in our lives becomes a game, is coming soon -- if it's not already here.

The Web-connected toothbrush is just one example Schell touched on during a recent interview. Here's an edited transcript:

CNN: You've said games are showing up all over the place. What do you mean by that, exactly?

In short, we already see games creeping into our everyday lives in all kinds of funny ways. You go to Starbucks, and you get points if you have a Starbucks card. And, in fact, they have a whole leveling system. The more times you visit, the more you move from level green up to gold level, with special privileges and free soy milk.

Already, we have this whole system of economies floating around out there. And at the same time, we have all these technologies showing up that are allowing us to track new things, things that we couldn't do before.

CNN: What are we tracking now that we couldn't before?

A new example that's kind of a popular one is this new game Foursquare, which is a game that works off of the GPS in your phone.

We normally think, 'Oh, the GPS in my phone is useful in case I need to get directions to somewhere.' But there's no reason that your GPS can't track your location all the time. And, in fact, why not make a game of it?

So in the world of Foursquare, you get territory points based on all the places you visit. If you are the person who visits a place more than anyone else, you can become the mayor of that place, unless someone else visits it more than you, and then they take over the mayorship of the place.

New video gaming systems are coming out that track every joint of your body. It's basically going to become a normal thing for us to allow Microsoft to put a three-dimensional camera on top of your television set looking at you, which sounds like a Big Brother scenario if ever I heard one, but, still, it's what we're going to allow.

CNN: Do you think this will go so far that we'll be living a game?

I think people will find a great deal of their lives co-opted by games, sort of like how we saw advertising co-opt huge amounts of our lives in the 20th century.

CNN: Has it already happened?

I jokingly call this convergence of games into reality the "Gamepocalypse": the moment when every moment of life is actually a game. So many people have been interested in the topic that I made a blog called Gamepocalypse Now.

Do you know about this Green Goose product that you snap onto your bicycle and it tracks how much you ride ... and it has a system of rewards based on how much gas you save?

There's a lot of these things that are starting to happen now, and I think we're going to see more and more of them coming together.

CNN: What's going to happen next?

I think camera-based technology and tracking is going to be one of the things, in the next 10 years, we're going to see a lot of evolution in.

The idea of cheap little cameras and disposable cameras are going to become fairly normal. And when you combine that with the fact that we're getting used to touch-based interfaces and gesture-based interfaces, I think we're going to see these cameras in a lot of places for interacting with a lot of things.

You've got Google Goggles, where you take a picture of like anything, and it will tell you what it is. We haven't really started to make games with that yet, but I think we will start to.

And if you look at the new Nintendo DSi, which is their newest handheld, it has two cameras on it, which at first seemed kind of crazy to people, but the idea is you have one camera that faces out into the world and one that faces you the user, so it can look at your face and study your face.

No one's quite figured out exactly what that's for yet.

CNN: What do you think it's for?

I presume they want to go toward some facial tracking. They want to have games that involve tracking your face.

I think one of the things we'll start to see is common is, massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft will start to have a camera on your face, and then they'll map your facial expression to your avatar.

That's technologically not very difficult, and I think the potential for meaningful emotional expression and communication is significant there.

CNN: Will that change our everyday lives?

Anybody who has a product that can sense that the product is being used ... they're going to want to create motivations for you to use the product.

So fundamentally, they're going to make games out of it, because games are reward-based systems that motivate us to do things.

In fact, Oral-B is like halfway there. They already have a toothbrush that senses when you're brushing your teeth. And every 30 seconds, it beeps, meaning it's time now to change to a different corner of your mouth. So you do the four quadrants of your mouth, and when you've done all four, then it does a little special beep, and a happy face appears. And you don't get the happy face, you get a sad face, if you don't finishing brushing your teeth properly.

Now, that doesn't connect to the Internet yet, but, you know, it's about five seconds from connecting to the Internet. They already have a bathroom scale that uses Wi-Fi and connects to the Internet, so that every time you weigh yourself, it uploads it to a database so you can track your weight over time. You can configure it to automatically tweet your weight, in case you want that.

CNN: Is that supposed to be fun, or beneficial, for the consumer?

It depends on the product. If it's a product that gets you to brush your teeth more, or what if it not only it gets you to brush your teeth, but you floss?

That sounds health-giving. But if you look at people who make soda pop, they're going to try to incentivize you to do things that are less healthy. I hate to think about the systems the cigarette companies are going to come up with in order to incentivize people.

Whether it's fun is going to be important, because it's going to be competition. The 21st century is going to be this war for the attention of humanity.

CNN: Do you see a downside to people being watched and tracked all the time?

We all have choices to make about what aspects of our privacy we want to give away. We're already making choices like that all the time.

Anybody who uses Gmail has decided, "Yeah, I think it's OK for a major corporation to carefully sniff through every word of every e-mail I send and try to automatically come up with a profile of what sorts of things I might want to buy and then pop up distracting messages, specifically designed to distract me, based on my interests, on the side of the page."

So you could say, "Yeah, that's kind of creepy." Many of us say, "That's OK. I'm willing to give that up."

Is it OK for Amazon to know every word of every book you've read? Are you comfortable with that? Maybe you are. Is it OK to let everybody know you eat Corn Flakes? OK, but then there are certain products you might not want people to know that you're using. ...

The part that I worry about the most is sort of the perverse incentives that these systems are going to try to create. Largely, the companies won't be caring about our health and welfare. They're going to be caring about, "Can I manipulate you into doing things that help the company?"

CNN: Should we create regulations to keep that from happening?

That's hard for me to imagine. These things are going to creep up on us one by one, and it's going to be up to what can people take, and what can people tolerate?

CNN: Why are we attracted to games?

One of the main things that's appealing about games is that you know a game can be won. It's an unusual game that's impossible to win.

In real life, we have these problems, and the problems are hairy, and they're messy. You look at the problems that you face in your job or in your relationship or in your family, and it's like there's no clear winning, and there's no clear losing. Whereas, in a game, things are crisp and clear.

The game presents you with challenges that can be met, and then it congratulates you on your successes at those challenges. It's a thing we don't get everyday in life.

Yeah! I want that too!!

2011-02-22T15:45:00.000-05:00

I want to learn how to purr. Abandon myself, have mistresses in maidenhair fern, own no tomorrow nor yesterday: a blank shimmering space forward and back. I want to think with my belly. I want to name all the stars animals flowers birds rocks in order to forget them, start over again. I want to wear the seasons, harlequin, become ancient and etched by weather. I want to be snow pulse, ruminating ungulate, pebble at the bottom of the abyss, candle burning darkness rather than flame. I want to peer at things shameless, observe the unfastening, that stripping of shape by dusk. I want to sit in the meadow a rotten stump pungent with slimemold, home for pupae and grubs, concentric rings collapsing into the passacaglia of time. I want to crawl inside someone and hibernate one entire night with no clocks to wake me, thighs fragrant loam. I want to melt. I want to swim naked with an otter. I want to turn inside out, exchange nuclei with the Sun. Toward the mythic kingdom of summer I want to make blind motion, using my ribs as a raft, following the spiders as they set sail on their tasseled shining silk. Sometimes even a single feather’s enough to fly."

-Robert Maclean

Doing The work without doing it!

2011-02-21T16:47:00.000-05:00

So, looks to me like nobody actually wants to do "the work." And if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about - that's ok because well... I never do either.

And what I think I'm talking about is the latest Prosperity Project. A while back, I thought it would be a really good idea to do The Work - and I've been working my ass off avoiding doing the actual work of doing the work. Instead, what I have done is an unprecedented amount of blogging. I have actually completed the entire 30 day project - 2 sometimes 3 posts a day for 30 days - that's more than 60 posts folks!! - complete with awesome illustrative artwork - all prescheduled so that the Prosperity Project can post like clockwork and I'll never even have to look at it for the entire time we're "doing the work."

I may even have to do the work on why I'm not doing the work... so that I can find out if it's really true or not that I'm not doing it because maybe I'm actually doing it without knowing that I'm doing it...

It's fun that no one else is doing it with me because now I can moan and complain about how nobody wants to do the work - and nobody is participating - and nobody even goes to the prosperity project. I can blame my own lack of participation on everyone else's lack of participation and find all kinds of excuses to feel sorry for myself - and use up every inch of my available brain power with that so that there really isn't time - or room in my life to do the work on myself for myself with myself by myself.

Cool, huh? And hey, if you're totally not interested in doing the work over at the Prosperity Project, you're probably equally not interested in all the cool pictures I found to go with it.

I didn't, for example, post this one:

Nor did I post these:

Astonshing, the talent it would take to do this, huh?

Yes, it is actually a shoe carved into the lead of a carpenter's pencil!

Nifty, huh?

Pencil shavings - who thinks of shit like this?

I didn't post this one either - it's a torso made of pencils.

Looks almost snuggly, doesn't it?

Yes, you guessed it!

That's a big glob made out of pencils.

Oh, and just in case you didn't want to see it!

Here's one I actually did post.

This is pretty!

2011-02-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

It's called Fractal Rainbow Ocean.

I tried to make fractals once. I downloaded a bunch of programs and got all obsessive and crazy and tried to make them. But nothing I did came out cool. NOTHING! Interestingly, it's a math thing. Apparently, I'm so not good at math! At least not the cool kind of math that makes nifty pictures like this!

Here's an even cooler one!

I Love this!!

Thirty Questions

2011-02-18T23:03:00.006-05:00

On the surface this seems like one of those benign things that float through my inbox periodically... on closer examination - I wonder... what with identity theft and passwords and all that stuff, are you sure that you want people to actually KNOW some of these things?

Any nickname?
Mother's maiden name?
Favorite drink?
Tattoo?
Body Piercing?
How much do you love your job?
Birthplace?
Favorite vacation spot?
First Elementary school?
Ever eaten cookies for dinner?
Ever been on TV?
Ever steal any traffic sign?
Ever been in a car accident?
What was your first car?
Favorite salad dressing?
Favorite pet?
Favorite number?
Favorite movie?
Favorite holiday?
Favorite dessert?
Favorite food?
Favorite day of the week?
Favorite brand of body wash?
Favorite toothpaste?
Favorite smell?
What do you do to relax?
How do you see yourself in 10 years?
Farthest place you will send this message?
Who will respond to this the fastest?
Who's dumb enough to answer all these questions truthfully and then send them on to complete strangers so they can hack into all their personal information?

Knowing Is Better

2011-02-17T08:24:00.001-05:00

It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing.

~Seneca

Words of wisdom from Steve Jobs

2011-02-16T19:16:00.001-05:00

I've been posting a bunch of depressing shit from way back when, and then I found this... and in case you're wondering, yes, I'm rooting around in my "saved drafts" and "cleaing up" around here by getting everything posted and published.... So... now we come to Do What You Love by Steve Jobs, and I'm already thinking, "Well, that's easy for HIM to say, he's got everything he would ever need anyway!"

And maybe you're thinking the same thing too, but bear with me, because I did finally actually read the three stories he told, and maybe there's something to it... I don't know... So here it is, I'd be curious to know what you think of this.

'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says

I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.

Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky – I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30.

And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me – I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

Authors Details: This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.

The Force

2011-02-15T15:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, yeah, it's a Volkswagon commercial.

But it's cute!

And I like it...

And I also wonder how different my life would be if my dad would have supported my fantasy life as well as that dad did!

Darth Vader vs Hitler

2011-02-15T15:35:00.000-05:00

I'm still laughing!

I love YouTube - and I love how "Don't Worry Be Happy"

led me to Darth Vader vs Hitler
which turned into me actually laughing out loud...

I like it!!

2011-02-15T15:21:00.000-05:00

Love the song.

Love that he's actually getting donations.

And love how I felt after stopping to listen.

Geez...

Did I say how much I love that song?

Me As A Jedi

2011-02-15T11:18:00.000-05:00

A while back I had this idea that I wanted to be a Jedi and live by the Jedi Code. Naturally, as soon as I posted it, the idea left my mind completely. Which, by the way, is what I do so dearly love about blogging. As soon as I write about something I can forget it entirely and act as if I have ACTUALLY DONE whatever it is I was writing about.

Then, when researching for the Project on Begging I found this! I figure if worse comes to worse, I can wrap up in a black hoodie and blanket, go out on the street and put up a sign that says: "Homeless Jedi Wannabe." Or better yet, I can blog it and then I'll never have to ACTUALLY DO anything at all!

My Flag Of Surrender

2011-02-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

So, the 30 days of Begging (over at The Prosperity Project) is completed, and I did have a small epiphany when writing the post about my thoughts on the subject. I even found a picture to illustrate said epiphany - and here it is, a perfect illustration of the way in which I submit to authority and admit defeat:

Love and Marriage

2011-02-14T04:39:00.000-05:00

Do you have questions about love and marriage? I've got the answers right here! Just about anything you want to know about this important issue. I found it in my inbox this morning, it was too fun not to share.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY?

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
~Alan, age 10
No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
~Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER , by then..
~Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
~Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.
~Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
~Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)
On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
~Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
~Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When they're rich.
~Pam, age 7
The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
~Curt, age 7
The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
~Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.
~Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
~Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........
HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck hit her.
~Ricky, age 10

Yet another gloomy post from the past...

2011-02-13T11:03:00.002-05:00

This time it's from July of 09 - I must have been thinking of doing something social... and for the life of me I can't think of what it could have been.

Yowsers!
Am I just NEVER happy about ANYTHING?

Today, I am lacking the energy for enthusiasm, don't even have a vague idea of what to celebrate, am pretty sure that in order to have a feast - I'd have to do the dishes and if it was going to be any fun at all, I'd love to have people over... clearly, that wasn't going to work for me.

So I headed over to Osho.com and consulted the Zen Tarot. Here's what I got:

In a cinema hall, you look at the screen, you never look at the back--the projector is at the back. The film is not there really on the screen; it is just a projection of shadow and light. The film exists just at the back, but you never look at that. And the projector is there. Your mind is at the back of the whole thing, and the mind is the projector. But you always look at the other, because the other is the screen.

When you are in love the person seems beautiful, no comparison. When you hate, the same person seems the ugliest, and you never become aware of how the same person can be the ugliest and the same person can be the most beautiful....

So the only way to reach to truth is to learn how to be immediate in your vision, how to drop the help of the mind. This agency of the mind is the problem, because mind can create only dreams.... Through your excitement the dream starts looking like reality. If you are too excited then you are intoxicated, then you are not in your senses. Then whatsoever you see is just your projection. And there are as many worlds as there are minds, because every mind lives in his own world.

Osho Hsin Hsin Ming: The Book of Nothing Chapter 7

Commentary:
The man and woman in this card are facing each other, yet they are not able to see each other clearly. Each is projecting an image they have constructed in their minds, covering the real face of the person they are looking at. All of us can get caught up in projecting movies of our own making onto the situations and people surrounding us. It happens when we are not fully aware of our own expectations, desires and judgments; instead of taking responsibility for them and owning them, we try to attribute them to others. A projection can be devilish or divine, disturbing or comforting, but it is a projection nonetheless--a cloud that prevents us from seeing reality as it is. The only way out is to recognize the game. When you find a judgment arising about another, turn it around: Does what you see in others really belong to you? Is your vision clear, or clouded by what you want to see?

Hmmm... this is interesting. I wonder if I am WANTING to see only gloom and doom. I wonder if I am ENJOYING the suffering and the drama. I wonder if the movie I've created is one of those deliciously terrible B grade disaster movies???

Feeling Discouraged

2011-02-13T10:42:00.003-05:00

Way back in July of 09, I wrote the following post and somehow it never got posted. It is somewhat discouraging to me that I'm still in that dark wood, the Slough of Despond, and sitll without a muse or even a puppy...

Feeling Discouraged? Start something new!

At least this is what the Oracle told me just now. I have spent most of the day wandering in my "dark wood" without the benefit of a Beatrice, a Virgil, or a firm and structured belief in the afterlife. It feels pretty much like the Slough of Despond to me...

So, I asked Auntie Moss if my life was worth living, and she said, "What does an old witch woman know?" Apparently not a heck of a lot!! So then I thought I'd ask the Oracle and this is what I got:

I asked the I Ching Oracle:
how can I find a way to make a life that feels good to be in?

16. Yu - Eagerness to Start, Enthusiasm
Start something new. Celebration, feasting, and music will raise your spirits.

What does the Oracle hold for you?
http://luckyhonu.com/

Interestingly, this is something I often do. I get discouraged, down hearted, and next thing you know, I'm knee deep in some new project. That's why I have 27 blogs - 3 websites - a table full of mosaic stuff - under which is stored art supplies - a room full of strange stuff that I once thought I'd do something really cool with - not to mention 5 cats and a crazy insane dog - and a whole bunch of unfinished projects floating around here and there.

Actually - now that we're in 2011 - its more blogs, more websites, more strange stuff, but thankfully... just 4 cats, 2 birds, and not even one crazy insane dog! I can't tell if I'm making progress or not...

Looks like I need to start counting my marbles, doesn't it?

A Thousand Marbles

2011-02-13T09:05:00.000-05:00

About 3 years ago someone sent me this via email. It's been sitting here as a draft ever since. Today I actually took the time to read it. It's kind of a story about "losing your marbles" which is something I regularly worry about.. and it's a story about time which is another thing I worry about... So... I think it's worth sharing and here it is:

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whom-ever he was talking with something about 'a thousand marbles.' I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say

'Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Har d to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's 'dance recital' he continued. 'Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities.' And that's when he began to explain his theory of a 'thousand marbles.'

'You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.

'Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.

It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail', he went on, 'and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays.' 'I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy- five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.'

'Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.

There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.'

'Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.'

'It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 Year old Man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!'

EZ Banner Creator

2011-02-12T12:27:00.001-05:00

I found a cool site called Image Chef and in about 3 minutes was able to create this cool banner. The whole process was so easy that I thought it might be something good to share. Here's the banner I made. Nifty isn't it?

You can either get the code that links back to Image Chef, or you can save the image to your computer. It could then be resized to fit into a smaller space - and might be useful for a number of different things.

Hara Meditation

2011-02-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

I have no idea where this came from... I'm just methodically clearing out my "drafts" here at Shirley Twofeathers, this one is a couple of years old, and I was apparently pretty lax about making note of my sources. I wonder how well it works... maybe I should try it!

This is not strictly a Reiki technique but it is a useful practice to get in touch with your hara.

Your head should rest comfortably on your neck. Pretend that a puppeteer has a string attached to the centre of the top of your head. Your spine should be straight but not rigid so that your head balances there without much muscle tension keeping it in place. Your shoulders should be relaxed. Sit up straight and find that balance point. Your gaze should be slightly downward.

Your nose and your navel should be in line. So should your ears and your shoulders. You may rock a little front to back and to each side to find the balance point. Let your shoulders relax.

Shunryu Suzuki, in his classic Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, says, "If you put your left hand on top of your right, middle joints of your middle fingers together, and touch your thumbs lightly together (as if you held a piece of paper between them), your hands will make a beautiful oval. You should keep this universal mudra with great care, as if you were holding something very precious in your hand. Your hands should be held against your body, with your thumbs at about the height of your navel. Hold your arms freely and easily, and slightly away from your body, as if you held an egg under each arm without breaking it." This hand position will assist you in focussing on your hara.

Now release any remaining muscle tension and concentrate on your breathing. Let your breathing become very natural. It will find its own pace and you may notice that it slows and deepens. Breath in and out through your nose. Allow the inbreath to sink into your abdomen. Imagine that the breath is moving like a wave between your lungs and your hara, that point in the centre of your abdomen about eight centimetres below and behind your navel. Visualise your breath falling there.

Where the mind goes the Ki follows.

Allow the out breath to leave your body gently and loop out in front of your nose. On the in breath pick up that loop again and let it fall down to your hara.

Bring your attention fully to that energy centre, that balance point we are referring to as hara. Allow all of your attention to focus at that point. It may be helpful to imagine a point of red light in the dark of your abdomen. Whatever image you choose, allow it to aid you in focusing, and then when it has lost its usefulness, let it go.

Continue to return your awareness to your hara whenever it drifts away. Focus all of your attention there. Be in that place. Own that part of your body. Note any sensations you have there and let them go. Releasing your mental constrictions there will allow the energy of the hara to move up your spine and throughout your body. You may feel energized, yet at the same time you may feel the peace of being in balance.

Experience whatever comes without grasping. Focus your attention without desire for any particular result. Check your posture and bring it back to balance when you feel it slip. Allow the emptiness of non-doing to bring you peace.

You are back with the source... your true nature.

Emotional Incontinence

2011-02-11T13:20:00.000-05:00

I have recently uploaded quite a bit of stuff about emotions, and ran across this little article about Emotional Incontinence from the Osho site. It's a question and answer session, and I thought it contained a lot of food for thought. Maybe even some blog fodder. So, here it is:

Question:
You once suggested to me that I keep my energy inside and bring it to my Hara, my lower belly. Since doing this, I notice that my Hara has become like a mirror for all my feelings.I feel that behind this small suggestion of yours lies more than I can imagine. Could you please comment?

Answer:
The hara is the center from where a life leaves the body. It is the center of death. The word hara is Japanese; that’s why in Japan, suicide is called hara-kiri. The center is just two inches below the navel. It is very important, and almost everybody in the world has felt it. But only in Japan have they gone deeper into its implications.

Even the people in India who had worked tremendously hard on centers, had not considered the Hara. The reason for their missing it was because they had never considered death to be of any significance. Your soul never dies, so why bother about a center that functions only as a door for energies to get out, and to enter into another body? They worked from sex, which is the life center. They have worked on seven centers, but the Hara is not even mentioned in any Indian scriptures.

The people who worked hardest on the centers for thousands of years have not mentioned the Hara, and this cannot be just a coincidence. The reason was that they never took death seriously. These seven centers are life centers, and each center is of a higher life. The seventh is the highest center of life, when you are almost a god.

The Hara is very close to the sex center. If you don’t rise towards higher centers, towards the seventh center which is in your head, and if you remain for your whole life at the sex center, then just by the side of the sex center is the Hara, and when then life ends, the Hara will be the center from where your life will move out of the body.

Why did I tell you this? You were very energetic, but not aware of any higher centers; your whole energy was at the sex center, and you were overflowing. Energy overflowing at the sex center is dangerous, because it can start releasing from the Hara. And if it starts releasing from the Hara, then to take it upwards becomes more difficult. So I had told you to keep your energy in, and not to be so expressive: Hold it in! I simply wanted the Hara center, which was opening and which could have been very dangerous, to be completely closed.

You followed it, and you have become a totally different person. Now when I see you, I cannot believe the expressiveness that I had seen at first. Now you are centered and your energy is moving in the right direction of the higher centers. It is almost at the fourth center, which is the center of love and which is a very balancing center. There are three centers below it, and three centers above it.

Once a person is at the center of love, there is very rarely a possibility for him to fall back down, because he has tasted something of the heights. Now valleys will be very dark, ugly; he has seen sunlit peaks, not very high, but still high; now his whole desire will be.... And that is the trouble with all lovers: they want more love, because they don’t understand that the real desire is not for more love but for something more than love. Their language ends with love; they don’t know any way that is higher than love, and love does not satisfy. On the contrary, the more you love the more thirsty you become.

At the fourth center, of love, one feels a tremendous satisfaction only when energy starts moving to the fifth center. The fifth center is in your throat, and the sixth center is your third eye. The seventh center, the sahastrara, is on the top of your head. All these centers have different expressions and different experiences.

When love moves to the fifth center then whatever talents you have, any creative dimension, is possible for you. This is the center of creativity. It is not only for songs, not only for music; it is for all creativity.

The sixth center, which we call the third eye, is between the two eyes. This gives you a clarity, a vision of all your past lives, and of all the future possibilities. Once your energy has reached your third eye, then you are so close to enlightenment that something of enlightenment starts showing. It radiates from the man of the third eye, and he starts feeling a pull towards the seventh center.

Because of these seven centers, India never bothered about the Hara. The Hara is not in the line; it is just by the side of the sex center. The sex center is the life center, and the Hara is the death center. Too much excitement, too much uncenteredness, too much throwing your energy all over the place is dangerous, because it takes your energy towards the Hara. And once the route is created, it becomes more difficult to move it upwards. The Hara is parallel to the sex center, so the energy can move very easily.

The Hara should be kept closed. That’s why I told you to be more centered, to keep your feelings inside, and to bring the energy to your Hara. If you can keep your Hara consciously controlling your energies, it does not allow them to go out. You start feeling a tremendous gravity, a stability, a centeredness, which is a basic necessity for the energy to move upwards.

Your Hara center has so much energy that, if it is rightly directed, enlightenment is not a faraway place.

So these two are my suggestions: keep yourself as centered as possible. Don’t get moved by small things: somebody is angry, somebody insults you, and you think about it for hours. Your whole night is disturbed because somebody said something.... If the Hara can hold more energy, then naturally that much more energy starts rising upwards. There is only a certain capacity in the Hara, and every energy that moves upwards moves through the Hara; but the Hara should just be closed.

So one thing is that the Hara should be closed.

The second thing is that you should always work for higher centers. For example, if you feel angry too often you should meditate more on anger, so that anger disappears and its energy becomes compassion. If you are a man who hates everything, then you should concentrate on hate; meditate on hate, and the same energy becomes love.

Go on moving upwards, think always of higher ladders, so that you can reach to the highest point of your being. And there should be no leakage from the Hara center.

Energy should not be allowed through the Hara. A person whose energy starts through the Hara you can very easily detect. For example, there are people with whom you will feel suffocated, with whom you will feel as if they are sucking your energy. You will find that, after they are gone, you feel at ease and relaxed, although they were not doing anything wrong to you.

You will find just the opposite kind of people also, whose meeting you makes you joyful, healthier. If you were sad, your sadness disappears; if you were angry, your anger disappears. These are the people whose energy is moving to higher centers. Their energy affects your energy. We are affecting each other continually. And the man who is conscious, chooses friends and company which raises his energy higher.

One point is very clear. There are people who suck you, avoid them! It is better to be clear about it, say goodbye to them. There is no need to suffer, because they are dangerous; they can open your Hara too. Their Hara is open, that’s why they create such a sucking feeling in you.

Psychology has not taken note of it yet, but it is of great importance that psychologically sick people should not be put together. And that is what is being done all over the world. Psychologically sick people are put into psychiatric institutes together. They are already psychologically sick, and you are putting them in a company which will drag their energy even lower.

Even the doctors who work with psychologically sick people have given enough indication of it. More psychoanalysts commit suicide than any other profession, more psychoanalysts go mad than any other profession. And every psychoanalyst once in a while needs to be treated by some other psychoanalyst. What happens to these poor people? Surrounded by psychologically sick people, they are continually sucked, and they don’t have any idea how to close their Haras.

There are methods, techniques to close the Hara, just as there are methods for meditation, to move the energy upwards. The best and simplest method is: try to remain as centered in your life as possible. People cannot even sit silently, they will be changing their position. They cannot lie down silently, the whole night they will be turning and tossing. This is just unrest, a deep restlessness in their souls. One should learn restfulness. And in these small things, the hara stays closed. Particularly psychologists should be trained. Also, psychologically sick people should not be put together.

You have done well. Just continue whatever you are doing, accumulating your energy in yourself. The accumulation of energy automatically makes it go higher. And as it reaches higher you will feel more peaceful, more loving, more joyful, more sharing, more compassionate, more creative. The day is not faraway when you will feel full of light, and the feeling of coming back home.

Osho: The Golden Future

What is the hara?

2011-02-11T13:13:00.002-05:00

In short, the hara is also known as the "lower dantien." And towards the end of the following article is an explanation. But first, you'll need to have an idea of what the Dantien is.

From Wikipedia, we have the following explanation:

Dantian, Dan Tien or Tan t'ien (Chinese: 丹田 Dāntián ; Japanese: 丹田 Tanden; Korean: 단전 DanJeon; Thai: ตันเถียน Dantian) literally means "cinnabar or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques and refers specifically to the physical center of gravity located in the abdomen (about three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel).

The dantian is important in Neidan, qigong, neigong, tao yin and other breathing techniques, as well as in traditional Chinese medicine. It is also widely used throughout East Asian meditation and martial art theories, especially the neijia school of Chinese martial arts and Tai Chi Chuan.

Taoist and Buddhist teachers often instruct their students to center their mind in the dantian. This is believed to aid control of thoughts and emotions. Acting from the dantian is considered to be related to the state of samadhi.

The dantian also roughly corresponds to the Indian concept of the manipura, or navel chakra. In yoga philosophy, it is thought to be the seat of prana that radiates outwards to the entire body.

According to principles of Chinese alchemy, there are three dantians in the body:

The upper dantian is in the brain just behind a point directly between the eyebrows and corresponds to the Third eye. In Western anatomy, this point corresponds to the pituitary gland.

The middle dantian is in the heart and in Western anatomy is associated with the thymus gland.

The lower dantian is located 1.3 inches below the navel and is also called the golden stove. In speaking of the lower of the three points, the term dantian is often used interchangeably with the Japanese word hara (腹; Chinese: fù) which means simply "belly". In Chinese and Japanese tradition, it is considered the physical center of gravity of the human body and is the seat of one's internal energy (qi). A master of calligraphy, swordsmanship, tea ceremony, martial arts, etc. is held in the Japanese tradition to be "acting from the hara".

(Note that the dantian is a fixed anatomical location in the body but the center of gravity is a theoretical concept. The center of gravity moves within the body in relation to the posture and to the position of the limbs.)

Unconsious Loops

2011-02-10T10:17:00.010-05:00

Ok, so I found this sitting in here - in draft form - for almost a year. And I can't remember what i wanted to say about it, nor do I remember what was cool about it... clearly I was in some sort of unconscious loop. And now I'm sharing that loop with you! How cool is that? is that? is that? is that cool?

Three Monks

2011-02-09T20:19:00.008-05:00

“There are three monks, who had been sitting in deep meditation for many years amidst the Himalayan snow peaks, never speaking a word, in utter silence. One morning, one of the three suddenly speaks up and says, ‘What a lovely morning this is.’ And he falls silent again. Five years of silence pass, when all at once the second monk speaks up and says, ‘But we could do with some rain.’ There is silence among them for another five years, when suddenly the third monk says, ‘Why can’t you two stop chattering?”

~Krishnamurti

Magick Naked Body Art

2011-02-08T15:34:00.103-05:00

I found an interesting article about Chaos Magick and Sigils (actually - the idea contained within the article is what's interesting - the article itself is a pretty dense read) and I think it has potential... potential, that is, if a person has the patience and persistance to actually read the whole thing - which I actually did. And the courage, energy, enthusiasm, and art supplies to actually do it. And, by potential, I also mean potential to be a fun, cool thing to do, as well as an interesting way to create art and chaos at the same time. As for the magick? I do not know... but hey, who cares if the magick would work or not? It would at least be cool and fun, don't you think?

So here's the premise behind the idea. But wait, before we start, I think it might be a good idea to give a definition of the word, "sigil." Along with a couple of pictures. So, here's that:

A sigil (or /ˈsɪgəl/; pl. sigilia or sigils) is a symbol created for a specific magical purpose. A sigil is usually made up of a complex combination of several specific symbols or geometric figures each with a specific meaning or intent.

The term sigil derives from the Latin sigillum meaning "seal," though it may also be related to the Hebrew סגולה (segulah meaning "word, action or item of spiritual effect"). A sigil may have an abstract, pictorial or semi-abstract form, and it may or may not be enclosed within a circle, square, or triangle,.

Ok... so now that's clear - it is, isn't it? On to the article, which will no doubt be about as clear as mud. So here's that:

MAGICK SIGILS - RITUAL AND ACTION:

One of the problems, perhaps the only problem, with the process of sigilisation as it has been developed over the last seventy years or so is the disassociation of the intention and the operation. The pioneers of sigils have always maintained that it was essential, once the sigil had been designed and reified (using whatever method), that the operator should at least forget having done the working for this purpose and, if at all possible, forget the sigil itself after it had been destroyed or consigned to the realms of magical (unaware) consciousness.

For this reason some sigilisors have adopted the scheme of making sigils and storing them with many other sigils, withdrawing particular ones at random and empowering them in ignorance of their intention. This has the required effect of separating the intended result from the working but also fragments the energies used. It is a useful experiment but little more.

There are two kinds of sigilisors - those who have been doing it for a while and those who are just starting to experiment. The first group tends to experience few difficulties excepting those of personal style and elegance of technique. The second group, largely through unsureness, suffers from more tangible difficulties and it was largely on their behalf that experiments with action sigils were undertaken.

The starting premise for this scheme of sigils is that the intellectual input usually involved in designing the sigil is entirely removed. This requires two magical operations rather than one. These two operations compartmentalize the creation of the sigil into the first ritual and the empowerment of it into the second thereby making it easier to empower the sigil without consciously restimulating memories of its intention and, since this method of creating the sigil produces an abstract rather than a symbol form it becomes far easier to enter the state of positive non-desiring and to work ‘without lust of result’.

It should be noted at this point that I have only experimented with this technique on a group basis and that I have done no solo working with it although, in theory at least. It should make little difference except insofar as the note on abandonment of individual identity is concerned. To keep a short story short I now resort to ritual rubric.

Ok... now for the good part!
This is the how-to:

The following must be done in advance:

The operators carefully define the intention of the sigil.
An incense is made and is used for this working only.
Music is created and recorded and is to be used for this working only.
A large blank canvas is attached firmly to the temple wall.
Pigments appropriate to the work in hand are chosen and placed in open vessels near the canvas.
Special attention should be made to lighting whether that be of the traditional type, in which case many candles or lamps should be used, or whether it be stroboscopes and other mind-bending gadgets of evil empire.
Incense, music and lighting should be arranged so that, once lit or turned on, they need no further attention for the remainder of the rite.

The opening:
This is a rite within a rite put together by concensus of those concerned.
It’s functions are:

To set the mood of the rite.
To begin the rite.
To forcefully remind the operators of the intention of the rite.
To afford an opportunity for a strong sacrament to be shared.
A period of silence in which each summons his/her allies, gods, demons or whatever.

The music starts. The operator who puts the tape together must bear in mind the kinds of activities that will take place over it (as follows) and must ensure that the tape is at least as long as the rite from this point onwards.

In order to bring a gnostic state upon themselves the participants begin to whirl. This is a technique in itself and must be practised several, or even many times before it is used ritually. It is best to start slowly and establish a rhythm, gradually building up speed until the arms rise by the force generated. This speed should be maintained while attention is focused on the object of the rite, eyes open. Experienced exponents might intone a mantra at the same time. The likely duration of this process is subject to four variables:-

The strength of the sacrament
The effect created by the lighting, incense and music.
The proclivities of the individual participants.
Chaos, but less than one hour would be a waste.

Whirling is a technique most often used to induce the ability to walk on hot coals. If you feel that you are ready to that you have achieved the desired state. (Prior to using whirling in ritual it is useful to set up a firewalk to demonstrate to oneself the effectiveness of this technique). The gnostic state has been entered when awareness of the body disappears and self is centred in or totally exterior to the body.

A difficulty with this kind of rite is in arranging the transition between one activity and another, especially when each individual must achieve the required mindstate in his/her own time. This means that the transition is graded and that for some time two activities are taking place concurrently.

"Each in turn as he was taken" stops whirling (not suddenly to avoid dizziness) and maintaining concentration on the object of the rite, approaches the canvass, smears Body with paint and transfers this to the canvass using any and all body parts except the hands and feet which leave too recognisable and symbolic an imprint.

As other participants join in this activity all ideas of individualness in terms of Body and Self are surrendered to the notion of one Body, one Self, one organism with intention. There should be no difference in the minds of the participants between my Body and your Body, this Self and that Self. It is all one Body no matter whose the hand that smears or the thigh that receives the paint. This submission, this temporary abandonment of individual identity has four advantages:

In the absence of the individual Self there is no internal dialogue.
In the absence of the individual Self attention can be easily concentrated.
Paradoxically, in the absence of individual Self exteriorisation is facilitated because one has abandoned the notion of Self owning a particular Body to which it must necessarily remain attached. Exterior to Body is the ideal condition in which to create magical effects.
In the absence of individual Self one automatically forgets that one is performing ritual and this leaves one free to operate in present time, no longer concerned about or constrained by the structure of the rite. This is an excellent bonus. It is what every practical ritualist seeks to achieve.

This part of the ritual should go on for as long as the participants can hold their concentration and until everyone is satisfied with the operation.

An ending, previously designed through consensus, is performed.
It’s functions are:

To ensure that all participants are centred in their Bodies.
To shut down concentration on the object of the rite.
To bring the rite to an end.

The ritualists leave the temple, bathe and relax in one another’s company. The first rite is finished, an abstract sigil having been produced, and there should now be an interval of some days, if not a week or two, before the second rite.

There are many possible starting points for the ritual of empowerment and these depend mainly on the participants’ preferred methods of working. They may prefer, for example, to work with the sigil itself, although its physical size may be somewhat inconvenient in terms of practicality. They might use a large colour photograph or even a colour intensified video image. Whatever, the ritualists now resort to their favourite method of hurling the sigil into Chaos in order to activate it. The only restriction on them is not to give the purpose of the sigil any consideration and the temple should be furnished with this in mind.

Authors Details: Ray Sherwin

Speaking of Comfort Zones...

2011-02-08T15:19:00.054-05:00

Speaking of comfort zones,

here are two opposing views:

The way I see it -

there really is no guarantee that getting out of your comfort zone just because it seems good

for someone else

is that great of an idea... just ask this kitty:

And is it really true that when you leap a net will appear?

That if you try you will succeed?

That being said, it also occurs to me that being inside a box does have advantages.

Here's proof:

You get a place to sleep

And lurk...

Plus, it's fun

And can be cute...

Even when it is crowded,

Or you do get stuck!

So there you have it!

How to Escape Your Comfort Zone

2011-02-08T07:14:00.019-05:00

While I have absolutely no intention whatsoever of doing this, it did occur to me that maybe I should post this just in case there is someone else out there who might actually WANT to crawl out of their safe little box, their little hidey-hole, and have an adventure or two... With that in mind, here it is:

What Are Comfort Zones? And Why Should We Escape?

We all have our comfort zones – havens of security, familiarity and comfort. But why, you may be asking, should we escape? Surely a comfort zone is our reward for hard work, the place we’ve struggled for so long to get to? The place everyone wants to be? And wants to stay?

These are good questions. But don’t be fooled – because there’s a lot more to comfort zones than meets they eye.

The first problem is that comfort zones are comfortable –at least superficially. And because they’re comfortable, they lull us into a false sense of security and well-being. Yet the very fact that you have started reading this proves that, despite your ‘comfort’. You have a vaguely uncomfortable feeling that this may not be altogether a good thing.

That’s good! Feeling uncomfortable is a really good sign; it’s when we’re blissfully oblivious that we’ve got a real problem. It’s when we’re not uncomfortable that we aren’t motivated to confront our true feelings and simply run away from them – and are doomed to remain trapped in those Comfort Zones.

Slipping into a Comfort Zone is a simple process. When we are comfortable, our activities and behaviour tend to take on familiar patterns. Patterns become habits; habits become routines; and before we know it those routines become a rut. And the only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth of the excavation!

Of course, the most obvious of all is the material Comfort Zone. It’s one of the easiest to get trapped in, and one of the most difficult to escape from. After all, it’s the embodiment of the Great American Dream; the pursuit of success and wealth and all their external symbols. Perpetuated by movies and soap operas and reinforced by advertising, the material Comfort Zone seems, for most people, to have become the very purpose of life.

But there are also many other less obvious Comfort Zones. I’m talking about the invisible prisons of social and parental conditioning, of societal and cultural norms, of systems and rules and conventions, and a thousand other factors that are all just bricks in the walls of the prisons that surround us and prevent us from growing.

If we look at them objectively, Comfort Zones are almost inevitably states of limbo, secure castles in which we have imprisoned ourselves or allowed ourselves to be imprisoned by others. We perpetuate – and grow – those high walls by not being aware of them, or by refusing to recognise that they’re there. And so we compromise and rationalise and convince ourselves that it’s simply our ‘fate’ to be in our current situation… and, after all, we could be worse off, couldn’t we?

Mostly, we don’t even realise we’re in Comfort Zones. And so we simply shut off any ideas of the alternatives, of the options that lie outside our own narrow existences. Because it feels so safe and comfortable within, even to think of venturing outside our castle (and I’m not necessarily talking about a physical escape) seems foolish and risky and scary.

And the fact is, it is risky and scary. But definitely not foolish. Recognising that we are trapped in a Comfort Zone – and that there’s a whole lot more to life beyond the walls of our self-imposed limitations – is the first step towards escaping it and gaining mature wisdom and insight into our lives. Like the alcoholic, whose healing process can only begin once he has stood up in front of his peers or looked into a mirror and admitted that he is an alcoholic, so we can only begin to escape our Comfort Zones when we admit that we are trapped in them. Until that moment of honest self-confrontation, nothing can happen.

A second important step is accepting the fact that risk and pain are essential and inescapable components of this escape, as they are of any change or transition. In its most trite form it’s a question of ‘no pain, no gain’. Until we confront this fact, and until we muster the courage to leave behind the temporary and unfulfilling ‘myths’ of security and familiarity and material possessions (and they are myths, no matter how real or vital they may seem to you now), we can never begin the process of discovering our true selves and leaning what is truly meaningful and fulfilling and worth while in life.

The Honesty to Confront Your Self in the Mirror of Truth

It’s all about honesty. Honesty with those around us, but most of all honesty with ourselves. In order to become our true selves, we must have the courage to be ourselves and follow our own dreams. If we can’t do that, then the life we’re living isn’t our own. Isn’t that a terrible admission – that the life you’re living isn’t your own? How can we ever be self-fulfilled or at peace when we are lying to ourselves?

Real honesty also means bridging the gap between ‘Who I am’ and ‘What I do’; and between ‘Ought to be’ and ‘Is’. It is being what you believe in; letting every action and behaviour be an expression of who you are inside. And you simply can’t do that until you recognise and realise to what extent your life is being restricted, and how many of your actions are motivated by external forces rather than internal desires.

Only you can admit that you are trapped in Comfort Zones. But, like the alcoholic who can’t begin to be cured until he has the honesty to confront that fact and commit himself to doing something about it, you have to go through the same process in escaping your Comfort Zones. And, unfortunately, nobody can do it for you – even though, as you’ll see later, there are people who can lead you to the water (as this book does), but then it’s up to you to decide whether you want to drink.

How Do We Recognise These Comfort Zones?

There are many different types of Comfort Zones and, as I said earlier, most of the time we aren’t even aware that we’re in them. And you can’t solve a problem until you know exactly what that problem is. So, how do you recognise your own particular Comfort Zones?

You already know about material Comfort Zones, and they’re fairly easy to identify. But let’s look at another simple example.

You may be trapped in a dead-end job, hating every moment, resenting your boss, your circumstances, your pay package. And yet you just carry on from one dreary or stressful day to the next. You win of dreaming the sweepstakes or hitting that huge jackpot, and walking into the boss’s office, telling him his fortune, and walking out into a new life – perhaps retiring to a desert island. (Don’t we all have these dreams some time or another?)

Problem is, your chances of winning the sweepstakes or hitting that big jackpot are about as remote as your Fairy Godmother appearing, or a Knight in Shining Armour arriving on a white steed to rescue you, or any of the other unrealistic fantasies we invent to make our realities tolerable.

The reality is that you have to get real.

You have to realise that you are the Knight in Shining Armour, that you are the Fairy Godmother who can miraculously change your life for the better. And you can only do that when you can see things in true perspective. You can see the lush green fields and mountains of the world that lie beyond your Comfort Zones only when you have broken down the high castle walls that imprison you. Yet most people find it more comfortable simply to remain where they are, to make excuses and compromises.

But why do you put up with a life of compromise? Why do you continue to suffer, escaping only in day-dreams? The truth is that although you may be unhappy and unfulfilled, this discomfort is relatively more comfortable than the alternative – like waking up one morning and walking into the boss’s office and handing in your resignation.

You are afraid of the void beyond – the unknown world. WHAT ELSE WILL YOU SO? Will you find another job? What will it pay? What will your friends/family think? That’s why, even if actually offered another job, most people still find it very disconcerting and disturbing to actually ‘take the leap’, to find the courage to leave behind their Comfort Zone and accept the risks and unknowns of a new job. And even when they’ve decided, they often have difficulty taking the step of actually doing the things necessary to implement the change: writing the letter of resignation, telling the boss, making a firm and final date for leaving.

Being stuck in a lousy job is only one example trapped in a Comfort Zone. There are many other examples: an unhappy or stagnant relationship, an unfulfilled marriage, restrictive religious or social norms, a smothering small town with no future, an inhibiting, aggressive, over-competitive city.

The fact is, unless things become completely intolerable, or until you are fired or retrenched or dumped and forced to do something about it, it’s more comfortable for you to stay where you are than to face it and risk change. And so you stay put. And become more and more trapped.

Perhaps your own particular Comfort Zone is mainly a psychological one or emotional one; perhaps you are inhibited from progressing in your life by some past, often long-forgotten incident or traumatic experience or parental reproach or religious rule or societal norm.

For example, you may have been brought up in time when pre-marital sex was considered taboo by society. Entrenched by what you heard in church. Made more real by someone you know becoming pregnant and being ostracised by family and friends. And twenty or thirty years later, even though the attitudes of society have changed dramatically, even though your parents and teachers and church ministers may all be dead, your attitude and behaviour is still governed by an amalgam of all your past lessons and entrenched beliefs. And this may be inhibiting your entire life, affecting your relationships with members of the opposite sex, preventing you from making a full and satisfying attachment…leaving you trapped in your Comfort Zone of loneliness.

Invariably, each Comfort Zone is unique to each individual and very complex in its uniqueness, being an amalgam of many factors interacting powerfully with one another. And even once you recognise your own particular Comfort Zones, and realise that you’re trapped, why don’t you simply escape? Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder and a lot more complex than it seems – and for these reasons you don’t simply walk out on your lousy job.

Although you may be lonely and unhappy and unfulfilled, the truth is that the discomfort that you feel is relatively more comfortable than the alternative – that is, asserting yourself against everything that you have based your past behaviour, changing your entrenched beliefs to fit the new changed you within a changed society. In short, simply being honest with yourself in what you really want and desire in life, and having the courage to go out and get it.

But Why This Obsession With Change and Growth?
Why Can’t We Just Stay
Where We Are, Secure In Our Comfort Zones?

Many people asked me this question when I first started working on this book and exposed them to my ideas. They asked me how I could be so arrogant as to expect everyone to think as I did – namely, that growth is the most important and worthwhile task we all have in life, and that stagnation is therefore the most worthless.

My answer is that these are not just my subjective thoughts and opinions – they are in fact universal truths. This is my reasoning:

Everything in the entire universe is in a constant process of movement, of process and growth. Decay and death are not only valid parts of this eternal and ubiquitous process – they are essential aspects of it….for only through decay and death can new birth begin.

And yet man, with his rational mind capable of contemplating his own destiny, seems to have the dubious talent and desire consciously to suspend or delay or manipulate this process in himself.

For example, medical science prolongs an often fatally diseased physical life; social mores and the institution of marriage often prolong fatally diseased relationships; psychological hang-ups and defence mechanisms such as rationalisation perpetuate and prolong fatally diseased emotional, material and spiritual wastelands – those most insidious of traps that I call Comfort Zones.

Unless we recognise the fortresses we have built around us, unless we confront our own honesty, unless we recognise that risk and pain and death of the familiar and the comfortable are essential companions to the inescapable process of growth and rebirth, and should therefore be welcomed and embraced, we cannot even begin to break down the restraining walls and lower the drawbridge to a new and fuller existence.

I think Morris West expressed it perfectly in his book The Shoes of the Fisherman:

It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment or the courage to pay the price… one has to abandon altogether the search for security and reach out to the risk of living with both arms.

One has to embrace life like a lover.
One has to accept pain as a condition of existence.
One has to court doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing.
One needs a will stubborn in conflict but apt always to total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying.

That’s what escaping Comfort Zones is all about – to abandon altogether the search for security and reach out to the risk of living with both arms.

If you’re not prepared to do that, if you’d prefer to keep your security bubble of rationalisations and illusions and self-deceptions intact rather than confront the truth and your own honesty, if you’re not prepared to take the risks and face the consequences, then burn this book now. Because once you’ve begun the journey, once you have taken the blinkers off your eyes and your mind and soul, you will never be able to fool yourself again. You will either have to continue the journey, or live forever with the knowledge that you are living a compromise.

And that is the most uncomfortable Comfort Zone of all.

From:
The Secrets of Unbundling Your Life - By Lee Johnson with Albert Koopman

Three Questions

2011-02-07T12:18:00.001-05:00

Here's a story by Tolstoy. I especially like it because I'm always wanting to know the right time to begin anything, the right people to listen to, and above all I'm constantly wanting to know what is the most important thing to do...

IT once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen to, and whom to avoid, and, above all, if he always knew what was the most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might undertake.

And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed throughout his kingdom that he would give a great reward to any one who would teach him what was the right time for every action, and who were the most necessary people, and how he might know what was the most important thing to do.

And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his questions differently.

In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they, could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it was impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action; but that, not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, one should always attend to all that was going on, and then do what was most needful. Others, again, said that however attentive the King might be to what was going on, it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the right time for every action, but that he should have a Council of wise men, who would help him to fix the proper time for everything.

But then again others said there were some things which could not wait to be laid before a Council, but about which one had at once to decide whether to undertake them or not. But in order to decide that one must know beforehand what was going to happen. It is only magicians who know that; and, therefore in order to know the right time for every action, one must consult magicians.

Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some said, the people the King most needed were his councillors; others, the priests; others, the doctors; while some said the warriors were the most necessary.

To the third question, as to what was the most important occupation: some replied that the most important thing in the world was science. Others said it was skill in warfare; and others, again, that it was religious worship.

All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and gave the reward to none. But still wishing to find the right answers to his questions, he decided to consult a hermit, widely renowned for his wisdom.

The hermit lived in a wood which he never quitted and he received none but common folk. So the King put on simple clothes, and before reaching the hermit's cell dismounted from his horse, and, leaving his bodyguard behind, went on alone.

When the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of his hut. Seeing the King, he greeted him and went on digging. The hermit was frail and weak, and each time he stuck his spade into the ground and turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.

The King went up to him and said: 'I have come to you, wise hermit, to ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are the most important and need my first attention?'

The hermit listened to the King, but answered nothing. He just spat on his hand and recommenced digging.

'You are tired,' said the King, 'let me take the spade and work awhile for you.'

'Thanks!' said the hermit, and, giving the spade to the King, he sat down on the ground.

When he had dug two beds, the King stopped and repeated his questions. The hermit again gave no answer, but rose, stretched out his hand for the spade, and said: 'Now rest awhile -- and let me work a bit.'

But the King did not give him the spade, and continued to dig. One hour passed, and another. The sun began to sink behind the trees, and the King at last stuck the spade into the ground, and said:

'I came to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If you can give me none, tell me so, and I will return home.'

'Here comes some one running,' said the hermit, 'let us see who it is.'

The King turned round, and saw a bearded man come running out of the wood. The man held his hands pressed against his stomach, and blood was flowing from under them. When he reached the King, he fell fainting on the ground moaning feebly. The King and the hermit unfastened the man's clothing. There was a large wound in his stomach. The King washed it as best he could, and bandaged it with his handkerchief and with a towel the hermit had. But the blood would not stop flowing, and the King again and again removed the bandage soaked with warm blood, and washed and rebandaged the wound.

When at last the blood ceased flowing, the man revived and asked for something to drink. The King brought fresh water and gave it to him. Meanwhile the sun had set, and it had become cool. So the King, with the hermit's help, carried the wounded man into the hut and laid him on the bed. Lying on the bed the man closed his eyes and was quiet; but the King was so tired with his walk and with the work he had done, that he crouched down on the threshold, and also fell asleep -- so soundly that he slept all through the short summer night. When he awoke in the morning, it was long before he could remember where he was, or who was the strange bearded man lying on the bed and gazing intently at him with shining eyes.

'Forgive me!' said the bearded man in a weak voice, when he saw that the King was awake and was looking at him.'I do not know you, and have nothing to forgive you for,' said the King.

'You do not know me, but I know you. I am that enemy of yours who swore to revenge himself on you, because you executed his brother and seized his property. I knew you had gone alone to see the hermit, and I resolved to kill you on your way back. But the day passed and you did not return. So I came out from my ambush to find you, and I came upon your bodyguard, and they recognized me, and wounded me. I escaped from them, but should have bled to death had you not dressed my wound. I wished to kill you, and you have saved my life. Now, if I live, and if you wish it, I will serve you as your most faithful slave, and will bid my sons do the same. Forgive me!'

The King was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily, and to have gained him for a friend, and he not only forgave him, but said he would send his servants and his own physician to attend him, and promised to restore his property.

Having taken leave of the wounded man, the King went out into the porch and looked around for the hermit. Before going away he wished once more to beg an answer to the questions he had put. The hermit was outside, on his knees, sowing seeds in the beds that had been dug the day before.

The King approached him, and said: 'For the last time, I pray you to answer my questions, wise man.'

'You have already been answered!' said the hermit still crouching on his thin legs, and looking up at the King, who stood before him.

'How answered? What do you mean?' asked the King.

'Do you not see,' replied the hermit. 'If you had not pitied my weakness yesterday, and had not dug these beds for me, but had gone your way, that man would have attacked you, and you would have repented of not having stayed with me. So the most important time was when you were digging the beds; and I was the most important man; and to do me good was your most important business. Afterwards, when that man ran to us, the most important time was when you were attending to him, for if you had not bound up his wounds he would have died without having made peace with you. So he was the most important man, and what you did for him was your most important business.

Remember then: there is only one time that is important -- Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. The most necessary man is he with whom you are, for no man knows whether he will ever have dealings with any one else: and the most important affair is, to do him good, because for that purpose alone was man sent into this life!

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy , 1903.

Not Newsworthy!

2011-02-06T15:53:00.012-05:00

Want to know what I like?
Here's what I like.

I find something relevant to the actual news of the day, something dramatic and passionate. And I write a post about it... And then I don't post it until like... I hmmm... let me look here... 6 months later when it's no longer newsworthy, relevant, or even interesting! That's what I like!

Want to know what else I like?
The fact that I'm going to do that exact thing right now!
And here it is:

“In known history, nobody has had such capacity for altering the universe than the people of the United States of America. And nobody has gone about it in such an aggressive way.”
–Alan Watts

Here’s a heavily profane, NSFW bit of catharsis for ya.

Along with the video comes this lively bit of profanity in response.

Fuck BP
Fuck those limey fucks. Give us our fucking money!
~sivart222222

And this a response to the response:

it's the american dream, isn't it? no regulation. arn't most americans buying into this. why?
buying to unfuck the gulf? not really possible and why make, and sell t shirts.
the water footprint of cotton is horrendous, the working conditions of the field workers are horrendous, they get the incectiside along with the plants, then herbicides are used to make the leaves fall off.
the sweatshop conditions most t 's are made in are horendous.
all that to save the gulf and pollute something else?
~sabelmouse

Well guess what, you guys.
Nobody fucking cares!
Nobody!!

Riders On The Storm

2011-02-05T18:30:00.001-05:00

I love this song... it seems appropriate given the notion of contemplating where my personal rainstorm began...

Where are rainstorms born?

2011-02-05T18:22:00.000-05:00

Where are rainstorms born? Some are born of the breath of ancient forests, some of the tears of the wind... Wherever your rainstorm begins, that's where your journey begins. Seek the birthplace of your rainstorm and you shall understand the source of your soul.

~Mayan Calendar Portal

Cornbread I Can Eat!

2011-02-04T16:43:00.001-05:00

It's called Bobota - in Greek: μπομπότα, pronounced bo-BOH-tah. I found it while researching ancient Greek bread recipes for a post on Gypsy Magic.

Depending on the region of Greece and local customs, the word bobota can mean anything from cornmeal to any bread or polenta-type dish made with cornmeal. Cornmeal recipes were very popular during times of hardship, and bobota is considered by many to be a "peasant" dish. This basic recipe has a little sugar, but has no flour, milk, eggs, or butter. It gets a delightful shot of flavor from fresh orange juice and produces a dense, crumbly cornbread.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

2 cups of cornmeal
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder or baking soda
1/4 cup of sugar
4-5 tablespoons of fresh orange juice (juice of 1/2 large orange)
1/4 cup of oil (olive or corn)
about 1 cup of lukewarm water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F (175-180°C)

Whisk together the cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder to combine well. In a separate bowl, mix oil, orange juice, and water, and stir until well blended. Add liquids to the dry ingredients and stir.

Pour batter into a well-oiled 9-inch pie pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the pan. It should come out dry.

Cool at least 10 minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: one 9-inch pie pan (4-8 pieces) of simple country cornbread. To increase the recipe, increase all ingredients proportionately.

The Epic Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

Well... amazingly, our roads are now cleared.

Here's a picture:

Too bad all the houses and cars are buried!

LOL!

My New Album!

2011-02-02T11:56:00.000-05:00

Cool, huh? You can make one too. Here's how:

1 - Go to Wikipedia.org and hit random. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr.com and click on “explore the last seven days”. Or go to picasa, click on "explore." The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together.

5 - Post it on facebook with explanatory text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

I had so much fun, I made two more!

Which one is your favorite?

Loving George Today!

2011-01-23T17:45:00.001-05:00

Ok guys - this is too cool. I've been working on posts for the Prosperity Project and I found, on YouTube, music I had long ago given up ever finding.

Years ago, before I was married even, I had an album called: The Radha Krishna Temple with George Harrison. I loved that record. Then, someone broke into my apartment, stole my record collection and this album was one of about 15 that I was never able to replace because it was out of print. (Is that the correct term?) I put in orders for it at used record stores for several years after, and no one was ever able to come up with it... but now... all these years later... when EVERYTHING is available SOMEWHERE on the internet... I found a track from it.

How fun is that? And then I found some another cool songs... and guess what? That Krishna Temple Chant album was released on CD at some point - so I'll bet I can find it on Amazon.... Yes! Chant and be Happy!Ditting right there... on Amazon... for sale... for what?? $200!! Yowsers!

I'm so excited and so disappointed! Does that mean I've achieved a state of balance and enlightenment? Both sides of the emotional roller coaster at the exact same time?

Anyway, here are the videos I found. Enjoy!

Old Men Howl - Wow!!

2010-12-21T23:16:00.003-05:00

I was looking for an Invocation to the Sun for the Solstice and found this awesome thing!!

O brain, be flowers that nightingales may come to sing!
Old men, howl all you can to bring your white teeth back,
to make your hair crow-black, your youthful wits go wild,
for by our Lady Moon and our Lord Sun, I swear
old age is a false dream and Death but fantasy,
all playthings of the brain and the soul's affectations,
all but a mistral's blast that blows the temples wide;
the dream was lightly dreamt and thus the earth was made;
let's take possession of the earth with song, my lads!
Aye, fellow craftsmen, seize your oars, the Captain comes;
and mothers, give your sweet babes suck to stop their wailing!
Ahoy, cast wretched sorrow out, prick up your ears-
I sing the sufferings and torments of renowned Odysseus!

Invocation to the Sun, the Prologue to The Odyssey:
A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis

Frankenstein - The First Movie

2010-10-31T13:03:00.001-04:00

Frankenstein is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios that was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley. It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée.

Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City. Although some sources credit Thomas Edison as the producer, he in fact played no direct part in the activities of the motion picture company that bore his name.

Frankenstein is in the public domain, and you can download it here for free:
http://www.archive.org/details/FrankensteinfullMovie

Nosferatu!

2010-10-31T12:55:00.002-04:00

They don't make movies like this any more, that's for damn sure!!

Originally released in 1922 as Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens, director F.W. Murnau's chilling and eerie adaption of Stoker's Dracula is a silent masterpiece of terror which to this day is the most striking and frightening portrayal of the legend.

Nosferatu is in the public domain, and can be downloaded here for free:
http://www.archive.org/details/nosferatu

Night of the Living Dead

2010-10-31T12:47:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween!
And to celebrate here is The Night of the Living Dead! The complete movie on video. I love these old zombie movies!

Looking for Opie

2010-10-16T13:47:00.008-04:00

Did you ever have a dream that was so cool, so real, and so vivid that not only do you know it "means" something, you'd also like to figure out a way to get back into it and make it come true in your real waking life?

About 2 weeks ago, I had one of those. And then a series of events have happened to underscore it, and tonight I'm taking steps to say to the Universe, to tell the powers that be, "Hey - I'm up for it!"

So, here's the dream:

In the dream, I hooked up with Opie, one of the bikers on the Sons of Anarchy. We had great sex, we had real love, and it was so so good! Now, interestingly, my ex-husband (now deceased) and Opie look really a lot alike. Here's something else that's interesting. When Mike (my ex) really began to slide towards the other side, I started to see him in my dreams more and more.

After he died, I began to see him every where I went. On the way to the viewing I saw him about 6 different times. I thought that the viewing would make his passing seem more real to me, but just the opposite happened. Now he doesn't seem dead at all. Often he comes to me in dreams... that feeling of closure I had when the divorce was finalized is gone and it feels to me like we are connected in some deep irredeemable way.

But, back to the dream... no... wait... here are some pictures. The first one is Opie, the second one is my ex.

That being said, back to the dream. Opie and I hooked up, fell in love, had great sex, and then he had some business to take care of and I had to go to work. We decided to go someplace cool over the weekend,and I drove to work. When I parked the car, I saw that there were ripe black blackberries growing just beyond the parking lot. They looked so ripe and so good that I decided to go into "Heavenly Pets" (that's where I was working) and get a bowl to put them in.

This is how good they looked:

So, I go into the shop, and the place is a mess, dog hair everywhere. One of my daughters was there and I said, "We better get this place cleaned up!" But first, I wanted to find a bowl for the blackberries. So, I go outside with the bowl, all ready to have some yummy fruit, and this woman comes charging up to the door with her dog (Heavenly Pets is a dog grooming salon), all pissy and wanting to come in. I said to her, "We don't open until 8 o'clock."

She says, "It's ten after nine!"

And I'm like... Fuck Me! And then, people with dogs started pouring out of cars and mobbing the front door. I gave up on the collecting the fruit idea and went back into the shop only to find that it was now a really horrible mess in there. Dog shit everywhere - piles and piles of it. Dogs running around loose. Dog hair. Dirt. It's chaos and really really gross. My other daughter has decided to pull all the cages out and clean under them. And I'm running around cleaning up shit, and shit, and even more shit! Then, we pull out a cage and underneath it is a dead cow. A whole cow, dessicated and flat, but a cow nonetheless... I'm like... what a bunch of crap! Literally! 10 times worse than this!

Suddenly, I remembered about Opie... and how we were in love, and going to do something cool. So I told everyone (my coworkers) that I was "no longer a virgin" and that I had a cool biker dude... Next thing you know, he shows up. Looking all cute, wearing his "cut," and ready to go. In the picture, (it's really hard to find a good Opie pic) he looks kind of intense, in the dream, he was all smiling and cute.

And I'm thinking... "Damn! How can I leave now, with all this shit to clean up?" I could feel myself beginning to make the decision to stay and clean the never ending piles of shit and death, when I suddenly woke up. Wide awake. Dream so vivid in my mind! And right then and there, I decided that given a choice love vs shit, freedom vs work, cute biker vs dead cow, I'm going for love, freedom, and cute...

I told my daughter about it, and she was sure that I'd never find a biker or a biker type that was anywhere near anyone I'd have anything in common with. But then, I found Shaman Hawk's post about being a Shaman and I'm thinking he has that "biker" look and that "biker" attitude. Not only that, but (like Opie) he had a thing with a porn star... and one of the girls at work who encouraged me that maybe I should go looking for a biker... well, her name is Donna. Which is the name of Opie's dead wife. Coincidences... maybe... signs and portents... also maybe... I dunno.

Anyway, tonight I'm hanging out at bonifide biker bars with my friend Sequoiah. (Another interesting coincidence since Shaman Hawk's girlfriend's name is also Sequioah.) This is my way of making it clear to "the powers that be" that I absolutely choose freedom, love, fun, and cute over work, death, and shit. As Shaman Hawk would say, you "gotta do the pictures."

A Real Shaman

2010-10-10T19:13:00.004-04:00

I found a great blog post about shamanism at a pretty cool website called Blue Plant Shaman. The whole thing is worth reading - I just pulled the juicy part out for posting here. It's a list for the basic requirement for a person to be a good Shaman. And hey, I think I qualify! And I've gotta say, I like this guy!

You need to come from a dysfunctional family.
You need to understand abuse, alcohol, drug, sexual, physical, mental, verbal, the more the better.
You need to have a fast mind. This is usually shown through a quick humor and/or problem solving skills.
You may have a thought that nothing is sacred nor should it be.
You will probably have a very strong sex drive.
You may think some things are funny while other people severely disagree.
You have the ability to teach without formal training.
Even the most introverted people will instantly open up to you.
You can make friends with the most vicious junk yard dog because you can relate.
You had the “visits” from the other side at an early age.

Sometimes we can seem like a twisted bunch, but everyone wants to come to our parties.

They can be all the things that you would never expect a Shaman to be in places that seem so unholy or spiritual. Normally you won’t find them in some air conditioned classroom teaching someone else’s bullshit because the have an “I passed a Shamanic course” paper on the wall.

Shamanism is getting into life and everything that goes with it. Shamanism is about experimentation and testing your theories before you try to teach something. A real Shaman will let you know you are a fucked up individual and not try to dress it up with some white lighter justification. A real Shaman will help you develop who you really are, not who everyone thinks you should be. A real Shaman understands that some things just can’t be fixed and may take a temporary job as a sniper in a third world shit hole.

So Shamanism has evolved a long way from telling the story of when the Great Raven flapped its wings seven times and created the universe, or how some chic that was fucking around on her husband said God knocked her up. Shamanism became the reality show that HBO won’t even air.

“The people you see on this show are real. Their names and identities have not been changed, no one is protected. The situations are real and there are no co incidences between what you see in Shamanism and real life you dumbass, new age flake.”

Personally, I really don’t want to hang with anyone in Shamanism that doesn’t have some kind of bad reputation or rumors. People make mistakes. Or do they? Maybe it’s divine guidance for our higher learning. Yeah, that’s it. I channeled that.

Shamanism is about being yourself, being honest about it, and being ok with that.

Shamanism is living a life that will make a great true story that will be told as a teaching implement. Live it. Don’t leave any blank pages. One day the book will close.

If I was to say there was only one sin, it would be not living true to your nature. A Shaman will live according to their true nature and that’s the main reason they usually don’t fit in. So goes Shamanism through the ages. It will always be one of those places that the out of ordinary people go to fit in with the other black sheep of humanity that people look to for spiritual guidance.

A Color Quiz

2010-10-10T13:06:00.005-04:00

I'm getting ready to do a mini-workshop on color therapy and I found this little quiz. Check it out!!

Shirley took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test!

"Defiantly opposes any sort of restriction or oppos..."

Click here to read the rest of the results.

Here's what it said about me:

Your Existing Situation
Imaginative and sensitive; seeking an outlet for these qualities--especially in the company of someone equally sensitive. Interest and enthusiasm are readily aroused by the unusual or the adventurous.

Your Stress Sources
Feels that life has far more to offer and that there are still important things to be achieved--that life must be experienced to the fullest. As a result, she pursues her objectives with a fierce intensity that will not let go of things. Becomes deeply involved and runs the risk of being unable to view things with sufficient objectivity, or calmly enough; is therefore in danger of becoming agitated and of exhausting her nervous energy. Cannot leave things alone and feels she can only be at peace when she has finally reached her goal.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Feels trapped in a distressing or uncomfortable situation and seeking some way of gaining relief. Able to achieve satisfaction from sexual activity.
Exacting in her emotional demands, especially during moments of intimacy leaving her frustrated in her desire for a perfect union.

Your Desired Objective
Defiantly opposes any sort of restriction or opposition. Sticks obstinately to her own point of view in the belief that this proves her independence and self-determination.

Your Actual Problem
The fear that she might be prevented from achieving the things she wants drives her to the exploitation of all types of experience, so that she may categorically deny that any of them has any value. This destructive denigration becomes her method of concealing hopelessness and a profound sense of futility.

The Chinese Moon Festival

2010-09-17T21:09:00.004-04:00

The Chinese Moon Festival is this really cool event where the moon is honored. This year, it falls on Sept 22. I have a bunch of posts scheduled for Sept 21 over at Gypsy Magic but I can't put the link in because it isn't posted yet. And what I did was, I put up a bunch of stuff here that didn't seem appropriate for Gypsy Magic site. I posted them early so I could go ahead and link them. So... if you're wondering what the heck all that moon festival stuff is, now you know!

And if you are curious about the Festival, and don't want to wait until posts show up at Gypsy Magic, here's the scoop. There's even a recipe! So, read on:

Once upon a time, the earth had ten suns. They burned the crops and people suffered from famine. Houyi, a lesser god and a highly-skilled archer, felt sorry for mankind, so he decided to shoot down nine of the suns. After he shot down the suns, he became a hero. He had a beautiful wife name Chang’e (also a lesser god) and they lived happily together. Houyi gathered many followers and one day they all went hunting together regularly. One day, on Houyi’s way back home the Jade Emperor (the highest god) gave Houyi a pill which granted eternal life as a reward for shooting down the suns. He warned Houyi, “Make no haste to swallow the pill.” Houyi loved Chang’e very much and did not want to leave her, so he gave the pill to Chang’e and let her store the pill in a safe place. Chang’e put the pill in her jewelry box. But one of Houyi’s apprentices, Peng, discovered this secret. He decided to steal the pill.

One day Houyi and some other disciples went to the mountain. Peng pretended he was sick so that he could stay at home. Everyone went to the mountain except Chang’e, who stayed at home. Peng burst into Chang’e’s room and forced her to give him the pill. Chang’e knew she was no match for Peng so she took flight and flew far away. She did not want to leave her husband, so she stopped at the moon which is close to Earth. After Houyi discovered what had happened, he was very angry and heartbroken. He looked up into the night and called Chang’e’s name. He saw that on the moon there was a shadow that looked like Chang’e, so he ran and ran and tried to get to the moon. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t reach the moon.

As for Houyi, he built himself a palace inside the sun as “Yang”-阳 (the male principle), with Chang’e as “Yin”-阴(the female principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Houyi visits his wife. That is why the moon is full that night.

The moon cake (月饼- yuè bǐnɡ):

The moon cake is a traditional symbol of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are many legends surrounding the moon cake. In one tale, moon cakes originated in ancient times to pay homage to the moon. According to other sources, the moon cake was invented as a way to honor the Moon Goddess Chang’e. In what is perhaps the most famous tale, it is said that during the end of the Mongolian- ruled Yuan era Han Chinese rebel Zhū Yuán Zhānɡ distributed a secret message baked in moon cakes giving the instructions “revolt on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month”. On the night of the brightest moon these revolutionary fighters successfully attacked and overthrew the Mongolian army.

And if you want to make some, here is a traditional recipe:

Mid-Autumn Moon Cake Recipes
By Yan Can Cook, Inc

Makes 2 dozen

1 can (17-1/2 ounces) lotus seed paste
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Dough

4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2-cup non-fat dried milk powder
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup sugar 1/2 cup solid shortening, melted and cooled
1 egg yolk , lightly beaten

1. Mix lotus seed paste and walnuts together in a bowl; set aside.

2. Sift flour, milk powder, baking powder, and salt together into a bowl. In large bowl of electric mixer, beat eggs on medium speed until light and lemon colored. Add sugar; beat for 10 minutes or until mixture falls in a thick ribbon. Add melted shortening; mix lightly. With a spatula, fold in flour mixture. Turn dough out on a lightly floured board; knead for 1 minute or until smooth and satiny. Divide dough in half; roll each half into a log. Cut each log into 12 equal pieces.

3. To shape each moon cake, roll a piece of dough into a ball. Roll out on a lightly floured board to make a 4-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. Place 1 tablespoon of lotus seed paste mixture in center of dough circle. Fold in sides of dough to completely enclose filling; press edges to seal. Lightly flour inside of moon cake press with 2-1/2 inch diameter cups. Place moon cake, seam side up, in mold; flatten dough to conform to shape of mold. Bang one end of mold lightly on work surface to dislodge moon cake. Place cake on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat to shape remaining cakes. Brush tops with egg yolk.

4. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F. oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a rack and let cool.

Moonlight Sonata

2010-09-17T21:02:00.001-04:00

A great song for the moon festival, don't you think?

First Moon Landing

2010-09-17T21:01:00.000-04:00

Here we have a really nifty way to celebrate the Chinese Moon Festival. We can watch a video of the First Moon Landing!

Bad Moon Rising

2010-09-17T21:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know if it's appropriate for the Chinese Full Moon festival, but I do love this song!

Moon River

2010-09-17T20:59:00.001-04:00

A great video, and a great idea for songs to sing on the night of the Chinese Moon Festival!

A Moon Walk for the Moon Festival

2010-09-17T20:56:00.001-04:00

It's different, not what you'd expect, but I do think it could be something fun to do, don't you? What could be more appropriate than moonwalking on the night of the Chinese Moon Festival.

My Big Dreams

2010-09-16T09:13:00.003-04:00

Over at the Prosperity Project, we're doing a 30 day series on the secrets of self made millionaires. The first one is Dream Big, and I've already realized something important.

Not only do I get scared when I start having those big dreams of my spectacular future, I am not consistent with what I envision, and worse than that, my dreams and ideas of what my ideal and wonderful life would be are at odds with one another. So, I am already stuck and it's just the first day.

I have no idea how to make those big dreams fit together in a rational way. I'll show you what I mean:

Dream #1: Multiple streams of internet income, and all I have to do is sit at the computer for 3 or 4 hours a day, blogging, creating, interacting with my multitudes of readers, while the Google Checks, the Amazon Checks, and the PayPal deposits just roll on in. I can go where I want - when I want - because I'll have a really cool state of the art laptop and wireless internet. If the weather gets shitty - I can just get into my pretty much new, well maintained, totally comfortable, mileage efficient, and lovely vehicle and go someplace else. I like this dream a lot! (The freedom factor in this one is huge!)

Dream #2: I am a much beloved teacher of Reiki, Art, Color Healing, Shamanism, Gypsy Magick, Animal Communication, and whatever else I find interesting and fun to teach. My classes are always full. My phone is always ringing with people wanting to talk about classes, or their experiences, or to express how awesome that last class was. My calendar is full and yet I do find time to go attend workshops and classes myself, always expanding what I know, and finding ways to experience new things. (The I'm so cool factor is big in this one - lots of strokes here.)

Dream #3: Wow, I'm an artist. I have a great studio full of cool art supplies and every morning I go out to that studio with my freshly brewed espresso and just go crazy creating "wow" art. My agent comes periodically and fills his/her van up with art for galleries that are panting for more. My checking account is overflowing and I hardly notice because I am having so much fun simply creating cool stuff. In the evenings I hang out in the hot tub with friends. (The fun factor is the greatest draw here.)

So there they are - I thought there was more, but I just realized that the rest of my ideas are simply variations on the above themes.

I can get excited and energized thinking about each one of those big dreams. The problem is that they seem to cancel each other out. But now that I've written them down, I'm starting to see how they just might fit together...

I could have multiple streams of internet income... and be an artist... I'd just have to have a base of operations - a place for the studio, and after a huge push to get a bunch of stuff created, I could hop into my vehicle and head for some R&R. But how would the classes fit into this scenario? Maybe I could schedule classes with 2 or 3 weeks of down time in between.

Let me see... Art in the morning... followed by an afternoon on the internet... rounded off by classes in the evening. I could theoretically schedule the classes ... hmmm... a full day on Saturdays - back to back classes with a nice long lunch break. Sunday afternoons for more energy intensive events like medicine wheels, journey work, sweats, etc. And then 2 or 3 evenings a week for the other classes. As long as I schedule 1 or 2 days during the week for down time - it might actually work... It would be nice to have two whole days exclusively devoted to art. I know - that could be my "down" time, my "rejuvenate my brain" time. I could just get into that flow of color and form... turn off the phone and be in the zone.

So, that gives me plenty of time for art, and if I did 4 classes on Saturday, 1 on Sunday, and just 3 others during the week - well - that's a lot of classes. Let me see... that means 7 classes - I could be doing reiki, art, animal communication, shamanism, tarot and divination, and color healing. That's 6 classes which means plenty of time for one or two more if I feel so inclined. And if I scheduled them to all start on the same week - and run for the same length of time 4 or 5 weeks - my rest and recoup time would be available with no problem. Then I could hop into my vehicle and head for the hills with laptop in tow and plenty of time for solitude and relaxation.

Geez... I started out this morning thinking it was impossible and now here we have it... my big dream!!

Me, a Jedi?

2010-09-15T10:02:00.004-04:00

Ok guys, I've been reading the code of the Jedi and I'm thinking it might be a cool set of rules to try to live by. I like how it sounds, and I'm wondering what my life would look like if I actually "did life" in the Jedi way.

So, to that end, I've uploaded the following:

Hopefully my attempts to be one with the force won't turn out looking something like this:

Creed of the Jedi

2010-09-15T09:55:00.001-04:00

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the Galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and protect, never to attack others.
Jedi respect all life, in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than rule over them, for the good of the Galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.

~Starwars

A Code of Belief for Jedi

2010-09-15T09:53:00.003-04:00

1. As Jedi, we are in touch with the Living Force flowing through and around us, as well as being spiritually aware of the Force. Jedi are trained to become sensitive to the Force's energy, fluctuations, and disturbances.

2. Jedi live and focus on the present; we must neither dwell on the past nor be overly concerned about the future. As the mind wanders, focusing on the present is a task not easily attained, for the mind is not content with the eternal present moment. As Jedi, we must release our stress and ease our minds.

3. Jedi must maintain a clear mind; this is achieved through meditation and contemplation. Our minds can become cluttered and infected by forces and attitudes that we encounter every day, and must be purged of these unnecessary elements on a daily basis.

4. As Jedi, we are mindful of our thoughts... we focus our thoughts on the positive. The positive energy of the force is healthy for the mind, body and spirit.

5. As Jedi, we trust and use our feelings. We are intuitive, more so than others and with this heightened intuition we become more spiritually evolved as our minds become more harmonious with the Force and its influences.

6. Jedi are patient. Patience is elusive but can be consciously developed over time.

7. Jedi are mindful of the negative emotions which lead to the Dark Side: Anger, Fear, Aggression, and Hate. If we sense these emotions manifesting within ourselves, we must meditate on the Jedi Code and focus on purging these destructive emotions.

8. Jedi understand that physical training is as important as training the mind and the spirit. We understand that all aspects of training are necessary to maintain the Jedi way of life and to perform the duties of a Jedi.

9. Jedi protect the peace. We are warriors of peace, and are not ones to use force to resolve a conflict; it is through peace, understanding and harmony that conflicts resolve.

10. Jedi believe in destiny and trust in the will of the Living Force. We accept the fact that what seems to be random events are not random at all, but the design of the Living Force of Creation. Each living creature has a purpose, understanding that purpose comes with a deep awareness of the Force. Even things that happen which seem negative have a purpose, though that purpose is not easy to see.

11. Jedi must let go of obsessive attachment, both material and personal. The obsession over possessions creates the fear of loosing those possessions, which can lead to the Dark Side.

12. Jedi believe in eternal life. We do not become obsessed in mourning those who pass. Grieve as you will but take heart, for the soul and spirit continue in the netherworld of the Living Force.

13. Jedi use the Force only when it is necessary. We do not apply our abilities or powers to boast or be prideful. We use the Force for knowledge, and exercise wisdom and humility in doing so, for humility is a trait all Jedi must embody.

14. We as Jedi believe that love and compassion are central to our lives. We must love each other as we love ourselves; by doing this, we envelope all life in the positive energy of the Force.

15. Jedi are guardians of peace and justice. We believe in finding peaceful solutions to problems, gifted as we are we remain negotiators of the utmost ability. We never negotiate out of fear, but never fear to negotiate. We embrace justice, protecting and preserving the fundamental rights of all living creatures. Empathy and compassion are vital to us; it allows us to comprehend the wounds caused by injustice.

16. We as Jedi make a commitment to, and are loyal to the Jedi cause. The ideals, philosophies, and practices of the Jedi define the belief of Jediism, and we take action on this path for self-improvement, and to help others. We are both the witnesses and protectors of the Jedi way by the practice of our Faith.

The Jedi Code

2010-09-15T09:42:00.002-04:00

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force.

~Star Wars

Fresh Corn on the Cob

2010-09-15T08:07:00.001-04:00

Cook fresh corn on the cob in microwave with husks and silk intact. They will cook in their own natural moisture, and taste really yummy. Here's how:

Cooking Timetable:

1 ear - 1 1/2 minutes
2 ears - 3 to 4 minutes
3 ears - 5 to 6 minutes
4 ears - 7 to 8 minutes
6 ears - 8 to 9 minutes.

Place on dampened paper towel.
Turn ears over and rearrange after 1/2 cooking time.

When ears are hot to the touch, remove and wrap in kitchen towel or foil. Let stand at least 5 minutes.

Remove husks and silk (which is easier than when cold) and serve with melted butter.

Greetings From Iowa?

2010-09-15T08:06:00.000-04:00

Some people have too much time on their hands!
I thought farmers worked for a living!
Actually, I'm just complaining because I'm jealous - what a neat idea!

Dale Ungerer tosses seat cushions to look like pats of butter onto his 32 foot long prize ear of corn, which he made by stringing together 1700 plastic jugs on a frame.

153 Chickens Rescued

2010-09-14T04:47:00.000-04:00

153 chickens rescued from man's bedroom??
Yes, it's true!
And I thought having five cats was bad...
Here's the story:

The SPCA has confiscated 153 fertile broiler chickens from a Rylands man who was keeping them in a darkened bedroom.

The man told SPCA inspectors, who arrived at his home late last week, that he was a former employee of Rainbow Chickens. (Probably it was a place that looked like this)

City SPCA boss Allan Perrins said the man claimed he had "rescued" eggs from his former employers and put them into his oven where, "to his surprise", they hatched.

Neighbours called the City of Cape Town health department complaining of a stench emanating from the house, and officials from the department who inspected the property found the chickens.

They called in the SPCA.

Senior SPCA inspector Peter Lombard said: "The place was a mess and the room was dark." (I looked but couldn't find a single picture of a dark bedroom full of chicken shit)

Lombard told the homeowner he had 12 hours to find a more suitable home for the chickens, which were evidently neglected and badly fed.

The man called the SPCA on Thursday and signed the chickens over to inspectors - but then contacted them again, asking for the animals to be returned to him because he had found a home for them on a Faure farm. (Probably doesn't look much like this)

Many of the birds had already been put down, Lombard said. (I'd like to think it was something merciful and soothing ... like ... well ... this)

"Broiler chickens are genetically bred to feed 24 hours a day and resort to cannibalism when they don't get enough food," he said. (Be very grateful that I didn't put some pictures of that here!)

The SPCA ethics committee will consider the man's request about the Faure farm and make a ruling.

By Janis Kinnear

I have to go now.

2010-09-13T18:21:00.000-04:00

I'm having an old friend for dinner.

LOL.

Alan Watts talks about money

2010-09-13T16:31:00.003-04:00

The following is from another speech given by Alan Watts entitled "From Time & Eternity". I'm not quite sure what I think of it, especially since today I don't have enough money - and he says that money isn't real - and I say - ok.. but having to pay the bills is real... real for me... so - what do you think?

*"Do you remember the Great Depression? One day everything was going all right. Everybody was pretty wealthy and had plenty to eat. The next day everybody was in poverty. What had happened? Had the fields disappeared; had the dairy vanished into thin air; had the fish of the sea ceased to exist; had human beings lost their energy; their skills and their brains?

No, but on the morning after the Depression a man came to work building a house and the foreman said to him "Sorry chum you can't work today, there ain't no inches." He said "What do you mean there ain't no inches?" "Yeah" he said, "Yeah, we got lumber, we got metal, we even got tape measures." The foreman said "The trouble with you is you don't understand business. There are no inches. We have been using too many of them and there's not enough to go around."

Because what happened in the Great Depression was a slump in money. Human beings are so unbelievably stupid, that they confused money with wealth. They don't realize that money is a measure of wealth, in exactly the same way that meters are a measure of length. They think it is something that is valuable in and of itself. And as a result of that get into unbelievable trouble, in exactly the same way time is nothing but an abstract measure of motion.

And we keep counting time. We have the sensation time is running out, and we bug ourselves with this as we sit and watch the clock. Supposing you are working, are you watching the clock? If you are, what are you waiting for? Time off? Five o'clock, we can go home and have fun? Yeah, fun. What are you going to do when you get home? Have fun? Or are you going to watch TV, which is an electronic reproduction of life which doesn't even smell of anything and eat a TV dinner which is a kind of a warmed over airline nastiness until you just get tired and have to go to sleep. You know, the great society.

This is our problem you see. We are not alive, we are not awake. We are not living in the present."

*This speech was slightly edited for clarification.

Confusions of the Mind

2010-09-13T16:20:00.003-04:00

Here we have Alan Watts audio from Disturbing confusions of the mind. I love this guy.

The Alan Watts Story While many in the 60's played the stock market and paid their mortgages, Alan Watts lived aboard a colorful houseboat, writing, speaking, and inspiring a generation to re-assess their values.

For more than forty years, Alan Watts earned a reputation as a foremost interpreter of Eastern philosophies for the West. Beginning at age sixteen, when he wrote essay for the journal of the Buddhist Lodge in London, he developed an audience of millions who were enriched through his books, tape recordings, radio, television, and public lectures.

In all, Watts wrote more than twenty-five books and recorded hundreds of lectures and seminars, all building toward a personal philosophy that he shared in complete candor and joy with his readers and listeners throughout the world. His overall works have presented a model of individuality and self-expression that can be matched by few philosophers.

His life and work reflects an astonishing adventure: he was an editor, Anglican priest, graduate dean, broadcaster, author, lecturer, and entertainer. He had fascinations for archery, calligraphy, cooking, chanting, and dancing, and still was completely comfortable hiking alone in the wilderness. He held a Master's Degree in Theology from Sudbury-Western Theological Seminary and an Honorary DD from the University of Vermont in recognition of his work in the field of comparative religions. He held fellowships from Harvard University and the Bollingen Foundation, and was Episcopal Chaplain at Northwestern University during the Second World War.

He became professor and dean of the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco, made the television series "Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life" for National Educational Television, and served as a visiting consultant for psychiatric institutions and hospitals, and for the United States Air Force. In the mid-sixties he travelled widely with his students in Japan, and visited Burma, Ceylon, and India.

Wash Your Hands Right Now!

2010-09-05T13:04:00.006-04:00

Why?

Well, I just discovered that hand washing affects your moral judgment and gives a more lenient attitude toward sinners and wrong doers. And since I'm pretty sure I fall into both categories, it occurs to me that before reading this page a good hand washing might be in order!

I find this really interesting. It has all sorts of implications! For example - would something like this help when you're having a problem with your significant other? with your children? If someone gives you a hard time, couldn't you just suggest a good hand washing? It might be better than a hand wringing in a bad situation.... Does a picture of someone washing their hands have a similar effect? Could I post something like that on my front door? I'm intrigued by the whole thing. So... Here's the article, what do you think?

The old adage that cleanliness is next to godliness has now received scientific support after researchers discovered washing your hands can affect your moral judgment.

People who wash their hands make less severe judgments. A new study has found that people are more likely to be lenient in making decisions if they have just washed their hands.

British scientists who carried out the research said the findings suggest that jurors in criminal trials who have cleansed their hands may make their verdict less severe.

This suggests that voters may be more likely to excuse a politician's misdemeanours when going to the ballot box if they have just had a shower.

In the study, 22 people who had washed their hands, and 22 who had not, were made to watch a disgusting three-minute clip of heroin addicts from the hit film Trainspotting.

All 44 were then asked to rate how morally wrong they deemed the series of acts shown to them on a scale of one to nine, with one being acceptable and seven being very wrong.

The actions included stealing money from a wallet, lying on a job application, cooking and eating the family dog, killing a dying plane crash survivor to avoid starvation, and abusing a kitten.

All said they thought the actions were 'wrong'. However, the participants who had washed their hands were less likely to judge the actions as harshly as the group who had not.

In another experiment, a group was asked to read sentences with words such as 'purity' and 'cleanliness' before being posed the same moral dilemmas. Another group was given sentences with neutral words.

Again, the 'clean' group judged the unethical behaviour less harshly.

Lead researcher Dr Simone Schnall, a psychologist at the University of Plymouth, said: "We like to think we arrive at decisions because we deliberate, but incidental things can influence us.

"This could have implications when voting and when juries make up their minds."

Lancaster University psychologist Professor Carey Cooper described the findings as "terrifying". He said: "It suggests that washing can make us more prepared to accept wrongdoing. It is very scary when you think of the implications, especially in the judicial world."

Article by Murray Wardrop

Distractions and Blog Posts!!

2010-09-05T11:30:00.008-04:00

Here's a perfect example of how I get distracted on the internet! I started out with an intention today of putting one post on each blog, and between posts, working on cleaning house, and if there was any time left over, finishing up the flyer for beginnings. And this is what happened:

I started with Two Feathers Reiki. Put up a nice little post called "Decisions Decisons" and the proceeded to make a number of ... well ... decisions. I try to keep my images hosted only on free sites - and in my latest search for image hosting I found the My Opera site - and decided to upload the images for Two Feathers Reiki and Way Cool Pictures over there. So, I went there to upload the image for the decisions post, and somehow ended up making ... I know how crazy it sounds ... another blog.

That being done, I loaded the dishwasher and then posted a Tolstoy quote on Way Cool Quotes, and (thus far) successfully talked myself out of investigating Tolstoyism... Hurray me! Then I posted images of ridiculously flexible people on More Cool Pictures... and put a bunch of trash into trash bags. So far so good.. I then trotted over here to Shirley Twofeathers.

My intention was to post about my absolutely most favorite food in the whole wide world... and in my search for actual information about the Ice Cream Bean, I ended up watching videos on doing Reiki with Horses! Which lead to the following video which I thought was really super cool:

Oh... and wait... there's a part 2!!

I really like this guy! Probably he's mostly full of shit - but it's cool shit, and well, I like him. Here's some more, because even if you've had enough, I haven't!

This is an interview - I love what he says about self love:

And then I found his Spirit Rap which is really powerful, so I thought, hey, this belongs on Feathers and Bones! There's even a CD, which I went and found at Amazon (here's a link - Spirit Rap) and put on my wish list for that mythical time when I have actual money.

And then, while posting at Feathers and Bones, I realized that I still haven't replaced the missing graphics that came with the template for that blog, and which disappeared when the person who made the template disappeared for a time and let the image hosting lapse... so now it's on my mind to get in there and fix that.... but wait... enough Shirley enough... go ... I dunno .... wash your hands! Which I have now posted... and ... (deep breath) ... (huge sigh) ... I'm now going to do some... what was it? laundry?

Wow - Food of The Gods

2010-09-05T10:55:00.004-04:00

"A delectable snack that comes in its own natural wrapper"
much loved by children.

This is my absolute most favorite food! I've never seen it here in the US, but when I was growing up - it was - well - Nirvana whenever we got it. We called it Guaba and sometimes Guayavana - neither of which is actually correct. A more popular name for it is the Ice Cream Bean. And it really does taste like vanilla ice cream! I remember when we moved into the house in Chupientza, there was a large tree growing right there in the compound. I was so excited. Imagine my disapointment when I discovered that it didn't produce fruit continuously all year round.

These pictures are making my mouth water! What I would give to have one right now... hmmm... my first born child?

Here's the scoop on it:

Ice-cream Bean (Inga edulis)

Although numerous species are called the ice cream bean, this is the most common species attributed the name. The fruit is a long bean pod, sometimes a few feet in length, which contain sweet, juicy, white pulp that has a soft cotton wool texture and tastes of vanilla ice-cream. The pulp surrounds a large smooth black seed. This large nitrogen fixing tree is native to Central and Southern America.

Description: Medium to large sized tree up to 60+ feet tall.
Hardiness: Will stand temperatures to the 30's when mature.
Growing Environment: Grow in full sun. Naturally occurs near river banks, so it enjoys year-round irrigation.
Soil Characteristics: Well drained, but tolerant of a wide range.
Climate Requirements: Warm humid areas - can grow in most parts of the tropics and subtropics.Not tolerant of frost or drought.
Propagation: By seeds.
Culture: Trees grow easily from seed, often becoming a weed below the adult tree. Limbs are very weak and easily broken by wind.
Harvesting: Pods are harvested when fully rounded usually over summer.
Length of time until first crop: Three years
Marketing Notes: Very attractive to children. Short life of only a few days off the tree.
Uses: Almost always eaten fresh. Trees are sometimes planted to provide shade to coffee and cacao plantations.
Native Range: Native to riverbanks, swamps and lakes of the Amazon Rainforest.

Here are some pictures of what it looks like growing and blooming:

Gosh I wish I had the time and the location to plant a few of those seeds and grow a couple of trees!!

Please Do Your Part!

2010-09-02T00:21:00.001-04:00

Today is National Mental Health Day. You can do your part by remembering to say hello to at least one unstable person.

Hello there dear reader!

Well, my job's done!

Feel the Lethargy and Do It Anyway

2010-09-01T07:13:00.000-04:00

Here's a little something I found ... I wonder if simply reading it will suffice to get my motor revved and me up and running... OK, probably not. What if I read it out loud? Maybe if I read it in a really loud voice??

So, here it is from Holly Zenith:

Yuck, it’s tax time again. One of these days, you’ll get your hands on the documents you need and you’ll fill out your return – on time this year! But not right now. That’s too much hassle.

You’ve been meaning to start that running program, but not tonight – you’re beat.

You’re at work and you’re sneak-surfing on the internet. Whenever anyone passes by, you alt-tab quickly back to a bogus spreadsheet. You know you need to get back to work and stop loafing, but you just can’t get focused.

Do any of these scenarios sound like you? Maybe it’s not taxes, exercise, and work that you’re putting off – maybe it’s a heart-to-heart conversation with your daughter, or maybe it’s cleaning out the junk drawer in the kitchen. Maybe it’s folding a basket of laundry. Clipping your toenails. Whatever it is, you just can’t seem to get motivated to do anything!

Sometimes it isn’t fear of failure that holds us back. Sometimes it’s just plain old lethargy! And if that’s the case, you probably won’t finish reading this article, because when you’re feeling lethargic, the last thing you want is to be motivated!

I don’t know about you, but often when I’m feeling lethargic but otherwise perfectly healthy, I have conflicting voices running in my head. One voice wants me to snap out of it and get things done that I promised myself or others would get done. The other voice whimpers, “Leave me alone.”

Here are two techniques that I use to snap myself out it and get moving on things again:

1. Movement creates movement. Once you make any move at all, you’ve begun creating momentum, so it’s easier to keep moving. Sometimes it seems to require the combined forces of the entire Universe just to launch that first little bit of movement. Sometimes you have to bargain ruthlessly with yourself. I promise myself some great reward for small effort. It’s ridiculous. “Just open the folder on the computer that has the report I need to work on. Then click on the report and it will open. THEN I can have a candy bar.” Once the report is open and I’m chomping on my candy bar, it’s easy to jump right in and get to work on it.

If you’re putting off shoveling the snow, promise yourself a reward for getting your coat, boot, hat and mittens on. If you’re putting off starting that running program, promise yourself a reward for setting your running clothes & running shoes out and for setting your alarm a half hour earlier. You get the idea. Just do what you need to do to get moving.

2. Placate the child. I adapted this from The Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-Free Play by Neil Fiore. It’s the little child in you that doesn’t want to do what you, the adult, is asking yourself to do. Maybe the child is whining that you never let it have any fun, or it’s afraid that once you start working, it will be all work and no play, so the child reasons it’s best to just not start.

Prevailing wisdom is that you need to reward yourself AFTER a task has been completed, which is the theory behind the first strategy. This strategy is the other way around. Whatever it is that you’re doing that you don’t want to give up, negotiate a little more of it in exchange for starting whatever it is you’re putting off. For instance, if you’re watching TV but you need to shovel the walk, promise yourself that you can watch to the end of JUST THIS program. Or finish the chapter in the book you’re reading, or have that snack you’re fantasizing about. Or tell yourself you can surf on line for 10 more minutes, and then it’s back to work. Then make sure you do it!

If your lethargy is chronic or persistent or is accompanied by other symptoms, consider seeing a doctor. At the very least, consider some lifestyle changes, such as getting more sleep, getting more exercise, and improving your eating habits.

I have a little saying that I use on myself. “The less you feel like it, the more you need it.” Fit people often feel like exercising, but out-of-shape people rarely do. People who eat healthy diets often have a hankering for raw vegetables, but people who live on a diet of junk rarely do. Highly productive workers do take breaks, but they don’t let them interfere with their productivity – they take a short break, and then they get on with their work. And so on.

Are you putting something off right now because you just don’t feel like it? Before you click on another link, before you visit another site, or before you read another article, pick one of the two strategies and put them to work. Maybe you’ll even come to my website and email me to tell me if it worked or not! (Don’t do that until AFTER you’ve knocked that thing off your to do list, though!)

Be Like The Moon

2010-08-31T15:46:00.000-04:00

"be like the moon. the moon will never lie to anyone. no one hates the moon or wants to kill it. the moon does not take anti-depressants and never gets sent to prison. the moon never shot a guy in the face and ran away. the moon has been around a long time and has never tried to rip anyone off. the moon does not care who you want to touch or what color you are. the moon treats everyone the same. the moon never tries to get in on the guest list or use your name to impress others. be like the moon. when others insult and belittle in an attempt to elevate themselves, the moon sits passively and watches, never lowering itself to anything that weak. the moon is beautiful and bright. the moon never shoves clouds out of its way so it can be seen. the moon needs not fame nor money to be powerful. the moon never asks you to go to war to defend it. be like the moon."

- Henry Rollins

Lost Love

2010-08-30T13:57:00.001-04:00

Now that I'm looking for love in all the wrong places - it seems appropriate to post this video:

Virginia O'Brien was truly gifted, watch the various expressions as she sings her trademark song. I love how the terror washes over her face. They don't come like this anymore folks.

How To Look Good When You Are Actually Ugly

2010-08-30T13:34:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm out there looking for love, I think it might be a good idea learn know how to look good when you are actually ugly!

Not Giving Up On Love

2010-08-30T12:15:00.004-04:00

Check this out - I may have found the dating site that's right for me! I know my man Stan will be disappointed, but let's face it, he just isn't quite what I need. This new dating site promises to be interesting... and I'm sure that I'll be able to find the love of my life!

Created by Mingle2.com

Take a look at this guy! He's kind of cute, don't you think? Isn't that a nice smile? And such big eyes!

My Osho Card for Today

2010-08-16T15:58:00.002-04:00

The seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never known the flower. And the seed cannot even believe that he has the potentiality to become a beautiful flower. Long is the journey, and it is always safer not to go on that journey because unknown is the path, nothing is guaranteed.

Nothing can be guaranteed. Thousand and one are the hazards of the journey, many are the pitfalls - and the seed is secure, hidden inside a hard core. But the seed tries, it makes an effort; it drops the hard shell which is its security, it starts moving. Immediately the fight starts: the struggle with the soil, with the stones, with the rocks. And the seed was very hard and the sprout will be very, very soft and dangers will be many.

There was no danger for the seed, the seed could have survived for millennia, but for the sprout many are the dangers. But the sprout starts towards the unknown, towards the sun, towards the source of light, not knowing where, not knowing why. Great is the cross to be carried, but a dream possesses the seed and the seed moves.

The same is the path for man. It is arduous. Much courage will be needed.

Osho Dang Dang Doko Dang Chapter 4

Commentary:

This card shows a small wildflower that has met the challenge of the rocks and stones in its path to emerge into the light of day. Surrounded by an aura of bright golden light, it exposes the majesty of its tiny self. Unashamed, it is equal to the brightest sun.

When we are faced with a very difficult situation we have a choice: we can either be resentful, and try to find somebody or something to blame for the hardships, or we can face the challenge and grow.

The flower shows us the way, as its passion for life leads it out of the darkness and into the light. There is no point fighting against the challenges of life, or trying to avoid or deny them. They are there, and if the seed is to become the flower we must go through them. Be courageous enough to grow into the flower you are meant to be.

~Osho

I Write Like Who?

2010-07-17T02:39:00.009-04:00

Someone suggested that I should write some bad poetry, and guess what! I already have! (You can read it here.) Then I found this nifty little website that will analyze your writing and tell you who you write like... so I had my poetry analyzed... This is what it said:

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Stephen King?? Yowsers! I don't even know what to think!! I wonder who I write like when I'm talking about having a not cool not fun life... hmmm... let me see... it's analysing... analysing...

I write like
David Foster Wallace

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Oh hey! It says, David Foster Wallace.. whoever the heck that is... probably some not cool not fun guy. Alright, so, when I'm on a rant, (like maybe this one here) who do I write like?

I write like
James Joyce

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

James Joyce? Ok, I can dig it. That's kind of cool! Oops! Am I doing something cool??? I wonder who I write like when I think I'm actually writing fiction, for example, this story here...

I write like
Ursula K. Le Guin

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

OH WOW, Ursula LeGuin? Maybe I am pretty cool after all!

Ok... that was so much fun that I'm going to have to go sit in my dirty bathtub with all 5 of my cats, 2 of which are in heat, and I'm going to drink a half a warm beer, and think about how much fun it will be to get up in the morning after having had like... I dunno... 4 hours of sleep... and go to a funeral in a vehicle with no air conditioning on a day when it's going to be 95 degrees with 80% humidity. That'll put a surefire stop to all this fun coolness, don't you think?

Oh and by they way: If you've stumbled onto this post like, days or weeks or even months after I wrote it, you might want to read my rules for living a not cool not fun life so you'll know what I'm talking about. It's very... um... David Foster Wallace-ish!

Cheers!

2010-07-16T10:51:00.001-04:00

Oh, and here's a picture illustrating how to celebrate failure just in case you happen to be a successful failure and aren't quite sure how to enjoy it:

How To Fail

2010-07-16T10:10:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I stole the picture for my last post from an actual book called The Ten Rules of Highly Unsuccessful People. In all fairness, I thought I should post his rules. They are as follows:

Learning Anything New
Don't Share What you Know with Others
Be a Jerk!
Always Look Out for Number One
It's All About the Money
Promise Things you Have No Intention of Doing
It's Always Someone Else's Fault
Truth is in the Eye of the Beholder
Do the Least That's Necessary for Success
The Customer is Someone you Have to Put Up With

Ten Rules For A Not Fun Not Cool Life

2010-07-16T09:10:00.010-04:00

A while back I was talking about something, what was it... oh yeah... it was the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition, and it occurred to me that since I really hate to "follow the rules" and have a deep seated belief that rules were made to be broken, maybe I should post rules for a not fun not cool life. I could then go out of my way to break those rules, and maybe my not fun not cool life could begin to be both fun and cool.

Later on, I decided to just write the rules and forget about breaking them... what's interesting, and also sad, is that these rules are a combination of my life and the lives of my two best friends... together, we three have perfectly awful lives in which there is no fun and we are not cool. At the same time - because we are so not fun and not cool, and because we do have each other - we become almost cool and sometimes we have fun! We can't even succeed at being uncool and not fun!! We're failing at being failures! How stupid is that?

Anyway, here are the rules. Abide by them if you choose -

Personal hygiene has to go. Remember that old saying, "Save water, shower with a friend" ? Not cool if you want to pursue a not fun not cool life. If you smell good, you might actually feel good and then people might actually want to be around you. So, take a shower every couple of weeks - you don't want to get so dirty it begins to be kind of cool. You just want to be dirty enough to smell creepy. And don't forget about your mouth! Dental hygiene is an absolute no-no! Bad breath and rotten teeth are not fun, not cool, and a great enhancement to a not fun not cool life. So, throw away that toothbrush right now.

Pets - have annoying ones. Pets can be cool and they can be fun, so in order to be sure that the pets you have are not fun and not cool here are some guidelines. If you have birds, be sure to have large unhappy birds that scream at the top of their lungs most of the time. It's also helpful if they are destructive and love to bite strangers and small children. If you have cats, either have intact male cats that piss on everything you own, or females that are constantly in heat and yowling. If you are unfortunate enough to have cats that are spayed and neutered, then have 5 or 6... maybe even 7 or 8... and don't let them go outside, and don't keep their litter boxes clean. As for dogs... hey... for an uncool not fun pet, nothing beats a dog that is constantly barking, biting, and pissing. It's even better if they are smelly, have long tangled dirty hair and allergies that make their eyes run constantly. Oh... and fleas... very not cool and definitely not fun.

Have a low paying, soul sucking, menial job that you hate. This is very important. It insures that every day you will have something distasteful to look forward to. It also ensures that you have just enough money to survive on, but not enough to have fun with. Plus, on your days off, you'll be too tired to do anything productive. Which brings me to the next rule:

If you're going to do something - don't do it right. Do not engage in productive activity. Spin your wheels all the time. This is the best way to ensure that your life is never fun. Be sure to have plenty of things to do, just don't do them well enough to get them done properly. This way, nothing will ever be accomplished, and your "to do" list will grow exponentially, as will the futility of any action you do rouse yourself to engage in.

In order to live a not fun not cool life, it's important to have friends. Friends who call you at all hours of the night to pour out their troubles, rant over the injustices in their lives, (it's even better if they are falling down drunk when they call). And, very important, friends who never - I repeat - never what to hear anything you have to say. Friends who hang out with each other, but never want to hang with you. Friends who come over only when they want something. And especially friends who borrow. I'm talking here about the kind of friends who borrow money and don't pay it back, borrow books and never return them, who borrow tools and immediately lose or break them... you know... if you're reading this, you probably already have some friends like this. So, hey, go out and get a few more!

Never ever clean your kitchen or your bathroom. There is nothing as not cool and not fun as rotting dishes in the sink and moldering garbage sitting around in bags and sacks, and a filthy tub (not that you're using it) and toilet. You can follow rule #4 (If you're going to do something, don't do it right) when it comes to cleaning the rest of the house. Want a clean house, but always do a piss poor job of actually cleaning it. You can then constantly badger yourself about how you need to get off your ass and do more cleaning. This will ensure that watching mindless television won't be nearly as much fun as it would be if you flat out didn't care what kind of a mess your house is in.

Don't do enough drugs, or drink enough alcohol, to actually feel good. If you are going to drink, drink just enough to puke all over the couch, but not enough to actually have fun or feel good. As for drugs, you can't afford the good drugs that will anesthetize you right out of uncoolness and right into a fake nirvana - so save your money for stuff like... I dunno... Twinkies and donuts.

If you have a car - have a crappy one. Nothing is more not cool and not fun than driving around in 103 degree weather in a car with no air conditioning, it's especially helpful if none of the windows will roll down. Alternatively, you could have a car with windows that won't roll up - this is especially not fun when it's raining, snowing, or really really cold. The car does need to work - most of the time - this way, when it does break down, it can be unexpected and annoyingly inconvenient.

Families can contribute quite a lot. Your family can be very helpful when it comes to living an uncool unfun life. Nobody can eat you alive in quite the same way as your parents, siblings, and children ... You can count on needs that remain unfulfilled, expectations that will never be met, disappointments, and small cruelties. It's especially helpful if other members of your family are determined to make sure you know that they are more successful, more cool, more fun, more productive, more civilized, more creative, have more money, more stuff, or are simply meaner, smarter, or are just flat out better than you. This will greatly enhance your feelings of personal failure.

Never do anything that's cool or fun. This is probably the most important rule of all. So important, it might even be useful to make a list of all the things you think might be cool and/or fun, and post it somewhere so that you can be sure to NEVER EVER do them. And if you are doing something, and it starts to feel cool or seem fun - stop immediately! Call your parents, loan money to a friend, hang out in your bathroom, go to work, sit in your piece of shit really hot (or cold car), or plunk yourself down in front of the TV and watch reruns of your least favorite show.

Parenting Fail?

2010-07-08T09:48:00.004-04:00

I found this today on Yahoo, and I thought it was interesting... and also annoying! Here is a man, a person with billions of dollars, a "success" in life, maybe he's even a good person... I don't know... But here he is giving the best advice he's ever received and it's totally useless to me in terms of money and success.

"The power of unconditional love. I mean, there is no power on earth like unconditional love. And I think that if you offered that to your child, I mean you’re 90 percent of the way home. There may be days when you don’t feel like it, it’s not uncritical love, that’s a different animal, but to know you can always come back, that is huge in life. That takes you a long, long way. And I would say that every parent out there that can extend that to their child at an early age, it’s going to make for a better human being." ~Warren Buffett

One of the things I can for sure say about my parents - despite all the shit they put me through, despite all the shit I put them through, I always knew they loved me. I always knew I could "come home" and be welcomed with open arms. Even if that meant there'd be a fair amount of "preaching" and "sermonizing" and criticism, even if it meant they'd never really "get" me... it was always there... their love for me.

And yet - I'm not rich. As a matter of fact, not only am I not rich, I'm not comfortable, well off, or even just OK. I'm scrambling all the time to make ends meet. Nor am I successful on any level from which I would measure success. I'm not at all happy or satisfied with my life, not at all. As a matter of fact, just yesterday I was contemplating how pleasurable it would be to just walk right out of it.

So how useful is it, really, to have received unconditional love from your parents? I don't know... it sounds good, it feels good, but how has it helped me? Am I a better human being? Better than what? Better than who? Of course on the other hand, without it, maybe I'd be living in a box under a bridge nursing my heroin habit - or maybe I'd be in prison - or long dead... But maybe not, maybe I would have pulled myself up by my own bootstraps and made a better "go" at it!

Just yesterday, my friend Michelle was telling me this story about a woman who was on, of all things, the Tyra Banks Show. As I remember it, the story goes as follows:

Her mother died when she was 10, her abusive stepfather put her in foster care where she was raped and abused, she ended up on the street, a prostitude at the age of 11, got hooked on drugs, a pretty terrible life. Worse than mine, that's for sure. And then one day, when she was in her 40's, something happened, I don't remember what, and she got her act together went school, studied law, and became a lawyer. Now, she's a "success" and I bet she has money! So... there you have it... I doubt if she ever had unconditional parental love, even once. And yet, if you measure her life against mine - she'd win hands down.

On the other hand, what if... and this is the other thing I was thinking about after I watched the video... what if... I made a conscious decision to meet everyone, every single person I see, with that attitude of unconditional love. What would happen to my life then? What if, despite the fact that I really really really dislike my neighbors - what if, I met them with an attitude of no barriers, and unconditional love. And what if I went to my job, that I don't enjoy at all, and instead of being all closed into my fatigue, resentment, boredom, and intense desire to run away screaming... what if instead of all that, I simply met each experience with an attitude of unconditional love. What if there was an openess and an acceptance of ... whoa nelly! I can't believe I'm going to actually say this... an unconditional loving of me - screwed up mess that I am...

Now that just might be pretty powerful! Question is, can I do it? Bigger question, will I even attempt it?

Ok, so now that I've talked it to death, here's the video:

Howling At The Moon

2010-07-02T10:12:00.003-04:00

We listened for a voice crying in the wilderness.
And we heard the jubilation of wolves!

— Durwood L. Allen

PS. Thank you Camille. I played this and my dog was howling, my birds - singing as loud as I've ever heard them, and my cats - crazier than they already are, and wow... that incredible primal energy of wolves. It speaks to my DNA.

Did I ever tell you guys about the hybrid wolf I trained? If not, I'll have to dig up some pictures of him - I've got him on tape, maybe I can figure out how to make a YouTube video out of it. What an amazing being he was.