Quote of the Day – September 21 2012

“If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.”
― Marcus Aurelius

We return to the elephant. You remember the one of which the blind men disagreed as to its exact nature.( Quote of the Day – March 26 2012)  If the blind men were to try to integrate their views of the elephant they would come to a greater understanding of its nature just as each individual view of reality we are able to integrate with our own can bring deeper understanding. I had an interesting discussion this evening about the above quote.  I want to write it as if it was instead had by the blind men.

Blind Man 1: To me this elephant is like a tree trunk. What is it like to you?

Blind Man 2: We know the elephant exists and that is enough. Our true selves know the nature of it.

Blind Man 1: That is true but how does that further our understanding here and now. If you tell me what the elephant seems like to you, perhaps by looking at both, we can gain greater understanding.

Blind Man 2: The elephant only has whatever meaning we give it.

Blind Man 3: WTF?

It’s not so much that I disagree with Blind Man 2 just that his point of view does not seem helpful in terms of living life to the highest degree of truth possible. Nor does it help promote empathy towards the experience of the other blind men. It occurs to me often that many of the problems that our world faces today comes from lack of empathy and compassion (the ability to step in another’s footsteps).

Blessings, G

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Red-Gold Galaxy by G A Rosenberg

Blue-Red Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 20, 2012

“To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe ”
— Marilyn Vos Savant

How much of your knowledge do you own? By owning of course i mean the same as Robert Heinlein meant by the term ‘Groking’ in his book Stranger in a Strange Land Do we espouse lines of thought merely rented…they sound good so we present them as conviction but we have yet to gain true understanding? Quite often I see people, including myself at times espousing and identifying with viewpoints they don’t fully Grok (own). When challenged, rather than being willing to look at another viewpoint which at the least will enable them to understand their own better they fight tooth and nail to avoid that critical thought.
Many people believe that everyone has their truth and that they are all equal. Is there a difference tho between true understanding and beliefs that we espose because they feel good to us?
Just a few questions rolling through my mind these days.
Blessings, G

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Rise of the Indigo by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 19 2012

“I will go forth as a real outlaw,” he said, “and as men do robbery on the highway I will do right on the highway; and it will be counted a wilder crime.”
― G.K. Chesterton

 

What does it mean to do right? “If it harm none?” Does it mean being a rapturist (the opposite of a terrorist) who goes forth committing random acts of senseless kindness? What about the times when the right thing to do, the just thing to do is nothing? Can we sit back knowing that balance has brought people to a crossroads where violence may have been invited into their lives in order to stop them from going further down the path they have been? How do we know?

I sometimes become surprised at how many people, mainly younger, tell me that they have been contemplating suicide. I listen and most of the time I find out rather quickly that their real intention seems more to get people listening to them for they need to speak. I listen because that seems to me the right thing to do and inevitably I tell them that I believe that that may be a choice for them. I also ask them if they believe in reincarnation. If they tell me they do I ask them if they have considered that this life may indeed be one of the more pleasant ones. Pretty quickly they switch to telling me that things seem much brighter. Does it seem to be the right thing to dissuade them. At the time for sure, tho how would I feel if I were to read a month later that one of then went on a killing spree?

Still some things I choose to accept because for me at least currently they work. Compassion and empathy is always better. Love is better. Learning how to put these into right action and right thought tends to be a work in progress.
Blessings, G

 

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Tarot Trump XI – Justice by G A Rosenberg

 

I Live at the Centre by G A Rosenberg

Love’s Path and Random Flow (redux)

memory of talent yearning, burning, churning
learning still yet not stilled
agitate cogitate meditate not medicate
translate the meaning don’t let lessons be tossed
lost, seeking to find
needing to rewind and grind
never mind all that
my years gone into arrears
so many of them flown
chances blown
new ones arrive
count on it
no obit waiting for me
no end to forsee
i keep going
spiralling out
new iterations
new complications
tempestuous temptations
hesitations?
sometimes
yet still
through use of will
I find the chill
Love?
always and all ways
–GAR

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Love’s Path by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 18 2012

“A warrior does not give up what he loves, he finds the love in what he does”
― Dan Millman

 

Somedays it gets harder than others. Could be a thousand small fires or messes spring up that have to be solve. Perhaps arguments with loved ones. Perhaps we fell just distracted diffused and impatient and irritable. Somedays we have to work to feel love for what we’re doing and see the beauty that’s out there. Because face it, the world has as much magic when we’re a mess as it is when we’re centred and feeling the joy.  It may be a bit more difficult to see it and appreciate it. Sounds like it may be time to take a deep breath, count to 10 and find something to appreciate, something that may make us smile. Curiosity has always been a good thing for me. What can happen next? What outlandish thing can I think of? What could the true nature of that flower be? How many colours in the sun? What’s the most beautiful thing in my line of sight. What do you love? Where can you see it the most closely? Go there if only in your mind…

Blessings, G

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Ganesh Within by G A Rosenberg

 

Lonely Orb in the Mind Stream by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 17 2012

“Don’t use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.”
― Jack Kerouac

 

Paint an image on my mind
with your words
sketch landscapes, red with passion
with cool blue water running through it
show a bird swooping down
catching a fish
and feel the fish
gasping as its torn apart in the eagle’s mouth
Communicate feeling with rhythm
ties and cries, no lie defies
you touch my soul, can I be whole
Conversation will never touch this
my lines to you, my heart’s wish
Still we speak and hit the wall
we talk but at not to each other
you walk away, i walk
then in the morning hand you my poem
and perhaps you’ll understand

 

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Lesson by G A Rosenberg

 

Geode Mandala by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 16 2012

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them ; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like”
–Lao Tsu

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Sometimes I believe that the resistance to change that so many of us seem to have to be a game of sorts. I have seen nothing in life that stays the same. Small incremental changes, even ones that seem irrelevant at the time until we find ourselves on the surface at least as vastly different people doing vastly different things in very different ways than we ever thought possible. If we seem from a long view to be so consistently inconsistent than how can we expect anyone or anything else to stay static. By embracing change and engaging in the dance we grow and flourish. By trying to stand our ground and make of ourselves a fortress we lose.
Blessings,G

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Mood indigo by G A Rosenberg

20120915-233312.jpgA New Friend

Quote of the Day – September 15 2012

“Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what’s the use of seeing?”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step

 


Putting what you know into action I can understand that. How do we know what right action is? If you see a car about to hit a child, right action becomes obvious. Do what you can to avoid mortal harm to the child. Actually I believe we can agreeto thisbio matter what the age if the person involved. What happens when the answer isn’t as obvious?

Thich Nhat Hanh said once there is seeing. We may see the need for action but not know what action to take. That feels ok because we generally don’t know. We may be facing a blind spot or block that we have to work throughuntil right action becomes clear. Prayer and meditation  helps as does the council of the wise. Eventually clear seeing happens and right action becomes obvious. Until then a lesson in patience may be called for
Blessings

 

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Flowering by G A Rosenberg

 

Life Inside the Bubble by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – September 14 2012

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
― Patrick Rothfuss

 

I gave words a bad rap the other night. Yes, they convey meaning only approximately at best and are as good at blocking communication as they are at aiding it but can we blame the tools for how they are used? The right words can inspire. The right words can heal and build bridges and wake people up who slept before. Words can win battles and tear down old moribund structures. Words are a kind of magic. That’s why we call it spelling 🙂
Words can also damage. Words can bring a person to despair but they can also lift them up to heights never seen before. Words with intent are amazing things.
That word intent becomes important along with another one mindfulness. So much depends on us being mindful not only of what we do but what we say. With mindfulness and intent every word becomes a spell and thus we use our power.
Blessings, G

 

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Green Play Mandala by G A Rosenberg

 

Launch Pad by G A Rosenberg