Has it ever crossed your mind that positive thinking has a negative side or that negative thinking has a positive side? Some people get so caught up in self help and being success oriented that they over do it. Sometimes, I just want to yell something negative at someone or say something incredibly pessimistic. I have a dark and sometimes twisted sense of humor, and too much positivity gets under my skin.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged zen
I explain step by step exactly how to hypnotize yourself. Self hypnosis is easy to do and is a great way to learn how to relax and stay focused. I was taught self hypnosis as a child, and it has served me well in many areas of my life.
First, let’s dispel the common myths about hypnosis:
- It is not some type of mind control, though it does open us to suggestion.
- Virtually anyone can learn.
- It is not a powerful or dangerous technique that can cause a mental breakdown.
- What you see in the movies is not real and you shouldn’t worry.
Basically, hypnosis is nothing more than a focused, but relaxed state of mind. The problem most people have with it, is they may become sleepy when they relax. Hypnosis is an alert, but detached state of relaxation. First, lets talk about the most important part: Breathing.
Read the rest of this entry »
I was recently asked by friend J.C. from the blog Jasmin’s Heart to write a guest post for him. I happily accepted and wrote a post just like I would as if it were here on my blog. It is entitled That’s So Zen. Be sure to read it and leave a comment. I am excited about it! Be sure to read several of J.C.’s great articles while you are there.
For those of you who don’t know, I have studied Zen most of my life. If people consider me to be religious in any way, it is because of Zen (which I think of as not being religion necessarily, but a form of spiritual psychology). After my article, Interview With a Blind Homeless Man, many Christian readers told me that I was Christian even if I didn’t proclaim to be. I assure you, I am not a Christian. I am affiliated with no religions, though I do believe in God in my own way. I’ve studied almost every religion/philosophy and find them fascinating.
The argument I have with most religions, such as Christianity, Islam or Judaism is they seem to have an answer to life’s most important questions, like who are we and what happens after we die. It’s the same problem I have with atheism which also provides these answers to a certain extent. This is one reason why I followed the path of Zen. I am a student of Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and the Oomoto faith – though I do not follow any one specifically. I consider myself a very spiritual person with no religious precept.
The Asian religions have the idea that if there is a God, that God exists inside us as well as everywhere else. Many Christian scholars have accepted that idea also. If I had to say which religion my own personal beliefs coincided with, I would say a combination of Zen, Buddhism and Yogi philosophy. In other words, I have made up my own religious beliefs, much of which could be misconstrued as agnostic but are free of sexism and racism (which many religions still practice to this day).
We’ve all heard the Zen koan, “Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?” by Hakuin Ekaku; or commonly asked, “What is the sound of one hand clapping.” In this simple koan, the deepest concepts of enlightenment can be derived. Of course there is no answer to this koan, regardless of what many people believe. An answer may be given to demonstrate a pupil’s comprehension, but still, there is no concrete answer. The idea is to develop intuition and awareness of that which cannot be understood in logical terms.
In Zen, there are no answers. This can be explained by the following quote, “Seek not to know the answers, but to understand the questions.” It is more about what I refer to as the interrogative state of mind, where one is open and questioning, allowing intuition to guide us. The truth is, there are no answers to questions like, “Is there a God?”, “What happens to our souls after death?” or “Do we have a soul?”
I read several books about religions that say people came here from another planet (think Scientology). A Christian would say, “That person is crazy.” What I say is, “You believe Jesus died, after 3 days was resurrected and ascended into heaven…so are they really crazy?”
The truth is, nobody knows anything for sure, but if it gives you comfort, then so be it – whatever gets you through the night. From a Zen standpoint, the answers are unimportant. It is in the pondering itself that provides an answer, if you want to call it that. Just so you know, I respect all beliefs and do not judge people for theirs. Besides, all religions have a streak of exaggeration and craziness.
The idea of Zen can readily be applied to any intellectual human thought. I am a guitarist, so I’ll explain a little. After practicing a musical scale (such as the ionian, dorian or melodic minor) thousands of times, it becomes ingrained and part of your neuromuscular memory. You know it. You know it’s sound. You know the way a certain scale feels under your fingers. After that is accomplished, you apply it in real music, using that particular musical scale to convey a mood or feeling. In Zen, this is only the beginning. It is after a spiritual transcendence of that scale, a true Zen state can be achieved. Thus, all great musicians have achieved enlightenment in music, or they wouldn’t be great (though greatness is relative if you believe in relativism). I’m referring to true giants like Stravinsky, Mozart, John Coltrane, John McLaughlin or other such masters. It’s the idea that you learn all the theory, master it and forget it so you can express it with a still mind.
If you are a computer programmer, the same thing applies. You must master a particular programming language before you can fly with it. Again, that flying is just the beginning in Zen. It is after you spiritually transcend that knowledge that you become alive with freedom of expression. You see, Zen is all about hard work and that special place you come to upon mastery. And mastery means no ego. Mastery means you are reborn as a beginner, which means you know nothing. Now, you may wonder why I chose to discuss computer programming and Zen together. I know many programmers who have reached this type of enlightenment. It’s just like anything a person learns such as art, music, writing and so forth. The realization that one is and will always be a beginner, or at least has that open mindedness, is where that dynamic answer exists; because there are no answers, only more questions, which is exactly the point. Now for this weeks links:
StumbleUpon Graveyard – By Tim Nash: This post explains how a stumbled post can end up in the no traffic graveyard. It stresses how important it is to do a review with each stumble, especially if it is an article you discover (you’re 1st to stumble it). Tim has some fantastic websites, and many of his articles are beyond my scope of current knowledge; however, he is a nice guy who really engages his readers and is willing to help people out. Be sure to read this post, it is my pick of the week.
Dead Body Outside My Window – By Mariuca: I was shocked when I saw this post. Marzie saw a real dead body on the concrete right outside her window – very disturbing indeed! She actually included some pictures which gave me the willies! Be sure to check this one out.
Build It Or Break It – by Ruby of Servizot Dot Com: This post really hit home with me because I relate to it so strongly. She explains one of those tough situations at work we can all learn from. A great article!
How to Succeed at Article Marketing – From Pajama Professional: This is a look at article marketing, a powerful method most people don’t know anything about. The author, Sara Christensen offers a case study and and much insight into this often overlooked area of marketing.
Add Borders to Images – by Sue Blimely: An easy to understand tutorial for adding borders to images including padding and so forth. A very useful post. Sue’s blog is filled with useful articles so be sure to check them out.
I also want to congratulate Jamilla in getting her first accounting job Walking Into Another Section of My Life..that’s Career! Go Jamy!
Last but not least, I want to congratulate Shinade on her 700th post Life Never Ceases To Amaze Me-700 Posts – That is a gargantuan amount! Go Jackie!
I sat alone in blackened mist, a cold chill slithering across my flesh, shivering. Where was I? who am I? Out of the nebulous drabness of night screamed endless bellows of silence. I tried to move but could feel nothing, no ground beneath my feet. Though alive, I could not inhale any air, a pleasurable suffocation, vacuum of dreadful emptiness.
I recalled no memories and it seemed, my existence was but folklore spoken by no one – a tale untold into ear-less heads. I was an unwritten story never read, never written. I was an imaginary fabric of the void, a shadowy phantasm, a vacant bubble of dreams…but whose dreams?
A thousand eyes defiled my surface, examining every crevasse, probing all of which I did not know. Fear had taken my world and I knew they were there, watching my every move, predicting my very intention. A surmounting terror wrapped it’s powerful claws, clasping my heart, yet I yearned to hear it’s beat. It was close and I knew death was inevitable.
Conceiving echoes from a distant shore, thousand masterpieces of hellishness painted, still hidden, sheathed in black, behind which veiled my memories. I could taste the thickened flavour of ocean, a salty fog sheathing my virgin tongue. I felt no pain. I had no arms, no legs and no solid reality to sink my handless arms into.
A voice walked towards me, dragging a clubbed foot across searing lava – I could smell it cooking within it’s tattered, leather boot. I tried to cry but could not. My head remained eyeless, yet burned they did, in need of moisture, cracked and chaffed. If only I could secrete a single tear of blood to thank he who approached, to pay tribute for relieving me of this lifeless extinction. A whispering murmur shattered my windows of reality, groaning,”Who are you?”
Who are you, who are you, repercussing back and forth. Screaming jets of sound in textured layers betwixt my madness; reverberations of insanity, chiseling souls, molding dreams. The voice blasted in geometric amplitudes, pulverizing my boneless head, leaving it as forgotten mush.
The words bounced violently within my cerebral echo chamber and emanated an untasted odour, a silent fragrance encased in a glistening skin, undulating, bathing in silvery refraction. Finally, I began a forward velocity, mourning that which I dreamed, to answer the question . . . who are you?
There it hung in all it’s eternal loneliness: a mirror. The mirror of my dreams, above which dangled a solitary light to shine upon what I wanted so desperately to know. Though petrified in terror, I summoned the strength to gaze upon the unknown. I strained a powerful wave of visual acuity upon my reflection, taking in my identity, an attempt to solve my reality, to unmask my secrecy.
I felt that singular tear of blood trickle down my cheek, stricken by profoundity as I distinguished nothing. I was not there. I do not exist, a forgotten memory existing only as an unborn notion of nothingness. My spirit smiled, alas, my question answered . . . and I heard angels sing.
Makiwara Compassion
Nov 30
Thanks to Lorelle and Jonathan
Before I get into this post I want to thank Lorelle and Jonathan Bailey for giving me some very wise advice for dealing with content theft. Jonathan’s site is plagiarismtoday.com which really gets to the truth in this area. Like he told me, simply reporting an infraction to Google is a waste of time. It seems that the big G is protecting the thieves. If anyone deserves blame, it is them. If you want to learn how to protect your site, go check out both of these sites and read all of the posts.
Beautiful Morning
It’s beautiful today, a nice cool temperature with some sweet sunshine. I enjoyed my morning tea on the front porch before my workout. Many thoughts swim through my mind constantly, so many of them grow by themselves and I simply nurture those which are healthy for me.
I go through endless ideas for my blog, but so many seem stale and old. Should I write about how to make money, how blogging is helping unite the world, how my life is going or some new technical advancement? Should I write a meme or go read 100 posts of friends? Nothing seems to catch my interest today.
I think of expanding, blasting through all limitations in life. I think of my entire life in a microcosm of swirling layers of conscious and unconscious thought. Life is not just short, it is beyond the comprehension of small when compared to the vast expanse of this constantly expanding universe.
I’m writing musical melodies, weaving them in and out of different harmonic textures and rhythms in my mind; I do this endlessly as music is natural for me. I also write pieces and parts of poetry, constructing thematic motifs for my blog. I do all of this while I workout on my heavy bag. I usually do 1000 kicks on the bag every other day.
I also do 3-5 two minute rounds of all out fighting on the bag with both hands and feet. This of course is in addition to sparring all out with other people twice a week. I have spent my entire life expressing myself in martial arts and Zen. It’s difficult to find people to practice with these days. I have had 17 different instructors this year alone.
I have always loved the spiritual and philosophical aspect of martial arts training even more than the physical. It seems the more I learn and better I get, the more compassionate I become as a human being. To harden my spirit and become an absolute weapon, has actually made me care even more about life and people.
I have trained for years in the old world art of Tameshiwara. This involves breaking boards, bricks and stones with parts of my body. I often wondered how learning to destroy something with my hands could, in essence, help me to love and appreciate life even more. I think of how important it is to have things in your life that are worth dying for.
Without anything worth dying for in our lives, how can we have anything worth living for? Such thoughts of depth often help me to put things in perspective. In order to break stones with your fists, you must condition your body parts properly. I hit a old style, traditional makiwara board to get the conditioning. This is to me, about as personal as it gets. Here are some pictures of my makiwara, it is 14 years old.
Sorry about the terrible quality but they were taken with my super cheap webcam. I have never shown this to anyone before. I just want to show some of the extreme training methods I use. Yes, the stains are blood. Bruce Lee said, “Boards don’t hit back.”
Bruce’s words ring true, but hands of stone certainly give you the ability to hit anything without feeling any pain whatsoever. One thing about training this way is you get all the stress out of your system! My hands haven’t bled in several years and I have never suffered any kind of problem at all.
I attribute my health to the study of yoga and healthy exercise. Because I had nothing to write, I decided to share a little peek into my personal life. I must admit, it does feel good to share this with the world. I don’t know why. I just keep so many things so secret. I have this traditional martial arts code of secrecy ingrained into my being.
I am letting go of tradition in many respects so I can grow and explore life more deeply. Life is about growing and expanding. I am taking many more chances than ever before. I am actually taking a huge chance on something or maybe someone! I cannot reveal any details at this time but let’s say that I have met someone very special! Ha ha…you’ll just be left in the dark for now 
An hour Shared
Jul 19
I actually wrote this post a few weeks ago and wasn’t going to publish it. I have been very ill the past few days from a kidney infection and my doctor said I could have died from it. Wow, that’s a wakeup call. So I will publish this anyway because you never know when your time has arrived. I will be fine in a week or so they tell me so I apologize for being absent. Please enjoy what I have written as something positive, not negative. It is as it should be, honest and without apology:
I awakened early, just before daylight and I could hear thunder in the distance. Storms always draw from me layers of thought swirling through my consciousness, some compartmentalized while others group themselves as subsets of emotion and complexity. It was 5:30 as I thought of a lost love and not wishing, but reflecting on how we met, our first intimate touch and the bittersweet ending I knew would occur the first time we talked.
I tend to think as reflections of two opposites based primarily from the teachings of Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching. I tell people that it is the 2nd most published book in history after the bible. Yin and yang; two sides; light-dark and both halves equal one whole. It is the logic of the universe and holds many answers to why things are. One could challenge my views on perception and I would never profess to have all the answers. Just then I thought of the time I was 6 years old envisioning how my 2 year old baby sister clamped her new teeth onto my father’s big toe. He actually cried from the pain. Now I see her grown and a psychologist. She preaches “reality therapy” where feeling bad or sorry for yourself is your own decision. I remember that advice! What? My decision? That was the last time I asked her:) My lost love? I still love her in my own way but would never, given the chance go back, be with her again. I dream of my soul mate, two halves becoming one and my heart yearns for what I’ve yet to find. But I have found. I wonder if I have a past life, as someone evil and heartless and now, I am paying for it. I believe there is another reason, so I rationalize. The first time I saw her I knew. I was engulfed in flames of chi (or ki in Japanese; my vital energy of breath) and knew again what would occur. The unattainable dream of something so perfect, yet impossible. I fell in love at first site. Not just from her beauty or personality, but something altogether different than any hope or dream could imagine. I felt the loss before I ever spoke to her. Many would say I was negative but that’s not it at all.
My sense of what a person feels is much too keen for my heart to withstand. When someone loves or hates, I know. Somehow, often before I meet them or when their not there. Knowing this enables me to hide my feelings, saying just the right words so someone may be spared from my feelings, which I hold in. Two inches below the navel is a humans center of gravity or “Tan Tein”. In yoga it is the center of the universe. I release all my pain into the void through this channel. Maybe strange to some but to think and feel as the masters of ancient arts like yoga or gung-fu must be experienced to comprehended.
I again think of that lost love. She demanded love from me early on but I resisted. She wanted to make love and I didn’t. She was about to move back home which was 200 miles away so I spent the night with her, but we only slept. I was looking for real love. Sex too soon, especially with her being so demanding, I could not. She moved finally but we were on the phone endlessly. Two weeks later I went to see her and love had set in. Like euphoric first time teenagers we fell in. Things were so wonderful and I truly fell in love for her. I can still smell her sweet skin and hear her voice. Our first kiss sitting on the beach. She began shoving cinnamon gum in her mouth and handed me some. We felt it coming and it was like our first kiss. We felt like teenagers experiencing our first taste of passionate embrace.
I bought her a ring, necklace and earrings for Christmas which I selected, spending 8 hours deciding which to give her. It wasn’t a marriage proposal but was a gift of love. I was so happy and proud of what I got her. When I gave it to her she was, seemingly appreciative. The next weekend when I saw her she wouldn’t get up from bed to say hello. Something had changed. She said nothing but I knew she had been with someone else. My whole visit she stayed in the bathroom. Finally I learned she was on the phone and just then, a flower delivery came for her of two dozen roses. I’ll end here as it was a sad, unexpected and truly undeserved ending to the love I gave her. I didn’t deserve that pain. I deserve love and I will find it.
I then think of my soul-mate who I cannot have as circumstances are misaligned. I know there is a lesson but I still wonder how it is possible to be in this position. I don’t feel sad now, but why could not I have been in the right place at the right time? I wasn’t at all looking for someone when I met her. but that changed when I fell in love with her instantly. That has never happened before, and I accept my loss though I never had anything. I didn’t mean to and it came out of nowhere. Falling in love with the one woman I have dreamed of accidentally was not planned. It would be my dream fulfilled if. . .
I will find someone else and she remains my good friend. How the mysteries of life unfold, I will accept only friendship because we have learned so much about ourselves through it and no bitterness remains. Happiness has found a home, miraculously in my mind. So absurd I know, but poetic and meaningful. Something good is going to happen for me. I feel it coming and as before it’s not a guess; it just is. I don’t know what is going to happen or if I will meet someone new. After all I’ve been through, I’m in no hurry to find out but I will when it happens. These are my exact thoughts, written as best as I can describe on this day. It is now 6:30 AM, I am ready for what my life will bring. I fear nothing and walk into my future with my head held high knowing, I have made the right choices. The past two weeks have changed my life. I feel like a new person, thanks to a special someone who turned out to be good 
I had to release this because if not, it would forever hang in my heart:)
Rolando has a post on love, and it’s great related content! Love Hurts
I recently wrote a post Jobs and Careers: My Journey to Happiness which prompted a friend Jonathan Phillips to write a most excellent post, and now I feel compelled to write a post inspired by it!
We’re talking about finding your own voice, finding a way to make what you do your own and simply adding personality to your work. How does one go about doing this? How can you make what you do your own? What is your own voice? I’m going to recommend some things you might not have thought about in your quest for blogging originality. There are a lot of people who, even armed with this knowledge, still have no idea where to begin in finding their own voice. Some of these ideas have nothing to do with blogging , writing or making money. However, in them you can find the essence of what I’m trying to get at and hopefully will be able to apply it to blogging.
- Learn to play a musical instrument. I recommend this idea over all others because music encompasses so much in the way of imagination and self reliance. It really doesn’t matter what instrument or what kind of music you like, just learning how to play can help you in endless ways. Singing also counts as playing an instrument though I do recommend highly that you learn how to read music. Once you get a little skill under your belt, go play with other musicians or learn to record. Most important of all, find a teacher that teaches a progressive system. You can learn classical guitar, but you don’t want a teacher that only teaches what is written in a music book. Learn to play blues, rock, jazz or anything that forces you to learn to improvise music. You want the ability to just play whatever comes to mind on the spot, much like speaking in conversation. If you are having trouble finding originality, music will help you get there and that is a fact.
- Learn a martial art or yoga. This also can help you find your own voice. I know it may sound crazy to some people, but it can surely help you. If you do study a martial art, apply the same principle as before. Find a progressive teacher who is not bound by rigid tradition but who helps students find what works for them. You want to make sure they actually fight in class also. Some schools only point fight and this will never help you understand self reliance. A few arts I’ll mention that would be good candidates are: Jeet Kune Do, free style jujitsu, Aikido, Hap Ki Do and even western boxing or wrestling. these aren’t the only arts as any art can be the right choice if you have the right teacher.
- Learn to paint, draw, or write poetry. As you can see, everything I’m recommending is an art of some sort. That’s my point. Blogging is an art. If you don’t see blogging as an art, then maybe it’s time to learn a lot more about art and apply it it to your blog!
Jonathan said in his post,
“If everybody knew how to write killer blog posts, catchy headlines, and stuff that gets massive traffic and links everytime it’s published. The blogosphere would be boring. A little creativity never hurt anyone. 
In fact, innovative and creative ideas are more likely to skyrocket your traffic, than the usual stuff. I believe the key is to learn everything you can, then forget about it, and try going a different route.”
Hey, these are words of wisdom. I especially like the last line. If you approach your blog artistically as well as scientifically this will become the norm. Once you have an idea under your belt, run with it and eventually it will become something ingrained in your psyche. After that you forget it and move on; that knowledge and intuitive perception you have gained will continue to serve you for as long as you blog.
Please don’t just read, leave a comment. I will respond to whatever you have to say. I will also come to your blog and leave comments. To me, comments make the blog world go ’round:)
I discussed in a recent post of mine entitled “Beyond Thought” about a rarely comprehended concept known as “detachment“. Please click on the link an read the wiki as it may help those of you unfamiliar with it. I have been fascinated with this concept for over 25 years and all the ways it defies logic.
First of all if you think you understand this concept then I can say with certainty you do not. It cannot be understood. It is not logical or governed by laws of physics. Do I understand it? You cannot understand something that doesn’t exist. Think about this: A state of mind is an intangible multi-layered personal feeling, or experience. Can a “state of mind” be understood Sure it can. We can all relate to that. We communicate to others all the time an unbelievably complex conveyance of a vibe or expression of dynamic moods, etc. Hand gestures, tone of voice, attitude and unsaid clusters of vibes are used all the time in daily life. We often take the complex nature of this sort of endlessly dynamic human flux for granted. Hidden in all of life’s normalcy is where the real discoveries of revelation dwell. Beyond all we don’t see and know is where I am madly destined. I’m not saying this like I am interested in the paranormal or mysteries from beyond. I had a friend once said, ‘I know exactly what you mean, it’s like some evil secret from beyond the grave like on The Twilight Zone.”
No, no, no. He is was so far off base that it would be impossible for him to grasp. Before you think about what I mean, please don’t. Just consider this. I’ll write a description of a state of mind to help not show you what doesn’t exist so that we can transcend a detached mind state into endless and magical depths of nothingness. Here we go:
“One afternoon I was driving on an extremely busy four lane highway during Christmas traffic while on the phone in a serious conversation with a former employer. Subconsciously I studied about twenty separate situations; some dealing with traffic, some with a song on the radio, etc, etc, hearing tiny slices of passing conversations and so on. I fully realized my absolute detachment from all and understood this is why I could study each situation in detail – simultaneously. I analyzed how I was doing this like I was a third party writing a report on this person in a kind of “overview” mode. There was my over-viewer, my under-viewer, etc. I saw a through a dozen viewpoints upon my situation. All the while psychological wisp’s of streamed consciousness echoed many revelations in thick layers each with their own complete selves. All the while, still driving and on the phone. Sometimes a passing feeling could encompass all the above as an exhalation enwrapped unto itself. A thousand deep cognitions still as I became each moment.”
Do you see how complex all these things occurring in this little story are? I’m sure a lot of you have experienced something like this. You may do it everyday. This might be why so many intelligent people blog. I think blogging is an education at all times. I don’t learn something because it’s on a test or because I am being paid to. I learn because I love to learn. This type of attitude is very conducive to acquiring a logic defying detached state of consciousness.
Ask your self this question. “Am I aware of what I think about while thinking, and why I am thinking this way?” or “Do I pay attention to and monitor my every thought?
Try as a daily mind exercise to see yourself as a narrating observer. If you catch yourself thinking in circles about some friend, situation or scenario – stop and write it down on a note pad with time periods. For one week, keep a little note log of your thoughts in high detail. If you brooded for six hours about why it should have been you who married that beautiful Thai girl on your street and not your best friend- write it down. This is the first step to mastery of your thoughts. Once you are dynamically aware of all thoughts as they happen it becomes automatic. You just “are aware” and it goes on auto pilot. Like a hardened war veteran hunting his enemy, he automatically pays super attention at all times.
Now- thoughts are much too complex to be described with words only. You have feelings, emotions and perpetually changing variables involved in thought at all times. For fun we’ll call it a dynamic cognition cluster or DCC. The state of mind story from earlier was filled with DCC. For computer heads out there it is like organic XML for your mind. Those intangibles of consciousness that must be described in a “macro” point of view. I hope you can wrap your head around all this. This may sound like psychology but it isn’t. If we can gain a detached mental state that sort of unconsciously self navigates composed of a moving carpet of macro cluster packages then the beginning of this trip can start. We’re not trying to do a million things at once or think real hard. We are simply not thinking. We are doing nothing. We are not trying to not think. We just want to become aware of all this so we can forget about it all and JUST BE.
Inside the mind of man is his own prison, a prison of designed perfection which existed long before eternity. You are your prison and trying to escape is what keeps you in.
This is just the beginning of a series of articles. I promise if you stay with me you’ll be well rewarded with something incredible. Just be patient and trust me.
