Ban Offshore Drilling

Buddhism has a reputation for being passive, and there are good reasons for this. All that meditation  and mindfulness we do appears passive.  And in the beginning many of us do have to mindfully hold back reactions, and refrain from falling into old active patterns that used to get us into trouble. But there is a time for apparent passiveness, and a time to act, a time to be engaged. Continue reading “Engaged Buddhism Needed” »

As we head into 2010, I’ve contemplated my past, and consider my intentions for the New Year. Notice I say intentions, not resolutions. I don’t need to resolve with finality, but instead I have some firm intentions that I hope lead to discovery. After all, seeing is knowing, and I aim to avoid believing. Continue reading “Seeing is Knowing” »

As humans we apply labels to everything. It’s a nifty little language tool that helps us identify objects in our world, and to communicate about them with others. Obviously we need labels for communication sake.

But when people start living through labeling, of themselves and others, problems arise. Continue reading “Living Through Labeling” »

With Thanksgiving coming up, many of us are considering the many areas of our lives or people we are thankful for. It’s easy for me to be grateful for my wonderful posse of peeps, who continually support my interests and struggles in life, my ever loyal pooch, who never rejects me and showers me with affection, my children and family, my health for the most part, the water and food I have a plenty. A person would have to have a brick for a heart not to be thankful for those things. Continue reading “Gratitude for Life’s Difficulties” »

In my early years, my grandfather would sit in his big green chair and lecture someone until he was in a full-blown tirade over the topic. It was the family joke that once he was in that state, you could get up leave the room, go into the kitchen, make yourself lunch, and return to find him still spewing, without a clue that you’d ever left his presence. He was literally lost and in another world of his own making. Continue reading “Engaged or Lost in Conversation” »

Master Yoda

That’s right. I said it, I said it, I said it! Master Yoda is every bit as real as Jesus Christ, and perhaps even more so. It doesn’t matter whether there is evidence that Jesus really existed in the flesh, or if he was really the son of God. He may have been real, or he may not have been. Continue reading “Master Yoda Is Every Bit as Real as Jesus Christ” »

The hype and hysteria are building, especially with the upcoming election. I watch as volleys of arguments surge back and forth, as people become heated and irate, and as viewpoints, ideas, and opinions get lost in this quagmire of mental churning. Unfortunately, that’s all it is. A lot of angst that does nothing for improvement in the long run, and just causes a lot of anxiety in the present. Let it go! Continue reading “Viewpoints, Ideas, Opinions, and more Viewpoints” »

One morning I took Cannon outside to do his business, and discovered my neighbors digging holes in the cement of their carport adjacent my side yard. Nearby they had a pile of wood and bags of cement. Mind you my side yard is about three feet wide, where I have two trees and had just planted four new bushes. It’s a small, narrow plot that runs along the side of my house. To step off the dirt off my yard is to step on their carport. Continue reading “Making Peace in My Own Backyard” »