Orthoceras Fossil

I like rocks, or rather, I am endlessly fascinated by rocks. While many people simply walk over rocks, kick them out of the way, skip them over calm waters, I spend a lot of time looking at, reading about, and studying rocks.

In fact, I often carry them in my pockets, so they eventually end up getting bathed in my washing machine accidentally. But that’s ok, because one thing that strikes me over and over is that rocks don’t suffer. No dukkha of any kind for rocks!

Rocks go through amazing physical changes through heat, pressure, erosion, mixing with other rocks, having their atoms rearranged, being ground down by wind and rain, washed to sea, compacted back into new rock, sucked down into the earth, reheated, liquified, then changed again numerous times over in the course of a few billion years. Through all that, the rocks don’t care. Continue reading “Rocks Don’t Suffer . . . Animals with Consciousness Do” »

It is your right to believe whatever you want. But what about when beliefs interfere with other people’s beliefs or lack thereof? What about when beliefs cause division and hatred between people? Some people’s beliefs can even cause them to violate the rights of others, sometimes going as far as harming them physically. Continue reading “The Right to Believe, and the Nature of Belief” »

One of the first things I was taught when I ventured into Buddhist practice was to be mindful of mind. This is no easy task. One quickly discovers that  thoughts are enticing, alluring, and in no time at all drag you off into a whole scenario, when the intent was simply to let the thoughts drift by like clouds. Continue reading “Mindful Modes of Thinking” »

One of the resounding themes in the Buddhist studies and practices I’ve taken on over the last years has focused a lot on labels, concepts, and views. The foundation of everything being emptiness, impermanence, and unsatisfactoriness.  In the beginning, emptiness was confusing and cryptic, but as I explored the titles and labels I wore, I realized I had to stop calling myself a Buddhist. Continue reading “Calling Yourself Buddhist Isn’t Buddhist” »

Accept life on its terms and it becomes a lot more interesting. Keep believing there is more, and you are on a chase for your own tail that takes you nowhere. Yet, many of us, possibly most of us, end up on spiritual journeys that take up years, sometimes decades of our lives. Continue reading “The Selfish Circle of the Spiritual Quest” »

I am surprised, sometimes shocked, at how many people call themselves Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, or whatever without having read the scriptures or main writings of that particular religion. So many people simply believe what their parents had told them, or what the church minister said. But you can’t truly be Christian or Buddhist unless you understand the tenets and teachings, and the best way to do that is to go to the source, or as close to the source as that religion allows. Continue reading “Don't Be Lazy: Go to the Source” »

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” »

I am surprised by the number of people I meet in person and online who have never stopped to consider the nature of their thoughts or beliefs. What seems to be much more common is that people’s minds are dragging them around, back and forth through life experiences, and they assume that all those thoughts and beliefs that arise are correct, important, and worth defending. Continue reading “Exploring the Mental Experience” »

I’m not a political person, and I tend to avoid anything that takes sides on social and political issues. For most of my life, I’ve just gone along and done my own thing, no matter whether it was “politically correct”, socially acceptable, or considered “normal.” But in the last few years, I’m finding I have a growing concern over the religious views in this country. Continue reading “Rising Religious Concerns” »

I was a very small child when my curiosity about self started. I found my inner voice fascinating, how I could visualize scenes in my mind, all the while looking out into the world, seeing outside and inside almost simultaneously. Continue reading “Synaptic Self & Mind” »