Mind activities of a Stone boy

Today I went to the Green Festivals. It was very similar to that of the last year. I did notice quite a few pedal power generators using bikes. One could build your own . It uses the gel cell battery to store the power. Also, I saw a woman making soup using blender. She put in a blender raw garlic, onion, carrot, bullion, and whatever other raw vegetables within her reach. Then, she added some hot water and started to blend it. I am not sure if it is tasty but it surely looks healthy and easy to make soup.

I've been in the process of questioning my relationship with $$ lately. I wonder what is it about $$ that gave me some irrational behaviors that caused me some misery at this moment. It would be a long term process to sort this through. It will involve deep understanding of myself, breaking the old habit, and forming the new habit. It will take some time. But at this for now, it is the first step. From this page . Archetypes - Guardian The Guardian is always alert and careful. When your worry gets the best of you, your anxiety might be intolerable or you might feel there’s an impending catastrophe. But when your Guardian is expressed positively, you’re alert, careful, and prudent. Why not pursue a calming activity that you love sometime today, perhaps listening to music, being in nature, getting some exercise, or having fun with a friend or loved one? You’re probably a Guardian if: • Your financial decision-making style falls into one of two extreme camps: (1) you feel frozen, unab

I own a copy of Flow written by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It was one of my favorite books. I came across this quote on the office door of my colleague. It is really insightful. "The tremendous leisure industry that has arisen in the last few generations has been designed to help fill free time with enjoyable experiences. Nevertheless, instead of using our physical and mental resources to experience flow, most of us spend many hours each weak watching celebrated athletes playing in enormous Stadiums. Instead of making music, we listen to platinum records cut by millionaire musicians. Instead of making art, we go to admire paintings that brought in the highest bids at the latest auction. We do not run risks acting on our beliefs, but occupy hours each day watching actors who pretend to have adventures, engaged in mock-meaningful action. This vicarious participation is able to mask, at least temporarily, the underlying emptiness of wasted time. But it is a very pale substitute for att

Last night over the usual late night phone conversation with Brother in law, he told me about Esther Hicks' book. I remember watching the movie about the law of attraction and found it very much like pop psychology. I am surprised by how much he mentioned the book and concept. I found out this entry of description at wikipedia . It is a food for thoughts. I like the bullet list and each with precise meaning. Here it is.. The essence of Abraham-Hicks' teachings since 1986 has been presented as follows: * You are a Physical Extension of that which is Non-physical. * You are here in this body because you chose to be here. * The basis of your life is Freedom; the purpose of your life is Joy. * You are a creator; you create with your every thought. * Anything that you can imagine is yours to be or do or have. * You are choosing your creations as you are choosing your thoughts. * The Universe adores you; for it knows your broadest intentions. * Relax i

Today I spent some time reading about David Blaine's stunts and magic tricks. It really impresses much more deeply me after I read more about him and what he did. It inspires me to challenge myself more both physically and mentally. I especially like what he said after he came out of buried alive. He said "I saw something very prophetic ... a vision of every race, every religion, every age group banding together, and that made all this worthwhile," Here is the source . Does it mean that a human is bound to experience the euphoria of humanity (or the beauty of mankind) in a state of long meditation (or in a state of long term silence)? I won't be surprised to find that David is an advanced mediator. This is just my conjecture. I hope that it can be verified by him. I think that one could gain a lot of insights and grow wisdom in the presence of a long term silence, quietness, or solitude with the focus on spiritual growth.

I have noticed that certain amount of time was spent in fantasy during the work hour in the mist of tedious task. Here is a description of it from answers.com A fantasy is a product of the imagination in the form of a script in the theatrical or cinematic sense and deployed in support of a wish-fulfillment. It may be a conscious creation, a daydream created by the subject to procure an imaginary satisfaction that is erotic, aggressive, self-flattering, or self-aggrandizing in nature. This wish-fulfilling function likens the daydream, or reverie, to night dreams, but it may also be compared to symptoms or behavior with similar aims. It must therefore be supposed that all these manifestations have a common origin, namely unconscious fantasy. The term Phantasie was part of everyday language, where it signified "fancy," "imagination." It appeared very early in Freud's writings, notably in the Studies on Hysteria (1895d), where he noted the frequency of daydreams am

"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" Lyrics are below: I've seen love go by my door It's never been this close before Never been so easy or so slow. Been shooting in the dark too long When somethin's not right it's wrong Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go. Dragon clouds so high above I've only known careless love, It's always hit me from below. This time around it's more correct Right on target, so direct, Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go. Purple clover, Queen Anne lace, Crimson hair across your face, You could make me cry if you don't know. Can't remember what I was thinkin' of You might be spoilin' me too much, love, Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go. Flowers on the hillside, bloomin' crazy, Crickets talkin' back and forth in rhyme, Blue river runnin' slow and lazy, I could stay with you forever And never realize the time. Situations have ended sad, Relationships have all been bad. Mine've

A couple of weeks ago, I went to American Portrait museum and saw quite a few paintings and sculptures dedicated to the war scenes and the gallant behavior of the soldiers. Somehow, it dawns on me that it is easy for people to show off bravery when they are put in a war like situation. The soldiers are no braver than the average people. It is only the situation that brings out the gallantry in them. In my humble opinion, a person that could exhibit bravery without being put in a war like situation is braver than a soldier. The bravest behavior could be the one that comes out of every day ordinary life. True bravery is quality of inner strength, which is cultivated through practice, training, and faith... It is far more challenging to be brave in the ordinary way, but one must strive for it... Why? It is an experiential knowledge to be lived and it is ineffable.

Coleman Barks has been my favorite poet recently. I have been a fan of Rumi's poetry through his translation work. Even though he claims that he did not work from Persian language directly, his translation captures the spirits of the poet authentically. It is very evident that the heart matter is a universal thing. The spiritual people can recognize the great value in spirit regardless of cultural difference, language barrier, geographical boundary, and all the other seemingly superficial differences... The spirit transcends the named objects. It manifests as universal love. He is also a great poet himself, too. I am deeply touched by his anti-Iraq war poem, "Just this once". Here is the link of the poem that he recites himself . Here are a couple of interviews with him. * Casual interview * On Beauty of Language

"By taking a bit chance of the unknown, I learn so much"

I work in an office building out in the suburb. It is always a hassle to go out for lunch as I have to go into a car and drive to nearby restaurants to eat. One walking option is to take a 10 minute walk to Giant nearby. In light of being green and enjoying the spring weather, it is a wonderful option to walk that 10 minutes. Yesterday, I took the walk again. Yet, I sensed a hesitating energy in me. I walked impatiently, or the impatient feeling was the result of my wanting to get there fast. I, then, got hold of myself and started to concentrate my breathing. I started to remember "Peace is every step" philosophy. The hesitating energy subsided. An insight also occurs in me. I started to realize the merit of enjoying every present moment as possible as I could. Above all, I sense the benefit of keeping up the positive energy in me here and now. I could physically and psychologically experience the negative impact on having a negative energy, such as anger, jealousy, and etc,

While I was in Bodh Gaya, I had a privilege to attend 3 night of Mahamudra lecture given by Gamapa. The teaching took place at Tergar institute. There was a security check on each person before s/he enters the big hall. It was interesting to see such a phenomena that a spiritual teacher has lots of body guards. I thought that the spiritual teachings are beyond politics. We strive to live in a good life in this not-so-perfect world. Mahamudra is a teaching about the mind in Tibetan tradition. A Song of Realization: The Fivefold Mahamudra 1. If the stallion of love and compassion Does not win the race of altruism, He will not earn the praise of the crowd of gods and humans. So, earnestly focus your mind on this preliminary practice. 2. If your body, the king of the enlightened form, Does not hold the throne of the unchanging basis, Mother dakinis, the citizens, will not appear. So, earnestly focus on seeing your body as the yidam deity 3. If, on the snow moutain, the lama of the four kay

Last night it was a good cause for celebration as I made my first banana bread in my life. It is so delicious... Above all, it is so easy to make. Here is a recipe that I found online. I put it here and will try this one instead of the one from my cooking bible. Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 eggs, beaten 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (about two of them) 1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts preferred) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, mashed bananas, and nuts into creamed butter until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bre

December 25th, 2007 Bodh Gaya is indeed a land of Buddha. Many countries have their presence shown by building a monastery there (including Taiwan!) Yet, it is very rural. I happened to be there when Kagyu Monlan Chenmo was taking place. Pilgrims from all over the world were there. It could appear to be a big Buddhism convention for people not familiar with Tibetan Buddhism. I met a couple of Rinpoches as well as meeting the young Karmapa and heard his teachings. It is truly amazing to meet someone that possesses such a high spiritual wisdom at such a young age. In addition, the place where Sujata fed Buddha Kheer (rice cooked with milk) is very near by surrounded by endless rice fields. It is not far from paradise, perhaps it is due to the compassion of Buddhism, it seems that it is the place where beggars come, too. December 17th, 2007 Varanasi is a very unique place indeed... It is a place for Hindus to come to die and get cremated. I spent a few hours at a Ghat watching the whole c

Over the Chinese new year, I went with my whole family to a hotel on the eastern part of Taiwan where hot springs are abundant. The main feature in this hotel is spa treatment. It has many hot spring pools that one could dip in. One pool, interestingly, is filled with lots of doctor fish who is ready to eat off you deceased skin. It is an interesting experience, indeed. It feels very itch to be nibbled by those small creature and the feel do feel much smoother after coming out. Here are some reports online. Humans are amazing... They can turn fish into a doctor. :-) * Fresh-eating fish * It is in Turkey , too.

Here is a poem that I've got during the first sangha of the year. There are so many paths leading to the homeland. They all talk to me in silence. I invoke the Absolute. Spring has come to every corner of the ten directions. Its song, alas, is only the song of departure. From Call me by true names, by Thich Nhat Hanh My interpretation: There are many spiritual paths in this life, and yet they all point to the same source, the homeland, or God, the ultimate reality. Each one of them reveals the direction to that ultimate in silence while I am on this journey of quest. Now, the wonderful timing has come. It touches all my senses and my whole being. The chirping birds, the blue sky and white clouds, the germaniting seeds all whisper a song to my ears... It is a song of departure, a departure for the ultimate. Here is the poem that my dear friend got.. We will meet today. We will meet again tomorrow. We will meet at the source every moment. We will meet each other in all forms of life.

This poem illustrates the relationship between a spiritual seeker and his / her teacher. Chickpea to Cook (translated by Coleman Barks) A chickpea leaps almost over the rim of the pot where it's being boiled. "Why are you doing this to me?" The cook knocks him down with the ladle. "Don't you try to jump out. You think I'm torturing you. I'm giving you flavor, so you can mix with spices and rice and be the lovely vitality of a human being. Remember when you drank rain in the garden. That was for this." Grace first. Sexual pleasure, then a boiling new life begins, and the Friend has something good to eat. Eventually the chickpea will say to the cook, "Boil me some more. Hit me with the skimming spoon. I can't do this by myself. I'm li