tao1776

Chapter 3 “Does heaven revolve? Does earth stand still? Do the sun and moon jockey for position? Who controls all of this? Who ties it altogether? Who dwells in inactivity, Yet impels things on their course? May it be that there are levers and threads That drive them inexorably? Or may it be that they just keep turning And are unable to stop by themselves? Do the clouds make the rain? Or does the rain make the clouds? Who bestows them so generously? Who dwells in inactivity, Yet urges things on to all this lusty joy? The winds arise in the north And, first to the east, then to the west. They drift back and forth above us. Who breathes them? Who dwells in inactivity, Yet does this fanning? Chuang Tzu The hills and farmland of Hua , some thirty miles north of Canton grow lavish crops of rice, wheat and hemp. If faithfully tended and when the rains and irrigation are able to partner their effort, the soil nourishes a variety of beans, peas and cabbage. Bright oranges and red/yellow peac

-The power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles for theirs is the same religion as ours.... Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. Black Elk - Sioux Holy Man Walking the Circle By T. W. Black A man is born gentle and weak. At his death he is hard and stiff. Green plants are tender and filled with sap. At their death they are withered and dry. Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death. The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life. Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle. A tree that is unbending is easily broken. The hard and strong will fall. The soft and weak will overcome. Tao Te C

Just to show you how much rain we have been having...this was my yard after last nights rain.. Oh..and that other thing? I've begun Bee Therapy - That is a stinger in my spine.

This summer has been very unusual. But I've seen it all before. There are times that the seasons act according to form and there are times that they don't. There have been more days of rain and clouds than sunny summer days. In point of fact, we had warmer days in May. We got started rather late but as you can see things are progressing in spite of all the wet weather.

Once you have decided to make the present moment your friend, it is up to you to make the first move. Become friendly toward it, welcome it no matter in what disguise it comes, and soon you will see the results. Life becomes friendly towards you: people become helpful, circumstances cooperative. One decision changes your whole reality. But that one decision you have to make again and again and again - until it becomes natural to live in such a way. - Eckhart Tolle

The stench is beyond that of description. The smell of infection and rot, death and decay, can only be hinted at; its true smell being something akin to that of a skunk foraging the pens. The smell of the distant or dead skunk is familiar to all but the smell of being heavily sprayed by a startled woodland is only known by the initiated. This was my initiation. Being wet with sweat and feces, lying dead for several days in the fly laden fields, intensifies the smell of decay. Add to that the smell of powder and puke and you will find yourself talking to yourself and singing silly little songs. James ran up the gap one day his icy knife in hand shot off by Johnny Reb now he's not a man The glory of war! One day it will cease and the memory of the smell of it will be a distant memory replaced by the smell of clover and babies.

WHEN THERE IS NOTHING TO IDENTIFY WITH ANYMORE, WHO ARE YOU?

It is said that "developing ourselves through loving kindness meditation will help us overcome anger, resentment and hurt. It helps us to empathize more, and to be more considerate, kind, and forgiving. We can also learn to appreciate others more. We learn to be more patient. We also cultivate Metta towards ourselves, so that we experience less internal conflict, and learn to appreciate ourselves more." (source) "When we practice this meditation, we start with ourselves. That is, we aim to feel more appreciative of ourselves first of all: more integrated and less prone to internal conflicts , before we attempt to develop positive feelings toward anyone else. The basic psychological principle that Buddhists recognize here is that if we can't feel good about ourselves, then we are less likely to be able to feel good about other people." (source) Let me begin by saying that I was first introduced to meditation in the late 1980's from my Feldenkrais teache