jimwdollar

November 17-C, 2022

It is traditionally held that Confucius died in 479 BCE. Some years after he retired from government service, he said, “Nowadays, no one is interested in hearing about virtue and harmony. In our society, people place more importance on business advantage than on friendship. Relationships have become shallow, and everyone is bending to social andContinue reading “November 17-C, 2022”

November 17-B, 2022

I’m looking to see what happens, and what I do about it, and what I can find to do that either needs to be done or is meaningful. In this, I feel like I am pretty much within the normal distribution curve of human beings on the planet from the beginning, and probably of allContinue reading “November 17-B, 2022”

November 17-A, 2022

We are not free to will what we want. Or to will what we will. Or to will what we ought to will. So much for freedom of the will. We will the things we have no business wanting, much less willing, much less having. And we are bound to will those things. We can’tContinue reading “November 17-A, 2022”

November 16-A, 2022

We are not here to get anything out of being here. The profit motive is the original sin. Getting, having, amassing, owning, possessing, fencing in, locking up, storing away get in the way. In the way of The Way. The Way is all there is. Babies have it, toddlers know it, then comes wanting, getting,Continue reading “November 16-A, 2022”

November 15-B, 2022

Spontaneity is an astounding guide. Who/what is responsible for our spontaneous responses to our circumstances? We find ourselves saying/doing things we do not think about saying/doing. Where does that come from? I say from the heart, or from the source of knowing, the Tao itself. But, what do we mean by “heart”? Or “the Tao”?Continue reading “November 15-B, 2022”

November 15-A, 2022

Everything depends upon our squaring ourselves up with our sitz im leben, our “setting in life,” the context and circumstances of our existence, day-to-day, moment-to-moment, in a “Here we are, now what?” kind of way. This is it! What are we going to do about it? What is called for? What is required? What isContinue reading “November 15-A, 2022”

November 14-B, 2022

The perennial task of life is to reconcile ourselves to our circumstances in a “This is the way things are, and this is what I can do about it, and that’s that” kind of way– without expectations, opinions, judgment, emotional reactivity, followed by: “Now what can I do about being unable to do any moreContinue reading “November 14-B, 2022”

November 14-A, 2022

To live the truth we have to be able to live a lie. To be true to ourselves we have to violate all of the standards that hold life together. Maybe walking off into Galilee, and maybe bearing the pain of a marriage to a man no one could live with for the sake ofContinue reading “November 14-A, 2022”

November 3rd Week, 2022

There is much to be attuned to. Living in accord with the Tao, aligned with the spirit that blows where it will, situation by situation, requires a degree of awareness/mindfulness that we are not trained to initiate, much less maintain. We cannot expect to be so attuned and aligned without regular returns to emptiness, stillnessContinue reading “November 3rd Week, 2022”

November 13-B, 2022

Laughter has to be a part of life. No one can be alive without laughing. There is no humor in the Bible. Zen saves Buddhism. Taoism was there before Zen was. Makes Taoism the go-to perspective for life. Chung Tzu leads the way! Leih Tzu is next in line. Wen Tzu softens Lao Tzu andContinue reading “November 13-B, 2022”

November 13-A, 2022

What keeps you going? Where do you turn when you have nowhere to turn? What does your life mean to you? Where do you stop and where does your life start? What is yours to do? What is your “thing”? What is your specialty? What was the most meaningful thing about today? To what doContinue reading “November 13-A, 2022”

November 12-B, 2022

Everyone who knows knows the same things. Everyone who is capable of knowing is waiting to hear, to see, to understand, the way to realization/enlightenment/comprehension they are on the brink of achieving, and need the right nudge at the right time to grasp the “Aha! Moment,” the “Eureka! Click,” that opens the way, that clearsContinue reading “November 12-B, 2022”