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”
Author Archives: jimwdollar
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”
November 12-A, 2022
Our standard of measure isn’t what we get out of it, but the quality and degree of effort we put into it. How pleased are we with our level of focus, concentration, attentive presence, compassion/kindness/concern, situation by situation throughout the day? How could we be more involved with, attuned to, a part of, what isContinue reading “November 12-A, 2022”
November 11-B, 2022
Conflict and contradiction are at the heart of life. Yin/Yang, you know. We have to work it out, bearing in our own body the marks of the cross. Our cross to bear is the dichotomy of being alive. On the one hand this, on the other hand that– and that doesn’t take into account allContinue reading “November 11-B, 2022”
November 11-A, 2022
The plan is to be aware of what is happening and what needs to be done in response. Awareness is the key to all that follows. Jon Kabat Zinn and his Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) YouTube videos are the best approach to a mindfulness practice that I know of. No plans, no agendas, noContinue reading “November 11-A, 2022”
November 10-C, 2022
Dylan Thomas’ poem, “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Light, Rage, Rage Against The Dying Of The Light,” misses the point that the light doesn’t die, and our dying may well be a transition back into the light that is our origin and our destination. One form of energy returning to another form ofContinue reading “November 10-C, 2022”
November 10-B, 2022
We are to be about creating an atmosphere conducive to life and well-being. Why is that hard? Hard to grasp? Hard to remember? Hard to do? Good/right is helpful to that end, bad/evil/wrong is harmful to that end. This is not difficult, why is it hard? What is good/right interferes with what is good/right forContinue reading “November 10-B, 2022”
November 10-A, 2022
The human spirit is like the wind that blows where it will– and it must be this way in order to catch up with, exhibit and reflect the wind at the heart of life, blowing where, boundless, without restraint or restrictions, alive and living to go and be and do, where and when and howContinue reading “November 10-A, 2022”
November 09-B, 2022
Determining what is necessary and what is not is an individual responsibility and a personal right. You cannot impose what is necessary for you onto me, or anyone else. Our necessities/urgencies are ours alone to know and to do. Our ability to size things up and to be correct in our appraisals of what constitutesContinue reading “November 09-B, 2022”
November 09-A, 2022
The situation has its own drift, flow, spin, direction, energy– and we aren’t likely to transform it into the way we want things to be. Neither Jesus, nor the Buddha, were able to change minds that were not open/ready to be changed. We can show up and give it our best, but if they areContinue reading “November 09-A, 2022”
Jim Dollar's Photography and Philosophy 