Author Archives: jimwdollar

Things aren’t what they need to be because somebody doesn’t want them that way. We all want things to be the way we want them to be, and we want them to be different ways right now. Arranging things the way they ought to be would be a matter of getting rid of everything withContinue reading “November 21, 2023 – A”

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“The world is too much with us late and soon” (William Wordsworth). And, because of that, we have to take extreme measures to save ourselves from the impact of the world and restore our souls. We have to take regular retreats into the silence, into the natural world (Taking “Nature Baths,” for instance), into Art,Continue reading “November 20, 2023 – A”

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Putting ourselves “in accord with the Tao” and “living aligned with the Tao,” are synonymous with “trusting ourselves to our destiny,” stepping onto the path and walking confidently into our future, allowing it to do whatever it needs to do to be what it is. Spoiler alert: Our destiny is to be who we are,Continue reading “November 19, 2023 – A”

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Being well is a function of doing things the way they need to be done. That’s all there is to it. All of the untutored sages I have ever known are in full agreement here. They also agree on the importance of not listening to people who don’t know what they are talking about– whichContinue reading “November 18, 2023 – A”

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It is 5:33 AM. I woke up at 3:31 thinking about Nikki Haley. If she becomes president, she, like Trump if he becomes president, (and in saying she will do what he does, she isn’t playing her voters to vote for her, she is playing Trump to name her as VP, because, Tra-la-la, it’s allContinue reading “November 17, 2023 – A”

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We live in the service of what? Money is the thing of highest value we can imagine. And the high rate of addiction and suicide among the wealthy suggests that money may not be it. And to miss the point of our life– living in the service of the wrong things– is the worst kindContinue reading “November 16, 2023 – A”

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Relax into the Now! Take care of the moment! We are being carried along by forces quite beyond us. Sit back. Pay attention. Be aware. Be present. Enjoy the ride. Saying the things that cry out to be said. Asking the questions that beg to be asked. Doing what is called for, as it isContinue reading “November 15, 2023 – B”

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I spent the last seven years of my ministry participating in the creation/development of “the church as it ought to be.” It was called simply, “The 9:20 Service,” because we met at 9:20 on Sunday morning–9:20 because that was late enough to allow the people who needed to sleep-in to feel like they had, andContinue reading “November 15, 2023 – A”

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We live to see/hear/know/do. A life grounded in, flowing from, returning to emptiness, stillness and silence has the best chance of seeing/hearing/knowing what’s what and doing what needs to be done about it in each situation as it arises no matter what all our life long. A life grounded in fear/greed/hatred has no chance atContinue reading “November 14, 2023 – A”

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Stability, dependability, reliability, trustworthiness are foundational elements for the creation and maintenance of balance and harmony. Balance and harmony are fundamental for integrity, sincerity, spontaneity. Living on the edge of uncertainty generates anxiety and keeps us from settling into a safe and secure pattern of life. Enter fascism and its love for knocking things overContinue reading “November 13, 2023 – A”

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How many “Y’s” constitute our life? How many more will there be? I don’t know how you “do it,” but here is another possibility to consider: Empty yourself of all thoughts and emotions, memories and judgments. Stand at the fork as empty as the space between breaths. And without thinking, without resorting to reason andContinue reading “November 12, 2023 – B”

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Our imagination is a mirror reflecting us to us. What are the themes running through your imagination’s wanderings, which are not actually wanderings at all, but recurring stories to reaffirm, entrench, solidify the patterns that are ingrained in your mind’s worn path of rumination? Sex addicts think like sex addicts. Fascists think like fascists. PreachersContinue reading “November 12, 2023 – A”