01

What is blocking your way?
Holding you back?
Dragging you down?
Obstructing your life?

Except for what you would be free
to do what needs to be done?

Our obstructions are excuses.
Paraplegics have the same chance
at Original Personhood
as anyone else.

It is not what stands in our way.
It is our attitude about
all that stands in our way.

How we see what we look at
tells the tale.

Joseph Campbell would ask us
to imagine the Star of David--
which before it was called 
"The Star of David"
is the six-pointed symbol
"that appears in India
as the sign of Chakra IV"--
the Heart Chakra.
the center of empathy,
compassion, sympathy, love, 
according to the system 
known as Ayurveda.

This is from the Johns Hopkins website:

Ayurveda, a natural system of medicine, originated in India more than 3,000 years ago. The term Ayurveda is derived from the Sanskrit words ayur (life) and veda (science or knowledge). Thus, Ayurveda translates to knowledge of life. Based on the idea that disease is due to an imbalance or stress in a person's consciousness, Ayurveda encourages certain lifestyle interventions and natural therapies to regain a balance between the body, mind, spirit, and the environment.

This underscores the importance of 
"balance and harmony"
and their central place
in the service of The Way
throughout our life.

The two equilateral triangles
melded into each other
are equivalent to the yin/yang symbol
of early Taoism,
with "aspiration"
and "inertia" cancelling each other out
in a static and eternal kind of way.

Which is the static and eternal 
way of interpreting the symbol.

Another, equally possible, interpretation
is to see the Fourth Chakra 
as a veritable map of life,
much like the cross symbol of Christianity,
suggesting that the present moment
is always a compromise/collaboration
between the forces of light and darkness,
or duality in all its manifestations.

We proceed as a "mystery of conjunctions"
all along life's way.
We walk two paths at the same time all the time.

We do so by walking one path
with an eye on the other path,
aware of the validity of both paths,
discounting, dismissing, denying, ignoring
neither path ever.

The ascending triangle is enabled
and assisted--
Not! cancelled out or nullified--
by the descending triangle,
resulting in progress, not stagnation.

Moving forward/upward is propelled
by our interest in/exploration of
our desire for the opposite direction.

We examine the downward thrust of our journey
for it's insight/input/contribution
to our overall wholeness/synthesis/union/completion.

In our quest for upward/forward/achievement,
what are we ignoring/rejecting?

What insight/realization/awareness are we 
abandoning/banishing by our one-sided desire
for conquest/subjugation/acquisition/success/glory?

The two triangles meet at the center
for conversation/dialogue/communion 
in a mutually accepting/appreciating/honoring/admiring/unifying
kind of way.

Consciousness expands/enlarges/deepens/develops
through its recognition of and compassion for
the wealth/treasures/value of the Unconscious
that is with us to balance the desires/will
of our conscious ego always to the end of the ages.

What we know is aided and assisted
by what we do not know.

What we do not know is always trying 
to get our attention by interfering with
(According to our interpretation)
our plans and agendas and what we want to happen--
but the interference is always in our own best interest,
if we would but take the time 
to empty ourselves of our idea of the good,
enter the stillness and silence,
and open ourselves to a good beyond our idea of the good.

As Meister Eckhart said,
"The final leave-taking is leaving God for God."

And Joseph Campbell said,
"Where you stumble and fall,
there lies the treasure."

There is nothing like the fall from grace
to invite us to graciously receive
the fall from grace,
and all that it opens for eyes that see,
ears that hear
and hearts that finally understand.

And awakening never ends.

Thus, Heraclitus eternally reminds us:
“Traveling on every path, 
you will not find 
the boundaries of soul by going; 
so deep is its measure.” 

And on we go!
As One,
together with ourselves
and all other selves,
one self many journeys,
merrily, merrily all along the Way.

Balancing, harmonizing, unifying,
consolidating, synchronizing, synthesizing,
bringing together all that happens,
day by day.     

–0–

02

We are on our own.
What are we going to do about it?
I recommend
listening,
looking,
seeing,
hearing,
inquiring,
exploring,
investigating,
experimenting,
evaluating,
reflecting,
hypothesizing,
theorizing,
testing,
revising,
with all conclusions being tentative
awaiting further evidence,
and all certainty being circumspect,
and nothing being assumed or inferred
without awareness and inspection.

Trusting ourselves to know what's what
and what is called for
through the right kind of emptiness, 
stillness and silence
regularly turned to 
and experienced/received
for the clarity it offers
and the direction/guidance
provided thereby.

–0–

01

A Christmas Prayer:

May we be thankful for the day
each day,
and for the Way that winds through
each day,
every day,
and for the way to the Way
that we all walk from the beginning,
with its wrong turns,
and dead ends,
and meandering twists through the wasteland,
where we pick up hints,
and realizations,
and lessons learned
and re-learned,
gaining the experience
required to know what fits
and what does not fit,
what we are built for
and what we are not built for,
where we belong
and where we have no business being,
growing readier to listen,
to ask, seek, knock,
and to persist in the search
for our original nature,
that we might discover at last
What we love to do
to the point of paying to do it
if it comes to that,
and live what remains of our life
in its service,
doing what makes our little heart sing
and our little toesies dance,
for the joy of doing it
and the delight of having done it,
and looking forward to doing more of it
as long as the light shall last.

Amen!
May it be so!
For all of us--
each and every one!

–0–

02

Life is about being and doing,
doing and being,
not about getting, having, owning,
achieving, acquiring, amassing, possessing,
winning, conquering, subduing, mastering...

Being who we are,
doing the things that serve, express, exhibit
our original nature
in the service of what is called for
in each situation as it arises,
for the joy of doing it,
and the delight/satisfaction of having done it.

And doing it again.

–0–

03

When people ask,
"Jim, what is with your fascination
with the Oil Paint Filter in Photoshop?"

I tell them,
"I like the hint of magic it gives to a scene.
We are never more than a perspective shift away
from seeing the world within the world,
beyond the world.
Magic/Mystic/Mystical/Mysterious/Spiritual is always "right here, right now,"
and we walk "right past" it,
only seeing the world we have always seen.

The Oil Paint Filter forces a 'wait-a-minute!'
on the lemming parade in its rush to the sea,
and people have to look again,
maybe seeing,
maybe not,
but looking.
And that's the most I can hope for,
that people snap awake enough
to look at what they are seeing,
and perhaps they see what they are looking at."

So the Oil Paint Filter is my attempt
at opening a door.
Whether anyone walks through or not
is their business.

The same goes for writing these little 
free verse whatnot's
accompanying the images.
People may not read them,
people may read them and not comprehend them,
people may read them and shift their perspective.

The perspective shift is our only hope
at seeing the Magic/Mystic/Mystical/Mysterious/Spiritual
everywhere,
and participating in it
through the way we align ourselves with it
in living our life.

Maybe yes, maybe no.
I open doors,
or, to use a different door analogy,
I put my foot like a doorstop
between the door and the door frame
to keep the door from closing,
letting a little light shine in.

Whether anybody goes to the trouble
of having a perspective shift or not
is their business.

I'm here to do what I do best--
just like you are here to do what you do best--
and let that be that.
If anything comes of it, fine.
If nothing comes of it, fine.
We did our best,
and left it at that.
We don't have time to worry about it--
that would get in the way
of our doing our best!

Not that it matters.
And here is the thing about that.
It doesn't matter if it matters or not,
what we do.
We are here to do it!

"Without hope,
without witness, 
without reward!"
(Steven Moffat, Doctor Who).

We are here to do what needs to be done
whether it does any good or not.
We are here to be good for nothing
in this way.

Do what you do and let it go.
"Get in there and do your thing,
and don't worry about the outcome"
(Joseph Campbell's summation 
of the Bahgavad Gita).

Look for something that needs to be done
and go do it,
with the gifts/daemon/genius 
of your original nature.
No matter what.
Throughout the time left for living!

–0–

01

The Way winds through every way,
and lies latent in everything,
concealed in all that reveals it
to eyes that see,
ears that hear,
hearts that understand,
as The Great Secret
plainly visible
in every place
at all times.

The Joke
of the Ages.

Right here,
right now.

A slight perspective shift
away from realization
in all times and places,
through all times and places,
to right here,
right now.

What's the trick?

The right kind of emptiness,
stillness
and silence.

Being present,
being open,
being here, now.

Aware of what is happening,
and of what is being called for,
and offering it as best we can
out of the gifts/genius/daemon
of our original nature--
for the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it
in each situation as it arises,
all our life long
no matter what.

Beginning here, now.

The Path Without End.

Amen.

–0–

02

The answer to everything--
"The solution to all of our problems today, everyday"--
is the right kind of emptiness,
stillness
and silence.

The right kind of nothing
is all we need.

Out of the right kind of nothing,
everything appears,
emerges,
arises,
becomes,
at the right time,
in the right way,
as a blessing and grace
upon all who are capable
of being blessed and graced
by the right kind of emptiness,
stillness
and silence.

Who have been blessed and graced
from the beginning
with a noble heart,
a kind heart,
a gentle heart,
as innocent as a baby fresh born,
untouched by greed or fear,
with no agenda
and no opinion,
looking to see what's what,
and what to make of it,
and what is called for,
and what needs to be done about it,
waiting for the clarity 
that comes with experience and time
to those at peace
with the right kind of emptiness,
stillness
and silence
over time.

–0–

01

What is your foundational
mode of operation,
organizing principle,
way of finding your way to the Way
through the jungle?

How do you go about living?

Thinking or feeling?

Primarily?

I think (or feel) (I can't tell which
most of the time) 
(So I don't know if I am Thinking/feeling,
or Feeling/thinking)
(But I think [or feel] 
that I am Feeling/thinking).

I Feel/think that we shake out
along thinking/feeling lines.

There are thinking people
who cannot feel,
and feeling people who cannot think,
and thinking/feeling or feeling/thinking people
who can do both
without consciously switching
between the two
(Or knowing which is which).

For me, I tend to trust feeling
more than thinking,
and don't do much of anything
until I know how I feel about it.

Dr. Spock and I would 
make each other crazy.
In no time.

What is it time for NOW?
Analytics has a hard time with that one.
Instinct or intuition
is already in the water,
splashing around.

I think/feel (feel/think),
that our feeling brain knows best 
what to do, where to go,
and our thinking brain knows best
how to get there,
and likes to think it knows why.
I think/feel (feel/think)
it doesn't matter why.

If you tend toward Dr. Spock,
you probably haven't made it this far
in this little treatise,
and if you know what I mean,
you may be ahead of me,
waiting for me to catch up.

–0–

02

I tend to feel my way along,
waiting to see what's what
and what I do about it.

I look out the window a lot,
and wait for the next thing
to come along.

Hurry is not what I do best.

These things write themselves
one sentence--sometimes one word--
at a time.

I don't know what I am going to say next.
So, it is as much a treat for me,
as it is for anybody,
to see what I have to say.

Which is to say,
I don't have much time to waste
in thinking about what I should say,
or should be doing,
perhaps instead of what I'm doing.

I am 10 or so days away
from ending my 76th year
and stepping into my 77th year,
so I don't have nearly as much time left
as I had at the beginning.

I could be frivolous then
(But, I regret that I spent 
so much time figuring out 
what I do best,
and too much doing things 
I had no business doing),
and now I'm letting my interests
pilot my boat on its path through the sea.

My interests are narrowing down.
My curiosity is taking the lead
in determining what my interests are.
And I am curious about fewer things,
like practically nothing
that is more than two hours away,
because my physical ability to go there
and come back is much less now
than it was two years ago,
and nothing like what it was seven years ago.
So, there's that.

I am curious about the inner world,
the right way to do things,
and the right things to do,
which are determined/influenced
by the context and circumstances
of our life--
and cannot be imposed upon 
the context and circumstances
in a "This is the Right Thing to do
always, any how, no matter what!"
kind of way.

What is right, now depends upon
what's what, now,
because what's what governs
what is called for,
and anything might be called for,
depending on what's what,
and we have to be here, now,
to know what that is,
and being here, now,
is one of the things I can do best,
because that is well under two hours away.

–0–

03

Martin Palmer said,
"A path that can be discerned as a path
is not a reliable path."

Jesus is said to have said something similar
with, "The spirit is like the wind
that blows where it will."

And Moses is said to have said,
"It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’ But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it."

The path, the way of the spirit,
the Taoist's "way of heaven,"
are not "out there"
to be found the way we find a lost key,
or a buried treasure,
but are within,
to be awakened and stirred to life
when the conditions are right,
and the situation/circumstances
call them forth,
and the time has come
and "the fullness of time" 
is upon us for them 
to take their place
in our life.

And our place is to be ready,
listening, watching,
so that we may not miss 
the time of our awakening 
when it is at hand,
because we do not know
the day or the hour
of our visitation
when the door will open
and the Path appears,
like a white rabbit
winking at us to follow it
as it disappears around a corner.

If we wait too long 
to take up the Quest,
the moment passes,
and the same old same old
closes in upon us,
because we did not know
the time of our visitation.

Which is the plight of those
left to wail and lament
in the outer darkness
because they thought the wrong things
were important,
and missed the right things
that were there (theirs) all along.

–0–

01

It is all so wondrous, amazing,
complex and absurd!
We have to accept it just as it is,
and say, "Wow!" a lot.

The idea that we can somehow
manipulate "the system" 
to our advantage
is the most on-going,
never-ending,
raw absurdity 
in the entire gamut of absurdities.

That we can tilt the table
and have what we want
is the theme that runs through
the center
of all of the tragedies
ever created by our kind
through time.

Having what we want for how long?
At the expense of what?

Are two questions we never consider asking,
much less, answering.

"The system" is built for,
and runs on,
balance and harmony,
homeostasis,
equilibrium,
like a thermostat maintaining
a "constant" temperature
by allowing it to dip a bit below,
or to rise a bit above,
and raising, or lowering, it a bit 
in the opposite direction
until "constant" is achieved
for a very short while,
and it repeats the process "constantly,"
throughout time.

Or a bicycle traveling in a "straight" line
through a never-ending series
of controlled wobbles,

Having what we want is like that.
Now we have it.
Now we don't.

Trying to have what we want always,
and nothing but what we want ever,
is the recipe for insanity.
And suicide.

I've known people who chose to die
because they could not handle life
on life's terms,
saying, in effect,
"If I cannot live my life on my terms,
I choose to not live at all!"

Most of us are not as rigid as that.
Life does not favor a steady state of being.
It is give-and-take all the way
for those who make it all the way--
letting things come and go as they will,
in their own time,
in their own way,
because "that is how things are."

Nobody knows why things are as they are,
except to say "the system" requires it.
"It is the way."

And learning to let come what's coming,
and let go what's going,
is the key lesson of life
among the absurdities,
dichotomies
and contradictions
at work in life,
all of the time,
around the clock.

We cannot freeze the tides in place
without stopping the clock.

And who would want to do that?

–0–

02

Living from the center,
from the heart,
from adamantine core
of integrity, sincerity, congruity and harmony
creates balance in the service of life and being,
the way a gyroscope exhibits
intention and purpose just by being itself.

Living from the core
is being one with the core
in all of our coming and going.

We do that by "minding how we go,"
in a regular and routine way
of remembering to remind ourselves
of who we are and what we are about
and how we are to be about it:
Being right about what is called for
and doing it the right way
at the right time
in the right place,
because that is who we are
and what we are here to do,
no matter what.

Return to the center,
revisit the core,
regularly,
routinely,
throughout each day.

–0–

03

I dreamed that I was not allowed
to join The Circle of Shaman
because I was like the wind that blows where it will.
The irony of that was not missed
even in the dream,
and I received the news with a smile,
knowing I did not belong there,
because Shaman groups have rules
and I see rules as guidelines,
as suggestions,
like a recipe for gumbo,
witch itself is a contradiction in terms,
and "No tomatoes in gumbo!"
is an invitation for me to add tomatoes to gumbo.

You can see, as I do, how the Shamans 
knew what they were doing.

At the same time,
I do belong to the most intimate circles
of some people,
and they belong to mine.

We all have our circles,
and our circles intersect
with the circles of all of those
who belong to our circles,
and that kind of belonging
is at the heart of who we are,
individually and collectively
throughout time.

"The Collective Unconscious"
is Carl Jung's phrase for the aspect of Mind
that includes all of us
and all of our ancestors,
and, to be consistent,
all of our descendants,
which covers the whole of us over time.
All of time.

We are One in many ways,
and the ways in which we do not belong 
to some circles
is one of the ways we are One with everyone,
in a "without contrary, is no progression"
(William Blake) kind of way.

In our opposites and contradictions we are One.
And I belong to the circle of Shaman
in spite of being excluded from their circle--
by virtue of being excluded from their circle--
because life is funny like that.

And we are all One whether we want to be or not.

I don't know how the fascists are going to take the news.
Not very well, I expect.
And that is something else they have in common
with all of us.

–0–

04

Believe in you--
not the you you look at in a mirror,
not the you you mean 
when you say, "I'll have a cup of coffee,"
not the apparent you,
not the you people would describe
when taking about you--
the you at the heart of you,
the you exhibited by your original nature,
the you that shines through
in certain situations,
leaving you to wonder,
"Where did that come from?"

Believe in that you,
trust in that you,
establish and maintain
a relationship with that you,
live aligned with that you,
in accord with that you,
in ways that express and exhibit that you
throughout what remains 
of the time left for living.

You begin to do this
by listening to your nighttime dreams,
listening to your heart,
listening to your body--
your physical symptoms
and the things you "know in your bones,"
and that come to you as "gut feelings."

Listen to your intuition
and your instincts.

Notice the things that catch your eye,
and look closer.

Notice the things that attract you,
and the things that repel you.

Follow your tastes and interests
to see where they lead.

Ask your friends what they know about you
that you don't know.

Complete "Your Totem Animal Exercise" 
on my companion WordPress site at this link:
https://jimwdollar.com/2020/09/26/your-totem-animal/

Sit quietly from time to time,
open to what arises within
and reflecting on that
as a path to new realizations.

Write yourself a letter
and read it aloud,
then write a letter to you from yourself
and read it aloud.

Carl Jung said, "There is within each of us
another, whom we do not know."

Make it your practice to get to know
"the other" within,
and develop your relationship 
with her/him over the remainder of your life.

–0–

01

We can start anywhere.
That's the coolest thing
about finding our way.
It always begins right here, 
right now,
where we are.
And with letting that be that.

Too much of the time
we want to be anywhere but 
where we are.
Where we are is what brought us
to wanting to be anywhere but here.

Had to get here to want 
to be somewhere else.
Start here.

And what we start with
is asking all of the questions
that beg to be asked
by being here.

Make a list.
I'm serious.
Write them down.
And write down all of the questions
that are generated 
by asking the questions.

Do not pause to answer any of them,
and do not think any question
is an answer in itself--
every question is a springboard
into other questions.

Our place is to ask al of the questions!
By writing them down.

Buy a spiral-bound notebook.
Or start a file on your computer,
or whatever your favorite way to write is.
And start writing your questions.

All good questions lead to more questions.
Ask them all.
See where they lead.
You are on your way!
Following your questions
is the best way to get anywhere,
especially away from here, now.

Do not assume you know anything.
Do not take anything for granted.
Ask questions about everything
you think you know!

Heidi-ho! Off we go!

–0–

02

Tradition and theology
are cop-outs.
When we turn to tradition and theology,
we are letting someone else
do our thinking for us,
do our deciding for us.

May as well chug whiskey 
straight from the bottle.
We have checked out of our own life,
and turned things over to someone else,
to something else.
Because we are tired of doing our life
on our own.
And do not want the responsibility
any longer.

You can take your Hero's Journey 
and shove it anywhere you like.
We've had it.
Worn out with it.
Through with it.

Bring on tradition,
theology,
and/or whiskey!
We are going to stop living
here and now!

That's what tradition, theology
and whiskey are good for.
Dying long before we are dead.
Because we just don't have 
the heart for it.
For one more day of thinking 
for ourselves,
making our own decisions,
wondering where to go from here.

It is called being at the end of our rope.
That is a great place to be.
We have to get there
before we can change our mind
about what is important--
thinking we know what is important
is what gets us there,
to the end of our rope, I mean.

And, once we get there,
we think checking out is 
the most important thing.
But, at the end of our rope,
we have proved to ourselves
that we cannot be trusted
to know what is important,
particularly what is most important,
so we have no business opting out,
and going with tradition, theology and/or whiskey.

Our place is simply to hang on
to the end of our rope
and see what happens,
dangling there, waiting.

Now, my formula for waiting,
at the end of our rope,
or anywhere else,
is to wait in the right kind of way,
which means emptying ourselves 
of everything.
Every-single-thing.

Particularly moods.
No moods while you wait.
And thinking.
No thinking while you wait.
And emotions.
No emotions while you wait.
Clean all of it out.
All your wants/wishes/fear/desire/
certainties and convictions...
All of the 10,000 things
that crowd in there
in your poor little over-loaded,
over-crowded, mind.
Open the door and sweep it all out.

Wait as empty as the space between breaths.
Exhale and pause,
start counting slowly
until you absolutely must inhale,
and when you inhale,
inhale slowly, extending your stomach
away from your spine,
filling your lungs all the way to the bottom.
And exhale slowly, sucking your stomach in
toward your spine,
so that all the air is expelled.
And pause there, again,
counting again,
until you have to inhale.

Do that for five rounds of inhaling and exhaling.

Now, think about the time between breaths.
That is how empty you need to be.
As empty as the space between breaths.

Wait in the emptiness,
just breathing, normally now,
and pausing between breaths
for a comfortable count between five and ten,
inhaling, exhaling, waiting,
in the stillness as still as the surface of a pond,
allowing you to see to the bottom.
Notice what is on the bottom.
In the silence as quiet as the far side of the moon.

Wait in the emptiness,
in the stillness,
in the silence,
for something to stir,
emerge,
arise,
appear
on its own,
of its own volition,
out of nowhere.

Welcome it as your lodestar,
your talisman,
your symbol,
your guide.
And carry it with you
as you reenter your life,
no longer quite at the end of your rope,
and now with a companion of your own devising
that you had nothing to do with constructing.

Tradition did not give it to you.
Theology did not give it to you.
Whiskey did not give it to you.

You are quite capable of having what you need,
to find what you need,
to guide you where you need to be.

With your new companion as your guide,
comfort, pal and friend,
explore what it represents,
suggests, brings to mind, discloses, reveals,
has to say...
And see where it goes.

–0–

03

The Big Three Barriers
to the Spiritual/Hero's Journey
according to Buddhism 
are Fear, Desire and Duty.

To which I will add:
Anger, Hatred, Depression, Jealousy,
Dependency, Laziness, and Lack of Curiosity.

You are encouraged to add to the list
out of your own experience.

The Things That Keep Us From Doing
The Things That Need To Be Done List.

Doing the things that need to be done,
the way they need to be done,
when they need to be done,
where they need to be done,
because they need to be done,
using the resources of our Original Nature
and the context of the circumstances at hand--
for the joy of doing them
and the satisfaction of having done them--
in each situation as it arises,
all our life long,
is all the Spiritual/Hero's Journey
comes down to.

That is all that is asked of us.
Ever.

This puts us in right relationship
with our life,
with ourselves,
and with one another.

And the only things that stand in our way
are the things on The List.
Get them out of the way,
and there is nothing but 
"fair wind and following seas"
all our life long.

01

All of us are confronted 
with the truth of the life we are living--
and of the life we are refusing to live--
in our dreams every night
all our life long.

And most of us are addicted
to some form of diversion,
distraction, denial
in our waking hours
to give us something to think about
and take our minds off
of the ever-widening gap
between who we are
and who we are born to be.

The work to get us back together
with our original nature
in a life aligned with it
is called The Hero's Journey.

And is only for those
who have what it takes
to be self-transparent
and at-one with themselves
within the context and circumstances
of their life
no matter what
all their life long.

The door is always open,
but few take the trip.

–0–

02

Diana Prince was Wonderwoman, 
Clark Kent was Superman,
Bruce Wayne was Batman,
and so it goes down the long list
of superheros.

The list is forever long.
Your name is on the list,
and mine.

We all have a super double,
an alter-ego,
a hidden wonder within.

We are, at once,
who we are and who we also are,
and it is our place to recognize that,
and walk two paths at the same time,
in bringing our Inner Other forth
to engage Outer Reality
within the conditions and circumstances
of our life,
in each situation as it arises.


This is our saving grace.
We save ourselves,
and we save the world,
by being true to our Original Nature
and doing what is called for
in ways appropriate to the occasion
all our life long.

We have what the world most needs,
and we betray it daily,
by being who we are supposed to be
at the expense of who we are capable of being,
doing what is expected of us
and denying what is possible with us,
day in and day out,
all our life long.

Waking up is waking up to 
the reality of our Original Nature,
and working to exhibit/express/reveal/incarnate
the gifts/daemon/shtick/talents/abilities/genius/etc.
tucked into our DNA
along with our fingerprints and iris patterns--
and live to serve whom Carl Jung was addressing
when he said,
"There lives in each of us,
another, whom we do not know."

–0–

My sister, Susan, died this morning, realizing her wish to be relieved of the burdens of this life, and joining my sister Diane, who died in August of this year, and all those who preceded her throughout the ages of time. Peace be with them all.

–0–

03

We have to mine the darkness for the light,
the difficult for the gold,
the unwanted for the gift,
and open ourselves to the steady presence 
of unmerited grace,
pouring over,
spilling out,
like a well-spring of living water
all the days of our life
unto all of those with eyes to see,
ears to hear
and a heart to understand
what is right here,
right now,
all the time.

We are never more than a slight
shift in perspective away
from having what we need
to find what we need
to get up and do what needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done, 
because it needs to be done,
no matter what
in each situation as it arises,
for the simple joy of doing it,
and the satisfaction of having done it,
throughout the time left for living.

–0–

04

The Way is the way 
of doing the right thing
in the right way
at the right time.

A couple dancing 
in sync with each other
and the music.

Tennis players
swapping ground strokes.

A center fielder
tracking a fly ball
and catching it on the run.

Each moment calls for something.
The right response
fulfills the moment,
and leaves everyone
privy to it
with a sense of satisfaction,
completion,
in a "Well Done!" kind of way.

Living alert to each moment
and responding to them 
in just the right way,
is to live with self-transparency,
integrity, sincerity and spontaneity--
in touch with the moment
and our original nature,
dancing as a dancer with the music,
a tennis player with tennis ball,
a center fielder with a high fly.

–0–

01

Winning for me
comes down to 
being right about what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
and doing it with the resourses
available in the situation
and in our own original nature.

This doesn't mean we will win the game,
particularly if the other team 
is better at doing this than we are,
but.
If we do it consistently/dependably,
we will win our share of the games over time.

And the more we do it,
the better we get at doing it,
and nobody will look forward
to playing us.

To be right about what needs to be done,
we have to be able to approach each
situation,
and each moment within the situation,
from the vantage point of 
the right kind of emptiness,
the right kind of stillness,
and the right kind of silence,
which will result in clarity,
or the right kind of seeing.

The difference between needing/having to win,
trying to win
and doing what it takes to win,
is the difference between air balls,
rim shots,
and swishes
(To use a basketball metaphor).

Being empty of needing/having/trying
is the right kind of emptiness.
The right kind of stillness
and the right kind of silence
are about reducing/diminishing
the complexity and noise,
generated externally and internally,
to the point of being able to
see and hear what is happening
and to know what needs to be done in response,
and allowing the innate instincts and intuition
of our original nature--our natural ability--
to respond spontaneously to the moment
and what is available there
in doing what needs to be done.

This is the formula for success--
how well we are able to execute it
comes down to awareness
and practice, practice, practice.

And practicing awareness 
is a part of practice.

–0–

02

Having what it takes
to live on life's terms
is a good thing to have. 

Living to willfully force our way
on life/through life
is not going to produce what we think.

Live to see what is called for
in light of what is happening
and what needs to be done about it
from the standpoint of the situation,
and not our desire for the situation.

What does the good
of the situation as a whole require?
(Generally always, the answer is 
"Our cooperation")
Do that!

In every situation as it arises!

The Path winds through every situation
that comes our way.
Stay on the path.
With the right kind of emptiness
(No agenda, no opinion),
the right kind of stillness
(Just looking, just seeing),
and the right kind of silence
(Just listening, just hearing),
leading to the right kind of clarity
and the right kind of action.

Situation by situation
all day long
every day.

–0–

03

If I could sit down with the world,
I would say,
"Empty yourselves of everything.
No wants, no desires.
No ideas, beliefs, ideology, agendas, opinions, preferences.
No fear, no compulsion, no duty, no obligations.
No noise, no static, no interference, no assumptions,
no presumptions, no inferences, no ideas...etc.
Be empty as the space between breaths.
Just breathe
with nothing more than the space between breaths
holding things together for you.

And notice how you are still you.

You do not need all the stuff
you carry with you to be you.
You can't help being you.
There is more to you than 
all the stuff you carry with you.

In the space between breaths,
you are just as you are.

Stay there.
Be that.
You and your original nature,
your natural self,
without any of the culturally induced
ways of being,
the organic you--
the original you,
'the face that was yours 
before you were born.'
Be that.
Breathing.
Live from there.

Live from the center
of the space between breaths.

Wait in the space between breaths
for something to arise in the silence,
to emerge from the silence--
do not think it up,
wait receptively for it to appear
of itself
on its own.

Just sit/stand/walk breathing,
watching,
listening,
waiting,
empty,
still,
silent...

Living from the space between breaths,
we are guided by something beyond
wanting/desiring/needing/fearing/
Thou Shalt and Thou Shalt Not.

What else could there be?
We owe it to ourselves to find out!

Take up the practice of living
from the space between breaths.

And see where it goes."

–0–

04

We maintain our balance
in the flow of life.
Harmonize our original nature
with our context and circumstances,
and do what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises.

It is no more difficult 
or complicated than that.

No agendas,
no opinions.

No being side-tracked,
shanghaied,
or hijacked.

Seeing what we look at
and responding appropriately
day by day.

01

Our relationship with what is meaningful to us
is the most important relationship in our life.

We owe fealty to what is meaningful to us.
Liege loyalty and filial devotion.

We cannot be loose and lax with meaningful.
We cannot loose sight of meaningful,
or allow it to wander away.

We must hold fast to it,
tether it to our waist.
Honor it with our company,
serve it with our life.

Meaningful IS life.
Without it we drift into listlessness and lethargy,
and soon thereafter, 
into hopelessness and despair.

Guard meaningful with fervor and intense passion!
Make it a part of your daily routine.
Do meaningful in the morning,
afternoon,
and at night.

If you catch yourself with time on your hands,
do something meaningful.

Commit yourself to it,
as though to your heart's true love.
As though 'tis the only thing
between you and the void.

It is.

–0–

02

How do you go about establishing
and maintaining
your relationship with the Sacred,
the Divine,
the Holy,
the Numen,
the Ineffable,
the Mystery at the heart of life and being,
That Which Has Always Been Called God?

Where do you go to be in its presence?
What do you do to honor its reality in your life?
What do you do to strengthen your relationship with it?
To express/exhibit your devotion to it?
To deepen your connection with it?
To acknowledge the truth that you and it are one?

How often do you do these things?

01

We have to do our part
in keeping ourselves
in the middle of the path
by returning again and again
to the basics.

Like a singer doing scales,
or a runner running laps,
we have to build a practice
around mindfulness of the moment,
being right here right now,
siting, standing, walking
in emptiness,
stillness 
and silence,
tuning into the moment,
calling ourselves back
when we drift away,
and listening, listening, listening,
to ourselves,
to our heart,
to our nighttime dreams,
to our body (Its symptoms and its degree of tension
and relaxation),
in order to know what we know,
and what's what,
and what's happening,
and what's called for,
right here, right now.

This is a daily routine
that we work into our life
as we are able several times a day.

Taking a moment to be here now.
Listening, looking, sensing, feeling, knowing.
Taking a break to be present
with all that is present with us,
throughout each day
is a practice that keeps us focused
on the path and our relationship with it,
heart, soul, body, mind and spirit,
with balance and harmony,
all day, every day,
living with clarity
out of our original nature,
a part of the natural world.

–0–

02

Vibrations and frequencies,
waves and impulses...
are the building blocks of reality,
of realities.
Which reality we call "real"
and think is the way it is,
and the way it ought to be,
depends on who is looking,
and how, and when, and where...

We live in a fluid world.
There are no steady states of being.
The harder we try to freeze the action
by killing/disappearing all those people
who are not like we are,
the more we generate vibrations and frequencies,
waves and impulses,
repulsion and attraction,
and karma
that create feed back loops
and compensation tendencies
that produce more of what we are 
trying to get rid of,
and we defeat ourselves
by trying to triumph over what we hate,
and the world becomes worse instead of better
because we couldn't allow it to be as it is.

This photo, and the one above, 
are separated by a shift in white balance
This photo, and the one above, 
are separated by a shift in white balance
(How white would a white mouse, say,
appear to be in the scene?
Changing the colors in the scene 
so that the white mouse
would appear white,
“adjusts the scene”
so that it looks like “it ought to look”).

Which one is the way it really was?
It depends on who was looking
and how their eyes adjusted the white balance
in that place at that time of day in that light.

How we see the original scene
and the photographs
may be different from the way
anyone else sees the scene or the images.
How would we know?
Why do we think there is a real way--
a right way--to see "what's there"?

What's there is a swirl of vibrations and frequencies,
waves and impulses, etc.
that we make sense of 
with the "equipment" we have at our disposal.
Dogs and bats and cats
might see much more than we do
when they look at the scene, or the photos.

Who is right?
The person who does not strive to force 
everyone to see the scene in the same way.

There are variations,
possibilities,
opportunities,
ways of seeing,
interpreting,
understanding,
perceiving, etc.
everything we look at.

What we see depends on how we look,
on what we are looking for,
on what our past has prepared us to see,
on how our mind has been tuned
to adjust the input it receives...

We see everything we look at
through filters that color what we see.
The way we interpret a scene
is already in place before we open our eyes.
What influences/impacts/determines the way we see?
We have to see that before
we can see our seeing before
we look at the scene.

–0–

03

Awareness would help everything.
Mindfulness.
Attentive, non-judgmental, 
un-opinionated,
gracious,
kind,
compassionate realization.

Jon Kabat-Zinn's YouTube videos
are a good place to start.

Just seeing,
just hearing,
just apprehending,
just knowing,
what's what and what is called for
in response.

About ourselves
and our external circumstances.

Without agenda or opinion.
With nothing at stake in the outcome.
Nothing to gain.
Nothing to lose.
Here to serve what needs to happen
in light of all things considered.

Doing what needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
for the joy of doing it 
and the satisfaction of having done it.
In each situation as it arises.
Because that is what we are here for,
with our original nature
serving as the source of the boon
that is our gifts/daemon/genius/shtick/talents/etc.
which we offer the world.

Living from the right kind of emptiness,
stillness
and silence
leads to clarity,
integrity,
sincerity
and spontaneity upon the field of action--
as blessing and grace bestowed
freely unto all.

The legacy of original human beings.