The Nature of Things

notice that this symbol is always two dimensional, while most all of us are in fact three dimensional, and the older of us are indeed,four dimensional.  Kinda makes me wonder what other colors are on the other sides of those black and white circle thingys....

I DO kind of remember the intrusive behavior of all the professionals when little Joey kept making all his crayon drawings in black...that is until they finally asked him,and he said "I lost the other crayons.."

Roady I concur with your posts, especailly the first.

Forever I have thought that the 2-D yin-ying symbol is a tesseract when one achieves enlightment (I'm not there yet) enlightment

Feng shui is the other manifestation of the yin-yang concept. It is the balance sought in our environment. It is also extremely extremely important for the burial placement of your ancestor. My grandmother was laid to rest in a plot that suddenly had water issuing from the ground. It is said that is not exactly ideal for a decomposing body but it is very good for the descendants (phew!). My great grandfather’s grave was apparently ordered to be moved by his son, my granddad, as the latter felt the job had not been done properly. It is said he was “chiongh-ed” (I can’t even find an appropriate translation) and he died shortly after that. Burial places are so important that thousands of dollars can be spent on it. My ex-mum in law has recently been laid to rest next to her husband in a tombsite that costs $50,000.Burial places are resting places and like your bedroom, should be yin-based (get the TV out of the bedroom) whilst living places are yang

Yes, it is so true that how business is dealt with in a Chinese society is very different. The American style in particular stands at polar opposites. The straightforward, look-you-in-the-eye, firm handshake, let’s-get-down-to-business style of the American would I’m afraid be seen as crass and rude. No doubt it would be irritating to many but again, it’s part of the holistic philosophy of the East, that everything is important and balanced in the universe, and so building relationships and “kuangxi” (who you know) is important. Probably one of the most important things I taught my colleagues is the way words are couched when reading company announcements. A Memorandum of Understanding for instance is just that! There is no contract yet!!

Perhaps balance and inner peace are the essesence of all religions and healing perscribtions.  When people feel off balance either mentally or physically they ae overshadowed with concerns that disturb the balance of inner peace.  

Listening to the surf roll in at 4:30 am from my bed with the door wide open in the dark light of the night and knowing that it's okay to not know everything brings this topic to a special center for me. “Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor.” thought the great Søren Kierkegaard. One day school is out and its time to live. Reading Thoreau was great- BUT-Being Tommy is my greatest achievement. I suspect the line between the dynamic duo is a conjunction/and or but/Yesireebob I thank the Lord for the whole package and often laugh in my prayers-don't take me I'm all I've got. God smiles and says in the breeze if I can make something out of nothing, I can make a saint out of you, sinner boy. Wait for your cue. Yin and Yang. Okay but also like poker when its time to ante up-Yin or Yout?

More can be said for the solitude you can find in the everday sounds and sights.  The sun coming up, the rythm of the subway ride to work.  The blast of daylight as the train comes out of the tunnel.  The laughter of children and sounds of sirens that alert us to danger and illness are all the little things that make up the balance of our lives.   

Nice post Tommy!  It must be nice to listen to and watchthe surf at sunrise.  I'm content to wait for the trees to turn color next month.

Good morning Tommy and Julia, I was wondering, surely this concept of balance and how everything has its place in the great cosmos, surely there must be something similar in the different cultures so many of you represent? Julia? The Italian? In some way, there is even a bit about that in the bible in the book of Ecclesiastes where it talks about the circle and the rhythm of life

Good morning all. I really have nothing so I am especially enjoying your posts. SPRING.............enjoy your take on this. RY.................your first post is simply perfect.
 
Have a wonderful day kids!

Spring Fragrance, I too enjoyed your posts.  I think the best of the Western doctors are trying to incorporate some of the best aspects of Chinese Traditional Medicine in focusing more holistically.  I think we better get at root causes instead of playing "Whack the Mole" with making symptoms disappear.  As to the spiritual end of things, I think I have a small disagreement with the initial essay.  We can indeed pursue happiness, though I think the only true happiness is that found through inner peace.  Balance leads to serenity and the tranquility thus achieved is the source of true bliss.  Nothing like leading a life of peace.  And the term usually used in Christianity is "balance."  You sometimes will see the term "centering prayer" which is much the same.  The mystics know the true secret: that in the end it all is the same.  A mystic, by the way, is not some nut case with a long beard but is someone who believe that one can have a direct relationship with God (however you which to label Spirit) with nothing inbetween.  Hence Thomas Merton died in Bangkok whilst at a conference of monks from all faiths who knew that they were all striving for the same thing, direct connection to the One.  Individual doctrine is not half as important to these folks as serious focus, intent and effort.  So, I have been sitting here watching the sun rise, drinking my tea, listening to a new CD ("Vision: The Music of Hildegard von Bingen"), doing laundry and contemplating breakfast.  The cats have given me my good morning ankle rubs, and all is well.

SF- Camping as a boy on my sacred mountain and heating up a can of Dinty Moore Beef Stew taught me that it takes all ingredients of all portions to make the stew what it is. I think Ernest Holmes said if you remove a drop from the ocean it is incomplete. The Western mind struggles with logic and unknowing.

Tommy - Another New Thought person?  I am delighted.  I am a Unity minister, actually.  Also involved in Twelve Step groups.  And New Warrior.  Whatever it takes...
I had come to mind an old definition, that Serenity is not the absence of problems but peace within the storm.  There really are times when "wu wei," the old Taoist principle of Nonaction is the best action.  Is it better to contemplate the mountain or climb and cross it?

Mssr. Peterman, going to his pied-a-terre every weekend, will understand as well as any the meaning behind the saying of an old Zen saint:

"Before Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment, chop wood, carry water."

[Enlightenment is no big deal.]

And the only Zen you find on the mountain is what you brought with you.

I should be getting to bed but this is too interesting, Tommy and Lynn set me thinking. I was contemplating how while some things are obviously either -or, like say love and hate, or clean and dirty or even something as prosaic as a currency trade (there is no outright one-sided trade, to buy say A$, you have to sell US$), the essence of light and heat is singular. Cold is the absence of heat and darkness is the absence of light. This idea thus of "balance" is pretty profound; too much heat can kill as much as the lack of heat; the idea can be carried to light too. I did yoga for a while (I lost interest, now playing badminton) and while I consider myself quite nimble for my age I was surprised that trying to find your center of gravity, to hold balance in all those poses, wasn't as easy as it looked

It has been wonderful to study eastern philosophy for many years now. It has helped me to become more of a "human being" and less of a "human doing". Practicing tai ji has helped me, as I age, to become more aware of my center, helpful in both the physical and emotional parts of life. The idea of using food as a medical tool is facinating, but I do not know enough about it yet. I love watching older Chinese mothers doing a "medical" assessment of the entire family before they cook for the family. Personally I like the balance between western and alternative mostly TCM) medical care.

Oh, I forgot, the concept of Wu Wei doing nothing. It is so helpful when you live in a big city and get caught in rush hour traffic frequently. Getting agitated never helps, so wu wei. You end up noticing the most amazing things.

SF and Lynn- Then there is the labeling of good and evil based upon personal taste or comfort or ignorance of basic physical laws. Emotional beings like us look to put everything in neat little packages & I am quite sure THAT is not the nature of things. As a Christian Mystic & like Bogart I expect a reasonable amount of trouble to go with my blessings. Makes life interesting. Boredom sucks.

Everyone has such interesting and enlightening things to say this morning, that I feel woefully ignorant. Perhaps that is because my mind is currently being stuffed full of calculus, accounting and economics. Last week I spent 5 days at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. It was so quiet  and peaceful and utterly restorative that I didn't want to leave. But I also know that if I didn't have college classes and my full-time job and all the other demands of my regular life, I wouldn't be able to appreciate that peace as much when I can get it. Spring Fragrance - can you recommend some reading on Feng Shui? I will be moving to an apartment of my own at the end of the month (my relationship with R-- has quietly passed on due to the demands of each of our lives) and am interested in arranging things in a way that will make it a haven rather than a hovel (Did that make sense?). I apologise for being away for so long. I've made a resolution to at least stop by and say hi every day, even if I can't think of anything cogent to say about the day's topic. I do frequently think about all of you, however.

Everyone has such interesting and enlightening things to say this morning, that I feel woefully ignorant. Perhaps that is because my mind is currently being stuffed full of calculus, accounting and economics. Last week I spent 5 days at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky. It was so quiet  and peaceful and utterly restorative that I didn't want to leave. But I also know that if I didn't have college classes and my full-time job and all the other demands of my regular life, I wouldn't be able to appreciate that peace as much when I can get it. Spring Fragrance - can you recommend some reading on Feng Shui? I will be moving to an apartment of my own at the end of the month (my relationship with R-- has quietly passed on due to the demands of each of our lives) and am interested in arranging things in a way that will make it a haven rather than a hovel (Did that make sense?). I apologise for being away for so long. I've made a resolution to at least stop by and say hi every day, even if I can't think of anything cogent to say about the day's topic. I do frequently think about all of you, however.

Sorry about the double post. Silly Internet Explorer!

I'd love further explanation from "Road Yacht" regarding, ". . . the older of us are indeed, four dimensional."  I'm pretty sure it doesn't refer to our ("the older of us") excess body weight! 

So true, Isles. My "chop wood and carry water" is laundry.

The other day I was in a big pitch meeting and became fixated on one man's pinky ring. Gold, monogrammed, etc. He'd had the floor for at least 20 minutes but didn't seem in too much of a hurry to make a point (hence my ring fixation). I tried to imagine his ringed-pinky doing something really pedestrian, like folding laundry, because things like that make me smile. And then for a second I felt overwhelmed, like I often do when I remember I'm competing every day against people who don't have to do things like fold laundry.

But the truth is my laundry-folding nights are what make me value my own and everyone else's time enough not to circle around a non-existent point for 20 minutes. Or buy pinky rings.

Good to see you all.

More and more, as I age, I lean toward the Eastern religions for their balance and apparent serenity.  However, more and more also, I feel I know less and less!  Dancingkatz, I once attended a management meeting held at Shakertown.  Unfortunately, it was held during the week the first Gulf war began, so we didn't necessarily have much peace!  We were all looking for the nearest TV (of which there were very few there!) or radio.  What I remember most is their breakfasts -- yummy!  The oatmeal was the best I've ever had, before or since!

MISS IVE:  A Rare Treat !!!
 
Good To See You !!!
 
 
Y'all Have a Great Week !!!

Where is HAZEL?

Cyndy - Yes, indeed, Shaker Village's breakfasts are phenomenally good. Oatmeal with real cream and a dollop of their baked apples was my favorite breakfast. I hope you get a chance to go back and enjoy a more peaceful time than you did on your first visit.

Before I retired I did a fair amount of business with both Japanese and Chinese investors and businessmen. In dealing with them I found that while they did drive a hard bargin for the most of them they were honorable and their religion would play a lagre part in their decisions. When dealing with Honda their rep turned down a great location that was a former car dealership. It had a great location with high traffic counts ,existing buildings etc. because the previous dealer had gotten in trouble for certain activies having to do with drugs and underage girls. The man from Honda said they couldn't purchase the property because of the stigma of the previous owner was still on the property but they said they would continue with me to find a desirable spot for the dealership. And they did. This was typical of the several relationship I had with Oriental investors. Living in the Puget Sound area there is a large Oriental population and I found ,for the most part it was very worthwhile to get to know the investor as a person. There were several exceptions, depending on the part of asia from whence the came but we don't need to go into that now. And feng shui did play a part in their decisions. I think we helped each other, not just in a business way but to get to understand our different outlooks on occasion.

why is the feminine dark and cold and the masculine bright and hot?  just sayin' it's pretty apparent it was a yang with women trouble who came up with this idea.

I am thinking that a lot of things that seem to be opposites are just choices.  Love and hate, for example, are choices.  I may dislike behavior and do what is needed to limit unacceptable behavior, but I need not hate the person.  Hate is a choice, and if I make it, like all choices, there are consequences.  If I choose hate, then I must accept the negativity that I will carry while hating.  Been a busy day.  Cleaning ladies this morning.  Right now I have a repair guy fixing some things and the heating guy checking the furnace.  Our freezer died last week, so in about a half hour or so, the delivery guys will bring the new freezer and haul away the old one.  I finished editing a paper I am doing for a class I am taking at the local community college on substance abuse (time to reinvent myself again).  And I shopped for dinner since the freezer is empty.  A good day.

Park4, I am not sure I've heard the dark and cold / light and hot thing before.  I just take it as male / female in the abstract sense of the word.  Maybe intellect / feeling or emotion would work better.  And I would take it more as the "male" and "female" parts of ourselves than anything external.  It certainly is not a commentary on men and women.  Maybe more of a Jungian sense would work and certainly be more healthy.

When I need to get down to just the basics of breathing and being comfortable with that, I'll just paint a room (if it needs it or not), refinish some found treasures (sanding is good, or go fow a walk or drive with my camera looking for a moment to capture.  My rowing maching is condusive to this too. I may still hear the voices in my head, but I've reduced them to white noise.  peace out.... got some raking to do which is also an excellent way of getting into and enjoying the moment

I think all of us have multiple methods of finding peace and balance in our lives. I'm lucky enough to have a very visual memory so I can also call up the images (and attendant sensations and sounds) of places where I have felt at peace (55 feet deep on Margret's Reef in the Florida Keys, walking along the drystone walls of Shaker Village, KY, lying in the grass at one of the parks by the Stillwater River, etc.) when life get s to be too hectic and events get too overwhelming. Music helps as well, both listening to it and playing it. Playing my flute under the stars with no audience but the crickets grounds me like nothing else I can think of. And oddly, ironing can send me into a state where nothing bothers me. The repetitive movements, the homely scent of warm fabric and steam, the memories of helping my grandma and mum iron pillowcases and blouses, they all come together to create a safe haven. Then there is prayer. I've never been good at actually verbalizing my side of my conversations with God so I tend to go to composed prayers to get started. The Rosary in particular offers me solace and peace. Then, there is just being in the presence of someone I love, a relative or friend who doesn't require me to entertain them or to even speak. We can just share the same physical space and feel each other's presence.  What else do you find balance, peace and contentment in?

Did I say 'raking leaves'?....nah......i think I shall just shuffle my feet through them until i find a park bench where i can have a staring contest with a squirrel. Feel better already.

Dancingkatz... You are so right about the comfortable silence that happens between good friends and loved ones. It is like a down comforter on a cool crisp night.

Peter, I think shuffling feet through fallen leaves is one of the best joys of autumn. Squirrels now, it depends. There are three who are knocking black walnuts out of the tree and I'm positive they are aiming them to land on my head! Speaking of down comforters, I'd better get mine out of the cedar chest.

I am having the Thomas Creek Red Ale at the SWA Terminal after driving to BNA and hopping the bird to Greenville, SC. 1000 miles begins with a single step Lao says and Tommy adds a reservation is a the mental/tech step. A Boarding Pass is like Merlin's cocktail.

It was Chuang Tzu who said The distinction is in understanding that all
things belong to one treasury, that death and life should be viewed in the same
way.
It was Jim Morrison who said Day divides the night, night divides the
day, try to run, try to hide break on through to the other side.
It was paolo who said Yin and yang are as different as night and day in
that they are exactly the same. Once you understand the meaning of this you will
know where Haze has been hiding, maybe.
 
And one more thing...It seems that all the stars were out today
and some new ones to boot.
 
Today I found an old friend in a most peculiar place, in a most circuitous
manner.  This might interest you ChefDeb only because it involves your back
yard. That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask, the harbor restaurant dear to
your heart...is that the Dog Watch Cafe or some other? To continue...On my last
trip your way I stopped at a university in that smallest state of the union to
talk to the chef about a floor for his kitchen.  I thought we had the deal
closed, but a competitor or two got to the architect and facility manager. 
That's okay, it happens all the time.  My customer let me know the deal wasn't
closed and asked me to contact the architect.  The architect had a hyphenated
last name and her maiden name was not a common one but one very familiar to me.  I
went to school back in Ohio with a young chap of the same name.  We were both
young at the time and I guess that makes me a chap too. Not being shy about
delving into anyone's personal life, I asked her if she had family in Ohio etc,
etc and it turns out that this young bloke was her brother.  But that's not
where I found him. She told me that he had died several years back. I expressed
my sympathy and went on to tell her that I recall vividly their backyard, the
basketball court, their mother yelling at us and that I would always remember
him as that freckle faced 12 year old.  She would have been two or three at the
time, but we still went through the it's a small world tour.   I googled him. 
But that's not where I found him.  I found his sister, closer to our age but
still younger.  She had published several volumes of poetry and one of those
poems was published on her website.  It was about her brother.  That's where I
found him after fifty six years.  Maybe that is what Zhuangzi (how would you
spell it?) meant about all things belong to the same treasury.  No, no,
no, not the internet, but up here in the mind's eye and down here in the heart's
core.

Oh, and for those of you who do not know Hildegard von Bingen
this is a taste of her vision...
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLu4c80W_X0
 
 
Thanks for the introduction, Lynn.

It sure is a completely waxed 'gigi' moon tonight. Let's give her a good howl..

Thank you for the link, paolos. Hildegard was a very interesting lady.

Speaking of the gorgeous full moon, I just uploaded a pic I took to my photos. Too bad I have to work tomorrow, otherwise I'd stay out all night looking at the sky. Star and moon gazing is another way to quiet my mind. Well, sort of. I make up my own constellations and tell myself stories about them.

MISSIVE!!! :-)

Hello Miss Ive----hope you are well.

Solomon was right. Nothing new under the sun but perhaps there is nothing old over the sun. I was thinking of the great exchange...

"But now you will ask me "How am I to think of God himself, and what is he?" and I cannot answer you except to say "I do not know!" For with this question you have brought me into the same darkness, the cloud of unknowing where I want you to be!"

Paolos--yes, Dog Watch is the one although that was not its name then!and thanks for the link.

Ii am still worried about HAZEL---nos da!

DK ~ A polymath much like you, save one shortcoming, she had two left feet. 

There are no known illuminations of her tripping the light fantastic,

not even a casting of her in a ballroom, dancing.
 
ChefDeb ~ She will turn up somewhere...You'll be sure to find her
resting, or a-licking of her thumbs, Or engaged in doing complicated
long-division sums.

Just returned tonight from 4 days at the beach in Fla. with daughter and granddaughter, so must say that there is nothing quite like walking a damp beach in misty rain, feeding the seagulls remnants of crackers, and watching the dolphins surface ever few yards to bring you close to the essential elements.
 
Fresh seafood, sea breezes, and a good cup of coffee while contemplating a distant lighthouse will do wonders for your perspective. I recommend St. George Island, Fla. for getting in tune with the universe.
 
Our three generations have more patience, more affection, and more love for each other after a few days of beach immersion than we did before with city strife. Go to the beach and just feel the magic of the ocean/gulf's timelessness. It was money well spent.

Lynn~ tell us more about cleaning ladies...do you use scented soap and a soft brush? or do you vacuum them first?....Barbry~...the fourth dimension is time; the older you are, the more time you have been aware of,(but who is counting?) it is the third dimension that is width, height and length being the first...although, I guess if you streeeetched the point , length could also be the time standing in front of ocupado....with a yang full of yin

So Paolo, curious minds want to know...did you floor with the customer after all? Very nice story.

Bebe, I may have to go to see The Ides of March by myself. I'm a bit of a politics junkie, but Steve is sick and tired of it...so he isn't interested. Had a great day...glad you did too. Hard to believe Joe is 35 now. Me too...India is a very good cook and baker who likes to try new recipes. I know her cream puffs will be delicious since all her other desserts have been to beg for.

PAOLOS.....................very touching & enigmatic story......................everything does come full circle eventually.................
 
Hey JANE!..................go see it, I love to go to the movies by myself. I'm a total political junkie...............have a wonderful day.

Jane ~ the deal is still pending, the upside of that might be another trip to Chef's country and I might get to meet his sister.

Very cool!