Walking in Santa Barbara

I’m walking up State Street .. keeping my eyes focused on what’s ahead of me while dimly noticing what passes on the periphery. Images from the past also flash by. Mostly shops and restaurants that are no longer there. I watch them come and go. Now I’m focusing my attention on the rhythm of my gait ..now I’m focusing on where I feel tension and where I feel relaxed ..now I’m focusing on my breath ..feeling pressure build when I inhale and drop as I exhale. Now I’m noticing pressure build when I pass by others. Feeling self-conscious. Funny, you’d think I’d outgrown that by now. Oh well. Now I’m remembering an article I read this morning in Luminosity ..reminding me (for the millionth time) how presence of mind is my ally against craziness of mind. I duck into the library on Anapamu and listen to a room full of children sing. Sweet. I don’t leave until they’re done.

time beings

In the book ‘Tale for the Time Being’ [link], a 100-year-old Zen master says:

    “For the time being
       ...words scatter
     are they fallen leaves?”

In the Shōbōgenzō [link], Dōgen Zenji says:

   “We are all time beings
     existing as passing moments in time .”

So, I guess to answer the Zen masters question: Yes, words are like fallen leaves because once spoken, they quickly pass and exist only as prior moments of time. ..transient as falling leaves. Another way to answer, I suppose, is by not answering at all ..in observance of the insubstantial nature of words.

Moving on

Sight unseen

Message from a zen fortune cookie ~ “There’s help from an invisible source available to you right now. Of course if you’re the type of person who believes that reality consists of nothing more than what your senses reveal then you won’t be able to tune in to any of it. On the other hand if you’ve had direct experience with blessings that come from an unseen realm be aware that the imminent delivery is quite different from what you have received in the past. Otherwise you might miss it.”

Code

I will be engrossed in fascinating experiences that feed my curiosity, but I will not be obsessed with grueling frustrations that drain my energy.

I will be committed to love if it opens my eyes and heart, but I will not be infatuated with maddening conundrums that spark mostly fear.

I will give myself freely to opportunities that offer me valuable lessons, but I will be skeptical of one-sided pursuits that ask far more from me than they offer in return.

~ zen fortune cookie factory

So Cal

“What is softest in the world
overcomes what is hardest.”
Lao Tzu

Communities in Southern California aren’t developed in tune with the coastal surroundings. They’re invasive. Homes are built over tidelands that are there to replenish the water and beaches. As a consequence ..homeowners are losing their homes to erosion while the rest of us are losing our health and livelihood to foul water. I admit I don’t have much sympathy for the homeowners. My sympathies go out to the surfers who get sick. They’re much more tuned in to coastal conditions.

da Vinci code

zen fortune cookie: I try and act as if everyone is a teacher who has something to offer. I get this from Leonardo da Vinci who once said: “It should not be hard to stop and look into the stains of walls, or ashes of a fire, or clouds, or like places, and, if you consider them well, find really marvelous ideas.” So, I know a writer  at UCSB. Her work is brilliant. Her ideas are fascinating and she’s hell of a lot smarter than me. Yet she’s a terrible speaker. She rambles incoherently and interrupts constantly ..repeating things like “uh, you know” and “like, I mean”  Now I’m not trying to be critical or anything .. it just makes me feel like I want to reach out and help. But I decide against it. I’m no great speaker or writer or anything. So I remind myself to clean up my own speech. Try changing that instead of her.

psychology of memory

It's a construction-site; revising the past based on present and future (predicted) things [link].

Somatic awareness

Psychologists say that yoga and breathing exercises improve ‘somatic awareness’ ..and that somatic awareness replaces anticipation and rumination. I have a tendency to look forward and backwards a lot. They say it can be a source of anxiety and depression. Somatic awareness helps me better sense when my mind wanders from the here and now [ link ].

Buddhist parable

“I am going to give you big secret of the fountain of youth that will save you much money on cosmetics and plastic surgery: In stillness we do not age as quickly as those whose minds are constantly battling to hold their personalities together.”  ◊  Wing

Psychologists have reached the same conclusion. A large amount of mental activity is devoted to making sure what we say conforms to our personality. In a study titled Cognitive demand and self-presentation [link] they asked participants about a specific event. Participants often answered with general or average cases that best represented the image they were trying to maintain. Far easier to report an actual experience than figure an average.

Rule-driven

       ..whereabouts unknown

 “Perpetual devotion to what we call business is only sustained by perpetual neglect of many other things.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Day 56:  I think my new obsession with counting carbs is making my taste buds dull. I’m wondering what other things my senses are missing. The sign that says: no pain no gain has definitely taken a toll on my flexibility. I feel about as stiff as a board. In my search for common ground I think I’ve been missing subtle differences. Now I don’t know but I’ve been told knowledge is knowledge of differences. Or is that the language of separation ..(?) Lately I feel like a commodity that requires a ton of self-promotion. And this what’s-in-it-for-me attitude is robbing me of what’s-in-the-moment. Dr Thompson says he doesn’t know too many people with good mental health who don’t also have good presence-of-mind. Even Ecclesiastes says “..what the eye beholds is better than what the mind foresees.” Makes me wonder if I haven’t veered off-course somewhere.

The Jabberwock

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

   The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

   The frumious Bandersnatch!”

Day 19:  Whenever I’m practicing progressive relaxation or sitting meditation ..an image of the Jabberwock comes to mind. I frequently remind myself to unclench my jaw and loosen my grip. Noticing change and allowing things to pass without grasping, biting or otherwise judging them as they go. Principles of Vipassana meditation I picked up at a workshop many years ago [link].

presupposition

So true for me

sphere of interpretation

Life as we know it
takes place in a sphere.
A sphere of our own making.
Seldom do we catch a glimpse
of the world outside this sphere.
Interpretation happens too quickly.
So I call it a sphere of interpretation.
 

Part One:  I have a theory. We frequently mis-perceive the intentions of others ..and when we do, we generally err on the side of malfeasance. But we are multi-dimensional beings. There are so many reasons why we act the way we do. Most of the time they're hidden from view. Settling on one reason too quickly can be a source of misunderstanding and conflict. I believe choosing the more malicious of possibilities is learned. After I presented my theory at a workshop on defensiveness ..I was told by a group of educators that the theme of so much literature children read involves something like “the wicked prince secretly conspired to kill his sibling rivals for the throne.” The message kids come away with is .. beware! Safe as it may sound ..there is a downside. Misperception can be cause for alarm and defensiveness. Compound misperception is a source of stress. We live in a sphere of chronic anxiety. Our leaders know this. It can also be a source of deception. But that’s another story. Neuroscience informs us that vision is selective and verbal communication probabilistic. Memory plays a significant role in binding visual and verbal cues into a ‘percept’ of ‘why and what-for’. Past history fills-in what’s hidden from view. They tell us about two-thirds of what we see and hear at any given moment is not what’s in front of us, but rather what memory supplies.. It compensates for the shortcomings of our senses and gives our perception the appearance of seamlessness. But memory is a faulty and imperfect guide to perception. And because it makes everything appear so seamless, we’re not always aware of our own contribution to everyday encounters. Continued here ~> [ Part Two ]

 

sphere of interpretation

Part Two: To remedy this and remind myself that I’m living in a sphere ..I subscribe to the empty rowboat theory of Buddhism. It’s comes in a parable that goes something like this: 

“Imagine we are out on a lake and it’s a bit foggy ..not too foggy, but just a bit foggy. We are rowing along in our little boat having a good time. And then, all of a sudden, coming out of the fog, there’s this other rowboat and it’s heading right at us. And ..crash! For an instant we’re alarmed ..then we get really angry – what is that fool doing ? I just painted my boat! And here he comes – crash! – right into it. And then suddenly we notice that the rowboat is empty. What happens to our anger? It collapses. I’ll just have to paint my boat again, that’s all. But if that rowboat that hit ours had another person in it, how would we react?” 

Now they say the same holds true for everyday encounters with people and events. It’s like being bumped by an empty rowboat. But I don’t experience life that way. I experience it as though there are people in that other rowboat who are out to get me. I’m seeing things through a sphere of interpretation. Since I rarely catch a glimpse of events as they occur .. I populate them with people and beliefs from my own experience. Now I’m not saying I take a Pollyanna approach to all such encounters. However, reminding myself of the empty rowboat theory is part of a practice that I find useful in tuning down some of the buzz that goes on inside the sphere where I live.

Enter

"Look inwards and advance directly along the road that leads to the mind."

Change

Life is Change 
Thoughts pass 
Feelings flash 
Following a pulse
A world unfolds

Digital distraction

Photon driven
to distraction
Mind racing
Heart pounding
Thoughts scatter
diffuse and diverse

the bell

 

May the sound of this bell penetrate deep into the cosmos

Even in the darkest spots living beings are able to hear it clearly

So that all suffering in them ceases,

understanding comes to their heart

And they transcend the path of sorrow and death.

The universal dharma door is already open

The sound of the rising tide is heard clearly

The miracle happens

A beautiful child appears in the heart of the lotus flower

One single drop of this compassionate water is enough to bring back

the refreshing spring to our mountains and rivers.

Listening to the bell I feel the afflictions in me begin to dissolve

My mind calm, my body relaxed

A smile is born on my lips

Following the sound of the bell,

my breath brings me back to the safe island of mindfulness

 In the garden of my heart, the flowers of peace bloom beautifully.

Percepts