Far is Near; Near is Far

Americ Azevedo & Mike Scott begin with Heidegger's thought on "far and near" and expand to a full range of related subjects:

Phone interviews / no travel / Heidegger / far is near / near is far / human awareness / reality / dimensionality / reality / technology / 3000 B.C. / Dave Bohm / quantum physics /enfoldment / parallel universes / importance of thought / the marketplace / Kierkegaard / skimming life / no purpose / duty / media / news as entertainment / end of thought / duty to think / elections as circus / public philosophy / the duty of freedom.

Podcast

What is the meaning of life? (Aug. 9, 2008)

Saturday, August 8th, 2008. Nineteen people joined me for an hour of talk, meditation, and focused conversation at Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley. The sound quality in the store makes it hard to hear many of the participant comments; but, I assure you that wisdom was all around in the room! We did not come to any "final" answers about the meaning of life. Indeed, the journey, the exploration was joy itself. Here's the recording:

Podcast

We are all "me"

Everywhere we go we
run up against ego structures.
Everyone of them is "me" or
"I".
Clearly,
"we" are all one.
By cultivating spiritual eyes we
see this.

I've got to wonder

I've got to wonder...
With everything changing so
fast - it's a challenge to
have hope.

If you can't count
on the dollar, the banks,
the schools, the presidents,
your future old age retirement,
the air you breathe, your job ---

What do you turn to?
Become like
Socrates.
Ask lots of questions.

What is the Good Life?

Image from Wikipedia commons

I received a letter from Steven L. Turner, a soldier in Iraq. He wrote:

Dear Sir,

I just wanted to write a short letter thanking you for your contributions to iTunes U. I am currently fighting in Iraq and your lectures throughout the course "Time, Money, and Love in the Age of Technology" have given me something to look forward to when I am not working. Your topics, and subsequent discussions, help me to stay sharp and always keep my brain turning. I just recently listened to your lecture on "The Good Life". I found this one especially intriguing and found myself discussing it with other soldiers that I work with. Anyway, I again thank you for your contributions and look forward to a time that the Internet connection is fast enough here allowing me to download more.

Thanks,
Steven L. Turner

I wrote back for permission to quote him here in the Philosopher-at-Large blog. He responded with:

Dear Sir,

I would be honored. All of the information that I gave you would not be sensitive in any nature. Any interaction via unsecured network should be carefully looked at and I thank you for your concern. Many would take that for granted. I have been urged by your words to write an essay of my own, as I often do, on the topic previously discussed. I have been getting some interesting answers from the guys when questioned "What is the good life?". I think I will write one here in country (given the unique setting and environment) and then write one when I get home. I
think comparison would be an interesting one. Anyway, thanks again and let me know if there are any other lectures available. The Internet connection here still isn't fast enough (or broad enough) to handle iTunes, but I stay hopeful. Have a good one and good luck in all that you do. ...

Steven L. Turner

I personally thank Steven Turner for his letters and comments. He inspires me to go on with teaching! Certainly, makes all this work worth the effort. I feel that people like him are truly making this a safer and better world.

Here's the podcast of the November 19, 2007 lecture on "What is the Good Life?" given at the University of California:

Podcast

Zen, Love and Values

Americ Azevedo & Mike Scott continue their dialogue as they now grapple with the following themes:

serenity / the American dream/ greed/ spiritual materialism/ mastery/ love of wisdom/ value/ Nietzsche / revaluation of values/ market forces as "gods"/ money/ dogmatism / and more...

Podcast

Naked Ladies

A sighting of "naked ladies" upon my morning walk.

Whenever I see these naked lady flowers, it means
that Fall is coming; that it's almost time to be
teaching my university classes on meditation,
nonviolence, technology and human values, and
computers.