Emerge

sing the song of breath

fresh perspective will emerge
as cicadas do

So Lost Without You

We've all experienced a situation which has caused us an immense amount of pain. It's easy to start hating life and become cynical; it creates an illusion of safety from these feelings. Yet, by fully experiencing that sadness, it can turn out to be something truly beautiful.

Nothing, No-thing

The hardest part of the
spiritual journey is dealing
with nothingness. Yes, nothing,
no-thing! If we want all-that-is
to be objects or things,
we get very stuck in having/not-having
gain/loss, pain/pleasure, and
so forth. But what if, at
the bottom (if there is
a bottom!), there is nothing,
no-thing? Now, I say no-thing
because I still have this
sense of a field of light,
of power, of love
which is pervasive, more
fundamental than things. Call
it the light, call it love,
call it God, call it the
Nameless. We, as "things" come
in and out of That.

PATIENCE IS PASSION TAMED

SOMETHING SHOULD HAPPEN

Something should happen

I know it should.

But then it doesn’t

Then sometimes it would

I sit watching old movies as if they were new

When I should be laughing with friends at a cool coffee club zoo

Then as usual, I don’t

But, then sometimes I do

I gaze in amazement as I watch the world churning

My head starts to spin and my eyes light-up burning.

Climatic trashes

Deprivation rashes

24/7 news flashes

Bifocal clashes

Yet, sometimes fame’s fortune seems silently waiting

Around corners and street lights, inaudibly baiting 

An Indie label seeking a hot hip-hop star

Lascivious top models at the Polo Lounge Bar

Entourage crammed limo blaring “Purple Rain” Prince

To a Villas Palace Mansion after a second crème rinse

Then reality hits and I burp up my up riches

Mellifluous digressions, tattooed unctuous road witches 

I settle back into my big comfy chair

Tremulously waiting for something happening to flare

Because sometimes it does

Then sometimes who cares

Producer Note: 

I wanted to take the time to explain why I would post this poem on a Philosopher's forum. Many people find themselves feeling left out of the things happening around them. There is so much activity on our screens we feel that our own life styles just don't live up to the activity surrounding us. We dream about being discovered, having our works published and recognized by all the world. But when we sit down and really think about it ... well ... it's not all that it seems. We have it pretty good after all. To me that's an existential challenge and a philosophical conundrum.  

Midas Touch

You know that feeling when you are terrified of a moment which will happen in the future and it feels as if there is ice covering your entire body? This thought of a future moment can't be real. It never can. Since the exact details of the future can't be dictated by us, the thought also can't be dictated by us. You're responsible for your actions but what actually happens can't be known. That's a blessing and a curse. Look at it though, how many curses have turned out to be blessings; more than we give thanks.

PEET'S LEARNS TO SPEAKS GERMAN for $1 BILLION BUCKS

One of my warmest memories of going to UC Berkeley, was my wonderful times at Peet's Coffee. There was something about Peet's that screamed "perfect". I don't know if it was that dark roasted coffee had a taste I couldn't find anywhere else in the world. Maybe it was the ambiance of standing in line, the mulling around outside on the concrete on Walnut &Vine discussing the most grave philosophical issues of the day, knowing that what was determined over that cup of French Roast would shape the world into a better place. It might be the early school mornings when the smell of Peet's would ramble through the air as Vivaldi's Four Seasons's played in the background. We would all rush around gathering our daily dose of Peet's coffee heavily dosed with sugar and cream. 

I never lost my love of Peet's, even though I knew I was witnessing an industry bitten by the same franchise sprawling so familiar to our modern, fast-food age. First it was Starbucks, then coffee itself was stamped with a veneer of "social cool" that had nothing to do with the dark roasted taste (unless you only read the labels). It reminded me or the suburban sprawl occurring, never ceasing, always leaping into meadows, cherry orchards and open fields. 

Yes, it happened. Peet's sold out ... BIG. It was sold for $1 billion to the German conglomerate Joh. A. Benckiser with a happy group of newly minted millionaire unanimously approving the deal. 

Am I sad? Well, I think I'm now resigned. If Peet's is gone, it seems time has moved on, memories are in fact merely memories, albeit good ones, and a new era creeps into humanities fold ...

... ring! ring! 

... Oh! Excuse me. I have to answer a text message on my iPhone ... 

…  AAR8 / ADAD / BBL / B4N / MTFBWU … W/E            

Little Boxes on the Hillside

Hey!

I have your attention.

What do you hear around you?

The whir of the laptop. Cars passing. Crickets?

What's just beyond this screen?

Look around you.

Now, Google Earth in your mind.

Go out and out and out...

There is plenty which you haven't seen 

Or didn't even know

Was there.

Listen and see.

Play with that.

And if you notice you cant hear the background noise

Or see the color of the car ahead of you

All you have to do is say...

Hey!

Now you have your attention. 

Look, Mummy, no hands

Remember the fair, Ma

The two of us there, Ma

By the merry-go-round?

I stood there entranced

As the bright horses danced

To a magical sound;

Just a dollar for pleasure untold:

And I rode in a whirl of scarlet and gold;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

I'm riding the roundabout all by myself;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

I called as I passed her,

Faster and faster;

"Hold on tight, darling!" she called out in fear;

But I laughed and pretended that I couldn't hear;

How careless we are when we're young.....

Remember the years

Of the sulks and the tears?

Do you recall?

I hated you when

You said "Be back by ten,"

I knew it all;

Always asking to know what I'd done;

When as far as I knew, I was just having fun;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

I know how to take good care of myself;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

Please don't be a bore,

'Cause I know the score;

She tried to warn me, but I wouldn't heed her;

I was grown up, I didn't need her;

How careless we are when we're young.....

Remember the daughter 

And all that you taught her?

She's grown up at last;

With a child of her own 

She struggles alone

As the years all rush past;

But now you're not there to answer her calls;

You're not there to catch her as she stumbles 

and falls;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

I'm having to do it all by myself;

Look, Mummy, no hands;

I used to dismiss you,

Now I just miss you;

As my child grows away from me, I feel my

heart sinking;

Then I look back and smile, and I find 

myself thinking

How careless we are when we're young.....

For Grandfathers

a poem by Rich Pauloo

in the forest

tangle

a circle of young trees

sprouts

from some

empty

origin

it is because

once

long ago

an old and

dying

tree

sensed his mortality

like a loving grandfather

and called

his children

to draw near

in a circle about him

to send shoots into the sky

to carry on the parade of Life

to exalt the wind and minerals

to expand

to inhale

the aroma

of the world

at his

last
gasp 

of air
did he pause
to think

how life
does stretch

such lengths

at death

to continue
breathing?

Mendocino, CA

Summer 2012
photo courtesy of Mark from: http://marks-talesfromthetrails.blogspot.com/

Glenn Gould Playing the Goldberg Variations

Just perfect!!!



Again, just perfect. 47 minutes long and worth it.

The Solution is Love

"The solution is never at the level of the problem. The solution is always love, which is beyond all problems."

- Deepak Chopra

FRIENDSHIP

I have been friends with Americ for over 30 years. We have shared many adventures together, and oftentimes it seemed almost coincidence that he was there at the start of a new direction in my life.

I would like to share one such story that happened  many years ago when I first started in audio. I was sitting underneath a huge cypress tree at Lake Merritt in Oakland. It was a beautiful spring day, and I was resting my head on a laptop, my wife sitting serenely beside me, as my three young children romped in the park, running and jumping like little kids do. I had my eyes closed, when suddenly the thought of AUDIO came into my mind. It literally was a spark in the mind's eye. Yes, I said to myself, I would try audio and do voice over to see if conveying ideas through sound would help people understand this world a little better. I opened my eyes and Americ was standing over me looking down at me. I told him my idea and we shared the moment of inspiration together. I went on to do audio and voice, and  they became an integral part of my business effort in Internet Communications and Broadcasting.


If I could tell people how many times in my life that has happened with Americ, that is, being there at the exact moment of creation, they would laugh and say that such occurrences were not probable. Yes, they are improbable, but they are also possible, because they, in fact, happened to me. 


As a result, I was thinking about friendship and what it means, when I came across this short poem in my readings that I would like to share with you.

The young mendicant had been meditating deeply. Suddenly he awoke with a profound thought. He turned to the Buddha and exclaimed: 

"Lord, I've been thinking- spiritual friendship is at least half of the spiritual life!"

The Buddha replied, “This is not so, young priest. Spiritual friendship is the whole of spiritual life!" 

Fading Fabric

Stress which turns into panic; it's a feeling which happens all too often. Then productivity goes downhill because of the stress of panic. Then, you panic. Its like a washing machine, without anything coming out clean. There are so many ways to stress. There are amounts: large loads, medium loads, small loads. And spin cycles: regular, delicate; even what we believe to be permanent press. Yet, none of these settings apply to the mind. You can try to spin slowly on a small load of thoughts or try to get the wrinkles out with permanent press, but your still spinning no matter which setting you choose. Our thoughts are like clothes, you wear them, then discard them, only to put on a new pair. Let's not wash our clothes today. Let's not wear our clothes today. Be naked.

What comes first: emotion or emoting?

A Sunday Morning Meditation-Poem

The perfection in this world

     is not to be mistaken    

                  for              

the protection

                 of the Soul

which is

never-in-danger

     Ever Present

     Ever Perfect.

That which we see

   is determined by

      our mind-fed eyes—

Why not switch our vision

      to the Soul-fed Mind

and thereby see

the Perfection

      that is

            this world.
 

Diane(July 2012)

I Can Speak Whale

There are times when it feels as if the world falls apart. There is so much chaos and turmoil shaking our support system that if feels like an earthquake. Even the activities and friends which we leaned on for support seem not to provide the anchor which we feel is needed to stop the ground from shattering. So, we free fall. That can be disconcerting; falling without knowing what will happen or where we will land. In one of my favorite movies, Finding Nemo, the two main protagonists, Marlin and Dory, have been eaten by a whale. As Marlin tries to find a way to escape, they begin to be sucked into the back of the whales throat. Dory doesn't know why, she just knows that it is occurring and doesn't fight the current. Marlin on the other hand panics, trying to swim away from the water which is rapidly emptying from the whale's mouth to the back of its throat. Finally, they begin to fall into the darkness. Marlin grabs onto the whales tongue and grabs onto Dory's hand. He is terrified of what will happen if he falls into the darkness. Dory then says to Marlin, "It's time to let go now." To which Marlin responds, "How do you know? How do you know something bad isn't going to happen?" Her reply is pure truth, " I dont!" We don't know what's waiting for us at the bottom. But sometimes, we just have to trust; to fall and know that for good or for bad, we will land on our feet.

"Skate in the Direction the Puck is Going"

    Wayne Gretzky

 

Freeze Frame

Pictures tell stories. Yet, pictures only seem to illustrate the good events in our lives; the bad is left to our memory. When we look at a picture book or a journal, it reminds us of our mind set and the details we seem to have forgotten. Neither can remind us of the exact emotions which occurred though. You can remember feeling deep despair but it can only be compared to something else which evokes the same emotion. When we look back at the past or try to look forward in our minds, they are like pictures which have not been fully developed. What happened after the picture was taken? Do you remember your little sister making a silly face which didn't make the final cut? Those are picturesque moments too. You don't need a camera to capture life in its fullest.