Author Archives: Patrick Cole

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About Patrick Cole

Husband, parent and writer. Sharing stories with a little humor and wisdom along the way.

Dec 29 – Truth, Metaphor or Magical Thinking

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“The bell is the voice of the Buddha”

“This is My body and My blood.”

“Step on a crack, you’ll break your mother’s back.”

Key Definitions:

Truth – that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality (from Oxford Languages)

Metaphor – a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract (from Oxford Languages)

Magical Thinking – a set of related reasoning errors that are commonly associated with religionistic practices. (from Wikipedia)

WTF: I need another cup of coffee

Peace will come, even if it is, one by one. Happy New Year.

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Beautiful message from John Castellenas and singer Melanie. Check out his website at https://johncoyote.wordpress.com/

johncoyote's avatarjohncoyote

 Peace shall come, even if it is, one by one.

I was a soldier once and I didn’t paint the face of war.  I attempted to forget the damn wars with the good drink, the kind women and the ancient cities.
A pretty Auburn hair Texas gal in Belton asked me. Johnnie, Johnnie. Are you drinking again? I told her. I am drinking more, laughing more and dancing some. Sometime dear Brigid, we can reach the dead-end. She laughed at my words and she knew. Hell-board spirits ain’t seeking happiness, till they decide they need some kindness.

I told her. Old poet, the old drunk cannot see the good no-more. I believe Bukowski told us. Never truth a man or women, who don’t drink. The non-drinkers tell us, God will save us. Where was God when my friends were killed in far-away wars? Where is God today? Killing women/children and…

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The illusion of control

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Great post from Lynn J Kelly on the Buddhist/Stoic concept on the “illusion of control.” Check out Lynn’s blog at https://buddhasadvice.wordpress.com/

lynnjkelly's avatarThe Buddha's Advice to Laypeople

A foundational practice in both Stoicism and Buddhism is the idea of understanding and accepting that there are some things we can control and many things we cannot.

Once a bridge teacher said to me: “You can only choose from the available choices.” He was talking about bidding in a bridge game, but it occurred to me that this was a valuable mantra, essential when we are struggling to make a decision. We can spend some time and list out, mentally or in writing, what our actual choices are, and changing someone else’s behavior is never on this list. What we want to have happen and what we might do to bring about the desired result are two separate things. Our words and actions are what we do have control over.

As an example, in bridge, you can only bid based on the cards you hold in a particular hand. You…

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Dec 28 – Magical Thinking & Setting 2023 Goals

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If you’re setting goals for 2023 it’s important to identify meaningful and achievable targets. Beware of magical thinking (e.g., 10x results over last year) AND beware of win/lose dualistic thinking (e.g., I will only be successful if I outperform the previous year).

Quick tangent: Dualism is the concept of two opposed or contrasted aspects. For example, to say something is tall there must be something that is short. To say something is up, there must be something that is down. Either/or, better/worse, win/lose. Another of the most common dualistic thoughts is the mind/body separation (e.g., promising more than you can deliver).

Matthew Hutson, a New York City science journalist and former news editor of Psychology Today, tells us that “Several studies show that people who think more intuitively are also more susceptible to magical thinking. One intuition that’s been proposed as a foundation for religious thought is Cartesian mind-body dualism, the idea that a mind can exist independently of a body.”

Hutson continues, “Dualism (is) the strongest predictor of the three types of supernatural belief. It’s the foundation for belief in God, a disembodied mind. It’s also necessary for belief in spirits, part of the paranormal package. And it may encourage belief in life’s purpose because people see disembodied intentionality acting everywhere, or because belief in the afterlife enhances life’s meaning.”

Take another look at the diagram above. It’s worth noting that at the entrance of that maze of boxes and lines haunted with ghosts and witches and talking trees is one simple item: mentalizing. Which means that if you’re a fully developed human, with an understanding that minds exist, then through one path or another you’re probably going to end up in magic-land.” http://www.magicalthinkingbook.com/2013/09/all-paths-lead-to-magical-thinking/

Today’s senryu: Beware Mind/Body Separation

consult the Divine,

stars, life coaches, blog stats … just

don’t forget to walk

CYE Countdown – Dec 27 – Magical Thinking for 2023

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It’s that time of year when many review their calendar-year-end success and decide what goals or priorities they will have for the new year. Logic might suggest simply continuing what worked in the past and extrapolating some improvement by doing a little more, a little more effectively.

For example, if you made $40k this year then shoot for $42k next year. This incremental success seems reasonable, and, with focus and effort, a 5% increase can be achieved, unplanned-for calamities notwithstanding.

But let’s face it, logic isn’t sexy. For real inspiration, magical thinking can light up our imagination with dreams of 10x performance. Wouldn’t you prefer to earn $400k instead of $42k?

So, with the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Rabbit and Saturn leaving Aquarius to enter Pisces, I plan to explore magical thinking over the balance of 2022.

Today’s senryu: Magical Thinking for 2023

another year ends

a new year tempts us to dream

stay frosty out there

Dec 25 – Merry Inclusive Christmas

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With all the different holidays being celebrated this time of year, I wanted to find something to share that might appeal to the beautiful and diverse group of people who read this blog. Below is something I read earlier this week written by Rabbi Rami Shapiro that appealed to me. I sincerely hope it offers something to you as well.

Spirituality & Christmas from the most recent issue of Spirituality & Health (https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/blogs/roadside-musings/2020/12/21/spirituality-and-christmas)

“I love Christmas. My neighbors love Christ. This is not the same thing.

To me Christmas heralds the Very Good News that if a first century rabbi could realize the Truth at the mystic heart of his and every religion—“I and the Divine are one” (John 10:30)—then so can we. This is the same Very Good News taught by sages before and after Jesus:

  • I am you and you are I; wherever you are, there I am … And in whatever place you wish, you may gather Me, but when you gather Me, you gather yourself. (Gospel of Eve)
  • My Me is God, nor do I recognize any other Me except God. (St. Catherine of Genoa)
  • Beyond the senses is the brain. Beyond the brain is the intellect. Beyond the intellect is the Great Atman. Beyond the Great Atman is the Unmanifest Brahman. Beyond the Unmanifest Brahman is the I, all–pervading Subject impossible to objectify. (Katha Upanishad 2.3 7–8)
  • The awakened one is no longer separated from God, and behold you are God, and God is you. So, know that I, even I, am God. God is I and I am God. (Rabbi Abraham Abulafia)
  • I am Truth. There is nothing wrapped in my turban but God. There is nothing in my cloak but God. (Mansur al–Hallaj)

To me Christmas is hopeful: a time to celebrate the potential for God-Realization in all of us. To my neighbors Christmas seems fearful: a time to circle the wagons and bemoan how besieged Christians are—not in countries where they are actually persecuted such as the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia but in the most Christian friendly country on earth: the United States of America.

As I walk through my neighborhood and exchange friendly shouts of “Merry Christmas” with my neighbors, I take pleasure in seeing houses draped with Christmas lights and lawns taken over by manger scenes. So, you might forgive my confusion when my neighbors tell me that their right to openly affirm their religion is being denied them, and that they are shunned for saying “Merry Christmas,” and that this War on Christmas gets stronger every year.

To me the War on Christmas is an odd but understandable response to the success of Christianity in the United States. Christians aren’t meant to be successful: Blessed are the poor, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty “who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:10). The problem for my neighbors is that they aren’t poor, meek, hungry, thirsty, or persecuted. Indeed, they are often seen as the persecutors. And because they aren’t persecuted, they fear their place in the Kingdom of Heaven is iffy at best.

The obvious solution—obvious to me at any rate—is for them to take up the causes for which Jesus died: the cessation of othering, injustice, and oppression, and doing right by “the least” among us (Matthew 25). As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. showed us, it doesn’t take long before this Christian message threatens the Powers That Be in America and one becomes “persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” Sadly, it is easier to imagine a War on Christmas instead.

I refuse to engage with the War on Christmas. I choose instead to celebrate the Very Good News that You are God (Tat Tvam Asi and Alles iz Gott as we say in Sanskrit and Yiddish). And when I wish you “Merry Christmas” know that what I am wishing you is this: May your celebration of the birth of Jesus birth your own awakening to the joyous fact that you and God are one.

Merry Christmas.”

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is an award-winning author, essayist, poet, and teacher. In the print version of our magazine, he has an advice column, “Roadside Assistance for the Spiritual Traveler,” addressing reader questions https://www.spiritualityhealth.com/authors/rabbi-rami-shapiro

May peace be with all of us this holiday season _/\_

High Coo – Dec 24 – Christmas Eve

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Christmas has been embraced by religious and secular groups in a very big way. Here’s two statistics for consideration:

“Christianity is the largest religion in the world. Approximately 2.38 billion people practice some form of Christianity globally. This means that about one-third of the world’s total population is Christian.” https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-christian-countries

“Holiday shopping can account for up to 30% of all retail sales.” https://financesonline.com/christmas-shopping-statistics/

Whatever your reason for celebrating Christmas Eve, I wish you peaceful, safe and warm conditions. May you be well.

Today’s senryu: Christmas Eve

only one more day

until Christmas – wishing you

a happy morrow

High Coo – Dec 23 – National Roots Day

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What are your national roots? What are your parents’ and grandparents’ national roots?

It doesn’t take long to discover how diverse your ancestry is AND how different it is from what you may have assumed.

For example, I was under the wrong assumption that my father was the first person born in the United States, his father was born in Canada and my paternal great-grandfather was born in Ireland. I remember hearing something about my mother’s family also being of Irish descent, so I just assumed that was it. I’m an Irish American with a brief stop in Canada.

Well, it’s not as simple as that. Even the Family Tree chart displayed above quickly shows that my parents had parents who had parents … with just 8 generations the number of ancestors quickly escalates to 256. See https://nationaltoday.com/national-roots-

I had been under a misunderstanding that my first paternal great grandfather had emigrated from Ireland.  What I learned was that my eighth paternal great grandfather was born in New York in 1639 and that every subsequent descendent was born in North America. My paternal ancestors have lived here for many generations.

While I do have a lot of Irish DNA, I discovered direct ancestors born in England, France, Germany, Scotland and The Netherlands as well. And the number of maternal (aka maiden) surnames quickly added up to 140. I’m surrounded by relatives!

Today’s senryu: National Roots Day

no pure bloodline here,

I’m a blend of many seeds

and stronger for it

If a zoo keeps a male lion and a female tiger in the same enclosure, a liger can result. It has a mix of its parents’ traits. https://www.snexplores.org/article/mixed-world-hybrid-animals

High Coo – Dec 22 – RIP Samuel Beckett

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Samuel Beckett b. 4/13/1906 – d. 12/22/1989

Thirty-three years ago today, Irish playwright, novelist and poet, Samuel Beckett died. He was 83.

“One of the most influential and widely-discussed avant-garde writers of the 20th century. His most famous plays, “Waiting for Godot”, “Endgame” and “Happy Days”, display his absurdist, anti-realist traditions. https://www.onthisday.com/people/samuel-beckett

Today’s senryu: RIP Samuel Beckett

no cure for failure

that’s what earthlings do – so let’s

“dance first – think later“

See Samuel Beckett quotes here: https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1433597.Samuel_Beckett

Check out Beckett’s most popular books here https://www.amazon.com/s?k=samuel+beckett+books.