Category Archives: Observations

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

Dec 21 – Don’t Stop Believin’

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It’s the Winter Solstice – shortest daylight of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Daylight grows longer starting tomorrow.

Today’s senryu: Don’t Stop Believin’

my world is tilted

now ev’rything is better –

far as I can see

Hanging on to positive expectations: HOPE. Check out this article to raise your view: https://www.calmsage.com/why-hope-is-important/

Is There More to You Than What I See?

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Today’s senryu: More to You Than What I See

Who are you, really:

the person you think you are,

or who others need?

Two separate encounters took place yesterday. First, a woman in my cardio class came up to me after the workout and said, “I just want to wish you happy holidays.” This woman lost her husband three months ago to Alzheimer’s and is facing her first holiday season without him. She stuck out her hand to shake mine and with sad eyes waited for my response. I took her hand and lightly drew her in for a platonic hug and said, “thank you, I wish you happy holidays, too.” She smiled and said, “You’re a good guy.”

Second, a woman in my Tai Chi class came up and started talking about responding to an invitation to join a non-profit board. She’s a lawyer and her resume’ would easily qualify her for membership. She said she had some reservations about accepting the invitation because of some “PTSD issues” which she shared vaguely with the board chairperson, and they agreed that this wouldn’t be a good board for her to serve on. She added that the chairperson stated, there would be many similar “issues” that would come up in board discussions that might trigger her past traumatic experiences. She didn’t tell me what those “issues” were, and I didn’t ask.

Perhaps the senryu above is unnecessarily dualistic. Perhaps we can be AND serve others’ roles simultaneously. Perhaps, the writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was wise when he said, “we are what we pretend to be so we must be careful what we pretend to be.” Kurt Vonnegut (2009). “Mother Night: A Novel”, p.5, Dial Press

CYE Countdown – Dec 19 – Avoid Predictability

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Thirteen days remaining in 2022. Will this year end with a feeling of success or with a sigh of disappointment? Or can you choose to take the middle way and delight in whatever happens; not waste time fretting over “outcomes?”

Today’s senryu: Avoid Predictability

How will your year end?

Plot twist, Deus ex machina

or lame out again?

Remember the encouraging words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “It is too late! Ah, nothing is too late …”

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7599367-it-is-too-late-ah-nothing-is-too-late-till

One more thought; perhaps 2022 is one more chapter in your life story. What makes a good story? Check out this post by Jordan at https://www.nownovel.com/blog/what-makes-a-good-story/

High Coo – Dec 15 – A Benevolent Universe

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Today’s senryu: A Benevolent Universe

what we see reveals

our perspective shapes belief

see good and enjoy

Below is a beautiful sharing from Richard Rohr‘s Daily Meditations referencing Satish Kumar‘s thoughts on A Benevolent Universe. (https://cac.org/daily-meditations/) Hope you enjoy this.

Satish Kumar, a former Jain monk, is an activist and educator who has studied both Eastern religions and Western economics and cultures. He writes that recognizing a benevolent universe helps us participate in the flow of generosity:   

We live in a benevolent universe. . . .  

The benevolence of the soil is endless; it helps one single seed to multiply into millions of seeds for hundreds of years, producing colourful, aromatic, juicy and delicious fruit, feeding birds, bees, humans and animals. The tree celebrates the benevolence of the soil and becomes benevolent in return, offering its fruit to whoever is in need, without condition and without judgement. . . .  

The benevolence of the sun is beyond the capacity of words to describe. It burns itself to maintain life. . . . It provides conditions for photosynthesis for the whole plant kingdom to nourish itself and give nourishment to bacteria, insects, birds and animals. 

The moon is benevolent. It maintains the cycle of life and cycle of time. Time and tide are sustained by its presence. . . .  

Rain is benevolent. It . . . delivers itself to every farm, field, forest, mountain and human habitat, free of charge, without needing any external supply of energy. It moistens the soil, quenches the thirst, fills rivers, ponds, lakes and wells and in partnership with the sun it feeds the world. . . .  

Air is benevolent. We breathe, therefore we are. Air is related to the spirit, to inspiration, to spirituality. . . . Air is breath of Brahman, breath of the universe, breath of God. In Sanskrit air is prana, which means life itself. . . . 

Space is benevolent. All and everything is held in space and by space. All movements, all changes and every kind of dynamism are sustained in the stillness of space. We always need to be mindful of reducing our clutter and maintaining spaciousness in order to be detached and free. 

Soul is benevolent. Compassion, kindness, generosity and inner luminosity are the qualities of the soul. Mind, intelligence, and consciousness are held in and processed by soul. Soul is the seed of life. Feelings, emotions, sentiments, intuition and reason pass through soul and manifest in the world. . . . It is not only humans who have soul; animals, birds, insects and microbes have soul. Soil, trees, rocks and rivers have soul. . . .

The world is how you see it and what you make of it. If you look at the world with benevolent eyes, the world reciprocates with benevolence. If you project suspicion and self-interest, you get the same in return. Trust begets trust and fear begets fear. Recognizing the benevolence of the universe is not to deny the shadow side, but seeing nature as red in tooth and claw and people as selfish and greedy makes us respond in similar vein. If we sow seeds of malevolence, malevolence will grow; if we sow seeds of benevolence, benevolence will grow.

Satish Kumar, Soil, Soul, Society: A New Trinity for Our Time (Brighton, UK: Leaping Hare Press, 2017), 160, 161–162, 163. 

Satish Kumar at The Convention on Modern Liberty, London, 28/2/2009 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Kumar

CYE Countdown – Dec 2 – National Mutt Day

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What is a mutt? A dog of doubtful pedigree.

What is a pedigree? Recorded ancestry, especially upper-class ancestry, a pure-bred.

What is National Mutt Day? “A holiday that celebrates mixed breed dogs. It is also an unofficial holiday that proclaims that these dogs are as special as their pure-bred counterparts and should be afforded the same love, affection, and respect.

This day should also serve as a reminder that there are millions of mixed breed dogs in shelters all over the United States who are just waiting for a family to take them home and love them.” https://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/national-mutt-day/

Why adopt a mutt versus a purebred? They’ve got the best temperaments.

Most purebreds were bred for specific traits, so they’re likely to have a more extreme personality. Mutts, on the other hand, have a blend of traits from different sources, which often leads to a more mellow mood. In fact, purebred dogs are more likely than mutts to have genetic disorders, including cataracts and hypothyroidism.” https://nationaltoday.com/national-mutt-day/

One more thought for consideration. My father would sometimes smile and with a twinkling eye say: “I’m Irish, English, Scottish and Dutch and a little bit German but not very much.”

Today’s senryu/dogryu: Adopt A Mutt

Now think about it –

what’s your ancestral record?

Mutts should adopt mutts 🙂

High Coo – Nov 16 – 3 Questions at Rainbow Bridge

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Today’s senryu: 3 Questions at Rainbow Bridge

Together again?

Secure attachment regained?

Trust in the Pure Land?

Today is one of those days when big questions collide for me. I’m trying to sort out a few of them and would appreciate your insights.

“The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors essential to the health and wellbeing of both.” https://vetexplainspets.com/human-animal-bond/

“The Rainbow Bridge is a meadow where animals wait for their humans to join them, and the bridge that takes them all to Heaven, together.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Bridge_(pets)

“It is only because of our misunderstanding that we think the person we love no longer exists after they ‘pass away.’  This is because we are attached to one of the forms, one of the many manifestations of that person.  When that form is gone, we suffer and feel sad.  The person we love is still there.  He is around us, within us and smiling at us.  In our delusion we cannot recognize him, and we say: ‘He no longer is.’  We ask over and over, ‘Where are you?  Why did you leave me all alone?’  Our pain is great because of our misunderstanding.  But the cloud is not lost.  Our beloved is not lost.  The cloud is manifesting in a different form.  Our beloved is manifesting in a different form.  If we can understand this, then we will suffer much less.” Thich Nhat Hanh, No Death, No Fear

High Coo – Nov 10 – Thank You, Joe Juran

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How do you define quality? What about blog quality? Does this blog meet your quality expectations?

Today is World Quality Day (https://nationaltoday.com/world-quality-day/) and one of the major contributors to the understanding and practice of quality is Joseph Juran. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_M._Juran).

With a degree in Electrical Engineering and many years of practical experience beginning with his time at Western Electric’s Hawthorne Works, Juran went on to become a well-known author and consultant. He has been referred to as one of the founding fathers of the quality movement.

While the quality movement began in the manufacturing sector, Juran was instrumental into expanding quality planning, quality control and quality improvement into other sectors (e.g., service).

Joe Juran retired at age 90 in 1994 and lived another 13 years before his death in 2008. His final messages were about Big Q and a focus on quality of life and environmental quality.

I recall meeting him in the late 1980s at the end of a week-long quality planning training program and was very impressed with his direct yet low-key delivery. He may not have been as dynamic a speaker as his counterparts, Crosby and Deming, but his clarity, focus and many publications were extremely helpful. See a chart below as an example.

http://www.juran.com

Today’s homage haiku: Thank You, Joe Juran

simple golden rule:

customers know quality

ask and follow through

High Coo – Nov 8 – What’s in a Number v2 or Looking for Hope

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https://www.spiritualunite.com/articles/222-spiritual-meaning-you-should-know/

Woke up this morning and noticed the bedside clock read 2:22. I deliberately set this clock five minutes fast but never to seem to remember that until I reach the kitchen and notice that clock also reads 2:22.

No, I wasn’t time traveling.

Hmmm? Should I purchase a lottery ticket? Should I go back to bed? Should I research numerology again to discover if there is any significance to this number?

(Side note: Today is Election Day in the “good ole U.S. of A.” I’m proud of the fact that I’ve been voting for exactly 50 years now. I will vote again later this morning. I vote because it’s my civic duty … because it gives me the right to complain when the government elected fails to follow through on their promises … because I’d rather participate than be an apathetic whiner who sits on the sidelines … because I was trained to vote.)

I first wrote about numerology on 7.7.22 and a, much younger, sister blogger I admire a lot responded to my topic header/question. This is what C.J. (Crystal) Grasso said:

“The number 2 in spirituality means it is a number ruled by the moon, which also marks it as feminine energy. Which is connected to the emotional and nurturing realm. The moon also is related to one’s hidden aspects, which others do not see. The number 2 also symbolizes partnership and coming together, bringing in harmony and balance It could be an energy that brings up emotional wounds to work through with love and compassion. Balancing one’s inner and outer world…bringing in balance according to an angel numbers website. Which would be great for the world right about now. Numerology and spirituality are such interesting topics, I myself do not know much about them yet, but based on the things I’ve read these are my personal conclusions, though I could be totally wrong. I’m an observer of all this and try to keep an open mind. Numerology and spirituality interlink a lot.”

BTW: check out C.J.’s excellent blog at motivationalcopingandhealingcom.wordpress.com

FWIW: my Zen teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, said we “go as a river.” Individually we are a single drop of water which can quickly dry up when times are difficult. Collectively, however, we can make a difference. We can form a stronger, more dynamic, flow of energy that makes an impact.

I hope this proves true today both in the “good ole U.S. of A.” and across this beautiful blue marble.

Today’s haiku: LOOKING FOR HOPE

Two plus two plus two

becomes significant when

we unite for GOOD

P.S. The clock now reads 3:33