Category Archives: poetry

Jan 8 – Humans Are Animals, Right?

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It’s the beginning of a new year so returning to basics, briefly, seems like a worthwhile exercise. I mean, I can spend a lot of time trying to answer questions like Who Am I and What Is My Life’s Purpose, etc. but I shouldn’t forget my biology, should I? After all, we are still dealing with mental and physical health, a pandemic, overpopulation and the Sixth Extinction, right?

So, I’m focused this week on our animal-ness, our basic living status and what that might mean when it comes to how we live our lives.

Here’s a question for you: why do we conveniently deny our animal nature? Below are a couple of thoughts to consider.

Question: Why is it, for some reason, that humans try to separate themselves from the animal kingdom when we ourselves are animals?

Response from Flavio Zanchi ·

Religion.

All religions hold that humans are special, created at separate times and under different circumstances from other animals. Some are even so arrogant as to say that humans were made in the image of some creator or another.

That is the problem.

Most, if not all, religions try to explain consciousness with the idea of a “soul” or a “spirit” – something other than the body. Those creeds that allow animals to have a soul, also believe that being an animal is but a stage in a human’s climb toward the essence of creation. So, the soul is human, after all, and the animal just a temporary learning stage for the sublime, divine spirit.

All rubbish, of course, but still at the very foundation of religion. After all, if your beliefs don’t make you special, why have them? If placing faith in such utter balderdash does not serve to at least unite you with similarly weak-minded imbeciles, why have faith at all?

This is the single most important difference between religion – any religion – and a scientific, realist view of the world.

See, if you can’t explain animals, or plants, put yourself so far above them that no explanation is required, except to say that they were made to serve you, either as food and clothing, or as faithful tame companions, or as a step up the ladder of enlightenment.

Repost of Quora Q&R (see https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-for-some-reason-that-humans-try-to-separate-themselves-from-the-animal-kingdom-when-we-ourselves-are-animals)

Today’s senryu: Humans Are Animals, Right?

my mind is special

my body not so much – breathe

without air I die

Jan 5 – Imagine a River of Consciousness

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“In one of his most colorful teachings Thomas Keating describes (the Centering Prayer contemplation) process using the metaphor of boats on a river. The river, as he depicts it, is your consciousness – which is in fact a constantly moving “stream.” Down it floats boats, i.e., your thoughts …. on and on they float, down the river of your consciousness.” Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, (c) 2004 Cynthia Bourgeault, p.36

The metaphor continues by describing 5 types of boats or thoughts that will traverse your mind as you seek to reach deeper levels of awareness in your meditation practice. Thoughts will come and go “like clouds on a windy day”, Thich Nhat Hanh would say. That’s okay, just let them gently go.

Bourgeault continues, “The Art of Letting Go – the goal in Centering Prayer is not to stop the thoughts, but simply to develop a detached attitude toward them. As long as they are coming and going of their own accord …. this gentle, laissez-faire attitude toward the thoughts is reinforced through a simple formula called “The Four Rs“:

  • Resist no thought
  • Retain no thought
  • React to no thought
  • Return to (your) sacred word

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, (c) 2004 Cynthia Bourgeault, p.39-40

Ultimately, contemplation, meditation, mindfulness is more about going with the flow of “stream of consciousness” rather than fighting with our ordinary awareness level.

Today’s senryu: Imagine a River of Consciousness

particle and wave,

matter and spirit, flowing

gently down the stream

Jan 4 – The Art of Awakening

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In my quest to learn more about mindfulness from an inter-spiritual perspective, I’m now reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s book Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (c) 2004 via Cowley Publications with a foreword by Thomas Keating. In this book, Bourgeault describes in chapter 2: “Virtually every spiritual tradition that holds a vision of human transformation at its heart also claims that a practice of intentional silence is a non-negotiable. Period. You just have to do it. Whether it be the meditation of the yogic and Buddhist traditions, the zikr of the Sufis, the devkut of mystical Judaism, or the contemplative prayer of Christians, there is a universal affirmation that this form of spiritual practice is essential to spiritual awakening.” p.9

Also, as an appreciator of simple visuals, I enjoy the three-circle display of the levels of Awareness:

There is so much to mine in this treasure trove of a book that it will take multiple posts to share.

So, to begin, here is today’s senryu: The Art of Awakening

release the ego

getting out of our own way

silence is golden

Jan 3 – Contemplation – Mindfulness by Another Name

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This week I am focusing on mindfulness aka contemplation or meditation. Today, I focus on Richard Rohr‘s 90-minute video offering a Christian perspective of contemplation. Here are the top 10 key highlights for me:

  1. the quicker we let go of ego and move beyond a positive self-image, the quicker we realize that we are spiritual beings learning how to be fully human
  2. religion is both the best and worst thing in the world if we never transform beyond our ego
  3. Christianity is simply learning how to lose graciously; a Christian is someone who has met one
  4. We shouldn’t say prayers; rather we should be one
  5. it’s right relationship over correct performance
  6. move beyond limousine liberal imaging
  7. how you do anything (in the present moment) is how you do everything
  8. the first half of any contemplative sit is seeing our own “garbage” and hopefully the second half is letting it go to reconnect with present moment awareness
  9. to observe is far more effective than attacking
  10. the most radical thing we can do is contemplation

Finally, I especially appreciated Rohr’s summation that we should not confuse meeting attendance or group membership with transformation. The bigger picture of contemplation is not to get hung up on posture, process or programs. Contemplation is about reconnecting with our higher power and recognizing our relationship with everyone and everything.

Today’s senryu: A Rose Is a Rose …

no navel-gazing

let your ego go and then

reconnect with love

Jan 2 – Meditation Is Free(ing)

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If you’re looking for something new to help you focus and feel more peaceful this year, then consider mindfulness meditation. You don’t have to adopt a new religion to do this. Contemplation is something found across religions and secular psychological traditions and there are many simple ways to learn about this calming practice.

For example, check out the free daily teaching from Tricycle Magazine this month; find more information below.

Today’s senryu: Meditation Is Free(ing)

no navel-gazing,

simply calming down to live

this present moment

CYE Countdown – Dec 31 – Grateful for 2022

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Dear Friend,

Thanks to the generosity of many people like you who value the difference that grateful living makes in your life and in the lives of all sentient beings, please consider a gift to your local animal shelter or Humane Society International: https://donate.hsi.org/page/112649/donate . 

Your support today will truly help. Please join me with a gift of any size. Your support helps protect all animals—including those suffering in laboratories, on factory farms and those abused in the wild.

You can help stop animal cruelty. Please give today.

Today’s senryu: Make A Difference

make a difference –

if you can’t adopt a pet,

adopt a shelter

Please remember, together we can make a difference in our local community and for the planet as a whole.

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

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.

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/