Category Archives: Wisdom

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 _/\_

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 16 – Love All the Way

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We are halfway through the final month of 2022. Let’s make the most of the time remaining.

Today’s senryu: Love All the Way

we are still alive 🙂

our very breath can be joy –

let’s love all the way

Today’s daily meditation from Richard Rohr, Love Does No Harm, is a great reminder of why we can be joyful. (https://cac.org/daily-meditations/) Here’s a brief extract:

Father Richard invites us to trust the Inherent Goodness of the universe:

The goal of the spiritual journey is to discover and move toward connectedness on ever new levels. Of course, we won’t become vulnerable enough to connect unless we learn to trust over and over again. We must ask ourselves, “Is the universe a friendly place or not?” The spiritual experience is about trusting that when we stop holding ourselves, Inherent Goodness will still uphold us. Many of us call that God, but it isn’t necessary. It is the trusting that is important. When we fall into such Primal Love, we realize that everything is foundationally okay.

(Adapted from Richard Rohr, Essential Teachings on Love, selected by Joelle Chase and Judy Traeger (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2018), 104–105.)

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

High Coo – Dec 11 – Love Everything?

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I’m a work in progress with no clear finish line in sight. Yet, I aspire to being and doing better.

Below is my latest senryu and the quote that inspired it.

Today’s senryu: Love Everything?

I know I love you

and animals and plants – but –

purists, not so much

“Love the animals, love the plants, love everything. If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things. Once you perceive it, you will begin to understand it every day. And you will come at last to love the whole world with an all-embracing love … Things flow and are indirectly linked together, and if you push here, something will move at the other end of the world.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov as quoted by Richard Rohr in Immortal Diamond (c) 2013, Jossey-Bass, p.159

https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Diamond

https://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Karamazov-Bicentennial-Novel-Epilogue

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 🙂

CYE Countdown – Dec 1 – Thank You, Sallie McFague

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Today is the first day of the last month of this year. Only 31 more days until the new year. What might we do different this month to end 2022 well and ensure 2023 will be better?

In her Yale University address A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming, Dr. Sallie McFague said, “a different world is possible if we live differently.” Check out the address video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjK4d8ci1e0

Dr. Sallie McFague

A few of my favorite Sallie McFague references are:

“theology is mostly fiction“, but a multiplicity of images, or metaphors, can and should enhance and enrich our models of God McFague, Sallie (1987) Models of God: Theology for an Ecological, Nuclear Age. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, xi

salvation is about salvation of all earthly bodies (not just human ones) and first and foremost about living better on the earth, not in the hereafter McFague, Sallie (1993) The Body of God: An Ecological Theology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, p. 44

God is the one ‘who judges those who thwart the well-being and fulfilment of her body, our world’ McFague, Sallie (1987) Models of God: Theology for an Ecological, Nuclear Age. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 11

And for more information about this eloquent American feminist Christian theologian, check out her biography here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sallie_McFague

Today’s homage senryu: Thank You, Sallie McFague

speaking truthfully

you clearly said how we could

live differently

May we apply our wisdom more effectively this month.

A New Climate for Christology: Kenosis, Climate Change, and Befriending Nature. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2021)

High Coo – Nov 24 – Thanksgiving Day Wisdom

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I am thankful for life and for the wisdom to appreciate life. Here are a couple of thoughts that come to mind for me today:

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is Thank You, it will be enough.” Meister Eckhart https://internetpoem.com/meister-eckhart/quotes/

Psalm 92: “It is good to give thanks. Does God need to hear my praise? No, I need to express it. To awaken to wonder, to holiness, to God, I must transcend the ego-centered drama I pretend is life. To shatter pretense, give thanks. Each thank-you reduces the false you. When I give thanks, I embrace others. When I give thanks, I move from drama to play and discover the aliveness that Is when I stop playing God and discover that God is playing me. It is good to give thanks for through thanksgiving awakening lies.” Minyan – Ten Principles for Living a Life of Integrity (c) 1997 Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro http://rabbirami.com/#Perrenial-Wisdom

“Religions are like languages: no language is true or false; all languages are of human origin; each language reflects and shapes the civilization that speaks it; there are things you can say in one language that you cannot say or say as well in another; and the more languages you speak, the more nuanced your understanding of life becomes.” http://rabbirami.com/

My humble senryu: Thanksgiving Day Wisdom

I’m grateful for you,

for us, for all beings and

this day to say THANKS

Three granddaughters with Nonno Photo taken by my daughter Mary