What Is

This is a special Islamic prayer called a du'a.  I believe it's universal enough to be prayed by every faith:

O Allah
Enlighten what is dark in me
Strengthen what is weak in me
Mend what is broken in me
Bind what is bruised in me
Heal what is sick in me
Straighten what is crooked in me
And revive whatever peace and love has died in me.
Ameen

Saint Abbie Hoffman

In this excerpt from Fates Worse Than Death, copyright 1991, Kurt Vonnegut talks about one of my personal heroes, Abbie Hoffman:

I mentioned Abbie Hoffman in that piece about books as mantras for meditation. I realize that most people nowadays don't know who he was or what he did. He was a clowning genius, having come into the world that way, like Lenny Bruce and Jack Benny and Ed Wynn and Stan Laurel and W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers and Red Skelton and Fred Allen and Woody Allen and so on. He was a member of my children's generation. He is high on my list of saints, of exceptionally courageous, unarmed, unsponsored, unpaid souls who have tried to slow down even a little bit state crimes against those Jesus Christ said should inherit the Earth someday.

He did this with truth, anger, and ridicule.

He spent the last years of his short and frantically unfunny life attempting to protect Nature in the Delaware River Valley. He left his family without a cent. He had a criminal record, including flight from prosecution for a drug deal. But his most memorable crime was his violation of a law which has never been written down in so many words: "Monster fuck-ups engineered by your own government are not to be treated with disrespect until the damage done is absolutely unforgivable, incomprehensible, and beyond repair."

Sinners and

"I can be more prompt than the Roman Catholic Church in announcing who is a saint, since I do not require courtroom-style proofs that so-and-so was on at least three occasions capable of magic with the help of God. It is enough for me if a person (like a good anthropologist) easily finds all races and classes equally respectable and interesting, and doesn't keep score with money." ~Kurt Vonnegut, in Fates Worse Than Death ©1991

Yakety Sax

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ[/embed]

I feel like I should be chasing someone around.

Musn't/Must

"Whenever people say, 'We musn't be sentimental,' you can take it they are about to do something cruel. And if they add, 'We must be realistic,' they mean they are going to make money out of it." ~Brigid Brophy

Change, Conquer or Exploit

Excerpted from Plain and Simple:  A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender, ©1989:

"Why is the Amish land so beautiful?" I asked one evening. "What makes it feel special? I'm a city person, Eli, and I didn't see a cow till I was twelve. I don't know where the sun sets, or how to tell which way the wind blows, or distinguish one crop from another, but I have eyes, and I trust my heart. This land is loved."

"The land is God's," Eli (Yoder) said. "It's my job, and the job of every Amish person to take of it for Him. We mustn't try to change or conquer nature or exploit the land. That would be going against God's way."

When Eli talked about the land, he was happy.

 

Arrest the Intention

"If you can watch 'what’s going on in your mind' with dispassion, you will become capable of noting when an arising intention develops into an unbeneficial action. The best thing to do, in such a case, is to catch and arrest the unwholesome intention before it can become an unwise action which will be harmful, both to you and to others." ~David Dale Holmes

Magic

"To burn the witch is to admit that magic exists." ~Erin Anastasia

Intellectually Agile

"If there was ever a reason to improve the country's educational systems, just look at where your country is right now. It's not an intellectually agile majority that got us to this place." ~Henry Rollins

Keep On Truckin'

For anyone having a bad day:

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XleOkGsYgO8[/embed]

Full lyrics HERE.

Oaths

In 1985, Kurt Vonnegut suggested in a speech at MIT that all graduates should make the following oath, based on the Hippocratic Oath:

"The regimen I adopt shall be for the benefit of all life on this planet, according to my own ability and judgement, and not for its hurt or for any wrong. I will create no deadly substance or device, though it be asked of me, nor will I counsel such."

I'm really not much for pledges and oaths, but I like this one a lot.

Billion Year Old Carbon

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63DsysDIF4

Full lyrics HERE.

This version, just James Taylor and his guitar, is the most beautiful I've ever heard.

Birch Trees

Farmhouse with Birch Trees, 1903, Gustav Klimt

I especially like the little blue wildflowers, lower right corner.

Swap

Excerpted from Fates Worse Than Death by Kurt Vonnegut, ©1991:

I was willing to believe back in the 1960s that deep meditation as practiced in India might be a way to achieve happiness and wisdom which had not been previously available to people of European and African stock. The Beatles also believed this for a while. I doubt that the late, great (I mean it) Abbie Hoffman ever believed it. He wasn't about to give up his frenzied sense of humor, the sanest thing in this country during the Vietnam War, in exchange for personal, inner peace.

I would have been glad to make that swap.

For The Right Reasons

“There’s nothing like the deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons.”  ~Stephen Chbosky, Perks of Being a Wallflower

Not Because / Because

"People complain not because something sucks. People complain because they’re looking for empathy and to feel connected with those around them. Unfortunately, complaining is maybe the least useful way to connect with other human beings."  ~Mark Manson (via FortySomethingHeyHey)

How

“Someone once told me that human beings have three dimensions: how you see yourself, how others see you, and how you want others to see you. The closer the distance between the three dimensions, the more at peace you are and the more stable you become.”  ~Marwa Rakha

•

"How how how how."  ~ZZ Top (source)

Cages

"The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he's in prison."  ~Fyodor Dostoevsky

Soulmates

 

John Lydon/Johnny Rotten and Nora Forster have been married for forty years now (via):

"Now there’s a saucy girl.  It’s love, you know. I’ve always loved that woman. And she knows it. When we met we didn’t expect to get on. We’d both been told the other was a bad ‘un. But blimey. Sparks flew. It was instant attraction. And that’s never gone. I never expected to feel like that. I never thought I was in any way attractive. Or anyone’s idea of a good date.

"It’s volatile, the marriage. Which one isn’t? Nothing better than a good, full-on row. Get it all out. Say rude and nasty things. And then be sorry. Genuinely sorry, afterwards.

"But you know I can’t think of a better woman on God’s earth than Nora. If we ceased to function as a couple tomorrow there would be no one else. Not ever. I mean it."

 



 

And his drum incessantly plays

[embed]https://youtu.be/mZl0GAJaJvY[/embed]

 

Which, according to YouTuber saurabh dhuri, translates to:

गलेऽवलम्ब्य लम्बितां भुजङ्गतुङ्गमालिकाम् ।
डमड्डमड्डमड्डमन्निनादवड्डमर्वयं
चकार चण्डताण्डवं तनोतु नः शिवः शिवम् ॥१॥

Jatatavigalajjala pravahapavitasthale
Galeavalambya lambitam bhujangatungamalikam
Damad damad damaddama ninadavadamarvayam
Chakara chandtandavam tanotu nah shivah shivam .. 1

Meaning:

From the forest of his matted lock, water flows and wets his neck,
On which hangs the greatest of snake like a garland,
And his drum incessantly plays damat, damat, damat, damat,
And Shiva is engaged in the very vigorous manly dance,
To bless and shower, prosperity on all of us.

Emergency

"I could do the wall over a longer period of time.  I didn’t need to do this.  But I'd rather do it much faster." (source)

This quote puts the Supreme Court on trial.  Their verdict will show whether they are impartial or packed with partisans.

I know the way I expect this to go.

Snowflakes

I'm Going On

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENE1eWtW7e8[/embed]

Full lyrics HERE.

CeeLo Green is a treasure.  We're lucky to be alive the same time he is.

Take Care

"Be careful of what ideas you allow to rule your life, for lies can often be disguised as the truth."  ~Nicole Addison

I Need You

 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npQiWy8RTRo[/embed]

Written by George Harrison, covered by Tom Petty.

Full lyrics HERE.

Listen:

“But listen to me. For one moment quit being sad. Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you.”  ~Rumi

Plans

“If you follow Krishna’s instruction, you’ll always be happy. And if you create your own plans, then you’ll be unhappy. This is the whole instruction. Sarva-dharman parityajya mam ekam saranam vraja: (BG 18.66) ‘You give up your own plans, nonsense plan. You take My plan. You’ll be happy.’ This is the whole purpose of Bhagavad-gita. You take Krishna’s plan and you’ll be happy.” ~A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

•

"If life doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned-- don’t be surprised.  Life is the great unknown. Even though we plan and scheme and make millions of assumptions about the future, the truth is that we don’t know what can happen in the next moment, let alone the next five weeks, months or years. So don’t be surprised when things don’t go according to your ideas, just relax and remember, life isn’t personal, it’s just life. Be open to the ever changing conditions and flow with them. Don’t get stuck. The moment you feel free to respond fully and freely to life, you are already more powerful than you can know."  ~Michael Kewley

•

"If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans."  ~Jewish saying

Carries It On His Head

"The Lord bears the burden of the world. Know that the spurious ego which presumes to bear that burden is like a sculptured figure at the foot of a temple tower which appears to sustain the tower’s weight. Whose fault is it if the traveler, instead of putting his luggage in the cart which bears the load anyway, carries it on his head, to his own inconvenience?"  ~Ramana Maharshi

May You Be Blessed

"May you be blessed with all these things: A little more joy, a little less stress, a lot more understanding of your wonderfulness. Abundance in your life, blessings in your days, dreams that come true, and hopes that stay. A rainbow on the horizon, an angel by your side, and everything that could ever bring a smile to your life. "  ~Douglas Pagels, from May You Be Blessed with All These Things (via Jules of Nature)

Special Occasions

“Growing up, my mother taught me that lipstick should be reserved only for special occasions. Now, I wear it all the time. I am my own special occasion.”  ~Blythe Baird, from If My Body Could Speak

I do the same thing.

When I was growing up, my parents had a bottle of wine they were saving for a special occasion; when they finally opened it, it had gone bad.  They had a Christmas candle that was too pretty to light; it melted into a blob in a moving van and was thrown away, unlit.  They had plates set aside for a special occasions, and those plates remain unchipped because those plates remain unused.

So in my life I simply declare a Special Occasion and dive in.  I feel a sense of pride when I throw something away that has been completely and thoroughly used up.

Sometimes what we learn from our parents is what not to do.

We won't make the same mistakes they did-- we'll make different ones.  :D

Do Not Blame; Instead

"At all times, do not lose courage in your inner awareness; uplift yourself, while assuming a humble position in your outer demeanor. Follow the example of the life and complete liberation of previous accomplished masters (siddha). Do not blame your past karma; instead, be someone who purely and flawlessly practices the dharma. Do not blame temporary negative circumstances; instead, be someone who remains steadfast in the face of whatever circumstances may arise."  ~Dudjom Rinpoche

Stand By Me

[embed]https://youtu.be/YqB8Dm65X18[/embed]

I love clips of John and Yoko together.  There's no doubt the affection was genuine.

Stares From the Stairs

Even though graphically it's pretty simple, it does evokes a certain feeling, doesn't it?  Artist Will Barnet seemed to have a knack for that.

Changes

Adolf Hitler wasn't born evil, he became evil.

He didn't always want to be a dictator. When they left him alone, he wanted to be a painter.

Then World War I happened. He was drafted and assigned the job of litter-bearer, and spent the next several years searching among anguished and mutilated bodies for the wounded ones who might still have a chance to be saved at hospital.

Sometimes there weren't any.

That experience would change anybody. It changed him.

I wonder sometimes about my own future. Will my present or future circumstances change me into something I don't want to be? How much can I control my own destiny?

And did a young Adolph have these thoughts?

Obey

"Historically, the most terrible things-- war, genocide, and slavery-- have resulted not from disobedience, but from obedience." ~Howard Zinn

Overcoming Adversity:

Dr. Abraham Twerski on responding to stress and fear:

[embed]https://youtu.be/dcUAIpZrwog[/embed]

One More Thing to Worry About

I was having a cup of coffee with my Dad at his apartment when the phone rang. He looked at the phone, then looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.

The Caller ID showed the call originated from my house.

A telemarketer had spoofed my number.

It could have been done by simply looking in the phone book and randomly picking someone with the same last name, or it could have been as sinister as meticulously tracking family connections. Either way, the object was clearly to deceive.

My father is 89 years old. He's mentally still fairly sound, but his hearing is very poor. A scam artist could have pretended to be me with a decent chance of success.

We have a system in place now where he will always talk to us about things only a real family member would know.

It just really sucks that we have to do this.

Dragon

Masters of War

[embed]https://youtu.be/AlE2Z4P5r_M[/embed]

I had never heard of Pearl Jam, never heard of Eddie Vedder, but then I saw him perform this on television-- and never forgot it, or him.

Full lyrics HERE.

A Minute

You are
a minute
of quiet in a loud
shouting
world.

by Gabriel Gadfly

Well,

"Peace is a very complicated concept. When the lion gobbles up the lamb and wipes his lips, then there’s peace. Well, I ain’t for that peace at all."  ~Abbie Hoffman

The president called for unity last night.  When everybody marches in lockstep and does as he tells them, then there's unity.

Well, I ain't for that unity at all.

Tears

"If you have to cry, do it in the shower where no one can hear you and no one can see you."  That's the advice that my mother gave me when I was a little boy.

You should know, before passing judgement, that her own mother died when she was only three years old, and her father, a railroad engineer, was seldom home. She was forced to grow up faster than a child should; life was tough, she had to be tougher.

So, as awful as that advice was, you can see where it came from.

Of course, as a child we all take things at face value. I learned to suppress emotions, and for the most part I still do it well. I seldom cry when things are sad.

But I've always been prone to tears when things are beautiful.

Two things that always get to me are Lucian Pavarotti's version of Nessun Dorma, and the song below:

[embed]https://youtu.be/lwcJQIyNZQM[/embed]

Reading List

Three classic books that are better than any of the movies:

1. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (download)


2. Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley (download)


3. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (download)

These three are all far more subtle than any movie interpretation I've seen.  The first two are much more than just "Oh no!  There's a monster running loose!"  The Dicken's story gives the back-story of why Ebeneezer Scrooge became such a bitter, lonely old man;  it paints him as a tragic figure, a man to be pitied.

Project Gutenberg is a repository for books in the public domain, and makes them available in multiple formats, including Epub and Kindle for today's e-readers.  All of their downloads are free.  Always check there first-- I've seen public domain books selling in the Apple store for $6 or $7, and that's just ripping people off.

"Why are all these idiots mad?"

“I don’t play colleges, but I hear a lot of people tell me, ‘Don’t go near colleges. They’re so PC.’” ~Jerry Seinfeld (source)

There are a few things wrong with that statement.

First, second-hand bigotry is the worst.  "I don't know any of these people, but I hear they're just awful,"  is not something a reasonable person would ever say.

Second, and more importantly, whenever I hear someone complain about "political correctness" it raises a red flag.  More often than not these are people who have said something offensive, and instead of taking responsibility for it they would rather cast themselves as Fearless Defenders of Free Speech™.

That's easier on their egos than admitting that they may have been acting like jerks.

 

An Aside

"Astronomers know what stars are, but astrologers know what stars are for."

I don't really believe that, but it's a fun thing to say just to judge people's reactions.  I bet it'd get quite a rise out of Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Super

In the WWE, they don't pretend their matches are "sport." Their contests are their product, and the referees aren't there to ensure fairness so much as to ensure that their product remains interesting and flows smoothly.

I don't really think the NFL and NBA are so very different.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the referees just aren't very good at their jobs.

But watch how many times the calls benefit the team that's behind. It's as if the goal is to keep the game close and the fans in their seats- which, not coincidentally, keeps the ad revenue high.

Passion

[embed]https://youtu.be/RZsSiZOVq1s[/embed]

The way we live is running scared; I don't like it much,
"All things come to he who waits," but these days most things suck.

Full lyrics HERE.

I enjoy passionate people.

I'm not loud, I'm not extroverted, I live a very different life than Lemmy did-- but I'm really glad the world has people like him.

Timing

"The world already moves by so fast. Don’t accelerate this even more by rushing yourself. Rushing your day. Rushing the process. Take it easy, remain peaceful, and enjoy the beauty that this world has to offer in its own timing."  ~Nicole Addison

•

"I've always liked it slow."  ~Leonard Cohen

Awake

3

Three rock singers with low voices:

1. Eddie Vedder


2. Jim Morrison


3. Iggy Pop