5

 In this excerpt from The Final Exam:  Letters to Our Students,  Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman explains the five Torah Values of Yeshiva University:

(click image to imbiggen)

Bare-Footin'

 

In this article from The Guardian, Michael Peacock discusses living three years in London without shoes:

The snow last December was the first big test. I covered my feet in Vaseline to keep warm; it’s what cold-water swimmers do in winter. It kept them insulated, provided I didn’t stay still for long. Then we had frost. I’d wear gloves and all these layers, but no shoes, and again found it was fine as long as I kept moving.

I’ve been barefoot in London every day since March last year. Living in a city, I love the element of the unexpected. Travelling on the tube barefoot was a novelty at first because there are so many different surfaces: the corrugated escalators, smooth platforms, ridged circles before the yellow “Mind the Gap” line. It’s as if I’ve reached a new dimension most people normally never experience.

You can read the full article HERE.

England must be very different than America.  My concern would not be the cold, it would be stepping in dog poo, bubble gum, sharp glass, and those black pools of sticky stuff that seem to be everywhere.

This and That

Excerpted from the Shvetashvatara Upanishad:

May the Lord of Love, who projects himself
Into this universe of myriad forms,
From whom all being come and to whom all
Return, grant us the grace of wisdom.

He is fire and the sun, and the moon
And the stars.  He is the air and the sea,
And the Creator, Prajapati.

He is this boy, he is that girl, he is
This man, he is that woman, and he is
This old man, too, tottering on his staff.
His face is everywhere.

He is the blue bird, he is the green bird
With red eyes; he is the thundercloud,
And his is the seasons and the seas.
He has no beginning, he has no end.
He is the source from which the worlds evolve.

From his divine power comes forth all this
Magical show of name and form, of you
And me, which casts the spell of pain and
     pleasure.
Only when we pierce through this magic veil
Do we see the One who appears as many.

Sister Sinead

 A lot of people are saying nice things about her now that she's gone.  Kris Kirstofferson said it in 2009, when she was still here to hear it.

Full lyrics HERE.

Hmmm…

Is it just me, or does Prince George

 

 

look a lot like Louie Anderson?

Moon Flowers

 Moon Flowers are beautiful even before they bloom:

 

(clicking imbiggens)
 

It wasn't just the music.

 

Well, a question ain't really a question
If you know the answer, too

This is one of the saddest songs ever written. He was aware of every little detail in the scenario.

Full lyrics HERE.

It Was Not Solved Logically

 "The greatest and most important problems of life are all in a certain sense insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown. This outgrowing, as I formerly called it, on further experience was seen to consist in a new level of consciousness. Some higher or wider interest arose on the person’s horizon, and through this widening of view, the insoluble problem lost its urgency. It was not solved logically in its own terms but faded out when confronted with a new and stronger life tendency."  ~Carl Jung, in The Secret of the Golden Flower ©1928

Awaiting

"Love the lord and be free."  ~Shvetashvatara Upanishad, 5:13

And that reminded me of this:

Full lyrics HERE.

Come Back

 

I love the organ, which is unusual because I usually don't.

Norm MacDonald was a treasure:

 

The Possessor

 "Mahatma Ghandi was once asked if the principle of self-sacrifice demanded that one renounce all possessions.  He replied, in effect, 'You don't have to renounce any of them; you have to renounce the possessor.'"  ~Eknath Easwaran, in The Upanishads ©1987

Today's Note

 

Every Enemy Within

Excerpted from the Taittiriya Upanishad, translated by Eknath Easwaran:

Refuse not food to those who are hungry.
When you feed the hungry, you serve the Lord,
From whom is born every living creature.
Those who realize the Self within the heart
Stand firm, grow rich, gather a family
Around them, and receive the love of all.

Realizing this makes our words pleasing,
Our breathing deep, our arms ready to serve
The Lord in all around, our feet ready
To go to the help of everyone in need.
Realizing this we see the Lord of Love
In beast and bird, in starlight and in joy,
In sex energy and in the grateful rain,
In everything the universe contains.

Drawing on the Lord's resources within--
Security, wisdom, and love in action--
We conquer every enemy within
To be united with the Lord of Love.

 

It should be obvious, but the book I'm reading at the moment is The Upanishads by Eknath Easwaran, ©1987.
 

To Be Forgiven

"We are all a little scared of death when we feel it approaching.  The idea is so distant, so abstract.  We have trouble imagining it.  Over the last three years, I have come close to it twice and, surprisingly, I didn't panic.  I was more frightened of not having time to say what I wanted to say, to leave things in order, to be forgiven."  ~Jane Birkin

It's Either Good or It Isn't

"Good music is good music.  I'm not concerned with whether someone who listens to me is old or young. In fact, in many ways, I'm not interested in the young at all.  I'm interested in age. People learn to live properly when they get of an age, you know? 

"The late Duke Ellington once said to me that he was really offended by the word 'category.'  Music has no category; it's either good or it isn't, and I sing good songs, great songs, written by the best songwriters. It's that kind of quality that makes them last. Trust me, people will be singing these songs forever."  ~Tony Bennett (source)

Even If

"I feel sorry for a culture that depends too much on delegating its musical expression to professionals. It is fine to have heroes, but we should do our own singing first, even if it is never heard beyond the shower curtain."  ~Linda Ronstadt

60s

 

There's a lot of late 60s stuff going on in this photo:  the wide belt, the craft leaning against the wall, the television as a piece of furniture, the wall-mounted air conditioner, the shag carpet…

3

And that, of course, made me think of this:

 

 

Full lyrics HERE.

Throw It Away

Fast Car

 

Full lyrics HERE.

There's a subtle change when you change the gender of the person telling the story.

It hits different.

ॐ

 Excerpted from the Taittiriya Upanishad, translated by Eknath Easwaran:

 

O Lord of Love, revealed in the scriptures,
Who have assumed the forms of all creatures,
Grant me wisdom to choose the path
That can lead me to immortality.

May my body be strong, my tongue be sweet;
May my ears hear always the sound of OM,
The supreme symbol of the Lord of Love,
And may my love for him grow more and more.

O Lord of Love may I enter into you,
And may you reveal yourself unto me,
The pure One masquerading as many.
You are the refuge of all devotees.
I am your devotee. Make me your own.

I saw the future just shatter like glass…

 

Full lyrics HERE.

Unitive

Excerpted from the Mundaka Upanishad, translated by Eknath Easwaran:

Like two golden birds perched on the selfsame tree,
Intimate friends, the ego and the Self
Dwell in the same body. The former eats
The sweet and sour fruits of the tree of life
While the latter looks on in detachment.

As long as we think we are the ego,
We feel attached and fall into sorrow.
But realize that you are the Self, the Lord
Of life, and you will be freed from sorrow.

When you realize that you are the Self,
Supreme source of light, supreme source of love,
You transcend the duality of life
And enter into the unitive state.

The Lord of Love shines in the hearts of all.
Seeing him in all creatures, the wise
Forget themselves in the service of all.
The Lord is their joy, the Lord is their rest;
Such as they are the lovers of the Lord.

By truth, meditation, and self-control
One can enter into this state of joy
And see the Self shining in a pure heart.

Thankful

 

I suspect Joe Cocker knew this would be his final album. He seemed to put a lot of care into the songs he chose. The lyrics to this song are really moving. 

Full lyrics HERE.

What I'd Say

When We Two Parted
Lord Byron

When we two parted
   In silence and tears,
Half broken-hearted
   To sever for years,
Pale grew thy cheek and cold,
   Colder thy kiss;
Truly that hour foretold
   Sorrow to this.

The dew of the morning
   Sunk chill on my brow—
It felt like the warning
   Of what I feel now.
Thy vows are all broken,
   And light is thy fame;
I hear thy name spoken,
   And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,
   A knell to mine ear;
A shudder comes o'er me—
   Why wert thou so dear?
They know not I knew thee,
   Who knew thee too well—
Long, long shall I rue thee,
   Too deeply to tell.

In secret we met—
   In silence I grieve,
That thy heart could forget,
   Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
   After long years,
How should I greet thee?—
   With silence and tears.

And that reminded me of this:

Full lyrics HERE.