Inconceivable

It's Thor's day … and the mailbox held a reminder from Ralph Waldo Emerson...

Emerson delivered his famous "American Scholar" commencement address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard today in 1837. He told the students to think for themselves rather than absorb thought, to create rather than repeat, and not to look to Europe for cultural models. Today's blog follows his advice while also looking selectively at the flotsam and jetsam inclusive of an Asian notion.

Inconceivable as it seems to ordinary reason, you — and all other conscious beings as such — are all in all. Hence this life of yours which you are living is not merely a piece of the entire existence, but is in a certain sense the whole. – Erwin Schrödinger in Maria Popova's Marginalian.

At its heart, meditation is about using simple awareness to allow what is happening in the present moment to take place.

Tilopa’s Six Nails of Meditation (adapted)

Let go of what has passed / Let go of what may come / Let go of what is happening now /

Let go of trying to figure out anything / Let go of trying to make anything happen /

Rest. Relax, right now, and rest.

With a cool sunrise,

coming attractions of Fall.

My Tai Chi complete.

— jb

The blue, green, huge mystery . . .

It's Odin's day and a super blue moon rises this evening . . .

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was born on this date in 1797 London, England . She wrote Frankenstein (1818), which is considered the first science fiction novel ever written.

Today is the birth date of Molly Ivins. The political journalist/humorist was born in 1944 Monterey, California. More Molly Ivins.

The first-ever cargo ship powered by green methanol has been launched by Maersk.

Three questions to bring you back from wherever you are to the “now” of the present moment: Where am I? What am I doing? Who am I with? [T]ake a moment to observe exactly, with no filters, and no judgment. – Leslie Davis

Radiating from the core of the ordinary, a mystery emboldens you to cultivate stillness and simple awareness. In the midst of a world that is begging you to distract yourself, this is no easy practice. Yet you keep showing up. You are indomitable. You are thirsty for wonder. The Mystery follows you back out into the world. — after Mirabai Starr, from Wild Mercy. Sounds True, 2019.

Sense and Nonsense

In Tew's day's mailbox . . .

Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. Gulf Coast today in 2005, devastating New Orleans.

Today is the 391st anniversary of John Locke's birth. The British philosopher was born on this date in 1632 Wrington, Somerset, England

Ingrid Bergman was born on this date in 1915.

And, Author Karen Hesse was born on this day in 1952 Baltimore, Maryland.

Given the verified nature of interconnectedness, there is no longer any such thing as “co-incidence” as explanation for what appears to be a random accident.

Curiosity cures: anxiety, ignorance, selfishness, extremism.

Curiosity creates: empathy, compassion, knowledge, growth.

Curiosity prevents: arrogance, judgment, stagnation.

Practice curiosity. – Mark Manson

I have friends who have problems with the word “God.” Understandable given the baggage of the past history attached to the term. They even sometimes balk at the notion of “higher power.” My own curiosity around this quandry has led me to what I think is a better word that comes closer to the intended meaning. Try: “Now.” Now is where It's at.