Imagine Water

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to water lately. It makes up so much of our daily lives our bodies are largely water. The human body is about 60% water in adult males and 55% in adult females. Fact is we simply can not live without it.

Ever sit along side a stream, a river or on the beach and just absorb the sights, sounds and smells around you? Watching the tides roll in and out, the streams forming over the rocks as they head their way back to the sea?

Ever consider how the stream, the river and the ocean are one system? The streams flow over the rocks and meet up to form the rivers which flow into the seas. The seas produce moisture that condenses in the atmosphere that moves inland and gets trapped by the mountains. The clouds drop rain which forms streams and the cycle repeats endlessly much like the tide changes and rhythmic surf coming and going on your favorite beach.

Point being it’s all water, it’s all connected and all continues in a rhythmic cycle.

Water has a way of seeking its own level. Water is capable of penetrating into the smallest of cracks and holes. Water seeks the lowest points on the planet not the highest points. Waterfalls are called waterfalls because they fall. Water naturally goes toward the lowest point without question. Water overcomes all obstacles by wearing them away, flowing around them or moving them.

Since we are so dependent upon water for our very survival maybe we should act more like it and even possibly stop polluting it.

The Way by any other name is still the Way

I thought this paragraph Wayne Dyer chose to put in his book ~Change Your Thoughts Change Your Mind~ from A Warrior Blends with Life was very interesting.

The Way is only attractive to those who are already wise enough to know how foolish they are. Sarcastic laughter from other fools who believe themselves wise does not deter the truly wise from following the Way. Following the Way, they do not become complicated, extraordinary, and prominent. Rather they become simple, ordinary, and subtle.

Let’s Talk To Get Things Done

It’s not how much media coverage we have, it’s not how much the talking heads in politics go on and on and on and well you get my point.

It boils down to people communicating to one another. Communicating and sharing ideas that are important to each other.

We the everyday people make up the world we live in, yet we hand our lives over to a few individuals that “Know what’s best for us”. Their minds are no clearer than ours, their souls no more divine and their lives no more precious.

Let’s talk, let’s share our ideas with one another again. Share what’s important with each other. Ideas such as family, liberty, and freedom to worship as you choose, equal justice, the pursuit of happiness, enough food on everyone’s table, clean air and water, a safe and caring community. What are your thoughts? Talk to your friends and neighbors. Don’t be silent. Let’s talk to one another until our voices are heard again.

Remember it’s the popular voice that wins.

Things that disgust me

 Racism
 Intolerance of others
 Closed minds
 Hate
 The religion of egotism
 Me when I find myself falling back into any of these childhood induced patterns of thought.

Being born into societies we are taught from birth, no bombarded from birth to think in dark ways and convinced to believe they are the right ways.

The good thing is I can now catch myself in them and step outside my dark box of lies into the light of truth. I’m not perfect and probably never will be, but it makes sense to me the more you shine the light into the darkness the less dark it can be.

As a good friend of mine reminds me a person that carries their own lantern will never fear the darkness. Thank you old friend for your clear thoughts.

Seven Bridges Road

These lyrics by the Eagles are strictly vocal only. If you get a chance put the CD on with your favorite headset and enjoy!

I love this song as it reminds me of a simpler time in my life when I lived in my one room school house along the banks of the Chickahominy Creek on Nelson Mountain Road:

Seven Bridges Road lyrics

There are stars
In the Southern sky
Southward as you go
There is moonlight
And moss in the trees
Down the Seven Bridges Road

Now I have loved you like a baby
Like some lonesome child
And I have loved you in a tame way
And I have loved you wild

Sometimes there's a part of me
Has to turn from here and go
Running like a child from these warm stars
Down the Seven Bridges Road

There are stars in the Southern sky
And if ever you decide
You should go
There is a taste of time sweetened honey
Down the Seven Bridges Road

Inner Light

This verse from an ancient Chinese fellow was interesting to me:

A knower of the truth
travels without leaving a trace,
speaks without causing harm,
gives without keeping an account.
The door he or she shuts, though having no lock,
cannot be opened.
The knot he or she ties, though using no cord,
cannot be undone.

Be wise and help all beings impartially,
abandoning none.
Waste no opportunities.
This is called following the light.

What is a good man but a bad man’s teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man’s job?
If the teacher is not respected
and the student not cared for,
confusion will arise, however clever one is.
This is the great secret.

Pot Luck Dinner

Let's have a Pot Luck! Or whatever you call gathering together in your country to share a meal, where everyone brings a dish of some delicious simple food they've made with their own hand.

Pot Lucks are a time of sharing, giving and receiving. Where we are on equaled ground giving and taking. Sharing company, thoughts, love and community.

What is simpler than a Pot Luck?

Spread the word, The world needs to have more Pot Lucks!

Thinking Outside Our Finite Box

I enjoyed reading this ancient oriental poem;

The Tao is empty
but inexhaustible,
bottomless,
the ancestor of it all.

Within it, the sharp edges become smooth;
the twisted knots loosen;
the sun is softened by a cloud;
the dust settles into place.

It is hidden but always present.
I do not know who gave birth to it.
It seems to be the common ancestor of all, the father of things.

I remember early thoughts as a child lying under the star filled sky at night, "How far does the universe go? If we came to a wall what would be beyond that wall and the next and the next?"

As I became a bit older and read more deeply into the scriptures I found myself trying to make the connection of a God that lives off somewhere in heaven yet lives inside me. Is so far away and untouchable, yet so intimately close. How One could be without mother or father and never be born, yet always to have existed.

A Native American saying made sense to me at that point in my life, "You become a man (grown person) when you realize how much there is that you do not know."

The ancient poem above was written 5,000 years BC. I guess it doesn’t matter so much when eternity is forever.

Let Go, Let God

For several years now I have have had the thought in my mind, "Let go and Let God". I came across this information and thought I would share it.

The sage who grasps the everlasting nature of the Tao has gone beyond false identification with the ego, and instead has a living connection to the Tao. This person puts others first, asks nothing in return, and wholeheartedly serves. In this way, the sage lives the ultimate paradox of the Tao – by giving without asking, the sage attracts everything that he or she is capable of handling or needing. By putting others before themself, the sage endures just like the Tao. The sage emulates the natural philanthropy of the Tao, and all of his or her needs are fulfilled in the process.

The more you pursue desires, the more they’ll elude you. Try letting life come to you and begin to notice the clues that what you crave is on its way. You’re in a constant state of receiving because of the ceaseless generosity of the eternal Tao. The air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, the sunshine that warms you, the nutrients that keep your body alive, and even the thoughts that fill your mind are all gifts from the eternal Tao. Stay appreciative of all that you receive, knowing that it flows from an all – providing Source. Stop the chase and become a witness – soothe your demanding habits by refusing to continue running after more. By letting go, you let God; and even more significantly, you become more like God and less like the ego; with its lifetime practice of edging God out.
Qouted from Dr. Wayne Dyer's Change Your Mind Change Your Life (excellent read!)

What if we were all God's favorites?

While conversing with my good friend Barbe Beaty this evening on face book I had one of those epiphany's you sometimes get while bouncing things off a really good friend.

Epiphany: A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization: "I experienced an epiphany, a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself"

I had grown up with virtually no self esteem. At one point I realized we were all God's favorites! OMG! It changed my life! Suddenly I realized how much I enjoyed enjoying people!

I love to watch the look on someones face when you compliment them. I became a believer that something as simple as a smile or a kind word could change the course of a persons day.... or possibly their life.

Think it, Believe it, Have it!

A lot of times I think in the future perfect tense. You believe you can do something and then you create that positive energy that enables it to be real.

I like this qoute by Troppe

New Hope, New Direction for our country

One of my co-workers sent me this link. It is a letter from President-elect Obama to his daughters. It speaks volumes, read it for yourself if you like. If you have trouble viewing it simply drag your mouse cursor over the link below to select it, hold down your Ctrl key and push down your c key on your keyboard. This will copy it. Put your cursor in the address window above, hold down the Ctrl key again and tap the v key. That will paste it into your browser window. Hit enter and read away.

Or simply go to the lower right side of my blog to "Links I Like" section and click on Obama's Letter to Daughters.

http://www.parade.com/export/sites/default/news/2009/01/barack-obama-letter-to-my-daughters.html

Christmas was good, New Year hopeful

I enjoyed Christmas with family and friends. It was relaxing and low keyed just the way I like them!

New Year's is around the corner and I'm hopeful with Barrack Obama coming into office. Wow does he ever have a job cut out for him. The last eight years have been completely mishandled to put it lightly.

The last few weeks I have been re-reading Deepak Chopra's "The Book of Secrets" and have come across some paragraphs that reminded me of thoughts I have had and clung onto myself.

As I take this time to reflect on the current state of affairs in our country, corrupt politicians (as I'm sure the rest of the world suffers from too) the following thoughts resurface for me and seem to be mentally underlined in Deepak's book:

I see that I am unique. Uniqueness means that there is no one else who is exactly like you. I gain a feeling of strength and self-esteem. I have a sense of standing out from the crowd and being proud that I do! I realize I don't have to imitate anyone else and it feels right. I feel free of other people's opinions of me. Most of all I have a growing desire to act with integrity.

Wood Carvers from Erzgebirge

Well the wood carvers from the Erzgebirge region of Germany finally arrived in Akron for the Chriskindl Market. There's four of them and they arrived late Wednesday night from flying all day and came right over from the hotel and started up the lathe! They were turning out bowls and carving all sorts of traditional German figurines and toys. They are amazing to watch!

They will be here until our First Night celebration on New Years Eve!

Define Your Life - Ride a Bike

I love bicycles, always have and always will. Growing up in Eugene, Oregon I spent many hours traveling the dedicated bike paths laid out around the city. Now residing in Ohio (until I retire back out to Oregon!) I pedal the incredible Ohio/Erie Towpath.

During the "good riding" months out here (away from Oregon) I spend a lot of time at Century Cycles in Peninsula, Ohio. I just signed up for their email newsletter so I could be notified of the great bike repair classes they offer in the "bad riding" months.

In their email reply to me was a great qoute:

"Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym." -Bill Nye, the Science Guy

New Direction

Well it's been a long, very long election and it's finally over! This had to be a record turn out at the polls. It seems Obama has helped turn a corner for much of the world. It seems as if the last eight years of plain old mismanagement are finally coming to an end.

Watching the news this morning I found it very interesting how much the rest of the world was watching "our presidential" election. There were shots of the European community cheering; the Israelis were cheering and more were cheering. It seems the rest of the world is as glad to see the end of the reign of GW as we are.

Obama and his advisors won't be able to untangle the mess GW and Cheney have gotten us into overnight, but at least they are willing to start.

Simple Thoughts Big Messages

It seems the less I try to over think it, the more clear and easier the message becomes.

This morning I woke up around 4:30 am and not wanting to get up yet I just sort of relaxed in the state between awake and sleep. At some point my mind heard, recited, received or whatever the words, "You are measured by the deeds of your heart." Plain and simple, clear and simple.

Just so you know I don't talk like that or actually think like that.

It sounds good to me, feels good to me and simply makes simple sense to me.

Les

Don't Over Think It

I read this qoute the other day and I find it really rings home for me:

Let me throw every image away and say the simplest things that are true: I exist, I am aware, I create. These are the three qualities of essence that permeate the universe.

I think I feel this most when I'm lost in my thoughts in my wood studio:

I'm existing in the moment, I'm aware of the present and I'm creating something beautiful from wood.