Open Thread - Friday, August 4, 2017
According to Vedanta, there are only two symptoms of enlightenment, just two indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher consciousness. The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things don't bother you anymore. You become light-hearted and full of joy. The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities. And this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous.
― Deepak Chopra, Synchrodestiny: Harnessing the Infinite Power of Coincidence to Create Miracles
I just got back from visiting friends. The visit was elucidating.
I rode up to the Jersey shore and mid-way through the first day, it struck me. I am facing in the wrong direction. Looking backwards is not going to cut it, I need to move on and having something new and my own. Sue and I left that life behind seventeen years ago, and I am just tagging along. I stayed one night and hopped back on the motorcycle to head home.
The ride home gave me time to think. I think Norfolk traffic sucks.
So I decided some things I am not going to do. Like move back to Pittsburgh or depend on decades past interpersonal relationships. After that it gets a little foggy.
I am not sure what's next, but at least I got spun around in the right funkin' direction.
Have a great funkin' weekend!
Comments
Good morning, Tim ~~
Getting directions correct is always a challenge. You are on a first year journey where you will face many forks in the road. Which way to go? Hmmm... Ponder each step as carefully as you go, because the right way reveals itself when you take the time and pay attention. You've just discovered this.
The universe is in charge and will continue to guide you. You are discovering this, as well.
Have a beautiful day, folks!
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
I agree
The key is to have your eyes open and be very direct and honest with yourself.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
good funky friday
As Oblio discovered in the pointless forest, a point in every direction is the same as no point at all.
Oblio and Arrow, nice one QMS.
(sounds like Ringo doing the voiceover)
After watching the Nilsson Netflix doc I dove in to discover him more, having until then just known him on the periphery as a sidebar to the Beatles (what a shame). Loved that clip of a Lennon & McCartney interview in '68 saying their favourite "group" at the moment was Nilsson. So many great tunes, and what a voice. Love the kid's cartoon he did "The Point," sent me back to memories of growing up a little boy in the 70's. Bought the lp and now look forward to sharing that with my little Boy someday soon.
Re: Nilsson. "The Theme to The Courtship of Eddie's Father (He's My Best Friend)" was always a tune fluttered around my memory as a child, as the picture-perfect Beatle-esque, short, bubbly, pop tune, but it's been so elusive still. Haven't been able to find it on any record or even compilation of this though. Know where to get it? Finally just found a program to download YouTube videos and now have a lesser quality version on my iPod. But would still like to get the record, if there is one.
Speaking of great pop stuff, anybody familiar with Jellyfish? Great revival stuff of that style from the late 80's/early90's. Somewhere between McCartney, Beach Boys, Queen, Sweet and Badfinger, but with their own thing.
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Used to sing this one
on the HS wrestling bus.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
One of those songs that sounds better LOUD
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
White noise
is really agitating.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Hmm, yeah
white noise is being broadcast from the heavens (aka satellites). Muffling of said noise unfortunately requires a certain mix of meditations and medications (or maybe a tinfoil hat?). It can be irritating, as it is non-stop. Made more difficult by the precise tuning our cerebral vibrations require.
Happy you have found your groove in motion. I love the old BMW R-60 and 80's. Spine aligned, not hunched over. Cheers
Murphy's Paradox.
The hard way is often easiest.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
The important part is
... knowing when to give up and read the directions.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
I love the smell of an epiphany in the morning.
Especially a Friday morning.
Good morning, Tim (literally and spiritually).
Light-hearted and full of joy. (Very impressive synchronicity, too!)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO0XW0a7eDs]
[video:https://youtu.be/nmZqb2VVc48?t=17]
I had no idea you were ever a Jersey boy.
[video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pWBnodrR1M]
Ah, the Jersey Shore, aka the poor person's Hamptons--at least the parts of it that don't have casinos.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIRO_4Tvi9k]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3eu1gW-bQ8]
My friends who are not from New Jersey laugh at me for calling it "the Jersey shore," but what do they know? What else would anyone call Jersey Shore? (Duh.)
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgFHM8HMbWQ]
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsZ5toT1z4M]
Of course, Asbury Park and Atlantic City are really no big deal.
In my mind, you don't need to do away with the old in order to fashion something that is both brand new and all your own, especially old friends. But, that's me (who is all I can be). I can't be who you are.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZIummTz9mM]
So, though I mean well, you should probably pay me no mind at all as you seem to have excellent instincts and ideas about how best to both heal and fashion your life. You get to be the author, the producer, the director and the star. Go for it!
Actually
Sue spent some youth in NJ. I just met some folks at the shore. The epiphany is seeing yourself, less among friends, and more a visitor.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
friday feevah
southside johnny
Hey Tim. I hear ya in some ways...
Forging new paths, with respect to friendships and viewpoints, is healthy and wise. I'm a bit of a sentimentalist, I suppose, and am loyal to some of my oldest friends in the world. But increasingly, with the exception of a few of them, feel myself disconnected from their mindsets and stations in life.
That Chopra quote really resonates because it's so true. Stop worrying, become light-hearted and the joy will radiate out to such a degree that "coincidences" will become more frequent. At various points in my life when faced with challenges I've surrendered, and things seemed to fall into place, or at least became more tolerable.
Just occurred to me that my dream last night included buying an Indian, but at the house of a most unlikely guy I used to know, friend of a friend, who I haven't seen in a very long time or know much about anymore. But there it was, my subconscious working through that decision.
If you ever get us this far North again send a message. Maybe that will be the coincidence for me to actually buy the thing...
"If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC"
- Kurt Vonnegut
Mark, you gave me a "Huh?!?" moment.
I returned here under the 'new' tab so when I finally realized you were talking about a motorcycle it put your post in a totally different context. You may now commence to throwing peanuts now.
There is no such thing as TMI. It can always be held in reserve for extortion.
Hey
I wasn't very close. Inbound I hooked around Wilmington, down to Wildwood, then hopped the Cape May Ferry back out of town. It was a long flat ride. I am looking forward to Western NC on the vintage machine next weekend. Less distance, lower speeds, but high smile factor.
It sounds like the Indian is bound to happen. Now that I am riding a motorcycle with ABS, I would not buy a new motorcycle without ABS. I think they make the Scout model with and without. The Chief model, bigger, might have ABS as standard equipment.
The visit cast a long forgotten person into my dreams. I think it was my filing and evaluation system associating two people's personality traits. I am just glad my mind still does house keeping.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Morning Tim...
know the feeling, well, thanks for this reminder that onward works.
“I have to see a thing a thousand times before I see it once.”
~ Thomas Wolfe, You Can't Go Home Again
Onward and upward
3300 ft. next Thursday.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Thanks for the inspiration. . .
Wow. Yes. Great way to start the day.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Good day
Have a funky Friday.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Yeah Tim, good on ya. I noted upstream the general
discussion of decisins at meetings of the ways, the importance thereof, the need for awareness and focus and all of that is more than certainly true BUT ... The path taken and the experiences and encounters thereon are where the focus and awareness is really of importance.
I think back to certain youthful experiential extravangazas, on bicycles, afoot, by transit or hitchhiking, sometimes solo, but sometimes with a buddy or two. What to do today? Something. Where? Somewhere. Ride out to another not too distant locale and follow whatever path occurs. Go to a well enough travelled road and flip a coin to determine direction. At some significant intersection flip the coin for road to take and again for direction. Look, see, observe, sample, stop and fart around, and eventually mosey home.
One needn't always be purposeful or directed. New things can lead to new things. With a sick cat we can't indulge in that for a while, but I'm really thinking that maybe we need to try that as soon as we can. We've never been to x so let's set aside y days and just go there, etc.
Just be sure to have music with, which I know you will.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Your description sounds like
my vision of the long motorcycle trip. I actually enjoyed the trip, more than the visit. I rode the motorcycle across The Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Looks like quite a ride. You mentioned your vision of the
great motorcycle ride. Check out "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat-Moon, a fun read and an odd sort of inspiration.
My wife and I used to never "get lost" unless we were under time pressure, because without the time pressure, "getting lost" was just part of the adventure ("Oh look, we're having another adventure"). The discovery that "This is not the right road" usually elicited a response of "Well let's follow it a while and see where it goes".
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
I'll check out Blue Highways
I have been using the I need to be over that way method, which turned into a nice amble through the countryside, with a well chosen diner stop. I am not sure what exactly makes me chose a particular place. Usually, the place just has a sort of magnetism.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Sounds like the same general idea. I rephrase it as
"eschew the interstates".
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Hey there Biker Tim!
Glad to hear you had a good/safe ride up north. Our weather down here has been iffy. Climate change is here to stay. Everything is always changing; it's just sad the way certain bipeds have screwed things up in our nest! We have already had a baby tropical storm, rain/intense thunder and lightning almost daily. I'm telling you, it feels like I've got mildew of the soul. LOL. I'll take the rain any day over wildfires and 100-plus temps. Can you believe it up there in the PNW?!? Hubby sure timed our ride right. Anywho, going to see the Al Gore movie today. Gore might have been a moderate conservative, but he sure was and always will be 100% environmentalist!!
Speaking of wandering around on a bike, your diary made me think of this tune.
You stay and be safe! Rec'd!!
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.
Hey OBF
Tuesday was a tough day. A hot all day ride. I would stop, soak my shirt in the sink, put it back on, put the mesh jacket over top and ride cool for a half hour or so.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
The Godfather of Soul
owed quite a bit to Maestro Parker. Maceo was one of the few band boys that James left alone. Brown knew which side of his bread$$$$ was buttered!! Take care.
Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.