Of Many Books There Is No End

Ecclesiastes 12:9-12 says:

Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd.
Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. (NIT)

In the course of my life I have read many books. As time has gone by I have forgotten much of what I have read.

Time is limited. There are many books. One must pick and choose. As the author of Ecclesiastes counseled “Much study is wearisome to flesh.”

The Book

In all cultures, the most quoted texts are sacred scriptures. The reason that these texts have survived is that they are practical guides. They speak of the Way. They contain the sayings of the wise. They remind us of the transcendental world of the divine.

There are many sacred scriptures from the various cultures of the world. Some are the books of the current major religions of the world. Some, such as The Egyptian Book of the Dead or the Enuma Elish have been obscured by the passage of time. To read all of the sacred texts would indeed take much time and perhaps weary the flesh. So, once again, one must pick and choose.

For myself personally, I have chosen a selection of scriptures from Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Confucianism:

Christianity and Judaism – The Bible
Islam – The Quran and Hadith
Buddhism – There are many different texts from Mahayana, Theravada, and other Buddhist traditions. My favorite is the Dhammapada
Hinduism – Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Ramayana. That which I have read most is the Gita.
Buddhism and Taoism – I Ching and Tao Te Ching

For me, just to read the Bible, Quran, Hadith, Dhammapada, Bhagavad Gita, I Ching, and Tao Te Ching is a full plate. I read them one at a time and then I start over again. Each time I read one, I gain new insight.

I  believe that, as the author of Ecclesiastes says, they are all “given by one shepherd.”

Each one is a set of sacred symbols that stimulates a higher level of awareness, provides food for contemplation, and opens a doorway of understanding into the culture to which they are basic.

That is not to say that that is all that I read. I like to use books to study various languages. I am currently reading a book on mathematics. I like reading books about history, religion, mythology, philosophy, science, astrology, earth medicine, psychology… the list goes on.

I also enjoy fiction, usually at bedtime.

However, on a daily basis and as a steady diet to guide me in the Way, I value the 7 above mentioned books.

Peace and love be with you.

Just talking for the sake of talking

Hi!

I’m just talking for the sake of talking.

I want to write a blog but I don’t have anything to say…

but I see that when I post a blog more people come to my site and read what I say and share and post “LIKE!”

When I don’t post a blog no one comes.

So I want to post a blog…

but I don’t have anything to say.

I love you!

I love you!

That’s what I want to say.

So if you are reading this blog:

I love you!

I love you!!

I love you!

Blustery Winds Time in the Year of the Monkey 2016

Hold on to your hat
Grasshopper
Spring is coming.

Be patient little fishy

Hold on to the silver chord
As you merge into the mystic

Hold the charge
in this stillness
of waking dreams

Follow the white wolf

Preparing
for the light
to bring forth abundance

Good Time to fly kites.

The Power of Love – A Poem and a Song

Hope is Alive! is an open mike series promoting suicide prevention. Numerous artists from different genres come together to share through their work how creativity helps people overcome struggle and despair. The theme on this occasion was “The Power of love.”

There were many wonderful poets, singers, and dancers. This was my small contribution: one short poem entitled “In this world of heart and mind,” and a song I wrote called “Rise and Shine.”

The video quality is not so great but I hope you can feel the spirit of the event.

Reincarnation Alexander the Great and 4 generations of Greek philosophy

I’ve been doing a series of talks entitled “It’s never a good idea to want to rule the world: pride cometh before a fall.” I’m thinking that maybe that is to absolute. Perhaps I should just call it ” A brief survey of people who have wanted to rule the world.” Then I can let people decide for themselves whether it is a good idea or not.

No doubt, the world needs good leaders. Some leaders are ambitious and want to rule. Others are reluctant leaders. I prefer reluctant leaders. They like to do good but prefer to work with others and often to act behind the scenes. They assume leadership only at the urging or insistence of others because the people want their leadership.

Some ambitious leaders may be inspired by the desire to serve others. However, often ambitious leaders are motivated by a drive for power that inflates their ego and proves destructive.

There are many styles of leadership. I will examine these over the course of time. I will say at this time that I like a leader who can build consensus while at the same time being decisive when the time calls for it.

Anyway here is a little video:

A Power in the Atmosphere

There’s a power in the atmosphere
That drives away the clouds for fear
They’ll melt, or burn, or disappear.

Electrostatic syncopation –
All my demons on vacation –
Prods me as I stroll along
To sing the world a freedom song.

Ah la la la la la la la!
Ah tis fine to feel so holy
Watch the world go roly poly
Twitching, switching, zinging, swinging
To the rhythm of my singing.

Tail-wagging dogs advancing,
Freckled, smiling children dancing,
Ants are breaking ranks and prancing,
Round and square and helter-skelter,
Moles emerging from their shelter,
Trees upon their trunks are beating,
Bees in unison repeating
In strange tongues my song of greeting.

Ah la la la la la la la!
Ah tis fine to feel so holy
Watch the world go roly poly
Twitching, switching, zinging, swinging
To the rhythm of my singing.

The point of it all

The smoke seeps from the burning bush and rises
In serpent coils around the ancient tree with glee
Essaying to set free some magnetic impulse from the moon

How soon will day break upon an unsuspecting planet
How soon will the darkness shatter into a billion blazing crystals

How long before dead men reclaim their bones and dance the hokey pokey
This is the time when things are not quite okey dokey
But soon will be

A caravan of captain kangaroos is hopping o’er the horizon
Singing carols of hope and bearing secret messages
Within their leather pouches like little koala bears practicing tai chi

Soon they will all lie on couches analyzing their dreams
Revealing archetypes and unraveling conspiratorial themes

They are akin to pink elephants but much less flighty
They are akin to purple cows but much less mighty
They are akin to witches who dance about the midnight fire
In the darkened wood amongst the sprites without a nighty

Well I say hold your breathe and let go my friends

We have seen the freak show
We have passed through the house of horrors
We are entering the tunnel of love on the roller coaster

Mighty Mouse the ancient hierophant who burrowed through Osiris’ tomb
To leap out of his mother’s womb
Is on his way
To save the day

He will lead us with his little wet black twitching nose
And mark the trail with small moist turds
And we will follow him like stampeding herds

Until we reach the point of no return

Which is the point of no beginning
Which is the beginning of no point at all
Which is the point of it all

Spoken Word

Can you write words
That do not dance
But still have power

That simply hang like thunderclouds
Cumulonimbulus
Full of force and highly charged

But giving no rain

Simply hanging in the sky
Perhaps moved by the wind
Holding in the pain 

Can you write words that flow
Like a river dammed

Holding still and rising
Waiting till the time is just right
To turn the soul’s dynamo

Can you write words that sit silently
Like a seed
In the soil of the heart

Patiently stalking the moment
When maturity gives
Birth to bloom
And shapes the form
Of the flowering soul 

Write them then
These words
That will cause the angels To stand
Silently in awe

These words that will unlock
The gates of hell
And move the demons
To prayer

Dancing on the Sea of Peace

Peace! No static state of death for me!

Peace! The power in the stillness.

Peace. The quiet in the fire

Burning in my soul
Higher, higher
Lashing out In tongues of flame
To share the warmth
Of peace

Flashing out In sparks To share the light Of peace.

Peace through suffering Peace through pain
I rejoice and count it gain
When tribulations torment me.
It melts my chains and sets me free
To feel Peace.

The devil doesn’t like a hard time.
He flees.
Selfishness subsides.
Thorny paths lead me to fields
Where peace abides.

Peace in the home
Shalom, shalom.

Mother, father, sister, brother
Injecting Peace into each other –
Creating, nurturing, teaching,
Reaching out to friends and neighbors,
Sharing peace through all their labors.

Peace for the nation
Captured by a vision
Of peace On Earth

Giving birth
To men and women
Dancing like waves
On the sea Of peace.

In This World of Heart and Mind

In this world of heart and mind
Who knows what treasures we may find
When we drill through the crust
Of fears and distrust
Into the resevoir of love within.

We must beware of course
Lest unleashing this mighty force
Uncontrolled and misdirected
(Having been so long neglected)
We cause destruction, disappointment, or despair.

But, if the principles of love we know
And which direction the heart should grow
Then we can cap this wondrous flow
And tap the infinite power of the universe
And live In joy
All together
Forever!