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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Nice post @Shoshin - have had similar experiences recently in meditation. The thoughts are still popping up but not able to pull me away from the object of meditation....it's a nice experience and place to get to.
Apparantly on insighttimer.com @DhammaDragon likes me even though 'I don't like her' - que?
Ay caramba. Where do people get these ideas? Must be my behavour. Must behave! So far (almost five seconds), so good.
Meanwhile ... time for more good behavour ... doing good here ... Anyone else not liked? Not by me ... I even like pet trolls ...
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Ok, here's an irritating thing:
Last weekend, I needed a prescription for antibiotics (I had developed a gum abscess on the last day of my holiday) and - long story short - I picked up the prescription, together with some recommended painkillers. The Pharmacist rang up the total. Just the painkillers. "Er...." I said, "I... don't...think so...." "Why?" she asked. "Because I also have the prescription to pay for..." "Oh no, you're over 60. It's free now." Hit me like a bucket of cold water. I'm not 60. I'm still 20 (in my head)!!
Then my mother said - "You can apply for a free bus pass too!" "No, I don't think so," I replied, "I have to wait until retirement age..." She thought not. So we checked it out online (Good ol' God Google) and yes, I could apply for a Free Bus Pass as a 60-year-old.
If I lived in Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
England is the only place in the UK quartet where I have to wait until 2023. Thanks, Government. that's a real Bitchy thing to do. Bass Turds.
The groups on IT are taking up a lot of my time, particularly more time than I am willing to devote to the virtual world.
I have also had issues with a psychotic admin bitch there who has been stalking the new Haiku group I created...
I have endured the worst harassment and stalking experience in my life the last couple of months, even worse than the 20-year stalking from my ex-boyfriend.
Normally, I can pull back and get back up from anything, and I am pulling the heavy ammo here.
But it has been a psychologically draining experience.
@lobster: yes, you don't like me but you are not the only one nor won't be the last.
I can live with that.
Sorry for the hasty and nutty post.
Metta and love to everyone
Edit: sorry but I am not quite myself lately.
I'm still recovering psychologically from the onslaught of this woman.
I'll hibernate a bit longer...
I am clearly too stupid to advise a chicken on road crossing ...
Yesterday through no fault of the Buddha, we went supermarket shopping and ended up at the auto cash-out/self service till (no other sort). Now I have used this before but needed to call an assistant (one left in exasperation for a tea break) at least seven times. Even the security guard was more helpful than the robot-till. It did not register items. Refused to accept money, unless presented in a mysterious way. Did not like that we brought our own shopping bags or treated the mindless machine like it was there to help us.
Is this what the hell realms are really like?
It was chaos and exhausting. Fortunately we are rewarded with food ...
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Apparently the Rapture is happening 23rd September. Thought you would want to know.
Late morning I walked into the village to one of the local the op shops ( on a treasure hunt) and came across this carved wooden figure of a meditator...However...
...the meditator looks as though he didn't really have the stomach for it...(pun intended )
I've had an interesting day today...My landlord/neighbour arrived back from Europe this morning, he brought back a package for me from one of my sons who lives in Hungary (my neighbour was born in Hungary, but his parents came to NZ when he was two)...However in the package were things from my son and his Hungarian girlfriend's trip to India (they were in India earlier this year, an Indian friend of theirs was getting married...big "Hindu" wedding with all the traditional trimmings, outfits etc, it went on for days) Assam teas (the wedding was in Assam) a kurta, a packet of dried green peas, and some mouth freshener seeds, plus a meditation pillow
at first I thought "It's quite flat so how am I going to sit on it"...then I read the back of the package..
So I'm going to use it for this afternoon's meditation
"Hara is a Japanese word that has no equivalent in English. While it literally refers to the lower abdomen, the term also has psychological and spiritual connotations in Japanese language and culture. In fact, hara can be seen as the unification of a person’s physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions.
Hara is critical to the Chozen-ji lineage of Rinzai Zen training. The development of hara is emphasized in all of our practices, zazen (“Zen meditation”), martial arts and fine arts. From our perspective, there is no Zen without hara."
Well today's the BIG day of the NZ/Aotearoa elections ....
"Over the years, a number of "third parties" or so-called "minor parties" developed, notably the Social Credit Party, the New Zealand Party, the Values Party, and the Alliance. However, the "first past the post" electoral system meant that regardless of how many votes a party gained nationwide, it could not win a seat without a plurality in a particular electorate (voting district). Under such conditions, these parties mostly performed poorly in terms of making an impact in Parliament.
With the introduction of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system for the 1996 elections, however, it became much easier for smaller parties to enter parliament; but more difficult to gain election as a non-party independent. Since the change to MMP, about one third of the seats in Parliament have been held by MPs representing parties other than Labour and National. In the years before MMP, by contrast, there were sometimes no such MPs at all"
Labour and National are the big guns in NZ politricks then we have the government make or breakers parties Greens, NZ First, Maori Party, United Future and Act...There are other smaller parties but these are the so-called important ones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_New_Zealand Jacinda Ardern new leader of Labour (Openly Agnostic and humanistic)
Bill (been around the block a few times) Englishthrown in the deep end National leader 'when John Key resigned at the beginning of the year' ( Conservative Catholic ..I can't think of much else to say...I guess this says it all)
James Shaw Green Party leader (Down to Earth Mother Nature lover and humanistic)
Change is inevitable ...Suffering is optional
My party vote was Labour (I've met Jacinda on a number of occasions ad like her down to earth approach-she used to use the office where I work to hold interviews when she was a candidate representing Auckland central- the island comes under Auckland central ) and candidate vote Greens ...They I feel make a happy couple...
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited September 2017
Word of the Day:
COURTYARD.
The words, 'Court', 'Girdle' 'Yard' and 'Garden' all ooriginate from the West Germanic/Ancient English root word "Gerd".
It means to enclose, enwrap, cloister, and shelter.
Well I had to go into the city today to renew my Aussie passport...The Oz consulate is in a flash new building down by the water front..Their office was on the 7th floor...I go up the escalators to the level where the lifts are, and "SHOCK HORROR!!!" I can't find the buttons to call the lift...As I'm standing there looking confused, a lady come up and shows me where I have to call the lift from, a panel located in the hallway at the top of the escalators (I had walked past it)...
Well I get into the lift and I'm transported to the 7th floor and on stepping out a security guard approaches me and ask what I'm here for, I give him my name and say passport renewal...He lets me in and then I'm put through a metal detector and bag check...( I never had to go through this 10 years ago )
On the island where I live we don't have high rise buildings with lifts (well apart the Red Cross building which is a two story building, they have a disability lift and one in the new supermarket which is used for trolleys and people with full, heavy trolleys who find it hard to walk down the ramp to the car park..).
Anyhow today's lift experience reminded me of this ...
3
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Seen yesterday on Facebook:
"I am a stickler for Grammar, and I selflessly dedicate my time and serious effort in correcting those who obviously have no knowledge of the subject, have no spellchecker, and cannot be asked to at least concern themselves that what they have written is at least permissible. It's something I do in service of Mankind, and to keep the language pure, unsullied and readable. However, yesterday, I was attacked by a thoroughly ungrateful and rude individual, who berated my expertise and admonished me for my generous efforts.
Sometimes, to correct others is gratifying and very satisfying, but most of the time, I just feel exactly as Robin Hood must have felt when he jousted against those windmills."
Blimey that was quick...a courier has just delivered my new Aussie passport ...I only took the application in last Tuesday morning at 10.30am,..it's now Monday morning 10.18am...
Mind you the very first Aussie passport I got (back in the mid seventies in Sydney) only took 2 hours from start(filling out the application then going out for a cup of tea) to finish ( returning to the office to pick it up)
The staff in the Australian passport department must know I'm a VIP ... (Very Impatient Person)
@Shoshin said:
Blimey that was quick...a courier has just delivered my new Aussie passport ...I only took the application in last Tuesday morning at 10.30am,..it's now Monday morning 10.18am...
Mind you the very first Aussie passport I got (back in the mid seventies in Sydney) only took 2 hours from start(filling out the application then going out for a cup of tea) to finish ( returning to the office to pick it up)
The staff in the Australian passport department must know I'm a VIP ... (Very Impatient Person)
Nice one!
I recall being shocked at the speed of bureaucracy in NZ when I lived there.
Walked in to a bank and came out fifteen minutes later with a bank account, an eftpos card and the PIN for it! In Australia, the US or UK this whole process would take a week or two.
My ex-wife called up the IRD(?) to change her surname with the expectation that she'd need to send in a marriage certificate to prove it but no, they just updated it over the phone!
This just cost me an arm and a leg ($5. 20c NZD ) ... so goodbye meditation and Dharma practice and Hello instant awakening....... this had better bloody work or "I" will have the company for false advertising
3
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Just bought a cheap action cam. My idea of action is listening to autumn leaves crunch, whilst walking through woodland.
Unfortunately whilst filming, I came across someones misplaced mobile phone and now have the dubious honour of returning it. Too much action before breakfast ... I may need an awaken bar ...
On the way home the other day I came across a mother duck taking two of her ducklings for a swim in a storm water drain...I thought how cute...and the ducklings seem to be having a ducking awesome time
@federica is right the squirrel was an Albino. Quite rare, apparently more common is a genetic mutation that allows white squirrel families.
Anyways I bought a new bridge camera to photograph devas, rainbow bodies, mutant wildlife etc. Went to my local London graveyard to try out the settings. Very surprised to photograph a pheasant. Yum ... I mean beautiful bird ...
Here is another food item sentient being, I photographed in London a few hours ago (Richmond Park). I called him Gandalf, as he was hanging out with his mates blocking my path - 'None shall pass'. Had to go back and around. Deer have priority in Royal Parks ...
1
silverIn the beginning there was nothing, and then it exploded.USA, Left coast.Veteran
The photos are from stories online about the Northern California fires:
The first one is about a woman who was trying to get her horses to safety, but her trailer only held two so she put the third one in HER CAR. (She said her car will never smell the same again.)
The second picture is self-explanatory.
0
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Comments
Nice post @Shoshin - have had similar experiences recently in meditation. The thoughts are still popping up but not able to pull me away from the object of meditation....it's a nice experience and place to get to.
The other evening my head was in the clouds, as I watched the shapeshifters work their magic .....
Apparantly on insighttimer.com @DhammaDragon likes me even though 'I don't like her' - que?
Ay caramba. Where do people get these ideas?
Must be my behavour. Must behave! So far (almost five seconds), so good. 
Meanwhile ... time for more good behavour ... doing good here ... Anyone else not liked? Not by me ... I even like pet trolls ...
Ok, here's an irritating thing:
Last weekend, I needed a prescription for antibiotics (I had developed a gum abscess on the last day of my holiday) and - long story short - I picked up the prescription, together with some recommended painkillers. The Pharmacist rang up the total. Just the painkillers. "Er...." I said, "I... don't...think so...." "Why?" she asked. "Because I also have the prescription to pay for..." "Oh no, you're over 60. It's free now." Hit me like a bucket of cold water. I'm not 60. I'm still 20 (in my head)!!
Then my mother said - "You can apply for a free bus pass too!" "No, I don't think so," I replied, "I have to wait until retirement age..." She thought not. So we checked it out online (Good ol' God Google) and yes, I could apply for a Free Bus Pass as a 60-year-old.
If I lived in Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
England is the only place in the UK quartet where I have to wait until 2023. Thanks, Government. that's a real Bitchy thing to do. Bass Turds.
I have been missing in action for ages, sorry.
The groups on IT are taking up a lot of my time, particularly more time than I am willing to devote to the virtual world.
I have also had issues with a psychotic admin bitch there who has been stalking the new Haiku group I created...
I have endured the worst harassment and stalking experience in my life the last couple of months, even worse than the 20-year stalking from my ex-boyfriend.
Normally, I can pull back and get back up from anything, and I am pulling the heavy ammo here.
But it has been a psychologically draining experience.
@lobster: yes, you don't like me but you are not the only one nor won't be the last.
I can live with that.
Sorry for the hasty and nutty post.
Metta and love to everyone
Edit: sorry but I am not quite myself lately.
I'm still recovering psychologically from the onslaught of this woman.
I'll hibernate a bit longer...
Much Metta to you my lovely friend. ❤❤❤
@DhammaDragon
Hey @DhammaDragon good to see you again.
Ay caramba. Que?
No. I like you nuttiness and all.
Someone says or does something and we jump to conclusions about them. LOL.
I must be nutty.
... and now back to the randomly, useless ...
I am clearly too stupid to advise a chicken on road crossing ...
Yesterday through no fault of the Buddha, we went supermarket shopping and ended up at the auto cash-out/self service till (no other sort). Now I have used this before but needed to call an assistant (one left in exasperation for a tea break) at least seven times. Even the security guard was more helpful than the robot-till. It did not register items. Refused to accept money, unless presented in a mysterious way. Did not like that we brought our own shopping bags or treated the mindless machine like it was there to help us.
Is this what the hell realms are really like?
It was chaos and exhausting. Fortunately we are rewarded with food ...
Apparently the Rapture is happening 23rd September. Thought you would want to know.
https://www.indy100.com/article/world-ends-september-23-the-rapture-bible-passage-star-alignment-antichrist-7949156
Should I cancel my holiday then?
Did you lose your cool and thrash the machine with a tree branch, like Basil Fawlty with his broken-down car in "Fawlty Towers?"
No, but Insurance is always advisable...
Now that, I would have killed, to have seen...!
For those unfamiliar with the angry Basil Fawlty ...
I may write to Lidl Supermarkets and ask if corporal punishment for these frustrating machines is permissable
It's not.
I've already tried it.
My case comes up next Wednesday, but I have a good lawyer.
I think the Judge will be sympathetic, too.....
Could be worse....
AI expectations have a lot to answer for ... thanks everyone ...
Being polite to machines, even though lifeless programmed pseudo-beings, is good practice.
Be kind to your toaster, with the rise of iot (Internet of Things) Things may become part of our Boddhisatva vow:
I vow to save all sentient beings, every blade of grass
and then start on the insentients.
https://villagezendo.org/practice/suggested-readings/the-bodhisattvas-four-methods-of-guidance/
Ay caramba!
Late morning I walked into the village to one of the local the op shops ( on a treasure hunt) and came across this carved wooden figure of a meditator...However...
...the meditator looks as though he didn't really have the stomach for it...(pun intended
)
What do you reckon ?
I've had an interesting day today...My landlord/neighbour arrived back from Europe this morning, he brought back a package for me from one of my sons who lives in Hungary (my neighbour was born in Hungary, but his parents came to NZ when he was two)...However in the package were things from my son and his Hungarian girlfriend's trip to India (they were in India earlier this year, an Indian friend of theirs was getting married...big "Hindu" wedding with all the traditional trimmings, outfits etc, it went on for days) Assam teas (the wedding was in Assam) a kurta, a packet of dried green peas, and some mouth freshener seeds, plus a meditation pillow
at first I thought "It's quite flat so how am I going to sit on it"...then I read the back of the package..
So I'm going to use it for this afternoon's meditation
Wow @Shoshin a cushion that sits on us. I knew I was doing it wrong
How wonderful.
About the statue @shoshin ... his hara seems to be missing, perhaps it's an allegorical warning against over-meditating.
It has a strong wonderful aroma which definitely keeps the mind alert ...
It clears the nose and soothes the mind...
That's interesting @Kerome , when I first saw it, it struck me as having some kind of Zen meaning to it...
An interesting article about "Hara Development"
"Hara is a Japanese word that has no equivalent in English. While it literally refers to the lower abdomen, the term also has psychological and spiritual connotations in Japanese language and culture. In fact, hara can be seen as the unification of a person’s physical, psychological and spiritual dimensions.
Hara is critical to the Chozen-ji lineage of Rinzai Zen training. The development of hara is emphasized in all of our practices, zazen (“Zen meditation”), martial arts and fine arts. From our perspective, there is no Zen without hara."
It's Spring and mum's just taking the kids for a walk ...
Well today's the BIG day of the NZ/Aotearoa elections ....
"Over the years, a number of "third parties" or so-called "minor parties" developed, notably the Social Credit Party, the New Zealand Party, the Values Party, and the Alliance. However, the "first past the post" electoral system meant that regardless of how many votes a party gained nationwide, it could not win a seat without a plurality in a particular electorate (voting district). Under such conditions, these parties mostly performed poorly in terms of making an impact in Parliament.
With the introduction of the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) electoral system for the 1996 elections, however, it became much easier for smaller parties to enter parliament; but more difficult to gain election as a non-party independent. Since the change to MMP, about one third of the seats in Parliament have been held by MPs representing parties other than Labour and National. In the years before MMP, by contrast, there were sometimes no such MPs at all"
Labour and National are the big guns in NZ politricks then we have the government make or breakers parties Greens, NZ First, Maori Party, United Future and Act...There are other smaller parties but these are the so-called important ones
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_New_Zealand
Jacinda Ardern new leader of Labour (Openly Agnostic and humanistic)
Bill (been around the block a few times) English thrown in the deep end National leader 'when John Key resigned at the beginning of the year' ( Conservative Catholic ..I can't think of much else to say...I guess this says it all)
James Shaw Green Party leader (Down to Earth Mother Nature lover and humanistic)
Change is inevitable ...Suffering is optional
My party vote was Labour (I've met Jacinda on a number of occasions ad like her down to earth approach-she used to use the office where I work to hold interviews when she was a candidate representing Auckland central- the island comes under Auckland central ) and candidate vote Greens ...They I feel make a happy couple...
Word of the Day:
COURTYARD.
The words, 'Court', 'Girdle' 'Yard' and 'Garden' all ooriginate from the West Germanic/Ancient English root word "Gerd".
It means to enclose, enwrap, cloister, and shelter.
Here endeth today's 'Word of the Day'.
Thank you
Well I had to go into the city today to renew my Aussie passport...The Oz consulate is in a flash new building down by the water front..Their office was on the 7th floor...I go up the escalators to the level where the lifts are, and "SHOCK HORROR!!!" I can't find the buttons to call the lift...As I'm standing there looking confused, a lady come up and shows me where I have to call the lift from, a panel located in the hallway at the top of the escalators (I had walked past it)...
Well I get into the lift and I'm transported to the 7th floor and on stepping out a security guard approaches me and ask what I'm here for, I give him my name and say passport renewal...He lets me in and then I'm put through a metal detector and bag check...( I never had to go through this 10 years ago
)
On the island where I live we don't have high rise buildings with lifts (well apart the Red Cross building which is a two story building, they have a disability lift and one in the new supermarket which is used for trolleys and people with full, heavy trolleys who find it hard to walk down the ramp to the car park..).
Anyhow today's lift experience reminded me of this ...
Seen yesterday on Facebook:
"I am a stickler for Grammar, and I selflessly dedicate my time and serious effort in correcting those who obviously have no knowledge of the subject, have no spellchecker, and cannot be asked to at least concern themselves that what they have written is at least permissible. It's something I do in service of Mankind, and to keep the language pure, unsullied and readable. However, yesterday, I was attacked by a thoroughly ungrateful and rude individual, who berated my expertise and admonished me for my generous efforts.
Sometimes, to correct others is gratifying and very satisfying, but most of the time, I just feel exactly as Robin Hood must have felt when he jousted against those windmills."
It tickled me.....
Blimey that was quick...a courier has just delivered my new Aussie passport ...I only took the application in last Tuesday morning at 10.30am,..it's now Monday morning 10.18am...
Mind you the very first Aussie passport I got (back in the mid seventies in Sydney) only took 2 hours from start(filling out the application then going out for a cup of tea) to finish ( returning to the office to pick it up)
The staff in the Australian passport department must know I'm a VIP ... (Very Impatient Person)
Nice one!
I recall being shocked at the speed of bureaucracy in NZ when I lived there.
Walked in to a bank and came out fifteen minutes later with a bank account, an eftpos card and the PIN for it! In Australia, the US or UK this whole process would take a week or two.
My ex-wife called up the IRD(?) to change her surname with the expectation that she'd need to send in a marriage certificate to prove it but no, they just updated it over the phone!
Just realised the two uncomfortable 'meditation cushions' I recently bought are door stops.
I am gonna find a rock ...
This just cost me an arm and a leg ($5. 20c NZD ) ... so goodbye meditation and Dharma practice and Hello instant awakening....... this had better bloody work or "I" will have the company for false advertising
Let us know how it went, oh Wise and Holy one....
Just bought a cheap action cam. My idea of action is listening to autumn leaves crunch, whilst walking through woodland.
Unfortunately whilst filming, I came across someones misplaced mobile phone and now have the dubious honour of returning it. Too much action before breakfast ... I may need an awaken bar ...
Well I've just eaten the "Awaken" bar and....
Oh well....
I knew it sounded too good to be true... awakening sold in crunchy bar form.
They make em tough in Oz
"The Shark Wrangler"
I honestly was expecting a diver confronting a 20ft great white. Call that a wrangle...? I've seen puppies getting down on it better!!
There I was searching for garudas, nagas and the Surrey Puma
... when who should I come across ... a white squirrel ...
Beautiful ...
That's my local Italian legumes & Pulses vendor, Al Beano....
After meditation this morning I looked up into a tree
And there was a Tui staring down at me....
Then the other day I was walking around
I spied another Tui much closer to the ground
This is the Tui I generally spotted in my time in NZ.......
@Bunks .... Do you remember the
Ads
On the way home the other day I came across a mother duck taking two of her ducklings for a swim in a storm water drain...I thought how cute...and the ducklings seem to be having a ducking awesome time
@federica is right the squirrel was an Albino. Quite rare, apparently more common is a genetic mutation that allows white squirrel families.
Anyways I bought a new bridge camera to photograph devas, rainbow bodies, mutant wildlife etc. Went to my local London graveyard to try out the settings. Very surprised to photograph a pheasant. Yum ... I mean beautiful bird ...
I do @Shoshin
Yeah right ....
Here is another food item
sentient being, I photographed in London a few hours ago (Richmond Park). I called him Gandalf, as he was hanging out with his mates blocking my path - 'None shall pass'. Had to go back and around. Deer have priority in Royal Parks ... 
The photos are from stories online about the Northern California fires:
The first one is about a woman who was trying to get her horses to safety, but her trailer only held two so she put the third one in HER CAR. (She said her car will never smell the same again.)
The second picture is self-explanatory.
I still hate facebook.
That's all.
Thanks.