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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
From what I gather Oxfam are working with communities in developing sustainable living environments, where the gifts go to local families...That's good enough for me....However...
"The Pros & Cons" ....For the most part there are always pros & cons when it comes to wanting to help others....
I had an interesting experience the other day when I had to visit Auckland (I was looking to buy some carseat covers) anyhow as I was walking from the train station to the store, I came across a young man sitting outside a fast food place, begging...When I'm not in any hurry I normally stop say hi (letting them know that I see & acknowledge them) and give a few $$ if I have any spare (there's no guaranty that the money will go on food-sometimes it goes on drugs or alcohol ) ... On the odd occasions, I will offer to buy them a meal...Well I didn't have any loose cash on me, so I told him, that I would give him something on my way back from the store, but then he asked if I would buy him a meal instead (which to me is unusual ...normally they want cash) anyhow I happily agreed and took him in to the shop and let him order a meal...
I guess it's not much different from some of people who come into foodbanks ...some are in genuine need eg, needing food to feed their families , because they have had unexpected bills to pay, whilst others have blown their food money on booze and or drugs, sadly it's their children who are the ones who will go hungry if they are not helped...
Sometimes you just have to give them the benefit of the doubt...If you start to think too deeply about the possible pros & cons you may never do/give anything...Then those in need may miss out altogether....
When the intellect ventures into where it does not belong, it becomes lost in its own confusion
I might have explained to the resident teacher of my Sangha yesterday that a particularly nerdy way of describing afflictive emotions that my friends and I are partial to is “brain weasels”. They run roughshod over your mental processes and cause intense suffering.
I don’t think he was expecting that.
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
Hmmm... Interesting.... I had a discussion with a buddy along the same lines a while ago, and we came up with 'cockroach thoughts'....
@federica said:
Hmmm... Interesting.... I had a discussion with a buddy along the same lines a while ago, and we came up with 'cockroach thoughts'....
Ooooo, I like that one! I wish I knew who initially came up with “brain weasels”. I just know that a specific group of acquaintances and friends use it pretty regularly.
It is an important insight, we are not our own boss! She has put us on zero-ours contract. I have decided The Buddha (Awake One) is a better employment. What no-I? Or to put it another way, What Know I.
Onward and upward. Mind the weasels. Sideways and Inward.
It's funny how we seem to use other creatures to describe some negative aspect of another human being, when in fact the creatures themselves represent nothing of the kind...They are just doing their own evolutionary thing the best that they can...
Rat
Pig
Snake
Goat
Weasel
Shark
Monkey (mind...had to put that one in )
Cockroach
Slug
No doubt there are more to add to the list
@Shoshin said:
It's funny how we seem to use other creatures to describe some negative aspect of another human being, when in fact the creatures themselves represent nothing of the kind...They are just doing their own evolutionary thing the best that they can...
Rat
Pig
Snake
Goat
Weasel
Shark
Monkey (mind...had to put that one in )
Cockroach
Slug
No doubt there are more to add to the list
That reminds me of the Ahina Sutta:
Limitless is the Buddha,
limitless the Dhamma,
limitless the Sangha.
There is a limit to creeping things: snakes, scorpions, centipedes,
spiders, lizards, & rats.
I have made this safeguard,
I have made this protection.
May the beings depart.
I pay homage
to the Blessed One,
homage
to the seven
rightly self-awakened ones
Well it's the first day of winter here and Mother Nature is making a point of letting us all know with a display of rain winds and snow ...however at the moment there's some blue sky but a drop in temperature 13C...
Change is inevitable ...suffering is optional ...Thus have I heard
Just got back from listening to a talk by a young Green party memberChloe Swarbrick who was at the island's local Sustainability Centre (I actually missed the main talk and just got to sit down with her and a group of locals as she answered some of their questions..)
Wow...she's a dynamic speaker and knows her stuff...Some of the other locals there said they were blown away by her talk...The talk centred around Mental Health, Cannabis Reform and Housing...Just thought I'd share my afternoon's experience
2
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I do not advocate taking drugs of any kind, personally, but I do believe firmly that there are definitely very legitimate reasons for Cannabis reform.
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I have a colouring app which is exactly like painting by numbers, and it has loads of different designs, including the most gorgeous mandalas... It is great for falling asleep to!
Today I’ve joined the Fitbit club! Hoping to kickstart a new healthier lifestyle, walking enough, drinking enough water, losing weight, and it has a relax breathing app but with only 2 and 5 minute options.
It’ll be really interesting to see how my heart rate fluctuates when sitting. The watch is telling me my resting heart rate is only 60, bottom end of the normal scale.
@federica said:
I have a colouring app which is exactly like painting by numbers, and it has loads of different designs, including the most gorgeous mandalas... It is great for falling asleep to!
Which app do you use? Pigment?
I recently got an Apple Pencil for my iPad and I think that one uses the pencil so I’m tempted to get it for the mandalas.
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
On my walk this afternoon a so-called friend join me for some of the way (until it realised I didn't have any food )
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I have grown a moustache and a beard, for the first time in my life at age 46...
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 June 2019
Do you look respectable, mature and distinguished, or like a good friend of mine, Worzel Gummidge's poorer cousin?
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
It’s too early to tell... the relatively short hairs hold a reasonable shape, and the grey speckling adds some maturity, but there are signs of some scraggly curliness.
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
Scraggly curliness is what you want. You don't want patchy hairyless....
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Well, no, it’s not patchy and hairless, there is definitely some solid growth we will have to see what it turns into...
If I let mine grow for a week it starts to itch, so I usually shave once a week at that point.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
My ex-landlady is testing the limits of my kindness... she is refusing to give my deposit on my old apartment back with no good reason, and I’m having to use the courts to pry the money out of her. It’s making me feel bad because I can’t be kind, but she doesn’t deserve kindness, she has just been all kinds of nasty the last six months.
In the Netherlands do you have residential tenancy agreements ?
This is what we have here in NZ
A tenancy agreement is a contract, agreed to between a landlord and a tenant, which outlines the particular conditions of a tenancy. You should read and ensure you understand the agreement before signing it. The landlord must ensure the tenant receives a copy of the agreement before the tenancy begins.
Among other things, the agreement must specify the names of the parties involved, the bond, a list of chattels, the date the tenancy will start and end (if it has a fixed term), and a contact address for the landlord.
Has she stated why she's refusing to return your bond/deposit ?
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
I’ve looked into the legal arguments, and the law here is not on her side. But she is still refusing to pay and comes up with new arguments as to why every so often, as her view on the legal position changes.
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
Compassion comes in many guises, @Kerome. Now is not the time to be kind to her. Now is the time to be kind to yourself. View her in her true light: A person Grasping/Clinging to some concept of entitlement and greed; She is Suffering (remember that thread of yours?)
You are suffering too, because she is eroding your practice and undermining your willingness to show her what Buddhism teaches.
I get this. I really do. My goodness, do I ever...
My H and I had a protracted legal situation with an utterly despicable and ruthless Landlord, who got away with an awful lot, but also had to pay a high price for her unreasonable and frankly unlawful behaviour. When you are sat in Court, it's difficult to develop and emanate kindness.
We were fortunate on 2 counts: My H has a 1st Class Honours degree in Law, and was able to negotiate the bumpy ride, and secondly, the Judge was able to see right through her game, with consummate ease.
But it was extremely stressful, and if I am honest, there are still aspects of what she did, which rankle, and I need to release.
Kindness is something we develop over time, and apply as appropriate. Be Compassionate first. Embrace her pain and understand she is ignorant of any other way to proceed. She is blinded by her need to be right, to be in control...
Seek costs in court, too.
2
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
And if it's any consolation, we have a situation, a familial issue where a particular person has long worn out their right to exist, is stealing oxygen from others with no good entitlement, and the world would be much better off, were their life to be extinguished. They wouldn't be missed by anyone, anywhere, ever.
That is perhaps the most awful thing I could ever say about another human being.
Made all the more tragic because it's true.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited June 2019
I’m trying some psyllium husks as part of my diet, just to see what effect it has on my overall health. It seems to have quite a few benefits...
1
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
I have a couple of recipes for flatbreads using Psyllium if you want them... very nice.
@Kerome said:
I’m trying some psyllium husks as part of my diet, just to see what effect it has on my overall health. It seems to have quite a few benefits...
Good luck.
Gut health is so important it is sometimes called the second brain. I took psyllium for candida. Basically it removes yeast from the intestine, allowing it to heal ...
Our modern diet does not have enough roughage/fibre, more fruit, veg and beans will help. Start using wholemeal bread, rice and flour. Porridge or muesli for breakfast.
2
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
It's great though, if your intention is to avoid carbs...
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Beautiful photo essay on gathering cliff honey in China... who knew that giant bees iIn those mountains could grow to three centimetres long, that’s a big bee!
@Kerome said:
I’m trying some psyllium husks as part of my diet, just to see what effect it has on my overall health. It seems to have quite a few benefits...
Good luck.
Gut health is so important it is sometimes called the second brain. I took psyllium for candida. Basically it removes yeast from the intestine, allowing it to heal ...
That’s good to know, cheers @lobster... considering the amount of sugar I eat it might well have some substantial benefits.
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
@Kerome said:
I have grown a moustache and a beard, for the first time in my life at age 46...
I’m wondering what to do with the new growth, it’s starting to get a bit long and frizzy. Considering getting a beard trimming kit.
Probably in your shoes, the first thing I would do is go to my local, friendly expert barber and ask him the best way to care for, and trim a beard, at home. Start with advice from an expert, and modify to suit your situation and ability.
Got an email from InsightTimer (still much free content) a great way to tune in, zone in and zoom ... https://insighttimer.com/meditation-app
One of the groups I belong to is dailygratitude:
Today I am grateful I woke up. 10/10 and a gold star ⭐️ to everyone who achieved their 100%
success so quicky. So glad to be back amongst the grateful. Long live gratitude, life and achievement ... 😎🌈💗🙏🏽🦞
Only they were filming an ad ... Those self important luvvies sure do make a lot of noise.
The small sign on the supermarket said by entering the store I agreed to be filmed. No!
No time to come back ...
Oh well I got £5 off with my newspaper voucher. 👍🏻
No worries! Interestingly both June 21 and June 22 had exactly the same sunrise and sunset times in Australia. So the solstice spanned both days I guess.
A friend of mine works for English Heritage and this weekend he’ll be working as 10s of thousands of people descend on Stonehenge. I visited there a couple of years ago and it is rather impressive to see.
Comments
From what I gather Oxfam are working with communities in developing sustainable living environments, where the gifts go to local families...That's good enough for me....However...
"The Pros & Cons" ....For the most part there are always pros & cons when it comes to wanting to help others....
I had an interesting experience the other day when I had to visit Auckland (I was looking to buy some carseat covers) anyhow as I was walking from the train station to the store, I came across a young man sitting outside a fast food place, begging...When I'm not in any hurry I normally stop say hi (letting them know that I see & acknowledge them) and give a few $$ if I have any spare (there's no guaranty that the money will go on food-sometimes it goes on drugs or alcohol ) ... On the odd occasions, I will offer to buy them a meal...Well I didn't have any loose cash on me, so I told him, that I would give him something on my way back from the store, but then he asked if I would buy him a meal instead (which to me is unusual ...normally they want cash) anyhow I happily agreed and took him in to the shop and let him order a meal...
I guess it's not much different from some of people who come into foodbanks ...some are in genuine need eg, needing food to feed their families , because they have had unexpected bills to pay, whilst others have blown their food money on booze and or drugs, sadly it's their children who are the ones who will go hungry if they are not helped...
Sometimes you just have to give them the benefit of the doubt...If you start to think too deeply about the possible pros & cons you may never do/give anything...Then those in need may miss out altogether....
When the intellect ventures into where it does not belong, it becomes lost in its own confusion
I might have explained to the resident teacher of my Sangha yesterday that a particularly nerdy way of describing afflictive emotions that my friends and I are partial to is “brain weasels”. They run roughshod over your mental processes and cause intense suffering.
I don’t think he was expecting that.
Hmmm... Interesting.... I had a discussion with a buddy along the same lines a while ago, and we came up with 'cockroach thoughts'....
Brain Weasly for Hari Pottys?
Ooooo, I like that one! I wish I knew who initially came up with “brain weasels”. I just know that a specific group of acquaintances and friends use it pretty regularly.
Stinking thinking!!!
Tee hee.
Great terms. I rather like the term 'brain weasels'. We also have emotional mud. Dick thinking and ... ?
It is an important insight, we are not our own boss! She has put us on zero-ours contract. I have decided The Buddha (Awake One) is a better employment. What no-I? Or to put it another way, What Know I.
Onward and upward. Mind the weasels. Sideways and Inward.
It's funny how we seem to use other creatures to describe some negative aspect of another human being, when in fact the creatures themselves represent nothing of the kind...They are just doing their own evolutionary thing the best that they can...
Rat
) 
Pig
Snake
Goat
Weasel
Shark
Monkey (mind...had to put that one in
Cockroach
Slug
No doubt there are more to add to the list
That reminds me of the Ahina Sutta:
Limitless is the Buddha,
limitless the Dhamma,
limitless the Sangha.
There is a limit to creeping things:
snakes, scorpions, centipedes,
spiders, lizards, & rats.
I have made this safeguard,
I have made this protection.
May the beings depart.
I pay homage
to the Blessed One,
homage
to the seven
rightly self-awakened ones
Well it's the first day of winter here and Mother Nature is making a point of letting us all know with a display of rain winds and snow ...however at the moment there's some blue sky but a drop in temperature 13C...
Change is inevitable ...suffering is optional ...Thus have I heard
Just got back from listening to a talk by a young Green party memberChloe Swarbrick who was at the island's local Sustainability Centre (I actually missed the main talk and just got to sit down with her and a group of locals as she answered some of their questions..)
Wow...she's a dynamic speaker and knows her stuff...Some of the other locals there said they were blown away by her talk...The talk centred around Mental Health, Cannabis Reform and Housing...Just thought I'd share my afternoon's experience
I do not advocate taking drugs of any kind, personally, but I do believe firmly that there are definitely very legitimate reasons for Cannabis reform.
Save the Twitter Wail (DJ Trumpe) or save the world?
In the UK the Greens are seen as cranks or dreamers. However I read their manifesto and agree with 90% of it.
... bit more to it than that but ...
I vote Green
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Party_of_the_United_States
I became attached to a game again ...
It is a simple puzzle game but when meditating with closed eyes - the game was playing
https://web.mit.edu/xiphmont/Public/gPlanarity.html
Cold turkey for lobster!
I have a colouring app which is exactly like painting by numbers, and it has loads of different designs, including the most gorgeous mandalas... It is great for falling asleep to!
Today I’ve joined the Fitbit club! Hoping to kickstart a new healthier lifestyle, walking enough, drinking enough water, losing weight, and it has a relax breathing app but with only 2 and 5 minute options.
It’ll be really interesting to see how my heart rate fluctuates when sitting. The watch is telling me my resting heart rate is only 60, bottom end of the normal scale.
Any other Fitbit users here?
Which app do you use? Pigment?
I recently got an Apple Pencil for my iPad and I think that one uses the pencil so I’m tempted to get it for the mandalas.
It's an app on my iPhone called 'Happy Colour'.
On my walk this afternoon a so-called friend join me for some of the way (until it realised I didn't have any food
)
I have grown a moustache and a beard, for the first time in my life at age 46...
Do you look respectable, mature and distinguished, or like a good friend of mine, Worzel Gummidge's poorer cousin?
It’s too early to tell... the relatively short hairs hold a reasonable shape, and the grey speckling adds some maturity, but there are signs of some scraggly curliness.
Scraggly curliness is what you want. You don't want patchy hairyless....
Well, no, it’s not patchy and hairless, there is definitely some solid growth
we will have to see what it turns into...
If I let mine grow for a week it starts to itch, so I usually shave once a week at that point.
My ex-landlady is testing the limits of my kindness... she is refusing to give my deposit on my old apartment back with no good reason, and I’m having to use the courts to pry the money out of her. It’s making me feel bad because I can’t be kind, but she doesn’t deserve kindness, she has just been all kinds of nasty the last six months.
In the Netherlands do you have residential tenancy agreements ?
This is what we have here in NZ
Has she stated why she's refusing to return your bond/deposit ?
I’ve looked into the legal arguments, and the law here is not on her side. But she is still refusing to pay and comes up with new arguments as to why every so often, as her view on the legal position changes.
Compassion comes in many guises, @Kerome. Now is not the time to be kind to her. Now is the time to be kind to yourself. View her in her true light: A person Grasping/Clinging to some concept of entitlement and greed; She is Suffering (remember that thread of yours?)
You are suffering too, because she is eroding your practice and undermining your willingness to show her what Buddhism teaches.
I get this. I really do. My goodness, do I ever...
My H and I had a protracted legal situation with an utterly despicable and ruthless Landlord, who got away with an awful lot, but also had to pay a high price for her unreasonable and frankly unlawful behaviour. When you are sat in Court, it's difficult to develop and emanate kindness.
We were fortunate on 2 counts: My H has a 1st Class Honours degree in Law, and was able to negotiate the bumpy ride, and secondly, the Judge was able to see right through her game, with consummate ease.
But it was extremely stressful, and if I am honest, there are still aspects of what she did, which rankle, and I need to release.
Kindness is something we develop over time, and apply as appropriate. Be Compassionate first. Embrace her pain and understand she is ignorant of any other way to proceed. She is blinded by her need to be right, to be in control...
Seek costs in court, too.
And if it's any consolation, we have a situation, a familial issue where a particular person has long worn out their right to exist, is stealing oxygen from others with no good entitlement, and the world would be much better off, were their life to be extinguished. They wouldn't be missed by anyone, anywhere, ever.
That is perhaps the most awful thing I could ever say about another human being.
Made all the more tragic because it's true.
I’m trying some psyllium husks as part of my diet, just to see what effect it has on my overall health. It seems to have quite a few benefits...
I have a couple of recipes for flatbreads using Psyllium if you want them... very nice.
Good luck.
Gut health is so important it is sometimes called the second brain. I took psyllium for candida. Basically it removes yeast from the intestine, allowing it to heal ...
Our modern diet does not have enough roughage/fibre, more fruit, veg and beans will help. Start using wholemeal bread, rice and flour. Porridge or muesli for breakfast.
It's great though, if your intention is to avoid carbs...
Beautiful photo essay on gathering cliff honey in China... who knew that giant bees iIn those mountains could grow to three centimetres long, that’s a big bee!
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/jun/11/sweet-reward-yunnan-honey-hunters-in-pictures
That’s good to know, cheers @lobster... considering the amount of sugar I eat it might well have some substantial benefits.
This announcement is neither random, nor useless:
https://futurism.com/the-byte/single-use-plastics-ban-eu
Happy birthday Ajahn Chah!
101 today.....
🙏🙏🙏
When sitting in meditation, say, "That's not my business!" with every thought that comes by.
Ajahn Chah cha cha (dead but Still Dancing)
https://www.azquotes.com/author/17674-Ajahn_Chah
I’m wondering what to do with the new growth, it’s starting to get a bit long and frizzy. Considering getting a beard trimming kit.
Probably in your shoes, the first thing I would do is go to my local, friendly expert barber and ask him the best way to care for, and trim a beard, at home. Start with advice from an expert, and modify to suit your situation and ability.
My first attempt at digital watercolour-ing using the Pigment app...
That's really lovely...
Got an email from InsightTimer (still much free content) a great way to tune in, zone in and zoom ...
https://insighttimer.com/meditation-app
One of the groups I belong to is dailygratitude:
Today I am grateful I woke up. 10/10 and a gold star ⭐️ to everyone who achieved their 100%
success so quicky. So glad to be back amongst the grateful. Long live gratitude, life and achievement ... 😎🌈💗🙏🏽🦞
Hope they are all grateful for my efforts ...
I went shopping early today, usually quieter ...
Only they were filming an ad ... Those self important luvvies sure do make a lot of noise.
The small sign on the supermarket said by entering the store I agreed to be filmed. No!
No time to come back ...
Oh well I got £5 off with my newspaper voucher. 👍🏻
Happy Solstice everyone!
🙏🙏🙏
Thanks buddy. 1 Day to late, here, but I truly 'ppreciate the sentiment, Bro'...!
No worries! Interestingly both June 21 and June 22 had exactly the same sunrise and sunset times in Australia. So the solstice spanned both days I guess.
Indeed, happy Druids Day!
A friend of mine works for English Heritage and this weekend he’ll be working as 10s of thousands of people descend on Stonehenge. I visited there a couple of years ago and it is rather impressive to see.