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Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
If you’re interested where facebook’s metaverse product is heading, you could watch the film Ready Player One or read the Neal Stephenson sci-fi book Snow Crash.
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
If you want my opinion, wherever it's going, it's going to take some time.
He's not currently a popular figure.
And the young are abandoning Facebook.
Amazing sky this morning...
On my morning jolk the mind was fascinated with what the eyes were seeing and how the mind was interpreting it...Was I really seeing it or what It seeing me...."It" being the experience of conscious awareness...which was an absolutely amazing experience...
Yes that's about right @lobster
I remember Alan Watts saying something along the lines of "If you want to see inside your head just look at your surroundings"...
I left my study group to join another one. I had to break the precepts a bit to not tell them directly "I think this is getting way too sectarian and this guru yoga is not my cup of tea,but thanks". It has taken me a year to step back completely and I can't even imagine what it must be / involve when you are well part of group / movement and even have family and relatives there too.
The sensation was a bit unpleasant as it reminded me of the Spanish Civil War and a story like...imagine telling your relatives in 1936 Madrid, that you were a Communist, gay, and seeing a far-right nationalist sympathiser because you liked his heart and pecs.
The answer I received was silence. Noble silence?
On a positive note: a million bright ambassadors of morning.
6
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 October 2021
We resist change, because it's alien... we mistrust what we don't know. Part of moving forward, is learning to trust. The other part, is acceptance.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@コチシカ said:
I left my study group to join another one. I had to break the precepts a bit to not tell them directly "I think this is getting way too sectarian and this guru yoga is not my cup of tea, but thanks".
Bravely done. When we find a sangha is no longer beneficial, it is best to acknowledge the parting of the ways and let action join words.
0
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
The clocks went back
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
"Well you can't grow concrete"..."You can" The silence from Cameron says it all
This cracked me up...No doubt Mike the interviewer...thinks spaghetti grows on trees....
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 went back to Edmonton to get the winter tires put on the car & oil changed, & clean up the house.
Mum came home today, lots of stuff delivered; hospital bed, oxygen system, linens, meds, etc. Just a waiting game now, we will see how much time she has left. She wanted to be here, and was upset that it wasn't happening sooner. We're hoping that the change will motivate her to try eating a little. If it doesn't, well, she's where she wants to be, and where we want her to be. At home, with us.
I'm on a high protein-low carb diet and my farts smell like someone is fracking up my intestines.
3
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
@Walker said:
We're hoping that the change will motivate her to try eating a little. If it doesn't, well, she's where she wants to be, and where we want her to be. At home, with us.
I’m sure she will be comfortable, at least.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day -
No sky - no earthly view -
No distance looking blue -
No road - no street - no 't'other side the way' -
No end to any Row -
No indications where the Crescents go -
No top to any steeple -
No recognitions of familiar people -
....
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, -
November!
It's interesting how some people don't feel that what they have said is racist, sexist, homophobic etc etc...
I often wonder how a person who uses such slurs be it in a jokingly fashion would feel, if say for example, they had a child who was overweight and other children called them fatty, fatso or other adults made jokes about their child's weight....
Words can cut deep and in some they can leave lasting scars ...
There was meant to be a thunderstorm but it didn't eventuate ...
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
@Shoshin1 said: Words can cut deep and in some they can leave lasting scars ...
Yes, which is why the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" Is the biggest load of bovine scatology ever written. That's why there are Libel/slander laws in place.
The counterclain "The pen is mightier than the sword" is much nearer the mark...
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
edited November 2021
@federica said:
No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day -
No sky - no earthly view -
No distance looking blue -
No road - no street - no 't'other side the way' -
No end to any Row -
No indications where the Crescents go -
No top to any steeple -
No recognitions of familiar people -
....
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, -
November!
Having said this (earlier in this thread), I have to say, this morning is absolutely beautiful. Clear, crisp, autumnal, moist but fresh... azure sky, sun shine... More like March, than November! My garden is MOST confused... I have plants flowering, and behaving as if Winter has bypassed us completely...
I expect though, knowing British weather, we shall be given a sharp shock at some point, and plunged into the depts of a cold and unwelcoming spell, soon enough! Talk about 'make hay while the sun shines'...!
@Shoshin1 said:
It's interesting how some people don't feel that what they have said is racist, sexist, homophobic etc etc...
I often wonder how a person who uses such slurs be it in a jokingly fashion would feel, if say for example, they had a child who was overweight and other children called them fatty, fatso or other adults made jokes about their child's weight....
Words can cut deep and in some they can leave lasting scars ...
School was very tough because of this. Being overweight and being called names actually makes you more anxious about your weight and you end up doing things / retaining habits that are very ... well, I won't put it any names. To name one, I would never take my t-shirt off while going to the beach (and I lived in an island).
It would be great if children and parents were be educated to, in case they notice this issue (obesity) to be problematic, to help the person by engaging with them wiith loving-kindness -my parents signed me up to play tennis which was very fun and helped! / In university I had a friend who persuaded me to hit the gym).
I guess it is easier to just call people names...!
The path isn't easy, but the liberating weight of removing /avoiding those unwholesome burdens -call it negative kamma, being a a*shole, etc- is so rewarding.
5
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
Well it was a nice sunny afternoon so I went for a bike ride....
The volcano in the background is Rangitoto, if it were to blow it would take Auckland and all the island in the Hauraki gulf out with it ...
This is where Geshe-la used to give his Dharma talks once a month on a Sunday, he stopped coming a few years ago, (couldn't find a translator) but the sign advertising Buddhism still there...Maybe it's a sign 🙏🙏🙏
It was held in the little hall at the back next to the green water tank...The little hall could hold around 40 people...
3
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited November 2021
@Shoshin1 said:
Well it was a nice sunny afternoon so I went for a bike ride....
I like your bicycle @Shoshin1 … it was very … aquamarine. Foldable too if I’m not mistaken. I like to do that as well, go out for bike rides and stop to take photographs, mostly during summer.
2
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited November 2021
I live in Lelystad, in Flevoland. It’s a large polder between Amsterdam and Zwolle, a piece of land surrounded by dikes and reclaimed from the sea in the 1960’s. Because everything is recently reclaimed land, the whole setup is more spacious than other parts of the Netherlands, the houses tend to be larger and have bigger gardens, the municipal buildings are further apart, and so on. It’s still uniquely Dutch, but everything is modern.
The bike ride was along the dikes outward from Lelystad.
It's definitely one area I'd like to see if I ever make it to the Netherlands. I have an interest in these newer, planned developments. Houten is another place that I'd like to visit.
1
JeroenLuminous beings are we, not this crude matterNetherlandsVeteran
edited November 2021
@how said: @Jeroen
As reclaimed land from the 1960's, how high are you above sea's the high tide?
On average it’s 4.8 meters below the sea level surface. I’m not sure how it works out with the tides because it’s not exposed to the North Sea but to the Dutch inland sea, de Zuiderzee, which is entirely closed off with dikes.
But in fact large areas of the Netherlands are below sea level, so it’s not that unusual. Dutch engineering on waterworks and dikes is among the best in the world, because of the long coastline and the many major rivers such as the Rhine and the Scheldt which exit the European mainland here and stream into the North Sea.
The last time there was a major disaster was in 1953, when perfect-storm conditions took out a number of dikes and flooded much of the southern coastal province of Zeeland. There were about 1800 casualties. This prompted a major renovation programme on dikes and river closures.
I started out on my bike on my way to meet a friend at the beach for a walk...As I approached the top of the hill, I thought bloody hell this is hard going, (the temperature was in the low to mid twenties) then realised the battery was almost on empty, I had been using more peddle power than battery power and electric bike are for the most part a lot heavier than normal bikes, so I decided to cycle home (fortunately it was down hill most of the way)...By the time I arrived home it was coming up to the time we had arranged to meet and my friend don't normally take her phone out with her, so I hopped into my car and drive there....
I parked up in the village and walked down one of the paths to the beach...
We had a nice Dharma chat whilst covering the length of the beach three or four times...Topic of conversation..Things are not quite what they seem so there was a lot to talk about...
On the way back to the car I ( or should that be 'eye consciousness') was taken by the sight of the mist hovering around the base of the Coromandel peninsula in the distance..it was quite mesmerising...
@Walker said:
Mum passed this afternoon. We will miss her.
Dad said we will move forward and carry her memory on with us.
I'm reminded of some famous last words. All conditioned things are impermanent.
I will tread the path with care.
Sorry to hear that @Walker, even though mentally it was expected, still it does not lessen the sadness felt in the heart when it does... my condolences to you and your family..
A Buddhist Stanza said at funerals
"Transient alas are all component things Subject are they to birth and then decay Having gained birth, to death the life flux swings-
_Bliss truly dawns when unrest dies away!"
@Walker said:
Mum passed this afternoon. We will miss her.
Dad said we will move forward and carry her memory on with us.
I'm reminded of some famous last words. All conditioned things are impermanent.
I will tread the path with care.
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family
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
@Walker said:
Mum passed this afternoon. We will miss her.
Dad said we will move forward and carry her memory on with us.
I'm reminded of some famous last words. All conditioned things are impermanent.
I will tread the path with care.
Oh Walker, I am so sorry. Please accept my deepest, and most sincere condolences, to both you and all your affected family. It was a loving thing that she went on her way where she wanted to be, at home, with you.
It's funny.. when my father died, I saw an extraordinary transformation take place.. he was my father, but about a half hour later, I didn't recognise him. I mean, I knew he was my father, and he laid there, at peace, at last... but the essence of him, the quality that made him a being, had somehow subtly and quietly left... All that remained was a vessel... So that energy, that "I am" dissippated, and departed... He is somewhere else, I am sure...
Much love to you, and thank you for sharing your experience with us, and giving us a window onto The Life of others...
Visiting my parents this weekend in country Victoria. Getting our first blast of hot, humid weather.
My mates and I used to jump off the top of the steel girders of the traffics bridge into the lake below when I was young. God knows what we were thinking! No way I’d do it now
Comments
Ahhh Aotearoa
If you’re interested where facebook’s metaverse product is heading, you could watch the film Ready Player One or read the Neal Stephenson sci-fi book Snow Crash.
If you want my opinion, wherever it's going, it's going to take some time.
He's not currently a popular figure.
And the young are abandoning Facebook.
Amazing sky this morning...
On my morning jolk the mind was fascinated with what the eyes were seeing and how the mind was interpreting it...Was I really seeing it or what It seeing me...."It" being the experience of conscious awareness...which was an absolutely amazing experience...
Great photo @Shoshin1
One reflects the other. We might call this inside out or outside in …
Yes that's about right @lobster
I remember Alan Watts saying something along the lines of "If you want to see inside your head just look at your surroundings"...
I left my study group to join another one. I had to break the precepts a bit to not tell them directly "I think this is getting way too sectarian and this guru yoga is not my cup of tea,but thanks". It has taken me a year to step back completely and I can't even imagine what it must be / involve when you are well part of group / movement and even have family and relatives there too.
The sensation was a bit unpleasant as it reminded me of the Spanish Civil War and a story like...imagine telling your relatives in 1936 Madrid, that you were a Communist, gay, and seeing a far-right nationalist sympathiser because you liked his heart and pecs.
The answer I received was silence. Noble silence?
On a positive note: a million bright ambassadors of morning.
We resist change, because it's alien... we mistrust what we don't know. Part of moving forward, is learning to trust. The other part, is acceptance.
Bravely done. When we find a sangha is no longer beneficial, it is best to acknowledge the parting of the ways and let action join words.
The clocks went back
Who forgot? Not I!
Clocks go back Nov 7 in Alberta (like much of the rest of US/Canada).
Our recent referendum to go to Daylight Savings Time year-round failed, by an extremely close margin, 49.8% yes, 50.2% no.
Saskatchewan has the right idea, they leave their clocks on Standard Time year-round.
We have five different time zones now in Australia. It’s kinda ridiculous…..
"Well you can't grow concrete"..."You can" The silence from Cameron says it all
This cracked me up...No doubt Mike the interviewer...thinks spaghetti grows on trees....
What a dickwad...!
What did I just watch...........
:S ?! ... ommm....
Wow. His intellectual capacity is on par with Bill O'Reilly.
'Tide goes in, tide goes out, you can't explain that.'
lol
Yay!...Hang on... I'm sorry...WHAT?!
https://www.9news.com.au/world/new-zealands-coveted-bird-of-the-year-award-goes-to-a-bat/b8e2621a-6e44-4aa4-a407-52cc5f4f688d?fbclid=IwAR01y0iJrlhbFt_eFnYHtejHXawuHvmTycG--fGsLhAvBYDGSeG7vx3GHck
Last couple of days were hectic.
I went back to Edmonton to get the winter tires put on the car & oil changed, & clean up the house.
Mum came home today, lots of stuff delivered; hospital bed, oxygen system, linens, meds, etc. Just a waiting game now, we will see how much time she has left. She wanted to be here, and was upset that it wasn't happening sooner. We're hoping that the change will motivate her to try eating a little. If it doesn't, well, she's where she wants to be, and where we want her to be. At home, with us.
I'm on a high protein-low carb diet and my farts smell like someone is fracking up my intestines.
I’m sure she will be comfortable, at least.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/03/an-unbelievable-sense-of-freedom-why-americans-are-quitting-in-record-numbers
On a need-to-know basis....
That said, I have been doing the same,. coupled with intermittent fasting... I lost nearly 3 stone, that's 42 lbs give or take the odd croissant...
I have been on such a high protein-low carb diet, for health reason. Yep you lose weight.
https://www.thecandidadiet.com/
No sun - no moon!
No morn - no noon -
No dawn - no dusk - no proper time of day -
No sky - no earthly view -
No distance looking blue -
No road - no street - no 't'other side the way' -
No end to any Row -
No indications where the Crescents go -
No top to any steeple -
No recognitions of familiar people -
....
No warmth, no cheerfulness, no healthful ease,
No comfortable feel in any member -
No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,
No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds, -
November!
Yorkshire Cricket Club showing how not to deal with institutionalised racism
https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/59169535
It's interesting how some people don't feel that what they have said is racist, sexist, homophobic etc etc...
I often wonder how a person who uses such slurs be it in a jokingly fashion would feel, if say for example, they had a child who was overweight and other children called them fatty, fatso or other adults made jokes about their child's weight....
Words can cut deep and in some they can leave lasting scars ...
Beautiful skies on this morning jolk...
There was meant to be a thunderstorm but it didn't eventuate ...
Yes, which is why the saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" Is the biggest load of bovine scatology ever written. That's why there are Libel/slander laws in place.
The counterclain "The pen is mightier than the sword" is much nearer the mark...
Having said this (earlier in this thread), I have to say, this morning is absolutely beautiful. Clear, crisp, autumnal, moist but fresh... azure sky, sun shine... More like March, than November! My garden is MOST confused... I have plants flowering, and behaving as if Winter has bypassed us completely...
I expect though, knowing British weather, we shall be given a sharp shock at some point, and plunged into the depts of a cold and unwelcoming spell, soon enough! Talk about 'make hay while the sun shines'...!
School was very tough because of this. Being overweight and being called names actually makes you more anxious about your weight and you end up doing things / retaining habits that are very ... well, I won't put it any names. To name one, I would never take my t-shirt off while going to the beach (and I lived in an island).
It would be great if children and parents were be educated to, in case they notice this issue (obesity) to be problematic, to help the person by engaging with them wiith loving-kindness -my parents signed me up to play tennis which was very fun and helped! / In university I had a friend who persuaded me to hit the gym).
I guess it is easier to just call people names...!
The path isn't easy, but the liberating weight of removing /avoiding those unwholesome burdens -call it negative kamma, being a a*shole, etc- is so rewarding.
Happy Guy Fawkes night for those in the UK…
Well it was a nice sunny afternoon so I went for a bike ride....
The volcano in the background is Rangitoto, if it were to blow it would take Auckland and all the island in the Hauraki gulf out with it ...
This is where Geshe-la used to give his Dharma talks once a month on a Sunday, he stopped coming a few years ago, (couldn't find a translator) but the sign advertising Buddhism still there...Maybe it's a sign 🙏🙏🙏
It was held in the little hall at the back next to the green water tank...The little hall could hold around 40 people...
I like your bicycle @Shoshin1 … it was very … aquamarine. Foldable too if I’m not mistaken. I like to do that as well, go out for bike rides and stop to take photographs, mostly during summer.
A bike ride this summer, I think it was in June…
What part of the Netherlands @Jeroen ?
I live in Lelystad, in Flevoland. It’s a large polder between Amsterdam and Zwolle, a piece of land surrounded by dikes and reclaimed from the sea in the 1960’s. Because everything is recently reclaimed land, the whole setup is more spacious than other parts of the Netherlands, the houses tend to be larger and have bigger gardens, the municipal buildings are further apart, and so on. It’s still uniquely Dutch, but everything is modern.
The bike ride was along the dikes outward from Lelystad.
@Jeroen
As reclaimed land from the 1960's, how high are you above sea's the high tide?
Beautiful shots @Jeroen
It's definitely one area I'd like to see if I ever make it to the Netherlands. I have an interest in these newer, planned developments. Houten is another place that I'd like to visit.
On average it’s 4.8 meters below the sea level surface. I’m not sure how it works out with the tides because it’s not exposed to the North Sea but to the Dutch inland sea, de Zuiderzee, which is entirely closed off with dikes.
But in fact large areas of the Netherlands are below sea level, so it’s not that unusual. Dutch engineering on waterworks and dikes is among the best in the world, because of the long coastline and the many major rivers such as the Rhine and the Scheldt which exit the European mainland here and stream into the North Sea.
The last time there was a major disaster was in 1953, when perfect-storm conditions took out a number of dikes and flooded much of the southern coastal province of Zeeland. There were about 1800 casualties. This prompted a major renovation programme on dikes and river closures.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of_1953
I started out on my bike on my way to meet a friend at the beach for a walk...As I approached the top of the hill, I thought bloody hell this is hard going, (the temperature was in the low to mid twenties) then realised the battery was almost on empty, I had been using more peddle power than battery power and electric bike are for the most part a lot heavier than normal bikes, so I decided to cycle home (fortunately it was down hill most of the way)...By the time I arrived home it was coming up to the time we had arranged to meet and my friend don't normally take her phone out with her, so I hopped into my car and drive there....
I parked up in the village and walked down one of the paths to the beach...
We had a nice Dharma chat whilst covering the length of the beach three or four times...Topic of conversation..Things are not quite what they seem so there was a lot to talk about...
On the way back to the car I ( or should that be 'eye consciousness') was taken by the sight of the mist hovering around the base of the Coromandel peninsula in the distance..it was quite mesmerising...
Mum passed this afternoon. We will miss her.
Dad said we will move forward and carry her memory on with us.
I'm reminded of some famous last words. All conditioned things are impermanent.
I will tread the path with care.
Sorry to hear that @Walker, even though mentally it was expected, still it does not lessen the sadness felt in the heart when it does... my condolences to you and your family..
A Buddhist Stanza said at funerals
"Transient alas are all component things
Subject are they to birth and then decay
Having gained birth, to death the life flux swings-
_Bliss truly dawns when unrest dies away!"
May you and your family be well @Walker ...
Sad to hear of the passing of a loved one, wishing you all a quiet remembrance @walker.
😢 Condolences! What does that mean? Don't really know, just words to do with empathy, recognition, compassion for all involved.
I would like to invite everyone to:
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family
Oh Walker, I am so sorry. Please accept my deepest, and most sincere condolences, to both you and all your affected family. It was a loving thing that she went on her way where she wanted to be, at home, with you.
It's funny.. when my father died, I saw an extraordinary transformation take place.. he was my father, but about a half hour later, I didn't recognise him. I mean, I knew he was my father, and he laid there, at peace, at last... but the essence of him, the quality that made him a being, had somehow subtly and quietly left... All that remained was a vessel... So that energy, that "I am" dissippated, and departed... He is somewhere else, I am sure...
Much love to you, and thank you for sharing your experience with us, and giving us a window onto The Life of others...
Thank you all for the kind words.
Much love.
Visiting my parents this weekend in country Victoria. Getting our first blast of hot, humid weather.
My mates and I used to jump off the top of the steel girders of the traffics bridge into the lake below when I was young. God knows what we were thinking! No way I’d do it now