Tibetan singing bowl aids a goddess & me

     Kneeling on my knees, I hold the bowl out with one hand, while placing the other hand on the wooden floor, crawling from one side of the chair to another.

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Ring of truth played with bowls & forks

     My shoulders have grown enormously since this afternoon. I feel they’re “indestructible.” That I have durable lightweight plastic pads all around the neck, the collarbone and the head, as well as my upper chest and back. Energy of some sorts is protecting me from all harm to those areas. And it may be rubbing off on what they call the “Chakras‘ to my heart and higher parts.

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Buddha guides me thru VA PTSD path

Possibly Cont’d from Trappist monk helps veteran ‘awaken’ me 

Buddha came in the shape of a dark-haired, dark-skinned attractive yoga-practicing woman, smiling upon me in a dream.

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Trappist Monk helps Veteran ‘Awaken’ me

Con’td from Schuylkill Expressway miracle paves road to VA

    The first Buddha emerged in my dream as a muscular military-type, with short-cropped hair and engaging smile. Asian? No, Hispanic, but with a possible trace of someone from an exotic Asian island.

Visit with Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

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Flowers offer a heart-felt home-coming

Originally Cont’d from Flowers still brighten up my new ‘home’ 1-4-10

   Flowers brighten up any room, and the right vase can add an extra touch, particularly, when the arranger puts a lot of Love into the mix.

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“Gotta give ’em a little ‘respect,’ that’s all”

Originally Cont’d from Humility helps love grow despite our Self12-20-09

     There ain’t nothing humbling in what I adopted in trying to get ahead” in my life . . .  I can do anything I set my mind to had become my motto — it’s the type of superior attitude that we all admire, don’t we? Those who can’t adapt to this way of thinking ought to simply get out of the way. Look out world, here I come!

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God’s Presence Realized at Breakfast Table

Originally Cont’d from Feeling God’s Presence in the Mundane 12-6-09

    God.

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Dream helps guide me back to Paradise

Originally Cont’d from Dream Reveals Key to Paradise 12-2-09

 I realized that I was in Paradise.

     No, not the Paradise mentioned in our religious books about an Adam and Eve in a Garden of Eden. My Paradise was within, existing immediately before I had eaten from the fruit of the Knowledge Tree, the source of later intelligence, the later development of the mind and its control of my life.

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Retreat causes ‘after shocks’ from within

     A day-long Retreat at a Buddhist Center in Philadelphia has taken its toll on me. And I mean that in the best of ways!

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A new tutor learns a lesson from real life

I hope to start to tutor Natalka about the English language.  And, at the same time,  learn more of life than I ever could from any book.

Natalka needs to improve her language skills as a teacher of 2 and 3-year-olds at a pre-school outside Conshohocken, PA, here in the USA. She came from the “Old World,” the one behind the notorious “Iron Curtain.” And while she obtained a master’s degree in Chemistry while in Ukraine, her school “directors” want her to speak and write our language more fluently.

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Meditation energizes Meet-Up Group

     The 11-year-old boy misses the shot on the basketball court, and the coach takes him out of the game, benching him in full view of family and friends who came to watch the group of youngsters play Thursday.

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Many different voices beckon me to India

     I gotta stop pestering all these Indian women I meet.

     I find myself wondering if they are, indeed, from India. And determining that, I try to think of some way to ask about their religion. Without seeming to pry.

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Can Eye Movement Still a Body or a Mind?

I can see!

     Just a little. A small section at the top of my eye. Through the peripheral vision of my left eye.

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Bodhisattvas’ (Compassion) Practices -20

20

If outer foes are destroyed while not subduing the enemy of one’s own hatred, enemies will only increase. Therefore, subduing one’s own mind with the army of love and compassion is the Bodhisattvas’ practice.

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Common Sparrow flies as high as he dares

(Part IV in Totem Series, cont’d from ‘Common’ Ground )

     To become as “Common” as an Ordinary Sparrow, does not sound like much of an aspiration.

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Joy Found in Everyday ‘Common’ Ground

Part III in totem series (Hawk, tiger & sparrow)

     There’s nothing quite as common as a cracker, one of those Saltines, that is . . .

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Hawk, Tiger & Sparrow send Wake-up Call

Part I in the Totem Series

     Three animal totems appeared to me in the past few days, and I am putting the world on notice, that I plan to pay attention to what messages might be coming my way.

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What Type of Personality is Your Type?

     Here’s a series of traits from something called the Enneagram. You can search through in attempts to find what type of personality fits you. I found some interesting things about myself. And hope to bring them up at a meeting of HSPs (Highly Sensitive Persons), one of whom suggested the sites to me.

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Stop the presses, stop depression, stop!

     Stop! Don’t tell me anymore. Don’t want to hear it.

     Keep the news to yourself. It hurts me, it’s always bad.

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God Wins in Showdown with the Buddha

God won in the religious showdown I created between Him and the Buddha.

He rose to the top. Well, actually . . . He “remained” at the top, having never been “toppled,” so to speak. Continue reading

Can’t A Guy Get A Break Around Here?

       What am I doing with this wet rag in my hand? The woman at the meeting hall gave it to me, told me to “wipe down” some wooden box up on a stage with others cleaning and organizing for this Buddhist “event.”

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Gratitude Given Freely Can Grow on You

Want to feel good? Pick out five things each day to show your gratitude. Write ’em down. But, don’t try to fake it. You really gotta look for some thing in your life, some person, some reason that, deep down inside, you can say “makes me grateful.”

That’s a message I got from a fellow named Bill Stauffer who addressed a group of like-minded people who were seeking some spiritual insights this morning. Continue reading

How You can Smile in the Face of Death

     I looked Death in the Face and did not blink yesterday.

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Words of wisdom on not following doctrine

For another view, see Second Opinions Sought for My Salvation

     Should one follow religious doctrine simply because it’s written in the “book,” or that it comes from special teachers’ “teachings” (including Dharma)?

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Second Opinions Sought for My Salvation

     Psst! Hey you. Yeah, the good-lookin’ one with that Spiritual Glow about ’em.

     Ever seek a second opinion on how to get into heaven? No, I’m not talking about waiting until you’re dead. I mean, right “now.”

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Warmth flows to where heart’s needed

     My heart opens more with a warm cup of coffee in my left hand than my right.

     You got that?

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Dalai Lama Fulfills My Holiday Wish List

Please See original Story My Xmas Wish List to the Dalai Lama

     My three wishes have come true.

     Each manifested differently; I didn’t realize all were granted until the end of the day, the time in which I asked for them to come true.

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Bartlows’ dinner drives away all the blues

     “I remember once when mom made a delicious snack dish,” Amy said at a Christmas dinner I attended with my in-laws last night.

     “Only Once?” someone cried out

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Police nab attention whenever One roams

     Saw a police force van and immediately slowed down while driving.

     I do it all the time, even if I’m well within the speed limit. Habit, I guess. Always feel that I’ve done something wrong. Guilt seems to rise to the surface whenever I see police.

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Home visit will provide internal answers

   

So many choices. So many books to read, words to digest. How do you know where to begin?

Each claim to have the answer, the “truth.”  Each offers an inviting path to follow, a way of life that will lead to where we all want to go home.

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Be Humble; Let Love Grow Inside Your Self

“Whenever I interact with someone,
May I view myself as the lowest amongst all,
And, from the very depths of my heart,
Respectfully hold others as superior.”

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Snow & Zen Usher in Winter of 2009-2010

     A white cap of snow covers the head of the Buddha statue in the side yard of my Conshohocken home. Snow blankets his shoulders, his lap and that part of his robe that crosses his chest from the top left shoulder to the mid-section of the belly on the right. His arms, partial chest and kneecaps remain bare and uncovered by the snow — as if to dramatically challenge the white fluffy stuff to hide the bold charcoal black statue parts beneath.

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A Flower Blooms then Rests in the Buddha

Can I give a flower to a Buddhist?

To show the impermanence of beauty.

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My Xmas Wish List to the Dalai Llama

Revised Xmas list:

       Your Holiness:

      Please grant me three wishes the next time I visit a Buddhist Center:

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Think Buddha ever signed new members?

(Part IV, Continued from Life’s Journey)

QUES: What did Buddhist want on ordering a hot dog?     ANS:   “One with everything.”

QUES: What did he say when asked for any change?            ANS:   “Change must come from within.”

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Life’s Journey leads me to a Tea Ceremony

(Part III, Continued from Meditation lets my energy flow from within)

     Never been to a “Tea Ceremony” before. On hearing about it Sunday, I envisioned something out of “Alice in Wonderland,” with the Mad Hatter sipping a cup at a long white table, and the March Hare constantly glancing at his watch — just a bunch of silliness, per an animated movie.

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On road to Peace, I found some “Bhuddies”

     For the first time in my life, I attended a Buddhist gathering knowing that I wanted to learn more about meditation and the teachings about compassion and loving kindness.

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Who’s Calling Me This Time? Oh, it’s YOU!

      Off to a Tibetan Buddhist Center in Philadelphia, PA. 

      Did not know there were so many. Buddhist Centers, that is. In the USA.

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Falcon Reveals World of Mystery & Hope

     A falcon flew in to visit me. Four times, he soared from afar, twice through graceful flights of precision flying, and twice as an attack bird zeroing in on its prey.

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Listen: “Beloved” Calls to You and Me

 The writing below invokes something that pulls me to a Higher Self, perhaps the Highest. And I thirst for more.

The ‘Call and the Echo‘ Calls Out to Me and You

I am calling to you from afar:  

Calling to you since the very beginning of days. 

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Thanks for a Path that Preserved my Life

     Ever wonder what life would have been like if you made different choices years earlier?

     Choosing a Different Path May Have Hurt You 

I was 19 when I felt “separated” from most of the people I hung out with and called friends. I wanted to be so much like them; not to care about such things as “love,” “compassion,”  other people’s feelings.” That was “sissy” stuff; stuff that only a “wuss” would think about. I saw these aspects of myself as a “weakness.

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“Don’t like this love…(crap)” she told me!

     “I don’t like this love shit,” a woman I was about to meditate with whispered to me while in the circle of our six-person meditation “community.”

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Veterans find joy in their own backyards

     You can’t know how much pleasure there is in feeding a squirrel until you open yourself to the wonders of nature . . . and of course . . .  feed a squirrel . . . daily

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Meditative dining offers food for thought

     Mindfullness Practice Helps While Eating 

Eating sausage in the morning helps me “Be in the Moment.”

     I dine at an IKEA store in Conshohocken, PA, the North American headquarters for the Swedish furniture company. It offers a restaurant serving good food for prices that beat the costs of diners and even fast-food places. (99 cents for scrambled eggs, home fries, and a choice of bacon or sausage. Coffee is free from 9:30 to 10 a.m. with refills.

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Serving others helps to serve you as well

The purpose of Life is to know, love, and serve the Creator.

But how do you serve an All-Giving Entity?

I believe thatto Serve the Creator is to Serve Humanity”

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