Andrew Furst's Blog, page 100

The Universe Unfolding – A Two Minute Meditation

The Universe Unfolding

We are small. Unfathomably small.  At the same time we bear the vastness of the universe in the heart of each breath.  Let yourself be led by limitlessness of it all in a dance of giving and taking. These are the tides upon which life unfolds. This is the universe unfolding.

Meditation:

Let yourself be enveloped by the vastness of space.

Open your heart and your whole being and let it be received.

Inhaling, accepting space. 

Exhaling, give yourself completely.

Inhaling, accepting space. 

Exhaling, give yourself completely. 

These Meditation Videos Are Best Viewed In Full Screen

 One  Minute Meditations is an ongoing series of short videos, poems, and commentary intended as a meditation.  Offered as an opportunity to step back from your cyber routine and settle into a more natural rhythm, if only for a minute.

Get Each Week's Minute Meditations in your email box

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Last Name:

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

These videos are produced for those of us who spend an inordinately large amount of time in the cyber-world.  They are not a substitute for unplugging from your devices and taking a stroll near trees, water, or a patch of unkempt grass.  Getting out into the world - touching, smelling, hearing, and seeing nature is the best way to reconnect with our prime purpose.  

What is our prime purpose? We are feeling and sensing machines.  We are the universe looking back on itself. We are witness to the wonders and dangers of living in this corner of the cosmos.  We are the seekers looking for connection a little further beyond yesterday's borders and boundaries.

But sitting and staring at the screen robs us of the sustenance that we rely upon for wonder and sanity.  These videos are an opportunity to bring the sensations of nature to you, while you're in the cyber-world. Its an opportunity to relax your gaze, resettle your posture,  and regain some depth in your breath.  Listen and watch the video and allow your self to open up and recharge.

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post The Universe Unfolding – A Two Minute Meditation appeared on Andrew Furst.

Ten Word Story II – Verse Us (Poems by Me)

A Ten Word Story

 

 

 

 

A line of crows form, Agatha Christie raises an eyebrow

Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.

Get Each Week's Compass Song in your email box

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Ten Word Story II – Verse Us (Poems by Me) appeared on Andrew Furst.

Clouds Don’t Land – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Get Each Week's Tiny Drops in your email box

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

Clouds Don’t Land

Following clouds, like following rainbows. Don’t worry when they don’t land.

 

Get Each Week's Tiny Drops in your email box

First Name:

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
FIVE LIMITLESS THOUGHTS

May all living beings have happiness and its causes

May all be free from unhappiness and its causes

May all dwell in equanimity, free of attraction and aversion

May all quickly find the great happiness that lies beyond all misery

May all enjoy inner and outer peace now and forever

NAMO AMITOFO

The post Clouds Don’t Land – Tiny Drops (Photography) appeared on Andrew Furst.

Militant Agnostics? – Say What?

Militant Agnostics?

Say What?  is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip. 

Get Each Week's Say What? Comic in your email box

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Militant Agnostics? – Say What? appeared on Andrew Furst.

Shinto by Jorge Luis Borges – Compass Songs

Shinto

by Jorge Luis Borges

When sorrow lays us low

for a second we are saved

by humble windfalls

of the mindfulness or memory:

the taste of a fruit, the taste of water,

that face given back to us by a dream,

the first jasmine of November,

the endless yearning of the compass,

a book we thought was lost,

the throb of a hexameter,

the slight key that opens a house to us,

the smell of a library, or of sandalwood,

the former name of a street,

the colors of a map,

an unforeseen etymology,

the smoothness of a filed fingernail,

the date we were looking for,

the twelve dark bell-strokes, tolling as we count,

a sudden physical pain.

Eight million Shinto deities

travel secretly throughout the earth.

Those modest gods touch us–

touch us and move on.

 Compass Songs is an ongoing series of works by poets that I enjoy. Poetry, as the Zen Masters have said, is like a finger pointing to the moon. It speaks the unspeakable.

Get Each Week's Compass Song in your email box

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Shinto by Jorge Luis Borges – Compass Songs appeared on Andrew Furst.

Tell Me A Story IV

Tell Me A Story is a an ongoing series of lightening story prompts. The rules are simple

Set a timer for 5 minutes
Read or view the prompt
In the comments section below write a short story, poem, or rant as you are moved in the moment

Prompt: See the photo above.If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Tell Me A Story IV appeared on Andrew Furst.

Does Buddhism Mean Don’t Worry? – Dialectic Two Step

Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)

Does Buddhism Mean Don’t Worry?

Questions: Is impermanence a practical reason not to worry?

I don’t have an intuitive understanding of why impermanence implies that nothing is a problem. I mean conceptually I understand that everything is a flux of change, and nothing stays that way forever. But, say, if we have a chronic pain or lose one important body part, in principle, the problem eventually goes away (when we die), but is this view practical, because the problem stays with us as long as we live?

Worry – what’s it good for?

Worry is great – It’s a signaling system that our bodies use to say, “wake up, there’s a problem, or danger, or something that needs your attention.”

Worry can be a problem – if you enter into a cycle where worry begets more worry, then you’ve spun out of control. If you can’t get out of your head to do something about what’s happening, then worry is actually harmful.

Impermanence – what’s that got to do with worrying?

One of my favorite Dalai Lama quotes goes something like this:

If you can do something about the problem, why worry? If you can’t do anything about the problem, why worry?

Everything changes, that means whatever the problem is now, it will be different later.

If we can adjust – say, if we’re worried about getting sunburn –  you can get out of the sun, or use sun screen. Worrying about the sunburn has a useful effect, it spurs us to action – we get out of the sun or put on sunscreen.  Problem solved, we can stop worrying.

If we can’t adjust – say a meteor is about to hit out planet – then no amount of worrying will help.

But you’re right; you can’t say “don’t worry” because worrying has its place. But we want to be attentive to how productive our worrying is. If we become overwhelmed with worry, that’s a sign that we need a change.

Dialectic Two-Step  is an ongoing series of my thoughts on questions that come my way.

Wisdom lies neither in fixity nor in change, but in the dialectic between the two. - Octavio

Get Each Week's Dialectic Two Step in your email box

First Name:

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In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Does Buddhism Mean Don’t Worry? – Dialectic Two Step appeared on Andrew Furst.

Ripples on the Atlantic – A Two Minute Meditation

Ripples on the Atlantic

Formed by what is here

carrying through it, the waves

of consequences

Meditation: 

Relinquish your focus on any one thing.

Let your awareness rest everywhere without expectation.  

Let each moment arise and be there to receive it.      

These Meditation Videos Are Best Viewed In Full Screen

 One  Minute Meditations is an ongoing series of short videos, poems, and commentary intended as a meditation.  Offered as an opportunity to step back from your cyber routine and settle into a more natural rhythm, if only for a minute.

Get Each Week's Minute Meditations in your email box

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

These videos are produced for those of us who spend an inordinately large amount of time in the cyber-world.  They are not a substitute for unplugging from your devices and taking a stroll near trees, water, or a patch of unkempt grass.  Getting out into the world - touching, smelling, hearing, and seeing nature is the best way to reconnect with our prime purpose.  

What is our prime purpose? We are feeling and sensing machines.  We are the universe looking back on itself. We are witness to the wonders and dangers of living in this corner of the cosmos.  We are the seekers looking for connection a little further beyond yesterday's borders and boundaries.

But sitting and staring at the screen robs us of the sustenance that we rely upon for wonder and sanity.  These videos are an opportunity to bring the sensations of nature to you, while you're in the cyber-world. Its an opportunity to relax your gaze, resettle your posture,  and regain some depth in your breath.  Listen and watch the video and allow your self to open up and recharge.

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Ripples on the Atlantic – A Two Minute Meditation appeared on Andrew Furst.

Are You A Hypnotist – Flaming Lips – Sunday Morning Coming Down

Are You A Hypnotist – Flaming Lips

Daisy made me smile with the next two choices.  She’s 18 (a friend of the family), but she dropped some old favorites of mine on the list.

Are You A Hypnotist

by Flaming Lips

I had forgiven you for tricking me again

But I have been tricked again –

Into forgiving you –

What is this?? Are you some kind of hypnotist??

Waving your powers around – the sun eclipse behind the cloud…

I thought I recognized your face

Amongst all of those strangers –

But I am the stranger now

Amongst all of the recognized

What is this?? Are you some kind of hypnotist??

Waving your powers around – the sun eclipse behind the cloud

Sunday Morning Coming Down is an ongoing music  video series.  The songs fit my definition of music for a lazy couch bound Sunday morning. Get Each Week's Sunday Morning Coming Down in your email box

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Are You A Hypnotist – Flaming Lips – Sunday Morning Coming Down appeared on Andrew Furst.

Patriotism? – Say What?

Patriotism?

Say What?  is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip. 

Get Each Week's Say What? Comic in your email box

First Name:

Last Name:

Email address:

In addition to a monthly email you can also subscribe to the following weekly series:


One Minute Meditations



Tiny Drops (Photography series)



Compass Songs (My Favorite Poems)



Dialectic Two-Step



Modern Koans (interesting questions)



Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share below.

The post Patriotism? – Say What? appeared on Andrew Furst.