Andrew Furst's Blog, page 109

Things Aren’t Always – Verse Us

Things Aren’t Always

Things aren’t always.

Things aren’t always what they seem.

They seem;

They aren’t.

Things aren’t.

Seeming isn’t,

Is it?

Always?

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

The post Things Aren’t Always – Verse Us appeared on Andrew Furst.

Black & White III – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Tiny Drops is an ongoing iPhoneographic series. The images represent moments of noticing on my part.  For you, they are an offer to pause, observe, and take that noticing into your life.  All photos are mine unless noted otherwise.

These works by Andrew Furst are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Black & White III
old ford bwsnow twigs bwthistle bw

Municipal Artifacts

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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 Black & White III – Tiny Drops (Photography) appeared on Andrew Furst.

Buddhist Luxury? – Say What?

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

This shirt is dry clean only. Which means... it's dirty. - Mitch Hedberg 

Buddhist Luxury?

A Few Words On Buddhist Luxury

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One Minute Meditations



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Dialectic Two-Step



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Sunday Morning Coming Down (Music Videos)



Relics (Timeless Republished Articles)



Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

The post Buddhist Luxury? – Say What? appeared on Andrew Furst.

On the Beach at Night – Compass Songs

On the Beach at Night

by Walt Whitman

On the beach at night,

Stands a child with her father,

Watching the east, the autumn sky.

Up through the darkness,

While ravening clouds, the burial clouds, in black masses spreading,

Lower sullen and fast athwart and down the sky,

Amid a transparent clear belt of ether yet left in the east,

Ascends large and calm the lord-star Jupiter,

And nigh at hand, only a very little above,

Swim the delicate sisters the Pleiades.

From the beach the child holding the hand of her father,

Those burial-clouds that lower victorious soon to devour all,

Watching, silently weeps.

Weep not, child,

Weep not, my darling,

With these kisses let me remove your tears,

The ravening clouds shall not long be victorious,

They shall not long possess the sky, they devour the stars only in apparition,

Jupiter shall emerge, be patient, watch again another night, the Pleiades shall emerge,

They are immortal, all those stars both silvery and golden shall shine out again,

The great stars and the little ones shall shine out again, they endure,

The vast immortal suns and the long-enduring pensive moons shall again shine.

Then dearest child mournest thou only for Jupiter?

Considerest thou alone the burial of the stars?

Something there is,

(With my lips soothing thee, adding I whisper,

I give thee the first suggestion, the problem and indirection,)

Something there is more immortal even than the stars,

(Many the burials, many the days and nights, passing away,)

Something that shall endure longer even than lustrous Jupiter

Longer than sun or any revolving satellite,

Or the radiant sisters the Pleiades.

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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)

 

 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.

The post On the Beach at Night – Compass Songs appeared on Andrew Furst.

Moral Flip Floppers? – Modern Koans

Moral Flip Floppers?

Why do we act in ways that contradict our values?

Why is it that we can’t stay on the straight and narrow.  Buddhists have the precepts, Christians & Jews have the 10 Commandments and so on. Most of us adopt these as values or morals. The rules are straightforward and clear. But everyday we manage to find ways to screw up. Most days see minor infractions.  But, every once and a while we feel the tug of one of the big ones, and maybe we cross the line.

We react differently in different situations because we’re human. I don’t think we’re programmed to respond consistently. I think it’s naive to look at the world black and white. I can’t even imagine the discipline or rigidness to make moral decisions based on a set of rules.  Human behavior demonstrates that we make decisions based on habits.  Fixing those habits is worthwhile hard work. But the effort required is proof that that we’ve clearly not evolved to be moral.  Our programming is aimed at survival.

But morality is desirable. The rational benefits are clear.  The work required is cognitive and behavioral programming. Much of it happens naturally.  When we are young and we learn the consequences of immoral behavior, we see its value.  It’s here where we adopt to apply our intelligence. We apply, or fail to apply, our intelligence to different situations in different ways. In some cases, our failure to live up to our values can just simply be a mistake. In other cases we may contradict our values for a good reason.

A naive view of morality tends to lead to low self esteem and all its baggage. We’ve all felt this. You survey your transgressions and see weakness, hopelessness, and sin. This feeds into a vicious cycle.  Either we make firm and impossible resolutions or we let go and sink into moral decay. Moving beyond this trap requires some nuanced thinking about morality and our behavior.

We should examine several facets of this puzzle to escape its pitfalls.  Are morals absolute? For instance, is there a middle ground when it comes to killing?  What motivates us to break the precepts? Where does responsibility lie? Do we have free will? To what degree are we intentional agents vs. biological machines?

Where do you fall on these spectra?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Modern Koans is an ongoing series that recognizes that good questions are often more important then their answers.

The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton

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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)

  

The post Moral Flip Floppers? – Modern Koans appeared on Andrew Furst.

Summer Dance – A Ten Minute Meditation

 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.

Summer Dance

An army of ants congregated in my yard in late June.  If you’re familiar with ant science and evolution, you know that in this seemingly senseless summer dance there is work getting done.  Not a purpose, nothing so contrived. But pure life persistence harnessing the regularity of the universe.  The train keeps running and the ants keep getting on. No worrying about the future, only doing their dance as if their life depended on it.

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.

Most of these are best viewed in full screen

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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 Watched The One Minute Meditation, How Do You Feel? Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. 

Get Each Week's One Minute Meditation 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)

The post Summer Dance – A Ten Minute Meditation appeared on Andrew Furst.

Old Ties And Companions – Sunday Morning Coming Down

Sunday Morning Coming Down is an ongoing music  video series.  The songs fit my definition of music for a lazy couch bound Sunday morning.

Old Ties And Companions – Mandolin Orange

This is part of my eldest sons set a Philmont (He’s a music program counselor)

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Say What?



Quotes



Verse Us (Poems I Write)

 
Old Ties And Companions – Mandolin Orange

Old man give me endless time

Never let these ties sever

It’s breaking bottles in the yard

Never still my mind again

Mmm

Like old ties and companions

Just sitting on the fence

The tears we’ve carried through the years will change

And man that’s just enough

To keep these ghosts around those haunted fields

Mmm

Like old ties and companions

You and I were just passing through

It’s a hundred thousand miles of lonely track

Holding back tomorrow

Someday I’ll hop along and ride it home

Like old ties and companions

We never leave alone

So old man give me endless time never let these ties sever

So heaven knows and all this fooling around

These times won’t last forever, afterall= revolution

The post Old Ties And Companions – Sunday Morning Coming Down appeared on Andrew Furst.

Which One? – Say What?

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

This shirt is dry clean only. Which means... it's dirty. - Mitch Hedberg 

Which One?

A Few Words On Dualism and Materialism. Which One?

Get Each Week's Say What? 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)

The post Which One? – Say What? appeared on Andrew Furst.

Black & White II – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Tiny Drops is an ongoing iPhoneographic series. The images represent moments of noticing on my part.  For you, they are an offer to pause, observe, and take that noticing into your life.  All photos are mine unless noted otherwise.

These works by Andrew Furst are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Black & White II
peg bwpublic bike bwmandolin bw

Municipal Artifacts

Get Each Week's Tiny Drops 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)

 
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 Black & White II – Tiny Drops (Photography) appeared on Andrew Furst.

Now Is The Time – Help Me Self-Publish My Book

Now Is The Time

We’ve Hit 10% of the campaign goal.  Hurray!  Thank all of you to those who’ve pitched in so far.

Now Let’s get to 20%

It’s critical for crowdfunding campaigns to reach 20% in the first weeks. Click here to contribute $5, $10, or whatever you can.

If you are thinking about contributing,

NOW IS THE TIME (Click Here)

The post Now Is The Time – Help Me Self-Publish My Book appeared on Andrew Furst.