Andrew Furst's Blog, page 21
January 2, 2018
The Best Articles of 2017
Why do you come here? So, that’s a rhetorical question, but if you have a response, please write it up in a comment below. Now back to the question. Each month I publish a “best of” series where I list the top 10 articles that were being read in that particular month. As New Years hovered nearby, I thought it would be a good idea to publish a list of the best articles of 2017.
Looking at the list tells me a lot about you. It tells me that you’re most interested in these four things
Modern Koans\Dialectic Two Step – thoughts on Buddhist concepts and conundrums:
Secular Buddhism – What’s Your Take? – Modern Koans
At What Point are We No Longer Human? – Modern Koans
Hooked On the Afterlife? – Dialectic Two Step
Enough Is Enough – Dialectic Two Step
Why Bad Things Happen To People? – Dialectic Two Step
Update: Should It Make Sense To You To Be True?
Does Christianity Make Sense? – Modern Koans
Are the Laws of Physics Empty of Inherent Existence? – Modern Koans
How Long Does It Take To Become Enlightened? – Dialectic Two Step
Photography – I was happy to see that many of you are interested in my art. I expect to add much more in this area.
Body Speech and Mind – Tiny Drops
Looking Skyward – Tiny Drops (Photography)
Sparks – Tiny Drops
Water – Tiny Drops (Photography)
The Fount – Tiny Drops
Views – Tiny Drops (Photography)
Meditations – minute meditations for the busy online person
A Walk Through Ward Reservation – A Three Minute Meditation
Under The Skin – A One Minute Meditation
Garwin Falls – A Two Minute Meditation
Quotes – perhaps you’re looking for inspiration or clarity
Carl Sagan on Delusions – Quotes
Teddy Roosevelt on Trouble – Quotes
Soren Kierkegaard Understanding Comes Later- Quotes
Here’s the full Top 25 best articles of 2017 that people were reading here on andrewfurst.net:
Secular Buddhism – What’s Your Take? – Modern Koans
Carl Sagan on Delusions – Quotes
Teddy Roosevelt on Trouble – Quotes
At What Point are We No Longer Human? – Modern Koans
Hooked On the Afterlife? – Dialectic Two Step
Body Speech and Mind – Tiny Drops
Soren Kierkegaard Understanding Comes Later- Quotes
Enough Is Enough – Dialectic Two Step
Why Bad Things Happen To People? – Dialectic Two Step
Compass Songs – Someone Should Start Laughing
Update: Should It Make Sense To You To Be True?
Does Christianity Make Sense? – Modern Koans
Looking Skyward – Tiny Drops (Photography)
Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams – Compass Songs
Sparks – Tiny Drops
Water – Tiny Drops (Photography)
As I Walk with Beauty – Traditional Navajo Prayer
The Fount – Tiny Drops
Are the Laws of Physics Empty of Inherent Existence? – Modern Koans
How Long Does It Take To Become Enlightened? – Dialectic Two Step
Views – Tiny Drops (Photography)
A Walk Through Ward Reservation – A Three Minute Meditation
The Day Lady Died by Frank O’Hara – Compass Songs
Under The Skin – A One Minute Meditation
Garwin Falls – A Two Minute Meditation
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If Patreon doesn't work for you, then drop me a one time contribution at PayPal.me
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December 29, 2017
Briggs Brook Falls – A Minute Meditation
.
Briggs Brook Falls was flowing very lightly on Memorial Day 2016, perhaps underrepresenting the potential beauty and awe that a waterfall typically offers. But the short hike and (unnecessary) bushwhack offered its own insights and foibles. The Saturday afternoon I visited was the first 90 degree day as well as the first real buggy hike of the year. I quickly regretted forgetting to bring bug spray. It’s remarkable that the video I shot wasn’t overly filled with the hundreds of mosquitos that filled the air in my immediate vicinity.
Poor judgement didn’t end there. Once I arrived at the first hint of the falls, I began moving off trail to get a better view. I first tried to climb the rocky terrain to the left of the falls. This proved fruitless, so I returned to the trail and began a similar ascent on the right side. After a good deal of sweat, mosquito bites, minor scrapes, and so on, I arrived at the top of the falls to discover the blazed trail had simply looped a little further on and back giving the patient climber a well groomed logical ascent to the top.
As I close in on nearly 50 waterfall visits and meditations, there are an abundance of lessons learned (and in this case unlearned). The first that comes to mind is the observation that human behavior can be highly unregulated and undisciplined. The delusion that we tend to act consistent with a particular set of values and principles is a prevalent misunderstanding of human nature and a source of suffering. Wisdom and contentment are not the product of a perfectly executed sequence of good intentions and decisions. It’s a messy process of mistakes and mishaps punctuated by moments of insight, offering us a practical view of what its like to live a full and happy life.
Briggs Brook Falls, Erving, MA
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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.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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Join me for a little peace through reflection, art, video, sound, and poetry
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.
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December 23, 2017
The Other Shore? – Say What?
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Say What? is an ongoing series of laconic exchanges on Buddhism in the format of a comic strip.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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December 20, 2017
Quabbin Waves – Verse Us (Poems by Me)
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Verse Us - Poems I write: haiku, senryu, mesostics, free verse, random word constructions, I might even use rhyme or meter once and a while.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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December 17, 2017
On Enlightenment and Dog Shit – Dialectic Two Step
Why would an enlightened being avoid stepping on dog shit? Once awakened, wouldn’t a person remain frozen in the spot until they piss themselves to death? On achieving enlightenment, shouldn’t every bodily impulse to do anything be replaced with mindful observation without physical reaction?
Response:
Because stepping in dog shit causes you to smell the nasty smell of dog shit for the rest of the day.
Everyone is awake. Life is action. Any formulation of enlightenment that fails to account for the way things are – eating, sleeping, shitting, pissing, walking, not-walking, working, being rich, being poor, acting, not acting, self-interest, altruism, being dumb, being smart, and so on – is a fantasy and a path to suffering.
Any condition that leads someone to stand frozen until they piss themselves is not enlightenment – it is a severe medical condition that should be treated.
Any condition that suppresses a natural response to the world is not enlightenment. It is aversion – a cause of suffering.
Enlightenment is naturalness, thus-ness, radical acceptance, union with the world. In simpler terms – it’s getting the hell out of your own way.
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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
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
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The post On Enlightenment and Dog Shit – Dialectic Two Step written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.
Getting Back To Christmas? – Modern Koans
The weeks leading up to Christmas can be the most difficult of the entire year for many people. For some, this might be a first year without a loved one. Some struggle with past memories. Me I struggle with the rush and rage of the holiday shopping, the aggressive driving, and the perennial “Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays” argument.
But in the US, the rollercoaster ride that is December always ends in a nostalgic – if not chilly – day of peace, quiet, and ritual. Christmas morning delivers another day, just like any day. But strips it bare of the trappings of work and self-indulgence.
Christmas is a day of giving. It’s a day of looking out on the world, and feeling its full impact; whether it be joy, gratitude, or loneliness. Feelings are deeper on Christmas.
The celebration is much more ancient than Christianity, or paganism, or even mankind. This holiday, timed to the solstice, finds us looking forward to the coming of the son (or sun, depending on your particular preference). This longing is probably embedded in DNA shared by all life on this planet. Our desire for renewal and salvation perhaps newer, but ancient still.
So whether it’s your hope to put Christ, or Saturnalia, or something else back into Christmas, take the time for the reflection, for the looking forward, and for the connections. The 25th of December is a special day, find yourself in it, find your space, your meaning, or whatever you need. Like every day, it only comes once a year.
Merry Christmas. Yuletide Greetings. Namo Amitofo.
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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 than their answers.
The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man. ― G.K. Chesterton
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
Subscribe to My NewsletterJoin me for a little peace through reflection, art, video, sound, and poetry
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December 13, 2017
13 December by Kate Greenstreet – Compass Songs
by Kate Greenstreet
She considers a field. She considers a field and buys it. Let her have the fruit of her hands.
We come down from the mountains. Yellow trees, green trees. I was leaving Earth but, before I did, I had to get rid of all my animals. My main one, my main model for behavior, was my snake. He was attached to the bottom of my foot but had become dangerous seeming and I was afraid he would bite me if he got the chance. My sister was there and I said, “Before I leave, I have to get rid of all my animals,” thinking maybe she’d help me. I said, “My horse, my frog, my snake…” but didn’t mention I was worried about how to dislodge my snake safely. As I was waking up, I thought of going to a place where they could give the snake a shot to knock it out or even kill it before they tried to get it off my foot. Which seemed like a pretty good idea, though inconvenient.
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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
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December 6, 2017
Few Thoughts On Christmas – Collections
Here is a collection of thoughts on Christmas. It includes articles, questions, answers, etc. They’re drawn from a number of regular series including Modern Koans and Dialectic Two Step.
little tree by e. e. cummings – Compass Songs
Compass Songs (Poetry), Favorites
Merry Christmas
Favorites, Quotes
A Christmas Carol
Favorites, Quotes
Sunday Morning Coming Down – And So This Is Christmas
Favorites, Sunday Morning Coming Down
The post Few Thoughts On Christmas – Collections written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.
December 4, 2017
The Best Articles of November 2017
Here’s a selected list of what people were reading here on andrewfurst.net in November 2017 :
Secular Buddhism – What’s Your Take? – Modern Koans
Southwest II – Tiny Drops (Photography)
At What Point are We No Longer Human? – Modern Koans
Compass Songs – Someone Should Start Laughing
A Few Thoughts On Pure Land Buddhism- Collections
Body Speech and Mind – Tiny Drops
As I Walk with Beauty – Traditional Navajo Prayer
Kaput – Verse Us (Poems by Me)
Bigots? – Thoughts On American Ideals
Kinsman Falls – Lower Cascades – A Two Minute Meditation
At Patreon you can make small monthly micro-contributions that help support my work. If Patreon doesn't work for you, then drop me a one time contribution at PayPal.me
The post The Best Articles of November 2017 written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.
December 2, 2017
Blackledge Falls – A Minute Meditation
.
Lush black and green,
a bryophetic fortress
in spring.
Falling water rains down
not far from my childhood home.
It took thirty
years to find them,
but they found me
alive.
During the meditation, let yourself be completely available to the sound of each bell. Feel it pass through you, cleanse you, and bring you to a settled balance.
Blackledge Falls – Glastonbury, CT
If you enjoyed this post, please like and share.
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.
Dialectic Two Step, Modern Koans, Verse Us, Say What?, and Minute Meditations all copyright Andrew Furst
Subscribe to My NewsletterJoin me for a little peace through reflection, art, video, sound, and poetry
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.
The post Blackledge Falls – A Minute Meditation written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.
