Andrew Furst's Blog, page 26

Quabbin Waves – A One Minute Meditation

The richness of life

dances on the waves

Its peace in the clarity

of the water

Quabbin Waves

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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

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 Quabbin Waves – A One Minute Meditation written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.

Great Expectations – Thoughts On American Ideals

We do and probably must have expectations. It’s also true that they often lead to disappointments. We shouldn’t stop having them and we shouldn’t feel entitled to have them met either.

It’s that we should know, full well, going into life that our expectations are ours and that they can be a source of disappointment. If someone doesn’t meet them, the fault lies with us, not them..Andrew Furst
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Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

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The Best Articles of July 2017

Here’s a selected list of what people were reading here on andrewfurst.net in June 2017 :

Carl Sagan on Delusions – Quotes
Views – Tiny Drops (Photography)
Outside – Tiny Drops (Photography)
Why Bad Things Happen To People? – Dialectic Two Step
Water – Tiny Drops (Photography)
At What Point are We No Longer Human? – Modern Koans
Soren Kierkegaard Understanding Comes Later- Quotes
Update: Should It Make Sense To You To Be True?
Enough Is Enough – Dialectic Two Step
The Sutra on Totality

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

 

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Crow Skies – 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

Subscribe to My NewsletterJoin me for a little peace through reflection, art, video, sound, and poetry

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An Angry God – Dialectic Two Step

Question: Is Allah an angry God compared to the all-loving, all-good Christian God?

Response: Do you mean the all loving, all good Christian God who massacred the first born sons of Egypt. The God who wiped out the entire populations of Sodom and Gomorrah and promised to destroy the enemies of Israel? The same God who tormented Job and sent his only son to the cross?

If there is a God and that God is the creator and architect of this world, as well as the author of holy scripture, I would right yourself with that God. Reread the scripture, open your eyes to his creation. He is an angry God.

The message that I see is that the creator of this world and author of the various scriptures is not limited to and bound by such relative terms as loving, goodness, and so on. There is cruelty, anger, destruction to go along with that goodness, patience, and generosity.

It’s a Bigger Picture

I do not offer this perspective in malice or disdain to the western traditions (none of which I ascribe to). I do it because I see those faith traditions as infinitely richer, more complex, and truer to the world than a sunny gospel might declare. Prosaically declaring the Christian God as all-good does a disservice to these traditions and mocks our capacity as humans to observe creation.

According to the Hebrew scriptures – a root text for all three traditions – worshipping a false god is blasphemy; a violation of the first commandment. This all loving God image feels like an idol to end all idols.

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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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Vision del Particolare – Concrete Poetry – Compass Songs

Vision del Particolare

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Part of a series of concrete poems from the Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry founded by Ruth and Marvin Sackner

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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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Pause, Breathe, Listen, Respond – Tiny Drops (Photography)

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BU Bridge

Pause, Breathe, Listen, Respond

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All Tiny Drop photos Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

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A Few Thoughts On Religion – Collections

Here is a collection of posts capturing my thoughts on religion. It includes cartoons, articles, questions, answers, etc. They’re drawn from a number of regular series including Modern Koans to Say What? and Dialectic Two Step.

Which God is the Right One? – Modern Koans


Modern Koans, Writings




























Why Are Christians the Most Persecuted Minority in The World? – Dialectic Two Step


Dialectic Two-Step, Writings




























Radical Religion? – Modern Koans


Modern Koans, Writings




























The Test – Say What?


Cartoons, Say What?




























Does Christianity Make Sense? – Modern Koans


Modern Koans, Writings




























Science vs. Religion? – Modern Koans


Modern Koans, Writings




























From Zero to Buddhist – 10 Principles For Finding Your Religion


Dialectic Two-Step, Writings




























What’s The Worst Religion? – Dialectic Two Step


Dialectic Two-Step, Writings

The post A Few Thoughts On Religion – Collections written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.

Kinsman Mid Falls – A Two Minute Meditation

The Waterfall Series - A significant part of the minute meditation series are these waterfall videos I've been taking for many years now. Most of the falls are in my native New England.

If you're a waterfall chaser here, I highly recommend the New England Waterfalls Guidebook. It's the best way to locate, select, and get to the falls.

Click here to see a map of the waterfalls I've visited as part of the minute meditation series.

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 Kinsman Mid Falls – A Two Minute Meditation written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.

Blame the Institution? – Thoughts On American Ideals

My sense is that blaming an institution is passing the buck. There is, at the root of the problem a human behavior; a deference to a community which has the effect of dampening our wakefulness. We choose a team, and by virtue of that choice, blindly follow regardless of team behavior. It seems like a blind spot in the human condition.

.Andrew Furst
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Quotes -The path to right view is an arduous walk through fields of manure.

Subscribe to My NewsletterJoin me for a little peace through reflection, art, video, sound, and poetry

 

 

The post Blame the Institution? – Thoughts On American Ideals written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.