Andrew Furst's Blog, page 48

Post Card Art Project II (Fall 2016)

So, I’ve kicked off the second Post Card Art Project II. I’ve selected an photo of some beach art that a young friend produced this spring.  I’ve got her permission to use the image and the planning is done.

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Here’s the Plan

I’ve taken a photograph and broken it down into many (42) smaller images.  Each image is on a postcard that will be mailed to participants (you!). I’m asking you to add to it in your own particular way.  There are rules and they will be broken.  Here’s what I propose:

Rules

The theme will be: Send me letters. Using letters, or words, or anything else that can be constructed with letters, find your way of adding to the background image. Rules can be broken and ignored.

Let’s Go

If that sounds fun, then fill in the form here to get your postcards.

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The Post Card Art Series

This is the one of several posts I will be offering titled the Post Card Art Series. Its a collaborative art project done on post cards. 

Using an image divided into four sections, I created four post cards.  I printed 200, pre-stamped them, and mailed them out to patreon supporters, friends, and blog readers who expressed an interest. They applied the art, mailed the cards back.  Now I'm assembling them.

The results are fun and unique.

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Science vs. Religion? – Modern Koans

Question: Why are some convinced science is in direct conflict with the the existence of Almighty God as Creator?

My response:Science and religion are institutions. Conflict between them occurs when their missions conflict.

Science, has as its mission – implied by its method – to hypothesis, test, and adjust our hypothesis until we can establish a theory that is predictive, consistent with all data, and supported by a wide variety of evidence. Science is a well tested and successful method for arriving at an understanding about how the world works.

Religion, has as its mission – implied by the meaning of the word – to reconnect to the divine. Generally it is metaphysical in nature.

I think there is overlap in some areas, but not all:

If you are trying to validate religious ideas about the world- science can be useful. For instance, if you asked the question “Was the universe, earth, and man created in 6 days?” – science has much to say about that. Here there is overlap and for people like Ken Ham, there is conflict.
If you’re trying to validate metaphysical ideas – science is silent. There is no room for testing or universal truth determination with metaphysics. Here there is a clear separation. If you’re trying to detect the holy spirit in someone, you’re not going to find it using the scientific method.

If you want to ask the question “Does God exist and did he create everything” science can be informative and steer you away from fruitless avenues of exploration.

It can tell you that you can’t have certainty about the answer in the same way you have certainty about the acceleration due to gravity.
It tells you that there cannot be evidence for metaphysical claims.

Here is where scientists and religious people come into conflict. When religious people make truth claims about metaphysics, scientists correctly call them out. When scientists demand truth claims about religion, religious people call them out. When people are inconsistent with the boundaries of their institutions, they seriously muddy the waters.

What do you think?  Are science  and religion mutually exclusive?  Does science tell us anything about God? Can religion tell us anything about the physical world?

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

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Jason Calacanis On Reality & Delusion – Quotes

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

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Reality & Delusion – Jason Calacanis

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Vernal Secrets – A One Minute Meditation

It’s the second day

of spring,

and there is still

snow on the ground.

and the

vernal pools off

Brackett Pond

are teaming

with life

Warning: There are creepy crawlies in this meditation video

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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.

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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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Natural Perspective – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Click on an image below to view in the lightbox

January Icepeeper onescrew auger falls

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

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August by Mary Oliver – Compass Songs

.

When the blackberries hang

swollen in the woods, in the brambles

nobody owns, I spend

all day among the high

branches, reaching

my ripped arms, thinking

of nothing, cramming

the black honey of summer

into my mouth; all day my body

accepts what it is. In the dark

creeks that run by there is

this thick paw of my life darting among

the black bells, the leaves; there is

this happy tongue.

 

 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.

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Was the Buddha a Perfect Man? – Dialectic Two Step

Question: Can we call Buddha a Perfect Man?

Response:  No. Here’s a philosophical argument against the idea of a perfect man (or a perfect anything). The Buddha was born, grew up, suffered illness, and died. Like every other man or woman, he was subject to constant change.

Something perfect cannot change. If it becomes more perfect, then it wasn’t perfect in the first place. If it becomes less perfect, then it is no longer perfect.

In fact if we allow for perfection to change, then everything is perfect and the idea has no meaning.

If we wish to hold up one person as perfect compared to others, we fall into meaninglessness (and suffering).

How about this. What if we adopt the idea that everything, as it is, is perfect? We might all be a little better off.

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

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Be Gentle – Quotes

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

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Be Gentle – Kent Nerburn

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Arthritis? – Say What?

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

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What’s the Point of Education? – Modern Koans

Question: What is the point of education when it’s about doing well on tests and not on being enlightened?

My response: I think the question is leading and makes incorrect assumptions. The point of education is not limited to doing well on tests. That’s a cynical view. I would make 2 points about this from my experience

Education is more than testing – You’re probably talking about public education. That’s a fair generalization, but I come from the homeschool community and we don’t educate our kids with the same goals in mind. Testing is a way to measure public school teacher’s performance. My kids didn’t have to deal with that and were able to focus on learning.

Public school is a kind of education, but not all education is public.
Regardless of the type, kids come out learning all kinds of useful things, they go on to careers or continue learning in other ways. While taking tests is not necessarily the best measurement tool, it takes learning to pass a test. So you can’t discount the value of testing as a learning tool.


Choosing Enlightenment vs Education – This is a false dichotomy. We need both, not one or the other. Each points out the other. Enlightenment is inherent, learning is not. Each reflect the two intertwined aspects of the universe. Schooling prepares you for the ever changing world. Knowing your inherent Buddha Nature gives you insight to the unchanging; the Tathagata; the world as it is.

Your question implies choosing ignorance for enlightenment. Choosing ignorance is never a good thing.

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

Get Each Week's Modern Koans In Your Email Box

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

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