Andrew Furst's Blog, page 89

It Never Lasts? – Say What?

It Never Lasts?

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

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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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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Baltimore VI – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Baltimore VI

Part six of a series of photos I took in Baltimore.

Amtrak Posterizedblue doorburnt colorized

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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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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Meditations on Gratitude – The Internet

You’ve got mail!

For so many of us, this was the first rush of excitement that the internet offered. Getting an email from a friend that you may have discovered just set up an internet account was thrilling. It could have been someone you’d not seen in years, or someone across town. It was a new kind of connection to the world that promised to open it up in a new and exciting way.

Time went on and we became more sophisticated. We started surfing the limited number of web sites out there and finding stuff. Our appetites were whetted for more information and more entertainment. Things that were only available in books were starting to show up on websites. You could find games to download and play. Cable modems grew faster from 14.4 to 28.8. Then came 56k, ISDN, ADSL, Cable, T1, T2, Optical, and so on. Today I get blazing speeds wirelessly in coffee shops, planes, and hotels.

I blog daily to hundreds of readers, get thousands of emails, and buy everything from groceries to Christmas presents online. I use my phone to look up answers to trivia questions and buy airline tickets. I consult Wikipedia and snopes.com to make sure what I’m writing or reading is true. I tweet to over 3000 people several times a day, and get riled up on Facebook every Presidential election.

We have evolved an ethic (or lack thereof) for discourse with complete strangers. Dictatorships have been toppled and crimes are committed using the internet. There is now an online currency that isn’t tied to a sovereign nation.

My kids have never lived in a house that didn’t have a computer in it. They play video games with strangers over Xbox and watch streaming movies anywhere their devices work.

Convenience, knowledge, entertainment, connection; such wonderful things. While I can remember a time when none of this existed, I can’t fathom doing without it. I am so grateful for the Internet.

Meditations on Gratitude - A weekly series of people and situations I’m thankful for and a short meditation.. Get Each Week's Meditations on Gratitude 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:

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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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Is The Mind Aware Of Itself? – Redux – Modern Koans

Is The Mind Aware Of Itself?

Estimated reading time: 6 minute(s)

This is a second response to a question I recently answered. In this post,  I approach it from a different frame of reference. My final answer remains the same.

This is a very tricky question. I’m going to approach the question from a more philosophical bent. First I want to take a few stabs at defining the ambiguous components of this seemingly innocent question.

Definitions:

Mind: 

Could mean your brain,
Could be some non-material substance,
Could mean the medium in which arise sensations that appear to be available for articulation by us.

Meditation is bringing the body, breath, and mind together into the present moment. We allow ourselves to be open to the sensations that float into our awareness.

The Mind Problem

The big mystery and philosophical controversy at the center of this question is what is mind.  Dualists and non-dualists have fought for centuries over the substance of mind. Is it a soul or just a material function of the body?

I’m going to sidestep this clash, by choosing a neutral definition

mind is the medium in which arise sensations that appear to be available to us for articulation.

When mind is aware of the body, those sensations become available for articulation.   For example, when I’m aware that my feet are cold, I have the ability to say “my feet are cold”. It may also be the case that I lose the ability to articulate other things about my experience. For instance, being conscious of my feet may cause me to be unaware of the sensations on my tongue.

A prerequisite for articulation and the core point of my response is that all of objects of mind are sensations. These sensations come primarily in the form of sight, sound, taste, touch, smell and thoughts.

In meditation, we have no access whatsoever to the medium that perceives these sensations. It’s also true that we have no access to the thinker or the meaner who thinks the thoughts or whose volition produces our actions. The thinker is not an object of mind, nor the object of any of the other senses.

Whether you’re a materialist or a dualist, you have to admit this is true. Materialists must admit we have no direct access to our personal brain function. Dualists have to admit they have no personal access to the soul.

So my answer to the question is (still) no.

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 Koan in your email box First Name:

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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)



Meditations on Gratitude

  
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Octavio Paz On Society

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

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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)



Meditations on Gratitude

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Boston Harbor Clouds – A Two Minute Meditation

Boston Harbor Clouds

From the end of Commonwealth Pier, the Boston harbor clouds appear and disappear in these time lapse clips.

Meditation: 

The clouds share with us a fleeting existence.

To us this seems out of proportion. 

Because, of course, clouds come and go every day

But the water that forms these clouds

Has passed through the bodies of our ancestors billions of times.  

The water,  perhaps more righteously, may hold a sense of incredulity.

Because,  of course, these humans come and go every century

If it could wonder 

– perhaps in the hearts of our children    –

It would wonder how we can be so foolish.   

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:

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

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)



Meditations on Gratitude

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

A Ten Word Story

[sc:VerseUs ]

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Baltimore V – Tiny Drops (Photography)

Baltimore V

Part five of a series of photos I took in Baltimore.

Charles StMFF 2Red Emmas

Baltimore V

[sc:TinyDrops]
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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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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

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Enhancing Meditation? – Say What?

Enhancing Meditation?

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:

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

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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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White-Eyes by Mary Oliver – Compass Songs

White-Eyes

by Mary Oliver

In winter

all the singing is in

the tops of the trees

where the wind-bird

with its white eyes

shoves and pushes

among the branches.

Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,

but he’s restless—

he has an idea,

and slowly it unfolds

from under his beating wings

as long as he stays awake.

But his big, round music, after all,

is too breathy to last.

So, it’s over.

In the pine-crown

he makes his nest,

he’s done all he can.

I don’t know the name of this bird,

I only imagine his glittering beak

tucked in a white wing

while the clouds—

which he has summoned

from the north—

which he has taught

to be mild, and silent—

thicken, and begin to fall

into the world below

like stars, or the feathers

of some unimaginable bird

that loves us,

that is asleep now, and silent—

that has turned itself

into snow.

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

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)



Meditations on Gratitude

 
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The post White-Eyes by Mary Oliver – Compass Songs appeared on Andrew Furst.