Andrew Furst's Blog, page 97

The Grass is Always Greener? – Modern Koans

Estimated reading time: 2 minute(s)

The Grass is Always Greener?

A friend posted this on Facebook recently.  It reminds me of how dogma and misunderstanding so quickly and efficiently poisons our institutions.  While religion is particularly susceptible, philosophy and science are not left unscathed.  Though I do confess a deep appreciation of Hume, perhaps rescuing for me the western experience.  While there is much wrong with the western approach to life, there is so much that we’ve gotten right.  It is truly a case of the grass is always greener.

It often takes a fresh pair of eyes to discern between the two.

So what do you think?  What do you think the west has to offer the east and vice versa?  Is one side of the globe got it more right than the other? 

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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Buddha Nature – From The Gateless Gate

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

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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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Autumn Leaves at Academy Road – A Two Minute Meditation

Autumn Leaves at Academy Road

Meditation:  Moving through the video segments from black and white to the  vibrant colors of the autumn leaves,  we feel the brightness rise within us.

Follow this gentle transition, within and without. From noticing how your emotional tone, body tension, and mental  energy change with it.

We are always in touch with our partner, the world. Bringing mindfulness to the relationship can be restorative. 

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:

Last Name:

Email address:

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.

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Autumn Leaves at Academy Road – A Two Minute Meditation appeared on Andrew Furst.

Miami Bound – A Video Poem – Verse Us (Poems by Me)

Miami Bound

A poem on the memory of driving from New Orleans to Miami. My band had played at Mardi Gras and our next gig was in Miami.  I took the night shift drive.

Miami Bound

Pink Elephants on the horizon.

Liquid zonker the night before,

but now come the delusions

playing on the approaching sunrise.

Halfway ‘tween New Orleans and Miami.

Sweating,

smoking,

and singing

with the cassette player.

Pushing on, pocketing doubts and insecurities.

The next exit, the

next pullover;

Setting my limit to each milestone.

working these decisions,

like boulders,

around in my head

The road is where you first taste the insignificance

that the stars whispered to you as a child.

There are so many of us.

The weight of importance dissolves

watching the cars carrying all those dreams around.

Tail lights blurring in my eyes.

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

Get Each Week's Compass Song 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

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Miami Bound – A Video Poem – Verse Us (Poems by Me) appeared on Andrew Furst.

Gateway to Change – Tiny Drops

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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

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

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All One? – Say What?

All One?

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

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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

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

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Aspect ratio by Sara Marie Ortiz – Compass Songs

Aspect ratio

by Sara Marie Ortiz

Fissures.

Beginning: thousands of feet in the sky high above the frozen earth, quite

possibly near Red Lake and the place of his birth and going-back-to.

There is a distinct likelihood of my seeing him again. And soon.

He still owes me money. And I still owe him something I don’t have a name for.

We owe one another more than we feel we’ve the blood for most days, something

like an apology for our blood, and memories, and dreams, and our bloody dream memories that

we began dreaming before birth; little infinite language of this.

Something like the promise of our bones and marrow coming to be enough, after all; just as we

are finishing up our last holy work here on the earth, just as we are finally getting the fullest light

in our frame, the promise coming to be everything that ever was, is, and will be, in the hearts &

minds of our

grandchildren, and our grandchildren’s grandchildren, if we can just muster the

blood, breath, and courage to bring them forth, away from the sharp icy tundra of

our little lasting human terrors.

Yes, you and I, my eviscerated loves, each and every one of you: we owe each other that.

and more.

 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.

Get Each Week's Compass Song 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

 
If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Aspect ratio by Sara Marie Ortiz – Compass Songs appeared on Andrew Furst.

Tell Me A Story VI

Tell Me A Story is a an ongoing series of lightening story prompts. The rules are simple

Set a timer for 5 minutes
Read or view the prompt
In the comments section below write a short story, poem, or rant as you are moved in the moment

Prompt: See the photo above.

The post Tell Me A Story VI appeared on Andrew Furst.

Can We Be Free Of Suffering? – Dialectic Two Step

Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)

Can We Be Free Of Suffering?

Response: I’ll answer your question by looking at a slightly different question.

Can we achieve world peace?

I think most people would have to answer no. It’s the practical, realistic answer. Why is that? Well peace is the opposite of (or compliment to) conflict. Can you imagine any point in time where there are living beings and there is no conflict? Each being, having unique and varying interests will invariably come in conflict with others. It will be over resources, love interests, property, right of way, or who gets that last piece of pie.

Even if everyone were enlightened, compassionate, selfless people, conflict would arise. World peace is practically impossible, because peace as a permanent condition is  not possible.

Now let’s reflect on the original question in the light of the one on peace. Can we be free of suffering?  From a Buddhist perspective, freedom from suffering requires a delicate balance. This balance supports the transcendence of suffering.

But we also must content with impermanence. All balances are dynamic, and suffering and freedom from it is no exception. Even the great sages have ups and downs, good days, bad days, and so on. We are constantly traversing the stages of dependent arising, moving from suffering to cessation of suffering and back again.

We have to adopt the practical answer to the question. There is no end state of freedom from suffering.  It is not a permanent condition. We will suffer on some days and other less so. Can we achieve freedom from suffering? Yes. Will we regress into suffering? Yes. Just like the weather in New England. If you don’t like it, wait 5 minutes.

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

Get Each Week's Dialectic Two Step 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

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Can We Be Free Of Suffering? – Dialectic Two Step appeared on Andrew Furst.

Goldmine Brook Falls – A One Minute Meditation

Goldmine Brook Falls

This video was shot while I was on an August day trip to Sturbridge to meet my parents. After lunch with them, I shot out to see a few falls in Western MA. Goldmine Brook Falls is a hidden beauty that came to my attention from reading the very useful New England Waterfalls book.  If you’re ever near Chester-Blandford State Forest, Goldmine and Sanderson Brook Falls are within 1.5 miles of each other.

Goldmine Brook Falls is not marked anywhere, so if you want to see it, I advise getting the book.

Meditation: The sharp eyes of two twenty-something waterfall watchers caught a glimpse of the Red-spotted Newt above. I also caught a glimpse of the beautiful mushroom Cortinarius iodes (or Cortinarius iodeoides).  So much was available for the looking.

While many have good reason to feel unlucky, it’s often those people who see the silver lining that life is always offering. Use this meditation to reflect on the beauty and the wonder that always lingers not too far away.   

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:

Last Name:

Email address:

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.

If you enjoyed this post,  please like and share.

The post Goldmine Brook Falls – A One Minute Meditation appeared on Andrew Furst.