2014/11/28
2014/11/20
TWO SEASONS IN THE SOUTH
From the intoxicating
heat and hazy glare of the summer to the sobering autumn warmth with its crisp
light. The magic wand of the Sun. Succession of the plants. Colors. Scents.
Shape shifting of the fertile soil. Ebb and flow of people, crowds, on the
beaches of the peninsula.
Life, simple in urban
terms and yet, so rich otherwise. Nature: impartial, indifferent, inspiring,
guiding. A healer.
Seasons changed, and so
did I, fishing moments out of the constant flow with my camera. Moments,
flavoring my understanding of things and flavored by my moods. Zooming in and
out. Moving like a flying fish through the objective and subjective.
And I’m leaving in
gratitude.
2014/11/13
GOOD MORNING, EARTH
said the Sun. Good
morning, humans. Russian troops that enter Ukraine. Wars and peace. Your
extended eye on the back of a passing comet. Enthusiastic watching, orgasmic
exhibiting, and blindness in-between. Good morning busyness, billion
manifestations of your fertile minds.
In the meantime pick
an orange. They are already succulent. And this is all I can manage to bring
about.
Just Life!
2014/11/07
2014/11/01
2014/10/27
ISTANBUL DIARY
After a long absence Istanbul
got me once again.
Through its ever
conflicting aspects, I let myself be reconquered by this, partly ugly all
right, but immensely charismatic presence.
This town where decay
and purity, harmony and chaos, unrest and peace, madness and wisdom exist
simultaneously is both mundane and timeless.
A wholehearted dance
with Istanbul teaches you to embrace life in all its intricacy.
2014/08/19
LIFE AND DEATH
Empty the Self completely;
Embrace perfect peace.
The World will rise and move;
Watch it return to rest.
All the flourishing things
Will return to their source.
This return is peaceful;
It is the way of Nature,
An eternal decay and renewal.
Understanding this brings enlightenment,
Ignorance of this brings misery.
Who understands Nature's way becomes all-cherishing;
Being all-cherishing he becomes impartial;
Being impartial he becomes magnanimous;
Being magnanimous he becomes part of Nature;
Being part of Nature he becomes one with Tao;
Being one with Tao he becomes immortal:
Though his body will decay, Tao will not.
(Tao Te Ching)
2014/07/02
READ THE BAROMETER FIRST
You wake up.
It’s a new day. Don’t
hurry. Take a moment or two and read the inner barometer first.
Is it a high is it a
low? What winds do you have today? The suffocating southwester, an uplifting zephyr,
that devil may care-north wind? How strong? Or no wind at all in your sail?
What voice-over is
dominating?
The gloomy one? Invariably
malcontent, rigid, self-conscious, oblivious to the rest. Irritated and irritating.
The overcritical who
sees the world in black and white with you in her eyes mostly in black?
The sunny one, for
whom living is sheer delight? A passionate explorer. Always fresh and open and
ready.
Is it the best of
companions’ voice accepting you as you are? Gently pointing out to your
shortcomings. Judges not. A keen and loving observer.
Or is it absence of
voice-over? All the different variables in a perfect dynamic balance. Where no
words are needed, no stick and carrot. Flux.
How is the overall
tone? Elevating, oppressing, stagnant, or something in-between?
Check it out throughout
the day for it’s in perpetual change. (Oh, not a big deal. Once you get into the
habit of this it only takes a moment.)
Why bother, you ask?
Well, these meteorological conditions of your mood-sphere make up the workshop where your day is going to be
sculpted.
You better know or at
least get a feel of it so that you wouldn’t mistake wood for stone or tin for
gold.
.
2014/06/25
AN AQUATIC MEDITATION
What a transformer is
the sea!
Getting out, you’re
never the same person as the one who goes in the water –a deep azure and
green with the reflections of pine covered hills.
The body relaxed and
refreshed, spirit lifted, mind calmed. Thoughts, peeled off like dead skin after
a good hammam-visit, are not compelling anymore.
I’m moving slowly,
very slowly, noticing every change in the movement. Gentle, rhythmical splashes
around the shoulders, jelly-like consistency of the water against the hands,
taste of salt, a sudden breeze off the island rippling the surface in rapidly
shifting patterns, carrying over that particular smell of the sun-soaked pines,
fluctuating the chant of the cicadas. A sharp cramp in the leg. Shrill cry of a
seagull overhead. Flashing fragments of memory. Summer sun shining through the
half open blinds of the eyelashes with flickering plays of light. A passing
thought, distant and insubstantial.. All scattered quietly on the background of
a deepening sense of spaciousness.
Out of the water, I’m
bowing before the Great Purifier in gratitude.
.
2014/06/03
PLAYING WITH GARBAGE – PART II
It’s certainly sad.
But also a great exercise for finding meaningful moments, patterns, and establishing a kind of dialog between Nature
and humans. Stories to be told.
Choosing to be proactive in perception
transforms one’s reality shifting it up.
This exciting game
teaches me not to let myself be driven by sheer avoidance but to take a closer
look to see/invent some coherence in what seems to be chaotic.
As the focusing gets
deeper, the arbitrary distinction we make between ourselves and Nature
dissolves to make room for a different sense of interaction.
2014/05/26
2014/05/23
2014/05/21
RESHUFFLING THE CARDS
One of the things I
love most to be remembered of is the perpetual change (both over time and from
person to person) notions present. And so that it would be a costly mistake to
evaluate, interpret and judge them from a set vantage point.
Instead, I can peel
off a given idea, like a delicious red banana, from its thick layer of
associations (positive or negative) I had previously formed, that long chain of
thoughts (decent or flawed with loose assumptions, knee-jerk reflexes, etc.),
to consider it every time afresh.
Take the color green.
It may be the unpleasant memory of an embarrassing experience like parsley
between my teeth during a formal dinner which enforces a strong aversion
against it. But what about countless other greens?
Or happiness. Once seen and labeled as a
vain pursuit, I’d likely miss a lot if I leave it at that.
Or discipline. Restraint. Involvement. Patience..
Instead of processing
them as part of an ongoing digestion (with its familiar juices, strengths and
weaknesses), I might turn them over from scratch.
Happiness you said? Explain it. Let me see the content, the context, how does
your happiness differ from mine.
Maybe they aren’t mutually exclusive at all, they might even be complementary,
or you’re pointing out with that to a level outside my current understanding.
Notions with their
meanings we’re attributing to them are our shortcut buttons, and shortcuts
sometimes lead to nowhere.
Peeling them off from
their existent definitions, giving them a second chance to build entirely new
vistas opens doors.
.
2014/05/20
2014/05/18
2014/05/10
2014/04/30
REFLECTOR
When you get mad at
someone look for your reflection in them. It’s a reflection. So, more often
than not refracted, fragmented, distorted, and occurring on a different plane, thus not
easily recognizable. You might say for instance, no way, I am not that
thoughtless, brusque, awkward and so on. Maybe not in the frame of mind in
question, but what about other areas of life? What a relief to find out that it’s
an inner struggle and the other person is but an innocent reflector. A deep
sigh followed by an equally deep compassion toward them and yourself.
.
2014/04/22
EXPECTATIONS
Disappointment by unmet
expectations from someone is like buttoning your shirt in the wrong holes –and getting
angry at them for being wrong! A liberating realization.
.
.
2014/04/19
2014/03/31
2014/03/26
2014/03/09
2014/02/11
2014/02/09
2014/01/27
2014/01/22
2014/01/20
2014/01/06
BULL'S-EYE
Awareness instead of
will power. Objectives instead of resolutions. Loyalty/attunement not to the
preset thoughts but experience. Flexibility based on mindfulness. This is
definitely what works best for me.
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