Time goes from Present to Past and Present to Future

This is one of my favorite excerpts from Zen Mind: The Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki:

Dogen Zen-ji said, “Time goes from present to past.” This is absurd, but in our practice sometimes it is true. Instead of time progressing from past to present, it goes backwards from present to past. Yoshitsune was a famous warrior who lived in midieval Japan. Because of the situation of the country at the time, he was sent to the northern provinces, where he was killed. Before he left he bade farewell to his wife, and soon after she wrote in a poem, “Just as you unreel the thread from a spool, I want the past to become present.” When she said this, actually she made past time present. In her mind the past became alive and was the present. So as Dogen said, “Time goes from present to past.” This is not true in our logical mind, but it is in the actual experience of making past time present. There we have poetry, and there we have human life.

When we experience this kind of truth it means we have found the true meaning of time. Time constantly goes from past to present and from present to future. This is true, but it is also true that time goes from future to present and from present to past. A Zen master once said, “To go Eastward one mile is to go Westward one mile.” This is vital freedom. We should acquire this kind of perfect freedom.

But perfect freedom is not found without some rules. People, especially young people, think that freedom is to do just what they want, that in Zen there is no need for rules. But it is absolutely necessary for us to have some rules. But this does not mean always to be under control. As long as you have rules, you have a chance for freedom. To try to obtain freedom without being aware of the rules means nothing. It is to acquire this perfect freedom that we practice zazen.

#017 Being Present and Aware

Many of the problems of today, stem from a lack of awareness in the present moment. Many of us become enthralled in repetitive cycles and fail to recognize the best course of action in the present. Latching onto accepted processes solves nothing and creates many of the problems that seem unexplainable.

#016 Slowly Cultivating Improvements

If you want to improve your life in a sustainable way, make the changes slowly.  Changing too many things at any given time, will usually result in going back to the way things were.  You have to change slowly, so you can maintain consistency.

Milla Jovovich – Gentleman Who Fell

Today I Was Robbed on the Highway

Robbed by a Statist in a Fancy Costume

I was driving along the Interstate today, on my way to a Yoga class, when I noticed a Statist in a fancy costume on the side of the road. He had his car, decked out in symbology, parked at a weird angle on the shoulder of the road and he was standing about 20 feet off the road in the grass. He appeared to have coerced another driver into pulling over and likely robbed them, as is their custom. The whole situation looked a bit peculiar.

I went on my way, as there was nothing I could do about the situation. Then I looked in my mirror and saw that statist with its coercion lights on and closing in on me. Sure enough, that was his purpose. He had apparently run all the way back to his car and sped down the road to coerce me.

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#015 Thoughts on Religion, Spirituality, Belief and Science

I was visited today by some Jehovahs Wittnesses and it helped to stir up some old thoughts about religion and what its like to deal with the topic and the issues surrounding it. In this video I discuss my stance on religious zealots and then get into my own individual stance on religion, philosophy and spirituality.

Swans- The Seer – Album Review

Here’s a really interesting review of the recent Swans album, the Seer. Seems like the Swans are getting back to the level they were in their previous phase. Makes me want to pick it up.

The Bomb in the Brain: The True Roots of Human Violence

The real root of human violence, is not the lack of central planning, state control and laws. The real root, is the use of violence to solve problems. Its particularly bad when violence is used by parents against their children.

That’s why violence always achieves the opposite of the intended effect. Violence begets violence; therefore centralizing power in the hands of the state will simply result in more violence and a lower quality of life for everyone (except the parasites who benefit from violence).

The physical, emotional and medical effects of child abuse. You cannot understand or oppose the violence of the world without understanding its true source…

We are the Children of the Sun

Children of the Sun

We are ancients
As ancient as the sun
We came from the ocean
Once our ancestral home
So that one day
We could all return
To our birthright
The great celestial dome
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#014 How You Could be a Software Developer

A short discussion on ways, that I am aware of and versed in, to become a software developer, either as a regular “job” or as an entrepreneur. I discuss Java Enterprise development, PHP, template development, mobile and game “app” development, etc.

Recorded on 12/13/2012

One of the keys to long-term freedom, is having some form of economic freedom. One of the freest, least regulated and most flexible means of obtaining economic freedom, is available in software development. With software development, you can often:

• Work from your own home
• Start a small side business which can grow into a full-time business
• Make simple; but useful programs and sell them on already existing marketplaces
• Learn technologies which are always changing and keep your mind sharp by adapting to them. Circumventing the use it or lose it, problems which often accompany areas of work that are more static in nature.
• Have skills that are rare and valued by customers and/or employers and consequently, be valuable to them, with the accompanying treatment.

These are characteristics which many would love to have, in the earning of their living; yet few actually do. The tools are available, however, and accessible to anyone; to do all of these things, without even a college education.

The bottom line is, its the end product that matters most, in software. If you can be good at building/designing software products and produce consistently good/stable results, you can make a living in this field. It doesn’t matter who you are or what degrees you have. Degrees can be helpful; but there are cheaper and easier ways in.