Archive for the ‘Philosophy’ Tag
Image by kenne
home is where I am
home is not where I am
always in between
I am an island of consciousness
I have a cosmic consciousness
always in between
life is now
death is now
always in between
existence is being
existence is becoming
always in between
I am free
I am in prison
always in between
everything is implicit
everything is explicit
always in between
nature is an artifact
nature is art
always in between
nature must be trusted
nature must be mastered
always in between
humans are good
humans are bad
always in between
a sense of law
a sense of equity
always in between
there is a natural order
there is no order in nature
always in between
life has purpose
life is purposeless
always in between
— kenne
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“Yellow Flower in Circles and Squares” — Image by kenne
Sometimes to appreciate beauty
it must be taken out of context
to capture a new perspective
based on my love of nature, sex
and life in a new consciousness
for the flower is neither
a subject nor an object
apart from being a flower.
— kenne
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Enso by kenne
The Universe lingers;
I bow my head.
— Ranzan
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Wine Grapes — Image by kenne
The more we are connected,
the more we are isolated.
If life is not paradoxical,
it’s not true!
— kenne
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Somewhere in the Santa Catalina Mountains Continuing the Process of Becoming
I may not know where the trail leads,
which is what inspires me to take it.
Knowing and Not-Knowing
We are all concerned with our competence and the competence of others. Most people are interested in being more competent and surrounding themselves with competent people. The key to our level of competence is our level of knowledge.
In Zen practice, knowledge involves the interplay between knowing and not-knowing. It is important, however, not to conclude that not-knowing means you don’t know. Not-knowing means not being limited to what you know.
Maybe things are this way, but maybe they are not. (Philosophically, it can be important to help people realize what they do not know, is a necessary part of knowledge. But such a paradoxical thought, from a learning and teaching point of view, is confronted with the inarticulate expertise of not knowing that you know is a dead end. Thus, we are left with the only position for developing competence being that of knowing what you know.)
Accessing information can help us in cultivating our interplay between knowing and not-knowing. As an information seeker and frequent Internet search person, I know we can find information on all things thinkable. Today we have access to more information than ever before, but not all information is reliable.
In an earlier blog entry, I shared some thoughts on “Teaching in the Age of Google.” If you have a question; want to know how to do something; want to learn how something works; research a topic, well, just “Google It!” But, how do we determine who are the reliable authorities?
kenne
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“The most painful state of being is remembering the future,
particularly the one you’ll never have.”
— Søren Kierkegaard
The Now
(In the Zen of the now,
past and future exist as one in art.)
Living for the moment
Creates a false state of being,
Of setting you free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Being in the moment is to
Have a beginning and an end,
Boundaries in which you cannot be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Having a beginning and an end
Is to not have a past or future,
Without which you cannot be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Self-fulfilling nature of the moment
Creates a fear of the unknown,
To fear the unknown is to not be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Experiencing the now is to
Know the past and learn of the future,
Releasing fear and setting you free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Learning takes place only in the now
Containing life’s recipe (the past),
And future directions to being free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Giving of the now
Is to create a future,
In which you can be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Living for the now is to give worth
To the past and value to the future,
A future of being free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
Living in the now is to experience
Love and life’s peak experiences,
By which others can be free.
Forget the moment, live for the now.
— kenne
The How of the Now
(Everything exists in the now. Live it!)
You are born with the ability to live for the moment, but you must learn to live for the now — The learning is easy, the living is not.
LOVE
- Love what you are doing.
- Love is present when needs are met.
- Love is necessary to live in the now.
- Love involves responsibility.
- Love that is responsible is empathic.
- Love abhors waste, especially waste of human potential.
COMMITMENT TO PURPOSE
- Anything worth doing is worth improving.
- To get what you want, you must do what it takes.
- You are truly the results of our efforts.
- Change is constant — to improve, things must change.
TRUST AND ASSERTIVENESS
- Trust is a basic to living in the now.
- Trust is based on assertive behavior.
- Assertive people are:
- Direct
- Honest
- Loving
- Trustworthy
- Caring
- Sharing
- Purpose driven.
COMMUNICATION/LISTENING
- Encourage people to question and make suggestions.
- Share information and clarify expectations.
- Access to information helps improve the process.
- The quality of the now is determined by the quality of your communications.
- Acknowledge the need for feedback.
- If life is a game, share the rules.
CRITICISM
- Avoid at all cost…it doesn’t work
- Criticism tends to make people feel inferior.
- If you blame other people, they blame you.
- Avoid the use of labels.
- Avoid being judgmental.
GIVING CREDIT
- Praise before criticizing.
- Recognize those who make an effort.
- Don’t take a good effort for granted.
- Give credit only within a context of listening to and caring about the person.
COOPERATION
- Cooperation is making others feel that they count and that they are important.
- Move people from the position “me” to “we.”
- Cooperation reduces barriers, rivalries, and distrust.
- Common struggles for others, not separate struggles for power.
RESPECT
- Respect is based on the concepts of caring and sharing.
- Respect says one has worth.
- The individual is the source of all significance, all meaning and all value.
- One’s true significance is in living life is to actualize the now.
VALUE AND THE ART OF GIVING
- When people feel valued, they rise to the level of giving.
- Always practice the principle of lighting candles.
- Give without conditions.
BOUNDARIES
- You can’t put the now in a box.
- Avoid imposing boundaries on others.
- Individuality cannot be subject to limitations and restrictions.
- Boundaries put limits on improvement
- “Conformity is the cup which holds the tea, and the shape of the cup does not determine the taste of the tea.” —Clinton R. Meek
INVOLVEMENT
- The absence of involvement produces a “them-against-us” mentality.
- Always look for things in common.
- Involvement is the practice of caring and sharing.
QUALITY
- Focus on the now
- Unity of purpose
- Looking for faults in systems
- Teamwork
- Lifelong learning
Lessons for The Now, written December 24, 2000, during the age of the Capricorn.
kenne
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Image by kenne
WHAT’S THE GOOD OF IT
He had short patience for scientific study:
All they want to know is why frogs croak.
It’s a philosophical opposition,
his believing in things as only themselves
and the intrusiveness of explanations.
I can’t begin to tell you how much he hated ballet.
What’s the good of it?
He liked The Flintstones and wrestling.
Frogs croak.
Otherwise he liked things that could be
lifted and stacked and put into place.
He thought best with his hands.
He built clocks, cradles, worked a lathe.
He took the world’s measure.
He was good and he was of it.
— Lee Upton
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