A Worthy Struggle for Life as It is (poem)

Sometimes I make the mistake in
trying to live life as it should be,
only to realize the misery
that causes me and the people
who matter most in my life.
Sometimes it gets me down.

It's not others who get me down
as much as I get myself
stuck in the chains of my undoing.
Be it habit of mind or tendencies,
my behavior is in my hands,
though sometimes I regress.

Yet I can bounce right back
when the heartache has gone away -
all it takes is the willingness
to accept what cannot be changed
with a peaceful heart and clear mind,
and gracefully carry on.

Bravely do I carry on, accepting
what I am responsible for.
Living day by day helps me
to keep focused on the task:
to live my life as I see fit -
a worthy struggle for life as it is.

Affirmation on Life (poem)

Whatever happens in life,
I hold onto the positive aspect
and accept the negative as
inspiration to learn from
my mistakes without regret.

Indeed, I live for the moment
when what I have learned
helps me to see clearly
the path to life as-is.

What helps me the most
is careful meditation
on those mistakes
which results in change.

My Speed test from FVRL: Maple Ridge

Rock Chuck Invades White Rock

From White Rock - July 13, 2011

Since July 11, 2011, the yellow-bellied marmot has made itself at home near the White Rock pier.

First spotted by "M" Pearl on Flickr, I took the above picture 3 days later.

Here is Pearl's picture of the critter:

Neurosis in my life

Neurosis is prevalent in post-modern society.

I suffer from neurosis, since I am now taking 11 vitamins and supplements.

The psychiatric term is "hypochondriasis."

Part of the etiology of hypochondriasis is the believe that I am taking care of my overall health by taking vitamins and supplements — mentally and physically — combined with the few medications I am taking now — cyclobenzaprine as muscle relaxant (for osteoarthrosic left shoulder and as a sleep aid) and gabapentin (for mild pain and mood stablizer).

Currently I have had two appointments arranged by my primary physician in the coming month:

with a neurologist to determine the neurological origin for the anger-hostility-aggression (AHA) symptoms related to temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and my history of mild traumatic brain injuries, and

with the local mental health centre's psychiatrist to test for bipolar disorder.

Matthew Fox on Pope Benedict

I read one of his articles, Opus Dei Sunday, about Pope Benedict, formerly Cardinal Ratzinger.

Written in 2002, Fox criticizes the Pope's recent canonization of the founder of opus dei, Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer.

He goes on to decry the replacement of theological debate with ideology within the RCC which occurred over the previous 24 years.

The ironic thing is, very few popular conservatives criticized the canonization, possibly because they feared losing the support of their Catholic followers.

Source: http://www.opednews.com/foxMatthew_041905_ratzinger.htm

What Dreams Are

Basically during sleep the brain is transferring the important memories in short-term memory to store in long-term memory.

As the brain tries to associate them with categories in long-term memory, information in short-term memory may appear in our dreams.

SEXISM IN A NUTSHELL

Sexism is found in a male-dominated culture which promotes a paternalistic ideology that puts men first, above women and children.

However, it depends on the situation. If I rib a close relative about getting married and "pop" some kids, I try to quickly say, "Just kidding!"

In a democracy, a bunch of politicians would enact laws to protect women, children, family and men by vote but commoners such as you or I cannot get elected. The lucky candidate must be upper middle class. Sexism is kept in check by laws which uphold human rights laws regarding women.

In the family, nobody is elected. Two people make love, and within 4 months, she's showing. Because sexism is learned behavior, usually it's done to fit in with an out crowd.

Yet in an equalitarian society, each gender, both young and old, take turns dominating the other out of fun, not spite. >:)

Love Helps Transform Anger and Fear into Strengths

In this article, I will be writing about anger and fear, from the point of view as a Buddhist. However, let me emphasize that my opinion is based on my experiences with anger and fear, along with what I know about emotions.

In context of this article, "one" refers to the self. "Others" refers to other people, such as family, friends and loved ones. Strangers are merely potential friends.


According to current social ideology, anger and fear are considered by most people to be weaknesses but mistakenly considered strengths by others.

Yet both negative emotions may be miraculously transformed into strengths by understanding two things about anger and fear.

Firstly, one has be compassionate and show mercy toward others by waiting until the heat of one's anger goes away.

Secondly, fear may be a motivator to do great things, provided that one is able to abandon it and come to terms with the anger at the core of anxiety.

Anxiety is when anger is hidden by layers of fear to protect the world from the heat of our wrath. Thus, the armor of fear becomes phobias and incessant worry that things are never right.

How could they be right when fear makes one afraid to confront the truth?

For weathful anger is not a source of strength.

Wrathful anger is not strength, for it is effective in controlling others when self-control fails.

At the root of anger is fear, which causes one to control others because he is secretly afraid of his own inability to control himself

Yet the harder one tries to control others, the less able he is to control himself.

Desperate to maintain control, he conveniently forgets that self control begins by yielding to the demand of others to be civil.

When one yields to others and becomes civil, apologies are made, anger is forgotten and forgiveness is implicit.

In the resulting calm, fear is replaced by fearlessness.

In this atmosphere of peace, the willingness to help others and be of service to them arises.

What truly motivates a person to help others and be of service to them?

Why, it is loving-kindness, the wholehearted compassion for others and especially, the willingness to let go of self-centred desires and establish ties with one's community.

For it is through love that anger and fear are transformed into their strengths, calmness and

---

Originally posted: July 6, 2011 at 2223H
Updated: February 8, 2013 at 2219H

Pine-Oak Forests Threatened in Guatemala

Endemism concerns the pine-oak forests of higher altitude in Sierra Madre del Sur, Guatemala.

Here, slash-and-burn agriculture is done daily because of the poverty of rural settlements close to the Mexican border.

The Sierra Madre del Sur sits along the American Cordilleras which stretches from British Columbia, Canada down to Argentina.

All along the higher slopes of this high mountain range grow pine trees and oak in balance of deciduous and coniferous vegetation within an ecologically sensitive biodiversity.

When you compare the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in Mexico to Sierra Madre del Sur in Guatemala, you see a vast difference.

In Mexico, the forest is sparse near towns and haciendas where the population density is highest while Guatemala's forest cover is spare near tiny rural villages.

Thus, the pine-oak forests of Guatemala are much more threatened by slash-and-burn farming.

China Once Sailed the Seven Seas

In China, the Chinese have about 2000 years of historical legacy, with a couple of Central Asian nomadic tribes went on to become Mongols, Koreans and eventually Japanese.

China and the Sinitic peoples are one of the largest groups of racial admixture.

Second in size are the South Indians of subcontinental India, whose people range from white Aryans to black Dravidians, and a large variety of racial mixing spreading over 3000 years.

American First Nations people show evidence of racial admixture going back to just before the Aryan migration in the Hindu Kush over 3200 years ago.

Compare the standard 1890s picture of a group of Cherokee natives with a recent picture of an Afghani family. I am sure you'll see more similarities than differences.

Look at the evidence and make your conclusions about where American Indians actually came from.

This may upset the cultural bias of First Nations people who claim to have been in America since time immemorial. The evidence says Mongolic people are the most widely travelled of all people for almost four thousand years.

In Peru, the peoples of Eten and Monsefu understand Chinese more easily than each other's patois.

Zuni language shares similarities with Japanese. Inca culture shares a lot of similarities with Chinese both in Chile and Peru. "Chile" means Chinese people. "Inuit" means people of Yin. The similarities are subtle but ring true.

All in all, China changed the world when they sailed the seven seas.

Applying CBT to a personal issue

Today I applied what I learned from The Feeling Good Handbook to successfully resolve a personal issue (jumping to conclusions, applying a mental filter based on this false conclusion, realizing that this is only creates frustration, and giving myself time to resolve the issue).

My mind confused by frustration and anger over my computer being accidentally shut off:

• The ongoing issue I have with my roommate is when she has done an act accidentally that personally affects me and not know it, I have to not press the matter further.
  
• E.g., after vacuuming near my computer, she accidentally turned it off.
  
• 
  
  • When I politely confronted her about it, she denied that she shut it off. When I told her that the computer shut itself off, she told me that she didn't want to argue about it. In response I affirmed that:
    • I am not arguing with her.
      
    • It was an accident.
    
    
  • Yet I still felt angry and frustrated.
    

That is because several cognitive distortions affected me.

My mind after reflecting on it over the past 2 hours:

• The accidental turning off of power is a neutral event.
  
• The vacuum cleaner caused the breaker to go off on the other side of the room. My computer was still on.
  
• The electric breaker was reset.
  
• Then 10 minutes after my roommate finished cleaning the room, I noticed my computer was off.
  
• The false conclusion I made was, "My roommate vacuuming by my computer led to my computer accidentally being turned off."
  
• In fact, resetting the electric breaker accidentally turned my computer.
  
• Rather than accepting the situation, I reacted due to:
  
  • Jumping to conclusions: "Since the computer was off, it had to be due to my roommate vacuuming by my computer".
    
  • Mental filtering: Because it had to be my roommate vacuuming by my computer, I confronted her.
    
  • Personalization and blame: I blamed my roommate because I wanted to control the situation and blame her.

The real situation:

The roommate was not responsible for my computer being shut off.

After realizing that the truth (resetting the electric breaker accidentally turned off my computer), the situation is out of my control.

It's an accident, which absolves everyone of blame.

Finally, I'm over it now because I have processed what has happened.

Short Meditation on Anger

In this meditation, the intent is to use both mindful practice and meditation to reduce overall arousal resulting from anger. This is to develop self-control, to take a time out, and to promote a positive attitude towards self and others.

---

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned." -- Buddha

Mentally let go of what angers you before it consumes you. Instead, let loving-kindness and compassion embrace you to cool the flames of anger.

By doing so, your mental unrest will subside in time.

Once your anger has subsided, during meditation, practice the metta meditation, and send kind and loving thoughts first to a family member you love, then to a friend that you trust, and finally to a person you do not know.

As the guide to meditation is the following quote from the Cunda Kammaraputta Sutta:

May these beings be
free from animosity,
free from oppression,
free from trouble,
and may they look after
themselves with ease!

---

Reference:

Metta Meditation: http://info.med.yale.edu/psych/3s/metta.html
Wikipedia - Mettä: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mett%C4%81
Wikipedia - Kammapatha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kammapatha

Originally posted: August 24, 2010 2:59 AM
Edited: July 2, 2011 4:12 PM

Listen to the Heart-mind (poem)

When in meditation, listen
to the heart-mind —
the discriminating mind working
together with the discerning heart.
In the heart-mind
is the seed of Buddha-essence.
Cultivate that seed
with meditation, and nourish it
by being helpful and of service
to all living beings,
for they are all Buddhas.
In doing so, you cultivate compassion
with the heart-mind.

Situational Ethics (poem)

I listen to my reason,
with this heart of mine —
Oh, good and evil
is judged by situation,
not by absolutes and God.

This truth is denied by people,
since each of us sees
the usefulness of splitting
good and evil — Ah!
We like to pick sides with care.

Yet good and evil
are both sides of the same coin —
Each situation
ought be judged by its merits,
not by a false dilemma.