It's Been Awhile (satire)

To all my fans/followers:

My excuse for not regularly posting articles on my blog is this: I have been obsessed with work, mainly because my new boots allow for walking for 5.5 and 6 hours.

It is possible that I've almost walked a thousand miles. Hence my need for prescription medications such as gabapentin (relieves neuropathic pain), flexeril (relaxes the muscles in my shoulder, and recently bupropion (Zyban is said to cure cigarette smoking).

Even the Zyban had the wonderful side effect of causing me to not indulge in bad habits — mainly paying more attention to my technology than to my surroundings.

Within 15 minutes playing attention to my technology, I feel the the signs of a relapse but alcohol or drugs is not my vice. Instead, I madly type on my keyboard and create articles like this one.

Look, I have cut out coffee and tea, alcohol, masturbation, and smoking. Instead of sinning quietly, I catch myself reading the Gospel Library app. Though a few people are not clued in that when I pulled out my smart-phone or tablet, I am not about to surf to porn websites. Instead, I am searching for a quote by Joseph Smith, but came up with this quote from the New Testament:

Little children, let no man deceive you.
He who does rigorousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous. — 1 John 3:7

To masturbate or watch porn or indulge in adultery and prostitution, or commit homosexual acts, is condemned by John when he wrote:

He who commits sin is of the devil,
for the devil sinned from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil. — 1 John 3:8

By praying to the Lord and beseeching Jesus Christ instead of indulging in booze, cigarettes, wine, soft and hard drugs, adultery, masturbation, prostitution, coffee and tea, and homosexual acts, I shall eventually be rid of the evil that these things do to me that even comes to affect my family and friends.

Oh dear! I have become no fun anymore to the all sorts of decadent hedonists, those salt of the earth who party and stay up late at night.

All it takes is confessing your sin to someone trustworthy like a bishop, a priest, a reverend, a rabbi, a shaman or even a trusted friend, and earnestly repent. The worst that could happen to you is not taking sacrament next Sunday. In due time, by following the doctrines of your faith, you will discover that worldliness is only fun for the worldly.

Once we are baptized, the best way to renew our covenant with God is to faithfully attend sacrament meetings on Sunday, the Lord's Day. For the baptized are born of God after being dipped in the baptism fount.

Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

For it is better to be a child of God, born of God, than to be a child of the devil. When you practice righteousness, you are of God, and so too are they who love their brothers and sisters.

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. — I John 3:9-11

Yet the habits that you used to love, you come to detest them, not being satisfied with what you do to get relief. That love is a false love because the more you indulge yourself with a bad habit, the more you are socially isolated from the world.

For desire when indulged leaves a bitter-sweet taste in your mouth; but your love is false because desire is more likely to lead to sin when indulged. As for love, it is best to remove all conditions associated with it so that we may love unconditionally.

So, I have been praying about and meditating upon my life, only to see that Joseph Smith's words are true: each of us are free agents who can choose to do good or to do evil.

Indeed, in the heat of passion, I once blamed others for my trespasses, but no more.

Instead I enjoy giving sacrament to members who, because of illness, cannot attend church. It is also why I enjoy participating in discussions during the Elders Quorum meeting most of all.

Now that I have confessed my sin of avoiding responsibility for my actions, I shall repent and try to be the quiet silence in the aftermath of a storm.


Thanks for reading this blog entry. Please take care of yourselves lest you entertain the devil unaware. ;)

Honor Thy Mother

Recently I have been fighting with my mother. After a long prayer about the situation in my personal life, I have come to realize that the only way to deal with her is to tell her "I love you" regardless if what she says or does.

For Jesus said "love one another", and this applies especially to the commandment to honor my parents. Jesus also said "love your enemies" and dedicate yourself to their welfare. Yet my greatest enemy is always my selfish desires.

Even though I may mistake my mother for my enemy, the only true enemy is self-will.

So from this day forward I shall try to transform my selfishness into the selflessness as I listen to my mother in respectful silence.

Indeed, Love is the only response to a mother who misuses the commandment to "honor thy father and mother." For this is too the commandment of the Christ: to honor my mother by responding with love to anything she says or does.

All that I am capable of doing is to respond in a loving and compassionate manner, regardless of her behavior. For love conquers all, and my actions from this day forward shall reflect my determination to practice what I preach.

So shall I dedicate myself to honor my mother in a gentle and kind manner for the sake of our family.

Why I Don't Have Issue With the Same-Sex Marriage Decision in America

As a Mormon, I would like to say that Jesus commanded us to love one another; he also told us who are Christian to love our enemies. In short, Christendom ought to be loving toward the LGBT community on this decision, because the State has ruled for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender People.

Thus any hatred against the LGBT is a bigger moral sin than homosexuality itself. If a gay couple is harmed because of this decision and it is found that a Christian did it, then he is anathema to Christendom, because he violated Jesus' commandment to love one another.

However, this is merely my opinion and it is mine to maintain and treasure. While everyone quibbles about the black and white aspects of this decision, my respect for the LGBT community is colored like the rainbow.

The Side Effect of Hypomania I Loathe (satire)

It is the cockiness of being hypomanic I loathe the most, because usually my self esteem is moderate, but when I am full of energy but pleasantly tired due to insomnia, my sex drive goes out of control.

This lust sees me on naughty sites I never go on when well rested. However, it is doubtful that I am sexually attractive enough, because I am not independently wealthy and am uncomfortable with that kind of lifestyle because it is attendant with overconsumption.

So, I am going to go to nap for a bit and see if I am still excited...

Update: March 9, 2015 @ 0735h PDT

I napped from yesterday evening (after 4.30 PM) until 3 AM this morning. That's at least ten hours of sleep.

No dreams, but have been on the net-book since waking up. Hm... time to have breakfast and plan out my day.

My guess is, the prospect of daylight savings time springing forward an hour led to insomnia.

YMMV

Update: March 9, 2015 @ 2324h PDT

After talking with my room-mate, I realize that I was mistaken about what time I went to bed last night. Bedtime was actually 8 PM, so that means I actually got 6-7 hours of sleep.

Reviewing the past 36 hours, it will be awhile before I will lose sleep like this. It's not worth what it does to my physical, mental and spiritual health.

Although I went surfing to websites that I would never go to when well rested, it soon got so boring that I stopped before things got out of hand.

When I reflect back on the previous 24 hours, the hypomania gave me a brief sense of confidence that left me feeling like I could handle any situation in life.

Let me reassure you that hypomania is a state of mind in which I experienced a tremendous burst of energy — a second wind — during which I got a lot done.

Thankfully, most of it was off-line and church-related.

Briefly, I volunteered to accompany a fellow LDS member JD — he is experienced at this — to perform sacrament for Mr P, a LDS member who is home-bound due to an unspecified illness.

While chatting with Mr P, he related a story about his cat Charity who was so concerned about him when he was suffering in silence in his rocker that she went to his wife in the bedroom and meowed until she realized that Mr P was in need of consoling.

Mr P and I are of the same mind about pets. Cats, being domesticated, are so much a part of human society for such a long time that we humans view them as family. They become sensitive to our needs just as much as we become sensitive to theirs.

So I am grateful to have heard from Mr P about his cat Charity who truly loves her master as much as Mr P loves her.

---

All names of people mentioned in this blog entry have been changed to protect their privacy,

The Hypocrisy of Christendom (satire)

To be a man of God as a Christian, and to hate Muslims, that is a sign of hypocrisy. For a Christian who hates Islam but professes to love God knows not that the God of Islam is the God of the Jews.

Yet that Christian is known to hate them equally, all due to the closed-mindedness and jealousy of Christian royalty and nobility.

How noble it is to think of oneself as more holy than a Jew or a Muslim.! How pitiful such pride is! Many a man and woman has fallen before theirs.

They who mock the Jews and revile the Muslims do not know their own Bible. For such folk are not unlike the rich man congratulating himself for not being poor.

God has greater reward for a Christian who unashamedly declares, "Kýrie, eléi̱són me ton amarto̱ló.*"

---

* The Greek version of the quote "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner" from verse 13 in the Parable of the Tax-Collector and the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14.

What's Love (and Sex) Got to Do with Agapé and Eros

In grade school, it was fun to play with the girls until the boys shamed me into playing with them.

As well, I was subtly bullied by a girl in Grade 6 when in Grade 2, due to her frustration in teaching me math that was simple for her but mysterious to me.

Though that never stopped me from excelling at math.

Then after Grade Three I spent the summer holiday with my first crush.

However, he teasing in Grade Four after my classmates found out I had a summer crush led me to realise romance has to be discreet ie not in my hometown.

The fact that my mother put a stop to it due to being late for supper makes me cautious lest I ruin my relationship with my roommates.

However, the best kind of love is between friends. This love has many names, but two of them are familiarly known as Agape and Eros.

Both Agapé and Eros are two sides of the same coin called human love.

Human love is so fickle though.

Unconditional love demands us to stop placing conditions on love. This is why friends love each other dearly: their love is unconditioned.

However, the only rule in friendship is remain loyal to each other, though it is loyalty with discretion.

Yet friendships rely on each of us to respect each other's right to be free, and to grow as individuals.

However, do not expect a friend to do anything for you, since it may lead to conflict. Such an expectation is unreasonable since it expects too much of a friend.

Do expect a close friend to be there when you need them but remember: friends are not slaves to be toyed with.

If you want anyone who is your friend to become reliable, then be reliable to them. Do anything for them as is necessary, and limit yourselves accordingly.

A good friend is a loyal helpmate. You are that friend.

My first crush was my best female friend, not a girlfriend but a friend who happened to be a girl.

I am happy that such a friend exists for me.

It can only be platonic though, for a man ought to be mature enough to call BS on the myth about platonic friendships.

Indeed it is a pernicious lie to assume a platonic relationship has a subtle sexual ambiance to it.

This lie is based on the error about the mythical libido, which is misinterpreted as the sex drive.

Libido actually is related to life and its propagation, and can be successfully sublimed into service, be it work or play.

Returning to my first crush, it was play that brought us together. Yet duty to my family nipped that in the bud.

Thus the libido must often be tamed, lest friendships be threatened by its excess.

So, my mother helped me to tame my libido by putting a curfew on me.

I suppose the cruelty such as beatings and burning moxibustion only showed the dark side of mother love - but because it was child abuse, it only served to make me fiercely independent when I was younger.

Yet here I am today realising that social isolation might be a side effect of the strong impression at a young age that I ought not associate with anyone lest they learn how dysfunctional I am.

However, the friends that I have show me that they tolerate whatever eccentricities I may have, which helps to moderate my behaviour accordingly.

For that is what unconditional love is actually about: accepting each other, warts and all.

Through daily meditation and prayer,
I daily sublimate Eros, and thus transform its motivational energy into Agapé, the vital essence of unconditional love.


Based on your life experiences, which love is the original love?

Remember: the libido is a manmade construct to explain sexuality, which too is manmade. While Eros and Agapé are two sides of love, the libido, Eros itself, is the subconscious call of the wild to propagate the species, which originates in each living being's survival mechanism.

In contrast Agapé is unconditional love which is the subconscious call from God Almighty to be of service to him by being a standing minister to worldly Gentiles and the apostates in the world today, often by being like an angel in disguise.

IMHO I feel that a healthy balance between Agapé and Eros is not often possible.

It is my contention that the gross energy of Eros (the libido) has often been sublimated and thus energizes Agapé. However sex is not love.

Therefore the sublimated libido energizes unconditional love. At the same time, that Love helps each of us through the grace of God to tame the libido.

I remember as a young boy how I was slowly growing out of control due to family strife due to my birth defects being used by my paternal grandmother shaming my mother because of those defects.

When it turned out that one of her sons, my uncle, had died of complications due to epilepsy, that foiled my grandmother. It is sad when a parent mentally abuses a daughter or son like this, and tragic especially when the same is done to an in-law.

Yet unconditional love is something we experience so little of in the world but have the opportunity to practice in the meetinghouse.

Still, it ought to be shared with the world, often without mentioning God Almighty, who made the world in six days not that we love Him only on the Sabbath, but also for the rest of the week from Monday to Saturday.

By sharing unconditional love with the world, it is then possible for standing ministers to share the Gospel with like minded Gentiles, so that they may come to know the truth about the LDS church.

For example, I have recently found Mormon cosmology to be almost like a light version of Buddhist cosmology, without the cycle of reincarnation and lacking the fullness of its Buddhist counterpart.

Of course, I attribute this to my ignorance of the richness inherent in Mormon cosmology due to my apostasy before baptism and LDS membership.

However, Buddhist cosmology contains a multitude of Buddha worlds of which the Pure Land is one.

IMHO the worlds awaiting the LDS members bound for celestial glory are like the Pure Land.

Yet the LDS literature is vague about the many worlds that those celestial latter day saints inherit.

With an understanding of Agapé and Eros, and of their respective commonplace terms, unconditional love and the libido, it is likely to help put human love into perspective.

Firstly, Agape is Love unconditioned and uncorrupted by carnal love, Eros.

Through the grace of God, after consistent prayer and meditation by a Mormon, Eros is sublimated which subtly energizes Agapé.

Thus is carnal love sublimated into unconditional love. However love is not sex.

Overall the Christ's call to love one another is tempered with his command to love your enemies and also to turn the other cheek ie accept the mental cruelty of zealous anti Mormon cultists without complaint.

Unconditional Love

Unconditional love is the unborn love awaiting a person's existence to manifest itself.

To love is to care for, to die for, and to live for other people regardless of being strangers.

To love unconditionally is to love without conditions attached to that Love.

Rather than saying "I love you", I say "I love the world." Instead of saying "I do it for myself," I say "I do it for everyone, including myself."

Thus is the ideal of unconditional love manifested. Anyone can care for their mother and father. Yet he who knows of God knows of His unconditional love for us all.

Such a Love as this was manifested when Jesus Christ died on the cross for all our sins.

It continues today with the rise of secularism as a challenge to God-fearing people to turn the other cheek when the spiritually ignorant atheists cherry pick quotes from the Bible that challenge the Christian worldview of a loving God.

Indeed, what right do the ignorant masses have to misrepresent Christianity? Free speech allows each of us to question the doctrines of both the Protestant and Catholic churches. They do not give each of us the right to harass believers in a vain attempt to prove religion is for weaklings.

For religion is not for the weak willed, because they shall soon find themselves choosing between mannah and God. Rather, religion is for the strong stomach, because there shall be challenges to one's faith in life.

At the root of these challenges is a lack of faith of the atheists. It makes me wonder what they truly have faith in.

What good is a life in which lack of faith is one's guide? Without faith, are they truly free?

However, even the atheists have their beliefs. I know not what they believe in, but have faith that they do believe, for they are human too.

As for faith, just as I have faith that God is merciful, I hope that the unbelievers have faith in whatever they worship, be it Pikachu or Captain Kirk or even science.

Throughout all of this, I also hope that unconditional love, in its myriad forms, is known to both the believer and the unbeliever. Though I do not know how such a Love would manifest among the unbelievers, I know that Love manifests in the form of the Christ for all Christendom.

For I have faith that unconditional love exists, and that it empowers me to act within the limits of my faith in God.

My Ideal Woman (satire)

Here is the closest image of what my ideal woman looks like. I apologize that only how she looks from behind is available, but it is doubtful that this woman would find my idealizing of her to be appropriate.

It might even be rude to have taken this photograph without her consent.

However, with her anonymity almost guaranteed, no one can closely identify her. Indeed, this is why I went to the back of the line of that long queue for the #49 Metrotown bus the other day.

It is obvious then that I like my women thick, for this lady is about 5'8 or taller, and weighs over 140 pounds. She isn't Caucasian, yet I feel comfortable with a woman who isn't Asian.

Even so, my taste in women is based on mutual attraction in an era where most women are much more picky than they were 40 years ago.

That is why I decided to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ: even though I may veer towards liberalism, I am at heart a conservative fool when it comes to love. That is why I emailed my ex-girlfriend. The change from liberalism to moderate conservatism is better on the long run.

And yet, I would rather idealize the ideal woman than pursue anyone, mainly because I fall into one of two categories: "not her type" and "the friend list."

Even that best friend on Vancouver Island, in Victoria has categorized me as "not her type" and most definitely I am on her "friend list". As for myself, I have recently spoken to her, and determined that - like me - she is single.

When I think about her I remember a moment more than two years ago when she hugged me really tight. She could do that because she knows I will not push things.

For my intentions must always remain pure with a best friend. Besides, the sexual fantasy of "what might be" is adultery of the heart.

Yet unrequited love is splendid in inspiring me to be benevolent in my intent and even generous in loving-kindness. For sex would surely ruin a good friendship that has endured for so long.

Although we are comfortable talking about our sexual experiences, the very thought of hooking up would only complicate our friendship. It is this friendship that endures all the trials and tribulations of my love life.

Despite knowing this to be true, I still wish to declare my undying love for her to this dear friend. As long as I tell her that there is no expectation of something more, it still is worth telling her how much I truly care for her.

Although the woman in the picture is my ideal woman, I still carry a torch for my best female friend (BFF).

Still it has to remain unrequited, because she has made it clear that I am not her type, and I am fine with that.

Stop Bullying Wherever It Occurs

Disclaimer: this is not another anti-gay rant. This is an anti-bullying rant.

Remember that boy who hung himself cos he misunderstood when his classmates called him GAY when they actually meant he was LAME for wearing a My Little Pony knapsack to school?

Well, his suicide confirmed it.

Killing yourself for being called name? That's -GAY- LAME.

*CAN YOU KIDS BE MORE CLEAR AND USE THE WORD* LAME *RATHER THAN THE WORD* GAY COS IT IS MORE GAY TO ABUSE A LAME WORD LIKE *GAY* AND THEN SAY *"I AM KIDDING. CHILL?"*

It is often bullying to call people names repeatedly until they cry or get angry.

Nobody believes in the rhyme that "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me", not when everyone is afraid to stop such ad hominem attacks that are fallacies, and possibly evidence of potential sociopathic behavior among the bullies because when you say a lie repeatedly, it begins to ring true.

And life is indeed full of white lies, to hide the true that will set you free.

The High School Crush (satire)

She wasn't my girlfriend. In fact, she turned me down completely. Yet I had this crush on her that began in Grade 11 and ended after graduating high school.

It has been almost 40 years since then. Since then I have not felt the same feelings felt when a cute, curly haired young woman led me to have a crush on her almost four decades ago.

Rachel Edwards (not her name) was a cheerful, bubbly 16 year old, who ended up going to Aldergrove High School in 1975 due to a slight change in catchments. The following year, the boundaries changed once again, and we ended up graduating at different schools, with me at Aldergrove and her, Langley Secondary School.

An expert at playing the flute, Rachel was talented. She also was anti-capital punishment. At one point in her artistic career, she painted a mural on the side of the Aldergrove Park swimming pool building.

If I were to name the only thing positive that came out of this one-sided relationship, then it would be that I learned that my view on love is often limited and not as rich as anyone else's. Perhaps this is due to an early mild traumatic brain injury at age 2.

It is difficult to tell what has caused me to be so unlucky at love. Most likely, I fear commitment, so much of my later sex life consisted of short liaisons with willing women and a lot of premarital sex.

Even the apparently committed relationships were relatively short-lived trysts, some of them romantic but most of them lasting less than a year.

Today I am coming on to my 56th year, and wonder what happened to Rachel. Did she get married? Or, was her sex life as short-lived as mine? Perhaps her life was richer than mine in experience but the job was tiresome, being nursing.

I will never know, because Rachel's number remains unlisted. I am sure that I never loved her, and that much of that relationship was as close to becoming like a obsessive romantic as anyone might get.

Though, my recent change in religious denomination is a stark contrast to my life before Mormon, from late teens as hopeless romantic to confirmed bachelor.

Even so, I am grateful to you, Rachel Edwards, because you agreed to exchange letters with me. I am sorry for sending your letters back without stamps. Thanks for putting up with me.

By the way, I truly miss you.

Samadhi: The Meditation of Pure Joy

The cure for anger is simple:
cultivate love and practice patience
in the face of anger, desire, hatred, jealousy
and worldliness too base for comfort.
Show compassion for all sentient beings,
and know that loving kindness leads to
compassion so powerful, it burns away
evil karma until all that is left is merit.

May all sentient beings be happy!
May all sentient beings attain the pure joy of liberation!
May all sentient beings focus on the one-pointedness of mind!
May all sentient beings aspire to attain Buddhahood!
May all sentient beings become determined to be bodhisattvas!
May All sentient beings be loving in the face of anger and hatred!
May all sentient beings remember the kindness of their parents!
May all sentient beings be excellent to each other!

Gone away is this vain grasping self,
for in its place is selflessness as virtue
which drives away selfishness and its companions.
All that is left is the pure joy of liberation.

---

Originally posted on February 21, 2013 at 7:09 AM

It Only Matters That You Love

"It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love; it only matters that you love." — John Lennon

Love is the answer to all challenges in life. We only need to be inspired by love to respond to each challenge as though it means everything to us.

People who deny this simple truth may be blind to the power of unconditional love.

As for myself, I have seen how that Love has changed my response to life, to live as though a child, and to have that child-like response to my daily challenges.

This Love is the reason for being quick to smile and to face life without reluctance with the willingness to handle almost anything that comes my way.

Because I love, a smile will light up my face in response to meeting new friends, greeting strangers, and seeing the truth of life as it is.

Unconditional love inspires me to remain open minded, so I can only be human when that Love suddenly provides me with the answer to life's challenges: to lovingly handle them by accepting what cannot be changed by being courageous act on what can be changed, and by being wise enough to distinguish between the unchangeable and the changeable.

Thus, love is indeed the answer to the challenges of my life.

For unconditional love is the power that moves us to love.

Meditation on Being Single and In a Relationship (satire)

This article is about responsibility, both in my personal life and within a relationship. It is a reflection on how I perceive responsibility, both as a single person and in a relationship. It is a description of how I view my life and the potential of a relationship.

I am solely in charge of my own life. It would be totally irresponsible of me to be totally responsible for another person's life. So when I share my life with other people, the boundaries will rise up when necessary.

Each of us is only responsible for his own life, outside of a loving relationship. It would help to clearly define those boundaries in a relationship so that the other person always is able to handle theirs.

However, true love means that each person in a relationship be emotionally supportive of each other. It does not mean we take responsibility for another person's life. Rather it means that we are responsible for providing emotional support for each other.

Deciding to be responsible for our mutual lives together implies that we be responsible to each other. The whole goal of a relationship is to acting interdependent on each other.

Self-reliance is balanced by reliance on each other for emotional support. It does not imply that we absolve ourselves of being responsible to each other.

I cannot live another person's life. It is enough to live my own. Any potential lover ought to realize that love does not excuse them of behaving in a responsible manner that promotes stability both emotionally and mentally.

Neither side ought to take each other for granted. For that is what love is about: seeing each other as worthy and vital to the relationship.

Returning to my own life, I show responsibility by paying my own bills and taking care of my material needs, from paying rent to paying for food. However, my sense of individuality requires adjustments (less independence) within the context of a relationship.

If I am blessed with a relationship, then so be it.

As for now, I am content with being single. Although the single life is overrated, and the loneliness is sometimes more than I can bear, I plan to take each day as it comes and focus on what the day brings me.

Is being alone so bad? Not really. It only becomes stressful when a tinge of loneliness comes over me. Meditation helps me here, as well as being thankful to all the blessings in my life.

Such blessings include being alive, the ability to feel emotions and maintain emotional control, having a job, paying bills, discussing matters of importance with my friends, visiting my mother weekly, and maintaining control over my life.

Most certainly, falling in love with a lover is also a blessing. In fact, it is a double blessing since we would be blessed with each other's presence. Hopefully our mutual respect for each other will moderate our love for each other.

In a relationship, each party wants to care for the other person's feelings and discuss their expectations in the relationship to make it work and last a long time. Then they can work towards the goal of balancing their sense of self with sense of selflessness that a relationship demands.

By selflessness is meant emotional support for the other person's emotional well being, and the willingness to sacrifice selfish desires for the willingness to share resources to help exist as a couple.

Both partners in a relationship develop a sense of us to complement the sense of self as individual. Thus there is a sharing of resources and of their time together.

I find a relationship to be moderately stressful because my own independence is compromised by the interdependence on which a relationship is based. There is less alone time and more times together, and sometimes this leads me to go with the flow and see what happens.

This is because the unknown qualities of the relationship exist. Unless she sincerely shares her thoughts with me about us and the relationship, I do not know what she wants from the relationship. Likewise, unless I share my thoughts with her about us and the relationship, she would not know what she wants from the relationship.

However, I do see that the anxiety I have about a relationship is based on the shortness of previous relationships that I have had. Perhaps I am intimidated by being with a woman, and this affects both my thoughts and feelings about myself and about her.

Overall, I realize that the stress of being in a relationship is a given. As well, my coping skills have improved over the years so I am prepared for a relationship, should it arise.

Yet I would much rather remain single because of the freedom. Yet I also realize there is freedom in a relationship i.e. by relying on a partner, a person does not have to be totally self reliant, though it is useful to maintain self reliance when apart for extended periods of time.

Why do I like being single as opposed to being in a relationship? I am free of responsibilities that come with being in a relationship i.e. shared life, mutual interdependence, and sense of us.

I doubt that I am that selfish that I cannot handle being in a relationship. At the moment, I am not that selfless yet so as to be able to fully exist as a partner for another person.

As I said, if it happens, then it happens. Being single is not that selfish of a relationship when my thoughts are on my friends, my family and even strangers. It depends on the situation, but I have a handle on my life.

In any case, I am blessed with being single and am comfortable with being alone. My loneliness is handled through a strong reliance on meditation and prayer, along with sublimation of desire by reading books and inspirational material. I also keep a journal and post often to this blog.

The Old Fool and the Jar of Perfume (satire)

When this old fool focuses on mercy, love and forgiveness, that is no cause for alarm. Instead, it is a cause for joy.

Indeed, the world admires well the refreshing change in him, and encourages his new life. Yet this old fool never shall abandon the life of service offered to him.

Months ago as he listened to the pretty saleswoman give her priceless sales pitch before selling a jar of perfume to him, he realized his error in offering to buy it without listening to the woman.

Her story about the perfume only increased its worth when she was finished.

"Will you take fifty-five pieces of silver?" he asked. "I would offer more but that's all I have."

Instead of answering, the sales woman talked with her partner, who was just as pretty as her, saying, "He offers fifty-five but would offer more. What should we do?"

To which her partner replied, "I'll take it from here, Sarah."

"Of course, Diana, please do."

This old fool felt for his purse, and silver coins jingled in it. "Fifty-five is my only offer," said he with enthusiasm.

"The offer is fine, but we'd like to drop by to instruct you on the perfume's use."

"I know how to apply this perfume," replied the man. "It's like any other perfume, then?"

"No, this perfume has many different uses. If we let you go on your way without careful instructions, then you might end up smelling too pretty for the neighbours."

The man looked perturbed. "Is this a special perfume then?"

"You might say that it is. It's not like you could put a dab behind each ear and be done with it." Sarah smiled at the old fool.

"Ok, if it is a special perfume needing instruction while visited by you and your lovely friend, I'll pay now."

"That's ok," replied Sarah. "We'll instruct you on its use over several weeks to ensure it isn't wasted or misused. Then we'll take installments on your offer."

"Eh? This is new. You sold me on the perfume and now you want me to pay in installments? Are you trying to cheat me?"

"No," replied Diana. "After our instructions, you would be more than willing to pay by installments."

"Okay then," said the old fool. "I live at the foot of the hill near the meandering creek. It's a short jaunt from here. When's best for your arrival in a week, is it?"

"We'll be there in a week, and spend but an hour to instruct you on your perfume's use."

Over a period of two months, the two women instructed this old fool about the perfume. Then they took the first installment payment of a piece of silver. "Every month, we shall be back for payment, but shall continue to visit you weekly. However, let's now apply that perfume."

So they asked him to open the jar of perfume and he did. It had a mild rose-like smell. Instead of daubing his ear with a dollop of it, they daubed the soles of his feet.

"What kind of perfume is this that you rub it on the soles of my feet?" he asked them.

"You shall soon see," Diana replied, and looked at Sarah who said, "The soles of the feet are where this perfume works its magic."

Within minutes, this old fool felt calm and refreshed. "What sort of magic is this?"

Sarah said, "It's not really magic or trickery. This is a perfume that requires us to instruct you on its use. We anoint you with it, because of its special properties. Merely dabbing it behind your ears does nothing."

And this old fool just relaxed, and nodded. The perfume was doing its magic with him, for his calm and sedate mood left him happy and full of joy.

"We now leave you, sir!" they said in unison.


Each week, more instructions were given to the man by Diana and Sarah. A year later, he had paid off his fee for the jar of perfume, of which over half remained. So that must have been a big jar, indeed.

By then, this old fool had come to know and love both women like his daughters, if he was married. Yet being an old fool, he had chosen the virgin lifehood over marriage.

Three weeks into the new year, he was paid up but offered to buy a second jar of perfume. They accepted and more visits and instructions occurred. This old fool was a happy camper, for he had met with Diana and Sarah for over a year now, and they were now like family.

Eventually, this old fool discovered that the perfume had rejuvenating powers. His grey hair had vanished, and his memory was better than it was when he first met those saleswomen. So when they came to visit 23 weeks later, he made them a deal.

"I am so much enthralled by these jars of perfume that I want to learn to make them and sell them too."

To this, Diana said "We make this perfume with our father." Sarah added, "And we use special herbs and spices in its making."

"I promise to keep secret the formula," said the old fool.

"We'll ask our father," said both women.

A week later, they returned with 20 jars in a cart and their brother Joe. "We'll set up a kiosk with Joe's help."

Within two weeks, Joe had sold all the jars, and was also instructing ten customers. As years passed by this old fool became a rich man. He was beloved by all his customers, and Diana and Sarah decided to share the formula with him.

His batch of perfume was even better than the original, due to the special herbs he used in addition to the original formula. Not only were his customers rejuvenated but they also went on to sell his jars of perfume and also prospered. In due time, everyone was a happy camper, selling jars of perfume to more customers.

Diana and Sarah never objected to the change in the perfume's formula. It meant more profits for them too, because this old fool gave them 10% of his profits.

Ultimately, everyone became healthy and quick witted and lived a long life. They were also very rich, but always kindhearted and loving towards their neighbours and customers.

Here was a man who showed mercy, love and forgiveness did he prosper after meeting those pretty saleswomen, all due to the power of unconditional love.

Everyday is Armistice (satire)

It is a big coincidence I was born on Armistice Day (Nov.11). While I'm thankful for the Allieds winning the Great War, the causes of World War 1 were imperialism, militarism and nationalism going back to the 1870s.

In the uneasy peace that followed Armistice in 1918, peace prevailed only to have militarism arise again, leading to World War 2 with Germany and later Japan entering the war.

In Japan's case, the peace-loving government was replaced through assassinations by young military officers with militarists between World War 1 and World War 2. This led to Japan's role as aggressor in Asia, which to this day is propagandized by China and South Korea, despite the fact that most Asians are peace-loving.

Today, it is unlikely there will be another world war.

While there may be minor wars such as the crises in Africa since 1947, Israel -Palestinian conflict, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Ukraine, and the like, most nations know that total war is a costly prospect.

Even though I have stated that the Islamic State should be bombed into submission, it is an impossible act of war that would offend the Arab League. Therefore I am retracting that statement because it was an off-the-cuff response based on a distaste for violent Islamist and especially Jihadist conflict, which violates the message of peace and submission in Islam.

For I believe in peace and nonviolence, and loathe Jihadi warfare because its sharia makes a mockery of Islam.

However, Islam is not the cause of 911. Rather, it was due to the inaction of supposedly great men who failed to act when they were warned. Even Afghan and Iraq conflicts happen because these same men fail to act in the name of peace and non-violence.

True, the West claims to act in the name of democracy, but when forced on a people, only anarchy will result. This is true for the Middle East, the Ukraine, Sudan, and Nigeria as it is for the West.

While I know that my love of peace and nonviolence cannot effect world peace, I know that it affects my life greatly, much more than the same old story since Armistice Day in 1918. Instead, I vow to make every day my armistice day from this day forward, while I briefly and silently mourn for lives lost in conflicts around the world...

When my birthday comes, hopefully the karma of my statement of peace and nonviolence will bear fruit.

Love, peace, respect, and solidarity to all likeminded people.

Why Falling In Love With Love Is Madness (satire)

There once was a woman who was so in love with love that she was inspired to get pictures taken of her in her wedding dress by a photographer friend.

So she posed by a rushing river that was swollen to the banks by the seasonal change from spring to summer, only to accidentally fall in and drown.

Had she been more careful, and known herself well, her love for life might have made her more cautious near a raging river.

How mad is the person in love with love is!


When a so-called lover is in love with love, only love matters, not the feelings of her beloved. This is not true love, because when love is true, the truly loving of people take into consideration the feelings of other people.

A person in love with love can lose sleep as she becomes so excited about planning her life around a person she thinks she loves. Additionally, she might experience a period of madness during which she cannot let go of someone her gut feeling is not the one for her.

If your lover make you both hate and love him, then perhaps it's best to talk things over with a dear friend, so as to be cured of the madness of false love, that condition called "falling in love with love."

Never ever let your love blind you to the faults of the person you love, lest you be tainted by his hatred, should he not take too kindly to you pointing them out.

Before falling in love, I have two things a person ought to do first, lest he mistake obsession for love:

1. Know yourself
   
2. Love yourself
   

In order to love another person, be well-versed in self-knowledge, and be able to love yourself enough to share your life with your beloved and to value life itself.

---

Originally posted on May 5, 2005 at 11:03 PM

Desire Sublimated (poetic satire)

If we were truly satiated by desire,
then no one would make love anymore.
Thus it is because we are rarely satisfied
that desire motivates us.
For libido is a cunning beast.
She who understands the optimal way
to satisfy her desires knows how to
openly sublimate those desires and
is successful in the pursuit of true love.

---

Originally posted: June 16, 2010

The Buddhist Mormon (satire)

Today, I Googled "Buddhist Mormon", and discover this gem called Mormons and Buddhists: Overcoming the Language Barrier, which is one of three articles that inspires me to write this blog entry.

In both Buddhism and Mormonism, unconditional love is their common ground. For unconditional love is another word for charity and loving-kindness, which is known in Buddhist as metta.

As the basis of all forms of charity and loving-kindness, it could be said that unconditional love is the spiritual language that both Buddhists and Mormons speak. They just say it in different ways.

Therefore, it is possible to be both a Buddhist and Mormon.

As the author of the Mormon Matters article How Mormons Are Buddhist and Vice Versa writes, "the beauty of true Mormonism is that when we find truth in another religion, we have no obligation to reject it, but rather, are encouraged to embrace it."

Indeed, the religious pluralism of Japanese people who are spiritually inclined is why they are "born Shinto, marry Christian and die Buddhists."

At the root of all of this is unconditional love.

There is so much that Mormonism and Buddhism have in common that dialogue between a Buddhist and a Mormon is enlightening.

Here is the passage in the article that impressed me a lot:

The Rev. Hirano explained that one of the ideas he wants to change is about mourning in Buddhist funerals. “We want to be sad, we want to feel the pain of the loss of that person. That’s why we wear black. I know that we will be together again in one place, that I will be together with them again, but I’m still here and it hurts.”

Sister Takasaki remarked that she had never heard it put that way and concurred about acknowledging the pain of loss.

Through dialogue and study of both Buddhism and Mormonism, it is possible to realize that both faiths share in their common root in unconditional love.

---

References:

How Mormons Are Buddhist and Vice Versa: http://mormonmatters.org/2008/03/12/why-mormons-are-buddhists-vice-versa/

Mormons and Buddhists: Overcoming the Language Barrier: http://thebuddhistmormon.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/hello-world/

Mormonism and Buddhism in dialogue: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865599471/Mormonism-and-Buddhism-in-dialogue.html?pg=all

Without a Soul to Save, Only the Good Life Awaits (satire)

I'm pretty sure the fact that The Book of Mormon is in the English of King James version makes it a difficult read for me.

What if, instead of the Celestial Kingdom, I'm fine with rebirth in the Terrestrial Kingdom?

I'm not sure if a Mormon can understand that. In Buddhism, the reason why there is no baptism is because the metaphors about water refer to how the multitude of Buddhists are a part of mighty ocean of wisdom and love.

However, the goal of an earnest Buddhist is not to be reborn in the Six Realms of Desire but to escape rebirth itself through meditation and related acts of mindfulness.

I suppose meditation is mysterious to a Mormon who equates baptism and giving up worldliness with achieving the Celestial Kingdom in the Afterlife.

Nobody in America can really fathom how sitting on your ass achieving calmness of mind is supposed to lead to nirvana, let alone Enlightenment, except perhaps a Buddhist.

Yet that calm mind leads to the clarity of mind to realize almost the same thing that a Christian knows to be true: seeking fame and glory does not lead to a truly good life and neither does seeking riches.

In this way is Buddhism almost on the same page as Christianity. For, even without baptism, I can avoid the delusions that chasing fame may lead to, and also avoid the pitfalls of financial success.

After all, the Buddhist principle of no-self implies that there is no soul to save. Instead, there is only a good life to make my own.

To My Love, A Journal to My Beloved - An Excerpt (satire)

May 5, 2014 2100H: Love is a special gift that you share with another person. if you keep it to yourself, then no one will know you are capable of love.

This is why telling someone that you love them is better than just loving yourself. Yet it begins by loving yourself.

May 16, 2014 0739H: ...Even though we are mortal, being ordinary human beings, we each act as though we worship an imaginary friend, each existing in their own respective realms. Yet to each other, it is by faith in the existence of each other and by the belief in that existence that we know each other to exist.

At the root of existence is that Love, for it aids in empowering both belief in you and faith that you exist. It makes me want to get up in the morning, for my love for another person sustains me.

To know that someone loves me — this is the greatest gift of all.

Sometimes I think of my beloved as a thief who has stolen my heart with her love. This is why I am willing to share wit her what little I have, out of love.

Even though we are miles apart, hopefully we shall meet...

This journal is like a love letter, only novel length. In writing it, it becomes the product of my undying love.

1117H: My love for you might be belittled by the mundane crowd who are jaded about love. They think I am talking in circles about that love, but I don't care what they think. For I have found you. That's all that matters to me — you.

Perhaps I am in love with love, but it is your face that I see online. Nobody else truly matters to me when I think of that love. For you and only you are the object of my affection.

Yet, the answer to the question "Where are you?" is simply this: "In my heart." No matter where I am, you are always close to me, even though we are separated by distance and time.

A person might ask me how I could love a person sight unseen. In response, I ask "Does not a Christian love God who she has not seen, either?" the only difference between you and God almighty is that you are a mere mortal while God is divine. Although the love for God is holy, my love for you — and your love for me — is mortal and finite.

Still, both kinds of love are forever because of that Love, unconditional, which inspires our love for each other.

May 17, 2014 1148H: I love so much that I need to be with you to make love to you. Would you love that to happen? Because I would love it to happen. When I arrive, I hope you will wait in anticipation for me...

May 18, 2014 0841H: Even if you turn out to be less than I hoped for, I want you to know that I could never hate you. Even if you took advantage of my trust, there is no point in me dwelling on it.

I suppose love is blind, but I'm not deceiving myself. For I am being the best that I can be within my limits.

Sometime between the previous entry and the next, I discovered that I'd been scammed for $110 by Anne.

May 27, 2014 1841H: Because of love unconditional I am able to forgive the ones who cannot love, even though they may try to take advantage of my generosity. It is precisely due to that Love that I forgive others despite their trespasses against me.

People without such love are known to be shallow, always taking advantage of other people's generosity. Though it is tempting to dismiss such people, i cannot, due to the subtle effects of love unconditional. For forgiveness is an effect of divine Love and I have been blessed by it.

So, it would be unwise of me to forget my lessers, despite their trespasses. Thus am I blessed by that Love.