For who ? For ourselves. Did we do something, some ritual that affirmed our faith today ? In what ? In ourselves. Our ability to connect with our inner selves. For if we do not, who is this person that is working, loving, talking etc. It’s certainly not you.
It’s an everyday search for me. For that something that can put me in touch with myself. My connection to consciousness. My connection to loving nature.
Of course many people have faith. Which is a wonderful ability. I don’t have blind faith. I am more of a searcher. Questioner. Good, bad ? I don’t know. No value judgements on any faith or the question of faith. Or on myself.
Some people do it with meditation first thing in the morning. I have never been able to do that. I have to connect to something, however small, however little, to loose my sense of individuality. That’s the daily struggle. Against my own exaggarated sense of myself. I am so used to it. I have relied on it for so many years. So tough to let go now. Not that I have never questioned it before. But now, it is really important for me to be truly ‘active’ rather than ‘reactive’, which is what I have done most of my life. And how do I know what that ‘true’ action is ? Unless I am constantly in touch with something larger, more immense, more universal than myself ?
Yes I know. By letting go. By allowing yourself not to be addicted to the result of your action. By allowing chaos to invade your life. Yes, I agree. All of that. I do allow chaos to prevade in my life. I am impeteous (spelling). But then the individual in me fights back hard.
It’s an everyday battle. This battle to let go of one’s addiction to one’s sense of individuality.
Yet, the smallest of things can provoke the sensing of my flowing into something much much larger. Something infinite.
This morning it was my 5 year old daughter waking me up with a loud ‘Peekaboo’ and the tinkling of an early morning laugh.
Sometimes it;s just getting up early enough to watch the first shades of dark blue brush across the sky. Something deeply stirring about that.
Sometimes it’s unexpected gestures of affection that were not sought. Or given so instinctually that you were not aware of them.
Sometimes, it’s writing a poem. But only if the words are coming from somewhere else. As if something is flowing through you, a river of emotion you can physically feel that flows through your being.
But it is always so unexpected. So much that I am constantly aware now. My senses hightened. Waiting for that unexpected moment.
When something deeper will reach out and engulf me, and give my life, and all my actions, however small, a deeper and all encompassing context. On a daily basis.
So say a prayer for me. And for yourself.
Shekhar
Loka Samastah Sukino Bhavantu
Loka Samastah Sukno Bhavantu
1. Would people feel more inclined to speak up about “mental illness” if it was not called a mental illness, but rather
“Specific Brain Function Challenge (SBFC)”
This seems to be a more accurate description of what is actually being address, and it may encourage and pave a way for more people to feel comfortable to seek help. Who really wants to have a label that includes the word mental, when there is along history of “put downs” related to the word, ie. mental case.
2. “Bell, Let’s Talk”
“Let’s Talk and Listen”
seems more accurate in achieving the general objective.
Without the LISTENING part, what’s the use of the talking part?
I can sit here and talk to the wall for hours, and it’s only so much that would achieve, however, having someone with the skill to listen, empatheticly and objectively, will be closer to the aim of the objective.
3. Disability seems and sounds like a put down, and who isn’t disabled in some way?
“Specific Need” is a more scientific and appropriate term that addresses challenges of all kinds, on all levels.
ie. I have a Specific Need (SN) that requires me to use a wheel chair, I have a Specific Need that requires me to use a walking cane, I have a SN that requires me to use sign language …etc.
There is less a stigma and shame with using terms that are more descriptive of the challenge, rather than using terms that sound like name calling.
Parking spaces that have a picture with a wheel chair can be changed to reflect more than just people who need to use wheel chairs, as some people may use walking canes, or foot braces, crutches, and may temporarily need those spots, or seniors who have difficulty walking far distances, etc.
An old hermit was once invited to visit the court of the most powerful king of the day.
“I envy a holy man, who is content with so little,” commented the sovereign.
“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with less than I. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole wide world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, however, has only this kingdom.”
P. Coelho
definitionless is a definition
loka samastah sukhino bhavantu
Loka Samastah Sukhino Bhanvantu
It sounds like the cries to be heard, being enough, belonging, acceptance, etc. was not felt by this young man, and while many of us feel like we “listen”, I feel there is a lack of skill and empathy in society that is causing the rise in people to feel they are not worthy of life. Clearly, feeling worthy has nothing to do with fame, money, status, success or looks. How many of us can truly say that we have someone who understands us, accepts us the way we are, and will be there for us no matter how tough things may get? Unless a person actually experiences what it’s like to feel like ending their life, there is no way offering an opinion about such things is justified. Depression can take hold of someone in such a way, if that person does not get the help, specific to their individual experience, then suicide can become an option in their state of mind. Depression appears to be a complex and difficult condition that has many levels of intensities, and those who have not experienced it find it hard to understand. I feel, it can take on the same symptomatic characteristics as how we look at having a disease/virus. ie. for some people it could act like a cold, and for some it can be like terminal cancer, depending on the entire individual composition of each person, their experiences, what is consumed, and social and environmental factors.
To judge someone who commits suicide shows a lack of understanding, and the irony of that is, feeling a lack of being understood is one part of depression.
Anyone interested in understanding more about this condition that seems to be spreading like an epidemic in our current times, would benefit from research, taking a mental health illness course, talking to doctors and other people who are knowledgeable in the subject. As far as statistics show, depression is not confined to any particular country, culture, income, status, religion, etc.
None of us can be in the present and the past at the same time, not even when we try to understand the things that happen to us. What has passed will not return: we cannot be late adolescents forever, blaming ourselves, our parents or lovers
-Paulo C.
perhaps we carry a bit of everything with us?
if my cells didn’t remember what was happening before, i wonder if they would know
what to do next?
easy to hand out advise…
hard to live the same advise we give to others…
why?
perhaps, the advise is based solely on our conditioning to
look outward at others and not look at ourselves first
it’s quite a shift to not advise so much, and live more
as the advise we are so easily and willing to give…
buildings build communities
building relationships
building skills
building character
building a global family
Happy Birthday Aaravinda Raphael Dev
18 years old, grown with compassion, love, caring, and a sense of humour,
academically astute, empathetic, and kind to others, and intuition that has
benefited all those around him.
That this young man walks the earth, it is my fortune and blessing
he is a part of my journey.
with everything that is , i love you, Son,
Mama
A prayer for you, my Son
Love and good blessings
for good health, peace of mind, and awareness.
Mama
i dont know what to say, and that is ok too?
i think i just said something…
hmmm
Lessons of Life : your greatest prison lives in your mind. – Shekhar Kapur
I wonder if our greatest anything lives in our mind,
and why we choose to point out one aspect of it…hmmm
perhaps we can start to dissolve indifferences by
using more accurate terms such as
white people ~ there are no white people, unless there is some specific medical or genetic reason for someone’s skin to be the colour of white unused photocopy paper.
black people ~ there are no black people, if we look carefully, no one’s skin is black, closest is a very deep dark brown, but that doesn’t qualify as black.
coloured people ~ we are ALL coloured people, since when is there a colour not a colour?
is it possible we carry racism and discrimination in ways we have not thought about as yet, and in realizing that we need to clean up some of the language we use, might be a beneficial start, especially in the words we use and teach to babies and children.
can you imagine a world where we refer to people by their names and proper descriptions?
gratitude
extraordinary
why do we use that word as if it meant something really special?
if something is extra, doesn’t that mean it is more of that thing?
so, wouldn’t extraordinary mean more ordinary than ordinary?
there is something specific being lost in our human interactions through the world of technology and the pace at which it has presented itself…
we are less patient
less calm
less likely to pay full attention when someone is speaking with us
less interested in a subject being manually taught, because the rate of speed in the delivery is different to the speed of a computer etc.
less attention is paid to developing ourselves, because we do not seem that interesting, since we have no special effects or internal confidence to peruse our own being
less privacy
we have more access to other people around the world
more news available to know whats going on in other countires
more ability to connect with information that can be found in a library, or other forms of informational resources
more access to creativity through screens and other AI forms of expression
more availability to gain control and manipulate others, anonymously, over the internet
cure and poison in the same vile, as with most things…
how do we teach children to have a voice and speak out, confidently, about how they feel?
how do we create communities that would help children to feel safe, so their creativity will grow and develop into a source that will be beneficial to themselves and others around them?
how do we, as adults, learn to treat children with the respect and care, that will enable them to be more compassionate empathetic human beings?
Lessons of Life : Find solitude not by isolating yourself, but by throwing yourself into life today. For solitude is found not by protecting yourself against the storm but by giving in and becoming the storm – Shekhar Kapur.
Is this advise meant for all the ascetics, sadhus, pundits, monks, etc. who go into isolation?
Dalai Lama – Many people think that patience is a sign of weakness. I think this is a mistake. It is anger that is a sign of weakness, whereas patience is a sign of strength.
i read this before going to see my doctor yesterday, and i feel it might have helped me to not be too angry with him, for all the things that happened in his office in the past year and 5 months.
thank you for posting this, shekhar
i wonder if balance is something different for everyone, everything,
or
if everything and everyone is already balanced
and its just that
we don’t see it?
SEEMS LIKE THE FIRST LINE IN THIS STORY IS MORE ACCURATELY INCLUSIVE THAN THE REST OF THE STORY.
In the cycle of nature there is no such thing as victory or defeat: there is only movement.
The winter struggles to reign supreme (WHY DO WE INTERRUPT THIS AS A STRUGGLE?) , but, in the end, is obliged to accept spring’s victory(BUT THE FIRST LINE READS ABOUT NO VICTORY OR DEFEAT), which brings with it flowers and happiness.
The summer would like to make its warm days last for ever (HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT THE SUMMER’S INTENTION IS?), because it believes that warmth is good for the earth, but (HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT SUMMER BELIEVES?), finally, it has to accept the arrival of autumn(WHY DO WE ASSUME IT HAS TO DO SOMETHING?), which will allow the earth to rest(IS A NATURAL PROCESS ALLOWING SOMETHING ELSE TO HAPPEN, OR IS A NATURAL PROCESS JUST HAPPENING, NOT ALLOWING OR PREVENTING).
The gazelle eats the grass and is devoured by the lion. It isn’t a matter of who is the strongest, but God’s way of showing us the cycle of death and resurrection (IS THERE REALLY ANY DEATH OR IS LIFE’S EXPRESSIONS IN A CONSTANT CHANGE?).
And within that cycle there are neither winners nor losers, there are only stages that must be gone through. When the human heart understands this, it is free, able to accept difficult times and not be deceived by moments of glory.
Both will pass (BOTH IS PASSING). One will succeed the other (IS SOMETHING SUCCEEDING THE OTHER, OR IS ONE THING EVOLVING INTO ANOTHER FORM?) . And the cycle will continue until we liberate ourselves from the flesh and find the Divine Energy(WHO IS QUALIFIED TO DEFINE WHAT DIVINE ENERGY IS, IF EVERYTHING IS INDEED GOD AND GOD IS EVERYWHERE, ISN’T ALL DIVINE OR ALL NOT, OR ALL JUST IS?).
Therefore, when the fighter is in the ring – whether by his (“THEIR” MAKES MORE SENSE, WE ARE SO CONDITIONED TO USE THE WORDS “HE” “HIS” “HIM”…IE. OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN. WHERE DOES THAT PUT MOTHER? IN HELL?)) own choice or because unfathomable destiny has placed him there – may his spirit be filled with joy at the prospect of the fight ahead. If he holds on to his dignity and his honour (WHY IS THERE A NEED TO HOLD ON TO ANYTHING, IF WE ARE NATURAL?”, then, even if he loses the fight, he will never be defeated, because his soul will remain intact (HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT THE SOUL IS AND WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO IT IF WE CHOOSE ONE THING OVER THE OTHER?).
And he will blame no one for what is happening to him (THIS STORY SEEMS TO BE ABOUT A MALE, THERE IS NO REFERENCE TO THE FEMALE).
Ever since he fell in love for the first time and was rejected, he has known that this did not put paid to his ability to love.
What is true in love is also true in war (HOW DO WE KNOW WHAT IS TRUE AND WHAT IS NOT?).
taken from MANUSCRIPT FOUND IN ACCRA
living…dying
words
who really knows what
each
of
those
words
mean?
…just realized why i might be drawn to classical music, as much as i do, and not so much any of my know 7 siblings.
in my younger years, i watched, or perhaps “listened” to the music in all of those
bugs bunny episodes.
clearly, the stories themselves were written with a lot of violence, and i wasn’t all that interested in how some of the characters treated each other, but what was happening in the background, the music that brought life
to the emotional intelligence aspect, is what was moving me, without my conscious awareness, until now.
i was listening to a cello piece, playing on the radio, and from my window i was looking at a gentle snowfall. it seemed as if the music was playing to the dance of the flakes that appeared to be in no rush to get to the ground.
the action of the snow and the sounds of the cello’s rubbings echoing just folded so well into each other.
and
as i researched mel blanc, the guy who did the voice over for abut 1000 characters, including bugs bunny, i read that his name was originally spelled, blank, and at the age of 16, his teacher told him he would amount to nothing, because his name is blank. he changed it to, blanc. hmmm
based on that theory, i wonder if shekhar is the influence of shaking things up?
how do children feel a sense of internal self worth?
it appears, over praising can desensitize the and prevent an appreciation
for the actual task or ability that was applied to the activity, by the child,
and they may not even notice what they did, but rather focus on the
comment by the adult.
under praising or undermining comments from adults, might give a child a sense of failure, not
being good enough, it can also prevent the child from wanting to learn more or pursue the activity.
there seems to be a need for balance between praising or not, but in my observation, I have seen children thrive and learn the most when the adult in their care, takes the time to acknowledge what the child has done. ie. a painting, instead of the adult saying “good job, well done, super, fantastic”…etc., they can ask the child “can you tell me about the painting? how does it make you feel? what would you like to do with it? I like that you took the time to tell me about your own creation”
statements like these, bring out conversation, helps the child to develop vocabulary, and draws their attention to their own creation, rather than relying on how others feel about it, but gives rise to the fact that what they think about it is more important. and if they choose to ask “do you like it” then perhaps that would be the more appropriate time to give a comment about it.
so, it seems to be a more powerful and teachable opportunity to help elevate a child’s experience in a way that might help them to gain a sense of importance and appreciation for their own work, and not look outside for praise.
healthy loving clear aware
planet
snow cold slippery white
planet
voice speaking up truth
courage
Lessons of Life : You wake up in the morning. You are back in school. It’s exam day. Your heart is pounding. You are on trial. What did you do wrong?
Nothing. You are being judged. You’ve trained yourself to live under others judgement. Or ur own.
Change ur story. Only u can
-Shekhar Kapur
I wonder,
are we the one’s who train ourselves, or a big part of our training comes directly from our parents, caregivers, people in our surroundings, environment, society?
If all of these are actual influences, then, is it fair to put such pressure on a person,
and tell them, they are the only ones who can change their story?
Do you ask a mango why it’s a mango, if you pick it from a mango tree,
or do you wonder why a mango is a mango when you picked it from an orange tree?
when someone finds interest in hacking into someone else’s space, and trying
to speak on behalf of that person, i wonder if it is more satisfying to that person
to cause upset, or to get the attention that the upset caused?
can we really say something IS what it is,
or
can we only speak of something being like something else….
because
what really stands on its own?
i wonder if there is even a “now” ?
all the talk about being in the “now”
being in this moment
now is all we have
be in the now…
etc.
what if there is no “now” ?
what have i done?
what is the driving energy behind the …i should do this or that?
what is this all about?
why am i asking all these questions?
and
there are no answers…so why ask?
ok, that sounds like another question… hmm
two the one
celebrating through awareness and beingness
or
just
nothing at all
aum Namaha Shivaya…aum
stillness
is moving
or we just think it is
or anything we think is not what we think
because we can only think
about what we have in our experience
and
no further
or
maybe everything is right
here
or not even here
heh he
society
rules
order
my way or no way
index finger straight up, leading the way
strict
mean
arrogant
sharp
violent
aggressive
hard
complex
tense
intense
raw
…extreme
live theater…like live music
ahhh
seems like one cannot replicate what
a human can do in person
with a machine of any kind
isn’t it more accurate to say
“inanimate intelligence”
rather than
artificial intelligence?
artificial means fake, why would it be fake if
the intelligence comes from a different source, other than humans?
if anything, we are the ones who have artificial intelligence…ahahahahahhhhhah
my mind is agitated
my mind is calm
my mind is confused
my my my
it is all natural
oh, ok
just being
Dear Depression,
you are there, with me, every step of the way, holding my heart, carrying me with sadness and pain, thank you, you have not abandoned me, as so many others have in my life.
i don’t really told you how much i appreciate what you have done for me, to me, with me, draining just about every corner of energy and drive, for me to continue on the way i have been accustomed. how is it you don’t get tired of me and give up on me like so many others? don’t you feel i am weird, from another planet, out of my mind, crazy, strange, stupid, worthless, like all the others who felt that way? wait…i feel you coming closer, ok let’s walk together. did anyone every tell you, i love you? well, i do. i was going to write more…but i’ll stop for now. i don’t think i’m scared of you anymore, but im not sure. but then again, im not sure about anything, and maybe that is a healthy way to think?
how is it so much easier to notice what others do,
than what we do?
i wonder what conversations would be like if we only commented on experiences we
had in our lives, and not based in concepts that cannot be proven one way or the other,
example, to speak of eternity, wouldn’t a person have to experience eternity before
talking about it?
and
if there is no beginning or end of “time” what is time to begin with, to even say
there was no beginning or end?
who actually knows what they speak about?
i feel, crying is a natural expression of specific types of emotions or feelings,
not learned, rather, a natural response.
it’s rather curious isn’t it?
if a person is declared “accidental drowning” as reason for their passing, i wonder what evidence says to the forensic investigators, that it was accidental, and not suicide or forced drowning by someone else?
in SriDevi’s case, if her husband was in the room, and she went to the bathroom to have a bath, why knock on the door after 15 minutes? Typically, a person would take longer than 15 minutes in the bathroom, so it would not be odd to be in the bathroom for more than 15 minutes.
If she just went to use the toilet, why would the bathtub be filled with water?
Drawing quick conclusions, without thorough investigations tends to indicate a cover up of some sort?
Perhaps, the people who love her will step up and ask for a proper investigation to find out what happened?
I wonder what this experience might have looked like had it been the husband who died, and the wife giving the exact story of what happened, would the belief of the story differ?
hmmm…
even guilt has a place in the unfolding of
highly influential situations,
sometimes it can drive a person to self correct,
more than learning from others.
perhaps it is also another form of motivation?
hmm
SriDevi … as everyone looks on, and encircles the vessel that held a character that drew so much in a lifetime of 54 years. what is left behind surpasses the body and will be remembered, as you lived.
All Blessings,
aum
first time today, i was told by a male, in a professional capacity,
‘do what is comfortable and safe for you’ i can’t remember ever
being told something like that by any male in my lifetime, and i’m
54 years.
Holi Sweetgrass !!!!
…and all there is
there is
some have
some have more
some have less
some have next to nothing
some have more than they can use
some share
some keep
some collect
some hold on tight
some possess
some obsess
some give
some take
some earn
some lend
some use
some abuse
some waste
some treasure, appreciate, adore
some despise, regret, scorn
some
but not all
and together
it makes ALL