Who Moved My Cheesecake?

"Life for me has been exactly what I thought it would be, a cake, which I have eaten and had too."
--- Margaret Anderson





Moments can be so simple. At times there seems to be so much there in that little space. It can pass by so unnoticed, as to mistake it for something insignificant. I had this thought as I watched a three year old boy cry. Everything happens for a reason I am told. Those tears flowed so easily and naturally down his face. This tiny little person is not at all afraid to cry when he feels sad. He cries like it is a fact of life without hiding his face or making any attempt to stop his tears.

I did not try to make this tough little person cry. Actually, I was attempting quite the opposite. The kids were all settled down with their sweeter carrot cake and the adults where getting busy ready to eat cheesecake. Three-year-old Pike smiled and demanded cheesecake with his sweet little muscle man manner and a giant smile. He was not wearing his baseball hat for a change today. He had never had cheesecake before so I thought it best to give him a little sampling first. Why lose an entire slice to his little rabbit nibble? He was upset at the tiny triangle served up on his plate and started to look teary.

This was a party, so I thought I would give him the whole slice. Certainly his father would be more than happy to double his own cheesecake rations. Pike's mother said, "No." Perhaps Dad was on a diet. All Pike could see, with his age three going-on-four brain, is that he had a little piece of cake and all of us had really big ones. I explained that if he liked a taste of this, I was ready and just waiting to serve him lots more! Sadly, no trial nibbles came, only tears.

There I sat watching the little guy cry at his pitiful little bit of cake and wondering if I should be out nibbling on something myself. Is there so much more out there just waiting to bust out at me once I give it a try? If I would only try that little sample, would there be so much more? Is all I need to do try a tiny morsel and cry out, "YES! This is good!"? Where the heck is my sample of cheesecake... Hiding in plain sight I suppose.

Searching for Ghosts

Since there is a great interest in ghosts lately, I thought I would put together some information on ghost "hunting." Although, ghosts probably are not really hunted. As far as I can tell, they stop by and have a little chat in your dreams. Since I never find a ghost, or at least rarely find a ghost, perhaps this makes me some sort of authority in the field. Hang around with me! Chances are you will never be spooked unless it is actually me doing the scary stuff. Half the time hauntings are people that are looking, getting horribly scared, and running around without their socks as a result.

Anyone who has ever seen a scary ghost hunting movie knows that the first thing you will need is equipment. You have probably seen all those movies where the ghost guy has a lot of sophisticated equipment to detect what might be going on. Chances are the characters will even compare equipment and one will say something like, "No false readings...." I have no idea what those guys are using, but it is probably something that is way too expensive to invest in for someone who rarely sites a ghost. Most of the tools you need are probably right in your home and not half as fancy as what "those guys" have.


Camera

The first tool, that you probably have in some form is a camera. There is a benefit in having an instant camera like a Polaroid or another brand of camera that gives the photographer quick results. These pictures will develop right away and no one at the photo labs will try to correct your photo or reject it because of some giant ghastly cloud they think is a flaw in the photo. A few corrections and your ghosts may be edited out or not provided as a ruined picture. If I finally see a ghost, get a good camera shot at it, and never get my photo, I would find that terribly disappointing.

You might prefer a 35 mm camera, then you will have to wait to have the photos developed. Some of these cameras work well for night pictures too, which is a feature you could use in some circumstances. Some creative people may be able to develop the photos themselves and also have some nice equipment and lenses to attach. This will give a lot of flexibility to the art. You may have problems getting the correct lens changed during a crucial one second moment of appearance though. One time I did have some sort of an appearance, I was half asleep in my bed tucked in cozily and after the visit I fell back asleep. It did not occur to me to get a camera at all until now... years later.

In the past, I have always preferred to use my digital camera for almost anything. This way you can take all the shots your camera memory will hold without worrying about the expense of film. I download the picture to my computer and also use some other program to blow up sections and examine details that I might not see otherwise, like those dust spots and occasionally the edge of someone's finger.

According to a former BBC cameraman I spoke to, the best piece of equipment to have for "ghost looking" is a movie camera. This cameraman told me they would be on a job filming and review a lot of the film later. They would occasionally capture images that they could not, or did not wish to explain besides groupie behavior. The movement of the image in a film may prove more to anyone than a still photo.

Many non-movie cameras will photograph something that appears to be supernatural, but is simply quite regular. I keep on seeing one picture online that is obviously someone who quickly opened the camera back and partially exposing the film. They keep on speaking of the mysterious light emitting from the person in the photo. I once took a picture in a darkened cellar that was full of "light orbs" in the final photo. The one possibility that we could not rule out was slight condensation on or even inside the camera from moving from a hot afternoon to a cool, damp cellar.


Tape Recorder

Microphones can capture a lot of interesting phenomenon. I did read about Stallone leaving his microphone on while having quite a time on a movie break with a "fan" in his trailer. One professor did leave his mic on while visiting the men's room. Besides all this fun, I have read a microphone can be useful for ghost listening.

A lot of people will use a tape recorder with a microphone to capture sounds at a haunting. Some units are very sensitive to sound. In order to not have a lot of soundless tape to review, since you may go away and see if you caught anything later, a sound-activated tape recorder might be nice. Of course, if you are using a movie camera, you may have the sound aspect covered already. I have read some accounts of people just letting the tape run on a regular recorder and then finding sounds they did not notice later when they review it. I have no experience in capturing sound, so you are on your own with this one.

Microwave Radiation or Electromagnetic Detectors and Other Useful Devices

I was reading the book, "How to be a Ghost Hunter" by Richard Southall where these types of devices are mentioned. I do not have any of these gadgets myself, but they do sound useful. In this book the author mentions that a radiation detector can be used to detect a change in the amount of radiation in an area and would read a difference when it encounters an abnormal energy field. The one specific device mentioned in the book is the "Detecto Card" from Enzone Corporation that would normally be used to detect radiation leads in microwave ovens. Of course if you get a reading when the microwave is going, this could obviously be your oven.

Electromagnetic detectors can find electromagnetic fields (ELF's) in unusual places. ELF's emanate from any electrical device such as your computer, so expect to find a few of those around. However, this may help you find one in an unusual spot such as in the middle of the yard by a tree. If that tree is not plugged in for Christmas, it may be worth investigating unless squirrels have gone hi-tech.

Apparently a compass can detect some weird readings too since it works with a magnet. If it refuses to work, you may again have something to investigate. Since I cannot get any of my compasses to point north or my watch to run regularly, I would not bother with this personally. This can be worth a try for you.


Record Keeping Devices

We have a lot of hauntings where I live, and I am actually not that far away from Sleepy Hollow. There is also another headless horseman where I live, that I have never seen either. Although I have sat at the Sleepy Hollow bar, I have not seen the headless guy go by. This larger ghost population leaves me very conscious of being somewhat ghost deprived, however.

I was reading a story of a paranormal investigator going into a very popular local place performing an investigation into a haunting. In any case, this investigator goes in with a team. This particular day the staff includes a newspaper reporter who has a laptop to take notes. A short time into the investigation, the skeptical reporter's laptop went crazy with the mouse running around the screen and then became inoperable. The point is, if you want to take notes, be sure to take up old fashioned back-up devices such as a pen, pencil and some paper. If you work, these should work. The laptop may work too, but you want to be ready just in case. This reporter ended up making all the notes for his story on paper during the investigation.


Lights

Taking notes may be difficult if you are in pitch darkness. Always bring flashlights, plenty of fresh batteries and backup sources for any light breaking down. Bring candles and matches just in case electrical devices don't work. I can't imagine trusting the candles to stay on, so you might wish to bring those light up sticks that can be worn as bracelets. I have seen them used for night divers so they can find each other at short distances. This may come in handy if you ever strike it rich in the haunted realm.


Detecting Tampering

One item I did not consider in the past was the possibility of tampering with the equipment. If you are doing the investigation for more than just personal curiosity, you may need to look for signs that someone is playing with your equipment. Other people may want to play a joke on you and try to do something at the site in order to make the haunting appear real. Apparently there are people that may wish for that type of excitement in their lives.

In Richard Southall's book, he mentions dusting the area with flour to see any person who may have attempted to walk through the area and to also put up lines of thread. If the thread is broken, you can be reasonably sure someone has been in the area. The markings in the flour around the feet of your tripod may mean that someone has been around your camera. You have valid reason to be suspicious.


Dealing With Yourself

The most difficult aspect of a haunting may be yourself. If you are really frightened of such things, you may be running around screaming and scaring your own crew. Your team may run around screaming after seeing you and then you have a whole haunting full of very real physical beings acting like nuts. I have always taught that what you give (or send), you receive. If you are dealing with an energy and you lose control, what you are left dealing with are the results of your own emotions. This can be difficult, since a backfiring car at a crucial moment can make someone jump out of their pants. Practicing some elements of self-control can be useful for clear seeing in any situation.

Ancient Sage and the Great Frog; Part II

The Special at Mog's



He came to the bog

The handsome young thing,

Sauntering through there,

Searching for a sensational fling.



He peeked at the menu,

He liked the decor,

But he had a strange feeling,

He had been there before.



"I have heard of the pizza,

It looks very nice,

I will have it for dinner,

Every delectable slice!"



"Howdy young stranger!"

Said the frog from the door,

"You won't like today's pizza,

You never had it before."



"I demand today's special,

It's advertised everywhere,

That the extra special folks,

Get served it with great care!"



The treat came right up,

Since it was served straight away,

There was no time to rethink,

What happened that day.



He looked with surprise,

At this pizza covered with goo,

It certainly was not the delight,

Shown regularly on Channel 2.





I DO NOT LIKE THIS THING!

IT IS TERRIBLY PLAIN!


LET ME SEE THAT UGLY FROG CHEF!


I HAVE TO COMPLAIN!





So Frog Mog arrived,

And threw him through the fire,

Where he lived a whole life,

In the luscious bog of Quagmire.



He ate uncooked mosquitoes,

Desperately begging for bugs,

This hungry young stranger,

Ate squirming and very juicy grubs.



When he could stand no more,

And he thought he would die,

Someone opened his mouth with pity,

And lovingly squeezed in a fly.



OH MY FROG!

He would cry to the moon,

He would sing sad to be happy,

His songs about pizza ruin.



Finally he accepted the bugs,

And lived as he should,

And became a boggish old man,

This feeling creature of the wood.



Then one day he did pass,

Swaying into the sun,

And returned to the place,

Since his pizza was now warm and well done.



They were awaiting his arrival,

Greeting him happily at the door.

He sat at the table feeling

He had been to this wonderful place before,



His good dinner was served right up,

And when he was happily done

He asked for some more,

Because he could not have just the one!



:-0

Ancient Sage and the Great Frog

Hog Mog the Ancient Sage Pizza Frog



Hog Mog the greatest Ancient Sage Pizza Frog,

Makes fine pizzas catering to all great creatures of the wonderful bog.

And the students known and unknown from the far and wide,

Came and go and yet will never leave his side.





"Hog Mog!" they all exclaim as they always say,

"Give me pizza like the delicious one that other day!"

And whether they spend a bundle or a fair dime,

The pizza is strangely the same but different every wonderful time.





And they wonder if it the beer? The fuzz? Or perhaps the fly?

Could it be the whacks? Is it the greens? Did it have an extra fry?

Can it be the sage? Can it be the old age? Or is it just a straight lie?

Is it possible that the same pizza can be very different every darn try?





"It is quite possible and perhaps even very true,

Since your pizza can be as different and varied as you!

So dip into the dazzling sauce and you will one day shout,

The pizza certainly goes in different but all the same it comes out!"

Movie Review -- Attack of the Clones

Review with spoilers!

Don't read this if have not seen this movie yet! If you only saw the last half, then go ahead! I do not give the beginning away.



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I am not getting very far at catching up on movies. I still have not seen the last installment of Lord of the Rings. I did finally see "Attack of the Clones" this weekend.

They say everyone looks like someone. People tell me I look like Emma Thompson. Padmé Amidala did not remind me of anyone I know, but I really like the way she dressed. If I had to wear clothes in the future, I would like to have her wardrobe. These were nice, soft, flowing garments that looked like they were made of natural fabrics (if they still manufacture such goods so far into the future). Her clothing had a native look often bearing symbols, fringes and designs that were elegantly put together. As a matter of fact, I would wear her stuff now. In one scene where she is going to be eaten by a giant lizard thing, she is wearing a white, tight jumpsuit, having lost her hand woven looking shawl. The lizard manages to give her that bare midriff look so well known in movie-land. Well done I say! I should look so good when I am about to be eaten!

I must confess I missed the beginning of the movie, but I have the tape here and I will be watching it someday. I came in about the time we visit the clone army and meet Jango Fett who is the genetic source for the cloning. Now Jango Fett looks just like the guy I do some business with at Salvation Army. For me, this movie is "Attack of the Guy at Salvation Army." I looked at the immense army of Jango Fett's and wondered how the guy at Salvation Army felt while watching this.

This movie really hit home. As a matter of fact, Anakin Skywalker looks just like the French kid I went to high school with. So when the army of guys from Salvation Army attacked to help the French kid I went to school with, it was a good feeling for me. But there is more... The big face off scene.

The "big face off" seems to come at the end of every movie like this. So Skywalker (the French kid) and his boss (I forgot his supervisor's name) end up in this cave thing with supporting pillars and treacherously overhanging rocks to put an end to Count Dooku's madness. Now the boss looks like one of the Bee Gees (or is it George Michael?), especially the way he dresses. I was expecting him to sing something really high pitched, but relax. No one breaks out into the "Staying Alive" chorus. No singing. Skywalker and his boss are lying around somewhat defeated (some might have used the term disarmed, but it does not apply to both of them). Then the really big boss walks in... YODA!

Now Yoda must be getting old. He walks with a cane, speaks softly, and even clears his throat while walking at his own pace into battle. His orders almost sound like pleasant afterthoughts. I like Yoda a great deal. He is also green and maybe even bumpy. Perhaps he is a master frog. As a matter of fact, he does remind me of a certain frog I know. Yoda puts an end to the fight, cleaning up the enemy or at least showing that he is still on top of things.


Yoda does remind me of a martial arts story. It is a true story, and it used to happen every year, although I have never seen it myself. Perhaps it still happens. There is a show or competition that some of my teachers go to. In this show, one of the old masters time to "go on" arrives (As in on stage, not to the next life...). The auditorium gets quiet, and he begins his journey to the sword in the middle of the gymnasium. All eyes are on him. Slowly but surly, he takes these old little steps to the goal as the audience waits... and waits... patiently waits. Finally, he makes it! He takes the sword and gives a great cry and seems transformed. He goes through the sword form showing power with great shouts the audience can feel to their bones. It is as though this powerful warrior was hiding inside of him! Then the form ends. He puts the sword down. The audience waits as he slowly leaves the gym floor.

One of my teachers said, the day he saw this, he was outside later bundled up in his jacket. It was a chilly day for him. He saw the "old man" in a convertible with the top down with his arms around a beautiful woman buzzing off with a great smile and no jacket. So keep an eye out, there may be a Yoda or two among us.

I liked this movie, or at least the half I saw of it. It has a nice entertainment value. Of course, I should see the beginning. I think it was another person named "D" that mentioned to me that he could have probably taken out a lot of the army with just a simple machine gun. The army only had light sabers, but that is what the movies are all about. You enter that special world the movie makes come alive in our minds where light sabers rule for awhile.



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*****Wardrobe: Great style! I await the line of Women's clothing with great anticipation. Beautiful! A must have for ladies who live in areas that are known for giant lizards and still want to look good.

***Entertainment: I had fun and felt there were a lot of people I know in the flick!

Wishing to Transform the Energy

Although attempting to bring about World Peace through the internal transformation of individuals is difficult, it is the only way."
-Dalai Lama

Some people may wish that I would jump in a lake. On a good hot day, I will make that come true and will even appreciate their wishes. On the first day out swimming I say, "This is for all those people in the world who sincerely hold this wish." Then I just jump in. It is as simple as that. Happiness and good wishes are nice to feel. We have a lot of beautiful lakes out here and I greatly appreciate people throwing those "jump in the lake" vibes my way. It is useful practice to transform the energy too.

Strangely enough, it takes awhile to get to the point where you can jump into the lake in the true spirit of making others happy and yourself too. It takes some time to consider what we really need and desire to even make a wish. It takes even longer to make a wish in the world view of energy and what is nice for all beings. To see how acting for all beings is beauty in the world... who knows how long that kind of wishing takes. Some find it in what seems like a moment. Others believe they search for lifetimes for this middle way.

We must look to the very root of the wish. It seems the question is, "What do you really want?" We tend to make our wishes into very solid "things" only viewing them in the physical realm. For instance, you may wish for a house, but what you really desire is security. You are just not seeing it that way. You may wish for a steady girlfriend or boyfriend, when what you really want is loving care and companionship. One has to remember to go with the essence of what is behind the wish, not the hard physical results. This leaves the person open for what really appears, so as not to limit the wish nor the vision and one can recognize the opportunity when it arrives. Otherwise, people just keep on getting these nice chances, but they are not in the form of a house or an exhilarating swim in the lake and they just walk right on by. This is a form of being blind in this world or NEVER home when Publishers Clearinghouse arrives to give us the check.

Getting past the wish can take time. After we have what seems to be the easiest thing out of the way, which is not a simple matter for most of us, there are the natural laws to learn. Many would tell you that wishing is focusing the energy of what is lacking instead of what is already there. Getting past the wish to the focus may not be easy since we are accustomed to a certain way of thinking. We must start with those little sparks of what is good and focus on that in order to build our fires. The other vibrations of want, need and lack will be fed to our fires of plenty and transformed. Thise sounds simple and I am even told that it IS simple. In our view of the world, simple is not always easy. Darn.

Water and Energy

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
It's always our self we find in the sea.
---E. E. Cummings



Here on earth, water is life. Water is also symbolic of the way we use energy in our life. By watching water, we can apply the lessons to the way we live. We, ourselves are water based creatures.

Water is flowing and always changing never holding the same shape or form. It exists in several forms including liquid, hard as ice, and an invisible gas. Water is soft but strong, wearing trough the hardest surfaces over time. A person with a "water personality" naturally flows around obstacles and is very fluid in their life. Water people can cut through a problem over time or assume the form that is necessary. We learn from water as well as require it for our existence.

Water flows to the very lowest places and exists in the high places without prejudice for either. Water teaches us to not hoard, which is a sign of lacking something. A person who knows they have access to things of value and has confidence more will come, can easily be a charitable person. A charitable person has faith in their abilities and in their world and knows there will be more. A less spiritually wealthy person desires to hold onto everything they receive, since they never know if there will be more.



This is a story that I am told is an old parable. I am not sure of its source. The story about life is told in water.



RUNNING WATER...
as retold by Evonne the Storyteller

There was a prosperous farmer who owned a small, but sufficient farm that took care of all his needs. A lively little stream ran through his land. This stream irrigated his crops and supplied plenty of clear bubbling water for the household to drink and use. Simply said, life was good.

The people who were in a place to say such things, began forecasting a coming dry season. They expected the water to run low. This made the farmer with the little bubbling stream feel insecure. He imagined that his sweet stream might run completely dry! He walked his lands and watched the stream cross his boarder, run through it, and out to his other neighbors' land's. This made him shake his head "Why should I give them water that is mine?" he thought as he watched the water leaving his property.

The farmer decided to build a dam to keep the water and never let it leave his land. This way, he would be prepared during the time of the shortage. He did not want his neighbor to see his dam, thinking that if he could see the water the neighbor would come to steal it during the night. He built the dam deep in the middle of his property where it would not be noticed.

Over time, the water no longer flowed free, being trapped within the property. The water stopped at the dam, turning green and stagnant. It smelled bad and tasted worse. The once lively water turned everything it touched green and was repugnant. It did not quench the thirst of anyone living there. Below the dam, the farmer's land grew dry and the crops less bountiful. He labored hard to carry water to the crops below everyday and still he did not release the dam continuing with the efforts and his hoarding. The neighbors below the dam also had their land dry up, ruining their businesses. Many of them were forced to move to the city for work and tried to sell the land. No one would buy the land and it quickly turned to weeds which seeded back into the farmer's land. This reduced the quality of the already stressed crops.

Still, things got worse. The nature of water and its increased height caused by the dam made it wear a new spot upstream. Here it escaped the usual stream bed that was now filling with silt. This produced a new flow which diverted the stream above the farmer's land and the water never made it to the dam. The water continued elsewhere around the farmer's land, where it naturally flowed freely and set up another clear bubbling stream bed. The farmer looked sadly at the now hollow hole in the earth that had been his living pond. It was not even a stinking, green pond now.

With nothing left to lose, the farmer took down his dam. Exhaustedly, he removed the silt that had settled from the slowed streams and ponds that the once happy stream had flowed through. Slowly but surly, the stream started to flow back into his lands. Now the stream not only flowed through the farmer's land but was allowed to flow through the lands of many others. These lands happily responded, healing over time and flourished once more.

Already Forgiven

One of the reasons why I like the story of "The Prodigal Son," is that the father is not holding a grudge at all. No affront or slight is ever taken and the father is obviously a very wise man in every version of the tale. The father is bestowed with riches and is generous. He loves deeply. The unforgiving quality is perceived on the part of the son only and this perception dictates his actions. Until I understood this part of the story, I never did comprehend it as much as I do now.

In this wonderful dream that helps me understand, I make a pilgrimage to see a miraculous statue of great legend. When I arrive I see what appears to be a life-sized statue of the Virgin Mary done in the traditional blue and white colors. I look carefully at the statue to see what the miracle is. Does it cry tears of blood? Do miracle waters flow from her tears? Are people healed simply at the site of the statue? Perhaps visions appear here. Waiting, I watch and ponder the possibilities and impossibilities.

When I go to see certain works of religious art, many people often leave tokens of affection and gifts in the form of requests. Sometimes people place flowers on and around the statue. Often there are pictures and news stories so that people will pray for someone who is ill or those already passed on. In my dream I search around the statue to do my part in praying for requests. This statue only bears one simple gift... a scarf tied loosely around the Virgin Mary's neck that is waving softly in the wind.

"Why would someone wrap a scarf around the neck of this statue?" I wonder. Is it a loving gesture of warmth? Perhaps it is a mother's touch of keeping someone safe, warm and cozy. Is this a symbolic tribute of warmth for the Mother of God? At this point in my thoughts, a man comes along with a suitcase, removes the scarf from the statue, opens the suitcase and places the scarf securely within it. He smartly closes the case and simply leaves. Shocked, I have much more to wonder about as I watch the man walk off! I had never witnessed a person taking a holy gift before. Perhaps I should have stopped him, but what stops me is not understanding his need to take the scarf. How can I stop someone when I don't understand why they would need something like this so badly?

Looking back at the statue I find, to my great surprise, that the scarf is still around the Great Mother's neck waving in the soft breeze. A woman comes along and as she walks by she pulls on one end of the scarf, unwrapping it as she moves and places it about her own neck. Again when I look back the same scarf is still on the statue! Over and over people pass by and, in some way or another, they appear to take the scarf! Every time, the same scarf appears around the statue!

Finally, a monk sees me watching the comings and goings of the people. He gestures to the statue. "That is the miracle," he says. "The scarf is forgiveness. It can be passed on over and over again, but it is never truly lost."

This is one of the first time the father's feelings and actions from the story have ever sunk in. The people who are accepting forgiveness are taking action, embracing it themselves, putting forgiveness in a safe place, and wrapping it around themselves. It is always there and we only have to participate and accept it. The statue simply stands there. Everyone calls this a miracle.



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For further online exploration of the Prodigal Son visit The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Christianity and Buddhism: http://www.comparativereligion.com/prodigal.html Includes the Biblical text in the Gospel According to Luke and a Similar Buddhist parable! The page includes an overview of the stories and meanings. This is from the site, "Many Paths to One Goal."

Movie Review -- Matrix Revolutions

Neo: Why didn´t you tell me about architect, why didn´t you tell me about Zion, about the ones before me? why didn´t you tell me the truth.
the Oracle: Because it wasn´t time for you to know.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions

Jacob Boehme had a revelation at the age of 25... an experience of illumination. While gazing at the light reflecting from a pewter vase, he suddenly felt engulfed with a flow of information about the extraordinary nature of things. It took him twelve years to understand what this meant and what had been given to him at that very special moment. Unlike this vision, Matrix Revolutions is not spectacular, but still, it presents something to think about for awhile. I think Jacob Boehme was fortunate to make some sense of the experience. I am not so sure I can do that with this third installment of the Matrix although I have been pondering the information.

The first movie, Matrix, is FANTASTIC. That is my highest rating for movies. It is new, different, and has a great story line. The second Matrix Reloaded is still great, and did receive mixed reviews. I give it my rating of GREAT! This means it is not quite fantastic, but it is still up there. I am glad I saw it. The movie runs at a frantic pace dictated by all the action and fight scenes. It is full of great fight ballet. Even Animatrix, the animated prequel to the Matrix is PRETTY GOOD. I am better somehow for watching it. The animation is amazing in some cases, with the first short story looking very close to being real. The special on the history of anime available on the DVD edition is enjoyable and informative. I learned something and came away a more knowledgeable person for the experience. Matrix Revolutions, however, is simply OK. It brings the watcher to the same pleasant sensation as an interesting little conversation or two at the bar with a few good drinks. There are few fight scenes, more information, love, terror, violence, good looking people in stylish clothing and a few interesting uglies and everyone pretty much sits there. This time, they also got religious and tied up a few loose ends. In the end, however, the Matrix still remains a puzzle.


Now, I do not normally complain when someone gets religious or spiritual on me. As a matter of fact, I like it. I also do not always "get it," but I want it to go on as long as it is good. The reviews were ok for Matrix Revolutions, but many of them were tending toward the bad movie side of things. So what exactly were they trying to say now that the trilogy is all wrapped up?

There was more of what some people refer to as "Trinity's bird kick," which I enjoy. That must be crane style from Shaolin. (I notice that she even turns her head like a bird when some of the bad guys go upside down.) Trinity does have a few seconds glimpse of real beauty in the world, which is stunning to her. I do not believe that the movie is a statement in the martial arts though. There are these little hints and symbolism about spirituality all over the place. I am just not sure if they all tie together into one comprehensive story with a major point. I suppose the world we live in is like that. ...Stories all over the place that must go together somehow and a few good kicks with glimpses of stunning beauty.


I would like to say that the old green text MS-DOS screens scare me. If the point is that a machine world based on MS-DOS type coding is what I have to depend on in my little pod in the world, I am with them. I comprehend that. You said it! Scary. I could be on I-95 during rush hour and suddenly need to be turned off and restarted. That is more frightening than Freddy, and I have an Elm Street in my town. So what is this computer world?









The Oracle: What about the others?
The Architect: ...What others?
The Oracle: The ones that want out.
The Architect: Obviously they shall be freed.
The Oracle: I have your word?
The Architect: What do you think I am? Human?
---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



The Architect is God. Here on earth, perhaps he is a chief programmer of sorts. He is always dressed in white in bright white rooms. A programmer puts together codes that make up programs and complete tasks. Perhaps he creates programs that create as well. I remember learning something about truth and how difficult it is to state. One can only point at truth after all the rules have been defined that their particular truth operates in. Otherwise, one person may not have enough understanding in a complex universe to point out what truth is unless you have the ability to see it at its source Truth at its source is where it appears simple and the same for others. The Architect seems to try to define his universe very well in an effort to express the truth of it, however little parts of the program seem to transcend the rules and get away. Sometimes this is with good results, and other times with some disasters. The Architect does not appear to appreciate anything going outside the defined boundaries despite good or bad consequences. However, the Oracle seems to pursue this pushing of the limits.







Oracle: One thing I have learned in my years is that nothing will work out just as you wanted to.


The Architect: You played a very dangerous game.
The Oracle: Change always is.

---Quotes from Matrix Revolutions

In the Matrix, some of these created programs by the Architect are people, or at least they appear to be people. Agent Smith was a program that went wrong and became a replicating virus. He is my favorite virus and I keep his picture in my office. The Oracle is the agent of change, physical existence, and by her own statements a balancing agent for the Architect. (I think she drinks, smokes, eats candy and bakes enough cookies to let us in on the physical part.) Everything in the Matrix seems to have its balancing factors. The Architect is a white male, and the Oracle is a black female. That is classic symbolism.







Rama-Kandra: every program that is created must have a purpose. If it does not, it must be deleted.



Rama-Kandra: Can you tell me what you would give to hold on to that connection?



Oracle: That's it. That's the secret. You've got to use your hands.
Sati: Why?
Oracle: Cookies need love like everything does.


---Quotes from Matrix Revolutions


In the train station we meet two programs, who appear as individuals. These programmers explain a few things about Karma and Love eluding to the differences of words and action. They have a little girl called Sati, a creation or child of the two programs, that is leaving the Matrix. It appears that through the love, which the male program explains he has for his child, she has or will transcend the world of the parts that created her. Sati's father is the Power Plant Systems Manager for Recycling Operations, also known as the place where humans are used as batteries. He is compassionate for some reason that I cannot figure out. Perhaps he is inspired by love. Sati's mother is an interactive software programmer. She is also somewhat blunt. Sati is a product of love and being smuggled out of the Matrix to keep her safe from deletion. A simple product of love has no purpose in the machine world. We find Sati living and learning with the Oracle later. If you remember the first meeting with the Oracle, there were all sorts of children there who could do amazing things with her. Sati may actually be the program for love itself, since there is a Hindu god Brahma who created one named Sati in order to teach Shiva the lessons of love.

I have not said a great deal about Neo here yet. Neo is obviously presented as a self-sacrificing figure similar to Jesus. I find the scene of him with his arms spread out like a cross unmistakably Jesus-like. Neo does fight for everyone. Remember in a previous installation of Matrix, Neo did die and was brought back to life by Trinity's love. (The love of the Trinity? THAT MUST BE RELIGIOUS!) The masses do flock to him in Zion as a healer and he does bring Trinity back from what seems to be a fatal incident. Neo is blinded, only navigating and seeing the worlds now internally. (This brings to mind the blind messiah of Dune!) The machine world looks like hell through Neo's vision. There is a look of heat-vision of yellow and red flames off everything that emits energy. Again, this is like Jesus who descends into hell to open up a crack in the world for all of us. We do not see him come back, however, but the Oracle does mention something about he may need to come back again one day. It is mentioned by the Architect that this is his sixth incarnation or appearance of the "One."












[After Neo ends up back at the same subway stop after running down the track]
Neo: Shit.

Trainman: You don't get it. I built this place. Down here, I make the rules. Down here, I make the threats. Down here, I'm God.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



Now we have looked into Hell, and I did not see any sign of Heaven. It can't be that nice, clean room of the Architects. I can't accept that! Perhaps the nice place where you see the Oracle in the end is paradise? There is a place of the void, however. It is the train station. 'Mobil Avenue" the sign reads on the back wall. Neo ends up in this "never land" because he enters the Matrix, rather than returning to the source, in order to save Trinity. Someone points out on another site that Mobil is an anagram for Limbo. (I would have never thought of doing that to decipher anything.) In any case, the station is a place between the Machine World and the Matrix. Maybe that is what happens when you forget to defrag or run some of those cleaning programs on your computer. You get some mad train guy sneaking your programs around and they never actually make it to that garbage icon thingy.










Agent Smith: I'm not so bad, once you get to know me.


The Oracle: You really are a bastard.
Agent Smith: Well you should know, Mom.


Morpheus: You've never believed in The One.
Niobe: I still don't. I believe in him.

---Quote from Matrix Revolutions



The big struggle in this last Matrix is faith versus knowledge. It is plainly stated a few times throughout the movie with struggles between the council and their warriors. When Neo sees the Architect the first time, he is given a choice to return to the Source so that his code can be re-introduced to the prime program. He does not return to the source and chooses to re-enter the Matrix instead. Some have argued that what actually happens at the end of the story is that he is connected to the source and his code is used to destroy Agent Smith and is perhaps reintroduced into the system after all. He keeps fighting for everyone no matter what. What does this all have to do with faith and knowledge and love? Perhaps that is another hint of karma, with each of us returning to the source? I do not know exactly, but the world known as Zion is saved thanks to Neo. There were those who have faith in him, and their actions fit the puzzle pieces in place so that the whole thing works out. They all played their part. Without their actions, Zion may have been lost before the battle even began. So it is up to Neo AND the people who believed in him. Maybe that was the point? Other than that, I have to go with the Oracle's message, that it must not be time for me to know. If it was, I would probably have figured it out by now?





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Mail in from R:

I read your review, one comment on SATI, she is the child process of a manager of recyc operations guy and a very creative interactive software designer program. Her rather baroque function it appears, is go rush around making things creatively beautiful.

At the end, when Oracle is sitting in the park, she looks at the sunset/rise and as SATI if she did that. The answer is yes. That's about the first time the Matrix has beauty to it, The Human simulation may have nice stuff, but the over-matrix is grim. Architect sees no need to a useless program cluttering up the RAM making things pretty in MATRIX, eventually he decides to let it ride and let some of the child programs be.

I'm not sure why.

Movie Review -- Matrix Reloaded

Well, I finally did it! I went out to see the Matrix Reloaded! I missed the movie when it arrived at the major movie houses in my area. Then it came to this little, old theatre where the ticket prices are $3.00.
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The short review:

I loved the movie! The action was great and, although the whole movie was practically a fight scene, the fighting was imaginative and even hysterically funny! If I could get some software to burn a DVD with my face over Neo's, I would do it just for the fun of watching me do all those very hot moves. The ending, however... sucked. WOW! After all this time, how could no one have told me that the ending was such a non-ending! Yeachhhh. I don't mind sequels as much as I complain about Termite-ater 13, or even Freddy giving Jason a call. (I think it is about time stars like Jason and Freddy started getting together anyway.) But making the whole ending "to be concluded" really leaves me cold.




The longer commentary:

Matrix was a far better movie than Matrix Reloaded, however, more of the significance of the movie started seeping in on Reloaded. There was an awful lot of tiny foreshadowing moments that were easy to miss. Did anyone catch that little moment where the young man who follows Neo around like a younger brother is bugging him? So Neo gets off the Nebuchadnezzar, and there is his little buddy waiting like a puppy. After the young man runs off, Trinity says, "You know what they say about saving someone's life..." Neo answers, "I did not save his life," and looks a tad irritated. Later on, in almost the next spot, this same young person runs up to Neo and hands him a spoon sent by one of the orphans. No one realizes it at the time, but that very moment possibly saved Neo's life. The other man coming out of the shadows was about to stab him in the back and for once, he did not seem to be aware of this possibility. There are also other life saving events that are foreshadowed in this comment.

There are a lot of spiritual and religious concepts in the movie. Perhaps it is just science fiction writing with some familiar terms thrown in for fun. There are several online threads that mention some of the possible correlation. I looked up Nebuchadnezzar, after someone mentioned how ironic that Neo's ship had this name. Nebuchadnezzar was a very powerful leader and enslaved the Jews in history. Since everyone gone underground who is human is hiding in Zion, there seems to be some significance. If it is true we become what we most hate or fear? Agent Smith is now what I would term a virus. Ironic, since it seems he used to be in charge of getting these out of the system. What about the end where Neo passes through a door into a bright, white room with the Architect??? That is God, according to "us" since he would be the creator of the Matrix. And what does the architect offer? A choice. That is free will. Not that they were great choices... as always the choices are difficult ones.

I have had some deep discussions about the choice that Neo is offered. Is it a true choice, or was he manipulated to go a certain way. The whole theme of reloaded, to me, seems to be about manipulation of choices by those who have power. That seems to be a worthy meditation. If what the humans are fighting are machines, and the architect is what the humans see as God, the obvious question is, "Hey! Who created the architect???"




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***** To the movie house for having a Freddy meets Jason trailer before showing the movie and offering $3.00 tickets. Seeing the ending of the movie, this seems both hilariously appropriate and fair.

***** For the costuming. I love Neo's coat and he has a great tailor. Someone taught him about good shoes too. He reminds me of a powerful priest and I think it looks kewl in the fight scenes. Like the sword fighters with the huge pants, it may even disguise his leg movements somewhat for surprise attacks. I am sure many of you will tell me that Trinity looks goooooood too! As always, great sunglasses on much of the cast.

**** Great fighting ballet! I gave a four star rating instead of five just out of respect to peer pressure. Although I do not find myself under peer pressure often, I do sometimes enjoy participation in these archaic but still frequently used systems just for the practice.

**** The story line is great, although some of it seems quite subtle. I was interested all along, although I knew that some people claimed to catch up on some family business and called their Moms during the fights.

* That is for the non-ending. The directors and producers owe me at least the appearance that this was a movie in itself, and I do not have to see another section to be satisfied. Just keep making great movies and they (at least I) will come. I will just be on the $3 a ticket ride, that's all.

On My Way Through a Koan

Part 1.

How would you greet a stranger on the road of life?
---A classic koan whose original source I do not know.

"In Zen, practitioners use kung-an as subjects for meditation until their minds come to awakening. There is a big difference between a kung-an and a math problem - the solution of the math problem is included in the problem itself, while the response to the kung-an lies in the life of the practitioner. The kung-an is a useful instrument in the work of awakening, just as a pick is a useful instrument in working on the ground. What is accomplished from working on the ground depends on the person doing the work and not just on the pick. The kung-an is not an enigma to resolve; this is why we cannot say that it is a theme or subject of meditation." (Nhat Hanh 1995:57)

I had a dream. Ok, so I always have these dreams. (It is not like they are all the same!) I was in school. Sitting in my old sixth grade classroom, I opened a math book. It was very advanced math. It was not just a simple problem. This was a very advanced "proof". In a proof, one has to solve the problem and show that the answer is true and correct with supporting calculations and theory. The question had to do with loves. "How can you calculate one-and-a-half loves?" the question read. I immediately threw out the possibility of solving the problem by weight as well as displacement and pondered how emotions and feelings could be measured and calculated somehow. I went to work diagramming the problem to get the feel of it, drawing hearts and having them half overlap each other.

I think I dream in Koan. I wonder if everyone does? I read that Dogen came back to Japan and criticized the way koan study was being practiced in certain areas. It was his opinion that koans had been reduced... no longer being expressions of enlightenment but tools to attain a desired end without real penetration. What do I really know about Koans? Nothing really, but I do enjoy them. There is formal Koan study, but that is not something I have participated in. But I feel that everyone is always facing Koans in the world and the symbolism and riddles of dreams are so rich, sometimes it is difficult to see the meaning. Life has what seems like paradoxes too, and its meanings. Lately, I have been able to solve a few koans. Not that anyone has checked my answers... For someone like me to have this feeling with an answer that makes a huge light go on and I can see it... I call that an answer. It is not simply the answer one just tries for but that feeling of knowing that seems to improve. I wonder if koan teachers are the creators of the light bulb that clicks on when a character is hit by an idea in cartoons. I am no koan expert, but I like them now, especially after "getting" a few and having a taste of the experience of it. At one time I despised koans but read them anyway, pondering what the deal is. There were some or even most of the koans that I read with the answers that I did not get even when given the answer. For a storyteller, that is an amazing thing. These are not just stories, but a true existing puzzle that one has to solve in such a way that the paradox they represent must lived or experienced in some manner in order to be understood!




Part 2.

What is the fundamental teaching? No question, no answer. ---Yumen
"The koans do not represent the private opinion of a single man, but rather the highest principle ... accords with the spiritual source, tallies with the mysterious meaning, destroys birth-and-death, and transcends the passions. It cannot be understood by logic; it cannot be transmitted in words; it cannot be explained in writing; it cannot be measured by reason. It is like... a great fire that consumes all who come near it." (Chung-feng Ming-pen [1263-1323] quoted in Miura and Sasaki 1966:5)

In the school dream, my calculations are disturbed suddenly by an announcement. It seems that I have been the only person selected by my school to go off to war. I stop working on the problem shocked by this news. I trudge off to the front lines and quickly encounter a prison camp. I see people, all men, on a conveyer belt that is moving up at a 45-degree angle. They are riding the belt and as they go up and into the dark hole at the top of the belt, some of their limbs are torn off. I cry and cry as I see this. "I don't want to go there!" I panic as I see they are all men and from very different cultures and traditions. A nurse comes and softly tells me that I do not have to go. I can assist her for the war. I continue to help these poor people happily assisting the nurse in this terribly difficult work. Watching the dream, I realize that this work has put me in a much better place than it looked like I was going to.

My understanding of the usual koan process is that the Master gives the student a koan to solve. The student meditates and works on this koan and gives an answer to his teacher. The teacher can respond in all sorts of ways to the answers. He can congratulate the student on solving the koan and maybe even have a little sake in celebration. I read one account where a student gave a wonderful answer which the monk acknowledged as doing well and then struck him twice to reward him. :-0 A rotten answer can get you thrown out of the room or looking at the teacher sadly shaking his head in pity. They might even nickname you for your rotten answers with such banner names as "Poor Bag of Bones." Shunryu Suzuki's biography is called "Crooked Cucumber," after the name he was called by. His teacher claimed that he was too absent-minded and dim-witted to ever become a successful priest. It is bad enough when the "other kids" give you a name!



Part 3.

All the peaks are covered with snow - why is this one bare?... To solve the illogical question would mean to burst apart, let fall all pre-conceptions and supports. But I am not ready to let go, and so I shall not resolve my koan... ---The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen

In this long dream, I return to school after my war duty. As I am walking up the stairs to my sixth grade class, I hear another student talking about me. She points me out to her friend. "The school chose her because she is so odd! Did you even see the guy she goes out with?" This caught me by surprise. I thought about the man I go out with and I could not see anything "wrong" with him at all! It shocked me that the school singled me out simply because I was so different. I had often wondered why the school would have chosen a female who was so different in appearance from everyone else going off to war. The dream ended.

Meditation is often a vehicle transporting one somehow to the answer. Just letting the mind be free, often the answer just simply appears to "pop in there." Suddenly some of the most subtle, conflicting, and uncomprehendable stuff has a message. That is the magic of the cup without a bottom or a top with the energy just continuing to flow through, the student (or cup) being a strong conduit and temporary focus. There is no holding on here, just flowing through. This dream does not seem clear at first. Kellog, a mentor of mine, helped me with a similar dream and this assists me in resolving the koan. My dreams have literally been about how people get out of "hell" whether they are living on earth or in "the next world." The puzzles do not seem clear at first, but they all have a general theme. By helping others you have a ticket to a nicer place where you can actually win even when you lose and never actually leave where you are. Service to others is one of those principles that has been in clear sight all the time. It is in these prayers as the keys to heaven, Buddhas dedicate their lives, including future ones, to the betterment of mankind. Great people tell us the secret to life is to plant trees that one knows they will never sit in the shade of. Others did this for us with the trees we sit under today. The great prayer of, "When I am hungry, give me someone to feed," stands.


Part 4.

I was working on a flat tax proposal and I accidentally proved there's no god. --Homer Simpson

"The 18th green had a totally different speed from any other hole," Rotella says. "It had been redesigned wrong. It hadn't been mowed in days. You could see the golfers' faces when they got on that green, asking themselves, 'How do I putt this one?' "And therein was the problem — thinking — which, Rotella says, is not what successful golfers do. "The sport is all about preparation," he says. "When you're in a moment like that, you don't want to think. You just want to do. You want to go unconscious."-- From USA Today, "Botched putts show thinking can lead to trouble."

I have another dream. A man who has committed suicide in this life looks like a scarecrow. He is walking by with a bamboo stick that is normally used to give drowning victims something to hang onto. This allows a rescuer to pull the drowning person out of their predicament without getting pulled under themselves. Another man runs and tells me very excitedly, "He is going to throw away your rescue stick!" I simply smile and softly respond, "I will just get another one." I am told there is far more artwork than wall space in the world, and many more divas than stages, but there is no shortage of rescue sticks. It is not like this is the only priceless Cosmic Orbitron version 5.5 stick issued once in a lifetime and only to Harry Potter. The man runs off happily. He reminds me of a joyful little dog in his energy. A smart dog can wield a rescue stick.

There are stories about cats, souls, and other things being split in half. To me they represent the duality of thinking. You have to be on one side or another in this world? Must you be good or bad? Democrat or Republican? Can the same nice guy be a jerk too? A koan is a story to get us to non-dual enlightened thinking. Not good or bad, but being. They say you cannot speak even one word without making a judgement. Not split in half and not one. Not Democrat, Republican, nor even Independent party but an enlightened vehicle no longer hindered with the paradoxes of the worldly. Not a nice guy or a jerk, despite the fact that some might call you either or even both depending on the mood. (Always ask yourself, "If someone offers you a gift and you do not receive it, to whom does the gift belong?") A cat split in half is perhaps not one cat, nor could you say it is two cats. I can tell you the way I see the Koan the cat simply arrives perhaps never pondering this split at all, happily unharmed and meowing. A number like one-and-a-half just cannot be truly assigned but means more than anyone can see with earthly eyes.




Ending Quote:

To walk with one foot in each world--that was Dogen's way, and Dogen's life. In a single sentence, he walked from both points of view, the absolute and the relative, the universal and the particular. He was not only living in both, he was switching so fast between the two he was in neither! He was entirely free! And this is wonderful, just as it should be!
---Nine-Headed Dragon River, Peter Matthiessen

Balance and Movement

Some people feel that good dancers are born. All the good dancers I've known have been taught or trained.
---Fred Astaire, quoted on the back of the "Ballroom" video tape.



Life on earth is a living meditation. Everything we do has the potential to teach something and the results are not always easy. We hold onto things we should let go and let go of things that are best embraced. Who can choose but us? When the time is right, we know what to do and really feel.

One Master in the martial arts once told me that the small releases were as good as the big ones. They certainly feel that way. For those of you who do not know me, I was injured in a car accident. This left me trying to return to work in a difficult economy with difficulty explaining the gap in my employment. Although I am not old by most standards, I am a bit up there in age to do the college trip to Europe after spontaneously leaving a job. This is a tough break for me but I did end up forming my own business. I love working at home! Of course, the money could be better, but I haul in the cat food, which makes Thomas very happy.

There is this underlying neck injury I have. There is a sort of underlying pain just below the surface of what I am very conscious of. I feel good, but I am not able to return to martial arts and some of my pre-accident activities. There are moments when I feel I can let this injury go. I get to this moment and I feel as though I can release... and I don't. I must be holding this injury for some reason.

Listening to Chris Northrup, M.D. in Creating Health, she states that we sometimes hold onto injury when this serves us in some way. What we receive from this injury may be just identification. For instance, "...the lady that was in the car accident." As long as someone's identity is found in the injury, it may be difficult to let go of. I can't imagine that I would be doing thing, but I found this concept interesting and pondered the possibility.

I look to life experience when trying to solve "spiritual riddles." Often the physical has a parallel teaching to the spiritual if we look to the lesson. Balance... is a riddle to me. I learned in my yoga classes that balance is an ever-changing fluid concept. The world is always moving and changing. Flow is important. One needs a flowing balance that is never the same exact center from one moment to the next.

When we are born, we do not have balance. We don't have enough strength to try it either. I remember wanting to walk because everyone else did. I did walk by nine months too, although my first steps were not strong ones. I had the opportunity to see someone else's first steps and I remember pondering if that little step or two was an accident or not. Then they tried it again.

So, when I was little, I took a few steps and spent a lot more time crawling and a few more steps, then more crawling. I could stand by steadying myself on things or holding furniture. Pretty soon, I was walking. Walking was not enough. It seems just as soon as we get somewhere in life, we naturally desire more.

I wanted to stand up and zip my zipper at the same time or try out those buttons without falling over. There was hopping to do and then full-fledged jumping. Then there were ropes added to the mix. No sooner could I do one rope by myself then I learned to jump with my friends. They twirled the rope and we took turns jumping in the middle. Then Double Dutch was even more fun!

For someone who could not walk at first, just like all the other babies, I was really going all the way. I joined the gymnastic team, then held some records in jumping. I learned to dance. I jumped off things.

I still learn a lot of lessons in balance because things are ever changing. No sooner do I have something down pat, then I grow... quite literally at times. I became too tall to continue being a gymnast. I was taller than the male gymnasts on my team. It was time to go onto other activities. I practiced martial arts for years and now I am back in yoga class.

Even after growing to full height the lessons in balance continue. Do you ever flail your arms around when you are losing your balance? Did you ever notice it does not help? If you can think through and past flailing, you can make one smart move in the direction you want to balance to, and chances are you will find balance. I learned that in martial arts years ago although it seems a rather obvious lesson when you think about it.

So, it is not that I am perfectly balanced, because I am still changing. I still have adjustments to make as I get older. But I do understand that balance takes time, learning, patience, and adjustment to changes in order to learn and continue.

Ways to understand and study balance can often come through more structured physical activities. Tai chi, yoga, and martial arts are great for this type of learning. Observative living is a good teaching tool too. Just stand balanced on one foot for a really long time and see if you would like a change.