How to get your girl spiritually

Coming soon...........My Book.............





'How to get your girl.........spiritually"

The code of approval

Two of the things that we are all addicted to are "recognition and approval". I find it completely counter intuitive and quite sickening, I speak about myself only.

Pity though, for as long as we are obsessed with recognition and approval..... I don't think that we will ever manifest our true potentials.




We may go out of our way to help out at the soup kitchen or we might send money to a great organization like water.org.....but in the end we are really just looking for some type of soothing validation for our actions. (I really am a philanthropist)



I know that there is this little persona that wants me to be looked upon as some sort of genius or unique entity. You sick fck.


Why? Because I am constantly observing and concerned about the human condition? (I am not sure that this even qualifies me for a night course)


I don't actually do too much to alter the human condition because with 7 billion people, it's so out of my control, it may just lead to a prescription of random anti-depressants. (I need to actually take action and do much much more)




What is this constant need for approval?



I think that it is a quality that comes very early in life....as an infant, you smile for the camera and everybody around you claps and coos.


If you are picked to be the lead in the school play, then your friends will tell you that you are probably the next Daniel Day Lewis, and you shouldn't give up that selfless action until it hurts.



Even when I give something to a nameless stranger, there is that nagging part of me that feels like....hmmmm.....you are truly... a very nice guy, you really are, you have always been.... Awful. Really awful.


I suppose there is something to be said about morals and ethics and the larger prevalent idea that states that if everyone was walking around not really caring if they were fitting into society, what would we have?



What do we have now? Except social domestication at an early age and anarchy and depression later on in life.



So what am I really touching on....Give like Ghandi and don't sleep with your friends wives...perhaps...Morals dictate that we try to fit in and not hurt other people and to some degree I certainly believe that this is important, however, should I really care if you think I am a wonderful giving human being or a selfish misanthropic prick?



If we take away the idea that our actions are being monitored, based on some random criteria created in a back room 100s of years ago.....what are we left with?



We are left with the human need to fit in with his fellow man. We are left with the need for companionship. Some times if your companions are falling short and are completely self involved and ego driven, it can be a lonely club room.



Heck, it's always seemed like a lonely club room for me. Would I really want to join any club that would have somebody like "me" for a member?



Around the holidays I notice this need to be validated poking its obtrusive head into many of my affairs. It's not really the need to give everyone a big love hug and a candy cane.



Solutions for you and me? I don't know....Give without expecting a result...In fact, don't do anything that requires somebody to praise you in any shape or form.



Humility among the 7 billion, (possibly) especially since 1 billion don't have safe drinking water and don't have the luxury to even ruminate over a question such as this.



Rick

Miss opportunities

It's been slightly tough recently...Let's keep it in context however, not west Africa tough.

Still haven't come to grips with a couple of elements. Trying though.


Right now, watching "the summer of 42" in mid day....Unusual and pretensious...however the scene i just witnessed was Stanley Kubrick's favourite... just destructed me to tears immediately..If you know the film, then it is no challenge to remember it.

We all want love to inspire and carry us away..I have been there before, but am no real lover, i love the dog that is sitting beside me as much as any human being i have ever met..Maybe.


We try to get it right in our art as much as we can't in our life....My favourite last line of any film is from "Dragon".


Bruce Lee is walking up the stairs to shoot his most infamous shot...He turns around to his wife and says...."i almost forgot something" she says "What"..."I forgot to tell you I love you"......"I dont think you ever said that to me me before" she replies.............."Yeah ....But I meant it every day".....He keeps on walking up the stairs and completes his final shot of the film...


It's tough to miss it....


Movies....They really aren't reality but they touch a universal chord when they are well written and the actors pull off the lines.


Rickx

CHOOSING TO BE CHEERFUL

There is a course run by a friend of mind called "The art of living cheerfully."
A catchy, happy little name that made me stop and think for about one second and then move on.



Now in retrospect, I think that the idea of having a course based on the idea of "choosing" to be happy is an emotional goldmine.



The Buddhists talk about life being full of "suffering" and pain. I wasn't sure if that meant that these smiley people with the shaved heads were actually Nihilists or just plain fun-suckers.



As I get older I definitely see all the real signs laid out in front of me that suggest that with life comes... the death of loved ones, the loss of loving relationships, the deterioration of the body and the mind, and the slow destruction of our planet. Seems slightly overwhelming sometimes, I concur.



So, those Buddhists seem to have a point. (Apparently they aspire to have a great sense of humour as well, although I have yet to witness this ironic miracle yet in the flesh)


OK, there is some definite suffering to deal with on many levels. (This is true for all people whether they believe in multiple dimensions of reality and the string theory, or whether they believe in The Holy Trinity)


The Buddhists believe that we must get rid of our attachments to material goods, status, and even loved ones. Why? Because everything is transient and will change, you cannot possess energy. If you try...more suffering will be yours for the taking. (Especially on the old death bed)


There is a real need to find a way to be CHEERFUL. There must be some workable philosophy that can put a smile on your faces even when we feel like crap and are totally beaten down. I think the hidden truth here is "you have to choose to be it" even if it not yours organically.


Now, to backtrack in my own timeline for a moment. When I was in my 20's, I didn't really care about being Cheerful. I thought I could just outrun it all. (I was too busy buying shooters and hailing taxi's) I used the gifts that I was lucky enough to have inherited, and I tried to selfishly... meander my way through the nebulous social GULAG that was thrown at me in the world of responsibility.


I knew that it was going to get tougher along some proverbial country rode somewhere in the future, but that was a long way away. Bad idea Rick. Put that energy out there and it will come back to you buddy. Welcome to 2012.


It's not a call for pity, it is more a call for myself to find a way to put a real smile on my face moment by moment, regardless of the atrocious or melodious reality that is coming my way.


When you feel yourself drifting into a zone of negativity and depression. Acknowledge it immediately in your mind. Step back from it. Now change it with a combination of deep breathing, closing your eyes and saying to yourself "cancel" (or something more inspiring)and shifting yourself into a proactive mode and moving beyond that place. It does work, but like anything new, it takes practice and often I fall back into the "wtf" mode of blaming or getting frustrated.



A few ideas that I will throw out there for obtaining CHEERFULNESS are:

Creativity...Take some photos or write in a journal...or simply try Living in the moment (Impossibly hard to master for most)... Meditation (Needs to be practiced every day for at least a half hour and is do able)... Gratitude Lists (We are living our lives of pure bliss compared to those people in west Africa, perhaps we should acknowledge it)... Give to others without ulterior motives attached and you will receive pure joy in return. (Make a plan to give)


Or....Integrate some of the above, live a life that inspires others, and once and a while decide that you do deserve to have that chocolate cake, that weekend at the spa, or that sexual experience you have been dreaming about.


I think that "being cheerful" is a choice. A beautiful choice (or an aggravating one, depending on your sour point of view ) It takes a certain amount of work to be Cheerful....Seems strange but from what I understand....it pays huge dividends for your life, your health and for all those that are fortunate enough to have some blissful contact with you. Or...



There is always the Robert De Niro point of view that says...."Life is short and tough.... learn to be happy, or deal with the consequences."



Rick

BOBCATS AND BANQUETS

I came up with that title and it means absolutely nothing....Moving on...


I am gearing up to participate in a course that is primarily focused on the creative process and photography.


Through the artists involved in this project there is a certain artistic synthesis that can't help but wearing off on me. It won't be evident in this forum, but will probably turn up in areas that cannot be dissected directly by my self critical eyes.


So...I am pleased. I have been led to some very interesting blogs as well. Here are a couple:


www.sundaricarmody.com
www.ilkasattic.com
www.designsponge.com
www.theselby.com



It occurred to me today as I was taking the time to look at the word "gossamer"...
I don't write this BLOG much these days...Why is that?

Definition of GOSSAMER


1: a film of cobwebs floating in air in calm clear weather

2: something light, delicate, or insubstantial

— gos·sa·mery adjective
See gossamer defined for English-language learners »
See gossamer defined for kids »

Examples of GOSSAMER

a butterfly's wings of gossamer



I think that although writing a Blog is a cathartic modern phenomenon of some sorts. It can be something that might be self interpreted as being on the needy side.


Unless you are selling a service or a book or a film.. writing each day on line and sharing your personal observances of the world around you is surely slightly pedantic and a public example of being self absorbed. (Isn't it?)


Is this scribbled masturbation taking the place of my real friendships, hugs and good old fashioned storytelling around the campfire? Definitely... Although I haven't seen a campfire in 2 years.


I know that as a person that spends a fair amount of time trying to recognize any and all personal acts that might be dictated by my ego, it doesn't always feel right to just pontificate about my toenails and the latest lascivious gossamer that just floats my way.


When I am living with confidence, honesty, and have a certain purity and creative direction, I should not need to sell it as a bill of goods to anybody that might stumble upon it out of boredom.


On the other hand, it is nice to have a "Sangha" to be able to reflect on life's impermanence with, and to savour the emotional wins with.



Truly, I do enjoy the process of writing, I am just not sure that for me, there is any need to put it out there right now. It looks like I am healthy enough to be around for a couple more decades...one day at a time, so why document anything.


There might be some pearls of wisdom, but they might just as well be shared by my lips rather than through Google.



The last thing that is on my mind today apart from the chapter I just read that blew me away from the book "Thundering Silence" (Sutra on knowing the better way to catch a snake )Literally, the whole chapter was making a strong case detailing how the "self" really does not exist. Deep but surprisingly positive.


Is...


The TREE OF LIFE by Terrence Malik. Out now on DVD with Penn and Pitt.


This film is just simply aesthetically gorgeous and for lack of a better word..an audacious piece of work. It struck me today that there has never been a movie that has been shot like this before except maybe "enter the void"....Sublime.


It is filmed as if you the viewer are on the ground watching and moving with the characters from scene to scene. Metaphysically cerebral moments and fraternal love visited and evaluated in a visually poetic way saturated with music from the gods...I don't know...it's life affirming stuff.


It takes a little time to invest in the slow moving shots and cuts to other slow moving shots, but far after the movie is over, I can't help but going back to it, and wondering about the meaning behind some of the scenes. It's like 2001 meets On Golden Pond. Lol. Maybe not. Check it out.



I feel better now...This blog thing may have a purpose that even I don't quite get yet. Perhaps it has to enter me "through another opening" haha Enjoy the balance.



Rick

A SUFI POEM

This really struck me when I heard it recited at a gathering in New York for an event called "Peace Thru People"



"In the bosom of the sacred edifice of humanity,

lies the secret of spiritual architecture,

The Keystone of Love



Noble Soul, sovereign of mystic union,

Always Longing for Allah most high,

Bring ourselves to the one reality, the faculties captivated by love




Intimate allies and the closest friendship and most elevated ideals,


Above the noble pillars of religion,


Beyond formulas and faith, legends and allegories,



Shines The Sheaf...



Example and guide for souls.



The pinnacle of knowledge and refinement.


The subtle model of the mystic way.



Essentializing human activity,

Spiritualizing all phenomena,



And making the HUMAN HEART FRAGRANT WITH THE LITANIES OF BREATH.





It was said by the Sufi Master that this poem is about, the Heart, the Guide, the Master.




My personal interpretation means little, but is that these words reflect the need to shed all the baggage that we accumulate on the outside of our souls in this life. The extensions and ego that block us from our true selves and from the real truth about the unlimited phenomenon of our pure energy, and pure potentiality.



How to access these states minute by minute without years of asceticism and discipline, I am not nearly sure what the simple method to employ is.



Rare and beautiful words though.





RL

SHE DANCES IN THE MORNING

I have a very close person in my life who is recovering from a fairly serious surgery.



This woman is amazing in her daily outlook on life. She wakes up in the morning, with a big smile on her face and her attitude emanates pure joy. (I actually told her that she might need to tone this down, for grinchly people like myself in the morning, how selfish is that)


She is happy to be alive and healing, and she is ready to make a difference. She prefers not to take any pain killers for what is obviously a very painful situation.


She tries to stretch her time as far as it will go, always staying alert and willing to think about creative ventures and positive ideas for the future.


She talks constantly about how she can help some of her friends that are suffering in various ways in their lives.



This woman is selfless to a flaw sometimes. Sometimes I think that she should concentrate a little more on making herself feel good.


She inspires me to be a stronger and a more giving man. Very often I feel that despite my various spiritual technologies that I employ to keep me centered and egoless, there is still a long road to travel. I need to know that the work is never done.


I choose to think of this woman as a wonderful mirror that lets me know that its ok to hurt, as long as you do something with it......Help others, hug a duck, make a difference. Write a book about your shortcomings, so others can benefit. Something.



I am grateful on many levels for this woman's powerful and prophetic prescience in my life. "Everything happens for a reason" she always says....I used to just brush that statement off as a parable of the times. However, I really am starting to believe that meeting her, was certainly no accident.



It was a very bright moment in the light, that was obviously meant to be.





RL

THE DOCTRINE OF HAPPINESS

"Too often we confuse temporary pleasure with enduring happiness because the trappings of the physical world are highly seductive and potent When we are able to distinguish between the two, we will find true happiness. Pleasure is usually associated with egocentric desires, whereas happiness is linked to the longing of the soul.


By and large, our desires emerge from the selfish side of our nature. What we covet is not necessarily what will bring us lasting fulfillment. Happiness eludes us when we chase after what we want, as opposed to what we need. Our desires and cravings generally bring misfortune and turmoil after the initial pleasures and immediate gratifications have worn off.


Be careful what you wish for."


Amen to this. I am finding now that real gratification comes in the form of simple connection to the people you really care about, and the ability to be open to the strangers that wonder into your world.


There is alot of happiness that manifests in the ability to accept and embrace the perfection in simplicity.


RL

IN THE DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES

At a younger point in my life......I was lucky enough to meet a family that had fantastic friends, salads, wines and just marvelous times.

I just loved them all like a bertollucci film.....


They got older and had wonderful families of their own....I am still in awe of the whole process and the diverse nature of some of the choices made.......but.....I was there and I was welcomed........it was a real blessing........


Names are being avoided, but one name I don't want to avoid is my friend Chef Cory.
Worked his way through many ventures, took many courses, and is in my opinion, one of the premier chefs in the country.


Love his prowess and tenacity and just.......him.



RL

DONT MESS WITH LIZ

Softly you whisper and you are so sincere.............



NOW I COME TO WITH OPEN ARMS............who would know the resonation of these silly 80s words......


I have a friend Liz who is a cancer survivor and embodies strength.....

Her dog recently had to be injected up her bum with Ketamine to help her infection.

As she was hallucinating with such strength during the worst Thunder Storm in Ontario history.



I started worrying about my possessions etc etc etc etc etc.



People can be amazing...............Julie



Liz is doing a job that criss crosses saudi and Dubai and London and it is all hers, as she takes care of her family and her true family.................a beagle............


My worries can be put on hold.


RL

THE WAY WE WERE

Sometimes there is a fine line between creating fiction in your moment to moment existence, and believing that your own family are really freaks and pedophiles, and... that the strangers you meet are the actual warm wonderful friends.


You know that when you fall in love for real, it will take you to some Island of obscurities and every palm tree that got planted in the general vicinity will be your living mantra for a week.



Being subdivided as a species is very confusing..We need love and affection, but yet we hate to be told what to do.


Love our neighbours wives, but yet, are hugs alright?



Strange stuff.. Some days your uncle could champion you , and then turn out to be the main muffled character in his own personal version of William Friedkins Cruising.




It's not always cut and dry....... Love my girl.(I do)..Concerned about my families future, as they age and degenerate. I am..As the Buddhists taught us....getting ready to mourn.



However as some of the greats have reiterated, time doesn't really exist and all of our worries and tribulations are actually completely meaningless. Who the FK knows..


I worry about the millions of these innocent animals that wonder the earth in vain. Nothing could be more sad than the wild dogs of Asia

Its a strange and tense time.



Love you my lovely special girlfriend Julie and wish the best for you too Meegwun.




I always wanted to be Robert Redford and then he got older and started Sundance...Eloquently.



Sydney Pollack from Eyes Wide Shut has his eyes permanently wide shut now..Will we ever get back to the way we were?.. Let's move on and appreciate the moments.



And Ian you crazy artist from Queens, still love you too.


And just when you thought that this crazy metaphor of mammoth proportions was too much for any newborn child...You realize that there is always the last poignant scene of THE SUMMER OF 42. Living on, if you need to access the beauty and sadness...




Let's get the kids off of their ipods and cellphones and back into anything that resembles, camaraderie and spiritualism .......This will take more than a village.


Oh and when I finally hit 40, I hope all of this will change and I will become and pragmatic optomist

























RICK

WHAT THE KOREANS TEACH US

When you are feeling strong and feeling spiritually connected, nothing can touch you.
I feel I can do the greatest good for not only my girlfriend and my family, but for the society that shaped my family.



I was toying with the idea of writing a blog from the perspective of a Heterosexual man with emotions. Emotions that are as real as the circumstances that he has to deal with in life. From the point of view that emotionalism is not necessarily a problem, but more of a clue to the type of direction that is needed.

With that in mind, I found this Blog about emotions. This particular piece is centered on the Korean word of feeling described as "Han". I found this fascinating and I will let you read it for yourself.


Han 한
I have often been fascinated by non western emotional states and how they can shine a light onto how humanity relates to its emotions. I think it demonstrates that emotions are not entirely innate but also reflections of the society we live in, and that knowing this we can change both ourselves and the society we live in.

Being a melancholic fool by nature, one that has taken my interest for a while is the Korean concept of Han (한). A complex intermingling of historical, collective and personal sorrow an acceptance of a bitter present and a hope of a better future. There are also some suggestions of resentment and a sense of unresolved vengeance.

It is sometimes described as both unique to and an essential component of Koreans' emotional lives.

A Korean colleague put it quite simply:

Han = a collective sense of bonding based on suffering and hardship

The bonding aspect here is important as it binds a people together, in a non-market based sense of identity. It is a collective feeling and i think an interesting bridge for us between the psychological interior of emotions inside our heads/hearts and the social aspect of emotions and responses to social situations.

The Korean poet Ko Eun described it thus:
"We Koreans were born from the womb of Han and brought up in the womb of Han."

Probably the most well known reference to it in Western culture is the episode of series 5 the West Wing entitled 'Han'. It describes the plight of a North Korean pianist who is asked not to defect (which he wanted to do) in order to preserve the hopes of nuclear non proliferation talks with the two countries.

President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) describes it thus:
"There is no literal English translation. It's a state of mind. Of soul, really. A sadness. A sadness so deep no tears will come. And yet still there's hope."{The West Wing: 5.4}

There is a good description from the Korean-English translator David Bannon:
"The term han cannot simply be translated as "resentment" for every book, article or poem. The phrasing must match the usage—a tricky thing with all words, especially so with a term that has vastly complex meaning to Koreans.

Han is frequently translated as sorrow, spite, rancor, regret, resentment or grief, among many other attempts to explain a concept that has no English equivalent. (Dong-A 1982: 1975). Han is an inherent characteristic of the Korean character and as such finds expression, implied or explicit, in nearly every aspect of Korean life and culture.

Han is sorrow caused by heavy suffering, injustice or persecution, a dull lingering ache in the soul. It is a blend of lifelong sorrow and resentment, neither more powerful than the other. Han is imbued with resignation, bitter acceptance and a grim determination to wait until vengeance can at last be achieved.

Han is passive. It yearns for vengeance, but does not seek it. Han is held close to the heart, hoping and patient but never aggressive. It becomes part of the blood and breath of a person. There is a sense of lamentation and even of reproach toward the destiny that led to such misery. (Ahn 1987)."n

Banno goes on to cite a good example from Korean literature:

"The inevitability of fate frequently fuels han in the arts. Korean television and films are informed by han, as are older forms of tragedy, such as P'ansori performance songs and folk tales. For example, poetess Yi Ok Bong (?-1592) described how she had visited her lover so often in dreams that if her spirit were corporeal, the pebbles on the path to his house would be worn to sand. (Kim 1990: 222). Yi uses the term han in the second line, which has been translated: "This wife's resentment is great." "Resentment" implies anger and frustration, certainly part of han, but the line fails to express the sorrow and resignation of the original. Another translator chose "I am sad" for the same line and still another, "my longing deepens." (Lee 1998: 85). This poem demonstrates the importance of context and usage. In the complete poem, insert each of the three previous translations at the end of the second line and the problem becomes clear:

Are you well these days? 


Moonlight brushing the curtain pains my heart.


If dreams leave footprints

the pebbles at your door are almost worn to sand. "

As a basic rule, however, one must always go beyond western interpretations of non-western concepts and listen to the creators of the concept itself, the Korean people. This is not to say David Bannon is wrong of course!

In 1994 in Paris, the late and hugely respected Korean writer Park Kyong-Ni (박경리) spoke in greater detail about Han and her comments challenge the notion of Han containing resentment.
"If we lived in paradise, there would be no tears, no separation, no hunger, no waiting, no suffering, no oppression, no war, no death. We would no longer need either hope or despair. We would lose those hopes so dear to us all. We Koreans call these hopes Han. It is not an easy word to understand. It has generally been understood as a sort of resentment. But I think it means both sadness and hope at the same time. You can think of Han as the core of life, the pathway leading from birth to death. Literature, it seems to me, is an act of Han and a representation of it.

'Han is a characteristic feeling of the Korean people. But it has come to be seen as a decadent feeling, because of the 36-year Japanese occupation. It is understood simply as sorrow, or resignation, or a sigh. Some have compared it to the Japanese word ourami, meaning hate or vengeance, but that s quite absurd. This nonsense is the result perhaps of the identity of the Chinese character or it may be a kind of left-over from the Japanese occupation. The Japanese word ourami evokes images of the sword and the seeds of militarism, and is a characteristic feeling of the Japanese, for whom vengeance is a virtue. Therefore the Japanese word ourami is completely different from the Korean word Han. As I have already said, Han is an expression of the complex feeling which embraces both sadness and hope. The sadness stems from the effort by which we accept the original contradiction facing all living things, and hope comes from the will to overcome the contradiction."


Is it unique to Korea? Possibly but not necessarily so. And Han has much to teach us about a response to suffering, not least if we appreciate Park Kyong-Ni's point about Han not being imbued with vengeance.

Can emotions like Han teach us how to break the cycles of violence in history?


I love the questions that are raised by this piece. It's relevant and visceral and right there for the taking.....It's also a little bit intense for the afternoon, so I will settle back into my episode of Mad Men and Tennis before I refuel and address this personally again.


RL

GLORY DAYS ARE BACK

I want to write about this great old friend of mine Marc. Sometimes I feel like I actually am living in an Ingmar Bergman film...perhaps Wild Strawberries meets Fanny and Alexandra 24 hours a day, but last night I got real good news about a talented buddy of mine.


Marc and his wife Carolyn live on Vancouver Island. I remember them both originally from when I first had them over for New Years in the early 80's at my apartment in Parkdale. ( I remember the fashions they were wearing like it was yesterday )


I was living with Marc's sister at the time (lovely) and Marc and I were just getting to the part of connecting and feeling that we might be willing to make the long run of friendship for life.


Carolyn is a wonderful woman with tons of integrity and common sense, mixed in with just the right amount of whimsy and fun. Marc was a guy that stuck out in the crowd. Good looking and articulate, he didn't have any trouble knocking down the proverbial door.


We finally decided that well when we were young (cue the killers song) and we were going to try to explore and conquer different large cities together, go to the clubs, and more importantly play tennis together in exotic venues.



The end of the backstory is that we accomplished our goals... Many cities, many parties, many excesses, INXS, many articulated moments that resonated, but washed away in the morning light.



Chicago (seeing the warhol exhibit when I was there teaching dancing)

Montreal....On a whim with a whiplash smile in every club. MARC on the fire escapes.

New York City driving there on an idea, and arriving downtown in the Bronx as "Bad Medicine" was blasting on the stereo. The exclusive clubs that we found are way into and the late night Denny's escapades.

Victoria and "SWANS"....losing the car and rocking the hotels.

Bowen Island, (many times) I seemed always to have been pushing an envelope that really shoudn't have existed. The piano bar fiasco. Thanks for the patience, those days are definitely gone.


Millwaukee Wisconsin...This bit needs some editing.


Vancouver.....When I met my friend Sarah in Yaletown and I told her and her friend that Marc's real name was TAPESTRY....and that he was a poet/singer performer on a world tour.



There were many other occasions, but the ones that really resonate today were our Tennis matches. I remember all those different courts, all those different heat issues and scores I had to come back from in earnest.


Marc is a great player that loves a good challenge and we tried to fit in a game in any city or Island that we inhabited.


Our Tennis games have always been classics of the Connors/Mcenroe mode..they would go on forever, (3hrs) and in the end, there was a wonderful feeling of accomplishment, freedom and sportsmanship. Kenny Rosewell would be proud.



Marc took Radio and Tv at school and has been a Newscaster and Newdirector on the air for years now...20 years as I was just shown..Incredible....This guy is made for the pressure and made for the air.


Recently we have reconnected (Marc was on a sabbatical from the world) and I happened to mention something to him, some mumblings that resonated, about following his passion for being on air and doing what he does best..


Not sure what I said , but something hit home and now Marc is back on air , where he should be...I just love it when people find their work to be the thing they love...I am still trying to figure that labyrinth out. My words were really not that inspiring, but I am happy to see him back.


The Bottom line is that "he" has to have the energy and the drive to do it , day in , day out. That's where the real accomplishment resides.



I am so happy to be able to listen to Marc's newscasts again now on the internet and it is totally validating to the both of us and ofcourse his wife.



Marc you are the guy...I am happy to be along for the ride....Get that Tennis raquet ready... Buddy, you are back. BC watch out. Your world inspires mine, and that is the way it really should be.


RL

THANK YOU WOODY ALLEN FOR PARIS

The first movie I ever went to see on my own without parental supervision was WOODY ALLEN'S "PLAY IT AGAIN SAM". I was in love with this new world.


I remember being slightly confused by the direct references to CASABLANCA, a movie I had yet to see. On some level though, my mind had been freed.


One thing I did relate to, even at that young age, was the way the words were flowing from the characters. It felt like a world I just wished I could inhabit. Would it be possible for me to ever speak to a woman like that? Certainly not with my skinny pre-teen body, but someday.


It was far away from the street of Italian ball hockey jocks that I hung out with, but it was a world I would gladly like to move to. Funny, and romantic, and profound, in some ways, from the very beginning, that movie was teaching me everything I needed to know about relationships between men and woman.



How far would you go to impress a woman you loved? Is it okay to make a fool out of yourself in the process? Is it ok to be vulnerable? Is it ok to express sexuality?



Almost 30 years later I recently saw the new Woody movie "MIDNIGHT IN PARIS".
A fantastic film with a plethora of references to the 20's in Paris. (Paris has never looked so gorgeous and provocative, Hemingway and Gertrude Stein literally come to life)



So much so, that the New York times critic put together a whole article on "decoding" Midnight in Paris for the younger audience I assume. I think it is fair to say that most people know who Hemingway was and that F Scott Fitzgerald's wife Zelda was an emotional mess. Who knows, maybe the youth of today are not interested in these people.



Over the years there have been many Woody Allen films that have completely blown me away with their mesmerizing Cinematography, iconoclastic wit and cerebral insights.... Annie Hall, Interiors, Manhattan, Hannah and Her Sisters, Husbands and Wives, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Zelig, Sleeper, Love and Death, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point, Vicki Christina Barcelona, You will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, and the list goes on.



One thing that has always stuck with me was an interview I read with Woody when he said that after he finishes filming a movie, he takes a couple of days to relax and without any procrastination, just starts typing in his old typewriter right away and comes up with an outline for his next movie. He doesn't vary from this formula. He has done this for 30 years the exact same way.



He doesn't consider his movies that great really, and hopes that they will be remembered on some level, but isn't really sure what that level will be.



When asked if he wanted to live on in people's minds through his films after he is gone......he replied, "no, I would rather just live on in my apartment". Reflecting his fear of death, that he does not hide, as well as his atheism.



Woody Allen films have long been a haven for me. A time when I can revisit a master of words and of comedy, and I always come out feeling mentally refreshed and with some semblance of renewal and hope. Allen has also been an inspiration for me in undertaking my own obscure writing projects.



From Play It Again Sam and Dianne Keaton to Midnight in Paris and Marion Coutillard. It is always inspirational to be a man with a brain and to be able to synthesize another fabulous piece of art from this genius, every year or so, around the same time.



I know I am very grateful indeed. It was time to put it in writing.



Here is my favourite opening of any of his movies. The Opening voice over from Manhattan.




"Chapter one. "



"He adored New York City.
He idolised it all out of proportion. "



Uh, no. Make that "He romanticised it
all out of proportion. "



"To him,
no matter what the season was,



this was still a town
that existed in black and white



and pulsated to the great tunes
of George Gershwin. "



Uh... no. Let me start this over.



"Chapter one. "



"He was too romantic about Manhattan,
as he was about everything else. "



"He thrived on the hustle, bustle
of the crowds and the traffic. "



"To him, New York
meant beautiful women



and street-smart guys
who seemed to know all the angles. "



Ah, corny. Too corny
for a man of my taste.



Let me... try and make it more profound.



"Chapter one. He adored New York City. "



"To him, it was a metaphor
for the decay of contemporary culture. "



"The same lack of integrity to cause so
many people to take the easy way out...



... was rapidly turning the town
of his dreams..."



No, it's gonna be too preachy. I mean,
face it, I wanna sell some books here.



"Chapter one. He adored New York City,



although to him it was a metaphor
for the decay of contemporary culture. "



"How hard it was to exist in a society
desensitised by drugs, loud music,



television, crime, garbage..."



Too angry. I don't wanna be angry.



"Chapter one. "



"He was as tough and romantic
as the city he loved. "



"Behind his black-rimmed glasses was
the coiled sexual power of a jungle cat. "



I love this.



"New York was his town
and it always would be. "




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbAq_bxU8Vk






RL

FEELING RAZOR SHARP

When you bounce back from an illness, sometimes you feel "razor" sharp. That's how I am feeling right now.



When you are in this mode, the world starts to slow down just a little bit. I feel like I can see things long before they happen. I am seeing the effect in advance, long before I recognize the cause.



When i am talking to people, I tend to understand and anticipate the direction of their minds, long before they articulate it. I am not sure if it is just reading their body language more intuitively, or picking up subtleties in the way they move their eyes.



Obviously, everyone wants to be heard, they need to be validated, that is always a given. When you are "sharp" and toxin free (not gluten free) and you are close to your pure potentiality, you just are flowing.



There used to be a tennis player named Miloslav Mecir (pronounced masheesh) who was known for just being able to flow with the opponents shots and movements and counter them effortlessly. That is how I am feeling these days. I love to be in this mode.



The question is how does one remain here, in the zone.....everyday.
There is always Probiotics and Ginko Biloba, but they have an artificiality about them even if they originate in the health food realm.



I think the way to not sabotage this state of being is to appreciate it in the moment. Feel it and flow with it. Smile at people and listen, even if you got their point about 5 minutes earlier.


I have been clogged mentally and unavailable to people many times, so I know how good it is to have somebody on the other end with some semblance of patience and virtue.



The Future plans initiative is where you have to capitalize when you are "sharp". Now is the time to map out exact details of how you are going to move to Hong Kong or to write the screenplay (it is a killer), or to go on the trip to Morocco in the fall.



I find that if they are indeed right that time is indeed an illusion (I mention this all the time and have a tattoo relating to this uplifting thought) then you can feel more at ease bridging different universes and stomping on verboten thoughts that you feel are limiting your growth.




There will always be those people around you that don't seem to get it... They are not bad people with diabolical intentions.....they are just stagnant and repetitive in their thoughts and lifestyle and couldn't see themselves changing, or moving away, or quitting smoking or or giving up their Reality TV. They just are seeking personal comfort and trying to make it through.




Wish these people well with a wink of your eye and flow past them.....Surround yourself with Creative innovators and people whose ideas are living a little on the edge. That's where you need to be. That's where you are going to fit in and make a difference.




We can't always be living outside the box however, and there is alot to be said for consistency and normalcy. It needs to be tempered though with something special in order to really break through and produce that idea that will set you apart. If you are moving quickly mentally and your focus seems to be in sync with new ideas, it feels great to just go with it and acknowledge it.



We are all capable of producing extraordinary results. It is a question for me and possibly for you, of how to tap into that magic area on a consistent basis. It can be done. Amazing results can manifest before your eyes with a little bit of diligence. This is what I have been looking for.



There is a book called "The Lazy man's guide to enlightenment" (Thadeas Golas) that I just recently re-read and I still got a little bit of a kick from just being back with those words once again.



It feels right to be inspired, and it feels more than right to inspire. If we can pull back the "curtains" there is an enormous amount to be revealed.



RL

THE SELFLESS HEART

Recently I was quite sick for a week or so, actually it manifested far before that, but the sickness part lasted about a week.



My Girlfriend came to live with me for about 5 days during the worst of the time.


I have to say that I was really amazed at how another human being can have so much compassion and love for a person that they really have only known for a relatively short time.


I was a grumpy, sweaty, self pitying imbecile (with a heart) most of the time.


To me, this was the very indication I needed that my life was over and if not completely over, certainly at the crossroads of all crossroads.


"This whole thing is horrible, it's sad and disgusting" I would blurt out.


In return, my Girlfriend would say something like " you will turn it around, you are a talented guy with incredible potential and this is just a test" Amazing I thought. She seems to really know that this is true and I am losing all my faith.


Now we did get to have our fun personal times of watching programs together,cuddling and cooking alot of healthy meals, but to me, it didn't make up for how much life seemed to "suck".


With all my optimism out the window, the toilet suddenly broke....Yes the toilet.
This didn't go over well with my ego.


Julie found humour in this toilet escapade at every corner and was often laughing uncontrollably at the irony involved. Especially at my gagging. I on the other hand saw it as a slap on the face from a higher power.


So while I griped about it, sweating in bed, I could here her in the washroom for hours trying to fix it. (Luckily it is working once more, how beautiful)


One day as I was sweating and moaning in bed, I observed my girl Julie, organizing and cleaning my entire place from top to bottom....It became like an obsession with her....She did the most thorough job ever in the history of mankind....I was dumbfounded.


I then begged her for a hug as I was feeling needy, and she said she would be right over, she was just a little sweaty, "give her a second".

She took my selfishness and made it seem silly but not pathetic.


The point I am trying to make is that I am so amazed by this special person and her big heart and I feel that I need to grow my Grinchly heart 10 times the size to keep up.


Is this the way most people are? I need to get with the program of uber compassion and grow up some.


I talked to a homeless musician the other day for about 10 minutes and all of a sudden I thought I was mother Theresa. Re-examination time Rick.



Maybe I will start that process tonight.


RL

STOPPING THE ANGER REACTION

When a person’s speech is full of anger, it is because he or she
suffers deeply. Because he has so much suffering, he becomes
full of bitterness. He is always ready to complain and blame
others for his problems. This is why you find it very unpleasant
to listen to him and try to avoid him.
To understand and transform anger, we must learn the
practice of compassionate listening and using loving speech.

TNH





I hate getting Angry. (get it) It's something that somebody told me recently that kind of sent me for a loop. I think of myself as quite a calm person and a pretty good listener most of the times. This friend said that she thought that I was very angry at the world.


I disagreed at the time. But maybe it is a little about CONTROL. I can't conceive of some of the actions of others and am often shocked at the ego and self absorption that I am witnessing daily.


On the other hand, I maybe seeing exactly what I need to see. I need to take a closer look at the way I see people and judge them.


I certainly feel alot of empathy for my fellow humans, but does that happen only on my own terms, when I can control my actions.

Deep stuff, but I want to be more available to figuring this out.



DISPELLING ANGER

To some degree, everyone is vulnerable to idol worship, whether through the pursuit of fame or the veneration of wealth and power. We revere images, especially the self-image we feel we must project to others.

The most blatant form of idolatry, is ANGER. Something external is controlling our emotions and reactions.

When a computer crashes, losing our important files, and we erupt in anger, we have just bowed down before the silicon idol. When a car cuts us off on the freeway and we curse with rage, we are idolizing the metallic god. When we lose our temper with our spouse or children and cause them undue pain, we are worshipping the idol of darkness.

When we devote ourselves to idols, allowing external situations or other people to instigate anger and rage within us, we sever our connection to the LIGHT. This is a big mistake, since the LIGHT is the true source for the fulfillment of our deepest desires.

Yehuda Berg



I cannot control the actions of other people and it just puts a hole in the pit of my stomach to react with anger in any situation. Recognizing that a change is needed is a step in the right direction.

RL

Who the FK is in the heart of Control here?

It's been a tough couple of weeks for me.


Although there were a couple of small emotional wins, I started to suspect that this wasn't going to be the time of power and satisfaction that I originally had been counting on.



It became more of a time of vacillation and very poor decision making.




Instead of all those wonderful summer courses and ingenious money making schemes that seemed right there for the taking, my mind started to wonder to little bizarre thoughts like....."maybe i should spend the entire summer on the beach.....writing" or perhaps "a gun" might be a necessary apparatus in my life.



Where did this all come from? I had a beautiful new girlfriend, and a very supportive family, and some solid dynamic friends, but something felt strangely missing....



I developed a tooth ache and started to secretly criticize the very core of people I really admired for years....What was this all about?


Was going to see Lady Gaga for 10 minutes actually going to send me out to the bars again after a year of good health?


Why did I care that Justin Bieber was dating some girl I never heard of before? Or that Kate Middleton looked great when the wind blew her skirt up..... What was really going on psycho guy?


The best way to end this little ditty is to say thanks to my friend Liz who gave me a new acoustic guitar to try to get me out of my strange rut. What a thoughtful present..It really is selfless ideas that can bring you back from the brink..



It looks like I am almost back....What a strange and weird ride.


To anyone I doubted....I take responsibility for just being a coward and a child. Not that pretty for sure.


RL

WE STILL HAVE TIME LOVE

When did we actually meet?


The darkness and your affinity for the candle. Words in the night that ask if I am alright? How could I be....I think.


Is anyone? Sometimes its garbage and sometimes its pure potential.


Sometimes it's a little taste of death....Oh, how tough you have to be....Running with that guy takes no genius...


Yet I am not there. Today we made a pact, a beautiful, implicit, old fashioned kissing pact.



Tomorrow, we are going to take it all back.




We are going to make it one, and I know that It will be me, that sweeps you up and carries you by the sea, like so many have before me.



It's a blood diamond... It's the Kansas in the Wizard of Oz....It pulls at me.


This world or judgement... and well....I don't want to scare you.


You are the most beautiful thing I was ever allowed to touch.



We are going to make it into a collage.. A pastiche....An old Bogart movie...



Its limitless...But something still pulls at me... Those ghosts, those people, those promises in the dark...



What year is it love?



Put your head on my shoulder....We have time....I really hope we do...



Inspired by you JP.


RL

THE PAIN OF THE MISUNDERSTANDING

When you get grossly misunderstood and you ultimately want approval, it hurts.



I had another really bitter and aggressive post on here, that I removed...Not entertainment, but part of my real life dealings.


My original way of coping with this was to try to verbally belittle the person(yesterday) who did this to me, without all the facts. (And it really looked good on paper and in my mind) Actually I should just let it go completely.


Sounds trite, but it is beneath me to act this way.


Like anyone, I am a work in progress. I think we are all worthwhile enough to be giving a chance, whether you are the real Rockstar or the Ceo, or the Woman with a big heart that struggles to be heard.



I am not sure what definition I fall under, but it really doesn't matter.



DEFINITIONS ARE FOR SUCKERS. (E-A)



Some decisions will rock some boats...Yet you don't want to make it so personal or have one of your oldest friends say that "I lost a bit of respect in you tonight man."


I don't approve of somebody trying to verbally or physically assault me or anybody else. It gets under my skin.


Reminds me of the Affinity Triangle formula.


"Life has three component parts: affinity, reality and communication. These form a TRIANGLE---ARC. They are interdependent to such a degree that if you interrupt any one of them, you will interrupt the flow of the other two."


Esoteric but interesting.


Apparently from time to time, I am not in communication or affinity with somebody ....and THAT COMPLETELY THROWS OF OUR COMMUNICATION.....as FRIENDS or LOVERS.


I am trying to not make all of this about me....Being misunderstood....some days....is a bitch....But i will bite it and try to not retaliate and hurt somebody with words and thoughts.


RL

THE BOOK I AM WRITING ON THE EDGE

LETS NOT BELIEVE OUR WAY TO MEDIOCRITY...COULD ANYTHING REALLY BE WORSE?




Some of us are just not sure how to tap into our greatest strengths and make them our lives work. Duh... To make them who we are.



That's why seeing LADY GAGA and Artists like her, can give us a little bit of that push in the right direction...This woman just believes so passionately, that you know who you are and you can tap into that potential at any time. (Passionate people are contagious)


You want to live in the real world though...We can't all play piano and strut around before Millions of People shouting....I am on the EDGE OF GLORY... and it comes off as just being honest.


I am meeting so many talented and spectacular people recently that have something really special to give...It may be great music or simply poetic words or unique hair styling, or just creating monumental baked goods...But I notice more than often that there is something missing, something untapped in their life pictures.


Some of us have some obvious and seemingly humungous obstacles that we are dealing with and that need to be overcome..Fears and Anger and Addiction..

For others..we are superstars in our own minds, but on the playing field of life, we are slightly unstable. We need a usable formula and something real and new to get through.. If we get over this thing that keeps dogging us....then we will be there...on the edge of Glory.


I am writing a book that synchronizes some of my struggles and theories that have challenged me, but ultimately worked for me in the end. It only took years (god) of trying and failing, and trying again, to figure this MOTHA out.


I am just a regular guy, but I have read it all and tried it all...and have some profound (to me anyway) insights to share.


Nothing is permanent...You have to be real, relevant and honest and giving...every single day of your life, or you could just become ordinary, or worse...7 seconds from now...



Here is a peak:




THE WAY OUT BOOK





1: Decide that you want to make a real change now.

2: Understand what you will be up against.

3: Envision your new potential life of freedom and success.

4: Get rid of your past blockages and failures.

5: Make it happen...NOW... with a formula that you already know.

6: Maintain your freedom and guard against the two triggers that might
cause you a relapse: Boredom and Overconfidence.


7: How to make sure that you “give back” to your community, and your friends
and family. (Including the world community) What you give out ....you will
naturally get back.


8: How to be one... wealthy Motha Fker with a conscience, and the only way to do
that, is to abandon your "ego" for good.




TO MY FRIENDS...MY ADVICE IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE. Who knows if it will help, or if it is personally applicable... I know I personally was always reticent to accept advice from the many... and would always want to know the credentials of the person it was coming from.



I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO PUTTING IT ALL OUT THERE FOR PEOPLE TO TAKE IN...... THE REAL HONEST RIDE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I DIDN'T HAVE TO SIT ON ANY MOUNTAIN TOP...ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT HAVE ADDED SOMETHING SPECIAL.


I LOOK FORWARD TO HUMBLY SHARING.












RICK

SUMMER CONCERT SPECTACLE WITHDRAWAL

These two photos have absolutely nothing in common.(lol)......or do they?





SUMMER CONCERTS ARE ON MY MIND. KEEP IN MIND I AM JUST AN AUDIENCE MEMBER AND DON'T SEE MYSELF SECRETLY AS A PERFORMER. NOT EVEN BEHIND MY SHOWER CURTAIN.




One of my favorite concert stories I remember is about a concert of Michael Jackson's........(Saw Michael in concert in the mid 80's as well as with the Jackson 5 in the 70s)



NOTE: (I apologize to the close friends over the years that had to wade through all my Freddie Mercury QUEEN concert stories that opened with my "sweaty palms" and "jailhouse rock" ..("Keep Yourself Alive" to 60,000) ...stories of Springsteen and Streisand ....and to Elizabeth who went to see Michael Jackson with me 25 years ago..I really blew it, I am sorry.



Concert Moments:


The Amnesty International show from the first row was an intense experience......Lets not go there now. Well, ok i will say......Biko and meeting Kris Kristofferson, and the Cadillac Ranch that closed Maple Leaf Gardens for good. Interesting moments. I don't want to fade away.


To Recap....The Amnesty Show at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS.....Opened with KD LANG who was followed by TRACY CHAPMAN....who was followed by PETER GABRIEL.....who was followed by STING....who was followed by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN....UNREAL entertainment for a great cause. (Like I really cared)



A concert that I attended as well was the WHO's Farewell concert. It was alot of hype and tension, and quite frankly the concert wasn't their best.. They delivered a few more Farewell shows over the next couple of years. Daltrey's screaming on "Won't get fooled again" will never be equaled however.



It's about openings. The insane moment of a good opening. My friend Marc told me about an ELO opening at exhibition stadium with a SPACESHIP slowly prying itself open and LASERING the crowd to the song.."TELEPHONE LINE"...Sounded wild.



Anyway, back to Michael.


Michael Jackson was playing Wembley Stadium and was about to meet Lady Diana before the show...He met her briefly back stage and she told him that her favourite song was DIRTY DIANA....a song that Jackson had just removed from the performance in reverence to DI... He didn't know what to do. He couldn't possibly play this song. He told her that he was sorry that he didn't feel comfortable singing it that night. She was slightly disappointed but carried on with a smile and took her seat.


So when the lights dropped down on 70,000 screaming fans. Jackson opened the show....With a thumping rendition of DIRTY DIANA...The crowd and the princess were firmly placed in the palm of his glove. (Forgive me)


Two of the most powerful alternative concert experiences occurred in Toronto with my friend Cory... Philip Glass doing Koyanisquatsi live with the film projected in the background...and Tangerine Dream live...Both had me stumbling out of their metaphysical world in a daze. Could have been the Marijuana, but I believe it was the Art.



Throw in Billy Idol and The Cult in there, LENNY KRAVITZ, PRINCE and INXS and I am getting you briefly up to speed. Did I mention STYX's Paradise tour.


I don't go to alot of live shows anymore, but am considering going to see Pearl Jam this Summer. It will probably be the last opportunity to do so.



What is it about the Summer and the need for a spectacle?..I have spectacle withdrawal I think....A concert event, not just a show. I still get that itch. I never did see Pink Floyd with those giant Pigs.


I hope this old heart of mine can still take it. Might be interesting to pass out as Eddie Vedder delivers a soulful rendition of Jeremy though.

YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO BEING GONE

From a story buried deep in my mind:



I slept in the night and you were there...I was startled by the ferocity of your image.




I was at some sort of a performance when I saw you. It was you. The real you. Your eyes lashed onto mine immediately and watched, holding them. I could feel what you were thinking. You were angry, but wouldn't let me go.



You actually joined in the play as an actor at one point, I believe you were swimming. It was dark... you were one with the water.


I tried to move, to get closer. I didn't want to let you know that I had not even considered your prescience in such a very long time. Yet you were here ... and a force. I kept shifting around, mesmerized.



I moved closer, to see you, to feel your energy again. You were still you. Strong, wild and utterly amazing. Yet...........


I was frightened by what you had to say..What you could say.


I have moved on so far in my life..It's all so impossible from here..The powerful new direction, the new woman ,the daily affirmations and collaborations, and then there was you. Just you.


You are but a distant bus stop now that I always pass, but refuse to look at...


...I do look............once in a while... My heart tells me to.



You are so close to being gone. I saw the tights that you wore, a style I didn't recognize, and the way your toes hung from them onto the bare floor. Was that black makeup around your eyes? Had you been crying? I may have imagined it...


I have moved so far. So far over our line. I know you would understand...But you didn't tonight, tonight while I slept. You wanted to tell me something. I would have listened... But I couldn't hear you...


It is all far too late. If you read this.......you know I speak only of you.

My Immortal Beloved.



How did it all become so?


In the end I lost my favourite new shirt as someone was playing a trick on me.....I needed to wake up....When I just did, I was confused, confused to see my shirt hanging on a chair beside the bed. You......you were just gone.


You are so close to being gone....and completely wiped from my memory...Sad really.


Now it's back to sleep to try to recapture the feeling. I will erase all of this in the morning......


RL

DO YOU MANUFACTURE A PSEUDO CHARACTER?

Remember Andre Agassi uttering the words "Image is Everything" on the Canon camera commercial from the 90's?




(Speaking of the 90's, did anything culturally significant actually take place in this nebulous decade?)



"Image is everything".................almost as iconic as.. "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins"....how did that grab you in the 80s?.......a little Brooke Shields and Andre Agassi tie in.




Because I used to create advertising for a living and understand the basic Wilson Brian Key tutorial behind the stuff...I wanted to talk a little about Facebook and image.



If we really are "the sum of our actions" (Aristotle)...... do we manufacture a social facade on the net that is so surprisingly complex, it actually acts as a giant pseudo replacement character.

It has the time and perspective carefully built-in and represents that side of us that we wish was our real projection in face time.


Is it like putting on a public mask that doesn't quite fit?



What i am getting at in my pedantic little way, is that you can inheritently feel the plethora of untruths when you look through certain peoples profiles on Facebook. You can feel them trying to project confidence, and twist expertise in areas that you sense that they are at the very best...slightly insecure in. (I think it is just human nature to want to look well rounded)


On the other hand....one gets the feeling that some people just naturally understand the best way to manipulate their image in a way that would be interesting to others. They massage it......just a little bit towards accomplishment one day.....and then....just a little bit towards whimsy the next.


What is identity? Is it your perception of the sum total of all your experiences or is it something more? Surely, what other people see...is generally leaps and bounds away from what you perceive yourself to be. Ego or no ego. Lets move on.


Do you really want to post.... that you are sitting at home eating your second bag of potato chips, farting and watching a show based on a group of Addicts that go out to night clubs and get obnoxious. It may save you the physical pounding of doing it yourself, but it may not be the picture of self-determination that you really want to share.



In real life.....perhaps there is a guy who doesn't see himself as being a great ladies man for example..Other than in cyberspace...he certainly has never really picked up that model or actress and taken her back to the hotel.(I pity him..lol)..


The experience was just been synthesized by watching a movie.... All of a sudden, you will see a series of photographs on Facebook that intimate that this kind of adventure has actually taken place, with this guy and an entourage,(of many) under a blood red sky... in Monte Carlo...I am reaching here, but you get the idea. Why not?


I noticed that I recently included a photo of myself with my famous second cousin on my profile. What kind of insecurity was that born out of? It doesn't particularly wreak of self-confidence and modesty. More work needs to be done Lynn.


Is it alright to manipulate your image? We are all really tuned into the station of "I hope I am admired and look youthful in the process"...............Heaven forbid if I get too many people telling me what a great guy I am..........I will immediately need the meditation chamber and a good kick in the ass......That's my reality.



On the bright side of life. Some people are just genuine..You sense their honesty on all levels. They are not scared to show you their insecurities and shortcomings, whether it is on Facebook or in person. They wouldn't think of manipulating the PR machine.



They are not really that self involved, every conversation is really not about them... they are good listeners.. The thing that intrigues me about these people is the easy way they get lost in their own quests for new experiences and the shared joy along the way. They are wonderfully infectious. I love these people. There is a refreshing simplicity in their honesty.



I could name a few of these people, but I don't want to embarrass them..Perhaps I will just tell them in person, the old-fashioned way.



The last thing that was resonating with me today was this idea that we create this image and put it out there for old friends and new acquaintances to see. It will stay out there now, electronically, as posted, for years to come..(Energy is neither created or destroyed)



Will we look back and be completely disgusted by what we were trying to achieve behind the transparent walls of our own maniacal insecurity?..........or will we say........yeah...that was me.....I love the furniture I am sitting on in that profile picture..........It really articulates the way I was feeling back in 2011.



"Image is everything" and then there is me.


Rick

THE CHAOS OF THE BIG BANG THEORY

Do you ever have those thoughts? Does anybody out there actually know what the hell is really going on? Doomsday predictions that are at best an insult to our intelligence, whatever that might be. Ridiculous.


Maybe those atheists are right? Can there be absolutely nothing out there at all and yet can there still be some sort of moral order in the world? Does morality really matter?



Cause and Effect does exist for sure but why do people say......."everything happens for a reason?" To what extent do we actually have free will over any given situation? What do any of us actually understand about this process?.


Could it really be possible that if you wish for something every spare moment of your day...........you will actually manifest it? I want a red bike.......a red bike.....a red bike.............My god it's a red bike.



If the big bang is a given.............what came before the big bang........and what caused it? What was the first cause?


Will the Toronto Maple Leafs actually win the Stanley Cup again before I become fertilizer?




Let me address this idea about the Big Bang theory briefly.



Here is an interesting quote from Alan Guth, a physicist at MIT.




Try to take this in even if you don't understand all the concepts. (Optional)

The idea behind it is that the venerable "Big Bang" theory with all its intellectual backing, is as far fetched as any creationist story from the Bible, the Koran or the works of L. Ron. Hubbard.


Here is the quote:



"If you believe in the Big Bang Theory....you believe that, once upon a time, all the potential of the cosmos------all the potential for a firmament of 40 billion galaxies at last count---was packed into a point smaller than a proton.


You believe that within this incipient cosmos was neither hyper compressed matter nor superdense energy nor any tangible substance. It was a "false vacuum" through which coursed a weightless, empty quantum-mechanical probability framework called a "scalar field". You're probability not clear about what a scalar field is, but then neither are most PhDs.


Next you believe that, when the big bang sounded, the universe expanded from a pinpoint to cosmological size in far less then one second---space itself hurtling outward in a torrent of pure physics, the bow wave of the new cosmos moving at trillions of times the speed of light.


Further, you believe that, subatomic particles began to unbuckle from the inexplicable proto-reality, both matter and antimatter formed. Immediately, these commodities began to collide and annihilate themselves, vanishing as mysteriously as they came. The only reason our universe is here today is that the "big bang" was slightly asymmetrical, its yield favoring matter over antimatter by about one part per 100 million.


Because of this, when the stupendous cosmic commencement day ended, a residue of standard matter survived, and from it the galaxies
formed.


That is to say: You believe that a microscopic, transparent, empty point in primordial space-time contained not just one universe but enough potential for 100 MILLION UNIVERSES.


It is wise to take the "big bang" hypothesis seriously, since considerable evidence weighs in its favor. The galaxies are expanding away from one another as if they had once been in the same place, then hurled outward; the interstellar void is slightly warmer than absolute zero, suggesting the universe was once super-heated by something much stronger than the output of stars; the earliest nebulae appear to be composed of precisely the mix of elements that "big bang" calculations suggest.


"For sheer extravagant implausibility.........nothing in theology or metaphysics can hold a candle to the big bang. Surely if this description of the cosmic genesis came from the Bible or the Koran rather than MIT, it would be treated as a preposterous myth."



That is a ton of information and theory, but the point I am seeing is that again, the most prestigious evaluation of how we all got into this predicament..........is at best............OUTRAGEOUS SPECULATION.



Don't even get me started on these Commandments being handed down by God on a mountaintop to a man with a speech impediment. This is simply ludicrous.



I believe that there is something magical and unexplained manifesting in our world from every cell to every cell phone.



As chaotic and random as it sometimes feels, it is not that far fetched that there is an intelligence or an energy.. far beyond the scope of what we can imagine. Duh Rick.


It is not simplistic enough to be included in some parable about goats and sheep and you can't use it to satisfy every personal need and whim that floats into your head.



An intelligence...... not somebody with a beard that intervenes for baseball players when they need a home run. Something that caused an implosion of matter.



What is the intelligence that existed before the BIG BANG? If you are a believer in the theory.



We are all so self important and narcissistic though, nobody really cares in the end. We just want to know where our next pat on the back is coming from. (This idea doesn't exactly make the reader want to stand up and give me a spontaneous pat on the back now does it)




Then there is WOMAN...What is going on there? There is the real miracle.



So, in the end, I feel slightly comforted knowing what I really don't know.


I am not sure if I can end this on that note because i am not really making a point of any kind. Ok.




Rick