h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Blimey, job to get a word in edgeways here. You certainly woke things up round here "dancing one"
d.B., Carlos Castaneda, yes excellent, we are together.
Three things remain uppermost from those most enjoyable and, at the time mind-bending reads.
> "Follow the path with heart"
> Many will point the way to Ixtlan. They are all phantoms.
>The quantum removal of Carlos' vehicle.

I must shut up and do the deed. I must never forget you are my brother, whether you like it or not. And we must both enjoy the deed.
Sounds awfully like a happy resolution. Until I do the deed I know we will remain with our differences, no matter! More strength to your elbow!
As ever, ed.

lol, brother! dance, dance into the night! The world is young yet, the vine is heavy yet, and we have not even wet our beards!

i'm not sure i should be saying more...

-- db

Momenta,

Thank you for your balsam thoughts - i really appreciate your bringing round the crowd...

I had hoped you would understand that my saying "good" *equivalent* "evil" was just my way of stressing duality and its unimportance. perhaps you have, and i can't see it. No matter.

However i do think that though we swim in a sea of the infinite, we ourselves are definitely limited in what we can see, and my point is that we should recognize that and not act like we have *ever* understood the infinities of the sea. As Zen would say, "The Tao that is talked about is not the Tao" - pointing and at the same time not pointing to the truth.

love you/hate you/brother/sister

-- db

Hi db

Yes, I do understand you, and agree with you also. I find it difficult myself when anyone or an organisation or institution claims to either fully understand 'truth', infinity, the divine, for how can it be? It is good to talk about it though, to expand our views through sharing, to move closer to one another.

For me it is an end to duality and polarity which appears to lead me forward; but that seems best worked towards in love and gentleness. Not new age rhetoric though, pretence or ego. After all ego's favourite pastime is comparison and judgement.

It seems that while none of us can contain or define the infinite, sometimes, when one truly lets go and acknowledges one knows precisely nothing, that one begins to be. It is at that point that one can move within the infinite, while not owning it nor defining it. Dying every day to what you think you know and who you think you are.

Yes, Carlos Castaneda says some particularly good things. So does Rumi, and many others.

Only on one point will I find any disagreement. I do not see hate as the opposite of love, but if you wish to do so that is fine with me (not that you require my approval of course!)

I too dance on shifting sand.

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked
his crops for many years. One day his only horse ran away.
Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to share his sorrow.

"Such bad luck," they said.
The farmer replied, "Good news, Bad news - just the same."

The next morning the horse returned,
bringing with it three other wild horses.

"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.
"Good news, Bad news - just the same," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of
the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg.

The neighbors again came to offer their sympathies at his misfortune.
"Good news, Bad news - just the same," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to
draft young men into the army. Seeing that the
son's leg was broken, they passed him by.

The neighbors congratulated
the farmer on how well things had turned out.
"Good news, Bad news - just the same," said the farmer.

hey abbi-N,

that's always been a fav story of mine - but you do realise that what it's saying is not what i am, right?

-- db

I am a bit confused at what you are saying.
I'm trying.

I lost a whole post before that one and it's getting late for me but I'll be back tomorrow. I thought the story might help clarify things for me by being a new starting point for the same topics.

Let me try;
You seem OK with live and let live philosophy.
No belly aching, just Act don't react.
You have no effect or influence on others.
You believe mystery exists and has a purpose we cannot understand so why bother?

Right or wrong for starters?
Help me understand if your game
I could (willing) read all the conversation again.

Hyp, Ed, where you go?????

Let me try;

> You seem OK with live and let live philosophy.
Absolutely!

>No belly aching, just Act don't react.
Belly ache, act, react - do them all! don't leave anything out!

>You have no effect or influence on others.
Oh, i do... i just don't think i have any business presuming to be correct in directing their actions...

>You believe mystery exists and has a purpose we cannot understand so why bother?
Mystery exists, yes - i don't believe that, i know. It has no purpose i can make out, for all i care it might just be, existing w/o purpose. We cannot understand *everything*, but we CAN understand *some things*, and so i bother. But i don't bother too much

>Right or wrong for starters?
Right or wrong doesn't matter, point is to resonate with universe...


-- db

Momenta, I did post yesterday. Sorry, I meant to say "lovely to see you back." Forgive me I am a bit impressed with d.B. and want to try a bit of my fun with him.X

dancing Buddha, you are obviously a fun person,(your last reply to me) but how did you know I had a beard too. You are even more far-seeing than I thought!
My God! What? You even know that somewhere in the depths of it is a happy smiling face, that it simply oozes wet stuff, that it is soaked with the tears of my laughing, That I laughed til I cried, then cried til I laughed and so on ad infinitum, that I nearly wet myself, that my gutters are leaking, that I fell into a wishing well, was dippy, came out drippy, that I had a wet "dream", it's >ENDLESS<
Still, that's fluid spirituality for you.
Anyone for a Quart? As ever, ed. your gardener for all seasons,wet or dry! I'm off before it rains>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Be as impressed as you wish Ed, no problem. I am glad you are enjoying yourself.

Dancing Buddha, resonating with the universe is a good way of putting it. Not good or bad, happy or sad, up or down, right or wrong; just being, flowing.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Well db I understand more

I was thrown by your comment on the farmer story.
I admit the first few times I saw the story, it read differently.

I can get behind the other version for sure.
It replaces the *doesn't matter* with-

good news- Farmer replies well I do not know, is it?
bad news- The farmer replies I do not know is it?

Another version the farmer simply says; Maybe!

If that is the same interpetation as the original story then I do believe in what it is saying. You can never tell with one bit of news what the end result will be or if it is best in the long run.

I hope that makes sense.
Any comments on the interpetation?

***********
The post I lost addressed-

What I view as a love-hate(fear in some cases) relationship with many things. They are neither good or bad. I also believe love and hate are not opposites but parts of one. I see apathy being closer to the opposite of love and hate(passion).

Deep Water
Heights
Darkness & Quiet
Speeding on land,through air or water
Music
They all make me feel blessed to be alive but sometimes I am capable of fear, anger surrounding them. No apathy surrounding these things.

It helps to be fluid when
*resonating with the universe*

Close... very close. just a small clarification: that "maybe" just means that news is not limited to being only one of good & bad - it could be both/neither/allofthematonce.

Another view: you do not choose - you just gracefully acquiesce to the universe's will (universe includes you). kind of dissolves the whole free-will determinism problem, eh? that could be paraphrased as "Choice? No choice? Maybe"

or by the following famous comment and its repartee: (i can't recollect the participants right now)

"No mind, no matter" - "No matter, never mind"



-- db

"Forests and meadows,
Rocks and grasses,
Are my companions
The "wrong ways" of this
Crazy Cloud won't be changed.
Ordinary people call me a fool
But i'm not bothered.
Since i'm alredy labeled
'Heretic' and 'Demon'
There's no new punishment
Left for my afterlife!
-- Ikkyu

"Ikkyu beat me to it"
-- db

DB:

"Another view: you do not choose - you just gracefully acquiesce to the universe's will (universe includes you). kind of dissolves the whole free-will determinism problem, eh? that could be paraphrased as "Choice? No choice? Maybe""

Another alternative view:

The world is your mirror, everything you see you have created. All you react to, you. What you expect, you receive. Every thought a creation, a prayer to the universe. The universe co-operates

momenta:

Mama mia! Someone after my own heart!

Beautiful. "... a prayer to the universe. The universe co-operates".

But i am a bit more anthropocentric. May i?

-- "... a demand of the universe. The universe co-operates"



-- db

Please do.....

"Please do": But i did!

When have i last asked before doing? Hmmm.. let's see.

"A long long time ago,
I can't still remember"



But seriously, momenta - you seem full of the mystic's universal love. Do you think conditional, erotic love has any significance at all?

- db

I believe that all love is of significance. Isn't all erotic love conditional?

Speaking of love, how do we learn to love the seemingly unloveable?

H