I love the talk about babies, sound, awareness, learning.
How awesome it is to observe babies! Magnificent teachers.
Talk about Presence! Look at those eyes, just observing -
without established points of reference - without an established
and conditioned sense of self! Look at what shines through.
Awesome!
People may like to have the darshan of living or deceased Indian
masters or look at their photos. I like to look at babies and be
seen by babies.
If anyone has babies now - how exquisitely blessed you are to
be with them, learn from them and remember - remember.
The many instincts in the baby are there - hardwired - including
the making of sounds and mimicry. And all too quickly - the
sense of a separate self develops - the brain fills with
information and points of reference - emotions, pain, reactions,
protections, boundaries experienced - individual and collective
myths acquired and lived out unawares.
Thankfully, we do have access to that awesome state of
immediate eternal awareness even in adulthood. It never went
away. Oops...where did it just go?
gaa-gaa-goo-goo,
JP who is wearing Depends undergarments and a bib :)
______________________________________________________________________
ANJIN
from ZenPearl
This is my favorite zen song...sung by Grover Monster...
Monster in the Mirror
Music by Christopher Cert
Lyrics by Norman Stiles
'c1989 Sesame Street, Inc ASCAP/Splotched Animal Music BMI
Saw a monster in the mirror
When I woke up today,
A monster in my mirror
But I did not run away.
I did not shed a tear or hide beneath my bed,
Though the monster looked at me
And this is what he said:
Chorus:
Wubba wubba wubba wubba
Woo woo woo,
Wubba wubba wubba
And a doodly-do.
He sang wubba wubba wubba
So I sang it too.
Do not wubba me
Or l will wubba you!
Do not wubba me
Or l will wubba you!
Told the monster in the mirror,
"No, I am not scared!"
Then I smiled at him and thanked him for
The song that we had shared.
Well, the monster thanked me too, me too,
He smiled right back and then
The monster in the mirror sang his song again.
(Repeat chorus. )
He went wubba wubba wubba
And I sang along.
Yes, wubba wubba wubba
Is a monster song!
If your mirror has a monster in it, do not shout;
This kind of situation does not call for freaking out
And do nothing that you would not like to see him do,
'Cause that monster in the mirror
He just might be you.
(Repeat chorus. )
Wubba wubba wubba
You can join in too...
Yes, if you wubba me
Then I will wubba you!
Going wubba wubba wubba
Is the thing to do!
Every time you wubba us
We'll wubba you!
______________________________________________________________________
BOBBY GRAHAM
from Harsha Satsangh
Date: Mon Jul 29, 2002
Pershing
I was remembering some friends of mine the other day, two artists, Pershing and
Maxwell. Pershing was about sixty-five and Maxwell a little younger when I met
them. Pershing had a lot of talent and insight and Maxwell was talented but self
serving.
Pershing was the man who told me lots of things I had not thought of. He told me
that when I finally did the kind of art I thought I wanted, I may find out it was not
the kind of art I wanted to do. He was right.
He also told me about his idea of anarchy. It was a world where rules and order
were not imposed on people. It was a world where each person did the right thing
automatically and rules weren't needed and order was in the mind and heart.
Maxwell was one of the people instrumental in limiting the number of artists that
could work in the French Quarter. This meant that when new artists came to town,
they would not be able to earn money to stay, and would have to move on. Years
later this resulted in the number of the artists falling so low that the city allowed
other businesses to take over and most of the artists left the French Quarter. His
selfishness ultimately backfired on Maxwell.
Years passed and Pershing got skin cancer that progressed but he still would not
quit working. He had a lot of knowledge of accupressure and was always glad to
help others remove their shoes and administer foot therapy with steel tipped
fingers developed from years of practice. His treatments were agony but you knew
it worked and he helped lots of people. You could usually see him with someone's
foot in his hands explaining what was probably wrong with them by where he
found sensitivity.
As Pershing got sicker he would just come out and sit on the park benches. I found
out that if I talked to him he would be polite but he would get so tired from talking
I finally just said 'hi' and let him groove on his own.
One day I was talking with Maxwell and he said Pershing had been a good artist
before he went crazy. This angered me because I knew Pershing was clear but
dying and I thought it was a cheap shot. Pershing was in a sort of twilight zone.
Here is the thing, Pershing thought about his condition and Maxwell showed no
signs of any self scrutiny. To Maxwell he was crazy because he did not understand
him. It occurred to me that of the two, the one who is crazy is the one who seldom
takes stock of their condition. While it is true that that is just being ignorant, crazy
has to start somewhere. Pershing could never make himself heard to Maxwell.
Pershing was a great man and he did not need anyone else to know it. Hell I doubt
if he knew it himself.
Love Bobby G.
"Pershing" painting by Bobby Graham