Life On A B-I7

Life

Sports can often be viewed a metaphor for life. Sometimes you have to pass the ball back in order to move it forward. I apologize for my bad passes.

Weakness or Strength?

Sadly, I can’t smoke pot. I can’t inhale anything that is not clear of particulates. This makes me weak. An anomaly. I admit that. Someone relegated to the chromosomal scrap-heap of history. But perhaps, just perhaps, that gives me an advantage. Perhaps that forces me to think more reflectively. I ask you to consider my words. I don’t care who you are. If you consider, even minimally, my thoughts, I am humbled. (Of course, the less you’ve smoked when you do so the better…)

Remembering Alex Pretti

A poem by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman.

We wake with no words,
just woe & wound.
Our own country shooting us in the back
is not just brutality; it’s jarring betrayal;
not enforcement, but execution.
A message: Love your people & you will die.
Yet our greatest threat isn’t the outsiders among us,
but those among us who never look within.
Fear not those without papers,
but those without conscience.
Know that to care intensively, united,
is to carry both pain-dark horror for today
& a profound, daring hope for tomorrow.
We can feel we have nothing to give,
& still believe this world waiting,
trembling to change.
If we cannot find words, may we find the will;
if we ever lose hope,
may we never lose our humanity.
The only undying thing is mercy,
the courage to open ourselves like doors,
hug our neighbor, & save one more bright, impossible life.

This poem brings tears to my eyes.

The execution of an American citizen legally carrying and disarmed before he was shot 10 times in the back while being restrained without resisting should be enough for any American, Christian Nationalist or Goth Tattooed Barber, to say enough is enough. The President of the United States is a bigoted, narcissistic, megalomaniac. If you follow him, you need to ask yourself, is this really the teaching Jesus would have me follow? (Or, if you don’t believe in Jesus, how about any decent human being?)

TM Mantras for Self-Practitioners

These mantras were taken from Wikipedia. They are not “official” TM mantras but they are similar in spirit and practice to a mantra you would be given by an official TM instructor. The purpose is to provide a soothing sound that you can use to help you settle into a deeper state of consciousness without prompting your mind to draw images or thoughts during practice. Choose a sound the works best for you.

• Shama (pronounced “SHAH-mah”)
• Len (pronounced “EE-ehm”)
• Enga (pronounced “ENG-gah”)
• Kirim (pronounced “KEE-rim”)
• Shirim (pronounced “SHEE-rim”)

Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a simple mantra-based meditation technique introduced by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1950s​.

Repeat your chosen mantra and let thoughts come and go as they please. (This is the opposite of Mindfulness.) Practice for 20 minutes twice a day, typically soon after waking up and again later in the day. The first practice of the day is recommended before coffee or breakfast. Sit comfortably, set a timer if you prefer. Relax and breathe before starting the mantra. Begin by letting the mantra work its way into your mind naturally. When your practice is finished, keep your eyes closed and allow yourself to slowly return to your day. If you find your mind carried off by thoughts during your practice gently remind your mind to return to the mantra. This is a natural part of training your mind to settle and meditate. No two practice sessions are alike, it’s best to approach a session without expectations.

The benefits of this meditation are achieved by regular practice. Journaling after a practice session is optional but may have additional benefits if you are the sort of person that enjoys writing. Don’t worry if you are doing it “right” or “wrong,” the key is to be consistent and do the best you can, after all, that is why it’s called “practice.”

What’s Wrong with Book Clubs?

It’s certainly okay to pick up a book simply for the pleasure involved. I find myself taking a slightly different approach. I prefer to read with purpose. A lot of people in book clubs aren’t reading with purpose. What does it mean to read with purpose? Not all books were written for all people to pick up at any time. Your brain and hence your reading experience will benefit most when you read material your mind says you need now. Pick and choose what you are craving at the moment, even if it’s not a work your neighbor tells you is a “must read.” The question then comes down to, how to read with purpose? The short answer is, read what you are curious about at the moment.

One way to do that is to read books around a topic that you are interested in. This approach will help you to link knowledge and absorb what you are reading more deeply. This could even mean bypassing good books, or even leaving some books unfinished, that’s okay. Life is short. Dedicate the time you have for reading to a higher purpose. There is no reason to read a book that does not have something that increases our knowledge or gives us some insight that we are seeking when we reach the end.

Now that I have that off my chest, I will say I occasionally attend my neighborhood book club meeting. I don’t do it for the reasons stated above simply because the group is usually not reading works I would have chosen. I do it to be a good neighbor. Interaction of this sort is another form of nourishment, it’s just not one that feeds my curiosity or enhances my knowledge of myself or some topic that is exciting to me.

Wait List

I’m on the waitlist for Adventure Cycling’s 50th Anniversary North Star tour. That is the epic ride from the home base of Adventure Cycling, Missoula Montana, to Fairbanks Alaska.

That ride is a 61 day self-contained adventure over paved and gravel roads covering 2,800 miles. Not for the feint of heart. This would be the culmination of a touring career. If I don’t make the waitlist I’m planning to take on the ride solo.

Maps

Some say using Apple Maps is a sign of weakness. I’ve heard this from loved ones and also from my neurologist. I contend that using Maps is a way to make driving more fun. It allows me to focus on the road, the surface conditions, the curves, the behavior of the cars around me. It also, gives me the freedom to observe the scenery around me! I just have to say, give it a try, you just might find, like I have, it improves your driving experience, both from a safety and from an enjoyment perspective.

I don’t think there’s any real reason to drive without maps. YMMV.

Meditation Journey Begins

This morning I meditated for twenty minutes before my little shrine here at my writing desk. I call it a shrine but I’m not really invoking any deity in this practice. I’m just trying to get in touch with myself. This is a relatively new routine, but already I’m feeling comfortable with it. I was going to take up TM, but my engagement with the local TM instructor here in Central Oregon left me uncertain if the two of us should proceed. So, as a result, I’m striking out on my own meditation journey with high hopes that I know as much about my body and its needs as someone that doesn’t know me.

ICE

Let’s get ICE off our streets and into our beverages.

I’m not making light of our situation. ICE is focused on rounding up the wrong people. Illegal immigration is not a felony. There are plenty of felons in Washington D.C. that should be arrested and brought to justice before we get obsessed with illegal immigration.

Conspiracy

The only conspiracy in America is the conspiracy by the current administration to convince Americans that there are conspiracies in America.

George Orwell put it succinctly in the novel “1984.”

”The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.”

To see the truth takes discernment and willingness.

Let’s go Skiing!

Joe

I’m headed to Joshua Tree in a couple of weeks. That is the home of the California Desert Tortoise. I remember when I was a kid, probably elementary age, my Grandmother brought me a tortoise she picked up in the desert. She thought it would be a good idea for me to have one because at that age I was allergic to dogs and cats, almost everything in fact. Of course, it is illegal to remove a tortoise from the desert, they are protected, but that didn’t stop my Grandmother.

I named the tortoise Joe. I have no idea if he was male or female. That dian’t make a huge difference since the tortoise was 1,000 miles from home with very little chance of meeting another of his species living in my dad’s closet. Occasionally I would take Joe out of the closet and admire him, I discovered very soon that Joe was not like a dog at all, he didn’t want to play with me. I would give him some lettuce occasionally. He liked berries as I recall, but that was pretty much the extent of our play.

One summer day, not too many months after Joe came to live with us, I took him into the back yard to let him wander around in the grass and forage a bit. I set him down and left him alone for 30 minutes or so, when I came back he was gone. I remember being upset. I looked high and low but no Joe. We had painted our phone number on his shell, for just such an event. A few days later we got a call from a neighbor three blocks away enquiring if we were the owners of a “turtle.” Well, that was the end of Joe’s foraging days. Phone number or no, It was time to find him a better home. We did our best to remove the phone number from his shell and donated him to the Woodland Park Zoo.

I will never forget how thoughtful my Grandmother was, if not a tad bit misguided.

Writing

I want to write beautifully. I’m not talking about the words or the meaning, although that would be nice. I’m talking about how the writing looks when I put pen to paper. I want the writing to be fluid. I want each character to express itself as beautifully as it can. When I look at the page after I set the pen down, I want to be proud of what I see — even before I read it. That means taking it slowly and focusing on each moment of the experience. Sometimes the words in my head will get ahead of the letters that are coming out on the paper. That’s okay. I can hit rewind and retrieve them, but once the ink is on the page, I can’t go back. The essence of writing by hand is engaging the brain on multiple levels, physical and mental, simultaneously.

I want to ski the same way that I want to write.

RBG

“Fight for the things you believe in, but do it in a way that will cause others to join you.” —RBG

I prefer to say “make others want to join you for the right reason.” Good lesson to remember in these troubled times.

Dutch Oven Cooking

I’m cooking for eight guys in Joshua Tree National Park for three days. I’m assuming you are one of the many that sets an alarm every day to read each new post that I put up… Oops, I just realized that last bit I wrote after accidentally taking a second recreational gummy. I suppose demential has benefits. I’ll give myself a bit of time before continuing this entry.

Now that the gummy is beginning to wear off I can continue my rambling on Dutch Oven cooking. If you want good food in a campground, I don’t think you can do much better than to haul an assortment of cast iron ovens around in the back of your truck. There’s also the steel cook stand and all the accessories that go along with this sort of cooking. The benefit is you have available a wide range of menu choices from which to choose. Main dishes, side dishes, deserts, and everything in-between. You can do some of that with a stove, but not all. That’s what makes Dutch Ovens such a great choice, You can also use them at home in the back yard when you’re not in the campground.

For this trip, I tested all the recipes at home and fed my neighbors with leftovers for a week prior to heading out to Joshua Tree. The good news is I got good reviews from all the neighbors. The bad news is they are going to be expecting more of the same.

All of the recipes for this upcoming trip I found more or less at random. Some from the internet, some from the Lodge Dutch Oven Cookbook. Here’s the menu for the trip.

(1) Not in a Dutch Oven

I’m going to throw in a few surprises in addition to what’s above. I plan on a hot Queso dip with chips one afternoon, and maybe a baked hot dog lunch as well. I’m also going to be preparing breakfast on my bad-ass Camp Chef 3-burner stove top.

After I put this menu together I found the ultimate Dutch Oven cooking website. I can’t believe the recipes there. It’s going to be a blast making all of these!

Every Day Dutch Oven Cooking

Cheers!

1846

Wake up America.

“If you remove a dictator and put yourself in charge without an election you are a dictator.”

That is the best statement I have seen yet that summarizes Trump’s illegal and immoral action in Venezuela.

The second co-equal branch of government is asleep. The primary role of Congress is oversight. They are also the sole authority to approve an act of war. Their abrogation is appalling.

The third co-equal branch of government has completely lost any moral authority they might have once possessed. What could they possibly be thinking, weakening voting rights and raising the office of President above the law. And that’s is just for starters.

Welcome to 1846. How did that go?

We are Lucky

We don’t understand how lucky we are. As a country and as a world community. And yet there seems to be an abundant willingness to throw it all away. I heard someone that lives near me say recently, “I don’t do anything the government tells me to do.” I have no idea what that person could possibly mean. I can’t help but think that person needs to leave America and go live in Iran, or Russia, or China in order to fully appreciate how lucky we are.

Male Behavior

There’s an old saying, women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men actually spend thinking. It’s also been noted that men and women’s behavior is very different.

I think a lot of the difference in behavior is cultural. Here at home in the United States I wouldn’t hesitate to give a close male friend a hug in greeting or farewell, but wouldn’t occur to me to hold hands with him while walking down the street. In India where I was recently traveling, an Indian man that was one of our guides frequently reached out to take my hand as we were walking. At first I was taken aback, then I realized this was his way of saying that he loved me and respected me. Women probably would not have given this a second thought. Now that I have had the experience, I have to admit, it was gratifying.

Der Spiegel

Der Spiegel Magazine in Germany has Trump’s number. These are the covers from six issues published since the start of Trump’s second term.

Historically speaking, Germany has a bit more experience with Fascism than America. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why approximately 60% of Americans still support or are undecided when it comes to Fascism in America.

Free Speech

Free speech is a wonderful thing. But the thing about free speech that most people don’t understand is that it is illegal to use it to lie, cheat, and steal. It’s a shame that just saying it is immoral is not enough to stop some people from using it as a shield against the perpetration of illegal acts. We are living through an era where the most powerful people in our country are fully aware of this and are still using free speech to cover their aim of ripping off Americans while enriching themselves and their friends.

I never expected to see something like this in America. It’s possible this is what happens when you take civics out of the public education system, but I’m not going to rest the blame there. Our infatuation with social media and our inability apply moral filters to the content we are consuming is another important factor. The fact that Americans are slipping into illiteracy is not a trivial piece of the puzzle. Perhaps most significant, political actors with autocratic leanings realized that Donald Trump is the perfect tool for them to use to shift our nation to the right in ways that the people that voted for Trump never suspected.

It would be nice to get back to a political culture that embraces truth and respect over politically motivated lies and self aggrandizing tweets.

Morning Routine

I’ve been refining my morning routine and I have landed on a set of practices that feel good. First of all, I’ll admit it’s nice being retired. You have a lot of time to devote to self-actualization endeavors. I wish I would have landed on these practices thirty years ago, but of course from a stoic perspective, wishing is not a productive use of one’s time. So without further ado, here’s what my mornings look like.

Meditation

This is key to all that follows. I have a writing desk where all of the morning activity takes place. Centered on the desk is a statue of Shiva (which I understand is my personal deity thanks to a birth chart reading I received in India) and two glass candle holders and a lotus flower incense holder. I light the candles and incense. I put on a recording of the “Om Namah Shivaya” Mantra. A simple chant. I play that in a loop while counting the repetitions on my Mala (Indian Rosary) until I have reached 100. (That’s about 20 minutes) Eyes closed, I focus on my fingers and the beads and try to let my mind relax. I relax my breathing as well as the rest of my body as best I can. It takes time. I haven’t perfected this yet but I’m excited about where this will carry me.

Writing

After my meditation I’m ready to start writing. I focus my writing on six areas. I will spend anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes on each area.

• Reactions from my meditation.
• A few words about what occurred yesterday.
• A few words about my intentions for today.
• Some prompted writing.
• A Stoic thought.
• Today’s Journal entry.

To explain in a bit more detail.

• The reactions from my meditation are simply a recording of any thoughts that came to me during or after the meditation. Since I try not to focus on specific thoughts during my meditation, this is generally reactions that come to me afterwards.
• Next I recap yesterday. I do this as a memory booster. If I choose to review my week I have a source to go to.
• The words about today are simply a way to prioritize what is most important to me today.
• The prompted writing is responding to prompts from the “The Book of Alchemy” by Suleika Jaouad. The book contains 100 writing prompts. My daughter gave this to me for Christmas and it’s been great to read a prompt a day and then write about whatever they brings to mind.
• I write a Stoic thought. These are inspired from the book “The Daily Stoic” by Ryan Holiday. Not original on my part, but writing about the material in this book is a great way to absorb classic Stoic advice. It’s also a great way to learn a subject.
• I close my daily writing with a Journal entry. Often these are short, but these can be anything. After I have loosened my writing muscles with the first five tasks, I am often surprised by what this final pen to paper exercise generates. Sometimes these entries end up here on my blog but more often than not they are simply thoughts that help me see more clearly.
• I also have a Mindfulness journal which I write in occasionally. I like having a separate journal for that type of though.

There you have it. Following this practice feels good. How far it will eventually take me I have no idea, but I am optimistic that this practice will help bring me to better health and help me be more focused. It is gives me a better understanding of what my goals and desires are.

Best Friends

We were best friends in a previous life. Go ahead and laugh, but after you have regained your composure, try and prove me wrong.

America Has Become A Crime Family

This is what happens when you put a crime boss in charge of your country.

”Don’t you get it? America’s new foreign policy is basically this: Don’t kill people there (the Middle East) kill them over here (South America), in your own time zone. It’s classic advice: Shit where you eat. That’s the new Trump doctrine. It’s not in any way about stable democracies: it’s about spheres of influence. Russia can have their sphere of influence, China can have theirs, and we get South America. America is no longer the shining city on the hill, it is merely just one of the five crime families, splitting up the territories.”
—Jon Stewart

I wouldn’t take medical advice from Jon Stewart but when it comes to political insight, it’s hard to argue with his analysis.

Why Write

You have to be crazy to want to write. I have a natural instinct that makes it feel like I have nothing to say. The doubt, that I have nothing to say, presents itself as a daily struggle. The question is, why do it. My answer may not be completely satisfying to any ear but my own, but simply put, I am compelled to do it. If I don’t take the time each day to write, I feel like something is missing from my day. So, in the final analysis, I just do it.

The Written Word

What is the most amazing invention of the human mind? The written word. Without the written word, all knowledge would come down to matters of opinion, matters easily lost in translation, translation literal and translation that becomes altered due to the vagaries of time.

The written word brings beauty into our lives. Think of the great poetry and the effect it can have. The written word brings joy. Think of the great novels that have been written to entertain us. The written word is the basis of all scientific knowledge. Without the written word it is unlikely that science could have become as important to modern life as it has.

I try and read a book every month. Only 38% of Americans read one or more books a year. Conversely, 62% of Americans do not read a single book in the course of a year. These statistics are from two independent studies completed in 2023. Let’s go read a book America. It’s important for our health, and the future of our country.