Being laid up for the past day or two, I began looking through my book shelves for inspiration or just something to interest me.
I found a few books that I had ordered through Amazon but never read.
It seems that when I'm anxious to learn about something new, I get all excited and revved up. As I search for books on the new topic, I tend to buy a couple of them instead of just one. It's difficult to judge a book by it's cover and the few lines of praise it gets from some anonymous person who loves to rate everything with 5 stars.
I notice that now Amazon even suggests other books that have the same subject but might be even more popular of a pick.
Anyhow, it usually results in me reading the first book and then setting the other one aside because my interest wanes after the first 200 pages of book one.
I waste a lot of money that way. It's just too easy to click-n-buy. I often get annoyed with myself for doing so.
This is one time where I'm glad I did.
The book that has been sitting on my shelf, staring at me every time I walk by, is called "The Tao of Inner Peace". amazon.com
I can't remember is someone (perhaps Polvie) suggested that book or if I just picked it out myself.
Anyway, it's filled with a lot of basic stuff that I probably already knew, but it certainly has helped me to get back on track and in tune with the rhythms of nature.
It worked almost as good as the time I took a few of those magic mushrooms back in college.
I remember taking a few of those when we were going to a nice wooded park for a huge picnic with the various dorm halls in our building.
I guess it was sort of a hall ritual that happened every year. Almost everyone would trip out for the day.
Those who didn't would be the drivers and also be responsible for telling us of all the stupid things that went on.
I remember my four buddies and I split up a bag of these things. They tasted rather bad. Especially when I was told that they grow them on horse dung or something similar.
I got a ride from a strait person.
As I sat in the back seat of the car I suddenly began to feel like my mind was separated from my body.
I felt like my being consisted only of my brain and the shell (body) that I used to do things with.
It was like for the first time I had realized that I was really just a spark of energy that burned and my brain filtered out thoughts and my body executed my decisions.
Like an outer body experience I could see myself from 3 feet above and control that shell of a body.
"Way Cool", I thought.
Then at the park I remember looking up at the tall trees as they swayed back and forth as a slight breeze blew through them. I could feel that same breeze running through my hair (I had much more then...).
Then I rolled over onto my stomach and just stared at the earth in a way that I never did before.
Studying it's composition. Seeing the richness of the browns contrasting the vivid green of the grass.
Looking how the roots of the grass inter twined and help everything stay in place.
Seeing bits of partially composted twigs, and leaves, along with tiny pebble sized rounded rocks.
I observed the microcosm before me as if I was the discoverer of something major.
Pulling the details into my head so I could remember it after the shrooms wore off.
When ever I looked at one of my fellow trippers that day, we could not stop smiling.
We didn't have to say a word.
We were in tune with each other and making our own little discoveries about ourselves and our world.
Really appreciating everything.
That was the only time I ever tripped.
That was all I needed.
I had soaked in as much of what I wanted and didn't want to find myself making a habit of living in that type of world by depending on a mushroom to take me there.
I think I became a changed person that day.
It opened my eyes wider to all the little things out there to observe.
The book that I mentioned has helped me to recall these thoughts.
It speaks much about allowing your mind to relax to point where it can tap into the rhythms of nature and not fight against them.
To find inner peace so that I may help others to do the same.
To meditate so that my clear mind, which controls this shell of a body, will be able to find solutions to the problems that confront me. Solutions that make sense to myself and help to bring inner peace.
This morning I think I was successful in my attempt to meditate.
This was perhaps one of the first times it worked. That is, I was able to set out to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to.
The house was quiet. Not even the dog was awake.
I sat in my chair here in front of the computer and turned off the bright monitor screen.
I just listened to myself breathing deeply, filling every cubic centimeter with Tao and exhaling all my negative energy. Pulling out from my finger tips to my toes. Releasing it all.
Eventually my mind would stop wandering for a minute at a time.
I could almost see black and white images. I just let them happen because when ever I tried to figure out what they were, they would disappear.
What were they? I don't know. Ideas I guess. Just floating around in space perhaps. Allowing me to grab hold of them if I wanted. But in order to grab them, I could not grab at them. Just be and they will come, I guess.
Anyhow, it seemed to work.
My mind feels clear for the first time in a while.
I feel at ease.
At peace.
In tune with natures rhythms.
I think we should have those at war, share bags of magic mushrooms.
Maybe then they will be able to find their connection to nature, and how they are apart of it.
Terrorists staring at trees and the earth discovering new things that they never thought of.
Just smiling at each other.
Leaders of countries putting their political guard down and joining together to make things right.
To work together in tune with nature.
To allow this microcosm of the universe to flourish.
To create wonders that no one ever dreamed of instead of breaking things down.
It's amazing what a little time off does to my mind.
I know I sound a little spacy, but I swear that I didn't take any of those muscle relaxers yet today... <g>
Inner Peace to you all!
-LaoTzu'sTaoTeChing |
