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A turtle day

To the Chinese and other Asian cultures, the turtle is a symbol of longevity. My Mother had a collection of turtles, I remember he coming home from her travels abroad with another turtle for her charm bracelet or for the collection that was growing in leaps and bounds in the curio cabinet. When the turtle comes to mind for me is when I am having what I call a “Turtle Day:”… Usually a mental health day, a day where I know I want to retreat into my “make believe” shell and just sleep or day dream.

Today is the 21st of the month, the day that in PL (Perfect Liberty) we gather to show our appreciation , saying Thank you, for all that we have experienced in the previous days and weeks. We pray for guidance and renew our dedication to live with full Makoto (sincerity) following the practices and instructions as laid out in Perfect Liberty. Just as we must eat and sleep regularly to refresh our bodies, so too must we pray and give thanks to God on a regular basis and say Thank you for the blessings of life.

Whatever is meant to be, will be. The results may not be what we expected or even wanted, but we are open to what life brings our way, we will be truly blessed. Feelings of appreciation become real when you express them and mean them.

*turtle totem wisdom teaches us about walking our path in peace and sticking to it with determination and serenity

( *Lena Townsend)

BLESSINGS

Namaste -Oyashikiri

*green sea turtle swimming among coral -Lee Rentz – Flickr

** found on contentinacottage.blogspot.ca

****pictures. furkl.com

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Monkey Wisdom

I have Rev. Goto (NY PL church) for this expression. He had my complete attention today while explained to the members PL Principle #9. I will not have a mind to be dishonest. The set of 21 Principles are there for us to help us live our lives following the 21 Precepts. Today Rev. Goto talked about Principle #9. He always like to give us an example of the lesson so that we better visualize and understand the teaching. Like all good teachers, he doesn’t talk forever, he says what he has to say, and then cheerfully leaves us with an embedded image and lesson to ponder and assimilate.

He related a story to us that came to him through another PL Minister, Rev. Ono. The story takes place years ago, in a different time. An elder in a small viillage decided to organize a festival that would take place in the square at the village shrine. For the occassion he had asked that everyone come with one item of food, and one bottle of sake (Japanese rice wine)

This was a time before bottled sake, villagers made their own sake, and kept it in traditional jars or containers made f wood or ceramics. The idea was that each villager would bring a container of their sake, and it would be poured into one large sake barrel, for the enjoyment of the community. This ‘sake cocktail” would be a sharing and each member participating would be honoring their fellow neighbours.

Once the mixture was prepared, the party started. The village elder took a sip from the barrel to start the festivities, took a sip, and stood back in surprise, calling out…”oh m God, what is wrong with the sake? It tastes like water!” Hmmmm. how could sake turn into water? It was clear that the sake had not changed into water, but that it had been water in the first place. Each guest at the party who was to bring sake, had decided to bring water instead. It was a precious commodity, and they thought no one would notice. However, they were not the only ones to have that thought and to act on it. Monkey wisdom… since the majority thought to be deceitful, the few who did bring sake, had their sake diluted by all the water.

When we live with a pure and honest mind, our actions and our thoughts bring a joy and satisfaction to what we do, for us and those around us. We should live with one mind, a mind that says “there is nothing to hide between God and myself” Just because you think no one is looking or will know, God knows.

This story although told with humor, shows us that as humans our ego does not always motivate us in the “right” direction. All people have a mind capable of thinking in a manner that is not always “honest” – Let us do our best to live with a mind that will apply makoto (sincerity) to being honest in all we do and say.

SMILE

sorry I couldn’t resist.

Blessings to each and everyone of you. You are so Loved!

Namaste – Oyashikiri

* found on iso.500px.com
** found on huffingtonpost.com

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“I believe I can fly”: the empowering freedom of virtual worlds

this is worth a listen…. how positive virtual worlds can be..

Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

The single image Jay Jay Jegathesan used in his 3-minute presentation on his PhD research on community and collaboration through virtual worlds

I’ve frequently blogged about the work of the University of Western Australia in Second Life; with an active presence in SL since 2009, the University has gained a first-class reputation for sponsoring and promoting art in virtual worlds through initiatives such as the MachinimUWA competitions, and activities such as their current Transcending Borders challenge, the Freedom Project, and Project Homeless, as well as supporting the LEA’s Full Sim Art series, all of which I’ve had the privilege of covering in this pages.

The Freedom Project, one of many community-focused activities undertaken by the UWA within Second Life

The UWA’s involvement in Second Life came about as a result of PhD student Jay Jay Jegathesan (Jayjay Zifanwe in-world), who founded the University’s virtual campus in…

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Talent – sand (life IN art)

The first time I saw this artist, I was in awe, I had never seen anyone work in sand that way. Today I once again found it in my mailbox and thought to share it with you. Kseniya Simonova was on Ukraine’s Got Talent. The upload to YouTube was done in June 2009

Stream

Esteban Patros via Google+

1 month ago

Another person (Shirley Castillo Vanderau) has filled in the details on this fascinating performance by Ukrainian artist, Kseniya Simonova:

“In the semi-final of «Ukraine’s got talent», Kseniya Simonova was going to perform a sand story about the Great Patriotic War which she created in the memory of fallen soldiers who saved her country Ukraine from the Nazi. Kseniya refused the proposals of the producers to choose a more popular theme. She said: «I just want to bring some immortal sense to this show. Not just pictures or video clips. Something close to all hearts… It was also a tribute to my great-grandfather who heroically died in 1943 defending his Motherland». The sand story Simonova presented in live TV shooting of the semi-final was called «You are always nearby». It was an 8-minute live sand story of a young couple who were separated by the war. The young Lady and little Son were waiting for the Man to come from war, but he was killed. In the end he came to their window and watched them with a sight of love and hope. There was not a single emotion on the face of the performer. Simonova’s hands worked incredibly fast. Nobody knew what was going on in her soul. From the interview of Simonova: «It was so emotionally hard, and I now still cannot think about those minutes without pain… My hands were dyeing and reviving making the images.» Kseniya was hoping to get a little advertisement for her as an artist, but it turned an emotional bomb explosion. Almost the entire audience was in tears. Applause came down just after a minute after she finished her performance. Everyone in the hall applauded standing. Kseniya passed the semi-final and passed the final of the contest. In the third round, at Final, the sand story of Kseniya was about parents who gave birth to a son, the son has grown up, became successful and adult and forgot his old parents. Kseniya wanted the children to remember their father and mother — people who gave them lives — and call them. The resonance was enormous — people came to her in streets saying: «After watching your story, I took the phone and called my mom. I haven’t talk to for her a year. I called my mom after your story. Thank you very much! » Simonova said that these words were more than winning the show. During the interview with the judges in super-final, she said: «I’m not sure I want to win the show. But if a single person who didn’t call his Mom, will do it after my sand story — I will be more than a Winner!» the performance..Call your parents. ‘Don’t be late to see your parents alive.'”

We find inspiration in many ways, I hope that you found this sharing interesting and inspiring.

Namaste – Oyashikirti

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Road Block

Good Morning everyone…..

It happens to all of us, at some time in our lives, we come across a “road block”… as a writer, writer’s block, when I’m in a creative mood with my sculptures, and suddenly my creative moment goes on sabbatical, it is another form of “road block” In PL we are taught to take a step back, and to look at how we have been tackling our “challenge” (task at hand). If I walk away do something else, then come back, I am often able to “see” with a different set of eyes. When I was painting, I’d find that there were some forms of expression that I just couldn’t agree with. I would keep wanting to add more paint, or take some away, make adjustments, this would go on till my canvas looked like one big mess of colour. Instinctively I would know that I had “missed” the moment…. the ah ha… of the expression was gone, no matter how much I was to persist, it would not come back. It was time to acknowledge that I had not been working with my full makoto, and the result was before me. Like it or not, what I had achieved was putting my “mixed emotions/feelings” on the canvas, there was nothing to do but accept it and move on. Trying to accept the abstract mess of colour was never satisfying, especially if I tried to convince myself that this is what I must have been trying to express. What is the expression, you can fool some people some time, but you can’t fool all of the people all the time??? And, you may try to fool yourself, the reality is, your inner self always knows what is real and what is not.

In Norman Rockwell’s print, you can see that everyone is giving their full attention to getting the “road block” to move out-of-the-way. (found on imachild.wordpress.com) When we are faced with a difficulty,challenge, obstacle, if we step back and think about how we can creatively get around our problem… usually with patience, the obstacle will move along.

Have a wonderful day today, may your day be filled with calm, serene and beautiful moments!!

Namaste – Oyashikiri

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Happy Wednesday everyone

What is it that attracts me to old trucks, cars, motorcycles, and bikes? I haven’t a clue. In recent years I’ve noticed that more and more I am drawn to pictures where one or more are featured. Driving along hwy 37 in NY State past farms with old barns, I found myself searching for sight of a rusted out car. More in the States than along the highways here, I’m rewarded by vintage vehicles being driven or for sale. Some are covered in rust and barely standing, yet they have an allure for me.

Be still my heart, how this rusted decaying, bucket of metal can stir my emotions, I’ll never know. But how I love to look at it.. the vibrant colours that takes place as it goes through its changes. the way nature welcomes it back into her embrace. So far I’ve only been able to gaze in wonder at the wonderful pictures I’ve found posted on Pinterest or other social media sites.

These are the colours I want to wear this fall. In redoing my fall/winter wardrobe, I am searching out these colours. There is something rich and satisfying about this palette, in the States I have been able to acquire a pair of old faded and worn, army fatigue pants and the matching long sleeve lite. jacket/shirt. Obviously I can’t wear then at the same time, I look ridiculous since, I’m obviously not of an age that I would be in service, but the blended colours are soothing to the eye, and calming when worn with colours that harmonize. (mixed casual attire) So, I’m eccentric, I’m happy =^_^=.

I am not alone with this old truck/car passion, there is an abundant source of art pictures that capture the beauty of the aged vehicles. Enjoy whatever makes you happy today and everyday. When we do something we enjoy with Makoto (sincerity) we reap the rewards 100 fold. Have you thought about the colours you wear and why you wear them?

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What is Perfect Liberty

Please note, this was done many years ago, the contact information could be outdated. If you have questions or would like more information please send me an e-mail. or contact. Rev Goto in NY, or Rev. Eugene in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Thank you, Q ( Dymoon)

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Perfect LIberty

whining and complaining

There are days when this could be me. My busy mind chattering and chattering about dear knows what. I don’t think I whine and complain, but that is because I don’t want to believe that I am just as guilty as the next person at having a negative day. All my life I have known that no two people will see the mountain view the same way, even though they are looking from the same vantage point.

An exercise that we practice in PL (Perfect Liberty) is to work at accepting the differences in life and to respect the difference in others.

I fell short today, I disagreed with a sentiment sent to me by a caring sister. I vented. yet on reflection, she was only giving voice to her perspective and in doing so, used the language and comfort terms of her personal beliefs. I want respect for my beliefs I in turn need to respect hers, and allow her, her form of expression. The bottom line is she cares. That I appreciate.

PL Principle 21 – I will not have complaints about others, matters, nor the weather Rather I will always be creative and will look for shortcomings in my own thinking and actions.

My thanks to Little Sister (Wei) who is traveling in Mexico right now, these are her pictures.

I will be visiting NY State tomorrow. See you all on my return. have a great start to the new week.

Namaste – Oyashikiri

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Chop Suey

Today we celebrated Ancestor’s Day, we do this on the 11th of every month. It is a time to pray and give thanks for the lessons and teachings that we learned in life as we progressed along the journey through our days and nights. It is not only our parents, it it is teachers, friends, other family members. neighbours, health care professionals , anyone we come in contact with who may have an affect of influence us, in some way shape form or other.

The name of this piece where the two ladies are sitting at a table in a Chinese Restaurant is Chop Suey. This is an oil painting done by Edward Hopper in 1929. It is currently in a private collection, I found this copy on wikipaintings.org. This picture brings back memories of the restaurants many decades ago. As soon as we sat down, a waiter in a smart uniform of black pants and a white jacket would appear with a pot of hot tea and cups. Rice was always free with your meal. It seems that every town or city had a Chinese restaurant and each one had on the menu, a version of Chop Suey.

Cooks back then were very adaptable to the region they were cooking in. The ingredients used back in China were not readily available in the city never mind the smaller towns, so they grew bean sprouts and served a variety of meats with sprouts, celery,onion and a few slivers of peppers for colour. If they used chicken it was chicken shop suey, if it was pork, pork choe suey etc., when crispy noodles were sprinkled on top the dish became a chow mein. NO we didn’t eat chop suey at home.

Today there are Asian grocery stores almost everywhere, even the big super markets have sections dedicated to the products and vegetables used in Asian cuisine. The ingredients are there for the actual meal, but the ambiance and customer service of yesteryear. Now you pay for the tea, and the rice, and yes you have a lot to pick from on the menu, it is no longer the simple menu of choosing from column A, B or C.

We can’t go back, but when I think of the ancestors or people who influenced some of my behaviour, the cooks and waiters who came to Canada to start new lives, their beliefs that hard work and dedication to the task before them, come to mind. They came to a country where they didn’t know the language to earn money so they could send or go back for their families, They wanted a better quality of life for those they loved, so they applied Makoto (sincerity) to their lives and earnestly did what needed to be done.

I am humbled by such dedication & selfless giving for the next generation. I give thanks for this memory, and I pray that I in turn will do something worthwhile that will help those around me and who will come after me.