My haiku are coarse,  Unpolished. Crafted for me.  An exercise of mind.  Intellectual  Puzzles to stimulate the Soul, nothing profound.  From The Daily Stoic:  It's about controlling my thoughts. Everything points to that — Stoicism, the Bhagavad-Gita, Zen, Christian philosophy . . . even contemporary psychology.  Stoicism, rather than emphasizing elimination of thought (Zen) or subjugation of thought to a higher power (Hinduism and Christianity) or even discovering root causes (psychology), focuses on discerning what is under my control and what is not under my control.  Still not an easy task.  Today's Meditation: Bhagavad-Gita As It Is  by Swami Prabhupada, 2.72

Kids with dogs outside.  Neighbors need to mend their fence.  Sunlight through the blinds. From The Daily Stoic:  Why do the Stoic beat the drum on this so often? Why do they repeat this refrain so regularly?  In my solipsistic corner of the universe, it's for me. They did it for me. Because I keep forgetting and they knew I'd need the reminder.  Today's Meditation: Bhagavad-Gita   As It Is by Swami Prabhupada, 2.67 Senses distract us from our goal, whether it be service to the gods (as in the Gita) or satori (as in Zen).  ------------------- Finally finished the next part of Farnsworth's rhetoric. I'll post it Monday. 

Early thunderstorm  Wakes the child, waters the world.  More life grows. Wondrous.  From The Daily Stoic:  This applies internally as well.  What am I thinking? Are those thoughts leading to good actions or bad? Am I trying to fool myself into bad behavior? Lying to myself to justify something I want to do but which I should not? If I can see these things developing, I can more easily stop them before they are fulfilled. I can identify and break bad habits, improving my life and my affect on others. Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  Recognizing the dignity in others is understanding that you and they are one. The Buddha nature is in all of us. We are not separate. We are not individual, but whole. 

Taxes? Kiss my ass. Gov't is upscaled mugging. Voluntaryism . Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Actions have consequences far, far beyond what is seen. See also:  Frédéric Bastiat What is Seen and Unseen .  It's also an important lesson. Seriously. Go read it.  Please. See also: Henry Hazlitt — Economics in One Lesson "The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups." Thomas Sowell — Basic Economics From The Daily Stoic:  I pay taxes because, if I don't, men with guns will come and put me in a cage and confiscate my money anyway.  It has nothing to do with thinking gov't will do good things with that money. Seneca is right to say we should deal with adversity with grace and detachment, but he is wrong when he says we should not look for exemption or escape. ...

Come with me, and we'll be  In a world of pure imagination  What is wondrous and scary, nefarious and chary, place to be.  (Sorry it's not a haiku. The lyrics were stuck in my head this morning when I woke up and demanded to used.  So I riffed off of them. Besides, in Japanese, maybe this would be a haiku.)  Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Wealth itself is not a problem. It's what some people do to get it, or what they do with it once they have it, that is a problem.  Some people acquire wealth legitimately. Others not so much.  I am more disquieted by the imbalance in power than wealth. It's the tyrant with a pen and enforcers I fear, not the robber baron.  From The Daily Stoic:  There are some things worth knowing and some things not worth knowing. I think I've taken a step in the right direction with these morning studies, but there's still so much to do. From Happy by Derren Brown: ...

Petting a black cat, In a dark room, that is there . A purring morning. Today's Meditation: Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki And this is why people say koans are difficult.  I think I get the basic idea, but I feel I am utterly, completely, inconsolably distant from the satori it is supposed to enable.  Much work to do. A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Either the translation is getting in the way here or this is far beyond my understanding.  As it is written, I don't get what Tolstoy is saying. From The Daily Stoic:  Act properly.  Speak clearly.  Do good. Brevity will do for today.

He sits, and he looks out, his bones are cold, the sunrise pink is fuzzy until he puts on his glasses. He sips a brand of coffee he settled on 20 years ago, and which he will drink until he dies. Source: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/old The first time I used a "poem" by someone else, it isn't even a poem. It's the fifth panel from a webcomic which just sounded like a poem to me. Funny, in context, it's still a reminder to keep our lives varied and look for new things to add to our experience. Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Tolstoy has more faith than I do.  Perhaps that is part of his wisdom and my search. Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki Tools are tools.  They are not the thing in itself. From The Daily Stoic:    My life is boring enough that receiving unexpected gifts is not a likely problem for me. Still, in the spirit of Stoic preparation, it's a lesson I'll file away for future use, when necessary...

It's one-way only, Through years of experience,  To finally learn.  Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  Good habits make a good life. We must do consistently what makes us who we want to be.  From The Daily Stoic:    “ Every man I meet is my master in some point, and in that I learn of him .” ~ Emerson  It took me way too long, decades too long, multiple decades too long, to realize that all learning is self-learning. That no one can teach me unless I make the decision to learn.  I made my way through college — three times, learning a bit here and there but mostly thinking that "education" meant repetition of facts — but never started true learning until the last few years.  Part of the problem was what Epictetus is talking about above: thinking I have things figured out, not realizing how little I know.  I could repeat Socrates' dictum about his being wise only because he knew nothing, but I...

Short cat stretches long Purring mind, mindful study.  Wise cat sleeps til noon.  Today's Meditation: Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki  Let me not judge a situation on what I think I know, but on what I find to be the truth. Let me be gracious when I am in error.  A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  Tolstoy has more faith in fate than I do.  From The Daily Stoic:    Nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. —  Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2 It seems trite to me — a used up phrase, maybe because I've seen it so many times in my studies — but it isn't.  It's a crucial, compact summary of a powerful way to find the better path through my life.  What happens happens. That's as plainly as I can say it. It's not a difficult idea. Then why do I forget it's import so damn often? Why do I so often  re act to things before I've considered them?  Before I've put aside my im...

Reflection in mind Distractions carry the day Today's thoughts are late. Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Zen Flesh Zen Bones   by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki  From The Daily Stoic:    I must be mindful of my reactions, learning to discern whether or not something is up to me or not up to me and then act accordingly. Instincts and feelings often mislead.

Why daily haiku?  Mental and creative challenge  Born in the morning.  Today's Meditation: Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki  Maybe I'll try my hand at Chinese poetry.  Notice this doesn't say "killing" is always a crime. Killing can be justified in defense of self and others. Murder cannot.  Jesus said to love one another. Even your enemies. It wasn't abstract love he meant, but real feeling toward fellow humans.  There's wisdom here.  From The Daily Stoic:    If I don't examine my conscious (and unconscious, so far as I am able)  motivations, I won't discover which are false and lead me down the wrong path.  It's up to me to make sure I'm not accepting counterfeit thoughts. From Six Easy Pieces, by Richard Feynman: Chapter 2. Basic Physics: Nuclei and Particles Rereading this section because I know I missed things yesterday. 

Is awake at 12 The same as morning studies?  Prep done. Sleep now. Rest.  ———————————— Fever, dream, night, sweat. Jumbled scenes present themselves. And the winner is.....  Today's Meditation: Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki  A synopsis of a Zen master's teaching, there is a LOT to unpack here. Every phrase is worth studying in depth.  A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  Forgiveness is divine. If you carry with you all the wrongs done to you in life, your mind and soul will be so heavy you cannot lift them.  You will be so mentally and spiritually exhausted that you cannot function even when good things happen to you. Put them down.  From The Daily Stoic:    Important things to keep in mind: Could I be wrong here?  What haven’t I considered?   What assumptions and biases might be misleading me? What can learn from this?  From Six Easy Pieces, by Richard Feynm...

People do many things. Some wise, some foolish, some null. What will today bring? Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  And THAT, folks, is why I am doing this. I'm more than halfway through my life at this point and am finally figuring out how learn. Who says old dogs can't learn new tricks?  Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki   Introspection comes up in these stories and quotes so often, I'm beginning to think it might be important. From The Daily Stoic:  Just as the sunrises in the East, it is sure that, at some point in any given day, someone will act in a way that frustrates me. Maybe only a little, but it happens.  If I'm prepared, if I understand this inevitability, I can better handle these irritations. If I'm really good, and practicing my Stoic virtues well that day, I can even be forgiving and gracious and make the best of the situation.  Insert serenity prayer here.....

Morning sunlight shines Showing me how late I woke. Ten thousand chores wait. Today's Meditation: Buddhism and Zen by Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless The ten thousand things distract us from enlightenment. Focus. A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy Learn to be satisfied with simple pleasures is a much greater path to happiness than pursuing ever more spectacular experiences. From The Daily Stoic:  Pause. Breathe. Wait. Examine. Jumping the gun and re acting before I can act is a source of headaches and problems in most cases.  Too many times, I find that my emotions or my senses have tricked me into acting rashly and not handling the situation in the best way possible. Taking the moment to reflect on why am I having such an immediate, strong reaction to XYZ can save me trouble down the line. From Six Easy Pieces, by Richard Feynman: Chapter 2 Basic Physics: Physics Before 1920  Feynman backs up a bit and tells us what physics was like in the past, b...

Spring eggs hunted down.  Bunny nowhere to be found.  Happy family.  Today's Meditation: A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  How to Think Like a Roman Emperor by Donald Robertson, quote by Benedict Spinoza, On the Improvement of the Understanding , 4–5 From The Daily Stoic:    Don't believe the flatterers.  Don't fall prey to those who would inflate your ego and use you to their own ends.  This so rarely happens to me it is both not a concern and a real problem. It's not a concern in my daily life. For instance, at work I play an important role, but I'm not in a position to offer favors to others. People are generally nice to me, but no one ever has a need to butter me up. On the other hand, when it does happen, I'm as susceptible to flattery as anyone else. It's unusual enough for me that I don't normally recognize it when it's happening. Only long after the fact, if ever, do I realize I've been manipulated....

High mountains in life Fight quotidianity! " You're doing it on purpose ." Today's Meditation: Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy  Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki From The Daily Stoic: Wait! What am I doing ?!?!  Sometimes, I find myself doing something which, were I conscious of it, I wouldn't be doing it.  Maybe I'm not paying attention or am losing a fight with compulsion . . . either way I'm doing something useless, damaging, or something I don't want in my character.  I need to improve my focus. Find ways to be fully present in what I am doing so I can avoid unnecessary sidetracks. Doing this will be another step toward a truer philosophy. 

My current bookshelf of things to study. Top row (already read, still referencing): Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (trans. by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English)  The Classical Mind by W. T. Jones The Practicing Stoic by Ward Farnsworth The True Believer by Eric Hoffer The Zen Teaching of Huang Po (trans. by Jon Blofeld) Not pictured:  Lives of the Stoics  by Ryan Holiday Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse (trans. by Joachim Neugroschel) The Classic Fairy Tales by Iona and Peter Opie Middle row (currently studying): A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy (trans. by Peter Sekirin)  Buddhism and Zen by Nyogen Senzaki and Ruth Strout McCandless The Principal Upanishads by Swami Sivananda Six Easy Pieces by Richard Feynman The Bhagavad-Gita, As It Is by Swami Prabhupada  The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday Classical English Rhetoric by Ward Farnsworth Not pictured:  Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki Bottom row (on deck): The Legal Analyst ...