Category: Wood (Spiritual)

We’re placing limit on ourselves all the time, in so many different ways. Socially, financially, intellectually. Someone may not approach a beautiful woman because they feel intimidated. They’re judging themselves, feeling unworthy. Someone may not ask their boss for an increase because they judge it as too much, again, they feel unworthy. Someone may not… Continue reading The limits we place on ourselves

I have always been drawn to Taoist thought. The pathless path, the path of effortlessness, has always had a certain appeal (especially when I’ve tended to do the opposite). Authors such as Ursula Le Guin and David Zindell attracted me for this reason, and I practice tai chi, based on Taoist principles. The Tao Chi… Continue reading A Mediocre Mind

I attended a talk today between Lama Yeshe Rinpoche and Rob Nairn, hosted by Cape Town Samye Zong, otherwise known as the Tibetan centre. Lama Yeshe is of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and is the retreat master at the well-known Samye Ling centre in Scotland, the largest of its kind in the West.… Continue reading An encounter with Lama Yeshe Rinpoche

The most profound things are the simplest things. One of the books I’m reading right now is The Art of Happiness, a western psychologist’s encounter with the Dalai Lama. The contents are childishly simple, but of course most of us don’t even start the process, or even give any thought to the matter. We plan… Continue reading Ego

Anger clouds your vision. Anger is like a skin irritation. Anger is a bitter taste in your mouth that makes all the food you eat taste bad. Anger wears you out. Don’t be fooled. Anger makes you feel less, not more, alive. Anger restricts your ability to take in and appreciate new things, changes, and… Continue reading Dealing with anger

I’ve been practising tai chi since 1995 (I stopped for about three years from around 1998 to 2001). Tai chi, especially at the frequency I practice, can be a slow art to master. The very first tai chi book I read mentioned that an average person with no prior experience would take around 5 to… Continue reading Tai chi, chi kung and the microcosmic Orbit

I’m reading a harrowing account of colonialism in the Congo called King Leopold’s Ghost. I seem to be enjoying genocidal histories right now, having recently read The Earth Shall Weep, about the genocide against the Native Americans in the United States, and Enemy at the Gates, about the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.… Continue reading The slaughter in the Congo and the progression of humanity

One of the joys of having so much time (barring the fact that most of it is spent in zombie-like stasis due to early mornings with the young baby) is that I can do some reading. I have a huge to read pile that needs some serious attention. However, some books I don’t read from… Continue reading Poetry and the Tao Te Ching

I recently started doing a course in TM. I went along mainly to attend with someone else who was interested in the course. Having learnt quite a few meditation techniques myself, I probably wouldn’t have bothered with another one. But I’m glad I did. I approached the course with some arrogance. To my knowledge, TM… Continue reading Transcendental Meditation, rituals and woo woo.

Everybody on earth knowing that beauty is beautiful makes ugliness Everybody knowing that goodness is good makes wickedness … That’s why the wise soul does without doing teaches without talking The things of this world exist, they are; you can’t refuse them … The above is from Ursula Le Guin’s version of the Tao Te… Continue reading US Election – the aftermath