Morning at nearby temple,

Two towns over, by

Hurricane Creek;

Quiet today though, Creek, me,

Birds, soft wind soughing, sighing,

All most silent, and quiet; and

Yet, there is some thing moving.

It leaves a trace of Its passage

In the ear and the heart. Here,

A small voice. Well come.

The neighborhood,

I sit watching. Some shady

Transactions going on

By the pond; those cats

Are up, to something, I just

Know. I was schooled in the

In the city. Here comes one of them

Now. Trying to look all cool and

Nonchalant,

Yo, my name is Pancake,

I don’t know why you wanna 

Call me that, but that’s cool; we

Got to start somewhere if I’m gonna

Jump all up in your lap and begin

My move outta that barn. Its alright

Now, but it does get cold in the Winter.

Have been very busy during June getting ready to move from costly crowded Bay area to low housing cost rural area in Northeastern Oregon.

I’ve rented a cabin on a small horse ranch run by a friend I made through the local Sangha a few years ago. I’ve got a warm tidy, nicely appointed cabin settled amidst horse pasture, corrals, barns, outbuildings, a green house, small pond and small stream/irrigation ditch that flows next (10 feet) to the cabin, It comes of the Wallowa’s and the Eagle Cap Wilderness area with over 30 mountains over 8000 feet just 15 miles away.

The difference between the Bay are and here is stunning.

I finally caught on to the fact that I had my priorities upside down. Rather than be uncomfortable in the Bay area (despite the many good friend),  and visit here; I could live here and visit There. Epiphanies can be quite common-sensical. I’m sure there will be a lot write about in this coming year and many changes in the offing, but I see it first and foremost, as a spiritual decision, and as practical, mental health-wise, and economically. Prudent all around, really.

I just got through with a great intensive retreat at Shasta Abbey led by one of our remote monks with whom I took refuge and became with, when we lived near each other in northern Idaho/Washington.

He was the monk I called when my wife, Linda, died 2 1/2 years ago. He came in the middle of the night driving through heavy snow for almost two hours, and then we did the ceremony for  a layperson who has died; he also presided over her cremation, and her memorial and, the public funeral ceremony. We have close ties. The retreat was very helpful as a sort of springboard for this transition. Geographically and internally

I’ll go to the Bay area again next week for two weeks and tidy up some loose ends and bring some more stuff and then become a resident of Oregon and all that entails.

I’ll have a better sense of things at some point and will keep more regular postings up.

(A) a smallish apology to self and others (those few who view this nattering), and a thank you for your nice comments at times. The previous post was literally written in a haze. A haze of fever and fatigue due to some flu-cootie coursing through this body and mind thus making life and perception very interesting for a few days. As is often true, if I’m willing to see, there was a lot of teaching in the illness. One piece of that was a clarity within the haze that was not neatly expressible by this natterer and pecker(er) of keyboards. So, having said that, I now venture to say this:

I am going to offer a simple explanation of a common misperception that has a lot of truth in it but misses some vital information. I’m going to use my limited knowledge of how a computer works and how a human being works and see if I can make sense of something that niggles at me in various ways in various situations, all of them requiring (or begging for), a larger context.

All humans are wired exactly the same!

The actual schematic varies because we are all custom built!

The actual build varies because of slightly different needs by the Apps we run!

We all run Basic Apps from the great App Store!

No one App-mixture is exactly like Another! 

When two identical Apps appear, they are still on separate machines (twins), so Different!

Many of the Apps come with the Basic Model (OS), many more are downloaded for Free!

Others come at a cost (often to be determined later)!

The simplest can be easy/difficult to run, depending on Configuration, in Relation, to others.

The basic system, Always needs Updating. The apps (new and old), Always need Updating.

We (OS + System), have a built in Algorithm (Choices), that allows an outside View of our Selves!

That, is the mechanism (or OS), built in, by which we access Outside, Unknown (as yet), Input!

We can call that the Higher Power, The Force, That Which Is, God, The Eternal, The Unborn!

We, have a Choice!

To use, or not.

Seeking outside, or inside, the Self –  is always a volunteer

Effort!

System overload🙂

When the petals fall

and thunders roll 

still mountains erupt

we take refuge in the wonder of Nature

we take refuge in the power of Nature

we take refuge in the majesty of Nature

Flower

Lightning

 Glacial peaks

the coming into and out of

being and form

fascinates and

we think we are a fixtures 

yet all else

changes

ha ha

ho hum