Holy Pizza

 Pizza is the fallback dinner of many supper tables all over the world.  A sometimes thick, sometimes thin round bread covered in sauce, cheese and the other things that make a complete hearty meal, Pizza has become one of America's favorite indulgences.  If you want to see your children smile when they ask you what's for supper just say, "Pizza." and you will see sparkling glee fly from their eyes followed by the praises to mom and or dad mixed with Oooo's and Ahhh's and, "Can I have peperoni on mine?"  This short conversation will make you the hero of the household no holds barred.  

I remember when that short fat Chef, "Boyardee created a pizza in a box that you could whip up in short time, top with sauce and cheese, both usually provided to make all mom's and dad's hits in the kitchen.  To this day, since I was one of those children that sang the praises to the little fat Chef, as well as my wife Romona, when we get an urge as was the case today I bring the box O'Pizza home and whip it up in no time.  We both have a soft spot for that short fat Chef.  Boyardee has become a hero.  

I know a blog or two back I promised to cut back on certain amounts of sodium and nitrates, however I sing praise to Chef Boyardee, and promise I didn't over indulge.  Mona was happy, and we each have some for later snack when it cools, another favorite way to enjoy pizza, cold and tasty.  

As in the past so it is in the present and hopefully future children will know the worth and glory of a good Pizza.  In the fufure Pizza will become a relic and possibly worshipped for it's roundness and close resemblance of an oversized host in Churches all over.  I wonder if Jesus ,would have like a good slice of pie?  He would make it simple, Buddha on the other hand would have one with everything.  

There's a party happening in heaven, Jesus,  the Buddha, Moses, and Mohammad all celebrating the end of Ramadan together with the perfect heavenly Pizza.  Amen.  

I bow to Chef Boyardee and the creator's and ancestors of Pizza.  There has to be a sacred dance, HO.

Peace and Balance,

John

God, What's God?

 I occasionally have interesting discussions about  whether or not I believe in God, or a God.  It usually starts when I reach my threshold for dealing with ignorance and question back Christians that try telling me that anyone who does not believe in their definition of an all prevailing Deity and His Son are all damned to some imaginary Hell fire and eternal death.  I do not believe in Hell, nor do I believe that some self important human being has the ability to Damn me to anything.  As I have recently learned from a more learned individual than I, "I Am Not this Mind, I Am Not this Body."  

Let me use Buddhist teachings to explain a science behind the above statement.  Buddha is the Mind. (Fullness)  Dharma is the Breath that guides Buddha. (the Mind)  And Sungha is Body, the vessel that accepts guidance.  I Am, an island unto myself... Or, I AM...

To a Buddhist there is no religion, only I AM and the teachings to arrive there.  It's a science.  Similar for a Taoist, a Hindu, a Yogi, and even the advanced Taiji master.  All are a science to arrive at a destination free from the confines of another's trappings.  

So, the question, Do I believe in God?  Of Course I do.  However, possibly not your understanding of God.  I am a Pantheist.  I believe God is the collective of everything, and we, the ones that have the ability to think, theorize, rationalize, Imagine, and feel all the wonderful emotions of existence, are the heart and mind of God.   

If you want to Damn me for my beliefs, well that's ok.  I'll wait for you to mature...

Peace and Balance,

John

The Three, Gossip, And A Fly Bye.

 

The Three met last night to discuss important things that needed discussing.  Things like the weather, flooding, other people, rumors, gossip, the state of affairs, and why Trump should be incarcerated.  You know important things.  Not to spread further gossip, but to add a sprinkle of healing into the mix so folks can get beyond the rumor mill and look forward.

When the Three get together strange things happen.  Suddenly birds in the area begin to talk back and forth.  They answer questions, and sometimes seem either amused or slightly irritated.  Birds are like that.  They can be fickle creatures.  

The neighborhood dogs would begin barking in unison, and squirrels bounding from tree to tree antagonized the dogs as they chuckled at the Three.  In jest I often refer to squirrels as angry creatures, but the opposite is actually true.  Squirrels are mischievous little buggers with a serious sense of humor.   Two times, at least, in history have squirrels influenced the development of mankind with a practical joke.  The first was the acorn tossed at Gautama as he sat under the Bodhi tree just before attaining his ultimate enlightenment. Being beaned in the head by a well tossed acorn can do wonders.  The second was when Sir Isaac sat under a tree and was bopped on top of the head by a well aimed apple.  No one ever speaks of the squirrel atop the tree, little bugger.  An applied lesson in Gravity. 

Clouds took positions and layers in the sky that can not be replicated by any artistic practice of man.  If tried onlookers will not believe that the painting was a real event.  

Stories shared by the Three, embellishment an art, promoted the spiritual growth of listeners and receivers of mystical things.  Just as the night's end began to take shape and gazing at the evening sky was the thing to do, an object was seen flying high over head reflecting white in the last sun.  The object moving slow and silent, but left no trace nor could it be heard.  So bright was the sky rider that no real shape could be discerned.  It flew into the Northeast to take an abrupt right angle turn to the North and disappeared in the cloud. 

No guiding lights, no running lights, no markers what so ever, just the bright light, then gone.   A sleepless night, a busy night, leaving wonder in it's wake.  

Peace and Balance,

John

From Chan to Zen

 Cha or Chan Buddhism traveled from China to Japan somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 years before the current era (BCE).  Chan Buddhism, also called Mahayana Buddhism traveled from India to China on the shoulders of Bodidharma, student of Gautama, and eventually landed in the Temple of Hunan, the home of Shaolin.  The monks of the Small Forest. 

The Japanese transformed Chan meditation into Zen meditation by adding the practice of the Koan.  Koans are riddles that a Zen Master gives the student to focus the mind and quiet the thoughts during the meditative practice.  Chan mediation doesn't focus on a single thought as much.  In Chan Meditation it is more important to sit quietly and let the thoughts flow through the mind eventually leading to a quieting of the thoughts approaching emptiness allowing enlightenment to enter the mind.  The Koans of Zen allow the student to focus on one thought or series of thought in order to achieve a state of emptiness allowing enlightenment to enter. 

Other than the addition of a Koan and the Quiet sitting of Chan, the practices are very similar and both are versions of Mahayana as taught by Bodidharma, who the Shaolin called Tamo.  Tamo has many meanings in the various languages of China, we will stick to Venerated One.  

Emptiness is a statement that is greatly misunderstood by those who read, but don't practice.  Emptiness is not the state of being absent or empty headed.  That would be a dangerous path to follow.  Emptiness in the realm of Zen or Chan meditation is actively participating in the quieting process of the mind.  It is the intentional focusing on a small part of the mind and calling it empty.  The ability to focus on one spot at any given moment takes much concentrated effort, and when achieved lasts for moments before the concentration process must start over again.  The more practice that is put into it the longer the quiet moments.  This is where Enlightenment is hidden.  Within the quiet moments of meditation.  

What then is Enlightenment?  It is not all knowing, nor is it the tell all state of being.  However, enlightenment is different for every seeker of truth.  The word Truth and Enlightenment are interchangeable.  How we get there is purely a unique process for every individual on the path, We are all Buddha.  

Peace and Balance,

John

Lohan

 The question has occasionally been asked, "Why, John do you call your routines of practice, Lohan?" Here is a possible answer, you can formulate your own.

A Lohan is an individual who has attained a state of Enlightenment and was a true follower of the Buddha. There is a story that has followed Buddhism from it's inception in Deli to it's eventual home in Sil Lum (Shaolin).  

In it's early beginnings there were 18 of the original monks of the Buddha that deviated from his original teachings and became solitary wanderers of the wilderness.  These were the original 18 Lohan.  The original 18 first enlightened monks of Buddha.  Bodhidharma was one of these monks.  

The story loosely goes that in or about 520 AD Bodhidharma traveled from India south into the regions of south central Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  At this point he turned north and headed up into the regions of the mountains of China.  Bodhidharma was an aristocrat and physician.  He became a follower of Gautama the Buddha after listening to his liturgy in front of the city wall of Deli, or what would become Deli in India.  It is said that Bodhidharma was instantly struck with enlightenment after hearing the talk and walked away from his material life and became one of the original 18 Lohan. He finely found the Monks in the small forest above the mountains of Shantung in China in the province of Hunan.  

The Monks there called themselves Sil Lum (Shaolin), The Monks of the Small Forest and devoted most of their time to the pursuits of meditation, contemplation, and chanting.  In hoping to attain their own levels of enlightenment.  At this point they were not Buddhist yet.  They were a sect of Cha and Taoism. The birthplace of Zen. 

The monks recognized Bodhidharma as an enlightened one and bestowed upon him the title name, Tamo, Great Teacher, or more specific, "Great Giver of Knowledge." 

Tamo found the Sil Lum in a state of disrepair, and slovenly state of body.  They did not care for themselves only spent time trying to achieve the states of enlightenment that they could not achieve in their present state of being.  Tamo was angry. 

He retreated to a cave that was poised in the mountain above the temple and began meditating.  He thought of himself, he thought of the monks, he thought of the mountain, and he contemplated his cave.  For 9 years Tamo meditated and contemplated his existence and his place in the universe and observed all he could from nature and his surroundings and began creating his original 18 Lohan.  These were 18 exercises designed to strengthen, lengthen, and create levels of awareness and focus.  He then left his cave and presented the Lohan to the monks.  After 9 years he began teaching the monks and 9 years from that time he had his own 18 original students.  This was the birth of the warrior monks of Sil Lum.  

From that point forward when a Monk attains a certain level of expertise and has walked through the room of a thousand tests he can choose to stay in the monetary and become a religious monk or he can travel and become a Lohan, a wandering monk.  One who gains knowledge and experience from the world around him, and teaches that knowledge to those around him.  This is Shaolin. 

To answer the question, Why Lohan?  To pay homage to all Lohan before me, to all the Masters of the arts that have come before, from which I teach my students.

Peace and Balance,

John  

Missing Time

 Occasionally, not as often as It used to happen, but occasionally I suffer from a malady called, "Missing Time."  For instance yesterday Mona and I visited the medical community for what should have been a short 30 minute talk.  We left the house at about 11:20 AM, the appointment was for 11:30.  Only being a couple minutes around the corner from the appropriate office we arrived in plenty of time for the meeting.  The appointment went off without a hitch and we left the place about 30 minutes later and came home.  That would have made it around noon to 12:10.  I got Mona situated and went to the store for a few essentials.  That process was a short one, I don't like the shopping experience my anti social nature tends to prevail and I came home at about 1:30 ish.  We had a short talk, which involves some poking fun at each other and other folks.  She wanted to play in her books and I decided to send a text inviting my two compadres Ray, and Michael over for Weekly holy beans.  Then I suddenly noticed it was 3 o'clock.  We lost about 90 minutes of time.  Poof, gone just like that.  

Missing time has plagued me for most of my life.  I have had spells where entire days have disappeared without a trace.  I discovered early on that trying to find lost time is much like looking for air.  You know it's there, but can't see it.  Unless your in the LA area.  But, that's a whole other universe.  

More than just a few years ago, I had an appointment with a student in my office on Main Street.  I got up early and had some breakfast and decided to take a bath, we didn't have a shower, our apartment was in a house that was a tad over 100 years old and the plumbing was not exactly up to date.  I was soaking and decided to go through a short meditation while in the hot water.  Always a relaxing process.  I came out of my meditation and noticed a message on my answering machine, one of those old types that use tape to record the messages.  At that time that's all that was available.  The message informed me that I had missed my appointment with the student by a little more than four hours.  Shhhhsh.  Missing time.  

Lapses like this one have plagued me since I was a grasshopper.  An explanation may be in a later blog.  When it makes sense to me.  

Peace and Balance,

John

What is Qi?

I start with, "Breath in the nose, Breath out the mouth."  Then I'll work into, "Relax and make your Breath going out longer than your Breath coming in."  We'll play with that game for awhile and I'll suggest that slowly moving the arms and hands up and down might be a good way to experience something special.  At this point my students usually give me a little bit of a sideways look, most fearing to ask, "What's special mean?"

I have a few guys I try things out on before I indulge John Q. Public with the things I'm trying out on my few guys.  The Special is one of those things.  At this point the reader is going to blurt out, possibly, at the screen, "John, dude, what the hell are you talking about?"  

The Special is Qi pronounced Chi.  What is Qi?  Classically Qi is an expression that represents Breath.  We breath it in, we breath it out every few seconds of every day.   For this reason Qi has been referred to as the "Life Force."  It's simple, if you don't breath, you don't live, "Life Force." Get it?  

So, now we've traveled from a term that represents Breath, to one that sustains our very living processes.  But, that's not all.  Qi is also a word that expresses the flow of electrons from one place to another. "Holy Shnikies John, what the hell are you getting at now?"  I can hear your minds reeling.

What is the term for flowing electrons?  Electricity.  Electrons flowing from one place to another are all around us every day.  We've harnessed this power a long time ago and wrapped it in cloth and plastic as the electrons flow along a wire made of a conductive material.  This amazing power, and it is amazing if you put your head to it, is the energy in our electric wires feeding all of our toys and gadgets.  And, we are becoming more, and more reliant on it every day, physical Qi.

Let us summarize for a moment; Qi, we breath it in and out, sustains our lives, and flows through the wires of our things to give us pleasure and a happy living experience.  Yep, so far that's it. 

Technology is a fascinating concept.  We, through the power of our minds, the juice flowing from our brains can change the way we look at the world.  Today we have the ability to throw those electrons from one location to another without wires.  We have the ability to charge, control, and energize our toys at a distance through the air.  Oh my god, what's next.  Now, Qi is a flowing force of moving electrons that travels from a power source through the air to a receiver that uses those electrons to power it up.  The electricity is airborne.  We've created directed power technology, Qi.  "John, stop your giving us a headache."  I can tell what your thinking.  

Ok so here it is, So far;  Qi, we Breath it in and Breath it out giving us our source of life force, Qi moves from one place to another through our created wires a flow of electrons lighting up our lives, Qi and directed energy source flying around through the air giving our technology the juice it needs to thrive.  Yep, that's about it, but I'm not done yet.

Now we're at the Jedi factor.  In our crazy technical multiverse we have created the ability to mentally guide that flow of Qi, electrons, from one point to another by thinking about it.  We now have the ability to control computer screens, toys, medical equipment,  and other cool stuff with our minds.  There have been studies and experiments done at virtually every Ivy league school in the country and the findings are conclusive, human beings can control our environment with our minds, Qi.  Oh my God the electrons are now the energy flowing from the Brain.  What comes next? John Stop.

Yes, now we're back to the beginning, something the ancient Chinese knew millennia ago.  Qi, Breath in Breath out, the Life force.  Becomes Qi, the electricity flowing through our wires, which in turn becomes the Qi, wireless technology that runs our toys through the air, then we have Qi, the power directed from your mind to the toys and gadgets we use every day, back to, Breath in, Breath out, and live a good life.

Peace and Balance, 

John   

The Re-explanation.

 If you read the last post you will notice that it reads much like a dusty dry textbook.  That's what happens when I write about things using my logical mind, (Gnos) I get dusty.  So, I will attempt to explain that mundane tired explanation of natural forces using words that I can understand myself.  If I understand a thing, chances are you're going to understand a thing.  

In the beginning of all things that is an energy.  This energy goes through a process of change before we get to a point that can classically be called the Beginning.  The energy changes from Nothingness, to somethingness with a period of utter Chaos in the middle.  This chaos it the nothingness collecting into the Somethingness.  The Chaos swirls, explodes, expands and contracts, blows in and out greater than any hurricane, then finely compacts and quiets into the Something.  That is the beginning, before that we don't count because, just because.  

This something compacts smaller and smaller until it is at the point of a microcosm.  Then there is a short burst of energy.  This energy became self aware, and at the point of self awareness knew all things that was to know and expanded instantly to the rest of the universe.  We'll call this the Big Boom.  I'd call it the Big Bang, but some of you might take that wrong and I'd be stuck explaining the nature of things and we haven't gotten to birds  and bees yet.  

Anywho, the Big Boom happened and all of creation was born in a relative instant.  That was between 13 trillion and 16 trillion years ago on our mundane calendar.  After all there really is no time.  

Ok, I'm going to skip ahead a few trillion years to the birth of humankind.  As we developed the original process of the I Am, that's the self aware thing waking up, took shape into a dusty critter we will call people.  And in this critter a thought was formed with an intention, we will call this the mind, or (Gnos). Greek for Mind.  Gnostic means, the study of the Mind.  Get it?  

Our minds started exploring and we personified all of the creation around us.  We gave human attributes to the forces of nature, our first angels.  We gave human thought to the animals around us.  The Sephia or Animal mind. Sephia can also be translated as Sophia the spirit.  We split our thoughts between our imagination and physical reality.  The God, and Goddess were born and from them all other things are created.  Because this is how we related to our universal creation, now we're back the the birds and bees.  They do exist at this point, but I'm not going to explain things to you that you'll eventually figure out on your own.  

Because we think complicated things, our God families get very complicated.  However, let's backtrack to the beginning.  We all, everything that exists comes from the Aeon (the One)  That is We are all, God.

Peace and Balance,

John

Aeon (Gnosis)

The Gnostic emanations of God: the One, Monad, Aion teleos, Bythos, Proakhe, Arkhe, and Aeons, are often called, Sonship's form male/female pairs called syzygies meaning yoking together in Greek.  These are the energies that Judeo Christians call Angels, and Djinn in Islam.  The spiritual embodiments of the energies of nature. 

The source of all being is an Aeon from which an inner being dwells called Ennoea (Thought and Intent).  Charis (Grace), and Sige (Silence) are a great split in the second Aeon, Gnos (Mind) which complex hierarchies of Aeons are produced.  The mind (Gnos) creates mundane realms from which these energies emanate. The Gnos creates and the energies of nature respond and from within the Aeon the thirty emerge.  These are the intangible, supersensible that belong to the purely ideal, noumenal world. The immaterial and hypostatic ideas of imagination, the stuff of creation.

The power of mortal imagination begins in a flaw.  The original Aeon the Great Archon, Aeon teleos, created passion which became the root of sin, his wanting for the female Aeon Sophia; The light or Spiritual world and it's attachment to the Darkness, the lowest regions, the Physical World.   This is called the Pleroma, the fullness.

A split occurred in the Pleroma, the darkness fell from the light and Sophia was left to the darkness away from her Aeon this created the Demiurge a creature that was never meant to be.  The creature does not belong to the Pleroma, but is part of the Pleroma thus has become the physical world.  We are part of this being.  A split that is always in search of it's other half trying to reemerge back into the Aeon.  

Iesha taught his disciples of the Gnosis, and the origins of the Aeon.  He tried to reconnect the physical world with the spiritual world and his teachings were met with skepticism and fear eventually leading to his death upon the cross. Judas represented this fear, the priests the fear itself, and the disciples the teachings of escape. Hence his prayer, "Our father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name, they kingdom come, they will be done, on "Earth" as it is in "Heaven" Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thy kingdom is the power and thine is the glory forever and ever, in Jesus Christs name, Amen."     This is his direct lesson to us for this reconnection of physical with spiritual, the rejoining of the Pleroma to the Great Archon, the first Aeon, the One or Monad.  

Peace and Balance,

John

The Book of The Hopi

 

In 1963, Frank Waters wrote a book of prophesy and history called, "The Book Of The Hopi."  The book eludes to the rise and fall of past times when men had control of technologies that we haven't grasped yet today.  It leads the reader down a complex abstract narrative that the uninitiated could perceive as being mythological in nature, but then reveals that the information within the book was held as a sacred secret by the Hopi Elders until the proper time comes about to reveal the message to the world.  Apparently the early sixties was the right time.

Tokpela: The First World.  Speaks of He the Infinite creating Sotukang, the nine universal kingdoms.  The Infinite, Taiowa the Creator, and the seven realms for life to come. Now here's where is get's a little funky. It talks of seven vibratory axis around the Earth's center pole to pole all resounding, or sounding at once.  The major Ley lines of the Earth all vibrating at the same time.  

This is when Spider Woman gathered the four colors from the earth and began creating humankind.  She made them in the image of Sotukang, and created four female partners for four male beings.  Who understood the Earth as a living entity just like themselves.  

The Nature of Man:  Of the first Man it was spoken, "Although he had human parents, his first parents are the universal Entities that created him through them from his mother the Earth, and his father the Sun." A solar god that gives all life to the universe.  Ok, we're not talking about  the sun in the sky, but the center of our universe, the center of the Galaxy.  So our mother the Earth is not the consort of our sun, but the consort of the Greater Sun in the Center of all Things. hmmm. Then there was one created apart from the rest, a Man of Knowledge who would be the first Medicine man. 

Tuwaqachi: The Fourth World.  We've skipped ahead a couple worlds, but from out of the third world came a man who made claims to the fourth world, "I am the caretaker, the guardian and protector of this land." The people recognized him as Masaw the appointed caretaker of the third world who was cast out due to his lack of humility and his apparent self importance.  Sound like a familiar story?  

The Legends:  The first of these legends is the Path of the Heart, also called the Road of Life, or the Red Road.  This is the road we follow seeking good in life, and work on becoming a better being.  To know thyself. 

Second Legend: The planting of the magic jar which brings waters to the desert.  This is the story about the Water Witches, or Dowsers of common legend.  The people who find the water and other things needed by the people. 

Third Legend: Transference of Power.  "Old Wu'ya was a man of pure heart.  His time was spent in healing the people, taking care of the children, and teaching warriors how to be men. Upon his death in the place he was buried, a great spruce grew from which the people used his wood in their ceremonies and to make the sacred pipe."

Fourth Legend:  The birth of the Katchina, from which the people learned to read the Omens, and signs of things to come from the spirits of the Earth by offering tokens and gifts to show respect to the Earth our Mother and our Elders who have come before us.  

Fifth Legend: Talking Deer the Sacred Clown was given to the people to teach us of our own folly and to learn the lessons of the self so that we may grow beyond ourselves. 

The Mystery Plays On:  These are the actions of the Sorcerers, the Seers, the Men of Knowledge.  This is the time of great shock, from the beginning to beyond. The first world to the fourth world and beyond. The Sorcerers are those who play out what will come and what has been.  "As it was in the beginning so it shall be at the end."  HO.

Peace and Balance,

John

The Power of Silence.

 

In 1964 Simon and Garfunkel recorded a song that went multiple platinum, "The Sound of Silence."  The words of that song are haunting, and just a tad prophetic.  In a dystopian society where making music, sounds, where you cannot communicate for fear of breaking the ever present Silence, the God of that society may speak of what is happening in our modern world.   Are we heading toward a world of quiet disturbances, where nothing penetrates the mind of man, where that penetration would create an unquietness that would resemble insanity.  Are we becoming Disquieted?

The Power of Silence is unquestionable.  Do you remember moments where a parent or guardian would suddenly look at you over the top of horn rimmed glasses.  Not speaking, barely breathing, nothing moving, but you know exactly what was being suggested, shared, and or communicated in your direction.  That power is ominous.  There is nothing greater in our universe than a parent gazing at a child in contemplation.  The child is frozen in place like a deer caught in a Buicks headlights.  

In deep space there are occasional explosions of powers that we have never actually heard only magnetically measured or felt.  Hugh sounds so loud that they can only be felt, or at such distances that  energies are only travelling and leaving a physical presence, but never heard.  These are the sounds of silence.  Just before a Super Nova, the magnetic field of the addressing star stops, there are no noises coming from that region of space, for just brief moment, then, "Boom" the power emanating from that center is so great all molecular motions stop for a brief space that moves faster than we can measure, light, time.  These too are the sounds of silence.

Grandparents have that power, looking over the spectacles to also freeze grandchildren in there gaze like so many deer.  This is where the parents learned this skill.  It is every parent's obligation to eventually share this secret with their children.  

In a quiet distance a shuffle of power is moving at speeds not comprehensive to the average observer.  The wave is the stuff of creation.  It is Shiva, the Creator, the Destroyer moving unemotionally outwardly from it's center to act.  The Power, the Sound of Silence,

Peace and Balance,

John