As some of you may know from my previous post, Becoming a Land and Home Owner in Second Life, I have been busy on my property in Second Life, making myself at home. Like the real world, this involved a lot of shopping, buying prims to decorate, animations to make it interactive, and my favorite, a TV so visitors can watch a selection of videos of my choosing. (more…)

One morning I took Cannon outside to do his business, and discovered my neighbors digging holes in the cement of their carport adjacent my side yard. Nearby they had a pile of wood and bags of cement. Mind you my side yard is about three feet wide, where I have two trees and had just planted four new bushes. It’s a small, narrow plot that runs along the side of my house. To step off the dirt off my yard is to step on their carport. (more…)

Assuming some things in our lives are predictable, should we discover what lies ahead through astrology, tarot, or other means? Or Should we intentionally focus on manifesting a future? In the past, I would have said, yes, but now I say, no. I do know both are possible through personal experience, but is it really in our benefit to know or manifest events or phases in our lives? (more…)

I stepped away from Buddhism for about a year because I had felt really put off and a bit freaked out by the practice of mindfulness and the concept of not-self. What I found difficult was how much Buddhist teachers advised us to let go of the thinking process, iterated how many problems that thinking creates. My ego rebelled, and I ran. (more…)

I just finished listening to a fabulous radio talk online called East Meets West: Dharma Days and Dharma Nights about America’s interest with Eastern spirituality: how dharma retreats and yoga vacations are becoming a part of the Western lifestyle, and Buddhist teachers explain what Buddhism has to offer a consumer culture. (more…)

People come to Buddhism from many angles: wanting to learn meditation, mindfulness, or compassion. We’re drawn in through a need of self improvement. But unlike most self-help instruction, Buddhism does not cater to those who want to pamper themselves and coddle their fragile egos, their wants and desires. On the contrary, Buddhism chases those delusions right out of our heads. (more…)

I seem to be lucky or blessed to have a naturally happy disposition. It takes an unpleasant event or situation to send me into the land of grumpiness or pessimism. Even so, sadness and despair are no stranger to me, and during these times, I have reached outward, trying to grasp at something to bring that happiness back. Sometimes it’s a good book to help me forget, sometimes it’s food, sometimes it’s new stuff, or new friends. It never works. (more…)

The other morning I awoke earlier than usual. I rolled over with the intent of going back to sleep, but saw a spider crawling around a small area of my bedroom ceiling. Within a few minutes, it was drifting downwards, dangling by a web too thin to see. A bit later it crawled back up to the ceiling, and then back down. Up and down it went for about half an hour, until eventually it got its footing back on the ceiling and scurried away behind the window blinds somewhere. Spiders are fascinating creatures. Their webs are sheer feats of marvelous engineering. (more…)

The dictionary defines relationship as the connection one object has to another.  It’s simply the connection. Yet, in our minds, relationships grow to be a huge embodiment of emotion, rules, assumptions, and expectations. (more…)

The second of the Four Noble Truths says that craving and attachment are the causes of suffering. This is easy to see when we look at hardcore addictions like smoking, alcoholism, and other drug addictions, as those substances tend to have an ill affects on the mind and the health. But it’s harder to see how craving creates suffering in the things that bring us pleasure  and don’t interfere with walking a straight line. (more…)