Absolute Clownshoes

We've been playing with a rather complex analogy which I believe Alexis can claim as his own, but I want to take this opportunity to build on it with my own experiences and understandings, of self and of truth. As I understand it, and there may well be something lost in translation (often something is lost, but it's ultimately a trade as the new permutation speaks to evolution), this analogy is about a person on a swing and how the effort to engage that swing is like the effort to be aware . When a person first sits upon a swing, and seeks to encourage movement, they must adjust their center mass. Mass forward equals forward movement which starts with just a rocking, and then as momentum is earned, and the oscillation switches to a pumping action and this, when synchronized with the swaying of the swing propelled by gravity, allows one to articulate along the arc as per the verb. Swing. This initial energy, difficult and fraught with syncopation, is akin to becoming aware. The ...

Dharma has been... well, enlightening.  I recently was encouraged (by multiple sources employing different mediums) to "PAY ATTENTION TO FLEETING THOUGHTS."  The most recent of these messages was delivered verbally by one Alexis Santos, whom I joined a sanga  to meet and am now just absorbing as much wisdom from as I am able to tenuously hold onto. I was issued this gentle suggestion on Sunday and on Monday afternoon, I was afforded the opportunity to notice one of these fleeting thoughts, so I put a rivet through it. As I was getting into my Forester to drive to the second day of the retreat, after having worked mostly from home in the confines of my glamorous bedroom come office come improvised gym come improvised yoga studio come changing room come storage closet come dry bathroom vanity come dinner nook come... maybe you get my drift: I rent a room and that's where I spend a more than ample amount of time.  I'd love to just blame the disparity of generational wea...