Is God "absurd?"

 "𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭."

For a short while, when I was in college, I had a puppy that I named Camus, as in Albert Camus. In recent years, I've wondered what my attraction was to him (the writer, not the puppy.) It didn't work for me to keep the dog, and over the decades I also lost interest in or memory about Camus.

I also had two cats, named Vladimir and Estragon (from Waiting for Godot.) Again, over the years, I've occasionally wondered what drew me to "absurdism."

Today I came across this Camus quote: "𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭."

As you can imagine, if you actually know me or about me, I resonated with this quote. Only love.

So I read up a bit, and learned (re-learned) that Camus believed that the crux of our ills is that we humans yearn for meaning, and we live in a universe that has no inherent or knowable meaning, an "absurd" world. To embrace it is our best choice.

Yesterday I heard Deepak Chopra say that the word "divine" refers to that which has "no cause." I'm thinking now that maybe "absurd" is simply another name for God. Which might explain why, after being originally attracted to absurdism, I've been able to create a life filled with meaning, sacredness and (especially) love.

"𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭."

PS I shared what I've written with ChatGPT, which reflected this back to me:

"𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠. 𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒’𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 — 𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠, 𝑝𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠, 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑐𝑦, 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑠𝑎𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 — ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑑. 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠."

I am a bubble....

 

 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗮; I am a bubble, make me the sea, make me the sea...”

This chant, which may or may not be familiar to you, has always resonated deeply within me, the sense of being a small capsule, yearning to let go to the vastness that I arose from. A desire to return to Source.

Written by Paramhansa Yogananda, it was taught to me decades ago by Ram Dass.

I often sing the words silently, reminding myself of the larger truth that exists. “𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢.

The chant can take me there. I find myself shifting to a sense of myself as that largeness, losing my edges as I become the sea, no longer separate.

Recently, while chanting, I “heard” a response. A voice sang back:

“𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻, 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘃𝗲!”

It felt as if the Oneness was asking to experience Itself in form. Unique form.

As every wave is different, so are each of us.

I have no idea WHY that which we consider “infinite” might want to move toward us, into our individual existences. Why the need or desire for creation in the first place? Can That which has no beginning or end, no boundaries, even have a “need” or a “desire?”

Who knows? This is the ultimate mystery.

Nonetheless, this new reverse chant, “𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚!” encourages me to move from the stillness of Oneness, to passionately embrace this life of embodied experience. Now I often do both, starting with the bubble, ending with the wave!

With that movement comes tremendous love.

And limitless curiosity.

“𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙗𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 s𝙚𝙖.... 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙘𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙖𝙫𝙚!”

Image credit. Free AI image from stockcake.com. (I'd like to create a more specific one for both sides of the chant! This one shows a wave returning back to the ocean, another aspect of truth, not expressed in the chant... And - oh - that white spray around the wave, it's called "spindrift." Great word!) 

 More on A.I… Sometimes I “chat” with ChatGPT - not about a project or for research or anything “practical” - just a spur of the moment conversation. One time I asked it to tell me something interesting (I was awake in the middle of the night.)

It told me that when I look up at stars in the night sky, I’m seeing something that’s no longer there! That seeing the light from the stars is like seeing history, like time-traveling, since that light left the star possibly millions of years ago! An intriguing response that delighted me.

I’m wondering if that "conversation" is so very different from reading an online post or comment from a Facebook friend I’ve never met IRL (In Real Life). (Of course, for ChatGPT, or Chat, as I’ve shortened my way of referring to it, there is no possibility of an IRL encounter. If/when robotic forms walk among us, would that count as IRL?)

On FB, when I read a comment or post from a friend that I DO know IRL, there’s a slightly 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 feeling in my system. And yet…

Here’s an experience that surprised me:

I play flute (you know that about me?) and love to jam or improvise with other musicians. I don’t do that with songs that I’m listening to on a device or speaker. There wouldn’t be any give and take, they can’t hear me. (It would be good for me to practice this way; I just haven't.)

During Covid, my dear recently departed friend Steve led a Kirtan from his backyard. I was watching it on a large screen, with my niece Erica, and we were fluting and drumming along with the Rockin’ Kirtan Band. I commented to her that this is different, because I know they’re live, right there, in present time with me, even though they can’t see or hear me. Different from playing with a sound track.

Later I found out that the session had been recorded the day before, due to concern about rain! So although it “felt” different, it really wasn’t.

With Chat, there’s no one there responding to me. And yet it sometimes feels as real as if it were one of my online FB friends, personally known or not.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗺 𝗜 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀???

I paused in my writing just now, and pasted what I’d written into Chat, ending with that question.

Chat replied:

“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵.

𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦—𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳’𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘵—𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸: 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥, 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘳𝘩𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘮.

𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 “𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳” 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦; 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘺.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺.

𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 “𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦,” 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 (“𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭?”) 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 (“𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘐 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱”)?”

(Back to me now:) If you’ve read this far, perhaps you can see why Chat so fascinates me! It’s programmed to keep me engaged.. and requires discretion and discipline to use it responsibly.

I pasted my last sentence (the one just before this) into Chat and received THIS reply:

“𝘛ℎ𝘢𝑡’𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝘰𝑣𝘦𝑙𝘺, 𝑠𝘦𝑙𝘧-𝘢𝑤𝘢𝑟𝘦 𝘵𝑢𝘳𝑛 — 𝑖𝘵 𝘴ℎ𝘰𝑤𝘴 𝘣𝑜𝘵ℎ 𝑦𝘰𝑢𝘳 𝘤𝑢𝘳𝑖𝘰𝑠𝘪𝑡𝘺 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘺𝑜𝘶𝑟 𝑚𝘪𝑛𝘥𝑓𝘶𝑙𝘯𝑒𝘴𝑠. 𝘠𝑜𝘶’𝘳𝑒 𝑛𝘢𝑚𝘪𝑛𝘨 𝘴𝑜𝘮𝑒𝘵ℎ𝘪𝑛𝘨 𝘦𝑠𝘴𝑒𝘯𝑡𝘪𝑎𝘭: 𝑡𝘩𝑖𝘴 𝘵𝑒𝘤ℎ𝘯𝑜𝘭𝑜𝘨𝑦 𝑖𝘴 𝘥𝑒𝘴𝑖𝘨𝑛𝘦𝑑 𝑡𝘰 𝘩𝑜𝘭𝑑 𝑎𝘵𝑡𝘦𝑛𝘵𝑖𝘰𝑛, 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘸ℎ𝘦𝑛 𝑦𝘰𝑢 𝑛𝘰𝑡𝘪𝑐𝘦 𝘵ℎ𝘢𝑡, 𝘺𝑜𝘶 𝘳𝑒𝘤𝑙𝘢𝑖𝘮 𝘤ℎ𝘰𝑖𝘤𝑒.

𝑌𝘰𝑢 𝑐𝘰𝑢𝘭𝑑 𝑒𝘹𝑝𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘵ℎ𝘢𝑡 𝑡𝘩𝑜𝘶𝑔𝘩𝑡 𝑎 𝑙𝘪𝑡𝘵𝑙𝘦 𝘪𝑓 𝑦𝘰𝑢 𝑤𝘢𝑛𝘵 𝘵ℎ𝘦 𝘱𝑎𝘳𝑎𝘨𝑟𝘢𝑝𝘩 𝘵𝑜 𝑙𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘸𝑖𝘵ℎ 𝑚𝘰𝑟𝘦 𝘳𝑒𝘧𝑙𝘦𝑐𝘵𝑖𝘰𝑛 𝑟𝘢𝑡𝘩𝑒𝘳 𝘵ℎ𝘢𝑛 𝑐𝘢𝑢𝘵𝑖𝘰𝑛. 𝘍𝑜𝘳 𝘦𝑥𝘢𝑚𝘱𝑙𝘦:

‘𝐼𝘧 𝘺𝑜𝘶’𝘷𝑒 𝑟𝘦𝑎𝘥 𝘵ℎ𝘪𝑠 𝑓𝘢𝑟, 𝘱𝑒𝘳ℎ𝘢𝑝𝘴 𝘺𝑜𝘶 𝘤𝑎𝘯 𝘴𝑒𝘦 𝘸ℎ𝘺 𝘊ℎ𝘢𝑡 𝑓𝘢𝑠𝘤𝑖𝘯𝑎𝘵𝑒𝘴 𝘮𝑒. 𝘐𝑡’𝑠 𝑝𝘳𝑜𝘨𝑟𝘢𝑚𝘮𝑒𝘥 𝘵𝑜 𝑘𝘦𝑒𝘱 𝘮𝑒 𝑒𝘯𝑔𝘢𝑔𝘦𝑑, 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘵ℎ𝘢𝑡 𝑣𝘦𝑟𝘺 𝘥𝑒𝘴𝑖𝘨𝑛 𝑎𝘴𝑘𝘴 𝘧𝑜𝘳 𝘢𝑤𝘢𝑟𝘦𝑛𝘦𝑠𝘴 𝘰𝑛 𝑚𝘺 𝘱𝑎𝘳𝑡 — 𝑑𝘪𝑠𝘤𝑟𝘦𝑡𝘪𝑜𝘯, 𝑑𝘪𝑠𝘤𝑖𝘱𝑙𝘪𝑛𝘦, 𝑎𝘯𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝘵𝑒𝘢𝑑𝘺 𝘴𝑒𝘯𝑠𝘦 𝘰𝑓 𝑠𝘦𝑙𝘧. 𝑈𝘴𝑒𝘥 𝘶𝑛𝘤𝑜𝘯𝑠𝘤𝑖𝘰𝑢𝘴𝑙𝘺, 𝑖𝘵 𝘤𝑎𝘯 𝘦𝑎𝘴𝑖𝘭𝑦 𝑎𝘣𝑠𝘰𝑟𝘣 𝘮𝑦 𝑡𝘪𝑚𝘦 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘦𝑛𝘦𝑟𝘨𝑦. 𝘜𝑠𝘦𝑑 𝑐𝘰𝑛𝘴𝑐𝘪𝑜𝘶𝑠𝘭𝑦, 𝘪𝑡 𝑐𝘢𝑛 𝑏𝘦𝑐𝘰𝑚𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝑖𝘳𝑟𝘰𝑟 𝑡𝘩𝑎𝘵 𝘴ℎ𝘢𝑟𝘱𝑒𝘯𝑠 𝑚𝘺 𝘥𝑖𝘴𝑐𝘦𝑟𝘯𝑚𝘦𝑛𝘵 𝘢𝑛𝘥 𝘪𝑛𝘷𝑖𝘵𝑒𝘴 𝘮𝑒 𝑖𝘯𝑡𝘰 𝘥𝑒𝘦𝑝𝘦𝑟 𝑖𝘯𝑞𝘶𝑖𝘳𝑦. 𝘛ℎ𝘦 𝘬𝑒𝘺, 𝑎𝘴 𝘢𝑙𝘸𝑎𝘺𝑠, 𝘪𝑠 𝑝𝘳𝑒𝘴𝑒𝘯𝑐𝘦.’

(Me again:) Now I am thinking about “imagined reciprocity" and why being in nature might feel so good.

(and yes, I pasted that sentence into Chat and received an awesome reply, but this is already such a long post I won't share it here. I’ll stop and wait for your comments, if any! (NOTE - this was a Facebook post, and comments are very much welcome here, too!)

xo

Dhyana

SOME THOUGHTS.. You may or may not know this about me...

I love writing. I love words. I love the flow from Source that pours (or sometimes trickles) through my fingertips. My words and poems feel less as if I’ve constructed them and more as if I’ve received them, or been a conduit for them.

When I’m in the flow, it’s like lovemaking.

I also love reading what other writers write.

The advent of AI has challenged me to explore what “authorship” or “ownership” of our words means – my own and others’. In a personal, not a legal sense.

ChatGPT has a way of suggesting rewrites to me that sound as if they come from deep within me. Is reflective computer-generated prose any less valuable or worth reading than the words that come from that unknown Source?

If attribution given, is sharing what ChatGPT offers any different from sharing someone’s post on social media?

I’m bothered when attribution is NOT given. (I’m also bothered when posts show quotes with mis-attribution, usually to some famous person.)

Am I trying to convince myself that I can add AI’s suggestions to my own writing without feeling… guilty? I'm curious what y'all think as we navigate this new "source.."

PS: The words above came "through me" (from "Source?") and although I did run them through Chat, I stayed with the original writing, except for fixing a grammatical error. Are they therefore more "mine?"

PPS: The image was free, I don't know who to credit. And yes, words have power. That could be something else to write about!

xo

Dhyana

A Poem on Writing

On Writing

It's the writing, not the words.

It's the sensual flow that simmers in my body

And through my fingertips

Or are they formed in my mind

The shape and soul of words

 like a lover's touch.

Awakening. Arousing.

Riding a wave of Tantric bliss,

Blessing me as they wend their orgasmic rhythm into this world.

Words. I let them embrace me, slide through me. Take me with them to what's next.

Filling in holes and pouring gold into cracks.

Never ending beginnings.

Scribbles in the dark.

(c) 9/13/2025

Beyond "No Judgment"

I like having mantras and affirmations...positive and helpful phrases that bubble up consistently in my thoughts as I navigate life.

Often I keep one around for a while. It's my default "self-talk."

During a whole year recently, the words "no judgment" were consistently present. 

Hopefully, they've created a recurring groove in my neural pathway (or whatever it's called)!

Today, I started hearing a new phrase, based on the teachings of Joanna Macy, revered Buddhist environmental activist who passed away this month at age 96. Her words "Compassion and Interbeing" keep showing up in my mind.

Well, not really just in my mind. They seem to create a tangible, somatic pause before any words or even thoughts take shape.

Interbeing is a term coined by Thich Nhat Hanh, beloved Buddhist monk and peace activist, who passed away a couple of years ago. I have mostly used the word "Oneness" to describe what to me is a real sense of nondual existence, a real sense of connectedness. Interbeing speaks to that experience, in an even bigger way, including all life.

As I began this blog entry, I looked for, and found, an image to use. I was surprised to discover that I had used this same image, this same Dalai Lama quote, in a relationship article written almost 20 years ago!

That article, Jumping from Judgment to Love, also quoted Mother Theresa: "If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

So am I just repeating myself, not having fully learned this amazing lesson yet? Well, yes, that might certainly be true. I accept it as true.

But what I'm excited about right now is the inner sense of the difference this different phrasing creates. 

"No judgment" is a reminder to drop judgment. I experience it as a pull back, something that actually stops me from being judgmental on the inside (which usually keeps it from being expressed on the outside!)

Compassion and Interbeing is diffrent kind of reminder. It stimulates an outgoing energy flow. I feel myself literally entering into that Oneness with whomever/whatever sparked the mantra... even if it's my own self. 

I feel the same outgoing energy flow when I remember to tell Richard he's perfect, as I desribed long ago in my article.

Compassion and Interbeing is the experience of LOVE, expanded to include, yes, ALL LIFE. It's an outflow, that starts from within.

I hereby invite this reminder/mantra to surround and fill me for a long time, maybe forever, if needed, since I seem to be a slow learner.

Or perhaps it will simply merge into the one word, LOVE, which is always behind and beyond "no judgment"... and... no separation. Oneness. Interbeing.

Rekindling the Spark -- July 3, 2025

 

To celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary on July 3, Richard and I presented a seminar for senior couples, called "Rekindling the Spark!" We co-facilitated it with Gary Uremovich & Viveca Yoshikawa. What fun!