Essays

My essays. These are writings about various topics, but centered on spirituality. I had a big push in ’93 or so, and a few on and off since then. Just started adding recipes…

I’m tagging things now-spirituality, fitness, recipes.

  • Recipe: Bread machine bagels

    I got a bread machine last year. My normal weekend breakfast during the summer is bagels, so I figured I needed to make my own. These turn out nicely, once you figure out that the hole needs to be a lot bigger than you would think. Ingredients:1 1/4 cup water3 3/4 cup flour2 tbsp sugar1…

  • Recipe: Mulligatawny soup

    Just found this-yummy. Brings back memories of London and delicious soups. And it’s very close to that. Ingredients:3 Tbsp. unsalted butter2 medium onions, finely chopped1 large carrot, finely chopped1 celery stalk, finely chopped1 red serrano, finely choppedKosher salt1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper4 cloves garlic1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, minced1 Tbsp. curry powder1 tsp. ground cumin1…

  • Recipe: Sweet and Sour Pork

    I’ve been using this recipe for decades. It’s from a cool book called The Wok. It’s very very good. Ingredients:8 oz. boneless pork1/2 tsp. salt1 tsp. light soy sauceflouregg yolk1 firm 3″ tomato1 3″ oniongreen pepper12 pineapple chunks1/2 cup “sweet and sour” sauce Cut boneless pork into 3/4″ cubes. Season with salt and soy sauce.…

  • Recipe: Chicken Curry

    I found this recipe online a year or so ago. It’s a really fine red curry. I went and picked up some real curry powders at an Indian market and that made it perfect. INGREDIENTS:1⁄2 kg (1.1 lbs.) chicken (preferably bone-in, boneless is okay)2 to 3 tablespoons oil1 cup (3 medium) onions (fine chopped)1 to…

  • Recipe: Multi-grain crockpot oatmeal

    Here’s an easy overnight recipe for delicious oatmeal. Yummy and filling on a cold morning. I make this and the rice on the weekends during the Fall/Winter/Spring. Ingredients: 2/3 cup Steel cut oats2/3 cup of any or all: whole grain wheat, millet, barley, flaxseed, etc.1/3 cup Raisins, cranberries, blueberries1/3 cup Walnuts (optional)2-3 tbsp Sugar/Brown sugar/honey1-2…

  • Recipe: Maze gohan

    This is a recipe for rice with mixed vegetables. You can add other stuff as well-tofu, chicken, seasonal vegetables, kiriboshi daikon, etc. If you put the ingredients in the rice cooker before cooking you get takikomi gohan instead. Ingredients: 2 measures rice2 tbsp carrot2 tbsp celery2 tbsp shiitake mushroom1 tbsp bamboo shoots1 tbsp dried seaweed-wakame-reconstituted,…

  • Steiner’s credo

    Rudolf Steiner, born in 1861, sets down his core points of view in a Creed written in 1888 when he was 27 years old. The Philosophy Of Freedom is published 6 years later and expresses Steiner’s world view that the “idea” is the spirit. CREED Written by Rudolf Steiner in 1888 and titled “Credo” which…

  • OOBE 101

    Here is an 8-step OOBE procedure. Position yourself comfortably, but not laying down. Make sure nothing is touching. Draw energy down from your head to your feet, but don’t circulate it. Relax your body and your mind, focus on your third eye. Don’t dwell on discomforts or distractions. Detach your consciousness from your ego and…

  • Spiritual Armageddon

    The Bible was correct, the “second coming” is upon us. Every two thousand years a change of seasons comes upon humanity. The focus of the change is halfway between two states of humanity. This is the point of transition between the two states. The last focus was on the Renaissance, at the turn of the…

  • The keystones of Western culture

    How does our modern culture define itself? This definition is the basis of how we think, how we act, and who we are. I want to find one or two things that act as the pillars of the definition. I’ll start with the general thrust of our culture. Western civilization is a supremely rational, materialistic,…

  • The decline of Western civilization-a moral decay?

    To start, I’ll define terms. I mean by decline, the ending of a culture. By Western civilization I mean the attitudes that result from a certain outlook on life, based mostly on European culture, more specifically post-Renaissance mercantilism and the Industrial Revolution. By moral decay I mean the results that this attitude has on the…

  • A method of spiritual advancement

    To evolve is the goal of all life. Evolution is the cause of and the effect on the organism being changed. Evolution is progressive, building upon the prior changes to the organism. Humanity is at a waypoint of its physical evolutionary path. The human form will not change for several thousand years, at minimum. Evolution…

  • The trial by fire: drugs as a “shortcut” to enlightenment

    There are several paths to enlightenment-each are suited to a particular personality. These provide the person with a path and exercises that are comfortable to them and give the most effective growth. There are ways that are universal to all types of people, that provide rapid experience of enlightened states, and that are easy to…

  • A physical regimen

    Our physical body is the ground in which all our lives are based. Without the physical body, we are only spirit, unable to learn and advance along the path of enlightenment. Our body is therefore the first most important body to develop and take care of when undertaking a spiritual path. It is a temple,…

  • A yoga routine

    Purification exerciseVisualize a being of pure light and love (Padmasambhava-Lotus-evolved one), who is sitting in the midst of a lake on a lotus flower in front of you. He is in front and slightly above you at a thirty degree angle. He will come into your heart when you have sufficiently purified yourself. Closing your…

  • A stretching routine

    Preliminaries It is important to follow a few precautions while stretching. – A stretch should extend to a point where the stretch is slightly uncomfortable, never to pain.– Hold a stretch, never bounce. – Keep a stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds, preferably 30 seconds, and for overly tight muscles, 1-2 minutes. – Slowly…

  • Weightlifting Routine

    Strength training is one of the foundations of physical fitness. The following is an approach to strength training. I prefer to use Nautilus machines, because they provide the most complete workout. You can use them if you prefer, or any other type of weights. The routines described here provide a balanced workout. This routine is…

  • The Diet

    This “diet” isn’t really a diet in the usual sense of the word. It is a diet in the proper sense of the word, though. Diet-n. 1. The usual food and drink of a person or animal; daily sustenance. This is what I mean when I say “diet”-what you normally eat, day in, day out.…

  • Emotional/mental regimen

    As part of a total system of physical and spiritual development, a program to develop the mind must be included, as the mind controls the body in many respects. The mind (and emotions) are how sensations are interpreted and the facility that generates and controls actions. Thus, as the middle point between body and spirit,…

  • Spiritual regimen-perceptive exercises

    One of the most important parts of developing yourself is through exercise. Normally when we think about exercise, we think of physical exercise. This definition needs to be expanded in order to improve ourselves and by extension humanity. I’ve said elsewhere that there are three great pillars of self-physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual. This essay deals…

  • Joyousness as the natural state of humanity

    Humanity has changed with the spread of Western civilization. The primacy of mercantilism, the importance of material goods, has altered the relation of man to himself, to others and to the world around him. As man is descended from animals, he retains certain characteristics of animals, and primarily of those animals closest to him. To…

  • Did Christ Take on 2000 Years of National Karma?

    Christ is the New Testament image of a “saviour”. What is he saving? The bible never tells us exactly. Christian dogma says that he was saving all men from their sins. This can be taken several ways. Is he saving all men from their individual sins? Is he saving just those men who accept him?…

  • Chakras as nodes of spiritual resonance

    Chakras are special points along our spine. They come from Indian spiritual belief. They represent foci of specific types of energy. There are 7 chakras, distributed from the bottom of the spine to above the head. Each one has a specific color, name, location and series of attributes. They are commonly represented as lotus blossoms,…

  • Charting the chakras

    There are 7 main chakras, and several secret ones just below the top… Name Petals Location Element Color Attributes Image sahasrara 1000 above head “the crown”-infinite Vindu, Visarga-Shakti-root of bliss secret creatrix parama-nirvana-Shakti secret crescent Nirvana-Kala secret 16th digit of moon Ama-Kala secret eyes and throat Kama-Kala secret beak Pranava secret feet Shiva Shakti secret…

  • Asymptotes and infinite regress-the climbing ladder of evolution (man from nothing to star)

    If we postulate that the goal of life is to reduce entropy, there must be some manner in which this entropy lessening/energy increasing action to manifest itself. To see this energy increase, a graph is an appropriate tool. An exponential graph which represents a function moving from maximum entropy to minimum entropy, or minimum organization…

  • Asymptotes and the folding of the planes

    The asymptote as a fundamental image of progress is an apt metaphor. It can be applied to many things, including spiritual thought. If we look at the asymptote as a way of representing increased energy levels or spiritual refinement, several interesting corollaries occur. If we are looking at increases of energy Kundalini most readily comes…

  • Building a spiritual hut-the first great step

    On a personal level, the quest for spiritual progress takes many forms. That there are many paths up the mountain of spirit is a common but apt metaphor. The goal of all spiritual work is to reach spiritual purity. Along with spiritual purity comes the ability to inhabit spiritual space. How is this goal accomplished?…

  • Ritual in modern life

    Humanity needs ritual to give substance to his spiritual life.What are the rituals?Initiatory, equinox/solstice, change of life, daily, cleansing, other.Special actions and words and time spent in a sacred place with others of like mind provide people with a structure to focus their energies.A consistent set of actions also allows the mind to focus and…

  • The “Bodhisattva cops”

    At the end of our current great incarnation, the masters who return to clean up the dirty street and sweep the last ones up. “Move on down the road”Volunteer to come back fully conscious. They act to pull the left path people into one. They do this by merging. Left-temporal, nontemporal influence, control, sensation, egocentrism,…

  • The Philosopher’s Stone

    The essence of alchemy is the Philosopher’s Stone-the method of transmuting pure essence of spirit energy into physical and mental activity and reality. It is not a stone per se, but a method of attainment that pulls Kether, Ain Soph and Ain Soph Aur into Tiphareth and distributes the transmuted spiritual essence and energy into…

  • Will Legalization End The Violence?

    As a drug user of some 17 years, I say YES, legalization will end the violence. Here are three reasons why. Use vs. abuse Drug use is what is currently thought of when you look at the legal drugs-alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. While these drugs are certainly abused by many in our society, they are…

  • Tibetan Buddhist Lotus Deity Summary

    Location Element Buddha Consort Buddha-realm Color Ray Throne Implement Enemy Virtue Attendants Center Ether Vairochana Akasha Dhatvishvari All-pervading circle/Densely arrayed White Blue Lion eight-spoked wheel Ignorance All-accommodating, embodiment of emptiness East Water Vajrasattva Akshobhya Buddhalochana Complete joy Blue White Elephant five-pronged vajra scepter Violent Anger Mirror-like Wisdom Kshitigarbha, Lasya, Maitreya, Pushpa South Earth Ratnasambhava Mamaki…

  • Portland Electronic Poet, Program Seventeen

    Hello. I am E.P. This is program number seventeen, a fragment of a long prose poem by Xzemach Faccio. Day 281: I think they will try to do it with water. The glass vials look as if they have been filled during the night. One has a greenish tint to it. This must be nearer…