Evolution of Truth

All truth passes through three stages. 

First, it is ridiculed. 

Second, it is violently opposed. 

Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. 

Arthur Schopenhauer
German Philosopher (1788-1860)

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The Great War

Great War Monument in New Rochelle, NY

Everything Is An Illusion - The Rope and Snake Zen Parable

~ The Rope and the Snake Zen Parable ~

There is an old Buddhist parable that tells of a man walking home one evening. In the half-light he sees on the path a snake apparently crossing in front of him. He starts and jerks himself away, heart beating fast, wide-eyed and alert. Peering closely he suddenly realizes that he was mistaken, in fact it is an old piece of rope! Relieved and laughing to himself at his foolishness he goes to step over it and glancing down suddenly realizes the rope is a string of jewels. He gasps in awe!

A simple story and we nod and ‘get the point’. But do we realize how often each day opportunities arise for such mistaken identities?

The playwright Alan Bennett tells the story of a holiday at a hotel in Harrogate with his mother. They were taking tea, one afternoon, when a smartly dressed middle-aged woman entered the room with a younger man in tow. Alan’s mother turned to her son and said, “She’s here with her boyfriend, I see!” The next day, while taking tea again, the woman enters alone. Alan’s mother says “I see they’ve had a row then!”

It’s not just that I continually commentate and interpret what goes on around me, but that this ‘story’ - of thoughts and feelings I weave filters my perception of what is real. If I think you are a great person then I see you as one. If I feel the world is a hostile place then I see other people out to get me everywhere I go. Once I think something, it is as if it becomes real and I cannot distinguish between what the situation is and what I think and feel about it.

Walking home at twilight in India it would not be unrealistic to see a cobra slithering across the path. An expectation, a flutter of fear, the half-light, an ambiguous object across the path, imagination can supply the rest. It might be worth remembering that next time you meet with someone you have a bad feeling about and they seem to be antagonizing you.

Story as told by the Venerable Sochu

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Watermelon Slush

When I look back in time, watermelon always was the ultimate summer fruit for me when I was a child. We had peaches, cherries, young apples, and apricots, but nothing could top up a large wedge of chilled watermelon and all that juice that was flowing dawn our arms as we tried to eat our way to the rind.  

 

You may disagree, but for me there is nothing better on a hot summer day than a watermelon!

 

Watermelon is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acid citruline and lycopene. Because of its very high water content, watermelon is a wonderful thirst quencher. Moreover, in Traditional Chinese Medicine the red flesh of the fruit is considered as cooling.

 

Watermelon is quite versatile and can be eaten in many ways. You can add it to smoothies, salads, and juices. You can turn it into a sorbet, granita, or a slush.

 

In the recipe that follows I used a very ripe watermelon. Since it was very sweet I did not have to add any sweetener. I also did not discard the seeds. Many people do not know that the seeds are rich in B Vitamins, minerals, especially magnesium, omega 6 fatty acids, and the cardiovascular system supporting amino acid arginine.  

~ Watermelon Slush Recipe ~

Ingredients:

• 2 cups watermelon, cubed
• 2 cups frozen watermelon, cubed
• juice of 1/2 lime (optional)
• 1 tsp chopped fresh mint leaves (optional)

Method: 

• Cut watermelon into manageable chunks. Put 2 cups into freezer and wait for 20 minutes or so. Thanks to a high water content watermelon freezes quite quickly. 
• Place the fresh and the frozen watermelon in a blender, add lime juice and chopped mint. Blend until smooth. Done!
• Pour into tall glasses and enjoy in good company on a hot summer day.

By Dominique Allmon

Dominique Allmon©2014

A Nation's Strength

Happy Independence Day, America!

What makes a nation’s pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?

It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.

Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.

And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.

Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.

By Ralph Waldo Emerson 
1904

It Will Always Be Summer...

The serene philosophy of the pink rose is steadying.  Its fragrant, delicate petals open fully and are ready to fall, without regret or disillusion, after only a day in the sun.  It is so every summer.  One can almost hear their pink, fragrant murmur as they settle down upon the grass: 'Summer, summer, it will always be summer. - Rachel Peden