Zen and the Art of [insert anything you want here]

I guess you could say I'm into New Age thinking. I liked "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. I just started listening to some lectures he gave in Findhorn Scotland, "Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn retreat [sound recording]: stillness amongst the world" (ISBN - 1577315081, in case you're interested). It's pretty good. He talks about living in the now, just as before, but just a little different. You know, like most other New Age sorts (and most other [insert religion/occupation here]).

My uncle Bill mentioned him the last time I went home and I think he was surprised I knew who he was. Looks can be deceiving about people. That's one of the main points about his two day retreat. Each person develops a picture in their mind of other people that is almost necessarily untrue. He argues that one's picture of themself isn't really true either as it is constantly changing. There are similar concepts in Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, etc. It's not so much revolutionary as it is a way to speak spiritual thoughts without having to attach it to a dogmatic belief in everything that is taught (which is why I think I like "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse so much. That book should be required reading for every parent and kid when they enter college.)

The idea that living in the now is taken for granted is so powerful if you have in fact taken it for granted for so long you don't remember the last time you've enjoyed just simply being in the world. It's even more powerful when you come to the realization that you have NEVER experienced this or you develop a new understanding of what it means to actually say "I am experiencing the now and for that I am truly grateful". I would guess it isn't as powerful if you're already enlightened, but how would I know that?

I enjoy the idea that you can find profound statements pretty much anywhere you look if you look hard enough and I think that is one of the first steps in truly appreciating this existence.

Also: I added zenhabits to my list on the right. It's a fairly interesting productivity site. I might add a few more after I sift through the links he blogged about here.