Being Ordinary

“The game is not about becoming somebody, it's about becoming nobody.” (Ram Dass)

"The word humility, like the word human, comes from humus, or earth. We are most human when we do no great things. We are not so important; we are simply dust and spirit - at best, loving midwives, participants in a process much larger than we." (Wayne Muller)

"Joshu asked his teacher Nansen, 'What is the way?' 'Ordinary mind is the way,' was Nansen's answer." (Katsuki Sekida)

"Before Enlightenment, chop wood carry water, after Enlightenment, chop wood carry water."

"Hey Kalli..."

One of the joys of parenting is getting your kid to say things that aren't exactly educational or socially relevant - but that which makes mom and dad laugh. Take this for example, where dad gives daughter a lesson in Pop Culture 101.



If you so wish, you can see more videos of the kid on her blog at babykalli.blogspot.com.

Music Journal

As if one blog isn't enough to keep up, I've started another. I invite you to read and comment not only on this site, but also on my MUSIC JOURNAL - which is located at www.trevdiesel.com/journal.htm.

Rock.

Delight

"Remember that we live in bodies that, through a feast of the senses, appreciate the beauty of the world." (Wayne Muller)

Yesterday, I had my favorite meal: Buffalo Wild Wings' chicken wings coated in Caribbean Jerk sauce, a basket of Buffalo Chips (fries in the shape of coins) dipped in ketchup, and a cold large draft Newcastle. It's true that I'm trying to eat vegetarian anytime I have an option - but this is my one hangup (ok, maybe there's more than one). But it's a glorious one. If I knew I was going to die tomorrow, I'm quite sure this would be my last marvelous meal.

Then, my buddy Derkillama and myself sat in my garage shortly after a large thunderstorm had moved through and watched dark clouds rolling by, a peaceful rain, and the sky light up with sporadic lightening as we sipped homemade Jack Daniels Mint Juleps and enjoyed expensive cigars.

When life's good, it's good.

Nacho Libre

This might be genius or rediculous (or maybe both). A catholic priest becomes a professional wrestler.

Click here to watch the EXTENDED trailer.

"I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night... for some toast."

"Missing the Mark" is Right on Target

The other day, my radio passed by a Christian station and the guy on air said "We're ALL prone to sin!" to which I smiled and shouted out loud "Of course we are!" See, the man was saying that we are are inclined to sin, but it shouldn't be that way. This is why it made me smile.

Take time to seriously consider what your life - what this life - would be like if everything was good, right, and perfect. There would be no surprise, no drama, no excitement, no horror, no ecstacy, no trajedy, no mistakes, no sucesses, no failures, no life. A complete being is comprised of light and darkness - how could it be any other way?

Of course, intentionally causing suffering to others through our "darkness" is a rather elementary way to live and has never been considered a "good thing." But there is certainly no need to look down on ourselves for our blemishes, dark places, failures, and times that we "miss the mark" (sin) - that is precisely what makes life LIFE!

Afterall, as Ken Wilber puts it: "The Realization of the Nondual traditions is uncompromising: There is only Spirit, there is only God, there is only Emptiness in all its radiant wonder. All the good and all the evil, the very best and the very worst, the upright and the degenerate— each and all are radically perfect manifestations of Spirit precisely as they are...not a grain of sand, not a speck of dust, is more or less Spirit than any other."

How Cliche

In this day and age in the final analysis, you've got to grab the bull by the horns and give one hundred and ten percent if you want to stay ahead of the game. After all its a dog eat dog world where the fat cat powers-that-be will stab you in the back with a crushing blow if you don't come up to scratch and you won't know what hit you. So don't get caught napping with your pants down - because then unless you get your act together and cut the mustard, you're well and truly up for a rude awakening at least according to the doom merchants though let's not make a drama out of a crisis; look on the bright side: even if it all goes pear-shaped and you're left in the lurch, your heart is in the right place and now so long as you can keep your head above water and the wolf from the door you'll be able to spend time with your family and get away from it all anyway. let's do lunch so I can rub it in. Have a nice day.

[From "This Book Will Change Your Life," Benrik]

Super Lame

Ok, this is going to make me super lame (and most of you would probably care less about this), but my daughter watches The Doodlebops on Disney every morning and for months I've been saying, "I'd pay $100 to see what those people look like without their makeup on."

Apparently I owe somebody some money.

The Best

One day Banzan was walking through a market. He overheard a customer say to the butcher, "Give me the best piece of meat you have." "Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You can not find any piece of meat that is not the best." At these words, Banzan was enlightened. (Zen story)

I've had quite a bit of internal turmoil the last few days and have been prone to grumpiness. I don't know what it is exactly - there are a lot of changes, transitions, and uncertainties going on in my life right now (new boss, deciding what to do with my music career, thinking through next life steps, etc.) so that is most likely what it is.

The thing I have to remember is that every piece of meat is the best. Uncertainty, confusion, grumpiness, failure, anxiety - are not bad (therefore causing more mental suffering) - they are simply one side of the Spirit coin that has to be a part of life in order for it to be life.

When I can really see that even the darkness is light (samsara is nirvana) - that's a marvelous place to find myself.

History of CGI

Not that I'm a huge CGI fan (Computer-generated imagery in film and television) - but this brief overview of the history of CGI is actually really interesting.

We'll just agree to forget about the CGI Jabba the Hutt inserted like a foreign organ into the reissue of Star Wars IV.

Ok, maybe we won't.

Recap

Don't have much time to share today as I am catching up from being gone all weekend, but here's a brief overview:

• Unfortunately did not advance in Battle of the Bands last Thursday - but has given me the fire to push on and do bigger and better things. It was a very high energy show and may have been one of the best (minus the poor sound system).
  
• Had our "vacation" trip to Michigan over the weekend. Lots of driving in drizzle and rain (hasn't stopped raining here since about last Wednesday).
• Met up w/ sister and BIL, did some damage to the ol' liver.
  
• Digital relationships become reality! Amy and I met w/ blogger friends Dan and Suzanne (i.e. the Michigan Version of Us) - it was very, very cool. Thank you guys for hosting us - let's do it again soon!
• Swung by another set of friends' house in Grand Rapids for the night.

Now playing catch up. Ever notice how you need a vacation after vacation?

Checking Out for a few...

Got a busy couple of days planned and won't be blogging much until next Tuesday.

TONIGHT: Tonight is Round 2 (of 3) of the Battle of the Bands. It should be a great show - I've added three new cover songs to the band's setlist: "All this Time" (Sting), "Only the Good Die Young" (Billy Joel), and "Africa" (Toto).

THIS WEEKEND: Michigan, here we come. We're going on a whirlwind tour of three different spots. First, visit my sis and B.I.L. (brother in law) in way-the-hell-north Indiana. Then, meet and visit blogger friends Dan and Suzanne for the first time. Finally, meet up with some old friends of ours in Grand Rapids. And we're not taking the kid.

So Happy Mothers Day to all - and I'll see you in the first part of next week.

Every Child...

My blogger friend John Moore recently posted this poem, but if you happened to have missed it, I wanted to share it with you here. I love this.

Every child has known God,
Not the God of names,
Not the God of don’ts,
Not the God who ever does
Anything weird,
But the God who knows only 4 words.
And keeps repeating them, saying:
“Come Dance with Me, come dance.”

[Hafiz]

A Preview

I'm not sure how many of you check up on my music site - trevdiesel.com - but I'm getting ready to add a new page in the next week that contains brief synopses of my songs as well as all of my lyrics. If you have any interest in checking it out (before it goes live), click here.

Another Trip

Tomorrow begins another trip around the sun!
It's been a wild ride so far...

Hey what would it mean to you?
To know that it’ll
Come back around again
Hey whatever it means to you
Know that everything
Moves in circles.
[Incubus, "Circles"]

Grounded

When was the last time you laid on your back in the grass?

Amy, Kalli and I were playing in the backyard last night when I decided to crash out in the lawn. Two very interesting things happened.

First, there was a very slight but significant psychological shift where I felt I had a whole new perspective on things. I don't even know how to explain it except that we're so used to be 5-6' above the ground all the time, there was a very strange new vantage from that level. Sure I crawl on the floor all time time (especially with a kid and with yoga), but doing it in the dirt is entirely different.

Secondly, I had this weird experience where suddenly it didn't seem like there was just a floor underneath me, but rather that I was on the top of a very thick crust of earth. See, it was like I was on TOP of this massive planet, rather than the earth being just a floor on which to walk. Not sure if that makes one damn bit of sense or not.

"Tiger in a Tropical Storm" by Henri Rousseau (1891)

FROM WIKIPEDIA:

Because of his naive style, Rousseau had many critics and often people were shocked by his work or ridiculed it. His ingenuousness was extreme, and he was not aware that establishment artists considered him untutored. He always aspired, in vain, to conventional acceptance. People said that he painted like a child and did not know what he was doing, but the work shows sophistication in his particular technique.

From 1886 he exhibited regularly in the Salon des Indépendants, and, although his work was not placed prominently, it drew an increasing following over the years. Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surprised!) was exhibited in 1891, and Rousseau received his first serious review, when the young artist Felix Vallotton wrote: "His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it's the alpha and omega of painting."

For all the times we take ourselves too damn seriously...

"Ask yourself: Is there joy, ease, and lightness in what I am doing?" (Eckhart Tolle)

"What you have to do, you do with play. The universe is God's play." (Joseph Campbell)

"I think seriousness is a mask of self-importance and self-importance in turn is a mask for self-pity. So if you're really going to pursue a spiritual way of living in the world, you must be lighthearted and carefree, have humor, be able to tolerate ambiguity and embrace uncertainty, and be forgiving of yourself and everybody else." (Deepak Chopra)

"I have some difficulty in conveying this idea because most people take anything to do with religion seriously -- and you must understand that I am not a serious person. I may be sincere, but never serious, because I don't think the universe is serious." (Alan Watts)

"Humor and paradox are often the only ways to respond to life's sorrows with grace. Humor, too, seems built into the fabric of the universe, so filled with paradox and surprise and uncanny combinations." (Matthew Fox)

"Tokusan was studying Zen under Ryutan. One night he came to Ryutan and asked many questions. The teacher said: `The night is getting old. Why don't you retire?' So Tukusan bowed and opened the screen to go out, observing: `It is very dark outside.' Ryutan offered Tokusan a lighted candle to find his way. Just as Tokusan received it, Ryutan blew it out." (Zen story)