I (heart) Halloween

I've come to a realization this year: I think Halloween is my favorite Holiday.

Now, I know that's not true for most people, but:

1. I love all the ghost and monster specials on TV
   
2. Dressing up in a costume, ringing someone's doorbell and getting candy ... how freaking cool is THAT?
3. I think it's extremely healthy and balanced that our culture has a day which celebrates the "Shadow" side of life
4. A good scare can be a lot of fun
5. My daughter in her Elmo costume is way cute
6. I'm looking forward to seeing all the little ghosts and ghouls ringing my doorbell tonight

BOO!

AMAZING... "When Albums Attack"

This is beyond brilliant...

"We're just two lost souls..."

After three whole hours of practice (total, for a 6 song 'concert'), with a group of guys that have never played these songs before (hence the sheet music), I present two songs from our quickly-thrown-together Pink Floyd performance. Sadly, the guy filming did not record "Shine On You Crazy Diamond," which was without a doubt the best one of the night. Oh well, here's a sampling. Don't be too hard on us... (and sorry about the poor lighting)

"Wish You Were Here"



"Hey You" ... damn high notes :-)

Empathy

Yesterday my child fell off of mama and daddy's bed while sleeping... which is like a 3-4 foot drop. Apparently, she had her fingers in her mouth because she now has a deep bite mark on her middle finger.

It was very hard watching her go through the pain. To comfort herself, she wanted to pop those fingers back in her mouth but there was an annoying band-aid in the way. Of course our hearts were breaking because we wanted to do what we could to take the pain away.

Much later after the fiasco was over and my mind was free to go elsewhere, it hit me: What if I widened my circle so wide that anyone's suffering broke my heart that much (or even half that much)?

Ask and you shall receive...

A few of you requested that I post some video from our little "Pink Floyd Tribute" concert the other night.

Well, ok.

But you'll have to wait a few days. (I should be getting a DVD from the guy who recorded it in the mail within the week.)

Stickiness and an Empty Cup

There is a couple I know that are having martial difficulties. One of them believes it to be a "spiritual issue" (i.e. Satan is attacking the other spouse) and doesn't seem to be interested in resolving things until this other person is "right with God."

It's going to be extremely hard for them to get anywhere because the problem that is being painted as a "spiritual issue" is in fact a relational issue.

I guess I'm just seeing (in general, in the world) that religion is sticky and it can really get us "stuck." It also has the ability to justify our behavior. If you say "God is telling me to do this" (even though it's not the most loving, accepting, and open action), how is someone supposed to disagree with you? When we're convinced that we are right... that our actions are justified by God...we become suicide bombers and stubborn asses.

Religion - spirituality - at its best can be about stripping us of what we think and want - as well as liberating us from our preconceived notions and conditioned responses. It has the potential to make us more open and more widely accepting... not more rigid and closed. My hope is that as we all grow spiritually, we are able to say (as my buddy Tommy puts it): "I know nothing."

To slightly tweak a classic story: A young religious type went to visit a famous spiritual teacher. While the master quietly served tea, the young man talked about his own opinions of life and of God. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The man watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" he blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How will you be open to what God is really like unless you first empty your cup."

The Truth is (indeed) Stranger than Fiction

Here are a couple of today's headlines from the front page of a respectable Indianapolis TV news station:

• Boy Allegedly Kills Twin in Spat Over Gum
• Dog Saves Owner, Dies Trying to Save Cat
• 5 Killed in Bangladesh by Wild Elephants
• Town Lets "Turkey Testical Festival" Keep Name

(TheIndyChannel.com)

Trev Floyd

Our friends have an annual Fall Bonfire party and this weekend is the weekend. Most of the people who go to this party are musicians and someone came up with the idea this past week that since we're all Pink Floyd fans (a couple of whom I went to that concert with a few weeks ago), we should "cram" this week, learn two PF songs and perform them for everyone on Saturday night.

So, I guess I'm doing lead vocals, back-up guitar (no lead) and some keyboards on "HEY YOU" and "SHINE ON YOU CRAZY DIAMOND."

Should be a fun time... especially singing the last verse of "Hey You," if you know what I mean (non-falsetto, high C).

Acceptance

When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.

[Fred Rogers]

Update and Responses

UPDATE

Yesterday, Tommy/Isaiah commented: "This is cute and all...but where's the stuff you write that makes my brain flip?!?"

It's true. I haven't been very deep lately. In fact, I'm mainly on survival mode - keeping up with various goings-on. My spiritual practice has fallen by the way-side and I'm excited to get it back on track - however - I've learned that there are CYCLES in life. The cycles are natural and ok and it's fine to have some down-time from things that are normally vigorous and vice-versa. Perhaps the deepest question arising out of all of this is: "Is anything ever wrong? Or are things just are what they are?"

I have ordered a couple of new books including Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth" (which I know a lot of you have read) and a really interesting workbook called "The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth."

RESPONSES

1.) Celeste - glad your husband enjoyed Hardcore Zen!
2.) Jax - melt into the Diesel. ;-)
3.) Jon - I found Catherine Doherty from a friend that lent me the Poustinia book. It's a must read, especially for the Frimster!

Wonder Showzen

If you get MTV2, you may have stumbled across "Wonder Showzen." It's a half-hour program that's put together like a children's show (something in the vein of Sesame Street) but the content is quite possibly the most offensive stuff I've ever seen on TV. It's major cognitive dissonance, that's for sure.

I'd be lying if I didn't say I got hooked on this show about a year ago. There were many times I have laughed until I wet myself and a other times I cringed at the unbelievably inappropriate profanity. Here are a couple of the "tamer" funny bits:





...and now for a more inappropriate clip (but certainly funny in a dark, dark way)...

Concert Going

This past week a friend called and said he had an extra ticket for the Roger Waters concert outside Indianapolis. For those who may be unaware, Roger is one of the lead singers, founding members and main writers of Pink Floyd. What a great freakin' show... it was honestly a concert experience unlike any other I've been to. Who writes songs like that anymore? I could barely listen to the radio today because everything that came on sounded like poorly composed drivel.

Here was the amazing set list:

FIRST HALF: In The Flesh, Mother, Set The Controls For the Heart Of The Sun, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Have A Cigar, Wish You Were Here, Southampton Dock, The Fletcher Memorial Home, Perfect Sense parts 1 and 2, Leaving Beirut, Sheep.

SECOND HALF: Dark Side of the Moon - the entire album, uninterrupted from start to finish.

ENCORE: The Happiest Days Of Our Lives, Another Brick In The Wall (Pt 2), Vera, Bring the Boys back Home, Comfortably Numb.