Saturday, November 19, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving

Time to say count our blessings.

Well, here is a practical guide to survival during the holidays from Saturday's NY TImes. Amusing but some how hits the mark?



NOVEMBER 15, 2011, 7:04 PM
How Do I Not Lose My Marbles Stuck in the Car With My Father-in-Law?

By JEFF GORDINIER
Q.
Thanksgiving this year means my wife and I will have to pick up her father, a clueless sociopathic serial womanizer who basically talks about himself in a 24-minute clip that repeats endlessly. How do I not lose my marbles stuck in the car with this self-absorbed maniac?

A.
For decades there’s been a joke in Buddhist circles: A guy comes back from a retreat and tells his friend that he’s achieved enlightenment. To which his friend replies, “Wait until you have to spend the weekend with your parents.”

Thanksgiving, of course, is not only about food. It’s about sharing that food with people who grate on you and push buttons. Buddhists talk about the way we get trapped in the suffering of repeated cycles of existence. Sound familiar?

During the holidays, “we fall back into our ruts,” said Lama Surya Das, a 60-year-old Buddhist teacher and author. “People make holiday resolutions: ‘Oh, I’m not going to get mad at Uncle So-and-So, or at my mother or father.’ And how long does that last?”

His tips for breaking out of those crazy-making ruts are based on decades of teaching — and common sense. Sit next to people who annoy you the least. Avoid conversations about religion and politics. Drink in moderation. “Alcohol disinhibits, so people get a little more sloppy and less mindful and say things they wouldn’t,” he said. Try to empathize with family members who drive you bonkers.

“I try to see the Buddha in them,” he said. “See the light, the divinity in them. Even in the difficult ones.”

And if all else fails, tell yourself what the Buddha figured out: it’s all an illusion.

“I quote from the diamond wisdom sutra: This is just like a dream, like a fantasy, like a sitcom,” Lama Surya said. “And then I can laugh much more. You’ve got to keep a sense of humor about these things, and not expect the struggle to end.”

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Please Read This!

Four years ago when I began this blog, I offered some insight into the goals of radical Islam. I recommended a book by Bruce Bowers called " While Europe Slept"

Radical Islam is not a religion; but an aggressive violent movement dedicated to the establishment of Sharia law with a take no prisoners approach. There is no compromise, no co-existence, and certainly no acceptance of the rights of women and men that the world has been striving toward for 5000 years of recorded history.

When Mubarak was ousted and the Arab Spring began, I wrote a blog to alert you to the fact that the Brotherhood was in the mix, had changed its tactics and was starting out to become part of society and the political process.

Why? Because to do other wise would have brought the rest of the world to its feet in response.

The tactic, as Bower pointed out five years ago, was to conquer by assimilation!

Friends please watch this youtube video and be aware of the real danger to our country(ies).

Please le me know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN6CHtGGo4g

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A SERIOUS QUESTION?

If you are a Republican or a Tea Party member what do you think of the candidates in the last week? Would love to hear from you. Can it be that Sarah will start to look really good shortly? Even Rudy?

As for the Democrats, you need not answer. I KNOW WHAT YOU THINK....YOU HAVE BEEN SENDING ME MATERIAL ALL WEEK THAT I SHALL PUBLISH SHORTLY.

Of course if you can not resist, send your comments along