more inspiration...

just finished an old (but new to me) classic: "way of the peaceful warrior" by Dan Millman. thx to Lisa Lipscomb for the reference (see her goal #16). it was a fun, easy and enlightening read. here's a snippet:

"There is no need to search; achievement leads to nowhere. It makes no difference at all, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world... the only laws are paradox, humor and change..."

ok that sounds pretty flaky out of context; it is a hippy-dippy philosophy (similar to Carlos Casteneda's) but a good story nonetheless and I recommend it.

if you want something more logical, more cut-and-dried, try these lecture notes on free will and determinism I also read this evening (hint: he thinks we have free will).

psychotherapy and religion...

“If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him!”. was a book I browsed years ago and was just reminded of. here’s a nutshell "eschatological laundry list" by the author that a reviewer on amazon shared:

1. This is it!

2. There are no hidden meanings

3. You can't get there from here, and besides, there's no place else to go

4. We are all already dying and we'll be dead for a long time.

5. Nothing lasts!

6. There is no way of getting all you want.

7. You can't have anything unless you let go of it.

8. You only get to keep what you give away.

9. There is no particular reason why you lost out on some things.

10. The world is not necessarily just. Being good often does not pay off and there is no compensation for misfortune.

11. You have the responsibility to do your best nonetheless.

12. It is a random universe to which we bring meaning.

13. You don't really control anything.

14. You can't make someone love you.

...so put that in your pipe and smoke it :)

nonviolence: Martin Luther King and capital punishment...

work in progress...

Clarence Ray Allen - sick old dude, ordered killings from jail cell

some murders are more important than others, but for the victims loved ones it's just the same

justice is a balancing out, making up for...
so capital punishment is a form of revenge? a dish best served cold? is that what we accomplish by killing an old man who's been in jail for 30 years?

is this the best balancing out we as society could do?
why was he allowed to talk to anyone?
interpretation of "cruel and unusual" in constitution allows execution but not more severe treatment e.g. solitary confinement.

capital punishment - from latin caput: head or top - the worst, most
severe punishment... getting "tough on crime"

bleeding heart liberals are "soft on crime" in other words do not support justice

everyone that participates (and in their actions is a de facto supporter) in the meting out is part of the official violence.

MLK preached that non-violence is a powerful tool (or was it weapon?). like Jesus not striking back at the enemy, this "withholding of justice" creates a potential, an imbalance that (maybe) must be rectified somehow - in other words let the universe be out of whack and overrule justice with love and compassion. this is the ridiculous idea that these guys preached -- let the murderers laugh. so where is the power that comes from nonviolence? to be continued...

Oskar Schindler to the sadistic concentration camp head - "think of the power you have in not killing them"
Ayn Rands objectivism - ultimate power lies with the individual

new name...

now my blog is not so blah :) "infosnack" is the trendy word of '05, so now it's not so trendy. and adoptable by me. I'm not good at being leading edge, but I'm pretty good at following the trend. anyway, my posts here are little morsels, tidbits of 30 second items, so it's more appropriate. so there you go!