Cafe antigua

Swies's

Western and reno

Yes, that is my breakfast of a greek omelet. yummy.

Cafe du brazil

Carnival hangover

Sooner fashion mall

Morning Zen

Well, with school not in session I am not in front of the computer first thing in the morning. In the studio I am lucky to sit down long enough to check the email. so for the next few days postings are going to be sparse.
I do want to wish you all a very merry christmas and a glorious new year.

Sparky bowls

Morning Zen

That is a big part of it. So much to do all the time and it needs to get done now or soon or is pressing and takes time. Maybe that is why I forget where I put my coffee cup so often. I am here and there and there and here and all the while carrying it around and then at one of the theres that is a here I set it down and do not remember to pick it back up. Maybe that is the new Koan. Where is the coffee cup when there is no coffee cup.

Movie Quote Friday

Too hard to resist...

"You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It's great to be here."

First one gets a prize...

Morning Zen

Gaining momentum on the day. Int eh learning. Over and over. little pieces each time make more sense. Getting it all, all at once is hardly possible. Try and try and change and try and different and try and again and try. There is failure and coming back again to do more again. It is okay to give up too. Permission to fail.

Morning Zen

There is so much going on throughout the day. Everything seems to be coming and coming. Things get done, how I am not sure. Learning not to worry on the how or when. Plans hardly seem to hold. Accepting what comes and what does not come too.

Morning Zen

It is cold outside. how to find the warmth within? I have heard the stories of the monks who can go out naked into the snow and melt a ring around them with the heat they produce. Urban legend perhaps but a nice metaphor for having the warmth of spirit flow.

Iris' and Mango's

Movie Quote Friday

Douglas won last week. Good job on the squishy...

In honor of the upcoming season...
"We're kicking off our fun old fashion family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols."

Morning Zen

Interesting concepts of meditation. It is said that Prayer is making an appeal to god, asking for that which is needed. Meditation is the listening to the answer. Listen today. the words are found all around us. Ask and receive. The world is full of the parables of living and listening and god all around. become your own parable today.

Holiday Shopping...

What is out there? It is so very easy to get lost in the browse. Not Cot is a cool site. probably a good thing it is blocked at school. sister sites http://www.notcouture.com and http://www.notcot.org/ have way to much for the eye candy of shopping pleasure.

Morning Zen

Greeting the day with an loving embrace. Wondrous is our journey. Complete is the moment.

Pearl harbor day

Movie Quote Friday

Wow! Friday once again.
I have some very lovely glass to give away to the first person how gets it. If you are local and win just drop by the studio to get your prize. If you are out of town drop me an email and I will get it into the mail asap...

"I shall call him squishy and he shall be mine. He shall be my squishy. Come here squishy!"

Dean livley gallery

Open House 2008

Come for the fun. I hope to see you there.

Morning Zen

Reminders. Something there to remind us. A physical manifestation of a prayer. Something of that person we are remembering. A touchstone to open the pathways to the divine.

Morning Zen

Life is good. Busy. Consumed by action and doing. Take time to build the connections today. Stop for a moment and see what is needed by someone else in a way we can help. Take just a few minutes not for the self but for the other. Be there for them and let the rest of the fall away for a few moments. The rest of the day will be better for it.

Morning Zen

Think of the other today. Living, daily walk there is the self and what we do and who we are and our thoughts and actions. Based on self and need and desire. Stepping outside the self today, for a moment or two. Oh yes it is the season for giving and love and peace in the world. Every day and every moment needs to be that season. Instead of one day of giving and the rest for the self maybe we should have a one day for the self and the others for the giving.

email

I am an idiot. I sent out the invitation to the Open House to a good number of folks. I had to separate the list due to the number of folks on my email list. I hit send before shifting from the To: to BCC: I am so very stupid. I apologize to those folks who go the email with such a poor formatting and netiquette error.

Blue Sage Studios Open House

Holiday Greetings from Blue Sage Studios!

The good folks at Blue Sage Studios would like to invite you to our Annual Home Show.

The Home Show provides the perfect opportunity for you to come and watch us work in the studio. We will have snacks and spiced tea and great fun. Please come and check out our latest glass creations and pick up some unique, handmade gifts.

Location:
At our studio located at 1218-C N. Western Ave. in Oklahoma City.

Hours:
Friday, December 5th - 4pm til 9pm
Saturday, December 6th - 11am til 9 pm
Sunday, December 7th - 11am til 5 pm

If you have any questions please  call (405-601-2583) or email (andy@bluesagestudios.com). Check out the website www.bluesagestudios.com for more information.
 
I hope to see you there.
Andy

P.S. Don't forget to visit my Aunt Pat with With Joy Nativities (http://withjoynativities.com) at 17600 Anderson Road in Arcadia, OK. The First Friday Gallery Walk is also happening down on the Paseo.

--
Andrew Mclain Boatman
Blue Sage Studios
1218-C N. Western Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405.601.2583

*This email has been sent in good faith. If you no longer wish to receive email from Blue Sage Studios please hit reply and let me know.

Morning Zen

Faith. Coming to know the divine. Letting go of the self and trust completely in the divine. Give up control or the illusion of control and allow the spirit to come in and direct and guide our lives. Faith does not just spring forth. It is a seed. It is nurtured and watered and tended too with loving care. The Miracle-Gro of selfless acts and helping others allows the seed to spring from once fallow grounds. The warmth and care of love allow it to bloom and bear fruit. Love of self, love of god, love then of others.

Blue Sage Studios Home Show | Wimgo

Blue Sage Studios Home Show | Wimgo

Coffee Musings

There is a time in life devoted to the moment, devoted to the self, in that momnet of being totally focused upon that singularity be it the extraction of espresso, burning incense, a mantra, praising another, turning glass; the world melts away the self desolves. Why at that moment can't we hold on a little longer? Wondering how knowledge of the self and taking care of the self, and living for the self translates. Thinking about living for the self, knowing the great benfits of helping others we act in full accordance with principals of alturistic love. Needing to help and knowing the benfits to ourselves. We do not help to elivate ourself or out of obligation but as to help.

The new Market C

Movie Quote Friday

Wow, it is Friday once again.
I am not sure how I can get more folks involved in guessing. I figured the whole world wide web would be here waiting wanting to get free glass art.

"The dude abides."

Carte de Visite

Carte de Visite - your photography calling card
This guy has some really cool features on his website. Found this one after looking at the Cornell Note Taking Method printouts...

Sage Cafe

Sage Cafe
Coming soon to OKC. This should be good. Along with the new Market C over on 23rd downtown OKC is coming into it's own once again.

OKC Bites

OKC Bites
I found a new restaurant review site for Oklahoma City dining.

Morning Zen

It is interesting. This is not a fully evolved thought yet but. The things we do to protect ourselves can in the end being the things that hurt us more. An example, I do not want a dog. I have had a dog. I do not need a dog. I am closed off to any desire for having a dog. It is a form of protection as every dog I have had has gone away. Great joy and care and love come from having a dog. Great pain and suffering come when they go away. I would rather give up the great joy to avoid the great pain today. But then that thought of how cool would a nice dog in the back yard would be comes up, it is fleeting because the reality and the impractically of having a dog far outweighs the benefits.

EFAI Ornament

Edmond fundraiser will have folks putting on dancing shoes | NewsOK.com
The ornament we created for the Edmond Fine Arts Institute makes the newspaper. It was also featured this month in the Edmond Monthly.

Bed Time

At the end of the day review, where have I been ... Knees - head, shoulders, knees, and toes; but mainly the knees.

Morning Zen

Where to start? at the beginning. How do we get there? look forward. Where are we going? in circles. What next?

One Laptop per Child (OLPC)

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a low-cost, connected laptop for the world's children's education
One Laptop per Child is back. By one and get one. Great idea. Why not?

Morning Zen

Wondering today about memory. Why do I not remember things? Why do names escape me? Memory of the past. Just bits and pieces. Little bits now and again. Some things are perfectly clear. Other things just gone. How to remember. How to get them back?

Barrista's Unite

Movie Quote Friday

It is Friday again! Movie Quotes! First one to get the correct answer of Movie and Characters wins the prize!

Can I have a Tab?
I can't give you a tab unless you order something.
All right, give me a Pepsi Free.
You want a Pepsi, pal, you're gonna pay for it.

Coffee Musings

Art and coffee, the art of coffee, subtle differences like silk in the flow. Two can create the same object and the differences can be striking.

Morning Zen

Making our way in the world today, give it everything we've got... How wonderful. To rise a little earlier. To have a project to do upon waking and having the moments open to act and do.

Fwd: Urban Art Anniversary Party

If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online.

In celebration of the one year anniversary, Istvan Gallery will premier a new art installation Nov. 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will include entertainment, light hors d'oeuvres and beverages. Istvan Gallery is located inside Urban Art, a collaboration among three entities: Istvan Gallery, Blue Sage glass blowing studio and Art Fusion.   The celebration will continue on Saturday and Sunday with an Urban Art Open House from 11-5 each day.  The Open House will feature Glass Blowing Demonstrations at Blue Sage, artisan fused glass work from Art Fusion and the excellent exhibit and sale of art in the Istvan Gallery.   The featured artists for the anniversary event are Tünde Darvay from Transylvania and Nathan Lee from Oklahoma City. Although Darvay and Lee are from different parts of the world, they share an ability to combine natural and mundane objects into works infused with creativity and magic. Nathan Lee is a self taught artist who discovered painting while seeking a musical career in New York. He began documenting his urban surroundings on masonite and creating graffiti-inspired art. He now works primarily as a mixed media sculptor. He has displayed his art in several solo exhibitions including at the Individual Artists of Oklahoma gallery and the Kirkpatrick Center. Lee is also the founder of Inclusion in Art, an organization committed to promoting racial diversity within Oklahoma's art community. Tünde Darvay has been living in Oklahoma since March 2004. The Transylvanian native has shown her artwork in Romania and Hungary and considers her work to be visual representations of the fusion between Transylvanian and American culture. Darvay counts the unique rural landscapes of Transylvania as her biggest artistic influence.   SS Save the S 1218 North Western Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73106-6824 • Phone: (405) 831 2874 • urbanartokc@gmail.com

--
Andrew Mclain Boatman
Blue Sage Studios
1218-C N. Western Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405.473.0754
405.601.2583

Coffee Musings

Life is flowing like the golden brown crema of my quad shot latte. So it goes. Heaven is here now and the creator reveils in each action.

The Edmond Fine Arts Institute Ornament

This is the ornament we created for the Edmond Fine Arts Institute.

Morning Zen

Making a decision. Taking action. Thinking now about the change that we wish to make in life. instituting actions to place that change into motion and have it become a part of us. taking the steps to develop the groundwork and firm setting for that change to rest upon. In implementing that change I do well for a moment. Maybe a day or a week. Slowly it seems that I begin to slide back (and back may not be the right term as it is not necessarily a backward motion slide) into the behavior or actions I was trying to change. Comfort perhaps. Wired so hard and so long into thoughts and actions. Who knows.
An example I have been using Xpenser to track spending. One can send a text message via the cell phone to the Xpenser service with purchase information. It is a great way to keep track of spending. I did very well for a while. Then I would forget once. and then again and soon the practice left altogether. Thinking maybe I can start again. It would be wise.

House

Well. I made a leap. I bought a house. It is a nice little place. I hope it will serve well and be a haven for friends and family. Maybe we can have an open house. I would like to thank everyone who has been so very central in helping me to make this happen.

Coffee Musings

How do you rate quality? Is it fair to compare today to yesterday? The qualities that made yesterday so outstanding are there today and reach beyond expectation. So very good. They speak of the highest order of espresso as the god shot, pulling a prefect extraction from a perfect bean and ground. Yesterday was close, today was there. But then that perfection must be forgotten so tomorrow will be fresh and new.

Morning Zen

We are at the threshhold. for a long while I struggld with what was called the leap of faith. Would think of Indiana Jones on th lions head. Looking back it sems the leap was not from the precipice into the ether but the other way around.

Morning Zen

We have been given a right. To vote, to not vote. To choose a direction. Freedom and all of that. It is said to be a duty by some. Got there at 6:30 was finished at 7:35. I have gotten a tattoo in less time. one thing saddens and that is Oklahoma has no third party candidate on the ticket.
So if time allows and you are so inclined. Head on down to your local polling precinct and fill in the little arrow with a black line of your choice.

Morning Zen

I heard something awesome today on the radio in to work. I thought that is great. I will remember that and talk about it during my morning zen. Of course I did not write it down and it has much like Elvis, "left the building".
I bought these cool little pads my Rhodia that fit in the pocket. I have a little pencil that goes with the little pads. These are for remembering. I just have a hard time even remembering to write down the things I need to remember...

Sophiabellas brunch

Movie Quote Friday

This is a good one. I think I have a pumpkin in need of a home...

First guess...

"I have here a very old letter, written to a Mrs. Bixby in Boston. "Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours very sincerely and respectfully, Abraham Lincoln."

Morning Zen

Wondering about necessity and imperative and the has to of the now. I have heard, lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. It does not seem too kind of a thing. When those events can not be planned for, anticipated, and troubleshooted in advance what then. Letting loose of to take care of. Not even a murphy's law kind of thing. It is just that I see this thing coming. What to do to be ready for the arrivial? Then again I see this thing coming and nothing needs to be done until it gets here. What worked today may not work tomorrow and what did not work probably will not work again unless it is supposed to work and then what did I learn the last time to fix it through this time? convuluted?

Morning Zen

Working and working. Sometimes we fail. Sometimes we succeed. Glass is just sand. Wondering an analogy for life? Prompted as Roy and I were making a huge machia bowl. It was great. An hour of work. Heating it up the last time, starting to spin it out. It jumped off the punty and onto the floor to shatter into many pieces. Tragic. But Roy got another pipe and jumped right back in.

Travel

Out of edmond, nearly impossible, traffic, lights at every half mile or more, eight minutes to go two miles.

Morning Zen

freedom. primarily one of the greatest hinderences in life is tied to the ego to the self to the I. there seems to a great hesitation in growth because everything done is done with one thing first and that is the I. It is time to let go of the I. It is time to let go of the ego. To transcend and go beyond. To release the self and become free to be. Take care of the self but do not act/react live for just that self centered ego driven narrow focus of vision and allow nothing else. How to let it go. I to put the self out of the direct line of thought and action. how to bring the self into the forefront of conscience where it can be seen and examined and let go of. As it stands the self hides and directions and commands. It is not seen and not known that all action is by the self. The higher i even does not know that the I is the one in command. How to break through that self into new light?

Morning Zen

for some reason there is a song that keeps coming up for me over the past fews days or weeks. Bob Dylan. I Shall Be Released. Reading the lyrics there is not much there except a lament of being confined seems like a prison song. Maybe that prison of the self. The limitations I put upon me. The confines I keep myself within and do not allow myself to break out of. The holding back of the spirit. Taking a chance. Stepping out. It feels like one of those preacher at the pulpit moments.

Coffee Musings

Fourty years, at fourty where am I, where were my parents, where were my mentors, where were you, where do you wish to be. At 19 figured I would be dead by 23, by 30 figured at 33 I would be enlightened, at 40 figured life was really just beginning and each day lived as the most percious gift. Many thanks to each and everyone who has brought me this far.

Glass Blowing Pensacola Florida: Contest Time!

Glass Blowing Pensacola Florida: Contest Time!
Check out the glass contest Scott is running. Head over there. Make a comment. Tell him I sent you...

Movie Quote Friday

It is already Friday again...
Do you know this movie and character? Be the first to comment the correct answer and you will win a beautiful glass pumpkin.

""Surely you can't be serious!"
"I am serious... and don't call me Shirley."

Morning Zen

Go the way of the way. Flash thought of the What Would (fill in the blank) Do?
Relax. Accept. Do the next right thing. How do we know the next right thing? Sit. Pray. Meditate. Seek Counsel. Sit. Pray. Meditate. Seek Counsel. Act or do not Act. Know how you feel when doing things and thinking and taking action. Know how the gut reacts to situations and why. How does this feel? Why? Old old tapes playing songs of self destruction? New known feelings of this is not right? Peaceful good feeling without hesitation? Peaceful feeling but fear of the unknown and new? Identify these feelings and reactions and what is needed to change, proceed or flee.

Coffee Musings

My phone is working again. A new phone accually. Nice service plan to replace factory defects. The E key sticks a bit, may loosen up with use. Tmobil had made a change to their system too, this caused the MMS to ogger to no longer function. It was fixed yesterday. So messages from the phone are possible again.

Coffee Musings

The rain cleanses again. Change is on the horizion, change like the sun rising,toknow what is to come may be the question of the quest. What next seems to be all now too familiar refrain for me. What next? That is not impending doom in tone but eager anticipation of the wonder that is just ahead.

Bella vista pancake breakfast

Bella vista

Coffee Musings

The aroma of the day, drink in the smell, have you ever seen a sound, swam in an ocean of color, danced in a warm ray of moonlight? A cup of porceline holding liquid bliss like the pearlisence of the oyster. Yes, the world is my oyster, now I know what he was saying. Does the coffee lead to understanding or since we know do we come to this place to consume?

Fw: Coffee Musings

The peace of the day can be found in the reflection of light in a dark brown cup. Black is not accurate the rich body of this beverage swathed in acomplex form that changes by the sip and by the temperature of the fluid. This is what we work forn what we live for, moments of bliss and quite contemplation. Release of the self into the abyss. Reading quotes today from movies and stuck on "fight club" for a while. The philosophy of a generation wrapped up there from our youth in the breakfast club to our loathing in what is now our middle years. Painful realizations, I really like my khakias.

Morning Zen

The rains came again today. Cleansing. Watching the rain fall and hit and ground and bounce back up. Wondering how to prepare ourselves for things to come. It is possible to ready for work in the morning. Prepared in the mind for what to do this afternoon. Laying groundwork for antipicated events. Savings accounts to be ready for that rainy day. Free of debt. Schooled in GTD. Those things are not easy. They were not taught in school. Learned by watching others and talking, and exploring, and seeking. Explore. Find the things that work for you. I tried the 43 folders, I could not keep it up. My Inbox on email is empty. My inbox on my desk is over a foot high. That is next...

Morning Zen

The external forces seem to cause disruptions to the flow. That cool groove stream and feeling well and sensing a golden buddha nested in the throat. then external forces. How to maintain that peace within when the outside things seek to disrupt?

Earth Day 1992

Ed and I at Earth Day

Blog Action Day

Today is Blog Action Day where bloggers "gather" together to discuss proverty. What is poverty? When does one live in poverty? Is it relative? Is there poverty of the physical as well as the poverty of the soul?
I am still impressed by the teacher who asked if being homeless was a choice. Would anyone choose to be homeless? Run out of choices we do what we have to do.
I think of the poorest county in America. Up in South Dakota, the President even came to visit. Choice?
I do not believe that people can even speak intelligently about poverty and social aliments if they come from dominate culture. The world view is too askew.

Etsy :: StrongStreetStudio :: Glassworks by Scott Novota

Etsy :: StrongStreetStudio :: Glassworks by Scott Novota
Our buddy Scott out in Pensacola has his pumpkins up at Etsy. Show your support for the art of glassblowing and the wonderful work at Strong Street Studio. Buy a pumpkin!

Ice Cream Social - Sunday Oct. 26

Greetings,
We are having our almost annual Ice Cream Social on Sunday October 26th at 2:00 until 4:00.
Drop by for some ice cream and socializing.
It should be lots of fun. Invite everyone you know too.
See you there,
Andy

--
Andrew Mclain Boatman
Blue Sage Studios
1218-C N. Western Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK 73106
405.601.2583

*This email has been sent with best intentions. Please let me know if you no longer wish to be on our mailing list. And send along anyone else who would like to be on it...

Ice Cream Social

We finally picked the date...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
2 til 4
Come by the studio for some ice cream fun!

Morning Zen

There is little in this world that is not a mystery. Even those things we think we understand seem to hold new meanings, new associations, new wonders. That which is ordinary and seen take a step back today and look at it new. Look at it for the first time again. Remove from the mind what the thing is, remove the preconceived notion of the thing, see it for what it is complete for the first time.

Blackberry Curve

I got a blackberry curve at the beginning of the school year. It is nice. Easy to use. The ringer and the alarm no longer function. TMobile is sending me a new phone. Enhanced protection may be a good thing to get if you are looking at a BlackBerry. A week without an alarm. Hope I can wake up on time...

Morning Zen

Profound thought denoted by the association of the simply. Why is so much spiritual principal explained in metaphor? Why are the most simple statements used to impart the most profound of knowledge. Why must one experience? Examine

Picasa Screen Shots

This is for a training session on how to use Picasa. Taking Screen Shots with the new beta 3 release and now clicking the BlogThis! feature

Movie Quote Friday

Movie Quote Contest
The first person to post in the comments with the correct answer for the character and the movie will receive a prize. Make sure an include some form of contact information.
I think of things all week long, forget to write them down, and now on Friday, nothing comes.

"By Grabthar's hammer, by the sons of Worvan, you shall be avenged."

Morning Zen

It is a wondrous day indeed. Beauty abounds in our universe. The stars in the skys on an early morning rise and the sun fading them from sight. A friend saying good morning and have a lovely day with a warm smile and fresh cup of coffee. A moment of silence if only within to break the cacophony surrounding. Another step forward.

Morning Zen

sitting in quite contemplation. Seeing what needs to be. Gathering strength to make happen. Do. Always back to Yoda... there is do and do not, there is no try. Something every day. Regardless. Act a little every day. The physical body must also be ready. The spiritual body is in a state of goodness. Ready and able and learning and expanding. The emotional body has been purged and cleansed and continues to mend. The intellectual body rebels against reading and teaching and learning but the mind continues to grow and absorb. The physical body needs exercise, needs strength, needs care and devotion to stretch and grow with the rest.

Morning Zen

There is a huge nebulus thing out there. Just out of reach. A thought, an idea, the solution, more questions, static and dymanic, particle and wave. Not sure what it is but the conumdrum of the day and at it's edge is this something that contains the answer. Examining the problem surely with time and process and discussion the answer will make it self known. Coming to the answer, how do you get there?
So the question... If you have one hour to provide technology training for teachers what vital information should be covered?

Morning Zen

Catching the train. It is like getting on in one place and being magically transported to another place and the journey there was spent in relative comfort of being. I watched the last half of Peaceful Warrior this weekend. It was a good movie, full of the Morning Zen ideas and thoughts and universal truths. Highly recommend it. Grab hold of little bar and hang on for a ride.

Morning Zen

We have spoken many times on many things. What progress have I made? Is it even wise to look to see or even possible to gage the progress of the spirit. In the stream you can see the bank go by. Knowing that going somewhere is being made. Feeling good about direction and purpose and where we are heading. Feeling comfortable in the progress and even comfortable with the times of uncomfortableness and trouble and confusion all as part of growing. So change and doing differently. It is wonderful to have friends and guides and those with experience to bump me back on track to check my progress to hold accountable in measure.

Chase bank

Do not bank at chase bank. 15 minutes in line. Low rates, hidden fees. Too late to change banlks now.

Movie Quote Friday

First one to get the movie and characters... big prize this week.

"Maliciously destroying municipal property while under the influence. What was that?"
"Cuttin' the heads off parking meters, captain."

Coffee Musings

When does passion and consuming convert to addiction? Morning cup, latte, work cups, lunch latte, cups, afternoon french press, more press, evening latte. Not every day but typical consumpsion.

Morning Zen

Moment of silence. taking a moment to be silent. Turn off the ringer. turn off the monitor. pull over the car. breathe deep for a minute. Take the time. It is good and it is most necessary.
Peace

My Truck

Searching today on Street View in Google Maps, I have found my truck...twice...


View Larger Map


View Larger Map

Street View is cool

Morning Zen

Analogies for progress race about and bounce around in the head. There are so many approaches to being and growth. Stories about the other who has found and achieved a state of being desired. Stories laid out like stepping stones across the river, providing a bridge to the other side. This can hardly be spoken of without some kind of analogy. There is seemly no way to explain it otherwise. Putting to words something for which no words can explain. Telling to others what words alone can not express. An illustration of a personal experience for the whole of the world to see and follow. It is just not enough. Experience is the key and the act must be completed.

Morning Zen

my buddy george say's something to the effect "I may not be much but I am all I think about". I am learning more and more just how wrapped up in self I really am. Seeing myself with focus only on myself is a harsh reality. Want to view the myself not that way, helping others, giving freely, in service, and yet at the core is this absorption. I am not sure how to shrink the ego.

Austin peace pole

Foo

Coffee Musings

Feel the love, fill with love.Coffe this morning at Thunderbird in Austin caused a full cup of undrinkable swill to be left on the table followed vy a trip to the emerald press for a cup made with care and love and breakfast rwcommendation to the Counter Cafe.

Dutch babies

Movie Quote Friday

Not really a quote but a sign appearing in a movie...
"The Whole Year Inn"

The winner gets a special prize this week.

Morning Zen

That may be why I find it difficult to produce so much text in this place. Simply a paragraph here and there. Something nearly everyday but it is usually a little something without much meaning or lends from other sources. So the whole of each entry can not really make up a better whole of the place.
a halfway between the dream place. That place before waking but no longer asleep. When dreams and images flow and are seen but still not remembered. Walking in the dream. Not yet enough coffee. Is there ever enough coffee?

Coffee musings

The space between. Happy joyous and free is what we long to be. How to achieve that state of pure freedom from the bondage of self? Imprisoned by thoughts amd doubts and constructs of the self. Imposed by nature and by nurture, the things and skills that served us well and allowed us to survive no longer work for us in a healthy way and discard those we must but then we are left with untested and unknown and not sure what to do or how to progress. I thank my cousin El for this seed of thought.

The Whole Year Inn

Nina Simone sings Bob Dylan "my best friend the doctor won't even tell me what it is I got"... It is an overwhelming prospect you know, the entirety of living laid out before us to figure. The vast expanse of time and single tread in that tapestry. Believing our thread is something and stepping back to see the other threads touched and touching and the weave. And so the wish, I wish I could heal the pain I see in others, the sickness, the disease, wish I knew what to say, wish I could touch and alleviate the suffering.
I wrote this last night. Needs some work.

Bangkok

12 x 12 photo booth by Romy

Morning Zen

Visualize - Seek an image to pull you through like a mantra for the eyes instead of words. Picturing today a paisley like flame burning upward. Inside the golden orange is another paisley in blue, the kind of thing you might see affixed to someones forehead. Dancing the flame a Krishna dude.
"He plants the tree of life upon our foreheads with water" Sunrise lyrics streaming through at the same time.

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds
The cool site of the day.

Coffee Musings

The hyphen between. Living the hyphen. The moment is the hyphen. Read that somewhere and it stuck this morning.

Beverleys

French toast

Morning Zen

The unknowing is just that. Unknown. What is it we desire to seek? How do you come to know. To sit with something. To examine that something. To be with it and watch it. To ponder it. To ask the self and ask others. Making the time seems to be the most difficult part. Taking the time to ponder and process the knowing. Give the time it takes. Do not hurry. Do not rush. Do not expect. Wait for it. It will come. How do we know it will come? Because it does but will not until the receiver is ready.

Movie

Ghost city, odd, microphone is seen in every scene.

Movie Quote Friday

This one may be too easy. First one to get the correct answer with movie and character gets a prize...

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”

Coffee Musings

Single orgin. The art of the thing. When does one shift from being a consumer to being a conasuierre?

Morning Zen

The focus. The moment and being within the moment. Where is the focus? Upon what? There is the saying that in meditation accept what comes. If a tomato comes to mind, embrace the tomato (not too hard mind you it is a tomato), accept that thought, let the tomato go so the next thought can come in. Making room. Remain open. Clearing the clutter so as the new can come. Maybe this is why to clean the house, make the bed, fold and put away the clothes. Making room. With a pile of clothes in the corner there are too many surfaces where things can light and take hold. Things not needed. The dirty clothes piles of the mind... into the hamper, wash and dry, pretreat with spray and wash if necessary. hang them up, fold and put away. I suppose iron but why? Laundry is a precursor of counseling. Clearing the mind, reason to pay the bills and pay down debt. Reason to look at Get Things Done and move ahead. We are given the tools. We are learning. Now to act. Act again tomorrow and the next day too.

Morning Zen

Moments, savor moments, take moments out of the day. No that's not right. Live moments within the day. Yes. Live moments. One and two here and there. String together two or three more. Living fully within each moment. Authentic living. Authentic practice. Becoming who we are in those times. Living. More and more each day.

Ornament

YouMail Home

YouMail Home
My service with CallWave went out of Beta and into the pay zone. You may remember the CallWave service will get voice mail, transcribe the message and send it via email and send a text message too. It was great. No $24 a month great. Searching online today for a replacement I have found YouMail. It is a free service. It looks like it will be a good one. The website has advertizing which is annoying but necessary I suppose.
I will try to keep you up to date on this new service. In the meanwhile give me a ringy ding ding and see how it works.

Morning Zen

What today can be done for others? Little things. What today can be done for the self? Little things. Consider that which we do with no thought. Take a moment in those action times when thinking does not really occur, when the rote action is in motion. Pause and breathe and think about the action or inaction. Pause and consider. Do the files make the sound of waves?

Morning Zen

Seasons are changing again.

Coffee Musings

Beauty in the eye of the beholder. Taste in the buds of the drinker? What for makes a good cup? The melding of flavor perfect for one will be hollow for the next. With most all of life the subjective is the play.

Spirit of the West - South Dakota, Wild Horse and Burro Conservation, Mustang Conservation, Service Learning for Teens-The Road Less Traveled

Spirit of the West - South Dakota, Wild Horse and Burro Conservation, Mustang Conservation, Service Learning for Teens-The Road Less Traveled

Movie Quote Friday

Good Morning folks.
If you would like to win a prize be the first one to correctly name the movie and character. Be sure to include your contact information.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November."

Coffee Musings

The creation of the elixer. Considering the ways to make the brew, granted it is a delightful thing to craft. The Mr. Coffee machine on the kitchen cabniet dripping the swell of Folgers on a daily basis. Where is the love? The vietnamese french press, a delightful instrament filled with grinds from New Orleans, melding with the creamy goodness of sweetened condensed milk. The french press with its infusion releasing the full body of the bean. The perkulator, taking the time to produce a cup with loving care and flavor pure. The espresso machine, more art then function, independant or machanized fully. Grind, tamp, millibars of pressure, purity of water and bean, so many factor coelese to produce our modern alchemuy. Druids of the bean...

Morning Zen

Changing the reaction. Read today it called auto-response. The fellow I speak with says it is the lies I tell my self on my first thought. Programed by the self for so very long the first thing I think. My first reaction to situations tends to be one based not on reality or no functional truth but upon a negative experience or thought transferred to the present. Tainting the moment with something that is not even true or real. Break free from that ingrained. Learning to let that come and work through the process to break through to a reality of the situation and being. Acknowledge the thought. Address it. Ask if that thought is truth and from what is it based and from where it comes. See the thought as it is not dress up in the fanciful cloaks of the mind but stripped of power and illusion. Is it true, is it real, is it valid? Accept it or let it go for the truth.

Coffee Musings

The weave of the tapestry. The fates create the wonderous cloth of our lives, the threads individual moving and touching and blending, to intertwine and then to diverge again. Seeing only the individual threads and color and moment with a glimpse now and again of more. Drifting now and again as if outer body to see the entirity of the tapestry, more like a vision is a colorful dream.

Morning Zen

In the events of the day dictating the nature and direction of the morning zen makes sometimes for a heavy heavy day. We lift them up to you today.

Morning Zen

From whence it comes. I suppose the details and thoughts on the morning zen arrive throughout the morning. Typically up and shower and coffee and drive and work. During the few open minutes at the beginning of the work day I compose the thoughts for the morning. Email catching up and reading daily quotes and the horoscope can influence the process. Dreams from the night before, conversations and catching up with others too. The events of the past week have been heavy in the heart and mind and this morning just brings more clarity in living life. Fully live today.

Morning Zen

There is a moment. Described in many ways. All the tumblers click into place and the door previously closed, opens. A moment when the confusion and questioning ceases, and clarity and answers come. That moment. Savor it.

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