14 of 81, Poems from the Tao

spoken word

Author's Note

captcha ... podolite

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

Amazing verbal poetry and wisdom shared. Thank you dear Pryde for sharing your words and thoughts.
Coyote

[Pryde Foltz]

Thank you, dear Coyote:)

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome dear Pryde.

[Leigh]

Loved listening to this - thank you

[Pryde Foltz]

Thank you, Leigh. Nice to see you:)

[Leigh]

You too, been a while :-)

[wordman]

maybe one day pryde we will all know every thing
love your stuff..

[Pryde Foltz]

Thank you, Ron. But there is no keeping up with everything. Trust you will know what you need to know when the time is right. That is my approach:)

[R J Askew]

I had a listen and greatly enjoyed your delivery. I've tried recording a few myself and hate how I sound. But you show how to do it. Very balanced. As to the content. For some odd reason I found myself rearing up at 'clear your mind of though'. We are defined by thought, I thought, we are thought, all is thought. We need more and better thought. Thought is active and beautiful. It may not surprise you that I have a little difficulty when it comes to meditation in yoga. I think meditation is useful not to clear our minds of thought but to help us think more clearly, perhaps to edit our thoughts. So your voice made me think! (Far too much perchance!)

[Pryde Foltz]

Thank you, RJ. I enjoyed your comment. You are first mind and then thought. Thought is what the mind does ... it is not the mind. We seek to clear our mind of thought ... for a time ... because it allows one to hear beyond ego-based thought; fear, anger, lust worry, etc. Wonders will be revealed. But no, we do not want to end thought ... for that would be the end of new creation, but rather guide it better. For most learning to stop incessant thought is the first step ... meditation is usually the way. Guided meditation is also a way; as is focused exercise. Pursuing philosophical thought, also a way. Many Ways:) Namaste:)

[R J Askew]

I am clearly in want of wisdom. But, the combative male sees it this way: all is war, struggle, with success being the sole purpose of life, to win, we need to refine our thoughts infinitely to ensure we are ahead of those who would beat us. To this end all that matters is higher though and the actions it produces. Wisdom is of no use of itself other than as a way to fine tune our active thoughts and actions. I sense there is an endless conflict between the conscious and our spirituality which goes to the core of all we are. My worry is that meditating into great calm undermines our conscious will. This could make us vulnerable to a superior thinking being who would then undo us. The world appears to me to be a very uwise place. I wonder if wisdom is only a wise choice when everyone is in pursuit of it? Thinking men are very dangerous as they clamour only to win.

[Pryde Foltz]

Meditation makes the motivation of others transparent ... with time you see through everyone. To meditation under-minding your free will ... understand you began this response by revealing your programming; it is not you; it is everyone ... survival of the fittest ... does that sound like individual free will to you? If just about everyone thinks this way. hmm. Working hard and incessantly until it kills you is the modus operandi of the worker bee .... it is not free will, it is trickery of the queen bee to make you believe you are empowered. LOL.I kid only a little. I do not mean to malign hard work ... but let it come from passion and not mindless pursuit of the next thing and survival. There is very little that threatens your survival. But what is lost is happiness. Meditation will not weaken you, it will help relieve suffering and create happiness.

[R J Askew]

Hmm, it seems to be a battle between wisdom and winning to me. War and sport make little sense when we examine them, other than when we think about why we pursue them namely to win. The happiness that comes from winning it total. But it is in short supply. And of course there are always more losers than winners. Yet even they buy lottery tickets. There is tremendous excitement in the bid to win even when we know we will lose. The suffering is key in all this because it drives us on and on to get than win next time. There is no peace in this. But it is also super-uber-mega-massively exciting. To be wise we have to defuse this wild excitement. No pleasure no pain no Shakespeare.

[R J Askew]

I don't claim to know, just playing devil's advocate. I do see the value of meditation. But I would argue that planting vegetables is just as good. And you can eat the outcome of your meditative digging. I am very mindful about the rights of weeds and worms when doing said digging. I touch both with respect. They have as much right to the earth as I. I see great violence and struggle and harmony in a small plot of land and creativity. And the red kites above will pounce on any carrion. And the remains of a pigeon hit by a hawk were plundered by a pair of long-tailed tits to feather their nest. Looking at nature nourishes our souls mightily. But what are the motives of nature?

[Pryde Foltz]

For some planting vegetables is meditation. It may be that you have a stereotypical view of meditation. Some people meditate while they do Tai Chi ... all I will tell you is that you have nothing to fear from meditation:)

[Pryde Foltz]

To the first comment ... what you say is partially true ... winning is exciting but you cannot always win and even if you can eventually it will lose its thrill and then you will suffer. There is a saying in Taoism ... the only real enemy lies within ... conquer this enemy and you always win. Much to contemplate and ultimately wherever one is is good:):):)

[R J Askew]

I agree. To conquer our inner wildness makes a lot of sense, balance and kindness being all. Tis true that winners just crave more and end disappointed. A pleasure to listen to your calming insights *bows*

[Pryde Foltz]

Namaste ... to you ... if I may. We are a reflection of one another. I very much enjoyed our conversation:)