Finland’s 100,000 Year-Plan to Banish Its Nuclear Waste

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/science/11nuclear.html

“Onkalo, a tunnel that will hold spent fuel rods 1,600 feet under bedrock in Eurajoki, Finland, is the subject of the documentary ‘Into Eternity.'”

Light in Darkness

Even in the darkest places, there are little slivers of light. Seek them out and begin to heal the world.

Company Gardens

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/12/dining/12gardens.html

“Workplace gardens are a relatively cheap perk that can put healthy snacks on the conference table.”

Moving from Fragments to Wholes II

Integration and wisdom usually come from the experience of fragmentation, making “mistakes,” and feeling disappointment and pain. I don’t know of many integrated and wise persons who have not gone through a lot in life. So, in that sense, fragmentation is a gift that allows us to experience, or re-experience (if we are speaking from a karmic perspective), the learning of integration and wisdom.

Windmill Worry

Aleph

‎”Aleph” is a soundless Hebrew consonant. Perhaps it preceded Genesis 1:1, which is when the Kabbalists believed creation actually began–in silence before the light was scattered. The Bible actually begins with a “bet,” which is our “b” sound–the pressing and parting of lips.

Aleph-Beth

Aleph-Beth (A-B): That’s how creation began. First breath,then the kiss of lips in voice, finally the universe.

Chemicals and Cancer

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/opinion/06kristof.html

Nicholas D. Kristoff: “The medical establishment has embraced the idea that untested chemicals can cause cancer. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to address this issue.”

Dream Symbols

Twisting subterranean hallways where symbols merge with life as we know it. A dream showing us the way.

Oh to be a Mountain

Oh to be a mountain calm in the midst of every storm!

How Rock Stars Will Sing in their Old Age

http://tinyurl.com/yeme74z

“Tim Hawkins sings songs that famous Rock Stars will be singing in their old age.”  This is fun

Longing, Yearning

Longing, yearning, desiring for no longing, no yearning, no desiring. Just being.

Reviving the Dead

“I could revive the dead, but I have more difficulty reviving the living” (Rabbi Simcha Bunim and Menahem Mendl of Kotzk).

Fiercely Independent

I describe myself as fiercely independent. Leave conformity behind and seek creative solutions. The terms, “liberal,” “conservative,” and “moderate,” just don’t cut it for me. I think for myself as best I can, not according to some ideology or set of rules or party platform. Of course, I’m influenced by others and by their ideas, but I come to my own decisions. When anybody tells me how I should think. I generally rebel. Ultimately decisions need to be based on a list, but on one’s own judgment. I’m sure that there are some who would regard me as very liberal on some issues, but there are others for whom I’m too conservative. It’s all relative, but I make my own choices. And I’m not moderate either, since I’m pretty firm when it comes to certain positions (my wife, Dianne, got me to realize this; they just don’t conform to the boxes that others want to put me in.

Adam Smith was No Ideologue

http://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2010/04/smith-market-essay-sentiments
Amartya Sen reminds us that Adam Smith, the founding philosopher of modern capitalism, was not a market fundamentalist and did not believe in unfettered markets. He just believed in the market. He also believed that various human values other than self-interest–e.g. justice, humanity, generosity, spirit–were indispensable to a free, capitalist society.

Torah

Torah, which means “teaching” in Hebrew refers to (1) the first five books of the Bible, (2) the entire Bible; and (3) the whole of Jewish interpretive tradition, including the written Bible, the oral teachings, and various writings such as midrash Interpretations of biblical stories) and responsa (legal interpretations).

The Illusion of Certainty

We crave the illusion of certainty, but in reality even the smallest acts are a roll of the dice. Life itself is a calculated gamble. No outcome is guaranteed. Risk is an integral part of creation. Order and disorder coexist, as Torah describes right from the beginning of Genesis.

Rhythmic Vibrations

Rhythmic vibrations of Harmony bore Feeling. When grown, Feeling gave birth to Emotion and Thought.

A Buddhist View of the Environment and Evolution

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=16105

“In his recent book, The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology (2008), the great Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh asserts that Buddhism, as a robust type of humanism, allows people to learn how to live on our planet not only responsibly, but with compassion and lovingkindness. …”

Meditation and Awareness

Meditation is awareness.  That’s all there is to it.

A Tiny Apartment Transforms into 24 Rooms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg9qnWg9kak&feature=player_embedded

“In Hong Kong, because of the space, apartments are small and expensive. Gary Chang, an architect, decided to design a 344 sq. ft. apartment to be able to change into 24 different designs, all by just sliding panels and walls. …”

The Imperfection of Love: A Eulogy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0s4C0g5SM&feature=player_embedded

“‘Funeral’ is a new TV commerical launched by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) which looks at relationships in a different light, through a woman at her husband’s funeral. Ultimately, the TVC celebrates the beautiful imperfections that make a relationship perfect. …”

How to Build Neighborhoods

What if we built our neighborhoods around curves rather than straight lines?

Teaching Philosophy in the 2nd Grade

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/education/edlife/18philosophy-t.html

Teaching philosophy to children is a noble activity. Perhaps wisdom will come sooner and with fewer hardships

The New Temple

Sacrifice at the Temple no longer happens. Rather it takes place inside us when we redirect our destructive urges toward healing and hope.

You and I

You and I: Where does one end and the other begin?

Pachelbel’s Canon With Some Juice

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjA5faZF1A8&feature=player_embedded

This is wonderful

Words

Words are kindling for the fire that melts meaning into our being.

New York is the Home of Over 800 Languages

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/nyregion/29lost.html

Are Religions Different Paths to the Same Wisdom?

Below is an interesting piece by Stephen Prothero. I agree with a lot of what Prothero says. The goals of different religions are not the same. Eliding the differences inevitably leads to misunderstanding others. For example, talking about who will be saved is a Christian question, which most in the world do not even share, because they are not interested in salvation at all. Christians are focused on the person of Jesus Christ, while Jews and Muslims are focused on texts and words. Talking about God makes no sense to many Buddhists. Many influenced by New Age approaches desire reincarnation, but Hindus want to liberate themselves from it, and Buddhists view it as ultimately an illusion. Confucians uphold political and social order, while Daoists are political and social minimalists. Plus the goal of sameness is not a goal that all share. Jews view themselves as different, and Christians and Muslims want others to be like them.

Where I disagree with Prothero is his idea that “God” or “wisdom” is not one. The fact that there are different goals and multiple truths does not negate the oneness in which we dwell. Oneness does not mean that we don’t share fundamental values (e.g. the Golden Rule) and share important spiritual outlooks. Further, the fact that we have different goals and purposes does not negate oneness. It just means that our definition of “oneness” and “unity” is too limited and narrow, since it does not make room for multiple truths, paradox, and contradiction. There are not two choices–difference or sameness. That’s a false dichotomy.

Idolatry is making an object, a person, or an idea into a fetish. That is what both sides of this debate do. The “lumpers” privilege commonality and sameness, while the “splitters” privilege separation and difference. In so doing, they end up defining “God” or a “higher power” or the ultimate energy or “nirvana” or “heaven” or “nature” or “wisdom” in simplistic and objectifying language. They cannot envision unity as complex, multivalent, or chaotic. But perhaps that is what the oneness of “God”–or whomever or whatever you prefer call it–is.

There is not one path or one truth, but many paths and many truths held together in a paradoxical unity.

In this regard, mystical approaches offer a lot, because, with the loss of the ego/self, paradox is not a problem to be solved, but a dynamic energy in which to live.

©Laurence H. Kant

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/04/25/separate_truths/?page=full

Noam Chomsky and Israel

I wrote the following to a friend when he sent me an article by Noam Chomsky from Salon: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/feature/2010/04/27/chomsky_middle_east/index.html?source=newsletter

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Chomsky claims he is a Zionist, but does not really support the idea of a Jewish state or of a two-solution (even though he implies that he does here and elsewhere–he’s not serious and calls it temporary).  He does not take seriously into account Arab anti-semitism and Arab views of Jews over the decades or, even more important, the Arab commitment to annihilating Israel.  He neglects to mention that Israel came to occupy the West Bank in 1967, because every surrounding country was on the verge of a massive attack against Israel motivated by the desire to drive “Israel into the sea.”  What was Israel supposed to do?  Allow themselves to be slaughtered to feed the egos of those who do not believe that Jews have a right to defend themselves?  The goal of annihilating Israel and Jews still remains for many, obviously for Hamas, but even in the PLO and in many Arab societies, as well as the Iranian government.

How do you have a peace agreement when the majority of the peoples around you wish to destroy your country and slaughter or deport your citizens?  How do you have a peace agreement with a government which does not demonstrate a commitment to a democratic, non-corrupt, free society?  How do you have a peace agreement with a government that does not demonstrate even the most rudimentary capacity to run an orderly society?

Chomsky also claims in many of his interviews and writing that antisemitism no longer exists in any meaningful form.  That’s nice for him.  I don’t know what reality he lives in, but it’s not one I’m familiar with.  Perhaps he should take a look at what it’s like to be Jewish in France or Britain or Venezuela.  Or he might take a look at FBI religious hate crime stats in the US, which show that in 2007 69.2% of religious hate crimes are against Jews while 8.7% are of an anti-Islamic bias (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2007/victims.htm).  Chomsky is a well-to-do, successful, academic in a highly privileged institution who has no clue what it’s currently like to be Jewish in other settings, including the Middle East.

The real reason that Chomsky opposes Israel is that he is at heart an anarchist and does not really believe that states should exist in the first place–certainly not a Jewish state.  That’s nice for those who live in La La land.  I am certainly no backer of nation states and believe that they are on their way out as governing entities.  But I’m not so silly as to believe that we don’t need government and authority of some kind.

It’s sad that Salon would feature someone like Chomsky who is not taken seriously in the Jewish community, even on the left.  There are many others who could critique Israeli policies and offer a progressive vision of the Middle East.  Featuring Chomsky, an anarchist, does not encourage discussion or debate.  It shuts it down.

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By the way, I’m not joking when I call Chomsky an anarchist.   He really is a self-proclaimed anarchist.  He has written extensively on the topic, including a book.  My best guess (and it’s only a guess) is that a lot of his strong opposition to Israel stems from his own Jewish identity and his anarchism.  As a Jew, he is especially opposed to Zionism and Jewish statehood, because the very concept of statehood is anathema to him.

But, in the real world today, with the way people live and act, the possibility of anarchism is a fantasy.  It bears a lot of resemblance to radical libertarianism, which comes from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum.

Rivalry

Rivalry misdirected leads to chaos. Rivalry channeled leads to civilization. Rivalry transformed leads to a new dawn.

Yoga’s New Wave

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/fashion/25yoga.html
A movement against the rock star model of teaching yoga and an emphasis on practice over star instructors

Snopes

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/05/technology/05snopes.html

At a time when it’s very difficult to tell truth from fiction on the internet, Snopes is one of those oases of reliability (via Dianne Bazell).

Learning

We are here to learn.

Habits and Feeling

Unconscious habits impede feeling. Conscious habits clarify and intensify feeling.

Abraham Unaware

Why did it take Abraham so long to see the ram (Gen 22:13)? If he had looked up before he tried to slaughter Isaac, he would have seen the ram. Intent on his task, he was unconscious. If we stay awake, we will always see the ram.

Shabbat

Shabbat: Letting go of time.

Africa as the New Asia

Africa is becoming the new China and India.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/02/18/how-africa-is-becoming-the-new-asia.html

The Senses

Grasp with your feet. Walk with your hands. See with your ears. Hear with your eyes. Think with your heart. Feel with your mind.

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