Intermission

Hardly got squat done on the costume last night. My creative bone went on strike with my three remaining brain cells, stole the car and went to the bars in Ybor for a rampant night of carousing. I stayed home drooling.

Talked to Cindy. She saw her costume online from her trip to Georgia and loves it. She's the one I have to please on this project, after all.

Found the following from Deepak Chopra with whom I have a like/barf relationship with. One line struck me though. I get up most mornings and sing praises of thanks about how very lucky I am. I love my rickety old, hurricane damaged and disorderly house, the gone back-to-the-wild acre of land it sits on, the wonderful views of water and nature I have from every door and window, and I'm so grateful that I've been privileged to live on a gorgeous planet. And not everyone can say that they have a cat that lives on their roof.

The line I highlighted below just tickled me since I have the strangest dislike for the falseness of money, wealth, objects showing it and the desire to accumulate more. Have been that way all my life. Now shiny objects and lint...there will never be enough of!

Adapted from How to Know God, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 2000)

The state of “I am” is at the source, and is pure being. “I am” forgoes pain and pleasure. Because all desire is centered on pain and pleasure, it comes as a surprise to find out that what I wanted all along was just to be. There are many kinds of worthwhile lives to lead. Is it worthwhile to lead the life of “I am”? You can live any way you want. By analogy, think of the world as a movie that includes everything; you cannot tell in any way that it is a movie; therefore, everyone behaves as if the scenario is real.

If you suddenly woke up and realized that nothing around you was real, what would you do? First of all, certain things would happen involuntarily. You wouldn’t be able to take other people’s drama seriously. The smallest irritants and the greatest tragedies, a pebble in your shoe and World War II, become equally unreal. Your detachment might set you apart, but you could keep it to yourself.

Motivation would also vanish, because there’s nothing to achieve in a dreamworld. Poverty is as good as a million dollars when it’s all play money. Emotional attachments would also drop away, since no one’s personality is real anymore. After you consider all these changes, not much choice is left. The end of illusion is the end of experience as we know it. What do you receive in exchange? Only reality, pure and unvarnished.

You shouldn’t pay so much attention to the movie.

If someone asks “Who are you?” every answer is misleading except “I am,” which means that we are all misled, even the miracle workers. We are the victims of mistaken identity. Our time has been spent projecting versions of reality, including versions of God, that are inadequate.

(Ed. Note* The photo above is Titled: Waiting for Curtain-Up by Rob Wallace - Wonderful photos!)