Null & Void

Interesting Find

2009-10-23T19:59:27Z

Today, when I pulled into a parking space at my office, I found a rather large lapel pin in the empty parking space beside mine. It was ruined because the pin was flattened, and it was laying face down. When I picked it up and turned it over, I LOLed and decided it was intended for me. A few of my old friends from pre-LJ days, like sjaustin and gwendally, will probably appreciate the humor.

Cardio Gloves?

2009-09-26T23:57:45Z

Whiskey tango foxtrot ?

Post from mobile portal m.livejournal.com

Chipotle!

2009-08-08T21:32:40Z

Growin' in the garden ...

... roastin' on the grill.

The next step is to chop them to a powder in the Cuisinart®. That must be done on the back porch. Otherwise, it's like using police-grade pepper spray as an air freshener.

Feline Requiem

2009-07-09T00:18:15Z

Sweet little Kisa died today. She was sixteen years old. Kisa was a gentle cat, always offering and seeking physical affection. She accumulated much good karma during this lifetime, and she will be fondly remembered.

Independence Day Food Porn

2009-07-05T03:51:47Z

So what does a good ol' boy do with his turkey fryer during the summertime?

Frogmore Stew

Prosecuting Lawyers for Offering Legal Opinions?

2009-04-21T23:14:53Z

It appears that President Obama has 'left the door open' for Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute Bush-era Justice Department attorneys for their memoranda supporting the use of certain torture techniques in the interrogation of suspected terrorists:

CNN

Do they really want to go there? If they create precedent that a lawyer can be criminally prosecuted for offering a legal opinion, are they opening Pandora's Box? I realize that many on The Left® are anxious for revenge against the hated Bush administration, but have they really considered the future consequences of such a decision for other lawyers, particularly the more 'creative' advocates amongst the criminal defense bar, a traditionally leftist domain?

This could get interesting.

Granddaddy

2008-09-09T00:26:58Z

Top 30 SciFi Films?

2008-08-17T19:02:38Z

(cross-posted to davidlynch)

Yahoo! just posted their users' votes as to the top 30 science fiction films of all time.

No Blade Runner.
No 2001: A Space Odyssey.
No Dune.

Nevertheless, all three of the X-Men films found their way onto the list.

WTF?

Yes, there's a smell of bubble gum and Clearasil® all over this one.

Three Things ...

2008-06-27T04:47:41Z

OK. A couple of friends had this in their journals, so I guess it's my turn. Here goes ...

1. Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
2. See if anybody else responds with "I've done that."
3. See if your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.

Hopefully, these will be sufficiently unusual:

[1] Visited the burial site of every American president who was assassinated.
[2] Intentionally dangled by my ankles out an 8th story window.
[3] Have broken boards with my forehead. (That explains a lot, huh?)

werz_waldeau @ 2008-04-19T17:11:00

2008-04-19T21:18:56Z

You are a
Social Liberal
(63% permissive)

and an...
Economic Conservative
(75% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Libertarian

Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid.com: Free Online Dating
Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Sorry!

2008-01-28T06:22:19Z

I really do love the shiny black color of our newest companions. However, it does make them a lot easier to step on in the dark.

Oops! Sorry!

Peace Through Superior Firepower

2007-11-17T22:54:26Z

Several Christians and a Buddhist explore some ways to 'keep the peace'.

Some of my best friends are black ...

2007-08-14T05:18:38Z

The newest additions to our clan:

Bodhi

Mohinder

Mindfulness, The Middle Way, and an Optimal Physique

2007-08-05T00:11:50Z

Building a strong and aesthetically pleasing physique is not exactly a Buddhist ideal, regardless of what one might see on television and in the cinema. Neither, for that matter, is the practice of martial arts. Both tend to involve a sense of ego that is counter-productive to personal enlightenment. And yet, both have had an indirect benefit to Buddhist practice over the ages, particularly in the Ch’an/Zen/Seon Buddhism of the Far East. In any event, I choose to maintain a regular program of strength training and dietary management for the purpose of maintaining a stronger and better-looking body. Such is my karma.

Despite the inherent tensions between Buddhist practice and strength training, I do find it helpful to apply certain Buddhist principles to my exercise and nutritional program. Part of that is what is known as The Middle Way. In his first discourse, the Buddha said:

These two extremes ought not to be practiced by one who has gone forth from the household life. There is addiction to indulgence of sense-pleasures, which is low, coarse, the way of ordinary people, unworthy, and unprofitable; and there is addiction to self-mortification, which is painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.

Of the Middle Way, the Buddha further said:

It gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to calm, to insight, to enlightenment and to Nirvana.

The average adult in America, and perhaps in most modern civilized nations, is addicted to the indulgence of self-pleasures. He or she thinks little of maintaining a strong physical body. Many do not exercise at all; while others will only engage in exercise that they consider easy, entertaining, or particularly novel, i.e., the trendy new thing. By the same token, such people have little interest in managing their diets. They seek out quick, easy, comfort foods and rich treats, most of which are heavily weighted in calories, saturated fats, and simple sugars. They do not consume these foods to support heavy labor or strenuous exercise, but rather, while they are watching the television or lounging about during a trip to the local mall or a night out on the town.

After years of such self-indulgence, many such people realize what they have done to themselves, and they set out on a mission of physical self-improvement. Convinced that the most extreme means will yield the quickest result, they begin a program of strict asceticism. They engage in strenuous physical exercise six or seven days per week, firmly believing that more is better. If they miss a day due to other obligations, they will often punish themselves with a significantly brutal training session, somehow convinced that the extra effort will make up for what they consider to be lost time.

Likewise, these self-mortifying practices are often applied to nutrition. Diets are strictly limited to foods which are considered ‘healthy’ in a decidedly neo-hippie sense of the word. Often referred to by the misinformed as ‘eating clean,’ such a diet is often limited to foods that are natural, whole, organic, and frequently, vegetarian or vegan. Consumption of foods outside those parameters leads to an overpowering sense of guilt, followed by dietary self-punishment. This combination of obsessive exercise and dietary self-denial is referred to by some as ‘living the fitness lifestyle.’ In my mind, it is as the Buddha said: painful, unworthy, and unprofitable.

In seeking the Middle Way, the Buddha counseled that monks should follow the Noble Eightfold Path. One of the elements of that Path – and one that is very important to Buddhist practice – is mindfulness. As to mindfulness of the body, the Buddha said:

There is the case where a monk remains focused on his or her body, in and of itself ... ardent, aware, and mindful ... having already put aside worldly desire and aversion.

It is this type of mindfulness that I try to apply in following The Middle Way to an optimal physique.

I train with heavy weights and with a high degree of intensity. Yet, in doing so, I train only two or three times per week. When other obligations intervene, I may train only once per week. Nevertheless, my results from doing so have been quite good, and for a man 50 years of age, some might call them impressive. Just as Zen Buddhism recognizes non-duality and the Taoist concept of a unified yin and yang, optimal physical training involves both stress and recovery. Intense, heavy training requires longer recovery periods, particularly when the training session causes delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which may reduce one’s ability to perform with equal or greater intensity during the next training session. Providing for adequate recovery time between training sessions, and perhaps lifting lighter weights during sessions which follow a particularly intense one, is not just a relief from constant and obsessive training; it is also beneficial to consistent, ongoing progress. If I miss a session, I simply commit myself to another session at the next available opportunity. I do not punish myself with a more painful program; I simply adapt that next session to do what most needs to be done. Simply put, I am mindful of what I need to do, and that mindfulness maintains my training in a continuing, ever-adapting manner.

When it comes to my diet, I try to apply the same mindfulness and follow The Middle Way. Part of that mindfulness is studying the science of nutrition and learning the nutritional components that are important my goals. Surrendering that judgment to gurus and others, who make blanket recommendations of consuming ‘natural foods’ and magical supplements, is not mindfulness. Mindfulness is knowing what I need and when I need it. Overall, I try to maintain a diet that is not too high in calories, high in digestible proteins, adequate in vitamins and dietary fiber, and moderate-to-low in carbohydrates and fats. When it is expedient to do so, I supplement that diet with things such as multivitamins and fish oil. When I go to the gym, I am mindful to prepare and bring with me the ingredients to mix protein/carbohydrate drinks which will be beneficial when consumed in conjunction with the anabolic state created by heavy resistance training. Still, I do not deny myself the occasional serving of ice cream, cookies, pizza, or fast-food hamburger. I am simply mindful of my current circumstances. When I drive by the local Burger King and am tempted by the allure of a flame-broiled Whopper, I ask myself, ‘Do I really want that, or would I better served by the grilled, extra-lean beef patty and cottage cheese that I have at home?’ Depending on the circumstances, I may decide either way, but I have remained mindful in making that decision.

Even when I need to lose some accumulated body fat, I try to remain mindful and follow The Middle Way. My current diet for losing body fat is known as a protein-sparing modified fast (PSMF): a very-low-calorie diet, high in protein and dietary fiber, but low in carbohydrates and fats. It is designed to elicit maximal fat loss while minimizing the loss of lean body mass. Although many people would consider such a diet to be quite extreme, it also has a balancing factor: refeeds. Refeeds are periodic departures from the usual fare, higher in calories, carbohydrates, and fats, and weighted toward an intake of simple carbohydrates. There are specific physiological reasons why these refeeds benefit continued fat loss, but the psychological reasons should not be underestimated: they provide periodic relief from the strict asceticism of the diet. Some people call them ‘cheat meals,’ but how can they be cheating when they are planned and specifically designed to further benefit the diet? As my body fat levels decrease, these refeeds can and should occur more often. It is then that I must be mindful of when a refeed is truly beneficial, or when I am simply tempted to stray from the dietary regimen.

I have found that my choice to have a strong and aesthetically pleasing physique is not only possible but also sustainable, perhaps indefinitely. I realize that my age will play its part in terms of gradually decreasing results, but with continued attention to diet and exercise, I will likely remain well ahead of the curve for those in my age group. It is by mindfulness and The Middle Way that I can pursue such a program for many years to come.

Zen, Wisdom, and the Way of Not Knowing

2006-10-22T07:41:19Z

'Not knowing' is an essential element of Zen practice. Knowledge is illusory. As soon as you know something, you immediately foreclose all other possibilities within a reality that, by its very nature, is ever-changing. Dogen-zenji counseled that we should reclaim our unlimited 'original mind,' or what is often called the 'beginner's mind.'

'In the beginner's mind, there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind, there are few.'
--Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

It is from that beginner's mind that prajna (wisdom) and karuna (compassion) may be realized. And yet, while true wisdom may be realized from the 'not knowing' of the beginner's mind, in our everyday lives, as illusory as those lives may be, we must operate with some degree of certainty in nearly everything we do. I may say, 'I know this,' or 'I believe that,' but if I am true to my Zen practice, I am merely operating on a series of 'best guesses,' with my mind open to all possibilities. And thus, every day, a person with an open and perceptive mind proceeds through life upon a series of best guesses.

This is not a particularly difficult concept. Any field involving critical analysis counsels that one should maintain an open mind, working from best guesses based on past experience, while recognizing the limitations of those experiences and considering all possibilities. Anyone attempting to gain wisdom from the experience of others should be mindful of these ideals.

The Internet is a wonderful source of information if we are mindful that information is merely the collected experience and perceptions of others. Many of us have sought wisdom through the more personal exchanges of Internet forums: old-style bulletin board services, Usenet newsgroups, and World Wide Web forums. Some ask questions; some offer answers. And through this process, what passes for 'wisdom' is acquired.

It has been my sad experience that the ever-expanding databases of the World Wide Web have led to the propagation of much ignorant and dogmatic crap in those forums over the past few years, and much of that same crap is regularly accepted as The Truth®. In the Internet's days of yore, those who offered answers usually had some significant understanding of the subject matter being discussed, and if they did not, their lack of understanding was quickly exposed. However, today's contributors will often enter forums as rank newbies, and in hopes of gaining immediate recognition, they will snatch up the current Wikipedia entry, the most popular hit in a Google search, the marketing hype of an Internet merchant, or the musings from a favorite guru's web site, and then parrot those writings as though they were the immutable Word of God®. Can we really rely on these forums to inform our own 'best guesses' when any attention-seeker in the world can assume the guise of a seasoned expert with a few mouse clicks?

After more than a decade on Usenet, as well as several years' participation in numerous Web forums, I still have faith that useful information can be found therein. But one must maintain a beginner's mind. Question everything. Internet databases contain many views, so review as many as you can. Become familiar with the writings of those who would advise you, and determine from their history whether they provide reliable information. Consider that those who are the most adamant may not be the most right, and that those who are polite and ingratiating do not necessarily have a working understanding of the subject matter. Even within the moderated forums, some confrontation is healthy; your 'best guesses' are best informed when the flaws of well-accepted dogma can be exposed to the light. And do not judge too harshly those who engage in such confrontation, even if their style is impolite and less than kind. The Zen writings contain more stories of pupils who were awakened by a smack to the head than those who were enlightened by gentle hand-holding.

Namaste.