Daily wisdom

"There are many great minds on earth and not all are human."
- Anthony Douglas Williams -

I was looking into his eyes, and, recollecting my lucid dreaming experience, they seems to be alive. Definitely this dolphin is an intelligent being.
'Of course i am!' he told me telepathically, and i suddenly jumped straight into a standing position. I couldn't believe it. He can talk.


"There are no obstacles on the path; the obstacles are the path. "
- Zen Proverb -

I always wanted to be happy. On my quest for happiness i burned bridges, i create some other bridges, i lost time, i gained experience, but, at first i believed that happiness is the goal. Much later i realized that, in fact, happiness is the journey, it is not something static, to achieve, but the fire burning inside of us, following us on the path right away.


"An extraordinary business starts with extraordinary people. Extraordinary people start with purpose."
- Jesper Lowgren -

One company chooses to close all their shops on Black Friday and let all the employees to go outdoors with their families. We are waking up. Slowly, but nevertheless, we are doing it.


"I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word. Sometimes I write one, and I look at it, until it begins to shine."
- Emily Dickinson -

The words contain a power within itselves, a new kind of energy that can build sand castles inside our mind. They are real, as real as us, human beings. Do not forget this, and use the power of the words wisely.

Motivational quotes

"There is something so enchanting in the smile of melancholy. It is a ray of light in the darkness, a shade between sadness and despair, showing the possibility of consolation."
- Leo Tolstoy -

"Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master."
- Christian Lous Lange -

"I think we have to get rid of the idea that protest will bring about change. We need to do visionary organizing. "
- Grace Lee Boggs -

"It's a bizarre but wonderful feeling, to arrive dead center of a target you didn't even know you were aiming for."
- Lois McMaster Bujold -

"Every saint has a bee in his halo. "
- Elbert Hubbard -

"No one can give you better advice than yourself."
- Marcus Tullius Cicero -

"The faster we live, the less emotion is left in the world. The slower we live, the deeper we feel the world around us."
- Stanko Abadzic -

"The art challenges the technology, and the technology inspires the art."
- John Lasseter -

Motivational

"When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in."
- Kristin Armstrong -

"Acts of kindness, even in the simplest ways, are what make our lives meaningful, bringing happiness to ourselves and others."
- The Dalai Lama -

"Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. It comes from letting the world tickle your heart, your raw and beautiful heart."
- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche -


"The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them."
- Stanley Coren -

"How shall we speak of love, except in the splurge of roses?"
- Mary Oliver -

"Every life speaks to the power of what can be done."
- Oprah Winfrey -

"Books are humanity in print. "
- Barbara Tuchman -

"The perfect woman, you see, is a working woman; not an idler; not a fine lady; but one who uses her hands and her head and her heart for the good of others."
- Thomas Hardy -

"You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result."
- Mahatma Ghandi -

"If you want life on your side or to be on the side of life against death you must surrender completely to life."
- Agnes Martin -

Until the end of Time

She was mysterious and beautiful, in some secret way. Everybody noticed her, and it was a wonder how she  was not a model or Miss World kind of celebrity. This were my thoughts, until i realized that a very powerful compulsion was working to make me forget her, as soon as i was leaving that tiny town.
- What kind of witch are you, i asked her as soon as i came back.
- I am not the kind of witch you were thinking, At least i was not called that name in the last three centuries, she said smiling. I am just a humble shopkeeper, taking care of the local attraction. Nothing more.
-You are  saying that, and yet, i never met someone with such a mastery in palmistry and tarot reading.

Now i was curious. I always wanted to visit the cave promoted by the local museum, right under her shop, but somehow i never found time to do it. It was open only in the weekend, for a couple of hours, and, even if i was coming regularly to this little town, to do my checks on my car at the local car dealers, it was happening during the week. So one day i came especially for this. She was the guide, explaining to me that nobody really knows about the origins of the cave, and some presume that is has to do with the Templar's Abbey, while others think that an ancient christian monk use to live there. Hence the crosses and the sculpture of St. Katherine from the cave's wall.

I studied it with interest, noticing the similarities with the Egyptian and Linear B alphabets. I found and read the legend of St Katherine. The story said that she was a beautiful scholar, wisest beyond imagination, and that in becoming a Christian, the roman emperor tried to persuade her to become his wise and he even gathered 50 of the most well-known philosophers, priests and sages, to convince her to renounce at her beliefs. In the end, she managed to convince all of them 50 to become Christians. They were instantly killed by the emperor, and she was condemned to death. They wanted to use a spiked wheel, but she just touched the wheel and it shattered into dust. She was then beheaded, and the angels carried her body away. The researcher Donald Attwater said about this history that it is a lie, existing only in the mind of some Greek writer, and invention meant to provide a counterpart to the story of the pagan philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (350-415 A.D.)

As i was not doing any of my projects, i rented a flat and stayed in Royston for the summer. Often we were awake until late at night, talking about ancient civilizations. She was very knowledgeable, and i was happy to meet someone to exchange ideas about few of my theories. We developed some complicit relation, talking with our eyes only or having our own jokes. My own awareness spiked and reached a new level, letting me to go deeper in the meditation process. In the morning i would do my training, in the evening i will talk with her, and weeks passing by, we became close and caring for each other. Until that night, when everything changed.

I took her hand, and walked inside, when she suddenly turned back and kissed me. Being a gentleman, i returned the kiss, and just few minutes later we embraced wildly in the unknown dance of two becoming one. After that, night after night, one unbreakable bond will bring us together, to reach the most exquisite nuances of love. But every time she was there, in the bed, at sunset, just her naked body and a scarf around her neck. Which make me wonder, what was she hiding?

Next evening i asked her, and she winked at me with one of her questionable looks. Then, she slowly undress herself, scarf included. A scar marked her neck, all around. A bit surprised, i asked:
- Do not tell me, you are St Katherine? Who are you? What are you?
-I am Queen Behenu, former wife of the Pharaoh Pepi the Second, mistress of the Arts, immortal. Also named Hatshepsut, St. Katherine, Hypatia of Alexandria, Agnes Samson, Marie Laveau and few other names.
-Are you a Christian?
-I am a healer, and Christian religion was an easy way to pretend that it is not me, but the Divine will. In some way, it is true. No tell me, who are you? I have seen that my forgetfulness spell seems to not affect you. And your knowledge is not far behind mine.

Now i was laughing. She got me.
- I am Vlad the Stormcloudrider, Master of the Scholomance, Initiate in the all 64 internal kung-fu styles of the East, also immortal. And all this time i was thinking that i am the only one. I am glad that i found out now, two days before i need to go. Now indulge me one curiosity, out of the whole world, why are you living here?
-Think about it, she said.
I understood.
-It is the cave, right?
-Yes, it is indeed. It is constructed on the exact point where two major ley lanes meet, the Michael and the Mary ley lane. It helps me to use some self-sustaining spells. Like the forgetfulness one, for example.

The time was flying now, And there i was, saying good-bye.
-I will come back as soon as i finish my business, i said.
-You gonna find me here. I'll wait.

Maybe was fate, or destiny, or some celestial joke. But i am happy now, and my life makes some sense. In the end.

You are in charge!

Success, health, and happiness are all consequences. They are byproducts.

They are effects, not causes.

Tall, taller, tallest

"What you are, the world is. And without your transformation, there can be no transformation of the world."
- J. Krishnamurti -

We are all parts of a bigger living organism. And the whole is reflected in the part, but also the part is reflected in the whole. The easiest way to change the world is by changing yourself. Try it! It will surprise you.

"I avoid grandiose plans. I start with a small piece that I can do. I go to the root of the problem and then work around it. It's building brick by brick. "
- Muhammad Yunus -

But i am not important, and my feeble actions cannot change the world, you can say. Which is not necessarily true, even if you believe that. In one of his stories, Tony Robbins said how someone left a bag full of food on Thanksgiving day, in front of his door. Because of that, growing up, he always remembered and tried to give some food-bags to people in need. First time he gave 2, second time 4, and now, more than 40 years later, he just gave more than 5 millions bags. It is always good to start small. But how much will grow, you never know.

"We rise by lifting others."
- Robert Ingersoll -

Why me? you asked. Because there is no change to grow only for yourself. This kind of growth is not real, and you will fail eventually. But when you are doing it for many others, than you become responsible. And accountable. And then your efforts will be real and you will persevere. You will know which is your limit, but you will go even further that that.

About advice, sleep and ideal justice

"Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge -

I was always thinking that, when it is about giving some advice, make it in the way that the person listening will think that it was his/her idea. It is not about manipulation, but more about the art of providing hints, so the other person listening to reach to that conclusion according to their own needs.

"The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night's sleep."
- E. Joseph Cossman -

We live in a sleep deprived society, where action is desired, but even if we care about what we eat or how we exercise, this is not enough. Sleep is still one of the most important part of life, and this alone can heal, regulate eating and help with resilience when exercising. Do it properly, and you will see the differences. Try to go to sleep early and wake up early, having 8-9 hours consistently.

"Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. -

This is the ideal, and thinking about it we can only see that we are still far away of that Golden Age where everything will be how is supposed to be. The real world needs a lot of help, and we need to do the work.