Buying a Used Car

We purchased a 2003 Ford Explorer for $3,000 in 2016.  We have put in probably under $2,500 in maintenance since then.  Thus, over five years for $5,500, not, of course, including gasoline.  

We have traveled in this 2003 Explorer between Red Bluff, California up to Portland and then north to Bellingham, Washington.  From  Okanagon, WA, Hanford, Yakima, all parts of The Columbia Gorge, the high deserts of the Columbia Plateau, and everywhere in Oregon.  The fabulous Pacific Coast from Bodega Bay, CA, to Port Orford, OR, to Cape Flattery, Makah Indian Reservation, Neah Bay, WA.  

We have many fond memories of our travels together, Karen and I.  Also, many trips with family and friends.  That old reliable 2003 Ford Explorer tackled all the hills and valleys of the Cascades, and provide all the suburban ease (e.g., good heat in the SUV, space for outdoor recreation gear, etc.).  

However, it is now time for me to give this old 2003 Ford Explorer to my son to sell and keep the proceeds.  This old Explorer SUV runs fine, has OK tires, 4WD, 120,000 miles, a few rusted areas in roof, ... yet still may have some practical uses for on the cheap (mas o menos $1,300??) for somebody else.      

So, what other used car to choose?  1.  A SUV that my wife is very comfortable driving.  She does most of our driving, because she likes to drive the most and is a very safe driver.  2.  Under the amount we have saved for cash purchasing.  3. Under 40,000 miles.   4. A newer Ford product.  

So, we purchased and are now (2/27/2021), driving a 2018 Ford Escape, Titanium Model, SUV, AWD, 4 cylinder, 2.0 L engine, 22-27 mpg.  This SUV has 35,100 miles on its bones and engine.  The 2.0 L Turbocharged engine can put out 245 horsepower.  Reviews?  

The Ford Escape SUV has many safety features and road handling AWD capabilities, and meets all the Washington State emission control and road safety standards of 2018. This model uses a Sony electronic, audio, and communication system.  There is plenty of room in our "new" Ford Escape for loading groceries from the Kroeger Fred Meyer's in the Orchards area.  Or, room for moving gardening supplies and plants, boxes, travel gear, clothing, lunches and coffee, and recreational gear.  This SUV model has new tires, good handling and AWD stability and adaptability, good lights, and is silver in color.  

99.9% of the time there are either one or two persons in the car.  We will not be towing anything, or carrying any gear on the hard top of this Ford Escape vehicle.  We rarely camp anymore; and stay in motels, cabins, or hotels.  Besides suitcases, we have a variety of recreational gear (boots, camera, backpack, maps, emergency supplies, raingear, tools, folding chairs, blankets, backup food and water, backup clothing, toiletries, auto stuff, etc.) to carry on some day trips or overnight trips.  Plenty of room for two travelers!!  

This kind of newer used card should provide good service for our uses for many years in Southwestern Washington, Clark County, Washington.  We have traveled many U. S Interstate  highways and roads, Washington and Oregon State roads, U.S. Forest Service Roads, local Clark County roads and backroads into and through and over the Cascades to the east of Vancouver, WA. This Ford Escape should have plenty of power and safety features for two auto travelers in our typical 150 mile and less radius of travel ... Portland Metro and Beyond from Desert to Mountains to River Valleys to the Pacific. 

Post from 2019

Travel and Camping in 2019

Traveling in an SUV (2003 Ford Explorer)
2019-2020
Northwest United States and British Columbia
Camping Notes, Equipment, Plans, Experiences
By Mike Garofalo
January 2019

Travel in Washington, Oregon, Northern California, and B.C.
Books, Maps, Travel Guides, Natural History Manuals, Maps
Bibliography, Links, References, Notes
By Mike Garofalo
From 2006-2019

My Travel Plans for 2019-2020

I write about these short travel adventures in my Cloud Hands Blog. Follow the adventures by the Category Labels: Oregon, Southwestern Washington, Washington, Travel, Camping.

Learning to Read Spanish

 

Learning to Read in Spanish
I am studying and learning each day to improve my ability to READ text in Spanish in 2021.  This is a self-study program of learning.  

We 75 year old men need to challenge our brains, train our eyes and memory, and challenge ourselves to learn and think more.  I used $500 of our U.S. stimulus check to fund this educational opportunity and challenge.  Hopefully, authors, publishers, and retail bookstores (e.g., Barnes and Noble in Vancouver, Powell's in Portland) and online booksellers (e.g., Amazon, Barnes and Noble) will all benefit from these purchases.   

I have been Using Spanish in translating chapters from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  List of Spanish language translations, notes on translating, my project on indexing the Daodejing, and some of the books and links I use to learn to read in Spanish.  
 

Here are the resources that I am using for learning to read Spanish in 2021: 

 

Better Reading Spanish, Second Edition.  By Jean Yates.  McGraw Hill, 2011, 272 pages, $16.00. 

Easy Spanish Reader:  Three Part Text for Beginning Students.  Text in Spanish, questions, vocabulary, notes. By William T. Tardy.  McGraw Hill, 2006, 218 pages, $16.00. 

Easy Spanish Step-by-Step: Master High Frequency Grammar.  By Barbara Bregstein.  1st Edition, Kindle.  Mcgraw-Hill, 2005, 448 pages, $10.00 Kindle. 

English and Spanish: The Similarities and Differences.  By Scott Paulson.  Kindle, $4.00, 2019, 51 pages. 

501 Spanish Verbs.  By Christopher Kendris and Theodore Kendris.  Baron's, 2020, $16.00

Great Spanish and Latin American Short Stories of the 20th Century.  A Spanish and English, Dual-Language Book.  Edited by Anna Hiller.  Dover, 2013, 288 pages, $16.00. 

Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish: A Creative and Proven Approach.  By Margarita Madrigal.  Crown, 1989, 512 pages, Book $12.00, Kindle $11.00. 

Merriam-Webster's Easy Learning Complete Spanish: Grammar + Verbs + Vocabulary.  Second Edition, 2016, 703 pages, $19.00. 

Mastering Spanish Vocabulary: A Thematic Approach.  Barron's Foreign Language Guides.  By Jose Maria Navarro and Axel J. Navarro Ramil.  Barrons, 2010, 490 pages, $20.00. Includes an audio CD. 

The Oxford-Duden Pictorial Spanish-English Dictionary.  Oxford University Press, 1989, 888 pages, $15.00.

Random House Webster's Spanish-English and English-Spanish Dictionary, Second Edition, 1995, 694 pages, $18.00.

Rosetta Stone, Software, Lifetime, Spanish  $200    

Short Stories in Spanish for Beginners.  Edited by Olly Richards.  Teach Yourself Books, 2018, 238 pages, $15.00. 

Spanish-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary.  By DK Publisher, 360 pages, 2017, Kindle, $8.00.

Spanish Flashcards: 800 Important Spanish-English and English-Spanish Flash Cards.  By Phinhok Languages.  Kindle Edition.  $11.00

Spanish Short Stories for Beginners.  Kindle.  $4.50

Spanish Short Stories 1, Parallel Text, Spanish and English Edition. Edited by Jean Franco.  Penguin, 1966, 203 pages, $19.00.

201 Spanish Words You Need to Know Flashcards.  Barron's Foreign Language Guides.  By Theodore Kendris.  2019, $10.00

Webster's Spanish-English Dictionary for Students.  Merriam-Webster, 2014, Second Edition, 365 pages, $6.00.  Light and handy. 

 

Total Cost:  $479.00 as of 2/22/2021.  Budget in 2021 for Spanish language learning resources, classes, lessons, books, materials, software: $500.00. 

 

Supplementary Reading Materials in Spanish

Wikipedia in Spanish

Children's Books in Spanish

Online Newspapers in Spanish

Children's Books in Spanish from Amazon

 

Tai Chi Chuan Fan Routine, 52 Movements

 There are many T'ai Chi Ch'uan exercise forms which make use of a fan.   Most are shorter forms, under 25 movements, but some, like the famous Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form have over 50 movements.  Most are done slowly and softly, but some include vigorous and fast movements.  The majority favor the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  

Tai Chi Fan: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes, Lore, Quotations. Research by Mike Garofalo.  I welcome any comments, suggestions, additions, or ideas regarding this webpage.

One of the most popular Tai Chi Fan forms was created by Professor Li Deyin (1938-).  It has 52 movements.  I includes slow and gentle movements in the first half of the form, then the second half is much more vigorous.  This Tai Chi Fan form is for athletic and intermediate Tai Chi students. 

Here are some instructional resources for learning the Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form.  

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan. Routine 1, created by Grandmaster Li Deyin (1938-). Instructional DVD, 65 minutes, by Master Jesse Tsao. Tai Chi Healthways, San Diego, California. "The most popular Tai Chi Fan form ever practiced in China. The routine was created by Grandmaster Li Deyin, Jesse Tsao's teacher since 1978. There are 52 movements in the whole routine based on the characteristic Tai Chi posture with the fan's artistic and martial functions. Master Tsao presents demonstrations at the beginning and end. He teaches step-by-step in slow motion, in English. There are plenty of repetitions of movements in both front and back view. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation." Cost: 35.00 US. Demonstration.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Instructional DVD by Professor Li Deyin. Narration in English. "A fan routine, created by Professor Li, which combines the gracefulness, centrality and continuity of Taiji with the power, speed and fierceness of Wushu. It is designed as an addition to the exercises for health, and has received massive interest and support throughout the world. In this DVD, Professor Li provides in-depth teaching with Mrs. Fang Mishou performing detail demonstration." Vendor 1. Cost: $35.00 US.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan List, Routine 1.  A list of the 52 movement names in four languages.  

Tai Chi Kung Fun Fan List, Routine 1.  A list of the 52 movement names in English.   

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan List, Routine 1, Movements 1-26.  A list of 26 movement names in English.   

Darwin Revisited

While resting quietly, I have been reading books on the history of science, evolutionary biology, and a biography of Charles Darwin (1809-1882).  These books will keep me fascinated and busy for a few weeks.  I have read all or parts of these books before 2017.  

The "Annotated Origin" is an outstanding volume.  I am always amazed at Darwin's use of many interesting and cogent examples to illustrate his key points of theory.  Beings change over generations based on lived circumstances.  We don't need supernatural causes to explain how beings have existed and changed over time.  

"The History of Science" by Stephen F. Mason.  Collier, 1956.

"The Annotated Origin: A Facsimile of the First Edition of On the Origin of the Species."  By Charles Darwin.  Annotated by James  T. Costa.  Belknap Press of the Harvard University Press, 2009.  Indices, references, biographies, appendices, 537 pages.  ISBN: 9780674032811.  

"The Greatest Show on Earth" by Richard Dawkins.  

"Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist" by Adrian Desmond and James Moore.  Norton, 1994, 868 pages.  The Darwin biography was detailed, comprehensive, historically fascinating, and very interesting to me.  Life in London, and Down House, from 1840-1880, is well documented in this book.  

Gardening and Environmental Awareness

 "Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening.  A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world.  He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating.  The food he grows will be fresher, more nutritious, less contaminated by poisons and preservatives and dyes that what he can buy in a store.  He is reducing the trash problem; a garden is not a disposable container, and it will digest and reuse its own wastes.  If he enjoys working in his garden, then he is less dependent on an automobile or merchant for his pleasure.  He is involving himself directly in the work of feeding people. 

A person who undertakes to grow a garden at home, by practices that will preserve rather than exploit the economy of the soil, has set his mind decisively against what is wrong with us.  He is helping himself in a way that dignifies him and that is rich in meaning and pleasure.  But he is doing something else that is more important: he is making vital contact with the soil and the weather on which his life depends.  He will no longer look upon rain as a traffic impediment, or upon the sun as a holiday decoration.  And his sense of humanity's dependence on the world will have grown precise enough, one would hope, to be politically clarifying and useful."
-  Wendell Berry, "The World-Ending Fire", p. 55

Daodejing Chapter 31 Tao Te Ching

 Dao De Jing by Laozi, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu 

Chapter 31, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu  

[The order of the 81 Chapters is found in Wang Bi's commentary on the Dao De Jing in 246 CE.  This is the standard 81 Chapter order used in English versions.]

"Now, weapons are instruments of ill omen;  Divinity abhors them.
Therefore, one who abides in Dao does not abide weapons.

The Superior Person, at home, honors the more powerful Left-side;
on the battlefield, the more gentle Right-side;
they put Peace above all else,
and refuse to glorify weapons.
If one glorifies weapons, this propagates killing.
One who delights in killing people has no influence with Heaven.

On occasions of celebration, one honors the Left-side;
on occasions of grief, the Right-side is honored more.
A Deputy General stands on the Left side;
their Commander stands at the Right..
in other words, they stand in the order of their gravity of offense.

The killing of masses of people we ought bewail with sorrow and grief.
Victory in battle we ought commemorate with mournful rites."
-  Translated by Jerry C. Welch, 1998, Chapter 31 

"The Master who is a Captain of soldiers
Does not give blessings with his weapons.
Soldiers' weapons are hated by most men,
Therefore he who has the Tao gives them no place.
In the dwelling of the man of peace the left side is the place of honour.
In soldiers' usage the right side is the place of honour.
A soldier does not give blessings with his weapons.
They are not the instruments of a man of peace.
A man of peace will not possess them, nor use them;
He gives the first place to calmness and repose.
If he conquers, he does not rejoice.
Without joy is he who wounds and kills men.
The Master who wounds and kills men
Cannot succeed in ruling his kingdom.
In time of joy, the left hand is preferred,
In time of mourning, the right hand is preferred.
In war, the second in command is placed on the left,
The first in command is placed on the right,
That is, he stands in the place of mourning.
He who has killed many men should weep with many tears.
He who has conquered in battle should stand in the place of mourning."

-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 31  

"Even victorious arms are unblest among tools, and people had better shun them.
Therefore he who has Reason does not rely on them. 
The superior man when residing at home honors the left.
When using arms, he honors the right. 
Arms are unblest among tools and not the superior man's tools.
Only when it is unavoidable he uses them.
Peace and quietude he holdeth high.  
He conquers but rejoices not.
Rejoicing at a conquest means to enjoy the slaughter of men.
He who enjoys the slaughter of men will most assuredly not obtain his will in the empire."
-  Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 31 

夫佳兵者不祥之器.
物或惡之, 故有道者不處. 
君子居則貴左.
用兵則貴右. 
兵者不祥之器.
非君子之器.
不得已而用之.
恬淡為上. 
勝而不美.
而美之者, 是樂殺人. 
夫樂殺人者, 則不可以得志於天下矣. 
吉事尚左.
凶事尚右. 
偏將軍居左.
上將軍居右.
言以喪禮處之. 
殺人之衆, 以哀悲泣之.
戰勝以喪禮處之. 
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 31 



fu chia ping chê pu hsiang chih chi'i.
wu huo wu chih, ku yu tao chê pu ch'u.
chün tzu chü tsê kuei tso.
yung ping tsê kuei yu.
ping chê pu hsiang chih ch'i.
fei chün tzu chih ch'i.
pu tê yi erh yung chih.
t'ien tan wei shang.
shêng erh pu mei.
erh mei chih chê, shih lo sha jên.
fu lo sha jên chê, tsê pu k'o yi tê chih yü t'ien hsia yi.
chi shih shang tso.
hsiung shih shang yu.
p'ien chiang chün chü tso.
shang chiang chün chü yu.
yen yi sang li ch'u chih.
sha jên chih chung, yi ai pei ch'i chih.
chan shêng yi sang li ch'u chih.
-  Wade-Giles Romanization, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 31

"Now, fine weapons, they are not tools of good fortune.
 Creatures detest them, no matter what. 
 Therefore, he who possesses Dao does not live by them.
 When a noble man is in his dwelling, then he honors the left.
 When he commands troops, then he honors the right.
 Weapons, they are not tools of good fortune. 
 They are not the tools of a noble man. 
 When he has no choice but to use them, 
 To be calm and indifferent is superior;
 Never pleased, indeed! 
 And he who is pleased enjoys killing people.
 Now, he who enjoys killing people
 Can not get what he desires from the world! 
 Therefore, in fortunate affairs honor the left,
 In unfortunate affairs honor the right. 
 Thus the assistant general of the army resides on the left,
 The supreme general of the army resides on the right.
 Thus we say they are dwelling at a funeral,
 When many people are killed,
 Then mourn and weep with grief for them.
 Victory in war thus means they will dwell at a funeral."
 -  Translated by Bruce R. Linnell, 2015, Chapter 31

  

"Even the finest warrior is defeated
     when he goes against natural law
By his own hand he is doomed
     and all creatures are likely to despise him

One who knows Tao
     never turns from life calling
When at home he honors the side of rest
When at war he honors the side of action
Peace and tranquility are what he holds most dear
     so he does not obtain weapons
But when their use is unavoidable
     he employs them with fortitude and zeal

Do not flaunt your excellence
Do not rejoice over victory
With the loss of others
     weep with sorrow and grief
After winning a battle
     do not celebrate
     observe the rites of a funeral

One who is bound to action, proud of victory,
    and delights in the misfortune of others
will never gain a thing
     from this world below Heaven"
-  Translation by Jonathan Star, 2001, Chapter 31 

"Weapons of war are instruments of death.
All people fear them.
Therefore, all men of peace avoid them.

The sage prefers Infinity.
The man of war prefers the earth.

Weapons are instruments of death
and the tools of a warrior.
The sage avoids them at all cost;
and sometimes prefers death rather
than touching them.

Peace and harmony are the sage's reality.
She considers victory to be the bastard
child of war.

If you revel in victory,
then you sanction war and the killing of
human beings.
If you accept killing,
you have forgotten your oneness with all
beings.

In time of celebration the left is the dominant
position;
In times of grief the right.
During wartime the general always stands on the
left
and the king on the right.

If even one person is killed in war,
it is cause for great grief and mourning.
Victory is simply the maker of widows and orphans."
-  Translated by John Worldpeace, Chapter 31   

"Las armas son instrumentos nefastos.
El hombre del Tao nunca se sirve de ellas.
El hombre de bien considera a la izquierda
como sitio de honor,
pero se inclina a la derecha cuando porta armas.
El sabio prefiere la izquierda.
El soldado prefiere la derecha.
Las armas son instrumentos nefastos,
no adecuados para el hombre de bien.
Sólo las usa en caso de necesidad,
y lo hace comedidamente,
sin alegría en la victoria.
El que se alegra de vencer
es el que goza con la muerte de los hombres.
Y quien se complace en matar hombres
no puede prevalecer en el mundo.
Para los grandes acontecimientos
el sitio de honor es la izquierda,
y la derecha para los hechos luctuosos.
En el ejército,
El comandante adjunto se coloca a la izquierda,
El comandante en jefe, a la derecha.
Esta es la misma disposición que se usa en los ritos fúnebres.
Esto significa que la guerra se compara a un servicio funerario.
Cuando ha sido matada mucha gente,
sólo es justo que los supervivientes lloren por los muertos.
Por esto, incluso una victoria es un funeral."
-  Translation from Wikisource, 2013, Capítulo 31 

"The Killing Fields: War is a last resort

Now, weapons are instruments of misfortune,
and despised by the whole world.
So those who are with the Tao will have nothing to do with them.

When a noble person is at home
he grants most importance to those at his left side.
But when he is at war
he grants most importance to those at his right side.

Weapons are instruments of misfortune.
They are not the instrument of the noble person.
Only when he has no choice will he use them.

It is best to be cool and calm. Victory is not beautiful.
But those who think it is beautiful, enjoy killing people.
Those who enjoy killing people
will not find what they want anywhere in the world.

In good times the place of honor is on the left.
In bad times the place of honor is on the right.
It is the second-in-command of the army who sits on the left,
and the first-in-command of the army who sits on the right.
This is to say;
these are the same positions they would take when at a funeral.

When a great number of people have been killed,
it is an occasion for sorrow and mourning.
When the battle is won, conduct a funeral for those slain."

-  Translated by Roderic and Amy Sorrell, 2003, Chapter 31  

"Of all things, soldiers are instruments of evil,
   Hated by men.
Therefore the religious man (possessed of Tao) avoids them.
The gentleman favors the left in civilian life,
But on military occasions favors the right.

Soldiers are weapons of evil.
   They are not the weapons of the gentleman.
When the use of soldiers cannot be helped,
   The best policy is calm restraint.

Even in victory, there is no beauty,
And who calls it beautiful
   Is one who delights in slaughter.
He who delights in slaughter
   Will not succeed in his ambition to rule the world.

[The things of good omen favor the left.
The things of ill omen favor the right.
The lieutenant-general stands on the left,
The general stands on the right.
That is to say, it is celebrated as a Funeral Rite.]

The slaying of multitudes should be mourned with sorrow.
A victory should be celebrated with the Funeral Rite."

-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1955, Chapter 31  

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage includes a Google Translate option menu for reading the entire webpage in many other languages.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching [246 CE Wang Bi version] includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms (concordance) for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, links, research leads, translator sources, and other resources for that Chapter.  

     A Top Tier online free resource for English and Spanish readers, researchers, Daoist devotees, scholars, students, fans and fellow travelers on the Way. 

Chapter 31, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

2019
At the Klickitat River, Washington

Deep Wisdom Within Our Very Flesh

  "The human body is not an instrument to be used, but a realm of one's being to be experienced, explored, enriched and, thereby, educated."

-  Thomas Hanna

"There is deep wisdom within our very flesh,  if we can only come to our senses and feel it."
 -  Elizabeth A. Behnke

"He who feels it, knows it more."-  Bob Marley  

 "The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."
-  Jacob Bronowski


'The Heavenly Level is the function of feeling."
-  Cheng Man-ch'ing

"No matter how closely we look, it is difficult to find a mental act that can take place without the support of some physical function."
-  Moshe Feldenkrais  

"I would have touched it like a child
But knew my finger could but have touched
Cold stone and water.   I grew wild,
Even accusing heaven because
It had set down among its laws:
Nothing that we love over-much
Is ponderable to our touch."-  W. B. Yeats  

Touching, Feeling, Sensation: Quotations

The Five Senses

Bodymind Theory and Practices, Somaesthetics

Self-Massage 

(Originally posted on 4/3/16.)

Practice and Learning

 We don’t "really learn” Tai Chi by listening to, imitating, and following a live Tai chi instructor, or reading Tai Chi books, or watching Tai Chi instructional DVDs.  The “learning” comes from practicing Tai Chi, playing Tai Chi, moving by Tai chi, and feeling Tai Chi.  We move from being awkward and uncomfortable to moving gracefully, fluidly, easily, confidently, and beautifully.  Live and virtual Tai Chi instructors provide us with information and ideas about what Tai Chi has been for others and could be for us, its rich history, and provide us with a  model of how a "form" might look and be realized as expressed by their body-mind.  

Our instructor's "mind" set or intention is important - depending, for example, on whether they emphasize martial applications or they are a New Age energy arts dancer.  Likewise, our own progress in "learning" will depend upon our own "mind set" of intentions, dedication, toughness, the courage to go beyond our limitations and failures, and our willpower.  

Learning Tai Chi is always a complex matrix of interactions, lived experiences, daily training, and accumulated muscle memories.  Less thinking and more practice, training, and doing will result in the greatest learning.  Repeated movements are the foundation for Tai Chi learning.  

Cloud Hands: Taijiquan and Qigong Website (Online since 2000)

"Movement is a medicine for creating change in a person's physical, emotional, and mental states."
-  Carol Welch 

"Knowing is not enough, we must apply.  Willing is not enough, we must do."
-  Bruce Lee  

"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.  But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.  There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
-  Alan Cohen 

Temptations - An Open Door

 

Test, try, experiment - within reason.
Manage your pleasures and desires.

Be open to thinking and feeling in new ways.
Sometimes ignore what other people tell you to do or not to do.
Old values are not necessarily better values.
What is "bad" in one generation may be "good" in later times.
Enjoy the pleasure of eating apples.
When someone tells you not to ask, sometimes ask and ask again.
With only one life to live - be bolder.
Don't resist the temptation to improve, to change, to grow.
Like water, enjoy going downhill in new directions.
Embrace intellectual pleasures.
Be suspicious of people who talk too much about guilt and punishment.
Some failures are inevitable, just get up and move on.
Thinking and doing are often more advantageous than believing.
Many people associate sexual pleasure with 'sinfulness': nonsense.
Succumb to temptations to laugh more often.
If you can't take advantage of temptations then you are not free.
Remember what works for you.
When your tempted to be compassionate, act on the impulse.
- Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions


"Do you really think it is weakness that yields to temptation? I tell you that there are terrible temptations which it requires strength, strength and courage to yield to."
- Oscar Wilde

"The trouble with resisting temptation is it may never come your way again."
- Korman's Law

"For every man there exists a bait which he cannot resist swallowing."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

"If we resist our passions, it is more because of their weakness than because of our strength."
- François, duc de La Rochefoucauld

"Most people want to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch."
- Robert Orben

"What makes resisting temptation difficult for many people is they don't want to discourage it completely."
- Franklin P. Jones

"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."
- John Maynard Keynes

"If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."
- Mary Pickford

"The most useless are those who never change through the years."
- James Barrie




Willpower, Resolve, Determination, Progress

Senses

Epicureans and Hedonists

One Old Philosopher's Notebooks

Pleasures

Productive Relationships

 "If I can create a relationship characterized on my part:

 by a genuineness and transparency, in which I am my real feelings;
 by a warm acceptance of and prizing of the other person as a separate individual;
 by a sensitive ability to see his world and himself as he sees them;
 Then the other individual in the relationship:
 will experience and understand aspects of himself which previously he as repressed;
 will find himself becoming better integrated, more able to function effectively;
 will become more similar to the person he would like to be;
 will be more self-directing and self-confident;
 will become more of a person, more unique and more self-expressive;
 will be more understanding, more acceptant of others;
 will be able to cope with the problems of life more adequately and more comfortably."

 On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy, p. 37.  By Carl R. Rogers.  Written around 1955. 
  

How to Live a Good Life: Advice From Wise Persons

Virtue Ethics

Aging Well

Snowing in Vancouver

It has been snowing since Thursday (2/11).  There is now 10 inches of snow in our area.  Snow will continue until Monday.  This is the most snow we have ever seen around any of our homes. 

Our west side garden covered in snow.
This picture was taken on 2/12

The west side garden on 2/9.

Sunny Westside Home Garden

We have been working on our home gardens, as weather permits.  I've worked on the raised garden beds on the west side of our home.  The area is sloped: house above, shrubs and mostly grass for 40 feet to the street below.  

To expand, I covered the grass with cardboard, placed the concrete bricks, filled the bed with home garbage, composed steer manure, bags of raised bed topsoil, straw, leaves, organic materials, etc.  Leaves cover the active composting area.  Plenty of good growing soil in a sunny west facing location.

Photos taken on February 7, 2021, Vancouver, Washington

Values, Ethics, Virtues, Survival, Morals, Customs, Habits
Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes, Patterns, Associations
Patterns, Associations, Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes
Survival, Values, Ethics, Habits, Customs, Morals, Virtues
Canada, USA, Mexico, Central and South America, Island
South America, Canada,  Mexico, Central America, Island
Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes, Patterns, Associations
Patterns, Associations, Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes
Compost, Soil, Mulch, Plants, Water-Sun, Vegetables, Eat
Eat, Water-Sun, Vegetables, Plants, Compost, Soil, Mulch
Money, Wealth, Peace,  Health, Property, Friends, Family
Health,  Family, Peace, Wealth, Friends, Money, Property
Knowledge, Intelligence, Wisdom, Common Sense
Common Sense, Knowledge, Wisdom, Intelligence
Survival, Values, Ethics, Habits, Customs
Knowledge, Intelligence, Wisdom, Clever
Eat, Water-Sun, Food, Plants
Values, Habits, Ethics, Foods
Health, Family, Peace
Peace, Wealth, Health
Luck, Friends
Friends, Luck
Más o menos
Más o menos
Questions
????¿¿¿¿¿¿¿
Questions
Lucky us
Lucky us
and me
and me
no-yes
yes-no
now
now
dao
dao
no
no
¿
¿
¿

Details Are All There Are

 "Science and psychoanalysis apart, the most profound development in thought since Nietzsche, as far as we are concerned, is the phenomenological approach to the world.  Mallarmé sought "words without wrinkles," Baudelaire cherished his minutes heureuses and Valéry his "small worlds of order," as we have seen: Checkhov concentrated on the "concrete individual" and preferred "small scale and practical answers," Gide though the "systematizing is denaturing, distorting and impoverishing."  For Oliver Wendell Holmes, "all the pleasure of life is in general ideas, but all the use of life is in specific solutions."  Wallace Stevens considered that we are "better satisfied in particulars."  Thomas Nagel put it in this way: "Particulars things can have a noncompetitive completeness which is transparent to all aspects of the self.  This also helps to explain what the experience of great beauty tends to unify the self: the object engages us immediately and totally in a way that makes distinctions among points of view irrelevant."  Or, as Robert Nozick, who counseled us to make ourselves "vehicles" for beauty, said: "this is what poets and artists bring us―the immense and unsuspected reality of a small thing.  Everything has its own patient entityhood."  George Levine call for "a profound attention to the details of this world."  

-  Peter Watson, "The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God," p.536

"The idea of one overbearing truth is exhausted."  
- Thomas Mann, translated by James Wood  

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-  Albert Einstein

"To study the self is to forget the self.  To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."
-  Zen Master Dogen

"The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God."
-  Benedict De Spinoza

"God is in the details."
-  Mies Van Der Rohe

"After appreciating and understanding thousands of the details, a common variety God is really superfluous."
-  Mike Garofalo

"Caress the detail, the divine detail." 
-  Vladimir Nabokov

"Details are all there are."
-  Maezumi Roshi

"We think in generalities, but we live in details."
-  W.H. Auden

Gardening and Spirituality

Gardening and Religion

Standing Quietly Along the Columbia at Frenchman's Bar

I often take short local trips (under 100 miles round trip).  I live in the Orchards area, in the northeast Vancouver area, Clark County, Washington.  I live about 8 miles north of the I 205, Glen L. Jackson Memorial Bridge, over the Columbia River, leading into Portland.   

This past week I enjoyed visiting Lake Vancouver, Frenchman's Bar Regional Park, the Columbia River, and the lowlands of farms, woods, sloughs, and marshy areas along the north bank of the Columbia River.  This area is south of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.  The Columbia flows north from here to Longview.  Less than 40 miles round trip for me.

Very nice walking options at Frenchman's Bar
I bring a good outdoor folding chair in my old van.
Thus, I can sit outdoors in comfort at the right chosen vantage point.

"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.

The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively. 
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space. 
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward. 
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006 

"Teach us to care and not to care.
Teach us to sit still."
-  T.S. Eliot

"I have discovered that all human evil comes from this,
man's being unable to sit still in a room."
-  Blaise Pascal

Sitting: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

 

God's in the Morning Papers

 The Day After Sunday

By Phyllis McGinley (1905-1978)

"Always on Monday, God's in the morning papers,
     His Name is a headline, His Works are rumored abroad.
Having been praised by men who are movers and shapers,
     From prominent Sunday pulpits, newsworthy is God.

On page 217, just opposite the Fashion Trends,
     One read at a glance how He scolded the Baptist a little,
Was firm with the Catholics, practical with the Friends,
     To Unitarians pleasantly noncommittal.

In print are His numerous aspects, to: God smiling,
     God vexed, God thunderous, God whose mansions are pearls,
Political God, God frugal, God reconciling
     Himself with science, God guiding the Camp Fire Girl.

Always on Monday morning the press reports
     God as revealed to His vicars in various guises-
Benevolent, stormy, patient, or out of sorts.
     God knows which God is the God God recognizes.

[Published in The New Yorker in 1952.]

"What God lacks is conviction - stability of character.  He ought to be a Presbyterian or a Catholic or something - not try to be everything."
-  Mark Twain

"It is pathetic to observe how lowly the motives are that religion, even the highest, attributes to the deity .... To be given the best morsel, to be remembered, to be praised, to be obeyed blindly and punctiliously - these have been thought points of honor with the gods."
-  George Santayana  

Values, Ethics, Virtues, Survival, Morals, Customs, Habits
Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes, Patterns, Associations
Patterns, Associations, Correlation, Combinations,  Mixes
Survival, Values, Ethics, Habits, Customs, Morals, Virtues
- concrete mpg

Working with the Genius of the Place

 "In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees; this is what awakening the mind for enlightenment is like.  The fifth patriarch of Zen was once a pine-planting wayfarer; Rinzai worked on planting cedars and pines on Mount Obaku.   ...  Working with plants, trees, fences and walls, if they practice sincerely they will attain enlightenment." 

-  Dogen Zenji, Japanese Zen Buddhist Grand Master, 1250 CE
Awakening the Unsurpassed Mind, #31 

"Consult the Genius of the Place in all."
-  Alexander Pope

"In this light, my spirit saw through all things and into all creatures, and I recognized God in grass and plants."
-  Jacob Boehme

Gardening and Spirituality 

Zen Poetry    

Pulling Onions