House without a Soul

Wal, spoken like a true Cherokee.

Rusty, of course you hit the nail right on the head. I've learned to expect nothing else from you.

Howard hit the nail on the head, too. And, I've learned to expect nothing less from him.

Howard used a teaching of Jesus to remind us what this life is all about and that made me think about how often I fail and how often I fall short.

As everybody here already knows this is a democratic and almost anything goes forum -- if you follow the follow the protocol. So, what do we do? Forgive the crooks or kill them or lock them up?

My vote is to forgive -- but it sure ain't easy and that was the most bothersome thing for me when I read Howard's post.

My old guru once told me, "You're crazy to wander around the world looking for a guru. The truth is the guru always comes to you."

What has all this to do with khukuris? If you haven't figured that out by now you are in the wrong forum.

 
I had a long conversation with a young friend last night. He spoke of loss.

I spoke of change.

We were talking about the same thing, only we felt differently about it. If we live 100% in every minute, making the most of each instant that we occupy, we have no time, and need no energy to mourn what we falsely think we have lost.

I think my friend wants to find some "meaning" that cannot be removed, and feels frustration that it eludes him.

I believe life is change, and that is the constant.
 
Tell him to go out into nowhere on an Indian Reservation. And sit a spell.

Also recommend he take a chance of clean underwear in case of "accidents".

I didn't go seeking it, I don't know what it is, or means, but like Pala ( Kami Sherpa ) and the Yeti he heard but didn't see, I ain't arguing with what I know.

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joker.gif
 
I suggested we might take a trip out to do a spirit quest one day.

I think he might find what no-one has the words to say.
 
I so love this cantina. What a crew.

Seeing as this is one of few places I'm around where people seem to take some time to see if their souls are in order, maybe I ought to look around here for some help.

After some things I went through last year and the generally punitive work schedule I'm running now, my life has become (to put it diplomatically) uncluttered.

A few months ago I was working an utterly horrid rotation, where patients stayed 4-5 days and I barely had time to know their names before they left the door. I was pretty unsettled and angry by the end of it, and unsettled and angry is just not me.

The unsettlement is still there, and I'm starting to get the feeling it's more than just residual stress. With all the recent changes and how "unfettered" I am, I get a feeling something's coming, or that there's something I need to do. Vague, but I have a fairly intelligent gut and it pays me to listen to it.

Wondering if anyone could talk about their own spirit quests. Maybe it will help the Great Mystery get through my thick head what it is I should be doing now.
 
The young men of the Sioux nation used to go alone to the top of a small hill, stand and stare at the sun in the day and the moon at night for a few days until a vision came to them -- and as you'll understand very well, Doc, after a few days of this without food or water a vision is certain to come. I don't recomment this method.

I do suggest a quiet time and meditation. I have a CD of chants done by some Monks up at Swayambunath where I always go to do puja when I'm in Nepal. If you're interested in listening to some Buddhist chants email me for info on the CD. This could be a first step on a long journey.

If you have the time read a book by the Dalai Lama. Again, email for suggestions.

If you want to make a huge move, when things quiet down in Nepal go over for a couple of weeks retreat at either Swayambunath or Boudhanath. Email for info.

Last, I feel most unqualified and unworthy of suggesting to anybody how they might enter into what my Guru used to call a God Search.

My own quest lasted so long I hate to get started on it.

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Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
Himalayan Imports Archives (33,000 + posts)
Himalayan Imports Shopping Site

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 06-10-2001).]
 
Now that is a hell of a compliment to the forum.

Send me your snailmail in pvt. - I keep emergency supplies on hand and have something for you. <VBESEG>

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joker.gif
 
:
Can't say a whole lot in a public place, but I can safely share this I believe. If you wish more info please drop me an e-mail.
smile.gif


Doc some Smoke may be in order when you decide what you wish to do and when. It sure couldn't hurt anything.
smile.gif


I have to agree with Uncle Bill about the quiet and meditation.
Not many are strong enough anymore to go through the rigors of a true vsion quest.
And it takes preparation and someone to help when doing that particular Indin Ceremony.

You might try and find some local ndn stores around your area and if there ren't any try some New Age places, they almost always have one of them as well as the instant light charcoal to burn the herbs
on, makes things easier.
Anyway try to find yourself some White Sage or Flat Cedar or Sweetgrass or some nice aromatic Tobacco, you can use all four if you wish, and Smoke yourself off before you begin any sort of quest of this kind.
And if you can't find any and want to do ths please send me your snail mail address and I will get some out to you asap. These sort of things I take very serious and do not run on ndn time with them.
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And if anyone thinks this is strictly for us ndns I have found that many of the old ones, who truly "know", in all countries and cultures have employed one or all of these herbs for cleansing and clarification.
And if they didn't have any of these herbs others were used in their place.
The Hiwaiians use the flower of the Ginger Plant and it smells really similar to Sage. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised.

I had written more, but it was deleted so I am believeing I went too far and free with the info in a public place so I will leave this post as it is now.

Yvsa, Not wanting the Great Ones to be upset with me!!!!!!!
 
On the way on the first mail truck out of town, doc. 'Course that is at 3:45 PM tomorrow.

By the way, should I include the Hemlock Society's book Final Exit in the first batch or just hold on to it til you call? All depends on how much of a hurry you're in.

As a matter of fact I did spend considerable time working out of the suicide prevention/ crisis control center. Even made arrangements later to bring a day long seminar out to the rez. Why do you ask?

[This message has been edited by Rusty (edited 06-11-2001).]
 
For some reason, I believe a quest that involves some rigor to be what I need.

I wonder if this is left-over from my upbringing as a Christian- all that fasting, and such...

Maybe it's left from my reading of the trials yamabushi underwent (in tendai Mikkyo buddhism).

 
Thanks, all.

Rusty- I HATE that !@#!#ing book! I think everybody with major depression and some medical illness gets a copy of it sometime, and then it's nip & tuck to keep them alive until the depression finally lifts and they can get on with dealing with the medical problem. If I knew how many lives had been needlessly lost because of that book and the ridiculous understanding of suicide it conveys I'd probably have to go crack some heads.

So much for spiritual enlightenment, huh?

Although . . . when I was younger I read a bit of existentialism and one thing that stuck was Sartre's ideas about responsibility. If you're still alive at the end of the day, you chose to live through it, so stop griping. I knew there was no chance I was going to surrender my life, so I did a lot of growing up in a short time then.

I notice a pattern to things. Every once in a while, by circumstance or choice, my life gets suddenly and sometimes catastrophically simplified. In my own head I call them "burning-down times," as in burn it to the foundation and start over. Now seems to be one of them. Yvsa's explanation of the meaning of his name might have sparked some of this thought.

I can probably find some time to myself, but part of the trouble is I don't know what to do with it. And I think I'm with you, Spec. I am a rigorous sort, and if I weren't sweating a little I don't think I'd accept anything that comes out of it as worth it.

Thanks for all help, gentles. It's much appreciated.

And Yvsa, you've got mail.
 
Just skip the below unless you are interested, and if so, email me privately.

OK then, if you want to go traditional, try Richard J. Foster's ( Quaker )"Celebration of Discipline" ISBN 0-06-062839-1, "Prayer" ISBN 0-06-062846-4, "Prayers from the Heart" ISBN 00-06-062847-2; Henri J. M. Nouwen's ( Roman Catholic ) "Life of the Beloved" ISBN 0-8245-1184-0, then about anything else he wrote.

Chapters from two out of print (?) books by Andrew M. Greeley on "The Lovers and the Song", a contemporary translation and brief commentary on the Song of Songs*, and "The Style of a Believer" were probably the most helpful to me.

* "...My love is like a mare among Pharoh's chariots..." takes on new meaning when you understand the chariot was the tank of it's day. Egypt at that time had a stranglehold on them since they only used stallions in war so if captured the enemy couldn't breed them. A single mare around a hundred or more stallions?

I believe the kopesh was the Egyptian sword employed during this time ( greek/thracian kopis? ).

Just having fun.
 
Hey Pat, because of your obvious love of
reading and your chosen profession... Please
allow me to ask: Have you read any of the works by Max Freedom Long? Pertaining to the
Hawaiian system of Huna.

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The khukuri village idiot
 
New to me, Bill. What is Huna?

And thanks for suggestions, Rusty.

[This message has been edited by DocPat2511 (edited 06-12-2001).]
 
New to me too, but not surprising--You could study Hawaiian culture for a lifetime and not learn it all! What IS Huna?
 
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