The wonderful world of Jonathan Handiman

Posts tagged ‘thoughts’

How to catch a monkey

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How to catch a monkey

First; fix an empty calabash or similar vessel to the ground, and cut a hole in it just big enough for a monkey to fit its hand through when its fingers are extended.
Put a good handful of nuts inside, and wait.
When the monkey comes along it will grab a handful of nuts and try to run off with them. But the monkey cannot get its hand back out because its hand is now full of nuts, so you have caught a monkey.
The monkey never thinks to let go of the nuts, it has effectively trapped itself through its own grasping, and cannot see that its only way of escape is to let go.

Are you like the monkey?
Desperately holding on to aspects of life that are negative and causing you distress. Are you trapped in a grasping cycle of debt, overwork, and misery, with no means of escape?
The lifestyle you cling to has got you by the nuts then!
And you cannot do anything about it until you let go of it.
You can stay where you are; holding on to your precious nuts, and spend the rest of your life in a state of self imposed captivity.
Or; let go of the nuts, and enjoy your freedom!
The choice is simple- even the monkey will get wise eventually!

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Thought for the day.

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SOUL FOOD

Have YOU seen the Light?

 

 Sorry, That I have neglected the blog.

I have been away for a while, moving house, and taking care of practical matters.

I also had a little talk with myself and with life, the results of which I would like to share with you.

During my time out, I stood for a while on the top of a mountain on a clear day, and from this vantage-point, I started to see a few things going on around the world.

It became apparent from up there, that people are becoming more and more dissatisfied with life, and with the established ideologies of our societies.

People are looking for new ways of living, and new ethics to live by. They are tired of the merry-go-round of current politics, old traditional religions, and our short sighted modern consumer society. I found myself looking down on a fragmented world, separated by a fragmented world view.

From up on the mountain I could also see a restlessness in the world. In India, the Hindu tradition believes that we are entering a new Epoch, the epoch of Surya Yuga (The epoch of the sun) the epoch of light! Then there is all this fuss about the Maya and their predictions of a major catastrophe in 2012 that will bring about huge changes. We have also just had the Super Moon and planetary alignments, that are supposed to herald a new era. And all of these things are pointing to new beginnings. If we add to these the general unrest in the world, the Arab spring etc. then we can see that change is on its way! The question is: do we want Positive or Negative change?

So I looked a little further, and saw that: Because we are divided by so many Political, Religious and Geographic boundaries, we need to find a “Common ground” between all of humanity before we can possibly hope to move towards a peaceful coexistence and a new way of living on this planet.

If we want to change, then we need to work together to bring about changes that will last and benefit us all in the future.

So I looked again, and from where I stood: I could see that slowly we are making progress.

We now have this amazing technology that I have here on my lap, to communicate with each other.

We have a common desire to live in peace.. We have the same needs and hopes.. And slowly we are seeing the world and our lives in a different light…

 

 

The only thing that seems to be lacking to unify this fragmented world, is a common Belief.

Or a common philosophy which is acceptable to us all.

So I thought: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all “see the light”, through the same eyes?

And when I came down to civilisation again, I met a friend who had been thinking very deeply about this problem, and he suggested to me that “Light” is in fact the answer!

What has light got to do with Politics or Religion, or how we live”, you might well ask?

Well, light has everything to do with it!

You see, as my friend explained….. Light is the source of all life. From simple biological organisms right up to the most complex forms of life like us human beings, without light, life would not exist!

We” would not exist, and everything that we do, or believe in, would cease to exist. Therefore it naturally follows that: Light is the common denominator of all life in the universe, including the human race! Including Me and You, because it is the source of our lives!

So here lies the basis of our common ground! “LIGHT”

Once you can get your head around the fact that LIGHT is the source of all life, and the fact that: you and I only exist because of LIGHT, then you will begin to realise the full significance of LIGHT. Light is the Creator and Sustainer of all Living things.

You will not only see your life from a different perspective, but you will also begin to understand that: All of life is sacred, not just the lives of human beings! Because all of life is created and sustained by “Light” and is therefore interconnected by light!

And how would this affect our Political, Or religious beliefs?

Well, it would give us a new start point, a common ground for humanity, from which to reassess our beliefs and our Ideals, and from there we would be able to construct a new set of Ethics, based upon the needs of humanity, and the natural world that we depend upon for our existence. All of which is interconnected through LIGHT. Of course there will be sceptics and scoffers. But remember that “scoffing comes not from wisdom” and even the most ardent sceptics have to concede to the truth, and it is an undeniable and true fact, that life is created by LIGHT.

So if this seems too simple and obvious, or quite implausible, then I would suggest that you look out for my friends books on this subject., his name is: Henryk Skolimowski, and his Books are available from Amazon…

Let there be light”: The mysterious journey of cosmic creativity. Wisdom tree.2010

World as Sanctuary”: Creative fire Press 2010

The Lotus and the Mud” Creative fire press 2011

 

Or, you could always take a walk up a mountain and see the LIGHT for yourself, like I did!

Personality Puzzle

 

Sunsets are gratis

                                                       Personality Quiz

Simply select “A” or “B” from the following list of words to reveal your personality.

There are no prizes, there are no right or wrong answers, and there is no adjudicator except for yourself.

There are no rules, but cheating and lying to yourself will give a false conclusion.

 

 1)      “A”    EFFICIENCY                       “B”  KINDNESS

2)      “A”   FRIENDSHIP                       “B”  LUXURY

3)      “ A”   REASON                               “B” HONESTY

4)      “A”   PROFIT                                 “B”  COMPASSION

5)      “A”   MATERIALISM                   “B”  SHARING

6)      “A”   WISDOM                               “B”   LOGIC 

7)      “A”   KNOWLEDGE                      “B” MYSTERY

8)      “A”    PROGRESS                          “B” CHARITY

9)      “A”    PROFFESSIONAL              “B”  CURIOUS

10)   “A”    SUNSHINE                           “B”  CONFORMITY

11)     “A”    MONEY                                “B”   FREEDOM

                 

            

 

                                    CONGRATULATIONS.

If you answered honestly you should now have reached the        conclusions that:   You are a contradiction!   And you are human!

Contradictory because whichever answers you have chosen, you probably live your everyday life by their opposite.

And human, because its in our nature to wish for a better world, but unfortunatly we are held in the grip of the world we have created.

A question of values.

Life’s a lottery.

Last week I took a trip to the UK to visit family and friends. On my return journey I was accosted at the airport by a young man selling tickets for a prize draw, the prize being a modern super-car. Nearby on a raised platform these objects of desire were on display, two glossy mechanical monsters, examples of what is deemed to be the highest aspiration of our modern consumer society.
The young man asked me if I would like a ticket for the draw. “ Only a tenner Sir, to win the car of your dreams”!
I responded by saying: “I’m sorry but I don’t dream of cars, and anyway it wouldn’t fit in my hand luggage”!
Now, I don’t mean to appear self righteous but it struck me that: He wrongly assumed everyone subscribes to the same set of values, and that these motorcars represent the highest physical manifestation of human achievement, and should be worshipped as such.
I on the other hand, wrongly assumed he might recognise and understand that: There are more worthy goals in life other than glamour and prestige!
Needless to say: He didn’t get my ten pounds wager, and I didn’t win a fancy sports car!
He probably thought of me as being a little odd, or just an old misery guts.
As for my part, I came away feeling deeply saddened and disillusioned at bearing witness to yet another public demonstration of human folly and short-sightedness. People are unwittingly subscribing to this false world of make-belief and fantasy, which is slowly undermining the reality of our lives, replacing our individual creativity and spirituality with poor imitations and the false idols of consumerism.
It also prompted me to write another little poem!

A question of values.

I have no need of Diamonds
I don’t like Champagne
I  dislike the taste of Caviare
I don’t want a private Plane.
I don’t need a super-car
I don’t dream of Luxury Yachts.
All I want is freedom, to enjoy what I have got.
My Health, My Life, My Liberty,
My Friends and Nature too.
And Freedom for all Humanity
“Above” the favoured Few.

Mirror Mirror

It need not be all ‘doom and gloom’. Just open your eyes and see!

 

 

 

To live everyday with eyes open, or to stay hiding in the dark?

Its your choice!

 

“You ask me of my business and what I have in mind?

I’m busy selling mirrors in the cities of the blind!

                                                                                            Ancient Urdu couplet

 

Short-sight.

 

Think only of your greedy self

Take everything from natures shelf

Good advice can go to hell

More,more,more, we need to sell

Slaves by choice, and sworn on oath

To serve the  gods of money and growth

Until the well of plenty dries

And oceans of tears,

fall from  foolish eyes.

Sometimes

‘SOMETIMES’

POETRY FOR LIFE, WRITTEN WITH LOVE

“The poetry is fantastic, and accesible to a wide audience, not just avid poetry readers. I recommend checking it out”!

Chloe Johnstone, New Zealand

Has censorship gone too far?

Personal Freedom

The censored Pen, is the pen with no ink.

The censored Thought, is unable to think.

The censored Idea, must not be born.

The censored Body, must cover its form.

The censored File, must be hidden from view.

The censored Voice, must stay silent in you.

The censored Picture, must not hang on the wall.

But who are the Censors, who Censor us all ?

Copyrights: Jonathan Handiman 2012

Thought for the Day

Being the change.

If you “Want to “be” the change you want to see in the world”

Then maybe you should first decide what that change is!

And secondly. Check out the changes that others are trying to “Be”

Otherwise we could end up with a world full of people all changing in different directions , for lots  of  different reasons.  Which would only add to all the confusion, and wouldnt change anything!

Just a thought!!