(Thich Nhat Hanh) Our minds are lying to us. Observe instead of believing
Showing posts with label wise reflection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wise reflection. Show all posts
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Poem: Death, be not proud; Buddhism
Why Death is NOT the end – The Buddha’s Wisdom on Dying and Beyond
(Buddhism Podcast
) Sept. 11, 2025: Buddhism Explained. Discover the historical Buddha’s timeless wisdom on life, death, and what lies beyond [rebirth in endless samsara]. In Buddhism, death is not the end—it is a transition in the endless cycle of rebirth. This video explores key teachings such as
(Buddhism Podcast
- mindfulness of death (maraṇasati),
- the Five Remembrances, and
- the Path to Nirvana (Nibbana)—the ultimate freedom beyond rebirth and death.
- 00:00 - Death in Buddhism: Teachings from the Awakened One
- 06:56 - Why the Buddha understood Death so deeply
- 13:08 - From doubt to understanding, from understanding to liberation
- 19:03 - Living with this understanding.
Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud
By John Donne
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
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| Mara's daughters: Craving, Lust, and Surfeit |
"Sonnet X" is also known by its opening words as "Death Be Not Proud." It is a 14-line poem, a sonnet, by English poet John Donne (1572–1631), one of the leading figures in the metaphysical poets group of 17th-century English literature.
Written between February and August 1609, it was first published posthumously in 1633. The poem is included as one of the 19 sonnets that comprise Donne's Holy Sonnets or Divine Meditations, among his best-known works.
Most editions number the poem as the tenth in the sonnet sequence, which follows the order of poems in the Westmoreland Manuscript (c. 1620), the most complete arrangement of the cycle, discovered in the late 19th century.
However, two editions published shortly after Donne's death include the sonnets in a different order, where this poem appears as 11th in the Songs and Sonnets (published 1633) and sixth in Divine Meditations (published 1635).
What is it about?
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| What I meant was... (John Donne) |
Such power is merely an illusion, and the end Death thinks it brings to men and women is in fact a rest from world-weariness for its alleged "victims."
The poet criticizes Death as a slave to other forces: fate, chance, kings, and desperate men. Death is not in control, for a variety of other powers exercise their volition in taking lives.
Even in the rest it brings, Death is inferior to drugs. Finally, the speaker predicts the end of Death itself, stating, "Death, thou shalt die." More
Monday, September 1, 2025
Murder at Burning Man? Blood on Day 7

Burning Man horror: Man found dead in pool of blood as festivalgoers watch effigy torched
Burning Man 2025 mind-blowing night life
Temple burn closes out festival
#burningman2025 #burningman #burningmanfestival #nevada #blmrangers #blackrockrangers #fbi #burningmanmurder #homicideinvestigation
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- Breeze Offroad, Sept. 1, 2025; ETimes, Sept. 1, 2025; Eric, Escaping Normal Life/YouTube, Day 7, 2025; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
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Thursday, August 28, 2025
Friday, February 28, 2025
Holy Ramadan, month of Fasts/Feasts
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| Beauty bound in a burka? Free in hijab (dreamstime.com) |
Hey, don't you mean FASTING? Yes, but David Wood (below) assures us it's actually FEASTING that will be happening all of this Muslim-month, with lots of sleep and deluded back-patting of how "pious" and "holy" we're being in observance of sacred traditions.
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| The many benefits of fasting |
It seems even more ridiculous in Holy Roman Catholicism, at least the American version, where asking good Catholics to "fast" -- abstain from eating dead animals in the form of "meat" -- was just too much to ask. Forty days without dead fish? How is McDonald's supposed to make money? (Are fish animals? We thought they were).
Eat all the seed-bearing plants and fruit in the world, which the good God hath made: Genesis 1:29 quotes the God as saying, "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. But that's not good enough. We need to kill animals, or pay people to kill them for us, even during Lent, a 40-day period of abstaining and austerity, abandoning all kinds of bad habits. Does Protestantism advocate fasting? Sort of.
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| Bhagavan Bhakthi (Hinduism devotion) |
- Fast fast (take nothing but air)
- Water fast (just drink lots of water)
- Juice fast (just take fresh juices, but be careful of the natural sugar content separated from its healthy fiber)
- Fast all day (24 hours)
- Fast part of the day (from 12 noon to about 6:00 am)
- Fast all night (like when sleeping, avoiding after dinner snacks)
- Fast part of the night (like during Ramadan, after the giant feast dinner, staying up all night to digest before ruining that digestion with a big breakfast, before the recovery-sleep done all of the rest of the day)
- Food? Give it a rest and clean house, as fasting allows the body to clean itself like a self-cleaning oven, the energy-consuming organs of digestion.
- All forms of fasting are good for the body, if undertaken correctly. It may seem scary because we overeat and are sugar addicts with diabetes, prediabetes, and all sorts of metabolic syndrome conditions, which fasting would eventually clear
- Who's healthier and more alive than someone trapped for a time without food, finding all the senses heightened and fully alert?
Ramazan begins with crescent moon, how official start time can still vary around the world
Fasting, the Islamic way: FEASTing
The REAL Ramadan rules we never knew existed
Indeed, binge eating during Ramadan is causing a health crisis in Muslim countries. So why is gluttony and excess portrayed as strict discipline and self-control in Islam?
Is there a spiritual component to Ramadan? Christian critic David Wood explores the issue and uncovers the disturbing truth about Islam's holiest month.
Articles cited:
- "Not so fast: Ramadan sees rise in binge eating and A&E cases": cnn.com/2013/08/07/world...
- "The Economic Impact of Ramadan on the Food Sector": hlb.global/the-economic-i...
- "The puzzle of self-reported weight gain in a month of fasting (Ramadan) among a cohort of Saudi families in Jeddah, Western Saudi Arabia": ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti...
How dare you question us, you infidel!
UPCOMING: Muslims vs. the Bible: Can YOU prove it's corrupt? ▶ youtube.com/live/L_LNWKHJX
- WION, Feb. 28, 2025: Behind the News; Acts 17 Polemics) March 22, 2023; Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
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Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Who created God? The Buddha's answer
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| Western conception of Man (Adam) and God (Yahoo) by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel |

Who created God? (The Buddha’s answer)
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| Gnostics know this proud god is no God. |
The Buddha didn’t answer such inquiries with dogmas but invited spiritual seekers to look inward, emphasizing personal experience over intellectual speculation. Knowing-and-seeing is what is important, not more words and wonderment.
Discover how the Buddha’s teachings or Dharma guide us from intellectual questioning to self-awareness and existential clarity.
Learn why the Buddha discouraged endless questioning about theoretical matters and instead encouraged the pursuit of actual self-discovery, mindfulness, and inner transformation.
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| Buddhism and the God-Idea |
This journey is not about answers given by others but about finding the truth within ourselves.
- [Yes, all things (dhammas) being impersonal, ultimately there is no-self, but what is there? There is, conventionally speaking, a dependently originated "self," and it is a fabrication of the Five Aggregates clung to as self. So there is a self conventionally but, ultimately, what is it but five ever-changing processes and not at all what it seems. From the inside, it feels real, but looked on dispassionately. It leads to freedom. But we have to let go of our preconceptions and watch mindfully to "see clearly" (vipassana), which is the result of insight meditation by a serene mind purified by the absorptions (jhanas).
- The God (Maha Brahma) and Gods (brahmas) and gods (devas) all have origins and did not come out of nothing, nor can it rightly be said that they just always were. Karma (deeds bearing results) is the great divider and assigner; there are actions that result in rebirth as gods of all kinds, namely, samadhi ("stillness unifying the mind to superconsciousness"), which means gaining, developing, and mastering the meditative absorptions (jhanas), grounded in morality and virtue (sila) so as to bring about peace of mind free of remorse or worry. Then, when passing away, if one has mastered the absorption, one will be reborn in accordance with this very weighty skillful karma on a plane of existence corresponding to the level of that mastery. See the 31 Planes of Existence for details. Current deeds create future results. To the extent that we understand (have right view), will (intend), and accumulate actions, they will be foundations for our future experience. So in a sense everyone is creating his or her own future circumstances and fruitions.
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| Wise brahmas are nevertheless deluded, too. |
Seeking answers to life’s deepest questions? The Buddha’s wisdom offers a path to self-discovery and liberation. Watch now, like, share, and subscribe for more profound insights. #Buddha #God #Truth #SelfAwareness #Mindfulness #Meditation #Enlightenment
- Gary Larson (The Far Side); Ego Podcast (Buddhism), Jan. 20, 2025 (video); additional text by Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Monday, January 6, 2025
Happy Epiphany, Jesus: Three Magi visit
Epiphany (/əˈpɪfəni/ ə-PIF-ə-nee), also known as "Theophany" in Eastern Christian tradition [5], is a Christian feast day commemorating the visit of the Magi (the Three Wise Men), the baptism of Jesus (Issa, Yeshua), and the wedding at Cana [6].
The Buddhist connection is that Jesus the Nazarene was considered a tulku (important incarnation of a significant spiritual figure) by Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhists, who sent a party to confirm his rebirth and invite him to Tibet, where indeed Jesus later visited, stayed, and trained for 18 "lost" years to recognize and develop his spiritual gifts and embark on his mission as a prophet, teacher or, as Christians would have it, God incarnate (a Hindu Avatar). This sort of search party of mysterious "Magi" from the East is sent out whenever a Rinpoche, Panchen Lama, or Dalai Lama is expected in a certain region of the earth. See Unmistaken Child for general details.
Unmistaken Child
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| I trained as a Buddhist in Hemis |
It is sometimes called Three Kings' Day, and in some traditions celebrated as Little Christmas [9] (like the longtime Christian Armenians, who may be Christians because Noah's Ark is rests around Mount Ararat).
Moreover, the feast of the Epiphany, in some denominations, also initiates the liturgical season of Epiphanytide [10, 11].
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| Nic Notovitch discovered written Tibetan texts |
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| I leave you VP Elon Musk and Pres. JD Vance |
However, since 1970 the celebration has been held in some countries on the Sunday after January 1. Those Eastern Churches that are still following the Julian calendar observe the feast on what, according to the internationally used Gregorian calendar, is 19 January [14], because of the current 13-day difference between the Julian and Gregorian calendars [15]. The Alawites and the Middle Eastern Christians also observe the feast on January 19 [2, 3, 4].
In many Western Churches, the eve of the feast is celebrated as Twelfth Night (Epiphany Eve) on January 5.[16][17] The Monday after Epiphany is known as Plough Monday [18]. Epiphany (holiday)
- Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit
Saturday, December 21, 2024
German witches celebrate pagan Yule
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| Can Jewish witches celebrate Israel's genocide for German Yule, or is that weird? |
How to celebrate Yule | Rituals and Pagan history of the winter solstice
| Seven magical destinations for anybody fascinated by witches (Lonely Planet) |
In today's witch vlog, I am taking viewers through my winter solstice celebration to give inspiration on how to celebrate Yule, create some yule-themed kitchen witchery with yummy orange and cardamom cookies, show my simple winter solstice ritual, and conjure up a witchy winter brew in my cauldron.
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| Saint Lucia of Light, Saint Lucy in Sweden, unlike the nasty German version |
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| Let's go back to pagan times and traditions |
What do you think of the Bavarian celebration of St. Lucia (Goddess of Light in Sweden, Catholicism, and German witchcraft)? It is a bit grim... xD
How are we celebrating Yule?
- 00:00 Intro Witch vlog
- 00:23 What are we doing for the winter solstice?
- 00:54 Walk in Winter Wonderland
- 01:35 What is the winter solstice about?
- 02:31 Green witch lore & traditional plants of Yule
- 05:01 Gathering winter solstice greenery for a Yule ritual
- 05:53 Winter solstice celebrations around the world
- 06:44 St. Lucia Day in Sweden
- 07:28 St. Lucia Day in Bavaria (the awkward version)
- 09:07 Kitchen witchery: Flaming Solstice cookies
- 11:09 Cleansing smoke blend for the Yuletide
- 13:35 Winter solstice ritual idea
- 14:48 Gushing over my new witches' cauldron
- 15:13 Pagan history: Viking drinking festivals and making Kinderpunsch
My awesome cauldron: https://kit.co/The_witches_cookery/my... 🧙♀️My favorite WITCHY THINGS and equipment: kit.co/The_witches_cookery
📚 My favorite witchy books: https://kit.co/The_witches_cookery/wi...
📷 Join on Instagram: / the_witches_cookery
💍 The sustainable, witchy jewelry in this video is by Ana Luisa
https://shop.analuisa.com/thewitchesc...
Use this discount code to get 10% off :) THEWITCHESCOOKERY10
💕 To receive more content or interact with me on a more personal level, feel invited to have a look at my Patreon account: the_witches_cookery
☕ To support this channel and make it possible for me to create more content for enjoyment: paypal.me/thewitchescookery
- ✉ To send snail mail:
- Rebekka Laufer,
- Postfach 17, 92246 Vilseck
🎵 Music from https://www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Might contain affiliate links, meaning that I earn a veeeery small percentage from them. The final product is NOT more expensive for buyers when buying through the links but it does help me be able to keep creating on this channel - Thanks
💕 Kinderpunsch
Alcohol-free Glühwein
750 ml
Strongly brewed Fruit tea (I used a combination of Turkish apple tea and Hibiscus flower)
500 ml
Red Grape juice
200 ml
Apple juice
2 Oranges
1/2 Lemon
18 Cloves
2 Cinnamon sticks
1 handful of Cranberries
Optional: Coconut blossom sugar or agave to sweeten
Flaming Winter Solstice Cookies
(Orange and Cardamom infused Spritz cookies)
125 g vegan butter
130 g powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 Egg replacer
200 g gluten-free flour
125 g ground almonds
Swig of real vanilla extract
Swig of bitter almond aroma
2 Tbsp cardamom
Zest of 1 orange
Juice of 1 orange
2 Tbsp coconut cream
Optional: chocolate to cover
7-10 mins at 150-180 degrees Celsius
- Witch Rebekka Laufer (The witches' cookery); Shauna Schwartz, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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Thursday, October 31, 2024
Burning witches ('wise ones') in Salem
What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials | Brian A. Pavlac
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| I'm a sexy beer brewing witch |
You’ve been accused of a crime you did not commit. It’s impossible to prove your innocence. If you insist that you’re innocent anyway, you’ll likely be found guilty and executed. But if you confess, apologize, and implicate (accuse) others, you’ll be set free and they will be arrested. Hmm, what to do?
This was the choice facing those accused by killer Christians of "witchcraft" in Salem, Massachusetts in the 17th century. How did it happen? Brian A. Pavlac investigates.
Tech support for witches
The "Craft"?
Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY
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| Why, yes, I can drive stick |
Fine and proper Christians go on rampages they say are ordered by the genocidal tribal god they worship and praise. Why do the war-god's bidding? It's very sad. Living in Judeo-Christian culture, it's difficult to recover what it meant to be "pagan."
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| What accoutrements do I need to get started? |
It seems "Christians" (Cretins, Yahoos), imperial Romans promoting Ceasar's Messiah, just could not stand any competition of ideas, even if the main character in their narrative traveled to the mystic East to gain his realization and bring his healing gifts to the surface. All this to ask, sexy sponge cake The Craft, helpful or harmful?
- Lesson by Brian A. Pavlac, directed by Lucy Animation Studio (silviaprietov.com); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly COMMENTARY
Friday, May 17, 2024
The wisdom of Jerry Seinfeld at Duke U?
(@trtworld) Pro-Palestine students at Duke boo Jerry Seinfeld, walk out
Seinfeld's stunning message for woke students
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| Judaism beyond Zionism (jvp.org) |
Some students had to walk out on their own graduation if this is who Duke thinks should be invited to speak. Should Israel be allowed to compete in Eurovision 2024? What, just because of their war crimes, or that Israel is not in Europe? Is it the genocide or the fact that Israelis behave like an Ashkenazi monoculture?
Seinfeld stands with the genocide or, at least, not against it. He's almost a billionaire, and he has many Jewish friends he does not want to upset.
Moreover, much of his identity is wrapped up in such a way that he can't start questioning Zionism or his secular Judaism now. It's not as if he's going to give Ultra-Orthodox Jews the time of day.]
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| Ceasefire NOW (ifnotnowmovement.org) |
Palestinian comedian explains all the watermelons
NOTE: Yes, JP has gone conservative and maybe that makes him less funny, but he is still a considerate voice along the lines of Russell Brand, and he's funnier than most other commentators. We may not be big Seinfeld fans (and not just because he made a horrible movie called PopTarts but because he was the least funny thing about Seinfeld when he should have been the funniest. He wasn't even writing the best parts of it for the others; that was genius Larry "Curb Your Enthusiasm" David.
- شرش | Shoresh | שר”ש (@shoresh_us) • Anti-Zionist Jews
- NOT IN OUR NAME! (ifnotnowmovement.org)
- Jewish IDF veterans: breakingthesilence.org.il
- American Veterans for Peace
- Code Pink: Women for Peace
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Amnesty International
- Jerry Seinfeld; Awakening with JP; Shauna Schwartz, Sheldon S., Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
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