CALAPALOOZA: UC Berkeley's "Club Day"(Vincent Ooi) Looking back seven years at Cal’s Club Day, when students sign up for what interests them to get involved in campus community life.
Are there any all-girl acapella groups to join?
Summer is over. Everyone is back. This is the slow wind up to the beginning of instruction at the University of California at Berkeley (Cal), the world's greatest public institution of higher learning. Move in days just happened, and everyone is bracing for the full moon day of August as everyone returns to class and studying. Thursday, which is coincidentally also a lunar eclipse, marks a big event on campus: Calapalooza:
With over 1,400 student-registered organizations on campus, a student community is right around the corner. Learning a new skill, meeting like-minded friends, and discovering passions are only a few of the perks of joining a student club. Establishing these connections through activities that members have in common enriches the college experience. life.berkeley.edu
Why do waves go so well with Buddhism? There's something about sex, sand, and suffering -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on the beach. But becoming a greater surfer has much more to do with wu wei (the ease of effortless flow), wushu (martial arts), and applying Taoist principles like yin and yang to Zen (jhana) Buddhist practice, which involves mindful in-the-moment awareness and radical acceptance of what is.
Southland facing a triple threat of heat, humidity, and high surf
Temperatures topping 100 inland raise fire risk
Rong-Gong Lin II (July 21, 2026, Los Angeles); Eds., Wisdom Quarterly
Southern California will face a triple threat this week of dangerous heat, muggy weather and, along the coast, hazardous high waves. It may be better for surfing, but it will be risky for all beachgoers who get near the water.
"We're looking at an at least several days -- if not longer -- heat event, which can really be concerning," said meteorologist Robbie Munroe of the National Weather Service's Oxnard office. Hollywood may catch fire on the Sunset Strip from all the tourists dripping sunblock.
Officials warned of elevated fire danger across large swaths of SoCal starting Tuesday, with a high risk of fast-moving and "plume dominated" fires driven by heat and instability. Such blazes have large vertical growth and can spread rapidly even when not driven by the wind. More: latimes.com
Wisdom Quarterly's new book on going with the flow while out to sea among brutal sharks, cancerous sun, chapping wind, and rich territorial surf punks suffering from localism and getting into fights about it.
Why do waves go so well with Buddhist practice? There's something about "sex, sand, and suffering" -- which one meets with while reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy safely on the beach. But it has much more to do with wu wei, wushu, and applying Taoist principles to Zen practice.
For instance, when out on a wave about to ride, instead of "doing," try "allowing." Go with the flow. Rather than interfering or trying to cut against the grain, embody radical acceptance of what is and ride it out. That's what Wisdom Quarterly's resident Meditation Teacher Seven says is a far better approach than struggling to dominate.
Let the waves dominate so that the only thing to do is allow, allow, allow. Then in this allowing, suddenly it becomes effortless and intuitive, perfectly obvious and impossible to explain with words.
People do sometimes try to express it in words, but it all becomes a jumble of oohs and ahhs like surf slang or Himalayan shoestring spiritual seekers on ayahuasca down in the jungles of the Amazon with shamans Michael Harner.
As a graduate student in the 1950s, Michael Harner undertook field research on the culture of the Jívaro (Shuar)Natives of the Amazon in Ecuador [5] as he began to pursue a career as an ethnologist. His UC Berkeley doctoral dissertation (1963) became the basis for his book, The Jívaro: People of the Sacred Waterfalls[6]. In 1960-1961 he reported that he became a participant-observer by experimenting with the powerful plant medicineayahuascawith the Conibo of the Peruvian Amazon [5]. He wrote about in the articles "The Sound of Rushing Water" (1968)[7] and "The Role of Hallucinogenic Plants in European Witchcraft" (1973)[8]. Dr. Harner, Ph.D. returned to the Native Jívaro in 1964, 1969, and 1973, at which time he learned the use of the psychoactiveentheogenmaikua (Daturabrugmansia, jimsonweed) [5]. More
There's a similar feeling to be had by skateboarding or hang gliding, BASE jumping or surviving the pit (slam dancing to a favorite song at a concert). Surfing seems very safe by comparison. It all becomes instinctive and beyond thinking. It's a good place to be just for that moment, rising above the turmoil of the mind or diving into the silence of the heart. Rumi would understand. The historical Buddha pointed out the detailed Path to it.
I'dunno, Bro, looks pretty gnarly. Let's just tan.
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual surfer (or two) uses a carefully modified wood, fiberglass, or polyurethane board to "ride" on the face, the forward section, of a swelling wave of water. This swell usually carries said surfer toward shore or to a watery death by drowning for not respecting Mother Nature enough. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found on ocean shores. But they can also be found as standing waves in the open ocean, artificial simulators, lakes, rivers in the form of a tidal bore, or wave pools (and also in a physics experiment when a tide pool is sent back to sea). More
Surf Spots - California Beaches: The Wedge? That's Newport Beach. LA's Palos Verdes Peninsula isn’t known for its surfing outside of local circles, and there is a sad reason for that. It’s called “localism.” The area has a severe case of the disease. Located between Los Angeles and Long Beach, and possessing some excellent breaks, one would think this place would be much better known. Locals know all about surf spots like Palos Verdes Cove (near the crumbling peninsula called Palos Verdes Estates), Lunada Bay, Haggertys at Malaga Cove, among others.
A few weeks ago, LA and OC beaches were being subjected to king tides, riptides, with dangerous surfing conditions for experts only. The cause this time seems to be a tropical storm elsewhere disrupting the height and frequency of waves. Surfers may love it as they avoid great white sharks, but others will find it hard to take a dip or swim. Localism is, of course, a greater danger as human sharks with a sense of entitlement circle strangers and drive them out. Expect swells, tubular conditions at The Wedge and elsewhere. Warning: Water may be a little contaminated due to crumbling infrastructure. Sharks are a tiny worry compared to the microscopic contaminants and plastic particle debris. Enjoy.
Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jennifer B., Seth Auberon, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
While sounding like a madman at first, the great Krishnamurti actually has a point to make about "efforting," muscling, struggling, and striving to gain or win enlightenment. Buddhist awakening (bodhi) is far more about letting go of delusion, confusion, and illusion and instead gently cultivating allowing, radical acceptance of what is, and dispassionate (disinterested, unbiased) viewing like some kind of Taoist, being the watcher rather than the striver or go-getter.
Of course, Krishnamurti was more a Hindu than a Buddhist, having escaped the clutches of the Western Theosophists who found him, saw his potential, raised and nurtured their new Messiah (Maitreya) in hopes that he would become a "Buddha" or "World Teacher" for our time (like the promised Buddha Boy decades later).
But he burned them and instead taught a whole kind of Zen nondoing, nothing special, there's nothing to achieve approach to spirituality and spiritual (un)accomplishments. The Theosophists were not happy, so Krishnamurti went off on his own, not aligning himself with any religion but sort of incorporating them all into a syncretism.
He's a subtle speaker and thinker, along the lines of Bhagwan Shree Rajnessh (Osho) and Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, both alleged to be frauds immersed in sex and money scandals. We would not want to misrepresent Krishnamurti's views, if he holds any, as he can quite well speak for himself. Like the great Mahavira (Vardhamāna, the founder of Jainism, called the NiganthaNattaputta in Buddhist texts), Krishnamurti must have some good qualities that he is still remembered and listened to.
(Mindova) Why spiritually awakened people look younger than their age: Carl Jung
Here "awakened" should not be conflated with Buddhist "enlightenment" (bodhi) since every spiritual tradition will have its own definition of what it is calling the peak realization, moksha, liberation. And even if they use the same words for it (like "nirvana"), it is not the same. For example, Hinduism and Buddhism are VERY different in all the subtle details, but in the West think they're just about identical with some name changes. There would be no need for Buddhism if it were saying what Hindus want to believe and hear. Another example is Jainism. Jains are much closer to Buddhists than Hindus, but they are still worlds apart. Both are wandering ascetic traditions, but Mahavira's insights and explanations did not hold up to the Buddha's scrutiny. Mahavira understood much, attained much, but did not become an arahant (enlightened one in the Buddhist sense of the word). That should show anyone that details matter, differences matter. We can all agree and hold hands and talk about our commonalities on our spiritual quest, but for goodness sakes we have to talk about the contrasts and differences to really benefit one another.
To practice equanimity (Pali upekkhā, Sanskrit upekṣā) is to be unwavering or to stay neutral in the face of the "eight worldly conditions" (aṭṭha loka dhamma) [1]:
loss and gain,
good-repute and ill-repute,
praise and blame,
sorrow and happiness [2].
In the description of meditative stillness and super-consciousness (samādhi), equanimity is present in the third and fourth meditative absorptions (jhānas). More
(Eckhart Tolle) Life doesn’t stay comfortable for long. Expecting it to do so creates a lot of frustration. In this talk, Eckhart Tolle explains why challenges are built into life and how they can become a doorway to deeper awareness.
🌟 Find new meaning and purpose after personal crisis
🌟 Currently navigating a period of intense difficulty?
Through six hours of carefully curated teachings and practices [that seem very Buddhist even though Tolle does not claim they are] with Eckhart, discover the unique potential for spiritual growth that presents itself during the dark night [of the soul].
Punk is bad, stupid, and scary. What are these jerks talking about?
The Decline of Western Civilization is a 1981 American documentary filmed through 1979 and 1980. The movie is about the Los Angeles punk rock scene and was directed by Penelope Spheeris.
In 1981, the LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department) Chief Daryl Gates wrote a letter demanding the film not be shown again in the city [1].
The film is the opening act of a trilogy by Spheeris, depicting music scenes in Los Angeles in the late 20th century.
The second film, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988), covers the Los Angeles heavy metal scene of 1987–1988.
The third film, The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998), chronicles the gutter punk lifestyle of homeless teenagers in the late 1990s. More
American Hardcore: The History of American Punk Rock 1980–1986 is a documentary directed and produced by Paul Rachman and written by Steven Blush [1][2]. It is based on the 2001 book American Hardcore: A Tribal History also written by Blush [3]. It world premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released on Sept. 22, 2006, on a limited basis by Sony Pictures Classics. The film features some early pioneers of the hardcore punk music scene including Bad Brains, Black Flag, D.O.A., Minor Threat, Minutemen, SSD, and others [4]. It was released on DVD by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on Feb. 20, 2007. More: American Hardcore (film)
Lefties Losing It: The left is celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder
(Sky News Australia) Sept. 11, 2025: Smarmy, virtue signaling, rightwing, Indian Australian Sky News host Rita Panahi blasts "the ghouls on the Left" for celebrating the assassination of Charlie Kirk. [Never mind that a white male Republican family gun nut whose father is a cop is the alleged shooter.]
In Buddhism, there are the Five Precepts one lives by. These are not very well misunderstood, often dismissed as just generally being "good." But they go a little deeper. One abstains from killing. That is the number one thing. However, to really abstain, one not only avoids kills, one does not encourage others to kill. This is why it is good to avoid lauding, approving, celebrating, or otherwise indirectly impelling others to kill. It is the same with the other four precepts -- to avoid stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, or consuming intoxicants that occasion heedlessness. Buddhists not only avoid them but avoid encouraging such things by others.
There's a small Cat in a tall Hat, and that's that.
Discover Alan Watts' profound insight into the Western illusion of meaning and the freedom found in Eastern surrendering to life’s mystery. In this powerful lecture from his 1959 TV seriesEastern Wisdom and Modern Life, Watts explains why our desperate "search" for purpose can often lead us AWAY from true peace.
Embrace the present, let go of control, and understand why [the sense of] nonsense might just be the key to enlightenment.
In 1958, Watts toured parts of Europe with his father, meeting the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung and the German psychotherapist Karlfried Graf Dürckheim [29]. Upon returning to California and the Bay Area in the United States, Watts recorded two seasons of a TV series (1959–1960) for KQED public television in San Francisco, Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life [30]. More
Why we try to control everything – and why it never works – The Buddha's answer
(Buddhism Podcast) April 9, 2025: Buddhism Explained.
This podcast explores a quiet habit that many of us carry — the habit of trying to CONTROL everything in life.
Through simple language and gentle reflection, we look at why the mind/heart holds on, how this creates tension and stress, and what begins to change when we stop forcing things.
With stories from the Buddha’s life and clear examples, this talk offers a calm and thoughtful way to understand clinging, change, and the freedom that comes from letting go.
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