The Barnyard

to clarify, this is not asking for your interpretation of zen, but rather, how do you find that zone, the one where the voices in your head are quiet, you hear only nature & let the confusion of the moment fade?

i find it walking mostly. its the only kind of exercise i can do, so i walk my dogs, then usually have a walk by myself where i can consciously try to push out all thoughts other than staying out of the way of cars and vicious squirrels and geese

perhaps its not something others do. its not complicated really. you can begin to make other associations when your mind clears...the zen will manifest itself

nope, no time. no time left for me, no time left for you. we want it now, nothing else to do. as we descend into the pits debasement & texting & tweeting.

come come, surely some of you pathetic fat losers must try some new age stuff

call it meditation call it zen, i find all too little of it in life that i see john

surely you cannot carp over the tranquility of the mind being a good place to be, at times?

if i aspire to lofty goals, walking two mutts wont get me there. neither will solitary walks where i try to clear my mind of the rubble...i suppose its addictive enough.

but, too much talk talk talk talk makes man a sickly sort. now tweet that. text it too. go on facebook, then watch fox news while reading ayn rand & scouring the internet for insolent teachers....bruce springsteen sang please dont stop me mr state trooper....talk shows talk talk talk until you lose your soul

meanwhile, i am going back over tilled ground, the gilded age, the rise of industrial america. the jp morgans carnegies the goulds & our buddies the injuns

i find these days leading up to the flowering of progressivism conservationism & modern liberalism a delight.

much do i se tr as our own special brand of american fascist...the politics of which were only beginning to sprout green shoots

if only he had won in 1916 we could have had our own napoleon, for i am convinced he was power bonkers & war & blood lusting in his soul

breathing is certainly a prerequisite. the beauty of using running or walking for meditation is that breathing is part & parcel of the behavior.

doing it safely, not being so transfixed as to walk into a suv, that is also important

ultimately, reflection is a luxury most cannot afford anymore. pity

i truly miss being able to get out & "run" or go to the gym & play hoops for a hour or so.

my back neck & knees will not permit but simply nothing could clear my mind more than some decent scenery a mild day & a flat course to run

i am into some things, but running up hills never got me too thrilled. if i am going to run up mountains i need more motivation than a jog. low threshold of pain i guess

yoga, some tai chi, and practicing piano...nothing that a bach invention cant zone out.

for more physical activities: kayaking, hiking and playing paintball.