By "MeditationMom" - Children's Book Author, Mayke Beckmann Briggs--------- ------"That which is an Absence in a very Young Child, becomes a Presence in a Sage." ----- The Parent-Child Relationship provides the Alchemy for turning Lead into Gold, the Fear of Death into Love, Confusion into Peace, and Childishness into Wisdom. As we help our Children to become Adults we have an Opportunity to allow them to help us recover the Wholeness of our own Childhood.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Here You Are...Wondering...About Sunshine and Rain...The Day Before
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Here You Are...Wondering...About Day And Night...Bill Cosby
The better version of the video below that includes Bill Cosby, had the embedding code disabled so you have to go directly to YouTube for this classic treat.
Mrs Huxtable...hmmm...sexy, fun, smart, fiercely loving mother and wife, lawyer...Michelle Obama comes to mind. Couple that with our first black president...no, not Bill Clinton, but Fox's David Palmer ( Dennis Haysbert)...and you know why even Republicans voted for Barack Obama.
The Cosby Show contributed greatly to breaking down racial stereotypes in this country... and so did Fox. We live in interesting times. Day and Night keeps turning into Night and Day. Newsmax, for example, another part of the Fox empire, is outright revolutionary when it comes to Alternative Medicine information, taking on the medical and pharmaceutical industry and their many scams, even exposing the harm done to our health by meat consumption, vaccines and antibiotics. Something old hippies could only dream of, thirty years ago. It takes the powerful to challenge the ones in power.
Or, just a great sense of humor.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Here You Are...With The Birds Singing Their Songs
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Here You Are...With The Sun Warming Your Face... Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
May you live as long as you want,
And never want as long as you live.
Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.
Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.
Always remember to forget
The troubles that passed away.
But never forget to remember
The blessings that come each day.
May the saddest day of your future be no worse
Than the happiest day of your past.
May the roof above us never fall in.
And may the friends gathered below it never fall out.
May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door.
May there be a generation of children
On the children of your children.
May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent!
May the Lord keep you in His hand
And never close His fist too tight.
May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.
Walls for the wind,
And a roof for the rain,
And drinks beside the fire -
Laughter to cheer you
And those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire!
May God be with you and bless you,
May you see your children's children,
May you be poor in misfortune, rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May God grant you many years to live,
For sure He must be knowing
The earth has angels all too few
And heaven is overflowing.
May peace and plenty be the first
To lift the latch to your door,
And happiness be guided to your home
By the candle of Christmas.
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Here You Are...With The Wind Blowing In Your Hair...William Kamkwamba And His Windmill
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Here You Are... With The Clouds Above You...Photograph
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Here You Are... Standing On The Ground
If the video doesn't play through go here to YouTube where it plays through. Cool piece of electric guitar music. And don't forget to send Nick some love in the comment box on YouTube if you like this piece!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Doctors And Attorneys In Court
and are things people actually said in court, word for word,
taken down and now published by court reporters who had the
torment of staying calm and straight-faced while these
exchanges were actually taking place.
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
______________________________
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
_____ ______________________________
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his
sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
______________________________
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.
_______________ ____________________________
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
______________________________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: getting laid
______________________________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney.
Can I get a new attorney?
______________________________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a
deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
______________________________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished.
______________________________
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________
...and the best for last:
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you
began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Friday, May 14, 2010
My Daugher-In-Law And The First Lady
When I see the First Lady digging in the dirt, and vegetables growing green and lush, right there in the middle of Washington D.C. known more for its ugly political infighting and powerful careers than peaceful vegetable plots - and then see hoards of children planting, and suddenly chopping vegetables in the White House kitchen - I feel the world - even Washington D. C. - is still a wonderful place. And I think of my daughter-in-law at home with her toddlers, weeding the vegetable garden with her two helpers before it's time to make dinner for such hungry little gardeners - who turn into enthusiastic cooks once you trade them their shovels for their cooking spoons. Simple things like this make life rich, and a great joy.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Carlos Santana and 7-Year-Old Lucciano Pizzichini
Friday, March 5, 2010
A Picture's Worth A 1000 Words
Is water the most likely medium for retaining and retrieving information? It already is, but we are not aware nor have we mastered how to use this. Who would have thought 100 years ago that fiberglass would be a carrier of vast and almost instant information around the globe? Maybe someone did but surely he or she would have been thought a fool.
As the saying goes "a picture is worth 1000 words". No wonder YouTube is such a success...
Reconsider what you think of as "just" water...or "just" words, for that matter...
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Spaghetti Dog Secret
Spaghetti Dog

Tuesday, April 7, 2009
White House Vegetable Garden

It feels as if the fundamental thing that may be wrong with our society has just been discovered.
No question, these will be very expensive vegetables, but no different from the expensive Christmas tree. Although to many a sweet religious symbol, it also very much symbolizes wealth and heartless consumption. To me it always comes with the images of freezing little hands lighting last matches while peeking through frozen glass into homes with cooked geese on the table and velveted children receiving their colorful dolls and trains.
A vegetable garden on the other hand, and a first lady and her children digging in the dirt, is a symbol of gratitude, humility, and appreciation for where all of our wealth and happiness ultimately comes from - the food from the ground and the work it takes to grow it.
When the food runs out - or a few steps further down the line, when the money runs out, as it has and still is - thanks to all the thieves and charlatans out there - it is time to turn the soil, fertilize and replant, and not to sell rotten vegetables or even stones for food, as some of our bailout plans seem to do. I hope the First Gardener knows this and can get rid of the slugs.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Our Great Grands Had Rythm
The original background music
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Overheard In New York
Reminds me of a restaurant sign in Seattle:
"Unattended Children will be given a double cappuccino and a free puppy."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Waves - From The Inside - Clark Little Photography
What a gift to us non-surfers! Thank You, Clark Little!
http://www.
Friday, January 9, 2009
If You Were A Cow...
YouTube's existence, and therefor getting this information out - in pictures! - to the unsuspecting consumer who doesn't equate his juicy hamburger or scrambled eggs with these levels of insanity and brutality, is like Gutenberg finally printing the Bible in terms of social impact.
Even if only reducing our animal product consumption, to get our food from places like Whole Foods and farmer's markets where they can guarantee humane treatment of the animals we eat and their gifts to us like eggs and milk, is highly advisable.
If you were a cow in India you could even become enlightened...
Ramana Maharshi's Love of all Beings (Title links to where I found this article)
The following is from the page Ramana Maharshi - Sage of Arunachala Hill It gives some examples that show how Ramana Maharshi, a true enlightened sage, indeed one of the greatest of our time, had a deep love and compassion not just for humans but for animals as well. For that matter, there was no difference in the way that Sri Ramana treated people, animals, or plants. And even stones, he said, had consciousness. I have always felt that the true test of a realised sage is how they treat not just human, but even more so non-human life. Because you can treat other people well because of moral conditioning and human laws, or fear that they will be angry if insulted. The same doesn't apply to animals, plants, and rocks. So if you treat these well, it is a sign of a deep and profound sensitivity, love and compassion for all beings and for the entire cosmos. Ramana was one of those few great Spiritual Masters who were like that.
Origin of Lakshmi the Ashram Cow

A villager had a dream in which he was told to offer his next calf to Ramanasramam. He brought his cow and the calf to Bhagavan. The jungle around the Ashram was thick at that time and there were cheetahs. The Ashram people were perplexed and refused the offer, but the villager was taking his dream seriously and would not take the calf away. The mother cow had to remain with the calf to feed her. Finally, the cow and the calf were entrusted to a devotee in the town. The calf became the famous cow Lakshmi. She grew up and had three calves within a few years. She would come daily to the Ashram to have her meals, graze on the Ashram land, enter the Hall and sit contentedly near Bhagavan. In the evening, she would go back to the town as other women did.
Once Lakshmi came into the Hall. She was pregnant at that time. It was after lunch time when Bhagavan was reading the newspapers. Lakshmi came near and started licking the papers. Bhagavan looked up and said: "Wait a little, Lakshmi." But Lakshmi went on licking. Bhagavan laid his paper aside, put his hands behind Lakshmi's horns and his head against hers. Like this they stayed for quite a long time. I stood nearby looking at the wonderful scene. After some ten minutes or so, Bhagavan turned to me and said: "Do you know what Lakshmi is doing? She is in Samadhi."
I looked at her and tears were flowing in streams down her broad cheeks. Her breathing had stopped and her eyes were fixed on Bhagavan. After some time Bhagavan changed his position and asked: "Lakshmi, how do you feel now?" Lakshmi moved backward, as if reluctant to turn her tail towards Bhagavan, walked round the Hall and went out.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Heartwarming Ice
Monday, January 5, 2009
Orchestra Of Peace
This is the small but inspiring effort of a creative guy traveling around the world making people separated by thousands of miles, sing and play in harmony. Extraordinary people - those mystics of the street. Music is one of the greatest stepping stones into people's hearts, and into meditation. That is why mothers sing to their children, lovers to their sweethearts, devotees to their Gods, and street musicians to their fellow human beings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM