BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//The Open Road:  a learning community - ECPv6.15.3//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:The Open Road:  a learning community
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://openroadpdx.com
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Open Road:  a learning community
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Los_Angeles
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0800
TZOFFSETTO:-0700
TZNAME:PDT
DTSTART:20210314T100000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0700
TZOFFSETTO:-0800
TZNAME:PST
DTSTART:20211107T090000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210615
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210715
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210615T224651Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210615T225414Z
UID:2223-1623715200-1626307199@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue  6/15/21
DESCRIPTION:Open Road Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue \n   \nJune 15\, 2021 \n  \nYou are equally as beautiful as the universe. \n—tag on a Yogi Tea bag \n* \nIt is easy to see the conventional character of roles. For a man who is a father may also be a doctor and an artist\, as well as an employee and a brother. And it is obvious that even the sum total of these role labels will be far from supplying an adequate description of the man himself\, even though it may place him in certain general classifications. But the conventions which govern human identity are more subtle and much less obvious than these. We learn\, very thoroughly though far less explicitly\, to identify ourselves with an equally conventional view of “myself.” For the conventional “self” or “person” is composed mainly of a history consisting of selected memories\, and beginning from the moment of parturition. According to convention\, I am not simply what I am doing now. I am also what I have done\, and my conventionally edited version of my past is made to seem almost more the real “me” than what I am at this moment. For what I am seems so fleeting and intangible\, but what I was  is fixed and final. It is the firm basis for predictions of what I will be in the future\, and so it comes about that I am more closely identified with what no longer exists than with what actually is! \n  \n—Alan Watts\, from The Way of Zen\, p. 6 \n* \nEsoterica  \n  \nShall I write for the ages? Shall I compose  \nfor a scholar’s delectation? Shall footnotes \nbe the explication implement for my puzzles\,  \nmy utterance reeking of the lamp? Shall glossy  \nlyricism enamel my philosophies? Shall I play  \ncat and mouse\, merciless with a reader’s mind?  \nShall I strive to conceal my meaning so teachers \nmay tease their students for the great shazam?  \n  \nDo not hang my painting  in the parlor\,  \nsaid Van Gogh—I see it in the cabin of a boat \nstorm-tossed at sea\, as a help to frightened sailors. \n  \n—Kim Stafford \n* \n  \nTakes a heap of meaning to make a body happy \n  \nThere have been complaints these days about meaninglessness. \n  \nThe spiritual end of our civilization seems to have broken down. We were originally set up to be monotheistic\, and not polytheistic. The gods were banished and all space taken by Jehovah on his golden throne. That worked through the Middle Ages\, but the Industrial Revolution put a spoke in the wheel. Almost unnoticed\, the gods started coming back. \n  \nThere are those who would turn Jehovah out and bring the gods back. Monotheism\, polytheism\, whatever. The important thing is to live a meaningful spiritual life. But a lot of Christians\, Muslims and Jews are invested in monotheism\, which is the idea that if there is one god there can’t be many. Logic won’t allow it. Others say that religion needs to be founded on paradox\, in which case\, there can be one god or many\, depending on your visionary angle. \n  \n—Charles Erickson \n* \n  \nlet’s pretend \n  \ninstead of pretending that we are afraid \nthat we must improve \nthat we have enemies \nthat the future will arrive someday \n  \nlet’s pretend everything is sacred \npretend this is Paradise \npretend every moment is precious \npretend we love everyone \n  \npretend our joy knows no bounds \npretend we are the whole wide world \n  \n—Johnny Stallings \n* \n  \nYou can take any object whatsoever–a stick or a stone\, a dog or a child–draw a ring around it so that it is seen as separate from everything else\, and thus contemplate it in its mystery aspect–the aspect of the mystery of its being\, which is the mystery of all being–and it will have there and then become a proper object of worshipful regard. So\, any object can become an adequate base for meditation\, since the whole mystery of man and nature and of everything else is in any object that you want to regard. \n  \n—Joseph Campbell\, from Mythic Worlds\, Modern Words: On the Art of James Joyce\, p. 130 \n* \n  \nI hear and behold God in every object\, yet understand God not in the least\, \nNor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself. \n  \nWhy should I wish to see God better than this day? \nI see something of God each hour of the twenty-four\, and each moment then\, \nIn the faces of men and women I see God\, and in my own face in the glass\, \nI find letters from God dropt in the street\, and every one is signed by God’s name\, \nAnd I leave them where they are\, for I know that wheresoe’er I go\, \nOthers will punctually come for ever and ever. \n  \n—Walt Whitman\, from “Song of Myself” \n* \n  \nAnd this our life\, exempt from public haunt\,  \nFinds tongues in trees\, books in the running brooks\,  \nsermons in stones\, and good in every thing.  \nI would not change it. \n  \n—William Shakespeare\, from As You Like It\, Act II\, scene 1 \n* \n  \nHere are some excerpts from Michel’s meditation journal. The numbers refer to passages from the book Your True Home by Thich Nhat Hanh. (JS) \n  \nMay 3\, 2021  #113  The Beautiful Earth \n  \nThis one ended up not being about the entitled topic: certainly it does start there…and ends where we can help others find/touch peace more often in their lives\, realizing that the Earth and all it contains is already beautiful. I appreciate that Thây tells/reminds us that we are “able to”—“We can allow ourselves…” How often do we do this—allow ourselves to do anything for ourselves?; let alone\, walking mindfully or touching the Earth. Certainly\, it can be a greater challenge for those of us located in the box. But\, we can let our spirit soar outside this box\, our minds don’t have to be imprisoned along with our bodies. (As an aside: How many do you know and/or notice whose mind is as trapped as their body\, unable to see any beauty or kindness inside here?) Even walking on concrete we can touch the Earth. Even looking at concrete walls\, or at a sky above\, we can recognize the beauty of the Earth around us—as we once knew it\, or as we can see it now in faces of people\, or pictures\, or birds flying overhead. We can allow ourselves to live\, breathe\, see\, feel\, and even “be” outside the box. We only need to “see” it… \n* \n  \nMay 24\, 2021  #128  Peace is Contagious \n  \nI guess I have not experienced this truth yet. I see war as a result of greed\, hatred\, delusion: this is contagious\, in a way. Peace has certainly been a byproduct of meditation practice\, as has happiness with ease. I wonder if this is the intent of using “contagious.” \n  \nWouldn’t that be wonderful? If we could get many to meditate and peace were to spontaneously erupt. Then\, as a result of all the peaceful people and the contagious nature of peace\, that Peace broke out all over the world. What would that world look like? Would it be astonishing or amazing? Or\, would we all\, as active meditators\, know it was what we expected to occur? \n  \nPeace is the antithesis of greed\, hate\, and delusion (The Three Poisons). Meditation is part of the path for overcoming the self-told lies leading to these three poisons. So\, if this is known—(this is known\, isn’t it?)—then why don’t more people pursue peace this way: divesting of false narratives\, of grasping for what others have\, and the desire to erase the otherness? \n  \nIt all comes down to choices. We each make choices. Some will blind us to reality\, and others bring sharp relief. Each person gets to choose. When one discovers the path of peace\, he or she wants others to share in it—contagious. \n* \n  \nMay 31\, 2021  #133  Where the Buddhas Live \n  \n….We are all sleeping Buddhas. And\, we all share this planet together. We can all love ourselves\, in the now\, as it is\, as we really are\, seen in the “others” with whom we share the air we breathe\, the sunlight that warms our body\, on this planet provided for us to live. Where do the buddhas live? In you and in me and in each person we encounter. Can you see it? Can you feel this? \n  \nLove \nMichel Deforge \n* \n  \nOne of my favorite “children’s books” is Cosmic View: The Universe in 40 Jumps by Kees Boeke\, published by John Day\, 1957. It has long been out of print but some amazing soul has scanned the whole book to a PDF:  \n  \nhttp://www.arvindguptatoys.com/arvindgupta/cosmic-view.pdf \n  \nAnd in 1968 Canadian Broadcasting made a film based on it:  \n  \nhttps://letterboxd.com/film/cosmic-zoom/ \n  \nWe take size and our reactions to it almost by rote\, not seeing how very relative our slice or box of the universe is. And these two\, the book and film\, remind us of  that. In addition there is a great French movie\, Microcosmos\, about the life of insects in a field in France.  \n  \nhttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117040/ \n  \nTalk about different worlds and sizes! Which is just what I have done in this recent poem of mine\, that I am attaching. \n  \nlove\,  \nDeb \n  \nOpening the Hubble Galaxy Calendar \n  \nIn a summer field the camera inches closer\, the air’s hum becomes louder\, thicker and we watch small creatures move through wilds of grass and dirt\, beings so tiny our lordly bodies rarely see them\, human vision inattentive to antennas\, faceted eyes\, and carapace. How unimaginable these day-long worlds are to us and we to them\, our one hundred years beyond reach in the universe of insect life. \n  \nAnts\, worms\, and crickets\, dynasties of arachnid and lepidoptera rush to mind each morning as I open another color-enhanced photograph from the Hubble telescope\, each one bringing the unexpected into view: the Horse Head Nebula rearing as if a stallion\, a butterfly configuration composed of galaxy upon galaxy\, streams of gas and water\, glowing fire. What can we know of 100 million light-years\, these interstellar worlds? \n  \nO\, how like insects we are\, hands and legs\, thorax and mandibles all waving in the limitless dark. \n  \n—Deborah Buchanan \n* \n  \n#161 Think Globally \n  \n“…When we see things globally we have more wisdom and we feel much better We are not caught by small situations…” \n  \nI don’t remember when I first started doing this\, but I know it was many\, many decades ago\, during my first rocky marriage. When caught up with tormenting thoughts I would extricate myself by saying\, “Look at the big picture. Look at you\, now\, in this time. This is nothing; you are nothing. In the “Grand Scheme of Things” this doesn’t matter. You don’t matter (you do\, but you don’t). It is nothing. Things will change.” I would detach myself\, look at the situation from the outside\, like a scientist\, untethering myself from the suffocating emotional bind. I would think of centuries\, of eons\, eras\, of countries\, continents\, planets\, the universe — and all the inhabitants therein\, and how their lives could be monstrous compared to mine. \n  \nThen I would count up the joys in my life\, remembering what I had within and without me that others globally could not experience. I would get specific\, enumerate details—loving\, supportive parents and siblings; vegetables in my garden ready to pick; good physical (if not mental) health; art; adoring\, adorable dog; freedom from addictions (for now); the trees and mountains calling me… \n  \nIf nothing else\, the time it took me to go through this process would invariably diffuse the heretofore unbearable situation. \n  \nI am everything. I am nothing. \n  \n—Jude Russell \n* \n  \nI love this poem: \n  \nI am one \nWho eats his breakfast \nGazing at morning glories \n  \n—Basho \n  \nhttps://matsuobashohaiku.home.blog/2019/04/12/gazing-at-morning-glories-eating-breakfast-basho/ \n  \nI am still contemplating the story Michel sent about fishing with a straight hook. Picturing this fisherman/fisherwoman sitting with companions who are intent on catching fish for dinner\, or sport.  \n  \nThe difference seems to me about letting go of expectations\, come what may\, but staying engaged with companions in the present moment. A surprise might come that feels magical\, but it isn’t about waiting for something better in the future. But the straight hook does make that fisherbeing unique amongst others. I am sending some quotes on this thought: \n  \nIf you always sit in expectation\, you’re not in the present moment. The present moment contains the whole of life.  \n—Thich Nhat Hanh   \n  \nLetting go is a painful part of life. But according to Buddhism\, we must let go of attachment and desires if we are to experience happiness. \nHowever\, letting go doesn’t mean you don’t care about anyone and anything. It actually means you can experience life and love fully and openly without clinging to it for your survival. \nAccording to Buddhism\, this is the only way to experience true freedom and happiness.  \nLetting go gives us freedom\, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. If\, in our heart\, we still cling to anything—anger\, anxiety\, or possessions—we cannot be free. \n—Thich Nhat Hanh   \n  \nThe greatest loss of time is delay and expectation\, which depend upon the future. We let go of the present\, which we have in our power\, and look forward to that which depends upon chance\, and so relinquish a certainty for an uncertainty. \n—Seneca   \n  \nIf we deny our happiness\, resist our satisfaction\, we lessen the importance of their deprivation. We must risk delight….We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world….( injustice cannot be the only measure of our attention)….We must admit there will be music despite everything.      \n—Jack Gilbert \n  \nLet Go Of Expectations  \n  \n“If it weren’t for my mind\, my meditation would be excellent.” \n—Pema Chödrön     \n  \nShe continues:      \n  \nEvery meditation is different. Some of them will be peaceful throughout and you may feel a deep sense of joy. Other times your mind might be wild with thoughts of the day\, responsibilities you have yet to fulfill\, or emotions that percolate to the surface of your mind.  \n  \nHere are some steps you can take during your practice so that you avoid unnecessary turmoil and disappointment:  \n  \n\nAccept whatever shows up for you. If your mind is wild with thoughts\, simply let them arise without judgement. When you catch yourself being aware of these thoughts\, you can remind yourself to focus once again on your breath.\n\n\nSometimes you may experience emotions arising. Again\, allow them to move through you without judgement. Emotions need to move through us\, otherwise they can become stuck within our body and cause discomfort or even disease later in life. The release of that emotion could be the very thing that brings some relief and a quieter mind. \n\n\nRelease expectations of a specific outcome before you go in to a meditation. Some people will enter meditations with the hope that they will be able to manifest money\, relationships or health. High expectations of a specific outcome can lead to disappointments when they do not arise immediately. The less you expect of your meditation the easier you will find happiness. \n\n* \n  \nOK\, you are now ready to begin\, take a calm\, deep breath. \n—Katie Radditz
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/meditation-mindfulness-dialogue-6-15-21/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://openroadpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Unknown.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210708
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210624T231228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210624T231324Z
UID:2245-1624492800-1625702399@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:peace\, love\, happiness & understanding  6/24/21
DESCRIPTION:sidewalk message \n  \n  \nTHE OPEN ROAD \npeace\, love\, happiness & understanding \n  \nJune 24\, 2021 \n  \nBe kind whenever possible. It is always possible. \n—Dalai Lama \n* \n  \nThe other day I was thinking about what I would say if asked to give a TED talk. Here’s what I wrote: \n  \nLove to faults is always blind\, \nAlways is to joy inclin’d\, \nLawless\, wing’d & unconfin’d\, \nAnd breaks all chains from every mind. \n  \nthat’s William Blake \n  \nI’d like to talk about love \nand so I shall \nnot the fascinating question of the relation between love and sex \nbut another kind of love: \nunconditional love for everyone and every thing \nis such a love possible? \nthat’s an open question \nbut surely it is possible to have this as an aspiration \nfor our love to grow and grow as we go along on our life journey \nit is good to begin with this axiom: \nwe are one human family \nthat means: \nall children are our children \nall children are our children \nevery child\, everywhere in the world \nif you accept this as true\, then war becomes impossible \nunthinkable \nfor whenever we drop a bomb on our so-called “enemies” we would at the same time murder some of our own children \nsurely we don’t want to do that \nit’s much more pleasant to have no enemies  \nthere’s no one to fear \nwe can live in love \nthe preamble to the UNESCO constitution says: \n“wars begin in the minds of men” \nso\, that’s where they must end\, too \nwe can end the wars within ourselves \nby doing our own inner work \nthe other kind of war—between nations and groups of people— \nends with acts of imagination\, informed by love \nby the knowledge that each person’s life is as limitless and precious as our own \nif we don’t imagine that we have enemies\, we don’t have enemies \nthis is true\, because we are one human family  \nand all children are our children \nwe have no enemies \nthere is no “other” \nthere is no scapegoat upon whom to project all our sins \nwe are not born in sin \n(every newborn baby proves Saint Augustine was wrong about that) \nwe are born in love \nwe grow in love \nthat’s why we came here \nto love and be loved \nthat’s why we came to this earth \nthat’s why we came to this room \nlove has no limit \nit has no beginning or end \nto quote the Bible: \nwho loves not\, knows not God \nfor God is love \nJesus enjoined us to love our neighbors as ourselves  \nand to love our enemies \nif you love your enemies\, they are no longer enemies \nthey are friends \nbrothers and sisters \n* \nour family is larger than the human family \nit includes every living being \nand rocks and rivers and clouds \nThich Nhat Hanh speaks of interbeing \nwe all inter-are \nthe trees provide oxygen for us to breathe \neach of our bodies is a host for millions of micro-organisms\, without which we couldn’t digest our food \nit’s wonderful! \nwhether or not you postulate a creator\, this world is amazing!  \nevery particle of creation is miraculous \neverywhere you look is another miracle \nour breath\, the circulation of our blood\, our brain\, the bees pollinating the fruit trees— \nthe Web of Life! \n* \nthe odds against any one of us being born are impossibly large— \nthe chance meeting of our parents\, the moment of conception\, the zillions of little swimmers— \nand yet here we are \nit is great good fortune \nhere we are with our precious human bodies and brains \nour thoughts\, our emotions\, our imaginings \nwe are in this well-lit room\, where the temperature is regulated for our comfort \nwe are all suitably clothed \nwell-fed \nwe are very fortunate \nmany people\, as we know\, are not so fortunate \neveryone should have access to clean and abundant drinking water \nno one should go to bed hungry \nno one should live in fear \nwe have a lot of work to do \ncompassion is the essential prerequisite \n* \nthe earth is hurting\, too \nwe have been relentlessly destroying the ecological health of our planet—especially since the advent of the Industrial Revolution \nwe have to learn\, or re-learn\, how to live on this earth in ways that are not so destructive \nthis\, too\, begins with love \nwe must love our Mother Earth \n* \nand as the poet Auden said: \n“we must love one another or die” \nof course you probably got the memo that we’re all going to die anyway \nwe are mortal beings \nthe question is: \nhow shall we live? \nmay I have the envelope please? \nand the answer to the question “How shall we live?” is… \nin Love \n  \nthank you \n  \n—Johnny Stallings \n* \n  \nI shared it with Kim Stafford\, who sent me a poem and also a letter that his friend  Charles Busch had written to the mothers and fathers of Palestine and Israel: \n  \nFor the Bird        \n Singing before Dawn  \n  \nSome people presume to be hopeful \nwhen there is no evidence for hope\, \nto be happy when there is no cause. \nLet me say now\, I’m with them.  \n  \nIn deep darkness on a cold twig \nin a dangerous world\, one first \nlittle fluff lets out a peep\, a warble\, \na song—and in a little while\, behold:  \n  \nthe first glimmer comes\, then a glow \nfilters through the misty trees\, \nthen the bold sun rises\, then \neveryone starts bustling about.  \n  \nAnd that first crazy optimist\,  \ncan we forgive her for thinking\, dawn by dawn\,  \n“Hey\, I made that happen! \nAnd oh\, life is so fine.” \n  \n—Kim Stafford \n* \n  \nLetter to the Mothers and Fathers of Palestine and Israel\, \n  \nWe have read the names of the 69 children killed in the 11-day exchange of violence between your peoples. Though we live far away\, your grief reaches us\, for we too have daughters and sons we love and cannot imagine life without. \n  \nQusai al-Qawlaq (6 months)\, Ibrahim al-Rantisi (6 months)\, Muhammade-Zain al-Attar (9 months) \n  \nThe deaths of your children point to the dark truth of modern warfare: For every 1 combatant killed\, 9 civilians are killed\, the majority of them children. These numbers have been reported consistently for decades\, but are hard to hear. War has become the killing of children. \n  \nDain Ishkontana (2)\, Yazan al-Masri (2)\, Nagham Salha (2)\, Adam al-Qawlaq (3)\, Yahya Ishkontana (4) \n  \nWe at Fields of Peace\, a small nonprofit on the coast of Oregon\, have a Mission: To stop the killing of children in wars. Today\, we recommit to working for a lasting peace in your land by daring to propose a way to a new beginning. \n  \nBaraa al-Gharabli (5)\, Ido Avigal (5)\, Amira al-Attar (6)\, Butheina Obaid (6)\, Abdurrahman al-Hadidi (7) \n  \nWe know there have been countless failed attempts at peacemaking. And we know that there are seemingly intractable issues—borders\, occupation\, settlements\, refugees\, statehood. But we also know that the majority of peoples on both sides desperately want and demand peace. \n  \nZaid al-Qawlaq (8)\, Bilal Abu Hatab (9)\, Yara al-Qawlaq (9)\, Yahya al-Hadidi (10)\, Mira al-Ifranji (11) \n  \nTo begin anew\, a shared perspective is needed\, one that rises above the narratives on each side that justify violence. The perspective we propose is the view from the eyes of mothers and fathers. They see that to gain a whole world is not worth the killing of a single child. \n  \nAbdullah Jouda (12)\, Hala Rifi (13)\, Ahmad al-Hawajri (14)\, Muhammad Suleiman (15)\, Nadine Awad (16) \n  \nTo unite the mothers and fathers of Palestine and Israel into a force for peace\, a common commitment is needed. The commitment we propose is an obvious one: make A Promise to Our Children. It begins\, \n  \nI will not be a part of the killing \nof any child\, \nno matter how lofty the reason. \nThese words may seem slight given the history and walls that divide your land\, but words hold the power of creation. They set in motion the good that is waiting in us to be born. Nothing new begins without words. But they must be said out loud\, and someone must go first. \n  \nI will not be a part of the killing \nof any child\, \nno matter how lofty the reason. \nNot my neighbor’s child. \nNot my child. \nNot the enemy’s child. \nNot by bomb. Not by bullet. \nNot by looking the other way. \nI will be the power that is peace. \nSpoken\, these words will travel out\, be heard and repeated by other mothers and fathers\, by grandparents\, godparents\, by all who say the name of a child with love. They will serve notice to leaders: “Stop the killing of children in wars. Stop wars.” Spoken\, the words will also travel in\, reminding us of who we are\, giving us courage to stand and act. \n  \nThere is a way to a new beginning. It is simple and immediate: See with the eyes of mothers and fathers. Make A Promise to Our Children. It begins\, \n  \nI will not be a part of the killing \nof any child\, \nno matter how lofty the reason. \n  \nThank you\, \nFields of Peace \n  \nJune\, 2021 \nfieldsofpeace.org
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/peace-love-happiness-understanding-6-24-21/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://openroadpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/0-18-2.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210708
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210722
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210708T153913Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T123947Z
UID:2256-1625702400-1626911999@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:peace\, love\, happiness & understanding  7/8/21
DESCRIPTION:  \nTHE OPEN ROAD \npeace\, love\, happiness & understanding \n  \n  \nDREAMS OF BETTER WORLDS \n  \nJuly 8\, 2021 \n  \nI once asked my friend Howard Thoresen what he thought the future would be like. “Like the present\,” he said. \n  \nIn the drawings above\, the artist Robert Crumb gives three versions of the future of the same street corner. In the first\, everything is more-or-less dead. The second is a high-tech future\, with flying cars. The third is a hippie ecotopian future. One of the things I think Howard was getting at is that all three of these “futures” exist right now. Somewhere there’s a terrible drought and the crops have died. Somewhere there’s a city where tall skyscrapers have skins of mirrored glass. And somewhere someone is riding her bike to the organic vegetable market. \n  \nIn movies and popular culture dystopian visions abound. Back in the Hippie Days\, before the Internet\, we had a Bible of Hope known as The Whole Earth Catalog. On the cover\, it had a picture of our planet as seen from space. \n  \nIn the Fifties\, in America\, World War Two was over and many people dreamed of raising a happy family—like the ones on TV—in their house in the suburbs\, with a two-car garage and an automatic washer and dryer. A company advertised: PROGRESS IS OUR MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT. The idea was that things were better than they had ever been\, and they would just keep getting better and better. \n  \nAround 1970\, we got the Bad News. Ecologists told us that there were too many people on the planet for its “carrying capacity.” Plant and animal species were becoming extinct. Forests were being cut down\, topsoil was being exhausted and eroded\, fresh water sources were being depleted. Factories were poisoning the air\, the soil and the rivers. The climate was changing. The trajectory we were on\, they said\, was not taking us to a better place\, but to a worse one. \n  \nThis came as quite a shock. All our stories had told us that humanity was ascending from a state where life was “nasty\, brutish and short” to a more and more civilized\, more and more “modern” one\, where all our problems would be abolished by rational problem solving\, economic prosperity and technological progress. \n  \nOne of the thinkers featured in the Whole Earth Catalog was R. Buckminster Fuller\, the inventor of the geodesic dome\, and a “futurist.” He wrote a book called Utopia or Oblivion. These\, he said\, were our options. He said that he didn’t find the subject of oblivion very interesting\, so he spent his life trying to figure out how\, together\, we could “make the world work.” He said he had done the math\, and it was quite possible for everyone on this planet to have enough to eat and a place to live. We could educate all the children and provide health care for everyone. \n  \nIt makes you wonder: why aren’t we doing that? \n  \nWhen we go camping\, we’re supposed to leave the campsite better than we found it. Individually and collectively\, we would like to do that with our planet. One problem is that we can never give an adequate answer to the question: “What’s going on here?” There’s always too much going on at every moment. I don’t know what’s happening in my backyard right now. What are all the worms up to? And everything is always growing and changing—within me and around me. \n  \nAnother difficulty is that people have different ideas about what the most important problems are and about how things could be improved. Each of us has our own utopian dreams. \n  \nIn The Tempest\, while Gonzalo puts forward his ideas of what he would do if he was king of the island\, hecklers are busy finding all the flaws in his Big Idea: \n  \nGONZALO \nHad I plantation of this isle\, my lord\,– \nANTONIO \nHe’ld sow’t with nettle-seed. \nSEBASTIAN \nOr docks\, or mallows. \nGONZALO \nAnd were the king on’t\, what would I do? \nSEBASTIAN \n‘Scape being drunk for want of wine. \nGONZALO \nI’ the commonwealth I would by contraries \nExecute all things; for no kind of traffic \nWould I admit; no name of magistrate; \nLetters should not be known; riches\, poverty\, \nAnd use of service\, none; contract\, succession\, \nBourn\, bound of land\, tilth\, vineyard\, none; \nNo use of metal\, corn\, or wine\, or oil; \nNo occupation; all men idle\, all; \nAnd women too\, but innocent and pure; \nNo sovereignty;– \nSEBASTIAN \nYet he would be king on’t. \nANTONIO \nThe latter end of his commonwealth forgets the \nbeginning. \nGONZALO \nAll things in common nature should produce \nWithout sweat or endeavour: treason\, felony\, \nSword\, pike\, knife\, gun\, or need of any engine\, \nWould I not have; but nature should bring forth\, \nOf its own kind\, all foison\, all abundance\, \nTo feed my innocent people. \nSEBASTIAN \nNo marrying ‘mong his subjects? \nANTONIO \nNone\, man; all idle: whores and knaves. \nGONZALO \nI would with such perfection govern\, sir\, \nTo excel the golden age. \nSEBASTIAN \nGod save his majesty! \nANTONIO \nLong live Gonzalo! \n* \n  \nIn Joyce’s Ulysses\, Leopold Bloom fantasizes about being an eloquent politician: \n  \nBLOOM \n  \nI stand for the reform of municipal morals and the plain ten commandments. New worlds for old. Union of all\, jew\, moslem and gentile. Three acres and a cow for all children of nature. Saloon motor hearses. Compulsory manual labour for all. All parks open to the public day and night. Electric dishscrubbers. Tuberculosis\, lunacy\, war and mendicancy must now cease. General amnesty\, weekly carnival with masked licence\, bonuses for all\, esperanto the universal language with universal brotherhood. No more patriotism of barspongers and dropsical impostors. Free money\, free rent\, free love and a free lay church in a free lay state. \n  \nShakespeare and Joyce are having fun with our proclivity to imagine ourselves in charge of everyone and everything. \n  \nThe protagonist of Dostoevsky’s short story “Dream of a Ridiculous Man\,” is depressed. He wants to find the right day to commit suicide. He falls asleep in his chair and dreams that he travels through space to a planet just like Earth—except that everything there is perfect. Everyone there is happy. They love each other. They love the animals. They talk to the trees. In his dream\, the unfortunate narrator corrupts that world. Things get worse and worse\, until it resembles our own. When he wakes from the dream\, he wants to live! He feels that his mission in life is to convince everyone that we need to love each other. He is certain that if we could do that our world would become a Paradise. \n  \nParadises and utopias come in all shapes and sizes. A perfect moment is Paradise. When we write a poem or paint a picture\, we create a perfect little world. \n  \nThe philosopher Wittgenstein contrasted the idea of “the world” with the idea of “my world.” It’s fun to ponder this distinction. If you wanted to change the world for the better\, it would be quite hard to do because it’s so big and there are so many forces in play. But my world—the world as I experience it—changes from day to day. We create a new world from moment to moment. A happy person lives in a friendly world. An angry person lives in a world full of adversaries. We create our own Heaven. Or Hell. We can see the kind of world Marc Chagall lived in by looking at his paintings. \n  \nPeople have imagined that Paradise existed sometime long ago\, or will arrive at some time in the distant Future. Maybe after we die—if we’re good. Hesiod spoke of a long-ago Golden Age\, when people were happy\, lived long\, and didn’t have to work. In the Bible\, our first parents lived in a Garden until they were kicked out for disobedience. Karl Marx believed that some day a casteless\, classless society would be ushered in\, and all would be well. Paradise is always elsewhere. \n  \nIn contrast to this story\, Thich Nhat Hanh says: “The present moment is a wonderful moment.” I don’t have to wait for The End of War in the world\, in order to abolish the conflict within myself. I could live in Love right now. It’s not against the law. \n  \nOne of my favorite books is The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater. In it\, one day a seagull drops a bucket of orange paint on the roof of Mr. Plumbean’s house. Instead of fixing the problem\, Mr. Plumbean painted his house to look like all his dreams.  \n  \nIt reminds me of the colorful\, wildly imaginative architecture of Gaudi and Hundertwasser.  \n  \nThe Mexican muralists Rivera\, Orozco and Siqueros painted walls in Mexico\, and inspired thousands of people to do likewise around the world. \n  \nThanks to YouTube\, we can tour the barn of the Bread & Puppet Theater in Glover\, Vermont \n  \nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV232D962pE \n  \nor the home of the clown Slava Polunin in France \n  \nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy9DqXzGEAI&t=12s \n  \nor accompany Dr. John “Slomo” Kitchin as he skates along the sidewalks of San Diego \n  \nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn87-mcnoVc \n  \nMaybe Paradise is not far away. Maybe we’re in it right now.
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/peace-love-happiness-understanding-7-8-21/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210711T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210711T170000
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210709T024543Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210709T024657Z
UID:2266-1626015600-1626022800@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Bibliophiles Unanimous!: Your Favorite 50 Books of the Last 50 Years
DESCRIPTION:  \nWhat are your favorite 50 books of the past 50 years? Make a list\, and join the Zoom gathering on Sunday\, July 11th\, at 3 pm (PDT). Here’s the link: \n  \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83135193074 \n  \nSee you there! \n  \npeace & love \n  \nJohnny
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/bibliophiles-unanimous-your-favorite-50-books-of-the-last-50-years/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210715
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210815
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210716T153424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210716T153546Z
UID:2277-1626307200-1628985599@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue  7/15/21
DESCRIPTION:  \nOpen Road Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue \n  \n July 15\, 2021 \n  \nRhyming With Thich Nhat Hanh \n  \n1 \nOnce upon a cloudy day \na wandering poet lost his way \na busy yard-sale he passed by \ndrew him back\, he wondered why \nBrowsing through a battered trunk \nhe found a book by a Buddhist monk \nThich Nhat Hanh was the writer’s name \ninterconnection\, his basic game \nthe young man skimmed in search of clues \na garden of thoughts\, so many to choose \nthe path being offered was simple but steep \nand spelling that name\, a Grand Canyon leap \nmost daunting of all was rhyming that name \nfor a poet\, perhaps\, the ultimate shame \nsuddenly hungry and ready to roam \nhe put down the book and started for home \nWhen he got to the sidewalk the poet could tell \nhis sense of direction was not doing well \nthe sun was now setting\, the clouds darker gray \nit was not a good time to be losing his way \na man from the yard sale saw his distress \nand showed him a bus that would pass his address \nslumped in a seat as the bus took him home \nhe feared he might never again write a poem \nthen he thought of the book that he found in the trunk \nand wished he had spent more time with the monk \nThat night the poet fell into a dream \nthe moon deep blue\, the sky rich cream \na brindle cat\, in a bare black oak \nwas playing a fiddle with a lively stroke \nin a dark red vest and odd shaped hat \nhe swayed as he fiddled on the limb where he sat \nabove the tree\, in the cream colored sky \napproaching the moon\, was a cow who could fly \nA gasp escaped from the poet’s throat \nthe music stopped on a jagged note \nthe soaring bovine paused mid-air \nthe fiddling cat conjured a glare \n  \n2 \nWhat is your problem\, poetry man? \nDid something happen that’s not in your plan’? \nAs the poet described his rhyming confusion \nThe cat cut in with a crisp conclusion \nYou can’t find a rhyme for Thich Nhat Hanh? \nPoetry man\, you’re putting me on \nBy now the cow had cleared the moon \nand sang a sympathetic tune \nEasy\, cat\, he’s flesh and bone \nhe thinks\, in life\, he’s all alone \nwith broken compass and hobbled rhyme \nhis sails are empty on the sea of time \nThe cat tipped back his pork pie hat \nwith stingy brim and crown so flat \nOf course you’re right\, dear nimble cow \nhe’s everywhere but here and now \nrhyme adds power to a tale \nlike the gust of wind that fills a sail \nand rhymes add balance but aren’t essential \nto celebrate this world’s potential \nThich Nhat Hanh has an open vision \nhe honors the world’s unseen precision \nfor example\, in a sheet of paper \nhe sees a cloud of water vapor \nwithout rain there’d be no trees \nno trees\, no paper\, if you please \nAs the cow was gliding back to earth \nthe poet admired her supple girth \nshe wasn’t slender\, nor even trim \nbut she moved with ease and bovine vim \nher coat light brown\, with islands white \nthe streak on her forehead\, a comet in flight \ntouching down near the big black oak \nshe flicked her tail and again she spoke \nThat sheet of paper is a fine example \nof endless connections we might sample \nlook more closely and straightaway \nyou’ll see the sunshine of the day \n  \n3 \nwith no sunshine\, we all know\, \nthere’s no way a tree can grow \nso in this simple paper sheet \nrain and sun and tree all meet \nThe cat chimed in so calm and cool \nlike he was sunning by a pool \nAs we savor these connections \nwe open out in all directions \nand though the parts may seem diverse: \nthe earth\, the stars\, the universe \neverything that we perceive \nis in the universal weave \nLike a water lily in the sun \nglowing\, growing\, we are one \nThe poet smiled\, for he could see \nthat lily floating full and free \nhe took a breath\, he heard a cough \nhis darned alarm was going off \nHe hit the snooze and tried to think \nhis brain a frozen skating rink \ngone the guiding conversation \noozing back\, the deep frustration \nno words of cat or even cow \nto keep him in the here and now \nand still no rhyme for Thich Nhat Hanh \nhow could a poet carry on? \nBut . . . something has been gently changed \nhis rhyming pathway rearranged \nthe porkpie cat and comet cow  \nhave clarified his course somehow \nand though they live inside a dream \nthe gifts they offer flow downstream \nwith new connections comes a dawn \nrevealing rhymes with Thich Nhat Hanh \n  \n—Nick Eldredge\, 2020 \nnickeld109@gmail.com \n* \n  \nHere are some excerpts from Michel’s meditation journal. The numbers refer to meditations in Thich Nhat Hanh’s book\, Your True Home: \n  \nJune 14\, 2021  #143  Everyone Smiles \n  \nIt’s a lovely sentiment\, one I hope can be true. It’s a Butterfly Effect moment: “Smile and the whole world smiles with you.” Or\, so it’s been said. There are times when smiling is just damn hard to do. Or\, I just don’t wanna do it! But\, a truth is that if I smile—shake myself up a little and struggle through my pain\, to smile from my toes—others will smile back \, genuinely happy to be see and be seen. We can alter our minds’ courses\, as well as our emotional states. Smiling is one of the positive ways. So\, if you see someone smiling\, look at him or her—(wonder to yourself: what’s going on?)—and\, while making eye contact\, share in their smile. And\, when you find one who has no smile of his or her own\, again\, looking deeply at them\, smile your warmest\, most compassionate\, well-wishing smile. (It’s instinctive to smile back to a genuine smile.) It’s hard not to chortle and smile as I write these thoughts of smiling\, sharing smiles\, and just being happy. It’s a choice each of us is allowed to make. Doing so makes the world better\, even for a brief painful moment\, just for the price of one simple\, genuine\, loving\, compassionate smile shared\, intentionally or not\, with the world around. (It makes everyone look better!) \n* \n  \nJune 20\, 2021  #149  When Strong Emotions Arise  —  Happy Father’s Day! \n  \nI can really use this one; last night I was racked with deep grief as I have never felt grief or sadness before. I still haven’t a clue as to why. It just came over me as I began my evening prayer service\, and caused deep overwhelming sadness. It lasted for minutes. An eternity that might not end\, I thought. I knew I didn’t want to stop it\, but breathe through the experience. At the same time I found judgement about self-indulgence—how protracted grief can be self-indulgent. I don’t know\, but there it was—a self-induced indictment for “being” (acting) self-indulgent with an experience (and display?) of deep grief of unknown/undefined origin. \n  \nEventually\, a focus on the breath did calm the overwhelm. Even now I can sense this same sadness just below the surface of attention\, as if it rests just below my skin. I can’t bring it to surface just now\, yet I am aware of its presence as part of my being. I accept it as part of me and for reasons (deep past pain\, maybe?) unknown just now\, I don’t know its origin or cause. Maybe I’ll experience it again\, or not. When I do “feel” it again I can rest with it\, breathe and release a need to define or judge it. \n  \nIf I attempt to resist\, restrain\, or even fight back the tears\, I’ll only end up suffering a worse mess than if I allow the sensations to run their course through this body. I hope to have enough presence of mind to relax and observe what is coming up\, as I also focus on breathing. I can allow curiosity\, yet I’ll not want to push too hard or the critical self will arise and condemn\, adding to the grief and suffering\, instead of allowing it to be what it is\, and (eventually) to reveal its source and originating cause—it could be related to childhood traumas\, grief for lost innocence\, or time lost from not bonding with my father (who may not live to see my scheduled release date: he’s 85 now.) \n  \nWhat will matter is how I do/don’t allow myself and the body to experience these feelings\, sensations\, emotions when they arise again. If I fight\, it will only be more powerful the next time\, with the added sensations of the self-battle for restraint and any new emotions about that strong feeling arising. By fighting it\, instead of letting it be\, I see that I create a past-future tether which pulls at me to not be in the now. It prevents the strength and healing needed to allow this to arise again and for me to just be with myself as it happens\, allowing the senses to be part of my now—breathing “quietly\,” “calmly”—looking with compassionate curiosity at what came up\, not needing to define or judge\, but just to be. \n* \n  \nJune 21\, 2021  #148  Fearless Bodhisattvas \n  \nIt would be nice to be “fearless.” I guess once I transcend attachment and aversion I can be a help to others on their journey out of suffering. It’s next-level stuff\, as some may say. To me it seems important to keep this suffering of others in mind\, not to take it on\, but\, maybe\, to join them under their burden and in doing so lighten their suffering\, even for a moment\, so they can get a glimpse of Reality as it is. Maybe not. It could mean something totally different. \n* \n  \nJune 22\, 2021  #150  The Arhat \n  \nFinally! Recognition for doing “nothing.” I find it very easy\, even in here\, to get caught up with being busy\, doing stuff—it’s important\, mind you\, just ask and when I have the time I’ll let you know how busy I am with all of my importance. I find it sad that\, as a culture\, we value packing and cramming each and every moment of a day with stuff. Sure it’s important\, and we want to make the most of the few moments we have left. But\, wouldn’t it be nice to breathe\, relax and just enjoy each moment as it passes before us—instead of working and struggling to “do”—and make the most of a moment we can’t get back. And then\, suffering for not enjoying the moment more fully. I find it scary how familiar this sounds to me. \n  \n—Michel Deforge \n* \n  \n                       Song Sparrow \n                    Melospiza melodia \n  \nThicket hidden\, choir of one\, message invisible  \nsent to pierce my invisible spirit\, how do you  \nknow me so well to tune your secrets to my own? \n  \nDenizen of thorn and shadow\, you yet sing  \nsilver clear\, flit\, flurry\, and disappear\, \nleaving your psalms in me. \n  \nThis ministry\, gospel of the good by hint  \nand revelation\, begins in your breath to fill  \nthe sky\, unruly syllables of song salvation. \n  \nSparrow\, let our bargain be: You remind me  \nof the covenant between wild and human life\, \nand your thicket I will defend. \n* \n  \n    Midrash on a Sacred Encounter \n  \nWhen the little ones gathered at my feet \nthey couldn’t stop laughing every time \nI spoke a poem\, as if they were wild birds \nand I scattered seed for their singing and singing\, \nsinging back to my songs and stories\, and they  \nfed me questions as old as psalms: How long  \ndoes it take to write a poem… what’s the longest  \npoem… who taught you poems… what’s  \nthe oldest poem… what’s oldest  \ninside a poem…what is a poem  \nand what is not? \n  \nThen they laughed and clapped \nand I bowed and felt blessed \nand we went out into sunlight \nand all went forth to heal the world. \n  \n—Kim Stafford \n* \n  \nTo love is the greatest thing in life; it is very important to talk about love\, to feel it\, to nourish it\, to treasure it\, otherwise it will be dissipated\, for the world is very brutal. If while you are young you don’t feel love\, if you don’t look with love at people\, at animals\, at flowers\, when you grow up you find that your life is empty; you will be very lonely\, and the dark shadows of fear will follow you always. But the moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love and feel the depth\, the delight\, the ecstasy of it\, you will discover that for you the world is transformed. \n  \nKatie Radditz sent this quote from J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) \n* \n  \nThe state of wordlessness can be elusive. When we talk about it\, we use words. Try this baby meditation and see what happens. Imagine that you are a baby\, newly arrived on Planet Earth. You look around. You have no words for anything. Nothing you see has a name. You don’t know words like “meditation\,” “mindfulness\,” “breath\,” “thought\,” “present\,” or “moment.” You don’t know who you are. You have no name. You don’t have any regrets. You don’t have any plans for the future. You don’t have any problems. You don’t know what’s going on—but it’s extremely interesting! \n  \n(Typing this dialogue up at a coffee shop\, just now my the nonstop love-in baseball cap elicited this question from a guy: “Where is it?” To which I replied: “It’s here. It’s now. It’s everywhere and always.”) \n  \nIf you are a reader of the Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue\, please consider submitting something in time for the August issue\, which comes out on August 15th. August 17th is my 70th birthday. You could do it as  your birthday present to me. It would make me happy. \n  \n  \nMay all people be happy. \nMay we live in peace and love. \n  \n—Johnny Stallings
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/meditation-mindfulness-dialogue-7-15-21/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://openroadpdx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Unknown.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210722
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210805
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210722T194118Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250718T124120Z
UID:2285-1626912000-1628121599@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:peace\, love\, happiness & understanding  7/22/21
DESCRIPTION:  \nTHE OPEN ROAD \npeace\, love\, happiness & understanding \n  \n  \nTHE ART OF HAPPINESS \n  \nJuly 22\, 2021 \n  \nThis is a TEDx talk by Slava Polunin:  \n  \nI was asked one day\, “Are you happy?” I needed to think\, to sit and reflect\, and I figured\, actually\, I’ve been happy for all my life\, without breaks\, just happiness from morning till night\, all day long\, without days off or holidays. Nothing but happiness. Why? How is that possible? How could that happen? I did not do anything for it\, I did not want anything for it. Just felt happy\, and that was it. So I started analyzing. For so many centuries\, mankind\, smart people with briefcases and ties\, have been thinking\, reckoning\, telling everybody to go here\, go there\, this way to happiness\, that way to happiness\, but they don’t succeed.  \n  \nSo I figured\, the smart have failed. And I thought\, we need to establish an alternative\, an International Fools Academy. I founded that Academy and appointed myself its irreplaceable president. So\, for some 20-30 years I’ve been the President of the World Fools Academy. Our members are the biggest fools\, idiots who are somehow always happy. There is just no way to change it; whatever you do\, they just remain happy\, there’s no way of beating that happiness out of them. Do not think that they are dimwits with no family\, no kids\, no problems\, no tragedies—they have everything like everyone else. But such a person enters a room and everything is lit up with sunlight\, they kind of radiate it\, making everybody drop whatever they’re doing and rush after happiness\, towards happiness. And it’s with those people I now create all kinds of organizations.  \n  \nI figured there is only one way: you have to create small\, tiny oases. I realized that I won’t change the world anyway\, so take just a tiny space\, three meters\, and in those three meters make sure that everything exists in harmony\, in happiness\, in joy—that was my dream. So I created first one theater\, then a second theater\, then a third one. Later some other organizations\, all different and very cute. And everywhere I strove to create just one thing—a harmony in a tiny space\, and then try to expand that harmony with all my might\, to push its walls as far as possible. Sometimes I succeed quite okay\, sometimes not so much\, but this formula—create harmony around you and then try to expand it as far as you can—it works perfectly. And so\, as I am always in the middle\, I’m always happy\, I’m in harmony\, always among my friends\, and always full of joy. \n  \nSo\, what are the signs of happiness? I’ll try to sound like a scientist now. (Laughter) We sat and thought for a long time: what are the signs of happiness? How do you recognize it? It turned out to be simple—whistling. As soon as you start whistling\, no doubt you’re happy. So\, the first sign of happiness is whistling\, the second is singing\, the third one is bouncing. So\, you walk…(Bounces across the stage) (Laughter) (Applause) Those are indisputable signs proven by centuries\, decades\, by thousands of people and by myself.  \n  \nNow\, how do you reach that happiness? There are probably as many different kinds of happiness as there are people. There are so many possibilities of happiness\, so many varieties. And it is hard to tell them apart: one is vibrant energy\, that’s happiness; another just sat down—and he’s zen\, happy already. Not everybody needs it all. Some people need some things\, so they have different ways to get there. My scheme is very simple: while you create\, you are happy. What does “create” mean? It means you’re getting closer to yourself. The act of creating is an ideal ignition key. Just switch on creativity\, and you’re already happy. My creativity scheme is simple: if people around me feel joy\, if they feel happy\, that’s when my happiness begins. So\, you start that engine\, they get in\, you join them\, and everything is fine. So\, only do the stuff you’re getting a kick out of. (Applause) It cannot be simpler: if you’re always doing what you get a kick out of\, it works like a charm; follow that rule\, and everything will be all right. Do it only together with those you want to hug. (Applause) Because everything lights up around them and near them. I collect those\, I have this collection of happy joyful people\, in one group\, in another group\, in the third one. I have no other. Don’t let cynics or whiners in. Period. A separate section for cynics\, another one for whiners\, and a separate one for the happy ones. (Laughter) I will tell you\, they will envy you and run over to your side. No need to teach anyone\, they will want it themselves.  \n  \nAlong the same lines\, at “Melnitsa” we have a week long immersion in happiness where the first thing is to transform yourself\, your hair\, which I don’t have\, of course\, but those who do\, transform it\, and I can transform my beard like that\, or put curls in it. Transform yourself\, change your clothes\, if you wore grey\, try on green\, and the other way around\, it’s a kick toward you expanding your world\, you start crawling out of your own self. First into your hair\, then into your suit\, then into the room\, into your friends\, then out into your village\, and into your city. It’s important\, once you understood what you are all about\, it’s important to fill as much space as possible with this. Kind of reveal yourself\, fulfill yourself.  \n  \nSo\, what is that creativity that makes everyone happy for some reason? For me\, there are about three or four main things. It’s a game: try and do everything you usually did seriously\, try to play at it. In fact\, it is quite an amazing thing! When I was signing a contract on Broadway for nine months\, (Laughter) it came to the point where I started freaking out\, taking medicine\, a doctor checked me up\, because I was panicking\, afraid that my favorite baby will get turned into some Broadway piece of crap. And then we realized: one more step and I’ll go nuts\, because everything I do I try to make it really perfect. That’s when I felt I couldn’t stand it any longer. So we realized it was time to play: one day we came in as punks\, next day we came in as those in ties\, the day after as somebody else\, and we negotiated while acting that way. And everything changed\, because it’s not me\, it’s him showing off. Everything became easy. If you apply this method of playful attitude toward life\, you distance yourself\, and life is there while you’re in a free fly and laughing at what happens\, and so on. Game is a great key for this story. \n  \nFantasy—they say\, “What a daydreamer!\,” so I thought\, where does creativity begin at all\, where do happiness and joy begin? All begins with fantasy\, not by thinking\, “Here’s life and here’s something weird\, some accompanying dreams\, fantasies\, and imagination\, hopes and so on\, all on the periphery\, while real life is here.” But in fact\, this is life\, and all that is something on its side\, it can never reach such a perfection. And your mission is to try to make this out of that. To try and make life as perfect as your fantasy. When you thought about something\, and it suddenly comes to life\, that miracle of such a joy and happiness cannot even be experienced any other way.  \n  \nWhen I was only trying to understand why I needed to perform\, why I’m out there\, what I’m doing there\, I realized that there is an expression “anima allegra\,” joyful soul. It might have come from the Greeks\, I think\, from somewhere there. Joyful soul. What is a joyful soul? That’s where we should remember about love. It is probably born out of falling in love with this world. That is\, if you’re in love with this world then the joy emerges\, because there’s a harmony: great person here and great person there\, and together you are a wonderful creature. Because things are tough when you’re not in love with the world. There might be some back doors\, but the straightest way is just to love the world.  \n  \nBut how can you love this world\, how can you get to love it at all? Only if you’re a child. Someone out there already said it\, looked like me with a different beard. But in order to love this world you need to remain a child. This is the best rule there is. What does it mean\, to be a child? What is it\, to be a child? (Looking at his note cards) Well\, it’s not written here. (Laughter) So\, what is it\, to be a child? Perhaps\, it is something like\, “Wow!” Yes\, definitely\, to be a child means to say every day: “Wow! Wow!” Because this is the definition\, this awe before this world through…(Child’s voice from the audience: “I’m a child!”)…Yay! (Slava laughs) (Applause) To be a child is to get surprised\, every day get surprised by everything. “What is this? Why is that? How is it here? I want it\, too!” And so\, in everything: to touch\, “Ah\, why\, what are you doing?” To get yourself into everything\, participate in everything\, in spite of everything\, because this is what it is\, the state of “Wow!” I don’t know\, I love it when all that stops and this boost of life starts\, when you’re no longer reacting\, no longer controlling\, cannot comprehend anything\, just doing something not knowing why\, or what for\, and so on. Usually\, joy has no reason. The real joy has no reason\, it just occurs because life is good. That’s why it is here\, the main joy occurs in this place. All other joys help a little\, but the main joy occurs in here. \n  \nMarcel Marceau told me once—I learned from many: sometimes I went to Raikin\, sometimes to Marcel Marceau\, I used to attach myself to someone and hang there\, carrying bags—(Laughter) and he said\, “You need to learn only from the great.” I was like\, “Oh\, that’s very important\, what an important thought\, I need to act upon it\, whom else should I follow?” Now I understand that there’s no need to follow anyone. It turned out that our greatest teachers are our children. So\, I follow my granddaughters nonstop now. (Applause) How on earth do they manage to be happy and joyful all the time? A little bit (Makes frustration noises) and life’s awesome again. (Laughter) Really\, I’m studying\, trying to see how. Still remains a mystery to me. I’m following and recording them\, their actions\, trying to repeat everything but nothing works that way they can make it work. \n  \nThen\, the fools in our Academy have a lot of rules which we follow and which work very well. Do not write down a list of problems. What do you need them for? Why do you need such a list? Why do you need the news? Why do you need the TV? All of it is really unnecessary\, why on earth get interested in it? (Applause) Write down every tiny achievement\, the tiniest success\, write it all down\, underline\, make a total of everyday results. Accumulate the joyful and the beautiful. That’s why in our theater everything is very simple: a show ends\, I go backstage and everybody is like\, “Well?\,” because they all know that they won’t hear a single negative word from me. Try all you want\, I will go on\, “Again wonderful! I can’t believe you always manage to perform that well!” (Laughter) (Applause)  \n  \nTurn the mundane into festive and fantastic. Run—there is a word for it—away from a dull life into the middle of something… Never mind. In short\, don’t “dull-shit” your life. (Laughter) (Applause) Why is everybody in grey\, anyway? Put on some colors! And so turn every minute of your life into something colorful\, joyous\, awesome and amazing. I have it all separated in my library: here is all the comical stuff\, there is all the absurd\, fantastic. For me\, those always go together\, because the fantastic and the absurd both lead to the other side of the planet\, to the other side of life really—might not even be on Earth\, but somewhere in the universe. These two things give us some kind of a fantastic balance\, when clashing the joyous and the fantastic create such a vision of the world that makes you shiver\, gives you goosebumps. (Looks at his arm) “Again\, goosebumps!”  \n  \nSo\, fantastic\, festive\, and mundane—blah\, blah\, blah—Got it! There is this man in the history of theater\, Meyerhold\, who said\, “If you want to be there\, stretch the leg out there\, because in order to get there you need to have balance.” It is hard to find a more thorough person on earth. And it’s me. It is even harder to find a more careless person. And it’s also me. So\, I’m starting s huge project\, and in the middle of it\, “Ah!” (starts to walk offstage) because I already imagined how it’s going to end. And then there is thoroughness: until each little hair is not bent to one side\, until my show doesn’t smell with exactly the right color\, until all of it comes to a place\, I cannot fully enjoy the whole thing. So\, everything is produced out of these opposite things. You need to be a completely reckless and headless doofus\, and at the same time you need to methodically and thoroughly go through every millimeter of what you’re doing. Then forget about that altogether\, and it’ll flow out in an unexpected way. And if you don’t preserve that balance\, your whole beautiful thing will fall. Or that other very costly thing—it will also fall. That is\, those things can only work when you keep both sides at the same time in harmony. Once you shift a little\, “Let’s increase the ticket price\,”—ah\, (starts to fall sideways) or you shift like\, “Let’s don’t give a damn about that and just fly free.” (gestures falling from the sky) So\, a shift to either side….only balance on the edge\, on the edge. (walks a tightrope)  \n  \nI always said\, “Only do the impossible. Because all the rest will be done by others.” (Applause) It’s true. When you put a star at the very horizon\, and then crawl to it\, swim in mud\, and all the time you feel that beauty that shines upon you. So\, when you aspire to the impossible and it comes true in the end\, you understand\, that’s what you were doing all that for. Then there is no longer mud\, nor a deep river\, or whatever.  \n  \nAnd here goes the opposite: “But always value what you have.” So\, if you don’t plan to land in a mental institution\, or even worse than that\, there is only one way—balance again. Always aspire to the infinite\, and always love every moment of what you have. If you find yourself in a small room\, not even yours\, rented\, temporary\, it’s good that you have that place\, quiet\, warm\, where no one bothers you. It gets expanded—you get a garage—okay\, I’ll make a theater in a garage\, it has a cold draft\, no problem. It means you keep those two things balanced every time anyway\, and if you stop keeping that balance between the ideal and what you’ve got\, which is good fortune\, luck\, indeed\, what have you done to deserve it all? Just like that\, doofus\, you’ve got things people only dream about all their lives.  \n  \nFeet in the water: this is yet another great rule. Feet in the water. What does it mean? Every 12 years I need to change my occupation. It means that every 12 years I stop the train and say\, “Thanks. Bye!” And I see where I want to go next. For that you need to get your feet in the water\, sit for a month\, and figure out: what is it you seek most\, why do you want to do it\, what do you need it for\, whether you need it in the first place. Don’t you ever keep living on auto-pilot\, never. Fear the most automatic repetition of what you already saw\, know\, and have no interest in. Break free—but you can crash big time\, this is the biggest problem. Not everyone has the courage. Do you know where courage comes from? If you tried something a hundred times\, then you know how tough your courage is. So\, you need to try more\, the more you try\, the more you know\, whether it’s worth getting out of or better to endure. \n  \nHooooh!: the last one! (cue card) Create your life the way you create a piece of art. This is the only way to love it. Create your life the way you create a piece of art. Embrace this attitude toward your every step\, your every encounter\, toward every day of your life. \n  \nThank you. \n  \n(Translated from the Russian by Yulia Kallistratova) \n  \nHere’s a link to this talk: \n  \nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LxwbPFLUHY \n  \nMay all beings be happy!
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/peace-love-happiness-understanding-7-22-21/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210725T130000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20210725T150000
DTSTAMP:20260427T162645
CREATED:20210722T211808Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210722T213348Z
UID:2291-1627218000-1627225200@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Bibliophiles Unanimous!: What Are Your Favorite Documentary Films?
DESCRIPTION:  \n  \nThis Sunday\, July 25th\, at 1 pm\, we’re going to go crazy\, break all the rules\, and talk about films–instead of books!!! WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE DOCUMENTARY FILMS? Here’s the link:  \n  \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/83135193074 \n  \nCinephiles: This is your chance! \nI hope to see you there! \n  \npeace\, love & happiness \n  \nJohnny
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/bibliophiles-unanimous-what-are-your-favorite-documentary-films/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR