This post wraps up the November Project 2011.

Now that there have been a few days of space, and as I sit here looking over the posts for November, I think the project went quite well.

I would like to thank everyone for all their wonderful questions. I could not use them all, but I am grateful for every one. And special thanks goes to everyone taking part in the comments. It is always good to see others give themselves over to the questions in order to look deeper into them.

Thanks very much!

For those of you new to the site, and to the veterans unable to read the earlier posts, the following list contains all of the writings for the November Project 2011, in order.

The November Project 2011

01: On Dropping Thought

02: The State of Non-Duality

03: Burning the Notebooks

04: Quick Thoughts on Living

05: Questions Answered – Again!

06: On Increased Awakenings

07: Quick Reply on Living

08: Life After Death

09: What Are You Reading?

10: Confused About Enlightenment

11: In Sickness

12: Belief

13: On Writing at Takuin.com

14: On Freedom

15: On Meditation

16: On Dreaming

17: On the Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011

18: On Finding Out for Yourself

19: Where Should I Sit?

20: On Siddhis and Super-Powers

21: Takuin on Film

22: On Conclusion

23: On Apophis, Natural Resources, and Love

24: On Haters and Troublemakers

25: On Enlightenment and Awakening

26: On Ending

27: Ask the Reader

28: On Questions

29: On Suffering

30: One Last Sentence

Thanks again, everyone!

And for those of you coming to these posts late, please keep this in mind: Quick Note on Comments

Out of the Woods...

]]> http://www.takuin.com/november-project-2011-finale/feed/ 4 http://www.takuin.com/one-last-sentence/ http://www.takuin.com/one-last-sentence/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:51:26 +0000 takuin http://www.takuin.com/?p=3516

November Project: Question #30

This last post for the November Project is a combination of two questions

First:

I know you’ll be leaving soon, in a manner of speaking. Do you have any last words of advice for us seekers?

And second:

If you had only one sentence you could say to the spiritual seeker, what would you say?

Well, I won’t leave…just move on with life. I won’t stop posting here and I won’t shut down the site. And I am sure there will be many more interesting conversations with all of you, so in some respects it might seem the same, or at least similar to what came before. But my own explorations have taken me far from where I began, and to remain any longer would be insincere.

Last words of advice sounds morbid, or at least far too dramatic. And I don’t care for unnecessary drama. So let’s say, the entirety of this website (330 posts, counting this one) are my last words of advice.

And as far as one last sentence for the seeker…it is difficult. It is not the kind of thing you can create a set answer for. Well, people create set answers all the time, but that is like taking medium size pants and expecting the entire world to fit in them.

Certain things are immutable, but they are only relevant in relation to one’s exploration. And that can take on forms difficult to imagine. So it is probably best to leave the ‘answers‘ to the ‘experts‘, and just get on with your life and your own explorations. An expert with an answer will never compare to the beauty that is you, anyway.

For my one last sentence, I will quote jazz/fusion guitar legend, Scott Henderson. He is speaking about technique, but this can relate to anything we experience in life. Some of you might not get it, but it means something to me.

“I would rather hear Albert King drop his guitar on the floor than hear some jazz guy play streams of eighth notes with no rhythms. It is boring.”

That distills my thoughts on life quite nicely.

Leaving the Building...

]]> http://www.takuin.com/one-last-sentence/feed/ 6 http://www.takuin.com/ask-the-reader/ http://www.takuin.com/ask-the-reader/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:25:28 +0000 takuin http://www.takuin.com/?p=3453

November Project: Question #27

I received this in my email inbox just a few minutes ago from James

I can’t imagine the number of questions you must get all the time, nevermind this November project. But I wonder if you have a question for your readers? My question is, what one question would you like to ask your readers?

Hmm…interesting. I like this.

My question for the readers is one that no one has ever asked me.

What concerns you in your daily lives?

Whether this concern blocks you off from what you consider daily life, or is an integrated part, however you might see it, what concerns you? Forget for the moment if you believe your concerns to be selfish or of no real importance, or even if you believe those concerns to be illusory…I don’t care about that…

I would just like to know, as human beings running around living your lives, what is it that concerns you? To be good parents? To be enlightened? To get laid? To make a name for yourselves? Or something else entirely? What is it?

And I ask this question with love. It is in no way accusatory, nor asked to make you think you are not doing enough in the ‘right’ areas.

I am really looking forward to your replies, as simple or complicated as they might be.

November Project: Question #26

Another grouping of questions, all with similar answers. I’ll put them together and see what comes up…

#1)

You’ve been writing here at takuin.com for almost five years. Do you think you’ll continue to write on these subjects for another five years?

#2)

What did you mean by this comment? “I think I have said all I want to say on this subject. It is almost time to walk out into the sun…” [On the previous post On Enlightenment and Awakening ~ TM] Did you mean you were finished with your answer for that particular post, or are you quitting the site? I didn’t quite understand it.

There have also been more than a few comments during this November Project amounting to this:

#3)

How can I get what you have attained?

I’ll answer all three quickly, then give a bit more detail.

For #1: “Do you think you’ll continue to write on these subjects for another five years?”

I definitely will not. In fact, I am thinking five years is quite enough.

For #2: “Did you mean you were finished with your answer for that particular post, or are you quitting the site?”

I am not quitting the site, no. But I am finished answering those kind of questions.

And for #3: “How can I get what you have attained?”

See #2.

I will write more on this in a later post after the November Project is finished. But I will say a few things now…

I don’t know that ‘answering questions‘ is what I have done on this site. I like to think of it more as exploration. After all, I began Takuin.com for the purposes of learning how to speak…umm…so to speak. It has been hit or miss, and some days have been better than others, but I think I have done what I set out to do.

When we get down to it, I think I am finished talking about freedom, as I would much rather express it. And we all know, deep down, talking about something is not the same as expression. ‘Talking about’ is prevarication, or at least postponement or procrastination in a way. Expression, while it may be dependent upon words or some other physical medium, is not dependent upon description. And THAT is what currently interests me.

I know this will come as a shock to a great many of you. And I am not leaving the site, and I will keep writing. But it will not be the same as before. It is just time to move on…

But for now, we still have a few more posts before the end of this year’s November Project, so let’s make them good ones!! I am still accepting questions you know. Chop chop! Let’s go!

November Project: Question #24

This question was asked by TJ during a recent Skype call

In my own ‘spiritual’ writing I’ve had some problems dealing with haters and troublemakers, and I can’t really handle it well. It totally gets under my skin and it makes me want to block comments or start over. What do you do to get over that kind of stuff, and why do you think they do it in the first place?

Thanks for the question, TJ.

I hope I’m not being forgetful, but I honestly don’t remember having much of a problem with that on the website. There certainly have been incidents, but it has not been terribly mean-spirited.

Those problems mainly arise because of the interpretation of the reader. The writer is certainly involved in there, too, so one can’t remove oneself completely. The writer always has some degree of responsibility.

There are certain subjects that invite intense reaction. If you talk about belief, reincarnation, life after death, god, or religion, and you say something contrary to popular belief, prepare yourself, haha. People will come out of the woodwork to tell you why you’re wrong. And sometimes you might actually be wrong, so you can’t just instantly dismiss anything they say.

As a writer of that kind of material, you should always be questioning yourself anyway. So if you take those comments as new lines of investigation, and you can invite the commenter to share in further exploration, it will only be better for everyone involved.

But sometimes, a troll is a troll is a troll. And our blogs allow us to block anyone we wish. Feel free to exercise that right.

Always remember to be open, but in the end it is your house. If you don’t want someone there, feel free to throw them out. Just don’t be an asshole about it.

As far as why they do what they do…they’re simply asserting their beliefs. They believe something different from what you say. For whatever reason, your words become a threat to who they believe themselves to be. After all, if you point out something within them that destroys a particular belief, you are in effect destroying the person.

When we look out into the world, it is easy to see how this plays out in terrible ways…

Thanks for your question, TJ.

November Project: Question #23

Today let’s do something different. Multiple questions, multiple answers. These particular questions I did not plan to answer. But I thought, What the hell? Why not?

This might not interest you, but I thought i’d ask anyway. First, what do you think of the possibility of apophis striking the earth in 2036? [She's referring to 99942 Apophis ~ TM] And second, if an impact seems imminent what do you think humanity will do?

Well, the chances of Apophis striking the earth are 1 in 250,000, so we’re probably safe. BUT, I don’t like those odds, haha. Usually when scientists give us the odds, the numbers are so high we can’t really understand them in any significant way. But 250,000 is a number very easy to get our heads around. I don’t like that I understand it as well as I do.

But even if Apophis strikes the earth, it is not an Extinction Event sized asteroid. It is a 10 – 20 million death sized asteroid, in all probability. But that is really dependent upon where it strikes, if it does.

What will humans do if the strike is imminent? Probably wait till the last moment, work frantically to try and stop it, then when millions die lament, “We did the best we could!” But that is just based on human behavior in general.

I’ve heard we’re coming up to our last reserves of oil for the entire planet. Do you think its too late to avoid the horrible things that will happen when the oil runs dry?

Depending on what source you trust, the earth’s supply of oil will be completely tapped within 30 to 70 years. I tend to think it will run dry sooner rather than later, for one main reason…

Humans will not stop screwing.

The more humans born, the more resources needed. And since the number of humans brought into the world will only increase, the amount of resources needed to support them will also increase.

The general theme for resources has been, when you run out, or do not have what you think you need, you take it from someone else.

For example – and purely hypothetical, of course – if a particular nation has certain resources the rest of the world depends on in certain amounts, and if they put a strangle hold on said resources, another more powerful nation(s) might invade and take the resources, through force, for their own use. Now normally, people all over the world might stand up against such oppression. But if they can be convinced the invasion is for the right reasons, they’ll keep their mouths shut.

But thankfully, we’re only speaking hypothetically.

As I mentioned in the Apophis question above, historically, humans tend to wait until the last minute to act. And at that point, the only method for change is violence. This is mostly due to the stupidity running through thought that says, “It is not so bad. I’m sure someone will take care of it.” And maybe that was fine years ago, but we can no longer afford to be lazy in this way.

Only you can take care of this problem. And by YOU, I mean EVERYONE.

If we keep to what we’ve always done, when we run out of resources we’ll see horrors that would frighten Hitler and Mengele. And they’ll be committed in the name of some noble pursuit.

Sitting in the Dark

Do you think you love more, or have more love, after your awakening?

What is love to you? Is it dependent upon the past? Dependent upon a history you have with a particular person? I bring it up because that is how a great many people see it. And many say that is love. But it is familiarity.

We might ask, is love dependent upon familiarity? Can you not love a person you are not familiar with? Or is it simply a matter of what you prefer?

Can there be more or less love? Or is it more or less familiarity?

Thanks for the questions, everyone!

November Project: Question #21

This question comes from Thom through email

I remember some time ago you mentioned being in an upcoming film. [In this post ~ TM] Whatever happened with that?

Thanks for the question, Thom.

I quit.

Now that I think of it, I never really explained what happened there. I’ll give a quick answer to this, as I don’t really need to get into the details of what transpired.

I became very uncomfortable with the whole thing. I got an idea of where the film was going, and I did not like it at all. It seemed like it was heading in a new-agey direction, which is fine for them, but that is not what I do.

Not only that, I couldn’t seem to give them the material they wanted. It was, “That was great Takuin, but could you talk about that again, and THIS time say something about blah blah blah?”

No. I can’t.

I really do like the idea of film or video or whatever, and I have nothing against other potential projects in the future. Just dont tell me what to do, haha.

November Project: Question #17

Today’s question actually came from several people, asked in many different ways. I’ll try to condense it as best I can:

Were you in the earthquake of 3/11?

On March 11th, I was home writing. We had many pre-shocks leading up to it, and when it happened I thought it was nothing more than another small earthquake. But it kept growing in strength and did not stop.

I walked out to the front door of the apartment and stood looking at the building next to mine (I live on the 4th floor). The shaking was so violent, I was sure the two buildings would collide at any moment. They swayed toward each other with only inches of space between them.

This seemed to go on for some time.

When the shaking stopped, I went back into the apartment to find everything in disarray. Some of our appliances were destroyed, water spilled everywhere, and any items stored up high were on the floor. I checked the other rooms and found similar conditions.

I knew there would be a big aftershock coming, which is usually the case with large earthquakes, so I went out into the streets. And an aftershock did come. It was so strong that I had to brace myself while standing.

Some time passed, I’m not sure how much, and I saw a news report on a large screen television at a cell phone store. It was then I learned of the tsunami, and I watched as it happened (it was a live broadcast).

There was no cell phone service, including text messages. The internet did work, however. (I remember going to an electronics store a few days after, and there must have been close to 1000 people there trying to buy smart phones for that very reason.)

All the trains stopped. Akiko had to walk about 4 hours to get home. She and I could not contact each other at all, but we already had a plan in place in case this sort of thing ever happened and I knew how she would get home.

I didn’t know this at the time, but Akiko and her co-workers had no idea of the severity of the tsunami. They knew it had happened, but had no other details until I met them that night. It wasn’t a nice task having to tell them.

Has life in Japan returned to normal?

For most of us, yes. Most businesses are still conserving energy however they can. On the train today, for example, all the lights were off until we actually reached the final station (that particular train runs outdoors, so we weren’t stumbling about in the dark or anything ).  And many stores have kept their outside signage turned off since the earthquake. In fact, one convenience store chain has actually replaced all of the flourescent lights in their stores with LEDs to save energy.

The city can look strange at night and somewhat deserted in certain places, what with the outer lights turned off. But I imagine, if everyone suddenly turned all the lights back on, it would shock the senses, haha.

There are still thousands upon thousands of homeless people living in shelters close to the effected areas. And there are so many orphaned children. In many cases, they are the sole remaining members of their families.

But the Japanese have used whatever resources they could find to help life return to some form of normalcy. They have taken dilapidated buildings and used them for schools for the children or as temporary hospitals. And people from all over the country go there regularly to help in whatever way they can. Sometimes musicians go to hold concerts for free. Or others might donate a few karaoke machines for the weekend so the people in the shelters might be able to have some fun.

Many things have been done, and still far more needs to be done. But the people have a good outlook on how things are unfolding, and it seems to be getting better, albeit slowly.

What sort of efforts are being done to help?

There are many things, of course. Some are obvious, and some might never cross your mind.

For example, today I went to Akihabara with Akiko to help clean up photographs found in one of the worst effected areas of the tsunami.

Apparently, during the process of clearing debris after the tsunami, rescue workers kept finding photo albums, small and large. They amassed thousands of photos in the ensuing weeks and months and eventually those photos were sent to be cleaned.

In a very small number of cases, the photos will be sent back to relatives after they have been cleaned and restored. But in most cases, the people in the photos are simply gone and have not been identified. Hopefully someone, somewhere, will be able to put a name to the faces.

Photo Cleaning Stations

Drying Photos

Failed Attempts

It was a strange feeling. The photos I worked on came from a place hit hardest by the tsunami. There were infants, children, parents, vacations, weddings, parties, and so much more. I am fairly certain, all the faces I saw today are no more. Their stories are finished. But I hoped, in my own way, I could preserve a small part of their stories through the photos. It was a great victory when a clear image was saved.

I hope someone will be able to recognize them all, someday.

Thanks for the question, everyone…

November Project: Question #16

This question comes from Brooks through email

How do you experience sleep and dreaming post-December 2006 accident?  Have you noticed a difference in dreams over the last five years?

Thanks for the question, Brooks.

I suppose in the past I was a fairly regular dreamer. I never really placed much significance in it, but I think I enjoyed it for the most part. I can remember having horrifying dreams and waking up thinking, “How awesome was that??” But in the last five years or so, I can scarcely remember having any dreams. It just doesn’t seem to happen for me anymore.

I know people will cry foul and tell me Everyone dreams every night!!, or You do dream, you just don’t remember!!, but I really don’t think so. I won’t say I have had no dreams in the past five years, but I could seriously count the amount of times on one hand. Probably.

There are many theories of dreaming and dreams. I think the main line of thinking is our dreams are there as a subconscious playground where we can work out all the unresolved issues of the previous day or days. If that is true, what if there is nothing to resolve? If dreams are dependent upon us having to deal with our self-perpetuated nonsense later, then the question of dreaming is a simple one to answer.

And others say dreams are messages from elsewhere, or from the subconscious, giving us advice and whatnot. Still others think they are symbolic representations of past lives or even representations of answers to our deepest questions. Some of it might be true, none of it might be true…I don’t really know.

But I do know when I lie down to sleep at night, I am always alone. It can be a deafening silence, and sometimes sleep does not come so easily. At times I like to fill the room with sound just to have something there. Solo piano music is good. I like the percussive nature of the instrument. But having music, or any sound for that matter, is not a necessity for me to sleep.

I don’t know if that answers your question, Brooks, but thanks for asking.

November Project: Question #14

This question comes from Liz through the Contact form

Do you think humanity will ever, truly, be free?

Thanks for the question, Liz!

Humanity has always been free.

I know it is sometimes difficult to see, with all the needless destruction that goes on in the name of this or that. But freedom can never really be lost…

…it can be covered over, but never lost.

Thanks for your question!