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Modeling

What I if told you,
you read the first line wrong

The brain scrambler above, is something I saw on a t-shirt advertised in Wireless:

If you read the first line wrong, it was because your brain was tricked into reading something that really wasn’t there.

The NY Times had an excellent piece on consciousness based on the brains compulsion to create models.  These models, based on previously observed patterns, help explain the world we experience.
From the NY Times:  Are We Really Conscious?

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Sam Harris Interview

There is an interview with Sam Harris in the NY Times today.

My comment: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/sam-harriss-vanishing-self/?comments#permid=12755399

Whenever I read comments on a topic such as this, I find there is so much clinging.  He touches on this in mentioning Margaret Thacher.  When one tries to let go, one’s mind (naturally) becomes focused on the very things that need to be let go of … And you keep wondering about Margaret Thatcher.

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home going

A very thought provoking article from the NY Times’ Roger Cohen, appearing last week:

“In Search of Home”

The last line of the piece is, “Yes, being not quite home, acceptance, which may be bountiful, is what is left to us.”   A bit of zen on non-attachment.

“Descending to the valley to gather orchids
The ground was blanketed with frost and dew,
And it took all day to find the flowers.
Suddenly I thought of an old friend
Separated from me by miles of mountains and rivers.
Will we ever meet again?
I gaze toward the sky,
Tears streaming down my cheeks.”  -Taigu Ryôkan (1758-1831), translated by John Stevens (Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf)

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