Adventures in My Mind
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Jul 31, 2001
There is a Shinto concept called misogi. It is a ritual purification of the body and mind through concentrated physical labor. I first became aware of it in my studies of Aikido, a Japanes martial art. A basic tenet of Aikido is that you don't have to be in the dojo or even practice technique to practice Aikido. It is in the way you live, the way you behave, the way you interact with others. Aikido is everywhere it is believed.
Misogi is much the same. It's weeding your garden. It's cleaning your garage. It's building a house. It's working out at the gym. The key is state of mind, the attitude with which you approach these activities. It is believed that, with the right mindset, you can transcend the physical world and enter the world of the mind. It is then that you can purge yourself of impure thoughts and negative energies. The activity becomes the lens through which you focus the light of the mind, buring away impurities in body and soul.
I have experienced misogi both in and out of the dojo. Tonight, I experienced it while washing the car. I have been sick for several days and I needed a focus point to gain a better mental picture of me as healthy and illness free. There was nothing in the house to satisfy that need. Then I remebered that earlier in the day Sami and talked about washing the car. That was it. I'd wash the car.
I approached the activity like a ritual. I got out all of the equipment and arranged it neatly in the yard. I untangeled the water hose and coiled it near the driveway. When everything was precise and ready, I began washing the car, using the same repeated hand motions and washing only small sections at a time. I rinsed each small section and moved on to the next. I progressed this way until the whole car was done. Drying was next. Using a microfiber cloth, I began removing the beading water from the vehicle. When the cloth was too full to absorb any more water, I wrung it out and continued drying. This was when misogi really set in.
The wringing of the cloth became a metaphor for removing all thoughts of my illness. Each pass of the cloth over the vehicle removed water and its accompanying negative energies from my mind and body. Each squeeze of the cloth purged both water and illness. Negative energies streamed away as the water ran down the drive and into the gutter.
Immediately upon finishing my chore, I had a much better outlook and felt much better. I still do several hours later. This illness will bother me no more.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 2:50 AM
Jul 27, 2001
I've found many weird things on the Web. This is definitely not the least of them: Weeee!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 3:48 PM
Jul 25, 2001
Strange item #1 - I found a homeless guy in the bathroom here at work today. He was sitting on the toilet, pants down and door wide open. I asked him how he was doing. He said, "Yeah. Yeah. I'm alright. I'm alright."
Strange Item #2 - I had a nightmare the other night, the substance of which I can't remember all that well, but there was a monster, and it was chasing me. I startled awake only to mistake the ceiling fan for said monster. I nearly fell out of bed trying to get away from it.
Strange Item #3 - My 14 month old son calls both his mother and me Da Da.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:33 PM
Jul 22, 2001
The bounce starts to leave your step. The hair around your temples starts to turn grey, some even begins falling out. You find it harder and harder to understand what passes for "music" these days. You buy a minivan. You get old.
That's right, I admit it. Sami and I are officially old. We bought a new minivan yesterday, a Chrysler Town & Country EX. Many of you may balk at the idea, but I assure you that once you have kids, a mortgage and all the other trappings of family life, the idea of minivan becomes more and more appealing. I personally don't have reservations about owning one, neither does Sami. It seems to fit us and our life.
We downloaded all the information we could about Chrysler, Dodge and Honda minivans, grabbed the auto section of last Sunday's paper and we were off. We had plans of hitting several dealerships, but as luck would have it, the first place we looked had a deal that was literally too good to pass up. We traded in the Honda, dropped another $250 and drove off the lot in a beautiful 2001 Patriot blue Town & Country. It's loaded with features and has tons of room. And for all you gearheads out there, it's got a kick-ass 3.8 litre, fuel injected V-6. The power sliding door and lift gate are pretty cool, too!
I was always concerned about growing up and growing old, but now that I've started to, I don't know what the big deal was. I kinda like it.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 8:51 PM
Jul 17, 2001
I've got several topics to get to so let's get started ...
Firstly, our trip to the Allegheny Resevoir was incredible! If you've never been to Northern PA in the summer, then I suggest that you get there as soon as you can. Crystal clear river valleys cut through miles and miles of verdant mountains. It is a place of mom and pop storefronts and small, quaintly named campsites along the rivers and lakes. My family's cabin in President is no longer there, but as we drove on U.S. 62 along the Allegheny River, the memories came rushing back. Vacations, hunting trips, fishing trips, and holiday weekends converged on the moment and I heard distant voices as faces blurred by the weight of years became clear. Tionesta was almost exactly as I remembered it, with the exception of the new golf course along the river just outside of town.
Secondly, you need to write to your congressman. The house is once again attempting to pass a flag burning amendment to The Constitution. Speak out against House bill H.J. Res. 36. While you may not agree with those who desecrate the flag as an act of political protest, you must see the inherent value in protecting it under the freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Difference of opinion does not equate to criminality. The flag is not weakened when protestors seek to destroy it for the furtherance of their message. It is strengthened. When even those who seek to destroy it are themselves guaranteed its protections, the flag truly becomes the symbol of freedom and tolerance that it was intended to be. Say "NO!" to H.J. Res. 36.
Lastly, I hate insurance, any kind of insurance. Life. Home. Auto. Medical. I hate it all. Risk mitigation, adjusted rates, actuarial tables, and the like make me sick to my stomach. The only time you need it is when something bad happens. And then the insurance companies do their damndest to keep from paying the full amount due to you from your policy. Almost without exception you've unknowingly done something that nullifies this clause or violates that subsection. Believe me I understand the practical considerations of not running a business that throws money at every claim, but the deviousness and calculated missteps and traps written into policies is enough to turn one's stomach. I also understand that it is needed, especially with the skyrocketing prices of healthcare and the "death business," but dealing with this den of snakes out of necessity, or in the case of auto insurance because it is legally required, is that much more galling. Everytime I write a check to an insurance company I feel like I'm making a deal with the devil. I'll get what I ask for, but at what price.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:09 AM
Jul 12, 2001
Sometimes the world can be cruel place. And I'm not talking about man's inhumanity to man, pestilence, starvation, poverty. I'm talking about the nasty little tricks that are played on you from time to time. You know, the odd little twists of fate that don't cause you any real harm but are more than enough to screw up an otherwise good day, sort of like you got your own personal Loki sneaking around behind you.
Yesterday was a perfect example. Sami and I have been trying to sell our Acura Legend for many months. After getting tepid responses the first few times we put it in the paper, we tried advertising again. And from out of nowhere, we got 5 calls yesterday. Several from people who were bringing their check books to buy it site unseen. The first guy gets there and is ready to drop the 3k we were asking, when the damn car won't start. Nothing I could do would make it start. Needless to say, he's anxious and Sami and I are shitting bricks as we watch the 3 grand float out of our reach. Finally after exhausting all options to start it, the prospective buyer asks if we'll take 2k as is. Sami and I, not wanting to see all of our money evaporate, immediately say yes. He gave a five hundred dollar deposit and is picking up the car today.
This is a cruel trick. We wanted to sell the car, which we did, but we didn't want to essentially lose a thousand bucks in the process. You see I can't be totally pissed, but neither can I be totally happy. I was going to use the money to buy that drumset I was talking about a few posts ago. I believe that the Bible readers would say, "What the Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away."
Damn it!!
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 1:37 PM
Jul 11, 2001
Sami and I are preparing to head off to the wilds of the Allegheny National Forest. We will be spending the weekend camping on the Allegheny Reservoir at the Willow Bay National Recreation Area. It should be great fun. Our last camping trip was to Pine Creek Gorge, the Grand Canyon of PA in Wellesboro, Tioga County.
For many years my family had cabin in Tionesta, PA, which is on the southern edge of the Allegheny Forest. The cabin had no running water. All of bathing was done at an ice cold spring that was on the property. Fall and winter baths are memorable to this day. Brrrr! We have some great 8mm film of my family at the cabin. Many of them died before I was born and others I knew only as a very young child. Its really great to have the opportunity to see them laughing and goofing off while digging the afore mentioned spring and heading off into the woods in hopes of bagging a 10 point buck. Looking back at my grandfather and his father hamming it up for the camera gives me a deeper look into their relationship.
Nearly all of those people are gone now. The cabin is gone. But the silent, grainy images take me back to them. Maybe Sami and I will take a ride through Tionesta to see if I can remember any of the old land marks. Its been a while, but places like that often change more slowly than memories.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 10:32 AM
Jul 10, 2001
I finally figured out what was wrong with my formatting. If you didn't notice, the first paragraph of all of these postings had smaller line size than the subsequent lines. It was a user error, and that user was me. I didn't format the text with a p tag and my style sheet didn't recognize the formatting, hence the smaller line spaces. I fixed it now, though.
I just watched a great video that Glen Green received in his email. A cyclist was pulled down the street by a van, much like a water skier. After reaching a certain speed the cyclist let go of his tether. Shortly thereafter, he launched himself off of a ramp that must have been 10 feet high. He sailed gracefully through the air toward his goal of the roof of a two-story building about 40 feet away. Unfortunately, he ended up a couple of feet short of his goal and took a nasty tumble from the roof to the ground 20 feet below.
Glen and I wondered if it was a miscalculation in speed (me) or in the distance between ramp and target (Glen). What do you think?
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 4:36 PM
Jul 9, 2001
Teddycarroll.com is now fully capable of receiving donations. The good folks over at Amazon have given me the ability to ask my fine readers for charitable contributions. If someting you read here causes an itch within you that can only be scratched by handing your hard-earned cash over to me, just click on the Click to Give icon at the bottom of the left nav. All proceeds will be put to good use. Thanks in advance!
Back to something meaningful ...
I spent the whole day with my son yesterday. We ate chili dogs, went for a long drive through the beautiful hills of Western PA, and went swimming at grandma's. It was incredible, definitely one of the best days that Aidan and I have had in his 13 months. Listening to him laugh as we swam and splashed in the pool was musical. He was pure joy. A neighbor was cutting his lawn, while Aidan copied the vroom sound of the mower as we swam. A dog barked. Aidan customarily responded, "puh-puh." Splashing daddy's face was also great fun. Finally, the laughs were replaced with shivering and blue lips. It was time to get out of the water. Only a about a half hour of splashing but a lifetime of memories. Thanks, Boomer.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 12:27 PM
Jul 6, 2001
I've added some new music links to the left nav. I'll cop to the serious tilt toward drums and drum related things, but it can't be helped. I've been a drummer for 23 years. I've played in everything from garage band to semi-pro band to bagpipe band. If there's a way to fit a drum into a song, I'll play it. Humanity's first musical instrument has completely captured my soul.
I've recently had my musical flames reignited because I feel that I should get a new kit. Mind you, this is not cheap proposition. Mix that with mortgages, car payments, credit debt, new babies, student loans, and a host of other debts, and you get a nice little anxiety cocktail. I'm scheming harder than Ralphie going after his Red Rider BB Gun. While I don't have to worry about shooting my eye out, I do have to worry about shooting the monthly budget. I can pretty much trash it by purchasing a new kit.
I'm looking at getting a Pacific LX Series 6 piece kit. I've never heard them, but all the reviews I've read say that they are a nice first step into the maple-shelled drum arena. (For those who don't know, maple drums tend to have the best sound and performance and highest price tag) They're manufactured by Drum Workshop so the quality is definitely there.
So if I get rid of cable, the phone and drive with no car insurance, I'll be able to indulge the musician in me. Better yet, maybe I'll get a nice fat raise that'll cover the expense. Yeah, well ... I guess I'd better get used to staring at a blank TV screen.
0 Comments | Link to this post posted by Teddy 11:06 AM
