The Adventures of Storymon

The Adventures of Storymon

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms. — Muriel Rukeyser

In the islands there is a legend- a tale of a person with a unique ability.

The locals called him Storymon. Everything his gaze falls upon reveals its story to him. Each day he sees hundreds of stories, yet he can’t remember any of them.

Legend goes of a quiet moonless night when a scream of pain knifed from Storymon’s tent. They say he saw a story so violent and intense his mind built walls between his perceptions and his memories. He can see, he can tell, but he cannot retell.

Now he lives alone in a tent on the beach. He is in his eighties and isn’t in any hurry anywhere. Twenty years ago though he was feared in his village because he could see everyone’s secrets, but over time people learned he did not judge them by the small bumps and eddies in the river of their lives; how could he when he saw where those river were going and how they would eventually run dry?

So there sits Storymon- quiet and open. He smiles, but not all the time. He weeps, but never for long. Everynow and then he claps his big hands and calls for the village kids.

“Every object has a story”, he would say to the children  gathered around him on the beach to watch the sunset. “Each grain of sand, every coral and seaweed here has traveled a great distance and endured a life of struggle and joy. Just like you.”

Gesturing over his shoulder at the village behind him, “That surf board or fishing net has a story too. Each thing was created out of other things. They will live and grow through their days and eventual death back into other things. Each with its own story.”

Pika, a little girl who sat at the edge of the group asked, “I see things  all around me just like you but I don’t see any stories. What does a story look like?”

Storymon’s eyes found the horizon as his face glowed gold in the sun’s waning rays. “It is like a song. I can say it is happy or sad or fast or slow but you still will not know the song until you hear it.” He then smiled and fell silent as the waves thumped and hissed on the sand.

Pika sat and listened. She felt the sun’s warmth on her legs, she felt the slam of the waves travel through the sand and the wet kiss of the sea spray. After a pause she asked quietly, “When you look at my face what is my Song then?”

Storymon had been asked this question hundreds of times. “Have you ever stood between two mirrors facing each other? They reflect back and forth bending away to forever. It is similar to this. I see your sweet face, but under it I see your other faces like oil on water. And you are beautiful.”

He continued,“Do you see this rock I sit upon? It was born in the entrails of a volcano that is rooted in the center of the earth. I see it cool in the steaming water and then break off and tumble through the waves until it lands here; where I sit. After I get up and walk away it will continue to be crushed and spun into smaller and smaller pieces of sand. So it has always been….”

Storymon lowered his grey head and smelled the air he was breathing.  By now the sun had finished burrowing below the horizon and the sky released a burst of colors like a cheering audience.

Moments passed. The palms sighed in the wind. A bat flew low over the sand.

Storymon opened his green eyes and floated his gaze slowly over the children. “Look, every object you see is like a flame. You see it dance- you feel its heat and smell its smoke but when you reach out to poke it with a stick there is nothing there to touch. For flame is not a thing but a process. We are like that too.”








   

Share Your Solitude/You Don't Have To Look Far To See Yourself

In 1999 on vacation in British Columbia I was surprised that even in the remotest wilderness there were other people around. I was hoping to be lost in the silence of the great white north.----My solution? Share Your Solitude---A phrase was born and has since grown into this song....
 
Now I find my daughter Sage is similar to me, in that we enjoy our friends but we need alone time as well. For me, moments of solitude lead to getting things done; meditation, ukulele, Tai Chi and so on…. I love it. But I have found solitude really is a state of mind (especially with kids). One must find that quiet/alone time even surrounded by noise and mayhem.

Maybe it is a question of mindfulness; When I can be fully present during those few hours to myself in the day I don’t mind giving my time and attention to the family when everyone else comes home.

Truthfully, I am lucky I get time to myself as it is. My wife rarely does. And I feel it is something we all need and seek. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe everyone else is terrified of being alone and turn on the tv instead of being with themselves.

Regardless, Solitude is extinct in America. I am just as guilty of reaching out to the twitterverse and facebookland to fill my head with the voices of the minions swimming around in our small glass tank; commenting on the bubbles, there are so many distracting lights and sounds away from Solitude.

I think I like social media (to an extent) because I am involved in this society, I want to be a good citizen, I care about people and the world I live in, I want to be involved, I want to know you….

Which leads to the other part of my song: “You Don’t Have To Look Far To See Yourself”. No one is alone. We all enjoy ‘INTERBEING’. The plant cannot be separated from the soil, nor the sunlight, nor the water, and we cannot be separated from the plants and animals we eat.

If you think about it all of us have at least one thing in common, when we wake up in the morning and we open your eyes we each call ourselves “I”. -There is only one ‘I’.

To the best of my studies, in Buddhism this is the foundation of compassion: You peer out upon yourself. You are that homeless person. You are that Wall Street master of war. You are that mediocre ukulele player trying to sing in your ear.

From the moment of our birth we are taught incorrectly. We are taught mine and yours, us and them. When I believe it really is a matter of training your perceptions to see correctly, then those perceptions can inform our Mind of the true nature of reality. It is probably too late for me. How do you shatter the brainwashing of the Millenniums? Why did we evolve away from this non dualistic worldview?

I just try and remind myself at the gym- That funny looking dude, dressed real weird-- you are him. The cute, bored teller at the bank you are her. Then I look at my kids…
What better way to see yourself than through your kids and family. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. This is why I chose pics of my family to go with the song. At the end of the song Thich Nhat Hanh says, “Because You are Him, He is You. Nothing to compare”.(Here is the whole Lecture.) Only things that are separate can be compared. But nothing is separate.---I.E ‘You Don’t Have To Look Far To See Yourself’

Back to the song…this really is the best of my abilities- I have tweaked these 5 minutes as hard as I can…so hear it is-warts and all... I am playing all the instruments… I rewrote the song a couple of times around the ukulele (which I think lends itself well to reggae). The ukulele has opened up some harmony territory like the Gmaj7 to F#min to Fmin. This is adventurous stuff for me that I haven't explored before... But my favorite parts are the lead bass parts. That’s my Rickenbacker through a Boss ‘compressor/sustainer’ pedal then my Peavy with turned up preamp. That tone goes back to Jimi. I always said Jimi Hendrix proved that it was an ELECTRIC guitar. Basses feedback too!

Anyway. Click here to hear my heart.

 



Share Your Solitude
   
       F#m                 B7             D         E7
(You don’t have to look far to see yourself…)
Am...
Am
When you were driving on my freeway.
Em7                                               Am
There was a flash, -an instant you saw something.
Am
Did you glimpse yourself floating in the mirror?
Dm        Am
Or did you -
Dm               Am
Look out through
Am                 Em7            Am
All the other eyes on the Road?

Amaj7
Everyday there’s more people, and more cars…
        F#m        B7             D          E7
(You don’t have to look far to see yourself…)
Am...
Am
Hey there you go again cloggin’ up my freeway…
Em7                                            Am
Did you catch yourself ‘fore ya acted like an Asshole?
Am
Can you hear yourself crying out for help?
Dm             Am
As you drive,
Dm           Am
keep your life
Am       Em7                Am      Am7 A#m7
In perspective of the stars…
Bm .....
Bm
You are right to ask, “Who am I to preach”?
E
When I’m as bad as the next,
my lungs keep taking  your last breath.
Gmaj7
And still I quest.
F#m
For solitude.

Fm       Cm
As do you….
Fm             Cm
…There’s nothin’ you can do…
D7
Don’t come unglued…
A/Dbdim
…Just…
E7              A/Dbdim         E7        A/Dbdim
Share your solitude… Share your Solitude….
E7        A/Dbdim
Don’t be rude
   E7              A/Dbdim
You’re never alone.
 E7                                     A/Dbdim
There’s always someone ‘round.
  E7                    A/Dbdim
Making scary sound.
   E7        A/Dbdim
Just calm down!
        E7             A/Dbdim  E7         A/Dbdim           
And Share your Solitude. Share your Solitude….
B7
Share your Solitude….
(Riff)
B7 Em C --C  D7 G

B7  Em  C- C    D7 G

G E7
Am....
Am
Try and see yourself in every other face
Em7                                 Am
Try and hear yourself in every other voice
Am
Try and find the time to listen to the silence
Em7           Am
Hmmm…Peace is the goal.

Amaj7
Whereever you go someone else will be there too.
         F#m                B7             D          A
(You don’t have to look far to see yourself…)
          F#m               B7             D          A
(You don’t have to look far to see yourself…)
       F#m                  B7             D          E7
(You don’t have to look far to see yourself…)

Am7                     D
And when you finally do-
             Cmaj7                      D
See yourself -like what you see…
Am7                    D
And when you finally do-
              Cmaj7                       D
See yourself - like what you see…
Gmaj7             Cmaj7         Gmaj7    Cmaj7
the Wind, the Leaves, the Tree…
F               G           F                G
Don’t get lost. It’s easy to get lost.
F       Em   Dm    Dm C7  Bb      Bb       C7         F
Don’t let them. Stop you from, Being who you are.
E7sus4   Amaj7
Who you are.           (Don’t Look Far)

Bodhi Day 2010 'Metta'

I try and sit mindfully when I can. I follow my breath and notice my thoughts to the best of my abilities. When I sit, I like working these phrases into my meditations, because I feel it is an empowering way to deal with the suffering and sickness I see all around. I think it is the same as prayer, except i am not seeking any outside 'God' to do the work for me. In Buddhism this is called Metta.

So Happy Bodhi Day! ---> December 8th is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautauma, experienced enlightenment, (also known as Bodhi in Sanskrit or Pali.) According to tradition, Siddhartha had recently forsaken years of extreme ascetic practices and resolved to sit under a Pipul tree and simply meditate until he found the root of suffering, and how to liberate one's self from it.

Bodhi Day is the holiday I like to celebrate in December. For me it is not preloaded with other people’s meanings and expectations, it sits open; waiting for my traditions. Like my yearly holiday JPEG.



Those four phrases shown on the quiet scene above  come from the Buddhist tradition of Metta. (different link than above)

The cultivation of loving-kindness is a popular form of meditation in Buddhism. In the Theravadin Buddhist tradition, this practice begins with the meditator cultivating loving-kindness towards themselves, then their loved ones, friends, teachers, strangers, enemies, and finally towards all sentient beings. In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this practice is associated with 'tonglen', whereby one breathes out ("sends") happiness and breathes in ("receives") suffering.

 Metta signifies friendship and non-violence, "a strong wish for the happiness of others" and also less obvious or direct qualities such as showing patience, receptivity, and appreciation. Loving-kindness is a very specific feeling — a caring for the well-being of another living being, independent of approving or disapproving of them, or expecting anything in return. Practice includes reciting specific words and phrases in order to evoke a "boundless warm-hearted feeling," or visualizing suffering and wishing well for those beings."

I think Metta is closer to what Christ was trying to teach and accomplish than Santa Claus and the US GDP. Call me a heretic. HO Ho ho

Compared to What?

What do you do for fun? Are you good at it? Is being good at it important to you?

Most of our lives are separated into 'packets'- work, family and ‘other’. Some are so lucky that their ‘other’ is their work, i.e they are professional snowboarders or such.

I ponder the quality of my efforts in my life endeavors. What I mean is am I a good Dad/husband? Am I a good mixer? Am I a good uke or bass player? What does it mean to be good in these activities?

Looks like we always end up in a rut (everybody now!)
Tryin' to make it real — compared to what?

As many of you know I recently bought a new Koa Tenor Ukulele from Peter Hurney at Pohaku Ukuleles. Peter was great and installed a pickup and tweaked the saddle to really dial in the sound and feel of this instrument. So I wrote him an email:

“Thanks for your attention to detail and customer support! I know as I progress as a player I will never be hindered by my instrument. It's like I stand at the edge of an expansive garden waiting to be explored!  His response made me laugh,” I'll believe it when I see it.”

Peter makes master instruments for great players. He has many talented ukulele players performing nightly on his instruments. This is not me-I am not a great player, ….yet.

I enjoy playing and learning new chords and songs but I don’t practice the requisite 2-4 hours a day to become a ‘master’. I plan to improve but I doubt I will ever be a ‘pro’ level player. I am ok with this.

I have a number of hobbies. Playing/recording music (on both bass and ukulele), Tai Chi (both Yang and Chen styles), mountain biking/ hiking/exploring, meditating and reading/studying. This is quite a list of activities. (besides work and parenting) I think my energies are so split/ divided that I don’t improve quickly and efficiently in any one of them. Which is ok. Who am I comparing my self against? Why do I need to compare at all?

 I found this quote on twitter today…."There are many paths up the mountain, but if you travel them all you will never make it to the top"  (You will know the overall mountain better than sprinting to the top though.)

In all my hobbies the path is the goal and the practice is the prize. However my Tai Chi practice is helped compared to my other interests by two things: 1) I have a teacher who can correct my bad habits, and 2) I have a goal: To learn the whole Chen performance set, and possibly the CMAT tournament in Berkeley in the spring. Because of these two external helpers I see gradual progress in my Tai Chi studies.

I know I will never be exceptional at anything. I am content with this. I am enjoying the ride.

Years ago I learned the more you learn, the more you learn that there is more to learn….What do I have to prove?





(post script)
 What about my work? Don't I have self confidence in my abilities?

In Amerika we often speak of 'Proud to be ______' (insert word.) It goes back to our 'puritan work ethic'- to take pride in endeavors. But pride comes with a cost. Here are some quotes from A View On Buddhism that I have unproudly pinched that can explain it better than me:

Pride is defined as an exaggerated positive evaluation of oneself, often based on a devaluation of others. It results in a kind of attachment to oneself and aversion to others.

"One of the main obstacles is our pride. This pride is an inflated state of mind and relies on our false view of the transitory collection, which focuses on the existent self, attributed to our body and mind, and distorts it. When we are on top of a very high mountain, we look down on all the lower peaks. Similarly, when we are full of pride, everyone else appears lower. We are the best and everyone else is inferior. This pride is associated with our self-preocupation and makes us act inappropriately and disrespectfully towards others, thereby bringing us face to face with all kinds of unpleasant and unwanted experiences. As long as we feel and act as through we are the center of the universe, we will never develop real concern for others. To counteract this attitude we train ourselves always to think of them as supremely important by considering their good qualities and by reviewing our own faults and weaknesses."
from 'Eight Verses for Training the Mind' by Geshe Sonam Rinchen

"Tibetans look at a person who holds himself above others, believing he is better than others and knows more, and they say that person is like someone sitting on a mountain top: it is cold there, it is hard, and nothing will grow. But if the person puts himself in a lower position, then that person is like a fertile field."
Allan Wallace

"What is like a smelly fart,
that, although invisible is obvious?
One's own faults, that are precisely
As obvious as the effort made to hide them."
His Holiness the 7th Dalai Lama in 'Songs of spiritual change' (translated by Glenn Mullin)

How can you be proud if you are not enlightened?
How can you be proud if even the enlightened are not?
Stonepeace