Spoilers for 'The Midnight Gospel' Season 1

Netflix's latest animated offering 'The Midnight Gospel' surpasses anything and everything you have ever seen before. Created by Pendleton Ward (of 'Adventure Time' fame) and Duncan Trussell, 'The Midnight Gospel' is an extension of Trussell's very popular 'Duncan Trussell Family Hour' podcast, and a perfectly fitting one too.

Through eight episodes of varying lengths, the series launches an investigation into several topics ranging from drugs, death and enlightenment to meditation practices and life philosophies. Clancy, who is voiced by Trussell himself, is a spacecaster with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator that projects him into space to different planets and worlds from his home on something called the Chromatic Ribbon. In every new world, Clancy meets new beings and together they explore a plethora of subjects. These interviews are accompanied by mindblowing animation by Titmouse.

In his interview with Dr Drew Pinksy, they talk about drugs and meditation. With Anne Lamott and Raghu Markus, Clancy discusses death. He talks to Damien Echols about magic and enlightenment and explores forgiveness with Trudy Goodman. With Jason Louv, suffering, existentialism and rebirth are discussed.

It finally reaches more intense subjects such as death and the cycle of life. The series finale is a heartbreaking, emotionally powerful episode that features Trussell's late mother Deneen Fendig. Together they discuss the miracle of life, the suffering that existence brings to the human life and the detestable pain that death brings with it. The wondrous cycle of life has never before been portrayed with this ease and yet with such hard-hitting poise that it will bring you to tears.

Through eight episodes, Trussell explores subjects that have titillated a universal interest. But in the final episode, he gets extremely personal. Discussing the deep sorrow he felt after he lost his mother to cancer, Episode 8 titled 'Mouse of Silver' is an in-depth lesson into dealing with the loss of a beloved.

It is also evident that Clancy has been avoiding a lot of his problems through the season and refuses to confront them until Episode 6 'Vulture With Honour, where he is forced to face reality. The cycle of life and death is a continuous, ending process and one cannot escape it. But how do you get over the loss of someone, if at all you can?

Trussell's mother has a simple explanation "you cry," she says. It hurts, there is no doubt about that, but it doesn't always hurt and eventually, the hurt also dissipates. Why? Because underneath the hurt and the pain, you discover what you are feeling is love. And like his mother says, that kind of love never goes away.

The episode is so beautifully made that it will break you and reduce you to tears. And just that like, his mother leaves him sucked into a black hole that has no known beyond.

By now, the magistrate's police have reached Clancy's simulator. Earlier in the series, he received a warning from a fellow spacecaster about the law catching up with him for Clancy's work. And now, in the finale, they are finally here. As the police get closer, Clancy is still inside the simulator filled with grief over his latest interview. The cops begin destroying the simulator, eventually dying in the process themselves a massive explosion reduces everything to nothing.

A second-long blackout later, Clancy along with his trusted dog Charlotte is picked up in a bus. Inside, there is every one that Clancy had interviewed through the series and died. He asks his neighbor if he is dead, only to get the response, "Just be here now." And off goes the bus on a hypnotic path.

So is Clancy really dead? Will we get a Season 2?

We do not know yet. In fact, we cannot even predict if there is anything beyond for him. One of the things the series conveys is that it is important to live in the moment. We can only hope to see more of the visual masterpiece that is 'The Midnight Gospel', until then, do not mind us. We are going to rewatch this a couple of times.

All episodes of 'The Midnight Gospel' are currently streaming on Netflix.

Go here to see the original:
'The Midnight Gospel' Season 1: Heartbreaking finale will hit you hard and leave you hungry for Season 2 - MEAWW

As a service profession dedicated to democracy and freedom of information, library work does what it can to elevate what it is and how it is seen in the world. There are some problematic pieces to this attitude, which Fobazi Ettarh brilliantly lays out in Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves. While that take is absolutely valid and one I support, I feel there is also staunch rationality in examining one of the primary documents that upholds the ideals of library service and professions and, perhaps, rightfully lends a deserved sense of aweat least in this instanceto libraries and what they stand for. The Library Bill of Rights, developed by the leading professional library association, the American Library Association, in 1939, reports the seven rights and guiding principles in library service. While library users may not be strictly aware of the Library Bill of Rights, knowledge and understanding of the Rights can improve experiences at libraries of library users.

Below are the Rights in their original text taken from the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights page, accompanied by explanations and examples of how library users might apply them in their own use of their libraries and how things have shaken out in the real world.

Right I: Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

What It Means: A primary purpose of the library, according to Right I, is to provide resources to a group of people in pursuit of meeting the various educational, cultural, and other needs of those people. Library staff working to develop and maintain the collections of their libraries should use data and feedback from the community they serve to inform their purchased and discarded materials. Materials include books, audiobooks, movies and films, databases, and any other materials (yes, cake pans, etc.) the library collects. Staff must use their professionalnot personaljudgment when performing collection development and maintenance. This means that it is up to library users to determine the credibility of the sources they encounter in the library. While library stafflibrarians, generally speakingare trained to offer assistance in finding valid resources when asked, we cannot vouch for every piece within the library (print, digital, or otherwise). We can provide the tools and, to some degree, guidance or training on how to assess resources, but to only select materials for the collection that are verifiably true is not only impossible, but in contrast with this first right.

Category ID: 45597

Category ID: 2822

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Example: The Denver Public Library in Denver, Colorado, like many public libraries, posts their collection development policy on their website. This policy echoes much of the language from the American Library Associations Right I. Right I is, in part, why you may find materials you personally object to in a public library. A library should not, according to Right I, outright object to a new book by Richard Dawkins, for example, simply because of his contentious, controversial, and sometimes offensive views (Wikipedia sums this up nicelyyes, Wikipedia is a legitimate starting point for research; signed, a librarian). They must instead evaluate the material on its own and determine whether the piece meets the interest of the community, regardless of the reason behind that interest. And some people love to hate read, thus providing legitimate interest and, consequently, sufficient reason to collect a given title.

Right II: Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

What It Means: Similar to Right I, Right II explains the responsibility of libraries to offer varying perspectives. This means staff should not collect only materials or resources that hold one point of view. Instead, staff should provide as well-rounded a perspective as possible through the collection of various materials. This allows library users to draw their own conclusions from the evidence presented, as is the case with nonfiction, for example, rather than being led solely by the judgment of the library staff responsible for designing the collection and who certainly have biases of their own.

Example: Many users may believe the inclusion of a book arguing for eugenics, for example, to be abhorrent and to have no place in a library. However, Right II protects the right of that material to exist in the library. From a personal perspective, I find thinking this way about cases like this to be helpful: Having material that argues against your own beliefs allows you to be better informed about the oppositions position, and thus better able to defend your own. This isnt the only reason Right II is important, but it can help soothe the discomfort library users may encounter when they happen upon something they find distasteful or wrong.

Right III: Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

What It Means: In the event a group or individual attempts to have materials or resources removed from the library, the library should resist. Right III is also a natural companion of Rights I and II, as library users are very likely to find, as a result of Rights I and II, materials that are personally or otherwise objectionable to them in a librarys collection. However, regardless of whether a library or its staff agrees or disagrees with a given challenge (say, to a book), it is the librarys responsibility, according to Right III, to thwart attempts to make the material unavailable. This can happen on both macro and micro levels. For example, an individual or group may request that the library remove a title from the collection entirely, making it unavailable for everyone in a macro case. In a micro case, an individual (often, a parent in relation to their child) may request that the library make a title unavailable to another individual. In both cases, the library should resist complying with the request in accordance with Right III. The latter, which can appear to be stickier, can be explained as such: the library cannot act in place of parents and does not have the capacity to allow or disallow particular titles to particular individuals and not others. In the case of a parent and their child, it is the responsibility of the parent to address and manage their childs exposure to materials, not the librarys.

Example: If youve been following library news, you may have heard about a proposed bill in Tennessee that would grant a board of elected officials power to remove materials from a library. The Tennessee Library Association has been standing in opposition to this bill, which would effectively stand in direct contrast to Right III. Challenges to books are, sadly, not uncommon. The American Library Association encourages libraries to report challenges to materials and beyond and, over the years, have compiled data on challenged materials. Certainly not every instance of challenges is reported, however, so despite the lengthiness of the available data, there is more going on than what we see, making Right III incredibly important in combating attempts to abridge access to information and materials.

Right IV: Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

What It Means: In hand with Right III, Right IV simply requires that libraries work with individuals and organizations whose mission is to prevent censorship and promote freedom of information.

Example: Right IV reads more like a guideline than a right, but would suggest that libraries work with organizations such as the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for transparency. To prevent censorship and promote freedom of information is broad, however, and certainly does not end with efforts from the Sunlight Foundation. The language of Right IV strikes me with a pause, however, and perhaps suggests things in the world of intellectual freedom are more black and white than they really are. A person or group concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas may easily feel differently if the topic in question is in contrast with their beliefs. We might instead interpret Right IV as if it read Libraries should cooperate with all philosophies and ideas concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

Right V: A persons right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

What It Means: A central ideal of library service is that the library and its materials and services must be made available to all. It is, however, perhaps less observed than we would like to think as things like library fines, the requirement of a photo ID to obtain a library card (and thus access services, materials, and resources), the physical accessibility of libraries due to lack of transportation or ADA compliance, and a number of other barriers can get in the way of potential user access. There are also, of course, library staff with discriminatory views and biases who may intentionally or unintentionally allow their views and biases to impact the degree and kind of service they offer to different individuals. The idea of Right V, then, is to combat these instances case-by-case and en masse.

Example: Berkeley Public Library has made some adjustments to open access further for homeless customers with a policy that does not require proof of address, a standard that is typical for many public libraries. Still, most public libraries will require some sort of identification to obtain a library card.

Right VI: Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

What It Means: Exhibit spaces and meeting rooms should be, according to Right VI, treated the same as books, movies, and other traditional library resources and materials. Access to these rooms should not be denied to users for reasons such as conflicting beliefs or identity.

Example: This particular right met a good deal of discussion in summer 2018 when the American Library Association updated its stance around the use of meeting spaces by hate groups. Shortly after scores joined the conversation on- and offline, ALA opted to revert to the previous interpretation of Right VI which, while still fairly broad, does note, However, if a groups actions during a meeting disrupt or harass others in the library, library policies regarding acceptable behavior may apply. Users of the library could theoretically, then, point out that the speech happening as the result of a hate group meeting in the library is, in fact, an act of or an incitement of violence, and therefore harassment of the target of hate. Right VI continues to be a difficult challenge to balance for libraries.

Right VII: All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect peoples privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.

What It Means: All library users should expect privacy and confidentiality in their use of the library, defined as broadly as possible. This includes their presence in the building, the materials which they access and view, questions they ask of library staff, and any other activity relating to library use. This can again come up against traditional societal standards, particularly in light of parent-child relationships (especially when things like library fines are added to the equationfor example, a parent may wish to know what materials checked out to their childs account accrued fines, but to share this information would, technically, be in violation of Right VII). However, as the Right notes, the right to privacy and confidentiality in library use should not be abridged regardless of any part of the users identity, including age. (Some libraries may get around parts of this issue in their policies by allowing users to list individuals who, perhaps with photo identification, are allowed access to anothers account. This is useful for folks who perhaps are unable to leave their homes and direct a caretaker, for instance, to retrieve their library holds with their consent. Depending on local laws, this becomes more complicated when considering the case of children, who may not be able to legally consent to giving access to their account to another individual.)

Example: The easiest-grab example of Right VII in action is the library response to the 2001 Act of the United States Congress known as the Patriot Act. In response to the Act, libraries resisted and reported government requests for information and some posted signs warning patrons of the implications of the Act in the context of libraries.

Though the Library Bill of Rights may not be a document hanging on the wall of every household, its value to both libraries and library users is undeniable. That said, the discussion above is by no means perfect or exhaustive. The Library Bill of Rights has room for interpretation and that interpretation can easily shift to meet how society evolves over time. Check in with the official Library Bill of Rights every now and then and keep a finger to the pulse of library news to see how different libraries take the Rights and implement themor notin their own communities.

Next time you visit your library, do a little observing: How does your library match up to the Rights? Are there policies or other aspects of the library that could be better aligned with the document? Did any of the rights surprise you? Check in with us on Twitter to let us know.

The rest is here:
The Library Bill of Rights: What They Are and What They Mean for You - Book Riot

Herman Hesses proposal of life through self-discovery in Siddhartha is appealing, yet somewhat problematic, Andreas Charidemou writes.

Content Note: This article contains brief mention of suicide.

Your soul is the whole world, Siddhartha pondered before he began his journey of self-discovery.

Quarantined at home after leaving Cambridge, still shocked by the abrupt end of my second year, I felt rather disillusioned. I sought a read to take my mind off things. My brother recommended Siddhartha; a surprisingly fitting classic by Herman Hesse, which earned him the Nobel Prize in 1946. It takes place in India, and follows the spiritual journey of a young man in the age of Buddha (who cleverly shares his first name), as he attempts to discover a higher state of being, or Weltanschauung of a philosophy of life. The book is short, the prose beautifully written.

The problem does not lie in finding perfection but instead in achieving completion.

Siddhartha begins his life as a Brahmins son, and is on his way to become a promising Hindu priest. However, one day he realizes that his soul has been left unsatisfied by his devotion to duty and religion. He is at a dead end, and leaves home to become Samana, an ascetic monk. By experiencing the extremes of deprivation, he hopes to empty himself completely of all physical desires in order to hear his soul and find peace. This brings him no closer to happiness. Hes reluctantly convinced by his companion Govinda to go and hear the teachings of Gotama Buddha, a man who was said to have achieved the blissful state of Nirvana they are seeking. In one of the book's most iconic passages, Siddhartha encounters and converses with Buddha, then spurns him. After meeting the best teacher the world has to offer, it becomes clear to him that the way of salvation cannot be taught, that words are empty sounds, and that each man must find his own way.

The autobiographical elements of the story are thinly concealed. As young man, Hesse himself rebelled against the orthodoxy of his parents. Afirm believer in self-education, he rejected their strict religious beliefs and ran away to shape his own life. This aligns with the main truth highlighted by the book, which appears to be the impossibility of achieving enlightenment or Nirvana through learning and religion; it is made clear that this can only be reached through self-reliance. This work, alongside Hesse's other novels, were considered the literary gateway drugs of the youth of the 1960s and 1970s, primary symbols of the counterculture. In the wake of two World Wars, the possibility of asserting the meaning of life appealed to many.

Searching for meaning in life through self-discovery and distilling wisdom from experience are wise occupations for the solitary weeks ahead.

In the second part of the book, Siddhartha experiences the material world. As a merchant, he experiences the heights of opulence and becomes the lover of the enchanting courtesan Kamala. Worldly affairs gradually enslave him, making him feel more lost than ever. He abandons everything and is close to committing suicide by drowning in a river, when the mysterious word OM, a Hindu word signifying the essence of the ultimate reality, comes to his mind. Following this revelation, he becomes a ferryman and devotes his life to understanding the secret of the river. The secret appears to be that the concept of time does not exist. The river has no past, no future, no beginning, no end: it is merely present. The protagonist discovers that happiness is real only when causality or time ceases to exist for him. The problem does not lie in finding perfection but instead in achieving completion.

READ MORE

The Plague : Camuss Ethic of the Ordinary

However, one cannot help but feel frustrated with the inherent arrogance and selfishness attached to the individualistic philosophy of life that Hesse advocates. In order to reach enlightenment, Siddhartha must abandon society entirely, this including his companion and child. His attitude towards humanity is patronizing, belittling; he consistently refers to normal human beings as children. Hesse seems to suggest the fundamental incompatibility of living with people and being authentic, of forming bonds of friendships and remaining true to oneself.

This is a view that I find hard to accept. The parallels between this philosophical position and Hesses own failures as a father, husband and scholar during the rise of Nazism are blatant. Yet perhaps now, at a time when so many of us feel and are isolated against our will, Hesse's words inSiddharthahave a ring of truth. The idea that one should seek meaning in life through self-discovery, distilling wisdom from experience, is a wise suggestion for the solitary weeks ahead.

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we have a tough few weeks and months ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content for the time being.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running cost at least until we hopefully return to print on 2nd October 2020.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

Continued here:
Siddhartha: Hesse's guide to a meaningful self-isolation - Varsity Online

Not only does the forest operate on the principle of abundance for all and communal resource sharing to maintain health and vitality; the forest has also evolved since Devonian days to optimize for the production and exchange of these resources. There lives a lot of wisdom in the forest. Depending on the age of the tree and their position/role in the canopy communitythe production, use, and exchange of resources has ecologically evolved (via natural selection) to optimize energy and access to resources. So, this part of the trees story seems best told in a life linear wayfrom the time the tree was just a seed until it grew to be quite old and gray.

The Seedling

Beginning with the beginning of life, the seed- whether literally blasting forth from a heated (serotinous) cone or traveling in the gut of a bird or a squirrel who calls the tree home; or following the wind currents of a maple wing on the winds of a prayer, the self-sustaining seed will finally find ground to settle somewhere. Quite a miracle indeed, the seed contains all the energy and nutrient resources, to sprout life below ground that it would need. And imagine this, many trees will mass coordinate their seeding and fruiting activity as a forestall for one and one for all all at the right spring time (or if the species only fruits every few years, all in the same year to preserve precious resources in harsh or limited environmental conditions), when the light and seasonal conditions are prime. Why? Again, the trees know that we be forest. We are family and when we all thrive, the forest stays alive.

That said, competition among individuals is healthy and clear; especially for a tree in its younger year. Thus, the sapling generation is naturally driven to the light and races to the top of the canopy to compete for that spotlight. But along the way as they grow, they benefit the forest, greatly you know, because they photosynthesize and breathe back, feeding the forest at this age the most and strengthening the tree tribe from an infection or bark beetle attack. Then, reaching the age of maturity, the adult trees become increasingly more careful in balancing their photosynthetic flush and belly-bole (tree trunk) outgrowth in order to optimize the ratio between offensive nutrition intake and forest green out-take with wind resistant stems. There is a reason that philosopher kings from Plato to Buddha to Jesus to Mohammed taught under the tree and found enlightenment there. Trees exude wisdom. They intuitively know that to live long and leave a legacy they need a robust, insect resilient, fire retardant, bark protected tree stem and a sufficient canopy of green biomass to feed the whole tree ecosystem of roots or shoots or mycelia connected living plants and critters or reproductive cones and flowers that the tree gifts food, water, oxygen, and shelter against snow showers.

Somehow coded in the DNA and genes of that small forest seed, the mature tree intuitively knows that natural disturbances are part of the forest life game, so ensures it has just enough resource to thwart an infection or infestation or storm or forest fire, aflame. Thus, as the tree gets older and becomes an elder, she will now grow very slow (if at all), knowing that not every vital phloem cell will flow with that essential sap to repair any branch gap due to a thunderous lightning clap. The good news is that with this accumulated age and experience all lived in one place comes the accumulated history and wisdom that no younger tree or forest visitor can replace. Knowledge over time from navigating a natural disturbance sheltering in placea fire, a flood, or a storm, gives the tree (and all who listen to thee) a distinct advantage to keep protected and more resilient against any future threat the tree or forest of family might face.

Then my favorite tree efficiency story lies within its core. Eager to hear more? Well, as most trees mature and have reached quite a nice height to establish a healthy green canopy and absorb sufficient sunlight; they slow their growth upward and begin to spin, within. Essentially, mature treesthe enlightened ones, build resilience with reduced cells and resources by a twist of the stems wristand in that way, they avoid the chronic old age stems hunched over forward list. But, they dont just randomly twist. In order to semi-retire in their elder years and still resist the wind; there is a specific pattern and precise motion to optimize the trees altered mature state and magic tensile strength potion. Many subalpine trees as from my ecology studies I recall, twist each outer plant cell wall, 23.50. I also believe this degree for the tree may even be aligned with Fibonaccis natural law, but you should check me and see. Anyway, astute urban architects, planners, and developers (e.g. Vanke, the largest real estate developer in China) who have studied the forest have succeeded brilliantly in constructing sky scrapers copied from lifes play book on optimizing tensile strength to resist earthquakes and wind storms in cities like; Dubai, London, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai from tree to tree and sea to sea, incidentally making billions of dollars off natures intelligence for free. Then further imagine, what if we built the buildings of our future cities as functioning forests, entirely? Dickson Depommier (senior counsel to Aerofarms and educator at Columbia University) has already mapped out New York with his graduate students from Columbia University and developed a new 100-year forest development plan for the entire city. As now many companies and banks realize during COVID-19 that they can work virtually, world centers of commerce might also aim to reset cities that optimize also a carbon neutrality and greater energy efficiency gain. If we drawdown over 30% of global atmospheric carbon by protecting standing tree forests (896.2 GT of CO2), then how much more carbon could we save if we cut the construction sectors carbon budget (23% of the total GHG) in half by literally building a forest of urban tree buildings? Isnt that another COVID-19 recovery and future-proofing point for team Tree? And finally (for now), what if we could make these new wood buildings singno kidding, but actually YES produce food, on every commercial building floor in a separate wing? This is Aerofarms vision, which is already a lucrative business, present reality, and huge win for team agriculture, looking to reduce their carbon emissions and feed the world, too.

Dedication to the 1 Trillion Trees Project

There are a little over 3 trillion trees on the planet. Thats about 400/person; but as I said earlier, its 50% less than we had before cities. How can we biodivert cities and return nature to the heart of our human civilization? What can we do to bring nature back to you? And, the first super-simple, super-easy, super-techno thing you can do is to shift your search engine from Google to Ecosia. Ecosia converts your clicks into virtual coin that they invest in forest restoration and tree planting. Check it out. They just launched and are on their way to planting now 90 million trees. (seems 1/second) Visit One Trillion Trees project

Dedication to the guardians of the forest, Nia Tero

We are all native to planet earth; and yet Indigenous Peoples are the guardians of our vital ecosystems. They embody natures wisdom in their rich cultures, intergenerational communities, and earth connections. They can show us how to recover our Human+Nature health and how to well celebrate our sustainable home. Visit Nia Tero

Dedication to the Mycelia, Fungi Perfecti

Mycelia are the naturally intelligent networks of our planet. As virtual shopping and online purchasing now explodes and spreads virallyalmost as fervently as the corona virus itself; the environmental footprint of packaging likely also sky rockets. The good news is that the problem of unsustainable packaging must be addressed in the new circular economy-driven world we want to emerge into at the other end of CV19. I love all the online shopping one can do for mushroom health and soil composting and citizen science engagement to help re-vitalize bee populations on Fungi Perfecti; but where did the Life Box go???? I can only now find a site for Live Box sports and entertainment streaming.

Dr. Catherine Cunningham, PhD, Natural Intelligence Media is committed to awakening Natural Intelligence in the World. She produces multimedia content books, films, and podcasts with her creative companions that aim to inspire everyone, everywhere to live a happy, healthy, naturally intelligent life.

Visit our Natural Intelligence Website HERE.

Participate in our Combatting COVID-19 with Compassion Heart Campaign HERE

Listen to my Naturally Intelligent by Design Podcast, featuring strategies from animals in our world to adapt to disruptive environmental change. HERE

Listen to our Natural Intelligence Worldwide Podcast HERE.

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The Tree's Truth: Conserve Resources - Thrive Global

LOS ANGELES - "What lies at the end of every journey? The goal. The desire. The cheese. But there are many things that stand in our way before we reach that goal."

The voice is a powdery baritone now, but still immediately recognizable as having evolved from the pendulous, dusted yawp that once so memorably hollered to "bring the motherf---in' ruckus."

He continues:"A shrouded valley of doubt, procrastination, excuses. What do you need to build a bridge, cross the valley and attain what you seek? But everything you need already exists in your own universe. You just have to activate it."

These teachings come courtesy of the RZA - aka Prince Rakeem, aka Bobby Digital, aka Zig-Zag-Zig Allah, aka the Rzarector in your sector from Shaolin to the holy city of Mecca. The mastermind of the Wu-Tang Clan shares his wisdom on the album "Guided Explorations," where you'll hear him offering Proustian rhapsody of the sights and smells of Shaolin, nee Staten Island, and how it stacks up to the personal atoll floating amid your chakras. Its cover depicts the RZA in a saffron robe, backed by an incandescent Laserium-style map of the heavens, proffering a glowing orb that reads "RZA" and "Tazo" (the tea company sponsoring the affair).

Bong, bong.

"I thought about meditation for the first time at 13 or 14. A viewing of (the 1978 kung fu film 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin') sent me on a mission," the RZA intones. "I'd seen it before, but that time it sparked my quest to look for books, learn kung fu styles and meditate. Another film, 'Fists of the White Lotus,' inspired me, too. In it, there's a quote where the villain says, 'Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. This is the day where I meditate all day to regain my chi.' And the hero came and disturbed him. When he said it, I was like, 'You gotta take a day to sit down and regain your chi.' "

The RZA does not give interviews; he grants you an audience. His answers should be brushed onto scrolls of papyrus. On this pre-pandemic afternoon in mid-February, he receives me in a lavishly appointed hotel suite at the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles - roughly an hour away from his placid mountain aerie in a gated community just east of Calabasas. He's wearing all black: jeans, high-laced combat boots, designer Wu baseball cap and a jacket with just a slash of killer bee yellow. Amber-tinted sunglasses conceal unusually alert eyes. His full beard lacks even a speck of gray, which helps him look a decade younger than his 50 years.

The nominal purpose of the conversation is to discuss "Guided Explorations," but it's really an entree into the constantly swirling galaxy of the RZA. At the moment, that includes "Wu-Tang: An American Saga," the fictionalized drama about the rise of Clan, which Hulu just renewed for its second season; a mini-documentary about Ol' Dirty Bastard that recently premiered on Amazon Music; and the Bayou heist "Cut Throat City," the third feature film that he's directed. Starring Terrence Howard, Wesley Snipes, T.I. and Ethan Hawke, it was scheduled for an April release until covid-19 forced an indefinite postponement.

A tete-a-tete with the RZA is a psychedelic experience. The tangents can be oblique or occasionally perplexing, but the effect is what matters. His mind is a choose-your-own adventure, where every outcome is a matryoshka doll of infinite metaphysics. Regardless of what he's promoting or what his latest album sounds like (or even if it's not exactly an album), the multi-hyphenate legend is one of the rare subjects worth speaking with anytime you get the chance to hear him talk.

This encounter starts off with an explanation about how original Wu-Mansion was actually in Warren Beatty's old house. Ask a simple question about his dalliances with meditation and you amble down a path that includes whistle stops in the Wudang Mountains; the original Shaolin temple; the sacred texts of the "Diamond Sutra" and the "8 Pieces of Brocade"; Shi Yan Ming (the 34th generation Shaolin warrior monk, of course), and the reason for why when you see drawings of the Bodhidharma it's just one shoe on a stick. There's also a side lesson of 5 Percenter numerology crossed with mystic Eastern wisdom.

"I thought Shaolin had 36 chambers, but Shi Yan Ming explained that it's actually 36 times two," he says, describing his edification and travels in the wake of 1997's "Wu-Tang Forever.""Because it's 36 external and 36 internal. Shaolin starts with the external, Wu-Tang starts with the internal, but they're part of the same school! I'm hearing this and all the folklore that I thought was all just literature. It's like reading Shakespeare. Stories that's so old that by the time we get to the modern day some of them are believable. Like somebody might believe Romeo and Juliet were real, but it was fiction. I was finally getting the pure facts. I began to understand that meditation is moving and still."

As hyperbolic as it sounds in this postmodern, cynical, plague-riddled world, the RZA is one of the most valuable prophets of the past quarter-century. We take it for granted now, but what he has accomplished with Wu-Tang remains one of the most monumental achievements in modern cultural history.

After growing up in the infamously poverty-stricken and violent projects of Staten Island, the bodhisattva-born Robert Diggs scored a record deal in the early '90s and promptly flamed out. After getting dropped by his label, he fled to Ohio and became involved in a web of illicit activity, culminating in an attempted murder charge. Testifying in his own defense, the RZA won an acquittal from a nearly all-white jury.

Returning to Staten Island, he formed a Voltron that featured the neighborhood's best rappers and a pair of his cousins (the GZA and the Ol' Dirty Bastard). But this wasn't just hip-hop; the RZA transliterated a supernatural creole of comic books and 5 Percent Islam, criminology rap and creaky Memphis soul samples, kung fu flicks and street hustler slang. He was something out of Joseph Campbell; a mystic brew of Occidental and Asiatic influences like Gary Snyder, but from a different Beat Generation. The influence he wields and the respect for his work has maintained.

That's why earlier this month, on a Saturday night in the middle of mandated isolation, an Instagram Live beat battle between the RZA and DJ Premier became the hottest topic on social media, attracting a staggering peak audience of nearly 200,000 people. A rare silver lining about the crisis has been the unexpected shift in pop cultural fixations. A cynical TikTok-baiting single from Drake was roundly mocked online, but the RZA, wearing a sleeveless shirt and fingerless gloves, looking like a mechanic from the Paradise Garage, owned the timeline.

"The intention of Wu-Tang has always been the same," he says, taking a sip from a cup of "Zen" green tea. "Our goal is to spread hip-hop culture, our culture, art culture. It's a form of knowledge and cultural fusion. And a lot of the songs I played contain pieces of other songs that were manipulated to create new ones. The Ol' Dirty said that 'Wu-Tang is for the children.' What I think he meant by that is when a child comes to a certain age and learns of the Wu-Tang catalogue, it'll help him navigate life. So many people are trying to find a map, and Wu-Tang provides a map."

The RZA's beat-battle selections underscored the 25th anniversary of one of the most immortal years in hip-hop history. Fresh off the platinum success of the Wu's entirely RZA-helmed debut, "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," he rented an apartment with the Ghostface Killah in Staten Island, and promptly sequestered himself in a stank 300-square-foot basement studio, subsisting on nothing but turkey burgers. A flood - the first of two biblical deluges to waterlog the RZA's archives - had destroyed all pre-existing beats. So forced to fulfill contractual and fraternal obligations, the RZA hastily produced all of Chef Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx," the near-entirety of the Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Return to the 36 Chambers," and all but one beat on the GZA's "Liquid Swords." All three are unimpeachable classics, full of flawless mistakes and chaotic originality. Regularly and deservedly ranked among the top 50 hip-hop albums ever made, they fundamentally define what it means to describe music as "cinematic."

Just in time for the summer of 1995, Method Man and Mary J. Blige dropped their single for "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By," which won a Grammy and instant canonization as one of hip-hop's greatest love songs. It amounts to the greatest year that any producer ever had, a trick of crossroads divination that scarcely seems real in retrospect. The hip-hop equivalent of Wilt Chamberlain averaging 50 points a game in a single season. It could never happen again.

"ODB would come over with his seeds and wife, and they argued a lot," the RZA remembers, reflecting on the basement sessions from that March. "So I had her come down and curse him out and told him to sing 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,' because he always used to sing that anyway. That was one of his jokes. That and 'The Love Boat' theme. Busting them out was part of his personality."

There was no furniture in the living room. Just a lot of chess and "Samurai Showdown" played on the forgotten video-game console, the 3DO. Once ODB was finished, Raekwon and Ghost descended. After scooping up the RZA's best beats, they decamped to Barbados to compose their Mafioso rap-opus. All season long, the lab was the center of the universe, attracting all the Wu members, plus the likes of Nas, Big Daddy Kane and Cypress Hill.

So what was it about that hermitic basement summer of 1995 that produced such stainless cult magic, a clutch of generational spells that continue to rings bells and inspire a multigenerational obsession? The RZA offers a parable. "When some things are kept closed in, the vibrations are kept tighter. That basement was the cave. Bodhidharma, the master of Zen, he had to go meditate in the cave for nine years to figure out his solution on how to make a better world and to help the Shaolin. That's his legend. That cave is always important. You gotta have a cave."

It's only natural that over the past decade and a half, the RZA has increasingly harnessed his creative energies toward film and television. As Prince once said when asked why he didn't write another "Purple Rain": "I've been to the top of the mountain. There's nothing there." The RZA freely acknowledges that much of the early Wu-Tang music was mired in negativity, a reflection of their upbringing and environment, but not the head space you want to be in after a half-century of striving for perfection.

Our conversation is sprawling, a wild syncretistic display of the RZA's curiosities. He is both seeker and Shakyamuni. He waxes philosophical on the following subjects: the Ottoman Empire being composed of people of pigmentation; the origins of Mongolian democracy; the need to celebrate the economic contributions of black Americans; the numerological breakthroughs of ancient India; why he went vegan; how American has different Kit Kats than Europe; the accomplishments of the First Council of Nicaea; how freedom must operate under a law of justice; and a brief digression about how goat curry contributed to the aggression of early Wu-Tang.

Finally, we return to meditation.

"I'm doing this project to help unlock the energy of other people, other creative energy. Zen is important to me," he says. "It means enlightenment and awareness. That's where my spirit has been for a long time."

And like anything destined to stand the test of time, Wu-Tang encompassed more than just a sound, attitude or moment in history. They are an idea and ontology destined to both evolve but remain immutable. So it is both remarkable and inevitable that a man once so committed to the concept of his superhero alter ego, Bobby Digital - to where he made an unreleased movie and purchased an armored Digi-Mobile for him - has become wizened and maybe even spiritually enlightened. This is the same RZA, but now set off on a different path.

"Life is accumulation of those 12 jewels. It's joy. It's bliss. It's love," he says. " My goal at this point is to inspire, leave footprints, and show the younger dudes that this is all possible. And if I'm blessed to be able do that, bong, bong."

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The RZA wants to help you nd enlightenment - San Antonio Express-News

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

THIS IS A LIVESTREAMED EVENT

April 15th marks the anniversary of Buddha Shakyamuni demonstrating the attainment of enlightenment in 589 B.C.E. As part of Buddhas Enlightenment Day celebrations, a special evening talk will be given, exploring the symbolism behind the life story of Buddha Shakyamuni. We will look at Buddhas life story and how it conveys practical and profound teachings on how to enter, make progress and complete the spiritual path to enlightenment.

For support with our online classes, prayers & events: support@meditation-dc.org

Gen Kelsang Demo is the Resident Teacher at Kadampa Meditation Center Washington DC and the Midwest National Spiritual Director. She is a long time student of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and has been teaching for over 20 years. Gen Demo has a wealth of practical knowledge and provides clear and inspiring teachings for people of all levels of interest.

Continued here:
The Life and Liberation Story of Buddha Shakyamuni - Patch.com

During one of my daily walks with my toddler, when we passed his favorite playground, I noticed a new sign warning that the coronavirus survives on all kinds of surfaces and that we should no longer use the playground. Since then, Ive taken great pains to prevent him from touching things.

This hasnt been easy. He loves to squeeze bike racks and graze tree trunks, jostle bushes and knock on picnic tables. He likes to run his fingers against bars around a swimming pool and pet the chickens at the neighborhood coop.

Whenever I bat his hand away or try to distract him from potentially absorbing these dreaded, invisible germs, I wonder: Whats being lost? How can he possibly indulge his curiosity and learn about the world without his sense of touch?

I find myself thinking about Johann Gottfried Herder, an 18th-century German philosopher who published a treatise on the sense of touch in 1778.

Go into a nursery and see how the young child who is constantly gathering experience reaches out, grasping, lifting, weighing, touching and measuring things, he wrote. In doing so, the child acquires the most primary and necessary concepts, such as body, shape, size, space and distance.

During the European Enlightenment, sight was considered by many to be the most important sense because it could perceive light, and light also symbolized scientific fact and philosophical truth. However, some thinkers, such as Herder and Denis Diderot, questioned sights predominance. Herder writes that sight reveals merely shapes, but touch alone reveals bodies: that everything that has form is known only through the sense of touch and that sight reveals only surfaces exposed to light.

To Herder, our knowledge of the world our relentless curiosity is fundamentally transmitted and satiated through our skin. Herder argues that blind people are, in fact, privileged; theyre able to explore via touch without distraction and are able to develop concepts of the properties of bodies that are far more complete than those acquired by the sighted.

For Herder, touch was the only way to understand the form of things and grasp the shape of bodies. Herder changes Ren Descartes statement I think, therefore I am and claims: We touch, therefore we know. We touch, therefore we are.

Herder was onto something. Centuries later, neuroscientists like David Linden have been able to map out the power of touch the first sense, he notes in his book Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart, and Mind, to develop in utero.

Linden writes that our skin is a social organ that cultivates cooperation, improves health and enhances development. He points to research showing that celebratory hugging among professional basketball players improves team performance, that premature babies are more likely to survive if theyre regularly held by their parents instead of being kept solely in incubators and that children severely deprived of touch end up with more developmental problems.

During this period of social distancing, what sort of void has been created? In our social lives, touches are often subtle and brief a quick handshake or hug. Yet it seems as though these brief encounters contribute mightily to our emotional well-being.

As a professor, I know its been a huge advantage to have digital technology that enables remote learning. But my students are missing out on the little touches, intentional or accidental, from their friends and classmates, whether its in the classroom, in dining halls or in their dorms.

Perhaps not surprisingly, touch plays a bigger role in some cultures than in others. Psychologist Sidney Jourard observed the behavior of Puerto Ricans in a San Juan coffee shop and found that they touched one another an average of 180 times per hour. I wonder how theyre handling social distancing. Residents of Gainesville, Florida, are probably having an easier time; Jourard found they only touched twice per hour in a coffee shop.

Social distancing is crucial. But Im already pining for the day when we can all engage with the world unimpeded, touching without anxiety or hesitation.

Were more impoverished without it.

[Insight, in your inbox each day. You can get it with The Conversations email newsletter.]

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What's lost when we're too afraid to touch the world around us? - The Conversation US

Former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagars daughter, Kama Hagar, has shared a new post on her official Instagram account and showed off her body while writing an important tip to her followers.

In the caption of the post, Kama revealed her experiences in Los Angeles and shared untold tips to find a real guru/teacher.

Afterward, Sammy Hagar stated in the comment section that he is so proud of her daughter because she is putting so much effort to give information for people who are seeking enlightenment and the truth.

In the picture, Kama Hagar was laying down on the yoga mat and holding still with the fetal position. She was wearing white tops and tights that suits her body.

Here is what Kama Hagar wrote:

Every guru I had when I first moved to LA turned out to be a cult leader, my friend said to me over juice and aai bowls.

This might be the most LA moment Ive ever had not because of the cold-pressed juice, but because of the realization that we had both accidentally joined like, eight cults at one point.

She continued:

The abundance of spirituality and healing in the world (namely places like: LA, NYC, SF) seems to be a blessing and a curse.

To keep things in the line of blessing, I wrote a blog on 9 signs your teacher may be a cult leader. If we know the signs, we can really sort through whats real and what feels right

Kama shared a list for the signs:

1. First, it feels like a mecca of peace and love, but then it feels like youre being taken over.

2. Your teacher/guru speaks objectively vs. subjectively.

3. Your teacher/guru tells you the way.

Sammy Hagar added this comment:

This is so cool, that you are putting this out there for people that are seeking enlightenment and the truth. Like every other business including religion, charity music you name it. not everyone is 100% honest.

You have to be careful every step you take in life. Its unfortunate. You cant let it stop you from seeking truth and enlightenment. but you can be careful.

You can check out the post below.

View this post on Instagram

"Every guru I had when I first moved to LA turned out to be a cult leader," my friend said to me over juice and aai bowls. This might be the most LA moment I've ever had not because of the cold-pressed juice, but because of the realization that we had both accidentally joined like, eight cults at one point. The abundance of "spirituality" and "healing" in the world (namely places like: LA, NYC, SF) seems to be a blessing and a curse. To keep things in the line of blessing, I wrote a blog on 9 signs your teacher may be a cult leader. If we know the signs, we can really sort through whats real and what feels right. 1. First, it feels like a mecca of peace and love, but then it feels like you're being taken over (mentally, spiritually, emotionally or all of the above) 2. Your teacher/guru speaks objectively vs. subjectively 3. Your teacher/guru tells you the way Read the other 7 signs on the blog link in bio

A post shared by Kama Hagar (@kamahagar) on Apr 15, 2020 at 11:13am PDT

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Van Halen Star's Daughter Flaunts Flawless Body And Curves In A Fetal Position - Metalheadzone

Have you been wishing lately that youd actually taken up meditation instead of just thinking about it all those years?

Were feeling it tooas well as the anxious tension in our chests, the funky sleep patterns, and, yes, the sheer boredom of staring at the same four walls for yet another day. When you also remember that all the art you so dearly love is stowed away inside shuttered art museums, galleries, and studios, it makes you just want to cry.

But despair not! The Rubin Museum of Art is here to help you stay centered (even while its closed) with a recently launched series titled theDaily Offering. An informative, 10-minute episode is posted on the museums Instagram page every Thursday through Monday (the days the museum would have been open).

With soothing intro music and calming rhythmic voices, the videos are just what we didnt know we needed, with all variety of chilling out, from musical performances to guided meditation.Heres a quick guide to the tips weve learned so farbut make sure to tune in for new episodes, too!

Shakyamuni Buddha (16th century). Courtesy of the Rubin Museum of Art.

Each Daily Offering starts with an up-close look at an artwork in the Rubin Museum collection. Whether its through a formal analysis uncovering the magic of the Buddhas seated posture, or an eye-opening examination of Tibetan medical thangkas, Rubin Museum curatorElena Pakhoutova and director of digital experiences Jamie Lawyerlead us in an exercise in focused, calming observation.And its not just about visual art, either: the series also features hypnotic musical performances from the Brooklyn Raga Massive collective that will quiet racing minds.

Green Tara (13th Century). Courtesy of the Rubin Museum.

Are you a meditation school drop-out? Fear not. The Rubin makes meditation easy with guided bite-size lessons that ease listeners into the practice through artworks. In the first Daily Offering, the museums head of programs, Dawn Eshelman, teaches us about Tara, the most important female figure in Buddhism, a bodhisattva who reached enlightenment but chose to stay on earth and help her fellow human beings achieve their own mental freedom.

Meditation teacher and author Sharon Salzberg then leads a brief meditation while participants gaze at a 13th-century sculpture of Tara. Salzberg reminds listeners simply to take the time to remember to breathe. Sometimes we get frozen, she says while encouraging us to take time to reflect. (In week three of the series, meditation teacher Kate Johnson leads a new set of sessions.)

If youd like to take your fledgling practice further, the museums Buddhist Shrine is accessible at all times. Interested virtual visitors can choose between atwo-hour video recording,accompanied by Buddhist chants and flickering candlelight, or aself-guided virtual tourof the space, where you can take time to learn about the individual objects on the altar.

Buddhist Thangka. Courtesy of Rubin Museum of Art.

If youre anything like us, youre digging into your quarantine treatsall the time. No need to worry. Dr. Tawni Tidwell is here to help you get back on track with ancient Tibetan wisdom about healthy habits that can also help you fight opportunistic infections and strengthen your natural immunity.

Trying to keep mindless, chaotic thoughts at bay? Time to up your intake ofbitter greens: kale, broccoli, endives, and the like. Tidwell even shares tips on preparation. She especially emphasizesthe mind-body connection and how environmental conditions and emotional responses can affect our health (and vice versa). And with a sudden clip of cold weather upon us, were especially looking forward to just sipping a mug of hot water. Its the first Eastern medicine, and certainly the simplest one.

Stay tuned for more episodes here.

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Need a Moment of Zen? The Rubin Museum Is Using Its Buddhist Art Collection to Offer Daily Mindfulness Tips and Guided Meditation Sessions - artnet...

By Debola Osibogun

As the COVID -19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe with devastating effects on the global economy, the world must now than ever before unite to fight the unseen enemy. The COVID-19 virus has more than any other disease in recent history affected humanity with millions of people losing jobs and billions confined to their homes. The Virus has isolated man and indeed created cities without people. In Nigeria, the government needs to treat the pandemic very seriously and ensure it leaves no stone unturned in finding a lasting solution.

A lot of attention has been placed on social distancing and good hygiene as immediate solutions to curbing the spread of the COVID-19 Virus. Though these solutions seem to be preventing a drastic spike in the infection curve, embarking on social distancing and maintaining good personal hygiene as strategies cannot totally eradicate the Virus. Recent studies show the COVID-19 Virus can survive 48 hours on surfaces which implies that even if you keep a social distance and maintain good personal hygiene by merely coming in contact with a surface touched by an infected person you are likely to be exposed to the virus. This write-up pays special attention on how to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus while transacting with a focus on how the virus can be spread through the exchange of banknotes. A recent study by (F.Vriesekoop et al 2010 Dirty Money: an investigation into the hygiene status of some of the worlds currencies as obtained from food outlets) shows that a lot of banknotes worldwide are filthy and ridden with bacteria.

The study which looks at banknotes from countries like United States of America, Burkina Faso and United Kingdom and Nigeria suggests a correlation between the number of bacteria present on a banknote and the economic prosperity of the country. It confirmed that the bacteria found present on the Nigerian Naira was much more than that present on the United States dollar. The study also emphasised that bacteria was more prevalent on lower denomination notes because they are more widely used. In addition, a connection was made between the volume of bacteria present on banknotes and the material used to make the currency. i.e. banknotes made of polymer had less presence of bacteria than cotton made banknotes.

If the COVID-19 virus which spreads via droplets of an infected individual can survive upward of 72 hours outside the human body then it risks being spread through banknotes while transacting business. Considering that Nigeria is a predominantly cash based economy this is something that needs to be taken very seriously by the government. The Chinese in suspecting the spread of COVID-19 by banknotes have began sterilising banknotes from COVID-19 prone areas with ultraviolet heat treatment. Given the volume of cash transactions in Nigeria one can only conclude that the country runs a greater risk of the virus spreading via banknotes if the infection rate in the country is not curbed. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should pay attention to the banknotes in the days ahead if we are to win the battle against the COVID-19 virus.

As at the 10th of April 2020 the number of cases reported by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) states that the country has recorded 310 cases majority of them in Lagos state. If this situation escalates further the CBN might want to refresh banknotes and do a more aggressive promotion of its cashless policy. The current situation presents a perfect opportunity for the CBN to get a further buy in from the populace into its cashless policy thereby increasing financial inclusion. Payment modes that limit direct contact with physical cash (online banking and mobile banking) should be promoted more aggressively during this period.

Consumer Awareness and Financial Enlightenment Initiative (CAFEi), a non for profit organization focused on Research, Enlightenment, Advocacy for Consumer Protection with primary objectives to aid consumers in making safe, accurate and informed decisions on goods and services in all facets, including the Banking and Finance industry on previous occasions had called upon the CBN to commence the mopping up of dirty banknotes in circulation because of the impact it has on inflation, trade and the image of the country.

The advent of COVID-19 is yet another reason that CAFEi is calling on the CBN to revisit the matter again. This call is even more critical as it is a call to save humanity. CBN the call to action is now.

*Otunba Debola Osibogun is President, Consumer Awareness and Financial Enlightenment Initiative (CAFEi)

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Dirty Naira Notes and Covid-19 - THISDAY Newspapers