Posted by Raul on August 31, 2010
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While using the Netbook in the kitchen I caught a sudden movement of one of the plants spending time in a corner of the room.
The plant was just standing there when several leaves quickly moved like if being pushed by an invisible hand. No words came out of my mouth but they did form in my mind (what the f…!) then immediately I remembered those videos in YouTube about ghosts…you know, those where someone claims to forgot to turn off the camera and later, when checking the video, found that things moved in the room on their own, then go on to say “you decide” although the title of the video usually is something like “definite proof that ghost exist” (yes, from time to time I like to watch YouTube videos; you can learn something with the video and laugh with the comments)
I don’t believe in ghosts, even though I am one (Alien Ghost remember?) so trying to find an explanation I checked for air currents in the room…none; then I thought: plants grow and we don’t see any movement…being this plant one of those that hang from a basket maybe the leaves grow until they touch with each other, then start applying pressure and then at some point the leaves just “jump” to a new position when the growth has reached a certain point.
Or something like that.
My only experience with ghosts was several years ago back in my country. When my wife’s father died we were living in the US and couldn’t go to the funeral. About a year later we travel and stayed in my wife’s parent’s house
I used to spend lots of time at the living room doing drawings and usually got there up to 3 or 4 in the morning, when everyone was sleeping in the house.
A couple of times I was concentrated in the drawings when I heard steps in front of me and felt the presence of someone just standing there, watching me; I looked up and saw no one else in the room. The way of walking was the same of my wife’s father.
Later, talking with family members, the only other person feeling the presence of this ghost was his wife, the widow.
Why only the two of us? And especially why me one of them? I know he didn’t like me…after all in his eyes I stole his daughter
Disclaimer: I didn’t steal her, I was just passing by minding my own business when she grabbed me and forced me to marry her! (I hope she doesn’t read this) J
I suppose those “encounters” were nothing more that the contraction of the wooden floor with the temperature changes at night.
But those thoughts and memories got me thinking…how many stories and beliefs start with the jump into a conclusion without the search for a more logical explanation?
Do you believe in ghosts? Do you have a story to share with us in the comment section? Maybe after several different stories and approaches we can come to a different conclusion. Please share with us your memories.
Raul
Posted by Raul on August 26, 2010
Isn’t it the place where so many people cultivate themselves with a good book? Or get thoroughly informed with the daily newspaper?
The place where we learn, get informed, think about important issues and, in general, can truly spill our guts out in search of relief and wisdom.
So how comes that we don’t give the toilet its important place in our lives? We just keep it there, in a corner of the house, like we do with someone we claim is our loved one, waiting for us when we need them.
I’m not saying go now and give your toilet a hug, show it your love and real feelings, but how about a little more respect for such important artifact in our pitiful lives?
For instance…
Thank to the toilets we can be honest people; just think about it, and I‘m not kidding in this one; if it wasn’t for the toilets we would be, literally, full of shit
How important is that a toilet can receive and hold all our shit so it doesn’t hit the fan instead, have you thought about that?
When a water tap breaks you can cut off the water from the main source, call a plumber and wait until he arrives to fix the problem; it is not the best situation but you can manage in the meantime, but when the toilet back flushes you’ll be on the phone screaming: “I NEED YOU TO BE HERE NOW!”
And that’s a really sad situation (when a toilet back flushes) because your own shit comes back to you, and not only that, your neighbor’s shit comes along, so you start thinking; “What am I doing wrong? Could it be Karma?”
So what is the real meaning that in the end we are all connected by the same sewer pipe?
Another point to consider is that, no matter who you are, a president, a dictator, a saint, the Pope, a millionaire, a thief or simply an anonymous pedestrian, we all have in common that, at some point, we will have to stop by the toilet, so why then go on in this life pretending to be the smart one, the powerful one, the saint one, the “above the rest” one; we all end up in the toilet at some point, which proves we all have been carrying our own shit inside.
For those reasons, when I am in that less than elegant situation, I can feel myself as part of the human race, as another true human being; in that precious point in life when we are all equal.
To the toilet we show our real face!
Maybe replacing seats for toilets at the Senate would help reach better and faster agreements!
My apologies for the extensive use of the word shit, but in this situation the word “poop” just didn’t seem to make it, not with the same meaning, or at least the same “intensity”
Now, let me ask you a favor; if you feel that this post can be of help in someone else’s enlightening, then please feel free to re-tweet the shit, I mean, the post; thank you!
Raul
UPDATE
Marion, from The Second Half of My Life sent me this funny picture, she said: “It was taken in Bangkok where western style toilets in public places are a new introduction”
Thank you Marion for the picture; it is really funny 
Raul
Posted by Raul on August 25, 2010
People, this is a quick note to let you know about Eric’s latest post: “Exploring the Brain Twisting Worlds of Subjective Reality” at his blog “Eden Journal”
In this post Eric is analyzing different possibilities about reality and our perception about it. Let me suggest you grab some Aspirin and head for an awesome mind and brain exercise reading
Raul
Posted by Raul on August 23, 2010
OK people, I admit it, I am a maniac and a big fan of anticipation, not only the anticipation in Sci Fi books from authors like Asimov, but every day anticipation about little details that can make a day great or destroy it depending on what happens.
For that reason I tend to take maybe too many precautions in the eyes of others, but in mine it is just a logical thing to do, for example:
When driving or walking in a parking lot I always look at the white, reverse lights, of parked cars to anticipate if any of them will suddenly move so to avoid an unnecessary crash or accident.
When driving in a street, before changing lanes or braking, I look around and see what the other drivers are doing; are they paying attention to what’s happening around? If I change lanes, even if I signal my intentions way ahead of starting to move, will they see my vehicle moving and act accordingly?
Not just when going to change lanes or braking, but even when going in a straight line I’m always looking at the other drivers and trying to detect if they are paying attention or if they are distracted talking or texting, listening music or animated in conversation with the other occupants of the car.
When parking in public parking lot like in a grocery store, always park in reverse; when just arriving we have a better vision of what’s happening around so we can park safely, but when leaving we don’t know what its been happening around and we are distracted with the bags we are carrying, so it’ll be easier and safer to leave driving forward than backwards.
Always lightly touch the brake pedal way before having to brake, like ahead of a traffic light that will go to red, to make sure the brakes are working fine and not having to deal with a sudden, nasty surprise.
When my son was a one year old child and started to walk we always used only the rear burners in the stove when cooking, so if he happened to come by and try to see what was on top of the stove while hanging from it, he would not burn himself by accident with the hot plate, and also there’ll be nothing that could flip over and fall in his face.
Also, when he was a baby, we memorized the sequence of checking eyes, ears, nose, teeth, tongue and fingers for every time he fell and cried, so we would know in just 3 seconds if he was hurt and in need of medical attention or just scared and needing a hug.
Never leave a glass of juice too near of the edge on the table; we don’t want a broken glass, spilled juice and the extra task of cleaning up when it could be avoided.
Fill up the cup of coffee up to no less than one inch from the top to reduce the chances of spilling hot water and getting burned.
Keep the microwave at waist level in case we are heating up soup or any fluids that needs to be removed hot, so to reduce chances of getting burned compared to a high mounted microwave.
When washing dishes put knives pointing down in the strainer so when taking them back to move them to the right drawer we don’t grab them from the cutting edge
Wait until the garage door is completely closed before getting inside the house to make sure nothing is in its way that will stop it and force it to open again so we know the door is closed and don’t have to lament later the lost of personal stuff.
I keep the alarm clock 30 minutes ahead of the real time, so if I oversleep I jump out of bed worried and run, but I’m still on time
All our cars have a remote lock system I installed; for my vehicle I have the remote in a metal bracket that fit in my waist belt instead of the key ring (which is typical); also I have a single key with all the information about the vehicle in its tab and a set of keys with all the keys we have; single key in left pocket and set of keys in right pocket; when driving I use the single key so it doesn’t apply lots of weight to the ignition switch ensuring longer life of the switch, and this is the key I give to the technician when taking the car for service, so they have all the information of the car in the key itself (because of the tab); if accidentally I lock the car I have the complete set to open it, and if that fails, I have the remote in my belt, so it is two alternatives to unlock the vehicle before having to call for help.
I could go on and on but I know you have a lot of things to do and cannot spend the whole day reading this post; so I’ll keep it short and sweet to avoid boring to death those who read this blog.
Details, details…anticipation, anticipation!
Yes, I am a maniac of anticipation and details with the intention of avoiding crying later for things that happen that could be prevented. Not that I am 100% successful in those attempts, but fortunately haven’t had to lament situations other than small things
One more…always read and re-read a post before hitting “publish” to make sure fellow bloggers will only get mad at me but will not start a mob chase to kill me…and keep the back door unlock in case of needing an escape route…
Raul
Posted by Raul on August 19, 2010
The canoe is gliding over the fresh, cold waters of this magnificent morning; the quiet lake surrounded by beautiful trees while the sun shines by the side letting the natural colors bright with their maximum intensity.
I can hear the gentle noise of the water as I slowly paddle my way through the center of the lake. Some birds I cannot see let me have their morning songs that go in perfect synchronicity with the air, the smell of fresh grass and new flowers in the distance.
Some brownish leaves floating in the lake, waving with the gentle movements of the waters that hold them and let them be a different kind of shining spots to complement the beauty of the place.
My heart is complete with joy as I experience the beauty of nature and the simplicity of being. No complex thoughts, no worries about civilian life, just a human being in nature, as part of nature, being connected with the whole, the universe
My spirit finally free so I can be, instead of the struggles we self impose by our built society. Free to be, free to climb, free to experience the moment as it should always be. At this point I am one with nature and the universe!
Finding the connection of an intelligent and sensitive being, born out of a powerful specie among the many that conform life in this beautiful planet, among the many that conform the universe, with the universe itself.
Connections that present us with the truth of a master plan, a purpose, a reason to be here, to be born; nature and a human being, synchronized, being part of each other, connected, to make the whole.
A piece of wood floating in the waters; I didn’t see it, I hit it and the sudden movement of my body by the surprise makes my canoe move quickly and tip to one side, I loose balance and fall to the waters.
Cold waters that shock me and cut off my breathing, I can’t breath and my arms and legs instinctively stretch instead of moving to swim back to the canoe; water reach my mouth, nose, ears and eyes; grasping for air I swallow the cold, bitter water while I can’t see anything and a rumbling noise surrounds me.
I fight, I start moving my arms and legs, but no air that I need, so it’s drowning instead of breathing and the more I try the worst it becomes, so the pain in my chest, that feeling of exploding from inside, my lungs burn and I completely loose any control over my body.
Then the pain recedes and my body calms down, stops moving, I float just a couple of inches under the waters, and I can see.
My family, my little child playing and laughing, my spouse’s face smiling, the house, the mountains close to where I lived; the ocean with the sunset that was part of my life so long ago. The struggles and dreams for so many years.
Then nature around, life itself and the universe that I learned to be part of; another magnificent creature connected that I came to be, now being absorbed and destroyed; all the memories, all the experiences, all the knowledge accumulated, the thoughts, the questioning, all that became a part of this human being, all being quietly destroyed by Mother Nature while some little birds sing their morning songs and the sun gives the colors around a vibrant shine.
The feeling of being disposed of, discarded, reduced to just new soil or dust, the nothingness, while all nature’s creatures and nature itself remain silent in complicity of the murdering
I was, or I thought I was; connections or pretensions? Vision or happy, ignorant blindness? No cold, no perceptions other than a vague vision of the waters and just floating in the nothingness.
I could, for a brief moment, convince myself of being in harmony with the whole, of being a part of the whole, under a controlled situation where I got to have the power, the decisions, the faith, until the whole claimed its power back and showed me how insignificant this physical body can be.
A brief moment, just a second of an entire life, from the powerful being to the disposable element, like a brownish leave in autumn, like the piece of dead wood floating lifeless by the lake, just like a dead bug on the ground…so is the time…to say good bye…
Raul
