Logs

177,186 words

Today, Over the Years . . .

Jun 12, 2025
Checking a Sentence’s Meter with Finger-Tapping

I just stumbled upon a fun and clever way to feel out the meter of a sentence. Using your thumb, tap each of your four fingers on the same hand in sequence, from your index to your pinky, where each word is represented by one finger and each syllable represented by a finger-tap.

So, for instance, the four-word phrase “Speak your latent conviction” would be represented as: Index — 1; Middle — 1; Ring — 2; Pinky — 3. For a longer sentence or phrase, loop back around through those same fingers.

The thing you get a feeling for is whether there’s monotony or variety. You’ll immediately feel whether the sequence has too many monosyllabic or too many polysyllabic words. And once you recognize the pattern via this little meter-method, you can consciously break the pattern for emphasis.

If brevity is the duration of a rapper’s latest diss track, then concision is how many disses per second there are in the track. And if a rapper strikes the right density of disses, his listener will be happy to listen longer and would feel robbed if the track were more brief.

[[Concision ≠ Brevity]]

Working toward a particular outcome makes that outcome more likely, and working against any particular outcome—avoiding it—will make it more likely too. We engender that to which we give our attention and energy, regardless of whether that energy is of grasping or aversion.

My skin shouts, “Get me out of here! Get out!”

Jun 12, 2024
v1 of “The Creature of the Air and Sea” allegory

Before there was earth to walk, our world was only sky and sea. These infinitely vast domains are ruled by two creatures: the albatross and the manta ray. The albatross soars to whatever heights it pleases, for however long it likes; and the manta ray jets beneath the surface, diving as deep as the seafloor. The sky and the sea are infinitely vast and could never be fully explored, yet the two intersect. The creature of the air preys on the creature of the sea, and she humbles him with her grace and beauty. The two are not enemies; the albatross and the manta ray are kin and co-creators of our world. It was the albatross’s hunger that kept him tethered to the sea and the manta ray’s curiosity that drew her to the air. The manta ray taught the albatross how to dive, and the albatross taught the manta ray how to leap from the sea. The albatross and manta ray lived in harmony and engendered our ancestors, all the creatures of the air and sea. Now that there is earth to walk, we are witness to the albatross and the manta ray existing in harmony. And there is much wisdom to learn from them, if we look closely.

Truth lies ever beyond the horizon. Aim for it but know that you will never reach it. If you say “Land ho!” and run aground and settle, you have strayed from Truth and have chosen to dwell in self-delusion.

The only way to get over something (on top of it) is to go through it. If you don’t see a way through, knock until the world splits open for you.

Just as I co-create my dreams with an imperceptible part of my mind, I co-create the waking world with an imperceptible part of the collective mind that abides in Nature.

If you thirst, do not climb. Go the spill-way.

If you are giving a card to someone, read it aloud to them (or say part of it aloud). Spoken words are powerful. They are even more powerful if those words are first written (and revised).

You couldn’t possibly offend me with thoughtful and considered feedback. As an editor, if I were offended by feedback, I’d be the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

Reflecting on the dream retreat at Beyul:

The free time felt like Iceland, alone in beautiful Nature with my thoughts; the lecture-sessions felt like a mix of my favorite philosophy classes in college and the best church sermons I’ve ever attended; the food tasted like we were on a resort vacation; and the conversations were as deep and therapeutic as I’ve had with anyone I’ve ever known for less than a year.

The illusory nature of form is like that of a rainbow. The rainbow brings you to a pause because you think it is beautiful and worthy of your attention, and you also know that the rainbow is fleeting and ephemeral — ultimately, empty. In the next moment those waves of light will change to a different frequency. There is nothing in the appearance of the rainbow that reveals its essence. It has the same essence as the light that moves through the air around it; it’s formless and clear — empty. The same is true for all forms and appearances. They are beautiful and worthy of your attention, but only as long as you don’t get swept up by them and forget that what appears to be solid, lasting, and independent is in fact fleeting, ephemeral, and relative.

Jun 12, 2023
Maintain the mystery. Without it, life ceases to be.