"We only know what we know: our knowledge."
-Don Miguel Angel Ruiz

Okay, how true is that!

"We have to move from the illusion of certainty to the certainty of illusion."
-Sam Keen

How often do we think to know something is certain, when reality snaps us back to discover the real truth. It reminds us to forever be in a mode of learning, or as said, being a student.

"In quarreling about the shadow
we often lose the substance."
-AESOP

In a most recent discussion/debate with a friend, i realized or should i say, it reminded me that we often get so tangled in the superficial that we become blinded and do not see the core of the objective. We ignore the truth which is in front of us - lost in ourselves and our emotions.

Today's Quote:

"Act the way you'd like to be and soon you'll be the way you act."
-George W. Crane

Well said Mr. Crane. It is our habits that define us.

Today's Quote:

"Once the whole is divided,
the parts needs names. There are
already enough names."
-Tao Te Ching

We are one society, one people, one world coming from one God. Why we think we are all so different and seperate defies everything around and within us.

Today's Quote:

"There is no place to which we could flee from God
which is outside of God."
-Paul Tillich


I ask you this, does it matter which religion you are if the core of your faith and beliefs are to serve God?

Has the politeness of society gone awry?

We are busy, we are stressed, we are self-absorbed. Is that where politeness has gone? I ask, whose job is it to be polite if it doesn't start with 'I'?

The History of Valentine's Day...

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But what is this mysterious day - where did we get the name and why do we celebrate this holiday?


The history of Valentine's Day -- and its patron saint -- is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. Vist the History Channel to read more.


Interesting Facts about Valentine's Day...

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap". (information provided by American Greetings)

And one last thing... Vist my friend K-SraSra's site for sweet Valentine's Day Poem.

Hello Friends!

I have returned from my 2 month-plus exploration of peanut butter testing and wow... i had no idea there were so many types, flavors and varieties!

organic, roasted, low-salt, no salt, low fat, no fat, crunchy, creamy, all-natural, and a few that i cannot remember!

did you know they still make PETER PAN pb? one of my favs and one of America's!

This is what i learned...
In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield began selling a number of brands of peanut butter in California. These peanut butters were churned like butter so they were smoother than the gritty peanut butters of the day. He soon received the first patent for a shelf-stable peanut butter which would stay fresh for up to a year because the oil didn't separate from the peanut butter.

One of the first companies to adopt this new process was Swift & Company for its E.K. Pond peanut butter ~ renamed Peter Pan in 1928. In 1932, Rosefield had a dispute with Peter Pan and began producing peanut butter under the Skippy label the following year. Rosefield created the first crunchy style peanut butter two years later by adding chopped peanuts into creamy peanut butter at the end of the manufacturing process.

Pretty neat, huh? Skippy and Peter Pan share some history!

Tell me, Tell me... what's your favorite Peanut Butter - and why! =)

(By the way, special thanks to KSRASRA - for mentioning me on her site. that's just cool!)

Peter Pan info came courtesy of Peanut Butter Lovers.com:

In honor of November being Peanut Butter Lover's Month, here's information all about Peanut Butter! Yum! =)

Peanut butter goes back to many countries and times. Dating back over 100,000 years ago, a fossilized peanut was discovered in the Republic of China . For centuries, peanuts have been crushed and ground into paste to be used in cooking. Africans made peanut stew as early as the 15th century, and the Chinese have used peanuts in sauces for hundreds of years.

Civil War soldiers dined on peanut porridge, but peanut butter didn't really make the scene in America until the late 1890's. Although Dr. George Washington Carver developed 300 uses for the nutmeat, shell and foliage of the peanut. Peanut butter was invented in 1890 by a St. Louis physician seeking an easily digestible, high protein food for some of his patients who couldn't eat meat because they had bad teeth. Friends and relatives of the patients found they liked the new health food so well that by the early 1920's it had become a staple food throughout the nation. About the same time, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, cereal pioneer, began to experiment with peanut butter and eventually patented it. A Kellogg employee even began selling hand operated peanut butter grinders in 1897 and it was in 1904 when this yummy gooey treat went mainstream when it was introduced at the Universal Exposition in St Louis.

The Jif plant in Lexington, Kentucky is reportedly the largest peanut butter factory in the world. Peanut butter accounts for over half of U.S. peanut production, and Americans eat almost 7 pounds of peanuts and peanut butter per capita. Eighty three percent of all Americans purchase peanut butter. By the time an American graduates from High School, he or she will have eaten 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Their consumption equates to more than 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually, or enough to cover the floor of the Grand Canyon.

An acre of peanuts can yield more than 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches, the most popular ones for kids to take to school. It takes 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter. Runner peanuts are the preferred nut for peanut butter making since they are uniform in size making them better for even roasting. Seventy percent of all peanut butter sold is smooth and the remaining thirty percent chunky. Creamy peanut butter is preferred on the East Coast, Chunky on the West Coast.

Peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth because of a process called hydration of the peanut protein. The high level of protein in peanut butter draws the moisture away from your mouth as you eat it, just like a sponge soaks up water.

And finally peanuts aren't really nuts, they are legumes, in the same family as beans and peas. But even though their physical structure and nutritional benefits resemble legumes, their use in diets and cuisine more resembles nuts.

Source: American Peanut Coalition

In honor of the big Turkey Day to come, let me quote the man, Martin Luther...

"The fewer the words - the better prayer."

In other words... two words - 'Thank you' says it all.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Walked into a coffee shop the other day for a business meet, i couldn't help but notice the tremendous number of people who were in there ordering their $4 latte's and $6 double expressos.

I think maybe it was the bell effect of Pavlov's conditioning. There was a bell at the front door - and as soon as you walk in. you are complelled to order something - anything that has a high price attached to it. i'm much more of a simple guy i guess. not really a coffee drinker - would much rather prefer a cup of tea, maybe that chai stuff if its not overloaded with sugar.

but that's my rant for today. so it left me wondering, do people go to coffee shops for a beverage? or do they gather at the hope of seeing someone they know? it's the place to be seen... or they just don't know what else to do...

i leave with this thought from another wise teacher, Baba Ram Dass:

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."

My friend, K-Sra-Sra posted this on her blog. We're going to borrow it today.

Sonoeme Eaxilpn Tihs

"Cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!"

As said by the wise teacher Koichi Tohei,
"Power of Mind is infinite while brawn is limited."

Each day is a Gift. Every Moment - a Blessing.

If more individuals were to think like this,
how much better a place this world would be? We have been placed on this earth to make a difference. Create. Innovate. Love. Live. Give. Be.

"Do every act of your life
as if it were your last."

- Emporer Marcus Aurelius
"The Philosophic Monarch"

Reading the news today... It saddened to see yet another headline about the loss of life because of War. Terrorism, Greed, the Quest for Power... all of it really needs to stop if we are ever truly going to live in Peace.

It leads me to a quote by Unto Tahitinen - an author and leader of Non-Violence.

"There are two ways of avoiding war: One is to satisfy everyone's desire; the other, to content oneself with good."

If only, we would focus on doing good.

Image created by Joshus Hund

So what makes Halloween the fun and outrageously ridiculous holiday that it is. A whole bunch of people just give away free candy. Buy pumpkins, carve 'em up! Dress up - look stupid - get candy. America. I love this country.

I ask... What costume did you wear as a youth...?

For me... Mom dressed me up as Little Orphan Annie - Freckles, red curly hair and all. =) ahhh. Child hood memories. I got alot of candy that year! Happy Halloween.

Learn the history of Halloween

As seen on a bumper sticker...
"My karma ran over my dogma"

I had a beautiful breakfast with a dear friend of mine. He's known as the 'General' and I, the 'Colonel'. Thrice my age - a wonderful spirit with such vigor for life. We talked and reminisced about his earlier days - and the road i now travel in a profession similar to his. its difficulties, its struggles. no judgements, no criticism. listening. understanding. giving guidance when asked. how refreshing - inspiring.

In his simple words...
"Don't get discouraged. Rome was not built in a day.
Keep at it kid, you're doing good."


A wise proverb reads...
"To know the road ahead, ask those coming back."

So we live in this world and sometimes fail to understand that by agreeing to play this game of life... we have accepted the good and the bad things that happen to us.

Now i say, we can eliminate most of the negatives and persuade life to the positives, but life will have a equal amount of both if we go searching for it. Thus, let's not focus on the negatives. Instead, remain optimistic and be grateful for the day's gifts. Being positive and enjoying life makes all the difference in the world.


"The World is constructed, that if you wish to enjoy pleasures, you also must endure its pains."

-Swami Brahmananda

Why do we take blame and criticism so personally?

I ask this because I have witnessed it in others - and exprerienced it myself. Its an immediate 100 foot wall that pops up out of no where. Sound the sirens, let loose the hounds... its a mechanism that instantly ignites within us to protect this thing called 'ego.'

Where does it come from? Why is it there? How do we remind ourselves the attacks never really hurt or touch the 'real' me?