What-cha reading/food for thoughts

[Duke Elliott]

Hello Nutopians, this is our thread for sharing what we are reading. It can be anything from a book you enjoy, comics, articles. Feel free to share passages and comment on them--if you want to serve up food for thought may this be your kitchen

 

[Duke Elliott]

This is a couple passages from 'The Heart Of The Buddha's Teaching' by Thich That Hahn. It's a brilliant read because this teacher does a wonderful job of interpreting Buddhist concepts for our present time. I'll post more from this book, every chapter every page has something that penetrates. I like Buddhism, too, because it's a lot about inner peace and in this age of anxiety we're all looking for it.


We are connected with everyone and everything around us. Therefore every person you meet whether someone on the street or someone you admire or someone you've known for years--everyone matters everyone has something to show you in life our waking dream. So when you walk down the street, smile at someone--pass that energy along so they may feel good and bless someone else. And things that may seem completely unrelated to you actually has everything to do with you; the passage about the cow really demonstrates that. For a year now I've been pescatarian which is vegan with seafood and the idea for it is that I don't want anything to suffer for my existence. Now, if you want to eat meat and things like that--you can do that, no worries, but I think in this time of climate change we ought to be mindful of what food industrialization is doing to our planet and it's also good to be mindful of what you eat because it becomes the energy for which you exist and therefore influences you in everything you do (a lot of chronic health problems come from what we eat). So the message here is that everything and everyone matters.

 

[Tortuga]

I have never thought of the interconnectedness in quite this way before. The cow giving the Dharma talk.

 

[Erika Leo]

I have 7 books to read this year...But one that i´m realy liking to read is QualtyLanad from Mark-Uwe Kling. I´ts a book where the machines take care of everthing, EVERTHING. Like Detroit: Become human and Wall-le. I´ts really funny and its good for first readers

 

[Duke Elliott]

I have 7 books to read this year...But one that i´m realy liking to read is QualtyLanad from Mark-Uwe Kling. I´ts a book where the machines take care of everthing, EVERTHING. Like Detroit: Become human and Wall-le. I´ts really funny and its good for first readers View attachment 608

I got a lot to read, too--but that looks very funny! I think robots are funny, and I also like sci-fi like Blade Runner where it challenges our perception of what it means to be human and what is consciousness and the soul and how the body is like an organic robot in a way. And satire is a great way to think out those kinds of thoughts. What a cool book cover

 

[Duke Elliott]

I have never thought of the interconnectedness in quite this way before. The cow giving the Dharma talk.

Isn't that cool? Everything comes from something to exist in you and around you, and so much of life is a transfer of energy. So in this example, the sun and the elements create the grass that the cow grazes on, the cow makes the food, the Buddhist eats the food which gives them the energy to give the Dharma talk. This happens with everyone everyday. Another way I look at it, because of consciousness, we perceive time as linear--one thing to the next and I believe that through a different perspective or consciousness you, me, and everything around us and to the universe is just one big sea of energy we exist in. And I think that's what it truly is when you read a religion that believes in creation, with the energy we exist in we are in essence creation within creation. There's a light in all of us so everyone and everything has value and beauty and our own divinity or magic or however you see it--life is special and beautiful.

 

[Erika Leo]

I got a lot to read, too--but that looks very funny! I think robots are funny, and I also like sci-fi like Blade Runner where it challenges our perception of what it means to be human and what is consciousness and the soul and how the body is like an organic robot in a way. And satire is a great way to think out those kinds of thoughts. What a cool book cover

i love sci-fi man, even tho its dificult to me to understand it......The Synopsis of QualityLand is so funny, and let you think what is happening in our reality "Why in QualityLand machines are becoming more human and humans are turning into machines"
And never seen Blade Runner, didnt know it have a book. Thats so cool!

 

[Duke Elliott]

That's great, and totally fits our present reality where we're making technology to be more like us while our engagement with tech can make us introverted. The book Blade Runner is based on is called, 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep'.
But yeah, that book sounds funny and it's also why it's good to find comedy and absurd art and culture, it makes things less heavy and opens us up to let loose and realize that life, our culture, our bodies, everything can be silly at times.

 

[seth]

Ive been read a really silly book called 'Just Tricking' by Andy Griffiths. It's a book with a bunch stories about a little boy going around tricking people. My favourite story is the first one called playing dead. In it he pretends to be dead so he can get of school, it's so silly

 

[Duke Elliott]

My guess is that everyone who loved him was worried and heartbroken thinking he was gone when he wasn't. Tricksters are apart of mythology and deities who engage in human affairs often leading to comedy, A Midsummer's Night's Dream is a fun example of that. This story though reminds me a bit of Tom Sawyer and that kind of character is my favorite kind of trickster because this individual just wants to be themselves and live life; it's the world and the structure of things that limits the capacity for imagination and fun and these kinds of protagonists are intelligent and stand for individualism, freedom, that sort of thing. As a kid and teenager I could relate with a Tom Sawyer because as a kid I did well in school but with my friends I liked pranks and jokes, making videos, the art of good goofing--at the time the internet really wasn't what it is now, and video games were limited so being a kid with lots of imagination was valued amongst friends. As I'm older I relate more to Huckleberry Finn because at some point the fun and games stop and life is like being on a flimsy raft down the river and you're searching for yourself, salvation, you have to trust in people, be clever and keen not to have fun but to survive. My favorite tricksters in liturature would be the Merry Pranksters from 'The Electric Kool-ade Acid Test'. I read it around when I was 15 and I wasn't into drugs, I was a good student, but the story really made an impression on me. It's a true story about artists and misfits who travelled America in the first hippie bus turning people onto LSD almost like a spiritual revival in a way. And it was the same kind of trickster energy in the sense that society was uptight, there was war, civil rights conflicts, and a culture war between generations was fissuring people into different sides of what it meant to be American, what it meant to be free. I haven't had a trip of any kind in about fifteen years or so. But, I do recall feeling liberated, it did wonders for my self esteem and depression, and I think so much of it is a metaphysical thing because it opens your consciousness up in a way where you use your brain to perceive differently and you understand that intrinsic beauty and connectedness of you and reality, you dream out loud. The Merry Pranksters called it, 'turning on' and that's what they did they were turning people on to this other world this consciousness that is so much like a spiritual experience. I think there is a reason why shamans and mystics use these sorts of treatments in cultures around the world through the ages because opening the doors of perception ought to be apart of the human experience because it can engender a oneness with yourself, everyone, and everything around you and it can also show you that life is really colorful, beautiful, and divine. When I look at the world today we could use that trickster energy of taking a step away from 'school' to tune into our inner selves, to appreciate the wonder around us and how we're interwoven in the tapestry of nature. You kind of wish that everybody in the world could all have a trip like that, I think it would open people's minds to be kinder, more mindful and loving towards the world and people who were divided might be more inclined to search for peace.

 

[Daniel]

I've been reading Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time since June last year. I'm currently reading the seventh and final volume Time Regained. It is a daunting read but definitely worth it.

 

[Duke Elliott]

Those are great titles! What do you like most about it?

 

[Daniel]

Those are great titles! What do you like most about it?

Almost everything: The insights into the Parisian society of the Belle époque, the way Proust deals with fundamental aspects of human life such as love, sexuality and jealousy, the seemingly endless meditations on landscapes, flowers and buildings, the personal developments of the characters, the psychology and, most importantly, the way art, music, literature and theatre are presented and dealt with.

It's a very complex read and I often find myself reading sentences over and over again and sometimes I just don't get the point. That's a bit frustrating, to be honest. Nevertheless it is a fascinating experience.

 

[Duke Elliott]

That sounds, epic. That definitely sounds complex but satisfying.

 

[Aria]

I finished Butter by Asako Yuzuki in record time. Could not put it down!!
I wouldn't really know how to describe it so here's what The Guardian had to say

In this Japanese bestseller based on a real-life case, food unites a journalist and a cook turned murderer in a frequently thrilling novel anchored in misogyny

 

[Duke Elliott]

That sounds intense. I generally don't like true crime, especially on tv, but I generally don't like reading that kind of pathology because it creeps me out. But I'm glad you enjoyed and I read the article and it's one heck of a plot. Bodyweight and body shaming, all those kinds of things are difficult to talk about and it changes the way people look at themselves and judge others, unfortunately. I think we as a culture have gotten better at not judging and that's great. But food that we're provided at stores and restaurants are often unhealthy and can lead to these kinds of problems. Trauma, depression is something I've dealt with in terms of weight. For a decade of my life I took care of my father from my twenties into my thirties which put my life and dreams on hold but I was happy to sacrifice for the love of my family. He had inclusion body myositis, a disease where his immune system was destroying his muscles. So everyday, I got him in and out of bed, helped him in the bathroom and off the toilet, I dressed him, I bathed him, helped him eat, we went everywhere together, and throughout all of that I stress ate. As his body was losing mass I was gaining it. Then in late '22 I fell in love, connected with my past, and I started losing weight while I was also becoming more creative. I remember Yoko posting on Twitter about walking everyday, she talked about walking many city blocks like 40 or so, and I looked at my neighborhood and I realized it's like a city, too, it's got many streets and parks nearby so I started walking and walking; I was still heavy but I was losing weight. Then summer of '23 was so difficult for me but I became a vegetarian and later a pescatarian (vegan with fish) and the reason why is that I wanted to limit the suffering for my existence, I didn't want to eat beef, poultry, or pork--I wanted to be close as I could to a kinder relationship with animals and with my existence which is healthier for myself and the planet. Since '22 I've lost nearly 100 pounds. I've put some on since last spring, I wanted to see someone and I couldn't and it emotionally hurt because so much in my heart and spiritually is a need to communicate, a need for peace and redemption and I've put a little of it back on, but I'm conscious about getting back to losing weight. The body is such a sensitive matter for everyone, especially when our culture currently applies a certain kind of success or beauty to one's appearance and often not in their character or ability. This is unfortunate and wrong, but I believe it's getting better and I believe we as a people can get better not to judge or feel bad about ourselves because we are all so beautiful inside and out and everyone you meet in life matters.

 

[Phillip]

That's the book I'm reading at the moment, first time I read this author and I'm not disappointed, the story takes place in 14th century China, and the main character is a girl who, to save her own life, had to pretend to be a boy and therefore live as a male while harbouring female thoughts. Very interesting read, and very well written too.