mix flour, yeast, salt and water

look out the window

knead the dough

let it rise

take a nap

bake bread

look out the window

stop thinking

zen bread, zen bones

+++++++++

 

enso, 2026

"What is striking, and potentially revolutionary, is that a small but growing number of scientists think of consciousness not as a consequence of electrochemical activity in the brain, as has long been assumed, but as a reality unto itself.  In this view, consistent with Vedic suppositions, consciousness is the substratum of existence and assumes the form of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions through the operation of the brain.  In other words, the brain is not the center of consciousness, but a kind of processor, just as a television set processes electromagnetic signals and converts them to images on a screen."

- Daniel Goldberg in American Veda

A Magic Spell for the Far Journey 

Charlie's Mandala, 2026

Master Lu-tsu said, Yu Ch'ing has left behind him a 

magic spell for the far journey:

 

Four words crystallize the spirit in the space of energy.

In the sixth month white snow is suddenly seen to fly.

At the third watch the sun's disk sends out blinding rays.

In the water blows the wind of the Gentle.

Wandering in heaven, one eats the spirit-energy of the Receptive.

And still the deeper secret of the secret:

The land that is nowhere, that is the true home... 

 

- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Richard Wilhelm, 1931

~ 

 

My Practice 1

For breakfast I made hot oatmeal with a few walnuts, some raisins and a couple of prunes mixed in.  Almost always, I added too much cheap brown sugar which was deliciously addictive.  I brewed a cup of black tea along with this concoction and enjoyed it very much.  Probably twenty years I did this, come rain or shine.  I would use the same bowl, the same sized spoon and the same tea cup for long stretches of time.  It was easy and it required very little thinking.

 

 

Kansas City c. 2016 / digital / slightly rendered

 

Now when I first get up I have what I call my small, sweet breakfast.  This consists of brewed coffee, dried fruit (raisins or prunes), some walnut pieces, and maybe a banana.  This is a light breakfast and I have completely enjoyed this new routine and I feel better in my gut. I just stumbled upon this approach and came to realize that oatmeal is not that good for my system any more. It was good while it lasted.

Kansas City c. 2017 / digital / slightly rendered

 

Then about mid-to-late morning I'll have a savory breakfast.  This consists of another cup of coffee with half-and-half or maybe tea (usually coffee lately).  I make French-press coffee and try to find some good dark roast.  I like to try different kinds of locally roasted coffee.  I've found some good ones.

I’ll make a couple of fried eggs and a piece of toast.  I have been baking bread regularly and this makes nice toast. The eggs we buy from a Mennonite produce stand. Sometimes I have a slice or two of avocado with this second breakfast and that seems to go quite well.

~

R.I.P David Lynch

when writing makes you feel something

“She thought about migratory birds, and the thrush on a summer evening, and the cuckoo - yes, the cuckoo - and the great, cold birds that sail and watch, and the very small birds that sweep in for hasty visits in large late-summer parties, chubby, dumb, and unafraid, and about the swallows that only honor houses where the people are happy.”

The Summer Book, Tove Jansson, 1972

film / circa 2010 / Holga 120cfm

 

 Barn Wood

the way a man feels before work

digital / 2021

of grease and the smell of gasoline

and oxidizing metal and stuff

hung on a nail, forgotten

wasps, rotting wood and cobwebs

locust posts

age ever so slowly 

as tools appear and disappear by some hidden hand

magic all around

humble, weathered

still standing

~

Chicken Soup Serafina

1 pkg. (5 or 6) of Chicken Legs or Thighs

⅓ can of Cannellini Beans                 1 large Carrot

½ stalk of Celery                 Extra Wide Egg Noodles

1 can of Rotel Tomatoes / Original                 ½ Yellow or Red Bell Pepper

½ Medium Onion                 Mushrooms

Salt and Pepper                 Italian Seasoning or Bay Leaf

Red Wine                 2 pkg. Jiffy Cornbread

Bring the chicken to a boil in a large pot, then simmer until very tender and you can remove the bones and skin.  This may take an hour but well worth it.

When the chicken is ready there should be good broth starting to form with some fat on top.  You can add a carton of vegetable or chicken broth if you like - use this broth for soup base.

Leave the soup on low simmer and add carrots and celery chopped into thick slices.

Slice and add the onion and about one-half of a bell pepper, sliced into thin strips.

(All ingredients are added proportionally based on the volume of the soup base.)

Throw in a handful of cannellini beans.  Slice a few mushrooms and add if you like.

Add a bay leaf or a few pinches of Italian Seasoning.  Stir in a can of Rotel tomatoes (this is often all the seasoning you need and gives a nice flavor).

Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender.  

Pour yourself a glass of wine while you wait!

Stir in a couple of handfuls of noodles a few minutes before serving so they don’t get mushy.

By the way, this disappears quickly with fresh-baked cornbread on the side.

Mangiamo!

yes, she liked to smoke a cigarette now and then…