The Digital Dispatch

From NOEBIE.net

Video

Help to Gaza

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My kid came up to me this morning expressing frustration with the conversations on social media concerning the current crisis in the Middle East. I think a lot of us are feeling that way.

I have little interest in politics. For me, the important thing at this point is that innocent children and their families are suffering, and there are simple things we can do, if we choose, to help them.

My own donation this morning went to Zakat Foundation. I would encourage you to help as well, by donating what you can to whatever charitable organization suits you.

Pilgrims On The Road

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Several years ago, I first heard about the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage. The idea of backpacking 500 miles across Spain to arrive at the burial site of an Apostle caught my imagination, but it was not something that I thought would really be possible for me to undertake. I filed it away as another pleasant thing to dream about.

A few weeks ago, we ran across Stefanie Hurtado’s marvelous documentary of her trek on the Way of St. James. It inspired me to reconsider, and it looks like it may be feasible after all. Claudia and I are still in very early discussions about the possibility, but are thinking we may attempt at least the portion of the pilgrimage from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela some time in 2025.

I’ll be posting more here as we continue to plan. In the meantime, the video above is highly recommended.

Here’s a link to the English version of the official website for the pilgrimage.

https://www.caminodesantiago.gal/en/inicio

Louis Theroux in India

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A friend in our work chat this morning shared this video after a short exchange about Hindu and Buddhist practices. It’s from the BBC program Weird Weekends with Louis Theroux.

Theroux is, I think, a sincere and light hearted skeptic. The video presents a mostly amusing look at some Westerners who have gone to India seeking enlightenment, their practices, and the Gurus that they follow, from OSHO to Prabhupada.

Toward the very end of the program, we witness Theroux’s encounter with Amma, and it is a moment of beauty and truth.

Preventing School Massacres

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With each new school massacre, there is a predictable pattern of reactions that has come to seem almost performative. Much of what is said and written seems little more than hurling insults towards political opponents, utterly without value to either grieving or prevention.

There are some actual, practical, well-researched and replicable steps that our communities can take toward prevention though, and they do not require shouting obscenities, or writing your representatives in Congress, or tilting at political windmills.

Mark Follman is the author of Trigger Points: Inside the Mission to Stop Mass Shootings in America. He appeared in April on Democracy Now! to discuss the book, and they recently featured the interview again after the massacre in Uvalde.

You can read an excerpt of the book at the link below from Mother Jones.

Here’s How We Can Prevent the Next School Massacre – Mother Jones. Inside a growing method that experts are using to thwart disasters like the recent Oxford High rampage.

Chanting With The Tanpura

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We added a Tanpura/Swarmandal to our collection of instruments last week, so I’ve been spending a great deal of time getting it under hand, and using it in my daily meditation practice. It works really well for japa with shorter mantras.

I’m hoping to make it through 108 Gayatri repetitions during this month’s Key City Kirtan gathering.

An Introduction to Transcendental Meditation

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Although I am not a trained TM practitioner, the technique is (from what I understand) similar to what I practice each day.

CEO of the David Lynch Foundation, Bob Roth, recently spoke about TM in an online video seminar for folks who are interested in learning it. The video doesn’t describe the step-by-step specifics of how to meditate, but is an excellent introduction to the philosophy and benefits of the practice.

Bob Roth Nov 10 Intro Talk from Maharishi University on Vimeo.