A favorite meditation for me has been to count breaths -- in groups of ten. Simple, and it seems to lower the BP and quiet down that clamoring committee meeting in my brain.

A few days ago I decided to change the routine and count my breaths one to nine, leaving out the ten, which, after all, is only a multiple of one. It's also a way to stay in touch with a cornerstone of Celtic prayer and spirituality -- the sacredness of the number three- and of course all its multiples, pride of place belonging to nine, three times three.

I noticed at once how my counting and breathing immediately and naturally fell into "sets of three" -- "1, 2, 3, rest, 4, 5, 6, rest, 7, 8, 9, rest. . .

Violating all the rules of centering, quieting meditation, I began to observe these sets of numbers, noting that each set of three digits adds to six (1+2+3) or a number reducible to six (4+5+6 = 15; 1+5 = 6. 7+8+9 = 24; 2+4 =6).

"Aha! the number of the beast," thought I -- 6, 6, and 6. But let's continue adding and reducing our digits: 6+6+6 = 18; 1+8 = 9, the product of our sacred number 3 times 3. And as though to remind us of where that 9 comes from, add any two of those sixes together: 6+6 = 12; 1+2 = 3!

(So maybe that conventional view of "666" is, well, kinda superficial. Maybe we need to look more deeply into that number and what it represents. I sense that it stands for humanity immersed in self -- destructive, ego-driven humanity, awaiting its transformative process (Three connotes an active process) en route to finding its true Self , the end or goal symbolized by - 9!)

Finally, let's simply add up all the numbers 1 through 9. 1+2+3+4. . .+9 = 45; 4+5 = 9!

PeterPorcupine

Gentle Readers,

Sorry to have been away so long. I've been using the time to try to become multilingual, so that the message of this site can reach billions, not just millions.

So here goes:

Feliz Navidad
Boas Festas
Glaed Eligjul
Froeliche Weihnachten
Melekalikimaka
Joyeux Noel

Well, you get the idea:

BLESSED CHRISTMAS!!!

PeterPorcupine

(A friend from Texas wrote. . .)

I am NOT a fan of Barrack Obama (or is it Osama?)...but he is now
on the HOT SEAT from reporters BECAUSE HE DOES NOT WEAR
AN AMERICAN FLAG LAPEL PIN!

How petty can news gathering get?

Jack

(To which I replied. . .)

This campaign so far is the most disgusting ever for emphasizing sideshows over substance: John Edwards' haircut cost; Hilary's cleavage ( too much? Not enough? Just right?); Various Republicans running around like inept busboys at the Iowa State Fair ("Some more watermelon, Ma'am? How 'bout anutha ear of cawn?"); Judging all candidates solely by how much money they've raised (Hilary outdid Obama last quarter -- sounds like a corportate financial report, fer God's sake!); Now Obama's lapel accessories. Sheesh.

Meanwhile those who dare raise serious issues are herded into out-of-sight "protest zones," or arrested or beaten by uniformed goon squads.

The way things are going, neither major party nomination will be worth much by a year from now. Election turnout may plummet, touching off the usual hand-wringing and tut-tutting by the usual self-apppointed guardians of civic virtue.

Those who do go vote will leave the polls holding their noses, or gagging.

PeterPorcupine

(It's so nice to feel optimistic. . .)

Small minds,
Narrow minds,
Prejudiced and mendacious minds,
Loose, lost, loquacious minds,
Minds bored and boring,
Minds medicined and soaring,
Minds dirty and dark,
Minds lonesome and stark
Nasty minds,
Mean minds,
Troop together through a vastness without light,
Assemble together in the fastness of the night,
To begin their mindless chatter
In the hollow echo chamber
Of my mind.

PeterPorcupine
(copyright 2007 JRF)

Shrub arrived in Australia this week for a meeting of an organization called APEC. He thanked the Aussie PM
for inviting him to the "OPEC" meeting, and later praised the efforts of "Austrian" troops in Iraq. Sounds like he got a quick introduction to Foster's, "the Australian word for bee-ah."

When asked how his own visit to Iraq en route to Sydney went, El Decidero was like an exuberant schoolboy: "We're kickin' some ass!" That remark didn't make it to the network news shows here, but was widely reported around the world, accompanied by the usual sneers and sniggers.

Earlier this week a former National Security insider recounted Shrub's reaction back in '02 when told intelligence analysis could not pin down any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "I don't give a flyin' f...
about intelligence," he replied.

This is the guy who gave German Chancellor Angela Merkel an unexpected, unwanted noogie at last year's European summit, and got 'down and dirty' with Tony Blair in front of an open mic.

Years ago "ugly American" was coined as an opprobrium for boorish, ignorant US tourists overseas. Diplomats and high government officials would apologize for such behavior and smooth things over with the locals.

Now the shoe's on the other foot as citizens apologize for their Prez'nint.

Sheeesh!

PeterPorcupine