Tag Archives: reading

Jeff Flesch 6:00 pm on April 25, 2021
Tags: apnachatbhavan, bhagavadgita, , , , , , , indiasupermarket, , mahabharata, , , , , , reading, resturants   

A Blogger’s Diary 4/25/21: On Writing and Reflecting, Portland, Reading, and Breathing

I’ve been thinking more this week about how important it is to take time for ourselves. It is interesting, as I know this truth viscerally today, and have written about it several times in the past few months, and yet as life continues to move, I am continually present to the need to stop and breathe. Important.

Alright, more on that in a moment.

Writing and Reflecting

Photo by kevin turcios on Unsplash

First, let’s take a look at a few reflections from the week.

Flush

The poem Flush occurred to me this week after I dropped off my guitar to be worked on at the local music store. I hadn’t realized how much I’ve loved learning to play the guitar until, all at once, it was removed from my presence for a couple of days. 

I actually went to the music store one day, while they were working on my guitar, just to play the guitars on display. I love the feeling that comes with playing the guitar. In fact, I’ve always loved music, which has been a large part of my life, for, well, always. Moving, deeply satisfying, and inspirational. Lovely.

Hug

The Hug poem was inspired by the WDYS #78 prompt from Keep it Alive, by Sadje. As I pondered the picture of a small table, set for two, it reminded me of times as a child and youth at my grandparents house. Being around all of my cousins, and feeling that deep sense of connection and love you get when you are near so much family.


Though I don’t get to see much of my extended family today, I relish these memories. Beautiful.

Next Week

I don’t have much to write about the writing that is coming. That’s fun.

I know there will be more poems, and I do have plans on a post about purpose, yet have not begun to write this piece. All of this unknown is part of the process and joy of creation, which I adore.

Portland

Photo by Sean O. on Unsplash

My oldest son has an internship with Intel in Portland this summer. Yes. Exciting. I went up to visit him yesterday, which was my first time in Portland in over 15 months. It was an amazing experience.

We went to a wonderful local grocery story called the India Supermarket, and ate at an equally lovely restaurant called Apna Chat Bhavan. Delicious. We then played guitars for the afternoon. It was so lovely to see him and spend time with him doing things we love to do, two of which, we’ve been unable to do, or have chosen not to do, for a long time. Lovely.

Reading

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The remote book club is still alive and well. We just finished The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende. An elegant and descriptively written book about war, violence, oppression, love, family, and life. I highly recommend this book. Just know that the book does contain many violent scenes, which may be disturbing to some readers. The book contained about as much violence as I can handle these days.

I am now reading the Mahabharata, by Kamala Subramaniam, which is part of my continual spiritual and devotional development. I am only about 100 pages into the text, and am already seeing parallels to all of life, which I know will continue.

Breathing

Photo by Le Minh Phuong on Unsplash

Have you ever had someone ask you if you are breathing, or, have you had someone say, don’t forget to breathe? Yep, me too. In fact, I am the one that often says to people, remember to breathe. Yet, more context is needed.

When I say to someone close to me, remember to breathe. These words come along with a historical conversational context about what remembering to breathe really means. 

It means creating time in all of our days to stop. Stop working, cooking, cleaning, erranding, working, etc., and just be. Creating time to focus on our breath and be with ourselves. As I’ve written before, you can accomplish this by taking 5-minutes away from everyone and everything, and just focus on the inhalation and exhalation of your breath. 

And, as thoughts arise, such as I need to do this, and I need to do that, just let that be. And, return to the breath. If you choose to walk during this time, count your steps as you inhale and exhale, which will help keep the mind at bay.

The point?

We all need time to let ourselves be. Away from all of the “needs” that are arising within us.

When we begin to learn that, in fact, those “needs” never really cease, and that we can take actions to slow down the reactivity of the mind to stimuli; by, for example, taking a 5-minute break away from everyone and everything. Using this time to just breathe, we begin to deepen our understanding of how our minds work. Helpful.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

Have a lovely week.

#apnachatbhavan, #bhagavadgita, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #breathing, #contemplation, #diary, #indiasupermarket, #introspection, #mahabharata, #mindfulness, #oregon, #poem, #poems, #portland, #reading, #resturants

Jeff Flesch 6:18 pm on December 20, 2020
Tags: , , , , louderthanariot, , reading, , sriramanamaharshi, stimulation, theoffice,   

A Blogger’s Diary 12/20/20: On Writing, Reading, Listening, and Stimulation

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Photo by John-Mark Smith on Unsplash

Alright, another week closer to this year’s end, and entering deeper into winter, which, for where I currently live, means more, well, a ton more rain to be accurate. Whereas, I didn’t grow up in a very rainy area, Los Angeles is, of course, known for sun most of the time, I am more comfortable with the rainy weather these days.

And, yes, writing did occur this week, and here is what that looked like.

Writing

  1. Simpler
  2. Leaving
  3. Sitting
  4. A 3-minute Reflection on 3 Ways to Display and Visualize Linear Data
  5. Walking
  6. Shadows
  7. The Social Construction Series Part 9: The Social Construction of Power
  8. Grace

One of my goals this week was to get, The Leadership Series Part 2.5: Why Developing the Self is Always the First Step in Leadership completed, and that did not happen. Next week. Yes, so what about next week? Let’s take a look.

In the poetry realm, I have a few ideas. I am thinking about two poems right now, one on flow, and one on force, which will be fun. And, then the aforementioned leadership article will be a focus next week, as will another entry in the social construction series. I’m not sure about the latter just yet. Meaning, the topic. Not sure.

I’ve also got a couple of ideas about creating vision, and managing the gap between your current reality and your future projected reality, or the real and ideal in leadership terms. Alright, how about reading. Sure, let’s go.

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Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Reading

Well, I am still working on, or, rather, finishing, the book about and by Sri Ramana Maharshi, and I am now reading Killing Commendatore, which I started last week. And?

It is a very Haruki Murakami type book, which means? That, so far, it is awesome. Of course, it starts with a prologue, and the main character is painting a portrait of a client that has no face, or rather has a face of mist. And then?

Then Murakami begins to create the world you’ll be entering into, all of the typical trials and tribulations and the emotional breakdowns and breakthroughs that follow for the main character. I’ve only read about 60 pages, and Murakami has already covered a lot of ground.

I am looking forward to discussing what I’ve read thus far with the remote book club tonight. How about listening? A new entry topic this week. Ready? Good. Here we go.

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Photo by Ilias Chebbi on Unsplash

Listening

Though podcasts have been around for well over 25 years, I didn’t start listening to podcasts until about 5 years ago. I know, I know, I am now playing catch up. Fun!

Here are a couple of podcasts, which you may not have heard of, and are very good.

  1. An Oral History of the Office
  2. Louder Than A Riot
  3. Resistance

Alright, so I have a soft spot for the television show the office. Fun. And, an Oral History of the Office does a great job recounting just how hard it was to get that show on the air in the United States. A very interesting and entertaining podcast.

Louder Than A Riot was one that I stumbled onto, as I listen to most of my music on Spotify, and I caught an ad about the new podcast. Wow. The podcast traces systematic and structural racism in this county in regard to hip-hop. A caution. The episodes are raw and explicit. The topics they cover are so important, and the two hosts, Rodney Carmichael and Sidney Madden, are stellar.

Resistance is one I just found this past week, and it traces systematic and structural racism in the United States through the lens of protesters all across the country. I’ve listened to most of the episodes already, and they are well done. Again, the host, Saidu Tejan Thomas Jr., does a fantastic job. This podcast is also raw and explicit.

Alright, that was fun. I recommend all three. How about stimulation? Yep, here we go.

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Photo by Luis Reynoso on Unsplash

Stimulation

It has occurred to me off and on over the past several weeks, and I’m sure I’ve written about it, that stimulation is something that I monitor. Important. Why?

Because when we are constantly stimulated with work, computer screens, phones, television, even conversation, we are depleting our vital energies. And? That’s oaky, we just need to be aware that replenishment is needed and necessary.

What can we do? Well, there are many things. All of which we have discussed in previous posts. My favorites? Yep, there are two that I consider paramount.

  1. Meditation
  2. Walking

So important. Both meditation and walking get me away from all stimulation, and, in a way, create a reset of sorts. Simply meaning, they restore my energy levels. Oh, and there is one more. Naps. I take several naps now each week. Super refreshing.

What we do to get our quiet and reenergizing time matters less than we get it. That I get it, and that you get it. So?

If you’re not getting enough replenishment time for yourself, make sure to create that time. It can start with simply leaving the computer station, or setting the phone down, and walking out the door for a walk. Really important.

Alright, that’s all for this week.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday and a lovely remainder of 2020.

Be well.

#bloggersdiary, #diary, #harukimurakami, #listening, #louderthanariot, #onwriting, #reading, #resistance, #sriramanamaharshi, #stimulation, #theoffice, #writing

Jeff Flesch 7:07 pm on December 13, 2020
Tags: , , , , , Haruki Murakami, , , , reading, , , ,   

A Blogger’s Diary 12/13/20: On Writing, Reading, Videoing, and Vulnerability

Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

Alright, another busy week, and, yep, also not busy. I’ve not started an entry that way before, have I? Nope. Why?

Well, it occurred to me this past week that in even the busiest times, when we feel like life is moving faster than we can follow along, there is always time. Now, granted, we have to create it, yet it does exist. In these pandemic days, I just wanted to make sure this is known. More time for yourself, for myself, is creatable.

Writing

Okay, now, into the writing that occurred this past week. Here we go.

  1. Tears
  2. Flight
  3. Ego
  4. A Developmental Moment #2: The 3 C’s of Authentic Productivity
  5. Silence
  6. The Reflection Series Part 6: Why is Creating Safety Important?
  7. Nature
  8. Breaking

And this week? Yep.

I’m currently working on a couple of new posts, which are.

  • The Social Construction Series Part 9: The Social Construction of Power
  • The Leadership Series Part 2.5: Why Developing the Self is Always the First Step in Leadership

I thought getting one of these published this week might happen, alas, that will not be the case. However, I do feel pretty confident about getting them both completed next week. We shall see. And, as I always say, or, rather, write, that is the fun part of the process. Not really knowing, and being at peace with that.

Now, let’s discuss the remote book club a little.

Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash

Reading

I’ve had so much fun with the remote book club. Last week, as we discussed in my last diary post, we finished Anxious People, and are now onto my choice, Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. I’m a big Murakami fan, so I am super excited about this next book.

In my diary entry last week, I also wrote about connection and communication, and I’d like to report that having the additional connection and communication with the local folks in the remote book club has been amazing. Fun.

August, 2020

Videoing

Well, I’ve not written about creating videos in some time. Why? Well, I’ve been putting more time into my writing, and so the videos have been deprioritized. However, I have a whole new vision for video engagement, especially for LinkedIn, and so will be creating some new videos in the next quarter.

If you’ve not seen any of my videos, and are interested, due check out my Youtube channel. I’ve only had the channel for a short time, and find that creating videos is a beneficial way to connect with people from an audio/visual learning perspective.

You can also check out the videos on my site right here. Wow, I’ve not added a new video to the website since June. Phew. It’s been a little longer than I realized. Well, that just means there’s that much more to create!

Photo by Yukie Emiko on Unsplash

Vulnerability

I’ve written many articles on vulnerability. All of them intended to create the importance of actively being aware of how vulnerability can be transformational to both our personal and professional development. Seriously transformational.

I am resetting them here, as I do also believe that in the future we will need as much innovation as possible. And? Well, one of the gateways to unleashing creative potential is learning to be vulnerable. Alright, here are those articles.

  1. Vulnerability in Action: Three New Ways to Think About Vulnerability
  2. Writing and Life Series #1: On Writing and Vulnerability
  3. Living a Transformational Life: Authenticity and Vulnerability
  4. The Transformation Video Series – The 4 C’s of Vulnerability: Why Vulnerability is Transformational
  5. Vulnerability and Resilience
  6. 10 Reasons Why Embracing Vulnerability as a Strength is Important to Your Development
  7. The 4 C’s of Vulnerability: Why Vulnerability is Transformational

Wow. That’s fun.

Alright, that’s this week’s entry.

Please stay healthy and well, and have a wonderful week.

#blog, #blogger, #bloggers-diary, #blogging, #diary, #haruki-murakami, #innovation, #leadership, #leadershipdevelopment, #reading, #transformation, #videos, #vulnerability, #writing

Jeff Flesch 4:51 pm on November 15, 2020
Tags: , anxiouspeople, , , , fredrikbackman, ramanamaharshi, reading, , ,   

A Blogger’s Diary 11/15/20: On Writing, Reading, A 2-Week Freeze, and an Update on the Remote Book Club

Photo by Deric Yu on Unsplash

Wow, what a busy, busy week. I know, I know, I always start out that way. Yet, it really was. So much so, in fact, that my time was allocated to other things, and writing in some ways, not all ways for sure, took a little bit of a back seat this week.

Writing

Simply meaning that I didn’t get to work on larger pieces this week. Yet, you know what I did get to work on? Yep. Poetry. I am absolutely falling in love with writing poetry. Love. And, here’s what that looked like.

  1. A Poem of Gratitude
  2. A Reflection Poem
  3. A Courage Poem
  4. A Resilience Poem
  5. The Liebster Award
  6. The Social Construction Series Part 8: The Social Construction of Interaction
  7. A Poem of Inspiration

Phew, there we go. See. Lots of poems. Fun!

And, next week? Yep, here is what I’m currently working on.

  1. An Insight Poem
  2. The Reflection Series Part 4: What Does it Mean to Live a Life Full of Insight?
  3. The Reflection Series Part 5: What Does it Mean to Live and Love a Communicative Life?

I am finding that it is necessary to shorten my articles a little. That certainly doesn’t mean I’ll stop writing longer pieces. Yet, at least for the time being, I am working on some shorter posts. We will see.

Photo by Seven Shooter on Unsplash

Reading

Okay, so I am still reading the book on Ramana Maharshi, yet am also now reading another book for the book club, which I’ll write more about in a moment. Ramana?

I am about 1/3 of the way through the book, maybe more, and here is what I love the most about the book thus far.

The book is set up as a Q&A session with Ramana and the narrator. And? Time and again, the narrator basically asks Ramana the same question in different ways. And, each time? Yep.

Ramana gives a very different answer that points the narrator, and the reader, back to the same place. Fun. The place?

Inside of you, of course. No matter the question, the seeking, the apparent frustration, the answer? Yep, already lives inside of you. Stay quiet and listen. Lovely.

Photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash

A 2-week Freeze

Well, here in Oregon, we are now on a 2-week freeze, which the Governor did say would be extended if the cases continued to stay steady or rise. Impact?

Hardest hit are the local small businesses, especially those in the food industry. Phew. Difficult.

We will be working with small business owners in the coming days and weeks to ensure they have what they need to pivot their businesses once again.

I’m not sure a more resilient group exist right now, with the exception of those in healthcare. Amazing people all around.

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash

Remote Book Club Update

Quick updated. I was able to get the remote book club together for our first meeting a week ago Saturday. Fun!

We’ve chosen to read, Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman. It’s actually pretty good thus far.

Sort of an inquiry, as the title relates, into the human condition in regard to emotionality, and the spectrum of how that plays out in stressful situations. Interesting.

Closing

Well, that’s about it for this week. Time to go see what you are all up to, and to see if I can finish the insight poem on this night. Ha! Even more fun.

The first stanza? Sure. Here we go.

Insight is such a delight,
A fancy quite bright, which lives
Beyond the pale moonlight

Fun, fun, fun.

Alright, everyone, please stay healthy and well, and have a wonderful week ahead.

Remember, you are an inspiration to me, and to everyone around you.

#poetry, #anxiouspeople, #bloggersdiary, #blogging, #diary, #fredrikbackman, #ramanamaharshi, #reading, #remotebookclub, #writing, #writingpoems

Jeff Flesch 8:25 pm on July 24, 2020
Tags: , catalysts, , fantasyfiction, , novel, novella, reading, , , scififantasyfiction, scififiction, ,   

The 4 Catalysts: Part 1, Book 1, Chapter 2

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Commitment – the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

Patronage – the support given by a patron.

Dedication – the quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose.

2

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” -Charles Darwin

WealthGorilla.com

Quara’s commitment was clear from a very young age. Take care of Master Sheldon, that’s it, period. Sheldon and Quara had a strong relationship, built on trust and mutual respect, over time. Many envied Quara’s post, Wiki believing that they should rise higher in the Caste system, and take on more responsibilities. Yet that’s not how service worked.

Service was handed out by the tribal elders at birth. As a child grew, they were given instruction over three areas – general education, their service training, and, understanding their patrons Art. And, as Quara was the one selected to serve Master Sheldon, their training in the Art was that more extensive.

Quara moved down the spiral staircase towards Sheldon’s rooms, cautious to be ever so quiet. Cautious and quiet as this was Sheldon’s meditation time, not to be disturbed under any circumstances. On their way down they noticed a shadow playing on the outside of Sheldon’s main room. Light was flickering from inside the room, displayed by the fire in the hearth.

Photo by Zoran Kokanovic on Unsplash

As the shadow moved back and forth, Quara froze in their place on the stairs. Waiting. Breathing slowly. Moving now again, slowly like their breath, one step at a time towards the Master’s room.

One step, two, three, and suddenly the Master burst through the room, rushing past Quara and up the stairs to the main hall. Quara stumbled back against the wall, sank down, and sat. Waiting. Breathing slowly.

Sheldon dashed through the main hall and into the library. Sheldon’s library was extensive, generationally handed down. There were regular books, tomes, articles, and every imaginable script on and in the history of the world.

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Sheldon moved quickly. Rifling through the books, grabbing a few, then to the tomes, flipping, blowing off dust, then to the articles and manuscripts doing the same, selecting the ones needed.

They moved all the items gathered to their desk, sprawling out the papers in an array to get the best look. Sheldon lit a couple more candles as the day was dank and dark, as it was often in the East at this time of year, well, at most times of year.

Meanwhile, Quara, catching their breath, hurried up the stairs, through the main hall, and into the library after their Master.

Quara burst into the library and said “Master, what is this all about? You nearly knocked me down the staircase. You gave me an awful fright!” Sheldon did not respond, and continued to study the papers, and books strewn out all over the desktop. Concentrating. Breathing, slowly.

“It’s not hear, I cannot find it, Quara!”

Quara, of course, had no idea what Sheldon was talking about, so probed, “Master, I don’t know what you are talking about. You are supposed to be in meditative practice. I am confused.”

Sheldon continued to search through the papers, combing books, tossing them aside.

“I know it’s here, Quara. It has to be.”

Quara stumped, decided to take a different approach. “Master, why don’t you sit down for a moment, and breathe. You know that it will come to you then.”

Sheldon, not fully hearing Quara, yet sensing reasonableness in the docile way Quara was approaching them, sat down on the floor, closed their eyes, and breathed. Slowly. In, and out. In, and out.

Photo by Chantal Garnier on Unsplash

Quara stooped down, sat on the floor across from their Master, and did the same. Concentrating. Breathing, slowly.

5 minutes, turned into, 10, which turned into an hour.

Sheldon opened their eyes, looked at the strewn papers and books littered across the library floor, looked over at Quara, who was still eyes shut breathing, and sighed.

“It’s no use, Quara, I cannot remember where it is. All these years, the Book of Change has been in this library, and now, it is gone. Poof. Gone. I don’t understand it. Cannot understand it.”

Quara slowly opened their eyes, looked at their Master, and also sighed. “Master, I know not where the Book of Change is. Surely it is here. It must be. Where else could it be?”

Sheldon sighed again. Rose to their knees, stood up, and walked over to Quara, lending them a hand, pulling them up.

“Oh, Quara, I am upset, and concerned. That the Book is not here is unsettling, and I fear, not the most unsettling thing that has occurred today.”

Quara looked at their Master quizzically, “Master?”

“In my meditation today, the light brought me a Vision, one that I dare not say overmuch about. Yet know that, though I do not feel change as others do, there are great changes coming, Quara. Changes that will affect the entire world. Nothing will be the same. Nothing is the same.”

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Quara started to shake. When the Master had a vision, which did not happen often, something was definitely wrong with the world. “Master, you are frightening me, and I do not understand your meaning.”

“No matter, Quara. It is time. Time to visit the West, and see Lorel.”

Now Quara was more than concerned. Was frightened. “Master, you can’t really mean that. You’ve never travelled to the East. In all the years you have been Master of Castalistidom, you’ve never traveled to the East. Not ever. Oh, Master, you are truly frightening me.”

Sheldon began picking up the papers and books from the floor, organizing them on the desk. They stopped, hands braced on the desk table, sighed, head hanging.

“Of course, you’re right, Quara, and yet, it is my duty to do so. There are only 4 Books of Change on the entire planet. One in the West, South, North, and, well, one that used to be here in the East, yet is no more. We must travel to Lorel. We have no choice.”

Quara, still confused, looked their Master in the eye, chin tucked in, back straight and said, “Very well, Master. I will inform the staff, and get your affairs in order. When do we leave.”

Sheldon smiled, maybe grinned.

“Why, Quara, we are leaving right now.”

Quara, head hanging a bit now, sighed again, picked up his head, and said,

“Very well, Master. Then I’d better get busy!”

#book, #catalysts, #fantasy, #fantasyfiction, #fiction, #novel, #novella, #reading, #scifi, #scififantasy, #scififantasyfiction, #scififiction, #the4catalysts, #writing