ZenGlop The Podcast

He who binds to himself a joyDoes the winged life destroyHe who kisses the joy as it fliesLives in eternity's sunrise. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.html

The Habitual Body is like an exoskeleton of thoughts, preconceptions, karmic traces, emotions and aspirations. Some are obvious and familiar. Others are hidden and delicate but no less powerful. Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.html

Perhaps Karma is embedded in the universe in the same way gravity, electromagnetism and Newton's laws of Thermodynamics. In which case why ask why? But still, I do. More episodes on meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.html

My dog (Reggie) died recently which makes me very sad and reminds of two other good dogs.  Argos ( who waited for Odysseus's return and was the first being to recognise him) and Kazak, the Space Dog, who along with Winston Rutherford phases in and out of the galaxy in a Chrono-synclastic infundibulation ( Vonnegut, Sirens of Titan).More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

The quality of time, the 'kinds' of time that occur during a day at my corporate job helps to think about the moments in meditation.   More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

The state of Bafflement gives rise to realisation, wonders, concerns, confusion, theories, hypotheses and notions.  I'd suggest that the intent of a dialogue with Socrates is to give rise to that phenomenon of Bafflement - rather than to actually answer any possible question.  And that this Bafflement is also the necessary precursor to approaching the role of the observer in Quantum physics.  More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

The thinking mind is like the wind on top of Everest;  the birds flying around a mountain.  More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I often clarify ideas for this podcast during my morning meditation.  But during meditation I am trying to reach a state of equipoise.  Surely, following thoughts and realisations is a Wobble away from that intent?  Indeed it is.  So how does the activity of 'ordinary Mind' fit with the objectives of meditation?  Are we trying to halt thouse thoughts?  Arrest the process of mentation?More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

A sine wave exists only because there is a periodic trough as well as the peak.  Maintaining equanimity through those transitions ( inhale/exhale...wake/sleep....birth/death)  feels like a testable hypothesis.More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Alan Watts wrote _The Book_ to plant a seed of an idea about the ongoing cycles in our Being.  What he calls the 'head-Tailed Cat' of 'GoWithing'.  How does this fit into meditation practice?  Let's see!! More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Marcus Aurelius mirrors Socrates in his analysis of death - - Larkin categorically ( and in quite wonderful poetry) disputes.  More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Confidence in the outcome of scrutiny,  Authenticity and spontaneity will come out of the processes and practices of an examined life as surely as water on heat will boil.More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination (https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1)Subscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Why would I turn my efforts towards a 'magically realistic science fiction trilogy"?  What indeed!Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Talking to Socrates often left his talking partners bewildered, dazzled, unsure of what any language or thought might mean.  We're given the word Aporia to describe this sensation. Socrates might say that a good life is one spent seeking out Aporia, and this podcast would agree.Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Can I create a trend line based on the resonant patterns that arise, abide and dissolve?  From the smallest thought to the longest pattern I can be aware of - - if I dumped that information into a spreadsheet and calculated a trend, what would my confidence be in those results? Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Sometimes I journal simply for the pleasure of feeling pen on paper ( an excuse to collect cool notebooks and beautiful pens).  Sometimes I journal to track habits - I'm a fierce proponent of the premise that priority processes will make progress with 20 minutes a day religiously practiced.  I journal daily as a matter of hygiene, to listen to the noisy part of my brain.  those pages are discarded after monthly review.  And I have a creative journal that sits beside the piano and next to my Drinking/Thinking Chair to capture fleeting ideas that may become podcast episodes, essays or new composition.What about you? Anyone keep a daily journal of their activity?Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I have the habit on a Saturday afternoon to pour myself a bourbon, strike a match to light a pipe of Latakia tobacco and to thus apply myself to the study of whatever enthusiasm has taken me for the moment.  In the instant most recent, I happened to read a choice selection from Wordsworth, which I will hence share my thoughts upon  and a small selection thereof.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I recently rummaged through my bookshelf and came up with three books that turns out give a really nice sequence.  Opening the Door to Bon by Nyima Dakota (an overview of the foundational practices for Bon Tibetan Buddhism)The Awakened One A life of the Buddha by Sherab Chodzin Kohn ( a wonderfully clear representation of the life and awakening of Gautama Buddha)What makes you 'not' a Buddhist  a really serious exploration of the core realization of emptiness.  I hope these books and this podcast help in your practice. More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I'm enjoying the process of writing fiction.  That's a new kind of writing for me, I'm an essayist at heart.  What if I approach the thorny problems of life, the undeniable constraints and condition - up to and including the way it ends - with the same pleasure, joy and commitment that  I'm finding as I write a narrative with pencil and paper?  Isn't that the answer to Sisyphus?Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

What are your experiences with 'writers block'?  When I find myself not writing, it is rarely when I'm looking at a blank piece of paper.  What gets written may end up discarded,  set aside into the archeological pile of draft notes, or re-used in a different context.  No, when I am not writing it is when I don't even sit down .  The space is there.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I've been criticized for using the term ZenGlop - -that this silly word trivializes the substance and structure of my work.  Fair enough, perhaps it does.  But ....  Reading about pre-socratic philosophers and their focus on the question of why something exists.  And if it exists, what did it come from . (The Miletians, Thale Anaximander and Anaximenes) .  The fragments that we have from 6th century Miletus suggests a lively discussion about whether there is a determinate single substance ( one of the elements) that serves as the source of all being.  or whether there's some indeterminate substance filling that same purpose.  It's a question that has driven most of philosophy for close enough to 3000 years.  Somewhere in there is ZenGlop.   More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Thoughts on recently finished composition for piano and electronics.  Also a consideration of what it feels like inside an MRI, and whether that's sufficient aesthetic inspiration (give away the answer: "it is").Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android Hear 'Magnetic Resonance": https://youtu.be/SOYaVNwTC24Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

We bring to each moment a set of insights, capabilities, strengths ( weaknesses) - - and even as this accumulated wisdom may be obscured by afflictive emotions, it is entirely sufficient to embrace a wise and compassionate reaction. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly:  More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

If music is a still, then I am a fermented mash ready to be evaporated and precipitated out as an alchemical spirit.Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Thinking more about Socrates and his final day described in Phaedo, I asked myself what my final meal would be.  Turns out....Mahler and sparkling water.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

On the morning of the day when he would be executed, Socrates woke from a good night's sleep; massaged his feet; slowly placed his feet on the ground; and the spoke for the day about a good life.  And you know what, I get that.  If I knew I was to die tomorrow at sunset, I'd want to wake up well-rested, clear-headed and with the aches and pains massaged out.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Kathryn (otherwise known as Mrs. ZenGlop) is taking a course online with Pema Chodron,  We were talking at dinner last night and one of the things she said that resonated was the gift of wonder.  That as we pay attention and practice, there's a real amazement that this moment is happening.  At all!  I know I get stuck sometimes in pushing to 'understand' the way my mind is working or the way to fit this realization or that understanding into some framework.  But before all of that is this glorious beautiful breath, and a body pumping with Oxygen and air flowing over the whole freaking planet...wow!More episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Probably not.  We all have slightly different physiology, and that's particularly evident in our hearing especially as we age.  Hearing tests will show quite different responses to frequency range.  I'm deaf in one ear and with damaged hearing in the other, as the result of surgery about 15 years ago.  I've seen my brain create sounds where none are there and modify sounds to match what my memory expects.  it's fascinating, thrilling and disorienting.  What does this mean in electronic music where so much of the output is intuited through exploring different sound modules?  I have no idea what you're hearing and really very little what I'm hearing.  More to come...working on a new piece with accompanying lecture due out this next week or so.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Art - the aesthetic object, whether music, poetry, painting, landscape - stimulates a wide range of responses in us.  What about art that needs to teach us what the response could be?  Art that facilitates the response.  More episodes on  Ekpyrotic Art notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/ekpyrotic-art/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

What I've been thinking about lately is the formulation "What Would do?". It's important to have a teacher in spiritual practice.  The experience, direction, instruction, guidance, support are essential.  But who - or what - is that teacher?   We're accustomed in America to seeing spiritual leadership corrupted by materialism, sex and greed.  What if the teacher here can be anybody....a monk, sure, but maybe also a martial artist, a piano teacher, a leader at work. Anyone - - in this particular point, I'm more interested in being able to create that moment of cognitive distance.So the question "What Would do?" is a cue for each moment and not necessarily asking for a prescriptive list of required responses.  Rather, asking the question "What Would Socrates Do?" (for example) gives me that immediate second opinion about what is actually happening in the moment. Maybe I am reacting with anger, and taking the second to consider Socrates would allow me to realize that this anger is actually more like hurt pride...that perhaps some humility and gratitude in the moment would transform everything.   Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Welcome back to a new season of the podcast.  On New Years Eve, Jean-Michel Jarre broadcast a concert set in a Virtual Reality Notre-Dame cathedral.  It was a wonderful show and resonated with the ancient, mystical architectonics of the space.  More episodes on sonic psychogeography here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/sonic-psychogeography/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

There are no requirements to meet or hurdles that need to be overcome before we can choose to interject compassion into the immediate moment.  I'll be taking a break for the end of year and I hope you are all able to enjoy some time off.  There may be an intermittent podcast, or a livestream from the studio but otherwise I'm going to be dug in and writing.  Cheers, all.more episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I finished reading " Red Comet: The short life and blazing art of Sylvia Plath" , a recent biography written by Heather Clark.  Reading Plath's poetry  is like being alive:  strange, beautiful, elegant, upsetting.  Tragic. Ecstatic.   Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

A leap of faith? Or should it be a leap from faith?  What about a leap from Realisation?  A leap into what?  Towards what?  Is it a leap, or are we pushed?Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly:  more episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

The Bodhicitta vow is the aspiration to bring compassion and empathy in all action of body, speech and mind.  I like the 'planetary gravity' metaphor.  Some anomaly in the gravitational continuum causes the accretion of atomic material leading eventually to suns and planets.  When we sit on a cushion and consider the Bodhicita vow, it is like a gentle indentation in space-time which over the course of lifetimes causes the accretion of compassion and empathy.  more episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

We are surrounded by noise, just about all of which we filter out either mechanically or mentally.  But when I  made note of unexpected and beautiful noises that arose throughout a day, in short order I started to have a sonic journal of surprising delicacy and emotion.  Just using the recorder directly on my phone to capture anything that struck me as beautiful or unusual.  Then I mixed it together for a short ( 1 minute) piece....but maybe over the weekend I'll get in the studio and work more with these sounds ( or others).for more posts on field recording, link here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/field-recordings/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Picking back up on my opera ("Love,Love,Bing,Bing"  an opera about the Soviet Space Dog program).  Focusing for now on the text and trying to figure out some more details about the characters, specifically the character of The Program Director.  There's a history of bizarre occult influences on early Russian rocket science, and I'm digging up articles on Konstantin Tsiolkovskii -  self-taught, possibly Theosophist, certainly eccentric and now recognized as the 'grandfather of Russian space travel'.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to a newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

It's time for my meditation practice to shift gears.  The last several months have been a focus on a certain set of prayers and chants...I'm feeling like a shift to more open-ended insight practice.  It occurred to me that my entire practicing life, I've started a meditation session with a timer set to some pre-defined amount.  Could be 2 minutes (short, good meditation is excellent);  20 minutes ( a nice strong stable practice) or 40 minutes ( probably the longest I've ever sat in a single sitting).  But what if I turned off the timer and set a stopwatch instead?    As part of the observation, observe only when my session ends....not whether it's lasted a set duration?  It's such a simple and obvious question that I'm eager to see where it leads. more episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

How much did Sisyphus know about the nature of his punishment?  Did he know that the rock was fated to roll back down?  Or did he think he had a shot each time, but was just really bad at pushing rocks up a hill?  Was he Happy?Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Vera Lotar Shevchenko was a French pianist who studied with Alfred Cortot, married a Russian - both arrested and sent to Siberia.  She survived ( her husband did not) and later in the 60's was able to record again.  There's recordings available to listen on Youtube.  I learned about this remarkable artist after reading "The Lost Pianos of Siberia" by Sophy Roberts.   (https://www.lostpianosofsiberia.com)Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Messiaen considered birdsong a divine source of inspiration, one that happily coincided with his interests as a composer (tritone harmony, extended melodic reach, ametrical rhythmic patterns).Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

The mind produces an ongoing chatter - what my teacher calls the "undermutter".  Neither good nor bad, meditation practice puts this noise into perspective but also lets us question the content.  That's the hack.  Have a listen, let me know if you have any questions.more episodes on  meditation notes here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Some thoughts on a project I'm starting....to create a map of  the Very Low Frequency (VLF) electromagnetic forms on Penn ave ( Pittsburgh).  My initial curiosity; the interesting challenges of archiving and organizing information; and some speculation on the final output.Buy my book On Mortality and the Human ImaginationSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

One of the phrases I like to use is to call a 'Thing' an 'Aesthetic Object'.  The 'Aesthetic Object' compels a confrontation with the vectors of scale through the human imagination.  Buy my book On Mortality and the Human Imagination: https://www.amazon.com/mortality-human-imagination-Andrew-Kaiser/dp/168818676X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kaiser+mortality+and+the+human+imagination&qid=1605609759&sr=8-1Subscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

"Required Writing" is a collection of journalism written by the poet Philip Larkin.  I picked up a copy because included in the book is a transcript of an interview he gave with The Observer newspaper...I'd seen the interview referenced elsewhere and wanted to read the whole thing.  some more thoughts on Larkin https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/the-larkin-project/Subscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Welcome back.  I didn't intend to stop podcasting for the last month and I return with renewed inspiration.  The music, poetry and meditation that I talk about in this podcast helps me to examine my life.  I think it's really important to have things like that  as companions in the imagination - to frame experience, articulate experience perhaps seek out specific types of experience.  I hope  this podcast helps you identify similar connections.listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or AndroidSubscribe to my newsletter for occasional updates on the podcast, videos and other writing. https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/zenglop-the-newsletter.htmlAnd/or subscribe to youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Renunciation is not denial.  It is the embrace of creativity.  the first step towards experiencing the nature of Mind.  Send me a note at zenglop@gmail.com.more notes on meditation here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/I'm making a push to build up my youtube channel.  Here's an easy link to subscribe.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

Renunciation is not denial.  It is the embrace of creativity.  the first step towards experiencing the nature of Mind.  Send me a note at zenglop@gmail.com.more notes on meditation here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/meditation/I'm making a push to build up my youtube channel.  Here's an easy link to subscribe.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

One way of describing modular synthesis is to look at the studio as oscillators,  filters and envelopes  modulated by control voltage. To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan we flip to the simultaneous and extend the ganglia of our nervous systems when we compose in the electronic studio.  Send me a note at zenglop@gmail.com.An earlier blog post I wrote about McLuhan: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/2013/03/mcluhan-auditory-space.htmlI'm making a push to build up my youtube channel.  Here's an easy link to subscribe.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

One way of describing modular synthesis is to look at the studio as oscillators,  filters and envelopes  modulated by control voltage. To paraphrase Marshal McLuhan we flip to the simultaneous and extend the ganglia of our nervous systems when we compose in the electronic studio.  Send me a note at zenglop@gmail.com.An earlier blog post I wrote about McLuhan: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/2013/03/mcluhan-auditory-space.htmlI'm making a push to build up my youtube channel.  Here's an easy link to subscribe.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1

I learned a new word over the weekend..'pataphysics.  The apostrophe is intentional and I presume silent when spoken.  Do you know anything about 'pataphysics?  If you do, please let me know what your study involves.Send me a note at zenglop@gmail.com.more notes on the related study of psychogeography here: https://www.zenglop.net/zenglop/psychogeography/I'm making a push to build up my youtube channel.  Here's an easy link to subscribe.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoOlX6NXyQBABYljo1vAuHA?sub_confirmation=1