“Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” -Robert Fulgham


"“You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you.” – Joseph Campbell

My Teaching Philosophy:

I love learning.

Teaching others is to love learning is the capstone and the foundation.

I love music.

Actively nurture with joy, respect, and humor.

I love changing apathy to passion.

I love having a ridiculous amount of fun.

Define Faith:
Wife: "Trust"
Son: "Belief"
and after reading scriptures "Love".

Pondering about life and the Tao:

White circling black

Blue circling red
water, fire

two raging equals

but we can't live in them equally

or pretend to be balanced on top

Sink and soar

Everything you pick up,
    you must put down.
However,
    by curiously picking up
    and honestly put down,
we find what we always have been.

Rev

from:   http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/the-three-teachers/

There were once three immortal teachers named Failure, Mistake, and Consequence.

All students have met them, and all students have learned from them. Some have learned more than others, for these teachers are harsh and can be unforgiving. Because of this, some students are scared to learn from them again. They choose to study under another teacher named Comfort and never take the chance to meet these great teachers again. This new teacher feeds its students pride, which makes the students’ weak in mind, body, and spirit. He also gives them a cloak called Excuse to cover the scars they received from the great teachers. Oftentimes, those from the school of Comfort will laugh at the scars covering their peers because they’ve become drunk off the pride they’ve been fed.

All elders remember the pain and suffering Failure, Mistake, and Consequence bring. Yet, some elders forget the lessons they learned from the teachers, exaggerate their time spent under them, and vow that we are better off without them. However, some elders embrace the scars from their lessons and view them as beauty. They can do this because they believe the scars made them the person they are today. The others believe the scars make them ugly, less than human, and wish they would just go away. Furthermore, some elders try to shield the students from the lessons of the great teachers because of their own former pain and broken dreams. As clever as these elders are, the teachers are even more so. They will always find a way to teach the students.

Do not lose hope, for there are some brave students who become warriors and spend their entire lives studying under these teachers. They are armed only with the weapons of an Open Mind, Resolve, Perseverance, and Purpose. If you come across these warriors, you have three choices: 1) You can choose to help them by offering support, love, and the stories behind your own scars. 2) You can choose to study instead under the teacher Comfort, which allows you to criticize and mock the students for learning from the great teachers, or 3) You can choose to reclaim your weapons, join them, and become a warrior yourself.

The temple has a prayer list.   Perhaps writing a personal one also would be beneficial.

"In times of tragedy, look for the helpers.  They're always there.  Perhaps on the sidelines, but the helpers are always there."


---Nancy McFeely Rogers

"A Doctor without doubt is not a doctor at all; he is an executioner!"
--Hercule Poirot   (from the tv show :)

Doubts are not a weakness to be solved.  Perhaps they can be the Holy Ghost whispering to "Dig deeper here..."

Saying or expressing love, caring, or even appreciation can be very awkward and tricky at time.  The cowboy (rough, tough, and no emotion) culture that we can get trapped in from time to time doesn't help the situation.  How can I love if I am not open (or venerable) to being hurt from the loss of the love.  Here are three ways that Mr. Roger's used to shows affection or care for others:

1.  Sign language:  interlocking the index fingers to show friendship.

2.  The numbers 1, 4, 3 for I Love You.

3.   "IPOY" used as showhand (code) for I'm Proud of You.  Why not create a secret code to make something normal or mundane into something unique?

143,

Rev  

This blog is:

Words that resonate with me and remind me why I love a nickname I've been given: Reverend.

"A friend is more than a therapist or confessor, even though a friend can sometimes heal us and offer us God's forgiveness.  A friend is that other person with whom we can share our solitude, our silence, and our prayer.  A friend is that other person with whom we can look at a tree and say, "Isn't that beautiful," or sit on the beach and silently watch the sun disappear under the horizon. With a friend we can be still and know that God is there with both of us...There is a twilight zone in our hearts that we ourselves cannot see. Even when we know quite a lot about ourselves--our gifts and weaknesses, our ambitions and aspirations, our motives and our drives--large parts of ourselves remain in the shadow of consciousness.  This is a very good thing.  We will always remain partially hidden to ourselves.  Other people, especially those who love us, can often see our twilight zones better that we ourselves can.  The way we are seen and understood by others is different from the way we see and understand ourselves.  We will never fully know the significance of our presence in the lives of our friends.  That's a grace, a grace that calls us not only to humility  but to a deep trust in those who love us.  It is in the twilight zones of our hearts where true friendship is born."
        --Fred Rogers