We are problem solvers. We're thinkers. That's the schtick of our species. We don't need to depend solely on eons of evolution to patch the holes in our life strategies. We must train our brains to think as well as train our brains to perform valuable tasks. However, society places a premium on focusing on … Continue reading Rev. Hanamoku’s Christmas 2023 Message
Category: Bodhi Day
Certainty
"Four plus three equals three plus four" is what the interviewer kept repeating as her guest spoke of seemingly hocus-pocus ideas about consciousness. She was struggling with his concepts that didn't align with what she's used to. She insisted to herself that there are things we are absolutely certain about - mostly math and science. … Continue reading Certainty
Stoicism, Zen, and the Gift of Sentience
What is more Stoic and timeless than granite? Like many, I grew up thinking the word "stoic" or "stoically" was just an adverb that mostly means standing full on to the battle seemingly fearless with grit and determination. I didn't know that it is a rich school of philosophy, from which, "stoically" is much more … Continue reading Stoicism, Zen, and the Gift of Sentience
Rev. Hanamoku’s Bodhi Day 2022 Message
An oak seedling I encountered on Tuesday, November 15. It's meditating under it's own Bodhi Tree. My favorite Fall photo for 2022 isn't that of a grove of golden quaking aspen at the alpine altitudes of Utah. Nor is it any cluster of landscaped deciduous trees designed specifically for a Fall spectacle. It's the photo … Continue reading Rev. Hanamoku’s Bodhi Day 2022 Message
Bodhi Day Hack
The Rubber Ducky Buddha of Joliet and The Eternal Fishnu looking out at a vast chunk of space and time abstracted in about 10 million pixels. This Bodhi Hack is full assimilation of some form of this well-known quote that has reached cliché status: "The more you know, the more you realize you don't know." … Continue reading Bodhi Day Hack
Sentience without Sapience
The Rubber Ducky Buddha of Joliet blends in with the fleeting Autumn moment. If we’re alone in the woods hiking with only nature to capture our attention, our thoughts eventually fade into the background. It's like conversations people are having in the distance are just a blend of sounds. We can't stop that guy in … Continue reading Sentience without Sapience
Reality
Bodhi Day is about the realization that enlightenment is the omnipresent understanding that our human perception presents a highly-distorted reality. Our human perception distorts what is a continuous and eternal process into fragments of things and time. We see the Universe as a graph of symbols and relationships. This symbolic-based human perception isn't a flaw, … Continue reading Reality
Music Theory Bodhi Day
A Year and a Half into My Guitar Journey About a year and a half into my guitar journey, I feel I made honest progress through steady, dedicated practice. I continued well beyond that proverbial 90% who gives up after a year. So I rewarded myself the equivalent of a "blue belt" by purchasing my … Continue reading Music Theory Bodhi Day
Lunar Bodhi Day 2022
One of our cats, Bodhi. On December 27, 2021, the anniversary of the day he came to live with us. Happy Lunar Bodhi Day!! Monday, January 10, 2022 is the 8th Day of the 12th new moon of the Lunar New Year that began on February 12, 2021. In the Hanamoku household, the full Bodhi … Continue reading Lunar Bodhi Day 2022
Hanamoku Family’s Christmas Cookies of 2021
Siddhartha Gautama himself. I was going for a hint of Santa Claus. Mrs. Hanamoku and I usually make more cookies, but we're both on a diet. We will partition these out through Christmas Day. For the Eternal Fishnu, I tried out a Jackson Pollock-ish technique for the "glitter" of a mahimahi. The Eternal Fishnu. I … Continue reading Hanamoku Family’s Christmas Cookies of 2021
Bodhi Day 