just a bit of history...John Prine

Original lyrics for "Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)" released on this day 38 years ago. Produced by the great Steve Goodman, who not only was a great influence on John Prine professionally, but also personally...

Lessons from The Sane Asylum...

Contentment ~ 17th Karmapa

I truly feel that contentment is the greatest wealth. Anyone can claim it for themselves. Anyone can own it. Contentment is an incredible wealth that we don’t have to pay for, or seek anywhere outside ourselves. The natural resources to create this wealth are the inner riches of our own mind. Contentment is a wealth that gives the highest satisfaction, and we can gain it simply by mining our own resources, and knowing our own mind. We can cultivate the perspective that what we have is enough. We can see that we do not actually need more than we already have, and can be completely satisfied with that.

17th Karmapa

from the book "The Heart Is Noble: Changing the World from the Inside Out"

The Wanderer

Though I have trod the path less traveled,
and ventured where few dare to go,
the heart that grew and forged my way
Now aches for streets I know.
I yearn to cast my weary eyes
Over a simple kingdom all my own,
The modest land in which I reign,
I am going home...

Made Me Grin Series...

Lessons From The Sane Asylum

“The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbor as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves.” ~Eric Hoffer

Stopped to Ponder

Stop and listen for the farthest sound...

Just Been Thinking...

Just Been Thinking...

A dream is the brain trying to download excess illusions it collected to use in problem solving...many we can't remember so the download was complete. But those we remember are so emotional the brain just cannot delete...I did not say this is the truth, but a possibility...Dr. IB Thinking, Linguistic Medicine Man

P.S. At least I wore my Mardi Gras tie


DR I B THINKING-is one of the original homesteaders in The Sane Asylum and quiet active with his post to the public. The problem is Dr I B's brain wave vibes are a little different than most. His advice is usually well thought out, but you may need brain optimization treatment to understand his thinking. He believes language has created all of our illusion of beliefs about who we are, and if we can make that distinction,
we can change our beliefs which will change our reality. He seems to be playing the role of a linguistic medicine man. He likes his bow ties a lot!

Lessons From The Sane Asylum

Maybe your journey is not so much about becoming anything.
Maybe it is about un-becoming everything that is not really you...
in that way you just might be who you were meant to be in the first place...

From the Study...a conservation of possibilities

There can be only one permanent revolution — a moral one; the regeneration of the inner man.
How is this revolution to take place? Nobody knows how it will take place in humanity, but every man feels it clearly in himself. And yet in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself...Tolstoy

A funny thing happened on the way to therapy...

"You are not listening with the intent to understand, you are listening with the intent to reply".

The Sane Asylum Wisdom Series.

The Philosophers Stone

Stone of philosophers, ruby red stone,
which caused so much sacrifice and misery unknown.
Deceptively though, the stone did appeal
and made foolish men think its happiness real.
O wise philosopher you must grieve no more
if you wish to revive the mirth of before.
You must face your past, for you cannot atone
for the damage you wrought with the wretched red stone.
Where is the land? That land from the past,
which many before you sought and amassed?
Take heed of their folly, and don't be deceived
by the trap which left many despaired and bereaved.
Though for happiness, power and ease they did strive,
instead they found death and now none are alive.
Consider these perished; this warning adhere.
Will you continue to seek out this stone you held dear?
You who beheld it’s baneful hue red
when the blood of your own arm and own leg was shed?
Stone of philosophers, ruby red stone.
When will you cease and leave mankind alone?

Lessons From The Sane Asylum

Most of us experience a life full of wonderful moments and difficult moments. But for many of us, even when we are most joyful, there is fear behind our joy. We fear that this moment will end, that we won’t get what we need, that we will lose what we love, or that we will not be safe. Often, our biggest fear is the knowledge that one day our bodies will cease functioning. So even when we are surrounded by all the conditions for happiness, our joy is not complete.

We may think that if we ignore our fears, they’ll go away. But if we bury worries and anxieties in our consciousness, they continue to affect us and bring us more sorrow. We are very afraid of being powerless. But we have the power to look deeply at our fears, and then fear cannot control us. We can transform our fear. Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones.

A funny thing happened on the way to therapy...

"You will never learn if you think you already know".

From The Study...the mind

"The past is the set of events that can send light signals to an entity and the future is the set of events to which an entity can send light signals."