I am only a part of the web, of the network, of green vines that spiral down into the earth and spread outward to all things, living and non-living. I am connected to all. We are kinship, we are creation, we are children of the Creator Mother-Father. We are friends, bound by loving-kindness. We are enemies, bound by hatred. Even in hatred there is connection, bond, that if we let sprout out will eat hatred alive and leave only love.

(N.B. Some of these writings, usually unstructured, are things that I've written for my daily writing assignments for my creative writing class.)

An itch that calls me away.
Itch, itch, itch . . .
Like its own language made of only one word--
A language invented just to torment me!
I would reach enlightenment if it weren't for
The itch.
First a tingle, then a burn, then a screaming pain.
Itch, itch, itch!
To scratch would be to let it win,
But somehow it convinces me to lose.

My meditation de-cal (democratic education at Cal; a course with students as instructors) is easily one of the best, if not the best, class I've taken at Cal. I honestly believe that it should eventually--maybe not yet with the current stereotypes about meditation--become a university requirement. As one of my fellow meditators put it, "You need a balance. To counteract academics and the inevitable stress that arises from that, you need something to help you relax and to give you energy."

There is nothing quite like 200 meditators in one hot classroom completely silent in meditation. You'll rarely get that anywhere else, even in meditation groups/circles. In that room were athletes and dancers, singers and rock-climbers, Asians and blacks and whites and all colors, tall people, short people, first-years and seniors, and all manner of people you can imagine. We all recounted stories of "mystical experiences" we've had, and they ran the gamut from skydiving to being on crew, from playing percussion to having an orgasm. And what was amazing was that at the beginning and end of class, we all--200+ of us--sat in stillness and all worked toward the same goal. That's just fucking amazing. We all left that classroom with something more, something better, than when we came in, which is the entire point of a classroom now isn't it?

The diversity was very Berkeley, the progressive way of thinking was very Berkeley, and the actual fact that we got something we can use in the world--that was very Berkeley.

I feel good.

Namaste. Honor to you.

Joe D.: And I am glad you are in such a great atmosphere, so conducive to enlightenment. O:-)
Sam T Lam: It all seems very natural, which is something Christianity never was for me. Oh, I went to the Christian bookstore looking for a Hebrew Bible (I'm studying Hebrew now) and they tried to "win me back to the Lord."
Joe D.: Oh my...
Sam T Lam: I didn't want to be offensive but I wanted to tell them, "If Jesus Himself couldn't get me, how do you think YOU will?"
Sam T Lam: Oh! That's going on my blog!

The quote of the day comes from a classmate in French who, uh, messed up:

"J'habite dans mes parents."

Hahahah. HIE-larious.

Never Been Cultured

Do other people have moments of sublime joy that happen because of, I don't know, a popular song, a well-known poem, a famous painting--anything? I don't know these things. I don't pretend to know anything on this blog, because whether you're 21, 16, 35, 82, or 2 years old, the fact is that those numbers are all the same in the eyes of the Universe. We are all children. Please don't think that you're anything else. Join in the search for Knowledge with the rest of us, please.

In recent memory, there are two such moments. One was only last night. It was an a cappella rendition of "Hallelujah" (originally by Leonard Cohen, with well-known covers by Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley) as performed by On The Rocks of the University of Oregon.

And then there was Canon in D as performed by the Phantom Regiment Drum & Bugle Corps last year.

They reminded me why I like music. I guess there's nothing terribly cultured about them. "Hallelujah" was on Shrek and "Canon in D" is performed at weddings; I don't have any obscure songs that I like, or little-known artists that I listen to, or anything. I just listen to stuff that most people like, because simple beauty can still make me cry, because simple beauty is simple.

Tell everyone what you know, obscure or popular, well-known or only known by you--doesn't really matter. As long as it is beautiful, it is worth sharing with someone else. What I have to share, however, may have already been shared to you by someone else. I don't have anything secret, special, or unique. But, friend, I hope that you're okay with the fact that I'll keep on sharing them.

Who is it from UCOP that visits my site now and then? Just curious. I love UCOP, because I love the UC. Go Dynes. Serve us well.

Holy Jebus. I know I haven't watched Power Rangers in a while, but they're premiering the 12th installment next Saturday on ABC Family. Yes, there will now be the Power Rangers DinoThunder! Goddess, I used to watch this show every day. I had a huge crush on Austin St. John, original Red Ranger and then the interim Gold Ranger when Trey couldn't hold onto the powers for a little while. The Gold Ranger was the freakin' most badass ranger ever.

[hums Mighty Morphin Power Rangers theme: go go Power Rangers . . .]

Greg Hansen of the Arizona Daily Star recently wrote regarding student sections in collegiate basketball:

It is not much different at Cal, where students get expensive court-level seats near the loudest and largest Pac-10 basketball music section, the Straw Hat Band. It is worth the price of admission just to watch the Bear students entertain themselves.

I hadn't ever thought of us (the Straw Hat Band) that way, but I'll take it.