Personal Blog
A few personal posts copied here from Daniel Schmachtenber’s Facebook notes.
The dance of the Tao and the ten thousand things
‘The knowledge which is knowable is not the eternal knowledge,The Tao that is namable is not the eternal Tao.Naming gives rise to the ten thousand things.The ten thousand things can obscure you from the Tao.’ Knowledge here is with a lower case “k”. It can be useful, but has a confidence interval that is Bayesian...
Read MoreA few guidelines that tend to support the quality of dialogue
On Intent and Connection The most common deathbed regret I have heard is not having expressed enough love. Hurting people unnecessarily, doing things that cause isolation, and staying stuck in limiting ego patterns also fall in the short list of main regrets. Conversely, one of the common themes of people’s highlight lists is the ways...
Read MoreI have had the experience countless times…
I have had the experience countless times…making love, watching a sunset, listening to music, feeling the breeze…that I would sign up for this whole life and all of its pains, just to experience this exact moment. This is a kind of wordless knowing. Its the most important and real truth I know: that experience itself...
Read MoreDharma Inquiry
Dharma, as it is used here, means something like right relationship with Life. It could also be described as the path of right action; the path of greatest integrity; the path (of choices) that do not create unnecessary suffering and help to bring healing to the underlying sources of it; the way of living “thy...
Read MoreHealthy Shame
I’ll define guilt as feeling badly about something I have done and shame as feeling badly about who I am being (1). Defined as such, I’ll suggest there exists healthy and unhealthy (2) shame, just like there exists healthy and unhealthy guilt (and most emotions). ‘Who I am being’ is a variable my choice can...
Read MoreProcesses to go through with your parents before they die
These processes can be meaningful to go through with any loved ones who are nearing passing. Given that your life came from theirs, helping your parents complete their lives tends to be particularly meaningful. Help them make a timeline of their life. All the big events, starting with their birth and earliest memories, up to...
Read MoreWhat I learned about being a man from my Dad
I write this in appreciation and honor for my father. And with the hope that men who may not have had the same type of unreasonable father-fortune that I had, may benefit to some degree from reading whats shared here. When I was a kid, my Dad was a sort of god to me. As...
Read MoreHow to live a meaningful life
How to live a meaningful life: Appreciate the beauty of existence. Beauty doesn’t exist in objects. It arises from the relationship of the subject appreciating the object. Meaning is inherently relational. The depth of our appreciation of the beauty of the world increases the meaningfulness of the world. When we are with friends, meditating, listening...
Read MoreA message for men who want to avoid women regretting having been sexual with them.
This message is meant for men who have experienced a woman feeling badly about a sexual experience with them, and would like to prevent that type of experience in the future. (It may also be useful for women who want to avoid having sexual experiences they regret later.) There are some fairly simple guidelines to...
Read MoreWhat loving you means to me
What does it mean when I say I love you? First, it means that I see you. I see the feeling, experiencing being that you are. I see your sensitivity, and your strength. I see your irreplaceable uniqueness: there has never been nor will there ever be another one like you. What possible price tag...
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