John, Or should I Say Johanne?

Sweetie!

I miss you so much, don't you miss me? Well, my family says hi and that you should come back which I totally agree on. How's teaching in Columbia? I bet that you love your students. Okay, so the other day I was gossiping with Shelly about stuff and we got into this long discussion.

She starts telling me about Jake. Remember him? He was the one that was all religious since he was born but never became a preist or anything. Remember his story? Shelby told us tat a friend of hers, Kelly, was pregnant and she was all like, "I'm a virgin like mary, It's not my falut." I mean, can you believe her? I told Shelly that I honestly thought that she was full of it. But whatever, seriously. Anyway, we talk about Jake and his story and stuff. So she's all telling me about how she thinks we got here.

So she says like were here because like god started creating stuff like right and wrong and stuff. I was all, whatever. Then we got into a discussion because she said Jake was considered God's son since he made the world and I said it was ONLY after his baptism, and she didn't even mention it the entire time we talked. I got so angry you would not belive! The whole time she was talking of how awsome he is because he's like a god and he's all holy and stuff and I was all, "psh, girl please." I honestly think that he's just full of himself because if he really was all special and holy and all nice, he would've cared more about God and talked less about himself. He was really self-absorbed. He always talk's like, "I am so awesome" or "The strangest thing happened to me the other day." me me me me me...

Shelly got so mad at me that she just covered her ears and started yelling, "LaLaLa, I can't hear you!" for a while. She even thought of not giving me a pink present this christmas. Could you imagine if she really didn't? I'd get so depressed it's not even funny. Oh, that reminds me, we have to see eachother this christmas, and my parents want to spend thanksgiving with you and your family. Everything is all planned out. Did you hear about Shelly's grandpa? Apparently it was like a week ago. I feel so bad for her.

So, back to what we were talking about. Since she was all, "I know the whole bible by heart", I decided to challenge her. I asked her if she knew who went to Jesus' tomb after his death. she said that the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. I couldn't be happier to prove her wrong so instead of just telling her we went to Jake's and we asked him. He said that she couldn't be more wrong, that it was only Mary Magdalene. I was all LOL. It was so funny.

Okay, so I know that you don't care about Shelly and you care even less for what she has to say buy I was dying to write you. You can ask anyone, the past four months I've been all, "OH MY GOD, I miss him too much!" Write back!

XOXO

Luke-Time Flies

Jesse,

Long time, no see. I hear that you have moved to Colombia. I decided to write to my old friends from college, especially since the whole information boom here in Sydney. Since you’re so far away, I guess I’ll fill you in.

It turns out that in Perth lived two women, Liz and Joy. They were neighbors. They were the very presence of irony. Liz wanted children but was barren and couldn’t, although she tried and tried; and Joy was a virgin and didn’t plan on trying anytime soon. One day, neither of them felt well so they went to the doctor together. It turns out they both were pregnant. They called the doctor an angel. I call it a medical marvel. Liz’s husband, Steve, goes into shock and stops talking. Some say that it was God’s way of punishing him for not believing. When his son, Albert, was born he prays out loud to god and gets his voice back.

Later Joy and her boyfriend, Bob, went to Sydney where they had their son Alan. They thought he would be a very spiritual child but nothing compared to what he turned out to be. As an adult, Alan went to get baptized by no other than Albert. After that Albert gets arrested. Alan ties to go back to Perth but is rejected for being too into himself. In that case , he wanders to other places where he does things that only Chris Angel can explain.

Even though some people don’t like him his popularity grew. Maybe some publicity stunt of people spreading the word of how they didn’t like him so much that some started to believe the opposite. Because of this he got three key followers which followed everywhere. Alan despite of how hated he is manages to give a speech declaring his rules and to “do good to those who hate you 6:27” After preaching way too much he has now preachers who follow his every word, though still many people were disbelievers. He announces a final judgment to his followers. To all of what he says God wants. All this by preaching in the temple and many other places. Coming Passover he has a supper with his 12 followers and have wine and bread symbolizing his bread and body.

Poor Alan is then confronted by the whole town and crucified. Before he asks God for their forgiveness because they don’t know what they’re doing. Three days later, women followers go to his tomb and don’t find him. They say they found a ladybug who said he resurrected. They found this weird but later found him as he said, ““in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things” (24:47–48).”

So, what's new with you?

The Beginning Of Spam By: Mark

Yo Tangen,

How’ve you been? Just checking up on you, thought I’d let you know what sort of stuff has been going on around here. I guess I’ll have to tell you the whole story.

So this guy moves in next door, Martin, and we get along right? So I invite him over to have a couple of beers and all of a sudden I see that he’s real messed up. So he starts telling me about this dude who’s like the 14th generation of this really important business guy , what’s his face (I forget his name). Anyway, so this guy Bob, he’s the 14th, so he’s good looking, you know, good with the ladies. So he gets to this chick, this typical good girl that he can’t have, her name is Joy. So they start talking and they get together as a couple. So here comes the important part. After two weeks or so the chick calls him up and she’s all like, “I’m pregnant”. But the thing is they never had sex so it can’t be his. So she says that god “sent her” the baby or something. This kid bolted out of there. Then this angel thing comes up and convinces the guy to get back together.

When they went on vacation to a little island near Madagascar Joy went into labor. They get through it together and call the kid Alan. Apparently, rumors started spreading that he would be as powerful as Bill Gates. The Indian chief guy got pissed that another white guy would take his territory so he commanded all habitants of the island to kill all babies who were born boys. (Are you getting freaked out? Me too at first but the whole story is weird so get used to it.)

Anyway, they got freaked out and went back to Perth, Australia but later moved to Sydney where the kid could grow up. Of course he had to follow his mom’s footsteps, a weird little kid. he’s such a goody-too shoes; he even wanted to get baptized. Supposedly, when he camee out of the holy water God said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Chap. 3: 17

So the kid is now a man and is starting to get his act together. Then this whole thing about right and wrong starts going and of course Satan is in there because every good story has to include him right? So this Alan guy starves himself for forty days and nights to prove a point or something. (I think it was a lame excuse to lose weight.) At the end he wins and starts teaching al this moral crap which you and I wouldn’t go for; all this stuff about God and how to be good by giving your best to other people and respecting, all this sort of hippie vibe towards other people.

Some guys follow his “teachings” and stuff and become like his disciples. Simon, Andrew and James. Of course the hippie thinks Simon isn’t a worthy name so he is re-named Peter. After hiking and giving a speech, (more like a sermon) at the top of the mountain stating his “rules” of life, more people follow. (Especially because he starts doing all these so-called “miracles” on his way down.)

The people who don’t like the kid start telling him he’s getting mixed with the prostitutes and landlords, he could care less. He gets all mushy gushy and says his disciples are his family now. He keeps on making these rules and making them harder to follow. The people who hated him hated him even more. They got the power to crucify the kid; they went old school on him.

For his last meal instead of throwing this last feast he eats bread and drinks wine symbolizing his blood and his body. (that narcissist…) So he prays to his so-called father (God) to see if he could change his fate, turns out he’s screwed. After being crucified he 3 days later he’s “reborn” or whatever .

I asked the guy next door, this Martin I asked him , “How do you know this?” and he’s all, “a friend wrote it to me in a letter and I had to retell it so you have to also.”

So here you go Tangen you have to keep it going, Good luck!

P.S. This sound familiar, doesn’t it? Oh, by the way remember, this is all with my italian mafia-ish accent.

Road, Street, Way, TAO

There have been Tao comparisons of many kinds. For example “The Tao Of Pooh” or “The Tao Of Physics”. That got me thinking; if there can be a Tao of something as childish as Winnie The Pooh to something as serious as physics. For example, you could make the Tao of a car. Once the engine is turned on the car has a purpose, the flow of things start. When put in drive, it turns into desiring and when put in neutral turns into desireless and so on.

Recently I heard about a movie called The Tao of Steve. The whole point of the movie is to teach this guy how to get a woman into bed. It involves 3 rules. 1st rule: be desireless, eliminate desire “Basic principle: we pursue that which retreats from us.” This ultimately goes back to: we want what we can’t have, the forbidden. Since the beginning of time we desire most what we are told not to touch, look talk etc. 2nd rule: “Do something excellent in her presence thus demonstrating your sexual worthiness.” What I take from this is do what you can, what you know how to, along the way, along your way. Lastly, the 3rd rule: After doing the former, “Then you must retreat.” This follows the saying, “dangle the bait and take it away”; by this creating temptation. I find it very interesting how something so profound can be taken into such an ordinary situation.

Since we were told to compare the Tao to something without making it the Tao Te Ching I have been thinking of what this actually means. The meaning that is given to Tao at the beginning of the book is the way or path. I took this very much into consideration whilst reading. Unfortunately, I started reading this desiring because of it. In fact, I think it is hard, almost impossible, to read desireless because if you try to understand the symbolism you are desiring to find the symbolism and if you don’t, you don’t understand the book to its full extent.

My idea since beginning of, what to compare it to, was something childish; maybe Sesame Street. Anything you tell a child he will believe. I believe they are ultimately pure. Before anything adult-like we are totally balanced. Going back to Sesame Street, you are introduced to Elmo, described as a friendly, cheerful monster. I was completely shocked by this description. Usually, we think of a monster being frightening and/or somewhat grotesque. This contradiction is the perfect balance of “good” and “evil”. Sesame Street in general teaches you many things, better yet said makes proposals. For example, on their page they have playlists and each song teaches/proposes different ideas. There is one that talks about different approaches to the word baby and taking those differences to a whole new level making them more evident. By music.

Each of the Muppets (characters) characterize a different personality and some that are not thought of fondly. Each character, by just being who they are, teach a lesson. The cookie monster, gluttony, Elmo, the desire to improve, Rosita the Yin Yang,(the mesh of Spanish and English), Oscar, the trash of one is the treasure of another and lastly, Big Bird, the balance between all. Yes, the Muppets and the Tao Te Ching are a put together of what could be described as suggestions to achieve the perfect way of life, although I don’t think there is one.

Overall, I think the Tao really just means your way, because there is no specific way. It is a book of suggestions telling you that it has done its duty of telling you how. Now you have to decide if you want to accept and execute what the suggestions imply. “The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.” That’s why at the beginning the book talks about itself (not necessarily in a good way); because one within itself leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and at the end it says:

EIGHTY-ONE
Truthful words are not beautiful.
Beautiful words are not truthful.
Good men to not argue.
Those who argue are not good.
Those who know are not learned.
The learned to not know.

The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.
The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.

In other words, It’s up to you.

Red Light

GO! This catchy tilte in fact has nothing to do with the game, well how you would usually thing of a game that is go. At the beginning I didn't understand how it could possibly relate to te Tao. It's simple, read the instructions.
The whole point of this japanese game is strategy. To think in advance, to see your possibilities before you make a move. As we know, the Tao talks about simplicity, something easy to understand yet complex because you take it to be your own. It's your strategy your interpretation, your decision.While Go is just a game, you can apply everything to your life, for example when you have one eye, you're in troubler. You have to keep calm and analyze your options, Create a double eye. Always remember not to go through the middle. You have to analayze your options that may not be as obvious but just as simple.
When one is surrounded it is taken over therefore unbalacing the amount of each colored pieces on the game board. Ying and Yang are represented in these game pieces.

Simplicity

Tao Te Ching, is it a guide book? or maybe the truth, or simply suggestions? "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" P.3 But what is this Tao that you talk about? To find your answer you would've had to read the introduction where it says it is the "way or path". But according to who? What way, what path? These are all questions that the reader must ask himself in order to understand the Tao Te Ching. I have concluded that it is a gathering of reflections about life but made into something so short that it can be interperated in different ways. (Like the short short stories we see in class)

The only detail that tells us how to, is the naming of God. Life and living are linked to God. I don't think that God should be named in Tao Te Ching beacuse by doing so there is a subliminal suggestion that god is fundimental for living. We are bringing different religions into the Tao. What about the other religions? What happenes with their different names for the one we call God? I think we should call it a force, or energy or something religion neutral.

I'm not sure who's quote this is but I've had it in mind for a while now, "Before God, all men were created equal." By this meaning that when we created the concept of God or better yet said the term we created a power for ourselves over the others because we (catholics) are majority. Since then people have been playing God. Belittleing people because of their race, beliefs, stports, sexual preferance, countries etc.

Going back tho the original idea of the Tao Te Ching.
A good door need no lock,
Yet no one can open it. (Pg.29)

Simplicity is key in fulfilling the "Tao"

What is a good man?
A teacher of a bad man.
What is a bad man?
A good man's charge. (Pg.29)

This book is full of fallacies . Most of them don't have good conclusions. This is the interpretation part. Overal, I think that the Tao Te Chin talks about the needs not the wants. Simplicity.

Drops

The highest god is like water. (EIGHT) What this (I guess we can call it chapter) suggests is that water being reflected on god. I goes where nobody wants to, it goes everywhere with its mere fluidness and serenity, never carrying strife. I think that this is the perfect comparison. When God is unhappy it is said that he will do something to a person as a punishment, he will do what is needed to "fix" what went wrong wherter it be of magnitude or not. Kind of like water, when you see a river it changes, it can be calm but it also encounters rapids where it grows to be threatening.

Crashing into rocks , its current pushing and pulling everything in its path not caring how it was before, undergoing this madness to be able to get to the tranquility that it was before. We also think of water as the helper, the extra boost needed (flowers) and in my opinion it also applies to us and god. I don't believe in God but I do think that some people need it to believe in themselves when they say they believe in God in order to make things happen for them or simply to keep sanity. Water is not only the helper but it is the base of all life, like God.
Clear as water, crystal clear, what can you think of being more pure than water? Pure is just, kind, trustworthy. All of those things are what we think God's characteristics are.
So I wonder if God is water so to speak, then what are drops?