Saw this post on a graffiti artist in Toronto. ANSER’s work in a few different spots on or around Sterling Rd. When I get a chance, I gotta find the photos of the other work he’s got hidden on Sterling.

Along with this, there’s a link to photos from inside the big abandoned building that was across the street for me. If I had known there was all this beaufitul art inside, I would have tried a little harder to get in. I think it’s an old GM building.

Oculus Rift + Kinect – Audio visual instrument a001 from Ethno Tekh on Vimeo.

Flailing to create music. What more can I say?

Yesterday was a challenge. Witnessing the difficulty in controlling habitual reactions. I feel I did well… but only relatively. In the grand scheme of things I know I can do much better.

With yesterday’s events still in my mind, I entered a very passive open state of mind. In my mind, I recreated the events from last night but imagining a different reaction. It was difficult to find myself reacting differently and I knew I needed some sort of outside inspiration. Lucky for me, I’m in the presence of the most non-judgemental beings one could hope to be surrounded by…   animals! More specifically, a 6 year old pit bull name Zoe.

Zoe likes to jump up on me when I walk into the room, sometimes, though I’ve finally taught her not to jump up on me. However, now I would like to teach her to jump up, but only when I ask. I told her “Up!” and patted my hips. She was, of course, confused. I gently seized her front legs and lifted her up. She would stay there for a moment, noticeably unsure of herself before slowly lower herself down. I did this three times in a row.

On the forth time I patted my hips and she hesitated for a few seconds, so I leaned down to pull her up, as I did the previous three times… but then she suddenly popped up and slammed the back of her head into my bottom lip.

I didn’t get angry, though I felt it inside. It didn’t take much effort to question that reaction within myself (before reacting) and found that it was a dream that I didn’t wish to create. I stood up slowly and looked down at her with a smile on my pained face. She was noticeably uncomfortable. I then relaxed more, smiled again and said, “Up!“. Without hesitation, she jumped up, putting her front paws on my hips with that big ol pit-bull smile on her face, waiting to accept the reward.

Success.
Lesson learned.
Brain remapped.

…

What started out as me trying to teach, ended up with me being the student. Thanks Zoe.

And now to nurse this bruised and bloody bottom lip.

Years ago I spoke to a good friend of mine about the time just before the sun rises.  I felt that the rising of the sun was such a empowering event to witness.  You can SEE the content of the clouds.  The spectrum of colors feeding the eyes. I would often say, “Start the day, don’t let the day start you.”

Rachit referred to the “hour of the gods” as the time around 4-5am. He said this was a very powerful and spiritual time. I had never heard of this term before, but then again…  I’m not Hindi.

Years have passed and I finally tried a bit of Googling. Besides the hundreds of links to a metal album called “Rush Hour of the Gods”, I did come across one inspiring quote via SearchForLight.org.

“There are moments when the Spirit moves among men and the breath of the Lord is abroad upon the waters of our being; there are others when it retires and men are left to act in the strength or the weakness of their own egoism. The first are periods when even a little effort produces great results and changes destiny; the second are spaces of time when much labour goes to the making of a little result. It is true that the latter may prepare the former, may be the little smoke of sacrifice going up to heaven which calls down the rain of God’s bounty. Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But thrice woe to them who are strong and ready, yet waste the force or misuse the moment; for them is irreparable loss or a great destruction. In the hour of God cleanse thy soul of all self-deceit and hypocrisy and vain self-flattering that thou mayst look straight into thy spirit and hear that which summons it. All insincerity of nature, once thy defence against the eye of the Master and the light of the ideal, becomes now a gap in thy armour and invites the blow. Even if thou conquer for the moment, it is the worse for thee, for the blow shall come afterwards and cast thee down in the midst of thy triumph. But being pure cast aside all fear; for the hour is often terrible, a fire and a whirlwind and a tempest, a treading of the winepress of the wrath of God; but he who can stand up in it on the truth of his purpose is he who shall stand; even though he fall, he shall rise again, even though he seem to pass on the wings of the wind, he shall return. Nor let worldly prudence whisper too closely in thy ear; for it is the hour of the unexpected, the incalculable, the immeasurable. Mete not the power of the Breath by thy petty instruments, but trust and go forward. But most keep thy soul clear, even if for a while, of the clamour of the ego. Then shall a fire march before thee in the night and the storm be thy helper and thy flag shall wave on the highest height of the greatness that was to be conquered.”

- Sri Aurobindo