MindWindow

The above acronym reflects a cultural implant by a pretty good team of marketers. Those of a younger generation, who only see it as an expression signifying the end of a work week…  …don’t even remember that it was a “slogan” created to celebrate the virtues of a particular fast food chain restaurant as the perfect place to celebrate the end of a long week of work; when the acceptance of this little saying as the symbol of the beginning of a Hurrah!! for the start of the weekend became so encompassing, the food link was pretty much forgotten. How many words and sayings we commonly use in our day to day oral meanderings, without realizing their origin or reason(s) for being. Back in the early 80’s, when Xerox Corporation was a fast emerging force due to its newly minted copying system, the company had a phalange like group of kamikaze attorneys ( is that sentence a redundancy ?) whose primary job was to listen in to all possible means of mass communication and, every time so...

OK, Ok… no more mind bending stuff … for a couple of days anyway. Have a couple of issues which are nagging at the back of my head ( seems the front is otherwise occupied ) but some research has to be done. Not much, mind you, but some… When friends with whom you have shared part of a lifetime read some of the issues presented in these posts lately, the reaction is to call and ask… “Are you OK?”  “What is this about death and myths and all this stuff?” “Are you sure you are OK?”… Since the caller was someone who has been a part of my life for over 50 years ( wow…!! times do fly when you’re having fun… and even if you aren’t ), I was touched by her honest concern. Then, we have had long years during this period of time when there was very little, or no contact. When two (or more) people were an important part of each other’s lives as young teens ( as is the case here ) and then shared different moments in life during the passing of the years, the very human tendency is to ...

All it sometimes takes to trigger the somewhat nonsensical content to be put on these posts, is a book read or a program watched. Granted, most comments which come from these sources are speculations, but interesting nonetheless…   There is an intriguing aspect of our past, at least to me. From everything we seem to know about it, there are definite knowledge voids regarding specific advancements, such as the still famous “missing link” from “apeness” ( well, you know what I mean by this ) to “humanness”, as well as some explanations regarding advances made by some civilizations along the way, with no real explanation of these, on a traditional step by step way, that we can attest to. Ancient Chinese hero shooting down "red stars"   Then, there are the stories we were all told and read as children about the Persian flying carpets, the mythical heroes of ancient Roman, Greek, Norse, Indian as well as Mesopotamian cultures and those of the native civilizations whi...

On more than a few occasions during the almost two years these postings have been coming your way, the concepts of Spiritual life as well as that of possible communication between, in one way or another, different planes of existence have been alluded to. There is one fact of life which we cannot escape, no matter how much we try to: The moment we are born, the eventual end of this stay will come by way of dying. There is no other solution. Often, there have been discussions amongst some friends, including a minister, about this subject. Those of us, who are practicing believers in one or another religion, will describe this step as “going into the arms of Our Father”, passing on to a spiritual life and/or world, becoming one with the Father; etc… There is really no basic difference, no matter which religion is followed.  And if there is no religion then it becomes simply, the end.  Over the years, many experienced people have come forth to talk about this step ...

It can be somewhat frustrating to get up on a Saturday morning after having had little enough sleep the night before. The mind is a bit muddled and the streams of consciousness, confused as they may be, seem to be flowing in their own, separate directions… No, I wasn’t drinking; it was just one of those nights where the mind goes into a self induced overdrive and refuses to allow Morpheus to get his arms about me; these do happen every once in a while. It was well past 4 in the am before finally I was allowed to drift off. So, when the alarm clock went into its rendition of “Cajun Fiddle Music” ( yeah, this Cuban loves his Cajun music well served, with a little spice on the side ) this morning, ( being a Saturday, it thankfully goes off about 2 hours later than during the week ) sleep time had been relatively short. After grudgingly making it to the shower, I managed to come out somewhat more human than when I felt my way in ( sort off ). Then, while checking my email and gettin...

Often we meet people along life's winding roads who, for one reason or another, stick in our minds and hearts. Circumstances, moments, time spent… who knows, perhaps all these rolled into one. Sometime around the summer of 2001, already 4 years into what would become a very long stretch of time dedicated to the pursuit of a very slippery and costly goal, I received a call from our NYC associate. –“You need to go to Portugal ” he said. In what was being done at the time Charlie ( we’ll call him ) a basic Brooklin-ite, accent included, was a primary associate or partner. Also, he was deathly afraid of getting on a plane. I was then, due to a “temporary” lack of funds ( more like a dearth ), a secondary associate. Sort of a glorified “gofer” except the “go-ferings” ( whatever that is!!) were not to the next corner, but to another country. Well, at least they were interesting doings… “What do you mean Portugal ?” I had just come back from someplace else, and had been in NYC ...

The computer calls and it is time to sit and try to put some coherent ideas on this virtual paper. I remember years ago when all we had were the flickering little, non adjustable green or white letters on a gray screen… Now we can create wonders in different colors, shapes and formats… To the younger generation, this is common every day stuff… to me it is a fantastic little toy, with never ending possibilities. Several reading friends as well as others with whom the only communion has been these postings, have commented on yesterday’s entry. In a couple of instances, what they read may be responsible for a better understanding of a loved one's circumstances, and professional help will be looked for. If this is the case, what was truly difficult, but lovingly put on display, will serve to perhaps bring someone else a needed respite and a possible new life. I pray it is so. In the process of living such a checkered life as mine has been (and I do not say this in a negative ...

We usually,  although this is not always the case,  come into the world as a result of an act of love. As we enter this often unforgiving life cycle, our fate usually rests with the hands of those who brought us here to begin with. Imagine; you are chosen without any real preparation or any type of support to start a journey where the road is totally uncertain, and where the means to travel are not identified; a trip during which, those who are appointed to accompany you until the time you can go on alone, assuming you get to that juncture, may be beset by adversity and issues which will prevent them from meeting their end of the business. Or, it may be that they may not even be able to be there for part or for the entire journey. Where the circumstances of travel will change constantly and your preparation to successfully meet these changes might not be up to requirements. Add to this the fact that the trip has no defined timeframe; also, know that it could be suddenly ...

Today was supposed to be a “free” day… You know, being my birthday and all, but no such thing. I sit here and the itch to put something on this blank screen becomes too strong. Since no plans were made, no idea as to what to write about… But then, nothing new there… Several reader friends have either called or written, just to share with me ( or at me, in some occasions ) their own views regarding the topic of “free choice” on which we touched a couple of times in these past few days. After listening to their comments as to why we “do” always have a free choice, my response is very simple: I do not disagree on the fact that we, as individuals, have the ability to make choices; in fact, we do exercise this privilege on a regular basis every day. Where I do firmly believe we must agree to disagree is that these choices are not so totally “free”. Every time we exercise a choice, while living within a nuclear structure ( society or family ), we have to ascertain whether or not this c...