Saturday Stories
January 30 Edition
The Cathedral of Monte Cristo
Episode 23
Daddy Groovy got up and went to a table with a thermos and
some little jars. "I have an assignment for you, Lea," he said,
getting two styro cups from a drawer. "It's very dangerous, so I'll
understand if you say no. Coffee?"
"Sure, Chief."
"I knew you wouldn't let me
down," he beamed, pouring hot water. "Oy, I heard our competition has
been trying to pirate you. But of course, you'll stay with us, right?
Sugar?"
"Yes, Chief."
"Good, good, I admire loyalty,
it's even more rare than honesty," said Daddy Groovy, bringing over the
cups. "Okay Lea, let's talk about vampires."
To Be Continued Next Saturday
Huggybear Diaries
March 1, 2015, Sunday
Everything that happens to us is the result of what we have
thought and done. I am going out of my way to make up for karma.
The tremendous amount of goodwill
from the powers of the universe fills me with gratitude. I got more that I
thought I ever would.
Thanks to You
Tyler Collins
Photos courtesy of progarchives.com, vimeo.com and returnofkings.com
6 comments:
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My novel The Cathedral of Monte Cristo in its original form is a vampire story. The scenes of evil is legion, pardon the pun, throughout the history of mankind.
Yet "All of life is based on the totality of the soul experience," says Shirley MacLaine in her bestselling spiritual memoir Dancing In The Light.
"What we might feel as 'evil' behavior only enables us, the 'victim,' to realize ourselves more fully. Thus the Buddhist theory of 'Bless your enemy, he enables you to grow' suddenly makes sense."
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This is blog profile I was using on March 2015:
I'm Jonathan Aquino, a.k.a. Huggybear. I'm a freelance writer from the Philippines. My poetry, fiction and wide-ranging articles have appeared in major publications. My Saturday night blog 2Rivers is a celebration of music, movies, literature and self-expression. I learned writing from Winston Churchill and Charles Lindbergh, and editing from DeWitt Wallace, founder of Reader's Digest.
My favorite novel is Shibumi by Trevanian. The books that changed my life are Carlos Castañeda's Journey To Ixtlan, Wayne Dyer's Your Erroneous Zones, Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Tony Robbins' Unlimited Power, Rhonda Byrne's The Secret, Shirley MacLaine's Out On A Limb and Dancing In The Light, Jose Silva's Silva Mind Control Method For Getting Help From Your Other Side and Jane Roberts' The Further Education of Oversoul Seven.
I'm a traveler and a seeker on a quest for deeper spiritual knowledge. I love tuna and watermelon. I also love dogs and horses but I don't eat them.
I believe in freedom and simplicity. My life philosophy is summed up in Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance and Max Ehrmann's Desiderata.
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A teaching from Buddha that I find timely and timeless: "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."
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Desiderata: "You are a child of the universe..."
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Desiderata
By Max Ehrman
"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."
"As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons."
"Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story."
"Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit."
"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."
"Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time."
"Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism."
"Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass."
"Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth."
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness."
"Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself."
"You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
"Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be."
"And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul."
"With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."
"Be cheerful."
"Strive to be happy."
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This is my May 10, 2015 journal entry.
"It just turned exactly five in the afternoon as I write this on my phone on May 10, 2015, Sunday. I'm sitting on the trunk of an uprooted tree in the park-like area behind the Ayala mall. This is the path I take as shortcut to where I'm currently staying in Cardinal Rosales near the corner of Gorordo."
"I did a bit of traveling around the Cebu island this weekend: Talisay the other day, Naga yesterday and Apas earlier."
"A lot of things have happened in the last week. I made notes for my journal but I haven't really crafted stories on them for my next book yet. I have always been a very positive person so I'm still waiting for the metaphorical storm to pass so I can tell the happy ending."
A year and a half has passed since then. I've become a much better person, and my life is still full of wonders and serendipity. I still travel, but instead of cheap thrills, what I seek is serenity of the arms of nature away from the madding crowd.
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