GARDEN OF SCATTERED ASHES

Poems, Essays and General Drivel

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paulmcd
at
8:16 AM
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Posted by
paulmcd
at
10:13 PM
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Labels: "The Great Work" Louisville, Bangkok, KY, United States
Songkran is supposed to be the time of the Thai New Year where there are celebrations for three days and water is thrown on everyone as a gesture of of frivolity and goodwill. However, this year, Songkran is coincides with a State of Emergency declared by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva due to disruptive and violent protests by the UDD also known as the "Red Shirts," and the "polar opposties" of the PAD "Yellow Shirts" who took over the airports a few months back. The UDD are supporters of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup back in 2006 and has been convicted of several charges of corruption and is living somewhere outside of Thailand. The current government wants to extradite Thaksin to Thailand to serve a jail sentence.
It's all complicated and especially frustrating for the people of Thailand who are working hard to get a functional democracy in South East Asia. It especially gives a bad impression of a very beautiful country, nevertheless...
I'm living nowhere near the protests and violence and enjoying the quiet that this situation has bestowed upon me. At least for the moment.
Posted by
paulmcd
at
11:55 AM
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Posted by
paulmcd
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11:09 PM
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Labels: Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, Southeast Asia
Since living in Indonesia I've formed some pretty stong opinions about the people who practice Islam. At the same time I must admit that I know very little about the religion itself, so I always reserve judgement about the faith. The same goes for Judaism because whenever I discussed what I thought I knew with my Jewish friends, I discovered I knew very little indeed. I do, however, know a great deal about Christianity and while I believe at it's core, Christianity is truly a wonderful and liberating path, it again comes down to the people who practice the faith who are certain they have cornered the market on truth. it's 2001
and all grievances are justified
blood reeks heavy
on both sides of the tracks
war, carnage and aggression
have taken names like
security
defensible borders
and surgical strikes
with the assurance of peace
yet they bring nothing
but the promise of blood
it's 2001
and the earth has been drenched
in centuries and generations
of blood
if i could wish for anything
on this turn of the wheel
i would wish for a piercing shaft of light
to split everyone's skull
settle somewhere between the eyebrows
and teach us the next steps in this
evolutionary dance of consciousness
i would wish for a molecular change
so that we stop playing by rules
learned in the peloponnesian wars
and the crusades
and finally realize
violence is no longer an option
intention must be formulated before speech
and simple acts
such as breathing
and listening
are raised to a high art
it's 2001
and if i could pray for anything
it would befor a brilliant pool of light
somewhere between
the dome of the rock
and the western wall
a place for pilgrims
and ancient enemies to worship
bathe and wash the blood
from each other's hands.
Paul McDonald © 2001
Posted by
paulmcd
at
10:40 PM
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Labels: Christianity, Gaza, Islam, Jesus, Judaism, Millennium Prayer, Mohammed
Posted by
paulmcd
at
1:28 AM
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Labels: Amen, Barack Obama, Benediction, Inauguration, Rev. Joseph Lowery
Posted by
paulmcd
at
7:39 PM
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Labels: Bangkok, Chabad House, Gurudev Siddha Peeth, Master Charles, Muktananda, Mumbai, Siddha Yoga, Synchronicity
Posted by
paulmcd
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6:01 PM
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Labels: Bangkok, Don Muang, India, Mumbai, Rig Veda, Survarnabhumi, Thailand, Yeats
A rambling personal monologue posted for friends and family.
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paulmcd
at
9:45 PM
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Labels: Bangkok, Dry, Paul McDonald, Socks
This is a video slideshow of my recent excursion to Bangkok in July 2008. Thanks and apologies go to Tim Rice, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Murray Head for the soundtrack.
"One Night In Bangkok" from the album Chess; lyrics by Tim Rice, Music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. (C) 1984 3 Knights Ltd.
Posted by
paulmcd
at
1:30 PM
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Labels: Bangkok, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Chess, Murray Head, Tim Rice
Posted by
paulmcd
at
3:14 AM
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Labels: Artisan Galleries, Bob Dylan, Drawn Blank, Trust Yourself
I haven't made a blog entry for almost two months because real life has demanded I turn my attention to work, self-inquiry and reflection devoid of delusions. In other words, my ego got a major ass-kicking that needed to happen. For a deeper explanation, please see Sally Kempton's article "Waking Life," in the March, 2008 issue of Yoga Journal, because its all part of the growth process. We never stop growing, I suppose, as long as we're willing to jump through whatever firey hoops we encounter.The good news is -- I got over it. Thank God for meditation, mantras, 12-step fellowships, work and Effexor.
Its just that simple.
Posted by
paulmcd
at
10:20 PM
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Labels: Depression, E Coli, mantras, Meditation, Sally Kempton, Yoga Journal
Posted by
paulmcd
at
2:35 AM
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Labels: hajj, Jakarta, Mecca, Meditation, mosque, muslim, Prayer, Shakti, Stockhausen, Tibetan Monks
Posted by
paulmcd
at
4:11 AM
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Labels: Bali, Christmas, George Harrison, Hotel, Palaces, Ravi Shankar, Rice Paddies, Ubud
Posted by
paulmcd
at
10:16 PM
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Labels: Bali, Christmas, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jakarta, Medicine Man, Ubud
Posted by
paulmcd
at
1:32 AM
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Labels: Blok M, Festive, Jakarta, Sunday Afternoon
I have been battling the standard frustrations someone would inevitably battle in a massive, kick-down-the-door move from Northern/Western Hemisphere Culture to Southern/Eastern Hemisphere Culture: 220 volt outlets, a traffic system that was probably inspired by a mixture of bad opium and feng shui, and – the one that has caused me the most grief so far -- medication readily available in the West that you don't have a prayer of finding over here unless you want to sacrifice half of your monthly salary.Not that I didn't expect this, but I never knew what form it would take until I got here. Besides, I wasn't about to be stymied, stifled, kyboshed or otherwise frightened into giving up the journey because it might be a little difficult to find my anti-depressant meds over here. After all, I was told that most everything, including chemotherapy, is found over the counter here, right? And it isn't expensive, right?
Posted by
paulmcd
at
11:47 PM
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Labels: Acceptance, Bargaining, Culture Shock, Denial, Depression, Effexor, Jakarta, Louisville, Prozac, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Shock, Suicidal Ideation, Wellbutrin XL, Zoloft


8. “Spongbob Squarepants” is really a funny movie!
9. Any Indonesian six or seven year old worth his or her salt knows the Spongebob dialogue – in English–about as well as you knew the Rocky Horror dialogue when you were in college.
10. That no matter how computer literate you think you are, a third world six or seven year old will ALWAYS have a higher computer I.Q.
Posted by
paulmcd
at
12:54 AM
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Labels: attention span, baby teeth, I know an old lady, ritalin, seven year olds, six year olds, spongebob squarepants
The most glaring omnipresent annoyance I have to deal with in Jakarta is the traffic commonly called Macet. More than one journalist has written that the traffic in Jakarta moves about as swiftly as blood through a corpse. I'm sorry, but that's just giving the traffic a little too much credit. This evening when I was having the cab driver take me home, I had him drop me off a little over 2 km from my destination so I could walk the rest of the way. Before that the traffic hadn't moved in over ten minutes with the meter ticking away. The last time I saw the cab driver he was still sitting there waiting for an opening that I didn't think was going to happen anytime soon. Even though this is pretty much a Muslim country I wonder if there isn't some ring of Hell, Purgatory or Bardo State that relates to Jakarta Macet. Just a thought...
Posted by
paulmcd
at
9:18 PM
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Labels: Bardo State, Blood, Corpse, Hell, Jakarta, Macet, muslim, Purgatory, traffic