2018.11.15 07:00 - Meditating with the Thesaurus

    The Guardian for this meeting was Adams Rubble. The comments are by Adams Rubble.

     

    Adams Rubble: Good morning Riddle :)
    Riddle Sideways: ah, got here, morning
    Riddle Sideways: one of those days that everything is taking longer than usual
    Adams Rubble: we are getting our first snow soon today
    Riddle Sideways: oh dear
    Adams Rubble: should not amount to much but it feels like winter
    Riddle Sideways: mean, oh Joy
    Adams Rubble: I have to go to a meeting in the middle of it
    Adams Rubble: after the snow it is going to rain and rain and rain and rain
    Riddle Sideways: oh Joy
    Adams Rubble: that's the news from Lake Jersey
    Riddle Sideways: wish we had some rain
    Adams Rubble: yes, wish we could send you this
    Riddle Sideways: mid-November
    Adams Rubble: it is now official. NJ has 11 Dem Congresspeople and only one Republican
    Riddle Sideways: and no rain yet
    Riddle Sideways: wow
    Riddle Sideways: is that called a blue wave?
    Adams Rubble: The guy who wrote the "get rid of Obamacare" bill was just finally defeated
    Riddle Sideways: did you go count all the votes
    Adams Rubble: Blue Jersey
    Adams Rubble: they counted and counted for a few days
    Riddle Sideways: Mr. T said there is no need to count the votes
    Adams Rubble: he says lots of things
    Riddle Sideways: oh yes, he do

    The Topic Starts Here: Good Intentions

    Adams Rubble: I'd like to talk about intentions unless you have a topic you'd would like to discuss
    Riddle Sideways: that is a great topic
    Adams Rubble: Back in March 2015 I was in a group reading Shantideva
    Riddle Sideways: got a really big pile of good intentions here
    Adams Rubble: great!
    Adams Rubble: and if I remember right, becoming a bodhosattva starts with intentions
    Adams Rubble: he warns not to go back on them
    Adams Rubble: but they are a starting point
    Adams Rubble: Anyway, back in March 2015 I played with good intentions from a number of angles on my blog.
    Adams Rubble: but one thing very much surprised me
    Adams Rubble: I eplored from every angle
    Adams Rubble: Even using a thesaurus
    Adams Rubble: here is what I found there:
    Adams Rubble: Synonyms for good intentions: generosity, compassion, affection, altruism, benevolence, cordiality, courtesy, decency, forbearance, gentleness, good will, goodness, grace, graciousness, hospitality, humanity, patience, solicitude, sweetness, sympathy, tenderness, tolerance, understanding, unselfishness, amiability, beneficence, charity, clemency, consideration, delicacy, heart, helpfulness, indulgence, kindliness, magnanimity, mildness, philanthropy, serviceability, solicitousness, tact, thoughtfulness, fellow feeling
    Adams Rubble: and the opposites:
    Adams Rubble: Antonyms for good intention: Animosity, hatred, hostility, ill will, indecency, indifference, intolerance, meanness, mercilessness, selfishness, thoughtlessness, barbarousness, cruelty, harshness
    Adams Rubble: the thesaurus is suggesting that good intentions go further than I would have thought

    Riddle Sideways: way interesting lists
    Riddle Sideways: good guy / bad guys team lists
    Adams Rubble: hehe
    --BELL--
    Riddle Sideways: am spending time with each word
    Adams Rubble: it would make a nice mantra
    Riddle Sideways: well, "fellow feeling" sounds a little off
    Adams Rubble: it might be an antiquated usage
    Riddle Sideways: without having done this study, had thought Good Intentions were something that had, but never carried through on
    Riddle Sideways: that one had
    Riddle Sideways: *
    Riddle Sideways: like having good intentions to type goodly today
    Adams Rubble: yes so would I and there is a sappy country and western song that illustrates that :)
    Adams Rubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdRUI-m3p8U
    Adams Rubble: Warning -- it is a catchy tune and will haunt you :)
    Riddle Sideways: avoids link
    Adams Rubble: hehe
    Adams Rubble pastes in lyrics to No one has to listen:

    Mama always prayed that I'd be a better man than daddy
    And I determined not to let her down
    Deserted by the man she loved and left to raise four children
    We were the local gossip of the town.

    I promised her that I'd live right and not be like the others
    But I wound up in jail on Christmas day
    I told her I'd be home and not to worry 'bout my brothers
    When I got home my mom had passed away

    Chorus
    And I hear tell the road to hell is paved with good intentions
    And mama my intentions were the best
    There's lotsa things in my life I just as soon not mention
    Looks like I've turned out like all the rest
    But mama my intentions were the best

    A little boy with big blue eyes a-beggin' to go fishing
    I promised him but never took the time
    Now they won't let me see him and I sit here a-wishing
    Wishin' I could hold him one more time
    But mama my intentions were the best

    Adams Rubble wipes away a tear
    Riddle Sideways: yes, so sad. and sappy

    Adams Rubble: long way from the thesaurus list
    Adams Rubble: like I said, in 2015 I explored this from lots of angles :)
    Riddle Sideways: Thesaurus is a guide, a bunch of suggestions, not exact rules
    Adams Rubble: of copurse :)
    Adams Rubble: words change meanings too
    Riddle Sideways: of copurse
    Riddle Sideways: love typos
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: in 3.5 years, how has the phrase changed?
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Adams Rubble: I wasn't suggesting that :)
    Adams Rubble: although they can change for an individual
    --BELL--
    Adams Rubble: good intentions can go two ways
    Riddle Sideways: you use a lot of those words a lot
    Riddle Sideways: compassion
    Adams Rubble: They can lead to guilt feelings like they do in this song
    Riddle Sideways: one of your favs
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Adams Rubble: or good intentions can lead to non-SELFish actions
    Adams Rubble: yes can lead to compassion
    Adams Rubble: maybe good intentions are a pointer
    Riddle Sideways: all the thesaurus words are good pointers
    Riddle Sideways: unselfishness was in there
    Riddle Sideways: all hard to be for the long time
    Riddle Sideways: all high ideals to strive toward/with
    Adams Rubble: yes, it is not easy
    Adams Rubble: It is hard work
    Riddle Sideways: might carry one until it gets to heavy then carry one of the others
    Riddle Sideways: keep switching which and how carried
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: since they mostly mean the same thing
    Riddle Sideways: according to Thesaurus
    Adams Rubble: anything that works for us
    Riddle Sideways: with slight twists that make slight differences to each of us
    Adams Rubble: Westerners can get down on themselves because we have not learned to be gentle with ourselves
    Riddle Sideways: oh Yes!
    Riddle Sideways: getting down on self
    Riddle Sideways: for having good intentions
    Riddle Sideways: and not doing them
    Adams Rubble nods
    Riddle Sideways: not giving credit for getting them half done
    Adams Rubble: Some people are doing far more than they realize (hint hint)
    Riddle Sideways: picking on self for not doing All All the time
    Riddle Sideways: /picks 'Grace' out of the list, looks at it, thinking can't do that very goodly
    --BELL--
    Adams Rubble: maybe grace hard to see in oneself
    Adams Rubble: easier to see when one is the recipient
    Riddle Sideways: that was a very nice long pause Bell
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: yes!
    Riddle Sideways: unselfishness is hard to see in oneself
    Riddle Sideways: compassion?
    Riddle Sideways: can go very mental on compassion
    Adams Rubble: it is easier to practice compassion
    Adams Rubble: doing tonglen
    Adams Rubble: seeking to understanding people
    Riddle Sideways: laying awake remembering all the times compassion was lacking
    Adams Rubble: treating people as not being separate
    Riddle Sideways: then going back to breathing
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Adams Rubble: being kind to our failings
    Adams Rubble: seeing that we have the same failings as others around us
    Riddle Sideways: like when driving a car
    Adams Rubble: losing some of our "self" in the process
    Adams Rubble: ohhh, driviing a car---eeeeee
    Adams Rubble: me at my very worst
    Adams Rubble: but slowly getting better
    Riddle Sideways: yep, do that too
    Adams Rubble: having lots of practice one day a week now
    Riddle Sideways: good to have a weekly practice
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Adams Rubble has good intentions
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: NJ has such good streets, roads, turnpikes to practice on
    Adams Rubble sings Mama I did not mean to drive over you with the car
    Adams Rubble: (conversation stopper)
    Riddle Sideways: the Opportunity to know that slow driver ahead is watching the pretty flower along the road
    Adams Rubble: or imagine it anyway :)
    Adams Rubble: and all those people cutting into instead of waiting in line--it is important they may have a medical emergency
    Riddle Sideways: that "I have slowed down in front of you, for you guy, because it is snowing and you are going too fast"
    --BELL--
    Adams Rubble notes that randy Travis sings lots of sad songs
    Riddle Sideways: ha
    Adams Rubble: YouTube at work
    Adams Rubble: YouTube is paved with good intentions
    Adams Rubble: btw, I find the statement that hell is paved with good intentions unhelpful
    Adams Rubble: heaven is also paved with good intentions
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: ok, wrote "YouTube is paved with good intentions" on a card to stick on monitor
    Adams Rubble: I hope you have a very good day. I have good intentions about getting ready for my meeting this afternoon :)
    Adams Rubble: I hope California gets some rain soon
    Riddle Sideways: thank you
    Adams Rubble: those fires are so horrendous
    Riddle Sideways: this was really thoughtful topic
    Riddle Sideways: air quality seems better today
    Adams Rubble: :)
    Riddle Sideways: you cleared the air
    Adams Rubble: Ohh, I may miss the next three Thursdays. Not sure about Thanksgiving yet
    Adams Rubble: we will doing some short trips
    Riddle Sideways: oh, have great fun
    Adams Rubble: will be here Mondays and Tuesdays, little one permitting
    Riddle Sideways: yes, Thanksgiving will be busy
    Adams Rubble: thank you for the discussion
    Adams Rubble: bye for now :)

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    Nice topic!

    Buddhism gave the word that has almost replaced "intentions" for me (not that it doesn't exist as a word outside of that context): aspirations. When I think of an aspiration, it doesn't feel just up to 'me'. Rather it has the feeling of a prayer, with humility included, like a willingness. More a Being seeing kind of thing. :) edited 18:00, 15 Nov 2018
    Posted 17:57, 15 Nov 2018
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