ZenGlop's Profile

171: Vonnegut, Homer and Stories of a Good Dog

My dog (Reggie) died recently which makes me very sad and reminds of two other good dogs. Argos ( who waited for Odysseus's return and was the first being to recognise him) and Kazak, the Space Dog, who along with... Continue reading

Posted Jun 1, 2021 at ZenGlop

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170: time, a corporate job and meditation

The quality of time, the 'kinds' of time that occur during a day at my corporate job helps to think about the moments in meditation. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode... Continue reading

Posted May 5, 2021 at ZenGlop

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168: a story about thought and no-thought

I often clarify ideas for this podcast during my morning meditation. But during meditation I am trying to reach a state of equipoise. Surely, following thoughts and realisations is a Wobble away from that intent? Indeed it is. So how... Continue reading

Posted Apr 20, 2021 at ZenGlop

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167: dreams, sine waves and a testable hypothesis

A sine wave exists only because there is a periodic trough as well as the peak. Maintaining equanimity through those transitions ( inhale/exhale...wake/sleep....birth/death) feels like a testable hypothesis. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or... Continue reading

Posted Apr 15, 2021 at ZenGlop

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166: meditation notes: Alan Watts, Being/Dying and a Head-Tailed Cat

Alan Watts wrote _The Book_ to plant a seed of an idea about the ongoing cycles in our Being. What he calls the 'head-Tailed Cat' of 'GoWithing'. How does this fit into meditation practice? Let's see!! Listen to the latest... Continue reading

Posted Apr 8, 2021 at ZenGlop

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165: Aurelius vs Larkin

Marcus Aurelius mirrors Socrates in his analysis of death - - Larkin categorically ( and in quite wonderful poetry) disputes. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly: Listen to "165: Aurelius... Continue reading

Posted Apr 1, 2021 at ZenGlop

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164: meditation notes - the outcome will come out

Confidence in the outcome of scrutiny, Authenticity and spontaneity will come out of the processes and practices of an examined life as surely as water on heat will boil. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android... Continue reading

Posted Mar 30, 2021 at ZenGlop

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163: the joy of fiction

Why would I turn my efforts towards a 'magically realistic science fiction trilogy"? What indeed! Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly: Listen to "163: the joy of fiction" on Spreaker.... Continue reading

Posted Mar 13, 2021 at ZenGlop

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162: Socratic Aporia

Talking to Socrates often left his talking partners bewildered, dazzled, unsure of what any language or thought might mean. We're given the word Aporia to describe this sensation. Socrates might say that a good life is one spent seeking out... Continue reading

Posted Mar 9, 2021 at ZenGlop

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161: meditation notes - a trend line?

Can I create a trend line based on the resonant patterns that arise, abide and dissolve? From the smallest thought to the longest pattern I can be aware of - - if I dumped that information into a spreadsheet and... Continue reading

Posted Mar 5, 2021 at ZenGlop

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160: journals, different types of...

Sometimes I journal simply for the pleasure of feeling pen on paper ( an excuse to collect cool notebooks and beautiful pens). Sometimes I journal to track habits - I'm a fierce proponent of the premise that priority processes will... Continue reading

Posted Mar 4, 2021 at ZenGlop

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159: Wordsworth 'The Prelude'

I have the habit on a Saturday afternoon to pour myself a bourbon, strike a match to light a pipe of Latakia tobacco and to thus apply myself to the study of whatever enthusiasm has taken me for the moment.... Continue reading

Posted Feb 25, 2021 at ZenGlop

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158: meditation notes - three books

I recently rummaged through my bookshelf and came up with three books that turns out give a really nice sequence. Opening the Door to Bon by Nyima Dakota (an overview of the foundational practices for Bon Tibetan Buddhism) The Awakened... Continue reading

Posted Feb 23, 2021 at ZenGlop

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156: creative blocks and creative space

What are your experiences with 'writers block'? When I find myself not writing, it is rarely when I'm looking at a blank piece of paper. What gets written may end up discarded, set aside into the archeological pile of draft... Continue reading

Posted Feb 16, 2021 at ZenGlop

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155: meditation notes - ZenGlop and the Miletian Archae

I've been criticized for using the term ZenGlop - -that this silly word trivializes the substance and structure of my work. Fair enough, perhaps it does. But .... Reading about pre-socratic philosophers and their focus on the question of why... Continue reading

Posted Feb 11, 2021 at ZenGlop

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154: notes on new composition

Thoughts on recently finished composition for piano and electronics. Also a consideration of what it feels like inside an MRI, and whether that's sufficient aesthetic inspiration (give away the answer: "it is"). Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple... Continue reading

Posted Feb 9, 2021 at ZenGlop

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153: meditation notes - simplicity of available wisdom

We bring to each moment a set of insights, capabilities, strengths ( weaknesses) - - and even as this accumulated wisdom may be obscured by afflictive emotions, it is entirely sufficient to embrace a wise and compassionate reaction. Listen to... Continue reading

Posted Feb 5, 2021 at ZenGlop

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152: music is distillation and distiller

If music is a still, then I am a fermented mash ready to be evaporated and precipitated out as an alchemical spirit. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode directly: Listen to... Continue reading

Posted Feb 3, 2021 at ZenGlop

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151: What would be my last meal?

Thinking more about Socrates and his final day described in Phaedo, I asked myself what my final meal would be. Turns out....Mahler and sparkling water. Listen to the latest episode and subscribe: Apple iTunes or Android or download the episode... Continue reading

Posted Jan 28, 2021 at ZenGlop

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150: Socrates massaged his feet

On the morning of the day when he would be executed, Socrates woke from a good night's sleep; massaged his feet; slowly placed his feet on the ground; and then spoke for the day about a good life. And you... Continue reading

Posted Jan 26, 2021 at ZenGlop

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149: meditation notes - moments of Wonder

Kathryn (otherwise known as Mrs. ZenGlop) is taking a course online with Pema Chodron, We were talking at dinner last night and one of the things she said that resonated was the gift of wonder. That as we pay attention... Continue reading

Posted Jan 22, 2021 at ZenGlop

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148: Do you hear what I hear?

Probably not. We all have slightly different physiology, and that's particularly evident in our hearing especially as we age. Hearing tests will show quite different responses to frequency range. I'm deaf in one ear and with damaged hearing in the... Continue reading

Posted Jan 20, 2021 at ZenGlop

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147: art that facilitates as well as stimulates

Art - the aesthetic object, whether music, poetry, painting, landscape - stimulates a wide range of responses in us. What about art that needs to teach us what the response could be? Art that facilitates the response. Listen to the... Continue reading

Posted Jan 14, 2021 at ZenGlop

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146: meditation notes - the importance of a teacher ( what would Socrates do?)

What I've been thinking about lately is the formulation "What Would <fill in the name of your teacher> do?". It's important to have a teacher in spiritual practice. The experience, direction, instruction, guidance, support are essential. But who - or... Continue reading

Posted Jan 7, 2021 at ZenGlop

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145: New Years Eve, Notre-Dame and Jean-Michel Jarre

Welcome back to a new season of the podcast. On New Years Eve, Jean-Michel Jarre broadcast a concert set in a Virtual Reality Notre-Dame Cathedral. It was a wonderful show and resonated with the ancient, mystical architectonics of the space.... Continue reading

Posted Jan 5, 2021 at ZenGlop

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