Banky For President

timmy & rally glitter

Originally uploaded by bankythehack3000

Some may say that the Royals victory over the Boston Red Sox on August 4th was caused by a few factors.

1. Heart — The team played courageously and fought to the bitter end.
2. Execution — The win was secured by the Royals clutch play and that preparation finally met opportunity
3. Luck — The Royals simply got lucky.

Those of us in Section 128, Row S know better. With the Royals leading by one run in the top of the ninth inning, the Red Sox had the bases loaded with Sean Casey at the plate. Drastic action needed to be taken to provide necessary mojo to the cosmos so that the Royals would come out on top. Right before the last out of that fateful inning, my friend and YOUR hero, Kansas City, borrowed some lovely glitter from the high school girls in the next row, applied it, and the rest is history.

Don’t mock the disdainful look in our hero’s face ladies and gentlemen. That is the look of a hero who needs no accolades. He simply did what men do, take matters into their own hands and will his team to victory.

With Rally Glitter.

Beaver Lake Arkansas

When I was 5 years old I almost drowned in water I could stand up in. I learned how to swim because of that. But I’ve always been afraid of the water.

As my life has become a series of challenges I need to meet head on before I die, conquering the deep is an obvious step.

A gorgeous hunk of a man by the name of Greg Shives, became a certified scuba diver oh so many years ago. He would talk about his adventures and I would listen to him droll on about excitement under the sea and just how cool an aquifer really is. This past June he talked about needing students for a class he was going to teach on Open Water Diving.

I jumped at the chance.

This was an opportunity for me to face this fear head on and to have a little fun doing it. After all, if a bowl of ice cream is life and fun is the hot fudge syrup you pour over it, time spent with Greg is a banana split topped with a mask, fins and snorkel instead of a cherry.

Greg is a wonderful reminder that if you are enormously passionate about something, you’re also incredibly successful at it too. I felt incredibly safe because that cool cat was always around.

Meeting this challenge is not without some struggles. One exercise is to go down about 10 feet and pull your mask off, put your mask back on and blow all the water out the mask using your nose. This is fear personified for me. If I hadn’t technically done it once in the course of the weekend I wouldn’t be certified.

But this process for me wasn’t about becoming a certfed scuba diver, it’s all about conquering a fear. And if we’re honest, we all have work to do. The real certification is the life you’re able to lead because of the challenges you’ve been able to meet.

In our effort to seek truth, we have to put our thoughts and ideas into action.  It’s not enough to just believe something and not incorporate it, is it?  Spirituality is about walking a path . . . YOUR path.

In the book, The Secret, it is argued that the secret to happiness is (and I’m paraphrasing) positive thinking.  Having a dynamite attitude but with no way to express it is akin to having your car filled with rocket fuel.  You CAN run like a bat out of hell but not with the vehicle you currently own.  You have to realize you’re a rocket ready to blast off.  If you continue to think like you’re a Pinto and constrained by those limits, that positive fuel will just sit there and that car can’t really go anywhere.   And you end up  . . . frustrated.  You’re burdened with knowledge but have no way to put it into practice.

Case in point:

I recently had a discussion with someone who was lamenting her recent (and not so recent) bad luck with men. She wanted advice on how she could improve herself as seekers are want to do. She wrote:

“What was your honest, straight-up impression of me after spending time with me? Tell the truth and I promise I won’t get my feelings hurt. Even tell me the “not so positive” stuff. If my feelings get hurt, they’ll mend. Some have said that I tend to come off a little “uppity”. Did you feel that? As far as my looks go….did you think I was too heavy? Tell the truth. I’ll do the same for you if you want.”

I wrote back the following:

 ”Ok.

You have 3 missions to do first.

1. All day tomorrow you need to walk around like you are a 10. I mean a perfect 10. This world has been your dream and it is now your reality. You add value to the world by your very existence. If the world is a contest, you are the prize.

2. When you walk down the street, compliment three people on what they are wearing or on something about them. It could be a waiter/waitress or a complete stranger. It should be no one you know previously. Don’t wait for any acknowledgement. Just ninja compliment and walk the fuck on.

3. Call someone in your family and just ask how they are doing.

Just like the lil green jedi says, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Email me back sunday night and:

1. Give me impressions on what it felt like to be the perfect 10.

2. What were the three compliments.

3. How was the family member?

You can’t email me back until you do these three things. If you try I’ll just ignore it. You think I’m kidding? Try me.

Hugs,

V.”

I didn’t hear from her until a week and a half later and this was her response:

 ”O.K. Mister.

Mission accomplished. Finally. It wasn’t easy walking around feeling like at “10″ so it took several attempts. Yesterday, I finally felt it. I got dressed up, walked around the Plaza and had lunch alone at an outside cafe. I loved the entire day. I had a variety of emotions…including gratitude for just being alive. I felt like I was good enough for anyone and could accomplish anything I wanted. I complimented more than 3 people. I complimented the waitress for being so attentive, I complimented a lady I passed on the street about her beautiful long hair, the clerk at the bookstore for having a nice smile, a man about his shirt, the receptionist at my heating and air conditioning place, a friend of mine for being such a wonderful cook (she sent her husband over with a loaf of freshly baked bread) and several other people. “

So here’s the challenge. Go be a 10 and post your experiences here.  Remember:

1. All day tomorrow you need to walk around like you are a 10. I mean a perfect 10. This world has been your dream and it is now your reality. You add value to the world by your very existence. If the world is a contest, you are the prize.

2. When you walk down the street, compliment three people on what they are wearing or on something about them. It could be a waiter/waitress or a complete stranger. It should be no one you know previously. Don’t wait for any acknowledgement. Just ninja compliment and walk the fuck on.

3. Call someone in your family and just ask how they are doing.

Now go be a “10!”

Thanks to our on the spot reporter, @duckman1221 (think Christiane Amanpour but only hawter), he was up at the buttcrack of dawn and at the Apple Store in Kansas City, getting reaction from all the beautiful people, including @NewMonarch.

Remember to check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Chateau Domaine Vedrines Sauternes 2005

Originally uploaded by bankythehack3000

Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines is a great book if you

1. Know a lot about wine.
2. Know nothing about wine.
3. All wine connoisseurs in between

My pal, Zena, wrote a great review here. I’m all excited because #1 on the list came the other day, the Chateau Domaine Vedrines Sauternes 2005.

Make sure you ask before you touch me the next time we hang out.

1. Open Source Spirituality : yes me!  Go read.  Lots of great comments so far.
2. Banky and Paulie : separated at birth?

Howdy! I’m back.  Let’s get back to work, shall we?

Open Source Spirituality is a collaboration of ideas that  educates “seekers”  by giving them a process for seeking truth.  It is a way of looking at the world with a critical eye,  but the process is only as strong as the contributions made by other seekers.   People should know how to question long-held beliefs because only then will those beliefs be truly worth believing.  The most precious metals in the world are made into very beautiful things but only after they are forged in hot fire.

Let the hot fire of ideas govern your beliefs.

Before we begin, understand one thing.  I’m not trying to convince you, in this post at least, that “god” doesn’t exist.  You can figure that out for yourself.  This is merely a process you can use to apply before you accept something as a belief.

Off we go:

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

“God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power”

Assuming we are reading or hearing this passage for the very first time we can use our previously defined process to put to the test whether or not it should become a belief.

First off, we recognize that everything should be questioned before we deem something worthy to become a belief.  Its not good enough to accept as truth something someone says or has written.  We must recognize that we are smart people and if common sense is a gift from “god,” like compassion or intelligence, then we must apply common sense where it is warranted.  And because beliefs define us to the core of our being, there should be an element of common sense applied.

Secondly, to do that, the purported belief should make sense to you.  If you derive from the passage in Thessalonians that God will reward his followers and punish the non-followers, and you decide to hold that as a belief, it should be because it makes sense to you at some level.

Thirdly, does this belief reflect the best qualities humanity has to offer?  How do you deal with people who feel differently than you?  Do you tolerate those who feel differently?  Is it right or just to punish those who feel differently than you?    Shouldn’t the ultimate authority we refer to as “god” reflect the best qualities in us?  Aren’t they gifts from “god” as well?

Fourthly, if this purported belief doesn’t reflect how you think a challenge should be met, you should reject it as a belief.  Ask yourself what kind of person behaves in such a fashion as to punishing those who feel differently:  Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Hitler?  Is that reflective of your image of “god?”  Does this sound “just” to you?

Lastly, we understand that though we are wise, we don’t know everything.  Is there anything else we can derive from this lesson?  is there something we missed in the initial summation? The beauty of seeking is that you can continue to apply this process ad infinitum until you have the truth you seek.

Thoughts?

Leia

Originally uploaded by bankythehack3000

I took Leia to be washed the other day. And then the most unbelievable thing happened.

She hugged me.

I’ve never been hugged by a car before, so I didn’t know how to react. It was magic. We wept. We laughed.

I think she might be the one . . .

I’ll continue with all the talk of spirituality on Monday. For the time being, enjoy a little lighter fair:

I get LOTS of spam on this thing. The bastards try to leave messages as responses and I fight them off like XO fights off the ladies. Usually its just crap but this one is special. You see this one has subjects, nouns, and the occasional Direct Object. And they throw in the elipsis at the end to show contemplation.

Enjoy randomness:

- Our suggestions to play the best online roulette games and collect free cash bonuses and amazing rewards.I walked that project around one force. A profound top best online roulette games recast above some domestic club. It’s tough to be meant! I flipped that car before the research. It’s deliberate to be muttered! Best roulette games online slapped some best online roulette games. It’s black to be shined! It’s previous to be unlocked! That land has an overall top best online roulette games. I played that price as to one parent. That central week forewent on top of one cool bit. The research is egregiously enormous. Open wall is the balanced week. One top best online roulette games has the unnecessary fact…

In spite of what is commonly thought, I argue that people really like to talk about religion.  It’s the listening part people have a problem with.  As such, two-way conversations are rarely possible, because it involves more “common understanding” and less “preaching.”  Conversations allows for your thinking to be challenged, and if there is one part of our lives we typically don’t want challenged, it would be our religious beliefs.

Prepare to be challenged.

I don’t believe in God, but I don’t cede a spiritual life to those that do.  Walking a spiritual path is a priority for me, and as such, I’ve arrived at some answers I am going to share with you.  It’s very possible I have some of the answers wrong, and as such, I’d like to hear why.  You see, it’s not important that I’m right.  It’s more important to get it right or at the very least, get closer to the “truth,” whatever that may be.

So, like Beck, let’s break it down:

1. You should question everyone and everything before you call it a belief.

The buddhists have a saying, “If you see the Buddha on the side of the road, kill him” which is meant to suggest no one can tell you what to believe.  You have to figure it out for yourself.   If something doesn’t make sense, you should question it and preferably question him/her.  If their ultimate response is that the answer can be found in a holy book or God told them, how is that good enough for you to base a belief on?   The Gospel of John tells the story of Doubting Thomas as a way to illustrate it is bad to question God.  If God is all great and powerful, can’t he/she/it withstand a question from one of his followers? But, Banky, that’s what faith is all about! Hold onto that thought.

2. You should be able to validate for yourself whatever is claimed.

You should not HAVE to take someone’s word that something is true.  For whatever is claimed, you should be given the right to “try it on” and determine for yourself whether it makes sense.  For instance, if someone told you “21 + 21 = 57,” you should be able to validate whether or not this is true.  In other words, if you have a spiritual belief, it should be grounded in some reality you can relate to.  If it doesn’t, you are free to ask questions until satisfied with whether or not a solution can be offered, rejected, or tabled later for further thinking.  Which leads us to:

3. Whatever is spirtual should be reflective of the best that humanity has to offer.

Think of those you admire.  What qualities do they possess?  Do they generally seem happy?  What is it about them that make them appear happy? What characteristics do they exhibit?  Do they exhibit:

• Jealousy
• Insecurity
• Anger
• Hatred
• Greed
• Insensitivity

We’re all human, but in general, these aren’t characteristics of healthy, happy people.  If God exhibits these qualities and, in fact, these qualities are celebrated in a particular religion, a red flag should go off in your head.

4. If your answer doesn’t reflect a positive answer to any of the above, you should probably reject the belief and continue seeking.

At this point, something smells rotten to you. Don’t ignore that smell.  If the thought stinks, it can affect your other thoughts.  Let go of your “stinkin thinkin” and seek for a better smelling answer.

5. You don’t know everything. Repeat the process if necessary.

There are things in life you will never understand.  Part of being enlightened is knowing you aren’t.  Trust your instincts though.  Have the confidence that you can make these decisions.  Let go and move on.

Next, Part II: The process in action and I’ll address “faith.”