Monkin' Around

Sorry for the title. I couldn't help myself. :-)

A few days ago, I found a link I thought I'd lost. It's to the Rule of St. Benedict online. About halfway down the page is a link to the daily reading (Today's Reading). I find it interesting that they've divided it up between male and female Abbies. I don't know why I find that interesting. I just do.

Well, for all the fun the title conveys, this is going to be a short entry. I can't think of what to talk about. I suppose I could tell you about my search for a model of a monastery to model my monastery after. I didn't find one online. I've got a big book that talks about St. Gall, a monastic utopia. St. Gallus is a church and abbey library, where the plans were found. From Wikipedia - "The library preserves a unique 9th-century document, known as the Plan of St. Gall, the only surviving major architectural drawing from the roughly 700-year period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 13th century. The Plan drawn was never actually built, and was so named because it was kept at the famous medieval monastery library, where it remains to this day. The plan was an ideal of what a well-designed and well-supplied monastery should have, as envisioned by one of the synods held at Aachen for the reform of monasticism in the Frankish empire during the early years of emperor Louis the Pious (between 814 and 817)".

Were I to build St. Gall today, I think the only modern innovations I would keep aside from modern lights, hot and cold running water, and toilets, would be insulation.

You know, I just thought of the perfect model to model my monastery! My castle! It's a paper model designed to be used in gaming, and it came with "floor-plans" giving a general idea of the layout of things. The only things I would have to add from St. Gall is the garden, the cemetery, and some of the out buildings. The outer wall can be expanded so the out-buildings will fit on the grounds, or it could become an inner wall with another wall outside of it. An inner and outer bailey, so to speak. Yes, that would do capitally!

If you are interested, you can find the floor-plans to my castle here, in my Yahoo group, Castle_New.

Contemplation - Part 2

I just finished watching the Last Samurai. While I am saddened by the end of the movie, it reminds me that old and new can co-exist if both parts are respected. I shall do my best to respect the old ways of monasticism while I mix in the new and technological ways that call to me to be included. The monastery, at present configuration, will be virtual, as I expect that as more brothers and sisters join, we will be far and wide upon the world. That was one problem I failed to take into consideration with the last Order I created. Another was trusting the wrong person to be at my side as the Order began to grow. I don't think I'll be making that mistake again.

Trust, Respect, and Honor are three very good foundation stones to begin to build upon. Belief, I think, shall make the fourth, so that we can create a "house" that stands firmly and well. So, what do ~I~ believe? I believe that God is in every living thing. Thou Art God. All that understands is God. All that drinks, eats, sleeps, follows its nature is God. God cannot help but know the bird that falls from the tree for both the tree and the bird are God. I Honor that your beliefs may not be mine, and I Respect your desire to believe as you do. But, I also Trust that you will Honor and Respect my beliefs.

I believe that all life should be Respected. I believe that God gave us free will, to make decisions for ourselves. We should allow others to make decisions for their own lives if they are able to do so. If this sounds confusing to you, I ask that you think about it for awhile. If it is still unclear, I'm willing to discuss it with you.

Namaste'

(Namaste, translated roughly, means "I bow to the God within you", or "The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you". It further represents the belief that there is a Divine spark within each of us that is located in the heart chakra)

Contemplation

Today I had a great deal of time to myself, even though the girls were home all day. I spent most of the time, as I usually do, here at the computer. I spent my time in quiet contemplation, seeking and following thoughts that popped into my head. Most of them had to do with money and our lack thereof. Unless something comes of the note I put up on my fundraiser tonight, about the religious oddity I found on the basement floor a couple years ago, we are going to be in serious hurt when the end of March comes, with respect to our utilities. Heck, I don't know how we're going to go and get the baby at the end of this coming week, as my gas tank is at quarter-full and my wallet is on empty.

I spent some of the time today contemplating my monk experiment, for want of a better word. This project would be broken into two parts, as I explained before. The first part would be the establishment of the non-profit monastery, which should run about $2000 or so to put together, if I use the StartCHURCH company rather than do it all myself. That is certainly the way I'm leaning, as they would be able to get the filing of the IRS forms done more quickly and the recognition would come that much faster. Unfortunately, I would have to wait until the recognition ~had~ come before I could start the second fundraiser, as I could then give tax-exemption to all donations made to that fundraiser. That would certainly be a big selling point for the amount I would be seeking (about $40,000). ALL of that money would go directly into a bank account opened for the Order and would be used for the purposes and activities of running the Order.

What purposes and activities might those be, you ask? Good question, I respond. First, they would be the feeding, clothing, and general care of myself, the (currently) sole member of the New Order of Light Ministry (Monastic). Second, they would be the acquisition of books for the Monastery Library, which would cover such subjects as gardening, wine and beer making, comparative religion studies, cooking, survival, and living lightly upon the Earth, among other things. Why survival? Well, if a tragedy hits, in some form or another, the Order would want to be able to help those in it's immediate surroundings with food and other aid. As I'm writing this, I'm beginning to think that $40,000 may not be enough. Enough for a start, certainly, but to keep it running in an on-going fashion? Well, we'll build that bridge when we come to it. Cooking, now there are some monastic cookbooks I would really like to find and keep in the Order's Library. Twelve Months of Monastery Soups [12 MONTHS OF MONASTERY SOUPS], I think, is one, as is Sacred Feasts: From a Monastery Kitchen. From a Monastery Kitchen: The Classic Natural Foods Cookbook looks very good indeed, as does The Monastery Garden Cookbook: Farm-Fresh Recipes for the Home Cook. So much to do, so much to try! I'll certainly be much busier than I am now. It'll do me good.

I'll post more of my thoughts over the next few days. Come back for more!

A Sleepy Monk

I'm reasonably certain that monks stayed up later than this (2:00AM) or got awakened for prayers and chanting at or around 3:00AM, but I'm not going to those extremes. At least not yet. The only reason I'm still up past my bedtime (usually midnight or an hour earlier) is that the girls are still out and I want to be certain they make it home alright. This is, after all, the weekend of the green. St. Patty's Day is upon us, even though some of us look upon it with heavy hearts rather than joyous cheerfulness.

Today marks the anniversary of the passing of the founder of our little troop of merry Klingons and the conference that brought people far and wide to enjoy his brand of fun. So, if you are out tomorrow and feeling a bit Klingon in your drinking, raise a stein to Joe Manning, otherwise known as Thought-Admiral Klaad.

Ah! The girls are home. Then, I'll make this a short entry. Monk-fever is getting a stronger hold upon me. It'll go that way for a few days, then level off, like it usually does, unless the motivational recordings I'm listening to now push it beck into my purview. We shall see. I do know this much. I'm more energized about the project that I would normally be. This bodes very well for its success. Very well, indeed.

My Next Projects

For my next project, I think I'm going to become a modern monk. First, I'll have to raise the money to become a 501(c)3 non-profit monastery. I've done it before, when I created the Order (Diamond Order of the Mind) in or around 1995. When the 5-year charter ran out, I just didn't renew it. This new Order will be more open in its language and outlook. While it will not be celibate, nor will it exclude women, it will try to follow the Rule of St. Benedict with tongue firmly planted in cheek. The project will run for one year or until funds run out, which ever comes first. As a 501(c)3, the New Order will be able to accept donations and those that donate can write the donation off of their taxes. I've already got the information floating around in my computer somewhere, the paperwork that I need to become a governmental recognized church/monastery. I have to find the state paperwork and add that into the funds I'll need.

I want it understood that I'm not, NOT making fun of St. Benedict or His rule. Being a monk is serious and hard work, and not for everybody. While I think I could live that way for awhile, I wouldn't be able to do it for the rest of my life. I enjoy the pleasures of life, even if I don't get to enjoy them often. The experience of just living life, without order or confinement that monasticism brings, is a thing I cherish. I'm sure the monks of ANY order are happy in what they do. It's just not for me on a full-time basis.

I have to come up with a name and a reason for its organization, as well as board members and minutes (things that were talked about or said during organization meetings). I've got a book around here somewhere that spells out exactly what I'll need to become a non-profit organization. I've also just reserved the Nonprofit Kit For Dummies from my local library, so I'll have more up-to-date information to get this ball rolling in the right direction. So, non-profit project first, then Modern Monk For A Year project second. I've learned quite a bit in the project currently running, and I'll apply that knowledge to both the projects.

So, that's three books on the line - Modern Monk For A Year, How NOT To Run An On-Line Fundraiser, and a smut book of my choosing. These books will be created especially to be turned into Kindle books and POD (print on demand) books. I'll have to include the fees that come with Amazon's CreativeSpace (or whatever it's called).

I have to say, one thing I'm looking forward to with the Monk For A Year project is the idea of brewing beer and wine. Even though their fermentation will likely take up most if not all of the year, they will be interesting additions to the project. And they'll make useful rewards to the fundraiser for that particular project.

Well, this is shaping up nicely. I'll keep posting here as the ideas ferment and bloom. If I work at it steadily, I could probably have the the fundraiser ready to be put up around the beginning of May or June, depending upon how much more complicated the rules have become. In any case, keep an eye on here, so you can watch things come together.

Evening Thoughts

GoFundMe - It's still slow going there. 188 viewers and $50 in donations. A week from today marks the one month anniversary of creating the site. If I understand correctly, it can run for three months, after which time it could be taken down if it's done poorly, or left up if it is doing well.

Reading - I got eleven more books from the library, today. Most are about relieving pain in a number of fashions. The one I think will be the most use is Relieving Pain Naturally: Safe and Effective Alternative Approached to Treating and Overcoming Chronic Pain.

Thoughts - Since I doubt any of my family is actually reading here, I can say pretty much how I feel and no one ever know. Therefore - my family is a bunch of cheapskate, tightfisted, so-and-so's! The only one with any redeeming value is my sister, Jody, because she took the time to write me and let me know about their own financial troubles. Even so, I don't think asking for $10 is too much to ask for. Between Yana and I, we managed to contribute $25 and we're by far much poorer than any of them!

March Listening List

March is the month of increasing motivation. There are other things, but that is the main idea behind this month's list. First is Developing Extreme Motivation and Increase Self Motivation - Binaural Beat Brainwave Subliminal Systems, followed with Concentration - Binaural Beat Brainwave Subliminal Systems [Explicit], Prosperity and Success - Binaural Beat Brainwave Subliminal Systems, Subliminal Powerful Increase of Focus and Memory, and finally Charisma, Rapport & Self-Confidence Subliminal thrown in for the heck of it.

My GoFundMe fundraiser is going slowly, but going. I'm sure things will pick up once the page goes public, which it will do once I've reached $100 in contributions. At present, I'm halfway there. I also have yet to make a video to put on the page, but that's going to have to wait until I can get my housemates out of the house for about an hour or so. I have a fairly good idea what I want to do with regards to creating it, such as the tone I want to set. I'm going to use a more light-hearted attitude, as opposed to a serious one. The script will basically be what's already written on my profile, along with whatever I come up with off the top of my head. It's relatively simple to do, using my Logitech Webcamera.

I've been trying to stay focused on herbalism, increasing my knowledge beyond ginger tea for colds, and aloe vera gel for burns. My reading list has grown to include books on energy/lightwork ( Energetic Bodywork: Practical Techniques, The Lightworker's Way: Awakening Your Spirtual Power to Know and Heal ), healing with light and color ( Healing with Color and Light: Improve Your Mental, Physical and Spiritual Health ), magnet therapy ( Magnet Therapy: A Natural Solutions Definitive Guide ), chakras, aromatherapy, and sound/vibration therapies ( Vibrational Healing Through the Chakras: With Light, Color, Sound, Crystals, and Aromatherapy ).

I know that sounds like a lot to take in, and it is. But, I believe in these therapies' ability to work with and beyond conventional medicine. Each of these therapies I know a little about, but not enough to help people like I want to. Hence the aid in motivation and concentration.

Paradigm Shift

When I woke up this morning, I felt as I usually do. Somehow or another though, my whole thought pattern has changes in the last few minutes. I bought and downloaded a eBook called Miracle Mastery. Even before I've started to read it, I've felt my entire being, my whole outlook on life, shift!Things that once were difficult and hard for me are now simple and easy. A light bulb has quite literally gone on in my head. I can even feel it's warmth. Problems now have answers, or will shortly. I feel so much different now! I've got some reading to do, but I think it will only confirm my new perspective on life. Yeah me!

Learning Curve

This fundraiser is certainly teaching me some things. The first thing is unprintable, because I have family reading this (I think) and I wouldn't want to give them more ammo for their guns.

The second is the Scout motto - Be Prepared! I certainly wasn't prepared and I'm finding out why I needed to be BEFORE I started the fundraiser.

Thirdly - Expect nothing! Or, perhaps that should be Expect the unexpected! The roaring silence that I'm hearing from those I expected to jump in is deafening.

Fourthly - Be entertaining. Give them a show they can SEE, because they cannot see the compassion you show on a daily basis, or the charity you give (expecting nothing in return) to complete strangers.

Finally - Be humble. It's not your fault that some people grew up to be assholes.