Alysse Aallyn

Category: #InnerLife

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Museum of Lost Significance

    Envy:

    Cuckoo mocks

    Trajectory

    Prurience engulfs

    Its shadow

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Regression Analysis

    Languished minds 

    Underpredict:

    Tools melting in our

    Desiccating hands

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Underneath

    Things looks different 

    Down here;

    Supple –

    Convex world breeds

    Bubble dogma

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Zen Teacher

    If Zen Teacher admits

    Being Zen Teacher – not a

    Good

    Zen Teacher

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Virgin Territory

    Alive at last

    Woke;

    Bursting cells

    Dance

    Parse the

    Music

    Un-becoming

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Placebo

    Even fake caretaking

    Galvanizes human gene;

    Joined hands DO

    Heal

  • Haiku by Alysse Aallyn

    #Haiku: Initiative vs Guilt

    Shouldn’t but

    Couldn’t

    Stop; Must

    Consume my way out;

    Mired –

    Stuck;

    Stupe-fried

  • Purrsiflage – Today’s Zen for Your Inner Cat with Alysse Aallyn

    Feb 20

    The Multiverse Ushers You Into the Labyrinth – Is your brain’s labyrinth powerful enough to solve the multiverse’s complexity? If each of us experiences slow-growing learning difficulties as we heave from infancy into psychic awareness, how are we going to figure out the space-time continuum? In order to tackle these vast problems we have to get some sense of their dimensions.

    Are You Dreaming of the Impossible? Last night I dreamed of being at a resort where people were able to run across the top of the ocean playing a curling game – but they had to move fast. I couldn’t figure out what kept their feet above the waves.  It seemed to be my job to provide lunch but the food at the little store was appalling. Very little bread, all stale – some weird canned vegetables, no protein other than some very suspect cheese. My job was humiliating AND impossible!  I was so relieved to wake up!

    Don’t Try This Alone – Life is very complex. We are bombarded with daily reminders that many of its problems are too big for our tiny brains to tackle alone. We need help deconstructing and deciphering the maze – we require the assistance of legions of engineers, mathematicians, philosophers and artists – living and dead. Our mythic history is nothing but re-runs of: Tiny Human Confronts Huge Multiverse.

    Is Your God Too Small? – We have a regrettable tendency to try to solve problems by reducing them to the size of our individual brains. Don’t. There’s no shame in admitting the problem is of awe-inspiring size; there’s no shame in requesting help. But any concept of God must be of something mightier than our own understanding, our problems, bigger even than space and time.

    Purrsons Are Puzzle Solvers – There is a way out of this labyrinth. You can follow string, leave breadcrumbs, mark walls, climb higher to get a birds’ eye view. You can call in a favor, study history, learn a skill, consult experts, request advice, find out what’s worked in the past. My favorite cartoon shows a goat calmly eating his way through maze walls. The key, problem solvers tell you, is not to panic. Whole years of primary education are devoted to getting you to sit down, breathe calmly and focus on the problem. Remember what you have been taught. Recall your goals.

    Purrson Challenge – It is not necessary to solve the entire problem to solve a problem. Even a blind rat can get through a maze one step at a time. Algebra came into being to manipulate unknowns. Guessing at the existence of x using the behavior of surrounding particles allows us to see without eyes. Many “hacks” are clever, and certain innovators have a gift for adaptation and reconfiguration. We can always use help. We can always form teams. Repeat after me: “All my problems have some solution.” Often the solution is viewing the “problem” differently. Maybe it isn’t a problem. Maybe it’s an opportunity. Think of the magic of AI at your fingertips, ready to join your team.

    Purrson Danger – Primary dangers consist of Panic (inability to think); Defeatist Thinking (lack of imagination) and Runaway Technology (uncontrolled AI). The lovely movie The Martian shows a scientist literally conquering the impossible. If you ”give up”, you’ll never get there, but retreat, reconstitution, changing training regimens and getting help are NOT giving up.  Promoting your physical health and “Sleeping on it” are always good advice, as is viewing the difficulty from some other angle or changing the definitions of the entities considered.

    Purrson Opportunity – Key to success is fostering excitement about challenges. Our high school used to dump couples in the countryside at night and give a prize to the first couple who found their way home! (Following roads and train tracks always a good idea.) Scavenger hunts and orienteering cover much the same territory. The fact that a problem is difficult only makes it more fun. Ask chess players.

    Models & Mentors – “The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity”

    – Douglas Horton

    “The labyrinth combines walking and thinking to open your power of imaginative perception” – Lauren Artress

    “Willingness to be puzzled is a valuable trait to cultivate” – Noam Chomsky

    “In a maze, find the center, in a labyrinth, find yourself” – Alysse Aallyn

    “Life is a puzzle, missing pieces guaranteed and you can’t cheat and look at the box” – Anonymous

  • Purrsiflage – Today’s Zen for Your Inner Cat Person with Alysse Aallyn

    Feb 18

    The Multiverse Has Spoken – A project of yours is nearing completion. Harvest approaches, the time of celebration, relief and delight, when you flourish laurels and then rest upon them.

     Do you dream of fruit, perfectly ripe?  Do you love to cook and entertain? Are you attracted by movies with long family dinner scenes, everyone celebrating outdoors beneath an arbor? Is touring wine country a popular fantasy of yours? You are a person who is propelled forward by imagining smiles on the faces of others as the work of community and you believe that family harmony is to be celebrated and enjoyed. This vision can keep us going through bitter hardships.

    Harvest Comes Because Purrsons Prepare – You became a Purrson because you resisted others’ negativity, hopelessness and learned helplessness. Instead you turned your eyes to the immutable rituals of seed care, the healthy promotion of living things, and now you are granted a front-row seat at the celebration of flourishing.

    Purrson Challenge – Keeping these visions alive during the training phase is hard, because the growth cycle is long and can be boring and uneventful. That’s why planting occurs in stages, so all your psychic eggs aren’t resting in the same basket. Learn to enjoy all the seasons, without hungering for a single season. This is a good time to contrast group versus individual gratifications and ask ourselves, “What’s that about?”

    Purrson Danger – Even Purrsons can become thirsty for gratification until it takes more and more to satisfy us. “Winning” is a shallow goal if that’s all there is. Purrsons seek harmony, blending community resources to make the whole family stronger. The worst outcome is to be locked in an addiction cycle and spiraling downwards; no longer part of the growth process, or benefitting from training and spiritual renewal.

    Purrsons Rest by Dreaming Forward – Sitting around the fire telling stories, modeling “success” as peaceful sharing rather than as an endless party. Luckily sleep and dreams are the best model of fruitful dormancy. We require those periods and we need to look forward to their relief and imaginative nourishment.

    Purrson Opportunity – Every group celebration of the success and nourishment cycle is different. Are there leftover behaviors that no longer serve you? What fresh, exciting new ideas might you add? Is everyone in the family/community being well-served or are there grumpy holdouts? It’s fruitful to listen to the grumpy holdouts occasionally.  How might they do things differently? If all they want is to harsh everyone else’s buzz, maybe they should no longer expect an automatic invitation to the feast.

    Models & Mentors – “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you will get but by the seeds you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

    “In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter, enjoy” – William Blake

    “Every deed sows a seed, though the harvest you may not see”

    – Ella Wheeler Wilcox

    “We are each other’s harvest, we are each other’s business, we are each other’s magnitude and bond” – Gwendolyn Brooks

  • Purrsiflage – Today’s Zen for Your Inner Kitty with Alysse Aallyn

    Feb 11

    Today You’re Upside Down – You need a re-set. Your operating instructions must be faulty. But where did they go wrong? That is what we must figure out. Do you find yourself frequently fantasizing about some magic dissolution of “the rules” to benefit only you?  

    The problem with mirages – especially those we long to believe in – is that they become illusions. Falsehoods. We need so desperately to cling to an obvious fantasy we willingly surrender our ability to discern fact from fiction.

    Illusions are Powerful – The seventeenth century Dutch needed a desirable luxury exchange item the privileged could trade back and forth for status reasons. Yes, that was the tulip bulb. It was a bubble – of course– the bottom fell out – of course – and left a whole lot of previously comfortable people bankrupt. We don’t have anything like that, these days, do we? Or do we? People are rushing to invest in crypto because of its complete lack of regulation. But without rules, it’s laughably easy to steal people’s money without accountability or recourse.

    We’re All Rubes Here – Some people are investing in admittedly worthless “tokens” – just in case they go up in value. Does anyone remember the Beanie Baby craze? I had a friend who stored Mrs. Butterworth bottles in her basement – she had a basement FULL of Mrs. Butterworth bottles – because they were just BOUND to be worth something – someday. Have you seen what happens when everyone runs to the same side of the ferryboat? It tips them into the water! Successful investing involves being where the crowd isn’t – before they get there. That takes careful research. Relying on luck and chance is a fool’s game. 

    Pump & Dump Schemes – entice the unwary to “Get in on the ground floor.” But they’re just selling something worthless and they want you to bail them out. Bad decision making or deliberate manipulation?

    Some Illusions Are Life Strengthening – Others are Life-Depleting.

    I can’t stress this strongly enough: Purrsons Need to Avoid Fantasy Thinking. In spite of the fact that we think we are cats, Purrsons actually traffic in reality. We create worthwhile magic, the kind that protects and enhances – so we can’t be deceived by the “dark arts” that punish and stigmatize. Your map must represent actual ground, not pie in the sky, or you won’t be able to maneuver across it. When a mirage evolves into an illusion a delusion is created.

    Illusions Become Delusions – Delusions are a “fixed false belief resistant to reason; a distortion of reality to which the victim clings fiercely, even in the face of visible harm. The Buddhists say life itself is an illusion. But they mean that metaphorically, to keep you from become “attached” to the “ephemeral.”  Take the example of clinging to “fake food” and pushing away nutrition. Like any addict, we deny what our own bodies tell us; that we are “allergic” to this consumption.  When Purrsons end up battling FOR falsity – it’s the worst of all possible situations.

    Purrson Challenge – Let’s learn to enjoy facing facts. Enjoy reality as a bracing polar dip.  Do you find yourself trapped by an illusion that you used to need but now is killing you? You can identify this by your increasing suffering over an increasingly problematic existence and your diminishing pleasure over things that used to be reliable joys. Is it a relationship? An activity? A belief? Look at the problem honestly. Find others going through the same experience and generate frank discussion.

    Flying Monkeys Abound – If any group member rushes in defensively to shame and discourage you, to convince you you’re not feeling or understanding what you KNOW you ARE feeling and understanding then realize you’re being gaslighted.  That means that what you’re trying to exit is a “cult” that is NOT devoted to the health of its members but to their diminishment and co-option. Stop communicating with those flying monkeys and find somebody who supports the truth of your actual experience AND your desire to feel better.

    Purrson Danger – The path to re-making yourself is fraught with danger and you will require all sorts of help. Don’t be discouraged if your feelings are volatile and transitory and you are confused about their reality. Move slowly, consulting Models & Mentors – kind others who respect your autonomy, individuality and with whom you feel safe.

    Purrson Opportunity –  Relax! Purrsons will become adept at shifting vision from night vision to day vision, forward and backwards through time, manifesting others’ auras until we can see and harmonize with possibility and love.

    We Transform Illusion Through Skill – The impossible takes longer, because language is not as flexible as reality. You are embarked on an exciting growth challenge where you leave a constricting carapace behind. Sometimes the “shell” was protective and served for a time to keep you safe while you matured. You don’t need to disparage the old you, or the old relationship; it served its purpose. Often people who have been through a trauma say afterwards they wouldn’t change the past, because they treasure and embrace the person they’ve become.

    Models & Mentors – “Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours” – Richard Bach

    “The world is an illusion we must take seriously.”

    – Aldous Huxley

    “The light at the end of the tunnel is not an illusion – the tunnel’s the illusion” – Alysse Aallyn

    “Separation from each other is an optical illusion of reality” – Albert Einstein

    ‘Limit, like fear, is often an illusion” – Michael Jordan