There are ghost women in my life, exerting their supernatural influence over me. One moment, they're silently stalking in old hardwood-floored corridors of memory, the next they're invisible but laughing, sighing, whispering, or moaning in distant echoes of sexual pleasure long ago spent. Sometimes, I can't tell the difference between them and the real ones.  ¶ 3:02 AM

  I find it interesting to note a connection between the small Tom Robbins quote I posted yesterday and The Tao of Pooh. Sense of humor seems to be essential in Taoism, the kind of sense of humor that lets you enjoy what the world has to offer. The kind very serious and quite playful, that allows you to see genuine goodness in things.  ¶ 2:21 AM

  A book recommendation for all, with the potential to change your life:

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff


I happened across this book today in a used bookstore in the illustrious Troy, NY, and purchased it for $3.50. I brought it home, read the introduction, dozed happily, did some fun things in Ballston Spa, and eventually came home and read the rest.

We all remember Winnie-the-Pooh, that simple-minded, compassionate bear adventuring through the forest with his flawed but charming and familiar friends, Piglet, Rabbit, Owl, Tigger, Kanga, Roo, Eeyore, and of course, Christopher Robin. Although I was more into Seuss, with his bizarre contraptions of character, plot and invention, Pooh had a place in my childhood storybookworld, too.

The Tao of Pooh brings Pooh and friends back to life for a discussion of the principles of Taoism, an ancient Chinese philosophy, through the familiar Western context of Pooh. The messages here are of simplicity, harmony with all things, contentment, effortlessness, peace, compassion, and awareness. Pooh shows us what is really important in life, and the result is significant and stirring.

There are ideas here I had begun to understand, but I think I've turned away from them without realizing it. What a wonderful way to be reminded!

This is a beautiful book. I cherish it. It may have changed my life.  ¶ 1:52 AM

  Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
A fly can't bird, but a bird can fly.
Ask me a riddle and I reply:
"Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
A fish can't whistle and neither can I.
Ask me a riddle and I reply:
"Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken, I don't know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply:
"Cottleston, Cottleston, Cottleston Pie."

- Winnie the Pooh  ¶ 1:48 AM

  "...And a sense of humor, properly developed, is superior to any religion so far devised."

- Tom Robbins, Jitterbug Perfume  ¶ 2:45 AM