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August 31, 2010

The Lotus Sutra

Filed under: Reviews — Tyler @ 10:59 pm
Read the Lotus Sutra for free

Read the Lotus Sutra for free online

I love the Lotus Sutra. I’ve read it multiple times and it has changed my life. I found a website called, sacred-texts.com that has the Lotus Sutra online so you can read it for free. It is a slightly different version than the one I’ve read, which was the Kumarajiva version so I am going to read it again online and see if there are any major differences. The Lotus Sutra is a Buddhist text that has a tremendous amount of good in it. The version I read had a glossary so I could look up the words that I was unfamiliar with in the back. But if you check out the link above you could always just have a tab of Wikipedia open so you can look up any words or phrases you are unfamiliar with. The wikipedia entries aren’t as concise as the glossary definitions that I read in the printed book form, but they should do well to clear up major questions and ambiguities. The Lotus Sutra has a special place in my mind and heart because every time I have read it I have had a different experience. The text brings up ideas that are both thought provoking and stillness invoking. I remember reading the Lotus Sutra one day at a Starbucks in Orange and I felt like I was having a mild out of body experience. It wasn’t like what I expected the experience to feel like.

Out of all the books and texts I’ve read in my life I can say hands down that I am most thankful for the opportunity to read the Lotus Sutra.

The Lotus Sutra changed my life in more than one way. It altered my perception on the world that I live in. I no longer viewed the world as a finite experience. After reading the text, I no longer viewed my fears in the same way.

It took me a long time to decompress after reading The Lotus Sutra the first time. But I’m glad I did it.

I love spiritual and religious texts so reading The Lotus Sutra was very enjoyable. One of the great things about The Lotus Sutra is that it is presented in an interesting way. There are descriptions before each chapter of the situation and the beings in the area. Then there is spoken words. So the information is presented in an interesting fashion and you always know who is talking. It is very clear and if you have patience with the longer names and words it will flow easily. One personal suggestion that I have is that you try and pronounce the longer and unfamiliar names slowly out loud in order to remember and get to know them. Some names in the text are very long and beautiful and sound like poetry when spoken aloud. It isn’t a big deal if you don’t pronounce them perfectly, it is more about paying respect to the entities in the text. By doing so you will probably have a more enjoyable and fruitful reading experience.

Another cool thing about The Lotus Sutra is that it is divided into easily manageable chapters. I read each chapter usually during one reading session and then took time to reflect on what I read. You may find yourself reading at a different pace, but that’s what worked for me.

Here’s a link to The Lotus Sutra so you can read it for free at sacred-texts.com.

-Tyler

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Matthew Sforcina spawns a Meme worth celebrating

Filed under: Music-Downloads,Music-Reviews — Tyler @ 8:05 pm
Matthew Sforcina Meme

Matthew Sforcina's "Meme" is zen-state stimulating music (FREE DOWNLOAD)

I’ve been listening to Matthew Sforcina’s musical exploits for the past few months on and off and generally have been mildly amused and slightly impressed by his work. But earlier this week I had the real pleasure of listening to Sforcina’s latest not-for-profit album called, “yod kaf meme.” You can download “yod kaf meme” for free by clicking HERE. The first two songs, are clever but the real gem of the album is “meme.” This song incorporates experimental, ambient and eerie elements to create a piece of music that is definitely worth celebrating. When I first listened to the beginning of “meme” I was instantly drawn into a Zen state of relaxation. The ambient rain-forest sounds set my mind at ease. There are sounds of birds and either rainfall or a distant waterfall. It is very soothing and listening to it on headphones was like being wrapped in a blanket of contentment. I love how the song stays with this feeling and state for a substantial length of time. It shows that Sforcina truly understands that sublimation of distraction and standard emotional states takes more than just a 15 second hook.

The transition between the rain-forest intro to the first verse melds into place with a violin and piano. They remind me of a meditation bowl, being hit at the perfect time to send the mind deeper and deeper. Then the drums kick in a mechanical and deliberate fashion. It is jarring yet appreciated because you are prepared for it. When Sforcina sings he does so with spoken word accuracy and rhythm, while retaining an unending melody. His words hit hard and the music is both disturbing and serene.

Meme is a great piece of music because it can be listened to over and over again due to its stages and uniqueness. But most of all the place it brings the listener to is so special that it borders on the sacred. Sforcina’s music is usually very intimate. But this time he outdid himself by a long-shot. Meme is both recognition of oneness as well as the entrance to a parallel consciousness. I’d be lying if I said I’ll ever be the same again.

You can download “yod kaf meme” for free by clicking HERE.

You can “like” Matthew Sforcina on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Subscribe to Matthew Sforcina on YouTube after clicking HERE.

-Tyler

August 2010 was a record breaking month for overidon

Filed under: Overidon News — Tyler @ 12:39 am
record breaking month

August was a Record-Breaking Month

August 2010 was a record breaking month in terms of unique visitors and number of visits for overidon.com. According to AWstats we received 4,627 unique visitors so far in August. As well as 7,396 overall visitors for the month to date. The last time we got close to this many viewers was June 2010 when we received 4,470 unique visitors and 6,492 overall visitors. This is important because now overidon.com is finally approaching its original goal: To disseminate information. According to Alexa.com this website as of today is ranked 2,679,773 globally. I know that doesn’t sound like much but the interesting thing is that the website has gone up in the rank by nearly one-million this past month. Which is kind of a big jump. But that means that there are still over two-million other websites that get more traffic than overidon.com.

As a bonus, here’s how you officially pronounce overidon:  oh-v-air-eh-dawn

Some people pronounce it like: over-eye-dawn. And that’s cool, but that’s not the official pronunciation.

-Tyler

August 30, 2010

Earning Pleasurable Music Listening Sessions

Filed under: Tyler's Mind — Tyler @ 11:57 pm
rainforest

The Rainforest reminds me of music

I have this strange habit of needing to “earn” my most pleasurable music listening sessions. One would think that listening to the best and most enjoyable music would be second nature. But in fact, my most treasured albums like The Future Sound of London’s “A Gigantic Burst of Antistatic” are only listened to every few weeks or so. This is strange because I literally love that album. I realized something was odd when I turned the album on a few minutes ago and thought to myself, “Why don’t I listen to this everyday?” The answer is: Because deep down I feel like I need to earn the enjoyment I get from this music. And the main way that I “earn” such experiences is through experiencing unpleasantness or hard work. I guess there is some sort of equilibrium that is reached when listening to music. When I feel really drained I like to listen to The Future Sound of London because it regenerates me. But what’s up with the need to earn good listening sessions?

The answer to the question probably reveals more about self-worth than I’d like to admit. But I question it all the same. It almost boils down to a more simple question, “Am I worthy of feeling the way that I truly want to feel?” And what are those feelings anyway? The first things that come to mind are feeling at least somewhat in control, tranquility, focus, relation, accuracy and competence. It is so easy to be distracted, so easy to backslide. Frustration and the desire to force things are energy levels that I fall into when I am not mindful of my emotions. But the idea that emotions and worthiness are somehow linked intrigues me. Maybe the trick isn’t necessarily knowing that I’m worthy of feeling the emotions that I want to feel. But instead, I must simply accept the emotions as one would accept a gift from an old friend. There is no reason to judge or reciprocate. The simple acceptance of the gift is thanks enough.

So if the music listening sessions are pleasurable and I don’t know if I truly earned them or not, then that means I should make a point to have the sessions. Because the end result of the music feeds the behavior and mindset and emotions that are needed and required to experience the self worth. And that in of itself propagates a positive demeanor. It is kind of like the journey of enlightenment and freedom from desire. Isn’t the goal of enlightenment a desire in itself? The more I think about it the less I believe so.

Enlightenment is a natural state.

-Tyler

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