Episode Details

Note: As you have noticed through these articles, my writing is prompted by insights and these spur from periods of contemplation, and other times from feelings and sensations when I am actively responding to my environment.

This article is a bit lengthy, so thank you for engaging.

Time stamps:

02:29 - Is excellence a virtue?

05:35 - Purpose and environment: Vertical and horizontal parameters

07:45 - Upcoming cycles

10:16 - The possibility of living your purpose

13:56 - Natural law and subtle quality

15:01 - FEEDBACK -Where am I on the map?

19:45 - Deaf to noise

22:34 - The Two Faces of Time + footnotes

The map of nothingness: A perfect and absolute blank!

089    The Bellman himself they all praised to the skies—090    Such a carriage, such ease and such grace!091    Such solemnity, too! One could see he was wise,092    The moment one looked in his face!

093    He had bought a large map representing the sea,094    Without the least vestige of land:095    And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be096    A map they could all understand.

097    “What’s the good of Mercator’s North Poles and Equators,098    Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?”099    So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply100    “They are merely conventional signs!

101    “Other maps are such shapes, with their islands and capes!102    But we’ve got our brave Captain to thank:103    (So the crew would protest) “that he’s bought us the best—104    A perfect and absolute blank!”

105    This was charming, no doubt; but they shortly found out106    That the Captain they trusted so well107    Had only one notion for crossing the ocean,108    And that was to tingle his bell.

~ Lewis Carroll ‘The Hunting of the Snark’ (An Agony in 8 Fits), 1876

To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Sun Tzu

Is excellence a virtue?

Closing 2023 with the virtue of generosity, I am grateful for having given myself the time and care to really listen to my needs in ways I never thought possible. As I write parts of this article on Monday, November 13th, there is a brand new Moon in Scorpio, and it is my purpose to not only live in excellence today and tomorrow but to make it the daily virtue for 2024.

With generosity, one might initially associate it with giving material goods, especially to those less fortunate in the abundance cycle. However, I reached a profound insight from my Taoist teacher over two decades ago—generosity is the space one offers to oneself, allowing others to be generous. In my words, I'll refer to it as being generous to create the space for feedback.

—Excellentia: to excel, to rise high, lofty ground—

In my pursuit of high standards, as I explore new perspectives and enhance what I already know as true, perhaps adding something special to my life, I gear towards exceptional behavior. After all, integrity is the core of my values. I aspire to master various practices, making myself of service with my uniqueness and creativity.

The most fearful moment? Alone with my breath, knowing the only feedback is within—no approval from others—considering all the things we, the people, do to be accepted socially!

Obviously, we need company but not at the expense of freedom. We must learn how to relate to our individual truth, to listen to it; first, it will whisper, then it will scream if left unattended.

Speaking up these days is a necessity beyond survival—as old, stale,