A Way of Life, Not Religion

Though many have heard of Buddhists and Buddhism few understand the working concepts and the fact that it is a lifestyle and not a true religion. The Four Pillars of this way are:

Four Noble Truths
The Nature of Dukkha: Suffering exists in life.

The Origin of Dukkha (Samudaya): Suffering is caused by craving.

The Cessation of Dukkha (Nirodha): To eliminate suffering, eliminate
craving.

The Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha (Magga): To eliminate craving follow the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold path is, the right view, the right intention, the right speech, the right actions, the right livelihood, the right efforts, the right mindfulness, the right concentration.

My interpretation of this 2950 year-old disciplinary practice is that “right” -being such a relative term these days -means of the consciousness of doing positive things that help the self and others. Buddha literally means The “Awakened One.”

None of these concepts are contrary to what it takes to make a meaningful life regardless of whatever you believe as your own religion, yet now as we speak thousands of monks are being killed in Burma now Myanmar because of their lifestyle, because of what they believe-that is harmless to others. What indeed are we of this world that we do such horrible things to each other and destined to do even more each day until the blood runs in swaths of rivers of oppression and hate?

__________________________
Nick Oliva
Author, “Only Moments”

New Discoveries of Real and Fictional Character’s Secret Lives!

Captain Ahab used his prosethetic leg for things other than walking. Orca preferred male companionship Lenny in the Grapes of Wrath was really a idiot-savant. Mary Poppins moonlighted as a hooker-expi alla delicious! Hamlet liked wearing leg stockings so much he wore them to bed. Sherlock Holmes was always constipated hence the phrase “No S… Sherlock Flipper was transexual and went both ways. The Three Bears practiced beastiality Bambi was killed by a conspiracy. Mickey Mouse was bi and Minnie knew and was definitely doin’ Goofy things on the side. All of the Transformers go both ways if not more. Moses might have parted the Red Sea but he couldn’t get a date to save his life….must have been the that persistent donkey smell. Erica Jong confessed her character actually did it on the plane at the end of the her Fear of Flying book. Fredo was really a macho guy but they drugged him to make him a wimp. Shirley McClain actually only had one past life but she had multiple personalities. Jane Erye was a lesbian. Ayn Rand had weighty issues. Plato ate too much on his dish and was always after the little boys down the street. Charles Manson really hated Helter Skelter, but loved “Silly Little Love Songs” by Paul McCartney. (What’s wrong with that, I’d like to know?) Dr. Dolittle went around the world in less than eighty days. Heathcliff was a enunch. and finally, They scaled back many characters in Finding Nemo.

Big Sur Central to Only Moments, A New Novel

Big Sur is the focal point of fate for the characters in this new novel. I care not that the book makes me large sums of money or that my blog site makes money through ads or pass-throughs; I only want “Only Moments” book’s readership to expand in order to touch souls without egocentric satisfaction, and to promote the introspection of the self. There is force of God within, therein lies the answers to the “secret” of life, not ancient papers and codexes throughout the dawn of man; of words mistranslated, misunderstood and held up defiantly as an excuse for the right to kill one another. I take no superior attitude as some would accuse me, I have been dead, literally and allowed back to the land of the living and even as I suffer great pain daily, I am thankful. I count every day as a miracle, everything around me as such. Thank you for taking the time to look at the site and reading mere words.

See www.onlymomentsbook.com for reviews and excerpts.

The story opens in the year 2020, with a romantic/erotic dream sequence and waking of one lonely sixty-six year-old widower Chris Vadia, a retired professional musician, and his sullen celibate perspective due to his wife dying fifteen years earlier.  After establishing the time period and the impossibility of replacing human intimacy with the high-tech devices of the period, we flashback fifty years to 1970.  The story then leads to the serendipitous and comic circumstances of how he met the love of his life, while on a wild summer vacation driving through California with three friends.  A beach in Big Sur is the dramatic background for the fairy tale loss of their virginity.

Time then shifts chapter to chapter, through their college days, marriage, their struggling and successes, parental deaths, the World Trade Towers disaster, their Carnegie Hall debut, and then the crisis of having grown so far apart despite being with each other 24 hours a day. The novel explores how the deep flaws of both individuals bring them together through life, and how the chance actions of childhood experiences run so deep that they ultimately affect an entire life.  At age 51, she dies; the cause of Chris’ mental downfall.  The reader then finds Chris in the present and the reason for the quick flashbacks of time from when he first began reminiscing on his beachside outdoor deck. The book’s climax occurs as Chris goes through a body/soul separation that is literally the culmination of all the previous chapters by using a device of repeating phrases (shown in italics) from previous chapters that now bear new meanings. The reader can now also understand that the opening dream in the first chapter was a foretelling of the entire book.

In the last chapter, his finds his life dramatically changed for the better as a result of his experience from a powerful singular event.

The unforgiving world, the false hope of technology, the commonality of human emotion throughout history ties into an uplifting romantic fairy tale.  The underlying theme is the imperfection of all things human and the unrelenting passage of time, but is written in a very positive manner. The road, throughout the novel is representative of one’s life path and sense of discovery.

What’s in a Name? Where Do You Want to Retire?

A good friend asked me an interesting question about where I would want to retire based on names…….so I did some research and found this……..these are all real names of towns in the USA
Nick Oliva
Auhor, “Only Moments”
www.onlymomentsbook.com

PLACES I DON’T WANT TO RETIRE

Deadhorse, Eek, Floss, Goobertown, Tuba City, Gassville, Greasy Corner, Grubbs, Bivalve, Fort Dick. Blue Ball, Yellow Water, Roachtown, Beans Corner Bingo, Hell, Slaughterville, Bird-in-Hand, Drab, Looneyville, Spread Eagle, Embarrass, Nothing, Surprise, Why, Bald Knob, Flippin, Toad Suck, Weiner, Yellville, Turkey Scratch, Bummerville, Frying Pan, Gas Point, Squabbletown, Gnaw Bone, Crummies, Rabbit Hash, Typo, Cut-Off, Cut -n- Shoot, Ding Dong, Dry Prong, Fort Crook, Tick Bite, Lizard Lick, Idiotville, Colon, Jigger, Satan’s Kingdom, and the infamous Nimrod!

PLACES WHERE I DO WANT TO RETIRE
Intercourse, Carefree, Goodyear, Hooker, Romance, Okay, Chiquita, Confidence, Cool, Date City, Eureka, Fair Play, Grand, Hallelujah Junction, Humptulips, Hardy, Harmony, Climax, Security, Little Heaven, Niceville, Okahumpka, Panacea, Cumming, Butts, Beer Bottle Crossing, Threeway, Wonder Lake, French Lick, Jugville, Oddville, Assawoman Bay, Eden, Paradise, Coffeeville, Tightwad, Humansville, Pleasant Hope, Bigfork, Big Sky, Sweetgrass, Opportunity, Short Pump, Simplicity, Beaver Crossing, Virginville, Valentine, Wahoo, Jackpot, Good Intent, Love Ladies, Neversink, Wise, Needmore, Fear Not, Happy, Nuttsville, Veribest, Sweet Lips, Zig Zag, and what the heck Whynot, Knockemstiff!

A LIFE OR DEATH ISSUE

PASS IT ON TO ALL YOU KNOW THAT NEED TO KNOW
Yvonne Perry is a fellow writer and after having read her book, “The Right to Recover,” I am forwarding this information to all that I know in the hopes that they read and understand that we here in the United States are being misled as to what researchers want to use for stem cells that are not human embryos as has been misstated over and over by groups that do not want to educate themselves.
I have a case of severe diabetes, without this research I will die prematurely no matter what steps I can take now. My mother died at age 67, my brothers have it and millions of others in this country need a cure, NOW! Yvonne explains that the clump of cells called blastocysts are not living human entities. If you have family, friends, or loved ones that have life threatening diseases you need to read how close we are to curing these problems if our government would stop being pressured by special interest groups that have it all wrong. There is a forward by Rev. Dan Bloodworth a strong supporter of Yvonne’s, with a Biblical Perspective on stem cell research.
Anything you can or are willing to do to help people understand the importance of federal funding for all types of stem cell research is much appreciated—especially by those who currently suffer with an illness or condition that might be helped by the derived technology and treatments.

Yvonne Perry has taken a courageous stand by tackling and dissecting these issues without predjudicial preconceived emotion. The biggest obstacle to this research is the inclusion of religious aspects in the determination that a blastocyst or a pile of benign cells constitutes human life, a grave error of thought. After all, is there a ceremony or last rites given to these cells? They are not inside a woman’s uterus, they have not been given DNA to substantiate they are human and can take the form of whatever host they are merged into. I am a diabetic. I will die along with millions of others prematurely. With one injection of stem cells, in the near future my pancreas could grow back and I would be able to stop shooting insulin and going into insulin shock wearing my organs down and live a normal life. All I need is the ability of these dedicated researchers to be allowed to use funding to further the research to make it all happen for millions of us. Read the book before you go off about the “point that life begins” and begin to understand how much damage is being done because of a lack of understanding of that very question.