THE CREATIVE BUDDHIST NEWSLETTER

Dear Subscriber First Name,

I had my astrological chart read by Open Sky Witch (aka Khasanti). I’ve zero idea of the logic behind it. In fact, I don’t think it has anything to do with logic! Magic perhaps? A couple of interesting threads emerged to do with my work here at Red Ladder Studio, so I thought I’d share them.

First, there’s an axis between my moon in Capricorn in the 3rd house being directly opposite Sun in Cancer in my 9th house. The 3rd house is all about the descent, the earthiness, the wabi-sabi beauty of everyday life, you could say ‘relative reality’. Whereas the 9th house is to do with expansion and transcendence, or ‘ultimate reality’. It’s no wonder you are so into the Two Truths, she tells me. And I think how amazing it is to have a Buddhist astrologer!

In the 10th house, which is to do with career and the public facing side of our lives, I have Venus and Jupiter. They are the most ‘happy making’ planets, apparently! Jupiter is the philosopher connected to wisdom and understanding. Venus is to do with beauty, love, and art. Again, the wabi-sabi dharma art theme seems to fit. The 10th house is in view of my 2nd house, the house of finance, which means the stars think I should be able to make a living doing what I’m doing!

There was lots more personal stuff, which I won’t go into here. But I was left with the realisation that simply understanding ourselves more deeply is a kind of transformation. This exploration of my astrological chart, guided by someone with such a dharmic perspective, has given me quite a few insights to work with over the next months.

The Dharma Bundle

By the time you read this, the first Dharma Bundle on The Two Truths will be complete. I’m heading off on retreat with a new theme bubbling away. Something on conditionality would nicely follow the Two Truths, I’m thinking. It launches in a couple of weeks.

The Dharma Bundle is a ‘bundle’ of dharma resources, thoughtfully made and beautifully packaged. Short, illustrated Dharma videos and audio talks. Audio meditations and reflections. Creative assignments.

On my radar this week

Book: The Anxious Generation - The things on my radar this week have a common theme; my ongoing disaffection with social media. More about that in Diary Extracts below. I’ve been reading ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt. It’s subtitled ‘How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness’. I know, sounds fun, hey? In fact, I almost gave up as it’s so depressing, then I realised I was starting to feel more empathy with my kids. I could see how a leisurely dinner at the table is relaxing for me, whereas for them, there’s the constant pull of the phone. And, at times, it’s the same for me. Some excellent suggestions for those of you that have younger kids.

Podcast: A Quiet Revolt Against Social Media - Next up was Cal Newport talking about the Artists Revolt Against Social Media. It starts with a YouTube video by Damon Dominique, ‘Why I Don’t Post Anymore’, which inspires others, like Lrnjulie’s ‘I Deleted my Social Media and Made a Website’. None of these people are really in my ‘wheelhouse’, nor Cal Newport’s I imagine, but it’s good to keep an eye on what the kids are doing. They’re often ahead of the curve. Cal goes on to pull apart some issues of social media for artists, worth a listen if that’s you.

Apps: Reader and Pocket - Less social media means more time for reading. I’ve been saving all my newsletters and articles in an app called Reader. Then reading them over breakfast on a Saturday morning with my wife in our favourite café. Reader is a paid app that sends all your highlights to your note taking app for you. It does the same with your kindle books. But if you don’t need to take digital notes, then I’d recommend the Pocket app which is free.

Article: By Hand - Laundry is my favourite household task. I love all of it. From hand washing woollen jumpers, to pegging out washing on the line. And ironing, I iron things that don’t really need ironing just for the pleasure of doing it. There’s the visual beauty of a line full of washing billowing in the wind, or of the linen cupboard stacked with neatly folded tablecloths. But there’s also the smell. The smell of wool in water, and of sheets fresh off the line, even more delicious if they got caught in the rain! Maeve Reilly celebrates it all in her article ‘By Hand’.

Diary extracts

Who’s curating your life?

Back in the day, we discovered new books, artists and films through our friends. Someone would recommend something and, depending on your opinion of that person’s taste, you would or wouldn’t follow it up. I have certain friends whose taste I trust implicitly. Can an algorithm match that? I don’t think so. A friend sent the article on laundry above to me. He knew I’d love it.

When it comes to books, I like anything that is really well written, got something new to say, or has beautiful intelligence to it. My kindle doesn’t realise this about me. It thinks because I’m reading ‘The anxious generation’, then I want to read everything about mental health problems. Even my more literal minded friends know me better than that!

I’m making a conscious effort to ask my friends for more recommendations, often getting my little notebook out as we’re talking to jot down their tips.

Making your website your home

If you have a website, how at home are you in it? I sometimes wonder if we’re more at home with social media. We’ve taught ourselves how to make reels, how to optimise posts for the algorithms and what tags to use. But we might not have gotten to grips with SEO (search engine optimisation) which is how we get people to actually see our website!

This is a question in the Wabi-sabi Workplace right now. How can we really inhabit our website, make it our own? Can a website be as dynamic as social media? If I were running a bricks and mortar business, then my website would be my shop window. How inviting is it? What would i have to do to stop people in their tracks?

A quote I’m thinking about:

“What if the clothes dryer is not the benign domestic labour- saving device we think it is – if we think about it at all? What if it’s a thief of our human agency? Or, to put this another way, a thief of some small portion of our humanity – that part of us that feels at home in the simple rhythms and chores of daily life, untethered to the electrical socket? That part of us that finds pleasure and satisfaction in doing a thing by hand? What if this appliance is yet another way we separate ourselves from the seasons and the rest of the natural world? And from our traditions and the language of our traditions?”

― ‘By Hand’ by Maeve Reilly