Hello buddies,

For those in school, I hope you guys have had a good first (maybe second) month of school. Its smooth sailing from here on out. School is great.

For those not in school, I hope you guys are having a good time too.

I'm writing this journal because something rather unexpected happened that made me think I should share this. A person who I would consider a foundation in my life asked me about the meaning of life. He had a very stressful day and was very tired. He asked me what does it all mean. Why do we suffer, can't prayer change the outcome in our lives? I paused thoughtfully and started giving book references.

I told him a brief summary of the book Dune and a few of its sequels (good books). I told him about how the main character became so enlightened that he could see the future, but he then no longer could "not" see the future. He was trapped by the fact he was able to avoid life's hardships. In the sequels, he tells his son not to follow down the same path as he did. Instead, he told his son to choose a Golden Path were everything was a surprise. His son grows up to find joy in experiencing both his pain and pleasure. In fact, he is thrilled when his subjects (he is a king) over throw him and kill him, asking how they planned it and was so happy to surprised by it. So dont be angry and stressed that things happen, they happen because they can, plus they wont matter once your dead and long gone. I doubt your spirit actually cares about how you got a parking ticket.

As for prayers and "making things happen by positive thought", I quoted my favorite lines from Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. The part I quote is where, in the book, Siddhartha is leaving gurus (for he is from India and is Hindu) because he feels he is not at peace with himself, he cant find comfort in the way these gurus are living. So he goes and tells the head guru he is going to leave. the guru tries to "bewitch" him to stay, only to be "bewitch" by Siddhartha in return. "My, it takes a lot to bewitch an old man like me... I have not doubt if you stayed you could learn to walk on water." Siddhartha turns back at him as he is walking away. "Old man, why would I want to?" Guys, prayer may or may not work the way you think it does. Next time you pray, think about who you are talking to. Are you asking him once again to help you on a test? Like I said before, I doubt your spirit cares about the petty hardships we all experience in life, so why would God? When was the last time you prayed just to talk to God?

There last thing I reminded this person was what we are supposed to be doing here. "Love your neighbor as yourself," and "You must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind." He then smiled at me and thanked me. Guys, life is roughly 80 years. Are you going to spend it worrying about the stupid petty things that draw attention and depress you? It's a waste of energy. In the Hindu scriptures of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Vishnu (God, in the Hindu holy trinity) says that the Self or the spirit is beyond the world and that it is untouched and unscratched by actions in life. DONT DWELL ON THE BAD. Dwell in God.

Love you guys.