dream

Lohbado dreaming about Parry Sound, Ontario

Lohbado dreamed about walking the streets of the town in which he was born. He went back there a few times. The place changed a lot. It's situated on beautiful Georgian Bay. A lot of wealthy people have cottages on the many islands.

do whatever it takes

Lohbado got up at 6 AM, went for a morning walk under an overcast sky and light snow. It feels good to get out of the apartment. It's the time of year when a person does whatever it takes to make it through the day. Lohbado spent about 95% of his time alone in silence and sometimes went for days without having a conversation in person with anybody. Sometimes the sheer pressure of solitude could be hard to take. The trick is to be disciplined. It's normal for retired people to live in social isolation. The main contact, if at all, is usually texting, email or phone. This is the new reality.

inexpensive snack

rye bread and aduki beans

If you're on a low budget and wish to eat healthy, beans and spaghetti are about as cheap as it gets, plus a loaf of bread on the side. Lohbado bought rye bread for $ 3.50 at a Russian grocery store called Krazy Kris on Van Horne. Lohbado put the bread in the freezer compartment of the fridge to keep it fresh all week. When wishing to eat bread, take it from the freezer, break off a couple slices and toast them. Add aduki beans and you have a very economical snack.

ordinary adventure

dream creature

Every day could be an adventure involving mundane details, repetition, the very ordinary. The trick is to notice what's going on and to be a little bit aware of one's state of mind. Notice how you pour yourself a cup of coffee, tea, water, beer, wine or hard liquor. Notice how you drink it. Do you do it absentmindedly? Or do you aggressively grab the bottle and pour the liquid splashing into the glass? Do you do it slowly, enjoying the sound of fluids leaving one container and entering another? Are you tuned into the sound, taste and the texture?

lohba vlog 6

Images from death in a car crash of his mother Rosemary Stumps flowed through Lohbado's mind as he went for a morning walk. She died decades ago, at the age of 50, when Lohbado was Peter Stumps.

the hope and fear routine

Lohbado dreaming

Lohbado dreamed about being in an old kitchen with tall glass door cabinets. He was doing the dishes with the same wise old woman who appeared in the dream from the night before. She went into the pantry then came out and said she was working on her masters degree... a degree in nothing. They laughed at the vanity of the whole system of seeking tangible evidence of having arrived somewhere or attained something.

vlog episode 5 Lohbado and the bear

Lohbado's mind was agitated from so much thinking and pressure. He jumped in his pickup truck, drove a logging road to some cliffs overlooking a huge lake. A bear came along as he was enjoying the sunset.

cabin fever

Sometimes cabin fever can result from being stuck in a set of swirling thoughts. The mind feels like a clothes dryer with thoughts spinning around inside. Lohbado put on a parka and boots, trudged to the local park and sat outside for a while, under a blue sky until his mind settled down a little. Most scenarios in his mind were pointless dramas of confusion. Gazing into the sky, he was able to watch his thoughts unfold like a movie projected on a huge screen.

red brick memories

Rue Legare

Lohbado's sunglasses increased the saturation of the red brick. He remembered the brick wall of grandfather Woodlot's house one afternoon, when he was about five years old, playing outside the wall. He suddenly noticed the red brick, as if for the first time. It's an image that stayed with him, surfacing from time to time. There was nothing to analyze. A brick is a brick. He loved fiery hot sensation of red and the way bricks fit together to form a wall.

prayer

Lohbado gazed upwards at monolithic forms under a grey sky. They formed a kind of prayer wall, drawing the gaze upwards. The scene stopped Lohbado in his tracks. He felt a yearning to be free of struggle, heaviness of body and anxieties of mind. As he gazed at the wall of windows, he imagined snow falling into his mind and washing away the tangles and swirls of endless anxiety and negative thinking. Nothing is going to happen. Lohbado continued on up the hill.

winter morning

Lohbado woke up to another typical winter morning, had breakfast, went for a walk. His boots made an interesting squishy sound on the snow. He listened to the rhythm of the crows and the orchestral section of motor vehicles. Sometimes city noise becomes deafening. In a warm parka and fleece-lined trousers and heavy boots Lohbado sat in the park for a while without feeling cold.

birth of Baby Lucifer, Lohba vlog episode four

Baby Lucifer was conceived in the medical laboratory of Lumpkins University, Yamaville. Researchers wanted to create a humanoid to use for drug testing as they searched for new medications to combat drug-resistant viruses. Lucifer started a family with Bela Dona...

Lohba vlog episode 3

How Woodlot Stumps turned from being a lumber baron to founding a church. Grandmother Aida informed Peter Stumps about the taboo nature of Woodlot's death.

crossing the street

Cote des Neiges Montreal

Sometimes with all the snow and weather changes from day to day it's easy to get a headache and associated sensations. Most of Lohbado's everyday routine was quite ordinary. He tended to walk the same streets, see the same shops and displays, the same perspective of streets. Sometimes, in the moment of everything feeling a bit dreary something would pierce through the fog in Lohbado's mind. While crossing the street the other day, he pulled out his point and shoot camera and quickly took a few pictures. It's fascinating all the graphics, the words screaming out messages and the feeling that you have to keep moving. If you stop, a motor vehicle might honk at you, or people could get irritated and suspicious. If you're looking for rest, follow the red arrow to the mattress department, where you'll find mega-deals.

sunny day in Montreal

It's a delight when the clouds dissolve leaving blue sky and sunshine. To cheer up from the greyness of winter, Lohbado walked slowly down the street and appreciated vibrant colours along the way.

Lohbo Vlog episode 2

click on picture to see video

Lohbado talks about being a push button expert and different states of mind.

Lohbado tries vlogging

click picture to see video

Here is episode one of Lohbado Vlog, by way of introduction.

communication

Lohbado in Cote des Neiges, Montreal

Grammar enables communication by uniting diverse elements into a method or structure. For example, in order for words to be formed, vowel sounds interact with consonants. Lohbado woke up alone as usual, put on a parka, went for a walk, then came home and continued reading Plato's Sophist. He particularly enjoyed section 253 about vowels and constants as part of communication. This discussion follows a section about being and non-being. What is being? Is non-being possible? First define them. The moment non-being is defined, it exists as a definition, therefore it's not truly non-being. Being is also an interesting topic involving rest and motion. Could one isolate or locate the essence of being and summarize it in a concept? All this and more can be found in the Sophist.

the mark of Cain

The first day on the Plains of Radiation was the worst. That was about sixty years ago. Eventually Lohbado got used to it. Lohbado thought of the punishment of Cain, condemned to wander the earth and to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Cain cried out: “This pain is more than I can bear.”

winter at the Tabernacle

Sometimes it gets very cold, then it gets warm again, then it gets cold. The air pressure could create headaches. One spends more time indoors. It takes longer to get dressed to go out in the cold. One could relax. Being inside could involve drowsiness. Sink back into the sofa. Look out the window. As one gets older, there's more time to slow down and ponder the nature of existence.

in praise of O

Lohbado began an exploration of the alphabet in praise of O. O is like a portal to the infinite, an expression of surprise, Oh! and a symbol of form and space.

religion on Sunday

at the Moronovian Tabernacle

Sunday go to the temple. Sunday and religion went together in the world of Lohbado for years, until he realized religion could happen every day, every minute. What do you mean by religion? Does it mean a set of beliefs or rituals? At Club Morono, close examination of the alphabet pokes holes in the tissue of assumptions or strong emotions about reality. One discovers the transparent nature of existence and the dreamlike nature of self, how things change from instant to instant, how one experiences only a tiny fragment of what is going on and how what is going on is quickly forgotten. A few highlights of the past churn about in memory, get turned into images which change each time one remembers. 

Maybe spirituality is a better word. What do you mean by spirituality? In the Moronovian concept, it means being, to set aside all activities other than to exist. It is based on respect for life and an aspiration to live without aggression. Often one is swept away in the hustle and bustle. The mind could space out, go on automatic pilot, or become drowsy or agitated with hope and fear. In the context of spirituality, one could aside time to do nothing other than to experience or contemplate being. One stops moving about. Settle down then look at the mind and what appears to be going on.

creative block

Creative block is when one sets up for a creative session and feels frozen, or unable to proceed. One doesn’t know what to do. One’s ideas seem dull, predictable. One is afraid of making a fool of oneself, or one simply becomes tired, restless and frustrated. 

under the hood

pictures taken in St Joseph's Oratory, Montreal

What are the images? What do they mean? What is the purpose of an angel? What goes on behind closed doors? Who has the key to unlock the door? Grab on to the brass handle. Have a look inside. What goes on under the hood? One's mind is a strange beast. Only a minute fragment of what is going on ever reaches one's awareness. There are stories about people reaching decisions while sleeping, or solving complex problems while relaxing in the park. Brain scientists scan the brain, observe neurons firing and chemical processes. Brain scans attempt to discover what mental events occur where.

The strangeness of the mind is reflected outwards, in how things are arranged. What motivates a person to light a candle, or to make a little statue then pray to it? Why is there so much anxiety hope and fear? What exactly is passion? Step over here and we'll explore these questions in greater intimacy. First close the door. Take off your clothes. A comforting hug goes a long ways, warm friendly gestures, a moment of being close with another person... Lohbado laughed. Due to damage he sustained while crossing the Plains of Radiation over a decade ago, Lohbado no longer practiced the art of love. But he was well versed in friendliness. He was also a connoisseur of images, colors and forms and how they occurred after a person had an idea or intention. The images evoke or communicate something, without coming right out and saying it. Much of reality can't be quantified or measured. The human mind.... aaaahhhAAAAAHHHHHaaaaa haa ha ha ha yes yes yes yes... thank you thank you thank you cookie cookie cookie you can eat one if you want to.

out and about

What do you like to look at when you're out and about? Some people look at the ground, others in the air or straight ahead. Lohbado often looked up, since the sky provided a sense of spaciousness, especially when the sidewalks were crowded. In summer, he didn't like to look at the grit and filth on the sidewalk, so he rarely looked down. Montreal has many churches. Lohbado used to live near the church on the corner of Beaubien and St. Denis. There used to be a Dunkin Donuts diagonally across from the church. It was a great place to relax with a coffee and to enjoy the view of the church and the busy intersection.

late afternoon and evening saturation

Push open a wooden door to enter a sanctuary of mysteries, of the natural and supernatural, wishful thinking, hope and fear, desire for salvation, for healing waves of light. Lohbado experienced a flash of red light and bottled yellow fluids, Lohbado's mind fragmented for a moment into images. Time to slow down and relax. Catch the breath. Take a breath of fresh air. Smile and keep going. When words fail, take a few pictures and arrange them in sequences of mood or color. A bottle of beer could do wonders at such moments... bring a person back to earth.

it feels like a dream sometimes

Sometimes a person wakes up after not enough sleep. It might be snowing. One goes out. It feels like a dream. To be in a body, to be alive feels so unusual and inexplicable at times. It has its ups and downs, beautiful moments, challenging situations. The river flows. Take a rocking chair down to the river and watch the river flow.

Sunday night socializing

The heavy snow coming down had a drowsy effect on many people. Inertia seeps in. There's the temptation to stay home. Lohbado went out to Hootenany at Brasserie Beaubien, which happens every other Sunday. This week's theme was the birthday of Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935. A number of Elvis songs were performed, plus Elvis sandwiches were prepared and cooked on a small plug in toaster device. Apparently Elvis really liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches.