Category Archives: English for enlightenment

No me,you,s/he/it

Absolute, Awakening, Buddha, Changed, Definitions, Duality, English for enlightenment, Errors, Humor - remember that? LoL, Identity, It never happened!, Karma, Matter unreal, Non-duality, Q & A, reincarnation, Self, Transition, Waking up

Haiku for the poor in spirit.

Even the Absolute is the dream.
The worded is the futile.
Meaning is dreamt.
‘Your life’ doesn’t exist.
What apparently lives is nullity.
Nothing realizes nothing.
This is breathtaking.
Seeing this is unbearable for the sense of self.
Nothing matters.
Understanding deludes.
There is no last resort.
No refuge.
Nirvana is a joke.
The Buddha lost his mind in an attempt to go beyond himself.
The Bodhi Tree farted.
Brain bursts into laughter.
The belly shakes.
The grass grows by itself.
The spring is coming…..

Wouter van Oord.

Aphorisms in other words!

English for enlightenment

F O R – Y O U R – E D I F I C A T I O N

ORDINARY ENGLISH: People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.
MPOMBO: Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting perilous projectiles.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Twinkle, twinkle, little star
MPOMBO: Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minim.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: All that glitters is not gold.
MPOMBO: All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Beggars are not choosers
MPOMBO: Sorting on the part of mendicants must be interdicted.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Dead men tell no tales
MPOMBO: Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Beginner’s luck
MPOMBO: Neophyte’s serendipity.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: A rolling stone gathers no moss
MPOMBO: A revolving lithic conglomerate accumulates no congeries of small, green, biophytic plant.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Birds of a feather flock together
MPOMBO: Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Beauty is only skin deep
MPOMBO: Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
*
ORDINARY ENGLISH: Cleanliness is next to godliness
MPOMBO: Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude.

Source unknown

DrRobinStarbuck

Does every post require a lengthy explanation re its background? -rjs

Definitions, English for enlightenment, Language (linguistic) distinctions, Levels, Robin Starbuck

If you are interested in pursuing higher (or deeper) consciousness and
If you have read a sufficient amount of background on the topic and
If you have carefully weighed the various approaches to the topic and
If you can find the time to see it to its logical conclusion and
If you have the energy, the stamina, to proceed and
If you have the stick-to-itiveness to persevere and
If you can maintain a single focus throughout and
If you’ve dealt with issues of motivation and selfishness and
If you’re able to rearrange your life to accommodate this new program
THEN
You must blab blah blah blah.

QUESTION: Does a person need to preface every post with all of the above prior to writing a brief, encouraging meme? Isn’t there such a thing as a “GIVEN”?

[Confession: I often post encouraging directives without the laborious list above.]

DrRobinStarbuck

English anyone?

English for enlightenment

HAVING TROUBLE WITH ENGLISH ? (for ESL students)

• Never simply assume that people will understand.

• Go back to basics.

• Don’t add flourishes from your native language.

• Write short, complete sentences. Put a period [.] at the end of every sentence.

• Never assume words and idioms from your language will be understood.

• Remember S.V.O. You need a Subject, Verb and Object in every sentence.

• Read and emulate only native English until your writing is where you need it to be.

• Encourage your native English readers to be honest with you. If they can’t understand your English, you should take responsibility.

• Avoid run-on sentences: keep them short for now.

• You have a genuine treasure to share. You can’t reach people by blaming them. Let them help you.

~ DrRobinStarbuck
Professor of English
New York University

Protect original quotes

English for enlightenment

P R O T E C T . O R I G I N A L . Q U O T A T I O N S

When we quote a text and respectfully tell the name of the author such as JSG, shouldn’t that text always be EXACTLY the same as the original?

If one person changes it a little bit (with capital letters or other comments) imagine how distorted it will become eventually after a few more people add their changes to the original text! It’s really not JSG, etc., if it’s been compromised in any way.

There’s a simple way to insure the integrity of a quotation: SIMPLY ADD[caps mine -rjs].

Once again, imagine how corrupted so-called “quotes” will become if they’re no longer actual quotes!

DrRobinStarbuck

Spiritual language

English for enlightenment

SPIRITUAL LANGUAGE
As a Ph.D. in linguistics, I can’t stress vehemently enough how important it is to discern exactly which definition of a word is being referred to at any given time. Blasting the use of a secondary or tertiary meaning as if it had the same function as the primary one is cruel and unsupportive of truth in any guise.

Thinking with the heart instead of the mind brings one to the right (intended) meaning. Neither the atomic mind (brain) nor the atomic heart (pumping blood) will deliver spiritual awareness. But Love, Spirit,, Life, Perfection, Soul, Harmony, Truth, Omnipresence, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Self refer to GOD if that’s what the speaker is alluding to.

Each synonym has its own unique attributes. When the speaker wishes to denote something emanating from the flesh – the carnal mind – the speaker can do so on purpose. The reader/ listener has the right to look lovingly for the intended meaning ♡♡♡.

Linguist takes English to court!

English for enlightenment

As a linguist, I’d like to take the English language to court! Lol. Witness the word “bound”: I’m bound to go there.
(1) I’ll most likely go there.
(2) I have to go there.
(3) I’m tied up so I can’t go there.
(4) I’m going there instead of some other place.
(5) That’s the direction in which I’m heading.
(6) I ain’t goin’ anywhere coz I’m attached to my captor.