Empty Monkey (Dot Com) - The real-time story of how the book is written

Post Creation myth.
After the ‘big bang’, millions of years ago, what some people call ‘soul’ or ‘spirit’ began to get together, to coalesce. This came about because people’s brains had grown bigger than the other animals, and all the memories they had contained were attracted to each other, rather like moisture likes to form clouds. Because the memories were only information, this happened in another dimension, one that theoretical physicists explore. So we could call it the ‘information dimension, or ‘Id’ for short.

Several millennium later, (what we would call an eternity), all these ‘information memories’ became extremely bored. As you can imagine - they couldn’t actually do anything - it was like being trapped in a cinema forever, and they couldn’t even eat popcorn! (more…)

Buddhist saying– If someone tells you a lie, you are also responsible

Society functions on the basis of trust. Soldiers fight because they trust their commanding officers, and sometimes the cause they’re fighting for.

Commercial empires are built on brand loyalty, customers remain loyal until either they are wooed away by a rival, or they lose their trust in the brand.

During an interview situation, the interviewer obtains information because there is a two-way situation of trust. The interviewer has to believe the interviewee (or at least make the interviewee believe that the interviewer believes him or her).

Unfortunately compulsive liars and some forms of schizophrenics are very skilled at making an interviewer believe a pack of lies.

The question is this, what is the best technique for finding out the truth?

Late one evening, my son, noticing that I was a little under the weather, offered me a cup of hot chocolate. It was not what it appeared to be.

The drink in question was quite disgusting, due to the similarity between chocolate powder and gravy powder. An easy mistake when the ingredients are kept in unmarked jars.

This made me think about the nature of expectation, and how appearances can be deceptive. (more…)

When you are with someone, your attention is focused on them and everyone else you know takes a back seat in your mind. The same thing happens with places. It is almost as if everywhere else doesn’t really exist until you get there. This is what it is like for an animal, and it is only our intellect that tells us that other places and people continue in our absence. The problem arises when we do things and make decisions with people in one place that are incompatible with other people in another place.

Once brought into being, they can be used or discarded; they never disappear, although they may be hidden.
There are appropriate thoughts and inappropriate ones.
Much humour is derived from inappropriate ones, but to act on them is often a mistake.
The truth is we all have inappropriate thoughts and desires; this is where thinking about thoughts is important.
Deciding what to think about is a luxury denied to many. Children are given things to do and to exercise their brains on. An excess of information, entertainment and activities robs us of the time required to develop this facility.
This is where I believe the problem arises.
Without the mental rigour acquired from practice, thinking about thoughts is replaced by acting or speaking them.
Just as listening to others is a prerequisite of conversation, so listening to our thoughts is a prerequisite of logical reasoning.

To someone who’s past forty-nine
There will be those who say
“That’s not a dignified thing to do”

So take a little tip of mine
Go and do it anyway
And be the youthful you

Written for Hans 50th birthday
For his birthday book
Requested by Jolanda and Lupe’
03 January 2006

There seems to be something marvellous
In keeping a memory alive
The comfort of happy remembrance
Is something that helps me survive
And if bye the way
At the end of the day
Does it matter if I don’t arrive?

Because if there is nobody waiting
And I can just do as I please
There is nothing to keep me from dwelling
On thoughts that can put me at ease
But the problem is this
Short lived is the bliss
If my spirit begins to freeze. (more…)