" ... 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡."

"Ordinary people do not question the commonly accepted version of reality. They conform to the standard values of subduing enemies and cherishing friends and family. Materialism, ambition and mundane achievements are the worldly hallmarks of success. We experience the phenomenal world and our minds as solid and truly existent. Very few people doubt these assertions and question their validity. Yet, the process of disbelief is the first step on the spiritual path."

~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐚’𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐞

Standing grandly in Central Park for over 130 years, Cleopatra’s Needle isn’t just any monument; it’s the oldest outdoor relic in New York and a staggering testament to 3,500 years of history that stretches back to ancient Egypt. Originally crafted in Heliopolis to pay homage to Pharaoh Thutmose III’s 30-year dominion, this colossal obelisk towers at 69 feet and tips the scales at roughly 200 tons. After being toppled and buried, it was dragged to Alexandria by none other than Caesar Augustus, earning its illustrious nickname. The U.S. snagged this ancient marvel as a gift in 1879, and moving it to New York? Now that was a dramatic display of engineering prowess. It took a relentless 19 days to position this beast, and on January 22, 1881, it was finally placed in Central Park, where it defiantly remains to this day, daring anyone to forget the power it once represented.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 "𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞" 𝐈𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 ...

On my social media account I've had arguments with "friends" — even in fact lost a few — accusing me of "sitting on the fence" in respect staying neutral to the clusterfuck of manipulative and destructive rhetoric that passes for political discourse going on now incessantly from the time DT came down that escalator. Gotta take sides! Really! 

Really?

My point which never seems to have made a dent continues to be that arguing itself and taking sides is what the masters of narrative feed upon. There's no resolution intended; just getting you to take a side. Not to say that you have to like it; but the taking of sides itself is the gambit for herding sheep into the voting booth. And, onto the streets. And, as we've unfortunately been witness, shooting bullets. 

The game of Good v Evil is real. It's a soul thing. The pols have us believe that one side is one, and the other is the other. Really?

The trick is to get that you're invested in a game of taking sides. The game itself. Once you see the game for what it is, you can stop putting your energies into perpetuating the game. 

What then to do? Do what you gonna do, Pilgrim. Maybe just sit in a moment of silence and let the answer(s) come. 

Herewith, Prabhuji says it best ...

"I am not on either side; I am with the victims. Not because I ignore the facts, but because the suffering of innocent people transcends all strategy and political interests. In every war, each side has arguments and justifications that legitimize its actions. But no argument justifies the death of children and young people, the premature aging of civilians, or the turning of bodies into fields of geopolitical calculation. I choose not to be part of those calculations.
Refusing to take sides does not mean moral neutrality, but a more radical ethical choice: to place myself where pain needs no passport or ideology to be real. That place is the only one where death is not exploited.
Every time I choose not to raise a flag or take sides, it is because I have already chosen a cause: that of those who did not choose to die. They do not shoot, they do not vote for wars, they do not choose violent solutions, they do not write treaties, but they do bear the consequences.

"My position is not ambiguous, it is deliberate and conscious. I do not want to be right in a conflict. I want no one to have to bury their children in the crossfire. My loyalty is not to rhetoric, it is to lives. I am not interested in winning arguments when people are lost. I am not interested in being right when blood is shed. I am not moved by maps, I am moved by the eyes that will never open again. That is why I belong nowhere except alongside those who did not choose horror.
I stand with the victims. Because amid the noise, we must learn to listen to the silence of those who can no longer speak."

Prabhuji

Further insight on "war" ...

"Man has lived too long under the shadow of war. Gaza, Ukraine, and so many other names, past and present, are only the visible coordinates of a much older violence that dwells in the divided, fractured soul of human beings. It is not geography that causes wars; it is fragmented inner lives, consciences torn apart by unresolved conflicts, that turn the world into a battlefield. Wherever there is an individual in conflict with themselves, there is already a seed of collective destruction.

"It is not enough to change ideologies, redesign political systems, or impose slogans of brotherhood. Such attempts have failed time and time again. The error is not in the discourse, but in its starting point: a divided human being. The body denied by institutionalized religion, desire condemned by morality, matter despised by doctrine: all this has created such a deep inner fracture that no external reform can repair it. Where there is division, there is struggle. As long as there is no integration at the most intimate level, violence will be inevitable.

"External war momentarily frees them from internal dissatisfaction. Finding an enemy outside gives them a purpose they no longer find within themselves. The exaltation that often accompanies conflict reveals a pathological distortion. War is not an act of greatness; it is the symptomatic manifestation of an unresolved inner fracture. It functions as a reflection of a subject who has not managed to reconcile with himself.
In this sense, the priority is not to redraw borders or reformulate treaties. The urgent task is to restore the unity of the human being. We do not need more abstract declarations of peace, but the emergence of truly peaceful individuals: free from hostility toward their bodies, free from guilt about their desires, and unafraid to exercise their freedom.

"We must destroy all the idols of war. Not with violence, but with lucidity. Not with weapons, but with awareness. Only when these idols—erected in the name of fear, guilt, and sacrifice—die will the god of love be born. That god dwells in every human being who has ceased to hate themselves.

"The alternative is not religious extremism or materialistic cynicism. It lies in a new synthesis: a human being who walks with their feet on the ground and their soul free, who does not fear their body or deny their spirit, who does not repress or dissolve themselves. A whole human being. Not divided, not torn apart. Whole.

"That is the only possible beginning. And it is also the only end worth striving for. To create, within oneself, a living example of what humanity can still become. Nothing more is needed. Peace is not a slogan, it is a consequence. Violence is not fought with speeches; it is extinguished when man stops reproducing it in himself. Where there is integration, war becomes absurd. And where war is absurd, peace is inevitable."

𝐀 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐥𝐲 - 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬

A True Spiritual Teacher Speaks Frankly - Striking at the Core of Our Faults

When you are criticized, accept it as an opportunity to acknowledge your hidden faults and increase your humility. Criticism is like a teacher, destroying attachment and pride. If integrated into the path, harsh words and blame will inspire your practice and strengthen your discipline. How, therefore, could you but wish to repay the one who has criticized you for his a kindness?

Happiness and suffering that come from praise and criticism are ephemeral. When you are complimented, instead of feeling proud just regard the praise as if it were something you were hearing in a dream or a fantasy. Tell yourself that the object of the praise is not you but the good qualities you may have developed through spiritual practice. In reality, only the sublime beings who have attained liberation are really worthy of praise.

If our faults are pointed out, even by our own parents or teachers, we become upset. However, we are delighted when we are flattered, even if we are attributed qualities we do not possess. As the saying goes, ‟those who always agree with us and flatter us make us feel good about ourselves, but do not help us to develop our spiritual qualities.” Those who point out our faults and show us how to deal with them however, truly help us. It is through repeated beating and melting that gold is refined. In the same way, it is by continually recognizing our own faults and following a true teacher’s instructions that we are able to transform our weaknesses and negative qualities into tools on the path of liberation.

When a troublemaker is identified and apprehended, peace returns to the village. Similarly, when our faults are revealed by a truly compassionate teacher, enabling us to recognize and eradicate them, peace returns to our being. The true spiritual teacher speaks frankly, striking at the core of our faults in order to lead us onto the right path.”

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Quote from Matthieu Ricar

𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬? 𝐁𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐊𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐲

The broad answer is that nobody can be sure why anything happens until they know their self. Someone who exists mainly as a reactionary being sees the world through an emotional lens which distorts the clarity of perception. They will then unavoidably take any event or situation out of context of the totality of life. This disturbs the psychic flow between the inner and outer worlds and leads to confusion, anxiety and tension which becomes the normal vacillating emotional way of life. How then can anyone know for sure why anything happens as it does?

There are two types of knowledge: the indirect knowledge gained from academic or worldly application, and the other gained through the direct knowledge of the living experience. An example of worldly knowledge is having a degree in law or being a certified plumber. The other type of knowledge, gained through the direct experience of life, is the realisation beyond any doubt of something that had previously been unconscious and able to influence the actions and state of mind of the person. An example is having seen the futility of holding on to the pain and hurts of the past. From the spiritual perspective, this is referred to as self-knowledge which is the perception of the workings of the psychic body of self within the physical body.

To the degree that someone has purified their inner space through entering the body in stillness while also attending to any problem areas in the external life, the knowledge of why things happen as they do will become much clearer. ‘As within, so without’ is the ancient wisdom which describes, in a nutshell, the two sides of existence. Worldly knowledge focuses exclusively on the material side of existence, whereas self-knowledge encompasses both the inner and outer sides in a 360 degree arc of pure perception. With no fixed position of mind, the world and the individual’s place is seen and known to be in the context of the whole.

Then, whatever happens simply unfolds as one sequence of life to the next. Since the man or woman is no longer in revolt to the great harmony of life, they function in a way that serves the greater good. Although this may go largely unnoticed in the world, their lives will reflect to anyone receptive a subtle light of the unchangeable mystery of the divine.

www.lancekelly.co.uk

—𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 "𝐍𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝"

"When I am not present to myself, then I am only aware of that half of me, that mode of my being which turns outward to created things. And then it is possible for me to lose myself among them.

Then I no longer feel the deep secret pull of the gravitation of love which draws my inward self toward God.

My will and my intelligence lose their command of the other faculties.

My senses, my imagination, my emotions, scatter to pursue their various quarries all over the face of the earth.

Recollection brings them home. It brings the outward self into line with the inward spirit, and makes my whole being answer the deep pull of love that reaches down into the mystery of God."

—Thomas Merton from "No Man is an Island," (Shambhala Publications, 2005)

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 ...

A SPONTANEOUS VAJRA SONG

Happiness can not be found
through great effort and willpower,
- but is already present,
- in open relaxation and letting go.

Don’t strain yourself,
there is nothing to do or undo.
Whatever momentarily arises in the body-mind
- has no real importance at all,
- has little reality whatsoever.

Why identify with, and become attached to it,
- passing judgment upon it and ourselves?

Far better to simply
let the entire game happen on its own,
- springing up and falling back like waves
- without changing or manipulating anything
and notice how everything vanishes and
reappears, magically, again and again, time without end.

Only our searching for happiness
- prevents us from seeing it.
It’s like a vivid rainbow
which you pursue without ever catching,
- or a dog chasing its own tail.
Although peace and happiness
do not exist as an actual thing or place,
- it is always available
- and accompanies you every instant.

Don’t believe in the reality
of good and bad experiences.
They are like today’s ephemeral weather,
- like rainbows in the sky.
Wanting to grasp the ungraspable,
you exhaust yourself in vain.
As soon as you open and relax this tight fist of grasping,
- infinite space is there - open, inviting and comfortable.

Make use of this spaciousness,
- this freedom and natural ease.

Don’t search any further
looking for the great awakened elephant,
who is already resting quietly at home,
- in front of your own hearth.
Nothing to do or undo,
nothing to force,
nothing to want,
and nothing missing

Emaho! Marvelous!

Everything happens by itself.

𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐞 𝐓. 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟓 — 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓

Our Dear Michele passed on February 13, 2025. Unexpectedly.

She and I were inseparable friends and committed to grow in love for the past 35 years. She is a great, great soul. Prayerful, devoted to the spiritual life, a steadfast friend, a delightful and demanding companion, so creative and an interested student into so many areas of life, the arts and crafts. The horrors unfolding in the geopolitics of the world troubled her deeply. She prayed fervently.

Michele's interests were far ranging and various. Such a student she was. Magna Cum Laude Caldwell College 1977. Check out her Pinterest page for a good look into her aesthetic. So fond of Cardinals.

Virtuous, kind, generous, forgiving, fastidious, precise, insightful, intelligent, refined artistic and aesthetic taste. The Queen in the kitchen with so many signature specialties. Pies, cakes, baking in general. Those in the Siddha Yoga School should know that she was my Queen of Sour Cereal. My morning barista. We explored the world of food together. All cuisines. I’m left with a pantry of just about anything you could want to prepare just about anything you could want.

Artistically talented. Painting. Photography. Calligraphy. [Michele was a resident at the South Fallsburg New York Siddha Yoga Ashram in the art department. Hand calligraphed posters and maha sized birthday cards on behalf of the NY Siddha Yogis for Gurumayi Chidvilasananda’s birthdays.]

Needle skills ... quilting, knitting, samplers. Being such a keen student she got deeply into her arts and crafts. Curated a master collection of fabrics. Expert in color design aesthetics. Knitting ... studied breeds of sheep, yarn making, knitting design. Made the most exquisite Catholic Rosaries. But, only after thoroughly researching and learning wiring techniques, bead types and sources, accessory crucifixes and centers and findings.

We gardened together when we lived in Arizona [from 1994 to 2006]. Grew everything. Everything: Artichokes, Cardoon, Salsify, Okra, Garlic, Fava Beans, String Beans, Tomatoes, Lettuces, Arugula, Carrots, Peas, Cucumbers, Beets, Turnips, Burdock, Daikon, Garbanzos. Everything. Except Rhubarb; it doesn't like the AZ climate. Michele avidly studied the seed catalogues. Save seeds from the garden and from the wild. Queen Anne's Lace was a particular favorite.

Michele was deeply devoted to prayer. She made me promise to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy on the day of her death. We met as devotees in Siddha Yoga. Also share the Catholic faith. I continue to pray her prayers, and the daily Sacrament of the Mass.

I miss her beautiful presence in my life and bless the tears that come to enrich our still growing bond. I believe our relationship continues. And, her encouraging me to pray and participate in the Catholic liturgy is a practice that will grow our soul relationship as we support one another in our soul growth.

We appreciated so many of the spiritual traditions and teachers and Masters. Buddhism, Vedanta, Kashmir Shaivism. Both graduates of Werner Erhard trainings. We had a great foundation for having something higher to focus our relationship beyond the daily transactional doings and comings and goings and gettings.

We were mirrors of each other. What I see in her I am committed to see that reflection in myself. She held that too as a cornerstone of her spiritual sadhana practice. With her passing, the mystery of it all looms large in front of me. I’m grateful. We’re inseparable in the Reality beyond words and images. All my prayers are offered with the intention that she enjoys the communion of all the Saints in Heaven. And that whatever may have been left incomplete in her life of her soul be cleansed in God's Mercy. 

Pray for her. Pray with her. Pray to her. She's in some Very Good Company. 

Amen.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲, 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐈𝐭. 𝐁𝐲: 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲

The Truth is Heavy, 

Therefore Few Care to Carry It

By: Jason Gray

There are burdens in this world that few will ever dare to bear.

The heaviest among them is truth—not the palatable half-truths that offer comfort, nor the convenient lies dressed as wisdom, but the raw, unyielding, and often merciless reality that strips away illusion.

Truth is not soft.

It does not bend to desire.

It does not accommodate human frailty.

It is indifferent to what we wish to believe.

It is the only thing that holds meaning, the only thing capable of lifting us beyond the fleeting distractions of existence.

Why, then, do so few embrace it?

Why is truth left to decay in forgotten corners while deception flourishes in the open?

Because truth is weighty.

It demands effort, endurance, and sacrifice.

Lies are light, and the world prefers the ease of their embrace.

***The Cost of Truth***

The path to truth is not merely an intellectual journey; it is a crucible.

To seek truth is to dismantle the structures that have upheld one’s entire perception of existence.

It requires a destruction of certainty, a surrender of security, and an unflinching willingness to see, no matter the cost.

Truth isolates.

It divides those who see from those who refuse to see.

It alienates the seeker from the familiar warmth of collective delusion.

When one begins to perceive reality as it is, rather than as it has been told, they inevitably drift from the herd, and solitude becomes their companion.

But truth does not just isolate—it also wounds.

It forces a reckoning with everything we once held sacred.

It exposes the lies woven into our histories, our cultures, our identities.

It leaves us standing naked before a universe that does not bend to our narratives.

For most, this is unbearable.

***The Fragility of the Mind***

Human beings are not born with an inherent love of falsehood.

As children, we ask, we wonder, we explore.

Over time, we are taught that certain truths are too dangerous, too disruptive, too forbidden to pursue.

We are told what to think, not how to think.

We are given a map of reality that is already drawn, and we are expected never to question the lines.

This is because truth threatens power.

It threatens control.

It threatens the institutions and structures that rely on deception to maintain their dominion.

The world is built upon a foundation of curated perception—one that has been carefully crafted to keep the majority docile, compliant, and unaware.

And so, people accept the illusion, not because they are incapable of seeing beyond it, but because they recognize, consciously or unconsciously, that to challenge it is to invite ruin.

What would happen if every individual began to question, deeply and sincerely?

If they stopped taking the given answers at face value?

If they pursued truth without regard for the consequences?

The entire edifice of deception would crumble.

Those who benefit from that deception cannot allow such a thing to happen.

***The Comfort of Lies***

Lies do not demand effort.

They do not require one to think, to struggle, to suffer.

They are easy.

They are light.

They fit neatly into the hands of the weary, offering reassurance without responsibility.

This is why people cling to them.

Not because they are ignorant, but because they are exhausted.

The burden of knowing is too great.

The realization that the world is not as it seems, that history is not what was taught, that power is not benevolent, that everything we were conditioned to believe may be a fabrication—this is too much for most to carry.

And so, they turn away.

Not because they do not suspect the truth, but because they cannot afford to face it.

***The Weight of Knowledge***

There is a reason why those who pursue truth often find themselves alone.

To know is to be separated from those who do not.

It is to exist in a space where the conversations of the many become hollow, where the distractions that once entertained now seem meaningless.

It is to feel the weight of knowledge pressing upon the mind, demanding to be reckoned with.

It is to realize that most will never join you on this path, because the cost is too high.

The world does not reward the truth-seeker.

It does not offer comfort or security.

It does not grant validation.

More often than not, it punishes those who see too much, who speak too loudly, who refuse to bow.

Those who have carried truth throughout history have paid the price.

They have been silenced, condemned, exiled.

Some have spent their lives in obscurity, others have been erased entirely.

The truth is not welcome in a world built upon illusion.

***The Burden and the Gift***

Despite all its weight, truth is the only thing that matters.

For those who choose to bear it, there is suffering, but there is also liberation.

To see reality as it is, rather than as it is presented, is to step beyond the prison of deception.

It is to move beyond the realm of the manipulated, to rise above the tide of the deceived.

And though it is a lonely road, it is also a sacred one.

Because truth is the only thing that endures.

Empires fall, ideologies crumble, civilizations fade—but truth remains, waiting to be uncovered once more.

Each person must decide: will they carry this weight, or will they turn away?

Will they seek, knowing the cost, or will they accept the comfort of ignorance?

The truth is heavy.

But for those who dare to bear it, it is the only burden worth carrying.

Blessings to you all.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐭 ... 𝐂𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐀-𝐙

 

Coffee ... The Yin and The Yang Of It

This here is not gonna teach you about the particulars of making a nice cup of Coffee. It's just to give you the lay of the land. It's a scenic route. It'll help you plan your trip. Guaranteed.

But, first ... a little something relating to the price of Coffee in the news.

Recently in the news Coffee has been a thing. The geopolitical effects on price, that is. Seems the country of Columbia had refused to accept deportees from the US of A under the new Donald J. Trump Presidential program to deport migrants who had entered illegally. First to go, the bad hombres. With a threat of tariffs as the cudgel to change Columbia's mind the prospect of the rise of Coffee prices had been a concern. Briefly. Seems Columbia has changed its tune and is now accepting airplane loads of their nationals deported from the US of A. 

As a complete aside ... wondering what Columbia and other countries are gonna do with those folks. Many of whom may be hardened criminals. Just saying.

Good news! The price of Coffee will stay level. At it's already whopping high. You want a pound of Jamaica Blue Mountain? Around 90 bucks. Okay, that is the high, high end. But $10 to $20 per pound for a good quality Coffee is the norm. 

And, don't even let's get started on the similar high price of a type of Coffee what beans come out of a cat's ass. Coffee connoisseurship has gotten so granular of nuance that I bet there are even some who can tell the difference between what cat the beans got pooped from. Just discovered there's a plantation offering Civet coffee from "wild" cats. It sells for the wild price of $399.00 [US] on Amazon. Apparently, according to the producers, the wild cats — 2800 of those little buggers at last counting — are free to consume the beans of their own choosing. Now that IS granular! And, to make the point on how "Coffee" is the new Tea Ceremony, there are probably some who can tell which clan of cats their brew hints of terroir. To this Cat, a cat's ass is a cat's ass.

Everything price-wise is higher. Stock up on Eggs. We have a fancy fromagerie in town and $36 dollars for a pound of Cheese isn't all that rare. 

Remembering a time when canned Coffee came in 1 pound cans. And, about a dollar per. As costs do, they rise; prices rise. To offset the sticker shock the can sizes became smaller; now the small sized cans contains 11.5 ounces. Kripes, a 10.3 ounce can of Maxwell House Coffee at $8.49 scales up to $13.47 per pound. So that's the going rate for Coffee as a general benchmark. And, mind you, that's a can of store Coffee. Geez!

Whew! Who said the only constant is change. 

Now let's get to the topic of "Coffee".

Once, in the day, our idea of making Coffee was a plastic Melita filter funnel balanced precariously over a large antique enamel kettle. Put in some ground Coffee from a store boughten can — be sure to include a scoop of Bustelo for that extra sabor — then dump in the boiling water. Wait for it to drip through completely, and serve.

Now, things have evolved. We have at our disposal a few different methods. A Coffee sock. A couple of Moka pots. A classic Bodum French press. A few single serve drip Vietnamese gizmos. And, very recently, a Hario V60 pour over drip funnel.

The Coffee sock [Calador in Spanish] is a lot like "Cowboy Coffee". You boil water, add grounds to the pot, let stand a bit, then pour through the Coffee sock into a decanter.

We hear Cowboys use their hat. Actually, after the Coffee sits in the pot of water to extract, we usually just let the Coffee drip into a bowl, rinse out the brewing pot, then put the finished Coffee back in the pot. Make sure it's hot, then pour a cup; have the rest on the heat for a second helping, or to reheat later.

Yes, I said "reheat". We know, that's like a mortal sin in the current Coffee zeitgeist. To each his own.

We also have a fancy design stainless Moka pot and a small classic Bialetti for a small Espresso to go into our favorite Café con Leche.

And by Café con Leche we're talking about a good strong shot of Espresso with a load of steamed milk, sugar to taste. Not a $4+ "Latte" with foam on top, or a Cappuccino with the foam AND a dusting of Cinnamon. And, please, no pictures floating on top of my cuppa. Geez!

Then there's the French press ...

French press is great. As long as you drink it all after being brewed. Anything less, then you'll have to transfer into a pot to reheat; or, just leave it for later for an iced Coffee. 

On occasion we'll use a fine grind and set up our Vietnamese phin drip filters. We prepare our drink iced as shown, sweetened in the classic way with sweetened condensed Milk. Strong and a real treat. [Photo from casa Cooky Cat.]

The latest is a Hario V60 drip funnel. 

Ceramic, please. Better to hold the heat. Along with the V60 we went economic and use a Hario Drip Kettle Air. 

It's just a small pitcher with a spout designed to give a slow, precise pour. We said economy. The other way to go is a specially designed kettle with a gooseneck spout for that precise slow pour over action. 

Then, of course, there's the choice of stove top heating or dedicated electric kettle. If you are using such a kettle then you'll need a scale under the drip rig to measure a precise proper amount of water. The V60 Drip Kettle Air has markings to show the amount of water. Less than $16 bucks versus the $100+ [at least] for the kettle/scale setup. And, that's the entry price. You can spend way more.

Then there's the thing about the water to Coffee ratio. You can spend hours going over that subject alone. Not to mention water temperature. Then, there's how you pour for a pour over, and how fast. Geez! That's just the on paper side of the research. In the kitchen, where the rubber meets the road, then there's adjusting it all to your taste. Heck, they have competitions on Coffee making. And, no shortage of opinions. 

As you might be getting by now there's a lot of variables to making Coffee. All the foregoing is already a whole bunch of words. But, believe it, that's just the tip of the iceberg. We'll get to that. Not to nail it all down, chapter and verse. But to give you a snoot full of all there's to Coffee in this year of 2025.

Also, you may surmise, that getting a hot enough cup of Coffee to your lips what with all the machinations in the brewing is a thing in itself. Our preparation method includes preheating the cup, and preheating the added Milk. With the pour over filter funnel we're also using a carafe that we can keep over a heat diffuser on the stove while we're going through the pouring motions. Careful, those glass carafes aren't supposed to go on direct heat. Only microwave. But we don't microwave. Bad vibes kind of thing.

By the way, we picked up a while ago the idea that Coffee should be poured into the Milk. [If you take Milk with your cuppa, that is. Or Half and Half, or Cream.] We'd discuss this more, but looking for an easy answer in an Internet search it's too much of a Rabbit hole. So we take it on faith. There seems to be some chemistry science basis to it. If you want to know more, go fetch. 

So currently at casa Cooky Cat we're in the initial phase of dialing in the variables for the pour over method with the Hario V60 funnel. Coffee to water ratios. Water pour total amount, timing, and proportionings. And, the big one ... the grind. 

The grind size and grinding method of the Coffee beans is a major thing. Differing grind size for each type prep method. And, be sure the grounds are uniform. That's where grinders come in. A mortar and pestle ... please! F NO! That would be a regular every day no; unless you live in a cave. We've been using an electric blade grinder. Works well enough. But grind consistency is not a big point with that random type spinning blade action. 

There's a world of grinders, each type and each model with their various pros and cons. So many choices, so many price points. When you're into Espresso, the grinder choice is a big deal. Espresso prep has umpteen variables, and more than that ways with it.

Hand grinders. You'd think that it's a good economic trade off. You work more, but it costs less. There are inexpensive hand grinders [$50-ish.] But, a top rated hand grinder will set you back $250! For reals. Electric-wise, seems the bottom "entry level" like the top rated Baratza Encore goes for $150. Or, $200 if you want the version with the upgraded grinding burrs for Espresso.

"Burrs." There are conical burrs and flat burrs. With design differences within each range, and critical reviews till the cows come home on the differences in the cup. There also seems to be no price limit. You can easily drop $500 for a "decent" unit. 

"Entry level." That phrase rides through all the reviews of Coffee paraphernalia. It always strikes us the term "entry level" typically goes along with a steep enough price tag to make us want to throw up our hands and just toss some grounds into a percolator.

Speaking of percolators. Once in my checkered career resume I did time as a Can't Miss Top 10 Mad Ave Ad Bigger on a Coffee account. The Pan American Coffee Bureau in New York City gave an introduction to all things Coffee. The take away point I remember was how they were emphatic that the drip method was the best. I brought that up to my client counterpart brand manager. He pointed out that percolator sales were increasing. In other words, it would not be productive sales-wise to include drip method in our advertising. Much less promote it. This was in the mid-1960s. Then, guess what? Mr. Coffee came along. Changed the game. Drip Coffee in an appliance. Turns out that no one was against drip method Coffee as such. They just wanted it in an appliance. Gizmos sell.

We once gifted a Coffee sock to a dear one and they turned up their nose not wanting to change from their single serve pod brewing device. Gizmos. [Pretty soon the hand will only be useful for punching in text messages. And, of course, hand jobs.]

And, speaking of devices ... Espresso machines. One blanches at the mere thought of having to tackle that subject. Sure you can get an Espresso machine for around $100 bucks. But, when you research all the variables, seems a good entry level unit might be nudging toward $500 dollars. And, how much Espresso are you gonna drink for that price tag when you drop 5 bills and still feel like you're a piker for not springing for the $1,500 dollar unit which seems to be what the aficionados plunk down. And, that's "at least".

That'll get you started for Espresso. Then, of course, the grinder. And other stuff too. For Espresso, the unit what holds the grounds in the machine. It's called the portafilter and there are options there too. And, no end of considerations and discussions of opinions. And, once the grounds are in the portafilter they have to be 1. raked over for evenness, 2. tamped down first to level, 3. then pressed down to a torque wrench pressure precision. A good Barista can do it by feel. But, of course, there are the ones with a spring drive preset load pressure. Lots of gizmos to do all that. 

And, by the way, time, temperature, and pressure are the alchemist's plaything when it comes to Espresso. Like was said ... variables.

If you've even got this far into this writing you have to get by now that Coffee drinking is a big thing. Ritual thing. After all, how good does a cup of Coffee have to be? Seems for many it's a quest.

But, it can be good. Really good. My best taste of the brew was when vacationing in Jamaica. Must've been Blue Mountain. If we ever get our Coffee ritual dialed in solid, maybe we'll spring for that $90 dollar bag of Blue Mountain Coffee. Second best cup of Coffee, room service at a hotel in Roma, Italy. Third best, from many of the Dominican and Puerto Rican restaurants in New York City and their incomparable Café con Leche. Fondly remembering a now gone favorite, La Taza de Oro ["The Golden Cup"] on 8th Avenue at 34th Street in New York City. In the day the Espresso station was right up near the front door with a dedicated server cranking those paper cups of Café con Leche non-stop. 75 cents per; maybe never more than a buck.

Just try to go to one of those au courant Coffee shops and order one of those. They don't get it. More often than not they'll give you that $4+ Latte. 

Right up there also, Siddha Coffee. A rich sweet, milky brew laced with lots of Cardamom as served in the Amrit ["The nectar that promises immortality"] at Siddha Yoga ashrams ... Nectarian. Divine.

Net, net ... maybe it's best to leave it with the wisdom that reminds us that you never put your hand in the same river twice. 

No two cups of Coffee are ever alike. Even with the same Barista. I used to run errands for a non-profit school and my work partner and I would make our first stop a Café con Leche. He would often taste that day's cup and comment on whether the Barista was on their game that day. Hey, it's an alchemical thing. You bring your magic into it. 

And, net, net, net net ... maybe after all is said and done, you end up just saying, "Don't give me all that jive, give me cup of Joe!".

PS If you're thinking that you didn't find out how to brew a cup of Coffee from all this ... well, you'd be right. This here article is just to tune you up to the kind of weather and terrain you'll be facing when you put your boots on and start marching toward that "grail cup" of Joe. Or, maybe it puts you off enough to not bother, and just plug in an auto brew machine. Or, something in between. Or, maybe in the low to middle range. Or the middle to top range. You get it. Kapische? Choices, huh?

PPS We didn't discuss the beans. We'll leave that as "has beans". The subject of Coffee beans can fill a library. Many different countries produce Coffee beans. Locales in each vary. You know, "terroir". Different producers. Then there's roasting. Light to dark, and in between. And the flavor profiles of each. Full bodied or light. Flavor notes of all kinds. [Do not become a Coffee snob, waxing poetic for all to witness all the deep flavor discriminations you can find in any one cup. Please!] Acidity. Finish. Sorry, on that subject we're finished. Go fetch. Last analysis, you'll just have to try them for yourself. You can stick with your final favorite, or Tango on sampling the world of Coffees. [By the way, did you know there's an Ethiopian Coffee — "Kopi Luwak" — the beans come out a Civit Cat's ass with its poop? No shit!] 

PPPS Oxygen is the enemy of Coffee. Check out the subject of storage, and storage devices. Vacuum sealed seems to be the ticket. 

BASTA!

Lucky strike extra! In case you are not up on the nuances of Coffee brewing, here as just one of the so many instructionals on just one type of brewing method, two different gizmos:

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦: "𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬"

IT IS NOT THERE - AND NEVER WAS

"If you are not convinced that you behave emotionally as if you had a lasting, single and independent self, then it is important to address yourself to this issue before moving on to consider the doctrine of not-self.

Think carefully about pain and suffering and ask yourself who or what it is that is suffering. Who is afraid of what will happen ; who feels bad about what has happened ; why does death seem such a threat when the present disappears every moment, scarcely having had a chance to arise?

You will find that your thinking is full of contradictions, inconsistencies and irresolv­able paradoxes. This is normal. Everyone (except, perhaps, the insane) have a common sense notion of what or who they are which works (more or less) and enables them to function as normal human beings.

However, when the meditator addresses himself to what or who this self is, he cannot find it.

Then gradually, very gradually, it dawns on him that the reason he cannot find it is that it is not there and never was."

~ Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche

From: "Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness"