or, That Time I Ordered a Second DJ Kit
When I started DJ’ing, my collaborator Zev and I hit on the idea of purchasing two DJ boards. As a wandering pilgrim, having multiple controllers in multiple locations (like one on each coast) would make it easier to run dance parties across the United States. So we ordered a duplicate of my kit—the Traktor Kontrol S2 MK3—and sent it to Zev’s house at the time, in the Bay Area.
As it happened, Zev was out of town when the package arrived. When he returned home, he couldn’t find the package. His roommates hadn’t brought it in, and it had presumably been stolen. Understandably, we were both quite upset. Zev was upset that his roommates hadn’t brought the package in, and I was upset that I’d spent several hundred dollars on a controller and case, only to have it stolen.
Then, things suddenly shifted for me. I thought about Zev, and my friendship with him. I’ve always thought of Zev as a little mischievous, and he brings that quality out in me. I love it.
I also believe in reincarnation; from that perspective, Zev and I would almost certainly have been connected in previous lives. It dawned on me that if that were the case, we probably would have stolen some things ourselves in a previous life, getting up to some hijinks together. If so, I could see this present situation as an echo of choices we’d made together in a previous life.
That perspective brought a smile to my face. It was kind of funny to imagine Zev and I stealing things in a previous life—being mischievous young whippersnappers together, oblivious to the consequences of our actions. If that were the case, I would be happy to pay off my karmic debt through this present situation, which was at the end of the day just a minor inconvenience, and could easily have been a lot worse. My suffering dissolved, and I decided to order a second kit (with the assurance that this time, Zev would be there when it arrived).
This is what Rob Burbea would call a way of seeing, a frame on experience that “brings, to any degree, a dissolution of, or a decrease in, dukkha” (suffering or dissatisfactoriness) 1(Burbea’s Soulmaking Dharma also pointed out that some ways of seeing can lead to an increase in meaning or fulfillment.). In this case:
way of seeing: the suffering you are experiencing is karmically connected to past actions you took in this or a previous life, and now you get to eat and resolve that karma by fully experiencing your current situation, accepting it, learning from it
Is that way of seeing true? Is reincarnation real? Were Zev and I really friends in a past life, too? Did we really steal other people’s property in a previous life, such that it was catching up to us now?
I don’t know. But seeing it that way transmuted my orneriness and suffering into happiness and amusement and ease—and it’s done so time and again, on difficult days and through various challenges.
“only if there are angels in your head will you
ever, possibly, see one.”
— Mary Oliver
Here are some ways of seeing that I’ve tweeted over the years:
way of seeing: every story you are called to, drawn to, moved by contains messages from the universe and your soul about how to walk your path in this lifetime
i’ve been putting on the way of seeing that in a future lifetime i will be peace pilgrim
a way of seeing that, if I want to do something, and set the intention to do it, it will be done, in this lifetime or a future lifetime
been putting on the way of seeing that when we think about other people they are also thinking about us, when we feel about other people they are also feeling about us
way of seeing: for every thought you have about someone else, they will have a similarly-valenced thought about you.
way of seeing: people’s behavior is an expression of love, care, interest
way of seeing: everyone in our life, everyone alive has a piece of the puzzle
a way of seeing I often inhabit is that I will be a Buddha in a future life. it’s how I hold the Bodhisattva vows. this and all lives (and every moment) is training for that
way of seeing: this life is the most immersive movie i have ever seen
way of seeing: i, the audience member, am the universe—like someone watching a movie i am intrigued and invested in the plot, but am ultimately free from its twists and turns. i have no idea what will happen next
way of seeing: i am the director and the actor and the audience, i can decide what character i want to play, how he will act, and watch what happens
way of seeing: every word you hear is the revealed gospel, the sermon of the universe spoken for your ears
way of seeing: every fact or idea you encounter has some purpose in your life, will play some role in your vow unfolding
way of seeing: our parents are accreted, reified stored karma from our past lives. the only way to let go of the karma is to love them
way of seeing, woo superstition: the way you see and feel about and act towards the elderly is the way you will be treated when you yourself are old—you are creating the karmic conditions that you will inherit when your time comes
way of seeing: the sensation of time’s passing seeming to get faster as we age is caused by the dissolution of our delusions about the nature of time, the inflowing of wisdom
way of seeing: all our prayers come true, are fulfilled in their own time and way
way of seeing: all the prayers our parents, family, and friends have prayed for us come true, are fulfilled in their own time and way
way of seeing: the universe has something good in store for us around every corner
there’s a video-game-esque way of seeing i’ve found fun where u can see strangers in a crowd as more or less resonant, having downloads and boons and side quests for u. little imaginal sparkles and halos around them signalling “talk 2 me”
way of seeing: ur public (and private) speech acts are the unfolding dynamic of revelation, proceed accordingly
way of seeing: others’ speech acts are the unfolding dynamic of revelation, listen accordingly
the way of seeing that u came here, that u were born into this life and this world at this time to do something.
the way of seeing that all possible universes exist, that [when i create fiction] i am sensing into one of them and describing it, a reporter rather than a creator
way of seeing: i am completely, totally wrong about absolutely everything
way of seeing: the universe gives us exactly the level of difficulty we can handle, the challenges we can learn from, the problems we can grow through
way of seeing: “i can handle the problems my life brings me”
way of seeing: through conservation of energy, even our greatest “mistakes” will be canon events for others that lead to beneficial consequences for them and, ultimately, for all beings. no effort is wasted
way of seeing: everyone else is more enlightened than me
way of seeing: as cells and organs are part of our physical bodies, so too, are we organs of complex systems, egregores, flows and patterns of the universe at large
