Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 When I'm deep in my Spirituality I have a sense of everything going on around me.  It's more about what I feel as opposed to what I think.  I am to receive my Carter Hall later today and can't wait to try it.  Tobacco has a tendency to keep me settled down both about my Spirituality and about life itself.  My pipes serve a Divine purpose although most wouldn't think so, but tobacco adds to my Spirituality. It makes me more reflective and I focus on my feelings when I smoke a pipe.  I can't say how it does this, but it is a tool used to connect me to Spirit Guides.  And it's more about feelings than thoughts.  I simply feel connected to the Divine with a pipe.  Of this weren't true I might not have a reason to smoke a pipe.  My tobacco choices are a big part of it.   I wish I could say how or why, but it's more about feeling connected.  I think more about my feelings when I'm smoking a pipe.  I could go days without a...

 My wife and I joined the gym this past week and I used the treadmill yesterday for the first time.  When I finished my T-shirt was soaked with sweat.  I set it for a cardio workout and walked for a mile in twenty minutes.  I probably won't do much more than this although I coukd get into light weight lifting.  But I've learned that any exercise is good.  College football was on yesterday but I only watched one full game last evening. I will watch no pro ball today.  Instead I will focus on my Spirituality today.  As I said in an earlier post yesterday, I need to limit my football viewing.  Football could very easily take over my life and I watched no analysis this past week.  I simply decided my Spirituality comes first.  And it is way to easy for me to get distracted and I could make football my life.  I could very easily fall prey to the gym taking over my life, but feel a few times a week at the gym is plenty for me. ...

 I'll watch one game today, but won't watch very closely.  I'll check the scores at the end of the day and won't watch the pro's tomorrow.  I've found that football interferes with my Spirituality. I said I could give up my pipes, but I've found I am smoking less.  I find most anything could be a distraction and the fact is I don't like distractions.  I'm listening to light rock love songs as I write this post.   But why?  I find music relaxes me.  I write from my heart and not my head ot at least try to.  I think too much as it is, but I'd rather write from my feelings.  What I feel are my Spirit Guides telling me I need to relax more and think less.  I like to stay informed about the world, but I've found too much and I think too much.  What is it about Spirituality that makes me feel and what do I feel? I feel connected to the Spirit world.  I can feel a Spiritual connection to the dead if I allow for it.  I d...

 Okay, so I've said pipe smoking is a hobby, but I guess one could say that I'm a serious pipe smoker.  The other morning my wife and I ran some errands earlier in the day than usual because of the hurricane.  We live in Florida and we live in a place that has little impact from this storm.  But as I was watching about the hurricane from the Weather Channel, I took some time to place my next order of tobacco. I got eight ounces of Lane 1-q, which has become a favorite Aromatic.  I have plenty of my own blend and that should last me until I need to order again.  But I placed an order for a fourteen ounce can of Carter Hall tobacco.  Why?  I've never had it.  I've tried all the OTC blends and found my least favorite to be Mixtire 79.  I can see why Hef liked it, but I hated it.  I've tried them all and have had the cheapest and the most expensive.   I could be a Balkan smoker, but find most Balkan blends to be too expensive....

Dice Van Dyke hopes to make it until his 99th birthday in December.  In a way, I hope he does too.  He was in Mary Poppins and had his own TV show with Mary Tyler Moore.  But it might seem to some that maybe 99 is too long on this earth.  I have some good news for Dick Van Dyke.  He hasn't much to worry about in regard to death.  And really most don't.  There are those who have taken Human Life for whatever reason, but Dick Van Dyke doesn't have much to worry about.   I can probably say this about most anyone.  Sure murderers walk among us.  And God doesn't punish for lesser sins.  Some might think my smoking a pipe is a sin.  But it's not, even if it does shorten my life.  I'm just not worried about it.  In fact, I'm not worried about dying at all.  I worry more about pain than I do about death.  But I can find nothing in Van Dyke's life that would negate heaven for him.  And the good news for him...

 I understand the Grace of God and my goal is to be as forgiving as I say God is.  But forgiving all sins except for murder and suicide can be a tall order even for me.  And not everyone understands God's Grace as I claim to understand it.  I don't worry about salvation in regard to anyone in my circle, but I have.  But as Jesus gave His Discioles to God's care, in a way I have to, but I had to learn.   My Spirituality focuses on the needs of others and not so much for myself.  But for too long I was too inward.  I am branching out more to others.  But for a long time I had convinced no one of my experience with the Divine.  But now I have convinced a few, but not in all things I claim my Spirit Guides told me.  So, this past 30 years has been a very long learning curve.  The first ten years was the hardest.  The second ten years I had two close calls with death.  And now the third ten years has had a lot of unde...

 Maybe I watch too much football and maybe I smoke my pipe too much.  I paid attention to three college football games and four pro games between last Friday night and Sunday night.  After it was over Sunday night I mentioned to my wife that I need to give up football for awhile.  I felt it was interfering with my Spirituality.  Then while on the subject I suggested that maybe my pipes do too. She told me not to be foolish.  Football is the best diversion from life and this blog is called "Pipeology."  But maybe I could do less of each.  I told her I can feel disconnected from my Spirit Guides when I watch too much football and that maybe I smoke my pipe too much.  Maybe I can skip days, I said.  She suggested I wouldn't be able to skip days.  So, I'm not giving up football and I won't skip days smoking my pipe. But I feel good that at least I am thinking about my Spiritual needs.  Do I smoke more while watching football? ...

I have an eye exam tomorrow.  I have an eye exam once a year to validate my driver's license.  One year I failed and was limited to datrime driving for four years.   I said the eye examiner failed that one and not me.  But I get an eye exam tomorrow.  I had eye surgery in both eyes for histoplasmosis.  That is a fungus that develops either in the eyes or the lungs. It usually occurs in one eye only,  but it developed in both eyes.  At the time only laser treatment was available, but now they have a pill for it.  I am blind in one eye, but both eyes working together and they work very well.  But I'm still at risk so the State has me get an eye exam to keep my license validated. Do I have to drive?  Not really.  My wife would like for us to find our own place, but we'd rent and not buy.  And we can do without a car.  I'm never worried about whether I drivet.  I told my wife she can start looking any time she w...

 Which would I rather be - either Batman or Superman or maybe another super hero?  Only a few know who Bruce Wayne is but no one knows who Clark Kent is.  Maybe Lois Lane got it figured out.  But I like Superman the best of all of them.  Bruce Wayne was wealthy.  Clark Kent was just a reporter.  I like Clark Kent the best.  I like that no one knew he was Superman.  I like his mild-mannered style. I could go through all Super Heroes and choose one, but Supeman does it all.  He is vulnerable to Kryptonite, but he always manages.  Bruce Wayne's lifestyle is too far removed from me.  I can identify with a reporter's life.  He just has one girlfriend and sometimes you aren't sure she is that.  In real-life Adam West had too many women.  Christopher Reeves might be my kind of Superman.  Except for his falling off a horse.   But really, I'm blending reality with fantasy.  I'm not sure I can think of ...

 My wife said about yesterday's post it was heavy.  I knew it would be, but there are times I'm not thinking about bunnies and kittens.  I watched a music video the other day that was full of folk music.  There was a song about a young couple living on love.  And the song progresses to their old age as they hold hands on the front porch still living on love.  I have a hard time at times believing I'm 73.  Some my age are Uber drivers and some are in nursing homes. I have no need for care, but still my wife fixes my meals or we go out once in awhile.  But we're both quite self-sufficient.  I'm a little slower these days and don't like to drive or travel.  Maybe I sit around too much smoking my pipe, but as I've said here, my thoughts matter.  My time spent meditating matters.  I never feel like I waste a second of my time.  If I ever felt that way, I might get depressed or maybe I'd just feel lonely. But I feel neither of t...

 I wrote this one yesterday.  I had something else for this morning, but decided on posting this one instead.  Maybe it's the times.  I'm not sure.  I used to think I would never make a penny from my Angels, but am beginning to re-evaluate my thinking.  But I could go the way of being a non-profit religious organization.  But what is it?  It can't be an off-shoot of something else.  I'm not 100% sure.  But since family is my primary readership here, I'm thinking about what I could do as a non-profit religious organization.  I used to say that when something got organized it was ruined. But I thought of a goal.  What is it that bothers me most?  There are two sins I say God will NOT forgive.  I can seek to eliminate both violence and suicide, both of which bother me the most.  I wrote about sin the other day saying ANY sin can lead to both of these sins.  It would be foolish to say I want to eliminate sin....

If I spend a lot of time on building my Spirituality, does it matter?  I think it does matter.  Why does it matter?  Descartes says, "I think therefore I am."  I can get lost in thought.  And my wife knows I can.  I can be thinking about anything from the sublime to the ridiculous.  Maybe more it might be the latter than the former.  But I can have conversations in my head as I ponder my life. I don't know what to say I have not said, but I'm kind of a thinker, especially with a pipe in my mouth.  But more often than not, it's about God and Angels, which should be to no one's surprise.  And maybe my thoughts are the same, but it all depends on what is going on in the lives of others on any given day.  My son in Ohio lost one of his cats.  So, I asked my Angels to help him find his cat.  He found it night before last.   But is that sublime or ridiculousness?  Well, maybe for my son it's in the realm of the su...

 Lust, Greed, Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Anger, and Slothfulness are the Seven Deadly Sins.  Why?  Pope Gregory called them such in the sixth century.  But again why?  He said they lead to the death of the soul and needed penance for forgiveness.  Okay, that's it in a nutshell.  But I went one step further by saying ANY sin can lead to the unforgivable sins of murder and suicide.  I used to do sermon series and thought about writing of each one of these, but then I can add lying, stealing, warfare, and most any sin I wish. But basically I'm a religion of one and say that what I can't do is take a human life including my own.  But does this mean I can do as I please?  The Apostle Paul would say, "Ne Genote!"  Meaning, No way!"  I can't do as I wish.  I have to be obedient to laws and remain a free man!  I represent my Spirit Guides.  And I don't represent them by being a sinful creature.  So, no, not that I can't...

 I hate sermonizing about my Spirituality.  It's personal and isn't meant to be shared.  This is why I'm isolated from many and am exposed to just a few.  I've thought about joining a gym, but I did some light weed pulling the other day and thought that maybe joining a gym might not be a great idea.  I could overdo it in a gym.  My body isn't used to a great amount of exercise. Maybe I could afford to put on some added weight.  But I'd have to slowly work up to where I was when I stopped going.  I just can't dive into exercising.  My heart functions between a half to sixty percent.  And sitting on the patio in the Florida heat and humidity is almost like a sauna.  I'm going to have to be careful at first and I think my wife and family worries I'll do too much too soon.  And maybe I might. I can work up a sweat by working outdoors in the heat and humidity here.  And I am finding I tire very easily.  So, my thinking is ...

  I wanted to live with it before mentioning it or writing about it.  The above photo is my birthday pipe from my son, Jordan.  It's a Savinelli.  It will go down as one of my favorites.  I like bent stem pipes the best and the metal band really sets it apart.  It is a very stylish pipe and it just looks so good.  I wouldn't mind being seen out with this pipe.  It is made of Briar and the bowl is called a Dublin shape although Savinelli is an Italian pipe maker.   I wasn't sure I could write a whole post about it, but it is a very nice pipe.  It does smoke very well and doesn't get real hot as some pipes do.  I love the smooth finish and prefer pipes with a smooth finish.  The grain is perfect and the pipe is flawless.  The stem is acrylic and not plastic as many stems are.  This would have been a man's dress pipe back in the day.  The Briar will darken nicely as it ages.   I had more room to write...

 I said yesterday I didnt want to sermonize.  But it's Sunday and I'm throwing cautiin ti the wind, so to speak.  I wish for one world religion with God being as simple as we can make Him.  God simply is not very complicated.  Love always wins.  This is why I've avoided all organized religion and why I am a religion of one.  My beliefs are too simple.  My God is too simple.  But my Guides did that on purpose.  They knew I wanted a simple belief.  So, they simplified it all for me.  And for most anyone it can't be that simple.   My theology is so simple a five-year-old can understand it.  I can reduce it to simple paragraph.  So, if it is so simple why has so much been written?  I have no idea.  I really don't.  It's because life is so complex and so, belief is very complex.  In Mark 4:13 Jesus says all His parables say the same thing.  Maybe all books and every book in the Bible say ...

 I had something else for this morning, but it might be more like a Sunday sermon, but sermonizing is the last thing I want to do.  So, I'm switching things up a bit today and decided on a tobacco review instead.  I wanted to order something for fall I've never had before.  I found the Nicotine in Autumn Evening to be a bit too much at times and wanted a replacement for it.   Right now I have plenty of Old Professor I smoke from time to time and I ordered enough Lane 1-Q to blend and some left over to smoke by itself.  I now have a lot of my Special Blend and will always have plenty of that on hand.  But in my last order I wanted something different and I found it in Cornell and Diehl's Maple Cavendish.  It hit all the right notes as I read about it and read the reviews.  I have to say that fall in Florida doesn't arrive until late November, if you want to call it fall. I can see myself sitting on the deck of our house in NY in late Sept...

My Spirituality isn't complicated.  Religions can be very complex.  But there isn't anything complex about my Spirituality, unless I find myself explaining my Spirit Guides.  Even they want me to keep it simple.  Except for a few, I often find there is no end to explaining.  I'd rather not try to explain my Guides and how they work.  Then it begins to get complicated.   My Guides left me with a very simple theology of Human Life.  This is all God cares about.  Even the Afterlife is simple.  Everything about it is simple.  It's not made complex with many, but is simple if I keep it with a few.  There just isn't much complex about it all.  I try to keep my thoughts simple.  There is nothing complex about God at all.  Life itself can be complex enough.  And for me, I'd rather have a few in my circle than many.   If I could package what I have and market it to many I probably would be very rich, b...

 My wife took a photo of me holding a coffee mug my brother and his wife gave to me as a birthday gift.  In the photo was the pool in the background and my brother replied that I shouldn't go off the high dive.  I hadn't remembered that event in years.  I almost drowned then.  We were at a public pool and I must have been about six and hadn't learned to swim.  My brother was to keep an eye on me. He was swimming around and before he knew it he lost track of me.  I had wandered off and found myself on the high dive.  He found me, but it was too late.  I had jumped off the high dive!  Yes, I nearly drowned.  I discovered very quickly I couldn't touch bottom.  But I managed to surface and dog paddled to the side of the pool gasping for air.  I almost didn't make it. He said he totally freaked out thinking I had surely drowned!  So, some nearly 70 years later, he reminds me to not go off the high dive.  I hadn't thou...

I really hope music from the late 50's to the early 80's stays.  I grew up with what I think is the best era of music.  And I love it when young people today listen to music I've known for years for the first time and their reactions are just like how my generation reacted to so much music from that era.   We were just as wowed.  I can go back to Buddy Holly, although I was much too young to remember the Miss American Pie plane that crashed and killed him, the Big Bopper, and Richie Valenz.   But I do remember the early years of Elvis and his first appearance on the Ed Sulivan show.  And I can remember how I felt upon learning of his death in 1977.  I can name so many who are no longer with us today, but sadly too many died at the hands of their own volition.  Too many died in plane crashes.  Too many died from drug overdoses.  And too many just died too young.   Music back then was the driving force of culture. ...

I had a quiet birthday yesterday with just family and it was a wonderful birthday.  As I look back on my life and say I've been blessed I can't help but think about how in many ways less is more.  When I was in college I was active in college life.  After college I worked for a couple of years as my wife finished with her degree and we went to seminary.  Those years were spent in study.  Then I went into ministry and discovered it wasn't for me and never had a desire to go back to the Church.  Except for a couple of years I never went back and never mussed it.  Still don't to this day. My youngest son said he'd been really messed up had I stayed.  And I would have been too.  We had a three week trip to Europe for our 30th anniversary, 12 days of which were spent on a luxurious cruise ship.  We've had fabulous vacations in Mexico where my broth-in-law had a home with maids and our own chef.  Our son's vacationed there as graduation g...

 I began writing this yesterday, but finished it up this morning.  I almost always write a day or two ahead, but in the mornings before posting I'll go over it and make my corrections and add pertinent information.  So, I finished this post this morning.  But yesterday I was smoking my pipe and listening to my Sunday morning music as I drank my coffee.  These posts aren't going to be earth-shaking, but I just want to give you something to ponder as I smoke my pipe, sip my morning coffee, and write. But I am a year older today and I think a year wiser about a lot of things. I used to wonder where we should be living, but we're staying put for now.  Wondering caused me some stress.  But if I think about right now, I am where I'm supposed to be.  I'll get to the gym eventually.  That is my next goal.   But am I better or wiser than I was a year ago?  I think so.  I don't believe I've had a cigar for a year.  I've had rel...

 I said it this year too.  College football has begun and yes, this year I said it too.  I won't watch or pay attention.  But already I am sucked into it.  But why do I say I won't watch?  Because football is a violent sport and I hate violence of any kind.  So, why did I watch a game the other evening and why am I am paying attention to it now?  Simple.  Because for some silly reason I like college football. Especially now with a twelve team playoff system.  Any one of twelve teams could be a champion.  It's no longer the usual suspects.  The pundits can predict four teams, but twelve teams make it harder, although it seems the pundits predict who the champion might be.  I like to watch Joel Klatt's podcasts.  He announces many of the top tier games.  He doesn't make predictions on any of the games he broadcasts on Fox, but he has made his predictions his predictions. After one week of college ball, already ther...

 No one knows.  I don't count because I'm not sure I care.  But I won't explain that.  I'm thinking I live on borrowed time.  So, technically I don't count.  But excluding myself from the question, no one knows their future.  Okay, that's the question of the day.  How much time do you have left?  No one knows.  But it was a question posed by many Christians to get people thinking about eternity and many people hate the question.  But it doesn't bother me at all. Most don't want to think about it.  I do and I don't think about it.  I could say I don't care about myself.  The question doesn't bother me at all, which is why I can ask it.  In fact, I would say that my getting older doesn't bother me.  I often wish I could explain more about it and why it doesn't concern me, but it doesn't.  I don't take unnecessary risks with my life. But I simply don't worry about how much time I have left.  Now, I wo...

 I like having a fairly simple life.  I've had the complexities of life and used to struggle with a very complex theology/philosophy about life ,God, and the end of life.  But while it seems it my life is simple these days, I've had to work very hard to keep it simple.  I have a very simple theology I inherited from my Guides.  That simple theology meant I had to work hard at simplifying my life.  Some might suggest that maybe my life is too simple now. But that's because I've kept the complexities pretty much to myself and pretty much prefer it that way.  I've had enough complexities for several lifetimes.  I've been working on them all.  I just don't sit around smoking my pipe.  But my pipe is a diversion.  It helps simplify my life.  Life still has its stresses and its worries, but nothing like before.  The fact is God doesn't care what I do or don't do as long as I am alive.  And since I have to be in this world, ...

  If I were to smoke some other place, it would be at a pipe shop or a cigar bar.  The above photo is of a cigar bar and this post is mostly about cigar bars.  Pipes are always welcome at pipe shops that also sell cigars.  But pipes are not always welcomed at cigar bars.  It just depends.  Usually cigar bars are for cigar smokers.  Which is why I've never smoked my pipe at a cigar bar.  Usually cigar bars are for cigar smokers.  If a pipe shop has a lounge I always feel obligated to buy a cigar and smoke it there.  There are a few rules generally for cigar bars only. These rules might not apply to pipe shops, but they apply to cigar bars.  One will always buy a cigar to smoke in the cigar bar unless one just wants to buy a cigar to take home.  Polite conversation is allowed only.  If one goes to a cigar bar to talk religion or politics, one will be asked to leave quite promptly.  I hardly ever remove a band from a cig...

  Each time I go into a pipe shop to smoke my pipe, I feel obligated to buy something and it's usually a cigar.  The above photo is supposed to be from New York City, but I've never seen a river scene like this in NYC.  My wife and I discussed it and she said maybe the scene above is ifrom Brooklyn or a place we've never been.  This is a CGI rendition with quiet jazz piano for studying, relaxing, or sleeping.   But I see CGI photos of coffee shops and think to myself they'd be perfect places to smoke a pipe, have a cup of coffee, and have a quiet conversation.  I can put myself into any of these scenes with a pipe.  It wasn't that long ago I could have, but not today, even the outdoor scene above probably would not allow smoking of any kind. We went out for dinner the other night and I thought it wasn't that long ago I could smoke my pipe after a meal, but invariably some guy would light up a cigar and ruin the whole mood.  But those days are...

 A man in Peabody, Florida won $4M on a scratch off lottery ticket.  He took the lump sum of $2.6M and decided to pay off his house and buy his wife a car.  He is donating a big chunk of it to the Animal Rescue League.  I read the story and as an animal lover myself was touched by his generosity.  But I began to wonder what I'd do with it.  Then I decided to just ask the question in my subject this morning.   I think a lot of older people have had dreams of being philanthropists in their old age.  I have.  But then in our own way my wife and I have given away quite a bit when we could afford to.  And we've spent some on ourselves.  We've donated to charitable causes, but not enough for anyone to take notice.  But I wondered what I'd do with a large sum of money.   I've decided I would probably donate a lot of it if not all.  But I decided to ask the question just to throw it out there.  I think a large ...

 Do I believe in aliens, Big Foot, and ghosts?  I believe anything is possible, limited only by our imagination.  If we can imagine it anything is possible.  Why do I think this way?  Simple.  Because we can.  But can our imaginations run wild?  Sure they can.  Even movie magic is limited only by imagination.  Who is to say that nothing we imagine can't be real?   But can aliens be either demons or angels?  Sure.  Can ghosts be spirits waitung for the Judgment?  Sure.  Can Big Foot actually exist?  Sure.  Anything can have a logical explanation if we think outside the box.  But many fear the unknown.  I don't.  So, maybe my imagination is just greater.  Or maybe in some cases not great enough.  I used to like to read because of the use of imagination.  I used to hate movies made from books I've read because often the characters portrayed aren't what I imagined them to ...

 I can never predict how any of my posts are going to be received but I do get a reaction from my wife quite often, but I'll post about my Spirituality thinking I've said enough and apart from a few other subjects my Spirituality posts do quite well.  I had yesterday's tobacco review done a few days ago and saved it for yesterday and again, it seems my tobacco reviews do quite well.  Then I wrote about my age and it seemed no one cared that much   My wife says that it's my titles for my subjects So, while I have so many subjects to choose from, today it is about how my tobacco choices influence my Spirituality or do they?  Not really.  It's just that I can't smoke my pipes without tobacco.  I could be smoking a lot of things.  Like the question asked when someone thinks you are crazy, " What have I been smoking?"  Well, at least you know.  It's never any "funny" stuff.  You could be asking what I've been drinking.  I have ...