tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1918790153602496202024-03-14T01:10:07.923-07:00֍ Jah۞Sun's Omniverse ֎The musings, speculations, and lesser publications of DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)... votary of novelty and omniversal oneness.DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-34482118377585398812023-01-23T12:10:00.011-08:002023-01-24T19:09:49.125-08:00Angelic Warriors<div style="text-align: left;"><br /> Minting some new NFTs that promise to be valuable. A collection of Angelic Warriors...<br /><a href="https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1"><br />https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1</a><br /></div><p><span style="opacity: 0; position: absolute; user-select: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://twitter.com/Omniverse9/status/1618080435640336386?s=20</span></p><p>Inspired by anime and mech, but done up in 3D gamer style... these guys are badasses.<br /><br />For now, this collection will only be available on AreaX NFT site and sold in TELOS. For those who don't know $TLOS and don't want to bother with swapping... the next minting will be multichain and on OpenSea. #NFT #TELOS #Blockchain #Angels<br /><br />https://twitter.com/Omniverse9/status/1618080435640336386?s=20<span style="opacity: 0; position: absolute; user-select: auto; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://twitter.com/Omniverse9/status/1618080435640336386?s=20</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQaDAVnEEOdXfbmk4mA0DIJPIbQdsQuuQ8yqO3_R7HSejyfIfL8-b1ya6AjHvyOfj0P-benGS5Qmy9NjE2RQYDWyvAh_Xw_MYx9jFoVXOlijdEorFhFEQk1mGC1SOJD645UsV22nkc9zfhBCBgeZfIQD0gRD_Mfzp5Ve92RbFyfURqiOIP-BiGQbQM-w/w623-h467/Angelic%20Warrior%20COVER.jpg" width="623" /></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBzluw_H7IRUasiS5jKXN7K1wUMxVS1Mxpww6mYx3I0x4fJQUEb0m0vKRG5VuScQ8qUQNHdm83UhmQmQr9xoKCXywtieGOQokQc7B58O13kHihtral7aNKCco1rAXQ-MsrBJAq5ixa6RgJbd_K679o5kjhpz_gFFGb-xY5WsT7P77cFR0zbLobylGvA/w333-h330/Angelic%20Warrior%20Image%20II.jpg" width="333" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPx9IKACIiAS9xdMw7UQpZu63-Ig0L0SG6rhHZVxUR1WQnXEHbqP7TcS-YNCOTDm2C5R6L4AX3RoN-3N89UO8DTKNgqMf1737eEXN4LkJdoTj7pRipWDZ1VLDd_O2oYp6VrW6wUlWZJAP3LQSoC5SMYKVfQ21wHc5BcjqLiaZ-gQLR_-1PL_vtr0Q7g/w327-h329/Angelic%20Image.jpg" width="327" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span><a name='more'></a></span><a href="https://evm.areaxnft.com/collection/angelic/1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="512" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIEqPhjTVsbKQLpapdKXXMYhHYdiYyIezkgcYj9QmOb1AJPPHpUPkc_M4efpmhgwam_UOrh4ykdBHZ8w0ggdPNfiA7d9Ifts7tLaz94j3Dip_F0IqkQFVEyk0ihRkFtIjO7-maGdGyVFd35AbD8vzouOxw8poBxj5jQOzBuRzoV8TuEh-XJH9XFAPoQ/w400-h400/Angelic%20Warrior%20II.jpg" width="400" /> <br /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQPXAApVdGPsw1i48X_aO7ZxstStNfwbrtP3BbI2h21AXp4YDmKNaf5tY7Q8EX8hercuf8BWCwVzAn5S0LbOzbtpBLZROC4bDOw6n9oD0Ss-nS4g4gS8riFPebUNywqhpA6PqexqgE3lsFzRw2GZzx9oQDR-kKl071swQbxpaOJBU8So7NKsqp-IqaQ/s1643/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20I.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1643" data-original-width="1278" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCQPXAApVdGPsw1i48X_aO7ZxstStNfwbrtP3BbI2h21AXp4YDmKNaf5tY7Q8EX8hercuf8BWCwVzAn5S0LbOzbtpBLZROC4bDOw6n9oD0Ss-nS4g4gS8riFPebUNywqhpA6PqexqgE3lsFzRw2GZzx9oQDR-kKl071swQbxpaOJBU8So7NKsqp-IqaQ/w498-h640/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20I.jpg" width="498" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0uFpKgSAZccdQAYZIiuzsfzVCwYcmLsOKXpHhxoi8pJbgWrqmqJb_3tWNnd_bx6pOz74vD0HfHuTxs8KDK4XwkLN-ELcnLcBZatmKMXOeC7udbw6EGRp28JEXO1u_qbbNPCT1lxcgZ3DHpsX5HxCV1v4nP9uQdc9rN7VR5jD-rUBPR0p1RwgMegPZw/s1643/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20I_Snapseed.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1643" data-original-width="1278" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0uFpKgSAZccdQAYZIiuzsfzVCwYcmLsOKXpHhxoi8pJbgWrqmqJb_3tWNnd_bx6pOz74vD0HfHuTxs8KDK4XwkLN-ELcnLcBZatmKMXOeC7udbw6EGRp28JEXO1u_qbbNPCT1lxcgZ3DHpsX5HxCV1v4nP9uQdc9rN7VR5jD-rUBPR0p1RwgMegPZw/w498-h640/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20I_Snapseed.jpg" width="498" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqryLCB4Ls0pnFGOSPmL2Bx63NCBlcDxRZ2zYFJbVMx9RfovQu7F7IdCdmNYKZH7T8HlzknMh4c13H_mrPVm1wA6zPzG6jQwedsm49Ru7NzI4XO8LOZ2omLsvzhRXW02bXK-Xz8v_3OLQc1GI9l3cp56iwXmAxKdPCKnjoC6m7zid1PFvgkbYQ2I6hA/s1668/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20III_Snapseed-1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1668" data-original-width="1297" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFqryLCB4Ls0pnFGOSPmL2Bx63NCBlcDxRZ2zYFJbVMx9RfovQu7F7IdCdmNYKZH7T8HlzknMh4c13H_mrPVm1wA6zPzG6jQwedsm49Ru7NzI4XO8LOZ2omLsvzhRXW02bXK-Xz8v_3OLQc1GI9l3cp56iwXmAxKdPCKnjoC6m7zid1PFvgkbYQ2I6hA/w498-h640/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20III_Snapseed-1.png" width="498" /><br /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDQLSNn3-6AScXC9Ww2Fho0bn6yFgvaucvkM70hqgJKh2uPISGSLAxupEK5b2UDqFJgJYzwrxSn8o_M8gG2UMUOaGlo7uUR4rWw09p6KnCYNyi6niNvuZxLaGJmZX6wvxNzkIzFJkerug_g-ezXRHoar-LaZXPSucZhVKI015yxXgMNu2TA2mZEIhpw/s1986/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20IV_Snapseed.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1986" data-original-width="1546" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDQLSNn3-6AScXC9Ww2Fho0bn6yFgvaucvkM70hqgJKh2uPISGSLAxupEK5b2UDqFJgJYzwrxSn8o_M8gG2UMUOaGlo7uUR4rWw09p6KnCYNyi6niNvuZxLaGJmZX6wvxNzkIzFJkerug_g-ezXRHoar-LaZXPSucZhVKI015yxXgMNu2TA2mZEIhpw/w498-h640/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20IV_Snapseed.png" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUc1ms6sSvUE-RrCDvVxZM9WzI30gIrK8VmcmXtCL7Js55fPqDaHCwzI26EfzFkk6LFBHODg2_mtHb-wxHgOl4vrtTq8gFkZyz9GRb3aRJciPeHnpF2UrFe3eHLeChmQM4aGJbGsvAA5rdSBkf-3aSuio-6-0duw_N9Kz--SSPq6o1wLb6bC6Erj0zQ/s2080/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20II%20(midnight%20blue).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2080" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUc1ms6sSvUE-RrCDvVxZM9WzI30gIrK8VmcmXtCL7Js55fPqDaHCwzI26EfzFkk6LFBHODg2_mtHb-wxHgOl4vrtTq8gFkZyz9GRb3aRJciPeHnpF2UrFe3eHLeChmQM4aGJbGsvAA5rdSBkf-3aSuio-6-0duw_N9Kz--SSPq6o1wLb6bC6Erj0zQ/w492-h640/Angelic%20Warrior%20NFT%20II%20(midnight%20blue).jpg" width="492" /></a></div><br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-63094624805634179482021-04-10T03:33:00.011-07:002021-04-10T04:31:51.362-07:00Digital Art - NFT & Me<p></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"> My Art...</h1><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaj2q5_Q1wqoqUTIOjIOUByGrEqL8DdV_2E0ViYF0zJfOau7wW5vWikdnBW5YKTPJeMX34a2bledC9KVNNX1N37bj8UuQcsZAVli9e3Or7j6KOPqXlJJ5oKjAhFerPs8h6ldVXHVXXLM56/s1342/Jake+Angeli+-+Q+Shaman+by+JahSun.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1342" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaj2q5_Q1wqoqUTIOjIOUByGrEqL8DdV_2E0ViYF0zJfOau7wW5vWikdnBW5YKTPJeMX34a2bledC9KVNNX1N37bj8UuQcsZAVli9e3Or7j6KOPqXlJJ5oKjAhFerPs8h6ldVXHVXXLM56/w640-h426/Jake+Angeli+-+Q+Shaman+by+JahSun.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>As many of you know. I have been into visual art for a long time. I didn't always have time for it, and it took a backseat to music production, international DJing, and, of course, <a href="https://watercharity.org" target="_blank">Water Charity</a>. But I never gave it up. I switched to mostly digital artwork a long time ago... I did fractals, flames, 3D recursive stuff, AI and more. It relaxes me, so I crank them out. </p><p>I will share a few pieces here, but the real push for me now is minting these pieces as NFTs.</p><p>I won't get into what <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/366648" target="_blank">NFTs</a> are here. Just think of it as crypto-blockchain provenance for digital art. If that only confused you further... talk to me and I will sort you out.<br /><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb7Ww6xrObLxr-aSLlRT9SxF01IVWTFyhfRE6Gbi362nAJAw5oeBZpWOBH1fVn-z2rdV3Rpgr4-K71LhDouf9WUo0VI7y4lKoAIHoAg_b4a0-IYtGPmbflqMIfudDjWAHtUt5QicPXo5e/s1343/Eldrich+Lake+I_Snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1343" data-original-width="893" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwb7Ww6xrObLxr-aSLlRT9SxF01IVWTFyhfRE6Gbi362nAJAw5oeBZpWOBH1fVn-z2rdV3Rpgr4-K71LhDouf9WUo0VI7y4lKoAIHoAg_b4a0-IYtGPmbflqMIfudDjWAHtUt5QicPXo5e/w426-h640/Eldrich+Lake+I_Snapseed.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p>Mostly this just means that people can buy and trade (and retrade ad infinitum) artwork as a digital commodity. Ask me about all of this in 6 months. Meanwhile, enjoy this "drop."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBArJbxQzfkUhlW8LWduKZya-BMeb-Wq9XpVDiZfWq0IliiJ0C1mxKj1fJTktRGi44O1qi69Rnwjtia8cLcqOfbT73-k6yG4H11umdKpnCVT3yx6qVmcrDr-E8xqIZxEJI3AzqEzU0vYW8/s705/Amazonian+Medicine+Chief+III_Snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="705" data-original-width="689" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBArJbxQzfkUhlW8LWduKZya-BMeb-Wq9XpVDiZfWq0IliiJ0C1mxKj1fJTktRGi44O1qi69Rnwjtia8cLcqOfbT73-k6yG4H11umdKpnCVT3yx6qVmcrDr-E8xqIZxEJI3AzqEzU0vYW8/w626-h640/Amazonian+Medicine+Chief+III_Snapseed.jpg" width="626" /></a><br /><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1KZYlHHC8lIdGEM9khg975JDNySIRJmxiZ2U7jpf1PBsNnLgWmDDvJuPEB9rQsFfy_pTS2K8tjmctsEWmUdAStXH-9P7u5WkH7LyJWOT5Wjjihg_TG3ZAsgI7I0RuXRpabHzGIPWI124/s600/Cosmic+Tiger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT1KZYlHHC8lIdGEM9khg975JDNySIRJmxiZ2U7jpf1PBsNnLgWmDDvJuPEB9rQsFfy_pTS2K8tjmctsEWmUdAStXH-9P7u5WkH7LyJWOT5Wjjihg_TG3ZAsgI7I0RuXRpabHzGIPWI124/w426-h640/Cosmic+Tiger.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-4337491471809555572019-02-19T09:36:00.001-08:002021-04-10T05:10:50.818-07:00Best We Can Do?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOdbEOpr1ntDOoPG9mROUgeM34rYrOYc7VNVaAhyphenhyphen2TMJnQPX36LJwrMAl_Q7WGdWFvSf-zVJSukToCPBiRh1H0Q4sC98UGm1y_ezKBjscvWOVhFCw52shFA5uY8bbeK45O-yGy5xoEcqU/s1600/Ascend.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOdbEOpr1ntDOoPG9mROUgeM34rYrOYc7VNVaAhyphenhyphen2TMJnQPX36LJwrMAl_Q7WGdWFvSf-zVJSukToCPBiRh1H0Q4sC98UGm1y_ezKBjscvWOVhFCw52shFA5uY8bbeK45O-yGy5xoEcqU/s640/Ascend.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Best We Can Do?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Are we doing the <b>best </b>we can?<br />
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Has anyone... <i>ever</i>?<br />
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If you know me, and some of you do, you may have heard me go off on this topic before. But it keeps coming up and is worth exploring.<br />
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Let me elucidate.<br />
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<h3>
SUPERLATIVES</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGKV7g3676u1s6xM1MzfmMa6nBUnwONl3usG7isF45aMg35MZkYnfheXfJZ4wCAS_y5BdLureQR6XroCUeiwWSKbDDZdFlyZPr1S1osC9rY7EoquijA-fH2WuVI_Rrm1zle9sr225LC_-/s1600/40.jpg"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGKV7g3676u1s6xM1MzfmMa6nBUnwONl3usG7isF45aMg35MZkYnfheXfJZ4wCAS_y5BdLureQR6XroCUeiwWSKbDDZdFlyZPr1S1osC9rY7EoquijA-fH2WuVI_Rrm1zle9sr225LC_-/s640/40.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you know anything about logic, you know that superlatives are words that shouldn't be used seriously in any debate or argument. All, never, best, worst... most. These words push anything you say into <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole" target="_blank">hyperbole</a>.</div>
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Even if you are using this as a rhetorical device on purpose, it is annoying. And, it is especially pernicious in one's <i>thinking</i>. Why? Because to use a superlative is to say that you know <b>everything</b>. And since most of us know very well that we truly <b>know</b> almost nothing... it is grandiose and confusing to even think in this way.<br />
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If you think to yourself, "This is the <i>worst</i> coffee." You are projecting the idea that you have tried every coffee... ever. Even if you were such a super-being that this was actually possible for you... the most you could <i>really</i> say is that the coffee in question was the worst you have encountered <i>so far</i>.</div>
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You may think I am pointlessly splitting hairs. But this is a bigger deal than you might realize. It is the root of a lot of sloppy, lazy thinking that winds up rippling out into everything you do.<br />
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesianism" target="_blank">Cartesian</a> thought arises from the dictum <b>Cogito Ergo Sum</b>. (i.e. I know that I exist, because I am thinking).</div>
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Nearly everything <i>else</i> that one can say is just speculation. And yet, people seem very SURE of a great many things, for which they have not a whit of evidence.</div>
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To say something is the BEST that can be done is somewhat foolish. But I do love fools, and folly is the true currency of life in many ways.<br />
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Let me go on...</div>
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<div>
Clearly, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt" target="_blank">Usain Bolt</a> <b>is</b> the <i>fastest</i> man to have ever run on the Earth... in high definition... so far... that we know of.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsAtOR1oxIlLPefuNCMPnaQVnkp4uGYZgDVDpnq1CJsYayzT9VbutiGUvyR-AifDenqRBmCj2HMzXz99zVpDMecnwGeeoVoVwG3myfbs8FnRUetpfEyyoHbsxUBLWpXkA1c_ZmnrA76uI/s1600/Blake+and+Bolt+-+Jamaican+Super+Sprinters+%2528London+2012%2529.jpg"><img border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsAtOR1oxIlLPefuNCMPnaQVnkp4uGYZgDVDpnq1CJsYayzT9VbutiGUvyR-AifDenqRBmCj2HMzXz99zVpDMecnwGeeoVoVwG3myfbs8FnRUetpfEyyoHbsxUBLWpXkA1c_ZmnrA76uI/s640/Blake+and+Bolt+-+Jamaican+Super+Sprinters+%2528London+2012%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br />
While very clearly hyperbolic, it happens to be true. With a number of disclaimers, that is. He is currently the fastest man to have ever run... in official, international competition.<br />
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It is quite likely that in the <i>entire</i> history of humanity, there were people who covered 100m even faster than Bolt... perhaps someone running from a Saber-Toothed Tiger a couple ice ages ago. Maybe some <i>crackhead</i> freshly coming up on his drug, who had to run from police. Who knows? :-) And, it is relatively certain that someone in the future <i>will</i> run faster than him... even if it takes 100 years to produce another Jamaican with titanium cheetah legs. Hehehehee. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWj35NY6FZPeGp2NOpniKKXy1SG9tQQn1qfXsCwb_shzIAxysnSzidjbjazQb5ppakIOTGk-oIoI79bK-gSWV8Ip0ZIJ2ADPYvedhmw2fhzEUvGckAB5Fx9AB-hhfLoPWy_03OcryfL70/s1600/download.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="1600" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWj35NY6FZPeGp2NOpniKKXy1SG9tQQn1qfXsCwb_shzIAxysnSzidjbjazQb5ppakIOTGk-oIoI79bK-gSWV8Ip0ZIJ2ADPYvedhmw2fhzEUvGckAB5Fx9AB-hhfLoPWy_03OcryfL70/s200/download.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah... Right.</td></tr>
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The point is that even with Usain Bolt, we can only use superlatives in a <i>qualified</i> manner. Needless to say, most of the time that people use them, they are not talking about someone or something nearly as truly dominant and demonstrably superior. In fact, it is usually quite the opposite.<br />
<br />
<h3>
DOING ONE'S BEST</h3>
This is the real crux of what I am discussing today. Misuse of superlatives is one thing, and sets up this topic, but it is really this <i>particular</i> rhetoric that I am taking issue with.<br />
<br />
People say things like this all the time. It is a frequent refrain when apologizing for someone or something. It is used as a way of justifying... or excusing mistakes or poor outcomes.<br />
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"<i>He did the best he could.</i>" or "<i>I gave it my best shot.</i>" etc. etc.</blockquote>
It is a widespread (mis)conception that there actually is such a thing as doing (or being)<b> the best</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOjqCRlN2xKZ2SofWEdkQ8vjfeEz8ej09C3LDhcLr2GjBhTxoWrtXiWgerzSLUHU1FfYe_MBJz0FbjiOjc99_vXprSYfqGkRoHhdUEo5SNsu6TRCVV34_09NHpOLSywtp3LHCb5Juhcyn/s1600/laila-sadler-quote-it-was-a-valiant-attempt-and-they-did-their-best.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOjqCRlN2xKZ2SofWEdkQ8vjfeEz8ej09C3LDhcLr2GjBhTxoWrtXiWgerzSLUHU1FfYe_MBJz0FbjiOjc99_vXprSYfqGkRoHhdUEo5SNsu6TRCVV34_09NHpOLSywtp3LHCb5Juhcyn/s400/laila-sadler-quote-it-was-a-valiant-attempt-and-they-did-their-best.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have written about this before. My book (currently unavailable) "We Can Do Better" talks a lot about this. A major premise of that work was that we can <b>always</b> do better.<br />
<br />
No matter how well we do anything, even if we have <i>surpassed</i> our current record in that thing, it is literally <i>always</i> possible to improve. In any activity, there are an infinite amount of variables and gradations in each metric... as such, it is always possible to tweak <i>something</i> and improve your performance... even if this is almost imperceptible. There is no ultimate achievement. Just higher and higher bars.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-3kladT_OLzND-hYblPJWjw5ZJAGbWE8dV4P1tlD50UWw5RJ_JapN6K5jNfscv3XZTnwsXiVs9EcGuokRitGTL91wNjFDdg40ZZXwPlv_KETWQ2LpVg3OwwdMf9z0sov5GCxq8NrvqMW/s1600/Shiv+Ra+Ji.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="736" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif-3kladT_OLzND-hYblPJWjw5ZJAGbWE8dV4P1tlD50UWw5RJ_JapN6K5jNfscv3XZTnwsXiVs9EcGuokRitGTL91wNjFDdg40ZZXwPlv_KETWQ2LpVg3OwwdMf9z0sov5GCxq8NrvqMW/s400/Shiv+Ra+Ji.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though if this guy gets any higher he might explode...</td></tr>
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No matter how fast you run, the carrot stays just out of reach, which, as the Doobie Brothers profoundly said... keeps you running. Even if you semi-miraculously managed to figure out how to swing the carrot back and jump forward quick enough to catch it. It would soon be replaced by a fresher, juicier carrot... and you would be on your merry way once again.<br />
<br />
And this is for people actively and truly <b>trying</b> to achieve their best... people on that narrow path of self-mastery in some shape or form. Sadly, when we say "They did the best they could...." the people in question were most certainly <i>not</i> trying to surpass their previous best efforts.<br />
<br />
So J...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>You just went off about superlatives and now you're saying you can ALWAYS do better.</li>
<li>Why are you up here trying to be the language police now?</li>
</ul>
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To which I say, valid points. But there <b>is</b> a rationale to this misty madness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa1Z74SBjU00pR_zsz2J_-0s0H6W5rPjTZptqy2Cl3MkwesvhzYQrscm4MJfHuY4ID42xN-_IWjhuWLK5tzWcfcD6B1fhyEkb6uRHVqIV7yrn9b6s2QLzBYJUgfVlmRLwZgacOXskK0t5/s1600/download+%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="700" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwa1Z74SBjU00pR_zsz2J_-0s0H6W5rPjTZptqy2Cl3MkwesvhzYQrscm4MJfHuY4ID42xN-_IWjhuWLK5tzWcfcD6B1fhyEkb6uRHVqIV7yrn9b6s2QLzBYJUgfVlmRLwZgacOXskK0t5/s320/download+%25282%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Getting rid of this pernicious mind-worm will have a <i>profoundly</i> positive effect on one's psyche. When you eliminate the crutch of "your best" and we stop making excuses for our lackluster efforts, we can set our sights much, much higher than our tawdry notions could have ever fathomed. Looking off into a limitless horizon gives us endless room to grow and continually improve.<br />
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When we don't think there is a ceiling, we stop thinking inside the box. We are free to reinvent things that seemed good enough. Having the idea that there is no "best" place to rest on one's laurels at... allows people to keep pushing their limits in new and unexpected ways. And we don't need to be led with carrots or stay on the trails when we have the grand vastness to inspire us.<br />
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This also lets us go to town on all the morbid and moribund <b>sacred cows</b> we are all obliged to idealize. When there is no "best" then we are not stuck with such currently untouchable, infallible pieces of pure brilliance as... the Electoral College... everything having to cost $X.99... The Two-Party System... Representative Democracy... The Constitution... Market Capitalism... your favorite Holy Book of Timeworn Aphorisms and Parables. etc. etc.<br />
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This is not to say that there is anything wrong with any of these fine things. Just that when we acknowledge that we can always do better... that the best is not something carved into dolorite, or laser etched into pure sapphire... back in the hoary mists of time, when most of us shared a <i>bunch</i> of common ancestors (do the math)... we can make shit better. We could decide to not poison our food anymore, for instance. Or maybe decide we didn't need to <i>poison</i> anything?<br />
<br />
We should be<b> thrilled </b>to know that we live in a world of many, nested varieties of infinity. That there are an infinite amount of divisions of the space between your eyes and <b>these words</b>. You could very truly go halfway closer to the screen... <i>forever</i>. And if you hold yourself 2x as far from your device... you have now <i>doubled</i> that infinity. You are a badass.<br />
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And that is not nearly the best you can do....<br />
<br />
To recap: All one can ever <i>really</i> say is that something is the best you have done thus far... that you can remember. And in truth, most of this talk tends to center around stuff you actually got second, third, fourth (or more) hand, and which you have <b>no actual sensory experience of</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDsznakSn8cKOxRX0DfC9HRNoXikz1KxVA-khTTsf1HpSgbEMxcEl22H4Ya5nvSVjtqnTDJoz7cF6rpHyv10YUEr3qlG7BnMgN0cdUANu3fqRIfa1IYLQwwzK0Rt5jaItzgi7Q4hkye1o/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="474" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDsznakSn8cKOxRX0DfC9HRNoXikz1KxVA-khTTsf1HpSgbEMxcEl22H4Ya5nvSVjtqnTDJoz7cF6rpHyv10YUEr3qlG7BnMgN0cdUANu3fqRIfa1IYLQwwzK0Rt5jaItzgi7Q4hkye1o/s320/download+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
You might like to think the Constitution of The United States of America is the greatest political document of all time, penned by giants of thought and moral standing... but no one you could ever have known was there, and the document in question is (let's be honest) a <i>mediocre</i> attempt by a bunch of dudes who would be considered morons by today's educational standards... most of whom owned slaves. Before you cry foul... remember that they forgot the Bill of Rights, and then had to amend the thing incessantly for well over 100 years just to get this infallible work of genius everyone can't stop masturbating over... and which still falls short for today's world... because guys in powdered wigs had no idea we could shoot our minds around the globe over light cables... or blow it up. They didn't even have electricity, let alone HBO <br />🜹😎🜹.<br />
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Just sayin'.<br />
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If you take one thing from this post... let it be the freedom that comes with knowing that you... that <i>we</i>... can always do better.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXtNalThJ0MjsbdQX0PU9wo8vDvxmEzADO403WZZPkj5HLdiIEFxw6BolQfqc5bHaBRim_0SpjXVyao3V6CrvcKUBHaOe6BGbjMvhh70OgUtAB-wC5sb9WUQwBIj1UOsJjJhNGZfqC3UV/s1600/full-lunar-eclipse-in-leo.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="555" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXtNalThJ0MjsbdQX0PU9wo8vDvxmEzADO403WZZPkj5HLdiIEFxw6BolQfqc5bHaBRim_0SpjXVyao3V6CrvcKUBHaOe6BGbjMvhh70OgUtAB-wC5sb9WUQwBIj1UOsJjJhNGZfqC3UV/s640/full-lunar-eclipse-in-leo.jpg" width="498" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jah۞Sun Out!</td></tr>
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DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-69316621020862886342018-09-22T18:39:00.000-07:002019-03-11T02:02:51.384-07:00Healing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi8R4pLhglk16LD2kgDznFfJ08dfQnaaamrNMvA3s_zCu8J-mz56YfoqIfn4e7i-eF_XCutU9aCA5Nu_GOqWVL2KrcllrSNcDFlim1vE5Za5PAUsRiSdD9XCALhFQXU1wzF8A5lJxLvo1/s1600/Hot+Air+Balloon+Regatta+in+Cappadocia%252C+Turkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZi8R4pLhglk16LD2kgDznFfJ08dfQnaaamrNMvA3s_zCu8J-mz56YfoqIfn4e7i-eF_XCutU9aCA5Nu_GOqWVL2KrcllrSNcDFlim1vE5Za5PAUsRiSdD9XCALhFQXU1wzF8A5lJxLvo1/s1600/Hot+Air+Balloon+Regatta+in+Cappadocia%252C+Turkey.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">“As my sufferings mounted I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation -- either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course.”</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Martin Luther King Jr.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">“Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.” </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;">― </span><span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">Alan Wilson Watts</span><br />
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<span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lato" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;"><~~~~~~~°~~~~~~~></span></div>
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<span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What does it mean to be healthy?</b></span></span></div>
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<span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Health</b> is a state where an organism is functioning in accordance with its <i>template</i> for living such that it displays vigor and wellbeing. </span></span></div>
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<span class="authorOrTitle" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is a state of inconceivable synchrony, as myriad systems and independent lifeforms within it <b>cooperate </b>without formal planning or structure to produce that miraculous thing that no scientist, physician, philosopher or religious leader has ever been able to fully explain... <i>living vitality.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">One can be alive and <i>not</i> be healthy. Most humans fall into this category.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">People don't think about health until they feel they are losing it. When they have gone far enough out of balance... when their icy sense of dis-ease has progressed to the point they realize they may be in decline, in a state of decay... health becomes a topic of interest. Worse still, when they are in the throes of agony... or facing death itself, health finally becomes the primary focus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Nothing else matters.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">It is upon <i>losing</i> health that people begin to think about <i>what</i> it is. And, inevitably, a journey is conceived. Whether one walks it or not--to say nothing of achieving its goal--the path back to health and <i>wholeness</i>... is <b>healing</b>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">While health feels like a wellspring... <i>healing</i> is more of an endless quest. One may achieve health at many points along the journey, but if one sits to enjoy it, it stealthily recedes towards the horizon. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf8njuFbfz5_xWjv4aomASJc0Vhs_98I0W29MqQ8InxjBDU-AHPSqeS8PYRGVGZ7ZpSQYEIUqTM21W0bGkJkY2o7AhnOaEGo_cet-kkGIAuMPcSH4pkCbZ4SNR5OYmbaIPdtfN7SmkwKc/s1600/Fountain_of_Youth_RSVP-Medspa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="600" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIf8njuFbfz5_xWjv4aomASJc0Vhs_98I0W29MqQ8InxjBDU-AHPSqeS8PYRGVGZ7ZpSQYEIUqTM21W0bGkJkY2o7AhnOaEGo_cet-kkGIAuMPcSH4pkCbZ4SNR5OYmbaIPdtfN7SmkwKc/s400/Fountain_of_Youth_RSVP-Medspa.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain of Youth</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">It seems to be something that must be <i>maintained</i>, rather than being a singular achievement. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is not a fight. Nor is it a sprint... even when it feels urgent. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The chase is non-linear. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is more often about <i>letting go</i> of things rather than finding them. Despite the myth of the</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">magic pill</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, a fountain of youth, or some special treatment... most healing involves</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">stopping</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">an activity that has become toxic.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">As you let go of inferior habits, emotions... relationsh</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ips... locations... you come to understand what things in your life are supportive and life giving. You develop a new respect for fresh air & clean water... and recognize that you need far more of both than you imagined. Rest, peace of mind and quality sleep also take their place in the hierarchy of needs... and, </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">learning</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">... copious research into all things that make the mind & body tick.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Another thing that happens, a little further on in time, is that you also realize you need a foundation. (assuming you have stayed with the quest and made it past the earlier stages). </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">And so, the journey leads you to establish a new <b>sacred ground </b>where you are amply supplied with fertile and life giving soil... both metaphorically & literally. A place where your template can unfold. You must create this new space in order to stop <i>chasing</i> health.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">While this post on healing I put up a couple years back might seem to contradict some of what I am saying now: <a href="https://jsro.blogspot.com/2016/08/of-vortexes-healing-self-reinvention.html" target="_blank">Of Vortexes, Healing & Self-Reinvention</a>, if you read both, what I am getting to now, and what <i>that</i> post addressed, is the part of the healing journey where you <i>abandon</i> healing.<br /> </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">You've already begun to let go of all the non-essentials, and this eventually includes your <b>identity</b> as a broken person in need of healing... Suddenly, as your crisis of healing abates, the solution becomes clear... you <b>reinvent yourself as a whole and healthy person</b>, in harmony with your environment.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">You create a new, non-broken, version of your life to step into, while laying your sickness, your pain, your fear--your entire former self--onto the bonfire. Your requiem for your inferior self (selves) clears the way for you to build a healthy life from the ground up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">In this space you can cultivate health. In case you don't know what that looks like, roots, branches, flowers and fruit are the indications that life is being affirmed. Vibrancy and vivaciousness are the benchmarks of wellness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">While you can DO healing, you can't <i>do health</i>. Health is a state of <b>being</b>. You must <i>decide</i> to be a healthy person. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">And then you must <i><b>be</b></i> that person. That person does many things, but doing those things alone does not make you that person. Be the person who keeps the flame of vitality going... who clears the great waters, and cultivates peace... loving oneself, and expanding the concept of what that self even is. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you pay attention, and are fluid enough, you can modulate with the feedback your life gives you, and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i>continuously</i> recreate yourself in harmony. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Feeding the primal fire and listening in rapture to its myriad crackles and pops. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This is health... regained. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">It is not the unconscious health of youth (that of a party balloon imperceptibly, but surely, leaking its air). It is the far more intentional, continual refilling of a great </span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">hot air balloon</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "helvetica neue", arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">... the kind that can take you over seas... and even over the rainbow.</span></div>
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<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-50984190083655135172018-02-02T02:22:00.001-08:002021-05-17T17:50:12.099-07:00A No Party System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;">The 2 party system is </span><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">ridiculous</span></b><span style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif; font-size: large;">.</span><span style="font-family: "garamond" , "new york" , "times" , serif;"> </span></h3>
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This has been obvious to me since I first recognized that this was the game we in America have to play, back during our mock elections in Elementary School. An obviously polarizing, conflict-enhancing, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweedledum_and_Tweedledee" target="_blank">Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dumb</a> sideshow to rile up the rubes, and keep them fighting each other while they all get fleeced.</div>
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Being so abundantly clear<i> to me</i> for my entire life, it never really occurred to me that it needed to be elucidated and discussed much. My good friends all understood it for the most part, so it kind of went without saying that the system was asinine. The debate mostly centered on whether people should continue to support the lesser of two evils--lest we get the eviler--or whether this played into the hands of the overlords.</div>
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Nobody whose intelligence I respected actually believed in either of the two parties, or thought that this system made a lick of sense. </div>
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The last couple years, though, I have found that people are even <b>more polarized</b> than ever. Many people build their entire sense of self identity around the meaningless sham categories of <i>conservative</i> vs. <i>liberal</i>. Left, right, red, blue... imagining that their "side" is supported by the heavenly hosts while their "opponents" are vile demonic devils. Meanwhile, both sides keep filling the pockets of the billionaires.</div>
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Is anyone really so remarkably stupid that they think every conceivable issue that faces a nation can be broken down into two choices? Do people <i>really</i> see the world in black & white? Does anyone actually believe that we should run a great nation the same way that people decide which professional sports team to support?</div>
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Every individual decision I have ever made over the course of my life had a <i>myriad</i> of possible choices if I looked at it objectively. Even "which way to go at a stoplight" has a plethora of possible options. If all you could do at any stoplight was go left or right, you would never get anywhere. Sometimes you need to go forward... or flip a U turn. There are even out of the box options that come up from time to time... pull over to let an emergency vehicles pass... get out of the vehicle and dance to a passing marching band. Hahahah.</div>
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Sometimes, people actually have to get out of the car to <i>push it off the road</i>.<br />
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If your mind is so knee-jerk, and brainwashed that it can only go right at every intersection... not only would you be going in circles... but your whole world would only be one square block. To beat this analogy further... after a while, you will have run out of gas. Most people don't seem to realize that the engine has died and we aren't even moving at all. <br />
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If this system ever truly worked... it certainly hasn't functioned correctly for generations.</div>
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In Europe, they have <b>many parties</b>, and it works a lot better for the most part; a decent variety of parties allows you to support one that more closely matches your opinions on a number of issues, and not feel like you are helping the opposition (as is the case with so-called "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_party_(United_States)" target="_blank">3rd parties</a>" here in the U.S.). But, anyone with a functioning brain <i>should</i> ask the obvious question: WHY HAVE PARTIES AT ALL?</div>
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Shouldn't each candidate have to stand <i>on their own,</i> and be judged by their own merits, character and opinions? These people are vying to become public servants. Shouldn't we interview them with the same objectivity we use when hiring janitors, postmen, peace officers and firefighters?<br />
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Democrats & Republicans basically serve the same purpose as <b>the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crips" target="_blank">Crips</a> & the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloods" target="_blank">Bloods</a></b>. They are antiquated ways of organizing people who are scared and want to defend their neighborhood. You divide up the territory, hold up alliances based on talking points and which color rag (or tie) you prefer to carry... Gerrymandering the map up into little enclaves and demonizing the opposition. There is always a lot of talk about loyalty as well.<br />
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It makes no sense to have these scheming factions be the only way in or out of politics. All we want from our representatives, is that they represent... US.<br />
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Would you refuse to let a fireman of differing viewpoint on abortion put out the fire in your living room?<br />
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Right.<br />
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There is no good reason to have these red & blue gangs. Crips & Bloods in cheap suits and smug expressions, towing the party line and whipping up votes. What silliness...<br />
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We are fast approaching a time when representative democracy could easily give way to direct democracy. People can represent <i>themselves</i> and vote on issues they care about from their cellphones. Not that they are ready for it, but it would be simple enough.<br />
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We can discuss what a truly 21st century way to run a country should be some other time. I have written extensively on a meritocratic system that makes a lot of sense. If the human race makes it another 100 or 200 years without devolving into some post-apocalyptic caveman scenario or going extinct... it is likely that we will have an enlightened <i>worldwide</i> government to oversee resource management. In Star Trek, remember, you didn't <i>have</i> nation-states anymore.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-UnEjBUqLgGw2hRn2dlNNX1Ho0wG5WZ1bqJ19lZPXqCylqVcUl-2jpM1oeSZ_eHoJw4OhIDB9T-T52IFR0Fn2mnJ10nKSNdi2JViv0MB_xzg1wkdZM9pI8ZhvGj3IN-ONhyphenhyphentYdmTHLmb/s1600/blue+and+red.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="620" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-UnEjBUqLgGw2hRn2dlNNX1Ho0wG5WZ1bqJ19lZPXqCylqVcUl-2jpM1oeSZ_eHoJw4OhIDB9T-T52IFR0Fn2mnJ10nKSNdi2JViv0MB_xzg1wkdZM9pI8ZhvGj3IN-ONhyphenhyphentYdmTHLmb/s200/blue+and+red.jpg" width="200" /></a>In the interim between the archaic mess we have today and any Utopian or Dystopian future that might await us... we should strive to do the best we can. And, it seems to me, that we can do a lot better than letting glorified street-gangs run our halls of government.<br />
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We may need to help people let go of their gang affiliations. They might need counseling and interventions... a 12 step program even. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: garamond, "new york", times, serif; font-size: 16px;">In all seriousness, though... if you get riled up over colors on a map, and veins pop out of your neck when talking about the opposition... you are not a patriot or a progressive... you are a <b>gangster</b>.<br />
<br />
What is the best way to end "Partisan Politics" and the polarization of our nation... neighbor against neighbor, father against son... drunk uncle versus the rest of the family? <b>GET RID OF PARTIES</b>.<br />
<br />
Seriously. We could just ban any political affiliation whatsoever. If any groups tried to secretly organize politicians, or funnel money to them... they would <b>go to jail</b>. Problem solved.<br />
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I usually don't like to phrase solutions in the negative, but it is unavoidable here. Until the old system is forgotten, and we don't have to address it anymore, I must say we deserve:<br />
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<h3>
THE NO PARTY SYSTEM</h3>
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DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-75111407670279949652017-11-17T16:44:00.000-08:002018-10-22T20:22:10.562-07:00Gratitude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UlwSswAG7CdqCj94SqF243_PKf5o6a2pPZqJvb0-8qswqVIZy9C3Q9koSAS35a0BkL834KVJO2Q9dlLdPetO08B-AICbb8cTI3EQ-OI2aC_Lm5HspVn57-4xeWvafiQ8-dA8gBynPbMU/s1600/Gratitude+Stone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UlwSswAG7CdqCj94SqF243_PKf5o6a2pPZqJvb0-8qswqVIZy9C3Q9koSAS35a0BkL834KVJO2Q9dlLdPetO08B-AICbb8cTI3EQ-OI2aC_Lm5HspVn57-4xeWvafiQ8-dA8gBynPbMU/s640/Gratitude+Stone.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_1950875113"></span><span id="goog_1950875114"></span><br />
<br />
Gratitude is not a feeling reserved for certain times of year... or when someone gives you what you want.<br />
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<i>Gratitude</i> is a constant recognition that you should have at ALL times. Every single aspect of our lives is a gift.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUCKWN9h9ncllctWj-Hm7dqAZ-HrPZ0jaqUE6rKD1Gsl9ijrdqETxm2Mv1WxeKMED4YyEFeXPLxWs3S5FYiAK3oUbAgCWJnrCyUaZU7DRuFfcTyXWO3hOSlKawGbc-0PPK-JXVLQE74ZG/s1600/Grateful+for+All.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="590" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUCKWN9h9ncllctWj-Hm7dqAZ-HrPZ0jaqUE6rKD1Gsl9ijrdqETxm2Mv1WxeKMED4YyEFeXPLxWs3S5FYiAK3oUbAgCWJnrCyUaZU7DRuFfcTyXWO3hOSlKawGbc-0PPK-JXVLQE74ZG/s320/Grateful+for+All.jpg" width="320" /></a>Being born, having an abundant, life giving planet... even the existence of life itself... all extremely precious things that you can not buy, or give to yourself.<br />
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Reverent gratitude is the only natural response to being so gifted. Gratitude <i>is</i> the attitude.<br />
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(You'll have to excuse me, as some of this is a bit bumper-stickery.)<br />
<br />
In truth, though, gratitude is what draws towards you those things that make you grateful. Essentially, people <i>aren't</i> grateful because they are happy... they're happy because they are grateful.<br />
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Thanksgiving is a natural time to connect to this miraculous power... and in a previous post (<a href="http://jsro.blogspot.com/2013/12/thanks-forgiving.html" target="_blank">Thanks Forgiving</a>), I delved into the story of the day, the history, and how <i>forgiveness</i> was an essential feature of this very American holiday.<br />
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This post is a lot less challenging. The former, involved soul searching, and facing some hard truths... a process which, albeit uncomfortable, is usually necessary. Confront the darkness, forgive yourself and others... and eventually you clear enough, become light enough... to have authentic gratitude.<br />
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It may be possible to jump directly to being truly grateful, but one rarely sees it. The ego usually requires a great deal of being broken down, and people only tap into this miraculous state <i>after</i> hitting ROCK bottom. And even then, it is not a certainty, by any means.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrtHglyF4og2nBpbOZHDSAGKTEYGg9ZbNPI4wIYriddTpg3M4l15QoHVlapjd8_myCOqWXErwCQn551GQHof31cOhjsxr8yBDFqUXaSymb34N1XUVsH8aZBkUJs9lWxVgO7Zn871ZOR7l/s1600/Gratitude-Rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQrtHglyF4og2nBpbOZHDSAGKTEYGg9ZbNPI4wIYriddTpg3M4l15QoHVlapjd8_myCOqWXErwCQn551GQHof31cOhjsxr8yBDFqUXaSymb34N1XUVsH8aZBkUJs9lWxVgO7Zn871ZOR7l/s320/Gratitude-Rock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Because of the film <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Secret</span>, <b>Gratitude Rocks</b> became (and still are) a big thing. In case you missed that cultural meme, you take a stone (any stone... it doesn't have to be a fancy Amazon bought one like this >), and you decide that you will remember to feel gratitude whenever you touch it.<br />
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Generally, they are small enough to be carried in your pocket, so you might touch it during the day when reaching for your wallet or keys... at the very least, you will come in contact with it while emptying your pockets, and while putting it in your pocket after getting dressed in the morning. Thus, you will be reminded to touch base with this state before going to bed, before starting your day, and periodically during the day.<br />
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Some people like to place large ones by the front door, in front of a fountain, statue or in an otherwise enhanced ceremonial position, so they can see it and touch it as they leave and come in.<br />
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While it is true that miraculous things happen when using these stones... people have to remember that it is the <i>gratitude</i> that brings the miracles. The stone has no power other than what you have imbued in it. This is obvious, but you would be surprised at how many people wind up fetishising their rock. Like any lucky charm, or rabbit's foot... it works by REMINDING you to tap into a power you <i>already</i> have.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLGUH_mQx_FeBGl3T_RDNlWFQ3xco9t7175jCssmCcveu9siO0ulHnxLh4jSIWbOTYugtAqqvPiIRLwIG0aov8BUnkUkJeFb4KvZUnnlX8DcXLDb1EYN1JffWd6e-EO8lkvUsEO_pWReA/s1600/Rumi+Gratitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="480" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeLGUH_mQx_FeBGl3T_RDNlWFQ3xco9t7175jCssmCcveu9siO0ulHnxLh4jSIWbOTYugtAqqvPiIRLwIG0aov8BUnkUkJeFb4KvZUnnlX8DcXLDb1EYN1JffWd6e-EO8lkvUsEO_pWReA/s320/Rumi+Gratitude.jpg" width="320" /></a>You could easily choose to use any object this way. If you are really smart, you can use <i>every</i> object this way. The problem with that, for most people, is that when the scope of something becomes too broad, it loses meaning for them. <i>Everything</i> often means nothing... and if you do something all the time, it is not actually special or obviously efficacious. Like most things you need to find a natural balance with this.<br />
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The truth is that, as you cultivate gratitude, and your life continues to reflect it... you have more to be grateful for... and you need less prodding to be in the state. It is a <b>feedback loop</b>.<br />
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At first, people find that they have to think of specific things they are grateful for. They list off a few things and maybe even feel some gratitude. But this is not where the magic is. To truly tap into the infinite wellspring of creative source energy... gratitude must be a <i>state of being</i>. In this way it is a lot like Peace or Love.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUYMHAxkAQUFmZPsZz3cfpRQ1e2GNCN7976nHf0oCjNqVGGZdKV93u8XcIU5PWEfEs6jwFHgbl3VSyvx6b3prYDvSUB0515eOK0OsvMo0mk4nXFawKO8rSMDo06rtdHL9aNL3Zdkri38k/s1600/Gratitude+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="504" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNUYMHAxkAQUFmZPsZz3cfpRQ1e2GNCN7976nHf0oCjNqVGGZdKV93u8XcIU5PWEfEs6jwFHgbl3VSyvx6b3prYDvSUB0515eOK0OsvMo0mk4nXFawKO8rSMDo06rtdHL9aNL3Zdkri38k/s320/Gratitude+Heart.jpg" width="318" /></a>Peace is not simply the absence of violence... but the inner equanimity and ability to relax that is a pre-requisite for light to enter your life. Love is not just an agreement or currency exchanged between lovers... but an energetic state that arises in recognition of union and unity.<br />
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All of these things are components of, and combine into a state of <b>reverence</b>... a blissful state that is an overflowing fountain. It brings joy and blessings to all it touches. No amount of possessions, "things" or successes can touch the happiness of simply being in this state. It is literally, being filled with the holy spirit.<br />
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Perhaps you are not there yet, and this last bit strikes you as woo-woo, and your eyes are glazing over. I understand. If you haven't already cultivated enough peace, then love & light are not going to be overflowing in you until you clear out the blocks. Therefore, the kind of gratitude I am talking about will seem crazy.<br />
<br />
That is okay. Start with the basics. It usually works something like this:<br />
<ul>
<li>Accept where you are</li>
<li>Don't run from the shadows</li>
<li>Forgive others as much as you are able</li>
<li>Make peace with the past</li>
<li>Forgive <i>yourself</i></li>
<li>Find your inner peace in stillness</li>
<li>Nurture & protect your peace</li>
<li>Notice what feeds your peace</li>
<li>Choose those things and abandon other things</li>
<li>Make space for more light to enter your life</li>
<li>As love wells up in you, share it</li>
<li>Give thanks</li>
</ul>
<div>
That is it! Sometimes you have to go back and repeat stuff as new things come up. But in a nutshell:</div>
<div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Forgiveness ~> Peace ~> Love ~> Gratitude </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">💙💚💛💗💜</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />Naturally, there is more beyond this. But this is enough for now... 😊</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKL9HIJIJCCaAxfRgD-l2iYRvjDgFCEIgA3SUnQS3pT8Pzbi8c2-WVmkjn_0dzmkwOwfpbEz-Y-jl72GNJpU3DqX65IlLZrlgLGniH4hEqw0kADz1_tZWVpxgu4_SzHGn6qQEXYefsI-Nh/s1600/Gratitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="380" data-original-width="720" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKL9HIJIJCCaAxfRgD-l2iYRvjDgFCEIgA3SUnQS3pT8Pzbi8c2-WVmkjn_0dzmkwOwfpbEz-Y-jl72GNJpU3DqX65IlLZrlgLGniH4hEqw0kADz1_tZWVpxgu4_SzHGn6qQEXYefsI-Nh/s640/Gratitude.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-3358368106222633412017-09-30T13:03:00.000-07:002018-12-15T16:24:46.860-08:00Acceleration<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrC6ioiVhBw4jqqLajo1Bp2U5SN8P1LpnqHM8VLBjlbQF2x4Q8JV61uyf1j5lJ0WtdwTQJVLb5dUrJr1sx_9X_XL6A2q6Sn2J5TgS6JZymfPywq4S8aKJED-dFLE13-bQLTnavGtZGE9H/s1600/acceleration-equation.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="242" data-original-width="462" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbrC6ioiVhBw4jqqLajo1Bp2U5SN8P1LpnqHM8VLBjlbQF2x4Q8JV61uyf1j5lJ0WtdwTQJVLb5dUrJr1sx_9X_XL6A2q6Sn2J5TgS6JZymfPywq4S8aKJED-dFLE13-bQLTnavGtZGE9H/s320/acceleration-equation.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Change in Velocity divided by Duration (Change in Time)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Acceleration</span></b> <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;">noun</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida sans unicode" , "lucida grande"; font-size: 15px; white-space: nowrap;"> əkˌseləˈreɪʃn</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;">1 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">an increase in how fast something happens</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">2 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">the rate at which a vehicle increases speed</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">3 </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">the rate at which the </span><span class="ndv" id="acceleration__41" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #00837d; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">velocity</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span class="gl" dpsid="u4cdebea65f7df6b4.-755269d2.14538e4a0ce.433c" id="acceleration__68" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="wrap" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(</span><span class="prefix" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">=</span> speed in a particular direction<span class="wrap" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> of an object changes</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I am certainly not alone in noticing that this year has been mind-blowing. If </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">you</span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">,</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> reading this, have<i> not </i>experienced this frenetic sense of change coupled with a consistent, unrelenting pressure from both inner </span></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">and</i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"> external alchemical processes... pressure which has driven a good number of people to the brink of losing their minds, and resulted in a reality that seems <b>absurd</b> to the point of ridiculousness most of the time (when you're not too overwhelmed with the process to pay attention), I don't know if we live on the same planet. :-)</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">It is not just that things are moving quickly. Things have <i>been</i> moving quickly. Things are accelerating.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMI5Vl3LoI5o2Vi70DSFbiK_vAke7R_klNawRiGvhN6SGefYManATBFIhw2D4xcRhC9SwM8jc_5BCspLUyWkqzCEk8OOq2pbmBHklucEtP0kEBthwLvd7kaWpxC3weN0Ns1ysqA7FjzVA/s1600/Acceleration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMI5Vl3LoI5o2Vi70DSFbiK_vAke7R_klNawRiGvhN6SGefYManATBFIhw2D4xcRhC9SwM8jc_5BCspLUyWkqzCEk8OOq2pbmBHklucEtP0kEBthwLvd7kaWpxC3weN0Ns1ysqA7FjzVA/s640/Acceleration.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;">It is one thing to be zipping around in a Ferrari at 90 mph. It is another thing entirely to be in a Ferrari that was already going 90 mph and feel the g's press you to your seat, as you watch the world begin to whiz by so fast you are not even sure what you are looking at. The pressure you feel is the proof positive that you are going faster by the second. You can go any speed and if you maintain it, you will not feel any pressure. It is the acceleration and deceleration that push you around... especially the extreme change in speed involved in hitting a wall (i.e. going from 90 mph to 0 in a second).</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">It seems to me that all definitions of Acceleration are at work right now, including such obscure types as </span><b style="font-size: 15px;">centripetal acceleration </b><span style="font-size: 15px;">(where an object undergoing circular motion is considered to be accelerating even while maintaining speed due to change of direction i.e. moons & satellites). It is this kind of acceleration that lets us "slingshot" space probes like Cassini around a moon to speed it up and redirect it. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">We are probably also collectively experiencing what is called <b>proper acceleration</b> (acceleration relative to free-fall i.e. what an accelerometer measures). The feeling that we are falling faster and faster is a common theme, for sure.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">As crazy as January and February were, March and April were nuts... May and June were bonkers... and the summer was just off the charts wack-a-doo. It is hard to remember what a normal year even felt like. People talk about a "new normal" (in relation to any metric or topic), but we really have not plateaued--and are <i>still</i> accelerating--so such conceptions are meaningless. The rate of change may not level off, and if it does, who knows what the physics of that FTL travel will even look like?</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">I sincerely doubt I am telling you anything you don't already know and <i>feel </i>deeply in your heart, mind, gut and other sensory organs. You may not have thought about it in these terms, but now that we are discussing it this way, I'm sure you see what I am driving at.</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_4puiRfrpWIkq275uJIOV1nJ_igYJil7N7eVDAyvfwBuHG3iN86KqxZ2FYfOTk7TAnRagQ2m_fY3dVDv2LMkXxALfO2zEpYAq2iDCtE1-lbuyEp664x2qUSU6lddGnycxHA_zYqSMH97/s1600/The+Jerk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="799" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4_4puiRfrpWIkq275uJIOV1nJ_igYJil7N7eVDAyvfwBuHG3iN86KqxZ2FYfOTk7TAnRagQ2m_fY3dVDv2LMkXxALfO2zEpYAq2iDCtE1-lbuyEp664x2qUSU6lddGnycxHA_zYqSMH97/s320/The+Jerk.jpg" width="224" /></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">So... we are speeding up. </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Our acceleration is accelerating. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">In engineering there is a term somewhat comically named </span></span><b style="color: #333333; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">jerk </b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;">that describes the rate of change of acceleration. It is sometimes called surge, jolt or lurch, and is mostly talked about by roller-coaster designers. It is </span></span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">the derivative of acceleration with respect to time, and as such, the second derivative of velocity, or the third derivative of position. Blah, blah, blah.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">What is important, is the way humans <i>respond</i> to jerk.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Humans maintain an equilibrium of antagonistic muscles that keep us integral at rest and during smooth motion. When the<i> jerk</i> reaches a certain level, this balance can not be maintained and the structure collapses in a variety of ways... the most famous of which is termed <i>WHIPLASH</i>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">My point with this is both metaphoric and literal... and may even extend to being a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_metaphor#Pataphor" target="_blank">pataphor</a>. A metaphor is an analogy that is one step removed from reality, while a pataphor is at least 2. (Note, I am not promoting 'pataphysics, but it is an interesting absurdist school of thought along the lines of dadaism, surrealism or discordianism...all of which are worth checking out IMHO.) Also, feel free to insert all the other definitions of jerk into this, as it is unavoidably funny. I like the circle and chicken varieties myself. ;-)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">But what we really want to know:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">How do we <i>deal</i> with this jerk... and the apparent surge of jerkiness? <b>How do we all keep from getting whiplash</b> (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually etc.)? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">This is the billion dollar question.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">I will give you the answer for free. :-)<br /></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx82G5UVvqHoRvBfrJ8Lm-j19nG-I69a5uRRM_wsIAr7C7TH9VL4PV9JjP4o5wxHSqwJ1livyhkMhftIq1pO3vlthqcT2FAkFpj15KPcoSqD50SUQmjp5yveOvVXM9VkeD6PlKzmpRNhO4/s1600/free-sign-560x410.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="560" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx82G5UVvqHoRvBfrJ8Lm-j19nG-I69a5uRRM_wsIAr7C7TH9VL4PV9JjP4o5wxHSqwJ1livyhkMhftIq1pO3vlthqcT2FAkFpj15KPcoSqD50SUQmjp5yveOvVXM9VkeD6PlKzmpRNhO4/s200/free-sign-560x410.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">The answer to this physics problem lies in <a href="http://www.dummies.com/education/science/physics/einsteins-special-relativity/" target="_blank">Special Relativity</a>. I am not going to bore you or downplay Einstein with a real explanation of that landmark theory. The link is to the "for dummies" page on it, but it, like most of those books and posts, is certainly NOT for dummies. A dummy wouldn't care to educate themselves.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Cutting to the chase, Special Relativity sets the <b>speed of light</b> as the universal speed limit. Whether this is true or not, or applies to other universes or dimensions is a matter of some debate. Our observations, though, have proven it to be workable here, at this time... and looking back the 13+ billion years we can see into the past with our space telescopes. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">What it says in relation to<i> this, </i>the matter at hand, is that a</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">s the relevant speeds increase toward the speed of light, acceleration no longer follows classical equations. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">As speeds approach that of light, the acceleration produced by a given force decreases, becoming infinitesimally small as light speed is approached; an object with mass can approach this speed</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptotically" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Asymptotically">asymptotically</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, but never reach it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">In English... this is saying that forces of acceleration (and jerk) are decreased in exponential proportion to how close to 671 million miles per hour you are going. In more direct vernacular, the faster you go the less the forces affect you.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">This is impractical on its surface, as physically, as we don't have easy access to that kind of speed. But keep 2 things in mind. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">1 Even at lower speeds this is in effect to some degree</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">2 We don't have to do this physically</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px;">In truth, the whiplash we are all resisting now is more of the mental, emotional and spiritual sort. As such, it is this "speed" that we need to deal with. Luckily, in these realms it is easier to approach the "speed of light."</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzSt3NJBRqIdpQfS9Yn1KOFE6A9ZG3b6ufu_7FJv2uxwYOb6z43tFJ73LlRyMUdIPdTvRmqVIDCqYVcRGVciONO8IPKI3Cfb2d6mHFMzC8P7L03Y_pPrbuOK89jBvSgwnLrAq3Y2CcI80/s1600/Light+speed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="624" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzSt3NJBRqIdpQfS9Yn1KOFE6A9ZG3b6ufu_7FJv2uxwYOb6z43tFJ73LlRyMUdIPdTvRmqVIDCqYVcRGVciONO8IPKI3Cfb2d6mHFMzC8P7L03Y_pPrbuOK89jBvSgwnLrAq3Y2CcI80/s640/Light+speed.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">If we <i>could</i> throw on the brakes, I am guessing most of us would have done so by now. In fact, it is the attempt to brake that is causing most of the problems I am seeing. We are kind of hydroplaning at the moment, so any sudden "knee-jerk" reactions to stomp the breaks might lead to a crash. We really only have one option. To speed <i>through</i> it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">As such, we have to<b> embrace this acceleration</b>, and do our best to remove the obstacles in its path. We have to move <i>toward</i> light speed in order to stop being tossed around.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">If this sounds like mumbo jumbo to you. I get it. No harm, no foul.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">But some of you know what I am driving at here. Physical light speed is an extended metaphor for being in the light. Darkness and all the shadow stuff that has been coming up lately... amounts to resistance to the light.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">Decrease that resistance down to nothing... and you become a superconductor. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkb-14THkoxHQ42NRCCUv2vuyUM90rsRnNWKGZftp_sUbhB0xt7vN4e4jDRWADASo0NkLimSy4tHe95NFSqKws4yOpXXaleq1B_HFTidfGq8VeSt8bgdVp7eEPGzPtg9bOnq54GOmYuzCm/s1600/Aw+yeah%2521+Halo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkb-14THkoxHQ42NRCCUv2vuyUM90rsRnNWKGZftp_sUbhB0xt7vN4e4jDRWADASo0NkLimSy4tHe95NFSqKws4yOpXXaleq1B_HFTidfGq8VeSt8bgdVp7eEPGzPtg9bOnq54GOmYuzCm/s1600/Aw+yeah%2521+Halo.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YAY !!</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px;">There you go.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #4577bf; color: white; font-family: "open sans" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic;"><br /></span>DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-24516729662561313342017-06-16T04:41:00.000-07:002018-10-22T20:28:41.573-07:00March To Sanity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This post was written in March, and should have been "published" at that time. Naturally, it was far more timely back during </i><i>March Madness</i><i style="font-weight: normal;">, and while the current events mentioned were... well, current. </i></span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">People are still crazy though, and this is worth reading </i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;">😎 </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: normal;"> :</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;">March To Sanity</span></h3>
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Times have gotten <i>rather</i> strange of late.</div>
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The level of absurdity has reached dream levels.</div>
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One only has to watch a guy dragged off an overbooked flight</div>
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Interspersed with truly inexplicable press conferences</div>
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With the offering of a Pepsi, becoming our thin hope for salvation...</div>
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Yeah. ;-)</div>
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While I rather like basketball, I never really got into College Ball.<br />
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Truth is, I barely have enough time to watch the pros,</div>
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And the phrase <i>"March Madness"</i> always bothered me.</div>
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I <i>rather</i> like March...</div>
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But I don't much care for Insanity,</div>
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If we're being honest.</div>
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I understand the hyperbole.</div>
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I <i>get</i> that it is supposed to be fun.<br />
Wild & Crazy have become glued together like Peanut Butter & Chocolate... <br />
and who doesn't want to break out of "normalcy?"</div>
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Still.</div>
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Sanity is what everyone needs.</div>
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<i>Desperately.</i></div>
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The truth is that normalcy is insane. Madness is not a break from normalcy; normalcy is madness. It has been for a <i>looong</i> time. Since before the word even existed. Since before time was even a thing.</div>
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The overwhelming majority of people are crazy, and I can say this with certainty... because I have a very high bar for what I consider sane. Basically, unless you have achieved a moderate level of self-mastery, you are broken in <i>some</i> way. If you haven't mastered your mind... you are mentally ill.</div>
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Neuroses... sufferings of a bewildering variety. A vast array of disconnects and denials. In truth, you are bound to be lousy with them, if you don't know how to master your mind.</div>
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Naturally, there is a spectrum of madness.</div>
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Not everyone has to gibber to themselves maniacally, or have a social circle of predominantly "invisible friends" to be a nutcase. </div>
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I posit that <i>any</i> belief in illusion is a break from reality... a type of schizophrenia perhaps.<br />
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I am not writing this to make anyone feel bad. In a place where nearly everyone is nuts, being broken is par for the course. </div>
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The question is really... do you want to be sane?<br />
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Most people would be surprised at their true and honest answer to that question, People think they want to be whole, <i>before</i> the magnitude and magnificence of that prospect actually settles in. At some point, though, it becomes obvious that one's entire sense of self is at risk. People <i>claim</i> to want to be more, but generally are not actually willing or ready to prepare for more... let alone let go of all the garbage that this entails.</div>
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The truth is that most worldviews can not survive becoming whole. </div>
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That said, being sane is its own reward. Often it is costly to those who treasure delusion, but there is zero upside in remaining delusional. Any seeming to the contrary is part of the delusion.</div>
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I'm not going to belabor this point. It makes no difference actually. If someone is intent on being crazy, nothing can stop them. </div>
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The decision to become whole is a commitment that usually isn't reached until one is thoroughly fed up with the status quo. You have to reach your wits end... before you will admit defeat. <br />
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The first and most important step: Admitting that you are broken. Not deflecting, justifying, qualifying or otherwise ditching responsibility. Simply a recognition that your ego is a fragment of a splintered mind.<br />
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Stark honesty is what it takes... and a willingness to be still. Still enough to hear an authentic call from deep within. When you hear this, and feel it boiling up in you, you are nearly home.<br />
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At this point, lay down your arms and <b>surrender. </b>That is it.</div>
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You can't even practice this. Any idea that you need something before you can go for it...is an insane idea.<br />
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Sanity is your default state. You have to try very hard to remain insane. Just stop doing that, and your mind will repair itself.</div>
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I am not surprised when people aren't thrilled to hear this. Well, perhaps they are thrilled... into inaction. Paralyzed with ebullience.</div>
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The truth is that the only people in this nuthouse we call home that <i>aren't</i> mad, are the <b>masters</b>. And, they are so few and far between that you are lucky to even know of one. Worse still, you are so crazy that you wouldn't recognize them even if they were sitting next to you on the bus. Most of you would feel an overpowering urge to be anywhere <i>other</i> than next to a real master. </div>
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This is because they highlight your insanity by giving you something to compare it to. You don't feel crazy until you stand near a truly sane person... for much the same reason that no one in a dark cave thinks it is dark until someone lights a candle. And then... the sudden polarity shift seems threatening... painful even. Ironically, people feel more blind, momentarily, before their sad, darkened eyes can adjust to the light.<br />
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Thankfully, you don't need to find a master. </div>
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You need to <i>become</i> one.</div>
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Masters rarely teach others, and the people you have heard of who attract followers by claiming to be masters, are <i>rarely</i> masters. Those people are performers (gurus, shaman, cult leaders, charismatic personalities etc.) who have made a profession out of stroking your illusions, prodding them, and maybe giving you a few hints on the sly. These people <i>can</i> be masters, and many of them have met (or at least heard about) real masters... but true masters rarely bother with this pursuit.</div>
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For the same reason that professors of rocket science rarely teach pre-school. And, professional rocket scientists generally don't even profess.<br />
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If they know how to build rockets, then they are usually busy with... building rockets. Babysitting a bunch of dumbasses obsessed with nonsense doesn't serve their purpose. It is simply not an efficient use of their time and energy.<br />
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If you are lucky, they <i>may</i> say something inspiring to you, in the hopes that you decide to become a rocket scientist when you grow up. These sayings usually get mangled, and turned into bumper stickers... or worse, internet memes.<br />
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There is no point in trying to disavow crazy people of their crazy notions. Even if you succeed, they will simply create, or latch onto, some other insane worldviews that will reify their lives.</div>
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Also, anyone who really wants to master themselves<i> already</i> has all the tools they need. Nobody needs to teach rose seeds to make roses.<br />
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All that needs to be done is to place your seed (what you think of as your reality) into fertile soil, intend that your egg not inhibit you in your unfolding... and <b>be willing</b> to let it crack open, so you can emerge.</div>
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<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-63667198464234779142016-12-09T17:15:00.000-08:002018-10-22T20:23:36.467-07:00Autumn & Wasting Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Third (& final) Installment of my </b></span><i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Autumn & Time</b></span></i><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b> postings...</b></span></span></div>
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The final weeks of Autumn are falling away.<br />
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We made it through the <a href="http://www.space.com/34660-closest-supermoon-full-moon-in-69-years-forecast.html" target="_blank">"super" Super Moon</a>, the interminable elections, and a dozen other inexplicable and seemingly endless things.<br />
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The days are getting <i>really</i> short, and time seems more fleeting and precious than ever. With so few hours of sunlight, we tend to become aware of the ease with which <b>Time</b> is WASTED.<br />
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Somehow, there never seems to be enough time.<br />
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Everything seems to take a lot longer than you would think it should... except when it takes a lot less. :-) But either way, there is always <i>more</i> that needs doing. <br />
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Add to this, the general <b>entropy</b> of our human existence--where things fall apart and deteriorate literally from the moment they are created--and you have a situation where it can seem like nothing ever gets <i>done</i>.<br />
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With so many things stacked against any lasting accomplishment, it is important that we figure out how to make the most of what little time we have.<br />
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Knowing that achievements are temporal, most of us still have goals we are pursuing (from the purely survival oriented, to the grand and weighty sort)... I think we could all benefit from less hours <i>"frittered and wasted in an offhand way."</i> (Pink Floyd's classic <i>Time</i>)<br />
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<i style="text-align: center;"> Time - Live in Venezia!</i><br />
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Nearly all of the lyrics of this song apply to this post. Heheheh.<br />
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How not to waste time?<br />
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There are entire industries devoted to this. A ton of self-help and motivational books, gurus, twitter accounts & memes... all purporting to help you <i>not</i> waste your time. Many of these are filled with genuinely good advice. Quotes abound that sound like they are rather profound. But, in the end, the legions of people who purchase (or even espouse) this stuff, still waste the <i>vast</i> majority of their time.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #292f33; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 26px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: 0.26px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; word-spacing: 0px;">"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." Will Rogers</span></blockquote>
This is one that I like because it succinctly tells you that even after all your research and hard work... the real effort is just beginning. Not enough to find and get on "the right track," but you have to haul ass on that track because there are freight trains picking up steam behind you!<br />
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So, what do we do?<br />
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Most of what I have said thusfar is likely to encourage one to curl up in a fetal position, indulge in something comforting, and binge watch an entire season or two of distracting fare. <br />
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Well... I am unlikely to disavow you of that inclination, actually. If that is what you need to do, I say do it. Get it out of your system. You won't be very effective if your inner self is yearning for some downtime.<br />
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But, when your Netflix queue runs out... or you get bored with laying around... there ARE things to be done. And yet, how can we be effective at doing anything when it is so easy to waste time?<br />
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Seems like a rhetorical question, right? You are reading this aren't you? Hehehe.</div>
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This question is very different depending on which word you emphasize. <br />
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The most common way to read it is "Are YOU Wasting Time?" because people are naturally self-absorbed, and tend only to relate to things as they directly address or relate to <i>them</i>. Whatever gets said or done, you can bet that a majority of the people in the room will be assuming it is about <i>them</i>. <br />
<br />
In this case, it reads as an accusation. Something your boss might say with furrowed brows and a scowl. Something that is assumed to be true, and which you are then expected to scurry and prove is not the case with you... at the moment.<br />
<br />
"ARE You Wasting Time?" is a more critical-thinking take. Whereas the former phrasing assumes that time is being wasted, and the only question is if YOU are among the wasters. This is more sly, and is read with a little head tilt... to make you think twice about your assumption. It is an "on second thought" phrasing, and it evokes the idea that maybe your time wasting isn't actually a waste after all. People need their downtime, after all... and powering through until you crash is actually more of a time waster than simply whiling away some hours to let your brain, body and nerves recharge a bit.<br />
<br />
"Are You WASTING Time?" follows on the heels of the last phrasing, and directly asks if there isn't a better term for what you are doing with your time. Enjoying? Relishing, perhaps?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp8M2tabilYI_M5cmfdCtkvSrFxGO3DzjbBbJBg5wjimFtV0N4_fNXCb1n2Oua5AJYfTmmC2tghFWilUhXXxBvoGGsVfxwZ9Jnh84DOuco5SBS1tLQZLGIYQZZ-j5-B9psNsys_0mraj9/s1600/Waste-Time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFp8M2tabilYI_M5cmfdCtkvSrFxGO3DzjbBbJBg5wjimFtV0N4_fNXCb1n2Oua5AJYfTmmC2tghFWilUhXXxBvoGGsVfxwZ9Jnh84DOuco5SBS1tLQZLGIYQZZ-j5-B9psNsys_0mraj9/s400/Waste-Time.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does Time have a recycling bin?</td></tr>
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<br />
Finally, "Are You Wasting TIME?" asks us if it is Time that is being wasted. Is Time waste-able? When we say we are wasting time, what are we really wasting... if anything? Maybe it is our attention that we are wasting.<br />
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I suggest, that since time is a <i>dimension</i>, we can "waste" it the way we waste space. (i.e. use it in a way that doesn't take advantage of its parameters, or seems <b>aesthetically</b> poor.) It is not a commodity which we can throw away, and our neglect of time causes it no damage. Clearly, we can't waste it in the way we waste a stamp on a letter we never send, or waste the batteries on a stereo by leaving it on when we are not listening to it.<br />
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As with space, though... people tend to mark it off and reserve it, only to do nothing with it.<br />
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The real issue, therefore... and what all those books purport to teach you... is HOW do we <i>NOT</i> waste our time (whether it is something that belongs to us or not)?<br />
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We can't.<br />
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The most productive people you can think of wasted oodles of time. Time is literally oozing through your fingers, with more of it falling on the floor the harder you squeeze. <br />
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There is no magic wand to tidy up your life, and make time stand still. (None that you would be wise to employ regularly anyway. ;-)<br />
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This is not even a matter of discipline. What we call discipline is nothing more than habit. Acquiring <i>true</i> discipline, while worthwhile, can waste more time than it will ever save you.<br />
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What people really want, is to make sure the time they spend is <b>valuable</b>... that it achieves something worth achieving.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbtFUGrMd9pwhG8XCuhg2ELQdk7fnr0kWrupuT4d7z8I-Pe45bL_AF8SlDKb-o0rsgIMAVK05p9ir9Q8LWpjWcZ4fgd8RaDgscKUOICEkIgI3OERUfTj7YFkM9qgLVnilsdKoePX3iU7I/s1600/treasure.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQbtFUGrMd9pwhG8XCuhg2ELQdk7fnr0kWrupuT4d7z8I-Pe45bL_AF8SlDKb-o0rsgIMAVK05p9ir9Q8LWpjWcZ4fgd8RaDgscKUOICEkIgI3OERUfTj7YFkM9qgLVnilsdKoePX3iU7I/s400/treasure.gif" width="392" /></a></div>
<br />
Those productive people I mentioned, and everyone who ever made a mark on the world for that matter, did not work harder or have more minutes to spend than other people. Middle school janitors work harder than any person whose name you know ever has, or will.<br />
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Successful people are all known for a staggeringly tiny percentage of the time they spend/spent on Earth. (A handful of sayings, a number of important decisions, a few great ideas etc.)<br />
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One's wasted time is retroactively made valuable by getting a few moments <i>really</i> right. Often, it is just ONE simple thing that makes an entire life seem worthy. If you touch people, and affect humanity with your best 5 minutes... it makes every "wasted" moment worthwhile. A posteriori!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYGDl5oFIUqX4K6zjEHA6c8FLHc8BS2vUK7PrjjJcf996Hab-ASkrDvfg8Vfq-w3R-y0zRfOqQXcDUgnJb9LF7nsjVQ5fwhsleIZc2bxBpP3-HfZgqixihvX1u8z3hV3xN9zwVy1I_jtp/s1600/Vilfredo_Pareto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYGDl5oFIUqX4K6zjEHA6c8FLHc8BS2vUK7PrjjJcf996Hab-ASkrDvfg8Vfq-w3R-y0zRfOqQXcDUgnJb9LF7nsjVQ5fwhsleIZc2bxBpP3-HfZgqixihvX1u8z3hV3xN9zwVy1I_jtp/s320/Vilfredo_Pareto.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
Vilfredo Pareto</div>
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It is said, that 80% of all value in an activity is garnered from 20% of the effort. It is such a truism that it even has a fancy name: <i>The Pareto Principle</i> (after this Italian guy who made it famous) Also known as the law of the vital few, it states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.<br />
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Otherwise stated, it says that you are wasting time 80% of the time you are working. (Forget about when you are lollygagging or being truant!) <br />
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And, it is even worse than this. Of the 20% of your activity that has a beneficial effect, 20% of <i>this</i> did most of the heavy lifting!<br />
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Yes. And this magic 4% is <i>also</i> capable of being whittled down.<br />
<br />
The truth is that a <i>single </i>thing done really well is better and more effective than an <b>entire lifetime</b> of normal effort. Think about that.<br />
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While it is a staggering thought, and somewhat intimidating at first... it is a truly liberating idea. What it says, in no uncertain terms, is that all the time you have ever wasted can be retroactively made valuable by sticking to your vision, and hitting a single homerun. It means that you can rescue your lost time, by making the misses, losses, and disappointments you have endured <i>work for you</i>.<br />
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Transform your heartache, debauchery, and daydreams into a single memorable action and it is no longer a waste... it was merely setting the stage for you to achieve greatness. <br />
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There would be no Hemmingway without thousands of drunken nights. No Miles Davis without years hiding out behind blackout curtains and consuming cocaine.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mDZjv8rG29NzL_W0uvUJzjTnJ-uzEcMIJJMPb0QT3XvbBX60RNgbUTcI5Qr4oz0tcLVJH83NJMMcLw7l3B9GZM7-QjlAtCkEUwzzgunvf43_QeHdkRYe1zeO6GvE-VheA_FRBxYei6AR/s1600/einstein-tongue-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2mDZjv8rG29NzL_W0uvUJzjTnJ-uzEcMIJJMPb0QT3XvbBX60RNgbUTcI5Qr4oz0tcLVJH83NJMMcLw7l3B9GZM7-QjlAtCkEUwzzgunvf43_QeHdkRYe1zeO6GvE-VheA_FRBxYei6AR/s200/einstein-tongue-out.jpg" width="160" /></a>This is not to say you should copy these fellows... or even model yourself after the great Sherlock Holmes (who famously spent his downtime on heroin and cocaine, and solved most of his cases in moments of brilliance after lengthy periods of simply soaking in the details of the issue).<br />
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But from Albert Einstein (whose 3 big theories made him the greatest mind of the 20th Century) to Jesus Christ (whose total words in the Bible amount to 19 pages of text, and who became the most influential person of all time by a single miraculous act)... the history books bear this out. It is not the people who do decent work diligently, day in and day out, that make history. (or even TMZ)<br />
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The awful truth of the matter is that your life will be evaluated on a handful of the choices you make. Most people will be lucky if there is more than <i>one</i> action they took that will be worthy of an obituary (having offspring doesn't count). Despite what we have been told, you do NOT get points just for showing up.<br />
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The truth is, most people don't care what you do... so long as you are not making their life more difficult. And, those that actually do care, only care about what you <i>actually</i> accomplish (for better or for worse).<br />
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Most of you will respond to this by thinking "Well, who cares what other people think?" which simultaneously proves what I was just saying... and is also a bold lie. The truth is, that <b>you</b> care what you think, and for most of you, that is predicated to a large extent on what other people think.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. Being famous sucks just about as bad as being infamous. But often, it is the price one pays for achieving something, and people don't feel fulfilled if they don't achieve something they deem worthwhile. (even if they are horribly wrong about this)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Z4mq-Ymu4uaaxBvn9MLHi-1URdMY6S0gcvNWZRcuAJylHunqWHGxXNariVHEvTyGuRJyVqIo4pGRGG9mZOLGxuHUcz4wIdqEOXZWXW1-ABtkHV0h6LK7GRRUNWbtI-RNoCBdy0IlPW9k/s1600/Good+Morning+Summit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Z4mq-Ymu4uaaxBvn9MLHi-1URdMY6S0gcvNWZRcuAJylHunqWHGxXNariVHEvTyGuRJyVqIo4pGRGG9mZOLGxuHUcz4wIdqEOXZWXW1-ABtkHV0h6LK7GRRUNWbtI-RNoCBdy0IlPW9k/s400/Good+Morning+Summit.jpg" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really soak in those peak moments...</td></tr>
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At any rate:<br />
<br />
Your job, should you want your effort and time to have value... is to <b>waste your time </b><i><b>well</b></i>.<br />
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Pay attention, be sharp and refreshed where possible, and <i>know what you are good at</i>. That way, when your moment comes, you can knock it out of the park. Whether that is the moment of your life, your year, your week or your hour... there are certain actions that are vital, and capable of transcendent results... and then there are the rest of them.<br />
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You don't always get to choose which moments will be vital. But, what you can do... is learn how to fritter the non-vital moments in such a way as to bolster your odds of <i>shining</i> when the vital ones show up. By this logic, spending your day at the spa getting a seaweed wrap, hot stones treatment, and full body massage doesn't seem like a waste at all.<br />
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My advice: <br />
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<b>Yawn</b> more often, and longer... even when you are <i>not</i> tired. <b>Smile</b> if you have no pressing reason <i>not</i> to. And <i>relish</i> your time by luxuriating and nourishing yourself.... inner child, stoic sage, and hedonist monkey included... and in so doing, you will do good work along the way to maybe achieving something truly great.<br />
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However long it takes, reaching deep inside, and opening up some of your soul, and then having the grace to get out of its way and let it shine... is never a waste of time. IMHO that is what time is actually for.<br />
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In case you missed it...<br />
Part I of this posting: <a href="http://jsro.blogspot.com/2016/09/autumn-time-space.html" target="_blank">Autumn, Time & Space</a><br />
Part II of this posting: <a href="http://jsro.blogspot.com/2016/10/autumn-time-semantics.html" target="_blank">Autumn, Time & Semantics</a><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JX-cqNSwlH8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JX-cqNSwlH8?feature=player_embedded" style="clear: left; float: left;" width="320"></iframe><br />
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... and another bonus version of Pink Floyd's Time for you. This one, Live in Bristol, 1974 for those who appreciate the original, pre-schism band. :-)DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-70591141366819800672016-10-31T01:11:00.000-07:002018-10-22T20:25:27.619-07:00Autumn, Time & Semantics<h2>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>A Continuation Of The Thoughts From The Last Post...</i></span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03DfSKlVjSHssl4A8z-CBtiqVTxo7Hh6Q8T_I8qr48DUQLaFRwgz8usdnwdWfb2ml4Z07HxNcKJp5DS6C-jBFV3JSNuH6X3m_bXrSazcD06MDF6TFEPmKJ-cXa3WNAWoPacBBEH6SDAIy/s1600/Fall+pathway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj03DfSKlVjSHssl4A8z-CBtiqVTxo7Hh6Q8T_I8qr48DUQLaFRwgz8usdnwdWfb2ml4Z07HxNcKJp5DS6C-jBFV3JSNuH6X3m_bXrSazcD06MDF6TFEPmKJ-cXa3WNAWoPacBBEH6SDAIy/s640/Fall+pathway.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "times";">Why it is that the fall is more conducive to pondering... and specifically to thoughts of time and its passing? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4s0pjVb2ET9qDq0-9Y8dZ8wtdKKm5gspQD8UE_0O94FbCEZ39uloXbP5wi-UEd4ckQmfu5Sah8LqPISAanNVBgPiLz4wtLwTZ0kpYivN4zuofdg7WihH68UIbRmQ75RwSwla8uRrTucS/s320/Augustus+Ceasar+Crop_100p.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="249" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Augustus Caesar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">Obviously, the fall foliage is nature's most striking reminder of time, seasons, cycles and the passing of yet another year.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4s0pjVb2ET9qDq0-9Y8dZ8wtdKKm5gspQD8UE_0O94FbCEZ39uloXbP5wi-UEd4ckQmfu5Sah8LqPISAanNVBgPiLz4wtLwTZ0kpYivN4zuofdg7WihH68UIbRmQ75RwSwla8uRrTucS/s1600/Augustus+Ceasar+Crop_100p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs4s0pjVb2ET9qDq0-9Y8dZ8wtdKKm5gspQD8UE_0O94FbCEZ39uloXbP5wi-UEd4ckQmfu5Sah8LqPISAanNVBgPiLz4wtLwTZ0kpYivN4zuofdg7WihH68UIbRmQ75RwSwla8uRrTucS/s1600/Augustus+Ceasar+Crop_100p.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times";">But there is another reason for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPXF3-F-eZmFf4i67HHWkE_zSgxqfj9y7soMzmcM8Hh9N0WqYrgUYmIYeVlHeALteYH2BarrkTWYrH_e7V91OerXQdiSnrDy7i_H969wqqlu0Z5MrJQDgvcm-BKP7cqdntbj8aORkAP-4p/s1600/Augustus+Ceasar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "times";">One that affects all of us in the Western World... and most anyone who deals with us this time of year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">And, that is: the rather glaring psychic disconnect in our <i>Calendar</i> that starts in September and goes through until Winter starts. If the Autumn has always seemed surreal to you, at least a part of that might be because for these 4 month, we <b>lie to ourselves</b> every day, all day... and live in the shadow of an epic ancient ego trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";"><br /></span></div>
<h3>
?? ‽ ‼ </h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(Don't worry, I <i>will</i> explain.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Cs0vzdbI5T_VNJhlDhRWreDeeSbhF21DRRb86BZS8g933qX1NOvEaNMrN_SL4E_hdQ_iLSJUMkF58OrDYqV_M_GKTpbiK8VHamgJVW9fRsi1T_cysZ8l77avkK2GJ3zkOU4ucpTgUx_O/s1600/Julius+Ceasar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Cs0vzdbI5T_VNJhlDhRWreDeeSbhF21DRRb86BZS8g933qX1NOvEaNMrN_SL4E_hdQ_iLSJUMkF58OrDYqV_M_GKTpbiK8VHamgJVW9fRsi1T_cysZ8l77avkK2GJ3zkOU4ucpTgUx_O/s320/Julius+Ceasar.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julius Caesar</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Cs0vzdbI5T_VNJhlDhRWreDeeSbhF21DRRb86BZS8g933qX1NOvEaNMrN_SL4E_hdQ_iLSJUMkF58OrDYqV_M_GKTpbiK8VHamgJVW9fRsi1T_cysZ8l77avkK2GJ3zkOU4ucpTgUx_O/s1600/Julius+Ceasar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<h2>
Our Glorious Calendar</h2>
If you know a little Latin, or even a little bit of any of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languages" target="_blank">Romance Languages</a> (i.e. Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese etc.), it has probably occurred to you that the prefixes of these months are numbers. September literally meaning 7th month, October, 8th month and so on.<br />
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But wait, September is the 9th month, right!?<br />
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Hahahaha. Sadly, yes.<br />
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We can thank 2 of the hugest douchebags in history for that: <a href="https://lifeofcaesar.com/" target="_blank">Julius & Augustus Caesar</a>.<br />
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(note: the 100 hrs of podcasts linked above cover both their lives in great detail, and make a history lesson bar none.)<br />
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<i>Maybe</i> they were great guys; they were certainly seriously interesting movers and shakers. But it is a matter of record that the Caesars turned a somewhat democratic republic into an Emperor-led, military dictatorship by force, <i>and </i>not only made people consider them living gods (!), putting their faces and names everywhere... these cats were so bodacious, they had to have their <b>own months</b> as well.<br />
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Not only that, but <i>their</i> months had to have 31 days and be at the height of summer. So they stuffed these two monuments to towering ego into our calendar. This would be douchey enough, but good ol' Julius also decreed that the official New Year be fixed at January 1st instead of March 1st.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBp1jvqTPxdtqUo4pwg6A83RtZeAuajukR_Tgiktzza6qDA-06q4UrXd5j2XptdrI0k3nlg1Gjcj5nZ3AXONi4N49opUHCGjNeVgYYFkjzXgB8T7PxpPVWSKdWEo28rCrmop59zrc5wVG/s1600/octagon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTBp1jvqTPxdtqUo4pwg6A83RtZeAuajukR_Tgiktzza6qDA-06q4UrXd5j2XptdrI0k3nlg1Gjcj5nZ3AXONi4N49opUHCGjNeVgYYFkjzXgB8T7PxpPVWSKdWEo28rCrmop59zrc5wVG/s320/octagon.jpg" width="320" /></a>While this brought the consular (political) year and the civil year into alignment, he neglected to correct the month names. Quintus & Sextus became July & August... Janus, the 2 faced god of doors replaced Mars, the god of war, as the start of the year, and for the most part, none of us free western nations have objected to the tyranny.<br />
<br />
It doesn't really take any knowledge of Latin to deduce the discrepancy. A simple elementary school math class would have taught you that Oct means 8. Oct is for octopus, octagon etc. <br />
<br />
(I don't think that this was in <a href="https://vimeo.com/67985069" target="_blank">School House Rock</a>, but who knows.) <br />
<br />
As we all know... October is our 10th month. And yet, we use a base 10 number system that we call the <i>decimal</i> system. Because Dec = 10.<br />
<br />
To be honest, all of this applies to the Germanic Languages as well. Despite their <i>not </i>being based on Latin, they still use the Roman numbers and months, with their own pronunciation, for the most part. Romantic or Germanic, Catholic or Protestant, North or South... and all through the colonies of the world... we are stuck with this gloriously inaccurate calendar.<br />
<br />
I'm rather surprised no one ever made a real attempt to ditch this thing on the grounds of its being illogical and irrational.<br />
<br />
Even more surprising, is that none of the <i>very</i> Christian people of the last 2,000 years rebelled against the <b>idol worship</b> that is built into it. As summer starts, we are all praising the god Juno. Even just mentioning "The 4th of July" or "Le 14 Juillet" (aka Bastille Day if you're French) honors the god-emperor Julius Caesar... Simply having an entire month named after Februus, the Etruscan god of death should disqualify this calendar as heresy. Truth is, most <i>any</i> day of the week, or date in the year honors pagan gods.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U312JIJ9TTUbIRV5Z1-_ANI5DfDec0dUOOSdySC4VFAlVGhpelsYM33AnLhTU1uId5GaQ6BcP6TysMt-Rjtt9tTHLlhpAaXv-W7qPrazQpXMKrVov6rW1QUn9BV0zhowdc9bDCecyhq3/s1600/GregorianCalendar11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U312JIJ9TTUbIRV5Z1-_ANI5DfDec0dUOOSdySC4VFAlVGhpelsYM33AnLhTU1uId5GaQ6BcP6TysMt-Rjtt9tTHLlhpAaXv-W7qPrazQpXMKrVov6rW1QUn9BV0zhowdc9bDCecyhq3/s320/GregorianCalendar11.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popey G-13</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To be fair, the Julian calendar <i>was</i> patched up by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XIII" target="_blank">Pope Gregory XIII</a> in 1582, and now needs only a leap day every 4 years to be somewhat correct. Why the good Pope didn't think to expunge the calendar of pagan idolatry while he was at it is beyond me though.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, he re-instituted the January 1st New Year as well, which had fallen out of favor after the fall of Rome. <br />
<br />
You would think a guy who was irked about the sliding of the calendar against the actual solar year could have taken the time to fix the months.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, we <i>still</i> have to utter gibberish when we say our dates.<br />
<br />
I am not trying to shame anyone who has lived a number of decades under this calendar and failed to notice that December (lit. <i>10th month</i>) is the 12th month. It is the way things have been for a couple thousand years now... and why care?<br />
<br />
I can't tell anyone what they should care about. Much of what people care about astounds me on a daily basis. And, conversely, what people <i>don't</i> care about is often just as bewildering. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">☺</span> I won't digress into an essay on the virtues and <i>dangers</i> of taking things seriously, but it is generally safer to err on the side of <i><b>less serious</b>,</i> as most of the terrible things in the world happen when people are too serious about stuff they should really just let go of. (insert patch of land, current currency, old document, manufactured identity etc.)<br />
<br />
What I <i>will</i> say, is that it is important for one's mental health to be as honest with oneself as one can. <br />
<br />
And, while some amount of minor, or even major, deceit may be necessary in our society... keeping lying and deception to an <i>absolute minimum</i> is important for all of us. I may discuss lying (and caring) in another post... but for now, I will just say that <i>for me</i>, being truthful and transparent is something I cherish.<br />
<br />
It helps maintain inner peace, and serves to prevent the stress and tension that lies create.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPRU_YevsEzQt4Asun78BhBnj13FQmm_vmde8BObBqoAGpXSWCdK73EGtUQIBkSVkhB_ajwuWpJE-Pcoklb2-U5qgWW3kCr3kl-xs7TlZQolLTGasxMy7zLPi6ArpdSRFqc8zKEEr8PWi/s1600/higher+self+light+transmission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNPRU_YevsEzQt4Asun78BhBnj13FQmm_vmde8BObBqoAGpXSWCdK73EGtUQIBkSVkhB_ajwuWpJE-Pcoklb2-U5qgWW3kCr3kl-xs7TlZQolLTGasxMy7zLPi6ArpdSRFqc8zKEEr8PWi/s640/higher+self+light+transmission.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I wish I could live in a world where one never had to lie or bend the truth. Most people could dispense with feigning interest in their colleagues baby pictures with only minor losses in their social circles. Other lies might be more difficult to ditch... but, this is somewhat besides the point.<br />
<br />
I am far more apt to be truthful, <i>even</i> when it is uncomfortable, than most people I know. So it is, that <b>having</b> to say, write and see dates all day long that are not only <i>semantically</i> false, but are, as stated, logical fallacies and <i>impossible paradoxes</i>... kinda sucks.<br />
<br />
Wait J. Aren't you taking this a bit seriously? ;-)<br />
<br />
It may seem that way in writing. But you generally have to take everything I say as if I have a peaceful, wry grin on my face. I am not losing sleep over this.<br />
<br />
But... it bugs me. Ontologically and psychologically.<br />
<br />
If you know how the subconscious works, you will be aware that it doesn't differentiate the commands you give it very well... if at all. Basically, everything you say or think goes into that supercomputer, and it does its very best to sort it out, process it, and rectify it.<br />
<br />
Feeding it a <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSL3WCVWJB40JR9l8lmDoNEYcYG7JlNc1pugvaRhkifE0lt5ZuGR_emtVadiDZFGgBjDA4rJP26F-eDAO45Umu2pQsA9Pul0LqnxyTbnEIjttQSpQ0onaNkjfZiVN1ybLZ2oqLfg6kNk5/s1600/Robot+head+Explode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnSL3WCVWJB40JR9l8lmDoNEYcYG7JlNc1pugvaRhkifE0lt5ZuGR_emtVadiDZFGgBjDA4rJP26F-eDAO45Umu2pQsA9Pul0LqnxyTbnEIjttQSpQ0onaNkjfZiVN1ybLZ2oqLfg6kNk5/s320/Robot+head+Explode.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="225" /></a>conundrum might be fun once in awhile... but every day for 4 months? Often a dozen times a day?<br />
<br />
When you feed unsolvable conundrums to robots in old school sci-fi, what happens?<br />
<br />
Hehehe. Yeah.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying that having our months shifted over is going to cause <i>our</i> heads to explode. Y2K didn't crash the world either.<br />
<br />
But... it does use processing power that you could better be using elsewhere. There is a minute moment when your mind rebels every time you tell it bullshit. <br />
<br />
Even more to the point, though. We don't have to be doing this. There is no good reason for us to be using some inaccurate, Ancient Roman calendar. <br />
<br />
Furthermore, for those of you of a religious bent... it<i> really</i> <b>is</b> idol worship. Julius and Augustus wanted to be worshiped. Not as rock stars (or whatever the Kardashians are)... but literally as gods. They put their names on months to achieve a kind of immortality that few have ever dreamed of. Who could dream that billions of people would write and speak your name every day, trillions of times a year... 2000 years after you are gone?<br />
<br />
Not to mention Janus, Mars, Februus and company. Why honor them? <br />
<br />
Why even call these things months if they aren't connected to the Moon anymore?<br />
<br />
You could get burned alive for bowing to a hollowed out turnip 300 years ago. You can still be targeted for death if you dare to even <i>draw</i> a certain prophet... and yet people are fine with writing false gods on their checks?<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://sosymbol.tumblr.com/post/9256865815/where-do-the-names-of-the-days-of-the-week-come" target="_blank">days of the week</a> are just as bad.<br />
<br />
In English, somewhat inexplicably, we still use <i>Viking</i> <a href="http://thenorsegods.com/" target="_blank">Norse gods</a> for many of the days!! For Pete's sake. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwz4ad_yinN0QeNjJFas9lgC2QELKatC9p6v-UhRMJt2GPwKUVkqyphrv4VAikVhnxhIJ3o_LpYSp_OzL46TOIhSEr5qn_zrehUuK10X67g4Ucr4oS-4qzHGJPwz1mMeF9meGMnzH_mPyH/s1600/thor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwz4ad_yinN0QeNjJFas9lgC2QELKatC9p6v-UhRMJt2GPwKUVkqyphrv4VAikVhnxhIJ3o_LpYSp_OzL46TOIhSEr5qn_zrehUuK10X67g4Ucr4oS-4qzHGJPwz1mMeF9meGMnzH_mPyH/s320/thor.jpg" width="210" /></a>Sure, there was a time when the Danish held sway in the British isles and imposed the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danelaw" target="_blank">Danelaw</a>" and the Saxons had their own related mythology. But it has been a long time since anyone seriously worshiped Thor or Odin. <br />
<br />
Why in 2016, do I still have to say Thursday (Thor's Day) and Wednesday (Wotan' Day)?<br />
<br />
Tiw was the Saxon version of the deity known in Norse languages as Tyr, and is the Viking god of war. And Friday is named for Freya, a kind of fairy/god hybrid, queen of the Vanir (non-Asgardian celestial beings), also known as Frigga... for crying out loud.<br />
<br />
WTF?<br />
<br />
While I love mythology & comic books (and The Mighty Thor in particular) at <i>least</i> as much as the next guy, I don't need to invoke him every time I make an acupuncture appointment on the day after midweek. <br />
<br />
Even the fricking Germans ditched the Norse god named days, and their love of things Norse and Teutonic is legendary.<br />
<br />
Why do we name planets, days and months after gods that we don't believe in? <br />
<br />
Is there some insidious plot to cause all the Judeo-Christian & Islamic (Abrahamic) people of the world to blaspheme, and commit what is considered biblically a "mortal sin" on a daily basis? One has to wonder.<br />
<br />
Hehehehe.<br />
<br />
As comical as all this is to me, I guess I will wind it up. While I could go on half-ranting about this stuff for days, I won't beat a dead horse... any more... for now.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipS9e55ErcFWRUm-36pWgujdD7BmLR9QANM2BS24_8NYyTQ4qaiUvOcGmw85FEutynJT7NO_GO5tswoAKcUGaBvZ8ladq-N-2bPQTtpYs8D0hlO_nnegnupJ33TwybHhIGEtyuNOr8hlcC/s1600/spooky_curious_owl_by_joh_wee-d31xi2e.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipS9e55ErcFWRUm-36pWgujdD7BmLR9QANM2BS24_8NYyTQ4qaiUvOcGmw85FEutynJT7NO_GO5tswoAKcUGaBvZ8ladq-N-2bPQTtpYs8D0hlO_nnegnupJ33TwybHhIGEtyuNOr8hlcC/s200/spooky_curious_owl_by_joh_wee-d31xi2e.png" width="196" /></a>I will just leave you all with the idea that we really <i>should</i> chuck this old bathwater out, and start fresh. If there ever was a baby in there, it is long since dead and decomposed. <br />
<br />
They did it for weights and measurements on adopting the metric system, and there was no built-in heresy and paradox there. Note that they <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metre#Prototype_metre_bar" target="_blank">failed</a> at making the <b>meter</b> the logical division of the Earth's circumference that they set out to make it, though, so we might have to revisit that one as well one day.<br />
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But for now, Happy Fall y'all. Enjoy your Halloween!DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-40062530251441368552016-09-22T11:52:00.002-07:002018-10-22T20:26:22.105-07:00Autumn, Time & Space<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghjqhIONoOfYnAHTHBRSgk7yAbFCMn-tb8E-ZpDWKuc8fg6eP8DNicFl5quX4i3sC8aCOuP9G1xZt5El9Ar90a4CNBK-Ui8-4WAVQ7QuQsUpXdnN6urke_pIP7LJMeKct1FbCSOYii7NT/s1600/moraine-lake-banff-night-skies-justin-sinclair.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghjqhIONoOfYnAHTHBRSgk7yAbFCMn-tb8E-ZpDWKuc8fg6eP8DNicFl5quX4i3sC8aCOuP9G1xZt5El9Ar90a4CNBK-Ui8-4WAVQ7QuQsUpXdnN6urke_pIP7LJMeKct1FbCSOYii7NT/s640/moraine-lake-banff-night-skies-justin-sinclair.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well folks, as of this morning we are officially in the <b>Fall</b> up here in the Northern Hemisphere. And, welcome to <i>Spring</i> my "below the Equator" hommies!</span><span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacU8Xh-SvHfQM9nNdILsy3qn9bB369u-fxRUibhjg0Ehbe9ZWZcoWU1nHyaG54QNJ7f9LP2sIBafV4BdNubafj8G7CM9IWjWLesNQMeGgkX8db_fwaslFdM7_WeAjhcBO7FlrjCcMgAEm/s1600/5bd637bcbd8036fb7a0d46c9cda1eae8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiacU8Xh-SvHfQM9nNdILsy3qn9bB369u-fxRUibhjg0Ehbe9ZWZcoWU1nHyaG54QNJ7f9LP2sIBafV4BdNubafj8G7CM9IWjWLesNQMeGgkX8db_fwaslFdM7_WeAjhcBO7FlrjCcMgAEm/s400/5bd637bcbd8036fb7a0d46c9cda1eae8.jpg" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><span style="font-family: "georgia";">I will be talking about Time & Space this post, and you are free to skip below to the meat if you want to know <b>how many stars are in the sky</b>, or how much space there is... and aren't interested in my pleasantries.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br />So much has been going on of late, that it seems like a lot more <i>time</i> has passed than I would've thought... or is evidenced by my sometimes-seemingly untrustworthy calendar. ;-) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">This is a good thing, as I prefer time to move slowly, and be packed with progress... rather than speed along, and then wonder what even happened. Naturally, this is a matter of <b>perception</b> for the most part. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We can <i>choose</i> how engaged to be in Life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: georgia;">As part of my continuing call to recreate myself in the highest and most vital image I can... to be truly creative on the canvas of my existence... I have been simultaneously making strides & taking </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">baby steps</i><span style="font-family: georgia;">. Rather than simply initiating a jolting course correction, and careening off in a new direction (as was my wont), I have embraced the steady, every day, one-step-at-a-time thing this time around... and am loving it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">It forces you to appreciate the journey, and not obsess over the destination. And, we all know that every goal is just a new starting point, after all. If you have ever hiked with people hell bent on reaching "the spot," only to turn around and be hell bent on getting back to the trailhead... you know that this is missing the point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-eqNjHwgtk6VTYrzuM5Zs67YNEjTkgGR-DCYUWhmTbJHmh-3K7haNwECus887IziTN_qyZQKpQUywihaQVeSlfb0nFiTZiqJ2aC7zGb85gTGlolLEFVfKk9Cl2XelEGDZjDc5-dFhqG8/s1600/Pilot+Rock+-+cascade-siskiyou-national-monument-371.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-eqNjHwgtk6VTYrzuM5Zs67YNEjTkgGR-DCYUWhmTbJHmh-3K7haNwECus887IziTN_qyZQKpQUywihaQVeSlfb0nFiTZiqJ2aC7zGb85gTGlolLEFVfKk9Cl2XelEGDZjDc5-dFhqG8/s640/Pilot+Rock+-+cascade-siskiyou-national-monument-371.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Every turn of the trail unveils new vistas, with every step providing a new angle on every tree, cloud, flower and rock. Sure, there are certain vista points where this all comes together so perfectly that <i>everyone</i> realizes that you must stop and soak it in. But, a hike is not merely a collection of vista points... and your life is not a slideshow of photo ops. It is each single <b>step</b> that cumulatively gets you anywhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vdMzpGtRkKImzsQvD46Tfb6-2P_HTbmnqWZ7sG2JcTQ9tzSAVOYB4pJxB4cMgBBU6hA3GmSM9d4FPlBdGf_VX39Pz-T_lZN6dvkhW_L4Cmpd9SBTDX9oTr1-7UtZKeold6_DBbCebgA2/s1600/Stars+over+Moraine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vdMzpGtRkKImzsQvD46Tfb6-2P_HTbmnqWZ7sG2JcTQ9tzSAVOYB4pJxB4cMgBBU6hA3GmSM9d4FPlBdGf_VX39Pz-T_lZN6dvkhW_L4Cmpd9SBTDX9oTr1-7UtZKeold6_DBbCebgA2/s400/Stars+over+Moraine.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Better to <i>not</i> rush home. Sleep out under the stars... and count them, watch them fall, and remember how precious and small our life on Earth really is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><b>How many stars are there?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">We used to say that the Galaxy has as many stars as we have neurons in our brain. <a href="http://www.nature.com/scitable/blog/brain-metrics/are_there_really_as_many" target="_blank">Latest guesses</a> at both numbers (we don't actually know) put the brain at 86 billion neurons, and the Milky way at 200 (via Hubble) to 400 (via Keppler) <i>billion stars</i>. Saying both were 100 billion (as we did for a long time) wasn´t incredibly far off the mark. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">And, the <i>Universe</i>? Well, the number of Galaxies grows daily as our imaging gets better. Currently, we think there are <b>10 trillion of them</b>! That is astounding. The number comes from the "Ask An Astronomer" service at Cornell University, and prof. Kornreich admits this is "very rough." It is likely that even estimates of 40 trillion might wind up low-balling it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The problem with the Universe is we can only observe so much of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">The <i>observable universe</i> appears to be about 13.7 billion light-years across, which is technically seeing back in time because many of those stars are most probably gone now. But beyond what we can see, there could be much, much more. Not to mention the idea of a vast <b>Multiverse</b>, in which our Universe is a tiny speck.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTnsg_T2XMmI1IVdsbB8iSjSxkvJRJ_HbxmqdCJ4248UF2kJ8WYKw4Jps2f-v_J8ylDeUGfr8-UMe06S9xSaFxtRVW4NzztwgKjDR3CA6vRt51cUgetjCmmvpR2T2wzQg8idR6aeWg_YY/s1600/Galaxies.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTnsg_T2XMmI1IVdsbB8iSjSxkvJRJ_HbxmqdCJ4248UF2kJ8WYKw4Jps2f-v_J8ylDeUGfr8-UMe06S9xSaFxtRVW4NzztwgKjDR3CA6vRt51cUgetjCmmvpR2T2wzQg8idR6aeWg_YY/s640/Galaxies.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">But keeping it to a minimum, 400 billion stars x 10 trillion galaxies... is 4 <i>Septillion</i> stars. That is a 4 with 24 zeroes after it. And, it is likely a LOT more, as the Milky Way is not a big Galaxy as they go, with some of them having trillions of stars. Here we are in September, contemplating the idea that the Universe likely has (had) 4, 40, or 400 Septillion stars in it, going back to 13.7 billion years ago.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1S2M_FZbb-Mhl1OfBBajrY__VdBnzn9ts65-t8u5MiIgHxrrspk7_a3thbYxh-oB35m4VAERSiI4Qt_ooKVdn-0b3Cp8FlWCG8ceQ5gv0zKGt4OmC2TssG0MsOJM5NotmP-8iP8nrKhg/s1600/einstein-tongue-out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj1S2M_FZbb-Mhl1OfBBajrY__VdBnzn9ts65-t8u5MiIgHxrrspk7_a3thbYxh-oB35m4VAERSiI4Qt_ooKVdn-0b3Cp8FlWCG8ceQ5gv0zKGt4OmC2TssG0MsOJM5NotmP-8iP8nrKhg/s200/einstein-tongue-out.jpg" width="160" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia";">All of this makes me think about <i>time</i>... and it´s conjoined twin <i>space</i>. You may be aware that science has come to terms with the idea that space & time are one thing, and it is just our conditioning to view them as distinct. <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacetime" target="_blank">Space-time</a></b>, as a curved and mind boggling object (or <i>continuum</i>) is pretty heady stuff. Hard for most people to grasp, let alone believe. And yet, every test of this theory continues to prove it's veracity. Recent observations of distant objects in the sky have all delivered results proving Einstein, and his less famous cohorts, correct.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">But as incredible as this is... it only scratches the surface of a truly infinite spectacle. One that isn't light-years away, but literally everywhere... all the time. Just as time & space are intertwined and part of a cosmic duality, you have probably heard that light itself is both a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality" target="_blank">wave and a particle</a>. Well, this is only part of the story.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK71IZWuaxCJx4YLSg77xe8LW4VImW8_qaKuQWxopLi1NCQWwqAaJoOy4bFbetMMnIY7tavgqqdrUhZNQNTko5vB7vM_PHb96hzKzfupe1i6SRwKNZGMK6sbnC6aoh7juho9az873aHht/s1600/infinity1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK71IZWuaxCJx4YLSg77xe8LW4VImW8_qaKuQWxopLi1NCQWwqAaJoOy4bFbetMMnIY7tavgqqdrUhZNQNTko5vB7vM_PHb96hzKzfupe1i6SRwKNZGMK6sbnC6aoh7juho9az873aHht/s320/infinity1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia";">As we are discovering, <i>all</i> sub-subatomic particles oscillate between being matter in a specific time and place to being energy in an <b>infinite quantum field</b> that transcends time and space. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Yeah... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">As the frequency of this oscillation gets higher, we perceive the resultant particles (and the atomic and molecular structures they compose) less and less as matter, and more and more as energy. The slower the frequency, the more time these particles spend in time and space, and the more "physical" they are. Crazy?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Combine this with the fact that all the matter we know of turns out to be almost entirely empty space... and you have the <i>unbelievably </i>trippy reality that our universe is composed of a ridiculously tiny amount of matter, that itself spends as much time <i>not</i> existing in space-time as it does in it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><b>How tiny is the amount of matter?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Well, if you could take away the empty space we are <i>currently aware of</i> in matter, then all the subatomic particles in all the people on the planet... as well as the Earth itself... would pack into a volume only a little larger than a grain of rice. And, the deeper we look, the more space we are finding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">But the wildest thing is, this quantum field that physicists speak of, and say is simultaneously everywhere and every<b>when</b>... it displays <i>intelligence</i>. Well, said physicists might phrase it: that it responds to, and interacts with consciousness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">If you haven´t figured it out by now, modern physics is every bit as esoteric and <i>mystical</i> as any of the ancient philosophies and religions... more so in many ways, because they have bigger toys.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">Hahahaha.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMj31SRUzv2gSUrepBCd2E55gFV0gOj0UQGbW50F5MZ2V0F-wMPH8i4EHj4xIa2yVN28UqnoNw-o0DVLAMc9UZWipoIAS30PvT_mPisetOdqQ9KUZbVJZObaxAHtreHd6rnRG9Wp9MfBu/s1600/OW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMMj31SRUzv2gSUrepBCd2E55gFV0gOj0UQGbW50F5MZ2V0F-wMPH8i4EHj4xIa2yVN28UqnoNw-o0DVLAMc9UZWipoIAS30PvT_mPisetOdqQ9KUZbVJZObaxAHtreHd6rnRG9Wp9MfBu/s320/OW.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Anyway... I really just want to wish you all a happy Autumnal Equinox. May you grok some of the vast miraculous-ness in which we dwell, and carry that perspective with you when you get caught up in temporal, material drama. Remember that you spend as much time in the eternal sea of quantum unity as you do pretending to be separate from everything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">And, don´t forget to get outside, and let nature love you a little. Trust me when I say that Mama Nature is far more inspiring than anything you can find on the Internet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjZHjTEJXPPCgslMNlxf2LJSHXPpEmMTPsoGYdc4L8f7t_6mTGih-HLP3z-eD9YcsdqF_lODz-Dj6J90K0bB8P1ZVQ-LuCx0XazBTp6v9sImPNyb5N0yKgpJoqNKN2DsJawCfAGg9EorI/s1600/Scottish+Fall.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSjZHjTEJXPPCgslMNlxf2LJSHXPpEmMTPsoGYdc4L8f7t_6mTGih-HLP3z-eD9YcsdqF_lODz-Dj6J90K0bB8P1ZVQ-LuCx0XazBTp6v9sImPNyb5N0yKgpJoqNKN2DsJawCfAGg9EorI/s640/Scottish+Fall.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><i>Expecto Patronum!</i></span></div>
<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-38253353327090652012016-08-18T23:37:00.000-07:002018-10-22T20:27:12.269-07:00Of Vortexes, Healing & Self Reinvention<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUF05-pRWHSeBPIn8XiDRAjo3kmuaa2HO8EBLvlUYdCwnunJFQTsO-zg_hlHDOnvbDbU3CcNqt7OoqOHKQ92oSYUeq6mFXUs3rgfT-06Ry3dS0TZWVrumUgzNezcGD29LmlP3L2Bd5x_U/s1600/Mt.+Shasta+-+Heart+Lake+Reflections.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="View from Heart lake" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpUF05-pRWHSeBPIn8XiDRAjo3kmuaa2HO8EBLvlUYdCwnunJFQTsO-zg_hlHDOnvbDbU3CcNqt7OoqOHKQ92oSYUeq6mFXUs3rgfT-06Ry3dS0TZWVrumUgzNezcGD29LmlP3L2Bd5x_U/s640/Mt.+Shasta+-+Heart+Lake+Reflections.jpg" title="View from Heart lake" width="410" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Oh, to be in the flow and riding the crest of a wave. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>To leap with faith, and have no qualms about leaving your old self behind. To be blessed enough to have glimpsed the heavenly, and still get to shuffle the deck and play more earthly hands... in new casinos, with new friends. Standing on your riverboat and sailing upstream, you can almost believe that you've lost those hellhounds that were on your trail.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hahahah.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"WTF is this guy on about?" you may be thinking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I won't be elucidating the matter, because I would rather speak to you directly about healing. I will refrain from apologizing for my utter lack of blogging for over a year. I may</span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">never</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> add another post here... I may take the entire thing down... or I may begin to use it as intended. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whatever the case may be, whatever the future holds for me... one thing is clear: </span><span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everything is constantly reinventing itself.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I encourage you to embrace this. Take time to enjoy and </span><i style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">truly</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> appreciate what your life has to offer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Visit your local National Parks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do a few of those things you've been meaning to do, but always find good excuses not to... really. Your life is not so towering of an edifice that you couldn't shake the Etch-A-Sketch, and start over at any time. Take yourself seriously, but not overly so... because even if your life were utter perfection and bliss, you could <i>still </i>improve upon it in time.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4U1CZv0siUgkXtvv3jiej90hIA2GJUlIEF4Yoz4qudy_0MJQnMXqrjVP64o9ehe0Aj7HPcpRVmd4q8nxQUb3xF0jqdvPKjjDhz3gpjI3dX83Viya0lehR2kZ2IjcI074ZZpxjMgHIE8V/s1600/Enchantment+Trail%252C+WA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="Enchantment Trail, WA" border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin4U1CZv0siUgkXtvv3jiej90hIA2GJUlIEF4Yoz4qudy_0MJQnMXqrjVP64o9ehe0Aj7HPcpRVmd4q8nxQUb3xF0jqdvPKjjDhz3gpjI3dX83Viya0lehR2kZ2IjcI074ZZpxjMgHIE8V/s640/Enchantment+Trail%252C+WA.jpg" title="Enchantment Trail, WA" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Truthfully, are your digs as fly as you'd hoped they'd be? Are your friends as awesome as you deserve them to be? Are you being inspired often enough? How often have you laughed out loud <i>without</i> being told a joke?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You have probably been settling for so long, dusting your worthless tchotchkes, and playing at being responsible... that you've grown moss. No offense. This is true of nearly everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Don't be everyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Healing is not a return to an old state of health... but rather a reinventing of your current broken state into a </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">new</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> person who is no longer broken. There is no going back. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reinvent yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now. Don't put it off.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru9eJJ2O-Kq4KqTEZmaZtSdu6t3afCN7ESO5LC-nsRlAsSn5B9AouyTq1mRlRMRGmdz_AYjlCJ3oL1Bov03f6lbDV-XaZKMWOiewBl1_5T55UUYJBsdTdYMl-eqa4QueJ-I554piqtT34/s1600/The+Self+Made+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img alt="The Self Made Man" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru9eJJ2O-Kq4KqTEZmaZtSdu6t3afCN7ESO5LC-nsRlAsSn5B9AouyTq1mRlRMRGmdz_AYjlCJ3oL1Bov03f6lbDV-XaZKMWOiewBl1_5T55UUYJBsdTdYMl-eqa4QueJ-I554piqtT34/s640/The+Self+Made+Man.jpg" title="The Self Made Man" width="426" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Carve a better version of yourself from the raw, primordial ore of your being. Chisel away all the dross and roughness to reveal the only real art you can make and ever truly own... </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">yourself</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You didn't dream of becoming this version of you when you were a kid. Somewhere along the way, you accumulated trauma, disappointments, and misfortunes enough to cause you to let go of your dreams. You learned that it was hard enough to get by, let alone shoot for the stars. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You were wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shooting for the stars is the easiest and most natural thing to do. Living a life of "quiet desperation" and forcing yourself to get out of bed to put out fires all day... knowing that there will still be more fires to put out the next day... </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">this</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is hard. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may have become good at it. You may be a virtuoso at tidying up the cheap garbage around you and putting on a brave, if not smiling, face. But none of that shit matters. It is just putting your fingers in a failing dam that holds back enough regret to wash away the Netherlands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think about how you became who you are. Think about all the juvenile posturing you adopted from other clueless kids trying to be cool. Think about how you shaped your likes and dislikes to fit in with a crowd of people who you couldn't give two shits in hell about now.</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And yet you strive on in that mold. Plodding forward monotonously towards some vision of adulthood that you never seem to reach... wondering why it is that everyone else seems to have grown up, but you just keep playing at being stoic and authoritative. Hoping, beyond hope, that no one around you notices that you have no idea what the hell you are doing, or why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can't know</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Because you are not </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">doing</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> anything. You are reacting to the cues and prods from your family, your neighborhood, and your society. You are attempting to live up to expectations.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doing</span></b><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, on the other hand, is inherently creative. It comes from the inside and propels you outward. It takes you away from the staid and sordid little compromise riddled life you think you must protect at any cost. Doing is proactive. What nearly everyone is up to is called </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">dealing</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Stop it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Trust me... you won't win any brownie points at the Pearly Gates for such behavior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Walk a more challenging path. Try a few things and allow yourself to fail. You can't even imagine who the best version of yourself is because you don't know what is possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do things that seem difficult, because the "easy" shit is </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">already</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> as hard as hell. Literally.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMYXVvPyb2pODGXESEryJ7M3rk9k21QjwvM3q_4JCLY2sj7zS_4Bk3svbgJP5tYw-3rGOXLJ9DGg1N-FQDMeF1NrbthJb5HjwDB6T-Nrnbt8NB6k_wsYmPaNKg5EdF_8VdQk16MtEJpdr/s1600/The+harder+the+road%252C+the+more+skilled+its+traveller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRMYXVvPyb2pODGXESEryJ7M3rk9k21QjwvM3q_4JCLY2sj7zS_4Bk3svbgJP5tYw-3rGOXLJ9DGg1N-FQDMeF1NrbthJb5HjwDB6T-Nrnbt8NB6k_wsYmPaNKg5EdF_8VdQk16MtEJpdr/s640/The+harder+the+road%252C+the+more+skilled+its+traveller.jpg" width="508" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm not a mason but I resonate with this saying... my skill is </span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">rather</span></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> high at this point. In fact, I am very happy to become less skilled at this point. Heheehh. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I intend to live like I am on permanent vacation. Like life is a giant wellness spa, and my only duty is to be more healthy than I was the day before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some would say I have already been living this fantasy for decades... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some also don't know what a great vacation is. (hint: it is not staying at a motel or visiting the in-laws)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELxHbwPIt-wKYuQzVBRLGfhSWVZGGDkmlnPrXyk8rCE9Br0_-5wqSLJUOUsBgYl29n1PoVoYFmuqDX7q1TeA9fKueQ6rlt2yJr2JJs3OjMegg6ojAeX8lUCwOHm0AEe2qvSK7q8wq3TBL/s1600/CoKmWxeUkAApdvf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhELxHbwPIt-wKYuQzVBRLGfhSWVZGGDkmlnPrXyk8rCE9Br0_-5wqSLJUOUsBgYl29n1PoVoYFmuqDX7q1TeA9fKueQ6rlt2yJr2JJs3OjMegg6ojAeX8lUCwOHm0AEe2qvSK7q8wq3TBL/s640/CoKmWxeUkAApdvf.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This post may not vibe with you right now. In fact, you may find it pompous and downright condescending. If you felt insulted by anything I said, I apologize.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But if you read this far, you probably know in your heart of hearts that I am right. You need a change. We all do... all the fucking time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reinvent yourself. It is fun. You are not who everyone currently thinks you are. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Put on a new costume and start living the dream.</span></div>
<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-27300905793427019162015-06-29T00:39:00.001-07:002018-11-23T10:43:41.362-08:00Fare Thee Well<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23F49C8tef0gooHirQIFUcjtB5zgbe3e0CxBtUagsC-56fT0GFVtzukxstNqq_CHlMivHSyewte9NzrtFvQe2ovr64K1cmd2Q0jW4Iakr20d8HMHP6EZiZ-eHcHhRzXwGrfzjzj3BiKdt/s1600/grateful-dead-50th-homepage-large-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj23F49C8tef0gooHirQIFUcjtB5zgbe3e0CxBtUagsC-56fT0GFVtzukxstNqq_CHlMivHSyewte9NzrtFvQe2ovr64K1cmd2Q0jW4Iakr20d8HMHP6EZiZ-eHcHhRzXwGrfzjzj3BiKdt/s640/grateful-dead-50th-homepage-large-header.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Mixed emotions here as I pickup blogging after an extended hiatus.<br />
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Won't bother to explain... I will just say that I had my priorities straight. :-)<br />
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Just finished watching the 2nd show of the Grateful Dead's <i>Fare Thee Well</i> tour. Three more shows next weekend in Chicago, and the long, strange trip will bid us all goodnight.<br />
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SF Radio station KFOG is <a href="http://www.kfog.com/common/page.php?pt=KFOG+at+the+Fare+Thee+Well+Tour+%40+Levi%27s+Stadium+on+Saturday+%26+Sunday%21&id=13511&is_corp=0" target="_blank">streaming</a> the show as I type... for those who missed it. (note: this link will only get you the show the next few hours)<br />
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"Thank you.... for a real good time.!"<br />
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That probably sums it up actually. The lyric from 1974's classic <i>Loose Lucy</i>, on From The Mars Hotel.<br />
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I'm not really gonna say anything about the Dead, as this has been done ad infinitum lately. Even Newsweek, has devoted an entire issue to it... among a ton of other unlikely bandwagon jumpers.</div>
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As someone who literally grew up with the Dead (having been to my first show in utero), this all has so many resonant chords. It is about time the US embraces the fact that the Grateful Dead were the archetypal American rock band. Shit, they sing about riverboat gamblers, prospectors, steam trains and hobos. There are really very few things <i>more</i> American than the Grateful Dead. </div>
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But again, this has been discussed endlessly already.</div>
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My take on this is that things we knew to be true back on Dead Tour have all become mainstreamed now... and for the betterment of society. Weed is slowly becoming legal, and assuming its rightful place as safer than booze. Even psychedelics are being recognized as useful and therapeutic tools. The days before the Dead reunion have seen the SCOTUS legalize gay marriage nationwide, and Bree Newsome taking down the Confederate Battle Flag by herself. (#FreeBree) These are things San Francisco and Deadheads have been 50 years ahead of the times on for the most part.</div>
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I suppose my basic feeling at this point is... "What took you guys so long?" I mean, getting over people's "race" (actually a social construct), and accepting people's sexual preferences seemed like a no-brainer to me as a kid. But then, I did grow up in the progressive California Grateful Dead scene.</div>
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I guess the giant rainbow that arced over Levi Stadium during the sunset performance of the rarely played "Cream Puff War" said it all. #LoveWins (okay, it started during Viola Lee Blues, a truly awesome jam from their first album about going to jail).</div>
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It is hard not to feel the nostalgia, and the "end of an era" vibe permeating this whole thing. Maybe the next wave of American rock music will have this kind of massive social effect... who knows? I kinda doubt it. Nothing today's rock bands can do will ever be as controversial and radically subversive as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_Tests" target="_blank">Acid Tests</a>.<br />
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I still find it hard to believe that obvious stuff--like <i>respect</i> for people who may look or act different from you--has taken this long to be obvious to normal people... that we still live in a country where people are not through being uptight about race, sexuality, and marijuana.<br />
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Seriously?<br />
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This stuff is clearly not anybody's business to judge. And yet, many fossilized prejudices are are still enshrined in law... and, especially, the way the laws are enforced.<br />
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Anyway, for the moment, it could be 1975. The Dubs are NBA champs, legalization feels somewhat immanent, and people can't stop talking about the Grateful Dead.... heheheh.<br />
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Here. Let's let Trey and the boys have the final word:</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l59zvBtegYM/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/l59zvBtegYM?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe><br />
<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-64762697069345172612014-10-07T19:24:00.002-07:002018-11-23T10:48:04.916-08:002nd Blood Moon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNoTBbnYGiZaQVYgPEDMebeVa79Tz57PCcm4uJOFf_lO1vbFjzREpNTY0WIbTmTy-_uBMLbyLhtOMOTNYCtJ6GJMyrqO5Jvr7jtIiaLNwO4CEpPfvjHMYwY9Q0r2i4wQTvFHwMSw5mKFlK/s1600/Blood+Red+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNoTBbnYGiZaQVYgPEDMebeVa79Tz57PCcm4uJOFf_lO1vbFjzREpNTY0WIbTmTy-_uBMLbyLhtOMOTNYCtJ6GJMyrqO5Jvr7jtIiaLNwO4CEpPfvjHMYwY9Q0r2i4wQTvFHwMSw5mKFlK/s1600/Blood+Red+Moon.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blood Moon from April 14-15th, 2014</td></tr>
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Well, it has been another long hiatus from blogging. I can't promise I won't put this blog down again for an extended time... but I think I might make an effort to keep it going for now, for whatever that is worth. When I last posted, we were going through the "Black Super Moons" for New Years and Chinese New Years. Since then, we have had a year <i>full</i> of Lunar energy. Auspicious New Moons, super close Full Moons... and Eclipses.<br />
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Tonight... well <i>technically </i>tomorrow morning... we will have <i>the second</i> Total Lunar Eclipse of a Tetrad that will extend into 2015. Eclipses of this length have come to be known as "<b>Blood Moons</b>" by the hype brigade because after a couple minutes of being fully eclipsed, the shaded moon tends to reappear as a dull, blood-red moon. I won't get into the science of why this is... but I will just say that the term "Blood Moon" is not scientifically significant, nor is it part of some ancient mystic tradition (that I am aware of'). The Blood Moon IS, however... an especially tight alignment of the Earth, Sun and Moon, as well as a <i>spectacular</i> show visible to something like 2/3rds of the world's population!<br />
<br />
Truthfully, because these things tend to happen during people's sleeping hours, and not everyone finds such things as awesome as I... I am willing to bet a very narrow percentage of the world's population will <i>actually</i> witness the entire event. While it is true that some part of the eclipse will be visible from Brazil to Kazakhstan (going west), you can't <i>really</i> say you have seen an eclipse if you miss the totality portion. This time period, when the moon is <i>completely</i> dark (and will then turn blood red), will only be visible in it's entirety to the West Coast of the US, the East Coast of Australia, the North of Japan... and the various Island Nations of the Pacific. <br />
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Here is the blow by blow: (due to the location of visibility, all times are PDT)<br />
<br />
<b>Penumbral Eclipse</b> begins Oct 8 at 1:17am Earth's penumbra touches the Moon's face.<br />
<b>Partial Eclipse</b> begins Oct 8 at 2:18 Partial moon eclipse starts - Shadow on the Moon.<br />
<b>Total Eclipse</b> begins Oct 8 at 3:27 Total moon eclipse starts - Completely dark, then red.<br />
<b>Maximum Eclipse </b>Oct 8 at 3:55 Moon is closest to the center of the shadow.<br />
<b>Total Eclipse</b> ends Oct 8 at 4:22 Total moon eclipse ends. Diamond ring effect.<br />
<b>Partial Eclipse</b> ends Oct 8 at 5:32 Partial moon eclipse ends.<br />
<b>Penumbral Eclipse</b> ends Oct 8 at 6:32am The Moon goes back to normal.<br />
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For people on the West Coast... at the end, the Moon will be close to the horizon, so make sure you have free sight to West.<br />
<br />
Well folks... there you go. I am posting this with enough time that some of you should be able to go out and<b> actually see this thing</b>... instead of after the fact, like I sometimes do. I hope you take advantage of it. I realize this may be short notice... and a work day... but if you do manage to catch it, post a reply here, letting me know.<br />
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Au revoir one and all. See you on the other side.<br />
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<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-37998034677373314022014-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:002014-02-19T19:55:36.897-08:00Black Super Moon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI7uXT7gVGizxfIHSnaBZXS5w9l_Bo6pLfJzAsWkOgkhecDkPr7u24PVrZfM_BNBYc0SkBdHl0rxYpOn9qa6FQfQud4Mobfxn2kydJUIDDONUHKNBuz-_M4LiZPrgZphcz-g2ACwDlh_J/s1600/Double+Super+Moons...+Xtra+Power+Black+Moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkI7uXT7gVGizxfIHSnaBZXS5w9l_Bo6pLfJzAsWkOgkhecDkPr7u24PVrZfM_BNBYc0SkBdHl0rxYpOn9qa6FQfQud4Mobfxn2kydJUIDDONUHKNBuz-_M4LiZPrgZphcz-g2ACwDlh_J/s1600/Double+Super+Moons...+Xtra+Power+Black+Moon.jpg" height="640" width="478" /></a></div>
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By the time I post this, we will be one hour away from the moment of new moon (9:46pm GMT), the second this month. This makes it a <a href="http://www.themoonfaqs.com/2010/01/black-moon.html" target="_blank">Black Moon</a>. (opposite of a Blue Moon) To make it even more rare and groovy, both the New Year's Day new moon, and this Chinese New Years (year of the <a href="http://www.chineseastrologyonline.com/ChineseAstrology2014.htm" target="_blank">Green Wood Horse</a>) new moon today are at their closest point to the Earth (perigee-syzygy) colloquially known as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon" target="_blank">Supermoon</a>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This new moon is likewise the start of the Korean New Year, and is known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seollal" target="_blank">Seollal</a> there, where it will already be the 31st. New moons always symbolize beginnings, and most lunar calendars start their months on new moons. The symbolism of this is obviously compounded with the coinciding new years... and then amplified by the whole double lunar perigee thing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Lunar_perigee_apogee.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Lunar_perigee_apogee.png" height="241" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This moon would actually be 14% bigger if you could see it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Aside from being very neat and symbolic, what does all of this mean? I suppose that is for you to decide. What does <i>any</i> new year, or new month, mean?<br />
<br />
If you are any kind of mystic, you will probably have your own set of ideas about this über intensification of Dark Moon energy. Many pagans, particularly Wiccans, feel that a Black Moon is the ideal time to do rituals or cast spells... that such invocations and intentions are "more powerful and effective" at this time. For such people, the fact that tonight is the eve of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imbolc" target="_blank">Imbolc</a> (which starts at sundown tomorrow) might be even more suggestive.<br />
<br />
Of course, pagans are not alone in their interest in ritual. <i>Many</i> people feel that aligning their intentions, prayers and blessings with natural phenomena and days with heavy symbolism can be an asset. Today is actually both...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVr3M9REP0mW7ZrCW0uzgdCNqO8E6q_WIkaO4qmSvO5ZUhD2dOsoQtiDjGkHDVK1oJPcjhlbtXq8vovHJ2yI-PloKMyNbSZwjlg80EZicx9N2uWu5Ug_XJEmAX9yYL4eWLuYVA3cY25ZX/s1600/wyke_valkema_(c)_mystic_moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUVr3M9REP0mW7ZrCW0uzgdCNqO8E6q_WIkaO4qmSvO5ZUhD2dOsoQtiDjGkHDVK1oJPcjhlbtXq8vovHJ2yI-PloKMyNbSZwjlg80EZicx9N2uWu5Ug_XJEmAX9yYL4eWLuYVA3cY25ZX/s1600/wyke_valkema_(c)_mystic_moon.jpg" height="276" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying into the Year of the Horse!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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All in all, there is quite a bit of symbolism pointing to<b><span style="color: red;"> rebirth</span></b> and new beginnings here, and this is <i>fine</i> by me. In fact, it coincides rather nicely with a time when I happen to be truly starting a brand new chapter in my life, and literally starting from scratch in an entirely new environment. My personal situation couldn't match the cosmology more profoundly if it was scripted.<br />
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I won't ramble on about all this stuff. If you have any interest in any of these things, I am sure you can find plenty to read on these old internets, but feel free to comment here and get a discussion going if you like.<br />
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I will just take the time to wish you all abundant blessings for this new time. May the coming cycles be healthier, happier, and more profoundly transcendent than any that have come before. A grounded and expanding success in all your endeavors. <br />
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Enjoy this odd cosmic moment in time.<br />
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If you are the type to make New Year's Resolutions, I suppose this is your second chance.<br />
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;-)DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-90386153437841011192014-01-10T10:01:00.000-08:002014-01-11T11:50:45.586-08:00STFU & Create Your Art<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If I actually<i> made </i>New Year's Resolutions, like most artists and creative types... I suppose a perennial one would be to<b> finish</b> one of my many creative endeavors, and maybe even put it out there.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
For writers and musicians, this is a bit like losing weight is for anyone with a few extra pounds. You sincerely mean to do it, and know it would make you feel better... and you even start off on the endeavor fairly gung ho... but much sooner than you would like to admit, you allow yourself to slack off, and let those good intentions out to pasture. Your <i>actual</i> creations turn out to be a network of finely wrought excuses for why you are not going to get anything done any time soon.<br />
<br />
This book-- more of a pamphlet actually--by Garrett Robinson is a nice, welcome kick in the ass to anyone who has been dragging their creative feet. At all of 12 pages, almost half of which are the cover, TOC and appendixes... it has a simple message. Basically it is <i>exactly</i> what the title says.<br />
<br />
Primarily he refutes the big 3 excuses of artists: <br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I'm Not Sure It's Good Enough</li>
<li>I Can Never Find The Time</li>
<li>I Need To Have (X) To Create</li>
</ol>
<br />
Normally, I would't just quote some other author's work without permission, but it is clear that he wants this stuff to be given away. The Kindle version of the book is actually <b>free</b>. (get it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shut-Fuck-Create-Your-Fucking-ebook/dp/B00C83JL1G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1389377717&sr=1-1&keywords=shut+the+fuck+up+and+create+your+fucking+art" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
<br />
You can consider this a book<i> review</i> if you like, which entitles me to quote from the work.<br />
<br />
At any rate, here are some words that should ring a bit too true for anyone who works with the creative muse and faces the prospect of baring their soul in public:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Any time you spend complaining is time that would be better spent actually DOING your art."</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"If you refuse to release anything that isn't bulletproof and a fantastic, sweeping achievement in art that will wow all the critics, then I'm sorry to say that your ego is just insufferably huge. I'm also sorry to say that you will never create something that will please everyone, and that will be recognized by the entire artistic world as the greatest achievement in the history of anything. If you won't release anything uless it meets that lofty standard, then I have an idea for you: Take whatever you've got, whatever you have finished, and release it under a pseudonym."</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"SHUT THE FUCK UP AND CREATE YOUR FUCKING ART</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What I’m getting at is that there are no excuses. In this day and age you—YOU, THE PERSON READING THIS— have the ability to:</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Create art with virtually no initial investment</span></i></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Distribute for no cost to you, and limitless potential for income (Amazon for writers, Amazon/YouTube for film, Amazon/YouTube/iTunes for musicians)</span></i></li>
<li style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Crowdsource feedback on your art to teach you to become a better artist</span></i></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So the only complaint you have left is Time. And so I’ll ask you an honest question—if you’re not spending any available time you have creating your art, then what the fuck are you doing?"</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">GARRETT ROBINSON</span></i></div>
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<br />
Yeah, the book is not going to win any awards... it is already a stretch to call 6 pages of text a book. But, it is just the kind of slap in the face that some of us need to dust off a project, finish it, and get it out into the world. <br />
<br />
Garrett is of the opinion that putting stuff out there makes you a better artist, because you can get feedback and find out what works. I don't disagree with that. But, there is something to be said for not making a terrible first impression (from which you may never recover)... and also from having your "body of work" include amateurish tripe. <br />
<br />
Most of us--regardless of what field you create in--would be mortified to have our early, feeble attempts at artwork seen by anyone... let alone be out there forever on the world wide web. I feel sorry for young artists today who hype themselves up to publish or distribute work that will surely make them hide their heads in shame when they finally get good enough to know better. <br />
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Well, there is always his idea of using a pseudonym.<br />
<br />
Whatever your opinions on this issue are, you can <i>always</i> <b>create</b> your art. Releasing it into the world, on the other hand, is something you have to think on seriously... it is something dependent on--but not implicit in--finishing something. But, even if you never show it to anyone, you really <i>should</i> spend more time creating... and finishing.<br />
<br />
Anyway. Stop reading this. Go and create some fucking art.<br />
<br />
<br />DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-24855314998275101452013-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:002018-12-09T22:07:23.345-08:00New Year's Eve<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ckrZ_3BkEa_9efV3iLAPEx6X8DoWnK7_bDjx8gZFj_7dKZf0rLmG3r7yT9psKMRSJc5SSY8DusymC2i9aIBFfrLNsYhC77oqBC15LlINjEkDaz8YX1eRICLBEkJPUArKu7laQgemzshS/s1600/Cloud+Heart.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ckrZ_3BkEa_9efV3iLAPEx6X8DoWnK7_bDjx8gZFj_7dKZf0rLmG3r7yT9psKMRSJc5SSY8DusymC2i9aIBFfrLNsYhC77oqBC15LlINjEkDaz8YX1eRICLBEkJPUArKu7laQgemzshS/s400/Cloud+Heart.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; padding: 2px 11px 2px 11px;">
It should come as no surprise to any of you that I will be happy to lay 2013 to rest. It was a rough year... and one that followed hard on the heels of a couple years that had seemed rough at the time, but were only lessened in stature by comparison to the debacle that was 2013 for me.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I know I am not the only one to have gotten the short and sharp end of 2013's stick. A lot of people had a hard time. But whether it was brilliant, brutal, both or neither... it is over.<br />
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So the key now, is what we will make of 2014. I am hoping it will be a banner year.<br />
<br />
Hope is kind of worthless, but it will be rather difficult for it to be worse than <i>my</i> 2013, at any rate (<b>knock on wood</b>). The fact is, by and large, our years are things we create for ourselves. As much as it sucks to admit that in a year where you took it on the chin... it is like this.<br />
<br />
Our actions may have been long before, or immediately prior to the consequences they created, but with very few exceptions, even the things that "just happen" to us could have been avoided or transformed had we been more awake, aware, proactive, or informed. This is not always a good consolation, but it does mean that we can do better... that we can probably not make the<i> same </i>mistakes again... and again.<br />
<br />
Our New Year is thus a synthetic object that we have already laid the foundations for, but must build in real-time. <span style="color: black;">Here, in the waning minutes of New Year's Eve, it occurred to me that this phrase can be read as if the New Year had or created an Eve... as in Adam &.</span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black;">And, as kooky as this sounds... it makes sense to me.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5myG4OOD5vWSkYbzOlg_i0NQEfefExyMz0g0Itw-QTKy1Zysr8w-G6QtBremLkl0dn-nfGcsQdKjhvYMcTSgw4BYExr81e_DRV0uQU912AzvGtpvkoTUt9TIuRm_VbGamxbCZQyGqfSon/s1600/Zebra+Cuerpa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The Eve of our New Year" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5myG4OOD5vWSkYbzOlg_i0NQEfefExyMz0g0Itw-QTKy1Zysr8w-G6QtBremLkl0dn-nfGcsQdKjhvYMcTSgw4BYExr81e_DRV0uQU912AzvGtpvkoTUt9TIuRm_VbGamxbCZQyGqfSon/s400/Zebra+Cuerpa.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"curvier & sexier"<br />
creation 2.0</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To follow this metaphor, realize that you take a piece of what you have already created... your Adam... your creation 1.0 so to speak, and use this rib to make something new. Your creation 2.0 may or may not be any better than your old one, but it <i>will</i> be different... and yet based on the same "bones."<br />
<br />
So, in a weird way, may your New Year's Eve--your 2014 <i>new creation--</i>be curvier and sexier than your last. Like the oft maligned heroine of Eden, may it be bolder, and more willing to know Good from Evil. People think that this impudence is what gets (got) us kicked out of paradise, and if you believe ignorance is bliss, you might agree... but the expulsion was to keep the newly "not naive" pair from discovering the <b>Tree of Life,</b> as you may remember.<br />
<br />
Well, maybe this time around our new Eve can eat from <i>both</i> trees.<br />
<br />
Whatever winds up going down, I wish you all a happy and healthy 2014. Live long and prosper. Nanu Nanu.</div>
DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-56649072384855564362013-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:002016-12-01T18:13:12.399-08:00Interview Available Online<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Well friends...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was interviewed by Philanthropic People magazine, and if you are interested... you can read the interview online here: <a href="http://www.philanthropicpeople.com/2013/12/11/an-interview-with-water-charitys-ceo-jahsun/">http://www.philanthropicpeople.com/2013/12/11/an-interview-with-water-charitys-ceo-jahsun/</a></span><br />
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Feel free to leave comments there or here, but if you want me to respond, here would be better... as I am unlikely to go there and check for comments but once in a blue moon. Hehehehe.<br />
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While I link to WC posts here on a sidebar of this blog, I haven't actually addressed Water Charity here thus far. I may decide I want to discuss certain projects or things here in the future, though. I suppose the <a href="http://watercharity.org/" target="_blank">WC website</a> speaks for itself mostly, but we shall see.<br />
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Again, any and all comments are welcome.DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-69845116644598468922013-12-10T20:39:00.001-08:002018-12-13T15:25:24.815-08:00Thanks Forgiving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I was thinking to get this post up before Thanksgiving, but, alas, I was preoccupied. I then thought to save this, and maybe do it <i>next</i> year... but I am not one to pay too much attention to what calendars or clocks say I should be doing. Heehehe. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, here we go, a look at one of America's holidays with the highest level of cognitive dissonance... and a somewhat more personal take on the concepts of <i>thanks</i> and <i>forgiveness</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I am sure most of you who have lived in the U.S. know a little something about what Thanksgiving is all about, but for the sake of my international friends:</span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is commonly, but not universally, traced to a poorly documented 1621 celebration at </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Colony" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Plymouth Colony">Plymouth</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> in present-day </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">. It </span><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, and it became an official Federal holiday in 1863, when, during the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="American Civil War">Civil War</a>, <span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;">President </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Abraham Lincoln">Abraham Lincoln</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"> proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The feast at Plymouth was unique because the Pilgrims there invited a Native American, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Squanto">Squanto</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> (a Patuxent who resided with the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wampanoag_people" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Wampanoag people">Wampanoag</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> tribe) who had taught the </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_(Plymouth_Colony)" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Pilgrim (Plymouth Colony)">Pilgrims</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> how to catch eel and grow corn, and served as an interpreter for them (Squanto had learned English during travels in England). Additionally, the Wampanoag leader </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massasoit" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; line-height: 19.1875px; text-decoration: none;" title="Massasoit">Massasoit</a><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> had donated food stores to the fledgling colony during the first winter, when supplies brought from England were insufficient.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">It is commonly said that because the Pilgrims didn't know the bounties of New World food, they had to learn about things like pumpkin, squash, potatoes, turkey and the like from the Indians... and the "thanks" of this holiday is thus not only due to "the beneficent father," but to the native people who kept them from starving. Therefore, it is traditional that these "new" foods are the ones eaten on Thanksgiving.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving Dinner</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">The story goes that Squanto invited the rest of the tribe with him, figuring it was normal to do so... and that it was a rather tense situation, with the Pilgrims not wanting to break bread with the Indians. This, in spite of the fact that the Wampanoag brought plenty of food with them (enough to feed everybody a few times over). </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Naturally, there are many versions of this tale, and it is basically an apocryphal event at this point. What we <i>can</i> say, however, is that the three tribes in the region (Patuxent, Pequot & Wampanoag) were all made functionally extinct within a relatively short time from this "First Thanksgiving." The famed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pequot_massacre" target="_blank">Pequot Massacre</a> at Mystic, Connecticut is a fine example of how the settlers gave thanks to their gracious native hosts. Many people believe the holiday of Thanksgiving <i>actually</i> comes from the settlers giving thanks for having slaughtered 700 Indians in a single day.</span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I don't want to paint this as a totally black and white situation. There is a lot one can say about the Pequot War, and it <b>is</b> true that the English had other tribes of Native Americans on <i>their</i> side. The Mohawk in particular were crucial in destroying the Pequot. (They were repaid for this aid by having a quarter of a million of their own number murdered by their "allies" eventually.) </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">At any rate, the fact is that <i>few</i> people actually think about Native Americans on Thanksgiving (if ever), and that the modern holiday is basically an excuse to pig out on turkey and pumpkin pie before rushing off to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)" target="_blank">Black Friday</a> sales for the start of the Christmas shopping season.</span></span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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Walmart Opening on Black Friday</td></tr>
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">When I explained all of this to a European friend who asked me about our peculiar American holiday, she immediately said that the holiday should be called "Thanks Forgiving," and I agreed... mentally jotting down the note to write this as a blog post. This is because, for me, it is clear that the forgiveness that people have received from people they have wronged is a <i>truly</i> grand and magnanimous gift. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think the recognition of <i>this gift</i> should be the focus of the holiday, actually. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Seeing as Thanksgiving fell on the transition of the first & second nights of Hannukah (Festival of Lights) this year, an event which is fairly rare (despite talk of thousands of years until it happens again, </span><i style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Thanksgivikah</i><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"> will at least not happen until 2070 if both calendars stay the same)... I figure this is as good a time as any to shed some <i>light</i> on this holiday, and what it stands for. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">So, let us <i>go</i> deeper, and look at true forgiveness... as something to be thankful for. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><b>Giving Thanks For Forgiving</b></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It is difficult for most people to look at this objectively. To acknowledge that you have not only hurt another, but profited greatly from this act--and (even more difficult), that if the situation were <i>reversed</i>, you would probably <i>not</i> have been so forgiving--THIS is a thing that we should be reflecting on. It is, admittedly, hard to engage in this kind of reflection, though.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia";">How do you thank someone for something like that?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Thanking the Universe for bringing a harvest, a victory, or some other bounty to <i>your</i> people seems pale in comparison. After all, that is <i>what the Universe does</i>. It is simply being itself when it provides the sustenance that it <b>always has</b> (more or less). I am not saying that this is not worthy of thanks... just that the kind of forgiveness that a people who have been the victim of genocide, slavery, and wholesale robbery of their land give<i> to their assailants</i> is a gift of another level. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">To forgive the unforgivable, and not seek revenge... while not even being<i> appreciated</i> for the gift being given... to be treated as subhuman, and spit on while you are clearly taking the higher road... <i>this</i> is special.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">I have trouble imagining the Europeans being so generous of spirit if things had been reversed, and it was the <i>Indians</i> coming to <i>their</i> home continent and killing off 96% of <i>them</i>. Imagine if the Jews had tried to exterminate the <i>Germans</i>. Or, if the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch et. al. were forced to spend 400 years in slavery in Africa. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Truth be told, these people are very quick to prosecute, to the fullest extent of their laws, anyone caught trespassing on the land <i>they stole</i>... <i>especially</i> the people they stole it<i> from</i>. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">Somehow, it is always expected that the people who lost the most should do <b>all the forgiving</b>.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">You don't see banks forgiving debt, or shops forgiving hungry shoplifters. Even on Thanksgiving, people were being tossed out of their homes to live on the streets. Banks are too big to fail, but family homes are on fire-sale. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">Not only is forgiveness anathema (apparently) to the materialists in our culture, they won't even give people a <i>bit</i> of breathing room to make good on their debts! This, despite the fact that all property rights in the USA are basically writs of <i>stolen property</i>. Even if the land was transferred legally ever since, there can be no original "bill of sale." The land was stolen in blood and treachery, and passed on with this baggage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">Our law states that <b>possession of stolen property is a crime</b>... even if you are <i>unaware</i> that it was stolen... and even if it passed through numerous hands on its way to you. If you buy a stolen car from a used car lot, you can still be held liable... even if you paid a fair price for the vehicle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">But the victims here are not calling for blood... or even reparations (for the most part). It certainly says something about the character of a people that they can actually <i>do</i> what their oppressors claim to idealize, but never even <i>try</i> to do... </span><i style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><b>turn the other cheek</b></i><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">. Especially in light of the fact that this is not explicitly part of the religious traditions of these people, and Christians are <i>admonished</i> to do so... by their <i>savior</i> no less. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Despite being the most vocally Christian of all Americans, residents of the Southern States are far more likely to <i>still</i> be angry about losing their right to keep and abuse slaves... than the slaves they once kept are <i>at them!?</i> The South is still home to large numbers of KKK and white supremacists who have not forgiven The North for <i>winning The Civil War </i>(what they call the War Of Northern Aggression)... let alone the Native Americans and the African Americans... for simply existing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia";">To be fair, racism and bigotry can be found all over America. There are areas of this country where people never see black people except on TV! In the South, for better or worse, people must learn to coexist somewhat, and live in relative proximity to the people they don't like. Some places in the States, actually attract white supremacists and neo-nazis because by living there, they never have to see a brown face or engage with people of a different faith.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Not to be a bummer, but we have to look at this honestly.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">It is not an exaggeration to think of the Native American Genocide as a Holocaust. In fact, the term </span><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">"Final Solution" was<i> not</i> coined by the Nazis. It was Indian Affairs Superintendent, Duncan Campbell Scott, Canada's Adolph Eichmann, who in April 1910 plotted out the planned murder of the First Nations People (as they are known in Canada) to take care of the "Indian problem," and gave it the name. This was the <i>inspiration</i> for the Germans some decades later.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The sad truth is that, of the indigenous children forced to go to "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Indian_residential_school_system" target="_blank">residential schools</a>" in Canada, (according to government records) nearly half of them died or disappeared as if they never existed. In 1909, Dr. Peter Bryce, general medical superintendent for the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA), reported to the department that between 1894 and 1908, mortality rates at some residential schools in Western Canada ranged from 30% to 60% over five years. These statistics did not become public until 1922, when Bryce, who was no longer working for the government, published <u>The Story of a National Crime: Being a Record of the Health Conditions of the Indians of Canada from 1904 to 1921</u>.</span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">The </span><a href="http://www.ratical.com/ratville/sterilize.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 19.1875px;" target="_blank">forced sterilizations</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 19.1875px;"> of Native women that were conducted then, continued well into the late 1970's, as unimaginable as that is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">The fact that we don't see Native Americans becoming suicide bombers, or declaring some kind of intifada, speaks volumes about their greatness of spirit... or the success of the policy to stamp them out and break their spirit, perhaps. Regardless, we all have much to learn from them... not just about turning the other cheek, or forgiving grievous wrong, but about <b>honoring and cherishing the Earth</b>. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Based on how poorly we have treated the planet since, the world <i>might</i> have been better off if the genocide was reversed.* You certainly would<b> </b>not<b> </b>see clear-cutting of forests. oceans being emptied of fish, gigantic islands of trash, mountaintop removal, fracking, oil spills or climate change in a world run by the Native Americans. Say what you will, but I am <i>sure</i> no one would be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LBjSXWQRV8" target="_blank">lighting their water on fire</a> in <i>that</i> version of the USA.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">(*note: I am being purposefully hyperbolic and provocative here. I want to make it <b>100%</b> clear that I <i>absolutely</i> stand against <i>any</i> kind of genocide whatsoever, and this is not a topic to make light of. Nor do I wish to perpetuate any anti-European bias. What-if scenarios like this are best left to sci-fi movies and TV shows IMHO.)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Native Tribes Often Welcomed Runaway Slaves</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To wrap this up, I just want to bring it home a bit... make this a little more personal. I had a dramatic series of events unfold in my own life recently. Some heartbreaking betrayals, and bitter attacks which forced me to let go of quite a bit of what I had built up since the millennium, and took a hefty toll on my health and general well-being. In short, I had to (once again) <i>start over</i> after losing 90% of my worldly possessions... to reboot my life entirely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It would have been easy--normal even--for me to be angry and upset at the former friends, and fake smiling enemies who professed love to my face, and enjoyed my hospitality and generosity... while </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">surreptitiously </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">plotting my downfall and ruin. Hehehe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But, the point here is that <i>forgiving</i> and <i>forgetting</i> was the <i>only</i> possible path forward. As I got away from the situation, and the immediate drama and tragic intensity was receding, it became more and more obvious that <i>any</i> energy I wasted on regret and anger, let alone thoughts of retribution or vengeance were, not only wasted, but detrimental to <b>me</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The old adage that forgiveness is less for the forgiven than it is for the one forgiving, is true. It is <i>you</i> who has to live with the feelings of anger. Hatred is poisonous, and it destroys your soul, sours your joys, and leeches the technicolor vibrancy from your entire world. Carrying it in your heart does little to hurt the people who wronged you, but does inestimable damage to your own person... both to your physical being and to your inner peace. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Even if you <i>manage</i> to inflict some equal or proportionate retribution onto your foes... it <i>doesn't</i> bring you joy; it is a hollow Pyrrhic victory that doesn't even begin to fill the <b>void</b> that hatred has carved into your heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Forgiveness</b>, on the other hand, gives the giver at least as much as it gives the receiver. I know it seems counter intuitive. Letting people off the hook for their heinous actions, and absolving them of the justified consequences of those actions seems to be clearly of greater worth than simply not having to suffer the poison of hate--that such actions<i> caused</i> in the first place--but it is not so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In our materialistic society, we see everything as having its bottom line in <i>the bottom line</i>. Thus, the person who gets out with the net financial gain (or the smallest loss) <i>wins</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But that is not what matters in truth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">A bit more money here or there... even a great deal of money and property... makes little difference in terms of how you feel. And, in the end, everything comes down to this. <i>How do you feel when you wake up in the morning, and look at yourself in the mirror?</i> How quickly and peacefully can you fall asleep at night? <i>How often do you smile and laugh each day?</i> How well do you love... and how well are you loved? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">These are things that matter, and coincidentally, things that <i>money</i><b> can not buy</b>. You can be a billionaire and still be suicidal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Life is not a game of Monopoly. Everything you desire, everything you ever buy, all that you work hard to attain... these are all </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">means to an end</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. The end, is that you become <b>happy</b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You study hard to get good grades, so you can get a fancy degree, so you can get a good job, so you can make a good income, so you can buy things that will help you attract a mate, so you can settle down and have kids, and raise them in comfort... and so on, and <i>so on</i>... all because you think that somewhere along the way, these things will make you happy and satisfied</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">... that you will be </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">fulfilled</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Of course, </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">none</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> of these things, in and of themselves, can give you that... and certainly not if you harbor hatred in your heart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Forgiveness, on the other hand, <i>can</i> give you directly what all those other things can not. It can give you <b>peace</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">By some ineffable, mystical means, the great gift of forgiveness that you bestow on your fellow (if misguided) man... comes back to you<i> transformed,</i> and in spades. You give up your anger, and you receive peace. And, peace is more valuable than anything you can possess.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Trust me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So, yeah... <b>Thanks Forgiving</b>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Give thanks that you have the strength to forgive... and that others have had that strength as well. Give thanks that an "eye for an eye" has not made the entire world blind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Be well, my friends... and even (especially) those who have chosen to call me enemy.</span></div>
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DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-80565584867196912002013-09-07T10:48:00.001-07:002016-11-08T11:09:43.271-08:00Calling All Wizards<br />
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The <b>wizard</b> archetype is one of the most beloved and truly inspiring that humans have come up with. Who <i>doesn't</i> love Merlin, Gandalf, Dr. Strange... even Dumbledore? <br />
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They are wisdom personified, and the perfect model of a powerful older person. Someone whose knowledge and personal life force make them more than a match for any dozen people half or a third their age. Someone who wouldn't surprise you if they lived to 10,000.<br />
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A wizard has to have been around for quite some time to even earn the title. To be <i>wizened</i> implies being of great age. It is not a young man's game. No offense to Harry Potter, but if you don't have more grey or white hairs than you can count... you aren't really a wizard are you?<br />
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The wizard is also a lonely character. It is nearly always the case that wizards live alone and only tolerate the company of lesser mortals when necessary. <br />
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They can enjoy creature comforts and festivities, and are steadfast friends to those they see something in... but they don't really have <b>peers</b> to a large degree. Sure, you might find the occasional guild of mages, or a few secretive orders, but even there the individual wizards don't seem to hang out much.<br />
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Another thing about wizards, that people tend to overlook... is that they like to get high.<br />
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You rarely see a wizard without a pipe in the folds of his robes. <br />
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Gandalf <i>and</i> Dumbledore are both shown smoking often and deeply. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXnxxAD3Jyvk3ZmGpUApFt6La_AFU2Z93Zd64GQuIIvb8GB51EvWb7F8AgYxcG8tWbdltrjNsh99rsjQ5Kwx5Ot61fYC-JqquZcj46j6HiD8DOawIXwCnmApKrX0F-pwWC8KBpuwn5TSou/s1600/gandalf+smoking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXnxxAD3Jyvk3ZmGpUApFt6La_AFU2Z93Zd64GQuIIvb8GB51EvWb7F8AgYxcG8tWbdltrjNsh99rsjQ5Kwx5Ot61fYC-JqquZcj46j6HiD8DOawIXwCnmApKrX0F-pwWC8KBpuwn5TSou/s400/gandalf+smoking.jpg" width="251" /></a>And before you go suggesting that they smoke<i> tobacco</i> in those long Dutch style pipes... remember the words of Saruman to Gandalf </div>
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"Your love of the Halfling's leaf has clouded your mind."<br />
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Tobacco does many terrible things, but <i>clouding the mind</i> is not one of them.<br />
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Also, in Tolkein's Unfinished Tales essay "The Hunt For The Ring" Gandalf tells Saruman <br />
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"You should not wonder, if you used the herb yourself. You might find that the smoke blown out clears the mind of shadows within. Anyway, it gives patience, to listen to error without anger."<br />
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(they were having a rowdy council meeting) <br />
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And, of course, the Hobbits who use <b>pipeweed</b> all have voracious munchies, and are a jolly folk, even in the face of danger.<br />
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Of course, the image of wizards mixing up potions and brews that cause hallucinations and clearly psychoactive effects is well known. Much of the magic in fantasy and fairy tales revolves around <b>alchemy</b> of some sort. And, a wizard will rarely pass a toadstool or mushroom without scooping it up for one of his draughts.<br />
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This brings me to my point. <br />
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Two of our modern and most worthy wizards, <b>Ann and Sasha Shulgin</b>, found themselves in dire straights earlier this year. Sasha is among the greatest psychopharmacological chemists who ever lived. Ann is a pioneer in the field of empathogen-assisted therapy. Their love story has inspired millions of people. </div>
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They are most famous for being the inventors of hundreds of psychedelic compounds which they then tested on <i>themselves</i>. This research makes up the 2 huge volumes <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tihkal-A-Continuation-Alexander-Shulgin/dp/0963009699/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1378575571&sr=8-4&keywords=TIKAL" target="_blank">TIHKAL</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pihkal-A-Chemical-Love-Story/dp/0963009605/ref=pd_sim_b_1" target="_blank">PIHKAL</a>, and many of the most famous and well loved chemicals on the planet come from them. Formulas for the bulk of modern recreational substances, by and large, come from these two books and the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Shulgin-Index-Volume-Phenethylamines/dp/096300963X/ref=pd_sim_b_2" target="_blank">Shulgin Index</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56MBbfSIdYlChvzTn1gNWEkODhEEKWyw9kNn2nXxMYdHdf5czf4Q4M_iTDRZ9g7Ac3MOEXP0jrYcZfC_TZoprGgXifDsWKMBNkm_RO1EgGzPstFBWa42-wZy7TTF-KS6eldhc9mtmoo2e/s1600/shulgin+chalkboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56MBbfSIdYlChvzTn1gNWEkODhEEKWyw9kNn2nXxMYdHdf5czf4Q4M_iTDRZ9g7Ac3MOEXP0jrYcZfC_TZoprGgXifDsWKMBNkm_RO1EgGzPstFBWa42-wZy7TTF-KS6eldhc9mtmoo2e/s640/shulgin+chalkboard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Sasha's illness and rising medical costs had gotten so bad that these lovely alchemists found themselves struggling to make end's meet. Considering how many people owe a great debt to them, this made many of us sad. Outrageous to think that people who gave away the formulas for many of the most popular recreational substances around... including MDMA, should be going broke. The Teafaerie said, correctly, that it seems there is no retirement plan for wizards.<br />
<br />
I have to say I was heartened when the community responded by helping out. An unprecedented grassroots crowdsourcing rose up and has made a big difference for these two giants. I urged my friends to contribute at the time, but I am writing this now to encourage people to continue to donate. If you have ever had a transformative healing experience with a psychedelic compound... chances are that these two had something to do with it.<br />
<br />
Us wizards and future wizards have to stick together. The climate isn't quite so hostile now, but real life wizards are still an oppressed and often reviled community. Despite the fact that wizards are the coolest and sweetest people you would ever hope to meet, there is still a lingering stigma attached to people who take responsibility for their own neurochemistry. People fear the power of these masters and their compounds... and rightly so, in many cases.<br />
<br />
However, without pioneering and courageous explorers like these, the world would be a sadder and far less interesting place than it is. Without Hoffman's problem child, much of the art, music and culture of the 2nd half of the 20th century would never have happened. You can't have Sgt. Peppers without Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds.<br />
<br />
So, please consider helping. Even a little show of faith will mean a lot them.<br />
<br />
Donations can be made via credit card or PayPal at: <a href="http://www.shulginresearch.org/home/donate/">www.shulginresearch.org/home/donate/</a> <br />
<br />
Cash, check, or money order can be sent to:<br />
<br />
Sasha Shulgin<br />
c/o Transform Press<br />
PO Box 13675<br />
Berkeley, CA 94712<br />
<br />
<img alt="shulgin art" src="http://teafaerie.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/shulgin-art.jpg" height="640" width="513" /><br />
<br />
(give it up for the awesome portrait of them by the ever enchanting <a href="http://alexgrey.com/" target="_blank">Alex Grey</a>)DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-49212265131473031672013-04-16T11:35:00.000-07:002013-11-06T23:57:40.652-08:00Spring, Grass & Rainbow Unions<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhXh3wY4-xsrYakqMlcXu8_xx12o9hDSp_sjzOqjaG-lm1o2sJA34Dr8axQcddrhJcyZh1ljb_ZF3634sroN1rE8XeVLJwKmESLVybG_m5BqTCZhS308rPHA6JbxGB7lfTp7rid3ynh_4/s1600/Rainbow+Supernova.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhXh3wY4-xsrYakqMlcXu8_xx12o9hDSp_sjzOqjaG-lm1o2sJA34Dr8axQcddrhJcyZh1ljb_ZF3634sroN1rE8XeVLJwKmESLVybG_m5BqTCZhS308rPHA6JbxGB7lfTp7rid3ynh_4/s400/Rainbow+Supernova.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
<br />
...<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';">
<br /><span style="font-size: large;">Spring is finally here.
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">It was a <i>long</i> and hard winter. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;">I decided not to bother blogging during this kind of rough time. Funny enough, the traffic here remained pretty well the same. Not sure what that says about my traffic. I suppose it is still mostly Google picture searches. Hehehehe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">At any rate, I ended my last post with a quote from Mark Twain about being in the majority and having to pause and think about this.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">This is kind of what I did.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Over the last year or two, the public ratings on two issues that serve as a cultural Zeitgeist barometer have soared from less than half to well over half of the US population supporting. Mind you, this is not California's population, or even a sampling of young people. This is the majority of <i>everyone</i> in the US! Southern states, Utah, Idaho and Arizona included.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">The issues I am talking about, naturally, are <b>Gay Marriage</b> & <b>Marijuana Legalization</b>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">It should come as no surprise that these are non-issues for young people, progressives and libertarians... but we have reached a tipping point where huge numbers of people are now lined up to support these issues. Something that even in the heights of the 70's was never the case.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Some pundits have been trying to draw parallels between these two sea changes in opinion. Some of their connections are valid... like the fact that both shifts have coincided with a massive shift in the visibility of these once-fringe issues due to entertainment channels like TV, music and film. Some of what they say is simply horeshit IMHO. But when is that not the case with punditry?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">One point, for <i>me</i> the most salient point, that seems to have gone un-reported... is the </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;">acceptance and </span><span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;">humanity angle. As it turns out, though somewhat overlapping, the percentages of people who self-identify as homosexual or weed smokers are very close. Officially, both groups contain over 10% of the population... with the actual numbers possibly being much higher if you factor in the continued stigma of admitting to either lifestyle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;">Naturally, the definition </span><span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">used, can swing these figures considerably. The number of people who have tried marijuana in their lifetime is near 40% by some estimations with 10% admitting to having tried psychedelic drugs! On the other side of the fence, many leaders of the gay community are saying their numbers could be significantly less, if one doesn't include people who have experimented or the bisexuals. (see this recent article </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/no-longer-10-percent-233400705.html">http://news.yahoo.com/no-longer-10-percent-233400705.html</a><span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">I think a quote in this article applies quite powerfully to both "drug" users and to the gay community. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><i>"Why on earth does it matter if we make up 10 percent or 1 percent? A minority’s civil rights are not dependent on how many of them there are or how large a segment of society they form. Do we say: sorry, guys, you only form 2 percent, you don’t meet the minimal bar for becoming a minority?"</i></span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva'; font-size: large;">At any rate, everyone knows <i>someone</i> who is gay and everyone knows someone who is a proud smoker of ganja. Unless you only know 9 people, this is pretty much a given. The fact is that most of us know tons of people in both categories. This puts a face on these issues for us that the more "in the closet" days may have hidden. And, furthermore, the faces it puts up are often the coolest and sweetest people we know. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">How can anyone sincerely support persecuting groups of people that are clearly not only harmless, but include many of our best and brightest? These communities are so large that if they had lobbies, they would be bigger than the NRA, the Anti-Castro Cubans and the Pro-Israel lobbies <i>combined</i>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Gays and stoners are not going to go away. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;">Now that public support is up around 60 or 70% for both issues, and this with polling being done during the day on landlines, skewing the demographic towards the elderly, you would <i>think</i> that this would be a done deal. Sadly, this is not the case just yet. There is still a lingering taboo about both issues. I believe we will see the right thing done nationwide eventually... not just on these two issues, but other hypocritical social stances like that on prostitution and other drug use. I just think that it will take its sweet time if people don't <b>stand up</b> and <i>demand</i> democracy be done.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Monotype Corsiva';"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">As far as weed and gay marriage go, what our current policy amounts to is the sanctioned oppression of <i>at least</i> 20% of our population. This would be like oppressing all of our nation's African-Americans and Jews. Incredible? In fact, the number of LGBT Americans and drug using Americans <b>far</b> outstrips this. So, with a majority of support that in the Senate would be called a super-majority, how long will it take for us to stop persecuting these most creative and non-violent elements of our society?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">I hope it won't take long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">The Drug War is harsher than forcing gay people to have civil unions rather than real marriages... This might be costing LGBT people money and pride, but it is costing weed smokers their entire lives, their right to vote, and putting them in cells with true criminals who don't hesitate to abuse these non-violent felons. The extreme irony of this situation is that it is often easier to get marijuana in jail than it is to find it on the outside.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">This is pure madness, and the longer we take to stop it, the more lives are being ruined. The opposing of these modern civil rights issues is just as wrong-headed as was the opposing of the civil rights issues of the 60's... and history will judge it so eventually. This is not in doubt. It is only a matter of how long it will take.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">As long as US government agencies are locking up close to a million citizens a year for simple marijuana possession (something two thirds of the population doesn't think should even be a crime), and NOT locking up <i>any</i> bankers for robbing, lying, and cheating in ways that caused a global economic catastrophe (something 72% of the population thinks we <i>should</i> be doing)... then the word DEMOCRACY, and the phrase LAW & ORDER are both utterly and profoundly meaningless.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">Let's fix this people. Sooner than later.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Monotype Corsiva; font-size: large;">Here is a free music mix for all and sundry in honor of the spring. Feel free to pass it on. It is over 2hrs long, and will have a little something for most everyone. Needless to say, it is pretty damn dope. </span><a href="http://8tracks.com/omniverse/spring-into-action">http://8tracks.com/omniverse/spring-into-action</a>DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-85298435976272273352012-11-25T09:00:00.000-08:002016-11-01T13:33:38.151-07:00Of Inspiration, Music & Moving Forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1ve5W3m8cdrgYutWVtuyKMjoBD1B2LKy8aBg8s0eV4rB7sGXo3licyb_I3aDslnr06ct5nf1fOXZJ_zuubOH8MlhYBTgRv40Ww-5bTf7T3TN_n9-XjhfNNSgkVI4KMTefLtDuhMxewfh/s1600/Vote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih1ve5W3m8cdrgYutWVtuyKMjoBD1B2LKy8aBg8s0eV4rB7sGXo3licyb_I3aDslnr06ct5nf1fOXZJ_zuubOH8MlhYBTgRv40Ww-5bTf7T3TN_n9-XjhfNNSgkVI4KMTefLtDuhMxewfh/s400/Vote.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "calligraphy";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">
<br />
<br />
Well... <br /><br />
It has been a bit since I posted. Lots of important work to be done lately. </span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "calligraphy";"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calligraphy";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">I refrained from doing the obligatory "everything I am thankful for" post for Turkey Day (AKA thank the Native Americans for giving all they had day), but I will say that the reelection of the big O, and especially the passing of a number of key progressive state initiatives (tip of my hat to Colorado & Washington State) have been rather inspiring, to be honest. Slowly but surely, we are finally moving in the only direction we can really move... forward.<br /><br />
I must say, though, I do have a lot of things I want to put up here at some point. If any of my readers are interested in anything specific... some verse, some philosophic rambling, writing tips, music stuff... whatever... just let me know.<br /><br />
In the meantime, I will post some things as I have time and energy for it. There are a number of interesting things here already for those who want to go back through the older posts. And, I recommend that anyone who likes music check out my radio station <a href="http://jahsun.com/radio">RADIO OMNIVERSE</a> (http://jahsun.com/radio) which has 2 channels of extraordinary music streaming 24/7. There is also a tab here on the blog to take you directly there. You can listen while you read. <br /><br />
I have also been doing some very cool internet radio shows, a couple guest DJ spots on old school, over the air radio stations in a number of the countries that I visit, as well as a good number of club and festival gigs where I DJ and mix things up live. A number of these have been recorded, and I am happy to share these sets with any interested parties.
<br /><br />
Again, just let me know. The radio stuff tends to be eclectic and filled with rarities, hard to find stuff, new music, and more rocking stuff, while the live sets are nearly all solid slabs of dance music ranging from funky breaks, dancehall, a bit of dubstep, and even some EDM, all mixed and mashed up with my signature FX, scratching, beat juggling, looping and more. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calligraphy";"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "calligraphy";"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Naturally, I find all of these recordings to be wickedly dope, so take me up on this offer if you appreciate tunes that are unlikely to be found through normal channels. My penchant for crate digging can be tapped and enjoyed by all and sundry without the often epic investment in time and cash to acquire these things.<br /><br />
Righteo.
<br /><br />
I will leave you this time around with a quote from one of our great scribblers of a bygone era... one which still resonates as deeply as when it was first uttered:
<br /><br /><i>
"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reflect and pause."</i><br />
-- Samuel Clemmons <br />
better known to most as <b>Mark Twain
</b></span></span>DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-41484979363029823522012-09-29T19:47:00.000-07:002014-11-10T14:59:40.507-08:00Writing as shaving with a dull razor...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm6fQlPE9Wh_h4Sc7kZOzYeN9nxxQKx15U8BrPBSdlky3tmiDO4kKxDWQREfkpnh9uArqJiKGdNSsfSHzfO6PNJXzlyW7HhvAt3xe5EZeMf76gdk8d_ZmEVUVSgMGuh7plEIhJJc59a65/s1600/gillette-razor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm6fQlPE9Wh_h4Sc7kZOzYeN9nxxQKx15U8BrPBSdlky3tmiDO4kKxDWQREfkpnh9uArqJiKGdNSsfSHzfO6PNJXzlyW7HhvAt3xe5EZeMf76gdk8d_ZmEVUVSgMGuh7plEIhJJc59a65/s320/gillette-razor.jpg" height="271" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Real writing... as opposed to this journal writing improvisation...</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">is a<i> lot </i>like shaving a full beard with an old, dull razor.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The words that remain etched in timeless perfection, should you succeed, are like the clean, intransient lines of a well shaved face.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Growing the shaggy mane of verbiage is the easy part. In time, it simply collects there and cascades off the outline of your suitably expressive creation.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The <i>essential</i> aspect of the work lies in the hacking through dense jungles of wild, intriguing--but superfluous--growth, to steadily reveal more and more of the unchanging essence which was ever present below. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Wave after wave of successively closer depilatory assaults must be waged... from broad, haphazard scissoring, through successive rough cut drafts and haggardly, unsightly half-shaven-ness, replete with odd tufts, uncooperative stubble, and on down through finer and smoother lines, with ample supply of brazen lone hairs.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">If patient enough, though, you can come marvelously <i>close</i> to an actual "clean shave." (that illusory perfection you get with a moderately new blade, a bit of focus & some good lighting)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">However, no matter how well you do, irrespective of how long you spend battling... you <i>will </i>always find yourself out in public before noticing a number of <i>glaring</i> stray hairs in the mirror of a well lit bathroom. It can really seem as if they grew magically from places that you absolutely <i>triple checked</i> before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">A true pro won't have entire missed spots or even general raggedness... but there always does seem to appear those miraculously resilient single hairs... </span><span style="font-size: large;">shining, oh so obvious--</span><i style="font-size: x-large;">now</i><span style="font-size: large;">--against the silky smooth sheen of your otherwise perfect shave.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Out of nowhere! Never before seen testaments to the obviously less than perfect nature of your perception.</span></div>
DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-42890160303197178492012-08-27T10:44:00.000-07:002019-10-03T02:43:02.441-07:00Having Kids?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3eEXIbua63MCeo7MDYP9EE5NT0OTgu5Im-hpdN6bjcMJ6reWpF4eRUq2CqkOHAWfnrOwvIZia2dJ416Y2DWXUMMTGGeCNJH2yDJdpvw60MAqZBQ8qVNJAqV2_WhVszTtSPsHxIPVke6H/s1600/overpopulation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3eEXIbua63MCeo7MDYP9EE5NT0OTgu5Im-hpdN6bjcMJ6reWpF4eRUq2CqkOHAWfnrOwvIZia2dJ416Y2DWXUMMTGGeCNJH2yDJdpvw60MAqZBQ8qVNJAqV2_WhVszTtSPsHxIPVke6H/s400/overpopulation.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">
Well, here goes... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">This is certain to be a post that will rub some of you the wrong way. I apologize in advance, and can only say that this is an important topic. Whether or not people like to hear about it, or if it is considered politically correct to address it...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;"><b>Overpopulation</b> is the rather <i>large</i> elephant in the room when it comes to many of the most pressing issues we have on this planet.
By conservative estimates, the Earth will be home to 9 billion human beings as early as 20<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond";">45</span>.
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">It is basically undeniable that our current crises involving hunger, lack of clean drinking water, pollution, and messing with the delicate ecosystem that sustains us, ALL have their roots in the teeming and growing masses of people on our poor, strained mother planet. Feel free to debate this with me in the comments, but I think:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">It is clear that a finite amount of resources exist on this beautiful blue orb.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Competition over, and misuse of those resources are major problems for us already.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">This situation will only be exacerbated if we continue to reproduce at the current rates.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">We would all be better off if the planet went back down to a more manageable human population.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">We can argue over what the ideal carrying capacity of our environment actually is. (please do, actually) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">We can speculate about how our technology might swoop in to save us as we invent alternative energy sources and learn to make food from algae & fungus or whatever, and I'm all for such research. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Certainly, there </span><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Garamond; font-size: x-large;">are</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;"> certain wonder crops we could be utilizing which would address a number of our issues. Moringa, hemp, spirulina and chia spring to mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">However, the biggest and simplest solution... one which we </span><i style="font-family: Helvetica, Garamond; font-size: x-large;">already </i><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">have the ability to enact... is one that is surprisingly never really addressed in any substantive way by, well, <i>any</i> of the talking heads, pundits, opinion mongers, and leading thinkers of our time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;"><b>We need to stop having so many kids.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">This is something most people don't want to hear. Religious credos like "Go forth and multiply" have created deep and fundamental beliefs in the vast majority of people that it is their "normal" and proper duty to find a mate and squeeze out a few offspring. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">In fact, it seems to be the number one priority that lies behind <i>much</i> of human activity. Even people's vocations are generally thought of in the context of providing for their families. Many people would feel their lives were meaningless if they were unable to have and raise children.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">So much so, that people who don't have children are often pitied, and nearly all political rhetoric the world over is addressed to "families," and what is or is not good for them. Terms like "family values" are tossed about regularly without any thought as to the idea that people who choose not to reproduce can <i>also</i> have morals... and are actually perhaps even more altruistic than their weary, progeny raising brethren & sistren.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">What? </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">How could I even suggest such a thing?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Well...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Because it is true.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">The simple act of not having children <i>more</i> than offsets your entire carbon footprint... and is a more meaningful action vis a vis the environment and conservation than all the recycling and hybrid car driving any 100 people could do. You could drive a Hummer limousine alone everywhere you go, pour your oil down the drain, never turn off a single light in your un-insulated 3 story castle... and you would <i>still</i> be less polluting for the Earth than someone who has 2 children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">I want you to imagine for a moment all the garbage that you have ever thrown away in your lifetime. Every plastic bag full of crap that you dutifully dragged to the curb. Every scrap of <i>whatever</i> that you ever tossed into a trash bin. Every tire you ever had changed on your car or bicycle. Every broken surfboard, used tampon, clump of toilet paper, and old pair of sneakers that you ever discarded... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Mentally pile all that stuff up on your front lawn. Wait... you <i>can't</i>. That pile, unless you are in pre-school, would take more land than you are ever likely to own, and would tower like a mountain above you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Now realize that this mental heap only accounts for a small percentage of your actual impact on the Earth. Toss on all the coal that was ever burnt to make electricity for your laptop and juicer. Throw on all the lumber and steel that has gone into making your life what it is. Add in all the drilling for oil, refining it, shipping it around the world, manufacturing it into plastics that don't biodegrade... your share of every oil spill etc. etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Now imagine all the food and liquid you ha<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond";">ve <i>ever</i> </span>consumed sitting on the side of this tower.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">You may think that the sandwich you ate for lunch might be kind of small... but try to imagine all the resources that actually went into making all the ingredients in your sandwich, transporting them, and delivering them to whoever prepared your light lunch. Think of the fertilizers, hormones, and pesticides that you never saw, but you certainly caused to be used.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Try your best to think of your <i>actual</i> impact on the planet simply by living a modest life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Now realize that you <i>can't</i>. You can not actually conceive of all that went into your lonely little sandwich, let alone your entire life, thus far. I guarantee you that 99% of you are <i>seriously</i> underestimating, no matter how ridiculously large you are imagining this to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">OK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">So we are a voracious species that has done a serious number on the planet in a very short amount of time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">I want you now to recognize that the population has actually already <i>doubled</i> in many of our lifetimes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">So now let's get back to our imaginary pile of refuse. You can berate me in the comments with the reality that much of our trash is recycled and our actual footprint is not commensurate with this abstract image of stuff. Just remember that the <i>continent</i> worth of plastic and other junk that is currently compressed into the sweet spots of all of our world's oceans is <i>not</i> make believe. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">So. Let us think about procreation on top of this for a moment. How does having kids affect your footprint?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Take your pile and multiply it to account for your entire lifespan. Now double that. This is the amount of impact you have on the world simply by deciding to have less than the average number of children. Meanwhile, some of you are out there having a dozen or more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Not frightened yet? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Well, imagine that both of your kids also have 2 kids each... and that all of your 4 cute grandkids also have an average of 2 children. Within only 10 generations, you have made 1,024 piles of garbage from a decision that probably happened unconsciously, or after already <i>accidentally</i> getting the ball rolling at any rate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Of course it doesn't stop here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">In fact, it <b>never</b> stops.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">If humans actually survive 100 generations more (unlikely as long as they keep having so many kids unless we can colonize other solar systems)... this is <b>two to the 100th power</b> piles of shit. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">For those who are not Rain Man:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Two to the 100th power is... wait for it... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">In the US number naming system, that is one nonillion, 267 octillion, 650 septillion, 600 sextillion, 228 quintillion, 229 quadrillion, 401 trillion, 496 billion, 703 million, 205 thousand, and 376.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Let me put that in perspective for you. If you stacked that many sheets of paper, the pile would be 13.4 billion light-years tall. Yes. It would stretch farther than the most distant galaxies we have yet to observe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Of course, this is only with 2 kids per couple. And, naturally, such a birthrate applied worldwide would <i>plateau </i>population growth. Since we have never seen <i>that</i> fantasy situation in recorded human history... let's recognize that people are having more than 2 children a couple... even after infant mortality, war, pestilence, and plagues take their cut off the top.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond"; font-size: large;">Naturally this is somewhat hyperbolic, as we will probably have endured a number of near extinction level events during that time frame... and most of those bodies would be dead and piled onto the imaginary trash heaps themselves with their atoms recycled into other forms a number of times... rather than running around filling up the known universe.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL5ghhJ175CNYtNu0_iQ7E-2Rd-S8vueS85-mQuwzd0rAE9hpEdlKAyr8kG2GYbvnp2xfY-lNxI7m04ZY2R6jTHLubY6wqFdJcfuJjX6DJFi9DKXPHlthY1Kj41eqQDLGEw92hl8-J0IS/s1600/hubble-galaxy-clusters+warped+by+gravitational+lensing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXL5ghhJ175CNYtNu0_iQ7E-2Rd-S8vueS85-mQuwzd0rAE9hpEdlKAyr8kG2GYbvnp2xfY-lNxI7m04ZY2R6jTHLubY6wqFdJcfuJjX6DJFi9DKXPHlthY1Kj41eqQDLGEw92hl8-J0IS/s400/hubble-galaxy-clusters+warped+by+gravitational+lensing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Look, I don't say all this just to bum you out. </div>
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I'm not here to point the finger at all you people out there who have kids, or are intent on manufacturing some in the future.</div>
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These are just facts. </div>
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And, these facts are likely to cause the extinction of the human race at some point (not to mention the ongoing extinction of other species) <b>unless</b> we address this seriously. Obviously, this will also include the demise of <i>your</i> very own offspring, unfortunately... how many ever generations removed that might be.</div>
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So...</div>
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What do we <b>do</b> about this?</div>
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Well, we can't really start talking about population control or reduction, can we? That stuff smacks of Nazi holocausts, ethnic cleansing, eugenics, and other foul topics. </div>
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Fortunately, I am not a sociopath, and I have no interest in promoting forced sterilizations, 1 child policies, or permits to have children. (though one <i>does</i> wonder why we need a license to drive, but not to be totally responsible for another human being... irrespective of our readiness or ability in that regard.)</div>
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And, I want to state, in no uncertain terms, that genocide is no answer to the problem. Even for those of you born without a human set of emotions, all of these types of solutions are actually as likely to lead to human extinction as overpopulation itself. </div>
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As misanthropic as all this sounds, it actually comes from a place of deep concern for the future of humanity. And yet, even speaking of anything that slightly leans in this direction is more taboo even than my--already notoriously unpopular--suggesting that your kids are going to destroy the world.</div>
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So what the hell <i>am</i> I saying then?</div>
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What I am proposing here, is that <b>we need to change the way we all look at having kids</b>. </div>
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We need to look <i>up</i> to people who choose not to have them. We need to recognize that they are <i>not</i> being selfish (as the current perception goes) as much as they are being self<i>less</i>. By choosing not to enjoy the wonders of raising kids, they are helping to offset <i>your</i> baby footprint.</div>
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We can encourage people to adopt. We can condemn people who still preach against birth control as being dangerously inhumane. And while I doubt any of my really religious friends are still reading this screed... I will apologize once again if I am offending you.</div>
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But, I am assuming that if you read my blog, you are at least moderately intelligent, and might have some interest in philanthropy. (love of humanity)</div>
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So I will reiterate. </div>
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We can not assume that war and disease will keep our population down. Furthermore, those things suck, and we should be doing our best to eliminate them. I myself spend a good amount of my time working to <a href="http://watercharity.org/">end the world water crisis</a>. And, this kills more people worldwide than all forms of violence <i>combined</i>... including war.<br />
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No. Short of some horrific eventuality, we will continue to overpopulate this Earth, clear cut its forests, over fish its oceans, and generally behave like bacteria in a <span style="font-family: "helvetica" , "garamond";">P</span>etri dish.</div>
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So,<b> we need to stop having kids</b>. Maybe take <i>an entire decade off</i>. We can consciously reduce our population back to a sane level, and then hold it there intelligently by agreeing, as a species, that it is in our best interest.</div>
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While <i>you</i> reading this, are probably in an industrialized nation, a few of which are actually population growth negative already... and some of you might live in vast countries that could perhaps use <i>some</i> population growth... the overwhelming majority of you live in places that are already <i>too full</i> of huddled masses yearning to breathe free.</div>
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I will end this by saying that you are not exactly an environmental terrorist or some kind of human plague of locusts if you have a few kids. Not exactly, anyway.<br />
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However, if you live in a place where the local ecosystem is unable to support the <i>current</i> population (meaning that if shipments of stuff from elsewhere stopped coming in, people would start dying)... then you <i>might</i> seriously want to consider if having more than one or two kids is actually appropriate. </div>
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And, all of us need to <i>profoundly</i> re-engineer our beliefs and opinions about having kids in general. </div>
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I hope some of you out there will be extra bold and decide <b>not</b> to have children<i> at all</i>. This is what I have done. And, while it is not something that will need to be carried on indefinitely, I think that it <i>is</i> something that some of us should <i>proudly</i> do... at least until the population goes back down somewhat and levels off.</div>
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Think about it as an <i>effective</i> form of abstinence. Have sex all you like, just abstain from having kids.</div>
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This stuff applies even more for places like India & China. If your country has ever suffered famine or extended droughts, you should probably be working on ways to get that population down. Ignore the Pope (or your local equivalent), and avail yourself of some method of <i>not</i> reproducing. Seriously.<br />
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The fact that we can get busy and not have a litter every time is one of the things that separates us from animals.<br />
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Right then, comment away.</div>
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Tell me what a jerk I am, and how horribly wrong-headed this is. I invite the debate. <br />
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Tell me how many people you think should actually live on this planet. I think my ideal number will be lower than many of yours, but then, I like the idea of a smaller number of us living <i>extremely</i> well better than that of a huge number of us subsisting on algae crackers and fungus paste.</div>
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:-) (Let's <i>not</i> talk about Soylent Green shall we?)</div>
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DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191879015360249620.post-2904831330233919942012-08-12T16:07:00.000-07:002018-12-09T22:03:34.335-08:00Broken Hearts Are Made Of Stone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkdLU4wwFBpH3SvDQ5wTR1vtNq3WAqbnSJsAStyL-vcFs4J0ky94v7uH3MEH-joB-ne5BfY0lV13NLzRwR5rLEUg9c_uyxUsmhP8kpPXBzU4QPbnI0dytnqoLLN5_3zh5dUMn6z-v2jtD/s1600/broken_heart-1503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkkdLU4wwFBpH3SvDQ5wTR1vtNq3WAqbnSJsAStyL-vcFs4J0ky94v7uH3MEH-joB-ne5BfY0lV13NLzRwR5rLEUg9c_uyxUsmhP8kpPXBzU4QPbnI0dytnqoLLN5_3zh5dUMn6z-v2jtD/s400/broken_heart-1503.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy";">They say broken hearts are made of stone, and there may be something to this old adage. I want to delve into this a bit, but I also want to engage with whoever might want to discuss heartbreak and how we grow numb to it over time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">In fact, this is going to be a unique blog post for me because I actually have a couple questions that I would be happy to have someone out there respond to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;"><b>1) </b></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How many people out there believe that it is possible to truly trust another human being implicitly? If so, for what length of time?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: large;">If you believe that it is possible, have you experienced a relationship where your trust was actually warranted?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: large;">If you don't really believe it is possible, but keep putting yourself out there in vain hope that it might manifest... why?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;"><b>2) </b> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How many times do you think you have to have your heart broken before you either <b>A)</b> become immune to heartbreak, or <b>B)</b> give up on people?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: large;">I realize that this post probably sounds <i>über</i> melancholic. Maudlin even. But trust me, that is not where this is coming from. 😎</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">My experience is that each failed relationship gets easier than the last. And if the pattern holds up, it seems that at some point it may actually be possible to have one without expectation and be able to move on from it amicably and happily without feeling betrayed or even disappointed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Does anyone else feel this way? Is this simply a case of broken hearts being made of stone? It doesn't seem that way to me. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">If anything, it seems that the heart becomes <b>more</b> sensitive and aware while simultaneously becoming wiser. It is as if the idealistic fantasies of youth fall away and you can actually see other people for what they are... beautiful, confused animals that tend to make promises that they can never actually keep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Both to themselves and to others.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">At some point we can actually learn to stop projecting our desires and fantasies onto what is actually a much more nuanced and complex jungle of human interaction... I can already mostly recognize when I am doing it, and stop myself. Perhaps at some point I simply won't do it anymore at all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">What about the ideal of love? What about romance? This all sounds kind of cerebral. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Idealism and romantic yearnings might be inspirational, but the question is... are these things folly? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Is it worth it to play a game you know full well will probably end badly... with tons of verifiable statistics to back you up? I mean most <b>marriages</b> end in divorce. What does that say about relationships? Most people probably dated a good number of people before they even tried to get married. After all, one only gets married to people they have <i>successfully</i> been dating for X amount of time. The failure rate for boyfriend/girlfriend situations is probably astronomical.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Passion actually <b>means</b> suffering... look it up if you don't believe me. Here, I will do it for you. All you have to do is click <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/passion">THIS</a> link.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Anyway, I don't really feel like waxing philosophic with a barrage of further verbiage right now. What I would like is for some of you to tell me what YOU think. I have set up the comments so you can post anonymously. You don't have to sign up or give an email... nothing. Just go down below this post and comment. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Feel free to tear into my seemingly nihilistic diatribe. Argue with me. </span><span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">Go ahead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">You know you want to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">If this is all a bit too touchy-feely for you, let me know that. I will surely go back to more cosmic and uplifting subject matter the next time I decide to throw something up here. If you have been reading this blog, you will know that I tend towards more abstract and big-picture kinds of stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "monotype corsiva" , "calligraphy"; font-size: x-large;">So. Comment away. Let me have it.</span>DJ Omniverse (aka Jah۞Sun)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13949761588084777605noreply@blogger.com7