Friday, August 27, 2010
The REAL Jack Black
Hollywood / America Inc™ (aka: the Corporatocracy) doesn't want you to know who Jack Black was so they invented Jack Black™, a ham-handed, meat-head attempt to distract us from the matter at hand with tropist totalitarian tripe. Just Bread and Circuses bitches, Bread and Circuses.
This guy however, is the real deal. His 1926 autobiography "You Can't Win" set the stage for writers like Willim S. Burroughs and in many ways for the social rebellion of the 1960s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can't_Win_(book)
Driving is Why You're Fat
Interesting how this map also seems to roughly correspond to the red / blue political environment. Apparently, folks in 'red-states' don't get any exercise cause they're too busy chugging down big-gulps in their gas-guzzling SUVs. Surprise :|
Thursday, August 26, 2010
“The Abolition of Work” by Bob Black
Bob Black’s indictment of work (meaning all unfree labor) is a good example of a liberatory essay, because not only does it advocate for real freedom, it also condemns the industrial systems of power which are forcing us to work, and to consume, to kill and invade, to oppress, to pollute, and to hate ourselves for being accomplices in our own slavery.
But Marx already did that with “Alienated Labour” in 1847. What makes Black’s essay 10 times better is that it isn’t a labor to read! Recognizing that social change is playful or it’s doomed to reproduce the slavery it claimed to oppose, Emma Goldman is quoted as saying “It’s not my revolution if I can’t dance to it.” Likewise, add to that “It’s not my ideology if I can’t laugh at it.”
————————————————————————————————-
http://www.inspiracy.com/black/abolition/abolitionofwork.html
No one should ever work.
Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost any evil you’d care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working.
That doesn’t mean we have to stop doing things. It does mean creating a new way of life based on play; in other words, a ludic revolution. By “play” I mean also festivity, creativity, conviviality, commensality, and maybe even art. There is more to play than child’s play, as worthy as that is. I call for a collective adventure in generalized joy and freely interdependent exuberance. Play isn’t passive. Doubtless we all need a lot more time for sheer sloth and slack than we ever enjoy now, regardless of income or occupation, but once recovered from employment-induced exhaustion nearly all of us want to act.
The ludic life is totally incompatible with existing reality. So much the worse for “reality,” the gravity hole that sucks the vitality from the little in life that still distinguishes it from mere survival. Curiously — or maybe not — all the old ideologies are conservative because they believe in work. Some of them, like Marxism and most brands of anarchism, believe in work all the more fiercely because they believe in so little else.
Liberals say we should end employment discrimination. I say we should end employment. Conservatives support right-to-work laws. Following Karl Marx’s wayward son-in-law Paul Lafargue I support the right to be lazy. Leftists favor full employment. Like the surrealists — except that I’m not kidding — I favor full unemployment. Trotskyists agitate for permanent revolution. I agitate for permanent revelry. But if all the ideologues (as they do) advocate work — and not only because they plan to make other people do theirs — they are strangely reluctant to say so. They will carry on endlessly about wages, hours, working conditions, exploitation, productivity, profitability. They’ll gladly talk about anything but work itself. These experts who offer to do our thinking for us rarely share their conclusions about work, for all its saliency in the lives of all of us. Among themselves they quibble over the details. Unions and management agree that we ought to sell the time of our lives in exchange for survival, although they haggle over the price. Marxists think we should be bossed by bureaucrats. Libertarians think we should be bossed by businessmen. Feminists don’t care which form bossing takes so long as the bosses are women. Clearly these ideology-mongers have serious differences over how to divvy up the spoils of power. Just as clearly, none of them have any objection to power as such and all of them want to keep us working.
You may be wondering if I’m joking or serious. I’m joking and serious. Read the rest of this entry »
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Pink0™'s First Retraction (World Freedom Atlas)
Awwwww SHIT! It's Pink0™'s First Retraction (World Freedom Atlas).
World Freedom Atlas looked bad ass ... At first. However, upon further inspection, it has come to my attention that this thing is fucking PIGSHIT.
Example: By selecting the 'Political Rights' checkbox, the map informs us that the most political freedom can be found in (in no particular order) US, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, et al. .
You get the idea... Capitalist™ Countries. :p
Created by the very talented Zach Johnson as a geographic visualization tool for exploring socio-economic and political data, the World Freedom Atlas is more than just an animated map (it's really a full-fledged visualization demo app). Zach was motivated to include numerous powerful yet underused data probing, graphing, and mapping tools. For example, the ability to create highly interactive difference maps (e.g., the difference between 2000 and 2005 data) that allows the user to brush these difference maps through time is very useful, as is the ability to create linked bivariate, multi-temporal choropleth maps. Freedom Atlas is also noteworthy for its ability to handle both quantitative and qualitative datasets with equal aplomb: qualitative data are often the really interesting datasets, but few mapping systems can handle these data.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Osho on Nietzsche
"The problem is, if god is dead, then you lose the most important word in your language and you will need a substitute. God was one end, one extreme, and when one extreme disappears from your mental vision the necessary and inevitable is that you will fall to the other extreme, and that is what has happened... Instead of god, fuck has become the most important word in our language."
—Osho, Strange Consequences
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osho_(Bhagwan_Shree_Rajneesh)
It Is Still Possible
From: Huffington Post
Congressional deadlock, created by lock-step partisanship and an unprecedentedly rigid opposition party, has been extensively analyzed, with no apparent resolution. In the midst of wide-spread citizen economic misery, many Americans have simply concluded that this is the way things are...and apparently always will be. In Kurt Vonnegut's memorable phrase: "So it goes."
Esquire magazine convened a commission of two Republicans, Jack Danforth (Missouri) and Bob Packwood (Oregon), and two Democrats, Bill Bradley (New Jersey) and this writer. We were challenged to balance the federal budget by 2020. Our moderator was Lawrence O'Donnell, former Senate staff director and now of Morning Joe. The results of this experiment will be available in the December issue of Esquire, out by mid-November. I urge you to read the results.
We achieved a balanced budget within a decade, but we also creatively addressed stabilization of Social Security, controlled health care costs, dealt with long-delayed military reform, and addressed energy conservation and climate challenges. Cynics will say: "That's easy if you don't have to seek re-election." But why should statesmanship be considered cynically? We were able to achieve our goals because each of us put the interests of our nation ahead of ideology and party. That is the way government used to work. I know from personal experience. And there is nothing, save rabid ideologues and selfish interest groups, to prevent it from working that way now.
It is now commonplace, including on this site, to attack "the government", as if it were some distant entity none of us is responsible for. But a majority of Americans elect their president and their members of Congress. If they don't achieve what we demand of them, perhaps we ought to get our mirrors out and ask ourselves whether we all might share some blame.
To comment, please visit: http://www.mattersofprinciple.com/?p=529
Enron Movie Worth Seeing Again in Light of Latest Meltdown
If you haven't seen the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room", you're missing out on a great piece of journalism and an enlightened treatise on what is being called the largest business scandal in US history. Not only is this movie about how Enron schemed and defrauded investors and employees alike, but it shows how other Wall Street and banking institutions ride the gravy train.
Helping Enron commit the fraud were all of the following: Merril Lynch (three traders convicted of fraud), Chase and JP Morgan. Also, the accounting firm Arthur Andersen -- convicted of obstruction of justice in 2001 but whose conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2005. Still, the once proud firm went from 28,000 employees to a mere handful, lost it's entire client base and never recovered from its involvement with Enron as the chief auditing firm.
If the friends of George W. Bush (such as Ken Lay, who was convicted, but who died a few months before going to prison) didn't have so much political and economic pull, could this debacle have been stopped?
The same question is still being asked with regard to the mortgage firms that allowed bad home loans to go through without checking on borrowers income or (in some cases), going as far as to lie on applications. The motivation of course, (then and now) was the enormous sums of money that these companies made from the transactions.
When will we ever learn in this country?
BTW: As far as Pink0™ is concerned, these fucks (Cheney, et al.) set up Enron for the sole purpose of defrauding people. Didn't the insipid logo and it's obvious psychoanalytic origin give it away for anyone?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Voice to Skull - How the PIGS use new technology to gaslight people
Originally posted on: "Gang Stalking World - United we stand. Divided they fall"
http://gangstalking.wordpress.com/category/gaslighting/
Voice To Skull otherwise known as V2K.
Now let me state this before I go further. I am not an expert on this topic. I have never been a target of this practice. My knowledge is limited, but I do get questions in regards to this from time to time, so I am going to try to tackle this in a small way.
This is not advise, a professional opinion, or legal feedback in anyway shape or form.
I also want to say to true targets of this practice, I think you are very brave discussing this stuff. It can not be easy, and I hope that technology can be found to counter what is happening.
Some targets legitimate targets complain about hearing voices. If you are from outside the community and someone tells you that they are hearing voices you assume that they are crazy right?
Well the more you know the better able you are to make informed choices and opinions.
Now after watching this video, do you think that everyone hearing voices is crazy?
What about after watching this clip from Real Genius? It’s a 1980′s movie staring Val Kilmeer, where they get someone to hear voices via a tooth implant.
They put the person to sleep, do a bit of drilling in his tooth, and he wakes up thinking that he is hearing the voice of God. This was a cheap 80′s trick. Actual technology has come a long way.
The clip will not be posted here, but if you really look for it you can find it. Or just rent the movie.
You can even watch the movie control factor. Where they also use technology to get people to hear voices. In an apartment not too far from where the target lives.
“The American people have been kept in the dark about the true scientific progress in this country. Technologies of mass-control exist that the public would never dream off. I know because, I helped developed them. They call it psychotronic warfare, a research program dealing with mind-control. They can control everything what a person does, voices, that is how they get ya. This is not the elected government, this is the national security empire, the dark vaders of the 21st century.”
–Control Factor
Credit Source:
This short video clip was taken from the movie “Control Factor" (2003) by Universal Studios
More Mind-Control Sources:
Mind Control The Ultimate Terror:
www.educate-yourself.org/mc/
Psychotronics:
www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/cienc ia_psychotronicweapons.htm
Mind Control with Silent Sounds & Super Computers:
www.educate-yourself.org/cn/mindcontrolw ithsilentsounds24jun05.shtml
Digital TV – Mind Control by sound of silence:
www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica /esp_sociopol_mindcon40.htm
Now Control Factor is just a movie, but the concept of the technology is very real.
This silent sound technology was patented years ago. Microwave hearing, which would allow a microwave to send voices directly inside the human head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect
"The microwave auditory effect, also known as the microwave hearing effect or the Frey effect, consists of audible clicks induced by pulsed/modulated microwave frequencies. The clicks are generated directly inside the human head without the need of any receiving electronic device. The effect was first reported by persons working in the vicinity of radar transponders during World War II. These induced sounds are not audible to other people nearby. The microwave auditory effect was later discovered to be inducible with shorter-wavelength portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. During the Cold War era, the American neuroscientist Allan H. Frey studied this phenomenon and was the first to publish (Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 17, pages 689-692, 1962) information on the nature of the microwave auditory effect; this effect is therefore also known as the Frey effect.
Dr. Don R. Justesen published “Microwaves and Behavior” in The American Psychologist (Volume 30, March 1975, Number 3).
Research by NASA in the 1970s showed that this effect occurs as a result of thermal expansion of parts of the human ear around the cochlea, even at low power density. Later, signal modulation was found to produce sounds or words that appeared to originate intracranially. It was studied for its possible use in communications. Similar research conducted in the USSR studied its use in non-lethal weaponry.
The existence of non-lethal weaponry that exploits the microwave auditory effect appears to have been classified “Secret NOFORN” in the USA from (at the latest) 1998, until the declassification on 6 December 2006 of “Bioeffects of Selected Non-Lethal Weaponry” in response to a FOIA request.
The technology gained further public attention when a company announced in early 2008 that they were close to fielding a device called MEDUSA (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) based on the principle."
So if a target starts to hear voices how do they know if they are crazy or being experimented on with one of the above technologies or even something more advanced?
This is a hard question to answer. The targeting that we experience I fully believe is capable of driving a perfectly sane person, mentally unstable. However I do believe that some targets are being played with, using some of the above technologies.
If I was a target in this situation, I would use a very scientific method to investigate.
Location.
Are you hearing the voices at all times, or just in specific locations?
Does it happen under water? Is the effect increased or decreased in anyway?
Have you tried to record the voices? Remember we can not hear dog whistles, but they do work. Many sounds are outside of human hearing, but other technology might be able to pick it up.
I am not sure if a microwave would block the sounds out, but if I was a target in this situation, and thought microwave hearing was being used, I would try to see if the noise could be eliminated by testing out a microwave. Eg. Unplugged a microwave, if you place your head/skull inside for a few seconds, do the voices stop? I know this sounds extreme, but honestly it’s something that I would check, takes about 30 seconds and this may or may not be something that could be attempted.
I mentioned recently that they are working on technology to give the world an invisible cloak, should be ready in the next three years or less. Yes an honest to goodness invisibility cloak. Think Harry Potter.
The materials they are using, are designed to bounce off microwave rays and this might help targets in the future if microwaves are being used. However the materials are expensive, but for targets with money to burn, then this could be something to look into.
Underground bunkers, deprivation chambers? I don’t know if any of these would work. Climbing a high mountain? Just to test out different locations, to see if it is something high tech vs low tech, vs something that is with you 24/7.
Again the above may or may not prove or disprove anything but it’s something that I would look into if in the same situation.
Why I believe some targets who say this is happening to them? Well in part because of the above examples posted, but the targets that I do believe, they were really specific.
Ruth Goodman, said it was men that she had dated, who worked in the intelligence industry. She said it happened to her after she was drugged and put under anesthesia. She thinks some form of micro surgery was done. She says they tried to keep her off the internet and prevent her from writing. She died shortly after, so I can’t confirm this one way or another, but her example fits what others have said.
A man I think his name was Tracy said that he could hear people like they were fighting over a microphone, and he knew at least one. To me based on what he said, it sounded like they were close by where they could see him, and the stuff they said, sounded like hicks who really wanted to mess with someone.
Gloria Naylor from what I recall said that her voices prevented her from writing. Now in her case I don’t know if they were with her all the time, or just when near the computer.
I like what Naylor did in the sense that she tried the traditional method, was given medication, it did not work, so she looked around for other answers.
I think this is logical, but as a target, I know that I would do a lot of research, experimentation and troubleshooting first.
So I spent a large part of the last few days brainstorming trying to figure out what things targets have done, and what they could do.
Remember these people who are doing this to you are not God, they would like to be, but they are not.
"They are trying to develop a beam of light, it would be projected onto your forehead, go a couple of milimeters into your frontal cortex, and then receptors would get the reflection of that light, and you would not know."
They even have laser microphones.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_microphone
"The main type of laser microphone is a surveillance device that uses a laser beam to detect sound vibrations in a distant object. The object is typically inside a room where a conversation is taking place, and can be anything that can vibrate (for example, a picture on a wall) in response to the pressure waves created by noises present in the room. The object preferably has a smooth surface. The laser beam is directed into the room through a window, reflects off the object and returns to a receiver that converts the beam to an audio signal. The beam may also be bounced off the window itself. The minute differences in the distance traveled by the light as it reflects from the vibrating object are detected interferometrically. The interferometer converts the variations to intensity variations, and electronics are used to convert these variations to signals that can be converted back to sound."
The world is changing at a rapid pace. If a target today goes to the doctor to complain of hearing voices, they are still automatically in most cases diagnosed as mentally unstable, but the reality is, if a psychiatrist or other health care professional is not upto date on the latest technology, or even aware of secret technologies, they run the risk of making a faulty dignosis, where someone might actually be telling the truth. The science fiction of yesterday, is science fact today.
More Info:
Ruth Goodman: http://www.raven1.net/goodman.htm
Gloria Naylor: http://www.assatashakur.org/forum/share-comrades/38768-1996-gloria-naylor.html
Proven Harassment Technologies: http://www.raven1.net
Rabbits / Bunnies / Bunny Rabbits / Hares - General Ideas / Common Symbolism
Rabbit Symbolism
• Life, healing, clear-sightedness
• Gentleness
• Luck
• Trust
• Love
• Friendship
• Fear / evasion
• The Moon
• Intuition
"The rabbit represents humility, because he is quiet and soft and not self-asserting."
~Black Elk
Chinese Zodiac
Chinese tradition says that people born under the sign of the Rabbit possess intelligence, wisdom, and understanding. After turbulent Tiger years, Rabbit years are times of diplomacy and gentle persuasion. Emphasis is placed on human rights and helping the underprivileged. Activities dealing with healing and medicine will flourish. An excellent judge of character, they are difficult to deceive.
Personality
Occupying the 4th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Rabbit symbolizes such character traits as creativity, compassion, and sensitivity. Rabbits are friendly, outgoing and prefer the company of others. They also prefer to avoid conflict. In confrontational situations, Rabbits approach calmly and with consideration for the other party. Rabbits believe strongly in friends and family and lacking such bonds can lead to emotional issues.
Their serene nature keeps Rabbits from becoming visibly upset. Because they’re serene animals, Rabbits are easily taken advantage of. Their sensitive nature makes them shy away from aggressive or competitive situations. They’re overall conservative and not interested in taking risks.
Classy, sophisticated, expressive, well-mannered and stylish, those born under the Sign of the Rabbit enjoy leaning about cultural issues and learning about people from other countries. Rabbits are most comfortable being home, and their homes are always neat and organized. Home is also where Rabbits prefer to entertain. Rabbits are conservative in their decorating tastes.
Rabbits should work at building more self-confidence and self-worth so they can feel more secure. The desire for remaining in safe, comfortable environments keeps Rabbits from taking risks which sometimes causes them to miss out on good opportunities.
Health
Even though Rabbits don’t usually get visibly upset or stressed, they do tend to keep these feelings inside. When they don’t express these feelings, such feeling can cause Rabbits to become ill. Rabbits could benefit from more everyday activity which would reduce their stress levels and better their health.
Relationships
Rabbits are very sexual, but tend to give more of themselves than they should. This can lead to unrealistic expectations and unhealthy situations. Rabbits need partners who won’t take advantage of their giving nature. Such pairings will be strong.
Career
Rabbits are articulate and good communicators which is why friends and acquaintances seek out their advice. It’s also why Rabbits make excellent diplomats and politicians. Other good careers for Rabbits include: writer, publisher, actor, fashion designer, therapist, doctor, administrator, public relations, and teacher.
Rabbits and the 5 Chinese Elements
Metal Rabbits – Years 1951 and 2011
Metal gives Rabbits more strength, resilience and determination. Metal Rabbits are more intense in their actions, whether they’re work-related or romantic.
Water Rabbits – Years 1903 and 1963
Like the currents, Water Rabbits prefer to go with the flow, avoiding conflict at all costs, even in situations that are bothersome. It’s easy to take advantage of Water Rabbits. They’re very supportive of others.
Wood Rabbits – Years 1915 and 1975
Wood Rabbits occupy their time doing for others; always feeling the need to make others content. This generosity is easy for others to take advantage of and sometimes Water Rabbits don’t even realize is happening.
Fire Rabbits – Years 1927 and 1987
Fire adds spark to the Rabbit’s personality and all that Fire Rabbits do. Fire compels Rabbits to seek new adventures. Prone to tantrums, Fire Rabbits prefer to avoid conflict.
Earth Rabbits – Years 1939 and 1999
Earth Rabbits are grounded in reality. Their advice can be harsh, but honest. Home life is important to Earth Rabbits as are money and material goods.
Compatibility
The Rabbit is most compatible with the Pig and Dog and incompatible with the Rooster and Rat.
Paganism and Pre-Christian Mythology
Far older than Christianity, the symbolism of the hare is thus a celebration of life's continuation with rebirth, as in each spring, and the rabbit expresses hope that life will be renewed, and better than before.
The nocturnal rabbit, signifying the moon who dies every morning and is resurrected every evening, also represents the rebirth of nature in spring. Both the moon and the rabbit were believed to die in order to be reborn. Therefore the hare is a symbol of immortality. In Egypt, Osiris, god of the dead, was sacrificed to the Nile each year in the form of a hare to guarantee the annual flooding Egyptian agriculture depended upon. Although the hare is not directly considered a symbol for Christ, an analogy can be made to Christ who was sacrificed in the form of a man for the feeding of God's people.Buddhism
Fertility, Love and Venus
The rabbit's alertness and speed made it a Christian symbol of vigilance and the need to flee from sin and temptation. Like the lion, the hare was believed to be so vigilant that it slept with its eyes open. Its flesh was contaminated with wakefulness and could cause insomnia in the person eating it. Its speed was a reminder of the swift passage of life.
Rabbits as a Symbol of Christ
The rabbit's burrow is a symbol of Christ's tomb, while the rabbit's trembling makes it a symbol of cowardice and timidity. However, Judeo-Christian writings recommend a holy trembling before the Lord. [1 Chr 16:30; Ps 96:9, 99:1, 114:7; Is 19:1, 66:2; Jer 5:22, 33:9] Philippians warns the aspiring Christian to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" [Philippians: 2:12].
In Medieval times, cowardice was personified with drawings of an armed man running from a hare. This was of course, revisited in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (released in: 1975 - The Year of the Rabbit). On the other hand, in Africa and the Americas, the hare was believed to be a trickster using its superior intellect as its defense. Some tribes considered him a hero and even the earth's creator. Aztecs believed that 400 rabbits guarded their fields.
If we consider the phases of the moon in its waxing (masculine) and waning (feminine), and accept the notion that the moon at full intensity is the "Destroyer of Darkness" or, as Hillard says, "a sign of new life and the messenger of immortality", we can appreciate the honored position to which the rabbit has ascended. A number of explanations account for this hare/moon symbiosis. One is that the hare is nocturnal and feeds by night; another is that the hare's gestation period is one month long (28 days, or 1/3 of 9 months). Also, it was believed that—like the moon—a rabbit could actually change it's own sex.
Famous 'Rabbits'
• Michelangelo (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564)
• Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821)
• Marie Curie (7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934)
• Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955)
• Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892)
White Rabbit
White Rabbit may refer to:
- Several breeds of domestic rabbit which are partially or completely white.
- The codename of F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, one of the main undercover British agents in Occupied France during World War II
- The white rabbit personification of the Playboy conglomerate
- White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a Chinese confection
- White Rabbits (sculptors), the name given to a group of women sculptors who worked with Lorado Taft at the World Columbian Exposition
- A synchronized set of strobing lights on the approach end of an airport runway Approach Lighting System
"Rabbit rabbit, White rabbit" a common superstitious phrase said on the first of the month
In Literature
- The White Rabbit, a character in Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- The White Rabbit (book), by Bruce Marshall, about F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas
- "White Rabbits", a short story by Leonora Carrington written in 1941-1942
In Entertainment
- "White Rabbit" (song), by the American psychedelic rock group Jefferson Airplane
- "White Rabbit", a 1988 song by Morton Sherman Bellucci
- "The White Rabbit", a 1964 song by New Zealand guitarist Peter Posa
- White Rabbits (band), an indie rock band from New York City
- White Rabbit (comics), a Spider-Man villain
- "White Rabbit", one of the List of Law & Order episodes (season 5)
- "White Rabbit" (Lost), the title of an episode of the television show Lost
The White Rabbit (TV series), from 1967, based on the life of F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas
Other Uses
- White Rabbit No. 6, a codename for a design of tank that dug itself into the ground.
Alice in Wonderland
The White Rabbit is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Alice encounters him again when he mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann and she becomes trapped in his house after growing too large. The Rabbit shows up again in the last few chapters, as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts.
Personality
In his article "Alice on the Stage," Carroll wrote "And the White Rabbit, what of him? Was he framed on the "Alice" lines, or meant as a contrast? As a contrast, distinctly. For her 'youth,' 'audacity,' 'vigour,' and 'swift directness of purpose,' read 'elderly,' 'timid,' 'feeble,' and 'nervously shilly-shallying,' and you will get something of what I meant him to be. I think the White Rabbit should wear spectacles. I'm sure his voice should quaver, and his knees quiver, and his whole air suggest a total inability to say 'Boo' to a goose!"
Overall, the White Rabbit seems to shift back and forth between pompous behavior toward his underlings, such as his servants, and groveling, obsequious behavior toward his superiors, such as the Duchess and King and Queen of Hearts, in direct contrast to Alice, who is reasonably polite to everyone she meets.
In the Disney version of the book, the Rabbit seems to have the most logic out of all the Wonderland characters. Thus, he is often the straight man for their zany antics; when he asks the Dodo for help on getting the "monster" (Alice) out of his house, Dodo's ultimate solution is to burn the house down, to which the White Rabbit is greatly opposed. At the Mad Tea Party, the Mad Hatter and the March Hare try to "fix" his watch, proclaiming it "exactly two days slow". Through various food they put in the watch (butter, tea, jam, and lemon), the two cause it to go mad, and the Hare smashes it with his mallet. The Rabbit was perhaps most famous for the little ditty he sang at the beginning - "I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date! I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!" The Rabbit was voiced by Bill Thompson.
Some believe the rabbit was late for the announcement of the Queen to the royal garden. The panic the Rabbit showed was his fear of losing his head. Upon her arrival (where Alice has been helping to paint the roses red) the cards finish their song and the rabbit blows his trumpet (which he had been carrying for most of his lines) royally introducing the King and Queen.
The Disney Rabbit made a few appearances on the Disney Channel original show, House of Mouse. His most noticeable appearance was when he confessed to Clarabelle Cow that "I'm not really late, and I don't really have a date. I'm a fraud!" He was voiced by Corey Burton, who would voice the Rabbit in all future speaking roles.
The White Rabbit also appears at the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as a meetable character.
The White Rabbit, who is in this adaption given the name Nivens McTwisp, works for the Red Queen, but is also a secret member of the Underland Underground Resistance, and was sent by the Hatter to search for Alice. Sheen stated, "The White Rabbit is such an iconic character that I didn't feel like I should break the mould too much."
The White Rabbit, is a book by Bruce Marshall, about F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas
Alice in Wonderland / Donnie Darko
There are many similarities between the narratives of Donnie Darko and Alice in Wonderland pertaining to rabbits. Donnie falls asleep and hears (then sees) Frank, a 6-foot tall rabbit-costume wearing being. Alice's summer slumber brings a vision of a talking rabbit wearing human adornments. Frank tells Donnie to follow him, & leads Donnie to a golf course. Alice chases her rabbit, following him right down the rabbit hole. Character introduction and water/metal symbolism aside, the golf course/rabbit hole relation seems obvious. Like Alice's rabbit, Frank acts as Donnie's guide in the mad world of the "underground". (This aspect is suggested by Donnie's poem, as well as by Roberta Sparrow's 'Cellar Door').
Alice's rabbit is a servant of The Queen / Frank is a being manipulated by the master force. Alice and Donnie are similar in their confusion and curiosity, both are desperate to figure out what is happening to themselves. Also... "eat me/drink me" is similar to Donnie's pills, both characters are changing life-forces -- Alice grows tall / shrinks, Donnie grows stronger & superhuman-like when he's sleepwalking. These physical changes give solution to the current dilemma the character is facing, but also cause feelings of isolation and fear. Also... The mirror imagery of Donnie's bathroom communion place with Frank is similar to Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass.
Run Rabbit Run
From: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Run Rabbit Run is a song written by Noel Gay and Ralph Butler. The music was by Noel Gay and the song was originally sung by Flanagan and Allen.
This song was written for Noel Gay's show 'The Little Dog Laughed' which opened on 11 October 1939, at a time when most of the major London theatres were closed. It was a popular song during World War II, especially after Flanagan and Allen changed the lyrics to poke fun at the Germans (eg. Run Adolf, Run Adolf, Run, Run, Run........)
On the farm, every Friday
On the farm, it's rabbit pie day.
So, every Friday that ever comes along,
I get up early and sing this little song
Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Goes the farmer's gun.
Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run.
Run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
Don't give the farmer his fun! Fun! Fun!
He'll get by
Without his rabbit pie
So run rabbit - run rabbit - Run! Run! Run!
The lyrics were used as a defiant dig at the allegedly ineffectual Luftwaffe. On 13 November 1939, soon after the outbreak of the Second World War and also soon after the song was premiered, Germany launched its first air raid on Britain, on flying boats that were sheltering in Sullom Voe, Shetland. Two rabbits were supposedly killed by a bomb drop, although it is suggested that they were in fact procured from a butchers' shop and used for publicity purposes.
Until recently, the song was a popular nursery rhyme still sung by children in many parts of Britain, although its popularity has declined substantially over the past few decades.
The song later influenced one by the popular band Pink Floyd.[citation needed] The first track on the album The Dark Side of the Moon, "Speak to Me/Breathe", included the lyrics "Run, rabbit. Run". The same lyrics are also included in "Bankrobber" by The Clash.
References in pop culture
Walter H. Thompson's TV biography "I Was Churchill's Bodyguard" rates the song as Winston Churchill's favorite as Prime Minister; also, Jock Colville, Winston Churchill's private secretary during much of the war, mentions the Prime Minister singing part of this song.
In Which We Serve, a movie about the British Royal Navy in World War II, uses the tune on a pianola, which torments a sailor who was cautioned for cowardice in the face of the enemy.
The Hoosiers have a song called "Run Rabbit Run" on their album Trick to Life.
Fleet Foxes have a song called "Innocent Son" on their EP Sun Giant, in which the lyrics, "Run, Rabbit, Run" appear.
Eminem has a song called "Rabbit Run", referring to his nickname "Rabbit" at the start of his rap career.
Glasvegas has a song called "Stabbed" on their self-titled album, Glasvegas. in which the lyrics "Run, Rabbit, Run" appear.
Pink Floyd uses the words "Run, Rabbit, Run" in the song "Speak to Me/Breathe", the opening sequence in their album The Dark Side of the Moon.
The Clash use the words "Run, Rabbit, Run" in the single "Bankrobber".
Coheed & Cambria has in their song "The Willing Well II: Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" the line "Run little rabbit, go hide, in the blades of that grass... Run, rabbit, run!"
Tourism Victoria used the song for a TV advertisement aired across Australia several years ago. The ad features adults playing hide-and-seek in a vineyard and other tourist attractions across Victoria.
Osso String Quartet has an album entitled 'Run Rabbit Run'.
House of 1,000 Corpses, a film by Rob Zombie also features the phrase 'Run Rabbit Run' versed throughout the movie .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_Rabbit_Run
Black Rabbit
Rozz Williams - PIG (short film)
The phrase 'social commentary' (while accurate) doesn't really do it justice.
Random Message to Stranger on Dating Website
This chick says she wants to study Criminal Justice:
http://www.plentyoffish.com/member20529261.htm
So I let her have it:
Criminal Justice is for PIGS!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_slang_terms_for_police_officers#P
Pig: "This term was widespread during the 19th century, disappeared for a while, but reappeared during the 20th and 21st century. It became especially popular during the 1960s and 1970s in the underground hippie and anti-establishment culture. It has also been used in anti-authoritarian punk and gangsta rap circles. Oz magazine she showed a picture of a pig dressed as a policeman on a front cover."....................../´¯/)
....................,/¯../
.................../..../
............./´¯/'...'/´¯¯`·¸
........../'/.../..../......./¨¯\
........('(...´...´.... ¯~/'...')
.........\.................'...../
..........''...\.......... _.·´
............\..............(
..............\.............\...
Lucky for you:
Once you're a cop, you'll have access to the newest and coolest panoptic tools around... Meaning: You'll be able to use facial-recognition software to hunt me down and put a cap in my ass for calling you the 'pig' that you aspire to be. Better yet, you could accuse me of being a terrorist and have me locked up in Guantonamo (or wherever they're putting people who fuck with state/corporate interests these days)
Or if you like, you can simply investigate my anti-establishment blog [aka:Pink0™], where I nail Capitalism™ to a tree for (among other things) killing all of my friends and destroying my life. It tells all about me: my home address, pictures of me with my friends... You name it!
PS: You might wanna take down the pic of you flipping off the camera. If it hadn't been for that, I never would've bothered.
Texas ain't ALL bad!
Here's a trailer for the comedy: 'Radio Free Steve', as well as my favorite scene from Richard Linklater's Slacker.
"['Radio Free Steve' is]... The funniest thing to come out of Texas since Slacker"
~Variety
RADIO FREE STEVE:
SLACKER:
Photo Gallery
Me and my ex-girlfriend.
Just some old pictures of me that I found. I've come a long way baby!
Now taste the muthafuckin' Lucifarian RAINBOW bitches!
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Before I really grew a pair.
My elementary school math teacher (Mr. Ferris from S.C.P.A. in Cincinnati Ohio)... Often wondered if he was a Nazi scientist à la Project Paperclip.
Kickin' it 'neu wave' back in `84.
(@ the cocaine penthouse with my dogs: Keymaster & Gatekeeper)
You know how we do.
Not even this 'stupid man suit' can contain the glory of my divine light!(OMG I fucking rule! ... "You betta' axe somebody!")
At the movies with me, myself and my (now dead) ex-girlfriend.
I SAID WAKE THE FUCK UP!
(according to scientists at NASA, the world will as we know it will end soon if we don't immediately change our collective routine... And don't give me that tired trope about how the world as we know it is always ending and we should just enjoy ourselves, blah, blah, friggin' blah.... That's the coward's route)
Me and Lucifer/Annubis wasted @ Chappelle's 'Playa Hatas Ball'..
A portrait of me by Polish poster artist Franciszek Starowieyski.(The first Polish artist to have a one man show at the Museum of Modern Art - N.Y.`86)
"Collapsing New Buildings"
Flippin' off 'THE MAN', back in my 'Radio Free Steve' days (circa: `85)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Walls of Sound
Steve Miller - Abracadabra:
My dad used to hate Steve Miller's later stuff like 'Abracadabra' (along with Rod Stewart's 'Sexy', The Stone's 'Emotional Rescue' and all the other disco-esque songs that came out in the early eighties by rock bands that he had once liked and respected... Too bad he never put two & two (0) together on the inherent evils of Capitalism™)... He even hated Miller's early-later-stuff like 'Fly Like an Eagle' - "too commercial" he'd always say. Apparently, before becoming a pop superstar, Steve Miller was actually a damned good musician with real songs about real shit. Amazing how far down the shitter pop culture has gone. It never ceases to amaze me. Now they just take the most banal shit they can find, slap autotune on it - maybe a vocorder - and then release. But I always liked 'Abracadabra' and '...Eagle' (even though I always made fun of them). Then again: For me, those songs remind me of being like 7 years old. 'The Joker' still gets under my skin though. I admire Miller's candor and th bravery with which he could simply make up words (like: 'pompitous'). But I digress...
Alan Parsons Project - Sirius & Eye in the Sky:
Alan Parsons was the Producer of Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon', as well as much of The Beatles early stuff. His music on the other hand, was about as fucking weird, creepy, memetically-charged (as in: 'meme') and full of odd innuendos and eery allusions as you can get. Inspired by Phil Spector's 'Wall of Sound' - Sound, it is very strange stuff dealing with everything from conspiracy theories to mass-tendency to misinterpret data (Ammonia Avenue).
Alan Parsons Project - Don't Answer Me:
Something sort of Dada / Roy Orbison-esque about this one:
Fidel Castro Ressurected to Save Humanity from Global Thermonuclear Holocaust
Former Cuban President Fidel Castro has delivered a speech to the country's parliament to warn against U.S. threats against Iran and the danger of a global nuclear war.
Welcomed by cheers and a standing ovation at the National Assembly, the 84-year-old Castro addressed a session of parliament, which was broadcast live by Cuban state television.
He accused the U.S. of planning to attack Iran and North Korea and urged the U.S. administration to prevent such a conflict from happening.
In his 12-minute statement, Castro warned that a nuclear confrontation could break out if U.S. President Barack Obama ordered an attack on Iran, should it resist U.S. and Israeli efforts to enforce international sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear activities.
On June 9, the UN Security Council approved a resolution, brokered and pushed ahead by Washington, which imposed new sanctions on Iran. The measure was soon followed by more unilateral sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union, mainly targeting the Islamic Republic's oil and gas sector.
But Iran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency it has the right to develop and seek access to civilian nuclear technology.
Tehran has downplayed the significance of the punitive measures and has vowed to stand up to the U.S. and Israeli threats to strike its nuclear facilities.
“If war breaks out, the current social order will suddenly disappear and the price will be infinitely greater,” BBC quoted Castro as saying.
The former Cuban leader warned that an attack on Iran could push the world to the brink of a “nuclear holocaust,” which would take the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
“Does anyone think the Iranians, a people with a culture of thousands of years and which is much more intertwined with death than ours, will lack the courage we have shown in resisting the demands of the United States?” the former Cuban leader asked.
After his 2006 illness, Castro disappeared from public view and was seen only occasionally in photographs and videos, and formally handed over the presidency of Cuba to his younger brother, Raul Castro, in 2008.
Castro's appearance in parliament was the first time the world got a live glimpse of him since he underwent intestinal surgery in July 2006 and then suffered complications.
(Source: http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=224466)
Diamanda Galas - Gloomy Sunday
She is a muthafukin badass bitch and I love her!
(Seriously, I'd almost be prepared to anally give birth to her watermelon sized, barbed-wired, razor-studded, demon-spawn offspring... almost)
Great for when you're feeling blue (as I often do)...
Laurie Anderson's New Album
I would be really surprised if you haven't heard of this artist: Laurie Anderson. She's Lou Reed's Wife. She has a new album out (her first in ten years) called "Home Land" . If you have not heard it, there are some tracks on YouTube. It is really refreshing to hear her talking about politics and the war in Iraq. My friend sent me this YouTube link and the majority of the text in this entry. I don't even know the name this new album, but if you check out the Democracy Now interview on YouTube there is a bit of it at the end. According to my friend, it's: "totally Brittany Spears and Lady Gaga inspired..." (?!?) Hmmmm. Un Okay. That would be a little like Lou Reed being inspired by the work of The Backstreet Boys (or whatever the kids are listening to these days). [update: Okay, I get it now]
Check it!
"Trader" = "Traitor"
Monday, August 9, 2010
999 - Homicide (Live)
Lyrics:
I believe in homicide
I rest my case
Don't cast a sigh
You'd better believe it
That's the truth of it
Take it or leave it
Resign to it
Homicide Homicide Homicide Homicide
No one cares
When someone dies
They'd rather say
That it's a red alert
You'd better believe it
That's the truth of it
Take it or leave it
Resign to it homicide
Homicide, Homicide, Homicide Homicide, Homicide
Homicide, Homicide
You try to tell me it's his fault because he's down
...and let him loose this homicide all over London
I'll take enough but
I'll take it down
What's your address
I'll write it down
I'll be in touch
So don't leave town
In a big black car
(solo)
Homicide, Homicide, Homicide I believe in Homicide
I rest my case
Don't cast a sigh
You'd better believe it
That's the truth of it
Take it or leave it
Resign to it homicide
Homicide, Homicide, Homicide, Homicide, Homicide
Homicide, Homicide, Homicide, Homicide, Homicide, Homicide,
Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi,
Homi, Homi, Homi, Homi Homicide
999
Named after Britain’s emergency telephone number, 999 was founded in London by singer/guitarist Nick Cash and Guy Days. Cash and Days met each other when the former was a member of the pub rock band Kilburn and the High-Roads, and the latter was a session guitarist who played on some of the band’s demo tapes. In late 1976, they placed an advertisement in Melody Maker for band members and ended up turning down Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), Jon Moss of (Culture Club) and Tony James (Generation X). They recruited Jon Watson on bass and Pablo LaBritain on drum, LaBritain having briefly played with The Clash. The band that eventually became known as 999 performed their first concert at the Northampton Cricket Club in January 1977. After experimenting with several different band names, the band became 999 in May 1977.
Their self-titled debut album, produced by Andy Arthurs, was released in March 1978. One retrospective review claimed it "demonstrated their limitations as well as their strengths. The 45 cuts like "Me And My Desire" and "Emergency" demonstrated the latter, but the album lacked that special ingredient, uniqueness or originality to make it stand out from the crowd." The album reached #53 in the UK Albums Chart. The following year, the song "Emergency" from the album appeared — alongside songs by bands like The Jam and The Stranglers — on the punk compilation 20 of Another Kind. That album reached #45 in the UK chart. Years later, "Emergency" was included years later in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time.
The band's second album, Separates was produced by Martin Rushent. One reviewer lists it as one of the best punk albums of all time. In the United States, a slightly altered version of Separates, re-titled High Energy Plan, became the band's first American release. In October 1978, a month after the album’s release, 999 recorded their only session for John Peel at BBC Radio 1. 999 also played at Front Row Festival, a three-week event at the Hope and Anchor in late November and early December 1977. This resulted in the band’s inclusion, alongside the likes of Wilko Johnson, The Only Ones, the Saints, The Stranglers, X-Ray Spex, and XTC, on a hit double LP of recordings from the festival.
999 toured widely in the United States and the band was rewarded when their albums The Biggest Prize In Sport and Concrete charted on the Billboard 200. In the US, "Homicide" & "Hollywood" garnered frequent rotation on Rock of the 80s format radio stations like KROQ in Los Angeles. According to Dave Thompson, "For many Americans, they were the first to actually bother with the backwoods, playing places which other Brit bands hadn't heard of, and returning to them again and again. And while no one knows how many American bands were first inspired to take up arms by 999, those that did still wear their loyalties loudly."
I Am God
The soul is in itself a most lovely and perfect image of God.
~St. John of the Cross
To many, the statement "I am God" rings of blasphemy. God, according to conventional religion, is the supreme deity, the almighty eternal omniscient creator. How can any lowly human being claim that he or she is God?
When the fourteenth-century Christian priest and mystic Meister Eckhart preached that "God and I are One" he was brought before Pope John XXII and forced to "recant everything that he had falsely taught." Others suffered a worse fate. The tenth-century Islamic mystic al-Hallãj was crucified for using language that claimed an identity with God.
Yet when mystics say "I am God", or words to that effect, they are not talking of an individual person. Their inner explorations have revealed the true nature of the self, and it is this that they identify with God. They are claiming that the essence of self, the sense of "I am" without any personal attributes, is God.
The contemporary scholar and mystic Thomas Merton put it very clearly:
"If I penetrate to the depths of my own existence and my own present reality, the indefinable am that is myself in its deepest roots, then through this deep center I pass into the infinite I am which is the very Name of the Almighty."
"I am" is one of the Hebrew names of God, Yahweh. Derived from the Hebrew YHWH, the unspeakable name of God, it is often translated as "I AM THAT I AM".
I am the infinite deep
In whom all the worlds appear to rise.
Beyond all form, forever still.
So am I
~Ashtavakra Gita
Similar claims appear in Eastern traditions. The great Indian sage Sri Ramana Maharshi said:
"I am" is the name of God… God is none other than the Self.
In the twelfth century, Ibn-Al-Arabi, one of the most revered Sufi mystics, wrote:
"If thou knowest thine own self, thou knowest God."
Shankara, the eight-century Indian saint, whose insights revitalized Hindu teachings, said of his own enlightenment:
"I am Brahman… I dwell within all beings as the soul, the pure consciousness, the ground of all phenomena... In the days of my ignorance, I used to think of these as being separate from myself. Now I know that I am All."
This sheds new light on the Biblical injunction "Be still, and know that I am God". I do not believe it means: "Stop fidgeting around and recognize that the person who is speaking to you is the almighty God of all creation." It makes much more sense as an encouragement to still the mind, and know, not as an intellectual understanding but as a direct realization, that the "I am" that is your essential self, the pure consciousness that lies behind all experience, is God.
This concept of God is not of a separate superior being, existing in some other realm, overlooking human affairs and loving or judging us according to our deeds. God is in each and every one of us, the most intimate and undeniable aspect of ourselves. God is the light of consciousness that shines in every mind.
I Am the Truth
Identifying God with the light of consciousness brings new meaning and significance to many traditional descriptions of God.
Whatever is taking place in my mind, whatever I may be thinking, believing, feeling or sensing, the one thing I cannot doubt is consciousness. Consciousness is my only absolute, unquestionable truth. If the faculty of consciousness is God, then God is the truth.
The same applies to other people. The only thing I do not doubt about you is that you are conscious and have your own interior world of experience. I can doubt your physical form–indeed, modern physics tells me there is nothing really there, no material thing, that is. All that I perceive of you is a projection in my mind. I can doubt what you say. I can doubt your thoughts and feelings. But I do not doubt that "in there" is another conscious being like myself.
Like God, consciousness is omnipresent. Whatever our experience, consciousness is always there. It is eternal, everlasting.
When I say "I am", I do not mean a separate entity with a body as its nucleus. I mean the totality of being, the ocean of consciousness, the entire universe of all that is and knows.
~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
God is omniscient, all-knowing. So too, consciousness is the essence and source of all our knowing. It lies behind all understanding.
God is the creator. Everything in our world, everything we see, hear, taste, smell, and touch; every thought, feeling, fantasy, intimation, hope, and fear; it is all a form that consciousness has taken on. Everything has been created in consciousness from consciousness. I, the light of consciousness, am the creator.
I am the God of my universe. And you are the God of yours.
God is Almighty. What greater power is there than the power of consciousness to appear as the myriad of forms we experience, everything in the world we see, hear, taste. touch and smell.
This pure Mind, the source of everything,
Shines forever and on all with the brilliance of its own perfection.
But the people of the world do not awake to it,
Regarding only that which sees, hears, feels and knows as mind,
Blinded by their own sight, hearing, feeling and knowing,
They do not perceive the spectral brilliance of the source of all substance.
~Huang Po
The Materialist Mindset
Not only do traditional descriptions of God make new sense when God is identified with the faculty of consciousness, so do many spiritual practices. The key is the way we create of our personal reality.
In earlier chapters, we considered our construction of reality in terms of our sensory perception–the sounds, colors, and sensations we experience. The way in which we produce this picture of the world is more or less hard-wired into the brain. How we interpret this picture, however, varies considerably. You and I may assess a person’s actions in very different ways. We may read very different meanings into a news story, or see a situation at work in very different lights. These varying interpretations stem from the beliefs, assumptions and expectations we bring to the situation–what psychologists call our mind sets.
In much the same way as our various scientific paradigms are founded on an even more fundamental belief, or metaparadigm, the various assumptions that determine the meaning we give to our experience are based on a more fundamental mindset. We believe that inner peace and fulfillment comes from what we have or do in the external world.
Tragically, this way of thinking actually prevents us finding true peace of mind. We can become so busy worrying about whether or not we may be at peace in the future, or so busy being angry or resentful about what has stood in the way of peace in the past, we never have the chance to be at peace in the present.
"Don’t worry, be happy"
~Meher Baba
The general effect of this material mindset is to put our inner state of mind at the mercy of the external world. In this respect, too, it is similar to the materialist metaparadigm of contemporary science. In both instances, consciousness is assumed to be dependent upon the material world. The current scientific worldview believes that consciousness emerges from the world of space, time and matter. This materialist mindset tells us that our state of mind depends on events in the world around us. And, like the scientific metaparadigm, the mindset that runs our lives is seldom questioned.
Spirituality 101
We do not have to perceive the world through this mindset. If we perceive things from the perspective that everything we know is a construct of consciousness, everything changes.
With this shift, whether or not we are at peace is no longer determined by what we have or do in the material world. We created our perception of the world. We have given it all the meaning and value it has for us. And, we are free to see it differently.
"People are disturbed not by things, but the view they take of them."
~Epictetus
Nothing has to be achieved in order to be at peace. All we have to do is stop doing–stop wanting things to be different, stop worrying, stop getting upset when things don’t go as we would wish, or people don’t behave as we think they should. When we stop doing all the things that obscure the peace that is there at our core, we find that what we have been seeking all along is there, waiting silently for us.
This, to me, is Spirituality 101. It is a universal principle, independent of time, culture, or religious belief. And it is the core principle from which many spiritual practices unfold.
Forgiveness
The conventional understanding of forgiveness is of some absolution or pardon–something along the lines, "I know you did wrong, but I’ll overlook it this time." But the original meaning of forgiveness is very different. The ancient Greek word for "forgiveness", is aphesis, meaning "to let go." When we forgive another we let go of the judgments we may have projected onto them. We release them from all our interpretations and evaluations, all our thoughts of right or wrong, of friend or foe.
Instead we see that here is another human being caught up in their own illusions about themselves and the world around them. Like us, they feel the need for security, control, recognition, approval, or stimulus. They too probably feel threatened by people and things that prevent them finding fulfillment. And, like us, they sometimes make mistakes. Yet, behind all these errors, there is another child of God simply looking for peace of mind.
Even those we regard as evil are seeking the same goal. It is just that for one reason or another–who knows what pain they may have endured in their childhood, or what beliefs they may have adopted–they seek their own fulfillment in ways that are uncaring, and perhaps even cruel. Deep inside, however, they are another spark of the divine light struggling to find some salvation in this world.
Forgiveness is not something we do for the other person so much as something we do for ourselves. When we let go of our judgments of others, we let go of the source of much of our anger and many of our grievances. Our bad feelings may seem justified at the time, but they don’t serve us–in fact, they usually cause more damage to us than they do to the other person. The freer we are of our judgments and grievances, the more at peace we can be in ourselves.
There is nothing more painful than walking around with bitterness in your heart.
~Hugh Prather
This change in perception is the essence of a change of consciousness. When I first heard of higher states of consciousness, I imagined they would bring awareness of subtler dimensions, possibly new energies, or some other aspect of reality that was beyond my everyday perception. Over the years, I have gradually realized that enlightenment is seeing the same world, but in a different light. It is not seeing different things so much as seeing things differently.
Prayer
In every moment I have a choice as to how I see a situation. I can see it through eyes caught in the materialist mindset that worries whether or not I am going to get what I think will make me happy. Alternatively, I can choose to see it through eyes free from the dictates of this thought system.
But it is not always easy to make that choice. Once I’ve been caught by a fearful perception, I’m seldom aware there could even be another way of seeing things. I think my reality is the only reality.
Sometimes, however, I recognize there could be another way of seeing things, but I don’t know what it is. I can’t make the shift on my own; I need help. But where to go for help? Other people are as likely to be caught in the same thought system as I am. The place to go for help is deep within, to that level of consciousness that lies beyond the materialistic mindset–to the God within. I have to ask God for help. I have to pray.
When I pray in this way, I am not asking for divine intervention by an external God. I am praying to the divine presence within, to my true self. Moreover, I am not praying for the world to be different than it is. I am praying for a different perception of the world. I am asking for divine intervention where it really counts–in the mindsets that govern my thinking.
"No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it."
~Albert Einstein
The results never cease to impress me. Invariably, I find my fears and judgments drop away. In their place is a sense of ease. Whoever or whatever was troubling me, I now see through more loving and compassionate eyes.
God is Love
Love is another quality frequently ascribed to God. This love is not to be confused with what generally passes for love in our world, which, more often than not, has its origins in the same materialist mindset that runs many other areas of our lives. We believe that if only other people would think or behave as we want them to, we would be happy. When they don’t, we may find ourselves feeling upset, angry, frustrated, or some other less-than-loving emotion. When we meet someone who we think will satisfy our deeper needs–someone, that is, who matches our image of the perfect person–our hearts are filled with warm feelings towards them. We say we love them.
Such love is conditional. We love a person for their appearance, their manner, their intellect, their body, their talents, their smell, their dress, their habits, their beliefs and values. We love someone whom we feel is special; someone who matches our expectations, someone who will satisfy our deeper needs, someone who will make our life complete.
Such love is also fragile. If the other person gains weight, develops some annoying habit, or does not care for us as we think they should, our judgments can flip from positive to negative, and the love vanish as quickly as it came.
The love of which the mystics speak is a very different form of love. It is an unconditional love, a love that does not depend on another’s attributes or actions. It is not based on our wants, needs, hopes, fears, or any other manifestation of the ego’s thought system. Unconditional love is the love that springs forth when the mind has fallen silent, and for once we are free from fear, evaluation and judgment.
"When love and hate are both absent,
Everything becomes clear and undisguised"
~Sosan, The Third Zen Patriarch
Like the peace we seek, this unconditional love is always there at our core. It is not something we have to create; it is part of our inner essence. Pure consciousness–consciousness not conditioned by the needs and concerns of an individual self–is pure love. I, in my true essence, am love.
The Golden Rule
As much as we want to feel unconditional love in ourselves, we also want others to feel that love towards us. None of us want to feel criticized, rejected, ignored or manipulated. We want to feel appreciated, honored, and respected. This is true not only in our intimate relationships with our partners and family, but also in our relationships with those we work with, people we meet socially, and even strangers we may encounter on the street or in an airplane . In all our relationships we want to feel cared for.
If love is what we all want, then love is what we should be giving each other. But that is not always easy. Too often we are so busy trying to get love for ourselves, or holding on to the love we have, we forget that other people want exactly the same. Before long we get caught in a vicious circle that denies us the very love we seek.
If we feel hurt over something someone says or does–whether they intend to hurt us, or whether it is all our own creation–our normal response is to defend ourselves by attacking back in kind. It’s not the most noble or wisest response, nevertheless if we believe that our happiness depends on how others behave this how we tend to react. If the other person is also trapped in this mindset they are likely to respond in a similar fashion, and do or say something hurtful in return.
So the vicious circle gets set up. On the surface it may seem that a relationship is going well; both people appear friendly, there’s no open hostility. But underneath a subtle game is going on. Each person, in their attempts to get the other person to be more loving, is trying to make the other feel hurt rather than loved. Its a tragic lose-lose game, which, if sustained, can ruin the best of relationships.
As easily as the circle is set up, it can be undone. The key is simple: give love rather than withhold it. What this means in practice is that whatever we say, and however we say it, we want the other person to feel loved and cared for rather than attacked and hurt.
"If you can conduct yourself in a way that is not detrimental to others or that does not impinge on their freedom, then you are behaving according to dharma."
~Sai Baba
The Buddha called this "right speech:" If you cannot say something in such a way that the other person feels good on hearing it, then it is better to retain noble silence. This should not be interpreted as a cop-out. "I don’t know how to say what I want to say without you getting upset, so I shall just keep quiet." Expressing our thoughts and feelings is valuable; but we need to do so in ways that do not trigger the vicious circle. So we should retain noble silence only so long as we need to–until we’ve worked out how to say what we have to say in a kind and loving manner.
Spiritual teachings often refer to this as The Golden Rule. "Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your loss," says Taoism. The Koran proclaims, "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." While Christ said, "All things whatsoever that ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."
The key is kindness, the intent to cause no harm to others. It springs from the recognition that the light of consciousness shining in us all is divine. We honor God by honoring each other. For each and every one of us is holy.
My religion is kindness.
~The Dalai Lama
Unlike the God I rejected as a youth, God as the light of consciousness neither conflicts with my scientific leanings, nor does it run counter to my intuition and reason. Indeed, it points toward an ultimate convergence of science and religion. By convergence I mean more than just a reconciliation between two different worldviews. Various people have traced parallels and areas of similarity between science and spirituality–the way that quantum theory, for example, is like some Buddhist, Hindu or Taoist teachings on the nature of reality. Or in the way that Old Testament teachings seem to predict recent scientific discoveries. These resemblances are certainly intriguing, but I believe we are heading toward a far more profound convergence–a true synthesis of the two in a single, all-embracing worldview.
Reposted (without permission) from god's website:
http://www.peterrussell.com/SG/Ch7.php