The new world

Listening to “all things considered”, public radio, there was a segment debating the issues surrounding research. At issue was a pill developed and now being tested for gay men to fight off getting AIDS from so-called “risky behavior”. Of course there were battle-lines drawn between those that would not use tax-payer dollars to make unsafe sex safe, and those who thought government had a mandate to solve any problem life comes up with.

Again, the mashine, the government takes on the position of presenting a problem, issuing a solution and then keep the people busy with dialogue about ehics, public health, religious beliefs, political agendas – but never is there any debate over why our government is involved in reseach and science in the first place.

In a free society, a disease may ravage a segment of the population, in this case from engaging in certain behavior. While, as with AIDS it first takes the population by surprise, then the reactions start, and soon some individuals will form a will to make a difference, form an organization or pitch a pharmacutical company and eventually come up with a cure. If money can be made by curing, then the free market will find one. When a government gives money for research it is slow and marred with everyone having an oppinion. There a many issues in life, so how does govenment decide which should be investigated with tax dollars?

When the AIDS eppedemic started it was a darn good time for many to re-evaluate what kind of activity was an authentic celebration of life and which was just a thrill for the sake of entertainment. Since I don’t believe in the man-made-disease-plot, it looked to me like Nature was saying something and perhaps many now were forced to listen.

But the government does not listen, it only tries to expand by claiming to fix issues individuals don’t want to deal with. Hence money for reseach so gays can have more fun and less risk.

The constitution mandated the central government to only run national defense, (and some interstate-commerce issues) – not to fund science research, schools, hospitals, libraries, roads, banks, factories and public education.

Doom.

Friends.

Some, perhaps most of you voted for Obama.
Most of you may think things are going well and will soon get better.
I know a few who think we will soon embark on a new plane, a new dimension, a world of our dreams where the light-workers will show the way to the Aquarian Age.

Ignorance is bliss. I’ve always tried to stay that way, but lately it’s been hard to keep it up. If this year was hard on many Americans, next year the earth will quake and bring us to our knees. In two years, and if nothing changes the direction of the wrecking-ball it will hit the rich, the poor and everyone in between. Let me briefly explain why:

The government has made a tremendous amount of new laws, seized almost total power to control banks, industry, healthcare, businesses and private citizens. We have a national debt that will soon equal our total income as a nation. Some people may look around and say, “Well, I know people are loosing their jobs, too bad – but things are getting better – look at the stock market, they’re doing OK…”

As I understand it:
The reason it looks like we are doing OK is that corporate earnings are taken as early as possible. Businesses know they will get mobbed by taxes and higher energy costs next year, so they are doing everything they can to sell and cash in this year. The taxes and laws that are scheduled to go into effect after the next elections will “A” make it very expensive to produce anything and “B” hobble any incentive for investment. Why would anyone make the effort and take the risk when no reward is possible? “Good”, some may think, “it’s time those evil capitalists learn a lesson”.

Unfortunately those evil capitalists are not stupid, and they are already hiding their money, outsourcing jobs and taking no chances with new investments in the USA. I don’t know about you, but I have never received a good paying job from a poor person, so prepare the plank all you will for the rich and watch what happens.

Most of you voted for “free” healthcare, i.e. healthcare paid by someone else.
Most of you voted for “change”, but did not think it meant a socialist dictatorship.
Most of you wanted honesty and transparency. Perhaps you are now convinced that everybody lies, and there is nothing that can be done about it.

I have to say: If you think Capitalism trades on human suffering, try a Marxist central government with NO personal rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Personally I agree with the person who said they would prefer to go with the first 500 names in the Boston phone book, rather than the current people in office.

It is not a fight between left and right, it is a scramble for freedom before it is lost.

Love is not a mystery

Love is not a mystery,
Everything else is.
Everything else will be dismantled into nothing again.
A thought, a word will split the stillness into a fountain of polarities.

Love is not a mystery,
It is where we came from and to where we will go again.
Life is the mystery.

A mystery is a fragment of a thought,
the fragrence of a bygone lover,
the shape in the fog, with no lights or sound.
The mind must figure it out, it is built for that very purpose.
That is why a mystery appears real.

A mystery holds us, keeps us engaged and by becoming its witness we also create its existence.

Scientist say there is nothing solid here, that everything is energy. The energy never runs out, because everything comes back as other forms of energy.
Nothing is wasted, where would it go?

If everything balances, what drives nature forward?
What compels all life to grow, the universe to expand?

If there is something or someone outside this atomically rigged experience that meddles with us, crafts experiences for us, gives us lessons, or can be amused by our deeds and grant us good fortune, we are merely passengers with an opinion about the view. If, on the other hand, we given all the tools and levers and the unseen only hold the stage and supply the lights, we can rob banks or irradicate diseases – it does not matter to anyone but ourselves.

Is free will only the ability to stall or accelerate life’s lessons – or can we truly have whatever experience we desire? I think yes, with regard to both questions.

On the “other side”, one can only presume there is no fear of death so there would be no purpose for interfering in any human behavior. Pain and suffering is real to us and seem unneccesary, but the personal experience available to us of victory and fighting for a just cause would not exist without the unjust or evil.

In the old days, we thought we were the center of the universe, then we discovered the cosmos and found it was not so. Now we may be back to Square One: Perhaps the universe does not exist independently of our perception of it. Perhaps all life as we know it is taking place in a little gob of protoplasm in a Petri dish, sitting among many other ongoing experiments in some super-being’s laboratory.

If it is, perhaps the label on the tray says:

Human/Planet Earth.
- Mystery and loss of orientation –
- Known side effects: Pain, sense of loss, anger and anguish, but also music, sensual play, purpose and overwhelming joy.
Addictive in nature. Use only as directed by Self.”

I don’t know.
It’s all a mystery to me.

The Beast, Machine, or Government.

I used to say there is no government, only people, but I think now I was wrong.

There is a “government”.
There is an “It”.

It is a set of ideas that have become it’s own mindset. It’s like a standalone brain without a soul, not even a heart. It’s called the beast in some circles, I mostly call it the Machine. It has a mindset and a purpose: It thinks “A” that it can solve problems by making laws, and “B” that human beings cannot be trusted.

This basic premise attracts certain people, who find a problem, then gets paid by engaging it. Workers in the System then shore up job-security by making the work seem important. What started as a standing national army, now proclaims it must protect us against fatty acids or lead in our wallpaper. There is no way to stop governmental growth, because it has no natural enemies excepting friction and gravity. As long as the people accept paying taxes and pay little attention, the system will multiply itself until it collapses under it’s own weight.

“Democracy”, Churchill said was “flawed, just not as much as any other system”. In essence: There is no perfect system, because life is change and systems are static. A merciful and good sovereign king is hard to find these days, hence United States.

Democracy’s natural enemy is time. Because eventually the leaders become politicians who figure out how to get votes by taking from small groups and giving to larger ones in exchange for votes.

The idea of taxes that must be paid, rather than services that must be rendered gave the Beast the upper hand. In the beginning of the United States burgeoning towns wishing for stability may have hired sheriffs, but if the people didn’t ante-up, there was no Sheriff to be had. If there was one and the townsfolk liked the job he did, they paid him freely, presumably wanting him to keep doing what he was doing. Soon upholding the law was regulated and paid by the government.

As towns grew and cities sprung up, Government attracted more and more humans that were attracted to regulation. To the mind, regulation itself is always preferred, so the power to regulate was assumed by the Government eventually making laws proporting to protect people against themselves.

The though-form that became the American Government protected itself by devising an ingenious shield of anonymity: A metaphor could be the following story in the Hindu tradition: “A wizard charms a spirit into the physical world by promising that on Earth you can do anything – be anything you could possibly imagine. After the spirit reincarnates into a body the wizard shows up again and excitedly asks the newborn: Now that you are here, what would you like? Strawberry or Vanilla?” The average human immediately start debating which is best – forgetting the 64 other flavors that may also be available, or perhaps a hang-glider ride instead. By splitting up the function of a government into two opposite parties the annonyminty and growth of government as a whole was secured. Now one party could blame each other as they went along in history: A good scrap always draws attention, so the voters were kept busy arguing amongst themselves, while the shadow of the Beast grew longer and bigger.

As long as taxes are feeding the Machine, the Machine will keep growing and taking more control. It has to. It has no human soul, hence incapable of faith. It sees life as chaotic and humans as flawed and so it prepares to make them better by growing and regulating their behavior as much as possible.

Today a hand possessed by governmental thinking signed a law dismissing our right to self-determination. It promoses free healthcare to huge amounts of voters , paid by a small minority of tax-payers.

The Achilles Heel of Democracy has been struck.
It was only a matter of time.

Simple Tea.

Dear Tea’ers,

From one who has lived through the rise of socialism once already: Don’t get caught up in details, there is no need. We need people elected of the right spirit first, then the best ideas can come.

Tea is a network that will put into office as many men and women as possible with firm heart and suitable cahonas, and the first order of business is to stop the growth of government. It has never happened before that a government voluntarily shrinked, but in America today it must somehow do just that. Stop it. The goal must be to get as much government as possible out of people’s lives and business.

I think it’s safe to say that Tea’ers believe that all humans are basically decent and in a prosperous society, local organizations tend to form to find ways to help the poor and aide the sick. The problems today isn’t healthcare, or jobs, or drugs, or terrorism, it’s that the government is in charge of fixing things it only makes worse. It is a maniac robot that thinks it must save the world by assembling more of itself and control all aspects of life – and it will keep growing until it finally collapses under it’s own weight.

We don’t just need a governor or senator out of office, we need the office to go out of business. Government is not the source of prosperity, it is the obsticle holding it down. The country could benefit a great deal by the demolishion of many Washington buildings, and parks with drinking fountains put in their place. It would be cheeper, cleaner, look better and give better results.

The system now openly uses bribery throughout to keep growing. Unions and banks bribe politicians, the feds bribe the states, and politicians bribe the voters with empty promises.

The reason for the Tea-surge is that the country is going out of business and it is becoming clear to a lot of people that we have elected politicians, not leaders. They don’t play by the rules, they have no respect for people who pay their salaries and government is doing a miserable job at everything from public schools to national security.

None of us want polluted oceans, or killings, or hungry children, but that does not mean that just because someone is charging with a banner to Save the Earth I’m going to blindly follow. There are brilliant solutions to most every problem on Earth, but only if the people are free to find them. When a cop has to go out and give tickets to feed the system, when so-called leaders trade convictions like baseball-cards and then make laws and restrictions based on how many votes it will secure, it is time for good people to stop saying nothing – and that’s is what the Tea’ers are doing.

All we ask government to provide is the common defence of our borders, and perhaps a court to medigate between states regarding crimes and commerce. Leave the rest to the states, then people can vote with their feet it their state governments get too big or bloated.

Freedom is not given, it can only be earned – and the Tea’ers are earning it now.

Freedom.

Like many who came to America, I have a strong sense of freedom within me, and I came to this country to pursue it.

Along with watching the spirit of America dance on the edge of a sword, I also now understand that freedom is not given, it is always claimed.
Within us all we know freedom, but as we grow we become more solid.

In my opinion America invented freedom in the world. As I watch the struggle of power in Washington, I realize that my actions may differ depending on the outcome of events, but my freedom lives in me – and how much I am willing to stand up for is how much freedom I have. As a “for-instance”, let me say, that I have the right to remain silent at any and all times, not just when someone arrests me and they read me my “rights”. I claim the right to not have to speak to anyone I don’t want to speak to. It’s that simple.

Another example: I have the right to anything that goes on in my body, hence a woman has complete authority over her embryo/fetus/baby until it is born. End of story. We can discuss the sactity of life until the end of time, but everyone owns their own body in my oppinion.

Freedom was won on the beaches of Normandy, but it is revived by small actions we take. If a census worker comes to your door and you don’t like the questions, will you still anwer? If a policeman fines you unfairly do you take the time to go to court to object?

America is a unique country – and I don’t use the word “unique” lightly. It is truly a one-of-a-kind. The people here are good people who 99% of the time can work things out between themselves (99.98% of the time probably). There is no question that at this time in history the mashine, the government, corporations, unions and other organizations are too big to be sustained by honest working people, so what will the people do?

I saw what happened in Denmark, but here I don’t know because this is America and Americans have a different spirit than the people of Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere. For almost 300 years people have come here because of freedom. The gene-pool is rich in mixture, but sound in conviction, and as the move is afot, the spirit also awakens.

Maybe the new revolution will start with a simple “no” in your life.
Freedom starts and ends within us, and when we are willing say “absolutely not”, freedom lives – even if they put us in jail.

Phrases coined.

I like turning things around.
I like to make stuff up that turns things around.

Here are a few ‘sayings’ that have come to mind over the years:

“If you can give it to yourself
You can have it from another.”

“Out of two possibilities,
The third one usually happens.”

“You never get a second chance,
But sometimes you get another first.”

“I haven’t listened much to my own opinion after realizing
It was only one in 6 billion.”

“My ego is still on the board of directors,
Just not as the CEO.”

“Nature’s ways are always crooked.”

“Don’t plant flowers in a mine-field”.

“Silence is the sound of someone listening.”

“Dance is music made visual.”

“There is nothing wrong with having your cake and eating it, too.
It’s eating it and having it that is the problem.”

“Ignorance is bliss, but it’s hard to keep it up”.

“Some say I am full of myself.
- Rather that than being full of someone else.”

From Beatles to DNA – or “Extreme ADD”.

It’s good the see the kids taking on the Beatles, now available on “Rock Band”.

It disproves a theory of mine, that you cannot transmit the soul of something through the digital medium. The music is proving itself to be good enough to stand the test of time, such as Mozart’s or other great composers have managed over hundreds of years, but it is first in historic terms, that music is lifted into a new generation not from notation, but digital recordings. Yes, these guys recorded analogue, but the kids these days have never heard the real bands or analogue records played, yet they respond, otherwise no sale, so what is it?

It’s a code.
Within the pulse of melodies and dynamics of music a connection is made between souls. Something familiar passes between two observers, something that reminds them both where they came from, and perhaps where they are going. I smiled to Mozart standing in the room when I heard a sonata for the first time and he chose a better phrase that I expected. Across time I felt his presence through the artist now playing. Within the regularity of patterns others stick out and get through to us. It’s a code that doesn’t repeat, in a way. Some people feel the same way studying famous chess gambits. Some feel it in poetry – the lilting of the words, the pulse of metaphoric fields…

Perhaps memory itself is a melody. DNA could be considered digital information in that it contains a finite number of combinations, but is that all there is? What, other than sequences of numbers is included in DNA? It is part of living cells, but once separated from the living cell the DNA can produce no offspring. A single protein requires enough code for building that would fill volumes of books, but how can proteins form from the presence of DNA molecules alone within a cell? To me, it is similar to having the schematics of a tractor in a book on a coffee table – having the information is one thing, but someone still has to build it, find parts, physically put them together. How does that get done? Is there a melody that goes along with DNA that makes all of life dance to it?

One could argue that classic music notation is a digital medium, i.e. that the notes are quantified in terms of placement on the scale and duration within the measure – and then it is up to the player to add human expression. The spirit of the composition lives in luring the mind in unexpected ways. I’ve often said, the melody exists only to confuse the mind long enough for the Soul to get the message. As long as the melody is ahead of the mind it will lure the mind by speaking of mystery.

Music is rich, deep code. Just like Callill Gibbran use metaphors that take you to unexpected insights of your own humanity, it is in the listener’s heart the composer lives.

I have long speculated that an energy, “ki”, “prana”, “essence”, “soul” can be passed among living beings, and that this energy is vital to our experience here. I have thought that this energy could be transmitted though the mediums of art, especially music, and it would still be present in recordings, just like original paintings and sculptures still resonate from the artists’ hands. As example, I understand that one cannot visit the original “David” without still sensing Michelangelo in the stone. I still believe, that when such art is represented digitally the “vital energy”, in lack of a better phrase, is absent. It makes sense to me that something which is infinite cannot be reduced to a finite set of numbers, but the Beatles are doing it, the kids are getting the spirit of the music – how?

I don’t have the answer, but here is a final thought on the “added feature” that must be present in the DNA molecules, besides the information:

If one looks at a cross-section of DNA (as above) it looks to me like printed circuit-boards, hence it must be capable of electromagnetic resonance still singing the song of creation.

This seems similar to me in the mystery that a mother passes all the eggs for her daughter’s children to her before she is born. I believe the reason the eggs are passed from mothers bodies directly to their daughters – unlike men who make sperm as they go – is that the key of life must always be passed alive and cannot be created from physical parts alone. Like an Olympic torch, the melody of life has been sung like endless mantras within each living cell from the very beginning.

Trippy stuff…

Hey Arnold?

Dear Govenor Schwarzenegger.

As our reining governor you are making my life difficult.
You changed the vehicle-laws, so that a 25 year old car now has to pass a smog-test it was never designed to muster.

I have a rare old van, which suits me very well. In a way it is part of my personally. I don’t drive it much but it is my only transportation. To protect the world, presumably, you are demanding that I jump through all kinds of hoops, spend money I don’t have or bribe people I don’t know to keep things going.

A 25 year old vehicle cannot be held to the same standard as one from last year. If it is well maintained surely that must be enough for my fellow Earthlings. Wherever I go I am always welcomed, even in Earth-friendly circles. People don’t seem to mind I only get 14 miles to the gallon, perhaps because there are so few of these old Hippie vans still on the road. I’ll also bet everything I own that the combined emissions from all vehicles like mine in America will not delay the onset of rising oceans by even a second. Your law is a feel-good piece of governmental oversight that is messing with my life for no good reason.

Stupid laws cost money, solve nothing, breed contempt, and makes lawbreakers out of otherwise decent people.

They say it takes a big man to admit he is wrong. I’ve seen some of your movies, and it seems to me you should be able to qualify in that regard. My advice: Get the facts. Get off the green-machine-train before it completely derails, and let me have my “clunker”. And STOP FIXING THINGS THAT DON’T NEED FIXING. We all have better things to do.

________________________________

Details?
I have had a 1977 VW bus for 10 years. It is part the local landscape here in town – and will most likely not be able to pass the mandated smog inspection next year, so my choices are:

1. Get rid of it.
2. Try to “fudge” the data – like the global-warming scientists did – by tricking the DMV mandated test.
3. Registering the car in another state and hope nobody will notice.

I would like to bring it up to its original condition, even improving the performance by replacing the flawed fuel-injection system with carburetors, but the law says no.

Be honest. Have some common sense and serve the people of Carlifornia for goodness sake.

Who am I kidding? We thought you were a leader but you became a politician instead. Big difference. Our mistake.

“Arbeit macht frei”

It is interesting that somebody stole a sign that told a lie, intended to fool the neighbors to the deathcamps of 1940 Germany.

That is what the beast does: It lies because it has no faith. I don’t know why somebody stole a lie, but I hope they keep it to themselves.