The focus of our reality

It just confounds me how folks don't know that they are creating their world with their thoughts and actions. We spend all our lives interpreting reality via our own minds. Yet we so rarely make that jump to realizing it is us who formulates what we believe. For the most part we are and have been programmed since birth . But it is our mind which implements these programs to create our perspective. We are who we were told we were as children. Our basis for identity starts with the name provided to us by parents then their behavior gets copied via imitation. Of course we have a combo of their genetics as well. But the creation of identity is ego based especially among adolescents. We make ourselves from that point on. It is instinctual. The need to spread our wings and fly on our own terms.

If and when we truly realize this we can really start living with our eyes open. At this point behavior becomes so important not just so as to follow the rules but more importantly for the sake of what following moral rules does to us and those around us. Kindness is not something to do because of a fear of being placed on Santa's naughty list but rather a miraculous gateway to living in a heavenly paradise here on earth. When enacted it acts as a contagious agents. Simple yes, hard to do, well only if you like living in hellish conditions. Stress, anger, all nature of malevolence can be crushed by kindness. Sounds hokey, well yes it does but that doesn't stop it from being true. The problem we are all faced with are patterns of negative behavior we have experienced and absorbed. As Darth Vader goes on about all the time. the darkside is powerful and that it sure is. It infuses the ego and encourages it to gorge itself on negativity. That's what bullying has always been about. But there are two side to that story. The addiction to negativity is taught by exposure to it. Especially at an early age. Without experiencing love, negativity takes its place. Then how can we expect those poor folks to know anything else. The bully in the school yard is usually suffering from low self esteem and no sense of positive identity, most likely no positive role model to provide one. When left to their own devices all creatures do what they can to survive and that most certainly includes emotional survival not just physical.

One of the most over looked aspect of kindness is being kind to oneself. Most folks may not realize how horrid they are to themselves. We usually punish ourselves psychologically as we were punished as children or by someone who had an effect on us . That program is old and deeply set in our psyche. That's why we usually use similar methods with our kids as our parents did with us. But what we do to others we most likely do to our selves. "Judge not lest ye be judged" has always popped out at me as a key statement to this. Since we only know what's going on in our minds the judgment of others can only affect us via our own perception. Considering we can't know the thoughts of others we usually just make them up according to our own insecurities and fears. Just as a dream sequence in a movie when a character informs the dreamer that they too are a part of the dreamers mind. Just some reflection of themselves in a different persona. Everything we commiserate about is how we have chosen to view our reality via old habits. Which most usually makes us feel just like we've been conditioned to feel, as our selves. But that too is a program. Which by the way is not set in stone.


Unless we find the path to kindness we can rarely find peace. Unfortunately contemporary western society seems to believe that money making is the path to happiness. Now we all need a certain amount of it in this world but it is most certainly not the path to happiness. Fact is greed is a never ending opiate and usually destroys our lives, AKA relationships (the only important things we have). All religions and philosophies tell us this. Being kind and good leads quite simply to living a happier and more joyful life. Is it hard? Well yes of course. But once the program is believed (accepted) and hypocrisy rooted out and vanity vanquished (meaning the behavior is changing) it will lead to a calmer more relaxed existence.

Cyborgs and social networking

We are now in a matrix entirely manufactured to gather data so as to maximize the efficiency of being programmed. As a whole humanity is not grasping the insidious nature of all this info being gathered on us individually. This may be the information age but as usual we only absorb the superficial nature of such a catch phrase. Just as people believed mechanization would free them from labour. We experience just the tip of the iceberg in regards to how this age of information really works. Our ego centric world view hides the motives of those who are orchestrating these juggernauts of power. These techniques of finding out everything about us are the precursor to an absolute Orwellian future. Just as robotics has maximized profits for employers and left us without jobs the outstanding abilities that computers have proved to have in calculation in turn has fooled us again. We are trained to love our captivity, admire and adore our chains. Specialization (seen as an amazing adaptation) has debased us to idiocy. Our ancestors would shake their heads in disgust. We are becoming less able to think or do or worse yet refuse to think or do basic things that make life possible and enjoyable. We have been programmed with the idea of wanting the sort of life enjoyed by the aristocracy of old. Basically a life of leisure. The real problem with this is that with no purpose their is no sense of actual meaningful contentedness to be achieved. Thus unhappiness abounds. Big pharma will now sell you something to fix that. In the past we were to busy living our lives. By promoting irresponsible introversion ( as advertising does) without benevolent and positive reinforcement as was the practice of all ancient systems of introversion. Meditation, Yoga and the like always had a teacher or Guru who helped you along. Guiding you to development rather than the pit of agony that people are driven into by advertising. Other than food and warm dry shelter we have little need of much more materialistically. Of course we are a tool user and require a fair amount of them. But our ancestors knew how to produce them. We have been programmed to see that knowledge as primitive and below us. The real thing we need is people. We have been isolated and divided from each other. In the past we were brought together by necessity but now we are emotionally hobbled in our separated realities. What used to make us strong were our communities. The world wide web is helping in certain international issues (and important issues they are). Democracy and other people based movements will thrive from the availability of over seas connections. But at the more local individual level people are being torn a part. Adolescents used to get lonely and congregate. Now they text each other and forgo the arduous task of socialization. One can only imagine the future devastation of our social fabric. The western nations are now populated by highly trained cyborgs. Absolutely in love with their inter communication devices and gadgets. Dumb monkey.

Being content is a forest harvested axe split pile of wood. It grants understanding as to what heat means in the cold winter night.

Truth's Vision is Our Blindspot: If we only had eyes that could see

In dark compensations and
Moonless nights of blamelessness,
We sit understanding each other
As a part of the whole.

Maggots writhing in filth.
We walk the earth and pray
In the shadow.
Dreaming that we are gods.

We rave and rage against nature.
Fools, greedy hearts and empty souls.
Gold is a cold stone and
Dollar bills are but wrinkled dreams.

Away from the bone yards
We mumble and morn.
As if we didn't have enough.
Razing the world for the fear of fear.

The Wholesome Embrace of Nature

Om Mani Padme Hum

Reality is a chant taught to us by our parents.
Repeated enough so as to be believed.
Then what is Truth?
I suppose that which we believe.
Our Mantra.

The Legend of the Collapse of Civilization.

The topic of the post apocalypse has always been very popular. The eminent collapse of every civilization is always a great fire side ghost story. Every mythology deals with the subject. From Zeus besting Chronos, the Norse Ragnarok, Christian Apocalypse, Mayan end of the world...etc.... All cultures come from the ashes of others and subconsciously know that one day they too will turn to ash to give birth to yet another. Often the last bit of that is forgotten or omitted by the civilization in panic and fear of it's own demise. The fact is humanity will not be destroyed just the culture. The actual annihilation of our species will be a mute point since there won't be any of us around to bitch and complain about it. So were does that leave us in regards to the present fear of the collapse of the American economy. Perhaps due to the youth of their nation they lack the wisdom and understanding to realize things will eventually even out. Maybe not to the standards of 1980's wealth and opulence. Perhaps more in tune to a realistic concept of economic growth and loss. The belief in constant growth was unrealistic and foolish as any one who thinks they will win everything and no one else will ever come up on top but themselves. As if history was only studied as a curiosity rather than a manual to understanding human reality.

Nothing is constant and all things are subject to change. Russia still exists and so do all the nations it annexed post WWII. Although the USSR collapsed. It is foolish fear mongering to believe that all is nigh. Things will change and we will persevere. Pre electricity and electronics our ancestors just over a hundred years ago did just fine. Even if worst came to worst we would not degrade to a level past that of the late 1800's. The fact is most of the world has survived at that level while we dived unquestioning into the modern world. Industrialization does not require oil or gas. There is plenty of coal, wood, and alcohol. Things would get more expensive for certain. It must be understood what the failure of the world economy really means. As it stands it is the domination of the world by the Industrial nations AKA Europe and all it's affiliates. Japan was the exception due to aggressive American Salesmanship. The world has and is in a dire point of unbalance and disharmony. Not for those of us from the Western Nations, but rather the vast majority of the world. We bully, cajole and blackmail our selves to power. We are witnessing the crumbling of American power, which was gained by waiting for the point just before the Germans took Britain and riding in like the cavalry to save the day. Waiting for the exact moment were Britain had everything to loose and would hand over anything to be saved. Negotiating with the victorious German's would have made no sense. How can you bargain with someone who has everything (remember the German had conquered all of Western and Eastern Europe excluding Russia). So once old WWII was done, the good old USA had it all. It is from that concept of power which the USA is now falling. No nation had ever held so much power before. The Russian's have already collapsed from their similar pedestal and now the world order based on mercantilism championed by America is shifting it's weight and things are and will continuously be changing. The world is not ending, it is just changing. The American's will simply have to get used to working with the rest of the world instead of simply bullying every one around. If the United States where a person we'd say it's just growing up. History could help them if seen as a record of other fellow Empires who once had it all and then leveled out with the other nations. Considering that the Americans had just jockeyed the British (their ally) out of position after WWII. They should know all to well that they'd be next. Who ever has the power is first on the list of the power hungry, it's obvious logic. Adolf Hitler's 1000 year Reich nonsense was based of ancient Roman history, but things happened much slower back than . Today with advanced weaponry and satellite technology things are done within a few seconds. Power comes from economic strength not just military might.

Within the last hundred years we have changed culturally in such a radical sense. Never have things changed so quickly. It is no wonder that we humans are left with such anxiety and fear. The world no longer exists for us in our immediate surroundings, but rather in some computer or Television set pre programed hundreds of kilometers away. Considering that our minds are so permeable to propaganda we will continue to be lead around by the ends of our noses, stomachs or genitalia. Since corporations have realized this, we will never be free of their brilliant nattering in our ears. Considering that they have cornered the market of economic power and dole it out to our politicians and governments as to so many Pavlovian dogs to control everything, we are lost. The corporation isthe real problem, a virus which has compounded power in a way that will dwarf the Vatican's ancient hold as a power house of human control. Orwell's nightmare will not be instituted by nations but rather by corporations in the future. Unlike a political leader a corporation can not die thus loyalty and love is ongoing and everlasting as in religion. There is no end (except perhaps to the idea of nationhood). The corporations control the world now and these tenacious beasts will not say die but rather as zombies continually feeding off of the rotten corps of our nations ironically made corrupt and putrid by their corporate lobbyists (power brokers).

The here and now, All there really is

The only way forward in life is to get over ones self. The difficult nature of this process is that once you have torn down a significant part of the ego's facade or illusory compulsion it will begin to build a new one. The task itself is unending until the ego can be so significantly tamed. Not be an overwhelming nuisance but rather a well behaved and mature proponent of our psychology. We cannot escape the truth of existing, the here, right now. We can imagine all sorts of fantasies but low and behold we are always in the present moment. The ego can be a great tool in sustaining a healthy mind but it cannot be permitted to solely control us. The evidence of the horror of such an existence is the present age of consumption and self interest. As a civilization we have permitted the petty minded greed of fools to lead us. It is similar to permitting children to run household economics, all the money would go towards ice cream and candy and the infrastructure would shut down and we'd end up in the ditch. How else would a society based on sales end up? We sold everything for (cheaper) trinkets and baubles. Shiny toys that glow and speak to us in exchange for the earth , healthy food and clean air. No animal is so stupid as we. As long as people only consume to fill their emptiness they will never be able to fill themselves. The only things that can actually fill us is human companionship and the environment we have evolved to survive in since the beginning of (human) time. This age of greed is cold and sterile (emotionally) and we fool our selves with placebos into thinking it is good and wholesome. When desire is taken in hand and tamed, only then do we have control over our selves. Only then can we do what is right and act accordingly.

The insanity of humanity: The source of the mad monkey's power.

There are many reasons for our mad ways. Yet I think there is one which centers on our actual ability to be such wild and untamed beasts. Unlike most critters on this planet we are in constant rut. We are not the only animal who has this characteristic but we have many other characteristics which in combination make us the equivalent to a biological nuclear bomb (on slow release). It's not just the obvious about being in constant rut (mass population increase only depending on food supply) that makes us so dangerous to the world. (No wonder that the so called Green revolution of petroleum based farming products sky rocketed our population) But the actual madness of the rut which literally heightens and increases our aggression. It is this aggressive nature which actually makes us so dangerous. Mice are also able to reproduce often, yet they serve no real danger but as the single greatest mammalian food source in nature. The real danger of our population growth is that we are predatory and lay claim to the top of the food pyramid. But this pyramid is growing top heavy. Because of our use of fossil fuel to fertilize our crops we have inverted the pyramid and are beginning to suffer from the diseases which follow closely behind any heard which grows too large and unhealthy. The power of speech and the gullibility of our species has made us perfect patsies for those who desire power. So we kill each other for one bauble or another, one grain of dirt or another. These spin doctors and demagogues redirect our excessive aggressive energy towards those they perceive as their enemies and we do as we are told. Murdering untold numbers for one resource or another in the guise of ideology . There is no other animal so sick and demented as humanity. All the rest seek few things for survival (food and occasional shelter). We on the other hand seek so many reasons to annihilate our selves, so ending our need to survive. The madness of humanity is our most unique characteristic. Not our thumbs, brain, speech or erect posture. These are the resources which permit us to engage in all sorts of horrific wastes of energy to gain some demented form of dominance over one fear or another. We claim all kinds of superiority over nature but really it's just our desperate need to have some sort of control over a world which we are but a small speck in the dust of time. Even if we end up destroying our world life will bounce back as it has from so many other destructive forces. The sad and pathetic insecurity that we suffer from is our weakness. We deem ourselves divine and have created so many gods in our image so that we could feel some link to that which we judge great and infinite. Just to battle the great fear of death, that which we cannot conquer. In the name of our fear we will destroy anything. No other animal has ever had the disadvantage of so much power to achieve such horrific realities. It's not that I hate the light bulb above my head keeping the darkness at bay. No, I love it. But that does not mean that it's not going to eventually destroy the world. One light bulb maybe not but what it represents, you can bet on it.

How a mole hill becomes a mountain

Worry and stress are similar to dust. They gather in the corners and build up until you wonder how they got there. Sweeping away such nuisance is the only solution. The funny thing is how unperceived it is at first until it builds up then it seems that you're under attack. Little by little the increments are barely visible until they are overwhelming. Frequent maintenance sure helps keep the conscientiousness up otherwise we can be overwhelmed by the smallest and most ridiculous points of contention. My prescription is a good healthy dose of evenhanded and compassionate introversion sans the egocentricity. That's the stiff broom to get the job done.

The Minds Eye

It is only once I stop forcing my mind to think and permit it to do what it was made to do that it works amazingly. Just staring at a log, a rock or piece of old rusted iron or an old tire releases all the potentials, all the things you could do with them or not. Instead of tensing up that old grey matter just let it flow. It amazes me, the things my imagination can come up with when I let it be. I love certain tools. My axe for its simplicity yet versatility. My knife because it can make almost anything. A paint brush can actually let me transcribe my subconscious onto canvas and paper, but the one I most adore is my imagination for it's limitlessness. I have from time to time forgot this and am fortunate to have children as friends for they always remind me of this amazing thing. I was visiting friends and the youngest boy once finished his chores went to his mother and asked if he could go play with his imagination. I found him latter out on the front porch deliberating, creating, thinking up universes and adventures. I was so envious, then I remembered I too can do this and of course once I really thought of it I realized I do. My adventures unfortunately have been tainted by bill paying and all sorts of other adult nonsense that I should do but not mire my mind with. So I'll loaf off and daydream my life away. Still paying the bills and all that sort of fiddle faddle. There is nothing so grand as sinking into one's own mind, as some huge fluffy cushion and especially feeling good about it.

Problem?

Most problems are only the product of problematic thinking. The solution is amazingly simple, don't think.

La Joie de Vivre

Modernity and all its labour saving devices has taken the meaning of life from us. "Joie de vivre" means "joy of living", since we no longer live for our selves but permit robotic like devices to do our necessary daily tasks for us we rob ourselves of the joy which can be derived by the skill and ability of being able to individually take responsibility for ourselves. We have become so over specialized in our money acquiring tasks that the simple doing and learning of achievement is no more. We have become so corrupt by the narrow minded pursuit of money earning that existence itself has become a trivial calculation based on acquisition. I'm not trying to pull apart the materialism of our culture, those in favour of it will sing it's praise and need no help in explaining the heaps of its greed. Rather this is a lament of the lost action of living ones own life and just being ones own self. The emergence of the industrial phenomenon of the middle class has brought honest folk closer and closer to the despicable love of an aristocratic way of life. To pass our work on to others, to live off the sweat, blood and backs of others. The Count Dracula version of Vampire folklore is the perfect analogy for how the aristocracy feeds off the blood of the peasant. How else have monarchs accumulated so much wealth and lands through out the centuries? How else have the robber barons taken hold of the power of the world? We the people have become infected by our adulation of their supposed lives of ease. Yet we lost the most important thing there is to being alive . We can no longer make our own cloths, grow our own food, make our own tools and utensils, think for our selves. So we are the perfect fish to be shot in the barrel, who must purchase the necessities of life being incapable of providing such things for themselves any more. Freedom might just be a euphemism for slavery but less advertising, less propaganda equates a mind less hampered by someone else's desire to control us. We are the one animal best capable of taming itself, once done we tamed all the others who could be tamed and killed those who would not. Tamed of course just means controlled. I suppose we made the bed and there we shall lie.

Freedom from religious chains: Samsara's poisonous thorn

Samsara ends when you stop believing in it. The end of the fear of suffering is the gate to the end of samsara. Is that Nirvana? Does it matter? The Buddha said "I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusion of magicians" He was wise beyond human thought and thus exceeded it by emptying it. An empty mind is the only freedom from the world of suffering and turmoil. In that process reconditioning is the byproduct and brings calmness and solace to the practitioner.

From the cradle to the grave

The process and application of ideas (that is in the personal lives of people) has weighed heavily on my mind of late. We say and mean many things, when relating our feelings and opinions. But what seems to be more relevant is the pattern in which we do these things. I suppose what I'm getting at is ones personality as opposed to ones views. It is an interesting division, since most of us identify ourselves via our perspective. Identity is so often framed and filled by political, philosophical and practical beliefs or experiences. This is obvious, but when we really get to know ourselves and those around us the idiosyncrasies become fascinating. You might come to notice that your political affiliations are really those based in the morality you were raised on. But we might come to notice that our personal life experiences do not jive with the program our parents have entered into our minds. How we are raised and our reactions to that are of such a magnitude that the issue can hardly be avoided. I have previously described this as the software of our evolutionary process. Developed through out the ages by our ancestors and their experiences and reactions to existence. Millions of combination's of genetic characteristics and the software to go with the unit to cause it to work, survive and split off into copies again. If you have the good fortune to come from a large family with good relations and long generational relations you can start to get a look at your own family history and behavioral patterns. The way a person walks, talks, relates to the world...it's amazing. This is the mechanics of living life and that is what really makes it so important. Here is a Zen Buddhist story which brings home the only valuable point there is to life. With out it you might as well have been born a krill or plankton.

A student said to Master Ichu, "Please write for me something of great wisdom." Master Ichu picked up his brush and wrote one word: "Attention." The student said, "Is that all?" The master wrote, "Attention. Attention." The student became irritable. "That doesn't seem profound or subtle to me." In response, Master Ichu wrote simply, "Attention. Attention. Attention." In frustration, the student demanded, "What does this word 'attention' mean?" Master Ichu replied, "Attention means attention."

Being aware may be frightening at first but eventually anything else is ridiculous.

The Buddha also said, "I see... nirvana as a nightmare of daytime."

So the blue or the red pill?

Homo Sapiens Lament

I am constantly flabbergasted by the arrogant insistence of my fellow human being that we as a species are not animals. As if we get some holy sanctum to avoid the stigma. How ridiculous. I have heard so many half baked reasons as to why we are not of the animal kingdom (aka from earth I guess). One person (who lacked any knowledge of anatomy, especially bone structure) was explaining as to how we resemble no animals, nothing about us is in any way similar to the creatures of the earth. He actually resembled a laughing chimp as he carried on with his strange rationalizations. I find this subject as that of eternal life, a taboo, a box they can not get out of. I think the reason such subjects are unmentionable and unnavigable for many is that both ideas are pillars to the human egocentric psychological shelter from the bare truth of existence. If the mind is wiped clean of such beliefs a scary truth will present itself. The small, unimportant reality of the self and the human race can be quite damaging to many fragile and weak minds. Life without big papa in the sky is quite disconcerting, if there is no Wizard of OZ behind the curtain, and we are just another animal fighting for survival; then there is no certainty and we are not some holy creation above all the rest and maybe we have no get out of jail card to save us from ourselves. I can't say for certain what the rest of the human race feels. But I once believed in the great all seeing master (watching over me), but when my eyes were opened and I left the cave, I was happy and relieved to be free of that control structure. Accepting the inevitability of death and its finality is a great step to enjoying and not wasting the one life we have to live (Carpe Diem). Life is fleeting and it is sad to see people with great lives who can't see that for themselves. Always wanting something else, or to be someone else, what a waste. I have begun to see that when people lament their lives to me and they expound on what is missing that would make it all good; the only thing I see that is not present is a happy attitude. We are only unhappy because we are not happy. Seems simple, it is. Expectation, is the seed to discontent. Not realizing (daily) how precious life is, they wast the amazing power of mental focus on the negative and thus suffering commences. I guess we love to suffer. Happiness is the elusive holy grail of humanity, and it is right there in front of us all, just waiting to be fulfilled. Empty the mind of negativity (it's hard I know, I wrestle with it daily) and just float in no thought. If the self is just an illusion taught to us as reality by our parents and society. All we need to do is take a minute once a day to be free of it and see how calm and beautiful solace really can be.

Electoral Representation

Here in Canada as our neighbours to the south we are entangled in that most sacred of debacles, a federal election. I wish I could be all excited and filled with pride for our democratic process. Don't get me wrong I love and support our system, well what it should be. The legislature is supposed to be comprised of individuals elected by those who they represent. Now we have voted for them, but who they actually represent is what this little tirade is all about. I have rarely felt represented and rarely have I noticed or seen a Member of Parliament represent her or his constituents. Most often they do what their party tells them. This is my gripe, I don't remember the party getting them elected I thought it was the majority in their riding? Of all forms of corruption, bribery and lobbying it seems to me that party system of cronyism is the downfall to the system of democracy. Political parties should be outlawed and made punishable by death. Representatives should be bound to obey the majority consensus of their region. If they disobey, they should be replaced by another regional vote. Some would argue that this process would be costly and inefficient. Modern democracies are so expensive because of corruption that a representative who had to keep his or her act clean to stay in office would certainly cut down on costs. Many would claim that this would slow government down and nothing would be achieved. Well take a look at what governments actually do, I think slowing them down would do them some good. All modern governments have over exceeded their primary mandate, they have over stepped their bounds and are more akin to parents that ruling bodies. Government exists to maintain infrastructure and make laws to safe guard its citizens and have those laws enforced for the benefit of its population. But where are we now? We are riddled by spin doctors and swindlers. Is this new ? No. But if these sneak thieves could be slowed and made to worry about their jobs if they fail to represent us, well then maybe they might think twice. Idealism? Yes. But the end of the party system would be the key stone to dissolving much of the corruption. Here in Canada we have had a minority government for the past few years and I think it's the best way to keep these power fiends in check. They actually have to compromise and negotiate with each other to get anything done. At least that way we can be mildly assured that what the government does do will not be so one sided and will actually have to be debated in parliament and negotiated.

Deprogram

The easiest way to empty ones mind of all the horrible garbage that has been stuffed in there via TV, magazines, movies is to shut the influx of this negative media down. All those romantic films of how things aught to be clog your ability to actually deal with your own life situations. Adventure related entertainment, movies, video games, books, all these also paint us a picture of a reality which is false. Thus confusing us as to what we will encounter and how to deal with life. Post-modern media methods have been so successful that most of us do not know the difference between reality and TV. It is no wonder that those nations who are addicted to mass media are the most vulnerable to demagogues and their spin doctors. In the past people were more occupied with their own lives rather than those of the characters on The Young and the Restless, Friends, Lost or any of the countless false realities fed to us. If the mundane boring world of politics and economics were more prevalent to the minds of the masses, elections would be run more like actual issue related campaigns intended to choose those to represent us in governmental council. Instead of a sporting arena farce for choosing MVP's and best rookies of the year. Fodder for the masses to shield those who will do as they please either way.
The analogy of Plato's Cave has never been so obvious and relevant. But unless people run out of food the vast majority do not care and would much rather stay in the matrix than be aware and part of the grand complexity of reality. Burying our heads in the sand of hollywoodism is so much better a diversion that the pain of self analyze and soul searching. To see that the great Western Empire is not so much The Good Guys we were told it was. I remember Sting's song "Russians" were he sings, "I hope the Russians love their children too", which back in the eighties was practically considered treason by many. How simplistic and absolutely stupid! People literally thought that an entire group of people would be unanimously evil as to not care for each other. But wait are their others that we now attribute such negative behaviour? I'll let you think about that. Conquer and divide is just as apt a strategy as ever. We are not separate from each other we all inhabit this planet , breath the same air and eat from the same soil. So any thing which counters this must be denounced as lies and demagogic manipulation.
Turning off the flow of our minds addiction to media is next to impossible. Humans are so impressionable that we are susceptible to repetition. So maybe just cutting out and weeding down our media consumption can start us on the path to clearing up the subterfuge and escaping the cave. Socrates plan of life analysis is the path to get on. Who are we? Why do we think what we think? Who told us to think that way in the first place? These are good and necessary questions to start the immense task of "Knowing Thy Self". We cannot change the past, but here in the present the power is ours and as I always say to my son "if you're not controlling your self, who is?". A valid thought in an era where our hunger and sexuality are exploited by advertisers in the name of the powers that pay them. The burger on the screen isn't actually there, sex for selling furniture polish is irrational, but you will buy polish. Which one will you pick the one that reminds you of how mundane polishing your furniture is or the one that has implanted images of passion and affection into your subconscious? A drooling dog is the appropriate image here. We have been made into dumb beasts. The excitement and adventure that has been superimposed onto these fictions are making fools of us and proving us incapable of thinking for ourselves. Turn the advertising off. Block out the sly serpents tongue from your ear and its deceptive images of beauty and youth. Look in the mirror and accept who you really are.

Buying is not living.

Buying is not living. It's just deferring the responsibility for something you're either too ignorant or lazy to do for yourself. The fulfillment of the potential of human consciousness is only achieved within the context of our actual and original environment (nature). Walk through a forest and try to take it all in, every little detail all the noises, the clouds, the wind. Our minds were meant for that, to survive in the complexity of the true reality of nature. The intellectual pursuits of civilization are but a banal attempt at placating our intense sense of boredom, which is a product of the mis-use or rather under usage of our minds full potential. The focus on singular specializations have rendered us emotionally bankrupt and missing out on the wholesome fullness of human existence. We did nor evolve to be factory workers or bureaucratic paper pushers. Why do so many people feel empty and without purpose? The answer is not so hard to find, they do not have much of either. Our potential is not being met. The obsession with leisure is a poison eating away at the root of happiness. Purpose can only be achieved via actual practical actions. Why do so many people take up hobbies which were once viewed as chores? Gardening, exercising, cooking. Why are so many difficult or even dangerous activities pursued as pastimes? Mountain climbing, hiking, whitewater kayaking...etc. Simply, because post-modern life is vacant of actual meaning. Existing to consume and then consume some more is not a "reason d'etre". Pavlovian response may be effective in advertising but "man cannot live by branding alone". The market economy may give us mucho cargo but it has failed us and is destroying everything and anything of actual importance to our well being. Fulfillment is achieved through the act of creation, making your own food, growing your own food, carving a spoon, knitting a sweater, catching a fish, building a house or shelter. Doing it for yourself and not relying on another who has been disadvantaged enough to be paid so little to achieve a task that you can afford to have them do for you, doesn't do you as much good as you may think. We have been infected by the ancient ways and mannerisms of the ruling aristocracy. Living off the labour of the many poor and un-empowered. The problem is that honesty and goodness check out as we check into political extortion and heavy handed trade policies. The world has become very complicated and the lies we tell our self have also. This world wide scenario of the mercantilistic vision is exactly how Britain lost America. "Viva la revolusion".

Patience

Sacrifice and steadfastness have produced ample reward for me. Patience is not only a virtue due to its consideration and compassion onto those it is practiced upon. Yet rather its larger reaching arm is the strength and power it imbues to its practitioner. Patience is a root which gives forth such bounty that none can challenge its validity. Those who lack it suffer horribly under the weight and oppression of anger and hate. Such bedfellows one should not court wantonly. Betwixt them shall no man or woman find solace or contentedness. Being the prisoner of addiction and hotty sorrow. Every step towards calmness is a leap to freedom and new beginnings. We must never despair nor fear, for it is these very acts which sap our will and drive. To the solace of the heart and mind must we shift. The goal is an even keel, neither obsessively happy nor sad. Yet rather balanced and steady, unaffected by slight and trivial matters. Solid and strong as the very earth below our feet.