reflections...

Obama and The Palin Effect, Deepak Chopra

moss — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:57:28 GMT

Sometimes politics has the uncanny effect of mirroring the national psyche even when nobody intended to do that. This is perfectly illustrated by the rousing effect that Gov. Sarah Palin had on the Republican convention in Minneapolis this week. On the surface, she outdoes former Vice President Dan Quayle as an unlikely choice, given her negligent parochial expertise in the complex affairs of governing. Her state of Alaska has less than 700,000 residents, which reduces the job of governor to the scale of running one-tenth of New York City. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani is a towering international figure. Palin's pluck has been admired, and her forthrightness, but her real appeal goes deeper. She is the reverse of Barack Obama, in essence his shadow, deriding his idealism and exhorting people to obey their worst impulses. In psychological terms the shadow is that part of the psyche that hides out of sight, countering our aspirations, virtue, and vision with qualities we are ashamed to face: anger, fear, revenge, violence, selfishness, and suspicion of 'the other.' For millions of Americans, Obama triggers those feelings, but they don't want to express them. He is calling for us to reach for our higher selves, and frankly, that stirs up hidden reactions of an unsavory kind. (Just to be perfectly clear, I am not making a verbal play out of the fact that Sen. Obama is black. The shadow is a metaphor widely in use before his arrival on the scene.) I recognize that psychological analysis of politics is usually not welcome by the public, but I believe such a perspective can be helpful here to understand Palin’s message. In her acceptance speech Gov. Palin sent a rousing call to those who want to celebrate their resistance to change and a higher vision. Look at what she stands for: --Small town values -- a denial of America's global role, a return to petty, small-minded parochialism. --Ignorance of world affairs -- a repudiation of the need to repair America's image abroad. --Family values -- a code for walling out anybody who makes a claim for social justice. Such strangers, being outside the family, don't need to be heeded. --Rigid stands on guns and abortion -- a scornful repudiation that these issues can be negotiated with those who disagree. --Patriotism -- the usual fallback in a failed war. --'Reform' -- an italicized term, since in addition to cleaning out corruption and excessive spending, one also throws out anyone who doesn't fit your ideology. Palin reinforces the overall message of the reactionary right, which has been in play since 1980, that social justice is liberal-radical, that minorities and immigrants, being different from 'us' pure American types, can be ignored, that progressivism takes too much effort and globalism is a foreign threat. The radical right marches under the banners of 'I'm all right, Jack,' and 'Why change? Everything's OK as it is.' The irony, of course, is that Gov. Palin is a woman and a reactionary at the same time. She can add mom to apple pie on her resume, while blithely reversing forty years of feminist progress. The irony is superficial; there are millions of women who stand on the side of conservatism, however obviously they are voting against their own good. The Republicans have won multiple national elections by raising shadow issues based on fear, rejection, hostility to change, and narrow-mindedness. Obama's call for higher ideals in politics can't be seen in a vacuum. The shadow is real; it was bound to respond. Not just conservatives possess a shadow -- we all do. So what comes next is a contest between the two forces of progress and inertia. Will the shadow win again, or has its furtive appeal become exhausted? No one can predict. The best thing about Gov. Palin is that she brought this conflict to light, which makes the upcoming debate honest. It would be a shame to elect another Reagan, whose smiling persona was a stalking horse for the reactionary forces that have brought us to the demoralized state we are in. We deserve to see what we are getting, without disguise. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/obama-and-the-palin-effec_b_123943.html Obama and The Palin Effect From: Deepak Chopra | Posted: September 4th, 2008

and good riddens!

moss — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 06:08:42 GMT

Drew Dellinger

moss — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:30:24 GMT

A friend just introduced me to Drew's work. I happily pass it on to whoever hasn't encountered it yet.

Garbage Island

moss — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 16:36:58 GMT

Twice the size of Texas and like American wastelines, but not the economy, GROWING! and we're eating it. and we're eating it, yes... all of us, WE'RE EATING IT! (well maybe not the raw foodist - they'll inherit the earth - the Bible says so) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt-MivNezes&NR=1

"Most important image ever taken" ?

moss — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:03:51 GMT

Just sitting here contemplating this, one of my favorite images... a humbling, awe inspiring contemplation... The “Ultra Deep Field”, (from Hubble) the farthest we’ve ever seen into the universe and considered to be the most important image ever taken. There are over 10,000 galaxies in this picture, every single dot of light is full-on galaxy containing MILLIONS and millions of stars! Each star has the possibility of planets orbiting it, each one with the possibility of “life” and a civilization. Forty-seven billion light years away... feeling small yet? Or HUGE depending on your perspective :-)

George Carlin - The Real Owners of America

moss — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 02:42:57 GMT

if this "country" is "finished" so be it and hallelujah. However, he's speaking to one version of reality, the whole thing could turn on a dime... tmoss "A man [woman] whom tells the truth must have a very fast, fast horse to live to see the Sun rise tomorrow." Chief Sitting Bull George Carlin - The Real Owners Of America 6-24-8 "The real owners are the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions. Forget the politicians, they're an irrelevancy. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice. You have owners. They own you. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the statehouses, the city halls. They've got the judges in their back pockets. And they own all the big media companies, so that they control just about all of the news and information you hear. They've got you by the balls. They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying to get what they want. Well, we know what they want; they want more for themselves and less for everybody else." "But I'll tell you what they don't want. They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well-informed, well-educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around the kitchen table and figure out how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. "You know what they want? Obedient workers people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork but just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shittier jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, reduced benefits, the end of overtime and the vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it. And, now, they're coming for your Social Security. They want your fucking retirement money. They want it back, so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street. And you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all, sooner or later, because they own this fucking place. It's a big club, and you ain't in it. You and I are not in the big club." "This country is finished."

Albert Hofmann Quote

moss — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:41:00 GMT

Doctor Albert Hofmann 1905 - 2008 "Alienation from nature and the loss of the experience of being part of the living creation is the greatest tragedy of our materialistic era. It is the causative reason for ecological devastation and climate change. Therefore I attribute absolute highest importance to consciousness change. I regard psychedelics as catalyzers for this. They are tools which are guiding our perception toward other deeper areas of our human existence, so that we again become aware of our spiritual essence. Psychedelic experiences in a safe setting can help our consciousness open up to this sensation of connection and of being one with nature. LSD and related substances are not drugs in the usual sense, but are part of the sacred substances, which have been used for thousand of years in ritual settings. The classic psychedelics like LSD, Psilocybin and Mescaline are characterized by the fact that they are neither toxic nor addictive. It is my great concern to separate psychedelics from the ongoing debates about drugs, and to highlight the tremendous potential inherent to these substances for self-awareness, as an adjunct in therapy, and for fundamental research into the human mind. It is my wish that a modern Eleusis will emerge, in which seeking humans can learn to have transcendent experiences with sacred substances in a safe setting. I am convinced that these soul-opening, mind-revealing substances will find their appropriate place in our society and our culture." Dr. Albert Hofmann

some things are just too funny

moss — Sat, 03 May 2008 15:42:45 GMT

tragically funny

Organic Raw Super food... Amazing Chocolate!

moss — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:29:36 GMT

I LOVE our community! Watch for this New line of Raw 90%Cacao Chocolate Truffle Bars Brought to you by " RIGHTeously Raw" . Our good tribe friends, Jacob & Amanda conjured up a magnificent food! 3 different flavors : My favorite, Maca Chocolate! This will set you right for hours. So much energy, my roomie, Sunny, had one and it lasted for sooo long It made him want to dance & sing! #2 Goji...Now this one is sweet and delicious, antioxidant kind... fruity and earthy tasting. And # 3 ...Carmel - So tasty, The Lucuma fruit gives it the carmel taste... These are 100% Raw Chocolate Truffles! umm ummm, good! earthsourceorganics.com 877-97-RAWNRGY

Why [David's] in Love with Neurobiology

moss — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:15:54 GMT

a re-post from my tribe friend, David: "Every “beloved” I get into – whether it’s a person, a beach, a conceptual system or a song – rocks my world in a different way. Right now, I’m in bed with neurobiology, and wow! Let me tell you what I’m seeing through her eyes… First off, there’s her perspective on this delicious bodymind I’m in. What an evolutionary masterpiece! What a miracle of design! I could go on and on… or you could jump in, and I’ll show you firsthand. Wanna see how we create reality? Watch human consciousness through the eyes of neurobiology. The deeper I go into the machinery, the less solid everything appears to be. It’s an ephemeral universe, invisible as Love, deep as the Void. And of this vastness, we're perceiving a laughably tiny percentage... From the entire 70-octave range of the electromagnetic spectrum, only a narrow bandwidth of frequencies is perceptible to our human senses. You know the drill: dog whistles, far infrared, cellphone signals, and the Ashtar Command are all off the edges of this biologically human screen. Within the limited frequency range that we CAN hear, see, taste, smell and feel, a ridiculously miniscule fraction of all the sensory data our bodies receive is actually processed consciously. Most is ignored. A sliver is processed automatically and unconcsciously. And once in a while, a few bits of that info make it to conscious awareness. From the nonstop “river” of sensory input, in any given moment, we are consciously aware of, at best – and this is when we’re really paying attention – only a few tiny “drops”. Now the joke is that we walk around assuming that we know what’s real and what isn’t, what happened and what didn’t, what’s possible and what’s not. Yet we’re basing those assumptions on virtually nothing. 99.999999999999% of what we experience in any given moment comes, not from our senses, not from the environment, not from anyone around us – but from our own brains. Our minds assemble these few random dots into coherent pictures and stories, but those pictures and stories are almost completely made up. This is why the Buddha said that all reality is an illusion. Because it is!"

The Son King

moss — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:09:47 GMT

Civil Rights leader and Peace Activist. He was 39 years old, Blessed us All and changed the world for the better! Love, Respect and Gratitude Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Mobile phones "more dangerous than smoking"

moss — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:55:49 GMT

be sure to get good head sets!!!! http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/mobile-phones-more-dangerous-than-smoking-or-asbestos-802602.html?r=RSS Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' Brain expert warns of huge rise in tumours and calls on industry to take immediate steps to reduce radiation Young people are at particular risk from exposure to radiation By Geoffrey Lean Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking' Health News, Health & Wellbeing - The Independent Sunday, 30 March 2008 Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation. The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks. It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long. Earlier this year, the French government warned against the use of mobile phones, especially by children. Germany also advises its people to minimise handset use, and the European Environment Agency has called for exposures to be reduced. Professor Khurana – a top neurosurgeon who has received 14 awards over the past 16 years, has published more than three dozen scientific papers – reviewed more than 100 studies on the effects of mobile phones. He has put the results on a brain surgery website, and a paper based on the research is currently being peer-reviewed for publication in a scientific journal. He admits that mobiles can save lives in emergencies, but concludes that "there is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumours". He believes this will be "definitively proven" in the next decade. Noting that malignant brain tumours represent "a life-ending diagnosis", he adds: "We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation." He fears that "unless the industry and governments take immediate and decisive steps", the incidence of malignant brain tumours and associated death rate will be observed to rise globally within a decade from now, by which time it may be far too late to intervene medically. "It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking," says Professor Khurana, who told the IoS his assessment is partly based on the fact that three billion people now use the phones worldwide, three times as many as smoke. Smoking kills some five million worldwide each year, and exposure to asbestos is responsible for as many deaths in Britain as road accidents. Late last week, the Mobile Operators Association dismissed Khurana's study as "a selective discussion of scientific literature by one individual". It believes he "does not present a balanced analysis" of the published science, and "reaches opposite conclusions to the WHO and more than 30 other independent expert scientific reviews".

First 100% wind powered community in the US

moss — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:59:35 GMT

Rock Port, MO 2/4/08 -- Rock Port Missouri is the first 100% wind powered community in the United States. To celebrate this tremendous achievement, a Green Switch Celebration will be held on Friday, April 18, 2008. Rock Port's 100% wind power status is due to four wind turbines located on agricultural lands within the city limits of Rock Port. The city of Rock Port uses approximately 13 million kilowatt hours of electricity each year. It is predicted that these four turbines will produce 16 million kilowatt hours each year. Excess wind generated electricity not used by Rock Port homes and businesses will move onto the transmission lines to be purchased by the Missouri Joint Municipal Utilities for use in other areas. This makes Rock Port, Missouri the first community in America capable of meeting its entire annual electricity demands from wind power! The public is invited to join Rock Port in celebration of its "first in the nation" status as the Memorial Building in Rock Port from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on April 18. At the celebration, the public is welcomed to visit exhibits relating to the wind industry as well as other renewable energy sources and special exhibit tours for school groups can also be arranged. The Switch Throwing Ceremony is set for 11:30 a.m. on Main Street in Rock Port and lunch will be served following the ceremony at the Fire Department Building. The ceremony's features speaker is Soren Hermansen. Hermansen is a resident of Denmark's 100% Renewable Energy Island, Samso. As Director of Samso Energy Academy and widely-known as an energy consultant and adviser, Hermansen is well-positioned to discuss the reality of renewable energy and sustainability. He will offer insight into how Samso Island accepted a government challenge 10 years ago to become self-sufficient in a carbon-neutral way. Rock Port's Green Switch Celebration is being organized by a committee of local and county-wide business people. Atchison County Development Corporation (ACDC) serves as a sponsor, and Ann Schlueter, Director of ACDC, can be contacted for additional information. For information: www.rockportwind. com Contact: www.atchisoncounty. org Phone: 660-744-6562

Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight

moss — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:57:52 GMT

Blew me away - one of the most inspiring talks I've ever seen. Do yourself a favor and find the 18 minutes to experience it! :-) infinite love... http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

For Love of Water

moss — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 20:17:11 GMT

http://www.flowthefilm.com/clips.php With water drying up around the world and the future of human lives at stake, this film urges a call to arms before more of our most precious natural resource evaporates. From both local and global perspectives, this documentary examines the harsh realities behind the mounting water crisis. Politics, pollution and human rights are intertwined in this important issue that affects every being on Earth.

No Joke!

moss — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:47:33 GMT

I opened this blood orange And found “Jesus” “Hey – what are you doing in there?” “Split a piece of wood, I am there Lift a stone, I am there” Hmm…. Blood of Christ, Body of Christ… I could auction this off on Ebay… But I ate it Seemed the wiser choice It’s all such a joke And no joke at all The presence of “Jesus” And how it’s been used to dominate And rule This Piscean age, our consciousness Guilt, Fear and Shame Can I get a witness? SUFFERING… give me a break What a game And the dawning of the Aquarian Age Thank God "let my people go" So I said, “goodbye” to the “story” “Jesus” And welcomed The Second Coming “Christ” within us All and ate the bloody orange from the mother of us all it seemed the wiser choice one more blasphemous heretic in support of the evolution of consciousness, Liberation of LOVE live free back to the garden of Eden

we are the event horizon

moss — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:52:10 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_aBlmq08X8

Pure Ecstasy

moss — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:36:39 GMT

last night I dreamt I took two "hits" of MDMA and then tried frantically to throw them up... I was unsuccessful and sure enough... woke up "high" and this morning, very post "E" which leads me to speculate about the relatively recent studies and research on the roll of the pineal gland and it's production and release of MAO and DMT... and those Buddhist monks and other initiates from many paths who, locked away in darkness of a cave or deep meditation have similar experiences and why I'd ever want to stimulate that experience from any place, other than my internal "self" but then again.... in any case, the above assemblage work-in-progress I prematurely present as "pure ecstasy" from my dream... to yours

history in the making?

moss — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 20:13:10 GMT

The Audacity of Hope http://www.dipdive.com/

a good story continues...

moss — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 22:33:58 GMT

Everybody loves a good story, and when it is finished, this will be the greatest one ever told...It begins in Africa with a group of hunter-gatherers, perhaps just a few hundred strong. It ends some 200,000 years later with their six and a half billion descendants spread across the Earth, living in peace or at war, believing in a thousand different deities or none at all, their faces aglow in the light of campfires and computer screens... Perhaps the most wonderful of the stories hidden in our genes is that, when unraveled, the tangled knot of our global genetic diversity today leads us all back to AFRICA.

favorite things...

moss — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 04:51:57 GMT

just wanted to share... this recent birthday painting by my friend, Aaron, is one of my all time favorite gifts.

Happy Holidays Every One!

moss — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 04:25:32 GMT

Happy Holy Daze - shop, shop, shop

moss — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 12:12:55 GMT

Just a reminder, that most of you don't need, but just in case :-) http://www.storyofstuff.com/

the revolving wheel

moss — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:40:26 GMT

“…When his gaze dwelt on the lotus flowers in the ponds of his garden, on the lovely iridescent plumage of his peacocks, pheasants, and rhinoceros birds, on the gilded carvings of his palace, these things sometimes seemed to him virtually divine, aglow with the fires of eternal life. But other times, and even at the same times, he sensed in them something unreal, unreliable, questionable, a tendency toward perishability and dissolution, a readiness to relapse into formlessness, into chaos.” ... "It was Maya, the whole lovely and frightful, delicious and desperate kaleidoscope of life with its searing delights, its searing griefs." from: The Glass Bead Game, "The Indian Life" - by Hermann Hesse

Aware

moss — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 18:30:59 GMT

Aware When I found the door I found the vine leaves speaking among themselves in abundant whispers. My presence made them hush their green breath, embarrassed, the way humans stand up, buttoning their jackets, acting as if they were leaving anyway, as if the conversation had ended just before you arrived. I liked the glimpse I had, though, of their obscure gestures. I liked the sound of such private voices. Next time I'll move like cautious sunlight, open the door by fractions, eavesdrop peacefully. Denise Levertov