Iraninam

                                                     I extend an apology even before my Gentlemen and Gentlewomen read what follows .   It may be inappropriate to "vent" my personal Issues, however I maintain that this particular vent is germane to the Topic of War, and I tender, 'authorial prerogative' as a defense .

                                  We are hearing retired Admirals and Generals remind us that :

                          "THE ELITES START WARS BUT IT IS THE AVERAGE CITIZENS WHO         CONDUCT THE COMBAT ".    Here now the World View of the "Elites" in all its HEINOUS ATROCITY .   

                                   Trump has managed to manifest EVERYTHING AMERICANS DID NOT WANT  and done so with CRIMMINAL MENDACITY .    

                                   Trump has done ALL except declaring himself a CAESAR .

                                    >>> TRUMPGUSTUS CAESAR<<<  The MAGA-LOW-MANIAC  who single handedly ANNIHILATED all that "Once Was" .

Hubris

                                                   I find it necessary to introduce, to at least a few of my Gentle Readers, the concept of Hubris (also spelled hybris and pronounced YOU BRISS), which is, "Excessive Pride and/or Self-Confidence" .   Some of us know of >hubris< because of the story of "Icarus" who fashioned wings  whose feathers were glued by wax.   Icarus neared the Sun and the wax melted sending him plummeting earthward toward a certain demise .  

                          My "Western Civilization" Professor, Dr. Langer, spent some time on this .   Icarus, he said, sought to be as the Gods, meaning, he desired to FLY, as the Gods Fly and when the Gods became aware of his Effort, they got PISSED and PUNISHED HIM WITH DEATH .    Dr. Langer continued with the Concept of Hubris,=  Icarus had committed Hubris, thinking that HE, an earthly Mortal, could achieve what the Gods were capable of---clearly the gods would have none of it .  

                        Dr. Langer did not stop at that point but supplemented the story by adding >Nemesis< .   Nemesis is the actions taken to punish Hubris and is often stated this way ;  "When one commits hubris, Nemesis results" .   Some of us know that Nemesis is the Greek goddess of Vengeance, and YOU CANNOT FUCK WITH NEMESIS .  She aint "All Powerful" but She is close, oh so fucking close .

                       Trump's thinks he's GOD, his actions are PROOF .    Will the Gods allow him such GROTESQUE Delusions and their ACTUAL Manifestations .   Doubtful ~~~~~ .

Qeshm

                                                         Last evening {even-ning}, while listening to Music, stretching and re-viewing the day's actions, a 'something' "arrived" that caught and trapped my Attention, it was this :  trump [and his] are about to be HUMBLED by what was once the Persian Empire .   It is now "self-evident" (to ALL), that in order for the War to come to a close, the Strait of Hormuz must-be opened and protected from re-closure* .   Present Day retired Admirals and Generals agree that Ground Forces must be deployed in the areas and territories that are the shores of BOTH the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman .   Indeed,   American Warships have been dispatched to the Strait and are set to arrive within the next two weeks, OBVIOUSLY prolonging the War for  AT LEAST that sailing duration and the land assault surely to follow .

                            The stated Target of these Ground Forces is a little island named Qishm (or Qeshm) which  has, within its bowels, an Underground Missile Fortress .   Also, and definitely 'for what it's worth', the island is base for desalinization facilities .    The island has already sustained both bomb and missile attacks that MAY OR MAY NOT produced acceptable results, in that, the Strait remains controlled by the Persian Empire .

                           The retired Admirals and Generals have submitted that the Strait CANNOT be "Opened" by Air Forces alone, since both the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are ridden by mines, some of them dating to WWII .  Hence trump's DESPERATE Call for NATO 'Mine Sweepers', to which the NATO Allies have answered with, "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on".  

                          But I digress ... .

Esoterica

                                                       Part of my own World View is that the World is NOT "a Safe Place" .    I tend toward a Cynicism that reeks of Kurt Vonnegut, and an Absurdism that smells of Joseph Heller .   I do NOT Trust ANYONE including my Self .   The FACT that I am almost devoid of Trust does NOT mean that I lack Faith, indeed, I have GREAT Faith in Humankind, although my Cynicism and Absurdist Tendencies provide access to a brand of Reality itself tainted by a Dark Humor that is despondingly* remarkable .   I have been bludgeoned nearly to Death by >  "WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SO FUCKING NEGATIVE ?"   I torture my Inquisitionists with, `It AIN'T me, it's the World`--- which recalls what's-his-name's  "The Devil made me do it " .   {Comedian Flip Wilson} 

                                 Zen Master Steve Miller, songs, "Is this the kind of World we want to live in?"   OBVIOUSLY Existential Questions are within the Realm of the "Heavy Headed" - a term of the Early 70's that described Deep Thinkers, those that asked "Heavy-weight" Questions .   

                              Most Folks are NOT "Tuned to the Infinite" and MANY  contend that Philosophy is best left to Philosophers .  I WHOLE-HERTEDLY DISAGREE .   

"Know thyself, Nothing too much"

                                                       The title is a pronouncement derived from the Oracle at Delphi, in Ancient Greece .   Roughly it means that one can never know one's self COMPLETELY and the penetration in to one's self must be constant, and dare I suggest, UNREMITTING .  

                                 Remember the 4th Definition of Zen = "Looking into one's self, and the attainment of Buddhahood".   Zen Master Steve Winwood urges, "Look inside your Heart, I'll look inside mine" .   

                                 This THIS begs the question =  "What are we looking FOR" .   We are looking for the Essence or Essences of one's Being .   What are the components of one's Essence ?   What are those 'things' that define our Being ?   

                                 I eat rice, kim chee and seaweed-miso soup EVERY morning .   It defines part of my diet and is therefore,, in Biblical terms, my "Daily Bread" .   My sandwich is seasonal, baloney and tomato, and my favorite grinder is a cheese-burger with mayo, ketchup and tomato .   Something is your Fav if you can eat it everyday, and/or once a week .  Simple rite ?  Indeed Yes .  And yet folks don't know what their Fav is and worse, never even considered asking themselves .   If this is so fucking difficult, you don't have to imagine that asking them if they believe in God or a God would be considered by them to be an IMPOSSIBILITY .  Same is True of asking them about the MEANING of Life and whether or not Reincarnation is possible .   My 'across-the-street" neighbor responded, "I don't think about Death or Dying".  She is not an anomaly--- it's somewhat distressing to me that she is just normal as are our vast Millions .   Folks don't know and worse, THEY DON'T WANT TO KNOW .

                              "Uuuuh Houston ?  We have a Problem"

The Prodigy Son

                                                              You can see it,  rite* ?    If a person doesn't even know him or her self well enough to answer the most basic and simple questions HOW can that person answer the COSMIC Question "What do you want to be when you grow uP" ?  

                           Kwik* 'aside' .   As an old man of 74 I confess that I still HAVEN'T "Grown uP". I'm stalled at age FIVE and it's been an unremitting STURUGGLE to `get to`  five and a half .  It's "Oh well" and "Woe is me" at the same punishing time .  Thing is >>   I'm the most smotest* five year old I have ever met---GENIUS really and definitely a PRODIGY .   

                          

                        

                          

Dumb-strucked*

                                                    We've all been on "first meetings" with those that have piqued our interest and generated a desire for more contact and  more understanding .   We begin with the easiest of questions, 'where are you from, where did you attend school, what do you do for a living', and various and other sundry queries .   There have been times when the only answer has been "I don't know" , or, "I haven't given it any thought" .   "I don't know" is like the 5th Amendment,  "I can't answer on the grounds that it may incriminate me".   Here it is where you get "Struck by DUMB".  I have asked the  most simple questions, all the way from "What is your favorite sandwich" to "Do you believe in the existence of Other World Space Beings?" only to get the most exasperation-al responses entered above .   It's amusing at first, but in Reality exposes a Mind that is NOT tuned to "The Infinite" nor even to OBVIOUS day-to-day personal trivia .   Here it is where things can "go South" in a manner of seconds , EVEN IF, the person your interested in is  "DROP DEAD" GORGEOUS .   

                             Lao Tzu informs us best, "In quality of Mind, it is DEPTH that matters ."

"Sister Mary Elephant"

                                                          It's not enough to tag trump as "the worst of the WORST" .   It IS necessary to have a Foundation on which Change can be conceptualized and a plan developed for whatever transformations are needed .   

                                The Psychological Foundation of Individuals is referred to as one's "World View" .   Generally, one's present World View is that of one's parents .  Our parents teach us "About the World" through 'jus-reglar'* interaction, sporadic as it may be .   Their World View becomes OUR World View and remains so unless challenged .    If they are Religious, they may insist on weekly visits to their Church, Synagogue, Temple or Mosque , and we, as obedient children, are introduced to THAT World View, through the Teachings of the Bible, Torah, and the Quran .   Here now the exposure to "Right and Wrong" .   We learn to be good persons by the application of  "Laws" when various situations,  circumstances and even predicaments are encountered .   Scholars are in agreement that America is a Christian nation [for the most part] and that its laws are derived from Biblical Sources .   You can see the Problem .    What happens when one is NOT >>>Christian ?   What happens when Christianity does NOT meet our personal need for a World View that satisfies both our Conscience and our Spirituality ?    

Pizza mio

                                                             I won't write this morning save for this note .   My Mind is muddled and my body CRAVES >outdoor< activity .   Easter approaches and with it the Christian Exaction of the Resurrection, and with the Resurrection, Spring and ITS Re-Birth and Re-newal .   I allow my Imagination the complete Freedom to exercise and one exercise in particular involves Spring Clean-up so that should Jesus slide by and look at my clearing actions He can compliment me on my Effort .   Of course I won't KNOW it is He since Jesus can "shape-shift" .   No matter .   I WANT TO BELIEVE that He MAY slide by and perhaps offer me a bowl of Mary Jane's Essence --- we will then sit quietly and I will get to ask Him this most burning question --->  "Do Space Aliens eat and enjoy pizza ?"  

R-ocket P-ropelled G-renade

                                                   We have learned that past Generals and Admirals advised their Commander-In-Chief that any War with Iran would necessitate the abject PROTECTION of the Strait of Hormuz because of the MAGNITUDE of its Importance to GLOBAL Trade .    Present Day retired Admirals and Generals are ASTOUNDED that trump and his did  NOT consider the Strait as worthy of even the slightest consideration .   Worse, we can't help but speculate that trump and his KNOWINGLY regarded Iran and its Mil as IMPOTENT and because of such, SEVERELY Underestimated Iran's Forces, an underestimation that even a junior high football coach would calculate as CATASTROPHIC.   

                      So it is that trump and his CANNOT "locate" an Exit Strategy unless and until the Strait has been "secured" from Iranian Land Forces, that can fire an RPG into the hull of ANY ship that seeks release .  

                       Ya-gotta wonder if Present Day Generals and Admirals advised trump about the GLOBAL IMPORTANCE of GUARANTEEING "safe-passage" to the world's tankers, and cargo ships ,,, because if they DID and trump and his REJECTED their counsel then trump is even  MORE grotesquely STUPID than previously calculated .  

The Analects

                                                  Buddhism presents us with :  "A thing can be known by its opposite" .   In this vein we turn to Confucius :   

                                        "There are three things a gentleman, (          ) , places above the rest :  from every attitude, from every gesture that he employs he must remove all trace of violence or arrogance;  every look he composes in his face must betoken good faith ;   from every word he utters, from every intonation,  he must remove all trace of coarseness and impropriety ".

                                                                         The Analects

                                                                          8 :  4

                         Clearly this is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what trump projects .   

Miss Management

                                                      Trump's preeminent Predicament affords us valuable Insight, for it is here that we can garner the results of his personal and social relationship management (or lack thereof) .    Both Sigmund Freud and his Student Carl Jung agree that a man CAN-BE Judged by "the company he keeps", for example, if one surrounds one's self with thieves and criminals, it is clinically SAFE to regard that one as ALSO a thief and criminal .   From the late 70's :  "You are what you eat" can be b-r-o-a-d-e-n-e-d to  "You ARE what your friends are"---{rough but serviceable} .   Note trump's "friends" = putin, the  North Korean Dung-Eater,  Xi,,  and that Hungarian Horror .   We must, perforce, consider HITLER as trump's "bedside buddy" as well .   We can render a Judgement that is "Self-Evident" =  According to Those-That-Are-NORMAL trump is not only Deranged, Addled, and Delusional,,,,, he is a Political PERVERT--- and even such a declaration is WEAK and perhaps we should add the OBVIOUS, that trump is DIABOLICAL .  

"As ye sow, so shall ye" WEEP

                                                        I am  not alone in appreciating trump's present predicament .   He is in "dire straits" because of the Strait of Hormuz .   Yesterday we made the Determination that trump encapsulates ALL the negativity that can be contained within one's Psyche, and that of the Psyche of the Planet .   Trump's "Call to Arms" was largely REJECTED by those that once considered America as a GREAT Ally .   I insist that this entire Predicament is Biblical and I offer this :  "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."   Trump has viciously maligned almost EVERY Country in the E.U. as well as inflicting Economic Pain via the gross 'application' of Taxes that can only present itself as Vengeful and Punitive .   He has treated those Allies with both Contempt and Scorn, at times mocking them, at other times SCOLDING them as though they were disobedient children .   It is safe to affix the term "Father" to trump, meaning , he feels that his "status" allows him to be cruel, abrasive, offensive and callous with regard to his relationship with Others .   He is "The Bad Father", of this, there can be no doubt .

                           We have seen that trump was SHOCKED at the REFUSAL of NATO Allies to aid him, and he bemoaned that Fact with even MORE "Scorn and Contempt", spouting in just one sentence that he NEEDS their ENTHUSIASTIC Participation and that he DOESN'T .    Here now the proverbial "Sour Grapes" .   

                           Trump made every Conscious Effort to estrange himself from these "Friendlies" and when it came to for them to Respond to trump's monstrous ILL-TREATMENT they did so with their own ENTHUSIASTIC "Scorn and Contempt" and dare I add an extremely Glorious "FUCK YOU" .  

                          God how I LOVE the E.U. 

All men are NOT "Created Equal"

                                              We know that Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence, can we assume that he never knew of Kung-tu Tsu, Mencius, Chu Hsi and Master Ch'eng I  ?   I think it is obligingly safe to answer in the affirmative .    According to the Ancients,  all men are NOT "Created Equal" .   What is to be done with THAT ?

                        There IS >Equality< , but its Form is this =  We are Equal in that we were created as Human Beings--we have HUMAN Form .    REGARDLESS OF RACE AND ETHNICITY  We are all HUMAN .  THAT is the UNIVERSAL EQUALITY .   

                        And yet, Governments composed of inferiors and those who are >'lesser'<,  sometimes Rule as if Human Beings are ANIMALS .   Can there be a GREATER ATROCITY ???  No.  There cannot .

                       INHUMAN CRUELTY is the POLITICAL  Ideology of trump and trumpism .   Elsewhere I have argued that trump is, himself,  INHUMAN .    Trump has "Demons" --- shit---ALL OF US HAVE DEMONS--- but trump's Demons govern his every action and his every IN-action .   Most of us are able to control our Demons, we have a Conscience and are tuned to our "greater qualities"--- trump is DEVOID of such Qualities as are his minions, rather, trump has chosen to IGNORE his 'greater qualities' and has favored those of DEMONIC Origin .   Trump is BROKEN and has created a Regime IN HIS IMAGE .   As such, trump has become a STANDARD of "fucked fucking up" , and so we would do well to seek to neutralize his Demonic Negativity with Our "Greater Qualities"  a Task surely Noble .

"The Investigation of All Things"

                                 

         " I Chu Hsi,  have ventured to take the view of   Master Ch'eng I   and supplement it as follows :   the meaning of the expression "the perfection of knowledge depends on the investigation of things" is this :   if we wish to extend our knowledge to the utmost, we must investigate the principles of all things we come into contact with, for the intelligent Mind of man is certainly formed to know, and there is not a single thing in which principles do not inhere .  It is only because all principles are not investigated that man's knowledge is incomplete .   For this reason, the first step in the education of the adult is to instruct the learner, in regard to all things in the world, to proceed from what knowledge he has of their principle, and investigate it further until he reaches the limit .   After exerting himself in this way for a long time he will one day achieve a wide and far reaching penetration .  Then the qualities of all things, whether internal or external, the refined or coarse, will be apprehended, and the mind, in its total substance and great function will be perfectly intelligent .  This is called the investigation of things .  This is called The Perfection of Knowledge ."

                         This is me and I want It to be You .

"The ALL of EVERYTHING"

                                                The questions of Kung-tu Tsu and the responses of Mencius compel us to ask  >What are the 'greater qualities' of our nature ?<   :   and  >HOW do we "build up the Nobler part of our Nature" ?<    

                          After reading this brief exchange can we deduce that our "Nature" has within it BOTH the GREATER and the smaller ?   Can  we deduce that our  [Human]  Nature contains "The ALL of EVERYTHING "? 

                        You can see it rite ?   In order to advance our Understanding of Mind {and who and what we are} we MUST at least CONSIDER that the All of Everything IS  contained within our COLLECTIVE Psyche just as our DNA contains The All of Everything .  From this recognition we can conclude that our "Nature" is "akin" to our CONSCIENCE and that this Conscience is CONSTRUCTED .  My Hero and Father of American Psychology, Dr. William James, INSISTED that "Life is what you MAKE it" .   We are said that we 'Build a Future' :  Of what is our Psyche made ?   What are the "things" that act and function as "building blocks" ?   

                       If our Psyche contains the All of Everything, we cannot ignore the fact that both Good and Evil reside in our Psyche which then tortures us with, by what Mechanism(s)  do we identify >Good< and >Bad< ?   Further, what is the Source of those Mechanisms ?  

Mencius and [Zen] Thinking

                                           "Kung-tu Tsu asked, 'We are all human beings .  Why is it that some men become great and others become small ?

                         Mencius answered , 'Those who follow the greater qualities in their nature become great men and those that follow the smaller qualities in their nature become small men .

                        Kung-tu Tsu was not satisfied and continued, 'But we are all human beings .   Why is it that some follow their greater qualities and others follow their smaller qualities?

                       Mencius responded, When our sense of sight and hearing are used without thought and are thereby obscured by material things, the material things act on the material senses and lead them astray .  That's all .   The function of the Mind is to think .   If we think, we will get the principles of things .  If we do not think, we will not get them .   This is what Heaven has given us .  If we first build up the Nobler part of our nature, then the inferior part cannot overcome it .  Itis simply this that makes men great .' "

"...but TIME will take you on ."

                                             One of the pre-eminent values of the Noble 8-Fold Path is that it is the Essence of Earthly and Heavenly (get this)  Hygiene .   The Great and Venerable Zen Master, Seung Sahn, lists the 8 this way :                    

                                                                          Right Views

                                                                          Right Thoughts

                                                                          Right Speech

                                                                          Right Karma

                                                                          Right Life

                                                                          Right Practice

                                                                          Right Mindfulness

                                                                          Right Meditation

                          For the time being we MUST set these aside rather than confront them "Head On" .   There IS "Daunt" with regard to this Practice, however, just reading them should ignite even a modicum of Curiosity---I need my Gentle Readers to "hold on" until I can offer REASONABLE explanations and definitions .  

                          As far as "the body" "goes" :  Daily Exercise is IMPERATIVE for a Healthy Body and a "Clear" Mind .    

                           As far as "Time" "goes" , I offer James Brown, The "God-Father of Soul",,   :   "Money won't change you, but TIME will take you on".

"Just Do It"

                                              "The Greek made physical training an important part of education, not because he said to himself, 'Look here, we mustn't forget the body', but because it could never occur to him to train anything but THE WHOLE MAN .   It was as natural for the polis to have gymnasia as to have a theater or warships, and they were constantly used by men of all ages, not only for physical BUT ALSO FOR MENTAL EXERCISE . "

                                                                         The Greeks

                                                                         H.D.F. Kitto 

               I will employ the word (term)  >Hygiene<   to establish conceptual reality .   We shower and brush our teeth  EVERY DAY as a program for [of] personal  Hygiene . I am adamant and insistent that both physical and MENTAL hygiene are abject NECESSITIES for the establishment and maintenance of Health .    In the EXACT SAME WAY that showering and brushing our teeth is done WITHOUT THINKING so it must be with daily Exercise and Meditation to the point that these Required Two, Exercise and Meditation, are performed as SECOND NATURE, meaning, these Two are like >Breathing< a function of our autonomic nervous system .  

             The company "Nike" sez* it best in their slogan =  "Just do it" .

             In case you haven't already come across "Nike" -- She is the Greek Goddess of Victory and as such was highly honored by the Greeks .   You may even see her name as NICE but it is pronounced like niece .  In Roman culture she is known as Victoria .

"Health is WEALTH"

                                             When I was a drunk, {I am STILL a "drunk", [the term is "functioning alcoholic"] I didn't give a "flying FUCK" about my >Health<  =  I never ate breakfast, choosing instead to swill a beer (even before work), I did eat a meager lunch, and I "drank" supper .   I was working as a chainsaw man and the work was BRUTAL.   "It soon came to pass" that I couldn't drive at night because my eyes were so fucked-up .   The optometrist didn't have good news, I had developed cataracts as a result of malnutrition .   "If you wanna play, you-gotta PAY" .   I was shocked and mortified BUT NOT ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF .   It was fucking YEARS LATER before I did anything .   Now I have NEW eyes, and oddly, the world is a CLEANER place .

                         Understand that it is my Goal to use >>>Health<<< as a tool [weapon, or implement] to pry Commitment out of or from those who are "indifferent" to Health .   Some of us may not have "come across" the axiom >>>  "Health is WEALTH" .   Know this ;   THERE MAY BE NO GREATER 'STATEMENT OF POWER' THAN THIS .   Here now the IMPERATIVE to INVEST in one's Health , to LOVE one's Self to the extent that the knowledge > ALL PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ACTIVITES REQUIRE A HEALTHY BODY AND HEALTY MIND < becomes the FOUNDATION of one's Existence .        

A walk to the terrace

                                              It is "self-evident" that "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step" .   There is another :   "A terrace nine stories high begins with hods full of earth" .   [ a hod is a specialized v-shaped trough that is supported by a long pole behind the neck and on the shoulders of a "hod carrier"].  

                      ANY >Change< begins with a decision to actually exercise* one's Will .  "I WANT to change is vastly different than "I WILL Change" .   Here now >Commitment< .   Commitment is fraught with considerations that can be both complex and unwieldy .   Here it is where one must be DEVOTED to one's Self and where DISCIPLINE is ABSOLUTELY Required if ANY Advancement {toward Change or Transformation} is to be achieved .   2 >Things< characterize Commitment :   "Ain't nothin' EZ" and "There's no such thing as a "Free" lunch" .

* to IMPOSE one's Will  

"Indifference is the Root of ALL Evil..."

                                         "Everything proceeds of its own accord, and this can all too easily tempt us to relax and let things take their own course without troubling over details .   SUCH INDIFFERENCE IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL .   Symptoms of decay are bound to result .  Here we have the rule indicating the usual course of history .   BUT THIS RULE IS NOT INESCAPABLE LAW .   He who understands it is in a position to avoid its effects by dint of >>>UNREMITTING PERSEVERANCE and Caution ."

                                                                          63.  Chi Chi      After Completion

                                                                           I Ching     Book of Changes 

                                     It would behoove us to try and understand >>> indifference<<< and its fucking CATASTROPHIC consequences .

"The Maker Of All Things"

                                I call your Attention to an opening phrase in America's  "Declaration of Independence", it is :    "...the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God..." .   The "How" that Nature can have Her own God, is, at the very least, ENORMOUSLY COMPELLING .   Nature, it may be argued, CREATED her own God, which leaves Humankind ON ITS OWN .    Do NOT misunderstand (me) .   I believe what the Ancient, Chuang Tsu, also believed and Transmitted in his Inner Chapters, that there is a God, which he tagged as "The Maker Of All Things" .   Since the Maker Of All Things made >All Things< we can include ALL THINGS, those of GOOD and BAD in our Assessment that The Maker Of All Things is RESPONSIBLE for "All Things" INCLUDING WAR, DISEASE, STARVATION AND THIRST .    Folks routinely thanked "the Almighty" for the vaccines that ENDED Covid, while simultaneously IGNORING the FACT, that the Divine Infinite, INFLICTED this Global Pandemic upon Humankind >>> FIRST <<< .   Shit,  we must be SOOOOO FUCKING CAREFUL !!!

                       I steadfastly REFUSE to "turn to God" for Salvation from the Atrocities and abject HORROR inflicted by a HUMAN Government .   WE got us into this fucking cesspool and it is WE who should navigate our own Exit .   Here now the NECESSITY for GLOBAL CONCERN, which is ultimately dependent upon EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US to EXECUTE OUR DUTY to Humankind to DEMAND the Rights and Liberties that have expressly and VIOLENTLY been Withheld by INFERIOR OTHES .    These Demands are the Foundation of Civilizational Existence .

"Shared Commonalities"

                                              I got into the "Cave" at around 4:30a.m.   I settled into "Chairy-Chair" with my fav cold coffee, Hazelnut, and began my Recitations .   When I finished I began the morning's >Mull< in the expectation that a "first sentence" would "arrive",  4 hours later, no such sentence "surfaced" ---  frustrated I resorted to my default, the transcription of a quote "out of" my GIANT 3 Ring Binder of Quotes .   I am EXCEEDINGLY reticent to use my own shit as "Example for others", yet, this morning, I had no (suitable) choice .

                         As usual there was a fucking PLETHORA of topics to consider ----the most important of which was a consideration of "Bottom Line" commonalities, specific to ---> What are to be the "Shared Commonalities" of Global Citizenry ?   I decided that America's "Declaration of Independence" COULD-BE EXTREMELY Useful but when I turned to it I saw only HUGE-FUCKING-DAUNT even though it contained almost EVERYTHING I had in Mind to offer to my Gentle Readers .   

                        Trump's War has put a magNIFYING Glass on not only the Political Ramifications of a MENTALLY ILL President, but also the American Citizenry as well .   Elsewhere I have likened the Iranian Protest to that of American Mal-content --- even for one such as myself it's a fucking s-t--r---e----t-----c------h .    From the gutter this :   Ain't no Americans rioting with "Death to Iran" SCREAMS .   The Shared Commonality is viciously simple :   THE GOVERNMENTS OF BOTH COUNTRIES ARE SAVAGELY BRUTAL AND HAVE NO REGARD WHATSOEVER TO THE PLIGHT OF THEIR OWN CITIZENS .   Here it is where the Declaration of Independence is CRYSTAL FUCKING CLEAR :  we read ;   "it is their DUTY to throw off such government " .   2 words :   HOW ???

Hidden Dragon

                                            "The lake rises above the trees :

                                              The image of Preponderance of the Great .

                                              Thus the superior man, when he stands alone,

                                               Is unconcerned,

                                               And if has to renounce the world,

                                               He is undaunted ."

                                                                                    28.  Preponderance of the Great

                                                                                         I Ching

                   

                                                                           Hidden Dragon

                        "This means a person who has the character of a Dragon but remains concealed .   He does not change to suit the outside world; he makes no name for himself .  He withdraws from the world, yet is not sad about it .   He receives no recognition , yet he is not sad about it .  If lucky, he carries out his principles;  if unlucky, he withdraws with them, verily, he cannot be uprooted; he is a Hidden Dragon ."

                          This is me .

The Sage

                                                I must make a quick 'aside' here to address a problem found in the `works` of the Blind Poet Homer .   Scholars agree that The Iliad and The Odyssey are Sources for the Study of Human Nature as well as Human Conduct and Behavior .   Within the texts are various existential `complications` one of which is, perhaps, the GREATEST QUESTION OF ALL TIME =  "Is it better to love the SHORT Life of GLORY or the LONG Life of MEDIOCRITY ?" .   I confess :   that question bugged the fucking shit out of me FOR YEARS .   I mean, WTF, there are these two choices and ONLY THESE CHOICES ??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!   I smelled RIP-OFF !!!!

                      Years and YEARS later, a something 'arrived' which both calmed and soothed me, and it was the result of studying the Ancient Chinese Masters {and Poets} .   This 'something' was a THIRD option :   the Life of the SAGE .    I had found my HOME !!!!!!!!   Here it was where the Study of Martial Arts combined with Study and Research in other intellectual pursuits generated a Peace and Harmony, a milieu, that satisfied even the most heinous existential considerations, meaning, the SAGE had it all .   Here it is where my Love and Devotion was "Grounded", where both could function as Foundation for all the "Politics of Experience" .    

"Dress to THRILL"

                                             It isn't just traits and characteristics that are important to "the Sense" of one's >>Being<< .    Personal comportment is SOMETIMES dictated by one's attire , uniforms. costume and the like, and in this vein one's STYLE is a something that broadcasts one's >>>Essence<<< .    In one of Burt Reynolds' films he was wearing a herring-bone sport coat with jeans and (I'm guessing) Frey boots .   The Image he broadcast was insanely BEAUTIFUL and I just HAD-TO-HAVE his "Look" .   That herring bone sport-coat was "TO DIE FOR" and I saved every penny so that I could have and PROJECT that same Look .   Years later a herring bone jacket was worn by Clint Eastwood in one of his "Dirty Harry" films---- I was inwardly EXULTANT .     

                       I must include that Dr. Jambec of Shakespeare and Medieval Lit was perhaps my FIRST Paradigm for Personal Attire presentation.    Every class he was INSANELY Perfect, right down to the cufflinks he sported .   He had SUPER-BRAINS  and spoke Old and Middle English--- a fucking IMPOSSIBILITY for an ordinary Human Being .   I LOVED him .

                        That OLDE expression :  "Don't judge a book by its cover"   is completely fucking YAK shit .

"...anybody, anywhere, anytime..."

                                            Know that it is completely acceptable to locate and then extract traits and characteristics, philosophies, and ideologies from those that reside in Pop Culture which includes TV and Cinema .   Books aren't the only Sources of "Characters" that exhibit such traits and the like that are attractive to "The Seekers of Truth" {in all ITS manifestations} .   In my early Martial Arts career the film "Taxi Driver" starring Robert Dinero, arrived and from it I extracted this Gem :  "Anybody, anywhere, any time" .   That's how it is when you Study the Arts, where the ultimate Goal is the Defense of Self under any and ALL Conditions .  You train your Body and Mind to address an Opponent REGARDLESS OF HIS SIZE AND WEAPONRY .  Here, Confidence in one's own Abilities is GUARANTOR of a Successful outcome, one in which Truth is Victorious {The Truth of one's Training} .    

"Arete"

                                               We must ask "about" the Nature of Soul and the Nature of "Center" .

                            What follows is from The Greeks, H.D.F. Kitto's Master-work :

                                          

                            The Soul of the Homeric Hero --- =

                             "What moves him to deeds of heroism is not a sense of duty as we understand it---duty towards others--- it is rather DUTY TOWARDS HIMSELF ."

                              "...in the context of a man, it will connote excellence in the ways in which a man can be excellent----morally, intellectually, physically, practically .   Thus the Hero of The Odyssey is a great fighter, a wily schemer, a ready speaker, a man of stout heart and broad wisdom who knows that he must endure without too much complaining what the gods send ;   and he can both build and sail a boat, drive a furrow straight as anyone, beat a young braggart at throwing the discus, challenge the Phaecian youth at boxing, wrestling or running:  flay, skin, cut up and cook an ox, and be moved to tears by song .   He is in fact an excellent All-Rounder, and has surpassing "arete" (Personal Excellence) ."

                           "Arete" implies a respect for wholeness or the oneness of life, and a consequent dislike of specialization .    It implies a contempt for efficiency---or rather a much higher idea of efficiency :  an efficiency which exists not in one department of life, but life itself . "

                           Odysseus is my Paradigm and has been so since I graduated .   I need my Gentle Readers to find a suitable Hero that you may use as your Paradigm ,  a someone within whom you can see your Self .   If you undertake the "Journey" alone,  there's a distinct possibility, nay PROBABILITY, that you will get LOST.   

Center-Ville

                                             From Dr. Joseph Campbell in his The Hero With A Thousand Faces :

                             

                           "The problem of the Hero  {  ...  } is to open his Soul beyond terror to such a degree that he will be ripe to understand how the sickening and insane tragedies of this vast and ruthless cosmos are completely validated in the majesty of being .   The Hero transcends life with its peculiar blind spot and for a moment rises to a glimpse of the source .  He beholds the face of the Father, understands ---and the two are atoned ."

                          Purport :   This State of Mind, this State of Being, where one can witness Human and Sub-Human ATROCITIES yet remain Centered, is where I want us to reside .   

                                      

                           Keep in Mind the True Nature of Individual Transformation, the Transformation from "being" "jus'reg-lar" to having an Awareness that, as Dr. Campbell notes, "subsumes the Universe' .   In the Olden Days of Yesteryear, which for me is the Early 70's, we used the term "Cosmic Consciousness" to connote (and 'tag') said "Awareness".   Here, "Cosmic Consciousness" was "achieved" by concerted Effort, since TRUE Effort, as opposed to "half-ass" Effort, is what is demanded from the Intelligence IFF the Individual is ---> Willing .   On the Street we hear it this way :   "Ya-gotta wanna" .

Ireland

                                               I deplore Hope and routinely hold Optimism, its manifestation, as UN-Dependable .   During the Early 70's (MY 70's), there was both a societal and cultural Effort to maintain an objective reality and within that Effort we often chastised others to "Keep it REAL" .  I assume my Gentle Readers are too young to "know about" Ireland's Dark Age, the Age of Catholic versus Protestant CIVIL WAR .   Here it is where Ireland's Peoples conducted themselves with SAVAGE INHUMANITY, an Inhumanity that resulted in the most HEINOUS Warfare AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN on the level of HITLERIAN ATROCITY .

                               Know this :   That WAR found its END ---grotesque difference were RESOLVED .

                                Consider ... .

"The further one goes..."

                                              I've written (somewhat) extensively on the True Nature of Islam, that it is a Religion that is fundamentally REJECTIVE* of ANY >>>Future<<< that ISN'T based upon the Teachings of Its Ancients .   Here it is where CHANGE of ANY sort is not only Blasphemic* but HERETICAL as well .   The further one is removed from Mohammed and his Teaching, the more his Teaching is DILUTED .   HERE there is Islamic FEAR that this Dilution will somehow INVIGORATE >>>Reluctance<<< by 'jus reg-lar' Muslims to adhere to "The Way of the Ancients" thereby causing a diminishment (diminution) of Devotion which would then result in a WEAKENING of not only Iran's Power but that of Islam globally .

                          Oddly, there is an Ancient Chinese phrase that can be applied at this Here : "The further one goes, the less one knows" .  (Lao Tzu)

"Where's the BEEF ?"

                                               Somewhat rampant speculation abounds .   `Reg-lar` Folks and SUPER-Brains   have surmised that trump and his >figured< that Victory + Success could be accomplished with the blinding rapidity of the "Six Day War" .   Conjecture has it that trump and his figured that the {bloodthirsty} decapitation of the Ruling Heads of Iran would be seen as similar to the WWII >Liberation< of war-torn and Suffering ridden towns and villages and that this Liberation would then manifest politically as a "take-over" of existing Authority .   What various embedded Journalists have reported is that the Iranian Republican Guard (IRG), numbered in the MILLION, have NOT been Defeated in ANY Way, Shape or Form and consequently there is NO >Public< opposition to the IRG'S tyrannically Religious Forces .

                      Let's look at this with Clear Eyes .   Has there EVER been an  ANTI-Government Opposition ?    I'm hard-pressed to answer, 'Yes, there has' .   Keep in mind that the Iranian Peoples "took it to the streets" because they were STARVING .  They did not Protest their Religion but DID Protest those-that-governed and who used Religion to foundation BRUTAL Fascism .

                       Here's the WORST --->  The Iranians DO NOT HAVE A LEADER, a most stark and bitter Truth .

"It ain't over 'til its over..."

                                                Trump has proclaimed that HIS War is "Over" when HE says {sez} it is .   His ARROGANCE is UNTOLD {but NOT untellable} .  Information is reaching "the light of day" that Iran's Offense is partly positioned well below ground and therefore un-accessible to even the advanced "Bunker Buster" bombs which previously targeted the mountainous locations of nuclear materials .  Technically,  Iran doesn't have to manufacture   ANY   new missiles or   drones   because its 'stockpile' is V-A-S-T .   With regard to 'targeting' and 'targets' it's become QUALITY not QUANTITY .   In this, Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz and as a result, has effectively exerted a "strangle-hold" on ALL global shipping , EXCEPT ITS OWN .   China is still getting its oil, and one can only shake one's head in grotesque bewilderment .

Imbecilica*

                                               Pro Writers within the media broadcast spectrum have expressed sardonic bewilderment of trump's total and complete LACK of an 'exit strategy' that would END America's ariel assault on what once was The Persian Empire .   These same pundits have already noted the historical fact pattern that renders Destruction-by-Air as a total and complete FAILURE to excise existing governmental authority and supplant it with a governmental system "friendlier" to the Aggressors socio-political Determinations .   In 'street' 'parlance' this :   `Ain't-gonna be no "Regime Change" because ya can't KILL a Religion` [and subsequently, the government Rule, Direction and Authority it dictates] .  

The SECOND Dark Age

                                      The source of Iranian Hatred toward America and the West in general is Fear .

Hatred is NOT an Instinct but Fear IS .   Islam FEARS its own demise as a result of Western Influence that registers in Societal and Cultural experience .   For Americans who are ignorant of Islam and its tenets, hearing "DEATH TO AMERICA" is Tortuous .   Will we ever hear, "Live and let live" from mainstream Iranians ?   I think it is unlikely .   

                     The Iranian Mil has been pounded into Oblivion but NOT its Religion .   By Definition, Islam CANNOT be Destroyed as it is a MENTAL CONSTRUCT as are all Religions .   

                     We have entered the Second Dark Ages .

Cooked Goose

                                         You can see it rite* ?    Trump declared that the Iranian Government is VIOLENTLY CORRUPT in that even SUBSISTENCE Needs are LARGELY IGNORED by the Government and that Religious Authority is the ONLY Authority required to Rule and if the Peoples don't like it they can eat shit and die .   I argue that trump and his rule with that SAME VIOLENT PATHOS that also seeks to CRUSH ---> ANY<--- Opposition in ALL its forms thereby establishing Oppression as the RIGHTEOUS Conduct of actionable Patriotism .    If we use trump's "rendering" and apply it to Observed Behavior we can determine that trump's >>>RULE<<< MUST-BE decapitated as well .   Kill the Brain Destroy the Body ---------"what's good for the goose is good for the gander" .

SYNCHRONICITY

                                  What is the Purpose of conflating the Protests in Iran with the Protests in America ?   I did so to introduce a Concept we will need as a tool to ai in Understanding and OVERstanding*, that which is "self-evident" and that which is obscure .   Thing is, what do we DO with that Understanding ?

                  The Concept is "Synchronicity" which is "Meaningful Coincidence" .   Stated for our purposes and as an example :  The Peoples of Iran and the peoples of America are Protesting to express their RIGOROUS Opposition to the Policies of their Fascist Dictators .   The Coincidence of both Protestations is meaningful because of the somewhat Identical Nature of their Suffering ---> Corruption and CARE-LESS Governments that IGNORE the DIRE Needs of its own Peoples in order to maintain a Status Quo that serves ONLY the Ruling Elites and their filthy rich benefactors ;  all in the name of ABSOLUTE CONTROL over the Minds and Bodies if its own Citizens who are treated more like slaves and chattel than with Honor, Dignity, and  Respect .  Synchronicity functions as a MAGNIFYING GLASS so hat not only is the OBVIOUS revealed but also its underlying features and characteristics .  Synchronicity IMPLORES  >>>>>PAY ATTENTION !!! 

Under-Currents and Over-Tones

                                        We are looking at two Primal" "Conditions" :  the Condition of Starvation and the Condition of Thirst .   Righteous (awkward but appropriate) Americans [the 60%] who not only Oppose trump but who actually Protest [Revolt] against trumpism and who are STARVED for an UN-CORRUPTED Democracy and THIRST for a Political Altruism that will COMPASSIONATELY respond to the "Demands of the Time" which includes not only internal socio-economic registers but external {masochistic} Foreign Policies .   In both Instances-the Peoples have voiced their OUTRAGE and FURY --  but to little Effect since the FASCIST Dictators of both are HELL-BENT to maintain the Present Day Status Quo(s) of both Nations .

                          Uhhhh Houston  --Erbil ?   We have a problem .

"Soften the Glare"

                                         What are we Global Citizens looking at ?   Iranians "took it to the streets" to Protest their Status Quo -- a Status Quo that has ABJECTLY FAILED to supply (Provide) even the BAREST of Subsistence {Primal} Necessities --Food and Water--, and further: a Government that has SUMMARILY REJECTED  the Populace's unremitting CRAVING for a Modernization (dare I say Revolution ?) that has as ITS Foundation a >Future< that entails TRUE Liberty ---where Liberty is FREEDOM from the chains, bonds and shackles of religious zealotry --- the Liberty I will tag as "Soft" Islamism >>> the one of PRE-Hijrah Majesty .

Brotherhood of Suffering

                                   To feed my own very selfish insanity I will draw parallels between the Iranian People's non-response to trump's "Invitation" to "take over" their Government, and the quasi-non-response of the American People(s) who also find themselves in an "Impossible" Situation .   The Situation is defined as "Impossible" because both sets of Peoples are completely SURROUNDED by Government Forces "HELL-BENT" on seeking nothing less that TOTAL CONTROL of the Minds and Bodies of Its Citizens who Demand CHANGE .   How can both sets of Peoples survive  "in the face" of a Dictator who has issued orders to "Shoot to KILL " ?

"Diana"

                                      We say that "Truth HURTS" ...  

                      "The remembered image is not only benign, however;  [She can be] "the bad mother too---(1) the absent unattainable mother, against whom aggressive fantasies are directed, and from whom a counter-aggression is feared:   (2)  The hampering, forbidding, punishing mother;  (3) the mother who would hold to herself the growing child trying to push away; (4) the desired but forbidden mother whose presence is a lure to dangerous desire persists in the hidden lad of the adult child's recollections and is sometimes a greater force  ."

                        So now one word :  "She who MUST BE Obeyed .

Mistress

                           It's hard to miss the presence of >Miss< , meaning I have depicted Truth as a Female 'Entity'.   Anthropomorphism has a few "drawbacks" one of which is a masculine adoption of the Female Spectrum as 'Register' .   Here are two topic titles from Chapter II, Initiation, from Dr. Campbell's The Hero With A Thousand Faces : 2. The Meeting With The Goddess   3. Woman As Temptress .   Here it is where the Female, Truth, CAN be viewed as "...the paragon of all the paragons of Beauty" and "...the incarnation of >the promise of Perfection> " .

                          If only She was 'just' that... if only .

Miss Justice

                                           Miss Justice is iconographically depicted as a BLINDFOLDED Female holding a scale in one hand while gripping an Excalibur by her side in the other .   We are told She is blindfolded so that She remains free of bias and prejudices that may occur when She views Evidence .   We have been taught "Seeing is believing" yet SHE is BLINDFOLDED so, according to this dictum, She therefore MUST rely on Her other senses to administer the Truth .   Also, She wields a Sword presumably to defend the Truth and to meet-out Exactions .    We can only HOPE that She removes Her blindfold when punitive measures are at stake .   

                      Here's the Question :  Can we TRUST Miss Justice ???

...sounds like bikini...

                                          What follows is the Definition of >Dakini< found in the Shambhala Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen .   I offer this piece because Truth is difficult, no only to Imagine but to actualize in day-to-day Operations and Observations .   You will better appreciate the Significance once you read the Def .

                      Dakini  Sanskrit:  in Indian folk belief, a female demon to be found in the company of gods;  in Vajrayana Buddhism, the inspiring power of consciousness, usually depicted in iconography as a wrathful naked female figure .  ...  The Dakini has the task if integrating the powers liberated by the practitioner in the process of visualization ...  Thus the Dakini is a female figure that moves on the highest level or Reality--- her nakedness symbolizes knowledge of Truth revealed ."

Guide-posts

                                          I am loathe to continue the thinking of the previous day .   However, I must make an exception today because of the  Nature of Truth and the abject necessity to bind one's Self to Truth in the Effort to establish and maintain It as a foundation of Perceptual Reality .   There are four statements which act as guide-posts and billboards to the Seeker and Practitioner of Truth --  they are :

                                 1)    "We create our own Perceptual Reality"

                                  2)  "We act according to the way we see things"

                                  3)   "They became what they beheld"

                                   4)   "Life is what you make it" .

Miss Kwote

                                                I must assert that Truth and Beauty are Psychological "Realms" and  I  insert "Domain" as  equal  to  Realm  DESPITE  its  OBVIOUS   difference  { authorial prerogative } .   There are these :  The Realm of Truth --- The Realm of Beauty .    I BELIEVE we MUST 'reside' in the Realm of Truth that we may also Reside in the Realm of Beauty .   By doing so we can be comfortable with Dr. Joseph Campbell's  "MAJESTY OF BEING"  and  I supplement   THAT with my own : "Live the MIRACLE " .   Corny I know ---it's all I got .

Haas and Wilhelm

                                           I consider Academia as an island {"I" Land --- "Eye" Land} Paradise in the Ocean of Despair, Suffering , Anguish and Torment--- not just a "safe haven" or "shelter in the Storm" ;  but rather an Impenetrable Fortress of Creative Human RESOLVE .   

                      I contend that the rigorous pursuit of Intellectual Properties is MENTAL NOURISHMENT--- that when one feeds the Mind >it< POWERS the Body .   Engaging in Academic Freedoms is as richly rewarding as the passive Pleasure derived from Listening to Music .   As I have noted elsewhere = Music HEALS !   

                      So it is that Listening (Reading) to Lectures is the same as Listening to Music-- both of which not only provided needed Nourishment but Healing Medicines as well .

                       Here it is where we have the Nature of Mr. Haas's Home and the Lectures delivered by Hellmut Wilhelm .

  

CHANGE

                                             I must, perforce, introduce my Gentle Readers with this 'Preface' from a monograph I have TREASURED my entire Academic Career .   The title of this "little volume" is CHANGE .   So---- "Here goes" .

                                     "This little volume consists of lectures given in Peking in the winter of 1943 .   This was a time when the war in China had been going on for almost six years and Peking was under Japanese Occupation, a time when all creative forces seemed frozen and darkness ruled the day .  During that period there was a group of German-speaking people in the city who kept apart from the activities of the German communitity and everything connected with it .   The group found a center in the home of William Haas .   Wilhelm Haas is a man with the courage of perseverance; even it the most hopeless situations he never yielded to despair .  "    

American Mutilation

                                              We are in the tumultuous midst of an American MUTILATION of World Order - a something that hideously resembles HITLER'S >>>CHOICE<<< to wage WAR that he may satisfy the Darkest Urges of his gruesome-ly DERANGED Psyche .   We {as in "I"} awaken each morning NOT to the Promise of Positive Potential, but to the FEAR, DREAD and LOATHING of a MADMAN `gone the way of! Adolph Hitler, which, at its most bizarre, is actually a DENIGRATION of Hitler who BELIEVED he was Championing the Cause of his People, trump's WARS have but ONE Purpose =  to satisfy the PERSONAL Appetite for UNLIMITED POWER   AT THE EXPENSE OF MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS OF INNOCENTS AROUND THE ENTIRE PLANET . 

The Superior Man

                                                            Ku /  Work On What Has Been Spoiled

                   " ( . . . )  It is the same with debasing attitudes and fashions ;  they corrupt human society .  To do away with this corruption the superior man must regenerate society ... .   The superior man must first remove stagnation by stirring up public opinion, --- ... and must then strengthen and tranquilize the character of the people... --- ."   I Ching or Book of Changes 

                   EZ-er said than done ,    BUT  there are NO   'Other Options' if we are to survive trump .