Aesop

                                                            Aesop on the Auction Block at Ephesus

                         "Aesop was standing between an orator and a singer .  A prospective buyer was the Lydian philosopher, Xantus .  Xantus asked the orator what he could do--- 'Anything' was his answer .   He asked the same question of the singer--- 'Everything' came the reply.   Finally Xantus got around to Aesop and asked him what he could do --- 'Nothing' said Aesop .  'Nothing' repeated Xantus disbelievingly .   'One of my companions',  said Aesop, 'says he can do anything and the other says he can do everything, that leaves me with nothing' .

                           "Xantus liked Aesop's answer and asked, ' If I buy you will you promise to be good and honest ?'  'I'll be that whether you buy me or not', said Aesop .  'Will you promise not to run away?'  'Did you ever hear of a bird in a cage tell his master he intended to escape ?'

                                                    Quoted by Dick Gregory in his NO MORE LIES .

                                                           Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

*** Just so you know Aesop is pronounced   E  sow  as in the porcine sow .

                            

                                                                  

Cato the Elder

                                                           We, as a Civilization, need Models .  Below is one of my Most Intense .

                                              Plutarch writing of Cato the Elder (Priscus) [a Roman] .

                            "What was even more remarkable was that he followed the same habits, not merely while he was young and full of ambition, but even when he was old and gray-headed and had served as Consul and celebrated a Triumph, and that he continued, like some Champion Athlete, to observe the rules of his Training and maintain his SEL-DISCIPLINE to the end .

                             "... he would rather do what was right and go unrewarded than do wrong and go unpunished, and that he was prepared to forgive everyone's mistakes except his own ."

                                       I LOVE this MAN  and I LOVE Plutarch for his Observations .

                                                                     

                                                  

                               

Is not trump a 'great' man ?

                                                            What follows is from Han Yu .

                             "With the great men of the present day, however, things are quite different .   They make the most searching demands on others, but are sparing in what they ask of themselves.  In consequence others have become most reluctant to do good, while from themselves the great men obtain little.   Before they have acquired any skill, they say, 'I am good at this, and this is quite enough' .  Before they have obtained any ability, they say, 'I can do this, and this is quite enough' .  They impose on other men without and upon their own hearts within .  Before they have made even the smallest advance, they give up. Does this not show that they are very sparing in what they ask of themselves ?

                                                             Han Yu continues :

                           "But in dealing with other men, they say, 'He may be good at this, but that is no reason to commend his character', or, 'He may be able to do this, but that is no reason to commend his services'.   they pick one shortcoming to the exclusion of TEN merits .   They search into a man's Past and take no account of what he is NOW .   Their only fear is that other men may gain a reputation .  Is this not to make the most searching demands of others ?

                            " In fact, it may be said that they fail to apply even ordinary standards to themselves, but demand from others those of a SAGE .  How can they have Self-Respect ?   Such conduct has its root an source :  and these are laziness and JEALOUSY .   Laziness prevents their own development; Jealousy makes them dread development in others" .

                                             2 words :   Assholes be assholes .

Arete

                                                           I had thought to continue yesterday's travels that we may find Corruption and its Consequences--- I am not of that Mind this morning, I felt that it would be too negative and substantially dour , so  I changed my Mind .   

                               I want Planetarians to retain their focus of attention on the Individual, since it is the Individual that is the Model of the Empire, that is, according to the Ancient Chinese, with whom I am affected .  However, it is NOT the Chinese that I call upon to describe the Ultimate Individual, it is the Ancient Greeks and the Blind Poet, Homer specifically .   

                              Previously I have introduced the concept of "Arete" [ R-ray-tay ] to my General Readers, I reintroduce here .  Arete is not simply "Virtue", it is better defined as "Excellence", that is, PERSONAL Excellence .

                              What follows is from H.D.F. Kitto and his The Greeks .    "Arete implies a Respect for Wholeness or The Oneness of Life, and a consequent DISLIKE of Specialization {and 'specialists'}.   It implies a CONTEMPT for efficiency--- or rather, a much higher ides of efficiency :  and efficiency which exists not in one department of Life, but Life itself . 

                             Further :   "If Arete is used in the context of a Man, it will connote Excellence 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 as 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 he has surpassing Arete."

((( All caps, boldface, and italics are mine)))  { }  indicate my internal dialogue 

Digging Deep

                                                           The BEST Definition of Karma in Biblical Form is punishingly revealing ;  Karma is     "As ye sow, so shall ye reap" .      "It don't get no better" .   

                                I submit that History IS  Future,  the Study of History IS the Study of Future .    Seeds sown in the Past have grown and they have yielded the "Fruits and Vegetables" of Present Day Harvest---unsurprisingly many of them have been found to be Poisonous .    

                               It gets worse .   I mentioned Roman Senators that if they were to be transported to their Future OUR Present, they would "fit rite in" .   "IT" begs the question, Has Humankind EVOLVED ?    Has Human NATURE  Evolved ?????   

                                 Consider .

                                                       Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

The Garden of Stephen

                                                            We are living in the Future, of course it isn't OUR Future but it IS the Future of HITLER.   We are living in a Future that Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans could never have imagined, yet if one or two Roman Senators were transported to our Time THEY WOULD FEEL QUITE AT HOME such is the Nature of Present Day Politics .   If HITLER were to be transported to our Now you gotta believe HE'D BE THRILLED .   Killing HITLER DID NOT KILL HITLERISM, he HAS SURVIVED.  The Jews killed Jesus, but look what happened, TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER, He is ALIVE and some would say FLOURISHING .   Christianity is the NUMBER ONE Religion on EARTH, [second is Islam, third is Hinduism] .   

                               I use to think that if I used a Venn diagram it would help us grasp the nature of "Just Now", the present MOMENT.  These days I'm not so sure .  Indeed, I feel as if the Future CANNOT be assigned to a Venn diagram because when you look hard, the Future can exist ONLY as an abstract mental construct .  Indeed, it is  IMAGINATION  that generates the concept  of  Future .  I don't like it, never have .   

                               We believe that IN THE FUTURE there will be Peace on Earth --- Really ????  How ?

                               The Past is like a Garden, as far as I see it .   If the Past has planted seeds of Peace, then Peace can be harvested .  If the Past has planted HITLERISM, then HITLERISM WILL BE THE HARVEST .   You can see it rite ?

Future Corruption

                                                           There are 2 Problems that need Confrontation, the recognition of "The Future" and Human Corruption .   Elsewhere I have written that Islam steadfastly REJECTS ---> ANY "Future" because the further one gets from Mohammed's Teachings the more CORRUPT Islam becomes .   Straight up you can see the Dilemma that 'the Future' contains--- without the POWER of the Future, Military Defense is IMPOSSIBLE .   Muslims CANNOT  Deny the Power of 'the Future' but in the same breath they RENOUNCE ANY Future  that carries them away from the Prophet and His Teachings .  Even the word >conflicted< isn't enough to qualify this state of Concern and Distress that is experience by even ordinary Muslims let alone ITS Religious Sanhedrin and that of the Military .   

                             Christianity fares no better especially Catholicism, whose only Objective is to maintain MASCULINE control over the Teachings and PREVENT Women from ascending into its hierarchy, which to those of us who KNOW that it was WOMEN who Preserved Jesus' Teaching IN THEIR HOMES by holding what was to be known as "Masses" for the Believers, has become a Silent OUTRAGE .   

                             I do not know enough about Hinduism and Its view of the Future .  I regret not familiarizing myself with the Vedic Texts -- but Hindu's have yet to start a World War so, I mean, there's THAT .

The BIG Three

                                                           There is Difficulty ahead for Planetarians .   At some point World Religions, especially the BIG Three [ Christianity, Islam and Hinduism] MUST be addressed because of the sheer numbers of Adherents to each .    There is a term that can be applied to those interested in finding "Common Ground", what Sociologists refer to as "Shared Commonalities", and it is "Comparative Relgionists" .   I am one .    Of the Countries with MAJOR Muslim populations, there is heavy Readership of my words :  they include Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Turkiye .   "It" 's something of a Marvel because my Readers KNOW I am a Buddhist and further, a ZEN SWORD Buddhist .   I have stated my Conviction to present [introduce] Zen Buddhism to the World in such a way as to make the SPIRITUALITY of Buddhism tolerable at worst and acceptable at best .   Elsewhere I have argued that Spirituality binds the BIG Three since Spirituality, by Definition is both Holy and Sacred .  To be an Adherent to the each of the BIG Three means that one is bound to the Supreme Ultimate {God} in such a manner that affords the Relief of Suffering, and a FEELING of Belonging to both Earth and Heaven .

                                Religions also CAUSE Problems , where Problems is Code for Suffering .

R&R

                                                         I'm gonna leave this here and begin the R&R .  I URGE my fellow Citizens to do the same---  eat, rest and TRY to find some element of Peace SOMEWHERE and if you can't then FUCK-IT .   Just know that we MUST put our burdens down so we are NOT ground into the dirt and dust that leaves us feeling nothing other than abject Misery .   We need time to HEAL .

                                                            Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

Sprots*

                                                            "God rested on the 7th Day" .   I wonder about that, I mean WHY would a God of UNLIMITED POWER NEED to Rest ?   I don't know, but if HE needs to Rest who are we to deny ourselves that similar Time ??   

                                   It's Sin-Day for me, I'm gonna eat 'til I puke, which is Code for munching, and grazing ALL DAY {with my fav snacks and treats}, and watching whatever sports are available .   I Confess I'm a TV ADDICT .   I use TV to stay apprised of World News, as a Classroom, and I kid myself that watching sports ss a Clinical Analysis of Human Behavior, I mean, it MITE* be but I DO allow myself to SNOOZE when I am overcome with satiation and sloth .  Weak I am, and to my Core .

                                  I have but one class this morning,  Fareed Zakaria's GPS [Global Public Square], a Mainstay, for me and Planetarians alike .  But after THAT it's American Football, a WAR-Game with controlled VIOLENCE as its Agency .  I played football like FOREVER. from [age] 10 to 17 and I LOVED it, except for my High-School years .  I wasn't Weak then .

                                  Still, I couldn't help myself, I got On-Line to read posts about the WARS, with the Mind to protect my Sin-Day Interests, that failed, how could it succeed ?   

                                 Here's the GAG :  It takes WORK to "do" Nothing .

Sin-day

                                                            My 'first sentence' was abysmal :  We've had a Tough week .   I have resisted screening it, that is, putting it up onto the screen, for over 4 hours, and I even checked out other topics worthy of a Sunday `exploration` ;  but now I return to it .

                               It's been a Tough week .  I have been beaten by the doldrums {is that lame ?} and at points VIOLENTLY dyslocated* from my Center, a not-as-rare-occurrence as you mite* think for someone like me .   I Confess, at my age my Inmost Resolve gets threatened on a Routine Basis : Daily almost,, and it takes hours for me to restore Balance between What-I-Want and What-truly-IS .   I have railed about the "Sensory Bombardment" of trumpian PROPAGANDA and even News Broadcasts that report of the MASS CORRUPTION that has now become 'standard fare' for each and every American Citizen and dare I hazard, for the Global Population effected by putin's WAR in Ukraine, the netanyahu's WAR in Gaza and Lebanon, and of course, trump's WAR over Hormuz and now indirectly, Iran .   Good, Honest, and Decent Citizens are surrounded by trumpian WAR MONGERS, and BILLIONAIRES, whose only Agenda is the SUBJUGATION of  ALL, in their effort to establish and maintain THEIR >Version< of Utopia .  

Trump the Loveless

                                                           I contend that trump "WANTS to be loved" ---that he CAN'T be loved because he's SUCH a fucking asshole and he knows it, THAT'S why he has to PAY prostitutes to fuck him, which is CODE for "Making LOVE" .   Trump will most certain deny such an accusation, and he may even claim the cliche, "Money can't buy Love" .   He is INCAPABLE of 'seeing' what is directly before him .   He WANTS  to be LOVED by EVERYBODY such is the Grand Canyon CHASM-OF-NOTHINGNESS that IS his heart .   

                            In 1973 the Doobie Brothers rolled out "The Captain and Me" .  The first tract is titled "Natural Thing" and the opening line is , "We all need to be loved, it's a NATURAL THING" .   AT LEAST once a week, and sometime more, I listen to the songs as a means to cope with Present Day Reality .   "IT" is as if I need to remind myself of the Natural Order of Human Existence, in which LOVE is MORE than a Maternal Delivery .   On my end, Love Heals and Love KILLS,  We LOVE our Nation and are completely willing to KILL OTHERS to Defend it .   "IT" sickens me and always has .   Trump "LOVES" alright, but "IT" is a Self-Love that denies him both Empathy and Compassion .  He CANNOT Love beyond himself {his Self} and in THAT is a Sickness that borders on Perversion ;  I contend that IT IS Perversion and his sex life confirms "IT".  

                          Trump is a loveless imperator, devoid of even a shred of Human Decency .  I have submitted that it was Evolution who injected him into our Civilization but I must supplement that view with the Realization that it was WE who birthed trump and WE who educated him, and WE who cuddled and cajoled him .  WE did trump to ourselves .   WE must own THAT .

Victimism*

                                                           Trump just doesn't think he's "Perfect" ---he BELIEVES "IT" .   According to his `Heart Logic` He is Perfect and Perfect people "can do no wrong" .   He BELIEVES that he is some AWESOME Individual with TREMENDOUS 'personal skills' that includes "Building shit .   He BELIEVES he is a RESTORER of D.C. Antiquities and a "Modernizer" of D.C. Architecture , and, on a Global Scale, a Bringer-of-Peace-and-Prosperity; for has he not brought PEACE to seven or eight Warring Nations ???????   He can see his own fucking BRILLIANCE and is FURIOUS that Others cannot~~~ hence his Victim-itus which manifests as Victim-ISM and politically as an Ideology that contends, "America is done being the VICTIM of the Tariffs of other nations."   

                               You can see "IT" rite ?   Trump is PERFECT and he wants EVERYBODY to be like him {to be as he is} ---for has he not achieved the HIGHEST POSITION ON EARTH ????  Indeed he has .    Now,,,  he considers "IT" to be the Role of Planetary SAVIOR, an Entity that CONTROLS the Planet in such a way that PLEASES him and conforms to HIS View of what Earth SHOULD BE = LAWLESS and CHAOTIC .   

                            Trump's Problem is that there are OTHERS [he FEELS] that are even GREATER than he, Putin--Xi, and he can >Better< them by stopping Putin's War, and Tariff-Punishing Xi .  By stopping Putin's WAR and Opening Hormuz, surely THAT would place him ABOVE all OTHERS and be worthy of INFINITE EXALTATION from "Around the World" .   

                          

Clown Crown

                                                           I had a plan to write about trump and his decision to ban CNN, MSNOW and one other from the Press room of the White House, denying them access as permitted by the Constitution blah-blah-blah .   He accuses them of writing "Fake News" a something I can't wrap my head around~~~ .   I KNOW "fake" means untruthful I don't know why he insists on using >fake< .   He claims that they consistently write bad things about him, that theirs is a gross bias AGAINST him .  He NEVER thinks that his shit is bad, that if he did GOOD shit, they WOULD write ---> THAT , THAT being favorable or complimentary .  IN HIS MIND, HE IS A VICTIM OF 'BAD' PRESS .  He has defiantly INSISTED that he is the VICTIM of WORLD OPPRESSION,  that THE WORLD ITSELF IS AGAINST HIM .  Perhaps soon, "IT" may very well BE .

                            Because I know MY Mind, I >KNOW< HIS .   Trump is resoundingly INCAPABLE of "Internalizing" ANYTHING .  His EGO won't allow it .   He can never ask himself, "What can I do to be perceived in a 'better Light' .  What can I do that will make the Press see me as a "Good Person" instead of an EVIL FUCKING  CLOWN ?   He can't do it,,,,, never could .

                            

"What can a poor boy DO ?"

                                                            Mick Jager, Modern Day Zen Master, asks and answers, "Well what can a boy boy DO, but to sing in a Rock & Roll Band", which seems superficial and irrelevant, but is, IN FACT, sheer GENIUS .   We ain't talkin' 'bout Sex and Drugs, no and FUCK NO, we are talking about singing PROTEST SONGS, those that bring PASSION to the Street, and are capable of EXHORTING the Peoples, AS A UNIFIED WHOLE, to abandon the existing Status Quo and in its place construct a NEW WORLD ORDER .   Look at Bruce [Springsteen] and the SUCCESS he has achieved by Being the Song-Voice of those of Us driven nearly INSANE by trump and his OPPRESSION --- TRUE Genius .

                               The title of that song is "Street Fighting Man" and is the last tract on "Get your Yah Yahs Out", the BRILLIANT  Live Concert Recording .   That 's what I want and THINK we need to Become --- Street Fighters, who can wield Truth with Sword'sMan-ship  Ferocity .   When confronted by those-who-believe-in-trump {and their Numbers are dwindling} we must reside in the TRUTH of  Our Humanity, meaning, we must reside in Altruistic Political Righteous-Ness, the CONVICTION that ALL of us are to be 'Cared For' EQUALLY .   Trump has all but OBLITERATED the Foundation of Reasoning that DEMANDS that the Government WORKS FOR US AND OUR WELL-BEING .   Nothing less will do.  

Praying Mantis

                                                            Years ago, when Mitt Romney was 'running', I was the first to claim that the republicans would say ANYTHING and DO Everything to remake the government in their image.   Trump continued that same (get this) Conceit, and we are living the results of that ---Genesis .   Trump HAS "REMADE" the American government IN BOTH HIS LIKENESS AND IMAGE and HIS WAR is the result of his    V-----A-----S-----T    Ignorance, Imbecility, and Diabolical GENIUS .   He has constructed a seemingly  IMPENETRABLE  Fortress to protect him from ANY True Justice WHATSOEVER .   He has his own ARMY  AND  his own "SS" .   He OWNS  what use to be the "justice department" and he OWNS every single member of his hand picked cabinet .   He's a "Slave Driver" .

                           I insist that trump HAS MADE SLAVES of all his "people" and fully intends to MAKE SLAVES OF THE ENTIRE AMERICAN POPULATION .   Indeed we have become "Slaves" to his whims and fancies, of all his impulses, fantasies and desires .  He does what he wants WHEN he wants and THERE IS NO STOPPING HIM  !!!!!  

             We have been as a praying mantis, holding up an appendage to stop a horse drawn carriage .

See Changes

                                                           I awoke at 4 with the 'first sentence' for this morning's Consideration .  It rarely happens .  Yesterday I was (get this) engulfed by Depression, the Depression that is the result of a Feeling of both helplessness, and even worse,  Futility .  So here we go... .

                                    We are in some SERIOUS Shit .   There is no stopping trump, at present, meaning, he and his have ultimate control over EVERYTHING, which when combined with the fact that he is EXEMPT from Constitutional Law via Dictate from HIS "Supreme Court"  generates a FORCE of Dispassion and Cruelty as has never been seen since hitler and his .   

                                     News outlets have touted the `changes` in the Psyche(s) of those-who-voted-for-trump, and claim that THEY will "Vote Blue" in the American Midterm elections in November .   The outlets have intimated that the democrats will succeed in HUGE 'numbers' and gain Control of the House of Representatives, and they even suggest that the House of Senators may also be 'changed' .   

                                    Gaining "Control" of the House of Representatives WILL NOT BE ENOUGH for Transformation, since any Bill the House passes will be subject to presidential VETO .   Same with the Senate .   In order for there to be "Sea Changes" the democrats must win a TWO THIRDS MAJORITY IN BOTH HOUSES which would then make any Bill ---> INVULNERABLE  FROM PRESIDENTIAL VETO, which would then make trump >>>>>IMPOTENT<<<<< > .  

Demon-ocracy

                                                           Democracy elected trump .   Democracy promotes trumpism .  Democracy started the WAR in Iran .  Democracy will NOT feed its school children nor those who are "less than" .   Democracy doesn't care about Affordability .

                                 Democracy cannot fix democracy .  More Covid did not fix Covid .  

                                     Consider .

Amurderca

                                                           I've often wondered why there has been no Revolt in Russia, no Revolt in  China  and no Revolt in any of the Communist countries and those that lean toward Communism .   Of course there's been no Revolt in America since 1776 .  I gotta figure no one wants to Sacrifice themselves for their Home Country, i.e., no one wants to Die for Political Ideas .   You look Back and wonder about the American Revolution against the King .   Folks would rather DIE than continue to pay taxes to a government unwilling to give them Voice and Representation .  How the fuck did that happen ?????  

                           Ya gotta figure Life is TOO Good, that one's Death does NOT solve the Problem of Political {Taxational} Oppression .   Elsewhere I've stated that Americans consider elevated gas prices as just a mere inconvenience ---that the Slaughter of thousands of Iranian INNOCENTS is just a ho-hum condition that does NOT Effect Americans in any way .  I am ashamed of America, the only country I have ever Known--  the one that use to FEED THE WORLD and do so WILLINGLY .   

Fear Sphere

                                                   I have taken Exception to the "8 Sufferings" ---only >>>8<<< ?   I wonder if ---> Fear might not be considered as Suffering, specifically, the Fear of Time devoid of Future, meaning, presently, there is no Future, that those in Power seek us to RETURN to Times Past, that they seek to PREVENT a Future in which THEY have NO Power .   As Planetarians we seek a Future wherein Suffering can be minimized, a Future wherein Prosperity, check that, the Achievement of Prosperity is within the Grasp of ALL of US who are Earth Born .  

                            I'm gonna Argue that Fear is DREAD but on STEROIDS .    When some of us are asked, "Do you FEAR Death?" We answer, No, We do not FEAR Death but some of us FEAR --->  Life .   How much does that fucking SUCK ???????????

                            Perhaps I need to devise the `8 Fears` --- more importantly, I need to devise that which can NEUTRALIZE those Fears .   What neutralizes Fear ?   Beliefs, Certainties, maybe even Faith .

                            "IT" 's gotta be done, we are running out of Time .

                              Q. Why'd the Moron own so many watches ?

                               A.  He didn't want to run out of Time .

                            

                                                        Tare Forward and Keep the Faith

The BIG Three

                                                           The other night I awoke from  Dream in which I was operating a vehicle on a road in some country-side .  It was no ordinary vehicle, it was an Antique that was >Modernized<  for Optimal and PEAK Performance, a "HOT ROD", as it were .  As I was driving I marveled at its speed, and maneuverability.  I mean, it could have been a race car --- ... .   I awoke to a feeling of Pleasure, I was able to drive FAST and still be in "Complete Control" .   It was   SOOOO good I returned to sleep no problem .   

                            I Know my Self .  I knew that the Vehicle was a manifestation of the ---> Vehicle Buddhism tags as Teaching . For instance, there are greater 'Vehicles' and lesser 'Vehicles' .  Hinayana is a 'lesser Vehicle' while Mahayana is a 'greater' Vehicle .   I was driving a "lesser Vehicle" but it had been MODERNIZED to "keep up with" and perhaps PASS even modern Vehicle Others .   I KNEW what my Unconscious was (get this)  'driving at' .   I have long been forlorn that Buddhism is so ANCIENT that it is difficult for Moderns to "Grasp" .  Indeed, I perceive my Role in Civilization is to Modernize Zen Buddhism to make it more 'accessible' to those Moderns who have an Interest in Buddhist Spirituality but can't "get by" its sometimes Inscrutable Orthodoxy .   It's imperative to me to make the Basic Elements of Zen and Buddhism ---> scrutable* , meaning, to Modernize ["Customize"] those Elements so they CAN-BE recognized as VALUABLE to the  Modern Conscious-Ness .   

                           The Hinayana Teaching is the ultimate "Old School", I LOVE It .   Hinayana has what I call "The BIG Three" :   "Insight into Impermanence ---  Insight into Impurity --- Insight into Non-Self " .

Sin icism

                                                           I have a bias towards Suffering :  I am quite fond of telling folks, `I'm only happy when I'm Suffering.  Suffering  EQUALS Happiness ???  How the fuck did THAT get there ?????  I know "IT" 's  Root and Source .   When I learned about Christian Ascetics, how they spent most of their lives in a desert wearing "hair vests" and "mortifying the flesh", how they fasted, how they used Self-Imposed Suffering to "be nearer to God" --- I was straight-up ENTHRALLED .  "IT" made Sense to me .   Years later, I realized {real eyes} that I could have spent a few lifetimes as a Christian Ascetic .   Keep in Mind that The Buddha Himself was also an Ascetic, spending 6 years denying the Value of flesh, indeed, there are statues and figures that depict him as a wraith, with little or no flesh on an emaciated body .  

                             This --> "IT" is not just a matter of wanting to be 'Near God', in this manifestation Jesus .  Are we to Believe that the ONLY  >Way< to be "Near Jesus" is to Suffer ?   "IT" 's  not only Harsh it reeks of Cynicism  [and not the GOOD kind either] .   Being CRUEL to one's Self, how the fuck is THAT ---> Holy ?????    Nope, I aint buyin' it .

The 8 Sufferings + The 5 Desires

                                                           Please accept my apology .  In the Realm of Shit Happens, I was called away from my desk yesterday to attend to details beyond my control, the very definition of "Shit Happens" .   It pleases me GREATLY that my Gentle Readers took some time out of the day to read material I wrote during better days .   I Thank You .

                                Speaking of yesterday :  I had to clear the gutters of storm debris and general shit .  I was on my 20' "Louisville" ladder, [with extension], and as I worked the word ---> Balance arrived .  I bilocated to allow >Balance< to manifest as today's Consideration {Topic} but I did not awaken from last night's sleep to any sort of delivery .  Instead, Suffering arrived, specifically the Buddhist determination that there are Eight Sufferings :   they are ;  "Birth, Old Age, Sickness, Death, Being separated from those you love,  Being  in the presence of those you dislike, Not getting what you desire,  and  The imbalance of the five skandas" [the five Senses] .  

                             You noticed "Not getting what you desire" .   Buddhism recognizes only FIVE Human Desires, they are :  "Desire for material wealth, Desire for sex, Desire for fame, Desire for food, Desire for sleep ."   

                             Recall the 2nd Noble Truth ;  "The Cause of Suffering is DESIRE" .   The Sword Slash is this ;  If we do not Desire, then, we will not Suffer .  Were that "IT" would be that simple .

Miss Fits

                                                            Don't "get me started" on those who wear Yoga pants .   If "All the World's a Stage" , and "All the World's a Bedroom", then, according to Yoga Pantsers* "All the World's a Yoga Studio" .   Thing is, some folks SHOULD NOT WEAR YOGA PANTS, in the exact same way some older women SHOULD NOT WEAR MINI-SKIRTS,  it's just so INAPPROPRIATE .   I've given some Thought to THAT :  I'm figurin' that Aliens do have an Intelligence Bureau that 'reads' the latest Earth Fashions and FADS, and supplies suggestions for APPROPRIATE Attire to the Earthling Wanna-be's .  They get sorta confused and supply MISINFORMATION to theirs, THAT'S why you see such fashion DISASTERS at Walmart .   Aliens want to "FIT IN" to become just average and reg'lar folks, to be relatively INVISIBLE and as such seek the most common outfits to wear "IN PUBLIC" .   Many of these Aliens come from Home Worlds of greater Gravity and come to Earth that has a lesser Gravity so that they can be of excessive weight and NOT feel the effects of Crushing Gravity .   I conclude that not all BIGNESS is Earth Goodness, that BIGNESS is Extra-Terrestrial in both Scope and Measure .   

                                I'm tellin' you-all  :  the jokes write themselves .

Dysturbians

                                                          I've seen folks wearing PAJAMAS in Walmart as if they BELIEVE that Walmart is just an e--x--t--e--n--s--i--o--n of their own residence, that, Walmart is just a Warehouse {Wear House}  {Wares House} where they store new items .   Since it is THEIR Warehouse, what need is there of personal presentation, what need is there to be appropriately attired  as if one is "IN PUBLIC" ??  This sort of >Mindlessness< is characteristic of Earthlings, or "groundlings" to use Shakespeare's term .  I, personally, can't escape the notion that these groundlings just don't give a shit, they don't CARE that they are viewed as CONTEMPTUOUS of "IN PUBLIC" standards, or that maybe "IN PUBLIC" standards do NOT apply to them .  I devised a gag for this THIS :  When you are in public wearing pajamas YOU ARE SLEEP WALKING .  Nasty rite ?   "All the world's a BEDROOM and I am but a Sleeper ".  

                           You definitely can Forgive this shit IF THEY WERE FROM ANOTHER PLANET AND "DIDN'T KNOW NO BETTER" .   THAT'S why I don't approach these Sleep-Walkers, they may be from another Planet that is HOSTILE to Waking Consciousness .  I suggest that these Sleep Walkers have a pajama top that reads, "DO NOT DISTURB"  .   The gags write themselves .

                           I, as in WE, can conclude only that they MAY BE "Sleep-Walking through Life, unaware that they are REPRESENTING themselves, that their attire actually, in part, DEFINES THEIR EXISTENCE .   Is it then safe to say,   "You ARE what you WEAR" ?  I'm Thinkin'  maybe YES, at least in the Public Sphere . 

                             

Way Station Walmart

                                                          Yesterday morning, on the way, to Walmart, I was assailed by a mild "anxiety arrival" .   It was a lower case a anxiety not the upper case A Anxiety that marks an Anxiety ATTACK .   I wondered what Planetarians are suppose to  >> DO<< with regard to ACTUAL deployment of Energies, those of "At Work" ;  those of "At Play";  and those of "Other Activities" --- Energies expended during our Daily  "Out-and-About" .   Specifically,  What are those traits and characteristics that identify US, as Planetarians ?   What makes Us different ?

                             Elsewhere, I have described Walmart as some sort of "Star Gate" .  Walmart is like a "Way Station", a location where "Entities" from other Worlds, Solar Systems and even Galaxies use to enter the Realm of Earth, for any number of Reasons .   I mean, there are "folks" who don't resemble Human Beings except for the FACT that they DO !!!  It shakes me up and rocks me OUT .  Let me Confess, I try NOT to be "HY" when I 'do' Walmart .  I see too much and I get (get this) a-scared .  Not aFRAID, a-scared .  I'm like 2 or something .  But I digress ... .

                             A gentle Reminder that the construction of Planetarianism is ---> Ongoing .  We have a few Definitions, and a few Constructs as well as a certain number of >Ideations< .   Planeatarianism lacks a "Mission Statement" and a "Manifesto" , nor is there a "Belief System" a System that acts as Foundation for Common Sense, Logic and Higher Order Reasoning .   A System of Beliefs that we 'Turn to' when critical Decisions must be made at crucial Times .   We often hear Christians ask, "What would Jesus DO" and in that same Vein, we must have, "What would PLANEATARIANS DO ?"  

The Sunshine of OUR Love

                                                            I must insist that Planetarianism Requires 'elements' that "Define Its Existence" and in the exact same way that our Personal Elements Defines Individual Existence .  Here the Inmost Beliefs, those Beliefs that reside in one's Core Being, are to brought to bear on those of a Planetarian .    You Qidz* know I am no fan of Democracy and those "Self-Evident Truths , Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" DID NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH of  Wear-with-all* necessary to Inspire Correct Conduct nor Behavior .   Those words "Did their job" for the Ancients but  now we need MODERN  "Truths" that may NOT be --->  "Self-Evident" .   

                                                                   Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

Miss Appropriate

                                                            With regard to "Beliefs" and "Code of Conduct" [Codes of Conduct] my offerings will be Buddhism heavy for reasons easily at hand, {{{I'm a Zen Buddhist}}} .   Here's the thing, if you want to become a Philosopher, you gotta start somewhere, so most Students begin at the Beginning of Philosophy, the Greeks, although the Civilization of Sumer has its own Wisdoms, we are gonna leave the Sumerians to theirs, I mean,,,, for now .  In the same way that we need a "points of Origin" for Philosophical pursuits so we must have a point of Origin for Planeatarianism .   I have taken the "5 Precepts" ---  they are   "Don't kill, Don't Steal, Avoid Sexual Misconduct, Don't Lie and Don't get drunk" .    And then there are the "Paramitas"  the Virtues practiced by Bodhisattvas [ Buddhist `Saints` ]  and these are , "Generosity, Precepts, Forbearance, Samadhi, Practice, and Wisdom " .   Buddhists that want to become Bodhisattvas have "The Four Great Vows" ,

                     "However innumerable the sentient beings, I vow to save them all .

                       However inexhaustible the passions, I vow to extinguish them all .

                       However immeasurable the dharmas, I vow to master them all .

                       However incomparable the Buddha's Truth, I vow to attain it ."

                                 Grouch Marx once exasperated, "Why a four-year-old could see the problem --- go get a four-year-old because I can't make 'heads or tails' of it ."  I can say the same about my 'fix'  ---I can't make "heads or tails" of the Code or Codes required to 'Make' a Planeatarian, but still

                                                              WE GOTTA TRY !!!!!!!!

Miss Connected

                                                            Yesterday there were 3,921 readers of my words of Grief and Sorrow which manifested as Mourning .   My most HEARTFELT Gratitude to Each and Every One of You .

                            How is it that we can find Unity in Suffering but so little Else ?   

                                                                                     *     *     *

                             The "Work" on Planetarianism is ongoing, but appears as "Fits and Starts" .   I have it in my Mind that the GOAL of Planetarianism is the Establishment and Maintenance of (you guessed it)  UTOPIA ~~~ the so-called "Heaven on Earth" .   I feel the Need for a "Manifesto", on the order of  "The Communist Manifesto" :   I also feel the Need for something on the order of the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments and the "10 Rules of Islam" .   Buddhism, too, has its "Code of Conduct", the Precepts and the Vows, but they are numerous and, for me, unwieldy .   Also, I am suspicious of my own Bias, the Thinking that I can glean what we need from other "Orders" to make an "Amalgam" that suits both the Psychology and Physicality of Planeatarianism .    There are days in which I REVEL at the plethora of Mental Illnesses  that reside in my  Psyche,  and naturally there are days that I LOATHE and DESPISE them .  I have a perverted Tendency to complicate even the Most Trivial, and in so doing actually CREATE Obstructions, Pitfalls and TRAPS that prevent Clean and CLEAR Intellectual 'Enunciation', better viewed as Lucidity .   I heard this at an AA Meeting, "There's nothing worse than a confused Psychology Major ."    My 'condition' is something like THAT .  

Morning Mourning

                                                           I'm gonna spend the morning in Mourning .   Every year I try to avoid writing about 9-1-1 , the Horror almost unspeakable .   How is it the Man could inflict such untold Suffering on millions of Innocents ?   

                                   The First Belief of Planetarians is this :

                                                             ALL LIFE IS SACRED .

                                                            Tare Forward and Keep the Faith   {{{ if you can}}} 

"No Mind" is Know Mind

                                                            The definition of  "Emptiness" is NOT to be found in THE SHAMBHALA DICTIONARY OF BUDDHISM AND ZEN,   DON'T "have a meltdown" .   Know this, without  Emptiness  there IS no Creation.  Matter, in its physical sense, arrived INTO Emptiness, in the exact same way that when water is poured into a bowl, it is the EMPTINESS that "HOLDS" it .   A SOLID block cannot hold nor contain that same water .   It CAN be said that it is EMPTINESS that allows for the manifestation of "The 10,000 Things" .    We have heard, "That asshole is a BLOCKHEAD", meaning, nothing can "go in" and surely, nothing can "go out" .   

                                Years and years ago I had a dream in which a Koan [Japanese  Kong-an in Korean] was brought to my Conscious-ness ,,, it was this : "What's the most important 'thing' at an airport ?"   When I got passed "WTF" {after SEVERE  Bouts of aggravated Mediation} this arrived :  "Space"  is the most important feature of an Airport, but SPACE wasn't enough, and then Emptiness arrived, and I had the Answer to that Kong-an .   

                                We accuse Others of being "Empty Headed" and only a Buddhist or Zen Buddhist could appreciate the pun that results .   

                                I'm leaving this here for today .

                                                              Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

"OPEN 24 HOURS"

                                                           I don't have the Mind to continue with the 'book report' of REGIME CHANGE .   I  awoke with the desire to write about  Planetarianism,  my  Contribution  to  Earth's Civilization .    I have yet even to begin the Finalization of "The Planetarian Manifesto", it does exist, but only in outline, that is, skeletal Form .   For instance,  there is the Necessity of each Planetarian, to include, as a part of one's 'Daily Regimen',  Meditation .   Formal [Seated] Meditation is uncomfortable for Beginners, not to mention the Difficulty of focusing one's Attention on achieving [Attaining] an "Empty Mind" , a Mind devoid of Thinking and Thinking's manifestation --->  Thoughts .   I Value Meditation because success "on the cushion" leads to Success in one's Daily Activities, meaning, because Meditation 'Clears' one's Mind, that Clear Mind can be utilized throughout the day under ALL Conditions and  ALL  Circumstances .

                                 What is the NATURE of this Clear Mind which results from Meditation ?   The BEST Description is found in the "Heart Sutra" .   When you engage your favorite 'search engine' you may find Edward Conze's translation, provided by "Dharma-Net International" .   I did NOT "grow up" with this Translation, but Edward Conze is perhaps the MOST BRILLIANT translator of Hindi .  He is FAMOUS and "World Renown" .   His translation is cumbersome to me, the Korean translation is succinct and far less gawdy .   The Korean translation [into English] is used by my Order, so---I mean---there's THAT .   

                                 The Reading of this may be your first introduction to "Form is Emptiness. Emptiness is Form" but do NOT let this Buddhist Dogma become an Obstacle to you .   When I was first made aware of "Form is Emptiness---Emptiness is Form" I was warned that completely Understanding THAT would take AT LEAST  >>>>>>>>>>> TWENTY YEARS .   I confess :   it took me AT LEAST  20 and did not happen until I had read THE TAO OF PHYSICS .   

                                 For now, simply read the Sutra with an OPEN Mind and of course an OPEN Heart .

Malignia*

                                                           Before I begin today's Consideration I want to spend a few moments on Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's  REGIME CHANGE   Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump  which I finished reading a day ago .   I had expected it to contain Psychological Insights into trump and his 'Inner Circle', better regarded as his Cult .  I had hoped {and I HATE ---> HOPE} that they had consulted Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Anthropologists and Sociologists and provided their Clinical Assessments of trump :   his mental faculties, his derangements, his delusions, his "Malignant Narcissism" and  "IT" 's  Effects .   Nope, wasn't there .   Instead they used Description .   They describe the existing Conditions surrounding trump, which include his Cult "Figures" .   These "Figures", {and I use Figures instead of Characters because characters has a 'shade' of romance to it}  have their own 'agenda' that they sought and presently seek to advance through trump's 'Reign of Terror' .   It is safe to say that these figures are but facets of trump Malignia* { Malignant Narcissistic Tendencies}, in other words, THEY have "the same Mind" as trump .   Not only do they shield him from Reality ( the TRUTH of Reality) but they reinforce The  Utmost WORST of Human Depravity .   All lack even an iota of  Moral and Ethical Decency,  In this, they are INHUMAN .   

"The Pulse of BEING"

                                                           From William James :

                             "All men know it at those rare moments when the soul sobers herself, and leaves off her chattering and protesting about this formula or that .  In the silence of our theories we then seem to listen, and to hear something like the pulse of BEING beat :   and it is borne upon us that the mere turning of character, the dumb willingness to suffer and to serve the universe, is more than all theories about it put together .  The most any theory about it can do is to bring us to that .   Certain it is that the acutest theories, intellectual power, the most elaborate education, are a sheer mockery when, as too often happens, they feed mean motives and a nervous will .  And it is equally certain that a resolute moral energy, no matter how inarticulate or unequipped with learning its owner may be, extorts from us a respect we should never pay were we not satisfied that the essential root of human personality lay there ."

[ Essay on Reflex Action and Theism ]

                                       Take your time with this .

                                       I LOVE >>>>  " ... the Pulse of BEING... "  

                                               

"Father Knows Best"

                                                            We're not gonna 'fix' trump with even more Demon Energy THAT would be IMPOSSIBLE ,  so what CAN neutralize trump and the Demons that reside within him ?   We just wrote, "You CAN'T fight fire with fire" so what IS ---> Possible ?   "Enter stage RIGHT and with FLOURISH" one James Talarico .    When I learned that Talarico was a Presbyter my first thought was of Gabriel Byrne and his portrayal of "Father Kiernan" in the 1999 Film "Stigmata" .   Recall that Father Kiernan was convinced that "Frankie", portrayed by my Girl Patricia Arquette, was POSSESSED by DEMON ENERGY .   Father Kiernan's Mission was to SAVE Frankie and in so doing the ENTIRE CATHOLIC CHURCH from --->  DEMONIC FORCES .   You can see it rite* ?  

                                  When the Fight is on Earth it's Newsom versus trump, i.e., Moses versus Pharoah but in the Heavenly Realm its Talarico versus trump, i.e.,  Father Kiernan versus Satan .   

                                  

                                   When Satan was cast out EVIL was given SUPERNATURAL AGENCY .  "IT" was "allowed" to enter OUR Realm where it reeked HAVOC manifested as HORROR and CRUELTY .   The WAR is ETERNAL , is now and forever will be .   That's the Way "IT" is .  "IT" is LIFE .

                                                           Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

"Possession defines Ownership"

                                                            Elsewhere I have depicted trump as a "Diabolical GENIUS", I stand by that depiction but supplement it as follows :    Trump reads at a 4th grade level, two levels worse than the American Reading Level which is 6th grade .   Plus, he's IGNORANT to such a degree that most of US can only shake our heads in Bewilderment and Incomprehension .   So,,,,, what accounts for this fucking GENIUS ?   We have observed that trump "acts like a man possessed".  I hazard trump IS POSSESSED by DEMONIC Forces, and that THESE FORCES are responsible for trump being "a PLAGUER of mortal men" as Homer has stipulated AND it is THESE FORCES that are at "GENIUS LEVEL" .   BECAUSE TRUMP IS  SO FUCKING STUPID HE WAS A PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR DEMONS' ENERGIES.   The KGB currently considers trump "A USEFUL IDIOT" .  2 words ;  PERFECT . 

                             Trump Rules LIKE A MAN POSSESSED ----  it don't get no better .

De-man

                                                           When trump disgusted*, "This place is a dump" (referring to the White House) and decided to move to Mar a Lago to spend much of his time THERE all I could see was the Emperor Constantine moving the capitol of the Roman Empire to Byzantium [later to be renamed, Constantinople] .   Thing is~~~  I liked Constantine because of what he did for Christianity and the WORLD for that matter .   When Justinian came to Power he, too, Changed the World by his OBSESSION to remake Roman Law and to (get this) MODERNINZE "IT" .  He WASN'T  "All Demon All the Time" .   When I read Procopius my Mind changed because of the direct conflict of Interests, that is, viewing Justinian as "The Great Law-Giver" to DEMON ENTITY .   Recall that I tagged trump as >Inhuman< and qualified THAT by labeling him ANIMAL, a one devoid of HUMANITY .   I never liked my own shit, tagging him as an ANIMAL was NOT ENOUGH and it disparaged The Great Spirit who gave birth the our brothers and sisters the "Four Legged and the Two Legged" which is blatantly SINFUL .   Tagging trump with DEMON is SOOOOOOOO much  more suitable to me, despite knowingly defying Academic Protocol .   So be it .   Demon it is .

"Plaguers of mortal men" ...

                                                           There are two passages that are illuminative :  Procopius writes ;

                             "It is said that Justinian's own mother told some of her close friends that he was not the son of her husband Sabbatius or of  any man at all .  For when she was about to conceive she was visited by a demon, who was invisible but gave her a distinct impression that he was really with her like  mn in bodily contact with a woman,  Then he vanished like  dream ."

                             It gets better :

                             "In view of this I, like most of my contemporaries, never once felt that these two were human beings :  they were a pair of blood thirsty demons and what poet's (Homer and Aeschylus) call 'plaguers of mortal men' .  For they plotted together to find the easiest and swiftest means of destroying all races of men and all their works, assume human shape became man-demons, and in this way convulsed the world. "   

                             "But wait, there's more" :

                              "For the actions of demons are unmistakably different from  those of human beings .  In the long course of time there have doubtless been many men who by chance or by nature have inspired the utmost fear, and by their unaided efforts have ruined cities or countries or whatever it might be; but to bring destruction on all mankind and calamities around the whole world has been beyond the power of any but these two, who were, it is true, aided in their endeavors by chance, which collaborated in the ruin of mankind ... "

                              You can see it rite ?   I don't know how this can be missed . 

The [NOT SO] SECRET HISTORY

                                                           I'm in the process of reading REGIME CHANGE  --  Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump written by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan .  It's written in an Ancient Style , meaning,  each  chapter  is  "about"  a  specific  individual  and his or her relationship to trump .   As a History-man I see echoes of Plutarch as well as Procopius penman of The Secret History .  The  SECRET HISTORY I have is the Penguin Classic, translated by G.A. Williamson and what follows is on the back cover :

                                     "Having dutifully written the official war history of Justinian's reign, Procopius turned round and revealed in The Secret History the other faces of the leading men and women of Byzantium in the 6th century .  Justinian, the great law-giver, appears as a hateful tyrant, wedded to an ex- prostitute, Theodora ;  and Belisarius, the brilliant general whose secretary Procopius had been, is seen as the pliable dupe of his wife Antonia, a woman as corrupt and scheming as Theodora herself .   In all, the vicious side of a splendid city is exposed by Procopius with a candor which is revolting ."

                                     Please be patient with me as I unpack what I need from this Treasure Chest .

Just US

                                                                           49. Ko  /  Revolution  ( Molting )

                                 "Political revolutions are extremely grave matters .  They should be undertaken only under stress of direst necessity, when there is no other way out .  Not everyone is called to the task, but only the man who has confidence in the people, and even he only when the time is ripe .  He must then proceed in the right way so that he gladdens the people and, by enlightening them, prevents excess .   Furthermore, he must be quite free of selfish aims and must really relieve the need of the people .  Only then does he have nothing to regret ."

                                                                             * * *

                                   When we have tried in every way to bring about reforms, but without success, revolution becomes necessary .  But such a thoroughgoing upheaval must be carefully prepared .   There must be available  man who has the requisite abilities and who possess public confidence .  To such a man we may well turn .   This brings good fortune and [so] is not a mistake .  The first thing to be considered is our inner attitude toward the new condition that will inevitably come .   We have to go out and meet it, as it were .  Only in this way can it be prepared for ."

                                                                              * * *

                                   "Radical changes require adequate authority .  A man must have inner strength as well as influential position .  What he does must correspond with a higher truth and must not spring from arbitrary or petty motives ;   then it brings good fortune .   If revolution is not founded on such inner truth, the results are bad, and it has no success .  For in the end men will support only those undertakings which they feel instinctively to be just ."  

                                    

Spear It

                                                           One must ask, "If the I Ching is so fucking GREAT, why isn't it used in China NOW ?" .   And there's this corollary :   If the Vedas are so GREAT why doesn't India use THEM as the Foundation of Governance ?   These Civilizations are perhaps the OLDEST Living Organisms on the Planet .  Recall that Great Britain spent ONE HUNDRED YEARS in India to bring it out of a Stone Age and into  Modernity, and they STILL shit in the streets of New Delhi .   China, has COMMUNISM for its Government, and IT is still considered OPPRESSIVE by World Standards .   When we add the Civilization of Persia, and the Civilization of Israel we can see the Quran and the Bible as being grossly Ineffective as well .   I have stated elsewhere that the American "Constitution of the United States" and its "Declaration of Independence"  are as >Bibles< and they, too, have not fared any better , indeed, it is as if they have made things WORSE .  

                               Philosophy aint enough, BOOKS aint enough so what IS Required so that Humankind can Advance into an Age of Stability, Providence, and Peace ?     2 words :   Spiritualism .

Miss Represent

                                                            Some time ago I described my Brain as a ">landfill< the size of Oklahoma" .    This morning I 'rooted around' and found nothing worthy of presentation .   I mean, there's just SOOOOOO much SHIT .   I have been assailed by Doubts and Misgivings that manifest as 'legit' Questions regarding "Planetarianism"* specifically Questions about the I Ching and the Value I have placed on it to be as a "Bible" for the Conduct of both the Individual and the Society and Culture of the Government "writ large" .   I hear this : "If the I Ching is so fucking AWESOME [then] why isn't it a prominent Feature of our Education and the Social and Political Classes ?"   When I hear this Question I also `hear` this REDNECK attack :  "If you're so fucking smart [then] WHY AINT YOU RICH ?"   Valid Questions, both .

                             There's that scene in "Good Will Hunting" where Minnie Driver asks Matt Damon about how EASY it is to solve the most DIFFICULT Equations WITHOUT ANY  Effort .   Damon uses Beethoven as an example .  He says, "When Beethoven was a kid and he saw his first piano, IT JUST MADE SENSE TO HIM .  He looks at Minnie and and rues, "It's the same for me ."   Minnie just shakes her head .   Now when I read the I Ching, ALL of "IT" made Sense to me, even the "ideograms' .   The fact that the Chinese harnessed their Imagination in their their ideograms, as though ART was an ESSENTIAL COMPONENT in their Writing, appealed to me in the UTMOST "Sense" .   Indeed, Chinese Calligraphy IS Art in one of Art's most Pure Forms .   I LOVED  "IT" .

                              I have digressed, Sorry .

Decline and Fall Clean-up

                                                           I must abbreviate this morning's Effort ~~~  Fall Clean-up is underway, and the suffocating humidity has itself evaporated, leaving the Air Fresh, Crystal Clear and EXCEEDINGLY Healthy --- I am almost excited about getting out and starting up .

                               Iran has been blatant, they will NOT try and end the War until the American Midterm Elections [[[ IF THEY ARE HELD AT ALL]]] are completed and the Results tabulated .   Iran, like the rest of US,,  expect trump's republicans, ( now a FOUL term) to be DEFEATED in LANDSLIDE manner, which would then RETURN Legislative Power to the democrats, where OVERSIGHT will produce CHANGES that will GUARANTEE an END to trump's MANIACAL Conduct .         

                             The  "THING"  about  THAT  is,  once trump's "Psycho-phants" *  are Defeated, then what ?    Iran will STILL "  want  War REPARATIONS because, in this Instance,  IRAN IS THE VICTIM IN THE EXACT SAME WAY AS UKRAINE .   The American Government must still deal with the IRGC , and worse, what was once the Status Quo is no longer 'serviceable' in that NOW Hormuz has been annexed by Iran and, for all intents and purposes, Oman .   Trump + his have  created a New World Order --- a New World Order wherein America is NO LONGER the Epitome of Goodness dressed as Grandeur and Resolve .   America has redressed itself, meaning, America has become what trump sneeringly addressed as "a SHIT-HOLE country" .   Trump and his America will be forced fed those words.  America is gonna-hafta EAT ITS OWN SHIT , and then cough up TRILLIONS in War Reparations and Humanitarian Aid not only in Iran but in Gaza and the West Bank as well .  

                          Defeating trumpism at the ballot box is only a Sorrow-Stricken Beginning .

Do you speak the Russian ?

                                                           My Misery is unbounded this morning .   

                               WW II was the last WAR that Americans helped to Win .   Korea ended in TRUCE .

                               Americans did NOT Win in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and they have continued this LOSING STREAK .   

                               The Folks who defeated Hitler are all Dead .   The Generation that helped Us get out of Vietnam are useless, because of Age and  Exhaustion .  

                               All Present Day americans do now is GRUMBLE, the War simply an inconvenience .

                              Academia has been cowed, check that, AMERICA HAS BEEN COWED because of trump's hitlerism .  No one dares to OPPOSE trump for fear of losing their luxuries .   

                               We are headed to be a COLONY of russia .

                                It may be time to begin learning Russian .

The Drug Boat Elections

                                                            Hegseth has FIRED EVERY GENERAL AND ADMIRAL HE SUSPECTED AS BEING DISLOYAL TO TRUMP !    We KNOW that there are generals and admirals who BELIEVE AS TRUMP BELIEVES ,  and should Circumstances require THEIR 'leadership' they WILL be set in place to execute trump's UNLAWFUL ORDERS .   Do any one of US actually BELIEVE that the Mil will "DO THE RIGHT THING" ?   I don't .   Look at what transpired Early On when trump took office ,  he ordered the Mil to BLOW UP BOATS AND SLAUGHTER THEIR OCCUPANTS >WHICH WAS A WAR CRIME< .   The Mil WILLINGLY COMPLIED NOT ONE MILITARY OFFICE OPPOSED TRUMP  fucking COWARDS ALL and to the last .   

                           From the above we can project that very same, Meaning,,,  when ordered to "Take the Streets", that is, go to polling places and INTIMIDATE LAW-ABIDING AMERICAN CITIZENS,,,    THEY WILL DO SO !!!   Remember this :   MANY of american terrorists, the proud boys for example, DID TIME IN THE MIL .   The Mil is RIFE with White Supremacists, Bigots, and Haters of Liberals, and those that WORSHIP hitler and Nazi-ism .   In the Mil they learn how to ---> ATTACK  AND   DEFEND HATRED .   Recall what they did on Jan. 6 .  

                            Trump's ARMY exists in OUR Army .

Feeling is Believing

                                                           I want to write about trump's Efforts to 'take over' the Voting Mechanisms currently in the Domain of States .   I fear such a topic is NOT suitable for Global Appetite .   The WORLD is painfully Aware that America is to be considered a "BAD ACTOR" on the Stage of World Political Theater , and speaking of American Voting seems ridiculously tiny, thereby making "IT" inappropriate .   

                             I can't help but FEEL that there will be  NO Election because, for trump, SO MUCH IS AT STAKE !   "IT" would be a MIRACLE if the House of Senators and the House of Representatives were DOMINATED by democrats to such an extent that they had a TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY which would then give them the POWER to not only Impeach trump but PUT HIM AND HIS IN PRISON .   The POLLS have indicated that more and more of trump's cult members are FEELING the Truth of his Mania , that they are considered, by him, to be of little or NO Value;  that HE WILL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO STAY IN POWER,  and if that Means to SUSPEND ELECTIONS HE WILL DO SO  !!!

              HE HAS NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE SAVE TO RIG THE ELECTIONS IN HIS FAVOR !

                          

The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

                                                           I'm gonna leave You with a bit of my 'Geek-ness' .   The Second Law of  Thermodynamics is this :  "The total entropy of an isolated system always increases over time, dictating the direction of spontaneous processes and the irreversibility of natural phenomena ."   Entropy is the $20 word for CHAOS .   The best example is found as a garden .  When left untended the garden gets overgrown with weeds and SHIT .  "IT" is ALWAYS gonna-be "like that" .   

                            "IT" 's  the SAME with EVERYTHING .   

                              When we say, "We gotta let Nature take Its course" we are inviting >CHAOS< to be the Dominant Factor in whatever "System" is under observation .  I'm no fan of Chaos, indeed, I'm grossly Conservative in some "Areas" .  

                             Trump IS Chaos, look what has happened when we let HIS Nature "take its course" .

                              Consider .

                                                                 Tare Forward and Keep the Faith

Karmatose*

                                                          When I heard, "We choose our own parents" I was beset with question and the feeling that something was not kwite* rite* .   YEARS later I read The Tibetan Book of the Dead where I found satisfactory Resolution .   We may not CONSCIOUSLY 'choose' our parents but there IS an Agency that Directs our Births and that Agency is Karma .   Our Karma is responsible for our parents and our Mom's "Womb Door" through which we exit into this World .   Some Folks insist :   "It's not my FAULT that I was born into Poverty, I DIDN'T >choose< my parents."  Yes and Sorta .

                           Our Karma somehow 'Designs' our Birth .   Upon Death, our Karma is Responsible for our Rebirth .   If our Past Actions have been "Good" a "Good" Birth and Good Life are the Result .  If our Past Actions have been less than Good, we will have a "Less than" Life, that is, unless we Change our Karma which then Changes our Life .  Simple rite ?

                           "IT" doesn't matter if one does NOT "Believe in" Rebirth .  The $20 phrase for ReBirth is "The Transmigration of Soul" .   What DOES Matter is the CHOICES we make regarding our Status as a Human Being .   We must choose to be Good because Choosing to be BAD lands us in Prison, and/or an Insane Asylum .   And yet, folks choose NOT "To Choose" which winds them back into a somewhat Comatose Actuality that resembles that of ANIMALS, especially HERD animals, where ---> Instinct DOMINATES .   Indeed, we hear of "Herd Instinct" as an explanation for Community Psyche .

                            

"IFF"

                                         IF we have Freedom,,,  THEN  it is the Freedom to CHOOSE .   

                             I can't remember if I have written about one of my Pet Notions, that Life, in all its sometimes MURDEROUS Complexity,, is nothing less than a series of >Syllogisms<, [Statements that begin with "IF" and conclude with "Then"] .   For example :  IF I write, THEN I may be able to Change the World .   Even better :  "IF I don't write, THEN Nothing will change" .   

                             We have observed the American Congre$$ .  It appears that they BELIEVE that If they do Nothing, Then things will eventually change for the  Good .  Here, there is GROSS Delusion .  When was the last time we observed Nothing actually Effecting Change ???   There is NO Science within that Delusion, how can there be ???   Perhaps they Live by a Belief that IF things "run their course" THEN things will "end up" as Positive ,,,  Folks insist, "Things ALWAYS "work-out" for the Best" ,   yeah SOMETIMES ---except when they don't .   That 'SAME' is True for the World, "IT" Believes that IF "IT" does NOTHING, these "Bad Times" will pass and Order will be restored .  Yeah OK, but will that Order be POSITIVE or NEGATIVE ???   "Aye, THERE'S the Rub" .  

Free Will & Free Won't

                                                            I suggest that the REASON God 'does' "Nothing" is simple :  HE 'gave' us "Free Will" .   "IT" is as if He created Soccer, created the players, the teams and the Rules and then directed, "Have at it" .   At  that  Point  all  He  need  do  is  sit  back  and  Watch .   That THAT is my Point ;  God has 'given' us all we need, the Rest of >"IT< is up to Us .   {{{The "IT" is Life}}}

                              Thing is, What is the True Nature of this "Free Will" ?   

                              Some of us "Old Timers" insist : "Ain't NOTHIN' >Free< ".   Logic asserts its Self when we conclude, "EVERYTHING comes at a Cost" .  Don't forget this American colloquialism :  "There's no such thing as a "Free Lunch" ;  to which we can submit, "There's no such thing as "Free Will" .

                              Trump has been 'given' "Free Reign" over the American Political and Governing System .  Are we not now PAYING THE PRICE of trump's "FREE WILL" ?  Has his Free Will not embroiled us in GLOBAL SUFFERING ?   We pray, "God's Will be done" while Others 'pray' :  "Trump's WILL be done" .   Heller and Vonnegut rejoin :   "That's SOME Will" .  

                              

God the Shape-Shifter

                                                           I'm not-gonna write this morning---"IT" doesn't feel like it's "That Kind Of Day", please forgive an old man .   I'm headed out to continue Fall Clean-up ~~~ as I work I will "wrestle" with God until I am exhausted or until HE Blesses me with Answers .  

                                                            Tare Forward and Keep the Faith 

Moses, The Story Teller Feller

                                                           Some things I cannot explain .   I don't feel good this morning, and for some reason the Story of Jacob wrestling with God is on my Mind in an oppressive way .   Yesterday I wrote that God's JOB is to do NOTHING .   There's the Notion that God set things in  motion and that's "IT" .   We've been taught that God "gave" us "Free Will" and this Free Will came at a fucking HUGE Cost ,  Life Itself .    The Argument against That is Strong ---  The Flood, various Plagues,  Pandemics and the like, ALL of "Natural Causes" , and some would Argue --->  "Divine Intervention" .   I "wrestle" with this Shit, maybe THAT'S why the Story of Jacob wrestling with God arrived .   What kind of EGO must I possess if >I< consider myself as Jacob ???????   

                            The Story of Jacob wrestling with God is found in Genesis 32 : 22-32 , and it is both perplexing and bewildering .   The now Famous "Some Guy" appears out of nowhere and begins to wrestle with Jacob throughout the night and stops when dawn arrives .   This "Man" tells Jacob his birth name is GONE that his new name is "Israel" .  Jacob wrestled, instead of Fought, and wrestled while demanding this UNKNOWN HOSTILE "Bless" him .   If you're like me if some guy grabs me and begins to wrestle it ain't likely that I'll ask him to Bless me .   Moses is quite the Story-Teller .