Thursday, October 26, 2017

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades


Please be patient with me. The following is just a brush with a much deeper conversation.

Frank Robinson (still living) was a Major League Baseball baseball player. He has been attributed as the person who first said, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." The quote appeared in Time magazine July 31, 1973. It is a quote I once said often. Another phrase I currently use is, “Green shaming is just another form of bullying.”

Green Shaming is a specific form of what is known as Culture Jamming, a tactic used by many anti-consumerist social movements. “There are four emotions that activists often want viewers to feel. These emotions - shock, shame, fear, and anger - are believed to be the catalysts for social change.” (quote source Wikipedia) Also from Wikipedia, “Guilt is a cognitive or an emotional experience that occurs when a person believes or realizes-accurately or not-that he or she has compromised his or her own standards of conduct or has violated a universal moral standard and bears significant responsibility for that violation.

So I will explain how “horseshoes and hand grenades”, Green Shaming and guilt tie in together for me today. But first I would like to mention briefly another conjoining term. Activism Ethics. Activism Ethics needs further open source study. There is research on this but most are on those sites where you have to have academic credentials to even read them. That is why I am an advocate of open source knowledge. (my website page on this is here)

As an lifelong political and social activist I have always tried to live by a set of values. Specifically the philosophy of Ahimsa. I also consider myself a Pantheist as it relates to nature worship and my desire not to be an Anthropocentrist holding myself above the rest of creation. I have always had struggles with that. But recently a situation has come upon me that has garnered much anxiety for me. Mice.

In my home I have always had mice and have used catch and release methods for years to deal with them. But these days my physical body is not well and it is difficult to do best practices with catching and releasing mice. I have been agonizing about it for about a month now. I recently came to a decision about it and now I find I am really getting stuck on Green Shaming myself and also struggling with my Activism Ethics.

Living in this modern world and society it is near impossible to adhere to these ethics. For instance how many of us actually do not participate in the use of plastics? Or the mining of rare earth metals that often come via some form of Indigenous Racism just as oil and other natural resources we use every day.

Bottom line I do not like Green Shaming of others. But I find I am adept at using it on myself. And as far as other activism I pour guilt on myself in regard to the mice of not really practicing Ahisma or Pantheism. As a means of justification many use what is know as “whataboutism”. Another action I abhor. Can ther be a reverse whataboutism to use on one's self like saying, “Ya, I kill and support racism but look at all these groups I support and rallies I attend. Don't that balance it out?”

So if I catch and release my mice directly into the garbage can with food, can it ease my mind that when the garbage man takes them to the dump they may survive? Or is it true that, "Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades."? Do the Jains really never step on a bug? What do they feel and do if they do? As an activist is “cutting ourselves some slack” just a convenient excuse? Still wondering, no real answers. It all may may seem silly but the anxiety is real. What do you think?

Just for drill a couple of articles:



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Monday, September 18, 2017

Cornerstones, Magic and George Washington

Image Credit Wikipedia:
Washington laying the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol in a photo reproduction of a painting

The dictionary defines a cornerstone as an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based OR a stone that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls. As I see it certain moments in time form the cornerstones of our lives. Often have I mused about those moments and about choices we make. Should I turn right, left, go forward or back up? We carry this metaphorical cornerstone as we live, sometimes picking it up and moving it to an entirely different position and begin to rebuild. I suppose you might say the most lucky ones among us plant that stone and it remains indefinably as they remain happy with their chosen path building their life stone by stone and die blissfully satisfied. I could go on in this vein of thought but that would be a distraction from what I wanted to write about today.

It was on this day September 18th in 1793 that the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol was laid down by George Washington. Now here is where my mind went while thinking about this event. To begin with at this event were “three Worshipful Masters carrying sacrifices of corn, wine, and oil”. They also did a ritual and slaughtered an ox and chanted, reminiscent of animals sacrifices to the gods of many historical spiritual practices. What is a Worshipful Master? The Worshipful Master is the highest honor within a Masonic lodge. As a student of the occult I ventured deeper into questions that appeared in my mind.

A number of issues came up immediately beyond my occult interests. First, I have always been fascinated by the history of human architecture and when and how we started building homes. This is associated with my studies of homelessness. Also in my love of mythology, temples that humans have built for thousands of years wherein to worship gods and goddesses and the construction by Neolithic humans of monoliths, like Stonehenge, is equally fascinating.

Cornerstones and Masons are at the heart of this today. I could not find a great source in regard to the cornerstone, if any, for the Great Pyramid of Giza. There is extensive information about its capstone though. We consider this to be one of the oldest “buildings” ever built in general but the fact is it was built near 2560 BC but before that are buildings that date back as far as the Cairn of Barnenez which dates to 4800 BC. Here I could really go off on such things as the Zep Tepi Theory and the whole New Age religious thoughts regarding Ancient Aliens in regard to these monuments, but for now that is a secondary study. I wish to return to the Masons.

In what is considered conspiracy theory the Masons have an extensive litany. Do they want to form a New World Order being agents of the Illuminati? Is our government actually based on this conspiracy not on Christian values as many argue? If the Abrahamic God has a plan is this forming of the New World Order via the United States part of this plan? Were the Knights Templar also part of this? Books such as the The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown suggest this. Which brings me now to move on to Abrahamic religion and Masons. That would be the history of the the building of Solomon's Temple and Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This small area is one of the holiest sites in the world.

Many say that Solomon was the first Mason. Solomon is regarded by Jews, Muslims and Christians as a wise man blessed by God. I find it very curious though that they seem, for the most part, to overlook how Solomon built this temple. In Biblical texts they describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ring that was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael. Angels? Demons? Magical ring?

This starts perhaps with Benaiah who killed Solomon's enemies, and served as the chief of Solomon's army. It is told that Benaiah took Solomon's ring and captured Asmodeus, king of demons, who was forced to remain in Solomon's service. There are many tales of Solomon and Asmodeus like the one where Asmodeus brought a man with two heads from under the earth to show Solomon. Interesting.
 Or how Asmodeus stole the ring and threw it into the sea which was then eaten by a fish. This caused Solomon to wander eventually becoming cook for another king and falling in love his daughter. The king didn't like this so he banished them into the desert. They came to a coastal city and bought a fish to eat and lo and behold it was the fish that had Solomon's ring and he regained his power as king of Israel. It was with Asmodeus' help that the stones of the temple were moved. He also commanded angels to help against their will.

Here I like to mention another tool of Solomon. The shamir, a worm used by King Solomon to engrave gemstones. Apparently he used the blood of the shamir worm to make carved jewels with a mystical seal or design. This this led to the belief that gemstones so engraved would have magical virtues, and they often also ended up with their own powers or guardian angel associated with either the gem, or the specifically engraved gemstones. (Source Wikipedia) Perhaps Moses used the shamir to make the breastplate of the High Priest Aaron.

The Mason's god is called Jahbulon, Great Architect of the Universe. People say it is just another name for the Abrahamic god, but is it? Are they really demon worshipers? In a bit of trivia it has been suggested that the Rastafari word for God, Jah, comes from the term Jahbulon.

In a future post I want to talk about Solomon's Temple and the Temple Mount. Its history current and past are of great importance in regard to world peace. If I were more ambitious this post could be three times longer. So my friends, what do you think of all this surrounding our county's roots, Masons, cornerstones and magic? Please visit Kether Muse

Saturday, June 10, 2017

My Story Of Stuff: The Phenomenon Of Collecting

I am a collector. Wikipedia says “the psychology of collecting seeks to understand the motivating factors for persons who, throughout the ages, have devoted great amounts of time, money, and energy making and maintaining collections.” Some people collect things with a monetary focus in mind. But most people collect things that have an emotional component at their core. Then there are many like me who love to collect certain things but are addicted to the hunt. Thrift stores and yard sales are the temples of my devotionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple. Also people like me who love the hunt often like to sell their finds for a little extra money and in some cases, like me, make an actually living of it. (after 40 years of this I am basically retired from the madness). And yes, at times it seems like a madness. An obsession in need of a 12 step program to get it under control.

Last night I had a dream that had a brief scene where I was with a friend (Sally E) and we were going to a church sale to look at a huge collection of dolls that had been donated by a parishioner who had recently died. As my friend and I started into the church I began to think about what a sad exercise this was. Something that in life was so precious and sacred to someone and now in death that intrinsic value had disappeared like a mist.

Comfort Objects are what some of it is. A Security Blanket. Psychology Today says, “It's okay to carry that blankie. Children who are both insecurely attached to their mothers and attached to their blankies seem to adjust better to anxiety-producing situations.” Here is a similar article by Melody Thomas, a child care professional. Adults need them too is pointed out in this Live Science article. Oh them transitional objects!

I recall  a conversation I had with my best friend Maggie years ago about the oddity of this “Phenomenon Of Collecting”. Now my friend lives a pretty minimalist existence. She has what she needs. Her obsession is reading which she spends a large majority of her free time doing. But as she reads a book she basically passes it along and buys another. Her book shelves are pretty barren of books, especially compared to mine. She does the same with clothes. Now, she does have this penchant for sweaters and has quite a few, but even with that after a while she will go through the closet and give some to the Salvation Army so she can justify looking for new ones.

The conversation with my friend was about whether humans, as it seemed to her, are the only creature who engage in such activity, this need to possess. Well it appears there are plenty but in most cases it is for making nests and most of those nests are for food collecting or laying eggs, not just to hoard stuff like humans. At the bottom of this post are some examples of this behavior. So for the most part it is correct that the ways humans collect is pretty unique. Collecting stuff is one thing but at a certain point it may turn into what is called hoarding which is considered a bad thing for the most part. As far as an environmentalist this hits me hard. Falls into what I don't especially like and which is called #SelectiveEmpathy. Ouch.

The self-storage industry is primarily a United States-based industry. The industry experts often refer to the 4Ds of life (death, divorce, downsizing and dislocation) as the “need” for storing “stuff” Or when two people get together they have duplicate things and rather than just giving it away some still feel the need to store the extra. Maybe in case of the chance the relationship might not work out. As we know that in the USA it is estimated that the lifelong probability of a marriage ending in divorce is 40%-50%. The Story Of Stuff Project (video here) shows us some negative effects of the this need to possess shit. I being a believer that this “stuff” can hold you back from spiritual growth if you are not careful.

According to Buddhist beliefs, attachment (Upādāna) is a major cause of suffering (dukkha) . It is not necessarily evil to possess things. Another spiritual example is when Jesus told his disciples to drop their nets and follow him, to have faith that they should follow after enlightenment and leave the world behind. At this point perhaps another Jesus thing, the saying that “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” would fit in as many mis-translate this as money is evil but forget that it actually specifies it is the “love of” that is evil.

I like the word Ephemera a lot. When coversations turn to the subject of "what is life" I have been known to say "Life is Ephemera." I have done study on how to persevere books and why some, like The Dead Sea Scrolls for example, pretty much lasted a long time. I found that is because rather then paper we once use other materials. We have been using paper for about 2,000 years but before that we used Clay tablets, papyrus, bone, shells, wood and silk. Romans used wax-coated wooden tablets or pugillares upon which they could write and erase by using a stylus.  Parchment progressively replaced papyrus which was made using the skins of animals (sheep, cattle, donkey, antelope, etc.), with Vellum being the finest quality of parchment. Way back when it was very expensive to use it. But the church could afford it. The scriptorium was the workroom of monk copyists where books were copied, decorated, rebound, and conserved. Environmentally speaking I am a believer of and a proponent of the fact that there are One Billion Reasons to use Hemp instead of trees. To bad our government doesn't know the difference between hemp and smoking/ingesting types of Cannabis especiallt CBDs. But that is another subject all together.

So back to my original point. It seems sad somewhat that when we die all we have done from the cradle to the grave for most is gone in a flash. Some leave a lasting mark on society and people remember them. But most of us live lives of quiet desperation and real joy seems elusive, the carrot on the stick that compels the donkey forward. Ah, but there goes my nihilistic side. They say to be happy is the point of life. Abraham/Hicks says it's our only job. So I suppose if collecting stuff makes you feel happy then it is a spiritual exercise of it's own if your intent is right like the Buddhist Noble Eightfold Path suggests is it not?

Here is the promised animal stuff.

Some animals don't bother to go hunting for stuff themselves but are Kleptos: Here are some.

My favorite find today was running into the info on the sociable weaver a species of bird who build construct permanent nests on trees and other tall objects. These nests are the largest built by any bird, and are large enough to house over a hundred pairs of birds, containing several generations at a time. These nests are perhaps the most spectacular structure built by any bird.

Some common animals that cache their food are rodents such as hamsters and squirrels, and many different bird species, such as rooks and woodpeckers. The western scrub jay is noted for its particular skill at caching. There are two types of caching behavior: larder-hoarding, where a species creates a few large caches which it often defends, and scatter-hoarding, where a species will create multiple caches, often with each individual food item stored in a unique place. Both types of caching have their advantage.
Bowerbirds
Pack Rat
Nesting

Beaver dams provide ponds as protection against predators such as coyotes, wolves, and bears, and to provide easy access to food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way that the overall ecosystem builds upon the change, making beavers a keystone species. Beavers work at night and are prolific builders, carrying mud and stones with their fore-paws and timber between their teeth. Beavers can rebuild primary dams overnight, though they may not defend secondary dams as vigorously.

Other mammals collect stuff to build nest. Gorillas build fresh nests daily out of leaves and other vegetation. Amphibians like frogs and some fish build temporary nests to lay their eggs in. Cobras use leaves and other debris to build nests in which they lay eggs that both sexes guard. Sea turtles dig a hole in the sand above the high tide line in which they lay their eggs, but then they leave it all behind. Social insects, including most species of ants, bees, termites, and wasps, are nest builders.

Be well and “May your Dukkha be as small as Nanobes.” - #Ketherism

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Monday, June 5, 2017

Ode To The Vestal Virgins

Image: The Vestal Virgin Tuccia with a Sieve - Charles-JosephNatoire

Ode To The Vestal Virgins
Nino Kether ©
6-5-2017 

Oh sweet Vestal Virgins
Thank you for tending to the fire in my heart.
I know it is you that keeps my spark of life burning day by day.
Numa's eyes were keen the day he chose you oh Sisters Of The Hearth!

They thought they had extinguished the Sacred Fire
but we know you keep it alive by magic.
You are ordained by the Gods to do so
and mere humans have no real power over you.

Your beauty is rivaled by none.
Oh what you have sacrificed for us and the Gods
Sweet Virgin Sisters!
I know I could not do the same.
Do you cry at times at night
when you are alone with your thoughts?
Do you ever wish for a child and a mate of your own?
Does Vesta comfort your hearts and minds?

I wish I could enter your Temple
but I know I cannot.
So it is in my heart that I make
my offerings and sacrifices to you.
Please quench my thirst with
water from your Sacred Spring.
Oh that my hands were pure enough
to bring some to you.

Fuel the Sacred Fires
with my moral or spiritual weaknesses
as there is enough to last from birth to death.
All my sacred objects I also give to you.
Use them as you will.

I will gather rush, reed, and straw
So you may make the Argei
for my brothers and sister.
And if I be so blessed please take mine
and toss it in the river as sacrifice to the other Gods.
May the effigies purify Gaia and Cybele
that their blessing may flow to all.

I know you are married to the Gods
and your dress is plain and not presuming.
But if I could I would dress you in silk
and adorned you with precious gems
emeralds, sapphires and rubys set in gold.
Although the flashing colors of the opal is divine
they are not as colorful as the rainbows in your eyes
nor as bright and captivating.

I feel weak and see Mors in the corners of my eyes at times
A spectral image for now but soon I know he comes.
Sweet Virgin Sisters I wish for you to know
before he lays his hand on me
how much I am thankful for your grace.
I pray to you and for you.
May the Gods hear my prayers and bless my sacrifices.

May I ask one last favor of you my loves?
Will you take my hand when time arrives
and guide me to the Underworld
and share one last drink from your Sacred Spring?


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Saturday, June 3, 2017

Spiritual Porn


Art Credit Cameron Gray

Besides my primary website Kether Muse I have this Blog, a personal Facebook page and one for Kether Muse. I also have a Pinterest Page. I have a friend who is a retired art professor and she posts what she titles “Art of the Day” on her personal page at Facebook. Recently I created a new page called Kether Muse Spiritual Porn which is a product of my spiritual pursuits and inspiration from my friend and her “Art of the Day”. It has been some of the most “fun” I have had in along time.

Another thing I enjoy doing is creating memes. These days more than half of them are political. I am sure that many are familiar with the Facebook page called Word Porn. It is a great page and has been around a long time but as with many people's posts on Facebook they post images and articles but seldom make personal commentary with them. That sort of bothers me. Things I like I write a little commentary on because Facebook "ain't just for cat pictures anymore". So when I post on my new Spiritual Porn I like to write a story about the art I am posting and seek very hard to credit the artist. I like to share art, entertain and teach with my postings, as a basic operating principle of Kether Muse is to enlighten and inform..

I am also writing a novel and have a few short stories in the works. While seeking a good name for the protagonist in one of my new short stories I thought a name of an occultist from antiquity would be fun and looked up Wikipedia's List Of Occultists. Reading down the list I saw the name Atomus and thought, "Who the heck was that?" Well, doing the standard “link surfing” I employ often led me to the story of “Elymas the Sorcerer”. It was very interesting and looking that name up on Google images I came upon an image I liked and decide to make it one of my Kether Muse Spiritual Porn posts. I started to write my basic little story for the post and actually got swept away and inspired to do more thought and investigation and this blog post was born. The Biblical tale of “Elymas the Sorcerer” for me was smothered in magic and what followed was fun and could go even further but for now this is good enough.

In Acts 13 of the Holy Bible is an account of “Elymas the Sorcerer” also called Bar-Jesus a "certain magician, a Jewish false prophet" who tried to stop Paul from preaching to a fellow Elymas lived with. Elymas was also referred to as Bar-Jesus which is "Son of Yeshua" in Aramaic. The account states that Paul said to Elymas:

“O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” It goes on to say, “And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” - King James Official Version

Paul encountered other “sorcerers” in his travels. In Acts 16 there is this account:

“And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”

So as an occultist and not a Christian these accounts seem like acts of magick to me. And if the Bible is to be believed as a historical account of events I am sure the people of that time also viewed this as acts of sorcery. For pagans, shamans, alchemists or a traditional witch the power of magic comes from the earth around us and radiates from people, animals, plants and stones. Jesus has been quoted as saying in Matthew 17:19:

“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” - King James Official

This was said shortly after Jesus did another ritual of “magick” for a man who came to him about his son. “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.”

So the Abrahamic religions say this power is from “God” the “Holy Spirit” or “Allah”. The New Age spiritual movement is a compilation of metaphysical, Eastern-influenced thought systems with a good amount of quantum physics thrown in. Many of them would say that this power to "create reality" comes from your own mind and as you become ONE with the “universal unifying force” rejecting duality you can do anything you would conceive with an evolving expanding consciousnesses. I term my spiritual evolution as “Chaos Magic” and I take from all religions and philosophies what I like and leave the rest behind. I have no dogma and at times I hear, read or see something that makes me totally drop some notion I may have been carrying around for a long time.

There is one thing that seems clear to me. There is no ultimate reality or ultimate truth. The Rock Man in the story of Oblio said, “Ya see what ya want to see and hear what ya want to hear. You Dig?” If Rudolf Stiener were in such a conversation of magic/sorcery (black/white) and "God" he may bring up what is sometimes called the quantum observer effect, “a phenomenon where the presence of the observer changes the nature of the observed” because of his desire to copacetically join esoteric thought and science. I love science and I love the occult. But all seems in flux. I saw a bumper sticker once that made me laugh. It said. "GRAVITY!! It's The Law". But, is that true?

Just the other day I heard on NPR that Physicists Say The Speed of Light May Not Be Constant. And what about time? And space itself? And what came first, Darkness or Light? I personalty think you need to explore darkness before light can be born.



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Thursday, May 25, 2017

#EVOLVE: A Political Autopsy

Everywhere these days you see the hash tag or protest sign saying #RESIST
The political elite are like the Borg saying, "Resistance is futile, you shall be assimilated"
I have been thinking about the evolution of human kind and have based much of my novel I am writing on this concept. From Buddhists, theosophists, occult teachers and channeled entities (such as Seth and Abraham/Hicks) we are told resisting is to be avoided and (as the Rosicrucians have said) "Where your thought is, there you are. For you are your consciousness and what you meditate upon you become."

I have been a political activist most my life but more and more as I age my spiritual values and beliefs have been hitting up against my political activism. I wish to be "for" something rather than "against" something. At times it is a razor edge I walk. I have been thinking instead of a #RESIST Movement I would like to start an #EVOLVE Movement. I have been thinking of the phrase "Knowledge is Power." I look around and see our government unfunding education and pushing science to the wayside. It disturbs me.

In history, especially in the 20th century, control was furthered by keeping the populace ignorant. Anti-intellectualism has always been an effective political tool. From Hitler to the Khmer Rouge and beyond tyrants, fascists and authoritarians have hated intellectuals. Our current president seems to have the same propensity.

"Wherever books are burned, human beings are destined to be burned too." - German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine

"Our country would be put in order, as soon as all the intellectuals who were meddling in the region were expelled" Argentina

"The youth-oriented Nazi movement had always attracted a sizable following among right-leaning university students. Even back in the 1920s they sensed Nazism might be the wave of the future. They joined the National Socialist German Students' League, put on swastika armbands and harassed any anti-Nazi teachers." - The History Place Nazi Germany 1933 to 1939

But there may be hope! Here are some quotes that show our world and youth are evolving in my mind.

"In the late ’60s and ’70s, amid left-wing militancy and racial strife, a liberal era ended. Today, amid left-wing militancy and racial strife, a liberal era is only just beginning."
The Atlantic January-February 2016 Issue

"Trump’s election may represent the resistance of those who fear this left-leaning future, but it won’t change that future from coming to pass."
Wired Magazine December 19th, 2016

"A report from the Pew Research Center finds a wide partisan gap between highly educated and non-highly-educated Americans. Not only that, but the share of college grads and post-graduates who are "consistently liberal" has grown sharply in the last 20 years."
NPR April 30th, 2016

"People growing up in the 1940s and 1950s ... were raised in a broad culture that was way more conservative than people coming of age in the 1960s and beyond. And with each passing generation, our culture, collectively, has become more and more accepting of ideas that, many years ago, had negative connotations."
Christian Science Monitor May 28, 2015

“Not a huge surprise that the highly educated would be in the vanguard of this. Those with more education have for many decades shown more consistency in their ideological views: they’re better positioned to figure out exactly where they stand in relation to the parties, and expected to take stances that line up. It’s also not a surprise that the movement in recent decades among the highly educated has been toward ideological consistency on the left. The evidence shows it does seem to make people somewhat more cosmopolitan, more comfortable with social diversity, more tolerant of social difference.”
Neil L. Gross, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology at Colby College

"Highly educated adults – particularly those who have attended graduate school – are far more likely than those with less education to take predominantly liberal positions across a range of political values. And these differences have increased over the past two decades."
PEW Research Center April 26, 2016

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Friday, May 12, 2017

Mother's Day, Peace and Society

I began to write a Mother's Day post focused on the need for peace in the world with references to what is commonly known as the Mother's Day Proclaimation by Julia Ward Howe. I started to think about my own mother who died in 2010. But also swirling around in my mind are the politics of the day. I started thinking about the mess with the health care debate, social security, medicare and medicaid, which brought me to another thought about my mother and something she once told me.

My mother lived in a little place called Garden City Idaho.

Garden City is nearly surrounded by Boise but retains a separate municipal government. Garden City was named for gardens raised by Chinese immigrants who lived in the area. The name of the city's only main street, Chinden Boulevard, is a portmanteau of the words "China" and "garden." In the second decade of the 21st century, it became a haven for artists' studios due to its cheap rents and eclectic ambiance.” Source Wikipedia

She lived in a trailer court near the Boise River. Also living there where lots of feral cats. My mother fed a number of them every day and they were, in my mind, quite a bother. They lived under and around the trailer except one really scraggly white one with one eye and matted and patchy fur which she allowed in the house. She contacted the city many times about them with no help. She contacted the Idaho Humane Society based in Boise but they said they had no jurisdiction in Garden City even though they had tried to take over the animal control duties for them for years. So my mother was basically stuck.


Which brings me to what she said to me that has always echoed in my mind since.

I said something like, “Mom, why do you do this. They smell and crap everywhere and besides you can barely afford it?”

She said,
“After the depression I told myself that I would never allow
any person or animal go hungry as long as I am alive.”

This brought me back around to the politics of today and thought of what life was like during the great depression and the New Deal.

"The New Deal produced a political realignment, making the Democratic Party the majority.
The Republicans were split, with conservatives opposing the entire New Deal as an enemy of business and growth, and liberals accepting some of it and promising to make it more efficient. The realignment crystallized into the New Deal Coalition that dominated most presidential elections into the 1960s, while the opposing conservative coalition largely controlled Congress from 1939 to 1964. By 1936 the term "liberal" typically was used for supporters of the New Deal, and "conservative" for its opponents." Wikipedia

I am a liberal. So was my mother. It is clear to me that the New Deal, brought to us by liberals, puts us on the right side of history. And the conservative Republicans are still fighting against these liberal values. Which brings me back to thoughts of peace.

In closing. Julia Ward Howe called on mother's to stand up against war with the “conviction that women had a responsibility to shape their societies at the political level.” In war it is women and children who suffer the most. Like Howe I ask everyone to think about this on Mother's Day and every day. Please work for peace not war. Join the Idaho Peace Coalition or any of the many peace organization in the country. Also please visit Kether Muse Peace Resources.



Thursday, February 9, 2017

Temp For Rachel


ZygoTerif
(sample sketch)

The task of creating a new society out of the aftermath of Janus Porrima was a daunting but necessary one. The Tillers had to put away their fear they shared with everyone as they stood among the survivors surveying their surroundings. As if all were regaining awareness after being knocked out from a fall, they began to focus clearly after a time. Many of the survivors took much longer to awaken, as they were drowning in seas of grief comprised of their tears.

But some seemed to recover quickly and began the task of seeking the basic needs of survival. Food and water being at the top of the list as theses things had been scarce in the shelters they emerged from. And from these beginnings the most capable emerged and soon became the ones relied upon by the now forming new community. From this pool of intrepid souls the community chose those they trusted to help form the institutions and ethos of the new world. These were the founders, the Tillers.

It was decided in time that the new world would strive to form a secular society but at the same time a world open to all spiritual paths and beliefs. A world unlike the one they had come from. A world of cooperation and sharing not of division and greed. A world of equality, not built from layers of class distinctions. A world with an economy based on trade and sharing rather than money. A world of true transformation and not of punishment. Many examinations of the things of the past were identified as the causes of strife, fear and unhappiness of the world that led to the Janus Porrima. It was from this tedious process the structures of the new society were slowly formed and still are 70 years later.

And as the founders worked on this they continued to work on the delegation of the constant tasks needed to reestablish sustainable systems to ensure the basic survival needs of the people were met. In practice this process identified the duties of a skeleton government and the myriad of institutions that branched out from those basics needs. What were seen as best practices were chosen as the bones reintegrated, like an archaeologist may do at the site of ancient ruins. Indeed this is a true metaphor as we were building a form from the remains of the dead society we came from. The Zygo Terif sprang from those beginnings. As a community to fulfill the emotional, intellectually and spiritual needs of the survivors, Zygo Terif was formed, not just as a spiritual collective but as a organizing institution of civilized and efficient governance. An umbrella under which all aspects of the society were housed.

It could take volumes to identify and explain the many cells and sub-cells of Zygo Terif so I will just outline some of the more important aspects for those who may read this. Note, I use the word cells here. To begin, the honey bee, was chosen as a guiding aspect of nature to form the structures of society and to represent the principles of beauty, necessity, foresight, cooperation and hard work which are seen as fundamental goals and desires of the new world. An image of a golden bee with its wings spread out is seen in most areas under governance of Zygo Terif. In some places an ant can also be seen displayed as a similar symbolic inspirational force. All is structured metaphorically as a honeycomb with its many “cells” joined together with each cell containing specific varieties of the sustaining honey of knowledge. And each cell has a “Sacred Text” library containing books and files directly related to that cell in rooms set aside for their study.

Knowledge of all forms and freely dispensing of it is considered one of the main and most important functions of Zygo Terif. In those beginning times Griffin and Rolo were well suited to the workings of government. It was Kether, Beth and Zephyr who were drawn toward more spiritual aspects of life and the nature of “reality” and they created Zygo Terif, showing the other Tillers how they could be an organizing principle that the “government” could merge with. Zephyr and a handful of others were chosen as the principle administrators of all the cells.

There are so many, each with its importance. For a start, let me begin with the library formally, called “Sumer”, which is the main cell of learning and education. This name was chosen because historians generally agreed that true writing of language (not only numbers) was invented in Mesopotamia, specifically in ancient Sumer around 3200 BC. Discussion was mulled over as some thought Chauvet would be a good name as that was the site of some of the oldest cave drawings discovered. But in the end a compromise was reached and Chauvet became the name of the sub-cell of Sumer for all art studies. At this juncture I can not neglect to mention the Theatre Mystere and its cells and how it's institution plays significantly in this history/tale and in the proper functioning of our society.

Alpha is the cell of beginnings where the formal education of children takes place. Moving to Beta and Gamma as children progress. Also was Phronesis Conservatory, Phronesis meaning “practical wisdom” is where life skills are taught. Like how to cook a meal, use basic tools and other skills that are felt every citizen should know. And in this vein under the guidance of the Connector Guild skills of survival are taught. It is called Emerson Grove after the essay "Self-Reliance" written by Ralph Waldo Emerson in 1841 on the need for each individual to avoid conformity and follow their own instincts and ideas.

There is Hippocratic Hall where medicine is taught, and it's sub-cells.

A few more brief description of cells would be:
Hall of Memory where history and sub-cells such as mythology is taught.

Temple of Themis, Themis being the goddess of natural order, morality and fairness and balanced judgment working for societal peace. So this is the school where law is taught, with it's sub-cells of philosophy and sociology and more.

Cell of Mors, Mors being the personification of death equivalent to the Greek Thánatos, is very important and it's important cells such as Ixchel's Womb, Ixchel being the 16th-century name of the jaguar goddess of midwifery and medicine, which is the center where children are born and is the site of the community's hospital, as well as the center for hospice care.

Natura's Nook, Natura being the Greek goddess of the forest is the main center for nature studies and ecology and all it's many sub-cells. Very significant here is the Order of the Blue Dot. This is a scientific, religious and historical movement. They administer a wall which has a non-stop solar powered video playing of images of the Earth before Janus Porrima. Revolving images of natural landscapes, living creatures and humans living their lives in all its aspects. They stand vigil to explain these images and are recognized by an inch and a half diameter dark blue dot tattoo on their neck just below their chin.

Two institutions directly administered by the spiritual teachers and leaders of Zygo Terif are the “Cell of the Sacred” and the “Hallow”. Much more will be revealed of the workings of these two entities throughout this manuscript for they are of the most importance to the overall tale I am relating. Tillers Zephyr, Griffin, Kether and Beth are/were among the guiding council of these cells. And as mentioned before identifying tattoos are displayed as symbols of each cell of the total honeycomb structure of society.

Of the few taboos of society are the ideas of “Otherness”, “One Wing” (the belief that religious or racial intolerance is unacceptable), “Envy” and the desire of the collection of things and ownership. Teaching ways of conquering these ideas are at the top of priorities of the teaching of Zygo Terif.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Doomsday Clock Moved Up

I find it curious that on this day in history in 1944 the Siege of Leningrad was lifted, in 1967 the United States, United Kingdom, and
Soviet Union signed the Outer Space Treaty, in 1973 the Paris Peace Accords officially ended the Vietnam War AND the Doomsday Clock was moved up yesterday. Hmmmm...
Today in 1955 John Roberts Chief Justice of the United States Supreme court was born.
What? I'm older than the Chief Justice??!
Deaths On This Day.
1851 - John James Audubon
2010 – Howard Zinn
2014 – Pete Seeger
Many countries of the world have Holocaust Memorial Days today but not in the United States which I find odd.