How

I am beginning to feel that life is less about what, where, when, who and why but what really matters is how. The other questions are important but how, at least to me, seems to address our state of being or if you will our state of mind. Let me explain. I can be at a physical location that I want to be at, yet events could be unfolding around me that are causing me great distress. I identify those feelings with, what am I feeling. Now my state of mind is how am I feeling. You see the difference? I might feel any range of emotions about what is taking place around me, however how I choose to let those emotions impact me addresses what my state of mind is and will likely continue to be.

Even in the best of times we may find ourselves in an emotional state that changes our perspective about what our circumstances. Ultimately how we feel about ourselves will allow us to perceive even the bleakest of moments in a different light.

If you look around you can easily find instances of accomplishment not so much by what was done but how it was done. In this context whataddresses the mechanical aspects of accomplishment and how addresses the state of being.

Take a look and see for yourself.

More of Nothing

Look for nothing
Find everything
Return start over

Freedom Is Nothing

At what point do you decide that you are free? When do you determine that you are not free?

Ideas and beliefs are as liberating as they are enslaving. A simple idea can easily free one from a way of life, other ideas, people and even themselves. Conversely, that new idea can now hold us hostage, ensnare and bind us to it’s norms and mores. Which brings me to the question; what is freedom? To adhere to anything is not to be free. Yet, is it possible not to adhere to anything? Can we exist without subscribing to some philosophy, belief system, or loosely coupled structure of principles?

Freedom is nothing. Existence is something. I exist, therefore I am free.

Blind Universe

The Universe

The universe is blind  to the events in our lives. Events that occur to us are assigned no polarity, either positive or negative, by the universe. They just happen either by our own design or by the design of those around us. The impact or the significance of these events is assigned by ourselves. We break the neutrality of the universe. We give priority and value to each and every event that we experience.  To maintain the neutrality of the universe we would have to adopt a cold and dark ambivalence. Be void of all emotion. Unconscious.

It is only through the constant assessment of the events in our lives that we are able to grow. Looking analytically at these events with an eye to understanding their significance, hopefully honestly and objectively, gives depth and life to the void that we might have become.

Crisp twenties!

Strip Club Philosophy

Recently I have been equating some things to their equivalent strip club counterpart or as close to it as I can get. Why, you ask. Well simply for the hell of it. I’m not really into strip clubs but I do find them interesting. Just as interesting as the articles in Playboy.

The psychology behind strip clubs is well documented and there is no need to regurgitate these. Regardless of where you stand on the morality of strip clubs and the behavior within you must admit that when you examine the mind sets of the patrons that you almost feel a little sorry for them. You see what I fail to understand is this; Ordinarily sane men who would pinch a penny out of their nether regions will without hesitation “make it rain” dollars to see women take their clothes off and do cool tricks with their private parts. This is where it gets interesting. You see after they have “made it rain”, they do not get to go any further with these women. Hundreds and sadly at times thousands of dollars are literally cast on the floor and the only thing you may have to show for it is some wood. WOW wood. They paid for a flippn’ hard-on!

OK let me illustrate this further. Going to a strip club is the same as going to a car dealership and giving the dealership money so that you can sit in one of the cars. Depending upon the dealership you may not even get to touch the car (steering wheel, shifter, doors, etc.). Thats right, you pay to sit in the car and enjoy that new car smell. If its a really high end dealership you pay to just walk in and look at the cars. If you touch any of them you may get kicked out (no refund), if you are taking up space and some one else is willing to give the dealership more money you have to give up your seat but you can still hang out in the dealership. So now that your appetite for the vehicle is whetted you want to test drive it. Your palms are itchy with excitement, your heart races as you think about reving the engine and peeling out. You ask the dealer about getting a test drive and you are summarily asked to leave. Off you go out of money and no test drive. Then you show up again next week and do it all over again.

Silly isn’t it? Who of us what dare waste our money in a car dealership like that? Week after week, just giving our money away for the privilege of sitting in what we consider to be a hot car. Well that is exactly what you do when you go to a strip club. Please do not get me wrong, if thats how you want to spend your money then thats your business. I on the other hand just do not see the need.

Back to my original thought. Strip clubs are by no means the standard by which we judge the sexuality of women. If anything they highlight the most despised trait of women (despised by men at any rate). The “tease”. They tease men into thinking that they are going to get some nookie. Isn’t that how society works though? Are we not often teased into thinking we are going to obtain some great prize by paying dues? Are we not lured in by the sounds, smells and sights that society flashes at us on a daily basis? Only to be let down when she informed us we only paid to see the show and not for the nookie. Yet we keep coming back. Yeah every now and them she feels pity on us and gives us a lap dance. Get a boob in the face perhaps. Nothing wrong with a nice tit. Then what she leaves. Leaves you wanting. Time and time again. The pay off is never what we want just more teasing to keep us coming back. I don’t know about you but that is some serious BS. I’m a human I have needs.

Bullshizzle For the Uninspired

I have to bang this one out before my fingers go numb. I can not afford to turn the heat up since home heating oil is now well over $3.00 a gallon. So between the hoody and the coffee I should be warm enough to pass these uninspired words to you, my faithful flock.

Recently some one had the nerve, unmitigated gall and audacity to attempt to save my soul! Go figure. I did not know it needed saving. Typically when the firemen, police hell even the armed forces are dispatched there is a clear indication of what is threatening the lives of those they are sworn to protect. What are the indicators that I am in need of saving? Am I a drug addict? No. Am I promiscuous? No. (That that copious amounts of sex is a bad thing) Am I a theif, murderer or other sort of criminal. No. Am I a lazy person that neglects my responsibilities? No. Am I a hateful person who looks to inflict pain and hurt on others? Typically no. Only during a full moon when the Saturn is aligned with Mercury and the day of the week ends with the letter ‘y’. Seriously though, by all means I am what most people consider to be a ‘nice’ person. Nice being a generality to succinctly summarize the attributes that allow others to tolerate me for periods longer than the initial introduction.

For you see my faithful, God has spoken to me. Which makes me a prophet. I wish to tell you what God said but I forgot my Batman Decoder ring so you will have to wait.

However I can tell you this. It seems that prayer and meditation is an integral part of all religions. Do not take my word for it, however if you do not take my word for it I can assure you a fate worst than death. Prayer has been defined as worshipful address as well as the act of communicating with a deity especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving. OK lets accept that. Meditation is defined as continuous and profound contemplation or musing on a subject or series of subjects of a deep or abstruse nature. I know I am not providing a lot by way of connective tissue here but bare with me. When one prays one can be in a meditative state. However one does not have to pray in order to meditate. The point is this. That practitioners of religions, especially the Christians, are so adamant about the “Lord” answering their prayers that they fail to realize that the same results that they attribute to God are really nothing more than them working towards their goals through visualization or if you prefer try guided imagery. Why do I say this, you ask. Well simply put, because it makes sense. We have more to do with the outcome of our lives than we are willing to admit. We truly are a self determining species.

This is not to say that we, humanity, do not need guidance. More times than not we ignore practical guidance. Take responsibility for your actions people. If your plan failed it is not because “It was not Gods will” it is because you f’ed them up. If you succeed it is because you worked hard or were fortunate enough to have good timing or perhaps both. Once again, “Gods will” had nothing to do with it. God could care less about your stupid ass plan to be an entertainer or to succeed in some business venture or the other trivial matters in your life that you think are part of his grand plan for you. Hence why I am only a prophet and not God. You see if I were God I would not concern myself with your petty petitions for success and wealth (should you ask). I’d probably disconnect my put myself on the national do not call registry. You people are worse that telemarketers calling at dinner time. Sorry I digress. All the religions encourage hard work, dedication and a thoughtful existence. So why are you so quick to think that the outcome of your life has more to do with a grander purpose than it does the effort you put into it?

By Accident On Purpose

So in the twilight hours this occurred to me. If you believe that God, it does not matter which one, created the heavens and the earth all of which adhere to very definitive laws of physics and mathematics, some of these laws we are still just learning about, why would God be so vague in detailing his standards for worship and in the details about the origins of our lives?

Does this make sense? When a child asks a parent, “Where did I come from?” are we not thrilled to explain how he or she came to be? Granted we may leave out the details of the passion that actually brought them into existence but apart from that most parents take pride in explaining the process to their children. When we create anything, regardless of its significance to others, do we not like to receive and take full credit for our efforts? Typically if the monetary aspect is removed from our creative processes we are more than willing to share the details of our efforts with others. Here I wish to emphasize that the details would include the various disciplines that we had to have a knowledge of in order to render the final result. Incorporated into those disciplines would be the laws that govern each process or step that was necessary to bring to life our creation.

This just makes me think that there is something missing in what folks are clinging to in order to give them hope. Hope is good but blind allegiance is not. Vagueness is not an answer and it never will be. Especially when vagueness goes contrary to the very laws that hold the entire universe together. Just from our limited knowledge of our immediate world and the world that extends beyond it we realize that vagueness is not part of the equation.

Good Times

Good times should be cherished like a child. Cultivated and never taken for granted. Good times are not guaranteed and should be treated like the rarest of gems. Good times are good by ourselves but even better when shared with someone special. Someone special makes the good times better. Then those good times become the best times of our lives.

Never Forget

I have not been myself lately. It has been extremely difficult for me to find the clarity that is necessary to write and create. My thoughts have been obscured and impaired by something that is very dangerous and powerful. It often kills though who subcomb to its primal cry. No it is not a drug but it is just as destructive. What is it? It’s anger. Yeah such a small word describes a very powerful emotion. It is amazing that anger carries the same intensity as love and when harnessed can often be just as creative. What a paradox.

I was always taught it is proper and noble to forgive those that wrong us. To forgive even though we may not forget. Not having many conflicts that really warranted such a philosophy nor being one who is easily hurt or offended by others I am treading new ground here in putting this into practice. Which brings me to this; How do you forgive? What is involved in forgiving others? Before I sat down to write this and before I did any research on this topic I made a conscious decision to forgive. Yet I had no clue as to how to do it or what is involved. My motivation to forgive is really out of selfish reasons. I did not like the affect that carrying the anger was having on me. I am better of without it. I do not need it. To me it is that simple. I could not use the anger to my benefit so it needed to go. I realized that in order for it to go I needed to let go of the source. Logical, right?

Based on what I have read so far about forgiveness and letting go of emotional baggage it seems my line of reasoning, although I did not elaborate on my entire thought process, was correct. To summaize the various sources:

• Identify the source of the problem
• In some way acknowledge the problem.
• Set up a method or system of actively replacing the negative feelings with positive feelings
• Let it go.

The last one is the one that I feel is the most difficult. We hold on to the anger for various reasons. Each seemingly important enough that it warrants us to maintain the anger. As far as I am concerned, they nor it are worth me expending that kind of energy. Maintaining that level of negative emotion serves no purpose and is an exercise in futility.

Now that I know that letting go is a process I have focused the energy that I was expending in maintaining the anger into letting the anger go. Believe it or not I am feel good that I want to let it go. I do not want it. Not in the least. It is not me.

To forget is to not have learned and stifles progress. Letting go allows us to move on with the knowledge not to repeat the same mistake.

Get mad. Scratch your ass and get glad!

Heaven and Hell Unite

I do not know why but I had the strangest thought today. When aren’t they? Let’s get to the guts of it though. One of the things that often fascinates me is the logic or lack there of and other extraneous emotions and thought processes that come into play when we decide when, where, why, how and why a certain course of action is going to be followed. Have you ever given any thought to what you were thinking when you did or did not go in a certain direction? So what does this have to do with a unification of heaven and hell? If you wish you can take the title literally but the context I am using it in is more in the vein of the elimination of consequences. Both positive and negative. Typically we associate a consequence with a negative connotation. Consequence is just the outcome of an event. Easy right? So what if we removed consequence, in particular divine consequence, from the equation of human experience. What would happen? Would this plunge mankind into total anarchy? Would we lose the qualities or attributes that we associate with humanity? At what point would we as a species fail or succeed? I know typically these types of questions are reserved for the deepest of philosophical discussions but I think they have an audience outside of that arena and its participants.

I guess depending on my mood and the alignment of the sun in relation to Alpha quadrant of the galaxy I can vacillate between heaven and hell. However I know for certain that both entities are very real to some individuals. Their faith in such entities causes them to behave in away that leaves a lasting impression upon those of a like faith as well as those of dissimilar faiths. As well as those with no faith. So what am I getting at? To be honest I really don’t want to broach an opinion more than I already have nor do I fully want to commit to a position. What I can say is this; At some point heaven and hell need to unite in order for any of us to have peace. Unification does not mean that one is over the other or one has destroyed the other. In this case I mean that neither exists.