A Conversation with Malik Rahim
BY ADAM FLEMING
Pittsburgh City Paper, November 13, 2008
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A55307
Malik Rahim has been many things. He's been a Black Panther, an armed robber and a social activist. He is currently a Green Party congressional candidate in New Orleans; the election cycle for some Louisiana districts was delayed because of Hurricane Gustav. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Rahim co-founded the Common Ground Collective to provide assistance to low-income residents. This week, the Thomas Merton Center honors Rahim at its annual award dinner, on Wed., Nov. 12.
[Q] What was your reaction to Barack Obama's victory?
None, other than to say that history was made. And now it's: How we can really come up with a plan to clean our environment, and then second, do something to save our economy without just giving bailouts to the rich?
[Q] Are you upset that New Orleans wasn't mentioned during the debates?
I don't fault [Obama]. I fault our city's administration for not really pushing that we are still really in dire need of assistance. The Saints are winning and Mardi Gras was a success, then hey, you're going to have a lack of enthusiasm from any politician. It's a city that's based upon tourism, and they believe that telling the truth would be bad for tourists. [But people need] to see our school system and the deplorable situation that they're in. To see the health-care agencies, and how in dire need the city is for hospital beds. If you look at the lack of opportunity in the midst of a construction boom. The tough questions that need to be asked aren't asked.
We can't talk about just building levy walls. We've got to talk about, how can we restore our wetlands? We've got to talk about some alternatives for when we have to evacuate. We need to constantly teach and train the residents of New Orleans about disaster-preparedness. We can't go on living in New Orleans as if we're living in Arizona.
[Q] What needs to change in the reconstruction of New Orleans?
We have to move into a clear direction of hope: How can we assure people that, hey, you can come back. You will be able to rebuild. That we're not just concerned about the French Quarter or the Superdome. That every citizen in this city is important. Once we start doing this, then we will get the people's involvement. Right now, if we had just the resources that we are spending on incarcerating non-violent offenders, the Ninth Ward would be rebuilt.
[Q] Do you consider yourself a radical?
Yes, indeed, I consider myself a radical. It pushes those who are not about peace and justice away, but for those who truly have made a stand for environmental peace and justice, I believe they gravitate towards the ideas that I have shown. It's not like something that I'm saying is wrong. People have [come] and seen this.
[Q] You say the Common Ground Collective has organized thousands of volunteers in New Orleans. Are you upset that New Orleans wasn't mentioned during the debates?
I don't fault [Obama]. I fault our city's administration for not really pushing that we are still really in dire need of assistance. ... The Saints are winning and Mardi Gras was a success, then hey, you're going to have a lack of enthusiasm from any politician. ... It's a city that's based upon tourism, and they believe that telling the truth would be bad for tourists. ... [But people need] to see our school system and the deplorable situation that they're in. To see the health-care agencies, and how in dire need the city is for hospital beds. ... If you look at the lack of opportunity in the midst of a construction boom. ... The tough questions that need to be asked aren't asked.
We can't talk about just building levy walls. We've got to talk about, how can we restore our wetlands? ... We've got to talk about some alternatives for when we have to evacuate. ... We need to constantly teach and train the residents of New Orleans about disaster-preparedness. We can't go on living in New Orleans as if we're living in Arizona.
[Q] What needs to change in the reconstruction of New Orleans?
We have to move into a clear direction of hope: How can we assure people that, hey, you can come back. You will be able to rebuild. That we're not just concerned about the French Quarter or the Superdome. That every citizen in this city is important. Once we start doing this, then we will get the people's involvement. ... Right now, if we had just the resources that we are spending on incarcerating non-violent offenders, the Ninth Ward would be rebuilt.
[Q] Do you consider yourself a radical?
Yes, indeed, I consider myself a radical. ... It pushes those who are not about peace and justice away, but for those who truly have made a stand for environmental peace and justice, I believe they gravitate towards the ideas that I have shown. ... It's not like something that I'm saying is wrong. People have [come] and seen this.
[Q] You say the Common Ground Collective has organized thousands of volunteers in New Orleans. What's so radical about people flocking to save a city in need?
Because of the fact that it has never been done: In the history of America, never have you had 18,000 predominantly whites come into an African-American community in solidarity. Not as exploiters or oppressors. This is the first time this has been done. And they have lived in those communities and have helped to rebuild. ... Yeah, some people might call it radical, but there are people who classify Christ as being radical. Mohammad was a radical. I'm in good company.
[Q] What do you think of people calling Obama a radical for associating with Rev. Jeremiah Wright and former Weatherman Bill Ayers?
I believe it would take a small-minded person to tell anyone that has met with those individuals that "You are a radical." ... This is a nation that was made by radicals. It came into existence by radicals. What's the difference between Obama meeting with those individuals or someone meeting with George Washington? Who could be more radical than the founding fathers of this country?
[Q] After leaving New Orleans in the 1970s, you were arrested for armed robbery in California. What happened?
That's what it took to save my life and to change the direction I was heading. At that time, just like most young black men, I was full of rage and felt like the movement had abandoned us, and we did some things that we are no longer proud of. ... I didn't come out of prison asking anyone for any hand. But I had a support mechanism, I had a family.
[Q] How did your time in prison shape your role as a prison-rights activist?
I know the plight. I know what is needed to turn people around. I know what is needed to do to build a better tomorrow. ... We have to understand, we cannot jail everyone. It's not the idea that people are born criminals. I'm a firm believer that that's folly. I believe in conditions. We have to talk about cause and effect. What causes a person to resort to crime?
[Q] From your perspective in New Orleans, what's missing from the current national political dialogue?
How can we transform this nation into the nation that it once was? At one time America was a great nation, and it wasn't great because we were the most powerful or the richest, it was our ability to reach out and help people in need. And I believe we can do it again.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
a poem on a tired autumn day...
lazy kitten sleeps in the piles of the leaves
waking only when a squirrel goes by
and i trudge through
hearing the crackle of the leaves beneath my feet
what colors! what excitement!
but a paradox inside
fall is the harbinger of winter
and it's gonna get cold very soon
but now i'm just wearing sweaters
feeling the wind on my cheeks
and the canal might start draining
so i walk along the edge
never to fall
lazy kitten sleeps in the piles of the leaves
waking only when a squirrel goes by
and i trudge through
hearing the crackle of the leaves beneath my feet
what colors! what excitement!
but a paradox inside
fall is the harbinger of winter
and it's gonna get cold very soon
but now i'm just wearing sweaters
feeling the wind on my cheeks
and the canal might start draining
so i walk along the edge
never to fall
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
29.
The gods who wielded bolts of lightning were not gods, but men
who used the atom, as we did, to wreck the world again.
- Moondog
The gods who wielded bolts of lightning were not gods, but men
who used the atom, as we did, to wreck the world again.
- Moondog
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Where's Kenny Rogers When You Need Him?:
The Big Boys Got Their Bailout,
But the Elected Leadership and the Voters
Meet at the Election Day Showdown
Cynthia McKinney
October 6, 2008
At the precise moment when we couldn't imagine it getting worse, it does. After all, the Democrats, since they acquired majority status in the Congress, delivered funding for George Bush's wars several times. They authorized retroactive immunity for telecoms that helped Bush's Administration illegally spy on us. And they never really considered any alternatives to the basic bailout wish list given to them by Bush and his Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson.
Sadly, I must say that this failure on the part of the Democratic leadership is by far the greatest perfidy of the Democrats yet. I shudder to think what betrayal of the Constitution and the people of this country yet awaits us. I am forced to ask, "What do they stand for?"
I think they have shown us time and time again what they stand for, what their values are, and that they are willing to leave the people behind in their quest to acquiesce to what Bush's base asks for. And remember, Bush told us that his base were the haves and the have mores! So, if the Democratic leadership is more loyal to them than they are to the working people in this country, then a new political alignment of historical proportions is taking effect that the working people of this country must recognize. By their policy choices, it should now be clear that the Democratic leadership in Congress must be removed and a political party that reflects the people's values must be built. Not only do the people need a party of their own, it should now be clear to a vast number of people that the people in this country need a movement that places our values on the political agenda. This was what I said in my remarks accepting the Green Party's nomination as their candidate for President of the United States.
In 2000, when there was clear evidence that the election had been tampered with, and that particularly, black voters had been disfranchised, the Democratic leadership did nothing to recognize and correct this fact. Criminal behavior was met with de facto acceptance, a failure to investigate, and ultimate acquiescence by the Democratic leadership.
Through my Congressional office, on my own initiative, I investigated and discovered one of the mechanisms used to disfranchise voters and put my findings on the Congressional Record. Sadly, because of inaction by the Democratic Congress, the basic mechanism used by the Republicans to steal the vote in 2000 could, in fact, be used today to further disfranchise voters. Further, one million black votes across our country were not even counted, 78,000 of them in Florida alone.
What kind of election is it when the votes don't get counted!
In addition, in the late 1990s, electronic voting machines were introduced into the U.S. election architecture. From that time until today, where they are used, voters and inexperienced or untrained election staff have had to cope with machine meltdowns; screen freezes; dead and dying batteries in th e middle of the voting process; deployment of untested machines, particularly in the South, that failed repeatedly due to heat; vote flipping (usually in only one direction); ballots that don't list all the candidates without manipulation of the machine -- which could be problematic for some voters; incorrect ballots being displayed on the machines so that voters are allowed to vote in elections for which they are not eligible; machine sleepovers in insecure places where they could be tampered with; meaningless recounts in the absence of a paper trail where only bits and bytes previously entered can be counted; and the absence of a paper ballot that allows for accountability and transparency during and after an election.
Later, it was learned that these machines were not only hackable, but that the instrument used by the voter, the PCMCIA card, could be programmed to change the outcome of the election! Some of the machines were found to have wireless adaptations that opened the election to an additional level of insecurity due to wireless capabilities in everyday blackberries, treos, and other handheld devices.
With all of these defects known, electronic pollbooks were allowed to become an additional part of the election architecture and they produced an additional layer of disfranchisement when incorrect voter information was loaded into them and voters had no means to contest it. In too many cases that took place in my own 2006 election, voters were turned away from the polls only because the pollbooks contained incorrect information!
Elections in this country are now firmly in the grips of electronic voting machine technicians, inexperienced and poorly trained official poll workers , and computer companies using secret software. Sadly, the Democratic leadership has done nothing to eliminate this potential source of fraud, even in this -- an election year!
In 2004, the Democratic nominee, John Kerry, promised that the black vote was not going to be disfranchised as it had been in 2000. John Kerry conceded the election the day after Election Day, even as reports were coming in of massive black voter disfranchisement. It was the Green Party and the Libertarian Party that went to Ohio and sorted out exactly what happened and pressed for criminal prosecution of those guilty of election fraud. Sadly, in 2004, after the experience of 2000, an estimated three million votes were not counted.
The Green Party's Bob Fitrakis in Ohio is sounding the alarm again for this year's election. Some blogs like Bradblog, and organizations like Black Box Voting continue to sound the alarm now, even more urgently, and press for election integrity.
Last week I became the first Presidential candidate to sign the StandingForVoters.org pledge to not concede the election unless all votes are counted, and all challenges to the results have been adequately made. We really need the Democrats to sign such a pledge because they have caved in the past two Presidential elections.
In addition to that, the Democrats now have the power of the majority. They are in control of the Congress. And the way the Constitution is written, power flows up from Capitol Hill to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenuei -- not the other way around. But even while in control, the Democrat leadership has done nothing to prepare the way for election integrity in this election. Even in the face of massive preparations for theft again by the Republicans through the use of the same techniques used in 2000 and in 2004 and adding to them voter caging (removing targeted voters from the voter rolls) and enforcement of new voter ID laws. Even judges appointed by Democrats have helped to thwart citizen legal action on behalf of election integrity!
It should be clear that even in an election year, there are serious issues that should be on the table; the Democrats control the Congress and can mak e public policy to their likingi -- reflecting their values.
And that's where I want to begin my discussion of the bailout.
Nancy Pelosi is the third most powerful individual in the United States government as Speaker of the House -- third in line for the Presidency of th e United States. She controls when bills are scheduled for consideration in the House of Representatives, or even whether they are considered or not. The people of this country and her colleagues in the House gave her this position because the people hunger for change and they thought that the Democratic Party would deliver that change to them.
The people of this country want peace, not war and occupation; justice, not fraud; community, not hooliganism. And so, the people of this country voted the Democratic Party into majority status to attain all of that, public policy that ireflects their values. Nancy Pelosi, by virtue of her position, has been dealt a royal flush.
By now, Nancy Pelosi could have used that winning hand to stop the funding for war and occupation--$720 million every day -- and decided, instead, to subsidize education so no university student graduates one hundred thousand dollars in debt just because he or she wanted an education.
Pelosi could have insisted on reflecting the people's values and our Constitution by repealing the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, and the Military Commissions Act. But she did not.
She could have used that royal flush to provide a single-payer, Medicare-for-all, type of health care system for this country, consistent with the wishes of the Democratic Party's base, particularly organized labor and an increasing number of health care professionals. But she did not.
In light of the tremendously important election this year, she could have insisted on enacting some measure of election integrity to prevent another election being held where the announced outcome is truly in doubt. But she did not.
She could have taken her seat at the table as the one player in the room with the winning hand, but she did not. Instead, she assumed the position of the beautiful girl in the short skirt holding the platter of drinks, serving the men at the table. She could have been the leader and spokesperson for us all, but she is not.
It is clear that our country is at a financial crossroad, and the times call for courageous, daring acts on behalf of the people from those gifted with leadership positions. That, too, is not happening.
From the myriad writings that I have read, including those of former Comptroller General David Walker, it is clear that the financial status of our country is subject to get worse before it gets better. The Bush-Pelosi-Reid bailout exacerbates the situation because the fundamentals of the economy were not dealt with in what is perhaps the most massive transfer of wealth in our modern history. And while the money could have gone to people in need and for programs contributing to the public good, preparing our country for the future, it did not.
I published two papers outlining fourteen points that the Congress could have implemented even without a bailout, but most certainly should have implemented with one. The second paper, written on my son's birthday, was entitled, "A Birthday Gift for a Generation: A U.S. Financial System of Our Own."
Taken in conjunction with the Power to the People Committee's platform available on the campaign website at ( http://votetruth08.com/index.php/resources/campaignplatform), those fourteen points are as follows:
1. Enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases take effect;
2. elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans;
3. establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices;
4. establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing;
5. redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated;
6. full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership;
7. recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets;
8. full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions;
9. close all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners; and
10. fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas repeal NAFTA;
11. Appointment of former Comptroller General David Walker to fully audit all recipients of taxpayer cash infusions, including JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG, and to monitor their trading activities into the future;
12. elimination of all derivatives trading;
13. nationalization of the Federal Reserve and the establishment of a federally-owned, public banking system that makes credit available for small businesses, homeowners, manufacturing operations, renewable energy and infrastructure investments; and
14. criminal prosecution of any activities that violated the law, including conflicts of interest that led to the current crisis.
Michael Ruppert recently wrote on his blog ( http://www.mikeruppert.blogspot.com/):
"There is no victory until the paradigm is broken. Until we change the way money works, we change nothing. Right now, the entire economic paradigm of infinite growth is vulnerable, weak, and exposed. The dribble being offered by Obama and McCain only exposes the fact that everything is broken; that the system itself is the enemy."
Everyone can see that the system is broken: a system that was not created to serve the people of this country. It was totally within Pelosi's purview and that of the Democratic Party to change all of that, but they didn't. In fact, I'm shocked by some of my former colleagues who voted for this bill, particularly the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who supported this. With this vote, and the failures of the Democratic Party up to now, it should be patently clear that the Democratic Party cannot reflect our values because it is in complete obeisance to someone else's.
The elected leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties should resign.
That's why I can hear Kenny Rogers's sweet voice wafting through the air now:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Now ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
However strong the Big Boys might appear after the October 3rd bailout vote , they still have a "leak" in their game: the people get to vote on November 4th. And that's the biggest "scare card" in the entire deck!
Power to the People!
The Big Boys Got Their Bailout,
But the Elected Leadership and the Voters
Meet at the Election Day Showdown
Cynthia McKinney
October 6, 2008
At the precise moment when we couldn't imagine it getting worse, it does. After all, the Democrats, since they acquired majority status in the Congress, delivered funding for George Bush's wars several times. They authorized retroactive immunity for telecoms that helped Bush's Administration illegally spy on us. And they never really considered any alternatives to the basic bailout wish list given to them by Bush and his Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson.
Sadly, I must say that this failure on the part of the Democratic leadership is by far the greatest perfidy of the Democrats yet. I shudder to think what betrayal of the Constitution and the people of this country yet awaits us. I am forced to ask, "What do they stand for?"
I think they have shown us time and time again what they stand for, what their values are, and that they are willing to leave the people behind in their quest to acquiesce to what Bush's base asks for. And remember, Bush told us that his base were the haves and the have mores! So, if the Democratic leadership is more loyal to them than they are to the working people in this country, then a new political alignment of historical proportions is taking effect that the working people of this country must recognize. By their policy choices, it should now be clear that the Democratic leadership in Congress must be removed and a political party that reflects the people's values must be built. Not only do the people need a party of their own, it should now be clear to a vast number of people that the people in this country need a movement that places our values on the political agenda. This was what I said in my remarks accepting the Green Party's nomination as their candidate for President of the United States.
In 2000, when there was clear evidence that the election had been tampered with, and that particularly, black voters had been disfranchised, the Democratic leadership did nothing to recognize and correct this fact. Criminal behavior was met with de facto acceptance, a failure to investigate, and ultimate acquiescence by the Democratic leadership.
Through my Congressional office, on my own initiative, I investigated and discovered one of the mechanisms used to disfranchise voters and put my findings on the Congressional Record. Sadly, because of inaction by the Democratic Congress, the basic mechanism used by the Republicans to steal the vote in 2000 could, in fact, be used today to further disfranchise voters. Further, one million black votes across our country were not even counted, 78,000 of them in Florida alone.
What kind of election is it when the votes don't get counted!
In addition, in the late 1990s, electronic voting machines were introduced into the U.S. election architecture. From that time until today, where they are used, voters and inexperienced or untrained election staff have had to cope with machine meltdowns; screen freezes; dead and dying batteries in th e middle of the voting process; deployment of untested machines, particularly in the South, that failed repeatedly due to heat; vote flipping (usually in only one direction); ballots that don't list all the candidates without manipulation of the machine -- which could be problematic for some voters; incorrect ballots being displayed on the machines so that voters are allowed to vote in elections for which they are not eligible; machine sleepovers in insecure places where they could be tampered with; meaningless recounts in the absence of a paper trail where only bits and bytes previously entered can be counted; and the absence of a paper ballot that allows for accountability and transparency during and after an election.
Later, it was learned that these machines were not only hackable, but that the instrument used by the voter, the PCMCIA card, could be programmed to change the outcome of the election! Some of the machines were found to have wireless adaptations that opened the election to an additional level of insecurity due to wireless capabilities in everyday blackberries, treos, and other handheld devices.
With all of these defects known, electronic pollbooks were allowed to become an additional part of the election architecture and they produced an additional layer of disfranchisement when incorrect voter information was loaded into them and voters had no means to contest it. In too many cases that took place in my own 2006 election, voters were turned away from the polls only because the pollbooks contained incorrect information!
Elections in this country are now firmly in the grips of electronic voting machine technicians, inexperienced and poorly trained official poll workers , and computer companies using secret software. Sadly, the Democratic leadership has done nothing to eliminate this potential source of fraud, even in this -- an election year!
In 2004, the Democratic nominee, John Kerry, promised that the black vote was not going to be disfranchised as it had been in 2000. John Kerry conceded the election the day after Election Day, even as reports were coming in of massive black voter disfranchisement. It was the Green Party and the Libertarian Party that went to Ohio and sorted out exactly what happened and pressed for criminal prosecution of those guilty of election fraud. Sadly, in 2004, after the experience of 2000, an estimated three million votes were not counted.
The Green Party's Bob Fitrakis in Ohio is sounding the alarm again for this year's election. Some blogs like Bradblog, and organizations like Black Box Voting continue to sound the alarm now, even more urgently, and press for election integrity.
Last week I became the first Presidential candidate to sign the StandingForVoters.org pledge to not concede the election unless all votes are counted, and all challenges to the results have been adequately made. We really need the Democrats to sign such a pledge because they have caved in the past two Presidential elections.
In addition to that, the Democrats now have the power of the majority. They are in control of the Congress. And the way the Constitution is written, power flows up from Capitol Hill to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenuei -- not the other way around. But even while in control, the Democrat leadership has done nothing to prepare the way for election integrity in this election. Even in the face of massive preparations for theft again by the Republicans through the use of the same techniques used in 2000 and in 2004 and adding to them voter caging (removing targeted voters from the voter rolls) and enforcement of new voter ID laws. Even judges appointed by Democrats have helped to thwart citizen legal action on behalf of election integrity!
It should be clear that even in an election year, there are serious issues that should be on the table; the Democrats control the Congress and can mak e public policy to their likingi -- reflecting their values.
And that's where I want to begin my discussion of the bailout.
Nancy Pelosi is the third most powerful individual in the United States government as Speaker of the House -- third in line for the Presidency of th e United States. She controls when bills are scheduled for consideration in the House of Representatives, or even whether they are considered or not. The people of this country and her colleagues in the House gave her this position because the people hunger for change and they thought that the Democratic Party would deliver that change to them.
The people of this country want peace, not war and occupation; justice, not fraud; community, not hooliganism. And so, the people of this country voted the Democratic Party into majority status to attain all of that, public policy that ireflects their values. Nancy Pelosi, by virtue of her position, has been dealt a royal flush.
By now, Nancy Pelosi could have used that winning hand to stop the funding for war and occupation--$720 million every day -- and decided, instead, to subsidize education so no university student graduates one hundred thousand dollars in debt just because he or she wanted an education.
Pelosi could have insisted on reflecting the people's values and our Constitution by repealing the Patriot Acts, the Secret Evidence Act, and the Military Commissions Act. But she did not.
She could have used that royal flush to provide a single-payer, Medicare-for-all, type of health care system for this country, consistent with the wishes of the Democratic Party's base, particularly organized labor and an increasing number of health care professionals. But she did not.
In light of the tremendously important election this year, she could have insisted on enacting some measure of election integrity to prevent another election being held where the announced outcome is truly in doubt. But she did not.
She could have taken her seat at the table as the one player in the room with the winning hand, but she did not. Instead, she assumed the position of the beautiful girl in the short skirt holding the platter of drinks, serving the men at the table. She could have been the leader and spokesperson for us all, but she is not.
It is clear that our country is at a financial crossroad, and the times call for courageous, daring acts on behalf of the people from those gifted with leadership positions. That, too, is not happening.
From the myriad writings that I have read, including those of former Comptroller General David Walker, it is clear that the financial status of our country is subject to get worse before it gets better. The Bush-Pelosi-Reid bailout exacerbates the situation because the fundamentals of the economy were not dealt with in what is perhaps the most massive transfer of wealth in our modern history. And while the money could have gone to people in need and for programs contributing to the public good, preparing our country for the future, it did not.
I published two papers outlining fourteen points that the Congress could have implemented even without a bailout, but most certainly should have implemented with one. The second paper, written on my son's birthday, was entitled, "A Birthday Gift for a Generation: A U.S. Financial System of Our Own."
Taken in conjunction with the Power to the People Committee's platform available on the campaign website at ( http://votetruth08.com/index.php/resources/campaignplatform), those fourteen points are as follows:
1. Enactment of a foreclosure moratorium now before the next phase of ARM interest rate increases take effect;
2. elimination of all ARM mortgages and their renegotiation into 30- or 40-year loans;
3. establishment of new mortgage lending practices to end predatory and discriminatory practices;
4. establishment of criteria and construction goals for affordable housing;
5. redefinition of credit and regulation of the credit industry so that discriminatory practices are completely eliminated;
6. full funding for initiatives that eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in home ownership;
7. recognition of shelter as a right according to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights to which the U.S. is a signatory so that no one sleeps on U.S. streets;
8. full funding of a fund designed to cushion the job loss and provide for retraining of those at the bottom of the income scale as the economy transitions;
9. close all tax loopholes and repeal of the Bush tax cuts for the top 1% of income earners; and
10. fairly tax corporations, denying federal subsidies to those who relocate jobs overseas repeal NAFTA;
11. Appointment of former Comptroller General David Walker to fully audit all recipients of taxpayer cash infusions, including JP Morgan, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG, and to monitor their trading activities into the future;
12. elimination of all derivatives trading;
13. nationalization of the Federal Reserve and the establishment of a federally-owned, public banking system that makes credit available for small businesses, homeowners, manufacturing operations, renewable energy and infrastructure investments; and
14. criminal prosecution of any activities that violated the law, including conflicts of interest that led to the current crisis.
Michael Ruppert recently wrote on his blog ( http://www.mikeruppert.blogspot.com/):
"There is no victory until the paradigm is broken. Until we change the way money works, we change nothing. Right now, the entire economic paradigm of infinite growth is vulnerable, weak, and exposed. The dribble being offered by Obama and McCain only exposes the fact that everything is broken; that the system itself is the enemy."
Everyone can see that the system is broken: a system that was not created to serve the people of this country. It was totally within Pelosi's purview and that of the Democratic Party to change all of that, but they didn't. In fact, I'm shocked by some of my former colleagues who voted for this bill, particularly the Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who supported this. With this vote, and the failures of the Democratic Party up to now, it should be patently clear that the Democratic Party cannot reflect our values because it is in complete obeisance to someone else's.
The elected leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties should resign.
That's why I can hear Kenny Rogers's sweet voice wafting through the air now:
"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.
Now ev'ry gambler knows that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away and knowing what to keep.
Cause ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep."
However strong the Big Boys might appear after the October 3rd bailout vote , they still have a "leak" in their game: the people get to vote on November 4th. And that's the biggest "scare card" in the entire deck!
Power to the People!
Monday, October 06, 2008
Friday, October 03, 2008
the red ring whistles in the nettle wood
a round thing on fire in the quiet nest
rolling around on the needles and cones
a special song for you is sung
you were my wife in my mind
but my mind was clouded
i once loved, but now love lorn
a white tailed deer passes by
the red ring burning on the stand
cutting circular scars in the wood
and then i prayed
you were the one i adored
but only ever from afar
always clouded and never clear
i wanted to marry you when i didn't know you
now the leaves turn red and brown
and the roots keep solid the foundation
a fiddle head fern and an owl coalesce
everything becomes everything else
in a giant ball of sleep
it was getting saved
and i was in a grave
a round thing on fire in the quiet nest
rolling around on the needles and cones
a special song for you is sung
you were my wife in my mind
but my mind was clouded
i once loved, but now love lorn
a white tailed deer passes by
the red ring burning on the stand
cutting circular scars in the wood
and then i prayed
you were the one i adored
but only ever from afar
always clouded and never clear
i wanted to marry you when i didn't know you
now the leaves turn red and brown
and the roots keep solid the foundation
a fiddle head fern and an owl coalesce
everything becomes everything else
in a giant ball of sleep
it was getting saved
and i was in a grave
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
October 12th
Mitch Jones and the Shocking
with...
THE FULL BLOWN, Without Question, LightsOut Paris, Leadpipe Scarlet, FollowThru, Ben Sheridan, Nevergreen
DUB LAND
315 Alexander St.
Rochester, NY 14604
Show Time 6:45 PM
18+ & Bar w/ID
$8.00 Adv Tix, $10.
00 Door
Tickets can be purchased through me. Cash only please.
Come early; we're playing first
Mitch Jones and the Shocking
with...
THE FULL BLOWN, Without Question, LightsOut Paris, Leadpipe Scarlet, FollowThru, Ben Sheridan, Nevergreen
DUB LAND
315 Alexander St.
Rochester, NY 14604
Show Time 6:45 PM
18+ & Bar w/ID
$8.00 Adv Tix, $10.
00 Door
Tickets can be purchased through me. Cash only please.
Come early; we're playing first
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I'm freaking out. Well, sorta. I might be able to play a show with THE SHOCKING on 10/12, but I checked out the other bands that are playing and I don't think any of my friends (or "fans") would be into them. Will people pay $8-10 just to see me (something they can probably do in their living rooms if they wanted)?
Monday, September 15, 2008
candy flip flick light mellow hand
hard place balance demand
open source destruction
fumigate the night table
falling on sacred ground
yellow table ecstasy
mellow mood ramble
going everywhere and being everywhere
everything is everything
love in the era of HIV
controlling the affliction
anemic demands and meanders
dark velvet sheet falls over the sun
hard place balance demand
open source destruction
fumigate the night table
falling on sacred ground
yellow table ecstasy
mellow mood ramble
going everywhere and being everywhere
everything is everything
love in the era of HIV
controlling the affliction
anemic demands and meanders
dark velvet sheet falls over the sun
Friday, September 12, 2008
I'm nervous
This promoter contacted me and they sent me this form and it's really freaking me out
Anyway, here's a poem:
I was in the mud digging
There was gold in the bottom
I was talking to the police
I was in trouble
And I was dirty
All caked with mud
I had to try and breathe
But my lungs were muddy too
I was suffocating in my dream
This promoter contacted me and they sent me this form and it's really freaking me out
Anyway, here's a poem:
I was in the mud digging
There was gold in the bottom
I was talking to the police
I was in trouble
And I was dirty
All caked with mud
I had to try and breathe
But my lungs were muddy too
I was suffocating in my dream
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Possible solo show at Dub Land Underground on 10/18. I don't know who else is playing yet or what time the show starts or how much it costs. Updates coming soon. Also, TONIGHT Wednesday, Sept. 10 • 7 p.m.
St. Joseph's House of Hospitality
(402 South Ave., Rochester)
RNC: Unconstitutional Repression Exposed
more info here
St. Joseph's House of Hospitality
(402 South Ave., Rochester)
RNC: Unconstitutional Repression Exposed
more info here
Monday, September 08, 2008
I am the rotating man
I am the simple man
I am an evil man, a righteous man
I'm a tiger and a snake
I'm lightning and silk
I'm torn away from the sand
Gripping with my broken hands
This is my last stand
And I will reprimand
And not be privy to the licentiousness of these comrades
Every boy is my brother
Every girl is my sister
I get around, and I'm real cool
Ok actually I'm not that cool
But I can pretend can't I?
Is it a crime to bolster oneself when in the depths of unproductive desperation
What is crime?
Why does crime exist?
I don't know, I'm not a criminal justice major
I think crime only exists because there are laws
If there were no laws no one would break them because there would be no laws to break
Sounds simple, but I guess it's complicated or whatever
I'm just too young
Anarchy is a phase
I'll grow out of it
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
DemonsAndWizardsDancingInThe GrassFightingOverAPieceOfBreadUpsideDown played at the MEZ on Friday. It was a good show with Auto Animal and others. We have shows coming up in the near future. I also have a solo show coming up some time. I don't know when these shows will be, but they will be soon.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
I don't know if y'all are voting, but I thought you should know; the green party is endorsing
Local Greens
Cynthia McKinney
for PREZ and Rosa Clemente for vice and they have a new website: http://votetruth08.com/ Famous Kabbalist Rosanne Barr and Public Enemy's Professor Griff are endorsing.Local Greens
i've got a new beast and a new study
drifting in the angel night of air
the willow tree beckons
climb me for i am gentle and kind
my my old bear
isn't yr skin rough
my old indian bear
aren't you so thick in yr tissues
and isn't yr hair like wire
and my lifelessness shames me
oh wise sage
tell me of your children
tell me of rivers and all the things that flow
give me gifts of the spirit
take me into the sky
give me new studies and new beasts
open up my breast
to accept the violence of the spirit
let me taste of the blood of life and death
let me eat the sacred flesh
crucify me
tell me secrets i am not allowed to tell
tell me recipes for potions and brews
i am a lifeless wanderer
give me direction
give me a third eye to see
and i will never ask for that which is not for me
i will want only what i am owed
i will not carry unnecessary burdens
i will not harbor the violent things of flesh
but i will accept the ugliness of the spirit
because i will see the beauty of things that have passed
drifting in the angel night of air
the willow tree beckons
climb me for i am gentle and kind
my my old bear
isn't yr skin rough
my old indian bear
aren't you so thick in yr tissues
and isn't yr hair like wire
and my lifelessness shames me
oh wise sage
tell me of your children
tell me of rivers and all the things that flow
give me gifts of the spirit
take me into the sky
give me new studies and new beasts
open up my breast
to accept the violence of the spirit
let me taste of the blood of life and death
let me eat the sacred flesh
crucify me
tell me secrets i am not allowed to tell
tell me recipes for potions and brews
i am a lifeless wanderer
give me direction
give me a third eye to see
and i will never ask for that which is not for me
i will want only what i am owed
i will not carry unnecessary burdens
i will not harbor the violent things of flesh
but i will accept the ugliness of the spirit
because i will see the beauty of things that have passed
fly away fly away fly away
i stand at the top of the world
having conquered all i'm left with nothing
i drink from the waterfalls
i eat from the mountains
pointing upwards toward heaven
and the heavens' diamonds
a bird flapping wing
sign and signifier
complex of the true angle
33 degrees and a hundred more minutes
next stop Lethe
full speed ahead
the captain's on speed
he mutters again
under his breath
i breath but not of fresh air
the freshness is signified
the spores of summer's allergens
deafened by the spiders
that lay eggs in my ears
the gentle children under the willow tree
the deer in the lawn
the smell of new mown grass
and the hint of autumn's smoke
i stand at the top of the world
having conquered all i'm left with nothing
i drink from the waterfalls
i eat from the mountains
pointing upwards toward heaven
and the heavens' diamonds
a bird flapping wing
sign and signifier
complex of the true angle
33 degrees and a hundred more minutes
next stop Lethe
full speed ahead
the captain's on speed
he mutters again
under his breath
i breath but not of fresh air
the freshness is signified
the spores of summer's allergens
deafened by the spiders
that lay eggs in my ears
the gentle children under the willow tree
the deer in the lawn
the smell of new mown grass
and the hint of autumn's smoke
Saturday, August 16, 2008
At Dawn:
The world at dawn
Under the willow tree at dawn
The blacks and whites at dawn
The military at dawn
Bloodletting blood at dawn
Napalm at dawn
Agent orange at dawn
The children at dawn
The mean streets at dawn
Just below heaven at dawn
The dawn of the revolution
The revolutionary at dawn
The dawn of epiphany
The dawn of destruction
The nuclear bomb at dawn
The smoke and ash at dawn
The vaccuum at dawn
The flower bed and herb garden at dawn
Tranquility at dawn
The loud noise at dawn
The dawn of loud noise
The portrait at dawn
The mirror at dawn
The dawn of the image
The kindom at dawn
The dawn of liberty
The freedom of dawn
The clouds at dawn
The men and women at dawn
Peace at dawn
The flesh at dawn
The sleepy human at dawn
(for allen ginsberg)
The world at dawn
Under the willow tree at dawn
The blacks and whites at dawn
The military at dawn
Bloodletting blood at dawn
Napalm at dawn
Agent orange at dawn
The children at dawn
The mean streets at dawn
Just below heaven at dawn
The dawn of the revolution
The revolutionary at dawn
The dawn of epiphany
The dawn of destruction
The nuclear bomb at dawn
The smoke and ash at dawn
The vaccuum at dawn
The flower bed and herb garden at dawn
Tranquility at dawn
The loud noise at dawn
The dawn of loud noise
The portrait at dawn
The mirror at dawn
The dawn of the image
The kindom at dawn
The dawn of liberty
The freedom of dawn
The clouds at dawn
The men and women at dawn
Peace at dawn
The flesh at dawn
The sleepy human at dawn
(for allen ginsberg)
Friday, August 15, 2008
Top 100 Best Movies of All Time
These are in the order that I thought of them. I figure the ones I think of first are the best ones, but they're mostly unorganized.
Here it goes:
1. Holy Mountain
2. Mullholland Drive
3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
4. The Trip
5. Un Chien Andolou
6. Waking Life
7. The Seventh Seal
8. Easy Rider
9. Tommy
10. The Audition
11. The Passenger
12. Ringu
13. the Night of the Living Dead
14. Juliet of the Spirits
15. Salo
16. Oldboy
17. Kids
18. George Washington
19. Fantastic Planet
20. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
21. Fahrenheit 911
22. The Manson Family
23. Crumb
24. Angelheart
25. The Cremaster Cycle
26. Apocalypse Now
27. Blood for Dracula
28. ZOO
29. the Happiness of the Katakuris
30. the Wizard of Oz
31. Yellow Submarine
32. Fando y Lis
33. Clockwork Orange
34. Spun
35. Viva la Muerte
36. Woodstock
37. More
38. A Scanner Darkly
39. Fight Club
40. Run Lola Run
41. Undertow
42. No Direction Home
43. Brazil
44. Return to Oz
45. Meet the Feebles
46. The Devil's Backbone
47. The Garbage Pail Kids
48. The Dark Backwards
49. Eraserhead
50. Persona
51. The Saddest Music in the World
52. The Science of Sleep
53. El Topo
54. Trainspotting
55. Gummo
56. The Somnambulist
57. Rubin and Ed
58. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
59. I ♥ Huckabees
60. Dead Man
61. Inland Empire
62. Muppets From Space
63. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
64. The Royal Tennenbaums
65. Monty Python: The Meaning of Life
66. Manson Family Home Movies
67. The Weather Underground
68. Jonestown: The Rise and Fall of the People's Temple
69. Blood Simple
70. Pulp Fiction
71. Down by Law
72. Blade Runner
73. Pink Flamingos
74. Being John Malcovich
75. Naked Lunch
76. Videodrome
77. This is What Democracy Looks Like
78. La Valle
79. American Psycho
80. Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
81. Delicatessan
82. Falling Down
83. The Guernica Tree
84. Repulsion
85. Dr. Strangelove
86. Donnie Darko
87. The Phantom of Liberty
88. Manos: Hands of Fate
89. Carnival of Souls
90. Memento
91. Psycho
92. The Toxic Avenger
93. Taxi Driver
94. Pollock
95. Metropolis
96. Dead Ringers
97. Blue Velvet
98. Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii
99. The Last Temptation of Christ
100. The Life Aquatic
These are in the order that I thought of them. I figure the ones I think of first are the best ones, but they're mostly unorganized.
Here it goes:
1. Holy Mountain
2. Mullholland Drive
3. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
4. The Trip
5. Un Chien Andolou
6. Waking Life
7. The Seventh Seal
8. Easy Rider
9. Tommy
10. The Audition
11. The Passenger
12. Ringu
13. the Night of the Living Dead
14. Juliet of the Spirits
15. Salo
16. Oldboy
17. Kids
18. George Washington
19. Fantastic Planet
20. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
21. Fahrenheit 911
22. The Manson Family
23. Crumb
24. Angelheart
25. The Cremaster Cycle
26. Apocalypse Now
27. Blood for Dracula
28. ZOO
29. the Happiness of the Katakuris
30. the Wizard of Oz
31. Yellow Submarine
32. Fando y Lis
33. Clockwork Orange
34. Spun
35. Viva la Muerte
36. Woodstock
37. More
38. A Scanner Darkly
39. Fight Club
40. Run Lola Run
41. Undertow
42. No Direction Home
43. Brazil
44. Return to Oz
45. Meet the Feebles
46. The Devil's Backbone
47. The Garbage Pail Kids
48. The Dark Backwards
49. Eraserhead
50. Persona
51. The Saddest Music in the World
52. The Science of Sleep
53. El Topo
54. Trainspotting
55. Gummo
56. The Somnambulist
57. Rubin and Ed
58. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
59. I ♥ Huckabees
60. Dead Man
61. Inland Empire
62. Muppets From Space
63. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
64. The Royal Tennenbaums
65. Monty Python: The Meaning of Life
66. Manson Family Home Movies
67. The Weather Underground
68. Jonestown: The Rise and Fall of the People's Temple
69. Blood Simple
70. Pulp Fiction
71. Down by Law
72. Blade Runner
73. Pink Flamingos
74. Being John Malcovich
75. Naked Lunch
76. Videodrome
77. This is What Democracy Looks Like
78. La Valle
79. American Psycho
80. Texas Chainsaw Massacre III
81. Delicatessan
82. Falling Down
83. The Guernica Tree
84. Repulsion
85. Dr. Strangelove
86. Donnie Darko
87. The Phantom of Liberty
88. Manos: Hands of Fate
89. Carnival of Souls
90. Memento
91. Psycho
92. The Toxic Avenger
93. Taxi Driver
94. Pollock
95. Metropolis
96. Dead Ringers
97. Blue Velvet
98. Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii
99. The Last Temptation of Christ
100. The Life Aquatic
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
a few of my current favorite songs:
grizzly bear - easier
charles manson and family - look at yr game
buffalo springfield - expecting to fly
animal collective - banshee beat
donovan - wear yr love like heaven
norman greenbaum - spirit in the sky
canned heat - going up the country
devendra banhart - carmensita
country joe and the fish - grace
jefferson airplane - lather
bob dylan - don't think twice, it's alright
elliot smith - angeles
john lennon - love
george harrison - run of the mill (acoustic)
grizzly bear - easier
charles manson and family - look at yr game
buffalo springfield - expecting to fly
animal collective - banshee beat
donovan - wear yr love like heaven
norman greenbaum - spirit in the sky
canned heat - going up the country
devendra banhart - carmensita
country joe and the fish - grace
jefferson airplane - lather
bob dylan - don't think twice, it's alright
elliot smith - angeles
john lennon - love
george harrison - run of the mill (acoustic)
Auger played boulderfest on friday and it was totally fun. Megafun and Vetiver were awesome, but Akron/Family stole the show. They played for two hours, on mushrooms, covered two Grateful Dead songs and there were fireworks at the end.
Broken windows don't cry
They just sit there and shine
All the lovely crystals
Representing the death of Amerika
And the complacency of the Amerikans
Where will you go when it all comes down?
Will we retreat into the woods?
Participate in our own individual destinies?
The specter of the past still on our shoulders
We carry it like a cross
With crowns of thorns
We are building the resistance
Out of the ashes of a once healthy movement
Now the people all think that things will chance
Just because a new man's in charge
But the new boss is the same as the old boss
And things will just stay the same
As long as there is any boss at all
Broken windows don't cry
They just sit there and shine
All the lovely crystals
Representing the death of Amerika
And the complacency of the Amerikans
Where will you go when it all comes down?
Will we retreat into the woods?
Participate in our own individual destinies?
The specter of the past still on our shoulders
We carry it like a cross
With crowns of thorns
We are building the resistance
Out of the ashes of a once healthy movement
Now the people all think that things will chance
Just because a new man's in charge
But the new boss is the same as the old boss
And things will just stay the same
As long as there is any boss at all
Saturday, April 26, 2008
rainy monday i feel the blues
i tried to rectify
but my efforts were to no avail
i tried to quantify
but i only found infinity
i'm sorry to say, i've been treated cruelly and unfairly
by doctors and counselors
who put me on 7 medications
i'm a problem for the healthcare system
why get help if you don't need it
i tried to rectify
but my efforts were to no avail
i tried to quantify
but i only found infinity
i'm sorry to say, i've been treated cruelly and unfairly
by doctors and counselors
who put me on 7 medications
i'm a problem for the healthcare system
why get help if you don't need it
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I cant believe the accidents i've seen
there was terror in the air
i felt it, everybody felt it
It was cold and we're standing around in the cold
Something has to start something
but nothing comes
only the vampires of seduction
and they drink all our blood
but other wise i'm fine
You won't believe this because I just started talking about it
when i was nine the babysitter drank my blood
so ive been a vampire the whole time!
hahahahah!!!!!
You fools, you must have been really dumb
Now you can live forever
Isn't that a beautiful thing
alright lets get away from vampires and hell
the weather is nice
the sun is shining
It's a nice day
You should go for a walk
Make sure you remember your wallet, keys, cell phone and shoes
there was terror in the air
i felt it, everybody felt it
It was cold and we're standing around in the cold
Something has to start something
but nothing comes
only the vampires of seduction
and they drink all our blood
but other wise i'm fine
You won't believe this because I just started talking about it
when i was nine the babysitter drank my blood
so ive been a vampire the whole time!
hahahahah!!!!!
You fools, you must have been really dumb
Now you can live forever
Isn't that a beautiful thing
alright lets get away from vampires and hell
the weather is nice
the sun is shining
It's a nice day
You should go for a walk
Make sure you remember your wallet, keys, cell phone and shoes
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I was treating the lamb like an animal
I led him up the mountain where the water opened up and the sky got dark
our memories were reversed. we thought the past was the future
nobody noticed. i heard feedback
don't give up, we can come together
get yr halo up from around yr ankles
come on and don't stare into the water
narcisisim is a crying shame
wake up stink holes
I led him up the mountain where the water opened up and the sky got dark
our memories were reversed. we thought the past was the future
nobody noticed. i heard feedback
don't give up, we can come together
get yr halo up from around yr ankles
come on and don't stare into the water
narcisisim is a crying shame
wake up stink holes
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
I'm going to be institutionalized again
I just can't seem to get it right
At least it's only ten days
Sheep in Fog
The hills step off into whiteness.
People or stars
Regard me sadly, I disappoint them.
The train leaves a line of breath.
O slow
Horse the colour of rust,
Hooves, dolorous bells -
All morning the
Morning has been blackening,
A flower left out.
My bones hold a stillness, the far
Fields melt my heart.
They threaten
To let me through to a heaven
Starless and fatherless, a dark water.
-sylvia plath
How did you get away?
You were the pet falcon of an old woman.
Did you hear the falcon-drum?
You were a drunken songbird put in with owls.
Did you smell the odor of a garden?
You got tired of sour fermenting
and left the tavern.
You went like an arrow to the target
from the bow of time and place.
The man who stays at the cemetery pointed the way,
but you didn't go.
You became light and gave up wanting to be famous.
You don't worry about what you're going to eat,
so why buy an engraved belt?
I've heard of living at the center, but what about
leaving the center of the center?
Flying toward thankfulness, you become
the rare bird with one wing made of fear,
and one of hope. In autumn,
a rose crawling along the ground in the cold wind.
Rain on the roof runs down and out by the spout
as fast as it can.
Talking is pain. Lie down and rest,
now that you've found a friend to be with.
-Rumi
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Please hold me. the square scorns the circle in the night. now the knives hover above the head. a square in a round box. what tools you needed. i think i have them. what work youre doing. i think i'm doing it. we haven't spoke in a while. what's the news. how've you been. take care. think of me often. don't let me slip slip away. come back and say hello. sorry to let myself slip slip away. i didn't mean for it to get like this. go on to the window. watch the carrages drawn by the equine elite. nothing is too good for you . don't let me slip slip away. don't let me be a casualty. your ghost is here always. i'm always seeing yr ghost. i'm not afraid, but it doesn't keep me company like you do. it's always so cold and when i get cold i tremble like an aspen leaf. making a wonderful swishing sound in the wind. got to get out of the box. don't let me slip slip away. i'm coming down fast. i hit the ground hard. hard to get back up. who are you. where are you going. who were you. i'm sorry to say i never knew you before. but i knew you. and once i loved you i couldn't start to hate you. now watch the window. do you see my ghost. i'm alone. i'm just one spirit in the puzzle universe. questions lead me here. i'm not here. i'm alone.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Noah and the Faeries
Noah was naked and drunk in the bushes. His specticals being broken, he naturally saw some faeries bussing around his head. "Will you take me away to your heavenly kingdom?" he asked. Some said yes; some said no. Discouraged, he began to masturbate to ease the pain. The faeries were very curious about this act. Faeries don't have genitals, you see. They thought he was having a seizure as he came. The trees wept sticky tears of sap. The whole hedgerow burst out in laughter and some of the shrubs even caught fire. Noah had made a fool out of himself in front of mother nature. Meanwhile the faeries were shape-shifting into sdquirrels and frogs and departing, on their way somewhere in a hurry.
Get along little piggies
Just try to get alone.
Noah was naked and drunk in the bushes. His specticals being broken, he naturally saw some faeries bussing around his head. "Will you take me away to your heavenly kingdom?" he asked. Some said yes; some said no. Discouraged, he began to masturbate to ease the pain. The faeries were very curious about this act. Faeries don't have genitals, you see. They thought he was having a seizure as he came. The trees wept sticky tears of sap. The whole hedgerow burst out in laughter and some of the shrubs even caught fire. Noah had made a fool out of himself in front of mother nature. Meanwhile the faeries were shape-shifting into sdquirrels and frogs and departing, on their way somewhere in a hurry.
Get along little piggies
Just try to get alone.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Ordinary Things
She was pulling her own teeth out in the café where I was eating. Some of the other patrons were bothered by it, but I was not afraid. I just kept masticating my grilled cheese and imbibing a sizeable amount of black coffee. The food was not especially good, but I was particularly hungry on that day.
I had come in to the place to get out of the rain. It had been raining for three days straight. I missed the bus I needed to get on by a few seconds so I became stranded downtown. Like a lost child I wandered the streets in a search for somewhere dry. So I stepped into the St. Ambrose Café and ordered some things from the menu. Luckily I had a ten dollar bill burning a hole in my pocket that day.
It wasn’t until I sat down that I realized how hungry I actually was. When they brought my grilled cheese out to me I started eating manically. I did look up from my plate for several seconds, but when I did there she was pulling out her teeth.
After that I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was a beautiful girl with long, wavy, black hair and a fascinating face. Why was she pulling her teeth? Was this some nervous habit?
The manager of the café kept yelling at her saying that she had better clean up the blood because it wasn’t sanitary for someone to be doing dental surgery in a restaurant. She acted as though he didn’t exist.
When the last tooth had been pulled she walked out of the place leaving behind a pool of blood and about twenty shiny teeth.
I felt compelled to follow her. I left behind a half a grilled sandwich and an empty coffee mug. I flung the doors of the café open and started chasing the girl down the street. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say when I actually caught up to her. Here is what I did say.
Me: Hey, what are you doing?
Her: Same thing as you I guess [sounding like there was cotton in her mouth].
Me: What was going on in the café back there?
Her: Oh, I read somewhere in the bible that if a part of your body is stumbling you, you should cut it off. It’s lent you see and I’ve given up chewing as my penance. Would you like to come over to my place and read the bible with me?
Me: It’s not something I normally do, but I guess, why not?
Her studio apartment was only a few blocks away. When I stepped in I immediately smelled a smell like a skunk’s spray. There were little piles of dirty clothes everywhere. Some of them had blood on the, some of them didn’t.
“I’m an artist, you see. My life is my masterpiece. You can’t get to the moon with teeth, just like how you can’t stop yourself from peeing in a public swimming pool,” she said.
“Hey, do you want to listen to a record?” She had taken off her shirt.
I asked her if she had any Iron Butterfly records. She didn’t, but she did have the Soft Machine. “That sounds good then,” I replied.
We sat still, staring at each other for hours. We listened to Woody Guthrie, Syd Barrett and Donavan. Finally she pulled out a joint and said, “Do you want to smoke?” I told her I did, but I had better get going soon.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.” I thought that reply to be very strange.
So after achieving intoxication I said goodbye and went back out into the streets. Everything seemed slanted to me. Cities usually a built to go up and down, vertical, but this city seemed full of acute and obtuse angles. The rain had let up and I was feeling optimistic. I managed to find another bus to catch that would bring me close to home, but it wouldn’t arrive for another half an hour.
I killed time talking to a homeless man with a harmonica. He told me tall tales: “When I used to own the Empire State Building I was something of a man. Then my spirit broke like glass and I became the shattered image that you see before you now.”
I told him he looked good with a long beard and his tattered clothes weren’t too bad of a fashion statement either. There are lots of kids who pay big bucks for a look like that.
Him: Well, I left all those superficial things behind. Now I’m home free as they say. No more worries. I don’t even as for change. [He blew a few notes on his harmonica] You don’t have any change do you?
Me: No, I haven’t changed in a while. I’m still who I was a few years ago.
Him: Me, I’ve made big changes. I used to be the captain of a great big clipper ship. I had underlings and everything. Now I’m just underneath. I’m like a worm in the ground now.
Me: I know what you mean. Well, here comes my bus. It was nice talking to you.
The bus driver looked like she wasn’t having a very good day, so I decided not to say ‘hi.’ My temporary companions on the bus had colorful faces. One man was green, another blue. A twelve year old girl was orange. What looked like her mother was all white. Another woman was all purple. It was a most interesting crowd visually. I wondered if they were all from the circus.
When I got home I found my cat lying dead on the kitchen floor. He had gotten into one of the poison traps I had set for ants. I cried a single tear and put the cadaver in the freezer.
That night I watched four movies in a row stopping only to get a beer from the fridge from time to time. I didn’t sleep until 3am. While I was sleeping I had a dream about the beach and the girl with the bloody, toothless mouth.
She was pulling her own teeth out in the café where I was eating. Some of the other patrons were bothered by it, but I was not afraid. I just kept masticating my grilled cheese and imbibing a sizeable amount of black coffee. The food was not especially good, but I was particularly hungry on that day.
I had come in to the place to get out of the rain. It had been raining for three days straight. I missed the bus I needed to get on by a few seconds so I became stranded downtown. Like a lost child I wandered the streets in a search for somewhere dry. So I stepped into the St. Ambrose Café and ordered some things from the menu. Luckily I had a ten dollar bill burning a hole in my pocket that day.
It wasn’t until I sat down that I realized how hungry I actually was. When they brought my grilled cheese out to me I started eating manically. I did look up from my plate for several seconds, but when I did there she was pulling out her teeth.
After that I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was a beautiful girl with long, wavy, black hair and a fascinating face. Why was she pulling her teeth? Was this some nervous habit?
The manager of the café kept yelling at her saying that she had better clean up the blood because it wasn’t sanitary for someone to be doing dental surgery in a restaurant. She acted as though he didn’t exist.
When the last tooth had been pulled she walked out of the place leaving behind a pool of blood and about twenty shiny teeth.
I felt compelled to follow her. I left behind a half a grilled sandwich and an empty coffee mug. I flung the doors of the café open and started chasing the girl down the street. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say when I actually caught up to her. Here is what I did say.
Me: Hey, what are you doing?
Her: Same thing as you I guess [sounding like there was cotton in her mouth].
Me: What was going on in the café back there?
Her: Oh, I read somewhere in the bible that if a part of your body is stumbling you, you should cut it off. It’s lent you see and I’ve given up chewing as my penance. Would you like to come over to my place and read the bible with me?
Me: It’s not something I normally do, but I guess, why not?
Her studio apartment was only a few blocks away. When I stepped in I immediately smelled a smell like a skunk’s spray. There were little piles of dirty clothes everywhere. Some of them had blood on the, some of them didn’t.
“I’m an artist, you see. My life is my masterpiece. You can’t get to the moon with teeth, just like how you can’t stop yourself from peeing in a public swimming pool,” she said.
“Hey, do you want to listen to a record?” She had taken off her shirt.
I asked her if she had any Iron Butterfly records. She didn’t, but she did have the Soft Machine. “That sounds good then,” I replied.
We sat still, staring at each other for hours. We listened to Woody Guthrie, Syd Barrett and Donavan. Finally she pulled out a joint and said, “Do you want to smoke?” I told her I did, but I had better get going soon.
“It’s okay, I’m used to it.” I thought that reply to be very strange.
So after achieving intoxication I said goodbye and went back out into the streets. Everything seemed slanted to me. Cities usually a built to go up and down, vertical, but this city seemed full of acute and obtuse angles. The rain had let up and I was feeling optimistic. I managed to find another bus to catch that would bring me close to home, but it wouldn’t arrive for another half an hour.
I killed time talking to a homeless man with a harmonica. He told me tall tales: “When I used to own the Empire State Building I was something of a man. Then my spirit broke like glass and I became the shattered image that you see before you now.”
I told him he looked good with a long beard and his tattered clothes weren’t too bad of a fashion statement either. There are lots of kids who pay big bucks for a look like that.
Him: Well, I left all those superficial things behind. Now I’m home free as they say. No more worries. I don’t even as for change. [He blew a few notes on his harmonica] You don’t have any change do you?
Me: No, I haven’t changed in a while. I’m still who I was a few years ago.
Him: Me, I’ve made big changes. I used to be the captain of a great big clipper ship. I had underlings and everything. Now I’m just underneath. I’m like a worm in the ground now.
Me: I know what you mean. Well, here comes my bus. It was nice talking to you.
The bus driver looked like she wasn’t having a very good day, so I decided not to say ‘hi.’ My temporary companions on the bus had colorful faces. One man was green, another blue. A twelve year old girl was orange. What looked like her mother was all white. Another woman was all purple. It was a most interesting crowd visually. I wondered if they were all from the circus.
When I got home I found my cat lying dead on the kitchen floor. He had gotten into one of the poison traps I had set for ants. I cried a single tear and put the cadaver in the freezer.
That night I watched four movies in a row stopping only to get a beer from the fridge from time to time. I didn’t sleep until 3am. While I was sleeping I had a dream about the beach and the girl with the bloody, toothless mouth.
Friday, February 08, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Our death is our wedding with eternity.
What is the secret? "God is One."
The sunlight splits when entering the windows of the house.
This multiplicity exists in the cluster of grapes;
It is not in the juice made from the grapes.
For he who is living in the Light of God,
The death of the carnal soul is a blessing.
Regarding him, say neither bad nor good,
For he is gone beyond the good and the bad.
Fix your eyes on God and do not talk about what is invisible,
So that he may place another look in your eyes.
It is in the vision of the physical eyes
That no invisible or secret thing exists.
But when the eye is turned toward the Light of God
What thing could remain hidden under such a Light?
Although all lights emanate from the Divine Light
Don't call all these lights "the Light of God";
It is the eternal light which is the Light of God,
The ephemeral light is an attribute of the body and the flesh.
...Oh God who gives the grace of vision!
The bird of vision is flying towards You with the wings of desire.
-rumi
What is the secret? "God is One."
The sunlight splits when entering the windows of the house.
This multiplicity exists in the cluster of grapes;
It is not in the juice made from the grapes.
For he who is living in the Light of God,
The death of the carnal soul is a blessing.
Regarding him, say neither bad nor good,
For he is gone beyond the good and the bad.
Fix your eyes on God and do not talk about what is invisible,
So that he may place another look in your eyes.
It is in the vision of the physical eyes
That no invisible or secret thing exists.
But when the eye is turned toward the Light of God
What thing could remain hidden under such a Light?
Although all lights emanate from the Divine Light
Don't call all these lights "the Light of God";
It is the eternal light which is the Light of God,
The ephemeral light is an attribute of the body and the flesh.
...Oh God who gives the grace of vision!
The bird of vision is flying towards You with the wings of desire.
-rumi
gale force winds berate me. dead lovers ride with enormous dead love. the sound quickens sounding the sirens in the jails. human love stands by. ugly love makes lip contact. remember spartacus and his legions of lovers. remember che's motorcycle lovers. the clouds love the sky, but the sky loves the night. will they ever wetly dream. what space and what multitude ! of stars the reason broke, a slave within a star dreamers dreamins sweetly. wahat sweetness? of honey? of wine? of roses! where the plank broke. the diviners did encircle the star. now the shadows eat the street. now the sky betrays the clouds. no one willl sit upon them. will you? the heavens and the angels fell. now full with mystic smog. hava nagila mahalo. grass pours green pigment on white robes. and im washing these robes. and im forgetting better days remembering only the nightmre days. mahalo. wind sweeps fresh like honey? like wine? dust of stars will see her revenge.
again lazy in sister kingdom. rascal memery fights. out with the ebb. now where dogs flow. upstream dream of dirty dancing summers. wow down like fellow. this discouraged fellowship. a background dream. calls on thee machine where pieces go. in the ebb and flow. gray ghost creeper swallow my malcontent. graceful ghoul behaving in shadow. behaviors disintegrating. my noise for this soundtrack. tapes follow unweb fashions. wearing whit wearing white. songs drown in the chatter. hahahahahahahaha a clown spinning spinning. whatt pleasantt charm i wrotea letter i wrote a picture and a picture is 1000 words. noon rising moon. what an awful picture. cigarette burns on my blanket. wait was that a picture. did i see a picture?
Friday, January 25, 2008
The Minotaur's song
By Robin Williamson
Straight from the shoulder
I think like a soldier
I know what's right and what's wrong
He knows what's right and what's wrong.
I'm the original discriminating buffalo man
And I'll do what's wrong as long as I can
He'll do what's wrong as long as he can
I live in a labyrinth under the sea
Down in the dark as dark as can be
I like the dark as dark as can be
He likes the dark as dark as can be
I'll even attack you or eat you whole
Down in the dark my bone mills roll
Porridge for my porridge bowl
Porridge for his porridge bowl
I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns
Moo
I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns
A minotaur gets very sore
His features they are such a bore
His habits are predicta-bull
Aggressively relia-bull, bull, bull
I'm strong as the earth from which I'm born
He's strong as the earth from which he's born
I can't dream well because of my horns
He can't dream well because of his horns
I'm the original discriminating buffalo man
And I'll do what's wrong as long as I can
He'll do what's wrong as long as he can
Thursday, January 24, 2008
It is a winter's tale
That the snow blind twilight ferries over the lakes
And floating fields from the farm in the cup of the vales,
Gliding windless through the hand folded flakes,
The pale breath of cattle at the stealthy sail,
And the stars falling cold,
And the smell of hay in the snow, and the far owl
Warning among the folds, and the frozen hold
Flocked with the sheep white smoke of the farm house cowl
In the river wended vales where the tale was told.
Once when the world turned old
On a star of faith pure as the drifting bread,
As the food and flames of the snow, a man unrolled
The scrolls of fire that burned in his heart and head,
Torn and alone in a farm house in a fold
Of fields. And burning then
In his firelit island ringed by the winged snow
And the dung hills white as wool and the hen
Roosts sleeping chill till the flame of the cock crow
Coombs through the mantled yards and the morning men
Stumble out with their spades,
The cattle stirring, the mousing cat steppin shy,
The puffed birds hopping and hunting, the milkmaids
Gentle in their clogs over the fallen sky,
And all the woken farm at its white trades,
He knelt, he wept, he prayed,
By the spit and the black pot in the log bright light
And the cup and the cut bread in the dancing shade,
In the muffled house, in the quick of night,
At the point of love, forsaken and afraid.
He knelt on the cold stones,
He wept from the crest of grief, he prayed to the veiled sky
May his hunger go howling on bare white bones
Past the statues of the stables and the sky roofed sties
And the duck pond glass and the blinding byres alone
Into the home of prayers
And fires where he should prowl down the cloud
Of his snow blind love and rush in the white lairs.
His naked need struck him howling and bowed
Though no sound flowed down the hand folded air
But only the wind strung
Hunger of birds in the fields of the bread of water, tossed
In high corn and the harvest melting on their tongues.
And his nameless need bound him burning and lost
When cold as snow he should run the wended vales among
The rivers mouthed in night,
And drown in the drifts of his need, and lie curled caught
In the always desiring centre of the white
Inhuman cradle and the bride bed forever sought
By the believer lost and the hurled outcast of light.
Deliver him, he cried,
By losing him all in love, and cast his need
Alone and naked in the engulfing bride,
Never to flourish in the fields of the white seed
Or flower under the time dying flesh astride.
Listen. The minstrels sing
In the departed villages. The nightingale,
Dust in the buried wood, flies on the grains of her wings
And spells on the winds of the dead his winter's tale.
The voice of the dust of water from the withered spring
Is telling. The wizened
Stream with bells and baying water bounds. The dew rings
On the gristed leaves and the long gone glistening
Parish of snow. The carved mouths in the rock are wind swept strings.
Time sings through the intricately dead snow drop. Listen.
It was a hand or sound
In the long ago land that glided the dark door wide
And there outside on the bread of the ground
A she bird rose and rayed like a burning bride.
A she bird dawned, and her breast with snow and scarlet downed.
Look. And the dancers move
On the departed, snow bushed green, wanton in moon light
As a dust of pigeons. Exulting, the graved hooved
Horses, centaur dead, turn and tread the drenched white
Paddocks in the farms of birds. The dead oak walks for love.
The carved limbs in the rock
Leap, as to trumpets. Calligraphy of the old
Leaves is dancing. Lines of age on the stone weave in a flock.
And the harp shaped voice of the water's dust plucks in a fold
Of fields. For love, the long ago she bird rises. Look.
And the wild wings were raised
Above her folded head, and the soft feathered voice
Was flying through the house as though the she bird praised
And all the elements of the slow fall rejoiced
That a man knelt alone in the cup of the vales,
In the mantle and calm,
By the spit and the black pot in the log bright light.
And the sky of birds in the plumed voice charmed
Him up and he ran like a wind after the kindling flight
Past the blind barns and byres of the windless farm.
In the poles of the year
When black birds died like priests in the cloaked hedge row
And over the cloth of counties the far hills rode near,
Under the one leaved trees ran a scarecrow of snow
And fast through the drifts of the thickets antlered like deer,
Rags and prayers down the knee-
Deep hillocks and loud on the numbed lakes,
All night lost and long wading in the wake of the she-
Bird through the times and lands and tribes of the slow flakes.
Listen and look where she sails the goose plucked sea,
The sky, the bird, the bride,
The cloud, the need, the planted stars, the joy beyond
The fields of seed and the time dying flesh astride,
The heavens, the heaven, the grave, the burning font.
In the far ago land the door of his death glided wide
And the bird descended.
On a bread white hill over the cupped farm
And the lakes and the floating fields and the river wended
Vales where he prayed to come to the last harm
And the home of prayers and fires, the tale ended.
The dancing perishes
On the white, no longer growing green, and, minstrel dead,
The singing breaks in the snow shoed villages of wishes
That once cut the figures of birds on the deep bread
And over the glazed lakes skated the shapes of fishes
Flying. The rite is shorn
Of nightingale and centaur dead horse. The springs wither
Back. Lines of age sleep on the stones till trumpeting dawn.
Exultation lies down. Time buries the spring weather
That belled and bounded with the fossil and the dew reborn.
For the bird lay bedded
In a choir of wings, as though she slept or died,
And the wings glided wide and he was hymned and wedded,
And through the thighs of the engulfing bride,
The woman breasted and the heaven headed
Bird, he was brought low,
Burning in the bride bed of love, in the whirl-
Pool at the wanting centre, in the folds
Of paradise, in the spun bud of the world.
And she rose with him flowering in her melting snow.
From Dylan Thomas: The Poems, published by J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1971
Copyright © 1937, 1945, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1977 The Trustees for the Copyrights of Dylan Thomas
That the snow blind twilight ferries over the lakes
And floating fields from the farm in the cup of the vales,
Gliding windless through the hand folded flakes,
The pale breath of cattle at the stealthy sail,
And the stars falling cold,
And the smell of hay in the snow, and the far owl
Warning among the folds, and the frozen hold
Flocked with the sheep white smoke of the farm house cowl
In the river wended vales where the tale was told.
Once when the world turned old
On a star of faith pure as the drifting bread,
As the food and flames of the snow, a man unrolled
The scrolls of fire that burned in his heart and head,
Torn and alone in a farm house in a fold
Of fields. And burning then
In his firelit island ringed by the winged snow
And the dung hills white as wool and the hen
Roosts sleeping chill till the flame of the cock crow
Coombs through the mantled yards and the morning men
Stumble out with their spades,
The cattle stirring, the mousing cat steppin shy,
The puffed birds hopping and hunting, the milkmaids
Gentle in their clogs over the fallen sky,
And all the woken farm at its white trades,
He knelt, he wept, he prayed,
By the spit and the black pot in the log bright light
And the cup and the cut bread in the dancing shade,
In the muffled house, in the quick of night,
At the point of love, forsaken and afraid.
He knelt on the cold stones,
He wept from the crest of grief, he prayed to the veiled sky
May his hunger go howling on bare white bones
Past the statues of the stables and the sky roofed sties
And the duck pond glass and the blinding byres alone
Into the home of prayers
And fires where he should prowl down the cloud
Of his snow blind love and rush in the white lairs.
His naked need struck him howling and bowed
Though no sound flowed down the hand folded air
But only the wind strung
Hunger of birds in the fields of the bread of water, tossed
In high corn and the harvest melting on their tongues.
And his nameless need bound him burning and lost
When cold as snow he should run the wended vales among
The rivers mouthed in night,
And drown in the drifts of his need, and lie curled caught
In the always desiring centre of the white
Inhuman cradle and the bride bed forever sought
By the believer lost and the hurled outcast of light.
Deliver him, he cried,
By losing him all in love, and cast his need
Alone and naked in the engulfing bride,
Never to flourish in the fields of the white seed
Or flower under the time dying flesh astride.
Listen. The minstrels sing
In the departed villages. The nightingale,
Dust in the buried wood, flies on the grains of her wings
And spells on the winds of the dead his winter's tale.
The voice of the dust of water from the withered spring
Is telling. The wizened
Stream with bells and baying water bounds. The dew rings
On the gristed leaves and the long gone glistening
Parish of snow. The carved mouths in the rock are wind swept strings.
Time sings through the intricately dead snow drop. Listen.
It was a hand or sound
In the long ago land that glided the dark door wide
And there outside on the bread of the ground
A she bird rose and rayed like a burning bride.
A she bird dawned, and her breast with snow and scarlet downed.
Look. And the dancers move
On the departed, snow bushed green, wanton in moon light
As a dust of pigeons. Exulting, the graved hooved
Horses, centaur dead, turn and tread the drenched white
Paddocks in the farms of birds. The dead oak walks for love.
The carved limbs in the rock
Leap, as to trumpets. Calligraphy of the old
Leaves is dancing. Lines of age on the stone weave in a flock.
And the harp shaped voice of the water's dust plucks in a fold
Of fields. For love, the long ago she bird rises. Look.
And the wild wings were raised
Above her folded head, and the soft feathered voice
Was flying through the house as though the she bird praised
And all the elements of the slow fall rejoiced
That a man knelt alone in the cup of the vales,
In the mantle and calm,
By the spit and the black pot in the log bright light.
And the sky of birds in the plumed voice charmed
Him up and he ran like a wind after the kindling flight
Past the blind barns and byres of the windless farm.
In the poles of the year
When black birds died like priests in the cloaked hedge row
And over the cloth of counties the far hills rode near,
Under the one leaved trees ran a scarecrow of snow
And fast through the drifts of the thickets antlered like deer,
Rags and prayers down the knee-
Deep hillocks and loud on the numbed lakes,
All night lost and long wading in the wake of the she-
Bird through the times and lands and tribes of the slow flakes.
Listen and look where she sails the goose plucked sea,
The sky, the bird, the bride,
The cloud, the need, the planted stars, the joy beyond
The fields of seed and the time dying flesh astride,
The heavens, the heaven, the grave, the burning font.
In the far ago land the door of his death glided wide
And the bird descended.
On a bread white hill over the cupped farm
And the lakes and the floating fields and the river wended
Vales where he prayed to come to the last harm
And the home of prayers and fires, the tale ended.
The dancing perishes
On the white, no longer growing green, and, minstrel dead,
The singing breaks in the snow shoed villages of wishes
That once cut the figures of birds on the deep bread
And over the glazed lakes skated the shapes of fishes
Flying. The rite is shorn
Of nightingale and centaur dead horse. The springs wither
Back. Lines of age sleep on the stones till trumpeting dawn.
Exultation lies down. Time buries the spring weather
That belled and bounded with the fossil and the dew reborn.
For the bird lay bedded
In a choir of wings, as though she slept or died,
And the wings glided wide and he was hymned and wedded,
And through the thighs of the engulfing bride,
The woman breasted and the heaven headed
Bird, he was brought low,
Burning in the bride bed of love, in the whirl-
Pool at the wanting centre, in the folds
Of paradise, in the spun bud of the world.
And she rose with him flowering in her melting snow.
From Dylan Thomas: The Poems, published by J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd., London, 1971
Copyright © 1937, 1945, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1977 The Trustees for the Copyrights of Dylan Thomas
The bread got colder as it sat in the fridge. With contempt for the other food items the bread seethed. It had just been baked two days previous. Ornery from the start this particular marble rye took no joy out of being sliced into pieces and then being eaten alive. Maybe it was all that yeast that made our friend the way he was.
Can you get out my git
I’m gonna have a fit
Gone is my loosened mit
I’m a goner this time around
Do you sound like this or that
Can you make sound in a hat
Where do you keep yr fat
I’m sorry but I’ll never get you
Can you get out my git
I’m gonna have a fit
Gone is my loosened mit
I’m a goner this time around
Do you sound like this or that
Can you make sound in a hat
Where do you keep yr fat
I’m sorry but I’ll never get you
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
http://www.borntoboogie.net/marctv/index.asp
Minotaur
by Micha F. Lindemans
Before he ascended the throne of Crete, Minos struggled with his brothers for the right to rule. Minos prayed to Poseidon to send him a snow-white bull, as a sign of approval by the gods for his reign. He promised to sacrifice the bull as an offering, and as a symbol of subservience. A beautiful white bull rose from the sea, but when Minos saw it, he coveted it for himself. He assumed that Poseidon would not mind, so he kept it and sacrificed the best specimen from his herd instead. When Poseidon learned about the deceit, he made Pasipha, Minos' wife, fall madly in love with the bull. She had Daedalus, the famous architect, make a wooden cow for her. Pasipha climbed into the decoy and fooled the white bull. The offspring of their lovemaking was a monster called the Minotaur.
The creature had the head and tail of a bull on the body of a man. It caused such terror and destruction on Crete that Daedalus was summoned again, but this time by Minos himself. He ordered the architect to build a gigantic, intricate labyrinth from which escape would be impossible. The Minotaur was captured and locked in the labyrinth. Every year for nine years, seven youths and maidens came as tribute from Athens. These young people were also locked in the labyrinth for the Minotaur to feast upon.
When the Greek hero Theseus reached Athens, he learned of the Minotaur and the sacrifices, and wanted to end this. He volunteered to go to Crete as one of the victims. Upon his arrival in Crete, he met Ariadne, Minos's daughter, who fell in love with him. She promised she would provide the means to escape from the maze if he agreed to marry her. When Theseus did, she gave him a simple ball of thread, which he was to fasten close to the entrance of the maze. He made his way through the maze, while unwinding the thread, and he stumbled upon the sleeping Minotaur. He beat it to death and led the others back to the entrance by following the thread.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Emily Dickinson (1830–86). Complete Poems. 1924.
Part Five: The Single Hound
V
THE RIGHT to perish might be thought
An undisputed right,
Attempt it, and the Universe upon the opposite
Will concentrate its officers—
You cannot even die, 5
But Nature and Mankind must pause
To pay you scrutiny.
gale force winds berate me. dead lovers ride with enormous dead love. the sound quickens sounding the sirens in the jails. human love stands by. ugly love makes lip contact. remember spartacus and his legions of lovers. remember che's motorcycle lovers. the clouds love the sky, but the sky loves the night. will they ever wetly dream. what space and what multitude ! of stars the reason broke, a slave within a star dreamers dreamins sweetly. wahat sweetness? of honey? of wine? of roses! where the plank broke. the diviners did encircle the star. now the shadows eat the street. now the sky betrays the clouds. no one willl sit upon them. will you? the heavens and the angels fell. now full with mystic smog. hava nagila mahalo. grass pours green pigment on white robes. and im washing these robes. and im forgetting better days remembering only the nightmre days. mahalo. wind sweeps fresh like honey? like wine? dust of stars will see her revenge.
Friday, January 04, 2008
on gnosticism and aa - (ps: jung is the connection)
"Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine"
-Wiliam Blake
Jung's influence can sometimes be found in more unexpected quarters. For example, Jung once treated an American patient (Rowland H.) suffering from chronic alcoholism. After working with the patient for some time, and achieving no significant progress, Jung told the man that his alcoholic condition was near to hopeless, save only the possibility of a spiritual experience. Jung noted that occasionally such experiences had been known to reform alcoholics where all else had failed.
Rowland took Jung's advice seriously and set about seeking a personal spiritual experience. He returned home to the United States and joined a Christian evangelical church. He also told other alcoholics what Jung had told him about the importance of a spiritual experience. One of the alcoholics he told was Ebby Thatcher, a long-time friend and drinking buddy of Bill Wilson, later co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Thatcher told Wilson about Jung's ideas. Wilson, who was finding it impossible to maintain sobriety, was impressed and sought out his own spiritual experience. The influence of Jung thus indirectly found its way into the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original 12-step program, and from there into the whole 12-step recovery movement, although AA as a whole is not Jungian and Jung had no role in the formation of that approach or the 12 steps.
The above claims are documented in the letters of Carl Jung and Bill W., excerpts of which can be found in Pass It On, published by Alcoholics Anonymous. The detail of this story is disputed by some historians.
"Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine"
-Wiliam Blake
Jung's influence can sometimes be found in more unexpected quarters. For example, Jung once treated an American patient (Rowland H.) suffering from chronic alcoholism. After working with the patient for some time, and achieving no significant progress, Jung told the man that his alcoholic condition was near to hopeless, save only the possibility of a spiritual experience. Jung noted that occasionally such experiences had been known to reform alcoholics where all else had failed.
Rowland took Jung's advice seriously and set about seeking a personal spiritual experience. He returned home to the United States and joined a Christian evangelical church. He also told other alcoholics what Jung had told him about the importance of a spiritual experience. One of the alcoholics he told was Ebby Thatcher, a long-time friend and drinking buddy of Bill Wilson, later co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Thatcher told Wilson about Jung's ideas. Wilson, who was finding it impossible to maintain sobriety, was impressed and sought out his own spiritual experience. The influence of Jung thus indirectly found its way into the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous, the original 12-step program, and from there into the whole 12-step recovery movement, although AA as a whole is not Jungian and Jung had no role in the formation of that approach or the 12 steps.
The above claims are documented in the letters of Carl Jung and Bill W., excerpts of which can be found in Pass It On, published by Alcoholics Anonymous. The detail of this story is disputed by some historians.
The Auric Egg and Chakras
The Auric Egg Exercise, besides being an indispensable tool, is also a good preparation exercise for beginning meditation. Once learned it becomes automatic and may be used in preparation for any meditation. It is also quite useful when walking into the Mall and you need a some space between yourself and the energy draws and noise around you. Using this exercise in conjunction with, and as the opening exercise to the spiritual practice of retrospection, meditation and prayer is highly recommended as it is a calming and centering exercise.
Some people meditate on specific chakras using their corresponding color. You may wish to do so also, but know that white light is all that is really needed as white light contains all of the colors of the rainbow. However, in any case, chakras may be used as reference points of concentration when drawing light into the body and it certainly can help to focus your mind and relax your body.
Chakras are a spiritual term used to describe the location of certain centers of energy in the spiritual body that correspond to centers in the physical body called nerve plexuses. Plexuses are bundles of nerves concentrated in areas where nerves relating to a specific functions of the body are found clustered in close proximity. The picture below shows their location. The spiritual colors of the plexuses are portrayed as corresponding to the colors of the rainbow.
The head or crown chakra is assigned the color violet and spiritually it is seen as that chakra which connects us to the realm of higher thought, significantly it is also associated with the pituitary gland, a small oval endocrine gland attached to the base of the vertebrate brain, consisting of an anterior and a posterior lobe. The secretions of the pituitary control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation.
The forehead chakra is called the third eye; it is assigned the color dark blue and is associated with spiritual sight.
The throat chakra is assigned the color sky blue and is associated with speech.
The heart chakra is assigned the color green, the color of healing (sometimes it is also shown as pink). The heart center maybe conceived of as the transformer of the lower nature into the higher nature; it is also the balancer of Spiritual Law and is considered the source of Compassion. It is located at the center of the cross of our bodies.
The solar plexus is assigned the color yellow and corresponds to the will and the Christ energy (or Krishna or Buddha Energy: the Golden Light is of the Purified Will).
The navel chakra is assigned the color orange and corresponds to the desire nature and assimilation.
The root chakra is assigned the color red and is located at the very base of the spine; it is considered to be the source of the life force; the color red is also associated with the Holy Spirit and is associated with generation and regeneration: Creation.
Auric Egg Exercise Instructions
1. For western style meditation sit in a straight-backed chair in a relaxed position. This position may be used by anyone. It is the position used by some of the ancients and western meditators throughout the ages.
For eastern style meditation you may adopt sitting on the floor with legs crossed in the folded lotus position.
Stretch your body, then feel, tense and relax any contracted areas. Do this several times. Become aware of your body and all its parts and inch by inch relax.
2. You may want to imagine a string at the top of your head pulling your spine erect. Feel the vertebrae of your spine gently stretched and your spine elongated and then mentally place each vertebrae beginning at the bottom of your spine, one upon the other, until your whole spine feels aligned. Then hold the position, but relax into a comfortable state.
3. Now, Visualize yourself within an Egg shaped field which extends outward from the center (the naval - solar plexus region) of your body, three feet in all directions.
4. Draw into the ovoid shape of the Egg from as high as you can imagine above your head, Pure White Light, down through the top of your head and into your body.
5. Anchor this light in your solar plexus area. Breathe naturally, feel the beating of your heart and your breath and allow them to become as one: at some point your breathing and heart will be in a natural rhythm. You will notice that you become peaceful.
6. On the in breath, feel and imagine the light coming into your body. As you exhale, allow the light to expand and fill your head, then your shoulders and arms, then allow the light to fill your torso area, then allow the light to fill your legs and feet.
7. You may also if you wish, draw the light down through the chakras; allow the light to expand to fill your body from each chakra. After you feel that your whole body is filled with light, allow the light to expand past your body to fill the field of the circle then the whole of the Auric region until you can feel it three feet around your body in all directions. Imagine that the outer edge of this sphere is solid and impenetrable.
Continue to draw in the light into the area of your solar plexus and let it expand from that region to fill your aura ...
Maintain this space for at least 5 -10 minutes or longer if you like.
Notes: In performing this exercise you may begin to experience a vibrant uplifting of being, exhilaration and peace. This exercise is regenerative, healing and balancing. Consistent practice of this exercise will aid you in bringing forth a fuller experience of an inner reality.
Eventually you will find your own rhythm and as you practice, the steps you take will become natural. Soon, you may be able to sense or even see the brightness of the white light and you may begin to experience the exhilaration and the peace it brings. After three or four days of practice you may begin to see and/or feel the Light in your aura, or personal atmosphere.
The center of this Egg of Light is the ovoid space your physical and spiritual bodies occupy. In the center of the spiritual body, located in the region between the heart and the solar plexus chakras, it is said resides the Self and Soul. Some people have reported after a time that they notice that their center of gravity shifts to a more balanced place.
Once you have established seeing and experiencing this Light surrounding you and filling you completely, you may begin concentrating on Light at the center of your being, the God Self within; that part of you that is a spark of the Greater Light.
Visualization is the preparation and key that leads you into truly seeing and experiencing the Light within. Visualization allows you to be receptive to another reality. The idea is to relax and allow the light to come in.
It is recommended that you do this exercise if possible at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night before retiring. It is also recommended that you have a journal nearby. You may wish to log your results, and keep a record of your progress and any spiritual experiences you may have.
If you have any questions please write me: kl@gnostic.org
Copyrights Jessika © 2003
Also See: Daily Meditation Practice
Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
The Auric Egg Exercise, besides being an indispensable tool, is also a good preparation exercise for beginning meditation. Once learned it becomes automatic and may be used in preparation for any meditation. It is also quite useful when walking into the Mall and you need a some space between yourself and the energy draws and noise around you. Using this exercise in conjunction with, and as the opening exercise to the spiritual practice of retrospection, meditation and prayer is highly recommended as it is a calming and centering exercise.
Some people meditate on specific chakras using their corresponding color. You may wish to do so also, but know that white light is all that is really needed as white light contains all of the colors of the rainbow. However, in any case, chakras may be used as reference points of concentration when drawing light into the body and it certainly can help to focus your mind and relax your body.
Chakras are a spiritual term used to describe the location of certain centers of energy in the spiritual body that correspond to centers in the physical body called nerve plexuses. Plexuses are bundles of nerves concentrated in areas where nerves relating to a specific functions of the body are found clustered in close proximity. The picture below shows their location. The spiritual colors of the plexuses are portrayed as corresponding to the colors of the rainbow.
The head or crown chakra is assigned the color violet and spiritually it is seen as that chakra which connects us to the realm of higher thought, significantly it is also associated with the pituitary gland, a small oval endocrine gland attached to the base of the vertebrate brain, consisting of an anterior and a posterior lobe. The secretions of the pituitary control the other endocrine glands and influence growth, metabolism, and maturation.
The forehead chakra is called the third eye; it is assigned the color dark blue and is associated with spiritual sight.
The throat chakra is assigned the color sky blue and is associated with speech.
The heart chakra is assigned the color green, the color of healing (sometimes it is also shown as pink). The heart center maybe conceived of as the transformer of the lower nature into the higher nature; it is also the balancer of Spiritual Law and is considered the source of Compassion. It is located at the center of the cross of our bodies.
The solar plexus is assigned the color yellow and corresponds to the will and the Christ energy (or Krishna or Buddha Energy: the Golden Light is of the Purified Will).
The navel chakra is assigned the color orange and corresponds to the desire nature and assimilation.
The root chakra is assigned the color red and is located at the very base of the spine; it is considered to be the source of the life force; the color red is also associated with the Holy Spirit and is associated with generation and regeneration: Creation.
Auric Egg Exercise Instructions
1. For western style meditation sit in a straight-backed chair in a relaxed position. This position may be used by anyone. It is the position used by some of the ancients and western meditators throughout the ages.
For eastern style meditation you may adopt sitting on the floor with legs crossed in the folded lotus position.
Stretch your body, then feel, tense and relax any contracted areas. Do this several times. Become aware of your body and all its parts and inch by inch relax.
2. You may want to imagine a string at the top of your head pulling your spine erect. Feel the vertebrae of your spine gently stretched and your spine elongated and then mentally place each vertebrae beginning at the bottom of your spine, one upon the other, until your whole spine feels aligned. Then hold the position, but relax into a comfortable state.
3. Now, Visualize yourself within an Egg shaped field which extends outward from the center (the naval - solar plexus region) of your body, three feet in all directions.
4. Draw into the ovoid shape of the Egg from as high as you can imagine above your head, Pure White Light, down through the top of your head and into your body.
5. Anchor this light in your solar plexus area. Breathe naturally, feel the beating of your heart and your breath and allow them to become as one: at some point your breathing and heart will be in a natural rhythm. You will notice that you become peaceful.
6. On the in breath, feel and imagine the light coming into your body. As you exhale, allow the light to expand and fill your head, then your shoulders and arms, then allow the light to fill your torso area, then allow the light to fill your legs and feet.
7. You may also if you wish, draw the light down through the chakras; allow the light to expand to fill your body from each chakra. After you feel that your whole body is filled with light, allow the light to expand past your body to fill the field of the circle then the whole of the Auric region until you can feel it three feet around your body in all directions. Imagine that the outer edge of this sphere is solid and impenetrable.
Continue to draw in the light into the area of your solar plexus and let it expand from that region to fill your aura ...
Maintain this space for at least 5 -10 minutes or longer if you like.
Notes: In performing this exercise you may begin to experience a vibrant uplifting of being, exhilaration and peace. This exercise is regenerative, healing and balancing. Consistent practice of this exercise will aid you in bringing forth a fuller experience of an inner reality.
Eventually you will find your own rhythm and as you practice, the steps you take will become natural. Soon, you may be able to sense or even see the brightness of the white light and you may begin to experience the exhilaration and the peace it brings. After three or four days of practice you may begin to see and/or feel the Light in your aura, or personal atmosphere.
The center of this Egg of Light is the ovoid space your physical and spiritual bodies occupy. In the center of the spiritual body, located in the region between the heart and the solar plexus chakras, it is said resides the Self and Soul. Some people have reported after a time that they notice that their center of gravity shifts to a more balanced place.
Once you have established seeing and experiencing this Light surrounding you and filling you completely, you may begin concentrating on Light at the center of your being, the God Self within; that part of you that is a spark of the Greater Light.
Visualization is the preparation and key that leads you into truly seeing and experiencing the Light within. Visualization allows you to be receptive to another reality. The idea is to relax and allow the light to come in.
It is recommended that you do this exercise if possible at least twice a day, once in the morning and once at night before retiring. It is also recommended that you have a journal nearby. You may wish to log your results, and keep a record of your progress and any spiritual experiences you may have.
If you have any questions please write me: kl@gnostic.org
Copyrights Jessika © 2003
Also See: Daily Meditation Practice
Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
this damn world
tragedy culminates a string of bad luck. ok there's the lonely feeling that almost always burns,especialluy when invited to things i don t go to because of the threat aof evil old man alcohol, then me and strauss are sposdeda get together and awork on post production of our nefarious film then the car acccident ahappens; iaam fine but go to the hostipal anywya. im sorry to the other womanm, it was totally my fault then the threat of another psyche ward which thankfully i escaped, now my right hand hurts and my left wont move. its hard to type. oh,and i have no car. the end?
tragedy culminates a string of bad luck. ok there's the lonely feeling that almost always burns,especialluy when invited to things i don t go to because of the threat aof evil old man alcohol, then me and strauss are sposdeda get together and awork on post production of our nefarious film then the car acccident ahappens; iaam fine but go to the hostipal anywya. im sorry to the other womanm, it was totally my fault then the threat of another psyche ward which thankfully i escaped, now my right hand hurts and my left wont move. its hard to type. oh,and i have no car. the end?
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Lyrics for: If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
It's easy ah ah ah
You only need to know
Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
'Cause there's a million things to do
You know that there are
Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
And if you want to live high, live high
And if you want to live low, live low
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
Chorus:
You can do what you want
The opportunity's on
And if you can find a new way
You can do it today
You can make it all true
And you can make it undo
You see ah ah ah
It's easy ah ah ah
You only need to know
Well if you want to say yes, say yes
And if you want to say no, say no
'Cause there's a million ways to go
You know that there are
And if you want to be me, be me
And if you want to be you, be you
'Cause there's a million things to do
You know that there are
Chorus
Well, if you want to sing out, sing out
And if you want to be free, be free
'Cause there's a million things to be
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
You know that there are
Out on the edge of darkness
there rides a peace train,
'O Peace Train take this country, come take me home again...'
March 2003
________________________________
With the drums of War echoing across the globe, it seems the vibrations have shaken everybody. Yusuf Islam has also been moved to align himself with millions of people across the planet calling for peace. Yusuf has just finished recording two songs, Peace Train and Angel of War. The two tracks are being made available to Radio Stations around the world and Peace Train will also be available for download here on this site.
"It's certainly not a return to Cat Stevens, but an underline of the message needed right now", said Yusuf during his recent journey to Johannesburg, South Africa where he recorded the tracks. Like many, his wish is to contribute whatever possible to help avert a forthcoming humanitarian crisis, the likes of which we have seen too many times before. "The words of the songs", as he says, "speak for themselves".
As a singer who sprang from a generation of highly idealistic free spirits between the 60's and 70's, I like to think the songs I wrote somehow held up an altruistic mirror to our planet's time and era. Though times have changed, it's a nice surprise to see that youthful feeling of anti-war sentiment returning once more to the cobbled main streets of Europe.
Peace Train is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions of human beings and there is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again.
Thirty years later, as Yusuf Islam, I have more right and more reason to reclaim this anthem of my evolutionary Cat Stevens period, that's why I rerecorded it. As a member of humanity and as a Muslim, this is my contribution to the call for a peaceful solution to the dangerous path some world leaders today seem to be taking.
The present battle we see for global dominance, I believe, is nothing more than a clash of egos. So with Angel of War, I decided to revisit my legacy of music again and remould another old track, to reflect my thoughts and concerns about the questions to be asked of war today.
What many people don't understand is that there will always be an enemy: the egotistical soul within. The nature of Man is already prone to earthly lusts such as 'greed' and 'envy'. Together with 'pride', the three primal vices have plagued the human being since his first appearance on the bloodstained pages of Time.
Another Bosnia is not what the world needs; the devastation and suffering seen of recent history is ample evidence to support the view of every conscientious objector - of which I am one.
Let the words of the songs speak for themselves.
Peace be with you
Yusuf Islam
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Gnostic Meditation 
The purpose of the Daily Meditation Practice is to clear the mind of the many thoughts and activities that have taken place during the day and bring one into a state of peace.
Doing the practice helps us to focus our attention upon the sacred. A part of the practice is retrospection. The process of retrospection allows us to examine our actions and become clear about where we may have been reactive in our thoughts and activities throughout the day through rash or thoughtless behavior.
The practice of retrospection helps us to manage our emotions in a more positive way. Emotions, when unchecked, sometimes have the effect of causing us to do things or say things to others we did not really intend. When we are presented with choices in our lives, this practice helps us to make clearer conscious decisions. The practice assists us in becoming centered and pro-active in our lives. We learn to think before we act about the consequences of our activities.
The whole of the Daily Practice when done correctly allows us to become more objective and less emotional about choices presented to us. The practice helps us to transform those thoughts and actions that may have harmed others, assists us in blessing those persons and helps us to be the people we really want to be.
The Daily Meditation Practice helps us to become mindful of what is right thought and action. In time, the practice carries over into our daily lives and we begin to do the process automatically throughout the day. The practice becomes a part of our thought process. We become more thoughtful about how we effect others. We become more loving and caring and more conscious. As our attention is drawn to creating positively, we actually begin to do so, more and more. Increasingly, we are able to be better sources of Love, Light and Peace in the World.
The Daily Meditation Practice begins with the Egg of Light Exercise sometimes called the Sphere of Light Meditation or The Auric Egg Exercise. When used consistently this practice creates more balance in one's life. For a detailed instructions and information please see the
The Daily Meditation Practice has four parts. At first the practice may seem hard to follow or lengthy, but once the practice is learned and mastered it becomes second nature and a natural part of our daily lives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 1: Find a time and a quite space for daily meditation. Place a comfortable chair there. A small table nearby with a single candle would also be useful. A larger home altar may look something like the picture here. Dedicate the candle to the one Light with a prayer of your spiritual intent.
Posture: If you prefer the western posture, sit in a chair, back straight, with both feet flat upon the floor, hands placed palms down on your legs, elbows at your waist. Place your journal and a pen nearby. Mentally go through your body and stretch and relax any place that feels tight. If you prefer to sit cross legged on the floor or on a pillow when you have let go of the tight places in your body and are comfortable let go of your mind and pray a prayer for cleansing, balance and focus. This may take 5-10 minutes. You may use this prayer or another:
O Creator, through Thy Son, the Great Christ, cleanse my body and my mind and may the Light of the One now enter to fill me completely, that my only thought may be of thee. Amen
Imagine light washing over you and draw that light into your body through your crown, to your heart and solar plexus area. Allow the light to continue to expand until you can imagine your whole body filled with light and yourself encased in a sphere of light emanating three feet from your body in all directions. Allow time for your breathing and your heart to become one in its rhythm. When you perceive a sphere solidly around you and your breathing and heart are calm and in rhythm and you feel peaceful, declare your intention with a prayer for personal and world peace. This part may take 5-10 minutes. See: The Auric Egg Exercise
You may use this prayer below or another that you like:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
Auric Egg
The purpose of the Daily Meditation Practice is to clear the mind of the many thoughts and activities that have taken place during the day and bring one into a state of peace.
Doing the practice helps us to focus our attention upon the sacred. A part of the practice is retrospection. The process of retrospection allows us to examine our actions and become clear about where we may have been reactive in our thoughts and activities throughout the day through rash or thoughtless behavior.
The practice of retrospection helps us to manage our emotions in a more positive way. Emotions, when unchecked, sometimes have the effect of causing us to do things or say things to others we did not really intend. When we are presented with choices in our lives, this practice helps us to make clearer conscious decisions. The practice assists us in becoming centered and pro-active in our lives. We learn to think before we act about the consequences of our activities.
The whole of the Daily Practice when done correctly allows us to become more objective and less emotional about choices presented to us. The practice helps us to transform those thoughts and actions that may have harmed others, assists us in blessing those persons and helps us to be the people we really want to be.
The Daily Meditation Practice helps us to become mindful of what is right thought and action. In time, the practice carries over into our daily lives and we begin to do the process automatically throughout the day. The practice becomes a part of our thought process. We become more thoughtful about how we effect others. We become more loving and caring and more conscious. As our attention is drawn to creating positively, we actually begin to do so, more and more. Increasingly, we are able to be better sources of Love, Light and Peace in the World.
The Daily Meditation Practice begins with the Egg of Light Exercise sometimes called the Sphere of Light Meditation or The Auric Egg Exercise. When used consistently this practice creates more balance in one's life. For a detailed instructions and information please see the
The Daily Meditation Practice has four parts. At first the practice may seem hard to follow or lengthy, but once the practice is learned and mastered it becomes second nature and a natural part of our daily lives.
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Part 1: Find a time and a quite space for daily meditation. Place a comfortable chair there. A small table nearby with a single candle would also be useful. A larger home altar may look something like the picture here. Dedicate the candle to the one Light with a prayer of your spiritual intent.
Posture: If you prefer the western posture, sit in a chair, back straight, with both feet flat upon the floor, hands placed palms down on your legs, elbows at your waist. Place your journal and a pen nearby. Mentally go through your body and stretch and relax any place that feels tight. If you prefer to sit cross legged on the floor or on a pillow when you have let go of the tight places in your body and are comfortable let go of your mind and pray a prayer for cleansing, balance and focus. This may take 5-10 minutes. You may use this prayer or another:
O Creator, through Thy Son, the Great Christ, cleanse my body and my mind and may the Light of the One now enter to fill me completely, that my only thought may be of thee. Amen
Imagine light washing over you and draw that light into your body through your crown, to your heart and solar plexus area. Allow the light to continue to expand until you can imagine your whole body filled with light and yourself encased in a sphere of light emanating three feet from your body in all directions. Allow time for your breathing and your heart to become one in its rhythm. When you perceive a sphere solidly around you and your breathing and heart are calm and in rhythm and you feel peaceful, declare your intention with a prayer for personal and world peace. This part may take 5-10 minutes. See: The Auric Egg Exercise
You may use this prayer below or another that you like:
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Prayer for World Peace (author unknown)
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May I and All Who Work
For a World of Peace and Reason
Be Granted the Gifts off Strength and Courage,
May the Good That Dwells
Within Every Human Heart Be Magnified,
May the Blessings of Truth
And Understanding Be Ours,
May the Love and Joy of the One Spirit
Abide Within All of Us
And as We Create and Plan for Tomorrow
May We Do so in Sympathy With All Others. Amen
Part 2: Perform a retrospection of the day in light of your ideals. Ask for forgiveness for those errors you have made and bless each person you believe you may have offended, including yourself, with light. love and peace. Look at how you might have handled the situation differently. Bless all those you have encountered and any others (friends, family) your dwelling, place of work and so on. Look at what you have learned during the day as well. When you are finished with your retrospection allow your mind to complete its thoughts and clear. Write down anything you would like to remember in your journal. This may take 5-20 minutes.
Part 3 : Reaffirm your sphere of light. Ask any questions you might have of the God you worship. Meditate 10-15 minutes (more if you like) in a state of openness to an intuitive answer. Record your experiences or any insights you may receive in your journal.
Part 4: Close your meditation with A Prayer of Affirmation and Peace (suggestions are below) and record anything else in you journal you might want to remember.
The Lord's Prayer
O Giver of All Life,
Who Is in Heaven and in Earth,
In Whom We Live, Move,
And Have Our Being,
Holy Is Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom Come.
Thy Will Be Done.
In Earth, as it Is in Heaven.
Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread,
And Forgive Us, Our Trespasses
As We Forgive Those
Who Trespass Against Us.
Keep Us from Temptation.
Keep Us Ever Mindful of Thee.
For Thine Is the Kingdom,
and the Power, and the Glory,
Forever and Ever. Amen.
Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord make me an instrument of Thy Peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love:
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it is in dying
That we are born to Eternal Life. Amen
Auric Egg