The Art of Deception

We abide by sets of rules based on lies. To tease them all out would take a treatise the size of several volumes, but we all recognize the most pernicious ones. "Marriage is forever and between one man and one woman.", might be a good one to start with, especially since that is where we are all supposed to have started ourselves. I'm sure we all know a number of people who also know that it is a lie. The institution of marriage is between the "loving" couple and the state, their church, sometimes two families and occasionally God/ess. Before you have a chance to discount this fact, I recently spoke with a wonderful and lovely woman who told me that when she married her husband, she didn't respect him. I put love in quotation marks because what one calls love, another might say is infatuation, pathological lust, usury or flat out abuse. What I claim to be an essential part of love, may not fit in with your belief system. I claim that the truth of the matter is that no agent on this earth can mediate a true marriage. It is between two souls and their creator. Do I need to say, "regardless of sex"? Because it is true. I'm sure that our creator isn't hung up on genitalia. My point is that we all accept many limitations of a culture that despises free though and action. We have been told so many times that long suffering and self control are not just means to an end, but the be all and end all of our existence, that we shy away from truth as surely as we were born.

Arbitrary rules that came about centuries ago, when we needed more humans to exploit and the planet seemed infinite were based on a certain truth that existed then. We have surpassed Earth's carrying capacity and even the deaths of ten thousand children each and every day from lack of clean water is not enough to stem the burgeoning tide of affluenza in other regions. Marriage must now be de-coupled with procreation, there are too many children being abused and neglected than we can handle already. Science has proven that humans are naturally cooperative, helpful and compassionate. The lies about "human nature" that have relegated generations of human souls to crushing oppression perpetrated by ultra wealthy and powerful forces has led to systemic power and control issues being played out across the entire planet. It is the birthright of all humanity to live unmolested and free from both abuse and neglect from our own people. Breaking free from the lies that we have been carefully fed proves far more difficult than one might expect, but the first step in recovery is recognizing that there is a problem. The more you learn, the better equipped you become at calling "Bullshit!" We have the right to seek truth and when we find it we have a responsibility to share what we have learned.

I regret having to bring all this up, but the truth is really treated as a quite unsavory thing. We are forever being told, "Don't sugar coat it.", as if harsh truth is revered, but not one of us wants to hear that our ideas don't matter, our problems were brought on by making bad choices, or that our treasured pictures of our children or grandchildren are uninteresting. What we fail to realize is that we are all one with god/ess. We are forever convincing ourselves that we are unique, that our dear reality is true and to be trusted when nothing could be further from the truth. The whole bloody thing is made up. Virtually every single thing that we know is either untrue, or a shallow reflection of something that would have been true if things were different. Take this for example...I love the fact that I recently heard someone who had gone to Vietnam, remark at how astonished they were that the Vietnamese called it the American War, not the Vietnam War. Sadly, differences in perception like this only account for a fraction of the lies that we artfully keep alive between us. Generation gaps, sexism, racism, political debate, advertising, education, religion, even our diversions and entertainments are rife with lies. If we all didn't subscribe to the same ones, where would we be? One lie that seems particularly egregious to me is the perception of lack. The concept of a harsh world, with mankind locked in a brutal battle to the death with nature just unnerves me. I don't think that there is anywhere on the face of the planet where one could travel a mile without being able to scare up a meal or two and perhaps a remedy for whatever ails you. In areas more desolate than that, cultures have developed that keep their food and fluid stores on the hoof and bring them with them across the harsh areas. That said, there are plenty of "educated" people who will tell you how harsh a world it is and how you must screw the other guy before he screws you. One of the first lessons of sustainability (permaculture) is to equitably distribute the abundance that is produced when we work with, rather than against nature.

Our egos are so wantonly out of control that we actually believe in our own self-righteousness. We pray to an idol of our own "unique" expectations and desires. Our very hopes and dreams are based on a book of lies that has an infinite number of pages. We were told centuries ago that we are hateful, callous, mean tempered brutes that are designed to be greedy, competitive, rude, selfish and crass. Science has proven otherwise, but we use this lie and others like it to justify our aggression, bad behavior and lust. Lucky for some, there is a salve that we can use to soothe our souls at the end of the day. Some of you may not like it, but I will reveal the myth of the hour, or perhaps the century, Christ. He died for his own sins, not ours. He, if he existed at all, he sought to expose the great lies of his culture and for this he was supposedly put to death. No contemporary historian of "Jesus" mentions him. You would think that for all the stories of him feeding the masses, healing the sick and walking on water, someone might have made at least a passing reference to this "King of the Jews". Nothing. Nada. Zip, Zero, just a giant void, silence. Granted you can't prove a negative, but hey, this story is as old as the current age. Half a dozen of sons of virgin birth came before Christ, were baptized, taught the people, had twelve apostles, were betrayed by a trusted friend, were crucified, languished in a tomb for three days and were resurrected. But, I guess, if we all believe that it only happened once, it's gotta be true. I for one, cannot believe something that reeks so terribly of plagiarism. With no savior to fall back on, we all have to live a little better lives. The only one with the power to forgive is you!

Good Bye Oz, There's No Place Like Home

When our perception of perfection is warped by Disney and the future that we have been led to believe in consists of everything being made of either stainless steel or chrome, it becomes harder and harder to sell a vision of human proportions and meeting the needs of more people with less negative impact on the planet. The tenets of those who believe in Servoglobe, a land of hyper futuristic elegance, technodrome, immaculately planned urban oasies without smog or smoke and Emerald Cities upon Emerald Cities at regular intervals across the vast plane of Eden-like silvaculture, and punctuated by hundred story greenhouses full of aquaculture and hydroponic veggies, require us all to participate in a culture that cannot be created through any of the social systems that we have available to us.

To make their visions come true, we will need to cooperate rather than compete, give unconditionally and truly love one another. Considering recent trends this seems highly unlikely. Not to be a naysayer, hey, I'm for peace love and understanding as much as the next guy. However, I cannot foresee a time or place that relegates cities of today to the waste bin of history. I cannot fathom who might finance these crystal cities that are efficient and clean. The guys with all the money are dirty to the core. Coal, oil, gas and all the infrastructural tools and materials are born in the heart of a beast. The beast of fossil fuel exploitation, corporate welfare, incalculable throughput and externalities that bite us all in the proverbial hinder.

Getting things right involves several critical steps toward enlightenment that may just win the day. Women reclaiming their power and the corresponding rebirth of the
Goddess will be a great first step. Doing this in a culture that virtually worships Miley Cyrus and Lady Gaga will be a bit like finding a needle in a haystack the size of The Moon, without using a magnet. we can however make inroads to this end by teaching our young girls that they are worthy of love, respect and admiration simply for being themselves, not for being what they think men want. I recently came across a great list of things that only women can do and it made me think, how is it that men have bamboozled everyone into thinking that they should be in charge of our world and that they are worth more per hour than their female counterparts.

I place my bets on a different sort of future, one that is real and rough around the edges. One that adapts to environment rather than subjugating it further. Evey home that I have owned got what I call my home energy makeover. It involves upgrading basic services to be both energy efficient and conservative in as many ways as possible. Each home that I have owned used between thirty and fifty percent less energy and resources when I sold it than it did when I bought it. The savings would be even more dramatic if I were not living right at the poverty line. We need to turn our imaginations and reverence back to the Sun. If we could just teach the "majority" that the Christ myth was plagiarized from previous cultures, pointing out the fact that the Christ child is just a stand-in for the Sun, perhaps we could dispose of all the baggage that comes from the Christian religions. Politics aside, there are very few reasons for the myth to continue. I'm sure the time will come when we will understand the heinous beliefs that spawned the Christian sects, but for now we just need to realize that they were imposed on all of our pagan ancestors. It is our birthright to reconnect with all of our gods and godesses, to feel them in our lives and to recognize them in the cleft of a ridge, or the forking streams that lead to high ground.

The yellow brick road leads to Oz on one end, and Munchkin Land on the other, but to truly learn, grow, and progress we need to take what the Munchkins and Oz can teach us and make it real in our lives. We all have the power of innocence that we can wield against our oppressors. Some will, in their own way use their intellect to question the obvious holes in the logic of capitalists and "consumers" We are all capable of loving one another, doing not only what may be deemed right or good but what is best. In my vision of the future, human needs will be met by humans, not robots or gleaming structures. We will still need to warm food, gather at the hearth for warmth, comfort and find a place in our community, active and participating. Transforming culture may be the hardest work we will ever do, but we are currently unable to understand the benefits that will flow from changing a basic premise that our current culture is based on, that is the theory of lack. In truth, nature is endlessly abundant if we just learn how to see it. As long as we perpetrate our human understanding on all that we see, instead of being open to the wonder of it all, we will continue to constrain reality into an unreal facsimile loosely based on the real thing.

Solstice Wishes

In these times we are facing unprecedented change in virtually every area of our lives. Perhaps this is why so many folks are "clinging to their guns and religion".
I have been aware of and studying the stock market and economics generally for over thirty years and the amount of upheaval and change there is negligible considering the pressing need for us to significantly change our approach to finance, business and industry. In education, food systems and transportation we are seeing change, just not enough to alter the course of dire projections that have been in the wind for the last thirty years or more.

We have available technologies that could bring transport costs and emissions down significantly while providing a better quality of life for millions. We just can't muster the will to mandate necessary change. Educational systems are failing. Many school systems exhibit falling budgets and test scores but we try to reclaim the high ground by focusing on the "Three 'R's" an the institution of national "standards" or curricula. What is needed is a new approach to our beloved children. We must stop warehousing them as a means to subsidize industry with "free" child care. Let them guide their own education and pursue their interests with the help of trained guides and mentors. Foodies try to transform the American Diet, but as long "eat local" folks are seen as fringe metrosexuals and people with odd looking glasses, footwear or hairstyles, we cannot hope to get the average consumer to know or care where their carrots come from. My favorite, by the way, are from either the back yard, or local farmer's market. The rape of our soils and the packing of our gullet for profit only makes the situation worse. As our very flesh becomes marbled, fat cats keep making decisions that allow them to laugh all the way to the bank.

My solstice Wish is for the sun to enlighten not only the globe, but the hearts of man/womankind. We need to realign ourselves, perhaps by worshiping this flaming ball in our sky. Recognize that all life flows from it and to respect what it has the power to do as well as what it cannot provide. All of our energy and food are produced by the sun. Even the "non-solar" aspects of nuclear energy pale when compared to the exploration and mining of uranium, carried out with fossil fuel derived energy, the processing and enrichment, again performed through massive fossil-fuel energy inputs, the transport and waste handling, also provided through conventional fossil fuel consuming processes. Without solar energy, the fires it can fuel, air and clean water, we are doomed death upon a lifeless rock. We need to thank the sun daily for the essential role it plays in our lives.

I have taken the commuter trains that exist out east. I have seen the effects of the "Main-line" on local communities, where for generations families have been able to exist without the drain of a second car on their budgets. I remember the last passenger train service pulling out of my town, and as the town has died, I have not been able to make it to the other social and commercial centers where we used to go when I was a child. I want these opportunities back, not only for me, but for my children and grand children. As more and more of our lives are spent disengaged from the world, I would like to see more honest interaction. Sharing where our food has come from, what we have learned from and taught our children, and what we learned on our way to work. Just as the Sun allows us to get a glimpse of our environment, I hope that we can see in one another little steps that we can all make to create a more appropriate future, one that honors people and the environment above profit, one that values things on a scale of the heart rather than the pocketbook and find ways to enrich one another's lives as well as our own.

Slip a Mile-Long Condom On That Thing!

With the hole in the bottom of the gulf belching a nasty blend of petrochemical gasses, fumes, oils and tars, perhaps the best we can hope for is to keep the flow concentrated as much as possible. Instead of creating vast underwater plumes, we could just put a long, somewhat flexible tube around the pipe end, clamping it on so it would would allow the pressurized crude to flow to the surface without any dilution by seawater. Using triangulating guy wires to hold guide rings at several points along the tube, currents and their effects could be minimized. Near the surface the crude could flow into a holding tank that could be pumped at sea level, without the necessity of fighting against nature to gather up an extremely dilute oil/water mix.

This single accident dwarfs the impact of all eco-terrorism supposedly perpetrated by Earth-firsters, their sympathizers and all other black ops eco-warriors. Instead of attacking the machines of war against the environment, this disaster attacks life itself and the ability of the coastal environment to care for us! Bless the people who have a chance to make a difference in this tragedy. help them to see the errors of their ways and may we all create positive changes because of seeing that the emperor wears no clothes!

I Refuse to be Made an Enemy Without My Consent

Last evening I was at a party. I enjoyed my time there immensely, and it was at a beautifully restored farmhouse in the country. It is an annual event that we were invited to last summer, but for some reason or another, we were unable to attend. Several dozen people enjoyed a large spread of food, including booyah (a local favorite), the beer trailer, fireworks and a giant fire pit raging with a great pile of wood. There were about a dozen people that I had met before and a few close friends who meet monthly for a roving campfire group that meets all Spring, Summer and Fall as well as part of the Winter for great conversation, visiting with old friends and meeting new ones.

Everything was going great until I approached the garage, where the food was set up. In addition to a large banner stating "You Are In Steeler Country!" (which I cannot tell you how out of place that is in our normally staunch Green Bay Packer Fan country), there were several political signs that made me feel a bit unwelcome.

Liberal bashing is apparently becoming trendy, but it seems that some people forget how to abide by the rules of a democracy. When your side loses, you have to accept the consequences. I have held the same values and many of the same opinions since before most of the right-leaning activist groups touting inflammatory rhetorical statements as reason enough for their existence and dubious "evidence" as "proof" that we are on the road to ruin, were formed. In all my years of voting, the first time that the person I voted for got elected was this last Presidential Election. Talk about taxation without representation! I should be the one jumping up and down yelling "We need to take our country back." In our culture however, majority rules, or at least it is supposed to. The revolution that can only take place in the voting booth has occurred, get used to it. When the popular vote went to Al Gore, say what you may, the public's will was overthrown by the Electoral College. The majority has been seeking change for quite some time, they have only now wrested the power of the White House to help beat back the greedy elites that have dictated policies for the last half century.

"Deport Liberals" was the most ridiculous and perhaps the most upsetting sign that I saw hanging in the garage. As if there is something less American about people who believe in the same founding documents and the same process that we deem American, but have a different view about how to assure liberty, freedom and security. I am struck by the similarity that politics is taking to the old ways that bullies took to win at any cost when we played "friendly" games of ball as children. If the rules change to meet their needs and are designed at a moment's notice to allow them to win, how long can the charade last? I began hating baseball when bullies brought their baggage to the game. Eventually, no one wants to play with you. Win at all costs can't possibly be worth it if you have to sacrifice your morals or your standing amongst nations of the world. Isolationism never works in a democracy.

One of the reasons that I developed an interest in politics is because I was told that in that realm, one would win or lose on their merits, their intellect and their astute observations of society, the ability to understand it's ills and by finding ways to create a more perfect union, meeting the needs of many through efforts of the few, as well as protecting and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable few by the deeds of many. I actually studied democratic values, civics they called it back then. I have read historical accounts, studies and scientific reports, gleaned data from countless Blue Books, done the difficult tasks of knocking on doors, raising public awareness of issues that impact our lives daily and occasionally thought about running for office, but somehow I deserve to be deported? For doing my best? For developing an acute sense of what is truly screwed up in our land? For treating others the way I would like to be treated?

Those who refuse to consider my position valid may choose to assault my beliefs this way. I however, do not deserve to be painted with such a wide brush. Astute observation can reveal truth, but people who jump to conclusions regardless of evidence, cannot be allowed to have their lies stand. Those who deny evidence that Saddam Hussein was right about slant wells coming from Kuwait into Iraqi oil fields, which started the first Gulf War, still believe that terrorists threaten U.S. "interests". Their math skills are seriously deficient. The death toll of innocents killed by our forces dwarfs the numbers killed in all terrorist incidents (including homegrown terror) combined. These same, "righteous" followers of fiction turn their wrath on "liberals" for leading our country to ruin. This just turns my stomach.

Conservatives have eviscerated our collective conscience. This in turn creates spiritual scars that may remain for centuries. Perhaps it is they who need to either: "Love America or Leave It." The tide has finally turned in favor of the little guy, or so it seems. Identifying with the captors is an age old tradition in slave circles, but We the People need to remember that we all have a lot more in common with other wage slaves than we do with the aristocracy that welds it's power against us. If we allow others to dictate the terms of our arguments, or forget that they will always defend one another, no matter how awful their behavior, leaves us to toil at their behest forever. Our system of government is supposed to give us power, not keep us captive. The tables have been turned however, to make us believe that we are free, while our liberties are stripped away. We are constantly told that we enjoy free choice, while our desires are manipulated and corrupted. The American dream has been bought and sold to the highest bidder and we are left with crumbs. The extreme fascination with positive thinking, psychology, body image and self-help are all reflections of our perceived lack of self worth. Can we afford to overlook the part this plays in our society? We have endless ways in which to hate our selves, but people in charge know that this is just a first step to hating others. The reason that I stand up and refuse my consent to be made into an enemy is because I believe in democratic principles. I believe in the concept that all men and women are created equal. No greater expression of self respect can be made than to respect another.

I honor the right of others to disagree, but do not abide people demonizing others either. When we use fictitious pigeon-holes to segregate people into deserving and undeserving categories, we also debase ourselves. Our country, if it is to remain a beacon of hope for the oppressed masses around the globe, must not undermine the high aspirations of our founders. We must hold to the spirit of the words that they penned over two hundred years ago. In a free society, we must all be allowed the freedom to make mistakes. We must regain freedom of thought, association, and belief, even if that puts us at odds with others. We must also be willing to engage our opposition in constructive discussion rather than combative rhetoric. If we base our belief in the need for change on lies and deception, the change we welcome will be dark and oppressive. Seeking truth must be an all out assault on ignorance, tempered with compassion and understanding of everyone, even those we may disagree with. I am a friend of free thought and a defender of liberty. Those who would write me off as a single word, and deny my right to freedom will not be free for their hate and lies will consume them. I truly hope that the close-minded reactionaries come to their senses before they ruin what may very well be our last chance to right the ship of state that has foundered in rocky times.

Our "ship of state" is in trouble. I offer my words as an inspiration start to bailing, if enough people band together, we might get it right. Working together always gets more done than toiling in isolation or putting down those you do not agree with or understand. Rather than being cheerleaders for a dubious "cause", screaming slogans that don't make sense, what we need is a true political rebirth, one that allows us to grow beyond the us-them schism and learn to honor and respect one another. The urge to kick people out needs to be replaced with the goals of getting rid of hateful ideas and rhetoric. Our nation needs to concern itself with eliminating greed which has the power to override good sense. Our people need to come together and make a plan for ending our reliance on dangerous and violent ways of getting our "needs" met and we need to set our sights higher than putting down the other guy, because that will always diminish us. The race to the bottom needs to end and we need to respect the rights that we all had, that have been taken away by fear mongering and deceit.

Gulf Oil Distraction

I'm not a conspiracy theorist. That makes it all the more difficult for me to understand why our leaders continue to practice crisis management. We know what the result of doing nothing is and we have seen what is possible if we would just reflect the will of the people in action. For over forty years there has been a public outcry that continues to plead for responsible energy policies, pollution elimination strategy and more humane policies regarding our place on the world stage. Frequently there are protests, boycotts and direct actions to change the course of our government officials, their corporate keepers and the constabulary who are used as tools of their oppression. The problem is that the changes are never enough, and always too late to effect necessary change. When you grow up seeing the farce behind our involvement in Southeast Asia, the fallacious claims about how environmental ethics demand our collective return to caves, that the peace movement is being fomented by criminals or communists and the complete inaction demonstrated by our leaders on pollution and energy issues, it becomes hard to understand what the motivation is to cling to policies and procedures that have yet to solve a single one of these pressing problems. Amelioration of problems after they have occurred is not only less effective and more costly than solving them before they reach crisis proportions, but it shows that you don't care enough, and are not smart enough to reason out what might happen if nothing is done.
As long as our "leaders" refrain from taking action, the forces of greed, expediency and abuse will continue to flex their proverbial muscle. Until we demand that their cycle of power and control be broken, we will have to continue to live with the degraded environment, insane energy policy and "terror" from those who hate us for our "way of life", not to mention the real and present terror of not knowing what part of our infrastructure will catastrophically break down next. Our flagging educational system is failing our students, the air where many of us live is not fit to breathe, the water that many of us drink now contains dilute anti-depressants heart medication and "penis pills". The land in many areas has been so thoroughly sterilized that they are biologically dead. The health care debate has been framed so as to not even mention health, or care. If you believed the BS about how legalizing pot would fund more terror, what do you think our continued addiction to oil does? Just because people who have advocated change often looked like hippies and sounded like intellectuals is no reason to believe that they were not right. We should have all seen, by now, the images of Earth from space that led to the coining of the term Spaceship Earth. There is no "away", we need to find a path to peace. True security depends on making our way forward to a future in which our children are not burdened by childhood cancer, developmental disabilities, and reduced quality of life. The same things that angered me as a child have persisted and intensified. Our mindless destruction of the planet has grown exponentially. As emissions from vehicles have been reduced, we drive more cars more miles. As we take actions to reduce water pollution from point sources, we eliminate more native forest cover, drain wetlands and pave over rich farmland, spreading ever more toxins and persistent chemicals on the land.
How can we respect the system that allows these abuses to continue? How can we facilitate the change necessary to encourage sustainability? How can we ask others to bear the costs of our affluence? By seriously studying and understanding the nature of our shortsightedness, perhaps we can bring public opinion to bear on leaders to help create a more reasonable course forward. There are cars of the future in existence today. Cars that will not rust away, that can be fueled with renewable energy, and that will leave oil behind, but our government will not require them to be produced by publicly held, corpulent corporations feeding at the trough of current policy. Similarly, proven technology exists to make every new home a net energy production facility. Where are the regulations requiring that it be done? Why are there no taxes levied on the giant agricultural water pumpers who drain our aquifers or those who spew carcinogenic compounds on the earth? When something is the "right" thing to do, we should be able to agree that it should be done. As things stand, we introduce ambiguity into every topic, call up Fox "news", have them put their cameras on a gut-wrenching effect whose image cannot, in and of itself, tell us anything about the nature or scope of the problem, then they will find two "experts" on any subject imaginable to fight over the hows and whys of whatever the issue may be. In the end we are either stymied into inaction by the realization that we are stuck between a rock and a hard place, or righteously indignant about how wrong-headed the opposition is.
I am not a conspiracy theorist, but it is getting ever harder to fathom why we have sunk to this level of depravity. Is there anyone at the helm? If there is, they have to know that things are not working. Oh, wait, they must be working. The rich continue to get richer and every loyal Calvinist knows that the poor deserve everything they get as well as what they don't, and for the new age mind over matter folks, they certainly do not deserve the things they can't even dream of. Theories cannot, by definition, be proven. This conspiracy of thought seems very well proven to me and countless others who have been demanding real and meaningful change for generations.

Open Mind Open Heart

Seeking friends and ideas is the basis of an excellent education. I used everything I could lay my hands on. I learned from posters, newspapers, magazines and books to college classes, research papers, videos, maps and charts building my knowledge of the Great Lakes before I rode my bicycle around these freshwater seas. The book learning and what most folks would consider study taught me less than one percent of what I learned over the eighty days that it took to pedal around their basins.

I did have things to teach along my path, but what I learned dwarfed the messages that I shared with over six million people through radio, newspapers, television and the many hundreds more that I met face to face. Spiritual questing often requires at least some travel. Changing our location almost always changes our perspective in unusual ways. Not only do we see things from the perspective of others, but if we travel far enough, we can look back on where we were and begin to perceive our own blind spots. My mission when I took out on the 4280 mile ride was to share basic principles of living in harmony with the planet, living higher qualities of life at drastically lower cost. I had already spent ten years learning to live on next to nothing and the richness with which I was rewarded funded my ride.

Back then, I drank a fair amount of beer. Zymurgy, the art and science of cultivating yeast-fermented fluids had started as a curiosity and developed into a hobby. I had inadvertently discovered that instead of paying a dollar per bottle of beer, I could do a small amount of labor, and have larger bottles for just fifteen cents! Typically, a friend and I would share a tasty treat. Sharing a single home- crafted liter was way more satisfying than drinking several bottles of commercial swill. Prior to learning this skill, I would drink twice as much and enjoy it far less. The things that I have always felt the best using have had a large dose of human effort locked up in them and usually less material in general.

The giving of one's spirit to the creation of objects is one of the most primal urges known to mankind. Loving things into existence is also one of the most rewarding things we can do as humans. I appreciate many of my possessions because they "speak" to my heart. I also get a thrill when others who enjoy them can be gifted with objects that reflect this human, giving nature. As I travel, I am always looking to what others are willing to share about themselves and how they live as a matter of course. One of the most common complaints that I hear in my travels is that people wish that they could just do the things that make them happy and not have to "go to work". This calls to mind a serious question. What do I love to do?

Love really does mean letting go of fear. If there was no need to support your local banker, car dealer, or gas station, what would you rather do? This is the open mind part. Most of us have a really difficult time even asking this question. We immediately fall under the spell of the internal voice saying "*I have to be responsible! What about my mortgage? Who will make payments to my retirement fund and how will I keep up my insurance?" Fear, fear, fear. Really using our imagination requires letting go of these and ever more invisible bonds. The things that tie us to old ideas and old ways of seeing the world need to be suspended if we are to ask the question honestly, or begin to find our way to the answer.

A wise friend has put it this way. Find what speaks to your heart and soul. Look critically at the world and find out what you feel the most strife over. The greatest injustice as it were. I cannot say what will get your juices flowing, but you will know because the awareness of whatever it is will create an unquenchable fire in your heart. Your humanity itself will be mobilized in defense of your ideals. The solution to whatever problem it might be might not be clear at first, but once you dedicate yourself to studying the "problem" you will know what needs to be done. Once you grasp the issue and take steps to make things right, your true purpose will begin to unfold.

My own drive comes from making the world a better place for everyone. I have worked through the entertainment industry, the environmental community, peace and social movements and the food industry, helping to run a natural food co-op. Each way that I tried to work for peace and justice had more rewards than I could count with money. Each job that I have taken was for the benefit of others. The benefits to myself were collateral. When you travel through the world, remember, God/ess resides in all of us. Our greatest teachers are often found in unexpected places and we only gain through selfless giving.

Tune in. Turn on. Drop out.
This phrase was nearly worn out during the hippie days. We have probably all "heard" it, however very few understand it and fewer still actually know how to share the wisdom that lives in these six words. Tuning our sensory apparatus to recognize what really matters is what the first part is about. Focusing our attention on truth has the power to change what we are able to see. Get in touch with what moves your soul is what the second part refers to. It was misrepresented by the media as a reference to taking acid, specifically to prevent the "revolution" that could not be televised. Dropping out was a call to those that were falling into the trap of wage slavery. Walk away, become your truest self. Travel. Learn what really matters from real people, not books, not the academy, not the suits who still rule our lives. I love the "suits" that I deride enough to follow the wisdom of an old IWW slogan, which uses the suits of cards to help us remember their words:
A capitalists "heart" is in their pocketbook,
He holds a "club" over you,
So he can wear "diamonds".
Give him a "spade", so he can earn an honest day's wage.