Wow! This might look to be something silly at first, but remember two things. One is that there are many amongst us, who in most other respects seem quite normal, that really do Google search these terms together. What I am doing here is well down the path to the "second thing", which is actually the first thing, as my regular readership knows quite well by now. The game changer for powers that seek stability and business as usual seems to be a rather innocent or naive. The belief that we will be more likely to click on ideas and images that we have clicked on before has been borne out through research. Our organism, like neural pathways that after stimulation continue to exhibit propensity to firing along those same "routes" in the future, seems to have a desire to seek information that affirms our prior beliefs. Research shows that those who like certain sites will click more quickly and more often on specific types of content. Part of Google's algorithm tailors our search results to what we have looked at before, lest we have to reacquaint ourselves with what is actually "out there". I like to pick search results for nearly any topic as long as they have a map or chart to help interpret what I am about to research. See I'm a Geo-guy, always have been. The maps that I carry with me in my head help me to navigate the sometimes tricky terrain of our modern culture. Thus, the total oddity of my title, but wait! There is a certain relevance.
The regions #occupied have to be, everywhere, in the blogosphere, in the entertainment industry, politics and public discourse need to be #occupied in the truest sense of the world. Not just Wall street, not just the Capitol, state Houses and local government offices, but the public discourse. It may not thrill the Kittens and Kardashians searchers, but they must hear at least once the voices of truth about where we are in the world and how our part fits into a world-wide puzzle. It is also crucial to know that none of us get to see the box of what the finished puzzle will look like. Two things are certain, it won't be anything like either Kittens or Kardashians. The broadest sense of being one, rather than apart is what helps us to "fit in", not the trendy boots or phraseology. Those who create trends or capitalize on them have only passing interest in any of it. They would feed us anything to gain our dollars. Instead they want to drive people to Kardashians, Kittens, race cars and certain flavors of beer. They want to know what we will be willing to accept before even we know what is inside us, desiring it. The manufacturers of "truth", trends and "the news" we hear and see all about us is actually an amalgamation of decisions made by very small groups of people and in some cases individuals. They have always made the claim that they are giving the market what it wants, but more and more it is what has worked in the past. Take, for example, our recent exposure to the expose' about JFK's former lover. Just as a man's legacy is becoming more and more revered, there is great cache' in pulling out the most graphic and tawdry occurrences that none of us can change, nay integrate into the idea of the possibility of a truly great man. This scores points for those who want to prove that no leader can be trusted when morals are at stake. It also unduly undermines our sense of who we are and what we have the power to become. It seems that the powerful have even developed a system of shooting down even the glimmers of hope that we cultivate to keep us warm out here in our dark lonely cages.
Now, I'm not sure if you have heard all about it, but the words are not at issue here, the ideas underlying them and the conceptualization of what Kittens, Kardashians as well as the idea Kennedy represent is the topic of the day. Please indulge me for a moment...The conceptual matrix that we develop can be seen as a sort of map. Ideas and beliefs are the signposts and important intersections of our "reality". These places on our own personal "network" are like a large mountain or line of bluffs. Normally, we do not observe them at close range but they give us great insight into where we are, allowing us to navigate vast areas without getting lost. The mental effort required to tear down one of these waypoints takes massive energy and effort and without the stability that they lend to the landscape, we tend to drift in great arcs, following greater forces than I can delineate here. Suffice it to say, when a concept that looms as large as Kennedy, for most of the "Boomers", it has the potential to devastate millions of individuals who have continued to learn and grow from a point of knowing that JFK was truly on the right track, after all, that is why they had to kill him. Okay, that being said, the man has become legendary, so let's bring up fifty year old myths and stereotypes that we now judge harshly, behavior unbecoming and add a blow job or two for good measure and the walls come tumbling down around us. Not only are we set adrift relative to where we think we are, but broken loose from the moorings of that solid and monolithic map feature. It is at this very vulnerable moment that we can be hustled into other realms of ideation, beliefs and morality.
If you think that is scary, just think of being told something that I saw as a screen saver, "Every time you masturbate, a kitten dies." The ideas that we hold most dear, comfort us in unimaginable ways. They give us solace and direction in a turbulent and often frightening world, jerking at the foundations of our beliefs is as traumatic as actual physical harm. Ameliorating the sense of dislocation and disorientation that results from losing our way is what our existing capitalistic system does so well. The news will always be finding murder suicides, no matter how far afield their cameras have to intrude. That guarantees our return to the predictable and cuddly. Most of what pushes our buttons has been known since the advent of communication. Placating the reptilian brain inside us all is about the four Fs, Flight, Fighting, Feeding and Fornication, not always in that order. The higher brain usually takes a backseat while participating in these activities. Only through practice can we train ourselves to use our higher brain. A major turning point in my life came when I realized that even our mentors can teach us things not to do. If there ever becomes a perfect person, let me know. Ha Fiz- the ancient poet said that the fish trap exists because of the fish, once you have gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. Ram Dass went further and said, words exist because of meaning, once you have gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. For now I will have to settle for meetings of the mind with men who have forgotten words.
Bless you and may you walk in peace with the knowledge that you are moving in a great arc of time and that the thread of your own consciousness strengthens us all. Namaste'.
The regions #occupied have to be, everywhere, in the blogosphere, in the entertainment industry, politics and public discourse need to be #occupied in the truest sense of the world. Not just Wall street, not just the Capitol, state Houses and local government offices, but the public discourse. It may not thrill the Kittens and Kardashians searchers, but they must hear at least once the voices of truth about where we are in the world and how our part fits into a world-wide puzzle. It is also crucial to know that none of us get to see the box of what the finished puzzle will look like. Two things are certain, it won't be anything like either Kittens or Kardashians. The broadest sense of being one, rather than apart is what helps us to "fit in", not the trendy boots or phraseology. Those who create trends or capitalize on them have only passing interest in any of it. They would feed us anything to gain our dollars. Instead they want to drive people to Kardashians, Kittens, race cars and certain flavors of beer. They want to know what we will be willing to accept before even we know what is inside us, desiring it. The manufacturers of "truth", trends and "the news" we hear and see all about us is actually an amalgamation of decisions made by very small groups of people and in some cases individuals. They have always made the claim that they are giving the market what it wants, but more and more it is what has worked in the past. Take, for example, our recent exposure to the expose' about JFK's former lover. Just as a man's legacy is becoming more and more revered, there is great cache' in pulling out the most graphic and tawdry occurrences that none of us can change, nay integrate into the idea of the possibility of a truly great man. This scores points for those who want to prove that no leader can be trusted when morals are at stake. It also unduly undermines our sense of who we are and what we have the power to become. It seems that the powerful have even developed a system of shooting down even the glimmers of hope that we cultivate to keep us warm out here in our dark lonely cages.
Now, I'm not sure if you have heard all about it, but the words are not at issue here, the ideas underlying them and the conceptualization of what Kittens, Kardashians as well as the idea Kennedy represent is the topic of the day. Please indulge me for a moment...The conceptual matrix that we develop can be seen as a sort of map. Ideas and beliefs are the signposts and important intersections of our "reality". These places on our own personal "network" are like a large mountain or line of bluffs. Normally, we do not observe them at close range but they give us great insight into where we are, allowing us to navigate vast areas without getting lost. The mental effort required to tear down one of these waypoints takes massive energy and effort and without the stability that they lend to the landscape, we tend to drift in great arcs, following greater forces than I can delineate here. Suffice it to say, when a concept that looms as large as Kennedy, for most of the "Boomers", it has the potential to devastate millions of individuals who have continued to learn and grow from a point of knowing that JFK was truly on the right track, after all, that is why they had to kill him. Okay, that being said, the man has become legendary, so let's bring up fifty year old myths and stereotypes that we now judge harshly, behavior unbecoming and add a blow job or two for good measure and the walls come tumbling down around us. Not only are we set adrift relative to where we think we are, but broken loose from the moorings of that solid and monolithic map feature. It is at this very vulnerable moment that we can be hustled into other realms of ideation, beliefs and morality.
If you think that is scary, just think of being told something that I saw as a screen saver, "Every time you masturbate, a kitten dies." The ideas that we hold most dear, comfort us in unimaginable ways. They give us solace and direction in a turbulent and often frightening world, jerking at the foundations of our beliefs is as traumatic as actual physical harm. Ameliorating the sense of dislocation and disorientation that results from losing our way is what our existing capitalistic system does so well. The news will always be finding murder suicides, no matter how far afield their cameras have to intrude. That guarantees our return to the predictable and cuddly. Most of what pushes our buttons has been known since the advent of communication. Placating the reptilian brain inside us all is about the four Fs, Flight, Fighting, Feeding and Fornication, not always in that order. The higher brain usually takes a backseat while participating in these activities. Only through practice can we train ourselves to use our higher brain. A major turning point in my life came when I realized that even our mentors can teach us things not to do. If there ever becomes a perfect person, let me know. Ha Fiz- the ancient poet said that the fish trap exists because of the fish, once you have gotten the fish, you can forget the trap. Ram Dass went further and said, words exist because of meaning, once you have gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. For now I will have to settle for meetings of the mind with men who have forgotten words.
Bless you and may you walk in peace with the knowledge that you are moving in a great arc of time and that the thread of your own consciousness strengthens us all. Namaste'.
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