Reality Tunnels vs The Science of Peace

Two pieces have come to my attention which I think are suggesting a common view, but which, at least on the surface seem like different approaches.

First, a scientific view, with Reality Tunnels in focus pointing to our tendency to not only believe our own version of Reality, but to produce/project it.

 

Coming from a more metaphysical direction, David Wilcock is also undermining the cultural dualism which binds us to our “position” rather than opening to the Present.  In his introduction to The Science of Peace there is much to reflect on.

The Mayan Prophecy of 2012 update

Jose Arguelles, early student of CTR, promoted the 1987 Harmonic Convergence event(s) and has not stopped working on the revolutionary lunar calendar since.

Here is an update from his site.  This is as close to horse mouth you can get on this topic.  20 Questions answered.

While no one can say with any certainty if this type of occurrence will come to pass, this is definitely a hot topic among scientists who are forecasting that we are nearing the most intense solar maximum in fifty years. This is significant because we are in a whole new technological era than we were fifty years ago. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research: "The next sunspot cycle will be 30-50% stronger than the last one...

Reality as Opera … Metaphorce be wit u: Rainer

The music plays, turns ominous, bad news arrives, people react … sun comes out another day, a flute plays, we feel better … as information begins to shape our worlds as surely as the weather or the music … Al Gore publishes An Inconvenient Truth which turns out to turn on one piece of data that is misinterpreted in his movie … Counterpoint – a BBC production:  The Great Global Warming Swindle

Which jibes with David Wilcock pointing out that the significant warming effects are coming from cycles that are larger than our solar – planetary system.  Climate change is occurring on the other planets in the solar system.

Could it be that all of these information flows are like the music and libretto of an opera, massaging our awareness to become more open and awake … to see more clearly rather than run hither and thither like Henny Penny.  Perhaps we can relax and not worry excessively today about which part of the sky is reported to be falling and behave decently with our fellows on this spaceship.

Do not get me wrong … climate change is very real, but it is only fair to point out that this being entirely man-made is now, once again, in question.  The following snapshot shows that temperature went down, during the 4 most industrial decades.  I get as nervous about green evangelicals as about the other variety.  This Calvinist thaang is hard to shake.  To a scientist, Al Gore’s key graph below shows CO2 as a lagging “indicator” … i.e when there is warming C02 increases follow.  This makes sense, as gases are released from melting ice.

The green line is the Earth's overall temperature. There is a steady warming trend through the first half of the 20th century, up until the end of World War II -- where everyone could "chill out" and relax. Temperatures immediately started going down, worldwide. Then, global temperatures CONTINUED decreasing, steadily, through the entire "Post-War Economic Boom" -- even while our production of "greenhouse gases" was skyrocketing.

At the exact point that the 'boom' ends, thanks to the sudden gas crisis and widespread economic recession in the early 1970s, global temperatures started INCREASING... and have been going up ever since.

David Wilcock goes on to say that the best scientific warming data suggests that our own state of consciousness is far more potentially "toxic" and damaging to the planet -- the way we think each day, as we move through our apparently private lives -- than any industrial emissions we are creating.

Maybe the youthful injunction to Chill makes sense.

sometimes we forget … here’s less than 10 minutes to remember

Reggie muses about intimacy … and how it cannot be held on to …  Press arrow to play.

Then he speaks of love, not as Kahil Gibran would, but in a realistic way that touches our hearts at a deeper place than mere poetry ... Click here to watch.  …  use back arrow to return here.

Finally, whispering “the Beauty”, the way Kurtz whispered, “the horror”  …  in awe of the magnificence of the moment we never leave even though our mind strays quite far …

In case you just have to see that bag dancing one more time ….

 

Poetry trips the thinking mind, we fall awake … immersed in that deeper place.  For those whose thinking mind is tripping anyway, video clips can release the trap door.

Warren Buffet bets on the future Big Time

Looks like Rapid Rail Service and all the Green advantages of that might be in the works with a massive vote for Mr. B, buying an entire railway … this is HUGE!

Another special voice

Could you be tempted to do something you think you don’t believe in?

This link will show you only two pictures.  Comment if you dare.

That one needs a chaser and Kate Schutt will do it.

I wake to CBC radio 1 and on weekends Stan Carew is playing music that is often very fresh … the purity of this voice startled me awake and all week has not lost its verve.  The other tunes offered are also of similar wonderful quality … AND … she played the Carleton in Halifax last Tuesday night.

Study isolates virus in chronic fatigue sufferers

This should be good news … Reuters reports “Researchers found the virus, known as XMRV, in the blood of 68 out of 101 chronic fatigue syndrome patients. The same virus showed up in only 8 of 218 healthy people, they reported on Thursday in the journal Science.”

Then this line had me screaming,”NO, NO, NO!”

“the study offers hope that CFS sufferers might gain relief from a cocktail of drugs designed to fight AIDS, cancer and inflammation.”

So now that we know you’re not crazy, we can give you a “cocktail” of all the worst poisons we have discovered will not quite kill you.

This ain’t the evening TV news …

David Wilcock is always a source for stimulating and challenging information that is definitely NOT Infotainment.   This will take me a few posts to do justice to and I’ll start by briefly introducing the characters:

Brian O’Leary is a Physicist who was training to be an astronaut on the Mars mission that never happened.  He aborted his academic career when he discovered that scientific methods could be applied to the huge territory outside the official box of Scientism, the modern religion.  Brian is now an advocate for Free Energy solutions and uses methods he learned from years in the peace movement.

“Henry Deacon” has been talking to David as an Insider who feels he must reveal what he knows and in these pieces finally actually appears as Art Neumann, his real identity.  He seem somewhat strange, but I think that’s because he has realized that he is now fulfilling his mission in life and is no longer afraid of the consequences.

Pete Peterson is an inventor-genius and has proven that acupressure not only works but is the way the body functions.  He also has worked on inside government projects and has contacts in there.

Steven Greer is an emergency room doctor who has found his mission to be advocating for government disclosure of the UFO and ET contacts that have continued over many years.  He created a remarkable event with many congress people in July of 2001 which probably would have led to disclosure much sooner if 9/11 had not occurred.

When these people get together there is lots of fascinating information revealed, but it is also work on the part of the viewer, because it is not polished, edited and massaged and some of the interviewers are tremendous obstacles to hearing the story of the persons we might want to hear.  Their projections get smeared all over the place.  The key quality of these people is their tremendous heart and bravery in the face of cultural, business and government suppression of the knowledge they have pursued.  I feel like I am meeting fellow warriors in these videos.

I am going to introduce them in the order I watched them myself.  (if you want to bypass my blah, blah go here) Pete Peterson is in the middle of a 4 hour session when he began to talk about medical diagnosis and treatment based on acupressure and demonstrates as he is speaking a way to tone up your meridians.  (15 – 30 minutes in)  The interaction between Pete and David seems odd at times, but I concluded that the first 2 hours were interviewed by Bill who is running the camera and Pete is still focused mainly there.  At the end of the 4 hours he expresses a strong connection with David going forward, so don’t let that put you off.

Medical “science” is now claiming to get 6% accuracy in diagnosis up from 5%.  Pete is claiming better than 80% by examining the organs through the acupressure points, then correlating with a database of substances that includes Every Thing … creating an electro-magnetic simulation in the body of what a substance will do, then measuring the point under observation.  When a match is found that affects that point, the amount (dosage) is adjusted for optimum, MEASURED effect … all of this BEFORE the person ingests anything.  Not surprisingly, the results are excellent and felt almost immediately by the person.  Of course, very few of the substances selected in this way are Big Pharma’s “best sellers” … probably why your local MD doesn’t have one of these devices yet.

After going deeper into this in the last couple of days, I am now thinking in the following metaphor:

The acupressure grid is like an electro-magnetic matrix that the rest of the physical hangs on to as condensed light … this in contrast to our usual assumption that we are meat hanging on a skeleton of condensed mineral matter.  With this view, it is understandable that your hands and fingers feel buzzed when you begin to probe and massage some of these points.  I found a great little pamphlet that gives you all you’ll need to start working with specific aches, pains and groans.  Nice pictures to help you find the “Spot”

Is this the ONE … Microsoft gives some hints

Watch this and see if you might be able to read on it and do some useful work even … or at least dream in colour.

Drunvalo Melchizedek Video

He starts by stating categorically that the spirituality of Tibet and India is moving to South America ... and then goes on, and quite far on ... fasten your psychic seatbelt for this. Not your usual grandpa reminiscences ...

Part 1 of a series from an old friend.  Merkaba if you get there is a very interesting meditation vehicle (more on that in other clips) and he does, in part 2 talk quite a bit about it … this fellow talks of himself as a “walk-in” … someone who appeared here from elsewhere with “inside” info … always fascinating and a tad mind-blowing to listen to him talk about vanguard stuff as if its, well, ordinary. I'm going to paste part 2 here and then let you explore it further if you wish.  When a section ends the Youtube offerings to further material are very relevant.

For Disorganized Writer wanabees

I’m browsing the torrent listings and see The Power of Less and have to find out what that’s about … discovering that the author learned how to make substantial changes in his own life and has become a very widely read blogger on Zen Habits.  He has also has produced an organizational approach, taking off on GTD, calling it Zen To Done (ZTD) … streamlining and enhancing David Allen’s very popular methods.  I like his bend on this.

Not stopping there, he developed Write to Done which encourages writers in their writing and also has some focus on how to find readers.  With the ubiquitous context sensitive ads in the sidebar I found How To Sell Your eBook.  

Combine all of this with Suite 101 the 5th most popular Canadian web site which is a place for free-lance writing in all categories to be gathered and promoted.

Now don’t say I never publish anything useful.

Lehman brothers as Sacrifice for the Global Economy

Ironic indeed, but today some people are saying that allowing Lehman Brothers to fail a year ago, panicked the US government into making the funds available to save AIG and probably B of A and, of course Goldman Sachs.

But this chap thinks it was luck rather than brilliance on the parts of Messieurs Paulson and Bernanke.

Now here is a globalism that is more global

Magna wins Opel bid. After months of deliberation, General Motors decided to sell a 55% stake in its Opel unit to the consortium of Magna International (MGA) and Russia's Sberbank, while keeping a 35% stake for itself and a 10% stake for employees. The deal is a victory for Germany's Angela Merkel, who had lobbied for Magna's bid and could get a boost in the upcoming elections, as well as for Russia, which has aggressively pushed for a role in the consolidating global car market. Details of German financing for the deal will be finalized in the next few weeks. (Read GM's press release)

Ya Gotta Wonder …. not quite over the top, but close

What would a Beer Bike be?

Some kind of vehicle with up to 22 people and a central bar with many litres of beef careening through the streets of Amsterdam.

Reuters Article

 

Introducing, “The Man from Brazil”

Paulo Celho is a phenomenon … who else has sold 100 MILLION books … and many of them by giving them away.  The interior story is more interesting, still.  He takes a walking 500 mile pilgrimage in 1986 and writes about that.  He then writes, The Alchemist, which sold 900 copies, but since then 65 million … a story of spiritual search, discovery and awakening.  Oh yes, he had a spiritual awakening on the Road to Santiago.  He is amazingly prolific and does not stop … you can discuss The Alchemist with him on line; he checks 2 – 3 times a day to see if someone is there … he has a website called “Warrior of the Light” that has a sharp, incisive piece every couple of weeks. 

To make this all the more challenging, his books mostly start with, “

O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who turn to you. Amen

The Prologue to The Pilgrimage, begins the movement from a man as mystic acolyte to the one whose heart opened to the world … read:

‘And now, before the sacred countenance of RAM, you must touch with your hands the Word of Life and acquire such power as you need to become a witness to that Word throughout the World’.
     The master raised high my new sword, still sheathed in its scabbard. The flames on the bonfire crackled – a good omen, indicating that the ritual should continue. I knelt and, with my bare hands, began to dig into the earth.
     It was the night of January 2, 1986, and we were in Itatiaia, high on one of the peaks in the Serra do Mar, close to the formation known as the Agulhas Negras (Black Needles) in Brazil. My Master and I were accompanied by my wife, one of my disciples, a local guide,
and a representative of the great fraternity that is comprised of esoteric orders from all over the world – the fraternity known as ‘The Tradition.’ The five of us – and the guide, who had been told what was to happen – were participating in my ordination as a Master of the Order of RAM.
     I finished digging a smooth, elongated hole in the dirt. With great solemnity, I placed my hands on the earth and spoke the ritual words. My wife drew near and handed me the sword I had used for more than ten years; it had been a great help to me during hundreds of magical operations. I placed it in the hole I had dug, covered it with dirt, and smoothed the surface. As I did so, I thought of the many tests I had endured, of all I had learned, and of the strange phenomena I had been able to invoke simply because I had had that ancient and friendly sword with me. Now it was to be devoured by  the earth, the iron of its blade and the wood of its hilt returning to nourish the source from which its power had come.
     The Master approached me and placed my new sword on the earth that now covered the grave of my ancient one. All of us spread our arms wide, and the Master, invoking his power, created a strange light that surrounded us; it did not illuminate, but it was clearly
visible, and it caused the figures of those who were there to take on a color that was different from the yellowish tinge cast by the fire. Then, drawing his own sword, he touched it to my shoulders and my forehead as he said, ‘By the power and the love of RAM, I anoint you Master and Knight of the Order, now and for all the days of your life. R for rigor, A for adoration, and M for mercy; R for regnum, A for agnus, and M for mundi. Let not your sword remain for long in its scabbard, lest it rust. And when you draw your sword, it must never be replaced without having performed an act of goodness, opened a
new path, or tasted the blood of an enemy.’

     With the point of his sword, he lightly cut my forehead. From then on, I was no longer required to remain silent. No longer did I have to hide my capabilities nor maintain secrecy regarding the marvels I had learned to accomplish on the road of the Tradition. From that moment on, I was a Magus.
     I reached out to take my new sword of indestructible steel and wood, with its black and red hilt and black scabbard. But as my hands touched the scabbard and as I prepared to pick it up, the Master came forward and stepped on my fingers with all his might. I screamed
and let go of the sword.
    I looked at him, astonished. The strange light had disappeared, and his face had taken on a phantasmagoric appearance, heightened by the flames of the bonfire.
     He returned my gaze coldly, called to my wife, and gave her the sword, speaking a few words that I could not hear. Turning to me, he said, ‘Take away your hand; it has deceived you. The road of the Tradition is not for the chosen few. It is everyone’s road. And the power that you think you have is worthless, because it is a power
that is shared by all. You should have refused the sword.  If you had done so, it would have been given to you, because you would have shown that your heart was pure. But just as I feared, at the supreme moment you stumbled and fell. Because of your avidity, you will now
have to seek again for your sword. And because of your pride, you will have to seek it among simple people.  Because of your fascination with miracles, you will have to struggle to recapture what was about to be given to you so generously.’
     The world seemed to fall away from me. I knelt there unable to think about anything. Once I had returned my old sword to the earth, I could not retrieve it. And since the new one had not been given to me, I now had to begin my quest for it all over again, powerless and
defenceless. On the day of my Celestial Ordination, my Master’s violence had brought me back to earth.
     The guide smothered the fire, and my wife helped me up. She had my new sword in her hands, but according to the rules of the Tradition, I could not touch it without permission from my Master. We descended through the forest in silence, following the guide’s
lantern, until we reached the narrow dirt road where the cars were parked.
     Nobody said goodbye. My wife put the sword in the trunk of the car and started the engine. We were quiet for a long time as she carefully navigated around the bumps and holes in the road.
     ‘Don’t worry,’ she said, trying to encourage me. ‘I’m
sure you’ll get it back.’
     I asked her what the Master had said to her.
    ‘He said three things to me. First, that he should have brought along something warm to wear, because it was much colder up there than he had expected. Second, that he wasn’t surprised at anything that had happened up there, that this has happened many times before with others who have reached the same point as you. And third, that your sword would be waiting for you at the right time, on the right day, at some point on the road that you will have to travel. I don’t know either the day or the time. He only told me where I should hide it.’
    ‘And what road was he talking about?’ I asked nervously.
   ‘Ah, well, that he didn’t explain very well. He just said that you should look on the map of Spain for a medieval route known as the Strange Road to Santiago.’

     This writing crackles with authenticity … I have the main works in electronic form.  Let me know if your appetite is whet enough. 

     He believes in peer-to-peer sharing of books and even created a Pirate Cuelho site to distribute his books.  Got him in trouble with his publisher, HarperCollins.

More Mind/Body nagging for attention

I was going to put this down the article as evidence, but let’s start with it because it really illustrates the most poignant aspect of the human condition/suffering/samsara:

I am a TMS Dr. Sarno veteran. I understand all the concepts. I first started reading his teachings in the early 90’s. After applying the principals, the pain would disappear in about 3-4 months BUT I would always have a recurrence every 4-5 years. At one point my back pain went away and I had TMJ for 3 years. Not until I realized TMJ could be TMS did it disappear. QUESTION: Why do I keep having recurrences? I am having one right now and haven’t been able to get rid of it for 6 months. I even ordered Dr. Sarno’s video lecture. Can you tell me why I have recurrences and why does it take 4-5 years to occur? I am concerned that this time it is hanging on even longer. Can you help me?

Here is what Dr. Sarno says about that:

Sarno's "Symptom-Imperative" is most important. If a physical symptom caused by the brain is relieved, the brain simply creates another (substitute) symptom to "protect" us and keep us unaware of the REPFs. Repressed Emotional and Psychological Factors.

Now, if you’re still with me and want to learn more, here is a link that introduces Dr. Sarno’s ideas and Dr. Schechter’s therapy and links further etc.  At first just scroll down a bit to see the scope.  I’m going to copy the key points in case you don’t want to link right now:

Some Profound Implications of Sarno's Mindbody Paradigm!

• Many common ailments, regarded by the "medical establishment" as having a physical origin, in reality stem from "repressed emotional and psychological factors" (REPFs)
• The human brain has a mechanism to "protect" us from REPFs by keeping us unaware of them -- they're too severe for us to experience.
• The brain causes physical symptoms to distract us so we don't get consciously exposed to the REPFs.
• The brain can cause physical symptoms by reducing blood flow to parts of the body, and by other means.
• Some of these symptoms can be relieved through drugs, surgery, and other treatments.
• Sarno's "Symptom-Imperative" is most important. If a physical symptom caused by the brain is relieved, the brain simply creates another (substitute) symptom to "protect" us and keep us unaware of the REPFs.
• The solution for an individual with brain-caused symptoms is to understand the Sarno Paradigm, to become aware of the REPFs and to deal with them consciously.

"As psychiatrist and theorist Wilhelm Reich explained it, the personality is created around moments of pain so uncomfortable that they are blocked off. A person's character or persona is thus a chronicle of where he or she has been alienated from his or her self. Ways of coping with psychic pains, which are themselves assiduously avoided, create our individuality -- that's the real reason why the ways of coping are so (boldly) defended. We hang on to our cocooned pain because the thought of looking directly at it seems unimaginably worse than what we suffer living around these cocoons." -- Jennifer Michael Hecht (Doubt: A History)

In case it’s not obvious, this is the same argument as in Answer Cancer, n’est pas?

I’m curious as to whether Windhorse, Tonglen or Forgiveness can go right to core of this, or do we need more specific paths to address these “wounds”?

The Difference between an Evangelist and a Comedian … don’t expect the audio meter to tell.

The cadence and rhythm are similar, as is the intensity … there the roads part and Bill Cosby delivers a graduation address that will lift your spirits as well as your heart.  From the first phrase, replacing “Ladies and Gentlemen” with “NERDS” you’re in for something different.  Twenty minutes to increase your self-confidence.

high fashion that makes you think?

Dries van Noten is a Belgium designer who woke me up last night with this Fall Collection.  These are worth waiting for in HQ … just start them in HQ, pause, wait for a few minutes and click play icon.

If this whets your appetite for more and more visual feasting on clothing that awakens your appreciation for texture and colour, then his Spring 2006 Collection and Fall 2006 Collections might do the trick. 

Catching up to Paul Levy

The Alchemy article got my attention big-time … amplified by both of your interests.  I then read We Are All Shamans in Training … and at this moment in the Audio interview he is talking about supersaturated solutions crystallizing and I’m experiencing cascading synchronicities.  Somewhere in the middle, I read the first chapter of the Bush book … you gotta luv the sense of humour … diagnosis Malignant Egophrenia or ME disease aka Mad Emperor syndrome.

“Malignant egophrenia is an expression of, and is at the root of, the extreme polarization and dissociation in both the human psyche and the world process at large. The disease is archetypal in nature, which is to say that it has eternally re-created itself and played itself out over the course of history. We can even say that it’s the "bug" in the system that has in-formed and given shape to all of the conflict and disharmony of human relationships. ME disease is as old as the human species. However, we’re now at the point in our evolution where we can finally recognize it, see it, give it a name, and diagnose it.”

News you can use … Best Flu Protection – who knew? Walk in the Light said the old hymn.

… from David Wilcock discussing the recent “pandemic” …

“My friend and confidante "Henry Deacon" — a whistleblower who was placed in a variety of extremely classified projects — again reminded me recently that simply taking vitamin D3, either at 2400 or 5000 IU, can almost entirely eliminate the threat of viral infection and disease.

And the best way to ‘take’ vitamin D is to simply get 15-20 minutes of direct sunlight on your skin, without sunscreen, each day.  “

… so back outside kids and please don’t stop to put on that sunscreen which is probably more dangerous than the sunshine.

Nah, they can’t be serious, say it ain’t so, Joe

Evidence of Government Manipulation of the Stock Market … don’t tell us The Plunge Protection teams are back!  I’m actually relieved that someone else can see this stuff … anyone, who, like me, is watching it in real time, goes, “Whaaaaaaat is that?”and how could you possibly trade it?  

… and on a more sombre note, Obituary for Leonard Schlain mentioned far below in an earlier post.

Leonard on BBC … especially for Marilyn

Link to video from a Japanese youTube type site … the first cut, late 80’s version of First We Take Manhattan, has him way more “outside” as the jazzmen would put it … slashing the lyrics across the music, tempting the synchronization to keep up … yeah!

note: you can goto fullscreen with the little box in the lower right of the video applet

Deep Thoughts from Jeremy Grantham

Quarterly Letter to Investors from a veteran ... if you want to get the flavour of how one can think with both sides of ones mind and speak as objectively as is currently possible ...

(this applet lets you see enough to tell whether you want to click on the link. above the applet window which will take you to the full page view of the document. You can toggle full screen with the X or square in the top right corner of the applet or use + or Ctrl + to magnify in the applet window.)

JGLetter_1Q09

You Wanted a Simple Explanation … the global financial crisis in Pictures

Here it is … The Global Financial Crisis in Pictures … did that help?  I didn’t think so … following up on the previous article, there are some things which are beyond comprehension and are best left that way. 

If it could be agreed that we are ALL part of something and that ANY solution must pass the test of best for EVERYONE, not just for me and my gang

….

       ….. things might become more and more comprehensible.

While it is usually best to stick to one topic, this morning the news that a bunch of whales of the insurance industry (life, property and auto) have been made eligible for US govt bailouts has to be a footnote here … what would result if these fear merchants were allowed to collapse and people began to realize that betting your life is maybe not the best way to experience peace and serenity.

Finally someone, and in this case, the US President, says that US Long-term debt is unsustainable.  That being said, exactly how is the withdrawal going to be managed?

Ooops, one more … a discussion of the Mar – May rally with the middle part on the role of Quant funds quite illuminating … if nothing else, the machinations of HUGE funds in the market are being challenged by the, wait for it, self-correcting nature of market itself … who would have guessed.  It’s hard to believe the bets made by the quants, but this has been the story for the last few years … new and more risky attempts by the sharpy numbers guys to get an edge which unravels now almost before the skater gets up on it.  Per our fairness doctrine, here is the contrary view

We’ve Reached a Turning Point

I want to admonish you, gentle reader, that a turning point in our journey has been reached. For those of you who have forgotten the Psychic Apocalypse, please click on the reference link in the header of this blog to refresh your memory … I want to get a bit more serious about this topic and argue, persuasively, I hope, that the challenges of our time are Good News, that it is Just Time for certain experiences and perceptions to occur and for the individual and collective human journeys to change.

{a really useful aside for those who yet to discover that on most browsers Ctrl + enlarges the page, so those of us with senior challenged vision can read almost anything. Ctrl – reduces the size … that’s The Ctrl key held down while pressing the + sign key over at the far right on most keyboards. Mac users probably use that special key you have instead of Ctrl)

Now the following quote from the theologian who coined the phrase: “Ground of Being” as a modern way to talk about god …

suggests, to me, that we have, here described, a test for how we are doing … that if we are NOT taking refuge in clinging to the past (and failed) we just might be facing the present and emerging future in a useful direction. I would suggest that we are seeing around us the surprising behaviour of many people and groups, in many different contexts to be more like deer in the headlights than like Ku Klux Klansmen … and that if this pause to digest the present perception does not collapse into some kind of reactionary spasm, we might have a chance to navigate our times. And this means you, too … if you are you are not looking for that lost scripture to guide you, but are experiencing a gap in understanding … good on ya!

Here is some potential guidance/advice:

This is a summary of the Sedona Method invented by Lester Levinson in 1952 at age 42 when he was told he had 2 weeks to live. In 3 months time, doing the above repeatedly and Releasing everything he could dig out of his unconscious realm, bring it to consciousness and let it go, Lester was healthy, free of dis-ease and lived another 42 years. He would say to himself, “Could you let _____ go?” … “Would you?” … “When?” … one of his disciples has suggested that the answers are Yes, Yes and Now … again and again means to release over and over on that area until it is clear … this is felt experientially.

And finally, lest you think I have gone feeble minded on you, there is some method to my madness … (here you might need to magnify as described above with Ctrl +)

So, perhaps, we can take some heart, dear reader, that the complexities and confusion around us are the inevitable development of a new phase in evolution for humans, our societies and our global culture. Renate asked the wonderful question: Is hyper-inflation possible when everyone is printing money as fast as they can?

_______________ bottom line __________ relative to what?

Current tidbits from the US financial swamp

Refi fever takes hold. The rush of homeowners to refinance mortgages at lower rates is sparking a boom in home lending, prompting banks to hire thousands of new employees. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates lenders could originate up to $2.78T in new mortgages this year, 80% of that involving refinancing. Economists estimate U.S. homeowners could save $18B on mortgage repayments this year if they refinance.

Take the money, or else. We already knew that then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson twisted bank executives' arms to accept a combined $125B in TARP money, but documents obtained yesterday by watchdog Judicial Watch shed new light on the extent of the coercion. "If a capital infusion is not appealing, you should be aware that your regulator will require it in any circumstance," CEOs read in a set of Talking Points handed out by Paulson. The documents "show our government exercising unrestrained power over the private sector," Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said in a statement, and alleges the Obama administration continues to cover up present Secretary Geithner's role in "this infamous bankers meeting."

Banks sue MBIA over split. Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), JPMorgan (JPM), HSBC (HBC), Barclays (BCS), and 13 other large financial institutions are suing bond insurer MBIA (MBI), over its decision to split its businesses earlier this year into "good" and "bad" banks. The group claims the split was fraudulent, and left the insurance arma virtual shell company, with no ability to pay the banks' claims.

Dare we question recent rule changes? ... do we overlook unfairness because "our side" is winning

During the financial crisis era (fall - winter), I have been bothered by the way the common man's hatred has been deliberately focused on the banks and the Wall Street establishment. Not that I believe these titans to be without blame or innocent in any way. It's just that there are distortions in our perceptions when we get emotional, and there are larger distortions when we are in anger and hatred.  This post from the ever vigilant “Tyler Durden” reprints a letter from one of the dreaded hedge-fund managers which in a well-argued way points out the attempt by the current US administration to change the rules in favour of their supporters, much like the previous administration made sure the rules were changed (deregulation) to favour their supporters.  For those of you who don’t want to delve into the details, let me simply state the current case:  Bankruptcy (think Chrysler) is a process to evaluate who should get what of the “remains” and usually bond holders are ahead in the line because they were willing to accept less profit in order to ensure that place in line in the event of a failure of the business.  Mr. O has sarcastically suggested that the bondholders or their representatives have been unwilling to sacrifice for the common good, by insisting that they should indeed be first in line, ahead of the unions as the rules have stated.  It gets pretty close to suggesting lack of patriotism, just as Mr. B did when people questioned his rule changing a few years ago.  This is disturbing because it demonstrates where politics has always failed us and may well continue to do so.

Let’s review an emotional scale from the bottom up:  Apathy, Grief, Fear, Lust, Anger, Pride, Courage, Acceptance and Peace.

Politicians are tempted to roil the lower group as long as we allow that to play.  As we move ourselves up the scale, those strategies fail to move us, but we may be called upon to help calm our neighbours.  (Self) righteousness is ultimately painful as well as mean, so beware the temptation the title points out.

Good Environmental Policy is Good Economic Policy

Non other than the remaining Kennedy lineage holder makes the above point in 2 minutes.  I’m glad someone is making this all too obvious point, because we are going to be tempted to forsake the environment for short term fixes again and again.

Not exactly a counter point, but a broader view of the environment than is usually taken by the “green” folks, is made by Peter Huber.  Would you believe that many of the pet green proposals will end up with more carbon in the environment?  Read this and draw your own conclusions.  It is all too clear that the environmental debate has become as polarized as the political debates and voices from the centre are needed to move forward.