Ffolkes,

Did you hear that? I did…. It’s the delicate “ding” that sounds at the precise moment an epiphany makes itself known to us, generally accompanied by a slap of the hand to the forehead, and a loud exclamation, that sounds suspiciously like, “Doh!”….. . It’s also a monumental instance of the triumph of reason and hope over despair, in addition to whatever other benefits may manifest themselves.

This evening, in close consultation with Jim, and our old friend John, I believe I may have solved the entire set of problems with which mankind is plagued at this juncture in time…. I’m not certain yet, but, I’m pretty positive that the idea(s) that stormed through my mind tonight will, if nothing else, give me hope….. If, however, I can make them at all real, they COULD even give us a small chance of prevailing against our own stupidity…. Just possibly, they may help us to survive the impending environmental meltdown the we are slated to experience at this point….

I know that’s a bit obscure, but, I don’t want to issue a complete spoiler…. let it be enough to say that I’ve discovered a way that we MIGHT just be able to utilize the fringe talents of humanity to save the great unwashed masses of the rest of us…. Zen Taoism. Peruaosophy. You tube. The Internet. Witches. Empaths. Telepathy. Chemistry. Physics. Asininnies. Ffolkes. Folks. Crystals. Plants. Insects. Animals…..  All of these, and more, will be of use, if what I’ve envisioned can be realized in the real world, in a more imaginative and creative way than has been heretofore the case….

Life, Hope, Love, Compassion, Art, Music, Poetry, all the finer, more beautiful aspects of our nature, and our world today, will be preserved, if what has come to me can be accomplished. I am, as yet, unsure, but, what I see as a possible course for reality to take, with the proper application of the inherent abilities we have to inflict our own will to change reality, is one that just might save us from our own ignorance….

We have tried the way to approach life as evidenced in recorded history, which has, by all accounts, always relied upon brute force, ambition, and self-interest as the primary factors that influence the direction of our species’ development, in both a physical, and a spiritual sense…. We see now the result of that direction chosen, which leads inevitably, and, irrevocably, to a long time period of severe travail for the entire world of living creatures on this planet, likely ending in the death of all living species, with the only hope for life the chance to start over, in a biological sense….

This path also means a period of time for humanity, BEFORE we all pass into history, when we will suffer terror, despair, and depredations of hardship previously unknown, as the weather changes, along with our ability to adapt,  and, verily, the planet itself, begins to cleanse itself of the pollutants and chemical catalysts, pumped into the air by our insistence on a profitable bottom line…..

This is a process that, as scientific evidence has already proved, includes the certainty, over time, of unalterable chemical changes, that will eventually turn our atmosphere into a completely foreign composition, compared to what we now know, until we are no longer able to breathe it; it will have become poisonous to us…. There are a hundred reasons I could present you to try to demonstrate just how bad the situation is, but, they all lead to one conclusion, and that is that our time will be over on this plane of reality very much sooner than anyone had thought, or realized, unless something VERY drastic occurs to change what is now taking place, in both a physical, and a spiritual sense….

You see, the next evolutionary stage for humanity is one that not all of us will be taking…. I know that is a hard thing to think about, especially if it must be applied personally…. Not even those of us comfortable with what may happen after we die are completely easy with the whole idea of dying…. It remains a pretty scary unknown, all in all….

In addition, none of us like to think about the death of our loved ones, or our descendants… After all, our entire purpose as a species is to try to ensure the continuance of that species, so, thinking about the almost-certain end of that is, to say the least, a bit difficult to accept as real….

Which brings me back to the epiphany…. Reality is capable of changing under the influence of the human will… This is, perhaps, an assertion without full proof in hand, but, in light of my own experience, and of the many instances in recorded history in which the human will played a large part in how the final picture appeared, I think it can be used as a working theory, if nothing else, for the purposes of this discussion…. which, I see, has already grown far beyond my original intent when I began…. This, after all is just the beginning… If my epiphany is not a drug induced fantasy, it may just change the course of human events, and alter reality as we know it in ways that even I cannot imagine…..

If that isn’t an intro, hell, I don’t know what is….. and, a hell of an intro it is….

Shall we Pearl?….

“The problem … is that we have run out of dinosaurs to form oil with. Scientists working for the Department of Energy have tried to form oil using other animals; they’ve piled thousands of tons of sand and Middle Eastern countries on top of cows, raccoons, haddock, laboratory rats, etc., but so far all they have managed to do is run up an enormous bulldozer-rental bill and anger a lot of Middle Eastern persons.  None of the animals turned into oil, although most of the laboratory rats developed cancer.” — Dave Barry, Postpetroleum Guzzler
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“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax–
Of cabbages–and kings–
And why the sea is boiling hot–
And whether pigs have wings.”

~~ Lewis Carroll ~~
from Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872

When I close my eyes, sometimes, I can hear it…. Maybe you can, too. I hope so, The more of us who can, gives me hope for those who don’t….

I can hear the murmuring voices, too soft to make out any words or sense, but, always there, in the background of my mind’s attention to what I perceive…. It takes a bit of concentration to hear it, at first, but, with time, it becomes more of a real perception, and thus, subject to both reason, and will….

What do I hear? I hear mankind, suffering in silence. I hear everyone’s inner self, alone, crying out for company, and the comfort of simple touch, in a terrifying universe full of indifferent powers we don’t understand, desperate to know there is another mind out there that feels, that is afraid, that wants more….. I hear the cries of innocents, and the screams of the oppressed and abused. I hear the bombs and guns singing their song of death and destruction. I hear the hissing grunts as the bankers count their gelt…. I hear my own voice, telling me, time and time again, how hopeless it all is, that it’s too late…. And it hurts to know it’s true….

Yet, what I hear is possibly our salvation, as well….. Mankind exists on a bell curve; I’ve said this before, and it remains true. Much of human progress has always been accomplished according to the efforts of those on the curve who live at the ends, whether they are very, very smart and/or with extraordinary abilities, or very, very simple, with other types of abilities, not always appreciated, but there, nonetheless… I believe that the key to our survival as a species is now dependent upon how well we can learn to utilize those fringe abilities to our advantage….

Mankind has many mental strengths which we seldom use; this is patently obvious, given the state of affairs in the world. Reality has proven to be malleable to the human will, when it is applied in the correct manner; used poorly, the universe just plows on under its own power, and will flatten anyone getting in its way like the proverbial pancake. But, when we learn to use our will in the manner in which it works best, then we can accomplish amazing things, altering Reality according to our desires and/or needs….

The key to utilizing the untapped power we have to change reality is not to be found if we continue, as a species, and culture (as amorphous as it may be with so many different parts to that culture world-wide….), to put our physical and personal wants and needs ahead of our spiritual and communal needs. We need to acknowledge that allowing self-interest to guide the decision making process can only lead to the horrors we are now facing. It is now not merely desirable, but, imperative that Mankind develop a connection to the inner spirit which we possess, but, not with the delusional submission of that spirit to an imaginary supernatural friend, but, with clear, open eyes and compassionate intent for all guiding both our perceptive capabilities, and our actions….

In other words, we need to look inward, and connect with those others in our species who are similarly inclined, to search for, and, hopefully to find, a way to unleash the power of the mind on the problems we face, even though the immediacy of those problems will not make it easy….. As  I see it right now, we don’t have many options at all, and if placing some hope on the human talents that are now hidden, or poorly understood will cause change, any change, in what people are DOING, then, I’ll do all I can to promote that campaign… Hell, as I said, and, as I see it, we don’t have much choice, so, why the hell not?….. Let’s go find some magic, and some telepaths, and a dragon or two, to help us turn the tide against the forces of stupidity that have ruled our society since the beginning of our history….

So, that’s what I’m going to do as my new project, out in the Big Blue Room, and here on the internet…. I’m going to look for the fringe elements of our society and culture, those that have a connection to the true nature of reality, and have shown it in the past. I figure at least one or two of them ought to have an idea, if only of where to look next, and if it helps me find and pull together the resources that are necessary, then, it’s worth a shot, in my mind…. and, it will give me something to do other than worry about how much time is left to get it done…..

Wish me luck…. If I’m right, and succeed, at all, there is hope…. If I don’t, well, nothing will change, and we all know how that story is going to end, don’t we?…..

“Until the pain of remaining the same hurts more than the pain of change, most people prefer to remain the same.” — Richard D. Dobbins

“A process which led from amoeba to man appeared to the philosophers to be obviously progress – though whether the amoeba would agree with this opinion is not known.” — Bertrand Russell

Those oft are stratagems which errors seem,
Nor is it Homer nods, but we that dream.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part i, Line 177

I won’t say I’m sorry, because, hey, I’m not…. but, the 3-star pearl finish is just because I really like all three, and, upon inspection as a whole, fit the above rather nicely…. “Onward”, he said, with obvious delight at the serendipity….

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Only one poem will do today, and if I have to say what it is, I’ve slipped somewhere in the assessment of my Gentle Readers…. so, here ’tis, with no ado at all…. Oh, well, okay, one ado…. It’s a link, and a short excerpt consisting of the first four stanzas, because the entire piece is too long to put in here, and still expect everybody to get to the rest of today’s effort…. Most have read it at one time or another, so, just remember, please, it’s a great read, and, just now, seems to be more than just a bit of scary in it’s apparent power of prediction, or premonition, in a metaphorical sense, if not literal…. If the stanza above doesn’t EXACTLY describe Reality in 2014, then I’ll be looking for the letter, from the government, offering to hire me to train the pigs…. Enjoy, ffolkes!….. As you know already, this is genius at work….

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I wouldn’t say my work above is a rant, particularly, but, it’s long enough for one, and has some juice to it, so, we’ll count it as one…. Besides, this way, I get to put out an old-school pearl, which, for me, is much simpler to produce, given my restrictions as to time spent in a chair….. Don’t fret, no whining, just lustrous, gorgeous, well, unknown, pearls, whose single unifying characteristic, today, is that they all are there, in the group…. That’s it…. they’re there….

“If there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them.” — Spock, “This Side of Paradise,” stardate 3417.7.

“It has been said that there are two theories of history: conspiracy and blunder. If there is some truth to that, it is surely equally true that blunder seldom receives all the credit due it as an explanation of complex events.” — Michael Scully

“Not die here in a rage, like a poisoned rat in a hole.  — Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) — Letter to Bolingbroke, March 21, 1729

“… and the first lesson is: Never lose the alternative way out of sight.” — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“Blessed is he who has learned to laugh at himself, for he shall never cease to be entertained.” — John Powell

“A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking a question he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannot achieve.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes

“You cannot learn to fly by flying. First you must learn to walk, to run, to climb, to dance.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

At this point, this is a very fine seven-star pearl, of excellent luster…. but, the following just insists on being included, and I didn’t have the heart to say no….

“For my own part I have never had a thought which I could not set down in words with even more distinctness than which I conceived it. There is however a class of fancies of exquisite delicacy which are not thoughts and to which as yet I have found it absolutely impossible to adapt to language.  These fancies arise in the soul, alas how rarely, only at epics of most intense tranquility when the bodily and mental health are in perfection, and those mere points of time when the confines of the waking world blend with the world of dreams. And so I captured this fancy where all that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream….” — Edgar Allan Poe
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Having not looked at the entire piece yet, I don’t know how long this came out…. probably quite…. ‘S okay, though, cuz it’s all real, and all fresh, even counting what I wrote last evening, after my conversation with James and John. The poem, of course, is not fresh, but, it may yet be again, who’s to say? Not me…. See ya….

Y’all take care out there,
and May the Metaphorse be with you;
Blessed Be, dearest  Carole, Mark, and Theresa…
and everyone else, too…

When I works, I works hard.
When I sits, I sits loose.
When I thinks, I falls asleep.

Which is Why….