Friday, July 17, 2009
The House of the Seven Gables
I recently was in Salem, Ma. and went to the house of the Seven Gables that Nathanial Hawthorne wrote about during the early to middle 1800s. His female cousing then owned the house that was first built during the 1600s by a rich sea captain. While visiting Salem I went on a tour through it with a guide. I found it well worth my while and afterwords went to Nathanial Hawthorne's childhood home on the same property both of which look out upon the water and boat harbor there in Salem. The weather was cooler than normal this summer which made it especially nice for me and my family and though humid being near the ocean the temperatures stayed mostly between 70 to 80 Farenheit during the days so it was very pleasant. An almost constant breeze off the sea made this stay a very pleasant one only interrupted by a few flashes of lightning and very light white caps on the ocean one day. A very pleasant stay. I also bought a cd set of Nathanial Hawthorne's book "The House of the Seven Gables" at the museum store right next his house and the house of the Seven Gables in Salem, Ma.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Smithsonian and IMAX
Recently, I was at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. I was amazed to find that it is now free to the public as it was quite expensive when I last went in 1999, ten years ago. We have a pattern now (my wife and I) of going to Hawaii every 5 years and to the east coast every 10 years so far. However, this could change.
So, one of the things I really wanted to see was several of the real American Space capsules on display there as well as saturn boosters for rockets into space and the wright brothers plane and the spirit of Saint Louis in which an American was the first to cross the Atlantic successfully in a plane, Linburgh was his name.
After visiting the Air and Space Museum we next visited the Native American Museum next door. After seeing several media shows and visiting an amazing amount of authentic stuff(only 1% of their stuff is actually on display) we returned to the IMAX near to 6 pm to watch the IMAX of the latest installment of "Night of the Museum" which takes place mostly at the Smithsonian which is really quite fun to watch while actually being there at the same time.
There is a giant octopus in this one that reminds me of Galaxy quests octopi and the octopi at the bottom of the sea in transformers and of a shamanic experience that I wrote about that happened on Maui in 1989 of a giant Octopus from the future and past who is/was a time traveler and who came and spoke to me and told me that his evolution had started on earth as Northern Pacific Octopi and had been genetically engineered by humans and later by evolved Octopi to become the very intelligent Octopi that his race had become. However, he had said that mankind enabled his species to exist. So he had rescued the surviving humans from what is now the Asteroid belt but what was then a planet out past Mars that exploded in a thermonuclear war. He brought some to Mars but they were pretty pissed off about having most of their atmostphere blown off by the thermonuclear war on the Asteroid belt planet when it exploded. So, eventually (Flame I call him) got permission from the Galactic government to move the surviving humans of the asteroid belt planet to earth because by then the big dinosaurs had been destroyed by the asteroids that impacted earth from the explosion of the asteroid belt planet. So, mostly all that was left then was little dinosaurs when the asteroid belt planet survivors were brought to earth. Many Mars survivors eventually came to earth as well.
So, one of the things I really wanted to see was several of the real American Space capsules on display there as well as saturn boosters for rockets into space and the wright brothers plane and the spirit of Saint Louis in which an American was the first to cross the Atlantic successfully in a plane, Linburgh was his name.
After visiting the Air and Space Museum we next visited the Native American Museum next door. After seeing several media shows and visiting an amazing amount of authentic stuff(only 1% of their stuff is actually on display) we returned to the IMAX near to 6 pm to watch the IMAX of the latest installment of "Night of the Museum" which takes place mostly at the Smithsonian which is really quite fun to watch while actually being there at the same time.
There is a giant octopus in this one that reminds me of Galaxy quests octopi and the octopi at the bottom of the sea in transformers and of a shamanic experience that I wrote about that happened on Maui in 1989 of a giant Octopus from the future and past who is/was a time traveler and who came and spoke to me and told me that his evolution had started on earth as Northern Pacific Octopi and had been genetically engineered by humans and later by evolved Octopi to become the very intelligent Octopi that his race had become. However, he had said that mankind enabled his species to exist. So he had rescued the surviving humans from what is now the Asteroid belt but what was then a planet out past Mars that exploded in a thermonuclear war. He brought some to Mars but they were pretty pissed off about having most of their atmostphere blown off by the thermonuclear war on the Asteroid belt planet when it exploded. So, eventually (Flame I call him) got permission from the Galactic government to move the surviving humans of the asteroid belt planet to earth because by then the big dinosaurs had been destroyed by the asteroids that impacted earth from the explosion of the asteroid belt planet. So, mostly all that was left then was little dinosaurs when the asteroid belt planet survivors were brought to earth. Many Mars survivors eventually came to earth as well.
Salem
I recently stayed in Salem, Massachusetts, at a Hotel, built in 1925. The following is a quote from their hotel history book black leather bound labeled "Hawthorne Hotel"
begin quote: "In the 1920s the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, established an unusual public subscription drive to build 'Salem's own hotel. . . to meet the particular needs of Salem, its guests and visitors. . .' The Hawthorne has remained a unique and integral part of the city and Boston's North Shore ever since its completion in 1925.
Our beautifully restored, stately Federal-style hotel is named for author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who spent his childhood in Salem and returned in 1846 to serve for three years as Surveyor of the Port at the Custom House. In 1849, he wrote THE SCARLETT LETTER at his home in Salem.
Over the years the Hawthorne Hotel has played host to many well-known personalities, including newsman Walter Concrite, actress Betty Davis, General Colin Powell, and on separate occasions, former President George Bush and Bill Clinton, and First Lady Barbara Bush.
Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley spent part of their honeymoon at the Hawthorne. In 1984, Vanessa Redgrave called the hotel home for a month while making Three Sovereigns for Sarah, a public television movie about Salem witch trials.
It was the television sitcom, BEWITCHED, that brought the Hawthorne Hotel its most notoriety. In 1970, Elizabeth Montgomery, her real life husband, Bill Asher, and the rest of the cast and crew of the show stayed at the Hawthorne for several weeks while fliming episodes in Salem and the surrounding area. For years after the 'Salem Saga' first aired, the hotel was flooded with calls asking if this was the "Bewitched Hotel." What viewers actually saw on television was a facade of the hotel built on a Hollywood lot. The interior of the hotel is nothing like the actual interior of the real Hawthorne." end quote.
Though we visited Salem and Boston to visit friends of my wife I found this quite entertaining as well in reading about the history of this hotel.
begin quote: "In the 1920s the citizens of Salem, Massachusetts, established an unusual public subscription drive to build 'Salem's own hotel. . . to meet the particular needs of Salem, its guests and visitors. . .' The Hawthorne has remained a unique and integral part of the city and Boston's North Shore ever since its completion in 1925.
Our beautifully restored, stately Federal-style hotel is named for author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who spent his childhood in Salem and returned in 1846 to serve for three years as Surveyor of the Port at the Custom House. In 1849, he wrote THE SCARLETT LETTER at his home in Salem.
Over the years the Hawthorne Hotel has played host to many well-known personalities, including newsman Walter Concrite, actress Betty Davis, General Colin Powell, and on separate occasions, former President George Bush and Bill Clinton, and First Lady Barbara Bush.
Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley spent part of their honeymoon at the Hawthorne. In 1984, Vanessa Redgrave called the hotel home for a month while making Three Sovereigns for Sarah, a public television movie about Salem witch trials.
It was the television sitcom, BEWITCHED, that brought the Hawthorne Hotel its most notoriety. In 1970, Elizabeth Montgomery, her real life husband, Bill Asher, and the rest of the cast and crew of the show stayed at the Hawthorne for several weeks while fliming episodes in Salem and the surrounding area. For years after the 'Salem Saga' first aired, the hotel was flooded with calls asking if this was the "Bewitched Hotel." What viewers actually saw on television was a facade of the hotel built on a Hollywood lot. The interior of the hotel is nothing like the actual interior of the real Hawthorne." end quote.
Though we visited Salem and Boston to visit friends of my wife I found this quite entertaining as well in reading about the history of this hotel.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Williamsburg and Jamestown
When I visited Williamsburg and Jamestown in Virginia recently I found it pleasantly surprising. Ten years ago my family and I had visited Williamsburg but hadn't had time to visit Jamestown and the re-creation of the of the original ships like the Susan Constance. I found the Susan Constance amazing in that it has a brick firplace up front for cooking and a whipstaff to steer the boat that is connected below to a tillar as steering wheels hadn't been invented in 1608 yet. The cannons were also much lighter than I am used to seeing in more recent wooden ships. If you are in the area be sure to see Jamestown and the ship recreations that actually are sailed. A docent said because they sail they must legally be fitted with emergency engines that one does not see on the tour.
We also visited the blacksmith shop in Williamsburg where they say they have made 20,000 iron nails for traditional construction of buildings there. While we were there watching they made a drawknife by heating the iron in the stove and bellows and then beating it into the drawknife shape.(a drawknife is a crude plane for planing off rough wood). I greatly enjoyed one night walking through Williamsburg with the wooden torch fires built at about 6 to 7 feet in elevation on iron grates and tourists set up in line like soldiers in the revolutionary war and being fired upon with blanks from guns by traditionally dressed minutemen. Around this Fort like area was a wall of wooden 4 to 6 inch thick spikes facing out toward the countryside. What a fun experience as long as one can stand the heat and humidity this time of year.
We also visited the blacksmith shop in Williamsburg where they say they have made 20,000 iron nails for traditional construction of buildings there. While we were there watching they made a drawknife by heating the iron in the stove and bellows and then beating it into the drawknife shape.(a drawknife is a crude plane for planing off rough wood). I greatly enjoyed one night walking through Williamsburg with the wooden torch fires built at about 6 to 7 feet in elevation on iron grates and tourists set up in line like soldiers in the revolutionary war and being fired upon with blanks from guns by traditionally dressed minutemen. Around this Fort like area was a wall of wooden 4 to 6 inch thick spikes facing out toward the countryside. What a fun experience as long as one can stand the heat and humidity this time of year.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The evolving nature of warfare
The following comes from my observations of world events. I cannot quantify whether this is true or not. It simply appears that it is.
When nations become nuclear powers they join a club which has as a basic rule, "We have nuclear weapons but we know that to actually use them against any nation could spark the end of life on earth sooner or later. So, since we cannot engage in warfare amongst ourselves therefore war can only be on an espionage and economic level and through media propaganda. In the end it is only a war of ideas and economics that will decide who wins and who loses".
But in this age where in some ways corporations now collectively have more power than all nations combined economically, where does military might come into the picture other than as police actions to maintain international order. In this state of affairs I submit that there can only be police actions and never really wars when nuclear powers are involved.
Therefore the only real wars to the death then can be between non-nuclear powers engaged in a life or death struggle. But as soon as one of them also becomes a nuclear power no military wars will be fought but only police actions.
Since this appears to be true worldwide then it appears to be in the interest of all relatively stable nations to become nuclear powers as soon as possible so no one will attack them and wipe them off the map.
One could project this sort of "moving towards nonviolence" caused by nuclear weapons since 1945 and envision wars based upon computer games, for example, witnessed by all sort of like football or soccer games worldwide now to help decide disagreements sort of like single combat between the leaders of nations or areas or tribes to decide wars sometimes fought in the distant past.
The real danger with all this is unstable nations like North Korea or the instability that Iran appears to be entering into now. If a government doesn't actually support the will of the people all these complicated rules governing nuclear weapons become like a world filled with nations playing Russian roulette with nuclear weapons.
This world filled with 100 nations filled with nuclear weapons is obviously unacceptable because someone eventually will make a mistake and bring down within a day the whole house of cards and leave many nations smoking craters.
If you know anything about the laws of probability it is not if but when.
When nations become nuclear powers they join a club which has as a basic rule, "We have nuclear weapons but we know that to actually use them against any nation could spark the end of life on earth sooner or later. So, since we cannot engage in warfare amongst ourselves therefore war can only be on an espionage and economic level and through media propaganda. In the end it is only a war of ideas and economics that will decide who wins and who loses".
But in this age where in some ways corporations now collectively have more power than all nations combined economically, where does military might come into the picture other than as police actions to maintain international order. In this state of affairs I submit that there can only be police actions and never really wars when nuclear powers are involved.
Therefore the only real wars to the death then can be between non-nuclear powers engaged in a life or death struggle. But as soon as one of them also becomes a nuclear power no military wars will be fought but only police actions.
Since this appears to be true worldwide then it appears to be in the interest of all relatively stable nations to become nuclear powers as soon as possible so no one will attack them and wipe them off the map.
One could project this sort of "moving towards nonviolence" caused by nuclear weapons since 1945 and envision wars based upon computer games, for example, witnessed by all sort of like football or soccer games worldwide now to help decide disagreements sort of like single combat between the leaders of nations or areas or tribes to decide wars sometimes fought in the distant past.
The real danger with all this is unstable nations like North Korea or the instability that Iran appears to be entering into now. If a government doesn't actually support the will of the people all these complicated rules governing nuclear weapons become like a world filled with nations playing Russian roulette with nuclear weapons.
This world filled with 100 nations filled with nuclear weapons is obviously unacceptable because someone eventually will make a mistake and bring down within a day the whole house of cards and leave many nations smoking craters.
If you know anything about the laws of probability it is not if but when.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Michael Jackson: 50 years
Michael Jackson did something remarkable with his life. He took the best ideas of the 1960s and 1970s and for that matter of all the years that there have been humans and put them to song in such a way that it touched almost everyone.
I know there are some people who will just never get it and who have to be cynical about him and his life. And he appears to have done it better than most others. Otherwise, why are people treating his passing they way they are?
Over 1 billion people watched his memorial service on TV today. How many more will watch it on the internet or Dvd or DVR? Something in his music and dancing and music touched almost everyone on earth and gave people hope of a better world where all the different kinds of people on earth could get along and find a way forward in their lives.
Because he was basically non-violent and non-threatening he broke through many barriers just like a musical Ghandi for all races and creeds. What he was able to do paved the way for so many even Obama. In his short 50 years somehow he was able to help change the world and attitudes both in the United States and the world almost single handedly. 50 years ago what Michael was able to do would have been unthinkable for a black man to accomplish. But Michael dreamed a big dream and stayed talented and non-violent. If one is both kind and persistent it is amazing what they can do!
I know there are some people who will just never get it and who have to be cynical about him and his life. And he appears to have done it better than most others. Otherwise, why are people treating his passing they way they are?
Over 1 billion people watched his memorial service on TV today. How many more will watch it on the internet or Dvd or DVR? Something in his music and dancing and music touched almost everyone on earth and gave people hope of a better world where all the different kinds of people on earth could get along and find a way forward in their lives.
Because he was basically non-violent and non-threatening he broke through many barriers just like a musical Ghandi for all races and creeds. What he was able to do paved the way for so many even Obama. In his short 50 years somehow he was able to help change the world and attitudes both in the United States and the world almost single handedly. 50 years ago what Michael was able to do would have been unthinkable for a black man to accomplish. But Michael dreamed a big dream and stayed talented and non-violent. If one is both kind and persistent it is amazing what they can do!
East Coast
I haven't been to the East Coast of the United States since about 1999. In 1999 my wife's mother passed away and we went to North Carolina where her family lives to set a plaque for her next to her MOm and Dad there. (Her ashes are in the Santa Barbara Channel in the ocean off California as she wished).
It was my first trip that far east. Many people might wonder why but I was raised on the West Coast and it is just in my blood more. All I had to do was to see how high the population concentrations were east of the Mississippi and it sort of took away my desire to go east. Because like my forebears, we all really like the wide open spaces that give us room to breathe.
However, I found myself fascinated with many aspects of the East Coast. For example, in history books growing up I studied about the Civil War and of our connections to Great Britain and Europe. So when I went to the east coast in June 1999 to North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and to Boston and Salem to visit my wife's friends from when she lived there, I noticed how different the landscape and architecture was and of just how different people's attitudes were than California and the rest of the west coast. Though I like California's laid back ways and speech, sometimes people here can get a little too flaky. On the east coast I found the other extreme of people just being extremely stuck in old ways. I think somewhere there is a happy medium that would actually be useful. However, that is just my opinion. In the end I think it is all about balance. If you have enough balance you survive and without it you don't. Very simple.
It was my first trip that far east. Many people might wonder why but I was raised on the West Coast and it is just in my blood more. All I had to do was to see how high the population concentrations were east of the Mississippi and it sort of took away my desire to go east. Because like my forebears, we all really like the wide open spaces that give us room to breathe.
However, I found myself fascinated with many aspects of the East Coast. For example, in history books growing up I studied about the Civil War and of our connections to Great Britain and Europe. So when I went to the east coast in June 1999 to North Carolina, Washington, D.C. and to Boston and Salem to visit my wife's friends from when she lived there, I noticed how different the landscape and architecture was and of just how different people's attitudes were than California and the rest of the west coast. Though I like California's laid back ways and speech, sometimes people here can get a little too flaky. On the east coast I found the other extreme of people just being extremely stuck in old ways. I think somewhere there is a happy medium that would actually be useful. However, that is just my opinion. In the end I think it is all about balance. If you have enough balance you survive and without it you don't. Very simple.
A Go Anywhere motorcycle
I have always been interested in owning a go anywhere motorcycle since I was little. Though I had my own 2 1/2 horsepower Wren by Bird Minibike(metallic blue with centrifugal clutch and metal to tire brakes) by the time I was 10 or 12 years old and even though this little minibike was no more than 2 1/2 or so feet tall it was my first experience in driving a motorized 2 wheel vehicle. It could go 30 mph on the level or faster downhill and I kept it for at least 20 years and let all my kids and cousins and all their friends ride on it over the years on my fathers 2 1/2 acres in the hi desert above Yucca Valley, California up on Yucca Mesa until about 1985. I purchased it around 1960.
But my search for a go anywhere motorcycle continued as I own a Matchless Hillclimber with a wide knobby tire in back and a straight exhaust pipe that blew blue fire at night as I rode it across the desert back in the late 1960s. Obviously, it wasn't street legal but I wasn't riding it on any paved roads either. I had to be very careful because in at least the first 2 or 3 gears it could throw me on my back with the bike on top of me if I wasn't very careful with the clutch. It had a very big sprocket in the back and since it was 600cc approximately it had an extreme amount of torque. If you wanted to do a long wheelie on your back tire though it was perfect for that if you could survive it. One day I got angry at my girlfriend and blew the bike up by accident by driving it over its 45 mph top speed with that low of gearing. The oil burnt my leg when the crankcase exploded but luckily the chain when the engine froze didn't cut my leg off but instead mostly just wrapped itself around the front sprocket coming out of the engine. I traded it for a BSA 500 from North AFrica World War II. It was the most reliable motorcycle I have ever own and I could literally kick start it or push start it in ANY weather, even if it was snowing. It was built like a tank and mostly indestructible and though it was heavy was very fun to ride. If you ever watched Indiana Jones and his Dad ride motorcycles it looked a lot like those(all army green with an extremely thick metal plate under the bike to protect the engine from rocks trees or anything else you had to go over where the engine is in the country or desert. It was a really great bike but very heavy. It was hard to pick it up if you dropped it and you didn't want it to fall on your leg. But other than that It was maybe the most reliable go anywhere motorcycle I've ever seen. But it had no rear suspension other than the two coil springs under the seat. I kept that also at my father's 2 1/2 acres in the desert until about 1985 and it never failed to start.
In 1975 I bought a 1974 Honda 250 XL. It was street legal but I could literally go anywhere with it and did. It was kind of light for the freeway passing trucks and in winds but off road it was incredible. It could cruise at 65 to 75 okay but at that speed there was some vibration so I wouldn't want to ride hundreds of miles that way. But it was wonderful for dirt road, off road and camping. One time 10 miles from the nearest small town on a dirt road we got 3 kids(5 to 10 years old) my wife and I and when the dog got tired we put her on the handle bars. We rode about 10 miles up onto Mt. Shasta on dirt roads that way. We were so remote we didn't even see anyone that day. We kept the motorcycle about 10 mph to 25 mph to keep it safe and upright but slow enough to be safe for all of us. We were fine until we hit a patch of snow and stopped at about 9000 feet or 10,000 feet. This was around 1980. Even when we hit the snow patch no one got hurt we just laughed at the fun adventure we all were having in the alpine amazingness of that area then. I kept that motorcycle until 1989 or so when my oldest child traded it for a stereo and speakers when he was about 18.
I haven't owned a motorcycle until now since then. About 1 or 2 months ago I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650. I needed the extra power as I weigh a little more now than I had with a 250. With this bike I obviously won't be doing jumps as it is kind of big and unforgiving doing jumps because the weight 370 pounds is too high. But since I'm 6 foot 5 inches tall I like a tall dualsport bike. But if you aren't used to them it takes a few feet more to get your balance as you take off because of the high center of gravity. However, you need the shock action and extra height if you hit bumps or rocks or dips off road or off highway. So it is a go anywhere bike but I don't plan to be jumping it 8 feet into the air like I could with my 1974 Honda 250 XL that I bought in 1975.
If you live in California like I do and want to ride a motorcycle again or for the first time you need a motorcycle license now that you can add to your standard driver's license. However, the easiest way is to take a motorcycle rider's course at a community college. They are offered at many colleges over the state. In this way you avoid having to take a driving test at the DMV as these can be very hard on some motorcycles. The colleges usually provide you a street motorcycle under 250cc to ride and it cost me about 250 dollars. The one I went to was two thursday nights and to Saturday Morning or afternoons(your choice) of riding the motorcycle they provide and doing what they tell you until you are proficient. IF you an old "Let's jump on a motorcycle and see if I can ride it" then there is a lot of new stuff to learn about riding these days. For example, on bikes today there are no kick starters except on antiques and the kick stand is a part of the ignition system.(Both these things were new for me to deal with. Even though I am primarily an off road rider if you are going to be riding a dualsport(a two wheeled jeep) that is street legal you still need to learn how to ride on the road. Or if you want to learn to ride off road they have courses at the colleges for this as well. Except that this isn't a part of your licensing for motorcycles.
For example, if you are riding off road and apply a front brake don't expect to survive this if you are going very fast because off road your bike will just lay down right there at any speed. So, if you are off road riding you must only use your rear brake except when you are holding your bike stationary on a hill or incline with it. So, when you move from pavement which is 90% front brake to off road which is 90% to 99% back brake you must do an internal switch to survive it just like one must use different skills when cross country skiing or downhill skiing.(I do these too!)
Though I find off road riding much more fun than riding on the pavement, dirt roads aren't available a lot of places that people live so unless you own a trailer to haul your bike or want to ride a long way on the street to get to the country dirt roads on your bike it can be problematic. So, each of us have to find our own ways in this. Happy riding!
Note: Also regarding the BSA 500 World War II motorcycle: It had no battery, only a magneto. So, you only had electricity for a spark for the motor when you either jumped on the kick starter or you ran with it and jump started it in 2nd gear like we did in the old days. However, once it started (and it always did even in the snow) it was an amazingly reliable bike in that it ALWAYS started within about 5 minutes even if the kick starter just caused the engine to backfire and catupaulted you over the handlebars and onto the ground. I only put up with this once. AFter that I only push started it that day in 2nd gear and it usually always started. It started every time from about 1969 until 1985 when I sold it because my Dad passed away and my mother was moving to Palm Springs and letting the 2 1/2 acres go which for me was kind of sad after all the work the whole family had been putting into this acrerage since 1968 even though it was then 1985 and my Dad was now gone. My mother lasted until she was 90 in 2008. I think moving away kept her sane so she didn't have to live in a place she shared with Dad and just miss him all the time until she pined away like many widows do within a few years of their husbands passing.
But my search for a go anywhere motorcycle continued as I own a Matchless Hillclimber with a wide knobby tire in back and a straight exhaust pipe that blew blue fire at night as I rode it across the desert back in the late 1960s. Obviously, it wasn't street legal but I wasn't riding it on any paved roads either. I had to be very careful because in at least the first 2 or 3 gears it could throw me on my back with the bike on top of me if I wasn't very careful with the clutch. It had a very big sprocket in the back and since it was 600cc approximately it had an extreme amount of torque. If you wanted to do a long wheelie on your back tire though it was perfect for that if you could survive it. One day I got angry at my girlfriend and blew the bike up by accident by driving it over its 45 mph top speed with that low of gearing. The oil burnt my leg when the crankcase exploded but luckily the chain when the engine froze didn't cut my leg off but instead mostly just wrapped itself around the front sprocket coming out of the engine. I traded it for a BSA 500 from North AFrica World War II. It was the most reliable motorcycle I have ever own and I could literally kick start it or push start it in ANY weather, even if it was snowing. It was built like a tank and mostly indestructible and though it was heavy was very fun to ride. If you ever watched Indiana Jones and his Dad ride motorcycles it looked a lot like those(all army green with an extremely thick metal plate under the bike to protect the engine from rocks trees or anything else you had to go over where the engine is in the country or desert. It was a really great bike but very heavy. It was hard to pick it up if you dropped it and you didn't want it to fall on your leg. But other than that It was maybe the most reliable go anywhere motorcycle I've ever seen. But it had no rear suspension other than the two coil springs under the seat. I kept that also at my father's 2 1/2 acres in the desert until about 1985 and it never failed to start.
In 1975 I bought a 1974 Honda 250 XL. It was street legal but I could literally go anywhere with it and did. It was kind of light for the freeway passing trucks and in winds but off road it was incredible. It could cruise at 65 to 75 okay but at that speed there was some vibration so I wouldn't want to ride hundreds of miles that way. But it was wonderful for dirt road, off road and camping. One time 10 miles from the nearest small town on a dirt road we got 3 kids(5 to 10 years old) my wife and I and when the dog got tired we put her on the handle bars. We rode about 10 miles up onto Mt. Shasta on dirt roads that way. We were so remote we didn't even see anyone that day. We kept the motorcycle about 10 mph to 25 mph to keep it safe and upright but slow enough to be safe for all of us. We were fine until we hit a patch of snow and stopped at about 9000 feet or 10,000 feet. This was around 1980. Even when we hit the snow patch no one got hurt we just laughed at the fun adventure we all were having in the alpine amazingness of that area then. I kept that motorcycle until 1989 or so when my oldest child traded it for a stereo and speakers when he was about 18.
I haven't owned a motorcycle until now since then. About 1 or 2 months ago I bought a Kawasaki KLR 650. I needed the extra power as I weigh a little more now than I had with a 250. With this bike I obviously won't be doing jumps as it is kind of big and unforgiving doing jumps because the weight 370 pounds is too high. But since I'm 6 foot 5 inches tall I like a tall dualsport bike. But if you aren't used to them it takes a few feet more to get your balance as you take off because of the high center of gravity. However, you need the shock action and extra height if you hit bumps or rocks or dips off road or off highway. So it is a go anywhere bike but I don't plan to be jumping it 8 feet into the air like I could with my 1974 Honda 250 XL that I bought in 1975.
If you live in California like I do and want to ride a motorcycle again or for the first time you need a motorcycle license now that you can add to your standard driver's license. However, the easiest way is to take a motorcycle rider's course at a community college. They are offered at many colleges over the state. In this way you avoid having to take a driving test at the DMV as these can be very hard on some motorcycles. The colleges usually provide you a street motorcycle under 250cc to ride and it cost me about 250 dollars. The one I went to was two thursday nights and to Saturday Morning or afternoons(your choice) of riding the motorcycle they provide and doing what they tell you until you are proficient. IF you an old "Let's jump on a motorcycle and see if I can ride it" then there is a lot of new stuff to learn about riding these days. For example, on bikes today there are no kick starters except on antiques and the kick stand is a part of the ignition system.(Both these things were new for me to deal with. Even though I am primarily an off road rider if you are going to be riding a dualsport(a two wheeled jeep) that is street legal you still need to learn how to ride on the road. Or if you want to learn to ride off road they have courses at the colleges for this as well. Except that this isn't a part of your licensing for motorcycles.
For example, if you are riding off road and apply a front brake don't expect to survive this if you are going very fast because off road your bike will just lay down right there at any speed. So, if you are off road riding you must only use your rear brake except when you are holding your bike stationary on a hill or incline with it. So, when you move from pavement which is 90% front brake to off road which is 90% to 99% back brake you must do an internal switch to survive it just like one must use different skills when cross country skiing or downhill skiing.(I do these too!)
Though I find off road riding much more fun than riding on the pavement, dirt roads aren't available a lot of places that people live so unless you own a trailer to haul your bike or want to ride a long way on the street to get to the country dirt roads on your bike it can be problematic. So, each of us have to find our own ways in this. Happy riding!
Note: Also regarding the BSA 500 World War II motorcycle: It had no battery, only a magneto. So, you only had electricity for a spark for the motor when you either jumped on the kick starter or you ran with it and jump started it in 2nd gear like we did in the old days. However, once it started (and it always did even in the snow) it was an amazingly reliable bike in that it ALWAYS started within about 5 minutes even if the kick starter just caused the engine to backfire and catupaulted you over the handlebars and onto the ground. I only put up with this once. AFter that I only push started it that day in 2nd gear and it usually always started. It started every time from about 1969 until 1985 when I sold it because my Dad passed away and my mother was moving to Palm Springs and letting the 2 1/2 acres go which for me was kind of sad after all the work the whole family had been putting into this acrerage since 1968 even though it was then 1985 and my Dad was now gone. My mother lasted until she was 90 in 2008. I think moving away kept her sane so she didn't have to live in a place she shared with Dad and just miss him all the time until she pined away like many widows do within a few years of their husbands passing.
Ask God: a license plate
I was driving down the freeway and saw a vanity license plate that simply said, "Ask God".
I began to think about what that meant and how it would affect everyone that read it. Then I started to think about the physics of how things would move if someone took that license plate seriously.
It wouldn't really matter if the person believed in God or not. It only would be necessary if someone accepted that there was a concept of God. From this point the life force and natural intelligence within everyone and everything in the universe would take over. I find the universe sort of generally helpful to all beings and consciousness and this sometimes I call God. If I wasn't an intuitive that could directly experience all life in this way I might react differently. But since I do, it is sort of like, "May the Force Be with You!" And in specific "May the life force of the universe be supportive to you as your family." So then by understanding that the whole universe instead of being your enemy is your family who will help take care of you as long as you take care of it one comes to the point of seeing the universe as a single organism and you are an organism and your body is a universe of many organisms that function much like the universe does in that all parts of your body work together for the greater good of the entire organism.
So, whatever you want to know, Ask God, Ask the Universe, ask the one organism of your body and the entire universe and find out the answers to everything you need to know!
Be free! Be Kind! Be helpful to the universe!
I began to think about what that meant and how it would affect everyone that read it. Then I started to think about the physics of how things would move if someone took that license plate seriously.
It wouldn't really matter if the person believed in God or not. It only would be necessary if someone accepted that there was a concept of God. From this point the life force and natural intelligence within everyone and everything in the universe would take over. I find the universe sort of generally helpful to all beings and consciousness and this sometimes I call God. If I wasn't an intuitive that could directly experience all life in this way I might react differently. But since I do, it is sort of like, "May the Force Be with You!" And in specific "May the life force of the universe be supportive to you as your family." So then by understanding that the whole universe instead of being your enemy is your family who will help take care of you as long as you take care of it one comes to the point of seeing the universe as a single organism and you are an organism and your body is a universe of many organisms that function much like the universe does in that all parts of your body work together for the greater good of the entire organism.
So, whatever you want to know, Ask God, Ask the Universe, ask the one organism of your body and the entire universe and find out the answers to everything you need to know!
Be free! Be Kind! Be helpful to the universe!
Dangerous People
How do I know if someone is dangerous? If anyone that I meet anywhere on Earth tells me that if I don't believe what they do that something bad will happen to me. These are the most dangerous people on earth.
How do I know if someone is safe? I know someone is safe if they believe in "Live and let Live" and understand that there are an infinite amount of points of view in this constantly expanding universe we live in.
So, someone who is safe to be around understands we are both human beings and is tolerant like me of others with other points of view. It doesn't mean that they believe the same as I do. It just means that they will allow me to live my own life in peace.
How do I know if someone is safe? I know someone is safe if they believe in "Live and let Live" and understand that there are an infinite amount of points of view in this constantly expanding universe we live in.
So, someone who is safe to be around understands we are both human beings and is tolerant like me of others with other points of view. It doesn't mean that they believe the same as I do. It just means that they will allow me to live my own life in peace.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Transformers and Rock People
I was thinking today how one could theoretically come up with sentient Robotic creatures like one sees on the Transformers Movie series. It occurred to me that the answer is obvious. As an intuitive I have learned to communicate with all living things, and I have found literally everything to be alive including air, water, fire and earth and all beings and things everywhere in the universe. Then to bring about life from metals and silicon wafers and plastic and everything else would be for the the consciousness I experience in all things to find a way to speak even to those have not yet developed their intuitive side to be able to communicate with everything.
For a human, learning to talk to everything is easy. Just don't expose a human to TV, radio, computers or any other media, sort of like being a Shepard with sheep somewhere and these abilities naturally develop over time with the right interest and inclination. Or it could happen to someone who is exposed to everything like I have been but who has spent enough time alone with nature or in groups in nature to develop my gifts into useful survival skills in all situations.
So, somehow giving the consciousness in metal, silicon, and plastic and such a real and useful voice would be the beginning of non-biological lifeforms capable of verbal or symbolic communication with humans in a fully sentient way.
Another thing that I have experienced is that when you communicate with Rocks and earth one must remember these earth and rock beings have been alive and conscious and learning for millions and millions of years before there were oceans, air or any biological life on earth at all. So in this equation, humans are like newborn children in comparison when communicating with their respected elders millions of years old. They also see us as their children and as a part of their evolution, just like they see air, water, and all living things their children. After all, our bodies,(especially our bones) are made of calcium and other minerals from the earth. And all the food we eat came from the earth which is decomposed rocks and minerals and the excrement of everything that has lived biologically before in combination with water and sun. So, we are literally the children of the rock people and the sun who have already seen everything that happened as earth formed and before that as a part of many suns and nebulae.
For a human, learning to talk to everything is easy. Just don't expose a human to TV, radio, computers or any other media, sort of like being a Shepard with sheep somewhere and these abilities naturally develop over time with the right interest and inclination. Or it could happen to someone who is exposed to everything like I have been but who has spent enough time alone with nature or in groups in nature to develop my gifts into useful survival skills in all situations.
So, somehow giving the consciousness in metal, silicon, and plastic and such a real and useful voice would be the beginning of non-biological lifeforms capable of verbal or symbolic communication with humans in a fully sentient way.
Another thing that I have experienced is that when you communicate with Rocks and earth one must remember these earth and rock beings have been alive and conscious and learning for millions and millions of years before there were oceans, air or any biological life on earth at all. So in this equation, humans are like newborn children in comparison when communicating with their respected elders millions of years old. They also see us as their children and as a part of their evolution, just like they see air, water, and all living things their children. After all, our bodies,(especially our bones) are made of calcium and other minerals from the earth. And all the food we eat came from the earth which is decomposed rocks and minerals and the excrement of everything that has lived biologically before in combination with water and sun. So, we are literally the children of the rock people and the sun who have already seen everything that happened as earth formed and before that as a part of many suns and nebulae.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
1982
I found one of my journals from 1982. I was amazed it had survived this long with all the moves to Hawaii and back to Northern California ocean coast, to Mt. Shasta and the Southern California Deserts since then and pilgrimages to Asia and Europe. Though there is much more angst in my writing then there is also a youthful intensity along with both hope and fear that I have lost a lot since then from just surviving everything that came in my life to a ripe age of 61.
The Rocks-The Earth February 1982
"Today my stress bubble burst. I left the house angry and feeling misunderstood and unjustly treated."
"I Went to Little Shell Beach to get sane. I walked down Rock Cliff and huddled in a depression of the rocks out of the wind with the sun on me. The rocks started talking to me as I cried from my frustration---in life. The rocks held me and consoled me And told me that I and all mankind were their heroes because we were a life form dying and being reborn to a new form of life. And our pain and our groping for our destiny they share with us. Our destiny is their destiny. The experience has been a very moving one for me."
This was written when I came back from this experience and it was the very first one when I realized that Rocks could talk to me because they chose to. I felt very strange about it at the time and to some degree they might have saved my life in some ways that day which is why I think they chose to speak with me in this way.
It was several years later when I was studying with a medicine man and a good friend that he began to speak of the rock people. When he mentioned them I asked him, "How long have your people known about the rock people?" He said, "As long as there have been Karoc Indians in Northern California". I asked, "What do they tell you?" He said something like, "They tell you what you need to know."
Since I was now not alone in these experiences I felt validated in this hundreds or thousands of years of lineage and tradition within the Medicine man's tribe.
After I spoke with the medicine man I walked over to a nearby stream in Siskiyou county and laid down on River rocks next to an alpine tributary of the Sacramento River at about 4000 feet in preparation for a Sweat Lodge Ceremony. At this point I had a conversation with the river rock people there that we used to heat up in the fire and that heated the sweat lodge up to 150 degrees at the very top of the lodge.
The river rocks across from Mt. Shasta said to me quite prophetically, "We are your bones, the river your blood, your breath the sky." I remember being so touched at the time by this awareness that tears came to my eyes at profoundness of what they told me. So, I lay there and experienced this fully and felt very empowered by this blessing from them.
The Rocks-The Earth February 1982
"Today my stress bubble burst. I left the house angry and feeling misunderstood and unjustly treated."
"I Went to Little Shell Beach to get sane. I walked down Rock Cliff and huddled in a depression of the rocks out of the wind with the sun on me. The rocks started talking to me as I cried from my frustration---in life. The rocks held me and consoled me And told me that I and all mankind were their heroes because we were a life form dying and being reborn to a new form of life. And our pain and our groping for our destiny they share with us. Our destiny is their destiny. The experience has been a very moving one for me."
This was written when I came back from this experience and it was the very first one when I realized that Rocks could talk to me because they chose to. I felt very strange about it at the time and to some degree they might have saved my life in some ways that day which is why I think they chose to speak with me in this way.
It was several years later when I was studying with a medicine man and a good friend that he began to speak of the rock people. When he mentioned them I asked him, "How long have your people known about the rock people?" He said, "As long as there have been Karoc Indians in Northern California". I asked, "What do they tell you?" He said something like, "They tell you what you need to know."
Since I was now not alone in these experiences I felt validated in this hundreds or thousands of years of lineage and tradition within the Medicine man's tribe.
After I spoke with the medicine man I walked over to a nearby stream in Siskiyou county and laid down on River rocks next to an alpine tributary of the Sacramento River at about 4000 feet in preparation for a Sweat Lodge Ceremony. At this point I had a conversation with the river rock people there that we used to heat up in the fire and that heated the sweat lodge up to 150 degrees at the very top of the lodge.
The river rocks across from Mt. Shasta said to me quite prophetically, "We are your bones, the river your blood, your breath the sky." I remember being so touched at the time by this awareness that tears came to my eyes at profoundness of what they told me. So, I lay there and experienced this fully and felt very empowered by this blessing from them.
Prop 13 part 2
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090703/us_time/08599190750400
The article above says that Proposition 13 in California is the root of California's problems. No. I completely disagree. Proposition 13 reduced property taxes from almost 3% of the value of a house per year and limited it to 1% of the value of a house per year. The higher tax rate caused many many suicides of people who were native Californians who were retired and couldn't keep their houses because of the insanely high property taxes.
The real culprit of our present situation was never prop 13 which was a great solution to our previous problems. The real culprit was Enron and several other companies that criminally stole utility money from California for Billions and Billions of dollars. The financing of those billions and billions of dollars that the state took on so homeowners would owe 40,000 dollars a year or something else ridiculous is what put us in our present fix. The FERC did nothing to help California or the other western states who had utility money embezzled by out of state energy companies. The end result is the state could find no way to pay back the Billions stolen by out of state energy companies through an awful loophole that the FEDS would not help close.
The state did the right thing and helped poor folks pay their crazy electrical utility bills and now not only Californians but the whole country and the world will pay the price now for that. I hope a way forward is found because the way California goes, up or down could signal what happens to all of America eventually within 10 to 25 years.
The article above says that Proposition 13 in California is the root of California's problems. No. I completely disagree. Proposition 13 reduced property taxes from almost 3% of the value of a house per year and limited it to 1% of the value of a house per year. The higher tax rate caused many many suicides of people who were native Californians who were retired and couldn't keep their houses because of the insanely high property taxes.
The real culprit of our present situation was never prop 13 which was a great solution to our previous problems. The real culprit was Enron and several other companies that criminally stole utility money from California for Billions and Billions of dollars. The financing of those billions and billions of dollars that the state took on so homeowners would owe 40,000 dollars a year or something else ridiculous is what put us in our present fix. The FERC did nothing to help California or the other western states who had utility money embezzled by out of state energy companies. The end result is the state could find no way to pay back the Billions stolen by out of state energy companies through an awful loophole that the FEDS would not help close.
The state did the right thing and helped poor folks pay their crazy electrical utility bills and now not only Californians but the whole country and the world will pay the price now for that. I hope a way forward is found because the way California goes, up or down could signal what happens to all of America eventually within 10 to 25 years.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
What it's like to be an intuitive
First of all you tend to be more observant of many things than most other people. It is sort of like most people are water skiers and you are a SCUBA diver. In other words you tend to go very deep into things, people, situations, God, nature, whatever you put your attention on.
There are many people who are potential intuitives but never develop their skills because they are steered away from it by situations, people, beliefs etc.
So, for someone like me that HAD to use my gifts in order to stay alive it is like watching people with their hands tied behind their backs as if they don't even know they have hands. So, for someone like me, I know who has gifts and who actually uses them and for what purpose. But doing all that takes some time. Mostly, I just want to know who has gifts and who is using them and for what purposes. That's all I need to know to protect myself, my friends, my family from people with gifts who are uncivilized they way they use their gifts.
For example, it took me years to develop my own ethical system for using my gifts. There was really no one to teach me at the time and so mostly I just used basic chivalry and the "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." So, basically I learned to be kind and mostly people are kind in return.
However, when it comes to basic survival I have learned to do whatever it takes just like everyone else on earth who survives past their 20s.
Studying with different masters in the United States, India and Nepal I found very helpful too. If you have gifts since life and God will hold you accountable for how you use these gifts one needs to seek out good teachers so as much good as possible comes from the use of your gifts.
There are many people who are potential intuitives but never develop their skills because they are steered away from it by situations, people, beliefs etc.
So, for someone like me that HAD to use my gifts in order to stay alive it is like watching people with their hands tied behind their backs as if they don't even know they have hands. So, for someone like me, I know who has gifts and who actually uses them and for what purpose. But doing all that takes some time. Mostly, I just want to know who has gifts and who is using them and for what purposes. That's all I need to know to protect myself, my friends, my family from people with gifts who are uncivilized they way they use their gifts.
For example, it took me years to develop my own ethical system for using my gifts. There was really no one to teach me at the time and so mostly I just used basic chivalry and the "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." So, basically I learned to be kind and mostly people are kind in return.
However, when it comes to basic survival I have learned to do whatever it takes just like everyone else on earth who survives past their 20s.
Studying with different masters in the United States, India and Nepal I found very helpful too. If you have gifts since life and God will hold you accountable for how you use these gifts one needs to seek out good teachers so as much good as possible comes from the use of your gifts.
Karma and feeling Guilty
I was talking to my old friend Bobby Jean today and realized what I was experiencing. Because I was raised blue collar and have been even as an adult for a short time without enough food to eat I empathize with poor the world around more than those who have only been rich would naturally unless they had had to experience what it is not to have food or to have any hope for a future.
It might be easy for someone raised rich to separate themselves from all others who don't have enough worldwide and just to say something like, "Well. I'm privileged because God wanted me to be and they aren't so that is just the way it is." And it is possible there is some truth to this. However, I find this a very inhumane and not a useful point of view because it only separates humans into separate camps and causes more problems than it solves now and in the future.
A more useful point of view would be: "How can I help prevent more suffering like this?"
This is Nobles Oblige(the obligation of the nobility to help those less fortunate). This is the point of view of those who demonstrate nobility and seldom found in the Nouveau riche(the newly rich).
There is a true story about my life as a child that perfectly illustrates the point I'm trying to make. I was going to a public school in Glendale, California called Horace Mann Grade School. I was 8 years old and I was walking home with a classmate of mine, a boy my age. He was complaining that he had no father, his mother didn't have a job, he didn't have a bicycle and of how unhappy he was with all his mother's boyfriends who were coming and going from his house that sometimes hit him.
Because I was young and naive and only 8 I told the boy that we had a car, a 41 buick, that had been my uncle's until he died in a plane crash in 1942. I told my friend that I had a bicycle, a good home to live in, two great parents and that I had had my own bicycle since I was 5 and that my grandmother had just given my my father's old 22 rifle that he learned to hunt with when he was 6 years old in Oregon and Washington.
My friend starting hitting me and started crying at the same time in rage. I was the same age but he was short and skinny and not as strong as me. I could have really hurt him if I wanted to. But I understood that moment I hadn't fully understood his pain so all I did was to prevent him from hurting me by fending off the blows. I felt at that moment only sorrow for this boy and didn't have the heart to hurt him back so I only blocked the blows to my face and chest. Then a very strange thing happened, my father drove up in the blue '41 Buick and picked me up and the boy ran away crying and seeing all that I said was true. My father asked me why I didn't fight back and I told him I felt sorry for the boy and didn't want to hurt him. My father respected me in a very different way from then on. He understood I was a very deep and empathetic person who saw through people to who they really were. This began a more adult relationship with my Dad. It was the beginning of a real friendship with my father. He still didn't hang out with me much but we became very close after I was 12 and he started to let me drive his cars and work trucks in his business and then I started working for him summers at age 12 as an electrician's helper as by 13 I was 5 foot 10 inches tall and a good worker.
I never saw that boy again as a friend because he was ashamed. He must have moved away or been put in an orphanage or something soon after that because I don't remember seeing him much after that in school.
This story is why I came to care about people with difficult lives and why sometimes I have felt guilty at always having both parents always, my father was always either employed or owned his own business. My parents were always my best friends and stayed together until my Dad died. But most of my friends growing up were from broken homes though I find the most successful both in life and relationships always had both parents growing up.
But in the end some have everything and some do not. The only way I can make any sense of this is karma and the only way this makes sense is if you believe in reincarnation.
All other systems just seem illogical and completely arbitrary and unfair so I tend to believe in karma and reincarnation because this just makes sense. Is it useful to believe there is no order at all to the universe? Not for me. Such thinking in the end only leads to self destruction. So in order to succeed and to have a reason to continue to succeed in even staying alive I think one needs to believe in kindness and some kind of order. Without a sense of kindness and order I see no reason at all to live or even to choose to live. So what I'm actually saying here is that whether there actually is a reason to stay alive or not one must believe there is not to commit suicide. So if you want to stay alive you need to find something to believe in. It can even be nature or yourself but you need something to believe in to stay alive.
It might be easy for someone raised rich to separate themselves from all others who don't have enough worldwide and just to say something like, "Well. I'm privileged because God wanted me to be and they aren't so that is just the way it is." And it is possible there is some truth to this. However, I find this a very inhumane and not a useful point of view because it only separates humans into separate camps and causes more problems than it solves now and in the future.
A more useful point of view would be: "How can I help prevent more suffering like this?"
This is Nobles Oblige(the obligation of the nobility to help those less fortunate). This is the point of view of those who demonstrate nobility and seldom found in the Nouveau riche(the newly rich).
There is a true story about my life as a child that perfectly illustrates the point I'm trying to make. I was going to a public school in Glendale, California called Horace Mann Grade School. I was 8 years old and I was walking home with a classmate of mine, a boy my age. He was complaining that he had no father, his mother didn't have a job, he didn't have a bicycle and of how unhappy he was with all his mother's boyfriends who were coming and going from his house that sometimes hit him.
Because I was young and naive and only 8 I told the boy that we had a car, a 41 buick, that had been my uncle's until he died in a plane crash in 1942. I told my friend that I had a bicycle, a good home to live in, two great parents and that I had had my own bicycle since I was 5 and that my grandmother had just given my my father's old 22 rifle that he learned to hunt with when he was 6 years old in Oregon and Washington.
My friend starting hitting me and started crying at the same time in rage. I was the same age but he was short and skinny and not as strong as me. I could have really hurt him if I wanted to. But I understood that moment I hadn't fully understood his pain so all I did was to prevent him from hurting me by fending off the blows. I felt at that moment only sorrow for this boy and didn't have the heart to hurt him back so I only blocked the blows to my face and chest. Then a very strange thing happened, my father drove up in the blue '41 Buick and picked me up and the boy ran away crying and seeing all that I said was true. My father asked me why I didn't fight back and I told him I felt sorry for the boy and didn't want to hurt him. My father respected me in a very different way from then on. He understood I was a very deep and empathetic person who saw through people to who they really were. This began a more adult relationship with my Dad. It was the beginning of a real friendship with my father. He still didn't hang out with me much but we became very close after I was 12 and he started to let me drive his cars and work trucks in his business and then I started working for him summers at age 12 as an electrician's helper as by 13 I was 5 foot 10 inches tall and a good worker.
I never saw that boy again as a friend because he was ashamed. He must have moved away or been put in an orphanage or something soon after that because I don't remember seeing him much after that in school.
This story is why I came to care about people with difficult lives and why sometimes I have felt guilty at always having both parents always, my father was always either employed or owned his own business. My parents were always my best friends and stayed together until my Dad died. But most of my friends growing up were from broken homes though I find the most successful both in life and relationships always had both parents growing up.
But in the end some have everything and some do not. The only way I can make any sense of this is karma and the only way this makes sense is if you believe in reincarnation.
All other systems just seem illogical and completely arbitrary and unfair so I tend to believe in karma and reincarnation because this just makes sense. Is it useful to believe there is no order at all to the universe? Not for me. Such thinking in the end only leads to self destruction. So in order to succeed and to have a reason to continue to succeed in even staying alive I think one needs to believe in kindness and some kind of order. Without a sense of kindness and order I see no reason at all to live or even to choose to live. So what I'm actually saying here is that whether there actually is a reason to stay alive or not one must believe there is not to commit suicide. So if you want to stay alive you need to find something to believe in. It can even be nature or yourself but you need something to believe in to stay alive.
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