Chagdud Tulku (Tibetan: ལྕགས་མདུད་

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche

Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche - April 2001

H.E. Chagdud Tulku (Tibetan: ལྕགས་མདུད་; Wylie: Lcags-mdud) Rinpoche (1930–2002) was a teacher of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. He was known and respected in the West for his teachings, his melodic chanting voice, his artistry as a sculptor and painter, and his skill as a physician. He acted as a spiritual guide for thousands of students worldwide.^[1]
H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche was the fourteenth recognized Chagdud incarnation. Chagdud means “iron knot,” and is said to derive from one Sherab Gyaltsan, the first Chagdud incarnation, who folded an iron sword into a knot with his bare hands. This feat deeply impressed the emperor of Mongolia and inspired him to shower honors on the first Chagdud.^[2]
Chagdud Gonpa centers practice Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, primarily in the Nyingmapa tradition of Guru Padmasambhava.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Early life
• 2 Life in exile from Tibet
• 3 Life in the West
• 4 Bibliography
• 5 References
• 6 External link 
• end quote.
• All the above is quoted from Wikipedia under the heading "Chagdud Tulku" pronounced "Chalk Dude Tull Ku
• I met Chagdud Tulku around 1985. I had studied with one of his many students and was very pleased to finally meet Chagdud Tulku. He was both a Tulku "Living Buddha" who consciously reincarnates to enlighten all beings and a Tibetan Doctor. When I say doctor it is in an ancient Tradition which relates to ancient Tibetan, Chinese, and Aryuvedic medicine found in Asia among Chinese, Tibetan and East Indian Cultures. Much of this medicine has been brought also to the U.S. and Europe and other parts of the world as well now, especially since the 1960s and after, so almost anyone can benefit from these ancient medicinal practices and philosophies. Since much of the medicine goes back thousands of years of being useful in Asia, people all over the world are now finding this medicinal process useful to them as well. Acupuncture which originated in Acupressure in China is one of the many benefits of these ancient wisdoms which is now over 5000 years old or more.
• 
  
• Chagdud Tulku was very kind to me and to my family and helpful in a variety of ways that at that time I did not fully understand. There are some Lamas that are very impressive  and he was one of those. I met many lamas who were uniquely gifted in many many ways during the 1980s in California, Oregon, India and Nepal. It was a very amazing time to be alive for me. I was in my 30s and was meeting really amazing Living Buddhas. And I was evolved and mature enough to at least begin to appreciate what a blessing it was for myself and my family and beyond ever after.
•  

More on the 21 Taras

http://www.wildmind.org/mantras/figures/greentara

begin quote.

Tara, whose name means "star" or "she who ferries across," is a Bodhisattva of compassion who manifests in female form. In Tibetan, Tara is known as "Dölma" (Sgrol-ma), or "She Who Saves." In particular she represents compassion in action, since she’s in the process of stepping from her lotus throne in order to help sentient beings. end quote.

http://www.ksdl.org/tara.php
The above Website "ksdl" is where I found the thanka (picture) of the 21 Taras of Tibetan Buddhism. I purchased a picture like this in Dharamsala, Himchal Pradesh, India in January 1986, 25 years ago this month. On the back of the large poster that I brought back to the U.S. and put on my bedroom wall were the names of the 21 Taras. Green Tara (the large one represents all the Taras) but there are also protector Taras, and the  Long Life White Tara and the Gold Tara of wealth and good fortune. There is also Grandmother protector Tara or Ekajati and many others.

As you can see this is all very primal and powerful, Tibetan style.

The following quotes I also found helpful in regard to understanding the 21 Taras from:http://vortexcd.tripod.com/21tar.htm
Begin quote.

Enlightenment, Buddhahood, is One and is indivisible.
However, we are not like that. We are relative beings living in a relative condition. So we sometimes need different things at different times.
Because of this, Tara has manifested in innumerable different forms to help our relative problems.
It is rather as if we were to go to a huge store which could satisfy all our desires. If we wanted food, we would go to the food department. If we wanted cars, we would go to the cars department. Actually all the departments would be the same company, but they would all have a different appearance, different colours, different vibes, to help us to tune in to those things.
So, at the start, we have three Taras. The main Tara, and the Tara I am talking about in these pages, is the Green Tara. All the others are a manifestation of her.
Then there is White Tara.
One would expect there to be other Taras for the rest of the Buddha families: red, yellow and blue. There is a Red Tara. This wonderful extraordinary lineage is held by the great living Dzogchen master Chatral Rinpoche. However, if you want to learn it you will probably have to go towonderful Ven Chagdud Tulku in America or Brazil; his American-born wife also teaches this practice. Yellow Tara is a wealth Tara - possibly she is the same as the Basudarini, Norgyun (covered below as Tara no.10). Among the 21 Taras, there are a couple that are blue-black. I don't know which one of these is equivalent to a Blue Tara.
After the three or five Taras, there are Eight Taras who are the remedies or the antidotes to the Eight Great Fears. These fears have an internal aspect and an external aspect. The external aspect is that they are the fears of: Lions, Elephants, Fire, Serpents, Thieves, Captivity, Drowning, and Flesh-eating Spirits. Internally, these are fears such as the fears of oppression, loss of possessions, of change and so on. I can't correlate these exactly for you as I have not received any teachings on this. One does not usually find representations of these Eight Taras: sometimes one finds them arranged around a central Green Tara in a Thangka, just as the 21 Taras are arranged above.
(For notes on the lineages of the 21 Taras and a scholarly viewpoint on why there should be 21 Taras, go here .)
The main Tara forms in the tradition is the set called the 21 Taras. Some of the 21 Taras are correlated with other female deities, such as Saraswati, and some of them are different aspects, functions or forms of Tara.
There is a text of about three pages called the Praises to the 21 Taras which is very important in all schools. Often lamas recite 100,000 of this text: Chagdud Tulku's experience of doing so is recounted in his biography Lord of The Dance . There are also a couple of shorter, one-page texts. There are various sets of mantras for the 21 Taras as well. As yet,I don't have permission to reproduce any of these texts here. Most Buddhist centres should have them; I got mine from the Sogyal Rinpoche organisation, Rigpa. The mantras are also reproduced in John Blofeld's Bodhisattva of Compassion , along with many lovely Tara stories.
If you are doing the individual mantras: Firstly, get the Lung (that is the permission to do them) from a lama (this is simple; all the lama has to do is recite them to you). Second, if you are doing the individual Tara mantras, it is a very good idea to have completed 100,000 repetitions of the Tara mantra first. (This takes about four days. See Practice Notes below).
From a practical and religious standpoint, it is really excellent to do the individual mantras of these deities. They each have a different feeling. They are also extremely effective. For example, if you are having a disagreement with somebody, reciting the mantra of Dugselma in your head while you talk to them is really magical in helping resolve the argument. The feeling attached to Taras like Shiwa Chenmo is also really lovely.
Here are two lists of Taras and their functions.  The first is according to the tradition of Atisha.  I am not entirely sure if this text is not corrupt: one Tara appears to recur twice.  The second list is according to the Long-Chen Nyin-Thig tradition, oir at least, so I have tried to make it.
Mostly the lists are the same.  Some Taras seem to have the same functions but different names.  Some Taras seem to be in a different position.  However the purpose and direction of them is similar.
This list of the 21 Taras and their functions is according to the tradition of Atisha.
1) Nyurma Palmo
'Swift lady of glory' , to pacify hindrances and develop Bodhicitta.
2) Shiwa Ch'enmo
This Tara is to pacify external negative influences.
In most lists, this second place is occupied by Saraswati.  Also, in this list Shiwa Ch'enmo seems to recur at position 15.  It is this which makes me wonder if this is an accurate text.
3) Serdog Chen
To develop wealth and longevity
4) Namgyalma (Ushnisha)
This is an important deity for all schools. Ushnisha, she who dwells on the topknot of the Buddhas, develops longevity and wealth.  Her mantra and mandala may be found here.
Her mantra has been published so I think i can give it to you. It is
OM BHRUM SOHA (Ohm Dhrung Sowha).
 
5) Kurukulla
Also an important deity for all schools, though possibly more so for the Sarma ( New Translation) schools. Kurukulla is to develop one's capacity. Kurukulla also has a reputation for bringing sex partners. This makes some people do a great deal of Kurukulla practice. This is not really a good idea unless one does other, balancing practices, because it can lead to anxiety, agitation and nervousness.  Anyway, Green Tara should bring one a partner, if desired.
6) Jigten Sumle Nampar Gyalma
This Tara is to tame elemental spirits - local beings which can give us problems.
7) Shen Jom-Ma
This Tara is to protect against magic and curses from human and non-human beings.
8) Du Dra Jom Ma
This Tara is to give us victories.
9) Jigpa Kunkhyob Ma
This Tara is to save us from all fears.
10)  Dudang Jigten Wangdu Dema
This Tara is to protect against being confused by spirits.
11) Norgyun (Basudarini)
This Tara is to remove poverty and bring wealth. Wealth practices always mention this deity.
12) Tashi Donjedma
This Tara is to bring auspicious conditions, like good farming climate and many children and wealth and luck, to the area we live in.
Because this mantra is for the good of all, I don't see why I shouldn't put it here:
Om Tare Tutare Ture Mangalam Soha.
'Mangala' means a blessing or good omen.
13) Metar Barma
This is to make people speak well of us and prevent verbal reputation problems.
14) Tronyer Chen
This Tara is to suppress forces which may be trying to obstruct us (spirit forces)
15) Shiwa Ch'enma
This deity is to purify and suppress the effects of one's own negative actions. This is a wonderful Tara to do.
16) Saraswati In this text, Saraswati is placed here.
17) Jigten Sumyowa
This Tara is to pacify problems.
18) Dugselma
This Tara purifies or neutralises the effects of poison. In the East, secret enemies often use poison - in fact, secret long-lasting poisons, not known to the West, are used. In one story, a practitioner was in a remote area of Bhutan and was invited to dinner at the house of some people he did not quite trust. So he used an anti- poison mantra when just about to taste the food, whereupon it turned black and burst into flames. In the West, we do not fear deliberate poisoning so much. However, we often fear food poisoning, and also sometimes we take substances that may harm us. This mantra is useful against these.
19) Mip'ham Gyalmo
This Tara is absolutely wonderful. Her mantra averts quarrels and bad dreams. Try it next time you get into an argument! It is very swift and effective.
I don't see any harm if I tell you this one:
Om Tare Tutare Ture Motsana Soha.
20) Selwe'i Drolma
This Tara is to remove pestilence. She is often evoked when plague strikes. Some people feel that it is somehow disrespectful to invoke her for a cold in the head or a drippy nose. Not at al. l As I say in Practice Notes, Tara should be invoked as often as possible and for every problem, no matter how small.
Invoking Tara does not make us weak somehow. Every time we invoke Tara, we become more like her: more merciful and more wise. P>21)  Tr'inle Tamche Yongsu Dzogpar Jepe'i Drolma In most lists this place is occupied by Maritse. However, here we have this Tara who is to make all that we do perfect and complete. This Tara is also very wonderful to do.
This list of the 21 Taras and their functions is according to the tradition of the Longchen Nyin-Thig. I hope it is anyway; perhaps some of the names are according to the tradition of Chogyur Lingpa. Never mind, they seem tgo be in the same order. end quote.


The first following website "ksdl" is where I got the picture of the 21 Taras that you can see if you click on:
"The 21 Taras" word button below or the "ksdl" at the" .php"


http://www.ksdl.org/tara.php

The 21 Taras

The 21 Taras

The First Tibetans

The First Tibetans is the name of the first Chapter in the book by Thomas Laird who is interviewing the Dalai Lama in a book he wrote called "The Story of Tibet". The following is from page 10 of the first Chapter called "The First Tibetans".

"Buddhists, like Christians, Hindus, and Muslims, cherish ancient religious myths, which explain human origins for the faithful. Jews, Christians, and Muslims share a myth in which God blows spirit into clay to create Adam. In one of several Hindu creation myths, the primeval creature Purusha was dismembered and people emerged from its parts.  A Chinese myth tells of warring mythical emperors who hammer a primeval creature with bolts of lightning. Tibetans learn about a monkey who mated with a rock-dwelling demoness." end quote.

Next quote same page 11.

The Great Fifth Dalai Lama summarized Tibet's creation myth when he wrote his history of the nation in 1643.

'It is said that the flesh eating red-faced race of Tibetans were the descendants of a union between a monkey and a rock-dwelling demoness. Through the compassion of the Holy One, who had changed his form to that of a monkey, who united with a rock dwelling demoness---six children came into being. Growing from these in course of time, Tibet became a kingdom of human beings.'

The Holy One mentioned here is the Bodhisattva Chenrizi. Tibetans believe that the Great Fifth Dalai Lama was a manifestation of Chenrizi, just as they believe that the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is. After helping the Tibetan people evolve from animal life, Chenrizi has manifested himself in a human form repeatedly to guide them. Tibetans do not believe that the Dalai Lama is the fourteenth incarnation of the human being who was the First Dalai Lama: rather, he is considered to be the Fourteenth manifestation of Chenrizi, or the Holy One." end quote.

So, for those of us here in the west who are Christian or secular Christian, the Dalai Lama to the Tibetans would be like the 14th incarnation of Jesus Christ would be to us.

Begin quote on page 14 midway down the page.

The (present) Dalai Lama does not concur with every belief held by the most traditional and devout Tibetan Buddhists. For example, he accepts Darwin's theory about the origin of species through natural selection as the most logical explanation regarding the origins of humanity.

"When science clearly contradicts Buddhist beliefs, and it is proven, then we must reject the earlier beliefs,' the Dalai Lama said. "We will accept the evidence of science not early beliefs. The Buddha himself made it clear that the final decision for every person must come through investigation and experiment, not by relying solely on religious texts. The Buddha gave us each that freedom. I am following this line." end quote page 14.


Here, for me is the most wonderful thing about the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. Being a thinking logical person because Buddha himself believed in this, we can see Tibetan Buddhism through  this  Dalai Lama and the next merging compassion and truth as found through philosophic inquiry and scientific research and moving towards something even more wonderful than it presently is as both a philosophy and a religion and thereby helping all mankind in the process to live better lives whether any of them have a religion or not. So, I see Tibetan Buddhism as an incredible civilizing and helpful force on the planet moving civilization forward to a better place along with all the other compassionate philosophies and religions on the planet.

The Path According to Fred

Religion- If you have a religion look to it for discipline and the beginnings of culture in your life.

Truth-If you seek truth look to philosophical inquiry. From Philosophy came all the sciences past, present and future.

Enlightenment-If you seek enlightenment develop compassion for yourself and all beings in the universe and join this with Truth.

If you do all these things you will have the best lifetime possible for you. This is my experience, this is my belief after living 62 years here on Earth.

96% of Bumblebees Gone in U.S.

Bumble Bees In US Suffer Sharp Decline, Joining Countless Other Species 

To read full news article click "Bumble Bees in In US" above.

North American bees are disappearing at a rapid rate, signaling a dire threat to the production of countless food sources. The Guardian reports that four common species of U.S. bumble bees have declined 96 percent in recent decades, and scientists allege that disease and inbreeding are responsible.
Honey bees have long been known to be in decline, suffering from the enigmatic colony collapse disorder, and the latest research on U.S. bumble bees only exacerbates concerns over future food production, as bees are responsible for pollinating 90 percent of the world's commercial plants, from fruits and vegetables to coffee and cotton.end quote.

Though I suppose it is possible to pollinate with artificial bees that would be manufactured like little robots to fly and pollinate all the plants we need to bear fruit and vegetables to survive, it is very sad that so many of the Bumblebees and regular honey bees are gone now. As multiple species  diminish and some go extinct one wonders where man fits into the whole extinction process. In other words if all these species are diminishing when will we diminish as a species as a direct result?

However, at least in regard to honeybees part of the problem is due to inbreeding by humans of their bees. Only in the wilds can bees breed naturally to survive most everything that comes. So, only in wild undomesticated hives will a potential answer come in the long run for this problem if it comes.

Siemens One of world's leaders in Wind Power Electricity

Siemens Invests in Expanding Wind Power
To read article on Siemens click "Siemens Invests" above. Quote from article below.

On Dec. 3, Siemens opened a factory in Hutchinson, Kan., to make nacelles — housings the size of a bus that sit atop wind turbine towers and hold the mechanical and generating equipment. Siemens already has a blade factory in Fort Madison, Iowa, which opened in 2007, and is planning a plant in Tillsonburg, Ontario, to supply blades for nearby wind farms.
The company’s goal is to become one of the top three suppliers of wind power equipment in the world, up from eighth or ninth now. Vestas Wind Systems, a Danish company that focuses solely on wind power, is the market leader.

To have any chance, however, requires a foothold in China, the world’s largest market for wind power, and one of the most difficult to enter because of government policies that favor local companies. In November, Siemens opened a factory in Shanghai, a city chosen in part because it is on the water and a good place from which to ship equipment for offshore wind parks, a niche in which Siemens is the No. 1 equipment supplier.

The Asian market is the largest and fastest growing for wind power, accounting for an estimated 44 percent of global capacity, according to IHS Emerging Energy Research. Europe is second, with 34 percent of global capacity and North America third with 19 percent.

Siemens is also planning factories in the emerging markets of India and Russia as well as in Britain where, despite an austerity budget, the government is strongly backing the development of offshore wind projects.

In the United States, makers of wind power equipment have had to contend with fickle government incentives and a plunge in the price of natural gas, which made wind energy less competitive. In addition, the financial crisis has made it harder for smaller operators to get loans to build wind parks.
“The U.S. was supposed to be one of the most attractive markets,” said Eduard Sala de Vedruna, a research analyst for wind power at IHS Emerging Energy Research. “It’s not going to be as attractive as it used to be.”

Like General Electric, the market leader in wind power in the United States, Siemens may have an advantage against upstarts because it has long supplied equipment for conventional power plants and transmission facilities run by big utility companies. Siemens also has a long history in countries like Russia and China, where the company sold telegraph equipment as early as 1872. end quote.
“Siemens already had some good relationships,” Mr. Sala de Vedruna said. “They understand the business of generating electricity.” end quote.

Unfortunately, because of the low price of natural gas in the U.S. ,wind power has actually less demand than expected. T. Boone Pickens found this out the hard way. So even though he advocates both natural gas and wind power he didn't expect natural gas prices to be so low as to make natural gas competitive with wind power. However, everyone knows that there is only somewhere between (at most) 20 to 40 years of oil left in the ground for all of earth. (Even less with the increases in China and India of  the purchase of cars and trucks and the building of roads and increased use of plastic worldwide.) One of the things people don't realize is that when oil ends so will anything plastic if it isn't recycled somehow. So once oil is completely gone we will have recycled metal and wood and stone and other fiber materials but things like plastic, nylon, and all oil based fabrics etc. will be gone. Clothes will all have to be made from cotton, and wool and fibers of many kinds rather than be oil based at that point. And this will happen quite quickly over the next 10 to 20 years as the price of oil naturally increases as it depletes worldwide. So, in some ways the increase of the price of oil is a good thing because it will force the world to convert to solar, wind, and ocean power in order to survive at all. I wonder what the transition will  be like worldwide?

2nd large Bird kill in addition to other fish and bird kill

Another large bird kill reported, this time in Louisiana

This is the third mass kill site so far with two bird kills in the thousands and one fish kill in the thousands. If they were all bird kills I would say it could be the weather combined with large cell phone towers which might create unusual broadcast or lightning events in the air. However, the fish kill could only be a chemical reaction or an explosion in the water like dynamite or something that poisoned them, unless the fish kill was to cover up the bird kills by drawing attention away from them.

Green Tara, Mary Mother of Jesus, Goddess of Mercy:Quan Yin, Earth Mother

From strictly a cultural Anthropological perspective, Green Tara and the 21 Taras, Mary the mother of Jesus, The Goddess of mercy(Quan Yin) and Earth Mother (as well as a variety of Feminine Dieties in multiple religions all over earth all represent Divine Mother.

This is the most ancient and primal force in human civilization and before there were male dieties there were female earth mother carvings because without a fertile female representative the tribes all died out. So from a cultural anthropological point of view the concept of Divine Mother was about life itself and whether the tribe was fertile and survived and progressed or whether it went extinct and died out.

Male dieties had more to do with Warfare and Political control and came later in human evolution up through the complexities of change to modern day societies. However, I think it is very important that we still honor all the Earth mother fertility type of dieties because if humans can't reproduce (unless physical immortality is found) we will all be extinct within about 100 years of that moment.

Become the Buddha

In 1977 I attended a Conference called "Become the Buddha" in San Francisco. At the time even though I liked the sentiment I wondered about the usefulness of the statement in some ways. My son was then 4 years old and he accompanied me, and my parents to this conference then in San Francisco at the Scottish Rights Masonic Temple that was put on by a group that rented the Temple for this purpose. It was one of the most amazing 4 or 5 days I have ever spent. At one point my son at age 4 sat down and seemingly automatically without coaching sat down in the Buddha pose and everyone remarked at the perfect pose he sat in without being coached by anyone. I knew right then that this was going to be a very remarkable spiritual conference. So when the teacher started giving the Sanskrit version of Buddhist mantras to Tara, Padmasambhava etc. remarkable things started happening for many people present. One of the things I had never experienced before in a group was that people started going into the void. I had heard this talked about before but the experience was like you would be there and the spiritual energies would get so powerful you would be gone. But it wasn't at all like in church where people go to sleep. No. This was different where all sense of time was lost. So, when you came back you knew you had been gone to a very different peaceful sort of place where both time and space didn't exist. And universally people knew something really wonderful was happening to them in their lives.

So, I don't know if it was the place, the teacher, the group, the astrology, or what it was. However, this 4 or 5 days changed everyone's lives in a very good way. I found myself after this starting to understand Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism more and moving towards a place where within 3 years I started meeting Tibetan Lamas in the U.S. in California and Oregon, and eventually in 1985 and 1986 I and my son and two step kids and new wife and I all went to India and Nepal and were initiated along with 500,000 others (10,000) westerners, into the Kalachakra Initiation. We met Tibetans who had walked for 6 months out of Tibet to get this initiation knowing they would never be allowed back by the Chinese. So, people did almost anything to receive this initiation by the Dalai Lama, from all over India, Nepal and Tibet and in the case of westerners from Europe, North and South America, Japan, Australia etc.

Yesterday was a very difficult day for my son. He started out tired without enough sleep, and tried to drive straight through for a College class that would have been on Monday. However, going out hiway 46 to Interstate 5 his car overheated and he realized he couldn't make it over the grade from Stanton on over to Lost Hills and Interstate 5. So, the restaurant there gave him a 5 gallon empty plastic milk carton to fill with water to see if he could get to Paso Robles and get some antifreeze and a new thermostat to fix his car. So, off he went  trying to get his car to someplace with gas stations and mechanics as where he was it was mostly open land and farms and ranches,  he made a mistake and the  radiator cap blew off and blew antifreeze all over him. Luckily, he has good reflexes and it didn't get into his eyes and scald them. However, he said some blew into his mouth so he was spitting out antifreeze as it is poisonous. So, since I'm more mechanically minded that he is in regard to cars whereas he can fix any computer or even build me a really great custom one and just recently last month got his BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) I set out from the Bay Area to see if I could help before he accidentally destroyed his engine by trying to nurse it without enough antifreeze in it.

At a certain point he realized after getting a hold of a new thermostat that it was too big a job for him to easily replace it. Besides, he didn't have the right tools in his car for that. So, I mostly went to where he was to rent a hotel room and to brainstorm a useful solution. Then, because he was really distraught he and his wife had a disagreement over the phone. So things got progressively worse as the day progressed. When I got to him he was pretty upset about his car and the problems his wife and he were now having. I realized that he was having what I used to call a "Hell" day from just one too many problems surfacing at the same time which makes one feel a lot like they are on a battlefield. So he didn't sleep much last night and got up and looked up Tibetan Buddhism on the internet and looked up anger and compassion.

What he told me this morning after losing his sleep  between 3 and 5 am was that when he looked up anger was that what is usually needed is patience both with oneself and others. He said that releasing one's anger through verbal or physical violence only usually created more problems for everyone. I was impressed with this point of view. I told him that one of the reasons that I have a good life now was that I had decided around 1980 that Compassion, kindness and patience towards all life in the universe was the superior path for me and that everything good in my life ever since came from that decision. From that decision came my taking Ahimsa Vows (a vow not to kill or harm anything). (What this really means is that self defense exists but that one is disciplined and not killing things unless there is no other practical useful choice ever).

I was very happy my son had also come to this very  advanced social and spiritual point of view. It is incredibly powerful in the good it brings into not only to the one's life that makes this choice but also in the good it brings into everyone that is related to them or knows them or who even has any kind of contact with them. It is incredibly powerful in a very good way for all life everywhere.

So, I was very proud of my son in coming through an extreme adversity day to this enlightened conclusion about his life.

Poverty makes people Spineless

I was listening to NPR radio while stuck in the traffic mess caused by the closure of Interstate 5 in California because of snow and winds above 90 mph and was listening to a series of "Short Stories" being read.

Then a man started to read a piece written by a wealthy Vietnamese man who had immigrated to Louisiana after the Viet Nam War. He left everything behind and eventually became wealthy in Louisiana as well.

One of the many things in this piece that was called something like "John Lennon's shoe" (he owns the right shoe that John Lennon wore when he was assasinated and martyred).

One of the many things he said that resonated with me was "Poverty makes people spineless". People who have already lost everything don't usually rise up and defend their family, property and businesses and land was what he had said. And he was referring to what happened in Viet Nam from his point of view. I thought this concept was also important to Americans and people all over the world of how people once they lose everything don't usually fight for their rights anymore. And so, I would say that now is the time to make sure we all don't lose everything worldwide in every useful non-violent way we can. So we all don't ever get to the point where we have already lost everything and are permanently past caring about anything.

He went on to speak about how his wife and family stayed in Viet Nam and of how he felt coming to the U.S. to worship freely his religion of being a Catholic but of how like a fish out of water he felt here in the U.S. away from the culture and land that spawned him. He said he wanted to buy any other shoe of John Lennon so he could put them both on and and walk down the streets in them and somehow find himself, his identity, his meaning once again, to put together all the pieces of his life and to be whole.

Interstate 5 shut Down: Snow and 90mph winds at Grapevine

Snow, wind shut down Interstate 5, a traffic nightmare for Southern California ...

Snow, wind shut down Interstate 5, a traffic nightmare for Southern California travelers

Heavy snow and 90 mph winds over the Grapevine prompt officials to close the freeway indefinitely. Chilly temperatures, rain in the L.A. Basin and snow in mountain areas are forecast through Monday.

Josh Breneman of Saugus wipes snow off the rear window of his car. Snow began falling in the Santa Clarita Valley about 1 p.m. Sunday. (Los Angeles Times, Kirk McKoy / January 1, 2011)

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• Video: Snow closes Grapevine

By Carla Rivera and Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times

January 3, 2011

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Frigid winter weather stormed into Southern California on Sunday, the final day of the New Year's holiday weekend, causing traffic delays, stranding motorists and powdering Santa Clarita and several other Southland communities with a rare dusting of snow.

A cold front that originated in the Pacific Northwest brought chilly rains, heavy snow and wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour to the Grapevine, prompting the California Highway Patrol to shut down Interstate 5 from Castaic to the Kern County line. More than 100 vehicles were stranded, some disabled by the snow. Others tried to take back roads and became stuck in mud.

The CHP sent tow trucks to help dislodge the vehicles and escorted others through the pass, Officer Krystal Carter said. But travelers heading north and south faced daunting delays, including a detour that took them to California 126, U.S. 101, California 166 and then back to the 5. end quote.

I was caught in part of the aftermath while rescuing my son and his car when it broke down in the middle of all this. I spent about 1 hour in heavy rain that seemed like it wanted to turn into sleet on Hiway 101 from north of Paso Robles through Atascadero. For those of you who have traveled this route, Paso Robles and Atascadero are far away bedroom communities and farming country and having traffic jams is pretty much unheard of there. I looked out Hiway 46 as I intersected it on Hiway 101 and saw headlights as far as the eye could see from people driving over 46 because they couldn't get to Southern California on Interstate 5. In reading LA Times article starting with "Snow" at the top of the page I realized that today in regard to the major north south artery in California, it was a disaster for hundreds of thousands of people traveling home through or to southern California. Many people got their cars stuck in mud or snow trying to find alternate routes. We are very grateful to find a hotel to weather the storm before getting his car fixed tomorrow.

Investing: It's when you start and when you finish

 Metrics: In Investing, It’s When You Start and When You Finish

If you look at the graph at the above website by clicking on "Metrics" above, you will notice that the best 20 years for investing in the last 100 years was:

BEST 20 YEARS
1948-68
+8.4% a year

And the second best 20 years were:

2ND BEST
20 YEARS
1979-99
+8.2% a year

But one must also consider the worst 20 years were: 
 WORST 20 YEARS
1961-1981
–2.0% a year

So, as a long term investor one must be prepared to endure the cycles where one might lose 2% a year in order to benefit hopefully from years where the return is 8% or more. Studying the graph gives us some indication of where the U.S. has been. But because of Global Climate Change, China, India and a myriad of other factors it is a big unknown where the U.S. Economy is headed in the short or long term at this point.

Philosophy

The philosophical process is about asking questions. Often the end result of asking these kinds of questions becomes or became all the sciences or will become sciences in the near or distant future. So, from philosophy comes not only questions but the answers potentially to all questions. Answering questions that previous generations have asked people develop their personal philosophies of life from their direct and shared experiences in life. So philosophical questioning is the basis of human civilization and always has been. Religions are also a part of these questions and answers. Some choose to accept religious answers and some do not. But I think it is important to realize that everyone believes what they do in order to find a way to survive here on earth.

Experiencing Life

I find that often there are hundreds of levels of reality to any given situation. However, I usually find it isn't useful to try to define all these levels of reality on an intellectual level. However, since I tend to be an intuitive genius by nature, I find it is possible to sense what is most important about any given situation that I find myself in.

For example, I was waiting for my two daughters 14 and 21 at the ticket taker stand at a movie recently. They had two chairs for people to get out of the cold. So I just sat in one of the chairs waiting for my daughters to arrive in their car. Two ladies arrived and prepared to head out of the theater into the cold of the storm. One lady laid her purse down on the seat next to me and was rearranging it. I knew from her aura that something awful had happened to her recently because she was so "out of body" in a difficult way, that way people often get when someone has died like a husband, child or other relative. I felt compassion for her and prayed for her in my heart and soul. So, when she stood up she started to shake. So, I knew by this that my prayer was working. I watched her soul reconnect more fully with her body, so a type of more normal sanity could return to her mind and body. So I felt pleased at what I was witnessing and gave thanks to God and his angels for helping this poor woman who was obviously suffering so.

You might find yourself someplace and just notice that someone needs you to pray for them just like I did. All you have to be is aware of the need and to pray. Often Angels will come and minister to that person right then and there without a sound coming out of your lips or theirs. Part of experiencing life is experiencing God and angels save lives.