“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
-Albert Einstein
Economic Shock Treatment or The Shock Doctrine is Naomi Klein’s research on Disaster Capitalism. We can see now that it is possible to re-program or control a person or even an entire society with shock therapy. Why is no one doing anything about current affairs? This method puts the victim in a child-like state, confused and unable to confront it’s attacker. The best way to stay oriented, to resist shock is to know what is happening to you and why. This bring to mind a line from the movie DUNE: “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
This video filmed by Dave Sowerby, features the best collection of street trials bicycle riding I have ever seen. Recorded in and around the city of Edinburgh, UK. It features Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill, you can look him up at www.dannymacaskill.co.uk
Inventor Charls Chults demonstrates an interesting solar power system using a Fernell Lens from an old recycled big screen television. Powering your home with this 6Kw Solar Power System will cost around $6,000 dollars, much more economic if compared to a Photovoltaic System which costs over $50,000 dollars.
Like moths bumping into a light bulb we instinctly search for our home. We somehow conclude that because we feel the warmth and see the light, that God must be “that” or “it” …some sort of ambiguous glowing blob. We equate the energy with the generator. Our little moth brains cannot fathom the possibility that maybe the light bulb is merely the energy produced by the personality setting it a glow. Of course, that would demand that we humbly accept our predicament as diminutive creatures in an infinitely complex and expanding reality. We can robustly claim that we can create a computer but ignorantly assume that no one else could do better. I sometimes think that if aliens did happen to come out of the closet and admit to their existence, the world population would sink into a deep depression knowing that there is are smarter cultures out there. It’s like a human microbe pride parade wanting to feel better about being in a situation we have very little control over. Yeah Yeah we are small!!! Yeah Yeah we know it all!…. The four rules of birth, age, disease and death apply to all in this material dimension. Those who seek a remedy to this cycle of birth and death (samsara) are considered lunatics or egomaniacs for trying to escape, how dare they feel so superior? You must join all the other Lemmings and happily jump off the cliff. Is it just ego or intelligence to try and find out how to transcend this limitation, to say the emperor is wearing no clothes? We concentrate most of our time either ignoring these limitations or try foolishly beating the odds like some Las Vegas junkie. I recently heard that scientists discovered a gene modification that coincides with some people’s desire to seek out spiritual enlightenment. We all have that gene but a certain modification determines whether that person will seek out God or a transcendental mystical experience. Hmmm…
When faced with chaos, most of us try to make some sense of the situation. The most common symptom is to blame God or the government. But I see that some people, in their present search for global peace, are seeking out the truth behind the media veil, in some cases curiously dabbling in the ancient mysteries for some sort of guidance. But with busy work and social schedules few have the time or desire to commit to an authentic practice and wind up choosing some quick results program. Also, there is the tendency to speculate about the nature of the universe and quickly reach a pseudo-conclusion to set the mind at ease. Other people reach the same conclusions and soon you have movements centered on convenient superficial truths to satisfy that group. The problem arises when the modern philosophy dabbler comes up against time-tested disciplines which require one to put one’s ideas into practice. We can talk about being a vegan or Buddhist, but have we ever been one? So how can we give opinions about things we’ve never truly experienced? Yes, we read a book or watched a program on the subject, does that make one qualified? Does reading a label on the bottle give the same benefit as taking the medicine inside the bottle? (to be continued…)
This video is a must see. Author/activist Isabel Allende (The House of Spirits) gives a strong heartfelt and at times comic account of her being chosen to be an Olympic flag bearer and discusses tales of strong women, the definition of feminism and her proposal to balance the present global situation.
Ona a lighter side, Penelope Cruz wins the 2009 Oscar for best supporting actress for Woody Allen’s movie “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” I thought Penelope’s speech was a very heartfelt moment: “…I grew up in a place called Alcobendas, where this was not a very realistic dream, and I, always the night of the Academy Awards, I’d stay up to watch the show. And I always felt that this was, this ceremony was a moment of unity for the world. Because art, in any form, is, and has been and will always be our universal language and we should do everything we can to protect it’s survival, so I thank you so much…”
She then makes a short speech in Spanish, here’s the translation in English: “To all of you who are are watching in Spain, who feel they are sharing this moment along with me, and to all the actors in my country. Thank you very much.” Bravo Penelope!!!