Wrapping Up 2010

There's been a blog delay while I got a few gifts together and did some baking this month. One of the major items was getting a dozen of my short stories online for folks to read if they wished; a couple friends and relatives have ereaders, so I was on a learning curve to set these up in downloadable formats. Anyway... (The Crazy Dozen @ http://pickledtales.com - one of my favorites is 'The Survey Taker Rides Again' and I think Jim will enjoy it.)

So - thoughts on 2010. A year ago in January I wood-burned a sign "It's Getting Weirder". I was right, and it still is. Between weather and Wikileaks, seems everything is more agitated. People's lives are fairly disturbed, too - finances are challenged, folks are moving around, and a bit of Active Instability occurring. This explains Matt getting divorced and married in the same month, a friend going through 4-5 jobs that didn't pan out, cars going ka-blooey, a close friend reappearing temporarily and disappearing thoroughly, a new friend stepping in that is seriously trying to take care of me ---- 4 kinds of chocolate and a back massage for Christmas... AND he read my short stories!

Just proves we're not immune to 'the weirdness' here, but learning to flow with it or stay centered (in the eye of the hurricane it's calm) is challenging - and no, I'm no good at this, either. That we're not battling severe floods or house collapsing or power outages or total chaos makes it easier. So much of the world is getting clobbered by extreme weather and it isn't letting up. We have a predicted 7 - 11 more inches of snow coming through New Year's Day, which makes me glad I put "the snow support" over my room - amen!

I know - a touch of spring fever already, looking forward to shoveling off the 'snow support' and sitting coatless in the sun. I shoveled the first round yesterday, so I'm thinking the current batch is Dennis's and Sera's to deal with. I've learned to drape a tarp over my car when the forecast suggests it; makes it a lot easier to clear the car when I'm ready. We're at the bottom of a lovely little hill that likes to challenge vehicles. I thought the plow-guy was being nice dumping sand, and then I realized he was stuck for 10 minutes and was dumping it to get himself out.

Now... did you know Coca-Cola owns Minute Maid? I just found out, though I am aware of these 'companies within companies'. I wonder how many of various products actually end up owned by very few companies, which do control our lives to some extent. Aren't we all glad Wall Street bankers had a banner year while minimum wage in some areas went up a dime? Folks are starting to clue in "there's something sour in our monetary system" but it's a tangled web intended to deceive. That Wall Street rakes in profits while states are going bankrupt is a symptom of the insanity. I doubt Wikileaks can share much on it that would surprise me.

This seems like a rather boring post, and I apologize if it seems so to you, too. I will share a little news blip: gent was 106 years old and gave up smoking. Hello, if he's made it 106 years without smoking killing him, then maybe it's not a good idea to switch now! Odds are his system will get confused and viruses will have a field day setting up shop, leading to his demise. This is an untested personal observation, but I've seen a few middle-agers quit smoking only to die within a few years from unrelated causes. Folks will suggest they should have quit sooner, but another possible conclusion is 'upsetting the apple cart' - a body is used to operating under set chemical conditions - habituated, if you wish - and a radical change could leave an opening for anything to develop. It's a bit like turning the soil in a field and leaving it for any opportunistic seed to grow.

I'm curious if Attitude doesn't affect one's health more in the long run; guilt and shame (socially levied) could wear a person into cancer, while 'a death wish' could strangle a person with alcohol or prescription meds (don't get me started on that one!) or suicidal driving. Stress eats people, regardless of personal habits. Case in point, my dad told me of a health guru on TV, wonderful gent in his late forties, looked like he was in his mid-twenties. 'Live' TV back then, and the guy had a heart attack and died on-air - go figure! Dad was about to change his evil ways but decided all that health-living wasn't all it was cracked up to be, lit up his pipe, filled his coffee cup and had a piece of chocolate. I suggest stressing over anything, including health, is BAD for you!

Now all I need to do is past this invaluable advice on to my supervisor and children and bill collectors... BTW, my supervisor quit smoking, has a good deal of stress related to this situation; I wonder how her health will be in a year (I know, blame the smoking, not the stress or attitude). If there's a healthy way to quit smoking, then it doesn't include Chantix - potentially deadly side affects and increased suicidal thoughts - or eating oneself into a grave. Well, how do you apply a negative and expect things to turn out positive?

That's a conversation I had with my sister. She's been 'fighting to quit' for some time - note the term, 'fighting'. Inner battle then, part of her seriously doesn't want to quit or she wouldn't be battling it continuously. I suggest folks don't beat themselves up over it because this is not a healthy approach! Your body and mind will hear your angst, and produce conditions to reflect it if you repeat it often enough. Ever wonder what the benefits are of getting sick?

A person doesn't think this way normally, but there are situations that 'generate ill health' - sometimes just so you'll take a break and not 'do what you didn't want to do in the first place' like burning yourself out on a job or holidays. Kid on crutches here has figured out, despite her ability to do pretty much anything she wants and hop around in all directions, that she can get folks to do it for her if she hangs a sad face on. I don't claim this is the only reason for ill health and I'd be absolutely wrong to do so; too many other influences, including possible past-life issues, to be this glib.

It just seems wise to ask yourself when a bug strikes, "What's the potential benefits of me being sick right now?" and answering honestly. Sometimes we all need a break but won't allow it until we're knocked flat and we can justify it. Sometimes we wear ourselves this thin with pressure before we'll surrender.

Sure, and there's a scene in The Celestine Prophecy series where he sprains his ankle; they ask him what the benefit is, and he indignantly denies any until he thinks about it some. It ties to a past situation in his youth and gives him time to think more thoroughly before proceeding in a given direction. He couldn't have done this without 'spraining his ankle', so he did. It could have been a fluke accident, but it was what he needed at the time.

Gads, reminds me of the lady that became fully paralyzed for no apparent reason, spent about a year 'doing nothing'... but thinking. Hard lesson, but what a change this must have brought into her life, hmm? Talk about losing control, letting others serve you, pondering this thing called Life in a way none of us would ever wish for! Considering I don't even sit still well, I'd have gone stark raving mad.

Personally, I'm wondering if my glasses are helping or hurting me. They keep upping the strength; I imagine this just encourages weaker vision in the long run, kind of like a cast on a leg weakens muscles. Actually, just high-top boots continously will weaken ankles, making it difficult to wear 'regular shoes' any length of time (happened with an ex-). In some possible universe, reducing the strength of glasses may help eyes 'get back to seeing', much like the boots above. I'm my own worst enemy on this; too much computer and tend to leave 'reading' glasses on while roaming the house. I'll have to give myself a stern lecture. I also think sometimes "we've seen too much" and our bodies adjust to serve this. A few interesting reports on hypnotism showed folks could read fine without glasses while 'under the influence' -- how can that be??

Great. I hope whatever 2011 dishes up, it's wonderful and enchanting and glorious. A piece of wisdom (from Celestine Prophecies, again) is: See Beauty. I try to remember this, but sometimes I have to stretch for it, like on a slick road on a grey day where the planet seems to be weary. I do know it does help relieve stress whenever a person can achieve this state. I bet it helps eyes see better, too!

I plan on writing this blog a bit more frequently in 2011, barring crises, major crisis, solar flares or other phenomenon. It's a little gift to those who read it. :)

I'd love to hear from others how they think 2011 will develop, because I have a feeling it's gonna get wilder. Wondering what others' gut impressions are and any suggestions for staying sane...

'Hugs as big as the blizzard' going out to all of you.

Mental Wandering

Thought I'd let my mind roam and see where it ended up. Jim's responses to my last post added to the mix - I'm starting to think there are vast dimensions and wildernesses inside our heads if we but wander the trails. With all the new virtual-reality devices, can you imagine if they were linked to what's in our heads?

Does a bigger maze exist?

New-friend Terry came to visit Friday evening, stayed the night to help me out on Saturday. In a 24 hour period, he was exposed to 'old Neil Young' while I meandered paths associated to Eric and the upcoming 10-year anniversary of his passing. Awfully busy 10 years it's been, keeping a grip on this world while bumping into Spirits - some in flesh, some 'just hanging out with me' in an unseen way.

Roaming around in my head and past, Neil Young and John Lennon at age 16, getting stoned so Life wasn't so sharp. Changes in the home, Vietnam raging, Social Security failing, Silent Spring and toxic waste, nuclear weapons and humanity's ability to wipe out all life '10 times over'. It seemed redundant to me at the time, because if we could wipe out life just once or twice we could put our energy into something more life-supporting. I figured living was a daily crap-shoot, as individuals and as a species. Pondered religion and reincarnation, stared into the swamp at another world of insects and plants, concluded I was 'about like a bug' from a larger perspective.

This wasn't a negative thought to me. Being just a little piece of Life in a great big cosmos was reassuring, and everything was okay then. Decades later, I'm still a little piece of Life in a great big cosmos, pondering religion and reincarnation, watching Social Security squirm and toxic waste and humanity's inhumanity... and listening again to Neil. His music was a constant while I worked at the plastics plant and Eric was spiraling towards his departure. Driving to Duluth to pick up Eric, Neil kept me company. "Old Man" is as connected to my dad now as it was then, and as the song says, "I'm a lot like you."

Dad had his tobacco and coffee and chocolate. He was stubborn, independent, mostly a loner and loved his land. He told me he felt God a lot more out in the fields than he did in church. Sometimes he'd get going on a project and 'couldn't stop' until three or four in the morning. He roamed cross-country as a young adult for ten years, having Adventures and sometimes doing not-so-bright stuff. Yeah, Dad - I'm a lot like you.

Wherever Neil Young is, I hope he keeps on singing for a couple more decades.

What I'm also noticing is that there is a shift in human consciousness occurring, and it seems to be in all areas. Heading towards a Convergence? I can hope! Started another IT class online this week, and in the postings, one student had been part of a paranormal research group and the instructor responded with a comment on 'energy weirdness' occasionally hitting computer systems. This is not a dialogue that would have occurred a few decades ago - are we catching up to ourselves? Youtube has a good video trying to explain a 'Salvia experience' and the concept of losing "I" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1gfezZIO1o - jump over to Terrence McKenna's "The Singularity" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8v8mgwuubU - and perception on "Time Acceleration" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLc6i29yhDM&feature=related -you're about on track with friend Terry's last 24 hours with me.

I previously subjected him to Walt Disney's "It's a Small World After All" and Alice in Wonderland tune and the sound of pulsars drumming http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHEVo-LkDrQ Last night I 'needed cartoons' and ended up watching Johnny Bravo three times - gotta love the pyscho-squirrel in this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k83lg34Z-FU&feature=related

Betwixt and between, it seemed on Saturday it'd be wise to finally get the tarp over the 'snow support'... since it was snowing. I thought "10 minutes - stretch it out, hammer in a few staples" - I was wrong. Terry tends to have a little less optimism in things staying put, so nailed in some boards and such. This little project took a few hours in the wet slush after I did some house-cleaning and then fetched Dennis home. In other words, I finally made some omelets about three in the afternoon, thereby pushing breakfast to a new level.

Life being Real, Sera came home with the little grandkids for the night, and they proceeded to glue up styrofoam balls and popsicle sticks and beans into odd snow-creatures. "Happy mess" I guess is the best way to describe it.

So if we are finally collectively moving forward, or maybe out of our swamp into a larger world, then maybe Universal Design is stirring up the mud on us. From a bigger perspective than me, this too may just be a "happy mess" - one we're participating in, losing tadpole tails and growing wings for the next leap forward. Seems to me, if bugs can do it, there's a good chance we can, too.

The question is, can we stay sane through it, or do we really need to lose our minds? I can say, if Terrence is right, tripping back and forth between salvia-reality and earth is a quite shocking experience, one that brings discomfort as perceptions blur. A lot of folks don't like the affects, much the same I would think a swamp-bug would enjoy being scooped out of the water. If the New Reality is pyschadelic and we're part of it... yeah, no wonder we can't conceive it properly and we're all going a little nuts.

With another 'time jump' slated for February 2011 (Mayan Calendar Comes North, Lungold), we may all be a little nuttier soon. Hopefully, all the good stuff of humanity leaps with us. Truth of it, most of my friends seem capable of recognizing this shift, each in his or her own way. Especially 'the '70's kids', growing through that decade (1960's-'70's) of radical change. Maybe we made a few jumps out of the water then that will serve us well now... Jim, David, Rich and others should understand this.

We might be running out of 'Time', but we're running into Something. Anyone have a clue where we'll end up?

It seems to be holding pretty accurate; my supervisor, regional office and headquarters all are scrambling for a more reassuring solidity - now we're getting GPS and wireless transmissions. That might help a little bit on the planet, but where the hell are we in the cosmos? This level doesn't 'do pyschadelics well' - how do you count Spirits in multi-dimensions and keep track of hours if there is no Time? Some things we'll just have to let go of.

Here's a possible clue: when time seems to slow down or speed up, we get dizzy during the shift. Watch a cartoon in fast-forward or listen to a tune in the dark on super-slow - you're not 'moving' per se, but your perception gets a bit warped. I wonder what would happen if a person was subjected to these conditions steadily for a week or two and then 'brought back to normal'. I bet they'd be a bit unhinged. NO - I'm not going to try this! But it's easy to see where we'd all be a bit dizzy during perception shifts. Does it help to know why you're dizzy?

Yup, and the calm place to be in a hurricane is in the eye of the storm. Yup, another Neil Young tune... If you stir up this posting, you have a glimpse of 'me' in a 24-hour period. Now I'm going to go 'feel outside' for a few minutes and make a tobacco offering to the earth spirits. About the same thing I did when I was 15, and it's weird to see most of what I thought back then I still think now. Really weird - I thought I might outgrow it, but never did. I think you all can relate!