Huckabee, Is it all about honor?

I've been watching the presidential debates, and I've got to ask - why is Huckabee up in the polls on CNN? Not to mention, in the following video, Huckabee practically makes a fool of himself, inciting the crowd's nationalism instead of their common sense. On the issue of the Iraq war, he makes it clear that if, "You break it, you buy it." But how does this make sense in a losing battle? We aren't in a retail store, we're in a country divided by sect, religion and ethnocentric backgrounds. Isn't it stubborn to think that we can just plow through til victory? In fact, it's downright nonsensical. It seems that Huckabee is gaining some popularity as a result of his charisma, and I do admit he has quite alot of that. Also, the meaning behind his speeches invoke a traditional pride or nationalism you would see in the United States during the Cold War or World War II. Pride, values, unity of one nation fighting to win, etc. For better or worse, we no longer live in a world where we are permitted to think in such simplistic terms without consequences. I believe Ron Paul said it best at the end of this video, when he points out,

"We have lost over 5000 americans over there... How many more do you want to lose? ... What do we have to do to save face? All we're doing is saving face. It's time we came home."

So here it is,

And on another note, here is Huckabee commenting on evolution,



Huckabee, perhaps understandably, divides the US into black and white. The athiests and secularists vs. the Christians. Buddhists? Agnostics? Hindus? Wiccans? Non-religious affiliations and countless other religions? Left out. He is promoting, once again, the traditional values and views of American culture. I don't believe he would be a good president, considering that he is not looking forward, but only backward into a world that collapsed horribly from their own simplicity. With science, civil rights, the United Nations and even the notion of an integral consciousness, the world is becoming too small and far too diverse to divide everything into left and right anymore. Any candidate who wishes to revert us back to the old days is only setting us up for more trouble. Especially in a time period where the next president will be crucial for the survival and well being of not only the U.S., but the rest of the world . . .

The Great Sages; Revolution vs. Evolution

A sage, "world teacher," and mystic; Krishnamurti will take all that the small self holds to value, and toss it out like a bit of dust on your sleeve. He will take value, ideals, "thought," and ego, and let it slip into the void, visibly forcing you into confrontation with fear, shadow, and the possibility of silence; love has no opposite, he would say, and indeed; the mind must be quiet in order to comprehend, not just rationally but totally, directly, what that means.
He was raised by the Theosophy society, expected to be a World Teacher and usher in a new age. But, the coming had, "gone wrong," as Krishnamurti dissolved the Order of the Star (The society built for his coming), and went off to teach without doctrine or dogma. "Truth is a pathless land," he would often say.

Looking back, we can now ask: Was Krishnamurti's teaching effective? Or did it backfire? Looking at his teaching through a veritcal scope, we can at least see where he was coming from. Non-dual, peak experiences. The silencing of the mind. The transpersonal states. Coming from this perspective, he often tossed anything less -dogma, creed, paths, time, aside for the pathless, creedless and timeless. But, was this effective? Some argue yes, other no. I'd say, a little of both! We are all at different states, different stages, different depths. One individuals receptivity to such powerful teaching that literally shakes all conditioning off of you, could be awesomely transformative. Another person? Nothing. Like a bad koan, or perhaps an over-technical prose, some of us get swept away by the language and the meaning behind the words. And that's Okay! But, doesn't that also imply that depending on where we are on the map of this evolution of consciousness, we will need different teachers? And different teachings? For exploring the non-dual states, teachers such as Krishnamurti and many others are wonderful.

Yet, depending on where we are on the spectrum, we will experience the same objective "its," subjectively. That is, we mold the experience according to our own level, state and trait. It's no wonder some of us will be blown away by the mystics, while others bored, dismissive, or perhaps indifferent. What strikes your cord? What lights your fire? Dance between perspectives, but do it to find out what resonates. Find out what energizes you and tickles your consciousness into the next wave.

So, is there any meaning to a "path," or must we discard all "means" to the pathless? Yes and yes! Ultimately, the path is released, dropped, and all of "what is," is. Non-dual, ever present, already, between the words and thoughts and before the first breath. What contemplative practices do, then, is move the mind forward, prepare it for new capabilities. What must be acknowledged is we need both evolution and revolution. Instantaneous transformation is only possible if the mind is ready to let go of it all. The mind has the potential to recognize its true nature - always! And it's always there. It's not a matter of becoming truth, becoming this or that, eventually achieving something. Nope! None of that. It's a matter of slowly, patiently, honing the body, mind, spirit to unravel itself, to release its perspectives and discover the now it's been sitting on all along.

Contemplative teachers will help you do this. Whether you're reading Krishnamurti, the Tao, Buddhist texts, Zen Koans, counting your breath, performing tantra or buying a teriyaki sandwich at subway. You start to see the buddha-state in everything. So, read on, dive in and move forward into timeless and spaceless, always and never, that is already you.

Bill Hicks; Transformative Comedy

I just thought I'd share a laugh or two from one of my favorite comedians, Bill Hicks. What can be said about him? Only that he was one of the few who were able to bring transformation and evolution to mainstream media. Only that he was able to combine humor with spirituality, making the audience giggle and contemplate their own nature at the same time. "It's just a ride," he'd say, lifting the serious tone out of the topics when things got heavy, or in his case mad, ranting at the way mass media conditioned the masses to be satisfied with empty, fleeting distractions.

He was an advocate of psychedelic drugs, believing they were wrongly and ignorantly demonized by our culture. Hallucinagens forced us to question our own reality, shake us from our perspective, and through laughter - he showed us how to do the same. This bodhisattva would have giggled his way into fame and stardom, had he not passed away in 1994 after a battle with cancer. His death is a tragedy, but it may have made him a legacy. "Another dead hero," the painting on the top left is called, and that may be true. In his wake he left a legend that future comedians would come to respect.

Before his passing, he wrote, “I left in love, in laughter, and in truth, and wherever truth, love and laughter abide, I am there in spirit.”

Well, enough said. Let him do the talking,

Positive Drug Story


Drugs and Evolution


Just a Ride


Note: The picture of Bill Hicks was done by the band Tool, paying tribute to him in their album Aenima.



Quotes:

“They lie about marijuana. Tell you pot-smoking makes you unmotivated. Lie! When you're high, you can do everything you normally do, just as well. You just realize that it's not worth the fucking effort. There is a difference.”

“Life is only a dream and we are the imagination of ourselves.”

“We are the facilitators of our own creative evolution.”

“It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious.”

“I don't mean to sound bitter, cold, or cruel, but I am, so that's how it comes out.”

“Watching television is like taking black spray paint to your third eye.”

“We all pay for life with death, so everything in between should be free.”

Speaking of the Paranormal

Larry King is having a special on things that go bump in the night, tomorrow night at 9PM EST. I think it's a good idea to have these sort of interviews. Although it's quite clear the mainstream media is very cautious with such fringe topics as UFO's and ghosts, established people in the media may dabble ever so slightly, like Larry King.

There is a poll on Larry King's website, simply asking: Do you Believe in Ghosts? As usual we can expect a very generic poll to be given to the audience. Although it would be wonderful to have someone like Daniel Pinchbeck, come on and discuss differing theories on the paranormal, and UFO's in particular, in depth. We can keep hoping.

Tomorrow's show features psychic, James Van Praagh and Lisa Williams.

There'll be more on this tomorrow (If I can catch it). Lisa is apparently a clairvoyant and a medium. The skeptic in me is very critical of self described mediums, wondering if they truly understand what they are doing, or if they are translating an authentic ability into an abstract meaning.There's no doubt that psychic abilities exist- but does that mean we contact the other side? Or are we simply looking through the eyes of the person before us? Who knows. At any rate, it's all really interesting stuff. Here's some more, for your viewing pleasure:

CNN Report on UFO Conference, Nov. 2007



Derren Brown has an excellent show. Although he is a skeptic, he uses his abilities to show how easily we are persuaded, and perhaps should think more critically before believing. Good point indeed! Rational/Cognitive intelligence is an important step for us if we want to touch the supernatural, the divine, the paranormal - should it be true;

Derren Brown, "shows how psychic mediums work."



Larry King interviews Whitley Streiber, author of Communion. This is an oldie folks. Enjoy!



Stay tuned for more to do about the paranormal .