This is going to be incorporated into my personal growth manual at some point
https://jaydancingbear.wordpress.com/writings/personal-growth-manual-gradual-reformat/
As best as i understand right now, we are here to:
a) realize the Self, experience ourselves as a part of all-that-is, as a wave is part of the ocean, and
b) have our human experience, make the best of it, do our best to be healthy and happy, but still, whatever our circumstances, as difficult as they may be, realize that we chose to be here for some reason. Embrace the world, be tantric.
I've read a lot of spiritual books, especially from the Indian traditions, which basically view our time here as an opportunity to do the work to not be here, not get reborn, not get sucked into the world. Often they are very anti-pleasure, anti-sex, anti-engaging with the world, anti- in the sense that they think that worldly pleasures are, at best, wasted time. The ascetic approach has a lot of fulfillment and satisfaction in it, but only for those truly drawn to it. For others it is torture.
So i don't agree with the anti-worldly view, and yet i do recognize that the world often distracts us from the experience of our true nature, which is the greatest bliss there is. We get pulled outward, and lose our inner experience. The experience of meditation can be far more satisfying than the experience of drunkenness, and it's ok to get drunk, just try not to say or do anything harmful to yourself or others. Worldly pleasures and possessions are transitory, they inevitably end, "this too shall pass", but that doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with them, they are a part of life.
Just remember, as the Buddha observed, that sickness, old age and suffering are inevitable parts of life, certainly not all there is, but inevitably come to us at some point. When storms come, trees with deep roots survive. When the storms of life blow, if we have resources based on experience, which we get from time spent doing practices, resources such as intuition and mental focus, then we see opportunity and growth where others see calamity and disaster. Beyond just being tools to deal with adversity, being in these states feels "good". Again, all these happen as the result of hours and hours and hours of practice, not talking about it.
So for this reason i think the tantrics have it most correct, not necessarily the sexual tantrics, but the people who believe in finding their enlightenment through engaging with the world in a sacred way. I am using the word tantric in a general way, specific sects would probably find issues with what i am writing. Personally i have been torn between the monk and the pleasure seeker. It's been hard to reconcile the two. This post may be the peace treaty.
What i am saying is, that it is not either/or, either spiritual practices or a total worldly life, and it both/and, two halves of one whole. To be in the world, have our human lives, and not get so drawn outward that we live only on the surface. To meditate, and to party. To make love, and to pray. To earn a living, and to realize it's all a game. The tibetans seem to understand that best, although i am not a tibetan buddhist.
All a game, Maya, illusion, masks of god. To see spirit in everything is a lot harder in New York City than on a mountain. To go back and forth from the city to the mountain, and back again.
Namaste,
Socrates
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Sunday, July 12, 2015
Three poems
Three recent poems
---
One Day (july 5)
One day follows the next
and the next
I look down at my shadow on the ground
One day it will not be there
------
Free Bird (july 6)
Free Bird, have your wings been clipped by
ingesting the fears and limiting beliefs
of frightened and limited people
This can't happen, that can't happen, that can't happen unless _____
No belief in or understanding of higher truths
No belief in miracles
despite the miracles all around us, as us
Free Bird, your wings are not clipped, they only seem to be
Free Bird, spread your wings, and
fly
----------
How would i live (july 12)
if i wasn't thinking of the future, afraid of the future
how would i live?
I i wasn't reacting to the past
how would i live?
if my mind wasn't busy, busy, busy
how would i live?
if i was aware of the infinite eternal
in me, as me
how would i live?
if i wasn't afraid of surrendering to the experience of the infinite eternal
in me, as me
how would i live?
if i really experienced THAT
would it matter?
---
One Day (july 5)
One day follows the next
and the next
I look down at my shadow on the ground
One day it will not be there
------
Free Bird (july 6)
Free Bird, have your wings been clipped by
ingesting the fears and limiting beliefs
of frightened and limited people
This can't happen, that can't happen, that can't happen unless _____
No belief in or understanding of higher truths
No belief in miracles
despite the miracles all around us, as us
Free Bird, your wings are not clipped, they only seem to be
Free Bird, spread your wings, and
fly
----------
How would i live (july 12)
if i wasn't thinking of the future, afraid of the future
how would i live?
I i wasn't reacting to the past
how would i live?
if my mind wasn't busy, busy, busy
how would i live?
if i was aware of the infinite eternal
in me, as me
how would i live?
if i wasn't afraid of surrendering to the experience of the infinite eternal
in me, as me
how would i live?
if i really experienced THAT
would it matter?
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Proportional Wage Law
Whether you're the president of a corporation, or a janitor, you still only have 24 hours in a day.
One of the biggest problems in this country is income inequality, which has created a society where people don't even have time to spend with their kids. Income inequality impacts our lives in a thousand small, unpleasant ways, because prices tend to go up to what the market will bear, meaning what the more affluent can afford. Society is slowly falling apart, as the rich get richer, and the poor and middle class sink into quicksand.
I propose a PROPORTIONAL WAGE LAW-You can make as much as you want, as long as you create wealth for everybody. The highest paid person in a company can make up to 25 times what the lowest paid worker makes, including the janitor, including temp workers and subcontracted labor, including the value of all perks and benefits, not more than 25 times the lowest paid salary.
One of the biggest problems in this country is income inequality, which has created a society where people don't even have time to spend with their kids. Income inequality impacts our lives in a thousand small, unpleasant ways, because prices tend to go up to what the market will bear, meaning what the more affluent can afford. Society is slowly falling apart, as the rich get richer, and the poor and middle class sink into quicksand.
I propose a PROPORTIONAL WAGE LAW-You can make as much as you want, as long as you create wealth for everybody. The highest paid person in a company can make up to 25 times what the lowest paid worker makes, including the janitor, including temp workers and subcontracted labor, including the value of all perks and benefits, not more than 25 times the lowest paid salary.
Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics
The next time you hear about how we are the wealthiest country, think of this example of statistics in action:
*if you put a millionaire and a homeless person in a room, their average income is $500,000/yr.
*If the next year the millionaire makes 2 million, and the homeless person, probably a Vietnam vet, is still living under a bridge, the average income has gone up to $1,000,000/yr.
*If the next year the homeless person dies, and the millionaire still makes 2 million, the average income has gone up to $2 million/yr.
The economy is doing great.
That's statistics in action.
*if you put a millionaire and a homeless person in a room, their average income is $500,000/yr.
*If the next year the millionaire makes 2 million, and the homeless person, probably a Vietnam vet, is still living under a bridge, the average income has gone up to $1,000,000/yr.
*If the next year the homeless person dies, and the millionaire still makes 2 million, the average income has gone up to $2 million/yr.
The economy is doing great.
That's statistics in action.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Know thyself
I am going to have a small piece published. Here it is:
Know Thyself
by Socrates Thalassos
1) Are you somatically conscious of, present in, your body?
Where in your body are "you"?
1) Are you somatically conscious of, present in, your body?
Where in your body are "you"?
2) Are you lost in your thoughts, or conscious of your thoughts?
3) Are you aware of your sub/unconscious programs?
How "on automatic" are you, how "here now"?
How "on automatic" are you, how "here now"?
4) Do you identify yourself with "all-that-is"?
5) Have you articulated clearly your spiritual/metaphysical belief paradigm,
your values, intentions and priorities?
6) How much time do you spend working on yourself?
5) Have you articulated clearly your spiritual/metaphysical belief paradigm,
your values, intentions and priorities?
6) How much time do you spend working on yourself?
-----------
Bio
Socrates Thalassos is someone who has spent many hours working on himself, has experienced great benefit, and wants to help you be happier and healthier.
Socrates Thalassos is someone who has spent many hours working on himself, has experienced great benefit, and wants to help you be happier and healthier.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Here we go again-Bernie Sanders, Hilary Clinton and The Facade of Democracy
I love Bernie, but ask yourself, why is he forced to run as a Democrat?
Can you vote for who you REALLY want for President? Or Senator? No.
Remember the 2000 election, when Ralph Nader voters were vilified for "costing" Al Gore the election? The obvious lesson was that what is needed is ranked balloting, where you put 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd Choice, and if your first choice doesn't come in the top 2, your vote goes to next choice, etc. That's getting close to real democracy. So did ranked voting become an issue? No.
Whatever the issue: environment, economic justice, prisons, corporate rule, etc., the decisions are made by politicians who got in as a result of a corrupt and dysfunctional "electoral" system. The real truth is that we have
AUCTIONS, NOT ELECTIONS
The amazing thing is that things aren't worse.
And almost more amazing is that all the various political, environmental and economic organizations don't get it, that the fix is in, the system is rigged, and put some effort into creating an honest system.
Democrats are not more creative thinkers than Republicans. They both have their stock set of beliefs and policies, both on auto response most of the time. They both rarely look under the surface appearances of issues, rarely look deeply, rarely see the full complexity and inter-relationship of issues. They think the problem is bad leaders, rather than recognizing that the bad leaders are a product of a broken system.
There really are not that many died in the wool conservatives, but when you disenfranchise the left, have auctions not elections, and when necessary simply hack the vote, well, you get what we have now, plutocracy, a system in which the environment and the populace are simply something to exploit.
-------
Two obvious issues
*Districts so gerrymandered, that your vote hardly counts.
*Can you trust electronic voting, when so much evidence indicates that it is easily hacked (google it)
_________
Election day not a national holiday, elections on a workday=discriminates against workers
This tells you the truth right away
A) Who gets to vote?
1) Who gets to register
2) Who gets wiped off the rolls (florida 2000).
3) Drug laws as political repression-
if you wanted to find a way to take away the vote of tens of millions of Republicans, you would pass laws making beer and cigarettes illegal, serious crimes.
When, during the late 60s and 70s, the height of the culture and Vietnam wars, Republicans wanted to take away the votes of Democratic voters, especially blacks and hippies, they made pot and drugs illegal. It worked.
Ronald Reagan, Bush, and a host of Senators and Congressmen, would never have won if all those votes hadn't been taken away. We still are very much at the affect of those laws today.
4) Are there enough voting machines (ohio 2004)
B) Who do they get to vote for?
1) Winner take all=Lesser of two evils
In most cases third party candidates have no chance, people are afraid of throwing away their vote
i.e. Ralph Nader
2) Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional Representation=every vote counts
C) How honest is the vote count
1) Electronic voting machines = stolen elections
Paper ballots harder to steal an election
D) How is the process financed?
1) Campaign contributions =legal bribery
2) Corporate money allowed as "free speech"
No money=no chance to win=candidates sell out
E) How do we find out what the candidates have to say
1) Role of media
a) corporate owned
b) covers some candidates more than others, shuts out 3rd party candidates
c) sound bites, slogan advertising
F) Serious, serious gerrymandering of elections, to the point that your vote hardly makes a difference.
--------
There's a great book called Fixing Elections,by Steven Hill, which is as valid today as the day it was written.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fixing+elections+steven+hill+&aq=f&oq=fixing+elections+steven+hill+&sugexp=chrome,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
http://www.c-span.org/video/?171355-1/book-discussion-fixing-elections
Can you vote for who you REALLY want for President? Or Senator? No.
Remember the 2000 election, when Ralph Nader voters were vilified for "costing" Al Gore the election? The obvious lesson was that what is needed is ranked balloting, where you put 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd Choice, and if your first choice doesn't come in the top 2, your vote goes to next choice, etc. That's getting close to real democracy. So did ranked voting become an issue? No.
Whatever the issue: environment, economic justice, prisons, corporate rule, etc., the decisions are made by politicians who got in as a result of a corrupt and dysfunctional "electoral" system. The real truth is that we have
AUCTIONS, NOT ELECTIONS
The amazing thing is that things aren't worse.
And almost more amazing is that all the various political, environmental and economic organizations don't get it, that the fix is in, the system is rigged, and put some effort into creating an honest system.
Democrats are not more creative thinkers than Republicans. They both have their stock set of beliefs and policies, both on auto response most of the time. They both rarely look under the surface appearances of issues, rarely look deeply, rarely see the full complexity and inter-relationship of issues. They think the problem is bad leaders, rather than recognizing that the bad leaders are a product of a broken system.
There really are not that many died in the wool conservatives, but when you disenfranchise the left, have auctions not elections, and when necessary simply hack the vote, well, you get what we have now, plutocracy, a system in which the environment and the populace are simply something to exploit.
-------
Two obvious issues
*Districts so gerrymandered, that your vote hardly counts.
*Can you trust electronic voting, when so much evidence indicates that it is easily hacked (google it)
_________
Election day not a national holiday, elections on a workday=discriminates against workers
This tells you the truth right away
A) Who gets to vote?
1) Who gets to register
2) Who gets wiped off the rolls (florida 2000).
3) Drug laws as political repression-
if you wanted to find a way to take away the vote of tens of millions of Republicans, you would pass laws making beer and cigarettes illegal, serious crimes.
When, during the late 60s and 70s, the height of the culture and Vietnam wars, Republicans wanted to take away the votes of Democratic voters, especially blacks and hippies, they made pot and drugs illegal. It worked.
Ronald Reagan, Bush, and a host of Senators and Congressmen, would never have won if all those votes hadn't been taken away. We still are very much at the affect of those laws today.
4) Are there enough voting machines (ohio 2004)
B) Who do they get to vote for?
1) Winner take all=Lesser of two evils
In most cases third party candidates have no chance, people are afraid of throwing away their vote
i.e. Ralph Nader
2) Instant Runoff Voting, Proportional Representation=every vote counts
C) How honest is the vote count
1) Electronic voting machines = stolen elections
Paper ballots harder to steal an election
D) How is the process financed?
1) Campaign contributions =legal bribery
2) Corporate money allowed as "free speech"
No money=no chance to win=candidates sell out
E) How do we find out what the candidates have to say
1) Role of media
a) corporate owned
b) covers some candidates more than others, shuts out 3rd party candidates
c) sound bites, slogan advertising
F) Serious, serious gerrymandering of elections, to the point that your vote hardly makes a difference.
--------
There's a great book called Fixing Elections,by Steven Hill, which is as valid today as the day it was written.
https://www.google.com/search?q=fixing+elections+steven+hill+&aq=f&oq=fixing+elections+steven+hill+&sugexp=chrome,mod=0&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
http://www.c-span.org/video/?171355-1/book-discussion-fixing-elections
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