energy

"Watch out for them. Them. It's a paranoid thing. If you can have a them to fear, why worry about things you actually could do." (9/12/2002 - R#41)

"So, tonight we talk peas. I believe that if everyone would just boil them lightly and add some salt, the world would be a better place. What. O... never mind.

"Peace is not an end, only the fulfillment of other values. You don't create peace; peace is the reward for things like acceptance and connection. If we want peace, we need to energize those things which promote understanding and cooperation and fellowship... like a giant vegetarian barbeque. If everyone could just have enough food and eat together, oy what a pile of napkins." (9/30/2002 - R#42)

"If you think you are basically ok, you don't use energy on looking for change, but you can still be open to change. Change from contentment is enhancement; change from discontent is striving. One presumes an existing internal identity, and the other seeks an external desired identity. So one seems more energetic, but it ain't necessarily so.

"The same water flowing steadily over the wide river bed contains what it later has falling down the precipice. Don't think the quiet murmur is any less energetic than the roar. And the Grand Canyon was carved by a slow stream, more than a great waterfall." (10/9/2002 - R#43)

"Too many seeds of fear are not only being sown, but harvested. But this is a time to speak out... but only to speak out of vision, not fears or speculation. They have nothing to worry about reactions because those can be turned into fear issues. But visionary talk is really troubling because it has another point of empowerment--always toward, not away. Thus saith the Moo." (10/25/2002 - R#44)

"Many gorged, but few were filled. Those who gorge rarely feel filled. Same with all things. Those who take and take energy rarely feel energized. People who turn up the thermostat rarely feel warm. Moo's Third Law of Thermocrap." (11/29/2002 - R#45)

"Make a positive difference. Otherwise, it's like you were never here... or there... or wherever. And think about this: If you live and do not do anything bad, but also don't add to the plus side, then in effect you are a black hole, sucking in more energy than you give off. Benign is not enough. Beneficial, yes, but not benign. And too many people want to live with the maxim 'Harm nothing,' but that's not enough. Neither is 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.' So always say something significant. Don't worry about nice. Nice people had coffee while the camps were being run. First, do no harm first! But don't stop there. And, of course, no one will get this all figured out in one life, but that's ok.

"So the question is addition, not just neglect. It's like dinner. Just not serving poison is not enough. And what would a gourmet life look like. You know (Buddha, Jesus, etc.).

"By the way, cats are superior to dogs and dogs are superior to cats! Gerbils rule. Snakes are awessssssome. And fish are fine. Shrimp are great... especially with cocktail sauce.

"Being benign is never enough, but good enough is good enough. It's not about perfection, but it is about being on the beneficial side of the scales... be sure to remove the scales. I'd like to weigh in on this. Go ahead.

"It seems often like it is all we can do to keep ourselves neutral, but that is because we have been trained to focus on negatives and sin. If you were to accept that being human is to be fallible, then you could, through that acceptance, begin to focus on potential for good. Ok, take a hot rock and put it in one hand and take a cold rock and put it in the other. You will automatically sense where the midpoint is. Now make it a cold and a freezing rock and you will sense a different midpoint. So if your focus is between evil and benign, the best you can hope for is not too evil. But if it's between benign and beneficial, then you are automatically on the positive side. You--and I mean each person--decides what the scale will be. It is not a product of circumstances, or else everyone from a situation would turn out the same.

"So choose your focus. I've said that before. We can't choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react. Ponder away." (1/10/2003 - R#46)

"Any form of prejudice denies both sides." (1/17/2003 - R#47)

"What the side of peace must do is to become a constant force--not co-opted by anti anything... or even Auntie Em. And it must be consistent and constant and considerate. And it must not become constipated. By that, I mean stuck on smaller issues or taking too long to digest the fast foods of contemporary culture. It must be responsive and, above all, have a sense of vision and a sense of humor. While this is serious business, it should not be taken over-seriously. Ideologues never will win any hearts. I've said enough." (1/20/2003 - R#48)

"Notice that they speak of mass destruction, not profound human loss." (1/24/2003 - R#49)

"And now some more advice. Don't invest too much energy in reacting to idiots... even Yale idiots. Focus on what is desired, not on what is not... and not at all on who is the person. Wars would rarely happen if there were no focus on personalities. War is a breakdown of ideals and hope into personalities.

"This is not even a crusade. It's a vendetta, a double vendetta. Sort of like the Montagues and the Capulets, Hatfields and McCoys. Bush wants to best Saddam, Saddam wants to beat around the bush. O I slay myself... arf arf arf... and my little dog, too.

"Don't over-analyse. Observe at most, but keep the eyes on the prize." (1/28/2003 - R#50)

"This is a hard time to be speakers of peace, but persevere. It is important not to get sucked in by war focus. And when or if war comes, peace focus will be essential as a way to keep from being gripped by either fear or anger... or gripped by ear... grrrrrr. So, go spread peace." (2/7/2003 - R#51)

"Stay the course of peace. Little boys, Saddam and George, 3 rounds, no holds barred. Saddam should let Al Qaida help him get into the U.S. and go knocking on the White House door. 'Hey, frat boy, come out and say that to my face. Don't you hide behind your Cheney. Get your hinie out from behind Cheney. I'm gonna whump yo' ass. Ok, you win, we become Methodists and hold potluck dinners; I win, you become Muslim and go on Hajj. Want a tag team? I'll bring Khaddafi and you bring Sharon.' Kofi will be referee. And the Pope, he's such a nice-a man. He be working the bell.

"Stupidity. If they only knew the truth, that doing stuff like this is slowing down the spiritual process. Ain't nobody gonna learn and remember nothing worth knowing out of this; just create more pain and hurt and loss and anger and revenge. Who, exactly, who is hurting now will feel better. No one. It's like providing a solution without a real problem. It would be like telling Bush he needed to have chemo because there was a threat of cancer. But no, bet he'd not take that choice. I think I will close now." (2/10/2003 - R#52)

"May we be connected to all things Annan, and protected from all things Bush, and guided with U.N.. Look for the larger picture, always. True in everything! Or look for the union label.

"And we don't even hold all the cards. All we have going for us is, ironically, our weapons of mass destruction. Ideas can kill, that's true. And it is also true that those who fight ideologies often forget that fighting ideologies is an ideology. Make the world safe for a safe world. Actually, at the moment, the greatest fear among the idiot class is that we have built an army against the wrong threat. Today with the right means, 100 people can threaten 1,000,000 troops. And with the right joke, we could knock 'em dead.

"Seriously, all the work against the war just feeds the fears. How about a big ad in the NY Times which says, in big letters: CHILL! IT WILL BE OK. RELAX. CALM DOWN. THERE'S NO HURRY. Or take the money for war and throw a big picnic in Iraq. Such a spread! Catered... 'Mrs. Alfonza, would you like some more tabouli'... with the troops entertaining them after dinner with humorous skits. So I'm figuring 100 million, so if we can get away at $7.50 a head we should be billions to the good. So let's do a midnight buffet and breakfast. You know, with this kind of money we could send everyone to Disney World... but not him. Saddam, you can't go, no pouting. Start air dropping tickets and reservations. 'What are you going to do if there's no war.' 'Go to Disney World!' Burquas with mouse ears. Saddam, you can go, but only if you play Goofy. 'Epcot reports massive increase of reservations at Moroccan restaurant. No one goes to England. But many Iraqis go to France just to say merci.'

"See how this works: You be chillin' and you don't be fearing. We could debate the issues, but that would generate fears. So chill, baby. Maybe some black olive spread on pita, barbecued lamb, lamb kebobs. You got your lamb kebobs and your lamb stew and lamb patties.... " (3/7/2003 - R#53)

This is the prayer we say before each session:
May we be connected to all things loving,
Protected from all things evil,
And guided in all ways gracious.

"Ok, on a day when most are worried about being protected from evil, I want to talk about all ways gracious. For if we truly understand this, then we will not fear evil... though we probably won't want to go to dinner with it.

"Through the many planes of spiritual existence flows a series of threads, which of their very nature is a fulfillment of each. There is the thread of connection and the thread of continuity and the thread of meaning. As we grow in spiritual complexity, those threads become fulfilled, and there is nothing ultimately that any entity can do to thwart that movement. Were you to form an infinite number of unstable combinations at an infinite number of levels of complexity, you would still have an infinite number of opportunities to find fulfillment and connect into greater complexity. And since time is no object, you'd have plenty of chances to do so. The natural propensity is to move toward the higher complexity, no matter how badly you fuck up.

"In fact, if you tried to do otherwise, you'd still get an infinite number of chances to get it right. And here's the kicker: There's nothing you have to do to get those infinite chances--don't have to chant; don't have to pray; don't have to believe in any one religion; don't have to flagellate yourself; don't have to be nice to yucky relatives; don't have to be rich, poor, better or worse, sick or in good health. It just is so! The way things are! And that's the grace of existence.

"Ultimately you can't blow it because All That Is is whole, and if you could blow it, that would ultimately separate you from All That Is, and that's not possible. And if any one entity could ultimately fail at it, then all could fail and All That Is would be All That Is Not! So it is, you are, we are, and that's gracious. And with that vision in mind, you will never really fear evil; for grace is more universal than any evil can be. And if you fear, it is because your thoughts are trapped in time. A wider horizon will always reveal this truth. And that's the way it is... blech. I've said enough." (9/11/2003 - R#54)

"Once upon a time, there were two flies and a flea. The flies didn't treat the flea well. He had never done anything to the flies. When they were busy with garbage, he was busy with a dog... grrrr. When they were sipping refuse swill, he was busy with a cat. But they didn't like him because he was a flea, not a fly. But many lives later he was a fly and they were fleas, and they didn't like him because he was a fly, not a flea. Go figure.

"Why is it that people hate flies and fleas, but treat each other like flies and fleas. I don't know. Too much differentiation, not enough connection. And that's all I'm going to say about that." (9/30/2003 - R#55)

"I can't get no satisfaction. Quick, what's the difference between satisfaction and fulfillment. One is about the past, and the other about the future. When you are fulfilled you are also satisfied, but when you are satisfied you may stop looking for fulfillment." (10/3/2003 - R#56)

"If we focus on subgroups of the whole in an attempt to get to the whole, we get a hole, not the whole.

"Every time we focus on less than All That Is, we settle for less than All That Is. And we all do that, but the question is how little and how limited is the piece we identify with. And one of the best ways to measure is to ask: 'What identifier do I find I need to defend most often.'

"If we need to defend some element of our perceived being, then that element is taking our energy, not supporting or informing it.

"So if you take great offense at a racial, but not racist, comment, you are defining yourself racially--which is one poor and small piece of the All That Is pie. And if you find you now must defend cakes against this identification of All That Is with pies, then you are wasting energy by identifying with cakes.

"In an existence which is bigger than any spiritual pâtisserie, to argue about pies and cakes is to miss the big picture. Small circles keep spirits small in an infinite reality." (12/1/2003 - R#57)

"And now, a hit from the past: wham! That was Napoleon to Josephine over the brioche remark. And now, a low blow: ouch! That was Josephine's knee to Napoleon's crotch over his flack over the brioche remark.

"Everybody is here... but shhhh don't tell Nappy he's going on a trip but won't be coming back. Well, he will be coming back, but as several primal entities. Actually, it is about to happen and it is happening and it happened long ago--all true without time.

"All dictators end up that way. It's like thinking of a good slave master: Good dictator. He was such a nice homicidal maniac. He held the door open on the ovens. And he prayed to Christ like a good Christian." (1/8/2004 - R#58)

"We have hit a low, but will it rise or sink? Stay tuned. Sometimes the people rise and the leaders follow, sometimes the leaders rise and the people follow, sometimes they just sink together. If one waits for the other, they sink... plop. So don't wait for someone else. You may later decide you were following; but hey, maybe you'll find out you were leading!

"Hey, life is not a spectator sport. Troughs occur when too many become spectators of sorts. I am out of sorts, I need to order more. Let's just sort this out. But you can't wait for someone else to tell you... not even moi." (1/12/2004 - R#59)

"Sometimes you have to bail out the boat so much when you're in a trough, that you don't have time to steer. Ponder that... another of enigmatic clues to the contemporary situation in the physical world." (2/3/2004 - R#60)

"We've been looking for Kerry's spiritual footprint on history, and we can't find it. He is as vacuous as GWB (not to be confused with GW), his imperial weirdness. Why didn't he show up for 6 months? Can we say binge and rehab. At least he's honest when he says he doesn't remember. Dean will do fine if the press leaves. They distort. That's the seeds of revolution.

"Revolution never comes from the hotheads, but when the wise but conventional folk say enough. The Greens would never get it together, but the Deans just might. Shut down this time, shut out the next, and then we'll shut it down! A system that thwarts the common person cannot stand. Just ask Louis... bye bye. 'Sire, just put your head on the line.' And if you think this time is threatening, wait for '08... whoa.

"It is very hard to swim up out of a trough. It is also very hard to swim out of a trout. Sometimes you gotta tread water, which seems discouraging but rests you up for the big swim on the crest. It is also hard for many to see the lighthouse when they're that deep in the trough. And they mistake the life saver for the lighthouse keeper. Ponder that. One saves, and the other points the way and you save yourself. And lighthouses were not about warning, but guiding. I'm a guide, you know. I guide spirits. It's good work and lots of job protection." (2/13/2004 - R#61)

"It does seem as if people are being piquish--sign of the trough! When energy abounds--or I should say, when it feels to us like it abounds--we don't get on our high horses as much. But when it is hard to see the sky down deep in the trench, everyone complains about the mud." (2/27/2004 - R#62)

"What is it about veneration? We fill our own sense of inadequacy with the overblown portrayals we give to those who can't speak for themselves. I have a thought. We should start looking for 2 mountains: one grand and tall and picture-perfect, and an adjacent one that is small and short and not that well formed and always in the other's shadow. So when both Bushes are dead, we can name them after them: 'There's Mount Bush and, look below, there's Mount W.' W gets water only through trickle-down.

"But isn't all the hoopla about us, not Reagan. It says much about the poor state of today that Reagan is so venerated... or about Bonzo... and a distraction from terror and war. It once was bread and circuses, now it's funerals and tax cuts. O, let them eat brioche.

"Let's put it this way: He will be sooo excited when he is chosen and told to prepare for a new role, just for him. Wait, remember about people being chosen to play special roles: 'Who, me? I am so special.' 'Bye-bye.' First-timer or complete, is there a difference. Yes, but technical: One is oblivious and the other thinks themself omniscient, and knowing nothing and knowing it all are virtually the same. One doesn't know what to question, and the other thinks there's nothing to question--too much certainty either way. Whoa, I'm getting serious. So I'll stop." (6/10/2004 - R#63)

"We are entering a field of dangerous possibilities--which is always true. The ones which ultimately will be the safest will be the most dangerous ones. Huh. Ok, an example:

"When the Cold War was at its hottest, there were 2 dangerous options: build up defenses, or nuclear disarmament. And disarmament was the more dangerous, it seemed, because it held the least control--or illusion of control--but in the end, it was the safest.

"The path to a reduction of fears will always be paved with its own fearsomeness... Elliot Ness, Fearsome Ness... and my friend, New Ness. The appeal of the apparent often leads astray the lazy. How do you get to a quiet and easy retirement. Hard work. How do you get beyond fears. By doing some seemingly scary stuff. Not all is as it appears. If it were, you'd know it all.

"By the way, the Alpha Market in Seattle overcharges for tomato sauce. File that away. Ummm, bacon! I digress.

"Can't diet without sacrifice. And when the hawks claim you need war to achieve peace, they forget how easy war is and how hard and scary peacemaking is. Drop all of your defenses and you'll see what I mean.

"Great leaders have always been those who could drop their defenses and thus gain unimaginable power. Defend nothing; express all of value." (6/14/2004 - R#64)

"Watch out. As the ship goes down, the rats get more anxious and desperate. And the ship is going down. Party-boy is going, but don't assume his replacement is a savior.

"Just don't get too complacent... and don't get too cynical. And don't get sucked into the scenario, which would take your eyes off the prize. It's always about values, not circumstances. Keep the focus--no matter what!

"Get the story, but seek the values. And you will see details galore in the next months, but details do not understanding make. And facts do not equate with meaning, and there's the possible trap: The current folk try to have meaning without supplying facts. So it may seem a relief to get facts, but they alone aren't much better than factless suppositions.

"Remember algebra. Teachers always liked to trick students by asking them to solve what was only one side of an equation, and students would complete long and arduous proofs of solutions which were meaningless. Have to have both sides of the equation: details and the larger picture, facts and values, this and that. And what does a complete knowledge of the past mean without a vision of the future. And what does a vision of the future mean without a knowledge of the past. Everything is always complex, it's that simple." (6/22/2004 - R#65)

"You know, we think it is ironic that an elected president should use the term sovereignty. Does he think he's a sovereign. Hey George, you're not! Let's talk about the difference.

"Habitual and hereditary rulers get their power from something other than the governed. The governed are told who the leader will be. In a democracy, the governed tell someone who will be leader--you're it, tag. Big difference.

"Ok, let's elevate it a step. Gods usually are seen as those forces which say 'I am the Lord thy God,' etc., etc., etc.... baaaarf. Sandy, did you know some people worship dogs... aarf? Woof. And then there are the forces of nature and creation, which are treated with awe and respect because of their affect on the believer. They rise to the level of divinity--not by their essence, but by their experience.

"And if we take it a whole bunch of steps further, the All That Is is not an entity that is self-defining and proclaiming, but is experienced as the unity of All. That's quite a different concept: All That Is in constant creation, rather than All That Is as a constant. Created versus creative.

"Now let's take it back down. A leader is one who helps the whole see what they are creating. The leader is a revealer more than a creator. Otherwise, you get stuck with static realities. To simply proclaim is to announce the stop of motion.

"When anyone says this or that is the truth, period, all the world stops... or not. Maybe just the thinking and experiencing stops, because the world ain't stopping for no hothead. Why do you think the world has had, and continues to have, revolutions. Because some hothead decided to pretend the world had stopped at her or his truth. And while the obedient stop as well, the world spins on, until the pressure between the stoppage and the realities is too great. Most revolutions are not about a leap forward, but about a step of catching up. The world is already where they're pointing, or else they'd make no sense and no one would revolt. Revolutions are about a sudden sense that 'Hey, there's the world over there, what are we doing stuck over here. Off with the heads'--and I mean the hotheads of those who denied progress, as an illusion of security.

"Don't look to revolutions for ideals, look to them for realism. What they replace is delusion. And the quickest path to delusion is an unshakable belief in one's own absolute truism. Phew. Calm down, Rikkity. I spout, I spume, I spit... ARF... I foam at the mouth, I'm rabid, I'm not a rabbi.

"Peeps usually mistake catching up for progress--sign of the spiritual level of complexity. Can't tell the difference. How come you and I used to call ideal states things like Heaven and Nirvana--as if they were elsewhere and at other times. Why not there and now. What if someone were to act as if ideals were realities. Revolutionary? No, beyond that: radical... or radishes. Ok, enough... stop... grrrr. You already know. But do you dare. Here's CT:"

"Hello. Actually, I told her that when she got here, and she said 'Whoa, no shit?' We dare each other, because we know we don't know, and we know we know already. And our knowing and being it are not revolutionary, but simply catching up. Ever notice how when you get a new idea--when you really get it--it seems obvious and familiar. Catching up, not changing. And when a desired event happens, it often feels like it is already part of us. Well, here she is again... and already." (6/29/2004 - R#66)

"Follow the energy! People would prefer a beacon of hope, but without it they'll settle for a security blanket. See, I made a blanket statement.

"There is a vast untapped pool of psychic energy waiting. We go swimming in it... ARF... but you could use it if you could tap into it. More at 6, film at 11." (9/15/2004 - R#67)

"Keep heart. Don't get angry, don't waste energy on fuming and fussing. Focus on the good. And the sleek shall inherit the Earth--which some think is spelled s-l-i-c-k. If, in any situation, you can't see what you can do positively and will actually start doing it, then you are more of a problem than a hope. Getting fired up is not the same as forming a bucket brigade.

"One question keeps coming from the readers of SP: 'Will I get a clue of what is coming next?' And the answer is: You will get your future, and there is no clue as to what that is, by which you can know it all in advance.

"The best model is one of engagement and letting go. Engage your life as if your life depended on it, and let go of the outcomes. Each experience in the physical needs to be its own journey, not a prelude to a destination.

"Someday they will build planes without windows so you can get there faster, but you might not see the mystery you fly by without noticing. Don't ever let your life be windowless--even if you think you have your compass locked on target.

"And also, the clues you might be able to get--if there were any--might take you to a consequence which is not your only possible outcome. Knowing ahead would lock in one probability... and what might be lost in the bargain, is all." (9/25/2004 - R#68)

"I have to say this again: Focus energy on your positives, not on somebody else's negatives. If you try to cross a river just by stepping off the bank you don't want, you'll drown. Yet politics these days is too much about not going there, rather than let's go here.

"I think it was the scarcity of those times of the Great Depression, coupled with another fear. This is the great fear that no one is supposed to speak: that America is not all it's cracked up to be. In fact, we are just another of the run-of-the-mill countries, trying to make it. We do some things better and some things not. And just because we got the money and the resources, we think we got it made, but fear we don't, so we stop seeing where we could grow--scarcity; fear of flying, so to speak; and our failure, for several generations, to take seriously the integration of newcomers into the dream.

"We once taught people civics; now we ask them to know facts. So we get, not a land of citizens, but a country of factoids. Try Preparation F. We now ask people to show that they are good citizens, where once we helped them become good citizens. Maybe the change is because we have forgotten the dream. Maybe it died in the 30s, when the wealthiest nation couldn't feed and house its people. And once we failed, we have pullen the covers over anything less than that ideal.

"We haven't dreamt a shared dream in too long. And the soul grows weary when it cannot dream. And those in intense fear dare not dream for worry of a nightmare. We choose a dreamless sleep rather than risk the nightmare of our own recognition. We do not see the charlatans at the helm. And we also do not see the saviors in each of us. Enough! I depress myself more... and I depress my elf, and he's short already. He's short because he's standing in a hole. Hey, isn't that a metaphor for now.

"A dream in a hole is only one of getting back to the surface, whilst horizons dance beckoningly all above. I've said it. Done." (9/28/2004 - R#69)

"Provocation is not provocative. Provocation is anti-vocative for thoughtful people, because controversy is about claiming others' energy, not about claiming one's own. Now there's enough pith to go around.

"They don't want to argue. Their first response is to sense how much energy they will have to commit, because once you've responded, you have to keep on responding. They think, but don't want to engage." (10/6/2004 - R#70)

This is the prayer we say before each session:
May we be connected to all things loving,
Protected from all things evil,
And guided in all ways gracious.

"... guided in all ways gracious. Ok, let's run with that. Forget the loving, forget the evil, forget the guided and the protected. Gracious: what does that mean. I'm not going to offer an answer! But that's the central question.

"People want grace more than anything else. They want to know they'll be ok no matter what. So learn how to articulate grace. Sometimes it appears as money, sometimes as security. But wrestle with this: In the absence of discussion about grace, people settle for safety. A gracious nation is a generous and abundant nation.

"Not the best week, eh. Not the worst week, eh. Ok, so we've put it in perspective. Now you've got the choice: Focus on what's worse or what's better. Most will do neither; they will focus on the space between the hoped-for and the actual. A few will say 'Hey, it could have been worse.' 'How.' 'Oy vey, could it have been worse. Don't ask.' But then they'll say 'How.' Fewer still will understand the answer is between the hoped-for realities and the dreamt hopes.

"Going to center is not the answer. If it were, everyone would live in Kansas. Invade the red states. Get a look at the losing margins and have that many move 30 days before the next election.

"We should take a lesson from Washington Square Park speed chess. Speed politics: Each candidate gets 30 minutes of time total... waste 2 minutes on something trivial and lose it. Have those little timing clocks to slam stop. 'What is our biggest dilemma today.' 'Deficit'... slam. 'Social Security'... slam. 'Next question.' Forget sound bytes; get sound bits: 'Today the candidate utters a profound syllable... 'gh'... woog–the Sanford McPooch school of debate... f.

"We always expect it to go differently, but we've learned to deal with disappointment... we're dead. We never ever count on tricks. Fear is a big trick... and our friend, chad. But fear is the big one.

"Got to work, not against fear, but toward hope. We can is the mantra. Yes we can. Hmmm... heard that from my man... another dark whitey like me... although he went to that trade school in Cambridge." (11/5/2004 - R#71)

"Forget the naysayers, connect to the yeasayers. Picture the wagon train waiting to leave St. Jo: Someone is talking about the promise of the West, and then someone says 'What about the natives,' and a great debate starts about what to call them. And then, some others begin to talk about how many are out there, and they produce conflicting maps with little dots on them. Before long it's dark, and so they don't start out. The next day they spend arguing about who is their leader, and the next about the best order for the wagons, etc., etc., etc. And so now their descendants live in St. Jo, and none have ever seen the coast, and they believe the vision of an ocean is just a hoax.

"It is! possible to talk and discuss and move and act at the same time. If we wait for the perfect plan and the perfect time, hell, we might as well just give up! And get done what you can get done, not worrying about what is not getting done... unless it's a roast." (11/12/2004 - R#72)

"Horizon thinking. Don't be a dragging anchor of criticism, be a beacon light of guidance. Two ways to ride out a storm: Drop anchor and hope for the best, or chart a course--often at right angles or head-on--and head for where you need to go. In either scenario, you might go down. But wouldn't it be better to do so heading to port." (11/16/2004 - R#73)

"One of the fallouts of the religious right's crusades is the diminution of the spiritual in life. They want religious, not spiritual, values, and we who dabble in the occult... oooOOOooo... will feel a chilling wind... oooOOOooo... as any form of diversity or creative experiencing is seen as heresy. Heresy Brothers, the department store in downtown Oshkosh. Their motto: Something for everyone. But seriously, folkettes, this will probably mean that some who would have explored will now, out of fear, not look. And that's sad... boo hoo.

"The start of the Middle Ages was the small suppressions of diverse thinking and exploring. If you think the Inquisition was bad, remember it was the last gasp, not the first breath. Consolidation of view and opinion--under the guise of religion--started it all. Constantine demanded that everyone believe the same, and wed church and state, and set up the popes to have power. I hear faintly familiar rings in your present... not determined, so awareness is the key.

"MCP has something to say. MCP, come to the front of the class, take off your hat, and speak."

MCP: "Hey-a. When I traveled with my papa and uncle, we went east--not just because of trade, but also because we were freer there than we would have been in Europe. In Europe, we had to watch our speech and our backs; in Asia, we did not. You can't explore if you are constantly looking over your shoulder. Fear makes a bad traveling companion because, though you may move, you don't really travel. I'm done-a. Here's-a her-a, and she's-a one cute-a babe."

"MCP! Be aware, speak out. Doors can only be shut when no one is holding them open! So don't gather in seclusion, but in the public eye. Secret wisdom doesn't serve in a closed society. And organize. With the advances in communication, you don't have to go dark like that (Middle Ages = Dark Ages). The internet is a hope, as is writing and speaking and witnessing and partying. I am saying you should say what you feel you need to say, before your silences become custom.

"Historically, the most tragic victims were those who suffered and had not spoken out. If you are going to have to endure whatever, at least make it for doing something of value.

"This is a time, not for anxiety, but for commitment. Nothing is cast in stone... ok, some things are, but they're usually tombstones and dead precepts (Ozymandias). I theenk thees ees eet." (11/20/2004 - R#74)

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