"Your present is not the result of your past!"
"Bashar"
TODAY'S DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION QUESTION!
What does this say?
I wear eye glasses full-time, now. Without them, most things near or far are somewhat blurry visually. Yet, twice recently, I went to the park with a friend and played softball - which includes catching and hitting a sphere being thrown at me, and hitting a target when I'm doing the throwing - without wearing my glasses.
That's right. I took them off without really thinking about it, perhaps because I never wore glasses back in the day when I regularly played softball.
I didn't think about it.
And by the way, I didn't make one error in the field in today's foray. Yep. Somehow, I "saw" the ball, even though I shouldn't have been able to.
Thoughts?
I wear eye glasses full-time, now. Without them, most things near or far are somewhat blurry visually. Yet, twice recently, I went to the park with a friend and played softball - which includes catching and hitting a sphere being thrown at me, and hitting a target when I'm doing the throwing - without wearing my glasses.
That's right. I took them off without really thinking about it, perhaps because I never wore glasses back in the day when I regularly played softball.
I didn't think about it.
And by the way, I didn't make one error in the field in today's foray. Yep. Somehow, I "saw" the ball, even though I shouldn't have been able to.
Thoughts?
MORE ON CHEF RONNIE!
So, here's the foie gras with fresh figs... 
And here's the ricotta-stuffed French toast brunch...
And here's the ricotta-stuffed French toast brunch...
SEXUAL REPRESSION AND THE 4TH DIMENSION! I'M OUTTA HERE!!
Here's a headline from today's news: Taliban Stone Couple For Adultery In Afghanistan
Is it not simple enough to understand that a society in which such things are possible is so primitive and rooted in the lower levels of 3-dimensional reality that they cannot be elevated in a single lifetime? Only through the arduous and slow process of death and rebirth over many lifetimes can a consciousness operating at that level evolve.
Furthermore, is not equally simple to see that a society engaged in war with such a primitive culture cannot be very much more evolved than those doing the stoning? Ideological leaders in Afghanistan think stoning people to death for having consensual sex makes sense, and political leaders here think that being at war with that country for 9 years makes sense.
Cut to:
REALITY
Raising your vibration through self-awareness, understanding and knowing by connecting to your inner thoughts and feelings will consciously connect you to your spiritual nature and to All That Is, and so will carry you to 4th Dimensional reality, especially right now, because the Wave is upon us.
That's it, folks. There's no "reforming" the current system, except in miniscule increments, and that requires that you stay in the system. The world without deadly sexual repression and war already exists. It's already there, "waiting" for you to enter it. That world in the news isn't going anywhere anytime soon, though, so I don't know about you, but... I'm outta here!
Is it not simple enough to understand that a society in which such things are possible is so primitive and rooted in the lower levels of 3-dimensional reality that they cannot be elevated in a single lifetime? Only through the arduous and slow process of death and rebirth over many lifetimes can a consciousness operating at that level evolve.
Furthermore, is not equally simple to see that a society engaged in war with such a primitive culture cannot be very much more evolved than those doing the stoning? Ideological leaders in Afghanistan think stoning people to death for having consensual sex makes sense, and political leaders here think that being at war with that country for 9 years makes sense.
Cut to:
REALITY
Raising your vibration through self-awareness, understanding and knowing by connecting to your inner thoughts and feelings will consciously connect you to your spiritual nature and to All That Is, and so will carry you to 4th Dimensional reality, especially right now, because the Wave is upon us.
That's it, folks. There's no "reforming" the current system, except in miniscule increments, and that requires that you stay in the system. The world without deadly sexual repression and war already exists. It's already there, "waiting" for you to enter it. That world in the news isn't going anywhere anytime soon, though, so I don't know about you, but... I'm outta here!
Eat, Drink and Be Merry/Live Long and Prosper
I am back from an extraordinary and glorious weekend, unique in my experience, and I would like to tell you about it.
Of course, those who know me will presume that I was at the ocean soaking up the sun and salt water, and they would be correct. The seashore is my favorite place to be, far ahead of the woods, the mountains or the desert. Yes, being at the ocean was the glorious part of the weekend, but what made the two days extraordinary was that we shared the time with another houseguest who was a four star chef!
I mean, I was humbled, folks. I used to think - up until three days ago - that I knew how to cook. But watching "Ronnie," a true artist at his craft, in the kitchen was an eye-opener. And feasting on his creations was a true mind-body-spirit experience. From the foix gras with fresh figs before the melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon on the first night to the 21-bean dip (actually made with 21 different beans!) and fresh fruit-filled sangria before the Brazilian-style grilled chicken the second night, it was a revelation to the taste-buds of everyone present.
And so clearly, the key ingredient in all of Ronnie's dishes was love. Cooking is clearly the man's passion, his art, a soul-gift, for sure, and he is always happy and hands on - literally - when doing it. As an expert masseuse or hands-on-healer will use his or her hands to "read" and release the body, Ronnie used his loving hands to turn things and tell him when things were perfectly done, and release the bouquet of flavors hidden even in simple roasted fingerling potatoes and white asparagus!
Always wanting to contribute something to a weekend of sharing, I usually do a good deal of the cooking when away with friends. I do find it a pleasure and a meditative experience, but I can say without a doubt, now, that it is not my "Zone of Genius," as Gay Hendricks describes in his book, The Big Leap. So, as a fun game, which Ronnie was good-spiritedly open to, I proposed as my contribution to the weekend feasts to buy the ingredients for our two breakfasts with the proviso that Ronnie wouldn't know what I was buying. I would simply buy whatever looked good at the Seaview Market that morning, with no thought as to how the ingredients could come together, and Ronnie's challenge would be to create exquisite dishes out of the groceries.
Needles to say, he was up for it! In the blink of an eye, we were all devouring ricotta-stuffed ciabatta French toast with blueberries and warm maple syrup, a mere day after the mushroom, ham, onion and swiss cheese frittata, so light and fluffy, it practically floated away! I started thinking, I have to talk to the producers who optioned City Rock about this as a possible TV reality show. "STUMP CHEF RONNIE!"
Anyway, folks, I just thought I would share this experience of love and creativity.
Below is a repost of an article I wrote a while ago called "Full Permission Eating."
Salut!
According to two recent studies, red wine will help you live longer and sugar won't kill you even if you're diabetic. Woah! For real?
From one of the articles:
"Two large studies involving more than 21,000 people found that people with Type 2 diabetes had no reduction in their risk of heart attacks and strokes and no reduction in their death rate if they rigorously controlled their blood sugar levels."
And from the other:
"Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan."
What gives? Well, the bottom line, if you want to skip ahead, is this: what promotes good health and longevity, first and foremost, are happiness and pleasure.
A psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Paul Rozin, who specializes in, yes, the psychology of food, conducted a survey in America, France, Belgium and Japan in an effort to explain what is referred to as the "French Paradox." The paradox is basically this: the French consume a diet that is very rich and high in fat, yet they have a low rate of obesity and enjoy generally good health, compared to Americans.
Americans, on the other hand, are obsessed with counting calories and cholesterol levels and worry excessively about the effects of food on their bodies, and still, they have a very high rate of obesity comparatively and suffer with more health problems. Dr. Rozin’s survey suggests that the determining factor may be the different cultural attitudes towards food and pleasure.
Rozin is quoted in the journal "Appetite" as saying, "There is a sense among Americans that food is as much a poison as it is a nutrient, and that eating is almost as dangerous as not eating." He goes on to say that "…when a major aspect of life becomes a stress and source of substantial worry, as opposed to pleasure, effects might be seen in both cardiovascular and immune systems." Rozin’s researcher found that the French, on the other hand, of whom only 4 percent follow diets in line with the American recommended guidelines for fat intake, associate eating more with pleasure than with health.
In a related story, the New York Times ran an article in its "Eating Well" column, by Marian Burros, that quoted two professors on nutrition and obesity extolling the virtues and health benefits of enjoying such luscious holiday foods as foie gras, caviar and pumpkin pie, believe it or not! Listen to this:
"Tucked in between the cholesterol and the saturated fat, the calories and the salt in the foie gras, the sausage stuffing and the standing rib roast, there are dozens of nutrients that are highly recommended by the food police. These are the vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that may prevent cancer and heart disease and a host of other diseases. Everyone already knows that chocolate is a health food: Two pounds of it, particularly dark chocolate, has the same cancer-fighting antioxidants as a quart of tea. But did you know that each time you eat a three-ounce piece of pumpkin pie you may well be reducing your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration? The pumpkin in that small wedge of pie is filled with carotenoids, almost 3,000 micrograms of beta carotene, 1,900 of alpha carotene and 400 of lutein, the carotenoid connected with cataract prevention."
Where is this leading us? Well, the Times also printed an article on Dr. Rozin’s study entitled, "If It Feels Good, Eat It." People will be up in arms perhaps at the suggestion that eating what we want, what we really enjoy, is a reasonable guideline for a diet, yet that is precisely the message of these studies, and it is in keeping with the conceptual foundation of Full Permission Living which is that human beings, if allowed to follow their undistorted desires, will naturally do what’s best for themselves and others without resorting to excess and without having to sacrifice pleasure. Furthermore, if one engages in any activity, including eating, with a spirit of enjoyment and gratitude, it is the premise of FPL that what you take in will benefit you. That may be the original reason for saying a blessing before a meal - to get your mind and digestive system into a positive and receptive mode to aid absorption and facilitate nourishment.
I’ve often thought about the movie, "Michael", in this regard. John Travolta plays the archangel by the same name, and in the film the high-order angelic character is seen consuming huge amounts of sugar, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and of course, dancing and cavorting with women. I asked myself when I first saw the movie, could such a spiritual being actually indulge himself in that manner and not suffer any negative consequences? Absolutely, I realized. Such a being would be so connected to his spiritual self, so full of joy and gratitude that whatever molecules he took into his body would immediately be transmuted into good nourishment. After all, everything is made of the same basic particles of energy, whether it’s steamed organic broccoli or a hamburger! So what determines the effect of various foods on the body? It must be the individual’s state of consciousness, one’s inner beliefs and attitudes. Indeed, my own grandfather, "Pete", lived without major illness until he died of old age at 91, and he regularly consumed sugar and salt, smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol until the end. How did he do it? Well, for one thing, he rarely indulged in anything to excess, but also, no matter what doctors, the media or younger worried family members said to him, he genuinely never believed these things would harm him. So, perhaps that is why they didn’t. He also rejected stressful behavior as a requirement for being successful, even though he had his own business to run which he did for almost four decades. I never saw Grandpa Pete anxiously rushing around or fretting about anything.
Now, let me issue a qualifier here - none of us is Michael the Archangel and most of us are not, in our hyper-vigilant, type-A culture, Grandpa Pete! Most of us are harboring hidden self-destructive or fearful beliefs and attitudes, and so will unconsciously use food and anything else to create suffering for ourselves if we're not conscious. So the "undistorted desires" part is crucial to living with full permission. Furthermore, if you believe that certain things are harmful to your health, you can’t trick yourself by superimposing another belief over that one and expect not to have disastrous results. How you feel about yourself and your body is a key element that must be brought into conscious awareness in order to be a "healthy hedonist," and the channels to your natural pleasure instinct must be cleared of blockages as well. In other words, a full-spectrum healing process may be needed before you can start indulging in the daily red wine and sweet treats.
Here are some great words of wisdom from Jane Roberts’ "Seth" book, "The Way Toward Health":
"The ideas you have, then, play a large role in the way the body handles its nutrients, and utilizes health and vitality…it is possible for your ideas to cause chemical reactions that impede your body’s ability to accept nourishment. If you believe that the body is evil, the purest health food diet may do you little good at all, while if you have a healthy desire and respect for your physical body, a diet of TV dinners and even fast foods may well keep you healthy and nourished. If we are talking about health, it is to your beliefs that we must look. It is up to you to form a body of beliefs that is worthy of your physical image – for you are nourished by your beliefs, and those beliefs can cause your daily bread to add to your vitality, or add to your cares and stress."
P.S. - A friend and FPL reader recently asked me why I don't include physical movement among the joys and pleasures of life, alongside sex and eating, which I so often speak about. I'm working on it. Stay tuned...
Of course, those who know me will presume that I was at the ocean soaking up the sun and salt water, and they would be correct. The seashore is my favorite place to be, far ahead of the woods, the mountains or the desert. Yes, being at the ocean was the glorious part of the weekend, but what made the two days extraordinary was that we shared the time with another houseguest who was a four star chef!
I mean, I was humbled, folks. I used to think - up until three days ago - that I knew how to cook. But watching "Ronnie," a true artist at his craft, in the kitchen was an eye-opener. And feasting on his creations was a true mind-body-spirit experience. From the foix gras with fresh figs before the melt-in-your-mouth filet mignon on the first night to the 21-bean dip (actually made with 21 different beans!) and fresh fruit-filled sangria before the Brazilian-style grilled chicken the second night, it was a revelation to the taste-buds of everyone present.
And so clearly, the key ingredient in all of Ronnie's dishes was love. Cooking is clearly the man's passion, his art, a soul-gift, for sure, and he is always happy and hands on - literally - when doing it. As an expert masseuse or hands-on-healer will use his or her hands to "read" and release the body, Ronnie used his loving hands to turn things and tell him when things were perfectly done, and release the bouquet of flavors hidden even in simple roasted fingerling potatoes and white asparagus!
Always wanting to contribute something to a weekend of sharing, I usually do a good deal of the cooking when away with friends. I do find it a pleasure and a meditative experience, but I can say without a doubt, now, that it is not my "Zone of Genius," as Gay Hendricks describes in his book, The Big Leap. So, as a fun game, which Ronnie was good-spiritedly open to, I proposed as my contribution to the weekend feasts to buy the ingredients for our two breakfasts with the proviso that Ronnie wouldn't know what I was buying. I would simply buy whatever looked good at the Seaview Market that morning, with no thought as to how the ingredients could come together, and Ronnie's challenge would be to create exquisite dishes out of the groceries.
Needles to say, he was up for it! In the blink of an eye, we were all devouring ricotta-stuffed ciabatta French toast with blueberries and warm maple syrup, a mere day after the mushroom, ham, onion and swiss cheese frittata, so light and fluffy, it practically floated away! I started thinking, I have to talk to the producers who optioned City Rock about this as a possible TV reality show. "STUMP CHEF RONNIE!"
Anyway, folks, I just thought I would share this experience of love and creativity.
Below is a repost of an article I wrote a while ago called "Full Permission Eating."
Salut!
According to two recent studies, red wine will help you live longer and sugar won't kill you even if you're diabetic. Woah! For real?
From one of the articles:
"Two large studies involving more than 21,000 people found that people with Type 2 diabetes had no reduction in their risk of heart attacks and strokes and no reduction in their death rate if they rigorously controlled their blood sugar levels."
And from the other:
"Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan."
What gives? Well, the bottom line, if you want to skip ahead, is this: what promotes good health and longevity, first and foremost, are happiness and pleasure.
A psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Paul Rozin, who specializes in, yes, the psychology of food, conducted a survey in America, France, Belgium and Japan in an effort to explain what is referred to as the "French Paradox." The paradox is basically this: the French consume a diet that is very rich and high in fat, yet they have a low rate of obesity and enjoy generally good health, compared to Americans.
Americans, on the other hand, are obsessed with counting calories and cholesterol levels and worry excessively about the effects of food on their bodies, and still, they have a very high rate of obesity comparatively and suffer with more health problems. Dr. Rozin’s survey suggests that the determining factor may be the different cultural attitudes towards food and pleasure.
Rozin is quoted in the journal "Appetite" as saying, "There is a sense among Americans that food is as much a poison as it is a nutrient, and that eating is almost as dangerous as not eating." He goes on to say that "…when a major aspect of life becomes a stress and source of substantial worry, as opposed to pleasure, effects might be seen in both cardiovascular and immune systems." Rozin’s researcher found that the French, on the other hand, of whom only 4 percent follow diets in line with the American recommended guidelines for fat intake, associate eating more with pleasure than with health.
In a related story, the New York Times ran an article in its "Eating Well" column, by Marian Burros, that quoted two professors on nutrition and obesity extolling the virtues and health benefits of enjoying such luscious holiday foods as foie gras, caviar and pumpkin pie, believe it or not! Listen to this:
"Tucked in between the cholesterol and the saturated fat, the calories and the salt in the foie gras, the sausage stuffing and the standing rib roast, there are dozens of nutrients that are highly recommended by the food police. These are the vitamins and minerals and phytochemicals that may prevent cancer and heart disease and a host of other diseases. Everyone already knows that chocolate is a health food: Two pounds of it, particularly dark chocolate, has the same cancer-fighting antioxidants as a quart of tea. But did you know that each time you eat a three-ounce piece of pumpkin pie you may well be reducing your risk of cataracts and macular degeneration? The pumpkin in that small wedge of pie is filled with carotenoids, almost 3,000 micrograms of beta carotene, 1,900 of alpha carotene and 400 of lutein, the carotenoid connected with cataract prevention."
Where is this leading us? Well, the Times also printed an article on Dr. Rozin’s study entitled, "If It Feels Good, Eat It." People will be up in arms perhaps at the suggestion that eating what we want, what we really enjoy, is a reasonable guideline for a diet, yet that is precisely the message of these studies, and it is in keeping with the conceptual foundation of Full Permission Living which is that human beings, if allowed to follow their undistorted desires, will naturally do what’s best for themselves and others without resorting to excess and without having to sacrifice pleasure. Furthermore, if one engages in any activity, including eating, with a spirit of enjoyment and gratitude, it is the premise of FPL that what you take in will benefit you. That may be the original reason for saying a blessing before a meal - to get your mind and digestive system into a positive and receptive mode to aid absorption and facilitate nourishment.
I’ve often thought about the movie, "Michael", in this regard. John Travolta plays the archangel by the same name, and in the film the high-order angelic character is seen consuming huge amounts of sugar, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes and of course, dancing and cavorting with women. I asked myself when I first saw the movie, could such a spiritual being actually indulge himself in that manner and not suffer any negative consequences? Absolutely, I realized. Such a being would be so connected to his spiritual self, so full of joy and gratitude that whatever molecules he took into his body would immediately be transmuted into good nourishment. After all, everything is made of the same basic particles of energy, whether it’s steamed organic broccoli or a hamburger! So what determines the effect of various foods on the body? It must be the individual’s state of consciousness, one’s inner beliefs and attitudes. Indeed, my own grandfather, "Pete", lived without major illness until he died of old age at 91, and he regularly consumed sugar and salt, smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol until the end. How did he do it? Well, for one thing, he rarely indulged in anything to excess, but also, no matter what doctors, the media or younger worried family members said to him, he genuinely never believed these things would harm him. So, perhaps that is why they didn’t. He also rejected stressful behavior as a requirement for being successful, even though he had his own business to run which he did for almost four decades. I never saw Grandpa Pete anxiously rushing around or fretting about anything.
Now, let me issue a qualifier here - none of us is Michael the Archangel and most of us are not, in our hyper-vigilant, type-A culture, Grandpa Pete! Most of us are harboring hidden self-destructive or fearful beliefs and attitudes, and so will unconsciously use food and anything else to create suffering for ourselves if we're not conscious. So the "undistorted desires" part is crucial to living with full permission. Furthermore, if you believe that certain things are harmful to your health, you can’t trick yourself by superimposing another belief over that one and expect not to have disastrous results. How you feel about yourself and your body is a key element that must be brought into conscious awareness in order to be a "healthy hedonist," and the channels to your natural pleasure instinct must be cleared of blockages as well. In other words, a full-spectrum healing process may be needed before you can start indulging in the daily red wine and sweet treats.
Here are some great words of wisdom from Jane Roberts’ "Seth" book, "The Way Toward Health":
"The ideas you have, then, play a large role in the way the body handles its nutrients, and utilizes health and vitality…it is possible for your ideas to cause chemical reactions that impede your body’s ability to accept nourishment. If you believe that the body is evil, the purest health food diet may do you little good at all, while if you have a healthy desire and respect for your physical body, a diet of TV dinners and even fast foods may well keep you healthy and nourished. If we are talking about health, it is to your beliefs that we must look. It is up to you to form a body of beliefs that is worthy of your physical image – for you are nourished by your beliefs, and those beliefs can cause your daily bread to add to your vitality, or add to your cares and stress."
P.S. - A friend and FPL reader recently asked me why I don't include physical movement among the joys and pleasures of life, alongside sex and eating, which I so often speak about. I'm working on it. Stay tuned...
TODAY'S DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION HEADLINE!
HEADLINE: THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN SUCH A DISASTER
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday he has never seen anything like the flood disaster in Pakistan after surveying the devastation and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the 20 million people affected.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Sunday he has never seen anything like the flood disaster in Pakistan after surveying the devastation and urged foreign donors to speed up assistance to the 20 million people affected.
TODAY'S COURAGEOUS QUOTE!
"For the Pentagon to be making threatening demands for censorship of a press organization is a cause for concern, not just for the press but for the Pentagon itself."
Julian Assange (WIKILEAKS founder on the release of secret documents demonstrating what a disaster the war in Afghanistan has been)
Julian Assange (WIKILEAKS founder on the release of secret documents demonstrating what a disaster the war in Afghanistan has been)
TODAY'S QUOTE! (IN DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE?! PART 2)
“Of course, the ideal scenario for parenting is obviously two parents of a mature age, but for those who’ve not yet found their Bill O’Reilly, I’m just glad science has provided a few other options.”
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
"ANONYMOUS" ASKS PL A HUMOROUS QUESTION!/PL RESPONDS!
Here's anonymous:
"What will happen to narcissists in the fourth dimension?"
Here's PL:
Not to worry. There won't be any.
"What will happen to narcissists in the fourth dimension?"
Here's PL:
Not to worry. There won't be any.
THE DEADLY SIDE OF THE WAVE!
DON'T BELIEVE MAINSTREAM DOCTORS!
How many times to I have to say this? (HERE'S a few places where I, in fact, do say it!) Mainstream medical establishment doctors are at the lower vibrational end of the 3D spectrum, meaning that even in the world of linear, dualistic separation, even in the heaviest and slowest of vibrations, they are dysfunctional. They do not know anything about what constitutes true healing, nor do they really care to know, and they work first for profit and the profits and dictates for and from insurance companies, not for your health and well-being.
HERE'S yet another example.
Whew!
HERE'S yet another example.
Whew!
REPOST: "Bohemian Rhapsody!"
Remember the ending to Queen's classic operatic rock song, "Bohemian Rhapsody?" Freddie Mercury sounds almost relieved when he sings the final lyrics: "Nothing really matters, anyone can see, nothing really matters, nothing really matters to me."
The interesting thing is that one can relate to those words as a manifestation of depression, or as an expression of Buddhist-like non-attachment. In the case of depression, the expression is one of resignation and defeat, a place of giving up; in the case of non-attachment, the words describe an enlightened state of mind, a place of letting go.
This led me to having a very powerful discussion this morning with someone about why we struggle with the things we do, and why things "matter" so much, and why do we get stuck when things matter too much?
Well, think about this - the first definition of matter in my computer's dictionary is: "physical substance in general, as distinct from mind and spirit."
Physical as distinct from mind and spirit. Right. Matter is the heavy stuff that stuff is made of. Matter is the super slow vibration of energy that gives things "weight."
Here's another definition of matter from my dictionary: "the reason for distress or a problem."
Ha! Okay, so put the two definitions together and we have an insight here: Matter is "a physical, non-spiritual substance that causes distress and problems."
Now, translate the common question "What's the matter?" into "What's the non-spiritual substance causing me (you) distress?"
Hmm... Is it money, your house or apartment, your body? What are you attached to in a way that matters so much to you that you are becoming "heavy" in the truest sense of the word? And in that heaviness, making you less able to move and evolve your life in more in flexible, creative ways.
Back to Queen and Freddie Mercury - "Nothing really matters?" Your job, your love partner, your kids, your cellulite? Doesn't matter? None of it? Doesn't matter? Can that be so? Can anyone live in such a way and still function and be responsible?
Well, now we're back to Full Permission Living and the movement towards discovering that you can trust your first nature, embodied in your five senses and your intuition. This is how animals in the wild live, following their inner guidance without projections into the future or ruminations on the past. They are exquisitely in the Now, fully in the present moment. Human beings tend to only experience that blissful place where nothing matters when they're in the throws of a powerful orgasm, or in deep mediation or sleep, or in the "zone" during a creative moment. And unfortunately, how often do we allow ourselves to be in those places?
Perhaps an valuable exercise to conduct would be to examine your life and ask yourself what you would be doing if nothing mattered. Pretend you just found out that you only had a certain number of months to live, if you're still operating from 3-dimensional reality. Or suppose you just discovered that you're going to live forever, apropos of 4th Dimensional reality.
What would you do differently than you are now? Write it down. This is a good exercise because it puts you in touch with how precious a gift your life is. Would you be living where you're living now? Working where you're working? Would you love your loved ones more openly? Have more fun? More sex? Go ahead - write it down, and then... ask yourself why you're not doing those things now? Really. And what would happen - really - if you did do those things now? Let me know. I'd love to hear what you discover.
TODAY'S QUOTE! (IN DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE?!)
"What we think of as 'traditional marriage' is not universal. The default family arrangement in many cultures, modern as well as ancient, has been polygamy, not monogamy. The default mode of child-rearing is often communal, rather than two parents nurturing their biological children."
ROSS DOUTHAT (Conservative columnist for the NY Times today in an essay supporting traditional marriage)
HUH?!!?
ROSS DOUTHAT (Conservative columnist for the NY Times today in an essay supporting traditional marriage)
HUH?!!?
NO VITAMINS IN "VITAMINWATER?"
Coca-Cola is being sued by a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company's vitaminwater products make unwarranted health claims. No surprise there. But how do you think the company is defending itself?
In a staggering feat of twisted logic, lawyers for Coca-Cola are defending the lawsuit by asserting that "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage."
Does this mean that you'd have to be an unreasonable person to think that a product named "vitaminwater," a product that has been heavily and aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage, actually had health benefits?
Actually, if you believe anything that a corporation, a doctor, a cop, a politician or a priest tells you, without checking it out yourself through your own research, then you are indeed already drinking the Vitaminwater.
STILL MORE AND MORE ON THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY SEXUAL REPRESSION!
I have written many posts on this blog about the ways in which sexual repression does severe damage to every aspect of our individual and collective lives.
Well, today, there's a story in Politics Daily with this not surprising news:
A national survey in 2001 of more than 2,500 Christian religious leaders conducted by Duke Divinity School showed that 76 percent of Christian clergy were either overweight or obese, 15 percentage points higher than for the general U.S. population. And other research has shown that clergy across all faiths are succumbing to higher rates of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and other ailments than their congregants.
Okay?
Well, today, there's a story in Politics Daily with this not surprising news:
A national survey in 2001 of more than 2,500 Christian religious leaders conducted by Duke Divinity School showed that 76 percent of Christian clergy were either overweight or obese, 15 percentage points higher than for the general U.S. population. And other research has shown that clergy across all faiths are succumbing to higher rates of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and other ailments than their congregants.
Okay?
Today's Quote!
"I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen."
Anne Rice (famous author of the Vampire Chronicles)
[Note:My friend Steve and I were such fans of Anne Rice's vampire books that we were inspired one year to take a trip to New Orleans to see the settings of her most famous novels.]
Anne Rice (famous author of the Vampire Chronicles)
[Note:My friend Steve and I were such fans of Anne Rice's vampire books that we were inspired one year to take a trip to New Orleans to see the settings of her most famous novels.]
STUCK IN 3D, LIKE OBAMA? HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT?!
The United States is still stuck in 2 disastrous wars, a badly sagging economy and a man-made environmental catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia still abound in public policy and the public square, while the right wing media lies outright about it without consequence.
What happened?
Barack Obama was supposed to be the "change" we were all waiting for, wasn't he? His election was supposed to signal a new day in American leadership, right?
Well... here's the problem: like so many people in this time of great transition, President Obama is stuck in 3D.
Yes, compared to the child we had as a putative leader from 2000 to 2008, Obama seemed to be a breath of fresh air. He was/is a mature, thoughtful, intelligent adult with a balanced emotional life, a vibrant relationship and pragmatic, rather than superstitious, strategies for governing. But that's not enough.
As Albert Einstein once said: "You cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created it." And the level of consciousness that has created our current debacles is three-dimensional, which is to say, linear and dualistic.
Like Obama, I have seen many people become quite frustrated lately because although they appear to be doing the "right" things in their work-lives or relationships or regarding their health, nothing seems to work out satisfactorily. And that is because they are trying to work from the outside in, instead of from the inside out. They are operating according to Newtonian physics instead of Quantum physics. In the latter, consciousness rules matter, creating our reality, and time is relative, or an illusion. There is no "either-or," "right or wrong," "me or you." We are all one with each other and with All That Is, and we create our own reality from our consciousness. Period.
These understandings are no longer meant to stay in the realm of theory or science fiction entertainment, folks. The time has come to shift to a Fourth Dimensional perspective and realize that whatever ails us, whatever we are dissatisfied with can only be addressed from within our individual and collective consciousnesses.
Don't believe me? Well, keep on trying to do the right thing instead of clearing up your inner life, and let me know how it works out. But you better let me know soon, because I'm off to 4D. Come on, Barack!
What happened?
Barack Obama was supposed to be the "change" we were all waiting for, wasn't he? His election was supposed to signal a new day in American leadership, right?
Well... here's the problem: like so many people in this time of great transition, President Obama is stuck in 3D.
Yes, compared to the child we had as a putative leader from 2000 to 2008, Obama seemed to be a breath of fresh air. He was/is a mature, thoughtful, intelligent adult with a balanced emotional life, a vibrant relationship and pragmatic, rather than superstitious, strategies for governing. But that's not enough.
As Albert Einstein once said: "You cannot solve a problem at the same level of consciousness that created it." And the level of consciousness that has created our current debacles is three-dimensional, which is to say, linear and dualistic.
Like Obama, I have seen many people become quite frustrated lately because although they appear to be doing the "right" things in their work-lives or relationships or regarding their health, nothing seems to work out satisfactorily. And that is because they are trying to work from the outside in, instead of from the inside out. They are operating according to Newtonian physics instead of Quantum physics. In the latter, consciousness rules matter, creating our reality, and time is relative, or an illusion. There is no "either-or," "right or wrong," "me or you." We are all one with each other and with All That Is, and we create our own reality from our consciousness. Period.
These understandings are no longer meant to stay in the realm of theory or science fiction entertainment, folks. The time has come to shift to a Fourth Dimensional perspective and realize that whatever ails us, whatever we are dissatisfied with can only be addressed from within our individual and collective consciousnesses.
Don't believe me? Well, keep on trying to do the right thing instead of clearing up your inner life, and let me know how it works out. But you better let me know soon, because I'm off to 4D. Come on, Barack!
"Spike" comments on PL's post: "STUCK IN 3D, LIKE OBAMA? HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT?!"
Here's Spike:
I agree with this 100%! Changes really do need to be made from the inside out and if you just say your going to change something it will never happen unless you really want it to deep inside. I agree with your ideas behind Obama as well. Did people really expect things would change right away once we had a new leader? Things take time & understanding especially when we are in as deep as we currently are. He does need to change into some 4D thinking but people cannot expect immediate results!
I agree with this 100%! Changes really do need to be made from the inside out and if you just say your going to change something it will never happen unless you really want it to deep inside. I agree with your ideas behind Obama as well. Did people really expect things would change right away once we had a new leader? Things take time & understanding especially when we are in as deep as we currently are. He does need to change into some 4D thinking but people cannot expect immediate results!
3-D, 4-D, CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN AND... WHAT'S UP WITH FPL?!
Readers of this blog must wonder at times where I'm coming from.
On the same page, I can be talking about how we create our reality from within, no exceptions, we are all one and love is the essence of All That Is, and then scroll down and I'm calling the Pope and Mel Gibson crazy or ranting about the Park Slope Stepford Parents or listing lengthy and complex stages of healing in therapy.
What gives, PL?
Well, I'm glad you asked. I am indeed coming from more than one place on this blog.
At once, I am attempting to impart what I have discovered as spiritual truths about the nature of reality, truths that operate beyond three-dimensional existence, but incorporate 3-D, while simultaneously commenting on this physical/linear level of creation from a physical/linear perspective. It is an interesting, and I must admit, stimulating exercise.
I know that to heal the Pope in Rome, I have to heal the Pope in me that I've created. But it is kind of fun to lambaste and chastise the pontiffs whose dictates I felt tortured by in childhood every time I got angry or horny. Of course, now I know that I created those Popes, too, but nonetheless, the limitations of this game create challenges that I have clearly wanted to take on, so I pretended that Popes were outside of my creative abilities growing up.
Woah, what the heck are you talking about PL?!
What I'm saying, folks, is that it's all a game down here in 3-D physical reality on planet Earth, a game with rules that we made up and agreed to abide by... until we don't agree anymore. Since I've been writing screenplays and TV episodes, I've come to realize that the process of creating reality is exactly the same as the process of writing a movie. We choose the settings, the characters, the story lines and the timing of events, all in a somewhat structured, yet still very improvisational way. It really is fun... if you let it be, even if what you're writing is melodrama or horror.
Ahh... I hear the protests: "Suffering isn't fun, PL. And neither are war or poverty or racism or violence or oil spills!"
Well, first of all, to many individuals, being a warrior is very exciting, and ennobling poverty, or greed for that matter, are common approaches to life that people take pride in, and so on. Also, for a lot of other people, fighting against war and poverty and oil spills is a stimulating game that elevates their perceived sense of self.
That being said, however, we may be coming to a time when those games have been played-out for a majority of human beings, a time when we do in fact put an end to war and poverty because they're just not interesting story-lines anymore. "Boring. Been there, done that. Let's try experiencing alignment with unconditional love and oneness again, outside of the illusion of a space-time continuum."
It seems that many of us on Earth are ready to shift the game in that direction, into Fourth-Dimensional Reality, with the help of The Wave.
But don't mistakenly think that life on Earth is something to escape. It's not. We're here to experience being here, and ultimately to experience what unconditional love expresses itself like in three dimensions. It can be quite exquisitely pleasurable in its own very unique way once we really master the game.
You know, just before you reach the top of a mountain you've been climbing, the pain in your legs and the exhaustion may seem overwhelming, but if you continue on, the exhilaration from the view at the top of the mountain will be equally overwhelming in a joyful, awe-inspiring way. And maybe at that moment, it will all seem worth it.
Hey! Good game!!
On the same page, I can be talking about how we create our reality from within, no exceptions, we are all one and love is the essence of All That Is, and then scroll down and I'm calling the Pope and Mel Gibson crazy or ranting about the Park Slope Stepford Parents or listing lengthy and complex stages of healing in therapy.
What gives, PL?
Well, I'm glad you asked. I am indeed coming from more than one place on this blog.
At once, I am attempting to impart what I have discovered as spiritual truths about the nature of reality, truths that operate beyond three-dimensional existence, but incorporate 3-D, while simultaneously commenting on this physical/linear level of creation from a physical/linear perspective. It is an interesting, and I must admit, stimulating exercise.
I know that to heal the Pope in Rome, I have to heal the Pope in me that I've created. But it is kind of fun to lambaste and chastise the pontiffs whose dictates I felt tortured by in childhood every time I got angry or horny. Of course, now I know that I created those Popes, too, but nonetheless, the limitations of this game create challenges that I have clearly wanted to take on, so I pretended that Popes were outside of my creative abilities growing up.
Woah, what the heck are you talking about PL?!
What I'm saying, folks, is that it's all a game down here in 3-D physical reality on planet Earth, a game with rules that we made up and agreed to abide by... until we don't agree anymore. Since I've been writing screenplays and TV episodes, I've come to realize that the process of creating reality is exactly the same as the process of writing a movie. We choose the settings, the characters, the story lines and the timing of events, all in a somewhat structured, yet still very improvisational way. It really is fun... if you let it be, even if what you're writing is melodrama or horror.
Ahh... I hear the protests: "Suffering isn't fun, PL. And neither are war or poverty or racism or violence or oil spills!"
Well, first of all, to many individuals, being a warrior is very exciting, and ennobling poverty, or greed for that matter, are common approaches to life that people take pride in, and so on. Also, for a lot of other people, fighting against war and poverty and oil spills is a stimulating game that elevates their perceived sense of self.
That being said, however, we may be coming to a time when those games have been played-out for a majority of human beings, a time when we do in fact put an end to war and poverty because they're just not interesting story-lines anymore. "Boring. Been there, done that. Let's try experiencing alignment with unconditional love and oneness again, outside of the illusion of a space-time continuum."
It seems that many of us on Earth are ready to shift the game in that direction, into Fourth-Dimensional Reality, with the help of The Wave.
But don't mistakenly think that life on Earth is something to escape. It's not. We're here to experience being here, and ultimately to experience what unconditional love expresses itself like in three dimensions. It can be quite exquisitely pleasurable in its own very unique way once we really master the game.
You know, just before you reach the top of a mountain you've been climbing, the pain in your legs and the exhaustion may seem overwhelming, but if you continue on, the exhilaration from the view at the top of the mountain will be equally overwhelming in a joyful, awe-inspiring way. And maybe at that moment, it will all seem worth it.
Hey! Good game!!
More on Open Marriage
They're all over these days - articles about non-traditional marriages or open marriages or no marriages. "Polyamory" seems to be the new relationship/non-relationship buzzword everywhere. Tango On-Line Magazine has numerous pieces on marriage without monogamy, as does the Huffington Post in its "Living" section. It seems that now, 36 years after Nena and George O'Neill wrote their best-selling book, "OPEN MARRIAGE," the concept is making a real comeback.
Wikopedia defines "open marriage" this way:
"Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's activities."
In my therapy practice, especially over the last ten years or so, I have definitely witnessed a shift in the consciousness about marriage and relationships. For one thing, fewer people are getting married at all, and those that are thinking about it are not considering it at least while they are in their twenties, or even early thirties.
I think that's great. No one who gets married before they've really experienced adulthood for a good while is getting married for a healthy reason. Period. No one. It's all about fear and fulfilling images when you're that young. How can you tell? Because young people who get married think it's a momentous occasion, a really big deal, a... UGH!... commitment! In other words, a contract! With clauses that, no matter how poetic, basically claim that the spouses involved won't have to worry about being alone ever again: "I might get fat, you might get lazy, we might stop having great talks and great sex, but I've got a contract that says you have to be with me."
Now, of course, only the most out-of-touch people these days don't know that divorce is a routine part of adult life, since over fifty percent end up there, but that statistical fact doesn't change the fantasy for so many. Still, something positive must be up, since the "institution" of marriage seems to be under siege, among people of all ages.
Okay, but what about "open marriage" or polyamory as alternatives? Well, first of all, why not? What's wrong with having more than one love and/or sex partner? Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx both understood a century ago that monogamous marriage was a constructed social arrangement that mainly benefited societal institutions and economic systems, not the individuals in the marriage. Freud saw marriage as a way for society to control sex, and Marx saw marriage as an efficient consumption unit designed to fuel capitalism. (I agree with both Freud and Marx on this, by the way, and I want to add that, in general, traditional marriage as it is widely practiced is NOT GOOD FOR THE KIDS!)
But I want to say something else beyond just that traditional marriage with contractual monogamy is an institution built on personal fear and societal control. I want to say that marriage can also be a celebration. It can be an enthusiastic way of saying to the world, "We're in love!" "Yahoo!" "Check us out!" "We're immersed in a high order of Love-Eros-and-Sex and it's the shit!"
Yes. That's it! It's the party part of marriage that makes sense, not the "marriage" part. And if you're truly partaking of that kind of Love-Eros-and-Sex, you will find yourself arriving to a place that I've called, "spontaneous monogamy," a place where you're just having so much great sex and great talks and great life with your partner that your desires are focused like a laser on that one love partner. No need for a contract. No obligatory co-dependency. Passion, pleasure, fun and love, and yes, the sharing of the responsibilities of careers and parenting, and accepting the challenges of coming face to face with each other's character flaws, too. But always driving it all is the laser. Perhaps in that place, you might even decide to experiment with extramarital sex at some point, but it will be in the same spirit of celebration, not because, as described in so many of the open marriage articles, your sex life with your love partner has gone flat or doesn't meet all of your needs sexually, etc.
So, okay, one last point. Open marriage, or open anything in human relationships, has nothing to do with outer behaviors. Having sex with several persons, or just one person can be open or closed. It's really about how open you are to the full range of your own emotions, how free you are of your inner belief systems, how readily you can reveal yourself to another, and how connected you are to your own soul.
To be continued...
Wikopedia defines "open marriage" this way:
"Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's activities."
In my therapy practice, especially over the last ten years or so, I have definitely witnessed a shift in the consciousness about marriage and relationships. For one thing, fewer people are getting married at all, and those that are thinking about it are not considering it at least while they are in their twenties, or even early thirties.
I think that's great. No one who gets married before they've really experienced adulthood for a good while is getting married for a healthy reason. Period. No one. It's all about fear and fulfilling images when you're that young. How can you tell? Because young people who get married think it's a momentous occasion, a really big deal, a... UGH!... commitment! In other words, a contract! With clauses that, no matter how poetic, basically claim that the spouses involved won't have to worry about being alone ever again: "I might get fat, you might get lazy, we might stop having great talks and great sex, but I've got a contract that says you have to be with me."
Now, of course, only the most out-of-touch people these days don't know that divorce is a routine part of adult life, since over fifty percent end up there, but that statistical fact doesn't change the fantasy for so many. Still, something positive must be up, since the "institution" of marriage seems to be under siege, among people of all ages.
Okay, but what about "open marriage" or polyamory as alternatives? Well, first of all, why not? What's wrong with having more than one love and/or sex partner? Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx both understood a century ago that monogamous marriage was a constructed social arrangement that mainly benefited societal institutions and economic systems, not the individuals in the marriage. Freud saw marriage as a way for society to control sex, and Marx saw marriage as an efficient consumption unit designed to fuel capitalism. (I agree with both Freud and Marx on this, by the way, and I want to add that, in general, traditional marriage as it is widely practiced is NOT GOOD FOR THE KIDS!)
But I want to say something else beyond just that traditional marriage with contractual monogamy is an institution built on personal fear and societal control. I want to say that marriage can also be a celebration. It can be an enthusiastic way of saying to the world, "We're in love!" "Yahoo!" "Check us out!" "We're immersed in a high order of Love-Eros-and-Sex and it's the shit!"
Yes. That's it! It's the party part of marriage that makes sense, not the "marriage" part. And if you're truly partaking of that kind of Love-Eros-and-Sex, you will find yourself arriving to a place that I've called, "spontaneous monogamy," a place where you're just having so much great sex and great talks and great life with your partner that your desires are focused like a laser on that one love partner. No need for a contract. No obligatory co-dependency. Passion, pleasure, fun and love, and yes, the sharing of the responsibilities of careers and parenting, and accepting the challenges of coming face to face with each other's character flaws, too. But always driving it all is the laser. Perhaps in that place, you might even decide to experiment with extramarital sex at some point, but it will be in the same spirit of celebration, not because, as described in so many of the open marriage articles, your sex life with your love partner has gone flat or doesn't meet all of your needs sexually, etc.
So, okay, one last point. Open marriage, or open anything in human relationships, has nothing to do with outer behaviors. Having sex with several persons, or just one person can be open or closed. It's really about how open you are to the full range of your own emotions, how free you are of your inner belief systems, how readily you can reveal yourself to another, and how connected you are to your own soul.
To be continued...
FROM PL TO THESPIANS ALL!
To each and every single one of you, from the depths of my heart and soul, I thank you for your beautiful work last night at Shetler Studios. You gave everyone there much more than an hour of entertainment, you gave them all an experience.
Here's some of what one of the producers in attendance had to say:
"Peter, Terrific show tonight. The characters continue to impress, as well as your writing prowess. I really do want to see more, and that is what should happen for a series to succeed. Once again, I'm impressed with all the talented actors you've assembled, and the hard work they put into this. Nice job!"
And another producer:
"It was a wholly new experience having watched the rehearsals, compared to last month only seeing the reading, itself. What a great endeavor and, yes, the actors are really special people as well as talented performers."
And finally, one film maker guest in the audience put it to me this way afterwards:
"There was so much love, so much love!"
Yes. And that love was you, folks. Always know that your craft is a gift from your highest, true self, a giving thing that brings light and life into people's lives. Thank you for bringing it into mine!
OK, now I'm going back to bed... for the month of August!
Here's some of what one of the producers in attendance had to say:
"Peter, Terrific show tonight. The characters continue to impress, as well as your writing prowess. I really do want to see more, and that is what should happen for a series to succeed. Once again, I'm impressed with all the talented actors you've assembled, and the hard work they put into this. Nice job!"
And another producer:
"It was a wholly new experience having watched the rehearsals, compared to last month only seeing the reading, itself. What a great endeavor and, yes, the actors are really special people as well as talented performers."
And finally, one film maker guest in the audience put it to me this way afterwards:
"There was so much love, so much love!"
Yes. And that love was you, folks. Always know that your craft is a gift from your highest, true self, a giving thing that brings light and life into people's lives. Thank you for bringing it into mine!
OK, now I'm going back to bed... for the month of August!
SOFTBALL..? AT A NUDE BEACH?!!?
"There you go again!" as Ronald Reagan famously said only months earlier in the debate with Jimmy Carter that led to his election. Yep. We're back in the summer of 1981, and our gang of misfit warriors are taking a break from the cut-throat Gramercy Park Softball League for July 4th by having a team picnic and co-ed softball game at the notorious "Field 6" of Riis Park in Queens.
Frank Cello, Jennie Silverman, G.C., Larry, Bird, Rick, Sam, Eli, Jeffrey, and of course, the hot City Rock women, all played by a brilliant ensemble cast of New York actors, will be on stage for the sixth performance of the season, Episode 6: "The Picnic," at Shetler Studios TONIGHT, July 28 at 7 PM.
And as always in these gritty New-York tales, it won't be all fun and games. Frank and Jennie must try to rescue a pregnant 14-year old runaway from a life on the seedy streets of Times Square, and from her astoundingly dysfunctional parents. Along with our heros and recurring stars, this episode's featured guest characters will indeed be remembered for years to come.
Oh, and then there's the smoking soundtrack of 80's music! This month's episode features: Todd Rundgren, Smokey Robinson, Ricki Lee Jones, Quincy Jones, The Pointer Sisters, Joan Jett, Manhattan Transfer, Tom Petty and more!
Come and join us once again for the latest presentation of a series that will change the way you watch television. CITY ROCK is live!
For more information, go HERE. And check out the City Rock Youtube video HERE:
Frank Cello, Jennie Silverman, G.C., Larry, Bird, Rick, Sam, Eli, Jeffrey, and of course, the hot City Rock women, all played by a brilliant ensemble cast of New York actors, will be on stage for the sixth performance of the season, Episode 6: "The Picnic," at Shetler Studios TONIGHT, July 28 at 7 PM.
And as always in these gritty New-York tales, it won't be all fun and games. Frank and Jennie must try to rescue a pregnant 14-year old runaway from a life on the seedy streets of Times Square, and from her astoundingly dysfunctional parents. Along with our heros and recurring stars, this episode's featured guest characters will indeed be remembered for years to come.
Oh, and then there's the smoking soundtrack of 80's music! This month's episode features: Todd Rundgren, Smokey Robinson, Ricki Lee Jones, Quincy Jones, The Pointer Sisters, Joan Jett, Manhattan Transfer, Tom Petty and more!
Come and join us once again for the latest presentation of a series that will change the way you watch television. CITY ROCK is live!
For more information, go HERE. And check out the City Rock Youtube video HERE:
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