Intellect and Creativity

One of the problems that all creative people face is the absence of intellect on the part of teachers and professors.  Creativity works by association. The creative person relates facts and experiences and forms syntheses in the manner of higher-order matrical reationships from accumulated facts and experiences.  These matrices are beyond the capacity of teachers and professors, as they lack understanding as to how creative people arrive at invention.  They are used to sequential processing of information, one fact leading to another along a linear progression, and no creative person ever thinks in any linear fashion; as it's far too slow and stupid.  Creative people relate in order to create, and the further afield the relation is, the easier it is to create.  We think differently: We learn in-spite-of school, not because of it.  The best way for a creative person to learn is by having as his tutors other creative people, so that a mentoring process can happen and begin.

Fact and Fiction

Nothing can be accepted as fact unless it's tested and validated, but who the tester is determines the accuracy of the validation.  What is taught as science is mostly mainly opinion unless it's been validated and it usually isn't...it's still in some state awaiting validation.  Scientists are just as prone to opinion as is anyone else, although sometimes their opinions are better informed than the opinions of non-scientists, but not always.  Often, they are autistic in that they fail to recognize the many obvious links and relationships between their own discipline and the impact on it of new finds in others...they are shortsighted; their imaginations poorly employed.

Fate and Destiny

There is no escaping fate.  Nor is there any way to avoid destiny. What one is, one eventually becomes; no matter what society says or does.  The problem is not fate nor destiny; problem is society, and the psychological and physical conflicts that come from society's attempt to prevent us from achieving our individual fate and destiny.  Our fate and destiny is built into our genetic code and so it's very different for all.  The best advice is simply to train so as to adroitly avoid any obstacles that society places in our way for achieving destiny; for if it's not achieved, you've wasted your life.  Live your life; not the life others would want you to live: they don't have your dreams and desires.  They have their own and ought to be pursuing theirs; not finding fault with yours. 

The Future of Markets

Questions arose as to what the future will be in regard to who it shall be who has the power?  Well, we know the answer already and it has been the same for many thousands of years:  those who have the ability to control buying and selling have the power.  Those who control markets have power.  Those who don't have none.  What has changed in those thousands of years are the nature of what is bought and sold, from commodities to services.  What will be sold in the future?  That answer is obvious also: promises of physical immortality.  Those persons and firms who shall have control of the markets for the buying and the selling of the promises of physical immortality shall have great power in the future.  Non-mortality is the prime future market.

Exercise Routines and Mental Function

Having been dead many times myself, death is not the problem as it's simply nothingness.  The problem was never death itself but decrepitude, dependency and degeneration of the senses.  That's something to fear and avoid.  Whatever measures that can be taken to avoid degeneration ought to be taken.  That's why one has to exercise daily.  The choice of exercise is all important as some are harmful and some are helpful.  The best exercises stimulate psychic abilities (if one has them).  The better exercises stimulate brain function into neuro-genesis, into making new neurons and the dendrite axial connections between neurons.  There is a lot of research available on the internet comparing the mental benefits of various types of exercise anyone can google and seek out for themself.  If the exercise is not enjoyable for the participant, it won't be continued no matter how beneficial it might be.  Some exercises are so esoteric and restricted, they can't be practiced unless one has access to an instructor in the community in which one lives.  Some exercises are just plain bad, so they ought not to be practiced at all; for instance, any exercise that goes against one's nature.  Some are simply plainly stupid and would actually damage mental function...professional football players and boxers suffer very high rates of Alzheimer and Parkinson disease.  Research, choose, decide; then daily practice what works best for you, as what works well for another won't work the same way for you.  Any exercise routine ought to show immediate benefits that are discernible and measurable in a short period of time.  If real mental and physical benefits are not shown readily available, choose another exercise.  It shouldn't take more than a month after beginning an exercise, any exercise, for benefit to become apparent.

The Sword Hand

In martial arts training, there are many myths.  Most of what one sees in films and on the TV, both in use of weapons and in the use of bare-handed techniques, is total nonsense as it's totally lacking in real commonsense principles.  This is why when one enters into the military, one is taught to discard whatever one has previously learned in the usage of firearms and to begin training anew from scratch; as combat is so very different from recreational use of weapons.  The same applies to all of martial training.  What one sees in sport fencing isn't how swords are actually used and what one sees in the mixed martial arts type competitions isn't how one actually fights.  Combat is very different from any sport.  Let's take a small example and see how this all works.  Bare-handed techniques come from using a sword.  Sword thrusts are considered to be finishing moves and are always proceeded by cutting applications to the tendons and arteries; so that the enemy is rendered weak and vulnerable, before the final actual thrust is made.  A sword thrust is made with the sword blade horizontal and never vertical.  Why?  Because, in order to get power for the thrust, the shoulder and elbow (thrusts are made through the elbow joint and not through the wrist joint as in sport fencing), the elbow and shoulder must be descended and not be raised.  If the thrust is delivered with an elbow turned outward (as it would be if the thrust were made with the sword in a vertical position), the tendons and the arteries on the inside of the arm would be exposed to a parry by the opponent.  So, a thrust is made with the elbow turned downward and with the sword horizontal.  This position then allows the body to descend under the opponent and also gives a much greater reach to the lunge for the thrust.  The strike that's delivered by the fingertips in bare-handed fighting follows the principle of the sword thrust.  Fingertip strikes are usually delivered to the bladder, kidneys and throat.  Regardless of the target, the strike ought to be delivered with the palm up and in a horizontal position.  Just like the sword!  Let's perform an experiment.  Try striking with your fingertips at some imaginary opponent.  Do it with your palm turned in many different positions.  You'll find the only position causing your whole body to slide forward while you're performing the strike is with your palm facing up and horizontal to the ground and with your elbow descended.   As the sword is used, so shall the limbs be used.

Perception and Redemption

One of the many problems with perception is that it is notoriously unreliable, and that's why in all criminal cases, corroboration of facts is necessary by deposition in order to present a case to any grand jury.  No matter how impartial any witness might seem to be, his or her perception will be prejudiced.  Everyone perceives differently, but no one perceives accurately.  There is a genetic basis to perception and that basis causes any perceiver not just to see what is happening, but also to see it very narrowly based upon the observer's past experiences.  The result is every observation has to be verified before it can be taken as the truth.  In other words, any observation has to be confirmed and redeemed by experiment and other observations before it could be accepted generally.  Of course, for the individual, in his or her every day affairs, his or her observation is more than sufficient.  That is the difference between opinion and fact.  Everyone has opinions and those opinions are always especially strong on emotional topics like religion and politics, but they are simply opinions.  They can't be considered to be facts.

What is and What is not

Since perception and experience are necessarily limited, they can't be relied upon to give a true picture of reality.  What can?  If one relies on others' perceptions and experiences, on collective perception and experience, the picture is the same; as just because many see something some way, there is no guaranty that their collective sight is accurate.  In fact, it won't be.  It won't be because collective sight is collective and most will modify their vision so as not to violate cohesiveness.  The only solution then is to sharpen one's own sight to make that sight clearer.  That's the goal of meditation and contemplation.  To make one's vision clearer so that the perception of reality is better, is enhanced.  The goal goes beyond that however.  The reason one aspires to a clearer picture of reality is to change it: to have the power to change what is.  Most waste their lives wanting to change what is not, in some futile wishing they had the power for changing something that doesn't really exist, the power to change something that could never exist.  Usually that something is the past and the past does not exist. What was is what is not now. This futile wanting to change what can't exist in the NOW is the human delusion, and that's why we meditate and contemplate; so as not to caught up within the net and by the trap of others' and of our own delusion.

Autism and Society

Autism is on the rise in all societies.  Since autism, in all its many forms, has a genetic basis; one would suppose that evolution would cull members of societies that demonstrate severe social dysfunction, the most obvious sign of autism.  Instead, the numbers of autistic individuals has grown.  The reason it has grown is; like most genetic-related psychic conditions, autism is directly related to the environment.  Societies have themselves evolved and their social evolution has been tending in a direction that actually favors severe social dysfunction.  Many of these tendencies are technological, the more obvious ones being the internet and television, which actively encourage social isolation.  In effect, societies have themselves become autistic. Since the autism condition exhibits inability to empathize with others because it lacks an ability to identify their emotional states, autistic societies similarly lack ability to identify the psychic states of other societies; thereby greatly increasing the likelihood of conflict.

Selfs and Souls

There is a common misinterpretation of the nature of the Soul.  The Soul equals the Self and the Self has many aspects in many dimensions.  One of the problems with those belief systems that profess multiple souls is that the souls are considered sequentially and not simultaneously.  If one thinks of the Self as multiple, many selves co-existing and congruent; if the goal of the belief system is to dissolve the self, the act of attempted dissolution encourages division amongst the various selves that co-exist.  This attempt at dissolution has immediate physical consequences.  Such an attempt is one of the psychic causes of cancer (cancer has many physical non-psychic causes as well of course, but psychic causes have very real disruptive physical cellular consequences).  The objective of any system of belief ought to be salient integration of the selves in other dimensions with the self that is co-existing in this dimension, and never the dissolution of the self in this dimension.  Such an attempt at dissolution is slow suicide.  It literally is a cause of cancer. 

Internal vs. External Energy

The question of internal vs. external is a common one in the martial arts world.  There is only internal energy.  What is commonly called external energy is simply force, which is never ever the proper response to any attack.  The proper response is to direct the energy used in the attack back into the attacker.  You use your opponent's limbs as weapons against him or her.  This can only be done if the defender assumes an oblique angle against the attacker and issues the response to the attack in an arc rather than a straight line.  This is why in the Celtic systems, arm strikes are delivered from the opposite shoulder and leg strikes are delivered from the opposite hip.  The strike is delivered in such a way that the striking limb of the defender deflects the opponent's strike while simultaneously delivering the defender's own strike into the opponent.  As in all the Celtic systems, the response comes from the use of the sword.  In sword play, the goal is to cut without being cut; to strike without being struck.  This is the same goal as all other martial arts.  It does you no good to deliver a blow and to suffer a blow; to simply trade blows.  That's external and it's frankly stupid.  By delivering a strike from the opposite side of the body of the limb being utilized to deliver the strike, the body must turn; the torso must twist.  This turning and this twisting is what gives power to the strike.  It also moves one's torso out of the way of the opponent's strike, thereby allowing the opponent's striking limb to bypass the defender's torso.  The defender's torso has evaded the opponent's strike.  That's the internal power and it's the only kind of power that ought to be used in any combative situation.  That's the reason power in the Celtic Systems resides in the knees and elbows.  Even though the strikes are mainly delivered with the forearms and the shins, the forearm is used as an extension of the elbow, while the shin is used as an extension of the knee.   The strikes are windmill strikes, with the axis at the elbow and the knee and the blade at the forearm and shin.

Westie Way Revolving Arms

Our planet is crowded.  Too crowded.  There are too many people and too few jobs. The only entities still hiring are armies.  Many are poor and desperate.  Desperation leads to despair and despair leads to violence, both against one's own self and against others. Violence is often both psychological and physical. Since so many are in such great despair today, best to prepare for the violence that's to come.  It's coming and that's why we study martial arts.  Remember, no martial art that closes the hip and shoulder joints has any value whatsoever. Watch what the masters of the martial art you propose to study actually do with their shoulder and hip joint when performing.  Study only those arts that require the hip and shoulder joints to be open and that emphasize elbow and knee strikes, as that's the real way fights are actually done. To throw and lock any person, movement of the waist is essential; so the art that is studied must always employ waist movement.  Your elbows and knees are used like windmills in fighting.  In order for this windmill motion to take place, the waist has to move to give power to the revolutions of your limbs.  Always note that whatever system one chooses to continue studying, the study must be active.  You actually have to do it. Videos and books are certainly very useful as pedagogical devices for correcting whatever you are doing wrong; but to do it right, you actually must do it. Arm revolution in the boxing style I learned as a child is very different from that of other boxing styles.  My boxing style comes from the use of the Celtic sword, which has an unusual shape. The Celtic sword is a saber. It's about the same length as is the cutlass, but its blade arc curves opposite to the curve of a scimitar, the Near Eastern sword.  The curve of the Celtic sword is shaped more like the Gurkha knife, in that its cutting arc is shaped inwards, like a sickle. The shape originally came from the knife used by fishermen to gut their catch. Unlike other sabers, both sides of the curving portion of the blade are kept at a razor sharp edge---giving swordsmen opportunity to cut with either side.  This is the reason all the strikes in Celtic boxing are delivered with shins and forearms.  The shins and forearms are used like sabers. The non-curving straight portion of a Celtic Sword isn't sharp...it's kept purposely dull...thereby allowing swordsmen to assume double-handed grips whenever it's necessary.  In the Celtic boxing style, the inside hand (called the "shield")  revolves in the opposite direction from the outside hand (called the "sword"). Think of raising up with a shield to block an opponent's lunge while striking simultaneously down with a sword.  Note blocks are delivered vertically (and not horizontally), usually against an opponent's tricep or bicept, to temporarily paralyze the opponent's arm. Since the Celtic stepping footwork requires assuming a forty-five degree oblique angle on the diagonal, towards the opponent (the diamond-stepping), the inside hand's function is slashing the opponent's attacking arm or leg.  This slash-block causes the opponent's limb to pass by the defender's body, opening up the inside line for attack.  Celtic boxing allows for attacks with the legs very similar to savate---Irish Step-Dancing evolved from sword usage.  To give an example, say the opponent throws a punch straight at a defender's heart wih his right fist:  the defender's inside arm slashes the opponent's arm slightly above his elbow joint, either upward in a clockwise direction or downward in a counter-clockwise direction; so that the defender's front foot can step to the outside of the opponent's front foot, thereby allowing the outside arm ability to attack the opponent's flank from a position that doesn't readily allow the opponent to counter with his other arm (because the defender's torso is now beyond an opponent's reach with his other arm).  Strategy here is to close in on the opponent from an oblique angle to prevents him from easily replying to any attack. Again, it all comes from sword-work.  Of course, the opponent could then spin, but the spin would expose his back and spine as he revolves. Celtic boxing allows attacking the back of an opponent (the entire body is a target). When I was growing up on tenth avenue in Upper Manhattan, this particular boxing style was called the "Westie Way" because it was practiced along the far West Side of Manhattan in the bars that mainly serviced the Irish stevedores who were working the docks.  It originated in the counties of Cork and Kerry around the South-West coast of Ireland, and was carried to America by Gaelic speaking immigrants fleeing the Great Famine shortly before the American Civil War, and then was carried back to Ireland by Irish veterans of that same US civil war, founders of The Brotherhood, Clan of Gael ( which was originally started in Five Points), predecessor to the IRA. They were deported because of an aborted attempted invasion of Canada, then British crown owned.  On most Friday nights in Manhattan when I was a boy, in the West Side Irish Bars, there would be "sawdust bouts" where fierce betting was done on the bare-knuckle fights, all strictly illegal of course; but the cops were all Irish and "on the Pad," their protection from any inquiry being paid for by the pub owners.  Police were poorly paid then and needed the extra pay from bar owners. This post concludes the answers to all the queries received from the few readers of my two Kindle books.  Hopefully, both books and this blog have been of help to some.  I've tried to explain how things are the way they are and why things are the way they are, as well as give a glimpse of the future.  I have visions and most don't.  As for physical training, the Celtic Martial Arts classes are given once each week at 440 Lafayette Street in New York City, downtown Manhattan at Astor Place, from one to 3:30 on Sunday afternoons in Studio# 4C on the fourth floor. Charge is $20 per class session.  Related videos are under HEARTHEALING on YouTube.  Just to let subscribers to this Blog know, I'll only be posting poetry on the blog from now on...life is a quest to find one's true destiny; then, once found, to fulfill it...this I've done--I can write now as well as anybody ever coud; so now I'm busy working on my paranormal fiction future fantasy series, entitled:  "In Dreams They Are Remembered." Anybody who has read both my books and this Blog will already be familiar with the mythology background for the series. They contain the answers and solutions to everything, and I do mean every-thing!  It shall be available on the Kindle for a price of less than nine dollars per novel. Amazon Kindle receives instant wireless access around the world, so anyone anywhere interested in the fantasy series can download all the series' books at any time. The fiction fantasy series is a paranormal romance and an action-adventure set in the future, dealing with the impact from a revelation of ancient mysteries from the Upper Palaeolithic Age of Old Europe.  But to return to the crowded planet statement (projected to be over nine billion), ever since the nineteen-forties warnings have been issued concerning uncontrolled population growth which very few nations have heeded, with the most prominent exception being mainland China. Today there are too few jobs to support the burgeoning population in some countries, the United States being an obvious example: In the US, twelve percent of teen girls become pregnant and give birth before being eligible to graduate from high school; and this is now occurring while the US national unemployment rate exceeds ten percent. The result is: eleven percent of the US population depends solely on governmental social services to pay for its shelter and upon receipt of food stamps to pay for its sustenance. Another four percent of the American populace is either incarcerated and confined within a prison or is out on parole or on probation, or was previously incarcerated and now unable to find work because of a long history of incarceration; making a total of a full fifteen percent of all Americans who are presently supported by government, whether that be at the state or federal level (usually both).  The result of all this support is a national debt that exceeds thirteen trillion.  Any state whose govenment doesn't pro-actively fund the promotion of sterilization, abortion and birth control can't survive. This is because, inevitably, its employed tax base drastically decreases, while appropriations of monies for more and more social services in support of its indigents and its unemployed greatly increases. This scenario is what's happening in America now; it's the reason behind America's problems, so look for the future of humanity elsewhere. America has terminal dementia! Why?  Aside from this failure to control and curb its population growth, America's continuing fruitless engagement in stupid, foolish, unnecessary, pointless foreign wars means it's losing the better, bolder, more courageous portion of its populace. Bankruptcy in states isn't just monetary, it's moral too.  America is dead.  It's moribund, a zombie nation. It's lost its best. And when any state loses the best part of itself, it's done. It's gone. It's time has past. Where then should we go...recommendation: Nova Scotia. Move to Canada. There you could employ the very best strategy there is for fighting, which is: to avoid it!  Well, that's one location I would recommend---Nova Scotia means New Ireland. If you believe you've got just one life only, you're mistaken; as you've got so many...life isn't an "or" thing; it's an "and" thing...so live them all. NOW!

Belief Systems and their Validity

The cause behind the current economic crisis, the longest one in seventy years, was the steadfast reliance by the financial institutions on an economic model called value-at-risk (VAR). The VAR model deals with the probabilities of possible default by lenders, loans being banks' primary assets.  Economists place blame for the crisis upon the VAR model, stating it to be inherently faulty; so very faulty in fact, that reliance on it inevitably led to the crisis. But all models of economic activity are faulty whenever they are believed. The belief in the model, and the consequent reliance on the belief, is what makes the model invalid; no matter what the model might be. It is the belief that causes the invalidity. No matter what future model is developed, however clever, once that model is believed, it becomes invalid; as it's "belief" itself that is the real problem...not the model. Bankers need to rely upon multiple factors when making decisions and not upon acceptance of any single model. This reasoning applies to every area of human endeavor. As a Druid, I often get the question: What do Druids believe? The short answer is: "No-Belief." Obviously a belief in no-belief is still belief, but what it means is that; in order to have power of any sort, in particular psychic power, a belief system, any belief system, restricts brain function while having the belief in no-belief enhances brain function. Restriction is dangerous to creativity. Behavior is the result of belief. To free behavior one needs to be free of belief.  Druids think of man as being innately good, but capable of bad behavior. Bad behavior derives from bad belief.  The problem is this: every ethnic and linguistic group believes other groups' beliefs are inferior and absurd, if not outright evil. Free yourself from belief. When one doesn't care what others may believe and/or practice, one gains the power to accomplish anything.  Since we are all about what we believe, when we believe in no-belief; we shall become more than what we were. By the way, this is why it is so important to ascertain what others believe as what they believe compels them in their daily actions. We may not care for what they think but what they think might prove harmful to us and to others, as any student of history knows. In our brains, facts and beliefs are both treated the same way and what we might think as being a fact is simply a belief. What you believe is what you are. Really. The candles of knowledge were never lit by models but by men. This Druid technique of "no-belief" is not the same as the technique of no-mind practiced in the East. Druids are not interested in the annihilation of the Self---the death of the Ego---just the opposite.  The Mind becomes trapped by belief.  The Torah, the Koran and the Bible are catalogs of cruelty and recite what's worst about humanity because they rely on sacrifice and submission.  The rationale behind the no-belief technique is to find the true Self, the real Self. That can be done by liberating the Mind from all those belief systems that custom and culture have employed to imprison it. Only then can the Self be set free to be transformed. Transformation is the goal and sole objective of the soul. The Druid isn't interested in living in the NOW, as that's taken for granted.  He or she is interested in creating the NOW in which to live, by a conjoining of dimensions so they'll become congruent; thereby creating a condition for continuity of consciousness, a place for all existence.  It's what gives the NOW consistency, a secret causality.  It illustrates why OicheShamhna (Halloween) became a popular celebration in the World; as now you have just glimpsed into a wicked little conundrum, it's this:  Any faith system becomes invalid once it's believed, including this statement and the faith in "no-belief."  When you're able to solve that small puzzle, you shall be Druid too!  The rest is poetry.

Apotheosis: Exercise, the Brain and Power

We live in a sick society, one that is suffering from a severe mass amnesia. We have become strangers to ourselves and need to find ourselves. How to acquire the will to do so requires using our inborn energy, our power. The question is: how best to find it to unleash it; to set it free, so that one can move from a state of apathy onto a transcendental state of apotheosis. Power is directed by the brain; specifically by the ventro-medial pre-frontal neo-cortex, where visualization and mimetic representation occurs, and by the hippo-campi, where neuro-genesis and memory retrieval occurs. The brain functions through moving the body. One of the problems encountered with exercise is avoiding the wrong kind of exercise. The wrong kind can damage you by restricting the expression of energy, and there are a great many wrong kinds. Many of the standard stretching routines actually damage the tendons. In addition, certain kinds of exercises are just plain bad for the body. Any treadmill type of exercise is bad. Any stationary exercise is bad. Any repetitive exercise is bad. Why are they so bad? Because they don't stimulate the brain. They are boring. Movement exercise, such as a martial arts form, is good; provided that the form is sufficiently aerobic. Martial exercises are good because doing martial forms requires one to utilize the memory in performance...in performing martial arts forms, one visualizes the applications of the various postures. Today, with so many unemployed, many cannot afford to take classes in martial arts under a qualified instructor; but because of YouTube, many martial forms are freely available for perusal. Find one that appeals to you and practice that. Just as in gaining access to the Internet you will choose the best browser, choose whichever form works best for you. Of course, you would always want to pursue some form that opens up all your joints, in particular your hip and shoulder joints. Why? Because energy washes through the body like ocean waves approaching a beach. If the joints are closed, the energy wave could crash against the tendons in those joints, harming them. Let's go yet a little deeper. Mysteries are so mysterious because of a lack of understanding, and that's why we study and we train: to master them. There are no ancient mysteries, because all the ancient ones were solved and the solutions are readily available if one knows where to look; but there are certainly many present existing mysteries that now need solutions. Speaking of solutions, there is an unfortunate tendency today to try to equate the human and the divine. This tendency is in error: it's wrong. Frankly, such a concept is insane. Divinity, the demonstrated ability for creativity, resides within sentience only; in those beings with the capacity for consciousness...beings like us. The divine is just one part of being human. It's one aspect only, the creative aspect that is God. God is a part of us because we are conscious: the divine is our compassionate, our creative part. Let's discuss that God-part then. Because we are conscious we are divine, since we have within ourselves an innate capacity for creativity; but we are far more than divine---we are human. We have the capability to direct our own evolution through our own creativity...genomic design. We could people the stars. For those who may be interested in mind-experience (say in the so-called paranormal Noe-tic Sciences); in order to achieve any power whatsoever over matter, real psychic training involves utilizing one's heart and lungs as well as one's brain. Sedentary meditative exercises, unless such exercises involve the focused intention of movement when contemplated, whether or not one actually physically moves, are all valueless---useless; and this is why so many millions who practice such exercises have absolutely no powers---they can't cure anyone with their minds, neither themselves or others---they can't actually" see" energy---so, they've wasted their time, and sometimes their entire lives, practicing the wrong methods. Let's be clear here: We are speaking about verifiable cures. That person was ill and now that person is well directly because of your psychic intervention. If you want to have power, you must meditate on movement and change! Now this adage applies to any religion, and to any philosophy. All. If your religion and/or your philosophy doesn't enhance your psychic abilities, go find a religion or a philosophy that does grant you such ability because your old religion and philosophy is frankly a fraud. Don't waste your life on nonsense. Movement and change are the keys to power and not static stillness. Energy is energy, whether the energy be psychic or sexual. The old saying: "In stillness there is strength" is often misinterpreted. What it means is: when confronted, do not fear. Do not be afraid. Do not show any anger or hostility towards them that are challenging you. Do not be intimidated by life and circumstance. Be brave. Be bold. In order not to show fear or anger, one must be calm and cool and be confident in oneself. Confidence requires both strength and skill. Strength and skill come from long training. There are no short cuts in exercise, but the exercise has to be of the right kind in order to achieve power. Otherwise, you're simply wasting your time! In considering any form of training, the predominant question is: Does this stuff work? Do you feel that your energy, your power, is increasing? If what you're trying to achieve is apotheosis, an actual transcendental transformation, you simply can't achieve it by thinking about it or by reading about it---yes, you do actually have to do something about it, and that something is physical; as it's only through the physical that the spiritual can ever be known---you do have to move. You must sweat! Some sort of system such as the "Golden Eagle Set" (as detailed in my two e-books for the Amazon Kindle: Heart-Healing The Chariot Way and The Chariot Way The Dream of Crom) should be practiced daily. Why? Well, research has shown that at least three positive innate hereditary traits are directly related: those of entrepreneurship, intelligence and creativity; but we also know all three rely upon increasing brain function and that comes through your own efforts. The mind needs its nourishment. Although the reading and the studying of esoteric texts can sometimes be helpful in supplying this nourishment, it's only through prolonged daily physical effort that the body and ultimately the mind can be sufficiently stimulated to be transformed. Sitting still won't do it; the correct kind of exercise will. Don't fall into the trap of despondency. Don't despair. Smile. Too many people are critics and not creators and they tend to demean everything, but anger never found anything new. It's important to at least try to find something new that no one else has ever discovered as it makes of life an adventure instead of a trial. Relax. Calm down. So many have allowed their anger to strangle themselves with the hidden rage that's buried inside their own entrails. Not that you ever need to; but if you do, be your own redeemer. Despite all our travail, all we may expect from all our strife is to cause a small ripple upon the still surface of the deep lake of life, but who knows to how far a shore that ripple shall travel? Even the whisper of a small breeze upon the still water might stir a wave. Truth is cloaked in similes and symbols; so that's it for the prose portion of this Blog, the rest is poetry! All that was written and will be written is a plagiarism from Nature. Nothing is ever inevitable; not even death...doubt is good. Any questions, queries, comments and criticisms on/or about anything whatsoever; please, leave them at http://Heart-Healing.ning.com and/or simply e-mail me directly at: oconnor.rothcroi.william@gmail.com

Science and Religion

In the silence of the Self comes a revelation: The purpose of religion is to cause real change in the time-space of an adherent; in other words, change in reality, in the here and now, in the present, and never in that after-life that some faiths preach. The change that's desired in the adherent is very different for different religions, and it is very specific. Note that the change produced is not necessarily one that is in any way beneficial to the adherent (although it might well be so); but the desired destined change is definitely beneficial to the survival of the religion, and therefore also to the survival of whichever specific ethnic-linguistic sub-group had originally invented the religion. Religion is a methodology for myth-making to produce change. Religion serves the same purpose as does art: To create change through psychic transcendental transformation. However, there is a subtle distinction as to the difference between religion and art. In art, the artist is active in his or her creation. Religion is art-full in the sense that religion, like art, is always designed; but the design in religion is not created by the adherent, but instead by the culture of the adherent. All human cultures are religious, though their religions differ radically as do their cultures. Art is individualistic while religion demands collectivity, a group, a gang. And exactly like in art, it's an invention. Humanity invented religion, just as it had invented the wheel, and probably at around the very same time by the convergence of mental evolution, since the universal wheel symbol or a derivative of it (signifying cyclic time-space) is contained within almost all religions. Religions strive to give meaning to the patterns inherent in cyclic events, particularly to the birth-death cycle. The reason religions have adherents is because they do actually work to produce changes in real time; for if religions didn't work, they would be lacking any actual survival value for the sub-groups that invented them and would be quickly abandoned. Of course, for another sub-group, no benefit is derived. No religion could be universal, though some claim to be so. Religion is a selfish invention. Evolution is pragmatic even though it is indifferent and lacks a specific design or any specific designer (men make the gods; gods don't make men). The problem with religion is that every adherent to every religion wishes far different changes to occur; so there exists a conflict of wants between adherents of different faiths, sometimes leading to wars. This is intentional. Religion causes war, not because adherents of various faiths misunderstand the precepts of their respective faiths, but precisely because they do understand those precepts well. Religion is a biological mechanism designed (since all religions are created by men, all religions are designed) to assist and to ensure the relative evolutionary survival of particular ethnic-linguistic sub-groups by the demise and suppression of all others. One of the best proofs for the validity of the theory of evolution is the existence of competing religions and of the competing sects that tend to exist within every religion. These sects are evolutionary mechanisms, similar to a breed evolving into a sub-species. All religions evolve so that they'll come to represent more that one ethnic-linguistic group (that's why every major religion has so many schisms between its sects---those sects represent different groups). The way religions compete is by taking on contrasting views of the universe, and in particular views of the time-space of the universe, the time-space being the dimensional reality in which humans reside. All religions will advocate that their view of reality is true and real, and that any rational objections to their view can't be answered because reality is fundamentally ineffable and unable to be understood by the paucity of human reason and logic. By the action of demeaning human knowledge, religions deliberately cause and promote a unique elite cadre to be formed of clerics, priests and monks, the pundits, who then serve as official interpreters of the religion for the uneducated and unsophisticated: that's us. Of course, politics and science can themselves become religions, as they too shall have their special cadres of elites who claim that their views of reality are also accordingly both the true and real. They know...so we don't. Religion simply hides itself under other names. How one views reality will determine one's behavior. People who fear the divine, for instance as in those religions that make the divine to be the ultimate reality, shall also fear life and therefore can be easily manipulated. Any faith fearing the divine, or any faith fearing those authorities representing the divine, whether that faith be one that is secular (the divine could be a state too or could be a state's constitution---plenty of people, many millions, have died for and have killed for the spurious gods of patriotism) or the faith be one that is sacred (as those in where the will of the divine is considered to be inscribed onto some holy scroll---millions have died and are still dying for such dried deeds), is: pure evil. Pure evil! A strong statement, though an accurate one, as any belief system, any faith in creed or flag, sacred or secular, that demands subservience, servitude and servility, demeans and diminishes humanity. Though we live in an age where there are more people of genius alive today than ever before, we also live in an age where there are more people alive who could be accurately classified as mentally retarded and intellectually deficient. It's precisely these people, the intellectually deficient, who are constantly and continuously attempting to sell and advertise their erroneous visions of reality to others. Those of genius need never sell to each other, but they do and should argue with each other. It is their arguments that must be studied to ascertain whether some have validity. Why take the trouble to study them? How one views reality does have a direct affect on how one acts, so one's reality view ought to be as complete and as correct as possible. Study genius and disregard the viewpoints of the retarded. Their views don't matter. Very few people actually understand the matter on which they pontificate, so why waste one's time on frivolous speech? If you strive to study of and with the best, eventually you should become the best. One shall always be dealing with differing interpretations of reality, and in having to adapt one's own behavior to those realities that society sees, none of which will be true; so the greater effort that could be expended in the studying and scrutinizing of what is actually known, and in acquiring whatever knowledge is available out there, gives one real advantages in arriving at the truth. Once the truth is finally known, whether the truth be about the nature of the universe or about anything else, only then can one even begin to act upon it. Because of this vast reserve of accumulated knowledge, humanity has crossed an evolutionary line into another human species, as advances in genome science now allow humanity to design itself through genetic engineering. Though there are many legal restrictions on the usage of genetic manipulation in the modification of humans, such modification is already taking place. Because of such modification, new religions, to service the needs of these new humans, will be born. New religions for new men. New religions are being created all the time, but as religion implies collectivist community, there has to be a minimum level of adherents for the religion to survive (just as in biology, there needs to be a minimum level of fertile members for a species to thrive). The prevalence of so many apocalyptic religions at the present time means most people are obsessed with the fact of their own personal death and not ready to accept their fated mortality; an attitude that is sad and rather silly. Stupid too. Stay away from all such childish religions. Of the thousands of religions that already exist, seek those aimed at adults. Religion ought to meet one's personal need for meaning, purpose and point to a destiny...much the same as does art. The Time-Space we live in is an echo and a reflection of reality. It's a sham, a simulacrum, a hapless forgery---but a faded shadow of a shadow; not The Real Thing. The conflicts that one sees in the world stem from antique obsolete ideologies based upon false conceptions of reality. Seeking a correct conception of what is real can resolve the conflicts; as even though a full realization of what is real might never occur, the act of seeking is in itself sufficient to achieve a resolution as it exposes the underlying lie of the ideologies that give rise to conflict. What is false is found to be without a foundation by careful contemplation. Seek, find, compare; then decide what's real...what's the truth.

Physics of Confrontations

One of the common problems that one runs into today is the meanness of men. For instance, in the United States alone, there are over seven hundred thousand individuals who are registered as being sex offenders. These are mainly individuals who have been convicted of a felony sex crime, usually rape. The problem with sex offenders is that they are recidivists and so tend to commit the same sort of offenses over and over again. Sex offenders run in families. If the father was an offender, the father's offspring tend to be offenders also, and there is strong evidence of a genetic predisposition in offenders. They commit sex crimes because of who they are. Almost all sex criminals carry a blade or a knife of some sort in order to attempt to intimidate their intended victims with the real threat of potential disfigurement. This is not an idle threat; as all rapists are misogynistic, they hate the women that they rape. The training necessary to survive such encounters, when they occur (and they do occur), involves the use of the forearms, elbows, knees and shins as striking weapons. All of the techniques involve protecting the inside of the legs, the abdomen, the ribs, the inside of the arms and the torso itself from being slashed. Higher level techniques involve guiding the path of the bladed weapon into the attacker's own body, but such techniques require frequent practice to properly utilize them in confrontation; how one practices is how one will act in confrontations. The reason practice is so necessary is that one has to position one's own body to the outside of the arm holding the bladed weapon to avoid being slashed, and this positioning requires very quick, very precise stepping. It's only with daily practice that the correct stepping can be achieved.

Energy and Creativity

Energy is the potential for power. It's absolutely necessary for life. All life. Energy should surge through your body. It should travel inside the body. You should feel it. I'm not talking about the esoteric aspect here. We'll discuss that later. I mean you should really feel energy as a physical force residing inside your body, living in you. If you don't, there has to be some kind of blockage or a misalignment in your body that's preventing you from feeling energy, and that ought to be fixed. There are many people in many disciplines that can help with the alignment. All disciplines work with energy in some way. Call it whatever you may wish...it's the life force. It's what makes you, you! It's important to adjust your body in the correct manner because energy is necessary for creativity. You direct it into whatever pursuit that you are interested in. And if you don't feel it, there must be something wrong. Truly. There are many ways to come to the correct body alignment, and many ways to achieve alignment (there are whole professional disciplines solely devoted to the subject and many textbooks on it); but let's look at one way that's from my parents' culture. What we are speaking of now is changing the potential for power into power that you can actually use to create. This is the esoteric part. Think of your body as composed of three parts: the inner psychic part, which is the energy shell that we spoke about contained within your physical self; that's two now: an energy part and a physical part, with your energy part being inside the physical. The third shell part, clothing the physical, is your multi-dimensional self: your real self. The energy part of you keeps the physical part alive in this dimension; but this is only one single dimension of your true self, the dimension that's the limited one of the here and of the now. True Self is acting as an envelope surrounding your physical self. It's what expands you into other dimensions. This is a feeling of being "here" and "there" simultaneously. It's as if you're always accompanying yourself (which you are). You can't be alone because your "you" is with you. The psychic act of recognition is to acknowledge yourself to yourself. Acknowledgement and acceptance generates your power: now you know you! Well, maybe you don't. Who does? By in this exercise, we are attempting expansion of the psyche, so that a self realization can occur as to what one's true nature really is: that it is multi-dimensional. There are many disciplines that are concerned with connecting you to the universe and they are all fine. Here, in this Blog, we are more concerned with The Dingle Druid Way. The Druid faith and religion has been described as being primarily an esoteric discipline and a mystical methodology for the training of the psyche. But Druid Discipline is mainly far more concerned with connecting you to yourself and in the seeking of your Self. It's non-theistic, rather than being either an atheistic or theistic, discipline. Speaking of energy and of creative connectivity in the physical as well as the metaphysical sphere, we are creative because we are sexual beings. The body and brain form a continuum and that is sexual. An asexual being is not able to create. Again, this is one of the proofs for the non-existence of a deity as normally defined: Creative entities are sexual beings; a non-sexual creative entity is nonsense, an oxymoron. Deities, if such there were, would always be sexual beings. As magically esoteric and as highly abstract as mysticism might seem to an outside observer, mysticism has its foundation rooted in sexuality: Body and Brain are One. The spiritual cannot exist without the sexual. Computers, for instance, could certainly become intelligent and they surely shall; but to make them creative, they would need to be able to mate with each other. Only the creative have a soul. And speaking of your soul; just as the body needs exercise to maintain its health, so does the spirit. Meditative exercises, such as those outlined in my books, are necessary for the health of one's spirit. The soul, in order for its Self to survive, is nourished by meditation and contemplation. To be exorcised of sham mendacity, the soul must be exercised by meditation and by contemplation; but when it comes to energy, many disciplines know what they are speaking of, but some don't. Shop around and find what works best for you. Since this is an important issue, it is best to ask your friends' advice as to what works for them; even if you, yourself, may decide on some discipline that's entirely different. Sometimes friends can give an objective opinion that's better than the subjective opinion of one's own. Remember the old Gaelic saying though: They who have many friends have none; those that have a true few, have enough. Trust in those who trust in you and respect those who have respect for you. All others, be leery of. When it comes to the shaping of your own options in life, trust in the opinions of those few who you truly respect; but the decision is always yours alone. You're sole decider for you; but friends are the reflections of you, and so, if they be true, shall tell you of that which you've kept hidden about yourself from yourself: Listen to them then!

oconnor.rothcroi.william@gmail.com

G-Mail Address is: oconnor.rothcroi.william@gmail.com if anyone wishes to contact me about anything at all that's been posted on this Blog for further amplification, or for greater explanation and explication. If there are any other topics that you might wish me to amplify on or to discuss further in this Blog, just let me know. I've covered completely all the topics that were introduced in my two books. I'm working now on a future fantasy series of novels. Just as long as all my work can be published on the Amazon Kindle, that is where I shall be solely publishing. So look for it there under my name. I have an aversion to print media for environmental and religious reasons...I just can't see killing trees. My work doesn't warrant the murder of a tree. It's not that important. Really. Hopefully it helps a few, but that few is all it's aimed at. The fantasy series: "In Dreams They Are Remembered" that I'm working on shall be taking up all of my time from now on for the remainder of my life. This series ought to keep me busy! I'll continue posting photos and videos from the Celtic Martial Arts Club for those interested (these include how to heal), and my poems too. The reason for writing this fantasy series should be obvious: Humans are story-tellers. They are myth-makers. It's what makes them human. Literally. Stories have a salutary effect if told well. Stories assuage suffering in this world. The secret for writing well is to be well oneself. To be well, one must try to perform one's allotted function. Our priestly function (I'm a Druid) encompasses three aspects: reciting, healing and teaching; so, hopefully, through the Blog, I'll be able to accomplish all three.

Salvation and Sacrifice

Some of the major near Eastern religions, the three major ones, those in particular claiming descent from Abraham, are essentially cannibalistic. These are avatar messianic religions that rely upon a doctrine of eternal return to a paradisaical source: the womb. Although life is lived in history, the history is one of strife. On death, the womb source is the tomb which is shaped like a tabernacle for the body. The earth receives the corpse into itself and then regenerates itself from the receipt of the body. Life is a period of sacrifice and of martyrdom of the Self so that the body can take residence in the eternal womb, signified by placing the scroll of the Torah in the vessel of its tabernacle. The Tabernacle eats the Torah. It's essentially an agrarian sowing outlook, as the seed of the soul has to die for the plant to grow, and the plant is to be consumed as nourishment for the tribe. The dead then are the food for the living. Agricultural communities become dense and crowded and the belief systems of such communities are a form of population control that ensures continuity of the society. Emphasis is on harmony within the community. Consequently there exists an aversion to any faith that would jeopardise the harmony. The heroes and the idols of such societies are those who are willing to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the society. The society is literally nourished by the blood of its martyrs. High birth rates tend to always encourage martyrdom; as someone in a large family could choose to sacrifice themselves on behalf of the whole family and the family will still be sustained without that member's continued presence. The same strategy applies to agrarian religion; as the belief system shall devour its adherents to nourish the religion. In reality then, all of the Abraham descent religions are zombie belief systems wherein the dead devour the living by obsolete tradition and obligation to the authority of long-dead sages and scrolls; for all these are the eaters of the living, as the past eats into the present. These aren't salutary belief systems! Since fully half of humanity subscribes to these systems of belief (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), one can wonder at what that implies for their sanity; as any belief that contradicts reality has to cause immense trauma to the psyche, as that delusion affects a believer's behavior: This leads to violence against oneself possibly and definitely against others. Buried below their outward feigned manifestations of egalitarian brotherhood and fraternity towards those others not of their limited beliefs, these fake simulacra of amity, there only exists hidden hatred and fear; not the joy of real religion. True religion deals with the sublime transcendental transformation of the entire psyche from the mundane to a greater, higher consciousness (real religion is trans formative---that's it's sole purpose---and it's purpose is a good one); unfortunately, Abraham faiths accomplish exactly the opposite. Well, one wonders then: If such faiths are so truly evil at their core, since they mandate the sacrifice of the Self to achieve salvation; why do so many adhere to them? The reason is genetics. Not only do people appear to be very different from each other; they really are different. Just as medications are prescribed for certain ethnic groups because they are effective for them, but not for others as they might be harmful; the same is true for religion. Like drugs, the different faiths work for some and not for others. Humanity is, by its nature, religious. It needs a purpose and a goal. But that purpose and goal is very different in diverse cultures. What works for one group will not work well for another. So, one tries out one way and then yet another to see what way works best for you. Because people are so very different and so diverse in their opinions and in their outlooks on life, it's important to acknowledge this difference and not to try to convert others to one's own faith and religion. What works for you may not work for them and probably won't. The reverse is true too; what works for them may not work well for you. All of life is an experiment after all. Personal choice is the most important criterion in choosing any way of life. What may possibly be moving and trans formative for someone else might well prove to be simply dull and worthless for another because their genetic profiles remain so very different.

Upper Body Arm Applications

Fighting weight is all-important in combat as it affects your speed of response to an opponent's movements; not just in footwork, but also in arm-work. No matter what your frame or your height, do not exceed 200 lbs; as if you do, your reflexes shall be much slower. In combat, one strikes fast and quick with anything one can find, including one's mind, which is the most potent striking tool of all. You have to out-wit your enemy if you want to survive. Usually, when one fights, one will use one's shoulders, one's elbows, one's forearms, and one's hands to strike with. Very rarely are your fists utilized (we are speaking now of the type of fist that's mainly used in non-western boxing---Eastern Boxing---and not the Celtic Fist which is very different indeed); except when one is striking the insides of the arms of the opponents, in order to paralyze them. Striking surfaces of the hands are the heel of the hand and the edge of a hand, plus those three second knuckles: of the forefinger, the middle finger and of the ring finger (this is the Celtic Fist). If one is using an arm to strike, the strike is delivered from the pocket of the opposite arm. This is completely different from what one sees in Eastern arts. How to find this pocket? Well, if one tries to shrug a shoulder, and then moves one's chin in the direction of that shoulder's shrug, one shall find a small cavity inside the shoulder of the arm that is being shrugged. By using this arm pocket, any strike with the opposite arm causes a diagonal swing with that arm, while one's torso turns away from the diagonal swing; in the exact opposite direction of the swing! If the swing is to the right, the torso turns left. If the swing is to the left, the torso turns right. This comes from usages of a sword. The idea is that the torso turns away from an opponent's possible strike when delivering one's own strike; thereby, protecting the torso from possible penetration by the enemy's sword. This is a very important aspect when one strikes with the limbs of the upper body, whether that strike be delivered with one's shoulder, elbow, fore-arm, or the hand. The torso must turn away from the strike. It never turns towards any strike. In addition to granting greater protection for the torso, the strike is able to penetrate further. It's given greater reach. One flings arms away! Any time your arm is thrown out towards an opponent, and your torso doesn't twist away from your opponent; you're in much greater danger of being struck by your opponent. Now, this axiom does not imply to one's vision. Keep both eyes on an enemy at all times: Don't blink. Don't close them. Fore-arm strikes are delivered against the sides of the neck and of the head, while elbow strikes are to be delivered against the base of the skull and to the opponent's throat. The heel of the hand is used against the opponent's fore-head and his heart, while the edge of the hand is used against the opponent's spine. The Celtic three-knuckle fist is used as a slashing weapon against the sides of an opponent's body; to ribs and kidneys, and also against bladder and testicles. Remember all strikes must always be fast and quick and on target.

Lower Body Leg Applications

There are a great many fine illustrations of various martial applications shown on YouTube, but unfortunately very few of them have much to do with actual close combat. This well might be because of cultural differences. In the Western martial arts, the objective is to kill the opponent without causing serious injury to oneself while doing so. One does expect to be injured in any encounter with an enemy (that's why one avoids such encounters); but when an encounter does incur, one expects some injury. Of course, a better way to avoid injury is simply shun those who would wish to cause injury; but, unfortunately, that can not always be achieved (any person is allowed to use deadly physical force if he or she believes such force to be necessary to prevent imminent serious injury to themselves). The problem of serious injury was the original purpose for writing both my works for The Celtic Martial Arts Club, as the idea was to show how injury can be alleviated and minimized when it occurs; although I did get side-tracked because of all the questions regarding the usage of psychic powers. By the way, I've only seen psychic power used once in a confrontation. That was when my father squeezed a person's heart to stop it during an encounter. This was done at a distance (no touching). I've never seen it done by anyone else, although I do understand that there are some practitioners of other arts that can throw people without touching. That I can do myself, so it isn't that rare; but squeezing the heart to death is. The problem with most of the techniques that one sees on YouTube is the footwork; it's not shown, and it's the most important aspect of fighting. You always absolutely do have to get out of the way of your opponent's attack. When you practice techniques, practice as if your arms were bound to your sides and that they are paralyzed, so that you can't lift them, and simply practice trying to twist your torso in order to avoid any attacks, so that they'll slide pass you. You must position your body at an oblique angle to any attack; so that you could close in on your opponent, while avoiding an enemy's attack. You must never back away from an opponent. Backing away is suicide as it allows the opponent to rush in on you and utilize his full body weight to put you down. What you must try to do is close in on him or her while simultaneously avoiding his attack. Fighting is all about clever footwork. When you turn, always turn on your heels. The reason for this is that it lowers and sinks the hips. This allows you to duck under a strike to your head. When your foot is flat on the ground, the weight is then distributed between the ball of the foot and the heel of the foot. When your heel is lifted, all the weight is on the ball of the foot---never place any weight on your toes. The reason for this is that when weight is placed on the toes, your head will come forward, making an easy target for your enemy. The ball of your foot and the heel of the foot are used to attack the opponent's knee and ankle joints in fighting. They, the heel and ball of the foot, are utilized as if one were slashing with a sword. When an opponent moves in on you, slash his legs with your feet. Try aiming with the ball and the heel of your foot at the joints of the knee and ankle of your opponent's leg. The shin of your leg is used to strike against the calf muscle of your opponent's leg. Your knee is used to strike against the opponent's thigh. Your shin is used against his calf while your knee is used against his thigh; remember, shin against the calf and knee against the thigh! The idea behind all this leg work is to use your legs to buckle an opponent's legs to bring him down to the ground. This is not disparage hand and arm techniques, as one uses them in combination with the legs; but to emphasize upper body techniques can't be as effective unless your legs also are busy with side-stepping and kicking enemies; simultaneously, with your fore-arm, elbow and hand strikes. The lesson here is to use your limbs simultaneously in combinations. Don't rely on kicks. Don't rely on punches. Kick with a punch. Punch with a kick...Not: one, two, three. But: one, one, one!

Existence and Being

The experience of existing, the consciousness of it, the awareness of it, the feeling of it, the belief in it, is an entirely different thing than actually existing; its experience is unrelated to the fact of existence. Its experience might occur even without existence itself. One could believe one exists, and it is the first belief we experience (I'm me), even when one doesn't exist because one has ceased to be. Yes, even if one no longer exists! We have no proof that we are, that we exist, except by doubting that we are. That which doubts must be. One could doubt both one's own existence and the fact of there being any such state as existence, and it is in this twin doubt that our existence is born. Without doubt, no truly human existence is ever possible. Let's explain: Let's say that I'm looking at a mirror and also let's say that I'm able to project myself into my own reflection, so that I'm now looking at me looking at me in the mirror image of myself. Which "me" then exists? Well, instinctively one would say that I exist; whatever is identified as I; but, which I is it that exists? What is the identity of this I? Is it the "I" looking at my reflection? Is it that "I" in the reflection looking at the "I" looking into my reflection; or is it both? Well, yes, it's both; but it's also something else that is empowering me to do both. What's that? It's the mirror. The mirror is then the ground for my "I" existence. Only it isn't a mirror as such; it's more of an organic holograph that generates existence. So let's say this mirror, that serves as a ground for existence, is actually alive and somehow is conscious. Built into existence is the potentiality for our consciousness, which consists of a recognition of three aspects of the universe: an awareness of existence; an awareness that awareness exists; and an awareness our existence is intimately related to an awareness that awareness exists. As I tried to illustrate in my two works available for purchase on the Amazon's KINDLE: HEART-HEALING The Chariot Way and The Chariot Way The Dream of Crom, the main prime difference between Western tradition and the traditions of the Near East (Levant) and the Far East (India-China) is the total absence of a need for redemption of the Self and of the annihilation of the Self. Western tradition lacks both redemption and annihilation. One never needs to be redeemed, as there is no conception of sin as such, and one never needs dissolution of the Self, as the Self is inherently good and ought to be preserved; as with the correct proper training, the Self could neither ever be absorbed nor could it ever be diminished: The Soul grows. Grow the Soul. Eastern traditions derive from a far different perception and interpretation (it's a perception that's essentially both cyclic and static; it's an agrarian crop rotation perspective) as to what constitutes the true nature of the universe. The Western tradition (it's a perception that is essentially one of growth and of evolution; it's a livestock breeder's perspective) emphasizes directed transformation: One creates one's own Self through arduous perseverance in the performance of certain actions (and by avoiding in-action), constantly and continuously. The emphasis is on endurance in adversity. Change is the Key and Self-Reliance the Lock. Which view of Nature is correct? The Eastern or the Western? Probably neither one is. The universe is something different entirely, something very strange. This makes it all the more interesting; and even more fun, especially as a question: What's the Nature of the Universe, leads to yet another, and this is: Can we ever know the nature of the universe? Why is this a question? Because we, ourselves, are a part of the universe. So, the very act of attempting to understand the universe changes us. To know the universe is to know each and every part of it. As we're a part of it, we're changing too with our greater understanding. An attempt at trying to understand the universe is causing us to evolve, along with the universe: It's co-evolution.

Neo-Romanticism

In order to survive, one has to increase income and decrease expenditures. This is a truism that applies to states as well as to persons. The national debt of the United States is already above twelve trillion; so how to find a way to do this: increasing revenues while decreasing expenses, is very difficult. If the USA can't find some way, USA can't survive. We know this, but so what? Well, what's interesting about this truism, is that economic necessity has caused a New Age to be born. What? Well, for one thing, the America that we knew shall be gone by 2030---it can't pay its bills; broken up into individual nation states by region. That's coming. For some, this will be a shock. But for most others, an equal more immediate shock has already occurred. They lost their jobs. Bad, yes, but somehow good too. How so? Well, being without work, as so many are today, gives time for reflection. Many people have realized that what they had believed in might well be and quite possibly is the very cause for their being out of work. Financial services firms' fierce greed, fully supported by the Treasury of the United States of America, achieved firms' base opportunistic monetary objectives, causing many other firms to lose financing at a most critical time, directly resulting in the massive layoffs and firings; finally showed to many Americans the true state of the power structure's hierarchy in America. It's something that had always existed since the inception of America; but it wasn't recognized as existing as such by the average American. The United States, like most countries, is run as a plutocratic oligopoly, served by elected officials in public office. Those who have lost their jobs will find that their new jobs, if they are lucky enough to find one, will pay twenty percent less than their old jobs, while bankers in executive positions continue to get their million dollar bonuses every year. People now no longer believe in states, or in nations; nor in political parties. They feel betrayed. And rightly so: They were! People now no longer believe in organized religions. People do however believe in themselves (as they ought). However, a faith in oneself is simply insufficient for most people, as they'll rightly need ("need" being the appropriate word as belief is actually a biological necessity for humanity---since it ensures survival of the species) something beyond and transcendent of themselves to adhere to and to believe in: Something that is maybe immortal. This need has ushered in a New Age. This New Age, that has been long coming, that's beginning right now in fact, is: The Age of Neo-Romanticism. This New Age isn't at all a reversion, but is instead an amalgam and recombination of several already existing trends in technology and in political and religious thought now coming to the fore. It's not anti-scientific by any means; nor is it anti-religious; nor is it anti-business. It's more of a reconciliation of apparent differences in thought and in world-views. It combines those two systems of thought, those systems of science and religion, into a single system. Neo-Romanticism could then be classified as being a grand synthesis of science and of religion---say, of a mystical science and of pragmatic religion---culminating and ending in a nostalgic return to an idealistic transcendentalism. This is a very good trend, and it's a world-wide global trend; one that's not at all limited to any particular nation, nor limited to particular cultures, or to a special ethnic group. Wondrous things are happening in the world! Despite the despondent economy, it's really a good time to be alive! So; stay alive. Keep faith in yourself. Remember: Never give up!

Book-Based Religions

"Learned-Helplessness" habituation is the basis for the Ibrahim book-based religions. If a person feels that he or she is unable to act without a direct intervention from an outside force, because that person is un-worthy (he or she lacks righteousness), and needs direction from a script and the official interpreters of the script in order to act; that person is unable to do anything, except to follow the given script. The god in your heart is the true god; not that god in the book. Book-based gods are false gods and book-based religions are false religions. One of the many proofs for the invalidity of all "sacred" book-related religions is the poor quality of the books themselves---that they're written so badly. Their gods can't write! If there were a deity (there isn't of course), that deity, if it were to choose some poets to inscribe and relate the deity's admonitions (and why would any deity have admonitions to begin with), it would certainly pick the world's greatest poets, the very best; and not some crazed schizophrenics who had been out in the desert sun for a bit too long. Deities have no need to write books; but men certainly do; so to control the actions of other men. Now, why does this matter? Well, let's say one of your goals in life is spirituality---a worthy goal to be sure---it can't come from the study of so-called sacred texts. That's simply a waste and an actual impediment in achieving your original worthy spiritual goal. Sacred mission achievement can come only through endurance; that's by the perseverance in the sublime task of changing and transforming your own thoughts and your own actions: first by the editing and analysis of them; and then finally, by the re-writing of the sacred text of Self.

Signs and Visions

One problem that one finds in writing is the inability of some (not all, by any means) to take full responsibility for what was written and to be held accountable for what was said. Writing, when done well, does have consequences. It should and does. As long as what one says is factual, is the truth, there's never any problem. The truth is always the best defense against any criticism. It is only when one states an opinion as being factual that one deserves criticism. An opinion is just that; it's just an opinion, it's not a fact and yes, any opinion can be stated and asserted, however fanciful and far-fetched the opinion might well be, provided it is not being stated as being a fact. When I'm writing my novels, I'm writing fantasy and since I'm writing about the far-future, the novels are speculative in the vein of neo-romanticism. Fantasy isn't factual; it's made-up stuff. But when I make my predictions, I'm recording visions of the future that I've seen---they are not opinions---but they are interpretations of the future. They are revelations, something that is inherently wholly different from opinions. All predictions are revelations---one is acting in the capacity of a prophet when one states them, and not in the capacity of a critic as in the case of an opinion---it's an important difference. Visions are never wrong, but the interpretations of those visions certainly can be wrong, even mine since they could be misinterpreted. One's perceptions are never unprejudiced. What one screes is distorted by one's experiences. Visions are not clear. Although it is true America's days are numbered (like men, nations die too); mine are not as yet!