Monday, December 31, 2012 7:02:34 PM
Thoughts and Observations...
I added a lot here...maybe some will find time to read it...
Ron Paul's New Year's Message to Congress
As I prepare to retire from Congress I'd like to suggest a few New Year's resolutions for my colleagues to consider. For the sake of liberty, peace and prosperity I certainly hope more members of Congress consider the strict libertarian-constitutional approach to government in 2013.
In just a few days, Congress will solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They should read Article 1 Section 8 and the Bill of Rights before taking such a serious oath. Most legislation violates key provisions of the Constitution in very basic ways, and if members can't bring themselves to say "no" in the face of pressure from the special interests, they have broken trust with their constituents and violated their oath. Congress does not exist to serve the special interests. It exists to protect the rule of law.
I also urge my colleagues to end unconstitutional wars overseas. Stop the drone strikes. Stop the covert activities and the meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. Strive to observe good faith and justice towards all nations, as George Washington admonished. We are only making more enemies, wasting lives and bankrupting ourselves with the neoconservative interventionist mindset that endorses preemptive war that now dominates both parties.
All foreign aid should end, which is blatantly unconstitutional. While it may be a relatively small part of our federal budget, for many countries it is a large part of theirs and it creates perverse incentives for both our friends and enemies. There is no way members of Congress can know or understand the political, economic, legal and social realities in the many nations to which they send taxpayers' dollars.
Congress needs to stop accumulating more debt. U.S. debt monetized by the Federal Reserve is the true threat to our national security. Revisiting the parameters of Article 1 Section 8 would be a good start.
Congress should resolve to respect personal liberty and free markets. Learn more about the free market and how it regulates commerce and produces greater prosperity ever than any legislation or regulation.
Understand that economic freedom is freedom. Resolve not to get in the way of voluntary contracts between consenting adults. Stop bailing out failed yet politically connected companies and industries. Stop forcing people to engage in commerce when they don't want to, and stop prohibiting them from buying and selling when they want to.Stop trying to legislate your ideas of fairness. Protect property rights. Protect the individual. That is enough.
There are many more resolutions I would like to see my colleagues in Congress adopt, but respect for the Constitution and the oath of office should be at the core of every single member's of Congress due in 2013.
TUESDAY, DEC 18, 2012 11:44 AM PST
Do we all secretly want the world to end?
Psychology suggests we're irresistibly drawn to dystopias -- and the satisfaction of a self-fulfilling prophecy
BY DAISY YUHAS, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/do_we_all_secretly_want_the_world_to_end/
University of Minnesota neuroscientist Shmuel Lissek, who studies the fear system, believes that at its heart, the concept of doomsday evokes an innate and ancient bias in most mammals. "The initial response to any hint of alarm is fear. This is the architecture with which we're built," Lissek says. Over evolutionary history, organisms with a better-safe-than-sorry approach survive. This mechanism has had consequences for both the body and brain, where the fast-acting amygdala can activate a fearful stress response before "higher" cortical areas have a chance to assess the situation and respond more rationally.
But why would anyone enjoy kindling this fearful response? Lissek suspects that some apocalyptic believers find the idea that the end is nigh to be validating. Individuals with a history of traumatic experiences, for example, may be fatalistic. For these people, finding a group of like-minded fatalists is reassuring. There may also be comfort in being able to attribute doom to some larger cosmic order-such as an ancient Mayan prophecy. This kind of mythology removes any sense of individual responsibility.
There's an even broader allure to knowing the precise end date. "Apocalyptic beliefs make existential threats-the fear of our mortality-predictable," Lissek says. Lissek, in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health neuroscientist Christian Grillon and colleagues, has found that when an unpleasant or painful experience, such as an electric shock, is predictable, we relax. The anxiety produced by uncertainty is gone. Knowing when the end will come doesn't appeal equally to everyone, of course-but for many of us it's paradoxically a reason to stop worrying.
This also means people can focus on preparing. Doomsday preppers who assemble their bunker and canned food, Lissek believes, are engaged in goal-oriented behaviors, which are a proven therapy in times of trouble.
The Power of Knowledge
Beyond the universal aspects of fear and our survival response to it, certain personality traits may make individuals more susceptible to believing it's the end of the world. Social psychologist Karen Douglas at the University of Kent studies conspiracy theorists and suspects that her study subjects, in some cases, share attributes with those who believe in an impending apocalypse. She points out that, although these are essentially two different phenomena, certain apocalyptic beliefs are also at the heart of conspiracy theories-for example, the belief that government agencies know about an impending disaster and are intentionally hiding this fact to prevent panic.
"One trait I see linking the two is the feeling of powerlessness, often connected to a mistrust in authority," Douglas says. Among conspiracy theorists, these convictions of mistrust and impotence make their conspiracies more precious-and real. "People feel like they have knowledge that others do not."
Relatively few studies exist on the individuals who start and propagate these theories. Douglas points out that research into the psychology of persuasion has found that those who believe most are also most motivated to broadcast their beliefs. In the Internet age, that's an easier feat than ever before.
Lessons from Dystopia
Steven Schlozman, drawing both from his experiences as a Harvard Medical School child psychiatrist and novelist (his first book recounts a zombie apocalypse) believes it's the post-apocalyptic landscape that fascinates people most.
"I talk to kids in my practice and they see it as a good thing. They say, 'life would be so simple-I'd shoot some zombies and wouldn't have to go to school,'" Schlozman says. In both literature and in speaking with patients, Schlozman has noticed that people frequently romanticize the end times. They imagine surviving, thriving and going back to nature.
Schlozman recently had an experience that eerily echoed Orson Welles's 1938 The War of the Worlds broadcast. He was discussing his book on a radio program and they had to cut the show short when listeners misconstrued his fiction for fact. He believes the propensity to panic is not constant in history but instead reflects the times. In today's complicated world with terrorism, war, fiscal cliffs and climate change, people are primed for panic.
"All of this uncertainty and all of this fear comes together and people think maybe life would be better" after a disaster, Schlozman says. Of course, in truth, most of their post-apocalyptic dreams are just fantasies that ignore the real hardships of pioneer life and crumbling infrastructure. He points out that, if anything, tales of apocalypse, particularly involving zombies, should ideally teach us something about the world we should avoid-and how to make necessary changes now.
"Mind is everything. What we think we become." Buddha
"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi too had his concept of the ideal society which he outlined in an article in Harijan in 1946.
"Indian independence must begin at the bottom. Thus every village will be a republic or a panchayat, having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs, even to the extent of defending itself against the whole world. It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without. Thus ultimately, it is the individual who is the unit. But this does not exclude dependence on the willing help from neighbours or from the world. It will be free and voluntary play of mutual forces. Such a society is necessarily highly cultured in which every man and every woman knows what he or she wants and, what is more, knows that no one should want anything that the others cannot have with equal labour.
"In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever widening, never ascending, circles.Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But will be an oceanic circle, whose centre will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units.
"We begin to understand that human purpose on this planet is to evolve a culture that is spiritual in all respects"
James Redfield
"Therefore, the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle, but will give strength to all within and will derive its own strength from it. I may be taunted with the retort that this is all Utopian and, therefore, not worth a single thought. If Euclid's point, though incapable of being drawn by any human agency, has an imperishable value, my picture has its own for mankind to live…"
Obviously this is not a complete picture of Gandhi's future society. As an ardent visionary with an infallible ability to discern the future course of humanity based on holistic and non-violent principles, he emerged with economic, social and political systems that were far ahead of his times.
He gave the world Satyagraha, a practical way in which victims can gain redress without hurting or damaging their oppressors. He popularised khadi as the solution to India's deep-seated poverty. He initiated the concept of trusteeship through which the haves could prevent themselves from exploiting others. He introduced radical ideas of education and social reform that could transform society. His concept of voluntary surrender of property by the wealthy for the welfare of the poor created Vinobha Bhave's Bhoodan movement, through which thousands of acres of property across India exchanged hands.
In The Secret of Shambhala, James Redfield paints a fascinating picture of that legendary place. Of course, some would say Shambhala actually exists, as Krishnanand, a spiritual teacher from Bangalore, affirms. According to him, people in Shambhala are highly enlightened and remain young.
Redfield talks of a civilisation whose technology is composed of mental force fields. Thus they literally think houses and clothes into being. Such houses are impenetrable without the positive intent that you can. Water manifests out of water vapour and electricity is free. Conception is through the merging of auras and not of the physical bodies and is a deeply deliberate process where parents and the unborn babe meditate upon what could be the future being's purpose of life and how best could it be fulfilled. Travel again is through thought rather than locomotion. Disease is virtually non-existent. He has one of the characters in this adventure fable say, "We began to understand that human purpose on this planet was to evolve a culture that is spiritual in all its aspects."
Redfield makes an important point that all technology is only a prototype for what we can achieve with our inner power. This means that present-day technology will soon be transcended by a mind and spirit culture where we communicate, create or travel through thought and intention.
In the final analysis, it does not matter when Satyug will dawn or what it will be like. What does matter is towork on ourselves relentlessly. Self-transformation is mankind's most urgent and important mission. If we accomplish that, all the rest will be taken care of. As Mahatma Gandhi put it, "Be the change you want to see."
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-crisis-may-lead-to-explosion-of-violence-2012-12-27?siteid=rss&rss=1
Peter Galbraith, who was the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia in 1993, to the effect that the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia did not result from age-old ethnic conflict, but from new crimes committed for political and economic reasons.
"That's what kicked off those wars," James Galbraith told his Berlin audience. "And when the violence starts in an advanced, in a developed country, it moves quickly and the fractures are not clean. And I can assure you that if you talk to people in certain parts of Europe, and Greece particularly, you can hear already the anxieties that you could have heard in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
http://utip.gov.utexas.edu/Speech/Transcript%20-%20IG%20Metall%20Conference%20December%202012%20(1).pdf
***12/27 ...speaking of from new crimes committed for political and economic reasons....Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed a law giving financially distressed cities and school districts a choice of bankruptcy or a state-appointed emergency manager with the power to cancel union contracts.The bill replaces a similar 2011 measure that voters repealed on Nov. 6. The new law gives elected officials in communities where the state has declared a financial emergency four options: Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the appointment of an emergency manager, mediation with creditors or a consent agreement to reduce debt. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-27/michigan-lawmakers-approve-new-emergency-manager-law.html
Volunteers of America...Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTmeJabmmw&feature=related
Got a revolution got to revolution
One generation got old
One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold
Welcome...to the New beginning...WE are here... a community of Humanity...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzz20UBv3AM
The Age of Acquarius ...there will be changes...humanity will find its "Heart"..."TRUTH" will prevail...
...enjoy...Ki...and...PEACE...theMatrix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfYHAV1i8w&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfYHAV1i8w&feature=endscreen
WE MADE IT ! Just slipped right past the Galactic Alignment and into the Age of Acquarius just like the 5th Dimension said we would.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxSCAalsBE
...man's inhumanity ends with simple items like this...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2250424/The-GRAVITY-powered-lamp-bring-1-5billion-people-darkness.html
The seekers of truth and honesty are here...
Some crooks will go to jail...
Photon Belt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbQlsk8lus&feature=endscreen
Prevail
Synonyms: abound, be common, be current, be prevalent, be usual, be victorious, be widespread, beat, best, carry, come out on top, command, conquer, domineer, exist generally, gain, get there, go great guns, go places, hit pay dirt, luck out, make it, make out, master, move out, obtain, overcome, overrule, predominate, preponderate, prove, reign, succeed, take off, triumph, win
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZaMY-R8Rxg
The only Flag of the World that has a philosophy...
The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people". The Taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of yin and yang in perfect balance; the former being the negative aspect rendered in blue, and the latter as the positive aspect rendered in red. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one.
...more...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Korea
...and You and I...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYmeJlm7Gcg&feature=endscreen
II. Eclipse
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
As a movement regained and regarded both the same,
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
III. The Preacher the Teacher
Sad preacher nailed upon the coloured door of time;
Insane teacher be there reminded of the rhyme.
There'll be no mutant enemy we shall certify;
Political ends, as sad remains, will die.
Reach out as forward tastes begin to enter you.
Ooh, ooh.
I listened hard but could not see
Life tempo change out and inside me.
The preacher trained in all to lose his name;
The teacher travels, asking to be shown the same.
In the end, we'll agree, we'll accept, we'll immortalise
That the truth of the man maturing in his eyes,
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
As a moment regained and regarded both the same,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
A clearer future, morning, evening, nights with you.
IV. Apocalypse
And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning.
And you and I climb, over the sun for the river.
And you and I climb, clearer, towards the movement.
And you and I called over valleys of endless seas
12/28/12
12/25/12
12/21/12..welcome Aquarius and Galactic Alignement; also Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."- Paulo Coehlo, "The Alchemist," 1988.
It is December 21, the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the end of an era within the Mayan Calendar that some have interpreted as the end of the world. For some, it may seem like the end of the world. For everyone, the solstice is a time for reflection, for in the darkest time of the year, there is a window in which to access the source of it all - the Self, the awareness of Oneness and Nothingness, and a moment of Unity without the complication of other-than-self. It is a time when one can contemplate reality outside of the ego, if one tries. But to do that, it means you have to go within, and for many, that is a frightening proposition. The collective urge is towards freedom. But what is that freedom we seek? Essentially, it is an escape from loneliness. And so in today's world, we seek this escape through being connected to one another. Our collective urge is to connect with one another and to escape loneliness.
In today's world, that path takes the form of information. We seek information to share with others. It is information that connects us today. It is the "Dawning of the Age of Aquarius," which is information and connectivity through technology.
Yet this represents a reversal from the tradition, which is the nature of Aquarius and its ruler, Uranus, in any event. It is a variation from the truth and reality of our ancient teachings. Today, it is accepted that "The truth is out there," as in the X-files. But some things never really change, and at this time of the Winter Solstice, the old truths remain: "The truth is in here," not "out there." And it doesn't matter whether you are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, or whether it is the winter or summer solstice, because the symbolism of each is similar: whether it is during the season of greatest light or greatest darkness, there is, at those times, a window of time in which one may experience reality from a perspective of "not self," or "only self." There is no duality in the symbolism of total "light" or total "darkness." There is only one, none, or all. There is no ego, which is only a comparison of self to that which is outside of the self.
This column is usually about information, or more accurately, about my interpretation of the celestial movements and their correspondence to human activity, particularly as it relates to the world of finances, economics, and political, mundane trends. But every so often, it is useful to take a break from that perspective and wax philosophical, and contemplate the deep, inner aspects of reality. Maybe I give information that will enhance your ability to make money. But will it bring you closer, or further away, from the dreams of your heart that will connect you with the Infinite and your personal quest to experience inspiration?
During this season of the Winter Solstice, 2012, as an era of the Mayan Calendar ends, and the Uranus-Pluto unfolds in its 112-147-year waxing square cycle, we are brought into direct confrontation with our greatest fears. These are the fears of insecurity, of danger to our physical existence (and more so, those that we love) through the acts of madness and violence of individuals, and of potential financial loss through the gridlock of our political leaders who cannot find a path of compromise to avoid falling over the "Fiscal Cliff."
In spite of all of these external anxieties, it is useful to reflect upon who you are and why you are here. And, in the words of Paulo Coehlo, to reacquaint yourself with your "Personal Legend." There is no better time to do this than at the solstice.
May each of you have an enlightening holiday season and may the New Year bring you closer and closer to the realization of your dreams. Never give them up, even in moments of tragedy. They are your pathway to the experience of Oneness with the Infinite. They - and they alone - will bring you the freedom that we all seek, when a moment can become the awareness of eternity, and the realization can bring forth an outpouring of compassion for all.
Thus, as we come into the end of the year, and the December 21 end of an age via the Mayan Calendar, we observe that the world is not very safe or secure. Economically and politically, there is danger of the Fiscal Cliff looming immediately ahead. Militarily, we see the advance of terrorist states towards acquisition of nuclear warheads. And socially, there are some people who are crossing over the edge of sanity and erupting in acts of violence against innocent people, even children. When will all this madness and danger end? Astrologically, probably not for another two years.
But people have choices. It can end whenever society and governments start trusting one another again and work harder towards co-creating a climate of safety and security (instead of fear and anxiety), which of course is easy to say and hard to enact. In the meantime, the more the "blame-game" continues amongst leaders and society, and leaders towards one another, the demonstration of compassion and trust becomes increasingly invisible. And yet it is there, waiting to be tapped, for Neptune - the planet of compassion and trust - is in its home sign of Pisces, the sign of compassion and trust, for the next 13 years. It may take until the summer of 2013 to be activated, when Jupiter moves into Cancer and forms a potentially magical grand trine with Saturn and Neptune, all in water signs. We haven't seen that since 1967. That was a time when peace marches started to arise all over the world, and eventually led to the end of the Viet Nam War. People demanded an end to the violence. They protested. They fought for peace and an end to war, and eventually they got it. Neptune may not be assertive, but if persistent, it can outlast the aggressors (Uranus in Aries, square Pluto). http://www.mmacycles.com/weekly-preview/mma-comments-for-the-week/mma-comments-for-the-week-beginning-december-24,-2012/
12/12/12...The Ancient Mayan calendar speaks of 12-12-2012 as the end of times as we know it, and the beginning of a new cycle of evolution for planet earth, humanity and the cosmos. Mayan elders say that the Ancients were informing the modern world to be ready for a giant transformation for the human race. Interestingly, traditions across the world including Buddhism, Tao, Hopi and Vedic knowledge predict a 'Golden Age' or 'Satyug' in their calendars around the same period. December 2012 is being looked upon as a significant spiritual event and a momentous shift in the collective consciousness of the planet.
12-12-12 is a beautiful opportunity for transformation and healing on a personal and global level. We are invited to allow the supportive energies of Mother Earth to open our hearts and be ready for expansion.
Another Year is done...same Prayer......"And there shall be peace on earth" ...
Love, peace, harmony and freedom are facts and values every human being should be aware of, and indeed has to be aware of. Yet exactly in this he/she fails, for long ago in ancient times he/she lost his/her sense to be aware, and to look within himself/herself for these lofty values of genuineness and grandeur. Wise men and prophets who taught these values were reviled and vilified, or even murdered. And all the dignitaries and office-bearers of religions and governments were intentionally helpful in doing so, and continue in the same way to this very day. Since ancient times these mighty and powerful rulers in politics and religions have been the ones who were responsible - and still are today - for the populations of every country being and continuing to be ignorant. And still today' the mighty and the powerful, the ones governing, as well as the religious rulers and their representatives in every office continue to neglect their duty to the peoples and to the human being as an individual. They fail to make an effort to teach and to enlighten the peoples in the framework of the correct way of life and of the connection of all matters that relate to the consciousness. Their only truthful endeavour seems to be to burden the nation's people with all kinds of taxes for the needed remittance of horrendous pays, which enable them to live a life in joy and splendour. Yet that is not all: They are at work at various places to betray and sell out their own country, spread war and terror as well as death, destruction and ruin, and, with billions, finance completely senseless projects and insanely squander the people's hard earned tax monies. And above all, they make no effort to bring about true love and freedom as well as harmony and peace, so that it could finally be said: "And there shall be peace on earth" ...
Should the human being want to create peace on earth, then each Individual human being has to begin to walk on the path of his/her own inner purification and make a stand against his/her emotions, thoughts and feelings, as well as all his/her problems that relate to hatred, obsession with revenge, fanaticism, sectarianism, religion, desire for power and control, fear, cowardice, addiction and greed, war and terror, murder, torture, capital punishment and obsession with profit, and so forth. He/she has to dissolve and be free of them completely in order to allow true love and harmony as well as peace and freedom to take their due place. And thereby one has to consider that one value cannot exist by itself, for each single value depends on the others. Thus love is dependent on peace, freedom and harmony; harmony is dependent on love, freedom and peace; peace is dependent on love, harmony and freedom as well as freedom on peace, harmony and love. And truly, only all these values combined result in a complete whole that is comprehended by every human being as happiness and joy, and brings pleasure in existing, and, in dignity, a great respect for life. Unfortunately only a small minority knows about the value of love, peace, harmony and freedom and understands their significance in external life and in the life within. For some people, freedom only means that one can do whatever one wants to do or does not want to do. Yet especially in respect to freedom that does not apply. Freedom embodies far more than the individual is able to imagine both in the life within and in the external life. In fact, freedom is not just a general concept for all that a human being does as well as for the fulfillment of all those things, needs, cravings, desires and wishes, which he/she always wants to see fulfiled. Freedom means far more, for among other things it also embodies the actual frankness of the human being that enables him/her to be open and sincere in everything towards himself/herself as well as towards the external environment and his/her fellow-human beings without fear and anxiety, and without having to falsify the facts or having to conceal them to betray himself/herself or his/her fellow- human beings.
...Comments...
How can our elected representatives in congress understand anything when they don't participate in the same health care, pension, or many other plans that American voters do?
It's time to remove the 2 party system and have one group that cares about what will rebuild this country to regain our place amoung the world leaders.
One bill one vote, line item vetoing, term limits for all of them, no pay when no balanced budget, accountability for misconduct, no more lobbyists, etc.
I know this will never happen because our system of government is so large and misguided that greed has taken over in place of what is right for this country. I hate what my kids are going to have to endure as they grow up.
...and lets cut out all the undecleared WARS and Iraq pays for that war with oil...now...
Thoughts and Observations...
I added a lot here...maybe some will find time to read it...
Ron Paul's New Year's Message to Congress
As I prepare to retire from Congress I'd like to suggest a few New Year's resolutions for my colleagues to consider. For the sake of liberty, peace and prosperity I certainly hope more members of Congress consider the strict libertarian-constitutional approach to government in 2013.
In just a few days, Congress will solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They should read Article 1 Section 8 and the Bill of Rights before taking such a serious oath. Most legislation violates key provisions of the Constitution in very basic ways, and if members can't bring themselves to say "no" in the face of pressure from the special interests, they have broken trust with their constituents and violated their oath. Congress does not exist to serve the special interests. It exists to protect the rule of law.
I also urge my colleagues to end unconstitutional wars overseas. Stop the drone strikes. Stop the covert activities and the meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. Strive to observe good faith and justice towards all nations, as George Washington admonished. We are only making more enemies, wasting lives and bankrupting ourselves with the neoconservative interventionist mindset that endorses preemptive war that now dominates both parties.
All foreign aid should end, which is blatantly unconstitutional. While it may be a relatively small part of our federal budget, for many countries it is a large part of theirs and it creates perverse incentives for both our friends and enemies. There is no way members of Congress can know or understand the political, economic, legal and social realities in the many nations to which they send taxpayers' dollars.
Congress needs to stop accumulating more debt. U.S. debt monetized by the Federal Reserve is the true threat to our national security. Revisiting the parameters of Article 1 Section 8 would be a good start.
Congress should resolve to respect personal liberty and free markets. Learn more about the free market and how it regulates commerce and produces greater prosperity ever than any legislation or regulation.
Understand that economic freedom is freedom. Resolve not to get in the way of voluntary contracts between consenting adults. Stop bailing out failed yet politically connected companies and industries. Stop forcing people to engage in commerce when they don't want to, and stop prohibiting them from buying and selling when they want to.Stop trying to legislate your ideas of fairness. Protect property rights. Protect the individual. That is enough.
There are many more resolutions I would like to see my colleagues in Congress adopt, but respect for the Constitution and the oath of office should be at the core of every single member's of Congress due in 2013.
TUESDAY, DEC 18, 2012 11:44 AM PST
Do we all secretly want the world to end?
Psychology suggests we're irresistibly drawn to dystopias -- and the satisfaction of a self-fulfilling prophecy
BY DAISY YUHAS, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN
http://www.salon.com/2012/12/18/do_we_all_secretly_want_the_world_to_end/
University of Minnesota neuroscientist Shmuel Lissek, who studies the fear system, believes that at its heart, the concept of doomsday evokes an innate and ancient bias in most mammals. "The initial response to any hint of alarm is fear. This is the architecture with which we're built," Lissek says. Over evolutionary history, organisms with a better-safe-than-sorry approach survive. This mechanism has had consequences for both the body and brain, where the fast-acting amygdala can activate a fearful stress response before "higher" cortical areas have a chance to assess the situation and respond more rationally.
But why would anyone enjoy kindling this fearful response? Lissek suspects that some apocalyptic believers find the idea that the end is nigh to be validating. Individuals with a history of traumatic experiences, for example, may be fatalistic. For these people, finding a group of like-minded fatalists is reassuring. There may also be comfort in being able to attribute doom to some larger cosmic order-such as an ancient Mayan prophecy. This kind of mythology removes any sense of individual responsibility.
There's an even broader allure to knowing the precise end date. "Apocalyptic beliefs make existential threats-the fear of our mortality-predictable," Lissek says. Lissek, in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health neuroscientist Christian Grillon and colleagues, has found that when an unpleasant or painful experience, such as an electric shock, is predictable, we relax. The anxiety produced by uncertainty is gone. Knowing when the end will come doesn't appeal equally to everyone, of course-but for many of us it's paradoxically a reason to stop worrying.
This also means people can focus on preparing. Doomsday preppers who assemble their bunker and canned food, Lissek believes, are engaged in goal-oriented behaviors, which are a proven therapy in times of trouble.
The Power of Knowledge
Beyond the universal aspects of fear and our survival response to it, certain personality traits may make individuals more susceptible to believing it's the end of the world. Social psychologist Karen Douglas at the University of Kent studies conspiracy theorists and suspects that her study subjects, in some cases, share attributes with those who believe in an impending apocalypse. She points out that, although these are essentially two different phenomena, certain apocalyptic beliefs are also at the heart of conspiracy theories-for example, the belief that government agencies know about an impending disaster and are intentionally hiding this fact to prevent panic.
"One trait I see linking the two is the feeling of powerlessness, often connected to a mistrust in authority," Douglas says. Among conspiracy theorists, these convictions of mistrust and impotence make their conspiracies more precious-and real. "People feel like they have knowledge that others do not."
Relatively few studies exist on the individuals who start and propagate these theories. Douglas points out that research into the psychology of persuasion has found that those who believe most are also most motivated to broadcast their beliefs. In the Internet age, that's an easier feat than ever before.
Lessons from Dystopia
Steven Schlozman, drawing both from his experiences as a Harvard Medical School child psychiatrist and novelist (his first book recounts a zombie apocalypse) believes it's the post-apocalyptic landscape that fascinates people most.
"I talk to kids in my practice and they see it as a good thing. They say, 'life would be so simple-I'd shoot some zombies and wouldn't have to go to school,'" Schlozman says. In both literature and in speaking with patients, Schlozman has noticed that people frequently romanticize the end times. They imagine surviving, thriving and going back to nature.
Schlozman recently had an experience that eerily echoed Orson Welles's 1938 The War of the Worlds broadcast. He was discussing his book on a radio program and they had to cut the show short when listeners misconstrued his fiction for fact. He believes the propensity to panic is not constant in history but instead reflects the times. In today's complicated world with terrorism, war, fiscal cliffs and climate change, people are primed for panic.
"All of this uncertainty and all of this fear comes together and people think maybe life would be better" after a disaster, Schlozman says. Of course, in truth, most of their post-apocalyptic dreams are just fantasies that ignore the real hardships of pioneer life and crumbling infrastructure. He points out that, if anything, tales of apocalypse, particularly involving zombies, should ideally teach us something about the world we should avoid-and how to make necessary changes now.
"Mind is everything. What we think we become." Buddha
"Be the change you want to see in the world." Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi too had his concept of the ideal society which he outlined in an article in Harijan in 1946.
"Indian independence must begin at the bottom. Thus every village will be a republic or a panchayat, having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs, even to the extent of defending itself against the whole world. It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without. Thus ultimately, it is the individual who is the unit. But this does not exclude dependence on the willing help from neighbours or from the world. It will be free and voluntary play of mutual forces. Such a society is necessarily highly cultured in which every man and every woman knows what he or she wants and, what is more, knows that no one should want anything that the others cannot have with equal labour.
"In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever widening, never ascending, circles.Life will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But will be an oceanic circle, whose centre will be the individual always ready to perish for the village, the latter ready to perish for the circle of villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals, never aggressive in their arrogance, but ever humble, sharing the majesty of the oceanic circle of which they are integral units.
"We begin to understand that human purpose on this planet is to evolve a culture that is spiritual in all respects"
James Redfield
"Therefore, the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle, but will give strength to all within and will derive its own strength from it. I may be taunted with the retort that this is all Utopian and, therefore, not worth a single thought. If Euclid's point, though incapable of being drawn by any human agency, has an imperishable value, my picture has its own for mankind to live…"
Obviously this is not a complete picture of Gandhi's future society. As an ardent visionary with an infallible ability to discern the future course of humanity based on holistic and non-violent principles, he emerged with economic, social and political systems that were far ahead of his times.
He gave the world Satyagraha, a practical way in which victims can gain redress without hurting or damaging their oppressors. He popularised khadi as the solution to India's deep-seated poverty. He initiated the concept of trusteeship through which the haves could prevent themselves from exploiting others. He introduced radical ideas of education and social reform that could transform society. His concept of voluntary surrender of property by the wealthy for the welfare of the poor created Vinobha Bhave's Bhoodan movement, through which thousands of acres of property across India exchanged hands.
In The Secret of Shambhala, James Redfield paints a fascinating picture of that legendary place. Of course, some would say Shambhala actually exists, as Krishnanand, a spiritual teacher from Bangalore, affirms. According to him, people in Shambhala are highly enlightened and remain young.
Redfield talks of a civilisation whose technology is composed of mental force fields. Thus they literally think houses and clothes into being. Such houses are impenetrable without the positive intent that you can. Water manifests out of water vapour and electricity is free. Conception is through the merging of auras and not of the physical bodies and is a deeply deliberate process where parents and the unborn babe meditate upon what could be the future being's purpose of life and how best could it be fulfilled. Travel again is through thought rather than locomotion. Disease is virtually non-existent. He has one of the characters in this adventure fable say, "We began to understand that human purpose on this planet was to evolve a culture that is spiritual in all its aspects."
Redfield makes an important point that all technology is only a prototype for what we can achieve with our inner power. This means that present-day technology will soon be transcended by a mind and spirit culture where we communicate, create or travel through thought and intention.
In the final analysis, it does not matter when Satyug will dawn or what it will be like. What does matter is towork on ourselves relentlessly. Self-transformation is mankind's most urgent and important mission. If we accomplish that, all the rest will be taken care of. As Mahatma Gandhi put it, "Be the change you want to see."
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/euro-crisis-may-lead-to-explosion-of-violence-2012-12-27?siteid=rss&rss=1
Peter Galbraith, who was the first U.S. ambassador to Croatia in 1993, to the effect that the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia did not result from age-old ethnic conflict, but from new crimes committed for political and economic reasons.
"That's what kicked off those wars," James Galbraith told his Berlin audience. "And when the violence starts in an advanced, in a developed country, it moves quickly and the fractures are not clean. And I can assure you that if you talk to people in certain parts of Europe, and Greece particularly, you can hear already the anxieties that you could have heard in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
http://utip.gov.utexas.edu/Speech/Transcript%20-%20IG%20Metall%20Conference%20December%202012%20(1).pdf
***12/27 ...speaking of from new crimes committed for political and economic reasons....Michigan Republican Governor Rick Snyder signed a law giving financially distressed cities and school districts a choice of bankruptcy or a state-appointed emergency manager with the power to cancel union contracts.The bill replaces a similar 2011 measure that voters repealed on Nov. 6. The new law gives elected officials in communities where the state has declared a financial emergency four options: Chapter 9 bankruptcy, the appointment of an emergency manager, mediation with creditors or a consent agreement to reduce debt. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-27/michigan-lawmakers-approve-new-emergency-manager-law.html
Volunteers of America...Revolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvTmeJabmmw&feature=related
Got a revolution got to revolution
One generation got old
One generation got soul
This generation got no destination to hold
Welcome...to the New beginning...WE are here... a community of Humanity...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzz20UBv3AM
The Age of Acquarius ...there will be changes...humanity will find its "Heart"..."TRUTH" will prevail...
...enjoy...Ki...and...PEACE...theMatrix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfYHAV1i8w&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfYHAV1i8w&feature=endscreen
WE MADE IT ! Just slipped right past the Galactic Alignment and into the Age of Acquarius just like the 5th Dimension said we would.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjxSCAalsBE
...man's inhumanity ends with simple items like this...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2250424/The-GRAVITY-powered-lamp-bring-1-5billion-people-darkness.html
The seekers of truth and honesty are here...
Some crooks will go to jail...
Photon Belt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbQlsk8lus&feature=endscreen
Prevail
Synonyms: abound, be common, be current, be prevalent, be usual, be victorious, be widespread, beat, best, carry, come out on top, command, conquer, domineer, exist generally, gain, get there, go great guns, go places, hit pay dirt, luck out, make it, make out, master, move out, obtain, overcome, overrule, predominate, preponderate, prove, reign, succeed, take off, triumph, win
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZaMY-R8Rxg
The only Flag of the World that has a philosophy...
The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people". The Taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of yin and yang in perfect balance; the former being the negative aspect rendered in blue, and the latter as the positive aspect rendered in red. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one.
...more...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Korea
...and You and I...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYmeJlm7Gcg&feature=endscreen
II. Eclipse
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
As a movement regained and regarded both the same,
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
III. The Preacher the Teacher
Sad preacher nailed upon the coloured door of time;
Insane teacher be there reminded of the rhyme.
There'll be no mutant enemy we shall certify;
Political ends, as sad remains, will die.
Reach out as forward tastes begin to enter you.
Ooh, ooh.
I listened hard but could not see
Life tempo change out and inside me.
The preacher trained in all to lose his name;
The teacher travels, asking to be shown the same.
In the end, we'll agree, we'll accept, we'll immortalise
That the truth of the man maturing in his eyes,
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you.
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid,
As a moment regained and regarded both the same,
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid,
A clearer future, morning, evening, nights with you.
IV. Apocalypse
And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning.
And you and I climb, over the sun for the river.
And you and I climb, clearer, towards the movement.
And you and I called over valleys of endless seas
12/28/12
12/25/12
12/21/12..welcome Aquarius and Galactic Alignement; also Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."- Paulo Coehlo, "The Alchemist," 1988.
It is December 21, the Winter Solstice, the darkest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the end of an era within the Mayan Calendar that some have interpreted as the end of the world. For some, it may seem like the end of the world. For everyone, the solstice is a time for reflection, for in the darkest time of the year, there is a window in which to access the source of it all - the Self, the awareness of Oneness and Nothingness, and a moment of Unity without the complication of other-than-self. It is a time when one can contemplate reality outside of the ego, if one tries. But to do that, it means you have to go within, and for many, that is a frightening proposition. The collective urge is towards freedom. But what is that freedom we seek? Essentially, it is an escape from loneliness. And so in today's world, we seek this escape through being connected to one another. Our collective urge is to connect with one another and to escape loneliness.
In today's world, that path takes the form of information. We seek information to share with others. It is information that connects us today. It is the "Dawning of the Age of Aquarius," which is information and connectivity through technology.
Yet this represents a reversal from the tradition, which is the nature of Aquarius and its ruler, Uranus, in any event. It is a variation from the truth and reality of our ancient teachings. Today, it is accepted that "The truth is out there," as in the X-files. But some things never really change, and at this time of the Winter Solstice, the old truths remain: "The truth is in here," not "out there." And it doesn't matter whether you are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, or whether it is the winter or summer solstice, because the symbolism of each is similar: whether it is during the season of greatest light or greatest darkness, there is, at those times, a window of time in which one may experience reality from a perspective of "not self," or "only self." There is no duality in the symbolism of total "light" or total "darkness." There is only one, none, or all. There is no ego, which is only a comparison of self to that which is outside of the self.
This column is usually about information, or more accurately, about my interpretation of the celestial movements and their correspondence to human activity, particularly as it relates to the world of finances, economics, and political, mundane trends. But every so often, it is useful to take a break from that perspective and wax philosophical, and contemplate the deep, inner aspects of reality. Maybe I give information that will enhance your ability to make money. But will it bring you closer, or further away, from the dreams of your heart that will connect you with the Infinite and your personal quest to experience inspiration?
During this season of the Winter Solstice, 2012, as an era of the Mayan Calendar ends, and the Uranus-Pluto unfolds in its 112-147-year waxing square cycle, we are brought into direct confrontation with our greatest fears. These are the fears of insecurity, of danger to our physical existence (and more so, those that we love) through the acts of madness and violence of individuals, and of potential financial loss through the gridlock of our political leaders who cannot find a path of compromise to avoid falling over the "Fiscal Cliff."
In spite of all of these external anxieties, it is useful to reflect upon who you are and why you are here. And, in the words of Paulo Coehlo, to reacquaint yourself with your "Personal Legend." There is no better time to do this than at the solstice.
May each of you have an enlightening holiday season and may the New Year bring you closer and closer to the realization of your dreams. Never give them up, even in moments of tragedy. They are your pathway to the experience of Oneness with the Infinite. They - and they alone - will bring you the freedom that we all seek, when a moment can become the awareness of eternity, and the realization can bring forth an outpouring of compassion for all.
Thus, as we come into the end of the year, and the December 21 end of an age via the Mayan Calendar, we observe that the world is not very safe or secure. Economically and politically, there is danger of the Fiscal Cliff looming immediately ahead. Militarily, we see the advance of terrorist states towards acquisition of nuclear warheads. And socially, there are some people who are crossing over the edge of sanity and erupting in acts of violence against innocent people, even children. When will all this madness and danger end? Astrologically, probably not for another two years.
But people have choices. It can end whenever society and governments start trusting one another again and work harder towards co-creating a climate of safety and security (instead of fear and anxiety), which of course is easy to say and hard to enact. In the meantime, the more the "blame-game" continues amongst leaders and society, and leaders towards one another, the demonstration of compassion and trust becomes increasingly invisible. And yet it is there, waiting to be tapped, for Neptune - the planet of compassion and trust - is in its home sign of Pisces, the sign of compassion and trust, for the next 13 years. It may take until the summer of 2013 to be activated, when Jupiter moves into Cancer and forms a potentially magical grand trine with Saturn and Neptune, all in water signs. We haven't seen that since 1967. That was a time when peace marches started to arise all over the world, and eventually led to the end of the Viet Nam War. People demanded an end to the violence. They protested. They fought for peace and an end to war, and eventually they got it. Neptune may not be assertive, but if persistent, it can outlast the aggressors (Uranus in Aries, square Pluto). http://www.mmacycles.com/weekly-preview/mma-comments-for-the-week/mma-comments-for-the-week-beginning-december-24,-2012/
12/12/12...The Ancient Mayan calendar speaks of 12-12-2012 as the end of times as we know it, and the beginning of a new cycle of evolution for planet earth, humanity and the cosmos. Mayan elders say that the Ancients were informing the modern world to be ready for a giant transformation for the human race. Interestingly, traditions across the world including Buddhism, Tao, Hopi and Vedic knowledge predict a 'Golden Age' or 'Satyug' in their calendars around the same period. December 2012 is being looked upon as a significant spiritual event and a momentous shift in the collective consciousness of the planet.
12-12-12 is a beautiful opportunity for transformation and healing on a personal and global level. We are invited to allow the supportive energies of Mother Earth to open our hearts and be ready for expansion.
Another Year is done...same Prayer......"And there shall be peace on earth" ...
Love, peace, harmony and freedom are facts and values every human being should be aware of, and indeed has to be aware of. Yet exactly in this he/she fails, for long ago in ancient times he/she lost his/her sense to be aware, and to look within himself/herself for these lofty values of genuineness and grandeur. Wise men and prophets who taught these values were reviled and vilified, or even murdered. And all the dignitaries and office-bearers of religions and governments were intentionally helpful in doing so, and continue in the same way to this very day. Since ancient times these mighty and powerful rulers in politics and religions have been the ones who were responsible - and still are today - for the populations of every country being and continuing to be ignorant. And still today' the mighty and the powerful, the ones governing, as well as the religious rulers and their representatives in every office continue to neglect their duty to the peoples and to the human being as an individual. They fail to make an effort to teach and to enlighten the peoples in the framework of the correct way of life and of the connection of all matters that relate to the consciousness. Their only truthful endeavour seems to be to burden the nation's people with all kinds of taxes for the needed remittance of horrendous pays, which enable them to live a life in joy and splendour. Yet that is not all: They are at work at various places to betray and sell out their own country, spread war and terror as well as death, destruction and ruin, and, with billions, finance completely senseless projects and insanely squander the people's hard earned tax monies. And above all, they make no effort to bring about true love and freedom as well as harmony and peace, so that it could finally be said: "And there shall be peace on earth" ...
Should the human being want to create peace on earth, then each Individual human being has to begin to walk on the path of his/her own inner purification and make a stand against his/her emotions, thoughts and feelings, as well as all his/her problems that relate to hatred, obsession with revenge, fanaticism, sectarianism, religion, desire for power and control, fear, cowardice, addiction and greed, war and terror, murder, torture, capital punishment and obsession with profit, and so forth. He/she has to dissolve and be free of them completely in order to allow true love and harmony as well as peace and freedom to take their due place. And thereby one has to consider that one value cannot exist by itself, for each single value depends on the others. Thus love is dependent on peace, freedom and harmony; harmony is dependent on love, freedom and peace; peace is dependent on love, harmony and freedom as well as freedom on peace, harmony and love. And truly, only all these values combined result in a complete whole that is comprehended by every human being as happiness and joy, and brings pleasure in existing, and, in dignity, a great respect for life. Unfortunately only a small minority knows about the value of love, peace, harmony and freedom and understands their significance in external life and in the life within. For some people, freedom only means that one can do whatever one wants to do or does not want to do. Yet especially in respect to freedom that does not apply. Freedom embodies far more than the individual is able to imagine both in the life within and in the external life. In fact, freedom is not just a general concept for all that a human being does as well as for the fulfillment of all those things, needs, cravings, desires and wishes, which he/she always wants to see fulfiled. Freedom means far more, for among other things it also embodies the actual frankness of the human being that enables him/her to be open and sincere in everything towards himself/herself as well as towards the external environment and his/her fellow-human beings without fear and anxiety, and without having to falsify the facts or having to conceal them to betray himself/herself or his/her fellow- human beings.
...Comments...
How can our elected representatives in congress understand anything when they don't participate in the same health care, pension, or many other plans that American voters do?
It's time to remove the 2 party system and have one group that cares about what will rebuild this country to regain our place amoung the world leaders.
One bill one vote, line item vetoing, term limits for all of them, no pay when no balanced budget, accountability for misconduct, no more lobbyists, etc.
I know this will never happen because our system of government is so large and misguided that greed has taken over in place of what is right for this country. I hate what my kids are going to have to endure as they grow up.
...and lets cut out all the undecleared WARS and Iraq pays for that war with oil...now...
Thoughts and Observations...
Join the InvestorsHub Community
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
