A LAZY FRIDAY

I have been having a slow Morning. It is marvelous, beautiful day. It will be hot again, but the humidity is much lower than yesterday or the day before. Our experiment with using air conditioning was a fiasco. I couldn't get the temperature below 80 either day. It was 92F Wednesday and 88F yesterday. The humidity was so high it seemed hard to breathe. After, struggling with the air conditioner for two days, I opened all the window and doors last night, as soon as the temperature, outside was cooler than, inside. It was the right thing to do. The temperature dropped to the sixties and the house was cool this Morning. And the humidity is much lower.

We have a geo-thermal heat/air-conditioning system. We rarely use the A/C, as our house is fairly well sheltered on the Sunny side and we usually have a breeze. We have a screen porch and don't like to cut ourselves off from the outside. Wednesday, however the heat and humidity became suffocating. I don't know why I couldn't get the temperature below 80, maybe it was the humidity. I will have to have the repairman evaluate the situation. The A/C did work, in the sense, that it cut down the humidity. It was more pleasant inside than out.

I just took a break for brunch. No matter how early I get up, I rarely get hungry before Noon. I just had a couple left over baked potatoes, cut up and fried, with three eggs from our own chickens. I usually eat, three to five eggs, depending on what I have to go with them.

I don't have anything important to say. Partly, I am avoiding work I have to do, outside. It is pleasant in here but it is hot out in the Sun. I am very thankful that the paralyzing humidity is gone. Now I only have my laziness to deal with.

The world scene, as depicted by the main stream media, is unbelievable. Is it just a charade!?

Everyday there is more and more evidence of the collapse of our existing systems. I don't want to go into that today. Actually, I would rather wait, and go over it, as an historian would. Perhaps, we won't have to wait too long.

In the meantime, we can only let Love, Peace, and Joy manifest in ourselves and share to everyone.

Have a happy Friday! Celebrate!

Love and Peace, Gregg

GETTING THROUGH

It is an absolutely beautiful Morning on Planet Earth! I should be radiantly happy. Am I? Well not really. I am not bad, either. As I write this I feel fine. Writing helps me. Okay, what is the problem Gregg?

I wasn't going to write today, but I felt others may be having, some version, of the experiences I have been having and it would be helpful to talk about it.

Lately my default position seems to be down. If I am just sitting, not particularly thinking of anything, I feel mildly depressed. Keeping myself 'sparkling' seems more difficult [not that I am often sparkly anyway]. Intellectually, I am very optimistic about the World's condition. I have no doubt [again intellectually] that love will win over fear.

Wow! But, the horror in the world, gets to us. The invitation to fear invades our consciousness. All of us have a whole plethora of little fears. On a scale of one to ten they may be small; perhaps, only ones or twos. Important things like, am I really lovable and mundane things like will my car break down; or will we be burglarized? These attacks on human kind, and our consciousness, serve as magnifiers of any of our embedded fears.

When these fears affect our relationships they cause trouble. Fears cause stress. Stress can cause edginess. Edginess can cause crabbiness. Crabbiness can cause a nasty tone of voice or other unkindness. Our partners can react defensively and the way we go. We know about that; don't we?

We must remove ourselves from the source of the stress as much as possible. We can keep the idiot box off. Or at least avoid the news.

I believe our {humanities} consciousness, has risen to the point, where these assaults will not divide us. I believe we are committed to love one another.

It would be nice if we didn't have to go through this. Perhaps we don't. It is all part. of the illusion of separateness, we have been indulging in for the past eons. Does it really exist? Well- we have to admit it exist for us, even if it doesn't exist in eternity. But it doesn't have to be so painful.

The forces of darkness are playing themselves out. They cannot win. But, like a spoiled child, they are going to create as big a tantrum as they can before they are sent to bed.

How do we get through this? We go back to the basics. We create paradise from the inside out. First we have to love ourselves. Then we will love all others. Keep in mind that the measure of, how much we love ourselves, is how kind we are to others.

When we are unkind to others, it is because we are being unkind to ourselves. We always attack ourselves first. Pay attention to that, the next time you hurt your partners feelings, ask yourself, how did I attack myself first?

Yes, we are One; but the one will always feel separate, until the one regards their self with love.

We need to regard ourselves as great beings of light. We are integral part of creation. We are part of all that IS. We are inseparable from source. We are Love.

I can feel the Love now. Thank you for listening.

Love and Peace, Gregg

HAPPENINGS

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Much has happened, then everything is the same. Our little dry period is over; we have received almost four inches of rain this last week. To the North and West of us, they have had eight, nine and ten inches. There has been flooding in several localities.

Last Saturday Jamie woke me up with the news that she had a sheep experience. She looked out on the North pasture and saw sheep faces on the far side of the fence. She investigated and found a tree had fallen down and crushed the fence. She went on to say, the sheep came back in to the pasture and she was keeping them there, by giving them treats. I got up.

The North pasture is divided in two sections and we were able to get them in, the other half, and close the gate. But, I had to fix the fence soon, because the part of the pasture, they were now in, bordered the house and the painters were coming. We couldn't have the ram chasing the painters up their ladders.

Jamie thought the tree was too big to cut with my battery powered Makita saw. {I gave away my gas powered chain saw to a son}. I have had this saw for about a year, but I have used it, only, to try it out.

I ventured out with my saw and a staff for support [I had to transverse uneven ground. Would I be able to get this old carcass off the ground if I stumbled?] Anyway, I reached the spot where the tree collapsed the fence. It was big, but not as big as my imagination created from Jamie's description. I had it cut up and removed from the fence in a very short time. And, the fence, which is made of cattle panels, was not damaged, it sprang back up when the weight was removed. A satisfactory conclusion to a dire situation.

I had such success with my Makita, that I cut up the huge Weeping Willow branch that had blown down months ago. It had been weighing on my mind. I thought it was going to be a tough job requiring a lot of finesse and a ladder. It was hanging in such a way, that it looked like, it could spring back and knock one for a loop if not careful. I cut it up without a problem. A good experience with a new saw.

Saturday was a good day. The rest of the week was a little off. Have you had those days when your timing seems a little off? You interject comments at the wrong time? You misperceive how people are interpreting what you say? Ordinary communication seems to have more bumps and glitches? Well it has been like that, off and on, this last week. It seems to have passed.

Jamie just told me the Russians have learned to transmute elements using a biologic process. She is listening to broadcast originating in Geneva. If this proves to be authentic it is huge; Earth changing. I will share what I find out.

This world is way to crazy for me to comment on it. Especially the political scene. I think the recent tragedies, will serve to bring us together, rather than drive us further apart. One can see both forces operating. The consciousness of the people has risen to the point, where division can no longer be tolerated. We know love is the only solution.

Keep the faith. Keep shining your light. There is, a World of Love, beckoning through the fog.

Love and Peace, Gregg

A CONTRAST

Strange Morning. It was hot for the last few days and this Morning it is still chilly at 10:20. It is 68 F but it is drizzly and there is a cool breeze. We have been getting just enough rain to keep the brown spots from getting larger [lawn]. The corn in our area is still holding up, but won't through another hot spell without more rain. The area of out mini-drought is quite small. Folks a few miles to the North and South of us have had ample rain.

The house painters will probably resume their work tomorrow. I figure this paint job [house and garage] will cost between four and five thousand dollars. It caused me to reminisce about the first time we had our house painted. When we moved in, in 1975, the house was a pretty typical white farmhouse, badly faded and chalked. It hadn't been painted for about 25 years.

We began our sabbatical [dropped out] in 1977. I didn't intend to be poor. I thought I was spearheading an alternative mental health center. I was operating on faith and flimsy promises. But that is okay, as it launched us into some growing and rich experiences. We met several families who were into the homesteading movement. They were all, in various degrees, living off the land. There were not many, if any, that went as far as we did; no electricity, cooked and heated with wood, kerosene lanterns, hand pump on the well, outhouse out back, and no income, to speak of, to boot.

Although, we had no telephone, we seemed to be a magnet for all sorts of people interested in an alternative life style. We had, kind of, an ongoing group therapy program and most of the people we attracted were people looking to make sense, of their lives, and the universe, they found themselves in.

Two of the people, who were here frequently, decided to paint our house. I think it was in the early 80s. I think we were able to come up with the money for the paint. Although, I did not charge for therapy, some people paid me. These two people, one man and one woman [not a couple] were both experienced painters. We did not have running water or electricity, yet they were able to power wash the house with a gasoline powered pump. I had to pump water by hand, and pour it into the tub, that the gasoline driven pump drew from.

They painted the house beige, with two trim colors, ivory and red. They were very meticulous and did a marvelous job. The house was beautiful and they did it for love.

I don't know if I realized, at the time, the amazing contribution these folks made to our lives. They transformed a shabby, old farmhouse into a thing of beauty. And for no money!

In those days we had lived through the Sixties and there was a promise of a new way of life emerging on the Earth. Many people were uplifted and there was great spiritual renewal. I thought we were on the edge of a great change. People knew, that all they had to do was love each other, to bring peace and prosperity on Earth.

Then the Eighties came.

I was stunned, that the consciousness of the people, seemed to turn around and go back into uber-materialism. Actually, I don't know that any individual mind changed. The superficiality of the culture shifted back into deep craziness and folks who were other minded [valued love, peace and joy and living with the Earth] were submerged.

Those, who began to awaken, in the Sixties and Seventies, haven't forgotten and many, many have began to awaken since. Love cannot fail! We will step out into the Light.

Love and Peace, Gregg

DREAMING

It is a beautiful Morning following a stormy Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, we have only ¼ inch of rain in our gauge. There was thunder and lightening, but only a sprinkle. Our lawn is getting dry and the cornfields in the neighborhood are looking bad. They will need a substantial amount of rain in the next few days to save them. The last several storms have passed just to the South. One storm last week went both North and South; it split in the middle and left us high and dry. I love it when that happens in the Winter; not so much now.

Folks to the South of us received 2 to 4 inches of rain. Well, there is more rain forecast for tomorrow, maybe it will be our turn.

We are having our house painted. The painters took off yesterday and today because of the rain forecast. It is perfect painting weather today.

I wasn't going to blog today. I am not ready to return to my MWF schedule; perhaps in August. I have got a ton of things to do. We are hosting a wedding at the end of July and the yard and environs need a lot of work. There are tree branches down, from a previous rainless storm, and a huge branch that came down from our Weeping Willow, months ago, that I need to saw up. Things always work out.

I try to avoid the worst of the news. Did you ever think that the Main Stream News would be more bizarre than the SNL or other comedy news? Bizarre but not funny; it could be funny if you forget what it is.

We can dream, of what would happen, after the collapse of this painful corporate system. Returning to cottage industry is not going backward. It is going forward to the creative potential of the individual. We are all creators. How great it will be, to be free of corporate slavery and be free to function fully. Everybody has a valuable gift, to give, to the rest. We need to face up to how we have been made slaves by worshipping “the Whore of Babylon”. {excuse the biblical reference} We have been chasing after glitter for so long, money/status/power, that we have nearly forgotten what makes life worthwhile.

What if we could pursue what we loved most and were free to create, without worry of meeting our physical needs? We have been tricked into believing we have to slave to meet our survival needs. Not so! Not so at all!

We can create sustainable communities where everyone contributes and nobody slaves. We are the Creator! That needs to be emphasized! We create all the time. We can't help it. In recent times we have been creating a world for our corporate masters. A world for them to play in. We don't need to do that anymore.

Paradise exist! We just need to see it. The Earth is our loving Mother. We need to return her embrace.

So called 'free energy' was known by Tesla and several other folks. The universe is energy after all. Many discoveries have been suppressed that would give us all the energy we need to run a typical home. These inventions will emerge, as the grasp of corporate greed lessens. We don't need to destroy the environment to have a fulfilling life.

All we need to do is fall in love with ourselves. When we love ourselves, we love everybody. All negativity comes from fear. All low self esteem comes from the fear we are not good enough. Low self esteem always creates some kind of destruction.

We are marvelous, beautiful, beings of light. Let us remind ourselves of that several times a day. Let us create in the LIGHT and step into the Garden.

Love and Peace, Gregg

ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE

Good Morning! I will continue to tell stories from my life experiences, but I don't think I will discuss my academic experiences again. In order to give balance I would like to write about the positive features of my childhood. In the future I don't plan on focusing on autobiographical material; but, I will be intermeshing stories with other thoughts.

As I mentioned, my Mother was the oldest of nine children. She had her first child [my older brother] just 15 months after her Mother [Grandmother] gave birth to her ninth child. I was born 18 months after my brother, so you can see how the families blended together. We lived very close together and spent much time at either of our homes. The last four of my Mother's siblings were more like brothers and sisters. When we spoke of Aunts and Uncles we were usually referring to Great Aunts and Uncles.

We celebrated every birthday and holiday with the extended family. The family did not have to have much of an excuse to get together and celebrate.

Our Grandparent's home was a gathering place and on any given night their would be people visiting. My Mother's siblings gathered friends from around the world. My uncle visited Japan, he brought home Japanese friends; an aunt visited Trinidad and we had folks from Trinidad visiting. And so it went. I had a very rich childhood. The family loved to gather around the piano or the dining room table and sing folk songs. The family members were interested in many subjects; discussions were in depth and lively.

My Father and Mother loved camping and we spent at least a week every Summer on the North Shore of Lake Superior or some other enchanting place.

My Grandparents had cabin on a lake, not far from the city, and we spent much time there; swimming, boating, sailing and fishing.

So, my life was not just my strange academic experience. Like all families, my nuclear and extended family had their share of dysfunction, but in general I was fortunate. Oh, if I wanted to, I could fill pages, of examples, of hair raising dysfunction. Perhaps, that is true of many families.

I have been trying not to focus on the craziness of the world. I feel that if we are going to bring a change to the madness we need to focus on the love we see. What we focus on will be nurtured. What we focus on will grow. We need to look straight ahead and ignore the chaos around us. I don't mean ignore the people. We need to help where we can. The world's institutions are crumbling as expected, but it is in no way a bad thing. It won't be as bad as some people predict.

Is it time for people to come together and form sustaining communities? I think so. We need to raise our own food locally. We need to bring back cottage industry. Can you imagine a community having its own shoemakers, tailors, seamstresses, potters, leather workers, etc.? Why not? Some of our institutions need complete change; medicine, agriculture and education are examples. We need healing/learning centers to aid the transition.

We will be discussing this in coming weeks.

Have a great holiday weekend.

Love and Peace, Gregg