One World Flag- blog

Illegitimi Non Carborundum

Sun, 30 Sep 2012 16:52:14 GMT

I always feel that taking on the moniker "atheist" or "agnostic" is most often a response/reaction to that last dickhead trying to shove his/her limited perception of "the mysteries" on one: this limiting of divinity and sacredness down to this person's feigned or actual certainty, perpetuated so often from a place of fear, lack, lack of imagination and/or a desperate clinging to what they hope "has to be", but which mystery they haven't truly tapped into or secured into their being beyond fleeting glimpses... and certainly not to the degree that an appreciation of the perfection of all-- seeing each in their divine right place, along their personally contracted journey-- has been instilled in the zealot.

If one can "feel into" gratitude, appreciation of beauty, calmness in nature, love of animals, play and so many other means of connection to "more", then I believe the concept of "G-d"-- as the idea of all and everything, from the humble place of understanding all we do not and cannot yet know... and how far there (joyously) is to go...

... from the place of each of us being bestowed our unique and valid piece, along our own journey of increasing appreciation...

... can be reclaimed.

Just as-- in their "Rattle and Hum" album, U2's Bono introduces the Beatles song "Helter Skelter" with (paraphrasing), "Charles Manson took this song from the world; we're here to give it back."

We know what the term represents-- as the Archetype of all possibility-- and yet we've allowed these hall monitors for God, these finger-pointers, to steal this concept, this word from us. And I feel it's time we take it back.

For It is a word, a concept.. and It is an experience. A personal experience-- of one's existence. And the intertwining between one and the Conscious Creative Force behind and permeating through the Universe... so many levels beyond where the hubris of those other zealots-- those champions of the scientific method conveniently sweeping their as-yet-unprovable underlying assumptions under the rug... is to be had in one's own manner... by one's own (hopefully expanding) definition, by whatever name one would invoke.

I just feel that something good has gotten tarnished through its getting lumped-in with a number of numbskulls... and the resulting disconnect has taken its toll on any who have thrown the baby out with the bathwater, more so than has occurred within the instigators. Echoes of the Buddha's caution-- "Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."

To the degree that one might feel some magic has been lost out of this shutdown to the notion of there being some method to the madness, and there being an ultimate Benevolence infusing this ride; as one additionally might have stuffed any resentment or disappointment-- anger at God-- out of the non-understanding of "why what happens... has to happen?"-- I can only console you with, "Table that for now. The jury is still out. We do not yet have all of the information," and encourage you with, "It all works out. In perfect timing we come into our understanding of our sacred contract to experience all we have known in this world of illusion... that everything happened/happens as it was/is supposed to... there is a gift/reward/opportunity within every challenge... truly nothing is lost... and you will come to the place of not wishing for anything to have been different."

Beyond any impression that these are just words, I urge you to feel into the possibility that such esoteric wisdom has been uttered or recorded in the mystery schools of every tradition through all time. From such a perspective one gains her wisdom, hones his character, increases their compassion. From within the swirl of such thoughts we reclaim sacred space everywhere we walk; discover the Philosopher's Stone; go as deeply down the rabbit-hole as we choose; awaken distant memory; begin our journey Home; and truly begin to enjoy the ride.

Surely now-- we cannot be present at the birth of a baby... and honestly believe this is a random, sterile combination of atoms over time that brings us to this moment? Nowhere can you honestly tell me that there is a limit to the appreciation possible, or understanding available, in a meditation on just one blade of grass or falling leaf... much less an entire field or forest? Is it even possible, in distilling every -thing and -one in this world down to mere name or finite definition-- thus ending the inquiry-- to not be in touch with deep inner sadness for all of the wonder, awe and possibility lost there?

Any place we have shut down, is available to be re-opened. Any line of inquiry may be renewed. Any passion we have allowed to wither may be reignited. All such stifling by way of these "little deaths" can be re-animated. By way of such rememberings we regain our center, such that that next misguided one looking to shove their limited view down our throat, need not throw us off our game.

Here we need only direct our appreciation muscle momentarily toward him, know that he too is exactly where he needs to be, give gratitude for another lesson learned-- be it how "to be" or how "not to be", and stroll merrily along... having not let the bastards get us down.

Thoughts on Censorship Inspired by Egyptian revolt and Ginsberg's "Howl"

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 04:40:57 GMT

Events like the current revolt in Egypt-- with its government's initial censorship and attempt to close-off avenues of communication by "the opposition" (although how "the people" become "the opposition" to those chosen (or not) to represent them is always beyond me)-- seem to offer the sides of other governments and other oppositions the opportunity to strategize end-arounds and think-ahead on how to avoid pitfalls toward victory in their own future skirmishes.

A recent viewing of the 2010 film "Howl", focusing on the obscenity trial of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, publisher of Allen Ginsberg's famed poem, offers some insight on censorship of its own.

I put it to you that substitution of the word or concept of "freedom" being on trial here, anywhere "obscenity" or "censorship" appears in the following, might put a more immediate spin on this depiction of continual attempts to limit God-given rights, additionally delineated in the 1st and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

"Every word in this film was spoken by the actual people portrayed," reads a card prior to the film's opening.

Cutting to the quick, I offer up some of the closing remarks, summarizing this landmark censorship/obscenity case; those of Jake Ehrlich (as portrayed by Jon Hamm), Judge Clayton Horn (Bob Balaban) and Allen Ginsberg (James Franco). These are followed with links to websites where portions of the actual court transcript may be found. It is clear that while the dialogue lifted from the film is accurate to that read in the transcript, at points it is condensed, and certain additional passages have been removed for the sake of brevity and/or effect.

(Ginsberg defense attorney, also, according to Wikipedia, said to be the model for television's Perry Mason) Jake Ehrlich:

"The United States Supreme Court has said that obscenity is construed to mean having a substantial tendency to corrupt by arousing lustful desires. Is the word relevant to what the author is trying to say, or did he just use it to be dirty and filthy."...

"There are books that have the power to change men's minds, and call attention to situations that are visible, but unseen. Now whether "Howl" is or is not obscene is of little importance, to our world, faced as it is with physical survival. But the problem of what is legally permissible, in the description of sexual acts or feelings in arts and literature is of the greatest importance to a free society.

What is prurient? And to whom? The material so described is dangerous to some unspecified susceptible reader. It is interesting that the person applying such standards of censorship rarely feels as if their own physical or moral health is in jeopardy. The desire to censor is not limited to crackpots and bigots; there is in most of us a desire to make the world conform to our own views. And it takes all of the force of our own reason, as well as our legal institutions to defy so human an urge.

The battle of censorship will not be finally settled by your honor's decision, but you will either add to liberal educated thinking, or by your decision you will add fuel to the fire of ignorance. Let there by light. Let there be honesty. Let there be no running form non-existent destroyers of morals. Let there be honest understanding."

Judge Clayton Horn:

"In considering material claimed to be obscene it is well to remember the motto -- honi soit qui mal y pense --'Evil to him, who evil thinks.'"

(from the transcript) "Therefore, I conclude the book "Howl and Other Poems" does have some redeeming social importance, and I find the book is not obscene.

The defendant is found not guilty."

Allen Ginsberg:

"The poem is misinterpreted as a promotion of homosexuality. Actually it's more like promotion of... frankness... about any subject... When a few people are frank about homosexuality in public it breaks the ice, and then people are free to be frank about anything. And that's socially useful.

Homosexuality is a condition. And because it alienated me or set me apart from the beginning, it served as a catalyst for self-examination. Or detailed realization of my environment, and the reasons why everyone else is different. And why I am different."

For more from the official court transcript and/or by other accounts:

Transcript Link 1

Transcript Link 2

And so it seems the ongoing historical tug-of-war-- between those fighting to limit the expressions of others and those fighting for the free expression of all-- continues.

For my part-- it is all God, all part of the Oneness, all what makes a horse race, and if I don't like it, I can exercise my right to steer away from "it"... whatever "it" is... so long as "it" is taken on by the consenting (and where appropriate and necessary, adults), without being perpetuated on the unwilling or unsuspecting.

It is my sincere heartfelt wish that that those buttinski's in the world and their legacy of control, manipulation, oppression... which they attempt to justify and rationalize under so many banners, credos, traditions... and especially under severely limited interpretations and the hubris of determining for others what "divine will" might be... finally, for once and for all, accord others the same degree of freedom of expressionthey demand for themselves.

I end with Ginsberg own manifesto of the holiness of all things, excerpted from "Howl and Other Poems".

"Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy! Holy!

The world is holy! The soul is holy! The skin is holy!

The nose is holy! The tongue and cock and hand and asshole holy!

Everything is holy! everybody's holy! everywhere is holy! everyday is in eternity!

Everyman's an angel!

The bum's as holy as the seraphim! the madman is holy as you my soul are holy!

The typewriter is holy the poem is holy the voice is holy

the hearers are holy the ecstasy is holy!

Holy Peter holy Allen holy Solomon holy Lucien holy Kerouac

holy Huncke holy Burroughs holy Cassady

holy the unknown buggered and suffering beggars

holy the hideous human angels!

Holy my mother in the insane asylum!

Holy the cocks of the grandfathers of Kansas!

Holy the groaning saxophone! Holy the bop apocalypse!

Holy the jazzbands marijuana hipsters peace & junk & drums!

Holy the solitudes of skyscrapers and pavements!

Holy the cafeterias filled with the millions!

Holy the mysterious rivers of tears under the streets!

Holy the lone juggernaut! Holy the vast lamb of the middle class!

Holy the crazy shepherds of rebellion!

Who digs Los Angeles IS Los Angeles!

Holy New York Holy San Francisco Holy Peoria & Seattle

Holy Paris Holy Tangiers Holy Moscow Holy Istanbul!

Holy time in eternity holy eternity in time

holy the clocks in space

holy the fourth dimension holy the fifth

International holy the Angel in Moloch!

Holy the sea holy the desert holy the railroad holy the locomotive

holy the visions holy the hallucinations

holy the miracles holy the eyeball holy the abyss!

Holy forgiveness! mercy! charity! faith!

Holy! Ours! bodies! suffering! magnanimity!

Holy the supernatural extra brilliant intelligent kindness of the soul!"

David Bartholomew

originator-- The One World Flag-- an international symbol of diversity

"Honoring the Talents, Abilities and Uniqueness in Each of Us, as Strengths that can Benefit All of Us."

"... because we have more in common as a world, than we have differences between nations."

www.oneworldflag.org

Everyone is Allowed… One: a Rant for Those Who Missed the Point of 9/11

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 07:27:41 GMT

[In attempts to provide a fair and balanced side to this eternally optimistic warehouse of writings, I take my first opportunity to really Rant! as the anniversary of 9/11 looms in the air, the heads of at least half of us continue to be stuck in the sand (or somewhere else where the sun doesnt shine), we still consent to the ridiculous practice of having drinking water taken away from us at the airport in the name of national security and more. Consider this the equivalent of the old practice of taking your car out on the highway once in a while, punching it and really clearing/blowing out the carbeurator of all its caked-on gook. Upon completion of this we will return you to your regularly scheduled smiling "Cheerleader for Humanity"]

The approach to the anniversary of 9/11 is the time of year when, for the last eight years, people have traditionally stumbled upon the One World Flag, in the seeking out of a bigger flag to fly; that is-- some tangible representation of that higher ideal they embrace which, sadly, doesnt seem to have yet taken hold in the majority.

The most impassioned heart-testimonials arrive from those brave enough to continue to entrain to this larger idea-- of the possibility within us all-- rather than get sucked back down to the lower vibration contracted unto by those who would give away their discernment and personal power, and those who gladly continue to take and use that. These higher-minded compassionate beings are the truly embattled and discriminated minority, more in alignment with the persecuted, right-minded indigenous ones throughout the history of the world, than their Taker oppressors (as defined by Daniel Quinn in his Ishamel-- please read it).

The reality of what is; the neverending wars with unseen enemies toward undefined objectives; the constant barefoot reminders of the color-coded need to fear the faceless other, relinquish all drinking water and any shampoo or lotion in excess of 3 fluid ounces, and continue to give personal power away to the benevolent institutional/ corporate/presidential/religious father figures of the day is as lost on us
more >

Our Work Here in this Life... is to Be Happy.

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:26:31 GMT

That's not some hackneyed clich' that just wants to roll off the tongue because I don't have any real thought to add. It is my core belief, instilled in me in a perfect moment on a swingset as a kid (and probably much before that), and honed in 48 years of personal work on the planet. This is basically the ingrained knowledge I came in to share, and its time to be expressed seems to be now.

There is a balance to what I will say here, but I will swing the pendulum far enough beyond center, to the side opposite and of a measure equal to countering the doom-and-gloom that well-meaning "cause people" have swung it to the other.

I love cause people. I have been and continue to be one. But I feel a reframing of our outlook has been in order for quite a while. So here goes.

All of this is Illusion. All of it is material we have co-created, along with Spirit to work with, in order to learn all the lessons we signed on for... most of which can be boiled down to... Our Work Here in this Life... is to Be Happy.

Yes we know we care. No we don't want the Earth to be trashed, species to be rendered extinct, people not honored fully for who they are, treated fairly, etc. No, I am not saying, "Stop the good work you are doing."

But I am saying-- if you continue to do this good work, and the things that good people do-- do it from perhaps a different perspective, that can be developed out of the following questions:

Do you trust God/dess, the Creative force of the Universe, so little... to think that all is not handled?
Do you think there is no Sacred Witness watching over others, such as has watched over you-- patiently holding the space for each of us to choose and act rightly in any given situation... working ourselves toward choosing rightly (my definition: choosing the thought or act that holds the most Light, highest Vibration, etc., as we all know deeply within ourselves how that looks and feels)?
Do you think that any well-intended word or action on anyone's part... could have caused us to act, think or choose differently... prior to our time of being ready to do so?
If we can pull back and truly witness Life as this Matrix or Star Trek Next Generation Holodeck or Stage Play or Virtual Reality Video Game, where the entirety of the experience is fabricated out of nothingness, and simply part of the program we choose to run each time out-- consenting to playing our part in this virtual creation... can't we then reframe some of our angst and urgency that all is not as it should be? more >

See the Thing That Needs to Be Done (including-- Managing the Size of Your But)

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:16:37 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIt!, May, 2007]

I get together with a bunch of friends for some regular hyjinx, and each time, in order to divide the labor, we choose captains to setup and cleanup the space, bring or replenish certain items, etc.

Taking turns is, theoretically, a good way to have everyone do his or her fair share; but I have noticed something. It seems that a select few help out each time, regardless of whether their name is on a list for a particular task and others do the bare minimum, up to and including-- getting in the way and slowing things down for the assigned taskers, and perhaps even squirreling out of those times that their name is up.

In this case I happen to have been one who tries to show up early and stay late whenever possible, out of gratitude for what I receive from these get-togethers. I realize I am able to do this kind of thing. It is suited to my strengths. And I acknowledge that others might make up for their part in other ways more suitable to them.

But (here is another sizeable but and I strive to exercise control of, and manage and decrease the size of my but, to the degree possible)... once in a while a lightning fast flash of judgment bolts across my mind as I am sweeping or whatever: Why does so-and-so need to have his/her name on a list in order to do something?

I handle my but by reminding myself that if I am not doing this task in joy, maybe I ought not be doing it. Maybe I should reframe that thought before it morphs into resentment. Maybe I ought to pay attention to what I am doing. Maybe I ought to mind my beeswax!

That I do, to the best of my ability.

Aannnnd in noting how I admire others who are always showing up and in being with some relatively newfound pride in accepting that I am becoming one of those people who shows up pretty consistently as well

I wish to enter into the minutes of this meeting of minds the question What would it look like if we all stepped up to such a degree? What might things be like if we all saw the thing that needed to be done and did it? more >

On Humility: Smaller and Dumber… and Very OK With It

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:04:37 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIt!, April, 2007]

I have been finding myself feeling much smaller and aware of being way more ignorant each passing day, and that it feels swell, and freeing, to be in the midst of this.

No, this is not some masochistic tendency aimed at satisfying self-loathing on a large, Freudian scale; rather, it feels like I have stumbled on a precise way to regain a sense of marveling at the creative force, its process and we as examples of that which has been created. It feels like a discipline that can bring us back around the wheel from the jaded, show me people we have become (and there is even a whole state reserved for a certain breed of em), to the wide-eyed child discoverers we once were.

In my meditations and prayers I continue to ask to be humbled; to know humility; to be shown how wondrous any given bit of creation is and can be; to be broken down from the sense of being a know-it-all and being built back up, re-membered, into a being capable of infinitely more gratitude and awareness, with more questions than answers.

I have done this since a kid. Where others wished for ponies, Barbies, G.I. Joes this is the sort of thing I asked and prayed for, having come into this world seemingly aware of a few pieces of the puzzle being out of place.

Over time I had come to realize how we worked ourselves, over time, into this spot of managing our world by this elaborate naming and filing system that stripped awe and astonishment from the equation, and decided I wanted it back.

This is the path that has brought me back into the mystery and magic of the world; back to the idea of my universe as a living, growing organism; back to chewing and gnawing on words like awe and wonder, magnificence, beauty and many more out there on the high, extreme ends of human experience. more >

40 Days in the Desert

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:54:56 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIt!, April, 2007]

As winter is yielding to spring I bear witness that a number of people in my sphere, myself included, seem to be somewhere in the middle of a bout of 40 days in the desert, a visionquest, a sundance whatever equivalent of a time of immense purification and cleansing of all resistance standing between one and their deeper connection to their peace in the world. The committed ones really seem to be laying themselves bare, and having every unnecessary, unwanted thought and bit of resistance stripped from them. The hounds are barking, whispers of doubt are swirling. A time of being tested seems to be at hand, and somehow at a level of intensity beyond the curve of what we have becoming used to of-late.

In a more unspoken way than sometimes occurs with Harmonic Convergences and various significant alignments of the stars, it feels like an opening is present that is allowing much interior movement and change for the positive albeit the kind that is stretching those standing in the fire to their max. No one has put a name on this time of trial and reward that I have yet seen or heard. And I feel it might offer a bit of relief to those going through their particular distress to know that there are a lot of us in this space wrestling right alongside of you. We truly are in it together.

All I have witnessed are bearing up admirably. And immense grace seems to be the soup du jour. more >

Taking The Wheel of Life Out For a Spin

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:47:59 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIt!, March, 2007]

Life, so they say, is just a game,

and we let it slip away

~~ We May Never Pass This Way Again,

by Seals & Crofts

Having come, by a truly awe-inspiring and humbling set of circumstances, to a greater awakening of devotion

-- to the Earth; to gifts that have constantly, consistently and continually been bestowed upon me; to recognition and increased respect for the commitment of the seeker within myself and those I have come to witness in their myriad individual reflections of such back to me; to the Creative Force by all names

-- it seems I am now being bombarded with snippets and nuggets and moments everywhere I turn; each, one more bit of proof that more is moving toward the positive in this world than we sometimes dare to believe and certainly more than is reported to us.

I feel something is awakening in me that will result in increased words and pictures, stories, documentation that hope to be increasingly effective in mirroring back to you the divinity and perfection within you, others, our world and beyond. I hope that you are achieving your own awakenings each day and feel that you are.

The remembering of who we are and can be is available through limitless means.

As I am writing this I am allowing an amazing documentary to wash over me Wheel of Time by Werner Herzog. more >

What’s Working: Creator of Moments

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:35:36 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIt!, February, 2007]

I consider myself a Creator of Moments one who throws out a pinch of magic dust into an everyday situation a conversational tidbit, a zig where one would normally zag, a fat pitch of a comedic straight-line a real zinger tossed right over the sweet spot, dead over home plate for someone else to hit out of the park. My job description here is to create opportunities for us all to transcend the ordinary, ho-hum, hum-drum, mundane, same-o-same and be the better for it.

There is no accredited training program for this. One must become a journeyman and test it out on the journey, man.

As a Creator of Moments I have been pleased to see that I must descend from a line of them as I am witnessing the work of my brethren and sisters (sistern?) shaking it up all over the place.

In a run of work out West of-late I have stayed on-occasion in currently-under-construction Topanga Canyon. This windy road has been being repaved section by section, curve by curve, to the consternation of many, for a reasonably long time.

In the opposing corner, however, has been this saint of a fluorescent safety-vest wearing, road crew goddess who has blessed, and wished good and great days, and smiled a cloud-clearing smile and waved happily at everyone who has driven past her.
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A Blank Slate

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:28:59 GMT

[excerpted from DoingIT!, January, 2007]

Your consciousness slowly, hazily, fades up from black stirred back from somewhere by a gentle rocking and the click-clack along the track of a well-worn New York subway car methodically easing its way toward Coney Island. Gradually the strobing effect of abstract light and shadows outside the window re-member themselves into recognizable images. Sort of. Your cheek is cool, and sticks slightly as you wrest it away from the window amidst coming to an odd revelation.

You dont know where or who you are. It is only days later that you find out your name is Douglas, and after coming to the realization that complete amnesia is not-- along with evil twins and car chases ending in toppled produce cartsperhaps the realm of latenight suspense movies alone. This is not a dream. You have just awakened from the fugue state.

Thanks to a Netflix referral (those who liked such-and-such, also liked ______) I got turned onto an amazing documentary on the recent life of Douglas Bruce, as directed by a former/current, old life/new life friend of his, Rupert Murray. Unknown White Male (2005) purports to be a recounting of the true events of Bruces life since awaking on said subway in 2003. Some Googling on this also stirred up some potential conspiracy theory on the authenticity of all this. And it remains for the viewer to decide on which side of the cloudy shower curtain of this authenticity/hoaxissue they stand.

I can only say, this film was done extremely well-- in either case, and inspired incredible directions of thought-- in either case. Set against a backdrop of many of us assessing a year drawing to a close and another promising to tick into being, my timely viewing of Unknown White Male has delivered us a white rabbit which taunts us to follow by asking, If you lost your past, would you want it back? more >