The first thing

There is something that is easily forgotten but is essential to a good life. That is  that life is central to our existence.
Well obviously! Yes, it's obvious; but how easily we can forget this as the days, weeks, months and years pass by.
What I'm saying is that we lose the significance of this obvious fact. What is this life? It is powered by life-force. And what is that, exactly?
I don't know. To begin with, knowing what it is is not important. To feel it comes first; and to be aware of it.
This is something that must be realised.
There is quite a difference between knowing and realising. We all know we're alive. Do we realise it? Realising is to make something real. Knowledge of the head is a good starting place. To be realised, that knowledge must also be in the heart and the gut. This may be why many magic rituals are performed three times. As a matter of interest and to back up what I am saying, the heart and gut both have complex neural networks which are not unlike the brain's. They may be primitive by comparison but are nonetheless essential.
This takes me away from my point,  however, which is this: no, I don't know what life-force is but I can feel it in every breath I take, every movement I make, in every thought and feeling I have, in the sunshine and the rain and the wind and the sensation of gravity. I call it magic and there's none that can prove it otherwise.
As children we are alive and unknowing. We play with life. Our societies have become life destroying (look at what we're doing to our beautiful Earth and its inhabitants, ourselves included) or at best life-manipulative. Manage this and that,  all very well; but in the end, will you have appreciated it, this precious life of yours? What was the point of your being alive if you die without knowing you were ever alive in the first place?
So many theories of psychology and biology and even philosophy and theology and magic; but the basic premise is too simple for the intellect: breathe, feel - with your gut, your heart and your head. Thinking is a powerful tool but it is still a tool, not the tool user. 

Outcomes Election 2013

So with the election all voted out and a new PM...despite the fact that it is Tony Abbott I still feel optimistic.
The pre-election polls predicted something of a bloodbath, which didn't happen;  and it is clear that the LNP alliance didn't so much win as Labor lost. The swing of around 4.5% does not show unequivocal support for our new government.
Tony Abbott had sworn to wipe out the Greens. Liberal preferences put Labor ahead of this most hated minor party. Yet Adam Bandt not only achieved the 4% increase in his primary vote required to save his seat; he increased it by 8%! The Greens may still also hold the balance of power in the Senate. And even if they don't win that extra seat, the grab-bag of other minor party and independent senators will not make the passing of dubious bills an easy thing.
Sure, there's still plenty of opportunity for damage. And no doubt the strategists of the LNP alliance will work to make a better position for the government; but it is not plain sailing.
I rather believe that the major parties also both over-estimate the concern and fear Australians have for refugees. They have tried to make "Stopping the boats" a primary election issue, hoping to use that the linchpin of the election. Apparently, they thought that kicking foreigners when they're down was a positive thing. I don't think that the majority of Australians agree.
Modern day polling techniques have also shown themselves to be woeful. The lazy method of having computers dial land lines missed large swathes of the population. After all, not everyone has land lines these days. So getting accurate information on voting intentions is currently out of the question.
This government is on notice even as it starts. As was the last. Something that this election has demonstrated to me is that Australia isn't that decided. The future isn't that clear cut.

The trouble with Australian politics. Warning! Government: Handle with care.

Am I biased against Australia's Liberal Party? Yes, I am. But it's with good reason. I'll get to it.

As the Federal Election draws closer, I am astounded at the bizarre turn that Australian politics has taken.

There is nothing new in politicians lying. As the joke goes, you know when they're lying because their lips are moving. There's nothing new about them blasting their opponents and talking up themselves. What is new and can surely have failed to go unnoticed by most people is the rabid ranting and shouting and the attitude of disrespect that until now had been a characteristic mainly of American politics. It is noteworthy that this kind of talk seems always to come from the right wing extreme.

They do this because they know their own policies are actually bad for the populace of the nation (hence they don't mention them to much). Abbott is striking out for the Bloke Vote, comments about the sex appeal of one of his candidates etc. And when he asks if Kevin Rudd won't shut up, it's because he's got nothing else to say himself.And it really bothers me that people can be manipulated this easily.

Well, I guess that's a result of our education system (right wing always hates education), the blithering rubbish that clogs up our TV screens, the Murdoch media which seems to have extended its control to those outlets it doesn't own, somehow, the rabid rantings of our poor billionaires who've suffered so much at the hands of the Labor government, and the willingness of the public to actually believe that the Liberal Party and their toadying lackeys the Nationals actually care about the nation or anything other than their own personal interests.

Come on people! Wake up!

Now I personally don't like Rudd. I think he is a clumsy fool with ego-issues. He started out well in the early days, but he's got no long-term range. I liked Gillard a lot better, because she was actually trying to do things to help the country. However, her stance on gay marriage and refugees was appalling. Still, at least she didn't try to deprive genuine refugees of the right to settle here.

But here's also the main difference between Gillard and Abbott (and Rudd). She was prepared to put her career on the line for the nation. Abbott, on the other hand, is prepared to put the nation on the line for his career.

Now, do you know what the major parties policies are? What they intend to do post-election? It is mainly a popularity contest, so policies aren't important. But just so you know, a vote for the Coalition is a vote for Rupert Murdoch, Gina Rinehart, and all the suffering filthy rich. Your job will be to pay their taxes for them. And a vote for Labor is a vote for...well, I don't know anymore.

I certainly think that the Greens are a reasonable alternative for placing you vote. You can choose your preference afterwards. I think that a hung parliament with minor parties holding the balance of power in the senate is ideal. It will force negotiation, bring differing perspectives to the table and be truer to what is supposed to be democracy. It will filter the worst elements of the major parties, thereby softening the blow of legislation.

Governments should be handled with caution - they can be dangerous if allowed to get out of control. And I think that the more someone wants power, the more they should not be allowed to have it.

Wonder Drug Banishes Fear

Documentary about a 'new' drug. It banishes fear, and more besides! It cures allergies, increases intelligence and stops smoking!!

Watch this documentary!

Harness the power - watch it large :D

You can take a lead into a new life by simply watching this!

Advertising

Let's put it bluntly - ADVERTISING SHITS ME.

By and large. Apparently advertising works, but I've yet to understand why. Well, I do kind of know - it pricks the subconscious of consumer minded people. They think that they have to buy something because the advert appeals to them. Quite often, adverts hardly mention the product. This way the message bypasses conscious thought and enters straight into the subconscious, where it can become part of a person's programming. At least, that's the theory as I understand it.

So people buy things that they don't need and spend money on the useless rather than the useful.

And I apparently am some kind of freak for not being sucked in by it all. Sure, I buy things, but I buy want I want, not something that I am told to want.

This makes me wonder what is going on in the minds of habitual consumers. Nothing that they are aware about, I imagine. So we end up with the 'Unconscious Civilisation', blindly following whatever crumbs are laid out for them. We end up with a Global Financial Crisis (the biggest farce since the Depression - after all, there's still the same amount of stuff about the place - more even. All bubbles will burst eventually. Yet, our resources are still the same as they always were.)

I seem to be getting sidetracked.

Advertising per se is not the problem for me. It's the mindless hype, the dumbing down, the sheer idiocy of how a product is going to make your life one of bliss. Give me a break! Our lives start with ourselves and flow out into the world and back again. Whatever you put into it should enhance, not distract.

And herein, I think, is the issue: a little escapism is one thing, but a lifestyle based on escapism is the path to ruin. And this is the lifestyle that advertising encourages. So while the prices of new gadgets comes down, the cost of living itself rises. Money is not a good gauge of cost because the actual energy required to import something from China is higher than something locally produced, even if the monetary cost isn't.

Sidetracked again.

We need a Conscious Civilisation. We need a world in which people do not use ideology or religion as an excuse for grabbing power, where we assist each other in producing a better place to live, where messed up instinctive drives do not rule the night on our streets, where we work together, where the individual has rights but so does the group.

God, all this from my distaste for advertising.

Advertising is designed to appeal to fear and greed. If we do not live in fear and do not feel greed, we are free. I think that is my point.

Here's a nice photo of a city park to end with, just because I like it.

How to make simple stone tools

This video from New Scientist shows a Bonobo, the gentler cousin of the Chimpanzee, making stone tools after the fashion that the earliest human ancestors would have done.

Watch this and take a peek into our own distant past!




Are we alone in the universe? I doubt it since we have company right here on Earth.

Japanese breakthrough makes wind power cheaper than nuclear

The International Clean Energy Analysis (ICEA) gateway estimates that the U.S. possesses 2.2 million km2 of high wind potential (Class 3-7 winds) — about 850,000 square miles of land that could yield high levels of wind energy. This makes the U.S. something of a Saudi Arabia for wind energy, ranked third in the world for total wind energy potential.

Read the rest of the article.

LAIBACH / OPUS DEI / LIFE IS LIFE

This is an epic, life-affirming song!! Mkes you want to affirm or die!

Petition to protect the Tarkine Rainforest

If you live in Australia, why not sign a petition to protect the Tarkine Rainforest from damage.

This is ancient remnant forest from the supercontinent Gondwana! It's safety should not be taken for granted!

THE WHITE SHARK KAYAK STORY

Interesting story here about people studying the Great White Sharks off South Africa.

As usual, the animal and the myth do not match - the sharks are far more interesting than that.

"Backyard Frog 1" by smallfox | RedBubble

"Backyard Frog 1" by smallfox | RedBubble:

Great Blue Heron Nest - Live

This Great Blue Heron nest is in a large, dead white oak in the middle of Sapsucker Woods pond, right outside the Cornell Lab's Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity. ...read more.

cornellherons on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Watch live!

Help the Cornell Lab of Ornithology create the best online birding information for you and others to enjoy. Donate to keep the cameras running.

Not entirely forgotten

No, I've not forgotten this blog. But I have wondered what I can usefully bring to it that wouldn't just be re-iterating everything that's been already going around.

Yes there are social issue that need dealing with. And there are people who want to control the world, control us and mash us underfoot and destroy nature. It's that simple. I don't understand their need to do so, but it comes from a frightened ego, one they've inherited down the family lines or picked up from somewhere. Trying to oppose force with force, though, becomes a little futile.

When inner change is achieved, I believe (and hope I'm not wrong) and I mean on a mass scale, those people will have no power over us.

What is required for inner change? Not religion, not ideology, not forcing others to accept our beliefs.

We need to accept ourselves.

We can follow a few basic rules:

be kindhearted to all life - including your own,


spend a little time each day being aware of your own inner experience of that moment and remember that everyone else, including animals and I suspect plants, are also having an inner experience in relation to their worlds,


love your life, no matter what shape it is in.

These rules are not ones to be obeyed, but a way of being that is simply a basis for a better world. They are not difficult and do not demand much. But with this little, something may be achieved.

Making good use of limited space

I saw this video some time ago and just came across it again.

This Hong Kong architect has transformed his small apartment into a transformer-home with 24 rooms.

You need to see this to believe it - brilliant!

World pays Ecuador not to extract oil from rainforest

An alliance of European local authorities, national governments, US film stars, Japanese shops, soft drink companies and Russian foundations have stepped in to prevent oil companies exploiting 900m barrels of crude oil from one of the world's most biologically rich tracts of land. 

This is BLOODY BRILLIANT! Read this article from The Guardian - a new step forwards.

Social Network for Protesters

Just wanted to put in this link: Replacement-Facebook for protesters...Social networking.

Click the photo or click here to read this article.

The Ascent of Money

This is a documentary called The Ascent of Money, about how money came to be king.

(It is the first in a series - for some reason I couldn't get the playlist to load this time.)

How did our lives come to be ruled by money. Until very, very recently, most people didn't worry too much about it, and of course, once, it didn't exist.

Given that we now live in a monetary world, and for so long as we do, I believe we should use it wisely, hopefully towards the end of eliminating it so that we can all live for the right reasons. Because money is a poor motivation for doing anything, in my opinion. And yet, the fact is that we have to virtually mortgage our souls in order to make ends meet: so I think it is high time we bought our souls back and did things for better reasons.

The greatest motivations must be for the well-being of all (and not just humans) and for the giving from oneself, to making that personal connection. Working together is a far greater reward than controlling the masses and bending them to your will.

I am pro-charity but I get very annoyed by the hard sell that some street donation collectors try to use (I'm sure they're on commissions, nowadays). I think it a shame that it has come to this, charity muggers resorting to base tactics presumably because they can't get what they need.

And I am not anti-wealth or the wealthy, but do not presume to rule over me and everyone else, to control thoughts and manipulate beliefs and impoverish the people, to degrade the environment, take and never give. Value the heart as well as the brain, and the earth and heaven, do not tell me who heaven belongs to (as if you knew) and realise: we're all in the same boat, our spaceship Earth.

Slave labor

In a humourous but nonetheless serious vein, Stephen Fry on QI talking about the prison situation in the U.S.

Touched by Gorillas

I saw this on Facebook and want to post this here as a reason why we need to care for all life on earth.

It would be utterly amazing to have such an experience! I get excited by having a little skink on my hand, so this would have blown me away - and I think that it had that effect.

Animal encounters are all precious, in my view. I want a world where this kind of thing can occur in a hundred years time. I want to hear the argument that can oppose that!

Century of the Self

This is the first video from a series called Century of the Self.

It shows how Freudian theory was used to manipulate the population into a consumer lifestyle, one of obedience, how the same techniques were employed by the Nazis (though not with the name of Freud in mind, one assumes) - well, it is very interesting.