Early Spring Cleaning: Decluttering Music

Since I can practically listen to anything I want to online, its been a long time since I've purchased new music, but I have managed to collect about 100 CD's since the nineties. A lot of classic rock, just about everything from Pink Floyd, Santana, Hendrix, some 80's rock, new wave, and some World Music and Jazz.

I hardly listen to any of it anymore. And am particularly turned off to classic rock now. Its just annoying, gives me a headache. I'm thinking about getting rid of most of it, maybe even selling my stereo system, which takes up too much space and uses too much energy. Though I would break my mothers heart if I sold all my Pink Floyd CD's. So I'll probably have to give them to her, because I think she only has them on Cassette Tapes (remember those) and albums.

The Santana is iffy. I may regret selling it, so I'll have to just hold on to it a bit longer, even though I rarely listen to it. But the Doors, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Zepplin, U2, and the Cure must go! I mean it. No looking back. I love the Cure, but listening to it just makes me feel sad. Same with Sade, but am not ready to get rid of that one yet.

I'm moving away from rock and roll, and most popular music for that matter. I prefer instrumental, music that inspires me, relaxes me, and puts me in a positive frame of mind. I want to hear harmony, not something that gives me a headache. No more noise.

Actually I really enjoy just sitting outside and listening to the birds. I find that really peaceful and relaxing. I find great comfort in listening to the sounds of nature, and absolutely abhor the sound of traffic, leaf blowers, and most of the crap they call music these days that made it to the Grammy's this year.

The best I have that I'll probably keep are some of my ambient world music and acid jazz. The best: Kitaro, Michael Stearns, Steve Roach, Dead Can Dance, Pharoah Sanders, and Alice Coltrane.

One CD I recently found that I hadn't listened to in almost a decade, and almost mistakenly sold, turned out to be a real gem: The Lost World by Michael Stearns. I've been listening to it repeatedly these past few days, and puts me in a very relaxed meditative state of mind.

The Lost World was named after the book of the same name by Arthur Conan Doyle. Musical composer Micheal Stearns journeyed down to the Venezuelan rain forests, to the area that was supposed to be the inspiration for that book. And The Lost World CD was inspired by the sights and sounds, and stories he heard, exploring the lost world of Venezuela.

Micheal Stearns also did the soundtrack to the excellent documentary film Baraka. Which is really worth seeing if you haven't already.

And this is what I'm listening to right now:


The Soundtrack to the film The Last Temptation of Christ.

Crimson Sunrise Chakra Headers

In case anyone was wondering my header picture was taken from a free wordpress theme called Crimson Sunrise. Therefore the picture is not my property, but is in the public domain for anyone to use.

As an alternative to the original melancholy gray, I thought it would be interesting to create some different color options, in this case, patterned after the seven colors associated with the seven Chakras. Feel free to use whatever you like. Just download the picture you want and upload it to your own site.

(7) Violet * The Crown

(6) Indigo * The Third Eye

(5) Blue * The Throat

(4) Green * The Heart

(3) Yellow * The Solar Plexus

(2) Orange * The Sacral

(1) Red * The Base

The Most Beautiful Sky Is Royal Blue

The most beautiful sky is royal blue,
in daytime hours its deepest hue,
glows bright and luminous,
a reflection of our mind,
unencumbered by hardship,
anxiety, or time. Aided by sunshine and the absence of rain, the cosmic vibrations reach down to our plane,uplifting our spirits and inspiring our minds,reconnecting our hearts to the sacred and divine,the wisdom of the stars and the mysteries of the ages, realigning our minds with the great cosmic sages.

A Short Meditation on Walking Barefoot

I recently linked in the sidebar to an ebook about barefoot hiking, and I would like to discuss my thoughts on the matter.

First off I should mention that I live in southern Arizona in the Sonoran desert. And though I do enjoy walking barefoot indoors around the house, and outdoors in my yard, I never walk barefoot in the open desert. There are just too many hazards: cactus thorns, fire ants, poisonous spiders, scorpions, venomous reptiles and snakes, not to mention that the ground is often burning hot from the high intensity of the sun most months of the year. So I'm currently not a barefoot hiker, as I really don't think barefoot hiking is suitable for this particular region that I live in. Though I suppose it would be possible in other climates, like I hear New Zealand is great for barefoot hiking, and if I ever make it there I'll be sure to try it out.

That being said, even though I'm not a barefoot hiker, I do agree that there are numerous benefits of going barefoot. And I do try to go barefoot as often as possible, otherwise I wear sandals many months out of the year, which is the next best thing to going barefoot.

One of the main benefits of walking barefoot, besides massaging your feet, is that it puts you in direct connection with the earth you are walking on. You feel the contours of the earth with each step and each vibration, and because there is nothing separating you from the earth, its a direct unbroken connection. The primary benefit of this connection is that it strengthens and deepens your level of awareness. When you wear shoes the connection is still there, but its not as strong, its vibration is muffled by all the cushioning and other materials of the shoe. When you walk in shoes, you feel more of the shoe, and less of the earth you are walking on.

I wouldn't recommend walking barefoot all the time, though you're welcome to try it if you want to, but I do recommend it in short bursts, as a sort of moving walking meditation, an exercise in being mindfully present, and integrated with your surroundings through the tactile connection of your feet in motion with the earth you are standing on.

Because your feet are exposed, with very little protection, walking barefoot requires you to be extra alert to the ground your walking on and of the space you are walking through. Otherwise the moment your attention drifts away from your feet and the motion of your gait, is the moment you risk stepping into a hazard that could cause injury. So walking barefoot requires even more careful attention to your surroundings, then when your feet are protected by enclosed shoes, forcing you to feel each step, to walk very lightly, gracefully, and swiftly on your feet, moving fluidly over the earth, with the least amount of resistance, like water or wind.

Painting: Departure of a Winged Ship

 

Departure of a Winged Ship, by Vladimir Kush

Lessons From Centenarians: Ingredients For Living Beyond 100

I recently finished reading The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner.

This book documents the author's around-the-world search for the longest living people, which brought him to four longevity hot spots, places where there are a higher percentage of centenarians, people over the age of 100, living in a closer proximity to one another then can be found anywhere else in the world.

These four longevity hot spots are:

1. Sardinia, Italy. The mountainous bargagia dwelling people on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy.
2. Okinawa, Japan. The indigenous island dwellers of Okinawa, Japan.
3. Loma Linda, California. The Christian Seven Day Adventists community in Loma Linda, California.
4. Costa Rica. The indigenous Nicoya of Costa Rica in Central America.

What did all of these centenarians have in common? What common ingredients did they share that may have contributed to their long and healthy life?

In a nutshell the most common ingredients for longevity shared by the centenarians profiled were:

• A lifetime of regular low impact physical activity
• low calorie, nutrient dense, unprocessed meals, with minimal meat
  
• simple back to the land, low stress, slow paced lifestyle
• relatively clean environment, with minimal exposure to industrial pollution, or other man-made environmental toxins
  
• mild weather climate, with an abundance of fresh air and sunshine
• a close network of family, friends, and community
• a community based on shared spiritual values
  
• happiness and contentedness, frequent smiles and laughter
• a strong sense of meaning and purpose to their lives

All but the most modern city dwellers of Loma Linda California, lived what you could call rural peasant lifestyles, living somewhat primitively, close to the land, with minimal modern technological conveniences or distractions.

All lived simple relaxed paced low stress lifestyles, were close with their families, had many friends, had a strong sense of cultural cohesion, and shared community values based on a common spirituality and culture.

All were happy, content, had a good sense of humor, smiling and laughing often, having a sense of purpose to their lives, and a reason to get out of bed in the morning and continue living.

The physical activity favored by all, were low impact exercises having utilitarian value, especially walking for transportation, housework, gardening, landscaping, chopping wood, tending to animals, carrying groceries, etc. In other words, exercise was not something that was done just for the sake of exercising, it was not seen as being something separate from the daily activities of their lives, but was integrated into their daily patterns of work, transportation, and play.

All were fit, had strength and endurance, but none were super athletes, none were big muscle men, or marathon runners. They looked like average people, more like a slim tai chi practitioner, than a triathlete, or a body builder.

The idea was that low impact exercises, like walking, gardening, and carrying groceries, were more beneficial and more likely to promote longevity then high impact workouts, that wear your body down over time. Light weight lifting is okay, but huge muscleman body building work-outs may actually be self-defeating in the long run. Perhaps the same could be said about marathon running, which may be a great cardiovascular exercise, but its hard on your joints, and over time can ruin them. So regular walking may actually be more conducive to promoting longevity than running.

Most were primarily vegetarian, or if they did eat meat, if was lean cut, eaten minimally, perhaps only once or twice a weak, or reserved for special occasions. All ate low calorie nutrient dense meals containing whole grains,  legumes, or tofu, fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, and except for the seven day Adventists in Loma Linda California, most drank some alcohol with meals. The heaviest drinkers were the Sardinians, who primarily drank red wine, in copious amounts.

And no processed foods at all were consumed. Everything was fresh and in its whole unprocessed state, organically grown, often grown themselves in their own gardens, with no artificial additives or preservatives.

Another thing these centenarians had in common, beyond their longevity, was that they were all in pretty good health, many appearing to be 20 to 30 years younger than there actual age.

All stayed active, and many continued working well into their nineties, and in some cases even into their hundreds. And those who continued working well into old age, enjoyed what they did, they enjoyed their lives, and their livelihood, and it was perhaps their work that imbued their lives with its greatest meaning and pleasure.

So diet, environment, genetics, and frame of mind, certainly played a large role in contributing to their longevity, but the most noteworthy factor, in my opinion, that all shared without fail, seemed to be a lifetime of regular low impact exercise.

You've got to keep moving, keep your blood flowing, your bones strong, your body strong, flexible, and on the move. You can either use it or lose it, but just don't overuse it. Pace yourself, go slow and steady. What do you think you're in a race? Are you in a hurry or something? Eager to die? Because the faster you run, the faster you move through life, might just bring you closer to that final finish line then you think.

So slow down a bit and enjoy the view, because the slower you cruise, the better the view, and the longer it will last.

Painting: Metamorphosis of Narcissus

Metamorphosis of Narcissus, (1937) Salvador Dalí

We're All Cousins Here

I recently made a mention on my other blog, which not everybody here reads, that I would like all of you, who for the most part are strangers, to consider me as being your adopted cousin.

I'm totally serious about that, and am attempting to implement that frame of mind in real life, in my daily face to face interactions with strangers:
to see everyone as being an extended member of my family, as being an adopted cousin.

Though it's going to be a bit tricky for me to do this with different races, but we'll see, considering it's seeing people as your "adopted" cousin, rather then as a biological cousin, I think that makes all the difference.

I find that much easier to digest then seeing everyone as being my brother or sister, since brothers and sisters usually have the same parents, usually grew up together, and usually know each other very well. Whereas for cousins, that often times is not the case.

Cousins usually have different parents, are in different age groups, may have been raised in or live in different cities, often having a totally different background, lifestyle, upbringing, and beliefs. And you may hardly ever see them, or even know them all very well, but they're still your cousins, and even if you aren't very close, are still considered members of your family.

So I'm going to try to see everyone as being my adopted cousin, and would like everyone who reads this to feel free to view me in the same way.

Cousins come in all shapes and forms. Good and bad. Interesting and boring. Annoying and uplifting. I have no brothers or sisters, but I do have a lot of cousins. And just counting my first cousins alone, I have 16 cousins, ranging in age from 15 to 45. My youngest cousin is a freshman in high school, my oldest cousin has children in college. Some of these cousins I grew up with, and know very well, others I barely know at all. But still they are my cousins, representing a very eclectic set of personalities, lifestyles, and beliefs, and the very same could be said for my other relatives.

They are rich and poor, very educated and barely educated, liberals, conservatives, republicans, democrats, religious, not religious, sexists, radical feminists, anti-abortionists, pro-choice activists, some are white supremacists, some in interracial relationships, vegetarians, hunters, military veterans, pacifists, convicted criminals, upholders of law and order, drug users, anti-drug crusaders, evolutionists, creationists, survivalists, artists, musicians, mechanics, backwoods rednecks, and big city intellectuals.

So its a very eclectic group of people, and not surprisingly, they are not all friends. But whether we have anything in common or not, we are all family, and that brings us closer together then if we were complete strangers.

My parents are extremely different, opposites in every way imaginable. My dad's a meat eating hunter with a lifetime membership in the NRA, my mom has been a vegetarian for 30 years, and a pacifist who becomes emotionally distraught if she accidentally steps on and kills an ant.

I don't cry over the death of an ant, but I do go out of my way to watch where I walk and step lightly, and will save the life of an animal or insect if I can do so without being injured in the process. I just don't believe in needless or senseless killing. If it needs to be done, do it, but unless its for survival reasons, I consider unnecessary killing to be a tragic waste, even if its "just" a bug.

We sometimes get cockroaches in the house, and its not a dump either, but there everywhere. There are a lot of cockroaches in Tucson. I don't really mind them though. I've learned that they are totally harmless. But they do love beer, and they will steal a drink from your beer if they get the chance. So best not leave your drink unattended if there are cockroaches around, because it may just decide to go for a swim in your bottle.

I've never killed a cockroach in my life, and don't ever plan on doing so. I just catch them in a box and put them outside. I go out of my way not to kill, but if it must be done, I'll do it, but only if its the last and only resort.

So I've inherited my moms compassion for animals, and my dads strength of resolve to do what needs to be done even when it is unpleasant.

I see it as a positive thing that my family is eclectic, that I have been able to learn from peoples differences, to find the good in people that I may not agree with or who may not agree with me, that I can make friends with people who may otherwise be my enemy, if not for the fact that we are family.

So from now on, we're all cousins here. We may not always get along, we may not always like each other, agree with each other, or understand each other, but we're cousins here, and it is that which brings us together.

This will be a good experiment to try, to look upon a total stranger as being your long lost cousin, who you are now meeting for the first time today. What will you say? How will you act? Will the fact that you are now cousins change the way you interact with each other? Will it bring you closer together, farther apart, or make no difference at all?

In any case it's an interesting experiment to try, and I don't see any harm coming out of it. I guess the worst thing that could happen is when you meet up with that extremely annoying cousin, that is driving you up the wall, but who you just can't seem to get rid of because of the fact that they are your cousin!

Snow in Tucson's Catalina Mountains

We had some very unusual weather this weekend, the first time in the entire decade I've been here, where there was a tornado watch, a severe thunderstorm warning, a blizzard warning in the mountains, a large hail warning, a high wind adversary, and a flood warning all at the same time. I seriously thought The Day After Tomorrow was upon us. It was pretty wild.

Here are some pictures from today of some of the snow capped Catalina mountains that border Tucson to the north of the city. I hardly get up there, but Mount Lemmon, the highest point in the Catalina's at about 9,000 ft above sea level, holds the distinction for being the southern most ski valley in the United States.

Almost looks like a tornado funnel cloud. 

Survival, Health, Happiness, and Self-Sufficiency

What really matters? What is most important? When you clear away all the bullshit in life, what is left? What do we really need, what is most essential?

Our primary most essential need is survival. Food. Water. Shelter. Before we can do anything else, we need a means of maintaining our survival. A job. A source of income. Or some other means of acquiring the basic resources needed for survival. Whether that be working for money to buy the things you need. Or providing a service in exchange for the things you need. Or living off the land in anyway you can to get the things you need.

So survival is first and foremost our primary need. What then? Health and happiness. We need to be healthy and we need to be happy.

And what do we need to be healthy? Education. We need to learn what makes us healthy, implement it, and share this information with others. This information should not be kept secret. This information should not cost a fortune. This information should be freely provided to all who are willing to listen, and provided with only one condition, that by learning this information you agree to freely share what you learn with others.

We need to explore what it means to be healthy. What do we need to be healthy?

Cleanliness and purity is the cornerstone of health. We need clean uncontaminated water, we need clean air, clean soil, and clean living spaces that are free from toxins and disease.

We need education. We need to know how to survive, how to thrive, how to be healthy, how to preserve our health, as well as how to preserve the health of our shared community. We need to know how to keep our local environment clean and healthy, and free from the toxins that destroy our health and happiness.

Health is important. It's difficult to be happy when you are sick and in pain. It's difficult to be happy when you are alone, cold, hungry, and in need of medical attention. We all need to be healthy, this is a need that is universally shared by every single person, everyone alive has a need to be healthy, because as soon as you lose your health, your life is soon to follow.

We all need to be healthy. So it is in everyone's own best self-interest to nurture and preserve the health of our shared environment. Because everybody is affected by the environment in which they live. A polluted or contaminated environment is going to negatively affect everyone. We need to learn how to preserve health, and remove the destroyers of health.

But once our basic needs of health and survival are met, what then? We need to be happy. Happiness is psychological. We could have all the material possessions we could ever dream of, all the money in the world, 1001 entertainments, and yet still not be happy. Why? Because happiness is subjective, and deeply personal.

What do we need to be happy? It may vary somewhat from person to person, but at its most essential level, to be happy one needs to feel that they are expressing themselves according to their true nature. This means having a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, something that you are passionate about, something that drives you, that gives you a reason to continue living, to continue growing, to continue learning and evolving.

Without that passion, life is dull and depressing. That passion, that drive and conviction, is the creative spirit of life, the animating force underlying life itself. It invigorates you with its pulsating life energy. To be happy, is to be in harmony with that creative life energy. To be unhappy is to be out of sync, out of tune, and out of balance with it.

To be happy is to be in harmony with the electric current of life.

We also all have a need for love, to love and to be loved, to be in companionship, and in relationship with others. For many people this may mean sex, marriage, children, and having a family.

But this needn't be the only option. Companionship need not necessarily be limited to marriage. And not all companionship need be romantic or sexual. Platonic friendships may also be a healthy form of companionship, as well as caring for animals, and connecting with the elements of nature.

Anytime there is a shared connection made, a meeting of minds, a coming together in friendship and partnership, a relationship is formed, and all relationships are potential vehicles for the expression of love.

But not everybody feels the need for relationship as strongly, not everyone is equally sociable, particularly those of a more introverted and reserved nature, but nonetheless, even the most extreme loner or misanthrope cannot ever live completely alone and isolated, because life is a collaborative project. In order to live, in order to work, there must be someone to work for, there must be some need or demand for a product or service, and without other people, there would be no such need.

So people need people. Just as each animal of its own kind needs each other, so also do people need people. Even if your contact with others is minimal, it is next to impossible to live completely alone. We all need friendship of some kind, we all need love, we all need a sense of purpose, a reason to smile, a reason to go on living. Because without that, and without happiness, life would be nothing more than a cruel hardship that seems to never end. We all need to be happy, so that we can make the most of our lives, and to live in joy, instead of misery.

The greatest gift in life is to be happy, content, and at peace. But this does not mean that conflict does not have its place. Conflict is necessary, because it reminds us to be alert and awake. If everything were perfect, and peaceful at all times, we would fall asleep like babies, life would seem like a tranquil dream, a sweet lullaby, where everything is perfect and everything is provided for without us needing to do anything. So conflict has its place. It is not our enemy, it is a messenger and a guide, a motivator to action. Conflict inspires us to get up off our asses and do something, and to be an active participant, instead of a passive observer.

Without conflict there would be no motivation to survive, no motivation to be healthy, no motivation to be happy. Conflict is a motivator, a catalyst, a reminder, that life is alive and active and ever changing, not something passive to be taken for granted.

So we need to have our basic needs met, but we should not rely on others to provide for our basic needs. On a temporary basis this fine. But we all need to learn how to provide for our own needs locally, starting at the level of the individual, then the family, the neighborhood, the village, the city, the state, the nation.

We need education that teaches self-sufficiency, survival, and sustainability.

Failure to do so, leads to dependence on others for your needs, others that may not be looking out for your best interests, and as such this dependence is a dis-empowering weakness and disability.

Who wants to keep people dependent on unnecessary services provided at overinflated prices? The crooked con artist criminal. Someone who would rob you blind, and then borrow your own money back to you at such high interest that you will never be able to pay it back.

People and nations who do not know how to take care of themselves, who are not self-sufficient, who are forever dependent on international relief, charity missions, and high interest loans provided by others who couldn't care less whether they are happy or healthy, whether they live or die, and who are actually profiting from their lack of knowledge, their weakness and unnecessary dependence.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, self-sufficiency is the way to go. Local self-sufficiency, if implemented everywhere, would lead to a new world, one where slavery no longer exists, and where everyone is empowered to be active participants in creating a better world for themselves and for all.

Whose standing in the way? The slave masters. And the slaves who know not that they are slaves. The slave masters keep the people shackled by their dependence, shackled by their ignorance, and inability to take care of themselves, locally, as a people, and as a nation.