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12.12.2018

Video log update. Gladly captive in Lone Pine.

Most important book in the world, the other one. Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong. I'm on my first of



Most important book in the world, the other one. Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong. I'm on my first of what I expect to be several readings. Slowed by my arduous first priority of writing a review of the other most important book, great because it is not as toxic as the other books of psychology, spiritual evolution, George Vaillant.“The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. Ifyour understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was bad theology. Compassion was the litmus test for the prophets of Israel, for the rabbis of the Talmud, for Jesus, for Paul, and for Muhammad, not to mention Confucius, Lao-tzu, the Buddha.…. “

12.11.2018

Jesus religion, not Christianity, not Judaism, is lived solidarity, empathy, compassion, with all of creation. Picture

I cannot feed people that are not hungry. Neither could Jesus, or those...... >>



I can't feed people that are not hungry. Neither could Jesus, or those like him throughout history. He couldn't give living Waters to those who were not thirsty, and neither can I. What I can do is to continue to deepen the well, continue to lay out the banquet, in the unlikely event that anyone ever finds themselves thirsty or hungry. At long last maybe I am finally learning this.

12.09.2018

Regarding our cultural yearning for a life partner. Comments to a sister.



A dear young sister shared with me the yearning that she feels to find a loving committed partner:

Those few that ever hear what I have to say must have incredible patience because what a broken record I am. I share this with you not at you but it comes to mind with what you've shared with me. Again.

I remain convinced that we are born to be, the butterfly, the Wagers of loving, for the every breath that we do reward of joy. Not happiness, more likely intense pain, but joy. But for that to transpire it seems that we need enough of a cocoon. I'm not certain of that because it seems to me there are exceptions, young Rachel Corrie for example. But for all practical purposes we need a cocoon throughout our childhood or maybe just for a couple of days. Hard to know.

My dad was that cocoon for me all of my youth.

But once enough of that cocoon has been available only a butterfly in a really sick collection of butterflies succumbs to their insistence that the Cocoon is where they want to be. And all of us are swimming in that sick collection of butterflies. 2018.

More than life itself I was convinced for my first 45 years or so that all I wanted and all I needed to survive, way more than anything else, was to be in a loving partnership. I will never know if that was true for me.

I know that it is not true for me now, and there is no one that seems to have it that I find myself envying. I have to acknowledge that it could be a function of a different hormonal mixture in me now and brain development which was not available earlier. But I see myself of today, 67 years old, in young Rachel Corrie who to my knowledge did not have such a partnership Central in her life. I see myself, my soul, the joyful Part of Me, In Jane Goodall who to my knowledge never had such a partnership Central in her life.

Again, dear sister, this is not directed at you rather you have brought it to my mind to further explore for myself and to share.

Video, colonialism documentary, 4 minutes. Must see.


12.06.2018

Joy is the solution to life, Goodness, Flourishing, Parenting, Optimal Experience, Personal trauma..... [species flourishing].....>>>


Joy is the solution to life, Goodness, Flourishing, Parenting, Optimal Experience, Personal trauma..... [species flourishing].....

40 years I've been living on the basis of this Theory. As an executive leader in the high-tech industry it was my guiding principle. As a parent. But not blindly, nothing blindly.

My initial base of information was observing my father who did this in my view, and through him the person Jesus, and Gandhi, and King, Teresa of Calcutta and many since.

To say that joy is the answer is to say that the cure for individual or Collective cancer has been found. This Theory may be incorrect but that is the import of what it asserts, far more important than the Cure of cancer which only kills the body.

Instrumentation is beginning to exist to prove or disprove this Theory within the human nervous system but what is lacking is scientists with their hands on these instruments that have any knowledge or experience of joy in their lives so the best I can hope is that they will slowly approximate and I'm afraid like George vaillant, spiritual Evolution, totally misinterpret and Missapply the results.

Were any of the individuals I just mentioned in on this conversation they would be saying, yes, James, the above is exactly right.

If I did anything right as a father it was realizing pretty much on the day of the first one's birth, that joy is what I wanted for that child and then the second one, more than anything else. And that therefore as a father I owed to that child more than anything else that there be joy in my life as my example would be the most powerful influence I would have on that child, those children. I was quite sure that was true then, all of my study, practice, experience, life everyday since has indicated that it was.

Where does Joy come from? It is the reward provided by the nervous system when it thinks we are devoting our very existence to do something really really important for others who are in dire need. The best formula I've come up with is serving the neediest from the soul in solidarity.

[It was the solution to species survival and flourishing, but it is too late for that. But it will always be the solution to the individual flourishing even on the sinking Titanic, every breath.]

Every breath that I am given my highest priority will be on substantiating the above for myself through exhaustive study of the most scholarly information, practice, and sharing that in how I live and in what I write as best I can.

The most substantiated book on psychology in this vein is George vaillant, spiritual evolution. I'm on my 5th reading and struggling to keep my head from exploding with how much he got wrong, but he got Nuggets right that the horrible insane field of psychology has gotten wrong for so long.

At his recommendation I'm also reading Karen Armstrong, the great transformation, which among other things brilliantly presents the history of the Great inventors throughout history for ways of being individually and collectively to optimize experience, so-called religions. They have been relative failures, but there is much much much much to be learned from what they have done so that some of us can figure out how to go beyond, how to invent what was really needed.

Suicide, drugs, mountains of material things, alcohol, marijuana, wallowing in regret for depression or guilt, sex addiction, do not occur with the individuals devoted to a life of joy, see LSGIABeing.com. it doesn't happen. Inconceivable. People who are trying to be good? Yes, these things happen. But those pursuing Joy by whatever conception or none, no, it doesn't happen. These are the equivalent of the Buddhist ideal who have refused Nirvana to stay and serve.

12.02.2018

The gifts we got from Dad, and mom. Detail.



The gifts we got from Dad, and mom. Detail.

My dad, and mom, had many gifts that we could receive.

The gift of wealthiness from my dad one of my siblings received, along with the gift of great physical handsomeness, presence, attractiveness. Wide social respect. Unlike my dad this sibling wanted the wealth to pleasure and aggrandize themself, and the esteem for themself, rather than to serve others.

One sibling received the gift of dad’s extraordinary intellect, raw intelligence, and the pleasurable intoxication from that, and none of his compassion and heart.

One sibling received almost none of his gifts, practically none, but the ability of my mom to pleasantly socially exploit others, and the so-called happiness that is insanely pursued in that way.

And two of his children received the gift of his every breath 7/24 Devotion to the well-being of those he was called to help, but each of these children did so with the populations they individually could best help. And thereby they received the gift of joy.

I am one of these last two. I did not receive those other gifts, and I never wanted them, except superficially. I wanted the gift of Joy and after 50 years Found the courage of my convictions and threw off the distractions of pursuing pleasure and have had Joy, not happiness, thank goodness, but joy every breath since. And the pain that is the stuff that devotion metabolizes, love metabolizes, soul metabolizes, and turns into joy every breath. And pain.

11.30.2018

A deeply good soul out of the blue today made a substantial financial contribution to this mission. My reply. How did you know? In recent months the vehicle..... >>>

A deeply good soul out of the blue today made a substantial financial contribution to this mission. My reply. How did you know? In recent months the vehicle and I have developed a much more sustainable relationship. It has become really stable. But even for a stable vehicle things will go. And about 4 days ago a remaining huge vulnerability was discovered in the vehicle when the $400 transmission failed. Several nights later in the middle of the night I awoke understanding why it failed. And can take steps soon to be sure that the situation doesn't arise again. But today was spent installing that $400 object. And the weather the last 7 months has been so easy, so conducive to this solar vehicle and the journey. But not so starting 4 days ago when cold wind and rain and high wind descended. A harbinger of what I knew was coming but especially with the vehicle practically immobile I was not ready psychologically, logistically, although I was probably pretty well-equipped. So two nights at a wonderful hostel were also invested in. Your contribution came at a wonderful time. My spirits are good but as usual you lifted them higher. You are a wind under our wings. The day May Come, the day is likely to come, when I can provide such help to you. Hugs. James

Riddle. How can Family Values destroy millions of families gladly? Answer. Family is those in my tribe. Silly rabbit.

Riddle. How can Family Values destroy millions of families gladly? Answer. Family is those in my tribe. Silly rabbit.

11.24.2018

10-point plan for a future, Bernie Sanders. Article

https://www.alternet.org/bernie-sanders-lays-out-bold-10-point-plan-democrats?src=newsletter1098152

11.22.2018

Treatment. Never ever thought of it this way before. Have you?.... >>>


Treatment. Never ever thought of it this way before. Have you?

Sure I personally have had the experience personally and observing others, how is so-and-so being treated by me or by others. You too, correct?

But last night something dramatically new and somewhat hopeful by way of being potentially very enlightening for me.

On a beautiful evening at the base of Mount Whitney in this Campground, peaceful, quite a few people taking advantage of holiday freedom. But quiet as is appropriate for such a magnificent Campground.

And then not. This extremely high tech RV pulls in, lights that almost turned the campground into a city block they were so bright. Generator blaring to power the thing hour after hour. What the f*? Pave paradise put up a parking lot.

Well I'm not ashamed of the thoughts that I had and they were not charitable. What the f
* is wrong with these people? What pigs. How blind.

Again, I'm not ashamed of those thoughts. I think they're Fair. But I was also aware that there is no hope in those thoughts of mine.

For reasons I cannot recall the notion of treatment came to my mind. Spoiler alert at no point did I contemplate taking action and I didn't. Constructive or unconstructive.

But this really useful thought entered my mind for the first time in my life I'm quite sure.

What is the treatment for cancer? Frequently it is chemo, radiation, and the like. Correct? What is treatment for a sprained ankle? What is treatment for a broken leg? What is treatment for various diseases? Well, I'm not an expert in this but you and I both know that there are well-defined treatments for constructively dealing with such situations.

A new way of thinking popped into my mind maybe when I considered what was the treatment that this individual or individuals receive probably throughout their life that would create such deadness to the magnificent's around them, such inappropriate pathological Behavior? And of course the answer is the treatment that they've received probably their whole lives is the administration of stuff which has addicted them and crowded meaning and joy out of their lives. There's the remotest chance this is not the case but I'm okay with that. Almost certainly it is the case.

What is the treatment that could bring to life the dead Humanity, the dead Soul, the dead limbic system with them that otherwise would be reverencing the Magnificence of this campground at the foot of Mount Whitney?

That's the kind of treatment I need to be as well as I possibly can. For this individual? It seems clear to me that such an individual will forever be beyond my reach.

But I can't escape being treatment. Nor can you. We are treatment for the world, for ill, or for good. And this is a new way for me to understand the task ahead of me, to be as constructive and potent a treatment as possible, for the good of the individual and of creation.

11.19.2018

James ongoing photo album archive. Did you notice? Every couple of days now the Links....



Have you noticed? Toward the top of this blog, see picture below, there are links to the photographs and the screenshots that used to be frequently posted by me on Facebook. I'm quite sure that these links work now these links. If not, please let me know? I now update the most current photo album archive in Orange below at least every couple of days. James

Frustrating and hurtful this nice man finds me, or, our interactions..... >>>



Frustrating and hurtful this nice man finds me, or, our interactions.



There are few people that are drawn to interacting with me and of that tiny population this man's hurt and frustration is pretty typical.

Some thoughts occur to me on this this morning that seemed worth capturing here. Some of it I've written before, but much of it is new Clarity and I'm grateful to this man for speaking clearly and honestly to me.

It is never my intention to hurt or frustrate, but rarely if ever is avoiding that my purpose either. Knowing the possibility if not likelihood, rarely if ever do I seek to draw people into engagement with me. Drawing people into engagement with me is left to creator, whatever creator is.

Notice. Anyone that reads this and considers the following seriously will know that they've done so because it will cross their mind that I am stark raving mad. It will at least cross their mind. Seriously.

In a way I suppose I'm called to be a tour guide, or, an Expedition leader. And a ragingly unsuccessful one at that. But in fiction so were characters like Yoda and obi-wan. And were Buddha, Confucius, Jesus alive today they would consider themselves the same, ragingly unsuccessful tour guides, Expedition leaders.

Oh, they have gigantic fan clubs, but virtually no followers, no joiners, no folk standing alongside them or even trying to go beyond. No one envies them which is all they would have wanted.

The shirt worn by me says, I serve alongside this outsider soul and it has a cross indicating that the soul is the person Jesus. Not long ago a person identified them self to me, very friendly, as a pastor, a Baptist pastor. I was reading your shirt, he said. I serve him too!.

But the shirt very definitely does not say anything about serving Jesus, but rather serving alongside, two profoundly different things. I didn't cite how Jesus told the so-called apostles that they had become friends, brothers, not servants.

Pathologically, we want to be fans, We want to be fans, we want to follow whatever that means, but we want not to stand alongside, let alone, go beyond, with all of our might!

Projection is one of the major mechanisms that we unconsciously use to protect ourselves from the frightening task of coming along side such people. We're terrified of the self measurement that that would bring on sadly never knowing that life and growth only would come about in that way.

This brilliant post came across my Facebook feed yesterday. The same idea regarding Buddha was in the very brief study I made of him several decades ago.





He was possessed by the same Madness, the same Insanity, LOL, that possessed Jesus, Confucius, and others of their ilk. And me. All experienced that they encountered what would save the world, but more importantly, what was Heaven itself on Earth. Optimal Human Experience. The most enviable way of being. The most gratifying way of being.

And no one can see it. We twist ourselves into knots using projection to convince ourselves that the immature selfishness that our culture invokes in us is what they tried to lead us to, or, that that immature selfishness and its associated pleasures is the best we can do until life after this one.

As the subject of fan clubs they have been wildly successful! As the tour guides, the expedition leaders, that they gave their lives to be, they have been total failures. Like me.

And as for me, Expect nothing other than this from me. Ask nothing other than this from me. As absurd as it must seem, I wrote yesterday of the depression I frequently feel, I experience my quality of life as more enviable than anything I see elsewhere on earth. My mission, my soul purpose, is to become a better and better tour guide exactly to that. And rarely, and less and less everyday, will I feed into the projection of others that I really think there are alternatives. I don't.

Ignore me. Detach from me. Disagree with me. But don't expect that I'm going to depart from my mission, and to, for whatever good reason, help people feel good about the alternative ways of being that they have selected. It's not going to happen. I'm not going to lie.

Article : Trump has a few weeks before the Democrats take control of the House. This may give him enough time to carry out his constitutional coup and consolidate power. Our decayed democratic institutions, including a corporate press that has rendered the working class and the poor invisible and serves as an apologist for corporate power, are detested by many Trump Republicans. Trump can rally his cultish supporters, hermetically sealed in their non-reality-based belief system, to attack and demolish the last of our democratic protections. “We have a tremendous dearth of readiness by major constituencies such as civic groups, the legal profession, the business community and academia to deal with someone who misuses his authority, power and resources,” Nader warned. “Nobody knows how to do it more precisely, relentlessly, strategically and tactically than the cunning Donald J. Trump.”....

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/are-we-about-to-face-our-gravest-constitutional-crisis/

11.17.2018

Major update. The Hunger Games sponsors were at me today. Etc.



Major update. The Hunger Games sponsors were at me today. Etc.

No complaints. Goodness no. Complain about what in this Dying World?

But substantial depression has been part of me for several weeks despite this extraordinary setting at the base of Mount Whitney.

And it seems pretty sure today that the depression is Lifting and the reasons are fairly clear. Depression has been frequently encountered by me throughout my life and never has the encounter been something I regretted. Painful? Yes. Worrisome? Yes. To me it is analogous to what I suspect the caterpillar goes through when they turn into soup, they turn themselves into soup, they allow themselves to become nothing so that they can become something new. That's what occurs to me at these times anyway.

And I am becoming something new. Totally different? No. Slightly better? Yes for certain.

This vehicle, The Organic Transit ELF, it's a Marvel. I have no idea how it's being received in the world particularly if it's being received really well. It is not my impression that it is. But Jesus, the real man, He's not been received real well either. Or Confucius, or Buddha, or probably Muhammad Etc. On the other hand Donald Trump is received exceedingly well by a ferocious part of the US population. Things must not be judged by Me based on their popularity.

But this wonderful vehicle from Organic Transit, I mention it, because it is dramatically different as it sits here at the base of Mount Whitney, then how it comes off the factory floor. No credit to me a potential was seen and a rich man's toy was turned into a extraordinary solar RV vehicle with this old nervous system that sits here being the catalyst.

That is a Segway into the major work, and the fruit that seems to be coming, out Of these last several weeks. My 3rd, 4th, and soon V reading of the most important book available on Earth today, George vaillant, spiritual evolution.

That my nervous system took the Organic Transit ELF Way Beyond what the Creator envisioned, was that disrespect or disregard to the original creation? Quite the opposite, I saw the potential and put in the work to do the realization of that potential.

That's how extraordinary this George vaillant book is. No credit to him he has given us an extraordinary rough draft I would say. An extraordinary starting point. Tremendous homework that we can build on.

It is not typical that I would read a book three four five six times. That's how extraordinary I find this one.

But like the original elf extremely incomplete and with some terrible flaws.

Why the depression these recent weeks? Why not the depression for the rest of my years. Unending. You see what's happening in the world don't you?

But my nervous system is unwilling to either turn away from the unstoppable disaster, nor to accept that there's nothing we can do to help a little bit. And with this book and so many readings this old nervous system is digesting it and being substantially strengthened, enlightened, empowered, and emboldened by this meta-analysis that this 70 + year old Dr. has brought together for us.

Creator willing within the next week or so some form of review, critique, analysis will emerge from here in Lone Pine. The form is unclear. Annotation of the PDF to some degree. But probably a very detailed review that might be posted on Amazon by me, just to give an idea of where the work is headed over the next week or so.

Lone Pine is extraordinarily wonderful for this Mission at this time. The time is 7:40 p.m. Last Light here is somewhere after 5 p.m. so it's been dark for hours. Slight breeze coming off the mountain, clear night sky except for some of the smoke from the California fires high up but not much tonight. Internet signal within literally a several foot band at this particular campsite if the phone is turned a certain way. Miraculous really. Temperature currently is 40 degrees and it will probably drop to mid-thirties tonight, consistently 5 or 20 degrees warmer than the weather services say it will be. Sometime that will probably end.

My friend bill, and there are not many people that I would erm my friend, no discredit to anyone, was the host at the Mount Whitney portal Campground and I met him 4 months ago. An African American man. Rare rare rare in these parts. We very much enjoy each other. He's mid-50s I think, his sister lives about 2 hours away where he'll go and spend time at Thanksgiving. Nice relationship with her. He has gotten to know me in part through my Facebook posting and I think finds that my political and human views are to his liking.

We see each other probably 3 or 4 times a week one way or another. Over a pizza and salad bar that is insanely affordable for lunch that he introduced me to. He is much liked and loved up and down this extraordinarily beautiful, sparsely populated 395, white, Trump corridor. Tomorrow I'll gladly accept his invitation and go to a town potluck dinner in the Tiny Town of Independence about 15 miles north of here.

I understand from Bill that the economy in this Valley is stable. The people that live and work here spend maybe 4 months serving the flock of tourists that come to the Valley from LA and internationally, and then they kind of chill as Bill says, for eight months. At least one person who works in town is already treating me as a favorite townie, favorable rates. Many people have been quite nice to me.

Sol, the vehicle, and I have a better relationship than ever. I'm still learning a lot about how to be kinder to Sol and yet still get what I need. What I need is exercise primarily and secondarily transportation. Whereas I used to think that I needed to do 30 or 40 or 70 miles a day for the exercise I need not so. Turns out I can set things up so that going down the steepest Hills my maximum speed is 4 miles an hour with me pedaling! So traveling into town as I did today, 7 mi, from this free utterly magnificent campground at the base of Mount Whitney, I could turn a 40-minute trip into a two-hour trip allowing me to burn about 400 calories leaving only another 800 calories to burn on the way back up! Extraordinarily low wear and tear on the vehicle but 1200 calories worth of exercise for me! And it truly seems that my ability to get that exercise without huge frustration at a lack of coordination in my body, I'm making real progress! Oh, and I'm stepping up to the job of managing the fact that I arrived back at the campsite as the sun disappears soaking wet. Tonight I actually managed to redress dry for the evening! LOL.

Well, back to Hunger Games. I did mention that it's 40 degrees with a significant Breeze coming off the mountain. Sitting here in that cold, no fire, for two and a half hours now. That's pretty much the routine these nights for me. But tonight, except for my toes, and unlike every prior night, I'm not on the verge of being really really really chilly.

The thrift shop in town is quite tiny. Several days ago I noticed a garment the one time I stopped in, a long quilted outer bodysuit that looked like it was made for someone 6 feet 4 inches tall. Last night I thought, well, okay, but maybe it will fit you anyway. And despite expensive socks, several layers, the shoes were either my cycling shoes or very lightweight hiking boots nylon mesh. A big problem every night. And although last winter in Joshua Tree some wonderful polyester fleece garments were purchased at a thrift shop they just weren't getting the job done here.

So the 1200 calorie Journey was undertaken today, with the purpose of just seeing what might be in that thrift shop a little more carefully. Insane. The one piece quilted outer garment would easily be 90 and probably twice that dollars on the internet. Boots start at $30 and are typically five six seven times that. A better fleece under jacket would be $70. All three items were at that Thrift Shop. How much for these ma'am? $4. Not $4 each, $4. Subsequently I got the idea that the purpose of the thrift shop is number one to help people, number two to raise money for the high school. I gave her a hard time said, $4 isn't enough, and I handed her $10 yes. Okay, she said, $5. No, $10 I said. Next week I'll at least double that and donate beyond the Garment that I gave her today.

So tell me that there are not really sponsors in Hunger Games that occasionally help people out?

Scale of 1 to 10 this Lone Pine Mount Whitney location is a 50 for the work that I'm doing. Free. Magnificent. Solitary. Spectacular exercise. Whatever support I need in this little town with nice hard-working folks. My friend Bill.

What happens when it's 10 degrees colder? 20 degrees? 25°? I don't know. I do know that is going to take a lot to tear me away from here.



11.16.2018

Lip service to the healthy Souls is finally death to everything.

Solar RV Cycling technique. Faithfully, humbly using knees to rotate the flywheel....>>>


Solar RV Cycling technique. Faithfully, humbly using knees to rotate the flywheel....

Yes, at least yesterday, I came full circle, no pun intended. Months ago in the Cascades this was my experience and then later I vehemently denounced it. But yesterday, there it was again.

With the goal being substantial power, sustainable, enjoyable, non frustrating, I think that's the Holy Grail.

Why did I fall away from it? I think the answers are to be found among the following. I unknowingly violated them.

Gently, humbly, respectfully.

At the point of equilibrium between easy spinning and the mass of the payload.

Priority on adjusting everything, everything, speed, gear, ratio human to motor, effort, to enable the ongoing 360° ceaseless gently pressure spinning, rolling, rotating the free wheel.

Being with the Freewheel, not acting on it.

100% empowerment of the knees, turning the cylinder at the knees, the cylinder at the knees.