Moving ...

After the depths explored recently, reading, talking, listening and finally writing ... back to the simple joys of an early walk across the campo and a coffee at the beach bar ... a familiar rhythm for caminoing ... and since the temperature is getting above 35 degrees by the afternoon, the high cloud is welcome and the cool dip too, before a cup of tea with Susie and a hot last leg home ...

Home? Where is that now? The mind is moving already, replacement caretakers negotiating for late August arrival ... a dream about my elder daughter and her dog (Buddy, from her childhood, not Jess her current four legged friend) lost ... this did happen when she was 14, wandering in the New Forest in the irresponsible care of her feckless father, more concerned with her liberation than a fear driven security ... though the setting was different in the dream, with other random, though recognised in other dramas, characters ... hey ho, let it go, never been into dream analysis ... or over thinking ... perhaps a necessary reminder that liberating my children does not mean completely neglecting them ... though benign neglect was the preferred model of parenting when I had a part-time hands on role ... aware that dumping inherited expectations down the generations is all too common ... poet from Hull, Philip Larkin, whilst by no means a role model, expresses it brutally in "This Be the Verse "... delicate readers are spared, the rest of you can find it easily enough ...

Home is still fluid ... more adopted North East than childhood South West ... Stanhope in the foothills of the Pennines the default ... correspondents there still keep me posted ... is it tethering me? Well, the next home is open ... the walk to Santiago and Finisterre, then south to Portugal maybe ... friends there too ... staying open to what resonates and whether it is people, place or both that call, happy to respond ... and always happy walking too ...

Oh yes, maybe a flying visit to see the neglected daughters in the middle of all that!

Brainwashing ...

Brainwashing is a word generally used pejoratively .... as if it was a bad thing ... yet we wash other parts of our body quite regularly ... indeed folk might think us dirty if we didn't ... and yes, the brain is on the inside, so we may not notice that it is in need of washing ...

So, why bother washing it at all?

Perhaps the analogy of a computer operating system may help ... if the brain is processing data, storing some on our hard drive but mostly drawing from the cloud or universal mind, then a clean and uncorrupted brain as operating system is essential for clear understanding. Yet our brain as operating system is easily corrupted by the viruses floating round in our environment ... and to complicate things further, our brain as operating system is not only processing incoming data, but also broadcasting the garbage we have produced ....

So, how to clean it up?

And how to avoid replacing the corrupted brain as operating system with another set of viruses, as in the usual brainwashing techniques?

The first step is to see what is going on. After all, if we don't perceive a problem, then we are hardly going to deal with it.

Next is to see how the viruses are getting in ... this requires some focused attention, maybe some guidance and above all a still mind ...

It will soon become obvious that static social mores, public opinion, accepted wisdom, transmitted by parents and teachers, and above all the mass media, be it radio, television or social media are the culprits ...

Withdrawing for a while from these influences is essential  ... and whilst a completely clean brain as operating system is difficult to attain, using the cleaner one to receive and transmit clearer information, will itself aid further cleaning.

Returning to the world of conditioned humans, we may find ourselves in different places, interacting differently with the same and different humans. .. and so on along an upward spiral ...

How will we know it was worth it?

The brain as operating system is infinitely more than any computer ... remember that was an analogy ... the whole enity which you call you, is vibrating energy ... if the spiral is upward you will feel easier, in tune with higher frequencies ... if downward there is dis-ease and self-medicating behaviour with drugs, alcohol, dense foods, destructive actions ...

On the group scale, we can see the effects of upward spiralling  and downward too ... the prevailing narrative sometimes seems dominated by the old ways of violence and greed ... yet another narrative is available, in ordinary communities and new style extraordinary ones, maybe not yet mainstream but that is up to us .... to live it and tell it ...

Well worth a little brainwashing eh?!

Power ... energy ... dramas ...

This Polish proverb, Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys, elicits correspondence from concerned friends ... quite properly raising questions about our duties as citizens to try to make the world better .... and this is indeed tricky to untangle ... a lot of it is in a mess just now, if the dominant narrative is to be believed ...

I suppose Jiddu Krishnamurti's words resonate at a philosophical level: You want to know my secret? I don't mind what happens. This is stepping out of all dramas, yet K was deeply concerned about all the suffering in the world and his great achievements include schools and retreat centres worldwide as well as a powerful and liberating message of Love as the ultimate ....

The daily dramas play out at all levels and discerning which are for us and how to play which role is delicate work. Being drawn into a drama which angers us, indicates that personal lessons are to be learnt .... and it seems that energy transfers occur during the power games we play ... and how to discern the verity of dramas to which we are invited? All is rarely as it seems and giving our energy carelessly, at the behest of the crowd, taking sides in simplified binary fights, may not serve our best interests or the collective either ...

Info comes through from the Pachamama Alliance ... advice from the wise ones in the Amazon ... since it is the dream of capitalism and conspicuous consumption that is at the root of the current crises, work with better dreams ... the same advice came from Buckminster Fuller and others over recent decades ... the way to change the existing reality is not to oppose it (which energises it), but to build a better reality ... this is our work ... reforming capitalism hardly fits this new story ...

Not my circus, not my monkeys ...

A post pops up on the Facebook feed (main source of information here in the Casa, not bothering with television, radio or newspapers ... though selecting the contributions is an art in itself ... part in my hands, part FB and their need for sponsored posts, part apparently random .... there is a theory that in another realm, the gods of FB drop things we need into the mix ...) whoops, carried away in parenthesis there ... next to a cute picture of a monkey the caption "Every time you feel yourself getting pulled into other people's nonsense, repeat these words: Not my Circus, Not my Monkeys - Polish Proverb"

The post was picked up from a friend from FB and Findhorn Foundation, RB Chapman ... anyone having visited the Cluny College campus in the past six years will have seen and heard him in the foyer, singing and playing his guitar ... it resonated (the singing and playing and the post) ... so, in case it resonated with others, I shared it on ... and noted a few cryptic comments from FB and real life friends ... because it is not a precise statement of scientific fact (and sometimes those are questionable) but a proverb ... and proverbs are food for thought, capable of interpretation ...some years ago, on a bus from Lisbon to Evora, sitting next to an old Chinese/Malay/American bloke, a fascinating conversation ensued ... part of which included the news that in his childhood his Buddhist parents declined to tell him or his siblings very much, but threw them a proverb every day and their learning was discussed at the evening meal .... wonderful!

So, to pull from the Polish proverb some thoughts: it is not to reject empathy or compassion for monkeys or humans, but to discern whether their drama is really ours ... the teacher, Byron Katie, says it in another way, as a technique to settle the mind ... three types of business: our business, their business, God's business (for atheists, multi-theists and so on, this is only shorthand for things we cannot control. like the weather - though that is debatable apparently) ... when we focus on Our Business, things become much simpler .. and this does not mean not caring or helping or any of that ... sometimes those things are our business ...

Now to check the FB feed, see who is polluting the stream and may be pruned ...
( ... don't forget the conspiracy theory, which plausibly suggests that FB is a super duper DIY intelligence gathering operation ...)

Brexpat and other abominations ...

Discerning readers will have noticed the style guide of this blog has resisted the insidious and ubiquitous introduction of a new word to denote a country leaving the European Union ...it started with Greece a couple of years ago, when they were tempted to decamp ... then the recent referendum in the UK brought the "British" version into the light of day .... an interview with a hero, Noam Chomsky, included the word, which was a surprise and mild disappointment (mild because imagining our heroes will never disappoint us is asking for trouble) ....

Of course, language evolves and it is up to us which new words we adopt ... Americanisms have always been a trigger here ... "awesome!" being a hyperbolic example ... the overuse of coarse words is another no no in the style guide, maybe because words have power of their own (spells) and whether written or spoken, it is well to remember it ....and this writer is fond of inventing new words too .., as well as playing with grammatical structures in order to disrupt traditional patterns of thought ...

So, in defiance of the style guide, the headline of this post includes a development of "Brexit" with "Brexpat" ( which throws a spanner in the works of discerning between Anglos and Celts) ...found in the Costa English language press and on the related Facebook pages and discussing the impact of leaving the EU on the lives of immigrants to Spain (and other EU countries) from the imminently departing UK (or whichever portions of it are still united after the fun and games settle down).

As an aside, a conversation with Russ yesterday elicited his view that dyslexia is unknown in Spain,since the language is written as spoken .... this is mostly confirmed on a brief check and anyone interested in the nuances can do their own research ... my interest currently lies in the way language and thought are related ... and how understanding the world may require both a multi-lingual approach and periods of silence, including not only social discourse but also mind chatter ... balance, balance, balance!

Brits, Celts and Euros ...

My friend and correspondent, James of Scotland, chastises me for the lazy use of the term Brits ... quite rightly, since most of the stereotypical characteristics accompanying the word are really associated with the English ... or Anglos ... meanwhile friend and correspondent Colin of England, asserts he recognises none of it, preferring to be a citizen of the world .... a sentiment entirely endorsed here ... however, these stereotypes are part of the human experience in 2016 and maybe in exploring them we can overcome them ... and going into the Anglo aspect, perhaps Colin, from the North East of England, might feel he has less in common with Southern Anglos than Scots ... while this Southern Anglo might point to London as the problem ... in truth the separation starts with inequality ... attitudes to others stemming from that ... the tendency to derive status from who we can look down on and blame for the problems ... or looking up, envy or criticise for their greed ...

Local friend and correspondent, Susie, meanwhile, asks about the missing blogs this week ... the smart response being that when there is nothing to say, say that. .. perhaps the smarter retort may be that a writer has responsibilities and needs to exercise some discipline ... but I have been reflecting on this assignment in San Enrique, planning autumn adventures, finding apposite reading material in the Casa .... All Quiet on the Western Front, as a new period of instability in Europe opens up ... The Great Gatsby, on the vacuous lifestyles of the super-rich ... Narziss and Goldmund, on being true to our deepest purpose ...  and confess to an inherent laziness, possibly a reaction to a very unlazy father ...

So, whilst thinking and talking about creating intentional communities (not to be confused with gated communities), based on co-operation, simple living and compassion, the Camino de Santiago call is stronger ... let's see where the energy goes when Agnieszka arrives in a few weeks time ... this community building needs younger folk ... and an EU passport may turn out to be an asset we Anglos regret losing if Iberia turns out to be the place ....

As for Euros, it may take a while for that word to adhere to people of Europe rather than a currency. .. which is currently pushing the pension pounds towards parity .... never mind, it's been there before and life is still bearable in the rent free Casa del Puente ... which is open to offers for caretakers in a month or two ...

Leadership ...

Observing the political shenanigans of recent times, the question arises: Is this really the best we can do?

The charismatic leader of the United Kingdom Independence Party, Farage, resigns after achieving his stated aim ... the other clown and charismatic cheerleader for leaving the EU, Boris, declines his previously obvious ambition to be Prime Minister, having been Mayor of London and having achieved his stated aim of an Out vote, backs down, supposedly on the say so of ridiculous Gove, who then loses the Tory Party vote to two Thatcher clones, one of whom then stands down in favour of a hard line pro-EU minister without any obvious leadership qualities, who is thus anointed Prime Minister for the next four years .... while the smarmy git who did somehow get elected slopes off stage with a smirk ...

Meanwhile, the opposition party, led by a decent chap with socialist principles, albeit without much charisma, is defenestrated by his own MPs, and an establishment woman, without any notable leadership qualities, puts herself forward for the job ....

So, whilst the Age of Aquarius demands feminine qualities of compassion and co-operation, our two female supposed leaders, have the genital qualification without the more important ones, whilst the old chap, who never really wanted the job, has discovered balls to go with the compassion ... though still doesn't look like a leader!

Now, the population of the UK is around 65 million and quite a few of them are eligible to be Prime Minister, or could be in the event of General Election or Insurrection ... many of them have the compassion and intelligence to do it ... so where are they?

Perhaps politics is so tarnished that suitable game changers are focusing instead on social projects or enterprise. ... or enterprising social projects .... Juliet Davenport of Good Energy for example ...

It has been suggested that wanting to be a politician is so tarnished that such a desire should result in immediate disqualification ... that when such a role is required, folk should be drafted in for as long as that issue is alive, then returned to their previous places ... such things are tried in Austria with Wisdom Councils ...

How much longer will leaders be needed? This role is suspect too, since energetically the Dracula effect comes into play ... a leader gains power from followers and then we really have to pray their intentions are pure ... power, it is said, corrupts ... history shows us, herstory too sometimes ...

Is the question really transcending all the games of power ... are would-be leaders just needy people, seeking energy boosts? And as above so below applies, as always ... personal relationships are no different to political ones ... is psychology the answer?

Time for a lie down ... so many questions ... this writer, sometime leader, would be activist is addressing the observation made in the cards "Your relationships are a reflection of you" ... mostly in solitude for the theory, but the practice will have to follow soon ...

Routines ...

Since summer is here and rather hot, an early brisk walk before breakfast to greet the sun, up the track and back alongside the polo fields ... the season is picking up, horses arriving from around the world by road, sea and air ... grounds immaculately groomed ... villas opened for the season (and this one promoted as a bargain albeit with work required ) ...

A tin of mousse for toothless Poppy, toast and tea for me ... then down to the beach before the sunbathers emerge ... a barefoot plodge in the surf from surreal Sotogrande to Punta de Europa's  Corbusieresque twin towers and back ... conditioning the feet for future adventures ... nicely warmed up for a plunge into the sea ... some lazy breast stroking, then home for reading, writing, lunching in the shade ...

Days pass peacefully ...skin browns gradually ... friends arrive intermittently ... news filters through of troubled times ... change afoot ... things not always as they seem ... equanimity at the Casa for now ... this Beautiful New World that our hearts know is possible does require some energetic, synergistic input ...

The distance does assist in seeing through the devious divisive tricks of old power players, trying to push us into barmy binary choices ... smart, sophisticated, progressive pro- EU versus stupid, ignorant, xenophobic anti- EU ...  old thinking ... the Earth is tired of it ... the people smell a rat ... the rich themselves and all their hangers on, much in evidence around the polo fields and golf courses, sense this separation no longer serves ...  the time is not for tinkering with a system stinking as it falls apart ... or being drawn into redundant reductionism ...

So, if energy flows where attention goes (and it does ), keeping all the divisive dramas in peripheral vision, while focusing on the better world we want is worth a try ... eh?

Albania ...

A photo from a dear friend, on holiday in Albania, sets the memory banks buzzing. .. rewinding a few decades to the days of political delusion and exciting stories created in the drama of this naive young activist, seeking a practical expression of a truly socialist society, signs up to the austere and ideologically pure regime of Enver Hoxha ... promotes its merits in The Albanian Society, a home for anyone interested in the country, run by dedicated revolutionaries as an opaque vehicle with wider aims ... headed by a maverick intellectual dentist called Bill Bland, who had his own small Marxist-Leninist group, mirroring Hoxha's history of falling out with erstwhile allies ... whilst the naive young activist, having inveigled himself into the working class as a bus driver in London (sabotaging decades of effort in the other direction from aspirational parents), then as trade union rep, was a member of a slightly bigger group, a Party, which established formal relations with Albania after another, slightly bigger again, group fell out with Hoxha over the split with China ... phew, so many splits and we haven't started on the Communist Party of Great Britain or any of the many Trotskyite groups ...

Needless to say the Labour Party, was dismissed as a capitalist outfit, providing cover for the traditional ruling class and their Conservative Party. They even took turns as the government when democracy needed a polish. .. or industries vital to private industry,  like coal mining, steel, rail, gas, electric and water,  needed large capital investments the risk taking stock market gamblers didn't fancy ...  as Lenin said: The British bourgeoisie lets go of power with one hand, only to catch it with the other.

The two main strands of political activity, party and trade union, leavened by playing and watching football and by romantic liaisons, came together in a particularly intense few weeks back in 1979, when the Albanian Society organised the first group trip to Albania, which involved quite complicated effort ... a few weeks before departure, an issue arose at the bus depot, when a conductor was sacked for allegedly fiddling fares. He protested his innocence. The sacking was considered provocative, since in such cases where there was any doubt, then a warning would be issued. The district manager, aptly named Blacker "the Sacker", was flexing his muscles and the mood in the local union was to take him on. So, two weeks before the trip, a strike was called. Not a token hour or day, but an all out event until the conductor was reinstated. Official TU officers told us to go back to work while they sorted it out (they had a cosy agreement to keep a lid on wildcat strikes in return for privileges). Having little faith in the officials, we persevered. They persuaded other depots across London (more than 50 at the time) to hang us out to dry ... revenge for previous radicalism.

As time ticked on, the question of how the main trip organiser could possibly fly off to Socialist Albania in the middle of the strike he was leading became rather pressing ... impossible to resolve really. Now all out strikes do lose momentum when the first week's wages are missing, and transport strikes become tiresome for managers and politicians since transport trips once lost are never recovered (unlike commodity strikes where overtime swiftly follows settlement - unless the strike was provoked to cut unwanted production, which also happened sometimes ....) anyway a compromise was cobbled together, the conductor would have his job, but at another depot,the buses went back on the road and the naive young activist headed off to Tirana, to bring the greetings of the British Working Class to our government contacts. I mentioned this to a couple of members of the BWC, but of course it was difficult to consult all of them ...

After another four trips, Albania was finally going the way of the old Soviet Union and its satellites, and the naive young activist realised that all was not as it appeared, notably when a professor asked if a berth could be found in London for the son of his old friend the Minister of Defence ... previous alerts from a resident New Zealand communist had raised concerns and the ever sceptical Bill Bland was on to it early. 

In 1991 the old regime had fallen and elections were held to form a new government. Since there was some residual respect for the old guard, particularly for their wartime resistance and the economic achievments, the reformed PLA or communists won. Since the Americans were investing in the country, the US ambassador addressed the recalcitrant masses in Skanderbeg Square, telling them that they were getting another chance at this democracy thing and if they wanted the money they had better get it right this time.

Sali Berisha, the US favourite won and capitalism ripped through the country in the form of a series of pyramid schemes which just about destroyed the economy. After much turbulence the UN moved in the stabilise things and now a Social Democratic government has joined NATO and the list of countries applying for the place soon to be vacated by the UK (perhaps), or whatever is left of it when the dust settles, at the good old EU ... and Albania qualified for the Euro football tournament for the first time, much to the delight of the citizenry.

Nobody likes us and we don't care ...

In the rough end of South London is a football club called Millwall, many of whose supporters were gangster types, revelling in violence ... they used to sing: Nobody likes us and we don't care ... research suggests that they just needed a big cuddle, but since that was lacking the bravado covered over their weeping souls and they shared their pain as far and wide as they could.

As an amusing aside ... many years ago, I persuaded my then girlfriend's simple minded Arsenal supporting brother (these two things are not necessarily related) to join me on trip to watch my team, Southampton, play Millwall at their aptly named ground, The Den ... the strategy was to go into the home end (aptly named The Coldblow Lane End), and pretend to be Millwall supporters, since roaming bands of home thugs were known to attend the other end stabbing the visitors ... what could possibly go wrong? Peter picked up the chilly vibe from nearby gangsters and asked, in a loudish voice: 'Ere Steve, what if they found out you were Southampton ... having quietly suggested he shut up, it was a great relief when Millwall scored a couple of goals and I could put on my pretend happy face ... actually not pretend at all ...

Back to the jump from Millwall to the same strand now more widely exhibited, much to the dismay of the many peace loving Brits , in Britland and abroad ....

Since Poppy, the ancient Casa cat, had to visit the vet, there was an opportunity for some political discourse ... Joaquin speaks good English and doesn't hold back in his assessment of certain aspects of British behaviour ... Gibraltarians, who qualify as particularly obnoxious Brit expats in this narrative ... and despite the impact on La Linea Spaniards, Joaquin gleefully anticipates the closure of the border if the UK leaves the EU. His experience here has been of wealthy people, not interested in the local language or culture .... glad of their money, not for their company ... tales of misbehaving holidaying youngsters are legion ... whilst during a working stint as a locum in England, colleagues decided to call him Jose, since his real name was too difficult for them ... one of his children works in London, one on Birmingham, both multi-cultural cities and both found them unwelcoming ... a third child abandoned England and moved to Sweden instead ... colder climate, warmer welcome ...

Chillingly, as we explored the narrative of World Wars being re-run with financial weapons, Joaquin warned: If you are not careful, you may find yourself with the Nazi role ....

Work to do there then, not to promote any new wars, but to address the group psychology, much of it economically driven, of xenophobia ... and if it is true that nobody likes us, this writer for one, actually does care ...

the plots thicken ...

A previous blog suggested life, the universe and everything could be seen as a series of interconnected dramas, drawn from the field of all possibilities, performed by us for our education and entertainment ... a view criticised by a correspondent (along with the non-traditional style of writing) ... well the critic (and friend) has been answered and invited to contribute to the blog, through comments or with a guest post .... meanwhile current events conspire to inspire further investigation of this theory.

The image playing in the imagination is of scriptwriters tossing pantomime characters about to test the gullibility of their audiences: from left to right (a spectrum itself open to question) ... ex-Tory, public school buffoon bluffs his way to an unexpected referendum victory, playing on the fear of foreigners ... quits as leader of his small and nasty party (maybe to be available for a return to action in a Tory party in need of demagogues to balance the establishment pro-EU wing?) ... Tory public school buffoon, previously mayor of London, dodging the poison chalice offered by his nemesis and resigning slick willy PR man, public school boy, having set up the referendum and lost ... returning rightward, sinister and unlikeable public school boy sets himself up for lead role, whilst Miss Whiplash lookalike, Thatcher soundalike and all round Cruella de Ville caricature poses as the female option, albeit without the feminine virtues of compassion ....

Over on the other party (there used to be three) plausible, statesmanlike old bloke (mirrored in the USA drama by Bernie Sanders) resists onslaught from within ... organised treachery to increase his popularity amongst the masses ... waiting in the wings, changeling and warmonger awaits official report on war crimes without apparent remorse ...

This one could run and run ... meanwhile the world moves on and capitalism is no nearer solving its fundamental problems ... and more seriously Britain is cast as an intolerant nation as well as intrinsically arrogant  .... something to be examined in the next post ...