1 11 21 ...

Here we are again, another new month and last one of Autumn as the leaves fall and the Winter thinks about turning colder and darker for a while. With luck we'll see sharp frosts and snow to clear out the bugs, though obviously flu season tends to encourage some to settle in to warm houses and warm bodies of some humans, which inevitably means some us shuffling off this mortal coil and hope for a peaceful passing, maybe looking forward to seeing old friends again in an afterlife, though that idea comes without a guarantee, so we'll just have to wait and see, won't we!

Yesterday's Hexham event was most uplifting, with plenty of old friends and new sheltering from the rain under the Bandstand, offering hugs and warm conversation to any wishing to join in. Things are speeding up on the Resistance front, with plans afoot to create a parallel world without all the degenerate nonsense evident in the current excuse for a free country and throughout most of the world consumed by the Fear and thrashing around of the demons in their death throes, as the truth becomes clearer and clearer about the plot of the plutocrats to usher in their Brave New World  in The Great Reset. .. meaning it's make your mind up time to accept slavery or rise up and realise The Great Awakening is here at last, as Pisces passes on and Aquarius arrives at last. Which sounds good to me, since the Dawning of it was very exciting for a teenager learning about The Summer of Love and the practical applications of it.

Two eclipses are predicted this month, one lunar, one solar, and some say that's significant, even though it's not necessarily magic, unless you think it is, which basically describes the placebo effect after all. And if the mind and its stories create the worlds in which we live, then clearly thinking healthy thoughts and telling uplifting stories, must surely be better for our mental and physical health than nocebo, the opposite effect, which means we may indeed think ourselves ill enough to kill us, and loneliness and despair does that, if you deal in demonic stories and visit the places so dark it feels like hell on Earth, rather than the Heaven available as a nicer option.

So, here we go dear readers! After Halloween yesterday, with beautiful souls discussing wonderful futures, today is here, and a trip to Heaton to see my beautiful younger daughter for a while means November begins as it means to go on, with manifestation of wishes and deepest desires easier than usual, apparently, so what could possibly go wrong? Bonfire Night on Friday looks promising, and this old blogger will be indoors in front of the log burner, thinking good thoughts and musing on the meaning of Life, as usual!

Remember November

As clocks go back at Halloween, and November arrives tomorrow, an extra hour is conjured to allow more light this morning and less this afternoon. A whole hour extra to review the rantings of a madman, passing his time imagining better worlds to come, through stories he makes up to promote his past as good enough despite the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from Shakespeare in his Hamlet soliloquy asking the question To Be or not To Be ... the rest you can read for yourself and find your own answer, and if you thought Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, had issues, try Macbeth, the Scottish play whose name is unmentionable in case of bad luck ... all of which long-windedness brings us to Mac, a friend from Stanhope, whose name is misspelt mistakenly with a K on the end, as he kindly told me yesterday, along with his critique from his story of September, noting that he never made it to the Falklands with his ship, so skipped the horrors of that particular war, which Thatcher used to boost her popularity with voters so easily misled by notions of patriotism, when the war drums beat, flags flutter to evoke national pride, and young men go visiting other young men with their own flags in order to fight and maybe die .. for what and for whose best interests is not always clear to voters without a sense of history ... like WW1 for example, when The Great British Empire, The fading Austro-Hungarian Empire, Russian and French Empires and allies created mayhem in many theatres of war, not least the appalling slaughter on the Somme, as young men killed each other under orders from psychopaths, who thought the sacrifice was acceptable if rewarded with posthumous medals. The Saxe-Coburg blood line ran through from Queen Victoria to Kaiser Bill, Tsar Nick, and King George V .. not to mention our dear old Queen Elisabeth the second and her dead husband Phil the Greek.

And since November provides poppies everywhere, to remind us of the slaughter of the innocents, sent to die in the carnage of the Somme, this old blogger and dissenter is still waiting for the message "Never Again!" to sink in before commemorating those boys and all the rest in wars unending.

Today, Sunday, when the scary ghosts and sprites come out to trick or treat us, let's see later if they find the Retreat House just outside the village ... the custom here is to smile at them and offer a healthy treat, from the pile of apples picked last week, which usually confuses them ... before that Hexham calls, and a Stand in the Park with a rainy forecast so the Bandstand will provide shelter if needed, and maybe a coffee in the dry later at the Beaumont Hotel with whoever wishes to discuss issues philosophical, political, psychological, metaphysical or cosmic ... followed by Waitrose for supplies, organic where possible and a drive back to Stanhope again ...

Tomorrow, the first of November, a visit to Newcastle is planned, and a walk with younger daughter, re-arranged from last week to celebrate her debut appearance on the stage of life, and a Scorpio like her father, whatever that infers. The Gunpowder Plot follows on Friday, when Guido  Fawkes failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament, being betrayed by a friend, which was not very nice. Still, the children have a second chance to extort cash from adults, as they request a penny for the Guy they created, maybe with the help of adults in the game ... cynical? Not at all, honestly! Maybe it's time for another go at blowing up Parliament, metaphorically obviously, since honest parliamentarians are scarce these days, as always ... perhaps starting with the Cabinet and working down from there? Johnson is long overdue for ... ahem ... retirement ...

Ways to change your mind

This world of human beings has nearly as many opinions as individual people, apparently more than 7 billion, which is a lot to take into account when constructing consensual reality in order to organise communities in the hope of keeping them safe, prosperous and happy. Various systems have been followed over the few millennia homo sapiens and variations has roamed the planet, some benign, some malign and many a mix of both, depending on the status of the individual.

Now then, dear readers, if you care to review previous postings in Wear and Dao, you may see we have no reason to believe the essential existence of this multi-faceted, complicated, complex, funny, smart, tragic, needy, simple, difficult, stupid and even sometimes wise illusion which is the egoic construct called "self " ... easier said than done, you may say, which is true enough. Despite all the writings and songs of mystics since the dawn of time, the only person who can truly destroy that tricky imposter is guess who?

Yes, now do you see the problem? The best we can do, maybe, is to take time to clear the mind, sweep out the clutter at every level, look deeply inside, free of the chatter of other human beings on TV screens, Radio, Tablet, Smartphones, even friends in the places you live ... seek solitude, since the very definition of egoic mind, and the reason for its existence, is to present a face, a voice, a body, a smile to another human being, with its own issues to discuss ... and, by the way, having realised from Wm Shakespeare that "All the world's a stage" really ... well, we might as well choose a role that suits us in this phase of our wonderful or horrible life, because we do have that choice ... some even say we chose our own parents and place to be born as the basic condition to begin with! That's from folks subscribing to many lives and karma theories, of course, which is easy to say, harder to swallow.

Please yourself? You might as well, after all ... youngsters in love despite parental disapproval? No need to play Romeo or Juliet and die tragically, just elope and escape the madness of your parents, the ones you chose, after all, so the ones you are free to reject ... why not? And live happy ever after, if you're lucky ... Shakespeare had the key stories covered, so check him out if you want to change your mind,  and there are plenty of contemporary writers to help you as well. Basically, the brain itself may be re-programmed, brainwashed you might say, as proven by the U.S. government, needing conscripts to visit Vietnam a while back, in order to pacify the locals and save them from communism ... a tricky task for farm boys used to shooting rabbits and pigeons, but not women, children or men anywhere at all, since it was forbidden in all religions and none. Of course the Civil War showed what was possible, along with all wars, but Vietnam was a turning point, when it came to killing indiscriminately in combat on the ground. Obviously, the decimation in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was from high above, though the crew who flew over Japan on those missions often went mad with guilt and despair, medals notwithstanding ...

Neuro-plasticity shows the very cells of the brain may be rewired to process alternative consensual realities, as shown in any cult organisation. Which cult do you choose this time? More wars? Sign up for the Armed Forces! Thou shalt not kill a human for any cause? Try the Jehovah Witnesses, they knock on your doors to save your souls whether you like it or not!

Not being keen on cults, despite trying many nice systems like Buddhism of different kinds, this old blogger still seeks Freedom from the Known. .. and yes, dear sceptical reader, even K has his cult followers, as observed without judgement on many visits to Brockwood Park!

Time to walk, it's Saturday again, who knows who might turn up for a visit? Better clean the place up, just in case, it's necessary occasionally anyway ... tomorrow after the clockbackery, time changes again and Hexham's a possibility for a change!

Families continued ...

Today, Thursday marks the special day of two members of the Day clan, plus a very special angel spending time in Stanhope and emanating love wherever she goes. Younger daughter, now with a double barreled surname due to divorce, which she finds very unusual, though a search will inevitably find a few others, and not only posh folks who often like such pretensions of grandeur, quite likes to be special and different from other surnames, though she's by no means short of social skills, nor needy for attention from any random passer-by offering her attention not necessarily with benign intent. Anyway younger daughter responds to her HB verse and gifts with an invitation to visit next Monday, which fits perfectly into other possible plans. By the way, since we're on the subject, neither daughter shows fear of living Life to the full after the traumas of separation of their parents. It happens often, and more than one father has lost all contact with his daughters, for the sake of keeping the new wife happy. Which is sad.

Over to elder sister's first born son of the four she brought into the world hoping for a daughter, eldest nephew sired three daughters and no son, so his Mum finally got the daughter she wanted times 3 from eldest nephew of the clan, with the name of the father, my first brother in law.
That side of the family seems quite normal, and the other boys knocked out two boys, two girls and a boy, and two girls, no boy so far, in descending order. Clearly fertility was not an issue with them.

Meanwhile, in France, younger sister married a Breton peasant, who she met in Toulouse when they were students there. First was a daughter, then the son required to take over the organic farm, when his Dad moved on. My French niece shows no signs of reproducing and now lives in Liverpool, whilst French nephew married a French woman who popped out two boys.

The tragic death of my elder brother, from a brain tumour, left his widow in Australia with three young daughters, one of whom recently produced a daughter to add to the brood.

Back to the events of today, Thursday, and half-term week in these parts, a trip to Durham with Daisy proves just as weird and wonderful as always. The first job was to pop in to fix the micro-switch or cut it off to stop the pinging. An easy task, you might think but ...the next port of call, was the overflow car park near County Hall, a perfect place to park awhile, and free ... this becomes interesting, since the free parking has been commandeered by a mobile covid testing unit. Of course, Daisy and I waited out turn to discuss things with the young man checking us in. He apologised for the inconvenience and saw the reasons I had for taking no part in their game of fascism. He was Rumanian, and knew enough about Ceaucescu to see through the Scamdemic, and was grateful for his job, helping him learn English better, which is fair enough.

Walking past the Railway Station, a worker was drilling holes, and stopped to discuss things and gratefully accepted his free copy of The Light, since he believed none of the papers could be trusted, like most if not all politicians. On through to the City and over the River Wear to the market place, a dear friend was found preparing to paint the faces of excited children queuing up for her artistic services with her daughter helping her as the queue became longer ... before which a hug from her Mum, the artist, and a first meeting with her elder daughter, a Muslim, was very heartwarming because the mother professes admiration for Rumi and Sufism equally with Buddha, so an interesting mix indeed ... the story continues tomorrow, Friday, with a trip with a close friend and her young grandsons for Halloween stories at Seven Stories near Byker, then Saturday maybe a visit from a Buddhist Sufi mystic, and Sunday perhaps another Stand in the Park in Hexham, but who knows, let's see ... one day at a time!

Now it's raining, and time to tog up and get damp, stretch the legs and breathe the fresh air, before settling down in front of the fire, and supper!

Family Constellations

As more apples are collected and mushrooms too, Wednesday turns out rather dreary, and perfect for wrapping the apples in paper and storing them in the cold, plus mushroom soup to freeze for later. Maybe more sloes, who knows?

Family constellations is the topic today, since psychology helps us understand ourselves better. Not necessarily by asking a shrink to section you, or stabilise your mood with dangerous drugs designed to tranquillise you to accept all sorts of shite a sick society considers normal, like poverty, violence, wars unending ... you see the point?

Now, where we sit in the family constellation, clearly has a bearing on how view ourselves, not to mention the way were treated by the others, and how we treated them. For clarity, I am aware Jill Purse has written books on the subject, none of which I've read, so I'm making it up using examples from my constellation and generalising since my family was not particulary unusual, even if the blogger turned out rather weird. And the extreme examples impact on us extremely, while normal examples may impact insidiously, causing silent suffering, because the family members have not acknowledged their normal behaviour as rather weird. Which is tricky!

You may observe, dear long suffering reader, that the definition of constellation is broad, and basically means in this version, families and the problems they cause, or, families and the blessings they bring, to bring a balanced view to the story. As we know, the good news is hardly news, and tragedies and fights are far more newsworthy. For example, poet and miserabilist, Philip Larkin wrote:

They fuck you up your Mum and Dad
They may not mean to, but they do
They give you all the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you ...

Apologies to readers appalled by the sentiments and swear word, but you have to admit it hits the mark. And rhymes, which is always a bonus in a poem.

Back to the centre of his own universe, yes, that's me ... born in a cottage hospital in Fordingbridge in The New Forest of Hampshire in November 1950, i.e. nearly 71 years ago and a Scorpio, whatever that means. Mum pushed me out into this world confidently, since I was the third and she knew these things tend to get easier with practice. A year or two later, my baby sister slipped out, which made two of each, twice what she had planned for, but that's contraception for you. Number two boy and third child, is a perfect position in a normal family, since all the expectations of Dad were laid at elder brother's door, and Mum had her two girls to put into dresses, which seems rather unfair, when Scottish men get to wear skirts and no underwear, which is freedom of a kind, if a little chilly in winter. So, third child set out to get on with his life as he pleased and to cause as much trouble as possible to attract the attention of Mum and Dad, brother and sisters, uncles and aunties, cousins and random friends, not to mention teachers in schools.

Before this brief post turns into an autobiography, let's bring in other characters ... Brenda, for example, born 10 years after Vera, the only child of two doting parents, who introduced her to Vera with the words: Look what the stork's brought you! Vera replied: Well, you can tell that stork to take it back, because I don't want it. Believe it or not, Vera never forgave Brenda for being born, and Brenda, now 70, never understood why she was to blame for being born in the first place, since it was not her idea anyway. Sibling rivalry, it's called, and fortunately this was never a big problem in my family, though you'll have to ask the sisters for their opinion and elder brother died rather early some years ago, a tragedy for Mum and Dad and his wife and three girls in Australia.

What games we humans play, in families and society. .. what a life! Never mind, since we're here we might as well crack on and live it as fully as possible, be kind whenever possible and die peacefully in our sleep if we're lucky! Good night ...

Life unfolding ...

Today, Tuesday, and bin day here in Stanhope as usual, sees this life unfolding in fascinating ways, from the implicate order to the explicate, and back, as explained by David Bohm in his book called Wholeness and the Implicate Order, which took scientific understanding from Newton and materialism, to quantum scale, pointing towards energy being primary, and closer to the view of the mystics over millennia who saw sub-atomic reality without the microscopes, somehow or other. Bohm himself was clearly a mystic, which elevated his view from the mundane and limited explanations of Nils Bohr and the Copenhagen orthodoxy, which sacrificed sanity, philosophy and indeterminacy for lunacy and huge technological progress, with atomic bombs dropped on two Japanese cities to bring Hirohito to the negiating table ... unlike Hitler and Mussolini, the Emperor survived and accepted his new position as a human being without power, a constitutional leader, with political power in the hands of elected parliaments, in the mode of modern democracies like the United Kingdom, Holland and others. Naturally enough, the late entry of the United States of America into the fray, left them in control of the Western World and their main rival for hegemony was the Soviet Empire, as the dreadful slaughter of WW2 morphed seamlessly into the Cold War, as Capitalism and Socialism vied for supremacy.

Of course, the Yanks won that one as socialism morphed into State Capitalism and the Soviet Empire was dismantled, and the Land of the Free ignored the warnings of Marx and Engels, moved on to Globalism and Cartels, setting the scene for fascism across most of the Earth, the United Nations subverted by Plutocrats and WW3 undeclared but clearly embarking on depopulation not with bloody battles, but psychological and biological warfare. Some say Orwell saw it coming in 1984, others Huxley in Brave New World. Either way it's crystal clear the Plutocrats mean business as usual, and are happy to make huge profits from bio-weapons to reduce the 7 billion human beings to maybe a billion by 2030.

Of course, as is known to those like Bohm, no Luciferian types can possibly win at cosmic level, since the poor old Light Bearer only chose to come to Earth from the Angelic Realm, to remind the human beings to address their dark aspects as well as the Light. Which is good news all round, as long as we behave as the best version of humanity we can, rather than indulging in Wars unending at world scale, or in our own psyches, which is fundamentally the same ...

So, dear readers, the latest news from the Retreat House is that Vivek checks out later today to have peace and quiet in a holiday cottage in the village, and other options arising at this off-peak season, and the blogger returns to tranquillity having enjoyed the experience of hosting a teacher of non-duality for a few days and learning so much about Ramana Maharshi and his lineage, which always fascinated me.

Plans for the rest of the week are probabilities and possibilities obviously, as shown by Heisenberg in his Uncertainty Principle, but include walking, talking, silence, thinking, not thinking, younger daughter's 32nd birthday on Thursday, a trip to Seven Stories in Newcastle with close friend and her young grandchildren to be scared by spooky Halloween stories which sound promising, plus surprise visits from other close friends, maybe Wednesday or Saturday. ..

It's late, time to walk, Vivek sleeps late and wakes up late, which is his rhythm.

Light rain and high clouds forecast, let's go outside and see, shall we?!

Weekend out and about ...

Saturday's demo went well, though numbers were rather smaller than expected. Such is the censorship, not to mention expectations, which are never a good idea, whether too high or too low ... safer to have no expectations at all! After driving to Heaton early to make the most of the day, a walk towards the River Tyne stretched the legs and it was still early when the station was reached, and a group of students were gathered to greet folks arriving for an open day to consider putting Northumbria University on their list of options. They listened to my story and were grateful for a copy of The Light to share with their friends. After a coffee and a chat with another customer, who accepted a copy too, the next stop was Amnesty International second hand bookshop, where 4 books went in the rucksack, including Rumi and Lykke, a Danish book about happiness. John, a volunteer was happy with his copy of The Light and said he'd see me at the demo later.

At the Civic Centre, two police officers were standing discussing the demo, and when asked where it began, they indicated the route, and asked how many we were expecting. One was in charge of their side and being optimistic I said a couple of thousand! As it happens they were overstaffed and had more than us, almost, not to mention all the minibuses, though no horses or dogs.

Old friends were greeted and the march lined up for the off, with women holding placards leading us. This kept things peaceful and the cops were friendly and kept us all safe whilst crossing the roads. At the end of the march, a good chat with Toby a young constable took a while, and the walk back to Heaton to see Daisy was fine.

Sunday's plan changed when the younger daughter postponed due to tardy confirmation by her father, so Hexham was back on the agenda, plus a seminar on Common Law at Langley Village Hall, opposite the Garden Station. This was very well attended and intense with an expert lawyer and yoga teacher, Kalli Spell, speaking on the subject and cheering the audience up immensely.

Back at the Retreat House, Vivek, held a Sangha on Zoom which was fascinating indeed. And since today is Monday already, a walk is the start of a brand new week ... the last one in October, meaning November and the last month of Autumn ... no wonder the humans are thinking of Christmases past and near future, and will we be permitted to celebrate with loved ones?
Basically, it's just a Dickens of a shitshow with Scrooge left in charge of the humans. How on Earth did they allow that to occur? Never mind, the ghosts are about this weekend, to scare us as well ... maybe teach the Luciferians a lesson? And if that doesn't do the job, November 5th is next week, and many supporters of Guido Fawkes are planning his resurrection ...

On we go with the stories, the archetypes, stereotypes, heroes and villains all busy playing our roles, as if real! Clearly, when we wake up and realise it's merely all illusion, this egoic structure creating the suffering and poverty, ambitions, despair,  designed to expose our foibles ... and beyond all that duality? Some say non-duality, others unity consciousness, or maybe just relax and be patient ... be kind to yourself and the world from which you were never separate ... and allow the story to unfold ...

Wandering Weardale

A clear spell after the rain, and a Full Moon portal opening opportunities to walk to walk and muse on past, present and future scenes through the unique perspective of the only human being in my universe of discovering the Nature of Reality universally. Yes, dear reader, you guessed it: It's You! Who else has led your life? Lived in your head? Suffered your pain? And in the end, if there is such a thing in deeper reality where eternity's a word with a meaning you'll never understand conceptually, you have your chance to glimpse Liberation from the feeling of isolation and existential angst, and maybe rest in peace there, knowing essentially your egoic heroic suffering individual is constructed as a hologram and beyond that illusion there's no separation at all!

On the subject of non-duality, by the way, a teacher in the tradition of Ramana Maharshi, called Vivek, turned up next door at the holiday cottage for a few days and now stays at the Retreat House with his son, Finn, 18 months old, while he sorts out some practical issues arising, as they tend to do in the world of duality in which we find ourselves. Philosophic discourse ensues, of course!

Being Saturday again, a demonstration in Exhibition Park this afternoon sets the agenda for an old rebel to call over for a protest march, not to mention philosophical discourse on what Freedom means on Earth plane, where the Dark forces prepare for their inevitable demise as the Light shines heralding the arrival of the Age of Aquarius, the dawning of which is well known to old folks who saw freedom bursting out all over the place as the hippies took of their clothes and danced in the fields listening to Beatles and Stones, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and the rest in the Summer of Love. And Leonard Cohen of course, a mystic for sure and the soundtrack for all the years since and beyond. .. Hallelujah was the anthem covered by many singers, and Leonard's version is best not only because he wrote it ... as it happens he never took the credit for songs he knew came from elsewhere. Though the royalties were his and why not!

Tomorrow, the ritual Stand in the Park is postponed for the Father of the younger daughter's birthday celebration ... 32 next week and still beautiful and determined to exercise her unique gifts which currently includes baking the best cakes and pastries in the world, or Sunderland at least, where she's working and commuting daily from over the river Tyne in Newcastle, where she lives and where the protest takes place this afternoon. Daisy is full of fuel and keen for a run or two to see Newcastle again and this old blogger is looking forward to a short walk after breakfast, before setting off for a day out in the city where he once lived ... 30 odd years ago ....

Writing Day ...

The humans, in modern times, exchanged the rhythm of the seasons and the labour required to match the needs of families to survive, essentially. As the species evolved, socially, hunter gathering shifted along with power, as greedy ones organised the excess power they demanded, slavery for most was the norm and frankly it's only the details that have changed in the brief time humans decided Earth was a good planet to colonise ... in geological time a minute or two is all it's taken to make a shocking mess of land and sea and atmosphere, with the slavers, let's estimate merely 1%, leading the race to return to space in search of another planet to destroy.

Now, whether this 1% of plutocrats is fully human, with souls, is an open question ... some say they're reptilian and maybe here from Pluto or further afield to teach the human beings how to stand up for Freedom against their tyranny. Maybe it's true, who knows?

After Saturday's coastal trip, Daisy was ready for a run over the fells to Hexham again, to meet the tribe of like-minded folks organising ways to resist the fascist authoritarian rulers who used a compliant Parliament to nod through Martial Law without any discussion with the population about whether a virus was sufficient reason to declare civil war on an international scale via the United Nations and their agencies, the World Economic Forum and World Health Organisation.

In the Park members of the Tribe gathered to hear from three fine and fearless warrior women, Lee, Lyne and Michelle, who found themselves invited to a Zoom room in the week, where rebel medics and awake philanthropists discussed their plans to set up a parallel health service in England from the bottom up, since the top heavy, top down NHS has been corrupt for far too long and the mistaken medical model of health has persisted in its work to patch up and repair broken human bodies as if we are cars in need of new tyres, new parts, a change of oil and a good polish to keep us on the road longer. Of course, resources were spent on public health, but tax money could never match the revenue of large corporations with crap food, lethal drugs, mindless media to sell, and the psychologists willing to sell their souls to support the plutocrats with advertising with subliminal messaging to undermine the health of the population.

A rebel doctor from Hartlepool , Peter Chan, is one of the movers and shakers amongst many others thoroughly fed up with the disgraceful actions of health professionals last year and ongoing, to coerce people into accepting the injection of so-called vaccines, which appear to be bio-weapons tailored to reduce the world population in The Great Reset proposed by Professor Klaus Schwab of the WEF, backed by the 1% with such Luciferians as Gates, Soros and others investing and reaping massive returns from the drugs paid for by the taxes about to soar, as the money supply is manipulated to get the bankers off the hook yet again.

Now, here's a problem for this old blogger, cheerfully joining the fray, and keen to replay the heroic role of Che Guevara of his youth. Clearly philosophy and psychology teaches us to step back and step up a level in Life School, since we're all here to learn our lessons and realise our mistakes so as to ensure karma is cleaned up for the next life. If you believe all that metaphysical meandering taught in so many different ways, that is ... frankly, dear readers, at 70 years and counting, it's time to invest in the future, and as the Catholics taught, it's never too late to confess your sins and get to heaven, along with other Christian cults, where only the chosen few get a ticket to go up, whilst the great majority are going to hell ... hmmm can this be true? No thanks, let's try another approach and create our heaven here on Earth, taught by common sense, ethics, compassion for all the world, and whatever system you follow, as long love is at the heart of it!

Yesterday was writing day, since this story composed of many stories, published freely, thanks to google, represents the efforts of one so-called human being to pass the time and share some insights for any reader who cares to take a look at it. Obviously there's no censorship of it, though google could always crash it if it chose to ... paranoid? Not really, just aware and unconcerned about these games or the outcomes of them ... play them well folks, it passes the time, after all.
Vivek, next door, joined the walk to Frosterley for apples and spoke of his system towards the truth, the Ultimate in his lineage with Papaji and Ramana Maharshi teaching non-duality, which was fascinating indeed. Unity is taught at the Park, at South Shields and the Headland of Hartlepool by friends with systems and no systems at all ... so, who knows what to make of it all?

At Wear and Dao it's clear enough that confusion is cleared by curiousity and enjoying this life as if it's the only one, being kind wherever possible and playing the human games to pass the time wisely ... so, it's Tuesday again, still dark outside, recycling day in Stanhope, blue bins to put out, breakfast first, then out around Dawn to wander somewhere or other ... let's see shall we?!

Sunderland on Sea ...

Fish have a habit of finding the Wear near Sunderland each year and swimming up to Stanhope to spawn. During the previous world war, many Mackems or humans from Sunderland, were evacuated to avoid the bombings of shipyards and enjoyed their stay in the hills so much they returned each year too. Some even stayed!

Yesterday, Saturday, on an impulse, it was decided to head East to the coast to deliver copies of The Light to friends in South Shields who planned to hand them out to anyone interested in information not found in the mainstream media due to censorship. After discussions with Joe and Pam at their house with a view of the sea, and some Tibetan rituals designed to open the third eye, a pleasant walk along the coast to Marsden Rock ensued and an encounter with Larry, a local lad from there, recently returned in retirement and now 70, which is quite old. After some time sharing memories, a bus arrived heading South to Sunderland, where a protest march for freedom was planned for about 1pm, and arriving there in good time I sought a police officer to discover the starting point, since they were expected to know such things, so they could help us cross the roads safely, of course.

Believe it or not, no coppers were seen anywhere in the centre of town, including at the police station, now closed down, since they find it a chore to have people popping in with their questions, which used to be their job ... anyway, a nearby local advised that demos usually started in a park nearby, but after walking down there no demo was found, though a student at a student house, reading economics and here from Nigeria, discussed Marxism for a while and took some copies of The Light for his friends. Back near the centre, a council run library, museum and art gallery was open for business and copies of the paper were left discreetly for folks to discover, and an employee accepted one to read on his lunch break.

At a cafe opposite, a lunch break was taken, with WiFi and a light lunch and a paper left there too, why not! A family of four at the next table included a child of 14 months exploring her world with curious eyes full of wonder and smiling at strange blokes as well as her adoring parents and aunt.

Heading for a bus stop to return to Daisy, patiently waiting in South Shields, the demo turned up with a few friends holding placards and some delighted to receive copies of The Light from the rucksack. Back at Pam and Joe's a cup of tea was taken and conversation ensued before Daisy returned West, filling up with fuel on the way ready for today's trip to Hexham and the ritual Stand in the Park.

Meanwhile, next door a teacher of non-duality, advaita-vedanta, called Vivek, from Bavaria, is here on holiday for a week, which promises to be interesting to say the least, as this life keeps on getting weirder by the day. In a good way ...

Slowing racing mind

At the retreat house sunrises are appreciated for their magical qualities and shared in photographic images with words to enchant those who may never have seen such a thing, captured for eternity, especially in those deceptive moving images, called films, or movies in Hollywood, which used them to hoodwink much of the human population susceptible to the false narratives like "Happy ever after", "USA saves us from tyranny again", "Becoming obscenely rich makes you very happy", and all that bullshit. European cinema was more sophisticated.

Standing patiently awaiting the daily miracle as Dawn becomes day and Sun gazing with mind still, if possible, presents a thrill suffusing every cell of the entity called "body", in reality merely a vehicle carrying a Soul around some say ... and at the end of the day, guess what? Yep, Sunset offers similar scenery, but towards the West. Such events do weird things to the human mind and remind us where we came from, which, when processed through the operating system holding the unique life story of the experiencer, evokes emotions indescribable ...

Such information, now all over the internet, in binary code, including images of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, me eating, me posing, me improved artificially please look at me and press like if you see me me me ... endlessly ... hmm no wonder the universe is expanding exponentially dear readers, the 3D holographic world is full of egos expanding too! Perhaps it's all illusion after all, as taught by many enlightened ones like Lao Tse, Gautama, Jesus Christ how many do we need before we see the bigger picture? All religions are One! Hmm, William Blake taught that and escaped the inquisition somehow or other ...

Meanwhile, in Weardale, the priority is to collect vitC freely available stored in berries of many kinds, plus fruits falling to the ground in orchards nearby to keep the immune system optimal, along with vitD stored in Sun, not to mention pure energy in the rays, and in the fresh air for breatharians ..
Sloes are appreciated by friends who care to steep them in booze, until Christmas arrives when presents are desired, and what better than Sloe Gin, Sloe Brandy and so on, home made by a team including humans playing human games, when despair is manufactured by the Dark Team spreading terror in case a Turkey is missing at the feast. Madness!

Visits to friends passes the time pleasantly, since energy shared creates illusions of all kinds, and kindness costs nothing, which is a passport to heaven, effectively, metaphorically ... other human beings report hell realms, depending on reminiscences as processed ... but Heaven and Hell are functions of the mind according to Blake and other Seers ... so, dear readers, where's your passport to the destination you seek? Don't hurry, take all the time you need. Why not sloe down, enjoy Sun, Moon too ... gathering berries, maybe a sip of elderberry wine at Christmas, wine not, don't complain, check your fears and escape lingering dark energy ... in the end Love always wins, here and now, in 3D transformed through 4D spacetime, to the 5th dimension of reality ...

Quantum physicists, by the way, already speak of more, maybe an infinitity or Many Worlds Theory, but that's too crazy to imagine ... isn't it?
Tao Te Jing verse one: The Tao which may be described is not the immortal Tao ...
That's enough for now ... it's Saturday again and there are things to do, friends to see ...
Life eh? It's not a bad way to pass a few decades is it... see you soon!

Tuesday again

For a retired person with a simple life, the week since the last post has been full of most interesting people and events, some of which may be recalled to round up the second week of October 2021, for future reference in case memory fades due to the inevitable advance of decrepitude and eventual bodily death. Funnily enough, as linear time adds days and weeks, months and years, any lingering fears are absent, since the blessings of 70 years well lived are fondly recalled and selective memory has processed the crap times as stories to learn from, not traumas from which to suffer every night as if still real.

Yesterday was said to be a date in time of numerological significance if you believe in such stories, dear readers, and my sceptical mind still questions everything, since the Nature of Reality here and now at Wear and Dao, as apparently lived by an apparently real sentient human being, with an individual and egoic structure chattering on remembering times past, anticipating future possibilities,  whilst trying to focus on each precious ,moment. .. having seen the liberating teaching that small self is fundamentally false, is true.

Last week, a friend arrived to stay on Retreat, which has been a delight, whilst another friend visited just before and offered a brief break on the coast for a change of scene. Since she is a serious artist and Buddhist, who also has discovered no self, as taught by Gautama 2.5 millennia ago in India, the stay was fascinating and the small house in which she lives is decorated by images she painted of Buddha, Sufis, and all sorts and continues to do in the back yard. The Retreat guest, meanwhile has also realised no self a while back, all of which creates an interesting mix of humans deploying their egos in order to offer roles for the stories and games humans play in the dance of Lila, which goes on and on as the humans try to learn their lessons from the Life School in which we live, time after time ... assuming ongoing consciousness, which is still an open question, of course!

Daily events get crazier, as synchrocities abound and every coincidence is examined carefully for significance ... hopefully not confused with confirmation bias, but hey! if we want to skip the suffering stage, as Buddhists may, then play roles offering equanimity and contentment, whilst staying curious and enjoying the company of fellow travellers on the spiritual path, the pathless path to Nirvana ... which it is said is beyond bliss or any words, stories, games, plays on stages, or any metaphysical,  metaphorical mystery you choose. ..

One day, who knows, all will be revealed; meanwhile, dear readers, Dawn is close by and legs are itching to stretch themselves because they still work quite well, in conjunction with all the other bodily parts, operating as if separate with a computer called a brain in the skull, storing all the worries, fleeting thoughts, terrors, traumas, joys, sorrows ... hmm or maybe the radio transmitter receiver seen by Tesla, the mystic ... explaining non-local fields, expanding universes, dimensions beyond 3 and 4, even 5 arriving now as the long awaited Age of Aquarius transforms the lives of the humans choosing Freedom from Samsara ... why not!?

Weekend fun and games

It's Tuesday again in a rainy Stanhope, with a reliable forecast of a good topping up of the River Wear flowing close enough to here for me to hear clearly ... revealing the idea that rhyming can sometimes be overdone. Waterproof gear worn on top of a waterproof skin, with wellies for boots, should ensure an energising walk for an hour or two and a safe return as long as I don't fall into the River Wear and end up floating downstream to the sea at Sunderland.

Saturday was wet also, and the two options of being wet protesting in Stanley or dry here at the Retreat House was resolved by inviting Joe, Pam, Sharon, Geraldine and Frankie the collie to lunch and to hear about their plans as healers. A friend, Jen, who attended the Stanley event reported that they made an impact in the rain, holding up their signs for passing motorists to beep in support as they drove past, dry. Meanwhile we heard about the benefits of Kefir seeds soaked in full fat milk as a pro-biotic from Joe and Pam, who left a jar for us to sample; and the plans of Sharon, a Shaman trained by fellow Shamans in Colombia to introduce Plant Medicine healing in North-East England. Frankie snoozed mostly, until Geraldine went up to try the Schumann Resonance strobe light effects designed to open her third eye, and I seized the chance to venture out togged up with wellies so he could have a run, a pee and a poo, before returning about ten minutes later.

The session ran on later than planned, and was most enjoyable and educational ... great to see Joe after about seven years, and to meet Pam, his partner, plus Sharon the Shaman who appeared to be wise beyond her years, after her experiences in Colombia with the Shamans there.

Sunday turned out dry after a showery start, and the usual drive over to Hexham was rewarding and inspiring as always, with new folks arriving to Stand in the Park and discuss issues of concern in the Sun. Six of us sat in the Beaumont Hotel with coffee and croissants for lunch, which was radical  and deeper dialogue ensued for an hour or so, until the table was required for people who'd reserved it for their proper Sunday lunch at 2, which seems late to me.

Yesterday was the birthday of Geraldine, and we drove to Cragside for her treat. The weather was kind and the house a delight, with a weird kind of new normal apparent as some visitors and staff persisted with masks and others did not ... which of course is actually quite normal because we are all entitled to choose what to wear, as long as we wear something, since The National Trust does not encourage nudity at its places, except Studland Bay, where it's delightfully normal, though not compulsory.

Later, back at the Retreat House, engaging in FB fun, it became clear that much social media was down, as planned without warning, clearly, to really wind up the addicts. U.K. Column News was running on replay, which was analytical and educational as usual, and the FB fast was fine as an early night was required anyway ... early this morning FB had returned, but if we fully comprehend the power these Dark Forces really hold, we'd better get used to such tactics, because they can cut off all sorts of supplies including our internet and cash machines any time they choose.

Are you scared yet? Not me, dear reader, my new hero and role model is Lauren, played by Catherine Tate, who in any situation where she feels oppressed by authority, she sits quietly at the back of the classroom, biding her time, her eyes narrowing, as she prepares her response including her immortal catchphrase : Am I bothered!  Do I look bothered? I really am not bothered. ..

Try it out for yourself. Mock the fascists. .. they really don't like it.