Dutch Plan to Build Tulip Shaped Island

clipped from blog.wired.com Executing on a Parliamentary commission, a Dutch agency has put together a plan to build a 247,000 acre island off the coast of their country in the shape of a tulip. The project would follow in the dubious tradition of Dubai’s The Palm and The World island building schemes.

By the way, the poster of the article seems to be concerned that this will damage the environment. As many of the comments below the authors article pointed out: No it wont damage the environment - or lets just say nature destroys itself or is constantly changing and reforming. How is this any worse? Perhaps we should go green first with our cars and all start walking before we complain about an island being built.

Peace

dAlen

Trickle up Technology: {If your crazy}

Intro:
Bit** & complain is all most people do when confronted with an obstacle.
Whether personal or business.
{i.e., Your food is over/under cooked, someone arrived late to an important meeting, your spouse refuses to act in accordance to your pre-conceived notion of ‘life’, or someone just cannot seem to grasp where you are coming from.}

Sure, it may be extremely hard to notice - even to oneself - if such negativity is disguised in the form of a pleasantries. This indeed is the case with the majority of people, the majority of the time.

Im using words, which have already a lot of preconceived notions attached to them, to point beyond what they are saying. - The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon. The dog watching his owners hand wave back and forth doesn’t know to look at the object to which the owner points. No, Im not calling you dogs by any means, this is a pointer.
None-the-less, it still shares the same root attributes that raw Bit**ing and complaining have.

In saying this, let me go a bit further and see if I can bring up some points that lay hidden deep in a lot of us, but we never visit them as we don’t know they exist. And if they are brought up, then we are on the defense, as the words used typically are associated with the accusative and not from genuine sharing of experience.

I want (the world/business) to change:
“Its unfair”, “It isn’t right”, etc.

Sound familiar? By itself the words are easily identified as whiners which we would say that is not part of our vocabulary. It may not be, but lets take a look at the fruit, or our life and actions to see what they say.

Example:
“Large Corporations tend to scre* over the consumer and have no regards in creating true service with the intent of expanding for the betterment of the end user as well as mankind together.”

What this means will vary to whoever reads it, again its a rough formula of words used to provoke a certain thought pattern to help it align and understand what is being said. (Tricky as each persons grid pattern interprets what they read according to their established milieu.)

Part of getting past this is to interrupt the brains normal pattern (lazy) of processing the information so that it is forced to rethink and contemplate what it read. This to is hard, as most peoples brains fizzle out and the brain deems it ‘boring’.

But here we go.

How to handle the ‘big business’:
Us vs. them never gets anywhere.
The ego is exclusive and not inclusive. I will tell you that is basically the core of how I was/am.
Awareness helps bring you out. For me I would like to do everything myself, wanting ‘control’. (Again a sure sign of ‘ego’. Ego is not bad, but its as if the tool possesses us. I bet the fall in the gArden was Adam & Eve getting the ego tool (knowledge of duality) before they could handle it. The proof is in the mess the world is in. We sinned…that is in greek “missed the mark” or got off course a bit.

Its one thing to watch and observe what is happening and then to take action.
But I would think that for the most part we are not about taking action, we are about complaining hoping that some glorious angel will come down and fix it for us. We expect God to pop from a cloud like a genie and perform our very whim.

We were created in the image of God…time for us to be the co-creators we were made to be.

Outlook:
So you see that a trend is that big business is not focusing on customer satisfactions or user experience. You may feel (and rightfully so) that they want you to adapt the idea you need the product and it is a privilege that you can use the product. - ah, no. Its a privilege that they continue to take advantage of peoples naivety and those people pay them for it.
pssst…Hey I got some swamp land to sell you that you can be grateful for.

Point proven:
The above point proves what Im saying.
With what I said one can say “you have negative words”. Yes, but you have to know the heart, intent and what is driving what is said. Words are limited and mostly associated with the negative or the glorious…nothing to explain the shades of grey that transition from white to black - or for that matter step out of the picture altogether to show another dimension.

As with my comment: “I have swamp land in Florida”. It was meant to make a point.
But it can make a very different point (and be as valid) by saying, “When we find gratefulness in all things, this then is peace. Very true, but again, how are you reading the pointers.
- And people think translation is easy.

Proactivity:
Be grateful for what is.
The fact is that the companies do offer a service.
When they get all the way greedy the ego will self explode and a new ego will take form.
But see what it is they are doing, and how can it be improved upon?

Can you share with them, not in a manner of superiority, what may help the flow of customer service. It could be that they just haven’t thought of it. Put the seed in and see where it goes.
It may drop on the ears where it landed…who knows. It may go to the top and then it will trickle down to the rest. By doing this you are proactive to making the solution, instead of wallowing in not enjoying the only moment you have. Now.

The end of Life:
One day you will lay down and realize the futility in that which you struggled.
But then its to late. You have “lived but not lived” This is hell unto itself. To squander the very life you were given. What are you doing? Do it with all you have or stop doing it.

Rest of the story:
It could be, in the scenario presented here, that it just is not going or fitting into the path that is set out for you. (that is following someone else’s path, or waiting for a business to turn.)

Then turn around and change the ‘injustice’ in the system and make your contribution by going open source. (If that is indeed something you are into.) For another it may be saving the planet.
You may find that places like Green Peace don’t even offer a refuge for you.

When you fight something, you use the same energy, or level of intelligence of that with which you fight. You turn into that which you oppose. So again, no need to mud sling…unless you like getting dirty and realize that no true benefit will come of it.

So can you then go ‘green’ another way?
You don’t like what BMW is doing with the hydrogen car? Think this is not true free energy?
Support that which is closest to you…you can do nothing by yourself. If you can then start your own thing, but you must have people if you want to make a ‘mass consciousness’ change.

Change:
Anyone can have a true and lasting change in their life, where the world does not affect them.
Like one saint who was being burnt cried out “you ready to eat me…I think Im done!”
Oh what gnashing of teeth by those who are runned by the ego constantly and have not harnessed the tool.

If you want to make a bigger change, you have to affect a larger group. Two or more.
“Where two or more are together” - Jesus. He is talking quantum mechanics here…not some flowery poetry. When you have 2-3 together you get a mini mass consciousness.

You control the media, you get what you want. (hehe. well there are those few that are the ’seizures’ in the mind of God. IN that they are showing the potential for a mass change, but the body as a whole only follows its set path leading a ’spiritual fit’.)

Trickle up Technology: {If your crazy}
Crazy like a fox…but it doesn’t mean it will work.

It appears that it truly is trickle down technology.
When the rich adapt something (i.e., BMW hydrogen car, and the ‘knights’/hollywood stars/singers, etc. drive around in it) then the mass want it. Until then, “we don’t need it…gas is good forever, etc.” - oh, about knights, surely most of you know the queen knights those in entertainment (Sean Connery, Bono U2, Rolling Stone dude, etc.) Why? One brit I talked to said Knight means nothing anymore. I beg to differ.

The true knight:
Queen aint crazy. She no longer needs men on shining horsed…she has men/women on the silver screen. They influence and move society…the sheep.

Don’t like being called a sheep? The Bible calls you one left and right and you are one.
You may ask who your shepherd is, all I can say is it aint who you think it is. But thats another post in and of itself.

So it comes from top:
Convince people at top of the agenda, and they will move the boat.
But I tell you, it doesn’t happen over night.

I worked at a company before that took years to get what they wanted, and you would think it was insane what they were doing. But I suppose they knew how to move the type of energy there.
For me it was obvious and a waste of time…but for most, I suppose it takes a series of steps.

(not implying Im special…anyone can think out of the box…but not many are motivated too. This is the difference.)

As people adapt and expand their view, a lot more can happen faster - and interestingly you may see that violence drops. Again, a topic for another post.

But as we note, God uses the good and bad.
There is so much to say in connection with this statement, but to go into the human psychology of it now is beyond the scope of this post.

Conclusion:
With that I wrap it up.

#1 - If you see a problem, does it affect you? How does it affect you? Does it bring you down?
Then you are caught on the same level of intelligence as the problem you want to ‘fight’.
“That which you resist, persist.” - Eckhart Tolle.

#2 - What can you do to proactively make a change in what it is you want to see change in?
Is it a true desire? If it is then you will do something about it. If not, its just ego feeding off the complaint.

Peace

dAlen

DRM (Digital Rights Management) Targets You - not the pirate

Intro:
DRM is an interesting topic and quite polarizing to say the least.
Lets take a look at a few of the players in this game and find out who the real victim is: YOU

The Pirate:
So who is this pirate that they are going after?
Most of us think of Jimmy & Jane who are sharing a music file, or Johnny who borrows a piece of software to learn at home.

No, those are not the pirates, they are the scapegoats to get your eyes off of whats happening…or what may seem like an oxymoron to that statement, trying to get their eyes fixed on the goals of the true pirates…the Industry.

But I wont go there…yet.

The real pirates that actually cost the industry money, are the guys who take software for free and resale it on the street.

In essence, this is the only true pirate that the industry faces.
Everyone else is someone who would not have bought it to begin with.

i.e. Jimmy & Jane sharing what they already paid for, kind of like the days when people openly shared recorded tapes and even downloaded files before the masses became brainwashed to believing that sharing is illegal. (after all, one day we will pay per minute of the song we listen to…and it wont stop there until your bled dry of every bit of cash you have. And by the way, the true pirates are the artist getting ripped off by the archaic music industry. Maybe they should lead the revolt…but they are not, they are but sheep too.)

Or Johnny who wants to improve his skills but cant afford a software package, so he borrows a copy to learn on at home so that he is more marketable in the job place. Instead of the industry thinking, “Hey, this kid will one day be someone who will buy our products, etc.”, the ‘kid’ is looked at as a hardened criminal.

I will tell you what ‘Johnny’ will do…write open source apps to blow these ancient dinos out of the water. Industry is biting the hand that feeds it. People stop buying the ‘bloat-ware’ and going open-source, something will change.

So whats going on?
Words are limited and are merely pointers.
Depending on where you on this subject, your mind is already made and you will filter what Im saying through the grid system already set up. “The system is right…”

This mentality truly interest me. See, in Sweden its not illegal to have file sharing.
In fact many forget it used to not be illegal in the U.S.

Now of course the Industry would want you to believe that they have owned your soul from before you were conceived, but if you just think back a few years, you should be able to remember how this all came about. Somehow people suck up what is told to them from people from ‘above’.
“Surely they must know…they have the money and the ’smarts’.” Yeah the smarts to put you into more of a clamp.

Ah, so thats it!
You might be getting closer to what is going on.
If the Industry is at all intelligent, they will realize that you can never stop a true pirate.
They forgot about the guys truly making them loose money…all the rest is just statistics and greed and pure wish that they could make people pay for a product they don’t want or value at where they have it at.

So as they tighten their grips, the peoples mindset gets tightened with it.
The majority no longer say, “How can we both benefit from this relationship”.
i.e., can I learn program ‘x’ for free and then when I make my first dime, pay for the program?
This sounds nice and has been the case in the past. (There is one company that does give you an educational version to use for free…Maya. Way to go guys. That water mark is a bit hard, but you are closer to an idea of a two way relationship between software company and individual, that I have seen.)

See, they know if more people learn their software, that their software will become de-facto in studios. In essence it will force businesses to use what people know. And those who make enough money to get a job off of the 3D software, will buy a copy of Maya…built in loyal customer.

Truth about people:
People are built to want to do things straight forward.
That is, a majority of people that pay for software do so, not because of strict DRM, but because they are inherently ‘programmed’ to do so anyway.

But instead of working with such people, they target them to be the ones to suffer under such silly DRM, which will always be broken, and I will tell you why.

The reason:
It is by far easier to break than to build. Chaos is easier than Creation.
Build your DRM and see how fast its broken. Oh, you can put up a fix quicker now days…well you will forever be on your toes, as the ability to break is unlimited.

And this is the human flaw of the Ego. The very root of those people in the Industry (entertainment and business).

The issue:
Ego does one thing, and does it well. FEAR.
“I want control”, and the more the Ego seeks control, the more the sheep suffer, and the people they try to make submissive, slip through their fingers…as the ego begins to crack and completely shatters.

True, it reshapes into another form - but perhaps its part of evolution.
Ego is seeking resolution and to evolve past its story of FEAR, displayed through the need to control. Something that is evasive to all.

Conclusion:
You cant change the ego, and you cant argue a point.
You fight the law, as Paul said, you wont live at peace in the land.

Does this make you a sheep as well. Of course not. If you consciously know what is happening, you can see clearer how to react in the situation.

For Jimmy & Jane with the music…go indie with those who want to share, and dump the need to listen to what people say you should like.
For Johnny, go open-source. There are capable programs.

Now if you need the power of the software coming from the big corporations, then pay them their dime. But they need to remember, that as they tighten their grip - on the horizon something else is being developed to dethrone them. And it will come in the form, of not more features, but that of listening to and being part of the people.

“He knows Rome…the mob is Rome” - to paraphrase from the movie “Gladiator”.

Yes, the Industry knows this well, and they have played the tune of the piper well - though I have been surprised at how more natural rights have been increasingly taken away without anyone noticing, and even calling it normal.

Now this is the true Sorcerer indeed. (master of manipulation.)

In the End:
Its not an us vs. them.
The ego seeks conflict, and the conflict that comes back is just ego looking at itself in the mirror.

True resolution comes not through fighting, but understanding. With understanding comes wisdom and the ability to choose. Once you do this, you will be no ones slave. - and this whole issue of ‘piracy’ will show itself for the child’s play that it is.

- have fun in your sandbox!

peace

dAlen

Anti-Aging Drugs Could Change the Nature of Death

Wanna live forever? Or at least extend your age a bit? No? Then what about dieing without all the pain associated with old age - yes, even a Classical Christian couldnt argue that point.

clipped from blog.wired.com A new class of drugs aimed at age-related physical and mental deterioration could change not only the nature of life, but of death. The drugs target mitochondria, the cellular power generators that provide our bodies with chemical energy. Over time, mitochondria accumulate damage, causing cells and eventually tissues to malfunction and break down. If the pattern holds in people, death would not be preceded by months or years of suffering. It would also come without warning, forever catching family and loved ones by surprise. I started wondering what form death would take when diseases of aging are eliminated. “Surprisingly, this straight-forward question is not very easy to answer. “They die of natural death ….probably their heart stops to beat!” Hey Denis,You missed a couple. Alpha Lipoic acid which is a better anti-oxidant than E or C. Rhodiola Rosea, a Russian herb that also calms you down. (You can grow that last one.)

Check out the full article and comments at Wired.

Loosing my Religion or Evolution of the Soul?

Intro:
I have seen people in Christianity, prominent people, who later left the fold and went in a totally different direction.

To many Classical Christians, such a person would be seen as having never truly been saved.
But again, this is a generalization as their are millions of Christians and quite a few mainstream ideas in who is saved to begin with.

Not getting into the differences of the dogma and doctrine of Christianity, the mains stream idea is that these so called apostates were never truly part of the fold to begin with - or even worse, wolves in sheeps clothing.

Step Back
Lets step back and get a perspective here. The fact is that many of us never evolve in our walk with God so who are we to make pre-judgments so quickly - regardless of how sound of a case we think it is? The Fact is we are to judge not. One reason, out of many, is like new born babes, we lack the proper perspective in which to view things.

My experience
My whole life, has been a spiritual journey, from one stepping stone to another.
You could say that like most classical christians, I was limited to wondering the desert for many years. Never truly advancing. But of course all experience adds up, and when we are ready, so is the spirit ready to open our eyes to the truth and for the next level of understanding.

My 5 years of work at a In Touch Ministries was an interesting time for me indeed.
Much I saw, much I heard, and much I tried to make sense of all that I had collected over the years in my personal journey with Christ.

I was blessed in that time period to be introduced to several authors, one in particular, that would broaden my perspective forever. The person in question is none other than the late Thomas Merton.

Catholic Monk:
Its funny how a Catholic Monks influence snuck into the life of a hard core, zionist, zealous, evangelical, Bible believing Christian. (Well believed about the Bible from my narrow perspective handed down to me by the church.)

How did this happen? Quite simply through John Michael Talbot. An innocent enough Catholic monk who is famous in the Christian realm. (And I mean the Protestant one specifically.) I read some of the lyrics from John Michael Talbot which were actually inspired or came from Merton.

The thought was great and uplifting, and I took the plunge and looked into the writings of Merton.

I have to admit, that initially Merton was like a breath of fresh air.
His book on contemplation brought the reality of a life & relationship with God as a true possibility, and not some distant goal of attaining some reward in a distant future or after death.

Turning Point
In those days I was researching hard and heavy. I was fulfilling that commandment which said “seek the Lord with all of your heart and you will find.” It was clear that it did not say, “seek within all your fear, in all of your dogmatic ways that seem safe to you.” God put it on the table and basically said he was big enough and everywhere that even in Sheol (hell) we can find him.

One of the key things from Merton, was his relationship that he had with people outside of the faith. For the first time I saw someone communicating with Buddhist monks, and learning from them and sharing ideas and thoughts. He was seeking God in all of creation, and not pushing a doctrine on anyone.

In short he was demonstrating Love in its fullest. Non judgment, non ego (false self), and this simply means acceptance where that person is at. Yes, Jesus did this a bit.

Jesus a pusher? (not!!!)
Most of us think Jesus was a secret or sly pusher.
“Hey I love you tax collector, now why not go off and pay back and make penance for all your sins.” or “Hey prostitute, I love you…by the way stop your profession.”

People fail to realize and to take to hear that there was no obligation.
See we identify people by stories, by the labels that they create about who they are and who we think they are. The lady in the Bible was not a prostitute. Was she caught with her legs open while hanging with Jesus? No. Then she is not a prostitute. She is not her actions, neither is the tax collector.

I know, this is heavy what I am saying, and will really yank some classical christians chains.
Most of this rattling will be from the chains of fear that have the classical christian in their grip.

“But…but…if this…what if…oh that cant be”.

You are what you eat, and you are what you focus on. Its no wonder most Christians don’t have peace, they cant relax and let God be the judge…they are all to anxious to do that which they were asked not to do (saying ‘you know them by their fruit’), and not spending the time doing explicit commands: Fear not. Fear not. Fear not. - oh, did I mention, Fear not.
And love, and don’t judge. You need to know love, go read paul, (does not remember wrong…and is not future projecting on someone to keep them in a state of fear and guilt that they may slip)

So, here I saw, in a Catholic monk, of all places, an example of someone who actually demonstrated that which I searched for in Christianity…the ability to show love.

Divided Body, where does it unite?
My whole life I went and sought why the body of Christ was divided, to see what it was that they shared in common…if I could find what they had in common, I could unite the body of Christ (at least for myself) as this would be a sign that it is no longer dogma, as it transcended the schism of the protestant Christian faith.

The only thing I took away was the idea that Love is the key to life and Christianity.
Even the concept of salvation varies greatly. (some are saved forever, others loose it at each step and have to pick it up again…oops, it left, where did it go this time. And yet others are predestined to go to heaven while other clay pots are predestined for the kilns of hell.)

So here I had the concept that they all agreed on, but did not see any example…until Merton.

Wow, all of this debate, apologetics to push my own dogma on someone else (who clings to their own dogma, lest his world be shaken and crumble…), and all the while I would have been better off discoursing with the other side to see what piece of God dwelt with them. “God lets the rain fall on the good and bad” Its time to awake and take that for what it means. Christians are not the sole owner to exclusive rights to God. Hate to break it to you. - oh, and God doesn’t need us to ‘defend the faith’, I think He is quite big enough for that, but many apparently lack faith.

In these time it is dangerous. As usually the person goes from one state of ego and swaps it out for something else. “Oh, now Im a Satanist” or “Oh now Im this, or that”.

Whatever it is that they are, after being disillusion with Christianity doesn’t matter - as the truth is they are at the baby stage of understanding at whatever other faith/idea they picked up. And one thing remains constant, they stay in disillusionment.

It appears to be polar sides, but it isn’t…its the same baby talk from another angle.

Almost stayed polarized:
For a couple of years, I could have been there. I saw Christianity in a totally different way, and was not sure how I related to that which I devoted my whole life to. What do I do, try to point out the fallacies in classical christians belief systems, proving where they are wrong? Is this not the error that I already encountered in the baby stage of Christianity? That is to argue with those who did not agree with me. (We would call it persuasive friendship evangelism. “Stay on the right path, and we are bosom buddies. Or otherwise we treat you like the Christian sects and keep our distance while ’still loving you’. - this sounds like someone around a leper doesn’t it?

Just this past year I realized something. Its not that I am not longer a Christian. For that matter, what is a Christian is a better perspective. I know, Jesus was the first one wasn’t he. lol

No, I have begin to go from drinking babe milk to understanding what it is all those symbols and parables in the Bible point to. - no longer confusing the symbol for the truth.

“Creation testifies of Gods existence”
I am now to see God in His creation everywhere. As Paul said, “I become all things to all people that I may win a few.” In other words, I talk in the lingo that my fellow man talks in so that they can relate to me and understand where I am coming from. “To the Jew a Jew, to the heathen a heathen, etc., etc.)

Jesus was a great example of this as he spoke in words that people could at least hope to relate to. - parables (not sure how successful it was, as his disciples had some serious issues before his death and after. Check out Peter… arguing with Paul? The dude was a pharisee for ‘Pete’s’ sake! lol

Come on Peter with some humility.

Well this was written in a whirlwind, but there you go. The question is, have you been able to make the Bible applicable to your life? And I mean past the euphemisms of “Have you been in the word lately?” or the game of trying to catch up to the world to eventually overtake it politically to force ‘Jesus’ view on earth’. (what an irony heh? Wonder why Jesus didn’t over throw the roman government like Judas and the zealots wanted if His glorious plan was to have a bunch of Christian zionist, evangelicals do it for him in the 2000’s)

But anyway. There is life, and there is joy. My life has transformed, and I would not trade the path I am on for anything. Im not hear to change anyone from their faith to mine. You have the truth…its ‘near and in you’.

Conclusion:
The key is to get past the idea of the false self (ego)…find out what it is, how it works and then you will be able to shed off all the layers of its insanity that come again like a torrent of rain.
Find the key and you will master and have control over your life - or in other words, your life with God will be revolutionized.

I realize not everyone was as zealous as me. There are many of what we would call ‘fence sitters’.
Many people out there don’t know how pious one can be in this egoic game of religion.

But there you are. Its not about swapping out stories for another one, its about waking up where you are. Are you muslim? You can find the truth where you are at. (I highly recommend looking at the non-violent sufis to get started. Violence will not get you anywhere - same goes to those who are warmongering Christians. Genesis says the man that shed blood, his too will be shed.) Are you Christian, then find God there. Are you Jewish? (Then start in Judaic Kabbalah and see where you come out.)

Until Next Time

Peace

dAlen

p.s.
As with all my writings this was written extemporaneously with stream of consciousness.
There is probably a reason I do this. If it was all prettied up, it would give your ego something to refute. But this way, I can be guaranteed that without and open heart and mind that you misunderstand me. My whole goal would be to get you to think out of the box and with all your heart…ponder and see how it relates to you. If you shut it off, then your not ready. No Im not better, but you are comfortable where you are at, and there is many to comfort you and make you feel good where you are at. - Its only easy standing alone on the edge when you actually have found the truth, because then you are not alone. And then, you don’t judge and realize that there are many out there like you. You then realize that you only understand a very small piece of the puzzle…the piece that you are for the place you are to take in the ‘kingdom of God’.

Black hole ‘bully’ blasts galaxy

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk A powerful jet of particles from a “supermassive” black hole has been seen blasting a nearby galaxy, according to findings from the US space agency. The larger of the two galaxies in 3C321 - dubbed the “death star galaxy” by the astronomers - has a jet emanating from the vicinity of the black hole at its centre. The unfortunate smaller galaxy has apparently swung into the jet’s line of fire. “Although we call it a death star galaxy, in the end it might be a source of new life in the more distant galaxy,” said Dr Hardcastle.

full article