𝐓𝐡𝐞 "𝐈𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭"

There's a thing called the "Illusory Truth Effect". What is that? 

It's when something is repeated so often it becomes accepted as fact ... the truth. Irregardless of the actual facticity. It's the tool of propagandists. Liars, and scoundrels. 

Like the well worn, "They're pissing in my ear and telling me it's raining". Even so, served up that way often and long enough, we might just as well take the rain.

Or, like, the war in Ukraine. Seems the cant is that it is an "unprovoked" war. Or, in something completely different, any number of pejoratives tacked onto the political opponent de jur. I'd mention the 45th President of the United States, but the outraged consensus who literally see him as the Antichrist would swamp my message board. Especially when, pertaining to that dastard of dastardly dastards, every single detractor is stone sure that they've come to that opinion all on their own; with facts to prove it. That fucker cannot do anything good. That's how bad he is.

Now, with all the legal goings on with Dear Donald, I'm not sure that a guilty verdict is the goal. It would be nice [to some], but irrelevant. The main point is to throw so much dirt that us average hoi polloi's will have to say, "Hey, if he wasn't guilty, he wouldn't be charged. And, look! He's charged so much, he must be guilty." And, that's on top of how he doesn't rub a lot a people the right way, so they are already ready to crucify him. [Is it just me, or does anyone see the parallel between the travails of DT and those of JC? Let's talk "Antichrist".]

Ukraine war. Even if we converse on the topic using Ukraine as an example. Mine field. Figuratively. And, apparently, literally.

Don't mind if I do. So here are some of the points on how the Russian invasion of Ukraine was in fact provoked. I'm not saying justified. After all, when is war justified? All right, if the Huns are at the door, sure. And, don't get started on the recent other historic justifications. Iraq ... WMD. First time, that one, for "preemptive" war.

On Ukraine: Russia has been saying all along that the NATO expansion is a red line. Yet, even now, the comedian in chief of that country is hounding for NATO membership. Regime change in Kiev, with Western [read US of A] backing; if not, undertaking. Those so-called Ukrainian Nazi types making a living hell for the Russian speaking people of the Donbas. Putin! You fucker! How could you! On what possible grounds? Just another bad guy ... according to the good guys, that is. And how do we assert our goodness. So many ways. Recently Kamala Harris was asked what is the first thing she thinks about upon waking. "Democracy!" 

Sort of makes Madame DeGualle into a perv. A reporter once asked the famously prudish first Madame of the French Republic, "What is it you most cherish in life?". Not fluent in the English, her answer came out as ... "Ha-Penis".

Ukraine. Clearly unprovoked. Add to this our dear 46 on public record saying Mr. Putin is a "mass murderer". A "butcher". A "War Criminal". And, since his action is unprovoked ... regime change in Moscow! 

Come on, man. Lots of room for a conspiracy theory, or two.

Net, and net. Quick summary take: They're all a bunch of crooks. In cahoots. Keeping the folks engrossed in choosing which is the more appealing one to shear our wet wool. Or, maybe, not crooks, like with black hearts in league with the devil. But, with darkened hearts on account of being coopted by the chicanery one succumbs to when pretending to be something your not in service while currying public favor with phony pronouncements and promises all in the pursuit of amassing more prominence and power — not to mention the do-rey-me] maybe even at the outset with a sincere intention to do some good. 

PS Don't get me started on how the relentless pitches what boil down to that if the other party wins the election it will be doomsday. Doomsday is when we fail to see through that propaganda ruse.

PPS There's the seemingly unnoticed — let alone uncriticized — weaponization of the Justice system. More concerning, that it is acceptable given the heinous nature of the defendant. Confirmation bias, anyone?

Are We Just Shadow Boxing?

Plato’s Cave. You know, that parable about folks enthralled by the shadows cast on the cave wall. Backs turned away from the light which illuminates those images. Ignoring the opening leading to the the green grass, the open sky, and the shining Sun.

Two ways to take that. 

First, the obvious: our distraction and grappling with the goings on and things of the world. Coming and going. Getting and having. Doing ... and, doing ... and, doing. 

The second, less obvious, our identification with the discursive thoughts of the ego mind; i.e., “That’s me”. 

There’s that cliché, “Go toward the Light”. It has real application. It’s the Light on account of which you see the world, see your thoughts. The Light of consciousness. Better to say, the Light on* consciousness.

Step out from the shadows.

* When we register an experience of something, that's consciousness. When we notice that we notice, that's on account of the Light on consciousness. The Witness. 

That Is All

Do understand that you cannot ask a valid question about yourself, because you do not know whom you are asking about. In the question ‘Who am I?’ the ‘I’ is not known and the question can be worded as: “I do not know what I mean by ‘I’” What you are, you must find out. I can only tell you what you are not. You are not of the world, you are not even in the world. The world is not, you alone are. You create the world in your imagination like a dream. As you cannot separate the dream from yourself, so you cannot have an outer world independent of yourself. You are independent, not the world. Don’t be afraid of a world you yourself have created. Cease from looking for happiness and reality in a dream and you will wake up. You need not know ‘why’ and ‘how’, there is no end to questions. Abandon all desires, keep your mind silent and you shall discover. 

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

DROP THAT NOODLE!

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

"How many more varieties of instant noodles do we need to quench our desires!" 

Finding Fault ...

Estrangement is mostly a misunderstanding. A big one is in the area of responsibility. In a praise and blame framework. Don't be chagrinned if you find yourself in that mentality. Seems it goes around. Just read the news. Who's to blame. Who's to praise.

If you have judgements don't matter whether blame, or praise can't you see that those harbored thoughts color one's seeing in the present moment. Past things, as good or as bad as they may have seemed to be, well ... They're past. So now, just who is responsible for holding on to past things?

Refresh the browser!

And, consider sincerely just who is responsible for holding those cherished opinions. It takes courage to forgive.

The Overlooked Cause of Global Warming

The Overlooked Cause of Global Warming

Here we are arguing about Global Warming. Whether there is even such a thing. And, if it's for reals, what's going on? Is it geophysical, or man-made?

Probably both. This here gives the skinny on the Human component. Perhaps the critical component. Stick with me.

Whatever Mother Nature Herself has in mind, it's the Human Race what that's heating things up too. How much? And, if that's significant, scientists seem to say it is.

How?

My Mother in Law once gave me advice to carry for a lifetime. "Don't let your wants hurt you." I pray for her. To her.

Imagine this now: All that wanting in the world. The heat of it. Is that factor? Imagine such a vast swath of Humanity each one going for whatever the F we're going for. World peace. The best slice of Pizza. And, everything possible else in between. Seen from a distance, like ants swarming.

Mea culpa. I contributed to this pointless endeavor. A trapper in the duality game of grasping and getting. As a former Big Shot Mad Ave Ad Biggie I added to the heat with my many years of effort getting people to want what my clients with their goods and services were cooking. On many account assignments, quite literally; many food products I've had a hand in pushing. Chase & Sanborn Coffee, Wonder Bread, Home Pride Buttertop Bread, Hostess Cakes, Weight Watchers Frozen Dinners. Lots of food new products.

So sue me! But, wait! We're all in this fix. Do you think that the drug problem is all on the sellers? There's a demand. Seems ... BIG. Come to think of it, with all the drug taking that's generating some heat too. Imagine all those coked-up movers and shakers with their hands on some pretty big wheels — Hollywood script writers must be on something; look at all the ... what do you even call it? Stuff? Young lass with a rising big city career returns home in an idyllic locale only to find a devilish monster ravaging the folk all the while trapped under an invisible Gardol Shield from which there is no escape, but the high school boyfriend is now the Chief of Police and the spark of their former love is rekindled which inspires them to time travel to the other side of that impenetrable barrier where they fight even greater obstacles, but come back with the saving idea ... Eat More Possum! 

So, now ... what to do? Give up desire. Accept what is. I'll do that. You? Never mind imagining the populace of the world signing on to this. You and me, bruh. That's a start. 

Addendum: It's not just marketers and Hollywood. The pols. If you've been watching things it should come as no surprise that the pols have ratcheted up the heat to Biblical proportions. Looks like we're in a hard line struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil. Like Joe saying recently how Putin has "a craven lust for land and power". Or, that he's a murderer, a butcher, a war criminal. Those are fighting words. And, by the way, people are dying in wars even as we search the internet for the best Pizza shop. War is heat.

All the foregoing, sort of makes you hot under the collar. God made a covenant to not destroy the world again with water. He didn't rule out heat. Repent. Pray.

There's good Authority for this stance ...

Jesus ... The Early Years

 Jesus ... The Early Years

We don't have a lot on The Jesus in his youth. Recently unearthed records shed new light. Fun times ...

[As found written in the Gospel according to one David D. Wronski.]

A few excerpts...

• There was that time that he ran away from home and started to pick a fight with the poobahs in the Temple. And, His cheeky excuse to His Mom; something about doing His"Father's" work. Imagine how Joseph took that! Zen it up, Joe! Chop wood. Don't overthink it.

• What about the neighbors? "Hey, Mary and Joseph! Can you keep the shutters closed at night ... the Light is keeping us up." Later, that same Light would be a welcome blessing. 

• And, here's a fly on the wall report from the Cana wedding shindig ...

"Hey, lady, the wine ran out. Can you talk to Mr. Magic over there? 

"Son ..."

"Not now Ma, I'm on a roll!" [Literally ... playing dice with the boys outside in the alley. Winning, of course. Big. No surprise there.]

"Listen here, boy! The vino done gone, and we need some more."

"But, Ma! I don't have time for that!"

In typical Jewish Mother fashion ... "All that sweattin' in the cold — and, after such along trip ... in a manger! Would you believe it! Oy! Now I get this? Some thanks!"

"Okay, okay. Don't get all verklempt! Spare me the tsuris!" 

• Sure He was all about His Father's business. He was also a Carpenter too. Joseph, thinking to himself ... "I told Him to measure twice, cut once. But, no, not Him! Measure once, cut once. But darn — some translations use the stronger "damn" — that Boy gets it right every time. Amazing Grace!"

[Rather interesting, don't you think, to contemplate how this Carpenter was nailed to a cross of wood.]

• Even as a Kid, JC had it tough. The little Jewish boys and girls — only two categories in those backward times — hated His guts. Such a smarty. Always winning every game. Lesson: We might live in hyper-tolerant times, but "you be you" wasn't a thing back then. So, even today, be happy; but don't be too happy.

[There's this joke: Jesus and God are golfing. Hole in one. Hole in one. Then, quelle surprise, Jesus hits one into the water. So, there He is — always the show off — walking on water looking for His ball — I know, as if He doesn't already know where it is. The next party comes up and sees this, asks God "Who does that guy think he is? Jesus Christ?" God says, "Well, He is Jesus Christ. But He thinks He's Tiger Woods".]

• Jesus was a card. A really sharp sense of humor. [I sure do hope so, me going into the lighter side of His story this way.] 

Sarcastic too. Like in this little known exchange at the Last Supper:

At the Last Supper Jesus spoke to the brethren saying, "Today one of you will betray me". Peter sprang to his feet, "It is me Lord, is it me?". "No Peter, it is not you." John then asks, "Is it me Lord. is it me? ." No, John it is not you. Then, Matthew ... same question. Again, "No, not you Matthew". Then that Judas asks, "Is is me Jesus, is it me Jesus?". Jesus gives him a look and says, "IS IT ME JESUS, IS IT ME JESUS!". 

Who Let the Dogs Out?

Quick! What's the first thing that comes to mind? A rainy day? Beautiful colors? That's a lot of umbrellas?

Gay? 

We just wrapped up a high-octane "Pride Month" this June 2023. This just in: the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) Admiral Rachel L. Levine, MD is down for a Summer of Pride. You go, grrrl.

My loyal followers will recall how just recently I tackled the issue of just who decided that "IDENTITY" means what you got, what you call it, and what you do with it, and with whom? Don't get me started on the pronoun thing. 

Look. You do you. No discrimination, please. But — if I may be so bold to say — why so in the face about mainstreaming walking on the wild side? Whatever. Not gonna make any dent in that. Let your freak flag fly. [But, does it gotta be a rainbow flag?]

Also, the thing about this, besides the bullying to frame identity as being about sexual permutations, is how several words have also been coopted under that Rainbow umbrella. "Pride." "Gay." "Queer." Can't I be "gay" without being "gay"? No, apparently. Only one meaning now. Like the point I made in another screed, that's "queer"? "Queer" in the simple sense that something's off from normal. And, don't get me started about the distinction between "normal" and "usual". The latter passing for the former as presently understood in the zeitgeist. 

I want to be "gay"! Happy. Singing in the Rain happy. But in our anything goes culture, that seems to be "queer" to use that term in any way other than "boys will be boys". Or, girls who like what they got. Then, that whole other can of worms ... kids encouraged to decide their sexual orientation and identity with the full force of the government behind their choice to chop it off and/or to surgically strap one on. And, please, no need to involve the parents. Kids have rights too! 

Speaking of "Rainbows". Who appropriated that wonder of nature as the colors of the LGBTQ+ flag? Used to be for centuries the Rainbow was a symbol for God's covenant with Humanity to not rain down and biblically wash it all away ever again as a species-wide punishment. Here's an article on that subject. 

So, where are we on all that? The post-modern relativism Pope Benedict XV1 perceptively pointed out as a "dictatorship" [of relativism] has gone too far. Talk about queer! It's whack! Or, is that for you just another irrelevancy from the Church of Rome? Like, sure, the world is my Oyster. I can have it any way I please. After all, enough folks have it that everybody goes to Heaven. Majority rules. Must be so. [How much would you bet on that?]

Whatever. Really? Kind of feels like we have had too much our head. Time for the heart. That's were the roots are. 

Pride! F-Ya!

It's such a relief to be done with the burden of Original Sin! "Pride." A deadly sin of Man? Whatever. Seems, now, everbody go to Heaven. We shall see ...

Now that everything has turned upside down, and "whatever" is the norm. Pride! F-Ya! 

Don't get me wrong. You do you. Whatever. Really. Just there's the Lord to reckon with. Not just you gays. All us sinners.

 

"A tree that is unbending is easily broken."

"A man is born gentle and weak.

At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.
Therefore the stiff and unbending
is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding
is the disciple of life.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.
The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome."
~Lao Tsu

Tao Te Ching

Farmers Market 2023

Eponymous Ricky at Ricky's Produce Paramus Farmers Market NJ

Schultheis Farms at Paramus NJ Farmers Market

 Same Little Tomato when back in 2013

"No picture!" Okay, a picture."