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the futility of planning
by deepian 27 Feb 10
How do we prepare for a future that is very uncertain? What do we know of the future? What do we KNOW of the present, even? Everything I write and say might be wrong. There may be no old paradigm and no new paradigm. Everything that everyone else writes elsewhere about the impending collapse of our financial systems, our political systems, our civilisation, climate change, peak oil, over-population, may be misguided also. Humanity has a long and rich history of predictions of a doomed and disastrous future which failed to materialise. In all probability, some of us somewhere will be correct in some of our conclusions and pontifications, but realistically the only thing we really know about the future is that we cannot accurately predict what will happen.

Now, planning for the future requires that we have a clear vision of what the future will bring, or at least that we can see a limited set of alternative outcomes that are reasonably likely. When we don't know where we are heading, we
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latest update 24 Feb 10 the new agriculture
by deepian 23 Feb 10
The establishment and growth, over the past century, of organic agriculture is a prime and gloriously "down to earth" example of the rising wave of The New Paradigm.

Here, in several episodes, I present extracts from some eloquent blog posts on this new agriculture from the rich archives of John Michael Greer.
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cindarella and the poisoned challice
by Al 08 Feb 10
Some will find it more dificult to maintain their leadership roles as time goes on. Leadership will become a poisoned challice for those who are not working from an honest heart and a stock of good "karma" under their belt.
The glass slipper of leadership, authority will only fit the foot of Cindarella.
Meanwhile, we see greedy aggresive arrogant competitive types trying to sqeeze and crush their feet into the glass slipper which they then hobble around in putting on a brave face that all is well while a trail of blood follows them everywhere they go.
Cinders WILL go to the ball, despite the efforts of the ugly sisters who are surely symbolic of inner ugliness, selfishness and jealousy etc
I can't remember the story exactly, but where were the parents of these selfish sisters while they plied their ugly wears on poor cinders? (absent God/ spiritual parent?).
The ugly sisters will surely be left to play with the mice while cinders gets what she has earned.

latest update 08 Feb 10 lost generations
by Al 20 Jan 10
What did our parents do for us? A loaded question perhaps, and one that should never be asked, which means it is worth asking as there may be other things hiding under it's umbrella.
Far from looking to discredit our parents, the concern here is the way that generations of people have been abused for as long as history has been recorded.
My own parents were 'war children' and then in recent times, we have, in the UK, the likes of “thatchers children”. These terms refer to abused generations of many millions of people. To think of the things that children may blame their parents for, parents who may have done all they could for their off spring, but were limited due to an abusive approach by “the establishment”. Such terms are no longer good enough. It is time for SOULS to start accepting personal and group responsibility for what they have done and are doing. Four years in power, then pass the buck is not good enough.
No more can we accept to be imprisoned and silenced by polit
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latest update 06 Jan 10 Utopians and Monte Verità, the mountain of Truth
by alladin 06 Jan 10
Allahu Akbar! By magic I remembered the name of Ascona, a town in the Canton Ticino of Switzerland, in connection with a striking beautiful documentary I watched years ago on tv. It was showing old black and white photos of people, mostly intellectuals from different countries, who lived or had retreats, in a sort of "ashram", a commune where they practised naturism and vegetarianism at the beginning of the 20th century. I was talking about the New Age movement with a friend last night and remembered the film, but no name, no clue was coming to mind!

I thought adding this info would be valuable and intriguing, because the New Age, unlike what skeptical people may think nowadays, is not a recent fashion that "will pass", or something just commercial, although we can see that distortion or abuse of it. It is something with deep roots in paganism, and with long tentacles. I think that many of us would have befriended those eccentric people who gathered on the Mount Verità 100
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Interconnection
by deepian 04 Dec 09
"Spirituality has a different meaning to each of us, it seems. A standard definition would be: "A sense of meaning and purpose; a sense of self and of a relationship with 'that which is greater than self".

Currently, Religion and Mysticism seem to have the monopoly on Spirituality. Theistic religion often regards a 'relationship with god' or divine creator, as a spiritual relationship, while Mystics will often find a relationship to a 'supernatural' force or power. The bottom line is that, almost universally, spirituality has to do with a 'relationship' on one level or another. In most perspectives, it is associated with a person's 'place' or 'meaning' in life... whatever that may be.

In the modern age, we have the ability to look far in our past and examine what our ancestors used to consider 'real', and then compare those ideas to what we understand today. Many "spiritual practices" which have existed in the past, no longer exist due the understandings that have come about in reg

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latest update 04 Dec 09 hadron collider, friend or foe ?
by normal 25 Nov 09
So, what is this thing and what will it do for humanity? Will we regret it or will it help us to discover new areas of nature/ science which will open up a whole new can of scientific/ environmental and spiritual worms.
I say "we", yet 'we' have had no say in this project, as usual. Kept in the dark, naturally, get used to it, oh, you are? OK.
What are the snakes up to underground? What is their aim and object here? Is it to our benefit or detriment?
Here are some links to help us find out more-

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=hadron+collider+conspiracy&meta=&aq=f&oq=
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=hadron+collider+news&meta=&aq=0&oq=hadron+collider
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=hadron+collider+black+hole&meta=&aq=2&oq=hadron+collider+
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latest update 07 Jan 10 a world without money
by deepian 13 Nov 09
2598.jpg Imagine a future world where money doesn't exist, where there is no concept of private property, where food and other resources are abundant and shared freely, and where such a benevolent living environment brings out the best in human nature so that no legal or justice system is required....

Such is the vision of Jacque Fresco, founder of The Venus Project. He promotes a technology driven future where science is used for the benefit of all of mankind, and not just to enrich a few.

In his essay THE FUTURE AND BEYOND, he sets out some of his thoughts on how such a new paradigm human society could be realised. I have extracted extensively from the essay here, to give a full flavor of his new paradigm vision - but his essay is well worth reading in full:

"
We believe it is now possible to achieve a society where people would be able to live longer, healthier, and more meaningful productive lives.
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a new ashram
by howiemac 29 Aug 09
In The Creation of An Ashram Shunyamurti sets out his idealistic vision of an ashram (religious hermitage) for the times we are now living in. He is clearly talking about his vision for his own Satyoga ashram in Costa Rica, but he does so in general and inspirational terms which are relevant to the creation of other new spiritual communities for the new age:

".. an ashram is the most sacred archetypal form of community. An ashram is a chrysalis in which humans can transform into gods. An ashram is the intentional creation of a sacred space in which the ego is transcended. All ashram residents become midwives of spiritual rebirth for unlimited numbers of souls. An ashram is an avatar factory, a human butterfly farm, a spawning ground for angels.
 
in an ashram one dwells constantly in the highest possible energy field of the Divine Presence, in the bliss of the Supreme Love.
..
Christ and the early Christians were divi
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the future of Gaia
by deepian 18 Jul 09
2315.jpg I have been dipping into the dark world of James Lovelock - here are some quotes, where he explains his vision of our future:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2008/mar/01/scienceofclimatechange.climatechange :

There have been seven disasters since humans came on the earth, very similar to the one that's just about to happen. I think these events keep separating the wheat from the chaff. And eventually we'll have a human on the planet that really does understand it and can live with it properly.

http://www.jameslovelock.org/page20.html :
Life regulates the Earth’s atmosphere and climate to keep it habitable. It is as simple as that.
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latest update 11 Nov 09 more for less
by deepian 14 Jul 09
2317.gif Thanks to Sharon Astyk for pointing out that Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is seeing things much as we are. Scott writes: " Cheapatopia is a hypothetical city, designed from scratch to be an absurdly cheap place to live with a ridiculously high quality of life... the era of ridiculous consumption is over ... If we want universal healthcare, and a decent standard of living for the exploding population of seniors, the average household will have to learn how to make do with less. But in doing so, there is no reason we can't be happier at the same time, so long as we do it right... Cheapatopia puts a big emphasis on entertainment and social interaction. If you have that, plus health, safety, and financial security, you might be willing to give up the over-consumption and needless complexity of your old life... I believe the next big change in society will involve simplifying our lives, getting rid of the waste an ....(more)

Terra Madre
by deepian 28 Jun 09
2242.jpg I just saw an excellent film last night: "Terra Madre" by Italian director Ermanno Olmi. Terra Madre (Mother Earth) is a biennial multi-language conference hosted in Torino by the Slow Food Organization - a network of food communities, each committed to producing quality food in a responsible, sustainable way. They aim to foster discussion and innovation in the related fields of gastronomy and ecology and global economics.

This film starts out like a documentary of the 2008 Terra Madre conference in Torino, presenting stimulating views on the importance of bio-diversity, and working in harmony with nature. Ermanno Olmi builds masterfully on his theme, confronting the fate of the planet.. The film then gloriously metamorphoses into a beautiful and poetic slow experience of food cultivation in harmony with nature.

An unforgettable and thought provoking experience: this film seems to move beyond the normal boundaries of the documentary format.
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slow down
by deepian 28 Jun 09
2240.jpg As we sell the planet and ourselves down the river, we run in ever faster circles "chasing our tails". Here are some extracts from "The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues" by Sushil Yadav:

"The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be peaceful if we destroy Nature.

...

Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.

If there are no gaps there is no emotion.

Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.

...

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summer solstice
by howiemac 22 Jun 09
warm greetings to all at the summer solstice

(for those in the southern hemisphere: happy winter solstice!)

wake up
by deepian 22 Apr 09
2224.jpg The decline of our civilization is happening on an unprecedented scale and with unprecedented speed. We have to look into the mists of time, to the legend of a decadent Atlantis sinking beneath the waves, to find anything that parallels what we are now witnessing.

The seeds of the spectacular end game were sown with the rise of Darwinism and scientific rationalism in the 1800s. We became full of our own cleverness, and lost respect for spirituality and for nature. We started seeing ourselves as masters of the Universe. The agricultural revolution mechanized and centralized agriculture, as we turned nature's gardens into chemically enhanced food factories. Hot on the heels of this abomination came the industrial revolution, whereby our modern industrialized economies grew rapidly, like a cancer on Mother Earth, creating ever more powerful machines and methods to rape Mother Earth and to feed our own vanity and conceit.

The USA emerged from the ashes of the European empires, as the ep
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the paradigm shift
by deepian 13 Apr 09
2220.jpg The new paradigm seeks to regain balance between our physical aspects (human) and our spiritual essence (being). Over millennia we, the human race, have gradually lost touch with the spiritual reality of our nature. Increasingly we have embraced rationality, and artificiality, while losing sight of our place in nature and in the natural universe. We have rejected whatever science cannot explain, and in doing so we have rejected our true nature.

The old paradigm that has taken us to this sleepwalking state, is biased heavily towards material values, wealth and power. Our obsession with the mundane has taken us away from spiritual understanding. We have lost respect for Mother Nature, and worse still, we have forgotten that we are spiritual beings. Instead, we have let scientists teach us that we are biogenetic machines, and we have come to identify ourselves with the short-lived bodies that we inhabit.

The old paradigm is based on fear and on ignorance. Fear is the basis of control, a
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making space
by deepian 21 Mar 09
From Being in Awareness on crystallotus.com:

The change that we are experiencing now is different from what has happened before. We are shifting into another dimension, from a Matrix of duality and polarity to one of expansion and oneness. We are moving from a reality based on fear and scarcity to a reality based on love and abundance. The New Energy is not simply an improvement of the Old Energy. We can’t just take the old systems and tweak them. Instead, the old paradigm and the institutions that are based on that have to be dissolved. Then we have space to create the new paradigm based on love.

the problem with capitalism
by deepian 17 Mar 09
2179.jpg I have just been listening to a very good talk by Peter Schiff where he concludes by saying that the dollar will soon collapse in value, and then it will be the Chinese who are buying cars, and the Americans who are riding bicycles!

I have been guilty before of blaming the current financial and economic meltdowns on the actions and excesses of capitalism, but really this is not an accurate picture. True free-market capitalism would not have created the current mess - it is the result, not of free markets, but of interference in those markets. The housing bubble was created by artificial lowering of interest rates in the wake of the dot com bubble burst, and was also encouraged by tax policies that favor buying against renting. In the US, things were made far worse by the government guaranteeing mortgages, first implicitly, and now explicitly, through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the results of the bursting housing bubble a
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seeing through the dust
by deepian 14 Mar 09
2177.jpg As the incompetent and corrupt governments of the US and the UK (and the many other nations who follow their appalling example), systematically destroy our economies and political systems by tipping shed-loads of new and unserviceable debt into the cratered wreckage of the biggest bad debt bubble in history, we beleaguered citizens can only watch on in disbelief and dismay.

We are just at the beginning of the housing collapse, and already we are entering full scale economic depression. Commercial property will collapse in similar spectacular style, as credit card debts turn rotten on an unprecedented scale. The stockmarkets are already heading downhill like racing toboggans. Credit crunch? We ain't seen nothin' yet. Already we are hearing estimates that our apparent economic wealth has almost halved in this debacle so for.. and we are only at the beginning of this destruction of imaginary wealth!

The banking system is already beyond rescue, as zombie banks hide behind the imaginary
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on gold, guns, and gardens
by deepian 08 Mar 09
2168.jpg from http://deepian.blogspot.com/2009/03/there-are-many-people-out-there-now.html

There are many people out there now investing their savings in gold, and buying guns and ammunition, and stockpiling food, in preparation for the coming breakdown of "civilization" as we know it.. Somebody commented recently on another blog (sorry - I failed to bookmark it and can't find it now) that out of investing in gold, guns, and gardens, only the gardens make sense. I agree with this.

Greed breeds greed, and violence breeds violence. The breakdown of the economic and political systems will free us from political and economic servitude, and will give us a chance to reinvent our way of life in a higher mold. This means becoming re-attuned to nature, and to the spirituality inherent in each and every one of us: the being - the spark of life - inside the human body.

This is the new paradigm - the universal tide is rising towards enlightenment, and it wants to take us with it - either we go with w
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