Mike's Common Sense

WTF! Citizen Spy Groups!?

2012-02-06T21:29:00.000-05:00

Devils and Lightgivers

2012-01-31T23:20:00.000-05:00

There are two major factions that are always doing battle with each other; one side is the devils, and the other is the Light givers. Their battle ground is the human consciousness. Devils are typified by darkness, and a lust for power; their weapons are deception and lies. Light givers are typified by light, and love; their weapons are truth, and knowledge. Devils hate the light, and truth, and anyone who gives this out to the masses. The reason for this is the devils cannot conduct their nefarious schemes if people are aware of what they are doing. Because of this, devils hate Light givers, and if they cannot pervert them into their way of thinking they will try to destroy them. On the other hand, Light givers love everyone, including the devils, and will try to up lift everyone into the love, and light of God. If the devils refuse this, the Light givers will oppose them by shedding light on their schemes, and working to teach others.

Why the disparity here? Why aren't the Light givers trying to destroy the devils? Why did Jesus, and other saviors teach "Love thy enemy"? There is a spiritual reason for this.

There is one God, out of this originating source springs the Holy Spirit; which is also known as the Bani, the Word, the Eck, etc. This force manifests ALL life, on all the various planes of existence. As this force descends into the lower planes of the spiritual-materialistic worlds, (the mental, astral, and physical), it splits into Positive, and Negative streams. The Positive is known as God, and It's Light givers, the Negative is known as Satan, and the devils.

Each soul has been sent into these lower worlds, unaware of It's divine origin, to gain spiritual knowledge, and to earn It's spiritual mantle. This happens through karma, and countless reincarnations, as each soul learns to follow the path of love, and reject the accumulation of power. The spiritual purpose of the Light givers is to teach us the way; the spiritual purpose of the devils is to test us to prove we have truly learned the lesson. Both forces are needed for our spiritual growth. Each and every Light giver was at one time a devil, and every devil will be a Light giver in the future.

Mankind is always growing, and evolving spiritually. The Positive, and Negative forces are always in balance. This may not always seem to be the case, but never the less it is true.

Today it seems like the devils are in control. Many of these devils are working for the total enslavement of man. The devils have been weaving this web of enslavement for many years. However, over the last fifty, or sixty years many Light givers have reincarnated here to do battle with these devils. As this battle of enslavement versus freedom grows we have seen a quickening of events unfolding. The devils know if they can keep mankind living in fear, and ignorance they can achieve their ends. The Light givers know if they can educate, and wake people up to the devil's lies, deceptions, organized terror, and money control, they can use the devils to springboard mankind into a new higher state of consciousness on a world wide scale.

As the devils work to destroy the Light givers, and enslave all men; the Light givers are selflessly working to teach, and up lift all...including the devils.

We are in a spiritual war. Choose your side.

Don't Think Twice, That's Alright

2012-01-15T22:58:00.000-05:00

There's an old saying, "If you don't use it, you lose it". If that's true, the average American brain must be in a state of atrophy. Most of us are seldom called upon to use our cerebral cortex anymore. Network TV shows, commercials, our schools, our jobs, etc. have all been "dumbed down" to the point where mental acuity is no longer necessary. No one even performs simple math anymore without the use of a calculator. Think about it, when was the last time you performed multiplication, or division on a piece of paper without a calculator?

I admit, I am as guilty as the next person; I like modern conveniences. My posts would not be the same if I did not have a spell checker to fall back on. The point I'm trying to make is that, we are now conditioned not to think, because we aren't often called upon to do so. The problem with this conditioning, is that society is quickly becoming a herd mentality. Reasoning, and creativity, are becoming things of the past. That's a big problem if mankind is to grow and prosper.

Part of this problem, is everyone's need to be entertained all the time. Whether its an i-pod, TV, computer, or cell phone, everyone is preoccupied with something. Seldom do people read in order to learn something. Novels are very popular, but, nonfiction, history, and science books seldom make the NY Times best seller lists.

I am all for entertainment; we all need to relax and get away once in a while. However, just like you need to exercise your body to keep it in proper working order; you also should have a mental exercise regimen. I like to do the NY Times crossword to keep sharp. I also will mix in informational reading, along with my favorite fiction writers.

Our children need to be taught to balance video games, and TV, with school work, and informational reading. Getting them in the habit of reading the newspaper everyday is a good start. Teach them, "if you don't use it, you lose it".

The Duality of the Physical World

2012-01-08T11:59:00.000-05:00

This world is a very complex place. In spite of this complexity, there is one thing that everything has in common; everything has an opposite.

This is a world of duality. This means that nothing in it exists, without it’s opposite. There is no cause, without effect; no light without dark; no good, without bad. There is no spiritual, without animal; no giving, without taking; no hardness, without softness; no love without hate; and no grace without sin.

The reason for this duality is that this is a spiritual-material universe. Everything in this universe is composed of a mixture of Spirit (energy), and matter. Einstein proved with relativity that all matter is actually energy in a condensed, or stepped down form, so everything is Spirit in either a higher, or a lower vibration rate. The higher the vibration rate of the substance, the more we will perceive that to be energy, and the lower the vibration rate, the more we will perceive it to be matter. This perception is based on our relative view point of the substance.

The two different natures of spirit account for the duality found in this world. The spirit of higher vibration is positive in nature, and the lower vibration is negative. Both are essential for the physical universe to exist. Do not make the mistake of equating positive with good, and negative with evil, because they are actually the same; and arise from the same source. In order to have a physical world you need a denser vibration level of spirit in order to have “solid” objects. All of these “solid” objects, are animated, or manifested by higher vibration spirit (i.e. The Holy Ghost, The Holy Spirit, The Eck, The Word, etc.).

There are many names for this higher vibration spirit, and each religion has their own name for it. In the same manner each religion has a different name for the originator of this power (i.e. God, Allah, Sugmad, Jehovah, etc.).

This is the true explanation of the holy trinity as taught by most of the world’s religions. There is The Father (God). Out of The Father emanates The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit manifests The Son (mankind). The Holy Spirit manifests not only mankind, but everything in this physical universe. This is the secret to the “oneness of everything” as expressed by the mystics, Saints, and Saviors.

This world was created by God as a training ground for It’s Son (Man). Man must learn through many lifetimes, how to navigate and understand the duality of this world, and to stay in balance with the positive, and the negative.

In spite of the duality of this world, there is one thing that all opposites have in common…God.

Mike's Health Cocktail

2012-01-02T17:38:00.000-05:00

Many people today are looking for ways to improve their over all health without the use of prescription drugs. Most prescription drugs have many side effects that may cause more problems than they help. Most prescription drugs do not really cure health problems as much as they just hide symptoms of poor health.

The best way to maintain health is through natural foods, and herbs that are readily available at your local grocery, or whole foods stores. Here is my personal cocktail that I take twice daily; first thing in the morning, and right before bed. Each item will be linked to a site so you may investigate their health properties.

1 1/2 tbs of Bragg's Natural Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 tsp of Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1/4 tsp of ground turmeric

1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of Puritan's Pride Pure Vitamin C Crystals (5000 mg/tsp)

Put the Vitamin C crystals, turmeric, and cinnamon in the bottom of a glass. Pour the apple cider vinegar, and the liquid aminos on top. Add a spritz of water (or as much as you wish), and stir vigorously.

I use this cocktail to wash down other supplements such as 2400 mg fish oil, and vitamins B,D, and E.

Use only a natural apple cider vinegar, NOT clear pasteurized vinegar. Bragg's is the best, and easiest to find.

If you are on prescription blood thinners, or other prescription drugs, consult your doctor first.

Try this cocktail for a couple of months, and I guarantee you will notice results. You will feel better, more energetic, and lose weight.

Battling the Blues

2011-12-18T14:51:00.001-05:00

Many people these days are struggling with depression in one form or another. This depression is often compounded in the winter time when there is less sunshine. Many people seek relief using prescription anti-depressants; and others seek it with alcohol, and other recreational drugs.

Most people who are taking antidepressants, and recreational drugs do not need to medicate themselves to feel better. Most people can find a way out of depression through natural means. We will discuss a few of these methods in a minute, but first, what is depression?

Most doctors believe that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. While this is true in some cases such as manic-depressives, and psychotics, who need medication; most depressives can be helped without antidepressants. Antidepressants tend to suppress the emotions which makes most users feel like robots that are incapable of feeling. They seldom help as intended and leave the user feeling empty as well as depressed. If you are one of these folks, put down your Prozac and try some of these remedies.

Cut back on your sugar intake. We all know what sugar does to children; well adults are no different. Sugar provides a lift for a short time but also induces a mood crash after it burns off.

Find ways to externalize your thoughts. Many people suffering from depression spend too much time thinking about themselves. This is the breeding ground for all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings such as worry, feelings of inferiority, and stress. The cure for this is to find things to do to get you to think of something besides yourself. This could be a hobby, volunteer work, painting, writing, or any number of things. The important thing is to find something that you really like to do, and go do it.

Get some exercise. This really ties in with externalizing your thoughts, but also provides other benefits such as producing endorphins, and other mood lifting chemicals in the brain. You don't have to be a workout warrior to get the benefits. Go for a walk, or light jog every other day, that will do wonders for your over all feeling of well being.

If you live in a northern climate take extra vitamin D during the winter time. In the winter very few people get the amount of vitamin D they need. Less sun means less vitamin D production in your body, so you need to account for this. If you have a job where you get very little sun you should also be taking vitamin D supplements.

Open the spiritual channels to your higher self. Man is a spiritual being living in a physical body. If the ego becomes too distant from the spiritual self, depression is often the result. Try to take a few minutes each day to open yourself to spirit. This can be done in any number of ways such as meditation, contemplation, and prayer. I personally like to take a few moments to sing the HU during the course of the day, and before bed. HU is the secret and powerful name of God which makes a marvelous mantra to reconnect with spirit. Just fill yourself with love by thinking about someone you love, and sing HU (pronounced Hugh). As I said there are many ways to open yourself to spirit, you just need to find the best one for you.

If you are suffering from the blues, or a clinical depressive, you will find that many of these techniques will help and improve your quality of life.

Translating Woman Speak

2011-12-11T10:52:00.000-05:00

As a guy who has been studying the female of the species for over thirty years, I have found the major difference between the sexes. Women speak a different language than men. It sounds simple but that is the major difference between the sexes.

For the male readers out there who have not mastered “woman speak” I will list a number of woman speak phrases, and then translate them for you. It is my hope that I may be able to spare many of my fellow guys any more angst than they have already been through.

1) “I like love handles on a guy. It gives me something to hold on to.”

Translation: I would love you to have the abs, and butt of Brad Pitt, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.

2) “You’re kind of cute”

Translation: I have my beer goggles on, I haven’t had a man in six months, it’s getting late, and I’m actually considering you.

3) “I have a headache”

Translation: It is always about YOU. Where were you last Friday when I was in the mood and you got too drunk to perform!

4) “Sorry I didn’t get you a birthday card, but I am not a card person”

Translation: I am not into giving cards, however you better remember to give me a card on every special holiday, event, and Valentines Day; or I will rag on you for two weeks after the missed event, and for two weeks prior to next year’s.

5) “Do I look fat in this?”

Translation: I want you to tell me how thin, and sexy I still am.

6) “She has fake boobs!”

Translation: Why are you looking at her?!

7) “I normally don’t do this”

Translation: You are going to get lucky tonight.

8) “If you touch that air conditioner, I will kill you!”

Translation: I am having a hot flash, and I will kill you if you try to turn down the air conditioner.

9) “I don’t feel like sex tonight”

Translation: I want you to take me to dinner, a movie, and out for a couple of drinks; maybe I’ll change my mind.

10) “I think I am a very level headed woman”

Translation: I am crazier than a shit house rat, and I make Amy Winehouse look like Mother Teresa.

11) “Tequila makes my clothes fall off”

Translation: If you want any action tonight, buy me a tequila!

12) “I don’t think you appreciate me”

Translation: Wine me, and dine me, you slug!

I am currently working on my Guy to Lady; and Lady to Guy dictionary. I know this will be a very valuable tool for both sexes.

WTF! Citizen Spy Rings?

2011-12-04T11:02:00.000-05:00

Today I wonder if we are closer to living in an East German state than the one of my youth. Think about it, where can you go today without being on a camera somewhere? If you are daring enough to fly, the TSA has given you the option of getting unknown amounts of radiation, and letting them see you totally naked; or you can get the "pat down" where they literally grab your genitals, and breasts. All of this to keep you safe. We are becoming conditioned as a society to accept atrocities that East Germans never had to endure. If airplanes were dropping out of the sky because of terrorists, maybe we would have reason to eradicate most of the Constitution; however the last "terrorist" attack was 9/11. All the evidence points to a government conspiracy behind the events of 9/11, not a bunch of scary men in turbans. Seems to me we need to be kept safe from our own government.

Now the Dept. of Homeland Security (the first time I heard Bush call it that I thought of Nazi Germany) Big Sis, Janet Napolitano has started the "See Something, Say Something" campaign trying to get Americans ratting on each other to the Feds. They have tele-screens at over 9,000 locations, and Wal Mart Stores, spewing out their message to the typical Wal Mart customer. What could possibly go wrong? "Yes Mr. FBI man, I want to report a suspicious person. She's standing in front of me here in this long line at the check out, and she's wearing an orange tube top! Everyone knows you wear white tube tops in the summer!" Walmart is just the beginning, wait until you see her sour puss in Times Square.

A CITIZEN SPY RING!!! If you thought you already had too many eyes on you, you haven't seen anything yet. We are going to have to worry about our neighbors, our co-workers, the folks at church, and people on the street, and in the stores. If this is not bad enough, legislation is being introduced to give these "citizen spies" immunity from lawsuits if their information is incorrect. Are you kidding me? " I'm so sorry I had the Feds bust down your door, shoot your dog, and sack your house. You really shouldn't have worn an orange tube top...you bitch"

We really are playing out Orwell's novel 1984 here today, not only in the US, but on a world wide scale. If we don't wake up to what is happening around us, and resist it, it will become too late. Unlike those brave souls back in the past risking their lives for freedom, we won't have anywhere to run. We will be living the East German nightmare forever.

An Open Letter To Those Nice Folks At P.E.T.A.

2011-11-27T11:18:00.002-05:00

The holidays are here and once again it is time to engage in that old holiday tradition; listening to P.E.T.A. complain about the unethical treatment of turkeys, cows, chickens, and other edible animals.

I for one am all for the ethical treatment of animals; however I do like to eat them also (especially with dressing and turkey gravy). This may seem like an ethical dilemma, but trust me it is not. I can rectify this seeming enigma in several ways.

First of all PETA there is such a thing as a FOOD CHAIN. If you can’t find it in your PETA handbook, I am sure you can ask your seventh grade daughter to show it to you in her biology book. Take a good look; are turkey, cows, and chickens anywhere near the top? Of course not! Turkeys, cows, and chickens are just above plants, and dirt in the food chain pecking order. This means that they are on this planet to be eaten. Think about it; if we people were not eating them, some other animal would be. Who would you rather see stave to death; me, or some fox, coyote, or wolf? Knowing you PETA guys I don’t really want to know your response.

Second, I read a really good novel recently that contained a really good step by step description of how turkeys are slaughtered. First they are hung upside down which disorientates them, then they shock them to daze them, then they slit their throats. What ever happens next I really don’t think the turkeys care about. But the fact is the turkeys never know what hit them so it is a benevolent way to kill them. I personally believe the turkeys would rather die like this instead of being grabbed by the throat and shaken to asphyxiation by some fox. But really, does it matter? Turkeys have a brain roughly the size of an almond; they barely know seed from gravel. I personally feel you could kill them anyway you want, and they wouldn’t know the difference.

Third, if all of us people who enjoyed eating animals suddenly stopped, how would YOU eat? Face it there is only a limited supply of tofu and wheat in this world. Maybe if we got hungry enough we could eat you! We know you tofu lovers are low in fat and probably very tasty. I think you guys should shut up and leave well enough alone while you are ahead and still have plenty of tofu.

Oh, by the way PETA if it will make you feel better I want you to know that my Thanksgiving turkey came back to haunt me over my inhumane treatment of him.

I never should have had that turkey salad sandwich right before bed!

Big Daddy's Blues

2011-11-13T11:54:00.000-05:00

I am a pretty laid-back kind of guy. I try to maintain an even keel on a day-to-day basis. But right now, I am contemplating calling the suicide hot line. I need help! You see, my wife just brought home dog number six yesterday.

Some friend of hers couldn't keep the dog when they decided to move into some swanky new condo...So guess what? I get even less room in my bed to sleep! Now, my wife is a very nice person, and an animal lover. And I am a nice guy, and an animal lover. But man, you gotta learn how to say no.

(Not that I did, when she asked me if it was ok if she brought the dog home.)

I got to admit, I am a soft touch (and soft in the head). The new dog is little more than a puppy, and she is adjusting very well with the other dogs. And she has already taken a fancy to lying in our bed...

Here is a song for you, sung to the tune "Squeeze Box" by The Who:

Mama's got six dogs, she loves them the best,

And when Daddy gets home, he can't get no rest,

'Cause they're all lying in bed,

I'll put a bullet in my head,

Mama's got six dogs, Daddy never sleeps at night.

Now one will lick his ass, another one passes gas,

And they take all the blankets that should cover my ass!

And they do it all night,

Then one will start a fight,

Mama's got six dogs, Daddy never sleeps at night.

They climb up and down, and up and down,

And up and down, and up and down,

And they do it all night, then one will start a fight,

Mama's got six dogs, Daddy never sleeps at night.

De-flea me! Won't you de-flea me!

De-flea me if you please,

I'm tired of scratching fleas,

Mama's got six dogs, Daddy never sleeps at night.

Ghost Hunting Made Easy

2011-10-22T22:02:00.000-04:00

Ghost hunting is very popular these days. There are literally dozens of shows on television, radio, and pod-casts concerning ghosts, and ghost hunting. Perhaps you wish to become a ghost hunter, or just learn about ghosts; this article is for you.

Most folks are interested in ghosts because they wish confirmation that there is life after death, others simply are interested in the occult, and the unknown.

Before we get into ghost hunting, we need to know what a ghost is. Man is a spiritual being that exists on many levels of existence all at the same time. These levels of existence are differentiated by the vibration rates of each one. The lowest vibration plane is the physical which all of us here are aware of. As we move up the vibration scale we encounter the astral plane, then the mental realms, and finally we encounter the planes of pure spirit, also known as the soul planes. Each individual soul has a corresponding body for each of these planes, so that soul may be protected from the denser vibrations, and also that soul may interact with that plane. We all are familiar with our physical body, but most people are not familiar with the other bodies they possess (unless you meditate, or do out of body travel).

When a person's physical body dies, the soul will leave that body and take up it's astral body and function in the astral plane as an astral entity. Most people when they pass over will remain near the old physical body for a few days to say good bye to loved ones, and to listen to what the living have to say about them. They then will go into the light to get their past life review, and prepare for their next physical incarnation. Some souls however, may have lived a negative life, and are afraid to go into the light because they feel they will be sentenced to hell, or limbo. Some refuse to go into the light because they are still attached to physical pleasures (alcohol, drugs, sex) and do not want to give them up. These earth bound astral entities are what we call ghosts.

Ghosts are still aware of the physical, but for the most part, are not able to interact with it due to their finer vibration rate. Ghosts that remain behind because of their love for carnal pleasures will often try to find a physical host they can attach to so they can enjoy these pleasures vicariously through that host. Most alcoholics, drug abusers, and sex offenders, have a parasite ghost attached to them, and are not aware of it. If you wish to ghost hunt, you must realize this and take steps to protect yourself from possible possession. No astral entity can attach itself to you without your permission whether overt, or subtle. Before ghost hunting you should always say a prayer asking God to protect you from the astral entities you will encounter.

Most ghost hunting shows will go to old prisons, mental institutions, and hospitals to look for ghosts. I do not recommend this as these places were filled with anti-social, and possible malevolent people, who are now malevolent astral entities. Never challenge, or dare an entity to attack you, this is subtly giving them permission to attach to you or follow you home. The best, and easiest place to look for ghosts is in any old bar. If you had special glasses that could allow you to see ghosts, you would see that almost all older bars have a few ghosts in there. Go to any older bar when it is not crowded, and bring a digital recording device with you. Ask the bartender if the bar has any ghosts. This will let the ghosts inside know that you are interested in them. The ghosts will then come and sit near you and talk to you, which may be picked up by your digital recorder as electronic voice phenomenon (EVP).

There it is, ghost hunting made easy. Just remember to never be afraid, and to never show fear. Believe it or not, most ghosts want to let people know they are there, and they want attention.

Not Photogenic

2011-10-16T11:25:00.002-04:00

When I was back at home on vacation a few weeks ago, I was over at Mom and Dad’s house for supper. My mom made sauerkraut and dumplings for me and dad like she always does when I come home. After supper my sister Pauline said “Hang around after supper, we are going to show the old home pictures.” “Oh oh, here we go…”

Before we go on, let me digress. I grew up as the middle of three boys all one year apart in age. My dad thought himself an amateur photographer, and in 1959 bought him self a real nice German camera. My dad loved to take copious amounts of pictures of his three sons, and my twin sisters.

There was one slight problem, I hated that camera. Not only did I hate that camera but I absolutely dreaded that thing. There were few things I dreaded more than Holidays and special family events because that meant that my dad would be lurking about with that damned camera.

It really wasn’t the camera I had a problem with, but the flash attachment. This attachment was a big foil cone that you would plug a flash bulb into. This flash bulb was slightly larger than a walnut, and went off as if a super nova exploded in front of your eyes. For minutes after taking a picture I would stumble around blind seeing nothing but little purple after images of the flash.

Needless to say I quickly became conditioned to squint when placed in front of that camera. It was so bad that even when we were outside and didn’t use the flash attachment I could not keep from squinting. Hence there are NO good pictures of our family with me in them. None, zip, zilch. I have ruined every picture I am part of.

Not that I wanted to, or tried to ruin them, I just couldn’t help myself. Believe me, I got a lot of slaps upside the head from my dad to try and cure my problem, but even that didn’t work.

Ok, back to the present; we all decide to watch the DVD copy of all of the old family pictures. I know it is coming and I don’t have to wait long, “That damn kid is squinting in EVERY picture! What the hell was the matter with you Michael?” My dad bellows. I feel bad but what the hell it’s been almost fifty years! Surly he didn’t think they corrected my squinting when they put the pictures on DVD?

Fortunately as I got older, the flash bulbs got smaller in size. I did eventually learn how not to squint when having my picture taken.

Too bad dad doesn’t have any of these pictures.

Leave Al Davis Alone

2011-10-09T18:44:00.002-04:00

I wrote this a couple of years ago in defense of my football idol, Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders. Al passed away 10/8/11. I republish this in his honor. Rip Al.

One thing that bothers me is how much flak Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, has been taking the last few years. While its true that the Raiders have been anything but committed to excellence the last seven or eight years, it certainly is not all of Al's fault. It is safe to say that Al HAS forgot more football than most of us will ever know. Even so he still knows more than any of us ever will about the game of football. This is the man that forced the NFL to merge with the AFL to make the league the way we all know it today. His thanks for these efforts have been to be picked on by referees, and commissioners, ever since Pete Rozelle failed to forgive, or make up with him.

Many people believe that Al no longer recognizes football talent, and that he should give the reins over to a General Manager. Al has always been a height/weight/speed guy, and sometimes it has cost the Raiders. The Hall of Fame is filled with people who were not the fastest, or the tallest, but had the largest heart, and loved to play the game of football. The size of a player's heart is one stat that Al has never looked at. This has led to some major disappointments like JaMarcus Russell, and Darren McFadden (so far). However, that being said, the Raiders are loaded with talented players, that have all been found by Al such as Chaz Shillens, Thomas Howard, Nnamdi Asomough, and many others. If the Raiders can find a winner at the QB position, the world will see just how talented the Raiders are because of Al.

Aye, there's the rub.

Negotiating Love

2011-10-02T10:22:00.000-04:00

Love when you are young is a special thing. There is lots of exploring, and lots of passion. Love is exciting, and it is spontaneous. You have hooked up with the most lovely girl in the universe, and she lives just to please you.

Then, you do something stupid; you marry her.

Sure, the first couple of years there are still some steamy nights, but after seven years, and a couple of kids, things tend to change. You find your wife is no longer frothing at the mouth to get mounted by you. This is when you realize you will spend the rest of your life negotiating for love.

My brother has been negotiating for love many years now. His best tactic is to tell his wife that if she doesn't want him to get prostrate cancer, she has to let him keep the workings workable...if you know what I mean.

My brother's method works because he has a wife that gives a rat's ass about him. Very rare. Most of us married guys have to negotiate much harder for their love. Here is an example.

"Come on honey, it's been three weeks." "I haven't felt well. You only think about yourself." "That's not true honey, I brought you home some Chicken McNuggets yesterday." "Yeah, but they were cold." "Come on honey, you know I love you, and will always take care of you." If you did you would show it." "Name it honey, you've got it!" "Well, a trip to Olive Garden might get me in the mood." "Ok, ok Olive Garden it is, but you promise when we get home...." "Well there is one more thing..." "What is it my goddess?" "Clean out the cat box, and take out the trash."

As Rodney Dangerfield would say, "It's not easy being married!"

Kreskin's ESP Kit, and Beyond

2011-09-25T11:32:00.000-04:00

This is a true story of my spiritual growth.

Back in the mid-sixties a guy named Kreskin, was very popular. He would go on all the popular talk shows, and do feats of ESP. My dad said he was a quack, but I was much more open minded about it than he. I was in fact intrigued, with Mr. Kreskin. My feelings were, if ESP is real, why not develop it.

. I had nothing to base these feeling on, other than a child's naivete. Then Christmas of 1965, my dad bought a "family" Christmas present. It was a Kreskin's ESP kit. In this kit there were probably seven, or eight different ways to test your ESP. The pendulem, was the most popular, everyone could make it swing by concentrating on it. That was cool, but then my dad pulled out a deck of cards from the box. Since all the other kids were off playing with their other presents, I was the only one near him (fooling around with the pendulem) he called me over. He read the instructions, and said I'm supposed to look at a card, and send it to you mentally, and you try to receive it. I said ok, let's try. He took a card, looked at it, then said here goes nothing. I could see he was really trying to send me the image, so I decided I was really going to try and get it. I closed my eyes real tight. You know how when you close your eyes really tight, you see little squiggly things? Well, I saw thousands of squiggly things. All of a sudden, all the squiggly things formed a whirlpool, spinning around, then they formed a perfect heart! My jaw dropped to the floor. Its a heart! I blurted out. My dad, (a little taken aback) said you're right, how did you know? I said, dad, I SAW it! I think my dad laughed it off, but that moment changed my life. From that moment on, I "knew" ESP was real.

At the tender age of ten, I then bought any book on ESP and occult, I could get my hands on. I had a small library, of occult books by the time I turned 17. At that time I was very interested in astral projection. However in 1972, there were very few "how to books" on astral projection. One day at Walden books, while looking through the occult section (now called the new age section), I found a book titled, "Eckankar, Key to Secret Worlds" by Paul Twitchell. In this book Mr. Twitchell talked of "soul travel". I of course equated soul travel, with astral projection, and bought the book immediately. This, once again changed my life forever.

I brought home Eckankar: Key to Secret Worlds and read it. This book did, indeed, give various methods on how to leave your body, but the reasons to leave your body were different from mine. In Eckankar, one leaves his body to discover God and the inner worlds, not to check out the planets (or some girl's bedroom when she's changing)

. I was a Catholic, and God was to be feared, not loved. But I could not shake the fact that everything I read in that book rang as truth to me. This caused a major catharsis within me. I decided to set the book aside for awhile until I came up with a resolution.

In the Fall of 1976, I was in my third semester at SUNY Brockport, after transferring there from the University of Miami. I met, and became friends with, a guy named Marty. Marty was a big guy who had played quarterback for the college football team. One Friday, Marty and his girlfriend invited myself and my fiancée over for supper. We had a few drinks and smoked a couple joints when the conversation moved to ESP. Marty's girlfriend believed she was sensitive and told of her experiences. Marty, told me of a recurring dream he kept having. In this dream, there was this "swami" guy trying to get through to him, but there was an invisible barrier (as a big pane of glass between them) and they couldn't connect. He asked me what I thought. I said that the "swami" person could be an Eck Master, and told him of my Eckankar book. He asked if he could read it, I said yes, brought it to class on Monday, and gave it to him.

About a week and a half later I walked into the Student Union to have lunch. The place was packed with students milling about. I wondered why the place was so crowded. At the end of the hall, where the entrance to the cafeteria was, I could see a bright light over the heads of the crowd in front of me. "There must be a television crew there filming; maybe that's why it's so mobbed," I thought to myself. I finally made my way to the cafeteria, and looked for the TV crew. There was none. There, standing in front of the doors as if waiting for me, was Marty.And the bright light I saw was coming from him! My jaw fell to the floor. No one else noticed anything as they walked around him to get inside. Standing there agape, Marty walked up to me and said, "Mike, I read your book, and made contact with the Eck Master. I have been soul-traveling ever since." I stammered, "I can see that!" He told me he was dropping out of school, and moving somewhere in the Caribbean, and that his girlfriend would return my book. I never saw him again.

After encountering Marty for the last time, I was shaken. I had never seen an aura before, let alone seeing one from down a long hall with hundreds of people in the way. I was left with two thoughts: (1) maybe my gut feelings were right, and there was something to this Eckankar, and (2) perhaps God had used me like John the Baptist to awaken a spiritual giant.

I felt honored to be part of Marty's awakening, but I was leery of how Marty just dropped everything to answer his calling. I was only 21, and I liked to have fun. I was not ready to drop everything and run off to some ashram. I only had the one book, and many unanswered questions, about Eckankar, but I felt that maybe God does have a plan for me. I was also afraid. I left Eckankar: Key to Secret Worlds on the shelf, and went about my life as a student.

In February of 1979, I was a supervisor for airline catering at the Rochester, NY airport. I got to know an employee named "Mike W". He was a loner, and kind of an odd duck, but he was also very intelligent. Mike ran our airline liquor department so he was alone in this room filled with mini-bottles of liquor. I would sometimes check on him, and talk to him. I found out that he was an initiate in Eckankar. This floored me, because I had never met anyone else who had even heard of Eckankar, let alone someone who had been practicing it for ten years. We became close friends, playing chess (he always beat me, and I was pretty good), and talking about Eckankar.

One day he was riding in my car with me; it was a very cold and gray winter day. He told me that everyone is divine because everyone is soul. The major religions had everything backwards. "You are not a physical body that owns a soul, but you are soul, and you take on various bodies to gain experience."

To him, soul and the Holy Spirit (The Eck) were one and the same. I asked how could this be when there are billions of different people. He maintained that we are all manifestations of the same great power, but we all operate from different states of consciousness. He also maintained that each person is not only in control of his or her state of consciousness, but that they are also supreme ruler of that domain.

"Each person is God! That is why love is so important. We exist because God loves us. Without love, there would be just God. By loving God with all your heart, you complete a circle of love, enabling you to inherit your birth right, The Throne of God!"

I drove silently, mulling over his words, when I noticed up the road, off to the side, was a police car. I thought to myself, "If I'm in control of my state of consciousness, I don't want that to be a police car!" We came up to the car and, to my shock, it wasn't a police car, but instead it was a convertible with the top rolled back...in February! I immediately thought to myself, "that wasn't a police car after all!"

Mike then looked at me and grinned. "That was pretty neat what you did to that cop car."

I said, "You saw that?" He said, "Yes...look over there!" I looked where he pointed, and there was the cop car, driving though a parking lot. "You didn't destroy it, you just moved it from one spot to another."

"But what of the cops, won't they be shaken up, sitting along side the road one second, then popping up in a parking lot the next?"

"Remember", he said, "they are in control of their own state. They believe they drove over there."

"Well I'm glad you saw what happened because I was convincing myself it wasn't a cop car after all."

"We all do that all the time, perform miracles or little feats of magic, and then we convince ourselves we didn't do them."

That was the day of my awakening. I realized that I don't have to run off and join an ashram. I didn't have to go to church. I don't have to do anything. I don't have to be anybody but myself.

I just have to love God, love my neighbor, and love myself. The rest will be taken care of.

May the blessings be.

I Am Man, Hear Me Whine

2011-09-18T11:43:00.000-04:00

Back in the early '70s, Helen Reddy had a hit song called, "I Am Woman", in which she starts out, "I am woman, hear me roar", which I thought was hokey, and all. I still do. But now that I am older, I realize that she was right. Women do all the roaring, while us guys do all the whining.

I should know. I am a man.

Why do men whine? I don't know, but I believe it has something to do with the male DNA. I remember when I was nine, and my mom wouldn't let me go over to Doug's house because his parent's both worked, and we may get into trouble. I'd say, "Come on, Mom, I'll be good!" It didn't work. When I was fourteen, I asked my dad if I could go to Woodstock. After a few seconds of contemplation he said, "No, you're too young." I responded, "Dad, I'm almost fifteen. Please let me go!" Unfortunately, it still didn't work.

Almost forty years later, I still whine when I don't get my way -- and it still doesn't work. You would think that I would adjust, change my game plan, so to speak. But no, I'm not that smart. You see, I am married. You ladies can laugh (which I know you are), but how else can a guy get his needs met?

"Honey, I have no clean shirts for work tomorrow." "Why didn't anyone make coffee this morning?" "C'mon, honey, it's Monday night!" "I have no cookies for bedtime!" "Your Lifetime Movie channel is turned up too loud!" ...

If whining were an art form, I'd be Piccasso. The truth is, I whine because it does work (once in a while).

She'll do almost anything to get me to shut up.

The Freedom Of Soul Pts. 1-3

2011-08-28T11:36:00.000-04:00

Learning how to consciously leave your body, and return with full memory of the experience, is a lot like learning the theory of relativity. It is often difficult to grasp, and can be very complicated to explain. However, like the theory of relativity, it can be taught, and explained in a straight forward approach. In this lesson we will explore what out of body travel is, and how to accomplish it, without all the esotericism involved.

The first thing we must grasp is that everything we have been taught by the major religions is wrong. Most major religions teach that man is a body that owns a soul, and that body has but one lifetime in order to decide whether that soul goes to heaven, or hell after death. This concept is nothing more that a control mechanism to keep people in their respective religion; and it is based on fear. Religions have not been formed to show their followers the path to freedom, but rather as a way to control the people. None of the Saviors that religions have been founded after came to the world to start a religion. They all came to up lift mankind, and teach them the way of love. The different religions were started after the passing of their respective Savior.

The truth is that man is soul, an eternal spiritual being that takes on bodies in order to gain experience, and spiritual maturity. It takes the average soul thousands of lifetimes to gain the necessary experience in order to earn the knowledge of its divine nature, and the freedom it brings.

Most of you are what we will call “old souls”, meaning you have incarnated many, many times to get to the point you are now at; and you have earned the right to take the next step. That next step is learning the freedom of soul, and how to experience it. Whether you take this step, or not is your choice to make.

There are many ways to have an out of body experience (OBE). Some are very difficult (ie. Meditation, whirling dervish, and physical depravation), and some are relatively easy (ie. Dreaming, and contemplation). In this three part lesson we will talk about the two easier methods dreaming, and contemplation.

There are many ways to experience the inner worlds. Some are very difficult (meditation, the whirling dervish) and others are not safe for the physical body (hallucinogenic drugs like LSD, peyote, and psilocybin). The easiest way to have an OBE (out of body experience), so one can explore the inner worlds is through dreaming.

Most people don't realize this but dreams are real experiences that the soul is having while the ego is shut down. They often seem disjointed or unreal because we remember them after being filtered through the ego, upon awakening. One thing we must know is that reality is different in the inner worlds than here on the physical.

Upon awakening, the ego takes something alien in the physical and converts it into something familiar, even if it is ludicrous in nature. For example, you may be driving a vehicle yet unknown here while in the dream state, but you will remember the dream as you riding a unicycle down an expressway. That is the result of the ego filtering something alien, into something familiar.

Now that we understand regular dreams we will talk about how to make them real. This is called, lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is when the dreamer realizes that he/she is in a dream, and that realization allows the dreamer full control -- and full memory -- of the experience. If you check the New Age section of your local book store, chances are you will find several good books on lucid dreaming; I recommend "Conscious Dreaming" by Robert Moss.

To do lucid dreaming one must refrain from using drugs and consume only moderate amounts of alcohol. If you are interested in trying lucid dreaming, here is a technique I learned reading Carlos Castaneda's epic book, "Journey To Ixtlan". Before going to bed, tell yourself that you want to look at your hands during your dream. If you are able to do this, it will snap your "dream" into reality. After you look at your hands, slowly take note of your surroundings. If you start to lose your dream, refocus on your hands; use them as a focal point, then go back to your surroundings.

With practice, you will become the master of your dream. Experiment, have fun; no harm can befall you, so don't worry. In time you will become a dream master.

True freedom is for those who are pure in heart, and bold and daring in nature. While the meek may inherit the Earth, only the bold and adventuresome will find the freedom of Soul. Nothing is given to you in the adventure of self-realization; everything must be earned. There are no coincidences. The fact that you are reading this post is proof that you have earned the right to visit the inner worlds, and re-establish your Godhood. Now it is your choice to decide whether or not you wish to do so.

To consciously leave your body, and then return, will prove that there is life after death. To conquer the fear of death is, in itself, reason to master out-of-body travel. This is the freedom from fear. Fear (and the stress it causes) is the primary cause of most bodily illnesses; and it is the prison warden of Soul. As long as someone identifies himself with the body, there will be fear. When someone identifies himself as Soul, he learns that he is an immortal spiritual being --and is no longer a slave to fear.

As previously stated, there are many ways to have an out-of-body experience (OBE). Last post we discussed dreaming; this post we will talk about another fairly easy method: contemplation.

Do not get contemplation confused with meditation. Meditation involves intense, focused thought which is difficult and may take years to master. Meditation may also require bodily austerities which are unnecessary for an OBE. Contemplation, on the other hand, is a lighter focus of thought, and can be done anytime, or any place. The only requirement being the need for a quiet place to relax.

This method I am going to give you is called, "The Easy Way", and was first published by Paul Twitchell in his book, Eckankar: The Key To Secret Worlds.

Find a quiet spot where you will not be interrupted. You may seat yourself comfortably in an easy chair with your feet on the floor, in the lotus position, or you may lie down (be careful not to fall asleep), whichever way you prefer. Now try to calm your thoughts, and relax. Taking three or four deep breaths may help. Next, fill your thoughts and yourself with love. This may be done by thinking about Jesus, your mate, your child, anything that invokes a lot of love for you. Gently focus your attention on your spiritual eye. This is the area just above the bridge of your nose. Try to keep this area free from images, sort of a blank slate, if you will. If you have trouble doing this, do not fret; just relax, and keep yourself filled with love. Gently sing the word, "HU" (pronounced Hugh). This is a very powerful spiritual word and will help raise your vibration rate.

After a few minutes you may hear a buzzing, or the roar of the ocean in one ear. Stay relaxed. The actual leaving of the body is different for each person. You may hear a pop. You may see an Eck Master who will ask your permission to take you out of the body. You may just slip out of the body and look down on it. Do not be afraid. There is always an Eck Master present to help, and act as your guide. It is the duty of these Eck Masters to show the way to all who yearn for God.

Do this exercise for 15-30 minutes. If nothing seems to happen, don't worry. Something probably did happen but you were not aware of it. Just keep trying the next day. Everyone is different, and no two people will have the same experience. As with everything, practice makes perfect!

We have talked about two different methods to attain a conscious OBE. Now the choice is yours. Welcome to the inner worlds! May the blessings be!

A Pat On the Back For You

2011-08-21T11:33:00.000-04:00

Truer words were never spoken. If I could tell you a secret that would change your lives, would you listen? Here it is; learn how to give love. It really is that simple. The more love you give, the more you will receive. I know that it is not all that easy to just pick up and start loving EVERYONE. You have to walk before you can start running.

You learn how to love everyone by learning how to respect them first. Respect, like love has to be given in order to earn it. For most people though, it is easier to give respect than it is love. If you want to learn how to love, first learn how to respect.

Respect can manifest in many ways. Opening doors for strangers is a good start. Give a co-worker a pat on the back and a compliment, refuse to gossip and talk behind someone's back, smile and greet people as you pass them in the hall, and most important, allow people to be themselves. Not passing judgment on others is the ultimate show of respect.

As you get better at showing people simple respect, you will notice that their consideration of you has also risen. You will feel better about yourself, and nothing opens the heart to give love more than a good self esteem.

Once you get real good at giving respect, you'll realize you've been giving love all along.

Dancing In the Dark

2011-08-14T14:46:00.000-04:00

There is one term that describes the state of mankind; spiritually ignorant. We are but marionettes dancing in the dark to the movements of the puppet masters. We don’t know where we are, and we don’t know why we dance to other people’s whims. We dance to other people’s desires because we have no clue to the truth, or spiritual ambitions of our own. We dance in the dark because we do not know our true relationship with God, and we are searching for the light, any light that may show us the way.

Many of us search for the answer in books; The Bible, The Koran; books in parapsychology, and Scientology. We are always looking for truth from a source out side of our self. It never occurs to us to look in the one true source of truth and light; our self.

Every true Savior that has ever come to teach us has stressed that the Kingdom of God is within each individual. You already have the light inside of you, why look any where else? We search for truth in other places because we have been taught from a very early age that we need this religion, or that religion to be our mediator in contacting God. We are taught to fear God, and the penalty of sin, eternal damnation in Hell. We are not taught that each of us is divine; and that we all are the sons and daughters of God. The religions don’t teach us of this fact because they know that if we knew the truth, none of us would follow them and they would not have any power over us.

There are many ways to find the light inside of your self. The best way is different for each person, so you must search for the best method that fits you. One should never try to fit himself into a religion, but rather find a religion that fits you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an organized religion, it could be a spiritual path, or metaphysical teaching that best suits you. Some might be more comfortable in a community religion, where others will prefer a more individual approach to God such as Transcendental Meditation, or Eckankar.

To be a seeker of God you first have to be a seeker of truth. There are as many truths as there are people. We need to recognize this and we all need to search until each of us has found the path, or the truth that best fits himself.

Look inside yourself to find the answers.

A Runner's Manual For Beginners

2011-08-07T13:05:00.000-04:00

This article is for those of you who have been living a sedentary life, and want to get active. Maybe you are a couch potato and are worried about your health as you get older; maybe you work in an office and want to be more active. If you have been contemplating taking up running, or jogging, to get in shape, this article is for you.

There is an old saying “you have to walk before you can run”. This is very true for folks who want to start running for exercise; your first two weeks should be nothing but walking. You don’t need to walk with your arms flailing about like a power walker gone amok; you just need to walk with a purpose. Tighten your butt and your stomach muscles, and walk for one or two miles at a pace that pushes you, but doesn’t over exert you. Your leg muscles will experience some soreness the next day, but it should not be so bad as to keep you from wanting to walk again in a day or two.

After at least two weeks of walking, your legs should now be ready to handle light jogging. Start by jogging slowly over the same one or two mile course you have been walking the last couple of weeks. You should not be concerned with your speed or how fast you can run the course; the idea is to get cardiovascular exercise, not to try out for the Olympics. Try to find a pace that you can maintain for the whole course without stopping or over exerting yourself. You will notice that your speed will quickly increase over time as your body adjusts.

Now some tips that all runners should know and follow:

1) Do NOT run or jog on concrete surfaces, or sidewalks. Running is a high impact exercise, which means that every time your foot hits the ground it sends a jolt up your foot, leg, and hip. Concrete is very hard and has no give to it; it is preferable to run on asphalt. I always get weird looks from people when I tell them this, but it is true. If you take a hammer and strike concrete what happens? It will chip or shatter. If you hit asphalt with a hammer what happens? It goes “thunk”. That is because asphalt is much softer than concrete, especially on warm days. If you insist on running on concrete you may be looking at having a knee or hip replacement in a few years.

2) Run only with running shoes, not cross trainers. You don’t need one hundred dollar Air Nikes, but you should have a light weight running shoe. This will save you from developing very painful shin splints. When your shoes wear out replace them, or you will have the same problem.

3) If you run along the side of a road ALWAYS run facing traffic.

4) If you run at night always wear a reflective shirt or vest. Most running shoes have reflective strips on them, but that is not always enough to guarantee visibility.

5) Keep plenty of liniment handy. It will take months for your legs to get used to the pounding, and a good liniment (I prefer Flex-All 454) is invaluable.

6) Some runners like to stretch before running, but I never stretch. Most people do not know how to properly stretch, and will hurt themselves more by stretching than not. I prefer to have a half mile warm up walk before my run to get blood circulating and to loosen up joints and tendons. I also recommend a half mile cool down walk after my run to bring the heart rate back to normal in a gradual way. Locating your running course about a half mile from your home will help you accomplish both of these walks.

7) Bring a water bottle with you. I normally do not drink while running unless I am going long distances, but it sure is nice to have on your cool down walk home. I recommend that you throw a bottle of water in the freezer the night before, and stash it before your run, you will have ice cold water for your cool down walk.

8) Do not over exert yourself. If for any reason your heart rate is too high, or you become winded, start walking until your heart rate comes down to where you feel comfortable to run again.

Running is great exercise, and is also a lot of fun. Bring a radio with you or an i-pod if you wish, it can help you keep a pace and help take your mind off the exertion. Have fun, and get in shape!

The Thin Line Between Love and Hate

2011-07-31T23:24:00.000-04:00

There is an old saying, "There's a thin line between love, and hate". The more I ponder this, the more I believe it to be true. Hate is a strong word, and I can say that there is no one that I truly hate, but there are a few that I dislike a lot. Of this list of people, most, if not all of them, are people that I was enamored with, infatuated with, or in love with. Why is this? When we have a falling out with someone we care about, why do the scales in our minds make such a drastic swing, from love, all the way to hate? Why don't they swing from love to ambivalence? Is the ego so vindictive, that when it is hurt, or senses an injustice caused by someone who supposedly cares about it, that it must seek revenge in the form of hate? Apparently so.

When someone we like, or are indifferent to, wrongs us, we merely slot them into the asshole file and forget about them. It is hardly a blip on our radar of life. When someone we love, whether or not that person loves us in return, wrongs us, we immediately take all the emotion sitting on the "love" side of the scale, and dump it on the "hate" side. We do a 180 degree, about face on them. This causes a 8.0 on the Richter scale change in our lives. Why don't we just slot them into the asshole file, and forget them?

Eventually, we do; time does heal all wounds. I believe it is the shock, surprise, and the ensuing hurt, that brings about such a drastic change in our feelings. I don't believe it is in the human makeup to be able to go from love to ambivalence, or from hate to ambivalence. Once we reach one extreme emotionally, such as love, the only change that can be made is to the other extreme...hate. That is why, even though they are worlds apart, there is a thin line between love and hate.

Gambling Women

2011-07-27T00:25:00.000-04:00

Can anyone tell me, what is with women and gambling? I am not talking about just any gambling either, I am talking about slot machines. Women are drawn to slot machines like moths to a flame. Just like those proverbial moths, almost all of the women get burned by these things. It doesn't matter. No many how many times they have lost their asses playing these stupid games, they still salivate like one of Pavlov's dogs whenever they hear the bells, and see the lights of slot machines.

Here in Miami and South Florida gambling has run rampant. There are several large casinos in the area, and most of the bars have slot machines also. You can walk into any of these places and see women lined up like lemmings waiting to dive off the cliff of their financial solvency. They will sit there for hours, (or until their money runs out) staring into the screens of these money robbing machines. Slot machines must be using some kind of subliminal programming to suck these women in because they all sit staring straight ahead as if they were in a trance.

My wife is one of these people. I keep hearing her say "I'm going to save money for a vacation, or new furniture etc." then the next thing I know she has run off to the casino and donated all of her money to those nice Indians. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

To my wife, and all of the other dumb broads out there hooked on these machines, I have one thing I want to say. Since you like to pull on the handle so much, I have a handle you can pull on! Pull on this! If you pull it enough there is a 100% chance of a pay out.

Hell you don't even have to pay me.

You Have No Events Scheduled For Today

2011-07-17T13:58:00.000-04:00

I own one of those "smart phones". This is good, because when it comes to electronics I am kind of dumb. One of the features of my phone is to send me an e-mail alert on any events that I have planned for that day. I never use it. So everyday I get an e-mail alert telling me "You have no events scheduled for today". I like to think that I never use my calendar function because I am extremely intelligent, and have the memory of a bull elephant. I like to tell myself things like this because it is part of my 12 step program. The real reason I never use the calendar function is because I am dull.

I really don't need my "smart phone" to remind me how dull I am each and every day (this is counter productive to my 12 step program). I have decided to make use of this calendar function just so I can be reminded that I do have a life. Here are my daily events:

5:00AM Time to drag your ass out of bed.
5:40AM Leave for work.
6:45AM Remember to punch into work.
3:30PM Remember to punch out and then go home (don't forget to get dog food, and bread on the way home). If working overtime, disregard this message.
8:30PM Remember to punch out and go home. If not working overtime, disregard this message. (don't forget the dog food, and bread)
11:00PM Go to bed. You know you will be cranky tomorrow if you don't get 6 hrs. of sleep. If drinking disregard this notice.

You have events scheduled for today!

12:00AM Go to bed, you need at least 5 hrs. sleep.
1:00AM GO TO BED!!! If already passed out, disregard this notice.
5:00AM Time to drag your ass out of bed.

Wow, I never realized how many things I keep track of on a daily basis! I guess I am intelligent, and have a great memory, and I DO have a life.

Damn! I forgot the dog food and the bread!

What Is HU?

2011-07-11T00:17:00.000-04:00

HU is the ancient and secret name for God. It is a very powerful word that has been used as a mantra by the spiritually enlightened for thousands of years. The use of HU has been driven underground for the last thousand years because of persecution by the religious leaders of many of the world's religions. For example, one can only imagine the consequences for being caught singing the HU during the Spanish Inquisition, or during the Salem Witch Hunts. Times have changed, and the state of Man's consciousness has grown since those times. The HU was reintroduced to the public by the Eck Master Paul Twitchell in 1965.

The HU is a nondenominational prayer of love to God. Any person, of any religion can sing the HU to raise their vibration level, and open their awareness to the love of God. The HU can be sung out loud or silently to one's self.

Sing the HU before bed to promote lucid dreaming, and to work off karma during the dream state. Sing the HU during contemplation or meditation to facilitate out of body travel, and to connect with the audible life stream, The Eck. Sing the HU when sad, scared, or anxious to lift your spirits. Sing the HU when happy to show gratitude to God for all of Its blessings. Sing HU whenever you think about God. Every time I find a penny, I know God is sending me the message "A penny for your thoughts." This helps me to turn my thoughts to God and to sing HU to him.

The great thing about singing the HU is that when you sing it, you not only raise your vibration level, but you contribute to raising the vibration level of all of humanity through our collective consciousness.

If you find that singing the HU works for you, please pass the word (literally) to others. Working together we can open the door to enlightening the world.

The Dumbing Down of America

2011-07-03T11:10:00.000-04:00

One thing I have noticed in my life is that most people really can't be bothered to think for themselves. In fact I find that most people don't want to be bothered to think at all.
Perhaps I am being too hard on the majority of Americans; maybe they have been conditioned by the government and the major religions not to think for themselves. Perhaps they have not been taught how to think for themselves.

Why is it that so many people are not only willing to let others think for them, but want someone else to think for them? The herd mentality has always been very popular among the masses, whether it manifests as fads, religious dogma, popular TV shows, or blind acceptance of the words of people in a position of authority, but never as much as it is today. "The Bible tells me so", "He's my President, right or wrong", are the mantra of today's sheep.

Television and radio are filled with folks who are more than happy to tell the masses what, and how they should think. This does not bother me as much as the fact that there are way too many people out there who eat up this "knowledge" as if it were a box of chocolates, without consideration that they are getting fat...in the head.

The "dumbing down" of America has been going on for some time now. America's schools were once the finest in the world, but are now nothing more than rote memorization factories, that teach nothing about logic, and reasoning. Most television today is entertainment, or contrived reality shows that encourage the viewer to turn his brain off. Even the commercials are geared for people with an I.Q. of 90.

I believe this "dumbing down" is an action of the global power elite who are out for world domination. They have been intentionally creating a generation of sheep craving for leadership, leadership that they will provide. The only problem is... we all know what happens to a herd of sheep in the end.

Who's Right?

2011-06-26T10:33:00.001-04:00

Everybody has their own personal views in life. Sometimes we keep them to ourselves, sometimes we tell others about them. As Americans, we all have the right, not only to hold our own view on something, but also to voice that view.

I don’t understand why, but many people feel they can hold, and state their views, but attack others who hold and state different views; especially in the matter of religion. It seems to me that these folks have forgotten the two basic tenets of their Savior’s message…love, and tolerance.

I am not talking only about Christianity, but all of the world’s religions. Every religion was started by an enlightened being who taught mostly about love, and the need for tolerance. I do mean ALL of the world’s religions. If you don’t believe me research it.

What could anyone be fighting about? If you follow the tenets of your Savior, how could anyone have a problem with someone stating their view point, or practicing their religion?

We all need to lighten up. As long as your faith is grounded on love, and you practice that love as best you can, you are growing spiritually.

To my fundamentalist readers out there, I know this is “way out there” for you. I respect your views and I am certainly not picking a fight with you. I am a “New Age” espouser, I do not deny that. I grew up a staunch Catholic, but as I grew, so did my understanding. If you are interested in my personal experiences, the early years are documented in “Kreskin's ESP Kit and Beyond"

If everyone could grasp the concept of “Love God, love yourself, and love thy neighbor as thy self” this world would be plunged into a golden age.

Think about it.

Dear Dad

2011-06-19T22:49:00.000-04:00

Hi Dad, happy Father's Day. I did not get you a card this year. It's not that I'm cheap (well maybe a little cheap), but I could not find a card that comes close to saying everything I want to say to you. So I figured I would take the time to make my own card right here that would say everything I want to tell you.

Dad, you are my hero and you always have been. When I was young you were the most handsome, the tallest, and the smartest man I knew. In church you were the best singer. I was always proud to say you were my Dad. I spent my young life trying to emulate you, I tried to sing like you, tried to be tough like you, and I tried to show some common sense from time to time.

Dad, you are the standard by which I judge myself, and all other men.

In my lifetime I have been blessed by God with many fortunate things; however I consider having you and Mom as my parents to be the most fortunate event of my life.

I just want to take the time to say Thank You for everything; all the love you gave me, the wisdom you passed on to me, all the time you spent playing catch, or running around so I could play football, or wrestle; and driving to strange airports to pick me up. Thank you for keeping a roof over all of our heads, and food on our plates for so many years. I owe you and Mom a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid in one lifetime. All I can do is pass the love you gave me onto your grand children.

Even after all of these years, I am still trying to be like you. I love you Dad.

The Cone of Death!

2011-06-06T11:36:00.000-04:00

I really like living here in South Florida, it is sunny and nice almost everyday. The summers, however can be a little hard to take, the sun is brutal, the humidity is stifling, and South Florida is a magnet for hurricanes.

Every year, you live knowing, another Andrew type hurricane could hit. And boy do the local TV channels rake in big dough! There is nothing like scaring someone, to get them to pay attention.

We now have Tropical storm churning about 800 miles to the south west of us. The possibility of a hurricane emminent, now is the time for "all hurricane, all the time programming"! And believe me, we can't get enough of it! We love "all hurricane, all the time"!

To people who have never paid much attention to hurricanes before, you don't know what you're missing. All the excitement down here revolves around the ever changing, very mysterious, projection track that the computers THINK the storm is going to follow. This track is known as " the cone" because the farther you project away, the larger the scope. I have affectionately tabbed this "the cone of death".

We are soooo hooked on the cone of death. Everybody is constantly asking "are we in the cone?" Since nobody has any frigging idea where a hurricane is going to go, they keep changing the cone. One hour in, next hour out.

Now, its hard to really get into this game, if you live in say... Maine.... No! To really play and get into this game you have to come down here in South Florida and sit on the bull's eye with us. You'd be hooked on "all hurricane coverage, all the time" too.

Keeping It Simple

2011-05-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

How neat would it be if we could change the world by everyone learning to follow two simple rules? That's right; if we could learn two simple rules, and teach them to our children, we can change the world. Sound crazy? Maybe, but I am going to try to show how.

Richard Mayberry, in his book "Whatever Happened To Justice?", gives us two basic laws:

1) Do everything you have agreed to do,

2) Don't encroach on anyone or their property.

Now, I paraphrased these laws to keep them short, but in essence, that's all there is to it. Sounds pretty easy, and I'm sure that most of us try to work within these parameters on a day-to-day basis. However, there are a vast majority of people out there who don't. These are the people that think they can "get over" on other people for personal benefit. They are caught up in the "Free Lunch Syndrome" (FLS).

FLS comes from people believing that they can get something for nothing. They are ignorant of the spiritual laws that also govern us. Truth is, we all pay for everything we ever get. Karma is the great balancer. If you cheat or defraud someone for profit, sooner or later you will be the victim. It really is easier just to earn (or pay for) everything up front; then there are no worries.

Honesty is the best policy. Let's teach that to our kids instead of fighting over evolution or banning books in our schools. Remember the basics and keep it simple. If we can change our mindset to accept these two principles -- and live them -- we can make the world a more beautiful place to live.

Like Lynyrd Skynyrd said in their song, "Simple Man": Be a simple kind of man. Be something you love and understand.

It's all so simple.

A Day In the Life (Of Me At 73)

2011-05-22T10:01:00.000-04:00

I am a middle-aged guy. I recently turned 53. Like most middle-aged people, my body is showing the signs of wear and tear. My hearing is getting worse, my hair is starting to show a touch of gray, my old wrestling injuries are coming back to nag me, I forget where I left my keys, etc., etc.

They say that the 50's are the youth of old age; well, if that's the case, I'm not sure I want to find out how the "geezer" days of old age are going to turn out. With that in mind, I have a song depicting how I envision life twenty years from now. It's sung to the tune of " A Day In the Life " by the Beatles:

I woke up today, oh boy!

I'm still alive, I see, what a joy!

Went down to eat some breakfast,

But it just had to wait,

I couldn't masticate (My teeth are gone).

I saw a dirty film today, oh boy!

I got an erection, a rare joy!

I went and showed it to my wife,

Thought I might get a poke,

But she just cracked a joke!

I don't turn....her....on!

Stood up, to stretch my back,

But my muscles started to cramp.

I went to the bar and had a shot,

I was in a spot (if you know what I mean).

Fell down, and grabbed my thigh,

Took some pills to get me by,

I crawled outside to have a smoke,

But I had a stroke

And I let out a big scream...

Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhhh!

Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhh, Ah, Ah, Ahhhh!

I saw the Doc today, oh boy!

"Fit as a fiddle," he said, oh what joy!

He said I'd live to see ninety-three,

But I just had to cringe,

Gotta get some booze because I'm goin' on a binge!

I can't go onnnnnnnnn.......!

Does Anyone Really Own Sunglasses?

2011-05-15T12:18:00.000-04:00

I've got this thing for sunglasses, I like them. If I could afford it I would have a closet full of them like Imelida Marcos had shoes. Living here in south Fla. they also have a purpose besides looking cool.

There is this one problem though, I keep losing the damn things! My theory is that no one really really owns a pair of sunglasses, they just pass them around. Hey, cool, I found a new pair of sunglasses, that look really cool on me! I'm gonna love the way I look in them...for about two weeks. Then someone else will get to look cool in them for the next two weeks. Oh well that's the way the sunglasses waltz goes.

MIKE'S LAW: "The length of time you will own a pair of sunglasses is in reverse proportion to the cost of the glasses."

I once bought a pair of killer loop sunglasses for $120.00, which I had for two whole days before I used them to block an overhead smash in a game of volley ball. On the bright side, I did block the shot for a point.

Now a days I work for a major airline, and I find a pair of sunglasses about every 2, or 3 weeks. Which is perfectly timed to correspond with my losing the last pair I found. If anyone out there has figured out a way NOT to lose their sunglasses, please clue me in.

Middle Aged, and It Sucks

2011-05-08T02:59:00.000-04:00

Feeling depressed today. Kinda feeling my age. Today a very hot flight attendant came walking down the aisle of a 757 jet. Now this aircraft is 150ft or so long, and I was standing in the rear, so I got a real nice, long look of her and her long sexy legs. It was all very nice until she came up to me, and I gave her my best smile and said "how are you today?". She said "ok" and she didn't say anything more. I then realized, that I am too old for her to even consider.

I wasn't really all that crushed, until later when I got a chance to think about it. God damn, I'm never gonna be able to pull prime pussy anymore! I'm old and chubby, and I smell like cigars, and shit! That really sucks! And it really does.

Never again will I ever feel the delight of scoring a "ten". But then considering that all the "tens" are about my daughters age, and that I am married, and that she would cut my balls off if I ever did get that lucky, I felt alittle better. But I still feel old.

Oh well, there are still some hot looking FA's that are around middle age that I could still pull. Not that I would, mind you, I am married, and that cutting off of the balls part scares me. But never the less, I COULD pull it.

As long as I suck in my tummy.

Are You Man Enough?

2011-04-30T11:33:00.000-04:00

I grew up with two brothers. One was older than me, the other younger. We were all separated by one year intervals, so we grew up fairly close in age. This, of course, meant that we fought...a lot. Being the middle son, it seems that I was always in the middle of one of the fights. My older, and my younger, brothers seldom fought amongst each other.

My dad, knew that boys, would be boys, and he did not interfere with most of our squabbles (unless something got broke, then we all got spanked). But, woe to the child that started something then came running to him for help. His answer to that kid (usually me), was always firm; "If you're man enough to dish it out, you better be man enough to take it! There is nothing worse than someone who can dish it out, but can't take it!"

These words are the wisdom by which I live my life. They taught me quite a few things such as: taking responsibility for my actions, empathy for others, and that what ever I did to someone else, I had better be able to take when someone did it to me.

These three things are the cornerstone of our interpersonal relationships. Those who have learned, and follow them, are well adjusted, and normally get along with others. Those who haven't learned them are maladjusted, and unpopular. Nobody wants to associate with someone who can't "play well" with others.

We all know some of these "don't play well with others" type of people. These folks feel that they have carte blanch to do, or say, anything they want to others; but are quick to take offense when someone responds in kind to them. Perhaps they just don't realize that their behavior is churlish, and childish. Maybe they just aren't smart enough to grasp the lessons most others mastered in elementary school.

Maybe they just weren't lucky enough to have a dad like mine.

Battling the Blues

2011-04-27T05:11:00.000-04:00

Many people these days are struggling with the blues, in one form or another. This feeling is often compounded in the winter time when there is less sunshine. Many people seek relief using prescription anti-depressants; and others seek it with alcohol, and other recreational drugs. Most people who are taking antidepressants, and recreational drugs do not need to medicate themselves to feel better. Most people can find a way out through natural means. We will discuss a few of these methods in a minute, but first, what is clinical-depression?

Most doctors believe that clinical-depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. While this is true in some cases such as manic-depressives, and psychotics, who need medication; most depressives can be helped without antidepressants. Antidepressants tend to suppress the emotions which makes most users feel like robots that are incapable of feeling. They seldom help as intended and leave the user feeling empty as well as depressed. If you are one of these folks, put down your Prozac and try some of these remedies.

Cut back on your sugar intake. We all know what sugar does to children; well adults are no different. Sugar provides a lift for a short time but also induces a mood crash after it burns off.

Find ways to externalize your thoughts. Many people suffering from depression spend too much time thinking about themselves. This is the breeding ground for all sorts of negative thoughts and feelings such as worry, feelings of inferiority, and stress. The cure for this is to find things to do to get you to think of something besides yourself. This could be a hobby, working as a volunteer, painting, writing, or any number of things. The important thing is to find something that you really like to do, and go do it.

Get some exercise. This really ties in with externalizing your thoughts, but also provides other benefits such as producing endorphins, and other mood lifting chemicals in the brain. You don't have to be a workout warrior to get the benefits. Go for a walk, or light jog every other day, that will do wonders for your over all feeling of well being.

If you live in a northern climate take extra vitamin D during the winter time. In the winter very few people get the amount of vitamin D they need. Less sun means less vitamin D production in your body, so you need to account for this. If you have a job where you get very little sun you should also be taking vitamin D supplements.

Open the spiritual channels to your higher self. Man is a spiritual being living in a physical body. If the ego becomes too distant from the spiritual self, depression is often the result. Try to take a few minutes each day to open yourself to spirit. This can be done in any number of ways such as meditation, contemplation, and prayer. I personally like to take a few moments to sing the HU during the course of the day, and before bed. HU is the secret and powerful name of God which makes a marvelous mantra to reconnect with spirit. Just fill yourself with love by thinking about someone you love, and sing HU (pronounced Hugh). As I said there are many ways to open yourself to spirit, you just need to find the best one for you.

If you are suffering from the blues, or are clinical depressive, you will find that many of these techniques will help and improve your quality of life.

Big Daddy's Blues

2011-04-23T05:06:00.000-04:00

Mike's Petting Zoo

2011-04-19T17:24:00.001-04:00

This is re-posted in memory of Sophie.

It is nice to know that you are wanted. There is nothing better than knowing that when you get home after a hard day’s work there are going to be a host of people waiting for you to walk through the door.

Well I am a lucky guy because that is the world I live in… except the folks waiting for me are my pets. For those of you who have not read "The True Adventures of Wilbur the Pig" or “Big Daddy’s Blues”, I have six dogs, a pot-bellied pig, and a cat; and they all love me.

They love me because they know that “The big softy” is home and they will all get lots of love and affection. Many of my days I leave for work at 5:30am, and don't get back home until 10pm. That is a long day for anyone, but I make sure everyone gets some loving before I go to bed.

I go out on my back patio and put on my favorite radio show (The Mike O’Meara Show); then I wait for the parade of animals. The dogs are always first, running around jockeying for position, trying to see who can get first whacks at daddy.

The first one is normally the largest Simon. Simon is a HUGE Rottweiler. He is basically mommy’s boy, but he never misses a chance with daddy. Second is Princess, she is most senior dog in the household and that carries a lot of weight. Princess is a golden lab mix and the sweetest dog you ever met. Third in line is Bobby. Bobby is basically my dog; he always sits with me on the patio acting as my bodyguard. Bobby is a Doberman mix breed.

The next dog to come to the plate is Buddy. Buddy is a golden lab, and I call him the “love sponge”, because he will soak up as much loving as you are willing to give. I also call Buddy “the landmine”, because as I walk through the house he will get in my way and lie down with his belly up. Buddy knows that if he can time it just right, he will get a “ten second belly rub” which he lives for. After Buddy is finally shooed away, Chloe comes up for her turn. Chloe is an old American Bulldog, and very set in her ways. She is very lady like, but she makes sure daddy gives her what she needs. Sophie is the newest, and last of the dogs. Sophie is a smaller mixed breed, and enjoys being petted almost as much as Buddy.

After all the dogs have been petted, and loved, Wilbur knows that it is now his turn. Wilbur is my pot bellied pig. Wilbur is very smart, he knows how to approach daddy to get what he wants. He comes up along side of my chair and nuzzles my arm. Once he knows he has my attention, he lies down on the floor with his belly facing me. I know he wants it, but I am going to tease him. I start stroking his nose, and then I rub behind his ears. After a minute I slowly move to rubbing under his chin. The hair on the back of his neck stands straight up! He knows he is going to get it and he is filled with anticipation. I slowly give him what he wants as I slide my hand down to his belly and gently rub it. Wilbur loves having his belly rubbed!

When my back finally gets stiff from leaning over and rubbing his belly, I put Wilbur to bed so I can have some peaceful time to myself. That’s when my cat Molly jumps into my lap.

Oh well, at least I don't have to bend over or kill myself to pet a cat.

I Don't Need To Be Forgiven

2011-04-15T21:15:00.001-04:00

One of the biggest hoaxes ever foisted upon mankind is the notion of "Original Sin". This is the belief where each and every man and woman is born with the indelible stain of the original sin of Adam and Eve against God. Mankind has always been taught that because of this stain we need a Savior or baptism in order to be forgiven of this sin. Millions of people have either been baptized, or had their children baptized in order to keep from spending an eternity in either Limbo, or Hell. Of course once you get baptized you are obligated to spend your entire lifetime in that religion or face an eternity in Hell after death.

This notion of Original Sin is a control mechanism instituted by the religions in order to keep people under their control. If you have nothing to be forgiven for, or saved from, it goes to reason that most people would not have a need for a religion. The religions of course know this and that is why they hammer us with the concept of Original Sin. The more the religions can convince us that we need them, the more we are apt to follow them, their leaders, and pay them portions of our wages to keep us safe.

It is true that each one of us is born with a debt ; but it is a karmic debt that each of us has accumulated over our many lifetimes. This karmic debt cannot be washed away by being baptized into any religion. This debt is accumulated by each of us by our actions in prior lifetimes and must be rectified by each one of us without an intermediary, or Savior involved. It is not a religion that is needed, but an understanding of this karma, and a willingness to work through it.

This brings up the question, "How do I work off past karma, and not accumulate more of it?" The quickest way to work off karma is to learn to be a giver, and not a taker in life. The quickest way to learn to be a giver is to learn how to love.

Love is always a giver, never a taker. If you can learn to give love in any one of many forms, you will be on the fast track to spiritual advancement and enlightenment. It does not matter what religion you were born in to, or what religion you choose; what matters is how much love you have in your heart, and that you give it to others. Selfishness and greed are the things that will add to your karmic debt, but love and giving will burn off your debt and help you realize that you are not stained by the actions of Adam and Eve, but beloved in the eyes of God.

A Pat On the Back For You

2011-04-12T05:10:00.000-04:00

Life is full of two lane streets. You give something, you get something. That is how it works in an ideal society. Everybody wants something, but not all are prepared to give something. The Beatles, on their album"Abby Road" closed the album with this couplet. "And in the end, the love you take, Is equal to the love you make."

Truer words were never spoken. If I could tell you a secret that would change your lives, would you listen? Here it is; learn how to give love. It really is that simple. The more love you give, the more you will receive. I know that it is not all that easy to just pick up and start loving EVERYONE. You have to walk before you can start running.

You learn how to love everyone by learning how to respect them first. Respect, like love has to be given in order to earn it. For most people though, it is easier to give respect than it is love. If you want to learn how to love, first learn how to respect.

Respect can manifest in many ways. Opening doors for strangers is a good start. Give a co-worker a pat on the back and a compliment, refuse to gossip and talk behind someone's back, smile and greet people as you pass them in the hall, and most important, allow people to be themselves. Not passing judgment on others is the ultimate show of respect.

As you get better at showing people simple respect, you will notice that their consideration of you has also risen. You will feel better about yourself, and nothing opens the heart to give love more than a good self esteem.

Once you get real good at giving respect, you'll realize you've been giving love all along.

Good Bye Best Friend

2011-04-09T22:34:00.000-04:00

Is there anything worse than to wake up in the morning and to find your best friend lying dead? Anyone who has ever owned a dog or a cat for a pet knows what I mean. Everything seems just fine, then you go to bed one night and wake up to find your friend gone. No warning, and no chance to say good bye; just gone. Here one day, gone the next.

This is what all pet lovers, and pet owners go through one time or another. Maybe it's not a dog or a cat, maybe it's a pet guinnea pig, parrot, or ferret; whenever you lose a friend it hurts, especially when it comes unexpectedly. There is nothing you can do or say, and you are always left with an empty pit where your stomach once was.

People who don't have pets will have trouble understanding this. People who don't have pets will never understand the unconditional love that pets give, and how they give you the chance to give it. Few things in life help us learn how to open our heart to give love, as much as owning a pet.

So, as I say good bye to my old friend, I just want to take this time to thank you for teaching me how to give love, and how to accept it. Thanks for always making me feel loved even when I didn't feel very lovable. I hope some how, some way, I made you feel the same way my friend.

A Transcendental State of Gullibility

2011-04-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

This was my next nefarious scheme after "The Easter Egg Eating Contest"

When I was a young teen there was this girl that everyone had the hots for; her name was Pam Prue. Pam was a gorgeous girl for a fifteen year old. She had long flowing hair, a pretty face, and a big set of knockers; all of these things were rare for a fifteen year old girl in my school. All of the boys in school had the hots for her. One of these boys was my older brother Albert. Pam used to ride the same bus as Albert and I, and Albert was always drooling over her. The problem for Albert was that since she was so beautiful, she had her pick of any guy she wanted to go out with. Albert was over weight, and obnoxious, so he never really had any chance with her, and he knew it.

Shortly after the end of my freshman year during the summer vacation I was hanging around at my friend Doug’s house. Doug’s parents both worked during the day so Doug’s house was the logical place for us kids to hang out at during the day. Doug and I were bored, very bored and we didn’t know what to do for kicks. We were so bored that I finally said to Doug “I’m going to call Albert to see what he’s up to.” This shocked Doug because we NEVER wanted Albert to hang around with us.

I called my house and Albert picked up the phone “Hello” he said. I really don’t know what came over me, but I said in as high a voice as I could muster “Hello, Albert, this is Pam Prue.” Albert replied “Really?” I figured Albert would recognize my voice immediately but he didn’t, he really thought it was Pam Prue on the phone! Since I had Albert on the line (both literally and figuratively) I kept going using bashful sounding pauses to figure out what I was going to say. “Yes” I said, “Since school has ended I have missed not seeing you on the bus. I was wondering if maybe you could come by and see me?” Albert, noticeably taken by surprise said “Really?” I said “Yes really. I have been noticing you a lot lately and I think you are kind of cute. Can you come to my house and spend some time with me?” Albert said, I would like to but I have to mow the back yard right now.” “Well can you come over after you finish? I really would like to see you.” Albert replied, “I’ll be over as soon as I get done.” I said “Please hurry, I really want to see you!” Albert said “I’ll be there in an hour.” Then he hung up.

I hung up the phone and looked at Doug who was sitting at the table agape not believing what just happened. I said, “Let’s wait ten minutes then walk down to my house.” We waited ten minutes then made the short walk to my house. Out in the back yard was Albert sprinting back and forth across the back yard with the lawn mower! It took all of our self control not to bust out laughing until we got in the garage where Albert couldn’t see us. We weren’t laughing very long because here came Albert. Albert threw the lawn mower in the corner of the garage, jumped on my little sister’s banana bike that he was two sizes too big for and started peddling off. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” I shouted to him as he left. “Never mind you turkeys!” was all he said as he peddled away on the three mile trip to Pam’s house. Doug and I continued laughing our butts off until our sides were sore. Albert had once again reached a transcendental state of gullibility.

About an hour later I went home for lunch. My mother had various cold cuts and bread on the kitchen table so we could make sandwiches. Albert was making a sandwich so I strategically went on the other side of the table to make mine. I causally mentioned to Albert, “So Albert, how is Pam Prue?” Albert burst out “You son of a bitch!” and started chasing me around the table to a chorus of “Stop! Stop!” by my mother. I made a dash for the door and away I went.

Forty years have come and gone since that day. I have never found out what happened when Albert showed up at Pam’s front door. To this day Albert maintains he figured out my scheme before he got to her house, and turned around.

I know Albert better than that.

The Easter Egg Eating Contest

2011-04-03T10:42:00.000-04:00

I grew up in a family of five kids. Albert, was the oldest, followed closely (ten months), by me. The fact that we were so close of age is probably what led to his downfall. Albert was really a pretty good brother, especially as big brothers go. However he had committed a sin for which I could never forgive him. He was born before me. I was always a motivated individual, and a schemer. Albert was overweight, and pretty laid back. He was also very gullible. This made him perfect for my schemes.

My best friend Doug's parents both worked during the day, so we often hung out at his place. Doug was the muse for my schemes. One Good Friday, we were off from school, so that meant I was hanging out at Doug's house. Doug said to me "hey, I colored a bunch of Easter eggs." I said "so what?" Then he went on to explain that he colored four raw eggs, besides the hard boiled ones. "I colored all the raw eggs red so I would know which ones they were. But I haven't figured out what to do with them." I said to Doug, "grab two good eggs, and one red egg, and let's walk down to my house and see if Albert is home." Doug said "what ya gonna do?" I said "I don't know but I'll figure out something."

We walked down the street to my house with the eggs. Outside my house,in the side yard, was Albert. The situation was perfect. I walked up to Albert, and said "Albert, Doug and I officially challenge you to an Easter egg eating contest!" Doug then showed Albert the colored eggs. Albert said "ok turkeys! I'll kick your asses!" "Doug officially present Albert with the official Easter egg" I said as officially as I could. Doug handed Albert the red egg. "Albert, these are the official rules to the Easter egg eating contest. On the count of three you will crack the egg on your forehead, shell it, eat it,and the first one to whistle wins. Got it?" Albert said "you turkeys, I'll kick your asses!" Meanwhile Doug is shooting me sideways glances, not believing what was happening.

What happened next was what you would see in some TV sit-com. I counted to three, Albert splattered his red egg all over his face, and I some how managed to elude his grabbing me for the next hour while laughing as hard as I could. Albert had reached a transcendental state of gullibility, not to be matched, until my next nefarious scheme.

Spring Is Here

2011-03-30T18:14:00.001-04:00

Spring has sprung. Spring is everyone’s favorite time of the year. Everything that was brown, or white, is now green. The trees that were barren now have new leaves and blossoms. The robins are back singing their songs of happiness, and the world is filled with love.

Spring is not only a time of renewal, but it is also mating season. The birds are building their nests in preparation of their new arrivals, and the critters are getting together in order to propagate.

After a long cold winter of being cooped up indoors, people are happy to venture back outside. Joggers litter the sidewalks, golfers are gleefully chasing their little white balls around, and softball, and soccer players are filling up the parks. Springtime is filled with plants, animals, and people rejoicing.

Perhaps not everything about spring is positive; the flies and mosquitoes are back as nasty as ever, and sun burns are on the rise. Most people though will gladly put up with these trifles in order to get as far away from winter as possible.

Since everyone is enjoying spring with a skip in their step, and a song in their heart; I thought I would like to share my favorite song of spring with you. It is by Dr. Tom Lehrer, who happens to be a mathematics professor at Harvard. Enjoy! Happy Spring to you and yours!

Always and Forever

2011-03-27T00:03:00.000-04:00

True love is forever. This is not a metaphor, or the writing of a poet. True love is what we all receive from God 24-7, always and forever. No matter whom you are; no matter what you do, you will always have God's love.

Many religions teach that if you don't follow their path you will lose God's love and be damned to eternal misery in hell. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

We all need to be mindful of our actions, and take responsibility for them, but they are not, nor will they ever become the parameters to decide whether or not God loves us. Anytime you hear someone telling you that you will go to hell if you don't follow their religion, realize that they are subtly trying to control you.

There are repercussions from our actions, whether good or bad, and that is accomplished through karma. Karma is what all souls in the worlds of duality have to contend with. The purpose of karma is to teach all souls the lessons they must learn before they can graduate from these lower worlds. If you have lived a particularly evil life, the effects of karma can be very harsh in one of your next lifetimes, but you are never cut off from God's love.

The belief that you have been cut off from God's love is called despair. The Catholic Church has always taught that the one true mortal sin is despair. The reason for this is that if you believe you have been cut off from God's love, you will needlessly cut yourself off from God because you believe you are not worthy.

We all make mistakes; it is part of the human make up. We learn through trial and error, with karma showing us how we erred. Learning in this method is slow, and it takes many lifetimes to earn our degree to leave these worlds of duality.

If you screw up, try not to get down on yourself too hard, and definitely don't try to hide from God. God understands these things. God's love is always and forever.

Defining Spiritual Concepts

2011-03-18T21:21:00.003-04:00

What constitutes evil? What is the difference between "good", "bad", "love" and "evil"? These are philosophical questions that man has been trying to answer since St. Thomas Aquinas; and long before him.

Good, bad, love, and evil are relative terms, and only apply in the worlds of duality. These terms are also subjective in the sense, that what is good in one culture can be seen as bad in another; the same with love and evil. With this in mind, we shall try to define good, bad, love, and evil in spiritual terms.

Good is any action that does not encroach on another person, or do harm yourself. It may, or may not benefit another; but it does not harm them. Holding doors, mowing the lawn, being pleasant to other people, and going to church are all good by this definition.

Bad is any action that hurts, or causes a negative effect on another. Hitting, gossiping, vandalism, and robbery are bad by this definition.

Love in the spiritual sense, is giving to another without thought of reward, or gratitude. Love is altruistic in nature, and shown through demonstration. Real love cannot be expressed in words. Real love is demonstrated by one's actions. A parent's bond with a child, the miracles of Jesus, giving one's life to save another's, and sacrifice are all love by this definition.

Evil is achieving one's own desires no matter what the cost to others. Evil is self absorbed, and egotistic in nature. Evil has no regard, what so ever for anyone else, only for its desires. Murder, rape, tyranny, and black magic are evil by this definition. Satan is the embodiment of true evil in this world. It is inconceivable that anyone would choose to worship him. The true manifestation of evil is incapable of love, how could these souls believe that he will return their adoration?

As stated above, these terms are relevant only in the worlds of duality, the physical, the astral, and the mental. When one goes beyond these worlds, there is only love. Our problem is traversing our path through these lower worlds until we have earned the higher ones.

Overcoming Cause and Effect

2011-03-15T20:09:00.000-04:00

We are spiritual beings living in physical bodies trying to navigate our way through the worlds of duality to reach our true home; the world of true spirit the soul plane. One of the most difficult challenges we face on our journey is known as cause and effect. In the worlds of duality there is always an action, followed by an equal and opposite reaction. Cause is the action, and effect is the reaction. As spiritual beings we need to strive to always be cause, and to never let ourselves become victims of being the effect of anything occurring outside of ourselves.

Life is full of challenges; things happen all of the time. It is very easy to believe that we are but leaves being blown about in the autumn wind with no real control over what happens in our lives. This is not true, and it is a negative way to think. Yes, things happen; and we often face a new and different challenge every day. These challenges are simply that, tests to find out how far we have progressed. These tests are determined by our karmic debt that we have accumulated over our many lifetimes. Every time we work through a challenge, we burn off accumulated karma.

We have several tools at our disposal to ensure that we are always acting as cause, and not as effect. A very important tool is a positive attitude; know that you are being tested and do your very best to over come your problem. Another important tool is perseverance. Very few things in life that are important come easily. Thomas Edison once said that inventing something was ten percent inspiration, and ninety percent perspiration. This means that you should never give up on a problem; keep plugging away and do the best that you can. There is an old saying "God helps those who help themselves". Truer words were never spoken. If you sit back and think that God will take care of your problems while you do nothing, you will often be sadly mistaken. However, if you do the best you can, and refuse to quit, you will find that God will be there to help when you really need it. Another important tool is the HU. Whenever you feel weak, or that you can't go on, sing HU. Singing HU whether silently to yourself, or aloud, will raise your vibrations, and fill you with love; these positive vibes will give you the strength you need to carry on.

Always remember, everything is as it should be. Don't judge, don't fret, and don't worry, just do your best. God never presents any of us with a problem that we are not capable of handling.

Condensing Infinity

2011-03-13T19:00:00.000-04:00

Man's view of God really hasn't changed much in the last 4,000 years. Even today, most people's conception of God resembles Michelangelo's famous depiction on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City. There is God, often depicted as a gray-haired, bearded old man, and there is Man, created by God, but separate and distinct from God.

This sense of being separated from God has been used and compounded by the religions of the world. They have set themselves up as intermediaries between Man and God. This position has given the religions immense power because Man feels he needs a religion to connect him to God. Without this connection, Man has been taught that he will be doomed to an afterlife of eternal damnation.

It is time that mankind be told the truth. The consciousness of mankind has progressed enough that many can finally cut the umbilical cord between the Self and organized religion. Mankind is now an adult and can stand on its own two feet. The only separation between Man and God is the wall each of us has built to hide ourself from God. The need to hide from God is the result of guilt and shame that has been hammered into us by the religions.

Let's talk about God.

In truth, there is nothing that can be said about God; to do so is to limit the limitless. However, since we are working through a human brain, we cannot comprehend the limitless, so I will try to condense infinity for comprehension purposes. God is, you are. Does that help? No? Then let me condense infinity some more for you. God is love; we exist because God loves us.

Since there is truly no separation between God and Man, does that mean that each of us is God? Because each of us has developed an ego in order to function in this world, that is not totally correct. It would be more correct to say, God is each of us!

Why is there evil and hatred in the world? Each soul has been given free will, and not all have learned the lessons of love. It takes thousands of lifetimes to learn through trial and error all the lessons needed to be learned before revelation has been earned.

That is why love has been stressed by every Saint and Savior that has ever come to help Man evolve. All you need is love!

There really is nothing else to say.

May the blessings be.

Trying Your Luck

2011-03-09T19:29:00.001-05:00

I got new tires today. That doesn't sound like much, but it sure does mean a lot to me. You see, my last tires were almost bare, and I was very afraid of getting a blow out, or skidding in the rain. I was trying my luck, and luckily I survived until we could afford new tires.

Trying your luck can be very stressful. In today's world we all have to try our luck a lot more than we would like. Money is tight, and when money is tight, things that were necessities, now become luxuries. For some people eating is becoming a luxury. The stress level of adult America is going through the roof (and so is their blood pressure).

Trying your luck can be fun and exciting at times; it can provide a great adrenaline rush. I like to try skiing down the advanced slopes even though I am not a very good skier. I will often walk under ladders, and play with fire (you should see me light my grill). Heck, sometimes I will even brave driving in rush hour traffic! That is normally very exciting. I like to try my luck in certain ways; it helps to spice up my life.

There are also certain ways I don't want to try my luck, like driving on bad tires, or with faulty wind shield wiper blades. I don't want to gamble that my old geezer of an air conditioner will make it through another scorching Miami summer. I don't like having to juggle paying bills, and I don't like knowing that I am just one paycheck away from oblivion.

I certainly would like to stop having to try my luck so much. There is just one small problem; I haven't figured out how to yet.

The Circle of Life

2011-03-05T05:11:00.000-05:00

You have probably heard the saying, “life is a two way street”. This essentially means that one cannot expect to be on the receiving end of every relationship, all of the time. For any relationship to grow and mature there has to be a balance of giving, and receiving. If there is an imbalance, where one side gives too much, and the other is a glutton, the relationship becomes dysfunctional, and dies.

This need for a balance is true for more than just interpersonal relationships, but is true for life in general. Animals, take in oxygen, and release carbon dioxide. Plants take in Carbon dioxide, and release oxygen. This balance maintains life as we know it here on Earth. All of life is possible because there is a balance on a myriad of different levels. These balances create what I call the circle of life.

In order for each of us, as individuals, as cities, as countries, and as a species, to grow, and remain healthy; we need to be mindful of the need to keep balanced. This balance starts with each of us learning to be balanced from within.

Man is a spiritual being occupying a physical body. The needs of both, need to be taken care of, in order to live a balanced life. Everything is good, but too much of anything is bad. If one spends too much time in meditation, and spiritual contemplation, the vibrational level of the individual gets too high for the body to handle, and madness, and disease is the result. Research the lives of most saints, and you will see this pattern. If one indulges in carnal delights too much, the individual lowers himself to the animal level, and becomes a beast. To be truly balanced, one needs to contemplate on the spiritual, while not depriving the body of its carnal needs.

By maintaining the circle of life within ourselves, we will know how to keep a balance in our interpersonal relationships, our societal relations, and our ecology. No matter the level, imbalance causes, disease, and chaos, while balance is healthy and active.

I Am an A-hole

2011-03-02T19:07:00.001-05:00

I am evil. I know I am evil, but I can’t help it. In fact I take a fiendish glee in being evil. I wasn’t always evil; it just came upon me about eight years ago. That’s when I moved from the frozen tundra of Rochester, NY, and relocated in Miami, FL.

I remember my last day working at the airport up in Rochester, it was 5 degrees, and colder than a witch’s left bosom. In fact, the last two months I worked there, were the coldest I could remember. I really didn’t want to leave my family, and friends, but, I was forced to travel to new horizons, in order to keep my job of twenty years.

Three days later, from the back of my friend, Tom’s boat, harbored in the Florida Keys, I discovered my evilness. It was a beautiful evening, about 70 degrees, with a gorgeous sunset off to the west. I was nursing my sixth or seventh cold brew, when I got a call from my step son on my cell phone. He told me that it was a minus 4 degrees, and snowing like a bastard up in Rochester. That’s when I turned evil. I couldn’t help but to tell him how warm, and beautiful it was in my neck of the woods. Just to hear him tell me to go f#&k off made me feel really good. I realized that I took extreme pleasure, in pissing him off about how nice it was to live in paradise. In fact I took pleasure in pissing off everybody from up north about it.

Sometimes I would just causally mention, how it was 82, and sunny; after they told me they just got 15 inches of snow, other times I would complain that we were going through a cold spell, and we would hit a low of 55, with only a high temperature of 72, just to hear the responses I would get from them. There is something about living in paradise that brings out the a-hole in a guy.

If you life up north, and want to bring out your inner a-holeness, I have a guest room. Give me a call.

Did I mention that we are going through a cold spell? It is supposed to get down to 60 degrees tonight. I better put on my flannel pj's tonight! Brrrr

Untimely Interuptions

2011-03-01T05:10:00.000-05:00

It’s a real drag to get interrupted when you are doing something you really like. You know what I mean. I’ll stomach the traffic jams, I’ll wait in lines at the bank, I’ll even handle a root canal, but, I hate it when something messes up my free time.

Being interrupted is like being violated. Nobody likes being violated.

Everyone is familiar with the “calling at suppertime, sales pitch guy”. I know everybody needs a job, but these people should be tied up and forced to listen to Yoko Ono records for forty eight straight hours (I wonder what level of hell that would equate with?). I mean we have to get serious with these people!

Some of you might know the “friend who always calls when you are getting nookie guy” I had a friend in college whose clairvoyance was astounding. He always knew when I was getting laid. It got so bad that I finally learned to take the phone off of the hook (remember when you did that?), whenever I got lucky.

Other people are familiar with “I live in the middle of the approach for a major runway”, or “I live next to the railroad track” problem. When I worked at a major airline in Rochester, NY, I had a very nice top half of a house to live in. The only problem was it was in a direct line with runway 22 (short for 220 degrees.). Every night when the best television shows came on, that’s when all of the jets would decide to land. “What did he just say!?” Is what we would yell to each other as lines of our favorite show were blotted out by the screaming jet engines. As if that wasn’t bad enough, every morning about 6:30 am they would all take off again roaring right over head, shaking the house, and rattling the windows. And it was even worse if you were trying to sleep off a hangover. (Ugh!)

Last but not least is the “Asshole dog next store, barking all night long” situation. You really want to get up, walk next door, and throttle the owner. “Are you deaf man! Muzzle that dog, stupid!” I would yell as I was shaking him by his throat. Fortunately, I am way too lazy to do that; I just swear at the dog all night as I toss and turn.

Let’s face it, untimely interruptions suck. Like I was saying, give me your best shot, water boarding, Chinese water torture, and flaming bamboo shoots up my fingernails, just don’t bother me!

The Spark of Consciousness

2011-02-26T05:10:00.000-05:00

What is the essence of man? Is the ego the true essence of man? No. The ego is the essence of one’s personality; it is how each individual interfaces with other people and everything else in this world. However the ego is not the essence of an individual. The essence of an individual is that spark we call consciousness. It is the spark of consciousness that enlivens all animate beings, and is the reason for their existence.

What is this spark, where does it come from, and why do we all possess it? Consciousness cannot not be created or destroyed, because it has always existed. The spark that enlivens you, and every one you know comes from the one great consciousness that we call God. The reason we all possess a piece of this is because God wills it. The mystics have spoken of this as “the One in the many”.

To conceptualize this, try to imagine God as a mirror of infinite size that was broken into countless pieces. Each piece of that mirror is what we call a soul. Each soul is independent of, and has freedom of choice for its actions, but at the same time is still a part of God. Each soul has been sent into the physical worlds to gain experience, through living as an independent individual unaware of its divine connection.

There are a couple of reasons why God did this. First is that God wants each of Its creations to learn lessons and grow. The second reason is that God gets to share each experience that every soul has on its journey as it matures. Every experience you have ever had, whether it is happy or sad, good or evil, has been shared with God. God has shared countless experiences because of Its creation soul.

Physical bodies mean little to God, as they are but overcoats worn by soul as it learns and grows. God is only concerned with Its beloved creation soul, and its continued growth. Each person should learn to identify them self as soul, a spark of consciousness, and not with their physical body, or their ego. Each person has been given that spark for all eternity, and it is the true essence of each person. The physical body is temporal, and will change from lifetime to lifetime, but your true self is eternal.

So is God.

Aspiring To Be More Than Human

2011-02-23T22:26:00.000-05:00

This world, is nothing more than a large High School, for the maturation of soul. It literally takes thousands of lifetimes to graduate from this school, and to move on as teachers, guardian angels, spiritual guides, or any host of "jobs" which will be of your choosing, after graduation.

Many of my past posts, have pertained to lessons we all must master before graduating. My last post on "Loving For the Sake of Love", is one such example.

To many in the human state of consciousness, giving love through demonstration, with no thought of reward, or gratitude, seems to be beyond our scope. To be honest, to anyone IN the human state of consciousness, it IS beyond their scope. To be able to give love of this magnitude, one must live in their true state, that of spirit. In order to do this, one must stop identifying with their human side, and start identifying him (or, her) self as spirit. This is nothing more than a change of attitude. It usually does not happen over night, but if one starts thinking of himself as spirit, a change will come about. This does NOT mean we have to practice austerities of the body, or mind. Remember, as spiritual animals, both sides need attention in order to remain balanced.

We also must remember that there are two different types of love; the human, and the spiritual.

Human love, is best demonstrated by the love between two people. It is a love of give, and take; and it is emotional in nature. Because it is emotional, it is subject to change, as anyone who has ever gone through a break up knows. Spiritual love, is the love we all receive from God. This love is eternal, and unchanging. This is the love talked about by Jesus, St. Paul, and every Saint, and Savior, that has ever come to teach mankind.

This is the love we aspire to be able to give. Before any of us graduate from here, we will.

Loving For the Sake of Love

2011-02-22T05:06:00.000-05:00

Wouldn’t it be nice if we loved everyone the way we love our children? We all give our children unconditional love; it is natural to do so. Why can’t we give our mates, our siblings, our parents the same unconditional love? Why can’t we love everyone this way? Unconditional love means that you may not like what someone does, and you may not like them personally, but you love them anyway. If you don’t know what love truly is read what St. Paul has to say about love in 1 Corinthians 13. If everyone loved their spouse in this manner divorce would be rare because forgiveness would be natural. If everyone loved their parents and siblings in this manner there would never be split families because there would never be hurt feelings. If we loved everyone like this there would be no fighting or wars.

This is what I call loving for the sake of love. You love because that is all you can do because you are filled with love.

We all make mistakes, we all sin. We all do hurtful things, and we all say things we don’t really mean. We all do these things, but God still loves us.

We need to strive to be more like God and love everyone regardless of their short comings. The only way we can accomplish this is by shrinking our egos, and our feelings of self importance.
The best way to shrink the ego is to fill yourself with love. The best way to fill yourself with love is to learn how to love and accept yourself and your short comings.

Jesus said “Love God, love yourself, and love your neighbor.” This is very important, not only what he said, but the order in which he said it. To fill yourself with love you must first learn to love God, then you must learn how to love yourself. Only after you have accomplished the first two, will you be able to love others.
Try to find a few minutes each day to connect with God and to send Him your love. Sit quietly and fill yourself with love; you can do this by thinking about someone you truly love. This person can be Jesus, your spouse, your child, your pet, anyone that inspires love for you. Gently sing HU as your song of love to God. This highly charged spiritual word will help open your heart to receive God’s love. Over time you will fill your heart and yourself with love. You will love everyone simply for the sake of love. You will become a shining beacon of love showing others the way of love.

Working Class Hero

2011-02-20T02:50:00.001-05:00

Throughout the past whenever a major threat to freedom and the American way of life got too powerful, or loomed to large to ignore, some person, or persons of character and strong moral fiber rose to the occasion to rally the American people to victory over the evil threat. We had George Washington to battle the British, F.D.R. and Eisenhower to battle the Nazis, and John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan to battle the Communists in the Cold War. America, Land of the free, and home of the brave has survived for over 230 years because these people, and others like them, saw the threat, and chose to do something about it for the good of the American People.

The American way of life is slowly having the life choked out of it. This process has been going on for almost 30 years. The evil forces responsible for this are the global power elite, the banks, and Corporate Management. Slowly but surely the working class of America, and the whole free world, are being turned into a feudal class of indentured servants by the coordinated efforts of these evil, greedy forces.

The unions are powerless to fight these people because they have been declawed of the ability to strike. Striking workers are in danger of being replaced by Management thereby making it almost impossible to strike. With out the ability to shut a company down, unions no longer have the leverage needed to fairly bargain with Corporate Management over pay, health benefits, vacation time, sick days, and retirement funding. Since Ronald Reagan fired the striking air traffic controllers in 1983, vitally all workers have experienced the eroding of all of the amenities that they used to have. Wages have been slashed, health benefits modified, or totally done away with, and retirement funds confiscated by Management. 61% of workers polled have reported that they are surviving on a pay check to pay check basis. All of this on top of a 10.4% unemployment rate shows the sorry state of the American worker.

Mean while the rich keep getting richer. Top executives keep receiving huge bonuses, and compensation, while their employees are having their homes confiscated. When will the greed end? Is there an end to this greed?

American workers are grasping at straws looking for somebody, anybody to help them out of this morass. The workers have realized that they can't count on the government, or the politicians to help them because they are in bed with big money. Who will rise up to take on this evil?

America needs a working class hero, someone who is not swayed by greed, but who truly cares about America and it's people. We need some one who is a true patriot, willing to fight to keep America free from the banks, and the international power elite; some one the people can rally around to change the balance of power.

Who will this be?

I believe it is Ron Paul. Please check him out, and make up your own mind.

Centerfold

2011-02-18T00:08:00.000-05:00

When I was a teenager, every now and then my buddy Doug would get a hold of one of his dad’s old Playboy magazines. These were special times, because we were curious, and had new found hormones surging through our young bodies. This was a way for us to learn about the female anatomy, and to dream about “getting lucky” one day. Being a Catholic, I of course felt guilty about this, but then being a Catholic, I felt guilty about almost everything. I reconciled this by reasoning that maybe hell wouldn’t be such a bad place to spend eternity after all. My young body, and dirty mind were not to be deterred by such trivial things.

As I got older, and actually had some experiences with women who weren’t two dimensional, girlie books lost their appeal to me. I figured there was no reason to get all excited about something I couldn’t hold, fondle, or inseminate.

I guess I am different from most other guys. Pornography seems to be very interesting to the average guy. It must be, it is everywhere! One cannot surf the internet, or even read his e-mail without encountering a pop up ad, or spam, telling you of some great porno site, or where you can buy on-line Viagra. Hell, the average guy would not even own a computer, if it were not for all the free porno sites!

They say sex sells, and it must be true; not only for guys but also for the ladies. Every magazine, excluding the professional ones, use sex to sell themselves. My step son subscribes to a muscle car mag, and every car picture, has some nubile young lady laying on, or posing suggestively next to the car. While standing in line at the cash out in the grocery store I saw the latest Cosmopolitan, and they had no less than three articles on sex (that new “S” stroke looks interesting)! Everyone is totally preoccupied with sex.

Personally, I am no prude, and I like sex as much as the next person; but it seems to me that everyone is forgetting the most necessary ingredient for good sex…love. Sex is always better when it is done with someone you love, and respect.

Fear Is Spiritual Poison

2011-02-15T05:08:00.000-05:00

Many people today are living in a constant state of fear. They are afraid of going to hell, they are afraid of terrorist attacks, they are afraid of governmental control, they are afraid of the economy, they are afraid of the price of oil, etc. Very few people realize that we are, and always have been conditioned to be fearful. The major news networks are nothing more than government run fear mongers, and it is impossible to watch them without becoming fearful, or depressed. Your major religions are always telling you that you will burn in hell for all eternity if you don't follow their dictates. The average person's anxiety level is maxed to the limit.

There is a reason for this. Governments, and religions have always acted hand in hand to keep the population under control. There is no easier way to control people than to keep them living in fear.

Fear is spiritual poison. Fear closes down the natural pathways between man and the divine within. With these pathways closed down man is nothing more than an animal, instead of the spiritual being he truly is. There is a reason religions liken their followers to sheep; they want you to merely follow along and contribute to them, not to grow spiritually, or to be different.

If you truly want to grow spiritually, and if you truly want to be free, you need to escape the bonds of fear. Life is to be lived, and experienced; this cannot not be done while living in fear. As long as you feel you have something to lose; your life, your house, your soul, etc. you will be subject to fear. Realize you have nothing to lose, and fear loses it's grasp. Then you can reconnect with the divine and realize you have everything.

Who Is Right?

2011-02-13T11:40:00.000-05:00

Everybody has their own personal views in life. Sometimes we keep them to ourselves, sometimes we tell others about them. As Americans, we all have the right, not only to hold our own view on something, but also to voice that view.

I don’t understand why, but many people feel they can hold, and state their views, but attack others who hold and state different views; especially in the matter of religion. It seems to me that these folks have forgotten the two basic tenets of their Savior’s message…love, and tolerance.

I am not talking only about Christianity, but all of the world’s religions. Every religion was started by an enlightened being who taught mostly about love, and the need for tolerance. I do mean ALL of the world’s religions. If you don’t believe me research it.

What could anyone be fighting about? If you follow the tenets of your Savior, how could anyone have a problem with someone stating their view point, or practicing their religion?

We all need to lighten up. As long as your faith is grounded on love, and you practice that love as best you can, you are growing spiritually.

To my fundamentalist readers out there, I know this is “way out there” for you. I respect your views and I am certainly not picking a fight with you. I am a “New Age” kind of guy and, I do not deny that. I grew up a staunch Catholic, but as I grew, so did my understanding. If you are interested in my personal experiences, the early years are documented in "Kreskin's ESP Kit and Beyond".

If everyone could grasp the concept of “Love God, love yourself, and love thy neighbor as thy self” this world would be plunged into a golden age.

Think about it.

Translating Woman's Speak

2011-02-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

There have been many books written throughout the years about the differences between men and women. They all extol their reasons for the apparent differences between the sexes. Men are from this planet, while women come from another; women are emotional in nature, while men are rooted in the mental realm etc.

As a guy who has been studying the female of the species for over thirty years, I have found the major difference between the sexes. Women speak a different language than men. It sounds simple but that is the major difference between the sexes.

For the male readers out there who have not mastered “woman speak” I will list a number of woman speak phrases, and then translate them for you. It is my hope that I may be able to spare many of my fellow guys any more angst than they have already been through.

1) “I like love handles on a guy. It gives me something to hold on to.”
Translation: I would love you to have the abs, and butt of Brad Pitt, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings.

2) “You’re kind of cute”
Translation: I have my beer goggles on, I haven’t had a man in six months, it’s getting late, and I’m actually considering you.

3) “I have a headache”
Translation: It is always about YOU. Where were you last Friday when I was in the mood and you got too drunk to perform!

4) “Sorry I didn’t get you a birthday card, but I am not a card person”
Translation: I am not into giving cards, however you better remember to give me a card on every special holiday, event, and Valentines Day; or I will rag on you for two weeks after the missed event, and for two weeks prior to next year’s.

5) “Do I look fat in this?”
Translation: I want you to tell me how thin, and sexy I still am.

6) “She has fake boobs!”
Translation: Why are you looking at her?!

7) “I normally don’t do this”
Translation: You are going to get lucky tonight.

8) “If you touch that air conditioner, I will kill you!”
Translation: I am having a hot flash, and I will kill you if you try to turn down the air conditioner.

9) “I don’t feel like sex tonight”
Translation: I want you to take me to dinner, a movie, and out for a couple of drinks; maybe I’ll change my mind.

10) “I think I am a very level headed woman”
Translation: I am crazier than a shit house rat, and I make Amy Winehouse look like Mother Teresa.

11) “Tequila makes my clothes fall off”
Translation: If you want any action tonight, buy me a tequila!

12) “I don’t think you appreciate me”
Translation: Wine me, and dine me, you slug!

I am currently working on my Guy to Lady; and Lady to Guy dictionary. I know this will be a very valuable tool for both sexes.

The Price of Being Nice

2011-02-05T19:21:00.000-05:00

I don't really care for commercials. I normally fast forward through them if I'm watching on TIVO. But there is one set of commercials I will watch.

Ever see the ads for Liberty Mutual where one person does a good deed, and is seen by someone else? Who then does something nice for someone else, which is witnessed by a different person? This cycle is repeated until someone does something nice to the original good-doer, completing a circle of good deeds.

Now, most commercials insult my intelligence, but this one is actually teaching us a lesson with value. I tell my son (who is a bit of a grouch), "it doesn't cost anything to be nice to someone".

It's true. Most of the time you will not even have to go out of your way to be nice to someone. If you pay attention, you will notice numerous times in the course of a day, where you can. However, most people are too wrapped up in themselves to notice other people. Everyone today is either talking on a cell phone, or listening to their i-pods; off in their own little worlds. But even these space cadets notice when you do something nice for them.

You should see the looks I get from some people, by just holding a door for them, and saying, "good morning"! They are shocked, but they like it. Let's face it, everyone likes to be treated with respect, like a person, not just another face. And it doesn't cost a thing to lift someone's day.

Let's all try to create a circle of good deeds everyday.

Dancing in the Darkness

2011-02-03T18:48:00.000-05:00

There is one term that describes the state of mankind; spiritually ignorant. We are but marionettes dancing in the dark to the movements of the puppet masters. We don't know where we are, and we don't know why we dance to other people's whims. We dance to other people's desires because we have no clue to the truth, or spiritual ambitions of our own. We dance in the dark because we do not know our true relationship with God, and we are searching for the light, any light that may show us the way.

Every true Savior that has ever come to teach us has stressed that the Kingdom of God is within each individual. You already have the light inside of you, why look any where else? We search for truth in other places because we have been taught from a very early age that we need this religion, or that religion to be our mediator in contacting God. We are taught to fear God, and the penalty of sin, eternal damnation in Hell. We are not taught that each of us is divine; and that we all are the sons and daughters of God. The religions don't teach us of this fact because they know that if we knew the truth, none of us would follow them and they would not have any power over us.

There are many ways to find the light inside of your self. The best way is different for each person, so you must search for the best method that fits you. One should never try to fit himself into a religion, but rather find a religion that fits you. It doesn't necessarily have to be an organized religion, it could be a spiritual path, or metaphysical teaching that best suits you. Some might be more comfortable in a community religion, where others will prefer a more individual approach to God such as Meditation, or Eckankar.

Look inside yourself to find the answers.

Chipping Away

2011-02-01T18:57:00.000-05:00

I recently received a very lengthy and thought filled comment from one of my readers. The comment basically stated that my ideals are fine, but with the world in such a mess, that they were not feasible on a world wide basis. His premise was what good would good will, optimistic attitude, and good deeds have to do with the suffering in various parts of the world.

In truth, there is very little I or any other individual can do to alleviate the suffering in the world. What I do is try to teach spiritual lessons to those readers that are ready to learn them. I am not trying to convert anyone from their religion, or coerce their way of thinking to meet my way. The lessons I teach are the lessons that soul has to master in order to succeed from this world. By graduating I mean they no longer will have to reincarnate back after this lifetime unless they choose to do so as a teacher, or way shower. Graduating also means they are no longer under the bend and sway of karma, for they are now true co-workers for God, and beyond karma.

There is another reason I write spiritual posts; I am hoping to help raise the consciousness level of all of humanity. Bit by bit I hope to chip away at the spiritual ignorance of mankind. I am not alone, there are many of us out there right now working to up lift mankind.

I have talked before about the collective conscious. This is something that each and everyone one of us is connected to, and that each and every one of us contributes to. If you have ever heard of the 100th monkey syndrome it talks about how a whole population of monkeys learned a new behavior instantly after the 100th monkey had learned it. It seems that 100 was the critical number to uplift the whole population through their collective conscious.

There are now about 6 billion people living on this planet; I don't know what the critical number of people would be to up lift the whole population, but I and others like me are chipping away at that number by teaching those that are ready. Then hopefully they will teach others about the power of love, and the freedom of soul.

Chip, chip, we are working to teach, and up lift all. Want to help?

WTF! Citizen Spy Groups!?

2011-01-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

I remember when I was a kid, we used to watch TV footage of East Berliners/Germans risking their lives to escape from their country. They were running from their own country because it had become a utilitarian society of the highest proportions. The escapees knew if they could get to West Germany, or the US, they would be able to live their lives as they chose. I was glad we were able help the few that got out.

Today I wonder if we are closer to living in an East German state than the one of my youth. Think about it, where can you go today without being on a camera somewhere? If you are daring enough to fly, the TSA has given you the option of getting unknown amounts of radiation, and letting them see you totally naked; or you can get the "pat down" where they literally grab your genitals, and breasts. All of this to keep you safe. We are becoming conditioned as a society to accept atrocities that East Germans never had to endure. If airplanes were dropping out of the sky because of terrorists, maybe we would have reason to eradicate most of the Constitution; however the last "terrorist" attack was 9/11. All the evidence points to a government conspiracy behind the events of 9/11, not a bunch of scary men in turbans. Seems to me we need to be kept safe from our own government.

Now the Dept. of Homeland Security (the first time I heard Bush call it that I thought of Nazi Germany) Big Sis, Janet Napolitano has started the "See Something, Say Something" campaign trying to get Americans ratting on each other to the Feds. They have tele-screens at over 9,000 Walmart Stores, spewing out their message to the typical Walmart customer. What could possibly go wrong? "Yes Mr. FBI man, I want to report a suspicious person. She's standing in front of me here in this long line at the check out, and she's wearing an orange tube top! Everyone knows you wear white tube tops in the summer!" Walmart is just the beginning, wait until you see her sour puss in Times Square.

A CITIZEN SPY RING!!! If you thought you already had too many eyes on you, you haven't seen anything yet. We are going to have to worry about our neighbors, our co-workers, the folks at church, and people on the street, and in the stores. If this is not bad enough, legislation is being introduced to give these "citizen spies" immunity from lawsuits if their information is incorrect. Are you kidding me? " I'm so sorry I had the Feds bust down your door, shoot your dog, and sack your house. You really shouldn't have worn an orange tube top...you bitch"

We really are playing out Orwell's novel 1984 here today, not only in the US, but on a world wide scale. If we don't wake up to what is happening around us, and resist it, it will become too late. Unlike those brave souls back in the past risking their lives for freedom, we won't have anywhere to run. We will be living the East German nightmare forever.

http://www.infowars.com/shocker-citizen-spy-networks-to-be-given-immunity/

It Takes One to Know One

2011-01-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

When I was a young boy, whenever I got into a spat with one of my brothers, we'd start calling each other names. My mother would break us up by saying, "Don't call people names; it takes one to know one." It didn't mean much to me back then, but the older I get, the more I realize that she was right.

I started noticing a trend. It was always the fat person in our group who would call some stranger fat. Always. It was always the biggest slacker at work calling someone else lazy. It was always the most truth-challenged individual calling someone else a liar, etc, etc.

This is true with any number of human faults we can think of. Why? One Eastern philosophy claims that the outer world is, in fact, a reflection of our inner world, and that when you pick out a shortcoming in someone else, you are, in fact, recognizing it within yourself. This is a little heavy, but there does seem to be a connection of some type.

Try your own little experiment at work, at home, on your bowling team...anyplace where you will be with a group of diverse people. Note when someone starts talking about someone else. Does that person have the same fault that he/she is picking out on someone else?

You might be surprised.

Devils and Light Givers

2011-01-18T22:08:00.000-05:00

Why the disparity here? Why aren't the Light givers trying to destroy the devils? Why did Jesus, and other saviors teach "Love thy enemy"? There is a spiritual reason for this.

Mankind is always growing, and evolving spiritually. The Positive, and Negative forces are always in balance. This may not always seem to be the case, but never the less it is true.

As the devils work to destroy the Light givers, and enslave all men; the Light givers are selflessly working to teach, and up lift all...including the devils.

Fire and Icicles

2011-01-15T05:09:00.000-05:00

After living my entire life up in the frozen tundra of Western New York (with the exception of a two year stint at the U. of Miami), I have spent the last seven years in the paradise known as Miami, Florida. After dreading the coming of winter for so many years, I am now in the enviable position of looking forward to it. Summers in Miami are hot, humid, and sticky; whereas the winter time is sunny, dry, and comfortable...well most years anyway. This year Miami has experienced record high temperatures in both the months of November, and December this year. We are in the middle of winter and still running our air conditioner! This is not right! I am supposed to be saving money on the electric bill by giving the air conditioner a much needed rest, but not this year.

In contrast, the northern states are getting hammered with bitter cold, and snow fall being measured by the foot not by the inch. There are many people I know up there that would love to change places with me. With the exception of the higher than normal electric bills, I guess I have no reason to gripe.

When I first moved to Miami many people told me that it is ungodly hot and humid here in the summer time. My response to them was "I would rather gripe about the heat than the cold." I still feel that way. There is no way I would want to change places with anyone up north in the winter time. I feel for all people that have to put up with frigid temperatures, no sunshine and piles of snow for over four months a year; however I don't feel so bad for them that I won't rub it in every chance I get.

I admit I get a fiendish kick mentioning on Facebook that we had a record high temperature of 89 yesterday after reading them moan about the cold and snow. I love to read their responses (I would print a couple of these remarks, but this is a family column) it makes me feel all warm and evil inside. I love to causally mention that it is 85 and sunny here, after my friend tells me they just got sixteen inches of snow; just so I can hear him tell me to go screw myself.

Does this make me a bad guy? Am I really evil? When I die will I be sentenced to become one of Satan's minions because of this? Perhaps, it might be fitting to have one of my old friends up in Heaven causally mention over the phone that it is beautiful and 75 there after I got done griping that it is 2500 degrees and raining flaming brimstone. I wonder; do you have to shovel brimstone out of your driveway to get to work in hell? I know there are plenty of folks up north reading this that hope I will.

Mike's List

2011-01-11T21:31:00.000-05:00

I have noticed that everyone is writing their list about themselves, so I thought I would join in. I must warn you that I am a Virgo, and that my natal chart says that I am too open to others about myself (so expect a long list). Sigh, oh well here we go.

1) I am the second of three sons all one year apart in age, and I have two twin sisters five years younger than me.
2) I have always been very athletic, and active in sports.
3) My dream job has always been to be a stand-up comedian.
4) I starred in two operettas, and always had a solo song as a member of chorus in elementary school.
5) I still love to sing, and love to go to karaoke.
6) I am a former disc jockey
7) I am a rock-n-roll historian with a huge record collection.
8) I wrestled in high school and college, but never really liked it; I was just good at it.
9) Football was my best, and favorite sport to play. If I had grown to be as big as my dad, 6' 2" 235lbs, I would have played in the NFL.
10) I am 5' 10" and weigh 215 (oops).
11) I have a B.A. in psychology, with minors in History, and English.
12) I had my first ESP experience at age 10.
13) I am an expert on ESP, parapsychology, the occult, and the arcane.
14) I do N.Y. Times crossword puzzles during lunch at work.
15) I like cold beer, bourbon, and cigars.
16) I coached a woman's football team in college.
17) I have a high I.Q. and don't really fit in with others. I am basically a loner.
18) I have been a recreational runner for almost twenty years and have run the distance from New York City to Los Angeles a couple of times over.
19) I have completed five marathons.
20) I have two kids, a boy, and a girl, aged 26, and 24 respectively.
21) I have been in the airline profession since 1976.
22) I am embarrassed to admit that of almost 250 blog posts, the most read is "Big Butts" with tens of thousands of readers world wide.
23) I do like to party and have a good time.
24) I own a pot bellied pig, his name is Wilbur.
25) I have written an e-book "The True Adventures of Wilbur the Pig" which can be found on my web site mikescommonsense-12@blogspot.com and is available at lulu.com for a nominal fee of $1.99. You will have to go back in the archive to May to find it. It is true, and it is funny.
26) I played drums in the University of Miami Band of the Hour.
27) I have been an Oakland/Los Angles/Oakland Raiders fan since 1966.
28) I am a University of Miami football fan.
29) I have had many out of body experiences, and lucid dreams.
30) I know I am soul, and I am not afraid of death.
31) I am a happily married man, and have been married over eight years.

Well there it is. I hope after learning all the inside info on me we can still be friends. Mike

Battling the Blues

2011-01-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

The Duality of the Physical World

2011-01-02T09:47:00.000-05:00

This world is a very complex place. In spite of this complexity, there is one thing that everything has in common; everything has an opposite.

This is a world of duality. This means that nothing in it exists, without it's opposite. There is no cause, without effect; no light without dark; no good, without bad. There is no spiritual, without animal; no giving, without taking; no hardness, without softness; no love without hate; and no grace without sin.

The two different natures of spirit account for the duality found in this world. The spirit of higher vibration is positive in nature, and the lower vibration is negative. Both are essential for the physical universe to exist. Do not make the mistake of equating positive with good, and negative with evil, because they are actually the same; and arise from the same source. In order to have a physical world you need a denser vibration level of spirit in order to have "solid" objects. All of these "solid" objects, are animated, or manifested by higher vibration spirit (i.e. The Holy Ghost, The Holy Spirit, The Eck, The Word, etc.).

This is the true explanation of the holy trinity as taught by most of the world's religions. There is The Father (God). Out of The Father emanates The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit manifests The Son (mankind). The Holy Spirit manifests not only mankind, but everything in this physical universe. This is the secret to the "oneness of everything" as expressed by the mystics, Saints, and Saviors.

This world was created by God as a training ground for It's Son (Man). Man must learn through many lifetimes, how to navigate and understand the duality of this world, and to stay in balance with the positive, and the negative.

In spite of the duality of this world, there is one thing that all opposites have in common...God.

I Don't Want No Alligator

2010-12-31T10:01:00.000-05:00

I live in south Florida, no let me rephrase that, I live in south, south Florida. I live about 10 miles from the southern tip of Florida. In many ways this is paradise; warm sunny weather year round, lots of flora, and lots and fauna. We also have lots of alligators; and I do mean lots. They are protected by federal law. If you get caught killing one, the state will see to it that you have a lover, er, roommate named Bubba for the next few years.

For those of you not familiar with Florida, this state is riddled with hundreds, if not thousands of canals, and inter-coastal waterways. Each of which is riddled with thousands of alligators. Alligators, however are not normally a problem; unless you live near, or decide to swim in one of these waterways. Then all bets are off!

My step-son came down to visit us a couple of years ago. On the way back from the airport, we went over a canal bridge. It was a hot sunny day, so he asked me if he could take a dip in the canal. "That depends" I replied. "Depends on what?" he asked. "Well, it depends on if you want to be at the top of the food chain, or somewhere in between."

Last year, a young lady became despondent after breaking up with her boyfriend. She decided to get drunk, and then go dangle her feet in the canal near her home. They found her the next day; or should I say they found pieces of her the next day. That's one hell of a way to get over a breakup. She probably should have gone on a food, or shopping binge.

Early this year, an elderly lady went to answer a knock at the door of her condominium. Well it wasn't really a knock as much as it was a thump, thump, thump at her door. She answered the door to find a 15ft. alligator, asking her if her dog could come out to play. Seems the alligator had been targeting little fifi for a couple of weeks, hoping to make her a snack. When the dog wouldn't cooperate, and come near the canal; the alligator decided to take matters into his own claws. The funny thing is, the lady lived on the second floor! The alligator climbed two sets of stairs to meet this dog! They are not as dumb as they look.

So, if you are planning to visit Florida anytime soon, stick to your hotel pool, or the public beaches to go swimming. Lest you find out what its like to be on the wrong end of the food chain.

Loaded Hot Dogs

2010-12-28T14:31:00.000-05:00

This year like many people I went back to my hometown for the holidays to visit relatives and old friends. Upon my return I opened my bag to begin unpacking and found a note left by the T.S.A. saying they opened my bag and riffled through my things because their x-ray scanner showed that I had some suspicious items in there. The only thing I had in my bag coming home that I didn't have going there was fifteen pounds of hot dogs.

There are probably many readers that are asking two questions: 1) What could the T.S.A. possibly find suspicious about hot dogs? And 2) Why would this dummy have fifteen pounds of hot dogs in his bag? These are both very good questions, and I will try to answer them for you. First of all as someone who works for a major airline and has been putting up with the T.S.A. since 9/11, I am not surprised by anything that they do. I can only speculate that when the hot dogs showed up on their scanner they must have thought that I was attempting to transport several cases of large caliber ammunition in my bag.

I am not very knowledgeable about guns, but I am not aware of many guns that would fire a six inch long by one inch wide round; perhaps a fifty caliber machine gun, but neither I, or any one I know owns one of them. Maybe they thought they were loaded small sticks of dynamite. Like I said, I can only speculate on that one.

As to the question of why I would carry fifteen pounds of frozen hot dogs home in my bag; let me start by saying my hometown is Rochester, NY. Most people are not aware of this but Rochester is the only place in the world where you can buy white hot dogs. My family is partial to the Zweigles' brand in the natural casing called "pop open" because the skin pops open when you grill them. Most folks who have never heard of, or eaten white hot dogs are repulsed by the thought.

Trying to explain a white hot dog to someone not familiar with them (which is anyone not from Rochester) is difficult to do. They are not a sausage, or a bratwurst, but a hot dog that is spiced differently than your normal red hot, and put in a white casing so you can tell the difference. When I was a kid I did not care for them, but as I got older and my tastes changed, I grew to love them. My family and I are not the only ones who love them, but so does any one here in Miami that has been daring enough to try one. Whenever I go home to Rochester I am besieged with requests to bring a pound back for them. I have become a hot dog smuggler.

I love to have my dogs loaded with mustard, onions, and Rochester style hamburger based hot sauce. I would love to have you try one, but I simply don't have enough room in my bag.

Stupid Things

2010-12-25T05:10:00.000-05:00

I am dangerous with a knife in my hands. My fingers and other digits cringe in fear whenever I decide I need to cut or slice something. Sometimes, I forget which side of the blade I need to cut with, and which side I need to push down on. Other times I forget to get my fingers out of the way when I close the knife; and other times I just forget that I have a knife in my hand. Fortunately my propensity for doing stupid things with a knife is off set by my ability to heal quickly.

I also do other stupid things, such as lock my keys in the car, leave my head lights on, (thank God for that little buzzer), leave the stove on, lean back on kitchen chairs, and run on wet tile floors. I have down loaded programs that aren’t compatible with my version of windows, left my cell phone in my shirt pocket, then bent over to flush the toilet, and lit my back yard gas grill with a match when the gas was on high. My miraculous healing abilities, high endurance of pain, hard head, quick growing eye brows, and AAA have helped me recover from some of these.

I have been known to run my mouth without engaging my brain, walk into objects that are in plain sight, light my nose on fire instead of my cigar (I have a big nose), walk into opposing stadiums wearing Raider’s clothes, throwing my whites in with the colored laundry (I went through college wearing pink underwear), wear sneakers to a dance on a gym floor, and hammer my thumb instead of the nail.

We all do stupid things; after all we are only human. I think the only really stupid thing is to do them a second or third time. With the exception of wearing Raider’s gear to opposing stadiums, I do my best to learn from my mistakes. My guardian angel is busy enough with the mistakes I make the first time around.

Step Your Game Up!

2010-12-22T05:07:00.000-05:00

In the world of team sports we have all seen times when our favorite team or player just isn't playing up to par. Every player goes through slumps from time to time. When players are struggling they often have teammates to try and pick them up. "You can do it man!" "Come on bro step your game up!" They know that their teammate is having problems, and they are there to give him their support.

In the game of life we all go through our down times. You feel off kilter, nothing seems to be going right, and your attitude has gone south. Sometimes you might be fortunate enough to have a family member or a co-worker notice and help pick you up. Most times it is up to our self to take notice and to pick our self up.
This is done through introspection. Introspection is the ability to honestly evaluate yourself. Sounds easy, but is it really? There are many people that have problems being honest with themselves. Every thing that happens is always someone else's fault, and never their fault. Everyone knows someone like that, and we are all guilty of it from time to time. Things aren't going right; you blame the circumstances, other people, and any other excuse you can think of instead of saying I just didn't perform as well as I could have.

Most well adjusted folks, and the ones that are most likely to learn from their mistakes, are the ones that are able to honestly evaluate them selves from time to time. Introspection will tell you when you need an attitude adjustment, when you need to try harder, when you need to be nicer to others, and when you need to step your game up.

Things happen and many times they are out of our control; but many times they are in our control and we need to recognize this. Nobody likes to get lame excuses from others, and we should not settle for them from ourselves. When you get caught up in a bad attitude, or a slump, you need to be able to give yourself a good kick in the pants and tell yourself, "I gotta step my game up!"

Your teammates in the game of life will notice.

The Elusive First Song of Rock-N-Roll

2010-12-19T01:11:00.000-05:00

There has been many attempts to place the first rock and roll song, but rock historians are widely in disagreement with that one song. There are many songs in the running, but before we get to that, what exactly constitutes a rock and roll song?

Black rhythm and blues is well known to be the cradle of rock and roll. It is distinguished by it's 4/4 time, an up tempo beat, and an emphasis on the saxophone to carry the solo on the middle eight bars. Rock and roll is barely discernable from rhythm and blues, except rock and roll uses the guitar to play the middle eight solo rather than the saxophone. At least that's my definition. The electric guitar ushered in rock and roll.

If you read any of the histories of rock and roll, the distinguished first song of rock and roll falls to one of the following: Wynonie Harris, with "Good Rocking At Midnight"(1953), "Sh Boom', by The Chords, (1954), (the first "race" record to break the white top 10); and "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and the Comets (1954).
While these are all ground breaking songs, in one way or the other; they do not measure up to be the first rock and roll song. First of all, they all use the saxophone to carry the middle eight, and secondly, they post date the song I believe to be the "first" rock and roll song.

This song is "Saturday Night Fish Fry" pts. 1 and 2, by Louis Jordan (1949). Louis Jordan, was probably the first black man to gain wide acceptance by the white public. While mostly known as a black rhythm and blues star in the forties, he was the first to use the guitar as a solo instrument. His song repeatedly uses the phrase "it was rockin", and it was a huge hit, in the top ten juke box singles for the year.

For the first Rockabilly song ever, I nominate "We're Going To Roll and Rock"by Eddie Zack and his cousin Ritchie in 1953. If there is an older rockabilly song, I am not aware of it
.
I am proud to state that I own 78rpm copies of both of these songs. ("We're Going To Roll and Rock" is very rare.)

If you have a different opinion, please leave a comment.

Twitter Me Some Facebook Love

2010-12-13T11:50:00.001-05:00

Like most people I am on both Facebook, and Twitter. Facebook is a good way to keep in touch with my friends and relatives, and Twitter is a good way to let people know that I've written a new article. I really don't spout off too much on either site, but I will often take the time to put a post up that will make people think, and perhaps brighten their day.

I was looking through my vast array of tweets, and I thought I might put some of the best of them in a post, sort of a Mike's Greatest Tweets album for you. I hope you like them.

Take a moment to thank God for the gift of life. It is a gift you can be eternally thankful for.

Fill your heart with love and you will light the way for others.

The central world banks want to turn us into indentured servants. It is a short step from servants to slaves.

Truth can never be learned it must be realized. Today may you realize God's love for you.

No act of kindness ever escapes the eye of God.

Life is to be lived. Throw away your fears. Man must be balanced between the physical, and the spiritual to grow.

Rule of thumb; if the globalist banker run govn't says something, assume it's a lie. 99.5% of the time you will be right.

If you muddle through life, don't expect great results. Life is to be lived, get on with it.

Being a free thinker doesn't mean you are a sinner; it just means you are different.

My dad taught me "Never take shit from someone, once you do, it never stops coming". Think about it.

If you can't handle the truth, start being honest.

To be a positive influence, you first have to be a positive person.

What the world needs now is love, and acts of good will. Please donate.

I used to be a Catholic, then I learned that God doesn't judge, It just loves. Since then I have tried to emulate It.

The highest form of respect you can give someone is to let them be themself.

Love is the answer. Why do so many people still have questions?

Love will open any door, but it is self responsibility and good will that will get you to that door.

A paradigm shift is coming. It will come through love, not violence.

Try to approach each situation from the view point of love; not power.

Being responsible is everyone's responsibility.

It's a world of survival of the fittest; but somehow I'm still here.

Watching TV is like a box of chocolates; everything looks tasty, but will make you fat... in the head.

Put your love where your mouth is!

Kindness catches on, and it doesn't cost a thing to be nice to someone.

How can today be special, when you think its just going to be another day?

I try not to treat women like amusement park rides; but I still meet a few I'd like to take a whirl with.

Is it beer-thirty yet?

Well, there it is, sort of my top 25 greatest tweets. Reading them over, I realized I missed my true calling in life. I think I should have been a fortune cookie writer.

Be my friend on facebook: Michael Allan Muehleisen. Follow me on Twitter: muley12.