BASKING IN MARGINAL LIVING

It's not that I didn't want to be a part of the mainstream; it's just that I never fit in. Part of that was not knowing what needed to be done. (Knowing the requirements for playing the game would have been helpful.) Part was not taking advantage of situations and opportunities. (Make sure they know your name and that you are one of them. Be recognized for being and doing the right thing.) Another part was the disconnect between what was said to be true and what actually was true. (Maintain the popular beliefs regardless of what your experience is or your conscious tells you.) A too late to do anything about it part was trying to be and do something that was contrary to who I was. (The true self is only revealed with devastating honesty.) But mainly, I didn't think there were any other options.

Basically, I believed that if you didn't fit in somewhere you were a loser. You had to be a player in some part of the mainstream and God knows there was plenty to chose from. Also, those who didn't fit in were losers. You know - street people, criminals, drug users, minimum wage workers, deserters, prostitutes, drunks and anyone who cleans up after others. Little did I know at the time, but some of the loser designations weren't as bad as I first thought or were told. A lot of mainstream notoriety came from those low lives.

It took a while to figure out that there was a capitol M Mainstream. Being a part of that was a whole new deal, but I had to recognize that it had its place. Even if the game playing at that level was rather ridiculous, I still wanted to a guest on Oprah someday. But sometimes, after all the effort and failure, you find yourself and where you fit best.

First of all, I was never going to be as serious or as committed as was expected. My Bad, as the young folks say. But after seeing the real thing, other forms were shallow likenesses. Secondly, there was a rule for everything, spoken and unspoken. Again, many of these were necessary as everyone had his or her own idea about self-governance. But in the end, they were seen as the only consideration, met to be broken or what was to be gotten around. Thirdly, I realized that I was really good at just doing enough. What I saw as a real investment on my part was half-assed at best. I always thought I could do it my way only to find out that somethings are only going to work one way for all the reasons that I didn't understand. 

Fortunately, there's been some parallel movement in my life that was there when I needed it. And now, I can't imagine being any place else. I can live without a group identity or label. I can live without a rulebook. I can live without comparing myself to others. I can live with not having to prove how right I am. I can live with how I see my own limitations instead of how others do. I can live with my own depravity without denial or exploitation. I can live without measures of success or emblems of superiority. There are few props in the margins. Perhaps that's why the Mainstream can't see that far. ...Of course, that's what any loser might say. 

THINGS WE KNOW ..BUT

Here are several ways many of us do life. We don't see reality. If we see reality, we don't act on it. If we act on it, we don't do it consistently. If we do it consistently, we are labeled as inflexible. If inflexible, we double down on how right we are. If proven wrong, we usually conclude that reality is overrated. After all, making sense, seeking the truth and questioning the majority aren't the noble aspirations that they used to be. The writing on the wall is normative rather than prophetic.

Okay, I'm just throwing this out there. Does it bother anyone that the next POTUS could have the last name of CLINTON or BUSH? A second Clinton or a third Bush, I don't think so. It certainly strains the idea of American Exceptionalism when we can't come up with a Capitalist Messiah to save us from our destructive inclinations. But how can voters complain about any POTUS when they keep re-electing tottering fools to the legislature who represent corporate interests or Wall Street rather than anything that comes close to "We The People." Ironically, it all fits into the designated pattern of mainstream acceptability. I think the phrases "stupid asses" or "sheep to the slaughter" seem to fit the way the multiple forms of BS are given normality, equal play or meritorious mention. Funny how the great critical minds are seldom self-reflective. Somehow you can say one thing one day and quite the opposite the next and the press will still somehow buy that it's based on consistency.

We are at this point after many years a blithering bozos on radio and TV saying any pie-eyed or wild-eyed thing that comes to their feeble brains. The best reality show would be a face to face confrontation, the more physical the better. I would go with Joe Scarborough. He's big, gets very angry and is that close to going for the throat with those who disagree with him. Of course, all Rush Limbaugh would have to do is fall on Joe to knock him out of the running. Besides the physicality involved, I think the one who can shout the loudest would do well. For this, I'd like to see Bill O'Reilly against Ed Shultz. Being quick witted should have some place in a pundit strike down, but maybe it should be restricted to those who don't have a staff of writers or a slick editing department.

I'm really impressed with how smart everyone is looking now with the newest development in Iraq. Whether you were fer it or agin it, it's rather apparent that few knew shit about what is going on or they did but still tried to make it conform to a political agenda that had very little meaning or purpose. Well guess what! Everyone who was wrong before will be wrong again. Yet that won't keep any of them from saying what needs to be presently done. Mainly because they know no more about war or religion than they did before because they don't let facts interfere with fantasy.

Contrary to what liberal pollyanna's believe, there is something rather beguiling about the differences in Islam as is in all other religions. Especially when they want to impose their particular difference on everyone else. What did the first Bush know that the second Bush couldn't figure out? But isn't it funny that so little is said of human rights, particularly rights for women and children, in Muslim countries that we do "business." 

What is it about organized religion that wants to dictate how people should live, dress, behave, eat, make observances, have sex, never criticize the teachings, offer blind allegiance as needed, give designated monies, and see the hierarchy  as the mediator between them and God? Less severe approaches seem to be more practical but there are always the extremists who want purity, control and compliance to a particular understanding no matter how that has to come about. All the evil they do is somehow excused and even possibly rewarded.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

It's pretty simple. If you violate the rightful equality of others, if you reserve for yourself that which you deny others; if you profit from depriving others; if you are right and everyone else is wrong; if you believe you have special privileges based on riches, intelligence, fame, position, race, connection to God, class or personality; if you lie or falsely accuse; or if you are just full of hubris, you no doubt have a place in the world. That's just how the mainstream works. ...But isn't it funny that it doesn't work any better than it does?

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN

ALL THINGS GOLDEN ...AS A RULE.

Few dispute the idea of not doing something to someone else that you wouldn't want done to yourself. All's well and good, unless you would like to be tortured  -as an extreme example. The idea assumes that we would treat ourselves rather well. The reality is something else. Another example is someone who committed murder but then wants mercy and has a renewed interest in the anti-capital punishment campaign. Self preservation is overrated. The Golden Rule is at the same time both simple and complicated. Just like all the graphics on FB and in emails, there seldom is anything so simply truthful, humorous or thought provoking. Nuances, ramifications, and overlooked factors abound rendering them to "Well, isn't that nice." 

This rule comes close to another saying that I disturbingly first heard from a pastor who didn't mind looking at things outside of the group think mentality. "People believe what they want to believe, and don't believe what they don't want to believe." This too has been said in many different ways going all the way back to Socrates. Again, it's not absolute by any means. It's something many, if not most, would deny. Or as my brother says, if you believe the truth in the first place it's not a problem. While the sorting out process goes on, I'm comfortable with being uncomfortable. Especially if I'm responsible for my own beliefs, action, attitudes and spiritual journey and not think everyone else should be like me, that I have some kind of higher knowledge or that I can just live above all that I don't like about the world.

I would invite anyone to do what they are most comfortable with in expressing their faith, spirituality and religion. But please, please.... don't assume you're right and everyone else is wrong unless that's what makes you happy of course. I'm amazed at how many, let's say, religious types are so sensitive to criticism, mockery, disparagement, and unfair treatment that they have to kill in the name of God, or  use other enforcement tactics that they see as necessary. Also amazing are those who somehow get to determine all the hoops you must jump through in order to be considered as one of the faithful. Exactly how much faith does it take to do any of that? 

At this point, there seems to be far more bath water than baby. Essence, substance, compassion and inspiration seem to be contrary to keeping the religious institutions going at any cost. I admire anyone who can stay focused on what really matters when there is so much that doesn't. I honestly couldn't do that. But I did continue on with my spiritual journey. Sure, I miss being identified with a certain label. I miss a lot of what a faith community can do together, and not just the pot-lucks, fellowship dinners and hot-dish suppers. I also miss the coffee after The Mass has ended, even when it is tepid and watery. 

But some things can be done well. The Golden Rule is a good start. Seeing everyone you encounter, especially those who go unnoticed, as individuals with their own set of needs, troubles and loves also helps. If at all possible, acknowledge them in a way that says you are unique, there is no one like you. Or just ask if they ever watched Mr. Roger's? Recognize them as children of God, or at least a potential children, who are loved by him, regardless of how fucking irritating they they might be. There is a loneliness in this world that needs our attention. People are marginalized in many ways, and mainstreaming isn't the answer.

BONUS PIC




CREDITS: Multiple graphics from the internet and The Pot Stirrers of America Annual Convention to be held at the Nothing But Sage Radisson Resort in downtown Kirk, Colorado.

MYSTICAL JOURNEY

It has been said that the mystic floats on the water that the psychotic is drowning in. I suspect there's not been that many definitive studies in this regard, but there is, I believe, a pattern of seeing that is held in common. Not in every case but certainly, it's the main element for many. Both involve seeing the part of the world that is invisible to, insignificant from, or ignored by the mainstream cultural, religious, and political society. Both are marginalized and labeled as not fitting in or not embracing all that makes up the way things are done by the majority. This is a very general understanding with lots of exceptions, yet in the context of history and human nature, similar dynamics are at play, regardless of development and advancement. Sophistication is not enough to change or coverup underlying realities.

This is all a bit of tosh, as the Brits say, if there isn't a practical, effective and meaningful understanding. Explanations, rationalizations, and suppositions are many times not enough to cover what is seen. Some live in air tight worlds in which all that is in their sight is accounted for in one way or the other. Many think they have most of it put together so what doesn't make sense about the rest is not enough to create any difference. Others wrestle with what they see and don't have any pat theories, theologies or ideologies as they've seen enough hypocrisy, incongruity, and inconsistency to believe there isn't an understanding that covers everything. But that doesn't mean there won't be one at some point. So, it's not hard to believe that a number of people can get lost in all of this, especially if they see it in a fuller way while still holding onto expectations.

The mystics here can be seen as a fools if they detach themselves from all that they see and live as if nothing in the world affects them. Rather, it is with an ever growing vision and empathetic awareness that they live without answers or fulfilled expectations. It's not like walking a tight rope or skydiving without a parachute. Help is there. It's just not predetermined where that help comes from, how it comes or who it comes through.

You usually don't wake up one day and decide to be a mystic. It's more likely that, after you travel for quite a ways spiritually and still haven't found a place to be, you find a mystical understanding has been fitting you for quite awhile. Some don't have to travel far at all before they find their spiritual home. Others seem to need more exploration before they settle down. And oddly, many who travel great distances, in the end, find themselves back where they started. I don't believe there's a right way or a wrong way to do the spiritual journey, but there are some understandings that can make a difference, especially if you don't believe the mainstream is doing as well as they claim.

The spiritual or mystical journey is an accumulation of stuff - insights, experiences, disappointments, hurts, elations, changes, ideas, dead ends, inspirations, and everyday struggles. All, I think, to help us see the way things really are for ourselves and for others, also to see and know who we really are. 

Sometimes that begins with seeing that we have a soul to fully grow and develop just as we grow and develop in other ways. So much can be said about what it means to have a soul or like C.S. Lewis said, "You don't have a soul. You are soul. ....You have a body." Certainly we are heart , mind and spirit as well, but the essence as well as the sum can be seen as soul.

I'm as skeptical and untrusting as they come, so it took me a long time to follow the inner direction that was becoming stronger and stronger. I relaxed some once I saw that it was healing what needed to be healed and was revealing me my true self, warts and all. With this came a freedom to live as I saw fit, away from all that said you can't do it your way. 

It is sometimes too hard to live from the inside out along the mystical journey, but that's were everything is happening. I wouldn't discount the exteriors of what it takes to live in this world as they all are parts of the journey and of being here, make of them what you will. But remember what is going to have the greatest value in the end. 

The mystical journey is not for everyone. There are other modalities that can accomplish the same thing.  It should not be seen as a higher way or existing in between two worlds or possessing special knowledge, even though some understand it that way. Likewise, it is not a panacea or cure all that takes care of all your concerns with little or no effort. 

For me, there's still plenty that needs to be fixed, learnt, and changed along the way. But the list isn't as long as it used to be nor as detailed as the one my wife compiled. I'm confident in the direction, in the instruction and in the consultation. The more time I have given it, the more natural everything has become. After all, it's proven to be the right fit for me, and it is ....the path that will take me home.

BONUS PIC

CREDITS: IMG QUOTES, HUFFINGTON POST, POETRY IN MOTION, S. GROF-TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY, JOSEPH CAMPBELL

WHO SAYS SO?

On Saturdays evenings, the next show after APHC (A Prairie Home Companion) on WGBH in Boston is SAYS YOU!, a radio game show of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy as they always say at the opening. I can't identify my fascination with such a low key show. It's the same show every week except for the words and sometimes that's not true if they bring back a classic round. Perhaps it's the collegial interaction and word play that makes for an hour of obfuscation, conjecture and humorous wit similar to early game shows on TV like I've Got a Secret, What's My Line? and the various forms of To Tell The Truth.

As I recall, Says You! was a sarcastic rejoinder indicating disbelief, questionable veracity or unsubstantiated opinion. Similarly, you could use the question Who says so? Many kids asking their parents the question Why? got the usual Because I told you so? Apparently, their authority was sufficient. I was brought up in an era where you were to respect your elders. But many of them were real dumb asses. I should have made more inquiries but the usual adult answer, or judgment, wasn't really worth the possibility of punishment. Nevertheless, the well placed request for further clarification served me well at times.

If Because I Said So! doesn't work, the usual is to cite some even higher authority, perhaps an expert in the field or someone higher up in the chain of command or a popular figure whose understanding has more merit just because of their celebrity status from acting, playing sports, reporting the news, writing book or books that are commercially viable (especially if they have been made into movies), making scientific discoveries, having exceptional musical or artistic talent, or excelling in any other area that represents the best that the mainstream has to offer and of course, have been on Charlie Rose more than once.

If citing a popular mainstream figure doesn't work, there are a few steps, but only a few steps, before the dialogue escalates to the ultimate authority. Appeals to philosophy, spirituality, personal responsibility, rationality, practicality and basic human values can be made to some effectiveness but are often skipped for what we think is irrefutable. 

Even though I've done so myself, I'm not sure exactly sure why this approach is taken. I never put it on a placard, but I certainly saw things that way for some time. It's all rather convenient to have all your duckies in a row. It's not just a coincidence that you're right about everything.

It seems that we like to make rules, codes, standards, and laws that are expected to be obeyed, especially by others. We also like to form groups that are governed by procedures, policies and regulations. I guess all of this is so we can immerse ourselves in political processes and interactions as we struggle over money and power in our pursuit of recognition and superiority. It's amazing how comfortable that can feel. Being a part of the whole is very important. And labels make all the difference.

I read the other day about a group of the people who started an atheists' church, which doesn't seem so odd if you think about it. But the church ended up splitting over how much they should emphasize their atheism. I had to chuckle.  

What is the name of your group? Feel free to string together as many identifiers as you need. How much does it control you? Someone wisely said, "What you can't freely criticize or question controls you." I think they were from New Jersey. There are now more registered Independents than ever before. And the number of people who say they have no religious affiliation is climbing. I'm not sure how much of this counts as a trend but additionally, it also seems there are more groups within the big, main groups that want to be heard. Some of course would just want to take over.

I don't think we'll see an outbreak of individual freedom anytime soon, but more possibilities are obviously being considered. There are a lot of reasons not to be part of the crowd, to find your own way, to be open to other ways of knowing, to believe you only need some truth not all the truth, to be more a part of creation than the world, to float upon the waters of fear and hate until you are able to walk on them and perhaps above all, to always ask, "Who Says So?" 

BONUS PIC

CREDITS

PEW RESEARCH CENTER, SAYS YOU!, POTHEOS.COM, AJJOSHI.COM, STEFAN SAGMEISTER,  MATHFAIL.COM, LOTUS GROUP, HUFF POST FGU, GETTY