The Wisdom of Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss, aka Theodore Geisel, was a wise man disguised as a children’s author. Here are 30 of his quotes that can change your life:
The Quantum Revolution
Creating a More Sustainable, Holistic, and Enlightened World
The Word, and Signs: Words From the Poet Laureate
David Tucker
Today we have two poems from David Tucker, the Poet Laureate of the Quantum Revolution.
A Vermont-based poet, David is an insightful commentator on our internal and external cultural, spiritual and political milieu.
Today’s poems are The Word, God and I Thought There’d Be Signs.
As an added bonus at the end, there is an excerpt from Chapter 37 of David’s upcoming novel.
First, the poems:
The Word, God
Why would I speak God?
Why would I use her,
that word,
in such a way?
Look at her history:
Violent,
Cruel,
Immoral
the way she’s acted,
what she’s done.
She let herself become a hammer
for the needs of ambitious men.
I know.
I have bruises on my soul.
She let frightened men
form her into shackles
and bindings
to tie us up.
I know.
I have the rope burns on my wrists.
She let cruel men
make her into curtains,
thick and dense
to steal our breath,
to steal our light.
I know.
I remember when I couldn’t breathe.
But now
she’s with me
and if I keep making pictures
of how she was
with other men
I lose the song
when she comes
to touch me in the night.
When she comes to wake me
and take me to those places
where everything is breath and light,
freedom and the twirl
of dancing in the kisses of the swirling night
and I realize
She is my Ahhhh.
She is my Yes!
She is my Hmmmm!
She binds up the chord
that links me to you,
links me to all of them,
to all the trees
to all the kisses from the planets and the suns.
To other men,
to other women,
she may be the whore with the checkered past,
she may be the oppressor and the thief.
To me,
I only know her
as
holy, holy, holy.
I Thought There’d be Signs
I thought there’d be a sign
or
at least
something to startle me
like
the sharp taste of beauty,
an eclipse of the sun.
There was your kindness
and that little voice
singing of the time
we played together
on the island
so long long ago.
But I expected more.
Maybe a sign that read:
This is the road
where Angel Armies march.
Or even a warning:
Watch out for the flowers ‘round here.
Thieves.
Pick-pockets.
Steal your precious pain
right outa yer purse.
I knew I wanted you
and took you to my bed.
I closed my eyes.
I did not know
what magic
lay
in the turning of my eyelids
from the outer world of lifeless form
to the inner world of Spirit…
dancing.
I reached out,
not flesh
but an angel’s breast
kissed my hand
and the song began.
I came inside you
and your yoni
like a band from the burning edge of dawn
filled the heart of my phallus
with the sound of chorus, flute and drum.
You touched my rounded muscles
and the secret place I tried to hide
in shame.
They filled with music.
You took the soft orbs
where once my children slept
into your artist’s hands
and every cell and vessel
filled with song.
I said Wow baby. That was great.
You said Holy Holy Holy.
I said Wasn’t that amazing?
Holy you said.
I pulled you to me
and said I love you.
You held me in your angel arms
and cried Holy Holy Holy.
The music
from the burning edge of time
filled every cell,
every cavern,
all the empty spots
Now, here’s an excerpt from Chapter 37 of David’s forthcoming novel:
How often do we think an original thought? We think the thoughts we are taught….yes? All the books…all the movies…all the ads teach us how love works. And thus our expectations do make fools of us all. If I sort through the piles of my own experience, I do not find the same conclusions as are thrown at me from billboard and book.
I see that I have been driven to women by the deep sense of my own inadequacy: they have something that will make me feel better about myself. All such co-habitations have ended in bitter failure. And it is a failure to create such a volume of agony. We moan, we scream, we cry, we can be so angry in the face of such failures…angry, always, at ourselves, but, usually we express it to the person toward whom we once felt such love. Such a clatter of anger…such a terrible dissonance broadcast across the plain on which we all live. This day…right now…such sounds pervade the world. Trouble the sleep of children in Peoria, politicians in Nepal…confuse the honey bee trying to find its way into the bright center of the corolla. It is a sound that saddens me…deeply.
Here is what Tatianna had taught me about love. We are like snowflakes…each of us, among the billions and billions of snowflakes…unique: some complex, some simple. Some rounded, some barbed. Some dense, some diaphanous. When we enter the world of love, we are but half a creation. Something deep within is (i can speak only for myself) must find another life with which we can link in order to be whole. The problem? We are different from one another at deep levels that we cannot see or hear. Most of the pieces will not fit together. No matter how hard you try. You can read. You can therapy. You can reach the kind of detente that characterizes most marriages, but there is no music. When the pieces fit, there is music. Candles are lit. There is peace.
And yes, I know: most of the time…in the first unfolding fires of love…we think we’ve found that fit. We are sure this is the one. How do we tell the difference between the compulsions created by our feelings of inadequacy and the true fit? I don’t know. Maybe once there were cultures who knew that secret. It is certainly lost to us. My only recommendation?: Be kind. We try. We fail…Be kind. It is not easy. Only a true fit will protect us from the firestorm of vulnerability that issues forth from an open heart…and especially when we believe that open heart has been betrayed.
But…the one thing we must learn from love: in the face of anger…in the fires of regret and the wish for retribution: Be kind. Please, please do not add to the dissonance of anger that howls across our planet. We try for love. We fail…We are kind. We part…We are kind. I think we would be shocked by how much kinder and more peaceful the world would be if we could learn that one simple lesson: If love fails, do not savage and rip one another. Be kind.
Quote of the Day: 5/17/13 – George Santayana
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”
“A child educated only at school is an uneducated child.”
“A man’s feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world.”
- George Santayana
Alan Watts: What if Money Wasn’t The Most Important Thing
The philosopher/Zen teacher Alan Watts was a Quantum Revolutionary.
Quantum Revolutionaries are people living and dead, who have made an indelible mark on the lives of others and of society in a way that truly raises awareness and consciousness, and makes a difference.
Alan Watts
They are transformational figures, folks from various walks of life who in one way or another are bringing the consciousness revolution and Quantum Revolution to the forefront.
Alan Watts was a Quantum Revolutionary became he was committed to transformation through understanding and speaking out about the radical truth, and he was also committed to helping people understand and get past the taboo against knowing who they are.
In the short video clip above, Alan Watts talks about one taboo: the subject of Money, and what if it was not an object to recklessly pursue.
What if, he asks, we pursued our dreams in life, our passions, and didn’t think about whether we could make money at it? As Watts points out, if you walk the path of what makes you happy, if you take the road less taken, and don’t let the pursuit of money be your primary goal, eventually it will work out.
In our money-driven society, this is a refreshing reminder that financial success doesn’t always equal happiness and that you should pursue what truly matters to you every day.
If people focused on what made them happy when pursuing their life’s work, it would truly be a transformative process. When people are happy, and doing good work that doesn’t harm others, it makes for a better world.
The writers of the U.S. Constitution knew this when they wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all people have the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – this was an important component to democracy.
But what is happiness? is it buying bigger and more expensive things? No, it’s feeling that the kind of work you do is a full expression of who you are as a human being.
And that’s what Alan Watts gets at in the short video above. Watch it, and when you do, I hope it inspires you to find your way.
Quote of the Day: 5/10/13 – Plato
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”- Plato
Quote of the Day: 5/7/13 – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“We have flown the air like birds and swim the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Global Zero: Imagine a World Without Nuclear Weapons
There are currently 17,000 nuclear weapons on Earth. How can we ever live peacefully and sanely on this planet with such a persistent and pervasive threat hovering over us?
Twenty years after the Cold War, maintaining vast arsenals of mass destruction – at a staggering cost of $1 trillion per decade globally – makes no sense, strategically or financially. Nuclear weapons undermine global stability. We need to reset our priorities, abandon outdated thinking on global security and set the world’s course to global zero.
21st century global security can’t be built on the Cold War idea of basing national security on the threat of mass destruction. The ability to completely annihilate populations, infrastructure and the environment doesn’t make us safer or more secure.
There is an organization doing something about it: Global Zero.
Global Zero has emerged as one of the most remarkable social movements in history.
Powered by a visionary group of 300 leaders and experts, and the relentless creativity, energy and optimism of young people and half a million citizens worldwide, Global Zero is challenging the 20th century idea of basing national security on the threat of mass destruction – and together they are making real progress on the road to global zero.
Global Zero leaders understand that the only way to eliminate the nuclear threat – including proliferation and nuclear terrorism – is to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, secure all nuclear materials and eliminate all nuclear weapons: global zero.
They have spent years building a nonpartisan, international community of influential political, military, business, civic and faith leaders – matched by a powerful global grassroots movement. And Global Zero is not tilting at windmills – they’ve got a plan that is backed by experts and leading newspapers worldwide. The challenge now is getting world leaders to act on it – and only an unprecedented international demand for zero can create the necessary political will to make it happen.
No one wants to see the mushroom cloud of a nuclear bomb
The only way to eliminate the existential nuclear threat is to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, secure all nuclear materials and eliminate all nuclear weapons: “global zero.”
There are nine countries that possess nuclear weapons today, including: (1) Russia with approximately 8,500; (2) the United States with approximately 7,700; (3) France with fewer than 300; (4) China with approximately 240; (5) the United Kingdom with fewer than 225; (6) Pakistan with 90-110; (7) India with 80-100; (8) Israel, which is believed to possess 80 weapons; and (9) North Korea, which is estimated to possess enough plutonium for up to 10 fission bombs.
Global Zero’s plan is backed by political leaders, military commanders and national security experts worldwide. And with the re-election of President Obama – a passionate supporter of Global Zero – 2013 could mark the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons. But not without strong, sustained and urgent support from the public, leaders and the media.
To find out more and to sign their petition, check out Global Zero’s website.
And watch the below short video with Naomi Watts and Valerie Plame Wilson speaking about how the money saved from cutting out nuclear weapons could be much better spent on education and other more important things:
Quote of the Day: 5/2/13 – Mahatma Gandhi
“1) Start where you are 2) Use what you have 3) Do what you can.” – Gandhi’s advice on creating positive change in the world
Quote of the Day: 4/30/13 – Don Beck
“It’s not that we need to form new organizations. It’s simply that we have to awaken to new ways of thinking. I believe it makes no sense to spend a lot of time attacking the current realities. It is time to create the new models that have in them the complexity that makes the older systems obsolete. And to the extent that we can do that, and do that quickly, I think we can provide what will be necessary for a major breakthrough for the future.” – Don Beck
The Obesity Apocalypse is Coming
To create a positive change in the U.S. and world towards a more holistic, sustainable and enlightened society – in other words, a Quantum Revolution – one of the areas that has to be addressed is health and getting people healthier and wellness oriented.
Health and wellness is an area that, for all the wonders that modern medicine has to offer, isn’t a strong suit of modern medicine. Sick care is modern medicine’s strength, but helping people get healthy escapes the capabilities of modern medicine – it’s just not in the paradigm.
For example, let’s look at the level of obesity in the U.S.
Statistics show that obesity is rapidly reaching epidemic proportions. Already the U.S. is the most obese nation on the planet. And the truth is that if we don’t address this in a health-promoting way and instead continue with the path we’re on, something ugly will be looming on the horizon.
And that something ugly is the obesity apocalypse.
If current trends continue, this apocalypse will occur in 2030. That’s the year, according to a study that came out in the August 2008 edition of the medical journal Obesity, that nearly every American will be overweight or obese.
The study, led by Dr. Youfa Wang of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, says that if current overweight and obesity trends continue, 86 percent of Americans could be overweight or obese by the year 2030.
And even more troubling, the authors note, is the fact that “by 2048, all American adults would become overweight or obese.”
Shades of the Pixar film Wall-E. In that film, 700 years in the future, the inhabitants of earth are forced to evacuate the planet, because due to mass consumerism the entire planet is covered with trash. The people of earth are now living in space on starliners, and are grossly obese and no longer able to walk. They have to rely on motorized hovercrafts to get them around.
Dr. Wang of John Hopkins also said that the increase in metabolic disease and other weight-related conditions could have a catastrophic toll on public health — and on the public pocket. If these predictions come to bear, Wang and his colleagues estimate that the additional overweight and obesity burden could add up to an extra $860 billion to $956 billion per year in health expenditures to treat these conditions.
All told, this would mean that $1 in every $6 spent on health care would be spent as a result of the overweight and obesity.
The reality is that if those dollar figures quoted above are spent on the health demands of obesity, it will bankrupt this nation. We can reform health care until we’re blue in the face, we can create a single payer system that is compassionate, caring and exceeds expectations, but if we have that level of burden to pay on health care, the only way to rescue the U.S. economy will be if every person in the country is allowed to have a printing press in their home in order to print up money.
Obviously, we are in dire need of reversing course, and doing it soon…or else.
Dr. David Katz, co-founder of the Yale University Prevention Research Center says, “We are terribly, ominously off-course. To close the gap, we need to fix everything that’s broken — from neighborhoods without sidewalks, to the high price of produce, to food marketing to children, to misleading health claims on food packages, to school days devoid of physical activity and school cafeterias devoid of healthful offerings. The list goes on and on.
”
Others state that the path to reversing course lie in individuals taking responsibility for diet and lifestyle habits. Dr. Neal Barnard, founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and a staunch supporter of a vegetarian diet, says dietary modification could be a crucial step in solving the problem.
“U.S. eating habits are nowhere near where they should be,” he says. “The average American eats 50 pounds more meat and 20 pounds more cheese per year, compared to the 1960s. … I would strongly encourage Americans to adopt more vegetarian meals.”
Soon we will be at a crossroads. On one path is the road to obesity, predicated on the continuation of the old ways of doing things, while on the other path is the trail towards better health and a better way, predicated on the proliferation of the new way of doing things.
The choice is ours.
