My Mind, For You

My Mind, For You

In this crowded world there is competition for your thoughts

Persuasion from all arenas of life working on your mind, your pocketbook, your stomach

Causing you to salivate involuntarily, looking away came too late

But the separation of the mind from the distraction is still possible

To guide your own course you do not need a map

You only need the will, and then the courage, to discover your way

It feels uneasy to take that first step away from what you know

But after the initial fear, the potential is there to experience glory unlike anything you’ve known before

The feel of riding on two wheels for the first time

Jumping from the nest, falling through tree branches does bring pain

But once you fly- all of the boundaries you previously knew seem to slip away

And when you crash, the pain will give you the rawest sense of reality

It lets you know that you are still alive

If you haven’t fallen lately, you aren’t trying to jump quite high enough

Find the courage to accept that everything you know is already outdated

Start learning again with the eyes of a child

And join me as we leap into uncertainty

~JPL

Elephant Rocks State Park

Elephant Rocks State Park in Missouri, USA.

Panoramic shot from the top.

A Piece of Latin American Wisdom

I am proud that I belong to all humanity,
Not to a few but to many,
And that here I am surrounded by their invisible presence.

~Pablo Neruda

Topsy Turvy Bus Passes Through St. Louis

Brian Schwadron recently jumped off the Topsy Turvy Bus as it passed through St. Louis. He had been traveling the United States with a group from the Teva Climate Learning Center.

The bus is upside down to represent the United States Federal Government Spending which is "upside down" in its priorities. http://www.jewishclimatecampaign.org/busTour.php

Money: Not For Everyday Use.

Money money money.  All this money talk.  Boy, the rich people sure

are freaking out about their wealth and riches.  The poor endure, scarcely fed.

The seed does not know a dollar sign; the livestock does not

depend on currency; the heart yearns to be free from it.

And so the money is invested into a quickly disappearing dinosaur

who is at the brink of extinction.  Money. Cheddar. Dough. Cash.

Infusing lifelines of cash they throw money at the problems,

but it was money that brought us here.

It is money we must move past.  

The riches of ancient despotic rulers

have passed through generations of hateful accrual only to

remain a force of depravity unto this day.  A binding, heavy chain

dragging down our individual opportunity and freedom

due to the burden of its crushing weight.

But no money can conquer the spirit.

No abstraction of value into paper can replace true beauty.

You only know what your eye is truly seeing by trusting in your mind- 

and in yourself.

These dollar signs will fade away with the glowing neon signs

sputtering into darkness of night, a new night free from artificial light.  A new time.

नमस्ते

Namasté:

"That which is of the Divine in me greets that which is of the Divine in you."

"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Integrity, of Wisdom and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."

Updated From The Past

August67.jnt

well on my way to drowning the sorrows
of limited plans for all our tomorrows
at the point that we've had enough
making it day by day because we're tough

struggling between capability and action
fighting the current to gain some traction
because the downstream of today falls off the earth
requiring a fresh current to signal our birth

born
only to be torn
living to change
thinking forward so that future generations may still range

roam across the surface of earth
knowing green and blue circumscribe her girth
the wonders are plenty, far and wide
water's cycle the truest of rides

while lifeless cement pounds the feet
the toes wonder how mud might be neat
who is still willing to feel?
where are the people which remain real?

beyond the limits which confine
onto the subjects we have yet to define

you may read this and hear it
but the pen has a voice unlike mine

So, we are left in a quandary
discarded as dirty laundry
longing for retraction from abstraction and distraction
into the purity of ourselves

this will be the grace of human race
when we do what we feel, then we'll save face
before we are gone
the opportunity to create right from wrong

to reverse historical injustice
and kiss, to just kiss
return to our senses, which we seem to ignore
planning forever and more

So, I , maintain this hope
that others may feel these words I wrote

To follow ourselves to a new time
where collective consciousness pursues the divine
you know who you are (inside)
the purest of self is near, not far (don't hide)

"You'd Like to Think That Anyway..."

Instead of just hoping that when you buy something from a business it has not been made in a sweatshop, you (we) must make sure it hasn't. We all together must point each other to higher standards of quality and ethical action in our economic realities. And when we not just "want" people to be treated fairly, the environment protected and nurtured, but "demand" these mutually beneficial actions be our only path, then we will have stolen the power, and the profits, from the elitists and oligarchies who have thrived in palaces amongst slums, and pitted hope against fear by murder and genocide; and in those days we may all achieve our own desires in our actions, working towards peace between us all.

Rajio Taiso - Radio Calisthenics

I did this every morning for three weeks in the summer of 2000 at the Missouri Scholars Academy. I think I'm going to start again, it's a great way to start the day.

Yo hice los ejercicios por la mañaña durante el veraño del año 2000, en la Academia Escolar del estado Missouri. Quiero empezar otra vez de nuevo.

“Our parents had to fight for where they sat on the bus. Now we have to fight for where we sit in the courtroom."

“I think this is the beginning of the 21^st century civil rights movement. Every generation has to fight its issue; the issue is equal protection under the law. These thousands of people that have come, are not coming because anybody could waive a magic wand, it resonates with them because their nieces their nephews their sons and daughters have faced this. And I think that we must realize t when the DA despite all of this walks out in front of the courthouse yesterday, it’s a 21^st century of them walking out in front of the courthouse fifty years ago, when our fathers were marching. So, our fathers faced Jim Crow, we face James Crow Junior Esquire, he’s a little more polished, but he’s the same guy. Because even though the community said, “we’re not like that”, Did you see them hanging the confederate flag signs in front of houses, are they telling them to take them down? It’s not about, “we’re not coming out today and marching with us;” it’s about they should have come out and said, “How do we have a tree in this town black kids can’t sit under?” They were silent then and they’re being silent now. We say, you should come out and join us, black and white. I was glad to see a lot of whites in the parking lot, because this is America saying we can’t go back to those days.”

-Rev. Al Sharpton speaking in reference to the civil rights demonstration in Jena, Louisiana for the Jena 6. The story is being carried by all major media outlets.

September 11th, 2008

Pursue truth.

Very Inspiring

Well worth the time to understand what the next industrial evolution will be like.

Be Free

Sometimes the best way to do things is your way, sometimes it is someone else's way. The important thing is that we discuss with each other and have a pool of ideas to use, analyze, discuss, and see which is best. Other people's thoughts and ideas are simply perspectives just like your own. Feel what is inside and be who you are, how can natural be wrong?

Be Free...

-Alex Palmer

Finally

When the world economy and trade rewards giving more than taking it may become, finally, in essence, an ethical system.
-Brian Schwadron

Breathe For All Humanity

As the contents of air pass around the world in the jetstreams above us, we are witness to a fabulous cycle which has supported life on earth: air. The atmosphere around us has been shared by our ancestors, from prehistoric predecessors to those just a few generations ago. Scientific people explain the mystical respiration process as oxygen entering our lungs, giving us energy and leaving as carbon dioxide. What the casual scientific observer doesn't reflect upon is that we are all breathing in this world at the same time, the same air, the same air dinosaurs breathed ages ago, still cycling and filtering within our atmosphere. Air is a spectacular substance, allowing light to travel through it, and passing sound on as well. The air is the main medium that all people interact with during life. So, next time you take a breath of air, think of the lungs that air may have been in before. Consider that even those you have come to know as enemies are sharing this air with you. We are all caught up in this fabulous, complex, and amazing cycle together: breathe for all humanity.

http://videoforallhumanity.blogspot.com

This is the address of the newest web based efforts of For All Humanity. It is video clips that fit the general themes of the organization and are pretty cool. There are some real neat videos posted here already and I plan to keep updating both sites. You can find a link to the videos on the right side of the page.

Video Clips For the Enjoyment of All Humanity

Check it out, I hope you enjoy. One measure of a website's success is the number of "click thrus" so be sure to check out comments, post comments (allowed w/o any sign up), check out www.forallhumanity.org the official site, and to just live For All Humanity. More than ever, day after day, the causes that unite mankind in having to preserve the environment in which we live cause us to be interdependent upon each other for the survival of all humans.

Dave Chapelle’s Block Party, minute 4:10

Most High we thank you just for being here with us
We thank you for this day G_d
The sun is shining, they said it was supposed to rain
But, G_d you lettin your face show that you want us here
You want every soul here right now
We thank for this message that you’re sending through all these people
We thank you for bringing Dave to bring us together
We dream this day and we ask that you
Just utilize our souls and our spirits
And our voices to glorify you in all that we do
We don’t forget people that’s poor
We don’t forget those that’s at war right now
We don’t forget our comrades in prison
We don’t forget our children G_d
And we prayin' that you can just be through us
And live through us
So that we can raise our people up
And raise ourselves up
And we put you first in all we do
And um, just bless the energy of us
And the people out there
Allow your message to speak through us (Amen)
In the name of J_sus,
In the name of A_lah,
In the spirit of the ancestors
Amen. Asheikum.

*I went back and edited this post because I want it to be clear that For All Humanity does not hold any religious affiliations. I think sometimes the language used in the blog could potentially cause confusion as to the non-profit services which the organization is formed to serve under our articles of incorporation in the state of Missouri. The general sentiment expressed in the speech which is written above, was one which I felt showed that people are willing to work with each other across multiple faiths to come together. In this instance, (Dave Chappelle's Block Party) it was people coming together for music and comedy, two very worthwhile and stress relieving elements of life. There are so many causes which will require people to rise up arove boundaries which previously have divided us. Barriers which in the past have divided us (politics, religion, mountains, languages, cultural peculiarities) can be transformed to rallying points. All people may take part in each of these arenas, and a full spectrum of all opinions will naturally always occur. Ensuring that the ideological differences do not result in physical harm (as has been the long standing historical trend), or that today's battles do not spiral into the complete destruction of the human race due to inability and incompetency in coming together on key issues that are challenges for all societies in the Era and context of Globalism is a central challenge in today's world. For All Humanity is a voice of hope, and sensibility about easy ways for us all to make a meaningful impact in answering the challenges of the modern era. One of the greatest challenges is raising the common moral fiber of all people on this planet to eliminate the injustices which pervade our systems of life. Well, you see, the spirit of working together is what For All Humanity exudes. Including these words on a non-profit, internationally focused blog should not detract from the all inclusive sentiments and intent of this movement.

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

To sin by silence, when we should protest
Makes cowards out of men. The human race
has climbed on protest. Had no voice been raised
Against injustice, ignorance, and lust,
The inquisition yet would serve the law,
And guillotines decide our least disputes.
The few who dare, must speak and speak again
To right the wrongs of many. Speech, thank G_d,
No vested power in this great day and land
can gag or throttle. Press and voice may cry
Loud disapproval of existing ills;
May criticise oppression and condemn
The lawlessness of wealth-protecting laws
That let the children and childbearers toil
To purchase ease for idle millionaires.

Therefore I do protest against the boast
Of independence in this mighty land
Call no chain strong, which holds one rusted link
Call no land free, that holds one fettered slave.
Until the manacled slim wrists of babes
Are loosed to to toss in childish sport and glee
Until the mother bears no burden, save
The precious one beneath her heart, until
God's soil is rescued from the clutch of greed
And given back to labor, let no man
call this the land of freedom

Leadership

"I am on a voyage of discovery. I search for those of you who will go on a great adventure. I am looking for you, one of the audacious few, who will face life courageously, ready to strike straight at the heart of anything that is keeping you from your best; you intrepid ones behind whom the world moves forward." -William H. Danforth

Found in Guatemala

Carmen Sandiego, I mean, Brian Schwadron is currently in Guatemala. I talked with Brian on the phone last night and we are both dedicated to continually increasing the scope of For All Humanity and our capacity to be a significant social organization that responds to the ongoing changes in the world. In the near future, you can expect to see updates to our website, a monthly newsletter, and the opportunity to make a tax-deductible contribution to support worthy causes. For now, here's a picture of Brian (sipping drink) in Guatemala!