Light! Even in a Dark Age!

"Light and darkness, life and death, and right and left are siblings

of one another, and inseparable. For this reason the good are not good,
the bad are not bad, life is not life, death is not death.

Each will dissolve into its original nature,
but what is superior to the world cannot be dissolved for it is eternal,"

The Gospel of Philip, from the Gnostic Gospels of Jesus, by Marvin Meyer.

Contained within many of the world's various philosophies, religious writings and texts, as well as spiritual documents, resides the concept of "light and darkness," and throughout recorded history, we can see where these themes are interwoven in the tapestry of mankind on Planet Earth.

It seems there have always been two major forces at work, light and darkness. Each is seen with its own attributes and characteristics. Most often light is seen as positive and good, and darkness is viewd as negative and bad, but as our introductory quote says, "Light and darkness are siblings of one another, and inseparable. For this reason the good are not good, the bad are not bad...Each will dissolve into its original nature." Interestingly, this is the first time I have run accross this concept, but as I think about it, it certainly makes a bit of sense.

Now what is it that makes a bit of sense to me? Well, that everything is connected and interconnected, and all things comes forth from the Source, Universe, Cosmic Consciousness, or whatever one may chose to call it; a place from which everything originated and emerged. So, if everything emerges from this so-called Source, sooner or later, it will return.

Thus, as the quote says, "Each will dissolve into its original nature," and in my mind, that means everything dissolves back into that from which it came from; I should think. However, there are other opinions regarding this which may differ somewhat, with most being pretty similar, whether its the Kabbalah, or other ancient teachings, and that is we all originate from a creative source and from that source we may return.

However, living in this moment of time and physical space, we are confronted with many challenges, or forces of negativity, which seem to be pummeling us on an almost moment to moment basis. According to the many ancient wisdom teachers these positive and negative events are cyclic events which occur periodically throughout time.

Sharron Rose writes, "According to the ancient texts, this cycle of the ages begins with a Golden Age [Krita-Yuga] of beauty, harmony and grace, an age in which we are all, both male and female alike, fundamentally connected with our own divinity, living lives of total truth, fully aligned with the universal spirit. As the ages progress metaphorically from gold to silver [Treta-Yuga], to bronze [Dvapara-Yuga], and finally to iron [Kali-Yuga], the mass of humanity draws further and further away from the numinous and radiant light of spirit. We move towards an age of total materialization and concretization, a time of ignorance and delusion, a time in which the bright light of spirit is all but extinguished. The ancients called this age the Kali Yuga, the Age of Iron."

Ms. Rose goes on to say, "As this dark age [Kali Yuga] progressed into it's fullness, industrialization appeared with its factories, toxins and pollutants. In Europe, at the beginning of the industrial revolution, or machine age, the total rape and pillage of the planet was in full swing. This was the complete manifestation of the Age of Iron. It was at this time that we collectively entered our current age of materialist science and intellect, of rationalism and externalization. A dark age, which has been characterized by the destruction and devastation of the feminine, and the very earth that gave us life." http://tinyurl.com/26qvruo

One doesn't need to be an Einstein to "see" that we are in the throws of a dark age where toxins, pollutants, inhumane acts towards others, and eco-disasters are the order of the day. The planet is indeed being maliciously raped daily and plundered by the greedy robber barons, politicians, and banksters, who are taking us one step closer to the collapse of our environment and species.

One of my major concerns with all of this, however, is how such a vast majority of the people, in this country, are just laying-back and allowing all of these horrific things to occur. They're breathing in toxic air, drinking water and beverages filled with chemicals and drugs, eating food that's loaded with hormones, pesticides and whatever, and then giving it to their kids. Sad!

Is it any wonder that a growing number of children and adults are being plagued by all sorts of physical and mental problems. If anyone did random blood analysis on people it'd blow their minds, but as I mentioned, the worst thing, to me, about all of this, is that people are allowing all of these things to happen, and even in some cases contributing to, and participating in it.

As some learned people have already stated, we have reached a "tipping" point, a tipping point that we cannot go back from. Sadly, there's no way that the Gulf of Mexico can be returned to its original and naturally pristine state, in any near probable future. NO WAY, it's too late, especially with the Corexit dispersants, Lye and other chemicals that have been mixed-in. No matter what any politician or expert says the Gulf is a toxic sewer! It's simply too late, and the eco-disaters continue! The other day a barge ran into a closed oil rig in the Gulf, and guess what? More oil spewing from the now damaged "capped" oil well!

Our newest oil spill in the US is now right here in Michigan, which shows no area is immune to an eco-disaster! On Tuesday, July 27, 2010, an estimated 850,000 +/- gallons of oil spilled into the Kalamazoo River, and this river "bisects the city of Kalamazoo and meanders to Saugatuck, where it empties into Lake Michigan." Isn't it great! "Drill Baby Drill!" "Lay more pipelines!" RIGHT! http://tinyurl.com/27ppaev

So, here we are, living in the Kali-Yuga, the Age of Iron. Witnesses to the ravaging of our planet, virtually helpless to do anything, but, there is always something we can do, even under the most dire of circumstances, and what may that be, one might ask?

Wake people up! Osho says, "99.9% of the population of the planet are either asleep, or drunken." This leaves .1%of the population who most likely have some awareness as to what's going on! If so, then we need to reach out, find those people, and let them know, they have the power within them to initiate change; even in a dark age!

Change occurs when people come together under the premise of working together for the benefit of everyone, without thought of race, religion, education, sexual preference, or anything else, and simply realizing that we're all just people trying to make a decent life for ourselves.

Another important aspect to initiate change is by encouraging people to think, realizing the importance of health and well-being, and help people get out of the box they've been in for most of their lives. The formula is relatively simple, it's just getting people together in mutual harmony, away from their own agendas, and committed to the welfare of all. It can happen, but if it will, remains to be determined!

"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will bloom again, and that the tender branch thereof shall not cease."

There is always Light, even in the darkest dark age!

USA Titanic

The world thought the HMS Titanic was unsinkable, it sank! The world thought the USA was invincible after WWII, it wasn't and Viet Nam proved that! Now, after a series of many foolish mistakes, one right after another, the mighty USA is crumbling, as did the Roman empire in 410 A.D.

Faced with incredible debt incurrred from misbegotten wars, greed, failed foreign policy, pollution of air, land and sea, the USA Titanic is poised, as was the HMS Titanic, to slide into the icy depths of the sea.

Each day new headlines confirm this, in "America's Most Polluted Cities," MSN brings the information collected from Forbes.com to the forefront, and shines a light on ozone pollution and how it is affecting people in various parts of the country. Forbes also lists the 25 worst cities for ozone pollution. Personally, I knew ozone was bad, but not as bad as this, "...inhaling ozone is akin to 'getting a sunburn on your airways,' says Dr. Norman H. Edelman, the ALA's (American Lung Association) chief medical officer." Source MSN/Forbes http://tinyurl.com/22jm4k3

Listed as Forbes #1. "worst city" is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA; followed by #2. Bakersfield, CA; #3. Visalia-Porterville; CA #4. Fresno-Madera, CA; and #5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA & NV. For the other 20 cities and various medical problems related to them please go to http://tinyurl.com/2aftaas

Also, the oil rig catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico continues in the headlines, along with its tragic consequences. On Saturday, May 15, MSNBC quoted the New York Times (NYT) that reported scientists had found giant oil plumes in the Gulf, one of which was 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick! "...the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given." says the NYT. No surprise here with the BP and government estimates!

The NYT goes on to say, "The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes." Full article http://tinyurl.com/29vhbnb

Today, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) reported, "Coast Guard officials have found nearly two dozen tar balls on Key West shores but have not determined if they came from the Gulf of Mexico's massive oil disaster." So where else might the tar balls come from? Are there other leaking undersea wells we're not aware of? Hmmm, very interesting! NWF article http://tinyurl.com/2aj7jb4

In another article from the NYT, relative to the plumes, it reported that, "Dr. Samantha Joye [University of Georgia] 'said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,'" she said Saturday. "That is alarming!"

Alarming indeed! We may be witnessing one of the greatest eco-tragedies in recorded history, as well as its affects on the United States and the world! Is it possible there may be a glimmer of hope, somewhere, for the USA Titanic? Is it possible that it's citizenry will wake-up, before the Great Ship of State takes its final plunge into the icy seas? Is it possible?

Oil Spill Eco-Tragedy 2010!

The question now becomes, "What is it going take to wake people up?" Almost every day there is some new problem for people and the planet. Not to mention, all those ecological and societal problems that have been created by mankind over the past years.

As Naomi Wolf has so aptly said, we have reached several "tipping" points as a nation, and once that tipping point has been reached it is difficult going back, and/or correcting whatever has occurred. If you are not familiar with her work, I would suggest you to go to: http://www.endofamericamovie.com/ and find out what she has to say about the "End of America."

Environmentally, we have also reached a tipping point with our latest oil spill disaster. America has been on a collision course with an eco-tragedy for many years; it looks like it may be here now. As our esteemed caesar now says, "...we are dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." Well, yeah! Wake-up for God's sake and smell the coffee (see full article: MSNBC) http://tinyurl.com/2ckqrfq

No amount of clean-up is going to restore the Gulf of Mexico to its original pristine condition. Water, fish, plants, birds, et cetera are all being affected. As a matter of fact, there is already "dead" zone in the Gulf. Yup, a dead zone, check this out from smm.org http://www.smm.org/deadzone/ on the Gulf area that cannot support aquatic life.

As the old cliche goes, this is a "train wreck in slow motion," except the train wreck has been going on for years. Planet Earth has been turned into a polluted garbage dump by Homo sapiens moronus! The list of atrocities that mankind/governments have perpetrated on this planet is a long one. I need not go into all the gory details, but I am always reminded about the 10,000 +/- pieces of debris floating around our planet by our glorious space program.

So, who's responsible for all of this mess? None other than American people, who have NOT demanded accountability, responsibility, or transparency from their elected officials/administration. It is the American people, for the most part, have allowed their government to do whatever it wants. Why? Because they're often too busy being self-absorbed with their phoney baloney celebrities, junk television, junk food, junk beverages, and lost inside some computer screen either self-stimulating themselves mentally, or physically. When the USA Titanic goes down, it's gonna make a BIG splash folks!

No need to tell you what can be done to SOS (Save our Ship)! You already know, but if you don't, it's simply this: if you want to make a difference and stop the eco-tragedies and loss of our civil liberties from happening, you just have to get up and take a stand, and STOP the insanty and the greed.

Return our government to one that is really a representative one, and one that is, "...of, by, and for the people." This government was set up to provide for the necessities of its people, not vice-versa! It's now up to all of us to STOP the mismanagement of this nation, or we will all suffer the consequences, and those consequences will impact us forever!

The tipping point has been reached!

Of oil spills and E. coli

The latest piece of big, "bad news," is the oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico from the Louisana oil rig disaster of April 20th. Now, 9 days later, it's become a real crisis as the spill has moved toward the Mississippi River, Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Breton national Wildlife Refuge, and rich oyster grounds.

One fisherman was quoted as saying, "The oil come in everywhere, the shrimp die, the crabs die, the fish die. What do I do?"

MSNBC reports that, "If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure." The size of the oil spill is now, "...600 miles in circumference and about 23 miles offshore." Think about the ecological significance of this event.

A "...decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below." Now where do you think all those toxic fumes are going? Correct! Right into the atmosphere.

Late yesterday, Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed that, "...seeks at least $5 million in compensatory damages, plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages against Transocean, BP, Halliburton Energy Services Inc. and Cameron International Corp." Hmmm, Halliburton, doesn't that name sound very familiar? Why yes, come to think of it, this administration is still playing "patty-cake" with them, in a number of different ventures? Yes, siree!
It will be interesting to see what transpires with this latest environmental situation as it progresses. Unfortunately, no amount of money is going to eradicate, or return the Gulf or animal life to what it was before the spill. Sources: The Baltimore Sun http://tinyurl.com/2bfmx2c and MSNBC http://tinyurl.com/24tyhay

Now, on to another topic: food! It was announced today that the State of New York is now linked to an E. coli O145 Outbreak in Michigan and Ohio! It is reported that as many as 47 have now sickened in three States, in the Marler Blog http://www.marlerblog.com/ The Marler Blog is an excellent resource for finding out about what food/health-related challenges are presently occurring.

So, what is E. coli? Well, for the most part, it's the name of a type of bacteria that lives inside the intestines. Most types of E. coli are quite harmless. However, some types can cause illness and diarrhea. One type causes travelers' to have diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and may sometimes result in kidney failure and even death. Needless to say, it's something that one doesn't want to contract.

How do People contract E. coli? Well, one may contract it by drinking contaminated water, eating fruit or vegetables that have been watered with contaminated water, drinking unpasteurized milk, or eating undercooked ground meat. An E. coli infection may also be caught by coming into contact with others who are infected with it, or by working in environments where one might come into contact with human or animal feces.

At this point in time, it is not known for sure, whether or not this outbreak is from hamburger or some leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, or spinach.

So, there you have it, some new issues that are causing a bit of havoc for the planet and Homo sapiens! It seems to be an ongoing saga. Hmmm, I wonder what the final outcome will be?

Oh, by the way, here's a recommendation for some late night reading, for you: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman, a fascinating book that asks us to envision the Earth without us. Think about it!

April 22, 2010: un-HaPpY EARTH DAY!

Yes, here we have the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! 40 years and what do we have to show for it? Air and water that's more polluted than it was 40 years ago! Chemicals and additives in foods that mess with the bodies biological systems. Sugar coated this, sugar coated that! Cola, M & Ms, deep fried twinkies, doughnuts, you name it! It's all garbage concocted to make money for some greedy shyster who cares nothing about the environment or the people people who consume it. Children's toys that are dangerous, either from construction or from the toxic paint that is applied to it! Red dye this, blue dye that! Mad cow disease! Oh you think it's gone, well if you do, I've got a bridge to sell you!

Here's a nice little piece from MSNBC: Plastic, sweat pants and more found in dead whale: http://tinyurl.com/y6sy5wm

At this point this is a relatively short blog, but how much needs to be said about things we already know, that this species, Homo sapiens, has done more than any other species to mess things-up on this planet! About a species that not only destroys itself, but trashes the planet that sustains it. Nuclear waste, human waste, garbage, islands of plastic floating in the oceans, and every day there's more and more of it.

Note: As of today's date, a report was released by MSNBC regarding the Louisana oil rig disaster of Tuesday, April 20th. Approximately 100 workers made it to safety at a nearby supply boat, after their rig exploded. A number of workers were injured, with 11 still missing. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry said that crews saw a 1 mile by 5 mile sheen of what appeared to be a crude oil mix on the surface of the water.

"The well could be spilling up to 8,000 barrels of crude oil a day," the Coast Guard said, and the rig carried 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel." Needless to say, occurances like this are devasting to human as well as marine life, and toxifies the water. For further information on this, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/29x38cu

I'm well aware there are people and organizations who "try" to make a positive difference for our planet and environment, but there need to be more! I am constantly reminded about the number of careless, lazy, and lackadaisical people there are, everytime I go out on a photoshoot, or hike. Today was no different; empty plastic bottles, food wrappers, you name it, and in places one wouldn't expect to find litter. The planet is fast becoming the garbage dump of the solar system! Oops, and let's not forget while we're at it the 10,000 +/- various pieces of debris circling our planet from various "space exploration" projects.

Is it too late? Only time will tell!