HEART OF A LION

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HEART OF A LION

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There is a special kind of fierceness

That blazes up in our human hearts

When we are filled with a mighty cause

A fierce mind set that drives off fear, doubt and indecision

A bonfire of purpose and resolution

That we will not fail, we will succeed

By giving it our best we get through like champs

Figure it out, take the right measures

This kind of single minded focus can work miracles

Determination bolstered by a cause which has ignited our passions

Is very powerful

An almost unstoppable force

Driving fate like a flock of unruly geese

Pushing progress forward with an unfettered will

Backed by a cause we simply cannot ignore

RESOLUTIONS

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RESOLUTIONS

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I resolve to not fear being struck by a meteor

Not to invent worse case scenarios in my mind

To never ever catastrophize a current situation

I will delete memories of conversations that bother me

I forgive all the behaviors and opinions that are diametrically opposed

To what I believe, letting karma do its thing instead

I promise myself I will not pursue a vision of attainment

Into and through the gates of insanity and death

I vow to avoid ruinous situations

Vexatious people, trying to reason with the unreasonable

Calm the chronically agitated or talk sense to fools

I pledge allegiance to myself and my inner circle

The devil can take the hindmost for all I care

We are going into this new year as leaner, cleaner versions

Of ourselves

With all the toxic crud burned off by our spectacular reentry

Into the game of life

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DE-TOUR

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DE-TOUR

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How do we get someone to do what we want them to do?

We can bully them, make them fear us

Threaten what we will do if they don't comply

We can beg, cajole and plead with them

We can reason with them if they have the kind of mind that listens 

To reason, responds to information

We can figure out how to outrank them so our orders

Carry some weight

We can hint, imply, gently suggest, nudge

Hoping they catch on

Motivation with rewards works sometimes

Either material rewards or lavish praise when they do what we want

We can nag nag nag until the nagging wears them down

We can, in a pinch, completely ignore or work around what they do or don't do

This way their choices have no effect on you

You can laser focus on your own behavior, your own well being

Demeanor and goals

Thus creating a completely different route that bypasses them

And their constellation of catastrophes altogether

On this alternate route you can have a nice day, a peaceful day

Your mind free of trying to bend another to your will

You travel down the right path with the right companions 

Where something good might await just around the next bend 

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FILL ER UP

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FILL ER UP

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Everything runs on willingness

Progress screeches to a halt

Without willingness

Check your supply of willingness

If you are running low

Resupply it with gratitude and hope

Which is easily converted to willingness

When faith is added to the mix.

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YULETIDE

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YULETIDE

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Let us get drunk on laughter

On the joy of a new day, a new season

The promise of a new year

We can inhale hope until we are dizzy

We can be dazzled by the vision of a bright future

Like the faint false dawn glow on the horizon

We will laugh, dance, rejoice for this day

This moment, this version of you

Will never be repeated again

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WINTER WISHES

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WINTER WISHES

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May your burdens be buoyant

So that they might float away on the River of Time

Once you can let go of them

May you build a bulwark within yourself

A destination in your innermost mind

So sacred the Devil dare not follow

A bastion made of the stumbling blocks

And the sharp stones thrown in carelessness or cruelty

By the thoughtless and heartless

May your heart and will be unbreakable

Resilient, pure

A guiding star, shining like a beacon

Lighting your tender path through meadows of peace

While songbirds sing about every good positive thing you have done

And will do, come what may.

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TANGENTS

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TANGENTS

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Once I come up with an idea

Then I might have second thoughts

Which can lead to an overwhelming avalanche

Of thoughts, considerations, comparing this and that

This process can obscure the goal I was originally trying to reach

I need a plan, a map, an outline, a clearly defined goal

So I don't get lost inside my head and end up somewhere

I never intended to go

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GLASS HOUSES

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GLASS HOUSES

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If a man on a repaving work crew in my town

Has a deeply flawed nature, unsavory illegal activities

I would still drive on these roads

Even if his bad behavior came to public attention

His private behavior would have no impact on his paving

Ultimately we are each responsible for our own conduct

While I might boycott a public figure or company

I do not hold everyone to the highest moral standards

I can not cast the first stone, being less than perfect myself

I am responsible for my moral character, they are responsible for theirs

This keeps me off the throne of judgement

Where I am not qualified to sit.

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STAND BY ME

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STAND BY ME

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Some substances are full of demons

While getting high might be the goal

Once that morphs into addiction

A demon moves into their soul

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The demon takes over their mind

It blinds them to all but their will

The drug possessed person is driven

To lie, steal and even kill

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Who do we blame for this demon?

Is it the fault of drug dealing thugs?

Or is it a pitiful desperate attempt

To kill the pain of humanness with drugs?

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How do we help the possessed?

Intervention and rehabilitation

To drive out the dangerous demon

From that vulnerable human habitation

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COLORFUL COMMUNITY

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COLORFUL COMMUNITY

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No one owns the rainbow

It is a symbol in many times and places

Belonging to us all 

Whether it means a covenant between a wrathful deity

And a flawed humanity

A bridge for our beloved pets to cross

Waiting in heaven for our joyful reunion

Where a tricky leprechaun hides his secret stash

A symbol of diversity which includes all of us

Or even a food chart to show us the colorful rainbow 

Of fruits and veggies that are healthy

You own the rainbow when it enters your eyes 

And travels to your brain, which assigns meaning

Aside from your own personal inner rainbow

You don't own the rainbow, neither do I

It belongs to everyone on this beautiful planet

Like the air

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HAS BEAN

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HAS BEAN

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If we want to make a recipe with dried beans

We must buy the beans, sort through them for stones

Soak them over night and then cook them

Only then do we have the beans we need to eat

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Was this preparation time wasted? Futile?

Of course not

All those steps were necessary for the finished product

The same is true for the uncountable steps it took 

To get here, now

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Regretting those steps is regretting the very nature of movement

Fruitful or futile those steps were needed

To get to the solid ground where you know with certainty

Because knowing something with certainty

With a united mind and heart

Is a very powerful place to stand

To see what is coming next.

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TAKE TWO EXISTENTIALISTS AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

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TAKE TWO EXISTENTIALISTS AND CALL ME IN THE MORNING

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Philosophy is like medicine

If it helps us feel better

And promotes healing

It is a success

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GLURGE

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GLURGE

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Animals are rescued

Babies are saved

People are assisted 

In their old age

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People are generous

Life is ultimately fair

Wondrous goodness

Flies through the air

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These stories of goodness

Might not be real

Yet stories of goodness

Can uplift how we feel

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Glurge is annoying

But at the same time

I appreciate the sentiment

Bringing kindness to our minds

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ALL ARE WELCOME

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ALL ARE WELCOME

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There are a bunch of us who kinda think the same

We don't have a clubhouse or even a name

We seek the Wisdom that comes from above

I call us "The Enlightenment Club"

We inch our way o'er the long winding path

We learn to have courage, we all like to laugh

Reality, the great Mystery, we learn as we go

The Enlightenment Club is where we meet to grow

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CRITICAL MASSES

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CRITICAL MASSES

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Instead of complaints

We can have projects

This puts the ball in our court

Where we might have a shot at hitting it

Is the government annoying you?

Write to every politician you can think of

Voicing your concerns

Prices too high?

We can share economy measures

While including this in the messages to politicians

People driving like nutjobs?

Watch videos on defensive driving, get a dash cam

Get uninsured drivers insurance

Be very alert when on the road

You see, a complaint is not a thing in itself

It is a seed to plant the idea that some action is needed

By you, by us, to grow into a mighty solution

You are the Alchemist in your own life

You should not be mute but transmute

Your valid complaint into a plan of action

A project you are currently working on

For the betterment of all.

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SMOKE SIGNAL

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SMOKE SIGNAL

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When a very patient person begins to lose their patience

It is like the ominous black puff of smoke

From a volcano that was long thought to be dormant

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OCCULT

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OCCULT 

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We have a name

But we are not our names

We were born into an ever changing form

We are not our form

We were raised and schooled in a society and culture

That might be quite different from other societies and cultures

So we are not that either, really

Because if we had a different name, a different form

A different society

We would still be ourselves

And that is a mystery

Sitting on the throne of ego

Our tails dipped in the Collective Unconscious

We rely on being This and not That

As an identity

But behind this all encompassing show

The drama, the cast of billions

We remain a mystery to ourselves

All the philosophers and texts in the history of the world

Have not solved the mystery of you and me.

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DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

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DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

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I declare myself independent of any political party or dogma

From any particular religion or specific deity

I think independently about matters of morality

Ethics and judgements

I have my own independent beliefs about the occult

The paranormal and mysteries both scientific and mundane

I do not ascribe to any school of medicine and use my own judgements

About medications and treatments

I am independent of worry over things I can't control

I do not change over the opinions of others

How I should look, act, feel or think

I do not need anyone more than I need my own self-respect and peace of mind

I am independent from scare tactics, threats and mind control

I am free and hope to stay free from imagining futures and fretting over the past

The first condition of happiness is freedom

Especially our freedom to think whatever we want 

To protect our sacred inner selves from attack

I declare my freedom and yours

Because I am not truly free unless you are too.

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MIND OVER METAL

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MIND OVER METAL

My imaginary punk rock band

Would play Weighty Metal

Where a dramatic front man

With powerful lungs and much enthusiasm

Would yell out passages from philosophy books

Like they were lyrics

While the band shreds the night

With Old School 80's style buzzsaw punk

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SHOPPING FOR A FUTURE

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SHOPPING FOR A FUTURE

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It is Nature's way to phase out the old

And make way for the new

Because Constant Change is the name of the game

The Future will come for you

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Hang on to the Old Ways tried and true

What has worked successfully before

But also keep an open heart and mind

About what Change has in store

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Be prepared for what may come 

Eat healthy, get sleep, save up what you can

The Future is not yet set in the Now

So being prepared is the Plan

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