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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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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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A MERRY BAND OF MAD SCIENTISTS
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Every life is an experiment
We learn by trial and error
Give and take, live and let live
Good fortune or misfortune
Difficult or easy
We try things that seem like a good idea
At the time
Thus we find out if an idea is a good idea or not
We can share the results of our experiments
Do some research before we begin
See what the experts have to say
But in the end we are our own science experiments
Explorers and alchemists
Hoping nothing blows up while we are
Inventing a life of meaning and purpose
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HEY EVERYONE
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I am thankful I found a place
To interface with the human race
Learn something new
Have a laugh or two
So thank you thank you thank you
For being here
Wishing you and yours a day of peace and cheer
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NO LADY IN THE LAKE
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The knight, imbued with chivalry
Went off to slay the dragon
He pinned a rose favor to his breast
Drank courage from a flagon
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He went through every trial and test
Spent every coin of treasure
Suffered bleak and endless days
Not seeking wealth or pleasure
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Only when his substance was spent
His spirit finally broken
He saw the rose was cheap and fake
A trite and useless token
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Beware, all ye noble Knights
Before venturing forth on a quest
You may not want the worthless prize
Though you nobly passed each test
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HURRY UP AND WAIT
I wish I was made of easily replaceable mechanical parts
That my brain could be downloaded onto a disk
And uploaded into a new brain grown in a lab
i wish we lived at least 900 years
So we had time to work through all our issues
I wish we had all our basic needs supplied
So we can use our earned assets on improvements
And that there were other planets for us to use
For groups who only want things exclusively one way
There would be prison planets to keep dangerous people
Away from the vulnerable
It would be great if we could download books directly to our brains
Oh so much of the suffering, worry, fear, and uncertainty of life
Could be greatly reduced or eliminated
If only we had the future right now.
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HIGHER AND HIGHER
There is an apple on the Tree of Life
I can not yet reach
The most perfect transcendental apple of them all
I hope through all my seeking and striving
To grasp that magical apple
And in that moment shuffle off
The mortal terror that haunts me
Opening up a vastness of possibilities
Through Understanding and past Understanding
To the wild blue infinity beyond
Where true freedom is my sword and shield
Where I can fly on wings of love
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NOVEL IDEA
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In a work of fiction
Good is rewarded in the end
Wickedness gets their comeuppance
Wealth and romance around every bend
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Our lively imaginations
Must work with reality
When nothing is ever neatly resolved
The story goes on endlessly
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If you have come to the end of a chapter
Prepare your mind to begin again
A new amazing chapter awaits us
With a plot we could never imagine
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DIMMING
Those who only exist in the mirror
Of other people's admiration
Start to suffer when the spotlight fades
When the last few admirerers lose interest and drift away
The mirror existence fades out
Like a dying star in a distant galaxy
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THE CHARM OF THE ORDINARY
I get reassured by simple things
When I observe my neighbor has left her porch light on
In the evening (which comes early this time of year)
I think "Maybe she's expecting a package."
Her porchlight becomes a signal beacon shining
Across the mysterious Universe
When a delivery truck with her package appears
From the dense darkness of a rural road into that warm circle of light
I turn away from my window pleased and reassured
That this small detail went exactly as I expected
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CHOOSE WISELY
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Trust is not a crime
Yet we can be punished terribly
If we trust the wrong person
Love can be showered on a stony heart
That will never bloom and flower
Hope is misplaced if it leads us down the jagged path
Of reckless self-delusion
Trust, love and hope are beautiful rainments of the spirit
That can be used to camouflage a devious mind
Give out your trust, hope and love sparingly until
You see they are bringing joy and the rewards
Of a wise investment
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DIVINE EVOLUTION
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We have our own personal demons
And our own personal higher powers
Customized to fit our needs and notions
Of what a higher power might be
This has changed over time for all of humanity
It has changed for me too
From an angry, punative scary parent
To a kind and supportive friend
I walk with, hand in hand
Unless She has to draw her mighty flaming sword
And slay one of those pesky demons
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MEMORY GAIN
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My memory has improved so much over the years
That I remember to notice what is good, who is kind
What kind of approach I wish to make to the day
I have forgotten who did me wrong
What blunders I made, how I compare to others
The brain is both an organ of remembering
And forgetting
Of focus and of ignoring
I remember the reasons I should rejoice
That I can transcend current circumstances
With the right mind set
My magical mind carries a vision of the highest good
Like a guiding star I wish on in my prayers
Which gives my mind the wings I need
To transcend the limitations of circumstances
Space and time
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ARMCHAIR TOURISM
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Outer space is vast and cold
There isn't any air
My robe and tea are cozy warm
I will learn about it in my reading chair
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LEGAL EAGLE
We have to be law abiding
When it comes to the Laws of Physics
Gravity is a law, not a suggestion
These laws have enforcement built in
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We can tinker with the Laws of Nature
But we can only go so far
Before it starts to backfire
Ending up worse than ever
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There are also Laws for All Times
Like the Golden Rule
For harmony with others
Life itself combined with empathy
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Then we have our Human Laws
Enforced with iron and steel
Get caught breaking these laws
The consequences will be real
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Finally we have our Inner Laws
The ones we make for our own lives
These are the most immediate laws
They are how we define ourselves
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You have the right to an attorney
You can goof around with science
But as for the Higher Laws we have embraced
There can be no defiance
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GREY ZONE
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In my youth I was very unyielding
I saw things as black or white
Everything neatly divided
Into what was wrong or right
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Then I started to see grey areas
Some situations hard to define
Gradually the greyness spread
Like a fogbank across my mind
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Try as I might to decide
There was a split in my perception
I could never be completely sure
I was looking in the right direction
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I have come to value the Grey Zones
Filled with open minded peace
When anything can happen
Burdensome judgements are released
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TODAY
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The thin light of dawn through the pines
A reassuring sight to me
The Universe is still humming along
But there was never a guarantee
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ADVISOR
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Wouldn't it be great
If we could see our moment-by-moment challenges
With the same detachment we would view another
In the same situation?
We would care, help, share experiences, sympathize with
Another who comes to us with a problem
As an advisor we are not reacting emotionally
From past traumas or ugly lessons
No, our inner advisor would first calm down the panic
Reassure them that it will be ok
Remind them that they have dealt with equally difficult days
And even some that were worse
A trusted advisor does not criticize
They don't point out what you should have done
Calmly accepting the situation just as it is
In order to figure out what our next step should be
When we need encouragement, forgiveness, understanding
And comfort
The Inner Advisor brings cushions so you have a soft place to sit
A cup of something warm, perhaps a nourishing snack
As we sit discussing things rationally
in our soul's fortress, a bastion against the storms
Of life
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ON NOTICE
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A ton of grey sky and a herd of dark clouds
The wind carries knives of ice
Nature is cautioning "Winter is near"
It may not warn us twice
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BENEFITS
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Everything benefits from a plan
First we must know where we are
Then where we want to go
Chart the steps needed to get there
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Everything benefits from hope
Which ignites the flame of motivation
So grab the end of your rope
We are off to a new destination
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POISE NOT NOISE
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Grace under pressure is a skill
We can develop over time
When we were children our reactions were childish
Having a meltdown when frustrated is par for the course
In a toddler
Just as we develop our other adult skills
We want to develop the ability
To stay calm, think clearly, keep a civil tongue in our heads
Aside from the rare circumstance
Where a violent reaction is called for
Most of the time staying calm is best
We develop this skill the same way we develop other skills
By practicing mindfully when a situation arises
Our bodies react immediately, adrenalin floods our system
Which triggers a response of emotional anger
Wanting to lash out, escalate, dominate
Staying calm is not natural to us yet in our current stage
Of evolution
The person who masters themself is greater than one who captures a city
Impossible with the limited emotional development of a child
When we were children we thought and reacted as children
When we grow up we want to set aside childish ways
For the grace, wisdom and dignity of an adult
Masters of our thoughts and emotions
Creators of solutions and peace
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VIGILANCE
The feeling that everything is hopeless
Does not originate in your natural mind
There is no survival value in hopelessness
That feeling is a sign
That somewhere you took a wrong turn
Added things up wrong
Because clearly there is still hope
You just need to feel centered and strong
Work on thinking rationally
A positive mindset needs fodder
Feed your clever mind with courage
New ideas will flow like water
Hopelessness is a demon
Don't give it any power
You can cheer yourself on
Every minute of every hour
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WILD WIND
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There was wind on the mountain last night
All the colorful leaves took flight
This morning the branches are bare
There is a new chill in the air
Soon Jack Frost will win
Then the drama of winter swirls in
Today I can see at first light
There was wind on the mountain last night
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ALL THAT
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I wash my clothes on "cool"
I have two hips
Throw in a hooray and a bag of chips
Cause I'm all that, made of stardust
Animated by magic, bankrolled by trust
That I am going to land upright
Among the righteous day and night
Cause I'm all that, I have second sight
I see what would have been a better choice
Now I know and I have a voice
I'm all that, you know it's true
Cause we're both all that with glorious auras too.
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PERSPECTIVE
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If a meteor was hurtling towards Earth
Like it had us in its sights
The whole world now in peril
Would we still argue about who is right?
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Would we see we're all in this together
On this precious, fragile ball of clay
If we weren't guaranteed tomorrow
How would we act today?
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LET'S MAKE A DEAL
Compromise is an art
We must compromise in a pinch
But if everyone is dug into their position
Nobody will give an inch
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Then we are stuck in Nowheresville
None of us wants that
We need someone schooled and trained
In being a diplomat
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Everyone wants their side to win
Nobody wants to lose
But being stuck with nothing nowhere
Is an outcome no one would choose
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LEAD US NOT
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We are surrounded by temptation
Bad ideas are all around
it is best to avoid our fatal flaws
A strategy that is quite sound
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But if we can't avoid temptation
Then our determined minds must stay strong
We don't want to lose our way
Go off on a tangent so wrong
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We have all given in to temptation
Had the occasional fall
Clawed our way out of the pit of despair
Until, once again, we stand tall
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If you are alone with temptation
Ask a friend to help bolster your resolve
You will get back your true purpose
Then you can continue to evolve
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Once we have the empowering experience
Of walking away from sin
We will be stronger the next time
And more able to help out a friend
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THE PIMPLE ON THE ASS OF PROGRESS
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Women can vote in these modern times
Children no longer work in mines
Slaves no longer pray to be free
We don't bow down on bended knee
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Yet some mysterious backward force
Wants things to return to when they were worse
Wants to dial back human rights
Prevent equality, darken lights
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Who are these people who want to take
All power and resources for their sake
Monetizing the downtrodden
A system so corrupt and rotten
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We have to struggle, we have to fight
Promote fair play and equal rights
These opportunists grift since time began
Fairness must seep into the minds of man
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While we resist our direction is clear
We will move forward, year by year
Ignoring those who say "Go back"
Together we will thwart an anti-progress attack.
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TIRED
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Resilience is like the tread on a tire
It can get worn down to the thread
Then we can't get any traction
For the plans roiling in our head
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This is when we must retire
In pastures of green we restore
Our lives in this mindful moment
Until we can travel on once more
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YONDER
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The witches know when a witch passes on
They no longer appear, but they are not gone
There's a veil between us, we can only see shades
The shadows a divine eternal flame makes
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WAR KITTENS
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In the midst of the Civil War
With death and blood all around
Lincoln bent down and picked up three kittens
Their mother was not to be found
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He cuddled the kittens tenderly
Told them soothingly not to cry
That they would be well cared for
Lincoln would not let them die
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Abe couldn't stop the battles
Nor bring peace to all the land
But he could save these three kittens
Fate placed in his large, gnarled hands
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SANCTUARY
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If something comes to vex you
Put on your amethyst crown
Protect that most holy of holies
The inner sanctum of a peaceful mind
Your temple of thoughts
Where beliefs, like stained glass windows
Casts jewel like colors on the changing interior
Only you can enter that innermost retreat
The incense of timeless connections
Carries your hope and dreams to the place
Beyond the sky
You are ageless in your robes of silver and gold
Able to access all wisdom that you request
While the storms of life rage outside
You retreat into the shelter of nurturing self
And wait until it is safe to go out and tackle the world
One day at a time
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