A MERRY BAND OF MAD SCIENTISTS

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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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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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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

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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

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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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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

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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

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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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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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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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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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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

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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

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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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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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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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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

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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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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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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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