The Next day we all got up at 5am, had a quick bit to eat and then were off towards the Fresno airport, where, if all went well (I only wish it had), we would be flying out of on time and landing in San Jose 7 hours later.The journey to the airport was an uneventful one. We got out of the car, went inside and met the attendant at the front desk. He quickly informed us that the flight had been delayed and that we would have to wait for him to figure out what he could do for us. It quickly turned from the flight being late to it not coming at all and us having to wait another 7 hours from that time to get the next available flight.That would have been bad enough, but in addition to us having to call my friends dad and have him pick us up again, we were told that we would have to remain in LA for an additional 7 hours after arriving. What he failed to mention further still was that we would have to land in Guatemala and then fly out from there as well... The worst part was that when we expressed our frustration with the situation the attendant more or less told us to watch our mouths and take whatever option he was offering without complaint, a position that nearly frayed our patience with him into dust, but one we walked away from without further incident.We were picked up again from the airport a short time later, thankfully my friends dad hadn't gone too far out of the city and we were back to the house again before we knew it. Having burnt through our supply of medicinal erbs the previous night there was little to do but drink, and drink we did.The boys introduced me to a game called spoons, involving 1 less spoon than there were people playing, a deck of cards and a bottle of alcohol. The cards would be dealt out continuously until one player had 4 of a kind, once this was accomplished the player would grab a spoon and then, regardless of whether or not you had 4 of a kind you were to grab a spoon and wait for the rest of the players to notice as well. The last player to notice was shit out of luck, for there would be no more spoons to grab. For the first 3 rounds of the game, I was the looser, and thus was required to drink.Our drink of choice, or rather our only option, being gin. By the third round I was weary of having another shot so close in succession, since the game went so quickly, it would have been the equivalent of drinking 3 beers in 5 minutes, luckily one of my buddies offered to take the shot for me. Having figured out how to play I was fortunate enough to grab a spoon for the remaining 5 games played.Even so, by the time we were ready to leave yet again for the airport, we had drank enough outside of the game to be well and drunk. So much so that on our way to the airport I got into a heated debate with my friends dad, who was a Vietnam veteran, about the validity of the war, and the actual reasons we were there. Needless to say the conversation almost came to blows, and as I was told hours later by the boys, they couldn't believe what was happening, and feared for my safety during the exchange more than once.Somehow making it to the airport in relatively good health, we got out, shook hands with the hardened vet and got through security somehow without a hitch, still totally under the influence of alcohol.Upon arriving in LA, we found a restaurant to eat at and rested in the terminal for the next 7 hours before our next flight would depart. We met a few people while waiting, but I can't really say exactly what the boys were doing for that period of time, seeing as how I was asleep on the floor with my head on top of my bag, but I'm sure whatever they were doing it was more exciting than that.Finally we arrived in Guatemala, staying on the plane for the short exchange of passengers, we were off again into the airways of Central America. On the plane, finally heading to Costa Rica, I rapidly became sick to my stomach, and ended up having to purge whatever vile poison was lodged within my stomach in the planes bathroom, a first for me, in recent memory at least. Soon after that we arrived in San Jose, quickly through security, we exited the airport tired and a little drowsy, but ready to meet the challenges of a quick cultural shift and new reality of working and living in a foreign land.
Altered States
Waking up the next morning not really knowing where I was, I tried to lift myself out of bed but was prevented from doing so by an unusual weight over my body. actually opening my eyes and bringing myself fully to attention, I soon found the source of the obstruction. There laying on my chest was one of my friends dogs. I gently attempted to lift him but he quickly jumped the moment his body registered hands upon him. This however did not phase him for long, he quickly looked around for the source of the grab, found no reason to be alarmed and returned to his slumber in the exact position he had been in before.Sighing noticeably, I rolled and stood up without trying to pamper the hound, he rolled with the motion and found an acceptable although less desirable spot to continue his sleep. Having not caused enough of a stir to wake the others, I went outside to take in the crisp morning air.Sitting on a stump overlooking the valley and hills beyond I sat quietly contemplating the dreams of the night, or trying to at rate, since they were rapidly evaporating from my memory every moment that passed. Giving up on the task I decided to simply sit and contemplate the journey ahead of us.It wasn't much longer after that when the boys rose from their sleep as well, and the four of us were conscious of the world and all it's various laws of reality yet again. Breakfast was made and each of us had our fill. Soon after we were all upstairs watching music videos and partaking in copious amounts of ganja. Sometime after that, I can't really say when, we drank magical mushroom tea and went for a walk in the woods.Loosing our way for a moment, perhaps more than just one, we eventually found our way back to the house. There we played catch for a while and showed off our individual skills with accuracy in throwing the football into a trash can from further and further distances away.The rest of the day passed without incident, as we relaxed as best we could before having to do the final checks of our bags, passports, and mental states (an important check to make considering the situation). My friends dad made a barbeque for dinner and we sat around the fire telling stories and listening to sound of crickets massed around us in every direction. Falling asleep before everyone else, I faded away from reality, prepared to meet it again freshly rested upon the morrow.
A funny thing happened on the way to Boston
My Friends,I come to you all this day in somber reflection. Reflection of all that we have been through as a people and reflection of everything I see happening before my eyes on a daily bases. There are many things I wish to say, and many more I will refrain from saying to further the one point I wish to solidify.The Boston Marathon bombings of April 15th are apart but not the whole of this point, for whats more important than the bombings are what the bombings quite fortuitously covered up. You see, on the same day of the Boston bombings, Obama, George Bush Jr, the CIA, US Military officials and others were indicted and found guilty of war crimes, including but certainly not limited to, torture, abuse of power and lying to congress, the senate, the American people and the world at large.For these crimes they should have been impeached, removed from office, imprisoned and executed for their crimes against humanity. Instead, the Boston Bombings were front page news and no one even heard of the Bi-partisan judgement passed down on our supposed leaders, both past and current.In addition to all this, Obama proposed 23 executive actions on gun confiscation and gun restrictions the day after the Bombing, which are now much more likely to pass thanks to the bombing.I pray that everyone will look into this further and discover more, on this extremely important subject. You are only as blind as you choose to remain, the information is out there, and it will cost you nothing but a little time, and will save you more than you can possible know...
Across the Distance between us
Sometimes it seems that every prayer may only be answered with questions leading us to more prayers still. In each of the lives we lead, guides manifest themselves, whether they be the star of our birth, a lifelong friendship or even the stinging truths that those we hate, force us to realize. We all are guided in one form or another and it is those guides whom we owe a great deal of our reality too.For myself, there has always been a feeling within me, surrounding me at times, that has seemed to decide for itself which actions I should take. Call it instinct perhaps, only more involved. I use it, and it uses me, or so it seems. Whether we are all completely free to do as we wish, or we only believe that we are, I cannot say, however, science has proven that our unconscious minds know what we will do moments before our conscious minds do, I suppose much of what we decide is not really up to us. This however does not really surprise me, there is still so much we have to learn about ourselves, and traveling is definitely a very effective way to do so. This along with a great may other benefits are why I choose to travel as often as I can.And here we are, saying goodbye to our families on the street, although it is a rather prolonged goodbye because the car we have chosen to use has a broken trunk latch. It's amazing how such little things can change so much the memories of our experiences. I stood there watching my friend slam the thing down several dozen times, expecting the result to be different. He often jokes that percussion maintenance (the Banging of things together until they work) is one of the more effective skills in his employ, and although I too have found it to be useful, He seems to resort to it much more frequently then he should.Once we got our heads together and bungee corded the trunk shut, our adventure continued, albeit an hour off schedule. Once on the road the only thing left to do was listen to rap music and wait to arrive at our next destination.We approached the house from the dirt road that we missed on our first attempt to find, and even from the dark I could see hoe beautiful the house was. It was almost completely white, and built with solid steel frames encased in wood. It was a large property, with the nearest neighbors hardly within range of even the loudest of shouts.Our first order of business was to move our sheets and bedding into the attic of the adjacent building to the main house, a simple enough task with 4 young men, but it isn't always the ability to complete a task that gets in the way, more often than not, it is peoples priorities that determine what will happen, and when. We made ourselves comfortable and talked excitedly about what we would soon experience, as always, we had no freaking clue...
Noticing The Nightmare
Before I continue onwards with the blog I want to talk about history, both current and past and of being prepared for the events awaiting us, either in the near future or sometime soon after that. As a warning to my readership I may at times become extremely political and this is one of those times, this is because I care about the direction of our people, not because I wish to impose my philosophies on others. Thus we begin.The thing about traveling, especially when done at times of great uncertainty and strife, is that each step you take abroad comes with a much larger degree on unknowns than those taken at home, this however has changed in our age, now it matters not where you live, or where you go, the forces leading our world have only one goal in mind for the future of the planet, a future in which "the people" have little if anything to benefit from. For some, the time to act comes only when danger is at it's greatest and often too late to properly react to. That being said, I did not stand idly by while at home waiting to leave. I can clearly see both now and then, that much is wrong with the way our world is governed, and that much must be done to prevent great catastrophes, in our near future.So I have done what I can to prepare for what may come, I've bought things that have actual wealth backing them, such as gold and silver, I've trained myself and learned to become efficient with guns, and found the great value and responsibility in their use. I've bought emergency food stores so that my family will not have to run to the store for food in an emergency only to find bare shelves and having to deal with the mad mobs of people in search of something to eat. I've also bought canning equipment and other tools such as grain mills and steam powered juice extractors so that we can create our own food stores that will last a long time, even if you totally trust the government, and the people running it, it is of no detriment to be as self-sufficient as possible, it is truly empowering and has incredible value. All this and more I have done for my family in preparation for the great many unknowns ahead of us, there is always more to be done though and our task is never really finished, there will always be threats we must face, but if we are to surpass them we must be educated, aware, involved and resolute in our guardianship of the race. We are one, separation is a lie, one that benefits only those that seek to control, for history has proven that no people are more easily controlled, than those who are divided, and looking into the great division of our people throughout time, it is sad to see how much we've been controlled and kept from glory as a race by the weakest and most cowardly among us.The distinction of whether or not the "events" that alter the course of history, are man made or simply unavoidable by products of society, industrialization, evolution, etc, etc is a mute one, our world and all of it's inhabitants are effected by each and every action we take, and since the wholehearted embrace of globalization, our actions have only multiplied in scale and intensity. I speak not only of pollution, war and natural disasters, but also the terrible realities imposed on people everywhere as the effects of austerity, financial resolutions and endless bailouts. War, however terrible, is almost always an engine of profit for the few, and a way for the rich to change society at large as they wish and reap countless wealth from the people during the wars they themselves created. Through deception and extortion they have used government after government and nation after nation to amass more wealth and power, it is not the "New World Order" as it's been called that we face, it is actually the Old World Order, for the lineage of the richest and most power of families on our planet goes back hundred and thousands of years, some even trace their line to the time before Christ. They are the heavy hitters of history, the ones that made real decisions and amassed unspeakable wealth using every means they could think of in achieving their goals, usually at the great expense of the masses.I have had many opportunities to speak with people from all over the world about this, some simply cannot imagine it, others are in total opposition to every word I speak of it, while sadly, only a limited number agree with my point of view. How amazing it is that even in the face of total tyranny people can still stand there and debate it's very existence. If all it takes is to open your eyes to recognize the truth, how then are so many people unwilling or unable to do so? How can an entire people be conditioned to the point of near fanatical ignorance? Obviously it has taken a great deal of time to dumb down the people, after the 50's and 60's education was at an all time high, but that wonderful era of education and growth passed quickly and with incremental changes to society at large, the masses accepted them, for they were dosed slowly and patiently by the establishment.That is why today it is so hard to find anything of value on television, or in any main stream source of entertainment you may look. Intelligent, educated people, that are well versed in critical thinking, are nearly impossible to manipulate and have always been the one thing standing in the way of centralized authoritarian governments. A truly informed society is one that will not allow wolves to decide their fate. This is why public education in the United States has had all it's funding stripped continuously over the decades and programs that spark real interest and joy in students, such as music, philosophy and art, have been cut altogether. This is why the only thing people talk about is the latest pathetic celebrity event, or their favorite sports team, all the real issues that actually matter to everyone are like poison on the lips, they don't want to hear it, they don't care to engage in reality, even if it will save their own lives and the lives of everyone they know and care for.The Spanish Philosopher and novelist George Santayana said, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." and as of right now we are all in the process of repeating history, a terrible history that no one in their right mind would ever wish to experience, and so I ask you all to consider the following:
1: Are you prepared for an emergency lasting up to 6 months, during which time the cost of everything skyrockets?
A. Probably not, most people have barely enough food and water to last 3 days, much less 6 months. Even having 1 months worth of food stocked will greatly improve your chances of survival in an hyper-inflating economy. Here is a link to the 25 things that you should do to get prepared for the coming economic collapse.
2: Have you read and understood the constitution of The United States of America?
A: Again, probably not. Although you probably read it in high school, when was the last time you spent the 10 minutes it takes to refresh your memory? The constitution has been said to be the greatest document in the history of nations, and yet today it is spat on ridiculed and overruled every moment of every day. Politicians like to say that it's outdated, no longer useful or relevant, this is a farce on the highest order, for if our constitution was widely read and understood, no tyranny could ever flourish for vary long. To what must be the greatest slap in the face for our forefathers, their descendants have openly abandoned the tenants that made America different, that separated us from the controlled and enslaved nations of old.
B: It is understandable that people falsely believe the constitution is no longer useful, for how useful could it be with everything going so wrong in America? Well, unless whats written on a document is followed, it's just a piece of material with squiggly lines written all over it. So much has gone wrong for the simple reason that whats written in our constitution, as law, is no longer followed, overruled due to the patriot act, war time powers act, etc ad-nauseum. This is because the laws written in the constitution are a very large barrier to big business, and seeing how mega corporations exist only to generate profit, it is no wonder that they have done everything they can to rid themselves of constitutional law. Since 2010, and the passage of Citizens United, corporations were allowed unlimited spending in the political arena, In 2012 alone hundreds of millions of dollars were raised by corporations and private donors under the banner of "Super Pacs" basically a front to funnel money towards a single political party, or candidate, to influence the election and more importantly what laws would be effected following the election.
3: Are you awake yet?
A: You will be, the only question is, will it be too little to late?
Knowing
It's April 2nd, the day we leave for Yosemite. Our packing is mostly done and the final preparations for our departure are those we leave up to each other to preform, for they are the timeless functions of those in waiting, waiting for their journey into the unknown to begin. We spend these final moments with family and friends, enduring the false perception of our disconnection and letting our fears speak in place of ourselves, for lack of knowing what to say, or how to feel.It is an uncertain future for us to be sure, but as I've said before and will say again, nothing is certain, life itself is a mystery to be lived, for the only the for sure is that nothing is for sure. We may pursue that mystery with fanatical devotion and one day solve it, so should we choose, but that . Allowing oneself the opportunity to connect with what cannot be understood otherwise, giving in to the curiosity embedded within us all, you will find that beyond every unknown another awaits, so on and so forth, perhaps without end, and this itself may be the final mystery, one we can never truly know for sure, for how does one answer the question of how big is the universe, where does it end, and what is beyond that end? Until we go to that end and find out, a mystery in will remain.Basking in the mystery of existence since time immemorial we have found the courage to survive and thrive even in states of total ignorance, if only from the basic workings of science and nature, much less the forces of nature we now freely dabble with. The Large Hadron Collider for instance, "a massive 27km ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way," resides at the CERN laboratory beneath Switzerland and France and has since it's completion in 2008 made 8 significant discovers of particle physics, including the discovery of the higgs boson, "a particle theorized in 1964 by Robert Brout and François Englert,Peter Higgs, and Gerald Guralnik, C. Richard Hagen, and Tom Kibble" This new discovery was made by literally smashing particles together at nearly the speed of light, creating mini black holes in the process, enabling us to observe the primal energies that bind our universe together at birth. The Higgs Boson would explain the law of nature that determines a masses relation to other mass, we call this law Gravity, but up until now, we have had no working model of how it works, the Higgs Boson completes, theoretically at any rate, our model of the universe. This is BIG news.I'm not sure if i should be excited or extremely worried that not that long ago we were clubbing each other over the head with rocks and living in caves, totally at the wicked whims of superstition, and now were engaged in the creation of universes through the destruction of sub-atomic particles so that we can complete the model of everything that Einstein spent his entire life trying to finish. Not that I disapprove of scientific innovation and discovery, but given our history, one replete with lies and violence, a small degree of consideration is in order if we are to find comfort in the direction our species is going. I find no such comfort in blinding myself from what is plainly before us. It is the duty of each of every conscious being to grow, expanding it's knowledge and understanding in the pursuit of a greater future for it's kind, that is the driving force of life. How sad then, that so many of us are willfully ignorant, pleasantly distracted by the bells and whistles, smoke and mirrors of our time.In balancing yourself, is it difficult to find repose? What are the causes of your distractions? How much of your stress is self induced? Although answering these question for myself is a daily routine, they are questons I still find difficult to ask myself. How do we objectively observe ourselves without the weight of our judgements bringing us down, is there a benefit to avoiding this pain, when it is only through that pain we can understand ourselves and our motivations?Asking myself this very question I ponder the motivations for my leaving the US, leaving my family and my security, especially now, with everything that's happening in the world. Many answers come to mind, brotherhood being foremost, adventure and my tireless drive to explore a close second, but also the hope that my dreams are more than fantasy, the dream, however real, that the world will hold together long enough for my friends and I to see it, live it and remember it, for what it was, not for what it's becoming. It is a dream we've all shared at one point or another, the experience of adventuring beyond the lands of our birth and into the wilds of the unknown, together with those friends we cherish most. Now we begin such a journey, now we find the answers to the questions, those that were aware of, and those we have yet to ask..."Were it not for the pain and struggle we endure in life, there would be little to commend in it's living. For there is no greater illusion than growth without pain." Zod
The Butterflies Within
PREFACE
Hello again dear travelers of the heart, and of the mind, body and soul. The time has come again it seems to leave the shores of home in search of parts unknown. It's been quite a while since we last met, and yet the stories have continued on, but those I save for another time. We begin our story here in "Pacific Grove, The last Home Town," or so the legend goes. A beautiful peninsula paradise, modeled to this day as the Victorian age religious retreat it was founded to be. Pacific grove is filled with wonderful events and community activity, that fill the pages of the calender year round. Besides being a gifted and beautiful place to live, Pacific Grove and all of the unique cities surrounding it, are filled with historical significance, including such renowned writers as John Steinbeck, who received the the Nobel prize for literature in 1962. Now my best friends and I choose to leave our comfort and security and are traveling to Costa Rica, our story begins only days before our departure.It has always been my experience with travel and indeed with a great many exciting things in life, that I go through stages of stimulation that have predictable effects. As an example, usually when I find out that I'll be going somewhere new and in the process totally altering the course of my life, I have an instant and uncontrollable sensation of giddiness and joy, followed by a sense of euphoria and what might seem to others as an unjustified level of positivity. These feelings I have can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days, but they usually dissipate as soon as I've grown accustomed to the idea of what I plan to do, and thereafter those feelings can emerge again depending on my level of enthusiasm. However, it is only at the end of such a period, just before I am to begin my journey, that a feeling, both negative and positive in nature swells within me, for several reasons my friends and I call it "the fresh out of school feeling" but for a more classical term you can just call it having a case of butterflies.Our departure date is April 4th, It is now March 30th, 2013 and we are set to leave for the mountains where Zane lives on the 1st, hence the butterflies, for time is short and the final goodbyes we must make are fast approaching. The new life awaiting us in nations beyond beckons. What may come, as with all journeys worth having, is unknown, yet not unimaginable. We can guess at our futures if it so pleases us, but it is better to live life as if tomorrow is a question, instead of an answer, for no one should live as if the future is written in stone, lest they give in to the ridiculous notion that they are powerless to shape and create their own lives. Within us all resides the power to change the course of our lives and the lives of those around us, indeed, even far beyond ourselves, in both time and space. The day mankind sheds the decaying and toxic chains of fate and destiny from his body and mind, is the day creation, and everything within it, is altered, forever more.(Now, before I decide to get too spiritual or political, lets just say positivity has it's great ups and downs but of all the ways to choose to live, it's the surest way I know for happiness in life. But let's face it, a healthy dose cynicism is a must for anyone with their wits truly about them.)I would like to say, that I haven't yet decided what type of blog this is, for unlike my India 2009 Blog, it may not follow a fluid storyline, then again it may, lets just see what happens...