I like to consider myself an advocate for the more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible. A salesman offering comprehensive after-sales support for those invested in making that transition. It’s a voluntary position motivated by my own self-interest because I want to live in that world which is slowly coming into view… a world of justness, love and compassion. Continue reading “Salesman for a Better World”
The Thin Veil of Liberty
About 30 years ago, I remember having a conversation with my adolescent friends about the common practice of wearing a veil in Muslim countries. Without exception, we were all appalled by the demand that women should be forced to cover up in response to a fear of male sexual impulses. What a terrible admission and consequent surrender to the idea that men are so incapable of controlling themselves that women should be obliged to cover themselves up, albeit for their own protection.
Since then, I’ve learned that the requirement to wear a burka, hijab or veil is not even a religious doctrine that emanates from the Koran, it’s a social convention that was instilled by the patriarchs of that society. Since the origin of this relatively new tradition, it’s purely social pressure that has continued to compel women to cover up.
Choosing to reveal one’s face has since become a dangerous and volatile thing to do… one immediately loses the safety of anonymity and becomes a highly identifiable target. Millions and millions of women are compelled to wear these items for fear of being labelled a bad Muslim and bringing shame, not only on themselves, but on their families and communities, all this in a culture where social standing in the broader context of society takes an importance almost inconceivable to Western minds. Those women who have famously rejected the demand to cover up have often been forced into exile and suffer never-ending death threats. That’s only to speak of the few that have escaped and survived.
The incredible animated film Persepolis tells the true story of a young woman coming of age in Iran at the time of the cultural revolution… a revolution that led to the creation of a fundamentalist Islamic state which completely over-turned the liberal habits and attitudes of a freedom-loving country in a matter of weeks. Suddenly, women were forced to surrender their cosmopolitan lifestyles where they had previously been able to travel freely and allow their hair to flow in the wind, their faces to be kissed by the sun. In the space of a month, all of those freedoms were lost, and remain so until this day, more than 40 years later.
Today, it’s just Day Two of compulsory mask-wearing in shops in the UK. Facebook is lit up like a battleground with a polarised debate raging between those who are for and against the compulsion to wear a mask. What strikes me about the nature of the pro-mask debate is the level of public shaming being invoked. The message seems to be loud and clear: “You are not a responsible citizen if you refuse to wear a mask.”
There seems to be an uncanny resemblance to the refrain we hear in middle-Eastern countries: “You are not a good Muslim if you refuse to wear the veil.”
To my eye, it seems this same kind of citizen-enforced social hostility has been quickly established in the UK, would you not agree?
People used to say “Nobody likes a grass.”
Having lived in France where the echoes of occupied territory are still evident, I can see how different our culture in the UK has been. We have never had to live in a country where people are living next door to others who had been informing the Nazis during the war. The lack of trust between people on the continent is in stark contrast to the relative togetherness we have enjoyed in the UK until recently.
This is a puzzling time for someone like me, someone who has never been willing or able to blindly obey rules I didn’t understand. Since early childhood, I remember having a clear desire to make my own decisions, always challenging the petty conventions of parents and teachers, rejecting the whims of people I identified as arrogant tyrants, simply wishing me to obey their authority for no good reason other than their own desire and sense of self-importance.
As a young man I very much appreciated the screaming chorus of Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Killing in the Name’, an anthem of adolescent rebellion. Merely confirming what I already knew, like millions of others I was happy to hear someone so loudly assert:
“Fuck you – I won’t do what you tell me!”
The spirit of that song lives on in me to this day, even if it has been tempered by years of trying to learn Non Violent Communication. Perhaps today I would sing… “Are you feeling angry that I don’t want to do what you tell me? Can’t you see I have a need for autonomy?” Somehow it lacks the punch of Rage’s original… but I suppose that’s why Marshall Rosenberg never topped the charts.
So given that I have a hard-wired resistance to being told what to do… what is to be done with me? Should I be forced to comply? Should I be ostracised from society altogether? Imprisoned? Made to feel guilty for not choosing WE over ME? Should friends and family turn their backs on me? Should I be refused the ability to buy food from the shops? As a lifelong asthmatic, should my medical condition be the only excuse worthy of a resistance to wearing a mask?
Today, I sincerely posed a question on Facebook for which the results are not yet in: “When will you know it’s okay to stop wearing a mask?”
If people think that the complete eradication of corona viruses will be the time everyone can gratefully take off their masks, it’s worth knowing that such a moment will NEVER happen. Viruses never die because they don’t actually live in the normal sense, they are part of our environment. Viruses spread globally, they are largely airborne, they are unstoppable. The only effective counter we have is to strengthen our immune systems naturally.
Will it ever become socially acceptable to take off the masks before the government or the World Health Organisation has given the thumbs up? And are we really going to lend such power and credibility to organisations whose motives and machinations are so clearly questionable?
Unless we see an increase in the number of people willing to question the narrative and resist the compulsion to obey these new conventions, it seems to me that the only time people will feel okay to take off the mask is once everyone’s been vaccinated. That’s a horrifying conclusion. It places the existence of Bill Gates and his dubious motives front and centre in all of our lives.
At the end of this article I will, for the sake of argument, include some images and scientific reports that completely undermine the case made for masks. However, this is not what I wish to share here… I sincerely hope, perhaps foolishly, perhaps naively, that I can help us to question the impact of choosing to accept this new social norm.
Is there anything more intrinsically human than showing our faces?
Historically, wearing masks has been predominantly reserved for theatrical and religious performances where humans choose to portray themselves as spirits, ghosts and gods, clearly drawing a line between the human individual and the other-wordly beings they are enacting through the mask. Wearing masks, at a deep level, turn us into others.
There is simply NO WAY to establish trust in a society where faces are hidden. Try to imagine anyancient culture extending a welcome to visitors who refused to show their faces, it’s unthinkable. It’s possibly one of the principle reasons for the subconscious tension that exists between Muslim and Christian cultures.
Returning to a debate on the subject wearing of the veil today would probably take on a different slant, in a group of young adults there’s bound to be someone saying that to judge another culture by their customs is a result of imperial colonialism and intrinsically racist, betraying an anthropological myopia. I’m not sure what I could say to that, other than to share the personal testimony I have received from Muslims in private, people I have gotten to know pretty well, people who feel from personal experience that the insistence on the wearing of the burqa is not something they celebrate.
So returning to my more personal concern of what should be done with me, and the likes of me… what should we do with those who do not buy the arguments made as justification for the compulsion to wear a mask?
The most recent wave of appeals being made by the pro-mask lobby feature videos of doctors and surgeons wearing masks and showing that the oxygen count in their blood is not affected negatively. Fair enough. Oxygen count isn’t the sole argument against masks, it is one of many. But let’s just imagine for a second that there is zero evidence to suggest wearing masks is not a helpful cause of action. SHOULD I STILL BE COMPELLED TO OBEY?
What’s coming next I wonder? Should we have forced vaccinations for those who are so adamant in the refusal to play society’s games?
And moreover, what should I do today? Shall I go to the shops unmasked and simply tough it out, be willing to be ostracised by people and judged immediately by strangers who might not know my health condition or my deeper philosophical reservations? Should I leave my daughter at home who would normally enjoy a bike ride and help me with the shopping or should I compel my two year old to wear a mask I don’t believe in?
To conclude, I think that that what we have here is an experiment in social conformity and some more steps on the road to global totalitarianism. There’s a strange taste in my mouth left by the insistent demand for people to simply don a face nappy. It stinks of the Chinese social credit system where your willingness to be a good citizen affects your ability to survive.
As a final thought, just for a laugh, imagine that you are a wannabe dictator who has just participated in a global conspiracy to destroy the economies of almost every nation under the sun. Imagine looking at the surveillance cameras of the High Streets (now empty of shops) and being able to so easily identify those with medical conditions or some resistance to obeying the rules… clearly marked out by the absence of a face mask? Imagine how easy it will be to take the next step of insisting on mass vaccination?
To be clear… I believe in cock-up over conspiracy… I’m not walking around utterly paranoid… I’m actually enjoying life more than ever… more willing than ever to live in a state of trust and accept the bizarre mystery of life unfolding around me. I’ve never been more willing to accept the transitory nature of existence and to give thanks for every extra day I get to share with my friends and family. Like Zach Bush… I believe that we are in an incredible time where our faces are pressed so close to the hard face of extinction, we have no other choice but to wake up.
First and foremost, let’s lift the veil from our eyes that masks the true brilliance of reality.
SCIENTIFIC STUFF
On this whole topic, I’m yet to find anyone as convincing as Zach Bush whose medical qualifications and personal experience make him qualified to speak out from a rare position of authority. I’m yet to hear anyone find a counter to his arguments and I include a link here to an interview where he makes his case with regards Covid.
The quotes from scientific reports on face masks have been taken from an article you can read in full here.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND WEARING A FACE MASK
The final reason you might elect to wear a face mask is that you are convinced by the scientific evidence. You believe that donning a cheap or homemade face mask will protect you and others from a disease which you have a 0.45% chance of contracting and a 99.94% chance of surviving.
Why you would imagine that the science shows that wearing a crappy face mask will stave off the minuscule threat of infection is difficult to say. For many, perhaps it is because that is what the mainstream media (an organ of the State) told them. However, the State has said other things at other times.
On the 4th March the State’s Chief Medical Officer, Chris Whitty, said:
In terms of wearing a mask our advice is clear, that wearing a mask if you don’t have an infection really reduces the risk almost not at all.”
On the 23rd April the State’s Chief Scientific Adviser, Patrick Vallance said:
The evidence on face masks has always been quite variable, quite weak. It’s quite difficult to know exactly, there’s no real trials on it.”
On the 24th April the State’s Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said:
The evidence around the use of masks by the general public, especially outdoors, is extremely weak.”
On the 28th April the State’s Ministry of Defence Chief Scientific Adviser, Dame Angela McLean, representing the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), said:
The recommendation from SAGE is completely clear, which is there is weak evidence of a small effect in which a face mask can prevent a source of infection going from somebody who is infected to the people around them.”
An unusually clear and consistent message from the State. On the 4th of June the UK State’s Secretary of Transport, Grant Shapps, told us that we did have to wear face-masks on public transport? Shapps said:
That doesn’t mean surgical masks, which we must keep for clinical settings. It means the kind of face covering you can easily make at home….wearing a face covering offers some – albeit limited – protection against the spread of the virus.”
Wearing a clinical N95 face mask is frowned upon by the State. Better to wrap a scalf around your head, a bandanna, old handkerchief or one of those paper face masks you used to be able to buy from the market before the State put all the stall holders out of business.
Begging the question, what new scientific breakthrough emerged between the 29th April and 4th June to convince the State that wearing a torn T shirt on your face will save you and others from COVID 19? Albeit limited.
Obviously N95 standard face masks are better suited to the task than a bit of rag. So what is the scientific evidence that N95 masks could protect you, or someone else, from a viral respiratory infection.
Jacobs, J. L. et al. (2009) concluded:
N95-masked health-care workers (HCW) were significantly more likely to experience headaches. Face mask use in HCW was not demonstrated to provide benefit in terms of cold symptoms or getting colds.”
Cowling, B. et al. (2010) found:
None of the studies reviewed showed a benefit from wearing a mask, in either HCW or community members in households (H).”
bin-Reza et al. (2012) meta analysis discovered:
There were 17 eligible studies. … None of the studies established a conclusive relationship between mask ⁄ respirator use and protection against influenza infection.”
Smith, J.D. et al. (2016) undertook further meta analysis of the available studies on face masks. They stated:
We identified 6 clinical studies … In the meta-analysis of the clinical studies, we found no significant difference between N95 respirators and surgical masks in associated risk of (a) laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection, (b) influenza-like illness, or (c) reported work-place absenteeism.”
Radonovich, L.J. et al. (2019) undertook a study of healthcare workers to assess the relative effectiveness of face masks and respirators:
Among 2862 randomized participants, 2371 completed the study and accounted for 5180 HCW-seasons. … Among outpatient health care personnel, N95 respirators vs medical masks as worn by participants in this trial resulted in no significant difference in the incidence of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
Long, Y. et al. (2020) looked at six randomised clinical trials (RCT’s) of face masks to ascertain if they protected either the wearer or others around them from any viral respiratory illness. They didn’t:
A total of six RCTs involving 9171 participants were included. There were no statistically significant differences in preventing laboratory-confirmed influenza, laboratory-confirmed respiratory viral infections, laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection and influenza-like illness using N95 respirators and surgical masks….The 4 use of N95 respirators compared with surgical masks is not associated with a lower risk of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
Face masks work well for surgeons who want to avoid dribbling or sneezing into their patients, but are useless when it comes to stopping viral infections. In terms of preventing the spread of COVID 19 there is no evidence that they achieve anything at all.
As far as anyone knows viruses spread through tiny long residence time aerosol particles. The virions – the spiky ball we are all now familiar with – are much, much, smaller than the weave in the fabric, even of N95 clinical face masks.
If your hope is to protect yourself against a viral respiratory infection, covering your face with with a face mask you bought online is about as useful as concrete lifebuoy. So how do the State justify their silly policy? It seems analysis released by the Royal Society DELVE Initiative on 4th May, convinced SAGE to change their advice.
There are no RCT studies anywhere in the analysis which show any protective benefit of face masks for stopping viral respiratory infections. This is because there aren’t any.
However, it does cite some MSM articles, a number of studies about water droplets spread when you exhale, which are obviously stopped when you cover your face, and some statements from the U.S. Center for Disease Control. None of which is relevant to demonstrating that face masks protect against viral respiratory infections.
It also cites some studies which again found no benefit from face masks.
Brainard et al. (2020) stated:
The evidence is not sufficiently strong to support widespread use of face masks as a protective measure against COVID-19.”
The Royal DELVE also cite studies with no conclusions:
The lack of statistical power prevents us to draw formal conclusion regarding effectiveness of face masks in the context of a seasonal epidemic.”
Canini et al. (2010)
It is impossible to see how the Royal Society concluded from their analysis that face masks should be widely worn. Which is probably why they didn’t. Ultimately they offered no conclusion at all:
Face masks could offer an important tool for contributing to the management of community transmission of Covid19.”
Pokémon Zombies
Last weekend I found myself enjoying an afternoon stroll with family in the local park. It was a beautiful autumnal day and the trees were glowing red, orange and yellow. There was a clear fresh breeze and the sky was as blue as one could ever wish to see. The park was much busier than usual though, and it took us a while to see why there were so many people there that particular day. It was only when we passed through a group standing at the junction of a few paths that we discovered everyone was obsessively looking at their screens. It was one of the most bizarre social gatherings we’d ever seen where nobody was speaking or even looking at each other, there seemed to only be the vaguest recognition of anyone else being there. As we passed through the small crowd, they all seemed completely oblivious to our presence. I really regret not taking a photo, the ones gathered below from the internet give some sense of the surreal scenario we encountered. Certainly, not a single person was taking in the majesty of their surroundings. There seemed to be entire families ignoring each other, a stark contrast with families out on their bikes and breathing in the beauty of the day. Those skulking around with their heads bent over their gadgets looked pasty and lobotomised.
It’s difficult to say if I thought badly of the event which seemed like a half-arsed attempt at a social gathering organised on behalf of people who are already lost to a virtual world. To be honest, the fact that these people are generally at home craning over their screens just leaves all the more space for those of us who still want to enjoy the natural world.
Maybe I just missed the beauty of people getting together via a video game. Maybe they all got home and talked fanatically about the semi-virtual events of the day. Who knows?
Without any doubt, the article which was written under the title “Pokémon Go still has the power to bring people together” seems massively over-stated. The game, which was co-created with Google and the CIA, has used its users without their even questioning the designer’s intent. Quite possibly created as a means to refine the ubiquitous mapping of our entire world, including all the interior spaces of our homes, it has undoubtedly been an incredible ruse. How else could they have convinced everyone to go into their homes and provide a detailed map of every last nook and cranny, just so that the video maps could be uploaded to the servers of the secret alphabet agencies.
This enormous social experiment, probably the largest ever initiated, seems to be accelerating and it might appear difficult to make fun of it, but I’m trying not to take it too seriously. Let’s celebrate the beautiful natural spaces we have left and give thanks to the creators of virtual worlds who mostly seem to be able to keep the parks clear for us to enjoy.
The Latest, Greatest Discovery…
I’ve often described myself as having been educated in the School of Life… but my recent discovery of the YouTube channel going by that name has been a joyful revelation. Beautifully made, concise, colourful videos… means that catalysing a discussion on any number of topics with children or adults is made very, very easy. Packed with information and loads of pointers for further exploration. An excellent resource for self-education.
Lessons from the School of Life
letting go…
Alan Watts Discusses Aldous Huxley’s ‘Island’
Take my favourite author, add to this my favourite of all his books, then add my favourite philosopher, mix them altogether and what do you get? About three hours of inspiring audio delights that absolutely moved my world. I don’t recommend this talk to anyone who hasn’t yet read ‘Island’. If you are one of these sad, miserable excuses for a human being 😉 then please don’t delay and get yourself a copy as soon as you can.
There will be an interview for all parents wishing to engage my educational services and I will offer them freely to any families who have read “Brave New World’ and ‘Island’ and listened to this talk:
We Can Change the World
One of the clearest, most lucid thinkers and inspiring articulate men that ever lived. My thought for the day:
Technocracy Rising
I generally resist sharing anything that could be misconstrued as being negative. I also tend to share only those items that are relatively easy to digest so posting a link to a three hour talk about something of the darker aspects of our modern world bucks this trend somewhat. That said, this lovely man, a sober individual with an impeccable attitude to research and truth seeking has a message to share that we would do well to heed… it feels like a moral duty to include this link on this blog. The people who recorded this interview, Tragedy and Hope, are an amazing organisation who have educated me in many ways. Their youtube channel is a constant source of inspiration as is their Tragedy and Hope Magazine channel which, in particular, features one of the most informative interviews I’ve ever seen: The Ultimate History Lesson with John Taylor Gatto.
How to Live a Stress-Free Life – Dr Robert Sapolosky
How to Boil a Frog: Is it Getting Hot in Here?
In a world whose temperature continues to rise day by day… we frogs, slowly cooking over the intense heat of modern civilisation… have only one way we can get our hands on the heat control.
Debt-based banking, the centralised cornerstone of modern economies can be replaced by alternatives that generate a completely new way of life for humanity. Continue reading “How to Boil a Frog: Is it Getting Hot in Here?”
The Prison of the Rational Mind: And How to Get Out of It
There have been times in my life where i have been locked inside my own head, imprisoned by the very thoughts I was thinking. Some people may instantly be able to identify with this statement… probably those fortunate individuals who have also discovered the limits of rational thought. This article is by no means an attack on reason, the world would be a whole lot more sane if more people would apply their faculty for rational thought a little more often… but as usual, we collectively struggle to free ourselves from the swinging pendulum upon which we hurtle from one polarity to another.
Unfortunately, the reality of the prison of the rational mind is rarely appreciated until one has escaped its clutches. Powerfully depicted in ‘The Matrix’, the full truth of one’s enslavement can only be fully apprehended once the liberated mind has stepped beyond the frontiers of our normal perception. Continue reading “The Prison of the Rational Mind: And How to Get Out of It”
One-Straw Education
Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka‘s One-Straw Revolution, I’ve written an article where I apply his ideas to the field of education:
Read the article here: https://newparadigmeducation23.wordpress.com/philosophy/one-straw-education/
Dr. Gabor Maté – Bioneers
Here is a recent talk from one of the most inspirational and holistic thinkers on the planet, a man whom I believe is playing a significant role in the healing of the planet, disseminating ideas and compassionately contextualising the modern condition showing clear signposts to the way out.
The One-Straw Revolution
Somehow, despite the profoundly significant work of an inspiring man who showed the world how to farm in harmony with nature… the majority of modern agriculture is still literally dragging it’s knuckles in the dirt and stumbles on thoughtlessly churning up the earth in a futile attempt to increase upon the abundant supply of food the soil can easily provide. The permaculture movement was pretty much founded upon this man’s work and perhaps it just takes time for the awareness of natural farming and its life-enhancing qualities to be scattered and to germinate. His delightful book The One-Straw Revolution, is more about an attitude to existence than the mechanics of farming and I highly recommend it to anyone.
It Takes More than a Village to Raise a Child
Michael Meade is truly a genius of our times with an incredible story and I’m sharing this recent article where he draws upon his work with young people and his unparalleled knowledge of myth, culture and psychology.
http://www.mosaicvoices.org/it-takes-more-than-a-village.html
Aluna – A Message from the Heart of the World
For anyone who’s not familiar with the message of the Kogi, they are a unique tribe with a story unlike any other… if you want to read more about this documentary which I highly recommend, an article by one of my favourite writers, Charles Eisenstein, can be found here.
The first documentary by legendary British film-maker Alan Ereira on the Kogi Mamas entitled “The Heart of the World: Elder Brother’s Warning”, is also really worth watching.
In a sane world, instead of CNN news, these films would be repeatedly endlessly and broadcast internationally.
Sands School – What Great Education Can Look Like
If you suspect that state education is falling far short of the mark but you can’t quite imagine what good education could look like…. watch this. Sands School, an excellent example of democratic education seems to be providing an excellent service that celebrates the creativity and the individuality of their students whilst building mutual consideration.
A Great Documentary about Geometry
The Spirit Science series was put together by Jordan Pearce, a young man whose sincerity and passion are unquestionable. I like the way he puts things together and this is highly recommended for anyone who’s interested in broadening their understanding of numbers and how they inter-relate with almost every aspect of human life.
Why it Takes More than One Real Man to Really Love a Woman
What man would ever be conceited enough to claim that he can meet all the needs of a woman?
The needs of a woman (and indeed all of us) are many and varied. There are physical needs, emotional needs, intellectual needs, spiritual needs… there are needs so subtle they escape all classification and definition, some arise spontaneously in the moment and require extreme sensitivity and intuition in order to be met.
Some men excel in meeting a woman’s need for physical security, food shelter and the like… some men (not many!) have a flair for understanding the emotional affairs of her heart… some may be able to support a woman with a sense of belonging and self worth… and others may have a capacity for fulfilling her sensual desires.
But what man would claim to be able to do all of these things… and even then… all of the time? Continue reading “Why it Takes More than One Real Man to Really Love a Woman”
Quotations from Arthur Koestler
I’ve never previously heard of Koestler… someone to investigate…
I really like some of these quotations from Arthur Koestler;
Einstein’s space is no closer to reality than Van Gogh’s sky. The glory of science is not in a truth more absolute than the truth of Bach or Tolstoy, but in the act of creation itself. The scientist’s discoveries impose his own order on chaos, as the composer or painter imposes his; an order that always refers to limited aspects of reality, and is based on the observer’s frame of reference, which differs from period to period as a Rembrant nude differs from a nude by Manet.
The Act of Creation, London, (1970) p. 253.
Without the hard little bits of marble which are called ‘facts’ or ‘data’ one cannot compose a mosaic; what matters, however, are not so much the individual bits, but the successive patterns into which you arrange them, then break them up and rearrange them.
The…
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The Peer to Peer Economy
If you really want to feel inspired the direction our culture seems to be moving in and stay ahead of the curve, I highly recommend watching this video. James Corbett with another excellent report highlighting a whole range of aspects about P@P developments including loads I’d never heard about despite having kept abreast of this subject… check it out…
April 2015- Update – Infiltrating Education
In the last month or so I have taken up working as a supply teacher, cover supervisor and teaching assistant for infant, primary and secondary schools, enabling me the rare opportunity to see first-hand what’s going on in our nation’s classrooms.
I’m afraid to inform anyone who thought otherwise, a child’s experience of school is generally a routine of Pavlovian obedience training with some drab looking bullet points thrown in. No matter how glossy the school prospectus or the interactive white boards, no matter how charming or well intentioned the teachers… they are still basically in the business of crowd control, un-uniformed police armed with sticks and carrots, corralling students with the promise of rewards or the ubiquitous threat of punishment.
Typically, students arrive excitedly on a beautiful sunny morning and are met by a barrage of “Shut up, voices off, sit down, settle down, don’t move and be quiet…” and this continues pretty much throughout their day, a day filled with pointless exercises with only a few momentary exceptions when their creativity is unleashed on something meaningful and subsequently restrained again only a few minutes later.
It’s been a shocking and profoundly disturbing journey at times, one day in particular left me feeling utterly depressed, temporarily bereft of inspiration having witnessed a deep and pervasive sense of stagnation. If we truly wish to revitalise our schools and strengthen our culture for the future, we require a fundamental shift in approach. Thankfully, I’ve been able to have some very positive meetings with Headteachers suggesting that certain schools are ready to try something new.
The recent interventions have also provided me with the opportunity to experience the satisfaction of working with students who are commonly thought of as being ‘hard to reach’. It’s easy to see how rarely young people have an adult talk with them sincerely, as an equal, I’ve found adolescents usually labelled as ‘difficult’ to be highly responsive when I’ve worked with them.
I’m currently supporting students at a local academy who are preparing for their GCSE Maths exams who at age 16, still don’t know how to do multiplication and division. Just one session with me and I am able to see a light go on and I can watch them competently and confidently carry out a task that had mystified them for years. The joy of helping someone in this way is tempered by the sadness of the travesty that an eager young mind should have detached so completely from the art of number, this modern survival subject, purely because they got lost along the way… if they’d had the benefit of an updated teaching method many years ago, they may never have arrived at the point where they would say “I hate maths, I can’t do it.”
I’m not sure where all this is leading, but somehow, I feel an indefatigable optimism.
Some Blog Posts…
Make a Difference
A Force for Change?
Regenerative Agriculture
Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul
New Paradigm Astrology
Anonymous Email – JOIN THE CLUB!!!
Times of Transition: A United Kingdom?
As we accelerate through these rapidly changing times towards another general election in the uk, it’s clear that the idea of national identity is a crucial topic for re-evaluation.
It’s almost impossible for us to clearly discern what the intentions were that originated the ideas of the United Kingdom and Great Britain. A conversation about this subject can quickly become divisive. There are those who think that the English culture is based on the pure principles of personal autonomy, mutual respect and justice… there are others who are convinced this was nothing more than an early and extremely successful form of propaganda carried out by those with the greatest concentration of money and power. Continue reading “Times of Transition: A United Kingdom?”
Two Fleas and the Question of a Dog
Although the absurdity of the image of two fleas arguing over who owns the dog is immediately apparent… the absurdity of how we must pay for the right to live on the land continues to escape our society as a whole.
Over 20 years of paying rent and feeling the futility of trying to build a home whilst vulnerable to the whims of the housing market… I have been moved on from over 30 addresses. Last year my patience finally broke and for the last 15 months I’ve lived without a place to call my own, rent free and without the associated property obligations but experiencing an even greater form of vulnerability. Although I’ve not had to spend a night on the streets, there have been moments when the dampness of a shop doorway has felt perilously close, close enough to further deepen my empathy for those with no alternative.
Our culture is so completely insane, so totally upside down and back to front… it seems we must choose between living as an outlaw or surrendering to the insanity of reinforcing our culture’s bizarre traditions like paying money for the right to lie down on a small patch of earth.
Cyber Soma – The New Drug of a Brave New World
Although reading 1984 was a life changing experience at age 11, I only got around to reading Brave New World last month and this book, like Orwell’s stark warning of cultural tendencies, highlighted many issues that we would all do well to be aware of if we don’t want to move inexorably towards a communist control paradigm. For anyone who doesn’t think that’s possible in our supposedly ‘free’ society would do well to realise that 8 out of the 10 planks of the Communist Manifesto have already been implemented in the West.
A significant theme in Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ is the pervasive use of Soma, a drug which enables the State to maintain a status quo through mass medication. The enormous percentage of the population using prescription drugs today is as high as 70% in some areas with many of those consuming all manner of mood enhancers daily. Add to that the enormous number of people who self-medicate with illegal drugs, alcohol and nicotine and it’s clear we are living in one drugged up society.
But far more insidious is the proliferation and ubiquitous presence of cyber drugs. Has any other phenomenon more effectively isolated people from each other than the sparkling allure of gadget screens? Has any other phenomenon more effectively distracted the public from the injustice of their society? The majority of civilisation spends the significant part of its day scrolling up and down having its perception stimulated by the content which is largely managed by a handful of content providers.
The electronic dummy (or pacifier in the US) is probably the most significant and invisible form of crowd control in the modern world.
The Recovering Face Addict
The last email to my mailing list prompted some feedback to say that there was a hint of the recovering alcoholic or the evangelistic ex-smoker in the way I was talking about Faceboob.
There’s no doubt I got a lot out of my experience… I want to make it clear that my FaceFeed was a veritable torrent of inspiring ideas and connections, there’s a huge amount I discovered even if that came at a price. I suppose Alcoholics Anonymous exists because there are recovering addicts who are able to give hope to others that another way is possible… I guess this was my hope too.
A Force For Change or Forced to Change?
In these times of great turbulence we have the power to choose whether to live as a force for change or accept that we will be forced to change.
Everything in life is constantly in a state of flux… moving, growing, transforming, evolving. To think that we can resist the tides and currents of existence is insanity.
Make A Difference
Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul
Inter Ference on (or off?) Facebook
Viva Life Itself!
(Is This Controversial?)
by Inter Ference @ March 2015
background: a fairly brief and routine email was typed and sent to a friend…whereafter it took on a life of its own,
expanding dramatically beyond the author’s control and then screen page!
the beast is now several miles long and running riot no doubt across the south downs where it was seen heading, still growing…
IF SPOTTED,DO NOT APPROACH!
having left said author for dead,clutching fast to what he had composed prior to being overwhelmed and which he presents below;
hopefully for your discerning time-intensive amusement and perhaps reference…
to read/or hear reactions however damning or underwhelmed would be grand,but no pressure whatsoever-
well a little but it can wait til u are suitably inclined! Continue reading “Inter Ference on (or off?) Facebook”
New Paradigm Astrology
There are many people who disregard astrology out of hand because of a misunderstanding that the stars in some way exert a force over human lives and shape events or incline us to behave in certain ways. This is a misunderstanding of the alchemical appreciation of the adage: “As above, so below, as within, so without”. Continue reading “New Paradigm Astrology”
Charles Eisenstein on Regenerative Agriculture and Geo-Engineering
Great article and only 800 words which is a rarity for Mr Eisenstein.
Alan Watts on a Happy Death
Ian H Powell 