Down-Dog Nut

Down-Dog Nut

High in the computer-free cloud forest of Costa Rica two weeks ago, another vacationing yoga teacher handed me the NY Times magazine article on by W. Broad with the dismaying title that ought to have been, “How to Create Undue Panic over a Simple & Healthy Offering to the World”.

Being a longtime subscriber to the Sunday Times—even though I reside in St. Augustine, Florida—my first gasp was that any editor in their coffee-punctuated state would let such a one-sided, biased, sensationalized version of any topic (“How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body”) go to print, much less on a subject that has brought such abundant hope, healing, and possibilities to many generations of Americans as yoga has. Only now able to reach a keyboard to express my dismay, I belatedly write but hope you’ll print my plea. (this is a copy of actual letter sent to NYTimes magazine editor)

I specialize in teaching yoga to incarcerated youth and other stressed-out individuals. No student (out of hundreds) has ever suffered even a slight injury. Unfortunately, Mr. Broad (and his editors) focused on only several freak horrors that, no doubt, did happen. But then I’ve heard of ordinary housewives who inadvertently have electrocuted themselves washing dishes, too. Does this condemn that ubiquitous domestic act for the rest of us? In good faith, I beg of you to consider a follow-up article (I would be willing to write it for you!) about the pros and cons, the benefits and the hazards (as all things in life present) concerning the American way of practicing yoga in today’s crazy, hectic world.

the energy of a spiritual warrior

the energy of a spiritual warrior

How sad that you encouraged Mr. Broad’s debunking such a specially-unaffected (in its basic method of practice) approach to health and well-being rather than present the truth of hatha yoga’s awesome, yes, even miraculous effect on people’s lives.

If more people practiced yoga the crippled healthcare system would have a built-in safety-valve release, not to mention the over-burdened psychiatric field. Instead of Prozac, we yogis breathe. Instead of meds in general, we meditate. For starters you did not even mention the true purpose of the poses (asanas) is to lead up to the blissful state of meditation, that’s how lacking Mr. Broad’s information was. For every injury in a yoga class there are legions of physically-relieved, mentally buffed-up, and yes, even divinely-inspired happy students. There are plenty of us, even sixty-four year olds like me, walking around celebrating the joys of yoga, and all of us are debunking the high-minded NY Times because it has made a serious gaff in its uncharacteristically biased reportage here. Shame on you, New York Times! Set the record straight, and report the subject truthfully.

Respectfully
teZa Lord RYT
lifelong yogini, writer, artist;
spiritual revolutionary who arts
charter for compassion activist (see www.charterforcompassion.org )

i’ m writing from perhaps the most beautiful place in the entire world; a tiny village on top of one of many high peaks in the cloud forest here, in Costa Rica. The pueblo is called La Florida, and it is where our land, adjacent to a 4,000 wilderness refuge, which Carter and I bought about 7 years ago and are now trying to sell in small parcels. We  have a partner who is a young man originally from Colorado but who lives here full time, and is excellent with land deals, and builds great structures using natural hardwoods, bamboo, cement and artistic tiles. Here many people build with artistic flair more than any other place I’ve ever visited. Everywhere you go is sheer beauty, either of Nature’s making, or made by a caring, Nature-loving person.

I’m lucky to be using their supersonic Mac cuz my friend’s girlfriend, a native costaricense, is a graphics designer, so she has the latest and greatest of computers. It’s so funny, because outside the red-dusty moutainous road isn’t even paved, down the street is a soccer field where the weekly game of soccer (futbal en espanol) is being played while the ladies fry up chicken and plantains, and there is only one other public building, a little shop that sells milk, coffee, cigarettes, that kind of thing. Everywhere else is just rolling hillsides, far off views of the vast-reaching Pacific, and every once in a while you spy people’s quaint homes that cling to the land with matching bonnets of blooming plants and vines. I’m in love with the smiling faces of these people who great each other with “Adios” (go with God) not when they say goodbye, as in other Spanish-speaking countries. This country intrigues me so much. My heart is very happy to be here, although I love living where I am in the States, in St. Augustine, Florida too. For a place in the USA san augustin is the BEST.

So i hope you are reading this as a happy, fulfilled person. I pray that each one of us maintains the gift of magical life, and the privilege of being a member of Planet Earth’s special family, boons that have been given by our great good fortune to be alive at this time, in this place, with these challenges before us. Such an important time in human development is happening … right Now! I thought of us all when I read a passage from a book this morning. It was about a California guy (who eventually became Bhagavan Das, the kirtan-wallah known to so many yogies everywhere) who went to India looking for “the Answers” about life, In his spiritual autobiography “It’s here now” he recounts his adventure (Wow, what a life this guy has, makes mine look like suzy stay-at-home! ha ha!). So when I got to the part where he was saying the following, i was thinking of all us other seekers — no matter where we are along the path leading to fulfillment, enlightenment, whatever you want to call it. the former little boy named Michael Riggs, who transformed himself into a wandering sadhu in India, Nepal, Shri Lanka, and anywhere else he’s gone, shared these words with his reader and now i want to pass them on to you.

“My teacher taught me that it doesn’t matter how many times, thousands of times, tens or hundreds of thousands of times I’ve tried to do something and didn’t do it right (reaching union with the Source of All, in this guy’s case) … all it takes it to keep trying, because when you do get it ‘right’ all the other times you’ve tried and failed simply don’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you stay in the moment, trust in God, and take one step after another as it presents itself to you. That is true enlightenment.”

Just wanted to share that thought with you.
lots of love and Light, and confidence that you are doing exactly the right thing, this very moment.
your pal, lordflea

Traveling in paradise, literally, because Costa Rica is not only a beautiful jungle dream land but also a country that has no army, so therefore all its resources, economic and humanitarian, are devoted to making life better for all its citizens and the entire world. Their motto is “Pura Vida”—pure life—and that is what it feels like being here. Decades ago the government decided to concentrate on eco-tourism instead of other industries, so many people are here interested in Nature, and that´s just great! These are the kinds of people I like to be around, those who think of the Earth as part of their own lives, not separate, not different from their humanness. Yes, here in Costa Rica you feel the Earth is alive!!!  i´ll post whenever i can get to an internet cafe. love and light from Lordflea

Friends,

Greetings of the season to all of you, no matter what (or maybe not) you celebrate this time of year.

After speaking with a gorgeous blond female professor of philosophy last night at a Christmas open-house, today i’m reflecting upon the interesting juxtaposition of our thoughts, we two merry women who love the world. She, a professor of the study of thoughtful reflection handed down throughout the ages; and me, a non-thought-aligned meditator, lover of yoga, devotee of instinctual rapport with Nature. Both our interests, so varied, yet both certainly including the fate and fated actions taken by our fellow man. My friend’s area of interest lies in how philosophical academics influence global, environmental safeguards, or the lack of such needed action. My interest, as a lifelong artist-writer-yogini, is to inspire compassion through the expressive arts to help my fellow man awaken to higher consciousness. Both of us amicably allowed each other’s beliefs to be expressed and recognized without prejudice or restraint. Yet you couldn’t ask for two more different ways of perceiving a world-view than ours.

Life/Art/Ideas -- it's magic!

Life/Art/Ideas -- it's magic!

My friend easily skated from one philosopher’s name and his (mostly male) ideology to the next, neatly tying them to the evolutionary forces at work in human society. She quickly breezed from Ancient Times throughout the Age of Enlightenment, right on through Existentialism and Nihilism, laughing and swigging on her Bud-Lite as we spoke, eager to be off on a long auto excursion with her boyfriend right after the holiday festivities. When it came my turn to share my interests, this is a paraphrase of what i said to her.

“Long ago I used to be fascinated with philosophy. Indeed I, too, delighted in studying how humankind came to view the world through various methods of thought. Concepts and modes of figuring things out, everything from household issues to matters of state-run governments, that our forebears worked out and set down for us to study. The road that led from our cave man’s animal roots to modern society’s sophisticated worldliness today–used to fascinate me. But … not anymore.”

“Oh,” she said. “So what does fascinate you?” And since she asked I obliged.

“I strive to live more from my heart than from my head,” I said. “And to me that means not getting into all the many varieties of discourse that people have set forth through all the ages, all this head-stuff — philosophy. I’m a meditator,” I told her unguardedly, “and have found that I’m happier when I live without thinking too much about the whys and wherefores about it all.”

“Ahh,” she said, “but aren’t all the methods of getting to the place the meditation teachers talk about varied also? And each of them offer all sorts of ways to achieve the same result … non-thought.”

I laughed at her analogy. “You have a point,” I concurred. “However, I do believe that the really great teachers, the ones I’ve studied at least, do not bother too much with explanations about how to live from the heart instead of just the head. They simply urge us, their students, to practice meditation and start living from our heart-felt experiences. We learn to shut off the mind because it loves to play tricks with us and ruin our birthright of true bliss. Which, by the way, is within every single one of us and we can find it without thinking, if we wish.”

She asked a few more questions and then her eyes glazed over, obviously not interested in the idea that a person such as myself could find, and nurture, real happiness from just turning off the thinking process. At least about such a thing as how to be happy. And it’s true, dear friends, i have found absolute contentment after practicing meditation all these years — not from outside sources such as career achievements, important status or even how many friends I have on Facebook, or followers on Twitter. I count the peacefulness in my mind from doing all the work with my heart. Learning to let go, that is. Letting go of “trying to figure it all out.”

we are ONE

we are ONE

When I go within and ever so slowly unwind from the busy-ness of life, I enter that space, that realm … wherein everything is connected, and we are One with All. There is nothing to figure out. There is no problem that can not be remedied by quieting the mind. Inevitably, if there is a challenge in life an inspired solution POPS up in my mind, like a billboard along a highway suddenly, unexpectedly appears out in the countryside, where you least expect it.

and when there is no challenge going on in life, meditation is like the most delicious tasting fruit, the most sublime sensation felt in every cell of my being.

Try it!

If you don’t know how to meditate, please visit this site and order the Meditation Instructions. This is the best guided meditation information available. Naturally, it is offered by my beloved teacher and this is my holiday present to YOU! Trust me, meditation is the best thing you can give yourself, give your family, and give the entire world. Lordflea loves you and wouldn’t give you a bum steer.

More to share on this topic but now my body temple is calling, and i’m ready to sprint on my bike and enter our HOT yoga place where my consort Carter and I will celebrate Christmas Eve by doing a full blown hatha yoga routine.

All love, kindness, comfort and compassion to each and everyone of you!

your pal Lordflea

big strong Christmas Angel--just for you!

big strong Christmas Angel--just for you!

Hi friends!

Writing from Manhattan, where I’ve come to visit good friends, play with them and others, see some shows, visit some museums, and — deliver my novel “Heart Island” to the  Bellwether Prize! I figured as long as I was coming here, to New York (first time in ages!) I could hand-deliver the manuscript, making sure it didn’t get lost in the mail, or any other mishap occur to mess up its entry. Did you know I’ve entered HEART ISLAND in a perfectly-suited literary competition for this latest of 4 novels I’ve written (ALL soon coming to you via eBooks) ? I’ve mentioned it before here on Lord Flea, but for those who missed that post, please visit bellwetherprize.org to find out more details. The criteria for this competition is “unpublished, socially-engaged novel” … and that’s HEART ISLAND (read some chapters HERE).

Because I can’t get my WordPress app to work, here in the mecca of everything (ain’t that ironic!) I’ll have to wait till later to post photos of this glorious visit (The 9/11 memorial, so stunningly sacred; the emptiness of Zuccotti/Liberty Park, where the Occupy Wall Street was thrown out just a short while ago; the profusion of lights in Rockefeller Square; the opulent windows of Bergdorf’s; etc. etc.). This post is just a quick report about what’s up with Lordflea, here in the Big Apple. Without illustrations you’ll get the feel of my mood more than the city’s.

First of all, I’m an ex-New Yorker. This little town (ha!)  is like going back to my ol’ stompin’ grounds. There’s all new everywhere, but yet it’s all so familiar. Instead of grimy, edgy downtown Tribeca where I used to live, there is now trendy uptown, crowdedness of my former, out-of-the-way neighborhood. When I lived in So-So-Ho (what I laughingly call Tribeca, which is south of Soho) it was equivalent to having a lonesome, isolated cabin up  in the woods of Maine, it was that removed from the hub of the frenetic city, and really was no-man’s land back in the early 80s. Now, of course, it’s just as busy and residential as uptown neighborhoods, yet without the posh elite-ness of the upper Eastside, or the relaxed, everyman’s, family-feeling of the baby-stroller-filled upper Westside. My first home group, when I got sober in AA, was in the World Trade Center, to where I’d walk each morning for my 7:30 am meetings. So you can imagine it’s nostalgic beyond the ordinary sentiment visitors experience, when I went with my friend Jenna to view the surprising power and majesty of the National 9/11 Memorial. Two massive water sculptures represent the footprints of the two annihilated towers, combining elegiac significance in the use of stillness (on the outside of the squares), rushing motion (as the water falls off the edge), and mystical infinity (when the fountain’s rushing water falls into the seemingly bottomless square in the sculptural tribute’s center). This memorial must be SEEN, and FELT firsthand to be appreciated. Even when I do put my photos up, it will never do the appropriate tribute of the 9/11 Memorial its just dues. Please go visit this spectacular place, the Memorial, when next you’re in Manhattan, or make a special trip just to do this one thing. Entry tickets are free, yet you must reserve a time to view the vast, spacious, outdoor park-like memorial, which covers many blocks’ worth of area. The reason for this designated time-slot (there is no fee whatsoever) is to ensure safety and no over-crowding, especially during this time of continuous constructing of  the area surrounding the memorial (which opened in time for the attack’s 10th anniversary, this past September 11, 2011). Crystal-shaped skyscrapers can be seen  in various stages of fabrication in all directions. When this area is completed, i’m sure there will be more open-ness about visiting the footprint monument. But for now, it’s highly restricted. And please don’t get offended by the amount of security visitors must go through, the same as when we fly these days. This site is a highly vulnerable place for zealots to take aim at, so just go along with the checkpoints and stop whining! The memorial is still sacred even if you must go through security. You will feel like you’ve traveled to the highest mountaintop to view the two watery eyes of The Eternal when you stand before the fountains (exactly the same, except for the names of all thousands of victims of the combined attacks in Manhattan, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC).

That’s enough for now! A lot to read, correct? Attention-distracted junkies have probably moved on with more clicking! wanting MORE pictures! Okay, okay, i’ll try my app again. Must be a glitch here at my friends’ apartment. But I promise i’ll get some nice shots up for you asap.

All Light from my heart to yours,

your pal Lordflea

Friends,

Cutting to the chase for those short-attention-spanners looking to slim down: PLEASE do yourself a favor and check out my new friend Sierra Goodman’s website that is dedicated to helping people alter their self-image and shed the old heavy self for the new LIGHT person that’s always been within you. The REAL you. her fab website is iam-iam-iam.com  She’s also on Facebook and Twitter and you can contact her there through links on her website.

i’m pretty new to facebook and twitter, having written and illustrated Lordflea for a couple years now. The world of social media is pretty intriguing, as long as one doesn’t take it too seriously, or get into it as an addiction. I’m meeting some mind-blowing folks, and expanding my interests in surprising ways.

one of the cool people I’ve friended on FB (don’t ask me how it happens, it just does!) is Sierra Goodman. She’s interested me since I first saw her posts, usually about positive, uplifting stuff that I’m into, but also about Costa Rica, where she lives most of the time (in Drakes Bay in Puntarenas) and also because she works with whales and dolphins. Speaking as a reincarnated dolphin (I kid you NOT! un huh) she’s very cool.

Here’s a tribute I’ve painted to my brethren:

Travels in the Abyss

Travels in the Abyss

Meanwhile, back at the Lordflea Ranch, I’m wildly enthralled in the final-final-FINAL last edit of “Heart Island” my unpublished novel (thank goodness!) and soon will be sending it off to the Bellwether Prize. The reason I’m glad I haven’t published “Heart Island” is, one of the requirements for this literary competition is that the entrant MUST be unpublished, and …. most delightful to me …. the entrant must be a socially-engaged novel. This is what “Heart Island” is all about … plus much much more. Soon you’ll be able to find out all about this story of a spiritual seeker who travels to the abyss herself, in search of the Light. check out the first couple of chapters at Heart Island Story, its own blog.

So my friends, that’s what I’m doing? Hope you’re all enjoying life and being good, or at least being creative at whatever mischief you’re up too.

Don’t forget to check me out on my Twitter, as I send out mini-posts twice a day now. I’m twitter.com/tezalord and of course, i’m on Facebook, too at facebook.com/tezalord.

cheerio and sending you LIGHT, to keep light (even if you’re slim!)

Lord Flea

Hi friends,

I’m thinking about why I write/illustrate/maintain Lordflea. This is what’s on my mind today and want to share with you some thoughts.

from my Heart to yours

from my Heart to yours

A lot of blogs are where people talk about what’s happening in their lives.  A modern gal raising her family while living on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma (pioneer woman); one offers everything there is to know about a certain subject, from soup to nuts (my fav: yoga dork); another, an often not-so-quiet inside view of a person’s daily routine (iambossy.com). For whatever merits the above blogs have, none of these subjects is quite what i’ve been sharing  about here on Lord Flea Sings.

You see, the only thing that matters to me is to document with either art or writing — and also how i focus my everyday actions — depictions of how I “think” the life we all know as “normal” is just the tip of the proverbial reality iceberg. “Things are not what they appear to be” could be a good subtitle of what the blog Lord Flea attempts to do, by sharing events, experiences, insights and proof of how very little we really know about what this life is all about.

Does it matter? To speculate of things others often don’t give a damn about?

Well yes, it does. Everyone has the right to be heard. And just because my opinion may not be the one most popularly held by the masses, for me it is true: We are spiritual beings having a human experience. And guess what? More and more people are waking up to this Fact! This is the true significance of the auspicious date of 2012, by the way, when enough of us seekers (awakened Sun Dancers in Native American terminology) are present here on Earth, creating a “tipping point” scenario when, due to our numbers at the year 2012, ALL of humanity will be influenced by our perceptions, due to the “dominoes theory” (when an action starts, in this case the spiritualization of humankind, all the “dominoes” in close range will be affected because the number of awakened individuals has now reached the level of saturation needed to cause a chain reaction….and the entire world will be transformed!).

the awakening of Gaia

the awakening of Gaia

How do i know this is true?

Not because anyone tells me, that’s for certain! So please, don’t believe me just because I say it … that your life is more than what it appears. When you start having experiences, that’s when a person knows what Truth really is. For me, I’ve always wanted to know the “secret” behind what life really is. Just Living has never been enough to satisfy my curiosity. I’ve searched far and wide and — wow! i’ve been given, over and over, experiences that prove beyond a shadow of doubt that “Life” is truly what the Native Americans call “The Mystery.”

We are all interconnected, this much I know. Whether by electromagnetic forces, DNA, or some other form of yet-undetected energy. This Oneness stuff is a reality I’ve felt since childhood. Only, we tend to forget how we felt as children, don’t we? As adults, some of us are interested in re-claiming the pure, simple, undiluted psychic connections that come more easily to less-intellectually and emotionally encumbered beings, the kids.

So, getting to my topic of today’s post, “explaining the Self” … in ancient texts, some of the most revered and oldest on our planet, the way the sages described the “object of life” was to describe the Self, called the Atman in Sanskrit, the language of the Upanishads. The Self is how Atman is translated into English, and no doubt it’s a lousy substitute, but language is a tricky thing for describing things that are, well, indescribable. So we just try our best, don’t we? Especially writers, artists, dancers, musicians who attempt to encapsulate the bliss, transport, and transcendence of humanity.

The Self can be thought of like the common denominator found in all creation. It is pure energy, pure consciousness, but it is not conscious of itself. It is form without form and of all form. It is, in one word, pure Spirit. I guess some can call it “God” but eghads i think that word is too politically/culturally/religiously charged these days to depict anything other than a humanoid-type that tells others how to live. And that ain’t what the Self is.

Sometimes to comprehend a new idea it’s useful to explore its opposite. Think of the Self’s opposite, which is the “small” self, the idea of “me” “I” “personality” “attributes”….and perhaps that helps to describe that the “Big” Self is none of these. The Big Self is a thing’s essence. For humans it’d be what you were before you were born; what you will continue to be once you have left your earthly body. What you are in-between those two other stages of being-ness as well.

Hmmmmm, interesting, eh? Once again, I want to remind you that I’m not a dreamer. This is stuff I’ve experienced. Yup!

Yes, the Self is that part of yourself that you’ve always sensed, and can cultivate as much as you wish, when you shut off your thinking mind, the analytical part of your makeup. Getting to the purity of the Self requires patience, and a willingness to strip yourself naked of all preconceptions. How can you experience the Self? The best, most practical, and always reliable method is by developing a meditation practice. You can learn to meditate by many means, it doesn’t matter which type of meditation you choose. Just do it! The more a person can spend time in the pure consciousness that underlies all thought, the more a person will understand the true secrets of this earthly life. And …. the rewards of pure bliss, understanding, and peace await anyone willing to try meditation. Other methods of tapping the source of being-ness (ritualistically imbibing psychotropic drugs, for instance; or undergoing re-birthing and other forms of metaphysical healing) are not reliable and their effects totally depend on outside variables, so therefore, i do NOT advocate using them. Meditation is the only reliable method of connecting with the Inner Self.

And once you connect, there i no limit to the exploration of the Self.

So, my dear friends, you can see the subjects I discuss here are not what most bloggers elaborate on. Being popular, in synch with world trends, on top of the news, all these things don’t mean much to me. What does matter is to spread the Truth that life here on Earth is a gift. We who are alive at this present time are indeed lucky, because in being alive we can bring into the material plane that which is present throughout all the Universe … pure energy, unlimited possibilities. We humans are much more than what most of us think we are.

We are beings of light being given the opportunity to spread the word, share the energy, dive into the bliss of our spiritual nature.

The sooner one realizes this as fact, the more a person can enjoy the life they are leading, no matter what the circumstances are. Rich or poor, educated or not, living in freedom or incarcerated in tyranny — outer circumstances of our lives come and go, and yes, must be dealt with, and always worked on to make the experience as true, as clear, as unobstructed as possible. But even if a person were to never know what the modern world has to offer, or they never get to leave their little village in the Third World, and must struggle for something to eat, if a person has learned to tap into the unlimited power of their inner Self, that true part of their humanness, they are living the life we all aspire to!

A successful human existence is when a person embraces their unlimited Inner Self as the true “I am.”

in the Light, your pal Lordflea

ps. i’m just learning my new macBookPro and have not mastered how to upload my images, so please excuse my lousy attempt today! Ommmmm

Dear friends,

I’ve been thinking how to express that the Occupy movement is not only necessary, but inevitable. This is a test—for me a writer, as a thinker, as a spiritual warrior. As well as Occupy is a test for the moral and social fabric of humanity. I hope I can put into words what has been brewing deep in my heart. Some of you won’t agree, and that’s all right. But a blog is where we get to share our Truth….so here goes!

Yes, we are in the midst of a consciousness shift for the entire world, that’s for certain! It’s no longer just pie-in-the-sky hoping that one day our world will change from the over-materialistic, consumer-oriented one I was born into, into a world where people are focused on the bigger picture of what’s available in our human experience. And to me that is decidedly the spiritual experience.

Now, i know a lot of Occupy people are shouting about capitalism being evil, and corporations this and banking executives that … but beneath their revolutionary rhetoric i hear the main theme of their encampments, shouts, whispers, staying power, and unfortunately, some violence … as being the collective demand for a more human life. A life lived from the Heart, not the pocketbook or bank account. A new society in which its true value, and responsibility, rests with achievements completely different than what today’s world is all about. The New Order calls for (if I’m understanding the collective cry) local, state, and global unity and cohesiveness rather than the continuation of separation and class differentiation of any kind. Why is this a not only a logical demand but a necessary one? That’s an easy answer for me, since i’ve had to deal with the same issues in my personal quest.

Because when we are not spiritualized we are stuck in the muck, kept back, suffer, and inevitably, die without experiencing our true potential. The human race needs to embrace a mass spiritualization of its ideals, it’s that simple. We need to embrace the “Bigger Picture” rather than keep doing the old ways, which just don’t work anymore. And I’ll explain why I think so earnestly about the need for humanity’s spiritualization.

When a human turns their thinking, and starts operating differently, focusing their thoughts, actions, and power to a place of compassion for other beings, coming from their Big Heart instead of the Individual Head they’ve been programmed to fill with wanting-more: more power, more things, more more more, proving themselves “all right,” keeping-up with others, and worse, abiding by the ridiculous standards imposed by our lack-of-Big Heart society moderns have achieved — there’s no real satisfaction at the end of the day, at the end of one’s life either, in having lived a life filled with any meaningful satisfaction.

The only real satisfaction in life is when we realize that we are One. Everything that happens to one of us, happens to all of us. It’s that simple. If a person doesn’t achieve this perception of what “life” is all about … they’ve missed something. And collectively, if a society doesn’t operate from those parameters, it is less than what it could be. I would not go so far as to call it fascist, I’m not a rabid revolutionary. But I would say that living In Spirit is the only way to go, and that’s coming from a person who was NOT that to begin with.

So yes, the Occupy folks have my blessings. I think of them as I would a disgruntled teenager who is stressed from restrictions seen unnecessary and unfair and instead of becoming a professional lawyer, speaker, or leader, the teenager stomps, cries, demands, and confronts — oftentimes irrationally. Calling capitalism “fascism” is extreme, but hey! that’s what an not-yet-grounded In Spirit person would call a world in which what you own is more important that how you feel connected to the entire Universe

You see, there is a more serious, and very real future looming for us that no one even speaks about at Occupy places.

I’ve had a taste of this little-recognized reality of our future because, for whatever reason, I’ve been shown. I won’t go into the details here because you’ll all think i’m totally cracked, but let’s just say … I’ve been given proof that we are not alone here on this spinning blue ball in space. It’s been clearly demonstrated to me, and witnessed by two others, that we humans are being watched. Large numbers of “watchers” are aware of our petty little earthliness. And if we don’t get our act together and rid the world of ridiculous petty bickering, eliminate all nuclear possibilities of global devastation — well, as James Lovelock puts it in his Gaia Theory (paraphrased) … after we humans are destroyed by our own violent, stupidity and devices, the Earth will still continue to thrive, and repair its ecological damage — in time. We’re nothing more than renters, my dear Ones, akin to an infestation of parasites, we humans. We’re occupying a huge living body, collectively, and its called Mother Earth, Gaia. Nothing will stop our planet from surviving, even if we don’t.

In other words, we’re expendable. If the planet is to survive, just like a dog with fleas, the parasites must be eliminated. UNLESS, we get with the New Order and begin to transform our world and help in whatever way we can, little tiny act, change by change, to spiritualize our world, our human family.

So the Occupy movement is necessary. people need to hear that it’s time to WAKE UP!

The spiritualization of our planet has begun, and I’m one of those who communicate about this necessity, proudly dedicating my creative efforts as a writer and artist, to help others relax, let go of the old concept that MORE is better, and invite the higher, more realistic identification that All is ONE into their thus far, limited and self-destructing perceptions.

I write this today, Nov. 5, 2011 because there is an Occupy demonstration planned in my town square, tiny St. Augustine, Florida. I see my role as a person who can help to define and disseminate the information being shouted about by others. I’m a believer and supported of Global Change, the beginning of humanity’s spiritualization. We must transform small mindedness to encompass the Universal picture, because Earth is only one among many worlds, trust me. The science will catch us someday. What I saw, I saw, as well as my two friends who accompanied me that night, surf fishing off the coast of Massachusetts in the 70s. The selfishness of each country, each corporation, or person,  thinking they have all the answers would quickly — overnight! — change, if anyone witnessed what we witnessed.  We are not alone, my friends. Let’s get our act together before it’s too late.

Even if you find what I’ve shared hard to swallow, even if you don’t believe in other worlds safeguarding the possibility of what humanity could possibly do to disrupt the harmony of the Universe—it’s much more fun to live from your Big Heart than from your puny little “personal head.” Try it! Learn to meditate. Turn off your thinking and go within. All the answers are waiting to be discovered, right within your own Big Heart.

Please share this and let me hear what you think. I’m revealing deeply held personal beliefs here. Even if only one person “gets it” i’ll have not lived in vain.

in the Light,

your pal, lordflea

Sometimes you just have to laugh.

Years ago my consort Carter and I took a vacation down to Playa del Carmen, which in those days, had very few tourists. I challenged Carter to go to the nudie beach that was about a mile out of town, because I wanted him to “loosen up” since nude bathing had never been his, umm, preference. There were only a few other bathers that day, spread far apart on this lovely mile-long stretch of the Caribbean Sea, with white sparkling sand and crystal clear warm waters. It was a perfect tropical day.

Behind the beach was a thick stretch of nasty, prickly cactus vegetation, making it impossible to walk through. Everyone entered the beach from only one direction, passing in front of the luxury beach resort that fringed one extremity of the nudie place, and the other end came to dead end of rock. Carter and I took off our clothes, enjoyed the sun on our skin for a moment before leisurely melting into the delicious-feeling sea, where we caught waves and played, honeymoon-style, because that was what we were on.

When we came out of the water a while later — everything but our clothes was gone! Expensive Canon camera, Carter’s wallet with credit cards and cash, groovy RayBans sunglasses! We were, naturally, shocked and pissed but also grateful we had clothes we could hurriedly rush into to see if we could catch the thieves. Looking up and down the beach — nobody there, but the scant 4 other nudie bathers who were now rushing toward us, waving, ready to commiserate that they too had been robbed! The six of us, three couples, realized we couldn’t pursue the tricky thieves into the thicket without suffering cuts from the cacti’s harsh limbs, so instead, we quickly went to speak to security people at the nearby luxury resort on the beach.

Then we all returned to town and tried to have as good a time as one can when they’ve been ripped off on vacation. Several days passed, and on the eve of our departure Carter and I received word from some townspeople, because everyone, in those days, knew everyone who was visiting their tight little community, unlike today’s tourist glut there. Our Playa friends told us the police wanted to see us.

We arrived at the police station to find good news. Just that day the security people from the resort hotel had found our things abandoned in the thick brush! Carter’s wallet, with cards and cash intact, and the camera. The sunglasses weren’t found, and there was no cellphone as that gadget hadn’t yet become the ubiquitously leashed attachment to all moderns. Carter split the lone $50 bill with the two detectives who were giving us our things, and we left the next day.

When we got back home to Florida we realized that several shots had been taken on our camera, which was pre-digital, an antique-now, Canon. We quickly developed the film and when we got it back discovered the silliest, most outrageously theatrical “muscle-man” shots of two different sweaty Mexican fellows, who were having fun mugging it up, pumping up their biceps and making goo-goo eyes for the other guy snapping their pic. We laughed, but shook our head at these thieves’ foolhardiness.

Quickly sending the developed photos down to the police in Playa we soon got word back from them that, armed with the photos, they easily made identifications and arrested los ladrones and each of them got a prison sentence for their crime of ripping off nudie norteamericanos, poor sods just trying to relax a little from their busy lives. Poor naked sods who aren’t as likely to chase a thief as a clothed victim would, that is.

Needless to say, Carter is still not a big fan of swimming in the raw to this day.

A month now, it’s been since the OCCUPY demonstrators first gathered in New York City’s Wall Street, spreading quickly out into many other American cities, and now I hear, the movement is rippling throughout the entire industrialized-complex world. This post I’m dedicating to sharing my personal approach to activism, about how I am very involved with the HUGE tidal wave of transformation that is sweeping the entire planet.

As some of you who’ve been reading Lord Flea know, I am a spiritual warrior, not a political animal. My revolution is called “Love” and my comrades are multitudes of others (we connect via Twitter & Facebook) who believe that positive change is already occurring. We spread the news and share the positive results of the already ongoing transformation everyday in many ways. My beliefs, as these millions of others who, like me, are committed to the spiritual transformation of all humanity (as opposed to the more political-flavored “Occupy” that seems to focus on corporate greed, the fallibility of capitalism, and gross acts of industrialized nations against Nature herself) — my beliefs and consequent activism rests firmly on the knowledge that there are unlimited possibilities for success that reside within each and every person’s Big Heart, aka, the human spirit.

21st Century activists

21st Century activists

Each of us as individuals have a quest. And that is to find the meaning of our own existence. For me, this has taken the shape of dedicating my life’s efforts of making art and doing various businesses to support this “habit” of mine, creating thought-provoking work with images and words, toward the now-more-specifically-focused goal of helping others to achieve fulfillment.

each of us MATTERS

each of us MATTERS

It took me decades to achieve my own inner peace. Believe me, each day I’m working on the next tiny step to take to fulfill ongoing hurdles to achieve these personal goals. But once I discovered that it was possible to turn around the fear-oriented mistrust and anger that ruled my earlier life, and dedicate my life, my work, and all my daily efforts to helping others, everything changed for me. I have been a spiritual activists for many decades.

So yes, I do support the people who need to voice their unhappiness with the way things are so blatantly out-of-kilter with our industrialized, over-material world. However, I do not agree with many of the protestors that it’s the government’s duty to do what each and every one of us ought to be doing for ourselves. I truly believe that we, as individuals, create our reality. And if each one of us were committed to living from a higher, more spiritual perspective of life, if we could all forego the need to have have have, and consume consume consume — this entire world, even the capitalistic, democratically functioning one that the protestors speak so harshly about,WILL transform itself from within. HOW? Because change, real change, begins with individuals.And it spreads from there. The domino effect. This is the “How” of transforming society, but it begins with each one of us walking the walk, not just talking the talk. Each and every political revolution has always ended with just another regime bossing everybody around.

Sure, we can now voice our concern by participating in the Occupy movement, if we wish. And YES! corporations need to grow consciences as well as secure their monetary funds, to make available good jobs and opportunities to all of society. That’s their duty … IF they are spiritualized. Corporations are only as spiritual-mature as the sum amount of all the individuals who make them up.

Yes, it’s good that people are taking to the street to remind society that it has a duty to work FOR the people, not against them. But, essentially, it’s not the government’s job to dictate people’s morality, philosophy, or ideology. THAT happens with each and every person looking within their own heart and making a commitment to live from a higher, more “human” way.

The Love Revolution's CURRENCY

The Love Revolution's CURRENCY

That is why I have chosen to align myself to what Karen Armstrong began after winning the TED prize in ’07: the worldwide movement called “Charter for Compassion”. I am an active member, and I choose to not protest publicly with the Occupy People. Instead, I tweet and post and art and promote positive change through the international channels already formed by the Grass Roots Movement called the CHARTER FOR COMPASSION. Before I further explain my dedication to this cause instead of joining Occupy protestors on the street and shouting for change, I want to declare what WE DO in the Charter for Compassion. Right here, I’d like to explain I am committed to live more compassionately, as an individual, within my own family, and also to take the message of HOW to live more compassionately to others in my community, to my country, and the entire world (through social media: twitter, facebook, this very blog, the upcoming novel “Heart Island”, etc.)

You might want to visit the official site of this movement yourself, and make YOUR commitment, and join us. No parades, no protests, no shouting …. just a plain simple decision, right here, right NOW, to live more compassionately, one person at a time, and watch the entire world change as a result of YOUR commitment.

click here to go to the Charter for Compassion‘s official website

I’ll be sharing more about my involvement with the Charter for Compassion in the days, weeks, and months to come. Today I’m meeting with another member of our local group (which YOU can start in YOUR community … just follow the links on the above website) to work on how to set up public meetings for people to discuss HOW to live more compassionately. Change happens simply. One person at a time. Deep, meaningful change happens when clear, concise education and new ideas are presented, and reinforced, and that is what we in the Charter for Compassion are committed to doing … without screaming “Revolution,” without being angry, without demanding unreasonable reforms. Just plain simple change from each person’s deeply connected human heart. Simple steps. Do-able activism. Big Heart activism.

I hope everyone who reads this will join the Charter today. Please write me if you’d like to share anything about the above. I appreciate all views that are not mean or violent.

Also, wanted to tell you that my consort Carter and I are celebrating 20 years of sharing a sacredly-held marriage today! Yeah! Hard work and commitment has showered us with so many blessings. Carter’s kids, my “angel-kids,” whom I helped raise from ages 4 and 7, are now healthy strong mature adults, nothing like the scared little rabbits they both were when I married their single-parent daddy. And Carter and I … well, we are more deeply in love than we could ever have imagined! Even with all our many faults!

One little tiny step, act, decision at a time, and we have created a WORLD of unconditional, bliss-filled love.

I love you all, your pal,

Lordflea