What do you Love? Me — Global Transformation!

May 4, 2013May 4, 2013Leave a comment

For those of you who regularly visit my blog you’ve probably noticed I’ve been MIA for the past month or more. This is because of the choice I had to make about getting my book ready for publication instead of my usual spew of social media-ing, blogging, even hanging with friends. I do keep up my yoga and Spanish practice, however, and I do cook fabulous food for my consort Carter. We all must make choices. My post today is an excerpt from my soon-to-be-published book, which is now in another phase of being re-born, once again (like us, too!). Today I’m calling it “Rio Blisso” but you may know it from its former name “Global Bliss NOW.” Stay tuned for more excerpts and other juicy tidbits about la vie de teZ (Lordflea is me, teZa Lord, no longer anonymous!). Here’s a visual treat for you for starters, darlin’s, my 94-year old Mom who insisted I take her to Iceland last summer, as she inspects the myriad drying cod for dried fish called Bakaloa (salted cod) that’s used throughout the world. Yum. And then the book’s tasty treat. Have a glorious day, my friends. Rainy nor’ester here in northern Florida.

…

Rio Blisso: Reflections Along the Journey of Discovering Self by Nurturing Others

Our world is in immediate need of more than a major facelift. We need a complete overhaul, a consciousness-transfusion: this is global transformation. Who wouldn’t want to be part of this historic portal opening, resulting in the shift, the elevation of thinking that is leading all of humanity into the next, more expanded plateau of civilization’s understanding? All of us want to thrive in peace. All of us want to use our energies for something more constructive than dominance and warfare. All of us can enter the gateway of transformation by leading spiritually attuned lives—and guard our every thought.

Staying focused on positives is a challenge in today’s turmoil. The test of our belief in the incredible transformative power of the collective-human-mind is to believe and remain focused on positive things in the midst of such cruel soul-quakes.

The remedy?

Take action.

Choose not to see another degenerate film on any screen, or support in any other way, the commercialization of tragedy for “entertainment’s sake.”

After murdering both his parents a fourteen-year-old was asked why he did it. “Mom told me,” he wailed to court officials, “to stop watching those kinds of movies, ones that made me think about killing people all the time.”

Films, books, and any art form that depicts gore for sensationalistic effect, only trivialize the uplifting of the human spirit. These kinds of expression do not represent freedom of speech but erode the very soul of our culture. Unnecessary violence in the media doesn’t deserve my support or yours. Art’s original purpose was for celebrating the human soul’s magnificence, not causing its demise. Calling “art” anything that hurts humankind’s honoring of all life not only jeopardizes our future, but it’s a sham. That type of “free expression” can only be classified as malice for the sake of reaping the almighty buck. The only thing it adds to the world is bulking up certain fat pockets.

…

People love to laugh, and laughter is a healing balm. Comedians are better message-bearers than über-serioso types. Each of us in the Army of Love can sow smiles and laughter while educating any who remain bogged down in the quagmire of misinformation about our world’s need to change.

Be a spiritual activist and realize your Spiritual Correctness (SC) duty is to spread love and forgiveness through compassion. Surely, creative people can use their talents to heighten our awareness, not cast a toxic pall over it. Cast your vote at the real-or-virtual cash register. Stand up and shout and make Loving Compassion go viral!

If we hold these kinds of constructive choices in mind, and voice them whenever and however we can, our thought-seeds (ideas) will manifest (actions) in real life.

Approach your life like the prayer it is.

Think positive thoughts.

And spread the word.

Sometimes you just have to make a STAND

January 21, 2011January 21, 20111 Comment

After the events last week in Tucson, Arizona, I simply have to say something. Usually I try not to bring politics into what i share here, on Lordflea Sings. Usually, I put the focus on us leading spiritual lives, not political ones. But enough is enough! I simply must say something, because when the sentiments of a country get so fomented, to take no position is simply that of a wimp. And I’m no wimp.

I am Civitas, a modern deva of civilization

I guess it was meant to be that I was asked to pose for this statue, which now stands at an industrial crossroads in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Named “Civitas” by its artist, Audrey Flack, there are certain responsibilities that come with the sense of having an effect on others, and that is one of the main purposes of a deity, whether it be of a fairytale-nature or from one’s artistic viewpoint, like this statue is. As “Civitas,” my alter-ego, I wish to speak frankly about the dangers of making politics one’s religion.

I know people who judge life by not just their politics, but others’ as well. I know people who have judged me (incorrectly) thinking they know me because they might know a certain fact about my political sentiments. But, in truth, no one can know another, not the real person that the other is, by looking at one’s politics. Life is complicated, and there are so many aspects to one’s relationship to living, that labels and thinking associated with political branding simply is a superficial manner in which to view others. And the only result of this type of divisive-thinking is what’s happening here in America: political craziness. People getting pissed off. People taking up arms. people shooting other people. We must STOP! this tendency. So here and now I am finally stating my political manifesto:

There is a much deeper meaning to life than what appears on the surface. Poltics is superficial. Economics is superficial. Everything about the material life is transitory and in the end, insignificant. I have personally felt (and now foster through prayer and meditation) the depths of life’s meaning and therefore I know this to be true: Politics is the means to the end (peaceful and humanitarian governance), NOT the end itself.

getting closer to the truth

For years I ran from any public conversation that had to do with politics. Or sex, or God, for that matter. These three things–sex, God, and politics–I still refuse to discuss with any but my closest friends. I daren’t go there even with my family. And to tell the truth, with some of my friends, I’ve come to realize I have to skirt everywhere but dead-on when it comes to discussing politics. Why? Because some people can’t stand to associate with others who hold opinions other than theirs. It’s that plain. I prefer to mingle with folks who don’t hold any solid opinions or judgments in their minds when they speak, or act, especially directly with me. Yet hold true to the one thing no one can deny—the Mystery of life. Native Americans call this Mystery, “Great Spirit.” So do I. My friends tend to be open-minded, forgiving, and see life creatively, rather than from an implacable, black-and-white point of view.

When Bush was in power I cringed to hear the Bush-bashers. I guess everyone thought I’d just love to join them, that I was an uber-liberal, because wherever I went, two years ago and the previous 8 before that, people would delight in putting down the President of the US and think I would, too, thinking nothing of calling him every insulting name. And now, guess what? The same is happening for our present leader, President Obama. Right wingers and conservatives everywhere I go assume I’m one of them and admonish the administration right in front of me as if they knew, and never even suspected otherwise, that I would love to join in their Obama-bashing.

Where do people get off thinking that everyone has hatred in their hearts?

I’m reading the current story in this week’s New Yorker magazine about Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma, one of my heroes, who in December was finally released after two decades of political imprisonment. What did she do to keep from going insane all those years of the military regime’s unjustness toward her and her democracy-prone allies? She meditated. She didn’t sit in a bath of heart-acid thinking how evil so-and-so was, thinking of those bastards she was going to get as soon as she could. NO! Because if she had, she probably would have already died of heart disease, cancer, or some such physical wrath that negativity takes upon the physical body. Her battle was and IS one of the spirit, and yes, she uses politics, as I do, as a weapon of spiritual transformation. that’s my political affiliation: the “In Spirit” party. As more and more of us are living our lives are also deciding to become members of this enlightened nonpartisan political party. The spiritual battle is the only battle worth fighting, the only battle worth losing one’s life over. And that is what I am: a spiritual warrior.

the birth of a spiritual warrior, ready to take up the arms of inner peace

This is the first time I’ve come right out and announced to the world, here on my blog, where for two years I’ve been anonymously trying to make a difference and help people relate to the world on a spiritual plane, rather than just seeing what’s going on through the physical, mental, political, economic, and human lens. A somewhat limited perspective, if you ask me.

let's ex-----pand our thinking

So now the gig is up! Now I’m not anonymous anymore. You can see for yourself who and what I am. I’m proud to fight the battle for Universal Peace in the name of Spirit. I’m proud to be a warrior defending The Mystery, a spiritual warrior who wears the cap of lieutenant in the Army of Love! Won’t you join me?

Lieutenant Lord Flea of the Army of Love

So now that the secret is out — will it change things for me, as a person, as an artist and writer, as a spiritual blogger? I doubt it. Will it incite people to tune into what’s going on, on a spiritual level rather than rant and rave about partisanship being the worse it’s ever been, and one side blaming the other, and feel impotent listening to people saying how crazy things are in America these days? Will it change any of that? I doubt it. So why bother coming out of the closet?

it's time to change, and help make a difference

These times they are a-changing.

More and more of us believe that the spiritualization of humankind is our only salvation.

I am here to proclaim that fact loud and clear, from the highest mountain, from the widest megaphone I can get my hands on. Many are already aligned with this thinking: that this is a spiritual life we humans are leading, NOT a political or a solely material one. When 2012 comes around there has been predicted (by many ancient sources, not me!) that 112,000 “Awakened Sundancers” … that is, open-minded, open-hearted individuals … will be already aware and have already embraced this thinking. THAT’s what 2012 is really about. And what happens next? The rest of humankind will become spiritualized by the sheer number of us radicalizing (in a spiritual manner, that is) all aspects of society: the arts, social sciences, religious beliefs, and yes, even a few enlightened politicians (you go big-O!).

won’t you join us? Open your minds. Open your hearts. Let love and Light enter the cave of your heart, replacing fear and uncertainty. You will have a much better time of life when you do. Start praying and meditating about thinking about world peace. Your thoughts are seeds. The beginning of change is how we think. Please start changing your thinking to more positive ways, and our reality will follow our thoughts. Stop promoting divisiveness by talking about it. Just talk about how we are changing everything to the better, one thought at a time, one person at a time. And everything—-will change! Believe me. It’s that simple.

Break the ice away from your frozen hearts. Dive into the waters of Peace, of fulfillment.

Thank you!

: the unified waterfall of humankind

Divisiveness harms

Think: We Are One

Join the Army of Love

in Light and Love, your pal Lordflea

Hello life-giving sun

December 11, 2008December 12, 20081 Comment

hi friend,

please check out my latest update to “We Are ONE” on the “page” side of my blog, to the right. every week i’ll upload a few more pages of this picture book for you.

wow, the “brains” behind wordpress have really messed me up! somehow they’ve changed the editing format and i can’t see what i’m typing, so bear with me if things are…weird. i’ll do my best, and shoot them an e-mail to tell them of their well-intentioned, but mis-placed latest updates!

i wanted to share today, the joy of stretching. simple hatha yoga changed my life, literally. yesterday i had the pleasure of introducing a new friend to sun salutes, and today i am with you, too. if you haven’t already tried this easy-to-do, yet life-changing method of stretching-along-with-breathing, i’m encouraging you, right here, right now, to try it.

this drawing is my version of a sun salute. i drew it to illustrate how one must imagine their own “private sun” above them, because i was teaching at the time to girls in prison. even if you’re in a cell, you can bow and honor the source of all life on Earth…the sun. here’s the 12 steps (poses, called “asanas”) of a sun salute, surya namaskar, a yoga vinyasa (series of flowing poses).

a series of poses called the sun salute, "surya namaskar"

and here are simple, step-by-step directions, and PLEASE, enjoy yourself!

1. go very slowly. you will increase speed as you loosen up. first poses is standing with hands folded at your heart, breathe in and out, and steady your busy mind by focusing your eyes on one spot. thank you says your body, your heart, and your mind. end on an exhale.

2. inhale and lift your arms overhead, either to the side, like opening wings, or just up and over your head. keep your legs straight and only bend over backwards if you feel like it. that can come later. on this first round of the sun salute it’s good to stay in each of the 12 poses for several breaths. up to you, but don’t rush. eventually, you will coordinate the poses with your in and out breathing, but for now…just enjoy the stretch and stay with what your body tells you (huh?) it needs, like how many breaths do you want to stretch this particular way.

3. exhale and slowly arch your back and bend forward. let your head and neck completely relax. Hang there. Hang hang hang. let gravity do some work for a change. when you’re ready to go into the next pose, engage your abs so you protect your back.

4. inhale and take your right leg backwards into a full lunge. MOST IMPORTANT here is to make sure your left knee is directly over your left ankle. place fingertips of floor, torso goes downward, as your back gently bends upward. again, enjoy the stretch for several breaths at the beginning of your practice.

5. exhale and bring your left leg back along your right and make a high arch with your butt way up in the sky, into a “downward dog” pose. let your head go completely loose. don’t worry if your feet don’t completely go flat, that will happen eventually. point here is to PUSH away from the floor with your hands (shoulder-width apart) and up with your strong legs (hip-width apart) with your hands energetically engaged with the floor, the index fingers pointing straight ahead. enjoy your breath.

6. here you have a choice! ahhhh, choices. that which makes or breaks our lives. beginnings sink to your knees now, and slowly come forward onto your belly, not moving your arms, into a “small cobra.” more seasoned stretchers, you can, with your elbows CLOSE TO YOUR BODY 9otherwise you’ll compromise your rotator cuff, in shoulder joint), “swoop” your body in an arcing motion, from a bent-knee half-bow to… a beautiful, graceful “big cobra”…with arms more fully extended, but with your pelvic bones still on or nearly on the floor. enjoy your breath. eventually, this will all be accomplished on a single exhale. really.

7. inhale and enjoy the snake pose, bhujangasana, “the cobra.” keep your pelvic bones as close or on the floor as you can, while streching the lower back muscles, gentle!

8. exhale and push yourself back into the downward dog position. check your alignment (arms shoulder-width; feet hips-width, arms pushing, butt upward…so much to remember, but hey! you’re your OWN TEACHER!!!) EMPOWERMENT…it’s YOU! right within your own self.

9. inhale and bring your right leg forward into a lunge on the oother side. you may have to “help” your leg get up there at first, so just hop it along, but make sure your right knee is directly over that right ankle. thank you.

10. exhale and push yourself into a forward bend, and fell the difference. ommygod!! you are probably fainting from sheer pleasure at this point. i know i am with each first sun salute of the day. yummmmm.

11. inhale and please engage your abs before you stretch up and over your head with your arms straight, and palms eventually touching, into a small backbend, if you wish only. with ab muscles still engaged …

12. bring yourself from the little standing backbend into your original pose, the moutain, “tadasana.” With hands at your heart give great thanks to the sun (still above you, even if only in your mind!) and the life it shines upon this gorgeous blue garden planet of ours, which grows such delicious things as you, and all the food we need to sustain ourselves.

Repeat the above with your LEFT leg back, and bringing your left leg forward at end of the vinyasa.

By learning to empower your own self, using your body to strengthen your life, center your stormy emotions, and uplift your small-things centered mental faculties, your life will automatically expand. the teacher is within you. your body is a gift. keep it strong, clean, and agile, and you will be honoring the most important teacher–YOU!!–you’ll ever have. the Great Spirit lives within us all! really!

I hope you enjoy this little yoga lesson i’m sharing with you. occasionally i’ll give some tips. lordflea does love hatha yoga, the physical poses, so very much, that i want the entire world to know these ancient, but very effective moves that keep us fit, grateful, and calm (thanks to the breathing, the key to inner peace).

in the Light, lord flea singing our song of ONE

Staring at my feet

November 24, 2008November 24, 2008Leave a comment

Friends,

the importance of what i spend my time doing the most of has been central in my thinking of late. y’know: you are what you eat, and you certainly become what you think. that’s why i haven’t been bloggin’ as of late. wanted to keep centered in my heart, and not just spew, at least for the sake of spewing.

i do this occasionally. withdraw and feel life living me, instead of trying to be so active, so concerned, so consumed with “other” that i forget this experience of life itself. here’s another way of looking at it:

the interconnectedness of All

all i have is my self, and my Self–the little me that squirms with responsibilities and worries, and the big Me that knows there is more to this life than i’ll ever know…and to feel the majesty, the magic, the wonder of it all is more than enough for me to be concerned about. certainly enough upon which to base my creative energies’ pursuits–my arting, as i call it, whether i paint, draw, make a garden, a cake, or sew a sail, write a book–or blog.

this feeling of being connected to all came to me as a child. then i lost it. then i rediscovered it later, mostly through working on getting rid of the garbage that my mind collected over the years. now i have trained myself to stay as much as possible in that simple place, that inner place, where the breath connects with even the movement of faraway galaxies, and the knowledge, the Truth of feeling connected is real–this is my daily experience.

the drawing i use as an example shows us all in our “Higher Self”… our so-called “angelic” bodies…that part of our nature that is connected to the Highest good for all. yes–we all have that in our nature, whether you are aware of it or not, whether you exercise that birthright, that ownership of your highest nature, or not.

living in the moment; accepting our sacredness, our divine nature–our Higher Self: this is the way of living i want to share with you, not because of any other reason but my humble offering to help make the world a better place to live in.

we are not all just scrambling around trying to get something to eat, or make happen, or elect, or conquer, or succeed, or even be good at. but yes, we all exisit as individual cells within the larger “thing” that makes up this known reality…what is called the Universe (and some call, simply, “God”).

we are all One, breathe, and feel: Truth

many other things have passed my mind, and of course i’ve been doing many (many!) other things since my last entry here. don’t worry. some of you who read my blog might think i’m just a holy-roller who only sits around contemplating my navel. but no—-i have a family, a job, lots of social duties, and creatively i’m consumed by writing a nonfiction narrative, illustrated, naturally, which i am debating about uploading here, so i can let you, friends on my web, read as i write, day by day. but…i haven’t decided to or not. ha ha! all i can say for now is…writing this book is certainly my immediate, and main creative focus, not this blog.

my garden has been covered with an entire truckload of mulch, delivered free by a tree-man who took down a big One over at my mother’s place. Carter and i’ve been doing lots of HOT HOT yoga, in our little yoga shed, which i call the santosa shack (santosa being contentment in Sanskrit). we chant, we meditate, we even attend his church, ahhweeee, diversity in God-liness! lots of cooking (made dosas twice this past couple weeks…a lentil and rice fermented east Indian flat bread, terribly exotic tasting, and terribly nutritious because of the legume and grain mixture). what else? oh so much biking, hiking, rehabing my knee, still injured from dancing too fiercely at daughter’s wedding way back in June. injuries take energy. life takes care. time is precious. do i use it wisely? i try to. when i lay my head down on my pillow, i feel rewarded by deep, comforting, beautiful sleep. what a gift, life is.

i will do a page next, i promise, on a subject i’ve been thinking a lot about: what to say to someone who is really, truly, either physically, spiritually, or mentally suffering. because recently i ran into an old acquaintance, who has all the world at her feet: she’s rich, successful, socially powerful and consciously humanitarian beyond measure—but—she’s absolutely miserable. the only outer proof, however, is that of her uncontrollable, mind-numbing, self-pitying drinking. of course she’s in denial about having a drinking problem. and i simply can’t share with her my own experience in that matter (being in alcohol and drug addiction recovery now for my third decade)…but i can post a page here. perhaps one day a chink will open in her tightly-bricked-up facade, and what a person formerly-miserable (me) has to share with another who still is (her), will make a difference.

a little light in the well of darkness, that’s all i attempt to do…with my art, with my words, and now with this public web-spew.

so look on the right hand side in a day or say and you’ll see a new page. those pages stay up, where this post side changes when i enter a new one.

whew! i finally figured that out! now, if only i can find my beautiful color paintings. let me see, let me try again. a treat for you, perhaps?

plants, animals, mineral--we are all One

i love each and every one of you, truly! lord flea

makin’ do with what you’ve got

November 14, 2008Leave a comment

excuse me while i chuckle.

just got an email from my friend terry, who has just moved to moloki, hawaii, to caretake a 2,000 acre health/wellness/meditation complex with her hub, om-tom. she was writing me how hard it is, how things are just not running right, equipment breaking down, computer stolen when they went in a rented car to the main island–oh, what else, oh yeah, the makeshift computer doesn’t work, and on top of that, there’s no phone reception.

life is rough.

my partner is having a hard time, too–life is challenging these days. it seems to me we’re having not just an economic crisis, but a spiritual one as well. here’s one way of looking at it, a la art:

keeping mind-ful in the midst of hell

after a decade of living on islands in the “third-world” i can empathize with you, terry, perhaps more than others…and know that you are just living the life that happens, when you’re not on “the continent.” it’s just the way it is on islands. but the “pros” you will experience, and have, and continue to, will FAR outway the “cons”… believe me. living separate from “all that is” is sooooo spiritually fulfilling, and fun! just write me whenever you get down, and i’ll jump up and dance with you, my friend, and share with you my experience of developing patience, tolerance, and … quite a snotty attitude, actually, that “i’ve learned to do better” than ordinary continentals, as we call them. Because once you get used to adversity being the way it is, always! and learn to adapt to “what is,” … a person changes. we become so much more an “in the flow” kind of person. and that’s really where the Self resides. being in constant contact with true Inner Peace takes hard work. but the rewards? living a good life, even in the midst of unprecedented adversity.

who needs things to flow smoothly all the time? that’s so…predictable! ha ha! look at me, miss positive. but i’m not there, where you are, terry, right? but … if i wasn’t here, taking care of mom, you bet that’s where i’d be. i can’t wait to pack my bags and leave “ever-reliable, oh so abundantly efficient” america (or any continental place)…and go to live with the simpler, more “don’t care” kind of folks—the islanders.

sorry about losing your mac, though. that’s a bummer. we get spoiled, don’t we? i still use a dinosaur p.c., but i’m happy.

here’s a little cheer-up for my pals terry and om-tom out there in molokai. when life gets tough, when our nerves start to shout! ouch! here’s one solution—retreat into your ever-abundant imagination…yes, just float away in a story. even if you haven’t got bread to eat, you still have your imagination and you that can fill a person right up to the top!

this character sitting in the middle is my good pal Cleozed. he’s a composite, as you can see: man, plant, fish, and –what else?

Cleozed and Hummin

walk in the unlimited-ness of your being…expand your possibilities, and come fly with me! how, you ask? just breathe…long breath in…long breath out…ahhhhhh-men, and ahhhhhhh-women, too!

in the Light, lord flea

time to come together & unite as ONE

November 7, 2008November 14, 2008Leave a comment

hello friend,

politics, religion, nations–why can’t we just stop the separation among ourselves. i don’t know about you but i’m so tired of all the bickering, whining, blame and anger over not just these things, and want to interject some positive focus, by introducing new currency for ALL countries who celebrate life on planet Here and Now.

that’s something to think about, ain’t it? so let’s go for it!

i know i know you’re asking who asked me, lordflea, to design this new currency? you may think the U.N., or he, our new leader-elect:

guided by his counselors, the Great Man ...

but no, i must admit i have not yet received “the commission.” but when i do, i’ve got the design all figured out, which i’m giving a sneak preview to you, here. just a few little details to work out, like the color of the ink (soy based of course), the dimension (how ’bout the sacred geometry rectangle ratio?), the paper quality (look to Crane Paper for the magic formula that the USA uses…high cotton content).

whatever we use to exchange our energy with, be it money, friendship, sports, entertainment, politics or religion…keep it focused on the highest good. please. as we think, so we become.

focus on the solution, not the problem

enjoy the day! lordflea singin’ for you–we as ONE

following your passion … whichever way the wind blows ya

October 21, 2008October 21, 20081 Comment

hello friend,

i’ve been sailing and motoring the inways, byways and channels around st. augustine this week! in between nursing others in my family, and attending to bizness as usual, i had to do something to blow out the steam, and … sailing, being on the water, is one of my passions, as well as laughing, dancing, being with great groovy people, traveling, learning new things, writing stories and making art. whew! so many passions.

st. augustine lighthouse seen from the Ace Lady, a friend's sailboat

st. augustine lighthouse seen from sailboat Ace Lady

my passions are many. some have more. some…only politics, it seems these days. whatever yours are, i hope you enjoy pursuing them. and if you haven’t, or haven’t made time to pursue them, i urge you to do that … like now!

take the owner of Ace Lady, for instance:

Captain Priscilla of Ace Lady at the helm

Priscilla is a single woman, an expert solo sailor, self confident and extremely capable, who is following her dream. priscilla puts everything she has into making sure that dream of hers comes true: owning and operating a sturdy, ocean-going sailboat. it’s not easy, what priscilla is doing, because the maintenance alone (not to mention the sailing) of such a vessel is … well, beyond comprehension to most landlubbers, such as we. but priscilla finds the time (in between a successful massage therapy business) to maintain her boat, sail it near and far, chartering it out as much as possible (see www.aceladysails.com for more info). i greatly admire people like priscilla. they defy the odds, and make sure their dreams become reality. bravo priscilla!!

this anchored boat, with its mast under repair, represents another sailor’s passion: as demonstrated by the bedazzling woodworking you see everywhere onboard, representing hundreds of hours of labor-intensive savvy!

every scrap of wood is passionately cared for

even this boat owner’s dingys are exquisitely varnished. he was down below, no doubt, sanding or applying his loving craft to another woody surface, whistling, happy. following his passion.

and you? what’s your passion? are you at least thinking of how you’ll be able to honor that passion today? even if, like myself, some days you just can’t. but no matter how stresed or strained we are, at least we can plan on how our passions will evolve some other day, if we’re busy with other things. because, as we all know, the unfolding of our realities all start with the thoughts we hold continuously in our minds.

as for my passions: this week i’ve had to put my love (honestly, it’s an out-and-out obsession) of writing and arting to one side to make space to care-take my mom (still recovering from her T.I.A.), and also husband Carter, who didn’t do what i did when i felt “the bug” invade my body last week (we both got it). i rested, he didn’t. i’m not as sick, he’s dog-dead-in-the-ditch sick. i chose to not do as much and he’s paying the price, poor baby (guys! what is it about guys?!). for a few days i had to put my passions on hold, to heal myself. and here i am now, nurse lordflea, nursing others, making sure mom takes her meds; making chamomile tea with honey and lemon in the middle of the night for carter, and yesterday, a big pot of chicken soup bubbling on the stove, with lots of homeopathic remedies at the bedside of the sick co-captain of our ship, called relation. for the moment at least, my passion for arting (which most definitely includes writing) is put aside for the good of the bigger picture.

but…my passion of being one with the Divine…is never put on hold. THAT i can do, whether i’m busy, sick, traveling, or involved with others’ passions, projects, or peculiar personalities:

Sufi Bird...flying as high as he can, as i try

here’s another shot of the gorgeous st. augustine lighthouse, which has always been one of my passions in life, and also, in my art:

the lighthouse, in reality

and here you can see how my passion evokes another way of “seeing” st. augustine’s lighthouse:

Buddha's Foot, from the lighthouse series

in this series, i take the st. augustine lighthouse, which has always been a personal icon of mine, representing a tower of strength and courage, and use it here to remind me to follow my passion, to do whatever i have to do to take my journey of searching for Truth to the next level. i use the lighthouse along with other universal, recognizable archetypes (painted in the small squares, surrounded by the matrix of space, time, and matter) as focus. these paintins are reminders, meant to evoke humankind’s aspiring to a greater good (this is MY political activism, folks!). just as we awake from a profound, prescient dream and only remember an image, a fragment of it here and there throughout the day, i attempt to portray in this series the remnants of a very real, very tangible inner remembrace: the images hint of who we really are, and where our spiritual journey (of the entire human race, mean) is taking us. we run into these reminders, always, but do we stop to notice them? bits and pieces of startling landscape, a word from a stranger, an angelic message on a bus ad, a glistening majestic river, a long road beckoning us to follow. this series is about our path. other places, other states of being-ness yet to explore. here’s another of my lighthouse series, this one depicting an altogether different landscape.

Moon Beach

for years i used to run along st. augustine beach, and watch the lighthouse as it grew steadily more prominent. i was always eager to see it rising over the sandy, sea oats-strewn dunes. the closer i came to the lighthouse, the more excited i got. my body would shiver, my breath felt sharper. i was sure i felt the same as, and fully understood the significance of being “guided” that desperate sailors out at sea must have felt, whenever they sighted a lighthouse with the surrounding seas rough, the night dark, and the way, treacherous. that’s my inspiration behind making this series. i chose the lighthouse as my main motif, along with more recognizable totems of great impact, both spiritual and cultural, to convey a strong a message of hope to others. this particular lighthouse, the one at st. augustine, has always been a beacon of inner strength in my own life. here’s another of the series.

Shiva's Dance

today, on blog lordflea, it seems to be: honor the Light Within Day!! yes, that’s a passion of mine! maybe you’ll feel the excitement i carry in my heart for the unseen Light we all carry within, by gazing at my lighthouse series. i hope you enjoy them. here’s the final in the series, as i wish you adieu, a very groovy day, enjoying whatever passion you happen to be engaged in at this very moment!

love from your pal, lord flea

Ghost Tree

Dare to be Spiritually Correct … huh?

October 15, 2008October 15, 2008Leave a comment

Hi Friend,

Just back from Boston where we spent a pleasantly gentile weekend attending a gathering of old college friends.

bridge to nowhere ... crossing the Charles River

we got to share stimulating thoughts, discussions, symposiums, dances, exhibits, and most importantly, the sharing of life’s sweet laughter.

as i’d mentioned in an earlier post, i’m starting a new awareness about all of us catching ourselves in our tendencies to over-intellectualize and/or over-politicize, and become, more and more, aware of each opportunity to practice, and finally arrive at BEING … more and more … with practice, with joy, even … being SPIRITUALLY CORRECT

instead of being p.c. i suggest we all try to be, and help each other to remember to be … “S.C.” — spiritually correct.

you may laugh, but once you get the hang of this new movement, you’ll enjoy this carefree, “all for others” attitude, even in midst of the worst financial crisis, the most confusing and challenging of political climes.

take our pal Bob, here, showing off his new tattoo. bob chose the ancient hebrew phrase honoring “Logos”… the “word” of Spirit … in his humble way of proclaiming his own brand of reminding himself to be spiritually correct. a former businessman, now an ordained minister, bob has branded his love of Spirit into his very flesh. i kept calling him “reverand biker bob” but … we just laughed, because surely he is not that. bob’s tat is his own private reminder of his dedication to this new way of being:

Reverand Bob showing his new "Logos" tattoo

so, for the moment, my journey with you that my blog records, documenting my personal lust for art, nature, and adventure, is taking an inward turn as i report more about my most cherished discovery … that among all things people like to share about, the most important journey of all, and perhaps the most unbelievalbe … is a person’s discovering, and then embracing, the Inner Light within.

being Spiritually Correct, s.c., is to acknowledge this Truth (of Spirit) as not only real — but really important to remember. to call yourself s.c. is to remind yourSelf to keep a heightened awareness ever at the center of all actions, all thoughts, in the rest of all our daily living, whatever that might entail. being “spiritual” doesn’t mean just now and then. being s.c. means to live with awakened recognition that we are all ONE. being s.c. takes precedent over being any other kind of “correct,” be it social, political, intellectual, environmental, groovy, hip, religious, anti-religious, cultural or quaint, material or non-consuming, or … any other ways of being fashionably or unfashionably human.

try something new — be s.c.

being s.c. means … letting go and letting Spirit into the scene.

Dive into living In Spirit, being s.c.

fly from your restraints and you, too, can learn to fly, In Spirit! let your own Inner Spirit be one with the knowledge that we are all connected, we are all One. there is a discernible energy that connects us all. as Chief Joseph said, “we are all connected, in the web of life.”

right now, everywhere i go and you, too, people are buzzing, ranting, non-sequituring, going off the wall (but not jumping out windows–yet!), being passionate about politics, the financial fiasco, the mess our environment is in. on everyone’s minds is the need for climate change; we’re desperate for conscious, compassionate leadership. and so it should be, all of us being passionate — right now — at this election time. because we all must fight for what we believe in, and that includes stating, even fighting for our choices. each of us must discern from the political pile the best of what is offered.

but come the evening of november 4th, we must all come together as One, no matter what the results of the u.s. presidential election is.

i won’t go into politics here. this blog is not about that subject. my thoughts are about art, nature, the environment, and the more important subjects (hey! it’s MY blog, right!) of finding the universal Truth that hides in the heart of all members of the human race, of all living beings, too. we are all tiny cells in the body of what some call “God” but … it doesn’t matter what you call “IT.” IT is a mysterious, mystical, but very real, very tappable energy. IT is a force that is unseen, yet IT connects us all, in more ways than science has yet to discover, but they are quickly on the trail of pinpointing and proving: cellular knowledge, quantum physics, string theory. stay tuned: michio kaku will explain it all, in all good time.

the IT of plants is the same as ...

the IT within all … spiritual energy … a person’s chi, also called the kundalini, qi, tao, Great and Holy Spirit … whatever name we choose to call the Divine … is the only reality there is, the alpha, the omega, and … the Logos:

the Force within i call Noname

this is not serious, no-fun business i’m talking about here. i hope you realize i am reporting on the absolute certain joyousness i feel in my heart, and soul, based on my own experiences of discovering we are all One, all connected. if you don’t think this is fun stuff–lighten up! don’t get me wrong or put me in some box marked “weirdo serioso.” no sirree. when i speak of living a life based on being s.c. i’m conveying the choice to embrace an attitude, based on personal experience. but don’t just scoff. put this s.c. business into practice for yourself, and see your face light up, the smiles barge into your life, and others!

a person whose life is based on being s.c. is much more prone to laughing and doing silly things like … being in an elevator with or without friends (as happened this past weekend up in Boston) and, for the hell of it, when the doors close and the strangers stuck with you refuse to look you in the eye, or even crack a smile … gently, mellowly start to Ooooooommmmmmmmmmmm. you’ll feel the energy change, BIG TIME!!! boy! you’ll see, as we did, uptight strangers rush out of an elevator so fast you’re practically knocked down! we laugh and we laugh, and we continue to Oooommmm in the most unlikely places, with or without friends. this is all good, all great, all unbelievable loosening action:

BE A SPIRITUAL ACTIVIST … be s.c.

help others rid themselves of stiff, old, doesn’t-work, irrepressibly stuffy and unfun thinking that needs to be unwound from the human collective soul.

let go let Spirit into your heart, and learn to fly!

so come on, i dare you! do something totally whacked-out remindful of Spirit today, and forget being “proper” or “polite” or “afraid to offend”…. just spread the word, of IT, of God, of Spirit, however you sing that song of bliss, whatever the Name is, whatever IT means to you.

IT may be nature.

allow yourself to become calm, secure enough, just for today, somewhere a wild bird might easily choose to come and rest upon your head. sit still, and thoughtful, breathe, become filled with s.c. … in your yard, by your window, on a park bench … in a golden autumn meadow.

just allow yourself to feel the goodness of being in tune with the earth, this glorious earth that we are ever-more-consciously stewards of. your activism starts with remembering the beating of your heart, of listening to your own breath. your entire life will feel so much better if you invite your busy mind to just stop — for a little while — and merge with your natural surroundings. become safe enough for a wild bird to trust its life to, to alight upon the top of your head. feel the tender feet of the bird believing you and IT are indeed, the same.

breathe deeply in, pushing your belly out with the in-breath… breathe gently and long out, contracting your belly with the out-breath. merge with your breath. why not? what have you got to lose?

that is what i mean by being “spirituall correct.”

each of us can sit easily by the river of our lives ... in close connection ... being s.c. by just noticing how we breathe

wishing you all a fun, shimmering, serene day, even in the midst of the most tumultuous firey tempest,

in the Light, lord flea

change…the only constant in the Universe

October 9, 2008Leave a comment

i’m off to cambridge, mass for a fun-filled, information-packed reunion at the revered alma mater of my spouse, and to celebrate life and all its changes with our good friends of many years.

change…the only thing you can count on …

the cycle of life ... consistently changing

i’m thinking how i change … my body … where i am … my moods

and i’m thinking of how the world changes … seemingly so unstable, so vulnerable to outside influences.

and then i think of the one constant, besides change, that i’ve found that gives me great comfort in my journey here:

my deep contact with the Oneness of All — that force some call God, but i prefer Great Spirit.

i am a big fan of the I Ching, called the Book of Change, and written down by Confucious about 4,000 yrs. ago. change has been a familiar comforting essence in my search for Truth. i trust change. i honor change. but i also know that if i’m not flexible, like a young bamboo shoot, and allow change to happen, naturally — i am doomed for diaster.

i don’t know, i just felt like sharing that today.

mom is having a hard time adapting to the change that’s affecting her body. her state of thinking has been altered by this tiny tiny TIA that hasn’t even registered in a CAT Scan. but…change is not her comfort zone.

many people are freaking because of the unprecedently change in our financial world. this is the time for all good people to rely upon nothing but their own Higher Selves. that is the change we’re all challenged to accept.

the steadiness of eternity

in case you’re wondering, this “down-ward dog” person i’m representing here, in sculpture and in black and white penstrokes, is the ancient egyptian goddess named Nut. she represented the passage of the sun across the sky. like the sun, Nut is symbolic of eternal life. always changing, but always constant, and never ending.

i am here with you, and i wish you all a pleasant change, each and every moment of your lives.

now i change places, from st. augustine to boston! always something.

in the Light, lordflea

no time no time, well…let’s make some anyway

October 7, 2008October 7, 2008Leave a comment

hi friend,

why does it seems like there’s never enough time to do the things we want? instead, there are so many things we have to do that just fill up the hours of each day. i’m starting a new club:

make time for the things we need to do,

find time for the things we want to do!

wanna join? just follow the spirals, and come on in!

fly with me from here ...

to here …

earth energy with you-and-you-and all of we too R 1

how? you ask.

breathe. deep and long in, long and slow out. breathe from the belly. learn to be a buddha belly, breathing from the belly (belly pushes out gently when you take air in, and as you breathe out the belly contracts and tightens, going flat).

have fun, make time for you!

in the Light, much love, lordflea