I’m not sure where to begin when writing about this observation. Like many things in life, there are multi-faceted and multi-layered aspects to the ‘big picture’. Oh well, I’ll just plunge in…
We, like all social species, always have some form of governance. Social species need their ‘alpha male’ (even if that’s the queen bee in a bee hive).
Being a more complicated species than bees, hierarchical governance is multi-layered. Even within our species though, the more ’sophisticated’ the culture/civilization, the more layers. Hunter gather groups have the simplest – no courts, parliaments, congresses, or special interest clubs. Continue reading ‘Democracy as Myth’
1961, In the barracks beginning yoga
I was recently reminded of the battle smokers go through to quit. My story may contains more twists and turns than most, however, and ends with an ironic finish. This post is a bit long, so skim some and then go down to “The End Of A Long Journey” for the Taoist meat.
It all began when I came down with strep throat while in the Air Force. The sergeant told me that smoking would help with the pain. It did. That I took him up on the offer was ironic for I was seriously into yoga(1) at the time: vegetarian, postures, and what seems to me now like goofy cleansing practices. Oh well, no one ever accused me of being consistent, especially in those teenage years. Continue reading ‘My Battle With Tobacco’
A little one on one with my bird
I bought a caged finch in Japan years ago. I took it home and left the cage door open so it could fly around if it wished. It wouldn’t. It just stayed contentedly in its cage. Weeks or months (I forget which) passed before it ventured out. I left the window open too, and soon it would go out, fly about, and return home. The Bird stayed away longer and longer until one day it didn’t return.
I notice a parallel here between me and that bird. I spent years, more or less inside civilization’s paradigm, venturing out of society’s cultural cage from time to time. Continue reading ‘Where Is Freedom?’
Recent Comments by Post