Who Karaoke, Go to the Mirror Monkey!, Firmament

[Joe Lewinski <lewinski@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Karioke:

At the resort my wife and I stayed at held a Karaoke
contest.  I didn't enter because it was not *my crowd*.
The song book they guy had listed over 1500 songs, and
within that list there were some 30 beatles tunes.  No
Who, Pete, Ox or Thunderclap Neuman for that matter.  
Initially I found this sad, but later reflected that it
is just as well.   We don't need no *stinking* Who karaoke!

Has anyone performed a Who song on karaoke?

Go to the Mirror Monkey:

My dog is frightened of his reflection in the mirror or
other objects that show his reflection.  I wonder
if he thinks this is another dog, a ghost or a god.  

Monkeys have been observed as one of the only creatures
still on the planet (other than man) that can recognize
themselves in a mirror.  I'm sure there are others - dolphins
come to mind - that we have not tested thoroughly enough
to draw any kind of conclusions from.

Although man discovered the reflecting power of mirrors many
years ago we are still sometimes spooked by our own reflections,
shadows and movements.    Perception can be a help or a
hinderance to our understanding.

I believe Pete is after all a human, and his curiosity and
observations are apparent in his songs.  In the end he does
not know either.  He describes so convincingly in one of
his diaries about being in the presence of Mehr Baba in a
particular *holy* room (I'm paraphrasing here) that he broke
down crying at his overwhelming feelings of inadequacy.
This manifestation of guilt that led Pete to believe he
was "under someone's thumb" is entirely of Pete's creation.
He allowed himself (through deep reflection) 
to see the truth of: *what he's done*,
*how he's conducted himself*, *how he's treated people*, and
it made him feel like *shit*.   I know, I've been a *shit head*
through a series of plateaus in my life, and some could argue
that I'm being a *shit head* now.  

Indeed there are many paths to God, and the most popular are
fear, pain and guilt.  Pete's intellectual capacity is
certainly uncommon, but from what I have observed from his
actions, and interpreted from his writings, he is as
common as you and me when dealing with these three catalysts.

Firmament:

In Parvardigar, Pete speaks of the Firmament.  My religious
education taught me of the protective firmament as described
in the Bible that held back the waters.  Later when discussing
the age of the earth with some creationist folks the firmament
was used to protect the earth from harmful radiation that would
accelerated the atomic decay process of radioactive carbon, and
therefore the carbon 14 dating techniques scientists perform
were useless because of the *firmament factor*.

It's not polite to laugh at these beliefs, but I have to.
My sister is born-again and if I don't laugh, I could
cry at some of the nonsense she believes.

I feel justified because I know how ignorant I am about life.
Sure I am interested in theories, observations and facts, but 
the most pleasure I've had in mentoring my 2 children over the
past 11 years was when I ran out of answers when discussing the
universe, space and what started it all.  I simply admitted to my
kids that I don't know, and that nobody real knows.  We may never
know as humans.

I also added that it is OK to have an incomplete understanding
about something.  One should not let one's self off the hook
about *seeking* answers and completing one's understanding. 

I really wish that asshole priest that instructed me as a 
freshman in high school would have given me an honest answer
like that when I was seeking.  Did he think I was going to
*storm the castle* when I discovered he didn't know?   That
kind of arrogance, from the font of ignorance is the true
meaning of blasphemy.   Although I have not broken the orbit
of the Catholic church entirely I am distant enough to see
for real how small and arbitrary their thinking is.    All
religions are this way.  Even Jon's (Sorry Jon - nothing personal - :))

Yeah, Pete's spiritual writings are reassuring that he is similar
to me with his seeking, but I'm really here for the music.

Joe in Philly






Joe Lewinski
ICANON Associates, Inc.
Phone: 610-313-1850 x 115
Fax: 610-313-1848

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