Happy Father's Day!

My father would’ve been 65 years old this year (his birthday is sometime in February). Words can’t quite describe how much I miss him; and wish that I could speak with him for a moment even if for a few minutes. Don’t get me wrong I don’t wish I were dead, and chilling with Jesus and all my passed on relatives; after all there is a season for everything, I just wish  that the storms weren't so tough to weather. Sometimes pulling my collar up isn’t enough. Sometimes the wind still hits you in the face. Sometimes I wonder what he thinks of me from over there or up there or wherever it is; if I make him proud. Then other times I don’t give a damn, and get upset  that he died on me.

But it’s only on days like this that I get stuck on the thought of him, and what my life would like if he were still here. Ultimately what it means to be a man, my father was not a perfect man but I have learned worlds from him, and hope that I can leave an impression on those around me the way that he did. In the end I am glad that he no longer has to feel the terrestrial pain that comes with existence on earth anymore.  And I try and let go of the  selfish yearnings for a fatherly presence.  Sometimes I wonder if it's okay to miss someone that's not around anymore this much, like is it fair to them from where they are? I can only ask the Almighty to help me calibrate my heart from all the 'mushy stuff' that makes us miss those who are gone; and I hope for the best that my prayers are answered in the best way possible. Or maybe  you could pray for me :-) I have had better days, but i am truly thankful for good friends, an awesome family, and having been blessed with a great sense of humor.....I am trying America, but I need to try harder.

X-traordinary Humans

Hello America, I know it has been a minute since I have touched base with you all, but I have been busy with the business of living, and getting things done. My latest effort has been to join the rest of the planet in the ownership and acquisition of a ‘smart phone.’ But that is not why I am here today; quite recently I have been swept by this summer’s storm of modern day mythology of the comic book hero. This storm that has been powered by Hollywood, and fueled by the American public is going to be a sight for those eyes that choose to take it in. The one I’d like to talk bring to you is X-Men: First Class. Quite honestly all I can do is 'marvel' at the work that was done by all the players involved in the making of this film.

There are a myraid of reasons that I adore this film; and the least of these is it’s continuity with the original written material, as I am not a ‘fan boy’ and would not recognize if I saw it. But the pure artistry of it all for starters, the musical score for one of the characters in the movie Magneto [Michael Fassbender].  His storyline is one in this multi-pronged plot that a dig the most; as the director is telling the genesis of a villain. Making the viewer almost sympathize with his aching evil streak. So this either cleared up some errors you had after the three other previous films in the franchise or pissed you off for some reason because its not exactly like the comic. To address my oversensitive ‘fan boy’ readers- it’s a different medium to express a very popular art form; so that others may also take part the satisfaction you get from reading this artistic expression.  For me personally it was absolutely exhilarating.

But  that is not why I am here today, towards the end of this modern day epic moving piece of art it dawned on me all the major players in this story were analogies in that they have an affinity with certain public figures in popular American culture at the time they were created. In fact the entire X-Men Franchise is mostly about the differences in the human melting pot that we as individuals may snarl at, if you haven’t picked up on that already. But more specifically I’d like to take an opportunity to begin a discussion about how popular forms of art can open our imaginations to the possibilities of the human mind and spirit. We may not [yet]  posses the ‘powers’ of telekinesis or the ability to project sound waves through the air, but we all humans have our voices, and the ability to resist our lower nature and appeal to our higher angels.  I think a lot of us take the lower more accessible road because it is one of convenience and comfort but it is in times like these that we should “check ourselves” and challenge one another to go to our limits, or until it hurts whichever comes first. The stories that were told in the above mentioned film are a few that struck me as I watched the drama unfold, and forced me to ask myself: When was the moment that I chose to take the road that I am on? And whose villain am I? If I am even a villain at all.


All this talk of Super heroes is beginning to stir up a bit a nostalgia in me. My last summer at a place I like to call my own personal patch of heaven, that I now only visit in dreams. There was this song that the kids used to sing under the tent (very corny indeed, but it never escapes you psyche no matter how hard you try). To see the kids prancing and jumping around shouting the lyrics send my heart soaring. It went something like this. I like to think I am a bit more mature than a child learning about the depths of their souls and taking their first steps into an eternal relationship with Jesus but the idea here is the same. So until I continue with this conversation to discuss some of my more terrestrial contemporary heroes I leave you with this:

The Air is Fine Come on In

1 Cor 13:11-->when I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put childish things behind me.

Matt 18:3--> I tell you the truth, unless you changed and became like children,, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.



Its two diametrically opposed verses like this that cause some argumentative proponents of atheism to rant and holler about how the Bible is an archaic lexicon that should be buried in the depths of the planet never to be seen by another human being again; I would counter that they are playing by selective rules, and not the same set of rules they bask in when they speak of their beloved discipline science (I like science by the way).

But it’s my personal believe that to live as if one doesn’t have a soul  is like living as if you have no lungs, to me the stubbornness with which some of these folks act, is akin to watching a child pout in response to denial. And I personally believe it to be unfair to the collection of divinity that is your being. It is a shame to wait until the moment of death to learn the reality of life, as our brothers and sisters in  the east persist: this is not the last time or the first time that we will incarnate into this life. But for some reason we forget.  After all the first thing we do when we are born is breathe, As I used to tell my  colleagues sometime ago in a very taxing work environment--> “breave.”

• A word about the WORD: I think what Paul and Christ are saying are subjective to each of their respected audiences; Jesus was teaching his disciples, so that they could carry one the work of the church he was perpetually building . With his words of wisdom acting as the metaphorical bricks and foundation.

• Paul was writing to a group of people who were learning the teachings of Christ and coming out of a society that was by and large being bombarded with Hellenistic culture, and were at best clinging to an ancient form of Judaism if that haven’t already given in to the demands of the ruling regime. That portion of the text speaks of looking at your reflection and being sure of who you are; I think Paul is talking about MANNING UP like I was trying to say the other day (11 APR 11). 

• To speak more to what Christ was trying to say; he is talking about attaining the holy spirit, and Paul is talking about everyday existence once you have attained this state of being or consciousness.

No Life W/O Death

Well America, in lieu of no cable television and my regular dose of internet porn. I’ve dug back into an old friend, my favorite abbot among the stars Thomas Merton. A book I bought some time ago entitled The New Man, whose premise is based in the Adam as the father of original sin. And Merton being the humanitarian that he is places no blame on Eve (at least not that I have seen thus far). Anyway his launch point is promethean theology, and Adam’s original sin in Eden with the whole tree of knowledge thing…it’s good shit trust me get into it America…..it’s GOOD SHIT!!!

Anyway in his Mertonian way he imparted wisdom on me in a way only he can regarding PRIDE one of my largest stumbling blocks……so verbatim he says “ ….pride is a stubborn insistence on being what we are not and never intended to be. Pride is a deep, insatiable need for unreality, an exorbitant demand that others believe lie we have made ourselves believe about ourselves”-------> now how does this apply to me do you ask? Well this past week I had a very ‘heated’ can I use that word? Cold War with a friend/roommate over the past week. Where were both being douche bags and giving the other the cold shoulder, and space has was a very serious factor in all this (like actual space=square footage space). So I hope this makes sense America…are you all following this. In short this little spat I had with a very dear friend of mine has taught me that I am not the tough guy I portray myself to be when I am ‘among the fellas’ And that we are all human at the end of the day; waiting til you’re on you’re death bed to pour your heart out is a bad idea. Okay my male readers out there (do I have readers? Is this thong on?). I mean don’t be a punk either; or a doormat being a doormat is a bad idea….just from time to time wear that shit on your sleeves…but stay MANNING UP.

So in sumation AMERICA brotherly love is good…good friends are awesome, and we should thank god for em’ and don’t for get to be human from time to time…and friends are awesome…and no one likes a douche-bag no matter how much they pretend--> Thomas Merton Said it not me. Happy Monday yall!!  :-]



P.S.- Another thing about the whole Eve bit, I really have to commend Merton on not blaming her for the whole 'fall of man thing' I  really think it's high time we in the Christian community take responsibility for our actions and stop pushing our human frailties on some mythical figure. Our brothers and sisters in the east call the qualities we deem lesser within the dharma of life, or rather following our dharma; and perhaps our perception of these lesser qualities are some form of dukkha.



Peace & Love,


Holla!

'Little Guy'

Hello AMERICA!!!!!! and brothers and sisters abroad...its been a minute since I have updated this outpost in cyber space, so today I'd like to offer a gift from the heart. The first is a written tiding of happiness and hope from the heart, the second is a visual one I have created myself, with help from some allies in the art world.

A Prayer Amid Mediation
(An Ode to the American Working Class)



These are my thoughts these are my wishes
Is to bring my dreams to fruition
With no real help or push from the Divine
Just that all my hard work and effort
Come to a final culmination
All my dreams and hope for this lost nation
That you lift my brothers and sisters
From this dire situation
Clear away all distractions
And miserly fantasies from their hearts
Heal them of the amnesia that
Makes them forget
The heaven centered destination
From which we departed
Release the gifts we all harbor inside
A fair job for my enemies and friends is all I desire

this is my imitation of what it would look like had I ever had an opportunity to visit the Giant Buddha Statue in Kamakura, Japan. One destination among many that I would love to see before my time on this planet is up (so I guess it's on my bucket list). But to be honest it's more of a reflection of an inner 'little guy' I think we all have within.

 

American Dreamin'

One of my favorite things about being a human being is having the ability to dream, have dreams; and wake up with a solid realization of what I’d just perceived in my slumberous state. I would be the last to call myself one who is able to accurately interpret dreams. I have trouble even deciphering what it is that I see in my personal panoramic productions.  Some say  that symbols hold an enormous amount of weight; while others simply believe that dreams are there to give us a realistic evaluation of how it is we are doing in this life, and give us realistic goals for ourselves. Even if those dreams involve peacefully toppling your country’s present government, or on the opposite end of the spectrum one could be inspired to ask out that cute girl/guy that may be the mother or father of their unborn children. [Ha Ha -some might say a peaceful coup de tat and making love to conceive a child are one in the same ].

 

More divergent figures propose that the setting of the sun and rising of the moon is a time for our souls and spirits to revisit our true home and converse with our ascended ancestors and our friends that we have forgotten from another realm or vibratory level. What do I think about dreams? Well I don’t think anything…because I am sleeping silly. But when I wake up, I usually try to contemplate some of the
ramifications of what my faculties have allowed me to perceive. Sometimes I even journal what it is or was that I recalled verbatim, and if I can capture it well enough I’ll enlist the assistance of my artistic instincts. It may take up to two years for a dream that I have written in my  journal about comes fully to light.  But that is the beauty of it. To me it’s as if the Divine paints a picture of itself  for us, and we can see it before we make the long trip through the cosmos to our place on this earth, and dreams are the play back. So whether you are a single mother waiting tables in the concrete mosaic that is NYC, or hauling steel beams from Witchata to L.A. you actually might be expressing your dharma on a perpetual basis.

But dreaming isn’t just something that we do at night, or during cat naps after a long day, really it is something that we do collectively Dr. King had a dream, and he brought that dream into fruition; even if the price shortened the cord of life that he gave so freely to a world he just wanted to see in better condition than he found it. It’s this facet of dreaming that those in my generation have comprehended so well. To offer a prime examples those among the hip-hop generation. Namely figures like Kanye West, Sean Carter, and the Roots to me these men are the embodiment of the American dream. Carter for example was born into what most would call an impossible situation: William L. Marcey Housing Projects. It’s the music makers that provide the backdrop for a generation, and these guys provide for me in my waking hours what the Divine shrouds me in at night. I pride myself on being very eclectic when it comes to my musical tastes, but what sets these individuals apart from Billy Corgan, Micheal Stipe, Billy Joe, or even Bono is what they represent, and the vibes that their work exudes. To me they broadcast to the universe what minions of downtrodden in the ghettos of this planet’s ‘most privileged’ land cannot. That message is too confounded to condense to one word so I won’t attempt.






The outset of this message is dreaming, so when you close your eyes what do you see? I had intended to discuss the dreams of a dear friend of mine. And how the trails of a tough economy and circumstance have force him to forgo or postpone some of his dreams. I wanted to talk about how much more he could do to bring these jewels to fruition, but now I am not sure where I stand when it comes to my friend and the status of his dreams. Once upon a time we dream't of how we wanted to conquer the known world one thing at a time. Truth be told we drank a lot and chased women in and out of bars and clubs too. But my man has come a long way since our days back in school. I guess what I wanted to get at was the nudge…scientist say it takes anywhere from thousands to millions of years for diamonds to form deep in the earth’s [ha ha ha it‘s as if the jewelry industry charges 78 cents for every year that the stone spent in the earth‘s crust]. No matter the amount of time spent to form; the common denominator is pressure.

What do you think of dreams?

Three Kings

Last week via the social networking interface facebook, I commented on a family friend’s post eluding to her pilgrimage to the Reclaiming the Dream March in Washington D.C. My comment was aimed at the man leading the march Reverend Al Sharpton. I believe my comment pinned the nationally renowned activist a ‘three ring circus act’ in response to this I was urged to ‘do my research.’ so in response to that suggestions herein are my findings and reactions to them:

    The Reverend Alfred Sharpton was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. Born and raised in the Baptist Church. All the data I have compiled tells me that he has been ‘preaching’ since before he was ten years of age. He was in fact ordained at about the age of nine. He champions such causes as same sex marriages, and the continued advancement of African Americans in those niches of society where we/they are sometimes not accepted.  He’s lended his name to the family of Amadou Diallo, an African immigrant who was brutally beaten to death by officers of the NYPD. He has also offered his name, and help to a number of other families who have lost a loved one; or been effected by the social injustice that exists in this country as a result of inequality.

    But as we know there is not yin without yang; and this brings me to what nudged me to insert that status comment in the first place. It’s not that I don’t like the Reverend Al Sharpton, it’s what he stands for that bothers me. Let me explain in the 1 Kings 3:1-15 Solomon who is regarded as one of the wisest men to who  ever lived asks God for wisdom. He asks the sovereign Lord at Gibeon, after burning a sacrifice at the high place; the divine comes to Solomon in a dream, he is called into dialogue with the divine, and told to make a request. Soloman begins by offering homage to his predecessor and father David, and thanks the Lord for his providence in his bloodline, and only requests that he be blessed with the same discernment his father possessed. The scriptures don’t echo his age but he has been left to rule over an entire empire yet he refers to himself as a child.

    In return the divine offers him a discerning heart in addition to both riches and honor, which he did not ask for; and a long life provided he walk in the ways of his father David. Verse fifteen literally begins: then he awoke and he realized it was all a dream. Now I am no scholar by any means but I anyone could deduce what kind of ’riches’ the divine was referring to when they were granted to Solomon at Gibeon. But I offer this we inherited the book of proverbs from this very man, and in his time he had nothing to gain from the perforation of his works.

    When I think of contemporary righteous men I think of Dr. Martin Luther King, who ironically is the same man Al Sharpton was drawing attention to when he organized this whole “Reclaiming the Dream March.” Which is the turning point of my entire criticism of Rev. Sharpton. There is no doubt in my mind that Dr. King has read or pondered upon these very lines in 1 Kings 3:1-15; in fact I am positive he was influenced by Solomon’s exchange with the divine while writing his letter in that dingy Birmingham jail cell where he quipped” ……and who will remain true to it for as long as the cord of life shall lengthen.”  In that very paragraph Dr. King was criticizing his brothers and sisters in the church as a minister of the gospel. One who loves the church as a spiritual entity, who has been nourished by it from an early age, and a beneficiary of it’s spiritual blessings.  Even in his last public speaking engagement he (Dr. King) said “longevity has it’s place” and that it was the wish of everybody to live a long life. I guess this is the point when he knew his time had come; and that he was living on borrowed time. It’s easy to admire a man like Dr. King in hindsight, even some of his contemporaries held some malice for him because of some of the stances he took during his time. A lot of people don’t know that the first attempt on his life was at the hands of a black woman. How God must look upon us and smile and wonder at his creations, waiting for us to look in the mirror and realize our own divinity.  I guess what I am trying to get at is a man after God’s own heart has nothing to prove; he or she doesn’t need a cause, or banner to walk under. King didn’t create Jim Crow laws they were there long before he existed, he didn’t kill those three girls at 16th street Baptist, but he was there. To carry a mantle that men like Dr. King and biblical figures like Solomon, and David takes a heavy heart with no room for petty ambition.