Dream…Believe…Love/Happy Xmas(War is Over)

As we enter into the Holiday season, I thought a good way to end the year – this is the last article of the year (I’ll resume with the Masters of Enlightenment series right after the New Year) – is with the above video.

It’s a video montage I created in celebration of the spirit of the Holidays.

It’s an homage to peace, love, trust, hope, belief, and the knowledge that we can make this a better world, a peaceful, sane, healthy and happy world, a Low Density Lifestyle world.

I call it Dream…Believe…Love.

If only everyone lived by that credo…

Below is another video that captures the spirit of the Holidays.

This is a song that when it came out in 1971 was branded as radical because it was written and sung by a notorious peace activist, John Lennon. Yet now, the song is heard every year at this time.

And that’s because it tells us of hope – about a world of peace, which is what the Xmas spirit is about, and also what a Low Density Lifestyle world is about. So now the song is a hymn that is heard every Xmas holiday season.

As well it should.

The only sad thing about the song is that it was written by a man who is no longer with us, a visionary who perceived what a Low Density Lifestyle world looked like, and articulated it very clearly.

Happy Xmas/War is Over – Thank you John Lennon.

And I want to thank each and every one of you…

Have a wonderful Holiday season, and see you next year.

The Heart Has Its Reasons That Reason Does Not Know

I thought with the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday, the most appropriate topic to be writing about would be on Relationships, Love and Sex.

And so, I gave you two articles over the last two days, Relationships, Love and Sex, Part 1; and Part 2, that delved into this most complicated of pastimes.

For matters of the heart are not easily explained, because it is not logic that dictates its whereabouts. The heart has a mind all its own.

It was the French Enlightenment philosopher Blaine Pascal who said, “Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point,” which translates to, “The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.”

In Chinese medicine it is said that, “The shen (the spirit) resides in the heart.” The Chinese also have another way of putting this, saying, “The mind resides in the heart.”

The heart has its own way, a way that doesn’t always gibe with our logical thinking capacity. When the heart opens up, it can be a very strong emotion, one so powerful it can sweep you off your feet and leave you feeling euphoric.

So although matters of the heart can be complicated, for Valentine’s Day, which is just around the bend, I suggest that you try and simplify what the heart feels and allow it to succumb to its base desire: Love.

And with that in mind, I offer you the above video at the top of the page, Love, written and sung by John Lennon, and the below video which I put together, entitled The Art of Love.

As you watch the videos, think of someone you love, and hold them in your heart. Don’t analyze it, just feel it – and remember, The heart has its reasons that reason does not know.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

What if War Isn’t Over?

In yesterday’s article during this series on What Would a Low Density Lifestyle World Look Like?, I showed the video of John Lennon’s well-known holiday anthem, Happy Xmas/War is Over.

I discussed it within the context of what John Lennon stood for – he was a man of vision and a man of peace. He was able to clearly articulate what a Low Density Lifestyle world should look like.

I said how the song, when it came out in 1971, was seen as radical and the work of a notorious peace activist, but now is sung far and wide by all kinds of musicians.

And to prove my point, in yesterday’s article were versions by Celine Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Tom Jones, the Three Tenors, and U2.

Which means the song is now a fully accepted and loved part of the holiday season. As well it should, since it is a hymn to peace – and isn’t that what the holiday spirit is about?

But what if war isn’t over? (I know, I know, just look around us – it goes without saying.)

So let me clarify it: what if we continue on the path we’re on, of many countries armed with nuclear weapons, ready to use the final option if necessary?

That’s the point of the above video, courtesy of Good Magazine.

So I invite you to watch it and to understand that is not the vision of the world we want to live in. That’s the vision of a High Density Lifestyle world, and is certainly not what a Low Density Lifestyle World Would Look Like.

So let’s all resolve to do better. Before it’s too late.

Happy Xmas, War is Over, Goodbye John

A little more than 29 years ago, on Dec. 8, 1980, John Lennon left us. I thought of him the other day when I was walking through a store and heard his song Happy Xmas/War is Over.

This is a song that when it came out in 1971 was branded as radical because it was written and sung by a notorious peace activist. Yet now, the song is heard every year at this time.

And that’s because it tells us of hope – about a world of peace, which is what the Xmas spirit is about, and also what a Low Density Lifestyle world is about. So now the song is a hymn that is heard every Xmas holiday season.

As well it should.

The only sad thing about the song is that it was written by a man who is no longer with us, a visionary who perceived what a Low Density Lifestyle world looked like, and articulated it very clearly.

Earlier in this series on what a Low Density Lifestyle world would look like, I told you about the work of Yoko Ono.  She has been someone who has worked tirelessly for peace, for the cultivation of the imagination, and for the integration of the two, originally with her husband John Lennon, and then by herself.

She has also kept the spirit of John alive. On the recent anniversary of his death, she wrote the following:

Affirmation for Planet Earth

Yoko Ono Lennon
December 8, 2009

On the anniversary of the passing of my husband, John Lennon,
I would like you to share an affirmation with me.
Think it, say it, with firm belief,
knowing that we are all one.

In the name of truth, peace and love:
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Our planet is healthy and whole,
We, the people of Earth
See clearly, Hear clearly, Think clearly.
Make the right judgement, right decision and the right move
For the benefit of our planet and others.

We are now bathing in the light of Dawn,
Standing in the Heaven we have created together,
Sharing the Joy
With all Lives on Earth
And of the Universe,
As we are all one, united with infinite and eternal love.

For the highest good of all concerned, So be it.

With all my love,
yoko ono lennon

December 8, 2009

Tokyo, Japan

And two years ago, on Dec. 8, 2007, she wrote the following:

December 8, 2007
by Yoko Ono Lennon

I miss you, John.

27 years later, I still wish I could turn back the clock to the Summer of 1980.

I remember everything – sharing our morning coffee, walking in the park
together on a beautiful day, and seeing your hand stretched to mine -
holding it, reassuring me that I shouldn’t worry about anything because
our life was good.

I had no idea that life was about to teach me the toughest lesson of all.

I learned the intense pain of losing a loved one suddenly, without
warning, and without having the time for a final hug and the chance to
say, “I love you,” for the last time. The pain and shock of that sudden
loss is with me every moment of every day.

When I touched John’s side of our bed on the night of December 8th,
1980, I realized that it was still warm. That moment has haunted me for
the past 27 years – and will stay with me forever.

Even harder for me is watching what was taken away from our beautiful boy,
Sean.

He lives in silent anger over not having his Dad, whom he loved so much,
around to share his life with. I know we are not alone. Our pain is one
shared by many other families who are suffering as the victims of
senseless violence. This pain has to stop.

Let’s not waste the lives of those we have lost. Let’s, together, make
the world a place of love and joy and not a place of fear and anger.
This day of John’s passing has become more and more important for so
many people around the world as the day to remember his message of Peace
and Love and to do what each of us can to work on healing this planet we
cherish.

Let’s: Think Peace, Act Peace, and Spread Peace.
John worked for it all his life.
He said, “There’s no problems, only solutions.”

Remember, we are all together.
We can do it, we must.
I love you!

yoko

Yoko Ono Lennon
8 December 2007

Below, there are a series of videos just to show how popular John Lennon’s song has become. The first video is of Celine Dion singing the song; then Melissa Etheridge; then Tom Jones singing Happy Xmas at a concert at the Vatican; then the Three Tenors - Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras – singing it in Vienna; and finally U2 singing an acoustic version in 1988 on TV on The Late, Late Show.

Why I’m an Avowed Marxist

I have made it a point to stay away from discussing politics on this website, as it’s something that can become so polarizing and cause a lot of stress.

And as you all know, I’m for things that manage stress and encourage stress relief and keep you far away from High Density Lifestyle mode.

I’m trying to help you live a Low Density Lifestyle, and I know if I start sharing my political beliefs, it’s bound to make some of you quite uptight.

But I’ve decided I can’t hold back anymore. Even though this series is about humor and laughter, I’ve decided to let it all hang out and tell you where I’m coming from.

And no, I’m not telling you this because I’ve been taking too much Despondex.

And so here’s the real deal: yes, I’m an avowed Marxist. And not only do I think the Marxist approach is the best approach, I believe it’s something that should be taught in school right from kindergarten.

And in these recessionary times, what better approach is there to adopt than Marxism?

Let’s delve into this further. What does Marx have to teach us? Such things as:
***Why a Duck?
***There ain’t no Sanity Clause
***Never join a club that would have you as a member

Huh, you say? You don’t remember this from your copy of Das Kapital? Well, if you’ve been reading Das Kapital, then you’ve got the wrong Marx, brother.

I’m talking the real Marx Doctrine: the world according to Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and occasionally Zeppo.

This is the type of Marxism we need!

The Brothers Marx were masters of inspired Zen lunacy, and to this day, the likes of what they did has never been repeated.

They took comedy, humor and laughter to a whole new visionary level. It was enlightened humor, the type that easily puts you into Low Density Lifestyle mode.

And that’s the kind of Marxist approach we need now more than ever, brother (and sister).

Oh, and by the way, if I think about it even more, I’m not just a Marxist, but a Marxist-Leninist. Or more correctly, a Marxist-Lennonist, as in John, the man behind All You Need is Love, Across the Universe and Imagine.

He was a man with vision, and if there’s anything the world needs now, it’s people with vision. These are the true Low Density Lifestylers.

I say: how about starting a movement, the Marxist Zen lunacy humor movement, or the Marxist-Lennonist visionary movement?

Either way, it’s time we all become avowed Marxists.

For your viewing and laughing pleasure, here are three classics of the Marx Brothers in action:

This clip is the Stateroom Scene from “A Night at the Opera”:

This clip is the Contract Scene between Groucho and Chico, also from “A Night at the Opera.” It contains the famous “Sanity Clause”:

This is the Mirror Scene from “Duck Soup”:

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Vision – Quotes of Noted Visionaries of the 20th and 21st Centuries

I’ve been talking for a few weeks about Creative Intelligence, and the last few days about Vision and how being a Visionary is something innate we all have brewing within.

So today for some inspiration I would share with you quotes of some noted visionaries of the 20th and 21st centuries. I hope this gets your wheels turning and encourages you to start cultivating and evolving your own vision.

Words of Visionaries

Muhammed Ali: To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.

Winston Churchill: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Albert Einstein: The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.

Anne Frank: Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!

Buckminster Fuller: Everyone is born a genius, but the process of living de-geniuses them.

Mohandas Gandhi: An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Vaclav Havel: Genuine politics—even politics worthy of the name—the only politics I am willing to devote myself to—is simply a matter of serving those around us: serving the community and serving those who will come after us. Its deepest roots are moral because it is a responsibility expressed through action, to and for the whole.

Helen Keller: No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.

John F. Kennedy: The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were.

Robert F. Kennedy: There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. The chain reaction of evil—hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars—must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

Dalai Lama: With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.

John Lennon: My role in society, or any artist’s or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.

Nelson Mandela: I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Rosa Parks: I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.

Pablo Picasso: The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.

Jackie Robinson: A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.

Eleanor Roosevelt: Do what you feel in your heart to be right—for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: In our personal ambitions we are individualists. But in our seeking for economic and political progress as a nation, we all go up or else all go down as one people.

Dr. Albert Schweitzer: By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep and alive.

Dr. Benjamin Spock: Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.

Mother Teresa: It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters.

Desmond Tutu: If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.

Kurt Vonnegut: Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn’t mean we deserve to conquer the Universe.

Creative Intelligence and Vision

In Friday’s article, which was Elizabeth Gilbert talking about genius and the creative process, I said that was the end of the series on Creative Intelligence. But as I thought about it over the weekend, I decided I wanted to extend the series a few more days, because I wanted to talk about how Creative Intelligence is so closely related to Vision.

I also have received a lot of positive feedback on this series, so that also made me decide to stretch it out a few more days.

Vision is the ability to see the world in the largest way possible.  Living a Low Density Lifestyle is something that will help you develop your visionary capabilities.

You can use vision to to find happiness, love, prosperity, a successful career, fulfilling work or to change the world.

You can vision small or large, and you can make the vision a reality. Many have done it before us, and many will do it after us. And most importantly, many are doing it right now. You have the power to be one of those who are doing it now.

To vision you need to learn to think different (and that should sound familiar, one because it’s the theme Apple Computer uses, and secondly because that’s what Creative Intelligence is about), to add space in between your thoughts, and to let go of your current way of thinking in order to see something new.

In other words, you need to interject a certain amount of dreaminess into your thinking, whether it be daydreaming, gazing into space or applying your night dreams to situations that arise during the day.

I believe John Lennon’s song “Imagine” strikes such a resonant chord because it is a song about the power to vision, and it empowers us to vision the highest calling of humanity — living in a world of peace (which, sad to say, is such an elusive thing — could that be because so few people know how to vision?)

And so, the question is, What is Your Vision?

It might be something you’ve never thought about before, primarily because it is a quality that none of us are encouraged to cultivate. But what and who are we without a vision? If you have a vision, then you have a dream to live by, and it becomes a passion, something that can fire you up and inspire you every waking hour of your life.

And when this occurs, your actions in everyday life will be performed with effortless effort.

So ask yourself, What is My Vision?

Take some time to ponder that question. It’s not a test. Come back to it. And your vision can change and evolve, so what you come up with now may change tomorrow, next week, or next year.

I will continue on with Creative Intelligence and Vision tomorrow.