Remember that movie "Independence Day", the one with Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum?  There's a scene in there that's the reason for me mentionig the movie at all.  It's right after that scene in which the Randy Quaid character drunkenly sprays crops in the wrong field, where he's in the luncheonette and some of the other locals are harassing him about his mistake and one of them brings up "wild stories" Quaid had been telling about extra-terrestrial abduction, etc.  As their laughter escalates the ground begins to shake, and as they look out of the door, they all see the monstrous alien ship cresting the mountains.  That's the scene, and I'm referring to it for a purpose that unrelated.

I think I felt a little bit like that character while watching this VIDEO.  Know what?  I don't think there's anything I can do about this except put up this link wherever I can think of a place, maintain the change in habits that I've been cultivating for some years now, and talk about it when the opportunity presents itself.  I get shouted at pretty often, told to shut the f*** up, had my familial relations speculated on, etc.  I guess a couple of people got pretty upset.  I remain unconcerned for them.  A time is coming, I'm sure, that I can expect the odd death-threat.  Those came thick and fast when I questioned the Iraq and Afghanistan escapades, and I'm still meandering about on the face of the planet, sooo ....

This isn't a joke.  Really, it's not.  This isn't just more belly-aching.  I'm convinced that before much longer, a whole lot of things will be coming to a grinding halt.  "Peak Oil" is a concept that's not new to me, but the best expression of my ideas of what's coming were expressed by T. Boone Pickens several years ago, when there was much public scoffing at the idea of paying $100+ per barrel of crude oil.  It's okay to keep making smart-ass remarks about it, but that will make the wake-up that much more harsh.  The politicians all blame each other for the world's problems including energy depletion, the public is inclined to blame politicians too, plus "our enemies" from across the seas.  Fingers point just about everywhere, except in the appropriate direction: at ourselves.  Yes, WE did this.  Yes, it IS happening.  Yes, WE are the only ones who can make the changes necessary.

Here's a bit of a MOVIE from 1981, starring Darren McGavin.  Just for your amusement.

years ago I had an epiphany. A pretty big one for me. It usually takes me sometime to get wrapped around new things, but once they're "in the pot", they cook and cook and cook, just like in a slow-cooker. I was in my late 30's and at that time was pretty convinced that everyone everywhere should come to ME whenever they wanted to know something. (Conceit is a curse of mine, so I try to keep it out of the way.)
So, the EPIPHANY.

My boss called me into his office for something, and it was there that I saw this poster. Bright orange it was, with bright green lettering. Able to induce motion sickness if you turn your head too quickly. On this painful poster were three words:

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

This idea linked up right away with my takeaway from Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance", which is still my most significant source of Life-Changing Ideas. So powerful and profound were those three words that I couldn't pay attention to what my boss was telling me about, and as you might imagine he became a little annoyed. That was the day of my official anointment as "Supreme Village Idiot", an award granted to me because of the way I was unable to close my mouth for about an hour afterward. How I managed to keep the flies out, I'll never know.

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

These three words go a long way to elaborate on the idea of the plasticity of what we call "reality". If 100 people are present to experience the same event and are asked to describe it afterward, included with some general commonality there will also be some notable divergence. Peel away the superficial explanations for those differences and what hides beneath is the issue of perception.

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

It's why "good guys" are "good" and "bad guys" are "bad". It doesn't allow for much in the way of absolutes, but demands and instigates a capacity for elasticity and being able to tweak yourself around and see things from someone else's perspective.

This led to a little disagreement with my therapist years ago, when I proposed the idea that if I'm seeing/experiencing little green men, then they're REAL for me. Under those circumstances they're not easily dismissable without creating some collateral damage in their wake. My therapist, I'll call him "Vince", insisted that reality was "common", and that any perceptions beyond the "common" perceptions that inform general reality were signals of mental illness. I think that's true, but I insist that "mental illness" is not a cause, but a symptom. What is the "mentally ill" person experiencing that's giving birth to these "hallucinations"? That's the question I would like to hear asked. It's hard to answer, because it's very like being asked to describe a forest as a whole, while you're standing in the middle of it. The perspectives of "within" vs "without" are essentially incompatible, and can only be interconnected after a great deal of exploration and communication.

Mr. Pirsig's second book, "Lila", is an extraordinarily elegant discourse on that very subject.

These days I'm usually able to remember the tempests in my own teapot, and that makes dealing with "common reality" and it's subscribers much easier for me. It doesn't mean that I have much ground in common with a lot of other folks, but that's okay.

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

What you see is what you've got.

Raj asked Buddha, “Reverend Sir, how come my mind wanders around to forbidden places and yours does not?” “Sir, how come I do back-biting and you don't?” “Sir, how come I don't have compassion for others, while you have?” All the questions that Raj asked were of similar nature.

Buddha replied, “Raj, your questions are good, but it seems to me that in 24 hours from now you will die.”

Raj got up and started getting ready to go.

Buddha asked, “Raj, what happened? You came with such vitality now you are totally dismayed.”

Raj said, “Sir, my mother told me that your words are true and are to be held in high esteem. So please let me go so that I may meet my family members, friends and others before I die.”

Buddha said, “But there are still 24 hours. Sit, we will talk more.”

Raj said, “Reverend Sir, please let me go. I must meet my people before I die.”

So Raj left and went home. Met his mother and started crying. The word spread. His friends came; other family members came; neighbors came. Everyone was crying with Raj. Time flew.

Raj was busy either crying or counting the hours. When only 3 hours were left, he pulled up a cot and lay down. Although the Death had not yet arrived, poor Raj was kind of dead.

When only an hour was left, Buddha walked in.

Buddha said to Raj, “Raj, why are you lying down on the cot with your closed eyes. Death is still an hour away. And an hour is 60 minutes long. That's a lot of time. Get up, let us talk.”

Raj: “Sir, what is it now that you want to talk? Just let me die peacefully.”

Buddha: “Raj, there is still time and our talk will get over before the 'ordained' time.”

Raj: “Okay, Sir . . . say what you have to say.”

Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you curse anyone?”

Raj: “How could I curse anyone? I was all the time thinking about death.”

Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you think or wish ill for anyone?”

Raj: “How could I do that? I was all the time thinking about death.”

Buddha: “In the past 24 hours, did you steal?”

Raj: “Sir, how can you even ask that? I was all the time thinking about death.”

Finally the Buddha said, “Raj, I don't know who has to die and who has to live. But understanding the ultimate truth — i.e. death — can be very enlightening. All the questions you posed to me have been answered by yourself because of the awareness of death that you experienced during the past 24 hours. The difference between me and you is that you were aware of death for the past 24 hours, I have been aware for the past 24 years.”


I wish I knew the origin of this one.  I wish I could claim authorship too.  Too good to let pass.