Think Big

 In=ity

Body politic, body of Christ, head of the corporation, Christs and politicians.   Playing the role, being some version of themselves, ordering people around.   Needing power, authority, control.  PAC-men.  Head honchos, Big cheeses, CEOs, and  Masters of the Universe.   Men with Money.  With a word, they can get what they came for.    Starving children, mud huts, African sun, war hell, and ruination.   The wealthiest human has around 430 Billion (dollars).  Let  that sink in.   What can a person do with that?  (430B is roughly what the combined wealth of the bottom 400 million people on earth are worth).   Many people are in debt, with negative worth.  About 30% of Americans, actually (US population: 330 million).  700 million people earn $2.15 dollars or less a day.   8.5% humanity.   The world population is 8.24 billion.    Global GDP is 85.76 Trillion.   The top 10% own 85% of global wealth (so, bottom 90% own the remaining 15%).

All Men Are Created Equal,   -ADI  (American Declaration of Independence)

He who dies with the most toys wins - bumper sticker

Solve Problems

Listening:

No one knows what to do about it

The wurst

warfare

Cruelty, brutality, savagery, ruthlessness

Intentional sadistic torture, dismemberment

Pain, suffering

Screaming, crying, sickness

Misery, discontent, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, dukkha

Depression, psychological distress

Agony, torment

Desecration, beyond comprehension

Filth, slavery, force-rape, kidnapped, beatings

Ugliness, meat-processing

Murder, killing

Evil, wicked, depraved monsters

Sadness, hopelessness

Sick ill diseased, vicious

Worry, anxiety, stress

Unhappiness, anguish

anger, hatred, rage, wrath, fury

Suicidal despair

Rescued by a holy god

The Perfect Life

La Vida Perfecta

You singlehandedly solve all the world’s problems, leaving Utopia in your wake.

Everyone loves you

You die happy

You heal all the world’s sick, upstaging even Jesus

Utopia?  Peace, no militaries, no guns, no bombs, no torture

   No pain or suffering, Universal Bliss and Pleasure and Satisfaction 

Food and Shelter and Healthcare and Libraries for all

Good Weather

Everyone in Love

   loving self, significant other(s), each other, everybody, god(s), life

No criminals, no prisons, no jails, no incarceration, no sin, no evil

Everyone fulfiled, happy, and content

Maximized strong, fit, healthy, well populace;  And Beauty.

No needs unmet

Humor and Laughter and Play and Fun and Games and Comedy

No threats to life, survival, humanity, civilization, or general safety

Sharing economy, society of friends

The globe as a land of plenty, riches, wealth, bountiful supply

Restaurants and Travel open to all, worldwide

Everyone gets to try drugs, under supervision

No commercials

Gyms and Pools and Parks and Museums and Music

No need, want, lack, discontent, misery

Graceful aging, and widespread longevity*

Sanity, minimized mental madness

Authenticity, and comfortable in your own skin

No suicides

*If I could name the circumstances of my immortality, I would have a Planet Earth to play on and Time-Travel to.   I could have a repeat loop like the Groundhog Day movie premise, if not a day, then a century or something.   I could read every book.  I could turn off pain.   I could have access to any drugs.  I could morph to any being, any size.   I could also have access to Omniscience.   I could be any age I’d like, young or old.   If I die, I can be reborn as a set identity.  Teleportation ability.   I would want to master MASD.  I want to be Good.   In Heaven.  Not a demon, a dangerous criminal, looking at the walls of a prison cell.  Or in Hell.  

masd =  martial arts / self-defense

AI

eh, ay!

Artificial Intelligence, always intelligent, smarter than your average bear.   How smart is an average bear?   There is considerable overlap between the dumbest humans and the smartest bears. -Ranger.   Go Bears!  Go bare!   Go Cal!   Calvin and Hobbes.  Cal q later.    How many students attend Cal?  33k undergrads, 12k graduate,  around 45k people.    With 25k+ employees.  Faculty: 1800+ (full-time) and 800 (part-time).    In any case, Calvin Coolidge (POTUSA 30, went to Amerst college) and  John Calvin (french theologian, of Calvinism sect of Protestantism).   And, of course, Calvin Klein (jeans, underwear; fragrances: Obsession, Eternity). Enough about bears.  Artificial evokes fish.   There are 35k+ kinds of fish in the world.   Go Fish!  (a card game, too).  Phish is a band.   Something fishy about Jesus.   Jesus is Jess, u rearranged).    Jesse is Isaí, in spanish.   Presto, back to AI.   The CIA has real intelligence.  Artificial has CIA in it.   What fun.  C for see.   I for eye, A for ass.   Says the assayer.   Assess the content and quality of my ass.  Lol.   It’s perfectly round!  Look at it!

That’s my riff on AI.  Can a computer compete with Pete’s cum?  Sorry. 

Cool stick

 I think it looks like an alien wiping its butt.    Good for the bathroom.   My girlfriend thinks it's being held back.    I like it, whatever it is!    It makes me happy.

Psychopathy

Pure Psychopath.

Psychopathy is short for psychological pathology, which might make you think it’s synonymous with ‘mental illness,’  but it’s not.    It’s pronounced sigh-cop-uhthee, so it’s got cop in it, but really you should be looking at the ‘chop.’   Psychopaths are sociopaths.   The terms are used interchangeably.  A sociopath is a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior, and lack of conscience .  A psychopath is defined, alternatively, as having a chronic mental disorder involving abnormal or violent social behavior.  It is not someone who has traveled down some psychological path.   We all do that.   Anyone with a mind has a mindstream and a flow, like a creek (or river), that follows its own path to sea.  If this were the case, every book would be a psychopath.  Or song.  Or movie.  A path is not pathological.   I had a cousin named Patrick Hennessy (Pat H).  He was not synonymous with pathology, either.   In any case, psychopaths enjoy evil, have no remorse, don’t stop, and become adept at hiding it and blending in.  They comprise 1% of the population, and 15-25% of prisoners, and x% of politicians, etc.   They are cold, manipulative, impulsive, and lack remorse.  They thrive on pain and suffering and getting away with criminal abuse.  Wait, I'm confusing it with sadism.   There's obviously some overlap.    I guess its power, control, deception, attention, and admiration.   The "lay-definition" of evil.  You get the picture.  Mental illness is a larger category.   Mental disorders and psychiatric disabilities fill the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), which enumerates over 450 distinct definitions of mental illnesses, in 11 categories.   Zooming out further, there are over 2500 known infectious diseases, and over 300 non-infectious diseases, like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.  So, you can get sick in, what?  Like 3250 ways??  (some sources cite 10,000+).   Psychopathy is just one.  

*The 11 categories of mental illness, per the APA (American Psychological Association), which publishes the DSM, are: 1. neurocognitive, 2. Schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic, 3. depressive, bipolar, and other related, 4. intellectual, 5. Anxiety and OCD, 6. Somatic symptom and related, 7. Personality and impulse control, 8. Autism spectrum, 9. Neuro-developmental, 10. Eating, and 11 Trauma and stressor-related.    I don’t know what the descending order of prevalence is.   Psychopathy belongs to 7.

Other psychology:   Synaesthesia.    Synesthetes blend senses.   So, like, "white noise".   Or cicadas make it "sound hot".    Or smells have shapes.   Or words have tastes.   Crazy!

Some more interesting psych:  Target sells body sprays ("Hair, Body, and Linen Mists") called "being frenshe" (I used to date an Ellen French) that come in 7 varieties, all of them trying to be therapeutic:  These include:  Empowered and confident, Joy and bliss, Soothe and comfort, Present and grounded, and Unwind and Rest.    What are we really buying, people??

How many diseases are there?  How many KINDS (categories) of diseases are there?   How many ways can you get Sick Ill and Diseased?  My Amazon Echo smart-speaker (Alexa) says:  30,000.   Google says there are "countless specific diseases within each category."    The NORD (national organization for rare diseases) lists over 10,000 rare diseases.   Diseases can be communicable (contagious) ('infectious' is slightly different) or non-communicable.    Hereditary (genetic or non-genetic).   Physiological (impaired functions, organs, or tissues).  Deficiency (lack of nutrients; i.e. vitamins and minerals).   Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessels).  Cancer (over 200 known types).  Mental Health Disorders.   All together?   Who the heck knows.   God save us all.   We're all gonna die!!!  Ahhhhh!

So I read 'The Psychopath Test' by Jon Ronson.   It's not a test.    It's about psychopathy (and madness in general), and is both funny and scary, with horror stories and humorous anecdotes.  He's a good writer.   The name Jon Ronson makes me think of Don Johnson and Charles Bronson.  He wrote 'The Men Who Stare at Goats', which I haven't read (or seen; it was made into a movie).  The test referred to is (Bob) Hare's checklist.   It's a 20 item inventory of personality traits.  (Wikipedia page about, link).   The scary thing is, if you pretend to be (or are misdiagnosed as) crazy (some guy quoted a bunch of movies to get out of prison), it can be very difficult to change your status (and get released).   I came up with something kinda fun: "violent antisocial mental psychopath in relation to everyone' (vampire).    An interesting description of a psychopath is, "a talking mask simply going through the motions of feeling deeply."    In other words, knowing the words but not the music.  One guy interviewed was described, comically, as probably having a grandiose sense of self- worth, sitting in front of a giant oil painting of himself.       Another guy held a press conference to announce himself as the messiah (lol).  

I am NOT announcing myself as a messiah (I'm not).   And I hear the music (and often not the lyrics).   I am what I am.   I am a deity and I am an ant's fart, like everybody else.   So there.    I consider myself grounded and realistic.   I am never bored.    I'm more of a pathological truth-teller.   I don't want to do the full 20 point run-down.   I'm just not.   I was voted "most kind" in grammar school.   I'm a good guy.   If life were a video game, maybe I'd off some bad guys - but it's not.  I imagine we all sometimes want to do horrible things to each other, which is normal.   I published a thousand reasons people kill - to nullify and overcome them.   This is probably an ongoing lifelong process for most of us.  Malice, hate, and resentment require loving-kindness meditation and equanimity.   I seek to espouse -and embody- compassionate service.  I don't know why my doctor recommended this book, but I enjoyed it, and maybe you will too.   Psychopaths are interesting.   Best to read about them, not suffer them.  

Interestingly, the head-shock thing was mentioned.   I've suffered them for years.  Ronson describes his own:   "Normal people definitely didn't feel like they were being electrocuted from the inside by an unborn child armed with a miniature Taser, that they were being prodded by a wire emitting the kind of electrical charge that stops cattle from going into the next field."    And then, also, he quotes L Ron Hubbard (founder of Scientology), "A person drugged and shocked can be ordered to kill and who to kill and how to do it and what to say afterwards.  Scientologists, being technically superior to psychiatrists, and about a hundred light years above him morally, object seriously to the official indifference to drug-electric-shock treatments...Someday the police will have to take the psychiatrist in hand.    The psychiatrist is being found out." (1969)

Godman

 They call me the working man... -Rush

We can be Raw or At Peace, but we should expect the world to get better, and make it so.   Apathy and resignation -and making the world worse- are Unacceptable.   Cruel to be kind?   The world must get worse before it gets better?   The world is overpopulated?  These are tricky spells.  God says, Be Good.  The Bible says only God is good.   My blog says I am God, and You are, too.   But I realize Godhood is not for everyone.   Many (most?) like to Submit.   Also, lots of people can't stretch their prior definition of God to include other things... But the Good Book doesn't say everything.

So I think about God a lot.   I'm a philosopher.   Anything religious, spiritual, good.   I write, so I use words, and the Word was God.   God is love, and God is a man of war - a lover not a fighter.   A prince of peace (a mop and a pop?).    Men of peace study Aikido, they say.   Love is devotion and delight (Being a dad is not in the cards for me, though).   Love is respect, care, kindness, sensuality, laughter, joy, bringing out the best in each other.  But love is not always fun.   They say it is hard work.  Love takes Grit Determination.   Lovers shouldn't just have sexual chemistry, in my book, but Partners should also a) grok and understand each other, b) be Friends, Companions, Simpático, and c) Commit to each other, being faithful and true, without cheating, inoculated against temptation, with devotion and dedication.      

God is I AM.   There's a lot of existence, with and without brains.  All in all is Allah we are.  God, man.   Far out, cosmic.   God is Always and Everywhere?  Well, that means...  

God is dead.  God is everything, the whole ball of wax, the system.   Things are dead.   People are things.   People are bodies, and bodies are complex objects.  Mind.    Like spirit of radio.  Radios are objects and radio waves are a thing, too, so to speak.   Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when open?   You should be spiritually open.   Come on in, Everybody!   Just shut up.   It's a meditation hall, not a freaking rude babble party.  I mean, I'm alive, but when you think about it, we're just breathing objects that move and stuff.   I'm not willing to say that objects are alive.   I really don't think rocks have consciousness.  You need neurons for that.   But jellyfish are alive.   Heck, I dunno.

Adi Da was a Godman.  Jesus, Buddha (kind of), and even L Ron, in his own mind.   We're all entitled to think of ourselves any way we want.   God of Gods will judge all gods?  Delusions of grandeur aren't delusions if you're really grand.   I think everybody is, actually.   But you can also say everybody are ants, on this rock in space, important to ourselves, but in the Vast Space of an Infinite Universe?  Totally infinitesimal, puny, meaningless, trivial.  Maybe this is good news.

Goddamn Godman, God Am (His/Her name is Iams cat food).   I am what I am.   What I shall prove to be.  Who Am.   Who are you?   God is everything, and we are all Nothing, nonexistent, really.   Punier than ant farts.  I'm not nullifying your life.  You are the ruler of your own skull-sized kingdom, which can be Near-Infinite!   A brain is a wondrous thing.   Omnipotence is a helluva drug.

God is just a concept.  It is not possible to be Omnipotent.   To Create a Universe (unless you mean something like a Marvel Universe).  To know Everything (even if you are a Supercomputer reading the Internet, I would say).  But it's fun to play with.   God is the source and embodiment of Virtue, God is good.   Just like the Devil is evil.   It's just wordplay, that goes ON and ON and ON.   Sorry.

Are some folks more God than others?  More virtuous, or more holy, or more powerful, or more knowledgeable....   Heck, some people are telepaths and generate eidetic imagery, like Morpheus.   Spiritually open folks can have networks operating within them, entire corporations and collectives.  I happen to think the lowliest baby, the stupidest and slowest individuals with intellectual disability,  the craziest most deluded psychotic mentally ill person, and the tiniest ant, are all equal, equally holy, equally God.   Not just bloggers like myself.   It's all good.   We have our preferences about what's better.   But life is absurd for everyone, from the brilliant billionaires to the bloody, bitten gobbled-up bulls.  Where's the beef?  It's okay, OK?   Who the hell gives a fuck what you are?   You're a saint?  Good for you.  You're a psychopath? Good for nothing.   I mean, the sociopaths find joy in their own ways.   Whatever.

I and I wish you and you luck!

Clutter and Minimalism

 There's too much Stuff

Too much things, objects, items, property, clutter, stuff, Shit.

The papers and lists, too.   Keep that stuff in your head.   Or in binders, folders, files, journals, blogs.   

The minimalist aesthetic is beautiful.   It's good for peace of mind, too.   Less distraction, noise.   Have only what you need, the basics, essentials, and keep it Clean.

Flush the shit.

George Carlin on "Stuff"

What is Minimalism?   Minimalist decor means:  Simplicity.    Neutral color palettes.    Clean lines and shapes.  Functional furniture.  Ample natural light.  Open spaces.    Thoughtful storage solutions.   And a focus on Quality (over quantity).  

Enlightenmint

So say Doll eye Llama/Buddha

"What is reborn are our habits.   Enlightenment is the ending of rebirth, which means a complete non attachment or non-identification with all thoughts, feelings, perceptions, physical sensations, and ideas."

Well, first of all, we only outlive our lives through our children and ideas, in my view/book.  I don't believe in reincarnation, or souls, or soul migration, or going to other realms, like heaven or hell or limbo or purgatory or what-have-you.   You remain as memories, granted.   We all die.   Nothing is forever.  No one lives forever.   All is impermanent.  Because everything is ephemeral and transitory, like a bubble, I guess you could say we are all enlightened!   There never was any rebirth to begin with.   

   Heaven and Hell and The Earth-Realm:  Bliss and Torture, Ecstasy and Agony, and plain old neutral ordinary everyday life, with the potential for anything, but characterized by a moderate normality, in between the extremes of pleasure and pain, which is quite pleasant and satisfying, in my book.  They say heaven and hell are all in your head, but steady ongoing effort yields a pleasant life, with the right people in it, I think.

Second, are we our names?  Should we not attach to our names as a referent to our bodies?  A rose is a rose by any other name.   They say people with more A's in their names get better grades.   So there IS some correlation between name and identity.   Like, my name has like 10 gods in it.   Is that why I have a God's blog?  I don't think so, but maybe.  Or, all the anagrams sometimes seem relevant and meaningful.   Is reality playing games with us?  Or the numbers in names?   It's completely random!  Who ordered the alphabet, and do we have to use base 9?  (the numerology seems pervasive).   You can choose any name for yourself you want.  You can change names every week!  You can have no name, and identify with all names.   You can pick names at random from a phone book.   You can think about your name for years, and have a sacred ceremony for it.   It can be as important or unimportant as you like!  You can demand people call you something, or you could care less.   Names, shnames!  My confirmation name is John.  I wanted to be Jonathan.  My names in other languages are fun.   Well, whatever.   Sometimes, it's good to change, for variety, or safety, or getting married, or just to feel happier.   Maybe you need a change.   There are bad associations with some names, and good associations with others.   I like unique names.  Weird names.  Fun names.  With meaning (and kinding).  

Thirdly, I don't think the DL is saying there is no truth or reality or that all ideas are worthless...  Just don't IDENTIFY with them.   Self and identity are your body and conditioned and changeable, and we're all a part of Reality, both Everything and Nothing, and that's the whole shebang.  I mean, to tie this Buddhist idea with my God-blog thing, we're All I AM.    Fill in the blank, I AM _____.   Yes.   We're all everything.  All in all is all we are.   All the components of Reality in the microcosm of our minds, bodies, spirits, selves, whatever.   You are okay, already, whatever you are.   It seems like everybody wants you to be something else.   Some things ARE better and happier than others.   So that's it.

I like to identify with positive feelings, and think of myself as a happy, well-adjusted person.   This strikes me as healthier than being gloomy and depressed, but the DL is saying, don't.   I don't have to accept HIS ideas, either.   I get it, though.   Be Everything, One with Reality, and nothing will bring you down (or up), you'll have equanimity, and be solid and compassionate and loving and kind and good and non-judgmental and grounded in reality, all the better to operate ideally within it.    

Physical sensations aren't me.   I am not my pleasure, pain, discomfort, or contentment.   I can kind of program myself to feel fine almost anywhere or anytime.   It's temporary, in any case.  If you are not your body, and not your mind, and in fact there IS no you, because it is all conditioned, and nothing is permanent, then simply existing in union with your eternal Oblivion is a kind of bliss.

Ideas?  Don't take MY word for it.    Everybody groks reality for themselves, no matter what they read!

Yes, I know it's spelled Dalai Lama and enlightenmEnt.    Speaking of which, why is light good and dark bad?  Like positive and negative?  The poles of a battery are not good and evil!  Anyway, dark is just as good as light.   I like to see things, and am glad I'm not blind.  I like dreams.  But that doesn't make dark bad!!!  Dark is good, when you need to sleep, or your eyes are tired.  The Pope could wear black, for all I care.   This purity symbolism is ridiculous.

Anyway, on bacon.   It's delicious.   Pigs suffer.   What to do?  Well, I'm sure if the pigs could taste it like we do, they'd understand, and say hell I want some, too!   But on the other hand, one Slice Of Bacon is a sob story.   I mean, people need meat, a little (in moderation), but pigs are intelligent animals and factory farming is heinous, if I understand things correctly.   So have bacon once in awhile, but don't go overboard, and -if you can- consider helping your fellow animals by not eating them (although it's true they wouldn't be alive in the first place if we didn't).   But if humans tasted like bacon, we'd all be cannibals, I think.   

If I had to summarize Buddhism, it's that life is suffering, but you can be happy from the pursuit and attainment of Nirvana, which is Bliss, by purging attachments and aversions, and grokking Reality, through meditation, reflection, philosophy, reading, and (for me, at least) writing.  The Christian concept of Hell fits into the Buddhist fabric, in the sense of dukkha (discontent, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, including the pain, agony, suffering, torment, misery, anguish, despair, depression) being overcome through insight and application.   We're (almost?) all in some level of hell, some circle (as it were), some of us worse than others.  Helping others escape melancholy, malaise, and misery and find play, pleasure, and positivity*... itself brings you the felicity and rapture of meaning, service, being a part of something Good, making a difference, helping.   

*bliss, joy, satisfaction, fun, laughter, glee, gratitude, contentment, love, etc. (you get the picture).    It's actually less about play and pleasure than it is about (the Buddhist values of) kindness, compassion, understanding, equanimity, wisdom, and generosity.   But maybe it should be!   Buddhist Values are called Dharma.  

Freedom Day

 Worst Idea Ever?

If there were a new American Holiday, 'Freedom Day' (sounds nice, doesn't it?)...

And people were allowed to do anything they want for a day, (including the police):

People would go absolutely freaking nuts.    People would prepare for it all year.   They'd buy body armor.   They'd go on killing sprees.  Many would lock themselves in their homes.   But there would be burning and looting.  It sounds like it might be fun, but it would probably be a nightmare.   Without jail or prison, people would lose their minds.   Of course, cops could arrest anybody for no reason at all, and incarcerate anyone for a day, too.   Then the law would snap back into place.  Assuming there's still a place.   

People would beat up each other, for sure, and there would be a lot of loud music, and a shit ton of drugs... Every freaking store in America would get robbed.  But store owners could shoot thieves dead!  Hm.    

I like to think there wouldn't be much raping, cannibalism, or torture...

Interesting thought experiment, no?

You can grant yourself a "freedom day" and see if anything is different!

People would wake up, and see what it is they really want to do, and be grateful for law enforcement, etc..

Law

Kinds, Types, Varieties

God’s Law, Virtue and Sin, Be Good, Don’t be bad

Parental and Societal and Church Values

Scouting- Do a good turn daily, be prepared

Make the world a better place, service

Thou shalt not kill, love all serve all, be a man for others

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to god and my country

   you serve your country by making the whole world peaceful and rich

To obey the Scout Law

To keep myself physically strong mentally awake morally straight

Law:  A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrity, Brave, Clean, Reverent.   

Scout Law breakdown

   Trust.  Don’t Lie.   Be Honest.  Transparent.  Reliable.  A man of your word.  Dedicated to learning and sharing Truth.   Philosophical, teaching.  

   Loyalty to loved ones family and friends and maybe country or even humanity.

Helpful, Useful, Of Service, Assisting, Not Hindering, standing in the way, obstructive, harmful

You’re either a part of the solution or the problem.

The art of war is deception, though.  

    Friendly with all, compassionate, understanding, grok, comprehend, empathize, social, cheerful.   Meet people where they’re at, conform to situations, cheer people up, stay positive, be of value.

    Courteous not rude or offensive (or even offended: equanimity), tolerant, accepting, welcoming, respectful, treat as equals, not haughty or superior or arrogant or Better.

    Kind, make a difference, reduce suffering, increase joy, brighten people’s day, a force for good.

Obedient, not refractory or willfully noncompliant just to be stubborn or rebellious - but think about what you’re being told to do and disobey if unethical, or illegal, or against your values/integrity.

    Cheerful.   Smile, be positive, optimistic, hopeful, glad.    Aim for joy, even ecstasy or bliss.   Have gratitude.  Savor the good things.  Imagine a better future.  Laugh, tell jokes, watch standup, don’t (always) be serious, be light-hearted.   Life is crazy, absurd, and completely laughable.   Life shouldn’t be a series of chores and drudgery and tasks and misery.   Life should feel good, full of activity and life and entertainment and Fun.  

    Thrifty.   Go to thrift stores.   Don’t buy shit you don’t need.   Budget and stay within.   Spend wisely.   Save, invest.   Spend on things with the most bang for the buck.   Go to garage sales, get free stuff.  Conspicuous consumption is evil in light of starvation and basic need around us.  

We don’t need a lot of junk,  and commercials are a waste of time, and time is money.   Libraries have free books, free education, and food pantries have free food that would otherwise get thrown away.

    Bravery.  There is danger in the world, and you should be safe, be prepared, and confront evil whenever possible.   Know what you can and can’t do, know the law, and don’t be afraid to get help in difficult situations.   Confront the demons inside you, and cultivate confidence, so you are not afraid of driving, say, or going on a jog, or the everyday risks of living in a city or around potentially dangerous people.  Train to stay safe, and be prepared to have the courage to combat evil, if you can.  It takes bravery to do new things, and go outside your comfort zone, and say things that people may not agree with, or to take risks.   Be prudent.

    Clean.  Next to godliness.   Filth stinks, and is unhealthy, and looks bad.   Hygiene is essential to overall health.   Respect your body, the food you put in it, the drugs, the things you read or watch or listen to, and practice safe sex, for example, and avoid getting infected by covid or colds or what-have-you, as well as infecting others, of course.  

    Lastly, REVERENT.   God is a source of strength, and religious communities are valuable resources, in times of need, materially or spiritually.  Truth is holy, so worship by your lights, even if you are an Agnostic, Atheist, Pagan, Freethinker, or what-have-you.  We get by with a little help from our friends, and the world is full of good, kind, helpful, loving people, of all stripes, who want you to Thrive and love life.

Vegetarians think meat is a perdition dish!   I think sausages are saus-ome :-).   But I see the vegan perspective, point of view.   The meat industry is freaking heinous, and probably needs reform, and the SAD (Standard American Diet) should get kinder, healthier, (some would say, more delicious, even).  But it's okay.   We're all dying, anyway.  Meat animals wouldn't even be alive anyway if it wasn't for their fate in our stomachs.

What is Hell?   War.   Death.  Suffering.  Going to shit.  The art of war is deception.  Suffering is from pain, attachment, ignorance.    Aversion, craving, delusion.  So Heaven is not wanting for anything.  Accepting reality.  Accepting death, suffering.   We will all be dead for all eternity.   Everybody hurts, sometimes.  We are all going to hell.   Misery and depression and just regular dissatisfaction are forms of hell, too.  "the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation" -Thoreau.  Seeing others suffer is painful, too.  Being angry can be madness, and madness can be hell.  Prison isn't a walk in the park.  Sickness isn't fun.  Starvation is painful and unnecessary.   Injustice hurts.   Death of loved ones, drug nightmares, victimization, cruelty and bullying, and sometimes even the concept of Hell itself, are hellish.  It's not necessarily a bad thing.   We are sensitive, and if we didn't care and empathize, we wouldn't feel the pain of others.  Pain is an evolutionary adaptation to telling our bodies when we need to heal.  Anger and rage against evil and wickedness are merited, and it is understandable to seek vengeance, payback, and yes the threat of endless suffering in the hope of ending it for others.    It's twisted.  There are even sadists who want hell for their own pleasure.  But justice, when fair and proportional to the crime committed, is called for.   Childbirth is hell.   Flamethrowers and incendiary bombs and self-immolation are NOT what singers are talking about with, "you set me on fire" (!!).   Fire is metaphorical, too.   

Update on HIV/AIDs

AIDS is still a big problem in Africa.   Up to 10% of the population of some countries in Africa have AIDs.   ART is helping (Anti Retroviral Therapy).    Over 25M people in Africa have AIDS.   Over 2/3 of global cases are in Africa.    South Africa has over 7M cases.   4 countries have a prevalence of over 20%.   Stats are imprecise (by source, year).    The height of the epidemic, withe the greatest incidence of infection, was in 1997.  

So Heaven is not being in Hell, primarily.   You should have gratitude for that, at all times that is true.   And it's not wanting for anything.   Basic needs met.   Being happy for no reason.   Plus, being happy for all the reasons that make you personally happy.   You don't need a charmed life, like Silver Spoons or something, to be fully happy.   Comfort and meditation and good meals do it for me.  I've got my list of things:  Nature, comedy, love, sex, pleasure, variety, quietude, libraries, internet, music, recreation, health, money, fun, exercise endorphins, compliments, writing, good conversation, a good book, a good movie, friendship, hobbies, frisbee, joe frank, travel, museums, kid energy, trivia, research and learning and teaching, shopping or finding things, etc.   But I can still imagine more.   I mean, if I went to Harvard and had power and privilege, parents that gave me enviable DNA and money and upbringing, and had friends in high places, and was sitting by a pool, sipping a whatever, contemplating my next trip to Rio, say, and was shopping for which horses to keep on my estate, to give my grandchildren, or who to replace my elderly servant with...   You get the picture.   CELL.    Comfort Ease Luxury Leisure!   Or jail/prison,   I mean, if Heaven is savagely beating your enemy, maybe you'll enjoy being locked up in prison reading their tablet or whatever, too.