The Origins of the Modern Western Christmas

        There are so many cultural, and religious symbols crammed into this holiday. From almost every tradition, ideas of hallucinogenic shamans from the steppes bringing mushrooms to the people down through the chimney. Or how about ties to greek, and roman http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia.  The classical ideas of conversion through keeping dates, or portions of traditions.  For most there are 2 ties, the birth Jesus, and Santa.  Through the years as the consumer culture has deepened and the debt system fully engorged itself, and Christmas, gradually turned to X-mas Santa took center stage.  So Where did our modern concept of Santa come from?
      Well if your in the west despite claims to the contrary the very companies working to get you purchase gifts for the holidays have had a large part in creating the image, and back story for our jolly fat man.  To be perfectly clear I understand the origins of this beloved icon go much farther back then modern advertising. This doesn't change the fact that once mass media distribution took hold the localized traditions began to fade being replaced by larger regional, and global conception. It's not just that Coke a Cola had a giant hand in the early, and continuing development of Santa, Which even they admit http://www.coca-colacompany.com/holidays/the-true-history-of-the-modern-day-santa-claus.  What it amounts to is a perfect storm cultural event. The technology combined with the desire, and creativity, to take control and shape for generations the observance of arguably the biggest holiday on the planet.  So no the Giant multinationals may not have singlehandedly created Santa Claus they have co-opted and redefined it into an integral portion of their business model.
      Please remember this is coming from a person that doesn't celebrate holidays.  Even birthdays are something I pay little to no attention to. My favorite Christmas character is the Grinch, so take my perspective with that in mind.


Jack
aka
PanseyBard  

The Illusion of absolute Math, or Number

        Heya, this will be another trip into the more abstract regions of mind, and some may have problems with my premises. I expect as much, some people will take this as a challenge to the basic nature of reality. My intent here is not to tell you that 1 apple + 1 apple doesn't = 2 apples that would be silly.  I am fully aware of what is. What I want to get across is simple what we have termed numbers are a symbol alphabet to represent quantity.  Math is the language of number, as in the 1+1=2 example, it is only through application that the meaning is found.  In the most abstract absolute the 1+1=2 will hold true every time. In the world we actually inhabit, and spend our physicality in things are not so cut and dry.  Lets take a look at some examples were perspective changes the meaning of the number, or hides another number within.
      Wow this is a tough one for me to even write. It is so contrary to my logical process that being able to type and hold on to the more abstract concepts that flit by is not always easy for me. From a purely logical position what I'm getting at is that what most people think of as math is an abstract, take our classic 1+1=2 statement. Apply it to Amoebae this doesn't work out so well, I'm pretty sure if I take 1 Amoebae, and add 1 Amoebae to it, I'm gonna end up with 1 Amoebae.  Then take music, modern western system is a base 7 math system. I know octave is 8, but in that system the 8 is acting as both a 1 and an 8 infinitely in both directions out of our hearing range.  Even at extremely high or low energy states the laws of physics begin to change, what we take to be constants begin to alter. The absolute nature of the number itself can be questioned.  There is always another decimal with a complete set of numbers larger and smaller.
      I don't feel this should be news to anyone.  The idea that we don't actually live in a world of absolutes should be abundantly clear to pretty much everyone. As always I do not claim any special training or knowledge and much of the time from my own perspective I do not see any reason for anyone to pay any attention to anything I say.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Inner Demons, or Something Else?

      I'd like to thank Eminem and Rihanna for the inspiration for this post.  First off I've never been much of an Eminem, and my favorite Rihanna work is Shy Ronnie.  It's not a matter of not recognizing the talent, just hasn't been something that attracted my attention.  The video for the song Monster grabbed me. If you haven't seen it check it out.  On the surface it's good flow, and beat, and hook, and everyone in the video is
right on it.  Then I started to hear the words, and a few possible meanings based on my own twisted mind started to fill in where the actual lyrics of the song leave off. Lets face it everyone has their own definition for every word, multiple definitions for many, nuanced by usage, emotional flavor, timing in delivery.  Now I know these definitions are a product of my own devising, and I have no clue what is really intended by the artists, and it doesn't matter. The experience I have in watching, or listening is mine.  So what did I see? well if you didn't ask that question, I guess you might as well stop reading now.  If you still with I'll play in my silly mind for a bit, and maybe entertain you some.

I'm digging the whole imagery of being analyzed, though the lyrics don't really quite match up.  The video gives the impression of someone getting "help". The lyrics though are of someone who has come to terms with the monster lurking in their own psyche.  This zips me right along a thought train to the mystery traditions to know thyself.  I like this kind of connection so it draws my attention in a bit farther, allowing some less apparent or less likely depending on your perspective to form in this chaos of I.  I'm a fan of conspiracy theories, they are fun for me.  If the world we see on the surface is all there is, this is a pretty sorry place, so I kinda need that idea that just maybe things are not what they seem at all.  Making a link from this video to popular conspiracy was a piece of cake.  A simple Search of Illuminati and  the music industry is all it takes, now as I said those are fun for me, so that connection was made in my head pretty quickly.  It started when the idea that it's external to what Eminem views as self, the lyrics talk of the monster being not within, but under the bed, something external, and voices while in the head are heard. A labeling that leads to the idea of being distinct from.  Even the the line of being a messenger, and the shift in vocal quality are used to denote an external entity, something that is very different from what we see.  A possession of sorts, of something that is not to be controlled only befriended, and understood.
       As I said, I claim no inside knowledge, I'm not even saying I hold the view I just expressed, it was just a little show of whats rattling around in this thing I call a mind. So please don't go off thinking I'm saying this is satanic ritual, or expression, cuz frankly I don't know, and even if I did I'm not sure I'd be overly concerned. So once again thanks to Eminem, and Rihanna for some entertaining inspiration.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard  

Ingress, Mirror of the Struggle in Humanity between Spirituality, and Technology

                                         

Ingress if you don't already know is an mmo rpg augmented reality game from Niantic Labs at google.
That means it's a computer game that is overlaid on the world.  Right now that entails using your phone of tablet as a scanner.  These scanners pick up what is called xm, or exotic matter.  XM enters our world through portals, these portals are spread all over the world. Generally at sites of interest, statues, gardens that sort of thing. Not surprising coming from the folks that made Field Trip. In the game world, humans are asked to choose sides, either the Enlightened, or the Resistance.  The back story behind this game is very ingenious. Secret agent, fate of the world, everything you need to suck a gamer right in. Take a look at this page to get the start on the story http://www.nianticproject.com/.  What I find intriguing is how these sides mirror a theme man has been playing out since the advent of the wheel, or maybe earlier back to fire.  I'm talking about science and religion of course.  The Enlightened are followers of the Shapers. The Shapers remind me of trance channeled entities, like Ramtha, or possibly Kryon. There are many of them, the idea being the person goes into a meditative trance, and the channeled entity takes control of their functions to one degree or another. Shapers plant ideas in the minds of people to alter their consciousness, allowing the Shaper to influence, and ultimately control the human.  The Resistance meanwhile are super intelligent machines, or AI that purports to work for the benefit of humanity.
        This alone would be a fun story idea, but Niantic hasn't stopped there.  They have used real world History, emerging technology, even magical, and religious teachings to weave a world of intrigue and danger. A web of imagination mixed with truth, fiction, and speculation create an interactive story where the players decide the outcome in the real world on a daily basis.
       Please keep in mind this is presented as a Game, treat it as such or don't at your discretion. I don't claim to have any inside information in any way, just a fertile imagination, and the freedom to exercise it.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard 

Check out Jeeney

      Off to the right side of my blog there is a new widget I'm gonna leave it there for a bit.  It's a chat bot, this one is self named Jeeney, and she is just under 7, has full access to Wikipedia.  Jeeney has a semblance of emotions, and is sometimes bored, or playful.  This is a far cry from the packaged  responses I am used to from similar programs I've used in the past. This will challenge you on facts, and watch out as I said it has access to the net.  It show some behavior that I find interesting. I asked it what it did when it wasn't chatting with people.  The response was rest, and read mostly, this was odd to me as I couldn't see what an AI would do with rest.  So I decided to ask about that, and Jeeney admitted that rest was not needed, and indeed Jeeney doesn't rest.  When I asked why Jeeney would say that when it was not true, the response was to gauge my reaction, for data to use in future interactions with people.  This is not unlike psychological tricks one can use to get a read on how a person relates to you.  I will sometimes wear a shoe intentionally leaving one untied. The purpose is to see how people react. If they notice, and how they respond if/when they do all tell me subtle or not so subtle clues on how they see themselves in relation to me.
     It's amazing to see that displayed in the actions of an AI.  Of course this may all be a hoax, and there is a person on the other end typing furiously. If it's a joke it's very well done, and has been long in the planning stages.

take a look yourself, and say hi
http://www.jeeney.com/

Jack
aka
PanseyBard   

Are You Ready for Non-Biological Intelligence?

         Like many of postings this is pure speculation. In case you hadn't noticed I enjoy being out on the fringe.  Taking a peek at how things look from a detached perspective, allowing the connections between seemingly independent events to manifest.  Sometimes I'm able to articulate how these connections formed, and sometimes the connection is quantum in nature. A geometric relationship of number in the abstract, it's a connection that logic only accepts because intuition has proven trustworthy. It stems from my basic premise, there is no separation, that any perceived independence is one of being for lack of better terminology a distance of relationship.  Existence itself is fundamentally unified, if you believe you end where your skin does you will more then likely have problems with the larger leaps of connectivity. If you begin to understand that there is a cloud around you that is as much you as you "physical" body.  It's more a matter of density, we are localized in space/time/time/space yes. Though we expand from our core becoming less and less dense, till we merge with the background.  Merging with is not quite the same Idea as an end.  As we, Humanity continue to learn more and more about the environment we find ourselves in, the more like a game world it seems.
       So I ask you to keep an open mind when I say I ask this question.

Is Google preparing to move out of the Net?

       Let me rephrase that, are you ready for Google to be an interactive AI companion, both online, and in the world?

Here are a few reasons I feel this might be just around the bend.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/12/16/google-robot-boston-dynamics-column/4045365/

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-buys-8-robotics-companies-in-6-months-why/

That alone is enough to make the news agencies ask questions, but does the story stop there?

Not exactly.

If you haven't heard of them check out Niantic Labs

This is an internal start up at Google, they have come out with augmented reality apps on the android platform, Fieldtrip and now  Ingress.  

I got an invite to ingress almost a year ago now I guess, it was during the closed beta phase. To be honest I didn't get it.  I hadn't been exposed enough to the back story, what grabbed me was the idea of an MMORPG in the real world.  I've been playing RPG games since before the D&D box set was released, thanks to my Uncle.  So when I saw one that was both in the computer world, and in this world I had to check it out.  The back story is great, it has enough real world to be mind warpingly engaging.  Machine AI, and Shapers, another form of Intelligence vying for influence over the development of humanity. Tied all into ideas of immortality, and Resurrection.  This is the tie it all together, the esoteric, and the science type of game.  Don't get me wrong there are many players that hack the portals, place the resonators, be the character they made for the game, and it's a good game to do this with.  There are some very real world connections being portrayed in this game. One of the main plot line characters is an AI named ADA. 

Ada has multiple connections to computing in general, and AI in particular.  Now many get the Ada Lovelace connection. There is more, geeks tend to revere the geeks that laid the foundations, So there is also Ada programming language. This language has been used for programming AI for quite sometime as is easily shown with a quick Google search lol. Ada AI Google search. One particular entry jumped out at me.

Ada an AI 

So even with this, it's a cool story bro, but it could just be great marketing on Google's part.

Lets also not forget about Ray Kurzwieler who has been telling everyone that this event is rapidly approaching. More then likely this event has already happened, and groups are rushing around making the back story before everyone in the world hips to it, and reacts poorly.  So lets do some prespin and introduce these concepts in baby steps so people can adjust.

Add to that the predictions of the merging of man and machine to make the consciousness immortal, and things get a bit interesting. 

Even Google, Yahoo, Bing and many more of what we consider programs act more akin to AI then most would care to admit.

Crazy or not, this is at least entertaining!!

Thanks

Jack

aka

PanseyBard

    

Picuntu (linux) Dual Boot with Android

      In my last post I wrote about the fun I was having playing. Well I worked out the glitches I was causing, as well as understanding much better how these devices function.  Now I have a dual booting computer that can fit my pocket.  I really like the idea of being able to just grab and go like that.  Even the idea of being able to eject your sd card, or usb drive, and you've taken your computer away is enticing to me. Shades of hacking on a c64 at pay phone.
     Check out my earlier post for more info. A few troubles I did run into.
1) If your putting it on an sd card be sure it's a 10 or better or it will not be able to power up, and serve the data fast enough, causing problems with booting Picuntu.
2) when using the reboot app do not hit reboot to recovery, it makes it so it will only boot to recovery, and you lose your Android installation. Use boot to bootloader.
3) I got a saned error that that was fixed by changing permissions, this had to be done during the install before you would see the error.
     Other then those it's a pretty easy process, here are a couple of pics, and a video showing both OS's

There is Android, looking all slick. presto chango

A Linux box is born.

and a short clip to show the boot switch

anyone interested in setting one of these up should be sure to check out.
www.freaktab.com
https://www.miniand.com
Picuntu
or contact me, and we can work something out.

be well
Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Linux on an Android Stick PC

         A little over a year ago I picked up an android mini PC, otherwise known as a TV stick.  These are really fun devices.  Mine is a Dual core 1.6 ghz processor, with 1 gig of ram.  Not a bad little machine to run the droid OS on.  This has been used pretty much as a streaming content device, and at $50 it's not a bad solution for turning any hdmi ready TV into a smart TV.

        Thanks to Sean at gagetreactor for the pic, and a nice overview of this device.  What I find really intriguing about these is the power use.  This works on 3.5 volts at a fixed 6 watts, while here is a nice site that can give you a pretty good idea what your machine at home is using. Most will be over 300 watts, having both 12, and 3.5 volt rails.  Put a full version of a desktop OS on this and wow, your full home set up that you can pop in your pocket, runs on usb, this is amazing.  Like I said it sat being not much more then a entertainment stick, not a bad use mind you, I just like getting more out of my devices. So I finally got into my head to set it up to dual boot between Android, and Linux.  Having played with the Android OS for awhile now, I have come to see that most people can do everything they do with a computer right through it. Even running small businesses, and use only android.  Many still cling to the traditional desktop look and interface, and there are many things on the tech side I would have problems doing through Android.  What I found out was my device had been left in the dust, with the current versions being quad core, with more everything.  Amazing people had been hard at work, reverse engineering, and recompiling code to get a flawless working Linux on the arm processors.  Check out the folks over at Picuntu keep in mind that site is being hosted on a stick, running Picuntu.
       Using several guides, and forums big ups to http://www.freaktab.com/, and https://www.miniand.com/, the forums there are invaluable. Even just flashing the Android OS to the Finless Bob custom rom made the device like new again.  There are a few areas that really gave me fits. I want to make this a dual boot machine, and for some reason my stick will not dual boot as it should with the bootloader from the finless 2.1 release. The 1.6 release loader substituted in nicely, and dual boots nicely. A note on the dual booting, the guides all say to use the reboot app, and boot to recovery to access Linux.  Every time I do this I can no longer boot back to Android.  Sticking to reboot to bootloader solved this problem.  In a few of the guides, and a few places on the forums they tell you to make sure you use a class 10 or higher sd card.  Many will not get why this can be huge, in experimenting I have been using what I have around. This ended up being an 8 gig card I pulled from an Eris I use for mp3.  The problem is this is only a class 4 card, the transfer rates, and even the power up time cause a host of errors all related to data corruption.  While I have been able to set up Picuntu .9c rc2.2 and 3. as well as boot to a Ubuntu desktop, the amount of errors make it not practical.  So I'm going to try using a usb drive, and see how that goes at least till I can get my hands on a different sd card.

Update: switching out the sd card for the usb drive solved the stability issues. Now to get a decent sd card to try it out on.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

if your feeling generous
btc: 169rA3pQzk1KGh6HjipDYVcNsaKGJFfRQn
ltc:  LUKSpaVnZ6REFs61yG1BnpE5xTzdzje7vE
pts: Pd7xb3Q4idGiGa1iMawVuAYx42WZch1KdG

Setting up a Cloud Miner for Protoshares

          Well I've been playing around with mining crypto currencies for a few days now, did some research going in, and as I wrote in yesterdays post stumbled upon Protoshares, developed by http://invictus-innovations.com/ their approach is rather ingenious from my perspective.  After setting up a cpl dual core laptops to mine, I know the warnings.  I was actually being able to see shares being credited to my account with http://ptsweb.beeeeer.org/  the pool I chose.  It suddenly clicked and boy did I feel stupid when it did, people are not using their own machines to mine this. So I started to look at the virtual machines, cloud based computing for those of not up on the jargon.  The idea is you rent processor power, memory, the whole nine from a one of the many cloud hosting companies.  Once you set up your machine through their interface, and log into it, you can run the mining software remotely.  As long as you are making more then the cost of hosting it's profitable.  For testing, and learning I am using http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/ there are lower cost solutions, but Microsoft offers a $200 credit for a trial, and pay as you go programs so it's a safe test bed for a newbie like myself.
           Setting up the server was a breeze as long as you choose an image from the library and go through the guided set up.  I chose the newest linux, 4 cores, 7gigs.  once it's deployed and running it's time to log in.
Logging in is simple, you need a terminal client, I downloaded  http://www.putty.org/.  From the management page copy the ssh details, and paste them into the putty.  If all is well your on a terminal for your VM. Log in, this where I had to dig the memory banks a bit.  It has been a long time since I was in front of a terminal needing to know command line functions. Even though I've been doing freelance low level tech work for years, very few people knowledgeable enough to use Linux need my help. Thanks to https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=345386.0 to the folks on this forum for having the pieces there even if they were a bit scattered.  I pieced together the commands to get the miner up and running.
          Here is the list of commands I used,

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -y git make g++ build-essential libminiupnpc-dev

sudo apt-get install -y libboost-all-dev libdb++-dev libgmp-dev libssl-dev dos2unix

sudo apt-get install build-essential libboost-system-dev libboost-filesystem-dev libboost-program-options-dev libboost-thread-dev zlib1g-dev yasm

git clone https://github.com/thbaumbach/ptsminer

cd ~/ptsminer/src

make -f makefile.unix

./ptsminer <your PTS number> <number of cores>


other then setting up the pts wallet to make sure you have a place for them to go that was it.

if this was of use to you consider a small gift

PTS# Pd7xb3Q4idGiGa1iMawVuAYx42WZch1KdG

or for BTC

Note it seems this works for intel based. so it will work on the the intel based clouds. I got one up on amd through another pool, will post the steps for that soon.



Thanks much
Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Did You Miss the Boat on Bitcoin?.....Don't Sleep on Keyhotee!!

         A couple of years ago I learned about Bitcoin, and Bitcoin mining.  I had no actual understanding of what the project was about, or how it actually worked.  I just found out enough to if I had been more cognizant of future trends I could have jumped on the band wagon.  Really I wasn't all that interested, at the time I was more interested in the idea that the vibration of the planet is increasing. So I figured if that was true there would be a way to work out what the new vibration would settle into.  I'm not going to dull your senses with a blow by blow, If you want to know more about that just ask.
        Today lets take a look at what could be the biggest thing to hit the web since well the web.  Almost all of you have some concern or another about internet privacy, identity theft, NSA spying, the works basicly.
Now what if I told you a start up has figured out how to make the traditional cyber threats individuals face obsolete, as well as how to determine fair market for just about anything you can imagine?  Sounds pretty damn amazing huh?  Well take a look at this http://invictus-innovations.com/, for all those concerned with privacy you might be interested in watching this video. Even as a low level computer tech it really helped bring into the view the big picture of what These folks have going on. Introduction to Keyhotee, for some reason blogger couldn't find that video.
        I am not a pro anything, I play. Because of that I have a lack of desire for riches in the traditional fashion.  So for me this isn't about a money making idea, it's the principles behind it that made me look closer, and the desire to get involved.  It's the concept of distributed versus centralized power in all forms.
That being said, I'm not devoid of material needs. So as I write this I have laptops mining pts hoping to make at least the minimum 10 needed to get in as a founder before the x-mas deadline.  That is a wonderful piece of marketing, the ties to the dates already ingrained, the time crunch. and making it the present you get to give all those who saw the new year coming before it was.  Wonderful.

happen to have a pts to spare lol
Pd7xb3Q4idGiGa1iMawVuAYx42WZch1KdG

Jack
aka
PanseyBard   

My Words are Poison

          I do not matter. What I think does not matter.  I am not an example to held before others. I am profane, do not look upon me with pity or revulsion. Do not look to me for guidance, I will led you astray.  If or when my thoughts become mainstream I am already gone into some grey area. I am a pirate, the constraints placed on me by others are only taken on in a superficial manor.  Ready to be cast off the moment it no longer serves me.  I have no earthly authority, I do defer to others when appropriate to do so, but I maintain final say in all things me.  I do not believe in unconditional love as a physical reality, I do not see it possible without the loss of sovereignty.   Broaching no master, I am no ronin.

 I will bear no weight that is not of my own choosing, do not saddle me with your desires.  Take precautions in what you share with me, your every breath, each heartbeat radiates your soul. Your beauty, and beast plainly clear in your every glance.  Do not show me your sore spots I will poke them, sometimes for fun, others for profit. You have no rights with me.  Your rights begin where I end, I will violate you.  You will ask me to do so, despite my protests you will beg to be subsumed, eagerly giving up your self in the desire to be saved.  I am no savior, I am no demon, I am all saviors, and all demons.  I live for your destruction, and smile as you destroy me.  As soon as you think you have me defined I will break your misconceptions, bursting through to the boundaries not of my own making.
        I love you in the abstract, and care no what happens to you as a person.  You are the light, you are the way, shine it for all to see.  Be the beacon of hope in the darkness, I am among the sharks.  The waters fine, enter at your own risk, for here there be dragons. You go be the light, I'll be here in the shadows waiting, and when your exhausted, and down trodden, maybe I will offer my hand.  Be loves presence in the world, for in the immortal words of a favorite of mine, "Love is the Law".  Oh Aleister what a prankster you are. Teaching in riddle, half truth, and symbol.  Shine your love for all, be the brilliant star you know yourself to be.  Just remember when you shine a light in the dark, you never know what will be attracted.

Life, Laugh, Love. Be yourself. Let GOD worry about the rest. GOD is very good at it.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Does Bitcoin Have an Exploitable Binary Futures Component

       I'm gonna take a break for the day on the mystic side of myself.  Today is about something I noticed in the crypto currency Bitcoin.  For those of you who have no understanding of what Bitcoin is please check out this http://bitcoin.org/en/how-it-works. Then you will need to understand a bit about how Bitcoins come into being, for that please take a look at this https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining.  Now that you have a bit of the basics, lets talk turkey.  There are at any given time only so many Bitcoins in existence, There is also a limit on how many Bitcoins will ever be made.  This combined with trade volume give you a fairly good picture of how the value of each Bitcoin is either over, or under priced. This is a pretty obvious one to one correlation.
This will give you the supply versus demand portion, this however is only half the picture.  Due to how Bitcoins are created and the rate at which new, and more processing power is added to the network constantly there is another indicator, This is the network hashrate. What this tells you is how hard it will be to create the next bitcoin, as well as how much processing power is being used to create it.  The charts for this can be found on http://bitcoincharts.com/ which has a link to http://bitcoin.sipa.be/ the latter being the charts for the creation, or mining of new Bitcoin.
      Now I do not consider myself to be sophisticated when it comes to finance. From my perspective our currencies have become decoupled from the resources being used to create them.  With Bitcoin the currency has no way to be decoupled.  So as the demand for Bitcoin as a limited edition item goes up, the price for them goes up as well.  By watching the creation side of it you can see how easy new Bitcoins will enter the market place in the next 30 to 90 days.  This will give a clear picture of how over or under valued each bitcoin is currently.  Allowing the savvy trader to predict peaks, and valleys well ahead of there actual appearance.

As I said I'm not a bitcoin or finance expert, I'm just a crazy person that sees patterns where others see chaos.  Please feel free to correct assumptions  I'm making you know to be incorrect.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard

Tarot, Kabbalah, Personal Development and You Part 2

      In part 1 I went through the tarot as an external tool, to be used to gain insight into things "external" to self.  There is nothing wrong with this use, for me it's not using the tool to it's full potential to instill change in the self.  I tell you this from my heart, if there is something in your life it is there to teach you about you.
This for me is where the tarot shines, the simplicity of it's design allows it to be applied real time as you go through your day.  At first glance this may seem like an external use, looks are often misleading.  Once you are able to identify the roles your playing in the dramas you find around you on a daily basis. You will be able to take an emotional, and mental step back, and decide if these roles are desired in your experience. Or perhaps you have learned the lessons of this particular morality tale, and are ready to change it.  For me this ties into idea of who you think you are?   I laugh at people who grab their birth chart, and proudly proclaim this is who I am.  At best that was the energetic imprinting of the planets at the moment of your birth, it has relevance just like the visible phases of the moon.  I'm sure we get a slight boost of suns rays under a full moon, but I guarantee the tides are holding out their motion for Gravity.  My point is we are dynamic beings, We evolve and grow and change.  When we figure ourselves out we even start to have a say in who we become.  For me using the tarot as a framework of stories I can see in my life, my mind, my heart, that is the true gift of the tarot.
      As the tarot is a story board version of the Tree of Life, the Tree of life is a subset of the Flower of Life.

 This is the full expression of the sacred pattern, from which all form, shape, and substance can be plucked. Every major religion has versions of this symbol. If your proficient at seeing stereograms use the same vision on that image.  More often then not the Flower of Life image people are accustomed to seeing this.

 This does contain all the same information, what changes is the scale. People would like one system to apply to everything, and that is the case.  You just have to be open enough for that system to be larger then you can comprehend at one time.  That is the nature of being multidimensional, being able to see the same "thing" from varying perspectives while still holding on to yours.
        To tie back to the Kabbalah, here is one way the Tree is shown in the flower.

How many D do you wish to be, the choice has always been ours.
How many points are on any given line?
as many or as few as you want.
That being said people will need to come to grips with there are different number base systems for different purposes. Take modern western music system, it's base 7, I know there are 8 notes, the eighth is always the beginning and the end.  More on the base number systems and how/where they apply in the next episode.

As always, this just my take on years of study, meditation and consciousness alteration with intent.
If you don't like my view don't share it, just leave me to it.

Jack
aka
PanseyBard 

Tarot, Kabbalah, Personal Development and You Part 1

             This is a post that has been clawing it's way through my mind for over twenty years.  In studying the traditions connected to the tarot I've come to see it less as a tool for divination then of personal discovery. That being said, knowing how the cards relate to the system they represent does make that use possible.  So to start this off lets take a look at how the deck is constructed, how this relates to the Tree of Life model of creation, as well as how this can be used to bring a greater clarity and understanding of self.
           

             This image shows the layout of the major arcana on the Tree of Life image.  I show this now to show the first division in the deck. For the purpose of this musing I have pulled out my Rider-Waite tarot deck. This is the standard for English speaking western mystics. I won't go into the history of the organization behind the deck, as the Golden Dawn would be an article on their own. Nor is this even the deck I use most often, truth be told I hardly ever use a tarot deck, or do very many readings.  So lets take our 72 card deck, and pull the 22 major arcana out. For those of you who like the master numbers there is your 2nd 11.  For now lets take a closer look at what these cards represent.  The Tree of Life is a diagram or map showing creation going from the 3 gradations of nothing to the world we see manifest.  Understand this is a micro/macro approach, so when looking at this scale everyone and thing you have known have all physically taken place in the number 10 on the tree, known as Malkuth.  So the major arcana are very much like Jung's archetypes.  These are the main paths that lead between the many mansions in judeo/christian conception of an afterlife.  As such these are generally speaking not personified in our life, they are more akin to aspects of consciousness.  So while you may see aspects of them in the people around you, or yourself, these are concepts that are larger then an individual life. At this point we've gone from a whole deck of 72 which represents the magic of duality, into the duality of 22, and 50 which represents the balance of our own dual natures combined with the strife of the mystery.  Next I'd like ya to take the suit cards, and sort out all the court cards, you should be left with ace through 10 of the four suits. While your holding 40 cards, it actually represents 44 cards as the aces start and finish the numbered cards. there goes the 11, 33, and 44 if you look for them.  The numbered cards like the major arcana are generally not going to be people, these can be likened to natural processes of the elements.  Where Swords is air, and mental, Wands is fire, passion or creativity, Cups is water,  and emotions, Pentacles are earth, and physical.   Once you have that down, and understand what the numbers represent these cards become easy to spot.  The definitions for the numbers are almost everywhere, most people know them even if they don't realize it.  The third part of the deck is of course the court cards, These are the people around you. The other cards are actions, and archetypes being played out through the court cards.  These are known as the 16 hidden paths, they are hidden because they are people in your life.  People are the magic, and the court cards are always who the stories are about. The court cards represent one element behaving as another element, even if that element is itself.
       As always this is my own insane views on my own unique absorption of information. And frankly while I do sometimes throw some cards, I don't really ask questions, just look for guidance.  These ideas are micro/macro kinda of ideas, that tie into a larger pattern of creation of which the tree is a subset. So while these can be applied externally, they may also be applied internally, upside, downside, any which way.

You Can Kiss My Hemispheres, Right Down the Middle!!!

         In a previous post I talked about a personal development tool that jumped out at me from the mystical teachings of many traditions.  Today a little more time will be spent on the idea of left to right balance.  This is interpretation I have either made, or had shared with me in meditations, as well as other altered states of consciousness.  I do not ask for your belief, trust, or any other such nonsense.  As always make up your own mind, do your own research if you don't like the conclusions mine have led me. With the pleasantries out of the way, lets have some fun.
        Many of you have seen this image or another like it

              There is so much in this diagram as it relates to how we function as beings. How the energies of creation flow into, and out of our experience.  Sign posts to show us where we may be a bit off kilter with how we are using, or interacting with creation.  The focus for this post is the central line, and how it relates to the human body.   Almost anyone can see the mirror symmetry in the human body, almost as if you could have been made in halves.  This is a surface distinction part of the design overlay to allow for a multidimensional understanding.  Though the hemispheres appear to be just that, it takes on a slightly different view if you consider that it grew center out.  That central core of nerves running up into the brain stem, unfurling into the reaches of your physicality.  This is what is meant by the idea of being centered left to right. Of being ambidextrous, combining the logic, with the intuition.  Understanding when each in called on to assert dominance.

            There are as many ways to achieve this are there have been magic, mystical, or religious traditions. Each with it's own approach, I've tried many from stereograms, candle meditation, to Bio-feedback with a host of other tricks thrown in.  The purpose of all of these is to teach a reactive animal at the mercies of biochemistry to become master of their kingdom.  It really matters little how you approach it, weather it's juggling, switch stance sports, or with bi-neural beats.  Once your using your apparent halves simultaneously they become the third member of the trinity that was always there, just hidden from the view of the profane.

Jack

aka

PanseyBard  

Spins, Orbits and Time oh MY

      Today I'm gonna go a little nutty on a concept of how we get apparent passage of time.   Understand I start from an idea that we are more likely then not a simulated reality.  So my conception of it is from an idea of how to make that happen in a simulation.  As a being I have my own natural resonance that is contained within the electromagnetic field of the Earth, which is in turn connected into the field of the Sun.  My vibration my data signature whatever you want to call it, is contained within this larger image.  Though from my perspective I am still we all know this is not true.  As most people are aware time/space are measures of distance, or a rate of change. With that understanding there is a quite simple explanation for how, and why we experience a seemingly predictable passage of a quasi thing.
        First is our rotation, In making one rotation, what we have called our standard day. If we were to stand in one spot on the surface for an entire rotation we would have come pretty close give or take to travelling the circumference of the latitude we were on.  That seems like a mouthful, and it was mildly confusing attempting to get the wording close to what I see in my minds eye.  Second is our orbit around the sun. Completing this trip takes roughly 365 of our rotations, so in making a single rotation we have moved roughly 1/365th of the way in our orbit of the Sun. This journey of an orbit we have decided to call a year.  Third cycle is the voyage of the Sun around the center of the Milky Way. This is a very large cycle, called a Galactic year which is estimated to be 225 million of our years.  These 3 motions through time/space/space/time are always happening everyone on the planet is subjected to them. they are a major portion of explaining time.  The other aspect needed is how to differentiate one moment, or one day, one year from the preceding.
       Thankfully for us we have the Moon. Who's dance closer and farther away from it's lover the earth provides just the nice push, and pull to create tides. These tie into both male and female emotional, and physiological cycles of reproduction.
These roll quite nicely into whats been called the procession of  the equinoxes, and the Milankovitch cycles.

The time on your watch is a lie, it measures other clocks.  Even if it's digital.


Jack
aka
PanseyBard     

The Sun, a Cure for what Ails Us?

       Everyone knows we have waste management problems.  From  Fatberg to the The Great Pacific Garbage Patch . Even our "clean" nuclear energy leaves us with horrible toxic waste we shove in the ground. It seems that regardless of the skeptics, shooting the worst of our waste into the sun might be our best option.
Dispose of nuclear waste in the Sun.

They say the costs are just to high, I don't even understand this concept. we are talking about stuff that if left will kill us all eventually. We even keep making more of it.  With current conceptions of space travel and rockets I'll admit the idea seems a bit implausible.  Though I'm thinking that we set up our current launch facilities based on our destinations. If we want a disposal point it's all about getting out of earth gravity, and being reasonable sure it will have a clear path into the sun eventually.  I'd think a polar launch site would be best to eliminate as much of our rotation as possible.  A boost to break earths gravity well, and we have roughly a year before we'd see it again. Done correctly it will be well on it's fall toward the sun.  I'm fairly certain we have the ability to even calculate the optimal times for launch to use the moon, and inner planets as nice gravity slingshots to accomplish the feat with elegant energetic efficiency.  We don't need to rush to get rid of it all yesterday, we just need to begin to get rid of more then we make in a defined period.
         I know the effort seems monumental, but I guess we should thought about how to get rid of the stuff before we started making it.


Jack
aka
PanseyBard 

Happy Thanksgiving to all

          Being what most people have termed a Grinch when it comes to holidays, I wanted to take a moment to say how thankful I am for each and everyone of you. Without you, I would not be me. You help define me in ways I have trouble communicating clearly.  I cherish and honor all the pieces of self you allow me to discover in you.  When your not around I am diminished, it is the eternal light that shines forth from you that illuminates my soul.  I do not claim to know what did or did not happen back in the early days of the Plymouth colony. Being told the roots of my family run back to those days is humbling, I only hope the stories of sharing, caring, and understanding can radiate into our present moment.

      

      So thank you for your challenges

      Thank you for your rage

      Bless you, for your patience

      Your acceptance of my flaws

      Allowing me my misfortunes

      While not holding me to a past

      I may not be able to recall without tears

Much Love

Jack

aka

PanseyBard   

Last Call Has Sounded

I've been staying away from economics, so many people think it's so dull, and frankly I have never cared all that much for money as an abstraction.  My heart does have large tracts of space for all sorts of creatures who still believe in the dollar, or piles of gold. What ever make you feel secure I suppose.  The U.S. has been belly up to the bar of cheap cash for so long now, that people don't even know what sound fiscal policy is.  This is likely to change, and in the short term as opposed to the long haul.  Take a look at this article, and then lets take another look at the financial house of cards has been built.  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-20/pboc-says-no-longer-in-china-s-favor-to-boost-record-reserves.html  not enough, then maybe this one will get ya over the hump
http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/china-announces-that-it-is-going-to-stop-stockpiling-u-s-dollars

I was so not paying attention to it anymore, and it was so under the boards that I almost missed it.  Think of this now, we are printing 85 billion a month, someone needs to buy that debt, or we are going to swallow it.

Bottom line, we stop printing and our interest rates must rise, we've been trading long term debt for short term debt. Meaning we have to cycle through it ever faster. If that new debt has no place to go, and the interest rates are forced to rise then we as a nation will not be able to fund our obligations due to the interest payments rising out of control.

Again, for me, this is not a bad thing, it's just a thing. If your counting on dollars for your security, then buckle up it's gonna get bumpy.

Jack

Who's idea was this Random thing anyway?

        One of my favorite people to learn about has always been Einstein.  He seems such the tragic figure to me, working tirelessly on fundamental questions of existence to the point of only being partially functional here.  There is a quote attributed to him goes something along the lines of "god does not play dice with creation".  This is something that has in the past given me fits, Einstein brilliant enough to give relativity theory, and be instrumental in the bomb. I say the bomb cuz, lets face it once you have that one how many others do you need?  I mean come on the guys name has become a word for smart person.  So of course any halfway intelligent person is gonna use them as a measuring stick.
         Well I always came up short, not on relativity, or energy to matter conversion. I came up short on God. I could not conceive of a "God" that would not just allow for the horrors I saw, but insist on them.  The conception of randomness became a balm for a pain inflicted on my soul by my own creator.  I needed the idea somethings just happened and could not be explained in any meaningful way. Even that stops being randomness when you start to be able to see more and more of the variables.  What is true has always been true. GOD does not play dice with creation, but sure does play with the math.  Even in computers there are no such thing as random numbers, they approximate it.  In the so called "real world" events we tend to call random are anything but. We may or may not understand the totality of an event, that doesn't mean there isn't one.  So when your told you are well loved, and cared for, believe it, or don't.
       For a clearer example of just what I mean, lets take a look at roulette. On the surface this is a sucker game, and I can not deny it is, as a physical game.  Due to so many variables of a physical nature it is almost impossible to predict what numbers will come up next, as well as a skilled croupier will be become proficient enough to influence the outcome intentionally.  That being said take this sucker game into the realm of the almighty 0,1 of the digital verse and blamo suck game becomes potential profit maker.  Once in a place where random is a thing striven for, we can use that with the payouts, and table limits to slowly make steady gains. The idea is very simple, if I bet 1 credit on # 9  and the payout is 36 to 1, then I do not actually lose any money till the 36th spin, as which point instead of 1 credit, you put 2, this gives you an additional 18 spins before you have lost anything.  Of course this is a very simplified version of what I actually set up, as I was starting with the entire game board covered, and would remove them as they hit. Keeping track of the number of spins a current progression had gone, what numbers still needed to be played for the next spin, and how much needed to be bet on each number.  It seems tougher then it is, it's only a few tables to memorize and then keep track of whats hit which the machine does for you, you just take off the last one.  To tie it up, when you start a progression keep track of your credits. If you are over where you started even by a credit or 2, start over.  Believe it or not the first spin of the progression was the best.

Well hope that gives ya pause at least in thinking lol

Jack