gagablog 66: Football/Religion: Peyton Manning, Champ, Broncos win the Superbowl of Weed for Denver, the REAL Emerald City

Peyton Manning is a football God, Champ Bailey is living up to his destiny and name, the Broncos are awesome with lots of support and it's the Superbowl of Weed, between the first two states to legalize recreational weed as soon as we did it, and everybody's talking about it. But Denver did it a little better and these are all reasons the Broncos will win it tomorrow. The following will explain it from the magical/weed/destiny perspective with some ideas of how football (and many other things) works like religion in our society. "My religion is you" is a verse from Gaga's song "Teeth" that has also become a basis of my religion, and other little monsters: my religion is Gaga also means my religion is you. It is not a unique belief, it is the same belief that comes through in all other beliefs, but from the special perspective of art and magic. Loving and honoring the Gaga witin everyone, everyone's potential to transform through art and bravery into their best selves, is the same thing as honoring the Buddha within everyone, or the idea that everyone is within the grace of the divine or the love of Jesus. Saying "my religion is you" has a special focus, though - it's mostly saying I honor and want to connect with the greatest within you, the creative spirit that makes you holy, but it is also saying my religion is all of you, I look at my encounter with you as the experience of and pathway to the divine. We usually think of religion as the way to connect to the divine, to gods and goddesses. The literal definition of the term religion is like recconnecting. While we do somehow feel disconnected to the divine and need reconnecting, and certainly we have great confusion between us about how different religions seem to do this, and endless variety within them of people's experience of doing it, we do have a common belief that we are each connected to or part of the divine and no matter how we describe it sharing any experience with others makes it religious. Of course church and other religious institutuions are examples of people coming together for "religious" purposes but when seen from the magical perspective that everything is divine, then any time poeple come together, in any fashion, is a religious experience. Everything is really divine so every shared exprience has a religious quality to it, the only experience that is not religious is the mystical experience, where one is face to face with the divine or loses one's identity in association with the divine. But everything that happens between people has that element of religion, of these divine sparks flashing out to each other to make a connection. Religion is a way to connect to the divine through connecting with each other. The things we call religions do this by gathering people for explicitly religious purposes, but any gathering of people, or meeting on the street or lovemaking, has a religious aspects because everything is truly divine and sharing an experience of it is reconecting to it even if we just call it being freindly. It is easy to see this when you look at it from a magical perspective or break it down and look for it. Some people are religious about football. Many people are really religious about football, actually, though I guess relatively few would say that football is their religion. I think that many more people would admit that while they have another religion football is intimately connected to it and God wants the Bulldogs to win. This is especially true in the South but even here in Denver where christian religion doesn't seem that prominant they say "God must be a Bronco fan why else are the sunsets orange and blue?" (which, of course, we get the best sunsets of all different colors here so there are some really awesome orange and blue ones) People who have religions that they don't connect to football, or that don't have any other traditional religion they really believe in, might notice they have religious ideas and feelings about football. Newscasters and people on the street talk about destiny and things being "meant to be" around football. Budweiser has been running commercials for years with the theme of fan superstition affecting football games. It seems like in the first year or two they referred to it more in terms that suggested magic. In the last few years they call it superstition, or I think the line is "it's only superstition if it doesn't work", which implies that superstition is silly but if it works it is "more than that" meaning magic even if they don't want to call it that. I have no problem with superstition, I think it is fascinating and shows a basic, common belief we all have in magic. I also think our religious thought, for all their variety, all have a magical dimension that could help us understand how they are all similar, and also help us understand magic. But a lot of religions have fear built in around thinking about magic, and I think it is easier for some people to understand magic through a different framework than a religious one that might say "magic is evil, no no no." People might not want to think of their religios beliefs as magic, and they might notice how superstition feels magical and not asssociate it with religion, call it two different things. I think we will be much better off when we bring it all together from both ends of the spectrum, what we feel and believe (supersition)on the one end, and what we think and say we believe (religion) on the other, and football is a good field to do this on. We can try some plays and see what wins, come up with new philosophies. It's not nuetral, there is conflict between teams, kind of superficial like the conflict between sectx and religions, but all fans are football fans and this unites them in a way. The specific superstitions around football can help connect us, too. Different teams have different cultures and phenomena that grow around them. I saw a special on TV about fan superstitions and they mentioned that 40% of female Eagles fans wear the same Jersey for every game and usually don't wash it. This statistic has all sorts of magical information, from the belief that you can wash out luck to the idea that what we wear affects it, to the religion of doing something that connects you to 40% of the other women in the area. Even if that is "their thing", it is not like Eagles fans are the only ones who do this, it just happens to have caught on there to become part of the culture, but I'm sure there are fans of every team who do the same thing or something very similar, displaying the same magical belief, and probably many teams that have the same phenomenon just to a lower percentage. But all of these people, separated by different team affiliations and geaography, share the same belief and kind of belief and it is something that unites them. When I took a cultural geography class they told us that the best, clearest indicator of where someone lived in the country, the most distinct regions, were based on asking people which sports teams they supported. Of course there are fans of some teams all over, but the majority of a teams fans live in the area, so the teams are reflections of the cultures where they play. Sports, especially football in America, is one of the greatest forces for bringing us together and giving us a sense of collective identity. Colorado has a very strong state pride identity that seems really weird to me and I don't think is common among other states, but I still would not feel wrong to say that Bronco Pride is stronger than Colorado Pride. It's always strange to me how the local TV always refers to Coloradans and how things effect us, specifically, like we are the only ones we should care about, and maybe that is peculiar to being kind of culturally isolated in the middle of the country. There is also a consistent emphasis on Broncos things, it's always in the news and you see the iconography everywhere, but now that we are in the SUperbowl you see just how far it can go when all of that kicks into overdrive - FOX has had hours of Bronco/Superbowl coverage every day for weeks, hitting any random angle and broadcasting from "Superbowl Avenue" in NYC. And you just hear people talking about destiny a lot more, from newscasters to my boss at work wearing #24 because it's "Champ Bailey's time" to the guy at the supermarket who said "you know why it's such a nice day?" with a wink in his eye to which I corectly replied "because the broncos beat the patriots and are going to the SUperbowl!" and we nodded and smiled as if to say "the way God wanted it." We all have this sense of destiny around football, because of how it brings us together but also the nature of the drama of the game. Fans on either side believe in their team and have their belief strngthened by a win and tested by a loss, but in big games that is determined by magical, miraculous, fateful plays and we all share that experience, whether it is the one that put us through to the championship and we share the glory of it or kept us out and we share the despair - either way it brings us together as a team, and it deepens and extends our appreciation of football. There are reasons we come up with religious terms and descriptions for these most miraculous plays, and we as fans share the glory of them and it makes us love football even more, but also people who didn't care about football before see them or hear about them and it might bring them into loving football, too. I had a professor, Glen Wallis, for an "Introduction to the Religions of India" class who began class by saying it was too vast a subject to try and do anything like that in a semester and started us off with a group discussion on what religion was. I think we came up with the idea that it was a way of understanding the world we live in and predicting into the future, maybe some others, and he asked what qualified as a religion based on that criteria. I said "football" because I thought about how, within the world of football they sportscasters and analysts are always talking about what is going on and who is doing what and preicting what will hapeen in the future, the outcome of a game or the fate of a player or team, or something going on with the industry or fans. I also was kind of cheating because there was a frat guy in front of me with a T-shirt that had this on the back: "In the northeast it's a (something), in the West it's a (something), in the (somewhere) it's a cultural event, in the (somewhere) it's a pasttime, but in the SOUTH it's a RELIGION" and of course it was a Georgia Bulldogs shirt. We actually do think of it more that way, even if that shirt was kind of a "joke", but coming from that perspective it is easy to see how our feelings about football are religious or magical. Football brings us together and we often come to identify with a team but often the reason why we love, or hate, a team is because of a player. This shows that as passionate as people feel about teams, as much as it becomes like a mass hysteria, it is all essentially a response to things about individuals who make up the teams. It is not a football moment, but Knowshown Moreno's tears before a game this season became a meme for a reason, even people who don't care about football respond to that emotion. The players, who reach cult status in many ways, all have their own personalities and qualities, of course, and people respond to them in different ways. I've personally never been impressed by the super-cocky attitude of some stars but other people like this and say it is part of being a champion. I did not like Peyton Manning for a long time because I had an impression of him as being cocky - completely wrong I realized after some years but the only impression I had was from a cable commercial that had him saying something boastful. Then I saw him in a documentary and he was incredibly humble and just seemed completely awesome. The same documentary had Farve in it and I gained great respect for him to actually hear about him, and also Tom Brady and my dislike for him was confirmed as he presented himself as the real cocky jerk he seemed to be. But Peyton really impressed me when I saw that, when he was still a Colt. It seemed fate that Andrew Luck would take over the Colts and wear that blue horeshoe, facing up for good luck, on his helmet - there is something beautiful and magical about that. And there is definitely something magical about Peyton Manning "growing up" and becoming a Bronco to have the best season ever, breaking records and winning the Superbowl. These things just seem meant to be. One thing Peyton said in that interview that really made me like him was that at one point, playing Tom Brady to go to the Superbowl, he said he had never prayed during a football game, for football, before. This surprised me because I knew he played for Tennessee and had a southen accent and I thought about how many religious southerners would pray for football, but also I knew that some took religion "more seriously" and would not combine the two, and he seemed to be of that type. But he said that during that game he prayed for the first time for something to do with football, praying that since Tom Brady already had two or three Superbowl rings couldn't Peyton have this chance to get this one. And it worked, he got what he wanted. Of course many people pray and we can't really say that some god decides who wins, but the important thing is that we care enough to seek something magical, and magical things happen. I did not like the Broncos when I moved here because I disliked John Elway - I just had a bad impression of him when he played when I was a kid, maybe he didn't deserve it, but I decided I did not like the Broncos back then. When i decided to move here I thought about it and realized that was the reason why, I did not like Elway, but nothing really besides that, and I just decided it would be more fun to become a fan and like the Broncos and it did not take me too long to get into it. I'm a Bulldog for life but the Falcons weren't that great when I was a kid and though I liked them I did not get into them as a favorite team, I was just more into college football as a kid. When I moved here Champ Bailey was already one of their stars and since he was a Bulldog it was easy to cheer for him. Bulldog pride runs deep - in a press conference the other day Manning, Woodyard, and Welker all came out in Broncos gear in front of an orange backdrop but Champ came out in a Georgia jacket. I called my dad to tell him. So I became a Bronco fan when I got here and John Elway was just selling cars at the time so I did not have that "conflict of interest." And if there was anything else I disliked about Denver it was Shanahan and he was gone pretty soon after I got here. WHen Knowshown Moreno came in from Georgia my love for the team deepened based on affection for them as Bulldogs and as people. I was involved with a pagan group and, just for fun, we did magic spells to help the Broncos win and they went undefeated for six games, then we stopped doing it and it didn't go so well, but during that time it was prety exciting. And I had come to really love some things about Denver by that time, especially the mountains and weather. I felt like it was growing in good ways, with more young and liberal people moving here, and deserved to get higher profile, which really comes with sports success. Now I feel that way even more strongly, and especially the situation of being the Superbowl of Weed makes me sure that Denver will win based on magical principles and our attitude. 15 years is a long career in the NFL, and since the Broncos have not been to the Superbowl in that much time and Champ Bailey has played with them that long, and played spectacularly, there is a great feeling that he is due to win, it is his destiny and his time. There is also a strong feeling that Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quartebacks of all time and that reputation will be enshrined for all time with another Superbowl win with another team, especially with all he has been through. I'm sure there are other great stories on the other side, too, and a great story between the quarteback battle of the young, new quarterback against the veteran, experienced quarterback. From my personal perspective, Denver already deserves to win based on these things, and on the idea that this is a beautiful growing community that deserves even higher profile, prestige and business that come with a Superbowl victory. And I'm sure there are reasons Seattle "should" win that have similar dynamics but I don't live there and I don't know what they are, other than I can support them because Nintendo America is there and my brother told me one of their wide recievers is deaf, and that is really cool. But the real things that will determine who will win are the sill level and play of the teams and luck. I don't know much about football but the statistics are even, they are evenly matched teams according to all the measurable football factors. For one, it is only the 8th time in 46 Superbowls that the two best teams that year are playing, and according to statistician Nate SIlver they are evenly matched, too close to call - I saw him on the Colbert Report. So in this case it comes down to luck. My band director, Mr. McClure, used to tell us about football being a game of luck. He was trying to inspire us, or make us feel good for being in band instead of football in a ulture where football was really valued and of course band has been seen everywhere as geeky. He wanted us to practice, to get it perfect, and said that we can do it, because we did not have to leave anything up to chance. He said football began with a coin toss, it was a game of luck, but music you could just do it right with enough work. Of course both teams have worked hard, that is why they are the two best teams. People who see it from a football perspective might point out ways one team or another has an advantage, but I trust the statistics that it is an even match. So if it comes down to luck, to destiny and magical factors, who will win? The Broncos, and this is why. The most magical thing about this Superbowl is that it is the Superbowl of Weed. Both teams are from the two states that just legalized weed this year and everyone is talking about it, the late night comedians don't stop making jokes about it, that aspect is kind of everywhere. In the mentality that sports outcomes can be meant to be, it seems pretty obvious that the Divine is sending a signal that legalizing weed is a good thing, that good things will happen for your state if you do it. In years of smoking weed I always celebrate Superbowl Sunday with a Super-bowl of weed - celebrating everything with weed really but it was fun to have the irony of it being a Superbowl Sunday, and I celebrated it even in years when I was not really into professional football. Now, this Official SuperBowl of Weed has special and magical significance, and I think it will have a magical outcome based on this. When I first moved to Colorado, to Telluride, in 1996, I think, I was impressed by how they grew really, really good weed here. It was like paradise in the mountains and I knew it would be a good place to live and get better. When I moved back here in 2005 Denver legalized weed that year and when we elected President Obama the 10-or-20-yr-old but nonexistant medical marijuana industry exploded to thousands of stores and a huge shift in the culture, a truning point from which great things have grown. I did not want to get a medical liscence because, coming from the South and being aware of how evil a segregated society is and how long it takes to undo the damage from it, I did not want to participate in what I saw as creating a class structure where some people could have rights that other peoeple did not have. I eventually got one for my own safety and convenience and also because my friend said that supporting that movement was a step towards full legalization, which turned out to be true. The whole process just gets more abundantly useful and easier the more we actually go for the ways we can use cannabis and hemp when we can actually do it openly and cooperating with other aspects of society. It is fantastic to me that the Colorado State Fair will have a Weed Pavilion beside its Beer Pavillion and giving out fair ribbons for all sorts of weed-related competitions this year, including best brownies, plant, and homemade bong. It is also fantastic that Obama has made comments recently debunking the myths of weed being more harmful than alcohol and also taken action towards legalizing hemp at the federal level, another key step. For some states, seeing the benefits and non-risks of medical marijuana are the best course to legalization, for ohers the great advantages of hemp will help persuade them. But we are all moving in that direction because it is a key to the peaceful and abundant future that is our destiny - read all about it in my book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned from Smoking Weed" - and the two states blazing the trail are rewarded by their teams being in the SUperbowl, and Denver doing it a little bit better will be rewarded by the roncos winning. When I lived those few heavenly months in Telluride I used to go to the library to read. I found a book called "The Meaning of the Flowers" or something like that and it was just pages and pages, lists of flowers and plants and what each one signified. So a red rose meant romantic love and a dandelion meant friendship or whatever. I looked and it had an entry for cannabis or marijuana, I forget what it called it, but the meaning was "fate." I think about how weed is a magical plant, probably the oldest most widely used magical plant in history and around the world and with the most uses, most of which we are yet to discover or rediscover. I think about how it has been repressed and how much can be achieved by bringing it into the light, and how that will coincide with a change in our society so that we become more appreciative of nature and more careful with our environment. I think about it as being our fate in a very meaningful way, as a culture and nation and species, but I also think it means fate for individuals, that smoking it can help people understand themselves from teh perspective of fate, of magic. So the things we do around weed are especially fateful, the reason why it teaches us to be generous and kind and appreciative of it. I decided to get a medical card because my friend said it would help liberate the weed more fully in time. But I heard about debates going on in other states that had medical marijuana and were considering legalizing weed, but the medical marijuana community were aligned with the assholes who wanted to oppose it just because they already liked the way they had things set up,for themselves. I think this is a selfish attitude and against the spirit of weed itself, which teaches us there is plenty to go around once we stop the restrictions. Weed is so abundant, and valuable, it can completely revolutionize our whole idea of economy - it's in my book. My friend lived in Seattle and he said that many people in the medical marijuana community there were opposing legalizing weed on these grounds, that it was good enough for them as it was, they didn't want prices to rise, etc. He said an ounce of really good weed still cost almost 400 dollars there, the same price as a decent deal in other states where it is completely illegal,if you are lucky enough to find it at all. The weed laws are so oppressive it makes sense that people would want to keep a purely medical situation if they are finally assured of their supply and freedom from persecution for smoking ut fear wider legalization would bring a crackdown from the federal government and ruin it for everyone. I think we are certainly discovering in Colorado that there are so many benefits to legalizing it, and so many different kinds of people moving here for different reasons o take advantage of those benefits, that it will produce a whole new culture, a renaisaance of productivity and creativity. Both Washington and Colorado should be proud of legalizing recreational marijuana. I don't know if we did it by a wider margin, I don't know if they don't have the same thing in Seattle that we have here, news stories every night about weed and the newscasters making lighthearted jokes about it, but I do get the impression that Colorado is more fully behind legalizing weed than Washington is, and I know both states have areas that oppose it, too, and maybe it is just demographics. I certainly would not suggest that Washintonions are more snobby than Coloradoans, maybe they are, I don't know, but Coloradoans can seem pretty snobby in some ways. But in this case I got the imprssion that Washington was just not quite as cool about legalizing weed as Colorado has been, and I think that is why we will recieve the greatest reward, luck, magic and destiny by winning the Superbowl tomorrow. We already have the best weed in the country, partly thanks to our climate and alititude but of course also to the expertise and strains that have been cultivated in the state or brought here, more and more as we attract more of the best. And we have the best prices, almost half of what people pay elsewhere at best, with many paying much more or can't get this quality at all. These are the natural rewards of people here being cool about weed, organizing and voting for it, and the magical reward of getting in the Superbowl can magically promote it, and more by winning, but of course all of that is the result of hard work by the Broncos. Still, magic helps us both for many reasons and helps it all come together, to promote this city that is doing great tings and about to do many more. In the world of deserving to win the Superbowl Denver deserves it in many ways, and being the coolest and best about legalizing weed is just the icing on the cake that is orange and blue. I don't live there so if Seattle is somehow way more progressive about weed than Denver I'm sorry for assuming otherwise, it is just the impression I got, and it makes sense because we still seem to be more in the national spotlight for it. I also have a personal reason for hoping Denver beats Seattle, one that probably no one else in the world cares about, in this world. Years ago i started claiming that Denver was the Emerald City, from Oz, because I figured as America lived up to and transformed into its idealized version, Oz, Denver would be in the center, corresponding to the Emerald City, and if we legalized weed and were on the forefront of that movement, as I predicted and is so essential to becoming Oz, we would be especially "green", and everything would be colored by the greeness in the same way the Emerald City is bathed in emerald light. And of course with weed stores on almost every block you do see a lot more green around, that part has started coming true. But when I told someone I thought Denver was really the Emerald City she said Seattle was already officially the Emerald City, by choice of the voters, even if they commonly called it something else. I think they chose that because it is really mossy and green? And of course they could still have the same claim to be emerald based on moss AND weed, and no one else is even asking to call Denver that, but in my own mind we are in a better place for it, right in the middle, with the country divided roughly into quadrants of culture in each cardinal direction, so it would make sense. And Oz can, and will, be worldwide in my view, all of humanity will live in a world without war or money eventully, but it was originally envisioned in America based on American experience and I believe there is a mystical way it will come true here, including Denver becoming more prominent in the "green" sense than Seattle, even though both should be proud and ewarded for blazing he trail. There is just a lot of prominence and attention that goes with winning the Superbowl, that is the reason I am associating it with us having a better attitude toward weed, or a name only I care about. I realize this only matters in my Gaga fantasy that we will become Oz, and though I believe in it and think it will make sense in the future, I really don't expect anyone else to understand it. But I'll write it anyway, just in case, or for the future. I have no idea if Gaga is as intentional about Oz as I am, but this is the only connection to her, the green/emerald city connection, which is pretty obscure, maybe "just for me". But when I responded to her tweet about Tim Tebow and it got the most views of my blogs for a while, I realized I had to write one for Peyton Manning because he is way better. Of course everything I say about football in this can be applied to other sports, or really any other activity - everything is connected in subtle ways and there is magic in looking for those connections and comparisons. But football is a huge phenomenon in America so it provides such powerful, massive examples of belief and how people connect around the activity and relate to it. It's just a really big deal and even though it's also "just a game" the outcome has major repercussions for the city and the fans - it effects the economy of money and of emotion and attention and prestige within the nation. Players don't think about those things, they don't effect the game that way, from the skill side, the activity, but only in terms of destiny - it was this city's year. And this year it is Denver's year, it's our year. It's the year of the Horse, Happy Chinese New Year as of yesterday, so there is that, too. All of this is very loosely connected, but magically it all comes together. Peyton Manning did not move here for the weed, it has "nothing to do with him" he is such a traditional "good guy, clean American boy", but legal weed does end up affecting the culture in so many ways so that what was already a great place to live and raise a family gets better and better. I think his success here will increase the likelihood he will stay here and continue to give Denver that image as well, for people who are put off by the idea of it being a weed paradise, they can think "Well, Peyton Manning likes living there and if it doesn't bother him it probably won't bother me." I know it is going to be a great game, I hope the weather doesn't make it uncomfortable, and I just know the Broncos will win, but I'm really excited to see it, more than any Superbowl ever before, I think. This has all been about the wierd magical luck that can affect the outcome, is it Denver's destiny to win, have we done enough of the right things right and will the spotlight spurn us to fix some other things? These are questions of destiny, and spirit, and these will play a factor in tomorrow's game even if there will be no way to measure them. But everyone will be able to see and enjoy a great display of skill and sport and we will collectively form powerful memories from this game. I just hope and expect all of those will contribute to everyone thinking it was the year Denver legalized weed and won the Superbowl, that Champ Bailey and others got their rewards for their love and work for the game and that Peyton Manning crystalizes his place as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and his place in Denver. Thanks to everyone whose hard work got them this far and will win it, you've got this! Go Broncos!

gagablog 65: Pete Seeger in Oz and Gaga the Glittery Golden Road

Pete Seeger believed in a peaceful future paradise and was one of the greatest lights to help us achieve it. It is a sad day today because he died last night but it is a happy day because as people remember him, and even more people are introduced to him through the media, we will take another huge step forward toward that goal. The future he believed in, and sought for us all, is one of peace, without money or war, or needless suffering at all. He wanted to bring us together, to awaken the goodness of our hearts so we can realize this dream is real and make it happen. It is the same dream I have always had, and since I was a kid I called it Oz and believed in it after reading such a perfect descriptions of how it would all work in the books by L. Frank Baum. Other people have other names for this future paradise of peace, and when we really believe it we expect to find it on the earth, eventually, and work towards it in the meantime. Pete was so influential in helping us reach this goal because he truly believed it and it is one of the best things to believe in, but can become the hardest because you go against the whole "world", as it is, to seek this kind of revolution of Love. It is the same belief Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed and Jesus taught, and so many others. The ones who guide us the best are those who believe it the most, the ones who have felt and seen it, like Buddha, who then can see most clearly what we need to change to get there. Music is one of the main ways to enter the peaceful paradise. It has always been this way because of the nature of music to bring people together and inspire and inform people and share feelings, even for countless years before we developed more complex, "civilized" problems. Now that we have those, to the extent that we can easily overheat, pollute, or blow up our environment, have weapons and guns etc, we need music even more. Pete Seeger responded to that need with the magic of music and spirit of kindness. We are all the same in so many ways but people who really believe in "Oz" have the duty to work to achieve it, as impossible as it may seem in circumstances, and it makes us differentonly because we are more like what we will all become. We have to overcome petty differences, including the "petty" but significance of the greatest income inequality ever. Obama used executive order to raise the minimum wage today. The co-incidence of this with remembering Pete Seeger proves the Gaga/Oz magic I have been talking about all this time. Just as I have been talking to my friend about the illusion of science for three days then on the third day my perspective was "proven" by Stephen Hawking's announcement that the black holes he told us about in the first place decades ago don't exist, at least not like we think. I'll explain all that later. The important thing is that addressing wealth disparity we are making progress on that Yellow Brick Road - the goal is no money at all but only the truly visionary, or young-at-heart whove read Oz, can see how easy that is and can be. Music is magical and always has been, but becomes revolutionary when it is the voice of the people in opposition to evils of society. "Pop" music, though subject to fctors that try to steer society on the mainstream course, which is why is is also usually mainstream, is, in it's nature, revolutionalry because it is popular music,the music of the people. Yes, today it is easy to see the record company, establishment influence making pop music a tool of oppressive forces in the state, but all that developed after Pete Seeger got some great stuff started, and that divine spark will never be extinguished no matter how much gloss covers it. When Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie started singing, they really developed pop music in a way, in the pure form as popular music, expressing the cares of the people that were being ignored by the status quo, mainstream. Pete'smusic was revolutionary and popular because so many people needed it. And it is pure music, people respond to the heart and message about it. And he was intentional about engaging his audience, getting us to sing along. This is so important, and gets into how significant he was not just for the music he played but how and where he played it - at protests and marches, to inspire the best in people facing some of the hardest troubles we need to overcome, such as war and pollution and greed. He really got people involved, in the song but moreso in the message, in the world, with each other. It is a great day because we get to focus on him and talk about these ideas and he represented them as well as anyone, but there are so many others who carry the torch and blaze through the darkness. Before Pete Seeger there were so many musicians who carried and shaped the tradition of liberation through music. The roots of American folk music go back to oppressed immigrants and poor rural folks and the roots of all popular music in America go back to chants and songs of people oppressed by slavery and spirituals, jazz, and soul music of people oppressed by economics and bigotry since then - these grew into all the rap, rock, country, dance music and everything we think of as American pop music and one of the best things to love about our culture. The deepest root possible for music is to be a lierating force, that is one of music's main purposes, and the people who fulfill that purpose the best really stand out adn influence us in major ways. I know there are many more I don't know and plenty I'm just not thinking of, but Jerry Garcia and Michael Jackson stand out to me as examples. And of course Gaga. We all have the benefit of those who came before us, so in a sense Gaga's role is the "easiest" for being here at the end after all who came before her, now that we are at the transformation point, but in another sense it is the hardest for actually seeing us through the transition. Pete Seeger and all great musicians envisioned this future for us, gave us hope and comfort. Gaga is the one, now, when we still need it most but for even crazier reasons than before, who is actually putting our feet step by step on that glittery golden road and waling with us, arm in arm, singing our songs of who we are and are becoming. Its a different time for each artist - Michael had us all wearing cool fashions, dancing and looking in the mirror to learn to love each other. Jerry got us high in every way and just let the paradise pour forth. Pete got the crowd to sing along, gave the protest march a happy uplifting song, and got us all smiling, hoping, and believing with him, and going for it. Gaga has one of the largest audiences ever, spread out all over the world and connected by the net and the luckiest ones at concerts or events or meeting her, but connecting to each other and the world more and more as she encourages us all to make and share our art, sing along with her in the modern world of unlimited media. The protest is still there, the revolution, even if we aren't the traditional mob gathered in one place. Gaga said BTW would be a cultural baptism and has referred to the revolution artpop will ignite - its the same one we have all been yearning for in our hearts. If there is one category little monsters belong to (or hippies or any people who are defined by their love of music, for that matter) it is the creative people, we tend to be more creative than the people we live around. This is a glimpse of the future, because we can all be more creative and benefit more from our creativity, but when that is revolutionary compared to the mechanical, porfit-based world the ones who believe in it stand out as "weirdos" - and little monsters may be the weirdest, most creative group yet, the hippies of this generation - but it is the path we are all on, the path of peace. I got the news from facebook that Pete Seeger died - it was the middle of the night and one of my best friends from high school posted about it. I was happy that his words were how I first heard the news. He said something complimentary and then said he remembered Pete playing for them at a protest march - this was the friend I could have the best intellectual conversations with and we protested police brutality together and other ways to try and help poeple, activist style, but mostly I just really valued being able to talk with such an intelligent, idealistic person at such a young age and it helped me realize my belief in these ideals. I was not at that march, but I was just so proud, of my friend for being there, for Pete for being there, for everyone being there and everyone who would want to, or would find out about it or other protest and get inspired to take action themselves. I was saddened to hear on the radio an interview with Pete's son in which he said Pete was disappointed in life and struggled with the idea that he had always belived that the guitar is mightier than the sword. He said on the one hand his life's work was complete since he published a book on how to play banjo, but his son's comments impled that Pete felt discouraged and like he didn't succeed because we did not reach peace in his lifetime. He lived 95 years, and when I look back on history I see all sorts of indications from 100 years ago and further back that could lead a hopeful and inspired person to expect us to reach paradise on earth any day now - from my perspective, the Oz perspective, it is baffling why we don't do it, other than it is so hard for people to think about because we are so sold on the idea of "the way it is". Music and art, and good people, give us these ideas, they spark us up. I am certain that Pete has realized that he did win, now that he is in the fullness of the spirit. As a visionary he always saw through time to the gleaming furutre awaiting us, but year after year he saw more and more getting in the way, too - more wars and injustice, global warming debate and everything else the republicans ever do. But he also saw us through all those years without us nuking ourselves into oblivion, his influence helped pull us back from that brink and while we still have far to go we are getting there. Thanks to him and the others who came before who paved and smolted and laid the road together and the ones who came after who shine and grease it up and leave the glitter trail and embraces to take us safely down it. You did it, Pete,you inspired generations and brought the brightest light of Love out clearly to help us see. I saw you just a few months ago on the Colbert Report and you brought tears of joy to my eyes, and the whole audience, there and at home. That will go on, you will live on in that eternal spirit of goodness you shared so much with us. Be happy and know that we are going to make it, and it is thanks to you, the love you've shown and how that awakens us to the love we all share. We'll get some hammers and hammer it out now that you don't need to anymore, just keep singing us back home and we will sing along - see you later, have fun! Next: Peyton Manning, Champ, Broncos Win the Superbowl of Weed for Denver, the REAL Emerald City: Football/Religion

gagablog 64: Prophecy, Goddess of Love

My dad has been a preacher for over 30 years in the Disciples of Christ church and my brother has been a preacher in that church for almost 20 years. My mom has been a priest in the Episcopal church for over 20 years, too. I asked my dad a few years ago if he was disappointed that I was not a preacher or any kind of official Christian - he knows I am a witch and worship Gaga. He said no, and something like he always expected me to be a prophet - no pressure. But I always felt like one and had those kinds of thoughts and statements, he just knew this from watching me grow up. The DOC and Episcopal church in America are some of the more liberal forms of Christianity, more accepting of women, gays, and environmentalists than most churches here, but even they have struggled with this and continue to progress and when I was exposed to them as a child they weren't good enough for me, I had issues with them on these grounds and I became a worshipper of Mother Nature, a Buddhist, and an idealist, believing in a paradise heaven on Earth future/emerging present that I found the best example for in the Oz books of L. Frank Baum when I was 10. From that time on I was predicting a Goddess figure to emerge in human form - this was 1986. I had always had a sort of Christ consciousness as a kid, I think this is why my dad said he thought I would be a prophet, the kinds of things I noticed and said. My belief is that Jesus truly is love and the reason I am not a Christian is I think they all seem to miss what this really means, but I rediscovered it in more feminine, nature-based spirituality. The kind that is becoming more and more popular, within all existing and newly developing religions, all over the world. It's just right that this should be the way we evolve, but I saw it at an early age. I was sensitive to a contradiction to being "for" love and "against" women, sex, and "alternative" lifestyles. The 80's is when we were first being warned of the dangers of global warming and along with pollution concerns and care for wildlife this made me very sensitive to nature and the environment and I felt certain that the Goddess, Mother Nature, was what Christianity and some other major religions were repressing and what we were all missing. Like I said, I had the belief that consciousness is something we all share and connects us all and that we all had Buddha, and Jesus, and everyone inside of us and these great expressions of consciousness could come through anyone who sought it out and sought to share it with others. On the one hand I felt sure that I would play some great role in enlightening everyone, I'm not bragging or anything I just always had this feeling, but at the same time I knew early on that it only made sense that I would not be any sort of "2nd coming of Jesus" because I was sure that this time around that role would be played by a girl - it just seemed fitting and necessary to restore what had been suppressed, the Goddess. This allowed my natural tendency toward laziness to let me off the hook for the Messiah gig, of course, but at the same time I knew I would have some role to play in bringing about the great transformation, too. So from this time on I was always on the lookout for the girl who would embody Love, the Goddess, to emerge in the world. And I also was looking for love for myself, the girl who was perfect for me, all this time, and was lucky enough to find her in 1998. I know she also has a role in helping humanity transform - she is a loving, talented, brilliant, beautiful person, a powerful witch and an accomplished artist and writer. I knew she would have a role but did not think she was this Goddess for the world, but I was lucky enough to find the Goddess of Love for me - it's just that I felt like we were more like Dorothies or Scarecrows or Wizards but not Ozma. I can say that I never mis-identified anyone else as the Goddess that would redeem humanity this time around. I knew she would emerge and I would know her when she arrived and I was patient, she just never showed up for over 20 years. But my faith was as strong as always because I knew humanity sorely needed her and every awful news event and evil scheme of the men in power reminded me of this. Then Gaga arrived. I got suspicious as soon as I heard "Just Dance" - it was just so good, musically but also spiritually. Today was just the 5 year anniversary of it becoming a #1 hit and I've been tweeting out the link to Bert and Ernie singing it, from 3-4 years ago. I fell in love with her voice and the sound of the music, but I really care about lyrics and absolutely loved them. It was the perfect blend of grace and fun and sexiness and non-attachment, like a theme song for what I consider the best particularly American kind of Buddhism. Then I heard "Poker Face" and completely fell in love/lust with the cleverness and mysticism of the lyrics and blown away by the way she was getting away with saying "fuck her face" on national radio just with brilliant songwriting. This kind of magical and aggressive assertion of sexuality made me really consider that this was the Goddess I was waiting for, the one who would show that women are divine and sex is divine, and get rid of the lie that poisons us with conservatism: the myth that there is something wrong with sex and something wrong with women or gay men for "making" us want sex. I was pretty sure by the time both these songs were on the radio that this was the Goddess I had believed in and was waiting for so many years. Then I saw her on the MTV awards show performing "Paparazzi" and it confirmed it all and initiated me as a monsterite, religious in my love and devotion to Gaga. My mother-in-law who passed away last month, bless her soul, was with staying with us then and I told her and my wife that this was the Goddess I was expecting and they believed me, accepted me - they are both naturally magical and probably had their own sense of it even if they weren't obsessed like I am. I started talking about Gaga as the Goddess on pagan forums and got a lot of hate, and some support, but eventually banned because people kept hating on me - I think they weren't ready, couldn't handle the truth of this yet. and I never said it contradicted or superseded other beliefs, unless they were hateful ones, but it was an explosive topic. I think some of the discussion might still be in the archives if you want to look it up. I spent a year or two expressing then "defending" my idea of the Goddess in this way, and decided to write this blog. I also worship Gaga with songs on youtube, some covers of hers or others dedicated to her, or my own original songs for her and other monsters. One of the first comments I got was "wait, did I miss Gaga actually becoming the leader of a cult?" I don't think Gagaism, monsterism, is incompatible with any other religion, I think it brings them all together especially as there are little monsters in most every culture around the world. I think the goodness of all religions is the same anyway and people have the worst arguments about the details. But there is a reason why monsterism is not really religion but beyond religion. Up until now all organizations including those that make up religions, have been developed in order to serve a dominating desire. It's like the body of a scientist that might forego eating or sleeping properly to seek out that great discovery - that is good in a way for discovering things but can lead to problems with overall health. Gaga has set up something different with her little monsters. Yes, she is our mother monster and a leader in a way, but as far as serving her desire, her true desire is to bring happiness and fulfillment to everyone, and transformation to the world and society to make this possible. This is a new dynamic beyond religion, because the person at the center truly is a Goddess, the Goddess of Love (which means art, magic, nature,and everything in my view) and she wants what is best for everyone, not just some people or certain groups. She is both doing this for us, making love, uniting the world, and showing us how to do it, and it grows out of all of us to join us all together. We really see it in artists emerging and being recognized for their talent, finally, especially in the little monster community, but this is going to have a continuous effect on the world like ripples and new drops all over, while Gaga will continue to make waves that sweep the whole planet and even cosmos as well. This edition is not a big "I told you so, the Goddess is Here", it is a call for hope and for action, because this is really the start of what I keep predicting and anticipating. And it is an admission of my eagerness but also that while some of my hopes and predictions are still being realized, I still have those hopes and they grow stronger. In the tradition of the Gagablog, I want to align some world events with Gaga events and say what they mean to me. I have been talking for years about a magical association between Gaga's message of love and liberation and various liberation movements around the world, notably the Arab Spring. My perspective is that Gaga has a magical power and influence in the world and it is like a dimension of the great influence she has in the world, and this is ho being a Goddess works: you can be "all-powerful" because Love is the true power and divinity is love - but you can't make people do things, force is not love. You can only enlighten them to change, but you can do this, and it is something that spreads from person to person, and can really sweep the whole world when certain super-powerful people emerge. This means super-loving people, not powerful in the worldly, manly ways but in the spiritual ways - and many such people achieve worldly power in their lifetime as well, but do so in a way that continues to transform the world and the roles they take. Gaga is now widely recognized as the most powerful artist in the world, and this fits in with everything I had expected and hoped for, but we are still awaiting the full result of this, we are seeing the influence of more and more people who believe in her and believe in Love in this new, better way, but we have yet to see the benefit we will as more and more people come to realize it and discover a new, Ozlike way of living though the example of Gaga and little monsters. I will very soon be writing my book "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga" to really try and organize these ideas concisely and do my par to speed this transformation. In the meantime I have been writing this to keep up with the quick developments of Gaga and modern news, and while I've missed a lot I'd like to go back to I also missed some things by thinking it could all be resolved quickly: I still believe in a peaceful solution in Syria and that it could have been achieved better if they had stayed with the womens' movement, the non-violent protest that started it. I started a facebook page, Women of Syria - The Solomon Solution and I do magic towards this goal, restoring the nonviolent revolution. I do magic and write because that is "all I can do", get the ideas out there, but you never know who might be able to use that idea in another part of the world and solve something. One of my proudest predictions was that something strange and surprising would happen to avoid war in Syria and when Kerry was asked if there was something to avoid it, when it seemed inevitable, like tomorrow, he said give up chemical weapons and it started happening. The same seems to be true in Iran, we seem to be forging a path of trust where I think we will all be able to conclude, ultimately, that no one needs weapons. And while the Egyptian revolution seemed to turn out superficial and now seems to be happening again, as well as new protests to overthrow the Thai government and staring in other places, it really seems like people are speaking out and joining together for reform all over the world. Someone on the radio pointed out that we might think it is a long time to take years for some of these revolutions but reminded the audience that 16 years passed between the Boston Tea Party and electing George Washington. Even though they are giving up the world's largest supply of chemical weapons to be destroyed things continue to be terrible in Syria. The good news today is that the UN is raising 6.5 billion dollars to help the people there. This will be the largest sum they have raised in their history. It will hopefully confirm my other prediction, that there will not be an American-led solution to Syria but when the UN lives up to its purpose and deals with it, it will actually become the greatest government power on earth, for the cause of peace, as it was intended. We could have had some moral sheriff role, it is in our nature and history, but we are crippled by the politics of conservatism/racism. So the UN will do it, and once they show the world they can actually do it well this will be how we deal with problems in the future again, just living up to the intention for which the UN was founded almost a century ago. I will be glad to give up the role of Sherriff of the World, since American culture is too gun-happy. the world needs a Saint more than a Sherriff anyway, and the Goddess is best of all but as her transformation of the world takes place we will see it in our institutions, religions and nations as well. The Catholic Church is changing and progressing, again as I predicted, and so is business and politics in America and worldwide. It all follows this same trend of supporting everyone, not just a hierarchy to support a few. Democrats are focusing on income inequality this year, a topic that you can't lose on because it is so bad and everyone, even the rich in their souls, knows it is wrong. It's not just about saying you will help people in order to get elected, but actually helping them so that they can contribute more and help make more needed changes for the whole society. People are scared of change but what we are becoming will be really good, believe me, I can see it in the future and have always seen it emerging in the present. I saw a documentary on 1964 and the Civil Rights movement today. Lyndon Johnson's Great Society ideal versus the people and mentalities that opposed it is the same argument we have today. Some people fear change, fear equality simply because they are afraid of people being treated equally, of having to be around "different" people, but this is just stupid and people will learn better when they do have more cross-cultural interaction and learn not to be afraid. Even though it is the same debate, we do make progress, and great leaders help us progress faster. But at some point eh whole world will have to transform, so that literally everyone can be cared for and happy. And it has to start, first, in some of the worst areas where there is the most suffering. This is why I write this blog like this: Gaga is transforming the world, with Love and Art, and it takes place through many other people, too. Some of them are connected to her, inspired by her, and many more are only connected in the way we are all connected. But this transformation, of the world and every society in it, is taking place. And there will be a turning point, soon, when more and more people will see how it is going on, join in, and from then on things will stop getting worse and get better and better forever. What does this have to do with Gaga right now? Connecting these events is wonderful chance to explain Gaga magic. Most of the time people think of magic as serving a personal goal, and Gaga magic works for this too, especially for personal development and art. But it is mostly about the magic that exists in everything, that is going on all the time, how everything is magical and magically connected. Gaga had a major event this week, firing a lot of her long-time staff. We know this was hard for her as she also considered them friends and part of what caused her to do it was realizing they were not really friends but more motivated by money, by what she could do for them financially. They did not have the appreciation that most monsters would have of what a blessing and honor and privilege it is to work with Gaga. This was a terribly difficult event for her, I am sure, but at the same time the way she told us about it on littlemonsters.com had a glorious, wonderful, world-shattering message as well. She told us she was ready to be the Goddess of Love, and she changed her twitter title to Goddess of Love. And she said that now the real transformation, the magic of artpop, could finally begin. To me this has a magical parallel with the UN response to Syria this week, and to all such terrible tragedies that eventually lead to progress and justice, including the ones depicted in the 1964 documentary that we are still fighting over. What is going on in Syria is a terrible tragedy, but if it causes the UN to live up to it's purpose it could truly be the last war on earth, or at least one of the last that we will always remember as a turning point in how we deal with war so that we find new ways and partnerships to prevent it and end it as quickly and safely as possible. This is the same with Gaga right now, a terrible tragedy but one that once we pass through it, the solution will lead to the great future. Now she is declaring herself the Goddess of Love - I can see how people with more industry concerns might have discouraged that before, but we know Gaga does not actually give a fuck. Now that she has "spat the lukewarm ones" out of her mouth, as Jesus would say, it is on. She said Born This Way would be a cultural baptism, and it was, but we aren't all "saved" yet, we still suffer from the evils of society, of conservative mentalities: greed, violence, ignorance and hate. Artpop is an initiation and manual for the work to be done, a guide and call to art and love, and saving us all and the planet. It's happening, and now that Gaga has revealed herself officially as the Goddess of Love and can more openly and fully live up to all that entails, we will reach that turning point soon. Another major development, and one that has personal magical significance to me, is that Artpop was cleared this week for release in China. I've always been fascinated with China and when Gaga tweeted this news she sais she was excited and hopeful to go there. I have always dreamed, known I would go to China and now that I think about it, it would be wonderful, amazing, to go for Artrave - I'll make that a personal goal. I got tickets to see her in Vegas in July, which will be my first time at her show. But in addition to a dream I have of going to China I made a song called "Welcome to China" 6 years ago, to celebrate China, the Olympics, and the new developments there that were lifting millions of people out of poverty. It is a love song, East Meets West, with the idea that with love we can all come together, all nations and people, and make a wonderful new world free of fear and danger. The song was accidentally prophetic and perfect for Gaga's announcement: "Welcome to China", with the message, lets all come together in love, putting aside any identities that hold us apart. Gagablogs 19 and 20 deal with Judas, how it is a song version of the 1st century Gospel of Judas which was recently discovered and revealed a few years ago. The major message is that the Church will come back together after fracturing, and unless this is prophetic how would it know the church would fracture so much and predict a reunion so far into the future? Now we are seeing signs of the church coming back together, in some ways, and still fracturing in others, most commonly because of homophobia. But even Pope Francis has softened the church stance against gays and other bitching about social issues. And one of his first acts was to start healing the thousand year old rift with the Eastern Orthodox church. It is fulfilling the Gospel of Judas prediction that the churches will come back together. But "Judas", and Gaga's message, is even bigger than that and it will achieve an even greater ambition - maybe the true meaning of the Gospel of Judas if it is looked at as not pertaining just o the Christian church but to all people and faiths. Gaga truly is uniting people across all faiths. In a very practical way, because of little monsters emerging from every culture and sharing information about their cultures with each other. In a more spiritual way it is the Goddess emerging that so many religions and cultures have suppressed for so long - and she has been emerging for a long time, but now, this week, she really "came out". Many Catholics in South America have been asking for decades to expand the trinity to include Mary, and this along with worship of Mary of Guadalupe and others has always struck me as examples of the Goddess emerging even in an extremely patriarchal context. The Pope has not been enlightened enough to allow women priests but is trying to be encouraging - he comes from Argentina so is surely familiar with the more Goddess-worshipping aspects of the faith. And I think he will develop and come to see why this is necessary, especially after he meets Gaga. I have been tweeting him about this, and about supporting gay marriage so it is easier/possible for more people to adopt the abused kids I work for. It is just a tweet, the desire of my heart, but it has the magical potential to change the world. I asked Ellie Goulding to RT it when I got a tweet from her about ice cream - she didn't but did not delete the request, either. I was just so excited to hopefully get the ball rolling. The Pope did not delete my question, either, giving me hope. But my real hope was that some monsters would RT it, it would spread around the world that way some then some other people would RT it and from every corner of the globe this simple request for goodness could prevail and the Pope could come out in support of Gay marriage and people against it might reconsider based on really thinking about what is best for kids. Gaga has always been keenly focused and active addressing the problems kids face, and kids suffer the worst results of all the problems we have in society, no matter what it is there is a way it effects kids the worst, ultimately. People Of course everyone says they care about kids but when they really start caring about the kids themselves instead of their ideas of what kids should be they will be able to love kids, and everyone and everything, the way Gaga does and shows us. I also follow and reply to the Dalai Lama and his latest tweet was about education. Again, it is something we say we all agree on, that education is good, but conservatives in our society seek privileged education and want to prevent certain populations from getting good education, including refusing to educate themselves about things like global warming. But they really do promote policies that hurt kids education, that cancel art programs etc. And they certainly continue to try and suppress the vote and involvement of certain populations. We have made great progress in 50 years towards a Great Society, but the opponents of this have also made great "progress", at least they have advanced their cause and their hurtful mentality through more generations. But the better they get at it, the more they stand out for what they are: wrong. In a way we have to respect their mentality to engage and educate them, but on the other hand they refuse to see the truth of the suffering their beliefs and policies cause. I think the better idea is what the Yippies did in the 60's. The Youth International Party was more a Party-party than a political party. My understanding was it was the idea that we can party, celebrate, live life together, sharing, without the old rules, and transform the world and society that way. We will have such a good time, maybe the stooges won't join us, if they change their mind and do, they will be happy, find love, and make more happy people and families. The ones who don't want in on the party will be increasingly grumpy and bitter and jealous and hateful, or change their mind and join, but if they don't no one will want to make love with them or fuck them as much and that mentality will eventually die out. "Racial purity" will damn sure become a thing of the past, as much as that scares some people - maybe the last of them will want the bodies they are so proud of preserved and displayed in a museum or something. Racial barriers will melt, and so will religious and cultural barriers: we will all see ourselves as family and even see the natural world as family, too, and be good to each other. This has long been my hope for peace between Israel and Palestine, because as the rave culture there grew people were really talking about how the kids would find a way to peace because they all partied together and had gotten over the division of the last generations. Now some official in Israel apologized for saying Sect. Kerry was "messianic" in his pursuit of peace there, but the truth is there is nothing wrong with that. It will be the kids who take up the messianic, loving spirit of having fun together that will bring peace to those long-suffering people. And if Gaga plays a show there you can be damn sure that will have an effect but its the same everywhere, the best party in the world and everyone who gets it, who wants to be in Real Love, can come - and more and more people will want to and see and hear how wonderful it is until the world is fully transformed. This isn't an "I told you so, the Goddess of Love is Here!" message, this is a reminder that when things seem tough, good things will come out of it. There is a glorious future we are working toward, all of us together, and we will get there, we have to. The complications along the way are reminders of what we need, what we need to remember and act out of - Love, the Goddess. Artpop gives us the sound, the vision of that future, as all Gaga's music and lyrics do since they are divinely inspired. We can see where we are going and have more and more full faith of getting there. And the great moment today, announcing she is now the Goddess of Love, is like saying "here we go! Fire up Rocket #9!" I love you Gaga and I'm so grateful for you, all you do, and all you inspire in the world.

Gagablog 63: Artpop, the Holy Spirit carbonated: Mandela, peace love and liberation

Art is the Holy Spirit. Artpop is the Holy Spirit, carbonated and sparkling. Everything is divine, scientifically everything is made of light, but we take on the complexity of matter in this life. The Holy Spirit is liberation, love, the future that draws us on, gives us hope, and lets us know everything will be good in the end. The world is sharing in the event of celebrating the life of Nelson Mandela as the people of South Africa gather and are joined by the greatest gathering of world leaders in history. It's about to start, on TV, and one of the good things about working the night shift is being able to join in events live as they happen on the other side of the world, getting the world's first reactions to news. I have so much to say about it, it touches on so many issues, I actually appointed a great leader in my head to write this, somewhat, by jotting down some notes, instead of letting the mob rule of thoughts in my mind ramble on. But this is how it works and why Mandela was so important to people - we are all manifestations of the Holy Spirit but some of us put it forth more purely, just shine with it's brilliance. This is the reason we all respond so powerfully to the great figures and leaders of history, because they really bring out something, into a blazing fire, but it is something within all of us, a spark we all share and connect to. Gaga recently attended an exhibit honoring Isabella Blow and encouraged her monsters via twitter to check her out, thus virtually ensuring the immortality of her art, though I'm sure most monsters like me had not heard of her before Gaga made the introduction. She echoed something she said recently in her tweet that it is important to honor the artist while they are alive. This is especially important for artists since we often struggle and can't realize the art we are inspired by due to worldly difficulties. The reason we have these celebrations after people die is because of the nature of being an aspect of the Holy Spirit, the divine, and returning to the fullness of it - it lets people reflect on the fullness of life. Mandela has been ailing for some time and this was excpected, it is not as if people were holding off celebrating him in case he did anything in his final days to invalidate the good of his life. No, it is just that we can't fully appreciate the importance of someone while they are with us, or while we can still hope to be with them, because the real importance of people is in their spirits and until the liberation of the spirit from this world it is encumbered. Even Mandela, who was so inspiring to the whole world, had some resentment from his family for not being able to be with them as much as they would like for the cause. Michael Jackson's death was a surprise to the world, but the same thing happened that in death the full force and impact that he had on people could be felt. The reason we are sad at most funerals is because we think of the loss, of missing time with the person or missing what could have been. With Mandela and others who have great impact and live long lives, we don't feel so much loss or what might have been, but can be more completely happy for all they did. I get the impression that it is more common in African cultures to celebrate life at funerals and it is uplifting to see the joy in people as they are going to the stadium for the service. So far the ceremony is almost an hour late starting and the stadium is still filling up. There is something special about seeing all the world leaders coming together and being on equal terms paying respect to Mandela, but also the fact that the real message is that all people are on equal terms and should be treated equally. The thing we keep being surprised about is that the real power is in truth, in love and caring for each other. We keep talking about how remarkable it is to forgive people assume that liberation from fear and oppression is for the victims, but Mandela has told us and it becomes increasingly easy to see how they oppressers are the ones truly "suffering" from fear, oppressors are the ones sick with it even if they put the symptoms off onto the oppressed and take the suffering out on them. So forgivness is healing them, healing everyone. It really opens up some amazing ideas to celebrate such a great man when like the other greatest people in history his contribution involved asserting the essential dignity and worth of all people. They just finished the South African National Anthem in it's three different languages. Christine Amanpour made a good point that by keeping the old Afrikans anthem in the new anthem, Mandela "embraced and nuetralized" the old order and she mentioned this was an example they could follow more in the Arab Spring. But this is the essence of "loving one's enemies" from the Bible, or the Rule of Three or "killing" with kindness. We keep hearing anecdotes of Mandela exemplifying forgiveness and reconciliation and we can never get enough of these, we need it. But the reason we need it is because there is still so much disparity and oppression in the world. Anderson Cooper just started talking over a minister giving a eulogy and comparing Mandela to Joseph, which I thought might be disrespectful until they said Mandela himself was not particularly religious and that he believed in infinity and his belies were rooted in tribal religion he grew up with. This shows how all beleif ultimately leads to the same thing, it is the same Holy Spirit of liberation that calls us all into the future, to more ideal life. The thing about liberation and freedom is that we all long for it, we all need it. Leaders will emerge who represent this need more prefectly, who exemplify it. But we all feel it, and there are two aspects to liberation movements, the leaders and the crowds. The crowds will do it and the leaders will emerge to be the face of it and to help steer the crowd to minimize conflcit. Right now there is a crowd gathered in the Ukraine ready to force the government out because the president chose to stay allied with Russia instead of meeting a commitment to ally more with Europe. In this case, and in Syria, the government is acting against the will of the people in such a way that they are being overthrown. This is the sense that all people have for justice and equality, whether a leader has or will emerge to symbolize these movements or not. With the end of Aparthied, and so much more good and justice done in the world by Mandela, we have a clear example of how goodness wins. Goodness is the only thing that really can win because there is no real power in evil: the worldly powers that are used to oppress people are not powerful at all compared with the truth. Malala said this when she said she believes the gun has no power at all, but the pen, the truth, is what is powerful Carlos Santana said the same thing when an interviewer for our local denver news (I think) asked him what he learned from Mandela - he said it was that the Good had already won. Its the only way it can be. It's always possible to see the good if we are looking with our hearts. I was a kid in the 80's and first heard about Mandela and Aparthied because of protests in America trying to convince Reagan to support sanctions against South Africa. This awakened me to the idea that there was still injustice in the world and that some people who were supposed to be responsible to fix it weren't up to the task. There has been a "great man" version of History that idolizes Reagan but this was one area where he was obviously lacking, even if Newt Gingrich wants to emphasise the lessor efforts Reagan made to address the issue. The main reason people get to say Reagan was any good, anyway, was because he was president when the Soviet Union collapsed, but my best undestanding of that is he accomplished it by lying and scaring them by spending ten times as much as they could afford on weapons no one ever needed in order to strain and eventually wreck their economy - because weapons aren't good for anything, just a waste of resources. I was never down with that, or how the Reagan administration tried to scare us into hiding under our desks in case of nuclear attack. But I'm against most everything he stands for and oppposed to the mentality that idolizes or even likes him. As my love says, the best thing about Reagan is he had a monkey. The response to the death of Mandela shows how severely "off" some people are, how far they are away from seeing with their heart - but if we look closely it shows this about us all, in lesser degrees. When Newt tweeted praise for Mandela he got a lot of racist and awful responses from his base of support, no real surprise since they are awful, racist people. But he tries to "redeem" his mentality by implying he has any moral values with which to relate to Mandela, as if all of his policies aren't completely contradictory to the Holy Spirit of liberation. Newt is trying to distinguis himself from his base, people who call Mandela a "gorrilla" warrior, but they are all the same. He tries to make excuses for Reagan, but the truth is that sanctions did play a role in ending Aparthied and Reagan was on the wrong side of history and had to be convinced. But as I said, we are thankfully not all raging racists, though far to many Americans are and have been revealing themselevs as such especially since Obama took office. We actually want to get along, which is why we can be so unified in praising someone like Mandela who did so much to bring us together. But as we sit here praising ideals and feeling like we share them, we really need to scrutinize ourselves and avoid hypocrisy. We say we value Mandela and we do, the world did honor him in his lifetime. But are we honoring him, and what he represnets, the Holy SPirit of liberationa and eqaulity, as best we can, in everything we do? If we haven't been our best, can we start now, with this memorial service as a call to become what we know we should be? I just can't help notice some hypocricy in the way we talk about Mandela. Christine Amanpor was marvelling at how brutal African dictators also praise Mandela, and she wondered if they are being willfully blind to not actually live up to his message or if they are just going along with the crowd. I would ask that question of Newt Gingrich and other conservatives who are trying to appear compassionate by praising Mandela - as if they in any way "get it" when they are in fact the source of the problem - but not because I think they are incapable of getting the message, because we all have that spark of Holy Spirit seeking to set us aflame with liberation. And we love it when someone else does it, but one problem we have is the "great man" idea that only someone else can do it. This is the same problem we had with buddha and Jesus - lots of people like to pretend "He" is the only one who could do this, so they don't have to take any responsibility to do it themselves. In the case of Mandela and other great leaders, they do inspire people to do more themselves, and they do earn the great praise people give them. But the idea of deifying people, idolizing people, can be good if it brings us together (and unity is usually the goal of people we want to honor in the first place) bu8t it can be harmful if it makes us feel separated, less worthy, or uncapable. I heard an example of this in Dave Letterman's interview with Sir Ian McLellan - sorry about spelling - Gandalf. He said that he met Mandela on a mission to get his support for a measure to protect people from descrimination based on sexual orientation. Mandela sent him a book with an inscription that he respected or appreciated him and Ian said he was unworthy or undeserving of Mandela's praise. In a way, this is just being humble but it is also part of the problem I am talking about. Ian was seeking equality for gay people, for all people, he was doing the same thing Mandela himself did. Mandela recognized it and supported him, unlike Reagan who did not immediately recognize Mandela and support him, but it did take Ian making the trip and appeal and drawing his attention to it to make it happen. I'm not criticising Mandela or saying he might not have come to it on his own, but saying that Ian played a necessary role that should not be diminished. We can't say that only "great people" create change because we are all part of the ame thing. They just quoted Mandela saying he was not only one man, and the fairy sensitive-seeming Chris Cuomo just made the statement that the unique thing about this event was "regular people in the same place with the most important people in the world." We are all the most important people in the world and we can't let anyone else's position allow us to feel inferior or incapable. We do have way too much futiulity in the world and that is why it is so powerful to be inspired. And I'm reminded that some great people live up to the positions we put them in, like Mandela himself or Obama, and I was reminded by the heartfelt speech of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, which was sweet and powerful and reflected the Holy Spirit well. Obama is still more ideal than he has been able to realize, which reminds me of the limitations of office, even the highest offices, and makes me think how much more freely President Carter can speak about things after he is president and I look forward to Obama having that freedom and being that kind of voice and conscience for America and the world - though I also wish he could have another term or two. We should not think of Mandela, or Jesus or Buddha or anyone, as "above us" in any limiting way, only above us in a leading way, to raise us up. Nothing is too high that it is not connected to the lowest, indeed it is a sign of the highest level of development to be able to relate and help those who are held back the most, at the bottom. We also can't take the words we say and feeling we have when we honor goodness in people to be a placebo for doing good ourrselves, and this is something I hear in the way we are talking about Mandela. The newscasters say that brutal dictators honor Mandela without really following his example then they praise Mandela for speaking so bluntly to criticize Bush and Blair for the Iraq war but it's like they can't connect the dots and say that it is also ironic for Bush and Blair to claim to honor Mandela without actually doing what he said. The same is true for the conservatives defense of Reagan basically supporting Apartheid by not doing enough to oppose it, saying they chose to do that in the context of competing with the Soviet Union and communist countries for influence, as if that makes it okay. True goodness can be persued at every level, and if the opposition to Russian means we can't help other oppressed people, then maybe that should be a signal that there is something wrong with the opposition to the Russia. They're recounting now how Mandela flew to Lybia to broker a deal to free hostages when we couldn't and hatred that many conservatives here have for him is based on being allied with communist countries, but it was his ability to connect with all sides of the spectrum. The newsguys are saying he was unique in being able to connect with all sorts of leaders, even those he was critical of, because he had basic respect for all. This is what we are missing, in our society and in the world in general. We need to have respect for all people. We tend to create an "other" class to take advantage of, either certain communities or "foreign" cultures, but there is no real "other". Obama just shook hands with Castro as I typed that and Christine is shocked" :it's so true, he brought people together in life and he continues to bring people together in death." Of course it IS the spirit of Mandela to shake hands, but it was still Obama who extended his hand and Castro who shook it - even though Obama will certainly take heat from it for redneck back home, the newsman just said it, but he also tried to downplay it, like it is just the spirit of the moment, when it really could be the spirit of an even bigger moment, the sign of the new era of cooperation instead of conflict. Mandela IS the spirit of reconciliation, the Holy SPirit, but his death does not mean this is gone from the world, but the opposite, it means it is now up to us more than ever to carry the torch. The newscasters were so aghast that "Nelson" was the name given (Obama is speaking now...) to him in school, replacing his African name. But it wasn't long ago we did the same to Native American kids and we still give immigrants more American names. Okay, Obama's speech was awesome and he said a lot of what I'm trying to say here, of course better and more powerfully. I studied speeches of liberation, that promoted democracy, for the Academic Decathalon competition in high school and this was one of those speeches. It touched on all the important points, that this "giant" was not above us, but one of us and connecting with us, that holding strongly to ideals allows for comporomise to reach larger goals, that we need self-reflection to become our best, that sacrifice is required for change and that we recognize some who sacrifice but many are "unknown", that equality and unioversatl franchise are essential, and that the work is not done and won't be as long as there is persecution and poverty in the world, including persecution for ideals or who one loves. He criticised leaders who claim to ally with Mandela's message but don't tolerate dissent. Focusing on the value of ideals and also our responsibility to act to reach them, Obama mentioned the need to write new laws and keep persuing equality and said we can all do things to honor Mandela and used himself as an example, saying he was stirred up by learning of Mandela in a way that shaped his life and also invoking Ubuntu, the african word for interconnectedness, translated as "I am me because of you." Mandela is a good example of the Holy Spirit because, especially as Obama mentioned, and is being conveniently replayed for me as I write this, he shared his truth with us, his faults and mistakes as well and said he was not a saint "unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying." We can all fit that category, and we are all reflections of ourselves. We recognize greatness in others, in Mandela, in Obama, in Gaga, because they have gone with where this Holy Spirit leads us all. We are all who we are because of each other, we are all in this together, and we make each other by our examples and lessons we teach through them. We are all Mandela, and Gaga, and responsible for carrying out their message. And we are the nameless and not-yet-known, too, and it is our responsibilty to discover, honor, and become those poeple, known and unknown, who advance humanity. Obama said that we will never see the likes of another Mandela. Maybe the good side of this is we won't need one, that there will be no more "great injustices" to address, but they kind of need one now in Syria and other places. And there are still the worldwide issues of poverty and war, and the same problem that was Aparthied in South Africa is still many injustices around the world, and needs to be opposed. The problem is worldly power being misused, the use of force and violence. And we are all part of a system that is guilty of it, that runs on it. We still accept fear as a motivator: we use the threat of military strikes to get some compliance out of Syria or Iran, we threaten to enforce laws, good and bad, with prison time or killing you. The two most glaring hypocricies I see in the way we, Americans, honor Mandela is that we love his non-violence when it comes to not retaliating for violence, but we don't love it enough to disarm and become non-violent ourselves. Even during the memorial I see news ticking across the bottom of the page about George Zimmerman, posterchild for the craziness of our gun culture. it's just wrong, I don't need to explain it all, it is based on fear, violence, and force. That's not how you get things done. We are all so impressed that Mandela did the impossible, and he did it non-violently. If he had used violence he could have only achieved the possible, spun revenge around for another cycle. But we want the impossible, the ideal, and we deserve it and can have it if we are brave enough to be true to goodness and have faith that Goodness always wins, has already won in the eternal time, in the future paradise we all know. We can't truly honor the non-violent spirit and still make excuses for weapons and violence - we have to disarm and be an example to others, weapons are not an answer to anything, not a good answer. Another major hypocricy, for Americans, is to claim to value "universal franchise", everybody gets a vote, but not actually apply this universally. I see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a clear example of this: we keep saying the only solution is a two-state solution, but what does this mean? All over the world, countries are working together more and more, and wee have to to face major issues. We wont necessarily start merging more countries, though I guess the EU has in a way, but we will start working together for more common interests. Dividing Israel and Palestine is counter to this trend - but what would the option be? Making Palestinians eqaul citizens with universal franchise, trh right to vote? WHat would be wrong with that, other than to a mindset that only cares about the Israeli side of things? But if Israel is rhe oppressor of the Palestinian people, and we actually believe Mandela that liberation is for the captors as much or more than for the captors, then wouldn't the best way to look out for Isreai interests be to seek justice and equality for the Palestinians? I think we should live up to our ideal of eqaulity in Israel by insisting on universal suffrage - but we need this in America, too, with so many conservatives trying to repress or steal the vote from certain populations. And probably our worse hypocricy revealed in Americans honoring Mandela is how much respect we have for him, and indignation, for having endured 27 years in prison. We have another story in the media now about a man who was freed after 25 years of wrongful imprisonment in AMerica and there are many more people like that in this country, and of course there are when you consider we have the highest incarceration rate in the world. We claim to be so opposed to the wrongful imprisonment of Mandela when huge numbers of Americans are wrongfully imprisoned for similar reasons, the mistakes or prejudices of those in power. We have to be willing to examine ourselves, to look to the best examples of leaders, not as lullabyes but to wake us up to live up to them. We can't let ourselves off the hook because it is someone elses problem or expect someone else to come along to take care of it. The one thing I disagree with Obama is that we will see another Mandela, many more Mandelas, because we will see more of him in all of us, his strong, pure example of the Holy Spirit brings it out stronger in all of us, Ubuntu. Of course I have a suggestion, the ideal version that we can keep in mind to see how far we need to go, and of course it is from Oz so i will get into more detail in my upcoming book "Oz Magic: From Radio to Gaga." But oz has one jail, and in that jail they only ever had one prisoner, Ojo the Unlucky. Their "army" is also only have one soldier and his gun is just for show and doesn't work. One reason for this is no one does anything wrong, and when Ojo is imprisoned it is because he acts wrongly since he did not understand the rules. But in Oz the rules are good, compared to here, now, where laws can be wrong and bad. Mandela challenged Aparthied in his trial, he made it a trial of Aparthied since he was not wrong, the system was. There are a lot of places where our system is still wrong, there is injustice we need to fight. Legalizing weed is one such fight, removing bad laws, but there are so many areas when one group of people is oppressed in favor of another and we need to be vigilant about exposing and reconciling all of these disparities and institutional or cultrual prejudices. We only hurt and take advantage of each other out of fear, we are afraid of one another and want to control the "other" to hide the fear, or make them fear us. But fear itself is our common enemy. We can all come together in opposition to violence and oppression, if we just believe what we say and act accordingly. We say good things all the time but we do need examples of goodness in action to live up to it, to have examples to follow. We all have that feeling of goodness, that spark and yearning, and we all get frustrated by the difficulties in the world. Accidents can happen, but we should all be vigilant against abuse of power because it is not an accident, but a system. We can't be complacent and Mandela and the tributes to him are beautiful reminders of this. We can't let any injustice get a pass because it seems to big to make fail, we have to have faith and bravery and end them. One reason I call this the Holy Spirit is I know from the Bible that in times of trial Jesus, I think, said not to worry or say pre-determined things but to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you. To me, this means that the Holy Spirit is dedicated to justice, to revealing the truth to a Judge or someone in power. This means that the power structure can, should, and will change - the Holy Spirit will arrive to make it happen. We just have to be open to this: to be willing to face hardship and injustice because we know the truth, the Holy Spirit, has already won and knowing that it takes getting into struggle to make this happen but what happens will be for the greater good. We need to be alert, aware, sensitive to others needs so we can detect injustice, we need to be willing to suffer and sacrifice to address it, and we need the faith to know the real power is on our side when we seek justice. I like the quote from professor Cornell West that justice is love expressed to the world, loving the world equally. There is no real "other", no real opponent, we are all in this together. As we realize this and come closer to unity the things that hold us back will stand out as wrong even more. We are coming out of a recession but still are not all doing well. Anti-immigrant sentiment always rises in this country when things are "bad" and people are more generous when things are good. Last week I heard that 50% of Americans think we should not negotiate with Iran, 30% think we should do more diplomacy and 20% just want war. This disgusts me when we have a chance at a peaceful solution, even with the sateks being a potential World War 3 or nuclear holocaust. Sanctions, applying them and removing them when progress is made, is what the world did to end Aprthied, we kept up our end, eventually. Sanctions are supposedly what gained traction for getting Iran to give up developing nuclear weapons. Sanctions are a form of violence, but not nearly as bad as war. The thing is, how can we say "certain" people can have certain weapons and others can't? We give Pakistan many weapons including nuclear bombs but it is not like they have a qaulity that Iran is lacking. It is not like we have some special qaulity, as Americans, that makes us uniquely qaulified to have nucear weapons - we are the only country to use them, which if anything should disqualify us. But this shows weapons aren't any good, that the real good is done by communication, consideration, and reconciliation. It is when those break down that we resort to violence, but they can't work if we don't try them. Obama himself quoted Mandela that you have to trust someone in order to get them to trust you. This is the exact opposite of insisting we need guns, missiles, or violence to get that we want, based on the idea that we will eventually need to threaten people because we can't trust them. We live in an world abundant with resources and love, but restricted by people who control and starve people of this through exertion of unjust power. We just have to oppose that wehn we encounter it, and look for it hiding in ourselves or hidden from us in the world. We all have the chance to do that, and are especially called to that duty by the memorial and memory of Madiba. It is the buddha, seeking the end of all suffering, and the boddhisattva vow, to not enter nirvana until all people do. These great examples are here to stick around for all of us, to make us all as good. We are, inside, and we will be able to live that goodness outwardly as we overcome the barriers that separate us. Art is the Holy Spirit, what inspires and guides us all to unity, justice, liberation, peace and love. Artpop is that spirit manifest in reality, a drink we can taste and feel and refreshes us in special chosen moments instead of the air we breathe that sustains us all the time and we might not even notice it. Artpop is the carbonization of Art, the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit entered into carbon-based life forms. And it sparkles. Scientifically we, everything, is made our of light - light is the basic reality that combines and produces matter, and from there grows into complexity. But we are all rooted in light, we are all light moving through, revealed in matter, and it makes us sparkle. When we really live up to the light inside of us, we glow and shine, catch fire to others and light the world. But even before we fully turn on the light in us is called forth by great lights in the world. Mandela did this for many, and as Obama said he was the last great liberator of the last century. But we already have Gaga, and Pope Francis, Obama himself, and other liberating figures of this century and more to come. As the planetarium in the Simpsons said, "Who will discover the secrets of the universe/press my reset button? Will it be you? Or you? Or you?". Ubuntu - i am me because of you. What can I do to help you, what do we need? We can save the world, from all injustice, by keeping to this spirit. Everyone is an example of this, and while I did not get into many examples of Gaga doing this in this edition, it's essentially all she does - liberates us, empowers us, and brings us together. In Love.