Master Number Eleven
By Hans Decoz
Numerology.com
February 29, 2016
Numerology reduces all multi-digit numbers to the single-digit
numbers 1 through 9 with the exception of the three Master
numbers 11, 22 and 33.
These three Master numbers in many cases are not reduced and
have a specific set of attributes that sets them apart from all other
numbers.
Numerology enthusiasts and practitioners have always been
especially excited about Master numbers because, as the name
implies, they represent something above and beyond the mundane.
However, in the last couple of decades, some numerologists have
adopted all double-digit numbers with identical digits (44, 55, 66
…) as Master numbers, probably because the mysterious nature of
Master numbers tickles our sensationalist nature.
This is truly unfortunate, not only because it is incorrect,
but also because it diminishes our understanding of the
true Master numbers.
Yes, it is correct to state that all double-digit numbers with
identical digits are powerful for the simple reason that a
combination of duplicate numbers, more or less doubles, the
influence of the single digit.
For example, the number 44 would have double the influence of a
single 4, the number 55 doubles the influence of a single 5 and so
forth.
However, with the three true Master numbers, their power is not
just based on the simple fact that they consist of identical digits,
but because those digits are the 1, the 2, and the 3, respectively.
In the case of the 11 (a double 1), it has the traits and personality
of the 1 twice, and when added (11 = 1+1 = 2) becomes a 2,
thereby combining the most powerful male energy (the 1, Zeus)
with the equally potent female energy (the 2, Hera).
Considering that the 1 and the 2 are on opposite ends of the
spectrum and the sum of their combined attributes pretty much
overshadows all other attributes assigned to the numbers 3 through
9 you can perhaps imagine a merging of the strongest, most driven
and aggressive warrior, an unstoppable masculine energy, with the
supremacy of the most intuitive, feminine, and cunning goddess.
And even that does not reveal the true essence of the 11 Master
number: The 11 symbolizes the potential to push the limitations of
the human experience into the stratosphere of the highest spiritual
perception; the link between the mortal and the immortal;
between man and spirit; between darkness and light; ignorance
and enlightenment.
This is the ultimate symbolic power of the 11.
Similarly, the Master number 22 combines a double dose of
feminine intuitive power as represented by the 2, with the
ultimate capacity to make dreams into reality; the domain
of the 4.
And again, the result is not just a range of attributes stacked to
impressive potential, but the true essence of the 22: The ability to
experience all that the 11 has to offer and apply it to the material
world.
Finally, the Master number 33 combines the most proficient powers
of expression (the 3) with the teacher and caregiver par excellence;
the 6.
Its true essence is the final word in spiritual evolution;
the Master Teacher.
This, the ability to reach spiritual enlightenment (the 11), makes it
a reality in the material world (the 22), then uses it to lift others
into enlightenment (the 33), reflecting the enormity of the gift of
human life as symbolized by the three Master numbers.
Which brings me to the heart of this article: the secret lesson of the
11, a revelation you will not find in any Numerology book or article.
Just as Numerology uses adding numbers, it also subtracts numbers
looking for the difference between them -- generally revealing what
are called challenges or obstacles, and shortcomings you have to
overcome.
They represent the gaps between the stepping stones, bridges we
have to build in order to continue on our path.
In the case of the three Master numbers, the gap between 11 and
22 is 11 and the gap between 22 and 33 is also 11.
This tells us that in order to move from the height of spiritual
understanding as symbolized by the 11, we need to reach an even
higher and more rounded experience of divine insight before we
can apply our spiritual maturity in the material world, as reflected
by the 22.
And the final step, the ultimate divine reality of reaching the
level of a true Master, requires another superhuman boost of
divine realization, this one symbolized by the number 33.
As you may have guessed, I am no longer talking within the realm
of mundane human religious exercise but rather about those who
have reached permanent prince hood in the world of spirit.
And this too is mirrored in the nature of Master numbers.
Quite a few of us have an 11 among our core numbers.
Does that mean that they have a better chance of reaching
enlightenment?
No, they do not.
They have potential access to the attributes of the 11 such as
intuition, but the story of the Master numbers as told above
belongs in a different realm.
There are those among us who do not have a single Master number
in their chart yet can - and have - reached the ultimate spiritual
heights symbolized by the 11.
There are some with and without Master numbers who truly
experience with every breath the reality of living up to the
promises of the 22.
And, if you are not just extremely lucky, but also incredibly
perceptive, you may, in this lifetime, have an opportunity to
meet that most precious of human beings; the Master Teacher.
And recognize him for what he is.
The story of the Master numbers plays on different levels.
On a more commonplace level, Master numbers found in
an individual's chart indicate the potential access to the
attributes attached to those Master numbers; the fine-tuned
intuition of the 11; the master builder potential of the 22;
the extraordinary teaching abilities of the 33.
It is up to the individual to reach that potential and many,
but by no means all, do.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to having one or more
Master numbers in your chart.
The nervous energy of the 11, the frustrations and disappointments
of the 22, and the shy, insecure nature of a 33.
None of the other double-digit numbers with identical digits
(44, 55, 66 ...) burden us with that kind of pressure, positive
or negative.
http://www.numerology.com/numerology-numbers/11-master-
number
Hello America, My name is Tony Whitcomb and I am the Founder and CEO of Expotera. I have created Expotera, as well as this Blog, to let the good, honest and hardworking Citizens of this Country know that the Revolution has now begun. Power To The People!!
Monday, February 29, 2016
Saturday, February 27, 2016
The Ten Commandments of The Native Americans
The Ten Commandments of The Native Americans
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but
one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do
to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things
connect." -- Chief Seattle
By Native Village.org
February 27, 2016
1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit, in all that you do.
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings.
(Especially respect yourself)
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
6. Do what you know to be right.
(But be careful not to fall into self-righteousness)
7. Look after the well being of mind and body.
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
9. Be truthful and honest at all times.
(Especially be truthful and honest with yourself)
10. Take full responsibility for your actions.
http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/ten_native_american_commandments.htm
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but
one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do
to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things
connect." -- Chief Seattle
By Native Village.org
February 27, 2016
1. Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
2. Remain close to the Great Spirit, in all that you do.
3. Show great respect for your fellow beings.
(Especially respect yourself)
4. Work together for the benefit of all Mankind.
5. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
6. Do what you know to be right.
(But be careful not to fall into self-righteousness)
7. Look after the well being of mind and body.
8. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
9. Be truthful and honest at all times.
(Especially be truthful and honest with yourself)
10. Take full responsibility for your actions.
http://www.nativevillage.org/Inspiration-/ten_native_american_commandments.htm
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Nine 九
Nine 九
By Heather Lee
February 25, 2016
The number Nine is ruled by the planet Mars, and therefore helps
with our connection to Effective Action.
Nine is about knowing when to be Assertive.
Martian energy likes to take a risk, to be bold and go forward to
Meet Challenges.
Nine is also an energy of Harmony.
The number Nine is a numerological symbol of the electrical energy
of the Universe.
It cannot be destroyed, and it gives back whatever is added to It.
When you multiply any number by Nine, then add the resulting
digits and reduce them to a single digit, it always becomes a Nine.
For example, 6 x 9 = 54, reduce 54 to a single digit by adding them
together: 5 + 4 = 9.
Similarly, 8 x 9 = 72, and 7 + 2 = 9. Or 23 x 9 = 207, 2 + 0 + 7 = 9,
and so Forth.
Nine is the number of Magic.
Nine is a sacred Number.
Nine is the number of Completion and Fulfillment.
Nine is a symbol of Wisdom and Good Leadership.
Nine is the number of Heaven.
In Hinduism, "Nine" is the number of Brahma, the Creator.
Those who resonate with the number and meaning of Nine,
are humble, wise, thoughtful, caring, and honest, and they
carry and conduct themselves Accordingly.
They are usually very well versed in a myriad of topics and
express skills and interest in seemingly Countless Arenas.
When given a channel of expression these people can create
amazing feats of Accomplishment.
Nine people are visionary and courageous and they can easily
get along with, and also easily manage, small or large groups
of People.
These individuals are perfect for leadership positions and places
of power when they utilize their, "Nine" strengths, in a Healthy
Manner.
By Heather Lee
February 25, 2016
The number Nine is ruled by the planet Mars, and therefore helps
with our connection to Effective Action.
Nine is about knowing when to be Assertive.
Martian energy likes to take a risk, to be bold and go forward to
Meet Challenges.
Nine is also an energy of Harmony.
The number Nine is a numerological symbol of the electrical energy
of the Universe.
It cannot be destroyed, and it gives back whatever is added to It.
When you multiply any number by Nine, then add the resulting
digits and reduce them to a single digit, it always becomes a Nine.
For example, 6 x 9 = 54, reduce 54 to a single digit by adding them
together: 5 + 4 = 9.
Similarly, 8 x 9 = 72, and 7 + 2 = 9. Or 23 x 9 = 207, 2 + 0 + 7 = 9,
and so Forth.
Nine is the number of Magic.
Nine is a sacred Number.
Nine is the number of Completion and Fulfillment.
Nine is a symbol of Wisdom and Good Leadership.
Nine is the number of Heaven.
In Hinduism, "Nine" is the number of Brahma, the Creator.
Those who resonate with the number and meaning of Nine,
are humble, wise, thoughtful, caring, and honest, and they
carry and conduct themselves Accordingly.
They are usually very well versed in a myriad of topics and
express skills and interest in seemingly Countless Arenas.
When given a channel of expression these people can create
amazing feats of Accomplishment.
Nine people are visionary and courageous and they can easily
get along with, and also easily manage, small or large groups
of People.
These individuals are perfect for leadership positions and places
of power when they utilize their, "Nine" strengths, in a Healthy
Manner.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Payback
Payback
By James Brown
MetroLyrics.com
February 23, 2016
Hey! Gotta gotta pay back!! (The big payback)
Revenge!! I'm mad (the big payback)
Got to get back!
Need some get back!!
Pay Back! (the big payback)
That's it!!
Payback!!!
Revenge!!!
I'm mad!!
Get down with my girlfriend, That ain't right!!
Hollarin' cussin', you wanna fight!!
Payback is a thing you gotta see
Brother do any damn thing to me
Sold me out, for chump change (yes you did!!)
Told me that, they had it all arranged
You handed me down, and that's a fact
Now you're pumped, You gotta get ready
For the big payback!! (the big payback!!)
That's where I am, the big payback (the big payback!!)
I can do wheelin', I can do dealin' (yes you can!!)
But I don't do no damn squealin'
I can dig rappin', I'm ready!! I can dig scrappin'
But I can't dig that backstabbin' (Oh No!!)
The brother get ready!! Thats a fact!!
Get ready you Mother, for the big payback (The big Payback!!)
Let me hit 'em hit'em!! Hey Hey!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Took my money, you got my honey
Don't want me to see what you doing to me
I got to get back I gotta deal with you!!
Hey let me tell ya!!
Get down with my woman, that ain't right!
You hollarin' and cussin', you wanna fight!!
Don't do me no darn favor,
I don't know karate, but I know KA-RAZY!!!! (yes we do!!)
Get ready thats a fact, Get ready you Mother for the big
payback (the big payback!)
Hey!!
I'm a man!
I'm a man!
I'm a son of a man, but don't they tell ya then!!
Get ready for the big payback (the big payback!!)
Hit 'em again!!
Get ready I need it, I need a hit again!!
Say it once Hit 'em again!! (the big payback!!)
Sold me out for chump change,
Said my woman had it all arranged
Tryin' to make a deal, she wants to squeal
But I had my boys on her heals
Saw me comin', told a lie
Went down like you wanted to cry
I don't care what she does,
she'll be doin' just like she was
Take your kids and raise them up,
Somebody think I have a right to be tough
Take her, take that woman, it's one place she found
Just run that mother out of town!!
Got to get up!!
Got to get up, get out!!
I'm mad!!
I want revenge, I want revenge (the big payback!!)
I want revenge (the big payback!!)
Give me those hits!!
I want some hits!!
I need those hits, hit me!!
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Dancer, Bandleader and the Founding Father of Funk Music as well as a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance and he is often referred to as the, "Godfather of Soul" in a career that spanned over six decades.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-payback-lyrics-james-brown.html
By James Brown
MetroLyrics.com
February 23, 2016
Hey! Gotta gotta pay back!! (The big payback)
Revenge!! I'm mad (the big payback)
Got to get back!
Need some get back!!
Pay Back! (the big payback)
That's it!!
Payback!!!
Revenge!!!
I'm mad!!
Get down with my girlfriend, That ain't right!!
Hollarin' cussin', you wanna fight!!
Payback is a thing you gotta see
Brother do any damn thing to me
Sold me out, for chump change (yes you did!!)
Told me that, they had it all arranged
You handed me down, and that's a fact
Now you're pumped, You gotta get ready
For the big payback!! (the big payback!!)
That's where I am, the big payback (the big payback!!)
I can do wheelin', I can do dealin' (yes you can!!)
But I don't do no damn squealin'
I can dig rappin', I'm ready!! I can dig scrappin'
But I can't dig that backstabbin' (Oh No!!)
The brother get ready!! Thats a fact!!
Get ready you Mother, for the big payback (The big Payback!!)
Let me hit 'em hit'em!! Hey Hey!! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Took my money, you got my honey
Don't want me to see what you doing to me
I got to get back I gotta deal with you!!
Hey let me tell ya!!
Get down with my woman, that ain't right!
You hollarin' and cussin', you wanna fight!!
Don't do me no darn favor,
I don't know karate, but I know KA-RAZY!!!! (yes we do!!)
Get ready thats a fact, Get ready you Mother for the big
payback (the big payback!)
Hey!!
I'm a man!
I'm a man!
I'm a son of a man, but don't they tell ya then!!
Get ready for the big payback (the big payback!!)
Hit 'em again!!
Get ready I need it, I need a hit again!!
Say it once Hit 'em again!! (the big payback!!)
Sold me out for chump change,
Said my woman had it all arranged
Tryin' to make a deal, she wants to squeal
But I had my boys on her heals
Saw me comin', told a lie
Went down like you wanted to cry
I don't care what she does,
she'll be doin' just like she was
Take your kids and raise them up,
Somebody think I have a right to be tough
Take her, take that woman, it's one place she found
Just run that mother out of town!!
Got to get up!!
Got to get up, get out!!
I'm mad!!
I want revenge, I want revenge (the big payback!!)
I want revenge (the big payback!!)
Give me those hits!!
I want some hits!!
I need those hits, hit me!!
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American Singer, Songwriter, Record Producer, Dancer, Bandleader and the Founding Father of Funk Music as well as a major figure of 20th century popular music and dance and he is often referred to as the, "Godfather of Soul" in a career that spanned over six decades.
http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-payback-lyrics-james-brown.html
Sunday, February 21, 2016
The Enemy Within
The Enemy Within
By Marcus Tullius Cicero
February 21, 2016
A nation can survive it' s fools, even the ambitious.
But it cannot survive treason from within.
A enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he
carries his banners openly.
But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly
whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of
government itself.
For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in accents familiar
to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and
he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the
night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politics
so it can no longer resist.
A murderer is less to be feared.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator and statesmen, circa 45 B.C.
By Marcus Tullius Cicero
February 21, 2016
A nation can survive it' s fools, even the ambitious.
But it cannot survive treason from within.
A enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and he
carries his banners openly.
But the traitor moves among those within the gate freely, his sly
whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard in the very halls of
government itself.
For the traitor appears not traitor, he speaks in accents familiar
to his victims, and he wears their face and their garments, and
he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the
night to undermine the pillars of a city, he infects the body politics
so it can no longer resist.
A murderer is less to be feared.
Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman orator and statesmen, circa 45 B.C.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Play Jazz
Play Jazz
Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around.
– Miles Davis
By Evan Kyrie Knappenberger
Adbusters.org
February 19, 2106
Playing jazz is like being on fire: you can’t grasp the flames – you
can only try to contain the panic, the notes spilling frantically
everywhere from your fingers; and it also eventually kills you.
There is something sacred in the art of jazz improvisation.
If you’re performing jazz right, with the right intentions, the right
audience and the right inclinations, then the universe contracts,
time expands, boundaries melt, identities become fluid.
Chord progressions still have meaning in the strictest sense, but
are no longer definitive and without the forceful authority that
they wield in the classical paradigm.
In jazz, in Christ, and in the absence of hierarchical force, sub-
cultures hidden beneath the institutional artifice of meter and
mode are allowed to emerge; new harmonics are discovered
and the soloist overcomes the hierarchies of human functionality.
In the deep waters of the fluid and prophetic will, where the holy
spirit moves intently, jazz is theology, it is philosophy, it is critical
theory, nothing is off-limits.
When the spirit of the lord is upon me, my trumpet and all things
are created good, even (arguably) inspired in the spirit.
Jazz, or what is the essence of artful jazz form, is the existential
function of the Psalmist, the dharma, the Dao.
Also, most important to our purpose: it is a form of anarchy,
from the top.
The teachings of Jesus contain kernels of radical truth with the
power to destroy human institutions, human thoughts and even
human self-perceptions.
There is a way to read the Gospel where every teaching of Jesus
is a self-contained deconstructive event, an anarchist mind-bomb,
a Miles Davis free-form solo (“If I play one new thing in a show, it
was worth it.”)
What is Jesus doing in the temple?
He’s singing a new song, playing something that’s not there,
blowing a solo against the walls, watching the crowd with
the crazed eyes of a jazz improviser.
Improvisation is, after all, a deeply-relational form.
Someone asks Jesus a question, throws him a minor curveball:
Jesus babbles a melodic minor, a parable – don’t you know who
is your neighbor?
A Pharisee is angry now; Jesus blurts a diminished 9th,
wails on the raised seventh: woe to you, Pharisee.
Peter always wants to play the blues, but man, don’t you know,
white people took the blues, so let them have it to themselves.
Paul is like Coltrane to Miles Davis’ Jesus: “ Trane, you can’t play
everything at once!” But Paul tries to get every note in edge-wise,
“I’m all things to all people…”
Following Paul, following Jesus, we don’t need doctrine – not
foundational doctrine at least – in order to embody the Christ.
Truth is to be found in the ensemble, relational and plural.
It is to be found in the audience, in the melding of flesh,
brass, reed and breath.
Jesus drawing in the dirt, a living melody with an earthy
unpolished tone.
It is not that the law is no longer adequate, but that the precepts
of the law are so alien to the real and relational form of authentic
human life, that they would sound like a baroque instrumental solo
on top of a moody Thelonius Monk featurette.
Both Paul and Jesus were well-educated enough that they didn’t
need to always be reading the notes from a page.
The appreciation of Christian Anarchism is that of the inherent
chord progression of the universe – a long-form where there is
room enough for improvisational genius to assert itself without
being pushy.
If we stop asserting the law for a minute, maybe we can,
“catch as catch can.”
Lastly, jazz is plural in truth-claims: no real jazz player can deny
the connection, relationality, revolutionary potentiality or
virtuosity of non-jazz figures, like Jerry Garcia or Andres Segovia,
for instance.
Wynton Marsalis and many others before him were classical
as well as jazz musicians.
Real jazz is all about plural commitments, personality and
performance and politics and lust and love and wonder and
race relations and spiritual renewal.
Sentimentality be damned: real jazz is not what you hear
on a record, but what you do in your life-mission.
Revolution in the anarchist framework is improvisational.
There is no formula that can free the human perception
from its dependence on formulaic thinking.
Overthrow can happen in a moment, or can linger too long.
Formulaic thought tries and fails to account for the
revolutionary principles.
This is also what happens when “culturally white” people – those
unfortunate people who have locked themselves into the mindset
of imperialism – try to play jazz: what comes out is distasteful
approximation.
The truth of revolution is only understood experientially:
you’ve got to pay your dues before you can play the blues.
Experiential suffering purges us of the desire to lock our
perceptions inside the imperial mindset. We must divest
ourselves from imperial desires and give ourselves over
to the art of authenticity: jazz and revolution come from
within.
The other commonality that we are missing here is the veteran-
identity: many of the great anarchists and jazz originators
experienced war as soldiers.
Much could be said about this, perhaps at another time.
Revolution will happen in this empire, we are assured, not because
of the power of anarchist endeavors but because it is the natural
and authentic way of engaging in life.
We must continue to improvise our arts, despite the mindless roar
of stupid crowds drunk on Facebook, television, sexual entitlement,
videogames, high on drugs, rich from corruption and mean with
violence.
The art itself lives, the long (cosmically-long!) form continues,
even if nobody seems to be listening.
Although, historically, philosophical anarchism precedes the
jazz art form there is a comic (transcendental?) dimension to
revolutionary jazz that predates classical political anarchism.
I speak in the sense that the ontologically-real is itself a work of
improvisation, given over to imperfection and reiteration; self-
referential ideas and poor taste also appear in the theogenic solo.
Musical jazz has perhaps gotten ahead of its intellectual
counterparts; jazz begs for a theological counterpart in the
pluralist tradition.
Brother ecclesiology is especially late to the jazz party, the
revolutionary Christian party, the New Jerusalem party.
When we see the creation in terms of order and chaos, we often
want to see in it our baroque exactitude, our classical imperialism,
our colonial romanticism, our sentimental triumphalism.
Only rarely do we see the ragtime truth of the relational
principle at the heart of order (Buber’s “Thou”).
Only rarely do we see the repurposing beebop truth, the relational
blues truth, the urgent necessity of the bulging-cheeked-bug-eyed
trumpeter, the calm tenacity of the steady bassist, the sweaty
pressure of the hardy saxophonist.
There is also a Kerouac and a Cassidy in the crowd,
rubbing their empty bellies, yelling, “blow!”
We miss these things, and the cosmic form, when the analytic
machine of abstraction starts processing away categorical-
essentialist meanings.
Just as there is no reduction (death) that can hold the cosmic
Christ, there is no reduction (theology) that can hold the cosmic
Word, no reduction (hierarchical authority) that can limit the
cosmic form, no reduction (musical shortcut) that can simplify
the cosmic chord changes.
There is only one general rule to all these things, and that
is revealed in Jesus, in relational theopoetics, in anarchist
ecclesiology, in the love and nonviolence scale-system.
It appears to us as magic, then, when Jesus rises from the dead,
when scripture is fulfilled, when nonviolent revolution suddenly
succeeds, when the melody clicks and the harmonic tension starts
to make sense.
Live rightly, relate faithfully, trust fully and play the long form.
All these things will be added unto you.
Go in peace.
Evan Kyrie Knappenberger is a radical Iraq war veteran and jazz
musician at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
https://www.adbusters.org/article/play-jazz-2
Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around.
– Miles Davis
By Evan Kyrie Knappenberger
Adbusters.org
February 19, 2106
Playing jazz is like being on fire: you can’t grasp the flames – you
can only try to contain the panic, the notes spilling frantically
everywhere from your fingers; and it also eventually kills you.
There is something sacred in the art of jazz improvisation.
If you’re performing jazz right, with the right intentions, the right
audience and the right inclinations, then the universe contracts,
time expands, boundaries melt, identities become fluid.
Chord progressions still have meaning in the strictest sense, but
are no longer definitive and without the forceful authority that
they wield in the classical paradigm.
In jazz, in Christ, and in the absence of hierarchical force, sub-
cultures hidden beneath the institutional artifice of meter and
mode are allowed to emerge; new harmonics are discovered
and the soloist overcomes the hierarchies of human functionality.
In the deep waters of the fluid and prophetic will, where the holy
spirit moves intently, jazz is theology, it is philosophy, it is critical
theory, nothing is off-limits.
When the spirit of the lord is upon me, my trumpet and all things
are created good, even (arguably) inspired in the spirit.
Jazz, or what is the essence of artful jazz form, is the existential
function of the Psalmist, the dharma, the Dao.
Also, most important to our purpose: it is a form of anarchy,
from the top.
The teachings of Jesus contain kernels of radical truth with the
power to destroy human institutions, human thoughts and even
human self-perceptions.
There is a way to read the Gospel where every teaching of Jesus
is a self-contained deconstructive event, an anarchist mind-bomb,
a Miles Davis free-form solo (“If I play one new thing in a show, it
was worth it.”)
What is Jesus doing in the temple?
He’s singing a new song, playing something that’s not there,
blowing a solo against the walls, watching the crowd with
the crazed eyes of a jazz improviser.
Improvisation is, after all, a deeply-relational form.
Someone asks Jesus a question, throws him a minor curveball:
Jesus babbles a melodic minor, a parable – don’t you know who
is your neighbor?
A Pharisee is angry now; Jesus blurts a diminished 9th,
wails on the raised seventh: woe to you, Pharisee.
Peter always wants to play the blues, but man, don’t you know,
white people took the blues, so let them have it to themselves.
Paul is like Coltrane to Miles Davis’ Jesus: “ Trane, you can’t play
everything at once!” But Paul tries to get every note in edge-wise,
“I’m all things to all people…”
Following Paul, following Jesus, we don’t need doctrine – not
foundational doctrine at least – in order to embody the Christ.
Truth is to be found in the ensemble, relational and plural.
It is to be found in the audience, in the melding of flesh,
brass, reed and breath.
Jesus drawing in the dirt, a living melody with an earthy
unpolished tone.
It is not that the law is no longer adequate, but that the precepts
of the law are so alien to the real and relational form of authentic
human life, that they would sound like a baroque instrumental solo
on top of a moody Thelonius Monk featurette.
Both Paul and Jesus were well-educated enough that they didn’t
need to always be reading the notes from a page.
The appreciation of Christian Anarchism is that of the inherent
chord progression of the universe – a long-form where there is
room enough for improvisational genius to assert itself without
being pushy.
If we stop asserting the law for a minute, maybe we can,
“catch as catch can.”
Lastly, jazz is plural in truth-claims: no real jazz player can deny
the connection, relationality, revolutionary potentiality or
virtuosity of non-jazz figures, like Jerry Garcia or Andres Segovia,
for instance.
Wynton Marsalis and many others before him were classical
as well as jazz musicians.
Real jazz is all about plural commitments, personality and
performance and politics and lust and love and wonder and
race relations and spiritual renewal.
Sentimentality be damned: real jazz is not what you hear
on a record, but what you do in your life-mission.
Revolution in the anarchist framework is improvisational.
There is no formula that can free the human perception
from its dependence on formulaic thinking.
Overthrow can happen in a moment, or can linger too long.
Formulaic thought tries and fails to account for the
revolutionary principles.
This is also what happens when “culturally white” people – those
unfortunate people who have locked themselves into the mindset
of imperialism – try to play jazz: what comes out is distasteful
approximation.
The truth of revolution is only understood experientially:
you’ve got to pay your dues before you can play the blues.
Experiential suffering purges us of the desire to lock our
perceptions inside the imperial mindset. We must divest
ourselves from imperial desires and give ourselves over
to the art of authenticity: jazz and revolution come from
within.
The other commonality that we are missing here is the veteran-
identity: many of the great anarchists and jazz originators
experienced war as soldiers.
Much could be said about this, perhaps at another time.
Revolution will happen in this empire, we are assured, not because
of the power of anarchist endeavors but because it is the natural
and authentic way of engaging in life.
We must continue to improvise our arts, despite the mindless roar
of stupid crowds drunk on Facebook, television, sexual entitlement,
videogames, high on drugs, rich from corruption and mean with
violence.
The art itself lives, the long (cosmically-long!) form continues,
even if nobody seems to be listening.
Although, historically, philosophical anarchism precedes the
jazz art form there is a comic (transcendental?) dimension to
revolutionary jazz that predates classical political anarchism.
I speak in the sense that the ontologically-real is itself a work of
improvisation, given over to imperfection and reiteration; self-
referential ideas and poor taste also appear in the theogenic solo.
Musical jazz has perhaps gotten ahead of its intellectual
counterparts; jazz begs for a theological counterpart in the
pluralist tradition.
Brother ecclesiology is especially late to the jazz party, the
revolutionary Christian party, the New Jerusalem party.
When we see the creation in terms of order and chaos, we often
want to see in it our baroque exactitude, our classical imperialism,
our colonial romanticism, our sentimental triumphalism.
Only rarely do we see the ragtime truth of the relational
principle at the heart of order (Buber’s “Thou”).
Only rarely do we see the repurposing beebop truth, the relational
blues truth, the urgent necessity of the bulging-cheeked-bug-eyed
trumpeter, the calm tenacity of the steady bassist, the sweaty
pressure of the hardy saxophonist.
There is also a Kerouac and a Cassidy in the crowd,
rubbing their empty bellies, yelling, “blow!”
We miss these things, and the cosmic form, when the analytic
machine of abstraction starts processing away categorical-
essentialist meanings.
Just as there is no reduction (death) that can hold the cosmic
Christ, there is no reduction (theology) that can hold the cosmic
Word, no reduction (hierarchical authority) that can limit the
cosmic form, no reduction (musical shortcut) that can simplify
the cosmic chord changes.
There is only one general rule to all these things, and that
is revealed in Jesus, in relational theopoetics, in anarchist
ecclesiology, in the love and nonviolence scale-system.
It appears to us as magic, then, when Jesus rises from the dead,
when scripture is fulfilled, when nonviolent revolution suddenly
succeeds, when the melody clicks and the harmonic tension starts
to make sense.
Live rightly, relate faithfully, trust fully and play the long form.
All these things will be added unto you.
Go in peace.
Evan Kyrie Knappenberger is a radical Iraq war veteran and jazz
musician at Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Virginia.
https://www.adbusters.org/article/play-jazz-2
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
The Law Of Subtraction
The Law Of Subtraction
By Expotera
February 17, 2016
For the past 17 years, my Ex-Wife, and a guy by the name of,
"Bill Gates" have now been spending some of their time down
here on this Earth trying to teach me a, "Lesson" about the,
"Law Of Subtraction" and now after 17 years of both my Ex-Wife
and Bill Gates trying to teach me all of these, many, many,
"Earthly" lessons, about the, "Law Of Subtraction" below is what
I have now learned with the very last, "Word" of the very last
sentence being exactly what each of them has now, "Taught"
me, over these past 17 years as well:
$ What isn't there can often trump what is
! The simplest rules create the most effective experience
% Limiting information engages the imagination
~ Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints
+ Break is the most important part of breakthrough
= Doing something isn't always better than doing nothing
By Expotera
February 17, 2016
For the past 17 years, my Ex-Wife, and a guy by the name of,
"Bill Gates" have now been spending some of their time down
here on this Earth trying to teach me a, "Lesson" about the,
"Law Of Subtraction" and now after 17 years of both my Ex-Wife
and Bill Gates trying to teach me all of these, many, many,
"Earthly" lessons, about the, "Law Of Subtraction" below is what
I have now learned with the very last, "Word" of the very last
sentence being exactly what each of them has now, "Taught"
me, over these past 17 years as well:
$ What isn't there can often trump what is
! The simplest rules create the most effective experience
% Limiting information engages the imagination
~ Creativity thrives under intelligent constraints
+ Break is the most important part of breakthrough
= Doing something isn't always better than doing nothing
Monday, February 15, 2016
The Takers
The Takers
By Expotera
February 15, 2016
They take our skills,
They take our labor,
They take our knowledge,
They take our pride,
They take our talent,
Our best ideas,
They take our time,
They take our lives.
In the end,
They take our jobs,
These 'makers' -
Then turn around
And call us, 'takers'
By Expotera
February 15, 2016
They take our skills,
They take our labor,
They take our knowledge,
They take our pride,
They take our talent,
Our best ideas,
They take our time,
They take our lives.
In the end,
They take our jobs,
These 'makers' -
Then turn around
And call us, 'takers'
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Jump Cut
Jump Cut
By Adbusters
February 13, 2016
The jump cut is a technique where two sequential subjects of a similar idea are cut up and reordered from a slightly different angle or position.
This type of technique creates the effect that we’ve somehow jumped forward in time.
It allows us to manipulate the idea of temporal space and narrative continuity by coopting similar progressive ideas, appearing to fracture the durational value of time and space.
These abrupt jumps in perspective, action, or idea create a
new pattern of time.
Some people tend to think the jump cut technique to be a violation
of the principles of narrative structure, which intends to present
a well ordered and harmonious world, de-emphasizing the chaotic
reality of our existence and those moments where time lapses.
A jump cut can draw attention to the manufactured and false
construction of a narrative-based reality.
Continuity and narratorial progress require a rule-based world.
Consecutive days, the passing of the eras, these are structures
intended to create a world that might appear seamless, ordered,
when in reality our world is disordered, chaotic and quantifiably
spooky.
The jump cut destroys this logic and the new school of creative
time seeks to change the way we experience sequential order.
A jump cut can jar us from complacency, drawing attention to
the falsity of linear narrative.
We can create a jump cut by bridging two non-continuous ideas:
we call these spatial jumps.
By removing the middle section of a narrative altogether, such
as the romantic in the postmodern, we create temporal jumps.
The jump cut adds speed to the sequence of an event, either
in idea or in action.
…time to jump over the dead body of the Old World…
…hack hack hack the capitalist algorithm . . .
…win a guerrilla meme war against the cruddy forces of the
status quo…
…outlaw secrecy…
…change the way money flows…
…upend the foundations of economics…
…make prices tell the ecological truth…
…slow down fast money in the global casino . . .
…watch Goddard, read Debord, Gandhi…take the straight
line in a curvy new direction…
…trigger a jump cut in the human imagination.
https://www.adbusters.org/article/jump-cut
By Adbusters
February 13, 2016
The jump cut is a technique where two sequential subjects of a similar idea are cut up and reordered from a slightly different angle or position.
This type of technique creates the effect that we’ve somehow jumped forward in time.
It allows us to manipulate the idea of temporal space and narrative continuity by coopting similar progressive ideas, appearing to fracture the durational value of time and space.
These abrupt jumps in perspective, action, or idea create a
new pattern of time.
Some people tend to think the jump cut technique to be a violation
of the principles of narrative structure, which intends to present
a well ordered and harmonious world, de-emphasizing the chaotic
reality of our existence and those moments where time lapses.
A jump cut can draw attention to the manufactured and false
construction of a narrative-based reality.
Continuity and narratorial progress require a rule-based world.
Consecutive days, the passing of the eras, these are structures
intended to create a world that might appear seamless, ordered,
when in reality our world is disordered, chaotic and quantifiably
spooky.
The jump cut destroys this logic and the new school of creative
time seeks to change the way we experience sequential order.
A jump cut can jar us from complacency, drawing attention to
the falsity of linear narrative.
We can create a jump cut by bridging two non-continuous ideas:
we call these spatial jumps.
By removing the middle section of a narrative altogether, such
as the romantic in the postmodern, we create temporal jumps.
The jump cut adds speed to the sequence of an event, either
in idea or in action.
…time to jump over the dead body of the Old World…
…hack hack hack the capitalist algorithm . . .
…win a guerrilla meme war against the cruddy forces of the
status quo…
…outlaw secrecy…
…change the way money flows…
…upend the foundations of economics…
…make prices tell the ecological truth…
…slow down fast money in the global casino . . .
…watch Goddard, read Debord, Gandhi…take the straight
line in a curvy new direction…
…trigger a jump cut in the human imagination.
https://www.adbusters.org/article/jump-cut
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Plans Within Plans Within Plans
Plans Within Plans Within Plans
By Paul Edmonds
February 11, 2016
I think if more people had learned how to play, "Chess" instead of,
"Ball Sports " they would have learned and they would know how to
read the entire chessboard to see not only your moves, but to also
see your opponent's next two, three, or maybe, four moves ahead.
When you know this, the machinations around us now seem obvious.
No longer does anything, "That Meets The Eye" seem to be as straight forward.
You see the reaction and the counter-reaction.
You see the ramifications.
You see the, "Plans Within Plans Within Plans" because you see the
future, and you see the truth.
By Paul Edmonds
February 11, 2016
I think if more people had learned how to play, "Chess" instead of,
"Ball Sports " they would have learned and they would know how to
read the entire chessboard to see not only your moves, but to also
see your opponent's next two, three, or maybe, four moves ahead.
When you know this, the machinations around us now seem obvious.
No longer does anything, "That Meets The Eye" seem to be as straight forward.
You see the reaction and the counter-reaction.
You see the ramifications.
You see the, "Plans Within Plans Within Plans" because you see the
future, and you see the truth.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
American Fascists
American Fascists
By Don Leonard
February 2, 2016
The rich are busy changing our system while the masses think they
are maintaining it...trying to fix what CANNOT be fixed.
And the rich will further this false beLIEf until it is time to change, while some childishly simple deductive reasoning shows us the future.
FACT #1 - In less than 20 years, technology has taken about half
the jobs, in less than 80 years, most all jobs will be gone.
FACT # 2 - In capitalism, jobs are absolutely necessary to sustain it.
No jobs, no money, no consumption, no capitalism. Money is not
required when good and services are done by technology at the cost
of free energy.
FACT #3 - There is another way we can maintain inequality, while
not worrying about the cessation jobs, and that is where we are
going. That would be fascism, because in a fascist state, people
are not important, and nor are jobs. Western/NATO imperialism
and its subsequent subjugation is fascism. Wealth is the pinnacle
of everything. That is the way of our future. Wealth, and basic
income serfs, while the sheep still think they have a shot at the
good life. Greed, envy, and inequality are firmly planted in the
minds of half wits, and it seems to be impossible to remove it
with educated thinking, empathy, logic, reason, and/or rational.
And they just refuse to get it, because as George Carlin said, "they
are afraid of being worse off than they currently are" although
that reality is coming, if it hasn't already, and they still think they
can be, "better" than the rest of the world, via inequality.
People won't move unless they are herded or feel the boot of
inequality on their face, and right now they are being herded
into fascism without having a clue.
We need to evolve, and that reality was understood by the original
proponents of capitalism.
By Don Leonard
February 2, 2016
The rich are busy changing our system while the masses think they
are maintaining it...trying to fix what CANNOT be fixed.
And the rich will further this false beLIEf until it is time to change, while some childishly simple deductive reasoning shows us the future.
FACT #1 - In less than 20 years, technology has taken about half
the jobs, in less than 80 years, most all jobs will be gone.
FACT # 2 - In capitalism, jobs are absolutely necessary to sustain it.
No jobs, no money, no consumption, no capitalism. Money is not
required when good and services are done by technology at the cost
of free energy.
FACT #3 - There is another way we can maintain inequality, while
not worrying about the cessation jobs, and that is where we are
going. That would be fascism, because in a fascist state, people
are not important, and nor are jobs. Western/NATO imperialism
and its subsequent subjugation is fascism. Wealth is the pinnacle
of everything. That is the way of our future. Wealth, and basic
income serfs, while the sheep still think they have a shot at the
good life. Greed, envy, and inequality are firmly planted in the
minds of half wits, and it seems to be impossible to remove it
with educated thinking, empathy, logic, reason, and/or rational.
And they just refuse to get it, because as George Carlin said, "they
are afraid of being worse off than they currently are" although
that reality is coming, if it hasn't already, and they still think they
can be, "better" than the rest of the world, via inequality.
People won't move unless they are herded or feel the boot of
inequality on their face, and right now they are being herded
into fascism without having a clue.
We need to evolve, and that reality was understood by the original
proponents of capitalism.