Meditation Mantra: Inhale "Who?" Exhale; Inhale "What?" Exhale; Inhale "Where?" Exhale; Inhale "When?" Exhale; Inhale "Why?" Exhale; Inhale "How?" Exhale; Repeat... Repeat... Repeat...

Ask a Question With Every Breath...

I'm Looking for Answers...

Like: "What Should I Write?"

Draw? Publish? Sing? Paint? DO?

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This Mantra was inspired by The Mark Sims Meditation Practice where he Chants "HU" (a Chinese Word) for 20 Minutes... as I was Chanting along I Kept on thinking of the Obvious Joke... It Sounds Like WHO? in English... and Since I Do Not Speak Chinese... I Modified his Chant... It Was Used During The Harmonic Convergence... a Worldwide Internet Event Designed to Make Contact With Extra Terrestrials...

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How to Become AWARE...

Easy Step by Step Instructions.

Go Outdoors and

Find 5 Things You Can See,

Four Things You Can Hear,

Three Things You Can Smell,

Two Things You Can Touch

and One Thing You Can Taste.

Notice That None of these Things

are on Your Computer Screen, Phone

or TV... Reality Exists...

GO VISIT!

Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 -
make as many prints as you like and share with friends...
more at Google Image Search = gvan42

Dragon made of Animals on My Farmville Farm by gvan42

I tuned my Guitar to DADGAD and am experimenting with chords... It was very easy to Tune the Guitar because my electronic Tuner has all those notes... Except the LOW D... for that I Put my finger on the second fret and tune THAT note to E... One chord I've Learned is To Put one finger across all four of the high pitched strings... at every location up the neck there is a chord... maybe this would be good for slide guitar... and then I Found a Video Teaching How to Play Kashmir by Led Zeppelin...

On a Different Subject:

Unvaccinated People Are Spreading Covid-19 Disease to America's Children. That's a Crime That Should Be Punishable By Death. OH! In a Way, IT ALREADY IS. Those People Are Dying in Record Numbers!

If More Adults Don’t Get Vaccinated, More Kids Will Develop COVID-19.

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/if-more-adults-dont-get-vaccinated-more-kids-will-develop-covid-19

Fauci says unvaccinated Americans are "propagating this outbreak"
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/anthony-fauci-covid-19-unvaccinated-americans-delta-variant-face-the-nation/

and Now for something Completely Different...

tRUMP's Coronavirus is Helping With the Problem of Overpopulation! Now The Vast Majority of Deaths are in People That DID NOT GET THE VACCINE... SEE? Behaving Stupid Can Be Fatal!

and there were a Half a Million Americans That Died from Drug Overdoses... and Really, If you are so Stupid as to Die from a Drug Overdose... We Are All Better Off That You've Gone... Thanks!

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Let's Make Birth Control and Abortion Free and Legal Worldwide... The Troubles of OVERPOPULATION are More than Just Too Many People Living in the Bay Area... It's Too Many People EVERYWHERE! Ever notice that there are Thousands of People walking from Central America to Texas looking for a Better Life? That because they Can't FEED THEIR CHILDREN in Central America or Mexico... The Catholic Church is Opposed to Birth Control and so there are Millions of Starving Children... I've Actually Traveled to Mexico and The Starving Children Really Upset Me... SO... I Never Traveled there Again...

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Buying Used Stuff at Thrift Stores DOES NOT CAUSE ECOLOGICAL DAMAGE Like Buying New Stuff Does. When You Buy a New Product, the Corporation Has to Replace It.

They Mine Raw Materials, grow plants (like cotton) using pesticides and herbicides, Log Forests, Employ Slave Laborers in the Orient, Burn Gasoline Shipping the Plastic Crap Here From China... and on and on and on... Used Products ALREADY EXIST and so Buying Stuff at The Eureka Rescue Mission Thrift Shop (my local store) does NOT Harm the Planet. Actually, They Hire Local People to Work as Clerks and Do Delivery. We Bought ALL our Living Room Furniture there. Three Chairs and a Sofa... and Men Delivered It Upstairs in Our Home. NO WAY could I Move those Heavy Objects Up That Staircase... I Tipped those Guys $10 Each... and they were really Thankful. Yes, I Could Have Spent a Fortune at Sears or KMART but... I Prefer to Keep The Money IN MY WALLET. I Like Employing Guys That Live At The Rescue Mission. The Mission Does Good Work Here in Eureka and I've Met a LOT of Real People That They Help. I did buy new Beds at Sears. Somehow, those were just too Personal to Buy Used... also, I Do Not Buy Used Underwear... BUT, Clothes? YES! It's actually fun to find thrift stores in Super Rich Neighborhoods and Live Like the TV Show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous..." A Great Place to Shop is North Shore Lake Tahoe... Snow Bunnies often Donate Extra Stuff When the Season is Over... and There is Also DUMPSTER DIVING in College Towns at the End of the School Year... FREE STUFF!

Oddly, I Expressed These Opinions during a Group Discussion at an Ecology Class at Humboldt State University and ALL THE OTHER STUDENTS SAID I WAS WRONG... They said that Used Stuff Still Requires Ecological Damage to Exist at All... I tried to explain that the Manufacturing Damage Happened IN THE PAST and it is impossible to Change History but Buying New Stuff CAUSES Purchasing Agents at Corporations to Hire People to Create New Stuff IN THE FUTURE to Fill the Shelves At The Store. No One Grasped the Concept. But I Did Make The Other Students Think. and That's a Good Thing. It's a difficult concept... I Wish I Could Explain it in a Shorter Sentence... Maybe YOU can Re-Write the Concept Better and Post it in the Comments Section... Thanks!

Remember: There are Two Ways to Get Everything You Want. Get More or Want Less. and... You Can Get More Stuff Per Dollar At The Eureka Rescue Mission Thrift Shop... or Your Own Store... Did You Know that There is a Fashion "Thing" where Corporations PRE-RIP Clothes? Intentionally Making Them LOOK USED! Really! They Hire People to Rub Jeans over Rough Surfaces to SIMULATE Wear and Tear of Normal Use... I'm Not Making This UP! All the Pathetic Dupes are Wearing Clothes Like That! On My Own Webstore... I Offer Hats that have been "Distressed" to look like they are Old... It's an Option... I wish I could write a Mocking Slogan Poking Fun at this Fashion Trend... Then I Could Sell a Hat with That Saying... Sort of like the Question: "Can You Imagine a World Without Hypothetical Situations?" or The Page that says: "This Page Is Left Blank Intentionally." A Cosmic Haiku Slogan...

I do sell a Hat that says "PRESS" so people can wear it at Protest Marches and Avoid Being Bashed on the Head By The Police... I Do Not Really Know if It REALLY Helps Avoid Police Violence... I Do Know That People Made T-Shirts Saying "Backstage Pass - Shoreline Amphitheater - Bill Graham Productions" and Used them to sneak past Security Guards...

Sign Stating: "This is a Sign" - Absurdist Street Theater or End Times Warning?

I admire the Guy that Made a Sign that Says "This is a Sign." Was That Absurdist Theater or End Times Warning?

"Life is More Complex than a Slogan on a Hat."

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JL SAID:

Declaring "war" on drugs doesn't change individual behavior, it merely makes the government an adversary to its citizenry.

In order to change behavior, the reason for the behavior must be identified as well as those factors which reinforce and maintain it.

If people are miserable and feel dis-empowered or hopeless, they will seek ways to empower themselves. Guns do that, as does joining a gang or cult. Opioids, however temporary, offer relief from the angst of a dysfunctional society.

In order to change or mitigate those precipitating, maintaining, and reinforcing factors, government's "war efforts" should address the social factors that stress Americans. This is why people are reported to be "happier" in countries that guarantee a livable wage, healthcare, and higher education. There is no logical rebuttal for receiving benefits like these in return for our tax dollars, when we have provided tax shelters for decadent evangelists and those who hoard money for personal pleasure and profit

and I Replied:

It's a Medical Problem... Often a Patient was Prescribed Oxycontin to relieve pain... and now... the pain remains but the Government Has Made them the "Bad Guy" - Why NOT Let Old People HAVE Relief From Pain? I Know a Man who is 83 Years Old and Has an Oxy Prescription for 28 days a month... Every Month... and Some months have 30 or 31 days... so... Two or Three Days of Agony? Withdrawal Symptoms PLUS the REAL Medical Problem... Because Someone ELSE is Abusing THEIR Prescription! INSANE... What IF He Takes Oxy for the Rest of His Life? That's Not Long...

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"1/6 Was an Inside Job" - Merchandise FOR SALE: Hats, Buttons, Stickers, T-Shirts, Mugs - tRUMP's Failed Attempt to Overthrow the US Government and Crown Himself CZAR FAILED... Great Job Patriots! DEMOCRACY ROCKS!

https://www.zazzle.com/store/gregvan/products?dp=0&qs=job

1/6 Was an Inside Job - zazzle gregvan merchandise

1/6 Was an Inside Job Embroidered Baseball Cap
by gregvan

Link to My Main Store:

https://www.zazzle.com/store/gregvan

Contact Your California State Representative and Tell 'em to DECRIMINALIZE PSYCHEDELICS... If signed into law, possession of LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, DMT and MDMA would be decriminalized...

LINK TO FIND YOUR REP...

http://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/

My Experience: I took LSD and Visited the National Art Gallery in Washington DC... Surprisingly, Picasso "The Tragedy" was My Favorite Painting... I FELT COLD in my Body just looking at the Painting...

Warhol and Lichtenstein all seemed silly and trivial! That Night we all went to the Tangerine Dream Concert... at the Elegant Warner Theater... I was Concerned During the Show About the CO2 Fog that Spilled off the Stage and out into the Audience... Seemed Dangerous to Me... But We All Survived...

My In Laws came to Visit Us In Washington DC and when we went to Colonial Williamsburg my Mother in Law Rented a Wheel Chair... While it's Possible for her to walk, That tour involves a LOT of Walking... So When she went to The Bathroom, I Sat Down in the Wheel Chair...and IN PUBLIC, People Treat You Different if You are in a Wheel Chair... Many Assumed I was a Disabled Veteran... So... AS A PRANK I Stood Up and Shouted "I Can Walk! Thank You Jesus! I Can Walk!" - That Really Freaked Out the Tourists...

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One of the high points of my life was performing "Uncle John's Band" at the Rainbow Gathering in Idaho. I met a young man and showed him the Chords and Lyrics that I had written down in my spiral notebook... After we played that song, he said: I don't want to learn any more songs, let's just play this one again... https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/06/one-of-high-points-of-my-life-was.html

We were sitting in the shade at the "Relaxation Station"... the very first place everyone walked past after leaving the parking lot...

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During the First Year of my Retirement I experienced What I Called "Channeling My Inner Chewbacca." A General Rage... I felt Paranoia and it seemed like the Government was Watching Me. At That Time... My Blog was Very Popular and I was Ranting and Raving about the Injustices being done to American Citizens. It seemed that there were Many Unmarked White Vans that would park out front of the House. In retrospect... Read More! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/09/during-first-year-of-my-retirement-i.html

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Peace and Love is Not Only a Great Idea, But It's a Practical and Efficient way of Life. Just Think of the Money You Will Save by Not Buying GUNS! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/07/do-math-peace-and-love-is-not-only.html

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Just like we all learned by Reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig... The Trick to Life is to PAY ATTENTION... NOTICE REALITY... https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/03/just-like-we-all-learned-by-reading-zen.html

So, Every Day I Test my Blood Sugar and BY PAYING ATTENTION and Keeping a Sugar Free Diet... I Have Prevented Diabetes... I find that Quitting Smoking Tobacco AND Cannabis... Has Given me Better Lungs and a Clearer Mind. Weed is Useful for APPRECIATING Music, Art, Food... but I Get More DONE Without Weed... More Music Videos, More ART, More Fiction Stories... Hey, Just because They Legalized Weed does not mean that I Have to Actually Smoke it...

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Boycott Plastic Garbage! Chicken of the Sea Tuna is Marketing "Infusions" with a Plastic Bowl, Lid and Fork. Trash that will pollute the Earth for 10,000 Years. REFUSE TO BUY PLASTIC CRAP. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/09/boycot-plastic-garbage-chicken-of-sea.html

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Interesting Documentary. "ANGRY PLANET - BURNING AUSTRALIA" People are BUILDING HOUSES UNDERGROUND TO AVOID THE HEAT AND WILDFIRES... Smart! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/09/interesting-documentary-angry-planet.html Will climate change make Australia uninhabitable? What About The Rest of the World? We Are Already Experiencing Wildfires in ALL of the Western USA...

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Kinetic Sculpture Race 2014 in Arcata, California. Videos and Still Photographs... Whimsical Art Bicycles That Travel on Roads, Sand and In the Water... JUST FOR FUN! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/04/kinetic-sculpture-race-52414-in-arcata.html

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Great Book: "Beyond Counterculture" - The History of the Mateel Section of Humboldt County, California... Settled by Hippies Fleeing The Haight Ashbury section of San Francisco in the Late Sixties in order to Farm Cannabis - Included is a Map of Northern California, USA showing How to Visit... It's an EPIC Drive, Way Out in the Woods! Quite A FUN TRIP! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/06/annotated-map-of-northern-california.html