Interesting Books by Shirley Maclaine... She tells of her Spiritual Journey... New Age Voyages Within...

https://www.amazon.com/Shirley-MacLaine/e/B000APO82G

https://shirleymaclaine.com/biography/author/shirleys-books/

Shirley is a communicator. Her words have taken us along on a journey that has circled the globe and allowed us to follow her discovery of self, Higher Self, and spirituality. A longtime outspoken advocate for civil rights and liberties, women’s rights, and spiritual understanding, Shirley MacLaine has sold more than 20,000,000 copies of her ten international bestsellers.

My Favorites are:
Out on a Limb – 1983
and
Dancing in the Light – 1985

https://www.amazon.com/Out-Limb-Shirley-Maclaine/dp/0553273701
Her most controversial book is one you will never forget.  An outspoken thinker, a celebrated actress, a truly independent woman, Shirley MacLaine goes beyond her previous two bestsellers to take us on an intimate yet powerful journey into her personal life and inner self.  An intense, clandestine love affair with a prominent politician sparks Shirley MacLaine's quest of self-discovery.  From Stockholm to Hawaii to the mountain vastness of Peru, from disbelief to radiant affirmation, she at last discovers the roots of her very existence. . . and the infinite possibilities of life. Shirley MacLaine opens her heart to explore the meaning of a great and enduring passion with her lover Gerry; the mystery of her soul's connection with her best friend David; the tantalizing secrets behind a great actor's inspiration with the late Peter Sellers. And through it all, Shirley MacLaine's courage and candor new doors, new insights, new revelations-and a luminous new world she invites us all to share.

https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-LIght-Shirley-MacLaine/dp/0553256971
Now, at a turning point in her life, comes her  most revealing and exciting book yet. Outspoken,  controversial, talented, and perceptive Shirley  MacLaine now takes us on an intimate and fascinating  personal odyssey. In 1984 she won an Oscar, starred  on Broadway, wrote the best-selling Out on  a Limb -- and turned fifty years old. At  this special time, in this special year, she was  now ready to resume the spiritual journey she had  begun in her early forties. In Dancing in  the Light, Shirley MacLaine bares her  innermost self and explores the lives, both past and  present, which touched and affected her own. She  sheds new light on her loves, her losses, her  childhood, her passions, and her inner drives and  ambitions. She asks poignant questions and finds  surprising answers. She asks poignant questions and  finds surprising answers. She challenges her beliefs  and confronts her conflicts. Ultimately, she takes  us with her through a life-altering experience  that provides a stunning new vision of herself, her  future... and the fate of our world.

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Who WAS Ram Dass? In the Sixties, He was a Psychedelics Researcher and Promoter at Harvard with Dr. Timothy Leary. Then He went to India Looking for Enlightenment and Met a Guru. Changed His Name and Published a Great Book... "Remember: Be Here Now" - It Has His Autobiography and then Many ART Drawings Explaining Eastern Religion. Real Name: Dr. Richard Alpert...

 A Question asked in the Ram Dass Facebook Group...

https://beherenownetwork.com/be-here-now/

and Then he wrote a Dozen MORE Books and Gave Many Lectures... ALL WORTHY... I Especially Love "Still Here" because I'm 67 Years Old and The Question of My Own Death is Important To Me... Now... https://www.amazon.com/Still-Here-Embracing-Aging-Changing/dp/1573228710

It's Important to remember that Kermit Michael Riggs Taught Dr. Richard Alpert to BE HERE NOW. He was a Laguna Beach, CA Surfer... 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavan_Das_(yogi) 

and Then After Listening to The Saturday Night Alive for the Global Peace Tribe Show... 

I Had a Dream: We were walking towards the Entrance of the Los Gatos Library and there was a Thin Old Man dressed in a Small Bathing Suit ahead of Us. He pulled on the entrance to the Children's room and It was Locked... Disappointed, he turned around and I asked: "Are You Looking for the Man Who Works There?" He Said: "NO" and I Motioned towards the Main Entrance. We all Entered. He seemed lost so I asked: "Do you Need Help?" as I would ask any Lost Old Man... He Said: "NO" and then I asked again: "Can I Help You?" He said: "No. I'm Fine." and then we went on Our Own Ways. By That time it was Obvious to Me That he was Ram Dass and That it was a Rather "Heavy" encounter to Ask Ram Dass If I Could Help Him... a Meaningful Event... and I was Shaking... So we went downstairs and I went searching for a Book that I Has Started reading before (about Philosophy) - and on the same shelf was a large picture book of the Grateful Dead's Fare Ye Well Tour with four CDs (that were missing) and My friend asked me why I would want to check out that book and I said: "Too Look for Pictures of Myself." and then I woke up and Typed this Document... It's Best to Type it Up before I forget it... For Certain, I would have tried to help any Lost Old Man but It seems Important that I Offered Ram Dass Help in my dream. That's One Of His Main Teachings... 

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

and then... Someone Posted in the Ram Dass Facebook Group:

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Hello everyone, curious to know where you came across Ram Dass, I found him on Gaia... 

and I Replied: TV News was Talking about Dr. Timothy Leary and He was a Part of that scene... Dr. Richard Alpert... and then Later he Wrote The Book: Remember, Be Here Now... and THAT Got My Attention because of the ART! Here are Two of about a Hundred Drawings in that book...

In the Ram Dass Facebook Group SD Posted: Philosophically speaking... Does life fundamentally suck? 

SC Said: That’s what the Buddha says! But the good news is that we can rest deeply in that eternal place in our being where it doesn’t suck. The way out is in!

I Replied: MY Life Does Not Suck... Actually, I've always been confused by the Buddhist Teaching that all life is suffering... For Example: Eat a Hamburger with French Fries and a Beer and Tell me THAT'S Suffering... NO, It's Not! Maybe IN INDIA "all life is suffering" but here in the USA... Things are Pretty Great... Hey, I ate LSD and Danced at a Grateful Dead Concert... Does THAT Suck? No... That's Excellent Entertainment! BIG FUN!

Environments Record Album
Human "BE IN" In Central Park NYC

Here is Another Basically False Belief... In Buddhism, desire lies at the root of suffering. By desire, Buddhists refer to craving pleasure, material goods... all of which are wants that can never be satisfied. As a result, desiring them can only bring suffering. I Disagree... UNSATISFIED DESIRE Causes Suffering But Completely Satisfied Desire is GREAT! For Example: I Desired a Hamburger, and then I Ate That Hamburger with French Fries and a Beer... WONDERFUL! Maybe What the Buddha was Referring to is The QUALITY OF LIFE IN INDIA where things Generally SUCK... After All... If Prayer and Meditation ACTUALLY WORKED They Wouldn't Be Dying of Coronavirus... BUT In REALITY... VACCINES WORK.

Q: Why do so many people avoid silence?

I love Silence... Especially Outdoors in the Garden... Because Then I Can Hear all those REALLY QUIET Sounds... Little Birdies Chirping, Bees Buzzing, Th Sound of a Harley Davidson Driving away in the Distance...

Light Pink Rose in the Garden -
Central Valley California - gvan42

SERIOUS QUESTION: Does LSD Improve Long term Memory? What is YOUR Experience? One fact I have noticed is that some events SEEM MORE SIGNIFICANT and are easier to remember than others. For example:

Since I am 67 Years Old I'm starting to have trouble remembering events in my life. My Trips STAND OUT as Important Events in My Life...

Also, I find that reading and writing to Facebook Groups of people I know is useful for triggering memories. True Brain Training that works. This group inspired me to write down every event in my entire life... My AutoBiography... 

 https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

Take a Break from Reality and Visit My Art Gallery...

https://www.zazzle.com/store/gregvan 

Click on the LINK Above!

Butterfly Freedom Coffee Mug
by gregvan

One fact I have noticed is that some events SEEM MORE SIGNIFICANT and are easier to remember than others. For example: I saw all three Star Wars Movies in the Theater. I don't really remember that experience as different than my memories of watching reruns on TV. EXCEPT The Third Movie... I went on opening night and bought some LSD from a Tie Dyed Person in line... THAT MOVIE EVENT STANDS OUT! The Emperor saying "and now young Skywalker, you must die..." is VIVID! Also driving home I went thru some road construction with those super bright lights... It felt like I was piloting one of those spaceships from the movie... Yes, I have driven a car on LSD... The other time was at a George Harrison Concert... Right after he played the Concert for Bangladesh he went on tour with Ravi Shankar and Billy Preston. I was truly annoyed by the people in the audience who BOOED Ravi Shankar. I guess they didn't like Indian Music and were impatient to hear a BEATLE. The High point of the Show was Billy Preston doing Space Race... Anyway, I had difficulty finding the exit from the parking lot that night. No trouble actually driving but I got lost... 

Some decades are a Mystery... Like the Late 1990s... I was drinking Alcohol. Don't Do That. There are better quality drugs... For Example: Marijuana, LSD, Peyote, Magic Mushrooms, DMT and that Unknown Chemical I Ate at the Grateful Dead Concert at RFK Stadium... all of a sudden I realized I was tripping on Something Totally Different... Maybe MDMA? The Stadium Lights swelled up to be 20 feet in diameter... and I did a SUPER SLOW POWER WALK all the way out to my car... People were Laughing at me because I took a step, waited until I GROKKED that exact location Completely, then took another step... and GROKKED that new location... Hey, it was totally different and worthy of study... They said: "Watch OUT for that guy, he's walking really fast and might run you over!" I had just read some Carlos Castaneda books and was interested in Power Walking... In his case, he was able to run through the desert in total darkness... my experience was the opposite.

I also liked to eat Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Seeds. They contain LSA, a chemical that is similar to LSD. It was really fun to drive my wife's sports car on the twisty mountain roads near Santa Cruz... 

In a classic example of "Hey Kids, Don't do this at Home..." I do not recommend driving a car high on psychedelics. DON'T Do It! Hire a Chauffeur! or go way out into the woods on a backpacking trip... those are some of the best trips! Since you are far away from Law Enforcement... Crazy Behavior is Tolerated! 

Quest for Knowledge
another silly picture created using AutoPsychedelicizer
functions built into Potatoshop!

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

A Million Trips Later, What was LSD All About Anyway? Was it a Recreational Drug? Was it More Like a Telephone that Allowed People to Call GOD DIRECTLY?

Was it a Significant Event in The History of The World or as Trivial as a Roller Coaster Ride? We Did Get a Lot of Excellent Rock Music Songs. Is it Even Possible to Buy a "Stairway to Heaven" anymore? 

I Have Noticed that People Who Had the Psychedelic Experience Turned Out to BE NICE, KIND and HAPPY. GREED FREAKS Often Missed Out on "The Sixties..." 

The CIA Project MKULTRA Concluded that LSD Had No Value as a "Weapon of War." Does it Have a Value as a "Weapon of PEACE?" In General, Populations that Took LSD Turned Out To Be LESS VIOLENT than Similar Groups... Acidheads are often interested in Art, Music, Poetry, Organic Farming, Love, Peace, Ecology... GEE, What If Everyone Was Like That? 

We are Seeing a Movement to Legalize Magic Mushrooms... What About LSD and Peyote? What IF We Legalize Medicinal Psychedelics FIRST and then Recreational Psychedelics Later. The Main Advantage to Legalization is there Would Not Be the FEAR of Getting Arrested as a Setting for Your Trip. I Have Experienced that Tripping WAY OUT IN THE WOODS has a FREEDOM aspect to it. On Occasions where My Friends and I Were the Only People for Miles Around... We were More Relaxed than Tripping in Public. 

ANOTHER Massive Advantage is that the Chemical Fabrication of LSD Would be Better Quality. Often, Illegal Chemists Make a Substandard Product OR Sell an Entirely Different Chemical (DOM) and Call it "ACID" - I Have Spoken with People that Took DOM (sometimes called STP) and their Three Day Trip was Frightening and Awful. We Would Certainly Reduce the Number of Trips to the Emergency Room with Quality Control. 

What about all the recent talk about embracing Death? Will We Be Grateful?

Embrace Rainbow Spiralism 

Two-Tone Coffee Mug FOR SALE!

Like a Tie Dye T-Shirt but... Digital... Of Course, Rainbow Spiralism is MORE than just a Shirt... It's a Way Of Life!

Embrace Rainbow Spiralism Two-Tone Coffee Mug
by gregvan

MindSprout Idea Factory. Forge Concepts while you Sleep. Create New Ideas While in "Another Dimension" ... It's Easy! --->Step By Step Instructions!<---

Step 1. ASK for an Idea just before you go to sleep.

{ I ask to visit an art gallery and 

look at the pictures during my dream }

Step 2. When you awaken, write down the idea immediately.

{ I draw a sketch }

You MAY ask for anything to explore during your Lucid Dream.
Like: Ask for the plot to a story...
Imagine that you are in a library and you read a book...
When you awaken, quickly write down what happened...

Remember... 
as you are falling asleep ask again and again and again...
"Tonight when I dream I will Visit an Art Gallery...
and When I Awaken I Will Remember 
What the Pictures were about... "

Any altered state can be a rich mine for new concepts.

Sleep and Dreaming is the most practical.

You Do It Everyday... No Cost for DRUGS... 

Sure, Edgar Allen Poe and

Lewis Carroll Smoked Opium to 

Visit Other Worlds BUT... 

Did You Ever Read their Biography? 

They Suffered A LOT!

Here are some Classic Examples of Cosmic Visions... 

Feel Free to Copy and Paste them Into Your Own Blog

or Social Media Post... 

You may read MORE Blog Posts 

by Clicking on the LABELS Below... 

Like and Share using the Handy Buttons!

When We Come Back from Coronavirus Shutdown... We Have The Opportunity To EVOLVE... and Build a Wonderful World... I'm Collecting Plans for How to Rebuild a Sane Post Coronavirus Society. Please Comment and I'll Add Your Ideas to The Web...

Greetings: Here are 20 simple ideas for making the world a better place. 

#1: Solar Powered Desalinization - Change Seawater into Drinking Water. Let's Build a Giant Plant Halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles... Using Mirrors to Boil Seawater We Could Create PURE H2O, NaCl and Electricity... Simply Drive a Turbine with The Expanding Steam... 

#2: Legalize Marijuana Nationwide, Tax it, Free All the Cannabis Prisoners. Refund the Money Currently Wasted on Law Enforcement To The Taxpayers... 

#3: Cut The Defense Budget in Half. Since We Have Not ACTUALLY DEFENDED The USA Since 1945, Not Even Once, Couldn't We Do Nothing For Less Money? 

#4: Layoff Half the Police. Actual Crime is Down... They Are Bored, Armed, With Nothing To Do... No WONDER They Get In Trouble... 

#5: Tax the Rich, Cut Taxes for the 99%
 https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/05/open-letter-to-our-elected.html

Solar Panels on the Roof of the House That They Power Eliminate the Need for Long Dangerous Wires That Cause Wildfires. ---> Question The GRID... Generating Electricity in a Central Location and Distributing it To Where it is Used. Is Wasteful and Dangerous. Let's Replace Standard Streetlights With Self Contained Solar Powered Streetlights. No Need For Long Dangerous Wires. --->What Paradise Was Like Before it Burned. My Memories of a California Town. [personal autobiography of everything I ever did in Paradise...Just to keep the Town's Memory Alive... If you are reading this in the Future. Paradise, California Burned to the Ground in 2018 and all buildings were destroyed.] I was lucky enough to have visited the town of Paradise. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/11/what-paradise-was-like-before-it-burned.html

Let's Move Work Closer to Home. Save Money, Time and Gasoline Currently Wasted Commuting. ---> Here Are Some Things We Can Do About Climate Change... Drive Cars Less. Use Less Electricity. Breed Less. Stop Flying in Jet Airplanes! https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/09/here-are-some-things-we-can-do-about.html

Solar, Wind and Hydro are Essentially Free Once Built. Safe, Clean and Infinite. ---> BIOMASS Electric Power Plants Could Dispose of the Millions of Dead Trees in California that are a Fire Hazard. Before we have another Disastrous Wildfire like we had in Paradise, we could remove the fuel from the forests and use it to generate electricity. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/06/biomass-electric-power-plants-could.html

Once a Person Has a Billion Dollars, What is the POINT of Getting More Money? It's a Hoarding Sickness... One Thing We Ought To Do is Tax the Rich and Distribute That Money to The Poor. The Robin Hood Concept...

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Other Questions...

~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~

Are CITIES VALID? Why Not Live Way Out in the Woods and Telecommute? It's Wonderful!

Question IF... Flying in a Jet Airplane is REALLY NEEDED... Just ZOOM To Your Destination...

We Have Learned That Commuting to Work is an Obsolete Idea... Working From Home is GREAT for Some People.

What Can We DO To Build a Better World?
The Old Ways Do Not Work...

I Have Noticed that TV NEWS is a Fear for Profit Machine. They get Higher Ratings by Shouting DANGER DANGER!

War for Corporate Profit is an Obsolete Idea. Every War Since 1945 Has Been ABSURD! Marketing for Defense Contractors.

My LOGO - PiFOG - People In Favor of Good - gvan42

"Water, water all around but not a Drop to Drink." NO LONGER TRUE! Dramatic Engineering Improvements of Solar Powered Desalinization Plants have made turning Seawater into Drinking Water in VAST Quantities a Reality. Useful for Watering Plants, Livestock, Taking Showers, Filling Swimming Pools, Lawns and Making Ice Cubes for your "Scotch on the Rocks" Beverage. https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2019/07/water-water-all-around-but-not-drop-to.html

and Then I Got This Email:

Hi Greg,

Like your thought provoking email encouraging folks to think of ways to make the world a better place.  

Your comprehensive list of ideas contains ones I agree with, ones I don't, and ones I'd like to think were feasible.  My biggest immediate concerns, other than my mom's welfare, my self-preservation and that of friends and family, are containing the pandemic, eliminating racism, and ousting the dishonest/clueless POTUS, Senate Majority Leader, the U. S. Attorney General, and others in the current administration that have contributed to the ongoing total chaos that's consuming our nation, negatively impacting our relationship with once strong allies, failure to actively participate in meaningful discussions with other countries to reduce global warming, and significantly losing respect of other nations, not to mention that of the once proud citizens of the United States of America.  

Still waiting for a safe/proven/over-the-counter SMART pill and an antiracist vaccine.

Stay well Greg.

Craig

Zoning Laws seem very strange, quaint and Obsolete. It days gone by it made sense to have Smokestack Factories in a different location from Homes. Now it just means we all have a long commute to get to work... at office jobs...

Maybe we should recycle all the abandoned shopping malls and turn them into light industrial office complexes. Those long commutes in cars release a lot of exhaust that causes Global Warming.

Skolstrejk för klimatetat #ClimateStrike - Protest Online Using "digital strikes" Instead of Mass Rallies in the Streets - Take Worldwide ECO-ACTION! - Greta Thunberg says: “We Are Striking to Disrupt the System”

Greta Thunberg calls for digital strikes amid coronavirus fears. She has urged fellow climate campaigners to avoid mass protests and listen to local authorities.
https://www.dw.com/en/greta-thunberg-calls-for-digital-strikes-amid-coronavirus-fears/a-52732530


Link to an Interview on The Democracy Now! TV News Show with Amy Goodman...
https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/11/greta_thunberg_swedish_activist_climate_crisis

"Make America Greta Again" - Climate Change is Real and Caused By Human Behavior... Here are Some Simple Things We Can Do To Help Prevent Disaster.

Drive Cars Less. WAY Less... The Next Time You Change Jobs, Select a Location NEAR HOME to Reduce Time and Money Wasted Commuting to Work... I was Lucky Enough to Be Able to Ride the Bus to Work in Both Eureka and San Jose, California... It was a LOT of Fun Chatting with the Other Bus Riders... Especially the Beautiful Women... You Can't Do THAT is a Car... 

Stop Flying in Jet Airplanes. Is There REALLY a Need to FLY? Where are You Going that Couldn't Be Done Using a Picture Phone???  Do Your  Business Meetings Online... and Try Your Next Vacation Near Home... Maybe Camping in the Sierras??? Or Hiking the Appalachian Trail???

Eat Fewer Hamburgers... A LOT of Global Warming is Caused by Cows... Maybe Those Meat Alternative are worth Checking Out? OR... Maybe Just Enjoy those Ancient Meals Like a Falafel? Middle Eastern Pocket Bread, Ground Garbanzo Bean Mash Deep Fat Fried, Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes and INSANELY HOT SAUCE! 

Stop buying New Clothes... Every Time You Buy New, a Corporation Collects Raw Materials, Employs Slaves in Asia to Make the Garment and Ships them By Boat Half Way Around the World and then Drives Them in Trucks to You... Why Not Just Go to Your Local Thrift Store and Buy Recycled Clothes? Our Thrift Store is a Benefit for the Eureka Homeless Shelter. Employing Homeless People and Paying for the Rescue Mission's Food and Rent Bills from their Profits. We Bought a Couch, two chairs, a Piano and Countless Books there... It Wonderful! and they Deliver!


Embroidered Hats, Buttons, Reusable Bags, Postcards 
Etc for sale. All my Profits Go To Greenpeace... Link:

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

Make America Greta Again Embroidered Baseball Cap
by gregvan

Color this White Hat with Permanent Felt Pens... 

Create a Tie Dye Effect or 

a Cosmic Landscape of 

Trees, Mountains and Rivers...GO WILD!

"MAKE AMERICA GRETA AGAIN" 

EMBROIDERED BASEBALL CAP for sale...
by gregvan

Save the Google+ Social Network. Sign Up and Use this alternative to Facebook. After All, Facebook is infected by Russian Bots.

https://plus.google.com/ 


https://www.fastcompany.com/90252543/goodbye-google-a-eulogy-for-the-last-great-social-network
Google Plus ...a new social network which many thought would be the Next Big Thing.

And the site was better than Facebook in almost every way. The character maximum for Facebook posts back then was 500–less than twice what Twitter allows today. Google+ posts let you type up to 100,000 characters. You could write a novel in a post.

Pictures posted on Facebook then were compressed to the point of actually ruining them. Google+ photos looked like the originals. Photographers flocked to Google+.

The Doors of Perception are Opening to Reveal Enlightenment. Not Peppermint, Not Spearmint but Enlightenment...

Zoom... Zoom... Zoom...
in my four cornered room.
Outer Space Whoosh-Whoosh Music is my favorite...
Zoom Gali Gali Gali, Zoom Gali Gali Gali, Zoom Gali Gali Gali... Zoom...
Why Not? What IF? Where can we go? What Exactly is Possible?

Try closing your eyes and focusing your attention on your breathing...
Then say these words silently to yourself... For Example...

[Inhale] The Doors of perception are Opening... [Exhale]
[Inhale] to Reveal Enlightenment... [Exhale]

repeat...

make up new words as you go... It's Fun and Relaxing...

My Mind is completely Relaxed...
My Body is Completely Relaxed...
I'm Going Deeper and Deeper into a Hypnotic Trance...

Great Book: Amy Tan's "The Hundred Secret Senses"