Showing posts with label Richard Alpert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Alpert. Show all posts

Who WAS Ram Dass? In the Sixties, He was a Psychedelics Researcher and Promoter at Harvard with Dr. Timothy Leary. (LSD, Magic Mushrooms and Peyote) 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...






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...

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

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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

A Housemate of Mine was Watching the TV Show "Coach" - Where People were Arguing and Arguing and Arguing... Why Would Anyone Voluntarily Watch That? We Have a Hundred Channels... Many Have ZERO Arguments... and Then There were Many "Jokes" about Athletes being Stupid... I Don't Find THAT Funny... Those Jokes are Just a Variation on Racist Stereotypes... The Underlying Basis is that Anyone Who Plays Football Has to Be an Idiot because of All The Pain... and a Lifetime of Painful Back Problems... Sure, I Played Football for 3 Days Before I Quit the Team... It HURT! But That's NOT a Funny Joke...



Same Grape Plant as The One Over the Gate above.

Now It's Creeping up a Tree


Intentionally Seek Beauty... I Walk Around with my Camera/Phone and Search for Wonderful Things to Photograph... It's The SEARCHING FOR BEAUTY that is Really Fun... That Practice Makes Me More Observant...




If You are Having Trouble with Your Religion, Simply Fire your God and Find One that Works. Why Not Awaken? Why Not Shop Around and Select One That's Better for Your Own Lifestyle? https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/07/if-you-are-having-trouble-with-your.html

Don't let other people ruin your life by filling your head with absurd concepts that benefit Them, not You... I Wrote this Because I Spent Many Hours Listening to Christians Complain about Their Religion in Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings... SAD... Trapped in a Make Believe Cannibal/Vampire Cult... Yep, Those People Pretend to Drink the Blood of Christ and Eat His Body... OOOH! CREEPY! ESCAPE NOW!



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and NOW, Here are some Blog Posts

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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...




Evil Lawmakers Made LSD Illegal. (Donald L. Grunsky & Edmund G "Pat" Brown) Bribed Politicians. Puppets of Big Pharma. However, There is an Unstoppable Movement of Citizen Patriots In Favor of Magic Mushroom Legalization. and Then ALL The Other Psychedelics...

Throw all the Corrupt Weasels OUT of Office...

Be Sure to Contact Your Elected Representatives and Tell them to LEGALIZE MEDICINAL PSYCHEDELICS... Let Doctors and Patients Decide for themselves What the Best Medicine is... Get The "Nanny State" OUT of the Doctor's Office...

HEADLINE:
Brown Signs LSD Bill To Head Off Threat' - 30 May 1966

SACRAMENTO (UPI)- Gov. Edmund G. Brown today signed Into law a bill making it a crime to manufacture, sell, possess or use the dream drug LSD. Brown said the new law would head off "a growing threat to society, particularly to young thrill-seekers unaware of the damage it (LSD) can do.” The bill, by Sen, Donald L. Grunsky, R-Watsonville, outlaws the promiscuous use of the drug which backers of the legislation say is reaching epidemic proportions on college campuses. But it permits LSD to be used in research projects conducted by recognized hospitals and clinics.

https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DS19660530.2.85&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1

The Man Who Made LSD Illegal... Thankfully He is Dead... and CANNOT DO any more Evil. Donald L. Grunsky; Longtime State Legislator... https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-18-mn-55108-story.html
The Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 is a United Nations treaty designed to control psychoactive drugs such as amphetamine-type stimulants, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, and psychedelics signed in Vienna, Austria on 21 February 1971. The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 did not ban the many newly discovered psychotropics,[1] since its scope was limited to drugs with cannabis, coca, and opium-like effects.

During the 1960s such drugs became widely available, and government authorities opposed this for numerous reasons, arguing that along with negative health effects, drug use led to lowered moral standards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances


In 1961, a conference of plenipotentiaries (Definition: a person, especially a diplomat, invested with the full power of independent action on behalf of their government, typically in a foreign country.) in New York adopted the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which consolidated the existing drug control treaties into one document and added Cannabis to the list of prohibited plants. In order to appease the pharmaceutical interests, the Single Convention's scope was sharply limited to the list of drugs enumerated in the Schedules annexed to the treaty and to those drugs determined to have similar effects. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

Psilocybin prohibition, however, wasn’t seriously enforced until the passage of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1971, which marked the beginning of America’s disastrous War on Drugs. Under the CSA, psilocybin and psilocin are listed alongside heroin as Schedule I drugs, meaning that they have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use—at least, according to the federal government.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/opinion/476968-why-the-war-on-drugs-must-end
Plato's Story "The Cave" is so very Meaningful to me... When I Heard it on the FM Radio in the Late sixties I Said: Hey, That's What Happened to ME!
https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/07/platos-story-cave-is-so-very-meaningful.html


A Friend Just Announced that She's Going to Disney World!

Excellent! I spent 5 Days at EPCOT and Still Didn't See It All. The First Day I Took LSD and Rode Space Mountain! Hint: Go Early in the Morning, Go Back to the Motel Room and Take a Nap During the Heat of the Day, then Go Back at Night...



Remember when Vice President Pence Held a Prayer Meeting in the White House to "Cure" Covid-19? A Total Failure... He Did That Instead of ACTUALLY TAKING ACTION... and Half a Million People Died...



Prayer is a Way of Fooling Yourself... It's a Really Handy Excuse for NOT TAKING ACTION... For Example: After ANOTHER Gun Massacre People Send Thoughts and Prayers INSTEAD OF OUTLAWING GUNS.


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Before Columbus "Discovered" America...
The People Who Lived here Had a Massive Civilization.
Pottery Cups found in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico have Chocolate in them... and Chocolate Was Grown a Thousand Miles South by the Mayans... But... They LOVED That Chocolate! and Were Willing to Pay Someone to Import It!
So there were Roads that Ran Over a Thousand Miles!
https://nhmu.utah.edu/blog/2016/08/04/cacao-chaco-canyon
and The South American Roads Built by the Incas
are Still there Today and Still Work!

SEVA LOGO


A clown, a guru, and a doctor walk into a cabin. The clown says, “What I have in mind is eye care for 400,000.” The guru says “See here now.” The doctor says, “Brilliant. We can do that.” What actually transpired in 1978 was the start of Seva led by Dr. Brilliant with an eclectic group including Ram Dass, Wavy Gravy, Dr. "V", and Dr. Nicole Grasset. What came next was the landmark Nepal Blindness Survey using an Apple 2+ computer donated by Steve Jobs and a helicopter funded by a Grateful Dead concert. The story of Seva’s beginning is colorful and quirky, but the results are miraculous. Science, art, and spirituality are a potent blend that can transform lives! Witness for yourself the promise of ending avoidable blindness in Nepal and around the world.

meme - Trump Treason - gvan42

Will the Corrupt Supreme Court Rule that CRIME IS LEGAL for Trump? Question: Would Total Presidential Immunity Allow Biden to Murder Trump LEGALLY?

Remember: The Reason Ford Pardoned Nixon was to Prevent Nixon's Arrest for Crimes Committed While President. 

READ MORE:

In the Book: "Remember: Be Here Now" - What Happened When Ram Dass' Guru Ate a Massive Dose of LSD?

That part of the Story is NOT REALLY TOLD...
 
Ram Dass Writes: "Wow! I've Finally Met a Guy Who is Going to Know! He Will Definitely Know What LSD IS. I'll Have to Ask Him."

Then Maharaji swallows 3 White Lightning Pills (305 Micrograms each).

"All Day Long I'm There, and Every Now and Then he Twinkles at Me and Nothing - Nothing Happens. That was His Answer to My Question. Now You Have All the Data I Have."

SO... What Really Happened? I figure they had 12 Hours Together... and all that happened was Occasional Twinkling? No Conversation? No Questions? Did Ram Dass Really Sit there and NOT ASK... "What's Happening? Do You Feel any Effects?"

If You Know any More... Please Email Me: gregvan[at]yahoo[dot]com or Comment below. 

Ram Dass and Guru Maharaji


You Don't Have To Be Unhappy Your Whole Life... STOP BELIEVING LIES... That's the Secret Trick to Life! #DumpTrump #EscapeFromQAnon #RUNAWAY #RUNAWAY

Joe Biden Lives in the White House! 
Trump was Banished to Mar-A-Loser, Florida

Perfect Pink Rose at Home - gvan42 - Intentionally Search for Beauty
Perfect Pink Rose at Home
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Here is an Interesting Lecture by Ram Dass... He's Got Some Wisdom Going On... Worth Listening To... 


One Hint: 
Live on the Coast Of California, Oregon or Washington State... 

Everywhere Else in the USA Has Disasters Almost Every Year. Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Wildfires, Extreme Heat or Extreme Cold... It's Difficult To Be Happy Under Those Circumstances... REALLY! Just Ask The People That Used to Live in Paradise, California Before the Fire Burned All Their Homes... and They Had to Go Camping All Year Long... 


Awaken eARTh heART - Gregory Vanderlaan - gvan42

Another Hint: Unplug from TV NEWS... They Are All Hate for Profit Machines... They Earn Their Living by Screaming Danger - Danger... That Marketing Trick Gets The Maximum Number of Viewers... Because... For a Million Years, People That PAID ATTENTION to a Member of the Tribe Screaming Danger - Danger SURVIVED... and Their Children Became Our Great Grand Parents... 

HOWEVER: All That Negative Emotion Makes You Unhappy... Living a Life of Fear... Take a Break! Go For a Walk in Nature... Look at the Flowers, Listen to the Chirping Birds... Admire the Trees... That Is MORE FUN! 

ALL TV NEWS: CNN, MSNBC, FOX... They ALL Have That Hate Marketing Scheme... 

and If You Really Want to Learn the NEWS... Google News is Better... It Has Customized Content FOR YOU... They Show Articles That Interest YOU! Based on What Articles You Click On... and Google Has a Pretty Good Idea Who I Am and What I Am Interested In...  


#BubbleUP Economics Works - Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42
#BubbleUP Economics Works
Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42

Why Did Trump FAIL To Lock Her UP? Hillary is Free but... Roger Stone=Guilty, Paul Manafort=Guilty, Mike Flynn=Guilty, Michael Cohen=Guilty, Rick Gates=Guilty, George Papadopoulos=Guilty, Alexander Vanderzwaan=Guilty, Maria Butina=Guilty, Paul Erickson = Guilty, Duncan Hunter=Guilty, Chris Collins=Guilty, George Nader=Guilty - He REALLY Drained The Swamp. Corrupt TrumpNiks IN PRISON!


#PromisiesMadePromisesBroken - MEME -Like and Share Worldwide #Vote4Joe
#PromisiesMadePromisesBroken - MEME
Like and Share Worldwide 



LINKS TO MORE BLOG POSTS:

Great Books: "Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing and Dying " by Ram Dass - Dr. Richard Alpert (All the words of the Preface included here)

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Here-Embracing-Aging-Changing-ebook/dp/B00FPWS4ZG

Preface:
   Be Here Now was first published in 1971. It recorded the two major experiences I had Had during the Sixties; one of them was psilocybin mushrooms, and the other was my Guru, Maharajji. Both of them - mushrooms and Maharajji - did many things for me, one of which was to give me a familiarity with other planes of consciousness. They showed me that there's much more in any given moment than we usually perceive, and that we ourselves are much more than we usually perceive. When you know that, part of you can stand outside the drama of your life. 

   There were a number of transformations in Richard Alpert (my name at birth), which were inspired by mushrooms and Maharajji, and the best, I think, is the one that opened my heart and gave me a chance to serve. For me, the way the compassion seemed to express itself was showing people what I had done, how I had approached my experiences, and so opening avenues for them where their own spirit could emerge. I felt incredibly fortunate because of all the things that had happened to me in the Sixties, and I wanted to spread the grace around. So there were lectures, there were books, there were tapes, and there were videos - a patchwork of different means for sharing my life with people. Ghandi once said, "My life is my message." That's what I aspire to. 

   As I opened my heart, various forms of suffering in my fellow human beings presented themselves, and I decided to dowhat I could to help. Prisoners read Be Here Now, and then wrote to me, and through corresponding with them I realized that many people can do deep spiritual work in prison. So I started the Prison Ashram Project.

   Then I noticed how frightened we are of death in our culture, and what a lot of suffering that was creating. That was in contrast to what I'd seen in India, which has a much different understanding of death than we do because of their knowledge of the continuation of the soul. I wanted to find ways of sharing that, so I instituted the Dying Project.  I started hanging out with people who were dying - including my mother, my father, my stepmother, people with AIDS and cancer, many, many people over the years, who I've been with as they died. To each of these individuals and situations I brought what I had to share - my acquaintance with other planes of consciousness, and the way that affects how we perceive our living and our dying. 

   I started to look at the social institutions in the world around me, to see weather the spiritual tack I was taking might be commensurate with social action. A couple of friends were starting the Seva Foundation, and invited me to join them to do work with doctors and activists, doing work in India, Nepal and Guatemala, and with American Indians and in the Inner Cities of America. Other friends had wondered how business, which is the institution which has the most power in out society, might become more informed bu Spiritual Awareness and I Started the Social Venture Network. They are compassionate business people who invited me to work together with them. I joined the board of Creating Our Future, which was an organization for teenagers who wanted to inform their lives with spirit. These organizations were trying to prevent suffering in areas in which I felt a personal connection. For some people, it's world hunger or literacy. For me it was seeking spiritual answers to many of our problems. 

   My interest in aging came from a personal direction. I was getting older - ans so were the baby boomers, who were fast approaching fifty. In this youth-oriented culture, aging is a profound source of suffering, and that is what I was responding to when I decided to turn my attention to conscious aging workshops, and to writing this book. 

   One evening in February, 1997, I was in bed at home in Marin County, contemplating how to end this book. I'd been working on the manuscript for the past eighteen months, weaving together personal experiences and from talks I'd given around the country on conscious aging, but somehow the book's conclusion had eluded me. Lying there in the dark, I wondered why what I'd written seemed so incomplete, not quite rounded, grounded or whole. I tried to imagine what life would be like if I were very old, not an active person of sixty-five, traveling the world incessantly as a teacher and speaker, caught up in my public role - but as someone of ninety, say, with failing sight and failing limbs. I fantasized how that old man would think, how he would move and speak and hear, what desires he might have as he slowly surveyed the world. I was trying to feel my way into oldness. I was thoroughly enjoying this fantasy when the phone rang. In the process of my fantasy, I'd noticed that my leg had seemed to fall asleep. As I got up to answer the phone, my leg gave way under me and I fell to the floor. In my mind, the fall was still part of my "old man fantasy." I didn't know that my leg had fallen asleep because I'd had a stroke. 
   
   I reached for the phone, on the table near my bed.
   "R. D. ? Are you there?
   
   I heard the voice of an old friend in Santa Fe. When I didn't respond coherently, he asked. "Are you sick?" I suppose I still didn't answer, so he said, "If you can't speak, tap on the phone. Tap once for yes and twice for no." When he asked if I wanted help, I tapped "no" over and over again. 

   Nonetheless, he contacted my secretaries, who live close by, and the next thing I knew they rushed into the house and found me on the floor. There I was flat on my back, still caught in my "dream" of the very old man, who had now fallen down because his leg wouldn't work. My assistants seemed very frightened; they called 911. My next recollection is of a group of young firemen, straight out of central casting, staring into the old man's face while I observed the whole thing as if from a doorway to the side. I'm told I was immediately rushed to a hospital nearby, but all I remember was being rolled down the hospital corridors, looking up at the ceiling pipes and the concerned faces of nurses and friends. I was fascinated by what was happening. 

   Only afterward did I learn that I had a stroke and realize how close to death I had actually been. The doctors told my friends I had a massive cerebral hemorrhage, and only a ten percent chance of survival. I noticed the looks of deep concern on the faces of the doctors and my friends, but the thought of dying was nowhere in my mind, so I was perplexed by their grave expressions. 

   Three hospitals and hundreds of hours of rehabilitation later, I gradually eased into my own post stroke life as someone in a wheelchair, partially paralyzed, requiring round-the-clock care and a degree of personal attention that made me uncomfortable. All my life I had been a "helper"; I had even collaborated on a book called How Can I Help? Now I found myself forced to accept the help of others, and to admit that my body needed attention. Because I'd spent my adult life concentrating on the realms of the spirit, I'd always been able to rationalize the distance I'd maintained from my body by saying that my detachment was a spiritual witnessing of the physical form. But that had only been partly true. The truth is that I distanced myself from my body. I saw my body as merely a vehicle for the soul. I ignored it as much as possible and tried to spiritualize it away. 

   From a physical perspective, the lack of love I had shown towards my body contributed to my stroke. I was negligent about taking my blood pressure medicine, and a month before the stroke, ignored an unusual one-side hearing loss while scuba diving in the Caribbean.  Before the stroke, although I was in my 60's, I saw myself as young and powerful, with my MG, golf clubs, surfing, and speaking gigs. Illness had shattered my self image, and opened the door to a new chapter in my life. 

READ MORE IN THE ACTUAL BOOK...
World Peace is Possible MEME Wort Art gvan42
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Memorial Service Video: Joan Baez and Bob Weir Sing Amazing Grace. Bob tells the Story of Meeting Richard Alpert for the First time... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=eXghn7xJWbc&feature=emb_logo


****** (~);-} ******
Great Backpacking Trips in Northern California

Hetch Hetchy: A level path goes around the lake. A good place to camp about 5 miles in. We used it as a base camp for "free climbing" granite. Be careful of accidentally slipping into the river... I did upstream of Wapama Falls. That Morning we ate LSD and Peyote and Smoked Marijuana. Since we were Stimulated and Filled with Electric Energy given by the LSD, We were able to Climb Up a Chimney. The Granite Rock Was Split Vertically and I Was able to climb with my Left Boot on one side and my Right Boot on the other side. I felt as if I was Spiderman... Never Before or since have I been able to climb like that. After wandering around above Timberline we went down to look at the river. It had carved a large pool with a Short waterfall flowing into the pool and a Large Waterfall flowing OUT. I did not NOTICE the REALITY of the WET GRANITE and I slipped right in. Swimming in a river with a powerful current That was out of my control. I was forced underwater and I gave up and accepted Death. Then by a Miracle, The river Bubbled me up at a place where I could climb out. We walked back to camp and I spent the rest on the trip IN my sleeping bag, asking my friends to bring me beverages, food and weed... I cannot say that I had any Cosmic Revelations with my Near Death Experience... No Great Wisdom... Except NOTICE REALITY!  


A friend of mine That I Met at AA in Chico FAILED TO NOTICE REALITY. She did not notice that her car was driving directly into the front of a Loaded Logging Truck. She was Driving while Blind Drunk. So, she went head first thru her windshield and... after that... She was not very Smart anymore... She was a Nice, Pretty Young Mother but, Brain Damaged. 

One thin we all can di is Learn from our Elders. Try to Not make the same mistakes as our Parents. For Example: My Mother Held a Resentment Against Her Sister for Sixty Years. Mom refused to talk to my Aunt and They Took That Fight TO THEIR GRAVES.  We had a great time at my Aunt's Funeral because I did not know much about her and I got to talk to her children that we never saw... ever... My Cousins Lived about a hundred miles from us but we had No Contact for Most of my life. WELL, I'm not going to make that mistake in MY life. I made an effort to Make Amends with everyone I Hurt and Forgave Everyone that hurt me. It's a Step in Alcoholics Anonymous... That's a Smart Task!

The belief system of AA has some similarity to Ram Dass' Teachings. Compare "Be Here Now" and "One Day at a Time." I remember Having a Group Discussion about the idea "Be Here Now"at an AA Meeting in Bidwell Park Chico right next to the creek with the little birdies chirping, etc etc etc... There we were with friends in one of the most beautiful parks in the world and... I Came to the realization that it's pretty easy to "Be Here Now" when You are Having Fun but MUCH MORE DIFFICULT when Your Dentist is Drilling... ahhh... It's All Just Grist For The Mill... https://www.amazon.com/Grist-Mill-Awakening-Ram-Dass/dp/0062235915
Link to Google Map of Hetch Hetchy: GO THERE!

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hetch+Hetchy+Valley,+California+95321/@37.9429661,-119.765467,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80971f8a91c736fd:0x423983ee122b8b47

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wapama_Falls


https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052

Great Book: "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass AKA Dr. Richard Alpert... Autobiography and Illustrated Eastern Religion... with amazing art created using rubber stamps for letters and symbols...

At the Rainbow Gathering in California, I spent an afternoon at Ram Dass' Tent... Just relaxing with other people and enjoying some marijuana... There was a long line of people that wanted a personal meeting with Ram Dass and I declined to wait in that line... This tent was at an intersection of two main trails at the Gathering and so there was a lot of interesting looking people walking by... and the Rangers were providing free car rides for disabled people. Right next to us there were a group of Teenagers that were begging for Candy... Well, why not? They used the Slang word DZUZU... Once I found out what that word meant, I threw small bags of M&M Candy at them... and they cheered... Chocolate falling out of the sky! Later I met a DOG and had a long Conversation because I fed him some Summer Sausage... That got the dog's attention... free meat! and he refused to leave me alone until I Hid the Sausage in my Backpack... Then, since he could not see the meat, he believed it was all gone and walked away...

The next day, there was Live Music at the Ram Dass Tent... and they played the most CONSONANT music I have ever heard... Very similar to Christian Music... where they play Major Chords and never stray into Minor Chords or 7ths... I wandered away because I wanted to be part of the July 4th OM at Main Circle... I took this Photo and then Put the Camera in my Pocket, Held Hands and Chanted... Sometimes it's best to ACTUALLY LIVE LIFE instead of DOCUMENTING LIFE... and then Years later someone on the Internet wrote the slogan... and Potatoshopped it into this Photo... THANKS! I was just surfing the web when Surprise! I saw My Photo with words written on it! 



Rainbow Gathering in California - July 4th OM - Photo by Gregory Vanderlaan
https://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304

Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution. 

by Terence McKenna  (Author)

An exploration of humans' symbiotic relationships with plants and chemicals presents information on prehistoric partnership societies, the roles of spices and spirits in the rise of dominator societies; and the politics of tobacco, tea, coffee, opium, and alcohol.

Digital Yin Yang Locket Necklace
This Rainbow Hued Hexagon 
Yin Yang is Hidden by the Lid but... 
it's available on other necklaces...
Two Different Color Schemes 
on Two Different Necklaces.

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*FREE COLORING BOOK: Print The Drawings and Color Using Felt Pens, Pencils or Potatoshop... American Indian

*HEADLINE: Deadline for "Real ID" for Air Travel Postponed AGAIN Until May 7, 2025... WONDERFUL!

*My Music Video: FREE ALL THE CANNABIS PRISONERS - A Mockery of Nancy Ray Gun... Jest Say KNOW

*Bubble UP! Economics. Raise the Minimum Wage, Social Security and LOWER Taxes on 99% of Americans. Actually Collect Taxes on the Top 1%... We The People Will Spend that Extra Money in Our Paychecks and it will BUBBLE UP! Throughout The Entire Economy...

*How to Escape the Cult of Trump: Deprogramming by Family Members of the MAGA MORON is Essential... If Someone you Know has been Brainwashed... RESCUE THEM!

*The Best Five Restaurants Near Eureka, California - Eat a Fish, Watch the Boats...

*Trump: "The Art of the Failed Deal" Book. Every Deal in that book LOST MONEY. That's why He declared Bankruptcy SO MANY TIMES. Will his Business Stupidity cause the ENTIRE COUNTRY to Go Bankrupt?

*Photographs of a Journey to the Headwaters Forest - Now a State Reserve... Near Eureka, CA - Plus The Story of How It Came To Be!

*Rainbow Gathering July 1-7, 2024 Will Be In CALIFORNIA... Exact Location To Be Revealed June 15th... and As Soon as I Know, I'll Post Driving Directions and Maps Here... What IS The Rainbow Gathering? For Me, It's Woodstock with Amateur Musicians and I'm in the Band... It's a Week Long Backpack Trip for Thousands of People...


*Add THIS to Your Bucket List: Swimming at Bear Hole in Upper Bidwell Park, Chico California. Crystallized Black Lava Rocks - Basalt from the Eruption of Mount Lassen.

*Numbers have Cultural Meanings... A list from Zero to Infinity and Beyond... For example: 007 Means James Bond. 420 Means Marijuana. 5150 means Insane... and... 420 + 5150 = REEFER MADNESS!

*"Conspiracy Theories" that are ACTUALLY TRUE. MKULTRA, Cointelpro, CIA-Contra-Cocaine, Donald Rumsfeld Selling Weapons to Saddam Hussein, UFOs are Real... Sometimes people dismiss Truth as "Just a Conspiracy Theory" because they Don't LIKE THE TRUTH.

1967: The Summer of Love... San Francisco, Hippies, Flower Power, Peace, The Diggers, Haight Ashbury, LSD and the Grateful Dead. It certainly has been a Long Strange Trip. Congratulations to all those of us who have survived... One thing is for certain...The culture of the United States was radically different After the 1960's...



*American History: "The Thunder Machine" was a Giant Sheet Metal Sculpture that you Got Inside and Played like a Drum. Made by Ron Boise and used at Ken Kesey's Acid Tests.

For Maximum Effect, Don't Read This Book. Write Your Own! --- "Lessons Learned" by Gregory Vanderlaan. A Lifetime of Trial, Error and Survival Yielded These Words of Wisdom...

My Biff Rose Trip: Driving To a Cabin in the Woods - down The Coast of California from Arcata thru Ft Bragg to Mendocino... An Excellent Adventure!

How To Remove Smoke from Indoor Air. Tape a Filter to a Box Fan. During Wildfire Season the Air Indoors is Bad to Breathe...


Pretty Soon the Filter Turns Brown
from Smoke, Pollen and Dust.














Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - UFO and Alien Hieroglyphics