Showing posts with label aa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label aa. Show all posts

So far no response to my doing AA Step Eleven... I did my part but God did nothing... Deep Sigh... Silly me, I expected to receive knowledge... or Hints... or Clues... But I got Nothing...

Step Eleven: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out."

If I read this step carefully I see that there is action required on my part [I pray for Knowledge] but nowhere in this step is there any action required on Gods part [No hint as to what his will for us is...] and I have been listening...

Silly me, I expected to receive knowledge... or Hints... or Clues... But I got Nothing...




I assume that the reason for a total lack of answers is that God does not exist. OR... maybe God does exist but always remains silent.  Either way, I am given total freedom of choice when it comes to my own behavior. God never takes any action no matter what I do or believe...  Whoo-hoo! I am free. So I choose to keep on doing what I was doing before... No new Ideas have wandered into my mind since I started practicing Step Eleven actively.

This makes me wonder why many different cultures invented the concept of God or Gods.
Indians in India have over a thousand different Gods... I guess that it is comforting to believe in a power greater than yourself... I really like the Aztec Gods... They have some really psychedelic paintings of what they look like. The main one is a feathered serpent that came down from the stars. It sounds like an Alien on a spaceship... They really liked building Pyramids. I wonder what the
goal was... In both Egypt and Mexico people built pyramids and yet, there is no clear use...


So, while I wait for God to do something, I'll continue to go to meetings and write blog posts... God, if you are reading this... wake up!

I read a book called "Journey to Awakening" by Ram Dass which gives simple instructions on How To Meditate but following his instructions revealed nothing. Oh well...

I suppose that the real reason that I'm having no progress on step eleven is that I should do the steps in NUMERICAL ORDER. I never really finished step one. That step requires that I believe that a higher power can restore myself to sanity. Nope, no higher power exists and so this imaginary higher power cannot do anything.

I do believe that the AA organization and having meetings does help me quit drinking. The power of peer pressure is valid. I chose to associate with other people that voluntarily select to not drink. We have meetings and tell each other that our lives are better without booze. This is a valid technique for me.

Bill Wilson created the Idea of AA during a 5 day long belladonna and henbane "cure". Both of those drugs are powerful hallucinogens. During his experience he saw a white light and met God personally. While I have never eaten belladonna or henbane I have eaten LSD and that does give the illusion of direct contact with God. Mr. Wilson's idea of forming a club where fellow alcoholics can meet and talk to each other is a great idea.  After AA was running for about 30 years Bill Wilson tried LSD. He was very enthusiastic about it initially as it would allow other members to have a religious experience. However he decided to not make any changes at all to the structure of AA. His belief was that the organization was working well and any change could make it stop functioning. Especially having millions of members taking the powerful hallucinogenic drug LSD.

Inca Sun God - drawing by gvan42
Inca Sun God - drawing by gvan42



I recently read a fiction book called "The Shack". The hero meets God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit in person. A big question asked in the book is "Why is God So Mean?". The hero was telling his daughter a story about an American Indian princess who had to sacrifice her own life for the good
 of the tribe. After the story was over The Daughter asked "Why is God so mean? The Great Spirit made the princess jump off a cliff and made Jesus die on a Cross. That seems pretty mean to me." The hero's reply was... "Sweetheart, Jesus didn't think his daddy was mean.  He thought his daddy was full of love and loved him very much. His daddy didn't make him die, Jesus chose to die because he and his daddy love you and me and everyone in the world. He saved us from sickness, just like the Princess." This seems like an unsatisfying answer.

When you experience a Hurricane, Earthquake, Forest Fire or Tornado remember... God loves you, but he has a weird way of showing it... Maybe God is like an Autistic Child that loves to torture animals... Maybe the entire concept of God is a convenient excuse and a way to blame the victim...
Like the concept Karma in India. If you are experiencing a bad quality of life it is because you were bad in a previous life. That's a convenient excuse for poverty... If a starving person asks why life sucks, the Brahmin can simply say Karma! I was good in a previous life and that's why I was born rich and you were not. That way the rich can enjoy the fruits of the caste system without worry that the peasants will revolt. In other religions people pray for rain or a good crop. If they get drought, tough... That's just proof that you didn't pray right or hard enough. At least prayer gives the illusion that humans have some control over their own lives. That's more comforting than having to accept the random actions of the universe.
Maybe God does exist and is sending Hurricanes to Texas and Florida in punishment for our polluting the air with fossil fuels. That's what climate change science says... Global Warming is Real. The ocean gets hotter and more water evaporates. Then more water falls from clouds. While in California,the land gets hotter and we have more Forest Fires...
I believe that the concept of Hell was invented by people in order to have power over other people. For example: "Do what I tell you to do or GO TO Hell after you are dead." That's a very simple way to encourage obedience. The Church has used this mind trick to enslave powerless peasants. By convincing them that there is eternal damnation awaiting those who disobey, The Church creates willing slaves.

End of Message...


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People That Oppose Brainwashing Sex Cults are In General, NOT Active Members. I Had a Different Viewpoint From the Inside.

I Met My Wife at Alcoholics Anonymous. While Many Members Found Help in the First 12 Steps, I Immediately Focused My Attention On The "13th Step." Fundamentally: Members are Allowed to Have Sex With Each Other if They Don't Drink... That Made Sense to Me as A Tradeoff... In AA I Couldn't Drink Alcohol but I Got to Meet a LOT of Women... So, I Chose Women as a More Interesting Way to Spend My Time...

Many People Marry Other Members and In General, Those Marriages are More Successful than "Normal" People... Many People Don't Marry... But... Everyone is an Adult and That's What People Do... 

Old Timers are Supposed to NOT "13th Step" Newcomers... Because New Members are Often Confused and Vulnerable... It's Considered Impolite or Forbidden but... Those Things Happen... But Not Me... I Always Dated Old Timers. 

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I Became a Homeless Person after getting Fired from my Job in San Jose, CA for Drinking On The Job and Stealing Money... So I Moved to Chico and Stayed at a Cheap Motel Until the Money Ran Out. I was waiting for my money from My Sale of Company Stock to Arrive... It was Summer and Living in Bidwell Park was EPIC... Riding My Bicycle Everywhere... Playing My Guitar and Singing on the Streets for Spare Change... Eating at the Jesus Center and Going to AA Meetings... I was Penniless for about 2 Months. Then I Got $6,000 and Soon Moved in With a Lady I Met at AA. Then we Got Married and 20 Years Later We are Still Friends.  So... The Lesson Learned was Steal Enough from the Corporation to Buy Stock... That Saved My Life! Being Homeless in the Winter Could be Fatal. 

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I'm SO GLAD Republicans Lost The House, The Senate and The White House. I Feel Like the ENTIRE COUNTRY Has PTSD from the Trauma Of Four Years of Czar Donald The INSANE! Everybody Sing! Happy Days are Here Again! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75V3H-FXf78

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We Used Limericks at Work to Prove that Our Data Encryption Machines Really Worked. At Trade Shows our salesforce would say Look... Here is a Plain Text Message... and Here is a Scrambled Message... and You Can't Tell It was a Limerick! AND... They Often Used OBSCENE Limericks to Get The Customers Attention! But Here is My Favorite Clean One...

There once was a Lady From Niger --

Who Smiled as She Rode on the Tiger --

They Returned from The Ride --

The Lady Inside --

And The Smile on the Face of The Tiger.


and Mary Said: One of my favorite limericks:

When Copernicus proved Earth was lowly --

Not Heaven's sweet center most holy --

Philosophers grumbled 

At theories crumbled. 

As one said, "I wish someone had Ptolemy."


Vincent Said:

Galileo’s careful you know

With Catholics you must go with the flow

The Pope makes up the rule

So you must play the fool

Or burn like Giordano Bruno


Chris Said:

There was a physicist so bright

He figured how to travel faster than light

He left just yesterday

In a relative way

And returned on the previous night


Q Said:

Software creators just always fail

To secure every private email

Encryption is too hard

And passwords are poor guards

So E-postcards hits it on the nail

Atomic Energy Symbol - for sale - printed on a plastic coaster - set of six - cork backs, Zazzle Gregvan Art Gallery Store gvan42
Link: Atomic Energy Symbol - for sale -set of six - 
printed on a plastic coaster with a cork back.
Zazzle gregvan Art Gallery Store gvan42


LINK: All My Coasters!

LINK: The Main Page of My Zazzle Webstore:
Everything! Coffee Cups, Buttons, Hats, T-Shirts... 




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On a Different Subject: Here is a Collection of Beautiful Nude Women Doing Topless Dancing - Animated GIFs

https://purple64ets.wordpress.com/2020/05/18/beautiful-nude-women-animated-gifs/ <--- LINK!


How to fix the Waiting for Edge Chat error in the Farmville Game. DELETE COOKIES, RESTART GAME. and tips for playing Farmville.

In Google Chrome: Delete History/Clear Browsing Data prevents the error message from appearing... I keep the Passwords only...

Be aware that you will have to sign in again to all the websites you like... but the passwords will be stored, so that's easy to do... be aware that this is a temporary fix... I have to do it every time I want to play Farmville... and I have read that this infection happens on all games.

I Check EVERYTHING except passwords... 

A simple way to avoid annoying error messages on the computer is to put a piece of paper over the location of the message... often while I play Farmville, it says "waiting for edge chat facebook com" ... because the game is failing to connect with something I don't care about... the message is always in the lower left hand corner of the screen... so, a piece of paper folded in half removes that message from my sight...

Optional: Run Disk Cleanup... Good to do Occasionally... 
When I run Disk Cleanup... I select My Files Only, 
Drive C: OK... OK... Are You Sure? Delete Files.
deleting unnecessary files from my computer. 



Sometimes the error message will re-appear days later... so once again I delete history in Google Chrome... everything except passwords and the message stops appearing...


 https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050?hl=en


Clear cache and cookies

Cookies, which are files created by websites you’ve visited, and your browser’s cache, which helps pages load faster, make it easier for you to browse the web.

Clearing your browser’s cache and cookies means that website settings (like usernames and passwords) will be deleted and some sites might appear to be a little slower because all of the images have to be loaded again.

How to clear cache and cookies in Google Chrome.
Open Chrome.
On your browser toolbar, click the Chrome menu Chrome menu.
Click More tools > Clear browsing data.
In the box that appears, click the checkboxes for "Cookies and other site and plug-in data" and "Cached images and files."
Use the menu at the top to select the amount of data that you want to delete. Choose beginning of time to delete everything.
Click Clear browsing data.

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Waiting for:
0-edge-chat.facebook.com
1-edge-chat.facebook.com
2-edge-chat.facebook.com
3-edge-chat.facebook.com
4-edge-chat.facebook.com
5-edge-chat.facebook.com
6-edge-chat.facebook.com

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My Journey to The Rainbow Gathering in Pennsylvania in the 1980's... Autobiography... and EPCOT in Florida, Niagara Falls, Canada...

This event really started at the Spectrum Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at a three day Grateful Dead concert. That's When I Got an Invitation to The gathering. A Card given to me by a Guy Who Believed I Was Worthy.

Free Clipart - Infinite Rainbow - gvan42


It eventually turned out to be a five month vacation traveling from Washington DC to Key West, Florida to Niagara Falls, Canada looking for the best beach on the East Coast. IMHO... It's Fernandina Beach In Florida Near the Northern Border. READ MORE:

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/12/my-journey-to-rainbow-gathering-in.html


RAGE by Bob Woodward - PIRATED Screenshots of My Kindle eBook - So You Can Read It FOR FREE - Here is the Prolog and Chapter 1 and 2 - Of Course, You SHOULD Buy This Book! - I'm Glad I Did!

 REMEMBER: Click On The Pictures To See Them Bigger!

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2020/09/rage-by-bob-woodward-screenshots-of-my.html

LINKS TO MORE BLOG POSTS:

At my Narcotics Anonymous Meeting we were discussing IF a "Higher Power" could help us with drug addiction. Good Question... Especially Tricky Since I Don't Believe in God.

It's a basic concept in Both AA and NA. One of the steps in any 12 step program is The Belief that a "Higher Power" will return us to sanity...

Many People in the program believe that God is The "Higher Power" that is mentioned in the 12 steps. Members that do not believe in God often have trouble with a concept of a Higher Power. We Question: Does God Exist? Well, we simply do not know. No one does... However, if we cannot get help from a Deity, we can still use the power of the Group itself to help.

I believe that the G.O.D. (Group Of Drunks) can help me in my recovery. When I joined AA I moved from San Jose to Chico,  California and made all new friends. Everyone I knew in Chico was a member of the AA program. Since I had constant reinforcement of the ideals and concepts... It was easy to enjoy my new sober life... Frankly speaking, I was having more fun as a member of AA than I was before...

to be continued...


God, Heal Me - a How to guide. An Exercise and Meditation Program to Improve My Circulation. I'm Pre-Diabetic... Frankly Speaking, I Don't Believe in God BUT Maybe God Believes in ME!

I started doing this about a Week Ago and I Can Feel Some Improvement. However, I'm Still Going to Go to My Doctor Soon... 

My Main Exercise is Bouncing on the Balls of My Feet while Holding onto a Bar Mounted on the Wall of The Bathroom. While Standing, I Raise my Heels about an Inch off the Floor and then Lower them to About a Quarter Inch. Bouncy, Bouncy, Bouncy for about a Minute. I Do this Every Time I Go to the Bathroom... Maybe Eight Times a Day? I Don't Know... Occasionally I Bend my Knees but That's not the Main Event. 

The Meditation is Done Lying Down While Watching TV. During the Commercials I Turn Off the Sound and Close my Eyes. 

I Take an Extremely Large Breath and say the Word "God" - Then I Exhale Normally. Then I Inhale and Say "Heal" Exhale and Inhale and say "Me" Exhale... 

The Fundamental Technique is to Inhale as Much as Possible... Pushing My Belly out to Inflate My Diaphram... Say a Word... and Then Relax and Exhale Whatever Feels Natural... and All The While I'm Moving My Toes in a Circular Motion... Moving them as Far as Possible as I Rotate Them... 

The REASON I Do this Lying Down is I want to Make Sure I Don't Fall Down When I Get Dizzy... and after about Nine Breaths I'm Starting to Get Dizzy from Hyperventilating... and Then It's Time to Check to See IF The TV Show Has Restarted. At the Very Least, I Get to Reject The Advertising Brainwashing... and Contact God Instead! I often Change the Words... Like: "God, What Should I Write?" or "God, What is My Divine Purpose?" WhatEVER... 

I saw this Breathing Technique in a TV Show about Wim Hof. Supposedly He Cured Frostbite in His Feet Doing This... and Many Other "Unbelievable" Actions... Like: Climbing Mount Everest in Shorts and Tennis Shoes without Oxygen Tanks... Swimming in 32 Degree Water... and Training Other People to Be Able to Withstand Extreme Cold... I Don't Know if Any of This BBC TV Show was True but... I'm Taking What I can Learn and Doing It Myself!

 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bwtn6q

and then Joe Blow on Mastodon said: 

There is no god. If you have pre-diabetes, better get a prescription of Metformin. That would be much more helpful.

and I Replied: I have a Real Doctor and He Prescribes Many Pre-Diabetes Drugs... and I test my Blood Daily - and Go to the Clinic every 6 months... OF COURSE, My health is NOT an Either/Or situation... I do Both! I don't actually believe in GOD but I might be wrong... anyway... Doing Meditation using a Sanskrit Mantra seems Absurd... So I Choose to Chant a Mantra IN ENGLISH...



Mural on a Health Food Store in Eureka, CA
Mural on a Health Food Store in Eureka, CA, USA
Of Course, I Stopped Eating Sugar a Year Ago.
No Coca Cola. Sugar Free Syrup on Waffles.
I Eat a Lot of Fruits and Vegetables but I
Still Eat Hamburgers, Bacon and Corn Dogs... 
My Practice is Kinda Like Stating: "Every Day in Every Way I'm Getting Better and Better." a Quote by Ã‰mile Coué de la Châtaigneraie (26 February 1857 – 2 July 1926) was a French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced a popular method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion.[1][2]  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Cou%C3%A9

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I Also Participate in the Webinars Hosted By Spiritual Teacher Sonya Sophia - She Does Healing Workshops at The Rainbow Gathering and Burning Man... and Online... 


Here is a Video of a Healing Ceremony She Lead at a Rainbow Gathering... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2r0I8VoxJY

I met her at the Rainbow Gathering in Utah and Participated in her Workshop. I Took a Business Card and Later Participated in the Online Self Help Broadcasts. She Has a Fundamentally Valid Concept. I did it for about a Year... It's Worthwhile Technique... It's a A Combination of Acupuncture (without using actual needles) and Positive Ideas... I Still Use What I Learned... I plan to Use The Guided Meditation technique to relax and Focus Attention for the Rest of My Life... We put pressure on Specific Locations of our body by tapping lightly with our fingers while she told us reassuring statements and we would all repeat what she said... Like: "I Love and Respect Myself..." or... "I Love and ACCEPT Myself..."

Goddess Temple Chico CA
Sonya Sophia at the Goddess Temple Chico California


Join us for a weekly interactive livestream self-healing event hosted by EFT master practitioner Sonya Sophia. Every Monday at 8pm CST / 6pm PST, an ever-expanding global community gathers to heal issues ranging from creative blocks to PTSD to chronic illness and pain.

WHAT IS EFT TAPPING?

EFT also called ‘Tapping’ is a scientifically proven self-healing technique which allows you to naturally release accumulated stress, trauma and pain from both mind & body at an accelerated pace.

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Autobiography: Northshore Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley. and Some Trips with my parents... I remember riding the Tram to the top of Squaw Valley in the summer...

Many Bicycle riders were going to the top in order to ride down. I just went there to walk around and look at the Lake and the mountains. At the top is a Restaurant/Bar and an Ice Skating rink. I got a glass of whiskey and sat on the porch. It is really high in elevation and the booze was strong... and wonderful... 

I was living in my Dad's Cabin at Northshore for a few weeks in the late 1990s. Often I would get up in the morning and take a walk down to the lake... I would FLIP A COIN to see if I rode the local bus towards Nevada or towards the California side of the lake. If I was going to Nevada, I would stop at the Safeway Grocery Store and pick up a free "Shopper Coupon" newspaper. There were many "Lucky Buck" coupons for the Casinos. They would allow you to place one dollar bill and a lucky buck coupon as a TWO Dollar bet. If you won, they paid you TWO dollars, if you lost they kept ONE dollar. This changed the odds of winning DRAMATICALLY in my favor. They believe that once a person is in the casino, they will continue and eventually lose a Hundred Dollars or whatever... However, if you just WALKED OUT AFTER THAT ONE LUCKY BUCK BET the odds said you were likely to be a winner. I used all the coupons and on average I won $14.00... Then I went outside and Did something else with my time... take a walk in the woods, go swimming, see a movie, eat lunch (paid for by the Casino) or dance to the House Band... All of those Casinos had "Classic Rock" Bands that played for free in the Lounge... I usually bought a drink and relaxed...  

The Safeway store was within walking distance of Dad's Cabin and I remember shoplifting a Pint of Brandy in the middle of the night. Often... At 3 AM there were only two clerks and they were busy stocking the shelves. So I just walked in and put a bottle in my pocket and walked out. They never even noticed I was there... or if they did, they ignored me. Once, when I wanted to buy food, I had to shout loudly to get their attention so they could take my money at the checkout counter... 

My Family came up one time and they determined that I should go to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. My Sister in Law Patti and I went to a tiny room behind a  Realtors Office that was very secluded and elegant... a truly wonderful location... I attended one meeting, determined that it was not for me and didn't go back until years later... BUT... Since I Had Gone Once, I knew where to go when I decided to stop drinking... Years later I returned to that Tahoe Meeting after I was Sober and had a few months in the program but it was closed at the time I went... so I distributed a handful of coins all over the dirt floor in front of the Hall, wrote a Thank You Note and Left... Frankly speaking, the First 12 Steps in the AA program make no sense to me but THE 13TH STEP got my attention. It is an unwritten step that says... If you don't drink you get to have sex with the other members. As with any organization of Adults, there is an unstoppable urge to merge. This Particular Organization recommends that members DO NOT have sex with each other because some members might take advantage of new members who are confused and in a delicate state of mind. However, a Million years of biology is... something that just happens... I grasped the concept that I had to make a choice between drinking and sex and... I Married a member and we stayed married for 17 years. NOT an unusual story.

Another time when I decided to quit drinking I walked from The Cabin to the Rim Trail. Just keep o heading uphill and eventually you get there... It's a long walk and there are no bars or liquor stores up there... 

I really enjoyed riding the bus around Northshore Lake Tahoe. There was no public transportation to Southshore so I never went there... Except, on time I rode the Greyhound to Southshore accidentally and had to hire a TAXI to get to Northshore. VERY EXPENSIVE... The correct way to get to Northshore is to ride the Greyhound to Truckee and take a local bus to Tahoe City. 

One time I was staying at the Cabin and the whole family went cross country skiing. That is a LOT of fun because it's just lie taking a walk in the woods except you can travel twice as far. Then you are going uphill, it takes as much effort as walking but when you are going downhill it takes ZERO effort. WHEE... I did not like downhill skiing because it is too dangerous and you go too fast... So I went ONCE at Mount Rose and then went to the Bar. Where I taught a German Man to sing the Song "Hound Dog Blues" by Hank Williams... ( also a hit song for George Thorogood.)

Another time we all went to a Musical Performance at Truckee High School. "Once Upon a Mattress" - pretty good fun!

Another time I was trying to get to Sparks Nevada and I stopped in Truckee to get gas for the Van. It was Very expensive and I filled the Tank for over $100... It was Friday night and the Town was Exploding with Drunk People and Live Rock Music in the Bars...  I had quit drinking by that time and so I felt uncomfortable being in that scene...

Another time I was trying to attend the BURNING MAN Festival near Reno and I was riding the Greyhound. So I went to an AA meeting in Reno in hopes of getting a ride from one of the members... I announce my desire during the meeting and EVERY PERSON recommended I not Go. They DID recommend  hat I go to an AA Convention at the Nugget in Sparks. So I rode the city bus to that hotel and had a great time. There was a rib cooking contest in front of the hotel with a LIVE BAND playing Janis Joplin and Grateful Dead songs. I went up after the show and asked where they were playing next and the said Hyatt Tahoe Incline. So I rode the bus there and saw them again at the casino. The stage overlooked the Craps and Blackjack tables... I really like Blackjack because if you play wisely, the odds are about even... That was a great band...

Autobiography: Some trips with my parents. 

We went to Banff/Lake Louis and visited the Fabulous Canadian Railroad Hotel. Mom and I wandered all over and got stuck out on a balcony... Why would they have a door that automatically locks? After much beating, someone let us in. Dad and I went searching for Bigfoot. We had binoculars and we walked along the Lake trail looking for signs of life. We DID see a lot of Big Horned Sheep. Way up on rocky mountains they jump around... Dad had a thing for Big Horned Sheep... I don't know why. Maybe it was his astrological sign, Saggitarious. The old goat. On another trip we went to Victoria and the Buchart Gardens. Dad stood on the road on the north end of town and said... "Look, There is Alaska!" We had Formal TEA. Every business in Canada has a Photo of the Queen on the wall... Queen of ENGLAND...

We also visited the East Coast of the USA and saw the Mystic Connecticut Sea Port, Yale university (I bought a Yale Sweatshirt) and Quebec. Dad made a point of speaking French to the Waitress at a Restaurant. We went to Washington, DC and saw the Smithsonian Castle. Everyone separated and wandered around on our own. I explored the ground floor and saw everything and then I explored it again... and again... at the last minute, I noticed that there was a Second floor that i missed entirely! But it was too late to see it because we were leaving. I was very disappointed and then years later I vowed to look at every room in every building at the Smithsonian. I lived near DC for 12 years and COMPLETELY Saw the Public part of that Museum. A friend of mine worked there and she told me that there was 90% of the Museums objects are IN THE STOREROOMS and not visible to the Public. For some unknown reason I never asked her for a Behind the scenes tour... We did go for special traveling shows like Chippendale's Dollhouse... furnished with scale models of Chippendale Furniture... And I saw all the IMAX movies at the Air and Space including the Japanese 3D animated film "We are Born of Stars" - and I heard a GAMELAN Orchestra playing in the New Wing of the National Art Gallery. Indonesian Bells and marimbas... Very good echo in that I M PEI designed building... All marble with sharp angles. I also saw a Mirrored House that we walked inside and experienced the infinite reflections. The Hirshorn had a Sculpture Garden with Rodin Metal Doors with people exploding out of them. There was also an Andy Warhol Movie of a woman's face projected on a mannequin... so she was three dimensional... and she just made "faces" showing different moods and emotions... Buckminster Fuller had a show of Tensegrities. Large sculptures using shiny aluminum beams held together by stretched wires... they formed freestanding tall pyramids. Sigmund Freud's SON did some very disturbing paintings. They looked like what I see when I look in a mirror while high on LSD. I Guess he was naturally tripping all the time. 

Dad took a two week vacation every year and we drove all over the West Camping at Parks. We saw all the classic places. Yosemite, Yellowstone, Mount Lassen, Zion, Glacier, Canadian Glacier, Grand Canyon... Cedar Breaks, Colorado. That was a very high elevation and My brother brought a air pressure gauge and he calculated the elevation using that Barometer. I guess there is some standard Math formula for determining Elevation... the air pressure gets weaker the higher you go until in outer space, it become zero... no air at all... 


We went to the Seattle Worlds Fair and rode the Monorail to the Space Needle. Rode the Bubbleator to the World of Tomorrow exhibit. "Step to the Rear of the Sphere." said the guide... 

We went to Carmel by the Sea and visited many quaint shops. Dad bought me a Tam O'Shanter that was in the Plaid of the Duff Clan. That's US!

Dad and I ate at John Steinbeck's Home... it's now a restaurant.

Mom Dad and I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Fabulous! I ate some magic mushrooms and wandered around on my own. Mom was rolling around in her wheelchair and some children were running around and making noise. Basically, elementary school students on a field trip with poor adult supervision. Mom got frightened and she had a bad experience of being unable to control children. Her lifetime of working at Schools, and being the ADULT IN CHARGE! was destroyed. After we got home she never left her house again. Basically, she said... I've already seen whatever the world has to offer and I choose to stay home where its safe. I did notice screaming kids... they were there but so what! We had to leave the Aquarium early and Dad was upset because Mom was freaking out.  At first, I tried to get her to leave the house but later I gave up because... It's her life and she can do what she wants. So she stayed home and suffered great pain in her legs from a unexplainable disease... So, Dad bought her Whiskey and gave it to her all day every day in order to kill the pain. Eventually she died from Cirrhosis of the Liver. It makes me sad to realize that her generation did not have the freedom to smoke marijuana for medicinal purposes... They were brainwashed by the US Government to believe that grass is "The Devil's Weed." She might have lived for ten more years if she just smoked weed.  

READ MY COMPLETE AUTOBIOGRAPHY AT:
https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html

Squaw Valley, CA on a Snowy Day - Lake Tahoe in the Background
I've Never Been There in the Winter. 
However, You Get The Same View 
in the Summer from the Bar... 
That's Lake Tahoe in the Background... 


Hello, I'm Greg and I'm an Alcoholic. I Have not Been to a Meeting for Months. Since the Start of Coronavirus...

Link to Online Meetings: Zoom or Email:  info@tecos.group

https://aa-intergroup.org/oiaa/meetings/ 

I Have Not Drank any Alcohol in the Last Few Years BUT... I'm Starting to Believe that I Could Drink Like a Gentleman,,, and Control my Drinking... That is a False Belief and My Action to Counteract That False Belief is to Go To a Meeting and HERE I AM!

I Was Watching a Movie on TV and the Characters Were Drinking Whiskey... and I Thought... Gee, I'd Like to Drink Some Whiskey... 

anyway... Just This Simple Act of Typing these Words into an email is Restoring Me to Sanity... Thanks For Being There in a Time of Need. 

I Created a Webpage with All the Words to All the Statements We Read Every Meeting: Most of the Actual Typing was Done by my Wife... and I Included a Photo of the Mom's AA Hall in Chico, CA... Our Home Group...

https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/07/moms-aa-chico-ca-meeting-hall-in-haven.html 

THE SERENITY PRAYER:
God Grant me the Serenity to Accept the things I cannot Change, Change the things I Can and the Wisdom to Know the Difference.

Photo of Mom's AA Meeting Hall in Chico, CA. 
Photo of Mom's AA Meeting Hall in Chico, CA. - gvan42 
 It Was in the Haven Motel.
It's Moved to a New Location.

But That Location is Closed until The Coronavirus is Over...


So Many Different Gods... So Many Believers Loudly Proclaim that THEIR God is the One True God. That's Absurd! Hey True Believers: STOP KILLING PEOPLE - JUST STOP!

I, like 100% of the people on Earth HAVE NO CLUE if God is real or not. Some people state that they know... but they are just deluding themselves... I don't mind them deluding themselves, but if they Kill people that are of different Religions... They are Crazy and Dangerous.  

1600 Flying Saucer With a Friendly Alien by gvan42

Drawing of The One True God


Psychedelic Art by gvan42 Legalize Medicinal Psychedelics

Here is An Examination of My Beliefs... 
GOD = Group of Drunks

I do pray... I may not believe in God but what if God believes in me? I often send prayers for good health to the people who are sick. If God is Real, he reads my email... and the people who get the email feel better...

I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior in 1976. If Christianity turns out to be the correct Religion, I'm Saved! I was living with my first ex-wife and she was interested in me becoming a Baptist and I was interested in sex with her so... I went forward at a meeting, accepted Christ, joined the choir and then got bored with it all... we rarely attended. I did like Communion... It's a make believe Vampire, Cannibal Cult! Pretend to drink a persons BLOOD and Eat a persons BODY... OOOH! That's Creepy! But FUN!

However, I much later I did become addicted to crack cocaine and when I wanted to stop I went to a Baptist Church and gave my addiction to Jesus, and never smoked crack again. That evening I went to the Pink Floyd "concert" called "Welcome to the Machine" and that helped also because it gave me something to distract my attention while I was suffering thru the withdrawal symptoms. Another time I went to the Presbyterian Church founded by Annie Bidwell in Chico and prayed that God would find my friends a JOB... and later that week both Manuel and Victoria were employed. A miracle...  Not only that but if I ever stub my toe or hit my thumb with a hammer I shout out JESUS!

When I joined Alcoholics Anonymous I was introduced to the concept of a "Higher Power" helping me with my addiction. The "Higher Power" that worked for me was The "Group of Drunks" an acronym GOD... We were supposed to seek guidance thru prayer and meditation. However I always got Nothing from Prayer or Meditation. ZERO. The Group did help and I stopped drinking alcohol. Remember, Bill Wilson invented Alcoholics Anonymous while tripping on Belladonna and Henbane. Both POWERFUL Hallucinogens. He saw the "White Light" and had a vision of God. Me TOO! Me TOO! LSD, DMT, Peyote and Magic Mushrooms all give you a vision of God. I do like AA so Bill's Trip was a great help to mankind.

If the Hindus or Buddhists are right I'm set to reincarnate as a human or better because I've lead a good life. I have NOT killed any people but have eaten a few hamburgers... I love Bacon too... Oh Well... Maybe I'll come back as a Cow... and then a Hamburger myself...

If the Mormons are right, I'm not in luck. I liked meeting the Mormon people in Utah, they were very friendly and helpful but I just can't believe that God is an Extraterrestrial... Moroni from a star in the constellation Orion... Not very likely to be true.

However, maybe the "Ancient Alien" theorists are right. There sure is a lot of really strange evidence of Alien Visitation... For Example: Why did Mexicans, Cambodians and Egyptians all build Pyramids? What is their purpose? Did they have Alien Help?

If Islam is correct I'm screwed... But then, their Religion JUST SUCKS.

I like THOR... Valhalla I am coming. Led Zeppelin "Immigrant Song"
 https://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/vikingkittens

I have a few members of my family that are Jewish and I think that on Judgement day they will let me in. I've been nice to them and that's important in a world where some people put them in gas chambers and kill them.

Of COURSE, Gaia makes a lot of sense. I can really relate to the fact that all plants and animals are brothers and sisters... I really GROK this idea when I'm in a Redwood Forest. I lived on the edge of a second growth forest for 15 years and I "owned" a specific tree in Eureka. I sat on it daily and smoked cigarettes... I sat on it more often that anyone else so it's MY TREE and I'm It's Human. I will share that tree with our cat Meadow as she liked it too.

Then there are the Goddess Religions... Thankfully, I've met a couple of Goddesses and I sure am glad. One was nicknamed "Nature Nurse". She became my Second Ex-Wife.
Another was Ja-Kay R. from Chico. We played the drums in a band in Paradise, California  and performed "Miserlou" at the Farmers market in downtown Chico. A beautiful Blond Nordic Goddess.
Another was a GURU/Teacher named Sonya Sophia who lead a group healing seminar at the Utah Rainbow Gathering. I also bought admission to her weekly internet sessions where we studied "Tapping" a self-help Acupressure technique... I did that for about a year and learned as much as she could teach. "I Love and Accept Myself"

Rastafarians? Sure, I've smoked a lot of reefer... I can play reggae music... it's got ONE CHORD! Easy but I find it boring even when I'm stoned. Cannabis Psychosis is REAL. If you smoke every day you remain stoned even if you don't smoke... You stay stoned for about a month... and I saw things that were not there but I believed that they were... Difficult to take care of business when I'm THAT Stoned...

Pastafarians? - The Flying Spaghetti monster is a good joke.

The Church of the Subgenius? OK, another good joke.

I'm a registered Minister in the Universal Life Church. Why Not?

Scientology? No thanks, that "E-Meter" is BOGUS science and I know enough about electrical engineering to see that the great OZ is just a man behind a curtain... It's a GREAT religion for L. Ron Hubbard but not for any of the followers.

Timothy Leary and LSD? Ultimately it was disappointing and just an amusing ride... No more meaning than a good roller coaster...

Ram Dass? He took a lot of LSD and then went all the way to India to find a GURU... Then he learned to "BE HERE NOW" from a 6 foot 7 inch surfer from Laguna Beach. He could have saved a lot of time wasted on air travel if he had just gone surfing in California FIRST and Ignored the Indians... but he writes great books...

Ken Kesey and the Grateful Dead... Fun to dance to rock music on LSD. However it all has the creepy feeling that it was just an experiment in the CIA Project MKULTRA. What IF we dosed millions of people Nationwide? Would that be useful as a Weapon of War? Make the enemy too stoned to fight?

Surfing as a religion? Yes, that makes sense. Or to put it more simply, doing what you love to do as a way of life... Playing the ukulele or throwing pottery or oil painting or computer programming or dancing or bicycle riding or snow skiing or camping or taking photographs or ... etc etc etc... Yes there is a bliss when a person is doing something they love and are totally focused... TIME itself seems to pass more rapidly... I have experience this myself while programming graphic arts... Suddenly hours have passed while I was "in the zone".

A Christian fellow was giving a lecture at Humboldt State University one time and he said that there was only ONE WAY to go to Heaven, Jesus. He said that you couldn't find God by Mountain Climbing OR Drugs... What he forgot to mention was finding God by Mountain Climbing AND Drugs. BOTH! at the same time! It's not an either/or question... I have hiked to the top of El Capitan in Yosemite on LSD and I"m really glad I did...  He also said that Premarital Sex was a SIN. Like, BAD and you shouldn't do it. What an Idiot. I bet that attitude prevented him from getting laid.

Once I read a book called "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz and there was a lot of Toltec Wisdom there.

Another Book Series: "The Teachings of Don Juan" by Carlos Castaneda... Yaqui Indian Brujo Wisdom

I've played the Father Drum with Native Americans and THAT was "Big Medicine"...

"The Temple of the Screaming Electron" and Digital Immortality. Ray Kurzweil plans to  upload your entire Brain to the Internet and Living forever in the cloud.  I'm working on that too with my Blog by typing almost every event in my entire life and every opinion I've ever held...

So, if you don't like your God simply FIRE him and Write your own Religion!


Read more of my Autobiography at: http://gvan42.blogspot.com/2018/03/growing-up-in-los-gatos-california-in.html


What IF We Built a Radioactive Ant Farm with Magic Mushroom and Cannabis Roots? Would a DIFFERENT SPECIES OF ANT EVOLVE? GODZILLA?

At an Existing Anthill, Throw some Radioactive Americium-241 from a Smoke Detector Down the Hole... Then Plant some Psilocybin and Amanita Muscaria Mushrooms Nearby so the Mycelium (roots) Grow Throughout The Colony ... and a Ring of Cannabis Plants with Their Roots Intermingling as Well. The Ants Could Eat the Fruiting Bodies of the Mushrooms and The Pollen, Leaves and Flowers from the Kind Bud (Marijuana). As We Have Learned in Chernobyl, Some Fungus Thrives on Radioactive Waste... REALLY! It would be best if We Just Left the Plants and Animals Alone and Came Back once a Year to See What Happens... Definitely, allow Both the Male and Female Marijuana Plants to Grow and Produce seeds... NO Sinsemilla Farming Technique! Do That Somewhere ELSE. OF COURSE, You Could use Atomic Waste from an Abandoned Power Plant BUT That would be VERY Dangerous... Illegal... and a Menace to Society... What IF That Radioactive Waste got into the drinking water? 

If this Ant Farm Works, We Ought to Create One Near the Abandoned Atomic Waste Surrounding All Those Nuclear Power Plants... Diablo Canyon, San Onofre, TMI, Humboldt Bay...  The Hanford Site in Eastern Washington State, Nevada Test Site, Los Alamos, Tennessee... etc etc etc... and Definitly Rocketdyne Test Facility near Los Angeles (the one that burned to the ground During a Wildfire)... 


drawing of a mushroom - Free Coloring Book - gvan42 - Gregory Vanderlaan
drawing of a mushroom - Free Coloring Book - gvan42


"Wow" Said Susan... "That Might Be Interesting! Let's Smoke Some." 



"Art in the Time of Covid-19" 
Shirt For Sale. 

YOU MAY CHANGE THE WORDS IF YOU WANT TO... The Swirly Background Allows Plenty of Space to Write Your MANIFESTO... Or The Great American Novel... WhatEVER!

Popular Posts

LINKS TO MY BEST BLOG POSTS!
*The Violet Overgrow - An Eco-Warrior's Journey by Gregory Vanderlaan - FICTION

*Trump Confesses to Adultery! "Hey, Moses Was JUST JOKING When He Wrote those Ten Commandments...

*Generate Electricity and Clean Drinking Water AT THE SAME TIME. A Solar Powered Desalinization Plant Would Convert Seawater into Energy, Pure H2O and NaCl.

*Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - UFO and Alien Hieroglyphics

*Tree Sitters Protest Lignite Coal Mine in Hambach Forest, Germany

*The Passage of Roe v Wade Led to Fewer Unwanted Babies Being Born... and 20 Years Later, Less Violent Crime... Because Unwanted Babies Grow Up to Become Violent Criminals...

*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.

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...


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)


My Autobiography: Growing Up in Los Gatos, California in the 1960s by Gregory Vanderlaan - and Living in San Jose, Washington DC, Chico, Eureka and Orangevale, CA.

I Was Born in 1954. We lived Near the San Jose Airport until they Started Landing Jet Airplanes and We had to move... We went to Los Gatos in 1960. I lived there until graduation from Los Gatos High School in 1972... an Ideal Childhood... FYI: Los Gatos is about 50 miles South of San Francisco on the edge of the mountains between San Jose and Santa Cruz.

I Went to West Valley Jr. College, learned electronics drafting and got a job at System Industries in Santa Clara... I feel blessed that not only did I grow up in a great location but I also grew up at a great time. I missed the Vietnam War by ONE Year and Silicon Valley Was Hiring Like Crazy When I Needed a Job.
Peace Sign Pie Chart
History of the Vietnam War. 58,000 Americans Died for Nothing... Something They Don't Teach in School Now... "Too Controversial" -

During the 1950s Americans went into a Mad Panic about Communists taking over the world. We built thousands of Nuclear Missiles and Fallout Shelters. The US Congress had witch hunts (Joe McCarthy-HUAC) to expose "Commies" who worked in The Hollywood Movie business and blacklisted folksingers that were leading our young people astray with Labor Union Organizing songs.


During the height of this hysteria Vice President Richard Nixon went on Television and explained "The Domino Principle" while pointing to a map of Asia. His theory was...

READ MORE: https://gvan42.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-brief-history-of-vietnam-war-58000.html

Who Won the War? DOW CHEMICAL AND HUGHES AIRCRAFT. Selling Napalm, Agent Orange and Helicopters...

Military Death Chart USA

AMERICA'S BOGUS WARS - Since 1945, The US Military Has Never Defended The USA, Not Even Once.

Ever since Victory in Japan, All of Our Wars have been Marketing to Sell Weapons for the Military Industrial Complex.







Free Coloring Book Art by gvan42 - UFO and Alien Hieroglyphics