Butterflies Upon the Will of Power

I watched the movie, Shattered starring Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello, and Gerard Butler. The movie is based around the quote, “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel” found in the literary work of 1735, An Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot written by Alexander Pope. The excerpt has been drawn on by many People throughout the years. And different meanings of the expression have been included in music such as that by The Mission whom recorded a track titled Butterfly on a Wheel. Basically the phrase means, “putting massive effort into achieving something minor or unimportant”.

I think the quote “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel” has a lot of significance to offer our World today and is a great thought for ..2020... To often criminals break a butterfly upon a wheel leaving innocent victims to suffer the consequences of another’s irreparable actions. To many Soldiers are sent to fight a War that has largely lost its’ main purpose. Leaving our Men and Women to flap their wings in a territory that seemingly lacks the ability to act – let alone react – as civilized human beings who have been given the opportunity to rise above their once dictated brainwashed sadistic antics. Meanwhile; our own Country continues to lack massive and important measures to securely prevent any future potential terrorism violence nationally. Global Warming is given verbal band aides of decorated hope while sufficient funds are disbursed into other wheels of less importance.

Environmentally speaking, the butterfly effect is a phrase that “refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or for that matter, prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena.” Let us no longer wonder, “had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different." Perhaps instead; it is time that we take back the wheel and steer our own wings, promoting positive change throughout the World toward Peace. For even the smallest of efforts can make a difference collectively. Be this by beginning such in our own home, community, political stance, etc. Hence, let they “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel”, know not their abuse of power but the willpower of Humankind.

Psyche of a Murderer

ndpthepoetress: "The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is about an evil eye, dismemberment, and the repercussions of guilt. What more could a reader ask for! A seemingly short tale with enthralling details, but with an abrupt ending. Still in-between the lines one can perhaps visualize how some people fixate on a person’s flaws instead of their overall significance as a human being. And so the story begins, such imperfection gradually converts into an obsession. The male perpetrator could have only taken that which disturbed him the most. His method of choice however contemplated primarily on the breath of life, possibly giving the readers a clue to the frame of this killer’s own psyche at the time. Hence; the subsequent anatomization, may have been more of a means to prove his own self bloody-right than the ascribed reason. However; he was about to learn that all human life does have value. For guilt has a way of eating into the brain. There truth echoes, beckoning to be heard. Such resonance then can impel a sane man mad while plummeting a supposedly mad man even further into the depths of insanity. And so it is with The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe":

Treads of A Murder

In the cloak of darkness the heart pounded detrimentally inside her chest, as if insistent on immediate release; while perspiration dripped from numerous sweat glands she never knew her flesh had. Suddenly, the body she was hauling tumbled to the ground and descended along a steep hill. Panicky, she ran toward the already rotting carcass. In the hurried course her high heels broke as she toppled onto the mossy wet leafed ground, tasting dirt from her moist glossy lips. Her nose was within a few inches of the cadaver, the stench reeked with a combination of dumpster garbage and human sewage waste. Sickeningly nauseated she some how managed to rise, brushing the earths remnants from herself with her now bloodily scratched hands. Then, as if without any forethought whatsoever; she grasped the stiff body and lugged it toward a nearby river bank. Briefly, as if to catch a breath; she sat on the moist ground surrounded by the night. Her fleeting thoughts interrupted abruptly to realize she had not brought a shovel. Frantically she looked around in the moonlight. Broken twigs were scattered amidst the thickening, as she hurriedly threw them aside to at last find a short broken, rigid tree limb. She began to dig furiously right there beneath her feet, until the depth was sufficient. By now the crack of dawn was awakening, worn out she clasped the foul body, dragging it inside the hole. Her bare, scuffed raw hands clumping dirt rapidly over the grave. Content with her undertaking, she staggered toward the river. Achingly she knelt down to fling the icy water onto herself, simultaneously seeming to cleanse some of the filth from her skin and mind. Exhausted, she began the journey toward the hill top where her car was parked. Finally she arrived; fumbling with keys until the door unlocked, she climbed inside. Idle, hands on the wheel; she reflected on the nights’ escapade. If only someone had driven a little slower, perhaps none of this would have happened. Or if someone merely attended to the matter themselves when the incident occurred, than maybe she would not had to taken care of the dreadful situation herself. Still trembling; she shifts her car into drive and pulls onto the blackened road. The muddy rear frame of her car had only one bumper sticker visible: God Bless the animals that cross to and fro, for they know not which way to go.

Written By ©ndpthepoetress (- Jeane Michelle Culp) {copyright #98s7750940}

My Pet

I often believe that life has a way of presenting circumstances in our lives as a method of reminding us about lessons yet to be learnt or merely fragmentary reflections of current events. And so such began for me, my pet Gnat. Admittedly; there were several matters bugging me recently, ordeals seemingly beyond my control. And there, every time I came home – to greet me was The Gnat. Persistently pesky little bugger, reluctant to die. Never once did it try to flight upon my food, as if to contentedly fulfill its’ own needs. Instead, this Gnat would seemingly sneak from its’ hidden abode, explicitly when my eyes were fixated else where in deep thought; than zoom! Zoom, whoosh, whiz repeatedly; as I tried in accordance, only to unsuccessfully squish it with my hand or paper. Until at last this became liken a game between us of - dash, clasp, miss. Okay maybe I am taking this a wee far by my next train of thought, however; I swear this ruthless pest would accompany me at work in the good olde days. In the building at my place of employment, we seldom get pestered by the ‘real insects'. It’s not like we have flyswatter decors hanging about in all confined cubicles. No! Yet there ‘it’ was, The Gnat! And so Whoosh, slap, miss! Like a fool whom never learns from mistakes; I continued to take the hurtle bait, only to constantly get the same results - missed! Blasted rascal! Ok, if this pest was not the same from my home, than please explain how one day the annoyer was in my car, when I got off work! The Gnat – there to greet me in my auto, as if waiting for a free ride home from ‘its’ weary day of play. Ok I hear you. Gnats are massively every where! I have finally lost it. I am bugging out! This Gnat has ultimately succeeded - if only to drive me batty! Well today, or maybe it has been a few days now, anyhow; I am sadden to say, I lost my Pesky pet. No, I did not kill The Gnat. I recon ‘it’ has gone to pester someone else or has died of starvation – somewhere between my home and the open road. Or at worse, has become someones’ windshield muck. Just, I’m certain The Gnat did not leave of its own accord; as there are still plenty of recent tribulations tugging at my heart strings and playing intensely on my mind. Yet, sadly gone is The Gnat. Now I can’t help but wonder if I had ever succeeded in squishing ‘it’, would I have felt relieved or remorse. Perhaps we all need such a Pest, I mean Pet in our lives at times. Something tiny, requiring minimal upkeep; just something small enough to keep the mind occupied on other things, if but for a minute - so that the raw obvious doesn’t continuously eat us alive from the inside out, like an introverted vulture. Therefore; here’s wishing Gnats in your life! May you go batty as bed bugs, if but for a fleeting moment! Zoom, whoosh, whiz!



Dragonball Z - Eating Me Away


SKILLET

"Eating Me Away"

It's eating me away
I said to God
It's rotting in my mind
It's like a cancer
Is there anything, anything at all to numb the nothingness
I need a reason to breathe
It's eating me away

Yeah, yeah....

It's eating me away
It nibbles at my brain
The question of my existence
And the matter of pain
I shake my fist, I shake my fist
At the cosmos and my insignificance
I need a reason to breathe
It's eating me away

[CHORUS:]
Save me from my rage
And my humanity
I'm more nothing than being
Is this my legacy
Feel it eating me away
Yeah, yeah.....

All that I am, all that I want, all that I lack
Come on and save me
All that I am, all that I want, all that I lack
Come on and save me

[CHORUS]

All that I am, all that I want, all that I lack
Come on and save me
All that I am, all that I want, all that I lack
Come on and save me

It's eating me away

[CHORUS]

Down The Rabbit Hole

The concept of combining quantum theory and spirituality was originally introduced in a 2004 movie entitled What the Bleep Do We Know!? has now been expanded upon in an extended version of the same film released August 1, 2006, What the Bleep - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE QUANTUM EDITION.

¹The BLEEP – Quantum Edition explores the latest scientific discoveries that explain the mind-body connection – making them understandable for the everyday, ordinary person. In addition it puts forward revolutionary experimental evidence that we, and our world are not separate, but connected.

²Part story, part documentary, and part elaborate and inspiring visual effects and animations, this extended version features a new opening ³following the journey of divorced professional photographer Amanda (played by Academy Award winning actress, Marlee Matlin) as she comes to understand the sources of her depression and slowly changes her life. During the process Amanda ^2afinds herself in a fantastic Alice in Wonderland experience when her daily, uninspired life literally begins to unravel, revealing the uncertain world of the quantum field hidden behind what we consider to be our normal, waking reality.

The movie's documentary inserts include the world’s top 14 scientist in the field of physicists, neurologists, anesthesiologists & physicians, molecular biology, and spiritual teachers, mystics and scholars who ^3aexplore the links between quantum mechanics, neurobiology, human consciousness and day-to-day reality and talk about the consciousness, psi research, physics, biology, emotion and addictions.

There are 400 visual effects shots and animations in this Quantum Edition. One of my favorite animations is when ⁴Amanda peers through her camera at the wedding reception. She sees into the guests’ bodies and watches Cells running rampant with their molecules of emotion. But this rabbit hole soon turns inside out as the Cells find their way out onto the dance floor to cajole, coerce, and excite the partiers into their favorite brand of emotion. Animations similar to this help us ⁵examine how the brain captures and processes information, and how that influences thoughts and actions. Making the case that humans can become addicted to certain emotions - love, rage, humiliation - just like a drug, and it takes willpower to break the cycle.

The fourth new character in this version is the animated Dr. Quantum by the pioneering physicist Fred Alan Wolf. Dr. Quantum leads viewers through an exploration of quantum physics including the Double-Slit Experiment and Entanglement. My favorite is Dr. Quantum - The Flatland.

I found the most intriguing part of this movie to be the Water Crystals by Dr. Masaru Emotos. He proves that ⁶thoughts and feelings affect physical reality. By producing different focused intentions through written and spoken words and music and literally presenting it to the same water samples, the water appears to "change its expression". ⁷From Mr. Emoto's work we are provided with factual evidence, that human vibrational energy, thoughts, words, ideas and music, affect the molecular structure of water, the very same water that comprises over seventy percent of a mature human body and covers the same amount of our planet.

Also beautifully detailed in his book “The Hidden Messages in Water”:

“Imagine if water could absorb feelings and emotions or be transformed by thoughts. Imagine if we could photograph the structure of water at the moment of freezing and from the image "read" a message about the water that is relevant to our own health and well-being on the planet. Imagine if we could show the direct consequences of destructive thoughts or, alternately, the thoughts of love and appreciation. The Hidden Messages in Water introduces readers to the revolutionary work of Japanese scientist Masaru Emoto, who discovered that molecules of water are affected by thoughts, words, and feelings. Dr. Emoto shares his realizations from his years of research and explains the profound implications on the healing of water, mankind, and earth.” Beyond Words

Thank You Love

As C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D stated, “^6aHalf of the earth is water; our body is three-quarters water. Water represents the interface between the 4th dimension in which we live and the 5th dimensional sphere of our soul.”

In conclusion; ‘What the Bleep - DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE’ is more than entertaining, it is education. All that remains is the one enduring question "How Far Down The Rabbit Hole” are you willing to go?" Cause the deeper you go down the ‘Rabbit Hole’ the more you learn, the more you discover, the more you understand, the more you see that ‘we are not separate, but connected’.

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?” Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)


1. Synopsis
2. Water Crystals

^Wikipedia:Double-Slit Experiment and Entanglement


Related Posts: To Curse, To Ponder, To Wonder or Not

Permission to use photo #'27. Animation characters' from the Press Room, High Resolution Stills from What The Bleep Do We Know!? granted to Binding Ink.org by Webmaster.

July 4th To Our Military

Amidst the fireworks, hamburgers, hotdogs, Family, Friends, picnics, outings, the greatest is our Military.

For those in the Military are the ones whom continue to keep America the "land of the free" and they are proof that America truly is "the home of the brave"

Thank You Troops!:

(The Sign of Thanks)   Happy Fourth of July! 

July 4th is our 1st and oldest military holiday.

The Meaning of July Fourth for the African Americans by Frederick Douglass (A speech given at Rochester, New York, July 5, 1852)


Independence Day on the Net - Did You Know: 4th of July

Dear Sometimes Heads Have Got to Roll

Mesoamerican Mythology By Kay Almere Read, Jason J. Gonzalez

Charcoal Crunchers
"A present-day Tzotzil tale tells why weird creatures called Charcoal Crunchers no longer exist. A long time ago, a man was married to a charcoal crunching wife. Every night her head would leave her body and bounce over to the fireplace to eat hot charcoals. Occasionally the head would leave the house and thud around the neighborhood.
One night, the husband had enough and rubbed salt on her empty neck so that when she returned she could not stick her head to her body again. Annoyed, she bounced up on his shoulder and stuck there, causing him great discomfort. Some days later he convinced his wife to temporarily leave his shoulder so that he could climb a tree to fetch some pine nuts for her. Once up in the tree he refused to come down and she could not bounce high enough to reach him. Banging around the tree she accidentally crashed onto the shoulder of a passing deer and stuck there. The startled deer ran off and carried with it the last Charcoal Cruncher."

Makes you think twice doesn’t it? :)

*Cited From: "Charcoal Crunchers." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/charcoal_crunchers.html

Phillyosophicalizing Easter

Main-stream Society has done far more irrectifiable damage to individualism than any distraught bullies have ever hoped to inflict upon society labeled Plain Janes or Computer Geeks. One need not be of Christian faith to enjoy the spirit of Easter nor does one need to be so of Christian faith as not to be able to participate in the frills of Easter. For there is such a thing called a medium – a middle ground; a point of view midway between extremes. Truly here is where individualism thrives. But how many dare to walk such a thin line? Come, stray for a moment if you will and walk with me away from the main-stream. For surely if it is true that life imitates art and art imitates life than what of this book called the Bible so many protest, perhaps merely literature, symbolism at its best. Gethsemane? Surely Surprisedbyjoy writes "all of us will experience Gethsemane in our lifetime. They are moments of great distress, fear and anguish. We may experience hatred and betrayal. We may be called to pick up our 'wounds' and we don’t want to do it. Even Christ needed companions in Gethsemane. Sleeping friends were better than being alone. We would be wise to ask for friends to be with us in our Gethsemane. Don’t be upset when ‘some’ let us down. Judas betrayed, the others slumbered, Peter denied their relationship and they all ran away in fear. We see a picture of life drama and human frailties." This is Gethsemane, merely truth; facing the truth – moments of truth. As for the cross, we all have ours to bear, some more than others. I think the hardest cross to lay down and upon is forgiveness. Surprisedbyjoy states "All of us have forgiveness issues. Human nature clings to grudge holding which leads to destructive bitterness and venom. For 'any hope of any kind of' growth, healing and maturity, 'though' we must forgive ". Often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. Truly we are our own worse enemies at times. And so begins the crucifixion; we crucify those who have done us wrong and worse we crucify ourselves. It is a vicious circle, one perhaps of a dog trying to chew his own legs off only to succeed in immobilizing himself to never walk again. Oh but if we could forgive, especially ourselves; we would truly rise again anew. A testament to all the Doubting Toms! Here in lays the problem, here in indeed. Inside this fleshy shell of ours, our very own tomb. Maybe the secret is buried in first healing the wounds; rather inflicted by others, and/or circumstances, or self. After all it is Spring and 'Hope Springs Eternal'. And so this is Easter, the passing over and into the realizations of Gethsemane. We have ventured far enough now from the Main-stream Society for most to have seen the middle ground of art imitating life. I much rather join the allusion and dance with the Easter Bunny and color eggs than spend any more time dissecting life’s many illusions, delusions. Cause for now; liken love, spring is in the air - spring is every where!

Related Posts: Epiphany Easter, 1916 by W. B. Yeats

Rebirth Yourself-Emerge From Your Mental Cocoon

Image from Wikipedia

ndpthepoetress: "Many of us have read our fair share of self-help articles proclaiming the Secret in Life is to get plenty of rest, eat right, exercise, etc. However; in the daily mishmash of this, that, and the other; combined with the seemingly never ending to-do list - who actually has the time or energy to abide by the so called “Secret”!

In my opinion, the “Secret” in Life is FIRST: ‘Change Your Thoughts’. Out with the negative, in with the positive. Because when you become enthused, new energy materializes for you. Once your mental energy is increased then you CAN achieve anything YOU set your mind to - no matter how little time you seem to have.

Let’s start with an article about how to Changing Your Thoughts. This excerpt is by Colleen Kettenhofen, “a Phoenix, Arizona motivational speaker, trainer, & co-author of "The Masters of Success ," featured on NBC's Today Show”:"


8 Essentials for Creating Balance Out of Chaos
By Colleen Kettenhofen

Leadership and life balance has been a hot topic for some time now. Employers are waking up to the notion that for people to perform well they have to feel well.

In these trying times it's imperative to stay motivated. Change your mind and you change your circumstances. Change your thinking and you can change your life.

How do you do that? Here are 8 essentials for creating balance:

1. Focus on what you have, not on what you don't have. There will always be someone worse off than you. Whether they're facing a financial crisis, health problems, grief and loss, or something else. If you know someone like this, think of one thing you could do to help them.

For example, there's someone at my church who recently lost his father. A group of us decided to take food to the family. Helping someone gets your mind off your problems. And it makes you grateful for what you do have. You start focusing on the positive. As Denis Waitley says, "You are either the captive or the captain of your thoughts."

2. Feed your strengths, starve your weaknesses. Researchers note the average person has 50,000 thoughts a day. Most of those thoughts are negative. Your mind is like a computer or the crew on a ship. And what orders you give it will determine what you get.

What you dwell on becomes your destiny. What you focus on the longest becomes the strongest. Spend as much time as possible in a job, or in your life in general, in areas that utilize your strengths. Work doesn't have to be a four-letter word!

3. Practice self-control, self-discipline and a strong work ethic. This is a paradox, but doing the things you like least first helps in creating balance. Practicing good work habits, especially early in the day frees up time later on for doing things you enjoy. And you feel more deserving.

The most successful people are those willing to do what others don't want to do. They've mastered the challenge of overcoming procrastination. Live by the motto, "Just do it. Not by the tongue-in-cheek saying I saw on a t-shirt in Hawaii recently which said, "Just do it-tomorrow"."

4. Decide what really matters. Make a list of those activities and individuals that put a spring in your step. What gives you energy and makes you laugh?

For example, spending time with my boyfriend's family is terrific because they're hilarious. I always have belly-aching laughs when I'm with them. Laughter really is the best medicine. Conversely, what detracts from your life and drags you down?Start phasing those things out of your life.

5. Focus on having fun. No matter busy and stressful your days, schedule some time for fun. In creating balance, what makes you happy? For instance, this weekend my man and I are taking our dogs on a day trip to Flagstaff, Arizona. Being at 7,000 feet in the pines helps me "fill the well." There's nothing like crisp mountain air and the smell of the pines to make me forget the cares of the world.

6. Spend time in silence. Make an effort to get more sleep. Studies have shown getting enough sleep helps reduce cravings for carbs and sweets. Temporarily turn off your cell phone, Blackberry, TV or car stereo. Before bed spend quiet time in prayer or meditation.

7. People-pleasers: Learn to say no. Or, if there's something you must do, ask for support. Don't try and do it all yourself.

8. Concentrate single-mindedly on one task until it's complete. Stop multitasking. Sometimes when you try to do 10 things at once, you end the day not having completed anything.

Lastly, it's been said that survivors of emotional, physical, or circumstantial difficulties practice eight things: strong spiritual belief, sense of humor, strong support system, a connection to nature, goals, proper nutrition, openness to new ideas, and get sufficient rest and exercise. In creating balance, which of these can you create today?

Colleen Kettenhofen
Website: http://www.ColleenSpeaks.com

You are free to reprint or repost this article for use in your newsletters, association publications, or intranet provided Colleen Kettenhofen's contact information (name, website, and email) is included with the article.

Related Articles:
Human Stages of Metamorphosis

Change Your Thoughts; Change Your Life by Lisa M. Brazelton

9/11 Commemoration

As our hearts are tearfully filled with memories of those who lost their lives September 11, 2001, let us also never forget the bravery and compassion shown that day; and may we continue to forever embrace and extend kind words and actions to those left behind and still mourning, those injured and still suffering. Let us Thank all Military Personnel as we also remember and honor those who have lots their lives or have been injured in the process of defending our Country. And may we as a Nation United rise above this tragedy to not judge nor hate the majority, because of the actions of a few.

Ad Council

"Will hate bring it all back? Will it bring back the innocence? The sense of security? Will it bring back the husbands and wives and sons and daughters? Will hate make us better than those who hate us? Or merely bring us closer to them. Will hate help us destroy our enemies? Or will it laugh as we destroy ourselves. There are those who say we don’t know who our enemy is. But we do. Our enemy is a neighborhood Mosque defaced by vandals. An Arab-American storekeeper in fear of reprisal. A scared Muslim child bullied because she is different. Hate is our enemy, and when we start to hate other Americans, we have lost everything. Hate has taken enough from us already. Don’t let it take you."

Memorial Day

For all Men and Women of the United States Armed Services who have taken the The United States Military Oath of Allegiance:

I, ____________, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

America Thanks You!

And in remembrance of those lives lost for the price of our many Freedoms, a modern rendition of:

Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping
Words by G.W.R.
Music by Mrs. L. Nella Sweet

published 1867

Kneel where our loves are sleeping, Dear ones days gone by,
Here we bow in holy reverence, Our bosoms heave the heartfelt sigh.
They fell like brave men (women), true as steel, And pour’d their blood like rain,
We feel we owe them all we have, And can but weep and kneel again.

CHORUS
Kneel where our loves are sleeping, They lost but still were good and true,
Our fathers, brothers (mothers, sisters) fell still fighting, We weep, ‘tis all that we can do.

VERSE 2:
Here we find our noble dead, Their spirits soar’d to him above,
Rest they now about his throne, For God is mercy, God is love.
Then let us pray that we may live, As pure and good as they have been,
That dying we may ask of him, To open the gate and let us in.

CHORUS
Kneel where our loves are sleeping, They lost but still were good and true,
Our fathers, brothers (mothers, sisters) fell still fighting, We weep, ‘tis all that we can do."


Memorial Day - Arlington (Trace Adkins)

Smithsonian Institution: Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?

A Curious New Year

May your New Year be met with 'six honest serving-men', "What and Why and When And How and Where and Who", and every second of the New Year that you 'open your eyes, may 'One million Hows, two million Wheres, and seven million Whys' guide you to go 'further' in life than you ever anticipated; discovering things about yourself, life, and your fellow human beings that you never knew. Perhaps by 'going further' you will be the ones to discover a cure for diseases or World Peace... ~ndpthepoetress

The Explorer

1898

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936). Verse: 1885–1918. 1922

"THERE'S no sense in going further - it's the edge of cultivation,"
So they said, and I believed it - broke my land and sowed my crop -
Built my barns and strung my fences in the little border station
Tucked away below the foothills where the trails run out and stop:

Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated - so:
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges -
"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"

So I went, worn out of patience; never told my nearest neighbours -
Stole away with pack and ponies - left 'em drinking in the town;
And the faith that moveth mountains didn't seem to help my labours
As I faced the sheer main-ranges, whipping up and leading down.

March by march I puzzled through 'em, turning flanks and dodging shoulders,
Hurried on in hope of water, headed back for lack of grass;
Till I camped above the tree-line - drifted snow and naked boulders -
Felt free air astir to windward - knew I'd stumbled on the Pass.

'Thought to name it for the finder: but that night the Norther found me -
Froze and killed the plains-bred ponies; so I called the camp Despair
(It's the Railway Gap to-day, though). Then my Whisper waked to hound me: -
"Something lost behind the Ranges. Over yonder! Go you there!"

Then I knew, the while I doubted - knew His Hand was certain o'er me.
Still - it might be self-delusion - scores of better men had died -
I could reach the township living, but ... He knows what terror tore me...
But I didn't... but I didn't. I went down the other side.

Till the snow ran out in flowers, and the flowers turned to aloes,
And the aloes sprung to thickets and a brimming stream ran by;
But the thickets dwined to thorn-scrub, and the water drained to shallows,
And I dropped again on desert - blasted earth, and blasting sky....

I remember lighting fires; I remember sitting by 'em;
I remember seeing faces, hearing voices, through the smoke;
I remember they were fancy - for I threw a stone to try 'em.
"Something lost behind the Ranges" was the only word they spoke.

I remember going crazy. I remember that I knew it
When I heard myself hallooing to the funny folk I saw.
'Very full of dreams that desert, but my two legs took me through it...
And I used to watch 'em moving with the toes all black and raw.

But at last the country altered - White Man's country past disputing -
Rolling grass and open timber, with a hint of hills behind -
There I found me food and water, and I lay a week recruiting.
Got my strength and lost my nightmares. Then I entered on my find.

Thence I ran my first rough survey - chose my trees and blazed and ringed 'em -
Week by week I pried and sampled - week by week my findings grew.
Saul he went to look for donkeys, and by God he found a kingdom !
But by God, who sent His Whisper, I had struck the worth of two !

Up along the hostile mountains, where the hair-poised snowslide shivers -
Down and through the big fat marshes that the virgin ore-bed stains,
Till I heard the mile-wide mutterings of unimagined rivers,
And beyond the nameless timber saw illimitable plains !

'Plotted sites of future cities, traced the easy grades between 'em;
Watched unharnessed rapids wasting fifty thousand head an hour;
Counted leagues of water-frontage through the axe-ripe woods that screen 'em -
Saw the plant to feed a people - up and waiting for the power!

Well, I know who'll take the credit - all the clever chaps that followed -
Came, a dozen men together - never knew my desert-fears;
Tracked me by the camps I'd quitted, used the water-holes I hollowed.
They'll go back and do the talking. They'll be called the Pioneers !

They will find my sites of townships - not the cities that I set there.
They will rediscover rivers - not my rivers heard at night.
By my own old marks and bearings they will show me how to get there,
By the lonely cairns I builded they will guide my feet aright.

Have I named one single river? Have I claimed one single acre ?
Have I kept one single nugget - (barring samples)? No, not I !
Because my price was paid me ten times over by my Maker.
But you wouldn't understand it. You go up and occupy.

Ores you'll find there; wood and cattle; water-transit sure and steady
(That should keep the railway rates down), coal and iron at your doors.
God took care to hide that country till He judged His people ready,
Then He chose me for His Whisper, and I've found it, and it's yours !

Yes, your "Never-never country" - yes, your "edge of cultivation"
And "no sense in going further" - till I crossed the range to see.
God forgive me! No, I didn't. It's God's present to our nation.
Anybody might have found it, but - His Whisper came to Me!

Source: THE KIPLING SOCIETY

I Believe, Do U!?

I believe above is reserved for the Sun, Clouds, and doves

Moon and Stars, planets like Mars
And if I could stretch beyond the blue, perhaps touch Gods’ hand too.

I believe below whence water flows with youthful woes

Of innocence gone as age has marched on

There transcends our Once Upon a Time Childhood Friends

Maybe where Sindbad the Sailor crossed or perhaps where City of Atlantis is lost

There Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs, Jack Frost, Frosty the Snowman are standing on wharfs

As The Gingerbread Man, Hansel and Gretel run to greet us as fast as they can

We see Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty each with their own fella

The Old Woman Who lived in a Shoe, Puss in Boots, The Elves and the Shoemaker have good news

The Billy Goats Gruff, the Three Pigs, Three Blind Mice, along with Goldilocks and the Three Bears want to prove they weren’t a bluff

The Ugly Duckling is inside Atlantis with The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast - all chuckling

And the sweet Tooth Fairy still leaves coins as a treat.

United at last is The cow who jumped over the moon, The cat and the fiddle, and The dish who ran away with the spoon

Hickory dickory dock, that dang mouse won’t stop fiddling with the clocks

Jack be nimble Jack be quick and Little Jack Horner continue to do their tricks

While The Little Men dance with Little Red Riding Hood, swim with The Little Mermaid, and court The Little Women

The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs and Humpty Dumpty play pegs

Dumbo and Pinocchio speak their own mumbo jumbo

The Princess and the Pea, Johnny Appleseed, and Jack with his Beanstalk are a glee

Things are a spinning as Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin are a grinning

Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Tom Thumb, Thumbelina want us to join them soon as we can

Along with Alice, to sip tea with the Easter Bunny in the Atlantis Palace.

Of all this I do not doubt, so let me just point out
I believe in Santa Claus too, do you?

© - Jeane Michelle Culp (#r3779xy1988CC€)

A Christmas Hymn

A Christmas Hymn

Alfred Domett (1811 - 1887)

IT was the calm and silent night!
Seven hundred years and fifty-three
Had Rome been growing up to might,
And now was Queen of land and sea.
No sound was heard of clashing wars;
Peace brooded o’er the hush’d domain;
Apollo, Pallas, Jove and Mars,
Held undisturb’d their ancient reign,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago.

’T was in the calm and silent night!
The senator of haughty Rome
Impatient urged his chariot’s flight,
From lordly revel rolling home.
Triumphal arches gleaming swell
His breast with thoughts of boundless sway;
What reck’d the Roman what befell
A paltry province far away,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago!

Within that province far away
Went plodding home a weary boor:
A streak of light before him lay,
Fall’n through a half-shut stable door
Across his path. He pass’d—for nought
Told what was going on within;
How keen the stars! his only thought;
The air how calm and cold and thin,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago!

O strange indifference!—low and high
Drows’d over common joys and cares:
The earth was still—but knew not why;
The world was listening—unawares.
How calm a moment may precede
One that shall thrill the world for ever!
To that still moment none would heed,
Man’s doom was link’d, no more to sever,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago.

It is the calm and solemn night!
A thousand bells ring out, and throw
Their joyous peals abroad, and smite
The darkness, charm’d and holy now.
The night that erst no name had worn,
To it a happy name is given;
For in that stable lay new-born
The peaceful Prince of Earth and Heaven,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago.

Once Upon a Squirrelly Night

Once Upon a Squirrelly Night
 by Jean M. Culp ndpthepoetress

Up on a tree top,
Hop, hop, hop,
I saw Santa go flop, flop, flop.

Onto a limb he did bend,
Along came the snow & the wind began to blow,
Up in the tree top,
Hop, hop, hop,
I saw Santa drop, drop, drop.

He fell to the ground & looked all around,
And shouted to all & to all he said:
I think I hit my head!

Up in a tree top,
Hop, hop, hop,
I saw Santa go chop, chop, chop,
As he shouted with glee,
This will make a pretty Christmas Tree!

Up in the tree top,
Hop, hippity hop,
I saw Santa wiggle his red nose,
And atop the tree a star began to glow,
Santa was so happy he did such a jig that shook the twigs,
When up in the tree top,
Plop, plop, plop,
Down fell I onto this jolly guy, oh you should see those sparkles in his eyes.

As he laughed so loud it broke the clouds,
When down flew his reindeer and all his gear,
Then off to the North Pole he did fly,
And I swear this story is not a lie,
For he gave me these here nuts & some Band-Aids for my cuts!

Yes, once upon a tree top – hop, hop, hop,
I saw Santa go flop, flop, flop.

© - Jeane Michelle Culp (#Z987C46Y)

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

According to Wikipedia, "Count Your Blessings" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the movie White Christmas. The best known recordings were made by Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby and Eddie Fisher.

However; the Filipino singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan sings an additional verse to this popular song while maintaining a modern yet familiar tune.



Count Your Blessings (Instead Of Sheep) Irving Berlin

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep
I count my blessings instead of sheep
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

When my bankroll is getting small
I think of when I had none at all
And I fall asleep counting my blessings

I think about a nursery and I picture curly heads
And one by one I count them as they slumber in their beds

If you’re worried and you can’t sleep
Just count your blessings instead of sheep
And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings

And (you’ll) I’ll fall asleep counting my blessings

Additional lyrics:

I thank the Lord for good health
For the gift of love He sends
But most of all He’s blessed me
With my family and friends

When you feel that you’re down and out
Just count your blessings, I have no doubt
You’ll soon be on your feet, counting your blessings

Originally Posted November 2007

Blood Curdling Recipe

The Witches from Macbeth by William Shakespeare; Read by Classic Poetry Aloud


Click 2 Listen

Act 1, Scene 1

SCENE I. A desert place.
Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches

First Witch
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch
When the hurlyburly's done,
When the battle's lost and won.

Third Witch
That will be ere the set of sun.

First Witch
Where the place?

Second Witch
Upon the heath.

Third Witch
There to meet with Macbeth.

First Witch
I come, Graymalkin!

Second Witch
Paddock calls.

Third Witch
Anon.

ALL
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.


Act IV, Scene 1 (other versions Act 3 Scene 5)
SCENE I. A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron.
Thunder. Enter the three Witches

First Witch
Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

Second Witch
Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.

Third Witch
Harpier cries 'Tis time, 'tis time.

First Witch
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot.

ALL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Second Witch
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

ALL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Third Witch
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.

ALL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Second Witch
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.


originally posted Oct. 31, 2007

Related Posts: All Hallows' Eve

Labor Day

Foremost to our Military, all those deployed... Thank You. To all in the work force, those actually in labor :), to the many unemployed waiting to labor; during this holiday of sales – picnics - BBQs - and gathering abouts:

Let's remember all those throughout history who have made this Holiday possible!

Dropkick Murphys Workers Song Lyrics

Yeh, this one's for the workers who toil night and day

By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead

In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines
We've often been told to keep up with the times
For our skills are not needed, they've streamlined the job
And with sliderule and stopwatch our pride they have robbed

CHORUS:

We're the first ones to starve (start with) the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And we're always the last when (they gravyish it out) the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat's about

And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
Who's given a gun and then pushed to the fore
And expected to die for the land of our birth
Though we've never owned one lousy handful of earth?

CHORUS (x3)

All of these things the worker has done
From tilling the fields to carrying the gun
We've been yoked to the plough since time first began
And always expected to carry the can

Cubical Human Rat Race

I remember many years ago when a Friend of mine’s Nephew died unexpectedly. Shortly afterwards, we had to sort and move his belongings to appease the Landlord for the next possible tenant. I also recall a Co-Worker stating she had to sort through her Brother’s personal items after he passed away recently. Wondering how and why he accumulated so much over the years, she immediately wanted to organize her own possessions. Venturing into the attic, etc. so Family Members wouldn’t have to; should anything happen to her. As for myself, I was no stranger to the accumulation monster. I knew the hideous creature well. An ogre, ‘once upon a time’; disguised merely as one seemingly innocent storage box. Soon an array of these homely cartons are tucked here, there, and everywhere. They are the swine hoarders of things placed out of sight and out of mind. Nonetheless; I had to face this demon when a 10 year relationship end some years ago. Following the once ignored property being divvied up, there still remained an amass of stuff. Apparently, the demon stuffer refused to die without a fight. However; exhausted, I just crammed the lid down on a few containers and duct-taped the other tops that wouldn’t cooperate. Then I spent the next year thinking more about those darn boxes than about my ended relationship. Realizing us human beings spend our life in some type of box as well. Embryos packaged inside a womb, cut umbilical cord individuals occupying four-sided residences; attendance at schools, churches, most places of employment… - all cubically constructed, and in the wrapping up - encased in a coffin or urn. Perhaps the monster was not the boxes after all, rather whom I had to concur was the pack rat dwelling inside myself. And so the orderliness commenced. Only this time I had to dig down into the cubical roots of my being. There, each item was liken a picture inside a huge photo album, imprinted in my mind with some negative and positive memories. The finale collage however; wasn’t so much the dispersed trash, rather the release of emotional baggage that had secretly been weighing me down for years; boxing me in. And so for all of you with boxes tucked here, there, and everywhere – may you find the inward strength to one day rise up in protest of such a baited rat trap! For once you do - as Bernard De Voto is accredited for saying, “The rat stops gnawing in the wood, the dungeon walls withdraw, the weight is lifted … your pulse steadies and the sun has found your heart, the day was not bad, the season has not been bad, there is sense and even promise in going on.”

Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap

There was a lot of rocking going on that night
Cruising time for the young, bright lights
Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door
The five lamp boys were coming on strong
The Saturday night city beat had already started and the
The pulse of the corner boys just sprang into action
And young Billy watched it under the yellow street light
And said "tonight of all nights there's gonna be a fight"

Billy don't like it living here in this town
He says traps have been sprung long before he was born
He says "hope bites the dust behind all the closed doors
And pus and grime ooze from its scab-crusted sores
There's screaming and crying in the high-rise blocks"
It's a rat trap, Billy, but you're already caught
And you can make it if you want to or you need it bad enough
You're young and good-looking and you're acting kind of tough
Anyway it's Saturday night, time to see what's going down
Put on a bright suit, Billy, head for the right side of town
It's only eight o'clock, but you're already bored
You don't know what it is, but there's got to be more
You'd better find a way out, hey, kick down that door
It's a rat trap, and you've been caught

In this town Billy says "everybody's trying to tell you what to do"
In this town Billy says "everybody says you gotta follow rules"
You walk up to the traffic lights
You switch from your left to your right
You push in that button, and that button comes alight
And it's
"Walk, don't walk, walk, don't walk
Talk, don't talk, talk, don't talk
Walk, don't walk, walk, don't walk
Talk, don't talk, talk, don't talk"
Hey, Billy, take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Billy, take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Billy, take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Hey, Billy take a walk with me

Well, little Judy's trying to watch "Top of the Pops"
But mum and dad are fighting, don't they ever stop
She takes off her coat and walks down to the street
It's cold on that road, but it's got that home beat
Deep down in her pocket she finds 50p
Hey, is that any way for a young girl to be
"I'm gonna get out of school, work in some factory
Work all the hours God gave me, get myself a little easy money"
Now, now, now, na na

Her mind's made up, she walks down the road
Her hands in her pockets, coat buttoned 'gainst the cold
She finally finds Billy down at the Italian cafe
When he's drunk it's hard to understand what Billy says
But then he mumbles in his coffee and suddenly roars
"It's a rat trap, Judy, and we've been caught..."

Rat trap
You've been caught in a rat trap
Related Post: Out Of The Box! M.P.H.

Adia

Quantum Physics teaches that nothing is fixed, that there are no limitations, that everything is vibrating energy. Therefore; thoughts are energized. Thus, we are constantly exchanging energy with other people in the world. However; we are unaware of this, much as we do not know what is playing on the radio or television unless we turn the power supply on. Except our power supply to thoughts are constantly on. Nevertheless; just like we can not know what is playing on ever radio station at the same exact moment, nor can we know which thoughts or whom the receiver is of those thoughts and vis versa. Thankfully there are Eureka moments in everyone’s life! A person may have been in a negative relationship. For some, this relationship might have continued for years because the negativity became a habit. Heck, even us Smokers butt another poison to the lips knowing we are adding another nail to our coughin’. At least for some negative relationships, there is a breath of fresh air! Something deep inside yourself has finally awoken. So in your new found wisdom you depart and in departing you break the habit and in breaking the habit you have opened yourself to a world of possibilities. And where there are possibilities there is energy and where there is energy there is thought.

It is at this moment, I am reminded of the story of Adam and Eve. Most reflect on the sin. Me, I see innocence lost and the birth of thought. Much as a child becomes aware of the ‘individual self’ – the flesh… then awareness of those whom coexist with the child. Ultimately; the struggle to form words into sentences to express themselves. Oh, how I truly believe in the lines by Sarah McLachlan, in the song Adia:

’cause we are born innocent, Believe me adia, we are still innocent'

Might then thought merely be but an illusion or disillusion? Nonetheless; thought is energy.

I have recently slithered my way out of habitual gloom to bask in a radiate ambiance of encompassing energy. Yes, even us Writers have our dark sides, it’s called Writer’s Block! It is as if my mind has tuned into a station of inward positive abyss. And I am deeper than I have ever gone before. Take the example of matryoshka Russian doll(my Inner Child is in there some where!), one is nested within the other, and nested and nested … Suddenly the abyss! Energy slowly surges through me like a thousand embracing hugs statically ignited. Instinctively I know, it is the fundamental human connectivity that unites us all. I am emotionally overwhelmed and overjoyed.

Again, rarely do we know whose mind electrically charged ours… And so I am thankful to know whom so positively ignited my mind in the right direction. For to me, the mind is the most beautiful accessory a person has to offer. The mind is liken a flower. If you leave it to wilt it will not develop to its’ full potential. Oh, but nourished, the potentials are unlimited and beyond even our own conscious knowledge. And so perhaps this person whose mind I attuned to is unaware of their full subconscious mental potential. Yet the electrical field surrounding their mind is like a magnet of spiritual wealth. And this my Dear Readers comes from hard inward self work. Progressing through mind, intellect, and ultimately to the very root of ones true being. Then coming up for a breath of fresh air, recharged – reenergized! Allowing positive energy thoughts to flow in and out of the mind.

Some people label this Positive thought energy as The Law of Attraction. Which is defined as: “¹According to proponents, this law is always working whether you want it to or indeed whether you believe in it or not. Feelings, emotions, and appropriate thoughts, they say, make the law work faster on your behalf. Thoughts penetrate time and space, acting as "personal magnets" with their own electrical vibration or frequency. These thoughts reach out and grab other similarly charged thoughts, attracting physical reality, which is merely a slower vibrating energy frequency; one's thoughts are faster more subtle vibrations of the same energy frequency. Advocates of the law claim that quantum physics confirms the existence of this law. This claim is based on the consciousness causes collapse interpretation of the phenomenon of wave function collapse. This interpretation does not actually confirm the law of attraction but provides a link between physics and mysticism. It been elaborated to include other phenomena which cannot be proven scientifically but are nonetheless fundamental to the law of attraction.”

January 01, 2006 Oprah Winfrey covered this subject in depth with an Australian woman by the name of Rhonda Byrne. “Rhonda defines The Secret as the law of attraction, which is the principle that "like attracts like." Rhonda calls it "the most powerful law in the universe," and says it is working all the time. "What we do is we attract into our lives the things we want, and that is based on what we're thinking and feeling," Rhonda says. The principle explains that we create our own circumstances by the choices we make in life. And the choices we make are fueled by our thoughts—which means our thoughts are the most powerful things we have here on earth.” Oprah

No matter how one describes thought – rather cogitation, a law of attraction, separating man from beast… - certainly thought is an energy else might Quantum Physics be wrong?

Aristotle: "The energy of the mind is the essence of life"
Jeane Michelle Culp