b121 (12.26-1.2024): inner/outer course

inner/outer course [i]
by oral joalsterl
 
upper/downers, smilers/frowners, guilt (and no remorse)
left, then right (no need to fight) with inner/outer course
______________________________
 
·       inspired by “she comes first” by ian kerner
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.26-1.2024). inner/outer course. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

* immortal Christ-mas

in a conscious Uni/Mega-Verse, atoms do not 'die' but (rather) are trans-formed.  me-mories, awareness and a sense of separate self (ego) simply morph.

we do not 'die' in the sense of 'end'.  our atomic self-awareness shifts into more of a Holistic Reality, kind of like actors (after the Play is over).

-the beginning? 

B121 (12.25-1.2024): punishment by sin

punishment by sin [i]  

by ima s. inner

 
it might be good/bad karma
a process from within
it’s an intriguing drama
punishment by sin
______________________________
 
·       truth is, the punishment isn’t inflicted by a judge, for the sin.  the dis-ease we feel is a by-product of not living in alignment with our higher-good path-way.

·       it isn’t karma (in the sense that “what goes around, comes around.”).  it is an instantaneous feedback mechanism. 

·       it’s perfect, actually.  the karma/sin/feedback process works for us, and, if we are paying attention, it lets us know when we are off course.

·       additionally, it never shuts off!  we get feedback on relationships, desires, commercials, choices (like eating a burger), and even breathing!
 
wayne dyer used to say that an airliner (flying from los angeles to new york) is “off course” 95% of the time” – due to wind, pilot inputs, etc. 
 
the reason why it lands safely in new york is because it pays attention to the deviations -- and takes corrective action to get back on path.
 
it’s not “punishment for” so much as gentle, loving feedback.  it is big brother/god/jesus, whispering in our ear.
 
'sin' is an illusion.  'punishment' is a man-made construct.  instant karma... is wonder-ful.

merry Christ-mas.
 
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.25-1.2024). punishment by sin. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino.

* sad truths

the sad truth is...

if you are (or if you have allowed yourself to become) her beta male, then she is openly flirting with me (and she would take me into a back-room right now)... if she could get away with it.

money doesn't matter.  your prior investments don't matter.  everything that she may have said (to include marriage vows):  

it. does. not. matter.

she will cheat on your dumb ass -- with the right Alpha at the right time, and she will probably turn-around and (in her mind) blame it all on you (for not being there, for not being the man that she fell in love with, and for not being _______, etc., etc., etc.).

you will become her reason to (quite easily) negate all of her prior promises.

and that, my friends, is:

the sad truth.  

 

* in three generations...

...everyone you know will be dead.

few (if any) will visit your grave... and even if they do, it won't be for long.  

think about JFK's assassination, less than 65 years ago.  does anyone really, really care?  even when some did care, he was dragged over the coals by many, and hated by half. 

in this joal-life, who really, really cares? ...and even if they do, they'll still eat and party after your funeral.  life goes on, after all.

conclusion: why do anything on account of what others might think?

• it doesn't matter, how many go to your wake, funeral, grave.
• it doesn't matter, how many love your thoetry.
• it doesn't matter.

what does live on, however, is your ripple-effect.  everything that you do and think and say, uh, ripples... effects... creates... inter-acts.

joal, yes... you are out for you.  however, you do love.  you do want to please quid-pro-quo.  you do not just take.  angelique was a fine example of that.

you didn't take.  you gave.  yes, you felt scammed (a bit), but you understood.  you communicated.  you both gave it another shot.  you both came out winners and high-fivers!  heck, she just now asked you to not forget her!  don't.

should you have taken a yassi up on her offers?  no.  s/he smokes, s/he's potential danger.  you did that the right way.  you learned, you conversed.  if s/he was a little more feminine, however, you might have been in trouble. :) 

b121 (12.22-1.2024): is (even) love transactional?

is (even) love transactional? [i]
by itsa tran saction 

·       my experience/observation in cebu, phillipines is that sex and relationships are (indeed) transactional.  there are lots of older men with much younger filipinas, and there is a distinct quid-pro-quo about it.

·       the sex is transactional, here, but isn’t it everywhere?  even consensual sex (without a monetary exchange) is transactional, is it not?

·       in family relationships, don’t parents love a child (more) when the child behaves in a manner that makes the parent happier?  isn’t the converse true?

·       at christmas, isn’t santa’s love transactional?  if you don’t behave the way your parents santa wants you to, they’ll say that you get no love/presents.  heck, you might even get coal!  of course, this is the first big lie (for most children), as they know that they aren’t perfect, but santa still brings the goods, after all.

·       think about this: even in christianity, god’s love is transactional.  you don’t get into heaven if you don’t believe in him.
 
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.22-1.2024). is (even) love transactional? book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

* "predictability is the enemy of attraction"

- a quote from the internet. 

b121 (12.21-1.2024): come and surf the wave

surf the wave [i]
by ima i. n. control

some things we control
most things are unsaved
rocks (or maybe, roll)
come and surf the wave
_____________________________
 
·       surfers can’t control the wave, but they can control their tactile input into the surfboard.

·       Bliss is not about giving-up control, although ‘surrender’ can be a beneficial practice.
 
to me, Bliss is about getting caught-up in the move-ie, while also having the knowing that i can return to audience mode and/or director mode, as desired.  it’s not 100% surrender.
 
it is similar to the chase of Spirit.  100% transcendence of the ego would mean death/birth, so to transcend ego to a large degree (and to re-cognize when the ego is pre-dominant) is the dance of Bliss-full Play, Here (and, hopefully, Now).  it can be orgasmic.
 

come and surf the wave.

___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.21-1.2024). come and surf the wave. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.20-1.2024): control the center...

control the center… [i]
by ima wanda win

“you should control the center” he said (so well) with fame
“when you control the center, baby, you control the game”
_____________________________
 
·       controlling the center, in chess or war, concerns the center of the battlefield.

·       controlling your own center (in life) has to do with awareness, introspection, contemplation and alignment with purpose, mission and values.
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.20-1.2024). control the center… book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.18-1.2024): next, pollute the skies

next, pollute the skies [i]
by ima can sirr

first, pollute the forests
then, pollute the streams
next, pollute the oceans and the rivers (in-between)
when there’s nothing left to ruin, make no compromise
 
first, pollute the land (how grand!) and
then, pollute the skies
_____________________________
 
·       when space-clutter becomes excessive, even bits of fast-moving debris can destroy a satellite.
·       the human solution, of course is twofold:
   1.     figure-out how to destroy an adversary’s satellites, and
   2.     keep putting more up there.
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.18-1.2024). next, pollute the skies. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.16-1.2024): to want the best (for ex)

to want the best (for ex) [i]
by ann ex

to want the best (for ex) might take a bit of thought/context
it makes a lot of sense
to want the best (for ex)
_____________________________
 
·       if you really like/love someone, you don’t wish bad things for him/her.
·       if you have a friend, you want that friend to live his/her best life.
·       while it might hurt your ego if the ex is enjoying life without you, love isn’t ego.
·       love wants the best (for the ex).
 
if you’re not able to want the best for an ex, then it might be time to pull out a mirror and ask: “did i love (or did i want control over) my ex?”
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.16-1.2024). to want the best (for ex). book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.12-1.2024): dis-fun-ction

dis-fun-ction [i]
by diane s. functional
 
i should have seen it sooner
from steve (to dad & mom)
 
the only functional martineau might be tom
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.12-1.2024). dis-fun-ctional. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.11-1.2024): "hush"

“hush” [i]
by u. ben hushed
 
you had your chance and blew it
of course (you said too much)
and everybody knew it
let’s get down to it:
 
“hush”
______________________________
 
·       be-cause you simply couldn’t shut your mouth.
 
·       be-cause you view yourself as better than those who you are talking-down to.
 
·       be-cause you see yourself as entitled.
 
you project everything that you hate (in republicans): isolation, domination, rightness, etc.

i, as of today, am done with you.
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.11-1.2024). “hush.” book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

* diss-fun-ction

diss-fun-ction 

by we r. familied

i should have seen it sooner
from steve to dad & mom:
the only functional neau-neau might be tom!!
___________________________ 

• hard drinkers, culted thinkers, and religious tinkerers who've been hood-winkered...
• outside of a couple of the grands, it's m.m.i.!!

:)

* of course, i'm including myself in this mix.

** in the original writing (on a postcard) the first 'neau' was actually the name of the parakeet who used to fly freely in the kitchen.

b121 (12.9-1.2024): death & taxes

death & taxes [i]
by grim reaper

death & taxes: certain
death & taxes, time
death & taxes (in the end, they were a friend of mine)
______________________________
 
·       death/mortality, after all, gives life meaning.

·       death’s possibility can act as motivation, can influence behavior modification, and (if we live each day as if it were our last) can breathe life to our present moments.
 
taxes, of course, have provided me with things like roads and parks and water-ways… not to mention the social security benefit that will begin in a few short weeks.  

the passing/death of significant others serves as a re-mind-er, 

and, if we allow it to, 

             loss can be reframed as gratitude.                

___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.9-1.2024). death & taxes. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino. 

b121 (12.7-1.2024): why, oh why ask why?

why, oh why ask why? [i]
by y. ask why

alternative title: the phoenix

why do hummers hum?
why do criers cry?
are we bonding?  some
why, oh, why ask why?
______________________________
 
1.     everything happens because of pressure (or some differential in pressure).
 
2.     surviving sentient entities (things that have a sense of self) survive… due to a strong survival instinct.  for lack of a better term, let’s call sentient entities ‘be-ings.’
 
3.     be-ings, in i-survive-all mode, need basics: like air, water, food, etc.
   o   sentient machine-intelligence might require a different set of basics.
 
4.     be-ings (from atoms to AGI), in i-survive-as-a-species mode… replicate.

 
 
 
5.     be-ings, in survival mode, strive to better their odds at 3 & 4, above.  i call this ‘thrival,’ but this process is just the evolution of survival.  thrival is explained below:
 
6.     beings bond-together (there’s safety in numbers), mark territory (to secure basic resources and reproductive resources), and experience hierarchies (pecking-orders determine who gets more or less of that which promotes survival).
 
7.     surviving species also tend toward ego (a sense of separate self*). ego-ic groups seek access to resources, engage in nonstop reproduction, and utilize memory/cognition to take intelligent actions that perpetuate the survival-thrival/replication process (evolution).
 
8.     unless impeded (or kept-in-check) by an outside entity (e.g. a predator, dis-ease, disaster, overpopulation, etc.) the surviving entity/species becomes cancerous -- event-u-all-y committing murder-suicide by destroying itself via destroying its host.
 
9.     the host (if/be-ing energy that is neither created nor destroyed), upon death, would trans-form (dedupe) into part-i-cles that allow for the evolution of other entities, thereby perpetuating the evolution/devolution/survival-thrival/death/re-cycle.    
 
-the beginning            
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.7-1.2024). why, oh why ask why? book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino.

*the sense of separate self (ego) can be attributed to an individual (be-ing) and to a species/group (e.g. humans; the yankees).  

-the species/group, in turn, develops cult-like processes (culture) that perpetuate the survival/thrival of the species/group. 

b121 (12.6-1.1014): her pants were bible-belted

her pants were bible-belted [i]
by u. r. cold

her pants were bible-belted
her thoughts were in a bind
her words flowed-out (and left no doubt) a bound & belted mind
 
(it’s as if by design)
______________________________
 
·       how can someone be sooooooo sure of something that they haven’t ever researched or truly contemplated?
 
·       cult-ure explains why individuals fail to question their own beliefs, fail to question their elders, and fail to question what outsiders might (plainly) see as insane thoughts, such as:
 
1.     why would an all-knowing, all-loving god (1) create flawed beings, then (2) get mad at some of them for being flawed, and then (3) murder all of them (including innocent women, children, babies, unborn babies, bambi, kittens and puppies) because they were flawed?  why?  …and… (if he did), why didn’t he fix the problem on his second try?
 
2.     why would an all-powerful god determine that the best way to ‘forgive’ sins is to (1) have an only-son (Jesus), born by a virgin via immaculate conception, then (2) allow for his son to suffer a bloody crucifixion, die, and rise… and then (3) inspire men to decree that the only path to forgiveness (and heaven, instead of hell) is to believe in Jesus as one’s savior… based-upon really, really, really bad evidence?
 
3.     why is god a ‘he’?  what makes him masculine?  does he have a penis?  why?  to impregnate 12-year-old virgins?  why didn’t he have more than (only) one son?  why has Jesus been “coming back, and soon” for over 2000 years?  what does “soon” mean?
 
4.     how is god a ‘father’ to himself (his son, who is also “the one-and-only” god), and to himself… the holy spirit?  why is he three-in-one, yet one, yet both father and son at the same time?
 
5.     why is the evidence of god based upon an male-edited, male-translated book of his-stories (written by men) – yet written down only after decades of word-of-mouth retelling of campfire stories that were originally told by fisher-men?  

6. why would an all-knowing god  send his only son to ‘minister’ -- via virgin-birth, in the backwaters of israel, in the year BCE 4 through AD 33?
 
7.   why does god not simply show-up now, on fox news, and tell us what he wants… himself?  there are only two possibilities: either (1) he can’t, or (2) he won’t.
 
why, when you can’t answer these questions without making something-up and (eventually) closing with “well, no one could ever understand the mind of god” – why do you then proceed to tell me what god thinks, what god says, and what god wants?
 
the only answer that makes any sense (of course) is that men made-up the stories, and men benefit from the beliefs.  how do men benefit?
 
·       do religions profess moral codes that help to regulate/control behavior?  yes.
·       do religions generate $$$?  yes.  follow the money trail.
·       do religions have power?  yes.  can religious beliefs sway votes?
·       do religions allow govern-men-ts to maintain control by having citizens control themselves?  yes.
·       do individuals gain power by convincing others to believe what they believe?
·       …and on and on and on…                 
___________________________________
[i] martino, j. (12.6-1.2024). her pants were bible-belted. book 121: opportunity (on deck). © 2024 by j. martino.