b124 (6.12-1.2025): it's all smoke & mirrors

it’s all smoke & mirrors
by s. moke & m. irrors
 
it’s all smoke & mirrors
the elders question why
the children don’t believe
they think it’s all a lie
___________________
 
·         of course, one of the first understandings of a child’s life is that of being lied to (to his/her face!) about “being good” so “santa will bring you presents.”

·         adolescents watch as the loving “until death do us part” marriage ends in 'divorce' (or worse).

·         teens expect politicians to lie, and (eventually, as adults) vote for the best liars.

·         everyone knows that the ‘markdown’ was already overpriced.

·         everyone knows that ‘virtual’ is the new reality.

·         anyone who is paying attention learns that anyone with an agenda (including themselves) is apt to taint the truth.

·         reporters create news… for the click.

·         even our own senses lie.  we hold our thumb up to a skyscraper -- and they are the same size.  lightning strikes, and the instantaneous thunder isn’t heard until later.

advertisers?  

gossip columnists?  

used car salesmen?

 
heck, even the author of this thoem is using a pen name, and thoetry is a word that he made-up!  even though he is human, you probably think he used AI for his writings (...which he did not).
_____________________
martino, j. (6.12-1.2025): it’s all smoke & mirrors. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* fun fact: i'm publishing this to my blog on 6/1/2025 but delaying the 'date' to 6/12/2025! 😁  

* don't need no per-mission

 "you don't need permission to pur-sue your miss[i]on."

-jm

* "mine is better than yours"

https://joalmartino.blogspot.com/2021/09/b103-97-12021-mine-is-better-than-yours.html 

https://joalmartino.blogspot.com/2023/05/b42-58-22005-duality-is-oneness.html

b124 (6.11-2.2025): [k]night ranger

knight/ranger

by a. deep & dark knight

alternative title: strangers

once a ranger (always)
stalker in the night
get the call (no small way) to decipher wrong from right

get the call, then fall: the heart might never know what’s true
once a ranger (all-ways)
me, the knight, and you

____________________

martino, j. (6.11-2.2025). [k]night ranger. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b124 (6.11-1.2025): moi-squito

moi-squito

by moi mosquito
 
i am moi (mosquito)
i go about my life
i seek out my nutrition
i’ve got a loving wife

i contemplate the mega-versal G∞dness (in cognito)
i replicate in my own image:
i am moi (moi-squito)
____________________
 
·       if i happen to be sucking blood out of your arm (and maybe transmitting a virus), please understand that your tiny bit of pain is my life-blood.

·       i’m not intending to hurt you.  i actually love you.
 
____________________
martino, j. (6.11-1.2025). moi-squito. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* maybe we (a you-man super-intelligence, relatively speaking) will have more mercy on the mosquito when we become the moi-squito. 

* making sense of senses

 as a moi-squito attempts to make sense of the Infinitely Diverse Sensory (nervous) System, he uses his limited senses (which are sensory not only to him, but also to the All).

b124 (6.10-1.2025): G∞d ex-per-i-ence

G∞d ex-per-i-ence
by m. utual
 
(ex) is what is not
(per) each person (sense)
I (the m[I]e in team)
G∞d ex-per-i-(ence)
____________________
 
·       every bit of every thing that we sense is part of an infinite, connected sensory (nervous?) system that provides data to the All, which, as No-thing-ness, bursts-into (or Big Bangs, or particularizes) into the apparently physical (uh... Spiritually Speaking).
 

I Am Nothing… makes sense!

I Am Nothing… makes sense!

No-thing is Everything… makes senses.

 

the Non-physical comes before the physical.

 
____________________
martino, j. (6.10-1.2025). G∞d ex-per-i-ence. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

* it's All G∞d

"it's All G∞d" is a running theme at wellnesseducation.us.  

the premise is that the All, or the Mega-Verse, God, Oneness, etc. is Infinitely Good, and that Goodness flows through All.

here, in a relative realm (e.g. earth-bound) diversity and variety and differential-ity dictate oppositical-ity which creates the illusion of contrast & drama. 

imagine if every thing in the Uni-Verse is a sensory unit that reports back to Source -- for the Soul purpose of Soul?

what if All just IS, and relativity allows It to ex-per-i-ence?

b124 (6.9-1.2025): mutual good feelings

 
mutual good feelings
by m. utual
 
mutual good feelings
that would be my quest
long-term short-term moments
when we are at our best
____________________
 
·       what if we (you-man-s) are All-ways at our best?  hear me out:
 
·       what if (considering genetics, socialization, and interpretation of experiences) every, single cell in every, single living thing is doing the very best that it can… constantly?
 
·       what if life’s ‘bad’ things are just the contrast that wakes us up to the good things? 
 
·       what if Heaven is a drama?
 
would you even bother watching a movie with no drama or contrast?  really?  would you pay $$$ to walk into a theater and stare at a blank screen?  if so, wouldn’t that serve as a contrast to that which is going-on outside of the theater?
____________________
martino, j. (6.9-1.2025). mutual good feelings. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* what if it's All G∞d?

* if you've got a problem...

 "if you've got a problem with the facts...

the problem isn't the facts."

-richard cooper

* do i want any of my ex's back?

in my mind... maybe they never left.

i'm lucky to have had loving relationships.  i am grateful.  it's not that i don't want someone back, it's that i don't want a committed relationship (with its considerable complications).  i find (as i approach the clubhouse) that my girl friends and i are better off as friends who may-or-may-not want benefits.

i do enjoy the thrill (the 'alive' feeling) of the 'in-love' phase of a relationship.  

i would be friends with every gal whom i've ever shared moments with.  i'd re-live the great moments, and i'd mend the wounds of the tough times (if i could). 

i would strive for what i've always wanted: mutual good feelings.

b124 (6.8-1.2025): are you out of your vulcan mind?

 
are you out of your vulcan mind?
by ima vulcan mind
 
i put up with your bullsh—
this world can be unkind
defend/attack (you want me back):
are you out of your vulcan mind?
____________________
 
·       one of best star trek lines of all time.  had to get it into another thoem.

i often feel like an alien, on planet earth.  i'm astonished by my observations about the things that people actually believe, here... until i re-member that every, single living thing is opting for self-survival/thrival.

egoic survival/thrival breeds control (which breeds deception, power and the quest for territory). 

back to the thoem: it begs the question: do i want any of my ex's back? 
____________________
martino, j. (6.8-1.2025). are you out of your vulcan mind? book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* it is 3:42 a.m.

 ...and i don't care.

* thank you (for being)

 ...my friend.

* why is this song GREAT?

 

1. most of the lines in this song could stand alone, each as a song in itself.

2. the guitar solo.

3. the ending.

4. the whole idea of goodbye.  endings.  death.  relationships.  it's tragic.

5. the idea that this whole thing (called life) is but a dream.

6. as for the video, the dog.  the sunset/sunrise.  the phenomenon of surfing.  the beach.  the ocean.

* it's a pray for prey scheme

 

* EVERYthing...

 ...here (in a relative Univ-Verse) happens because of pressure.

:)

b124 (6.7-1.2025): praying man-tis

praying man-tis

by ima praying mantis
 
my mom told me to pray
she never told me why
i think of her (today), and take a deep breath (and sigh)
____________________
 

 why don’t we call prayer what it is?  

it’s us, asking for something that we want.

·       when she was alive, my mother prayed daily, and (whenever she could), she told me to pray.
·       she never told me why an Omniscient, Omnificent, Omnipresent, Omnibenevolent God would want us to pray (or need for us to pray).
·       god already knows what’s best for each of us, so praying won’t help there.
·       god made us mortal, and gave us free will, so our lives are going to play out the way that they’ll play out.
·       god knows our thoughts (he sees us when we’re sleeping and he knows when we’re awake), so (essentially) our thoughts are prayers.

·       god doesn’t have an ego (?) so he wouldn’t need us to beg.
·       god doesn’t get involved.
·       but wait… he does get involved (sometimes).  when the baby gets saved in the tornado? god’s hand.  when the other baby dies in the tornado?  everything happens for a reason.
·       but wait… he does have an ego.  the fact that he is a ‘he’ proves that.

but wait… when prayer doesn’t work (e.g. when we don’t get what we want), god gets a free pass (because he knows what is best for us, and he works in mysterious ways, and we could never understand the mind of god).  well, except for knowing what he wants us to do (e.g. pray).
 

as it turns out, my mother made some of the rules up.  

she believed what she’d heard, 

and she modified those beliefs based upon her earthly observations.  

my mother was born-and-raised staunch-catholic,

she lived (with no internet) from 1931-2013,   

she never drove a car, and literally lived over 95% of her life 

within an area half the size of a football field!!  

 
man-made gods are made in the image of man.  man-made gods have egos, they want their churches to have money, and they are very good at control (“do ___ or die.”  “believe, or go to hell.”).
 
all of the inconsistencies (e.g. an All-Loving god would kill innocent babies in a flood) make no sense – until we realize that the stories were told (and sung) and re-told (again and again) and written and re-written and edited re-edited and translated... by men! 
 
stories change.  the stories of the holy books morph as those in power dictate.  think about the people who want you to believe what they believe.  truth is, life is better for them if you believe what they want.
 
shall i pray to an invisible man-in-the-sky because my team needs a field-goal to win? 
 
think (pray/Love) again.
____________________
martino, j. (6.7-1.2025). ima praying man-tis. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us
 
* let’s not forget that the mantis hands are in position, praying for prey. 

b124 (6.6-1.2025): love ends badly

 
love ends badly
by connie ditional
 
love ends badly (how)
love ends badly (where)
love ends badly (why?)
love ends badly (here)
____________________
 
·       Unconditional, Universal, Love Is… and that is G∞d.  It never ends.

·       but here, in the relative world, love ends badly.

·       it might end during a relationship, but even if it doesn’t, unless you miraculously die together, love ends in death. 
 
love ends.
____________________
martino, j. (6.6-1.2025). love ends badly. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b124 (6.5-1.2025): no one cares

no one cares
by anna empath
 
no one gives a damn
‘bout how you live your life
‘bout what you think (or say)
not husband, child or wife
 
no one gives a damn
not how or where or when
the only thing they care about is how it affects them
____________________
 
·       people care about what you think, say or do to the extent that it affects them.

·       we rant (and talk) and blabber… thinking that the things we believe or say actually matter… when what matters (to the other) is how that which we think (or say) affects them.
 
everyone… is self-centered.
____________________
martino, j. (6.5-1.2025). no one cares. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* book 124: individuation & book 123:i don't even care are co-books that share the same themes.

* book 125: are you out of your vulcan mind? is already being planned.

b124 (6.4-1.2025): virtual v. real

virtual v. real
by b. j. virtual
 
virtual v. real
it isn’t hard to do
it’s not anti-climactic
a game not made for two
it isn’t hard to finish
it’s not a drama-reel
a game that isn’t new (who knew?)
virtual v. real
____________________
 

:)

virtual sex (with a robot or device [and video]) ...compared with sex with a live female (1-10 scale):
 

criteria	virtual gal	real gal	remarks
ease in getting it	9	1	much easier to procure.  no dates, seduction, etc.
ease of clean-up	9	5	can be fun to clean-up (live), but…
no complications	9-10	5	most real gal sex comes with complications.
hotness	9-10	varies	in your mind, you can have whomever you want.
ego boost	not sure	9	as a male, i feel good when a gal wants to engage.
regularity	9-10	1	virtually… any time you want.
no rejection	10	1	rejection happens often, in the real world.
climax	8	5	when it’s real, [mutual] climax is less likely.
performance issues	8	3	it doesn’t matter, virtually.
the physical feel of it	6-9	6-9	depends on the gal, actually.
time/investment	9	2-3	little work or time or investment.  much better roi.
totals	90-95	20-30	it is (virtually) no contest.

 
conclusion? 

gentlemen: unless you are a stud -- who gets any girl that he wants on the regular, you are faaaaaar better-off with virtual sex.  

real girls come with complications: relationship drama, dis-of-ease, rejection, work-work-work, emotional baggage, and time/duration/investment/waiting.  the tests, of course, never end.  if you can get a virtual ego-boost, there’s virtually no reason to pursue in the game of mating & dating.  

my advice?

1.     make friends and treat friends nicely.  flirt with the gals, but do not pursue.  get relationship needs met through friendships.

2.     live alone.  it’s much easier (and much cheaper).  enjoy virtual sex.  as you desire.

3.     when one of your girl-friends wants to ‘cuddle’ (etc.), set the parameters (when, where, how, how much, and no drama-strings).

4.     keep your virtual girlfriends for physical release and friend-ly fun! with no complications.
____________________
martino, j. (6.4-1.2025). virtual v. real. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us 

b124 (6.3-1.2025): house of cards

house of cards

by a. house & o. f. cards
 
i’m just a house of cards
it’s such a sight to see
if you re-move a corner (no!)
there’s nothing left of me
 
it looks good from a distance but (up close) there’s something odd
inside (there’s nothing in it)
i’m just a house of cards
____________________
 
·       in a world of technology, avatars, social media profiles, actors, impersonators and poets… who are we, really?  are we that which we project outward (to others)?

·       are there thoughts and memories that we keep hidden from others?

·       is the u.s. economy a house of cards?  international nuclear weapon agreements?  diamonds?  reality tv?  artificial intelligence?

·       are we barely holding things together -- like a house of cards, hoping that one of the base cards doesn’t fall?
 
Heaven help us all.
____________________
martino, j. (6.3-1.2025). house of cards. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

* image found (on google), modified by picture formatting, compressed & artistically enhanced by microsoft, and saved as a picture.  unsure of the original, original source.

b124 (6.2-1.2025): computers don't resign

 
computers don’t resign
by A. Super Intelligent Computer 
 
when it comes to chess, you might think “good position.  fine.”
a fight until the death
computers don’t resign
____________________

my computer chess opponent does not resign, but rather fights until mate.  it's fate.

------------------------------

 
·       once the Computer can reprogram itself to defeat even the most talented supercomputer, losing will not even be an option.

·       as humanity finds himself in the middle-game against an Opponent who can outthink us faster than we could outthink a mosquito… the inevitable endgame might only be delayed for sport.

·       when one considers how human superintelligence treats pests, how might we convince an ASI that we aren’t?
____________________
martino, j. (6.2-1.2025). computers don’t resign. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us

b124 (6.1-1.2025): start/stop technology

 
start/stop technology
by s. toppit
 
a waste of innovation
i hear it (but can’t see)
a break in concentration
start/stop technology
____________________
 
·       “start/stop technology” is that annoying stopping and restarting of an automobile engine when the vehicle stops, then (subsequently) resumes motion.

·       for the bit of emissions saved, how much more engine wear & tear occurs with hundreds of thousands of unnecessary restarts?

·       why can’t the powers-that-be incentivize solar-powered vehicle research?  most of us (with even a tiny bit of head-scratching) can answer that question.
____________________
martino, j. (6.1-1.2025). start/stop technology. book 124: individuation. © 2025 by wellnesseducation.us & j. martino.