Art and Ecology

Table of Contents

1 First Things 5

1.1 Logo 6

1.2 Other Books 6

1.3 For More Information 6

1.4 Cover Graphic 6

1.5 License 6

1.6 Introduction 7

2 Art Poetry 8

2.1 Mystical Poetry 9

2.1.1 Poetry is Beyond Philosophy 9

2.1.2 When You are Ready 11

2.1.3 Art of Interpretation 12

2.2 Musical Journey 12

2.2.1 Value of Music 12

2.2.2 Inspiration 13

2.2.3 Vigor and Completion 14

2.3 Music of Heaven 14

2.3.1 Tones of Creation 14

2.3.2 Law of Music 15

2.3.3 Nature’s Symphony 16

2.3.4 Plush Music 16

2.4 The Value of Hope 17

2.4.1 Metaphor of Christ’s Return 17

2.4.2 Sketch of Heaven 18

2.5 Complexity Poetry 19

2.5.1 Sources 19

2.5.2 Creativity 20

2.5.3 Organization 21

2.6 Cultural Patterns 21

2.6.1 Enlightened Literature 21

2.6.2 Art Museum 22

2.7 White Curriculum 23

2.7.1 White Pagan Role Models 23

2.7.2 White Stories 24

2.8 Computers 25

2.8.1 Painter 25

2.8.2 LaTeX 26

2.8.3 Print on Demand 26

2.8.4 Social Networking 27

2.9 Other Poetry 28

2.9.1 My Creative Process 28

2.9.2 Aesthetics and Ethics 29

2.9.3 That Kind of Woman 30

2.9.4 Becoming an Artist 30

2.9.5 Completion 31

2.9.6 Fine Art 32

2.9.7 American Literature 32

2.9.8 Colors 33

3 Articles about Art 35

3.1 Art Movements 36

3.1.1 Diversity, Freedom, and Confidence 36

3.1.2 Gothic Art 36

3.1.3 The Purpose of Gothic Art 37

3.2 Practical Art 37

3.2.1 Finding a Hobby 37

Introduction 37

Cross Stitch 38

Sculptey 38

Stickers, Lamination and Magnets 38

Terra Cotta Pots 38

3.2.2 Galleries Frequently Asked Questions 38

Why Cows? 38

How did you learn to use the computer? 38

What do you mean by Still Life? 39

How did you learn to draw? 39

Why are there no photos of exotic locations? 39

Why Trees? 39

4 Ecological Prose 40

4.1 Unified Social Theory of Natural Science 41

4.2 The Theoretical and Everyday Life 41

4.3 Animal Rights 42

4.4 Based on Outlines of Unfinished Tolkien Stories 42

4.4.1 Clay Vessels 42

4.4.2 Strange Gift 43

4.4.3 The People of Stone and Leaf 43

4.5 Philosophy of Fun 44

4.5.1 Less money but more fun 44

4.5.2 Save on public transportation 44

4.5.3 Find joy in producing, rather than consuming 44

4.5.4 Do things for others rather than yourself 45

4.5.5 Be spontaneous and absurd 45

4.5.6 Motion = Stillness 45

4.5.7 No Expectations 45

4.5.8 Holding onto the Moment 45

4.5.9 Understand the Ecology 45

5 Ecological Poetry 46

5.1 Nature Appreciation Poetry 47

5.1.1 Help Farm Animals 47

5.1.2 The Land is a Gift 48

5.1.3 Loving Pets 48

5.2 Animal Liberation 49

5.2.1 Animal not Plant 49

5.2.2 Jesus and Animals 50

5.2.3 Master of Humans 52

5.3 Animal Epic Poem 53

5.3.1 Ecclesiastes 3:19 53

5.3.2 Jeremiah 9:10 53

5.3.3 Daniel 1:8 53

5.3.4 Matthew 25:40-43 53

5.3.5 Hebrews 2:10-11 54

5.4 Plush Moments Poetry 54

5.4.1 Plush Valentine 54

5.4.2 New Calf 55

5.4.3 Today an Ox 55

5.5 Ralph Nader 56

5.5.1 Vision 56

5.5.2 Occupational Safety and Health Administration 57

5.5.3 Consumer Product Safety Commission 58

5.5.4 Freedom of Information Act 58

5.5.5 Environmental Protection Agency 59

5.5.6 Safe Drinking Water Act 60

5.6 Furry Friends Poetry 61

5.6.1 Zen Dog 61

Fat Cat 62

5.6.2 Little Chipmunk 62

5.7 Other Poetry 63

5.7.1 Destructive Toys 63

5.7.2 Global Crises 64

I should explain what the logo is meant to be representing. The guy is a pen, which is me, which comes from my first poem in Philosophy Core, called Creative Process, where I refer to myself as doing Tai Chi, with my pen being my body. The idea is based on "the pen is mightier than the sword" so I created "the Bible is mightier than the pen".

The Bible is shooting out flames because in Ephesians it talks about spiritual warfare and the Bible is the only armament that is offensive. (It means offensive instead of defensive. These are common terms used in combat. The sword is the only spiritual weapon. All the other armaments expressed in Ephesians are protective and defensive in nature like a shield, a helmet, a breastplate, etc.) The flames are meant as in James when it talks about being purified by fire or struggles with temptation in our lives. Isaiah also was purified by a live coal to his lips by a Seraphim. So the usage of fire is not evil or anything violent. Think of it as purifying.

I would ideally like it to show the sword turned inward to his chest, symbolizing like in many fantasy books that when they defeat the great evil force in the world, they are left with the greatest task, which is to defeat the evil within. The Bible is said to be a 2 sided sword, with the ability to cut between bone and marrow, and show the truth. Christ’s tongue is said to be a 2 edged sword in Revelations, to defeat the Devil with. The reason I didn’t show this is it looks like he is committing suicide.

The spiritual warfare is not against people, ideas, or even spirits. It is about fighting for the purity of our own minds. It is an internal thing. Like the Native American proverb "my greatest enemy is myself." This purity is in regard to our own sins and does not refer to purity in any other sense. But this is a process, not an outcome, as it is not possible for us to live without sin.

This warfare is only spiritual in the sense that it is not militant, social, economic, or political. This is for my own moral and ethical development and consists of practical qualities I try, with Christ’s help, to cultivate like humility, compassion, kindness, and seriousness and do not correspond to anything supernatural.

My text books and picture books contain most of my work over the past 10 years. These include my reading of some 235 books containing the philosophical and religious thinking of the worldÕs cultures for several thousand years and the application of the main themes of some of the major Old Testament Prophets and major works of the New Testament.

The main point of this work is to get people to stopping living their lives with their minds, but instead follow their hearts. I bring a radically different combination of viewpoints that you have not heard of before. I am not asking people to follow what I have written, but rather let the words stir up some sort of emotional response in your heart.

I challenge my readers to come up with their own unique ideas and that can lead the world in a new direction. We need a much broader diversity of ideas in our culture to deal with the problems we are facing in America and throughout the rest of the world.

For more books and information, visit me on the web at http://benjamin-newton.com/

Feel free to send me e-mail regarding the books and website at mailto:ben@benjamin-newton.com I even enjoy constructive criticism

This entire PDF is licensed together under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License as a whole, and nothing is to be separated, added on to, or modified in any manner.

the material content and design must be copied as a whole (everything contained in this pdf file)

On review of my 8 academic books, I have found that 2 major themes appear: my love for literature, music, and art and my love for nature and animals. I love both for the same reason: they are creative works of God and man. I enjoy creating myself and I love talking about beauty, so these are natural interests. These are also 2 things that are lacking in our postmodern world and things the traditional world excels at. To highlight these themes, I have taken most of my writing about these 2 topics to form this new book, Art and Ecology.

Like phenomenology and theoretical physics of the early half of the 20th century, the modern art of Picasso was visionary for his time. The variety of his interests in art and the diversity of his creations reflect a complex person. His bold break from tradition showed a confidence in his vision. Picasso and his work are the epitome of freedom of expression.

The twentieth century has brought in many concepts that are poorly understood, because they are strikingly different, than any ideas in the past, and they are so sudden, that there are few frames of reference for evaluating and relating to the revolutions in: art, science, philosophy, and politics.

Although few people understand Picasso and can describe his art in a way that gives him the credit for the changes he inspired, and his personal creativity, confidence, and unquenchable freedom of human spirit, we can see his art bringing about a fundamental shift in the range of forms in which artists are able to express themselves and be accepted by part of the population.

It is hard to understand abstract art and it is even harder to create good abstract art. This is partly because our imaginations are often confined to what we can see, hear, and touch. We do not dream big enough, to allow ourselves the freedom to capture ideas, that we have not been told by others.

Art is not what people think photography is. It is not a Science, and it is not intended to be a reproduction of images or an exact duplicate of what was seen. Art is a way of expressing emotions and if we want everything to be recognizable without thinking, we would probably prefer photography.

Art transcends the limits of a strictly empirical and rational approach to life, where we observe things in a way that can be measured, and hold to some predetermined beliefs about life that other people have come up with. Artists have to have the freedom, to imagine a world of possibilities, and their works are meant to elicit emotions, beyond just what the subject can be described in words.

Abstract art also allows more freedom of interpretation and encourages diversity in points of view. It is not as accurate as a worded description, but is not limited to narrow interpretation either. The whole creation is greater than the sum of its parts in art, which is much harder to so with words.

It is not an understanding of life that is academic, in its strictest sense. It is something that must be experienced. The feelings it brings about, in the observer, are more important, than a technical understanding of how it was made, or the exact intent of the artist.

In a world when we get into wars over words, try to explain phenomenon in purely mathematical formulas, and reduce morality down to legalese, we need something to get us to see the world with our heart, instead of pursuing understanding, with only our heads.

Gothic art was the first international style and the first to create fashion. Gothic was never a single style; it depended on local traditions. Gothic art was an advertisement of Heaven to come. Many of the forms were based on function, but began to take on symbolic meanings.

The Gothic style gave an impression of lightness and vertical movement. The features were not distinct and the forms exaggerated, to allow for a steep angle of vision. The pointed arch and the canopy serve to make the figures fit for inclusion into the Heavenly framework. Round Romanesque arches represent the Old Testament, whereas the New Testament is represented by pointed Gothic arches. Trefoils and quatrefoils were Gothic shapes. The statues can be identified with emotionally and feelings can be projected on them. The animated images gave people a personal relationship with God, where they felt distant during communion.

The light coming through colored glass symbolized God, as revealed to us in the form of light, but in a dark and mysterious manner. Light also contrasted with the shadows it also created and showed a dualism of good and evil. The walls were associated with this world and were lit by sunlight, whereas the altar was of another world and was lit by its own light, candles.

The Gothic style was most evident in the city. In the city, there was no feudal system, but it was the most policed space. Every architectural element stood for power. Pilgrims would have measured the distance to the cathedral in days. There were bells that told the liturgical time of the day and at sunset they would see the sun shine on the west side of the cathedral. Statues in the sunset light represented the end of times. In the scenes on the church walls, past, present, and future were combined. New Gothic forms were added onto existing structures. Time was measured by sundials, hourglass, and the stars. It was common to have a pictorial calendar, showing what the people did, at different times of the year.

The New Testament events are symbolized in Old Testament events. This was an interpretation of the past that made it significant to current theology. This was not a developmental version of time but one focused on symbols of salvation. The messages are institutional often, rather than spiritual. The characters were shown as if they existed in the present, because they were part of Biblical history too and it wasn’t a so distant a past. Without books available to the average person, the figures had to be arranged in meaningful patterns and with obvious features, for easy memory.

People wanted their own private relics for devotional purposes. Of chief concern were the objects associated with Christ’s suffering. People became fascinated with these symbols of horror. There were books and even jewelry for this purpose. Man was a part of nature. Nature was both beautiful and fallen, depending on how it was depicted. The blooming of flowers contrasted with them decaying showed the doctrine of the vanity of things of this world. The Gothic naturalism is not a uniform style, but the degree of naturalism employed depended on the message behind it. Nature wasn’t symbolizing reality; reality was spiritual. Nature was still seen as made by God, but it was no longer a range of symbols.

The Gothic cathedral came from the tall tree forests of northern Europe. The foliage on the pillars emphasized the upward movement. Nature was considered to be more benign than before in Romanesque art, where people could handle it and be part of it. God could be experienced through His creation. People hung branches and flowers in the church on feast days and festivals, so the carvings had some very material significance. The plants carved were associated with the local countryside and city. Nature was considered to be a magical force. The nobles thought of a garden as a place of love and something to decorate their houses with.

The animals were drawn from real examples, but rather from tapestries, shields, or encyclopedias, drawn to entertain rather than inform, and were represented as universals, not as individuals. The continuous narrative was employed, showing numerous repetitions of a figure to indicate movement.

The world was seen in fragments. Human and animal are always kept distinct. In the monster, they combine. The grotesque is an important element of Gothic art. They are drawn for things that are not appropriate enough to be described, things that were considered unnatural. They are representatives of horrors of the flesh. They also come from folklore. Grotesques are on the roofs of cathedrals, on the edges of illuminated manuscripts, and on the back of church chairs. Gargoyles are one example.

People aren’t drawn naturalistically, because that symbolizes sin. The first humans that were approved to do naturalistically were corpses. Because of the Bubonic Plague, death became popular in art. The artists were showing how life is fleeting. Before anesthesia, people preferred death. These were depicted in the martyrdom of the saints. This was because there was constant war and punishments were public to discourage crime. The naked body engaged in sex was outlawed, but it was ok to show tortured bodies naked.

The reason behind Gothic art is to show the contrast between Hell and Heaven, Good and Evil, and other common dualities. Gothic architecture came in the 12th Century, when European cathedral builders realized that the walls could be made much thinner and the windows much bigger, if the walls were straight, which did more than just save money; it brought in light. Not only is Gothic art obsessed with showing us suffering, but it also shows a very cultivated and cultured view of beauty. The Gothic perspective reveals that what society labels as good like luxury can be evil and what society says is evil like faith can actually be good.

According to Viktor Frankl, a person with Schizophrenia needs not worry about what causes each delusion or paranoia, but, rather that he has a disease and that the medicine he takes does the battle for him. He needs to focus on something else, because if he faces the battle head on, his subconscious will overtake him. There is a place for religion proper: when dealing with acute symptoms; but it is also important to work with your hands, to find balance and meaning in life. Craft materials don’t cost very much anymore and can help a person with Schizophrenia to express their feelings, through the arts. And the arts are very interrelated with religion. Music and decorative ceremonial objects are a vital part of the religious experience. Not everyone can write their own music, but handicrafts are a more universal creative medium. I have discovered 5 crafts that I enjoy. You might want to consider one or more of them.

Cross stitch is a type of needle-craft. It is easy to master the several main stitch types and you can get complete kits with the needle, threads and stamped pattern. You also need a wooden hoop. These are available at any good craft store. One of the draw backs is that it requires good eye sight.

There are several brands that work almost identically, but the idea is that you mold this special type of plastic and then you bake it in the oven, at low heat, so that it hardens. It is easier to work with than clay and it already comes colored. You can buy it and books that give ideas on how to make animals and decorations with it at most craft or toy stores. This requires good eyesight, but to a lesser degree than cross stitch, as the sculptey comes in small squares.

This type of work requires a modest investment. To just do small stickers, it will cost you 20 US dollars for the machine, and the cartridge included. To make larger stickers, as well as laminate and make magnets you will have to invest 50 US dollars plus 20 US dollars per cartridge. It comes with a sticker cartridge and idea book. And the cartridges are about 8 feet long of sticky. I bought a Xyron 510 from Joann Fabrics online.

Terra Cotta pots can be used for more than just planting. They can also be used to make animals and decorative containers out of. I found some free designs at About.com and also bought a book for about 10 US dollars from the Craft Ideas online store. You can also likely get some designs at national chain book stores like Borders, or Barnes and Noble. I had trouble finding designs at even major craft store chains. The pots cost 50 cents and up, depending on the size, and can be bought at any craft store.

Cows are a symbol for my website and are significant to me because they suffer because other people treat them as objects, just as others treat me as a monster/freak or don’t recognize my struggles as valid.

I was in charged of the military part of the post high school section of a high school orientation program that our class made with Sony Disc Manufacturing. That is what gave me an interest in graphic design. I got my confidence when I used UNIX in the military. I keep up to date on all the latest software by reading daily news sites about what interests me.

Still Life is a term I use to denote inanimate objects that are sentient beings. Just as God dreamt us into existence, so we give human being to plush animals (stuffed toys) and other still life.

I never received any formal education in art other than craft work I did in Cub Scouts and elementary school. I did take one class in Gender and Art and a class in Design for Journalists as they were required classes in college. But most of my ability in photography and drawing on the computer is intuitive and I do not use any methods I was taught in school. There are some strategies I use to draw digitally, but this was something I came up with and not something I read somewhere. In fact, still to this day, I don’t use bezier curves to create shapes like most designers do.

It was said in the Tao te Ching that the sage knows all things although he never travels far from home. I don’t travel far from home because it is hard for me to wait and there is a tremendous amount of waiting in travel. I couldn’t go to other countries, because I depend on my medicine to keep me in my right mind. I could easily get into a life threatening situation, if I wasn’t on my medicine. I also want people to realize how much beauty their is just in our communities and to respect all our resources and life forms that we encounter.

I have always liked trees, long before I had any connection with cows. Trees have many attributes of God and I feel closer to Him when I am near trees. A tree can be very big like God, silent and still like God, very old like God, and provide protection from the elements like God protects us from potential problems.

• People have social and physical power over animals and are responsible for their well being

• Water and cells should be carefully looked after as they are the building blocks of life

• Although animals and people may be perceived as the same, the human has a responsibility to look after the animal

• Not subjecting sentient beings to physical pain is just the beginning of a social ethic

• Humans should use their resources to actively advocate for the well being of all sentient beings

In the first 30 years of the 20th century (1900-1930), discoveries made by leading physicists, challenged the old order of thought. Where we first saw the world in only three dimensions and fundamental particles as simple, solid objects, we now found that the absolutes, rules, and language that we were educated in did not hold true in many situations which we found ourselves.

Most people who believe in Science as a world view do not really understand the Scientific process. Science was never meant to be a world view, but was a creative process that would evolve its beliefs over time and continually change the foundations of its theories, as more evidence came in. Science does not have any definite assumptions, that which it does hold true is under a constant evolution, and science can not say anything about God one way or the other, but scientists are just as bigoted as anyone else.

Scientists are experts about the scientific process and established theories, but they are not experts on ethics or spirituality.

And we don’t figure in the circumstances under which scientists work: scientists are usually employed by research institutions and get funding from the defense department and big business. They are taught to reject theories that are not approved, not only by independent verification, but also by the culture of assumptions that the Scientific community perpetuates. Announce to the world that you are a Creation Scientist and see how many publishers will publish your books, feature your work in established Scientific journals, or what research institutions will hire you.

Modern physics challenges everything we were taught in school. We are taught that the more we know, the more our questions will be answered, the more we will understand the world, and the easier things will get for us in life. But 20th century physics has proved just the opposite for us. And it is true as much in our everyday lives as it is in theoretical physics.

In the Postmodern world, nothing holds up as an absolute and their is no central or dominant world view. We have nothing to guide us, but our own intellects. For every view, there is a counter and the only thing that is believed as wrong is actually believing anything is absolutely true, or being committed to anything besides your job. We have no compass in this brave new world and the more we learn, the more we realize our limitations.

We understand that we live in a world carefully crafted for us and we are standing at the edge of a cliff, trying to balance between chaos and totalitarianism. We cannot be free to the point of having no beliefs and no direction morally and expect to keep our affluent existence. We have to realize that building prestige and building wealth is not the answer to our problems.

There are two worlds in violent opposition to each other. We have the first world where we are dying from being so well fed and are biggest problem is getting rid of all our waste, where we are technologically advanced but morally bankrupt. The other side of the world is rich in culture, history, and diversity. But it is at the stone age in technology and the greatest problem is where the next meal is coming from.

We have to learn from each other if we are to survive, because technology doesn’t always win. And when someone else is defeated, we lose more of our soul.

What does define a human? A popular modern answer is DNA. But even a frog has 95 percent of the same DNA as a human. And DNA differs among races and even among families, right down to the individual person. What makes a person human is their humanity: having ideals and not living up to them.

We are famous for our technology, but we can’t make our robots swim as well as fish. We learn about art and design from nature. Are some cultures more human because they have faster computers? Even the largest computers doesn’t come close to the billions of processors inside each human brain. And with all the more information in our century, do we cherish ideals as a possibility, or are we too overwhelmed by the violence of the 20th century and how our knowledge just turns into better weapons, weapons that don’t make mistakes - they’re just programmed wrong.

Animals also have compassion and humility as well as other ideals that we long to emulate. Does your cat get impressed by your new gadgets? Does your dog expect you to be economically successful? Does your cat comfort you when you are sick? Does your dog try to help you when you are hurt?

People often quote the Bible that there is a hierarchy of God, then angels, then humans, then animals. But, if animals are not considered to have humanity too, then are we considered to be less important or moral than aliens or angels? Is it ethical for aliens to experiment on humans? They are certainly more technologically advanced and more intelligent than us.

Even if we don’t consider animals to have humanity by some technicality, then why do we not strive at least for our ideals of compassion and humility and consider their pain and their weakness? It is not because we believe deep down in our heart that animals are actually more cultured and sophisticated than us? Do animals destroy other species, in large numbers, or fight to kill off their own species, because they think differently.

A great bubble swelled up and broke apart from the rim of the spoke. The bubble began to turn about itself as it hurdled through the confines of this maze of energy. The bubble also spun across its surface down deep into the center of its geometry.

Out of the deep blue expanse there arose form and substance that broke the symmetry of nothingness. The blue expanse spread out and hung thinly from that which it came. Something new separated the great waters above from the great water below.

The land was hard and empty. There was nothing more than the hint of footprints across the thin layer of dust that coated the plain. There were piles of rocks falling as they pleased from detailed patterns that began to break into disorder.

The air was cold and silent. There were only thin trails of mist that hung down beneath the piles of rocks.

The sky was dark and still. There were a few small lights that flashed in the sky and the silver sliver was smooth and bright without a blemish. There were several small dark patches that appeared to be moving across the silver surface.

A cool Wind arose in the midst of the night. The spoke tore open with a brilliant Light that made the night turn into day. As the Voice in the midst of the flame pierced the silence with song, the lights in the great sea above began to multiply and join the chorus.

A nearer light was given a new theme and the sky turned silver and faded into gold. There were streaks of blood and passion that streamed like ribbons around the nearer light.

The surface burst open in an instant of flying rock and heat. Where the river of rock flowed into the waters below, there was a cloud of dust and steam that rose up to meet the waters above and returned to the edge of the dry land.

Where the great wild sea lapped at the edge of the dry land, pools of warm and gently circulating dust melted into the cool water. As the water circulated, the dust collected into mounds of clay that became smooth and thin. The sea pulled back into itself and placed the clay vessels up onto the dry land, as the nearer light drew back and faded into a purple shimmer over the horizon.

Rocks came flying in from all sides out of a new tear in the great expanse above and there was a new color that drew its life from both the nearer light and the great sea. Thin and small forms of this same color began to root themselves into the damp mud that formed the clay vessels.

There the clay vessels hardened under the presence of the nearer light. The green trees began to wander about under the new light and spread over the land wherever they could still taste the great sea below. The music grew more intense and the entire spoke shuddered as the Wind stirred up in a great breeze like that which comes from the great sea but with another intensity.

The vessels were set aflame by the great fresh gust of Wind and they began to roll down the mountain from under the forest that grew up around them many years before. As the clearing was awoken with the rush of smoking clay vessels, the nearer light fell down over the horizon.

When the clay vessels cracked open, it was a clear dark night with a thin layer of mist. The stars filled the sky with a gentle and magical light. Creatures stirred from within the clay vessels. The first few awoke from nothing into His dream alive and, upon walking out, beheld the wonder of the night sea of light as they gazed upwards.

The great light tore open the darkness and reached out in all directions, consuming the darkness at its leisure. Shadows grew as the light became more intense. Figures began to rise up and stumble in the mist that covered the valley as far as their eyes could see.

The trees spoke and wandered somewhere between waking and sleeping. The eagles rode on the back of the wind and occasionally just let go and fell out of the sky suddenly. Somewhere between non-being and death, a Voice echoed in their minds.

The figures let the thoughts dance in the corners of their minds as they explored all things with equal intensity. Armfuls of branches were thrown high into the air and leaves of wild flowers were exchanged between person and plant. Animals and people chased each other down through the open valley, while others leaped off trees and rolled down through the various bushes.

When they were all alone or all together, dreams would dance in their minds to the rhythm of their Father’s voice. There would be adventures so clear and intense that waking and sleeping were only like night and day. Some people started to imitate animals in their noise and their movements and others made simple rolling grunts in response.

Other things awoke in their minds and that enhanced their desire to explore and experience. When they had seen a new animal or a new mountain, there was a desire to express this to other people. Events became distinguished from experience and there were names to describe these. Harmony was broken.

Then there were many who desired to make things that they dreamed, so that others could see the wonder of their minds. Some wandered beyond the mountains and were not seen of again. There were shapes that seemed to come from the edge of existence and gave people dreams and power that did not bring harmony.

When these dark shadows grew over them, their interaction became functionally fixed and they began to patent what they learned. They saw one, that came as a bright light, who led the others to separate himself as morally superior. They were persuaded to differentiate between things and to assign different values to them.

They did not have to wait as before to make what they dreamed, so they were afraid to abandon their bill of rights. They were told that they had an enemy: the Voice that gave them dreams to dream. They were told not to listen to the first Voice, if they wanted to have what the commercials told them they wanted.

They began to fear the second voice and they no longer got premium service. They had to sacrifice their young kids to be burned alive for the housewarming gifts. The first Voice spoke once more and gave them the freedom of death to part from the dream in which they could not now awake on their own.

Some hearts were divided between the voices and death was feared more and more. People now starved to death because others wanted gourmet food, others suffered with mental illness because of the electromagnetic radiation, and others grew weary from polluted water because some people didn’t have time to recycle. All this was started because they loved life and feared death. Those who embraced death were killed and rested and those who embraced life lived in fear.

A remnant ran as far as the ocean and found that they could not escape from the alien hovercraft.

Walls of stone kept the long hallway cool even in the heat of the day. The stones were being broken into rubble by a soft and wet form that draws life from both the nearer light and the great sea below. The empty air was full of stale sea life.

The hammer pounded faithfully, as the steady hand beats form out of thought. Iron continued to strike iron, until the extra form of the stone figures fell away into great piles of rubble. The chisel carved the figures into pillars of stone, as the clay vessels were washed onto the edge of dry land.

Seven figures were arranged about the inner chamber, and the rock that they were made of was hardened by ten thousand blows of the hammer. Standing low to the ground and with thick limbs and middle, the faces were weathered for many ages of great sorrow and violence.

The great hands cast a mold of a curious metal. Radiant and flexible, light and impenetrable, there were none that could compare. As the figures were fitted with the special coats, a Voice spoke and the hammer fell to the ground with a piercing clatter.

Challenged by the One who made the spoke of time, he who beats the hammer to the anvil gave up that which he could not cause to wander. How would the people of stone become a nation without dreams of freedom? There was room for those whom the world would seldom see for how hard it is to set aside that which the craftsman has made.

By a heart sinking down in shame, the mighty hammer was cast down wildly as the stone people fled for cover. The Voice that made the people flee suffered the stone people to be His adopted children and to share in the wealth of His first children.

The great craftsman accepted even the foreshadow of rivalry as a gift of which he was not worthy. The craftsman now laid his people down to sleep in the heart of the great trees of stone, until the clay vessels would first dream of magic and light.

There was need to share this story with she who made the form that draws life from both the nearer light and the great waters below. Secrets held long make friendship seldom and painful. What does he who beats the anvil in the darkness of the halls of stone, think of that which dances in the symphony of the raging wind and flying streams of water?

Hold thy mind now fast on that dream that brings thought into form. The forest shall be alive with shepherds and not all trees will sleep through their own death. The sky and the great trees of stone shall be filled with those who come and leave as if from nowhere. But the stone people will still need wood.

Businesses often make money not by satisfying genuine needs but by appealing to a person’s emotional insecurities. They create a market for their goods when there isn’t an established market for their good or service. Advertising is the usual medium that is used to create this emotional need. Advertisers convince people that people need to buy their product to be happy, by convincing people that only things that cost money are fun. These are false distinctions that separate luxury from subsistence expenditures and that create inequality and suffering.

This kind of advertising is often common with a corporation because of the abstraction of the stockholders (owners) of the company from the management decisions that the company makes and the lack of the personal responsibility that this arrangement fosters. Most businesses are not corporations, have first hand insights into social justice issues, and often bear more personal responsibility than individuals, but most of the businesses that people are familiar with are the multi-national corporations that dodge personal responsibility and pursue profits blind of the consequences.

Not only is money saved when people use city buses, greyhound buses, and trains instead of cars, taxis, and airplanes; but it also saves time because the routes are organized better and they stop closer to the places where a person can find entertainment with less time spent questioning others and learning by trial and error. Cars cost a tremendous amount of money and some families have found that they save thousands of dollars a year even when they rent a car for vacation as compared to owning one.

Entertainment that costs the most money is where there is the most service rendered and the most personalized attention. Entertainment requires both of these. When you are the one performing rather than being the spectator, you feel greater involvement and personalization and it can cost quite a bit less than consumption-focused entertainment.

A person will always be disappointed when they try to satisfy their own ever increasing desires for pleasure. There really is often more joy in helping others than in consuming for ourselves. It is free to volunteer and it is usually more fun than doing things for yourself because the attitude is more positive in volunteering.

Humor is just an incredible insight that hits at just the right moment in an understandable way. Absurdity is that which is human and defines our unique existence. It is the human that challenges our conception of what is human most that is the most human. When someone just goes and does something without being self-conscious they often have more fun than if they spent time planning it. There is no one to impress unless you are into politics or in high school. Business makes money by having a person engaging in activities that they can control and manipulate. Spontaneousness and absurdity are things that businesses cannot make sense of and those inclinations lead to less consumerism.

When the body is still, then the mind races. When the body is moving, then the mind is still. People spend much of their lives sitting and talking or resting and planning to help alleviate stress and conflict, when just forgetting the whole thing would be much better. Non competitive sports are great for this but the same motion can be derived from spending time with animals or even reflecting on the wind, rain, and racing shadows. Getting where there is fresh air is important for this (for the ears and a sense of space, not for the lungs), so when there is reading of books, spending of time planning, or spending of any money the action becomes too purposeful and the uselessness is lost.

This is one of the reasons why humans experience so much more pain than animals: they have an expectation of what events should be like. This leads to drug use and a compulsive consumption of luxury items. Don’t expect events to unfold like you have been told they should, and don’t look for some set course of events or outcome that will make it a good story.

There can be an eternity in a moment. Camus said that a person only needed to live one day to survive a lifetime in prison. Society is very wasteful not just materially but with memories, time, and thought. When a person is at work, the time seems to last forever, but when they are having fun, it seems to go by so fast. Time cannot be changed but perspective can. It all works out the same for us, because we live our lives in our minds.

There is no one set way of having more fun with less money. The key is understanding your entire ecology and the system that you live in. By working within it, and not against it, you will can learn to escape from the way the world works more with your mind and so you will need to expend less effort with your body.