Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

How to Fix Fukushima: UPDATE (audio)

Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Dennis Watts, Lisa Garr (The Aware Show, Jan. 28, 2016)

Nuclear blasts are nothing to scoff at. They ruin life on various dimensions (doseng.org).

The cheap American-made TEPCO reactors gave way and are polluting the planet.

What Can Be Done About Fukushima?

Interview: Whether we realize it or not, the situation in Japan at the damaged nuclear reactors at Fukushima remains critical. Years later, the radioactive fuel rods that melted and the nuclear material that underwent fission reached staggering temperatures, so hot it burned through the containment vessels and entered the underground water table and Pacific Ocean basin. It sounds dire even hopeless, but Watts is laying out a plan for containment and remediation. [Researcher and mycologist Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti (fungi.com) has begun remediation and successful de-contamination efforts with mushrooms!] Hear more from Watts at 2016 Los Angeles The Conscious Life Expo, which runs froom Feb. 19-21 at the LAX Hilton (consciouslifeexpo.com).

U.S. unleashed HAARP to show Japan that it had to obey American dictates. Fukushima was the consequence. Mannequin arm reaches out (David Guttenfelder/AP).

BIO: Dennis Watts is a consultant and advisor for Clear Water Vision and Nexxus Environmental Corporation.

He is on the board of advisors for the Blue Planet Groupe, which markets nano-microbes and extremophiles used for environmental remediation.

And he is the founder and president of Rejuv-A-Nation Research & Development. Watts has engineering degrees from Howard University and University of the District of Columbia. He has been working as a Master Systems Engineer Scientist for various Aerospace and Engineering Corporation for 25 plus years. He has a strong focus on remediation of the Fukushima disaster, which you can read more about at wtsenates.info. More + AUDIO (Other episodes)

Watch: Bernie Sanders Says Iowa is Beginning of a "Political Revolution"

Watch the full speech by Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa on Monday night after the Iowa caucus ended in a virtual tie.

Feb 02, 2016
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Watch: Hillary Clinton Touts Progressive Record in Speech After Iowa Caucus

The Iowa caucus ended in a virtual tie between Hillary Clinton and rival Sen. Bernie Sanders. Watch the full speech Clinton gave after the election results came in.

Feb 01, 2016
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Iowa Progressives Weigh Clinton vs Sanders as One of Whitest U.S. States Kicks Off Presidential Race

Bernie Sanders Says No to Fracked Oil Pipeline in Iowa, Will It Help Him in Today’s Caucus?

From Taverns to Grain Elevators: How Iowa’s Complex Caucus System Works

Headlines

Gun Control "A Profound Day": Mother of Teen Who Was Shot Dead over Loud Music Praises Obama's Action on Guns

When President Obama spoke about gun control on Tuesday, he was surrounded by family members of people... Jan 06, 2016 | Story
Gun Owners of America vs. American Constitution Society: A Debate on Obama's Gun Executive Orders

As President Obama announces plans to use executive actions to strengthen gun control regulations, we... Jan 06, 2016 | Story More

2016 Election Watch: Bernie Sanders Says Iowa is Beginning of a "Political Revolution"

Watch the full speech by Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa on Monday night after the Iowa caucus ended in...Feb 02, 2016 | Web Exclusive

Iowa Caucuses: Bernie Sanders Rallies to Tie Hillary Clinton; Ted Cruz Upsets Donald Trump

The Iowa caucuses saw an upset victory for Republican Senator Ted Cruz over front-runner Donald Trump... Feb 02, 2016 | Story More Next Web Exclusives

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Columns

TRAPping Access to Safe, Legal Abortions
Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan
A grand jury has charged two video producers who tried to take down Planned Parenthood with a false exposé. Another filmmaker, however, premiers a documentary that accurately depicts the threat to women’s reproductive rights. Listen

How Mushrooms can Save the World (video)

Paul Stamets (fungi.com/bioneers.org); Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly

Paul Stamets' full presentation showing how mushrooms can help us heal ourselves and bio-remediate the entire planetary ecosystem, from UPLIFT 2012 in Byron Bay.

According to the Doctrine of Signatures, nature gives indications of what will heal what. Do mushroom clouds suggest that mushrooms can clean up the damage? This is the US's first post WW II nuclear test, Operation Crossroads, Marshall Islands (themysteryworld.com).

Paul Stamets describes a series of epiphanies on how to shape our world with fungi in ways that are sustainable and regenerative, resourceful and fun.

He shares his patented application of mycelium (mushroom roots) as an alternative to synthetic pesticides;
his regenerative "life boxes" that serve as shipping materials until water and soil are added;
and his newest invention -- mushroom cultivation centers that convert fungal sugars into ethanol, while providing resources for enriching soil, growing food, and metabolizing pollution in the environment that encourages community participation.

Mushrooms will never look the same after this presentation. This speech was presented at the 2006 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Ecological Design, Vol. 2 and Protecting and Restoring Nature, Vol. 1. Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a fertile hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges.

To experience talks like this, please join us at the Bioneers National Conference each October and regional Bioneers Resilient Community Network gatherings held nationwide throughout the year. For more information on Bioneers, visit bioneers.org and stay in touch via facebook.com/Bioneers.org and twitter.com/bioneers.

Paul Stamets saves the world with Fungi Perfecti products (fungi.com)

Monday, February 1, 2016

Start of Celtic Spring: St. Brigid's Day (Ireland)

Maireid Sullivan (irishcentral.com); Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Tara-Lia Fail, Ireland, save the lingam phallus henge stone (celticartscenter.com)

The Feast of Brigid celebrates the arrival of longer, warmer days of spring (Wikicommons).

36 million Irish-Americans in 2013

Imbolc, also known as the Feast of Brigid, celebrates the arrival of longer, warmer days and the early signs of spring on February 1.

It is one of the four major "fire" festivals (quarter days), referred to in Irish mythology from medieval Irish texts. The other three festivals on the old Irish calendar are Beltane, Lughnasadh, and Samhain (Halloween).

The word Imbolc literally means "in the belly" in the old Irish Neolithic language, referring to the pregnancy of ewes.

In ancient Irish mythology, Brigid was a fire goddess. Nowadays, her canonization is celebrated with a perpetual flame at her shrine in Kildare.

PHOTOS: Travel Ireland in footsteps of Irish saints

Goddess Danu and the wee people (AD)

St. Brigid represents the Irish aspect of divine femininity in her role as patron of babies, blacksmiths, boatmen, cattle farmers, children whose parents are not married, children whose mothers are mistreated by the children's fathers, Clan Douglas, dairymaids, dairy workers, fugitives, Ireland, Leinster, mariners, midwives, milkmaids, nuns, poets, the poor, poultry farmers, poultry raisers, printing presses, sailors, scholars, travelers, and watermen. Here’s a busy saint!

One folk tradition that continues in some homes on St. Brigid's Day is that of the Brigid's Bed.

The girls and young unmarried women of the household or village create a corn dolly to represent Brigid, called the Brideog ("little Brigid" or "young Brigid"), adorning it with ribbons and baubles like shells or stones. They make a bed for the Brideog to lie in.

Irish swimwear in flag colors

On St. Brigid's Eve (Jan. 31), the girls and young women gather together in one house to stay up all night with the Brideog and are later visited by all the young men of the community, who must ask permission to enter the home and then treat them and the corn dolly with respect.

Brigid is said to walk the earth on Imbolc Eve. Before going to bed, each member of the household may leave a piece of clothing or strip of cloth outside for Brigid to bless. The head of the household will smother (or "smoor") the fire and rake the ashes smooth.

In the morning, they look for some kind of mark on the ashes, a sign that Brigid has passed that way in the night or morning. The clothes or strips of cloth are brought inside, and believed to now have powers of healing and protection.

If traveling to Ireland from the USA, it might cost only $549.00 on Aer Lingus.

On the following day, the girls carry the Brideog through the village or neighborhood, from house to house, where this representation of the saint/goddess is welcomed with great honor.

Adult women -- those who are married or who run a household -- stay home to welcome the Brigid procession, perhaps with an offering of coins or a snack. Since Brigid represents the light half of the year, and the power that will bring people from the dark season of winter into spring, her presence is very important at this time of year.

Neopagans of diverse traditions observe this holiday in a variety of ways. More

How the CIA deliberately misleads its employees, spreading false information with internal memos (Daily Mail)

Inside the Company (Agee)

The CIA uses a tiered memo system to hide its activities among its own staff. Known as "eyewash," with it bosses pass on misinformation in an initial memo. They then send a second memo to a select few with the correct information. It was discovered by a Senate probe and described in a classified report. (Feb. 1, 2016) The CIA misleads its own staff by sending its employees false memos that deliberately mask details about killings, drone strikes, and other clandestine activities, it is claimed. The practice begins when a regular internal memo is distributed to wider groups of staff containing false advice about operations or agency sources. A second memo is then sent to a much smaller, select group, explicitly telling them to disregard the previous instructions and passing on the real information.

What Makes Someone a Christian?

Sex, Fire, Harvest: Pagan Holidays

9 Brilliant Pilgrimage

16 Facts About Pope Francis

Bernie Sanders shatters Hillary in Iowa!

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly; DemocracyNow.org, Feb. 2, 2016; DailyMail.com

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and his wife Jane acknowledge the crowd as he arrives for his caucus night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 2, 2016 (AP). Iowa Caucuses: Bernie Sanders humiliates Clinton; Ted Cruz upsets Donald Trump

Victory for Sanders (AP)

America hates inveterate liar, war hawk, and establishment politician Hillary Clinton.

Iowa and New Hampshire love anti-establishment candidate Bernie Sanders. With all her Super PAC money, billionaire supporters, and secret backroom deals, Clinton failed to pull off a convincing win.

Coming from far behind, Sanders proves he is resonating with average Americans, youth hungry for change, and everyone tired of business-as-usual in Washington.

But I'm not a loser!

Even racist, sexist, arrogant Trump would be better than most of these hypocritical candidates on both sides of the same party, the right wing RepubloCrats.

We need change, change we were promised by sell-out Obama. Is Bernie that change? More (plus Trump loses to Cruz)

The Bernie Revolution!
Francesca Chambers, Daily Mail White House Correspondent, Des Moines, Feb. 2, 2016

Youthful fans gather around game-changing candidate Bernie Sanders (AP).

Hillary brazenly proclaims victory in Iowa and says it was "a big relief" -- only for Sanders to say minutes later "it's a tie."
The former first lady took the stage at her victory party and said, "As I stand here tonight, breathing a big sigh of relief -- thank you, Iowa!" Clinton was leading Sanders by less than one percent when she gave the rousing speech; a half hour later he called it a "virtual tie."
He later called it a "victory" for his revolution in an email to supporters.
The race was still too close to call at midnight local time. More

Sen. Sanders bucks trends and speaks a language we can believe in (berniesanders.com)

Andrew D. Basiago for president -- to replace government secrecy with truth.

There really were GIANTS on Earth (video)

Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Tichka (video)

Close up of demon (yakkha) face, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand (Vinayak Hedge)

Shocking Documentary: Forbidden Archeology of the Ancient Giants (Asuras) all over the world

Giants today (thewebtrover)

Secrets of human and extraterrestrial giants (Titans, Asuras, Nephilim, aliens, ancient Annunaki) are revealed from Sumerian Mesopotamia to our own country.

This documentary analyzes the strange fact that there were giants all over the earth -- judging from the fact that enormous skeletons have been unearthed and sacred scriptures document their existence and activities. We call it myth, say it is merely fairy tales, ridiculous on its face.

600 lb Sumo wrestler, US (playboy.com)

Yet, we find traces of their existence all over in Meso and South America among the Mayans and Incas. And there were red-headed giants with six fingers in North America, what is now the USA.

There were races of antediluvian giants who lived on earth with a great deal of forbidden archeology, unexplained massive stone structures built of giant stone blocks too large for ordinary humans to have worked with.

Some mistook giants for "gods," space invaders. Others were content to mention them in stories or represent them pictorially. According to Greek and Roman sources, giants came from a rain of ashes.

American expert on giants, Stephen Quayle

Giant, asura, temple guardian, Macau, Hong Kong (Evs in Nz/Evans_Pa/flickr.com)

(To Be Seen) Here and Now: Ten Dharma Talks

Sister Ayya Khema (accesstoinsight.org)

The first pair that has to be balanced is confidence (faith) and wisdom (understanding).

There is an analogy the Buddha gave for these two qualities. He compared confidence to a blind giant who meets up with a small, very sharp-eyed cripple, called Wisdom.

The blind giant, named Faith, says to the small, sharp-eyed cripple named Wisdom:

"I'm strong and can go very fast, but I can't see where I'm going. You're small and weak, but have sharp eyes. If you will ride on my shoulders, together we could go very far."

This tells us that faith without wisdom, while being a strong faculty, is yet unable to find the right direction. We say, "faith can move mountains," but being blind, faith doesn't know which mountain needs moving.

However, coupled with wisdom, there is enormous potential. The reason for such strength, is that heart and mind are brought into harmony. The mind can have wisdom and the heart can have faith. When heart and mind are brought to a point of co-existence, of non-separation, the power that develops is exponentially greater than just 10 + 10 = 20. It is like 10 to the power of 10.

Faith as a quality in the heart has such great value because it is connected with love. We can only have faith in something or someone we love. Faith is also connected to devotion, which is a giving of oneself and a lessening of pride.

These are valuable and necessary spiritual qualities. If we are devoted to a high ideal such as Buddha-Dharma-Sangha, then we have the understanding that there is something greater than ourselves.

The devotion we can have for that ideal is manifested in giving our love and admiration, respect, and gratitude, which are very important and helpful qualities to develop.

But the Buddha taught that blind faith is useless. Blind faith means that one believes what one is told without personal investigation, that one has faith in something that one's family adheres to, or because it has been written down in special books, because it has been transmitted from teacher to disciple, because it is something that one likes anyway, that promises some mystical revelation, or because the teacher is a respected person.

These are not reasons to follow a spiritual path. Do not believe because somebody told you! But if there is some wisdom in the mind, and without it life would be quite unbearable, we can quite easily investigate whether our faith and devotion are justified. More

Black History Month begins (Malcolm X video)

Seth Auberon, Crystal Quintero, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Spowertube (video); WHD

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

(Malcolm X) "Who Taught You to Hate Yourself?" speech delivered in Los Angeles May 5, 1962

Civil rights leader Malcolm X, London , July 9, 1964 (worldlifestyle.com/Alex Cole)

"World Hijab Day" (worldhijabday.com) celebrates fearless religious freedom!

Was the Buddha black?
(No, but Jesus was a dark African according to Bible)
Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Aha! He looks black, and he certainly was depicted that way sometimes. One of his chief male disciples was indeed very dark, a Dravidian Brahmin named Great Moggallana. But...

Bactria was Hellenized Shakya Land.

The Buddha was from a land now almost exclusively Muslim, the war-torn country oppressed by the American military-industrial complex, Afghanistan (once Scythia, Shakya-Land, with one of its seasonal capitals at Kapilavastu, possibly modern Bamiyan).

Europeans made me "white."

The texts, particularly those in which the Buddha describes how karma resulted in every aspect of his body (the lakkhana or "marks of a great person"), indicate that the Buddha (the former Prince Siddhartha Gautama of the Shakya Clan) was gold. See more at Feb. 3, 2016 post.