What's wrong with the weather? El Nino

(USA WEATHER REpORT) Super El Nino just took shocking turn: California could be in trouble!

What if I'm missing my life purpose, failing?

(The Awakening to Reality) Edgar Cayce: What happens to souls who fail their earth mission?

Been reborn on planet Earth? Don't know if you're "failing" to fulfill the purpose you set out before coming here? Living with purpose, passion, and profits?

• EdgarCayce.org
• A day at A.R.E. (Cayce's Association for Research on Enlightenment) Relax, Rejuvenate, and Rediscover: Meditation, spa, cafe, yoga, bookstore, lectures, and more Day at A.R.E.

Who was this Edgar Cayce guy?

(Brian Garrett) Edgar Cayce 2012 biography (documentary)

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?

Pastor preaches purpose

Pastor Rick Warren has 4.8 out of 5 stars (with 17,746 reviews) for this New York Times #1 bestselling book by that claims to help readers understand and live out the "purpose" of their life.

See, according to the pastor, before we were born, God [Karma?] already planned our life. God longs for us to discover the life he uniquely created us to live -- here on Earth and forever in the hereafter of eternity [the anionic or timeless reality behind time].

Let The Purpose Driven Life show the way. As one of the bestselling nonfiction books in history, with more than 35 million copies sold, it is far more than just a book; it's the road map for a spiritual journey, a journey that will transform life.

Designed to be read in 42 days, each chapter provides a daily meditation and practical steps to help discover and live out a unique purpose, starting with exploring three of life's most pressing questions:

1. The Question of Existence: Why am I alive?
2. The Question of Significance: Does my life matter?
3. The Question of Purpose: What on earth am I here for?

The book also includes links to 3-minute video introductions and a 30- to 40-minute audio Protestant Christian Bible study message for each chapter plus questions for further study and additional resources. More

Iran/Persia at the time of the Buddha

(Arthur Revives the Past)

• Non-Jonesian Indology and Alexander (by Dr. Ranajit Pal) brings out the real history of India, the real location of Kapilavastu (the Buddha's hometown in ancient Gandhara/modern Afghanistan, not Nepal), shedding light on the real motives of Alexander the Great, Darius the Great, and Cyrus the Great's Gedrosian campaign, an enlightening historical study.

Truth hurts: (Earth to Rosita) The former Shah of Iran on Jews (1976)

• Who were the Sakas (Scythians, Shakyians)? The Scythians or Scyths, also known as the Pontic Scythians [1, 2] were an ancient Eastern Iranic (Aryan) equestrian nomadic people (the Indo-Sakas, the Indo-Scythian Kingdom, near Maha Bharata, the future Empire of Greater India, being the Buddha's extended family) who migrated east to Bihar and later, during the 9th to 8th centuries BC from, Central Asia to the Pontic Steppe in modern-day Ukraine and Southern Russia, where they remained until the 3rd century BC....
• Massagetae (Saka)
• Nanda Empire
• Iran's Zoroastrian Nowruz dedicated to Ahura Mazda

Iran at the time of Trump-Epstein

(Carly P Reilly)

Jewish Lex Wexner (Jeffrey Epstein's main funder) buying up Ohio

(The Jimmy Dore Show) Whitney Webb (Unlimited Hangout)

Proof: Language came before civilization

(Michael Button) Someone was writing long before civilization

Trump, Epstein, Maxwell's victims speak out

(CNN) Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell victims speak out about horrifying child sexual abuse (molestation, rape, exploitation) and sex trafficking on the steps of Capitol in Washington, D.C. (Forbes Breaking News) Where is British royal Prince Andrew after Virginia Thomas-Giuffre was [cancelled out]? Who is funding this massive cover up?

• 'We know their names': Epstein and Maxwell survivors call for all files to be released | ITV News

The women accusing Trump of assault are speaking out (VICE News) Oct. 28, 2020: 26 women [and counting] have accused [blackmailed predator] Donald Trump of sexual misconduct. VICE News' Isobel Yeung has spoken to several of these women, and they’ve agreed to share their stories with VICE.

Queen of England: Israelis were terrorists

(Kim Iversen) Zionist Jews began terrorist campaign long ago

Will MTG denounce sex criminal Trump?

(KUTV 2 Salt Lake City) Marjorie Taylor Green will out Trump?

We choose our suffering (Edgar Cayce)

The struggle to meditate sucks. Being there, ah!

Edgar Cayce (A.R.E. or Association for Research and Enlightenment) conducted trance-channel readings that revealed a great deal more than he the man could have known. The council or collective that came through brought forth much understanding.

Our suffering is not necessarily accidental. While bad, offensive, and sometimes insufferable, there is something that could be learned if we would view it that way.

The Aggregates that experience are dukkha.

What is "suffering"? The Buddha often spoke of it long before Cayce, so it might be good to ask him, as this is a very misunderstood term. The ancient term is dukkha, "disappointment," "unsatisfactoriness," the range of the unpleasant between annoyance and agony. The Buddha defined suffering this way:

An Exploration of Anicca, Anatta, and Dukkha in Buddhism – Indo-Buddhist Heritage Forum

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Suffering is much more than one thing.

"Rebirth is suffering, aging is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; contact with what is disliked is suffering; separation from what is liked is suffering; not getting what one wants is suffering. In short, the Five Aggregates clung to as self are suffering [unsatisfactory, disappointing, unable to fulfill, associated with pain]" (SN 56.11).

• Hey, why talk about it? Why doesn't the B shut up already? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we suffer. Got it. That's clear enough. We're doing everything we can to AVOID it. So the less we talk about it, the better we'll feel. Duh! Become a hedonist. And shut yer yapper, O Great One.

Sadly, this view has been prevalent since before the time of the Buddha, so when the Buddha, the Awakened One, bothered to mention this ugly word, dukkha ("suffering"), were people or devas happy to hear it? No way. That's the last thing they wanted to hear about.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering's optional.

This is where the misunderstanding begins, and it could end here if hearers would just put away their aversion and LISTEN. A doctor comes in with the results of your scan and examination. Want to hear what's wrong? No way, just get right to the cure! Let's only talk about perfect health. What's it going to take? It's going to take all that? Forget it. I'll keep my illness. Why, I never... It's only when we see how bad and big the problem is that we adopt the right view about it and are open to the cure.

Hacking of the American Mind

The Buddha would have had a much nicer time to only speak positively and in an "airy fairy" sort of way, doling out magic, bliss, sprinkles, blessings, smiles, good cheer, good news, and the energy of a modern motivational speaker. He could have just told everyone who came to him in pain, confused, or ignorant, "That's right, you're doing great, attaboy, right on, keep it up!" They would have been so happy to hear it. But because he understood and was willing to show us the awful truth, he came to be called the Master Physician. He never met a kind of pain he couldn't cure. The first step? Recognition. Second step? Cause or diagnosis. Third step? Assessment or prognosis. Fourth step? (This is the best one!) The cure, solution, course of treatment, the way to fix what's broken as described in the first step.

"Suffering"?

I can take it because I'm a bodhisattva. Ouch!!!

No single English word captures the range, depth, and subtlety of the ancient Pali and Sanskrit term dukkha. Many translations try ("disappointment," "suffering," "unsatisfactoriness," "stress," etc.) Each captures part of the meaning in a given context. There is value in realizing more than one term is needed because the thrust of Buddhist practice is broadening and deepening the understanding of a term so important to the Buddha that he often claimed to only teach two things -- what is dukkha and what is the elimination of dukkha. Until its roots are finally exposed and eradicated, we will not understand why he focused almost as much on the problem as its solution. When landing on the single best English translation, think again. No matter how we translate dukkha, it's always subtler, deeper, and less satisfactory than that.

• Samatha Meditation - Everything You Need To Know

The Number 1 misconception tech founders have – that it has to hurt (Renita Kalhorn)

• Beth Upton on sustained attention; Edgar Cayce (video); TEXT: Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

JFK assassination finally solved?

(Facts Verse) Feb. 18, 2025: U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy’s assassination remains one of the most pivotal and controversial moments in American history.

On November 22, 1963, Pres. Kennedy was set up and ambushed, fatally shot through the head by multiple shooters, while riding in an open-top [four-seat] limousine through Dallas, Texas [that has now become a six-seater].

(CNN) "We name names": Rob Reiner discusses his JFK podcast

Director Rob Reiner has proof four men killed JFK | NewsNation Prime

(Annie Hall) Woody Allen on conspiracy theory avoiding sex with wife

The nation was left in shock as news of the tragic event spread quickly, and questions about the circumstances surrounding Kennedy's death began to emerge immediately. The official inquiry, led by the corrupt Warren Commission, concluded that [CIA asset] Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, yet doubts about this narrative have persisted over time.

▬CONTENTS OF THIS VIDEO▬

• 00:00 - Intro
• 00:51 - The Legacy of an Unsolved Tragedy
• 02:03 - The Contribution of Paul Landis
• 03:46 - Controversial Claims: Gary Fannin and the LBJ Theory
• 06:32 - A Multifaceted Debate with No Final Answer
• 08:19 - Outro

Product: Facts Verse earns commission on tagged products. Learn more about the JFK assassination from a paperback by author James DiEugenio ($18.99) from barnesandnoble.com

• Details We Only Learned Years After JFK's Assassination; Facts Verse, Feb. 18, 2025; Director Rob Reiner, NewsNation Prime; Woody Allen and Carol Kane (Annie Hall); Pfc. Sandoval, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Los Angeles Fires: Ways to Help

Jane Velez Mitchell UnchainedTV (vegan activists were deeply impacted by LA fires)

Wildfire Information and Resources

They've been reduced to living like cavepeople

The City of Los Angeles continues to respond to the impacts from the Palisades Fire, which burned more than 23,000 acres and displaced tens of thousands of Angelenos, the Eaton Fire, which destroyed more than 10,000 structures and cars, the Hurst Fire, and others. While certain evacuation orders remain in effect, the Unified Command has authorized limited re-entry for residents in all areas. The City is leading a comprehensive recovery plan to rebuild homes, businesses, and communities. Up-to-date information and resources are available here for those impacted by this emergency. More: lacity.gov

Peace is a choice for evolution (1/29)

PEACE CLASS with Mandy Kahn

Friends, Peace Class meets tonight (Wednesday). To join us, simply click on this Zoom link at 6:00 pm (Pacific Time) on Jan. 29th:

• Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/84439689810?pwd=SVo2a3hsRVA1RWY5UW42YW1SaGJhdz09
• Passcode: 495948
• Meeting ID: 844 3968 9810

Feel free to share this link with friends and fellow humans. ALL are welcome. At last week's class, we talked about THE LAW OF PEACE-BY-CHOICE.

THE LAW OF PEACE-BY-CHOICE

Mindfulness Yoga at PRS: Meditating w/ Chaos & Uncertainty, multiple dates (Eventbrite)

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Peace, Love, and Happiness versus? Your choice.

Sooner or later, all beings choose to live in a way that is peaceful, one that honors all beings. Peace-by-choice is the direction of all spiritual evolution. Choosing is not enforced; there is no need to enforce it.

A peaceful way of being is always ultimately chosen. There is no expected timeline for choosing to live in a peaceful and loving way. There is simply a natural law that all will choose to live this way eventually. Notice that it was not said that all must choose to live this way. No one ever has to choose it.

What's so great about sustainable practices?

But time is unending. In all that time-without-end, eventually everyone does choose it. We'll call this the Law of Peace-by-Choice. Think of it as a natural law, a bit like gravity. Gravity is not enforced; it simply exists. Peace-by-choice is not enforced — it is simply a path that all will eventually walk. [Could there be war without end? That would me unmanageable, untenable, and ultimately unsustainable, whereas peace is sustainable].

There is no external expectation regarding how quickly peace is chosen, and there is no time limit. Some may spend many lifetimes exploring other choices before choosing a peaceful way of being. And others may choose a peaceful expression right away. It is up to every being to choose how quickly that being wants to evolve.

Peace-by-choice is always the forward direction of evolution. Here's an analogy that helps explain how this law functions: Imagine a person lives in a hotel and that, at every meal, she may choose to eat whatever she likes from a large and varied buffet. Among the many options available is a cookie that we'll call the Peace Cookie. This person has complete free will to eat or not eat that cookie. There are many other desserts to choose from — war cakes and cruelty pies, massacre meringues and mass bombing mousses, and of course smart-Alec tarts.

The great clock in the sky says time's passing.

Perhaps this person might go an entire lifetime without trying this one delicious cookie, given there are so many other options to explore. But to understand how the law of peace-by-choice works, one must come to understand the endlessness of time (going on for aeons as explained by the Buddha).

If that person does not choose the cookie of peace during her first lifetime, she will be reborn again and will again have absolute free will to choose whatever she'd like from the buffet. And if she doesn't choose peace during her second lifetime, there will be a third and so on ad nauseum.

This process can go on as long as the chooser likes [that is, until she does something about it to bring all suffering to an end and gain nirvana]. Eventually, that cookie will be chosen. It might take thousands of lifetimes to choose it, or it might be chosen quickly.

It's not that it must be chosen but rather that, eventually, it always is chosen. Why? Eventually, everything else is unsustainable. Eventually, that person becomes curious about that cookie. At some point, all other options will have been tried. At some point, that cookie will become the most appealing option. Then it will be chosen.

And only when the cookie of peace has been eaten will the person realize that it is unlike every other food available at the buffet. It's not just a food — but a doorway to a new kind of experience. It's a doorway out of this dingy hotel for good. There is never any external pressure to try that cookie. It is simply always made available. There may even be obstacles to it. It is the free will of every person to choose it or not to choose it at any given moment. Free will is always honored by the universe.

• THE PHILOSOPHICAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
• EVENTS at The Philosophical Research Society
• The Zen of Alan & Elda: The Films of Alan Watts & Elda Hartley
• A Historic Trip: Altered States at Esalen (An Illustrated Lecture) Tickets, Wed, Jan 29, 2025, at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

And the law of peace-by-choice functions everywhere in the universe. All beings, wherever they reappear and whenever they are reborn, are subject to this law.

This law is how we evolve. There is a gravity-like pull that draws us towards choosing peace, but there is also a spirit around us that respects our timing and honors our free will. This law applies to us, and it applies to our neighbors. No matter how our neighbors might act, they are evolving towards their own peacefulness.

They might be evolving by not choosing peace yet. They might be evolving by eating a massacre meringue, or by shoveling slices of war cake right down others' throats. They might be evolving by appearing to do whatever seems to be the furthest thing from expressing peacefulness that they can find to do. Our neighbors might choose to furiously sample everything at that buffet, life after life, until they tire themselves out, until they discover for themselves how it feels to choose what isn't peace.

We might look at our neighbors and think, "No people could be further from peacefulness." However, there isn't anyone who isn't evolving towards choosing peacefulness at their own pace at all times. We do not need to regulate our neighbor's peace-choosing process because it is already regulated by natural law.

All-that-is has already determined that our neighbors will choose peace eventually. Knowing that, we can feel free to focus on our own evolution. Our neighbor's pace is our neighbors' choice to make. The opportunity we were reborn to have is the opportunity of the self. The question we came here to consider is this one: How quickly do I choose to evolve?

• PEACE CLASS with Mandy Kahn (Eventbrite)
• Mandy Kahn, Philosophical Research Society (prs.org), Hollywood, Jan. 29, 2025; edited by Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly Lunar New Year's Day

Scariest thing about Los Angeles Fire

The scariest thing about the Los Angeles fire

LOS ANGELES FIRES TOWN HALL - Featured - UnchainedTV

• News from Altadena: Vegan activists affected by fires with Jane Velez-Mitchell on Unchained:
• Home - UnchainedTV
• Jane Velez Mitchell - UnchainedTV
• Jane Velez-Mitchell (TV program)

Jon Stewart calls out GOP disaster relief hypocrisy, Jordan Klepper on TikTok

Hiding India/Egypt Grand Canyon artifacts

Hindus [and Buddhists] in ancient America? Shocking discoveries in Grand Canyon

(Harry Sahota) July 23, 2024: Are Native Americans of Indian origin? If not, why is the American government scared to reveal the discovery of an underground city and advanced civilization in the Grand Canyon?

The Canyon's Egyptian names are just for fun

Episode 6, the "Lost Cities of the Ancient World," uncovers the incredible story of the Smithsonian's G.E. Kincaid and his mysterious find in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.

In 1909, G.E. Kincaid, an explorer working for the Smithsonian Museum, set out on a final expedition to explore the Grand Canyon.

After arriving and speaking with locals, he learned of hidden mysteries, treasures, and an underground city said to be full of Egyptian hieroglyphs and East Indian statues (the Buddha).

Steve Quayle (gensix.com)

With rumors abounding that the U.S. government would soon restrict access to this entire area, Kincaid seized this last opportunity to investigate.

While navigating the Colorado River, Kincaid discovered strange sedimentary rocks and a hidden cave entrance high up from the shore. Entering, he found carved markings on the walls, indicating previous human habitation.

As he ventured deeper, he encountered passageways leading in various directions, with walls adorned with what seemed to be ancient language symbols.

Local tribes had mentioned a secret underground city, said to have been discovered by their ancestors. Fascinated, Kincaid continued exploring, finding over 100 rooms containing copper and clay utensils and weapons. Among the artifacts, he discovered a Buddha statue sitting cross-legged, holding a lotus or lily flower.

Realizing the enormity of his find, Kincaid sent artifacts and a letter to the Smithsonian Museum. The museum quickly dispatched Professor S.A. Jordan and a team of experts.

Jordan's team found evidence of a sophisticated society, including kitchen areas, large granaries, and dining rooms. They estimated that around 500 people once lived there.

As they delved more deeply, they found a cavernous hall full mummies, all male, possibly warriors. The resemblance of some artifacts to those of ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations baffled the team.

Despite their efforts, their research remained incomplete due to dangerous areas within the cave.

Written records not good enough

News of the discovery leaked, leading to a lengthy article being published in the Arizona Gazette. The American government swiftly intervened, halting research, sealing off the area, and making it a restricted zone, which it remains.

Kincaid and Jordan were mysteriously disappeared, and the Smithsonian Museum denied any records of their existence or expeditions. This contradicted the local newspaper reports and local claims about the Smithsonian confiscating giant's skeleton found at the site.

In 2009, the Smithsonian dismissed the Arizona Gazette's article as make believe, but many believe the government is hiding something.

The area remains under restriction with no exploration allowed (as is the case with the majority of the Grand Canyon that requires permits to visit that are never granted, with debates and theories about the true nature of Kincaid's discovery continuing to this day.

What do you think about this story? Is it a fabrication, or is there something the U.S. government is hiding? Share comments.

Keywords: Grand Canyon, G.E. Kincaid, Smithsonian Museum, hidden cave, ancient civilization, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Indian statues, underground city, American government, Arizona Gazette, Professor S.A. Jordan, ancient mysteries, Lost Cities of the Ancient World, ancient history, conspiracy theories, ancient artifacts, mummies, restricted area, archaeological discovery, ancient languages, hidden treasures.

Ancient Alien Library under Sphinx (video)

Edgar Cayce long ago said a Hall of Akashic Records from Atlantis is under the right paw

The enigmatic 'Ancient Alien Library' concealed beneath the Great Sphinx

The legendary Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt holds the potential to unlock the mysterious "Hall of Treasures of Knowledge" that America's sleeping psychic Edgar Cayce talked about, according to some researchers who speculate that this hidden chamber could contain ancient documents from the lost City of Atlantis.

Edgar Cayce (now reborn as David Wilcock) in his study where the readings were given

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The Daily Star reports on the belief among certain individuals that there exists an "alien library" beneath the structure of the Sphinx, believed to hold knowledge left behind by extraterrestrial beings.

While the Great Sphinx has long fascinated tourists to Egypt (Kemet/North Africa) worldwide, it may harbor a vast hidden library deep underground. Tombs are said to be located there, although they may have been destroyed by floods over the centuries.

True secrets beneath the Great Sphinx

Edgar Cayce left two legacies, tens of thousands of written readings and the A.R.E. in VA

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This raises questions about the existence of an advanced society or the involvement of extraterrestrials in the creation of this enigmatic library.

Nub TV's Mark Christopher Lee suggests that further exploration and research into UFO phenomena may shed light on the true secrets hidden beneath the Great Sphinx.

The existence of the controversial "Hall of Knowledge Treasures" remains a topic of ongoing debate.

Nevertheless, there is a significant number of believers who argue that this supposed hall served as a repository for the history of the survivors of Atlantis.

Approximately a century ago, researcher and clairvoyant Edgar Cayce first proposed the notion of Atlantis' involvement in the construction of the Sphinx. More

• By Walla!, The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com); Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Deep Dive Poetry (What Happened?)

WHAT HAPPENED?

The consummate wisdom teacher of the ages

We convened, a full house, in two rooms of Manly P. Hall's dream vision come to life -- a treasure store open to the public, the Philosophical Research Society's library, housing the combined wisdom of the ages and all the religions of the world. Even works on northern Native Americans next to an image of Japan's beloved Indian sage Bodhidharma are included, after passing an exquisite bronze walking Buddha at the entrance.

Candidate Dr. Cornel West

Seated in the second row was presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West because his Iranian-Persian wife, Annahita Mahdavi West, was scheduled to read from her book Dusty Relics (Marymount Institute Press).

There was another event in the auditorium, and the gift shop was open for buying books and other items. The main court is a lovely place to think under moonlit skies just yards from Griffith Park. PRS has a prime location on Los Feliz ("The Contented") Boulevard. The library was filled and opened to the public because its founder, Hall, wanted the people of the world to have a place for their "intuitive perusal" of its volumes on all the wisdom traditions of the world. The world may not use it, but Angelenos can. (I used to drive by ever since I learned to drive and wonder what the place could be, a giant think tank where a society of philosophers gathered to research ideas and occult secrets, mysteries, and paths to enlightenment. No one ever said it was open to the public before Mandy Kahn began her residency there. Even Lisa Garr (The Aware Show KPFK, Coast to Coast AM iheart.com, Gaia TV, Hey House Publishers), when she invited me to learn animal communication with a gifted psychic and author, didn't say, "Oh, yeah, come back for the library and to hang around philosophizing. I had probably outgrown that phase by then.

Mandy Kahn took to the podium, thanked the capacity crowd (after having thanked Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal and the various Dharma Buddhist Meditation Meetups around the county for helping fill the seats).

Kate Bonnici | Pepperdine | Seaver College

She welcomed award winning Pepperdine University Prof. of English Kate Bolton Bonnici Esq., who read her poetic take on ancient accounts of women, the "witches of Essex," from pamphlets written in the 1600s now made available in digitized form. These were written by men in an age when women had nearly no voice, no means of expressing themselves other than through biased men whose biased accounts fill these early tabloids. Is it any wonder we suffered the Salem witch trials? Such atrocities had been happening in Christian England for centuries. She put the finishing touch on her dramatic reading, or what seemed like a dramatic reading because the lights were turned down, and the lamp on the podium shot up to give the flashlight-under-the-face next to a roaring campfire effect when its ghost story time: the historical figure Elizabeth Francis was an accused witch with a cat (a familiar) who could grant wishes. What men and society would not grant a gal, she had to gather herself from midwives and wise and cunning women who stood as allies against an old patriarchy. Good thing we do not have such problems nowadays, now that the Academy has recognized Barbie as the greatest film of our time and Greta Gerwig as the... What, Oppy won? Hmm. Female poetry is needed more than ever. Prof. Bonnici continued with Scottish fairy beliefs in a piece that referenced Sir Thomas Moore's Utopia then the British witch trial of Elizabeth Southerns when a woman might "bleed out" her problems, though she died of old age in a castle in custody before her trial ever began. The reading was topped off with a firsthand account of a grandmother trying to learn the computer. One can guess how that turned out.

Another introduction, another professor. He was meditative reading a book-length piece that talked about Reno as was quickly off the stage, a marvelous albeit staid voice that surprisingly used the f-word a bit much. Everyone else kept it clean (until for the headliner's closing piece, phallic cucumbers and honeymoon activities were underscored with subtle intimations of salad eating. No children were harmed in the declaiming of this verse as none were present).

Some words from a bio and a man with perhaps a tiny Oedipal complex and large glasses started to read from a book. His contribution to the night's poetry seemed like an impromptu letter to an ex, who one would think was not happy to receive it. But all literary appreciation is subjective, and one cup of tea does not sate all sippers. I am also no fan of Stephen King. But, go figure, most people are. Next.

Co-host Jane McCarthy stood to read, but now every reader was standing too much to the right, perhaps to look to the left into the warm, inviting pools of Kahn's eyes in the front row as she sat at her mother's side. The upshot of this shift is that the light behind them acted as a floodlight in our faces and cameras were of no use countering the glare. McCarthy gave an ode to Hall and his text Wisdom of the Ages then read, not from a book, but a flat viscose sheet of pulp. It was not a phone but some oldfangled invention in two dimensions.

With practice, achieve lucidity in dreaming. Astral travel and merge with others.

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Poet, peace activist, lucid dreamer Mandy Kahn

Then she introduced Mandy Kahn, who with three books of poetry to her credit will soon be reading at the Getty Center, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books (USC), Bolton Hall (for the Village Poets of Sunland-Tujunga), following previous appearances on the BBC and elsewhere. Kahn began by explaining that as a child of 4 or 5, growing up in Los Angeles, she spontaneously taught herself lucid dreaming (the ability to wake up in a dream by realizing one is in a dream and suddenly being free to do anything: have uncombed hair, dress comfortably, and bet on longshots). She did not have a word for it, but her newfound ability led to a remarkable discovery: When one leaves the body, it is possible to meet another disembodied being and merge with that individual. This practice gave rise to her poem "The Geyser," referencing the sweet honeysuckle-like nectar produced by such merging. Most of us have to search for it in sexual union with bodies, but that's only a pale imitation of the experience of merging and blending, overlapping and intertwining with someone on the astral or some such liminal state provided by the dream realm. This, she explained, is why she goes about life in a porous manner as if separated from others and reality by only a thin veil, believing in ideals like world peace. Hear her every Wednesday at 6:00 pm on Zoom saying so (free) under the auspices of PRS. She read selections from her new book, out in hardback this month, Holy Doors. It seems her enchanted childhood included gambling when, at age 6, she developed a penchant for "longshots." Sure, one will lose most of the time, but when one's ship comes in, there's nothing like folding and smelling each crisp bill. Her siblings scolded her for such foolish conduct. They're longshots for a reason, but to Mandy. She loves to bet on them and this, perhaps, is why the UC Berkeley graduate has made a successful career of being a poet, peace activist, literary event organizer, and lucid dreamer. Either that or she has a trust fund. Her advice to writers, dreamers, and truth seekers? "When we let our thinking go, we sink into what we know, and let things flow." She "leans into precision not perfection."

Teaching us about the musician Charles Ives, a polytonal, polyrhythmic musician ahead of his time, rather than seek acceptance by conforming, simply refused to share his . But he made music every day nonetheless. And that style eventually came into vogue. We might follow his example. Whether we do or whether we don't, her final piece came not from the book but was pulled from the latest headlines. Don't let Elon Musk's Neuralink technology anywhere inside your body. This beloved workhorse has grown, healed bone, knitted DNA, and brought us right where we are with experimental cyborg technology. Let's keep it that way and resist the lure of trying to improve something we are nowhere close to even beginning to understand -- these amazing brains wrapped in these wondrous bodies. It was unambiguously titled "Poem Against Implanting Technology Into Yourself. Stay organic. That is, choose the body. "What you do not, cannot understand, do not change." Someone in the middle of the hall broke protocol and loudly cheered her on. What would we do without our artists to remind us to stay true to ourselves?

She introduced Iranian born exile Annahita Mahdavi West, whom one could not be blamed in thinking was named Anahata Mahadevi East, were she originally from India. Future U.S. President Cornel West began to roll on his phone-camera duties.

She confessed to being a lot like Charles Ives when she began writing. After all, she explained, everyone in Iran is a poet. Her father was, her mother was, her sister...so what was the sense in showing everyone? Now with Dusty Relics in hand, she was ready to shake them off and show them to the world, personal poems of exile, war, grief, sweetness in the mundane and familiar. Just as Kahn remembered suckling honeysuckle flowers for half a drop of "golden sweetness," West recalled the sweet moments amid the bitter then welcomed her friend and fellow Iranian/Persian poet Sholeh Wolpé:

Sholeh Wolpe, who's famous enough to have her own Wiki page and more than a dozen books to her credit, intermingling lyricism and prose narrative.

Wolpe was the surprise of the night, laying down an example that, if retro-causality could be accessed at will, would have made for a much more moving show. She talked, she read, she waved her arm. She produced laughs from the crowd and oohs and ahhs. She translates the greats as well, but there was no time to read that kind of work tonight. Still, the audience was assured, go home and read The Conference of the Birds by Sufi mystic Attar and be guaranteed a life altering experience.

She read from her book, Abacus of Loss, a memoir partially in Farsi that is in no way chronological because neither is memory, reading from the "This Coffin" section of the book. She left us with one lasting impression, a line she uttered as she was handed the mic by West: "Home," she said, "is a missing tooth. The tongue reaches for hardness, finds only absence." That was the impression but, in fact, she left us with a story of discovering sex with a fellow virgin and the advice she received, the remembrance of it, and its similarity to eating a durian, which is the fruit with the most extraordinary taste. But, being shamed for not knowing what she was doing ahead of time, which would have been good to know, she had to purge.

Mandy Kahn closed the show with final comments, alerting us that this poetry series is ongoing, the last Thursday of every month at PRS in Hollywood. The next show is April 25, 2024.

Original event details

Mandy Kahn hosts and performs

DEEP DIVE POETRY Thursday, March 28th, 7:30-9:00+ pm:

• Philosophical Research Society
• 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Hollywood
• RSVP on Meetup.com:
• Disclosure: Deep Dive Poetry, PRS
• Nature Center: Deep Dive Poetry, PRS
• PasaDharma: Deep Dive Poetry, PRS

Peace Class teacher every Wednesday

DEEP DIVE POETRY is a night of poems that dive into the deep questions -- about life, the universe, and everything -- exploring the vastness within and without. Featuring:

• Sholeh Wolpé (headliner shown above)
• Aaron Kunin
• Jared Stanley
• Kate Bonnici
• Annahita Mahdavi West (Dr. Cornell West's wife)
• Plus poetry by hosts:
• Mandy Kahn (Peace Class teacher every Wednesday)
• Ross J. Farrar (away on business)
• Jane McCarthy

The PRS has a history of artsy events.

TICKETS: Suggested donation $10 (in person only). Please email events@prs.org or phone (323) 663-2167 with any questions.

Ticketing for all PRS events are offered through the PRS Eventbrite page. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the PRS Bookstore. More

• Weekly "Peace Class" with Mandy Kahn
• Wed., March 27, 2024, 6:00 pm
• Zoom: https://us02web.zooom.us/j/84439689810?pwd=SVo2a3hsRVA1RWY5UW42YW1SaGJhdz09
• Meeting ID: 844 3968 9810

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