re: turiya - what to do about the future

I loved your post down below in another thread and I wanted to add a little something to it that I was working on earlier today.

I am struck by the way our society has been led so astray. I was of the first generation of people raised with a television set in the home - the most toxic drug of all - I haven't had one for many years now and I sure don't miss it. T.V. is way too shiny for my taste and just a gigantic lie machine. It doesn't have to be that way but it 90% is.

I remember the Saturday morning cartoon shows pushing sugared cereals at us and candy bars and plastic war toys and barbie dolls while my hung over parents were sleeping - how did any of us survive it? And the kids these days are NOT surviving so well judging by how so many are already fat and coming down with diabetes at such a tender age. No more going out to play - just endless play dates where they sit in front of video games "killing" each other.

I thank the counter cultural movements of the 60's for informing me and assisting me in seeing the destruction in all of that. Say want you want about hippies and such - I know a lot of people think that all it was was drugs, but that is so untrue - much of it was about discovering more natural and community oriented ways to live - by learning about natural organic foods, and trying to live a peaceful way. Women letting go of cosmetics and growing out our hair. Changing our ideas of what beauty really meant. Studying other cultures and realizing that Oh! these people have some wisdom and there is a lot out there that western culture is missing out on - and other ordinary people in so called exotic countries are really just the same as we are.

We knew back then that our environment was being devastated and we tried to warn people - and most called us hippies and laughed at us. They called us tree huggers as it there were something wrong with that.

And the antiwar movement and the civil rights movement had nothing to do with drugs. Too bad.... we had so much hope in those days that we would be able to truly change the world - we were so young and naive but a lot of us were sincere and really cared.

And there was new music that pointed to the truth. Not the boring, commercial, violent, clear channel crap I hear blaring from car radios and piped into malls and restaurants of all kinds. I could no sooner work in one of those places than I could jump off the golden gate bridge just because I couldn't bear to have to be subjected to the idiotic and meaningless music they play in all those places where they also sell all that smelly plastic stuff made out of oil. There's no intelligence to it no beauty.

I grew up in New York and I remember at around 14 I began going alone down to the east village where the artists lived because I am an artist and that is where I was drawn to. And I loved the way they carried their babies on their bodies instead of pushing them around in carriages - wore sandals instead of shoes - had long natural hair instead of processed dyed and hairsprayed none sense - shopped in the first natural health food stores I had ever seen. They weren't perfect, but it was pretty new to most people then and you could see that they were at least trying to find a better way. We made our own music and danced around the fountains and had spontaneous happenings in the parks. It was pretty amazing. And we are considered weirdos by people who eat cheese doodles, think it's cool to get drunk, chomp on dead animals, go to the megaplex and sit through yet another violent "action" movie while consuming Sugar by the pound while drinking monster pepsis and then can barely manage to drag their overweight carcasses from the theater to the gas guzzling suv, and they'd rather watch a wrestling match than take a walk in the forest match. It's the same now - if you are a nature lover you are some kind of weirdo. They thought it was cool when Ronald Reagan said "if you've seen one redwood youve seen them all.

I'm fortunate to live in a bit more of a progressive area - where of course now we are referred to as elite volvo driving latte drinkers. I never drink lattes and I drive a yaris but they sure don't get it who the real elites are. They just buy what they hear on the tube or the radio. Too bad....

Of course there were plenty who got lost and plenty who were just partying and you see them now at music festivals and such - obese - drunk and stoned - unhealthy and wearing their tie dyes.

Anyway I think one of the things we have to do is to actively live a different way. Plant a garden - start one on the roof with your other neighbors - learn how to barter - get a bike - really live as natural a life style as you possibly can even in the city. Of course read read read.Get out into your neighborhood and get to know people really learn how to be interdependent and let it be ok to be so. - talk about things that really matter rather than what you saw on tv last night. The end of oil is on it's way and we really need to start living closer to nature now because unless we are used to it it is going to be a big shock. Learn how to dry food when it is abundant - learn all about the edible herbs and plants in your local area etc. STOP SHOPPING. You may need to learn how to use a slingshot and to fish. When the trucks stop rolling I intend to already be a locovore. That is one who eats local food.

Well I'm probably reaching to the choir here....

Wow I really went off there didn't I?

Well good luck my friends...

....from an old hippie chick Tweet