In Chapter Eight, ‘The Great Awakening’, Bache writes:

“I believe that for there to be a genuine spiritual rebirth of our species, there must first take place a death of the species-ego, a complete collapse of our customary way of experiencing ourselves in the world, and the pain of such a massive collapse is extremely difficult to hold in one’s heart. If the dark night of the soul is the painful price the mystic must pay to awaken the divine within, the dark night of the species-soul will be a particularly dark and potentially dangerous time in human history.”

The author feels that after some time in transpersonal states of consciousness, the theme of spiritual rebirth consistently arises. Almost apologetically, he writes that this makes discussion of the spiritual rebirth of mankind an aspect which, because of its importance, is hard to ignore. Indeed, others voyagers into these realms have drawn these same conclusions. Bache includes seven pages from his various sessions relating to this topic. He combines chaos theory, near-death episode research, and the study of non-linear systems to suggest that the impending crisis of ecological sustainability may actually trigger a “dark night of the species,” analogous to the mystic’s dark night of the soul, that will be followed by a spiritual rebirth of our species. He calls this new brand of human which will arise from this dialectic, the Homo spiritualis.

Bache believes that a problem of future economic and raw material sustainability might be the trigger to the dark night of the species-soul catastrophe. He supports his thesis by presenting graphs showing that the present level of industrial production, expanding population, and depletion of natural resources cannot continue indefinitely. A crisis level might be reached early in this century.

*pic taken the day after carved*
UNFORTUNATELY, PUMPKINS HAVE A TENDENCY TO QUICKLY BEGIN ROTTING ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU SLICE THEM UP!!!  Take note that this was my attempt at the ‘poisonous mushroom’……fofl…..

 

 

don’t know how you got the others, but here are some more…….the rest are for me!

and some uber cheez…….with squirrel as a third party!

Whether we like it or not, the consumption society is changing. The desire to consume is still there, but the motors of desire are no longer the same as those that marked the preceding decades.

The sixties were the first age of the consumption society, in which products corresponded to tangible needs. People bought them because their use added value, for the function they fulfilled – which often improved their standard of living. Examples include the refrigerator (10% of the population had one in 1958, 75% in 1969), the washing machine (10% in 1958, 66% in 1974), the television, the car, disposable diapers, dishwashers, and many others. By the acquisition of more and more material goods, consumption allowed the transformation of our way of life and was associated with the notion of progress. In 1963, Edgar Morin wrote in le Monde about the entry into a new era of civilization, “of well-being, comfort, consumption, and rationalization.”

The nineteen-eighties incarnated the apogee of the second age of consumption, the one in which the value of the image substituted for the value of usage. During the age of individualist dynamics, objects no longer answered collective needs, but personalized themselves. They essentially aimed at differentiating their users. Consumption organized itself according to symbolic logic. Symbols of success or of belonging to a given social group. A car, brand-name clothing, a well-equipped house acted above all as social markers. They no longer simply answered a need, but were chosen for immaterial reasons, the imaginary world they incarnated, often constructed through advertising.

Too often, analysts as well as critics stop there. However, we have entered a new stage in the consumption society. Objects no longer simply answer needs: we generally don’t need a new car or dishwasher. A new motor has been added to the logics of price arbitrage and social symbolism, one of a psychological order. More and more we choose products or brands for the psychic benefit they bring us. And that benefit is often unconscious. How can we make a rational choice when there are 22,000 products to choose from in one hypermarket?

Objects and products, chosen more and more as a function of the psychic benefits they bring, compensate for identity deficits. The logic of desire is always articulated around the notion of a lack. But this lack has become psychological. Objects and brands fulfill emotional needs. With its famous “Because I deserve it” slogan, L’Oreal plays on narcissistic satisfaction and helps women to feel more beautiful. It stimulates their self-confidence and helps them to feel desirable, all the while conveying the idea of control, of mastery of oneself and one’s own image. The present success of luxury brands is based on a similar mechanism, that of luxury “for oneself,” rather than as a status symbol.

By the multiplication of objects and messages, consumption guards against a breakdown in enjoyment. There’s no longer any down time: that’s filled with objects that have a new function as identity crutches. By identifying the model of “compensatory consumption,” Anglo-Saxon researchers emphasize the degree to which everyday objects compensate for identity deficits. They become a part of ourselves, or of who we dream of being. The paradoxical choice of an SUV when one is driving in an urban environment aims above all at expressing a personality, at identifying oneself with a style of life one dreams of. In a white collar society, people feel more free in Levi’s, more virile on a Harley Davidson! A woman feels like a better mother when she uses brand-name diapers. One masters one’s body and image by using a new shampoo with a strong technology component. In the same way, one is more feminine wearing Chanel. Cultic brands develop an emotional added-value.

In an aging society that has no common reference points or collective mission, consumption becomes real therapy. Food brands’ health discourse, automobile brands’ security arguments reassure an anxious society that is not very self-confident. Objects console us, confirm us in our existence, or furnish the void that confronts us. From now on, we must approach the consumption society with a new solution key, in which their emotional value wins out over their function every time.

……….sigh…………

If you needed any more proof that the courts are stacked with greedy, corrupt and fanatical judges/lawyers…..that care only about money and not about helping good parents gain access to fair and equitable treatment, look no further than this email I received after requesting a mere consultation [below]:

Subject: RE: Law Offices of David C. Shea –

Mr. Dooley,

To prepare for a trial in mid-November could be quite problematic; I’d have to put off other matters, and it may be too late to do some of the things I typically do to prepare to try a case. Because of this, I’d have to charge you a premium over and above my typical fee. My regular fee is $225 per hour. I do not charge flat fees in family court matters.

To take this on at this point, I’d also charge an additional non-refundable engagement fee of $5,000. Since it is already scheduled for trial, payment would be required in full at the time of representation. I’d require $7,500 in my trust account for billable time (if this was not all spent you would get part of it back). Thus, I’d need $12,500 to begin to represent you.

Most of my practice is divorce and custody. I have tried a number of cases in family court. I don’t keep track of how many, but I have lost only twice. I’ve tried one case with Judge Anderson, and my client fared very well in that case.

If you’d like a consultation, my hourly fee is $225 an hour. I do not give free consultations. It appears that even if you continue to represent yourself, you may be in need of some advice. I’d be happy to answer all of your questions then. You would need to bring copies of all of the pleadings filed so far in your case, as well as any Orders that have been issued.

If you’d like a consultation, please call my office to schedule one.

Regards,
David C. Shea
Attorney at Law
Certified Family Court Mediator
P.O. Box 5985
1226 Pickens St., Suite 202
Columbia, SC 29250-5985

……and my initial email requesting help. note that all i am asking for is a one time consultation and for the atty to sit with me for a mere 3 hours during the final hearing……….

—–Original Message—–
From: dooleyce@………com
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 1:07 PM
To: david@………com
Subject: Law Offices of David C. Shea –

Law Offices of David C. Shea –

Greetings…

My name is C…..D…… and I may be interested in your legal services. I discovered your practice by researching the South Carolina Bar Association’s website and you came up as a reputable child custody/family court lawyer.

However, my particular case may be a little different than you may be used to, as most of the legal documents and filings have already been filed and paid for, as I initially filed & litigated Pro Se [self-represented] in my disputed custody/visitation case.

Personally, I live in Charlotte NC, but it just so happens that Spartanburg County has jurisdiction over my family court case, bc the mother moved from here to there and has established residence there with our son.

My first question to you is this…. since I have only a single [and final] hearing date set for mid-November, which will span from 2-3 hours, how might we work together primarily in this regard? As I mentioned before, I initially filed Pro Se, bc of the costs involved primarily, but after the last court appearance it appeared to me that I might need someone [an official atty] to help me in my case at the final hearing so that I don’t execute any wrong motions/moves in that hearing.

For your info here is what I’ve done so far:
-Filed the custody case with an official summons/complaint/remedy/relief sought and counter answer to her and her atty.

-Filed the previous custody order from another state there and most all evidence I will be presenting in court.

-Offered her and her atty an amicable Co-Parenting/Custody agreement/arrangement that is more than fair and equitable, of which they have refused to negotiate with me on.

-Prepared and researched all the SC Domestic Relations Children’s Code of SC Law Statutes, federal/state laws and documents relevant to my case online and at the local SC law libraries.

-Finally, I’ve prepared most all the evidence & witnesses that I will be presenting at the final hearing.

As you can see, I already taken much upon myself in my case, but I feel that I may need someone of your caliber to represent me, so that I don’t make any more technical mistakes, as I will not accept anything less than what I am looking to obtain in my case.

Here are several questions that you may be able to answer before we proceed, as they are of great importance to me:

- Have you or any members of your firm ever represented my partner or anyone associated with my partner? [Partner = T…. T…… + Her Atty = Gary M Wood]
- Do you handle disputed visitation/custody cases?
If not, whom might you recommend that could represent me?
- How many of these cases have you handled?
- How many were before the judge who will hear my case?
[Judge Georgia Vaught Anderson]
- What kind of decisions does this judge usually make?
- Have you ever appealed a case, and if so, what were the issue(s) appealed?
- How many of these appealed cases did you win?
- What are your fees?
- What work do these fees cover?
- Is this an hourly fee or a flat fee for the entire case?
- Is there an additional charge for appearing in court?
- Do you ever charge less for people who do not have much money?
- Do you charge a retainer? How much?
- What does it cover? Do you refund all or part of the retainer if my case ends up being dropped or not taking much time?
- Are there other expenses that I may have to pay? What are they and how much are they likely to be?
- Are there ways that I can assist you so as to keep down my costs?
- Will you send me a copy of letters, documents, and court papers that you file or receive regarding my case?
- Do you charge extra if the case gets more complicated or we have to go back to court?
- Will you require that I have paid everything that I owe you before you will go to court with me or finish my case?
- Are you willing to work out a payment plan with me?
- Will you put our agreement about fees and what work you will perform in writing?

My apologies for that exhaustive list of questions, but I want to cover all bases before we proceed.

Please get back in touch with me as soon as possible, as I look forward to speaking with you!

Sincerely,
Me

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000C8AA5-D4DD-135E-94DD83414B7F0000

Optical illusions that fool most people don’t seem to trick those who suffer from schizophrenia, concludes a study published in the latest issue of Current Biology. The success may actually be linked to a weakness in a brain mechanism called contextual processing, which is responsible for picking out relevant sensory information from the barrage of stimuli a person constantly experiences. If that’s the case, it may explain why some schizophrenics misunderstand other people’s actions in the context of a situation or feel paranoia or persecution.

Because vision depends on low-level contextual processing, the researchers, led by Steven Dakin of University College London, devised an experiment to test a person’s ability to discriminate one contrasting pattern from another. A disc filled in with a medium-contrast pattern was placed in the center of a larger disc that had a high-contrast pattern. When placed one on top of the other, the difference in contrast appears negligible, when it is really 40 percent. The researchers hypothesized that schizophrenics would not judge the center disc in context of the larger one and therefore not recognize the visual distraction that creates the illusion. In fact, 12 out 15 schizophrenics more accurately judged the contrast of the center disc than did a group of 20 participants who do not suffer from the illness.

“Normally, contextual processes in the brain help us to focus on what’s relevant and stop our brains being overwhelmed with information. This process seems to be less effective in the schizophrenic brain, possibly due to insufficient inhibition–that is, the process by which cells in the brain switch each other off,” Dakin observes. The mechanism has more to do with vision than with cognition, such as attention span, the researchers report. The next step, they say, is to determine whether the low-level contextual processing pervades other sensory responses as well as language and memory. –Tracy Staedter

Wanna check to determine if you might be a schizo:
http://www.livejournal.com/community/wtf_inc/1677323.html

http://falundafa.org/eng/falun.htm
[b4 you call me a nazi, click on the link stup....]

in other news……………….
>>>>>>>>>>>>>……………….

BIG OIL rakes in the profits
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/bigoilrakesinhistoricprofits

Exxon reported:
- Profit up 75% to $9.9 billion. That’s the second-most a U.S. company has ever earned in a three-month period, a USA TODAY analysis of data from Capital IQ found. It’s greater than the annual gross domestic product of entire nations, including Niger, Zambia and Iceland.

- Royal Dutch Shell reported net income of $9 billion Thursday.

- BP reported a $6.5 billion third-quarter profit

- ConocoPhillips, $3.8 billion.

- ChevronTexaco is expected to post earnings of $3.9 billion

It would be nice if the oil companies used this cash windfall to fund new oilfields, new refineries and alternative energy research. Instead, the money goes to exorbitant executive bonuses and inflated stock dividends. It would be fitting to reward the corporate energy cartel’s greed with a profit surtax and use that to fund energy research at home.

Yes, I am familar with the supply and demand theory.

And yes, I am also somewhat familar with the theory of monopolies, oligopolies and price-fixing.

There were spot fuel shortages in some areas but overall there was no great shortage of supply of oil/fuel. Demand, except in isolated areas and in isolated incidents, did not increase.

The retail price of fuel was increased prior to the hurricane’s landfall, just as it is increased prior to major holiday periods. The companies ANTICIPATE higher demand and COUNT ON people paying the higher prices.

A comprehensive discussion of the subject would include both legal and ethical viewpoints – what is legal is not always ethical, but what is ethical is almost always legal. IMO, what has happened is clearly not ethical.

The obscene profit reports from the oil companies highlights the question of ethics. There was no appreciable drop in supply, there was no appreciable rise in demand – the only thing going up was the price while the only thing going down was disposable income.

So, once again I’ll ask……….

When does the revolution start?
[and don't respond with banter, if you were thinking of doing it!]