One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were
driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a
parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his
brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of
the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My
taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really
friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost
ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the
Garbage Truck.’

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around
full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of
disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it
and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just
smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and
spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The
bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take
over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with garbage,
spend the day with garbage and go to bed with garbage…so,

Love the people who treat you right.

Pray for the ones who don’t.

Life is ten percent what you make it…

and ninety percent how you take it!

Have a blessed, garbage-free day!

The World News Read …

BLUE SPIRAL APPEARS IN THE SKIES OVER NORWAY

Can you believe that this is a real picture of the skies over Norway at 7am on December 9th, 2009?

Now I will ask you … what is happening here?  Are we beginning the transition into a new era of consciousness?  Imagine, one hundred years ago, the same light shines in the sky.  Maybe 50 people are around to look up and see it, but no one have a video camera or a cell phone or a digital camera.  Further, without phones to call each other, or computers to blog about it, everyone just keeps their little experience to themselves and it gets swept under the rug of history.  But now, a picture is taken and it is broadcast all over the world.

Anyway, it turned out that the Russians took responsibility for this exotic UFO, saying that it was a failed missile test … but who knows the real truth.  In my opinion, if we continually follow the media hype around like some dog chasing a bone, then we are keeping ourselves closed to our realities.  If you think about it, what difference does it make if this is a UFO or a FAILED MISSILE?  Its still a wicked picture … so if I was in charge of the world media, this is the story I would post.

GALACTIC COUNSEL UNVEILS NEW LOGO

Last week, the Galactic Federation, a council of the world religious and spiritual leaders from around the galaxy finally, after years of painstaking deliberation, chose their logo and flashed it through the night sky on every planet represented by the counsel.  The new galactic logo, pictured above was chosen because, as expressed by the Hogoloscopien Leader, “We wanted something to express the uniting of the galaxy with a common purpose.”  Apparently the logo was inspired by a Singing Bear Song entitled “Web of Union” which has the catchy repeating phrase “spiraling together as one”.  The goal of the Galactic Federation Counsel that was established before the fall of Atlantis is to maintain Galactic Peace through subtle vibrational frequency enhancement and unconscious DNA recalibration transformation.  Apparently, many of those in Norway who saw the unveiling of the logo were instantly freed of thousands of years of Karma raised to a higher vibration than they had every experience.  One farmer in Norway was supposed to have begun to levitate at the Galactic Site and since has been performing miraculous healings and exuding a scent of roses from his armpits.

The Galactic Counsel has apparently been responsible for many years of contributions to the furthering of the human consciousness.  Eckhart Tolle, the current Earth Representative in the Galactic Counsel, was very pleased at the unveiling.  According to him, Norway was considered one of the places on earth least likely to experience mass hysteria at the site of the spiral.  It appears that, according to Mr. Tolle, Earth is considered the planet “Least Likely to Evolve” in all of the Galactic Federation.  Maybe we can turn that prediction around.

Well, anyway, that would be my brief version of the story if I was Rupert Murdoch.

From the SB Newsroom, I am Mr. Bear reporting to you live!

US House and Senate are about (in a week and a half) to vote on bill that will OUTLAW ORGANIC FARMING (bill HR 875).

Could you imagine?

I am living in Hawaii right now and have star fruit, figs, coconuts, and pomegranates growing in my yard right now. Under this bill I wouldn’t be allowed to grow my own food??

Knock knock .. “Excuse me, but are you growing these plants in your yard.”

“Well, I water them, but I am not growing them. They just sort of grow on their own.”

“Well tell them to stop! Its illegal!”

Ludicrous Laws are destroying our culture. Part of me wants to tell everyone to go and send a letter to the Senate and defeat this measure. But most of me just says “Whatever.” Grow organic food anyway! Ignore their stupid laws! If you read about this you will know that less than 5% of the senate has even read the law. In fact, almost every law that has ever been passed in the Senate wasn’t even read by half of those who voted. And you could study law your whole life and still not know all the laws. Let’s get over this whole lawmaking stuff! Lets do some Law Demolition. this house is beyond renovation! I think we need to start over and build it with a solid foundation this time, maybe we could start with the Natural Law

Amendment 1 .. Everything is changing and will continue to change.

Amendment 2 .. Everyone knows inherently what is right and wrong for them.

Amendment 3 ..

… Well maybe we don’t need to know more than that.

What do you think?

MORE INFO ON THE BAN OF ORGANIC FARMING

There is an enormous rush to get this into law within the next 2 weeks before people realize what is happening.

Main backer and lobbyist is Monsanto – chemical and genetic engineering
giant corporation (and Cargill, ADM, and about 35 other related
agri-giants). This bill will require organic farms to use specific
fertilizers and poisonous insect sprays dictated by a newly formed
agency to “make sure there is no danger to the public food supply”. This
will include backyard gardens that grow food only for a family and not
for sales.

If this passes then NO more heirloom clean seeds but only Monsanto
genetically altered seeds that are now showing up with unexpected
diseases in humans.

Here’s a link that gives you an idea how this can be happening.

To read the bill, you can go here and enter HR875 in the search box after selecting “Bill Number” option under the search box.

The name on this outrageous food plan is Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (bill HR 875).

THIS IS REAL, FOLKS! PASS THIS ALONG TO ALL CONCERNED ON YOUR MAILING LISTS & CALL YOUR SENATE REPRESENTETIVES TODAY! Get on that phone and burn up the wires. Get anyone else you can to do the same thing. The House and Senate WILL pass this if they are not massively threatened with loss of their position…. They only fear your voice and your vote.

The best thing to do is go to www.house.gov/writerep. All you have to do is put in your zip and it will give you your congressperson and how to get in touch with them. When you call their office someone will answer the phone, just tell them (politely) that you are calling to express your views on HR 875. Tell them your views, they’ll take your name and address and pass your comments along to the congressperson. The following link is a list of the U.S. senators and their contact info.

I had an experience today which I want to share with you. I went into a store called Alive and Well feeling very happy and funny … after shopping and eating, I ran into one of the salesmen there who is so friendly and supportive.

He said, “How’s the music going? I really want to see you live.”

“I’ll go get my guitar and sing you a song right now,” I said, always willing to share something as pure as music.

“That would be awesome,” he said.

Soon, I returned with my guitar and walked through the store, singing a light song about how beautiful the world is. Before I knew it, a woman was screaming at me … “This is not a performance hall! You have to leave right now! I am calling the police!” Wow … and she was really angry, like her eyes were beating out of her head like she was so mad she was going to smack me. It felt unnecessarily abusive. Some of the shoppers actually came outside to listen while I sang, and people were clapping from their car windows. In fact, everyone else seemed to respond with joy and gratitude except this one ballistic woman who I could only assume was the “Owner” or whatever. Anyway, I complied with her hostile request, and I didn’t feel to phased at the time … such is the life of a musician. Later, however, I was reading Eckhart Tolle’s book “A New Earth” and I read this quote …

Click here for Eckhart's Website

The physical needs for food, water, shelter, clothing, and basic comforts could be easily met for all humans on the planet, were it not for the imbalance of resources created by the insane and rapacious need for more, the greed of the ego. It finds collective expression in the economic structures of this world, such as the huge corporations, which are egoic entities that compete with each other for more. Their only aim is blind profit. They pursue that aim with absolute ruthlessness. Nature, animals, people, even their own employees, are no more than digits on a balance sheet, lifeless objects to be used, then discarded.
Further in the next paragraph it says …
. . . when those thought forms operate, no possession, place, person, or condition will ever satisfy you. No content will satisfy you, as long as the egoic structure remains in place. No matter what you have or get, you won’t be happy. You will always be looking for something else that promises greater fulfillment, that promises to make your incomplete sense of self complete and fill that sense of lack you feel within.
Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth” 2005

I always thought that these kind of attitudes were more present in the large corporations or government operations, but I think this economic pinch is making even small store owners crumble. In reading this, I went from having a subtle distaste of this woman’s actions to feeling sad and concerned at the state of humanity. How many of us are clinging to our identities, businesses, and possessions so tightly that we have begun to turn our friends, co-workers, and artistic creations into digits on a page and ubiquitous .coms? Isn’t the point of having a small business that you can think outside the box and be original, imaginative, and creative with your presentation? I suppose we have lost something more valuable than all the money in the world when we have reduced the world to ownership and ego …

I highly encourage everyone, especially that woman today, to read this book, “A New Earth”, if for nothing else, than for the possible preservation of something as simple and sacred as love.

Breath, life, water, love, song, dance, prayer, fruit, friends, quinoa, turtles, oceans, dreams, kombucha, wind, rain, waves, river, mountains, culture, dance, chocolate, goji berries, maca, sex, skin, smiles, flowers, bees, birds, peace, harmony, gratitude ….

Music, Jason Mraz, Michael Franti, John Butler, Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Xavier Rudd, Tracy Chapman, Bob Marley, Damien Marley, John Mayer, Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Jerry Garcia, Janis Joplin, The Fray, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Human, Shimshai, Livity, Jah Levi, Malka Melissa, Steven Roush, Diane Patterson, Freedom, Chris Berry, and the list goes on and on and on ….

Mom, Dad, Sisters, Brothers, Nephews, Nieces, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents (RIP), Ancestors, Unborn, All My Relations . . .

Chocolate Face, my love, light, and warmth, my friend, my lover, my wife, my strength, my truth, my mirror, my window, my soul, my reflection, my heart, my angel, my lynx, my dream, my blessing …

My friends ….You, My Tribe, My Rock … You For Whom I Sing, and Write, and Create … You who hold the future of earth in the balance, the future of our children’s children … You who empower me to be myself completely and to love every ounce of our oneness in light and shadow …

The creator, the creation, the destruction, the devastation, the renewal, the rebirth, the beginning, the ending, the rivermouth, the fading words, the disappearing stories that still linger in our infinite memories, the Tree of Life that is we, Buddha, Allah, Jesus, Krishna, Shiva, Shakti, Om, the sky the moon, the sun, and the earth that grew us all.

There is so much to give thanks for … please remember this Thanksgiving … even if you have nothing left to give … even if you are naked and without possesions …

You can always give thanks!

She is so beautiful, two sides equal one, like a butterfly.
She reflects herself perfectly and yet is the same on both sides.
What about the sun and moon, the night and day, the yes and no?
So often we find her, our love, our truth, our joy and happiness and everything,
Only to run in fear from her embrace.
Why do we push and pull?
Why do we grab her and then drop her?
If I embrace her beauty, can I then also embrace her ugliness?
Sometimes it is easier to deal with her ugliness because that way I can accept my own.
I can bask effortlessly in my own ugliness using it as a scapegoat for all my misgivings.
Yes but …
Its OK because that’s just my luck …
Yeah Well …
Enough!
May I simply reflect the light and the darkness?
May I be in equal parts whole and empty?
May I walk the treacherous in between?
I am laughing and crying, silently shouting, letting go of letting go.

Today – the music industry has gone completely insane. There is so much music being made in this country that nowadays, there are companies that make money off of artists that want to make a living. Everyone’s trying to make it big, and companies like A&R Select, GoDIY Records, Sonicbids, uPlaya Radio, and Jango are now making their relatively good income off of artists themselves who are looking to make it big. Look out! These are huge money vultures that just want to suck you dry and only in the end help the occasional artist succeed momentarily, mostly so that they can put that artist on their list of “success stories.”

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of meeting Jason Mraz and he gave me some advice which I think every independent musician in the world, especially songwriters like myself, needs to hear. He said, “One day about ten years ago I packed everything in my car and decided that I would do nothing else but music. Since then, I have felt like a success.”

It is really a desicion that we make as individuals. It is what really selects the artists from the overwhelming industry music crap out there! If you are truly an artist of music, if you truly love your music with all your heart, if you truly believe that you can mak a living off of your music, then you are ready to make that commitment.

I decided about a year ago that I would make that commitment. Now only a year later, I have already had the opportunity to play at some large festivals, sharing the stage with awesome bands, and even played at a Jason Mraz concert in Austin, Texas. The more I put my music out there, the more I receive abundance of energy, love, creativity, and money. If you or someone you know is willing to make that commitment, I intend to write a series here that can help them with online marketing tools.

Let’s begin with the basics:

WEBSITE – Get your own domain name right away that is the closest thing to your musician or band name. If the name alone is taken, consider adding music t the end of the name. I strongly recommend getting a .com site as many times people forget if your site is .net or .org or .info or something like that.

DESIGNING THE WEBSITE – This can be easier than most people think. I designed my webpage with wordpress. There are thousands of themes to choose from and plugins that will help you play and sell your music on your site. With a little perserverance and determination, anyone can learn how to build a site on the wordpress page just checking out how it is done in all the help menus and readme files. If you feel totally not computer savy, there is also the option of using the CDBaby.net sites which are geared specifically for musicians. These sites are very easy to design and are hosted by CDBaby and even include an email list service and other helpful tools. The downside is that this service can cost almost $30 a month. I only really recommend working with CDBaby if you already have an album or two to sell that is fully printed and packaged with a barcode.

MYSPACE – EVERY MUSICIAN NEEDS A MYSPACE PAGE – This is really no longer an option these days. Everyone from venue to fan to major record label is looking at you myspace page if they are interested in you. Look into pimp-my-profile.com or some similar site to give your myspace page unique flair. This is pretty crucial as you really want to make this page look awesome. Also, get into the habit of writing blogs as often as possible, posting all your calendar dates, new songs, new pictures, and news updates there.Keep this page active and alive. Also you can use a program like SPYDER to help you maintain your contacts and import new potential friends, etc. This is a great tool which costs a little extra – a onetime $30 – but it is worth it.

FACEBOOK – Facebook is exploding – get in now – get a good name. Use iLike.com or ReverbNation.com or both to integrate your music into facebook. There is information on both of those sites to help you figure out how to do it. iLike is an especially cool online software system because it allows you to link up a song to any message that you send on facebook. I try to get into the habit of attaching a song to most every message I send. Its really a great tool.

That is only the beginning – there are hundreds of websites, online magazines, and platforms to sell your music to choose from. In upcoming issues I will tell you which ones to work with and which ones to avoid.

I do not take this thing lightly, although maybe I should. I guess I’m a little hard on myself, but I feel like I am supposed to be doing so much better. Then again, I guess I am married to the most beautiful woman that I have ever seen and living in Maui. I don’t have very much room to complain.
Man, I am such an oxymoron. I mean, all the answers to my questions are already written inside my own songs, and still I am searching. Why do I block myself from accepting my own treasure. If I can’t see it as a treasure, then I suppose it will be overlooked by the rest of the world as well.
So I suppose the only stress is not saying yes.
I suppose the only loss is not to notice.
I suppose the only lacking is not to receive it.
It is here, I am here, She is here. . .
“Where do I have to go? What do I have to do? Nothing more important than being right here with you.”

The day, the wind, the sky, the journey
Why do I need to search for things to be grateful for, to be joyful of
And I
Feeling alone with my thoughts
Am humbled from skin to bone of the chilling notion, that,
Oh, there are lives so much more difficult, so much more trying
And yet why do we find our joyous gratitude in others suffering
As if their arms fixed in constant reaching towards hell have become our wings heavenward?
What if it was I trapped in the tumult of inglorious decent?
What if it was I strapped to the dynamite or trapped in a dead end job?
What if it was I crapped on by high society, poor and hungry, beyond needy?
But I am not!
And somehow it is in this notion of others pain that we may again find our liberation.
I saw a vision today.
The world was swept with a giant shift.
And though every thought and question beckons
“What will happen? Will the waters rise? Will it be a nuclear bomb? Will it be a giant comet?”
In my vision, it mattered not what had caused the trauma, but what our reaction was.
All over the earth there was fighting for resources that suddenly felt meaningless.
It was as if we had been digging for centuries only to find the buried treasure was dirt itself.
Or as if we had spent our whole lives accumulating wealth and possessions only to finally, in the end die of starvation.
Now here we were, stuck together on a planet, with piles of useless money and machines of war feeling like total idiots for wasting our time all those years.
As buildings collapsed before our eyes, as bridged tumbled and land masses shifted, as waters crashed over the levies that we had so unwittingly built to control the tides, we could do nothing but float around the waves like hollow porcelain dolls with painted smiles.
But in that precious moment, when all the structures that we had built became meaningless, when all the fences could do was entangle us and keep us trapped down in the water, bound to our old ways, when all the banks flooded like fish tanks, and all the lights flickered and were gone, in that dramatic silence when engines and sirens were suddenly replaced by swooshing wind, rattling earth, and thunderous water, we were finally free.
Freedom came first like a sinking stomach, like a pierced heart, like a lost life, like a dying caterpillar, like a victim, tossed into the melee of confusion and inhibition.
Freedom kicked our asses back to Noah and we were all looking for the great boat that was not there.
The great day of Judgement had come, and it was only us judging ourselves for wasting every precious moment that the world teetered on a fragile needle with pointless ambitions.
The wake up call was so dramatic and worldwide that it completely fractured every skull and every heart and every relationship on the planet.
In my vision, humanity triumphed.
In our evolutionary resilience we saw what we had been missing.
Heroes emerged from the slums and designed makeshift rafted and began dragging people aboard.
They were not selective.
Male, Female, Black, White, Deaf, Dumb, Elder, Child, Rich, Poor, Whoever.
Sure there were some who blamed the rich.
There were some who wanted to see them suffer.
But those with vile thoughts in that thick and strenuous thunder seemed to attract only pain and misery in the forms of signposts smacking them in the head, or a lost child, or a lungful of burning water.
In the end, judgement was placed on everyone from each one self unto itself.
All were forced into purity, were forced into cooperation, were forced into selfless community.
It was our only hope of survival.
And finally, as the walls crumbled and divisions of rich and poor disintegrated, there was nothing left but connection.
But then again, this vision, this apparition, pulls on the same paradoxical paradigm as before.
Why does it take so much pain and suffering to make the pearl?
How come we have to lose everything to gain our freedom?
Why can’t we just be that selfless community now?
Must we continue to build war machines and money factories until it is too late?
Will we do it up until the very last day?
And when the Judgement comes, how will you see yourself?
And when that timeless swell stills the clocks of the world, how will your precious moments have been spent?