In addition to being a GOP boogie man and an anti-semitic dog whistle, George Soros, 92, is one of the world’s most successful investors. He is also the founder of the Open Society Foundation to which he has contributed $34B. The Foundation is committed to supporting “inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens.” This purpose has gotten the foundation kicked out of many places, notably Putin’s Russia, which described it as an “undesirable organization” in 2015. Soros’ Theory of Reflexivity has been central to his financial success and worldview. I believe it is relevant to understanding the dynamics of the Anthropocene. The Theory of Reflexivity’s core is that humanity is incapable of comprehending reality. Humanity’s biases and aspirations distort its ability to know reality. We want things to turn out one way or the other, and we worry about things when they aren’t going our way. Our emotional strata and behavioral activities don’t detract from the existence of reality, but they do, increasingly, affect the nature and character of the reality we’re perceiving. Soros says the “manipulative function” of feelings and emotions impacts the “cognitive function” of seeing what is. The cognitive function is objective and for it there are facts, but the manipulative function wants reality to be what it wishes for or not to be what it dreads. Soros calls the vibratory relationship between the real and the never-completely-able-to-see the real “Reflexivity”. The contradiction between interior perception and external facts creates an interference pattern, a kind of moiré effect. What you see is what you get, sorta. What you see is what you get, sorta. Certain leaders exert a powerful ability to create the reality they want. Steve Jobs, for example, seems to have had enough of a mesmerizing effect on people to “distort” their “reality field,” i.e., the ability to “bend reality to persuade others to accept his ideas.” Charismatic leaders from time immemorial have exercised such powers. Sometimes it works out great for them and their followers, which is pretty much the case with Jobs so far, and sometimes it works out with the followers, in particular, getting the short end of the stick, which is how things are going for Trump and his believers. Soros claims that reflexivity eliminates the existence of equilibrium as a fact. Equilibrium may be the result of the interaction of subjective factors, e.g., hope overcoming fear, more than it is the workings of some abstract mathematical force such as a “returning to the mean.” [An aside that was originally a footnote: “Returning to the mean” seems to have taken on the truthiness of gravity. Gravity can be disproven. Any time an object starts levitating in the surround of a gravity field which should overpower it, we need to rethink the nature of this physical force. (I’m pretty sure this happens rarely, if ever. I haven’t seen it.) Things do seem to “return to the mean,” but certainly not always, e.g., the Roman Empire is kaput, even though it lasted for 500 years. Ditto with the Egyptian pharaohs, who were around for about 3,000 years. These guys are still waiting for the return of their equilibrium.] The chaotic nature of the Anthropocene is increasing the volatility of reflexivity spikes. We are swirling between what is, what we want or fear, and how what we want or fear affects what is. We’re being whipsawed from hither to yon, from pillar to post, from Heaven to Hell, from Now to Tomorrow. We are swirling between what is, what we want or fear, and how what we want or fear affects what is. Knowing that all of us are creating reality may give us a little bit of an edge as this multi-vector merry-go-round spins. It may give us the ability to step back from our immediate reactions to events and trends to gain perspective. Our emotions cause us to react without thinking and feeling things through. Take fear. Knowing that fear is one of the ways that causes us to manipulate reality may give us a little distance from our chronic selves. The chronic self is the one we enact without any realization of doing so. For most of us, most of the time, the reactive self is the only one that exists because we are unaware of reflexivity. So much is changing as the Anthropocene unfolds. So much has already changed. We may be completely sunk. But how would we know?! There is so very, very much that is completely unknown. We have truly become part of the Universe since the beginning of the Anthropocene. We have reached the stars, and the stars are definitely reaching us. We have achieved massive computing power and it’s growing all the time. Who knows what golem, genie or spiritual love will emerge?! Let us take our hearts and minds out of reactivity and develop enough stillness to resonate with that which is unfolding instead of being knocked over by it. Let this be true for me. George Soros, The New Paradigm of Financial Markets, New York: Public Affairs, 2008 The Open Society Foundation Seth Cohen The Troubling Truth about George Soros , Forbes, 2020 Walter Issacson, Steve Jobs, Simon & Schuster, 2011 Adventures in the Anthropocene is my report as a citizen of the Anthropocene. It constains a variety of ideas and information. Politics, Culture, Science, Social Evolution…lots of words like that. Since, I get obsessed about some things, e.g., the 1/6 coup attempt, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These matters seem to me to be significant to the next direction of the Anthropocene. At least that’s the way I rationalize various fixations to myself. My objective is to be adequate to the job of participating in while observing this era to discover what I’m discovering by writing and otherwise symbolizing about it. If my stuff engages some people I get along with, so much the better.

The continued assault on Women's Rights leaves many questions... Sexual behavior, in general, and the sexual behavior of women, in particular, is and will be a factor in all aspects of the Anthropocene. Will we see a overt suppression of the rights of women to have sex outside of agreed upon contexts, for example? Will some version of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale be a future imposed on women by religious conservatives? Or will the expansion of sexual expression that has characterized life in the Western democracies since the wide spread adoption of birth control over the course of the last 80 years maintain the trend line it established, especially since the Roe v. Wade decision gave women the right to abort unwanted children for whatever reason? What impact will the evolution of women’s reproductive rights have on the sexual behavior of many other demographics, e.g., those who aren’t heterosexual? Will gender bending become increasingly commonplace as the Anthropocene unfolds? Will virtual reality alter sexual activity and, if so, how? The intersection of belief structures, legal decisions, legislation, education, technology and other factors is shaping the future of sex.

The unlikely hero... Volodymyre Zelenskyy is a modern day David facing an brutal and amoral Goliath. He's established a new standard for leadership in the Anthropocene: a charismatic man with immense media skills and technological know how who is modeling what it looks like to be a man who seeks to have greater freedom in the future by struggling against an imperialist who embodies oppressive colonialism. I believe that the character of the future will depend significantly on the outcome of this epic battle. Will the Anthropocene look more like the rationality of Denmark or the nightmare of 1984?

This video - a recording of a presentation and discussion of the Anthropocene for Security and Sustainability Guide - provides a good primer on what we're all about here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj_lW9s0Zu0 “Stress on Planetary boundaries drives polarization and conflict.” - Michael Sales, Seeing and Improving the Anthropocene

Columbine, Orlando, Sandy Hook, Parkland, Buffalo, Uvalde...where does it end? Will America’s “frontiersman” myth spread to other societies, especially those where democracy is in trouble? Currently, there is a gun for every resident of the United States, and that is unusable. However, the tensions between Rightists and Leftists are not limited to the United States. The weakening of democratic states and the de facto failure of many societies is leading people to arm themselves worldwide, as evidenced by such horrors as the recent murders of scores of people worshiping in a church in Nigeria on June 5th. Armed militias operating with a high level of autonomy and gangs with guns are prevalent in many societies. America gaining some control over the proliferation of guns everywhere would have some impact on the spread of this phenomenon elsewhere. Conversely, the growing acceptance of mass killings and gunplay in the United States as “the price of liberty” will further green light “solving” problems via violence everywhere. Will the future be even more brutal or will the better angels of our nature start to become more prevalent? Here are a few statistics: Private owners in the United possess about 420,000,000 guns. That’s about 120 guns for every 100 residents. Gun owners tend to be white men without higher educational degrees. “Three-in-ten adults with a high school diploma or less (31%) and 34% of those with some college education say they own a gun; a quarter of those with a bachelor’s degree or more say the same. Among whites, about four in ten of those with a high school diploma or less (40%) or with some college (42%) are gun owners, compared with roughly a quarter of white college graduates (26%). There is no significant difference in the rate of gun ownership across educational attainment among nonwhites. Regionally, Northeasterners stand out as the least likely to own guns: 16% of adults who live in the Northeast say they own a gun, about half the share who say this in the South (36%), Midwest (32%), and West (31%). 44 percent of Americans say that they know someone who has been shot, and another 23 percent report that a gun has been used to threaten or intimidate them or a family member. 6 in 10 Americans fear that a mass shooting will occur in their community… 53 percent of young people between the ages of 13 and 17 identified gun violence as a “major worry”—outranking all other concerns listed in the poll. 3% of American adults own a collective 133,000,000 firearms – half of America’s total gun stock. These owners have collections that range from eight to 140 guns, the 2015 study found. Their average collection: is 17 guns each. In the two-day period between 6/3-6/5/22, at least 15 people were shot dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states. So, here’s a hypothesis: There are a lot of people — with relatively uneducated white men, particularly in the South in the lead — that are scared about something and maybe angry about something as well. Given the chaotic nature of the Anthropocene, being afraid and irritable is understandable. Many things are changing very rapidly. I remember when I was in a strange bedroom and a bat went whizzing over my head. Scared the hell out of me! There are a lot of “bats” flying around in the Anthropocene, particularly when one’s interior space is dark and bleak. Let’s look at the dynamics of interracial marriage as an instance of rapid change that could be threatening to people with an affinity for guns. Jack Johnson, the world boxing champion about 100 years ago. He married two white women and had affairs with others. This drove the racists nuts! One prominent Georgian Congressman compared interracial love to “the enslavement of white women.” In a frenzy of fear, 19 states quickly adopted miscegenation laws. Most were in the South. I haven’t researched the topic in any depth, but I’m confident the punishments were severe. In 1967, when miscegenation laws were overturned in the United States, only 3% of all newlyweds were married to someone of a different race or ethnicity. Since then, intermarriage rates have steadily climbed. By 1980, the share of intermarried newlyweds had about doubled to 7%. By 2015 the number had risen to 17%. One imagines that many white men with a high school education or less living in Alabama would find this pretty upsetting. I say this because Alabama didn’t stop banning interracial marriage until 2020. According to polls taken at that time, about 65% of the nation as a totality disapproved of interracial marriage, and one suspects that would be a lot higher in places like Alabama, where the last stand against that kind of love was made. Everyone has issues with the Anthropocene. I bet even Elon is taking antacids. The more issues you have, the more concerning the era is, the more you feel vulnerable, and the more you need protection. But, asking for protection and being vulnerable are macho no-no’s. Nope, you need a gun. Don't Shoot. References: The Pew Center’s The Demographics of Gun Ownership “The gun numbers: just 3% of American adults own a collective 133m firearms”, The Guardian, Nov.15, 2017 American Progress’ “Gun Violence in America: A State-by-State Analysis,” Nov. 2019 NPR’s Mass shootings across the U.S. leave dozens killed or wounded this weekend The Pew Center’s Trends and Patterns in Interracial Marriage, 2017 Wikipedia on Anti-Miscegenation laws Gallup poll: “Do you approve or disapprove of racial intermarriage?” [ND] Masculinity and Gun Violence in the Huff Post (2022) The Great White Hope (1970) [Magnifique!] The Zombie Named Dixie (2021)

Will he or won't he? Like Putin, Trump is unadulterated evil. Not to his supporters, of course, but to anyone who’s paying attention to his character, his policies and his crimes, he’s a slime ball. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that he — like Putin— isn't and won’t have a significant impact on the future. He’s turned the Republican Party in the US into a cult of personality. He’s legitimated authoritarian rule on a worldwide basis. He’s the hero of the entire “Might makes right” crowd. So, if and when he is ever held accountable for his crimes and his personal corruption, the rule of law will receive a reaffirmation and if he does not, paranoia will become an increasingly rational response to regimes of fear coming to power in multiple settings.

It is difficult to determine the size of the gay population in Florida because homosexuality is so stringently stigmatized here. Estimates hover around 5%. The way this demographic is treated reminds me of life in Kentucky in the 1950s, where I grew up. The state’s 10% Black citizens were strictly segregated. As a white suburbanite, I never saw people of color at my schools, neighborhoods, or in public accommodations. I had no concept of Black lives until the latter half of my teens. I gave no serious consideration to these Americans until the Civil Rights struggles of the 1960s. I oppose Don’t Say Gay because it is part of the ongoing effort of the current Republican Party to delegitimize and dehumanize 1,000,000 people who live in Florida. Like segregation, legalized homophobia communicates to children that gays have no place in Florida’s social structure. An educational system that won’t allow children to know that gay people exist gets an F. I want plenty of people to go away, e.g., Rick DeSantis. But that isn’t how understanding reality works. I’d demonstrate what an uneducated fool I am if I told kids that American residents who are offensive to me don’t exist. Pure and Simple: I oppose Don’t Say Gay because it is part of the ongoing effort of the current Republican Party to delegitimize and dehumanize 1,000,000 people who live in Florida.

Coming up dry... The severe drought gripping the western United States and many other locales worldwide are one of the many features characterizing the warming of the planet, an existential threat that continues to be, essentially, untreated. Greenhouses gas emissions continue to grow every year in spite of daily pleas from the international science community. Will humanity ever emerge from the paralytic grip of short term thinking?

"Voting is a non-violent way to deal with the expanse of violence we're seeing in our body politic." Speaking on behalf of the Elders for Sound Democracy group...here's the clip.

"James Marshall 'Jimi' Hendrix" by aeroman3 is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0. In January of 1968, I drove from Chicago to New York to see my girlfriend. I was enrolled at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and she was working on a degree at Hofstra on Long Island. I had little idea what I was doing in Chicago except hoping to avoid getting drafted and shipped off to Vietnam. I was accompanied by an angelic underclassman whom I called “Little David.” He looked like Sal Mineo fresh out of “Rebel Without a Cause.” He had a friend at Oberlin College, and we stopped there around 10 PM. My ride was a Navy blue 1966 Ford Fairlane. It was a monster. Its trunk would have accommodated five dead bodies if it were owned by Tony Soprano. My friends kidded me that it was a used cop car when I bought it. Maybe they were right. We hit the Pennsylvania Turnpike just outside of Hubbard, Ohio around midnight and picked up a New York AM radio station via the facilitation of ionosphere-created skywave. It was faint at first, but soon it became clear that the station had just gotten hold of a radically incendiary album called “Are You Experienced” by an artist I’d never heard of, Jimi Hendrix. It was immediately clear to me – and I mean from the first note – that this album and the artist behind it were going to be in my life forever and that he would have a great impact on me. The deejay on the station must have been as excited about the album as I was because he played it nonstop till we crossed the Holland Tunnel and entered NYC at Canal Street at around 6 AM. Little David got out and, although I never saw him again, I’ve never forgotten him. We shared a magical mystery ride together and met one of the pathways to the future of the rock ‘n’ roll music that was being created in that period. The Flash, my car, wasn’t really a wonderful automobile. It was overheated from the long ride. This had happened before, and I needed to wait around for a couple of hours before I could drive it again. Fortunately, it died right across the street from a record store, and I absolutely could not wait to get in there and buy the album, which I still have with me. To my way of thinking, Hendrix with the Experience opened a phenomenally psychedelic vista, a portal through which many have tried to walk through. I read Charles Cross’ biography of Jimi, Room Full of Mirrors. Talk about living the blues! Abandoned by his mother essentially at birth, beaten and harassed repeatedly by his crazy father, living in abject poverty, ripped off by unscrupulous producers, and constantly assaulted by the needs of needy and/or manipulative people, it is painful to know that such a great talent had to live with a torrent of demons. I have a tee shirt displaying Hendrix’s image and emblazoned with the words “Voodoo Child” on the front. This is probably his most famous recording. Camille Paglia sums up a popular impression of Hendrix in her comment on the song, in which she describes him as a shaman: In “Voodoo Child,” Jimi Hendrix aspires with drug-induced titanism: “I stand up next to a mountain, and I chop it down with the edge of my hand.” Shamanistic peaking is aggressive and self-destructive. Unlike Paglia’s belief that Hendrix owes his impact to drugs, my view is that Hendrix was and remains a profoundly charismatic leader, which makes him and his energy important to me in considering the dynamics of the Anthropocene. The Experience’s Electric Lady Land double album included two versions of “Voodoo Chile,” the extended version, which runs for about 15 minutes, and “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” which runs for about 5 minutes. “Slight Return” is played more frequently because it’s shorter, and one could argue that a couple of the solos in the longer version feel as though the band got lost. But for me, the opening 45 seconds of "Voodoo Chile" establish Hendrix’s authority immediately and unquestionably. One knows that it is definitely time to pay attention, that a master is standing in front of one’s concentration, and that it is a moment to erase all distractions to listen and take in an undeniable communication. Hendrix (and quite a few other artists, musicians, writers, and politicians) was a powerful rhetorician who spoke a transformative language through his guitar, his singing, and his lyrics. He was a commanding figure who communicated and still communicates with millions of people either looking for direction or for affirmation and insight regarding a direction they were already embarked upon. He demanded and got respect. The Anthropocene is an era in which many - perhaps most of us - are confused, adrift, and lost. We are all drinking information from multiple fire hoses simultaneously, even if we don’t want to. It is a time when hucksters and freedom peddlers of multiple varieties are fleecing good people out of a lot of money by promising that they have answers for questions that can hardly be posed, let alone resolved. We are grasping at straws and there are many fakirs who have gone into the straw-making business. ...there are rare people like Hendrix who will be imperfect humans, but who possess a real truth in spite of their limitations... But then there are rare people like Hendrix who will be imperfect humans, but who possess a real truth in spite of their limitations, a truth one can hear in those first 45 seconds of “Voodoo Chile*.” Such mythic figures are important in the Anthropocene and will continue to become even more so as this epoch unfolds. Hendrix’s technological wizardry was one of the keys to his lasting influence. Around 1966 he went from being a strong blues guitarist to expressing psychedelia through his instrument. His playing created synesthesia, combining senses that are typically isolated and, therefore, inventing an intelligence that few have ever known. He saw as he played and so did we see as we listened. Masters of technology who live poetically and speak from their hearts will make this 'Cene. They exert a magnetic force. Cross and others noted that Hendrix always carried The Book of Urantia and The Bob Dylan Song Book with him wherever he traveled. Urantia, not so much. Songbook, yes! * "Voodoo Chile" is a 15-minute improvised structured jam recorded at the Record Plant in New York City by Hendrix, Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell, organist Steve Winwood, and bassist Jack Casady. (Songfacts.com)

From the incessantly tragic and pathetic number of race-based crimes on a worldwide basis, skin color makes a huge difference to a lot of folks. The scope of intolerance and the willingness of people to lie about their prejudice is an important subject, but not my concentration here. Reality check from the Anthropocene: Genetically, race doesn't exist. Rather, my point is that, genetically, race doesn’t exist. This is one of the emergent realities of the Anthropocene, and one that is ferociously rejected by millions and millions. What I long for: The Brooklyn-based Anthropocene I want to emerge is multiracial and multicultural. Facing climate change, our planet and our species need all the help, all the varieties of intelligence, and all the wisdom it can get. We would be sooooo much better off if we truly embraced our colorful human tapestry. Anti-racist multiculturalists like me long for a reality in which the genetic truth of race’s irrelevancy is recognized and discarded. At a planetary level, we face weighty matters, and it is time to move on from antiquated, politicized racial explanations. Time, place, and circumstances all influence social outcomes and conditions. They are determinative factors. Race is not. Skin color is mixed in with these other factors, but it is inconsequential when paired with these other social forces. Of course, if one is disadvantaged in time, place, and circumstance because of racial prejudice, race matters a great deal. But it is meaningless when the root causes of social outcomes are analyzed. Many sources support my assertion that race is red herring. Harvard’s 2017 “How Science and Genetics are Reshaping the Race Debate of the 21st Century” is an example. Reviewing a compilation of studies, this summary article states that: "There is no evidence that the groups we commonly call ‘races’ have distinct, unifying genetic identities… In the biological and social sciences, the consensus is clear: race is a social construct, not a biological attribute…. Despite the scientific consensus that humanity is more alike than unlike, the long history of racism is a somber reminder that throughout human history, a mere 0.1% of variation has been sufficient justification for committing all manner of discriminations and atrocities." Some of the comments on the article reminded me of how difficult it is for some to accept these conclusions: "Mixing with different types who evolved in different environments can greatly change your children’s composition. Like brain size, IQ, impulsivity, and likelyhood (sic) of committing violent crime." Sly had something to say about this.

To survive and thrive in the Anthropocene, humanity must develop a higher level of consciousness. If we proceed as we have since the beginning of this era around 200 years ago, our species and some form of life on the planet will likely have a life expectancy of another couple hundred years that will be characterized by a continuous decline into the kind of dystopia depicted in Blade Runner, Mad Max, or Waterworld. Amoral technology of either an advanced or retrograde nature will be combined with human desperation and nihilism. Not a good look. The higher level of consciousness that the emerging era requires of humanity has been calling our species from an array of mountain tops for eons. It entails a fusion of our minds with the deeper kind of knowing that sages of many cultures and backgrounds have found, experienced, and promulgated in multiple ways. I believe that the Emerald Tablet of Hermes is a message to the ages that is worthy of study and reflection. There are many others, of course, but this one fascinates me because I believe it heralds the sort of science that is increasingly being conducted now. Others may, of course, dismiss the attention I pay to information like this as that of a neophyte mystic grasping metaphysical straws, to which I say, “Different strokes for different folks.” I read The Emerald Tablet of Hermes for the first time in 1969. I knew immediately that it would always be important to me. Like many texts that are considered sacred across millennia, the exact origins of the Tablet are shrouded in mist. When I was first exposed to it, the Tablet was associated with the Book of Thoth, allegedly the ancient Egyptian name for Hermes. I didn’t know the word when I first saw the Tablet, but I’ve come to understand that it is an alchemical text. My understanding is that the objective of alchemy is to raise “normal” human consciousness to an awareness of superconsciousness. We can build upon that awareness through various modalities, such as dreams and specific types of concentration that enable higher knowing to access the channels of our mind and flow through us. I believe that the Tablet is about that process. In the popular imagination, alchemy is associated with the transmutation of metals, e.g., turning lead into gold. Certainly, there are plenty of folks who tried to accomplish this feat and maybe some did. I believe this whole get-rich-quick perception of alchemy doesn’t understand the science’s metaphor. An internal and esoteric pursuit is conceptualized as one that can be understood in external or exoteric language. Lead is the normal state of human consciousness; gold is that state of enlightenment. Gold is the human mind lit up and in interaction with transcendent understanding. It is also a way that the Merlins of the world get the money-crazed crowd off their backs. Here is the Tablet. Following the translation, I intersperse the text with my thoughts in italics: True it is, without falsehood, certain and most true. That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above, to accomplish the miracles of one thing. And as all things were by contemplation of one, so all things arose from this one thing by a single act of adaptation. The father thereof is the Sun, the mother the Moon. The wind carried it in its womb, the earth is the nurse thereof. It is the father of all works of wonder throughout the whole world. The power thereof is perfect. If it be cast on to earth, it will separate the element of earth from that of fire, the subtle from the gross. With great sagacity it doth ascend gently from earth to heaven. Again it doth descend to earth, and uniteth in itself the force from things superior and things inferior. Thus thou wilt possess the glory of the brightness of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly far from thee. This thing is the strong fortitude of all strength, for it overcometh every subtle thing and doth penetrate every solid substance. Thus was this world created. Hence will there be marvellous adaptations achieved, of which the manner is this. For this reason I am called Hermes Trismegistus, because I hold three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. That which I had to say about the operation of Sol is completed. Here are my thoughts, per section, in italics... True it is, without falsehood, certain and most true. That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above, to accomplish the miracles of one thing. This is the fundamental precept, which has been used in many contexts. To me, it means that there is a superconscious/metaphysical realm that is “above” that is or should be or could be reflected in our own consciousness, which is “below,” waiting to act as a mirror. And as all things were by contemplation of one, so all things arose from this one thing by a single act of adaptation. This reminds me of the Big Bang, the emergence of something out of nothing, the singular prime mover from which all that we see in the external universe. The beginning of the Universe is a koan; it defies explanation and blows my mind. Nothingness/metaphysics precedes being. The father thereof is the Sun, the mother the Moon. The wind carried it in its womb, the earth is the nurse thereof. This speaks to the four elements of antiquity, Fire, Water, Earth, Air. The “father” of this knowing is like the sun. We are currently 83,000,000 miles away from the Sun. This is a good thing. Quoting Bruce Springsteen, Manfred Mann warns us that our eyes can “get burned out by the Sun.” It is the father of all works of wonder throughout the whole world. The power thereof is perfect. There is a lot in the world that is probably not best described by the word “wonder.” But, if you get down to the level of particle physics, for example, which is the current definition of material reality, all is wonderful and glorious. I’m not speaking of understanding. I’m talking about feeling it. Plus, it looks like a Jackson Pollock painting. Another text, which claims to be alchemical, proclaims: “In all things great and small, I see the beauty of the Divine expression.” Divine is a word that is out of currency for many people. In explaining why I use it here, I’m reminded of Hobsons Choice, a 1954 movie starring Charles Laughton and John Mills, in which someone says, “30 seconds of revelation are worth more than 30 years of not knowing.” If one is lucky, one will have blazing insights along the way which can legitimately be called “divine.“ They knock us off our feet. and we never forget them. In The Candy Colored Tangerine Flake Baby, Tom Wolfe asserts that sex is the original psychedelic. A tooth-rattling orgasm is pretty damned divine! It’s a doorway to feeling and knowing wonder. It’s perfect (and so is the afterglow). If it be cast on to earth, it will separate the element of earth from that of fire, the subtle from the gross. Metaphysical knowing achieves ever-finer levels of discernment. It generates an infinite number of taxonomies, both in consciousness and in the definition of what material. With great sagacity it doth ascend gently from earth to heaven. Again it doth descend to earth, and uniteth in itself the force from things superior and things inferior. The human consciousness that mirrors superconsciousness sets up a vibration, a cosmic music, a dance, and a whole lot of shakin’ ensues. Thus thou wilt possess the glory of the brightness of the whole world, and all obscurity will fly far from thee. It’s worth the effort to wise up. This thing is the strong fortitude of all strength, for it overcometh every subtle thing and doth penetrate every solid substance. Knowing about the metaphysical ground of being is the strongest force there is. It’ll get you through Hell and high water. Thus was this world created. Hence will there be marvellous adaptations achieved, of which the manner is this. All science derives from delving into this force. For this reason I am called Hermes Trismegistus, because I hold three parts of the wisdom of the whole world. He knew a lot. That which I had to say about the operation of Sol is completed. He was a man of few words. -- Translated by Steele, Robert and Singer, Dorothea Waley 1928. “The Emerald Table” in: Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 21, pp. 41–57/485–501, p. 42/486.