My goodness, thank you so very much! Basically stream-of-consciousness before sunrise, with some clean-up and thesaurus hunting before publication. And even then there were a couple typos I had to clean up later, LOL. Thank you again for your complimentary comment!
I love your stream-of-consciousness style (well, *effect* is probably more accurate, unless you actually peel this stuff off automatically without having to ponder and craft it, in which case am extremely jealous!) ;^0
I'd say 85-90% of that stuff is in-the-moment writing, with 10-15% cleanup afterwards, usually punctuation and thesaurus action. Thank you for your flattering comment!
This expresses my current state of mind extraordinarily well, and I have begun to think that countless millions of are experiencing the same. I have also felt, and many others have expressed the same disturhing yet mind-blowing sensation, of the mirage-like nature of what we’ve always called “reality” becoming evident, like realizing it’s all a ghost of what we’ve always believed was a solid, immutable physical existence. I, for one, never thought this shared experience would ever be something I would experience in my lifetime, and maybe I wasn’t supposed to — I have dodged some well-aimed and very solid bullets in my life.
Neither our minds, bodies nor our spirits are prepared for this, and it’s very upsetting and impossible to figure out. Is it God’s will, or is this what God has always warned us was coming? Or both? And I don’t care they much what happens to me, but what about our children? Are they destined to live through some sort of impending apocalypse? I am so bewildered, and have never experienced a time when, every day, I have to consciously decide to trust in god and let it go. “Thy will be done”.
I'm still absorbing your last post so I can't yet comment on this one except to say... that picture of Clinton, NJ brought tears to my eyes. So, so, so BEAUTIFUL. What's happened to Northeastern small towns is the crime of the century.
I had coffee yesterday with a good friend of mine, who happens to be a salt-of-the-earth normie. After about an hour of idle chit-chat, out of nowhere he said "I'm just waiting for whatever is going to happen, to happen." Two weeks ago, over lunch with my also-normie Boomer cousins, they mentioned they fully expect the wave of immigrants to stand up and start killing us within the next year or so.
These are not "weird-adjacent" people (I love that term!) like me, and many here in this thread. These are people who pay their taxes, do what they're told, and go about life. Anecdotes mean squat, but the feeling is so thick in the air right now that the weird-adjacent are tripping on it, and the normies are starting to just kinda feel it.
What to do? I love the Biblical example of Nehemiah - work with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other. Go read the story if you haven't. In order to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem before the king changed his mind, Nehemiah had to both manage a construction project and repel hostile invaders. Do one to the exclusion of the other, and neither get done. Such are the times we are in now! Go to work, raise your family, pursue your life-arc...but have an eye and a hand ready for what might come.
Finally, do not let the fear of what's to come steal today's joy. The one gift everyone can give God is thankfulness. Each day is its own lifetime, don't waste it on fear.
This was a good and insightful comment that became a wise and profound one, one that I will contemplate and linger over: "Work with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other."
It may perhaps even require a reassessment of my personal situation and status. Thank you for your comment!
I met Bowie several times in the early 90s. He was so approachable you'd think you had been friends with him for years. He would talk to anyone, crack jokes like an old friend, and remember everyone's name. Probably one of the coolest celebrities I ever met. I asked him how his voiced changed so drastically from his earlier stuff and he said he went and chanted for a long time with Tibetan Monks or something and it just changed... but then he added, "...but part of it could have been from all that cocaine in the 70s."
Interesting! Thank you for your comment and memories! I've heard nothing from nobody about Bowie IRL, so this is helpful and insightful. Thank you again!
If you look at his old interviews with Jonathan Ross and Conan O'Brien, that's the guy I met. He was quick and funny. Iman was cool and laid back... not as engaging, but content just to observe. I worked at a video store they came to in West Hollywood. He asked me, "Any good movies you think I should see?" I turned him on to Reservoir Dogs, which had just come out. Another recent release was a movie called The Linguini Incident, which I told him was terrible and that he should avoid it. He started laughing because he got the joke... he's in that movie! He started looking around and said, "Can I talk to your manager?"
I am inspired by @Canny Granny who wrote she would not give in or up! So I will share a video for you to watch if you find the time, perhaps in the wee hours when you're unable to sleep and darkness presses in. It must be watched until the end for full effect. Do not give up! Never! In case you have to create an account to view, it is the video of Msgr. James Shea, The Weight of Our Brokenness. Thank you for your insights. You have quickly become one of my favorite Substack accounts.
Thank you for your kind words and the video suggestion! Perhaps I will check it out over the weekend. I'm not a "give up" kind of guy, though I guess I could be a "go off the grid" kind of guy. It'd be tough for me to stop writing though. Thank you again for your comment!
In the eternal experience I agree. In the short-term future I am significantly less confident, though I do think we can still pull it out in the 9th inning with a clutch bases-loaded line-drive double just inside the foul line. Thank you for your optimistic comment!
Yeah, maybe we got 30 or 40 years left of the weirdness (which, admittedly, is severely weird)… then we will cast our golden crowns at the feet of Lord Jesus… then we will sing….
I don't despair (much) and I am oft-times filled with Hope and Grace. But it's a constant messaging war to demoralize, plus there are so many strange esoteric, numeric, synchronistic Signs O' The Times.
Oh, and get ready for things to get perhaps even MORE strange — immediately after writing my comment above, FB popped up on my phone, and the crazy Mfers at The Temple Institute in “Israel” had posted this:
“2ND DAY NISAN - MOSHE PREPARES THE ASHES OF THE 1ST RED HEIFER!
According to time honored tradition the ashes of the first red heifer were prepared by Moshe in the wilderness on the second day of Nisan, (today), one day after the inauguration of the Tabernacle.
Maimonides writes in his Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Red Heifer:
"Nine red heifers were offered from the time that they were commanded to fulfill this mitzvah until the time when the Temple was destroyed a second time. The first was brought by Moshe, our teacher. The second was brought by Ezra. Seven others were offered until the destruction of the Second Temple. And the tenth will be brought by the king Mashiach; may he speedily be revealed. Amen, so may it be G-d's will."
That Red Heifer stuff is a whole 'nother level. I've written a lot about it, but it's overwhelming and I'm not sure I'll ever publish any of it. But as somebody PM'd a couple weeks back, "I'd blow off all this conspiracy theorizing if it wasn't for the red heifers and the fact the Jews don't fuck around." Very likely things get weirder. Thank you for your comment!
Yes! …pretty trippy preps for prophecy fulfillment right there.
Here’s why (in case you hadn’t heard) ..
according to NT Bible prophecies in the book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the current Jewish leadership has been satanically infiltrated (not the first time according to Jesus) to prepare for the unveiling of their “messiah”, aka “anti(false)-christ”, who at exactly 3.5 yrs into the 7yr Tribulation, will enter the rebuilt Third Hebrew temple Holy of Holies in Jerusalem and pronounce himself God and demand the sacrifices be stopped. I forget why he doesn’t like that (there is a reason) but stopping sacrifices will be ultimate abomination to the Jews. The Jewish masses (not the deceiving elites bcuz they’re not actually Jews) will freak out and reject this beastly man, and all Hell will break loose on earth literally. It’s written that at this time the Jews will realize they crucified their True Messiah Jesus Christ Son of David two thousand years ago and “mourn for Him as an only son”… also they must immediately flee Jerusalem for their lives bcuz now The Beast will be hellbent to kill them all.
PS:::: if you believe true Jesus Messiah saves you from your sins you’ll be long gone before any of that… yes I know that’s hotly debated but after a lifetime of study that’s my take and I’m not going to defend that here in Toms comment section. No offense.
PSS:::: I verified that within the intersection zone of the two eclipses (2017 & 2024) in America is a town called “Rapture”. No I did not expect that to happen on Monday. But it could’ve 🙃
Thank you for your comment. The only thing I have to say about all that is: Whether the Jews are "God's Chosen People" or not, coasting on that relationship and forgetting that "with great power comes great responsibility," has led to God turning his back on the Jews in the past, as chronicled in their own Holy Books. Everybody tells me that Israel is a majority secular society today, and their government as corrupt as our own. History repeats, or so they say.
This jumped out at me this morning. I sent it to my sister who's doing chemo. Perhaps it's an answer or even the answer. I've been moving towards the cold water with face washes and douches but think I'll get my cold on with showers going into the winter down here.
Thank you for this...is it the right video? I listened to about 20 minutes while taking my walk today and it seemed more biographical than prescriptive. Thank you for your comment, either way!
Incredible incredible incredible writing. I think you captured the “ vibe” we , the weirdo’s are experiencing.
I have no answers either friend.
But, I do have allot of questions.
Thank you.
My goodness, thank you so very much! Basically stream-of-consciousness before sunrise, with some clean-up and thesaurus hunting before publication. And even then there were a couple typos I had to clean up later, LOL. Thank you again for your complimentary comment!
I love your stream-of-consciousness style (well, *effect* is probably more accurate, unless you actually peel this stuff off automatically without having to ponder and craft it, in which case am extremely jealous!) ;^0
I'd say 85-90% of that stuff is in-the-moment writing, with 10-15% cleanup afterwards, usually punctuation and thesaurus action. Thank you for your flattering comment!
My sentiments exactly!
This expresses my current state of mind extraordinarily well, and I have begun to think that countless millions of are experiencing the same. I have also felt, and many others have expressed the same disturhing yet mind-blowing sensation, of the mirage-like nature of what we’ve always called “reality” becoming evident, like realizing it’s all a ghost of what we’ve always believed was a solid, immutable physical existence. I, for one, never thought this shared experience would ever be something I would experience in my lifetime, and maybe I wasn’t supposed to — I have dodged some well-aimed and very solid bullets in my life.
Neither our minds, bodies nor our spirits are prepared for this, and it’s very upsetting and impossible to figure out. Is it God’s will, or is this what God has always warned us was coming? Or both? And I don’t care they much what happens to me, but what about our children? Are they destined to live through some sort of impending apocalypse? I am so bewildered, and have never experienced a time when, every day, I have to consciously decide to trust in god and let it go. “Thy will be done”.
I’m not giving in or up.I have two beautiful granddaughters that need us to not give up.
I'm still absorbing your last post so I can't yet comment on this one except to say... that picture of Clinton, NJ brought tears to my eyes. So, so, so BEAUTIFUL. What's happened to Northeastern small towns is the crime of the century.
What a thoughtful and meaningful essay!
I had coffee yesterday with a good friend of mine, who happens to be a salt-of-the-earth normie. After about an hour of idle chit-chat, out of nowhere he said "I'm just waiting for whatever is going to happen, to happen." Two weeks ago, over lunch with my also-normie Boomer cousins, they mentioned they fully expect the wave of immigrants to stand up and start killing us within the next year or so.
These are not "weird-adjacent" people (I love that term!) like me, and many here in this thread. These are people who pay their taxes, do what they're told, and go about life. Anecdotes mean squat, but the feeling is so thick in the air right now that the weird-adjacent are tripping on it, and the normies are starting to just kinda feel it.
What to do? I love the Biblical example of Nehemiah - work with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other. Go read the story if you haven't. In order to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem before the king changed his mind, Nehemiah had to both manage a construction project and repel hostile invaders. Do one to the exclusion of the other, and neither get done. Such are the times we are in now! Go to work, raise your family, pursue your life-arc...but have an eye and a hand ready for what might come.
Finally, do not let the fear of what's to come steal today's joy. The one gift everyone can give God is thankfulness. Each day is its own lifetime, don't waste it on fear.
This was a good and insightful comment that became a wise and profound one, one that I will contemplate and linger over: "Work with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other."
It may perhaps even require a reassessment of my personal situation and status. Thank you for your comment!
I love what you wrote Adam thank you. 🕊️ This Word encourages me ..
“..then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.” 2Peter 2:9
I met Bowie several times in the early 90s. He was so approachable you'd think you had been friends with him for years. He would talk to anyone, crack jokes like an old friend, and remember everyone's name. Probably one of the coolest celebrities I ever met. I asked him how his voiced changed so drastically from his earlier stuff and he said he went and chanted for a long time with Tibetan Monks or something and it just changed... but then he added, "...but part of it could have been from all that cocaine in the 70s."
Interesting! Thank you for your comment and memories! I've heard nothing from nobody about Bowie IRL, so this is helpful and insightful. Thank you again!
If you look at his old interviews with Jonathan Ross and Conan O'Brien, that's the guy I met. He was quick and funny. Iman was cool and laid back... not as engaging, but content just to observe. I worked at a video store they came to in West Hollywood. He asked me, "Any good movies you think I should see?" I turned him on to Reservoir Dogs, which had just come out. Another recent release was a movie called The Linguini Incident, which I told him was terrible and that he should avoid it. He started laughing because he got the joke... he's in that movie! He started looking around and said, "Can I talk to your manager?"
Love it! Thank you for sharing!
I am inspired by @Canny Granny who wrote she would not give in or up! So I will share a video for you to watch if you find the time, perhaps in the wee hours when you're unable to sleep and darkness presses in. It must be watched until the end for full effect. Do not give up! Never! In case you have to create an account to view, it is the video of Msgr. James Shea, The Weight of Our Brokenness. Thank you for your insights. You have quickly become one of my favorite Substack accounts.
Ooops! The video link: https://seekreplay.com/video/21
Thank you for your kind words and the video suggestion! Perhaps I will check it out over the weekend. I'm not a "give up" kind of guy, though I guess I could be a "go off the grid" kind of guy. It'd be tough for me to stop writing though. Thank you again for your comment!
I think it’s all gonna be okay.
In the eternal experience I agree. In the short-term future I am significantly less confident, though I do think we can still pull it out in the 9th inning with a clutch bases-loaded line-drive double just inside the foul line. Thank you for your optimistic comment!
Yeah, maybe we got 30 or 40 years left of the weirdness (which, admittedly, is severely weird)… then we will cast our golden crowns at the feet of Lord Jesus… then we will sing….
When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
And it will be glorious.
I promise.
Welllllll.....highly unlikely still here in 30-40 years. But my children thank you.
I'm a natural born doomer, but I'm also a fighter.
"Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair." Edmund Burke
I don't despair (much) and I am oft-times filled with Hope and Grace. But it's a constant messaging war to demoralize, plus there are so many strange esoteric, numeric, synchronistic Signs O' The Times.
Oh, and get ready for things to get perhaps even MORE strange — immediately after writing my comment above, FB popped up on my phone, and the crazy Mfers at The Temple Institute in “Israel” had posted this:
“2ND DAY NISAN - MOSHE PREPARES THE ASHES OF THE 1ST RED HEIFER!
According to time honored tradition the ashes of the first red heifer were prepared by Moshe in the wilderness on the second day of Nisan, (today), one day after the inauguration of the Tabernacle.
Maimonides writes in his Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Red Heifer:
"Nine red heifers were offered from the time that they were commanded to fulfill this mitzvah until the time when the Temple was destroyed a second time. The first was brought by Moshe, our teacher. The second was brought by Ezra. Seven others were offered until the destruction of the Second Temple. And the tenth will be brought by the king Mashiach; may he speedily be revealed. Amen, so may it be G-d's will."
So things might get even WEIRDER
That Red Heifer stuff is a whole 'nother level. I've written a lot about it, but it's overwhelming and I'm not sure I'll ever publish any of it. But as somebody PM'd a couple weeks back, "I'd blow off all this conspiracy theorizing if it wasn't for the red heifers and the fact the Jews don't fuck around." Very likely things get weirder. Thank you for your comment!
Yes! …pretty trippy preps for prophecy fulfillment right there.
Here’s why (in case you hadn’t heard) ..
according to NT Bible prophecies in the book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the current Jewish leadership has been satanically infiltrated (not the first time according to Jesus) to prepare for the unveiling of their “messiah”, aka “anti(false)-christ”, who at exactly 3.5 yrs into the 7yr Tribulation, will enter the rebuilt Third Hebrew temple Holy of Holies in Jerusalem and pronounce himself God and demand the sacrifices be stopped. I forget why he doesn’t like that (there is a reason) but stopping sacrifices will be ultimate abomination to the Jews. The Jewish masses (not the deceiving elites bcuz they’re not actually Jews) will freak out and reject this beastly man, and all Hell will break loose on earth literally. It’s written that at this time the Jews will realize they crucified their True Messiah Jesus Christ Son of David two thousand years ago and “mourn for Him as an only son”… also they must immediately flee Jerusalem for their lives bcuz now The Beast will be hellbent to kill them all.
PS:::: if you believe true Jesus Messiah saves you from your sins you’ll be long gone before any of that… yes I know that’s hotly debated but after a lifetime of study that’s my take and I’m not going to defend that here in Toms comment section. No offense.
PSS:::: I verified that within the intersection zone of the two eclipses (2017 & 2024) in America is a town called “Rapture”. No I did not expect that to happen on Monday. But it could’ve 🙃
Thank you for your comment. The only thing I have to say about all that is: Whether the Jews are "God's Chosen People" or not, coasting on that relationship and forgetting that "with great power comes great responsibility," has led to God turning his back on the Jews in the past, as chronicled in their own Holy Books. Everybody tells me that Israel is a majority secular society today, and their government as corrupt as our own. History repeats, or so they say.
Hello Tom
This jumped out at me this morning. I sent it to my sister who's doing chemo. Perhaps it's an answer or even the answer. I've been moving towards the cold water with face washes and douches but think I'll get my cold on with showers going into the winter down here.
Hope it helps some folks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GUPq7XGeLI
Thank you for this...is it the right video? I listened to about 20 minutes while taking my walk today and it seemed more biographical than prescriptive. Thank you for your comment, either way!
Biographical and prescriptive. His website outlines some routines.