Upward Thought

South Carolina has proposed a move-in tax for new residents to the state. This doesn't surprise me whatsoever. Nor does the fact that they want it to go into the state coffers instead of paying a dividend to state citizens. What surprises me is how long it took and how little it is (less than $1,000). Look for the same elsewhere, and look for those amounts to increase. Whatever the mechanism, and however long it takes, as I have been telling you for years, the difficulty required to move to better places will only increase, until the only way to flee will be with what you are carrying as you set out on foot. Now, there is a reliable crowd of folks who call such statements fear mongering, even in the event that they end up happening exactly as stated. I will agree with these folks one thing: you shouldn't do anything because of fear--not even serve God--and in this I disagree with many people you probably consider to be holier than me. You see, I do not fear God. Not at all. Not

As a reminder, where you live--and who you live among--determines many things, including the composition of a jury if you are accused of a crime. This isn't exactly on the mind of normal people, but it should be. The expected cost of something is determined by multiplying the probability of its occurrence by the cost it would incur. If you live where 80% of people do, a jury will convict you of anything--whether you did it or not--so long as they hear the right emotionally- and politically-charged words. And if they did so, it would very likely ruin your life, because it is very likely that you do not have contingencies built in for such things, for almost no one does. So the question becomes: what is the likelihood of someone coming after someone like you? If you are a normal person, you might think "why would anyone care about little old me?" Think again. I assure you that the bar for getting noticed is much lower than you think, and it drops further every day. I recent

Someone emailed me asking for these. They were in the tranche of old posts. I'm reposting them here unmodified. A man's purpose (last edit, 6/13/2018) I have a higher purpose in life, one that transcends the daily. My mission in life is to 1) discover further light and truth, 2) assimilate it into my life, and 3) disseminate it to others inasmuch as they desire and are capable of receiving it. To do this, I 1) believe there is something greater than what I know/have/am, 2) seek and cherish experiences that reveal limitations to my understanding/capability, and 3) discover better and/or new principles that order more/deeper chaos than previously possible. My mission in life will require me to advance further into the darkness than those around me, so I do not expect anyone but God to be my companion or my support. Leaning on those around me requires them to step into chaos that exceeds their capabilities, and will always result in their retreat from me and their cutting themselv

I've published a bit and written a lot more on reactions to truth. A more concise (albeit less powerful) representation for some of those ideas is found in the seven stages of grief, which is how experts say people react to aspects of reality that are not what they "hoped for, wanted, or expected. " These stages are: Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance It is interesting to think through any of the many recent examples of aspects of reality that differ from what people hope for, want, or expect. It's interesting to see people say "that could never happen," then call you names, then accept the truth in some delusionally reduced slice or resolution (that's a more accurate description of bargaining than you'll find in the literature), then suffer FAR MORE in final admission of the truth after fighting it than they every would have if they had just accepted what was justified from the start, and then acceptance. I think a more accurate descripti

Begin the day with a friendly voice A companion, unobtrusive Plays that song that's so elusive And the magic music makes your morning mood Off on your way, hit the open road There is magic at your fingers For the spirit ever lingers Undemanding contact in your happy solitude Invisible airwaves crackle with life Bright antennas bristle with the energy Emotional feedback on a timeless wavelength Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free -Rush, "Spirit of the Radio"

Analyzing what you got wrong in the past is essential to making yourself better for the future. More and more people are regretting taking the shot, and some people are honest enough to say so. Some of these people have publicly expressed their wonder that some people somehow got it right. I recently saw an article with something like 16 reasons everyone should have seen the covid shot as something not worth getting. I am not sharing the article, because I think it vastly overcomplicates the process. Complexity is a measure of how difficult it is to understand something. One of the many hidden measures of intelligence is a person's ability to convey complex ideas in high fidelity using simple ideas. Here is the simplest way I can put it in the five minutes I'm willing to spend on this post: What is the cost, and what is the benefit? Even with the initially overinflated death rates, it was very clear from day one that an experimental mRNA treatment with obviously lifelong effect

The last while I've been peppered by circumstances that cause me to reflect on the damage done by the many professed spiritual leaders pretending they have something worth listening to. It's amazing to me the kind of barriers exist in the minds and hearts of those who have been trained on bitter water. They have vastly impeded systems of determining the value of the real thing when it is plainly offered to them. They expect the real wine to come in their counterfeit bottles, and when it doesn't they expect the wine to be poured into the skins they hold up when they come around. It really doesn't work that way. I plan to help by giving you a good description of how to evaluate the value of what is offered in books later.  A quick list of the expectations would include: - Sharing "your witness." This cracks me up because the word "witness" in the scriptures means a lot more than someone who tells a story. The use as such is a dead giveaway that the per