Stories Old and New... That's Right, Folks... It's Just Stories... Stories Within Stories!

My Family Constellation
(with 3 missing siblings who didn't survive entry)

HIStory is just the story of the Father Principle - which, many thousands of years ago supplanted HERstory, the story of the Mother Principle. When the Father and Mother Principles realign, reattune and reharmonize - we experience the Sacred Union of Sun and Moon, Yang and Yin, Male and Female. 

Then the world - or our collective experience of reality - becomes OURstory (although such a word and such a world does not yet exist, but as soon you have read and understood this sentence, it shall!)... and then I can continue to write MYstory, which has always been, and shall always be, a Mystery.

On the fourth day of the 11th Gate Master Cylinder, Solara got all of us into small groups so we could write the closing chapter of our Old Stories. Then one day after the Activation Ceremony, we got together again to write the first chapter of our New Stories. Every one of us is essentially a Story - either well or badly told but nonetheless a Story. A Story badly told can be rewritten so it becomes readable. A Story well told will eventually be made into a Blockbuster!

LAST CHAPTER OF MY OLD STORY

Blessings upon my Godfather (Dr Peter Tong Kwok Kee) for pointing out the stars to me when I was just a few months old - and for igniting in me the spark of intelligence.

I was pretty normal until my 18th year when I stumbled upon the Book of Tao, read the first verse, and had goosebumps.

A year later I realized - much to my surprise and delight - that I was, in truth, God incarnate.

That got me in the mental asylum for three months. The only way I could secure my release was to renounce my divinity.

The next 20 years of my life were a slow process of reassembling the scattered pieces of the gigantic jjgsaw puzzle of my multidimensional being.

Finally most of the pieces fell into place and I regained access to the whole enchilada.

The problem now was, I was afraid to reveal who I truly was - in case I got put away again.

Just as well, because my 40 years in the desert gave other aspects of myself time to awaken and reclaim their vastness - so it became safe to finally proclaim my Godhood - safety in numbers!

But the greatest joke of all, it was no longer necessary, no longer important nor significant to be "divine" or to even identify with any primordial, deific, or noble lineage.

I was content to simply be a human being.

I still am. And although I'm a little curious about how it might feel to NOT exist, I'm in no hurry to experience the Ultimate Nothingness - since that's where it all began.

End of my old story. Time for tea. And, yes, a cigarette break is always welcome.

Antares Maitreya
(formerly known as the Ancient of Days)
18 November 2012

FIRST CHAPTER OF MY NEW STORY

What next? Who knows and who cares? Well, I do.

I know the meaning and purpose of my life - all Life! And I care for every living atom of it. Why? Simply because all of it is ME.

On a more "personal" level I want nothing - and everything. I know that acceptance, recognition and reward for being what I am and who I am is already flowing in, like the first rush of water from taps that have long been dry (or just dripping).

I know that whatever happens - or doesn't - to the financial system will make no difference to the abundance that I have finally, consciously, learned to receive - and to recirculate freely and universally.

I know that the planetary awakening of which my own has been an integral part will accelerate at the speed of love.

As more souls emerge from their cocoons, they will go in search of guidance and advice - and I will be here to serve in my own unique capacity.

I enjoy teaching and also learning. Aeons of ignorance and misapprehension of what Reality is all about have to be cleared. I happily lend my energies towards this joyful task.

I can't think of any specific desires I wish fulfilled - but whatever I wish for will manifest much more swiftly now that I no longer resist being all that I am and more.

At this juncture, it makes little difference whether I continue using my physical vehicle a little longer and then surrender it to the elements - or if I will be among the ones granted immortality through complete transmutation of my molecular structure.

Immortality is only acceptable in a self-regenerating, self-rejuvenating, non-degrading physical body. In a body subject to constant wear and tear, extreme longevity may not be such a  pleasant prospect - unless the body remains capable of enjoying everything bodies were designed to enjoy.

Antares
~^@^~

2:30PM
23 November 2012
Huayllabamba, Sacred Valley of the Incas, Peru

[First posted 6 January 2013, reposted 9 April 2018, 7 November 2018, 

26 October 2019, 25 Aoril 2022 & 31 December 2023]

Beyond Hierarchies and Hierophants... (repost)

THE LOVER HOOD

It has no fabric, only understanding. It has no membership, save those who know they belong. It has no rituals, because it is non-competitive. It has no ambition, it seeks only to serve. It knows no boundaries, for nationalisms are unloving.

It is not defensive of itself, because it seeks to enrich all groups and religions. It acknowledges all good teachers, of all the ages, who have shown the truth of love. Those who participate practice the truth of love in all their being.


There is no walk of life or nationality that is a barrier. Those who are, know, and seek not to teach, but to be. And by being, enrich.

It recognizes that the way we are may be the way of those around us, because we are that way.

It recognizes the whole planet as a being of which we are a part. It recognizes that the time has come for the Supreme Transmutation, the ultimate alchemical act of conscious change, of the ego, into a voluntary return to the Whole.


It does not proclaim itself with a loud voice, but in the subtle realms of loving. It salutes all of those in the past who have blazed the path, but have paid the price.

It admits to no hierarchy or structure, for no one is greater than another. Its members shall know each other by their deeds and being, And by their eyes and by no other outward signs, save the fraternal embrace.

Each one will dedicate their life to the silent loving of their neighbor, their environment and planet, while carrying on their task, however exalted or humble.


It recognizes the supremacy of the great idea which may only be accomplished if the human race practices the supremacy of love.

It has no reward to offer, either here or in the hereafter, save that of the ineffable joy of being and loving.


Each shall seek to advance the cause of understanding, doing good by stealth and teaching only by example. They shall heal their neighbors, their community and our planet.

They shall know no fear and feel no shame, and their witness shall prevail over all the odds.

It has no secrets, no arcanum, no initiations, save that of true understanding of the power of love.

If we want it to be so, the world will change - but only if we change ourselves first.

All those who belong, belong, to the Church of Love.

[Recorded & transmitted by Mitchell “Elijah” Gittoes. First posted 14 January 2011.

Reposted 6 January 2024]

Trapped by their own greed and stupidity! (reprise)

Umno/BN, after 22 years of Mahathirism, has degenerated into a robber baron regime paralyzed by a complete failure of imagination and rendered powerless to adapt to changes in the political terrain by the sheer inertia of its own overweening arrogance and greed.

Najib Razak and his grotesque wife Rosmah Mansor were pushed into power by 191 corrupt and inept Umno division chiefs - just as George W. Bush was muscled into the White House in 2000 - to take the flak and serve as a target of public ridicule, so that the nouveau riche Umnoputra elite could continue to rob the nation with impunity and hide the loot in numbered accounts and property investments abroad.

With their control of the law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, civil service, the armed forces and the tribal monarchies, Umno believes it can continue to misrule - by brute force if necessary - through deliberate aggravation of artificially engendered racial and religious differences.

The majority of urbanites have long woken up to Umno/BN's dirty strategies and will never again be fooled. In the rural areas where the only source of news are the mainstream media, the awakening is slightly more sluggish but inevitable. 

Mahathir and Daim Zainuddin created a financial buffer against political defeat by nurturing an ultra-rich entrepreneurial class to feed the Umno/BN electoral juggernaut (hence the lopsided contracts signed with Independent Power Producers and utility corporations privatized to political cronies). This unwholesome conspiracy between centralized government and capitalist self-interest to bamboozle the public will grind to an abrupt end when Umno/BN is booted out - and that's why we see panic breaking out in the hysterical headlines and perverse spins of crony media like Utusan Malaysia and TV3. 

It's time to draw a clear line in the sand, people. It's time to open your windows, stand on a street corner, and shout...

"We're as mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!"

[First published 19 June 2011... reposted 5 January 2013... 6 January 2014... now one LAST time!]

"Braided Hair" (from 1 GIANT LEAP) ~ repost

Photo by Richard Ecclestone

In October 1999 Duncan Bridgeman and Jamie Catto embarked on a crazy adventure - going around the world for six months with a couple of DVcams, a Powerbook G3, a digital mixer, a few good mics, and a powerful sense of serendipity - which resulted in a phenomenal DVD and CD called 1 Giant Leap. When I first heard the CD in 2003 I felt it was the perfect album to celebrate the spirit of the new millennium, serving as a cogent artistic and cultural counterforce to the Project for a New American Century.

January 6th is what some folks call Epiphany (according to the official story, it's the day the Three Magi were guided by a flashing star to the 12-day-old infant Christ). It's also the eve of my birthday. So what better way to mark the beginning of a yet another solar orbit than to share a special moment from 1 Giant Leap with whoever lands on this blog.

There's a superb feature on how Duncan and Jamie went about producing 1 Giant Leap. Below is a brief excerpt detailing the technical aspects of Bridgeman and Catto's stupendous accomplishment.

HAVE LAPTOP, WILL TRAVEL: 1 Giant Leap's Portable Studio Setup

The initial work on 1 Giant Leap's tracks was done on Eilean Shona off Scotland in Emagic's Logic Audio running on Duncan's 400MHz G3 Powerbook laptop. A variety of hardware was used, including an Emu sampler and numerous synths, such as a Roland JV2080 and JD800, a Korg Prophecy, Wavestation and Wavestation AD, and an Oberheim Matrix 1000, as well as guitars and basses. These were all recorded into the laptop as audio before Duncan and Jamie left the UK.

The G3 400 laptop running Logic Audio also formed the heart of the 1 Giant Leap portable setup. Two AKG C1000 condenser mics, and Shure SM57 and 58 dynamics, plugged into a compact Roland VM3100 digital mixer, the stereo digital output of which plugged into a Digigram VXPocket PCMCIA soundcard in the G3 Mac (the VXPocket was, for a while, the only PCMCIA I/O card suitable for use with laptops). "I only had a stereo input to the computer, and it meant I had to balance all the mics quite carefully in the mixer, but it wasn't much of a problem, as it was only at the beginning that we attempted to record groups of people — we soon realised that it wasn't really practical."

For monitoring, Duncan took five pairs of Sony headphones, and a Yamaha DJX keyboard with built-in speakers, which he'd had modified. "Whenever I put a jack into it, it killed the internal sounds, and whatever I put in came out of the speakers. So I used the keyboard for monitoring. I'd come straight out of the laptop, into the DJX, and then I'd have my headphones in the back of the DJX. My contributors would all be listening to headphones, and I'd play them a bit of whatever music I had at that moment. I could juggle the mix and control what they had to react to; sometimes I'd only give them one thing, if I particularly wanted them to listen to that."

The Yamaha DJX also doubled as a table, onto which Duncan usually put the G3 laptop. "I had it all worked out. I had a guitar with me in a flightcase, so I could sit on that, and get my legs under the DJX, which had a metal panel on top with velcro for the laptop to sit on so that it wouldn't fall off... the Roland mixer was down at my side, and in the metal box that I took, there was a MIDI interface, so I could play MIDI in from the DJX into Logic, and a half-rack Roland JV1010. There were no proper virtual instruments then, you see, so the JV1010 was my main synth for composing on the road.

"I had 12V battery belts, with 12 elements, like cameramen wear, and I fed that into the metal box. That powered the DJX, the laptop, the mixer, and the JV1010. The power requirements weren't too bad — I could work for about five or six hours before the belt pack was exhausted."

The visual side comprised two cameras (operated by 1 Giant Leap's cameraman Ben Cole and Jamie's girlfriend Jessica Howie), a tripod, and a circular blue screen, so the background could be replaced later at the video-editing stage.

"And that was it! Oh no, it wasn't — there was also a mic stand. That was a bastard to carry around..."

Read the entire story here.

Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman

[First posted 6 January 2008]

Some images to end a dramatic era with...

Beauty and truth serve us better than money and power 

Eternal symbol of the perfection of imperfectness

Life is always mysterious

When the walls crumble...

Hang on to that paddle!

There are beings with much larger brains than humans 

Planetary metamorphosis

The genius of Nature

The sacred geometry of eternal renewal 

The only health warning we need to heed!

TAKE IT EASY, FOLKS!

[First posted 31 December 2012]

Fuck Yourself ~ A birthday tribute to Zappa

FUCK YOURSELF ~ A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE TO ZAPPA

CLASSIC ZAPPA QUOTES

A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.

All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.

I never set out to be weird. It was always other people who called me weird.

If you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library.

It isn't necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.

Most people wouldn't know music if it came up and bit them on the ass.

Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read.

Music is always a commentary on society.

Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.

One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds.

Politics is the entertainment branch of industry.

Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.

The computer can't tell you the emotional story. It can give you the exact mathematical design, but what's missing is the eyebrows.

The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.

Without deviation progress is not possible.

Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid.

You can't always write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say, so sometimes you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream.

You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.

FRANK ZAPPA (21 December 1940 - 4 December 1993) was a massive influence on me. I first heard about Zappa and his band at the time, The Mothers of Invention, in 1967 when I spent a year in New Jersey as an exchange student. In 1968, shortly before I returned to Malaysia, I attended a Zappa concert at Billy Graham's Fillmore East in New York City, and had the singular honor of shaking Frank Zappa's hand and chatting with him for about 3 minutes. I also nodded at Jimmy Carl Black ("the Indian of the group") and crossed the street with Ian Underwood (keyboardist with the Mothers) to buy a few beers. We had a nice little chat, though I can't remember what about.

Before he excused himself to pack his gear, Frank presented me with a chocolate teardrop wrapped in foil. I ate it on the latenight bus heading home - and have never been the same. I realized, over subsequent years, that I had encountered one of the Most Intelligent Humans on Earth. Forty-two years after that initial meeting in New York, that still remains true for me. Thank you, Frank. You live on in my heart and in my neural circuitry.

P.S. Upon my return from the US, I actually wrote several letters to Zappa. Imagine my joy and delight when an envelope arrived on 29 April 1977 bearing Frank Zappa's personal logo. Frank would have been 70 today. I'm sure he won't mind my sharing this letter with you ;-)...

Would you believe I have been meaning to answer your letter since I first received it and just now got around to doing it? Well, you'd better ... anyway, yours was perhaps the most interesting piece of correspondence of the year (was it two or three years ago?)

Who are you? What the fuck are you doing over there? Why are you "almost Chinese"?

Hope to hear from you again.

Your friend,
Frank Zappa

P.S. The photo with the simulated green complexion was most amusing.

[First posted 21 December 2010]