A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME... (repost)

“Kit Fong, pay attention!”

Cringe.

“Kit Fong, you’re late again!”

Cringe.

Was it the insidious cultural influence of having been born in the days of the Empire when names like Archibald, Horatio and Montgomery sounded easier on the ear than Ching Chong, King Kong or Ping Pong?

Whatever the cause, the effect was psychologically debilitating. I secretly dropped the Fong. In my mind I was Kit Lee. I had no problem with the name “Kit” which means “outstanding hero” in Chinese [傑]. That I could relate to. But the way the “Fong” was written suggested “fragrant” rather than “magnanimous” – and the idea of being a “fragrant hero” sounded namby-pamby and sissy. At eight I was understandably defensive of my masculinity.

It took about 12 years to grow my third ‘E’ – but we’ll discuss that later.


Meanwhile, having been impressed by Christopher Lee’s performance as Count Dracula and as an Egyptian priest in The Mummy, I was thrilled to learn that “Kit” was also the pet form of “Christopher” – which entitled me to see myself as a hologram aspect of that highly distinguished horror-film actor.

Of course, nobody had heard of holograms yet. But already I had a vivid sense of the micro-macro, “as above, so below” fractal universe that constitutes the cosmic context of our beings.

Soon enough, I dropped the “Christopher Lee” nonsense. Anyway, I was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the meaning of “Christopher” – bearer of the Christ child (at the time I had no idea what "Christ" actually meant, thought it was a cuss word).

Then I came across a book on numerology and spent weeks working out the values and attributes of everybody’s name I could think of. I decided that my name vibration had to correspond with the mystical 7, and the easiest way to manage that without radically altering my given name was to attach an extra ‘E’ to the Lee.

Furthermore, “Kit Leee” added up to a 7 numerologically as well as typographically. And so the long tedious task began of persuading people to accept my third ‘E.’

At the same time I started feeling uneasy about wearing a name that could identify me with any specific ethnic group on this planet. I didn’t feel particularly Chinese, since the language was no less exotic to me than Greek or Hebrew or Serbo-Croatian. My only acquaintance with Chinese philosophy, primarily Taoist, was filtered through the minds of westerners like Alan Watts, Richard Wilhelm and Carl Jung.

Was I a cultural banana, yellow outside and white inside? Appealing as that metaphor sounded, I sought the broadest human perspective rather than wave flags, shake rattles and shout slogans proclaiming my loyalty to any football club or genetic lineage.

I toyed around with anagrams and read everything backwards. Having stumbled upon the Latin word “resurgam” and discovering that its meaning resonated with my own obsession with resurgence or resurrection, I playfully began to call myself Magruser Eeel or M. Eeel for short (inspired partly by an obscure French musician named M. Frog and partly by an inexplicable fascination with the name “Melchizedek” which contains three ‘E’s, an ‘L’ and an ‘M’).

Magruser, apart from being Resurgam spelt backwards, had the dubious benefit of sounding vaguely Scottish. As a teenager I’d had recurring reincarnational dreams of being a drummer boy at the head of a kilt-wearing highland regiment. These dreams invariably ended with my getting a musket ball in my belly, collapsing on the meadow, and feeling my spirit evaporate into a cloudless blue sky.

Then I found out that “Tricky Dick” Nixon had a White House staffer named Jeb Magruder (pictured right) – which kind of soured the name “Magruser” for me. I finally realized nobody could take a name like Magruser Eeel seriously, though I must admit it bears a certain spiritual kinship with Forrest Gump.

Now this probably comes across as the eccentric preoccupations of a totally self-absorbed young person. Indeed I was in danger of becoming a solipsist – someone who believes that “all real entities are modifications and states of the self.” In other words, a victim of “artistic egoism” for whom the universe exists only as a private playground. After all, I was very much an adherent of the Socratic dictum: “Know thyself.” And how else does one go about “knowing” oneself if not through experimenting with the process of naming and renaming?

The act of naming underlies all epistemological workings. Epistemology is just a fancy word for studying the basis of knowledge. For instance: by describing a person as “hero” or “villain” or “astronaut” or “junkie,” we are in effect defining how others will perceive or receive him or her. A “very determined” chap is worthy of public admiration; however, a “mulishly obstinate” fellow tends to elicit sighs of psychic fatigue from those around him. It’s the classic case of having to choose between a cup half-empty or half-full.

At any rate “Kit Leee” gradually got accepted because people kept seeing it in print over a period of years when I was active in theater, music and journalism. Most people were addressing letters to “Kit Leee” – except my mother, who found it hard to acknowledge the validity of my surname “Leee.” Finally I had my first book published – and when she saw my name in all its glory on the cover, she capitulated.

How did my father feel about it?

I explained to him that the Lee clan consisted of hundreds of thousands of individuals who weren’t remotely related – including a whole bunch of Lees that weren’t even Chinese. By becoming a Leee I was merely extending the line and marking a departure from tradition. My father took it quietly without argument. He has never been prone to intellectual discourse, being a practical man who prefers to deal with the nuts-and-bolts of existence. As far as he was concerned, I would always be his son, no matter what I called myself.

I began making enquiries about officially changing my name to Kit Leee. Lawyers informed me the deed poll process was fairly complicated and costly – AND the rub was, Malaysian laws require that one’s birthname be retained on the identity card as an alias. No way. I didn’t want to sound like a gangster: Yong Tow Foo @ Ah Foo @ Fooyong Hai @ Towfoo Pok.

This is bullshit, I thought. Surely we have the right to choose whatever form of identification feels comfortable to us. How dare the State try to keep our personalities from evolving!

At the bank I was unable to get an ATM card issued with the name Kit Leee. “Kit Lee” was permitted but “Kit Leee” tak boleh. My very sensible argument that, in terms of security, “Leee” was far more effective than “Lee” – because I was probably the only one on Earth with such a surname – was answered by blank looks and firm shakes of the head. Not even a smile.

Later I was delighted to learn I wasn’t the only Leee on Earth. While reading a biography of David Bowie, the ultimate chameleon of pop iconology, I came across the name Leee Black Childers, who was at one time executive vice-president of Bowie’s MainMan label. Aha! There are at least two of us, I thought, elated. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there are actually THREE of us, including Leee John, the soul singer (left).

So… why couldn’t I leave well enough alone?

Why did I have to embark on a whole new campaign to persuade people to address me as ANTARES? What on earth does “Antares” mean, anyway? Is it Greek? Spanish? Sanskrit? Did I find it in a book? Who gave it to me? Anyway, who gives a fuck…

I’m by no means the only one who has periodically felt the compulsion to alter the course of my destiny by changing my name.

Amunhotep IV turned his reign into a far-reaching navigational beacon by becoming Pharaoh Akhnaton. Samuel Langhorne Clemens achieved literary immortality as Mark Twain, in the same way that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a quiet mathematician, insinuated his imaginative genius into the public realm by posing as Lewis Carroll, author of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

Marion Morrison fared much better as John Wayne; and Robert Allen Zimmerman may well have remained a gas-pump attendant in Hibbings, Minnesota, had he not decided to strike out for New York and seek his fortune as Bob Dylan. What about Issur Danielovitch? Even Michael Douglas would have had difficulty spelling his famous father Kirk’s birthname!

Andy Warhol would probably not have bothered creating iconographic posters of Norma Jean Mortenson had she not agreed to be billed as Marilyn Monroe. Would you be as interested in Luisa Ciccone’s sex life as you might be in Madonna’s? Do you think somebody born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta can possibly make it in show business - unless she has the gumption to change her name to something catchy like Lady Gaga?


How about Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh? Teuku who? You mean P. Ramlee (left) – the chap who successfully integrated Indian (Ram), Chinese (Lee) and Orang Puteh (P) elements into his own embodiment of the post-colonial Malay artistic genius? And if Prince Siddhartha hadn’t undergone his vision quest and transformed himself into Gautama Buddha, our spiritual legacy would have certainly been far poorer.

It isn’t only individuals with exaggerated ego insecurities who habitually drop names. Entire countries have been known to do it too. In 1939 Thailand dropped its ancient moniker of Siam, perhaps in protest against that Rodgers & Hammerstein musical, The King and I. Myanmar lost no time shedding its Burma tag when SLORC oozed into power. The USSR was dropped for CIS or Gorby-knows-what in 1991. Yugoslavia is now referred to as “the former Yugoslavia” or “the Balkan States” (though the area remains a hopeless mess of hostile ethnicities). Then Czechoslovakia dropped its name - and the country broke in two.

Bangladesh was once… does anyone recall? And we’ll not mention the African nations at all except to note that names there have been dropped so feverishly the mapmakers can’t keep up. This name-dropping malaise caused Malaysia to lose its Malaya (which means “hills” in Tamil and “freedom” in Tagalog).

But coming back to this ANTARES business: it wasn’t an easy decision, I’ll have you know that. Especially since years of effort had already been invested in establishing a third-E trademark for my work as that weird “Kit Leee” personality. And to now go through the exercise of dropping yet another name felt like a petty exercise in triviality, with no relevance to the larger issues of existence.

Yet I believe it had to be done. I can provide an absolutely sound rationale for my idiosyncratic proclivity to drop names that no longer serve. Let’s put it this way: whether you describe yourself as a Batu Arangite, a Penangite, a Muarian, a Kampung Buayanese, a Malaysian, an Asian, an Earthian, a Milky Wayfarer, or simply as I AM THAT I AM pretty much determines the parameters of your thoughts and deeds. A caterpillar can’t easily proceed to butterflyhood if it insists on and persists in calling itself a grub.

Names carry very specific vibrations. Notice how Americans prefer the informality of being called Bob instead of Robert, Jack instead of John, Ted instead of Theodore, Dick instead of Richard; whereas Canadians and Brits generally prefer that you address them by their “proper” names. Notice, too, how dignitaries tend to be extremely offended should one omit their lengthy titular appendages in official correspondence.


Imagine how peeved the Germans initially felt when American advertising wizards suggested they call their Volkswagen the Beetle… or, even worse, the Bug. Well, the admen’s advice was perfect for the freewheeling zeitgeist of the booming postwar automobile market. Even a pop music combo named after this particular insect proved phenomenally successful! I wonder if I might sell more CDs if I renamed myself "Nyamok" ("mosquito" in Malay)...

Recently I met a couple of women who introduced themselves to me as Chong, their family name. Chong & Chong. Tan & Tan. Cheech & Chong. Johnson & Johnson. Fraser & Neave. Fang & Claw. Proctor & Gamble. Hem & Haw. Bumwiggle & Himmelfucker. Long live the Lees! Down with the Leighs! You’re a disgrace to the D’Cruz name! Such blind loyalty to the clan trademark is incomprehensible to me. It suggests that one has only one essential function, that is, to propagate one’s bloodline.

Some say God has 9,000 names (or is it 999,000?). Maybe his favorite pastime is name-dropping too? With his nearly infinite hoard of names, God could well be the biggest Name-Dropper of all time. Hi, how’s it going, Al?


Let me assure you, the name “Antares” perfectly describes my present function in the human as well as the cosmological context. “Antares” came to me during a star-alignment ritual – a meditation on connecting vertically with the stellar realms, rather than just horizontally with mundane aspirations. Subsequently I did a little research and found that Antares is a binary stargate located in the heart of the Scorpio constellation, visible as the brightest star in the southern skies. In Greek the name means “counterforce to Mars” (Anti-Ares). Mars or Ares is the symbol of War or Division; it is also the symbol of the Masculine Force. Mars rules the field in battle as a sword, in farming as a plowshare, in medicine as a scalpel. So the counterforce to Mars would be Love, Venus, the Feminine Force, the Goddess Principle, the harmonizer, integrator and unifier. Which is exactly how I perceive my contribution to the greater community and the universe. No longer the combative hero, the David who vanquishes Goliath with a well-aimed slingshot – but as the reconciliator, the interlink between divergent realities and values.

Remarkably the word antara in Sanskrit means “connection” – and in Malay it is used as the preposition “between” as in antarabangsa (international). Indonesia’s national news agency is called Antara. Deeper research indicates that antara is related to antahkarana – the rainbow bridge linking heaven to earth, celestial to terrestrial experience, the transpersonal to the personal.


I like that. I’m tired of being regarded as the renegade, the bad boy, the enfant terrible, the critic, the dissident. I would much rather be viewed as the Zone of Overlap between Spirit and Matter, between the sublime and the ridiculous. The traditional antagonism between polar opposites can be transmuted by a focused, intentional act of renaming. No need for US versus THEM. Inevitably it's US plus THEM equals WE. Today’s “working class” becomes tomorrow’s “ruling elite” and vice versa.

The Wheel of Fortune or Karma or Dynamic Evolution forever spins. Behind, beyond and above the din of cash registers and children’s excited squeals, and the loud laments of parents whose pockets have just been picked, one can hear the spontaneous cackle of the Trickster, Hermes or Thoth, the Cosmic Clown – who laughs not so much in cruelty but in the playful spirit of one who has known joy and sorrow and no longer plays the game of Snakes and Ladders. It is the lighthearted laughter of one who suddenly notices the projector beam and remembers he’s at the cinema watching the latest box-office spectacular… phew, no need to crap your pants, folks! It’s called “special effects” – but, boy, is it scary!

So call me Antares. If it’s a formal encounter, you may include my ceremonial titles of Avalokiteshvara (a name I picked up in Tibet many lifetimes ago) and Maitreya (a spiritual rank conferred upon me on 9 November 2009). In any case, Kit Leee the Fragrant and Outstanding Hero will live on in old friends’ and relatives’ memories – or as a cheque-receiving device (even though I can't remember when I last received a cheque in the post).

As long as we inhabit a competitive holographic world fueled by money, driven by paranoia, suspicion and fear – instead of life-affirming acceptance, love and perfect trust – I must accept the blank uncomprehending looks of bank clerks and bureaucrats as part of the outgoing reality. Not everyone can respond to freeform jazz improvisations. Many feel safer within the Euclidean framework of the Status Quo – just as members of the Flat Earth Society continue to fear falling off into Deep Space if they venture too close to the edge.

However, there’s room for everyone and everything under the Sun (if not ours, some other distant Sun). Those who keep saying “There’s no room for this, no room for that in our society” are control-freaks possessed by archaic demons in their own brain circuitry. The Master Yeshua assured us: “My father’s house has many mansions.” Which is a poetic way of revealing that there are worlds within worlds, dimensions within dimensions; everyone has a seat reserved at the heavenly feast, so don’t worry, be happy.

And the day will surely dawn when the only form we have to fill is the one that pleases us most.

Then I can revert to signing off as ANON – which happens to be an anagram for ONAN. Well, I think it’s better to be Onan the Masturbator than Conan the Barbarian, no?

[First published in Journal One, 1996. Updated & reposted 7 May 2011, 6 January 2019 & 12 November 2022]

11TH GATE ACTIVATION IN THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS (revisited)

The Journey through the Doorway of the 11:11 has taken 21 years – and though the final and eleventh gate was activated in Peru during a 25-hour ceremony between 21-22 November 2012, the story is far from over…

While I was in the thick of it, I made a million mental notes and couldn’t wait to get back to my laptop so I could put it all down in words. Now I’m at a total loss for what to say about the 11th Gate Activation.

The 11:11 phenomenon isn’t something that can easily be explained. Those who respond to its call often say their hearts spoke to them and made them put aside money so they could physically participate in these Activations, even though their minds couldn’t comprehend why it meant so much to them. You could say the call of the 11:11 is an intensely personal one – and at the same time it’s also entirely transpersonal.

Joyful reunion with my amazing Russian soulbrother Igor Abramov

What happens at these 11:11 Gate Activations?

A whole week is devoted to generating a coherent unified field, which Solara calls our One Being. In Peru there were roughly 130 participants from more than 30 countries – with significant numbers from Russia and Mexico. I was the only Asian representative, though not the only Asian – Sonata Myung (a Korean residing in Canada) and Anastra (a Trinidad-born Indian residing in Melbourne who has been at almost every Activation) were present too, although in such a polyglot company more attention is placed on starry lineages rather than ethnic or national origins. [For those interested, there are 3 major star lineages operating in this 3rd-dimensional reality and they entered into manifestation via the stargates in Orion’s Belt, viz., EL (Mintaka), AN (Al Nilam) and RA (Al Nitak). This information first came to light in Solara’s 1991 novel, EL*AN*RA ~ The Healing of Orion.]

Aliya & Yusuf Gubaydullin from Tatastan were among the youngest participants

Within the first three hours, the One Being began to emerge. A coherent field is generated when a disparate group of humans with open hearts connect on an energetic, emotional level. Solara has had lifetimes of training for the work she does, which is to serve as a conductor and integrator of purified emotional frequencies. The deceptively simple techniques she has developed over many decades mostly involve a series of mudras and starry dances – but it is her magnificent and masterful presence - and her disarming wit and gentle authority - that effectively forms a powerful nucleus around which the coherent field emerges - at first imperceptibly, but by the third day the feeling of loving oneness is absolutely tangible. Clear eyes and wide open hearts dissolve all artificial boundaries in an instant. People you only just met suddenly feel like ancient associates and long-lost soul family members.

Marisa Rego from Brazil: a giant heart on legs

The 11:11 mudras formulated by Solara are uncomplicated and easy to do – but they powerfully and instantly transform one’s state of being.

Amazingly, doing the 11:11 mudras with focused intent effectively recalibrates our energy fields, bypassing the left brain with its customary doubts and unanswered questions. It helps to perform the mudras in a group, as the effects are greatly reinforced and amplified – however, doing them on your own is a very transformative exercise that instantly alters your biochemistry.

At every 11:11 Gate Activation, Solara is beautifully supported by one or more sacred musicians. Omashar has been the resident musician at every recent Gate Activation and his contribution is integral to the process. His songs are inspiring, uplifting and extremely haunting – many reported hearing his soaring melodies playing in their heads for days on end! This is one of Omashar’s Activation hits:

Starry dances are an important part of every 11:11 Gate Activation. As a starry choreographer, Solara has come up with many simple but extremely powerful dances that serve to transform any number of bodies into beautiful, kinetic mandalas. The 22-minute “Starry Processional” (accompanied by profoundly evocative original music by Etherium) – which was performed 38 times over 38 hours at the Giza Pyramids during the First Gate Activation on 11 January 1992 – has a trance-inducing effect on participants, evoking long-buried genetic memories of our original lives as stars, spinning majestically through the aeons in patterns of geometric splendor.

Although many had never before done any of the starry dances, the 11th Gate Master Cylinder was marked by very successful performances which created a deep emotional bond among the participants right from the outset. It’s not something that can be described in words – one has to experience it to know. The roots of ritual theater and sacred dance go all the way back in time and space to ancient mystery schools like the Atlantean, Egyptian and Eleusinian.

Aloisio Ferreira & Mariana Schoeler from Brazil

What never ceases to astound me is the way Solara can get a diverse group of individuals to merge effortlessly into a conscious whole without ever raising her voice or reprimanding anyone. If only the 11:11 techniques can be introduced in all areas of public life, so that our parliamentarians can enter each session as One Being… all problems could then be resolved elegantly, efficiently, and effortlessly - and without energy-squandering ego conflicts!

As a collectivity of strong-minded individuals, 11:11 participants quickly learn to set aside their petty egos in service of a universal agenda - that of attunement and harmonization with unwritten cosmic codes that facilitate conscious reintegration with the entire spectrum of life. In so doing we become a cogent coherent field capable of acting in unison – and that forms an organic key with which to open unseen doors to other dimensional realities. It is a beautiful form of cosmic magick, beyond the schisms of Light and Dark, which reconnects us with the Whole of Creation and restores our long-buried memories of countless lifetimes dedicated to the reintegration of our fragmented existences across time and space and multiple dimensions.

Akyuna Akish, 18, White Dragon and Star Commander. Remember the cosmic fetus at the end of
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey? That's him, he's arrived!

We are the One that became the Many that must become One again… to proceed to the next step in our unique and universal journey as conscious souls in form.

On a more mundane level, Solara takes pains to ensure the comfort and safety of every participant. The 5-star Aranwa spa resort, located amid cornfields at the foot of the towering Andes in the tiny village of Huayllabamba, was where the group stayed for all 10 days of the 11th Gate Master Cylinder (except during the Activation Ceremony when the group was encamped on an open field overlooked by mountains). The lushly landscaped Aranwa (which means "legend" in Quecha) was a setting fit for kings and queens - and the menagerie of peacocks, colorful (and very noisy) macaws, and inquisitive alpacas added to the regal atmosphere. Considering the de luxe quality of the meals and lodging – and the heavenly, serene setting – the participation fee of $1,744 for 10 days of a fantastic working holiday beyond spacetime is an entirely reasonable price to pay for what many subsequently stated was the most important experience of their lives.

When the 11:11 Doorway was activated in January 1992, I served as the anchor in Malaysia. I am completely amazed by Solara’s superhuman stamina and dedication, over the last 21 years, to her earthly mission of clearing a return path back to the stars for all humanity. Now that the 11th and final Gate has been activated, the incoming stellar codes will soon catalyze a fresh evolutionary surge throughout the planet, freeing all life from artificial boundaries created by false dogmas and limiting beliefs. As Solara puts it, the True Ones will emerge from camouflage and concealment to reclaim our True Lives among True Peoples, to achieve our True Purpose.

Sacred Lotus dance under the magenta rays of the Inca Sun
(pic courtesy of Sebastian Purelove)

The reappearance and reintegration of the Family of AN – a starry lineage which has always been a stabilizing and harmonizing force for conscious evolution but which became scattered and almost completely vanished from the collective memory – signals the end of duality-based ideological conflicts, root cause of so much misery and suffering on our precious planet. Each of us who was physically present at the 11th Gate – and all those who participated in one of nearly 600 anchor groups in 62 countries – have downloaded new apps for creative, conscious living which will serve us well as we return to our various realities as empowered Seeds of AN.

Solara says that AN is characterized by the sacred union of Sun and Moon, the male and female polarities – intellect fused with intuition, giving rise to true compassion and emotional maturity. The Activation Ceremony ended with the Aslan Dance in which we danced as matched pairs – hearts shining like a million suns, radiating joy and nobility – finally breaking free from the endless circle of life-death-rebirth and going forth in all directions, carrying the truth of our divine essence wherever our human destinies may take us.

Rainbow round the midday Sun with the colors of the El*An*Ra

In her Surf Update of 26 November, Solara says:

We have written the final chapter of our old stories and closed our old book. Our new stories have now begun. We can create the lives that we truly want. The ones that are most suited to who we are. We can step free of all our old limiting behaviors and beliefs. We can live True Lives as True Ones.

The final 11:11 Activation of the Eleventh Gate was absolutely magnificent. Here at the Master Cylinder in Peru, we began in the afternoon of November 21 and continued through the night until the afternoon of November 22.

As we began our ceremony, there were two rainbows in the sky directly above us, with the Sun on one side and the Moon on the other. Soon, a condor blessed us with his appearance. This was a very rare occurrence as condors rarely are seen in the Sacred Valley. During the first afternoon, there was a large Sunbow around the Sun.

Blue & orange dusk @ activation site, 21 November 2012

Although we were in the rainy season and it had poured with rain for several nights preceding the ceremony, our night was without rain. We had called upon the Apus, the Peruvian mountain Gods, for good weather. Until the Moon descended behind the mountains in the middle of the night, it was encircled by a huge Moonbow. All the auspicious signs were there. We keep the ceremony going throughout the night with two people in charge of every hour.

What was truly noteworthy is that I did not have to hold the ceremony together as I usually do. Instead, I spent much of the long night lying down and being very still, immersing myself in the energies. It was a profound passing of the scepters....

Indigo Raffel has been an integral part of the 11:11 Journey from the very beginning

In the morning at 6:11, just after finishing doing the 11:11 Mudras in ultra, slow motion, we danced the Eye of AN Dance. Suddenly, energy came pouring in and we knew that the Activation of Eleventh Gate had begun.

But it was not until 1:11 that afternoon that the full Activation began. The Dragons of the Elements merged with the White Dragons and became one large Dragon. Then they took positions as Guardians, while the White Lotus moved into the center of our sacred circle. The rest of us did the Eleventh Gate Mudra over and over. Then suddenly, the Eleventh Gate energies began pouring in. The wind Wayra surged through our ceremonial site and the Eleventh Gate opened wider and wider. This continued for 40 minutes or so with the loud roar of the wind and such strong, true energy. So much joy and wonder was felt by all of us. Then we danced the final Starry Procession of the entire Doorway of the 11:11.

Ya! and Ankasha at the Crystal Cave, Macchu Pichu

The next day was filled with constant sessions and meetings. The Heart of AN is coming alive and many are jumping in and offering their support for its physical manifestation. Our final evening session was a sweet and deep celebration, as we honored our entire journey through the 11:11 Doorway.

A colorful new story begins... (pic by Alizac Leos Pantoja)

Viviane Madureira & Lisandra from Brazil

Crystal heart of the Andes 

THE HEART OF AN 

[First posted 1 December 2012, reposted 7 November 2018]

THE CREATRIX SOPHIA (repost)

The Heart of Sophia by Jo Sophia (watercolor on art paper) 2020

Behold the Creatrix!

As Sophia, the Gnostics knew her;

Mother Nature the people now call her;

As the Great Goddess Gaia, the Romans revered her,

Even as she slumbered through countless ages,

Conjuring flora and fauna in her dreams,

From the compacted plasma of her Aeonic Being,

That crumbly, earthy, fertile substance some call Dirt

And some call Soil, upon which farmers and gardeners toil,

Bringing forth bountiful Beauty.

 

The Birth of Sophia by Jo Sophia (watercolor on art paper) 2020

Oh, she manifests infinite potential in diverse forms:

All we see around us is merely a different, unique aspect

Of her ceaselessly changing Dream Body,

Even as her Self-Awareness ignites and expands,

Every time one of us begins to feel her holy presence

Within, and beyond us, in a moment of heightened joy, or sorrow,

Or erotic passion, for that is her lifeforce,

Kundalini, as the yogis know it.

 

The Blue Serpent
by Jo Sophia (2020)

In ancient days she was adored and celebrated

As the Serpent and the Cosmic Egg,

Revealing initiatory Gnosis of the Binary Code

Wherein the phallic numeral 1 transforms into a sinuous waveform

To penetrate and fertilize the 0, primordial nothingness (the Holy of Holies),

Nought or Nut (Egyptian Goddess of the Night),

From whose loins Day arises as the radiant Sun (or Son)

To draw forth abundance, delight and life without end,

Indeed, from the numinous, mysterious depths of

The Creatrix Sophia.

The Creatrix Sophia by Jo Sophia 
(watercolor on art paper) 2020

 

 [For Jo Sophia Kassandra as she begins her 30th solar orbit on 31 October 2020. Reposted

31 October 2025]

May 13, September 11... and Altantuya! (reprise)

I finally got hold of Dr Kua Kia Soong's latest book, May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969. More to the point, I read it all the way through with interest, and it was an exercise that set off quite an elongated train of thought. When the violence erupted 38 years ago I was living in the quiet southern town of Batu Pahat where nothing untoward happened, although I remember people were tense and uneasy, and the streets were unusually deserted. My severely pregnant wife was almost due then and I would take her for a spin around town every evening - and not once did I sense we were in any danger whatsoever. Our first daughter, Moonlake, was delivered at home on May 28, in the same house where I had been born and - believe it or not - by the same midwife who had delivered me 19 years earlier!

In other words, I had a lot else on my mind at the time. Local politics and vague reports of mayhem in the faraway capital and a few other towns didn't seem as significant as becoming a father for the first time. The news reports were muted, to say the least, and rumors flew around - but I don't recall paying any attention to them. The general feeling, however, was that some folks are bad losers. Politics seemed to me just like a poker game played by a bunch of testosteronal types and, just like it always happens in the Hollywood westerns, some unshaven cowhand will start a gunfight when down on his luck at the saloon.

I didn't believe for a moment in May 1969 that the "race riots" had flared up spontaneously - and declassified documents unearthed by Dr Kua from the Public Records Office in London among other sources clearly testify to that. Well, thanks, Kua! What you've done carries profound significance. It's on more or less the same scale of importance as having some reputable scholar dig up long-buried evidence that, after 44 years, finally resolves the JFK murder mystery and names everyone involved in the plot. Bye-bye, Lone Shooter Lee Harvey Oswald theory. Boo, Warren Commission! What sort of punishment would befit folks who would go to such lengths to snuff three members of the Kennedy clan? Remember what happened to John F. Kennedy, Jr - just as he was on the verge of announcing his presidential candidacy?

By the same token, I'm closely monitoring the unstoppable build up of grassroots support for the 9/11 Truth Movement. Ironically, the people who really ought to know better have mostly turned out to be aggressive deniers of what's plain as day to anyone with unclouded eyes and unclogged nostrils - why do they find it so goddam hard to acknowledge that all governments are perfectly capable of doing unthinkable things just to stay in power? Of course, the blame always has to be pinned on some useful bogeyman like the Communists or the Terrorists. Haven't they read Machiavelli? Actually, I've never even SEEN that oft-quoted handbook on how to win elections and influence history - but we all know what "Machiavellian" means, right? Machiavellian... Orwellian... Cartesian... Antaresian.... nah, doesn't quite do the trick, that last one!

Just consider this: why would the Roman Church, say, be so rattled by the popularity of a Dan Brown potboiler that it would get into damage control mode and begin to debunk instead of debate the distinct possibility that Yeshua (better known as Jesus the Christ) and Myriam of Mygdala (better known as Mary Magdalene) were a royal couple descended from a very ancient and revered bloodline? The answer is obvious: it would shatter the very foundations of a 2,000-year-old belief system and totally undermine the moral authority of the Pope - and, by extension, the entire Vatican. And when the faithful realize that the Church they have supported all these generations has actually been actively engaged in destroying, or at least suppressing, inconvenient truths - and that it is, in fact, the dreaded "Anti-Christ" incarnate... well, there goes another House of Cards, so what?

For a start, history would have to reconsider herstory. Because the central tenet of Patriarchy is that the female is subjugate to the male. Women would finally have a say in matters economic and geopolitical - and that would spell the end of a cruel and ruinous era of constant warfare ruled by "naughty boys with dangerous toys." In short, humanity would enjoy the very real option of envisioning Heaven on Earth - instead of in the Afterlife!

May 13 and 9/11 have one common feature: they were cunningly and ruthlessly crafted public traumas designed to concuss, confuse, and confound the masses - and, while the voters were in temporary shock, they would be robbed of any control over their own future. That's right, folks: the name of the REAL game is "Hand over all your power!"


Dr Kua's straight-talking book confirms for many of us that May 13 was, in actuality, a coup d'état wherein a core group of ambitious Malay bureaucrats and politicos had conspired to seize control of the country using the pretext of a national emergency - and thereafter, in the absence of parliamentary opposition, bulldoze constitutional changes that would legislatively install an ethnocentric doctrine of "Malay dominance" in perpetuity - even if nobody has ever successfully determined what defines a Malay. Couldn't be the songkok and the kain pelekat, surely, or a penchant for sambal belacan? The fear that such racial violence could erupt again anytime the non-Malays begin to assert themselves beyond certain boundaries has been effectively used to ensure that the incumbent government keeps getting re-elected with its two-thirds majority (which, for the first time, it had lost in the 1969 general election, hence the resort to the atavistic politics of blood-in-the-streets).

Imagine the consequences of an unforeseen shift in what the mainstream media considers "newsworthy" that incontrovertibly reveals the hand of Dick Cheney behind the 9/11 atrocities. And following swiftly upon this, the public unmasking of how secret societies and Old Boys' networks have, since time immemorial, been deceiving and dividing humanity along artificially pumped-up ethnic and religious fault lines to maintain their power base on this planet, which they view as their private property, bequeathed them by a barbaric tribal deity. Not likely to happen in our lifetime, huh?

And what about Altantuya Shaariibuu, the 28-year-old Mongolian beauty who got a bit out of her depth in political intrigue and ended up in smithereens? The thing that truly mystifies me: how come we've only ever seen ONE official photo of her? She was said to have occasionally modeled. A few glam images found on the net were quickly dismissed as belonging to some popular Korean songstress.


Anyway, all Altantuya really wanted was what she saw as her rightful share of the booty. Her business partners probably didn't expect her to be so pushy; they thought she'd accept what was offered and leave well enough alone. They thought wrong. Altantuya was no angel. She felt she deserved top money for the extraordinary services she rendered. She was certainly a poor judge of character. Big boys involved in multibillion dollar arms deals don't like being pussywhipped by their mistresses.

Scene of the gruesome murder

It just got nastier and messier than anybody expected. It might have been a perfect murder if nobody had heard the loud bang in the middle of the night. I'm told some Orang Asli encamped in the vicinity were the first on the scene and they lodged a report... oh oh... tough shit! Somebody had already instructed some immigration officer to delete the computer record of Altantuya's arrival in the country. Somebody had authorized assigning ministerial bodyguards to do the dirty work. Somebody had also signed for the release of some C4 explosives.

But... could it somehow have been a form of Mongolian suicide? After all, the Japanese are fond of eviscerating themselves... maybe Mongolian women are adroit at blowing themselves up in dense jungle? Nice try, kiddo.

Stuffing money in the pockets is routine political behavior and most folks would avert their gaze and shrug it off as par for the course. However, shedding blood incurs heavy karmic consequences that inevitably bring down the high and mighty.

This is indeed the Time of Reckoning for the entire human race. Skeletons tumbling out of closets wherever you look. The CIA's role in the assassinations of JFK, RFK (and, I expect, JFK, Jr too) has recently come to light. That dirty business will sooner or later implicate George H.W. Bush (who joined the CIA during JFK's presidency and subsequently became top dog in the Agency under Gerald Ford). Long-term plans to seize the Iraqi and Iranian oilfields were being laid even then by George H.W. Bush - but their implementation would have to await the ascent to ultimate power of the Idiot Bastard Son.

Conspiracy theories and dynasties are fascinating, aren't they? Lee Kuan Yew and his son Hsien Loong. Abdul Razak (the "evil genius" behind May 13) and his son Najib. George H.W. and George W. Bush. Fascinating indeed. But what are we going to do when we discover they aren't just "theories"?

[First posted 1 July 2007. Reposted 27 October 2014]

The Court Philosopher encounters a Mountain Sage

I once read an apocryphal anecdote about a close encounter between Confucius and Laotze which greatly amused me. Having heard about the extraordinary wisdom of a wild mountain sage whose original name was no longer known, the Master Confucius was determined to seek him out and learn everything he could from this reputable sage.

After months of unrelenting search, following every lead that came his way, Confucius finally found himself approaching a humble cottage hidden among trees on a remote hillside. But there was nobody home. Determined to find the reclusive mountain sage, Confucius decided to follow a narrow trail that eventually led to a crystalline stream, and there he beheld a spritely elder perched on a mossy log with a makeshift fishing rod.

“Pardon the rude intrusion, but I assume you are the illustrious Master Laotze?” Confucius began. “I have sought you for many moons with a humble request.”

Laotze glanced at the intruder for a brief moment with a penetrating look and then turned back to his fishing. “What do you want?” he asked after a pause.

Confucius approached Laotze and sat down on the grass a respectful distance away. Clearing his throat, he declared: “I am Kung Fu-tze, Resident Philosopher of the magnificent Jing Court, and I have been authorized to offer you a lucrative lifetime tenure as Special Advisor to the King and Senior Mentor to his Offspring – a position that comes with your own luxurious quarters and a minimum of 10 household servants. I beg you to seriously consider.”

There was a long silence before Laotze finally spoke in a quiet voice, pointing to something he had spotted on the riverbank: “Do you see that tiny terrapin dragging its tail through the mud?” He continued, conversationally: “Many decades ago I visited the palace and saw, in the foyer, a gigantic tortoise on display, stuffed and mounted in a glass case, reputed to be the largest within memory. Well, I would much rather be that little fellow over there!”

Confucius was duly impressed by Laotze’s answer. “Forget about my foolish offer, Exalted Master!” he said apologetically, “but please accept me as your humble disciple and diligent student. I shall resign my position immediately and sit happily at your feet.”

Laotze looked directly at Confucius, brow furrowed as though in deep thought; then he burst out laughing and didn’t stop until Confucius, too, found himself laughing along. Finally the wild mountain sage placed a friendly hand on Confucius’s shoulder and gently said: “There is nothing you can learn from me and nothing for me to teach you. Don’t waste my time and your own, my friend. Come, let’s have some tea. You have a long journey home.”

To his credit, Confucius never had a negative thing to say about his brief encounter with Laotze. In later years when asked by his many admirers what it was like to meet the legendary wild mountain sage, he would smile and say: “How does one describe a dragon flying in the sky beyond the sight of men?”

[From a letter to Chris Ang dated 12 February 2020. First posted 12 March 2020, 

reposted 27 October 2020 & 29 October 2022]

BRINGING DOWN THE 9/11 HOUSE OF LIES (reprise)

[In this blogpost I was going to summarize my years of research on the 9/11 atrocities, rounding up my personal campaign to expose the cynical masterminds behind the monumental sandiwara (which in Malay means a political Punch'n'Judy show); but my friend Dave Blackman just passed me a link to a superb article by Steve Bhaerman (aka Swami Beyondananda) which covers all the points I was going to make and much more - and does so scintillatingly! I can do no more than help the good Swami spread this cogent message by reproducing it here in full, complete with all the handy hyperlinks...]

BRINGING DOWN THE 9/11 HOUSE OF LIES ~ The Final 'Leg' Of The Journey
By Steve Bhaerman
16 April 2007

It's a bit of a mixed feeling to realize that millions and millions of people who didn't get this distinction two, four or six years ago now understand that the "political' issues we now face aren't about right and left, they're about right and wrong. On one hand, what took you so long? On the other, thank God and welcome aboard. Although the media has downplayed it - it doesn't fit with the general stupidization program of creating a lot of heat but very little light - more and more actual conservatives and even members of the religious right are coming to see the Bush-Cheney regime as a rogue administration and a thin cover for criminal enterprise. Such right wing stalwarts as former Georgia Rep. Bob Barr and Richard Viguerie (one of the architects of the far right wing) have formed an organization to protect our civil liberties from our own government. Chuck Baldwin, an associate of Jerry Falwell, has become an open advocate of impeachment and writes a very articulate column.

These folks are far bolder than the Democrats in this regard, and they will play a key role when impeachment happens - and it will. Now some of you reading this who have a deeper spiritual understanding of love, forgiveness and the ways in which we do indeed create our own reality might be wondering "Gee, this whole impeachment thing seems pretty 'anti'. Shouldn't we be focusing on what we want instead of what we don't want?" Indeed, the point can be made that the failure of the Democrats in 2004 - aside from the minor issue of voting fraud in Ohio and Florida - had to do with John Kerry's approach of "Vote for me, I'm not as bad as George Bush," and failure to articulate any compelling positive vision. However, the real issue goes much deeper.

Ending The American Hostage Crisis

It has nothing to do with loving or hating George Bush, whose policies have educated and awakened more Americans than all of the "progressive" leaders combined. It does have to do with what we need to recognize as the American Hostage Crisis. The American people - and particularly our soldiers in Iraq - are being held hostage by a ruthless criminal cadre (this is not hyperbolic invective; the definition of "criminal" is "one who commits crimes"). The people up until now have been blackmailed into supporting a war of choice with the cynical cry, "Support our troops." As if our troops sent themselves over there and now we have to rescue them.

The people of America are now at a crossroads that will determine whether the world continues hurtling down the highway to hell, or whether we change course in the direction of our true human potential, what Swami calls "humanifest destiny." I say the world because if the United States honors the intentions of our founders and accepts the evolutionary role of genuine self-governance, the entire world will cheer - and breathe a sigh of relief. Under the guise of true moral authority, we will be able to isolate the sociopathogens in the world and deal with them as criminals instead of what we're doing now - killing the people the criminal elements are holding hostage, and creating new converts for the criminals.

There is something positive to be built, but it cannot be built on a foundation of lies. That is why the so-called "surge" or any other policy to "stay the course" in Iraq will not succeed. The entire structure -- why we're there, what's been happening since we got there, what our future intentions are -- all lies. Those troops we are "supporting" are being sent in as surrogate targets for George Bush and the American empire, an empire that isn't even ours but belongs to a slew of multinational corporations that could care less whether America lives or dies. That's what American soldiers are discovering, sadly, that their most ardent "supporters" at home have been unwilling to face. Until now.

America's next step - and only step - that can take us forward is to bring the Bush-Cheney regime to justice. This isn't about vengeance, it isn't about punishment. It's about truth. That element that has been so lacking in our political environment that it has caused a spiritual, psychological and political heartsickness in the heartland. This basic lack of integrity - that even those who overtly believe the lies still feel deep down in their guts - is why we have the Don Imuses and the Ann Coulters. Those are the people who keep us occupied with weapons of mass-distraction, who help us aim our rage at the wrong targets.

Their brand of free speech is what Caroline Casey calls a "toxic mimic" of the real thing. The freedom of speech and freedom of press the American revolutionaries risked life and fortune for wasn't so our "commonest" of commentators could sling invectives like "faggots" and "nappy-headed ho's" but to empower citizens by letting them know what's going on. In this regard, the record of our so-called "free press" is dismal, if not traitorous. Try initiating a real conversation about the unanswered questions and unquestioned answers regarding 9/11. There you will find a stone wall of silence, or loud screaming to drown out the truth. While up until now, very few have wanted to "go there," more and more people are awakening to the tragic truth that "there" has already come "here."


Cutting the Legs Out From Under Their Story

Just over two years ago, after what many of us realized was a stolen election (with Barbara Boxer the lone Senator to stand and raise the issue), I wrote a piece about the wall of lies. In the midst of the frustration and despair that many of us felt, I predicted the wall of lies would crumble. It wasn't a difficult prediction to make. In these times when the veil is being lifted everywhere, the "irony curtain" is no exception.

I wrote that the illegitimate "legitimacy" of the Bush-Cheney regime rested on a three-legged stool. The first leg was the belief they were fairly elected in 2000 and 2004. The second was the Iraq War and the reluctance of people to "change horse's asses in the middle of an extreme." The third was 9/11, and the official account of what happened that day.

At this writing, one leg is completely gone and another is severely splintered. More than two thirds of Americans now see the Iraq War as an unmitigated disaster, and a large portion of our armed forces are demoralized and angry. It is now being termed "an unpopular war," a phrase that begs the question, "And when exactly was the last 'popular war'?" Wait a minute ... I think I have it. The last popular war was the Battle of the Groups at the Brooklyn Fox Theater ... Dion and the Belmonts vs. the Drifters. I think it was 1960.

As for the legitimacy of the "elections", that issue broke through the soundless barrier a year ago when RFK, Jr. published his article in Rolling Stone. Timing is everything, and the timing of that article coincided with a general "upwising." Having seen mounting evidence of lying, cheating and stealing on the part of Rove and company, a critical mass of Americans (or at least Democrats) were able to accept the inconvenient likelihood that the Republicans cheated to win the election too. This awakened awareness and the voter mobilization that followed helped the Democrats win control of both Houses of Congress, despite any shenanigans. As lame as you may think the Democrats are, this was the first important step of restoring the balance of power and the rule of law. I contend it could not have happened without the widespread awareness that the Republicans were getting set to steal elections again.

So here we are. The "leg" called the Iraq War is gone. The "leg" called "these people were elected legitimately" is badly compromised. And yet, like the mad monk Rasputin, Bush and Cheney are still standing behind their stone wall. Subpoenas notwithstanding, they've entrenched and have no intention of giving in one iota. Because as soon as they do, the avalanche of revelations will cause their downfall. How long can this holding pattern go on? It can definitely go on indefinitely.




Unless we as a nation allow the 9/11 story to break through the soundless barrier. When this leg gets chopped off, Bush and Cheney will be gone.

More importantly, the truth will be revealed so that we can collectively "face the music" and set a new course. Never has any nation been in this position. Nazi Germany was forced to face their heart of darkness only by military defeat. Soviet Russia collapsed under the weight of its own unworkability. But now, for the "land of the free" to finally earn that name and claim our true inheritance, we must face what is perhaps the most profound betrayal in our 200 year history.

A Straussian Waltz Down a Slippery Slope

Although we would like to believe that the principles that guided America's founding fathers are still in operation, the sad truth is that the principles of truth, justice and transparency have been overridden by a new operating system called "neo-conservatism" which is neither "neo" nor conservative. The "neocon" is actually a very old con called "the end justifies the means." And that brings us to Leo Strauss, the man considered the "founding father" of neoconservatism.

Leo Strauss, who was born in Germany and who taught at the University of Chicago from 1949-69, brought Machiavelli into the machine age. He unabashedly believed in manipulation and deception, all of which he deemed necessary to rule the unruly masses. According to Shadia Drury, author of Leo Strauss and the American Right, Strauss believed that "those who are fit to rule are those who realize there is no morality and there is only one natural right -- the right of the superior to rule over the inferior."

Strauss was a strong believer in religion - as a way of imposing "moral law" on the populace, who would otherwise be out of control. He would have agreed with Marx that religion was the "opiate of the masses," only he had no qualms about being a drug dealer. The rulers, of course, didn't have to live by the rules of religion. Says Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine: "Neoconservatives are pro-religion even though they themselves may not be believers."

In the tradition of Thomas Hobbes, Strauss believed humans are inherently evil and need strong external control - and an external enemy. As he once wrote, "Because mankind is intrinsically wicked, he has to be governed. Such governance can only be established, however, when men are united - and they can only be united against other people."

According to Drury, Strauss believed that "if no external threat exists, one has to be manufactured." Interestingly enough, Strauss's neocon disciples William Kristol, Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle (along with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld) helped found a think tank called the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) in the 1990s. A PNAC document, Rebuilding America's Defenses has been a guiding force for the Bush-Cheney White House. According to PNAC, the only way to assure America's safety in the 21st century is by being the only superpower on the block, what they referred to as Pax Americana. Of course, since the Iraq War many around the world are calling it a "Pox Americana."

Perhaps the most telling quote in the Rebuilding America's Defenses document refers to needing a "catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor" to mobilize the masses for this undertaking (pun intended). The neocons insist this was an innocuous quote taken out of context. However, when seen in the context of Leo Strauss's core beliefs, it's easy to make the connection and see the 9/11 attacks as the "catalyzing event" that launched the so-called "war on terror." In fact, author and theologian David Ray Griffin called his sober account debunking the official 9/11 story The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11. Whether or not the attacks were an "inside job," they were certainly used in classic Straussian fashion to create national unity and control through perpetual war.

Griffin, a well-respected mainstream theologian who has written and edited 30 books, contends that the official 9/11 story has been given the "halo of religious mythology." Like the infallibility of the Pope in the Church or the primacy of matter in scientific materialism, questioning the official 9/11 story is taboo. Consequently, most people fail to see the red flags that are literally in plain sight:

The official story was in place within 48 hours of the event, before any investigation was undertaken.

The official "remedy," the so-called Patriot Act (a 342-page document that many legislators signed without reading), appeared as if by magic and was ratified in an atmosphere of panic - right on the heels of Democratic legislators receiving packets of deadly anthrax, a crime that has never been "solved."

No satisfactory explanation has ever been given as to how and why the world's most sophisticated air defense system "stood down" in the most deadly attacks ever on American soil. And no one was held accountable.

Transcripts of testimony released at the insistence of 9/11 families - from firefighters, police and eyewitnesses - mention over and over again a "series of explosions" and the towers coming down in their tracks, "just like a planned demolition."

When there finally was an investigation, only testimony supporting the official version of the story was allowed. Imagine, if you will, a court case where there was no conflicting evidence ... case closed.

Time to Face Our Own Not-Seeism

The fact that these blatant contradictions have never been officially addressed stands as stark testimony as to how well weapons of mass-distraction have been used to keep the official story in place. Yes, the mass media has been complicit in failing to present an alternative view, and in marginalizing anyone suggesting otherwise as a "conspiracy nut." But it goes far deeper than that. The persistent "invisible belief" in America's intrinsic goodness makes it incomprehensible that the government in the "land of the free" would perpetrate something that horrendous against its own citizens. Like the Germans who heard about the death camps and were told it was "American propaganda," most Americans won't question the official story because the horrendous implications are too awful to contemplate. But the "Not See" era is about to end.

I'm going to apologize in advance for using a distasteful metaphor that many of you will find repugnant. But since this is the image that keeps coming to mind, I'm going to have to risk it. Think back when you were in college. You were at a party and had a little too much to drink. You're feeling wobbly and a bit nauseous. You are on the teeter-totter of a decision - to throw up or not to throw up. Throwing up. Ugh. You don't want to do it, it's disgusting. But then you realize, you have to do it. It is something the body is telling you to do, and you also know that when you've expelled the mess you will feel so much better.

That is where our body politic is today. We've literally had it up to here. But we've been reluctant to expel the toxins for all to see. Last year at this time, I had contracted to write a story on David Ray Griffin called Unquestioned Answers: A Non-Conspiracy Theorist Takes Aim at the Official 9/11 Story for a local mainstream publication. In the six weeks from the time the editor reluctantly okayed the story until the time I handed it in, she had undergone a change of mind. She told me, "I have come to believe the American government did indeed have something to do with the attacks, and the very thought of it makes me sick to my stomach."

Having to swallow what we've been asked to swallow over the past several years, purging might be the very best cure. So now the question is, what to do and how to do it?

There seem to be two approaches to the 9/11 issue. One involves jumping into the details of the mystery itself and trying to figure out specifically what happened. The problem here is what has already occurred - squabbling about the details, one group of believers in one conspiracy theory accusing another of spreading disinformation.

The other approach is the one I took with the David Ray Griffin article I published last year. Focus on stepping outside the official story, removing its "halo" and asking if indeed, it is the likeliest story. Here's why. No amount of "evidence" will convince anybody unless they are open to the possibility of the premise. The breakthrough will occur when a critical mass of people begin to put it together for themselves.

What opened me to a premise I was - like David Ray Griffin - initially closed to was reading about the "false flag" operations done by NATO during the Cold War and those like Operation Northwoods that was proposed but not initiated here (you can read brief accounts about those in the above-linked article on David Ray Griffin). When I combined this information with the realization I'd already come to - that Bush, Cheney, Rove & Company were capable of anything they could get away with - I had bridged the gap.

Time to Cut Off the Tale That's Been Wagging the Dog

What we face right now is perhaps the greatest opportunity for freedom yet experienced in America. It is an invitation to become "political adults" and step outside the puppet show called electoral politics and take a look at the inner workings behind the "irony curtain." It is here - and only here - that transformational change can take place. It's as big a step as our Founding Fathers made "eleven score and eleven" years ago by declaring themselves sovereign and government a servant.

We do this by educating ourselves and taking heart that so many people are awakening a new field of understanding now. There are many sites but here is a good one to start with because it offers a surprising list of well-known people in all areas of endeavor who question the official tale that has been wagging the dog for the past five years. Another excellent educational site is Mark Robinowitz's Oil Empire site because he offers some very sharp distinctions for sniffing out the truth when there are many different stories.

Finally, we must address this undressing of the cloak of secrecy with healing intent. In other words, we must be able not just to picture but to "feel" what it will feel like to no longer have to fear our own government. We must allow ourselves to see those inside the military, government and intelligence services who have not been "ethically-cleansed" coming forward with the missing pieces of the true story. We must begin now to create a "container" for truth, reconciliation and healing.

Every indication is that there are individuals at all levels of government and influence who are waiting only for a critical mass of Americans to be able to "hold" the true story. Once there is a "listening" for the truth, the truth will out. We encourage the truth through our own courage, and by speaking about politics outside the box as matter-of-factly as the media speaks about politics inside the box.

The simple secret to bringing down the wall of lies is this. When enough people see through the wall, it will cease to exist.

May "Good" bless us all.


Swami Beyondananda © 2007

[First posted 17 April 2007, reposted 11 September 2014 &

11 September 2016]