The Rule-of-the-Kingdom

A “Real Ruler” would be he who could listen to almost anything without losing his temper.

A Real Revolutionist would be he who could instantly feign dreadful anger at hearing K-Mart was closed on Sunday.

The Rule-of-the-Kingdom: 

No one can truly be converted,
and anyone who can be, is not worth the effort.

Why is it that man has so often written lines bemoaning “the spirit's captivity to the body,” but never the other way around?

The Real Revolutionist would be prepared to deny what he already knows and discredit what he has already done.  Ah, the smell of real freedom.

Upon hearing of the lower milk prices, the dairy farmer cried out in “udder dismay.”  Being an upholsterer at the time, I found his remark “tacky.”  (All of the above is meaningless, but  sometimes I just can't resist.)

J.

Patience

I can remix this and present it to you in a variety of guises, but let me just put it to you bluntly:  What in the neon-hell is the use in saying anything about things already done?

An ancient Eastern sage was presented this question:  “Would a dove prefer to be kept in a cage by a king, or fly free in the wilds?”

     One man said, “It would prefer to be with the king, even in a cage, and to benefit from the companionship of a greater intelligence.”

     A second man disagreed, “The bird would prefer freedom, for no limit on one's liberation is worth its cost.”

     When the Real Revolutionist learned of the question, he snatched the sage right up to his face and said, “You dumb mother fucker.”

Patience is the best remedy for all shortcomings, except, of course, impatience.

Amidst all of the routine babbling man does regarding “gods,” there was one group that was interesting for a while:  Instead of believing that gods created the universe, they thought it was the other way around.

At the very least, the Real Revolutionist has a remedy for any passing bouts of routine conscience – bad memory.

J.

Convince Me

The “real Philistine,” that is, the true “anti- revolutionist” is he who would say, “Even if you convince me, you won't convince me.”

Many Men begin this journey believing they search for a new intelligence, a refreshed consciousness, but later, many of them begin to feel as though they are simply looking for an old lost wallet.  Weird, huh?

If “I” did not exist, would it be necessary to invent it?  

(Can I turn a paraphrase, or what?)

An ole sorehead had a son who would cry out, “Oh, I'm so happy, I could puke!” and the ole man said, “I wish you wouldn't say that word,” and the son said, “Puke?”  “No, happy.”

Men have pictured gods as trees, frogs, clouds, stars and so on, but a non ill-tempered god is one ne’er yet imagined.  Weird, huh?

J.

Everyman's Paradise

To the gods, all men would be anachronous.

It was once said that, “If a man believes he has done any deed without the gods' knowledge, he errs,” and while I may not normally make references to “gods,” I assure you that the axiom is as right as a Bolivian 5-Star General.

A leopard may have a dozen fine tricks, but an accordion needs only one.

The ordinary prayers of ordinary men are not unlike ugly, spinster daughters of proper perception and appropriate action.

Definition Number 84:  Everyman's Paradise: 

A place where force replaces all skill.

J.

Predictions

Everything that can be predicted has been predicted.  

(Remember THAT next time you feel gloomy while still believing you're an intellectual.)

Definitions by Example:  Optimist, Part 2: 

A man is assured by a mechanic that his auto will definitely be fixed within 30 minutes.  After waiting 4 hours, the customer complains, only to have the mechanic respond, “Hey what'd ya want?  I only got two hands.”  The customer says, “You knew that when you started.”

The word “tedious” was coined by one of the early Revolutionists, to properly describe the feeling of saying something for the second time.

Tradition says that even the Blessed Buddha cried out, “Carumba!” upon seeing his first 747, and unassisted triple play.

Here's another one for the hired physicists to ponder: 

The distance to destruction is the same from any place.

J.

The Revolution & The Postal Service

The ordinary believe that what they seek is somewhere “out there,” while the Few have narrowed down the field considerably.

Way, way back, a poet noted that, “The gods are a difficult foe to oppose,” which goes to show that man's gift for understatement is by no means newly acquired.

Notes on The Revolution and The Postal Service: 

You've got to cancel your past,
return the present to sender,
and refuse delivery of the future.

A burglar, after being shot in the buttocks by the local constable, was heard to say, “Had I had the benefit of such a poignant treatment earlier in my life, I do believe that my mere knowledge of the law could have grown into outright respect.”

What could be spiffier than the insouciant manner and magnanimity of he with the biggest blade and the winning hand?

J.

No Way to Run a Revolution

Are we to accept that human standards and expectations are no more than an “absolute demand for mediocrity”?  That’s sure no way to run a revolution.

You are not really wise until no form of ignorance vexes.  Stupidity must mean nothing to you; it is all as natural and uneventful as daybreak.

From amidst the hue and cry and horror of a pitched battle, I heard arise from the prevailing side a voice, and it cried, “Another triumphant success like this and I’m a dead man.”

I believe it can now be scientifically shown that fear is of a larger caliber than bullets.

Which would be harder to find, a man who has never tried to change or one who tried only once?

J.

Cosmic Excommunication

Being ugly shouldn’t be a crime; being dumb should be no sin; but being DULL should be grounds for cosmic excommunication.

Rigid mind,
loose tongue.

A revolutionist dog would not only no longer bark, but would not growl, as well.

In man’s dreams of supremacy over his material world, he has said, “It is possible to fly without motors,” which may be true, but, “You can’t land without wheels.”  (I’m not quite sure what it means, myself.)

If ignorance is not bliss, at least it’s ignorance.

J.

Tart with Hard Centers

THAT’S RIGHT – go ahead – Think it!  Say it!  Just ruin it for everybody else.

Only an absolute dictator can absolutely guarantee freedom and happiness.  (And then, of course, only for himself, of course, of course.  But who would have it any other way?  Who COULD?)

Being human corrupts, and being absolutely…well, you know the rest.

Ordinary religion can certainly seem sweet to baby brains and minor minds.  The sugar-stained Revolutionist prefers the ones tart and with hard centers.

Let’s wrestle at least one thing firmly to the mat and grapple it into submissive conclusion.  Okay, here’s an example:  If there is such a thing as “meaningful” literature, it would have to be the writings of a madman, assuming there is such a thing as a “madman,” and “writings,” and assuming there is such a thing as “such,” and “thing,” and assuming there is such a thing as “assuming,” and…well, you get the picture.  Now count that sucker out.

J.

The Thin Line

Sex seems to be the one adventure open to even the timid and claustrophobic.

To a Real Revolutionist, there is no such thing as a “small” skirmish. 
For the Few, there is no such creature as a “useless” effort.

There must be at least two-thousand-six-hundred and ninety-seven proverbs that speak of “that small, thin line twixt genius and madness…,” and I say, “What thin line?”

You know, you might have something after all if your knowledge was as direct and casual as the movements of a dog.

I’ve noticed that the question of morality seldom arises except when men begin to speak of their enemies.

J.

A Natural 3-Eyed Mortal

In a peculiar way, the closest I ever saw to a natural, three-eyed mortal was one who continually proclaimed, “I don’t care who you are or what you believe, I thoroughly disagree with you.”

Quick, what two things do Real Revolutionists dread most – Peace and Quiet.

If you don’t believe the dead can be amused by legerdemain, then you don’t believe in history.

The Real Revolutionist might look upon a word processor as a machine gun, and his own mind as hand-to-hand combat.

What is the real difference between history and memory?  What is the real connection between daylight and soap operas, bullets and irritability?  (You know, sometimes I even amuse and confuse myself.)

J.

We are It

To those in power, energetic thought appears as a form of intellectual felony.

Can you believe that anything is actually “sacred” until it is so named?

In each of the Few resides a Christian, Buddhist, Jew and Muslim; likewise a Socialist, Communist and Republican, as well as the dominant, submissive, powerful and helpless.  We, my friends, are it.

Even wisdom put to writ
is prone to become mere English Lit.

No authority can be even temporarily infallible, save one’s own understanding.

J.

Controlled by Elephants

Physicists continue to say that they hope, dream and assume there is one simple, beautiful law at the base of all creation, but that they increasingly fear they may never find it.  Their Yellow Systems’ musings are blind to the possibility that man’s present state of consciousness may simply be physically incapable of such sight.

Further Revolutionary Points to Ponder (or Sharpen, as the case may be):

When the information of a land is controlled by elephants, do you really expect to ever see pachydermal expose′s?

What can be thought, said or writ, that is new, fresh and stimulating, that does not, in some way, threaten peace?

Everything – Everything is but a component, an element, a mere ingredient; everything but the Primal Flow itself.  Let me also add that no Real Revolutionist will ever settle for being simply a part of anything – I don’t care what the hell it is.

J.

The Efficiency Game

Only the Real Revolutionists desire freedom, or can even tolerate it. 

The rest wish only for proper domination.

When the ordinary run out of facts they will forever resort to statistics.  (It is part of the establishment’s job to make men accept numbers as vital information.)

A so-called “spiritual man” who consorts, comforts and bows to a king makes a pimp look downright wholesome.

If efficiency ain’t your name
change ain’t your game.

Intellect without passion is like having a map, but no desire to travel.  (If Gulf or Chevron ever learn to bottle it, we’ll all need second jobs.)

J.

Attention Earthlings! (Holiday Edition)

Attention Earthlings, one-more-note:

You people are free to do anything you like, such as believe that you’re free to do anything you like…

Who has ever seen a Revolution conducted calmly?

Whenever someone finally reaches for their holy book and says, “Well, let us see what god had to say about this matter,” call 911 and get prepared for the worst.

When the ordinary are forty, fat and fatigued, it is short stuff to become religious.

War is a form of social readjustment, a change in control, perhaps.  But it is not a break in the Power Chain.

J.

From the Outside In

It is sometimes said that Revolutionists do not choose their course, but are forced into action by ignorance, indifference and dead weight of the prevailing powers.  The ultimate “They made me do it,” (and right on the money at that).

Once, this kind of Revolutionary knowledge is present in one person, at one locale, the odds against others having it also increases; such that if it were initially one chance in a million, it then becomes one chance in ten billion.

The Real Revolutionist must be free from ordinary fears, hopes, angers or expectations.

If you’re not interested in new systems, hotter circuits, expanding forces and parallel realities, then they’re not interested in you.  So, there.

In some manner, you must re-make, re-shape your very self, from the inside out, or from the outside in.

J.

Spiritual Study

The so-called “vices” of the king might be seen as virtues in the Revolutionist.

An ordinary person’s religion is probably the most ordinary thing about them.

Is the Revolutionist to battle with the nature of man, or the nature of his societies?  Are you to rebel against your own genes, or your environs?  Is it all designed to make you more civilized, or more radical and free?

If you fear, much less respect, any power or authority, you are no Real Revolutionist.

The study of the chemistry-of-man’s-nervous-system is the proper inquiry regarding matters spiritual.

J.

The Cost of Wind

As baseless as ordinary prayer may seem from one view, it is, again, an unrecognized admission by man of his powerless condition.  (I might also note for you that only the powerful can take such ideas nonchalantly.)

All men are equal in the presence of fleas.

There was once a man who claimed to have a collection of autographs of Jesus, and another fellow offered to swap him one of Muhammad’s for ten of his, and the first guy says, “Hey, how can you have an autograph from Muhammad – he was illiterate.”  “I know,” answered the other guy, “that’s why it’s so valuable.”

At least sailors don’t have to fear for an increase in the cost of wind…

At least, thank god, neither do priests and politicians.

J.

The Unrecognized Conflict

Man seems normally surrounded, if not engulfed, by sheer drivel.  It is now my pleasure to be able to offer an opaque version of that same drivel.

To the Real Revolutionist, ordinary consciousness tastes like your foot feels when it’s asleep.

It has been said that “Man is the only creature that attacks his own kind,“ but what is not seen is Life itself pitting man alone against inertia and stagnation – there is the true, yet unrecognized, conflict.

From one 3-D view, lack of talent could be seen as the fuel behind the desire for dominance.

A hitch hiker never runs out of gas.

J.

Keep up the Pretenses

He who defines, ultimately controls.

All of the influential religions, philosophies and political theories initially frightened and enraged somebody of consequence.  If a new concept is not seen as dangerous, it will not be truly seen.

Keep up the pretenses, hold down the expenses.

The powerless are driven to speak of coming generations as a form of wealth available even to them.

Ignorance may seem silly in the weak, but in the powerful it is awesome.

J.