There is this thing called “radical love.” Paulo Freire had said the most important thing of all in life is radical love as Joe had mentioned in an interview and they both wrote about radical love frequently in their works. Almost everyone who knew Joe knew that he was the quintessence of radical love. And of course, there are many other people who live or have lived their lives from this same type of radical love: Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Wilhelm Reich, Nikola Tesla, Dalai Lama, and so many, many others even who have not received recognition they have earned. Myself, I am still, well, in my imaginary at least, just a baby in these matters:  Joe has put it as having to “take me from kindergarten to the doctoral level and he doesn’t have 18 years to do it” (that is to learn about all of these spiritual matters). He was being humorous, of course. In another place and time, he was my Master Teacher and he did literally take me from kindergarten to doctoral level in 18 years, but you know how it is: Forgive me, I am imagining all of that. It has simply been created out of my holotropic mind, I guess. No wait, it was all just a dream; I remember now.

At any rate, back to the topic at hand:  I do not believe that radically loving means we have to be as humble as Joe was, which is a good thing because I am not sure there are many -- if any of us -- who could live up to that on this Earth plane given the conditions we must live within, and that is just my own feeling, although this idea has been confirmed by Masters I work with. I believe there are times when people cause us immense pain, especially when we are radically loving, because they want to put our consciousnesses (the topic of my last two blogs) into a constrictive steel container and bolt the lid down tight. I think these are the people we have to just leave behind and that this is what is really meant when the Bible or various religions talk about people being “left behind.” It just means that we have to move on, even if it means leaving our own family members behind because it is the only way we can escape the pain and make greater progress toward love (some of us can eventually circle back, but this is not often within our control). Indeed, the grander purpose of all of this is that we will then be able to find our one true soulmate, a very important endeavor at this particular point in history -- which is a very complex, deep and mathematically-focused science topic for another time and something I am still learning about.

If we do not leave behind these people who are dragging us down with them then our own progress to reach that blissful balance between our hylotropic and holotropic consciousness becomes severely hampered and our abilities to devote our love, time and effort toward the alleviation of human suffering in the world comes to a standstill. I have experienced a small sample of that sort of pain and the devastating consequences in my own life and I have had to leave people behind, but nothing I have done in sharing love and working toward the dream (our mission) could begin to compare to the magnitude with which Joe shared his love and energy, given how he freely he handed these out to everyone who crossed his path. I truly believe that Joe was quite the miracle man. He still is.

As I said, for some reason (and it is not really such a strange reason at all now that I have received more of the right kind of education these past six months) I have been drawn to all of these spiritual, cosmological, metaphysical, philosophical, scientific, mathematical, and very, very fascinating topics. These are subjects I have never, ever studied in the past, (and for those who have read my previous blogs at another time and place, which have now evaporated, apparently, will know that these topics are out of the ordinary for me) but I continue to receive prompts from whence I do not know to delve deeply into these somewhat esoteric matters and not only dig deeply into them, but to share the topics here on these blogs. These are topics for which I am getting great assistance from both here on earth and from somewhere beyond. I am also being directed by higher authorities that this is indeed a task I need to carry out. And of importance today is something that was recently brought to my attention as a highly urgent matter and that is the subject of radical love.

Radical love, as I have just recently learned, is a code word and the sad thing about it is that very few people really know the code. When we speak of radical love, what we are really referring to is spiritual love. Just as I did not know what radical love was, I also did not know even what spiritual love was until very recently. Spiritual love extends far past the consciousness-constricting ethnocentric influences of the 3D earth plane and outward into all other planes of existence and realities. Some of you out there will not be able to comprehend this and I cannot say that I fully understand it quite yet either (I have much more training to go through). This is just the information I am currently receiving. Hopefully, you do know that there are many dimensions. This is a big thing in physics now. Many scientists have identified the dimensions and have mathematically and verbally described them, even as we are being forced ever more strongly backwards into the ancient Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm that denies such things. We should have shaken off this limitation many, many years ago.

But since few people “get it,” as far as what radical love really entails, the proposal here is to just call it like it is. Radical love is spiritual love that transcends materialism, space and time. If we can grasp that idea, it will be so much easier to live out our radical spiritual love-filled lives here on earth in this current “reality” and we can actually begin to worry more about taking care of our suffering and struggling brothers and sisters today than narcissistically worrying about what great things tomorrow may bring us personally. This was the true mission Joe was on in which we work to change education up to focus on the alleviation of human suffering. Of course there are many other people working on this very mission in a number of highly critical ways and it is all very symbiotic and it will all soon come together. The education mission is the mission I continue to work on -- along with many other people -- here and there -- transcending the bounds of materialism, place, space, and time. My brothers and sisters know . . . and they are working on this, too. And so we are all very, very blessed.

Photo Credit

http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2005/casa/casa.jpg

The images on this web site may be used for non-commercial educational and public information purposes. Please credit images to "NASA/CXC/SAO.

LOL. It did not come from me, personally. Honestly. I know not whence it came, but it does sound like whoever sent it is pretty damn adamant that people take heed. I think I had better do some of that homework, myself, because I do want to stay on the good side of things. It is just SO WORTH IT! How can it not be? I mean think about it: If you commit yourself to the mission, your life is totally dedicated to the service of others and the alleviation of their suffering – not to yourselves, not even to your families. And why? Because you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do. It is just totally the right thing to do. And by doing the right thing, EVERYTHING else falls in place. Your every need is provided for (including for your family and loved ones!) and then some. Honestly, when you do get in this cycle, (which I have accomplished, even if I do not totally yet understand the hylotropic and holotropic concepts and will need to spend more time, study and work on that), you really begin to wonder, why in the world did I not do this sooner? I do know that Joe wanted us to do some heavy work on our consciousnesses. That is what his last book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction was all about and he stated, “I still want my critical pedagogy to help shape self-conscious students who gain the capacity to imagine modes of consciousness that earthlings have never before imagined” (2008, p. 220).

Let me give an example of how we can be rewarded if we jump out of the Newtonian-Cartesian thought paradigm. WOW, what example do I even give? I literally have thousands of them. I want to keep it simple for now though just to make a point. I will save the extreme complexity for later down the line and I can hardly wait to get to that, either – it is SO AMAZING. But for now, for one simple example, I was informed that if I finished up the treasure hunt yard search, even though it was just a training mission, I would be richly rewarded. As if the diamond ring and the cool yin-yang silver piece were not ample rewards in themselves. But next thing, out comes the NEW Treasure Hunt in which I made so many rewarding discoveries, and honestly, I know I have more work there and I will no doubt discover many more rich and rewarding treasures when I start exploring the other clues and their interrelationships in more depth. Then came the announcement of the Universal sanction of our imaginary marriage (I am really into happy fairy tales). So yesterday, which was the big special day, I was told to go shopping for myself….I found clothes on sale half price so that made me happy; it is always good to find bargains. I picked out quite a few new items, got up to the cash register and the cash register only charged 25% of the total price instead of 50% (and you know how it goes with Newtonian-Cartesian minds: the clerk just knew the computer had to be right). Imagine that!  Now you can just explain it rationally, but for me it is total magic because it is just one example of how the Universe takes care of us! My money quadrupled in value just like that; which is something that often happens with money (which is just a form of energy) and I have learned I do not need nearly as much of it as I used to think I did. This is a small example, but it happens all of the time for me. And money comes in from places I do not even expect. All because I don’t expect it and just keep the faith and trust that God has many Angels who look after us, and perhaps even more important is to remember to always be grateful for even the smallest of signs. Even pennies are important if it turns out they are from Heaven. You will be richly blessed if you notice the smallest of signs and thank God and whomever you feel was responsible for providing the special blessings for you. People who attend church really should get this. But most of them don’t. They can be just as competitive and self-serving as the next guy. One of Joe’s clues (my imagination again) for the NEW Treasure Hunt exemplifies this: “It is well read, but most people never remember what it says” which is the Bible, of course -- and it can be any equivalent, such as the Koran, or whatever is read in any given religion. We really need to also believe what we are told about God taking care of us. We really need to fully engage in reciprocity. Then, we can see magic and the more we observe the magic and are thankful for it, the more that is sent our way. It is so simple (but very complex below the surface).

And so, I am spending my energy (and it all really does come down to energy) on teaching all of my sweet and brilliant students most of whom are so far below the poverty level that reaching the cutoff point for poverty looks good to them (believe me, I have been there!), working with some absolutely adorable children in a very poor neighborhood to give them a “Joe” Treasure Hunting summer they will remember for a lifetime (and not charging any money for it), totally dedicated to getting Joe’s brilliant work out on this website and elsewhere, again without charging anything for my time or service, and what are my rewards? Literally DAILY miracles, signs, signals, magic, and so, so much love that emanates from every direction. I could not be happier. And so I wonder why didn’t I get this figured out sooner? I have really been missing out until now. And my purpose in sharing this is because I want as many people as possible to experience this joy, this “jouissance” as Joe has so often framed it. It is delightful, delectable, and delicious.

The message I am getting today is that we need to shut off the devil’s radio and leave it off. We all need to get with the real program. Otherwise, you are only creating more misery for yourself and everyone around you. When your consciousness focuses on negativity, limited realities, violence, hatred, wars, destruction, evil, etc. --- by God, that is what you will create! Don’t you all get it? Focus on love, happiness, sharing, generosity, knowledge and knowing that the Universe loves you and will take the best of care of you if only you release your mind from those confining, constricting, and what I have found to be very, very painful boxes. Focus on expending your energy toward creating that better world. Aside from physical violence, gossip is one of the most destructive activities one can engage in – for the person engaging in it, for those who listen to it, and for the person who is subject of the gossip (unless they have done their homework on consciousness). Walk away from gossip. Shut it down. Turn it off. Joe talked about the “Devil’s Radio” in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, and I did not know what it was. I had to look it up. Here is a song about it. As everyone knows by now, Joe LOVED music and often spoke through lyrics of songs, which is why I almost always close my blog with music and I do try to imagine he is helping me pick out a song that he would love.

Have a lovely day.

Vanessa

Devil's Radio Lyrics

Gossip, gossip
Gossip, gossip

I heard it in the night
Words that thoughtless speak
Like vultures swooping down below
On the devil's radio

I hear it through the day
Airwaves gettin' filled
With gossip broadcast to and fro
On the devil's radio

Oh yeah, gossip
Gossip, oh yeah

He's in the clubs and bars
And never turns it down
Talking about what he don't know
On the devil's radio

He's in your TV set
Won't give it a rest
That soul betraying so and so
The devil's radio

Gossip, gossip
Gossip, gossip
(Oh yeah) gossip, (gossip) oh yeah
(Gossip) oh yeah, (oh yeah) gossip

It's white and black like industrial waste
Pollution of the highest degree
You wonder why I don't hang out much
I wonder how you can't see

He's in the films and songs
And on all your magazines
It's everywhere that you may go
The devil's radio

Oh yeah, gossip
Gossip, oh yeah

Runs thick and fast, no one really sees
Quite what bad it can do
As it shapes you into something cold
Like an Eskimo igloo

It's all across our lives
Like a weed it's spread
'till nothing else has space to grow
The devil's radio

Can creep up in the dark
Make us hide behind shades
And buzzing like a dynamo
The devil's radio

(Gossip) oh yeah, (gossip) oh yeah
(Gossip) gossip, (gossip) gossip
Oh yeah, gossip I heard you on Satan's wireless
Gossip, oh yeah You know the devil's radio, child
Gossip, gossip
Gossip, gossip

Lyrics courtesy of www.sing.com 

References

Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and critical pedagogy: An introduction. Springer.

Image courtesy of Microsoft.

Yesterday I presented a sort of homework assignment for everyone. This was a gift from another realm whether you wish to believe that or not. Believing is irrelevant. I know you are curious about the differences between hylotropic and holotropic consciousness and how to achieve a balance between them. I also know that almost none of you did your homework. For those who have researched this, thank you and I can assure you that you are being observed and will be highly blessed with some special assignments for this great project we are all working on. For those who have not looked into even the mere definitions of hylotropic and holotropic consciousnesses then I would like to convey that you are living up to the reputation of how most earth people are viewed from the cosmos.

Earthlings are generally viewed as being lazy, especially if they are not able to see the immediate benefits for themselves, personally, and so they do not take action. Now, this is exactly what must change – and it will change with a better balance between modes of consciousness. This is so important that today, even though it is again my day off – and not only that a VERY special day in that my special marriage has been just today totally sanctioned by the Higher Galactic Councils – in other words, the entire Universe – and I should be celebrating with my Special Someone and not writing this blog for people who are too lazy to do the work for themselves even though they have been practically handed the key to their own happiness right on a silver platter. It’s all ok, though, since I also am being observed and I know that my actions doing this work on my official wedding day -- our third celebratory date, btw -- (yes, we have three anniversaries, which will all be explained later; for now, let it suffice to say that changing Cosmic Law is a complex process) will be more than adequately recognized. And it is not even the recognition or rewards that move me to do this. It is my love for humanity and my overwhelming desire to see that more people are happy and free from suffering that moves me.

It is the great love for people that keeps this mission going, and great love alone. You are all fortunate that the entire Universe is in love with you. The wishes are for all people to be happy and live in bliss and the only way this is going to happen is if you – each one of you – escapes the confines of the hylotropic mind and integrates a wider open mode of consciousness. Thus, the lesson you have been provided is of utmost importance, and yet, of course you have not followed up on it, which is exactly what is to be expected.

Don’t you see? The crazy “drug-seeking” behaviors that are so widespread and your insane reliance on prescribed medications is merely the futile reach for what you know is possible in terms of blissful experience, but it is an experience that can never, ever be reached through faux methods. I must remind you, it is a totally futile approach because there is no drug, no artificial chemical, no natural chemical even that can do the work that you need to do yourself to regain a consciousness by which you bring only goodness, joy, and bliss to yourself and those around you. I say regain because most of you have been there before and have simply forgotten. While there is some upfront work to do in order to begin to remember, it will all flow back to you given you are receptive to that.

Also, for those who have already remembered, as I pointed out yesterday, keeping knowledge swept under the carpet will NOT move humanity forward. Therefore, if you do have knowledge and you are not sharing your knowledge with at least those loved ones around you so that the flow can continue, then you are – as the educational elite are so prone to express it – supporting the status quo. By supporting the status quo you know in your hearts that you are preventing the very thing people need most – knowledge and empowerment to strive toward those holotropic highs that you, yourself are enjoying but keeping from others. This is selfish and must change now. Knowledge has been and will continue to be released. If you read or have read my previous blogs this will be clear to you and you will come to realize that at this point subversion is harming you the most. And you will be very relieved to know that the old tricks of blackmailing, coercion of, and labeling people who are advanced in consciousness as “crazy” do not work any longer. Cosmic Laws have changed. Cosmic Laws are now in effect such that instant karmic reflection nips this despicable behavior “in the bud.” Anyone who pulls these nasty tricks on people by attaching labels, calling them crazy, or otherwise engaging in despicable behavior will find that their actions come right back to them instantly. This is because knowledge has been released. The crazy ones are those who rely too heavily on their hylotropic consciousnesses and attempt to force other people to do the same just so their greedy, selfish, and destructive needs can be met.

Perhaps there is great humor in all of this – although it is at the same time very disconcerting since this sort of behavior halts the evolutionary development of humankind to more advanced ways of being and living in the world – as well as circumvents the taking great care of the environmental concerns of earth. Humor is questionable but it does serve its purpose. Irony is not questionable whatsoever. It does not take a brain surgeon to make the observation (and believe me, there are literally billions who are making this observation), that it is the excessive leaning toward the hylotropic mind that creates a true psychological imbalance – the very diagnosis those who have this condition attempt to project onto those who do not. (Grof, 1985, 1993; Kincheloe, 2008). Of course, your own psychology, limited and elementary as it is, explains this phenomenon. It is projection, denial, and transference. These are all terms you can find in any beginner’s text on psychology. So, it does render this entire situation as quite ironic. We must rise above the irony and change the situation!

Joe has talked about this quite frequently in his work and as I have repeatedly mentioned he did see an element of humor in it – albeit a limited humor since it is also painful to experience the flames that come our way even though we are shielded, not to mention our distress over the pain this error in judgment has on so many of our brothers and sisters and their children around the world. If you remember, I did write a blog, Imagine A Wonderful World in which I discussed the fact that this advanced way of thinking in which I now point out is an integration of the two modes of consciousness is the “way of the world.” And while we have attached new "labels" as such on this experience (but note that we do not attach labels TO people), I do want to point out that this is NOT a new way of being. It is an ancient as well as a very popular way of blissful existence throughout the world. In fact,  I questioned how a white Eurocentric elite minority even dares push their views on the entire world. And yet they did: Throuh the Bully Pulpit and Madness, and by attempting to destroy Dreams such as those Joe had. and those of Martin Luther King, Jr. Those days are over now. One thing Joe pointed out was that “indeed, one of the important functions of FIDUROD [a complex form of positivism, Newtonian-Cartesian form of thinking that is pushed on us] is to quash any idea that there are diverse dimensions of physical, social, and psychological reality…” (Kincheloe, 2008, p. 83). In this sense then, this reductionistic thinking that accompanies nearly all social environs in Western society as well as being pushed to all reaches of the globe, is PSYCHOLOGICALLY UNHEALTHY as are those very people who ascribe to them and attempt to force others into those boxes. THIS NO LONGER WORKS! It is time to change things (and scream if that moves you).

Have you not seen that the numbers of labels continue to grow and grow? Can you not see how CRAZY this really is? And do you think that EVERYONE but a select elite few will sit around and continue to take this? The majority rules. The people have the power, not the few Eurocentric elite who continue to choose to keep their minds constrained in Newtonian-Cartesian boxes and to use these labels to harm people and make them suffer. Remember Joe’s primary purpose is to alleviate suffering. This labeling is one of the biggest problems currently and has been selected for immediate work. Stop labeling. Stop drugging – yes, DRUGGING – children, even your own children, to force their evolutionarily advanced consciousnesses into YOUR “psychologically debilitating” Newtonian-Cartesian boxes (as Joe has framed it).

Many of you, most of you in fact, need to do work in this area, so please pull yourselves away from your worthless entertainment and work on your consciousness. It is only through this work and the work you do to serve others toward alleviating their suffering from these horrific labels – and this goes for labels of all sorts which I am intimately familiar with having been very recently subjected to them myself and having suffered the debilitating effects. Thank goodness I had loving help getting through the ordeal. And please do not “get me wrong here,” and mistinterpret my message -- I am not feeling any more superior or further along in my abilities than the next person. I have my own work to do as I am also boxed in due to my having lived through many experiences that served well to confine my consciousness. So, please do not think I am coming at you as a “know-it-all;” I am most definitely not and I have extensive work to do. I am merely relaying information that I have been asked to relay. I will be working just as hard as the next person. I will be planting many more yellow roses for Joe.

But for now, I am going to blissfully celebrate my day and how blessed I feel to be “sealed for eternity in holy matrimony.” Ah, but please do not worry, I do know that this is definitely outside this dimension and not at all “reality”…just the sweet rewards for believing in magic.

Have a blissfully cosmic day,
Vanessa

PS Coming Soon! A reality everyone can relate to: How Joe Kincheloe’s NEW Treasure Hunt Methodology and Critical Complex Epistemology, once I overcame My Confusion, transformed an entire neighborhood -- and my Sweet Rewards…. all to be covered and updated in future blogs throughout the summer --- plus, how to solve Einstein’s Riddle with Joe’s theory. It is going to be a busy, blissful summer with much news to report.

References

Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the brain: Birth, death and transcendence in psychotherapy. New York: State University of New York Press.

Grof, S. (1993). The holotropic mind. New York: Harper Collins.

Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and critical pedagogy: An introduction. Springer.

Image courtesy of Microsoft.

One final message which I am sure some people will not understand, but this is a Special Day and what else is there to say? I am totally dedicated to THE DREAM -- call it Martin Luther King's dream, call it President Obama's dream, call it whatever dream you wish because there are many, many of us who have the same dream. But this is the joekincheloe.us website, this is a special day, and I call it Joe's Dream. I am devoted and dedicated to Joe's dream and "it's no sacrifice at all," as Elton John would say; it truly is no sacrifice at all.

Today is Saturday, my day off! However, the members of the Greater Councils, which appear to be growing in number now as more people get on board, all know how seriously I take my work and so they have released some information that they wish for me to provide at this time. (If you wish to view this as an imaginary, that is all fine, good, and it is probably very healthy for you for the time being.)

Those who have already chosen to work on this great mission that Joe and many others have left behind for us to continue, as well as some of you who have been sitting on the fence trying to decide whether you wish to jump on board will clearly understand the message I am putting out here today. As I have repeatedly pointed out in previous blogs, the participants in this mission is rapidly – even exponentially – growing in numbers all over the planet, so in that respect, it is not a “Joe Thing” in the event you are one of those people who are abhorred at the focus on Joe on this web site. Please do keep in mind, however, that this is the joekincheloe.us website and this project in his honor has been very highly and universally blessed.

At any rate, along with Joe’s mission to alleviate human suffering in the world and to make the world a better place, the other part of his dream is his Critical Knowledge Network, which he discussed in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction in the Preface, as well as throughout the entire book. It turns out that there are many people who are interested in his concept. A Think Tank has formed with people of the most advanced scientific and philosophical minds that have ever existed and it is rapidly forming or will be forming multiple Critical Knowledge Networks around the globe. You are invited to join in! And as I have mentioned, the cosmic rewards are so beautiful and so great that they can scarcely be described, especially in terms of Newtonian-Cartesian ideals. It literally will begin to make one feel crazy if they attempt to use a lower dimensional concept to describe a higher dimensional experience.

In order to move things along a little faster, since we are behind schedule, thanks to the Bush Empire our collective consciousness created that has drug out for so many years, the Critical Knowledge Network has passed down the following recommended studies for those who are ready to move ahead more rapidly.

Epistemology: Define both hylotropic and holotropic modes of consciousness. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of each and who promotes one form of consciousness over another form of consciousness (and why).

Ontology: Seek a balance between the two forms of consciousness that works for you.

Cosmology: Focus on the enjoyment of the simple things in life: your interrelationship with the earth, plants, people, children, sunshine, pleasure, etc. As you enjoy your day, identify those daily postformal treasures that pop into your life which Joe talks about often that gave him such joy -- and which we all are blessed with if we take the time to see them and enjoy them.

The recommended activities will help immensely to prepare you for the mental stamina required to work productively on this very important mission, providing it is your wish to do so. It might be noted here that under a newly (relatively speaking) accepted and operating paradigm “the concept of ‘higher sanity’ or genuine mental health should be reserved for individuals who have achieved a balanced interplay of both complementary modes of consciousness….a harmonious blending of the two modes does not distort reality, but gives it a mystical flavor” (Grof,1985, p. 401). Quite frankly, I am not able to envision how this can even happen if we continue to cloak, hide, or subvert knowledge as has been and continues to be rampantly occurring in education and other certain places in the world, including on the Internet. Thus, I am pointing out today that Critical Knowledge Networks are already being formed in alliance with some very special Think Tanks of highly evolved and intelligent people. They are graciously releasing knowledge in a controlled and gradual process in order to make it easily accessible by literally anyone who has balanced their consciousness as described, wants to work on the mission in positive and productive ways, and puts forth the actual effort to gain the accessible knowledge and also puts it into action to alleviate human suffering in their own unique and creative ways. It is true that this work can be quite demanding, so you do have to be dedicated, but the rewards are truly out of this world.

Have a great weekend.

Vanessa

References

Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the brain: Birth, death and transcendence in psychotherapy. New York: State University of New York Press.

Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). Knowledge and critical pedagogy: An introduction. Springer.

Image courtesy of Microsoft.

I do think it is sometimes easy to feel like Joe’s dream was stolen, much like Martin Luther King’s dream was stolen from him, because they both left the world far too soon and both suffered in various ways on account of their dreams. Martin Luther King had suffered all kinds of ridicule for his beautiful dream. Good dreams for a utopian future and how people who have such dreams sometimes come to be treated always remind me once again of Plato’s cave, which I have mentioned before. All of the people were in a dark cave and there were shadows on the walls being created from something from somewhere outside the cave. They did not understand the shadows. One brave man dared to go outside and have a look and found a beautiful enlightenment as to exactly what the shadows were, but when he came back to tell the people how beautiful and joyful it was outside the cave and to come out and look, they just laughed at him and ridiculed him – and stayed inside the dark cave. They were too afraid to go outside and see for themselves and they felt very threatened to have someone tell them what was out there, so they called him “crazy.” Joe talked about this a lot and laughed about it….and yes, I know, I am supposed to write a blog about it. For some reason it keeps getting put on the back burner. But never forgotten.

I think many people felt that Martin Luther King’s dream was stolen. This song is in honor of his dream:

Martin Luther King and Joe actually shared the same dream and I believe this will give their joint dreams a vey special and maybe even a magical power to continue on and be realized. Joe always stressed interrelationships over the objectification of people or the focus on things and facts. Indeed, Martin Luther King, in a speech on April 4, 1967, just one year before he was assassinated had stated, “I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society” (Bigelow & Peterson, 2002, p. 327).

Joe’s entire dream is clearly outlined in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. If you read the book you will have a clear idea as to what his dream is, how it can truly work to create change, and how you can contribute to making his – and Martin Luther King’s dream – come true. Personally, I do not believe that the dream for a beautiful world with no suffering can ever be stolen. This dream lives on each day through everyone who continues to work on Joe’s, Martin Luther King’s and other great people’s mission for making the world a better place and there are many people who are doing just that. This is a beautiful thing. Those who want to get on board simply need only read Joe’s book and start taking local and global action to make a difference. It does not matter how small your actions are because everyone’s work will meld together and create magnificent changes in the world.

As Martin Luther King put it, “Now let us begin. Now let us re-dedicate ourselves to the long and bitter – but beautiful – struggle for a new world.”

Martin Luther King and Joe’s dream lives on through those people who have not given up hope. It lives on through those of us who believe in the dream and struggle on a daily basis to live the dream in whatever small ways we are able. And it lives on through Obama’s Peace Train. Change is truly on the way.

References

King, Martin Luther (1967). A revolution of values. Speech presented in New York City on the occasion of his becoming Co-Chairman of Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam, April 4, 1967. In Bigelow, B. and Peterson, B. (Eds.), (2003) Rethinking Globalization: Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World, pp. 327-328.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

Wow that was an amazing experience. . . . at least he brought it down to the ground gently, claiming he was just making a “pit stop.” (lol). Seriously, that was my dream night before last! I attended a carnival on some other planet and rode home on a motorcycle. The carnival was great. You could actually win stuff playing their games, but I left it all at home in my dream house (I would love to tell more about that, perhaps another time). Next, we flew back to Earth on a motorcycle down through space with some lovely mountain scenery thrown in for entertainment and enjoyment just before we touched ground.

Next thing I notice we were heading down toward a building to land. HE says he needs to make a “pit stop” which is a multidimensional joke that will have to be explained another time as it is likely to be totally misinterpreted without the explanation. But nevertheless, he totally succeeds in landing the bike ever so gently on the ground right next to the building which looked suspiciously like the side of my house. It did not look familiar to me since I do not normally look at my house from a birds eye view nor do I spend much time on that side of the outside of my house. In the very next instant, I was in my bed wide awake.

Never a dull moment! I must say, I do find this creative aspect of my imagination highly enjoyable. And maybe this great dream was one of my rewards for working so hard on the NEW Treasure Hunt – where in the WORLD do these creative ideas come from? I was not warned that if I used Joe’s postformal thought, my imagination, including my dream life, would go crazy….oh, wait, I guess he did mention that quite a number of times. I am still under a directive to write a blog about those very topics . . . soon.

I have learned and I am still learning so much from the NEW Treasure Hunt that it is incredible. This, after having gone through some minor frustrations and confusion. There are so many interrelationships it’s really quite mindboggling. And the interesting thing is how you can come to see just how everything that would appear to be UNrelated is, in fact, RELATED! For example, who would have thought that the scientist who discovered orgone, that life force energy – which was so controversial at the time, but has now been confirmed – would have documented his conversations with Albert Einstein. But he did! And they are in the book that was one of the clues I was supposed to look at. He had some interesting things to say about Einstein that explains why Einstein may have created the Riddle he did. At any rate, showing how to solve Einstein’s Riddle with Joe’s methodologies was exciting to me and in my view, one of the greatest treasures from this current and ongoing treasure hunt. It will certainly alleviate a lot of pain, which was always Joe’s goal. I know that one person who came across Einstein’s Riddle was very disappointed when she could not solve the riddle. But it was just beautiful to see her face light up when I told her, she CAN solve the puzzle if she uses Joe’s techniques. And she was very happy when I told her I would write up his techniques in a way that she can use them to solve it. Now that is a true treasure – to see people feeling good about themselves, instead of watching their faces fall when they think they must not be as smart as the next guy. I really have to thank Einstein in this situation because he seems to be so ready and willing to correct this misconception about his Riddle after all of these years. If he had not been, I don’t think the Riddle would have popped up as a clue for me TWICE in one day! (See Clues #4 and #7.) It seemed pretty emphatic that I was to make that correction as evidently there were two people trying to get me to see the riddle and do something about it.

Another very special treasure was that the hunt led me back to a reading assignment Joe gave me when I was studying the bricolage for my dissertation proposal. He had given me a very specific assignment and what I deemed was a very special reading assignment, just a few pages, actually. It turned out that these few pages were exactly what I need to build a framework for this new bricolage methodology. While we do not want to use a strict framework, but rather an expanding and flexible framework, it is still necessary to have some sort of guidance for discerning between which interrelationships are important to consider and which we may not need to add to the mix, especially when there are many variables to compare, such as in this NEW treasure hunt which had a total of 11 clues and several dozen variables. We cannot possibly consider absolutely every interrelationship because that would quickly take us on the road to infinity. So, a simple framework that provides guidance is called for here. While Joe does not refer to it in his work specifically as a framework, that is exactly what he has provided, so I do feel that was probably my most valuable treasure out of the project so far. I am working on the write-up now and will go into much more depth and I will no doubt discover additional treasures. The write-up will hopefully provide a very useful tool to help teachers and students connect all of those isolated “factoids” (as Joe refers to them) that they have to learn in order to pass the standardized tests. If they adopt this new methodology it will put some substance into their studies and they will learn so much more than if they stick to just memorizing all of the facts. They can actually learn and remember something worthwhile and pass their tests with flying colors. In my book, that is very valuable.

So all of this wraps up the NEW treasure hunt, for the moment anyway. I was told that I would find a treasure that “jumps off the page” and would be “very valuable.” The framework jumped off the page at me (even though Joe did not call it a framework in his book) and this will be very valuable for the students who are still stuck having to pass standardized tests and for their teachers. So, I am happy.

My next step is to write all of this up in much more detail. Actually, I have a good start on it already and I will make sure it is in proper academic prose, which I actually have learned to do quite well in my doctoral program. Joe did convey that it is important to write in multiple styles to meet various purposes. I also want to make sure I provide a write-up that is usable for any teacher or student to apply to solve puzzles like Einstein's Riddle. In addition, I will want to look at some more interrelationships between variables in more detail as I know there is much more to learn yet from extending this treasure hunt out further. Also, I have not even begun to discuss ALL of the treasures I have found during this hunt. There are so many of them, but I will go into more depth in the document I put together and make available online. It is also important to keep in mind, with postformal treasure hunting it is the “thrill of the hunt” that is often as exciting as finding the treasures. As Joe has pointed out, the emphasis of these treasure hunting experiences is the process of knowing and thinking rather than on a production of some sort of final, positive knowledge and “correct” form of reason (Thomas & Kincheloe, 2006, pp. 129-130). I am not certain which aspect of postformal treasure hunting I would classify as the most fun – It is all very exciting and I love all of it!

One last thing before I sign off today and that is I want to express my gratitude to everyone who was involved in any way with this NEW Treasure Hunt (both here and in my dream life). Of course, that means I thank Joe and also Albert Einstein, Wilhelm Reich, both the Intergalactic and the Pleiadian Higher Councils, all of my Master Teachers, Grandmother, my neighbors, the landlord, all of the children who are looking forward to treasure hunting, and everyone else who has been or will be involved in this NEW Treasure Hunt. Thank you, everyone so much! I am not able to express the enormity of my gratitude for making this experience exuberantly joyful through the constant discovery of new interrelationships, new treasures, new friends, and new insights that have evolved -- and continue to evolve. And a heartfelt thank you to Joe for encouraging me to use my "postformal creative imagination" to create the most exciting motorcycle ride I have ever experienced, even if it was just a dream!

Love & Peace

Vanessa

References

Thomas, P. L. & Kincheloe, J. L. (2006). Reading, writing, and thinking: Postformal basics. The Netherlands: Sense.

Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

I am taking just a short diversion from my work on the NEW Treasure Hunt today to bring you a brief Special Service Announcement at the request of the Higher Council. And as I have said before, we must always do what the Higher Council requests of us because the rewards are always SO DELICIOUS!!! Keep in mind though that we never do the tasks for the rewards, but rather for the good and great mission we are all busily working on to spread knowledge, education, peace and love throughout the world. The sweet rewards that follow are simply icing on the cake, so to speak.

As teachers, we often talk about diversity in the classroom and the best ways to adjust our curriculum to meet diversity needs, and so I ask you: Are you considering the new and growing population of Ravers at all? Many teachers might find this public service information helpful for creating ways to meet the needs of these very, very special and highly intelligent group of students who are growing in numbers and who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the dumbing down of their education.

Below is a Raver’s manifesto. The original website has been provided for those teachers who wish to learn about these students, which would be a very wise move as a teacher if you plan to stay in the business of teaching for a few years. It is expected that the Raver populations will swell each year from now well into the future to unimaginable numbers. If you have not even heard about these students or of their educational needs as students, it may very well be too late for you as a teacher. You will not last long with them under your tutelage – unless you get informed rapidly. At the end of this blog, I have included a couple of videos that will be helpful and then some web sites for you to visit to familiarize yourself with their needs, which may seem unique, but will soon be the norm. You simply must remember these children are NOT drug addicts; they do not engage in this sort of destructive behavior and will be highly insulted if you even hint – or even THINK – along those lines. Yes, THINK, because many of these students are very skillful with reading the minds of those adults who work closely with them. I can assure you, this is a challenging group of students and they will make or break you as a teacher….get informed today!

Tomorrow I will have an update on the NEW Treasure Hunt. My problem is that I have TOO much information to convey and I do not want to short circuit anyone’s brain, so I have to carefully narrow things down for what is appropriate to share with people this given moment in our illusionary time plane. I think much of it is all going to have to go into a book because there is just too much – but do not worry. It will be available for free download, as I know there are hawks out there watching and they would strike if I attempt to make money off anything relating to Joe’s ideas, even though I know Joe would not mind me receiving “remuneration” as he would probably put it. But no worries there. I am more than well provided for through cosmic law which is much more powerful and fulfilling than any earthly manmade laws --  all in exchange for the work I do on this site and elsewhere. The secrets of exactly how this works will be revealed in a future book so that others might contribute to the universal goals of this monumental project and receive their just compensation. And these secrets are much grander than any other Secrets published previously, so you will probably want to watch for the book. Yes, my imagination again -- it seems to extend beyond even the limits of postformalism. Wait a minute though, does postformalism even have limits? Hmm....something to ponder. (This is NOT to be misconstrued, however! My mission is love, peace, joy, knowledge, education, equality, and a beautiful planet.)

And now, for the Raver’s manifesto. Read, become informed, and open your consciousness to make room for these delightful children coming to a school near you.

Raver's Manifesto
by Unknown

Our emotional state of choice is Ecstasy [Note: And I do want to point out that this is NOT referring to any form of drugs, but rather a state of emotional bliss]. Our nourishment of choice is Love. Our addiction of choice is technology. Our religion of choice is music. Our currency of choice is knowledge. Our politics of choice is none. Our society of choice is utopian though we know it will never be.

You may hate us. You may dismiss us. You may misunderstand us. You may be unaware of our existence. We can only hope you do not care to judge us, because we would never judge you. We are not criminals. We are not disillusioned. We are not drug addicts. We are not naive children. We are one massive, global, tribal village that transcends man-made law, physical geography, and time itself. We are The Massive. One Massive.

We were first drawn by the sound. From far away, the thunderous, muffled, echoing beat was comparable to a mother's heart soothing a child in her womb of concrete, steel, and electrical wiring. We were drawn back into this womb, and there, in the heat, dampness, and darkness of it, we came to accept that we are all the same. We came to accept that we are all equal. Not only to the darkness, and to ourselves, but to the very music slamming into us and passing through our souls: we are all equal. And somewhere around 35Hz we could feel the hand of God at our backs, pushing us forward, pushing us to push ourselves to strengthen our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. Pushing us to turn to the person beside us to join hands and uplift them by sharing the uncontrollable joy we felt from creating this magical bubble that can, for one evening, protect us from the horrors, atrocities, and pollution of the outside world. It is in that very instant, with these very realizations that each of was truly born. We continue to pack our bodies into clubs, or warehouses, or buildings you've abandoned and left for naught, and we bring life to them for one night. Strong, throbbing, vibrant life in it's purest, most intense, most hedonistic form.

In these makeshift spaces, we seek to shed ourselves of the burden of uncertainty for a future you have been unable to stabilize and secure for us. We seek to relinquish our inhibitions, and free ourselves from the shackles and restraints you've put on us for your own peace of mind. We seek to re-write the programming that you have tried to indoctrinate us with since the moment we were born. Programming that tells us to hate, that tells us to judge, that tells us to stuff ourselves into the nearest and most convenient pigeon hole possible. Programming that even tells us to climb ladders for you, jump through hoops, and run through mazes and on hamster wheels. Programming that tells us to eat from the shiny silver spoon you are trying to feed us with, instead of nourish ourselves with our own capable hands. Programming that tells us to close our minds, instead of open them.

Until the sun rises to burn our eyes by revealing the distopian reality of the world you've created for us, we dance fiercely with our brothers and sisters in celebration of our life, of our culture, and of the values we believe in: Peace, Love, Freedom, Tolerance, Unity, Harmony, Expression, Responsibility and Respect. [and add to this, Remembrance. I would like to point out that this entire web site is dedicated in remembrance of Joe, as well as all of the other elements of the Raver’s Manifesto, and as such, it is the very sort of action that Ravers highly support.]

Our enemy of choice is ignorance. Our weapon of choice is information. Our crime of choice is breaking and challenging whatever laws you feel you need to put in place to stop us from celebrating our existence. But know that while you may shut down any given party, on any given night, in any given city, in any given country or continent on this beautiful planet, you can never shut down the entire party. You don't have access to that switch, no matter what you may think. The music will never stop. The heartbeat will never fade. The party will never end. I am a raver, and this is my manifesto.

-end-

Ain’t it time to PLURRR now?

PLURRR
Peace
Love
Unity
Respect
Responsibility
Remembrance

Have a PLURRRY day!

Vanessa

References and Additional Information

Raver's Manifesto http://www.genxglow.com/forums/community/grand-central/ravers-manifesto-1047/#post8048

Wikipedia PLUR http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLUR

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=PLURR
http://www.bay-c.co.uk/963330910/990130416/1003428276/1050224623/1055407756
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PLUR
http://www.plurlife.com/view_group.php?group_id=980

http://innerrave.org/dance.html

Raver’s Picture -- Image courtesy of christieh67

http://i295.photobucket.com/albums/mm134/christieh67/ravers.jpg

Enlightenment by Dancing

http://innerrave.org/dance.html

Rave is Everywhere:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0FbcqFObRo

As a parent (or maybe  a teacher) don’t ya just feel like screaming sometimes? I mean, really. Your kids come home from school and they are all stressed out, complaining, “School is stupid!” and you have tried working with the teachers and you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. If you even TRY to work with the teachers, you start hearing whispers: “helicopter parent(s)!” And it is just as well anyway since trying to work WITH the system often becomes much like talking to a brick wall. The irritating thing is that so many (not all, but many) of the teachers, the administrators, and – if your child is in special ed – the special ed teachers and the other numerous “specialists” PRETEND to listen to you. And you THINK you are being listened to, because, after all, who knows your child better than you do and they know that, right? And these people are so good at putting on acts that it is easy to believe you are being listened to. And then it is just immediately back to the same-o, same-o. You could have saved your time and energy – maybe put in a few more hours at work and had steak for dinner instead of mac and cheese again. And the worst of it is – what is truly heartbreaking – is that your child comes home feeling even more down and depressed every day. Some teachers even take things out on your children and are just plain mean. That really hurts. And so you give up trying to work with the school system. Believe me, I have been there and done that. I even finally pulled my child out of the system and homeschooled her. Don’t get me wrong. There are good school systems and there are bad ones. Idaho is atrocious whereas Oregon does a decent job even if they are still locked into the No Child Left Behind nonsense.

Maybe, instead of being a parent, you are a teacher who truly cares about what you see happening to your students and you are all set to make a difference. You work beyond the call of duty to meet your students’ needs and take time to listen to them and their parents. The students and the parents love you. And the next thing you know, the principal or some administrator in the school district puts more demands on you, requiring you to complete mundane tasks that take enormous amounts of time that in no way benefits your students or helps them learn. Maybe you are REQUIRED to teach to the standardized test, even though in your heart you know it’s not the best way to prepare students for the test or life itself. Or maybe you are handed some new and great curriculum that is all scripted out for you that has been “proven” – by someone who never taught school a day in their life! I have been there and done that, too, and sometimes it literally makes me feel like screaming. Well, I do scream, I guess, inside. Not sure how good that is for my health, though.

The thing that was cool about Joe is that he talked about this very stuff in all of his work – and he experienced it himself, so he really and truly did know what he was talking about unlike some stuffy academicians in the higher echelons of the university – and he cared. But rather than scream (although I am sure he would understand why we might want to scream), he used his energy to develop ingenious ways of dealing with these problems. If you are a parent or a teacher, you might especially find his book, Teachers as Researchers helpful. His real goal was to provide us who are trapped at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder with the tools to outsmart the very people who are so clever at keeping us here. For the past few days I have been engaged in a treasure hunt he left for me to work on and I have been attempting to uncover some of the treasures he left especially for US. Remember, I chose this site name because it represents US AT THE BOTTOM of the ladder, not the United States as a national construct. Maybe this was Joe’s answer to the dilemma the world is faced with today. We can beat the imperialists, transnational capitalists, and war mongers (who are behind the current educational system) at their own game.  And so I have been treasure hunting to find out better how we might do that. Tomorrow I am going to begin sharing some of the treasures I have found in the NEW Treasure Hunt because in addition to finding all of the clues, I have been blessed with many special treasures during the process.

One thing is certain when it comes to getting the education we want for ourselves and our children it boils down to this: We can beat those elite power wielders at their own game, or we can scream. Or we might want to do both.

More to come . . .

Vanessa

References

Kincheloe, J. L. & Berry, K. S. (2004). Rigour and Complexity in Educational Research: Conceptualizing the Bricolage. New York: Open University.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia The  Scream. Artist Edvard Munch Year 1893 Type Oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard Dimensions 91 cm × 73.5 cm (36 in × 29 in) Location National Gallery, Oslo

This is NOT a Treasure Hunt (lol). Yes, I do believe I have been led astray! I have been working diligently on this NEW treasure hunt and I feel like I am getting nowhere fast – and not only that, I have a big sneaking suspicion that I have been set up: I think this is another initiation. The Council members like to pull this on me, especially if the intergalactic members get involved (lol). The intergalactic members always have their weight to pull (and I could tell you some hair-raising stories about my experiences).

Anyway, I really have been working hard on this treasure hunt and I have all of the inform