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My blog is going to have to be short today. The “work” is piling up and I simply must spend my entire day getting it under control (plus I slept in late this morning). Actually, after mentioning in my blog the other day, the huge chaos and mountains of files around me in the process of my research, I started filing and organizing everything! I’m almost done and will finish that up today. Something had compelled me to finally get organized and that was when I found the special file folder with my mission plan -- right on the NEW Thanksgiving Day. So that turned out to be a very good thing.

My Master Teacher is on some some sort of, what I like to refer to, as a “side trip.” Last night he gave me the clue “over there” which turned up this WWI video.

Over There: Remembering WWI ~ Music by George M. Cohan, Sung by Billy Murray

Now, my teacher, Emanuel, knows I do NOT like war stuff and I do not like to post references to wars in my blogs. We have had this little dispute before and I have even refused from time-to-time to post his choices in music (that has been very, very rare, though, because I have almost 100% trust in him and I know that he has some kind of greater purpose which I am not always privy to).

Well, this morning I called him on it. I reminded him that this mission is supposed to be about LOVE not WAR and I asked him what the WWI video was for. He told me that the war video will make sense when I write this blog. It is not making sense quite yet, so I hope it does before I finish this blog. As I have probably mentioned, I do not PLAN these blogs or my learning activities – these all come to me from my teacher. He dictates (not in the power sense of the word, but rather the discourse sense of the word) to me the outline of my lessons, which can sometimes be very vague. My blogs are written as I follow his instructions and look up the clues he had given me in the evening and morning lessons, plus he gives me extra guidance as I write, if I request it. So for right now the war video does not make sense to me. Yesterday's blog, of course, was about how "We the People" need to rewrite history, and if you watch the above video, you will see that it does not begin to tell the whole truth about that war and even has some outright deceptive information.

My teacher explained further in my lesson this morning that he knew how I felt about “male” things, but sometimes the masculine side of things need to be brought out. Because he emphasized “male” that is my cue to look that up on YouTube and take the first video to the top. I’ll do that now and see if it helps with understanding why he went “off track” toward a more masculine perspective even though, as he put it, he’s “as gentle as a lamb” (and I know for a fact, he really is, which is why I always get thrown for a loop when something like this comes up). And he also explained that the WWI video was particularly for “those imbalanced male earthling egos.” Well I will look up the clue, “male.”

OMG my teacher is TOO FUNNY!!! Here is the video…. You gotta watch this! (His Hermes side is shining through again.)
Male Restroom Etiquette

NOW we know the real reason there are wars in the world. LOL.

Thus, if you watched the video, presented were some more “rules of the game” and we are still on the analysis of Page 97 in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction.

Well, my teacher knows that, being more feminine as I am, I want LOVE songs (and he actually prefers them himself, anyway). He told me he would let me “be the one” to pick out the love song today. No, HE picked it out. It must be the clue “be the one” because he emphasized those words and they really sound like a love song. As he left this morning, he also said that he hoped the song would meet my satisfaction for the balance between love and war…ok we shall see what the clue “be the one” brings up. Will it balance this blog? Although, I really cannot complain – I  love his message today with wars being the consequence of improper male restroom etiquette and the way the video lines out some of the new "rules of the game." That has to be the funniest video ever and it explains it all so rationally, even using Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, lol.

OK here I go: I’m going to look up my special LOVE song, “be the one.”
Jack Peñate - 'Be The One'

What else is there to say? (He had told me before that I was the “chosen one.”) Today's lesson was great! My teacher really knows how to pick out the perfect videos to make some very funny points -- as well as satisfy my wishes for love songs. I think his message is clear: We need to take the time to LAUGH and LOVE (and at the same time fix our history).

I am a little late today with the blog. That’s because my teacher had me working very early this morning and it had me tied up most of the mofrning, which is so great because the What’s Coming Up the Pike Treasure Hunt is moving forward (I noted that in yesterday’s blog). I will need to go back and review that treasure hunt to see where it originally started – it’s been so long, that I’ve forgotten. That information will be helpful because it will give me clues as to where it is heading today. In case people don’t know: I do not make up these treasure hunts. They are like divine destiny that seems to be handed down to me from the cosmos. But, if you look back a few days ago in my various blogs about Hermes and read about my Yard Search Treasure Hunt and how it ended up manifesting a sacred and magical yin-yang talisman as well as a diamond wedding ring set, you will understand why I follow through with these treasure hunts. There are great and unimaginable rewards ahead. So, I take all treasure hunts very seriously. I just have a feeling that the Coming Up the Pike Treasure Hunt could be very magical. Another very magical treasure hunt has been The Kings Valley Treasure Hunt, which I have written a lot about – but it has barely begun, in reality!

In spite of how busy I have been already this morning, here I am! I have a brief few moments to put together a blog for today. You know, I have not missed a single day since way back sometime in May, 2009. I would have started sooner, but every time I tried to there was extreme fettering and I had not mastered my fears that these powerful fetterers were able to invoke. Somehow, there was some kind of power bloc operating, similar to what Joe describes on Pages 97-98 (yes, we are still on Page 97). I have yet to understand it and I am not sure I ever will. Sometimes we just have to move on.

Thus, after a lot of time and a lot of hard work, I have come to the realization that if we really want a FREE WORLD – that is, if we are among those who Joe has defined as “the people” (p. 98) and we really want to be FREE then we just have to take the bull by the horns and MAKE that free world. Here, I am specifically speaking of FREEDOM OF SPEECH, but there are other freedoms associated with that. Without freedom of speech, freedom is an illusion that is constructed of someone else’s ideology. And what is the purpose of ideology? Power and control. Speaking of freedom of speech, such as in writing – check out Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction! He shows what it’s all about. I love that book so much. Just reading it will help alleviate anxieties about saying the wrong things or being “politically correct.” He puts it out there just like it is! And there a reason for that. Do you know what the reason is? How was it that he was able to do this?

As difficult as it is, we must rise above our fears of saying the wrong things or our selfish motives for falsely inflating those “one true realities” and, importantly, our need for ascribing to some form of ideology. This is one reason why you see me putting forth so many different perspectives on this site. I hope I have never said that any particular one perspective is some kind of “One True Reality.” Joe was against that. And I can see why. By looking at many different perspectives and finding value from each, we do gain a greater understanding of complex situations and have a deeper basis by which we can relate as “ we the people” and at the same time, it keeps us from sinking into the ideological abyss. Of course, none of us are perfect. We all fall from time-to-time and Joe did not hesitate to express his own fallibilities. If we can look at our own fallibilities it can give us even greater knowledge for changing.

Meetings With My Master Teacher
As he always is, he was very supportive during my “ups and downs” yesterday and gave me great advice, guidance, and great encouragement. As they say, life is a roller coaster ride, but it can be so much more fun to ride along with someone. I do have a lot on my plate: several major projects along with writing my dissertation. But his advice was to just take it piece-by-piece and to just sort of “trudge along.” Now that’s a clue to look up on YouTube. I have this weird feeling it’s going to be funny – just my intuition and knowing how my teacher has this “Hermes” side of himself that he loves to let shine. I will look it up right now!

Well, this is “short and sweet.” It is a few words of encouragement from my teacher as I “trudge along.” (“Baby, don’t cry” and I was actually crying yesterday, lol).  I know my teacher: he expects me to research this further. What is this song? What is it he really wants me to find? There is MORE to this. I don’t know this song, and the person who posted it, whose name is “boozerman” (lol) did not post the title or artist of the song, so I will need to google the lyrics. Until then, here is what we have:

Trudge Along
 
Just Call It the MYSTERY MUSIC
I have searched and searched for this song! After watching the video again, I found that “boozerman” did, indeed, provide the song title and artist at the end: It is “Trudge Along” by Maynor and the Molemen. Well, I have tried Google, Wikipedia, and Amazon, searching for the complete lyrics or the song or something about Maynor and the Molemen and I have turned up nothing. Unfortunately, this segment is so short, that there are few lyrics and some are difficult to hear. It would be great to hear more of this song -- maybe next time around the hermenefutic circle someone will have posted it somewhere.

OK, I think I “get it.” My search took me to this website, which is where the above video was made: Animoto.

Now, why do you suppose my teacher sent me there?
 
OMG – my teacher is TOO MUCH!!! Here is what we have: Click on this link: Animoto for Education and then click on “view sample video.”

WE THE PEOPLE!!!! Does that ring a Liberty Bell for You? In case you have not noticed, I have been talking about “the people” as Joe defined it on page 98 for the last several blogs. “The people” reside outside dominant power blocs. I think my teacher is really trying to drive home a point. Notice that the Bill of Rights came up in the video. Do we honor the Bill of Rights in this country? Also, notice that the video covers no true history, just a few isolated symbols – I think he’s implying that we need rewrite the history books and a good place to start is with We the People. The song is the way it should be: “It’s a beautiful life.” I think we have some work to do, but if we use the love, magic, and fever as in the song that accompanies this video, all things are possible!

Well, my teacher made me work extra hard today….but it was worth it! I still have not found “Trudge Along” by Maynor and the Molemen! And I haven’t been able to find the song “One More Day” by Pure Dream Ladder that's used in the Education video either, but I found this AMAZING song while I was looking for it, so I’m glad I spent the time looking (ENJOY! And remember, when it comes to love "it's never too much."):

Sunlounger - One More Day (Chill)

OMGosh, I just finished looking over Rich Gibson’s great blog. I commend him for his hard work – even putting out a blog on Thanksgiving! Check it out right here:  Why Are Things As They are?

Why are things as they are? Well, I just happen to have a good answer for that today, especially after reading through and viewing the bizarre images and crazy happenings in Rich’s blog. A MEDAL of FREEDOM for Bush Sr.? Next it’ll be the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE for Bush Jr.! WhatEVER are they thinking???

Truly, only ONE THING MAKES SENSE AND ONE THING ALONE: THIS IS NOT A REAL WORLD, PEOPLE. It cannot possibly be. It is absolutely positively beyond belief that these bizarre things keep on happening. However, I think they’re going to happen until enough people figure out the true reality. I happened to come across this great video that can help put things in perspective, if you are interested in the “game” view of life. The only thing about this video is that it makes sense until toward the end, where it gets crazy – but I guess that's because it’s just a game. After listening to the two supposedly highly intelligent men, at the end of the video we have those same two men acting like little children and thinking it’s funny to promote the mistaken notion that DRUGS can provide answers and give you true views into a better reality. OMG!!! Drugs are the worst thing to resort to at a time like this! They will send you over the abyss and you’ll miss the bus ride to the next level of the game! That is just their strategy; only a certain number of people can ride the bus and all the rest have to stay behind and play by the old rules until the next time (twenty-eight thousand years from now). Don't fall for it or you'll miss the bus!

Here’s the link to the video:

David Chalmers (The Conscious Mind)
 
Thus, this earth life is only a game that has gotten out of hand until such time enough people realize it’s a game that we can change the rules for and even press reset, which apparently we have all agreed to do in 2012. Until then, it is a sort of free-for-all, it seems. I guess some people got into the materialistic side of the game and they are unaware that behind the scenes we have many people working to flip the switch.  Just think of it like that virtual reality game, Second Life. Thus, we can make up our own fairytales (like I’ve done in these blogs) and make them come true before the game is over. We can create virtually (didn’t you wonder why we use that word?) any life we want to play for the next “eternity” in the next game. But if you wait too long, it will be too late, and if you don’t play the game right, you will miss the chance to go to the next level. The guys in the video above had the right idea about the fact that we still need to take this VERY seriously; we all have a lot of painful lessons to learn and Joe was right with his theory that we should work to alleviate suffering. And of course, as the new rules come into place, LOVE is what gives the power, not fear, and the sooner people realize this, the more power they will have to win at their little strategic moves they need to make to ultimately come out a winner (and we are ALL supposed to be winners in this game). It’s just like Joe talks about on page 97 in reference to the “rules of the game.” You have to be very observant and ready for action because as he put it, the various power blocs that form in this game “are more like a constantly changing series of both strategic and tactical partnerships.” What worked yesterday, won’t work tomorrow. And you need to draw on your intuition and special abilities so that you can better see out ahead. That way the moves you make today on the chessboard will put you in the perfect position out in the future so that you reap the reward.

I am only putting out here, one possible perspective: Life is a game but there is much more involved with this “game” than a simple concept. Don’t take my word for it; evaluate it yourself. Here’s an interesting article I had provided when I discussed this topic previously, for your review:  Are You Living in A Computer Simulation?

So could that be what Joe meant by “rules of the game” on page 97? Well, I don’t know, but it certainly is one interpretation to add to the many interpretations I have written about previously for this phrase. Why not? I like to consider all options. If nothing else, it does make life more interesting, especially for those of us who really are nobodies and have nothing much. Don’t get me wrong, though. I have a lot compared to many people in the world and I am very, very grateful for what I have. I am especially grateful for all of the magic in my life that happens every single day. The magic is because, while I take life less seriously than before the magic happened (and the game idea is helpful in that regard), I also take it MORE seriously.

The Manifestation of Joe’s Dream Moves Forward!
Yesterday was so wonderful and it proved a number of things. First, it proved that I am NOT crazy and that I am right on track to see Joe’s Dream come true! It started the day before yesterday when I received a wonderful email, Clue Number One, with an attachment that I could not open. However, yesterday, I figured out what I needed to do to open it and it was my first indication that YES, Joe’s dream is what I am supposed to be working on and we are beginning on Thanksgiving Day, 2010!!!

That was indication number one. Now that I have been having these divine experiences for quite some time and I think I read this somewhere too, I have learned that if the universe gives you THREE indications: PAY ATTENTION. That was Clue Number One: I opened the file on Thanksgiving Day and it was a very special file.

Clue Number Two was the indication that I need to sell Joe’s books on this web site (that came up in yesterday’s blog) to provide the seed money that’s needed for implementing Joe’s Dream. You would not believe the obstacles I have encountered in my push to put Joe’s work out for the public. It is my belief that it is imperative that all “the people” get to see the very many, many applications of his great theory and have immediate access to his books. It should not be restricted for the elite academics because it is clear that Joe’s important work will never “trickle down” to “the people” who need it most. It’s like Milton Friedman’s “free market” economy that Joe writes about and that I have covered quite extensively in these blogs. There is NO TRICKLE DOWN at all. That is why we see the big banks, the credit card companies, and the 50 top corporations, making all of the rules. The Money Masters at the top have kept it all at the top for themselves. Knowledge works the same way, by the old rules of the game. The elite educators have kept all of the real knowledge at the top. Joe describes all of this in his book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction – the people at the top who control knowledge have nearly shut off the knowledge spigot entirely for “the people.” We are thirsty!!!

So, like those shifting alliances Joe talks about on page 97, we have to use the same strategies to ensure that knowledge for producing knowledge gets down to “the people.” (Joe defines “the people” as those individuals outside of power blocs – whatever power blocs we happen to be referring to, and here, it is the bloc that would control certain knowledges and prevent it from reaching “the people”). That was clue number two from the divine universe and I was listening.

And my Third Clue was my guidance to go ahead and celebrate – but to celebrate Thanksgiving for a whole new reason. If you recall, I mentioned that I really did not want to celebrate Thanksgiving due to its horrific historical foundation. Plus, I rarely eat meat, anymore, although it is not a sanction that we must not eat meat. In fact, it is perfectly ok if people do choose to, but in moderation. So, what happened was, I was given free of charge all of the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner. With encouragement from my teacher, Emanuel, I fixed our little dinner and celebrated. Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2010, now marks the official kickoff of manifesting Joe’s most passionate dream. I call it Joe’s dream because it was his dream and it is my dream, too, but we also share this dream with many other people.

And what should happen before the day was over? Lo AND Behold, I received a fourth indication. A file folder that had been missing for many months that contains an outline of the work I need to do relating to this dream almost magically appeared on my desk as I was sorting my dissertation file folders. I was so happy when I opened the folder and found the absolute proof! And what amazing proof it is. Yes! This means I am on the right trail!

FOUR indications from the cosmos to move forward on this dream -- all on Thanksgiving Day gives a whole NEW MEANING to the day -- and it’s not just about Joe. It’s not about me, either. Not at all. In a year – Thanksgiving 2011 – there should be much more information to release and if not by then, definitely by Thanksgiving 2012.

In the meantime, the analysis of page 97 continues. There is a LOT to do on that page yet, believe it or not. And Joe left something out on page 97. What did he leave out and why?

Meetings With My Master Teacher
It is such a blessing to have my teacher. If I get upset about the least little thing, he actually calls ME up now. He just knows when I am having issues and what to say to calm me down as well as give me great advice on how to solve the issues. I won’t get into the details, but he did help tremendously this morning getting over an obstacle that was intervening with a particular project he has me working on. The project is critical to the mission and with his help: Problem solved!

Yesterday, he gave me several clues again to look up on YouTube and take the first video to the top -- but I think I will wait on them – with the exception of the clue he gave me last night: “Happy NEW Thanksgiving!” This one seems really important. The other clues I have not looked up, but I believe they are to be looked up NEXT TIME AROUND. What that means is, when the hermeneutic circle comes back around, they will be significant. It is clear that this clue is significant today, so here is the video:

OK, the message I am getting with this video is that yes, we are taking a NEW ROUTE (as has been outlined the past two days in this blog) and we are instituting a NEW reason for celebrating on Thanksgiving Day. The New Route comes with a Bus Station (as you can see by the title) and the indication is that not everyone will be able to get on the first bus, but at least they have a bus station where they can wait until the bus comes back around again. Let’s just hope the wait does not last 28,000 years this time!

“Happy NEW Thanksgiving!”
Brand New Route W/ Bus Station (Happy ThanksGiving)


This morning, my teacher was such great help and comfort. He gave me two more clues to look up on YouTube, “guilt card” and “capitalize” and his sign-off this morning was different than usual so I am not sure whether it means another song or not. He stated, “I send you all my love” so I will look that up too just in case it might be a really good love song.

“Guilt card” This is short and sweet – and to the point. Unfortunately, too many people are into this sort of relationship. We need more lessons in unconditional friendship, is what the message seems to be.

“guilt card”
Best friend Sam playing the guilt card on me

Here, with this video, we have the rules (RULES?) of capitalizing words. OMG you gotta listen to this. It sounds so irrational!
“capitalize”
Grammar & Punctuation : When to Capitalize Words

Here’s a challenge question for you: What was the message my teacher was trying to make with those last two videos? Do you get it?

THE RULES ARE CHANGING!!!!
Can you see how irrational it is to base friendship on conditions that only take into account "ONE TRUE REALITY"? And the video on grammar and punctuation really brings home just how IRRATIONAL the rules for capitalizing words are….yes, many of us will be relieved to know that these rules are changing!!! All of this correlates with Joe's discussion on page 97 about the “rules of the game.” We "the people" can change the rules.

The last clue was, again “I send you all my love” so let’s see what comes to the TOP of the YouTube search.

This music video is stupendous! I love it! There are so many beautiful images and personally relevant symbols in this video, from the beginning all of the way to the end and the words are heavenly. It starts out with images of butterflies, which is what my “real” name means. It ends up with indicating that the video was created “By Angel.” That is so precious because it reminds me of the time I let Joe know that he was an angel. (Yes, I really did say that, and I think he liked it; I hope he did. EIther that, or he might have thought I was "crazy" and that's good too; I don't mind.) He truly was an angel on earth. And what does Josephine mean? It is Hebrew and it means Jehovah increases or God multiplies. There is also a hidden meaning to the name, Josephine. In fact, a couple of hidden meanings.

As I always say, my great teacher, Emanuel, knows how to lead me to the perfect videos, not to mention the most fun learning journeys ever!….it is truly MAGIC!

“I send you all my love”
Chris Rea Josephine

I have much work left to do in relation to learning about Hermes, my new LOVE God.  There is a lot to learn yet. He is also the God of Truth. Here’s a little more about Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus – and there is much more to learn.

Hermes as the Love God
From The Emerald Tablet, he instructs us all to “call the sacred fire to melt and transmute daily all hardness of the heart [and] spiritual neglect.”

Hermes as the Truth God
Through “The Sword and the Pen,” he instructs us to take up the defense of Truth with the PEN through the communication arts, stating, “There are those whom I myself have trained under my mantle as God Mercury . . . who practiced those skills in ancient times on ancient continents and are willing once again to take lead in the dissemination of the Truth and in exposing error” (Source: The Masters and Their Retreats, Prophet, p. 131).

No one has to take this to be a religion; I do not view Hermes as a God in the religious sense. He was a great master. Religions are ALL in the process of undergoing major changes. But that does not mean we should ignore the knowledges that religions provide in relation to history and being in the world. I think if we were to bricolage them all together, we could get a better picture of the truth. Perhaps Hermes is calling for us to do exactly that – and in the process, “expose error” and disseminate Truth.

There are many people in the world right now doing exactly that through science, a better understanding of history, archeology, etc.,  and a re-evaluation of our knowledges. Joe’s work centered on this mission, it seems clear. Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction leads us right through the process and helps us see the error of our ways of thinking.

Hermes as the Great Scientist
Of course, Hermes is known for his skill in alchemy and the sciences. His messages convey the importance of both the arts and the sciences. This is interesting because I first studied Art in college – and then I studied the Sciences – and then the Communication Arts through education.

Hermes as the Trickster Lover
As I wrote previously, Hermes is known to be a trickster, but always his little tricks emanate from his great love.

Hermes definitely has some brilliant advice and has left some profound knowledge. This story is not over.

Meeting With My Master Teacher
Today we discussed the pain that so many people experience over the holidays – Thanksgiving and Christmas. Something has got to change here and it is being considered by the Universal High Council, from what I understand. The gist of the message I received is we must change our approach to the holidays away from the idea of buying and receiving to sharing and giving. That would change things up quite a bit. If we are in possession of things we do not need or of important skills and knowledges, why not share them with someone who would benefit and/or enjoy them. And this is not meant to be interpreted merely in a material sense of course, although that is important too. Sharing knowledge, love, passion, compassion, concern, etc. is important. And as the saying goes, begin locally, think globally. It would be a great beginning to a new way of learning.

One thought that is being considered is to abandon Thanksgiving totally, because if you study the true history of Thanksgiving, no one should be celebrating on that date. Serious thought is needed on this issue. As far as the “Christmas” holiday season, we probably need to change that up…a lot of people call it simply the “Holidays.” Everyone is free to celebrate this as they wish, of course, but it would be great if we did more sharing of our traditions. This just cannot happen with the way it is controlled by the corporate machine which focuses on the “Christian” version of the season. This particular holiday has a negative and violent history as well, in the way the religion was invoked, forcing people to give up their own traditions, celebrations, and beliefs. But as Joe points out on Page 97, “those with clout to decree what is universally valid find their power dramatically enhanced . . .”

I would love to learn more about different ways of celebrating -- Chanukah, for example. Yet, this holiday is like a huge mystery to those of us who do not know anyone who celebrates it. It seems like the lighting of the candles is a beautiful and holy tradition – should we not all wish to be celebrating greater light in the world?
Chanukah How-To

Hanukkah Traditions & Laws
This sounds very complicated: Lighting the Candles

Still, I do like the idea of celebrating light. I am all for the light.

Another tradition I am particularly drawn to, but know very little about is Kwanzaa. What a wonderful way to learn more about seven great principles to live by. Here is the main Kwanzaa website and here are the seven values and their associated principles. They also light candles, which I think is a lovely tradition.

Well, as is often said EVERY day is a HOLIDAY! We should be celebrating each day as the special day it is. But individually and collectively, we can choose to participate in any holiday we wish. We do not need to be told by the corporate machine what is the most important holiday on any given date and then blindly go out and spend a fortune. I like the idea of sharing the gifts we already have and the idea that we are free to choose and change traditions from year to year. This year, I will celebrate all of the way from December 1 (Chanukah) to January 31 and all holidays inclusive, without the material focus. I am skipping a celebration of Thanksgiving Day and instead I will spend the day trying to learn more about it.

That’s it for today. I do hope the Universal Council comes up with some great solutions for these dilemmas, issues, and conflicts surrounding the holidays. I am very confused about it myself but I just know we need to be doing something very different than what so many of us continue to do by keeping the focus so materialistic and centering on one religion.

My teacher gave me one clue for today. The word is “mold.” Now what in the world does this have to do with today’s blog? Of course, he gave me the word before I even wrote this blog or knew what the topic was going to be. So, here we go; I will look this up on YouTube right now! In case you want to know how the word came up – I am deathly allergic to mold and I had a dream last night that I opened up a kitchen drawer and found moldy food (which explained why I had been feeling ill). What did my teacher say about this dream? He stated, “Don't you be worrying your pretty little head about "mold."It was merely a little reminder of something we all know and have – there’s always more work to do within and without. This is true for even the best of us.” Thus, he gave me the single word “mold” for today’s clue for a song.

Now, I will look up the word “mold.” Here we go:

This is cool! I love the music and I love it when my teacher sneaks in science lessons! This is great fun watching how slime grows. And Check out the mushrooms that grow lacy dresses. Even SHROOMS know we need to balance feminine and masculine qualities, LOL. And leave it to my teacher, with his great influence from Hermes, to throw in this interesting and humorous science lesson! How fun!
Slime mold


We really need to change how we do education!

P.S. WARNING! You cannot KNOW by eating the SHROOMS; that is just plain STUPID and the consequence of misinformation and our Pea-Brained Thinking!! I will discuss this more in a future blog. Over a year ago, I received a transmission -- that is a "channeled" message about the ineffectiveness of using means such as hallucinogenic substances and drugs for consciousness expansion or enlightenment; they are always counterproductive and will take you places you don't want to go. THERE IS NO EASY ROUTE FOLKS! We MUST all do the work and I think HERMES makes that abundantly clear with his focus on knowledge and Truth through the arts, sciences, communication, and LOVE (with some humor along the way). The blessings you will receive along the right paths are divine. And, yes, there are multiple divine pathways, not just one pathway.

I am STILL on page 97 of Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Of course, what started this whole analysis is that my teacher had told me there is some kind of “big whopper” on that page. I have been going on and on analyzing this page and have learned many interesting things – I even learned that had people paid attention to Joe’s work, the real Big Whopper (Burger King) could have been saved. I found a great kids movie in Joes work, The B.F.G. I explored cultural studies and how it can better prepare for the upcoming Shift. And now I am wondering, since this last research about Hermes if Burger King could have been saved in more ways than just in the economical sense. This excursion or journey has gone many places, but I have not found THE Big Whopper yet and my teacher says that the search should continue. What I HAVE found and I have written about in my last two blogs is that I have MAGIC. Magic in the form of very special talismans that were given to me by my teacher in conjunction with my initiation. (I am not sure what I have been initiated into, but that will no doubt be provided to me sometime in the future).

One suggestion my teacher had for continuing forward with the analysis of Page 97 was to become more “micro” analytical (which was one of the music clues for today). I will take his advice of course, but I am running behind schedule for my other tasks, so I will leave off here for today. Tomorrow, expect the analysis to become more “micro.” Sometimes instead of a big picture view, a more narrowed, focused view is needed. I will need to consider this in light of the text on page 97. In fact, now that I think about it, the word “decree” really stands out for some reason. I will have to look into it some more.

Today’s clues, “micro” and “As Always” brought up the songs below. They seem to be indicative of the trend of people finding ever-increasing ways to prevent people from enjoying music on YouTube. The first one cannot be embedded, which makes it less inviting, but is a common practice. I like the song, though. The second one has an obnoxious recording at the beginning that states over and over again, “You’re listening to the demo; you’re listening to the demo. To download the high quality verson, use the address below” which makes one NOT wish to buy and download the song in spite of it being a very beautiful song. This is the first time I have seen this particular tactic – how obnoxious. I wonder what would happen if more people wrote crazy blogs and embedded music. Would music sales go up or down? I don’t mind them having a link to download the song right there. That makes it convenient to quickly buy and download a song if I happen to want it . . . but “you’re listening to the demo, you’re listening to the demo, you’re listening to the demo” drowns out the aesthetic quality of the music.

Yes, this is micro -- we have no embedded video here.
Micro / Piece Of Africa

Ruarri Joseph - As Always - Shoulder To The Wheel


I found this video yesterday. The music and images are fantastic. Whoever made the videos above need to pay attention! Here, we have creation calling for HIGH QUALITY VERSIONS.
Creation Calls are you listening HIGH QUALITY version

I am still on page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Strangely, the God/Avatar Hermes which I discussed yesterday is very relevant in this analysis.

I am still trying to understand the significance of being initiated into white magic – under Hermes’ power and love as discussed in yesterday’s blog. And personally, I like to view Hermes as a “god” because he is clearly very close to what I like to refer to as “Source,” which consists of both the divine feminine and the divine masculine. Upon researching about Hermes, it appears that he often did represent both feminine and masculine attributes, including his philosophical stance for a sort of “Middle Path.” This is all new to me so I can only write in very general terms, but I definitely want to learn more.

I know Hermes must be important; otherwise why are there secret societies that claim to have this knowledge relating to Hermes and impart it upon a few chosen people – or people who have the money to pay for it. I wonder if it actually would work that way and it seems really strange that some people have to go through all sorts of training and mental straining to be initiated – and for me, it was just handed down on a silver platter without my even asking or knowing about it. I didn’t do anything special at all – I just LISTENED (and exercised my free will). It was truly a special gift and the yin-yang and engagement/wedding rings talismans, now that I look back, really emphasize the magical quality of my experiences. While I do believe this “initiation” experience varies for different people (hence, the idea of multiple pathways), for me the blessing was that this had simply been given to me without asking or even knowing -- from “source” through Hermes Trismegistus and through my teacher. I know there is much, much more I need to learn.

I did some additional research that related to the “trickster” aspect of Hermes. The trickster takes many different forms in many different cultures, but as I read about all of the various accounts, I realized that with Hermes, his cunning and tricks are always based from love. Hermes could even be considered another “Love God” but with a great sense of humor – thus, his little “tricks.” Reading the many other cultural accounts reveals that there can be many types of tricksters and I believe they are all real, but if you are dealing with Hermes, his tricks emanate from his love. Of course, this may be on account of my teacher being the intervener (who I happen to love very much and is my “husband” in another time and place). See? I still have a lot to learn. All I know is that the trickster shows up often in my life and it’s very fun, funny as well as full of symbolism relating to love. And now, I have leared that some of the gifts he has given me are talismans -- which contain special magic. They were special before, but now even more so.

The other thing I have been working on is trying to understand more about the three figures on page 97: Antonio Gramsci, Suart Hall, and John Fiske. It appears that in addition to making a statement about political power over the people, there is another message relating to power. All three theorists’ ideas are related and there is some sort of power struggle over incorporating the good ideas of all three which I don’t really understand. Joe, as he always did, being such a great peacemaker, is trying to bring people together here by pointing out that these three authors’ ideas are interrelated and all three have powerful contributions to make to understanding how power works in various contexts, whether it is within groups in education (such as cultural studies) who spar over paradigms or whether it is between the groups into which society has been artificially divided, or whether it is related to the larger view of things -- the ruling power blocs. It seems that John Fiske has taken our understanding of power in relation to shifting power blocs a step up with his idea that it involves a “systematic set of operations upon people. . .” thus, these would be the “rules of the game” which are different depending upon which power bloc one is participating in or being controlled by at any given moment. If you read on to page 98, there Joe explains that people align with other people and groups who they expect to profit the most from and will work to basically support and enforce the rules of the game to keep the "social order" as Fiske framed it, “smooth running.” This explains why change is so difficult – but it is definitely not impossible. And as Joe goes on to explain, “the people” who are outside of the blocs are actually being regulated by the power blocs, but they do have power – which he and John Fiske refer to as “localizing power” -- and this “can be cultivated, fortified, and often deployed successfully.”

This seems to be the missing ingredient in so many educational programs. Too often students are taught critical thinking that stops short of helping them see the power they have, thus leaving “the people” with the knowledge of the ways that power is controlling them to a degree but still being powerfully shielded from seeing how other forms of power blocs that profit are maintaining the status quo. They sense that something is not quite right, but they are not sure what it is or how to fix it and so they end up feeling more powerless than ever.

Then they end up resorting to things like writing “crazy” blogs and producing “crazy” YouTube videos.

So, how is this discussion on page 97 related to Hermes? Well, Hermes promoted following what is sometimes referred to as the “Middle Way.” It is a concept that crosses cultures. You take the middle path and you find a middle point rather than stay stuck in dualism and warring between that “either-or” thinking that even John Dewey warned us about. Hermes had it all figured out as did the people who followed his teachings many years ago (before power came in and destroyed this way of being). The history of Hermeticism is very fascinating with the way it tracks back to Crete, which anthropologists have learned was a diverse nonhierarchical society that flourished, as well as Alexandria, another nonhierarchical diverse culture before it was overrun and much of it destroyed. Hermeticism was not regarded as a religion, but was a philosophy or world view of life and it synthesized the great ideas from multiple cultures and so it appealed to everyone. Of course, there were some who chose to convert it to a religion, as well as most religions incorporated some aspects of the philosophy. This is a very interesting study and I am looking forward to a new book about Hermes Trismegistus that will be coming out in 2011. There have been some great archeological discoveries and advances made for analyzing them in relation to Crete – and a portion of the ancient city of Alexandria, which inherited these Hermetic teachings, was recently discovered underwater, so it is in the process of being studied. It is going a fascinating topic to explore. It is too bad that much of this knowledge was destroyed in the name of power and Christianity. Many of the teachings have been totally reversed. As Joe said on page 97, those with the "clout to decree what is universally valid" are the ones who have the power.

My teacher gave me a few clues for today, one of them being “black magic.” I really don’t believe in black magic. We can choose, you know. So I have chosen “white magic” which is very powerful because it is based on LOVE. I think I will change it to just plain magic. From my research the past few days, I now realize that I am in the possession of some powerfully magical talismans. So, when my teacher gave me the clue, “black magic,” this song by Santana came to mind. I did look the clue up on YouTube and I did not like all of the black magic stuff that came up. Black Magic is about FEAR, which it totally opposite of LOVE. This song is a great love song and, thus, even though they sing about black magic, it is a song about LOVE magic.
Santana - Black Magic Woman (Live) 2005

Another clue my teacher gave me was “religion card.” He was talking about how people in power, such as the media like to "pull out the religion card." Again, I plugged this into You Tube and took the first video to the top. How is this idea for the task of sending out Christmas cards? I love this idea! My teacher knows just what I need: "Trailer Park Crafts" made out of Trash, lol. Now, this is PROOF: My teacher definitely has received instruction from Hermes himself. (For those who don't know, I live in a trailer park). This is very funny, but you have to understand the context: I DON'T believe in celebrating Christmas anymore and my teacher is making a multilevel personal statement to me by directing me to this video.
Trailer Park Craft Jehovah Witness Christmas Cards Religion

I’ve been working on my dissertation for a change. I hope to get Chapters 1-3 completed well before the deadline. It’s going good. As a result of the focus, I had many sweet dreams last night. I was actually writing my dissertation in my “sleep!” With help, of course. I have taken notes about it all, so I hope I can put what I learned in my dreams on paper today.

In addition to working on the dissertation, I have been working on bootstrapping a business. The unemployment rate where I am is about 11-14% and jobs are very hard to find. So this is an effort to keep my son, who just graduated from high school from joining up with the military, not that he would want to; he does not. However, the path into the military is a golden path for people who are poor, as Henry Giroux has taught us with his book, The University In Chains: Confronting the Military, Industrial and Academic Complex and his other work. And we live it. For example, financial aid for college students who have gone through some sort of special militaristic indoctrination while in high school are supplemented with special grants in their financial aid package. In addition, the only way students can even get financial aid is by registering for something that has to do with the military (they don’t call it the draft these days, but in case you did not know, there is a bill all ready and waiting to be signed to institute the draft at a moment’s notice – and women are not exempt). So, here we have it: If you are rich and can afford your education, you get to avoid giving your name to the military recruiter and bypass all of the military propaganda in the mail and probably by phone and email since now they have all contact information (now watch, we will get hundreds of recruiting offers on account of this – I will post them right here). Also, in my research, I have learned that if you are rich you STILL get handouts of all sorts from the rich. It’s that old adage and as Joe said in his interview: “It’s who you know.” And the “rules of the game,” as Joe discussed on Page 97, will have us poor folk believing that our handouts are somehow undesirable and degrading (we are low life who steal from the government -- what a joke that is these days), whereas the handouts the elite get and give each other somehow enhance their eliteness. They are special. They are connected.

Below, I am listing some very interesting and important information and articles I came across yesterday. In case people wonder, one of the reasons I post many links and such in my blogs is that it provides a record of my research so that when I need something in particular, I know where to find it. Otherwise, I am very unorganized. I am totally opposite from Joe in some ways, even though his theory resonates divinely with me and I have so much in common with him. For example, I recently read a lovely article by Peter McLaren, Joe's “brother." I loved the story of them visiting the psychic! It makes me laugh. I can just envision them doing that and how funny they were, if not during, then afterwards. I only wish I had been along with them – or even “a fly on the wall,” as they say.  It was certainly interesting how Joe and Peter learned they were brothers, or were "almost" brothers ("Memories of a Natural-Born World Shaker" Cultural Studies - Critical Methodologies, 2010, 390-391). Anyway, the point I was trying to make was that Peter (thank you, Peter) described, or attempted to describe, how Joe was so organized with his research. I cannot comprehend from Peter’s description how Joe organized his notes. I wish I had better guidance because I do not even have articles filed! I work with piles of articles, along with “piles” of online articles. But then after I am finished referencing an article, I do file it by author so that I can find it again if I need to.

I have talked to my teacher about this issue, but he just tells me not to worry about it. He will help me find what I need exactly when I need it. It’s that “just in time” process that many manufacturing companies use today. I would love to be more organized like Joe was, but I tend to work in chaos. Strangely, the more chaotic my working environment is, the more likely I “happen to” come across what I need when I need it. Perhaps, “organized chaos” is an apt description of how I conduct my research.

Here is some very interesting knowledge I found yesterday:

The Gnostic Society Library
The Corpus Hermeticum
The Key (Hermes)
On The Trail of the Winged God: Hermes and Hermeticism throughout the Ages
The Gnosis of the Mind

Meetings With My Master Teacher
Yesterday, my teacher told me he was pleased with how the dissertation is progressing. Unfortunately, due to the topic being the bricolage, I am working from ground zero. He has told me that there is no one (other than Joe) who has applied the bricolage the way Joe had conceptualized and demonstrated it in his work. That is amazing to me – no one has taken Joe’s work forward. I think my teacher must be mistaken and is challenging me here to go deeper into the research. I am sure SOMEONE has followed Joe’s lead, if I can just find them.

The discussions yesterday and this morning were quite extensive and I do not have the time to get into the details this morning. I need to get to work. Basically, he reviewed some history relating to Hermes and how scientists, philosophers, and religions who decided hermeticsim challenged their power all worked together to flip reality – that concept of shifting power blocs Joe discussed on page 97. And so we have what we have today and the need to flip it again. These are my words, not my teacher’s. He describes this more eloquently (he is a Master Teacher, after all and I have a long, long way to go before I reach his level of expertise. I really think Earth school set  me back a lot, too. In fact, he was not sure I could catch up in time, but it's all cool now.)

During the past couple of days, he handed me some more clues, but I have not looked them up. These include: “reread,” “trickster,” “peanut gallery,” “tool,” and “voices.” There are so many and I am really in a hurry, so I am going to plug them all into YouTube at the same time for today’s song. Thus, I will search on, “reread trickster peanut gallery tool voices.” This should be interesting!

It looks like the peanut gallery won. The search came up with “no results” but at the very top the following video appeared. It’s amazing what you can learn on YouTube. With the Vuvu, EVERYONE can learn to play “music,” including those of us in the Peanut Gallery. This seems related to the New Rules of the Game in which new tools become available like Joe’s bricolage – which he said even children can learn to use for research (although he also said it takes a lifetime commitment to become adept). Just call me a voice from the peanut gallery.
Peanut Gallery: In the Mood for Vuvu

I am just all over the place with my research. I know that these blogs seem to be rambling all over. I drop the ball on certain topics (which will be picked up later) and I head in multiple directions at once. It is all the nature of doing improvisational research and what’s interesting is that I do see connections and I can even see up ahead a bit to see where they will again diverge and again meet up, which means they are logical connections – even if YOU, the reader cannot see them right now – you will down the road a bit. On the other hand, in many cases I also have to go on faith that it will all come together, since I do not yet understand the significance of certain things and do not see all of the connections clearly. When it is the right time to see them I will see them. I have lost track of how many times I can look at a piece of text, for example and KNOW there is something there beneath my threshold of awareness -- and when it's the right time, it comes to me as a sudden epiphany -- almost like someone is whispering in my ear. It is a fascinating way to do research and I love it because I never get bored. And if readers are confused, that’s ok. These blogs are – as I have I put it before – sandbox play. It will come together in the end, which is just the beginning (I just have to say that; it seems programmed). It is true though. Research is a long winding path. One “ending” will be my dissertation – but like all endings, it will just be the beginning.

Meetings with My Master Teacher
It seems that my teacher, Emanuel, and I meet in my dreams more often than ever. It is such a good thing, though. It is actually divine and I am so thankful for his presence. He joked with me this morning and told me he was my B.F.G. (Big Friendly Giant) – You would need to go back a few blogs to see what that refers to. It is a movie about a big friendly giant who rescues Sophie (me, Sōferia – I was actually called Sophie as a child in one of my lifetimes) and takes her to Dream Country where they capture dreams and blow the happy dreams to the toddlers, protecting them from the bad dreams. They also save the world from the big bad giants, but ultimately, they end up going back to Dream Country to continue their mission of rescuing toddlers from bad dreams. Sophie decided she wanted to stay with the B.F.G. forever. It’s is so funny because most of my dreams with my teacher do involve rescuing toddlers (literally) and are almost always related to education in some form (If you review the blog about the B.F.G., you will find that Joe referred to this movie in his book, The Sign of the Burger).

I know I repeat myself a lot, but I know how people just pop in on this web site and probably wonder what the heck? So I like to provide a little review – a little context – and those who are interested can take time to look into it if they wish. And those who prefer to think I am crazy: So be it. I prefer to call it “crazy wisdom,” which Joe talked about and knew about, but so few people who are locked into FIDUROD can comprehend. Someday people will understand “crazy wisdom” and what the B.F.G. says in the movie: “Dreams is Real” and how dreams can help us connect the dots (by giving us insights we would normally pass up). Somehow, I think many of the elite educators know all of this, but have kept it hidden from us “low life.” And they have abused their knowledge and power. This takes us back to page 97 and the “rules of the game” by which the educational system operates. Crazy wisdom can help uncover the truth. Was Gadamer any help in this endeavor? That is just one of the questions needing an answer.

In the meantime, if you want to read about “crazy wisdom” Joe discusses it in detail in Critical Constructivism. Somehow, I think it links to Hermes and Hermeneutics, which has been the discussion the past few days. Some people think Hermes was not a real person; I’m not sure where that idea came from. It will all come together.

That’s it for today; I really need to get to work on this. And do I even have a song? Well, my teacher did give me a song; it is a familiar song, but I will post it anyway. It is so important to realize that YES it is LOVE that is the answer. If you truly focus on love, the B.F.G. protects you from the bad dreams (so to speak). It’s a long story . . . I think Hermes’ Keys might help with understanding this as well as help us better understand Page 97 (see the blogs for yesterday and the day before). Something is going on here.

Hellogoodbye - Oh, It Is Love? [the newer version]

In Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, Joe pointed out the great contribution of Gadamer. He was listed on page 75-76 as being a contributor to the “Western counter-positivist sentiments.” He was also discussed on page 247 for contributing to our understanding that a historical approach to our research is necessary. As Joe points out on that page, “our interpretations of the world always rest on previous understandings of the socio-cultural domain in which the phenomena in question and our ways of seeing were inscribed with meaning (Gadamer, 1989).” Thus, Gadamer highlights the importance of tracking back in history, no matter what it is we are trying to interpret and understand.

I am not sure how I came across these videos in my research, but they popped up and seem significant. I think there is something important about Hermes Trismegistus and his writing. I will have to sort this out later.

Why do we need a Key, anyway? That is the question (but I can’t answer that here; it would be giving away too much too soon). On page 97 Joe mentions that treating contextualized knowledge as generalizable and universal is a “key point in understanding how power and dominant epistemology operate.” Given that Hermes seems to be left out of the discussions of Hermeneutics, which makes me very curious, it seems the task here it to track back to the earliest history and determine what happened and why.

1 The Key – Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus


Corpus Hermeticum
This is the second volume of three of G.R.S. Mead's comprehensive survey of the literature attributed to the legendary Egyptian sage, Hermes Trismegistus. This volume includes translations of the Corpus Hermeticum, including the Sheperd Poemandres, To Asclepius, The Secret Sermon on the Mountain, and more.

2 The Key – Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus


The Emerald Tablet by Hermes (It has keys).

Meetings with My Master Teacher
I have been very distracted and not appreciative enough of the great blessing that has been handed down to me from the cosmos. Did you know we choose our own destiny? That is quite the opposite of what we so often feel about our lives as is imparted upon us through what Joe referred to as FIDURODian ways of thinking. YES! We choose and we create our own destiny. It is very important when you have a negative thought to press the “delete” button in your mind, or you can just say “Erase that thought.” If you do that, what you had just thought goes to the wayside.

It is so easy to feel like this earth life is drudgery, but if we look at it as a game in which we are making rules as we go, it can actually be a lot of fun. If you keep love in your heart, you can’t go wrong and it brings you a lot of help from the cosmos. You see, the cosmos LOVES love. It will flow and fold and unfold your pathway and you need not exert hardly any effort at all – except the effort toward realizing your chosen mission. Focus on that with love in your heart and the entire cosmos will embrace you and protect you. That is not to say you will not have hardships. That all depends on what lessons you may still need to learn. That’s the way it works for me. I still have lessons to learn and repeat some of the same mistakes over and over again. I would like to get out of the loop and there is only one method (but many routes) out of the loop: That is LOVE.

So today, I am just going say that I LOVE the Cosmos and all that it has provided for me. I have many divine friends and connections that support me in my effort to move along the pathway of my chosen mission. I thank all of them, even though I rarely call on them, I do know they are always there and lend a hand when it is needed. I especially thank my dear, wonderful teacher, Emanuel, for all that he has done to teach and guide me and for his continuing patience and unconditional love.

And I thank Joe for leaving wonderful treasure chests of knowledge for everyone who is inclined to open his books. My day would not be complete without finding yet another special treasure - a message, puzzle, insight, connection, keys, and other gifts yet to be revealed from one of his books or articles.

Why the thankfulness? The cosmos loves gratitude. It returns gratitude many times over, although that is not the reason one should express it. Gratitude and thankfulness should be expressed from the basis of truth and love.

My teacher gave me the clue “wishful thinking” for a song. I have yet to look it up. (He was talking about what he perceived as my wishes for even more explicit guidance, which he cannot give me due to universal laws -- it would violate the law of free will. So, he gives me hints and lots of choices, and it is up to me to go with them or not to.)

Here is the song that came up. It’s a sweet song from 1983. There are many things going on and many messages.  “It’s time we should talk about it; there’s no more secrets kept in here.” Isn’t that exactly what Joe says in Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction”? There are no more secrets. Somewhere in the book he states that it is time to put it all out on the table and that he has let the “critical kitty” out of the bag. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what he meant by that, but in the meantime, I am putting it all out on the table (pretty much, anyway -- there are still some secrets but there is a reason behind that). Here is the song. It’s very lovely.
china crisis - wishful thinking  LYRICS

"Treasure"

"Terma - ...Tibetan, literally 'treasure.'  In Tibetan Buddhism, a term for religious texts, which...were hidden in secret places, so that at the right time they would be discovered and newly expounded by qualified persons.... These 'termas' were transmissions of esoteric doctrines.  Their content was deposited in hidden locations by ancient masters.Only adept individuals, sufficiently qualified by awareness and connected to the master, could successfully 'discover' the terma -be it hidden in the dark recesses of a cave or in the seclusion a mystic grove.   By Frater I Nigris (666)

Renaissance Astrology
Hermeticism Magic, and More Magic
Conspiracy?
Seven Magic Keys
The Kybalion
The Golden Dawn
They did not teach me this during my $200,000 education
Nor did they teach me this
I did not get to learn how to do Hermetic Alchemy
Hermeticism
God Codes  (This is interesting: 97 is a “god code” and a prime number, and this is the page number I was assigned to interpret; probably just a coincidence).



Famous Quote by Hermes: Join the male to the female in their own proper humidity, because there is no birth without union of male and female. - Hermes
What is “humidity”?


Heremeticism
Hermeticism is an ancient spiritual, philosophical, and magical tradition. It is a path of spiritual growth. Hermeticism takes its name from the God Hermês Trismegistos (Greek, "Thrice-Greatest Hermes"), a Græco-Egyptian form of the great Egyptian God of Wisdom and Magic, Thôth. What the Hermetic Fellowship defines as Hermeticism has also been called the Western Esoteric Tradition, and embraces the Perennial Philosophy or the Ageless Wisdom. Generally, the following can be said to be characteristic of the positive form of Hermeticism advocated by the Hermetic Fellowship.
Hermeticism:
o    Considers humanity to be on a spiritual journey to return to a state of unity with the Divine; this is the Great Work of humankind.
o    Holds that if we would attain to the Divine, we must aspire to the Divine; spiritual growth cannot be achieved without human effort
o    Is eclectic and draws material from sources spanning the entire Western Esoteric Tradition
o    Is polytheistic, yet ultimately monotheisitic (i.e., posits a multiplicity of Manifestations of the Divine Which emanate from an ultimate Divine Unity)
o    Holds that the Divine is both immanent and transcendent
o    Holds that the Universe is Divine and basically good
o    Teaches that when we seek the Divine, we may best begin with the Mysteries of Nature
o    Encourages spiritual curiosity
o    Understands that human beings can access the Subtle Realms through technique and aspiration; to this end, it embraces theurgy, meditation, ritual, and other spiritual and magical practices
o    Urges those who seek the Divine to also seek balance in embracing all things
o    Is a poetic rather than an ascetic worldview Read more

Did you find the Big Friendly Giant yet?

Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1982
Sophie is snatched from her bedroom by a BFG (Big Friendly Giant) whose work is to blow happy dreams to children.  Together they devise a plan to save the world from nine other giants who steal and eat children.
What Parents Need to Know
This review of The BFG was written by Heather Boerner

I had a blog all written for yesterday and then I just could not post it, so yesterday’s blog is actually heavily censored if you can believe that. A song came up that I just could not post the way my teacher requested and so I talked it over with him and he said that he understood my trepidation and he knew my reason for censoring came from my heart. That’s about all I can really say.


Thus, the blog for yesterday is highly censored, but then considering how education book publishers censor work FOR US AGAINST OUR WILL, and force us to obfuscate and censor to get through the publishing gates – all in order to maximize their efforts to distort knowledge for the purpose of power over the masses and for money, is it so bad that we censor ourselves on occasion until such time we feel more ready to deal with the issue being censored? Think about that. For example, I wrote a blog previously about how one author (an attorney, in fact, who writes about the media) claims that Peter Lang Publishing attempted to censor his work.


I have read that the media disguise what they are really doing even right in front of your nose.


The Invisible Scissors: Media Freedom and Censorship in Sweden


It seems to also be effective for manipulating searches on google. The opposite of what you are trying to discover comes to the top. I wonder how much those big companies pay to land up at the top of the searches. Anyway, here is an interesting story of one author’s experience with Peter Lang Publishing:

Something’s Rotten in the Big Apple

Something’s Rotten in the Big Apple - Summary

Something’s Rotten in the Big Apple

The Inside Story of a NY Publisher’s Attempt to Conspire with Hollywood Insiders

 to Defraud America

Well, we all have to come to our own personal conclusions. We do have evidence that Peter Lang allowed Joe to write about Milton Friedman on Page 666 of his book Getting Beyond the Facts, so maybe it’s not that bad. If they were censoring too badly, this funny joke may not have gotten through. Perhaps, the editors knew the TRUE (or alternative) meaning of 666, which I presented a few days ago – it relates to LOVE; it does NOT represent Satan (unless that's what you want it to represent. I will take the LOVE meaning!) 


I just remembered something; I think Joe spelled “Friedman” wrong (e.g. "Freidman"). At least he was able to make his point: If you want a good book on economics, be sure to read Richard Brosio’s, The Radical Democratic Critique of Capitalist Education, rather than Friedman’s cheaper book, Free to Choose. We are free to choose, but I think if you do a little research, Friedman's and what people refer to as the “Chicago boys” "free market economy" have wreaked havoc around the world. I wrote about this previouly and after researching it, I'm with Joe: We need better options.


Personally, I would never write for Peter Lang Publishing unless they change their ways and their books start making a real difference toward improving things for people. It is difficult to understand how it is that they have been publishing so many books about social justice all of these years and yet things are worse than ever. Of course, Joe's books WILL make a difference, but he was only one person and it takes time for people to wake up. However, the above articles written by a reputable attorney who has written about the media for many years are very disturbing to me. We all need to follow the NEW Rules of the Game (I will discuss these new rules in more detail in my blogs that follow for quite some time into the future, as I interpret them from my research; it is an unfolding process). We do not buy into that “vanity” thing at all. If you are not familiar with that term, they call self-publishing “vanity publishing."



Here are a few examples of Old Rules/New Rules in the music my teacher gave me yesterday:


Clue: "nothing"

Clue: "future" (Old Rules)

Microsoft's Vision of the Future (Parody)

Bobby Vee - The Night Has A Thousand Eyes

Great Love Song & New Music Video 2010: I'll Never Know... [Michael Learns to Rock: Strange Foreign Beauty]
 

Clue: "touch base" (New Rules for talking about Old Rules) Worth listening to; this guy is cool and he has some great insights.
30 - Touch Base

Next, my teacher gave me the following songs to try and figure out which are OLD RULES and which are NEW RULES. I am just guessing.

“educated” This must be the NEW RULES because it’s that “crazy wisdom” Joe talks about in several of his books. Crazy wisdom serves you well just at the moment you need it. It must be a new form of education, since this video came to the top with the clue, "educated."

Crazy: Woman Solves Wheel Of Fortune Puzzle With One Letter

“good thing” This must be the NEW RULES because it’s all about LOVE.

Good Thing - Fine Young Cannibals

“hip hop around the world”(1) This must be the OLD RULES because here we have the Hip Hop Culture Center “institution." What a tragedy. It’s that same old thing of applying universal rules that Joe warns us about right page 97 and how it give people who establish those rules power. Who wins if hip hop is "institutionalized"? Who loses?

Hip Hop Around The World (New York)

“hip hop around the world”(2) You got me on this one. Must be NEW RULES and a new way of doing Hop Hop.

ATC - All Around The World Hiphop Remix (FL Studio)

“it’s all cool” NEW RULES. I think the time is getting close. We have a few more days of grace and then we’d better adapt to the NEW RULES.

Three Days Grace - it's All Over

Múm, Music Video for Will the Summer Make Good for Our Sins?

LYRICS:

And summer will make good for all of our sins
if we only wish it hard enough

“it’s all cool” (2) OLD and NEW RULES. God is Good, but who said God is a MAN? That was a history question I had posed a few days ago to research: WHEN did God become a man? And Why? I like this song.

Don Moen - God is good

A Message From Mira of the Pleiadian High Council
Through Valerie Donner November 11, 2010  (NEW RULES)

I became creatively inspired after reading Valerie’s message and wrote the following poem (I like to pretend; it opens up the portals to creativity):

We are Pleiadians by Sōferia

We may be your neighbors

Maybe your best friend

We are here to love and guide you

Even to the “end”

It’s not the end by any means

For as we always say

The end is just the beginning

Let’s start that today!

It means you have risen

Above your petty disputes

It means life is marvelous

And full of good repute

We love the human race

In all your beauty and glory

We reside along beside you

We are your human story

Open up you minds

Remember who you are

Each and every one of you

Came from a distant star

Look up at the stars

These next few nights

Be awed and surprised

At the amazing sights

Don’t be scared

There is no place for fears

We love you and hold you

In our hearts, my dears

So let’s get started

On the New Game today!

Let’s make “new” rules

And throw the old ones away.

We will keep the good rules

Those already exist

So don’t get worried

We all must persist.

There’s a much better way

To live and thrive

Without having to struggle and suffer

Just to survive.

It’s all about LOVE

Joy, Peace, and Bliss

This is One Big Party

You will not want to miss!

Tomorrow: “The Big Friendly Giant.” Why did Joe include the reference to that movie in his book, The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power, and what does it have to do with Page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction??? Were you able to find where he referenced “The Big Friendly Giant”? As I said, you do not even have to read the book! Here’s a link so you can have fun looking for “The Big Friendly Giant.” You will find it here:

The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power

Last night and again this morning, this song, “I Don’t Mind” was sent to me down through the cosmos. I loved James Brown as I was growing up. This is just one of his famous love songs.


i dont mind- (live)- james brown w/ the famous flames and the James Brown Band (recorded October 24, 1962).


Meeting with My Master Teacher
I have been doing the homework he has given me, which is quite extensive. A lot of research has been going on, along with watching a couple of videos that are supposed to relate to page 97 of Joe’s book, and they do. I will cover this all in more detail later. I have also been researching special knowledges relating to my dissertation. All-in-all, things are getting very wild. Wild, in the sense that NOTHING is as it seems. Joe talked about this in his work, but now I am beginning to really see, feel, and experience that. Semiotics, even, as an educational and research process has been fully tainted, as has phenomenology, hermeneutics and everything else people in education have touched. Joe has repaired the damage by his brilliant work and set the new rules in place. What’ so funny is that I use Joe’s rules, and some people in education do not recognize them because they can only see “one true reality” or one “true” way of doing phenomenological studies. It’s like: HEY! Wake up! I love Joe’s way.


Are there people in education who really do not see what they are doing? Do they really and truly not comprehend how they are perpetuating LIES, LIES, and more LIES??? Can they NOT SEE the damage and suffering they are causing? And for what purpose? Their own notoriety, book publishing, professorships where they can wield their power to keep the Rules of the Game intact to ensure they can maintain their status positions, and of course, also money. I honestly and truly want no part of it. I admire Joe so much for hanging in there like he did. I know how difficult it must have been for him, but he had a purpose so much greater than anyone can imagine. It will take many years to fully reveal and comprehend the gifts he left in his work.


The rules today are just like Joe stated on Page 97, “those with the clout to decree what is universally valid find their power dramatically enhanced.” And we wonder why “people of color” (a label that clearly serves to keep the divide alive and well) are not interested in this agenda????? Can it not be seen that the Education Janus Two-Faces speak LOUDLY in both directions??? Do you think BOTH of the voices cannot be heard? What are we??? Is everyone in education simply bumbling, blooming idiots? I include myself. I chose education. Now, I wonder why, but then again, after meeting Joe, reading his work, and believing his dream that we can solve this education problem, I feel compelled to do what I can to turn things around, even if it turns out to be minute. At least I will have chosen not to follow the path of least resistance for selfish, greedy, and fear-based reasons as much as I am humanly capable of. I wish money NEVER had to be an issue.


There is only one good answer, which my teacher reiterates today: LOVE. And my teacher stressed twin flame soulmate love, stating that it is THE key. We have been taught of course, that such an idea is crazy, especially in education (where those in power at the top of the hierarchy can best attempt to control us through their own epistemologies that have twisted and turned everything around to keep us from realizing WE have the POWER). However, if you love, you will see the truth behind the lies and the damage it is doing to the people of the world and you will no longer be able to participate in the same ways as you have been. That is not to say at all that we are all not culpable. We will continue to be culpable until the matrix is totally reloaded (as Joe liked to describe it). Of course we will make mistakes. But at the same time, there are people who are fully cognizant now of what they are doing, how they are twisting, how they are “obfuscating” (as Joe liked to put it), and how they are only adding pain on top of pain, and yet they continue to make the same old choices.


This will not continue to be effective for much longer. The “Rules of the Game” are all being exposed for what they are. This is the “table flip” and it happening all over the world. There are many people now who see the truth, who see the light, and who sincerely want change. And they are working for that change. But those who continue to fall for the money, fame, and fortune trap will attempt to contribute in major ways to maintaining things as they are – the “status quo.” When people who are being controlled by power see the truth, the old rules no longer need to hold power over them. This is what Page 97 is all about. This is just one general interpretation; there are many more meanings and interpretations which I will continue to explore as long as my teacher has me on this page. It's great that he chose a page that I later found is available for free to everyone. That way we can all be on the same page, so to speak.


Last night – and for the next 10 more nights people all over the world will send out Love to the cosmos, to the earth, and to the people who are suffering at 11:11 PM Eastern Time. We are in a state of mass consciousness awakening. Love will get us out of the mess and nothing less than love will “do the trick.” I think this relates to Hermes somehow, but I have not tracked down how, which means I have more research to do!


There is so much more to Page 97. Joe’s whole book is like that, but I am to continue with Page 97 until more is uncovered – THE Big Whopper, whatever that turns out to be.


Tomorrow: Rules of the Game (Exposed). The Big Friendly Giant: Be sure to find the Big Friendly Giant in Joe’s book, The Sign of the Burger. It seems that the Big Friendly Giant somehow provides clues to why some people in education were provoked by this book (I will discuss that tomorrow). Joe “walked the line” with semiotics with that book and certain people found that threatening to their status, apparently. Or maybe he even crossed the line; I don't know because I can't even SEE the line. I was never good at figuring out the invisible rules. Also, as I had mentioned yesterday, there is something weird going on between Gramsci, Fiske and Hall on Page 97. That is going to take some work to figure out! I have never read any work by Gramsci, Fiske or Hall. Who are they? That research and discussion will follow The Big Friendly Giant.


And this just in. Just as I finished up this blog, Rainbow Princess handed me a piece of paper with “Bill Hicks: What is the point of life” written on it. It seems to go with today’s blog somehow. Well, actually, it provides a perspective I have presented previously: that life is just a game we are all playing – so let’s all make it a HAPPY, JOYFUL, PEACEFUL, LOVE GAME in which there is PLENTY of love to go around for everyone and lots of fun rollercoasters to ride on.
Bill Hicks: What is the point to Life

MORE ABOUT BILL HICKS

The New Day Has Dawned! (Check out what the Pleiadians say about LOVE)


"I AM PLEIADIAN – AND PROUD OF IT!"
I’m just trying out another perspective, here. If you read the Pleiadian perspective/Agenda, which seems to be available in many places these days -- books, the Internet --  it is actually very beautiful and very much all about  LIGHT and LOVE. I only discovered them myself very recently. WARNING: You might learn something if you read any of the works.

Yes, I am still on page 97. Today is a special day, however. It signifies that we are passing through another gateway. I decided this is a great day to post my photo from St. Louis again. I took this last April as I was walking through the Gateway Arch – and there in the photo, you can see a giant hand beckoning me to come through. I get a lot of these weird cloud pictures, which you can check out if you are interested. I shouldn’t call them weird, because they are gifts from the cosmos.

If you are feeling the power, congratulations! If not, be patient. Read the blog below about the futility of resistance. 11:11 meanings are discussed below, but also of importance is the twin flame connection which more and more people experience. As presented yesterday it is a major key to going through the gateway (I know this does not compute for some people, but for other people it will make complete sense). Research twin flames and 11:11 for more information. The knowledge is “out there.” It is also “in there” once you start remembering.

Expect Wonderful > 11:11 Multidimensionality, Sacred Geometry and New Beginnings

Sarah Biermann > 11:11 Meditation

Talyaa Liera / Karen Murphy > The Meaning of 11:11

HeartLight > Resistance is Futile

Analysis of Page 97
Did you find the KEY? Did you take the pathway from the October, 21, 2009 blog that led to the key on page 21 and to the very important key on page 233? The key on page 233 is highly significant. I GAVE AWAY the clues just this past Monday (you might want to review that blog). Anyone can find them now. You will need these keys to interpret page 97, especially for what’s about to come.

Don’t forget, page 97 of Joe’s book is free and available right here: Page 97 of Joe’s book.

Tomorrow I will explain another “Big Whopper” on that page. It is what I would consider a very “BIG Whopper,” and yet, once again, I do not think it is THE “Big Whopper.” There is more. But the only way to decipher the “real” Big Whopper is to go through this process. I like to call it “the long winding road,” because these research excursions meander like a road through rolling hilltops and you never know what’s around the next curve in the road. Or maybe sometimes it’s more like a gentle stream in a wide open pasture that winds its way around and you just follow along (holding someone’s hand for guidance and assurance), taking in the beauty of the sights along the way. You may never reach some “final destination,” but it’s a lovely trip.

Find those keys and check back tomorrow. I think this next whopper is going to be very interesting, although I don’t think it can top the Burger King Whopper; I think that would be hard to do … too bad they are going out of business (unless they make use of the knowledge from Joe’s book, The Sign of the Burger and are magically revived). And then you never know, this new Whopper may turn out to be bigger than the Burger King Whopper. I honestly do not know yet, what it is going to turn into; I will be researching this further and report it tomorrow so that there is more to go on to figure it out. I will give a clue for those people who want to get a head start: It relates to John Fiske, Antonio Gramsci, and Stuart Hall. I will have more tomorrow.

The Big Friendly Giant
Also, did you find the BIG FRIENDLY GIANT in Joe’s book The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power? I feel like being nice today since it is 11-11-10 and I will give a really whopper of a clue: You do not have to read the book to find it. How’s that for a clue? Now I am certain everybody can find it!

Meetings with My Master Teacher, Emanuel
He’s too kind sometimes. I always feel that I need to be doing more toward the mission. There are so many needs in the world and so many options for making this world better. But he told me I was going above and beyond expectations. He’s just too nice (but that’s what I love so much about him).

He also reminded me, and I think it is important to share this, that it may always seem like we are not going to have what we need, but that this is just a bump in the road that will soon be changing. It is just a period in history during which this seems to be true for many people -- we are always wondering how we are going to make it. For example, I never “know” from month to month how I will even pay all of my bills and keep my home. And yet, month after month everything is taken care of. This is the nature of the universe. But you need to have an enormous amount of faith right now.

Some people really are losing their homes, which is sad. The good news is that more of us will become very good at manifesting not only what we need personally, but more importantly, we will be able to manifest other people’s needs as well as ways for them to manifest their own needs until such time they can do so themselves. We are all perfectly capable of taking care of our own needs; we have been lied to for a long time and it takes time to overcome the lies. But it IS and it WILL continue to change. Everyone will have what they need and there is never any reason to hoard and think you need to compete for material things. We have all bought into the lies. I think that's why I like the song he gave yesterday, Backwards by Rascal Flatts. He has also given me the song by Roy Orbison that fits here: (Anything You Want) You Got It!
 

As far as my Page 97 analysis assignment, my teacher said I am doing fine without additional help from him (and he knew that was not what I wanted to hear). But I have faith. He is my teacher, after all (and as I brought out yesterday, my king husband, of course that's not "reality" but it's powerful). Then he teased by telling me he was giving a “sneak preview” or a "clue" with this next song. Check it out. I think it’s in German. I have no idea what they are singing about in this song (are they burning the tree of "knowledge"?).

Samy Deluxe-ASD sneak preview Lyrics

  

I guess he knew he was being quite “sneaky” with his “sneak preview,” which is probably why he gave me another clue for a song I can understand: "Always right there." He knows how to win me over (and make me laugh). And check this out! There is a special bonus in this song -- a HIDDEN (semi-hidden) message. It's obvious when it appears, but it is quite unexpected. He's trying to explain his "rationale" for leading me down a false trail with that "sneak preview" song above that I can't even understand. Can you find his special, unexpected message?  It is so funny! (But I do agree that he is worth it.)

I'll Always Be Right There-Michelle Branch (with lyrics)

Have a GREAT 11-11-10 Day!

Be sure to take time for YOU and your LOVED ones. And if you feel like contributing to making the world better, set your thoughts on all good things. You might even want to join up with the millions of people who will do just that. They call it the New Reality Transmission.

New Reality Transmission

This could just be the start of something big.

Count Basie Big Band “The Start Of Something Big” (1954)

Bobby Darin Sings Start of Something Big

The Love Numbers
666 is a powerful geometric number of great love & intelligence, the mirror image or "Twin Flame" to the 999. It is nothing to fear whatsoever....so for that previous blog in which I discussed how Joe wrote about Milton Friedman on page 666 of Getting Beyond the Facts: Teaching Social Studies/Social Sciences in the Twenty-First Century – You just gotta figure he really did that out of LOVE. Like I have said – Joe flipped the tables on all of the OLD RULES and has established the NEW RULES OF THE GAME!

Did you figure out the three 21s that lead to the keys that open the door to reveal The Big Whopper on page 97? How about the Big Friendly Giant in The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power? (The clues were in yesterday’s blog.) OK, I know most earthlings are lazy (I should know), so I will make it really EASY and GIVE you the location of the keys:

CLUE for FINDING the KEYS: October 21, Page 21 of Knowledge & Crit Ped, and the 21^st century – follow the path to p. 233.

Now, it is your hands to figure this all out. Take that knowledge and figure out what “The Big Whopper” is on page 97. I did receive some interesting clues in my mailbox this morning, so I am including them today. They are significant to the creation of a NEW STORY.

I had a weird dream last night. I was going to fill out an online survey and when I clicked on the link that took me to the survey, right at the very TOP of the survey was some kind of advertisement. I don’t remember what it was exactly, but something about the “perfect woman” so that when you completed the survey you felt like “shit.” And I realized, the big corporate moguls and how they have aligned in their Power Bloc in the same way as Joe describes on Page 97, will use every trick in the book to advertise and manipulate and mold the people and they are taking over the Internet for that purpose. This was just another example.

The thing that they have not realized is that although it seems obvious to some of us, their efforts at this are becoming and more and more desperate. They seek ever more “creative” and thus totally ludicrous ways of getting their messages to the unwitting people in order to control, manipulate, and maintain power over them. It would be interesting to explore this, much in the way I explored Burger King in last week’s blogs with its humorous antics at rearranging allies and creating bigger and ever bigger whoppers to try to hang on in this disintegrating 3D world where the rules are changing and the old ways no longer work. Yes, Burger King sold out. They lost money and now it’s a given that they cannot restore themselves. Their ship will fully sink. I am sure something better will take its place.

Much the same sort demise will hit those shifting, morphing power blocs that are trying to control and take over the Internet with their endless materialist, egotistical, selfish, greedy, and divisive messages. Folks, it ain’t gonna work much longer. As one blog writer put it (in a blog I just received this morning), we are NOT in Kansas any longer! Thank God for that!

Keep checking back: I have had the official word that I am to move toward THE GREAT REVEAL (and this was semi-covered in a previous blog, but at that time, it was just a joke). I wonder which “Great Reveal” my teacher is talking about:

This One:
Off to See the Wizard: Revealing those Scoundrels Behind Education

Or This One:
I Have Special Abilities: Does that Mean I am from a Different Planet? The Conclusion (Which Is Just The Beginning

Or This One:

The Great Reveal: Joe’s Book Is “Da Bomb” and the Perpetual Revolution Has Begun!

Or Maybe all of them (There were quite a few reveals in March, 2010)

Check out these blogs, below. They all came in my mailbox today and they have some great messages that relate to page 97 in a big way. Read these blogs and imagine what you want to create over the next year.

Spirit Pathways > Energy Report - November 2010

Dana Mrkich > November 2010 Monthly Visions: We’re not in Kansas anymore

Shekina Rose / Blue Ray > Blue Ray Ascension Alert, Symptoms, Reptilian Wars - Are You Staying or Crossing? 13

Navajo > And On The Seventh Day…

We are making “babies,” here, according to Navajo. 11-11-11 is the big PARTY DAY and everyone who wishes – and especially those of us who have made “babies” – can CELEBRATE! Check out: 11-11-11 11:11 PM A Wake-Up Call for All Brothers and Sisters – Or is it PARTY TIME? Friday, November 6, 2009

It should be great and grand day. My “baby” is my dissertation, it seems (at least in this dimension; it’s another (more literal) story in “dreamland.”) Will I meet the deadline? Will I complete my dissertation by 11-11-11? If so, I have a LOT of work ahead of me. Will I trip up elite power, like my dream about the Red Entangled Scarf seemed to predict? It will all be reported right here, along with updates all along the journey, the long and winding road to his door.

Meetings With My Master Teacher
He is pushing me. Have you ever had those kinds of teachers who push you forward when you don’t feel quite ready for the next step? It’s that Vygotskian approach to teaching where the teacher is teaching from a higher level and trying to pull the student up to that degree of rigor and knowledge they need to assimilate. I do appreciate him though – it is all done out of love.

And he knows me well. He was joking and said that he was the “savior.” It really was a joke. He would not say that to me if he thought I would take it seriously -- even if his name IS Emanuel (which means "God is with us." Some people think that Jesus' name was Emanuel. That's not true. It was just stated as a revelation that God was with him.)  We are trying to abolish such things as hierarchies and savior mentalities. So, his comment just made me laugh. He did say we all have the power to create our heart’s desire. It’s that old adage: If you believe, you can achieve. Just look at life as a beautiful game (that's what he told me) in which you learn to gain more power to create (some people call it “manifest”). You can create whatever you wish – but be sure to only wish for good things for yourself and everyone else. The new rules of the game will require that -- which reminds me: I am on a quest to determine just what all of those new rules are!

My teacher gave me two clues today for songs. The clue above, “savior” and the other clue was “clearly.” I’ll see what these bring up on YouTube.

“savior” Of course there are multiple interpretations for this song, but my teacher is telling me I need to quit asking him so many questions and to try and figure out this puzzle on my own:

That's when I told her I love you girl
But I'm not the answer for the questions that you still have.

Also, another message is that we need to “rise against” the idea of a savior. It is not a good plan to have a savior; it never has been.
Rise against - Savior


“clearly.”  I LOVE this song. I actually had a 45 record of the original version that I used to play ALL NIGHT LONG on my record player when I was a teenager. There is something about this song. I think the lyrics are powerful. And there is something very significant about BLUE SKY. There is something significant about BLUE – it keeps coming up all over the place. Have you noticed that Joe talked a LOT about BLUE? I recently discovered that and it’s interesting because I have talked a lot about BLUE and so have a lot of other people. Of course, in my DREAMS we are on a Code Blue Mission to rescue earth....maybe it’s related.
Anyway, here is the song and this version by Jimmy Cliff is spectacular!
Jimmy Cliff - I can see clearly now


It turns out that this song is from an old Walt Disney movie...and it is interesting how the title “Cool Runnings” relate to the very last two words on page 97: “smooth running” so I wonder if there is some sort of connection here. I do think this is another clue and ANOTHER movie to watch. The entire movie can be watched right on YouTube! If, as Joe stated, “power ‘is a systematic set of operations upon people that works to ensure the maintenance of social order. . . and ensure its smooth running” then the task is to determine how that happens with this movie, “Cool Runnings.” Be sure to find that key! (I gave you a clue at the beginning of this blog so that you can’t possibly miss it.)
Cool Runnings Part 1
Based on the true story of the First Jamacian bobsled team trying to make it to the winter olympics.

Don’t forget, page 97 of Joe’s book is free and available right here: Page 97 of Joe’s book.

Where did we leave off? Oh yes, I STILL have not watched “The Rules of the Game” and I think it’s hurting me when it comes to interpreting page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. YES! I think that’s right! Because on page 97, Joe had said, essentially, that he has flipped the tables and he bracketed "Rules of the Game" which is what had brought up the movie on the You Tube search, one of hermeneutic quests of that phrase. What this means is all of the rules have flipped as well. Therefore, by watching the movie, “The Rules of the Game” and discovering what all of the elite class rules are, all I have to do is determine the OPPOSITE rules – and THEN I will know the RULES OF THE NEW GAME!!! That should not be too difficult. Maybe I can find time today to watch the movie and take notes on all of the rules.

And get this!!!??? From the discovery of Joe’s BRILLIANT work on pages 62-63 of The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power, I learned of another MOVIE I have to watch called “Big Friendly Giant.” (You know, those two pages that, had BURGER KING taken heed, they probably would not have had to sell out – those two pages are worth billions of dollars!!! You would have to read all of last week's blogs to understand what I am referring to, but it is BIG). The movie itself is not on page 62 or 63, but it is clear that in this particular chapter, “Hugging McDonalds,” McDonalds has convinced the public it is the “Big Friendly Giant” himself and he is everywhere you go, which is so comforting to people (you would have to read pages 62-63 to see this). So, where in this book did Joe reference this movie, “The Big Friendly Giant”? Your job is to find out where the movie is (that should keep you busy for awhile), and my job, since I have not done it yet, is to watch the movie and figure out if there is anything in it that can help us understand the NEW RULES OF THE GAME.

Meetings With My Master Teacher
My meetings last night and this morning were pretty short because I am SO BUSY. I asked him about the KEY. He keeps saying I have the KEY to figuring out the other BIG WHOPPER on Page 97 of Joe’s book, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction, so I asked him for more clues. What is so great about my teacher is that, while he doesn’t give me the exact answers to my questions, he gives me really good clues and that always makes it fun to go on a quest to track down the answers. So, what did he tell me about the key? He reminded me of the “Golden Keys” treasure hunt which I had been taken on many months ago and that I had described right here in these blogs. He said there was one particular key I had found that will open a door to understanding of Page 97. I will have to go back and review that treasure hunt. He sure has me going in all directions on this interpretation of page 97. We have page 97 itself, the movies, “The Rules of the Game” and “The Big Friendly Giant,” and now we have “The Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt,” from way back on September 28, 2009 in which we have to find the particular key he is referring to.

Update: I just went back and reviewed "The Quest for the Golden Keys Treasure Hunt" blogs of more than a year ago and yes, indeed, they are very important to understanding page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction. Clue: Find the three 21s and you will be on the right path. Follow that path and it will take you to the most important key for interpreting page 97. OMG, I DO NOT PLAN THESE THINGS, PEOPLE. I was once accused of turning Joe’s book into a “Brownian novel” but the thing is, it is NOT intentional. You will see – this is just evolution of how I am acquiring knowledge and the understanding of Joe’s work. I put it out here as I learn it. I record my journey and describe the path as I proceed forward -- or maybe backwards, by some people’s standards and that’s ok because the rules are flipping and we are right smack dab in the middle of flipping the rules, it seems.

That’s all I have for today. My teacher, Emanuel, gave me some very sweet good night music last night at our evening meeting. His clues were, “early night” and “Yours in adoration.” Below are the songs that came to the top of the YouTube searches.

Good Luck finding the “Big Friendly Giant,” the three 21s and the most important key. They are all needed in order to find the BIG WHOPPER on page 97.

“early night” (Nice!)
Camel - One of these Days I'll Get An Early Night



“Yours in adoration” (this is lovely song! Two songs)
chant d'amour $ ne t'inquiete de rien (my life is in yours hand ) by eydely gospel
 

Today is just a short update on my dissertation because I was having such great dreams last night that I got up very late this morning. I was going to write more about “The Red Entangled Scarf Dream” I had two days ago, but I will do that tomorrow. I actually talked to someone, a very special teacher of mine, who knows how to interpret dreams and she said it was one of those, what they call LUCID DREAMS. It’s where you are in the dream but watching the dream at the same time. That’s why it felt like Emanuel was with me, but not IN the dream; he was watching it with me and so we both ended up laughing over the lady getting entangled in the scarf. My other teacher had a great interpretation for this dream, so I’ll cover that tomorrow. In the meantime, you might want to review all of the Red Scarf stories and movies I had listed in my blog a couple of days ago. What does a RED SCARF represent to you? Now, I know many people are skeptical about symbols and signs and such – but check out yesterday’s blog! If the marketing people for Burger King had read Joe’s book, The Sign of the Burger: McDonalds and the Culture of Power, Burger King would not be on the “chopping bloc” today (bloc as in one of those moving, shifting, morphing, fragmenting, and even disappearing power blocs that Joe talks about on page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction). In light of this, maybe there is a RED SCARF story, movie, or organization that you might like to read more about and that way you won’t become entangled in a red scarf like the elite lady in my dream. If all goes well, I will provide an artistic rendition of the entanglement tomorrow.

Today is MUSIC. Last night my teacher gave me the clue, “under the starlight tonight” and it brought up this old song, below, to the top of the search “Starlight Tonight” by the Inspirators -- and it is so cool; I love this old music. In fact, the three songs posted below it were among some of the songs that came up on that search. I got started listening to all of these really old songs that I used to listen to when I was a child. Do the search and check out some of the great songs. I love the music of today and I love all kinds of music, but music back in the 50s and 60s was spectacular – much of it is like what Joe always talked about – a sort of BLUES aesthetic expression of pain and hopefulness all at the same time. We feel the pain, but this kind of music helps “push us on down the road” (p. 20, Kincheloe, 2008, Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction).

Oh! I almost forgot! My dissertation update: It’s going great!

"under the starlight tonight"
Inspirators ~ Starlight Tonight (1958-Old Town)
 
Genies - Come Walk With Me - 59 Shad Unrel
The Celtics "Can You Remember" 1960 Al-Jacks 002


The Kim Sisters - Try To Remember (1960)

I am still trying to figure out the “Big Whopper” on page 97 that got this whole analysis started at the beginning of this "game" -- and then it hit me like lightening. My teacher had given me a clue a few blogs ago about Burger King – it was a cute Burger King Video. I missed his hint: He wanted me to research The Story of Burger King and the Big Whopper. So here, today, we have it.

And how does this fit with page 97? (since we ARE still on page 97 of Knowledge and Critical Pedagogy: An Introduction): The following quote sets the appropriate framework for what you are about to read – as Joe stated (on page 97, of course):

Power blocs are more like constantly changing series of both strategic and tactical partnerships. Such coalitions are positioned unsystematically any time circumstances crop up that jeopardize the “allies.” (p. 97).

YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Classify each of the following "coalitions" as “strategic,” “tactical,” or “unsystematic” (or just plain stupid). I have included the "power blocs" in parenthesis to help you with this task.

Unlikely Threesome: Japan, the Big Whopper and Windows 7. (How is this for a weird Power Bloc? Japan, Burger King and Bill Gates) Big in Japan: Burger King Sells Windows 7 Whopper

Burger King OWNS the WORD “whopper”? (Burger King and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office). Check this out: Burger King Threatens to Sue Small NZ Burger Place Over “Whopper” HOWEVER: Burger bar vows to battle to keep its big whopper

Did Burger King change the rules for what constitutes a Big Whopper? (Burger King and Advertising Standards Authority) Burger King Rapped over Not So big Whopper (but double whopper does not have too much fat for men)

Sales of the Whopper have decreased SO MUCH that they are considering selling out (Burger King and private equity firms): A big whopper: Burger King mulls sale and Burger King for Sale?: Whopper to Go?

Will the NACHO WHOPPER save Burger King? (Burger King, Johnny Depp? and the Netherlands)

Burger King's Big Whopper Problems Persist: 
How about THIS on your Whopper (Warning: Very Disgusting)

or (I won’t divulge what was on this whopper)

Maybe getting intoxicated will help:
How about BEER and WHOPPERS? Check out Burger King’s Latest Creative "Allies" at their Whopper Bars. (Burger King, Anheuser-Bush and MillerCoors).

Will a Double Whopper Help Sales or will it cause double trouble? Burger King's Double Whopper & the Texican Whopper   (Burger King, SpongeBob Squarepants, and Texicans).

A TRIPLE, Maybe? Triple Whopper (Burger King and King Kong)

Apparently, It Takes A QUADRUPLE Whopper to Do the Trick!!!: Burger King's four-Whopper patty NY Pizza Burger: Obesity in a box (Burger King and New York City)

PIZZA WHOPPER doesn’t do the trick? How about a TABLE-SIZED PIZZA WHOPPER?  (Burger King and Tuscan Pesto Sauce).

Still not big enough? How about a FLAGSHIP WHOPPER??? (Burger King and New York City Times Square, sports arenas, and a tourist destination near you soon).

Will Mobile Commerce Help Whopper Sales? (Burger King and iPhone).

How about the Whiplash Whopper? (Burger King and Iron Man 2)

This one might be renamed the Woops Whopper: Burger King Angers Hindus with Its Whopper Ad  (Burger King and Lakshmi)

How low will they go?
Burger King Seeks WHOPPER VIRGINS (SOMEBODY will like the Whopper, right?)

Whopper Virgin Documentary (Full)



Well, THAT didn’t work out so well, either:
Burger King under fire for Whopper Virgins taste test challenge
Burger King Slammed for Seducing 'Whopper Virgins'

Hmmm….Maybe they can GIVE WHOPPERS AWAY – Maybe that will work.

And if the adults don’t fall for the free Whopper Giveaway, maybe the kiddies can persuade them: Get a Free Whopper Jr. at Burger King!

If all else fails, they should try The Frankenburger: What Happens When Burger King, Wendy's and McDonald's Collide?

And Finally, When the Ship Sinks, BAIL OUT!!!
Burger King agrees to $3.26B buyout
THE BUYER: 3G Capital owns stakes in brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev; Lojas Americanas, a major retailer in Latin America; and America Latina Logistica, the largest railroad and logistics company in Latin America. (Now, this is an interesting Power bloc.)

Did I find the Big Whopper Yet??? Is this it? What do you think? If this is NOT the Big Whopper on Page 97, at least I must be on the right pathway!

Meeting with My Master Teacher