1. Message From Swami: It Takes a Pillage and a Spillage to Wake the Village and Stop the Drillage.

2. Seriously Folks, Isn't It Time for Heartland Security?



Dear Swami:

The whole world is shocked and saddened by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and I for one am hoping that there is some redeeming benefit in this ecological horror. Since you tend to have a positive perspective, can you find something positive to say about this disaster? Is there some way humanity can deal with this cataclysm?

Ollie Volving,
Grimstad, Norway


Dear Ollie:

It is indeed challenging to say something positive about this disaster, but here goes: I am positive this is a disaster. With all the technical fixes broken, there's no telling how long BP will be peeing into the Gulf.

You know, it doesn't seem to matter how alarming the alarm is, we humans tend to want to hit snooze. But it's getting harder to snooze through the news. Take the economic meltdown -- please! While Americans felt the pain, and older folks waxed nostalgic about the good old days, when people robbed banks instead of the other way around, in the end most folks watched passively as our commonwealth got pillaged by the uncommonly wealthy.

But if a pillage alone doesn't awaken the village, then maybe a pillage AND a spillage will do it. And now that Obama has presented BP with a $20 billion invoice, maybe it takes a billage to stop the drillage.

But here is the problem. We humans are so used to fighting amongst ourselves (and that includes all of us, folks ... that's why I know that a sign that Nonjudgment Day is near is when all the peace groups make peace with one another), that we haven't yet learned to speak in one voice to say, "Stop the pillage, the spillage and the drillage ... we are poisoning our global village!"

And ... more importantly ... in that same unified voice, declare the One Suggestion as the new planetary operating system: "We are here to re-grow the Garden, and have a heaven of a time doing it."

If we really want to overgrow the current system ruled by fossilized fools fueled by fossil fuels, we have to address that other spillage of crude that has polluted our body politic: The igno-rants of media motor mouths, particularly those on Fox "News" who have turned their lie-ability into an asset. If only the Evangelicals were into metaphysics ... they would see that F-O-X is 6-6-6 in numerology.

However, spewing more crude back is no way to bring fear-fed red tribe "conservatives" out of their Fox holes. And that brings me to the one sure antidote to cataclysm. Dogaclysm.

For millennia our spiritual teachers have been telling us to treat one another like brothers and sisters. And we see how well that has worked. Because, let's face it. How did we treat our brothers and sisters? We fought with them. We were jealous. We thought, "Mommy likes you better." Or, "Mommy likes me better, so nyah nyah, nyah!"

But what happened when a new puppy came into the household? Everyone stopped fighting and began petting the puppy together. And that's what we need today. Puppy love. Instead of treating one another like brothers and sisters, let's begin to treat each other like lovable puppies, and begin to feel the love. Did you know that when you come in contact with a friendly dog, your body secretes healthy hormones called puptides? And no wonder. Dogs are so filled with unconditional love, it's literally dripping over the sides of their mouths. Maybe the secret to world peace is empowering an elite corps of golden retrievers, beagles and spaniels to anoint all negotiators with their kisses before, during and after their sessions. Imagine ... the Salivation Army.

And so ... nature has presented us with a cataclysm, and we must respond with a dogaclysm -- a tsunami wave of love so doggone powerful that the agents of pillage, spillage and drillage will have no choice but to obey the Master and sit ... stay ... and roll over.

The above funny / sad illustration is by Brian Narelle
http://www.narellecreative.net/



As people watch this current ecological disaster unfold, and wonder if there is any upside to the downer, I think of what co-heart and storyteller David Lynn Grimes said at Caroline Casey's Trickster Training Tea Party this past weekend: "The oil spill is a sentient act of Mother Earth to wake us up."

David was on the scene 21 years ago when the Exxon-Valdez spewed its spillage on the Prince William Sound, and saw firsthand the precursor to this current curse. However awful the situation, there was an unplanned upside. "They were all set to clear-cut the Alaskan forest ... and the oil spill stopped the development," he says.

So, here is my hope and my prayer. May this disaster be the pre-blesser to a truly new world order that establishes itself as a stand for a new Humanity with the mission of re-growing the Garden. May we cohere as a species around uncommon common sense and the virtues and values the vast majority of us hold in common. May we use our polarities as a dynamo to evolve in a spiral instead of going around in circles.

Think it's impossible to gather that kind of energy?

Consider this. In 2008, the Obama campaign raised half a billion dollars in individual contributions. What exactly did that buy us? True, we don't have McCain-Palin ruling the roost ... but considering that a victory is like going to the race track to bet a bundle and saying, "Gee, I hope I break even."

In this world in crisis, and world of opportunity, there is no breaking even. We either break through, or we break down. Right now, we seem to be breaking down ... and are ripe for a breakthrough.

And that is why I am rolling up a lifetime of experience -- in political science, psychology, spirituality and of course, humor -- into a mission to launch a Department of Heartland Security as a non-governmental, non-coercive non-organization to activate the heart and soul of we the people. Our intention is to gather around the Heart to heal the Land, and provide us with the Security that comes from respecting the individual in the context of community.

More specifically ...

Heart represents our universal spiritual foundation, the vast and untapped resource of love and connection.

Land represents a restorative, sustainable economy that empowers a mutually beneficial partnership between human and biosphere.

Security represents our evolution from the single cell "every-cell-for-itself" philosophy to the multi-cell "we're-all-in-this-together." In doing so, we move from survival of the fittest to thrival of the fittingest, from mutually-assured destruction to mutually-insured survival.

If this trips your trigger, and you're ready to help turn the ideal into the real-deal, please respond to this email with "Heartland" in the subject field. There are many, many ways you can participate. As Caroline Casey would say, "Co-operators are standing by."

And ... if you like these kinds of messages, and you don't already subscribe to Notes From the Trail, subscribe here. It's free. However, we cheerfully encourage donations. You can become an official paid subscriber for just $33, or you can subsidize or even super-sidize Notes From the Trail by donating even more.


And ... you can donate any amount, large or small via Paypal. Send money to: swamib@saber.net.

Also... If you would like to answer Swami's brief questionnaire and possibly win a prize, please send an email to info@wakeuplaughing.com and put "Answer" in the subject line.

May we wake up, and wise up.

The evolution has begun!

Steve Bhaerman