tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post5425254843209335768..comments2020-06-23T04:36:29.595-07:00Comments on Epiphany Now: The End of BAULuciddreamshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-16188351804427532242013-02-26T20:06:26.621-08:002013-02-26T20:06:26.621-08:00thanks Jeff. I think WHD and I are close enough i...thanks Jeff. I think WHD and I are close enough in our beliefs to craft some unobtrusive communal hippiesque, tree huggin' star gazin' spiritual quasi ritual ceremony involving trees...and possibly some herbs...or not ;0)<br /><br />But seriously, thanks, nothing can stop an idea who's time has come. Lots of energy is coalescing with the Foxstead. Lot's of brilliant minds that are ready for it and that are bringing their own unique talents. I think it's unstoppable. Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-65011390591677627372013-02-26T19:03:40.482-08:002013-02-26T19:03:40.482-08:00Between the location (Appalachian NC is one of the...Between the location (Appalachian NC is one of the most beautiful places I've been) and the Druidry, you sound prepared to create a new version of the Amish experiment- with the off-grid rural location and spiritual coexistence.<br /><br />And that is a compliment- not an insult, as it might appear coming from within the Matrix.<br /><br />I will live vicariously through you and the others, as I'm anchored down in my city in the northland.<br /><br />Having some experience in living collectively, I'd advise paying attention to the group dynamics and making sure everyone still has enough personal space to escape the group when needed. I lived in a student co-op for years, and collectives can be a real pressure cooker.<br /><br />That said, it can also be a wonderful way to live. I wish that for you and your family after what you've endured over the last year. Jeff Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06285239745975791484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-75493894036048456932013-02-26T11:42:03.649-08:002013-02-26T11:42:03.649-08:00That sounds like a heck of a plan you have going t...That sounds like a heck of a plan you have going there! I'd join you, if I didn't already have my own little plot brewing.<br /><br />As for the druidry business, you're ahead of me in the game. I ran out of excuses (to myself) - it seems like the only sane and logical response to things. My particular 'guru' is Phillip Carr Gomm, rather than JMG, although the two of them are friends. <br /><br />I will check out the Diner.<br />Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-61411173776371001152013-02-26T03:01:07.245-08:002013-02-26T03:01:07.245-08:00John, I agree with your principals. You should le...John, I agree with your principals. You should let us know about them when you have them complete. 150 to 200 people sounds about right to me. Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-8979449571591347932013-02-26T02:51:05.799-08:002013-02-26T02:51:05.799-08:00Thanks Jason, that means a heck of a lot to me com...Thanks Jason, that means a heck of a lot to me coming from you. I don't know how I pulled this one off? Think it had something to do with AWEN ;o)<br /><br />Speaking of, there is no reason to wear any funny robes if it makes you uncomfortable (well, there are reasons, but if that's the reason you don't come to the source than there is no reason). I'm probably the most hands off Druid around, and a lot of "Druids" would no doubt snicker at me in disgust for using the moniker. Doesn't bother me. I take Druidry seriously and practice it in my own way. Last Alban Arthuan marked my first complete year as a Druid Apprentice under JMG. I paid the 50 bucks to AODA, started a Druid Journal, and then resigned from the Matrix. I should write about that experience because it was chalk full of magic. To put it shortly, everything I wrote in that journal started happening...I would call it weird if I didn't know any better. <br /><br />Not sure if you've been on the Doomstead Diner lately, but we're working on a physical location in the Piedmont region of NC (the region I'm in in the hills of Appalachia). 150 acres of forest and pastures being reclaimed by that forest. Lot's of great goat food in those pastures now. At any rate, it's going to be an off grid site for a lot of new and interesting ways for being in the world. The land owners want to leave it to a Permaculture trust, which I and two other Diners are working on (Roamer and RE...and hopefully WHD sooner than later). <br /><br />Interesting isn't it Jason? That we both begin building a Druid response to the jacked up future in the name of the Fox. We are indeed kindred souls you and I. I was pushing for "The Doomstead Fox Den," but my wife seems to have usurped my title and presented us with the Foxstead Diner. I like that better. I'll just stamp "Fox Den" over the entrance to that Airstream that we'll be living in for the first little while. Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-10173385157684348412013-02-25T02:38:32.634-08:002013-02-25T02:38:32.634-08:00Thank you, butterchurner. No, I haven't read ...Thank you, butterchurner. No, I haven't read it anywhere, it is something I have been trying to distill for years. You guys are helping me put the finishing touches.<br /><br />Jeff, you have it almost exactly right, and it points out a third caveat: I said, "depend", not "use". Or as you said, "rely on". So, for example, it's okay to use a car to go to the beach, as long as you're not relying on that for your mental health, but you shouldn't need one to get to a job that you can't survive without.<br /><br />And of course, this is the ideal, the guiding principle; I honor it more in the breach more than the observance. But it is what I work towards.<br /><br />Now, lucid, Jeff had the right idea about the random assortment of strangers. Let me state it as part two of the rule: do not depend on people who you not know thoroughly enough to be able to predict how they will react to most situations. They don't have to be perfect, you just need to know them well enough, and for most people, that implies a limit of about 150 - 200 people.John D. Wheelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16203607452410210779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-56299967902710026372013-02-25T00:03:59.300-08:002013-02-25T00:03:59.300-08:00Could this be your best piece of writing yet? Very...Could this be your best piece of writing yet? Very profound and thought provoking. <br /><br />As a fellow dad, I must admit that it is the thought of my kids' futures that keeps me tossing and turning more than most other things. We're in uncharted territory here ... how best to proceed? <br /><br />As for the matrix etc. yes, turning the power back on itself, that's one of the ways to do it. At least the internet, for all its drivel, allows the dissemination of ideas across unfathomable distances. You mention Druidry - that's going through something of a boom as (some) people are increasingly turning to Earth spirituality. <br /><br />You might feel a bit silly wearing white robe and lighting candles in forest glades, but at least you are focusing the mind on re-sacredising nature, rather than just consuming it.<br /><br />Jason Heppenstallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17886109260870545074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-40731467270615365122013-02-24T19:51:13.987-08:002013-02-24T19:51:13.987-08:00thanks JeffZ, I take your compliment seriously . ...thanks JeffZ, I take your compliment seriously . So thank you. <br /><br />Also, I've got a 2 almost 3 year old and my wife is six months preggo. We are doing this for our children. I mean, it's hard to imagine completely unplugging and all you have is a piece of land. Yet still, and I'm talking about the Doomstead Fox Den here (the 150 acres in NC) what we have is each other and our talents. We have the will to make this happen and the knowledge of why it's necessary to do it now. <br /><br />Getting past the fear is the hard part. But I have faith in Nature. it will provide for me and my family. It's the same faith religious people have in God just expressed slightly differently...but only rhetorically. Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-11896795325855864002013-02-24T19:15:30.356-08:002013-02-24T19:15:30.356-08:00Maybe I can elaborate on what John has said- and J...Maybe I can elaborate on what John has said- and John can stop me if I'm off course.<br /><br />Many years ago- when I was in my 20's, I made a pledge to myself that I wouldn't acquire any technology that I couldn't understand and fix myself. That ruled out cars, but I became a fairly good bike mechanic in the process- mostly because I knew people who knew how to fix bikes and who had a lot of bike parts from scavenged bikes.<br /><br />It also ruled out computers for the most part, and I still used a telephone, but didn't own one. I did learn how to sew, at least to fix clothes I wrecked, and how to acquire clothing for next to nothing. And how to grow food, though I never came close to feeding myself entirely through my own labor.<br /><br />Having a circle of trusted friends to rely on made all the difference. I was able to gain the skills of others by asking and occasionally barter for what I needed. Beyond that, I lived on a couple thousand dollars a year.<br /><br />Now if I were to use a computer I didn't understand and burn petroleum that I couldn't mine or refine myself, that would be relying on random assortments of strangers. That is, the oilmen in Texas and the pimply-faced guys at Best Buy.<br /><br />In some ways, it was a charmed life. Unfortunately, for me it didn't last. Family expectations, and finally, marriage ended my idealistic existence. Now I have a car and a mortgage and a couple of computers. And I'm less happy, but I do have two wonderful kids.<br /><br />I think I'll return to it someday, whether voluntarily or not, I'm not sure.<br /><br />The Amish have a community that supports their lifestyle materially- with a neighborhood blacksmith and farrier- but also spiritually, if I can use that word- as a support network- to remind each other that their existence is not so crazy. That they're doing the right thing. That it's going to be worth it.<br /><br />In some ways, I feel like you and WHD, and John and Hepp and Andy and some others do the same. You remind me that I'm not crazy- no matter what my dad or the newspaper says. That the future will be different than we have been told, and it makes sense to prepare. <br /><br />All while I live my life mostly in the Matrix.<br /><br />Damn good writing by the way, Lucid. Lots of heart there.<br />Jeff Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06285239745975791484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-75514591450936039682013-02-24T19:04:07.540-08:002013-02-24T19:04:07.540-08:00"I think all you need is one simple rule: dep..."I think all you need is one simple rule: depend on nothing that you do not understand so thoroughly that you could make it yourself."<br /><br />I like this rule, John! Is this something that you have read somewhere before? If so, I'd like to know where so that I can read more from that author. If not...wise words, my friend! I agree completely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-78898288071090202912013-02-24T15:55:54.285-08:002013-02-24T15:55:54.285-08:00John Wheeler said:
"Now, a couple caveats: t...John Wheeler said:<br /><br />"Now, a couple caveats: that "you" and "yourself" is the *collective* form. It applies not only to an individual but also tightly-knit groups. It does not, however, apply to random assortments of strangers."<br /><br />I'm not sure I understand what you mean with this one. Could you maybe clarify a bit? Luciddreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02128676983998762432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7294159349473540264.post-72041150906039083782013-02-24T14:45:52.449-08:002013-02-24T14:45:52.449-08:00I think the Amish had it very close but no cigar.....I think the Amish had it very close but no cigar....<br /><br />I think all you need is one simple rule: depend on nothing that you do not understand so thoroughly that you could make it yourself.<br /><br />Now, a couple caveats: that "you" and "yourself" is the *collective* form. It applies not only to an individual but also tightly-knit groups. It does not, however, apply to random assortments of strangers.<br /><br />The other caveat is that as long as your group has the capacity and the knowledge to make what you need, there is some room to trade for efficiency, especially for anything past survival.John D. Wheelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16203607452410210779noreply@blogger.com