my trip abroad

7/29/2019 My Trip Abroad

1/61

My Trip AbroadPhotographically-Induced Recollections of Time Spent During a Visit to Earth

Compiled for Jilliope by Pablum FishPig

pablum fishpig 2008

www.pablumfishpig.com
http://www.pablumfishpig.com/http://www.pablumfishpig.com/


2/61

Hi Jilliope.

The other day, you asked for some details on my

recent trip. Do you remember? I'd spent a life on a

remote planet near the outer edge of spiral galaxy #38

that some of the locals call Earth?

At the time, you said: Tell me more.

But, I didn't quite know how.

The other other day, though, while rearranging the

habitual clutters, I came across this semi-interesting

set of photos from the very journey that piqued your

curiosity! Taken by my Observer, they were arranged

chronologically, packaged up as a little memory-gift,

and presented at the end of the trip, with the

instruction: "In case anyone asks."

And, yes, indeed, these images do jog my memory! They're an odd set, though. Important events are left out, while there are

many photos of rather trivial things -- in fact, just the sort of photographic record that the humans make of their "vacations" --

so maybe the Observer was experimenting with local style? Who knows?

Anyway, I've decided that the best way to slake your thirst for details (such as it is) would be to make you a little photo album

with some kind of running commentary. I hope you enjoy the resulting conglomerate!

Yes, now that my ruminations are redigesting that trip, points of interest are popping up. Earth is an odd place -- and growing

ever odder! It's got a tremendous amount of problems which are, by now, self-proliferating. These, in turn, crush or (at best)

limit the possibilities of most of the unfortunate three-brained beings arising there. In fact, it's gotten so bad that "religions"

have arisen which worship these very problems! But, I'm getting ahead of myself here.

So, anyway, the album begins at the Travel Center and ends with me back at home.

Have fun!

with love, pablum


3/61

1. The Travel Center

Well, you've been to these places before. You know the routine.

On the day I left, the lines were short and everyone was in a good mood.

When I told the Guide my destination, she actually laughed out loud! ((In

retrospect, the meaning of this laugh is unclear.))

Anyway, she reminded me of the General Rules, fortunately long-ago

encoded into essence, asked the usual questions about how recently and

how much I'd been eating, gave me a shot of return-receipt telomeres and

bade me pass through the portal she opened.

Which I did.


4/61

2. Departure

Yes, here I am: fat, happy and confident, just

moving into the portal, on my way to Earth.

As usual, my physical body had been safely

stored -- with a "lucky number" imprinted inmemory, by which to claim it on return. Only

essence travels, of course.

By the way, although I'm getting a bit ahead of

myself here, you may be interested in knowing

that the people of Earth are still working on

mechanical contrivances to carry them to other

planets. Eventually, of course, it will hit them

that, if they insist on transporting their actual

physical bodies, these trips will take much too

long to be of any use to them

Meanwhile, though, while many of them have the belief that their planet is visited by "aliens," they look only to the skies for

the arrival of metal objects! Being born at one's destination, coating oneself in the local form -- they don't even suspect that this

is possible. In fact, on the few occasions when I indiscreetly revealed an alien origin, no one believed me. "What do you

mean?" they said, "You were born in Brooklyn!" -- and that completely settled the matter for them!

Now, on most planets, of course, everyone knows who is a visitor and there's certainly no value in concealing that fact. On

Earth, however, it proves quite advantageous. Because of the peculiar formation of the three-brained beings there, if a visitor is

discovered, he's likely to be "killed first and questioned later." ((And this, of course, explains why so few of us choose Earth as

a vacation spot! (I did tell you that I was on a work assignment -- didn't I?)))

Anyway... here, in this photo, I'm still blessed with foolish optimism, integrity and lots of body fat. No wonder I look happy!


5/61

3. Compartmentalization

Here I am, arriving -- and experiencing my first

big surprise.

As I emerged from between the legs of some

giantess, I realized that what had been whole and

integral was now fractured and divided. Thinking,

feeling, sensing, intuiting were now all quite

separate functions, with no connecting links!

Moreover, throughout the human version of my

essence, there were lines, blobs and sheets of

some quite-inert, soft material that insulated and

isolated one part from another extremely

efficiently. (Later experiments showed that evenviolent motion in one section communicated

nothing to the section right next to it!)

This shot was snapped just before my awareness faded. As you can see, I wasn't too happy about this extra set of obstacles

being presented, realizing there would be lots of extra work to do just to get back to a normal work-state.

As it turned out, removing these buffers (as I came to call these inert dividers) was a very tricky and difficult task --

particularly since they are highly valued by the humans. There is constant encouragement to maintain one's buffers and even toadd new ones. If you let on that you're actually trying to remove them, the people around you will think you mad.

Consequently, you'll probably have to remove them all by yourself. And, if your attention flags for a moment, a new one may

spring up. By the time I left, I'd removed most of the major buffers, but thousands of finer dividers remained.

Anyway, this wasn't going to be my only problem.


6/61

4. The Caged Beast

Ah, these pictures bring back memories of the

dimmest, most elusive types!

Here we see the mandatory, permanent quarantine

of most of the natural animal instincts and urges

that come with human incarnation. This photo

must have been taken near the end of that process -

- because encagement takes some time.

The process is interesting in itself -- especially

since, when it's successful, the final bars are

placed by the prisoner, himself!

Did I mention before that, as soon as you are born

there, the big people around you will begin to dig

a hole "with your name on it"? (("Oh, he looks

just like [whomever]!" "I bet he'll grow up to be

[this or that]!" "What's wrong with his [whatever]?" You can hear all this on the very first day!)) Around this hole, they begin

to place "protective" bars on an ad hoc basis. I.e., when the parents see their little animal moving in an "unacceptable"

direction, they send out vibrations of a discouraging/blocking sort which crystallize into a bar to that particular impulse. As the

little beast turns to go elsewhere -- right then or later -- another bar appears. Then another. And so on.

The essential and terrible aim of this is to break the spirit of the beast and get him to buy into the illusion that this is all for his

own good. When "success" of this aim has been achieved, the beast will begin to hallucinate bars wherever he looks and they

will crystallize from his own vibrations!

This self-caging process, lovingly passed on from generation to generation, is one of the main causes of the violence that

pervades the atmosphere of Earth. The beasts -- even those with broken spirits --think of nothing but escape. Some of the

angriest and strongest manage to pull it off. Some dig themselves deep enough so that, though they remain invisible, their

wastes pollute the common blood supply -- leading to all sorts of human illnesses. And, of course, most obviously, all theenergies that could have been contributed to the common presences of the individuals are lost and perverted.


7/61

5. Childhood

A happy moment, dancing in front of the door of possibilities!

During this period, normally a preparation for responsible existence, the

big people paid little attention to me. Well, that's not entirely true. As do

all Earth parents, they passed on the normal quota of weaknesses and

burdens. Moreover, they made sure I was outfitted with my very own set

of the pointless, useless, energy-draining mechanisms called "negative

emotions."

But, in most significant ways, they left me to my own devices in puzzling

out the outside world. This had both detrimental and beneficial effects --

mostly the latter. In particular, it built up an early tolerance for ambiguity,

for not-knowing-without-anxiety. Without ready-made answers to calmmyself, I also began to form the lifelong habit of consciously asking

myself "what's going on here?", even when faced with "ordinary"

circumstances.

In any case, I was sent to several of their mandatory schools and went

voluntarily to several others. This photo, though, shows my first school --

when all fields of study were equally open and exciting!

Even amidst the abnormal living conditions on Earth -- whose abnormality

I'd not yet begun to fully cognize -- this period of time yielded some good,

full-being moments!


8/61

6. Touching Something Strange

This was an event in my informal education -- part of the set of

experiences guided by higher authorities than the Board of Education.

I'm sorry to say that I can't remember exactly what this thing was in the

physical world -- but, from its glum and stolid essence, it might have been

just a big rock -- maybe? Or, it might have been some feeling I was having

at the time? I just can't tell from the picture.

Anyway, there were many strange things to touch there! Some first

(conscious) encounters left a big impression on me.

For instance, there was the first time I experienced their belief in magic

words. I was about seven of their years old, in school, relieving myself inthe Boys' Room, when a big hubbub erupted. Happening to be right at the

epicenter, I could see that the fuss concerned some marks on one of the

walls -- just noticed by one of the teachers. On my way out of the room, I

looked at the mark; it said "FUCK". I thought this might be a word of

some sort, but didn't know its meaning. I couldn't imagine what all the fuss

was about. A few days passed and I happened to notice a teacher looking

at the same mark -- but, this time, with absolute calm. On the way out, I

glanced at this icon and noticed that it had been subtly changed. A fewextra marks had been added, changing the total configuration into

"BOOK" -- a mark with apparently no power to arouse! This all struck me

as exceedingly strange.

As the years went by, I discovered that "magic words" , while having a variety of negative and positive effects, mostly serve

the purpose of eliminating the necessity for doing. For instance, a speaker's use of certain (forbidden) words can be taken by

his audience as an excuse for not listening. Other magic words like "LOVE" and "UNDERSTANDING" are uttered as full

replacements for that which can only be shown (and not-said). The use of these magic words is all entangled with the human

propensity and compulsion to lie about almost everything. Very strange, indeed!


9/61

7. Homesickness

The Observer caught me in a moment of

homesickness -- a form of despondency I was

never able to completely overcome.

I happened to look up just when a departure portalwas opening. The traveler was already too far

away for me to even guess who he was .... and,

therefore, where he might be going -- but I found

myself feeling some envy. He was, after all,

undoubtedly going someplacenormal-- and I still

had to hang around on Earth!

And, as if to prove the abnormality of my current

location, I promptly fell further asleep andamused myself with sad/happy dreams of home --

while moving quite mechanically through the

Reality which Time continued revealing.

Yes, by this time, I'd already mastered the highly-developed human skills of sleepwalking and sleeptalking. Well, maybe

"mastered" is too strong a term -- I was as good at it as the next man -- that's more like the truth. For, indeed, these skills are

highly valued, practiced and perfected -- and I encountered individuals with astounding "abilities" to sleep through practically

anything ... and still keep talking, moving, acting in their "normal" ways.

((Did I mention howthin human waking-state is? Something strange happened on Earth and the layer of waking-state has

atrophied. For most humans, it's now just a thin membrane, just partly covering the layers of sleep (and mechanical

imagination) below. So, you know, sleeptalking (and etc.) are necessary skills here, possessed by the general population....and

aren't merely taught as special subjects in clown colleges.))


10/61

8. Discovering Slow-Windows

Here's a rather rare shot of my Observer. I

remember this one. In fact, having printed out a

material version, it was tacked to my wall for

many years -- as a reminder of the lesson beingimparted.

One evening, we were doing our usual review of

the day. On Earth, this is even more necessary

than in most other places -- mostly because most

of the humans operate at insanely high speeds.

I'll tell you about "cars" later. Most probably,

there's an image of one of the things somewherein this pile -- these cars are hard to avoid. But

anyway, more to the point, their mentation speed

is much too fast. E.g., theyjump to conclusions -- reallymighty jumps! -- during processes requiring something more like a

ruminative saunter ....you know --normalprocessing.

So, at the end of the day, it was really necessary to go back to certain events, certain conversations, certain observations -- and

try to figure out what had actually happened. And, so, every night, my Observer would share with me some of the films he'd

taken of the events in question ....or other things he had noted at the time.

One evening, I was lamenting my inability to see in "real time" some of the things which would become clear during the

evening review. The Observer, who happened to still be around to hear this complaint, was in a kindly mood....and offered to

teach me about slow-windows.

You probably know all about these -- right? So, anyway, he helped me to figure out some good alarms (sensations, images,

etc.) for my particular set of ongoing investigations ...and was here showing me how to respond to the alarm by opening a

window of slowed-down time. Very helpful!


11/61

9. At The Market

Yes, here I'm entering a typical food market. Lots

of stuff for sale.

Well, mostly all the stuff for sale is just planetary

food -- i.e., first food. The products they offer for

improvement of the atmosphere are generally

hideous (with the exception of tobacco) ... and the

range of impressions is of the most superficial

sort.

But, these markets are very interesting places.

For one thing, ersatz-foods are sold right out inthe open! People buy them!! If a product can be

seen as Newer-Than-New, it's practically

guaranteed to be a success! ((They actually

convince themselves to buy things with phrases like "derived completely from ingredients found in nature"!!))

Also, one can see some other strange attitudes about food....particularly meat. On Earth, as on all self-sustaining systems, all

the creatures eat each other....and the energy for locomotion, food seeking, sex, reproduction, etc. etc. circles around and

around. So, it's no surprise that the bodily remains of lifeforms rather similar to humans are part of the human diet.

But, on Earth, because of a cascade of conditions separating most people from the lifeforms they plan to consume, the ways in

which such marketable meat is "produced" have become increasingly abnormal and cruel. But, all that happens "very far

away" .... and, by the time a supermarketeer encounters a "filet" or a "rump steak" or "thighs and breasts", all wrapped neatly

in a variety of plastics, there's very little to make one even think of the sad animal who was its donor. ((And here, also, those

"buffers" that I mentioned earlier on come into play -- conscience rarely awakens.))

Yeah....I was probably in here to buy cat food and kitty litter.


12/61

10. A Gap in the Fence

Yeah....I think this shot was taken somewhere in the Northeast. But, it

could have been almost anywhere. Fences, walls, cages, gates, etc. etc. --

barriers are all over the place.

Some of these barriers make sense. Dangerous occupations and

preoccupations leave lots of hazardous materials and structures scattered

amongst the inhabitants. Some of these get fenced off. If a Warning Sign

((magic words)) isalso posted, the problem is considered assolved....and

life goes back to its normal route. These fences have some use.

But, most of the barriers on this planet are just arbitrary and useless. Many

of them originated in the crystallizations of ancient power-possessors --

who made walls and rules based on whims, as a way of showing theirpower. Most of these barriers are now parts of deep-tradition.... and,

therefore, "unquestionable".

You know how hard it is to get anywhere, to do anything. There are

always deflections, energy deficits, etc.. Well, imagine that normal

difficulty with the addition of constantly running up against walls....even

in the middle of nowhere!

Whenever I found a gap, I always tested if I could make myself small

enough to squeeze through. This one -- too narrow and jagged -- didn't

save me days of extra travel.


13/61

11. Morning

One of the best things about Earth was its mornings. These were often

quite lovely.

Mornings there start slowly, almost imperceptibly, the darkness

undeepening. Frogs, mammals and insects begin to awaken, adding their

threads to the growing tapestry of birdsong. Meanwhile, a black and gray

landscape is coming into better and better focus....as colors begin

appearing in the sky. The Sun appears...and the surroundings take on

normal hues. Everything glistens for a while. Very pretty!


14/61

12. At the Wall....Inside a Confusion

Yes, this is the moment when I was just about to

leave this particular confusion....for the very first

time. I'd traversed the whole terrain and realized

that the only way out had to be the way I'd gotten

in.

Confusions are quite common -- a consequence of

a concatenation of factors. The most important of

these is the use of language which never gets

discussed beforehand -- it's merely taken for

granted that everyone will attach the same

meanings to the words, sentences and paragraphs.

Next, there is the replacement of the scientificattitude by the scientistic one -- where

"quantification" and mechanisms are all that

matter, leading to a belief that "things are known precisely". And, third (out of a long list) there's the human addiction to self-

calming which leads them to feel a need for explanations that "settle the matter" -- i.e., most of them aren't capable of

maintaining any serious ambiguities within themselves.

Anyway, all of this results in the propensity to ask certain sorts of (innocuous-seeming) questions which, under the table (so to

speak), commit the asker to positions which are disconnected with reality. That is to say: while they aren't looking, theirlanguage goes on holiday -- still looks like it's working, but isn't -- keeps turning, but doesn't connect with the rest of the

mechanism. Sensing this disconnected state, this feeling of imprisonment within a bottle, attempts are made to escape in all

directions....futile attempts. But, of course, the way out is the way that one got in -- requiring careful examination of the words

that caused the gate to open in the first place.

Just to give you an idea of the confusions there, consider what gets called "the problem of skepticism." Someone long ago said

(something like): "You have doubts -- right? And, sometimes those doubts prove true -- i.e., you find that you've believed

something which has turned out to be false. Well, what ifeverything you believe is false? Why shouldn't everything be subject

to doubt?" This particular one has had them in a tizzy for centuries!!


15/61

13. Another Gate

This was at an entrance to a parking lot, going to pick up my car.

Do you know about cars? They're unique to Earth, I think -- so you might

not have read much about them....or conjured them up in your nightmares.

From the human point of view, cars are the chief mode of transport --

servants of the people who drive them. The cars, themselves, are mostly-

metal, rolling comfort-boxes -- individually powered and individually

controlled. They travel in packs, at high speeds on marked and reserved

areas of the planet.

So, to get from here to there, I'd hop into my car, turn its engine on (being

careful not to breathe too much of the car's exhalations), and pull intotraffic. Sharing the road would be a multitude of other whizzing cars,

piloted by humans who were eating or holding a phone to an ear or

diapering a child or trying to figure out how to tie their shoelaces.

Nevertheless, in order to drive one of these cars, I had to put my trust in

the consciousness and rationality of all these other pilots and have faith in

the power of the double yellow line -- collisions between such vehicles

having often horrendous consequences for the occupants.

For the privilege of riding in these wonderful cars on perilous journies, thecars demand to be fed -- i.e., their engines need to be fueled. For this food,

they use a substance derived from a substance found deep under the crust

of the planet. There are all sorts of problems with getting this food -- but the earthlings are willing to go to enormous

trouble....and even willing to kill others of their kind in order to insure its continued flow to their "servants".

Even the crust of the planet has been transformed to accommodate these cars. Lush greenery has been replaced by gooey black

roads, car feeding places, car resting places and so on and so on.

The parking lot is one of these car resting spots. It's an area of land -- sometimes right in the middle of a bustling city -- that's

reserved for no other use than to leave empty cars!

The whole time I was there, I kept pointing out to people how crazy the car situation was -- but they just found me, not

surprisingly, to be abnormal.


16/61

14. Encounter on the Other Side of the Fence

Yes, here I am, exchanging a few words with one

of the locals.

I should mention something here about the

peculiar forms which conversations usually take

on Earth. They're mostly extremely superficial

and purely associative -- even between "close

friends". Attempts at taking a topic deeper or

developing a thought-kernel that's been expressed

are strongly discouraged -- especially in the

context of "dinner party conversation". But, even

odder, I gradually came to see that the activity of

talking -- which we take for granted as a channel

for deep and subtle communication -- has, in themouths of earthlings, become just a turn-taking-

game, achieving just the purposes of animal-

communication -- i.e., replacing the proto-dialog of "I'm here" and "I'm here, too."

The main problem there is with listening -- a skill that no one studies, but which each person counts himself as having

mastered! Consequently, what passes for listening is a hodgepodge of random associations, prejudicial attitudes and jumped-to

conclusions. Moreover, having never learned the skill of listening, most earthlings have no processes for correction. If you tell

someone that he's misunderstood you, he's quite unlikely to "clear the slate" and ask for you to say it in a different way, withdifferent examples, etc. -- but is, in fact, very likely to give you an argument, proving that he's understood you

completely....even if the topic he's sure you were speaking about is something that's never entered your head!

But, luckily for most inhabitants, barely listening to each other in their conversations, they rarely notice that they've been

totally misunderstood. They merely wait until their turns come around again, rehearsing what they're going to say -- and, when

their turns come, they say it. If their listeners nod and smile, they count themselves as understood -- even though the listener

has gone on to talk about a completely different topic....which the first speaker isn't listening to, anyway.

And, nowadays, in accord with the general speed-up of their life processes, all significant sayings have a maximum timeallotment of 10-15 seconds. If what one has to say can't be fit into such "sound-bites", the charge of "lecturing" is advanced --

this being sufficient to justify the lack of even the pretense of listening, replaced by a display of righteous annoyance.

Can you imagine???


17/61

15. An Awakener

Here's a snapshot of one of the Awakeners I was lucky enough to meet.

Wracking my brains for his name -- I don't think he ever told me -- but it's

really not important.

While I was on Earth, the abnormal conditions there had almost the same

effects on me as they had on the indigenous population. I wound up

sleeping (or almost-sleeping) for far too much of the time.... and had to

figure out all sorts of extra alarm systems to rouse myself from the

encouraged state of consciousness. Every once in a while, I'd be fortunate

and meet one of these Awakeners....who'd be kind enough to ask me some

questions I'd have to wake up to answer.

You see, on Earth the current picture is that sleep is an on/off sort of

process. So, when someone notices that he's no longer deeply-asleep (inertand "dead to the world"), he believes that sleep is nowoff. And now,

having risen to waking-state, he often believes that he is "fully awake" and

"fully conscious"....and stops right at that state, believing it to be the

endpoint. So, routinely, most people don't rise to the level of self-

consciousness -- where they would quickly realize how much of

themselves have still remained asleep.

So, most people spend their entire day in this semi-dreamy waking-state --

equally influenced by the imaginings that spin within them and the realities

which they confront -- mixing it all together in some rather confused ways.

But, it's not really (entirely) their fault. The whole place is full of hypnotic influences, designed to appeal simultaneously to

dreams and waking-state, keeping them feeling full and comfortable ...and not making any waves. Externally-sourced images

and sounds assault one constantly. It's hard to resist.

Yes, the Awakeners are even more necessary on Earth than in most other places. Surprisingly (or not-surprisingly (?)), it's not

a popular vocation on Earth -- practitioners usually earning only scorn, and not the gratitude which is their due.

Anyway, I was glad to meet this guy.


18/61

17 A B l


19/61

17. A Balancer

Yes, here we see a Balancer. On Earth, this is a special skill -- mostly

employed for entertainment purposes. There are balancers of spinning

plates, riders of unicycles and walkers of tightropes (to mention a few).

But, the most important sorts of balancing -- the kinds employed in

pondering and in the workings of conscience -- are seldom taught or

practiced there.

As I mentioned, Earth is a very speedy place. Rumination and pondering

are considered to be unnecessary wastes of time. Trying to achieve a

balance of positive, negative and neutralizing factors in one's thinking or

feeling is seen as a pathology. Strong identification with either the

positive or the negative is what's encouraged -- the inhabitants there are

usually either "for or against" whatever's in front of them -- and bothsides are definitely against anyone who tries to introduce balancing

factors.

In the matter of conscience, things are even sadder. Without balancing

skills -- absolutely necessary for normal functioning -- conscience is

rarely developed in the current inhabitants. Instead, they've substituted a

mechanism called "guilty-conscience" -- completely useless, except for

purposes of self-torture (to which a surprising number of them are

addicted).

Anyway, here's someone who had, at least for a little while, all three

forces in equilibrium.

18 The Inner Advisor


20/61

18. The Inner Advisor

Probably inspired by seeing that Balancer, my Inner Advisor chose to

make a public appearance -- as captured in this snapshot.

Yes, one can always find an easy guilt-door --. leading to self-calming via

self-torment. But, luckily, my Inner Advisor (once again) saved the day!

I don't remember any of the particulars about this particular issue. But, I

would guess that he was telling me the usual sort of stuff .... reminding me

about doing the work of "putting myself in the place of another" or

reminding me that the question could be asked in a different way or etc.....

playing the role of the balancer.

What surprised me there was how few earthlings took advantage of this

built-in feature of their beings. Many of them had turned it off....or spentlots of energytrying to turn it off. ((And then, of course, instead of

listening to this reliable voice, this mild voice, they had listened to other

random voices which happened to seize the inner microphone.))

Anyway, I think it all has to do with their phrase "guilty conscience" --

which, as it turn out is theirmodelof understanding for their general

conception of "conscience" itself. So, most of them picture conscience as

something unpleasant, something to be avoided. And then, with this

entirely-wrong picture, when they inevitably find themselves invited to

"feel guilty" about this or that, and the guilt-doors swing into view, and

some voice or other is advocating for the preferred form of self-torture

that's behind door #1, and they decide to step through this door -- when all of this inevitably happens, they blame it all on

conscience. Thereby, they take credit for having a conscience, imagine that their self-torture counts for something and further

reinforce their belief that "the only kind of conscience is a guilty one."

It's all strange and sad.

Anyway, I think people turn off the Inner Advisor feature because they'resure it will be a voice advocating pain. But, of

course, in reality, that's rare -- and the kind of pain he might advocate, the kind that's necessary to bring things into balance,

has apoint ....and isn't at all like the pointless pain of guilt.

Lots of unbalanced things on Earth.


21/61

19. Getting Advice from Others

Yes, here I am, getting some advice from all and

sundry -- a rather common occurrence.

Along the way, many people were willing to offer

their advice. Since figuring out the place wasturning out to be so incredibly difficult...and since

important clues had previously been found in

unexpected places -- there was no way to tell in

advance whose advice might turn out to be useful -

- so I listened to them all.

Lots of this unsolicited advice turned out ((as you

may have already guessed from the photo)) to berather off-target, a result of vision problems. But,

sometimes someone made me aware of some

feature of a bit of the road up ahead. And this was

sometimes very useful.

Anyway, on Earth, the giving-of-unsolicited-adviceto strangers is a popular hobby activity. This hobby, while it would be

benign under normal circumstances, often had less than benign consequences there. Why? Because, in the game, generally,

almost everyone almost always only wanted to play "giver"....and would always, only reluctantly, play "receiver" and, even

then, only with bad-spirit.. An unbalanced game -- especially as played by this particularly "touchy" group.

Anyway, I remember this photo-event. I was somewhere or other, looking for water, taking a rest, inquiring of the beings

around me. One of the guys in the foreground began quoting phrases from his religious text, ones with the word "water" in

them.... and the other began to reminisce about previous seaside vacations. The bird, on the other hand, mentioned some

"delicious waterbugs" crawling near a spring just a short way away. So, I got what I needed!


22/61

20. Nothing is hidden.

Yes, here I am, approaching a guide-post -- this

one promising some sort of "full-service-function"

available ahead. These guide-posts were scattered

here and there. ((By the way, don't be fooled by the

perspective of the photograph. This one was still

pretty far away and (through the lens of optimism)

still looked much bigger than it turned out to be

close-up.))

Anyway, every little clue helps.

On Earth, for reasons hard to fathom, everything

gets very jumbled. Important things are mixedtogether with trivial things, linked in silly ways.

So, figuring out where and what one is takes on the

nature of a jigsaw puzzle. These guide-posts indicate where certain important pieces might be found -- pieces with gravity,

drawing other pieces to naturally assemble around them. Even in the best of cases, though, one usually finds only some "telling

details". Around these, assembly can begin to take place.

The good thing is that all the important pieces are everywhere available -- or so I am convinced. There's a great variety of

magnetic material mixed amongst the plastic -- enough for anyone to get going with. Nothing important is hidden -- but is, in

fact, revealed in a variety of ways, suitable for different puzzles.

Unfortunately, most earthlings no longer have the patience for this sort of puzzle. Instead, they jam together what's coalesced

around their first accidentally-aquired magnetic parts andpredict (guess) what the assembled puzzle would show. And then,

they put away puzzling and just stick with the picture that came into their heads.

Oh yeah.....I almost forgot to mention one of the strangest things. On Earth, some of these guide-posts arefalse! ((Can you

imagine?!?)) They turn out to be something called "ads." I'll tell you about these later.

21. Thinking


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g

Here's a shot of me just thinking about something

or other on a particularly bright morning. As it

happened, I was pondering and ruminating that day

on the nature of thinking. So, at the time, there was

probably a bit of the infinite-mirrors-effect

showing up in the image...andthat's why he took

this picture. ((Sometimes, I can only guess at why

a particular photo was taken.))

Or, perhaps the Observer took this photo because,

sadly, it's rare to see real thinking on the surface of

this planet. Most earthlings have traded in their old

lamps for new ones -- and the resulting ersatz "new

and improved" thinking, quicker and easier thanthe old stuff, has been accepted as replacement for

what you and I might count as thinking.

On Earth, few children receive instruction in thinking. So they try to pick up operating clues from the behaviors of the giants

around them -- e.g., parents, teachers, siblings, etc.. But, these are all beings who have, themselves, likely received little if any

formal instruction, who picked up information on how-to-think in the same random way. It's a hodgepodge.

Luckily, though, they still teach mathematics. So, if a kid hasn't figured out the right way to use thinking center by the time he

reaches geometry class, he's presented with a scale model right there. He gets to see the pattern of baby-steps-with-full-

justifications. He gets to appreciate the slowness of the process. He gets to experience the power of drawing far-away and

grand conclusions from premises which are close-by and humble.

Geometry class is really a quite good demonstration of thinking center. Gives some kids a chance -- but it's far from being a

good substitute for learning to think about everything....and, in fact, leaves many kids cold.

New-thinking is much hotter and more appealing, relying mostly on mimicking abilities to get from one place to the next,

dispensing with justifications or fueling them from one's identifications. What one "thinks" is now mostly what one has heard-and-said-yes-to -- and the indubitable sign that a thought is being expressed is that the speaker begins with "I think...". As you

can imagine, this is all almost-infinitely quicker than even the best thinker can manage, requiring only a tiny fraction of the

calories necessary for even turning on the pilot light in thinking center. Once the ersatz had achieved the status of legal tender

(way before I arrived), you can see why it would start driving out the good.

Anyway, it's also interesting to note that most earthlings never doubt their thinking capacities and abilities. While few would

declare themselves piano virtuosos without the benefit of a single piano lesson, most earthlings count themselves as having

mastered the thinking-instrument somewhere "along the way", while paying it only the slightest specific attention.

Saying has replaced doing.


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22. Invited into a Hole

Yes, here's some guy inviting me into some hole or other.

Looks just like a gateway, doesn't it? Even up close, the subtle differences

are sometimes hard to see. The illusion is what makes the invitation

tempting.

But, rather than being built out of thinking center bricks, these holes have

been constructed entirely from the ersatz substitutes -- i.e., mostly from

opinions and lies. Consequently, they have all the solidity of

quicksand...and stepping into one of these holes is invariably a pain in the

neck. Luckily, most of them are quite shallow -- but, still, the sand gets in

your shoes.

While most such holes are only casually encountered ((as they are

everywhere)), there are some that are actually permanent establishments!

Can you believe it!?! Not only are these not cracked down on by the

authorities, but the authorities actuallymaintain several for their own

purposes -- e.g., recruitment into their military services. Religious groups

keep a bunch going. Conspiracy groups. Advocacy groups. Etc. etc.. There

are lots of official sponsors.

Anyway, I don't particularly remember this guy...so I must have lookedbefore I leaped.

23 Ch i f P h


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23. Choice of Paths

Well, actually, looking closely at this one, I'm not quite sure it's showing a

"choice" -- i.e., two different paths. I think this might have been a double-

path.

You must have encountered these. You go down one path, working for itsrewards, engaging in its processes. And meanwhile, another part of you,

having put a kink in the line of things, pursues a parallel line of work. With

different thoughts, questions, feelings, it studies the activities of the first

line of work. Additional substances can be refined.

Anyway, on Earth, many paths seem to present themselves at any given

moment. Along with the many first steps on paths to nowhere, there are

also first (or next) steps on paths to somewheres. And, of course, includedin these were the first (or next) steps to important somewheres.

Distinguishing one from the other wasn't at all easy.

Lots of people on Earth look to pre-established religions for directions on

paths to important somewheres. This has decidedly mixed consequences.

My observations there indicated that each of these religions, at least at their

cores, had the possibility of offering initiation onto powerful paths to

somewhere very important. So, good advice was indeed available fromthese sources! But, simultaneously, my observations revealed that most of

these religions were mostly operating quite far from their cores. And, the

paths they suggested kept people from making contact with those cores -- and so, mostly went nowhere important at all.

All these religions arose on Earth as a response to a need for high-quality third food. Moreover, in different locations on the

planet, these third food providers arose in different forms -- each one especially suitable to the beings who breathed the air and

drank the water and thought the thoughts of those who lived there. Really remarkable! The potential is enormous. But, in

practice, it's often just a case of going through the motions....and only crumbs of food are provided from the table.


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26 Advice to the Contrary


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26. Advice to the Contrary

Yes, here we see a rather common event. Quite often I'd be suddenly

confronted by unsolicited "advice to the contrary" -- i.e., people telling me

that, whatever it was I was doing, I ought not to be doing it (or why I ought

to be doing it, if I wasn't).

Quite frequently, it took the form of the overwhelming-seeming creature

shown here. I came to call this form "Everybody Knows" because these

were, almost inevitably, his first words.

On Earth, at least in the locale where I resided, it was remarkable how

much "everybody knows"!

I'm being ironic, of course. This was all "knowing" by way ofsaying that

one knows -- i.e., a total pack of lies. Most of what "everybody knew",

they knew nothing about at all. They heard somebody else say that

"everybody knows [something or other] and, wanting to be in on it and

wanting to show off their knowledge, began to tell people like me what

"everybody knows".

Sometimes, for fun, I'd ask my advice-giver to explain the remarkableness

of the phenomenon that, in a populace where many probably don't know

how to tie their own shoelaces, there should be unanimous agreement on(e.g.) some complicated scientific theory. Or, I'd ask how he came to know

just what "everybody knows".

Or, more often, I'd simply deflate this large-seeming obstacle by informing the advice-offerer, "Well,Idon't know it" and

continuing on my way.

If I weren't so lazy, I'd generate a list of some of the things that "everybody knows" where I was living. Some of these are

pretty comical and would probably give you a good laugh. But, you really would have tobe there in order to appreciate what it

all comes to. And, besides, I'm just too lazy. Maybe, someday, I'll write a book about it:Earth -- What Everybody Knows! and

you can get some belated giggles then. Who knows?

27. Behind


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27. Behind

Ah, see -- there's something behind it, just coming into view.

Surprisingly, on Earth, behind is a somewhat neglected direction. The

current style is to be perceived as "forward-looking". Moreover, everybody

knows that what's behind things, at a level where inquiries seldom takeplace, must already be a well-settled matter ... "Or else, the authorities

would certainly be looking into it, wouldn't they? But, they're not. And

that's because everybody knows that..."

Yeah, well, this is not to say that earthlings (many of them) don't

simultaneously obsess about the behind of certain matters. This takes many

forms. For example, there's the personal form of wondering why so-and-so

insulted you. People also figure out what their favorite celebrities shoulddo to get their lives straight or they become conspiracy theorists, trying to

figure out who was really behind it all.

As you may have noticed, their interest in the data-of-behind is mostly

confined to various malevolencies. When somethinggoodis encountered,

even seekers sometimes forget to look behind it. For these generally

starved people, even the smell of something good is enough to get them

invoking adages about "not looking a gift horse in the mouth" and looking

forward to digesting the good meal that seems promised by the smell. But,in fact, there can be lots of things behind that smell.

As for the "gift horses" thing -- that must have come from an earlier period, since no one ever even tried to give me a horse and

I didn't know anyone who had either received or given such an animal as a gift. Nevertheless, the thought behind the

expression is (more or less): Since it's a gift, then even if it's sick, you can still turn the horse into dogfood and glue...and thus

make a profit. This presupposes such a complicated conglomerate of values and motives that you'll forgive me for not

unraveling them here. Suffice it to say that horses don't fare particularly well on Earth.

28. "Primitive" beings are looking for food.


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g g

I don't remember what these creatures were called ... or it's possible I never

knew. But, whatever they are, they were sometimes all over the place,

scurrying around, searching for food. They were quite small and usually

didn't communicate much to beings of my scale -- but this one was found

to be in possession of a cryptic shopping list, reading "vanilla, coffee, friedrice meat". What was strange about this is that these creatures don't eat

either vanilla or coffee. Anyway, it seemed odd enough to warrant taking a

photo.

Speaking of food, the earthlings around me had some quite peculiar

attitudes and sets of beliefs on the subject. And, they coupled this with a

willingness to eat some peculiar things. People had arguments (fights)

about proper food (with clashing "everybody knows"es). In pursuit of bodyimage, they were willing to alter their diets in bizarrely restrictive ways ...

if some wiseguy promised good results. There was, in short, the sort of

state of affairs that one expects when knowledge is widespread, but spread

very thinly.

The confusion there is enhanced by the fact that when most of the

earthlings think of "food", they thinkonly of first-food. So, their whole

theory of nutrition starts with a seriously misleading picture -- and takes

absolutelyno account of the blending of second and third foods.

Well, maybe that last remark is too harsh. Ruminating here at the

keyboard, I remember hearing about something called "TV Dinners" ... and Ithink these might have been designed to facilitate

the blending of particular first and third foods ... so, maybe I ought to be giving them a little more credit?

And, in case you were wondering, we returned the shopping list before moving on.

29. Master of Ceremonies


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Yes, this one (and the next few) were taken at a

most extraordinary, very exciting show I happened

to catch, almost by accident.

The show was billed as something like "All theSecrets of the Universe Explained and Made

Clear" and was said to feature "dances and other

mystical performances", hypnotism, rug-repair and

a multitude of other acts of interest and appeal.

Tickets were cheap and the theater was just around

the corner -- so I went.

While I have to admit that even now ((who would

have guessed?)) there are some secrets of the

universe which are still (shall we say) "less-than-

crystal-clear" to me, the show delivered on its promise much better than most!

I'd find it hard to even begin to tell you what went on here, were it not for the photos -- and the photos capture so very little of

it. The best way I can sum it up is to say that it provided lots of food for thought and opportunities for right crystallizations.

Anyway, this fellow was the Master of Ceremonies -- a very engaging man. One had the impression that his title had been

earned.

Besides telling us what we would (or could) be seeing in the course of the show, he started things off by giving us a little

"lecture" about language. I.e., he reminded us of certain inevitable ambiguities in language....and some ways to avoid/resolve

them....and gave some advice on how some particular bits of language were likely to be used in the performances to follow.

((Mastery supplies what is needed before the need has begun to be felt.))

This guy was one great performer!

I wish you could have been there, to see him for yourself.

Ah, well.... at least you have his picture now.


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31. Man with Exposed Heart


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This was an "exhibit" on the midway. It was a real, live person. But,

something was seriously wrong with him. Some of the audience asked him

questions as they walked by -- and he never responded to any of them. I

watched for a while...and it wasn't clear to me whether he simply didn't

hear these questions or whether he heard them and simply didn't want torespond. In any case, he simply stood there, gazing off into the distance.

Loitering in this area, overhearing the wiseacreing conversations of those

just passing through, I frequently heard comments like "oh, he's just too

much in love" or "somebody must have broken his heart" or etc.. Some of

these were plainly nonsensical. For instance, it's clear that his heart was

completely normal and unbroken -- it's just very abnormally placed.

But, at the time -- and now, again, in recalling this event -- it got me

thinking about the concept of love... and some of the oddities which the

earthlings have added to that concept -- e.g., locating it in a physical organ.

I won't bore you with the details. You'd probably be disgusted with them,

anyway. All sorts of things get called "love" there which, in fact, merit

quite contrary names or names from a different class of phenomena. As

with most things there, it's all confused. When two people are talking about

"love", even after discounting for the lying, it's an almost-certain bet thatthey have entirely different pictures in mind.

Fortunately, earthlings like to live with companion animals -- what they call "pets", usually dogs and cats. Here, in their private

interactions with these animals, many of them use the opportunity to give and take some love-without-quotation-marks.

Well, anyway, this was a somewhat creepy exhibit. You're probably glad you weren't there.

32. Worm Rising, Touching Red


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Yes, I know -- this one is a postcard. I remember

buying it in the little store on the way out. Then I

lost track of it. The Observer must have saved it,

for inclusion with this group.

This was one of the last side-show exhibits on the

way out -- a conscience worm. Of course, the

actual object on display was as tiny as can be -- so

the exhibit involved the use of a complicated set of

microscopes -- and, if you looked in just the right

way, you could see it! Needless to say, snapping a

photo under such conditions was extremely

difficult -- so I bought a copy that was done by anexpert.

Interesting, isn't it? Under normal circumstances, wenever get to see things operating on this scale. Yet we understand that our

ordinary perceptions are intrinsically connected to an ongoing chain of unimaginable events on the scale and in the world of

these worms. When conscience is working correctly and we find ourselves with just the right amount of God-particles to

balance out the other two forces (and etc.) -- we don't often even stop to think how the tiny grains had assembled themselves

into pieces big enough for us to see and use. So, it was interesting to actually see one of the creatures to whom I am ultimately

indebted.

Anyway, the postcard is a reminder of the always-good advice: Feed your worms! I'll try to think of something special(?) to

give mine today.

It's a good reminder, also, that on adifferent scale, we are of the size and the importance of those worms.

Yeah, I liked the perspective in it. That's why I bought it.

33. New species emerging


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I was walking down the beach one day when I saw

this tube-like structure emerge from the sand ...

and this little creature popped out. The tube then

folded in on itself, collapsed, disappeared.

Wondering what this little creature might be

called, I showed the photo around a bit, asking if

anyone knew. No one did. But, one fellow told me

that I actually had a picture of the emergence of a

new species -- he said this was how it happened.

"When the living-being Earth needs a new

component, she creates it (in the same way you

create antibodies) and pops it to the surface. This,my friend, is something new -- meant to fill a new

niche. Not many people get to see this -- you were

lucky!" I don't know enough to know if this guy was correct -- but it certainly was a reasonable theory....anddidexplain why

nobody knew the name of this creature.

I should mention that the fellow offering the explanation above was, on Earth, regarded as a lunatic. The predominant belief

there is something called "the theory of evolution" -- the truth of which is something (almost) "everybody knows." I once

actually came across a statement by a respected scientist to the effect of "No one can be regarded as a real scientist who doesn't

accept the theory of evolution as a well-established fact." So, it's no surprise that my intelligent friend receives little positiverespect -- he's denying a tenet of their religion, a bit of dogma.

This "theory of evolution", by the way, is far from being "well-established fact". The "theory" itself involves lots of hand-

waving (("...and then, this sort of thing must have happened, for no apparent reason....and then....)) and the "evidence" in

support of the theory is about 15% physical and 85% imaginary. This theory has grabbed people because it's easy to animate,

easy to traverse in imagination, easy to wave one's hands at the pesky, entropy-denying details of the material on the ground.

Well, anyway, during all my time on Earth, I continued to show this photo to many people and never found one who knew

what this creature was called.


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35. Another Marker


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Don't let these pictures fool you. Red paths are as rare on Earth as

anywhere else. We took photosbecause of the rarity ... and thereby caused

the commonality of images.

This marker (noticed the day before by a catso friend) indicated that thepath went in the direction I wanted to go -- so I was quite happy to

surrender to its guidance.

It led me to a city whose name has been forgotten.


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38. He Reached for the Bag on the Bridge

H h d f i j b f I did i h f k i h


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He reached for it just a moment before I did -- neither of us knowing what

it was.

This was by a small, elevated footbridge in one of the city's parks. This

part of the park was fairly empty -- but that bag couldn't have been therevery long without having been noticed.

We both reached for it -- but he got it. As it turned out, this was perfectly

OK. He was intrigued by the little mechanism popping out the red plasma

balls. He looked at what was below it, recognized nothing of interest, and

handed it to me -- as (what they call) the "booby prize".

I looked inside and recognized a bunch of rather hard-to-find nutritional

supplements. A note tucked into the side confirmed this and went on tosay: "Should the Expiration Indicator activate itself and begin popping red

plasma balls while this bag is in possession of a stranger, said stranger is

allowed (and encouraged!) to eat all the contents of this bag immediately.

There's no point in trying to return it to the original owner."

I immediately found a restaurant ... and ate everything in the bag, along

with an excellent dinner.

39. Fueled, a Higher Center Ignites

Yes the title pretty much says it all


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Yes, the title pretty much says it all.

Finding that bag was very lucky for me. Some of

the supplements it contained were the catalysts I'd

been looking for. Once they were added to themix, things began to happen -- just barely allowing

me time to get home from the restaurant.

You've felt this -- you know how wonderful it

feels!

Compared to the minute before, the engine is

purring, everything is suddenly running more

smoothly. One can sense that there's more poweravailable -- responsive power that can be finely

tuned. Aside from all the other benefits (!), it's a

good feeling.

((By the way, I have no idea how the Observer could have taken this picture. As far as I know, events like this aren't visible to

the outside world. His camera looks ordinary -- but I guess it's got some special features.))


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42. Extra Nourishment

Just a little way outside the city walls, it's already quite rural, with lots of


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Just a tt e way outs de t e c ty wa s, t s a eady qu te u a , w t ots o

rolling hills. Not knowing when I'd see one again, I stopped at a little

coffee shop, unexpectedly appearing in (what was for me, already) the

middle of nowhere.

While I was in there, I began to talk with one of the locals about the lay of

the land, the weather ahead and other events of common importance. We

turned out to be of mutual interest to each other -- mostly because, in

certain significant ways, we were exactly the opposite of each other.

He invited me back to his place -- not far off -- and asked if I'd like to "join

him for a meal" and try some of the "high-octane" first food he created in a

distilling device of his own design. Naturally, I agreed to this friendly offer

-- and the picture is of one of the many times we went back for a few moredelicious sips.

The two of us blended quite well -- and we even discussed the possibility

of some kind of partnership. Since it seemed likely that I might have some

extra time at the end of my task, I agreed to stop there again, on the way

back, to see what we might do together.

Well, as things turned out, some things took longer turning out than hadbeen anticipated ... and I never got back that way again. But, I always think

of him with gratitude -- not the least because his generous supply of "high-

octane" was the last of anything like that, encountered within the next 30 years. ((I had to ration it out carefully, within

myself.))

I wonder what became of him? It's so long ago, I can't even remember his name.


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45. Sapience Marker

OK. So there's a three-decade gap in the photographic record here -- pretty


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much the whole time I was there. I guess the Observer didn't think I'd need

reminding of this period.

Here's a photo of what it took me 30 years to make -- a marker, a dispenserof starter-stones. It had just been set up, near its companions, near some

outer wall.

Looking at it now, it seems a bit overly-gaudy to me. But, when I was

setting it up, looking around at the other such markers, it seemed to fall

about in the middle of the gaudy range. Who knows?...maybe it's just my

eyes which have changed?

Anyway, it worked. Well enough.And the user's manual was pretty clear.

And, it wasdone! Hooray!

46. Under the Microscope

Now, I had some free time to tie up some loose

d f i i i hi h h d


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ends, pursue a few investigations which had gotten

sidelined along the way.

One such puzzle involved a sample of somethingI'd been carrying around for a long time. It was a

bit of a wall I'd encountered -- of atype of wall I

frequently encountered. These walls, here and

there, had the peculiar property of looking like

ordinary stone, but feeling like (actually being)

some sort of smooth glass. Impossible to climb and

impossible to penetrate. They're incredibly smooth

and hard -- it took me hours to get the few, thin

shavings I'd carried as a sample.

Anyway -- I won't bother you with the details -- I happened to gain temporary access to a good microscope ... and a friendly

person, willing to set up my sample for viewing. This photo is a shot of the monitor I was seeing.

To my not-great surprise, these ultra-smooth walls were made up of swarms of tightly packed self-delusions, almost petrified,

connecting to each other.My self delusions. No wonder I hadn't been able to dig my way through them. The self-delusion of

believing that I could was just making the wall that much stronger!

It's amazing how powerful little things can be.

47. Established Strength

One day, I found myself invited to the launch of a

successful enterprise


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successful enterprise.

I can't remember exactly what it was. The photo

makes me think that it might have been some sortof inter-world commerce -- but that might be just a

trick of the light.

Regardless, after the brief ceremony, I got to spend

the rest of the day on this lovely beach. Very

restful.


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49. Beautiful Hat #1

The next three shots share an oddity. They're all screen-shots from the TV

news I was watching one evening -- but they're all of hats which I


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news I was watching one evening but they re all of hats which I

happened to see, with my own eyes, earlier on that very day! (The wearers

must have been all the same, too.)

I'd been sitting in a coffee house, in a pleasant window seat, watching the

parade of my fellow beings (mostly humans and dogs) -- when I spotted

one of these beautiful hats approaching.

On Earth, I need to mention, hats seldom indicate anything essential about

the wearer. The most they show are things like profession or "rank". So,

when one of these showing-hats passed by, I took notice. While still

ruminating on this singular hat, the other two appeared and disappeared in

the window. I almost thought of running after them, to find out who wasdoing these hats -- but was too far from the door and much too slow.

That night, the TV news had a "fashion feature" on these very hats -- so I

got to find out who made them, after all. I sent him a friendly email ... but

don't think that he ever replied. ((Not too surprising -- he was probably

busy making hats.))

By the way, in mentioning this hat incident, I don't want to leave you with

the impression that the "TV news" on Earth bears much resemblance to the

Stay-Informed Channels you and I are used to. The hats weren't on because

of theirsignificance -- they were shown because a film crew happened to be where they were ....and a news-director decided

they would be suitable filler for between-commercials air time. Keeping people informed isnot the goal. ((With careful

watching, though, information leaks through.))

Enough rambling.

Isn't this hat beautiful!!


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This hat was better in person -- doesn't look that

interesting here.


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g

What I noticed at the time (while seeing it on TV)

and now is the reflection this fellow was casting. It

looked (looks) remarkably like what I was seeing

in the background of my own reflection. But, in

this photo, of course, it was staying still -- i.e., the

things and images in the background.

So, this photo provided a tool for comprehending a

very complicated cage around me.

Reproducing the analysis here would be tedious,pointless and boring. It had to do with the interplay

of several strands of quite fantastic self-image --

previously tucked away for safekeeping ... but now, near the end, weaving themselves back into the day's output of fabric.

These strands had to be removed. Knowing where to cut made things simpler ... but not simple. These threads had already

"talked it over" with some of the adjacent threads....and these had to be straightened out before going on. Lots of work.

Anyway, sometimes I think of this guy in the photo -- and wonder if he ever got himself to the other side of the mirror and out

of his similar-to-mine cage. I hope so.


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53. Travel Center Representative

Stopped by the Travel Center one day -- wanting to find out what, if

anything, I'd be able to bring along. This was the lady who answered my


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questions.

I was quite happy to find out (or remember?) that I'd be able to take my

memories. She cautioned that I'd only be able to retain them at Earth-

resolution-quality -- but, since I hadn't been expecting to be allowed to take

them at all, this seemed absolutely fine to me!

I asked a few other vague questions about the actual departure ... and she

gave me some delightfully vague answers. A reassuring visit!

Just before I left, she asked if I'd like to get the pre-boarding telomeric scan

out of the way. I wasn't busy -- why not? A jumble of code appeared on hermonitor. I asked if that "said" where I was going -- i.e., where "home"

was? She said that it did ... and that, of course, she wouldn't tell me. But,

she had a very warm and happy smile on her face after she'd found this

data -- so I remember feeling extra-cheery for the rest of that entire day!


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56. The End

Arriving directly into the interior of the Travel Center, I was given a

comfortable seat and told that processing would begin immediately. A

representative was soon at my side asking a few questions She


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representative was soon at my side, asking a few questions. She

congratulated me on the "foresight" (as if I knew) of getting the telomeric

scan ahead of time ...mentioning some network problems beyond myunderstanding. She asked if I had any questions. She said something

incomprehensible to a co-worker... and I was suddenly moving along.

On the way out, I must have passed by the cafeteria. There, on a

preparation table, was the old part of me -- ready to be filleted and served

to the beings for whom this is proper food. As always, I was glad to see

that, in the end, nothing is wasted, everything is used.


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58. Everywhere. Back Home. The end.

And, so, the travelogue ends with me back home,

in my own living room, in comfortable clothes --

with only a few hours of time elapsed on the trip


60/61

w y w p p

clock (wow!). It was, literally, almost as if I'd

never left. Except, of course, for all the memories.

Do you remember this wallpaper? I think I might

have been putting it up around the last time you

visited. Anyway, I changed it recently...and that

wall has a different message on it. You should

come here and see. ((I mean: come for a visit.))

It's good to be back home!

Know what I mean?

Table of Contents

0. Note to Jilliope

1 The Travel Center

30. The Magician

31 Man with Exposed Heart


61/61

1. The Travel Center

2. Departure

3. Compartmentalization4. The Caged Beast

5. Childhood

6. Touching Something Strange

7. Homesickness

8. Discovering Slow-Windows

9. At The Market

10. A Gap in the Fence

11. Morning12. At the Wall...Inside a Confusion

13. Another Gate

14. Encounter on the Other Side of the Fence

15. An Awakener

16. A Philosopher

17. A Balancer

18. The Inner Advisor

19. Getting Advice from Others

20. Nothing is hidden

21. Thinking

22. Invited into a Hole

23. Choice of Paths

24. Hole in the Wall

25. Starting a New Octave

26. Advice to the Contrary

27. Behind

28. "Primitive" beings are looking for food29. Master of Ceremonies

31. Man with Exposed Heart

32. Worm Rising, Touching Red

33. New species emerging34. Talking Over the Situation

35. Another Marker

36. Opening Mechanism

37. Deep in the Basement

38. He Reached for the Bag on the Bridge

39. Fueled, a Higher Center Ignites

40. Understanding

41. In the City42. Extra Nourishment

43. Energy Accumulation Device

44. "There!"

45. Sapience Marker

46. Under the Microscope

47. Established Strength

48. Starting to Dream of Home Again




52. Finding a Way Out

53. Travel Center Representative

54. Get Out of Jail Free!

55. A Vehicle Was Waiting

56. The End

57. Balance on the Edge of the World

58. Everywhere. Back Home. The end.

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my trip abroad

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