Tao Articles

I hope you will find this three videos playful and uplifting, and keep your Qi flowing (at a time many are frozen in fear! ).

1. Qigong Flashmob atop Mt. Hua, atop a 3000 foot precipice (part of my wedding event in June  2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyuOQOUdYNU   43 secs.

2. Black Dragon Water Dance atop Mt. Hua, by Hilda Broeckhove, with spectacular cliff and wedding party views:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nja-ldTs484&feature=youtu.be  2.32 secs

3. Jem’s Spontaneous Flute & Dance Qigong on a raft trip, in Grand Canyon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5sMe2maGlI     about 5 minutes

(if this is still processing, view it later)

Ron Paul speech:
http://www.dailypaul.com/263090/ron-pauls-farewell-address-today-3pm-et-cspan&sss=1

‘In the end more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free.’
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794)

Michael Winn note:

Many are beginning to realize that the American Empire is in decline. Mired in debt, over extended by warfare and welfare handouts to the rich and poor alike, and resented as global policeman and home of the biggest Central Bankster, the Federal Reserve, One of the few politicians willing to speak the truth about this is Ron Paul.

I don’t really care what anyone’s politics are; like religion, it is useless to argue over it. As a Taoist I accept that humans, as an integral part of Nature, are inherently virtuous (“te” as in Tao Te Ching, The Way and its Virtue/Power). If left to their own devices, humans will ultimately find a way to harmony.

But if Big Government is empowered, and things are controlled from the top, then human freedom to explore our innate creativity and destiny is limited. Governments are NOT born with an innate destiny or mandate to fulfill some virtue assigned by Heaven. Governments run by power, and power “over others’ ultimately corrupts those who wield it.

After WWII, government was 6% of the US Gross National Product. Today it’s 42%. This reliance on big government is weakening the free will and liberty of individuals to take responsibility for themselves, and is unsustainable financially.

Self-responsibility is at the core of all the spiritual teachings that I respect, not just Taoism. yes, we need government as a forum to harmonize different interests and provide legitimate national security. But in the declining days of the American Empire, it has run amok. Example; a friend’s son was recently digging around in the ground off the Blue Ridge Parkway, looking for rocks to add to his collection. He was arrested, and 15 armed Federal agents soon swarmed into his house and tore it apart, looking for evidence of a commercial mining operation.

He has to spend thousands of dollars to dismiss the ridiculous federal charges against him. It’s just one example of a government that has grown too big, with bureaucrats looking to exercise unnecessary power at the expense of individual liberty.

I have travelled to over 100 countries, and worked for decades as a free lance writer digging beneath the surface of our global evolution. I’ve been predicting for a long time that the USA is headed for “second world” status if it continues its current course politically and economically. Ironically, it may be good for America spiritually to be humbled by going over its “fiscal cliff” and forced to realize the limits of its big government mentality and the illusion of its “planned economy”.

End of Rant. 🙂

Michael

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Lew Rockwell prefatory note:
As libertarianism has acquired a higher profile in American life over the past several years, the attacks on and caricatures of libertarians have grown almost as rapidly. Libertarians, we read, are antisocial, and prefer isolation over interaction with others. They are greedy, and are unmoved if the poor should starve. They are naive about our dangerous enemies, and refuse their patriotic duty to support the government’s wars.

These caricatures and misconceptions can be put to rest by simply defining what libertarianism is. The libertarian idea is based on a fundamental moral principle: nonaggression. No one may initiate physical force against anyone else.

There is nothing antisocial about that. To the contrary, it is the denial of this principle that is antisocial, for it is peaceful interaction that lies at the heart of civilized society.

At first glance, hardly anyone can object to the nonaggression principle. Few people openly support acts of aggression against peaceful parties. But libertarians apply this principle across the board, to all actors, public and private. Our view goes well beyond merely suggesting that the State may not engage in gross violations of the moral law. We contend that the State may not perform any action that would be forbidden to an individual. Moral norms either exist or they do not.

http://www.thedailybell.com  to subscribe to Libertarian newsletter.
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Ron Paul’s Farewell Address – Full Text

By Ron Paul | Delivered on the House Floor, November 14, 2012
Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqi6paX3ong&feature=youtu.be

Farewell to Congress

It was my opinion, that the course the U.S. embarked on in the latter part of the 20th Century would bring us a major financial crisis and engulf us in a foreign policy that would overextend us and undermine our national security.This may well be the last time I speak on the House Floor. At the end of the year I’ll leave Congress after 23 years in office over a 36 year period. My goals in 1976 were the same as they are today: promote peace and prosperity by a strict adherence to the principles of individual  liberty.

To achieve the goals I sought, government would have had to shrink in size and scope, reduce spending, change the monetary system, and reject the unsustainable costs of policing the world and expanding the American Empire.

The problems seemed to be overwhelming and impossible to solve, yet from my view point, just following the constraints placed on the federal government by the Constitution would have been a good place to start.

How Much Did I Accomplish?

In many ways, according to conventional wisdom, my off-and-on career in Congress, from 1976 to 2012, accomplished very little. No named legislation, no named federal buildings or highways—thank goodness. In spite of my efforts, the government has grown exponentially, taxes remain excessive, and the prolific increase of incomprehensible regulations continues. Wars are constant and pursued without Congressional declaration, deficits rise to the sky, poverty is rampant and dependency on the federal government is now worse than any time in our history.

All this with minimal concerns for the deficits and unfunded liabilities that common sense tells us cannot go on much longer. A grand, but never mentioned, bipartisan agreement allows for the well-kept secret that keeps the spending going. One side doesn’t give up one penny on military spending, the other side doesn’t give up one penny on welfare spending, while both sides support the bailouts and subsidies for the banking and corporate elite. And the spending continues as the economy weakens and the downward spiral continues. As the government continues fiddling around, our liberties and our wealth burn in the flames of a foreign policy that makes us less safe.

The major stumbling block to real change in Washington is the total resistance to admitting that the country is broke. This has made compromising, just to agree to increase spending, inevitable since neither side has any intention of cutting spending.

The country and the Congress will remain divisive since there’s no “loot left to divvy up.”

Without this recognition the spenders in Washington will continue the march toward a fiscal cliff much bigger than the one anticipated this coming January.

I have thought a lot about why those of us who believe in liberty, as a solution, have done so poorly in convincing others of its benefits. If liberty is what we claim it is- the principle that protects all personal, social and economic decisions necessary for maximum prosperity and the best chance for peace- it should be an easy sell. Yet, history has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled.

Authoritarianism vs. Liberty

During my time in Congress the appetite for liberty has been quite weak; the understanding of its significance negligible. Yet the good news is that compared to 1976 when I first came to Congress, the desire for more freedom and less government in 2012 is much greater and growing, especially in grassroots America. Tens of thousands of teenagers and college age students are, with great enthusiasm, welcoming the message of liberty.If authoritarianism leads to poverty and war and less freedom for all individuals and is controlled by rich special interests, the people should be begging for liberty. There certainly was a strong enough sentiment for more freedom at the time of our founding that motivated those who were willing to fight in the revolution against the powerful British government.

I have a few thoughts as to why the people of a country like ours, once the freest and most prosperous, allowed the conditions to deteriorate to the degree that they have.

Freedom, private property, and enforceable voluntary contracts, generate wealth. In our early history we were very much aware of this. But in the early part of the 20th century our politicians promoted the notion that the tax and monetary systems had to change if we were to involve ourselves in excessive domestic and military spending. That is why Congress gave us the Federal Reserve and the income tax. The majority of Americans and many government officials agreed that sacrificing some liberty was necessary to carry out what some claimed to be “progressive” ideas. Pure democracy became acceptable.

They failed to recognized that what they were doing was exactly opposite of what the colonists were seeking when they broke away from the British.

Some complain that my arguments makes no sense, since great wealth and the standard of living improved for many Americans over the last 100 years, even with these new policies.

But the damage to the market economy, and the currency, has been insidious and steady. It took a long time to consume our wealth, destroy the currency and undermine productivity and get our financial obligations to a point of no return. Confidence sometimes lasts longer than deserved. Most of our wealth today depends on debt.

The wealth that we enjoyed and seemed to be endless, allowed concern for the principle of a free society to be neglected. As long as most people believed the material abundance would last forever, worrying about protecting a competitive productive economy and individual liberty seemed unnecessary.

The Age of Redistribution

This neglect ushered in an age of redistribution of wealth by government kowtowing to any and all special interests, except for those who just wanted to left alone. That is why today money in politics far surpasses money currently going into research and development and productive entrepreneurial efforts.

The material benefits became more important than the understanding and promoting the principles of liberty and a free market. It is good that material abundance is a result of liberty but if materialism is all that we care about, problems are guaranteed.

The crisis arrived because the illusion that wealth and prosperity would last forever has ended. Since it was based on debt and a pretense that debt can be papered over by an out-of-control fiat monetary system, it was doomed to fail. We have ended up with a system that doesn’t produce enough even to finance the debt and no fundamental understanding of why a free society is crucial to reversing these trends.

If this is not recognized, the recovery will linger for a long time. Bigger government, more spending, more debt, more poverty for the middle class, and a more intense scramble by the elite special interests will continue.

We Need an Intellectual Awakening

If it’s not accepted that big government, fiat money, ignoring liberty, central economic planning, welfarism, and warfarism caused our crisis we can expect a continuous and dangerous march toward corporatism and even fascism with even more loss of our liberties. Prosperity for a large middle class though will become an abstract dream.Without an intellectual awakening, the turning point will be driven by economic law. A dollar crisis will bring the current out-of-control system to its knees.

This continuous move is no different than what we have seen in how our financial crisis of 2008 was handled. Congress first directed, with bipartisan support, bailouts for the wealthy. Then it was the Federal Reserve with its endless quantitative easing. If at first it doesn’t succeed try again; QE1, QE2, and QE3 and with no results we try QE indefinitely—that is until it too fails. There’s a cost to all of this and let me assure you delaying the payment is no longer an option. The rules of the market will extract its pound of flesh and it won’t be pretty.

The current crisis elicits a lot of pessimism. And the pessimism adds to less confidence in the future. The two feed on themselves, making our situation worse.

If the underlying cause of the crisis is not understood we cannot solve our problems. The issues of warfare, welfare, deficits, inflationism, corporatism, bailouts and authoritarianism cannot be ignored. By only expanding these policies we cannot expect good results.

Everyone claims support for freedom. But too often it’s for one’s own freedom and not for others. Too many believe that there must be limits on freedom. They argue that freedom must be directed and managed to achieve fairness and equality thus making it acceptable to curtail, through force, certain liberties.

Some decide what and whose freedoms are to be limited. These are the politicians whose goal in life is power. Their success depends on gaining support from special interests.

No More ‘isms’

The great news is the answer is not to be found in more “isms.” The answers are to be found in more liberty which cost so much less. Under these circumstances spending goes down, wealth production goes up, and the quality of life improves.

Just this recognition—especially if we move in this direction—increases optimism which in itself is beneficial. The follow through with sound policies are required which must be understood and supported by the people.

But there is good evidence that the generation coming of age at the present time is supportive of moving in the direction of more liberty and self-reliance. The more this change in direction and the solutions become known, the quicker will be the return of optimism.

Our job, for those of us who believe that a different system than the one that we have had for the last 100 years, has driven us to this unsustainable crisis, is to be more convincing that there is a wonderful, uncomplicated, and moral system that provides the answers. We had a taste of it in our early history. We need not give up on the notion of advancing this cause.

It worked, but we allowed our leaders to concentrate on the material abundance that freedom generates, while ignoring freedom itself. Now we have neither, but the door is open, out of necessity, for an answer. The answer available is based on the Constitution, individual liberty and prohibiting the use of government force to provide privileges and benefits to all special interests.

After over 100 years we face a society quite different from the one that was intended by the Founders. In many ways their efforts to protect future generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed. Skeptics, at the time the Constitution was written in 1787, warned us of today’s possible outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion of our liberties and the reassurance our great abundance gave us, allowed the process to evolve into the dangerous period in which we now live.

Dependency on Government Largesse

Today we face a dependency on government largesse for almost every need. Our liberties are restricted and government operates outside the rule of law, protecting and rewarding those who buy or coerce government into satisfying their demands. Here are a few examples:

Undeclared wars are commonplace.
Welfare for the rich and poor is considered an entitlement.
The economy is overregulated, overtaxed and grossly distorted by a deeply flawed monetary system.
Debt is growing exponentially.
The Patriot Act and FISA legislation passed without much debate have resulted in a steady erosion of our 4th Amendment rights.
Tragically our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression, with no complaints from the American people.
The drone warfare we are pursuing worldwide is destined to end badly for us as the hatred builds for innocent lives lost and the international laws flaunted. Once we are financially weakened and militarily challenged, there will be a lot resentment thrown our way.
It’s now the law of the land that the military can arrest American citizens, hold them indefinitely, without charges or a trial.
Rampant hostility toward free trade is supported by a large number in Washington.
Supporters of sanctions, currency manipulation and WTO trade retaliation, call the true free traders “isolationists.”
Sanctions are used to punish countries that don’t follow our orders.
Bailouts and guarantees for all kinds of misbehavior are routine.
Central economic planning through monetary policy, regulations and legislative mandates has been an acceptable policy.
Questions

Excessive government has created such a mess it prompts many questions:

Why are sick people who use medical marijuana put in prison?
Why does the federal government restrict the drinking of raw milk?
Why can’t Americans manufacturer rope and other products from hemp?
Why are Americans not allowed to use gold and silver as legal tender as mandated by the Constitution?
Why is Germany concerned enough to consider repatriating their gold held by the FED for her in New York? Is it that the trust in the U.S. and dollar supremacy beginning to wane?
Why do our political leaders believe it’s unnecessary to thoroughly audit our own gold?
Why can’t Americans decide which type of light bulbs they can buy?
Why is the TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by air?
Why should there be mandatory sentences—even up to life for crimes without victims—as our drug laws require?
Why have we allowed the federal government to regulate commodes in our homes?
Why is it political suicide for anyone to criticize AIPAC ?
Why haven’t we given up on the drug war since it’s an obvious failure and violates the people’s rights? Has nobody noticed that the authorities can’t even keep drugs out of the prisons? How can making our entire society a prison solve the problem?
Why do we sacrifice so much getting needlessly involved in border disputes and civil strife around the world and ignore the root cause of the most deadly border in the world-the one between Mexico and the US?
Why does Congress willingly give up its prerogatives to the Executive Branch?
Why does changing the party in power never change policy? Could it be that the views of both parties are essentially the same?
Why did the big banks, the large corporations, and foreign banks and foreign central banks get bailed out in 2008 and the middle class lost their jobs and their homes?
Why do so many in the government and the federal officials believe that creating money out of thin air creates wealth?
Why do so many accept the deeply flawed principle that government bureaucrats and politicians can protect us from ourselves without totally destroying the principle of liberty?
Why can’t people understand that war always destroys wealth and liberty?
Why is there so little concern for the Executive Order that gives the President authority to establish a “kill list,” including American citizens, of those targeted for assassination?
Why is patriotism thought to be blind loyalty to the government and the politicians who run it, rather than loyalty to the principles of liberty and support for the people? Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it’s wrong.
Why is it is claimed that if people won’t or can’t take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it for them?
Why did we ever give the government a safe haven for initiating violence against the people?
Why do some members defend free markets, but not civil liberties?
Why do some members defend civil liberties but not free markets? Aren’t they the same?
Why don’t more defend both economic liberty and personal liberty?
Why are there not more individuals who seek to intellectually influence others to bring about positive changes than those who seek power to force others to obey their commands?
Why does the use of religion to support a social gospel and preemptive wars, both of which requires authoritarians to use violence, or the threat of violence, go unchallenged? Aggression and forced redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with the teachings of the world great religions.
Why do we allow the government and the Federal Reserve to disseminate false information dealing with both economic and foreign policy?
Why is democracy held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority?
Why should anyone be surprised that Congress has no credibility, since there’s such a disconnect between what politicians say and what they do?
Is there any explanation for all the deception, the unhappiness, the fear of the future, the loss of confidence in our leaders, the distrust, the anger and frustration? Yes there is, and there’s a way to reverse these attitudes. The negative perceptions are logical and a consequence of bad policies bringing about our problems. Identification of the problems and recognizing the cause allow the proper changes to come easy.
Trust Yourself, Not the Government

Too many people have for too long placed too much confidence and trust in government and not enough in themselves. Fortunately, many are now becoming aware of the seriousness of the gross mistakes of the past several decades. The blame is shared by both political parties. Many Americans now are demanding to hear the plain truth of things and want the demagoguing to stop. Without this first step, solutions are impossible.

Seeking the truth and finding the answers in liberty and self-reliance promotes the optimism necessary for restoring prosperity. The task is not that difficult if politics doesn’t get in the way.

We have allowed ourselves to get into such a mess for various reasons.

Politicians deceive themselves as to how wealth is produced. Excessive confidence is placed in the judgment of politicians and bureaucrats. This replaces the confidence in a free society. Too many in high places of authority became convinced that only they, armed with arbitrary government power, can bring about fairness, while facilitating wealth production. This always proves to be a utopian dream and destroys wealth and liberty. It impoverishes the people and rewards the special interests who end up controlling both political parties.

It’s no surprise then that much of what goes on in Washington is driven by aggressive partisanship and power seeking, with philosophic differences being minor.

Economic ignorance is commonplace. Keynesianism continues to thrive, although today it is facing healthy and enthusiastic rebuttals. Believers in military Keynesianism and domestic Keynesianism continue to desperately promote their failed policies, as the economy languishes in a deep slumber.Economic Ignorance

Supporters of all government edicts use humanitarian arguments to justify them.

Humanitarian arguments are always used to justify government mandates related to the economy, monetary policy, foreign policy, and personal liberty. This is on purpose to make it more difficult to challenge. But, initiating violence for humanitarian reasons is still violence. Good intentions are no excuse and are just as harmful as when people use force with bad intentions. The results are always negative.

The immoral use of force is the source of man’s political problems. Sadly, many religious groups, secular organizations, and psychopathic authoritarians endorse government initiated force to change the world. Even when the desired goals are well-intentioned—or especially when well-intentioned—the results are dismal. The good results sought never materialize. The new problems created require even more government force as a solution. The net result is institutionalizing government initiated violence and morally justifying it on humanitarian grounds.

This is the same fundamental reason our government uses force for invading other countries at will, central economic planning at home, and the regulation of personal liberty and habits of our citizens.

It is rather strange, that unless one has a criminal mind and no respect for other people and their property, no one claims it’s permissible to go into one’s neighbor’s house and tell them how to behave, what they can eat, smoke and drink or how to spend their money.

Yet, rarely is it asked why it is morally acceptable that a stranger with a badge and a gun can do the same thing in the name of law and order. Any resistance is met with brute force, fines, taxes, arrests, and even imprisonment. This is done more frequently every day without a proper search warrant.

No Government Monopoly over Initiating Violence

Restraining aggressive behavior is one thing, but legalizing a government monopoly for initiating aggression can only lead to exhausting liberty associated with chaos, anger and the breakdown of civil society. Permitting such authority and expecting saintly behavior from the bureaucrats and the politicians is a pipe dream. We now have a standing army of armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, FEMA, IRS, Corp of Engineers, etc. numbering over 100,000. Citizens are guilty until proven innocent in the unconstitutional administrative courts.

Government in a free society should have no authority to meddle in social activities or the economic transactions of individuals. Nor should government meddle in the affairs of other nations. All things peaceful, even when controversial, should be permitted.

We must reject the notion of prior restraint in economic activity just we do in the area of free speech and religious liberty. But even in these areas government is starting to use a backdoor approach of political correctness to regulate speech-a dangerous trend. Since 9/11 monitoring speech on the internet is now a problem since warrants are no longer required.

The Proliferation of Federal Crimes

The Constitution established four federal crimes. Today the experts can’t even agree on how many federal crimes are now on the books—they number into the thousands. No one person can comprehend the enormity of the legal system—especially the tax code. Due to the ill-advised drug war and the endless federal expansion of the criminal code we have over 6 million people under correctional suspension, more than the Soviets ever had, and more than any other nation today, including China. I don’t understand the complacency of the Congress and the willingness to continue their obsession with passing more Federal laws. Mandatory sentencing laws associated with drug laws have compounded our prison problems.

The federal register is now 75,000 pages long and the tax code has 72,000 pages, and expands every year. When will the people start shouting, “enough is enough,” and demand Congress cease and desist.

Achieving Liberty

Liberty can only be achieved when government is denied the aggressive use of force. If one seeks liberty, a precise type of government is needed. To achieve it, more than lip service is required.

Two choices are available.

1. A government designed to protect liberty—a natural right—as its sole objective. The people are expected to care for themselves and reject the use of any force for interfering with another person’s liberty. Government is given a strictly limited authority to enforce contracts, property ownership, settle disputes, and defend against foreign aggression.

2. A government that pretends to protect liberty but is granted power to arbitrarily use force over the people and foreign nations. Though the grant of power many times is meant to be small and limited, it inevitably metastasizes into an omnipotent political cancer. This is the problem for which the world has suffered throughout the ages. Though meant to be limited it nevertheless is a 100% sacrifice of a principle that would-be-tyrants find irresistible. It is used vigorously—though incrementally and insidiously. Granting power to government officials always proves the adage that: “power corrupts.”

Once government gets a limited concession for the use of force to mold people habits and plan the economy, it causes a steady move toward tyrannical government. Only a revolutionary spirit can reverse the process and deny to the government this arbitrary use of aggression. There’s no in-between. Sacrificing a little liberty for imaginary safety always ends badly.

Today’s mess is a result of Americans accepting option #2, even though the Founders attempted to give us Option #1.

The results are not good. As our liberties have been eroded our wealth has been consumed. The wealth we see today is based on debt and a foolish willingness on the part of foreigners to take our dollars for goods and services. They then loan them back to us to perpetuate our debt system. It’s amazing that it has worked for this long but the impasse in Washington, in solving our problems indicate that many are starting to understand the seriousness of the world -wide debt crisis and the dangers we face. The longer this process continues the harsher the outcome will be.

The Financial Crisis Is a Moral Crisis

Ultimately, the people have to decide which form of government they want; option #1 or option #2. There is no other choice. Claiming there is a choice of a “little” tyranny is like describing pregnancy as a “touch of pregnancy.” It is a myth to believe that a mixture of free markets and government central economic planning is a worthy compromise. What we see today is a result of that type of thinking. And the results speak for themselves.Many are now acknowledging that a financial crisis looms but few understand it’s, in reality, a moral crisis. It’s the moral crisis that has allowed our liberties to be undermined and permits the exponential growth of illegal government power. Without a clear understanding of the nature of the crisis it will be difficult to prevent a steady march toward tyranny and the poverty that will accompany it.

A Culture of Violence

American now suffers from a culture of violence. It’s easy to reject the initiation of violence against one’s neighbor but it’s ironic that the people arbitrarily and freely anoint government officials with monopoly power to initiate violence against the American people—practically at will.

Because it’s the government that initiates force, most people accept it as being legitimate. Those who exert the force have no sense of guilt. It is believed by too many that governments are morally justified in initiating force supposedly to “do good.” They incorrectly believe that this authority has come from the “consent of the people.” The minority, or victims of government violence never consented to suffer the abuse of government mandates, even when dictated by the majority. Victims of TSA excesses never consented to this abuse.

This attitude has given us a policy of initiating war to “do good,” as well. It is claimed that war, to prevent war for noble purposes, is justified. This is similar to what we were once told that: “destroying a village to save a village” was justified. It was said by a US Secretary of State that the loss of 500,000 Iraqis, mostly children, in the 1990s, as a result of American bombs and sanctions, was “worth it” to achieve the “good” we brought to the Iraqi people. And look at the mess that Iraq is in today.

Government use of force to mold social and economic behavior at home and abroad has justified individuals using force on their own terms. The fact that violence by government is seen as morally justified, is the reason why violence will increase when the big financial crisis hits and becomes a political crisis as well.

First, we recognize that individuals shouldn’t initiate violence, then we give the authority to government. Eventually, the immoral use of government violence, when things goes badly, will be used to justify an individual’s “right” to do the same thing. Neither the government nor individuals have the moral right to initiate violence against another yet we are moving toward the day when both will claim this authority. If this cycle is not reversed society will break down.

When needs are pressing, conditions deteriorate and rights become relative to the demands and the whims of the majority. It’s then not a great leap for individuals to take it upon themselves to use violence to get what they claim is theirs. As the economy deteriorates and the wealth discrepancies increase—as are already occurring— violence increases as those in need take it in their own hands to get what they believe is theirs. They will not wait for a government rescue program.

When government officials wield power over others to bail out the special interests, even with disastrous results to the average citizen, they feel no guilt for the harm they do. Those who take us into undeclared wars with many casualties resulting, never lose sleep over the death and destruction their bad decisions caused. They are convinced that what they do is morally justified, and the fact that many suffer just can’t be helped.

When the street criminals do the same thing, they too have no remorse, believing they are only taking what is rightfully theirs. All moral standards become relative. Whether it’s bailouts, privileges, government subsidies or benefits for some from inflating a currency, it’s all part of a process justified by a philosophy of forced redistribution of wealth. Violence, or a threat of such, is the instrument required and unfortunately is of little concern of most members of Congress.

Some argue it’s only a matter of “fairness” that those in need are cared for. There are two problems with this. First, the principle is used to provide a greater amount of benefits to the rich than the poor. Second, no one seems to be concerned about whether or not it’s fair to those who end up paying for the benefits. The costs are usually placed on the backs of the middle class and are hidden from the public eye. Too many people believe government handouts are free, like printing money out of thin air, and there is no cost. That deception is coming to an end. The bills are coming due and that’s what the economic slowdown is all about.

Sadly, we have become accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by government. It is the tool for telling the people how to live, what to eat and drink, what to read and how to spend their money.

To develop a truly free society, the issue of initiating force must be understood and rejected. Granting to government even a small amount of force is a dangerous concession.

Limiting Government Excesses vs. a Virtuous Moral People

Our Constitution, which was intended to limit government power and abuse, has failed. The Founders warned that a free society depends on a virtuous and moral people. The current crisis reflects that their concerns were justified.

Most politicians and pundits are aware of the problems we face but spend all their time in trying to reform government. The sad part is that the suggested reforms almost always lead to less freedom and the importance of a virtuous and moral people is either ignored, or not understood. The new reforms serve only to further undermine liberty. The compounding effect has given us this steady erosion of liberty and the massive expansion of debt. The real question is: if it is liberty we seek, should most of the emphasis be placed on government reform or trying to understand what “a virtuous and moral people” means and how to promote it. The Constitution has not prevented the people from demanding handouts for both rich and poor in their efforts to reform the government, while ignoring the principles of a free society. All branches of our government today are controlled by individuals who use their power to undermine liberty and enhance the welfare/warfare state-and frequently their own wealth and power.

If the people are unhappy with the government performance it must be recognized that government is merely a reflection of an immoral society that rejected a moral government of constitutional limitations of power and love of freedom.

If this is the problem all the tinkering with thousands of pages of new laws and regulations will do nothing to solve the problem.

It is self-evident that our freedoms have been severely limited and the apparent prosperity we still have, is nothing more than leftover wealth from a previous time. This fictitious wealth based on debt and benefits from a false trust in our currency and credit, will play havoc with our society when the bills come due. This means that the full consequence of our lost liberties is yet to be felt.

But that illusion is now ending. Reversing a downward spiral depends on accepting a new approach.

Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with Constitutional protections. We cannot expect a Federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties.

The internet will provide the alternative to the government/media complex that controls the news and most political propaganda. This is why it’s essential that the internet remains free of government regulation.

Many of our religious institutions and secular organizations support greater dependency on the state by supporting war, welfare and corporatism and ignore the need for a virtuous people.

I never believed that the world or our country could be made more free by politicians, if the people had no desire for freedom.

Under the current circumstances the most we can hope to achieve in the political process is to use it as a podium to reach the people to alert them of the nature of the crisis and the importance of their need to assume responsibility for themselves, if it is liberty that they truly seek. Without this, a constitutionally protected free society is impossible.

If this is true, our individual goal in life ought to be for us to seek virtue and excellence and recognize that self-esteem and happiness only comes from using one’s natural ability, in the most productive manner possible, according to one’s own talents.

Productivity and creativity are the true source of personal satisfaction. Freedom, and not dependency, provides the environment needed to achieve these goals. Government cannot do this for us; it only gets in the way. When the government gets involved, the goal becomes a bailout or a subsidy and these cannot provide a sense of personal achievement.

Achieving legislative power and political influence should not be our goal. Most of the change, if it is to come, will not come from the politicians, but rather from individuals, family, friends, intellectual leaders and our religious institutions. The solution can only come from rejecting the use of coercion, compulsion, government commands, and aggressive force, to mold social and economic behavior. Without accepting these restraints, inevitably the consensus will be to allow the government to mandate economic equality and obedience to the politicians who gain power and promote an environment that smothers the freedoms of everyone. It is then that the responsible individuals who seek excellence and self-esteem by being self-reliance and productive, become the true victims.

Conclusion

What are the greatest dangers that the American people face today and impede the goal of a free society? There are five.

1. The continuous attack on our civil liberties which threatens

the rule of law and our ability to resist the onrush of tyranny.

2. Violent anti-Americanism that has engulfed the world. Because the phenomenon of “blow-back” is not understood or denied, our foreign policy is destined to keep us involved in many wars that we have no business being in. National bankruptcy and a greater threat to our national security will result.

3. The ease in which we go to war, without a declaration by Congress, but accepting international authority from the UN or NATO even for preemptive wars, otherwise known as aggression.

4. A financial political crisis as a consequence of excessive debt, unfunded liabilities, spending, bailouts, and gross discrepancy in wealth distribution going from the middle class to the rich. The danger of central economic planning, by the Federal Reserve must be understood.

5. World government taking over local and US sovereignty by getting involved in the issues of war, welfare, trade, banking, a world currency, taxes, property ownership, and private ownership of guns.
Happily, there is an answer for these very dangerous trends.

What a wonderful world it would be if everyone accepted the simple moral premise of rejecting all acts of aggression. The retort to such a suggestion is always: it’s too simplistic, too idealistic, impractical, naïve, utopian, dangerous, and unrealistic to strive for such an ideal.

The answer to that is that for thousands of years the acceptance of government force, to rule over the people, at the sacrifice of liberty, was considered moral and the only available option for achieving peace and prosperity.

What could be more utopian than that myth—considering the results especially looking at the state sponsored killing, by nearly every government during the 20th Century, estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. It’s time to reconsider this grant of authority to the state.

No good has ever come from granting monopoly power to the state to use aggression against the people to arbitrarily mold human behavior. Such power, when left unchecked, becomes the seed of an ugly tyranny. This method of governance has been adequately tested, and the results are in: reality dictates we try liberty.

The idealism of non-aggression and rejecting all offensive use of force should be tried. The idealism of government sanctioned violence has been abused throughout history and is the primary source of poverty and war. The theory of a society being based on individual freedom has been around for a long time. It’s time to take a bold step and actually permit it by advancing this cause, rather than taking a step backwards as some would like us to do.

Today the principle of habeas corpus, established when King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, is under attack. There’s every reason to believe that a renewed effort with the use of the internet that we can instead advance the cause of liberty by spreading an uncensored message that will serve to rein in government authority and challenge the obsession with war and welfare.

What I’m talking about is a system of government guided by the moral principles of peace and tolerance.

The Founders were convinced that a free society could not exist without a moral people. Just writing rules won’t work if the people choose to ignore them. Today the rule of law written in the Constitution has little meaning for most Americans, especially those who work in Washington DC.

Benjamin Franklin claimed “only a virtuous people are capable of freedom.” John Adams concurred: “Our Constitution was made for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

A moral people must reject all violence in an effort to mold people’s beliefs or habits.

A society that boos or ridicules the Golden Rule is not a moral society. All great religions endorse the Golden Rule. The same moral standards that individuals are required to follow should apply to all government officials. They cannot be exempt.

The ultimate solution is not in the hands of the government.

The solution falls on each and every individual, with guidance from family, friends and community.

The #1 responsibility for each of us is to change ourselves with hope that others will follow. This is of greater importance than working on changing the government; that is secondary to promoting a virtuous society. If we can achieve this, then the government will change.

It doesn’t mean that political action or holding office has no value. At times it does nudge policy in the right direction. But what is true is that when seeking office is done for personal aggrandizement, money or power, it becomes useless if not harmful. When political action is taken for the right reasons it’s easy to understand why compromise should be avoided. It also becomes clear why progress is best achieved by working with coalitions, which bring people together, without anyone sacrificing his principles.

Political action, to be truly beneficial, must be directed toward changing the hearts and minds of the people, recognizing that it’s the virtue and morality of the people that allow liberty to flourish.

The Constitution or more laws per se, have no value if the people’s attitudes aren’t changed.

To achieve liberty and peace, two powerful human emotions have to be overcome. Number one is “envy” which leads to hate and class warfare. Number two is “intolerance” which leads to bigoted and judgemental policies. These emotions must be replaced with a much better understanding of love, compassion, tolerance and free market economics. Freedom, when understood, brings people together. When tried, freedom is popular.

The problem we have faced over the years has been that economic interventionists are swayed by envy, whereas social interventionists are swayed by intolerance of habits and lifestyles. The misunderstanding that tolerance is an endorsement of certain activities, motivates many to legislate moral standards which should only be set by individuals making their own choices. Both sides use force to deal with these misplaced emotions. Both are authoritarians. Neither endorses voluntarism. Both views ought to be rejected.

I have come to one firm conviction after these many years of trying to figure out “the plain truth of things.” The best chance for achieving peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people world-wide, is to pursue the cause of LIBERTY.

If you find this to be a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land.

Ron Paul

Jem, surrendering to the Water Dragon in Brazil, Oct. 2012

May all feel creative joy in our chosen Timeline!

Michael Winn

“Who takes Heaven as his ancestor, Virtue as his home,
the Tao as his door, and who becomes change — is a
Sage.” — Chuang Tzu, Inner Chapters

“The Tao is very close, but everyone looks far away.
Life is very simple, but everyone seeks difficulty.”
— Taoist Sage, 200 B.C

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Below is the sharing of Eduardo Alexander, my retreat organizer in Brazil and serious internal and laboratory alchemist.

The Gardens of Maytrea in Alto Paraiso, Brazil, major site for Solstice 2012 gatherings.

I’ve been thinking about Dec. 21, 2012 for 7 years. For us below the equator it was on a Summer Solstice. But no matter, we gave it the same attention. To write in a few lines the experiences is a real test. First, it is fair to expose my belief system about the earth.

In these 7 years I have seen many inversions happening in the belief system of many people.
It was the first time in my life that I saw mainstream institutions, like NASA and the IPCC,
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) speaking against the main discourse of governments. The end of the old “everything is safe and going well”.

At the same time I saw alternative people going along with the so called climate skepticals, assuming that there is nothing wrong with the world, or with humanity. It was so confusing to understand the energies behind all those changes, so I spent time reading and meditating in order to finally position myself as an “IPCC believer”. I believe humanity is causing climate change, that will make it very hard if not impossible to sustain its own life on this planet.

Though the mother-planet will not die, my feeling in the collective field is that of a civilization-wide suicide. As a scholar researcher and daoist meditator, the following had substantial influence:

1 – The 2007 synthesis report of IPCC on Climate Change:
http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml#2

2 – NASA reports, via a simple and very objetive data site: http://climate.nasa.gov/
See the section: Monitoring the vital signs of the planet (Temperature, CO2, Sea Level, Ice Melting, etc…)

After reading these two sources, is hard for one to believe that we do not face an immediate, unsolved, and big problem. Anyway, the so called skepticals entered the scene, with many claims, such as data falsification of the IPCC and no relationship of human activities with possible climate changes, among others.

The scenario could be approached through a more esoteric point of view:

3 – The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, prophecies and possibilities, by Gregg Braden was an important reading.

4 – Daoism and Ecology: Ways within a cosmic landscape by Giradot and Miller
Provided a very useful daoist view on ecology.

During the last 5 years, all this information was cooked through meditation, and as December, 21, 2012  approached, I believed we had 2 possibilities:

1) mother earth would directly interfere in our history, in a daoist way, heaven and earth powers would act upon the human level, and that would shake humanity enough to change its actions.

2) nothing special would happen and humanity would be left to act by itself.

My desire was aligned with the first option, because I believe that without a big shake-up we would not change. I was expecting that it would be better than a slow drive into a series of smaller painful eco-disasters that may actually be our future without change. This second option for me is “collective cooking in a low fire”.

But as the day approached, my body spirits were NOT in alarm. The message was: there is nothing specially wrong with this specific moment. Though a collective fear could be felt at the planetary/collective level, it seemed socially constructed.

               The Waterfall at Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park

We then arrived at our spot – Alto Paraíso de Goiás, a small city in the center of Brazil, home to more than 60 sects of all kinds of new age, ufologists, and old old age religions and movements that you can imagine. The majority of them were expecting a huge change, since local prophecies say that this spot in the middle of Brazil will be like a capital to the civilization of the new era.

Alto Paraíso is above a huge quartz crystal that changes slightly the direction of a compass. A place where mother earth is extremely generous as you may see in the photos:

      
 L: The Pool at the Moon Valley                                               R: Waterfalls

We arrived, followed by dao students, family and friends to perform our 2012 rituals.
Soon we met people from all around the world, also performing rituals, but the general impression was that very few people were there. As if even at this important date, society was not really excited to change.

We started our rituals on December 20 at night. Wuji Gong (Primordial) and 7 Star Stepping Shamanic Qi Gong were our starters.

The peak experience was at noon, December 21. We could feel the levels of alchemical meditation opening and stabilizing in an extremely easy and powerful way. The only blockage we found was the social energy of fear.

The Qi running in the macrocosmic orbit between earth and sun was specially joyful.  Everybody could feel the crystals alive below us in the earth, like a huge reservoir of solar and star life force. This special conjunction of sun and earth crystals led us to a joyful state. The sun was specially clear and strong, a Qi that we could hold in our fields for weeks.

Afterwards, back to social life. Society seemed in a mix of numbness, relief and an astonishing “and now what?”.

For myself, the experience changed my consciousness. The social rituals, like the commercial Christmas, seemed even more useless. I felt an urge to change these rituals that were now part of my Qi field. There is something stronger inside.

A Hope. Just a fool’s hope.

A Hope that even looking toward a dark outer scenario, our inner work might help to influence a real significant outer change, a real change in our energetic-economical-social struture.
The hope of a daoist fool that will now keep on doing his job.

In Hope for humanity in this serpent year,
Eduardo Alexander

               Solstice Ceremony – Powerful Instant Manifestion
Dear Michael,
I knew when I committed to this Primordial Tai Chi for Enlightened Love practice that my life would be transformed. I only intended once a day, but I cannot sleep unless I do it in the evening as well.
When I attended the 2012 Winter Solstice Ceremony at your home in Asheville, my intention came in the flash of a lightning bolt. Yet I never could have imagined the power of transformation and manifestation happening in time beyond time. All that I intended has come to be, is coming to be, and is now. Thank you. Thank you for being the channel of these gifts.

I have a question about this time span of increased energetic power that began on the 22nd of December. I continue to feel the energy, almost a sense of urgency to create beneficial intentions for the earth and the cosmos while this alignment is prominent. Would you comment on this? I have read there is a window that will continue but decrease in power as we move toward a magnetic polar shift.
Pam N., Asheville

MW: I am doubtful that we’ll have a pole flip anytime soon, i.e., within the next 50 years. There is no evidence that it causes any major disruptions – our own body polarities would also flip. However, I do agree that TIMING is ESSENTIAL in capturing the momentum behind big shifts in the energy field. Now is definitely the time to do it. Doing Primordial Tai Chi every day is a good way to stay grounded through these changes. Learning meditative Tao internal alchemy boosts your skill in learning how to apply your Free Will to achieve your highest destiny.

      Calleman’s Oct. 28, 2011 was the REAL SHIFT, not 2012

Michael, I have been studying Carl Calleman’s work on the Mayan calendar. You and I emailed back in early November of 2011 about his different Mayan date of ending (11/28/11) and we agreed that a pronounced shift had in fact happened. Now I have the perspective of both dates and feel Calleman may have been right and that the galactic waves coincide more with his explanation than Arguelles’. While there has been a profound shift in the field this 2012 solstice, it could have been just the solstice plus so many millions of people concentrating on the date for the last quarter of a century.
Alexander A, Oregon

MW: I basiclly agree with you – Solstice 2012 had more human Qi. I felt a very spiritually profound field shift on Oct. 26, 2011 (2 days before Callahan’s). It was at the frequency of the Central Sun, its source vibration became more tangible. And in fact, since then I’ve found it easier to transmit that Source frequency to adepts of my Heaven and Earth Alchemy retreats (next one is this summer 2013, in July – I highly recommend reviewing this!).

I also felt a huge field shift on Jan. 24, 2003. This one was related to a new Solar Logoi or Being taking on the Sun’s job. The sun became more blue, less yellow, and it is burning hotter. All part of “cooking” our solar system vibrationally.

In Oct. 1998 there was a major shift in the planet Earth’s field. It felt like deep, black, gunky stuff that had been stuck forever was finally being released.

In July 1994 I suddenly got an inflamed liver, for the only time in my entire life. I knew it wasn’t biologically caused. It wasn’t until I saw on TV a video of Jupiter being hit by a comet that I realized that Jupiter is the planetary octave of the liver’s wood element. After the hits to Jupiter finished, my liver cooled down. This alchemy stuff is wild, a bit risky at times….

In August 1987 I got married on the edge of the Grand Canyon on the same date as Arguelles much advertised Harmonic Convergence. There was definitely both special personal Qi and Cosmic Qi happening.

Winter Solstice 1980 was what kicked off this 36 year Milky Way galactic cycle. A few weeks before I first met Mantak Chia and agreed to write his first book. That seems to have definitely been in alignment witih some big shift on this planet. The Taoists were an earth-centered spiritual culture whose esoteric teachings and sense of whole-body enightenment were sorely needed by Humanity for this transition.

The Little Will Dissolving into the Greater Will

Good Day Michael
I recently read your suggestion of the The Emerald Covenant by Michael Morgan.
During the Congress of Heaven and Earth teachings you mentioned your work with Yokar, the Atlantean scientist priest who became an immortal. I had ordered the book before the end of the year 2012 as an intention of a willingness to go with the CHANGES the Earth was taking. A covenant with the Core of our Mother Earth.

So Dancing the 2013 change is like being in the storm before the REAL Change Happens.
The little will dissolving into the greater Will. The given up of the individual power for the REAL.The Ground of Being and that maybe the deeper Congress of Heaven and Earth IS a Holy Union. At any rate, thank you for your suggestion and thank you for the Teachings of the Congress of Heaven and Earth.

With Love and Respect, Teddy Majewski, Cottonwood AZ

MW: The whole point of Heaven and Earth Alchemy is to stabilize the Central Sun frequency of Pure Love in your personality, thus assuring we will choose our highest worldly and spiritual destiny. The personalitiy is easily programmed by other resistance forces in ancestral DNA, the culture, and in our astrology.

                 Choose to Participate – or Not – in the new Light

Michael, I personally felt a tremendous amount of neutral feeling that made it easy to relax. There was a dash of human fear and anxiety floating around but of no real substance or truth. U COULD CHOOSE TO TAKE PART IN IT OR NOT. I see a tremendous light that interpenetrates and now dominates my physical world. This experience remains and I hope will only increase. Also with this increased sense of light I feel a total lack of tolerance for anyone who does not have the ability to stay focused upon themselves in a good way, but no guilt about not wanting to be around them. I like it a lot, I hope others enjoy it as well!
Jujupoogie, Atlanta

MW: You are the Man, master of the Tao of Cool.

                                               A Burst of Happiness

Solstice was definitely a strong day for me.  After meditating at your house that evening, I was driving home and I had a rather unplanned and unexpected burst of excitement and happiness that we were all ‘here’.  I felt my life and my world cleanly separate into two parts, two chapters: BEFORE winter solstice 2012, and AFTER winter solstice 2012.  I was so happy to be on the other side, I was genuinely bubbly about it all the way home and into the next morning.
– Matt, N.C.

MW: Sounds like you have a good sense of creating a New Timeline. That is an essential step on the path to creating one’s highest destiny.

Michael, I live in Brazil. I began to feel the energy shifts around seven days before the big date. I promised to do a ceremony every day til Sat. 22. I did every day a primordial qigong and a seven star Big Dipper qigong (from your Star Alchemy level). At first I was not very clear what to ask and just said I want to change in my life. By the third day it became clear to me: I want: a new self, a new personality, with less struggle to change and more in harmony with the forces of the Dao.

On December 21, I perceived a big change in my five vital organ shen (body spirits) after the practice. My fire heart-shen starts to get smaller (it was too big) and my smaller organ spirits start to become bigger. In the next seven days I slept a lot, very deep, and closed off the external world.

I could not recognize myself sometimes as I became less fire-centered in my head. I got more centered in my body and I felt very light. I felt much easier to concentrate my intention as my five organ shen became more cooperative. In the new year’s day, I did a primordial qigong with the intention now of supporting this new self as I expand towards the outside world. It is amazing to feel myself change so fast!

– Diogo Watson, Brazil

MW: I think you are getting dramatic “payback” for your commitment to attend 5 weeks at the 2012 summer Tao retreats. I saw how much that speeded up your progress. It sounds like you were able to “harvest” the fruits of your summer planting at Winter Solstice. Bravo!