Cultural Impressions

          When you go outside the confines of your world, like going to Europe and seeing the differences in their cultures, you begin to notice that we do things differently here.  Nothing says either of the ways we indulge ourselves is for better or for worse, they just are there, and that is that.
           Take for instance, as I was told, Belgium takes 55 percent of the money you earn, whether you have children or not, so that all children can have access to the educational system, from say age 6, until 18 or so.  During the last few years, if you aren't going to college, then you can get involved into an apprentice program, of your choice, so when you finish, you are semi-experienced so employers can take advantage of your training, by hiring you.
            In Europe, in most public places, whether it be a store, a restaurant, or a public place, you have to pay to go to the bathroom.  If you go into a business and become a patron, meaning that you purchase something, or you drink beer, or eat food, those charges are usually waived. Sometimes you find a Church or two, that allow you to have some free bathroom time.  Now here is why this occurs.  There are people who keep the bathrooms clean, and they are not paid by anyone, and the money you pay, takes care of their income.
              In most places, some drugs that are illegal still in this country, are legal there.  Yet, things like Stevia, a plant, which is being used as a sugar substitute in this country, are illegal still, in Europe.  Prostitution is legal there, and well regulated, and is understood to be a legitimate form of income.
              In most cities along the Rhine, from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland, the cities themselves are all cobblestone roadways, except in the country and intercity roadways.  Bikes are the most important thing on the road, so cars and pedestrians have to move out of their way.  Since gas costs about 8 dollars a gallon, they are prohibitive as far as common folk are concerned, and that is why there are so many bikes in the places that we went.  There are not really what you would call sidewalks there, and the small alleys that you walk on walking tours, cars also travel down, and the groups you are in, cling to the side of the cobblestone streets, to get out of the way of the oncoming cars and bikes, for that matter.
                 Most of the housing in the cities are multistory buildings with apartments or flats.  There are lots of trains to take you from one town to the next.  In Switzerland, at least in Basel, their are electrical streetcars, that take you anywhere in the city, from hotels to train stations, or from your place of residence to where you work.  They run a tight schedule, and in every location that they stop, there is an electrical board telling you when the next streetcar you are interested in will be there, and it flashes a streetcar icon about a minute before it arrives.  Very efficient.
                When one thinks of the time to pave the streets in all these cities along the Rhine, with cobblestone, it boggles your mind.
Also you can drink in the streets legally, as opposed to our country's idea that this is public drunkenness and you can be thrown in jail for an evening as a public drunk.
                 As for the architecture, it is quite eclectic, seeing as most of these cities were bombed, ransacked by invaders, or just torn down or rebuilt, depending on who was running the country at the time.  So a lot of the castles are in disrepair, or show different styles of architecture, from the rulers, who hired different architects, and who had different styles of anthropological imagery.  This also was displayed in Churches or government buildings.
                    In Switzerland, at least in Lucerne, there are election days for the people, and then there are days when the politicians vote among themselves, for whatever purpose.  There are around 14 or so little towns in Lucerne, even though they are all part of Lucerne, they have legitimate rights separate from Lucerne, not unlike our system, which is local, state and federal.  When someone comes in and offers to invest in a community, they have a right to vote on it, and if they decline, another small community votes, and accepts, and when the one that accepts reaps the benefits, then the one that didn't, bitches at the consequences, even though they had the first crack at the deal.  Sound familiar?  Also when you are in Switzerland and go to an ATM, instead of small bills, they give you money in hundreds. This explains when you get macaroni and cheese for four, three beers and one water, the bill comes to eight dollars.  On the reverse side, the woman in Basel we met at lunch said while she was visiting California, she tried to get on a bus that took exact change, with a twenty dollar bill.  Go figure.  Reverse cultural shock.
                   There are sets of locks on the Rhine, like the Panama Canal and other places in the world, and as we went from Amsterdam to Basel, we had to go thru 14 locks, either up or down, depending on the stretch of the Rhine we were on, and what the difference in levels were.  Since the Rhine starts in Basel, from runoff from the Swiss Alps, then starting in Amsterdam, the conclusion of the Rhine, then generally we went up.  We were advised as to the lack of rain, that maybe we would end up taking Buses and stay in hotels at night.  We were informed the weather was up to us, and somehow it rained mostly at night, and we still got in the walking tours in the day, without much umbrella time.
                   There are alternative ways of thinking to produce the same or comparative outcomes, and consequences to all the decisions that are made, but all become legitimate in their own ways.  Also, in an archeological  or anthropological sense, if there are bones or historical or artwork found in any part of the city where construction is taking place, then that are is roped off, and becomes a dig.  Business or government cannot build on these sites.  This is a great charm and also a nuisance to business, the public and to government, but rules are rules.  Enough said, and as my friend Paul, in Montana says, "Think About It".....???!!!

Notions, Perspective and Ideology

                           I know you think you heard what you thought I said, but what I'm afraid of, is that you don't realize that what I said, is not what I meant.  Consciousness before the "Big Bang" was just that, consciousness, and although it was aware of it self, it didn't feel the need to manifest itself.  So for all the scientific jargon belonging to a select few of theoretical physicists, like String Theorists, Quantum Mechanics, and Metaphysical Doctrines, who concede that there was solid matter involved, and some form of explosion that occurred, there is mounting evidence that consciousness just thought it was time to manifest, and to do that it had to expand itself by giving itself the imagery or power to reflect. This I interpret as when time and space came into being, and after the simple manifestations occurred, than the idea of reflection took place, and therefor the idea of Humans, being, came about, and symbolic consciousness then followed first in some form of artwork, and then as language developed, and we found ways in which to put this down on all sorts of display mechanisms, the concepts we were trying to communicate, we were then locked into the idea that notions, became perceptions or judgements, and those judgements were followed by ideology or dogma, in which we limited our freedom to manifest in infinite ways, and chose instead to put parameters on such things, and religion and politics were the things that as I said earlier, was what I was afraid that of happening, is that you didn't realize that what I said, is not what I meant.  Further more, it wasn't going to be what you understood, as far as perspective was concerned, and even worse, it may become a moment of contention, when your misinterpretation became one of your symbolic ideology or an individualized dogmatic equation.  This is when I think indulging in self importance, and your relationship to the Universe becomes muddled and often times during the process of Brain Roulette compromises not only the original source of material, but changes the images and clarity between, past present and future.  We linger on the past, we dream of the future, forgetting that our only power lies in the constant presents of our being.  Don't become stuck being a seasonal black hole by giving only when special moments find themselves on the calendar of life, and please surrender to the concepts of seasonal presents puts us where we want to be most of the time, and that is unwrapping the continuous flow of conscious manifestations of the infinite possibilities in the Universe's unfolding.