Forums
In one of the other topics, one of the folks seemed not to be so sure of the reception he'd get for saying he was a youth minister at his church.
In my experience, Deadheads span the full spectrum from Agnostic to Zoroastrian. I've met atheist Deadheads, Muslim Deadheads, Buddhist Deadheads, Catholic Deadheads, Jewish Deadheads, and Wiccan Deadheads. My Deadhead friends are all over the map on this stuff, and as far as I'm concerned one of the real richnesses of the scene is the ability to see how things look to other folks and, sometimes, experience it from their world.
Believe it if you need it, if you don't, just pass it on. But talk about it here, and please maintain a safe respectful place to do so.
regardless....
regardless of the definitions of 'demonizing' and 'fanatic', i understand the sense that Christians are people you ask to be 'protected from'. Christians are commanded to be salt and light to show the contrast between God's way and the world's way. lamagonzo is entitled to his thoughts, and Christians are commanded to love him and pray for him because he doesn't believe but maybe someday he will. it's part of the deal.
believe me, gonzo- i can relate to all your comments-- but over time and circumstance, i came to see my life differently. maybe the same will be for you, maybe it won't- but i wish you joy and peace in your life like i have in mine. and i don't want you to feel attacked, nor do i want you to feel you need to be protected...
clearly we all agree on some things-- so turn up the tunes and do unto others -- it seems like a good plan to me...
God's blessings to you all.
have a grateful day (in all ways grateful!)
caroline
gosh, caroline
you've put into words what i often try to, and quite eloquently i should add, thank you for a thoughtfully written post..........and gonzo...don't take it personal, i just felt as threatened as you did. didn't mean to ruffle yer feathers.
Clarity, Please!
Johnman, I never used the word "fanatic" . Where is that coming from? I just reread my original post and now see that it was coming out of left field, right after something you posted. I'm a bit new to blogging and writing in forums so you'll have to pardon me for introducing something out of place. Beyond that, I was responding to Marye and I understand y'all disagree with my content and the gentle, loving fun in which I meant it. No worries. Perhaps this forum should be renamed Religion, Christianity & Deadheads. Then I would certainly have no business here....
Caroline, I'm happy you're happy. I'm happy, peaceful and contented also and certainly feel I've found what needed to be found to put my soul at rest. But thank you for your kind wishes...(-:
A short ancedote: There was Deadhead named Mark who had Dead Sickness (Nothing but GD in his life, at all). We always said to him "But what will you do when the band breaks
up?" Mark grew some blue mycellium mold on ergot and one day saw a tiny Jesus Christ who talked to him. This conversation continued for some time (without ingesting anything else) and we all got very worried. Our worry increased because a Jehovah's witness knocked on his door and he started Bible study. They introduced him to a woman he eventually married, Now, last I heard, he is still knocking on people's doors with Watchtower magazines. This group of Christians has predicted the end of the world several times already. I make no judgement, Mark is happy. He renounced the Dead around 1991.
The thing about music is that it can be transcendental and totally blow away the isms.
I think I'll stay out of this forum from now on, nothing personal.
organized religion and the "fanatics" who fund it
crunch, crunch..smack........anyway....munch, chew......want a cookie?.chew, crunch, crunch, slobber, drool...........dude ...all are welcome here....you have views as do others..mebbe not from a religious standpoint but all are valid......'nother cookie?
sorry...........
i'll stop....didn't mean to start anything....occasionally i'm an ass..
demonizing
us Demonists strongly object to the use of this word in a generic and highly negative sense. We are fed up with our beliefs being characterised in this way. If you would just take the trouble to try to understand us you will find that some of us are sometimes quite nice.
fanatic
I think there is a distinction between those with strongly held and open religious beliefs (=devout believers) and those who try to force their beliefs and codes on others. When such folks seek political power or use mind games, aggressive tactics and violence to pursue their religious agenda then I think it is OK to call them religious extremists and, yes, fanatics. I find such people scary whether they are from the US religious right or the mullahs of Iran. Plenty of devout people post here, but I have not yet encountered anyone in this place who I would call a religious fanatic!
signed
A Grateful Dead fanatic!
y'ok Johnman
I apreciate your honesty J'man, No wonder my folks raised me not to talk about religion, politics or sex...
(not that it ever helped)
When you talk about this stuff you sure do get called on your rhetoric. And that, more often than not, is a good thing. A nice little reality check from your friends.
's all good, gonz
we can share the music......and THAT'S pretty spiritual!!
Badger, you put you finger on something
A GD fanatic? Do you build up a whole dogma aroud that? The Holy Trinity of Jerry, Bobby & Phil a la Estimated Prophet? Is the sacrament a dose? And how does Albert Hoffmann fit into all of this? Just runnin' off at the mouth here.
My point is, you're right. There are no fanatics posting here.
And if you worship demons, that's you business. I was only quoting the Merriam Webster Dictionary after being accused of demonizing. If you feel worshipping demons is misunderstood perhaps you could set the record straight for all of us. I'm most curious, though I don't think I'll be worshipping any demons any time...
fan-atics and demons
Nice reference to Estimated Prophet gonzo. What is interesting (to me anyway) is that the fairly innocuous word 'fan' is an abbreviation of the apparently more sinister 'fanatic'. And Marye is right of course, fanatics are not necessarily just religious.
As for demons, well the only ones I actually know are my own and while not worshipping them, I am learning to get along with them ;-)
I am just about to start reading 'God is not Great' by Christopher Hitchens the second major anti-theist work of the few years (the other is the great Neo Darwinist Richard Dawkins' excellent 'The God Delusion'). Curiously (or not) both authors are British, both precociously intelligent and both alternately inspiring and annoying. Should be a good read.
Badger
I loved "The God Delusion". Dawkins hit the nail on the head for me so many times in that book. I certainly don't chastise anyone for believing what they want, so long as it doesn't harm anyone. But I'm a firm "non-believer". "Do unto others..." is the way to live. Plenty of morals & spirituality can be found without a god, IMO.
Seey'all on TOUR!!
~ Pappy
http://www.theCAUSEjams.com
"Once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right." - Robert Hunter
I Love Jesus
In Mark, chapter 7, Jesus says: Do ye not percieve, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him ...For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. He may have walked the earth 2000 years ago but he left us the best description ever of network television.
It's sad to watch greed destroy America.
So let's walk together little children
We don't ever have to worry
Through this world of trouble
We've got to love one another
it's kind of interesting
that (taking a cue from the Mark quote) every religion I can think of, not to mention a raft of secular belief systems, all have a pretty large shared view of what constitutes decent and rotten behavior. And yet, who among us, regardless of belief or lack thereof, manages to live up to our OWN ideals?
wow marye.........
that just plain makes my head hurt...........your point reminds me of the adage about stones in glass houses . we are ALL guilty
no kidding
I know I certainly fall short of my own standards hourly.
i love everyone
well.... i was raised jewish but come from an interfaith marriage... my dad is jewish and mom is catholic ....i went to orthodox hebrew school until the fith grade and hated ( if i knew a stronger word i would use it) every second of it at age 37 i still have an occasional nightmare about it....accordind to judaism that if the mother is not jewish the children are not...i am not sure what my father did to get me in that hell hole i still can't forgive him......every single day the kids would would call me names and what not because i according to them was not jewish..this only caused me to withdraw into myself and look towards god for cosaltion..when other kids wanted to play hide and seek i said lets pray....right up untill i became a teenager i wanted to be a rabbi...as most teens do i started explore the world beyond my front door but down a spritual path... i explored many religions (scaring the shit out of my dad).. at times i thought god was talking to me not some voices in my head thing but i would pray with evry ounce of my being and things would happen..everytime i needed a miracle i would stand outside the venue and make up a mantra and just start chanting and boom i would get a ticket in to hear jahovahs favorite quior... so i have come to the realization that god exist in all sentenant beings and what evry enrgy you put out comes bag but if you don't beleive nothing will happen because you don't put out the energy...now i am mainly a buddhist and thats how i will probably raise my kids as jewish buddhist.... sorry about the minie life story i just wanted people to undestand how i came to my beleife and i got exstreme cabin fever.
let your life proceed by its own design
awesome, brutha
it's all about faith, right?...gotta believe, if ya don't, you'll never know for sure
Us AGAINST them (or) us AND them
I would like to try and state my spiritual views in as non-religious or non-denominational terms as I can, as much as possible,
because I find many times it is the terms and not the
concepts which bother people or set them off.
I see everything in one of two ways.
If I choose to see the world in way A:, what I term "US AGAINST THEM",
I see the world totally and completely through the lens of my own set of
beliefs, and any beliefs that differ from mine seem threatening to me,
to the degree of strength that I hold my own. In this way of seeing,
there is only room for one right view, mine, and every possible view must be
compared against each other with generally the view seeming best for
my own benefit, being the view that is held by me, in opposition to all
other perceived views. There is only a finite perceived amount of room,
in this view, to hold one's views. The more a view seems to disagree with
the view I have chosen, the harder I fight against it.
The other way, The B: Way, I have found to see the world is, US AND THEM.
In this way, I hold my own view, but it is not threatened at all by the
views that others hold , it is enriched by learning about others views,
and being able to add to my view, the parts of others views that I like
or that work for me. There is an infinite amount of room in this view
for all points of view. The more, the richer. The more a view seems
to disagree with my own held view, the more interesting it becomes
to learn about, and from.
So, for me, mentally-spiritually, it is all about whether I choose to
see the world as US *AGAINST* THEM, or US *AND* THEM.
I have found that the use of addition, instead of division, in my
spiritual life, has resulted in much long lasting happiness.
And the Grateful Dead have always been a great example of this
type of thinking, for me, the type of thinking that eschews
US AGAINST THEM thinking for US AND THEM thinking,
in all the best meanings of that term. My 2 cents. free idea
Spirituality on Morning Dew
I must say, I've never had more of a "spiritual" experience than listening to David Gans Dead Hour #554-56 ....well maybe at Sedona or in Yosemite. So listen to Wednsday's GD Hour, and you will here one of the best Morning Dew's I've ever heard in my life. And yes, I didn't see this live, just recorded the show one night in Tempe, AZ. The next day, I listened to it, and holy schnikies, that was even better than a vortex hitting your Head. I still have this tape today, A-Side DeadHour #556, B-Side (yes I was amazed by a homebrew) Primus-Pork Soda!____________________________________________________
Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!
Go Go Pogo - Walt Kelly
Go Go PogoAs Maine go o so Pogo go Key Largo,
Otsego to Frisco go to Fargo,
Okeefenokee playin', possum on a Pogo,
Stick around and see the show
Go over Land alive a band o' jive will blow go Pogo,
I go you go who go to go pollyvoo go,
From Caravan Diego, Waco and Oswego,
Tweedle de he go she go we go me go Pogo.
Atascadero, Wheeler, Barrow, Someplace in Mexico,
Delaware, Ohio and you don't need the text to go.
Wheeling, West Virginia, With everything that's in ya,
Down the line you'll see the shine from Oregon to Caroline,
Oh, eenie Meenie Minie Kokomo go Pogo
Tishimingo, sing those lingo, whistling go.
Shamokin to Hoboken,
Chenango to Chicongo,
it's golly, I go goo goo going go go Pogo.
-Walt Kelly
Native American Church
There is a white guy who learned from Indians in the way of the Native American Church. If you search NAC you'll evetually end up with a site that refers to "The Valley of the Totems" in Strawberry Fields (just outside Knoxville). They are a totally legit NAC entity and do all the rituals. I can't vouch personally for them, but the guy who leads it seems to walk-the-walk as well as talk-the-talk. That is, he does a lot of good things in the community for the poor.
I believe that it you're spirit is broken or you're depressed or mourning or addicted to bad things these people can help you help yourself. And maybe if you just need to get outside the space you're in and get a more 360 degree view, it would be good for that purpose.
It's not my thing. I just put it out there because I think there maybe some deadheads who could really use this help (along with a lot of others), but it strikes me they probably aren't the ones reading this topic.... Maybe you know?
"Won't you take me down,
cuz I'm goin' to Strawberry Fields
Nothing is real and nothing to get hung about...
Strawberry Fields forever, strawberry fields forever...."
deadhead i grew up with
joined the native american church a few years ago, not long after registering with the local tribal council as a native american thru his mother, a tlingit. he had been struggling with various addictions, not the least of which were a bad taste for heroin and an even worse taste for alcohol, since not long after we left high school. with jerry's death he hit a downward spiral. i had been telling him for years to please find a direction cuz nursing him thru od's and withdrawl was taking a toll on my family. after crashing his bus one day and finding a half gal of whiskey spilled all over his feet he finally realized that he could have killed someone .with the tribe's help he found treatment and as he told me later "the church gave me a direction". his wife, of blackfoot descent was raised catholic and i occasionally find them sitting next to me at mass. he now uses a sweat lodge on a regular basis. he is still a longhaired freak. being this forum is about spirituality in general, i thought i would share my friends story.
Native American Church
Correction -- this place "Valley Of The Totems" is just outside Knoxville in Strawbery FLATS, not Strawberry FIELDS.
Dang those flashbacks, they always happen when I'm on this site!
DeadHeads we grow up with
Johnman Thanks for sharing that story I too have had friends in the day that struggled with addictions Some of them won their battles and others lost It takes a lot to confront a person who struggles with some sort of addiction Its even harder when their your friend
All in all I believe God gives us the ability to comfort others sufferings or help in their struggles. In turn God eases our own suffering since we understand what others are going through
Nothing makes me feel better than going to one of Bostons shelters to serve a meal to the homeless or collect food for my towns pantry I was once told when I first started doing my work that you never know when you may be in the presense of God He takes many shapes and forms when in a human image. Thats why we should be treating each other as a brother or a sister since you never know
The Cat
i have always thought
that god REQUIRES us to help one another.....and far too often I fall short and end up worrying about my OWN concerns, instead of others.........someday i'll learn, i just hope it's soon cuz we're ALL taking a beating
Church of The Grateful Dead
I once heard that Bob wrote Estimated Prophet as a comment on heads who were deifying the band. I remember being on tour at times and feeling that some folks were really going down that path in a big way. The scene was always so anarchy-prone that there really didn't seem to be a dogma involved. But maybe there was an outline, like the holy trinity was Jerry, Phil & Bob. Does anybody remember the Reckoning LP sleeve photos, with Jerry dragging a psychedelic cross up a hill in Daily City (might be SF but sure looks like Daily City)? Then there was the whole thing about the Reckoning logo G (graphic) D -- GOD. The whole thing was always little freaky to me. Then there was the whole concept of "The Reckoning".... What was that whole thing about??
I love the Grateful Dead and it's music all the 60's SF jam-band music, but was always firmly grounded in my own spiritual tradition. I was just in a store the other day and saw a book and 4 CD set about the San Francisco 60s music scene that has as it's central focus one of those optical illusion things that you have to tilt to the light just so to read it? And what it said was
"If you want to know what the baby Jesus said then just shut up and open your mind." I was totally struck by that. Is that a line from some song??
Correction on "The San Francisco Scene...."
Cover quote:"The baby Jesus wants you to shut your mouth and open your mind."
“May the Baby Jesus Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Mind”
That is the quote. It came from Chet Helms who gave it to Wes Wilson and was used along with the Indian wearing the top hat and his pipe as the logo for the Family Dog who ran the Avalon Ballroom.
If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
William Blake
aaaaa gotta put in my two cents.
Ok, "us and them" why are we not WE? fine idea. cultures, hate and religions bring this to us the human population of the the big blue world. All religions mention "love thy brother" but is not practiced on all terms, to kill or to clense in the name of God. this is only predjudice. One belief in God is the same for all no matter how the name of. the name God is universal. Think about it do some research, fascinating stuff. Earthy religions as Wiccan or Druid are still relative because is to believe in a power higher than one's self. To each his own and live and let live are powerful words, but could also be a copout for not giving a shit all together. Are we working towards this as reality. HOPE, We all have some form of predjudice or bias, and you if you don't think so look deep inside yourself, cause if not you are fooling yourself. People die in horrid ways each day over religeous beliefs. Others over territory and money related to geographical location and social status. And as we have seen in the past some use religion as a financial enhancer, scapegoat and justification for whatever. That stuff really gets me The teaching of is not wrong though many will twist it in hateful, false, manipulative and cynic ways.
There are many views and practices that I personally don't agree with, But I'm not burning down the house or trying to convert your children after killing the parents or to ethinacally cleanse a country to where societies have lived for thousands of years.
but only after searching and learning where and why it is. And not say that it is wrong in anyway and promotes the well being and faith of.
As for me I have been Baptised christian in an Episcapol church. cool good for me, had no contol at that time. Do I disagree with the whole thing No. probably need some saving. am no choir boy hehehehehehe. Have been exposed to many religions and beliefs and always had to question things. I will make the following statement and maybe need to educate myself more, but think Catholocism is a very materialistic religion. one of status and hyprocrocy. The more gold and stuff we have we are closer to God, why confess to a miidle man and not to To god himself, Why is the Pope greater than any other man. is his FAITH that much more than the common man. Kiss the ring on your knees. not clicking here. So I can go do anything bad on a fling confess my sins give 20 bucks and I'm in. The catholic church is corrupt and has more money than the mafia. Like the crusifiction of Jesus of Nazareth. What a while later Romans say woops we fucked up, must repent now. Now all must be Roman Catholic to believe in the son of "God" to where as Jews do not aknowledge Jesus. Wow. hey can't stop learning I hope to find answers to my questions. I lived in Italy for 10 years, poulation is 99% catholic. I was married in a Catholic church in Vicenza, Italy with mosaics dating back 2000 yrs. very beautiful church of classic Roman design. acoustics are great. she had her friends play on the sidelines, during ceremony and played at on point, kinda coordinated too, IMAGINE, all acoustic was really touching. Guess could call that our wedding tune. As the Soldier and the Nurse join hands, each has a piece in the futre of life. fantastic stuff. Had to sign a paper, because I was not catholic that my child would be raised catholic before they would allow me to be married there. mmmmm prime example of a us and them. maybe, was fine for me. Me, when I'm there take communion you know the body and blood of christ, and do so in any church that I enter that pratices that, without ever making first communion or attending required classes, because if was denied Would really make a scene as to question the integrity of the priests themselves, I am a child of God no matter the name. The whole confessin thing still kinda boggles me. what if I was to walk into a church enter confessional , and say forgive me father fo I have SIN' first of all he's not my father. ok a representive of God by vows taken???????????????????. Would I be sent away for not bieng catholic or member of the church, gimme 50 and I'll hear you. Ok enough of that, How many of you have ever laid on the ground, looked to the sky and said God can you hear me, gotta a couple things to say, smiled and went on your way?. I feel very lucky to have experienced so much, cultures, religions, countries and people that some of WE may never get the oppurtunity to do. everyday a child is born and an elder is gone, take another by the hand, because everything can't always be taken with a grain of sand.
when there is no pebble tossed
well GOGD, as you said
in the early part of your post, i'll paraphrase....it's all the same higher power, be it wiccan or christian or islamic.....jewish too........i was raised a catholic and regularly attend catholic mass......i have never been charged admission....all are welcome .......and confession is just what it says...confession....doesn't mean you can sin and get away with it....it's what in your heart....we all sin ...and confess or not in our own fashion. sometimes it's easier to get something off your chest if you know there is someone to talk to that won't condemn you.....what turns me off is the televised evangelists that may or may not be sincere, wanting you to send them your hard earned dollar while wearing a $300 suit and wearing enough gold jewelry to choke a small horse. and yeah.....why must humans kill in the name of their version of "God"?.........buuuuut i talk too much....so i'll stop now.
It's all the same higher power
It really is. I believe in the cosmos above before I choose to believe in this "God" fellow. There is no right religion and there is not one God, but I do believe that there is something larger than myself out there... we just need to have faith. I am currently beginning to practice yoga on a daily basis, not just once or twice a week and I have found that through the yoga and meditation practice I become very tuned in and very centered around my place in this world. Lots of these thoughts of religion come in and out of your head, but it all comes down to knowing thyself. Any great spiritual leader will tell you that it is only within you where strength, reason, compassion and love come from. It is by knowing yourself that you allow yourself to find something greater.
Now I too am starting to ramble, the point is that we have to accept what happens and move on. Yes the church may have way too much money, but it is with the numers of people that changes occur. You have to be the change that you want to see. I don't believe in killing for love either, but loving for love... all you have to do is practice!
sweet dreams everyone as I am off to bed.
~littlebri
remember the wise words of Gandhi "There is no way to peace, peace is the way."
from the Seattle Times August 9 1995
from the Seattle Times August 9 1995
Quotes: "You need music. . . . We need magic, and bliss, and power, myth,
and celebration and religion in our lives, and music is a good way to
encapsulate a lot of it." - Jerry Garcia.
A "grateful dead" is a type of traditional British folk ballad
in which a human helps a ghost of someone who has died recently
find peace.
Wednesday, August 9, 1995
By Elizabeth Weise
Copyright (c) 1995 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
Christian Deadhead
Love Jesus, Love Jerry(I'm alittle miffed @ Bob right now but I'm sure I'll get over it)
God Bless the Grateful Dead!
May The Baby Jesus...
Thanks Hal R. I want the bumper-sticker. Might sell it on this tour and put some roses on Chet Helms grave.
Baby Jesus artwork and image
on artist Wes Wilson's site:
http://www.wes-wilson.com/offthewall.html
Always been one of my favorites too.
I have no idea
who the licensing contact would be for the Family Dog stuff, but I guess Wilson would be the place to start. I agree it would be a classic bumper sticker, though I don't recall ever seeing it as one.
No Affiliation here
Never did like being labeled (stuck) to a certain denomination....yet I do believe!____________________________________________________
Will you come with me? Once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right!
ha!...reminds me of
george clooney's line in "oh brother where art thou"............ " I'm the only one unaffiliated!"
also funny
I know another golf pro and that's his favorite movie of all time.
Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
a true classic
to say nothing of a huge boost to many musical careers!
Thanks Marye...
Thanks for the link to Wilson's site, Marye. Words we could all learn from, no doubt. It's hard to keep your mouth shut and your mind open (No Judgments)!!! Try it some time.... Hey J'man, got 2 saved for ya.
The Reckoning: Still Wondering...
The Reckoning is mentioned directly in 2 Dead songs:We Can Run (Barlow):
If a reckoning comes maybe we'll know what to do then
Built To Last (Hunter):
You can take a ton of reckoning,
but you can't take it all.
So, it would seem like the reckoning is referred to in 2 different ways by 2 of the Dead's main lyric writers, but both define it in a different way. Not to get too analytic, but
Barlow = Apocalyptic, rapture-like final moment before..... what?
Hunter = Karma (possibly the heavier variety), this seems clear.
I'd love to know what Hunter & Barlow were defining "Reckoning" as.
Knockin' on heaven's door