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    marye
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    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.

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  • johnman
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    wow.........
    if not then it should be........
  • Anonymous (not verified)
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    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??
  • TigerLilly
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    SIGH
    You're a good man, Johnman!!!!!!!!********************************** It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine
  • johnman
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    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
  • WalpoleChinaCat
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    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
  • Anonymous (not verified)
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    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!
  • johnman
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    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.
  • Anonymous (not verified)
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    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...."
  • free idea
    Joined:
    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
  • johnman
    Joined:
    free idea
    wonderful concept and outlook,bro........anyone remember "i go pogo" the comic strip?.........we have met the enemy, and he is us.
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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.
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Hey, great name there brother-sister.I hope that one of the enduring legacies of Fare Thee Well is that no one has to treat being a Deadhead as a contradiction to any other aspect of their life. When more non-Heads realize how many Head have been living in their midst all these years, they might start to recognize the common traits in them.
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The blue moon this weekend makes me look back.: 5 young adults in my extended family went to FTW there with their Deadhead parents (not exactly dragged there). Each came away ready to confess: There is NOTHING like a Grateful Dead concert. The full sensory immersion, plus the overflowing love, peace and harmony shown by everyone there, did much more than would any amount of listening to recordings. But full credit to the band, to continue to experiment and innovate, to improvise new music in front of a massive crowd which did have its skeptics. Morgan40, I read the article you link below. There is unquestionably a message of hope and redemption running through the Dead music, but it would be too much to say that it is only draws on Biblical influences (which I know you did not). In the same way, I would not want anyone to think that my avatar implies I see a unique link between my faith and Dead-ism. That’s not any more true of my stealie than someone who inserts their favorite team logo on the Face.
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what`s your religion. Music takes your spirit and gives you wings so you can soar upt to heaven if you want to.I`m very grateful to the spirits that my baby-grandson , born July 31 - two days ago - is healthy and so beautiful........
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amen, amen. Thanks for your note, Graceful Dead. I feel very blessed by the Fare Thee Well event. I was fortunate enough to fly into the states and attend the last night. It was a bit sad to say good-bye, but really i feel like the music means as much to us now, and can lead us to shine our love lights into the future. Know our love will not fade away. Hey, btw... did you happen to see the following article??? http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2015/07/once-in-a-while-you-ge… Peace be with you and yours, a sister down under
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Turn around and I'll be there like a road leading home.We are everywhere⚡️
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Heard Phil yell that after Box of Rain encore 12-18-93 Oakland col. Great show!!
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I'm In Adelaide. I was lucky enough to see both Santa Clara shows. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to the guys as a group, but we can't say goodbye to the Music. What they started 50 years ago is still evolving, and will continue to as the legitimate genre it has become. Thanks, Guys! See you at Bluesfest, loveandpeace (Sat Tedesci Trucks, Lucas Nelson and Promise of the Real, and Joe Bonnamassa)
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I'm in Melbourne. We're an American family with three children, who came here four years ago. I was blessed to attend the last night in Chicago... my original hometown. It was a beautiful night, spent with folks from tour 20+ years ago. I have to admit that i felt both inspired and sad after the shows. The spirit of the shows lingered for weeks and i was completely blown away by how the music and the vibe of a show was just as relevant and important for me now, as it was back then. In fact, it felt like it had just been too, too long. We need that music, and i think you are right... it's so important, that it will evolve and stay alive. anyways... i'll have the check out bluesfest. Any music suggestions are welcome, as i haven't got a clue down here. Peace be with you and yours, jennifer
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Three observations about the infectious lilt that is the pace of Grateful Dead music (and that gives Deadheads their characteristic walk while listening to Jehovah's favorite choir). John Mayer said that the pace of Dead music made him notice how different it was from "everything ..processed and quantized and gridded out – to hear 'Tennessee Jed' played with that lope.." And in Kreutzman's recent interviews he stated that one of the main lessons he learned from Garcia about music was to play "a really full four beats. Don't rush to the end of the bar". Finally, learning that the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have joined the Giants in planning Grateful Dead nights (thanks for the tip from Holly Hiker), makes me speculate that a steady, measured pace of things might make for more overlap between Dead fans and baseball fans than there is with football fans. I'm runnin', but I take my time.
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You know who I mean. For their unrivaled track record of creativity and innovation, continuing even today, in light and sound. For the highest level of musicianship, sustained over many decades. For the breadth and durability of their own songbook. For their lively and invigorating interpretation of the traditional American songbook. And of course the testimony of the fan base, who the word "loyal" does not begin to describe. No other band has ever had anything like that following, neither in their heyday nor continuing so long, long after.
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A mighty giant had laid down to join his ancestors. But he fell across the trail in the Pacific rain forest that we were hiking on. The forest service cut the tree to re-open the path, and left the fresh face of the trunk at about eye level, leaning up the hill side where it fell. The outer edge of the bark was a deep rust color, and the color had been seeping down in the month or so since it fell. In successive rings, though, the inner core had brighter and brighter tones, until the central core was virtually white. And centered there was a pattern that resembled a tree in outline, with a great canopy spread above the center point, and a vast root system below. At the well spring of life for that large creature was the very idea of Tree, the Form of what each tree of its kind should be. Though this particular embodiment of that concept was now to begin its very prolonged decay, it is succeeded by many, many others which sprang from the same source. Or maybe I am projecting my feelings about my father in his decline.
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Sounds like compassion ,pouring out of the pores. Very Beautiful, THANK YOU ,GOD BLESS .
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PEACE ,TOO AWL,KEEP ON TRUCKIN. YEAH, LOV LIFE !
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GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WAIT,THEY REALLY DO ,EASIER SAID THEN DONE I KNOW ,BEING AS ONE WITH IN IS A GOAL,YOU CAN ALWAYS UP,WERE EVER YOU GET YOUR ENERGY FROM ,BE GRATEFUL!
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Going thought some hard times ,same as everybody else ,just looking around,man its a different world,been sleepin,lol lol ,wake up tomarrow ,[spellings bad]lol.PEACE.
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English!LOL
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13 years 4 months
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I do hope that what sounded like a very good night for you did not turn in to a bad day come morning.
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17 years
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All is Good,All is Well,opened up a couple more doors, Thanks for Asking, Hows things on your end?
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Thanks for asking, 1973. My Dad died two weeks ago; myself and my siblings were at his side, trying to comfort his passage. We can always wish that the inevitable will be put off a little longer, but his very long, very fruitful life had finally run its course. All of his 15 young adult grandchildren participated in his funeral (and two great-grandchildren delighted the very large crowd that gathered). One grandson did him proud, and moved everyone in attendance, by reading a passage from Saul of Tarsus: "Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." What more could you want?
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Very sorry for your loss.....it is never easy.....it sounds like your dads memory was honored and will continue to be.
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I'm sorry. May God's peace be with you and your family. What God did in Saul's life, renaming him Paul, is amazing. HE can change us all one person at a time.
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Im truly sorry for your loss,Saul to Paul,WoW, Strenth,Love,God Bless...
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Prayers With You ...
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All!!!
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It is my impression that a high percentage of Dead Heads are 5-for-5 on the beliefs that William James lists in his 1902 book "The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature" as the "characteristics of religious life": 1. That the visible world is part of a more spiritual universe from which it draws its chief significance; 2. That union or harmonious relation with that higher universe is our true end; 3. That prayer or inner communion with the spirit thereof—be that spirit 'God' or 'law'—is a process wherein work is really done, and spiritual energy flows in and produces effects, psychological or material, within the phenomenal world. 4. A new zest which adds itself like a gift to life, and takes the form either of lyrical enchantment or of appeal to earnestness and heroism. 5. An assurance of safety and a temper of peace, and, in relation to others, a preponderance of loving affections.
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Tom you hit the nail on the head, those words ring true here. glad that you are enjoying your new musical stash.... please pay it forward...