Tripping the Light Fantastic - a screenplay

“Tripping the Light Fantastic,” is a screenplay for a full-length, feature film of entertaining fiction in the fantasy/romance genre which tells the story of Seek, who suffers severe head injuries while rescuing Maryanne from some toughs accosting her on a tube late one night. While in the hospital, Seek undergoes a Near-Death Experience from which astral travels ensue: taking him to Los Angeles in May of 1972 – where he relives some events from his wild hippie past and a failed love affair – to an English garden outside of time and space – where he pursues enlightenment as he meets two whimsically humorous and scathingly insightful spirit guides – and to London three days in the future – where he pursues new love with Maryanne.

A Match Made at the Oscars - a screen treatment

“A Match Made at the Oscars” is a treatment for a full length feature film of entertaining fiction in the comedy genre in which a young man, Carl Worthington, fresh out of film school, woos Amy Ambrosia, the lead actress in the movie for which he has been hired as a PA on his first job. Without prior approval, Carl writes lines for her character which help her win an Oscar as he wins both an Oscar for himself and Amy’s heart.

The Lucky Chip - a screen treatment

“The Lucky Chip” is a screen treatment for a comedy about two garbage men who skip work on the morning of Christmas Eve and take the garbage truck to Las Vegas where they find a chip marked for a lobbyist to win at gaming tables when lobbying politicians, meet two famous and beautiful celebutantes, win a fortune and gain the politician’s support for funding their idea to convert the trash at garbage dumps into energy while thwarting the lobbyist’s efforts to get the chip back and influence the politician to fund “Big Oil.”

Under Peril's Moon - original screenplay

“Under Peril’s Moon” is edgy, entertaining fiction in the action/thriller genre which tells a story set in 2057 of a mother (Silk), her two teenage children (Fair and Raven) and a pelt trapper (Dusty) traveling in search of better lives. All four are taken hostage, abused, terrorized and enslaved by a frightening group of territorial predators. After the captives engineer their escape, the victims fight for their lives against incredible odds and their sick, vile captors. 

"Love-ism" books available through Amazon (US and UK) and Barnes and Noble

Hi friends, I wanted to let everyone know that all four books (of all three volumes) of my "Love-ism" series are now available on Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and through the Barnes and Noble online store. 

"Love-ism Volume I: A Critical Mass and Other Poems" can be purchased as a quality paperback at $26.96 and as a Kindle eBook for $9.95 through Amazon at the following url - http://www.amazon.com/Love-ism-Critical-Mass-Other-Poems/dp/1630005274/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379457375&sr=1-7&keywords=love-ism or in the UK for 25.38 pounds (or for 6.78 pounds as a Kindle eBook) at the following url - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-ism-Volume-Critical-Other-Poems/dp/1630005274/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1379458275&sr=8-14&keywords=love-ism

"Love-ism Volume II, Book 1: Essays on a Philosophy of Compassionate, Common-Sensed Evolution" can be purchased as a quality paperback at $26.96 through Amazon at the following url - http://www.amazon.com/Love-Ism-Book-Compassionate-Common-Sensed-Environmentalism/dp/163000524X/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379457375&sr=1-11&keywords=love-ism or in the UK for 25.34 pounds at the following url - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-ism-Volume-Book-Compassionate-Environmentalism/dp/163000524X/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1379458275&sr=8-9&keywords=love-ism

"Love-ism Volume II, Book 2: Essays on a Philosophy of Compassionate, Common-Sensed Evolution" can be purchased as a quality paperback at $26.96 through Amazon at the following url - http://www.amazon.com/Love-Ism-Book-Compassionate-Common-Sensed-Consciousness/dp/1630005290/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379457375&sr=1-9&keywords=love-ism or in the UK for 25.63 pounds at the following url - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-ism-Volume-Book-Compassionate-Common-Sensed/dp/1630005290/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1379458275&sr=8-7&keywords=love-ism

"Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden - a novel" can be purchased as a quality paperback at $17.96 through Amazon at the following url - http://www.amazon.com/Love-Ism-III-Sitting-English-Garden-/dp/1630005282/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1379457375&sr=1-8&keywords=love-ism or in the UK for 12.43 pounds at the following url - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Ism-Volume-III-Sitting-Garden-A/dp/1630005282/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1379458275&sr=8-5&keywords=love-ism

All four titles can also be purchased through Barnes and Noble online ( Volume III for $18.19 and the other three books at $29.95) at the following url - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/don-coorough?store=allproducts&keyword=don+coorough

I am excited about the availability of my books from these retailers. I hope you will make your purchase today!

Don

Shoreline Driftwood – The Five-Year Anniversary

On September 21, 2008, I typed in my first post for my blog, Shoreline Driftwood. So, I am approaching the fifth anniversary for this blog, though I know I am about 6 weeks early in putting this up. I felt this would be a good time.

In its first 49 months, Shoreline Driftwood received 18,856 page views on its 221 posts. Since then, the total number of page views has climbed to 28,108 viewings on 226 blog posts (including this one). Visits to my blog come from readers all over the world.  

I am extremely grateful to all the readers who have stopped by my blog, either to give it an occasional read or to become regular readers. I wanted to take this anniversary and use it as an opportunity to share with readers not only my gratitude (which is deeper and more heartfelt than I can state), but also some of the highlights as culled from the stats on page viewings which reflect your interests in my writing.

Readers of my blog emanate from nations all over the world. As of October 15, 2012, the top 10 nations in terms of numbers of page views was as follows: 
1) United States – 8839 
2) Germany – 1206 
3) Russia –1156 
4) United Kingdom – 781 
5) Slovenia – 592 
6) Netherlands – 348 
7) France – 308 
8) South Korea – 265 
9) Canada – 244
10) Ukraine – 198 

In addition to these nations, I know the blog had readers from Indonesia, Philippines, Lebanon, Iraq, and India, in addition to many other nations. As I write this today, the current top ten of nations is as follows: 
1) United States – 12,930 
2) Russia – 1856 
3) Germany 1653 
4) United Kingdom – 1191 
5) France – 709 
6) Slovenia – 592 
7) Canada – 428 
8) Latvia – 407 
9) Netherlands – 360 
10) Poland – 274 

As you can see, recent interest from Latvia and Poland has moved them ahead of South Korea and Ukraine. The blog has also gained interest in China, Taiwan, Sweden and Australia.

For my writing to reach such a broad and diverse readership is very humbling at the same time as it is extremely gratifying. I am amazed and surprised by the reach of the blog given it was such a small venture 5 years ago. I had no idea I could, or even any ambition to, generate the large and diverse readership which I have garnered over the past 5 years. As I say, I feel humbled by the response.

Indeed, at some point in 2010, I realized my readership had grown to a point that I could reach more people per month from my blog than I could from many, if not most, of the online literary journals in operation. Consequently at that time, I ceased submitting my writing to other sources for possible publication. For the entire 5 year period, I have averaged 469 viewings per month. However, over the past 16 to 18 months, I have been averaging more than 1000 viewings per month. Since I liked how I was able to garner so many viewings without contributing to advertising or feeling constrained by publishers and editors, I focused on publishing my writing here, solely since the time in 2010 when I ceased submitting my writing to publishers. I have experienced a great deal of freedom by not being limited by subject matter, style, voice, or genre (poetry, non-fiction, or fiction). As a consequence, I have grown as a writer, as a thinker, and as a person. I have to thank all of you as readers of Shoreline Driftwood for making this possible.

Next, I’d like to share with you a list of my top most viewed blog posts with a minimum of at least 50 viewings. I’ll provide the title, a brief description of the blog entry, the date it was posted (month/day/year), and the number of viewings. If readers find they missed something and want to go back to view it, you can find the link clicking on the title below which will take you to the post.

    1)   Ekphrasis Exercise – three poems I wrote which interpret four pieces of art (one by Kandinsky, one by Picasso, and two by Chagall), 2/7/10, 2012 viewings

    2)   An Interpretation and Discussion of Charles Olson’s Poem “Maximus to himself” – an analysis of the poem, 1/21/10, 1823 viewings

    3)   A Critical Mass – my epic creation tale poem and poetic magnum opus, 12/15/08, 1014 viewings

    4)   Metternich, Bismarck and Franco Reveal Reactionary - Conservatism’s Political Struggle with the Rise of Populist, Liberal-Republican Equality – an historical overview with critical commentary, 5/26/10, 660 viewings

    5)   On the Rise and Fall of America’s Counterculture (1967-1972) – an historical overview with commentary, 12/10/08, 638 viewings

    6)   On Reliving the 60s: The Conflict between the Old Entrenched Power Structure and the Youth Movement – an historical overview with commentary and analysis, 4/1/09, 517 viewings

    7)   An Analytical Introduction to the Poetry of Jim Morrison – a brief introduction to the poetry of Jim Morrison, 5/13/10, 500 viewings

    8)   The French in Indochina and the Beginning of Decolonization and the End of Domination by Western Empires in the Third World – an historical analysis with commentary, 5/24/10, 436 viewings

    9)   R. D. Laing’s Radical Psychology and My Arguments with Contemporary Psychiatric Diagnosis and Treatment – an overview and analysis with commentary, 8/3/09, 336 viewings

    10) Seductively Satirizing Hollywood’s Seduction: Woody Allen’s Anti-Genre Films – an overview and analysis with commentary, 11/12/09, 231 viewings

    11) On the Organization of an Enlightened and Ecologically Sound Community – a philosophical look at two possible futures depending on humanity’s approach to Climate Change which includes detailed scientific factual findings, 2/14/09, 193 viewings

    12) On the Nature of Consciousness: Consciousness’ Relationship to Living a Life with Meaning – a detailed analysis which includes the latest neuroscientific research and findings and a philosophical interpretation of the information, 12/6/08, 193 viewings

    13) Understanding Classical Greek Mythology and Its Avenues for Enlightenment – an historical overview with interpretive analysis and commentary, 11/10/09, 192 viewings

    14) The Next Beatles’ Movie – A Band on the Run – my presentation of a project proposal and story synopsis for a Beatle movie which could be made and if one had been made in the mid-70s, it’s a farcical romp in the style of “Help!”, 10/13/12, 175 viewings

    15) On Reviewing the Realities of Reagonomics’ Supply Side Strategies and their Effects on the Current American Recession – an historical overview with critical analysis, 3/23/09, 171 viewings

    16) the firestorm of raging opulence – one of my poems (a short one), 6/8/09, 165 viewings

    17) On Death, Dying and Reintegration – The Transition from Life through Death into Reintegration with the All – a philosophical and spiritual view of the after-death experience, 7/28/12, 153 viewings

    18) On the Relativity of Reality: Perception-Analysis, Language, Knowledge, and Time – a philosophical overview of the trends in philosophy from the 1800s on with a critical analysis and author commentary on each of the topics, 12/9/08, 151 viewings

    19) Jung and Mythopoetic Thought – a brief overview with commentary, 12/7/09, 144 viewings

    20) On Choices, Actions and Responsibilities: Freedom, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness – a philosophical treatise which includes an historical overview and critical analysis, 12/12/08, 140 viewings

    21) On How George W. Bush Confounded the Wisdom of the Ages – an historical overview with critical analysis of Bush’s leadership and neocon’s ineffective strategies with regard to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, 12/7/08, 125 viewings

    22) The Fifth Revolution in Poetics: On a Brief Overview of the History of Poetry withCommentary and Analysis – an historical overview with a contemporary analysis and urging for a 5^th revolution, 3/23/10, 124 viewings

    23) Significant Word Exercise: Peace – a commentary from the personal point of view, 1/28/10, 107 viewings

    24) A Poetry Exercise and Prompt: From “Meeting the Mountains” to Amniotic Steps” – a poetry exercise which reveals the writing of my poem “Amniotic Steps” (a short poem), 9/7/10, 103 viewings

    25) On Taking Responsibility for One’s Emotional States – a psychological and spiritual study of the road to experiencing greater happiness more often, using the principles of Transactional Analysis, 4/8/13, 103 viewings

    26) Solaced Wistless Sighs – one short poem, 12/21/10, 92 viewings

    27) On Rejecting Arguments Supporting the Existence of God – a philosophical investigation into rejecting notions of a thinking creator who created with a plan, 12/20/08, 78 viewings

    28) On Seeking Balance in the Contemporary World – a philosophical and spiritual commentary, 7/10/12, 67 viewings

    29) On Suggestions for Reforming America’s Political System – a critical look at how the Constitution’s Framer’s intentions have been subverted with suggestions for repair utilizing historical references from various past Presidents including Jefferson, Lincoln, Wilson, and many more, 12/12/08, 64 viewings

    30) On Spirituality and Inspiration from the Higher Self – a spiritual discussion leading to an innovative view of our place in the universe and a spiritual value as beings, 12/24/08, 62 viewings

    31) She Sang in the Morning – a short poem, 10/30/10, 56 viewings

    32) By a Stream – a short poem, 7/12/12, 55 viewings

    33) Haiku-Koan Variation Study – short haiku/koans strung together, 7/3/12, 52 viewings

    34) The Approaching Age of Equality – an historical overview with contemporary analysis and commentary, 11/3/11, 50 viewings.

    In addition to these blog posts, my advertisements/synopses for my recent book releases have garnered a number of viewings as well: 1) the post (4/18/2013) for the link to purchase my first book of essays has received 504 viewings, 2) the post (1/12/2013) for the link to purchase my collected poetry has received 264 viewings, 3) the post (6/6/2013) for the link to purchase my second book of essays has received 82 viewings, and 4) the post (8/5/2013) for the link to purchase my novel, “Sitting in an English Garden,” has received 12 viewings.

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by for a visit and to all of you who will do the same in the future. I am grateful for all of you. The purpose of my writing is to share my deepest thoughts, my most urgent feelings, my hopes and fears, and my unique perspective on our world. That sharing and communication has been accomplished is reflected by the viewing numbers I have posted. You give my life meaning and value by reading what I have written. I can never overstate how much that means to me.

Finally, if any of my readers enjoy reading books through Goodreads, you can find my first three books all available there at the following link - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6909913.Don_Coorough

My wish for all of you is for peace, happiness, good health, warm relationships, and a fulfilling life for all my readers.

Warmly, Don

"The Unraveling" - an outline for a screenplay

“The Unraveling,” is an outline for a proposed full-length feature film of entertaining fiction in the drama genre which tells the story of Jerry Farnsworth, husband to Marie and father of teenage son, Bobby, and Sally Evans, an exchange student from England. Set between September of 2008 and April of 2009 against the backdrop of the subprime mortgage crisis and several mass murders which actually occurred in the USA and which resulted from gun violence, the story tells how Jerry’s life and psyche unravel as he loses his job, takes a new position, and suffers excessive stress due to sexual dysfunction and mounting financial pressures. 

"Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden - a novel" has been published

Dear friends and Readers,

My first novel, "Sitting in an English Garden," has been published and is now available for purchase. It is a 174 page quality paperback.

http://www.publishamerica.net/product53133.html

Love-ism Volume III: Sitting in an English Garden—a novel takes you to multiple worlds during multiple time periods. In this story, we encounter a man’s experiences in Southern California during May of 1972, in Amsterdam, Netherlands during a day in 2005, and in a place outside of time and space in a fictitious English garden. The book’s world combines hippies, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, out-of-body experiences, dream sequences, psychedelic trips on LSD, a visit to an Amsterdam koffieshop, a budding romance between an expatriated American and a native Dutch woman, and timeless encounters with John Lennon and George Harrison. This book will take you on a ride wilder than Billy Pilgrim’s in Slaughterhouse Five and more surreal than Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass. Destined to be a timeless classic, this book is a highly experimental example of storytelling which expands previous notions of the novel.

I hope my friends and readers will consider purchasing a copy. Please click on the link above to get your copy today. Also, please feel free to share the link with your friends.

Warm regards in peace and with love,
Don Coorough

Under the Flowering Jacaranda

Fragrant, lilac colored flowers cluster

Together, like hands from a multitude,

Stretching out five-fingered petals, pinching

At the air, reaching out in a last gasp, to grasp

The idyllic serenity their aura emanates. Worries

And judgments fail to cloud their perceptions –

Blossoms signal a momentarily eternal spring.

Purple carpets the ground, providing a regal

Setting for a picnic tryst. A lingering

Scent of harmony drifts on the laconic

Breeze, calmed by the jacaranda present.

A nearby brook enunciates the whispered

Secrets which the gentle wind whistles

Through the tree’s branches. Along the Paraná

River valley, just like a mother’s love, its

Music never ceases, singing through Brazilian

Guitars made from its wood in the way

A baby coos its contentment after suckling.

The jacaranda nurtures without words,

Caresses without touching, and spreads influence

Throughout its sphere without arguing, teaching,

Scolding or demanding. It simply loves for the

Sake of loving because all-which-is deserves

Every ounce of love it can well up and offer,

And nothing is ever lost when love is shared. 

Somnolent Caterwauling

A dark, summer night melts the icy moon

With undying, undiscovered memories

From within the heart’s furnace.

Tomorrow’s eternal wick

Glows, golden, beyond reach:

Pinching fingers

Try their hand at cheating.

Phantasmal fantasy

Flicks dandruff shrugs

Off stooped shoulders -

Another galaxy rejoices.

The unbinding grasp

Releases somnolent caterwauling

From the screeching scratch

Of a desolate desert. 

Book 2 of Don Coorough's Essays Has Been Published

Dear Friends and Readers,

The second book of essays in my "Love-ism" series has been published and is now available for purchase. It is a 360 page quality paperback.

http://www.publishamerica.net/product52497.html

“Love-ism Volume II, Book 2: Essays on a Philosophy of Compassionate, Common-Sensed Evolution—Reality, Psychology, Consciousness, Mythology, Spirituality and Notions of God”contains essays written by Don Coorough which reflect his desire to deepen people’s understanding of the way the mind works, offer commentary of the common misconceptions in current psychiatric methods, provide a clearer way of looking at reality, open up a larger discussion of how humans are spiritual beings and present a revolutionary view as to what constitutes human spirituality. Some of the essay topics in the book include developing an understanding of the process approach to life as opposed to a view which evaluates according to ends, a detailed analysis of perception, awareness, language, knowledge and time, the nature of consciousness, a look at how the mythology of the ancient Greeks offers a transcendental path to enlightenment, and the development of a relationship with one’s Higher Self. 

I hope my friends and readers will consider purchasing a copy. Please click on the link above to get your copy today. Also, please feel free to share the link with your friends.

Warm regards in peace and with love,
Don Coorough

Destiny's Highways

Birds glide
through calm breezes
and knife
through turbulent winds.

Sages trudge
over rough roads
and stroll
on smooth byways.

Birds and sages know
all influences -
strife and suffering,
joy and serenity -
as equal partners
on destiny's highways.

Don Coorough's First Book of Essays Has Been Published

Dear Friends and Readers,

My first book of essays has been published and is now available for purchase. It is a 456-page quality paperback.


http://www.publishamerica.net/product51902.html

Love-ism Volume II, Book 1: Essays on a Philosophy of Compassionate, Common-Sensed Evolution—Politics, Economics, Environmentalism and Ethics Studied from Historical, Contemporary, and Future Points of View contains essays written by Don Coorough which reflect his desire to promote a better world; a world based on love, peace, liberty, mutual respect, understanding and cooperation. This revolutionary book of essays is steeped in a profoundly historical perspective, each essay building on the ones which come before it, and promotes a united world which would reflect the wishes of people everywhere. The book urges a mass, people-power movement to create this new world. Some of the essay topics in the book include a look back at the decade of the 1960s, the development of the thesis which reveals how war and occupations of other nations cannot and do not work, an in-depth analysis of Capitalism, Communism and Fascist-Socialism, and a look ahead at how to organize societies through wise economic practices and a sound ecology. 


I hope my friends and readers will consider ordering a copy. Please click on the link to get your copy today. Also, please feel free to share the link with your friends.

Warm regards in peace and with love,
Don Coorough

On Taking Personal Responsibility for One’s Emotional States

Life is a pastiche, a process, a melting pot. Life is love and anger, hope and despair, understanding and intolerance, charity and greed, joy and pain, peace and suffering. Still, it remains always dominated by a suffocating atmospheric mixture of fear and desire which play together in a swirling vortex, each constantly influencing and reinforcing the other in the unconscious' mental realms.

We are taught to want from an early age in our infancy as needs are not immediately met. We are not taught to examine the reasons for our unrelenting wanting. Instead we merely accept it as the natural state of the human psyche. We want because we are afraid of not having, of lacking, of feeling the pit of emptiness within and the scrutiny of others who possess that which we seek. We fear these conditions because the ego demands to reign supreme, not just over the self, but over everyone. We seek supremacy because we fear that autonomy will be encroached by others. In the ego's wish for a place in eternity, it seeks to fill up the empty spaces where inadequacy finds footholds with the acquisition and attainment of personal desires.

It is this manifestation of personal desire, setting personal motivations and accomplishments ahead of everything else in the one's world (or cultural motivations and accomplishments when cultures express desire - whether militarily, economically, or religiously) which the Buddha warned as being the root of all suffering. The Buddha taught a lesson which is hard-learned - when our actions, thoughts, feelings, and/or intentions come from personal motives - we are in a place of greed, desire, and selfishness. Personally motivated desire will always lead to suffering.

However, to act altruistically, without considering what personal benefits or harms may arise due to a course of action, is the highest expression of love. This is everyone's highest calling in life, the lesson each of us is here to learn, and the underlying struggle in all our interpersonal relationships and life choices. Giving in to altruism negates personal desire, liberates one from the domination of the ego, and opens one up to a much larger world with the potential to engage in and with universal principles and universal purpose. To the degree one integrates ones personality in greater degrees with altruism in every moment and every individual choice, one negates desire, increases peace and harmony in life and eases the causes for suffering (not only in one's own life, but in the lives of others, too). Stress (which is a symptom of the ego when dominated by fear and desire) does not arise from living out the highest expression of love since stress is only a personal reaction to one's focus on one's own desires. Stress never attaches to altruistic actions or motivations.

It is often true that individuals delude themselves regarding their motives. We all create useful excuses in certain circumstances to allow us to remain in denial as we pursue individually motivated agendas: "I know best," "I only want what is best for (fill in the blank)," "It's God's will (or any other term which denotes some individual's term for 'higher power')," "I want to save you, or protect you, from making the same mistakes I've made." This list can go on and on, but you can see the manifestation of the personally motivated rationale by now. The real question one can ask oneself in any and every instance remains, "Am I doing this on even the remotest possibility that I will gain something I desire as a result (or avoid something I wish to avoid)?" If the honest answer is yes, then the contemplated course of action is personally motivated, and the result can only bring personal suffering along with it.

Life cannot exist without some degree of suffering. Life is a process of becoming. As one engages in the process of becoming, one will, being human, make mistakes in life. The quality of human frailty and tendency for individuals to err underlies the process of learning and growth. These mistakes will, naturally, lead to suffering. What do I mean by mistakes? I am alluding to actions based on and colored by personal desires.

Another facet of personal desire is that it rarely stops to consider the free expression of the personal will and choice which divests itself in others just as surely as it invests in oneself. The interplay between exalting one's own ego driven needs while also negating the free will of others is the ethical principle, and fundamental esoteric basis, underlying the interrelationship of personal desires with suffering. Actions based on personal desire will cause someone to suffer: either the person undertaking the action if/when their expectations for the outcome are not met, or the person being manipulated or affected by the action which negates their free opportunity to choose the events and circumstances affecting them from and in their environment. In either case, it is also part of the nature of suffering that it festers, causing enmity between both parties, leading to suffering in both, as well.

Life, as a process, flows through a constant series of yin/yang experiences - experiences that reveal the effects and influences of both extremes of the polar opposites in every duality - whether that yin/yang might be expressed and experienced through emotions, careers, beliefs, relationships, economic/political systems, cultural ethos/pathos, or sociologically influenced dreams for the future. One cannot know happiness without also knowing sadness. If only one of the states existed, that state would not be distinguishable, and hence would only be experienced as part of a bland, unperceived ennui.

However, the law of existence which demands that the poles of opposites must be intertwined and present as the duality of reality (whether in individuals or cultures and nations) should not denote that it is not possible to improve the conditions of existence for the better. We can do a lot to ease suffering by reducing our individual, natural, and cultural orientations to desire. Humanity will never fully eliminate suffering, but the degree and suffering felt as well as its pervasiveness throughout the world can always be alleviated by varying amounts. The only path to reducing suffering arises by commensurately reducing individual, national, and cultural desire.

The contemporary world is rooted in stress. Those most successful in accumulating wealth, position, and power require a willing workforce to perpetuate the division into classes and widen the gaps between classes. So, the worker is placed under the constant stress if not only having to produce on the job, but having to protect and maintain their income in order to continue paying for: rent, house payments, car payments, insurance payments, repair bills, food, clothing, and, of course, the purchase of all those objects which are accumulated out of desire - for status, for the acceptance of others, to create envy in others, to make one feel good, and to create a sense of personal self-worth. Stress keeps people "in their place," sociologically, as it also reveals the people who cannot cope - those who societies ultimately cast aside.

Humanity has re-created (or perhaps redesigned is a better word) the planet. Humanity has done this out of the personal and collective desires for an unending and unfathomable "more." Yet, while the quest for all this "more" makes the already wealthy exponentially wealthier, and the affluent more comfortable and more estimable in others' eyes but generally lazier to a commensurate degree, this "more" also leads to greater doses of suffering on a planetary scale as the divide between affluence and poverty widens, as extreme poverty spreads, as famine becomes endemic, as species are rendered extinct, as the quality of the environment deteriorates, and as we use up the planet's natural resources at an alarming rate without ever stopping to consider the needs of future generations who are, after all, our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

This culture will, ultimately, consume itself into oblivion. People will survive, no doubt. But the structure of the culture, the economic, political and sociological models upon which the contemporary social order are based will all perish as the culture consumes itself into oblivion. The people of the future will have to develop a more sustainable mindset and more sustainable method of integrating humanity with the natural world as they seek to integrate necessary comfort while maintaining a viable and naturally abundant ecosystem (which the planets is capable of providing for us if we allow it to) while overcoming the desire for luxury and predominance. 

Humanity will have to reduce its numbers dramatically. Human sprawl must cease to usurp nearly all the habitable land and wisely understand that if we so reduce the planet's diversity, we ultimately doom it to evolve into a lifeless waste heap incapable of functioning as an living, interconnected, and vital ecosystem. Thus, humanity must find a way to teach, individually and collectively, the personal responsibility that accrues with existence and the need for balance between ego driven personal and collective expressions of desire with the moral and ethical imperative of honoring and respecting all other lifeforms. 

In the process if dying, one discovers that the implications and influences of duality are slowly stripped away. The ego (and nearly always the body, too) is immersed in pain and suffering. The process of dying may seem instantaneous or drawn out over a long period. However, in both cases, the process of dying demands the ego focus on the pain and suffering which is insuperably connected with the encroachment of necrosis (mentally, emotionally, and physically). This dynamic is another law of existence because the process is meant to purge the individual of personal desire before they enter the light, feel the sensation of perfect love awaiting at the end, and reunite with the "All." 

What comes after death?

No one who has not been there can answer that with any degree of certainty. Those who have encountered Near Death or Out-of-Body states are also incapable of answer with any degree of objective certainty that question, too, because they did not cross the threshold, and therefore, have not actually experienced the afterlife (if one exists). No, those folks have gone up to the door, but they have not walked through it. Thus, no living being can offer anything objectively or definitively true about the post-death experience. 

All living things possess consciousness. Even coral reefs know the exact right time of the full moon, and the one full moon of the year, during which to coordinate their reproductive discharges to effectively propagate new life. The timing of coral reproduction, the hive mentalities of ants and bees, the way packs, herds, pods, coveys, schools, and all other collectives of species of life on this planet (including colonies of single celled organisms) work together to enhance their chances of survival, all prove to me that there are hierarchies of collective consciousness.

The Earth, our planet, is also an ecosystem, utterly interconnected and interdependent. This planet has created, nurtured, and propagated unfathomably countless variations of lifeforms over the eons of the planet's presence in the cosmos. Until redesigned by human inventions' intervention, the bounty the planet offered seemed limitless. Consequently, it seems obvious to me that there has to exist a planetary consciousness which exists in conjunction with the ecosystem. 

It is my contention and belief that when individual lifeforms die, each individual consciousness reunites with the planetary consciousness, and that is what I call, "Reuniting with the 'All.'"

I can only suggest that, from any logical perspective, the "self," or individual consciousness, would be a puny thing compared with the "All." The only way the "All" can be enriched is by and through the love we bring with ourselves into it at the moment we "step into the light" and reunite with our source, the fountain of life. As the individual consciousness joins with the planetary consciousness, there is no more need for the individual self-awareness to persist. However, all of that-which-was-the-self integrates into the "All," and so it (and each of us with it) lives on in the planetary consciousness. This is why all aspects of personal desire and ego must be purged through the stripping away process contained in pain and suffering as expressed through the process of dying. What is left is the pure love accumulated and expressed in one's lifetime, which then joins with the planetary consciousness, the expression of altruism and love which nurtures physical reality. In this process, the planetary consciousness can be understood as the ever-increasing, ever-intensifying, ever-expanding, ever-diversifying, and infinite expression of the planet's accumulation and apprehension of love. 

In the same way, our solar system is also an ecosystem, as is the galaxy, the local cluster of galaxies in which our galaxy drifts through space, and on to our universe, indeed, leading all the way to the Multiverse. So, our consciousnesses never die, even though they cease being self-aware. As part of the planetary consciousness, they merge with the solar consciousness when the Sun goes supernova. This accumulation of pure love and eons of nearly infinite expressions of diverse experience will seed the new solar system that arises out of the (quite literal) ashes of the supernova of the previous one. Eventually, when all the available energy in this area has been used, the collective consciousnesses of the many solar systems will join with the galactic consciousness, which will join with the collective consciousness of local cluster of galactic consciousness when our galaxy burns all its energy, and so on, through the merger with the Universal Consciousness, and ultimately, the Multiversal Consciousness. 

Rather than mourn the passing of those who die in our lives, we should rejoice. Our mourning is an expression of our own losses. But in reality, death purges and perfects the soul, making it ready to reunite with the "All." The soul becomes an instrument of pure and perfect love which then enriches the planetary consciousness, and through it, all of humanity, as well. Suffering ends. The ego is overcome, and the individual expands into the "All" in the merger of reuniting. This is an event to rejoice because love is served. This is the esoteric meaning of "Love-ism." 

The Poetry of Don Coorough Is Finally Published

Dear friends and readers,

My book of poetry, "Love-ism Volume I: A Critical Mass and Other Poems" is now available for purchase. It is a 442-page quality paperback. 

http://www.publishamerica.net/product50927.html

 

"Love-ism Volume I: A Critical Mass and Other Poems contains the complete poetry of Don Coorough. The title poem is a contemporary, epic creation tale which incorporates material from wide ranging sources, including: cosmology, physics, neuroscience, biology, politics, economics, sociology and mythology. Destined to be a classic, this experimental poem was written utilizing techniques like: formal structure and rhyme, free verse, projective verse and organic composition. Also included in the collection are poems from the following categories and genres: love poetry, nature poetry, impressionism, surrealism, psychedelic poetry, dream vision poetry, transcendentalism and poetry of political, religious and social commentary. The material will inspire its readers with its breadth of styles, its foundation in a vast array of topics, and its highly emotional content. It's influences are readily apparent, including: John Donne, Alexander Pope, John Milton, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Walt Whitman, Allan Ginsberg, Charles Olson, and Denise Levertov."

I hope my friends and readers will consider ordering a copy. Please also feel free to share the link with your friends. Please click on the link to get your copy today.

Warm regards in peace and with love,

Don Coorough