“Tombstone is My Pillow, Graveyard’s Gonna Be My Bed”

This morning I went for a walk to pick up a package. It was a chilly but sunny day, and I felt alive in the whitened city. Since starting my ITP and especially now that I’m doing holosync-enhanced meditation each day, I have a surprising increase in energy and positivity throughout my days. I can’t recall more than a moment in the past month that wasn’t at the very least saturated with a calm, and more often than not I’m filled with a feeling of purpose. I have no doubt this is the path I should be on, and I’m excited to see where it will lead.

The package I picked up held the three Threadless t-shirts that I ordered several weeks ago (and mentioned in “Wrists and Beyond“). Each of them is just as comfortable and visually pleasing as I could have hoped. “E=MC Escher,” “Best Friends Forever” and “Bleeding Heart.” each represents a facet of my life, and I’m happy to rebuild my wardrobe some with them. While taking photos, this afternoon, I decided to match the shirts up with a book that somehow fit. “E=MC Escher” got Thresholds of the Mind, because Einstein is a grand example of someone with a brain operating with bilateral synchronization. “Best Friends Forever” was an easy match with Wilber’s Sex, Ecology, Spirituality, with his emphasis of the importance of wisdom traditions coming together. The Onion Girl met up with “Bleeding Heart” in that realm of healing that the book deals with so well.

With my Threadless order I received a sticker advertising 15 Megs of Fame. I was curious, so I took a look and found it to be a rather cool music sharing site. It offers artists the ability to share a small selection of songs and gives listeners the chance to listen, rate and comment upon the music shared. I’ve found a few interesting tracks, but I’ve barely scratched the surface of the site. I’m hoping I’ll come across some real gems soon. Do check the site out if you’re a music junkie like myself. You’ll find my profile here.

I’ve forgotten to mention that I have a ticket to see Feist in January. Leslie Feist is one of my favourite singers, and her album Let It Die has had a long life playing in my headphones over the past year. I’m not sure what to expect from her live show, but I’m excited to see her.

I first encountered Jackie-O Motherfucker a couple years ago when they opened for Godspeed You! Black Emperor, a show that blew me away. I later picked up The Magick Fire Music, Ecstatic Peace! and have been looking forward to hearing more. J-OMF is comparable to Shalabi Effect, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, A Silver Mt. Zion, Valley of the Giants and a number of other “post-rock” groups, but there’s a distinct and very valuable voice emerging from it, filled with honesty and devotion.

This week I was lucky enough to listen to the group’s new album, Flags of the Sacred Harp. From the opening track, “Nice One,” I was in love, absolutely in love. The following alt-blues-country “Rockaway” carried that momentum and had me singing along to the lines “Tombstone is my pillow, graveyard’s gonna be my bed, the sky is my blanket, moon’s gonna be my spread” The remainder of the album was rich in a sense of spontaneity, agelessness and spirit. It was a warming experience to listen and has been each playing since. This is an album to cozy up with for the rest of the winter. You can cuddle up with a couple tracks here or hear “Nice One” and “Rockaway” via Parasol Records.

Canada is in the midst of an election campaign. It’s going to be a close and dangerous one, with plenty at stake. The stagnant Liberals and regressive Conservatives are neck-and-neck to be the governing party, the sepratist Bloc Quebecois are sure to gain seats and the vangard of noble, compassionate and reasonable government, the New Democratic Party, looks to be holding on to its position as kingmaker. I always have and always will vote for an NDP candidate when he or she has a chance of winning, because it’s the only party in this country that stands firmly for the type of world I wish to live in, one founded on genuine compassion, pragmatic approaches to social issues and a commitment to multiculturalism and human rights.
The struggle to get more people to vote for the more evolved approach to politics is so very daunting. Using SDi as a model, blue-orange Conservatives, orange-green Liberals and green-yellow NDP have decreasing sizes of populations within their general developmental range (something like 40% Blue, 30% Orange, 20% Green and 5% Yellow), so it’s up to those in second-tier to find effective ways to communicate the benefit of higher policy in the areas those still in first-tier care about. I think Jack Layton, the current leader of the NDP has done well in bringing forward these ideas in an accessable manner. He has become the leader regarded as the most decent, charismatic, ethical, caring and practical. He’s also the leader most Canadians would like to sit down and have a beer with, which should help bolster the appeal of the party. It gives me hope for a Canada that can move again into a role of positive leadership in the world.
Alexa McDonough is the NDP candidate in my riding and should have an easy victory on her hands. She lead the NDP for 8 years and has done a tremendous amount to improve the lives of people here in Halifax, in Canada and across the globe. I have nothing but confidence my vote for her will be well rewarded.

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