Notes from the Spiritual Path

Writing, writing, writing, writing, is the activity which allows the spiritual Absolute to directly communicate with the world of two-leggeds on the planet earth.  Automatic writing is simply holding a writing instrument over a piece of blank paper and not interfering with the spiritual Absolute authoring whatever is being written down. 
        In south India, Sri Aurobindo wrote the epic Savitri in this manner.  He said that at times he would sit for two hours and the pen would not move.  At other times he would sit there and write at length.  As the "Instrument of the Divine Will", there was no way for him to know what was going to happen, so he just sat down at his writing desk regularly, in cooperation with God. 
         Automatic writing is now my trade.  I have no other interest in terms of a work, and have gone as far as I am able to go with peace & justice activism, Catholic Worker service to the poorest of the poor, radical environmental campaigns, and so on and so forth. 
         On September 28th, this mind-body complex will be 70 years of age.  There is no further motivation to survive in a capitalistic, materialistic, confused postmodern America.  I am just not into it!  And going to pubs to down a few beers isn't going to work anymore either.  The current implosion of political America, plus the worsening of climate destabilization, and the endless hell of the Kali Yuga in general cannot be successfully ameliorated by occasionally visiting pubs.  Usage of opiate drugs and lately heroin and methamphetamine, in addition to alcoholic consumption, is at a record level in the United States of America.  Is anybody really better off for it?
          We are living in a social hell realm on earth, with the specter of nuclear war always there.  Loneliness is literally killing people.  The lack of love is a postmodern curse.  The real addiction is to objects, to the acquisition of ever more consumer items.  This further alienates society and never satisfies anybody.  Objects do not satisfy.  Constantly having a mind which is outward going is bad.  There is no love there, no light there, only darkness.
           The spiritually minded individual is not valued in America.  This is why living in the USA is so difficult.  We are all spiritual beings.  Much of contemporary life in the USA is bizarre and in some cases insane.  When you detach from the spiritual, you have left home and are then homeless in the real sense, regardless of how many houses that you might own.  And take a look at the overwhelming amount of technological products now available.  The psychological effects on the individual are being seriously researched.  How about the strange compulsion of taking endless selfies?  Add to that the use of designer drugs.  Craziness is increasing.  The mass shootings in schools and American shopping malls are no longer isolated events.  There is a problem here.  It is increasing and ongoing.  This is an emergency.  The center of the society is not holding. 
            For as long as I can remember, I have been waging a fierce battle to maintain a spiritual centeredness and be able to live in a socially positive, responsible manner.  This has led me to live on the edge much of the time, while performing service work, being an activist, and writing about it all.  The choices that I have made are consistent with an ongoing commitment to be spiritually unified.  I will continue to perform practices from the religious traditions in order to focus the mind on the Divine, and then act from there.  It's my way.  Automatic writing is the latest manifestation of this, and the truth flows on.  ~Peaceout~

Autumn Equinox Update

The Southern Humboldt social services network has been working hard to accommodate my demands for increased social security benefits, food stamps and Medical.  As of Friday September 20th, I have received the maximum increase in social security benefits...$701.72 beginning October 1st changing to $951.72 December 1st ongoing.  Food Stamps and Medical have been approved.  Have been invited to move back to The Magic Ranch in Redwood Valley and use the back bedroom again.  Otherwise, spent the day walking from Garberville to Redway and back, focusing the mind at its Source.  Simple as that.  Enjoyed coming back in the dark watching the stars overhead.  ~HAPPY EQUINOX~

Thanking Everybody for Unconditional Love

Thanks to the many who emailed and Facebooked me to inquire about my survival situation in Garberville. The Southern Humboldt adult protection services, department of social services, and county department of mental health have all telephoned Andy Caffrey’s place (which doubles as the Earth First! Media Center) where I am sleeping on the living room couch, to speak with me, following my having sent to the social services office in Eureka cut & pasted statements which I did make, and which were published online in the Boontling Greeley Sheet. No joke, I have an appointment with the SSI office in Eureka on Friday, and the county dept of mental health next Thursday when they will be in Garberville. Have had some rather straightforward exchanges over the telephone this morning, and am very happy that I was able to explain the entire truth of the matter, particularly as to how totally unconscious it is that I am on the edge of destitution for having lead a spiritually conscious, service oriented, politically radical existence in this national confusion of an experiment in freedom and democracy. I made it absolutely clear that under no circumstances am I apologizing for anything whatsoever, intending to pretend to be mentally ill in order to get any benefits, nor do I feel ashamed at all about anything, because I would have to be crazy in order to feel that way. I feel great, and deserve an increase in my social security benefits, plus assistance in getting a place to live, however minimal, as long as it is warm and indoors. America ought to be grateful for what it has received from me for the past 40 years, for which I have received absolutely nothing worth shit as an adult in what is masquerading as a functioning racially diverse enlightened society. Lastly, I suggested to the SSI representative in our telephone conversation this morning, that if there is any doubt about any of this, feel free to ask Jesus Christ directly for verification. I would like to believe that He would be a sufficient character reference. Craig Louis Stehr c/o Andy Caffrey 816 Locust Street #C, Garberville, CA 95542-3442. Telephone messages: (707) 923-2114. P.S. Thanking the sheriff’s department for their concern. They’ve been IDing me on my daily mindful walk back & forth between Garberville and Redway.

The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth, So Help Me God

Apparently progress is being made in my ongoing effort to remain alive on earth. While on the bus ride back to Garberville, adult protection services telephoned me at Andy Caffrey’s apartment. Whereas I had sent Southern Humboldt social services an email describing my homelessness and scant money situation, they responded. Andy did me a wonderful favor by detailing my honest life of activism, service work, and basic spiritual orientation. They responded that an increase in social security benefits would be wise. Also, that subsidized senior housing is remote, but a possible placement in a trailer park was mentioned. I am now spending my days walking back and forth from Garberville to Redway intensely watching the mind, and more importantly being focused at its Source. It’s true that the president of the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley once said to me that the Franciscans recognize that I have a “mystical charism”. Therefore, my behaviour is consistent with being a mystic. I fully understand that this is completely out of tune with the American experiment in freedom and democracy. So what? Does the Commander in Chief in Washington, D.C. watch his thoughts continuously, or have any idea whatsoever about their Source? Is he Self-realized? I am. I know exactly what I am as a result of a number of samadhic experiences lasting for hours, both here and in India. I know I know…”those who know don’t say…those who say don’t know”. Well, I know and I am saying it, so we might toss that bit of zen bullshit into the philosophical compost heap. And another thing, what the fuck am I supposed to do about the fact that I am an honest citizen in the American experiment in freedom and democracy? I mean, I’m not going to start pretending that I am mentally ill in order to get an increase in my social security benefits. Sure, I’ve enjoyed cold pints of beer and warm shots of scotch, but that doesn’t even come close to being an alcoholic. Not really. Indeed, I don’t even smoke. Andy Caffrey wants to know what I am doing to do if I run out of money at his place. I said that I would telephone Southern Humboldt social services and tell them that I am at risk and having an emergency, and that they should have me taken into custody. I mean, what else can I do at the moment? Anybody want to hire me as a “trimmer”? I’ve got a BA from the University of Arizona, class of 1971 in world literature (specializing in Saul Bellow), and a minor in economics specializing in the economics of poverty and discrimination with a specialty in low income housing issues. So, would anybody please set me up with a job in the emerging legal cannabis industry? Admittedly, I haven’t been stoned in decades, and do not plan to take it up, but I have no prejudice insofar as the usage of medical marijuana is concerned. I’m cool with it. So if you would like to cooperate with me becoming an economically productive member of the American society again, I want you to hire me. I mean, is this sane of me or what? And if you have any legal connections which of course I cannot pay for, go ahead and ask them to contact Adult Protective Services in Eureka and fast forward an increase of my measly $245 (which is left after deductions to pay for the Medicare Part B) an amount which is small, because I performed 23 years of selfless service with Catholic Worker which I did not get paid for, and all of the temp work through accounting agencies to keep me alive so that I could do that, I didn’t have to pay taxes on, so consequently my social security retirement benefit which I’ve been living on since age 62 eight years ago, amounts to less than what most Americans spend monthly on the pet dog). To say that Jesus Christ thinks that this is all seriously crazy is an understatement, but if you aren’t certain, why don’t you ask him? My 70th birthday is September 28th, and I’d like to get off of my friend Andy Caffrey’s couch, have some money beyond the grand that I have left, get at least a comfortable room to live in immediately, and thank you very much in getting involved in my situation. If you aren’t already convinced and interested in cooperating with me to advance my materialistic situation, then go ahead and ask directly for an opinion from God. You remember God, right? Check out what is on the back side of your cash. That’s what you trust in. Craig Louis Stehr, telephone messages c/o Andy Caffrey (707) 923-2114, and Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com and thank you very much for being my friend. It’s great, right? ;-) P.S. Have a good Sunday.

Preparing for the Global Climate Justice Strike

Arrived Garberville on Greyhound. Cool breeze. Big moon. The Southern Humboldt office of social services has called Andy Caffrey’s place inquiring about my well being. They have requested that I arrange a telephone interview to discuss increasing my social security benefits. Also the possibility of receiving assistance to somehow move into one of the local trailer parks was brought up. Will continue playing LOTTO in the meantime. My current address is the living room couch at the Earth First! Media Center. Having achieved Self-realization decades ago, am focused on destroying the demonic and returning the world to righteousness. As I explained to Andy, I am not going to become any more Self-realized than I already am, so there is no need for me to personally be on earth any further. Therefore, what else is there to do but take down the demonic which have economically hijacked society and placed the planet earth at considerable risk environmentally? My friend Stevie Thomas recommends that I hang up my monkeywrench, go live at Amma’s ashram in San Ramon, focus the mind on the Self, and enjoy life for a change, all the way back to Godhead. Obviously, I’ve got a decision to make here, and this time my AVA online counselors cannot figure it all out for me. I’ll have to take a lengthy walk along the Eel River tomorrow morning and just wait for the necessary vision. I’m about due for one anyway. Have a good weekend, fellow poets. Witness the entirety of the apparent phenomenalogical spectacle, and revel in its inherent emptiness. P.S. When I was at Naropa Institute in the summer of 1977, studying poetry with Chogyam Trungpa, Alan Ginsberg sat next to me in our breakaway study group mulling over the “100,000 Songs of Milarepa”. I told him that following a particularly wild party at Marpa House, a woman who had been living in her car walked in and joined us, and decided that I was her lover, whereupon zen legend Loring Palmer let me have his room for a couple of weeks. Alan responded that Trungpa Rinpoche told him that hangovers were actually good for meditation students, because you directly experience the suffering and cannot just get away from it by daydreaming as usual. P.P.S. See y’all at the local Climate Justice Strike actions on September 20th, unless of course I hit LOTTO, and then we fly to Washington, D.C. for some serious mayhem.

Identifying with the Eternal Witness

In an exchange with Earth First!er (and one of the first climate justice activists) Andy Caffrey, I pointed out that it may well come to pass that in spite of all of our best efforts, there may be ecological chaos ahead.  Insofar as any responsive eco-revolutionary activity, I pointed out that aside from possible small cells, there is no revolutionary group functioning in the United States.  This whole idea of eco-revolution is a fantasy, even though there could very well be a whole list of disastrous problems in the near future, such as the use of nuclear weapons, financial collapse, commonplace malnutrition with millions permanently homeless, and even madness.  

         The point that I made is that it is most important to identify with the Eternal Witness, and ride the mental waves and take care of the body.  The mind and body are instruments for a Higher Purpose.  This is the very best response to everything.  There aren't any satisfactory political solutions, and there never will be.  There is no utopia anywhere.  There is only rotting in the quagmire of samsara, and freeing oneself from it and identifying with the Eternal Witness.

          Of course I value the many years spent being active with Earth First!, 23 years of service with Catholic Worker, 15 times being in Washington, D.C. on the front lines of peace & justice, being part of both NYC and D.C. Occupy, and a list too numerous to detail fully of direct action groups, articles written, vigils kept, spiritual groups joined, and anything else that was sincerely lived over the past 70 years.

           On September 28th this body-mind complex will be 70 years young.  I need to be out of my pal Robert Eggplant's place in Pinole, CA on Saturday, and I have no idea whatsoever where I am going to go, or what I am specifically going to do in the future.  But you know what?  Rather than fend off a mental panic and start cursing postmodernism in America, I am going to identify with the Eternal Witness. Now you tell me: Did I get it right?

Craig Louis Stehr

September 9, 2019

Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com

Facebook: Craig Louis Stehr

Temples of Divinity

Sitting quietly at the Pinole, California Public Library, concentrated on the heart chakra in which are installed the divine couple, Lord Sri Krishna and his eternal consort Srimati Radharani, the mind repeating silently the mahamantram: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.  This body is a temple of divinity!  The mystical murtis of Krishna and Radha are installed in the heart chamber in the middle of the physical chest, and the focused mind continuously chants the mahamantram there.  The body is pleasantly scented with holy tulsi oil.          This is what moves about in postmodern America, conscious of all of the worries about global climate destabilization, the specter of nuclear war, the risk of showing up in Washington, D.C. without significant money as the weather begins to turn cold and rainy, fear of protracted homelessness and a weird death.  I am a living temple of divinity, not an animal body and a worrying human mind with some vague concept of a soul.  Reality is that we are all the Immortal Self, the Atman, Brahman the Absolute.  This is what the criminal politicians and materialists do not want you to know.  It is very important to realize this, because it is the crux of all other social problems.  Scriptures from various traditions define that life on the earth plane is often about engaging in spiritual warfare against the demonic, and the only goal is their destruction.           The requirement for succeeding in a spiritual war against the demonic, is to know what one essentially is, and beyond that to be in solidarity with others who know what they are.  No victory is possible otherwise.  I am prepared to leave California and return to Washington, D.C. for the 16th time.  I will require housing beyond seven days, which one of the antinuclear peace vigilers in front of the White House has graciously offered to me.  I now have food stamps from California's Humboldt county, which I may use outside of the area.  Also, my Hawaii bank checking account has a thousand dollars in it, so therefore I am able to get to Washington, D.C.             I need to get cooperation from others on the east coast in order for me to effectively be there long term.  Yes or no, are you serious about taking down the insane governmental spectacle or not?  Are you serious about opposing the postmodernistic mistake of mechanized life in America, which has created a society of freaked out survivalists?  Yes or no?           At this time, I am welcome to be a house guest of Robert Eggplant, who is publisher of Absolutely Zippo, and chronicler of the San Francisco bay area hardcore music scene and punk rock lifestyle. >>>The announcement line for shows is (510) BAD-SMUT.   I thank him for being in solidarity with me, uniquely different as we are.             I mean, do I really need to send out any further messages to get cooperation to be in Washington, D.C., and also hopefully active at the United Nations compound in New York City, and beyond even that...to wherever we will go and whatever we will do in service to the Divine Absolute?             I await responses from those who are serious. We are either unified, or we are nothing politically at all.  ~Peaceout and Hare Krishna~ Craig Louis StehrSeptember 5, 2019Email: craiglouisstehr@gmail.com Facebook: Craig Louis Stehr