One of the main differences between myself and other commentators who talk about an elite conspiracy to implement a totalitarian dystopia is that the others warn that we are being pushed toward this dystopia, while I insist that we're already there and have been for generations.

Reading by Tim Foley.

A Prison Where The Prisoners Don't Know They're In Prison

In times like these
when nuclear warheads are being moved into position,
when weapons manufacturers can't keep up with the demand,
when the pundits are making everyone stupid and crazy,
when it's hard to remember Assange's face but you can't turn on a screen without seeing Zelensky,
when our culture is manufactured on conveyor belts in New York, Hollywood, Arlington and Langley,
when everything's fake but the bombs and blockades,
when it feels like we're rocketing toward armageddon next to Jeff Bezos in a space suit,
when it feels like the angels have become smack addicts but have to settle for shitty Fentanyl fixes,
when it feels like God got kicked out of the group home and has to sell his plasma and sperm for cash,
when it feels like Heaven must be powered by smoggy nineteenth century London coal,
when it feels like the angel and the demon on humanity's shoulders are double fucking our ear canals,
when the bastards have sleeves full of bottomless aces while we're still trying to learn the rules,
when annihilation feels like a certainty and transcendence like a fairy tale,
it helps to have somewhere solid to take your stand.

In times like these
when everyone's so alienated they have to consume chemical intoxicants together just to share affection with each other,
when everyone's so lonely they trap animals in their homes with them so at least they have something that can't leave,
when everyone's so afraid of their own vulnerabilities they preemptively attack anyone who lowers their guard,
when everyone's pouring their lives into generating profits for miserable employers who will never have enough,
when everyone's being driven mad by the pointlessness of a civilization built around wealth extraction,
when everyone's allowing themselves to be sedated into a coma so they can't experience their own despondency,
when the radiant authenticity of nature is paved over to build cinemas to watch CGI creatures in CGI worlds,
when the sacred song of the heart is getting drowned out by desperation for dopamine hits from strangers on apps,
when the causeless joy of being keeps getting lost to fear and insecurity,
it helps to have some grounding in the changeless.

In times like these
truth can sneak in
like a thief,
like a ray of light through the smallest crack,
like a children's cereal mascot finally nicking a bowl of that delicious sugary starch
(oh my god it's got marshmallows and turns the milk neon colors oh fuck oh god I'm cumming),
like a ninja,
like Batman,
truth can sneak in and bonk you on the head
leaving you unable to see anything but the primal oneness,
unable to remember how you ever got things so mixed up,
like Gilligan when he got hit with the coconut
(except good).

In times like these
no matter how fucked up you are
you can sometimes catch Buddha winking at you in the mirror.

In times like these
everything is so tenuous
that satori can come crashing in at any moment.

In times like these
Shiva can just get tired of putting on the act
and take off the you-mask and break character.

In times like these
anyone's petty and irrelevant natterings
can be interrupted by the hatching of their heart.

We are such weird, mascara-streaked, runny-nosed ape mutants.
We are sharp-toothed blood-splashing murder monkeys.
We are honey-hearted giants with galaxies in our eyes.
I really hope you know how beautiful you are,
no matter how hard things are
and no matter how hard things get.
You contain vast universes,
and I wish I could make full-length Broadway musicals out of all of them.
No matter what happens I will love you through and through
until the heat death of the universe
and beyond.

And we just might get our miracle after all,
beautiful ape mutant.
We just might get our miracle after all.
In times like these, anything is possible.
In times like these, anything can be.
In times like these, we've all got nothing to lose,
which means we've got nothing to lose
by leaping.

___________________

Reading by Caitlin Johnstone.

In Times Like These

The western alliance has established a policy of continually escalating every time Russia doesn't react forcefully to a previous western escalation, which necessarily means Russia is being actively incentivized to react forcefully to those escalations.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The West Is Incentivizing Russia To Hit Back

Vrak 4

Don't let the fraudulence of this civilization eclipse the supernova of authenticity hidden just beneath that thin membrane.

Don't let the vapid artificiality of mainstream culture cause you to miss the weird magic of life as it actually is.

Don't let the barrage of advertisements screaming "THIS IS NEVER ENOUGH" distract from the symphony of joy in your cells at simply being alive.

Don't let the nonstop corporate messaging that you are ugly conceal from you your radiant beauty.

Don't let the Valentine's Day products from Hallmark steal the spotlight from our wide open hearts and our roaring passion.

Don't let the authoritative dronings of the imperial pundits mask the fact that they are babies made of mysteries and stardust.

Don't let the feigned confidence of the people around you trick you into thinking that any of us really knows anything.

Don't let all the buildings and billboards make you forget that no matter where you go you are always in the thick of nature.

Don't let the deluge of lies and propaganda cause you to lose sight of the fact that they are trying to pour concrete over a bottomless abyss of truth.

Don't let the footsteps marching to the beat of the imperial drum drown out the ancient song at the heart of consciousness.

Don't let this civilization's insistence that you are finite delude you into missing your own boundlessness.

Where it seems like there is an absence of depth, there are depths that couldn't be explored in a thousand lifetimes.

Where it appears that there is an absence of truth, truth hides just behind the eyes which perceive this.

There are galaxies hidden in supermarket aisles. There are universes hidden in parking lots.

Just beneath the superficial phoniness, there's a reality that is older than the stars.

Just beneath the capitalist tedium, there's an endless fountain of amazement.

Just beneath the collective psychosis, there's an oddly familiar sanity.

Just beneath the indoctrinated familiarity, a real encounter is waiting to happen.

Just beneath the hopelessness of our current plight, a great power is cracking a smile.

___________________

___________________

___________________

Reading by Tim Foley.

Just Beneath

(My sources are logic, common sense, and public statements by US government officials.)

Reading by Tim Foley.

My Sources Corroborate Sy Hersh's Nord Stream Report

The rain is over:
South Mountain puffs out
Spring clouds.

(Tr. Sōiku Shigematsu)

One of the most influencial modern Japanese writers, Natsume Soseki’s literary career started in 1903, with a series of haiku and renga published on various literary magazines. Between 1900 and 1903 he studied at the UCL in London, but this proved to be quite a dramatic experience for the young Soseki:

“The two years I spent in London were the most unpleasant years in my life. Among English gentlemen I lived in misery, like a poor dog that had strayed among a pack of wolves.“

Despite this, when Soseki returned to Japan he exploded into prolific writing activity.

the rain is over [naviarhaiku485]

Delignal

Created in Cubase 12 with Native Instruments Una Corda, Piano Colors, Lores, mastered with Ozone 10.

Inspired by Naviar Haiku 501:
https://www.naviarrecords.com/2023/08/09/naviarhaiku501-lull-in-the-rain/

Photo by zenbytes (2019, South Tyrol, Italy)

drifting butterfly - Naviarhaiku 501

A track produced for Naviar Records Haiku Challenge. Seven days in which to write and record a track in response to the haiku posted.

now it reveals its hidden side
and now the other - thus it falls
an autumn leaf

Now It Reveals Its Hidden Side (naviarhaiku506) - Adrian Lane

This week’s podcast features music made by Naviar’s community inspired by
Marco Alessi’s poem “Endless echo / footsteps on an empty house / once full of life”

Tracklist:

Audio Obscura - Echo Footsteps
noksidam - Empty House Once Full Of Life
Marco Lucchi - Once full of life (with Night Note)
Nadìr - Forgotten Games
Thoribass - Endless Echo

https://www.naviarrecords.com/2023/10/25/naviarhaiku512-endless-echo/

Credits:

music intro: “This ruined house” by Tuonela
voice intro: Ian Joyce
cover image: Peter Herrmann
voice reciting the poem: Marco Sebastiano Alessi

Naviar Broadcast is a radio programme curated by Naviar, broadcasted on Resonance Extra every Wednesday at 7pm UK time. Thirty minutes of experimental music made in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem.
To have your music featured on the show, you'll have to participate in the Haiku music challenge: https://www.naviarrecords.com/about/naviar-haiku
support the show: https://www.naviarrecords.com/support-us/

Naviar Broadcast #292 – Endless echo – Wednesday 8th November 2023

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.

A Prison Where The Prisoners Don't Know They're In Prison

Caitlin Johnstone

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