{"id":26401,"date":"2023-08-04T14:49:26","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=26401"},"modified":"2023-08-04T14:49:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-04T18:49:28","slug":"this-is-no-movie-this-is-real-the-last-reel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/this-is-no-movie-this-is-real-the-last-reel\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;This Is No Movie &#8212; This Is REAL! (The Last Reel&#8230;)&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RLZOXm3zY1w\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"smalltext\"><em>[This post&#8217;s title alludes to a favorite bit from <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2009\/05\/4-or-5-crazee-guys\/\" target=\"_blank\">Firesign Theatre<\/a>&#8216;s 1970 album, <\/em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Don%27t_Crush_That_Dwarf,_Hand_Me_the_Pliers\" target=\"_blank\">Don&#8217;t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me Those Pliers<\/a><em>. If I could find a transcript of it, I&#8217;d link thereto&#8230; but I can&#8217;t. So allow me to introduce you to the album in its entirety, above, via the magic of YouTube. I&#8217;d hate to isolate the specific location in the audio where this line occurs &#8212; thus robbing you of the full, rich, 40-some-minutes experience &#8212; so, well, just listen.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2023\/07\/self-help-in-middle-of-night-in-sweden.html\" target=\"_blank\">whiskey river<\/a><\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Self help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the middle of the night<br>in Sweden, in the northern part<br>northish, anyway,<br>at midsummer<br>there are no stars<br>the light shimmers when you get up<br>and walk through the woods<br>to the outhouse<br>shimmers. it is not<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>like<br>what you are used to, shining from<br>like the sun through<br>the trees to your eyes.<br>it breaks and shimmers<br>in all directions.<br>at least i am pretty sure,<br>i didn\u2019t have my glasses on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>we saw two moose<br>a big one one evening<br>a little one the next evening<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>i sat on the porch in a lawn chair<br>i looked at the lake<br>and at the trees<br>eventually i noticed i was not thinking<br>i was a little surprised<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>what am i doing when i am not thinking<br>i am living<br>so i lived on the porch<br>for a few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>would i recommend this?<br>i don\u2019t recommend anything<br>anymore<br>you\u2019ll figure it out<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Mig Living [<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.metamorphosism.com\/?p=6021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;<a href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2023\/08\/the-moon-glows-same-is-drifting-cloud.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">and<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The moon glows the same:<br>It is the drifting cloud forms<br>Make it seem to change.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Matsuo Basho [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/books\/edition\/Full_Moon_is_Rising\/48TAGdFSOrcC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;pg=PA90&amp;printsec=frontcover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and (<em>ibid<\/em>.):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Awakening doesn&#8217;t mean&nbsp;<em>you<\/em>&nbsp;awaken. It means that there is only awakening. There is no &#8220;you&#8221; who is awake, there is only awakeness. As long as you identify with a &#8220;you&#8221; who is either awake or not awake, you are still dreaming. Awakening is awakening from the dream of a separate you into simply being Awakeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is that most people are paying attention to objects, to what they perceive &#8211; rather than to the ultimate perceiver, the background. Either way, awareness is happening 100% of the time. The light is on brightly. It never goes off, but where is it looking? The human condition is characterized by a complete fascination with objects, starting with this object that we interpret as &#8220;me.&#8221; Me is only a thought. You are before this me thought.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Adyashanti [<em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/impactofawakenin0000adya\/page\/57\/mode\/1up?view=theater\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/impactofawakenin0000adya\/page\/49\/mode\/1up?view=theater\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not from <em>whiskey river<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Nonreading<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bookstores don&#8217;t provide<br>a remote control for Proust,<br>you can&#8217;t switch<br>to a soccer match,<br>or a quiz show, win a Cadillac.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We live longer<br>but less precisely<br>and in shorter sentences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We travel faster, farther, more often,<br>but bring back slides instead of memories.<br>Here I am with some guy.<br>There I guess that&#8217;s my ex.<br>Here everyone&#8217;s naked<br>so this must be a beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Seven volumes&#8212;mercy.<br>Couldn&#8217;t it be cut or summarized,<br>or better yet put into pictures.<br>There was that series called &#8220;The Doll,&#8221;<br>but my sister-in-law says that&#8217;s some other P. <strong>[<a href=\"#theotherp\">*<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And by the way, who was he anyway.<br>They say he wrote in bed for years on end.<br>Page after page<br>at a snail&#8217;s pace.<br>But we&#8217;re still going in fifth gear<br>and, knock on wood, never better.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Wislawa Szymborska [<em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/books\/edition\/Map\/Qqt0BwAAQBAJ?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;dq=%22Bookstores+don%27t+provide%22+%22a+remote+control+for+Proust,%22&amp;pg=PA405&amp;printsec=frontcover\" target=\"_blank\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>When you contemplate the nature of Self, you are meditating. That is why meditation is the highest state. It is the return to the root of your being, the simple awareness of being aware. Once you become conscious of the consciousness itself, you attain a totally different state. You are now aware of who you are. You have become an awakened being. It&#8217;s really just the most natural thing in the world. Here I am. Here I always was. It&#8217;s like you have been on the couch watching TV, but you were so totally immersed in the show that you forgot where you were. Someone shook you, and now you&#8217;re back to the awareness that you&#8217;re sitting on the couch watching TV. Nothing else changed. You simply stopped projecting your sense of self onto that particular object of consciousness. You woke up. That is spirituality. That is the nature of Self. That is who you are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As you pull back into the consciousness, this world ceases to be a problem. It&#8217;s just something you&#8217;re watching. It keeps changing, but there is no sense of that being a problem. The more you are willing to just let the world be something you&#8217;re aware of, the more it will let you be who you are&#8212;the awareness, the Self, the Atman, the Soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You realize that you&#8217;re not who you thought you were. You&#8217;re not even a human being. You just happen to be watching one.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Michael A. Singer [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/books\/edition\/The_Untethered_Soul\/sqPzr7Pn4cQC?hl=en&amp;gbpv=1&amp;pg=PA37&amp;printsec=frontcover\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>____________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"theotherp\">* The &#8220;other P&#8221; in Szymborska&#8217;s poem refers to Polish writer <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boles%C5%82aw_Prus\" target=\"_blank\">Boleslaw Prus<\/a> (1847-1912). His 1890 novel, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Doll_(novel)\" target=\"_blank\">The Doll<\/a><\/em>, was eventually adapted both for television and for film. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[This post&#8217;s title alludes to a favorite bit from Firesign Theatre&#8216;s 1970 album, Don&#8217;t Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me Those Pliers. If I could find a transcript of it, I&#8217;d link thereto&#8230; but I can&#8217;t. So allow me to introduce you to the album in its entirety, above, via the magic of YouTube. I&#8217;d hate [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Mig Living, Michael A. Singer, Firesign Theatre, et al.: '\"This Is No Movie -- This Is REAL! (The Last Reel...)\"'","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[183,247,1393,251,4159],"tags":[921,1196,2599,4109,5168,5732,5733],"class_list":{"0":"post-26401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-everyday-life","8":"category-ruminations","9":"category-whiskey-river-runningaftermyhat","10":"category-poetry-writing_cat","11":"category-essays","12":"tag-wislawa-szymborska","13":"tag-firesign-theatre","14":"tag-basho","15":"tag-adyashanti","16":"tag-michael-a-singer","17":"tag-mig-living","18":"tag-appearance-vs-reality","19":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/dwarfpliers.jpg?fit=1500%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-6RP","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26401"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26417,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26401\/revisions\/26417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}