Snow!

[Walker]

34C sounds literally unbearable, to be honest. It was something like that when I was in Eilat, Israel, in 2009, and I couldn't stand it for very long. Luckily we were by the sea, so I spent as much time in it as a could, including at a place called Dolphin Reef, where you can swim with dolphins.

Dolphins. Sculptor the old grouch was a big fan of dolphins and probably still is. Discussions about them were interesting.

*

Speaking of heat, years after that blizzard I was in the empty desert east of El Paso late one night. I had pulled into a roadside rest stop to break the highway hypnosis and eat a can of sardines. So, to stretch my legs I wandered along a good distance from my vehicle when suddenly a big, lanky Mexican appeared and he wanted my money. He moved in fast to put himself between me and my car, and then he came up on me fast with one hand behind his back. In that situation I turned invisible, yes it's true. It was one of the strangest experiences of body and mind being totally present in reality. When I again turned visible I was in my car and he was about fifty feet away, looking surprised and no longer a threat. I drove past and waved, and he appeared to actually be stupified. Of course, the details in between and the subjective experience are what's interesting. The thing is, some power took over and turned me invisible.

[Maia]

Yes, ok then, I'd be interested to hear it.

With regards to extremes of temperature, I much prefer the winter for going on camping trips and the like. Not only are the places far less crowded with tourists, but I can walk for ages without getting too hot. I wouldn't want to get caught in a blizzard, though. I prefer it when the air is still, little or no wind, and dry.

I did not just trot off into a blizzard late at night without a plan. I had a destination and when I reached it I stopped moving and stood under a large pavilion overlooking the city. On three sides of the pavilion posts held up the roof that kept most of the snow off eight large picnic tables with a lot of space around them. A large stone fireplace and chimney filled most of the space for a fourth wall but tonight no fire burned, and the electricity for the lights was locked up.

I was out of the blizzard. Snow had melted on my chest and shoulders from body heat and then iced up again, but I was warm and cozy and out of the snow, yet still outside. I stood in the silence listening to the rustle of snowflakes, to the swirling sound of wind bending around the corners of the pavilion and whooshing through the evergreens on the hillside that sloped away to give me a dim glimpse of the city skyline all diffused and glowing. For some reason, I don’t know why, I turned and peered up into the darkness of the rafters.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness and outlines appeared I saw what looked like a man crouched on one of the beams. He wore white, head to toe, a white jumpsuit over his clothes, a white hood over his head. The guy was dressed like a sniper, like a soldier in a winter combat zone. He didn’t move and neither did I. We stared at one another in silence for while, then he moved. He slowly lowered himself from the rafter towards a picnic table directly underneath, like a reverse pullup, then he dropped the rest of the way to the table without much of a sound, a drop of about a foot. He must have pulled himself up into the rafters from that table.

Or, to tickle the fancy of infinite potentiality, he could have floated up there. You know, like an angel.

I said nothing. He looked to be in his twenties, lean and fit like a soldier. He began to talk, but not much. He said he was practicing camouflage with his white outfit. I didn’t ask why because you know, he might have had a notion to practice some other skills of war, on me, and although I didn’t get that sense you just never know for sure with strangers. I treated him and his words with casual respect, as if what he was doing there alone in the dark was perfectly normal, which wasn’t all that difficult to do seeing as how I too was out in the blizzard late at night and enjoying the rare weather event, although I was wearing dark clothes so I would be visible against the white snow, not invisible white on white. I wished the fellow a good practice and eased on out of there, then jogged back home. As I mentioned it was odd, nothing grand, a few years after Vietnam and the world was in flux. I wondered how many like him were out there, practicing their stealth.

As odd as it was my sense of the situation was that he was benign, and probably just looking to be part of the elements and the silence.

That sounds like a pretty scary experience, to be honest. He was probably as wary of you, though, as you were of him.

[Maia]

34C sounds literally unbearable, to be honest. It was something like that when I was in Eilat, Israel, in 2009, and I couldn't stand it for very long. Luckily we were by the sea, so I spent as much time in it as a could, including at a place called Dolphin Reef, where you can swim with dolphins.

Dolphins. Sculptor the old grouch was a big fan of dolphins and probably still is. Discussions about them were interesting.

*

Speaking of heat, years after that blizzard I was in the empty desert east of El Paso late one night. I had pulled into a roadside rest stop to break the highway hypnosis and eat a can of sardines. So, to stretch my legs I wandered along a good distance from my vehicle when suddenly a big, lanky Mexican appeared and he wanted my money. He moved in fast to put himself between me and my car, and then he came up on me fast with one hand behind his back. In that situation I turned invisible, yes it's true. It was one of the strangest experiences of body and mind being totally present in reality. When I again turned visible I was in my car and he was about fifty feet away, looking surprised and no longer a threat. I drove past and waved, and he appeared to actually be stupified. Of course, the details in between and the subjective experience are what's interesting. The thing is, some power took over and turned me invisible.

Very interesting. I've felt invisible often enough myself, too, but never in a literal sense.

In terms of what could be described as paranormal experiences, I suppose my most memorable was when I was camping, on my own, at the Malvern Hills. On one of the nights I was sitting outside my tent and began hearing what sounded like a flute playing in the distance, but it was difficult to make out against the wind, just on the very edge of hearing. It came and went for quite a while, and then, as if from nowhere, a woman started talking to me. She said she had been running over the hills, and sounded out of breath. We sat there for ages, chatting, but afterwards I couldn't remember what we spoke about. And strangely, although I could hear her talking, very close to me, it felt as if there was no one there, no physical presence. And then she just left. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dream, as I hadn't even gone to bed yet, but it just felt odd, somehow.

[Walker]

In terms of what could be described as paranormal experiences, I suppose my most memorable was when I was camping, on my own, at the Malvern Hills. On one of the nights I was sitting outside my tent and began hearing what sounded like a flute playing in the distance, but it was difficult to make out against the wind, just on the very edge of hearing. It came and went for quite a while, and then, as if from nowhere, a woman started talking to me. She said she had been running over the hills, and sounded out of breath. We sat there for ages, chatting, but afterwards I couldn't remember what we spoke about. And strangely, although I could hear her talking, very close to me, it felt as if there was no one there, no physical presence. And then she just left. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dream, as I hadn't even gone to bed yet, but it just felt odd, somehow.

In the past, I’ve thought about your dream comment. I have wondered about that for folks without the eye sense. Meditation turns attention inwards, away from the senses and that creates a new relationship of undistracted awareness with thoughts, until like sensory impressions thoughts too fall away leaving only awareness of … the ineffable best described as emptiness, since “awareness-of” is a term that no longer applies, as in a dream when being is the dream, rather than the sense of being in a dream.

*

You felt like you were invisible in your encounter. I didn’t feel that way, in mine. I felt like a passenger witnessing events, without any thought of invisibility. That thought came later, by replaying the sequence of events in memory, as a rational explanation of what had happened. The replaying was carried along by an unforgettable feeling that what had happened was an event choreographed by a natural intelligence that for a short time, removed me from the awareness of one who just moments before, had been under semi-attack mode by an external force still somewhat cautious in his approach, slowing until he stopped right at the edge of my space, likely because he didn’t know if I was armed or not. And, I was able to identify cause and effect of how I became invisible.

I’ll trade you the rest for a story of another memorable encounter of yours, but I can’t promise when that might be because the holidays are rolling in along with lots of folks and all kinds of things are happening these days, with all kinds of effects, so no rush. A lot of things may change between now and then.

[Maia]

In terms of what could be described as paranormal experiences, I suppose my most memorable was when I was camping, on my own, at the Malvern Hills. On one of the nights I was sitting outside my tent and began hearing what sounded like a flute playing in the distance, but it was difficult to make out against the wind, just on the very edge of hearing. It came and went for quite a while, and then, as if from nowhere, a woman started talking to me. She said she had been running over the hills, and sounded out of breath. We sat there for ages, chatting, but afterwards I couldn't remember what we spoke about. And strangely, although I could hear her talking, very close to me, it felt as if there was no one there, no physical presence. And then she just left. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dream, as I hadn't even gone to bed yet, but it just felt odd, somehow.

In the past, I’ve thought about your dream comment. I have wondered about that for folks without the eye sense. Meditation turns attention inwards, away from the senses and that creates a new relationship of undistracted awareness with thoughts, until like sensory impressions thoughts too fall away leaving only awareness of … the ineffable best described as emptiness, since “awareness-of” is a term that no longer applies, as in a dream when being is the dream, rather than the sense of being in a dream.

*

You felt like you were invisible in your encounter. I didn’t feel that way, in mine. I felt like a passenger witnessing events, without any thought of invisibility. That thought came later, by replaying the sequence of events in memory, as a rational explanation of what had happened. The replaying was carried along by an unforgettable feeling that what had happened was an event choreographed by a natural intelligence that for a short time, removed me from the awareness of one who just moments before, had been under semi-attack mode by an external force still somewhat cautious in his approach, slowing until he stopped right at the edge of my space, likely because he didn’t know if I was armed or not. And, I was able to identify cause and effect of how I became invisible.

I’ll trade you the rest for a story of another memorable encounter of yours, but I can’t promise when that might be because the holidays are rolling in along with lots of folks and all kinds of things are happening these days, with all kinds of effects, so no rush. A lot of things may change between now and then.

I don't have any visual aspect to my dreams, but the other senses are all represented in them, often very strongly. I think the most important thing about dreams, though, is their emotional content, or emotional signature, as I call it.

I didn't feel invisible in that encounter on the hills. Rather, the woman who spoke to me seemed "invisible" to me, by which I mean that I couldn't feel any sort of physical presence about her, just a disembodied voice. If someone is sitting near me I know they're there through echolocation and smell, among other things, even if they're totally silent. But in this case, there was nothing.

Ok, here's another weird encounter. When I was little I sometimes thought I heard voices whispering to me from the base of a tree in my parents' back garden, a large oak tree, which, in later years, I used to climb up. The voices gradually faded away as I got older, but I've always considered the tree to be special, in some way. And it's still there, of course, at my parents' house, and I can visit it at any time.

[Walker]

Ok, here's another weird encounter. When I was little I sometimes thought I heard voices whispering to me from the base of a tree in my parents' back garden, a large oak tree, which, in later years, I used to climb up. The voices gradually faded away as I got older, but I've always considered the tree to be special, in some way. And it's still there, of course, at my parents' house, and I can visit it at any time.

There is a visual correlation to that, in which organic shapes such as animals and human faces can be discerned in nature, in rock formations, shadows and light upon an irregular surface, clouds, and so on. At first they can't be seen and then when seen, can scarcely be unseen.

[Walker]

Well Maia, I wrote up the reporting of the encounter in the desert, and then re-considered the sharing offer that was made in haste, so the analysis of the encounter shall remain unshared. Sharing wouldn’t be prudent for retaining the power of the incident that can’t be communicated in its totality, but can only be recounted only in portions that I consider significant, and communicated in my style which has oft' been described as, incomprehensible. It wouldn’t be prudent because in an open, lawless forum there’s a high probability that something so significant and astonishing would be used for a clown show* (not by you) to melt the meaning of what happened there in the desert like snow, and as a rule I don’t send PMs, based on the Interweb Philosophy of, if you can’t say it in public then don’t say it.

The short, factual reporting is: Moments after the thief said he wanted my money, I spoke a few words that caused him to turn and walk away, with me invisible to his mind, and to his eyes because he did not look at me again. I eventually figured out why through years of living, but then again ...

I will say, I wasn't armed, as the saying goes, and I gave him nothing but words.

• In part because I have been know to sometimes clown around.

[Impenitent]

snow covers the east coast

https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-sou ... 71b2307bf1

southern California is an inferno

-Imp

[Wizard22]

snow covers the east coast

https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-sou ... 71b2307bf1

southern California is an inferno

-Imp

A Tale of Fire & Ice

-Wiz

[Fairy]

snow covers the east coast

https://apnews.com/article/wildfire-sou ... 71b2307bf1

southern California is an inferno

-Imp

A Tale of Fire & Ice

-Wiz

IMG_0537.jpeg

[Impenitent]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmViL8r5o6s

-Imp

[Fairy]

Why doesn't God send rain to Southern California to help put out the fires.

Is God angry with Hollywood.

[Impenitent]

god? what democrat gives a flip about god?

why didn't the democrats have a supply of water to fight fires?

the environmentalists had to save the delta smelt

democrats reaping what they sow

-Imp

[Wizard22]

god? what democrat gives a flip about god?

why didn't the democrats have a supply of water to fight fires?

the environmentalists had to save the delta smelt

democrats reaping what they sow

-Imp

Because Democrats didn't reap what they...snowed.

[Fairy]

It's snow joke...


“I‌ am fearless in the pursuit of what sets ‍my soul on fire.”