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Sunday, February 21, 2016

Why is Bobby Shmurda still in jail? You jits better think about it.

Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda became an overnight sensation when one of his videos became a surprise viral hit, landing him a top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and scoring him a deal with Epic Records. He was poised to break out, but before he could prove himself more than a one-hit wonder, he was arrested for crimes linked to his lyrics.

Last December, Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, was indicted alongside members of his GS9 rap crew. His charges included first-degree conspiracy (or intent to commit a class A felony like murder or treason), criminal possession of a firearm, and reckless endangerment. Other members racked up even bigger charges like assault, attempted murder, and second-degree murder. Shmurda could face up to 25 years in prison if found guilty (according to aWashington Post report, the investigation produced 21 guns).

The indictment portrayed GS9 as a criminal enterprise with Pollard as the ringleader. It pegged them as a mini mafia of sorts, roping off New York territory from King’s Highway to East Flatbush, committing murder and trafficking drugs in order to maintain a stranglehold on their turf. The charges revolve around a string of incidents from January 2013 to October 2014, starting with the murder of an unnamed member of GS9’s rival crew, BMW, in a bodega in 2013. According to the indictment, members of GS9 were “arrested in possession of firearms on eight occasions” and there are at least three area shootings linked to the crew, including one of a 22-year-old bystander who was shot in the neck during an attempt on another BMW member’s life.

Pollard has had an eventful stint behind bars since his arrest. In April, he was involved in a gang brawl. A few months later, he and his ex-girlfriend were caught trying to smuggle in a knife. Pollard was charged with promoting contraband and criminal possession of a weapon, which could carry an additional seven-year perjury sentence.

Over the course of his prison stay, he has had something of an attorney carousel. His first defender, Howard Greenberg, who got one of the gun charges dismissedin January (a charge Pollard will still have to face), was replaced after the indictment by Kenneth Montgomery, who stood beside the rapper when he pleaded not guilty on all charges. He was also representing Pollard when herejected an eight-year plea deal. In October, Pollard separated with Montgomery and hired his third attorney, Alex Spiro, who was on hand when the trial got pushed to next year and when his bail was restructured. Little progress has been made by any on the bail front.

According to WebCrims, the online case database of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the New York state unified court system, Pollard is set to appear before the New York supreme court again on 11 January for the felony conspiracy charges from the original indictment. He’s also set to appear before the Bronx supreme court on 16 February for the felony contraband charge. He will likely remain behind bars until then.

But why hasn’t he been able to post bail while he awaits trial? He’s already had six bail hearings since January, which have all proved fruitless. Pairing bits of context from various reports with information provided by Pollard himself, it would appear that he is simply unable to produce the necessary capital.

In an interview conducted from jail with Billboard in February, the rapper laid the situation out pretty plainly: “They don’t have no evidence, no nothing on me for the bill to be so high. I haven’t been out for a year, I haven’t been around for a year. So I didn’t make $2m! [Laughs] They gave me a bill they know I can’t pay. We can pay the 10 percent. And we tried to pay the 10 percent and they told us collateral. And every time we go for bail, it’s something new.”

Back in October, the rapper whose songHot Nigga went viral told Hot 97 program director Ebro Darden that his bail wasn’t denied, but the petition to have it reduced was, and it’s likely that was again the case at the December hearing. Some have wondered why Epic hasn’t aided the signee they worked so hard to acquire.

In October, LA Reid, the label’s CEO, explained the logistics to Rap Radar: “Bobby Shmurda is not the same as Snoop Dogg and Murder Was The Case, who’s coming off The Chronic and his first album. It’s a different era, you know? And we’re a publicly held corporation. We just aren’t in the same position we were in back in those days.” In the Hot 97 interview, Pollard said he’d had very little contact with the label since his incarceration. Epic Records could not be reached for comment.

There’s a long history of rappers being arrested, and making bail is often an afterthought in such cases. Earlier this year, G-Unit rapper Kidd Kidd was bailed out by label boss 50 Cent on $100,000 bond the same week he allegedly assaulted an ex-girlfriend in a hotel room. Last year, Jeezy was arrested on weapons charges on a Sunday and was released on $1m bail by that Thursday. Rapper Rick Ross was released from jail a week after he was arrested on kidnapping and assault charges, making his $2m bail. After initially being denied bail altogether, Ross’s lawyer convinced the judge otherwise in an additional hearing. His bail situation, which would be considered contentious by usual standards, seems like nothing compared to what Pollard has faced over the course of the past year behind bars.

Pollard’s situation is atypical, to say the least. The one rapper who has experienced similar difficulties is Offset, a member of the group Migos, who remained jailed for months and was denied bail three times after allegedly inciting a prison altercation. But Offset was recently released and Pollard still can’t make any headway.

It’s starting to seem entirely possible that Pollard will remain in prison through both of his trials, which appear on separate dockets in separate courts and may drag out for some time. With bail negotiations continuing to stall, he might sit in a cell through what could potentially be a guilty verdict, which would carry even heftier jail time, even on the lesser counts. It’s easy to boil the situation down to a gangster rapper on the cusp of fame being derailed by his criminal past and abandoned by his label when he needed them most, but that may be reductive given the many variables at play here. This might have been in the works long before his rap success.

It does seem likely, though, that a host of things related to Pollard’s rap career contributed to the situation: His lyrics may have provided the context law enforcement officials needed to connect the dots that led to the indictment; the rapper’s profile produced added scrutiny for his case and put a big price tag on his freedom, and yet being in the early stages of a fledgling career made it nearly impossible to meet the price set on his celebrity. Only time will tell whether or not Hot Nigga will be his last gasp at rap stardom, but one thing is certain: the same gangster lifestyle that fueled the raps and made Shmurda a viral star has now forced him into a corner.

Update: Martin Shkreli, the notorious pharmaceutical representative who purchased the only copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album, Once Upon A Time In Shaolin, for $2 million, told HipHopDX that he wants to pay the rapper’s bail. “Forget whether you think he’s guilty or not, the guy should not be sitting in jail right now,” he said. “It’s insane. He’s from Brooklyn. I’m from Brooklyn. He deserves a fair trial. He deserves good lawyers. He doesn’t have good lawyers. His label is hanging him out to dry and so I have a conference call [15 December] morning with them.” But ever on-brand, Shkreli isn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart: “I’m a fan and I’m a businessman. Look, the guy’s going to have to record for me if he comes out. I’ll just come out and say it … I’m not going to do this for free.”

The 10 Biggest Tech Billionaire Yachts On The High Seas

For some billionaires, when it comes to buying a yacht, bigger is always better.

Tech billionaires definitely don't disappoint. Megayachts belonging to entrepreneurs like Larry Ellison, Mark Cuban, and Paul Allen are among the biggest privately owned boats in the world.

They have some pretty out-of-this-world features, too. One even has a special deck that can be transformed into a nightclub, while others have multiple helicopter landing pads and submarines.

We've rounded up some of the biggest yachts owned by tech executives.

#10 Skype cofounder Niklas Zennström is an avid sailor and owns several yachts in the Rán Racing fleet, including the 72-foot "Rán" and brand-new "Rán V."

#9 Virgin founder Richard Branson owns a 105-foot catamaran called the "Necker Belle," which he charters out for $110,000 a week. He put the yacht up for sale in March, though he has yet to find a buyer.

#8 In 2011, Google cofounder Larry Page bought the 193-foot "Senses" yacht from New Zealand businessman Sir Douglas Myers for $45 million. The yacht was designed by Philippe Starck, has a helipad and jacuzzi, and can accommodate up to 10 guests and 14 crew members.

#7 Google chairman Eric Schmidt owns "Oasis," a 194-foot superyacht that he reportedly paid $72.3 million for in 2009. The yacht has plenty of amenities, including a pool, jet skis, and a gym that can be converted into a disco. Schmidt also owned a 255-foot tugboat yacht called "Lone Ranger," which sold at auction in the spring of 2013.

#6 The late Steve Jobs commissioned legendary designer Philippe Starck to build "Venus," a stunning 256-foot megayacht. The yacht is glassy and sleek, reminiscent of an Apple device, and a row of 27-inch iMacs serves as the control panel inside. Jobs died before the boat was complete.

#5 IAC CEO Barry Diller and wife Diane von Furstenberg own the 271-foot "EOS," one of the largest sailing vessels in the world. "I'm sure I'll get hungry for doing another boat as well at some point, another stripe of another kind," he told Portfolio in 2007. "Once you're in boats, you either go bankrupt or you keep going."

Kick back and view the article here > http://www.businessinsider.com/biggest-yachts-in-tech-2014-8?op=1

Gotta go gotta go, heavy workout Monday is upon me.

BASIC FACTS ABOUT GRAY WOLVES

Gray wolves range in color from grizzled gray or black to all-white. As the ancestor of the domestic dog, the gray wolf resembles German shepherds or malamutes. Though they once nearly disappeared from the lower 48 states, today wolves have returned to the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Southwestern United States.

Wolves play a key role in keeping ecosystems healthy. They help keep deer and elk populations in check, which can benefit many other plant and animal species. The carcasses of their prey also help to redistribute nutrients and provide food for other wildlife species, like grizzly bears and scavengers. Scientists are just beginning to fully understand the positive ripple effects that wolves have on ecosystems.

Diet

Wolves eat ungulates, or large hoofed mammals, like elk, deer, moose and caribou, as well as beaver, rabbits and other small prey. Wolves are also scavengers and often eat animals that have died due to other causes.

Population

Did You Know?

Wolves have unique howls, like fingerprints, that scientists (and other pack members) can use to tell them apart.

There are an estimated 7,000 to 11,200 gray wolves in Alaska, 3,700 in the Great Lakes region and 1,675 in the Northern Rockies.

Habitat & Range

Gray wolves were once common throughout all of North America, but were exterminated in most areas of the United States by the mid 1930s. Today, their range has been reduced to Canada, Alaska, the Great Lakes, northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. Thanks to the reintroduction of wolves in 1995, Yellowstone National Park is one of the most favored places to see and hear wolves in their native habitat. Wolves require large areas of contiguous habitat that can include forests and mountainous terrain, and Mexican gray wolves can thrive in desert and brush in the southwest. Suitable habitat must have sufficient access to prey, protection from excessive persecution, and areas for denning and taking shelter.

Did You Know?

The alpha female and alpha male wolves of a pack usually mate for life.

Behavior

Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of 7 to 8 animals on average. Packs include the mother and father wolves (called the alphas), their pups and older offspring. The alpha female and male are typically the pack leaders that track and hunt prey, choose den sites and establish the pack's territory. Wolves develop strong social bonds within their packs.

Wolves have a complex communication system ranging from barks and whines to growls and howls. While they don't actually howl at the moon, they are more active at dawn and dusk, and they do howl more when it's lighter at night, which occurs more often when the moon is full.

Reproduction

Breeding season occurs once a year late January through March. Pups are born blind and defenseless. The pack cares for the pups until they fully mature at about 10 months of age when they can hunt on their own. Once grown, young wolves may disperse. Dispersing wolves have been known to travel 50 to 500 miles.

Mating Season: January or February.
Gestation: 63 days
Litter size: 4-7 pups

Full > http://www.defenders.org/gray-wolf/basic-facts

Examining the Internalized Oppressor Complex

BY MIGUEL MORIN, aka Rey Salomón of the ALKQN

“Every act of conquest implies a conqueror and someone or something which is conquered. The conqueror imposes his objectives on the vanquished, and makes of them his possession. He imposes his own contours on the vanquished, who internalize this shape and become ambiguous beings ‘housing’ another…” -Paolo Freire

Introduction

This article was written as a result of lessons learned in the reading of Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. For the most part, the paper is a reflection on the work and is constructed around the theme of internalization – the theme that sounded to me the loudest, as a representative of the lumpen-proletariat of North America.

Throughout Freire’s Pedagogy this theme of internalizing the ways of the oppressor has rung out to me. But also throughout every day of my life – both within the concrete jungles of society that I was raised, and the ones now within the penal system in which I am being buried – I have noted this phenomenon and scourge amongst my kind: the lumpen.

Because of the example set by the oppressor, who is the possessor of power and wealth, the oppressed individual who is deprived of these things tends to aspire to become more like the oppressor himself. The oppressed individual would naturally aspire to become more of a ‘man,’ due to the model of ‘manhood’ projected to him by the oppressor, but this aspiration is mutated from its conception. As a result of this psychology, the oppressed individual more and more subconsciously or otherwise attempts to identify himself with the traits of the oppressor. In this move, the oppressed individual becomes unable to be clearly objective about his oppressor because he has embraced in himself those very same traits.

He may still be able to see himself as the oppressed, but because he now psychologically identifies with his oppressor, whatever quest he may endeavour towards true liberation will be hindered. Instead of striving for true liberation, he will ultimately strive to become the oppressor himself.

Furthermore, this identification (or adhesion) with the oppressor affects the oppressed’s concept of the ‘new man’ into one of a more individualistic nature. For him, the ‘new man’ is the new oppressor. Because they have adopted the traits of the oppressor through a process of psychological internalization, they are bound – as long as they continue to ‘house’ the oppressor – to reach a point of actually accepting themselves as oppressors who are only aspiring to attain their ‘rightful place’ upon the throne of oppression. This is why an oppressed person who is promoted to any position of authority often tends to be actually more oppressive than the original taskmaster himself…

The oppressed are afflicted with a fear of freedom. This fear will either lead them to desire the role of the oppressor or bind them to their own existent state of oppression. True freedom would actually require them to eject the internalized image of the oppressor that they possess and thence awaken to a more clear reality. It would threaten the ‘security of conformity’ they have grown accustomed to and force them to act more independently, responsibly and critically toward the contradiction of the oppressor/oppressed relationship.

The oppressed individual who possesses this ‘fear of freedom’ is often evident in his personal preference for gregarious friendship, rather than for authentic comradeship. Because of his inability to clearly objectivize the oppressor, due to his own adhesion to him, the oppressed individual will desire the oppressor’s ‘freedom’ to oppress.

This is the tragic dilemma of the oppressed: their having to suffer from the duality which has established itself in their inner-most being. They see that without freedom they cannot exist authentically, yet although they may desire authentic existence, they fear it. In this way, and thanks to the oppressor’s consciousness, which they have internalized, they are at one and the same time themselves and their own oppressors.

Some of the outstanding characteristic flaws of those oppressed individuals (who have internalized the image of their oppression) can be seen in the senseless violence that they inflict upon their immediate peers. This may be an indirect attack on the oppressor, where the oppressed see in each other the reflections of the internalized oppressor. Their tendency to buy into the oppressor’s myths such as that destiny, fate, fortune (inevitable forces) etc. are to blame for their condition (leading to an overbearing and sad grasp on an overall attitude of fatalism); their self deprecation which comes from their internalizing the oppressor’s opinion of them; and their feelings of impotence which are expressed in their blindly submitting to and sympathizing with the dictates of those in power so as to feel as if they themselves are a part of that controlling (and oppressive) power…

The oppressed are so insecure, due to their duality as beings who actually “house” the oppressor, where on one hand they wish to resist the oppressor, but on the other, they are so attracted to him. As such, the oppressors easily reap their desired results from a number of tactics such as conquest, divide and rule, manipulation, cultural invasion and such. Because the oppressor wishes to invade the consciousness of the oppressed (to more fully dominate him) and because as a successful invader in this respect he is subconsciously viewed by the oppressed as being superior, the oppressed become more and more alienated from even themselves and hence grow to want to become more and more like their oppressors.

“The oppressor elaborates his theory of action without the people, for he stands against them. Nor can the people – as long as they are crushed and oppressed, internalizing the image of the oppressor – construct by themselves the theory of their liberating action. Only in the encounter of the people with the revolutionary leaders – in their communion, in their praxis – can this theory be built.” – Paolo Freire

The oppressor uses a practice of teaching that births and encourages a passivity of the mind of the oppressed. From childhood, they repetitiously fill the oppressed’s mind with ‘deposits,’ creating in the oppressed an inability to critically see the world. Because this practice ultimately corresponds with the oppressed’s inability to objectively view the oppressor (because he has internalized the oppressor), throughout the oppressed’s adult life, he continues to fill his resultedly passive mind with mechanized slogans etc. which create in him an even deeper subconscious fear of freedom.

The humanist revolutionary cannot use the same practice of ‘depositing’ slogans etc. but must both present the oppressor’s slogans, myths etc. as a problem (so that he can then begin to eject those slogans etc. from within his own mind) and do so through the revolutionary practice of dialogue and solidarity.

One of the myths of the oppressor is the “ignorance of the people.” The scientific and humanist revolutionary must never believe in this myth. They must never attempt to “impose” themselves and their knowledge onto the people with the mind that they know and the people don’t. They cannot “sloganize” the people, but must enter into dialogue with them. To fail to do this would not only be a threat to themselves, where opting for the methods of the oppressor could in essence actually turn them into future oppressors – products of their very own internalized concepts and practices of the oppressors. Each time they say their word without hearing the people’s word, they become more and more accustomed to an illicit form of power, misleading themselves into acquiring a taste for ordering, commanding and subsequently doubting the people.
This could result in one of two ways with the oppressed. They will either become domesticated drones to the new concepts the “revolutionaries” have deposited into them, or they may eventually become frightened by certain words, phrases, etc. that the oppressor “housed” inside of them and pre-programmed them to fear. In the first instance, the “revolution” is for them but an illusion; in the second, it is quite bluntly an impossibility.

He who does not, or no longer, “houses” the oppressor is able to critically recognize his natural relationship or antagonism toward the oppressor. In such a position of clarity he is able to take up the struggle to overcome the contradiction of the oppressor/oppressed relationship and replace “class necessity” (preached by the oppressor), with “class consciousness.”

It is most important for the revolutionary leaders to be able to identify the difference between the oppressed who still “house” the oppressor within, and he who has fully overcome this contradiction. As fundamental as it is for the revolutionary to trust and have faith in the oppressed people, it is also necessary for the revolutionary to be aware of those oppressed people who “house” an image of an oppressor that is stronger than they themselves. These kind inevitably pose the potential threat of coming to actually denounce the revolutionary leaders, desert and even betray the cause at any given stage of their still “housing” the oppressor within.

The ability to detect the phenomenon of “housing of the oppressor” is vitally important in light of the fact that it is essential in an authentic revolution that the oppressed participate in the overall process. If they do this, without having fully discarded the oppressor within, the likelihood is that the revolution will ultimately be undermined.

Their aspiration to accumulate power will be one of an aspiration for revenge opposed to that of a legitimate aspiration for true liberation.

Furthermore – and this is a historical problem for so many “revolutions” – those oppressed people who are under the illusion that they have risen to power in a revolution, without ever having fully ejected the “housed” oppressor within, present the greatest threat of all to the overall aims of the revolution itself. Where before the revolution, it was the oppressors themselves who directly invaded the minds, culture etc. of the oppressed and thereby dehumanized and dominated them, the oppressors, now through their existence still being “housed” in the oppressed, indirectly threaten to eventually invade the revolution itself. Because the oppressor is still “housed” in the oppressed people of the new “revolutionary” society, the people themselves will tend to accept a power that more so reflects the repression they are accustomed to, having existed in and still being subconsciously submerged in the reality of oppression that still dominates their innermost being.

“Only as they discover themselves to be ‘hosts’ of the oppressor can they then contribute to the midwifery of their liberation. As long as they live in the duality in which to be is to be like, and to be like is to be like the oppressor, this contribution is impossible.” Paolo Freire

The task of the humanist revolutionary is to see that the oppressed become aware of the fact that as dual beings “housing” the oppressors within themselves, they cannot, nor can they ever be, truly human.

The oppressed must break this form of adhesion and internal “housing” of the oppressor in order to see himself in clear contradiction to the oppressor. Once he does, he can begin to consider the dehumanizing reality of the oppressor/oppressed structural relationship; and this change in his perception can be achieved through the praxis of revolutionary dialogue.

Michael Morin (R04862)

Florida State Prison

7819 NW 228th Street

Raiford, FL

32026 USA

Full > http://4strugglemag.org/2010/07/23/examining-the-internalized-oppressor-complex/

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What is inner peace?

The Taoist answer is: Self Acceptance.

Inner Peace can be as simple as letting go, and resting under the shade of an old tree.

The path taken to find inner peace is as hard or simple as a person makes the journey of self acceptance to be.

A Taoist will embrace inner peace by always taking the moment to be present in their life.

I received this question the other day: The full text of the question goes as:

I have no idea how to go about resolving the constant questions that go through my head! Asking these questions just makes my life miserable as it always leads to no answers over and over again.
I can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel all I see is more questions! Is it possible for people like me to find inner peace?
Everyone can find inner peace. The path is through acceptance. However, countless paths for finding acceptance exist. Some seekers take a longer path than others as they work out to resolve personal inner conflicts within their life. So the answer requires two parts. It first is important to understand the nature of questions. Then we will teach how Taoism helps a person find acceptance.
The Nature of Questions

Countless practices and systems of belief exist to help people find answers. The challenge is finding a practice or system that matches to your nature.

For example: Zen practice teaches a person to just keep asking questions and then more questions until the mind literally says enough is enough and the mind just lets go. Of course Zen then takes this a step further and you ask a few more questions just to be sure you mind has learned to be empty of questions.

In Taoism you learn everything is relative. This means most answers are not worth chasing. So you let go of the questions to skip straight into acceptance.

In fact, Taoism takes this a step further to teach many questions don’t have a “larger” answer at all, that in fact the only answer possible is that you yourself are the answer. In other words, a Taoist reaches the point of acceptance where you, “as you are” literally becomes the answer for a majority of the questions you face…

In Taoism, questions fall into two categories: Outer Truth and Inner Truth. Questions that fall in the zone of Outer truth are questions that could be consider universal in nature. For example : What is Red? Red is a color… pretty clear cut right? Nope.

Since many questions end up being relative:

For instance What is Red? Well depending on how you perceive the world, Red can mean something different. So to someone who is color blind their RED may not be the same as your RED.

So questions which are dependent on your nature fall into the category of Inner Truth.

Even more confusing: questions could have different answers depending if you are trying to answer relative to an Outer Truth or Inner Truth such as the “What is Red?” question illustrates. So when considering this: it isn’t hard for a person to get stuck in endless loops chasing questions and semantics. A Taoist knows that answers are infinite. A person can spend an entire lifetime chasing answers only to left still chasing after more.

A problem is many people try to force questions which are Inner Truth in nature as if they were only Outer Truth based issues.

This is the root reason for religions causing so many problems: trying to force a personal answer as an universal truth upon others. A perfect example was the question I answered the other day about Taoism’s View on Homosexuality.

So back to the question about finding inner peace.

Taoism teaches this:

Inner Peace can be discovered when understanding many questions are actually asking about Inner Truth.

Inner Peace is a matter of accepting your life
as an answer towards questions of Inner Truth.

How Taoism helps a person discover acceptance

Taoism teaches:

The past is just… the past.. long gone and passed on by.
The future is not here yet…
Taoism teaches you are here now, firmly in the moment: dancing from moment to moment. By embracing the ride of now, a person quickly learns: to let go of false attachments to past pains, learns building a future is just a way of deceiving oneself away from now… In this process of embracing life now… a person can let go enough to actually have a chance to see themselves truly by being present in their life.
If you are too busy holding on to the past or chasing the future:
it’s hard to take the time to then see yourself clearly now.

A strange thing happens at this point… A person discovers all the internal fractures once considered to be flaws and weaknesses… are actually beautiful… That in the light of living now… all aspects of our life makes us what we are… and that is wonderful. In living now… all futures are possible: opening up new “Possibilties” of 10,000 dreams where each one is valid… and it’s fun to play about, to flow as life weaves together into something unexpected…. Because it’s always possible to accept who you are now. Inner Peace opens up as a person releases into their own nature.

Is it an easy path to let go of the past?No… since being able to remember the past always gives strength to avoid issues.
Is it an easy path to stop holding onto the futureNo… since it’s by planning and slowly building with a good plan that humans have built so many marvelous wonders.
Is it easy to accept oneself?No … not when so much strength can be gained through community: and in turn we are taught to base personal acceptance upon other viewpoints over our own personal values.Initially as a Taoist you learn to let go of everything in order to see oneself clearly and to embrace oneself as is. In time acceptance comes at the point of relaxing into oneself.Later in this process a Taoist mixes together all aspects of themselves… to truly live as oneself… this means being fully human. In harmony with the past and future to now.
Living with a Taoist outlook doesn’t mean to stop being yourself…

It simply means to not hold former shapes of the past.
It simply means to stop limiting yourself to expectations for the future.
It simply means to accept yourself now… honestly upon your own terms.
To take all the whimsy, experiences and your nature to where ever it might lead. So for myself the goal is just to enjoy, discover and swirl in wonder. Along the way to move gracefully while giving a helping hand as we can.

This Taoist approach keeps everything simple and honest. The most beautiful part is being present now, where acceptance is in each moment as it happens…

One step at a time.

Having no illusions: since the dance of life comes both with hard days and easier times. The Taoist just takes it as it comes… One moment, one step, one breath at a time.

This is the Taoist’s path for inner peace.

Full > http://personaltao.com/teachings/questions/inner-peace-in-taoism/

Quick clarification on my thoughts of, "God".

I love my God

I've been often criticized because I don't pray like others. I don't go to church nor do I ever ask anything of the Lord.

Why?

Everything that I ever needed in Life He has already Given me. It's my "job" to search for the sequence or sequences to complete the equation.

I don't forgive or forget.

Why?

In order to forgive I must have judged. To forget? People don't forget, that's just a flat out lie.

I have found it to be more productive to simply see All people as, "People being people".

Guess what, no matter what people do they can no longer surprize me. They're people being people, that's what people do.

I was created in the specific at a certain place and time and I shall end, physically & Spiritually, in very much the same fashion.

I'm not going to church or the Mosque with you, it's never going to happen!
I'm not a herd or pack animal.

Here's the funny thing about "belief systems", everyone has a different opinion and everyone is correct in their opinion "for themselves".
You need more carrots? I need more kelp.

It has become err apparent the true endeavor is to simply mind your own business.

I have associates and friends from all walks of life, to look into their religious belief or belief system is as intrusive as looking into their bedroom windows as they make love, have sex or jerk off - whatever the case may be.

Hell? Have you bumped your head? My God has toooo much love to have created or allowed to exist such a place....except..."in my own mind!
There is no yeaterday, if there is, find it! Bring it to me so we can look at it. There is no tomorrow, watch the clock up until 11:59 and count the seconds down. A more intelligent being will see that by the time the clock clicks past 12:00, it's now today.
Tomorrow simply never came.

What does that leave me with?

It leaves me with the only operating room I have which is "now".
My now is my Heaven or hell "self imposed".

My Spirit has been here since the Original Creation of All things. My physical body just jumped on my Spirit for a limited time ride here on earth.
My body was designed to fall back off my Spirit allowing my Spirit to continue tumbling throughout eternity.

My advice to myself is to continue to be happy, "Now" as I am uncertain that I can change the octave once the body falls off freeing my Spirit "once again".

Live your life happy knowing you are correct in your belief "for you". No one else has to cater to your beliefs.
You'll have a much happier life.

"Niko J"