Today: Integrity & Reason count

Be safe, and stay at home as much as possible. That seems to be the standard of news and advice coming to us from all sources. There is not a shortage of paper products, so get what you need. As a minister friend of mine said, ‘If we accept karma, all that hoarded paper could cause the need to use it up.’ Do not put any papter other than toilet paper down toilets, please.

Let me say that there is incredible good in our universe. Focus on that and be of good spirits. We are each and every one of us important. Keep safe and healthy, no one is expendable in our world. Remember to focus up at least once each hour. Especially when and if you make important decisions. Focus up to that higher part of your brain one inch above and between the top of your ears, focus on past decisions, focus on futures and possible futures from your higher perspective. Then make the decision that blesses your integrity and reason. Make the best decision your higher perspective can make.

Do you know what day it is?  Written on tax day. (4-15-20)  I have not paid my taxes.   I have not filed for an extension.  I have not finished my tax form with my accountant.   I am not going to sweat, stress or get freaked out about it. 

For today we have Coronavirus and what we classify as a pandemic. The IRS has declared that we have extra days to file.  We have until July 15th according to my understanding.  Can you give me a wahoo?

Written a couple of days later: 4/18/2020, the sun is shining, but all’s not quite right with our world. Earth the grand old man and our most beautiful mother-nature is still spinning in our solar system. Let us endeavor to see how we might improve our world. Follow on to the high road of success and freedom. Freedom from fear and controversy to incomparable joy. Read on with mind and heart engaged.

In my world there was an old adage or two that said, ‘Do the right thing.’ or ‘Be the good person you want to see in the world’ and ‘Like attracts like.’ I will endeavor to make those my bywords today. What expression are you going to follow this week? Write your own or look one up and make it a good one. Positive and life affirming if you please. Maybe this is a good reminder not to only focus on the bad, like virus or death and deadly news. Look for the good everywhere. We know all persons can find good wherever they look. Try this; look around you and see if you can find good in all you see. One man told me that he could see good in everything but asphalt. We walked to the road and talked for a while and found good things in the roadbed we were standing on. There was no poison ivy there. There were cars that couldn’t get from here to there efficiently without it. If it were left alone for a few years the plants would totally destroy it and take it over. Ah yes we finally agreed there is good in about everything.

I have a goal to listen only to news with integrity, lucidity and sensibility every week. I believe people need to see both sides of an issue they are interested in. Always be open to what is sensible, integral, enlightening, positive if available, universal, up to the minute and including love for good. For me even the news must be informative and not a sales pitch. When it sounds like broadcasters are endeavoring to promote or demote one philosophy or another I get suspicious. It must register as neutral and needed information If not, I look for something else. They make knobs, buttons, keypads and remotes to change anything and sometimes everything. On the Coronavirus issue, I will turn off anything that judges it as anything other than a virus and we are saying now a pandemic. A virus we must conquer and get back to living positive and healthy lives. Something like this has not been around for about one hundred and one or two years. So we are knocking on new wood to focus on the problem and solve it.

We have a friend who is a nurse and doctor in training. When I talked with her she told me she wasn’t going back to school until we know more about the Corona virus. Her hospital was fully staffed. She thought the CDC had been compromised by the president and wanted an overseeing scientific, medical and logical group that had only the good of human beings in mind. None of which would be guided by anything more than a service for the Earth and all in it. I was thinking, yes, all the sentient beings hereabouts.

Today is a new day for our planet. Last week I asked Focus Up Philosophers to design a whole new world for us. Think about it. A new world. Your own design of a new world. You can write your highest and brightest thoughts on this country or an imaginary country. Possibly you’d add a thought or a couple of thoughts for Focus Up Philosophers (FUPS) to consider. Send them to focusupphilosophers@gmail.com.

Again I would ask you to: text, email or call friends and family to check and see that they’re all OK. If there’s anything holding you back from doing it, from forgiving people and letting the past go, deal with it. We learn from our mistakes. Make your challenges opportunities. Check it out, we can positively influence our environment, families and friends. Good thoughts are powerful. Send your good thoughts to all concerned. Do it now. Ask for forgiveness if that is a concern. Do it. You will appreciate yourself, your friends, your family, your environment and your life more if you do.

You may know how we got the name of Covid-19. ‘Co’ stands for Corona. ‘vi’ stands for virus. ‘d’ stands for disease. I am sure the ’19’ stands for 2019.

It is interesting that in 2017 three or more magazines told us that China was the possible breeding ground for a virus. For a potential pandemic as it were. As it seems now nothing or not enough was done to clean up the problems and prevent what we now have.

Australia and New Zealand have almost conquered the Coronavirus in their countries. We read that children are back to school and the pubs are open again. They took it seriously from the top down. Nobody was left out of the effort to curb the viral invasion. Fourteen days quarantine was mandatory. Jucinda Ardern PM of New Zealand and Scott Morrison the current Prime Minister of Australia listened and learned from the scientists. They even hired more scientists to further their efforts in combating the dis-ease, ill-mess or pandemic as it is now deemed in our country.

Let’s investigate a little of what we know about the Corona virus. First I’d say not to fear it. On the other hand be intelligent. Keep social distancing for your own health and others. Wear your mask. Masks should not be worn for four or five days after an initial wearing. Then on the fourth or fifth day you can wear the mask again. You can wash reusable masks in a hydrogen peroxide and soap combination. We recommend for five minutes. Stirring the mask to get all surfaces thoroughly clean. Hanging masks in the sun and fresh air is a good preventive measure also. A friend puts hers in the windshield of the car. The sun and heat, she believes, help. We agree with the Jewish grandmothers, ‘It couldn’t hurt.’ (NYC- it couldn’t hoit) Wear your gloves, then wash as above or give them a five day turnaround or trash them. The latest we hear from G&G, doctor friends in Australia with their good preparedness and Covid-19 success rate, wash hands with soap for a minimum of one minute. I wash in soap, hot water, and a soap, hydrogen peroxide solution. We have a formula if you want to make your own hand wash. 1/3 hydrogen peroxide, 1/3 liquid soap, & 1/3 aloe Vera. The new information we have is six feet or two meters apart when walking. Eight to ten feet, three to four meters, when active. One does not want to walk or run through another’s exhales. Wear your mask and encourage all to do the same. Do not look at pictures or spend your day looking at news about Covid-19. Keep sequestered and think positive healthy thoughts. Daily exercise is important. Do it alone. You can do yoga with the people on TV. I personally can’t get to most of the positions they do. I do as much as I can and call it good. Exercise is important We know the disease we call Covid-19 has an age-fatality correlation, ’60-70 years of age’= 75% survival. ’70-80’=50% survival-fatal. ’80-90’= 75% fatal. Over 90 it is very lethal. I have heard about a woman over 100 who survived. Good living, good thinking, positive attitude, or what else? I trust, all the above help. Let’s say hooray for her. Then, don’t catch it to prove any theories. The latest I’ve heard is that the disease compromises systems within the individual.

They say obesity doesn’t help when one catches Coronavirus.. This is motivating me to eat more fruits, vegetables and nuts. Raw fruits and vegetables have enzymes that help you digest them. Try eating 80%-90% raw foods for better health. I did it and I’m alive now at eighty-ish.

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Don’t read the following 5 paragraphs about viruses if you are up to your ears with alligators and you don’t want to drain the swamp. Covid-19 as follows:

The old Biology teacher in me will tell you a little about SARS-CoV-2 sometimes called the ‘novel coronavirus.’ We have deemed it Covid-19 or simply Coronavirus. The bat scientists have found viruses in bats. Since the bat is the only mammal that flies in the air it has developed certain immunities to the stress caused by flapping its wings seventeen times a second. Therefore bats can handle the viruses in their bodies in a different way than do other mammals. In fact in many ways bats are closely related to reptiles. Viruses do not seem to trigger an inflammatory and dis-ease reaction in the bat. Viruses do trigger negative results in other mammals. Especially in man. The human being is especially vulnerable to what we call Covid-19 the Coronavirus.

In other parts of the world there are wet markets. Live markets or wet markets or wildlife markets that sell fresh foods. Fresh fruits and vegetables are sold along with meats and some even sell wildlife. They are often large markets with open air stalls. Many different sellers have stalls where one can buy right from the seller. Some wet markets sell, even slaughter live animals on the spot. The term wet market came about because people buy fresh or wet goods. Rather than dry goods such as canned foods and the like. Of course the wet goods are perishable. Wet markets don’t normally sell wildlife. There are wildlife markets that sell wild animals for their meat. They may also sell pets. There is a movement to close these types of markets because of the possibility of disease and illegal species being sold along with legal ones. Wuhan China hunan wet market is the supposed source of the Coronavirus. Late in January china did ban the sales and consumption of wild animals for food. Not the banning of wet markets.

South Korea and the US were early recipients of virus cases. South Korea immediately took it seriously. It seems that their 10,674 cases and 236 deaths put them about in the middle of the country-Coronavirus list. The US did not test and social distance and get defenses in place early and we are the world leader of cases. 735 thousand plus with 40 thousand plus deaths approximately. Yemen is at the bottom of the country list with 1 case and no deaths to now. We now know that masks and disposable gloves would’ve helped in the very beginning. Even today they are a good step.

Viruses like SARS and this virus, the Coronavirus has a key. It moves into the cell of animals and finds a lock it can open. Once found in the cell of an animal then it makes its way in and begins to spread. We now think that the virus attaches to the nose hairs and moves into the individual from there. Wild animals and those in stress or under duress are susceptible. Note: 2 cats in New York are found to have the virus. Animals kept in stacked cages can be stressed and are in close contact with each other. If they are dirty or sickened in any way viruses can spread more easily. Here is the possible transmission of viral pathogens and the possible mutation of them. Then the jump from animal to human can take place with handlers and customers.

Covid-19 kills by attacking the body, seemingly from head to toe. Lungs, Kidneys, heart, blood vessels, intestines and brain. The ferocity of the virus’ attack on the body is devastating. Blood clotting can happen and cause simple cases to become life threatening emergencies. The Coronavirus attacks like no microbe humanity has seen before. The virus when inhaled hijacks cellular machinery. It makes copies of itself and invades new cells rapidly.

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Please read more good news. Good magazines, good newspapers, good internet articles. Keep informed. Do not obsess over virus news. Do what is intelligent. Do what works. Stay safe and stay healthy. It stands to reason that healthy, positive, life affirming and up-lifting thoughts are better than negative ones.

Don’t spend all day at the computer. Get outside. I saw several neighbors during my doggie walks in the last couple of days who were going on or had been on bike rides. One young man said when I asked if he and his three companions were healthy. ‘I was until I rode so many miles with these three’ one of the young men said. We all laughed out loud. I want to stand on the side of laughter. Many people have been positively aided by laughter. I will give you the three, no four laughter places in your body. Check them out for yourself. Place your hand in front of your face or body where you think these laughs emanate. First is ‘Tee Hee’ Next is ‘Ha Ha’ Then ‘Heh Heh’ and lastly there’s ‘Ho Ho’ Check where your hand goes when you do the sounds aloud. I’ll tell you at the end of our article and you can see how close you are. Laugh for three minutes non-stop. The universe records laughter it doesn’t judge whether there’s something funny promoting it. 3 minutes.

Today when there is little personal interaction outside the home why not start on your thousand page novel or a blog or poetry or self help article, even a book. A non-fiction book would work, why not your life story? Do any other writing you might want to do. Design the new world. Write it down. Something committed to writing changes your perspective.

You could paint the next Mona Lisa or Walden’s pond. Look at a Monet, Manet painting or check out the Americans, Edward Hopper & Winslow Homer, etc. Then paint an inspired painting. It can be all your style, beautiful, interesting oh my yes and perhaps salable or to hang on your wall or to give to a friend or family member for their wall. I know there are basement and garage walls for my paintings.

Join in on groups doing virtual meetings. Some of the Astronomical Societies are doing virtual star parties. They used to be star-b-ques. So get some barbecue and cook out and watch the stars and star parties online. I see there’s a virtual star party May 6th. Museums around the world are offering tours from your couch. British Museum, London, Van Gogh, Amsterdam, Guggenheim, New York, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, are but a few offering art and science info. The National Museum of Natural History, DC, has a 360 degree tour. NASA’s Langley Research Center and The Glenn Research Center have virtual tours. The Space Center Houston, TX has an app that provides virtual tours. USAF has a tour of its museum. You can see the Oxford University History of Science Museum virtual tour. Museo Galileo offers a virtual tour also. On and on let your imagination be your search engine with computer involved.

The Metropolitan Opera in New York will be offering shows. It reminds me when I lived in NYC and knew some actors in ‘The City’ they had a question. How do you get to the Met? 1. Practice, practice, practice. 2. One step at a time.

Karl Anthony and other meditation and mantra music along with so many others are on YouTube just search for what interests you. I saw an old time rock and roll singer singing a mantra. Why not write a song?

I personally like music of the 50’s and early 60’s. Drifters, Coasters, Platters, Fats Domino, Big Bopper, Roy Orbison, Chuck Berry, Ben E. King, Buddy Holly, Sam Cooke, etc. Saw Chubby Checker on my 21st Birthday in Daytona Beach. Went on a cruise with the Bill Haley Comets, Bill had made his transition. Talked with Percy Sledge and he grabbed my arm and held me next to him when he sang, ‘Take Time to Know Her.’ My friend Curt and I had computerized the bar in Petersburg, VA. We were called the Curt and Ernie show. As in ‘Here comes Curt and Ernie.’

What other groups interest you? Let us know and we’ll let all our Focus Up Philosophers know. You are worthy of being doing and having what you fondly desire. You are powerful and what you know no one can take away from you. Keep your brain tuned up. Keep it active. The world awaits the good of you. Let ’em have it.

Read a good book. I got Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass’ for my birthday so I am reading some every day. Read history, Will and Ariel Durant ‘The Lessons of History,’ I recommend. Read some philosophy. ‘A history of Western Philosophy,’ Bertrand Russell, ‘Philosophy for Dummies.’ Try science especially the current magazines, Try spirituality, Science of Mind, Ernest Holmes or Emerson’s Essays, Ralph Waldo Emerson. You can read novels-the good ones, and non-fiction for learning and entertainment.

A friend did a stained glass for his front door. It was good. It took myriads of time and he was demonstrably proud of it. Do texts, phone calls, now with computers we can Skype & Zoom calls and chats are ever available. There are a lot of ways you can enrich or enlighten yourself and others and still be personal contact free.

Senator Chris Murphy tells that the Senate offered money to President Trump and others in government on February fifth. Trump and everyone involved in national security and health turned them down. Now we are giving away two trillion dollars. We got our 2,400 dollars direct deposited the other day. If you have not gotten yours check and see why not. I hear Canada is availing citizens with money ongoing. For people who pay rent or mortgages one payment is not going to keep them afloat very long.

We are exploring a ‘new thinking’ philosophy. We will call it metaphilosophy. Our Focus Up Philosophers are assisting in the writing of it. Here is my first cut at a prospectus for it. Throughout history there have been good, positive and life affirming philosophies. The philosophers speaking, writing, and picturing them are known and many are unknown in our time and in the past. When we say that our exploration of those philosophies down through time is interesting, sometimes perplexing and thought provoking it’s an understatement. Our posit of metaphilosophy is as follows: positive, beneficial, integral, healthy and helpful thoughts, words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, written pages books and volumes. Deeds, actions, doings, individual and group interactions for good. Neighborhood, town, city, state, country and earth endeavors for the highest and best result imaginable and achievable. Universe and universal changes for infinite blessings and unending good. The goal is to look to the very beginning of our past and add to that a look into a thousand years in the future. So from the big bang or clear poof to around 3,000 AD/CE, You are invited to assist. Email us your thoughts, words, deeds and/or infinite blessings and any writings that are relevant. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com

Let us know how you and family are doing? We want to know ASAP. If there’s no-prob we will give thanks with you. If there is a problem we can hold good thoughts and send good and positive thoughts directly to you and yours. We specialize in good, true and lovable thoughts.

More Focus Up Philosophers and metaphilosophy and Covid-19 news next week… To be included, send us comments, your new perspectives, how to be happy and sequestered. Send your laugh-along’s to us.

Laugh along: Home schooling and yesterday the teacher got fired for drinking on the job. (I don’t know that I get it, do you?)

Lock all your doors! This is challenging for me. I was raised with nary a door locked. People were in and out of our houses with alacrity. One friend took high school friends down to our basement to play pool with them. He played there all the time and was quite good on that table. Come to find out he’d win their lunch money and ask my mom to fix them both a sandwich before returning to school.

Like this? Recommend friends and Facebook followers to www.focusupphilosophers.com .. Thanks. FUPS. Suggestions, etc.? focusupphilosophers@gmail.com

Focus Up Philosophers Society. and bless your pea-pickin’ heart as Tennessee Ernie Ford would say. Incidentally he played his Ukelele and sang to a girl in my mom’s college. He got locked up for it, I understand. You can listen to him on YouTube.

Oh yes Tee Hee hand in front of forehead. Ha Ha hand ahead of mouth, Heh Heh hand goes to throat, and Ho Ho you’ve got this one haven’t you? It’s the solar plexus. Now laugh yourself to greater health. At least three minutes of solid laughter. Hah, Ho etc.

Focus Up Philosophers, BE SAFE, be intelligent, find joy.

Know that you are here, you chose to be here at this time to experience and learn and grow. At this writing 4/10/20 there are over a million and a half worldwide cases of Corona virus worldwide. In the US there are half a million. Deaths worldwide are over ninety five thousand with fourteen thousand plus dead in the USA alone. Not to put too fine a point on our pencil markings herein we might say we are failing miserably in the fight to overcome the spread of the virus. We started too late and our response has been far too limited. Our white house has dropped the ball. They’ve been slow and ineffective in response to what is a world changing pandemic. A world punishing disease. President Trump does get credit for the fact that he shut down travel from China early on in the progression of this virus. We have good friends in the medical profession in Australia and maybe we, our government, could and can learn something from them. Australians now have a travel ban from city to country and visa-versa. People must have written permissions of necessity or job clearances to travel distances. Especially across state, & province lines & boundaries. The police will stop cars and turn them around without proper clearance to travel the highways. They are confined to home and no gatherings of more than two people are advised or allowed. Widespread business closings are enforced and open and honest communication is constantly evolving and being shared. There is information and advice to inform people about exactly what they can and cannot do. Businesses deemed to be essential will be open, social distancing enforced. Our friends G&G tell us that now eight to ten feet are recommended separation distances, especially when people are active. Let’s make that the new Focus Up Philosophers standard to be safe. That’s 8-10 ft. of separation folks. Supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, c-stores, freight, food delivery and bottle shops are open. Police patrol stations, of course, are open. Pubs, clubs, cinemas, casinos, nightclubs, places of worship, gyms, sport activities were closed, basically shut down by order of the PM, Scott Morrison and his medical advisers. Hairdressers are okay down under if social distancing and masks, etc. are enforced. Restaurants are recommended to do takeaway cooking only. We hear now that masks can be worn every four days. Covid-19 does not seem to be viable over four days. Also airing them outside and putting them in the sun can be good. I am thinking of a hanging rack outside our front door to hang them in the sun and fresh air. Anything outside is not brought in by masks. I can leave them there until next use. That must be four days or more. I offered to undress outside, but that was vetoed in favor of the neighbors whom we are quite fond of. Have you all got masks? Daughter Sharon is making them in case any of you need them. Email and we’ll send your requests to her. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com When I first started wearing my mask more than a month ago, people gave me very different looks. Some even looked angry. Now in the grocery store today about half the people had them on. Hearing from our Australian friends that in Sydney the government has taken over several hotels and any Australian citizen who has traveled out of the country and coming back to Australia is sequestered there for fourteen days prior to returning to his or her home. Good idea? Very good idea, when we hear that most of the cases in New York are from a European derivative of the virus. Had we had fourteen day and distancing restrictions earlier along with masks, gloves, furnace and vent Coronavirus eliminating filters maybe New York, especially the City could have been spared being virtually devastated. How refreshing it would be to have open and honest communication from our White House leaders other than Dr. Fauci. My neighbor wants to run him for president. When I went to Pepperdine College one of my professors told us we did not have real communication if it wasn’t open and honest communication. What have we got now? Entertainment, sales pitches, condemnation and mis-education from the White House and friends. When the white house tells us that medical professionals are stealing medical needs and supplies it makes us sad to hear figures about medical professionals who have died while on the job or immediately after treating patients with Covid-19

9. Columbia university in Manhattan (NYC) has asked for volunteers because half of their staff has contracted Coronavirus. The 30,000 people in New York with the disease are putting more than a strain on hospital front lines like the ER, ICU-Intensive Care Units, and other staff. Doctors and nurses are getting sick and dying in hospitals around the US and the world. I heard an Italian doctor report that twenty of his staff of nurses and doctors had died in a very short time. I think it was a day. We hear there is a shortage of masks in the US. I forgot mine and the hospital my wife had been taken to by ambulance would not give me one. We are running without a proper number of ventilators, and other health professionals needed garments and equipment. I was not old enough to remember WW 11. (world war two), yet I have read and seen the effort we put forth to save the world for democracy. It was total. I’ve seen posters about Uncle Sam and Rosie the riveter. I feel that we have now embarked upon WW III. When this many people in America are threatened why not turn out all of our resources to fight this disease for our democracy? Have we saved it in one generation, which Tom Brokaw called ‘The Greatest Generation’ in his book. Now is our generation losing it here and now? Can we not influence our government leaders, especially the white house to take up the fight. Why not, rather than trying to sell us on the prospective of their doing such a good job? We are supposed to be a world leader and here we are falling so far behind that we have a majority of the Covid-19 cases in the world. We are the third most populous nation and the most Coronavirus affected. Does that sound right? Let’s suspend mortgage payments for at least two months and up to as long as this pandemic is threatening Americans. We bailed out the banks. It was the hard working Americans who suffered when the banks did not take care of business properly. They sold mortgages, and other instruments that the people at the top knew were unsustainable. I have a friend in Virginia whose BofA contact quit because he said management was doing things not according good business practices. My friend didn’t sell his BofA stock and he told me how much he lost in the downturn. You wouldn’t want to consider your loss against his I don’t imagine. I would not. It was substantial to say the very least. Carole and I lost a great deal in the downturn and it has taken to this year to recoup it. The banks got money to bail themselves out of trouble. It took my bride and me more than ten years to just break even. The banks were given money and a pass and are now back to doing many of the practices before the crash. Does that sound fair or did you not get hurt in the crash? We need the banks to support Americans. Let us see how much they’re willing to help and bail us out. The country’s mortgages can be suspended. If mortgages are forgiven until the crisis is abated, then rents should also be forgiven. I know people who pay from one thousand to five thousand dollars a month rent. Will a stimulus check of $1,200 help them that much? I also feel for the small businesses who have mortgages and employees. The small churches who can not have services because of Covid-19. These churches depend on contributions to keep the doors open. Could the larger, may I say richer churches assist them to survive? We know that some of them can. Will they? Le’ts see, no let’s recommend it. I think the world is better if many of the better church philosophies survive. That is the positive religious philosophies and spiritually sound philosophies. The ones that give the congregation the power to think about their spiritual inner connections, and highest lives in the best light possible. Every person in the world can be taught to emulate the masters. The teaching of Jesus, Buddha, Babaji, Gandhi, Yogananda, Kahunas and the Bodhisattva. Plus there are so many more spiritual masters and great thinkers like Joan of Arc, Mother Theresa and others. Emulate the masters did and do what that inner wise knower directs. How do we do it? Meditate, meditate, meditate, to the meditator the universe is available. Tune in to spirit whenever we can. We are the soul. We know and create the past, present and future. When we live as the soul we know the desires and wants which are above the body/brain needs. As Soul we think and act with the highest of integrity and honesty. Will we do it exactly like Jesus, or Saint Frances of Assisi, or Gautama Buddha, or Parmahansa Yogananda, or Mahavatar Babaji or other saints and greats of our past and present? Probably not! Can we each do good things? We absolutely can. Leave no stone un-turned until you find your path to the good, true and lovable. Act as you’re a Christ, Buddha, Kahuna, Mahavatar, Saint. Focus Up Philosophers are now entreated to look for the good and become the good you perceive and believe in. Turn your believing to knowing. This is Easter and I trust each of us will celebrate in our own way. I ask you at this trying time to step out even further than me. I need to go so much farther that you so I may rise above basically being Ernest. We will be a different world a vaccination against the Coronavirus is available in approximately eighteen months. Microbiologists seem to agree that twelve months would be great and they hope no longer than eighteen months. We will work with each of our Focus Up Philosophers to assist you into a new reality of mastery. Let’s all become masters of our destinies living as soul, spirit, love. I trust we can all do it. Then teach others how to follow in our footsteps. As the doctors say about patient operations: ‘See one, do one, teach one.’ Build a strong and reachable happy place in the upper middle of your brain. One inch above and between the tops of your ears. See last weeks post if you want more info about this. Go there when you are making decisions. Prior to all decisions, focus up and become insightful before making all decisions. Do it whenever you want to be, do and create better decisions. Better decisions will improve your life in many ways. First of all, do not make money your deity. I mean the best of human endeavors want for making better decisions. Write, write until you have mastered the writing medium. Do you like poetry, mysteries, drama, screen plays the choice is yours. Mastery is much easier and more fun and interesting if it is in a subject we love. Speak, speak in public until you have mastered that medium. Practice on your family now that we are forced inside. Record your talks, today’s cell phones can do it. Critique your presentation(s), it will be good in helping you to learn how to do it. Understand that negativity only begets negativity. Honest critiques look at all sides of the presentation to allow the speaker to grow. Read good books. Try Shakespeare, Emerson, the synoptic gospels and John in the new testament of the Bible: Ernest Holmes who is quoted as writing, ‘There is a power for good in the universe and you can use it.’ He wrote the Science of Mind, and it’s grand. Also read Eastern literature Mohandes Gandhi, the Mahatma, 100 Quotes and others; Parmahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, Back to other philosophy and history. Will and Ariel Durant’s history, especially The Lessons of History, that book is wonderful. Plato wrote, The Republic and asked us to question everything, Socrates; Aristotle and other philosophers. American poets like, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, T.S. Elliot, E.E.Cummings, Edgar Allen Poe, and the like. I received a communique from the library that in essence said that the facility was closed but books could be available on demand. Hooray for them. My wife, Carole recommends Carl Sagan, and Ann Druyen, husband and wife team. Try Woolly by Ben Mezrich. He tells us that the politicians fear and dislike scientists and we must change that. Possibly a goal for Focus Up Philosophers to tackle, yes? Change our lives, change the world around us. Become the change we want to see in the world. Those are some of my thoughts. I think many governments have failed us in this very serious dis-ease or ill-mess. We know that when the government fails the people that…… You finish the thought please and pick your countries. 1. A 2. B 3. C – you choose and let us know. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com Please, please do not give in to fear. Be the strength people need to heal and get well. We must and we will eliminate this challenge and I trust we can see it sometime as our opportunity. The opportunity is to win WW III without firing a shot at any sentient being on the planet. Blessings, Ernest

Post Script, PS. In this trying time we can and will build a better reality for ourselves and the world. Let this message reverberate from the mountains to the seashores. If you like our ideas please share them and this website. Entreat every Christian to be their own Christ. Every Buddhist to be their own Buddha. Every Huna to become a Kahuna-(Wise man). Interesting story about the Kahunas. They trained the Hunas. After the training they gave them an ounce of poison to drink. Those who lived were graduated. Those that did not were washed out of the program. It’s not as bad as that. Actually they were healed and sent home. Every Avatar in training to elevate themselves to Mahavatar in stature. I read that the movie Avatar will have a second coming. Avatar 2 will be out soon. Maybe Focus Up Philosophers can write Avatar 3 the Mahavatar-(Great Avatar)

Happy Easter all!

Focus Up Philosophers BE SAFE, be intelligent and improve yourselves while being isolated.

At this writing 4/10/20 there are over a million and a half worldwide cases of Corona virus worldwide. In the US there are half a million. Deaths worldwide there are over ninety five thousand with fourteen thousand plus dead in the USA alone. Not to put too fine a point on our pencil markings herein we might say we are failing miserably in the fight to overcome the spread of the virus. We started too late and our response has been far too limited. Our white house has dropped the ball. They’ve been slow and ineffective in response to what is a world changing pandemic. A world punishing disease. .We have good friends in the medical profession in Australia and maybe we, our government, could and should learn something from them. Australians now have a travel ban from city to country and visa-versa. People must have written permissions of necessity or job clearances to travel distances. Especially across state, & province lines & boundaries. The police will stop cars and turn them around without proper clearance to travel the highways. They are confined to home and no gatherings of more than two people are advised or allowed. Widespread business closings are enforced and open and honest communication is constantly evolving. There is information and advice to inform people about exactly what they can and cannot do. Businesses deemed to be essential will be open, social distancing enforced. Our friends G&G tell us that now eight to ten feet are recommended separation distances, especially when people are active. Let’s make that the new Focus Up Philosophers standard to be safe. Supermarkets, banks, pharmacies, c-stores, freight, food delivery and bottle shops are open. Police patrol stations, of course, are open. Pubs, clubs, cinemas, casinos, nightclubs, places of worship, gyms, sport activities were closed or shut down by order of the PM, Scott Morrison. Hairdressers are okay if social distancing is enforced and restaurants are recommended to do takeaway cooking. We hear now that masks can be worn every four days. Covid-19 does not seem to be viable over four days. Also airing them outside and putting them in the sun would be good. I am thinking of a hanging rack by the front door to hang them outside in the sun. Have you all got masks? Daughter Sharon is making them in case any are needed. Email me and I’ll send your requests to her. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com When I first started wearing my mask a month or more ago, people gave me very different looks. Some were even angry. Now in the grocery store today 4/11 about half the people had them on. Hearing from our Australian friends that in Sydney the government has taken over several hotels and any Australian citizen who has traveled out of the country and coming back to Australia is sequestered there for fourteen days prior to returning to his or her home. Good idea? Very good idea, when we hear that most of the cases in New York are from a European derivative of the virus. How refreshing it would be to have open and honest communication from our White House leaders other than Dr. Fauci. My neighbor wants to run him for presidential candidate against Mr.Trump. When I went to Pepperdine College one of my professors told us we did not have communication if it wasn’t open and honest communication. What have we got now? Entertainment, sales pitches, condemnation and mis-education from the White House and friends. When we hear that medical professionals are stealing all the medical needs and supplies it makes us sad to hear figures about medical professionals who have died while on the job or immediately after treating patients with Covid-19. Columbia university in Manhattan (NYC) has asked for volunteers because half of their staff has contracted Coronavirus. At a New York City hospital more than two hundred workers had been sick with the virus. The 30,000 people in New York with the disease are putting more than a strain on hospital front line, ER, ICU-Intensive Care Units, and other staff. Doctors and nurses are getting sick and dying in hospitals around the US and the world. I heard an Italian doctor report that twenty of his staff of nurses and doctors had died. We hear there is a shortage of masks, I forgot mine and the hospital my wife had been taken to by ambulance would not give me one. We are running without a proper number of ventilators, and other health related garments and equipment. I was not old enough to remember WW 11. (world war two), yet I have read and seen the effort we put forth to save the world for democracy. When this many people in America are threatened why not turn out all of our resources to fight this disease for our democracy? Have we saved it in one generation, which Tom Brokaw called ‘The Greatest Generation’ in his book and now we are losing it in this one? This pandemic is real, at least it seems real to me, how about you? Can we not influence our government leaders, especially the white house to take up the fight rather than trying to sell us on the prospective of their doing such a good job? We are supposed to be a world leader and here we are falling so far behind that we have a majority of the Covid-19 cases in the world. Does that sound right? I had a thought Yesterday amidst a headache that almost stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. Let’s suspend mortgage payments for at least two months and up to as long as this pandemic is threatening Americans. We bailed out the banks. It was the hard working Americans who suffered when the banks did not take care of business properly. They sold mortgages, and other instruments that the people at the top knew were unsustainable. I have a friend in Virginia whose BofA contact quit because he said management was doing things not according to Hoyle or other good business practices. My friend didn’t sell his BofA stock and he told me how much he lost in the downturn. You wouldn’t want to consider your loss against his. I would not. It was substantial to say the very least. Carole and I lost a great deal and it has taken to this year to recoup it. Then the banks got money to bail themselves out of trouble. Does that sound fair or did you not get hurt in the crash? We need the banks to support Americans. Let us see how much they’re willing to help and bail us out. The country’s mortgages can be suspended. If mortgages are forgiven until the crisis is abated, then rents should also be forgiven. I know people who pay from one thousand to five grand a month rent. Will a stimulus check of $1,200 help them that much? I also feel for the small businesses who have mortgages and small churches who can not have services because of Covid-19. These churches depend on contributions to keep the doors open. Could the larger, may I say richer churches assist them to survive? We know that some of them can. Will they? Le’ts see, no let’s recommend it. I think the world is better if many of the better church philosophies survive. That is the clear thinking, fully revealed, free and unobstructed religious philosophies and spiritually sound philosophies. The ones that give the congregation the power to think about their spiritual education and highest and best lives in the best light possible. Every person in the world should be taught to emulate the masters. The teaching of Jesus, Buddha, Babaji, Gandhi, Yogananda, Kahunas and the Bodhisattva. Plus there are so many more spiritual masters and great thinkers there can be road maps for each individual. Emulate the masters. Do what the masters do and be, do and have the right thoughts and things. Do what that inner wise knower directs. Meditate, meditate, meditate, to the meditator the universe is available. Tune in to spirit whenever we can. The soul knows and creates the past, present and future for each of us. When we know the soul desires and wants which are above the body/brain needs, we can and will think and act with the highest of integrity and honesty. Religion can teach that each human being is capable of the greatest good known. Will we do it exactly like Jesus, or Saint Frances of Assisi, or Gautama Buddha, or Parmahansa Yogananda, or Mahavatar Babaji or other saints and greats of our past and present? Probably not! Can we each do good things? We absolutely can. Leave no stone un-turned until you find your path to the good, true and lovable. Think about becoming, no become a Christ, Buddha, Kahuna, Mahavatar, Saint, in your own time. Focus Up Philosophers are now entreated to look for the good and become the good you perceive and believe. Turn your believing to knowing. This is Easter and I trust each of us will celebrate in our own way. I am stepping out on a far limb to ask you at this trying time to step out even further than me. Because I know how much further than you I need to go so that I may rise above basically being simply Ernest. This is a trying time and we will be a different world when, as we suspect, a vaccination against the Coronavirus is available in approximately eighteen months. Microbiologists seem to agree that twelve months would be great and they hope no longer than eighteen months. We will work with each of our Focus Up Philosophers to assist you into a new reality of mastery. Let’s all become masters of our destinies living as the soul, spirit, love. You can do it. I trust we can all do it. Then teach others how to follow in our footsteps. As the doctors say about patient operations: ‘See one, do one, teach one.’ Build a strong and reachable happy place in the upper middle of your brain. One inch above and between the tops of your ears. See last weeks post if you want more info about this. Go there when you are making decisions. Prior to all decisions, focus up and become insightful before making all decisions. Do it whenever you want to be, do and create better decisions. Better decisions will improve your life in many ways. First of all, do not make money your deity. I mean the best of human endeavors want for making better decisions. Write until you have mastered that medium. Do you like poetry, mysteries, drama, screen plays the choice is yours. Mastery is available and much easier and more fun and interesting if it is in a subject we love. Speak in public until you have mastered that medium. Practice on your family now that we are forced inside. Record your talks, today’s cell phones can do it. Critique your presentation(s), it will be good in helping you to learn how to do it. Understand that negativity only begets negativity in return. Honest critiques look at all sides of the presentation without malice to allow the recipient to grow. Read good books. Try Shakespeare, Emerson, the synoptic gospels and John in the new testament of the Bible. Also read Eastern literature Mohandes Gandhi, the Mahatma, 100 Quotes and others; Parmahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi and the Second Coming of Christ; Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind; Plato, The Republic and be sure to explore his questioning modus operandi; Will and Ariel Durant, especially The Lessons of History, that book is wonderful; Socrates; Aristotle; American poets like, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, T.S. Elliot, E.E.Cummings, Edgar Allen Poe, and the like. I received a communique from the library that in essence said that the facility was closed but books could be available on demand. My wife, Carole recommends Carl Sagan, and Ann Druyen, husband and wife team. Try Woolly by Ben Mezrich. He tells me that the politicians fear and dislike scientists and we must change that. Possibly a goal for Focus Up Philosophers to tackle, yes? Change our lives, change the world around us. Become the change we want to see in the world. Be the person we want to see more of. Those are some of my thoughts. I think the governments have failed us in this very serious dis-ease or ill-mess. I also judge governments and others in this time of crisis and think that there are many failures. Know that when the government fails the people that…… You finish the thought please and pick your countries. 1. A 2. B 3. C – you choose and let us know. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com Please, please do not give in to fear. Be the strength people need to heal and get well. Be the one all can look to that has good ideas and good thoughts. Share the best of yourself to the world. We must and we will limit and eliminate this challenge and I trust we can see it sometime as our opportunity. The opportunity is to win WW III without firing a shot at any sentient being on the planet. The shots will be into the future and allowing us to create our own new world. A world different from the one we see today. Let us trust that all the world’s people will learn to pull together, work together and become one humanity. One people of, by and for human beings, for nature and the planet. One people only against that which harms us and for all of the good, true and lovable. There is a lot of good here and we can all be part of it. Blessings, Ernest

Post Script, PS. In this trying time we can and will build a better reality for ourselves and the world. Let this message reverberate from the mountains to the seashores. Entreat every Christian to be their own Christ. Every Buddhist to be their own Buddha. Every Huna to become a Kahuna. Interesting story about the Kahunas. They trained the Hunas. After the training they gave them an ounce of poison to drink. Those who lived were graduated. Those that did not were washed out of the program. Actually they were healed and sent home. Every Avatar in training to elevate themselves to Mahavatar in stature. I read that the movie Avatar will have a second coming. Avatar 2 will be out soon. Maybe Focus Up Philosophers can write Avatar 3 the Mahavatar-(Great Avatar) The remaining personages, that is every human being left to become a Saint. It seems to me when I go to our Catholic Church in Salt Lake City there are paintings where all the people have halos. I look for halo’s on the people in the church every time. Even the robed clergy up front don’t have halos I can see. There must be many halos available for us, reckon maybe? Last but not least are those that are on the top of the mountain with the masters and all humanity. We know we will all make it at the end of the planet Earth experience and experiment. They will turn out the lights when we translate out to the next higher dimension(For which there are no words in this dimension to adequately describe). They are the Bodhisattva. I trust all Focus Up Philosophers are at that time Bodhisattvas’.

Focus Up Philosophers Be safe, be joyful and act intelligently. The path awaits.

In my world there was an old adage that said, ‘Do the right thing.’ That I will endeavor to make my opportunity today. Maybe it is a good reminder not to only focus on the bad, virus or deadly news. Look for the good and praise it.

I have a goal to give both sides of an issue time to impress me of originality, lucidity and sensibility every week. Some weeks I am better at it than others. My wife’s doctor (MD-SLC-USA) said that he watched the other side of what he believed to be an issue to find what is true to get a perspective. He watched a channel that was mostly just entertainment. Isn’t it amazing that truth will out. People need to see both sides of an issue they are interested in. I trust this message will allow you to have balance on issues and then judge for yourself. Always be open to what is good, true, sensible, life affirming, peaceful, joyous, enlightening, positive, universal, and loving. If anything you are reading, listening to or watching is more negative than positive, or more judgmental than being even handed then cut it down to a minimum on your interesting information scale. Let yourself be guided by the slogan, the highest good for the greatest number.

I was listening to the radio the other day and the commentator (Ernest Holmes said that many were ‘common-taters’) described a process that manufacturers could take. Produce the goods needed in this pandemic. Then distribute them to areas of the world that most needed them. If the closest areas to the factory weren’t in need then ship the life saving equipment. If it was needed next door, of course keep the goods at home. There was a suggestion to let a general manage the affairs of the factory. The quartermaster corp would be good at that. All manufacturers would, could or should be given directives by an overseeing scientific, medical and logical group that had only the good of the Earth an our people in mind. None of which would be guided by anything more than altruistic service. Not for money, not for profits, not for self aggrandizement. Simply the great good for the planet and its inhabitants. Maybe we could do more thinking, talking, sharing, studying and learn with and from all people.

We could do with added debate with each other. I did debates with an eighth grade class when I was a teacher in Florida. They were equally good on both sides of the issues. I was surprised and heartened by their enthusiasm in either direction. At first they did not know they were going to be asked to debate both sides of the issue. So the vehemence they showed in both debates was exciting for me and the students. When I told other teachers about it, a few tried it and were glad to see young people being open to this way of learning. Maybe today we could let the young people guide us.

Inasmuch as every day is a new day, today is a new day for our planet. My surmise is that we are stepping on new ground for a new world. Think of what you want for your new days and new life. Einstein said, ‘Imagination is greater will.’ Write your own thoughts about your new world. Design a whole new world. There are no holds barred. You are free as a bird to write your best and brightest thoughts on this country, an imaginary country or the world in general. You can also simply add a thought or a couple of thoughts for Focus Up Philosopbers (FUPS) to consider. Send them to focusupphilosophers@gmail.com we will post the ones we can. Do it. We will sign your name or initial your post. Your choice. You may show your friends. We will publish our vision of the new world next week. Tune in then, 4/12/20

One thing I would ask all to do would be: text, email or call friends and family to check and see that they’re all OK. I have been doing it and renewed friendships that I haven’t talked to in many moons. Perhaps this is the time to let bygones be bygones. Forgive and learn from our mistakes, and make our challenges opportunities. Forgiveness is good for everyone, agreed? I don’t know that any of you have made as many mistakes as I have. May I say now to you and the universe, please forgive me now and forevermore. Please do, as I forgive those who did me wrong. Maybe it was my perspective and people did not mean to be cruel, mean or even unkind. Maybe they did. I forgive unconditionally. I forgive all and everyone. So be it.

You may know how we got the name of Covid-19. ‘Co’ stands for Corona. ‘vi’ stands for virus. ‘d’ stands for disease. I am sure the ’19’ stands for 2019.

Today is a good opportunity to do what you came here to the Earth, the grand old man, one of the most beautiful planets of the universe, to do. We each chose to be here to learn in this body at this time, Learnings as follows:. ‘0-7’ physical. ‘7-14′ mental. ’14-21′ emotional. ’21-28’ spiritual. ’28 + fully human. Human Being is a triple faceted word: Man and let’s add Woman is the physical body and brain. Hu is the force, source, higher power, universal light, God, Abba, Allah, Supreme Being, El, Elohim, YHWH (actually not pronounced only said using the letters), Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, etc. For our agnostic and atheist followers, it is the inner wise knower. Being is our or their connection. I suppose those who are metaphilosophy fans would say it is the rainbow bridge. Others might say, ‘As above so below.’

Today I’ll share a little of what we know about the Corona virus and offer information from the Focus Up Philosophers perspective. First I’d say not to fear or look at pictures or think you need to spend all your day with virus information and the news about it. Get on with what you can do with your life. Social distancing, two meters or six feet is the Focus Up Philosophers recommended distance for separation. I know we are saying one meter or three feet but possibly better safe than sorry. We know the disease has an age-fatality correlation, ’60-70 years of age’= 75% survival. ’70-80’= 50-50% survival-fatal. ’80-90’= 75% fatal. I’m eightyish and have decided to wear a mask and gloves when going out. Best of all is not to go out, yes?

I am in constant contact with medical professionals here (US) and in Australia. One doctor (Dr.MD-SLC) has a friend in the microbiology field and we hear the latest on the Coronavirus from the perspective of a vaccine. The last I’ve heard a few days ago is that they have sequenced the virus. This may bring the vaccine date down a bit. Maybe not, was a microbiology lab’s second thought. From that standpoint we think that it may still be twelve to eighteen months for a vaccine that’s tested and successful. Then there would be time for delivery and injections. I remember getting the TB vaccine when I was a kid. I guess many of our younger readers don’t know Tuberculosis. When the vaccine was first available and we had to go to the high school gym. Then we waited in a long line for the shot or pinpricks. I wanted to opt out, wonder why? No doing, my family was there for me, hah, and I had to be a big boy and take it. Just in from G&G Canberra Australia, they’re medical professionals: Washing hands with soap on the hands for one minute strips the virus of its covering. From this perspective the virus would not be harmful.

I also endeavor to talk (telephone, text, email, etc.) with factory workers, sales people, business executives, spiritual leaders, Focus Up Philosophers, friends, family from all across the country and my bride. Most are on the same page we are. We abhor the situation here in the US. Some other countries are more proactive and have helped curb the spread of the virus. I think I read that eighteen countries don’t have virus yet. I especially feel for the people of New York City. I lived there lots of years ago, in the west village. Greenwich street to be exact. I still have friends there and send them good thoughts whenever I think of them. We hear New Orleans has a very high death rate. Higher than NYC per ca-pita. Why, you ask. They say it’s obesity. This is motivating me to eat less and exercise more. Walking our dog is a favorite activity. Also we see JJ our neighbor walking almost daily. It makes sense since gyms are closed.

I know this isn’t the last thing you will want to read. Please read more on science, spirituality, good news, good books, and the like. Keep informed and do what’s good, true and lovable. Do not obsess over virus news. Do what is intelligent. Do what works. Stay safe and stay healthy. ‘Healthy thoughts help make healthy bodies.’

Scientific American magazine has a 90 day free trial. Other free publications can be accessed by typing in ‘Free medical magazines’ or try free spiritual, free scientific, free psychological, free fun stuff, or whatever suits your fancy. Your life is up to you. I admit there is, or can be or should be little personal interaction and you can make it with texts, phone calls, computers, skype and chats. There are a lot of ways you can enlighten yourself and still be personal contact free. I rode by Costco and there was a line out the door and around the sidewalk. Maybe close to closing time tonight I will try again with mask and gloves on board.

One article I read that you might want to read as well. “Trump to New York City, drop dead” Jennifer Senior

When I lived in New York City in the early seventies there were three of us two f. one m. in a small apartment. My roommates walked three miles up town on very good weather days. Other days they took the subway. One rush hour I took the subway and was surprised at how close humans could tolerate being together. Then I got on an elevator and people kept getting on until I was concerned we’d fall through the basement. Walking was also a trip. I enjoyed seeing the people. Being touched, bumped and dodging people was interesting. I had never done that before and I don’t think I’ve done it since.

When the Coronavirus was reported in New York City I expected that there’d have been measures in place to handle it. I was surprised that they were not at all prepared. New Yorkers are verbose, very quick thinking, usually smart and maybe it is because of that many people think they’re brusque. I still think that they are behind on their measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Masks and gloves for everyone. It more helps contain the virus in the individual who is a carrier or infected and it can help others. Furnace, air handling and air conditioning filters to prevent the Coronavirus from passing through. Ventilator covers possibly with charcoal filters could be fitted for preventing the spread of the virus. The buildings that have shared heating and cooling should be the first to make sure air that is circulated is cleaned and virus free. Gloves and masks for everyone. Air handling filters and ventilator covers or filters should be the minimum precautions. The medical colleges, New York has 17 alone, medical professionals, people who have knowledge about viruses and pandemics, microbiologists,the WHO and CDC should be consulted and possibly in charge of the effort to prevent virus spread in this country.

Senator Chris Murphy tells that the Senate offered money to President Trump on February fifth. Trump and everyone involved in national security and health turned them down. They were turned down flat and told they wouldn’t need money to stem any crisis. Two trillion dollars later we have the ‘plan behind’ answer to our challenge/opportunities. President Trump tells us that he stopped travel from China early and that is good.

How to stay your healthiest during this interesting time: One friend, Eva 3, says to take oregano oil pills daily. The lady from the health food store says zinc tablets. Another, daughter #II-LB Ogden, says probiotics and prebiotics. I think all will agree Fresh vegetables and fresh fruits and raw nuts. Most will have digestive enzymes to aid in their digestion. Daughter #1 SB Carlsbad stays thin and eats less than and enough to remain healthy. She always looks great. Remember the doctor’s truth that we need Ten percent less food each year of our lives. We can tell if we are eating, exercising and eliminating properly if we have a foot long floater almost daily. One thing we can relate is in the toilet paper challenge, don’t put anything, not anything, not even if it is paper, down the toilet other than TP. Heed this $14,000 roommate disposal mistake.

On another note,I think I read that New Orleans death rate was seven times New York’s because of obesity. Now I am reasonably sure none of us are obese, but what about being overweight? Maybe being thinner, in better shape and eating good healthy food gives us a better chance of survival if we catch that pesky virus. ‘Nuff said. Thin can win!

Want a few grins? If not don’t read: They told me all I needed to be Coronavirus safe was a mask and gloves. They lied to me! At my local grocers all the other people had on clothes too.

Fear is one of the challenges that can limit, harm or end our chances of healing, health and further life. Do not give in to fear. Remember it’s False Evidence Appearing Real. Live, love and have good in your heart to eliminate fear and associate with the infinite at the highest level humanity is capable of. We can call it metaphilosophy, super being-ness, and/or masterful reality. Our Focus Up Philosophy best to you and all family, friends and the race mind of people on the planet today. Tomorrow is a new day and we send good thoughts to personages here or whom have made their transition.

Let us know how you and family are doing? We want to know ASAP. If there’s no prob we will give thanks with you. If there is a problem we can hold and send good thoughts your way.

More Covid-19 news next week… We will have our projection of the Focus Up Philosopher’s new and improved world. Send us comments, your new world perspectives and laugh-alongs’ to focusupphilosophers@gmail.com

February or March post: I was driving from Pleasant View, Utah to Oceanside California and stopped for gas and a bite to eat in Saint George, Utah. I saw a young lady who was wearing a t-shirt that boldly said, “Practice like you’ve never won. Perform like you’ve never lost.” I thought about that for a while on the long drive. How hard would you practice if you really wanted to win and hadn’t before. How wonderfully would you perform if you had never lost and wanted to keep your title or standing as number one or winning that competition? Whether it was a dance competition, and this lady looked like a dancer, or a sport, or a spelling bee, or an Olympic yacht race, or a ski or snowboard freestyle performance, or a surfing contest, or a sales contest, or an IRS audit where you received money back.

Imagine a win that you experienced in your life. Think of how that made you feel. Get that accolade in your mind and visualize where you are in your brain. The experts tell us that we are in our happiness spot or happy place when we win, We are acknowledged and receive the good and winning feelings, or have that ah-ha realization of extreme goodness and pleasure. I have endeavored to go there and build a site that I could visit whenever I either had time and wanted to feel good and pleasant. That to me is basically the essence of being happy. My feeling or reality of being a winner, it’s easy to say and yet it can be challenging to do.

Here is the crux of the problem. Most of us are taught to obey our parents, follow the law, learn our arithmetic tables, paint or color inside the lines and the like. Then when we get it right, according to society we get a pat on the back or top of our heads and we used to get hugs. We are a winner for that moment in the space-time continuum. We win a race or game or dance competition and for those few moments we are extremely pleased and happy. People are happy for us. That is great and we feel extremely good. Then people go away and we are left to work out happiness on another scale, another plane of existence and an entirely different reality all by ourselves.

We have the trophy, the crown, or big check and what do we do now? We see or hear about those that get in to drugs, or drinking, or cheating on a partner, or losing it all virtually overnight. We find a superbowl ring in a pawn shop. There’s a picture of the movie star, affluent athlete or super rich developer in jail looking like a drunken outlaw.

Sad to say they didn’t know how to be happy being happy. In one way they had won the blue ribbon, the prize, the gold medal or the big paycheck and then did not know how to manage their success. Nobody, until now, taught them how to be happy after the big win or being super rich, powerful, and successful. There is a saying about finding a happy rich, powerful or successful person. Way too many are not. I know a few who are happy. More that are interested in me and the world and satisfied with their success, money, power and the like.

Focus Up Philosophers will endeavor to teach that lesson or set of lessons. We will not give you the seminar and say goodbye. You don’t have to buy the book, the CD, the flash drive program we’ll teach you and you can do it with, by and for yourself. We may have some recommendations to assist you on the path. It will be part of a program that we have seen people benefit from. Focus Up Philosophers will be with you, stay with you all the way. That is our commitment. That is our plan, our desire, our commitment.

Happiness is not a destination as we see it. Happiness is a journey. The path of happiness is full of choice and decisions. Make the decision to take the road of happy days and joyous nights with us. We plan to make it something to write home about!

The first step and it may be a quantum leap for some. Do not get frustrated or down if it seems to take time to develop. First think about the tops of your ears. Then move your consciousness an inch upward and in to the middle of your upper brain. When the lines touch in the mid-upper brain you have reached your winning place. Yes this is your happy place.

Having trouble getting there. OK let’s endeavor to do it another way. One and a half inches above and in the middle of the eyes envision a line straight back into the middle of the upper brain. Next think of a line from the middle of the top of your head going straight down. Where these two lines meet or cross is the Focus Up Philosophers happy or winning place.

Now close your eyes and create your happy place the way you want to experience it. Don’t be too concerned about what it looks or feels like today, you can always change it. My happy place is a cave above a fertile valley. I/we call this point in our upper mid brain the cave. It is your creation so make it and call it what you like. Remember to go there when you want to make a decision. For a minimum of one minute to three minutes depending on the size and intensity of the decision focus up on your happy-winning place. Your cave area. Now begin this process. Before making any decision this is a good idea. First look back at previous decisions that were made in the same vein as the one you are making now. Think of that or those decisions. Then project of focus on the outcomes. Good bad or indifferent gauge how the results affected and changed your life. When you have that handled you can think of other people making the same type of decision and what theirs was and the outcome they achieved.

Next we want to focus on the future. From your focus brain position think of the decision and visualize the outcome(s) in the future. You can project one hour, one day, one week, one month, one year or multiple years, three five, seven or ten years. Then focus on how your life would look even up to and including at the end of your life. Remain focused up for the entire time you’re doing your work. Decisions made in this way are usually better than other ways of jumping in or not making a decision.

Let us know how it is going. You can tell us of wins, losses and draws with this process. It makes for interesting life and lifestyle decision making and adds to our Focus Up Philosophy knowledge base.

Send us an email and your wishes whether we can or cannot share the story with our greater Focus Up Philosophers family. focusupphilosophers@gmail.com.

Thanks and blessings, FUPS all.

East meets west

Eastern Philosophy

The eastern philosophies seem to be the new go to for spiritual inspiration for many people. Whether it is currently the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso; Parmahansa Yogananda and Self Realization Fellowship;  Mohandes Gandhi, the Mahatma; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Transcendental Meditation; Gautama Buddha and Buddhism or others whose good and true philosophies are available. We are being led into a completely different way of thinking and being here in the world of effects.  Jesus taught us to believe in the Christ within. (These works and greater ones you will do.)   Buddha taught it as Buddha nature, there’s also Krishna consciousness, or Sahaja Samadhi.  All these teach that the I am is each one of us with or without the whirlpool of being.  Samadhi drops the conceptual mind and realizes higher unity and stillness.  It’s beyond description here and perhaps we can do a complete session or post on Samadhi.   Yoga means the oneness with all and separation from the maya, or the sight and seen of the world.  It is also physical positions held and released.  That’s a duality we find in eastern philosophy stillness, separation and doing, the beginning and ending physical suffering.  Note the eastern belief that there is one consciousness shining through innumerable faces, countless forms and double that number of eyes.

The philosophical thinkers quoted below are expanding and legitimizing the good within each and every individual.  There is no one religion or philosophy that has all the truth.  To have all the truth we must incorporate all the good, true, historical, legitimate  and lovable from all philosophies, all religions, all people.   All thoughts worthy of being remembered can be added to our knowledge base.  When you have good thoughts, write them down.  You may then share them with the group or keep them to illumine yourself.

Perhaps every conscious individual could write their own bible, chapter and verse.  The mistakes, the wins, the learnings, the humility, the power within, the healing, the freedom, all this engenders happiness and contentment to arrive at each higher plateau.  Then we transition back to the goal oriented path to traverse up the slope.  No one need give up their power and connection to the universal good.  The realization that no one can do it for us.  We must tread our own path.  No matter how steep or rock laden, it is ours to learn and grow within and we shall become enlightened in the end.  Born innocent and ending up at purity is our life’s calling.

The Beatles changed their songs and ostensibly their lives after visiting India. A friend, Karl Anthony is now writing his singing mantras with a definite eastern flair. He went to the same town in India that the Beatles went to and learned from masters there. Let’s see if we can bring some of that eastern knowledge here to this humble blog.  Below see the quotes from eastern masters, teachers and philosophers who’ve given us inspiring quotes to live by in their writings.

I remember my first entrée into the eastern way of being in the world was with Transcendental Meditation.  I took the course in Pasadena, California and began meditating twice a day. I remember meditating in airports, on airplanes at about 36,000 ft., on the beach, in offices, on a mountain top, practically anywhere I could get twenty minutes time to meditate. One evening when I lived in Seal Beach, California there were several people over for a dinner party. As the meal prep was getting going in full operation I realized I hadn’t done my evening meditation. TM is done before eating, both in the morning and evening. I said to the group, go on and keep doing what needs to be done, I am out of here for twenty minutes. I went out to my car, it was a Porsche, and sat in it for my evening med. It was interesting when I came back to the party no one acted like they’d missed me. They started handing me plates to put on the dining table and said nothing about my running out on them at a critical dinner fixing time.   I now teach three types of meditation in the recreation system for those interested.

Once I went with the friend who’d introduced me to TM to a group meditation in west LA. Charlie Lutes was speaking and he had an amazing story to tell us. We meditated together and it seemed powerful. My seat was lively. We were on the second floor so I thought it might be the good vibrations of the old theatre where we were neeting. After the meditation our main group went north to Pasadena and the like. I was going south so we said our goodbyes. I walked in to the theatre down below where we’d meditated and sat down in the very last row of seats. I watched a band practice. I didn’t think much of it. After about a half an hour of them playing one section of a song to get it the way they wanted it, I decided to drive on home. The next day I saw on TV that Fleetwood Mac was playing with the USC marching band I think it was. I looked closely and there was the group I had been watching practice the night before. No wonder my seat felt lively, Fleetwood was practicing right beneath it.  Must be a message there, yes?

This is your invitation to learn and embrace the Focus Up Philosophy. The goal is to awaken all sentient beings.  Focus Up Philosophers wish to attain higher consciousness now. The goal is to get it and assist all sentient beings to focus up. Once all beings are awakened and fully conscious, we will all arrive together at the top of the mountain.  It doesn’t matter what path of good, true and lovable steps and deeds human beings take to get to the top of that mythological mountain.  The difficulties, challenges, and opportunities will give them the goodness of spirit to elevate their consciousness.  Once all sentient beings are on the mountain top, all can translate out to the next higher dimension.  Then Focus Up Philosophers may turn off the lights and leave.                                                          More about philosophies later.

Quotes around and about eastern philosophies to elevate (Focus Up) your thinking and change your life.                                                                   As your life focuses up and changes, feel free to assist others’ to change.

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation.    Tenzin Gyatso, The Dalai Lama

Silence is sometimes the best answer    Dalai Lama

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.    Dalai Lama

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.    Dalai Lama

Persistence guarantees that results are inevitable.   Parmahansa Yogananda

Everything, at first, is an idea, a special creation.   Parmahansa Yogananda
Truth is exact correspondence with reality.    Parmahansa Yogananda
Let my soul smile through my heart and my heart smile through my eyes that I may bring smiles to sad hearts.  Parmahansa Yogananda
The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.    Gautama Buddha
He is not the same, nor is he another.   Gautama Buddh
Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.    Gautama Buddha
Everything changes, nothing remains without change.    Gautama Buddha
Fashion your life as a garland of beautiful deeds.    Gautama Buddha
Be vigilant; guard your mind against negative thoughts.    Gautama Buddha
Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.  Gautama Buddha
Through zeal, knowledge is gotten; through lack of zeal, knowledge is lost.            Gautama Buddha  
Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home. Zhuangzi
Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. Rumi 
When we discover that the truth is already in us, we are all at once our original selves. Dogen 
Peace of mind is that mental condition in which you have accepted the worst.                Lin Yutang
Don’t seek, don’t search, don’t ask, don’t knock, don’t demand   relax. Osho
Do not seek the truth, only cease to cherish your opinions.  Seng-ts’an
One loses joy and happiness in the attempt to possess them.  Masanobu Fukuoka
I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.  Confucius
To know what you know and to know what you do not know, that is wisdom. Confucius

Ask yourself constantly, What is the right thing to do?  Confucius

Behave toward everyone as if receiving a great guest.    Confucius

The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.   Confucius

It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you do not stop.    Confucius

Silence is the true friend that never betrays.    Confucius

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.   Confucius

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.    Confucius

Respect yourself and others will respect you.    Confucius

To see what is right and not to do it is want (lack) of courage.    Confucius

Forget the years, forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home. Zhuangzi
Overconcerns often prevent us from taking action which frees us.  Morya
Purity of motive will assist in bringing in the golden age.  Morya
The more we come out and do good for others, the more our hearts will be purified.  Swami Vivekananda 
Desire nothing, give up all desires and be happy.    Swami Sivananda
All differences in this world are of degree and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything.   Swami Vivekananda
Focus Up Philosophers are those who think and act with a measure of loving understanding and of concern for the well-being of all.     Anonymous
Freedom is not worth having if it does not allow you to make mistakes.                Mahatma Gandhi 
Happiness is when you think what you say, and what you do are in harmony.      Mahatma Gandhi
Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.   Mahatma Gandhi
The weak can never forgive, forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.                  Mohandes Gandhi, the Mahatma
It is unwise to be too sure of one’s own wisdom.   Mahatma Gandhi
Being deeply loved gives you strength, loving deeply gives you courage.   Lao Tzu
Living a life without limits is the highest state of existence.   Leih Tzu
I have just three things to teach, simplicity, patience, compassion.  These are your greatest treasure.   Lao Tzu
Watch your thoughts, they become words.  Watch your words they become actions.  Watch your actions they become habits.  Watch your habits they become your destiny.  Lao Tzu
Enough said, now go out and live, love laugh and serve.  Blessings. E.

 

 

Thinkers, writers, masters, & philosophers who assist us to “Focus Up.”

Focus Up Philosophers simply learn how to look above the clouds, mists or fog to higher thoughts of the ascendant good, true and lovable thoughts over our world of effects.     My premise is that anyone can be a philosopher. Think, learn, (Listen to good books on CD is a thought) read, (good literature preferrably) write, laugh, listen to good and uplifting music, (I like much of doo wop and musician friends I’ve met and known), live-really live and examine life and remember to enjoy what you do.  Those are some of the tenets that help us to be philosophical.  Below are some quotes that you can use to focus a little higher than the everyday life that you live daily. Use them to think about during the day. Sometimes you may want to write them on a sticky note to stick on the bathroom mirror or kitchen reader board. They may be stuck on the front door and go in the pocket as we walk out the door. On the dashboard of the car, don’t let it interrupt good driving. If one does a random focus up once a day that may assist them to get out of a mood or lift up their spirits or allow them to think through a challenge-opportunity and do better.  Sometimes we get turned down for something we want or think we need.  I know sales people do, parents do, husbands do, and wives too.  Focus up and choose to learn from every experience.  Lesson learned; pick a new path and move on.  Ruth Bader Ginsberg did just that and look where she is today.                    

I like to think that we can focus up at least once an hour. It seems to me that it can get us moving and motivated to do and be the best we can be and do. As a friend used to say and, “Do be do be do.” Try writing one of these quotes somewhere that you will see it, at minimum daily, at best hourly. Then go be your best self, no one can be a better you, and do your best.  It sounds simple and yet what I think we all know, is that it may not be easy. Another way to focus up is to find something to laugh at.  Try laughing at yourself!   I know it may not initially sound like fun to laugh at yourself. Try laughing out loud, even if you haven’t done anything laughable and see how much fun it can become. At first you may want to do it without anyone knowing what or specifically who you are laughing at.  Seriously, laughing can be fun, especially if you are laughing at yourself.  When we laugh at ourselves it takes away the power of another who might think of laughing at us or our mistake.  Please don’t laugh at others to make them feel less than good about themselves.  Let’s endeavor to make all people feel and act a little better by knowing us. The concept is being a positive light for family, friends, acquaintances and new people we meet every day. My SWIC premise is S. smile, W. wave, I. interesting, C. comment. Do this for virtually everyone you encounter! When you meet, encounter or pass by anyone there is almost always something you can say or do to inform them you are a ‘focus up’ person.   In the grocery store, sports game, movie theatre or wherever,  smile at everyone and see how many return your smile.  Some days I keep track in the grocery or hardware store on my fingers.  You can judge yourself, evaluate your attitude good, bad or indifferent with the number of return smiles.  Let us know your top number of return smiles, waves and/or interesting returns of comments you get in a day.  One day I walked down the hallway of an airport and got a 98% smile return.  Take a guess where.  J.F.K. airport New York City.  We will reward the top number of smile returns so tell us your very best number in a day.  As for interesting comments.  Find something that you think or see or like to comment to a person (stranger) on.  I got an interesting return of a comment the other night at a film noir movie festival.  The lady, who was older than me, was emigrated from England years ago and still had her English accent.  I really like English accents and told her so.  We talked a little up until the film noir movie started.   It starred Robert Mitchum who my dad had gone to college with.  Robert Mitchum made a diabolical bad guy in the movie.  This lady had lived in the U.S. for lots of years and kept her British accent.  She chose to because she got so many compliments on it.   I guess many Americans, as I do, in general like the British, and Australian accents.                

A third way you can use or relate to this blog is to contribute. Send us your best quote. Either one from someone else, please quote the person. You may want to write one yourself. Our group will decide what goes in. Yes, it’s true we have a group of Focus Up Philosophers. They’re great and have been listening and focusing up via texts for several months.   To join tune in weekly and ‘like’ us.  We’ll have a sign up posted soon.                                                                                

May I share one good focus up quote from my family? My mom told us, when I was just a kid, “Get an education, nobody can take that away from you.” Please see the *B.B. King quote in the list of quotes.                                                                                                                            

Oz was a neophyte who had just made it to the other side of the multi faceted wizard reader board. Dorothy and the others offered him the opportunity to live up to his potential. The potential of him becoming a master wizard. Yes?  Now, we can learn from these masters quoted below. They’re simply people who didn’t quit doing whatever it was they wanted to do.  In the very beginning they may have been afraid of playing the piano for family or friends, flying a plane, singing and playing the guitar, mandolin or ukelele on stage, walking the tight rope or balance beam. Whatever it was they wanted to do they did, despite fear, apprehension or trepidation. Then after stepping out in consciousness once or twice and finding they didn’t sink into the muck and the mire they took another step. Then after hard or arduous work, study and due diligence they mastered their field and got on with life.  Winston Churchill got defeated as prime minister and yet came back for reelection years later.  Read some of his ‘Finest hour and I have nothing to give but my blood sweat toil and tears’ speeches.  Success may not be a straight line.  Like a sailboat one may have to sail (tack and jibe) with the winds of fortune to get to the promised land of rewards and perceived success. 

Some friends in the theatre, when I lived in New York City used to laughingly ask how do you get to Carnegie Hall?  ‘Practice, practice, practice’  was one answer another was ‘one step at a time’. We sometimes shared the concept that perfect practice makes perfect. We met a pianist we like, Reuel check him out.  I remember the quote and not the pianists name.  If I miss one day of practice I notice.   Miss two days of practice and my mother notices.  Three days of practice and the audience notices.   Also try singing mantras with Karl Anthony.  Go to the theatre and see a live performance, it’s interesting.   Film Noir is fun.  They’re the ‘B’ movies (usually black and white) from the ’50’s and ’60’s.                                                                                                      

R. Buckminster Fuller failed and failed in business. He decided that he could either make money or make sense. He thought the two to be diametrically opposed concepts. He decided to make sense! The geodesic dome and dymaxion everything were some of his contributions to us. Plus writing several books and making up many of his own words and some of his own language.  Good reading is the Grunch of Giants and Critical Path. Bucky, near the end of his life earned a great deal of money, I mean a lot of money to offer a week of his service to companies or organizations who needed or wanted his assistance.  I was blessed to hear his last two talks and will always remember him. Last public talk, he taught the whole audience triangling. A math of multi dimensions.  More dimensions than plane geometry or flat oriented mathematics. At the time I could do it in my head, he made it so understandable.  I heard that Doctor Einstein thought that triangling could prove his unified field theory.                

Enough about others’ stories. Here are a few quotes to mull over and see if there’s one that resonates with you. There is a ding and clunk theory. If something goes ding like the ringing of a bell on a crystal clear summer morning, then that’s the right one for you. If it goes clunk, then you simply move on. The liberty bell cracked and now it just goes clunk. Good looking bell, but it just goes clunk. People go to see it all the time.  If you have a chance go see it on a beautiful summer day in Philadelphia, PA.  You’ll see the crack it’s a big one.   Other than its clunk it’s a handsome bell!        

Look over these quotes and see if any go ding for you.  If not so much, write your own.   Or you can rewrite one and make it your own.                                                                                                                                    Kind regards, Ernie

Quotes can change lives.  Ever look, listen and learn from the world around.  

Never, never, never, never give up. Winston Churchill

Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right. Henry Ford

We become what we think about. Earl Nightingale

There is scarcely a master that I have not studied the best of their works. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

You will find something more in (the) woods than in books. Saint Bernard

You are made in the image of what you desire. Thomas Merton

What I do is reflection and the study of the great masters. Edgar Degas

Love is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.  The Wizard of Oz

When there’s trouble hanging over me, (I) touch the sky.  Karl Anthony 

We are the United States of Amnesia. Gore Vidal

Before all masters, necessity is the one who teaches best. Jules Verne

It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel affected by it. Voltaire

All women are forces of nature, I believe in their power. Stephanie McMahon

Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. Mohandes Gandhi, the Mahatma

*The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you. B. B. King

The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates

Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life. Aristotle

Whatever possession we gain by our sword cannot be sure or lasting. The love gained by kindness and moderation is certain and durable. Alexander the Great

Pull down the good, the true and the lovable philosophies from the raincloud of knowable things. Ernest Nylander 

People say that motivation doesn’t last. Well neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily. Zig Ziglar

Hope is the bedrock of this nation. Remember that history will not be written for us, but by us. Barack Obama

We design our lives through the power of choices. Richard Bach

I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me quiet strength and dignity. Michelle Obama

A woman is like a tea bag. You can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt

Often in life things you judge as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune. Ruth Bader Ginsberg

My aim is to cherish myself as I am. Elle McPherson

As usual there is a great woman behind every idiot. John Lennon

We live in a world where sports have the potential of eliminating racism, sexism and discrimination. Jackie Joyner-Kersee

The quality not the longevity of one’s life is what is important. Martin Luther King Jr.

One individual can begin a movement that turns the tide of history. Jack Canfield

When you know clearly what you want, you will wake up every morning excited about life. Mark Victor Hansen

Let your life reflect ever emerging good. Christian Sorensen

Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. John F. Kennedy

Be happy for this moment, for this moment is your life. Omar Khayyam

Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and any government that supports them. George W. Bush

Take a pen to write, then you will see the miracle of writing. Lailah Gifty Akita

Anything, yes everything can be improved with a higher, better, even a joyful thought. This is new and improved thinking, rising above the clouds for ‘focus up philosophers.’ Ernest Nylander

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death. Albert Einstein

They (you) must be prepared to want to learn- not as something they (you) need to do, something they enjoy doing. They (those who don’t know how) will have to learn how to learn. Peter Drucker

Lifelong learning is our lifelong enterprise.’Focus Up Philosophers’   Ernest Nylander

We’re open for your good thoughts and quotes…..