Saturday, October 28, 2023

He was intrigued (a circle #poem)

He was intrigued
By the story
of the man and his three children
of whom the oldest was sixteen.
He was intrigued
by how the man
managed to hide them
from society.



A story he'd been told
by the lady and her 'sway'.

Not only by her
but also by
the man and his three children
He was intrigued 



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Thursday, October 26, 2023

Not every guru is an enlightened teacher

Michael Pilarczyk is a Dutch 'life coach'. Which means the originally Polish Dutch DJ charges €500 for a 'Life Changing Event', promising his followers 'more success!' In the world of 'life coaches' success equals a big home and an expensive car. For 'only €1000' you get free coffee and two (sponsored) energy bars at his events and earlier entrance to the hall that will be filled up with hundreds and even thousands of hopeful - and often wealthy - people.

His personal financial succes is in his businessmodel: if his clients don't succeed, it's because of their 'mindset' and they didn't follow his instructions to the letter. But with a follow up course he can help you overcome your doubts. For a fee.

At first his workshops were for free. And nobody showed up 'because when something doesn't cost a dime it can't be good'. Since he charges €1000 his workshops are sold out 'because when something is expensive it must be good.'

His 'instructions'? All the open doors he tells his audience about in his books, trainings and podcasts are based on ancient 'wisdoms' and all come down to 'Think yourself rich'.

All 'his' quotes you have heard before: 'Don't compare yourself to others'; 'Start your day with meditating'; 'Don't worry about things you can't change; put your energy into viable changes'; 'Let go what you can't control'; 'An idea is worthless if you don't act upon it'. Et cetera.
'Don't give up!' Some pay €1000 to hear that advice.

Why do these quotes sound familiar? Because they are used by thousands of [con men] life style gurus.

And people fall for it. En masse. Which isn't weird, knowing he follows mostly Twitter-accounts from known Dutch fascists; if any group of people knows how to manipulate gullible people, it's fascists.
Often these people are connected to Dutch party leader of 'Forum for Democracy', Thierry Baudet. Let's not call him fascist. He's just anti-establishment, antisemetic, racist, misogynistic and anti-democracy. While supporting Hamas, Putin, Andrew Tate and Trump. 

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Sure, the ancient wisdoms of life coaches like Michael Pilarczyk may have actually helped some people to rethink their lives, meditate more and think about what they really want. But many - cheaper and often free - methods could easily do the same: take long walks, talk to a good friend or ditto barkeeper, take a break from work...

It's possible that Michael Pilarczyk really wants to help people become just as wealthy as he is but happiness is more than gaining wealth. 

In general 'mental health coaches' do more harm than good. Not only because they make people believe they can only feel better is they give their money to (online) coaches, but because mental health has been turned into a commodity: the more you pay, the better you will feel. Of course it doesn't so you doubt yourself and pay more for more workshops.

In more than one case - and I know a few victims personally - a 'guru' will not only abuse mentally unstable people to help with their desire to get rich but also to fulfill their own sexual desires. 

"I see something special in you so I want to do a few private sessions with you. Come to my hotel room tonight. And put on something comfortable."

And often the victims are too ashamed to admit they have been tricked and won't press charges when the guru has told them they should surrender themselves and their 'yoni' (which is just a word for 'vagina') to the con man.

Do you think fake gurus should all be imprisoned or should the law allow their followers to lose their money and sometimes even their 'innocence'?

Here are ten signs to know you're dealing with a fake spiritual guru. In the western world you can often recognize a fake guru (example of a female 'guru', often more trusted 'because a woman is incapable of harming people by nature.' Wrong) because they openly doubt a governments attempt to help civilians: 'Don't trust the government but only your own body! I will tell you how to stay healthy. For a fee.'

Only gullible people fall for a guru that tells them: 'Don't trust a vaccine but buy my special herbal tea to help your immune system to beat cancer/covid/5 G radiation...' and stuff like: 'If my online workshop wasn't effective, that's because you didn't follow my instructions to the letter. But because I want to help you, dear [insert name Facebook user], I'm offering you a discount on a follow up course.'

Of course there are genuine gurus out there. And yes, some ask money for their services. They are people with mortgages too. Would you work for free? On the other end of the spectrum: would you charge money for something you know they could get for free?

Have you ever fallen victim to a guru or did a guru actually help you? And what did it cost you?


Saturday, October 21, 2023

There's a Fire (a circle #poem)

There's a fire
Inside it, there's a force.
Inside the force there's a painting.
It's a picture of you.


Looking at me
and our present.

Which is where I found you.
Or would have
if it wasn't for the window
that showed us
there's a fire.

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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Should politicians be sponsored by private companies?

Without looking at the picture: do Republican politicians work for US citizens or for sponsors like the gun lobby?

Look at who gets millions (click) from the oil & gas industry and wonder no more why so many politicians openly claim 'big oil' can't be responsible for too rapid climate change 'because it's impossible for men to influence the climate!'

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Funnily enough the climate change denying sheep following populists and demagogues blindly álso are terrified of HAARP and a project sponsored by Bill Gates concerning (research in) geoengenieering: 'Because it's far too dangerous for men to influence the climate!'

Who is this scientist Michael Shellenberger that Tucker Carlson (now fired from Fox by Rupert Murdoch himself because the lawsuits for spreading false information was costing the network too much money) loves to quote? 

Follow this link (click) to know more about Michael Shellenberger. Hint: Michael Shellenberger gets paid millions by the energy industry to claim climate change is not caused by humans and is paid a lot to push nuclear energy and to falsify data to peddle the idea nuclear is much better and cheaper than solar and wind energy.

'Yeah, but the headlines say that Bill Gates wants to block out the sun!' Don't get your knickers in a twist, darling. Here's what the story is really about. Check out this video if you're actually interested in the truth and don't want to be laughed at at family dinners for peddling just another silly conspiracy theory:


Conspiracy theorists think people can't be responsible for climate change ánd are afraid people want to change the climate. Yes, that's how loony many people are. 

Those same people who have zero knowledgde about the stuff they talk about but simply repeat demagogues who tell them not to trust science also fervently claim that science (what happened to 'we don't believe in science!'?) proves there are only two genders. Which is also not true. 

'There are only two genders: male and female! You know, XX and XY. So claiming there are more genders is just stupid and wrong!' Sorry, dear but if anyone is stupid and wrong, it's you. 


Why are there so many stupid, gullible people? Easy: politicians and other people in power - the so called 'elite' - have everything to gain by keeping people stupid enough to keep them in power.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you believe in what demagogues say or do you believe in ever evolving science?


Saturday, October 14, 2023

Frame (a #poem)

Waves of pleasure
And laughter in the rain
An art piece by Escher
No need to explain


A thousand new memories
All lost but looked after
There's a time for creation
And cups filled with pain

Lasting forever
And gone in a sec
We bonded for a moment
A picture sans frame 


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Thursday, October 12, 2023

Evolution or creationism?

New theory: creationists don't believe in evolution because they haven't evolved.

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'God has put dinosaur bones in the soil to test our faith!' is as thought just as stupid as 'With HAARP they are causing natural disasters to make u believe climate change is real!'

You can't reason with zealots because they don't understand what reasoning is. Their Great Leader ('Führer' in German) is always right. Even when he (there are female agitators but the cult leaders are mostly men) is obviously wrong. Just look at the [stupid] gullible people still devoted to the 45th president of the USA. He literally stole their money and his sheep still adore him.

Stupid people often ánd vote for right wing populists like Trump ánd believe in Creationism and not in science. Yes, it would be more pleasant to call them 'gullible' or 'uneducated' but not-knowing is okay; if people choose to be not-knowing they are stupid. If that offends anyone, too bad. If [stupid] fascists state everyone has the right to free speech, that right also applies to people calling them stupid.

A study shows that Trump and the Republican party didn't make people hate marginalized groups but that people already hating POC, homosexuals, socialism, muslims and 'the left' flocked around Trump as moths around a flame. As 'that stupid, racist neighbour' they felt marginalized themselves. Thanks to Trump 'magats' felt supported in their hatred. Hence their loyalty.

Authoritarianism is not only popular in the USA but has also garnered a large following of people who call others 'sheep' in Poland, Hungary, Finland, Brasil, Turkey and Russia. All countries where there is a big push to ban books, to not invest in education and the public press is being censored while a lot of misinformation is spread via social media. 

A give away to know you are dealing with a rightwing populist party: none of the points - if any - they officially make, makes any actual sense. Their 'plans' like 'We will make the economy grow and close the borders!' are not viable and only appeal to stupid people. Or rather: to people who never learned to think for themselves. It's why 'the people' fall for the most obvious populist trick of them all:

Have you ever voted for a right wing populist party? Why? And is your country a better place after they won the national elections?

Why do 'the people' vote for politicians who shout 'Freedom!' but only want freedom for rich, white, heterosexual people and their sponsors, 'the elite' like 'Big Oil', 'Big Agro' and 'Big Pharma'?

Saturday, October 07, 2023

His heart (a #poem)

While creating new memories,
he came across an old one.
A hug and a chat
were all he needed
to be able to move on.

Knowing she still
possessed that smile


with matching eyes
that once got his attention
as well as his heart

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Thursday, October 05, 2023

The good old days

'Let's return to the good old days!' 
'Sure, when was that? The time period in which poor people simply died if they got sick, the times when women were considered lesser creatures? Or are you referring to the days when people of colour only served one purpose in the Americas: their rich, white masters?'

Are you referring to The Roaring Twenties? The fifties? The Renaissance? The Middle Ages? Try to be more specific: in which period in the history of mankind did less people die from hunger, were there less armed conflicts, did more different people have the same rights as heterosexual ,wealthy,white dudes?


Did people actually have more fun in the eighties? The music may have been better in those days. But what else was?

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If we're serious about going back to 'the good old days' we should consider going waaaayyy back. To the times people didn't care about woke or gender (Click. it's true. Bigly true), only killed animals to eat, not to gain more wealth, lived in harmony with nature, only fought 'wars' to uphold the genetic diversity of the tribe and didn't care what someone told them on Twitter. When there was no toilet paper and people died of a simple infection. 

Thus naturally regulating the population.

In what era would you prefer to live? Me? The current one.