This will definitely be my next laptop: Purism Librem. My MSI is still fast, reliable, and bullet-proof, after three years of use – while all my previous laptops bogged down and became useful, pretty much, only as a doorstop, after a year and a half. Nevertheless, the MSI runs on
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Writings of J. Todd Ring: Buddhism: Surface & Depth; Or, Big Mind & Baby Minds
Buddhist meditation and mindfulness are very popular now, and have become mainstream. Hospitals, churches and secular classes are now offering meditation and mindfulness training and practice. That is a good thing, and it need not go with any kind of religious conversion; and in Western popular Buddhism, generally it does
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reclaiming Democracy In Canada – And Around The World
In the 1960s, there was a cultural awakening which spread rapidly around the world, and Chomsky is right in calling it both a cultural awakening, and also, an outbreak of democracy. The civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, the gay rights movement, the native rights movement, the anti-war and
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Who To Trust: The Short Answer
Who to trust? That is always a perennial question, and particularly now, when not only government, corporations, politicians and corporate and state media have repeatedly been shown to have lied, grossly distorted or concealed the truth, and engaged in deceitful PR and propaganda; but also, alternative and progressive media, along
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: In Defence of Professor Noam Chomsky
Chomsky is about as corruptible as Gandhi, from my perspective. Further, he is the precise opposite of a globalist – he’s a self-defined anarchist, a libertarian socialist. He’s not omniscient or infallible, however. Some people think that any error in judgment means you must be corrupt, and part of some secret
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Taking Charge of Your Own Health, Happiness & Well-Being
It is difficult to be peaceful or happy when you are not well. Health is important. We need to take responsibility for our own health and well-being, not live as self-destructive children, then expect gods in white coats to fix us, when we inevitably become sick, due to our own
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reflections on the good life – Simplify, simplify
What brings true happiness? A healthy lifestyle; a positive attitude, outlook and philosophy; a simple life close to nature; meaningful work; time spent in solitude and stillness, reconnecting with yourself; and surrounding yourself with people, and an environment, a place, that fit with you: these things bring happiness and peace
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Big Brother Is Watching You – and Yes, It Matters
I talked to my boy in the car this past weekend about what to do when he drives, if he has any problems; and he talked to me about the language learning, free software that he uses on his phone. Two days later, Virgin Mobile, now owned by Bell, sends
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: On Narcissism & Independence
The fourth of July….I realize only now, that is today’s date, as I finish writing this short reflection. How fitting. Independence Day. Now, let us talk about where real independence comes from. * The real pandemic, or one of the many that afflicts the modern world, is mass narcissistic regression
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Wisdom from the East, Clarified: Paradigm shifts, dying ideologies, and real feng shui vs fast food feng shui
E=MCsquared. Energy = mass x the speed of light squared. What does that mean? Among other things, it means this. Einstein showed matter and energy and interconvertible. In fact, both Einstein’s famous equation and also quantum physics show that matter is in reality condensed energy. Hence, not only does every
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Philosophy & Metaphysics 101
(Excellent talk on philosophy, metaphysics and human happiness is linked below.) When we let go of attachment, aversion and ego, our energy naturally rises, increases and expands, and our happiness, health, energy, joy, peace, power, love, compassion and clarity increases. This is the central lesson of all the great spiritual
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Canada Day 2021: Reflection, Land Rights, and Restitution
Reflection, remembrance and mourning are important. So too is restitution. And the best way to do that, is to respect indigenous rights, including land rights. Returning significant portions of land to indigenous peoples is both a moral obligation, and a necessity for healing and true reconciliation. It also makes good
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Electric awesomeness. Harley Livewire.
LiveWire Electric Drive Motorcycle – Harley-Davidson USA It’s beautiful, it’s fast, it’s a Harley – and it’s electric. Instant torque from an electric motor means great acceleration. An electric motorcycle with solar panels in your yard to charge it, is also far less expensive to drive and much easier on
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Population Growth & The Environment
There has been a debate going on for over 50 years as to whether the primary cause of the growing environmental crisis is over-population or over-consumption. The debate still continues, even though the facts have been known conclusively for decades. Consider what we know to be the established facts. 60%
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The death and rebirth of Pelagius, and the (still unfolding) history of Christianity: A New Renaissance, or Hell On Earth?
Pelagius: it’s a soft g, as in germane, not a hard g, as in gorilla, but otherwise the discussion here in this podcast below is good. Here are a few thoughts, after four decades of study, research and meditation, on the still-unfolding history of Christianity. Know your history. The Emperor
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Rebooting Canada, eh!
Tax the rich. That would be a good start. Close the loopholes, implement capital flight controls, tax financial speculation, tax the richest 1% and the large, profitable corporations, along with the heavy polluting industries, and put a reasonable royalty fee on oil, gas, water and forestry product exports. That would
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Rethinking Education
Chomsky is right: in the Western world, what we call our “education” system, is in practice a system of indoctrination. This is its primary result, regardless of good intentions or pious beliefs. The same is true for the media: the corporate and state media primarily function as a system of
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Oh, Canada
Loyal subjects: that is what we have been trained to be – first to the British Empire, then to the American Empire, and now, to Beijing and the global coporate empire. But Canadians have another side: we are often witty, piercingly perceptive, compassionate, welcoming, valient and brave. It is the
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Land Reform and The Birth of A Revolution
Half of the world’s people live in the countryside. Three quarters of the people living in poverty live in the countryside. Two-thirds of the income of the rural poor comes from small-scale farms and peasant agriculture. Meanwhile, peasant farmers and the rural poor produce two-thirds of the world’s food. Something
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Libertarian Socialism & The Rebirth of Freedom & Democracy
What is libertarian socialism, and why should we be interested? Libertarian socialism is a long term goal, I would say, agreeing with Chomsky, who is the most prominent libertarian socialist alive. That’s point one. Although, history is full of surprises, so it may be closer and more attainable in the
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