\t\t\t\t
by Skip Stone<\/p>\n
Hippy Philosophy and the Hippy Dream<\/b><\/p>\n We are stardust, we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. <\/b><\/p>\n Joni Mitchell\/CS&N (Woodstock)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So what do hippies want anyway? What is their utopian fantasy? It’s We all want to change the world. <\/b><\/p>\n The Beatles (Revolution)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n How? How about rethinking our whole relationship to the planet. Once It seems as though there’s some kind of land grab going on, except It’s a problem of too many people, diminishing resources, human greed, I’m just beginning to see… <\/b><\/p>\n The trees are drawing me near, I’ve got to find out why. <\/b><\/p>\n The Moody Blues (Tuesday Afternoon)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then on an individual basis, hippies maintain that we must get back Like a true Nature’s child, we were born, born to be wild <\/b><\/p>\n Steppenwolf (Born to be Wild)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Many hippies consider themselves pagan. Paganism is the belief that That organism, that creature of which we are each a part,<\/b><\/p>\n is the biosphere, the living surface of this planet Earth.<\/b><\/p>\n That stirring we all feel, that move towards group-consciousness,<\/b><\/p>\n is the biosphere of Earth becoming aware of its existence.<\/b><\/p>\n It is being born.<\/b><\/p>\n We are waking up.<\/b><\/p>\n Paul Williams (Das Energi)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Gaian philosophy is an outgrowth of paganism. Paganism sees everything Our responsibility as individual cells of a living organism,<\/b><\/p>\n is to perform our individual functions as well as possible.<\/b><\/p>\n Our orders come from within\u2026we are free to be ourselves\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n Our lives will grow richer and richer as the health of the<\/b><\/p>\n total organism improves.<\/b><\/p>\n Our destiny is unimaginably high.<\/b><\/p>\n Paul Williams (Das Energi)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Man’s shortsightedness is blinding him to the true nature of the world. Without stirring abroad,<\/b><\/p>\n One can know the whole world;<\/b><\/p>\n Without looking out of the window<\/b><\/p>\n One can see the way of heaven.<\/b><\/p>\n The further one goes<\/b><\/p>\n The less one knows.<\/b><\/p>\n Lao Tzu<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This awareness, once attained, requires us to reassess our role as human One thing I can tell you is you’ve got to be FREE! <\/b><\/p>\n John Lennon (Come Together)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Freedom is shedding those false needs and finding one’s true place in Hippies are the most open-minded folks when it comes to religion. We If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him.<\/b><\/p>\n Book title by Sheldon Kopp<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of course we know that a perfect planet is unrealistic. People come Posted by: skip Hippies from A to Z by Skip Stone Hippy Philosophy and the Hippy Dream We are stardust, we are golden, and we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden. Joni Mitchell\/CS&N (Woodstock) So what do hippies want anyway? What is their utopian fantasy? It’s easy to criticize the existing system, but just what do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hippies-from-a-to-z"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\neasy to criticize the existing system, but just what do hippies have to
\nreplace it? Many accuse the hippies of being dreamers (one of the more
\nbenign accusations!). But I like to think that hippies are bringing a message
\nto humanity. An urgent message. We need to change. Now!<\/p>\n
\nupon a time people thought about the future in terms of decades and generations.
\nThey were concerned about the legacy they would leave their children and
\ngrandchildren. Today that seems so far from our thoughts. Our primary concern
\nis; What can I get now?<\/p>\n
\nit’s not just land that people are grabbing, it’s resources and power.
\nIt’s like a party where no one got enough to eat, and the last few morsels
\nare left, and everyone’s eyeing them covetously, ready to fight for that
\nlast bite.<\/p>\n
\nrampant consumerism, and massive development of the few remaining untouched
\nplaces like the rainforests. Our utopian fantasy doesn’t necessarily require
\nsomething to be done, but rather so many things for us to refrain from
\ndoing. That’s the first step. Let’s preserve what we have before greedy
\nindividuals and corporations gobble it up.<\/p>\n
\nin touch with that part of ourselves that we lost. That innocence about
\nthe world, that hope for a future full of wonders. We want to reclaim our
\nright to a healthy life and a healthy planet. We are all infected to some
\ndegree with a disease that requires us to consume way more than we need
\nto survive. If all this greed had some noble purpose, perhaps it could
\nbe justified, but unfortunately it has become an end unto itself.<\/p>\n
\nnature in itself has the answers to life’s most important questions. Paganism
\nis a way of showing respect for the natural paradise we have on earth.
\nIt puts us in touch with that animal essence which we all repress, but
\nis the key to our health and survival. The idea that Mother Nature knows
\nbest is the basis for the Ecology movement. To second-guess nature, to
\nmanipulate her for personal gain is likely to have unexpected consequences
\nwhich will backfire in the long term.<\/p>\n
\nliving as imbued with spirit. Gaianism goes one step further and sees the
\nentire planet as one evolving entity, of which we are an integral part.
\nThus to clear cut rainforests, to pollute the seas, the land and the air
\nis not just showing disrespect, it’s raping our loving host that provides
\nus with everything we need. In our endless greed we take and take, throwing
\nthe system out of balance. Many believe that Gaia will attempt compensate
\nand restore the balance, probably by unleashing some plague upon mankind
\nto reduce our numbers, if she doesn’t kill us off completely.<\/p>\n
\nOur interconnectedness and dependence upon the ecological balance of the
\nplanet as a whole has been lost ever since science and religion split long
\nago. Hippies seek to regain this awareness so we can act in accordance
\nwith the needs of the greater system, rather than be a severe burden upon
\nit. It’s our Dharma.<\/p>\n
\nbeings on the planet Earth. The questions; Why are we here? and What
\nis the meaning of life? are the most important questions we can ask ourselves.
\nAs I said before, Paganism provides those answers. We are here to serve
\nthe planet in the highest capacity we are capable of realizing. Truly,
\nour needs are few. Those needs manufactured by our society are just tools
\nused to keep us slaving for our rich masters while they destroy our common
\nwealth.<\/p>\n
\nthe greater scheme. Understanding the interdependence of life is seeing
\nbeyond the material illusion (Maya) and witnessing the dance of energy
\nthat is the true nature of the universe. This is called enlightenment.
\nHippies seek enlightenment in various ways. Drugs provide but a fleeting
\nglimpse of the true nature of reality. We know that before you can change
\nthe world, you must change yourself and find peace within. Yoga and meditation
\nbring us this inner peace and help us to act in balance with our surroundings.
\nEastern mysticism from Ashtanga Yoga to Zen Buddhism provide us with various
\npaths to enlightenment.<\/p>\n
\nstudy most of the world’s religions and take what makes sense and enhances
\npersonal freedom and reject the dogma. So our philosophy is a melange of
\nthe teachings of Christ, Buddha, Lao Tzu, Krishna, Gandhi, even some latter-day
\nsaints like Lennon, Leary and Morrison. Some hippies choose a particular
\nreligion or guru to follow, while others blaze their own path, following
\nthe Tao wherever it takes them like a true Dharma bum.<\/p>\n
\nto this planet to work out their Karma. Human beings must live and learn
\nby their mistakes. But we need to see examples of how to live in peace
\nand harmony before we can change ourselves. Christ and Buddha were two
\nsuch examples, and look at how many lives they influenced. Imagine what
\na whole nation of Bodhisattvas could do! This is our dream. To live in
\nharmony with each other and our planet. How close we come to achieving
\nit depends upon each person’s willingness to change themselves. May we
\nall see the light.<\/p>\n
\nViews: 60562
\nTopic:3\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"