Have a Sphongly weekend, folks!

Shpongle is a downtempo/ambient psychedelic trance (or psybient) project from the United Kingdom. The core members are Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) and Raja Ram (one third of The Infinity Project), but they often collaborate with other artists. Their sound has sampled Eastern ethnic instruments and Western contemporary synthesizer-based psychedelic music. Posford is responsible for the synth and studio work while Raja Ram contributes with flute arrangements. The project was formed in 1996 after the pair viewed a solar eclipse in India. The two went into the studio and attempted to duplicate the experience in sonic form, and the result was a 20-minute track, "...And the Day Turned to Night," which was featured on Shpongle's first album Are You Shpongled? and the Twisted label compilation Eclipse - A Journey Of Permanence & Impermanence.

Shpongle is not a dictionary-recognized word; in an interview taking place in Russia, Raja Ram stated that Shpongle is an umbrella term for feeling positive and euphoric emotions.

Shpongle's first track, "Vapour Rumours", was released on TIP Records' Infinite Excursions compilation in 1996. Their debut album, Are You Shpongled?, was released 1998 on Twisted Records. Their latest album, Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland, was released on 28 November 2009.

[Source: Wikipedia; suggested by Paik Yin]

Rio Tinto = RDA = Killers of the Sacred Tree

Jabiluka's sacred power 'must never be disturbed'

Mirarr elder Yvonne Margarula says her people are ‘‘deeply saddened’’ uranium from their land has been exported to Japanese nuclear power companies. Photo: Glenn Campbell

Lindsay Murdoch | The Age
April 7, 2011

IN THE Dreaming of the Mirarr people of Kakadu, a sacred, dangerous power called the Djang is unleashed when disturbed on their land.

Senior traditional leader Yvonne Margarula says her late father Toby Gangale warned the Australian government in the late 1970s the Djang ''might kill all over the world'' if disturbed at Ranger, a uranium mine that was built in Kakadu National Park despite opposition from traditional owners.

''No one listened,'' she said.


Now Ms Margarula says her people are ''deeply saddened'' that uranium from their land at Ranger has been exported over more than 30 years to Japanese nuclear power companies, including one operating the stricken Fukushima plant.

The Mirarr have declared they want the multibillion-dollar Jabiluka uranium deposit on their land to remain undeveloped and be incorporated into the world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.

Ms Margarula and 30 other adults and about 40 children in her clan could be among Australia's richest people if they allowed Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) to develop Jabiluka, which was halted in 1998 after an eight-month blockade by 5,000 protesters.

The 72-square-kilometre mineral lease site containing 141,640 tonnes of uranium is one of the world's largest known undeveloped uranium deposits.


ERA, which is 68 per cent owned by Rio Tinto, is eager to mine the high-grade deposit worth $18.5 billion at current spot prices.

In a rare interview in Jabiru, a town near the Ranger mine and Jabiluka deposit, Ms Margarula told The Age she never wants to see Jabiluka disturbed.

''I am really happy about [the prospect of] it becoming part of the national park so my nephews and nieces can look after the country and I will never again see big clouds of smoke and dust on the other side of the hill while the rocks, the escarpments are destroyed,'' she said.

In a letter to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week, Ms Margarula said it was ''with great sadness'' the Mirarr learned of the suffering of the Japanese people following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency.

''I am writing to you to convey our solidarity and support with all those people across the world who see in the events at Fukushima a dire warning of the risks posed by the nuclear industry,'' Ms Margarula wrote.

''This is an industry that we have never supported in the past and that we want no part of into the future,'' she wrote.

''We are all diminished by the awful events now unfolding at Fukushima … I urge you to consider our viewpoint in your deliberations with governments in relation to the Fukushima emergency and the nuclear industry in general.''


Ms Margarula, a shy, softly spoken elder, told The Age her people had decided they wanted the federal government to support the incorporation of Jabiluka into Kakadu as it has for another uranium mining area at Koongarra, near the world famous Nourlangie Rock.

Jeffery Lee, the sole member of the Djok clan and traditional custodian of the land, offered Koongarra to the government, shunning the chance to become a billionaire, saying he is happy to work there as a park ranger.

[Forwarded by Hari Ho]

"Why did you turn your back on SUCCESS?"

A few years ago an internet movie called The Secret got lots of people buzzing about "the Law of Attraction." It spawned a slew of seminars, workshops and spin-off merchandise. Among these was Bob Proctor's "Science of Getting Rich" program. Somebody who must love me a lot decided to purchase the package on my behalf and lure me into the adrenaline-charged world of supersalesmanship.

To me it was just another multilevel marketing scheme (or scam, depending on your timing and innate talent as a hustler). I decided to give it a go, and even created a blog to promote the Science of Getting Rich - but, alas, my enthusiasm didn't last more than six months. This final blogpost was published on my now-abandoned "Secret Science" blog on 7 October 2007. It stands as a permanent testimony of my lifelong unbelief in "all that glitters"...

This is it, folks. Here's where I get off!


Much as I appreciate M's efforts to initiate me into his high-flying world of supercharged entrepreneurship and his dream of unbounded success, I realize - having attended Bob Proctor's launch of the SGR program in Malaysia - it's not my scene. I look around at the people who are drawn to these events and seminars - and, although I can sense the good intentions in all of them, I can't help seeing them as a flock of seagulls, constantly thinking about fish... fish... and more fish.

So I've been seriously contemplating deleting this blog. But perhaps there are a few items in here some of you may find useful, so I've decided to keep it online. However, this is my final blogpost. I won't be updating Secret Science from now on.

Let's just say I've checked out Bob Proctor's Science of Getting Rich program and it's not something I can feel passionate about. No doubt it's an impressively packaged portable seminar, and some people have put an incredible amount of effort into getting it in the market.

The study materials are extremely well designed and of high quality - and it certainly does a good job promoting the Law of Attraction as a way of life. However, for the techniques taught to really work, one has religiously apply the principles.

That's the rub. I'm not a religious person and am, in fact, averse to religions.

I've spent the greater part of my life deprogramming myself from all belief systems. Why would I now choose to install another belief system - no matter what it calls itself - even if it promises me everything a human being could possibly desire in life?

I enjoy producing things: music, books, DVDs, great meals, whatever. But when it comes time to marketing myself and my products, I find it tedious in the extreme. Some people are just natural-born hustlers. Take M for instance: within three weeks of signing up for the SGR program he sold enough units - just by sending out a bunch of emails - to recoup whatever he paid plus at least an additional $10,000 in pure profits.

M the self-made multi-millionaire is surrounded by high-flyers like himself who wouldn't hesitate to fork out $2,000 - just to bring a smile to his face! And that's because the majority of his friends are inclined to spend a lot more than $2,000 on a weekend of fun - whether flying to Costa Rica for a tan or Phuket for a massage.

I believe in live and let live. It's purely an aesthetic choice that I'm attracted to what's natural rather than what's artificial. For example, I value getting a warm greeting from a stranger because he or she likes my aura; I'd sense it immediately if they smiled at me only because they can see I'm a big spender.

I've never traveled first-class in my entire life. First of all, I've never worked for a big corporation long enough for them to send me on a business trip; and I've always believed in living frugally. Even with a billion bucks in my bank account, I'd hesitate paying $10 for a cup of coffee in a branded location when I know I can get an even better cup of coffee 200 yards down the street for $1.

My daughter just returned from a vacation at an exclusive beach resort in the Philippines where she paid $15 for a glass of orange juice. Deep down in my heart, I know that this sort of lifestyle is out of whack with the natural universe. It leaves too large an ecological footprint and perpetuates a socioeconomic hierarchy wherein rank is acquired through financial status. I've seen how extremely rich people spoil their kids who can't help growing up as brats. Some remain brats their entire life - just look at Dubya.

Some of my friends tell me they have a plan: they'll work themselves to the bone for 10 years and make a huge pile. Then they can be free to master their own destinies and help everybody around them, set up charitable foundations, and so on. Hate to say this, folks, but that's a total fantasy ungrounded in reality.

The energy system is a closed loop. The more you pile on your plate the less remains on the table for those who haven't arrived for dinner. You believe in infinite abundance, you tell yourself; more food will soon be delivered from the kitchen, so there's plenty where that came from. Well, this may be true - but only up to a point.

The overfed are often undernourished in other areas of their being. Those who are out there grabbing as much money as they can while they can usually don't have enough time to sit down and engage in intelligent conversation. And when they're on vacation they just want to put their feet up, order a champagne bucket, and admire the view - they don't want to discuss heavy topics (like how come the IAEC has never been allowed to inspect Israel's nuclear arsenal or who orchestrated the 9/11 false flag operation and subsequent cover-up).

Lack is the shadow side of greed. So Bono and Sting with all their money can afford to play philanthropists and world-saviors, establishing foundations to preserve the rainforests or feed the war orphans. Bill Gates can pump millions into subsidizing the pharmaceutical companies so Africans can afford AIDS medication. There are days when I think this sort of lifestyle would really suit me. Hell, I'd love to be David Bowie for two or three months!

However, just about every problem you see around you is the result of human egotism, greed, and insensitivity. Empires are built by individuals consumed with megalomaniac visions and endowed with monomaniacal determination bordering on religious fervor. Such individuals may be admirable in their own way - but few are known for their wisdom. Becoming enlightened and living consciously doesn't require that you be a member of the Billionaires Club. Indeed, it gets harder and harder to feel empathy when you're too well padded and insulated from raw reality.

This is why I'm not over-the-moon about the phenomenal success of Rhonda Byrne's movie, The Secret, and the growing popularity of her book. The message, simply put, is just too glossy.

Anyway, I've rambled on enough. I just wanted to conclude this blog with a final message - but to go any deeper into the subject would require a 50,000-word essay. Even if I did write that essay, the ones who really ought to read it probably never will, simply because my name isn't Deepak Chopra. But, as they say at McDonald's, "Have a nice eternity!"