We have all had to grow up and I am fairly pleased with my progress so far. I have had to come to accept that people I love and respect do not necessarily like or respect M or practice K. Not so easy at first, there is a kind of awkward uncertainty. Exes have had to accept that we do like those things if they want to be our friends. Honour the ones who have taken that step either way I say. We all have pro or non pwk friends who we love dearly most of us have become friends with quite a few exes or prems by now, over the years it has built up and many of us are getting closer fast. I am serioulsy not interested in this nasty dirty war that has smeared the fun and jousting field with fear, loathing and unpleasant consequences. While those fools wage their mental and legal war games there is way too much positive exchange going on about a whole bunch of other life topics and experiences between the rest of us.

The idea sometimes fostered on this forum, that being a pwk forces this strange awkward barrier between us and the rest of humanity, err, it's fucking ludicrous and in fact quite the opposite, oh, there'll be a couple of strays left over from the 70's in your town, they're everywhere, robotic church ladies abound in every group known to man, they just put on different shirts and dresses to suit the times and places they're in.

Personally, I have never felt human beings to be so beautiful, vulnerable and brave as we are seeing around us during this epic time in history. Television and the streets around us are full of heroes and heroines every day, just have to have one's eyes open to appreciate them.

My theory is that 9/11 shot a dirty great firecracker right up our arse. I'm sure a small part of me is still farting out cordite. The frailty and insanity of life on earth became close enough to smell. So I'm just hell for leather doing as much lovin as I can before we're all shoved off into kingdom come. All heartfirst awake creative people are feeling the vibe. Tempura does, I can tell by the depth of his/her post, the vibe hits the spot and is undeniable when it does. One can just imagine oneself in a pub armchair with a brown ale and after a rave like Tempura's below, I'd slowly and respectfuly nod my head forwards and suggest fetching another round. BTW Tempura, I didn't actually suggest that M shouted at the trainees because they drove him to it. I believe and always have believed that M shouts because he is VERY serious about what he is trying to do, he doesn't care what the critical minds in his audience think, certainly not ours. I think we all can feel that the world situation is serious enough to take stock and have a good look at what we are putting into the mix. If it isn't something positive and healing then bin the fucker.

I agree with you that religions and masters are nothing to do with it, it is all about us and we travel alone. Philosophy has even less to do with joy, my philosophy changes every three months but that has no bearing on my experience of the hour to hour day to day grind through the week.... towards the hot and sweaty Paris love nest of the weekend.

I'm heading back there next European summer. It's more than a change of philosophy, doing that, more like a change of planet! Can you imagine, leaving the sleepy dreamy new age comatose Byron Bay natural paradise straight for the champagne snap pop glamour erotic beauty brilliant speedfreak madness of Europe's most sensual city?
I have this delicious fantasy that at age 102, I'll come staggering out of La Cage a Folies clutching a three quarter empty bottle of Louis Rhoderer and a half smoked joint, only to spy the lush grass of the Chemps Affairer walkway, stumble over, lie down and gently and slowly drop off these earthly skins and physical dreams and head back into the warm and welcoming ethers of home.

Whilst alive however, I hope to be meeting with at least three of my ex-premie friends over there in 05 and feel certain that our shared experience will be just as inspiring and interesting as when I see pwk I know, in fact there's no bets on who will be what - some premies creep me out just like some exes. You're right Will, and Tempura has the same sensible neutral stance - there IS no difference between us lot but ideas, thoughts, beliefs and philosophies but that actually chilling down and having a good time is a habit common across all borders.

The war is over and it was a joke, that's my take on the situation, there are far too many cool ex premies to judge them as a serious group, certainly not hate, for most of them, and there are far too many cool pwk to judge them as a group - amongst us all are a small group of bored internet fanatics with nothing better to do than play around on the internet. Big deal, half the western world is doing it. It's like a new version of the hoola hoop or the pogo stick. A few years time and we'll all be somewhere else. The ones who play around off the internet, well they get what the off internet world delivers, action followed by reaction.
Some of these prankers have been extremely lucky in evading the rightful reaction to their misdeeds. They know who they are.
John M wasn't so lucky.

But his life is fine, stop whining about him you tossers who are, he's just panicking now because he thinks now lasts forever. He has forgotten that his life experience can change in a single moment of awareness. If he wants to, he can fess up, commit to some payment plan for the costs and get on with his life and write the book about JG for which he may well attract some serious cred as a writer and plenty of dosh. He certainly has the writing talent and the terrier like grip on a story that can bring it to exciting life. Power up Jhono, Propuinqity wasn't that bad.

Sorry, I'm rambling and not sticking to the points raised in your very interesting post. I went to a friend's house and because it's Christmas, broke my no smoke before midnight rule. Gosh, it's such a barney of fun to be a little stoned during the daytime, almost naughtily exciting, ho ho. Depends where you are I guess. It makes me remember the salad days of the sixties when our little group all swore blindly that we would spend every day for the rest of our lives stoned. Ha! There was a song by a band called Clark Hutchinson all about it, had a real good guitar riff.

Ah yes, I wonder what it is we felt when we made those pronouncements so sincerely. Actually we know bloody well what we were feeling and we still want to feel it. Fortunately, being stoned is not the required state to experience such a thing. M taught me that moderation is the best thing to take to extremes - makes it a lot easier to survive another year.

Especially now that the the great nations of our time are in the hands of......