13 Days

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, or action items to defeat the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

As some of you may know, it is the Eve of the 12 Days to the Demise of the DFUs (DD). If sources are to be believed, the DFUs will experience a major setback on April 12, 2025 (or, alternatively, the Forces of Good (FoG) will experience a major victory. In honor of this, we here at the Church of BWJ will be participating in intensive intentions intended to bring about the DD.

Tune in starting tomorrow for ideas about ways you can intentionally help bring about the DD.

Fin.

Good Vibes

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or actionable ways to undermine and disenfranchise the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

I had a whopping good weekend. What about you? Friday afternoon, if you recall, I did not see any of my marriage and family therapy clients, because I had a doctor's appointment with an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist, comprising a hearing test and a consult with said ENT specialist about the so called pulsatile tinnitus that I have been having. As expected and predicted, I got a clean bill of health. My hearing is fairly normal for my age and there are no identifiable causes of the pulsatile tinnitus. I guess it just happens in some people. I'm writing this post on Monday morning (albeit backdated to Sunday morning) and I am not currently experiencing the condition. It tends to be more noticeable when I am stressing my cardiovascular system, such as with exercise. But I can sometimes also hear it when things are very quiet around me, and right now I have on the Spa Channel on Sirius XM in the background.

Anyway, I finished up with ENT around 3:30 PM, and since Deborah got off work about 4 PM and we were both near downtown and I had ridden my bike to ENT because it was a nice day...we decided to meet for dinner at Salvatore's on East Washington, which we did and it was enjoyable. After dinner, I threw my bike into the back of Deborah's car and we drove home for a relaxed evening.

Saturday...now that was an action packed day! We took my parents to brunch around 10 AM at Everly, by way of picking up our Powered by Plants (PbP) merchandise from Beth Skogen (the organizer and trademark holder of PbP) at a nearby location that had been predetermined earlier in the week. After brunch, we visited CostCo and UW Provisions for a variety of super-sized staples. Returning to our home, after dropping my folks off at their home, we unloaded the bounty acquired at the stores we had visited, and then exercised. I got a nice long Peloton workout in, with INTENTION (the demise of DFUs). I can't recall what happened thereafter, but it was for sure good.

On Sunday, the pace was a bit more laid back. I went with Deborah to water the plants at the homes of her sister and mom, respectively. Returning home, I pounded out another DFU-busting Peloton workout before honing a triad of songs on bass guitar for the afternoon band practice with GUPPY EFFECT semi-acoustic duo, comprising me and Stefan Boerboom, which transpired forthwith. The jams were tasty. We woodshedded our arrangements of Chop Suey by System of a Down, Silly Love Songs by Wings, and Heading for the Light by the Traveling Wilburys, and the vocal harmonies were tasty.

I will admit that I did overeat a bit on the weekend, thus granting the DFUs a little respite from the non-stop Dark Magic (DM) I have been fairly consistently fire hosing them with the past few months. But the fire hosing returns with a vengeance today, starting with a fast until early afternoon. I plan to jump on the Peloton later this morning, after seeing my first mental health client in a little bit. Not entirely sure what all the rest of the day will bring, but I am fairly certain it will bring a few more psychotherapy clients.

Alright, you all take care of yourselves, and - if you want to - leave a comment below this post about what intentional actions you are taking today to undermine and disenfranchise the DFUs.

Ciao!

Fin.

Spa Time

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, or protection from the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs). 

Today is a SPA DAY, although not in the traditional sense most of you are probably conceptualizing right now. This is more of a DIY spa day. The goal is to minimize stress and maximize self care, relaxation, positivity, detoxification, and things of this nature. Most of all, it's a day to keep the DFUs disenfranchised from my life. I encourage my readers and adherents of the Church of Bike With Joe to actualize their own spa day today, whatever that might look like. Do it intentionally.

The DFUs have been potent of late, with no signs of slowing down. So, remember...following the Three Tenets of the Church of BWJ manifests DFU-defeating Dark Magic (DM). That's Church speak for manifesting positivity, happiness, kindness, altruism, joy, compassion, peace, detoxification, and other good things in the universe via INTENTION (positive action), which will by the very nature of the thing countervail* the DFUs' bad intentions (negative actions). It sometimes helps to visualize a specific DFU for which to manifest neutralizing DM/INTENTION, thereby focusing it on a particularly diabolical FU.

I've already begun my DM INTENTION for the day, by drinking a healthy smoothie and asking Alexa to play the Spa music channel on Sirius XM. Shortly, I'll pound out a substantial and invigorating Peloton workout (directed at a specific DFU that everyone hates...you're welcome!), after doing a few relaxing stretches. Some time around noonish, Deborah and I are going to manifest some "Negentropy" (a fun, cool, new term I learned yesterday at my Systems Theory consult group) by spending an hour compiling and uploading tax documents electronically to our accountant's secure database. I've got a couple hours of musical jams scheduled with Stefan of GUPPY EFFECT from 3 to 5 PM, after which I will drop my car off at the Kia dealership ahead of some servicing it is going to receive tomorrow. Then it will be a relaxing evening of decompression and chillaxin'.

That's about all I got for today. Again, I hope you'll join me in some intentional DFU-busting DM today, but totally fine if you've got other things planned. Just know that positive DM increases exponentially as more people engage in it. So, a little bit goes a long way. Leave a comment below, if you are participating in DM today or have any questions or concerns about how to do it. There really is no wrong way to do it, as long as it is positive and detoxifying and disenfranchises the DFUs from your life for a spell.

Take care!

Fin.

*NOTE: Countervail means "offset the effect of (something) by countering it with something of equal force."

What Intention is Doing for You Today

Hi Readers! 

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, enlightenment, or freedom from the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

I don't have much time for my check in with you today, because a Peloton "Triple Bypass" workout awaits me in a few minutes, and I have to squeeze it in before I start work seeing marriage and family therapy clients today.

I just wanted to let you know what the Dark Magic (DM) Intention is manifesting for you today: disenfranchisement of DFUs from your life. You're welcome.

I'll also share what the DFUs are not going to enjoy today as a result of that intention: peace, happiness, the runner's high, love, contentment, a healthy diet, and positive feedback. There are probably some other things they will be denied. But that list is ample.

Take care!

Fin.

Delays

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, or at least some immunity from the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs).

I am hopeful and confident that Karma is going to take care of some DFUs soon. But, it's certainly taking its sweet time!

That being said, there is a dearth of DFUs in my vicinity. So, that's good, and probably largely attributable to the Dark Magic (DM) being generated by my following of the Tenets of the Church of Bike With Joe. If you're experiencing any DFUs in your area, please consider adopting and adhering to the Tenets. It takes about 2-3 weeks for full detoxification of DFUs from your life, once you start following the Tenets with at least 80% compliance. This has been proven by Science.

I was able to get outside for a couple of long bike rides earlier this week, when the temperatures rose well above 50 degrees F. I may have landed GUPPY EFFECT v2.0 a gig on Friday 4/4 @ the Bierock in Waunakee, opening for Mudroom at their monthly First Friday Jam. My marriage and family therapy business is going great.

I'm going to go now, because I need to do a quick mindful meditation before seeing clients this morning. I'll pick up our groceries later, followed by a bike ride (hopefully outdoors, but possibly on the Peloton).

Take care!

Fin.

Horse

Hi Readers!

I hope this post finds you and brings you joy, positivity, and/or action items.

It's a quick one...just a reminder to vote with your dollars by boycotting large corporations, drive less, buy local, and abstain from social media.

Ciao!

Fin.

Quicky Post

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action items.

The evidence keeps pouring in that social media (SM) is highly addictive and mentally, physically, and spiritually toxic. I cannot stress enough how mission critical it is to your life and well being that you boycott, disenfranchise, and abstain from SM. I am well aware that SM's addictiveness makes it virtually impossible for most people to quit it (if you doubt this, it's easy to test that thesis: try quitting it for a week. No? There you go...QED). However, I am not interested in most people. I am interested in YOU, if you are someone who recognizes the destructiveness of SM to all that is good in the world.

My mission to help people quit SM and reclaim their lives and well beings is a bit of a David vs Goliath effort, since the SM algorithms screen for and suppress blog posts like this one. That's why I start most of my posts with "I hope this blog post finds you..." Because, it probably won't. If, however, this post did reach you, leave a COMMENT below.

Have a wonderful day!

Fin.

Boycotting

Hi Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or action items.

Last Friday - I believe it was Friday February 28th - a number of you "boycotted" large multinational corporate retailers and some other s**t, in a largely failed attempt to disenfranchise the Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs...of which large multinational corporate retailers comprise a big part). But what you mostly didn't boycott was the one thing that would have had an actual impact on the DFUs - SOCIAL MEDIA. And do you want to know why you didn't boycott social media? I'm not going to dance around this issue...it is because YOU ARE ADDICTED TO IT. No shame/no blame...it's addictive f**kin' s**t: SOURCE.

Now, that last paragraph likely disenfranchised a number of readers of this post from reading any further. And that's OK. But if you are still reading, I am going to share the failsafe formula for sticking it to THE MAN, if you are the type of person for whom sticking it to THE MAN is a noble goal. Before I lay it out, a bit of preamble: The DFUs don't care about you. They care about profits. They are not immoral (willfully undermining morality)...they are amoral (lack the capacity for morality). The way most DFUs encourage you to funnel money toward them is through advertising and addiction. Both of these mechanisms are integral to SOCIAL MEDIA and in our modern age, 80%+ of DFU advertising is via social media, which is why there are actual companies in Silicon Valley that are paid by social media companies to make social media as addictive as possible. Social media is free for most of you to use because the advertisers are paying for your eyeballs: SOURCE.

Enough said. Here's the formula: Vote with your dollars by boycotting large multinational corporate retailers whenever you can. Perfection is not the goal, just significant change. Buy from local "mom and pop" shoppes whenever you can afford to. Travel less (and use public transit, bike, or walk when possible), to avoid paying as much for gas. Buy groceries from local grocers and ideally join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm and shop at farmer's markets. I can almost guarantee that no matter where you live in the world, there is a CSA nearby.

That's mostly all you have to do to stick it to THE MAN.

Fin.

Welcome to the Weekend Again

Hi Dear Readers!

I hope this blog post finds you and brings you joy, insight, and/or immunity from the measles and bird flu.

The Diabolical Forces in the Universe (DFUs) are gaining strength rapidly. That's probably because not enough people have joined the Church of Bike with Joe (CoBWJ) or at least adopted its Three Tenets. Science has concluded that this is the only way to disenfranchise DFUs from your life and counteract their destructive forces. I am but a mere messenger of the CoBWJ. The rest depends on YOU!

Alright, my PSA is complete. What else? I don't know. It's the weekend again, which seems to be the principle window of opportunity for me to share my experiential interaction with the Cosmos. This particular weekend is proving to be less intensive and action packed than I had anticipated. I was supposed to have a New Orleans Jazz gig this coming Tuesday (aka, Fat Tuesday = Mardi Gras). However, that fell through due to plague (the essential guitarist of the planned quartet was laid low by some kind of horrible infectious disease). Because the gig was slated to be performed at a senior living complex, we collectively deemed it best not to introduce the plague to the immunologically vulnerable inhabitants of said complex, despite said guitarist being "on the Mend," so to speak, as of this writing. So, no gig means no practice for said gig. The group was supposed to rehearse last night, so my Friday evening unexpectedly opened up, allowing Deborah and I to watch an overrated episode of "Severance" and the newest movie in Marvel's "Venom" franchise. Having only about an 85% proficiency in the jazz repertoire slated for the gig, I had also planned to spend a few hours today and tomorrow honing material. I will probably carve out an hour or two to do that anyway, because it's just good fun and skill building. But, the urgency of it has been lifted, and that actually feels pretty good. Despite the absence of a looming jazz gig, GUPPY EFFECT acoustic duo (with Stefan Boerboom on guitar and backing vocals) is still slated to rehearse tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. That group - comprising Stefan and me - has its next gig on Saturday May 24th, at the Vegan Sausage Fest.

What else? Deborah and I are currently leaning TOWARD emigration to Australia, or at least toward obtaining her partner visa and permanent residency (I'm already an Aussie citizen), should sociopolitical circumstances require us to move to Melbourne. We do not make this decision lightly. But when a country becomes an abuser and malignant sociopathic narcissist toward its people, there are only two options for the abused: 1. stay and suffer further abuse and likely death OR 2. escape and disenfranchise the abuser. There is a third option, which comprises the abuser being arrested and jailed, but that one is currently not feasible. Anyway, today we dug out all our necessary documents and paperwork to begin the lengthy and costly administrative process of getting Deborah her partner visa and permanent residency in Australia.

What else? Not much. I am about to complete one of the daily Tenets of the CoBWJ, a 60 minute Peloton workout. After that, I may practice some New Orleans Jazz tunes just because I can.

Alright. I am glad we got to spend this asynchronous time together. Have a great weekend!

Fin.