Dear Jeffrey —

Thank you for responding to my comment.

When we were in junior high, in about 1960, my best friend Peter wrote this poem —

No matter how hard I strive to remain vulnerable,

Armour forms on me.

I would rather suffer a thousand wounds

Than case my heart in steel.

***************

Does this answer your question? I do hope so, as my response to your post meant no criticism, only a difference of thought. I am completely familiar with all kinds of simulation, having been through a few years of psychotherapy in San Francisco, involving once-a-week LSD before it became illegal in 1967, and also having worked for entertainment (movie and music) attorneys for over twenty years in Los Angeles. I have also had various transformative shamanic experiences deep in Mexico, in the 1970’s. I find life extremely fluid as it is, but I do choose to stay conscious and aware of what is happening around me (especially living as I do in a forest full of large and small predators), and I think it is extremely important to stay “tuned in” with the rest of the world as it is happening, which is why I watch the foreign news from Japan, Germany, and England each weekday on public tv. As well, I need to be fully functioning in case my husband or one of the animals here suddenly needs my help. I don’t find ignorance any kind of “bliss,” but rather something to fear. Death can come at any time, suddenly, to any of us. I want to be fully present for the transition so I don’t lose my way.