The Pineapple Ranch

Several years have went by since I established a small home on a small piece of property and began the task of turning it into a retirement paradise.  Well, since 2006 that home and property has become The Pineapple Ranch.  

The Pineapple Ranch is our education and research garden home where we grow several varieties of pineapple.  We have a presence on Facebook @The Pineapple Ranch page as well as Instagram @the_pineapple_ranch and are working on a website at www.ThePineappleRanch.us

Visit them all and help us grow.  

What do you think?

It needs music, maybe by Kenny Chesney, and I think it could be a hit.

47 Minutes South-Southeast

by Bill Nelson

9/20/2023 

Let’s head out to that one place we all wanna go, a place where friends watch dolphin jump, they put on a show.

It’s a place not too far away, it’s that one place that one day, take a trip down A1A.

You know, that one place beyond the reef, 47 minutes south-southeast.

That one place where the sand is always warm and soft beneath your feet.  

That one place where the palm trees give you shade in your hammock seat.

That one place where all our good friends go to meet.

That one place beyond the reef, 47 minutes south-southeast.

 Jimmy Buffet had it right,  we all want a cheeseburger in paradise on a Livingston Saturday night, second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.

While Otis was sittin’ on the dock of the bay watching the ships roll in and “Bluzman” whistled away, another guy took a magic carpet ride in a dream right between the sound machine.

There’s that place beyond the reef, where we can meet, 47 minutes south-southeast.

That one place where the sand is always warm and soft beneath your feet.  

That one place where the palm trees give you shade in your hammock seat.

That one place where all our good friends go to meet.

That one place beyond the reef, 47 minutes south-southeast.

It’s time to put the Blue Chair on the bow, adjust those RayBans, get ready to go.

The sun’s still shining, high and bright, manatees popping up on the left and on the right.

We’re headed out to that one place where the sand is always warm and soft beneath your feet, 47 minutes south-southeast.

That one place where the sand is always warm and soft beneath your feet.  

That one place where the palm trees give you shade in your hammock seat.

That one place where all our good friends go to meet.

That one place beyond the reef, 47 minutes south-southeast.

Take a sip, sing a song, hug your friend, move along.

Stay the course, it’s not far now to that place where palm trees shade your hammock seat.

It’s not far now, where all our good friends go to meet.

It’s just right there beyond that reef, here we are 47 minutes south-southeast.

That one place where the sand is always warm and soft beneath your feet.  

That one place where the palm trees give you shade in your hammock seat.

That one place where all our good friends go to meet.

That one place beyond the reef, 47 minutes south-southeast.

When I look into my crystal ball I see only a reflection of myself from the past, not the future.  It sort of goes like this.

It takes light from the Sun about 8 minutes to get to the Earth and reach something it will reflect off of, sending the energy that was not absorbed by the matter it bombarded with photons and electromagnetic radiation into your eye so your brain can process the visible light waves and attempt to make sense of what you might be looking at.  Yes, I know there's a lot more science behind this than the average person cares to know about, but there is even much more that I left out of this brief summary of light getting to Earth from the Sun and what happens in our body to make use of this light.  The stuff I left out is similar to the stuff that some of us are on a journey to discover as we make our way along our paths.  

I'm sure some of you might be looking to search for more about the light from the Sun (or the Son).  I'm sure some of you might be looking to find out more about how our eye and brain processes light from the Sun.  Maybe you are looking to process how "Light from the Son" is similar to light from the Sun or maybe you are wondering which came first the Sun or the light from it?  Perhaps you are on a journey of truth in the natural world.  The empirical evidence we use to understand our natural world is all around us.  Some of this is easy for us to understand and see, but there is so much that is not easily found, seen, or understood and is still only a reflection from the Sun.  Science might help us understand the natural world, but what about the supernatural world?  Is dancing in the moonlight important?

I believe the reflections of the past that we see (even if they are only about 8 minutes old) are important to understand our futures.  This is not a unique or unknown idea.  You probably have heard it many times before as some kind of history lesson.  Do not ignore these reflections as you look into your crystal ball to discover the future you seek.  Make your exodus conscious of the present and the past.

Fear None, Love All.

When Time Goes By

I have recently found that when time goes by, on some occasions, the way we used to do things may change without us ever knowing the change took place until we begin to walk in consciousness again.  Our Conscious Exodus might become lost in an unconscious moment.  Just as a snake might pass us by in an unconscious moment, time also might do this.  The snake has the ability to be there with us without us realizing it is there and we fear not due to our unknowingness.  We coexist with it in harmony as creeps on in, slithering through the tall grasses with little or no warning signals before making you aware of its presence.  You possibly never notice the snake or are aware of its existence.

As it might turn out, you could notice the snake as it either moves by you in the bush unharmed by you and you unharmed by the snake, or it strikes at you.  Given enough time to react, you might get out to the way of its bite then it speeds away as you run in the other direction.  It also could simply stare you down as you stand in front of it as still as you can be as your heart pounds in your chest with either excitement or fear of what you came upon.  You could choose to try and pick up the snake.  You could make friends with it.  You might attempt to kill the snake.  You might even feel you want the snake to bite you.   There are a number of other options you can think of that you could do to or with the snake.  You might succeed in the choice you make.  Time is similar, but more challenging to deal with.  When time goes by in this sort of situation your internal clock might speed up or slow down and it passes by in a peculiar way.  You might feel things happening in slow motion or fast forward.

Since my last post this definitely has been the case for me.   I have been on fast forward and slow motion quite a few times in the last 8 years.  Literally, I have passed by many snakes in the grasses I have walked through.  Figuratively, this is the case as well.  With both in mind, I have been snake-bitten, stared upon the faces of the snakes that I unconsciously came upon, walked away from some and ran from those I needed to run from.  I walked with some of them in harmony and even was able to react fast enough to get out the way of a few of the strikes to avoid being bitten.  My Conscious Exodus was interrupted, but my journey continued as I lost track of the time going by while I was walking with the snakes.  When time goes by the things around you change.  When time goes by you change.  When time goes by the world is changing.  The Conscious Exodus you are on continues and when time goes by your journey moves forward.

Fear None, Love All.

2016

Fear None, Love All.  It's a hard concept to understand, but sometimes even harder to follow through with.

Stay Strong in 2015

I can say this is an amazing start to a new year.  Challenges are still becoming an evident distraction as I approach the end of the second month of the year.  I know I am not alone out there in facing the demons that attempt to interfere with this Conscious Exodus I am on.  I know all of you that have started your Conscious Exodus might also be up against great odds as you journey through the deserts and darkness of those caverns and caves.  I will stay the course and pray for you.  I ask that you do the same for me as we move forward in our Conscious Exodus.  Stay strong.  Fear None, Love All... even when you want to extinguish the enemy, remember they can one day be your friend if given the chance and shown the love they seek.

2014

Well another year begins and our thoughts should be on the future.  I know that's what I am trying to focus on.

The past is behind us and our misteaks mistakes hide there to haunt us and remind us of our humanity.  If we made a bad decision and learned from it then that is a move in the right direction.  Don't live in the past and torment yourself because of a bad choice that you may have made.  I know we have all heard this sort of advice before and probably try hard to make the future better than the past, but I am talking about using the past as part of our futures.  I am talking about looking at the past and not only learning from it, but also understanding how the past brought us to where we are in the moment.  This is what I hope for myself and all of you.  At times during the past year, my journey has brought me directly into the fire and deserts of despair, but although it felt like I would never make it to water, I did.  I even have extra water left over to share with you.

Live for your future because sometimes our Conscious Exodus isn't as wonderful as the destination we seek.

Fear None, Love All.

1 Year of Unconscious Drifting

Look for the signs of a life incomplete. The signs that something is missing.  Something that makes a person inspired to walk into the dark, and search for a light to see what is there is not always the stories we hear about.  Have you walked into the dark recently and found the light?  I know there are many extraordinary people out there that are facing many different challenges.

My heart goes out to the leaders of our world in these dark times.  My prayers are with all of the victims of the horrendous acts that were thrust upon them.  Our actions need to be focused and constructive to help us journey into a brighter world.

The recent Boston bombings and Texas explosions, the school shootings and violent attacks in the US and abroad, the conspiracies that exist to make wealthy men wealthier and the poor more desolate cannot go unnoticed.  Our freedoms and liberties are at stake and spiritual attacks on us are too frequently ignored.  Race and religion must not divide us in these times when the forces of good and evil are facing off with each other.  The nationalities of our enemies are the same as the nationalities of our friends and today if we look into our DNA we will find the ones we fight against are our relations from long ago.  Evil wins when we are consumed by jealousy, envy, hate, ego, and over zealous pride.

The non-religious are not our enemies, the other races are not our enemies, the language barriers of our world divide us and allow wicked men and women to take advantage of our ignorance.  Death is not the end nor is it the solution, but evil must be conquered and evil exists in human actions.  We are evil and they are evil.  Even our good deeds can be evil in form.  The answers are not easy.  I do not have the answers.  The answer can only exist if good is what all seek out.  Chaos and destruction awaits when this is not the focus.  How we attack evil can make us evil does it not?  Angelic Wars are not Earthly wars.  This is not the end, but merely the starting point for further investigation.  To destroy evil we must embrace evil and welcome it into a world of good, but I know my human learning's have taught me just the opposite.  Seek out and destroy the virus.  Follow orders to complete the mission and take control of the enemy through any means necessary.  These along with other teaching swell my thoughts with emotion and power as I seek to find my balance in this world.

Much more is needed to further journey on as I drift through the Universe often unconscious in my Conscious Exodus.  Fear None, Love All.....Question every one's reason for their actions.  Why did they do it?

And So It Continues

Entangled in lies and deceit we all look for the Truth which eludes us like a swift warm breeze on a cold winter's day. Seek and stare into the bottom of the dark frothy mug so that you might understand it moves from vessel to vessel putting us all under its influence.  As we find the answers it is natural that additional questions come to mind as those questions are answered then it is probable that more questions fill our minds.  This is the way of the one on a conscious exodus.  Answers breed more questions and more questions give rise to more answers.  Sometimes it is not enough to be satisfied with an answer because that is not what we are really searching for.  Continue the search my friends.  Fear None, Love All.  

Connecting on Our Exodus

Not that there isn't more to life than getting online checking Facebook, Tweeting, checking the bank account balance and paying a few bills, doing a little shopping on eBay and Amazon, updating the blogger, checking out a recommended YouTube video or watching a streaming news breif, connecting with distant cousins on Family Tree DNA and randomly zoning out while searching for a new recipe on Google or Yahoo! then searching everything else that may come to mind as you look for the ingredients or origins of the recipe, but can we just imagine there was time when none of this was possible in one short portion of our day?

I know a time like this once existed.  I grew up in a time when computers were used for business not pleasure.  Online didn't mean getting connected via the Internet.  Checking in with friends and family was expensive and many of us just couldn't afford to stay "connected" from the lives we lived many hundreds of miles away from each other.  Friends were the people we physically interacted  with and enjoyed being next to.  Paying a bill took days to do and shopping was a weekly or monthly thing, not a daily experience.   We only knew who we were because someone probably told us stories about who we were and some of us might have had a picture in a photo album to help us remember the family past.  What  we ate that night was probably the same things we ate the week before unless someone had time to search through a recipe book or magazine to find anew and exciting cassarole to prepare.  I viewed life much differently than I do now and it is because of the instant connections to information and new "friends" and old "friends" that I seldom ever physically interact with.  We all know that if we look back far enough in time and remember our world history, even greater challenges to connect with each existed.  Our search for "who we are" and who we want to become as part of the world order was very difficult for many.

Think. A time existed when there were no automobiles to quickly connect our towns and cities, and no planes to connect our country with another, and there was even a time when boats were not very capable of crossing the vast oceans.  We are so immediately connected today in ways that probably could never have been imagined 2000 years ago.  The time that has passed and the people that have been able to meet because of advancements in the way we "connect" with each other has definately changed the way I search for the answers and interact with those I come in contact with daily.  My Conscious Exodus is much different today than it would have been 2000 years ago.  Where is your Conscious Exodus taking you today?

Listen

The sounds of the world around us are calling out.  Many are loud and hard to ignore, but there are those sounds that really are subtle and hard to understand.  Some sounds are just noises that might have very little meaning to us as they distort the other more important sounds in the background.  Listen and filter out the nuisance.

Some of the sounds are screaming out from miles away and can barely be heard because of the distance they have traveled to reach us.  One such sound is being amplified by the use of technology.  This is not the only one that matters, but it is one that is being amplified.  I applaud the people who want to see the sounds of suffering quieted in this world.  The sound of suffering that is taking place all around us is often muffled by laughter and joy, excitement and personal happiness, or the cries and bellowing of more personal suffering.

The sounds of the cries I mention are both distant and local.  Recently I have been paying more attention to the cries of the "invisible children".  I was made aware of this many years ago, but ignored the sounds, the cries, the screams of those who were raped or mutilated because they were coming from such a great distance away in Uganda that I could not hear them.  I could not hear them again until recently.  I found a video that made these sounds loud again.  What I hear is coming from a distance, but is as clear as if I was there in Africa.  The sounds of suffering is a direct result of rebellion that started sometime in the 1980's by Joseph Kony and the group calling itself the Lord's Resistance Army.  I hear the sounds of suffering because the video that was posted on YouTube amplified the voices so I can hear them here in the US and others can hear them all over the world.  Other broadcasters and websites also helped to amplify and repeat these sounds as they help to repeat other sounds of suffering in the world and in the United States.

This is where my conscious exodus has taken me today.

I am concerned that local suffering, international suffering, and personal suffering are all interconnected and do not exist without each other.  We cannot ignore the sounds that are loudest to us because they are easily heard.  We cannot ignore the sounds of suffering that are muffled all because they are miles away from us.  We cannot ignore the sounds of suffering that are not able to be heard because they are on the other side of our planet and they matter.   I applaud and thank Jason Russell and his efforts to amplify the voices, but this opens up a whole new way of thinking about global politics (greed, murder, war, and the abuse of power) and the way we communicate the information, the sounds and the noises, that are out there.  There are some important things to think about and lessons to learn as indicated in an article from Wayne K. Spear.

We must listen to those sounds we can hear and help others hear those sounds they cannot hear.  Continue on your conscious exodus and "Fear None, Love All."

Happy New Year, Happy New You!

Stay focused, stay positive, and pray when you feel like you are alone and want to give up.  You are not alone on your exodus.  You have friends out there.  You have family out there.  You might not know them yet, but they are out there.  Start your new year knowing this,  we are never alone.  God blessed us with each other and even though we have been displaced from each other over the centuries, we are connected.  One day our paths will meet again and we will become re-acquainted.

My Journey Continues

Another month into the year and Thanksgiving is almost here. American Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it centers around food and family. As commercialized as it is (and actually nationalized to promote economic resurrection,) I enjoy it because it still remains fairly free of cards, gifts, and decorations. I find it a day that reminds me that I am thankful daily. This might sound unusual, but it really makes sense to me as I journey onward in my Conscious Exodus.

It is almost bizarre to think that some people really only give thanks for what they have on this single day of the year. I cannot imagine a day that I have not, or cannot, say "thank you" to someone or pray a prayer of "thanksgiving" for something that helped me in my journey. I know there are those devastating events that happen to us from day to day, and I am not unaware of those terrible things that are happening to people all over the world as I type this. I do know that all of that is happening and that as it unfolds, those who are both unwillful and willful participants in it all have moments of every emotion imaginable. I myself have experienced some very dreadful things in my life and as they get put into perspective with everything going on in the world, I still see fit that I need to be thankful.

I hope all of you reading this find the time to journey into conscience and reflect on the moment to become aware of those things that make you want to say "thank you". I thank all of you for helping me in my Conscious Exodus. Knowing that everything doesn't always fit in the exact way you may want, but understanding it does fit in the grander scale and if you are in it for the right reasons, and can accept that sometimes it may arouse emotion, then your journey has begun. Be thankful it happened. Understand you are not always in control of what happens, but you do control a portion of it. Have no hidden agenda and work to develop those around you rather than destroy them. If your intentions are just and without selfish intent be thankful.

Chapter 9 - Your Conscious Exodus

A little from the last chapter in the book,

Weltanschauung: Habits, Principles, and Personal Choices Of
Moral Leadership For Leaders of Conscience in the 21st Century

Copyright 2010-11 By William J. Nelson, M.Ed.

"As a Leader of Conscience, I am certain that the forces of Darkness are sent upon us to prevent us from letting the Light into our world and reaching out to those that we lead.  These dark influences are often disguised as things we love.  Simple distractions that are often over-looked are abundant in the way these forces work upon us.  They are most likely hidden in the voices of the ones we love and the material enjoyments we are attracted to.  These distractions frequently divert us from right choices.  Remember earlier in this book that the right choice for a person is sometimes not the rite way of doing things. I struggle with the idea that traditional methods are the only way to get things done. Especially if the traditional methods rely less on conscience and more on power plays that often are destructive rather than constructive. Right is not always rite and rite is not always right.


What is an exodus?  Egypt and Moses.  Jesus in the desert.  Siddhartha Gautama fleeing from his princely life behind the castle walls and his journey into the woods.  Battle Star Galactica’s rag-tag fugitive fleet of ships.  Han Solo teaming up with a Wooki and the son of the Dark Lord himself.  African-Americans gaining freedom from slavery and earning their full civil rights.  Nelson Mandela being imprisoned and becoming president.  The fall of the Berlin Wall.  The Chinese Miracle.


Let’s first look at something from an Indian narrative.  The story of the Buddha Gautama under the Bodhi Tree is a fantastic example of overcoming distraction and accomplishing a greater awareness.  One must read the entire Buddhacarita of Ashvagosa to understand the life of the Buddha Gautama.  In the text, Siddhartha Gautama sits under the fig tree and fights temptation, distraction, and evil.  His battle against Mara, the “Evil One” proves to be a common theme in many such stories of leaders who have to overcome similar evil, temptation and distraction.  First, a group of beautiful and sensual young women try to seduce him away from meditation.  When they do not succeed, storms of lightning, wind and rain are conjured up.  When the storms don’t send him packing, Mara sends in his demonic armies with weapons of flaming rocks, but Siddattha fights them and defeats all the armies with his virtue."

Thinking and Doing

A quick note to get inspired. Thinking is a great thing to do and sometimes thinking is much better than doing. Doing is an essential component of change and effect. Think before you do, or do before you think. Either way just think! Be careful because thoughts are more powerful than you might realize. Think about it.

New Post on LampLights

Read Revelation 6 and posted on LampLights.  Hyperlink on over to the blog and check it out or comment.

Consciously Aware of the Moment

(Be sure to click on the colored hyperlinks to read more from others)

Once again time has passed since my last post.  The days are filled with hours and the hours are filled with minutes and those minutes are filled with seconds, but it's the moments that those seconds make that really matters.

I cannot even imagine a world without time restraints, but I would like to think one of those worlds does exist.   The moments that we create in our daily lives are often limited by that concept we call "time."  I hustle to get things done before the day ends and realize that it might not really even matter when we approach the issue from the perspective of "no-time."  The concept of "no-time" needs to be explored more and the schedules we have put ourselves on as a human race should be rethought.  Immortality and timelessness are difficult to understand, but I don't think we put enough effort into thinking about these concepts anymore.  Instead we focus on being slaves to the 8-hour work day and the 40-hour work week.  Many live as if they are in a raced to acquire as much as possible in the time they have on this planet no matter who they hurt in the process, (as if that really matters if we die and stop existing.)   The 24-hour day is not really as it seems, it's fashioned out of convenience and the 24/7 schema is there for the benefit of those who control the system it exists in.  It also changes as events happen.

I grow older each day, but my life really exists in that particular moment when I am consciously aware of my existence outside of the restraints of time.  It is then that I am consciously aware of the moment when no-time is present.  Is this moment of awareness a glimpse at immortality?  The crazy idea that there are immortals that use us for their benefit as the worker bees in a world of their creation was once an idea that sparked an interest to seek out the sources of their immortality.  Lists of people who claimed or sought after immortality do exist.  Are they crazy?  Finite existence of the human vessel is the view most human beings accept.  I would like to believe some part of us is everlasting just as we are taught in many Christian (and other) faiths, but to understand this shouldn't we always be consciously aware of the moment?

Another Step Closer

A few more days have passed as I make my exodus into the future.  Today is a normal day.  Life is happening all around us.  I cannot simply sit back and watch it happen.  Together we can leave our marks and positive energy for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for our posterity to follow.  Within them we will exist eternally.  Without them we will infinitely exist externally.  As Newton understood it, nothing is ever created nor destroyed, but rather it is changed from one form to another.

Time Passes

It has been a few months since my last post and with the passing of time and all which accompanies it, I have had an incredible conscious exodus.


I have shared conversations with many of you over the last few months that added to my life experiences and weltanschauung.  I cherish the moments I spend in silent thought after I have spoken to all of you.  I really like listening to all of you as you tell me your thoughts.  I get a much better understanding of who you are and what life is about for you when I listen to what you have to say.  Sometimes the silence in between thoughts helps.  In the months ahead I am going to work more on the book.  It is long overdue, but nearing completion of the text based portion.  The interactive version will require a bit more time, but I promise will be worth the wait.

Don't forget to visit the following associated sites as part of your Conscious Exodus:
U:View
Weltanschauung
Conscious Exodus Publications
Live on my friends and remember, fear none, love all.

Death Doesn't End Anything

Where does death take us and what does it leave behind?  I am a believer in the eternalness of existence.  As a student of the natural sciences I was taught a few basic things about the world we live in.  One of these things is the Law of Conservation of Matter.   You might remember this from some of your basic science classes in school.  This principle is proven to declare that matter/mass/energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but is constantly changed from one form to another.  The existence of a "soul" lends a more interesting twist to this idea and is yet to be considered in this, but I challenge you to include it as you think about all of this.  I will not comment one way or another about this here, but can say as a believer that souls may defy this and do exist in this world even though we may not be able to see a soul or prove it's existence as part of the natural world.  Many will make a disconnect from the natural to the supernatural in defense of their argument. I see the two as dependent upon one another and connected.

As a student of  philosophy and religion, I was taught that there are many systems of faith that hold true to the same idea in terms of God or a higher power.  Many look to an after-life (hellish or heavenly worlds,) a resurrection day, or reincarnation.  What ever your belief, you do not disappear, nor do the "footprints" you left in this world.  There is no free ride for any of us.  In my book I will expand on this in a few of the chapters.

If you have had the experience of death effect you in profound ways during your life then you will find a connection as you read these chapters.  If death has not yet been part of your Conscious Exodus yet then maybe my stories can help prepare you for the decision ahead of you as death becomes more real to you.

Recently,  I've have put to rest my father-in-law and my uncle.  They died only days apart from one another in two separate events not obviously connected at all in the worlds they shared.  They did share a connection even thought they were not acquainted with each other directly.  I knew them both and loved them both.  They barely knew each other, but my wife spent much of her life with both of them even though she did not share time with them together.  They were not blood relations, yet they had family connections to my side of the family and my wife's family.  The way they profoundly effected the path I am on in my Conscious Exodus will  continue to effect me even in their absence.  Maybe their absence will cause more of an effect on my direction than their life's did.  I am still thinking about that one because in death we are not gone from memory or influence of those we leave behind.