I call this “Author’s Foreplay” in the hope that the name alone will make you read. I find that I often don’t bother to read a “foreword” or a “preface”, or some other word that means “read this first, because you have something to explain about what follows here. So here is my version of the beginning. of a book.

One thing I want you to understand about me and myself writing this book: I am getting help. I am receiving “inspiration” (defined as “in spirit” or “inner spirit”). I’m going to use a lot of “definitions,” most of which are from Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language, circa 1984, which is the one I have on hand. The reason for doing this is to avoid some of the confusion caused by “semantics”, which I interpret to mean “I heard what word you used, but do we have the same point of reference regarding what that word means?” So a definition of the word itself, where it comes from (such as Latin, French, Greek, etc.) can be helpful so that I, the writer, and you, the reader, are on the same page. (Oh Lord, please don’t let them get me wrong …).

Yes, another thing I’m going to use is song titles and lyrics. I, like most people, relate to the music that I listened to and loved growing up, in the full bloom and vigor of youth (which I have to say, something I miss very much). Being a child of the “first generation of rock ‘n roll”, I am very happy to have experienced the whole range of music as it came out, from “Rock Around the Clock”, to the early Elvis (which in my book is especially memorable for giving me my first sexual urges while watching it on Ed Sullivan) back in the fifties, with the music that ushered in and ushered in the “expanding consciousness” era that was the sixties, with the still great music of the seventies . (as its continuation in today’s movies and commercials attests) to who knows what or when. I can even include some references to disco music, since I loved to dance, therefore I loved disco music. I find that people who proclaimed disco “sucks” didn’t know how or didn’t want to be embarrassed on the dance floor, a personal observation. If you are one of those, excuse my generalization, it is another thing that I am going to do a lot.

As an observer and participant in the “human condition,” I have come to some observational conclusions that you may or may not agree with. But that’s okay, we can and should agree to disagree (or not). But, as the keyboard author of this book, I can express my views. If you want to indicate yours, you will only have to write your own book. It’s not a bad idea, actually, because it really makes you get into your head and heart, your ego and your identity, your beliefs and knowledge, of which there can be a huge gap between them.

Another thing I seriously want you to take in (from Robert Heinlein’s incredibly influential 1960s book: Stranger in a Strange Land (“take in” which means to fully understand), I’m not necessarily “there.” Where? Well, so highly enlightened that I have the right to tell you what is what and what is not what. But, I reserve the right to ramble anyway, with the help of the aforementioned “inner spirit”, which are not only the concepts exposed in this book “true” but that they are, in fact, essential to the progress of the “human condition.” How do I define the “human condition”? Well, let’s just say it’s not pretty. It seems a bit to me (now that I’m in my advanced years), that everything we do we do it backwards. The word “evil” is the word “live” backwards. This may be a clue.

This book is called “Beyond BS” I suppose we all have the reference that BS stands for certain bovine excrement and a certain affinity of people for exposing what may not be completely accurate or true. However, in this case, I am using it in terms of BS which stands for “belief systems” because that particular BS has us all by the short hairs. Biblically speaking, “It will be done to you as you believe” is something I find quite puzzling, as I have generally believed some things that have never come true. But I also realize that there must be a twist in my thinking, because (according to certain teachings like “The Secret” and others), the Universe is like a big Xerox machine, and what we take out we receive in the same way . What does this mean exactly? Well that’s basically all the support and look in this book.

The book actually has a point, it has an agenda and I want you to be prepared for that. Raise your resistance, you may need it if you are going to hold on to what you hold dear, whether it works for you or against you: your nonsense.

Hold on to your hats, it will be a bumpy ride. One of the first conditions of the human condition is that very little change occurs while things are going well, and even less when things are really going well. But now we’re getting to a place on our planet where we’ve screwed things up so badly that “some change has to come.” And of course the first thing we have to change and adapt is ourselves, so here we go: let’s take a good look at ourselves (I’m not excluding myself).

I think (not necessary) that we have had a long period of experimentation so that we can learn what not to do. But, we’ve gotten somewhat caught up in the “motion of the ocean” of momentum and confusion that we have not only been taught, but may have been “tricked” into believing. We may now be reaching what has been called a “level shift” where everything and everyone is “reassigned” according to the level of consciousness we have reached.

I myself have some directions of beingness that I’d rather not go into: I don’t particularly want to evolve in the direction of the Ferengi (you know, those ugly big-eared, totally material-oriented guys from Star Trek, The Next Generation); I particularly don’t want to become a Vulcan (where everything is logical, without feeling). I don’t mind being an android, like Data, with incredible intelligence and speed, but I have no idea about the more subtle aspects of being human, such as humor and general weakness. I suppose that the position on the Starship Enterprise that I would most like to occupy would be that of Advisor to the ship (like the lovely Deanna Troi), where to perceive emotional states, to differentiate between those who tell the truth (or those who think they are telling the truth ) and those who lie through their teeth and generally showing their best in feminine vibes and abilities is as natural as breathing. (That’s if I can’t be Q, of course it can go anywhere, create anything and it’s part of the “Continuum”). It would probably be very tempting to “play with” humans if you had so much knowledge, power, and overview.

So go ahead, go ahead, count ho and all that, and if you make it, we’ll see you at the end. We will have a final chapter called “Satisfaction”, hopefully not the Stones “I can’t get no”. If you dislike me (or yourself for looking in the mirror and not having a favorable reflection), don’t worry. You will have many possibilities for changes from other sources. After all, growing in consciousness or going backwards are the only options. It’s basically the only game in town.

As we know from the Universe, everything is in constant motion, from atoms to galaxies. We are the ones who sometimes like things to “stay the same”, which is basically an impossibility, not to mention that it is not necessarily a desired state. They have told me succinctly like this: move up or finish. It may be true, it may not. Like Survivor host Jeff Probst is so fond of saying “Immunity is at stake.” What is immunity? You cannot be expelled from the tribe.

Thank you for playing with me. Let’s get to the heart of the matter, which will hopefully result in an orgasm of consciousness that will get us both where we want and need to be. See you on the other side.