Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 I spend a lot of time pondering my Angels.  It’s in the Parables.  Jesus knew there were two sins He wasn’t going to die for—that the intentional taking human life—that of others or that of one’s own life.  Mark 4:13 says all the parables say the same thing.  The parable of the old cloak and old wine skin is found in Matthew 9:14-17.  Scholars have argued over this parable for centuries.  There basically is only one sin Jesus could be talking about.  That of intentionally taking human life.   Jesus was to die for all sins, but not this one.  Which is why I am very libertine in my thinking.  But I do have my biases as Jesus did not.  He simply didn’t allow for the taking of human life.  He was speaking directly to the Pharisees, who carried out the Old Testament Laws that allowed for it.  He prevented the Pharisees doing this as much as He could.  He couldn’t protect those whom He could not be around to protect. ...

 My Angels said I will help prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.  I tell my wife often that I have either done that or will be doing it.  So, I don’t concern myself with numbers.  The world will know when it is time.  I am to simply live and live simply.  That is all I have to do.  God and Angels will do the rest.   My Angels left smoking my pipe up to me.  If Jesus had but one drop of alcohol the whole plan of salvation would have been in jeopardy and God would have had to find another way.  I say I am not Jesus, but must be careful with any alcohol. Jesus had it fifteen times worse than I have.  I can’t imagine what he went through psychologically.  He had to have doubts.  But He trusted God more than I have.  The pain and suffering He endured was far beyond what anyone can imagine.  So, I focus on Him as much as I can. I will be in heaven along with my family and a place has been secured for me there...

 It might be too simple to say we have encountered an Angel when we are left with feelings of Love and Peace.  But those feelings we encounter could be anyone disguised as an Angel.  We are often unaware of Angels around us.  But they are here.  They are preparing the way for the Messiah.  Some say Angels disguise themselves as animals.  But feelings of Love and peace can be fleeting and we are left unawares.   This one won’t be long.  I just wanted to say that Angels manipulate our feelings.  They do this in many ways.  The best way to describe Angels is that we have this overwhelming feeling of Love and Peace and we never know how that feeling will come to us.  Often it just happens.  And when it does you can thank the Angels for that feeling.  Angels change lives once that feeling is encountered.  I know of that which I speak.  I work hard to keep that feeling.  I know Angels. I’m sitting on the deck...

If more than ten cars a day pass by our house on the road out front that is a busy day up here on the mountain.  We’re half way up a big hill actually, but locals call it a mountain.  In the UK a mountain has to be 2,000 feet, so in the UK this would be a mountain.  We are surrounded by mountains, but the forests get in the way of views.  We can see the sun rise but it sets behind the mountain and we never get views of sunsets.   But there is no mistaking we are nestled in a forest.  And we live among creatures of the forest.  I took the above photo just last evening but I have a lot of photos of deer as they amble through our yard.  One day in the spring right after we moved here we counted 21 deer in our front yard!  They were just simply grazing on the grass.  Deer are probably most abundant here.   We’ve seen other creatures and a neighbor has raccoon traps set up behind our house.  And yes, there are bugs.  A lot of b...

I am at our NY home this morning listening to the quiet and smoking my Gettysburg pipe with some Davidoff Danish Mixture.  I can hear the chickens next door but it’s mostly birds and the wind whispering through the trees.  It is so peaceful here.   But according to my wife we are too isolated here.  But I love coming out to the deck, smoke my pipe, and listen to the quiet.   On a busy day about ten cars pass by our house on the road out front.  I can literally hear myself think.  There might be too many bugs here, but most days I don’t notice.  The deer ramble through our yard most mornings and evenings.  But I love when the breeze gently whispers to the trees.   I’ve gone thought to sitting on the deck writing a book, but most days I just like to sit in the quiet and listen.  I don’t always see the deer, but some days I can hear them rustling the underbrush.  I know they are there watching my every move.  They are as curi...

 Davidoff isn’t a cheap knockoff brand of tobacco.  They make excellent blends, but in my thinking, while English Mixture was good, Danish Mixture is much better.  It is just a light Aromatic flavored tobacco that is simply elegant for the Davidoff name.  Very simply it is a slightly flavored English blend with mostly Virginia and some Barley.  Some Black Cavendish is mixed in with a very mellow taste.   There is no tongue bite with this blend, which is typical of the Davidoff tobaccos.  This tobacco is simply smooth and mellow with just a hint of flavor.  There is nothing fancy about this blend.  I really don’t have a lot to say about it.  This blend gets a 4.6 out of five rating on Smoking Pipes and deserves every bit of that.  It has 32 reviews, which aren’t a lot of reviews, but it seems the reviews mostly are not written by newbies, but By experienced pipe smokers.   The flavoring is so subtle that one might think the flav...

 If everyone believed in God the same way and if everyone believed Human Life is sacred there would be Peace in this world.  But the same God worshipped by many is believed differently.  But unfortunately religions see God in different ways and each group believes their God is THE God.  Religions can’t seem to share the same God.  Most every war is religious in some form or another.   I can’t help but comment on the most recent conflict in the Middle East.  It’s about whose God is most righteous.  It reminds me of a song from the 60’s.  I can’t help but think about it.  The song is “One Tin Soldier.”  The hill people have a prized stone.  The valley people want it for their very own.  So they do battle over the stone with much bloodshed.   Then the valley people win the battle.  And when they turn the stone over, it says, “Peace on earth.  The tin soldier is love and tries to unite the people.  But he r...

 I’ve been fascinated lately by Voyagers 1 and 2 and signals NASA has been receiving from them.  The signals are, according to NASaA coming from outside the spacecraft and being sent back to earth.  Something else is commanding the two craft and scientists are trying to figure it out.  I’m fascinated by the reports coming from anonymous sources from within NASA.   I have now viewed several vids about the signals and reports from NASA are saying someone or something is sending the signals from the crafts and causing a course change in both crafts.  The reports say some external intelligences are using the crafts to send messages back to earth not originating from the crafts.   I’m fascinated by these reports.  Is there intelligent life that is using both Voyagers to contact earth?  This is a question NASA can’t seem to answer.   I have one problem my Angels gave me.  I don’t fear what NASA has discovered.  In fact, while I might...

 It took Angels to show me the way.  I grew up in the Church.  Went to Christian colleges and have a degree from seminary.  Was a pastor.  But it took Angels to show me the way.  They replaced all that complex theology with a simple statement.  They simplified it all.  That simplicity is too simple for most, which is why I left the Church and never went back.  Beliefs don’t matter.  What matters boils down to one thing:  Respect for Human Life including my own. Not sure where I’d be without my Angels.  More than likely I’d never see my 43rd birthday.  But here it is 31 years later.  And after two brushes with death, I’m still here alive and kickin’, as they say.  If I had lived, I have no idea what I’d be like without them.  I have all kinds of scenarios in my head.  But things would be far different without them.  I just have no idea.  I can only guess.  And not one guess has a good outc...

 I know my Angels surround me.  I do not have an evil heart or they would have had nothing to do with me.  They saved my life actually three times that I am aware and probably many more if I go back to my youth.  Some people are aware of them and some aren’t.  Some have sold their souls to evil.  The greatest evil is the intentional taking of any Human Life including our very own life.  This is why we always choose to live. We live not knowing what they will do next.  We live because of expectations.  We may never know the next event in our lives.  It’s the expectations that keep us going.  We change what we can and the rest is totally up to them.  I may sit a lot smoking my pipe, but I assure you I do a lot more than just smoke a pipe.  When I am meditating with my pipe my thoughts are often prayers.   I never know how God will answer my prayers.  But I leave much to Him and my Angels.  Life is not passing ...

 Angels can be thought of in many ways.  Often they are unexpected.  They can be shape shifters in many forms.  I don’t doubt the power of Angels.  I used to be a doubter about many things.  Especially myself.  But those doubts are no more.  I often wonder what the future holds, but worries about the future brings anxiety.  That is something no one needs.   We worry only about today.  And living for the moment is the best for our mental well-being.  The past is past.  Tomorrow has not yet come.  Our concern is only for today and right now is all that matters.  Angels will make themselves known often in mysterious ways.  We can think of angels as women who give comfort at night.  But Angels are much more than this.  Angels can come in many shapes and forms. This is why I don’t doubt Angels.  They make the unknown known.  They do this in many ways.  They can be people, but they can be ...

 I am neither a follower nor a leader.  But God allows for each person to find their own way.  Some lead and many follow.  What God desires from every person is to live a life of Peace.  So, why then is there so much unrest in the world?  Simple.  God allows for choice.  And many do not choose a path of Peace.   God forgives all sins but that of intentionally taking Human Life including one’s own.  There are many paths.  Some paths lead to death and destruction.  Many paths don’t.  My path was more or less chosen for me.  Many are called to paths, but only a few are chosen.  I am among the few in solitude.  I can choose to get off my path, but that is not a choice I want to make.   There are fewer paths to death and destruction than there are paths to a life of Peace.  It’s why there is evil.  We make a conscious choice every moment of every day.  There are simply those who choose a path ...

I can do it both ways.  I can speak when I want to or remain quiet if I wish.  Either way I am doing it.  My Angels said I’d perform a specific task and I do it any way I wish.  I am to help prepare the way for the New Beginning.  All I have to really do is live and I’m doing it.  I don’t feel pressure to speak.  I’m not pressured to remain silent.  I do it by being alive.  If I choose to live, the Spirit will do the rest. Society is results driven.  Therefore it is incumbent on others to do.  I do it just by being alive.  I don’t even have to talk about my experience with my Angels of if I so wish.  But this is something I had to learn.  I’ve learned in steps.  No matter what I do or not  doing I am performing my task.  I will not fail.  Being quiet is not failure.  Speaking is not success.  I’ve had to learn this.  I might accomplish more in silence than I might by speaking. But ei...

 Today I feel okay relaxing with my pipe.  Today it is my Nording Angel pipe my wife bought me for my 70th birthday.  It is the pipe I smoke on Sunday’s.  I feel I have every right to relax with my pipe today.  We went out to dinner late yesterday afternoon.  Everyone will be out today maybe except for fathers smoking a fine cigar while cooking on the grill.  I have a right to just take it easy today. The Yankees play the Red Sox this afternoon and maybe I have become a Yankees fan as I have seen a lot of their games this year.  But baseball is a summer past time.  I’ll watch some baseball until college football begins in late summer.  But Aaron Judge is on pace to break the home run record set by Babe Ruth and Roger Maris.  It will be interesting to see how many home runs he hits.  But I’ve seen the Yankees lose two in a row to the Red Sox. It is the biggest rivalry in pro ball.  Regardless of which team you root for the ...

I don’t have many reading this blog for which I am very thankful.  I write mostly for myself and share a few thoughts with those interested. This is my 877th post for this blog.  If I felt I was going to run out of time on this earth, I may have done things differently.  I write this blog to help pass the time.  It’s been 31 years since my experience with my Angels and I have had to be very careful about sharing the experience.   I have reached the point in my life where I simply don’t care what anyone thinks.  I had been told my Angels were an hallucination; they were demons; or that I simply made them up—in other words I had lied.  I felt I had to prove them in some way but didn’t know how.  I had no role models and at the time there was no social networking.  And in a way I went into seclusion as much as I could. I’m thankful at least a few of you read what I wrote. Everything is in steps.  I’ll smoke my pipe and think about the very ...

 Pipe smokers overall are just different.  Pipe smoking in general requires patience.  After a bowl of tobacco is finished, it’s not that we can tap it out and load the next bowl.  We need time for the pipe to cool down and then we remove the stem and run a pipe cleaner through the shank and sometimes the stem.  The next bowl can take as much as twenty minutes before we refill the bowl.   Some might suggest tobacco use of any kind kills.  But I have no fear of death or dying.  Maybe if I feared, I’d live life differently.  But the fact is I have no fears.  I have plenty to worry about, if I so choose to think about my worries, but if I let my Angels worry for me, then in fact I have none.  But sometimes I find it easier to say than do.   But if I had any worries about smoking a pipe, I could worry about what smoking does to my teeth.  But I do not sit around worrying about what tobacco use does to my body.  If I felt ...

 Leave it to the old guys that know what love is.  Lust isn’t just for the young.  But when it comes to love leave it to age to know what love is.  Lust is as easy as falling off a log.  But love is where the work is.  Lust can afford to be picky.  But love is unconditional.  Maybe I can’t speak for all old guys about love and lust, but to love unconditionally is work.   Okay, maybe I can only speak for myself in all my Angels told me, but one thing I haven’t forgotten is that Jesus died for every single sin but that of taking a human life including one’s own.  No one has a right to make me feel guilt.  Only God can do this.  My sins are between myself and my Angels.  Not that I hide them.  But I have not committed the unforgivable.   This is why I say I have been saved by Angels.  They saved me from committing the unforgivable.  All lust is forgivable as most are guilty of it if not all.  But to l...

 I decided to ask Google and ChatGTP about pipe smokers in general.  Pipe smoking is often associated with both Einstein and Sherlock Holmes.  I’m smoking my Sherlock Holmes pipe this morning.  Pipe smoking is often associated with professors, writers, and philosophers.  Mark Twain famously said he was born to smoke a pipe.  But it is not true that pipe smokers are inherently more intelligent.   They often read while smoking a pipe.  But pipe smokers enjoy the culturally rich association with pipe smoking.  They are often more educated, but again this is a cultural expectation.  Pipe smokers come from all walks of life.  It is only a cultural expectation that one who smokes a pipe is perceived as intelligent.  But this is a perception many have of the pipe smoker. Often a pipe gives some comfort to the lonelier lifestyle of the pipe smoker.  It is often more of a tool to offer comfort to the pipe smoker.  Even before ...

 Lust isn’t always a reason for murder.  In Columbo it is often a subplot.  I enjoy watching the old episodes that were originally aired from 1971-1978 on NBC.  I’m not sure I have a favorite Columbo episode but I believe some episodes are better than others.  I like an episode best when the murderer is hated by Columbo.   He always has a suspect in mind from the beginning.  And then the episode focuses more on the murderer than it might on Columbo.  But in a few episodes you might think Columbo has lost his sense so to speak.  But more often than not lust becomes a motive.  Lust can be dangerous.  Too often Columbo reflects real life when lust becomes a motive for murder.   Too often affairs lead to murder.  Okay, maybe not too often but often enough.  Almost daily we’ll read a true account where lust is a motive for murder.  But then in watching Columbo one learns there are many motives for murder, but more oft...

 There are so many vids about music from the 60’s to the early 70’s that I don’t need to add my two cents to what has been said.  I’d just rather listen to the music and save the back stories for others to tell,  Disco killed the good music although the later 70’s gave us the Eagles, Foreigner, and Boston and other such groups.  And I could mention a number of single performers who gave us some great music after these years.   But it seems to me a lot of good music died after this period.  One of my sons made the comment that you can tell when artists got off drugs.  Their music isn’t as good.  I still think about his comment from to time to time and he’s probably right.  These days performers and groups seem to come and go.   It’s just that in the history of pop music, it just seems this period gave us the best.  There was a lot going on in the history of the world during that time and the music was a reflection of the culture duri...

If I smoke an English tobacco my wife doesn’t like, I may have found my English that is a substitute for Old Professor that is no longer available.  I’ve published two reviews on Smoking Pipes website and one was for Old Professor.  I won’t post one for Bayou Night, but it might be what I have been looking for as a replacement for Old Professor.  Bayou Night has all the similar tobaccos, but it may have a bit more Latakia than I would like.  Latakia is used for spicing up the flavor and Bayou Night might have a tad more Latakia than I’d like, but all the components are there.  I’d give it four and a half stars out of five stars which is the same as I gave Old Professor.  The Orientals are there.  The mixture is a tad different, but of all the English I have smoked since Bayou Night comes closest. There isn’t much to say otherwise, but it is a very good blend.  I reviewed Davidoff English Mixture and found it to be simply too bland.   Davidoff...

 If I sit quietly smoking my pipe, I’m doing a lot more than just smoking my pipe.  Thoughts come to mind and I’m letting the Angels work.  Maybe my thoughts are more like prayers and maybe they are.  But letting Angels work keeps me calm.  I feel as though I’m telling my Angels what to do and they are doing it.  I won’t boast about having power over Angels.  It’s more like asking than directing.  But if I let them work, they do things I am unable to do. And trusting them means I don’t have to trust myself.  They can do things I can’t do.  I am but an instrument through which they work.  I can’t say I am always in contact with my Angels.  But if I sit quietly, I’m doing a lot more than just sitting.  I’ve made attempts to explain the unexplainable, but some things can’t be explained.  There is much about my Angels I am unable to explain.   But when I am calm, I’m letting my Angels do things I can’t do.  I ge...

 Any time I am asked if I smoke I have to yes that I do.  But I often wish I could just say that I smoke a pipe.  But one either uses tobacco or one doesn’t.  I don’t even equate cigar smoking to pipe smoking.  They are a different category too.  I have one favorite cigar that I smoke about twice a year.  It is an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature cigar.  But there is no category for that either. I just say I smoke and if I can say more than this I’d like to quantify it by saying that I smoke a pipe.  It’s different from just tobacco use.  Some guys might smoke a cigar once a week, but still have to say they smoke.  I’d rather just say no, but I can’t say that either.  I smoke.  Period.  I’d rather just say that I smoke a pipe. If pipe smoking were detrimental to my health I’d quit right now.  But my problem is that it isn’t.  But can I prove this?  No.  Except to say that doing so lowers my BP and...

 My tobacco and pipe reviews seem to be popular.  When I tell people I’m a pipe smoker I don’t explain the why.  I had my BP checked this morning and it is 101/60.  I wondered whether I was even alive.  I got used to 120/80, but these days it hovers around 110/70.  First is the weight loss, but I contribute the real reason to the pipe.  So, once in a while I’ll write a review here.  I posted one yesterday on Smoking Pipes and that was about the tobacco I want to review today. An Aromatic tobacco is an Aromatic.  Some Virginia, a blend of Burley, with some Cavendish, and then whatever flavor they want to make it.  All English blends have no flavoring.  Just pure tobacco.  My favorite was Old Professor, but now I need to replace it and I have yet to find one I like just as much.  Well, I can honestly say Davidoff English Mixture ain’t it.   I bought a tin and will finish it, but I won’t buy it again.  Now, let me e...

 I know the difference between reality and a psychosis.  My Angels are not a psychosis, but if I have any fears it is that others would say my Angels are a product of the mind of a crazy old man.  But that does not mean I can’t have fun with my Angels.  They make me laugh and at times give me tears.  But if I give my emotions to my Angels any feelings I have is because of them.   The laughter and the tears are because of them.  But most of the time my Angels give me a lot of smiles about life and living.  Most of the time they make me smile.  But once in a great while I know what they did that night 31 years ago and any tears are thankful tears.  I am forever grateful for my Angels.   This is why I like to be alone a lot with my Angels.  I always have a lot to talk about with them.  Maybe I am just a crazy old man who is lost in his own little world.  But if I share them with others I can’t help but feel at least a li...

 I’m kind of anti-social, but in my thinking it’s for good reason.  I’m pretty shy about my Angels.  They define who I am.  I seek to protect them as much as I can.  I’m willing to share my space, but only with a few.  Other than this I’m quiet about my Angels and it’s why I prefer solitude over many.  They say opposites attract and in my case this is very true.   I’m attracted to outgoing people.  In this regard my wife and I are opposites.  I can force myself to be an extrovert, but this is not my nature.  I prefer a quiet life of mostly solitude.  In this day of the Internet people are either outgoing or they will be alone.  I am happiest with a mind that doesn’t think too much.  But stress can give me overload.   I need diversions from life to keep my mind from overthinking.  This has been a problem for me for most of my life—even from a very young age.  Too many people and too much input causes my ...