Zeus is Preservation Pub’s resident spiritual counselor, available for consultation on select days of the week on the first floor Smokeasy. In this semi-regular Scruffington Post feature, we visit with Zeus every few weeks, seeing his wise counsel on such weighty matters as international politics, affairs of the heart, and Justin Bieber’s latest ‘do.

SP: The U.S. is suffering under the burden of a huge national debt. What should be done about that?
Z: We should learn how to work together. We need to stop borrowing from others and work on what we already know. We need to start conserving our energies.
We may be headed back to the barter system. Our technology is creating a lot of problems for us. You can’t overstep the boundaries of God.

SP: What do you think of the dissolution Knoxville’s alternative weekly Metro Pulse?
Z: I think the Scripps corporation got their hand in too deep.

SP: What do you think of the recent sexual assault allegations against two University of Tennessee football players?
Z: I think pople are losing faith. Not only in our nation, but in themselves. People get to the point where they’re lost and can’t feel anymore. We all need more prayer and more focus on God, instead of on materialistic things.
And we should pray for these individuals. Because you don’t fight hate with hate. You fight hate with love and forgiveness.

SP: What advice to you have for the lonely, and the lonely-hearted?
Z: Spend more time in nature, and more time becoming one with the earth. Travel to places you’ve never been to before. And see things you’ve never known before.
Let go of the past. Focus on the inner.

SP: What do you make of the extreme cold weather that hit most of the country in November?
Z: It’s a sign of the times. With the seasons, you can’t predict it. There’s strange weather in places it’s never happened. God’s trying to give people a wake-up call. The signs are in all the elements—the earth, the air, in the fire.
If you’re focused on God, you won’t be distracted by all these things around us.

Zeus’ Quote of the Week: “Do not focus on the things that are around us. Focus on the things that are above us.”