http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4EN7ibO1ec#
Saturday, August 30, 2008
From Steve Palmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4EN7ibO1ec#
From Suzanne Sackett
Vision
One of the fascinating things about vision is that it falls by definition ahead of the curve; thus, at first, it can sound unfamiliar and alien.
Consider this. Gandhi's notion of returning India to Indian rule by nonviolent action was initially perceived as eccentric, invalid and dangerous. Only after it worked did it become a heralded method of speaking truth to power.
Family and friends of the Wright Brothers ridiculed their insistence that a machine could –and would- fly. Their idea was thought to be dead wrong; yet how did it turn out? They were Wright.
And, centuries ago, Jesus' revelation that God is within us, not outside us, was considered false and heretical; in fact, it was held frightening enough to get him prosecuted and killed. Then, as now, a new vision doesn't land lightly on closed minds.
So when a young politician appears on our horizon carrying a fresh and transcendent approach to national and world affairs, how can we be surprised that there are loud, angry protests from minds rooted in unoriginal thoughts?
Obama, a man gifted with both brilliance and vision, is speaking out for governance by sanity rather than tribal rigidities. To those who cannot allow themselves to see the power of that concept, he is and will remain unacceptable.
Yet. Think how extraordinary and life-enhancing it could be if it turns out there are more of us who see his vision than those who don't.
Imagine.
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Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dennis Merritt Jones
"A close friend I've known since we were both youngsters called me to announce that he and his long-time, live-in partner were going to call it quits and go their separate ways. "We just cause each other pain and sorrow. We are not good for each other and I have no love for her in my heart whatsoever," he declared. I remained silent and listened to his story regarding the latest dispute that triggered his decision—this time. After about three minutes, I reminded him that this was the exact same story I had heard many times in the past ten years so I was already intimately familiar with all the details. He chuckled, stopped talking, and took a deep breath and I knew he understood immediately that I was not trying to be intentionally cruel or unsupportive. I was simply calling him on his ongoing habit: an addiction to a toxic relationship.
In the past ten years, he and his partner had created a relationship where, as unfulfilling and painful as it had become, it was easier to stay in it, developing a tolerance and numbness to the toxic emotions each felt toward the other (and themselves) than to break the habit they had become to each other. This got me thinking about how we all are subject to developing habits that can become toxic and addictive if we are not conscious and aware of what we are creating. Staying stuck in a habit or addiction is the ultimate form of immediate gratification because the behavior creates a diversion which redirects the flow of creative life force away from our true feelings where we would be forced to deal with them and into mindless activities that often result in unproductive lifestyles, unhealthy bodies, and relationships filled with sadness, pain, and suffering. It does not have to be that way.
A part of us dies when any negative habit becomes a mindless activity, especially when we continue to do it because it's easier (or less painful) than leaning into the discomfort of change. In the process, we unconsciously become a little more numb to life. It's as if we are sending a very subtle message to the universe that we are not really interested in being fully engaged in being alive. Any negative habit is simply the creative energy of life seeking fullness of expression, albeit in a misguided manner. We lack the awareness that negative thoughts repeated over and over again, day after day, year after year become ingrained in our unconscious mind where they lay below our field of awareness taking on a life of their own. This is the fertile soil in which habits grow into addictions. It dose not necessarily have to be in the area of human relationships either: It could be with habits we have formed in our relationships with work, food, sex, or any other substance or behavior. Regardless of where it shows up in our lives, the energy that drives most negative habits and addictions is the need to avoid dealing with how we really feel about ourselves and life in the present moment. As an example: While some people may feel as dead in their job as my friend does in his relationship, in a strange way, it is safe and comfortable living in the security of conditions that don't demand change, growth, or risk in the present moment. Again, fertile soil for habit energy to establish itself in its many subtle ways.
Habits tend to suck us into unconscious living patterns and that is not how we were meant to live. You were not given life to be an unconscious helpless victim of your habits, nor were you meant to suffer and simply endure an unrewarding life. Each of us has the responsibility to be a fully conscious, continually evolving being, and to have dominion over our egoic mind rather than be enslaved by it. To be a fully conscious being means one has to make conscious choices. In other words, if you believe you are stuck in the energy of an undesirable habit, in order to set yourself free you first have to own the fact that you have actually given your power to the undesirable habit. At some point in time that was a choice you made. Perhaps now is the time to choose another way. You can choose to take your power back.
Where do you start? Waking up from the dream of powerlessness and remembering to remember the sacred being you really are is the first step. You are no less than pure potential having a variety of experiences in the human condition. Habit energy doesn't stand a chance when you think and act from the awareness of your connectedness to Life, Infinite Intelligence, the Universe, your Higher Power, God or whatever else you might choose to call it. Aligning with your true source of power will help dissolve the negative habit energy you may have developed over the years and set you free. How can this be so? Practicing the presence of Spirit in the present moment always sets you free from the past in much the same manner that the higher vibration of love sets you free from the lower vibration of fear, or the manner in which the radiance of light will set you free from the apparent bondage of darkness........."
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Maya
Jim and Dottie Cramer and I on the ferry taking us and about 40 Americans over to Isla Muljeres for one of the most memorable trips our group has done together. We spent time talking about concepts of life, death and imortality and we visited the mainland, climbed the pyramids and danced, snorkeled and fell in love with Mexico and each other.
After the hurricane Isla Mujeres was pretty badly shaken up. A lot of the pure white beach sand disapeared and hotels were damaged. I understand it is well on its way back to recovery.
Old Animation Building on Mickey Ave
"Next to Camera, in the Cutting building, the post production process occurred. Sound facilities included dubbing, scoring, effects, and voice recording studios. Many of the buildings were linked together by an underground tunnel, so even in bad weather, the process of making animated films was not disrupted. To enhance the campus-like setting, all of the utilities were placed underground which was an innovation for 1940."
The Dwarves
"Walt was personally involved with all aspects of designing the studio. From the layout of the buildings to design of the animators' chairs, nothing was left to chance. His main concern was to produce a self-sufficient, state-of-the-art production factory that provided all the essential facilities for the entire production process."
Walt Disney
Monday, August 25, 2008
September - Activating Service
Seva means selfless services. Marisa must then be a Sevite? Georgett and Jerry invented that word. Someone pointed out to me that there can't ever be such a thing as self-less service because there is only one self and whatever we do we ultimately do for ourselves anyway - even if we call it service-t0-another. Interesting. There is a difference in flavor between service that demands recognition and service that has no demand. Guess which one I like better
Marisa's birthday was on August 21 - you can frequently find here outside the Center cleaning it up.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
When Everything is OK
extracted from a sermon by the Reverend Richard R. Davis, UUCS
March 4, 2007
" I cannot tell you how often I have fallen into this particular trap, but I can assure you, the number is embarrassingly high. I am speaking of the trap I call “when everything will be OK.” It goes like this: I will get a bit anxious or worried about something in my life, and I think to myself, “When this thing gets cleared up, when this matter is settled, when I get past this ordeal or clear this hurdle or save this amount of money do this or do that – when that is over and done with, then everything will be OK.”
" It’s a seductive trap because it usually has a grain of truth in it. Sometimes things actually do get better – you get that degree, that job, that mate, you safely make it to retirement with health and finances intact or you raise your children or you survive that frightening medical operation. And it’s good to have positive anticipations, especially if life is dealing you a bad hand in the present. If you’re in the midst of hard times, I hope things do get better for you – and they can. But it’s also true that everything in life is never going to be OK according to your personal needs and desires. There will never come a time when you do not face some rather daunting prospects in life. Even if you save lots of money, exercise and eat right, make friends with everybody and have no enemies, and you do everything you can to line up all your ducks in a row, there is no guarantee that some life crisis will not come along and knock them all down. In fact, life comes with a guarantee that this will happen. Sure, we’re better at protecting ourselves than any generation in history, and we’re healthier and live longer, thank goodness. But still, you can’t completely move beyond human limitations and enter into some godlike realm where you have complete control and absolute certainty and security. "
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Remembering
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Motor Cycles
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Meaning Of ImmortalityScience of Mind by E.S. Holmes (1926 Text, Gender Neutral Update)
They must be able to travel about, see and be seen, understand and be understood; they must be able to touch, taste, smell, hear, cognize and realize. In fact, if human beings are to continue as self conscious personalities, they can do so only to the degree that they maintain a continuous stream of consciousness and self knowledge.Remembrance alone contains the link that binds one event to another, making life a constant stream of self-conscious expression.
To suppose that human beings can forget and still remain themselves is to suppose that they could cut off their entire pasts and be the same personalities as a moment ago. Only memory can guarantee personality. Individuality might remain without it, but not personality.What we are is the result of what we have been, the result of what has gone before.
Human beings, then, if they are to have an immortality worthy of the name, must continue -- as they now are -- beyond the grave. Death cannot rob them of anything if they are immortal.
President Kennedy's Inaugural Speech Exerpt
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom—symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning—signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
1
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe—the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
2
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans—born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage—and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
3
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
4
This much we pledge—and more.
5
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do—for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
6
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
7
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
8
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge—to convert our good words into good deeds—in a new alliance for progress—to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
9
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support—to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective—to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak—and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
45th Anniversary Dinner Dance
Bob Hart and Jan Davis enjoy a photo moment at the 45th Anniversary Dinner Dance for the Center for Spiritual Living, held in the new Sanctuary – If I remember correctly we had not yet completed the floor at the time, not that it stopped us in the least from dancing and dressing up.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Ernest Again
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Better Still...
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Way of Love
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sri Krishna to Prince Arjuna
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Dear Pondering Spiritual Warrior,
I am doubtful about all expectations. Waiting for what is not here yet seems to be a buggy program at best. Ha! I’m not even sure about the reliability of my definitions of what a certain thing is or isn’t.
At best I seem to be looking through a tunnel of social conditioning, compounded race-thought and inherited stuff to the point that I wonder about the meaning of every little thing. I wonder about “meaning” itself. And purpose. Does beauty have a purpose or meaning? And I wonder if everything I see is all-there-is to see or even if seen, exists.
Who designed them and for what purpose? Who/what made it so that a society should emerge and agreements arise? What kind of design is it that insists lives must be balanced out with various attractions and repulsions that unfold like inevitable fates?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Dear Anonymous Spiritual Warrior,
When I was a little fellow growing up in school was tough on me. I was a delicate child with slightly more talent and smarts than the average kid in my class. I was tall quickly, and thin and reed like and gentle and kind. The boys in my class didn't appreciate me. They beat me up regularly. They would whisper threats to me in class endlessly telling me what they were going to do to me at the break. Then they did exactly what they had threatened.
I loved school and because violence wasn't in my nature I tried to imagine they would get tired and go away. I was afraid of them. They didn't go away. Not until one day, surrounded by a whole group of them I heard one laughingly say to his buddy "Look how scared he is!" and I knew they were never going to go away because they were "on to me" I was very scared. I made the decision in the moment: I punched the main man on the nose and that was the end of it. They never bothered me again. Well not that group at least. Others did. Teasing carried on and whispered threats, but it bothered me less and less.
As I grew older and fell in love with spirituality more and more I began to feel sadness about that I had used violence to put an end to violence. I became attracted to ideas about non violence and gentleness and decided to never again commit an act of violence. Then one day in my late teens I was confronted with a terrible soul searching moment. I watched an African man get beaten savagely for the mistake of getting onto the wrong color train and I did nothing. It happened so fast and was so brutal that the only intervention I could imagine would have been to jump on in and physically stop the violence. I was frozen in shock and in terror.
I haven't ever forgotten that moment or the unanswered question of what is right to do and to what degree a person should or shouldn't defend themselves and others. I became a vegetarian and struggled with the knowledge I learned in science classes that our bodies are
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Before and After at Asilomar
Monday, August 4, 2008
Rambling
He urged us, to form the habit of taking definite time each day to pray for peace, of taking definite time each day to know and meditate on the thought – affirming it with complete acceptance – that leaders everywhere are being guided by the all sustaining wisdom and power of Good. He also urged us to daily pray for the peace of our own minds so that we did not become confused in our own thought about all that is going on.
But he didn’t stop there. Following quickly on that urgent recommendation to develop a daily spiritual practice, he told us what even more ancient teachers have told us, that “Faith without works is dead,” reminding us that not only should we pray, but that we should act also -- every one of us -- so that the activities of our lives are daily contributing something to peace for the purpose of preserving life everywhere.
Now what is the action you should do? Perhaps Vote? Take an interest in what your children learn about peace? Make your voice and desire known to local governance? I don’t know. That’s not my business to tell anyone what to do. Today there is all kind of available information and help from individuals more expert in civic activities than I am. I only want to emphasize that without the “act” part ….well…..
Here is another wonderful point Ernest Makes. “For if the whole nation works together and prays together, a great moral and spiritual power, an actual soul force, will penetrate the whole world, helping to bring confidence and calm judgment until the crisis shall have passed.”
Now that right there is what I would call our hope and our salvation: the thought that we might someday unite in prayer to make a difference. As a nation it seems somewhat out of reach. It is even challenging to think that metaphysicians might unite to do something like that. But oh, the excitement to think of what might be possible if we were to put aside differences and pray together daily, encouraging our people to do so with us, until there was an irresistible spiritual urge towards peace and cooperation emanating from each of the cities in which we live…
What do you think?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Be Persistent
Even if this process does not seem to mean much the first day or so, keep at it. It involves changing your whole way of life and it requires reeducating your body, your emotions, your intellect and your spiritual outlook. Be fair to yourself. Keep on doing it!
Plant deeply in your mind these four basic ideas:
1. You are completely surrounded by and are part of Universal Mind. Mind penetrates your very being; It is what you are.
2. This Mind is always creative, manifesting what you think and believe, as form or as some experience.
3. Universal Mind answers to your mind. Mind creates for you according to the pattern you make for It by your thoughts of good or not-so-good. Your task, therefore, is to maintain only positive, uplifting, harmonious thoughts.
4. Because of this, you can choose to remain in good health, or to be healed if you are now ill. In the same manner, you may choose and bring into your experience any other good condition.
To declare yourself into good health is one of the greatest blessings you could ever enjoy. The simple explanations given here are intended to start you on the way to such declarations, because you can now begin to understand what is needed to bring about healing.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Right Fresh
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Idea For You to Use Now
Night and morning, try to set apart a time in which to be quiet, to commune with your real self. This becomes the period in which you clarify your mental atmosphere. Be as relaxed physically as you can, but neither the position you occupy, the chair in which you sit, nor the room has anything to do with the real work you are doing. Merely see to it that there is no physical discomfort while you attempt to direct your thinking.
Now that some of the bodily tension, which is the bane of our anxious way of living, has been released, say with conviction and feeling:
I am strong and free through
I am well and successful in everything I do.
Repeat this until you feel the thrill of it all through you. It is a wonderful tonic. After that….have a quiet prayer time in which you do not ask for things or conditions, but name them, accept them as already belonging to you, and give thanks for them. This whole procedure will take about twenty minutes. But will it be worthwhile? You would not start on a day’s trip in your car without an adequate supply of gas and oil, would you? Why start out on your day’s work without getting yourself properly supplied, physically, emotionally and spiritually?
A feeling of complete well-being will diffuse through you at the conclusion of this quiet time. See if you can keep this high consciousness all day.
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