Silently as we waltz celestial orchestras play
Souls and hearts forever entwined
Across the sands of infinite space serene
In the hour glass of never ending time tranquil
I glimpse the face of God
Mine shimmering in your eyes
Yours a star sparkling in mine
Together gazing in Love's eternal bliss ours
As silently we waltz celestial orchestras play
Souls and hearts forever entwined
____________________________
“I believe that lovers should be draped in flowers/ And laid entwined together in a bed of clover/ Left there to sleep/ Left there to dream of happiness.” ~ Conor Oberst
The snake does not shed its skin fearing losing its body, we should not be afraid of shedding our body for fear of losing our soul.
We are no more our flesh than a snake is the dried translucent scales it leaves behind.
Fear is the skin shed by the snake, nothing but an illusion of once it dreamed was, but was not.
Shed our illusion of fearing of body lost and what will remain is our Soul, whole, in the Love that we are.
_____________________________________
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.” ~ Joseph Campbell
We debate
Debates escalate
Other is created
Fear takes hold
Wage of wars
Souls sold
No point worth making
No argument worth winning
Is worth Life taking
Peace not keeping
Debates escalate
Other is created
Fear takes hold
Wage of wars
Souls sold
No point worth making
No argument worth winning
Is worth Life taking
Peace not keeping
Freedom sacrificing
Love forfeiting
Love forgetting
One not BEING!
____________________
"Nobody can hurt me without my permission." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Love forfeiting
Love forgetting
One not BEING!
____________________
"Nobody can hurt me without my permission." ~ Mahatma Gandhi
With intention we starve needlessly our children, all the while...
With abandon we destroy recklessly our home, all the while...
Without empathy we debate the financial merit of providing care for one another, all the while we squander forty seven percent of our Ponzi scheme of an economic system, immeasurable amounts of human and natural resources on building the weapons and implementing the strategies of a vain effort to what; protect ourselves from ourselves?
How after all these millennia can we not see, can we not feel the error, the utter futility, the complete and total insanity of our ways?
I would rather die sane having lived a Life loving and creating the reality of eternal Peace, than continue in madness survive an existence of fear hating and proliferating the illusion of never ending war.
Love is the light shining our potential to BE.
Fear is the shadow sea, in which we drown.
__________________________
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein
“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” ~ Dwight David Eisenhower
Psychologists use a scale to measure stress. High on this scale come the death of a parent, redundancy, marriage breakdown, and a house move. Between 1990 and 1994 I experienced them all in rapid succession. The events of 1990, when I had my spiritual "wake up call", whilst not totally preparing me for what was to come, certainly helped to make things at least bearable.
All four events have one thing in common - loss of security. They prove to us that what we THOUGHT was security, was but an illusion. Having once more begun to walk my path, after many years sheltering in this apparently secure haven, I quickly realized that, in reality, I knew very little. I gazed in awe at those who had been on the spiritual path for many years, and had accumulated a vast array of knowledge. "You must do this", they said, "You should be doing that", they added, "You really must join us - our is the ONLY way - we understand you - you belong with us !" Security again - but at what price ? Merely that I set aside my own thoughts and feelings, and agree with theirs. And if I didn't ? Then I was possessed by Satan, and would be condemned to spend eternity in hell.
It soon became clear that what I had considered a disadvantage, was, in reality, a powerful advantage. For my mind was not clogged up with the trappings of many years of study. Once we create a fixed idea in our minds, then we tend to collect only that information which supports our theory, and reject that which doesn't. Anyone who has moved home after a long period in one place realizes just how much we can accumulate along the way, particularly in the loft or garage ! Moving to a smaller home, we face the agonizing decision as to what to keep, and what to throw away. Luckily, I faced no such decision, for I had no such knowledge to throw away, so I began to travel light, towards the Light !
Each and every one of us walks a different path, and all these paths have but one thing in common - the ultimate destination, to be re-united with the One. Back in the last century, many pioneers left the Eastern regions of America, with only the possessions they could carry, to begin a new life in the West . Not everyone made it. Many died. Some, faced with terrible hardship, turned back. Others, finding green fields along the way, settled alongside the trail. But there were those who, despite losing all their possessions and loved ones along the way, made it to the other side, climbing high mountains and fording deep rivers along the way.
As we progress along our path, we face many such obstacles. There are some who, faced with a mountain, will attempt to take the long path around it, only to find that it leads them nowhere. Some are content to pitch their tents at the foot of the mountain, and await the invention of the "spiritual helicopter" ! Some will climb the steep, narrow and winding paths, which will eventually lead to their destination. But someone has to carve out these paths, and this will inevitably mean climbing up the sheer face of the mountain. A deadly game of snakes and ladders, as we move from one frequency to the next.
For those who choose to climb the mountain, there is the ever-present danger of becoming obsessed with owning the latest mountaineering equipment, losing sight of the ultimate goal. Mountain climbing means travelling light - really light. It does not mean giving away all of our personal possessions, rather, developing a new attitude towards them. We need to recognize that, in reality, we own nothing - that everything we have is only on temporary loan to us during our stay on this planet. As the old saying goes, "There are no pockets in shrouds". In other words, you can't take it with you ! So when you no longer have a need for something, pass it on.
Consider the Native Americans. When a brave had enjoyed a particularly good season, he set aside what he NEEDED, and arranged a party to give away his surplus, with particular attention to the widows and orphans The term "Indian giver" is applied to those who take back a gift they have given. In reality, a Native American would take back his gift if the recipient no longer used it, or appreciated it. It was considered totally socially unacceptable to own more than you needed, whilst those around you went without. This is the key to our problems today. In the Western world, it is totally socially acceptable to not only have more than we need, but in some cases, far more than we could ever use in our lifetime. "Store not treasures for yourselves on earth….."
When I was made redundant in 1991, I was forced to re-evaluate my life, applying the lessons I had learnt in 1990. I set out my basic requirement - Needs, Wants, Would Likes. To these I added a fourth category - false demands. It is this fourth category which is creating the majority of the problems on the planet today. We are in the destructive cycle described by David Icke, as "take, make and throw away". At one time, things were made to fulfill a need. Today, things are made, followed by a massive advertising campaign to convince people that they NEED them ! Why ? So that the people who make them can earn the money to buy things that THEY don't need ! And so the crazy, destructive cycle continues. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the good old USA - the descendants of those who destroyed a gentle and wise people, who they condemned as savages.
Travelling light means not carrying along excessive baggage, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Every species has two basic needs, food and shelter. Mankind has a third need, which has seen him apparently succeed, and yet has sown the seeds of his own destruction - intellectual stimulation. Today I have very few possessions. And yet, I OWN the same as the day I was born, and every day in between. NOTHING ! For I can take none of it with me when I leave this planet. All I will take is the love that I have generated along the way. But nobody can stop me gazing at the sky, listening to the sound of a waterfall, or feeling the spray of the ocean on my face. The trees that were on this planet the day I was born will live on after my physical death, and after those who own the land upon which they grow, have passed on. Whose trees are they ?
Watching a poacher on TV the other night, he argued that nobody could actually own a river, or the fish in it. For as a fish swims downstream, it passes from one section to another. So too, the water in which it swims. A river will remain throughout many generations, but the water on a man's land will change every second !
The twentieth century saw an obsession with speed. Those who built racing cars knew that the lighter the car, the faster it would go with a smaller engine. The fewer physical possessions we rely on for our security, the lighter we travel. The fewer fixed or preconceived ideas we carry, the more open we are to new ideas. Our hearts can be burdened with fear, hate, cynicism and despair, or lifted by love, faith and hope. The choice is ours. Although by most people's standards I am poor, in reality I can be the richest man alive if I have the love, trust and respect of the Earth, and my fellow man. For my treasures are not stored here on Earth, but are in my heart, When mankind learns to share this planet, all of us will once more return to travelling light.
All four events have one thing in common - loss of security. They prove to us that what we THOUGHT was security, was but an illusion. Having once more begun to walk my path, after many years sheltering in this apparently secure haven, I quickly realized that, in reality, I knew very little. I gazed in awe at those who had been on the spiritual path for many years, and had accumulated a vast array of knowledge. "You must do this", they said, "You should be doing that", they added, "You really must join us - our is the ONLY way - we understand you - you belong with us !" Security again - but at what price ? Merely that I set aside my own thoughts and feelings, and agree with theirs. And if I didn't ? Then I was possessed by Satan, and would be condemned to spend eternity in hell.
It soon became clear that what I had considered a disadvantage, was, in reality, a powerful advantage. For my mind was not clogged up with the trappings of many years of study. Once we create a fixed idea in our minds, then we tend to collect only that information which supports our theory, and reject that which doesn't. Anyone who has moved home after a long period in one place realizes just how much we can accumulate along the way, particularly in the loft or garage ! Moving to a smaller home, we face the agonizing decision as to what to keep, and what to throw away. Luckily, I faced no such decision, for I had no such knowledge to throw away, so I began to travel light, towards the Light !
Each and every one of us walks a different path, and all these paths have but one thing in common - the ultimate destination, to be re-united with the One. Back in the last century, many pioneers left the Eastern regions of America, with only the possessions they could carry, to begin a new life in the West . Not everyone made it. Many died. Some, faced with terrible hardship, turned back. Others, finding green fields along the way, settled alongside the trail. But there were those who, despite losing all their possessions and loved ones along the way, made it to the other side, climbing high mountains and fording deep rivers along the way.
As we progress along our path, we face many such obstacles. There are some who, faced with a mountain, will attempt to take the long path around it, only to find that it leads them nowhere. Some are content to pitch their tents at the foot of the mountain, and await the invention of the "spiritual helicopter" ! Some will climb the steep, narrow and winding paths, which will eventually lead to their destination. But someone has to carve out these paths, and this will inevitably mean climbing up the sheer face of the mountain. A deadly game of snakes and ladders, as we move from one frequency to the next.
For those who choose to climb the mountain, there is the ever-present danger of becoming obsessed with owning the latest mountaineering equipment, losing sight of the ultimate goal. Mountain climbing means travelling light - really light. It does not mean giving away all of our personal possessions, rather, developing a new attitude towards them. We need to recognize that, in reality, we own nothing - that everything we have is only on temporary loan to us during our stay on this planet. As the old saying goes, "There are no pockets in shrouds". In other words, you can't take it with you ! So when you no longer have a need for something, pass it on.
Consider the Native Americans. When a brave had enjoyed a particularly good season, he set aside what he NEEDED, and arranged a party to give away his surplus, with particular attention to the widows and orphans The term "Indian giver" is applied to those who take back a gift they have given. In reality, a Native American would take back his gift if the recipient no longer used it, or appreciated it. It was considered totally socially unacceptable to own more than you needed, whilst those around you went without. This is the key to our problems today. In the Western world, it is totally socially acceptable to not only have more than we need, but in some cases, far more than we could ever use in our lifetime. "Store not treasures for yourselves on earth….."
When I was made redundant in 1991, I was forced to re-evaluate my life, applying the lessons I had learnt in 1990. I set out my basic requirement - Needs, Wants, Would Likes. To these I added a fourth category - false demands. It is this fourth category which is creating the majority of the problems on the planet today. We are in the destructive cycle described by David Icke, as "take, make and throw away". At one time, things were made to fulfill a need. Today, things are made, followed by a massive advertising campaign to convince people that they NEED them ! Why ? So that the people who make them can earn the money to buy things that THEY don't need ! And so the crazy, destructive cycle continues. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the good old USA - the descendants of those who destroyed a gentle and wise people, who they condemned as savages.
Travelling light means not carrying along excessive baggage, either physically, mentally or spiritually. Every species has two basic needs, food and shelter. Mankind has a third need, which has seen him apparently succeed, and yet has sown the seeds of his own destruction - intellectual stimulation. Today I have very few possessions. And yet, I OWN the same as the day I was born, and every day in between. NOTHING ! For I can take none of it with me when I leave this planet. All I will take is the love that I have generated along the way. But nobody can stop me gazing at the sky, listening to the sound of a waterfall, or feeling the spray of the ocean on my face. The trees that were on this planet the day I was born will live on after my physical death, and after those who own the land upon which they grow, have passed on. Whose trees are they ?
Watching a poacher on TV the other night, he argued that nobody could actually own a river, or the fish in it. For as a fish swims downstream, it passes from one section to another. So too, the water in which it swims. A river will remain throughout many generations, but the water on a man's land will change every second !
The twentieth century saw an obsession with speed. Those who built racing cars knew that the lighter the car, the faster it would go with a smaller engine. The fewer physical possessions we rely on for our security, the lighter we travel. The fewer fixed or preconceived ideas we carry, the more open we are to new ideas. Our hearts can be burdened with fear, hate, cynicism and despair, or lifted by love, faith and hope. The choice is ours. Although by most people's standards I am poor, in reality I can be the richest man alive if I have the love, trust and respect of the Earth, and my fellow man. For my treasures are not stored here on Earth, but are in my heart, When mankind learns to share this planet, all of us will once more return to travelling light.
There no thing without Love, as Love is every thing.
Love is to God, as God is to Love.
Without Love there is no God, without God there is Love, no creation.
Therefore Love is the source of all creation, every thing
When a thing is no longer with Love, that thing that is without Love is no longer any thing.
Humanity wobbles near the vacuum of Lovelessness, of no-thingness.
___________________________
“Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath.” ~ Emily Dickinson
The
spirit of the world must change for mankind to survive,
Each
one of us must look within to find the seed inside,
For
all change comes from deep within each soul as it perceives
That
we are all one brotherhood, and each one has a need.
We
must lose self and start to care about our fellow man,
The
veil of ignorance must lift, revealing truths that can
If
put to proper use, decide the outcome of our plight,
Change
bad to good, hate to love, and darkness into light.
"But
I am only one", you say,
"What difference can I make
?"
Oh,
don't you know, have you not learnt from all your past mistakes ?
We
are the hubs of circles of family and friends -
Start
with those you love the most and see how love extends
Like
ripples from a stone that's thrown into a mighty creek,
Love
travels ever outwards, touching everyone it meets.
Love
for fellow man can end the sorrows of this world,
It
just takes one mere mortal to start to spread the word.
"Not
everyone" you say "will change, not everybody cares".
That's
true my child, but only he who tries, and only he who dares
Stand
up to evil, malice, greed, envy, hate and strife
Will
ever find his soul; it's true, it might cost him his life.
But
what if you could make a stand, hold on to what is true,
Be
bold, be heard, and with your words change things that trouble you ?
Don't
be afraid my child, for I am ever by your side,
I am
there, when you need Me, my love I
never hide.
Just
search for it, hold out your hand, and I will give to you
The
courage and the fortitude, that will see you through.
Oh
helpless children, how I weep to see you in such pain,
For I
am love - he that loves me, will never hurt again.
So
fellow man, come one, come all, stand up and do not fear,
The
help is coming for us all, so all be of good cheer.
God
loves the Earth so much that He gave us His son
And
He will come again and dwell amongst us lowly men,
And
herald in an age of Love where He will rule as King.
Be
strong and get yourselves prepared for we will see Him reign -
It
only takes one man you see, to change the world again.
"Dictated"
to me, on the evening of January 28th, 1993,
the
day after my 41st birthday.
Jan Pendragon
These are from a series of interviews I did with Senior Citizens who use cannabis instead of pharmaceuticals. They will touch your heart and enlighten your mind. Love, Kip
https://www.dropbox.com/s/bxz8qf90b6yp9j2/Final%20TGP%20Seniors%202012.mov
If you are seeking reasons to be loving and happy, it means you are not BEING loving and happy and you will never find the reasons you seek.
Love and happiness are the reasons you seek.
Love and happiness are your reasons to BE!
You do not seek Love and happiness you just allow yourself to remember to BE that which you already are.
______________________________
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.” ~ Storm Jameson
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it" ~ Albert Einstein
Love and happiness are the reasons you seek.
Love and happiness are your reasons to BE!
You do not seek Love and happiness you just allow yourself to remember to BE that which you already are.
______________________________
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne
“Happiness comes of the capacity to feel deeply, to enjoy simply, to think freely, to risk life, to be needed.” ~ Storm Jameson
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it" ~ Albert Einstein
"Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World"... Amazing Movie!
I watched the most amazing movie last "Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World" which maybe without meaning too, maybe with; GOT IT! What would you do if you knew there were only 3 weeks left until the end of the world? What would you seek? What would you BE? What would it be that last feeling you would have? That last thing you would see? Would it be blessings acknowledged or fears embraced? At the end of all this, who are you? Why are you?
When those final questions are answered we will then know who we are and is who we are in that moment, is what we are, is why we are?
Our most important questions "what and why?" answered. We are always what we are and why we are in the moment, as that is what we are choosing to BE!
With out giving it away; the end of it all can BE the realization of your ultimate bliss.The bliss so many miss, while surviving and fearing, instead of living and loving this!
With Love, Kip
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307068/
I curse and shun the problems we imagine and create; fouled waters, polluted skies, raped soils, manufactured wars, survived lives, breeding fears.
I honor and acknowledge the gifts we've been blessed and given; waters to drink, skies to breathe, soils to grow, peaces to have, Life to serve, Love to feel.
Our cup is not half empty.
Our cup overflows...
____________________________
“Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some” ~ Charles Dickens
“The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher
“All the blessings we enjoy are Divine deposits, committed to our trust on this condition, that they should be dispensed for the benefit of our neighbors” ~ John Calvin
“However many blessings we expect from God, His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts” ~ John Calvin
_____________________________________
The Good Red Road:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz2/turquoisebutterfly/roadintro.html
Love is found neither in the pits of deepest rage or the heights of superficial ecstasy, but in the calm, the bliss, the solace, the refuge between; Love the home of man's divinity.
______________________________
“If you want to reach a state of bliss, then go beyond your ego and the internal dialogue. Make a decision to relinquish the need to control, the need to be approved, and the need to judge. Those are the three things the ego is doing all the time. It's very important to be aware of them every time they come up.” ~ Deepak Chopra
“Who falls from all he knows of bliss, Cares little into what abyss” ~ Lord Byron
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree” ~ Emily Bronte
A light to guide you is near
From the shadow prison of fear
Your mind's eye opens
So your Soul can see
Faith in Love envisioned
Remembered, believed
And free you will BE
At last to BE
Beyond impossibility
All probabilities
God, Life, Love, Infinity...
________________________
“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” ~ St. Francis of Assisi
“The very impossibility in which I find myself to prove that God is not, discovers to me his existence.” ~ Voltaire
If you guide from the shadow of fear just one lost spirit and the illusion of hopelessness, misery and isolation it creates, to the light of Love and the reality of faith, happiness and oneness it is, you will fundamentally change the world.
Even if that one lost spirit is you.
In fact most significantly and importantly if it is you, as there is no way you can guide another if lost to the shadow yourself you still are that spirit BEING.
______________________________
“Stand still. The trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost.” ~ Albert Einstein
Even if that one lost spirit is you.
In fact most significantly and importantly if it is you, as there is no way you can guide another if lost to the shadow yourself you still are that spirit BEING.
______________________________
“Stand still. The trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost.” ~ Albert Einstein
I think I am finally understanding the full extent of the wisdom and truth of happiness without limit or question.
We cannot BE the lifeguards gathering up the drowning, we will only drown with them.
We must me the ones swimming ahead, towing the Life ring of Love behind, having faith the drowning will grab hold.
It is difficult to soar when trying to carry those who would still prefer not Love's wings, to boots of gold.
Love knows not sadness and weeps therefore not tears of sorrow, but of joy always!
____________________________________
“Anxiety is love's greatest killer. It makes others feel as you might when a drowning man holds on to you. You want to save him, but you know he will strangle you with his panic.” ~ Anais Nin
Love's true power can be seen fully realized in those who can find equal peace and happiness in both the celebration of their victories and the overcoming of their defeats.
__________________________
“To help the young soul, to add energy, inspire hope, and blow the coals into a useful flame; to redeem defeat by new thought and firm action, this, though not easy, is the work of divine man” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Too many of us are still choosing doom, oblivion and fear, over faith, consciousness and Love.
Why?
If we remember the answer; the question and this illusion will vanish and a new reality will be born...
________________________
"Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable.” ~ Dr. Joyce Brothers
“Ignorance is not bliss - it is oblivion” ~ Philip Wylie
There was a reality where man believed the Earth was flat not round.
Now we look back and say, how silly, never me, that never could I see, that never could I BE!
I have faith that soon there must come a time when man will think...
There was a reality where man believed Life and God were fear not Love.
We will say then, how silly, never me, that never could I see, that never could I BE!
We are not what we were then, we will BE not what we were many times again, as we continue the infinite rediscovery of what in truth we are and then, if we choose again we begin...
____________________________
“Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one” ~ Albert Einstein
“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” ~ Dr. Seuss
"Surrounding me is all the life that God created in His Love. It calls to me in every heartbeat and in every breath; in every action and in every thought. Peace fills my heart, and floods my body with the purpose of forgiveness. Now my mind is healed, and all I need to save the world is given me. Each heartbeat brings me peace; each breath infuses me with strength. I am a messenger of God, directed by His Voice, sustained by Him in love, and held forever quiet and at peace within His loving Arms. Each heartbeat calls His Name, and every one is answered by His Voice, assuring me I am at home in Him.
Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. Father, my heart is beating in the peace the Heart of Love created. It is there and only there that I can be at home." ACIM, Pt.II, Lesson 267
My thought for today was presented to me in the form of the "Guardian of Fire." It tells me that this person is someone who quietly knows his or her own worth, and to remember that when the flame of creativity is shared, all benefit. And to remind myself that no single fire is every diminished by the light of another. That passions shared and combined can create a bonfire big enough to light up the entire sky.
It once again speaks to my purpose as a Presenter. I spark the creative fires in others, and present them to themselves as I tend to my own creative flame.
After I read this, I was drawn to a open A Course In Miracles to a certain page. The quote that opens this entry is what I presented to myself this morning as reinforcement. It also provides the perspective that I need in order to do the work. And help the world to save Its Only Son.
At the top of my blogger screen is a button. I have seen this button every day, and selected it over and over and over, but I never thought of this before . . .it says SAVE. And once I select that button, it says SAVED. That I see this today while contemplating this idea, is no coincidence. It serves as an awesome example of the power of our creativity and that we will find evidence of this everywhere, if we only look.
Another even more profound thought just hit me! As I work along, as I release the words that flow through my heart from my open portal to the Divine, the program AUTOMATICALLY SAVES.
Ekhart Tolle describes salvation in this manner, "True salvation is to know yourself as an inseparable part of the timeless and formless One Life from which all that exists derives its being." I love these words! His eloquence requires no elaboration.
I understand that I do not have to "do" anything in order to realize my salvation, or to save myself from the effects of the world. No act, or ritual, or words spoken, or external form of any-thing is required. I simply have to remember that I am part of the One. And I am automatically saved from my fearful vision of my lonely, small self. How exquisitely cool is that???
You may say, "People are always talking about this "remembering!" I don't understand it! I may learn something new but to say that I am remembering . . .it is just an interesting idea to me. And when I say it, I am just repeating words that I read in a book, or read here. I just don't get it!
Okay. I hear what you are saying. At this moment I am remembering how to explain it, so it makes sense to me. I think of it like this . . .We are all part of a magnificent collective. As a concept, each and every human is at once an individual, as well as being part of the multiplicity that is the whole human race. The idea of humanity as a whole is something we can understand. In this case the whole is made up of the sum if its parts.
We can use the word "whole" here conceptually. We understand that this is a limited viewpoint when it comes to our understanding of the One. Whereas we can never truly grasp the totality of the One, we can understand the concept from this perspective.
We are facets of a magnificent jewel. Each facet has unique formation that identifies it as part of the jewel. This formation is our individuality. When you think of a jewel in all of its splendour, it shines and sparkles with a radiant fire that seems lit from inside.
It is the miracle extending from it . . in infinite delight. We recoginze this miracle. Miracles make minds one in God. ACIM, 1:I:19
It is no coincidence that the radiance of a jewel has been described as an "inner fire." If you look closer, what is it that reflects that fire . . making the jewel shine and sparkle? Each individual facet.
Within this jewel is everything that it is. Within it, there is nothing that it is not. And each facet is perfectly in place, perpetually extending its unique part of the message to the observer. Oh yes, there is an Observer.
The Observer is my way of real-izing that even this jewel is not the whole. It is merely a reflection of the whole. This is the mystery of the One that we cannot grasp, and for which words do not do justice. My way of understanding this is that if I was meant to understand this mystery, I would. If I don't then it doesn't matter.
The symbol of the jewel represents, to me, a simple way of remembering who I AM. As a facet (or member of the jewel), I am part of the jewel, but cannot know the wholeness of the jewel. But no matter what I do not know, I am still part of the jewel. And as I follow my creation back to its Source, as I observe the deeper and deeper parts of my facet, it extends back to the center of the jewel. In this process I drop more and more of my individual facetness, and remember more and more of what it means to be the jewel itself.
When I was born onto this earth as the person that I am, as my spirit contracted in order to assume form, I chose to forget the wholeness. It would not fit into this existence. That does not mean that it was gone. Nothing that comes from the Source of all Life is ever "gone." Where would it go?
I looked around and, from my perspective, I realized I was a separate person. I became self-conscious through the recognition of other members of my society.
In my lifetimes I have struggled towards expanding that which had been contracted. With each expansion my awareness of Source grew and I began to, once again, occupy that space that was opened up by the expansion. At some point along the way the struggle became infused with acceptance, and then with awareness. I remember bit by bit, life-time by life-time, until, I am, once again, full of the space that I AM. And I have brought all of my sisters and brothers with me. I have re-membered.
This is what it means for me to be the "Tender of the Flame." I am holding the awareness for those who have not remembered their shine and sparkle at this time. It is my desire to extend the reflection of this flame into the hearts of all people, so the flickering warmth will serve as a gentle wake up reminder.
And so I whisper, "Beloved, come and join me by the fire. We will tend this flame together."
We shall not cease from our exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
- T.S. Elliot
Namaste . . .
Let me attend Your Answer, not my own. Father, my heart is beating in the peace the Heart of Love created. It is there and only there that I can be at home." ACIM, Pt.II, Lesson 267
My thought for today was presented to me in the form of the "Guardian of Fire." It tells me that this person is someone who quietly knows his or her own worth, and to remember that when the flame of creativity is shared, all benefit. And to remind myself that no single fire is every diminished by the light of another. That passions shared and combined can create a bonfire big enough to light up the entire sky.
It once again speaks to my purpose as a Presenter. I spark the creative fires in others, and present them to themselves as I tend to my own creative flame.
After I read this, I was drawn to a open A Course In Miracles to a certain page. The quote that opens this entry is what I presented to myself this morning as reinforcement. It also provides the perspective that I need in order to do the work. And help the world to save Its Only Son.
At the top of my blogger screen is a button. I have seen this button every day, and selected it over and over and over, but I never thought of this before . . .it says SAVE. And once I select that button, it says SAVED. That I see this today while contemplating this idea, is no coincidence. It serves as an awesome example of the power of our creativity and that we will find evidence of this everywhere, if we only look.
Another even more profound thought just hit me! As I work along, as I release the words that flow through my heart from my open portal to the Divine, the program AUTOMATICALLY SAVES.
Ekhart Tolle describes salvation in this manner, "True salvation is to know yourself as an inseparable part of the timeless and formless One Life from which all that exists derives its being." I love these words! His eloquence requires no elaboration.
I understand that I do not have to "do" anything in order to realize my salvation, or to save myself from the effects of the world. No act, or ritual, or words spoken, or external form of any-thing is required. I simply have to remember that I am part of the One. And I am automatically saved from my fearful vision of my lonely, small self. How exquisitely cool is that???
You may say, "People are always talking about this "remembering!" I don't understand it! I may learn something new but to say that I am remembering . . .it is just an interesting idea to me. And when I say it, I am just repeating words that I read in a book, or read here. I just don't get it!
Okay. I hear what you are saying. At this moment I am remembering how to explain it, so it makes sense to me. I think of it like this . . .We are all part of a magnificent collective. As a concept, each and every human is at once an individual, as well as being part of the multiplicity that is the whole human race. The idea of humanity as a whole is something we can understand. In this case the whole is made up of the sum if its parts.
We can use the word "whole" here conceptually. We understand that this is a limited viewpoint when it comes to our understanding of the One. Whereas we can never truly grasp the totality of the One, we can understand the concept from this perspective.
We are facets of a magnificent jewel. Each facet has unique formation that identifies it as part of the jewel. This formation is our individuality. When you think of a jewel in all of its splendour, it shines and sparkles with a radiant fire that seems lit from inside.
It is the miracle extending from it . . in infinite delight. We recoginze this miracle. Miracles make minds one in God. ACIM, 1:I:19
It is no coincidence that the radiance of a jewel has been described as an "inner fire." If you look closer, what is it that reflects that fire . . making the jewel shine and sparkle? Each individual facet.
Within this jewel is everything that it is. Within it, there is nothing that it is not. And each facet is perfectly in place, perpetually extending its unique part of the message to the observer. Oh yes, there is an Observer.
The Observer is my way of real-izing that even this jewel is not the whole. It is merely a reflection of the whole. This is the mystery of the One that we cannot grasp, and for which words do not do justice. My way of understanding this is that if I was meant to understand this mystery, I would. If I don't then it doesn't matter.
The symbol of the jewel represents, to me, a simple way of remembering who I AM. As a facet (or member of the jewel), I am part of the jewel, but cannot know the wholeness of the jewel. But no matter what I do not know, I am still part of the jewel. And as I follow my creation back to its Source, as I observe the deeper and deeper parts of my facet, it extends back to the center of the jewel. In this process I drop more and more of my individual facetness, and remember more and more of what it means to be the jewel itself.
When I was born onto this earth as the person that I am, as my spirit contracted in order to assume form, I chose to forget the wholeness. It would not fit into this existence. That does not mean that it was gone. Nothing that comes from the Source of all Life is ever "gone." Where would it go?
I looked around and, from my perspective, I realized I was a separate person. I became self-conscious through the recognition of other members of my society.
In my lifetimes I have struggled towards expanding that which had been contracted. With each expansion my awareness of Source grew and I began to, once again, occupy that space that was opened up by the expansion. At some point along the way the struggle became infused with acceptance, and then with awareness. I remember bit by bit, life-time by life-time, until, I am, once again, full of the space that I AM. And I have brought all of my sisters and brothers with me. I have re-membered.
This is what it means for me to be the "Tender of the Flame." I am holding the awareness for those who have not remembered their shine and sparkle at this time. It is my desire to extend the reflection of this flame into the hearts of all people, so the flickering warmth will serve as a gentle wake up reminder.
And so I whisper, "Beloved, come and join me by the fire. We will tend this flame together."
We shall not cease from our exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
- T.S. Elliot
Namaste . . .
Love is both the courage to hold on and to let go.
Love is both the wisdom to say yes and to say no.
Unconditional Love is never weakness, but the greatest strength of the soul.
______________________________
“Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility; for it thinks all things lawful for itself, and all things possible.” ~ Thomas Kempis
God is you and you ARE God!
God is Life and Life is God!
To Love and serve you is to Love and serve God!
To Love and serve Life is to Love and serve God!
If you are not loving and serving yourself and all that is Life, you are not loving and serving all that is God!
You are not infinite Soul bound in finite flesh, you are finite flesh unbound in infinite Soul!
Love makes us limitless...
_________________________
“...when we finally know we are dying, and all other sentient beings are dying with us, we start to have a burning, almost heartbreaking sense of the fragility and preciousness of each moment and each being, and from this can grow a deep, clear, limitless compassion for all beings.” ~ Sogyal Rinpoche
I would like to share with you a deeply inspirational book, The Power of Shakti: 18 Pathways to Ignite the Energy of the Divine Woman, by Padma Aon Prakasha. I highly recommend it for those of us who wish to lay aside all of the myths and cultural limitations and intense pain that surrounds the feminine, and embrace our power as women.
It does not exclude men, however. As a man, Padma Aon Prakasha writes with a brilliance that is all inclusive. In order to be balanced, a man must embrace his feminine side. He can do this simply for himself (which in turn, helps all humankind), or he can enter into the intimate dance that happens when he assists his partner to find herself, or himself, whichever the case may be. No "body", no soul that is alive on this planet, is excluded from the energy of Shakti.
We are female, and we are male, in a glorious explosion of diversity and exhuberance!!
I am particularly moved by a portion of it that I will make reference to here. As we move along in our discovery of ourselves, we enter deeper and deeper into what it means to be female, and what the symbolism that surrounds the female parts has to reveal. It is sensual, sexual and spiritual all at once. It can be unnerving to those of us who have spent a lifetime resisting the embrace of our femininity. We resist because it seems more acceptable to be seen as strong and capable (translation: be a smaller version of a man), as able to work and compete and "to run with the big dogs," (these being men), and to embrace our intellectual, analytical side (the yang, or male aspect of the psyche) to the neglect of our yin, or softer, feminine side.
Conversely, we have accepted a version of the female that does in no way threaten the potency of a "real" man, the way most of the world still embodies him. Even though we have "come a long way, baby," we still see the frivolous, narcissistic, shoe hugging woman who is frightened of her own shadow as what society accepts, and so we strive to invent ourselves in that image.
Those of us who step up to the plate, showing up as our authentic selves - strong and resilient, assertive and independent are sometimes considered tomboys, or give much more degrading labels, even by those of our own sex. The most challenging aspect of life for a strong female is to find a counterpart that can accept and celebrate her as the Goddess that she is. Thank God for a genuinely strong partner when you find one! I do every day!
Reality is that we still have a long way to go in order for the entire world to embrace the Divine Woman. What we need is prayer and tireless striving to bring as much light onto the planet as each one of us possibly can, and to gather and combine our energies so as to raise the vibration of the Mother exponentially.
As you progress deeper into the book, you enter what has been termed as the "Seventh Gate." The Seventh Gate is the infinite well of Divine Consciousness, and the Holy Grail where "everything stops and revels in the deep silence before creation." One of the female contributors to the book writes:
"This is the divine secret that has been lost to humanity and has resulted in their intense separation. If all could accept, hear, and practice this knowledge, all would feel themselves pulled along towards God on this ever upward spinning spiral of giving and receiving. This beautiful journey is the key to your homecoming, and yet you are the one's who chose not only to ignore it, but to forget it was ever possible. (TA)"
What I have highlighted above is the most wonderful way of describing our need to return to God that I have ever read in my life! No-one has put it more eloquently! The upward spinning spiral of giving and receiving is something we all can visualize and has been part of many cultures' spiritual practices. My artist friend, Maggie, uses the spiral in this manner in her paintings, and when you see her work you cannot help but be moved, as they are Divinely inspired.
Meditation, as in all aspects of inner work, is the key. The retreat that is within is the most profound, the homecoming the most joyful, and the silence within its hallowed halls deeply sacred.
Inspiration for my newest song came from reading this book. It is called. . . .tenderize. . . .and is a call to everyone who hears it that NOW is the time for selfless compassion for yourself, for kindness as you work through all of your errors and missteps, and to chose to look on yourself in the mirror with tender eyes. It is giving yourself that "soft place to fall" that Dr. Phil so eloquently speaks of.
Tenderize your life. Listen to the negative talk with which you bludgeon yourself each day. Express gratitude for your ability to discern what is good for you, and take it to your heart. Listen appreciatively and discern what is not serving you, and let that go with love.
Do not give self depreciation any more of your time or energy. You, your spirit, your very life!!! is precious and Divine. Send yourself some love. Send yourself a whole lot of love. And you will begin to free the power of the Divine Woman in you.
Its time . . . . to tenderize
To look on her with tender eyes
To know that she's a lady
And to give that lady . . . . Love
song by PDT
luv ya . . . .
It does not exclude men, however. As a man, Padma Aon Prakasha writes with a brilliance that is all inclusive. In order to be balanced, a man must embrace his feminine side. He can do this simply for himself (which in turn, helps all humankind), or he can enter into the intimate dance that happens when he assists his partner to find herself, or himself, whichever the case may be. No "body", no soul that is alive on this planet, is excluded from the energy of Shakti.
We are female, and we are male, in a glorious explosion of diversity and exhuberance!!
I am particularly moved by a portion of it that I will make reference to here. As we move along in our discovery of ourselves, we enter deeper and deeper into what it means to be female, and what the symbolism that surrounds the female parts has to reveal. It is sensual, sexual and spiritual all at once. It can be unnerving to those of us who have spent a lifetime resisting the embrace of our femininity. We resist because it seems more acceptable to be seen as strong and capable (translation: be a smaller version of a man), as able to work and compete and "to run with the big dogs," (these being men), and to embrace our intellectual, analytical side (the yang, or male aspect of the psyche) to the neglect of our yin, or softer, feminine side.
Conversely, we have accepted a version of the female that does in no way threaten the potency of a "real" man, the way most of the world still embodies him. Even though we have "come a long way, baby," we still see the frivolous, narcissistic, shoe hugging woman who is frightened of her own shadow as what society accepts, and so we strive to invent ourselves in that image.
Those of us who step up to the plate, showing up as our authentic selves - strong and resilient, assertive and independent are sometimes considered tomboys, or give much more degrading labels, even by those of our own sex. The most challenging aspect of life for a strong female is to find a counterpart that can accept and celebrate her as the Goddess that she is. Thank God for a genuinely strong partner when you find one! I do every day!
Reality is that we still have a long way to go in order for the entire world to embrace the Divine Woman. What we need is prayer and tireless striving to bring as much light onto the planet as each one of us possibly can, and to gather and combine our energies so as to raise the vibration of the Mother exponentially.
As you progress deeper into the book, you enter what has been termed as the "Seventh Gate." The Seventh Gate is the infinite well of Divine Consciousness, and the Holy Grail where "everything stops and revels in the deep silence before creation." One of the female contributors to the book writes:
"This is the divine secret that has been lost to humanity and has resulted in their intense separation. If all could accept, hear, and practice this knowledge, all would feel themselves pulled along towards God on this ever upward spinning spiral of giving and receiving. This beautiful journey is the key to your homecoming, and yet you are the one's who chose not only to ignore it, but to forget it was ever possible. (TA)"
What I have highlighted above is the most wonderful way of describing our need to return to God that I have ever read in my life! No-one has put it more eloquently! The upward spinning spiral of giving and receiving is something we all can visualize and has been part of many cultures' spiritual practices. My artist friend, Maggie, uses the spiral in this manner in her paintings, and when you see her work you cannot help but be moved, as they are Divinely inspired.
Meditation, as in all aspects of inner work, is the key. The retreat that is within is the most profound, the homecoming the most joyful, and the silence within its hallowed halls deeply sacred.
Inspiration for my newest song came from reading this book. It is called. . . .tenderize. . . .and is a call to everyone who hears it that NOW is the time for selfless compassion for yourself, for kindness as you work through all of your errors and missteps, and to chose to look on yourself in the mirror with tender eyes. It is giving yourself that "soft place to fall" that Dr. Phil so eloquently speaks of.
Tenderize your life. Listen to the negative talk with which you bludgeon yourself each day. Express gratitude for your ability to discern what is good for you, and take it to your heart. Listen appreciatively and discern what is not serving you, and let that go with love.
Do not give self depreciation any more of your time or energy. You, your spirit, your very life!!! is precious and Divine. Send yourself some love. Send yourself a whole lot of love. And you will begin to free the power of the Divine Woman in you.
Its time . . . . to tenderize
To look on her with tender eyes
To know that she's a lady
And to give that lady . . . . Love
song by PDT
luv ya . . . .
Are we one?
Is Life a miracle?
Are we created from Love?
Ask the newborn babe who has slipped from Mother's womb and rests gently, protected in her arms, warmed upon her bosom, suckling milk from her breast.
Are we one?
Is Life a miracle?
Are we created from Love?
The newborn's answer as you look into the eyes of its innocent soul I believe would be, YES!
We are all newborn once...
___________________________
“A baby is God's opinion that life should go on. Never will a time come when the most marvelous recent invention is as marvelous as a newborn baby. The finest of our precision watches, the most super-colossal of our supercargo planes don't compare with a newborn baby in the number and ingenuity of coils and springs, in the flow and change of chemical solutions, in timing devises and interrelated parts that are irreplaceable.” ~ Carl Sandburg
Once upon a time there was a very wise child who was born in a town built to close to a very high cliff that was crumbling into the sea far below. As soon as the child could speak she began telling all the townsfolk of their peril, but they just smiled and patted her gently on the head saying, "Oh what a cute and precocious little girl". This angered the little girl greatly, as she feared for the lives of her beloved townsfolk.
Then houses starting falling into the sea and the wise little child would show them, "See I told you! Now look those are your shattered homes far below.", but the townsfolk would just rebuild on the new edge of the crumbling cliff. So afraid of change were they that could not see the path would lead them to a new, beautiful and sustainable land just beyond the horizon. This broke the little child's heart, for now she feared that she may not able to save her beloved townsfolk from themselves.
Tears streamed from the little girls eyes, splashing off the rocks and glistening like gold in the sun. This gave the wise little child and brilliant idea rather than telling them must leave which they didn't not hear or showing them which blinded by their fear they could not see, she would become the way that would lead them to their new home beyond the horizon.
So without saying a word or pointing to the smashed ruins of their homes, the wise little child laid down in the center of town and turned into a golden, shimmering, road that sparkled in the sun far beyond the distant horizon. Slowly, one by one the wise little child's beloved townsfolk began to follow the golden road to the paradise that was beyond the horizon, that would be their new home.
You can tell people of the power of Love and they may not listen... you can show people the power of Love and they may not see... but when you become Love, you become that which people will seek to BE!
________________________________________
“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” ~ Albert Einstein
“A good example is the best sermon.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
“Example is leadership.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
Then houses starting falling into the sea and the wise little child would show them, "See I told you! Now look those are your shattered homes far below.", but the townsfolk would just rebuild on the new edge of the crumbling cliff. So afraid of change were they that could not see the path would lead them to a new, beautiful and sustainable land just beyond the horizon. This broke the little child's heart, for now she feared that she may not able to save her beloved townsfolk from themselves.
Tears streamed from the little girls eyes, splashing off the rocks and glistening like gold in the sun. This gave the wise little child and brilliant idea rather than telling them must leave which they didn't not hear or showing them which blinded by their fear they could not see, she would become the way that would lead them to their new home beyond the horizon.
So without saying a word or pointing to the smashed ruins of their homes, the wise little child laid down in the center of town and turned into a golden, shimmering, road that sparkled in the sun far beyond the distant horizon. Slowly, one by one the wise little child's beloved townsfolk began to follow the golden road to the paradise that was beyond the horizon, that would be their new home.
You can tell people of the power of Love and they may not listen... you can show people the power of Love and they may not see... but when you become Love, you become that which people will seek to BE!
________________________________________
“Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” ~ Albert Einstein
“A good example is the best sermon.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
“Example is leadership.” ~ Albert Schweitzer
When you survive in fear, Life is experienced as scarcity, struggle, a curse!
When you live in Love, Life is experienced as abundance, surrender, a miracle.
Look around yourself, take it all in, the fertile, beautiful earth beneath your feet, the infinite, awe inspiring heavens above your head and ask yourself how can this existence BE in truth, witnessed as anything other than miraculous?
______________________________
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ Buddha
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?” ~ Henry David Thoreau
“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein
“I am the miracle." ~ Buddha
War and peace are flip sides of the coin of unconditional Love. One side shows that we are willing to give Life, to supposedly protect the lives of some and the other shows that we must never be willing to take Life, to absolutely preserve the lives of all.
One side is born in the fearful, impotent, finite consciousness of man and the other is born of the loving, omnipotent, infinite consciousness of God.
Ask yourself which side is which and then ask yourself which master we in truth serve.
The coin is in the air... call it NOW!
Heads we/Life all win... tails we/Life all lose!
With Love, Kip Baldwin
_______________________________________
“War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“All war must be just the killing of strangers against whom you feel no personal animosity; strangers whom, in other circumstances, you would help if you found them in trouble, and who would help you if you needed it” ~ Mark Twain
One side is born in the fearful, impotent, finite consciousness of man and the other is born of the loving, omnipotent, infinite consciousness of God.
Ask yourself which side is which and then ask yourself which master we in truth serve.
The coin is in the air... call it NOW!
Heads we/Life all win... tails we/Life all lose!
With Love, Kip Baldwin
_______________________________________
“War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
“All war must be just the killing of strangers against whom you feel no personal animosity; strangers whom, in other circumstances, you would help if you found them in trouble, and who would help you if you needed it” ~ Mark Twain
As a singer/songwriter who has not yet learned to play an instrument at the performance level, it has been one of my challenges to find a gifted, dedicated guitarist with whom to collaborate and to share ideas and inspiration.
In my search I have been directed to a group of guitarists who were holding jams on Wednesday nights at a local eatery, Isaac's Way, here in Fredericton.
Last week I went down to their jam, and was invited to sing one of my songs, called The Fiddle Player's Love. It was a song that I wrote in honor of my Father-in-law.
One of the guitarists spoke to me through his music. Through his guitar strings I could hear his peaceful, gentle soul. I am inspired by such things.
I am also deeply compassionate about the healing of the world's peoples and am particularly empathetic with the plight of the Syrian people at this time, and the suffering those ordinary children, women and men are facing.
My inspiration from this guitarist, combined with my compassion for my Syrian brothers and sisters have allowed for a new song to emerge. Like every time I enter into the creative Flow, I am delighted with this new message from our Creator.
I sent it to this musician (an acapella mp3 as well as the lyrics) and he was delighted was well.
We hope to get together and perform it soon. However, we have encountered a snag. The venue, Isaac's Way, burned to the ground the weekend after I visited the jam. Go figure!!
Now his group is looking for a new meeting place, a new jam spot. I am holding the vision that they find one soon, because the song is ready to be sung.
In our combined efforts and love for the healing of the Mother and Her peoples, I would like to share with you the lyrics of this song. They seem appropriate.
Wintersleep
There’s a mist upon the water
Slowly rising with the sun
Swirling pictures read like stories
Of wars both lost and won
Here’s the message in a bottle
It’s my brother’s soul I keep
Take my hand, talk me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep
There’s a storm upon the desert
Tried to make our love BE still
But there’s no hope in trying
‘Cause we know it never will
Through our mourning . . .in the morning
One voice rises from the deep
Take my hand, and love me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
When so many peace-filled voices
Join in singing out our song
All our naked jubilation!!!!
In the name of those long gone
I can hear their sweetened voices
It’s become my song to keep
Take my hand, and I’ll help you through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
There’s a peace upon the water
In the winter of these times
Simply sent from all for FREEDOM
Like a sacred lullaby
I can hear those sweetened voices
It’s become my song to keep
Take my hand and lead me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
With forgiveness as my story
And my song a song of . . . peace
Take my hand, and love me darlin’
Wake me from my wintersleep.
O’ forgive me, my sweet darlin’
Wake me from my wintersleep.
. . . Namaste . . .
In my search I have been directed to a group of guitarists who were holding jams on Wednesday nights at a local eatery, Isaac's Way, here in Fredericton.
Last week I went down to their jam, and was invited to sing one of my songs, called The Fiddle Player's Love. It was a song that I wrote in honor of my Father-in-law.
One of the guitarists spoke to me through his music. Through his guitar strings I could hear his peaceful, gentle soul. I am inspired by such things.
I am also deeply compassionate about the healing of the world's peoples and am particularly empathetic with the plight of the Syrian people at this time, and the suffering those ordinary children, women and men are facing.
My inspiration from this guitarist, combined with my compassion for my Syrian brothers and sisters have allowed for a new song to emerge. Like every time I enter into the creative Flow, I am delighted with this new message from our Creator.
I sent it to this musician (an acapella mp3 as well as the lyrics) and he was delighted was well.
We hope to get together and perform it soon. However, we have encountered a snag. The venue, Isaac's Way, burned to the ground the weekend after I visited the jam. Go figure!!
Now his group is looking for a new meeting place, a new jam spot. I am holding the vision that they find one soon, because the song is ready to be sung.
In our combined efforts and love for the healing of the Mother and Her peoples, I would like to share with you the lyrics of this song. They seem appropriate.
Wintersleep
There’s a mist upon the water
Slowly rising with the sun
Swirling pictures read like stories
Of wars both lost and won
Here’s the message in a bottle
It’s my brother’s soul I keep
Take my hand, talk me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep
There’s a storm upon the desert
Tried to make our love BE still
But there’s no hope in trying
‘Cause we know it never will
Through our mourning . . .in the morning
One voice rises from the deep
Take my hand, and love me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
When so many peace-filled voices
Join in singing out our song
All our naked jubilation!!!!
In the name of those long gone
I can hear their sweetened voices
It’s become my song to keep
Take my hand, and I’ll help you through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
There’s a peace upon the water
In the winter of these times
Simply sent from all for FREEDOM
Like a sacred lullaby
I can hear those sweetened voices
It’s become my song to keep
Take my hand and lead me through it
Wake me from my wintersleep.
With forgiveness as my story
And my song a song of . . . peace
Take my hand, and love me darlin’
Wake me from my wintersleep.
O’ forgive me, my sweet darlin’
Wake me from my wintersleep.
. . . Namaste . . .
Today is a sad day for the world's peoples.
I have been forever changed by the actions of one small 14 yr old Pakistani girl - shot in the head by people who would try to silence her and destroy her chances and the chances of so many young girls from having an education.
I am in awe of her love!! What an awesome, elegant, giving Spirit to be such an example for the world, and to be such a catalyst for change!! I have heard that the public outcry and the outpouring of love and concern for her are unprecidented in Pakistan. THIS has been the last straw for her countrymen and women. Without her example, perhaps the changes that will come as a result of her story may never have happened.
All of my love is with her and her family.
I was watching an American tv show (Anderson Live) and was taken aback by the incendental coverage of her attempted murder by the Taliban (I am reticent to even capitalize that word) and then to bring on a segment, right on its heels, about a purse that is made out of a hoola hoop.
I have to applaud Anderson for mentioning it - he did say that it did not get a lot of coverage in the US . . .it did in Canada, at least what I had listened to on CBC radio. It makes me wonder about the focus of his show this season . . .I certainly prefer his investigative CNN type projects.
I do not listen to news broadcasts for a reason, and this is one of them. Drama and sensationalism sells, and people want to know about Kenny Rogers' 5 marriages and what Anderson's co-host is wearing.
What does that say about our civilization? About our maturity?
As I worked today I listened to CBC radio and I have also been following the Lance Armstrong scandal.
Lance Armstrong is the reason that my husband and I got into road biking. We both saw him as a true hero. Not just an American hero, but a hero for anyone who wanted more from their life; anyone who had ever felt the triumph of overcoming adversity and sickness.
Am I disenchanted? Well, it is like this. I guess I am a bit, however, it did make me think about what a hero truly is and represents to me in my life.
Lance Armstrong is just a man. He is an athlete, for sure, and his popularity was achieved by many many hours in the very painful saddle of a road bike. He put in his time and paid his dues.
He is also a survivor. That cannot be taken away from him. He did what he needed to do to survive and has become an example for every cancer victim to see themselves as not a victim, but a triumphant survivor. To all of those dealing with this dis-ease, please, please do not let this speed bump in Lance's life make you question your belief in him. He has survived and will survive this as well. I am holding the vision that you will too, just like Lance.
I see it like this, an athlete (even a gifted one) is simply an athlete among many until something sets him or her apart. Once they get the notariety and begin to get publicity, the pressure on this one individual soul becomes overwhelming. It can change a person's goals and perspective, in the face of such expectations. I think this not only happened to Lance, but happens to athletes each and every day.
I am not trivializing what he has done. I understand and support the laws of this world and of the international athletic community . . .and he will be held accountable.
Please Lance, for all of those who believe in you for the man that you are, not the athlete that you were, if the allegations are not true, then please continue to deny them. It is not up to anyone to crucify you for something you did not do. No-one has that right. However, if they are true, be a man of integrity and own up to them.
All day long I have been contemplating what makes a hero in my estimation. Is it the national hero, an road warrior who makes headlines and makes his country proud? One of the only reasons that the Tour de France was broadcast in North America was because of Lance Armstrong. It has been held since 1903, and for decades we had the technology to have it come into our homes via television, but it did not until Lance began to win the Tour.
Or, is it Lance, the man, who faced his cancer with the spirit of that road warrior and hit the road . . .hard . . .and got up and got back on his bike?
Or is it the girl, who even in the face of grown men following her every move and threatening her with certain death, continued to pursue her highest ideals and be an example of what it truly means to stand in the face of adversity?
I have not faced the threat of death from cancer or from a bullet. I don't know how I would react.
Regardless of my experience, the example of these two people will always be my benchmark for courage.
We, as a global community, have much healing to do. Each wound suffered by a brother or sister is our wound. I believe that we present to ourselves those experiences with which we can feel and heal the deep dis-ease that we as a community have come into this life to overcome. I also believe that only actions in line with Love will truly change things.
So with only a loving intention in our minds, how can we approach this? What does our Creator prompt us to do?
If we allow an abuser to go on abusing, what does that say about us?
Do we believe in and support a system that brings to account the integrity of its citizens, especially, most especially, when it is a path of their own choosing?
How large is our circle of influence? Whose lives can we touch with our compassion and loving intention?
Who are your heroes?
I have been forever changed by the actions of one small 14 yr old Pakistani girl - shot in the head by people who would try to silence her and destroy her chances and the chances of so many young girls from having an education.
I am in awe of her love!! What an awesome, elegant, giving Spirit to be such an example for the world, and to be such a catalyst for change!! I have heard that the public outcry and the outpouring of love and concern for her are unprecidented in Pakistan. THIS has been the last straw for her countrymen and women. Without her example, perhaps the changes that will come as a result of her story may never have happened.
All of my love is with her and her family.
I was watching an American tv show (Anderson Live) and was taken aback by the incendental coverage of her attempted murder by the Taliban (I am reticent to even capitalize that word) and then to bring on a segment, right on its heels, about a purse that is made out of a hoola hoop.
I have to applaud Anderson for mentioning it - he did say that it did not get a lot of coverage in the US . . .it did in Canada, at least what I had listened to on CBC radio. It makes me wonder about the focus of his show this season . . .I certainly prefer his investigative CNN type projects.
I do not listen to news broadcasts for a reason, and this is one of them. Drama and sensationalism sells, and people want to know about Kenny Rogers' 5 marriages and what Anderson's co-host is wearing.
What does that say about our civilization? About our maturity?
As I worked today I listened to CBC radio and I have also been following the Lance Armstrong scandal.
Lance Armstrong is the reason that my husband and I got into road biking. We both saw him as a true hero. Not just an American hero, but a hero for anyone who wanted more from their life; anyone who had ever felt the triumph of overcoming adversity and sickness.
Am I disenchanted? Well, it is like this. I guess I am a bit, however, it did make me think about what a hero truly is and represents to me in my life.
Lance Armstrong is just a man. He is an athlete, for sure, and his popularity was achieved by many many hours in the very painful saddle of a road bike. He put in his time and paid his dues.
He is also a survivor. That cannot be taken away from him. He did what he needed to do to survive and has become an example for every cancer victim to see themselves as not a victim, but a triumphant survivor. To all of those dealing with this dis-ease, please, please do not let this speed bump in Lance's life make you question your belief in him. He has survived and will survive this as well. I am holding the vision that you will too, just like Lance.
I see it like this, an athlete (even a gifted one) is simply an athlete among many until something sets him or her apart. Once they get the notariety and begin to get publicity, the pressure on this one individual soul becomes overwhelming. It can change a person's goals and perspective, in the face of such expectations. I think this not only happened to Lance, but happens to athletes each and every day.
I am not trivializing what he has done. I understand and support the laws of this world and of the international athletic community . . .and he will be held accountable.
Please Lance, for all of those who believe in you for the man that you are, not the athlete that you were, if the allegations are not true, then please continue to deny them. It is not up to anyone to crucify you for something you did not do. No-one has that right. However, if they are true, be a man of integrity and own up to them.
All day long I have been contemplating what makes a hero in my estimation. Is it the national hero, an road warrior who makes headlines and makes his country proud? One of the only reasons that the Tour de France was broadcast in North America was because of Lance Armstrong. It has been held since 1903, and for decades we had the technology to have it come into our homes via television, but it did not until Lance began to win the Tour.
Or, is it Lance, the man, who faced his cancer with the spirit of that road warrior and hit the road . . .hard . . .and got up and got back on his bike?
Or is it the girl, who even in the face of grown men following her every move and threatening her with certain death, continued to pursue her highest ideals and be an example of what it truly means to stand in the face of adversity?
I have not faced the threat of death from cancer or from a bullet. I don't know how I would react.
Regardless of my experience, the example of these two people will always be my benchmark for courage.
We, as a global community, have much healing to do. Each wound suffered by a brother or sister is our wound. I believe that we present to ourselves those experiences with which we can feel and heal the deep dis-ease that we as a community have come into this life to overcome. I also believe that only actions in line with Love will truly change things.
So with only a loving intention in our minds, how can we approach this? What does our Creator prompt us to do?
If we allow an abuser to go on abusing, what does that say about us?
Do we believe in and support a system that brings to account the integrity of its citizens, especially, most especially, when it is a path of their own choosing?
How large is our circle of influence? Whose lives can we touch with our compassion and loving intention?
Who are your heroes?
Between 1999 and 2002 whilst we were running the original One Vision Virtual Community I received over a hundred "Letters From God" which are being loaded up on my blog - you can visit it by clicking HERE.
The day that Mike was first contacted by one of the "Soul Bunnies, we were discussing things, and I received this :-
"What is our purpose, our aim, our goal, our Soul's deepest desire ? To become clear and pure channels through which God's qualities can be expressed on Earth. We are God's Heart and Arms, to love and comfort others. We are God's Wsdom and Intelligence to guide and assist others on their way Home to God. We are here to serve others, to lose our small selves and become a greater Self, collectively. To bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth., as a reality.
Love and Forgiveness are the keys. We are all perfectly imperfect, but striving daily to achieve greater understanding, greater clarity, greater wisdom. To be more of God, in love kindness, goodness, patience, compassion - to demonstrate that we are Children of The Most High.
Freely forgive those who make mistakes, who " miss the mark ", for they know not what they do. How can we love God, who we can't see, if we don't love our brother who we can see ?
Every adversity has within it the seed of greater opportunity. We have been given now the opportunity to BE more than we already are, to grow and to expand in consciousness, to love more, to serve more, and be the Source for thers who are lost and afraid. Let us all welcome this opportunity with open hearts, open minds and open arms, and embrace all that lies ahead with heartfelt gratitude tood, for giving us the opportunity to serve Him better.Let us gather together as ONE so that God's Love and Power may be magnified greatly through us.
To serve our brothers and sisters across the world is what we are here to do. The love in our hearts moves us ever upward, to manifest this love in real and practical ways, so that we may help others come Home to God, and join with us as we go forward into a new and brighter future for all mankind.
Thank you God, for this invitation, for this opportunity to love You, and serve You all our days, so that we may bring honour and glory to your name.
The day that Mike was first contacted by one of the "Soul Bunnies, we were discussing things, and I received this :-
"What is our purpose, our aim, our goal, our Soul's deepest desire ? To become clear and pure channels through which God's qualities can be expressed on Earth. We are God's Heart and Arms, to love and comfort others. We are God's Wsdom and Intelligence to guide and assist others on their way Home to God. We are here to serve others, to lose our small selves and become a greater Self, collectively. To bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth., as a reality.
Love and Forgiveness are the keys. We are all perfectly imperfect, but striving daily to achieve greater understanding, greater clarity, greater wisdom. To be more of God, in love kindness, goodness, patience, compassion - to demonstrate that we are Children of The Most High.
Freely forgive those who make mistakes, who " miss the mark ", for they know not what they do. How can we love God, who we can't see, if we don't love our brother who we can see ?
Every adversity has within it the seed of greater opportunity. We have been given now the opportunity to BE more than we already are, to grow and to expand in consciousness, to love more, to serve more, and be the Source for thers who are lost and afraid. Let us all welcome this opportunity with open hearts, open minds and open arms, and embrace all that lies ahead with heartfelt gratitude tood, for giving us the opportunity to serve Him better.Let us gather together as ONE so that God's Love and Power may be magnified greatly through us.
To serve our brothers and sisters across the world is what we are here to do. The love in our hearts moves us ever upward, to manifest this love in real and practical ways, so that we may help others come Home to God, and join with us as we go forward into a new and brighter future for all mankind.
Thank you God, for this invitation, for this opportunity to love You, and serve You all our days, so that we may bring honour and glory to your name.
I am sitting here, in front of a blank screen, immersed in a most interesting part of the creative process. I have nothing to say.
I am at a loss for words, because I am feeling. A feeling cannot be truly conveyed through words.
This is an exciting point in my life. I am actually manifesting my dreams! They are becoming real right before my eyes, and all that I have to do is reach out and accept them. For this I am overwhelmingly grateful.
I have just thought of what the word grateful actually means if it is broken down. Great-full. What would we be acknowledging if it were not for the gifts with which we have been bestowed? I am aware that each word holds such resonant magnificence. So do I. So do you. The words are just symbols for that which We Are.
I love my life :) I love the creative person that I AM. I delight in each day that I am alive! And I wish to share that delight with everyone. Joy incites good will and what is the good of good will if it is kept to oneself?
Even when I was immersed in my darkest hours, I loved my life. Even when I could not see my way out of that darkness and was painfully groping around for a light switch, I have come to cherish each moment.
The manifestation of my dream for my very best life does not hold the answers for you. I do not think that anybody else's dream is right for you to blindly follow. Regardless of how magnificent the dream, it is still a dream. It can, at best, be an example of what applying the abilities, memories and knowledge of that skilled dreamer can do for you.
Regardless of how many courses or workshops you take, how many books you read and how many questions you ask, the answers will always be, in the end, up to you to determine.
There are things I know, and there are things I don't know. For me, there were no 7 Easy Steps, or any politely packaged exams that "all I had to do" was pass in order to proceed. Nor do I, looking back, wish there were. That would have made the process entirely too predictable and that would have meant that someone or something else was the captain of my ship.
What I do know is this - simple and pure and easy to understand . . . because I desire it, each day I will know more and more. How do I know that? Because it happens. It is happening right now, as I write this.
I know I am great - full. As an extraordinary part of the great plan, my role is no less, or no more than my sister or my brother's. That is what makes it great.
How do we describe greatness in this world? Generally, it is considered the attribute of an individual who has the vision, the motivation, and the inner fortitude to impact the world in a great way. It is always about how it effects the collective. In a large, expansive way, a way that makes the rest of us want to step up and count ourselves in! We respond to that greatness. We know it.
I take great delight in being part of this magnificent collective! And when I feel that delight coming back to me, in a tangible, extraordinary manner, the only appropriate response is . . . gratefulness. I am confirming, once again, that I am filled.
We are all ordinary. We are human. We are born, we live for a while and then we pass on. We may come back and do it all over again. Every one of us have these experiences in common.
We are all extraordinary. Within those common experiences is a kaleidoscope of diversity, as varied as the snowflakes that fall silently through the deep night sky. If we look closely at those experiences, in a certain Light, each one . . . every one of them has infinite value and beauty.
Each one of those extraordinary experiences has melded together to create the wonderful aspect of our Creator that you see in the mirror - the being that looks out through your eyes and lives its life in concert with billions of others.
I am, like you, an ordinary person living an extraordinary life. It is the beauty within the kaleidoscope of my life that I wish to share with you. Those colors and shapes, I know, have been magnificently designed to blend with yours.
7 Easy Steps cannot compare.
I am at a loss for words, because I am feeling. A feeling cannot be truly conveyed through words.
This is an exciting point in my life. I am actually manifesting my dreams! They are becoming real right before my eyes, and all that I have to do is reach out and accept them. For this I am overwhelmingly grateful.
I have just thought of what the word grateful actually means if it is broken down. Great-full. What would we be acknowledging if it were not for the gifts with which we have been bestowed? I am aware that each word holds such resonant magnificence. So do I. So do you. The words are just symbols for that which We Are.
I love my life :) I love the creative person that I AM. I delight in each day that I am alive! And I wish to share that delight with everyone. Joy incites good will and what is the good of good will if it is kept to oneself?
Even when I was immersed in my darkest hours, I loved my life. Even when I could not see my way out of that darkness and was painfully groping around for a light switch, I have come to cherish each moment.
The manifestation of my dream for my very best life does not hold the answers for you. I do not think that anybody else's dream is right for you to blindly follow. Regardless of how magnificent the dream, it is still a dream. It can, at best, be an example of what applying the abilities, memories and knowledge of that skilled dreamer can do for you.
Regardless of how many courses or workshops you take, how many books you read and how many questions you ask, the answers will always be, in the end, up to you to determine.
There are things I know, and there are things I don't know. For me, there were no 7 Easy Steps, or any politely packaged exams that "all I had to do" was pass in order to proceed. Nor do I, looking back, wish there were. That would have made the process entirely too predictable and that would have meant that someone or something else was the captain of my ship.
What I do know is this - simple and pure and easy to understand . . . because I desire it, each day I will know more and more. How do I know that? Because it happens. It is happening right now, as I write this.
I know I am great - full. As an extraordinary part of the great plan, my role is no less, or no more than my sister or my brother's. That is what makes it great.
How do we describe greatness in this world? Generally, it is considered the attribute of an individual who has the vision, the motivation, and the inner fortitude to impact the world in a great way. It is always about how it effects the collective. In a large, expansive way, a way that makes the rest of us want to step up and count ourselves in! We respond to that greatness. We know it.
I take great delight in being part of this magnificent collective! And when I feel that delight coming back to me, in a tangible, extraordinary manner, the only appropriate response is . . . gratefulness. I am confirming, once again, that I am filled.
We are all ordinary. We are human. We are born, we live for a while and then we pass on. We may come back and do it all over again. Every one of us have these experiences in common.
We are all extraordinary. Within those common experiences is a kaleidoscope of diversity, as varied as the snowflakes that fall silently through the deep night sky. If we look closely at those experiences, in a certain Light, each one . . . every one of them has infinite value and beauty.
Each one of those extraordinary experiences has melded together to create the wonderful aspect of our Creator that you see in the mirror - the being that looks out through your eyes and lives its life in concert with billions of others.
I am, like you, an ordinary person living an extraordinary life. It is the beauty within the kaleidoscope of my life that I wish to share with you. Those colors and shapes, I know, have been magnificently designed to blend with yours.
7 Easy Steps cannot compare.
So began Charles Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities" written in 1859.
When future historians come to write about the early years of the 21st Century, perhaps they will find Dicken's words describe our current situation well .....
“May you live in interesting times”
Some sources suggest that the above words were an old Chinese curse – others suggest not – personally I don’t know, 2012 has sofar been very interesting indeed. It seems that in the months ahead not one, not two but three crises that have been developing for some time could actually overlap, and create one huge crisis for the human race.
John F Kennedy wrote that the Chinese word for crisis is made up of two characters, one meaning danger and one meaning opportunity. Personally I believe that this year offers a fantastic opportunity to create a whole new paradigm which would avert all three crises – if we avoid the danger of holding on too tight to the way of living that got us here in the first place. Can we change things ? The inspiring words of the late, great Bill Hicks might offer us a possible solution
Is life really "Just a ride ? " Who built the ride ? Are our minds really that powerful ? How can we stop those demons running amok ? Is there a point to the ride ? As Bill Hicks might have said, let's find a point ........
To be continued in "It's Just A Ride - Part Two"
Relax, "One Vision has no intention of starting a recipe page, and if it did I certainly wouldn't be the one writing it! My culinary skills are strictly limited to egg and chips.
Nor does this article have any connection with the kind of wild mushroom, which, (so I am led to believe) can induce mind altering hallucinations.
And yet, it was a simple dish of garlic mushrooms that paved the way for the experiences in the summer of 1990 which culminated in the top of my head being blown into orbit. Keen observers will note that whilst skin and bone returned immediately, much of the hair has never been seen since !
One lunchtime a colleague (a vegetarian) and myself were studying the menu at our local hostelry looking for something other than the inevitable "cheese and onion quiche and chips" usually reserved for vegetarians in those days.
"Do you like garlic mushrooms?" she asked. "No", was my quick response.
"So you never eat mushrooms then?", she countered. "Oh, yes!!", I said. "I love mushrooms"
"Then it's the garlic you don't like ?", she persisted. "That’s right, I don't like garlic" I replied.
I should point out that this lady was a Virgo, who probably learned her trade during the Spanish Inquisition.
"Have you ever tried it?" she countered triumphantly.
Now, I had to admit I hadn't. She suggested that we order two servings on the grounds that if I didn't like them, she could always eat them. For the next few minutes, the look of disappointment on her face grew, as having gingerly tasted the first mushroom; I proceeded to clear the plate. It is still one of my favourite dishes.
But how did this contribute to my spiritual awakening?
You will have heard it said that when you have a question, the answer might well be in the chance utterance of the next person you meet, or the words of the next song you hear. Or, maybe, both.
Now I had learned not to prejudge. And so if someone suggested that I listen to a song by Barry Manilow or Meatloaf, Cliff Richard or Martika, Lionel Ritchie or The Shamen, Gloria Estefan or Led Zeppelin, George Michael or Bette Midler, Freddie Mercury or Michael Ball, The Bachelors or D J Fresh, Take That or T'Pau. I would no longer say " But I don't like …."
It could be in the next book you read. Or the next conversation you have.
Does the very mention of the words "Christianity", or "Jesus" cause to you visualize born again bible thumpers?
Please don't overlook the wisdom in the simple teachings of the man from Galilee.
Does the mention of the words Pagan or Wiccan, cause you to visualize men and women dancing naked around a tree, before bonking each other stupid?
Please don't overlook the wisdom in the lore of these gentle people.
In the words of Cliff Richard, our own opinions can make us blind. The aim of One Vision is to encourage people to seek the common ground in all belief systems, whilst celebrating their own unique spirituality.
"I Believe" that we are "Phorever People" holding back "The Flood" and if we learn to "Listen Without Prejudice" it will soon be "Daybreak", and "Coming out of the Dark", we will "Heal The World" together, and if you will forgive my "Innuendo", "This Could Be Heaven for Everyone". "From A Distance", you look like my friend, and if we "Don't Give Up", we'll be "Keepin The Dream Alive". Our dreams are "China In Your Hands" , but it only takes "One Voice", to make a difference and maybe "You're The Voice".
"When Love Calls Your Name" and you add your voice to ours we are going to get "Louder" , and when you join in our "Mind Games", we'll harness "The Force Behind The Power". together.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join me, and the world will live as One. "Imagine" that!
"It's a Kinda Magic".
[This article first appeared in the "One Vision" magazine back in Autumn 1999. - I've updated it a little... and now of course you can listen to most these songs, and find the lyrics, online]
Nor does this article have any connection with the kind of wild mushroom, which, (so I am led to believe) can induce mind altering hallucinations.
And yet, it was a simple dish of garlic mushrooms that paved the way for the experiences in the summer of 1990 which culminated in the top of my head being blown into orbit. Keen observers will note that whilst skin and bone returned immediately, much of the hair has never been seen since !
One lunchtime a colleague (a vegetarian) and myself were studying the menu at our local hostelry looking for something other than the inevitable "cheese and onion quiche and chips" usually reserved for vegetarians in those days.
"Do you like garlic mushrooms?" she asked. "No", was my quick response.
"So you never eat mushrooms then?", she countered. "Oh, yes!!", I said. "I love mushrooms"
"Then it's the garlic you don't like ?", she persisted. "That’s right, I don't like garlic" I replied.
I should point out that this lady was a Virgo, who probably learned her trade during the Spanish Inquisition.
"Have you ever tried it?" she countered triumphantly.
Now, I had to admit I hadn't. She suggested that we order two servings on the grounds that if I didn't like them, she could always eat them. For the next few minutes, the look of disappointment on her face grew, as having gingerly tasted the first mushroom; I proceeded to clear the plate. It is still one of my favourite dishes.
But how did this contribute to my spiritual awakening?
You will have heard it said that when you have a question, the answer might well be in the chance utterance of the next person you meet, or the words of the next song you hear. Or, maybe, both.
Now I had learned not to prejudge. And so if someone suggested that I listen to a song by Barry Manilow or Meatloaf, Cliff Richard or Martika, Lionel Ritchie or The Shamen, Gloria Estefan or Led Zeppelin, George Michael or Bette Midler, Freddie Mercury or Michael Ball, The Bachelors or D J Fresh, Take That or T'Pau. I would no longer say " But I don't like …."
It could be in the next book you read. Or the next conversation you have.
Does the very mention of the words "Christianity", or "Jesus" cause to you visualize born again bible thumpers?
Please don't overlook the wisdom in the simple teachings of the man from Galilee.
Does the mention of the words Pagan or Wiccan, cause you to visualize men and women dancing naked around a tree, before bonking each other stupid?
Please don't overlook the wisdom in the lore of these gentle people.
In the words of Cliff Richard, our own opinions can make us blind. The aim of One Vision is to encourage people to seek the common ground in all belief systems, whilst celebrating their own unique spirituality.
"I Believe" that we are "Phorever People" holding back "The Flood" and if we learn to "Listen Without Prejudice" it will soon be "Daybreak", and "Coming out of the Dark", we will "Heal The World" together, and if you will forgive my "Innuendo", "This Could Be Heaven for Everyone". "From A Distance", you look like my friend, and if we "Don't Give Up", we'll be "Keepin The Dream Alive". Our dreams are "China In Your Hands" , but it only takes "One Voice", to make a difference and maybe "You're The Voice".
"When Love Calls Your Name" and you add your voice to ours we are going to get "Louder" , and when you join in our "Mind Games", we'll harness "The Force Behind The Power". together.
You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope some day you'll join me, and the world will live as One. "Imagine" that!
"It's a Kinda Magic".
[This article first appeared in the "One Vision" magazine back in Autumn 1999. - I've updated it a little... and now of course you can listen to most these songs, and find the lyrics, online]
Do not believe what you have heard.
Do not believe in tradition because it is handed down many generations.
Do not believe in anything that has been spoken of many times.
Do not believe because the written statements come from some old sage.
Do not believe in conjecture.
Do not believe in authority or teachers or elders.
But after careful observation and analysis, when it agrees with reason and it will benefit one and all, then accept it and live by it.
BUDDAH (563 B.C.-483 B.C.)
When I read this I cried.
I had never read this before. I am not that
familiar with the sacred writings of the Buddah. I was raised a Roman Catholic.
Eastern religion was always something that was exotic and foreign to me, and as
it turns out, it is something that I have come to resonate with deeply.
Sometimes it is a hard and lonely road when you
wake up and find yourself on that trek and it seems like you are alone. There
were many times I wondered, "Am I the only person that feels this way?"
I also wondered why I could not let well enough alone and accept the religion
of my ancestors. Why I had such an inquiring mind. Why I questioned everything.
Growing up, I always felt like a fish out of water.
Sometimes it would have been much easier to simply be content to swim with the
school, but that was not the way my life was playing out. I was different and
viewed things differently, and that, for the most part, was not acceptable in
my neck of the woods.
I never believed what I heard. There was always
something that a still silent part of me balked at accepting. I can remember
being in church on Good Friday and thinking that there is NO WAY that I would
ever have done that to Jesus. I was probably about 12. Even then I knew that
Love did not operate in that way.
I tried to fit in. I think that a lot of us try
very hard to fit in because we are so darn scared of what could happen if what
those folks are saying is true, even if there is just a remote chance of their
being right. We all err on the side of caution. The questions get suppressed
and the natural inclination to find satisfying answers get depressed. The
challenge to organized religion is to somehow live with the fear.
I do not believe in tradition simply because it is
old. It must stand up to the test. That test is God is Love. That is the only
test, and it is mine. God does not test me - that would not be Love.
Think about it. I have. Being all there is, what
would an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Being do with the test results?
And Being all there is, there is nothing that It is not. Who would It be
testing?
A thought came to me while in deep contemplation
that changed the course of my existence - just because someone or many
someones say something is true, does not make it true. A story is just a
story; it can be retold and retold and revised and remodeled until it looks
nothing like the original, and the original loving intention has then been
lost.
It is a sad statement that most religions teach
people to fear God. People ruled by fear become fearful. It is a natural
progression. And what you fear you cannot Love, no matter how much you say that
you do.
That still silent part of me I have come to know is
my Spirit. It is my Divine essence. What my Spirit had balked at accepting was
Its imprisonment.
My ego was strong and I resisted the call to freedom, but as I listened to my Spirit's call, my ego acquiesced in the face of Love. I renew that communion in daily practice by Being silent and listening.
This is what we are all called to do in this
eternal moment of Now. We are called to look deeply into the face of Love and
acquiesce . . .in quiet, perfect surrender. No more struggle, no more games . .
.questioning everything . . .with the only answer worth accepting is to the
question What would Love do?
Our ongoing dialogue is necessary and needed in
these tumultuous times. Fear and anxiety can cloud the face of our Creator as
it shines out in perfection through the eyes of our sisters and brothers.
You are not alone. Reach out to others . . .the God
in you will provide the feelings that, once extended, will return to you what
is your true essence. . LOVE. You are One with your Creator and with everyOne.
Let’s talk about it, my friends . . .
Like everything else in the Universe, "One Vision" began as an idea.
Jan has known since she was four years old that she had a job to do this time around. She was a messenger, and her job was to bring people back to God. Not the wrathful, vengeful God, beloved of mainstream religion, but the kind, supportive "fatherly" God of whom Jesus taught. Throughout her life, despite many trials and tribulations, God has been her consistent source of strength and courage.
By contrast, I was a belated, and somewhat reluctant conscript. After a strict Methodist upbringing, I rebelled, and by the age of 42 I had settled into a comfortable, if somewhat repetitive routine. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Go to bed. Pay the bills each month.
In the summer of 1990 I began my own "conversation with God". I had reached a point in my life where, to quote the words of Barry Manilow, "it was all very nice, but not very well". Increasingly frustrated, I asked the question : "Is this all there is to life ?? Surely there has to be more ???" And God answered : " Well, yes, if this is all you to choose to see, then this is all there is !! But if you only open your eyes, and stopped being so wrapped up in your own little dramas, then you will find that there is so much more to life !"
I suppose He could have said. "Stop being such a self-centred bastard !" In fact SHE did. Through the mouth of my travelling companion, a young lady half my age. She related to me the story at the beginning of Douglas Adam's book "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Apparently, our hero Arthur Dent is incensed, because the council are about to knock down his home to make way for a new bypass. He is lying down in front of the bulldozers, when his friend Ford Prefect tells him that the world will end in around 12 minutes. The Earth, it seems, is scheduled for demolition, to make way for a "hyperspatial express route" through our solar system. I had just received my first lesson, "Keep Things In Proportion"
She went on to ask me whether or not I realised that my every thought and feeling had an effect on all those around me. Thus I learned my second lesson, "Keep Your Words In Order. Keep Your Thoughts In Order" For the next year I was privileged to see the world through a different pair of eyes. Like Jan, my companion had packed much heartache into her 21 years, but had never lost that childlike wonder.
My journey of discovery began when she asked me a question. "Why can't we live in a world in which everyone does their best, at what they love doing most, for the benefit of all, with no thought of reward, other than the sheer joy of giving ?" It was a question I could not answer. I asked many people over the next couple of years, and received many excuses, but never, in my opinion, any valid reason. Most popular answer was "You can't change human nature".
1991 found me isolated. The discoveries I had made during 1990 had changed my life forever. I had little or no access to any spiritual books, or conversation. The one thing which saved my sanity was my love of music, and it was through popular music that God continued to talk to me. It was whilst listening to another Barry Manilow track, that I discovered my first "Divine Dichotomy" We are dual beings. A spiritual being and a human being. Our soul longs for the freedom to fully express itself, whilst the ego seeks security. And we learn from a very early age that security means conformity.
The words of the song were:
All the time I thought
That I was wrong
Wanting to be me
But needing to belong
And in another track:
Please don't be scared
Cos I've stood there too
Between survival
And the right thing to do.
And thus the second idea took root.
"A world in which everyone is free to explore, discover and express their own unique spirituality, in an atmosphere of unconditional love and total acceptance."
When Jan and I first came together in 1994, we both had the idea of founding a community of like-minded people. But property costs money, and at that time we had precious little. Jan had founded a small spiritual group in Hampshire, and whilst preparing to give a talk, I happened to look up the word "community" in the dictionary. I was surprised by what I read. "A group of people bound together by a common ideal or purpose". No mention of bricks and mortar anywhere !
And so the idea of a virtual community was born. We realised that physical location was unimportant providing that strong communication links were established. But what would that common ideal or purpose be ??
It is probably worth repeating our twin visions once more.
"A world in which everyone does their best, at what they love doing most, for the benefit of all, with no thought of reward, other than the sheer joy of giving"
"A world in which everyone is free to explore, discover and express their own unique spirituality, in an atmosphere of unconditional love and total acceptance."
In 1999 the idea of the "One Vision Virtual Community" became a reality. Through my work, I had learned to use E Mail, and design and code websites, and soon we were communicating effortlessly all around the world.
The ONE VISION story had begun ….
Jan has known since she was four years old that she had a job to do this time around. She was a messenger, and her job was to bring people back to God. Not the wrathful, vengeful God, beloved of mainstream religion, but the kind, supportive "fatherly" God of whom Jesus taught. Throughout her life, despite many trials and tribulations, God has been her consistent source of strength and courage.
By contrast, I was a belated, and somewhat reluctant conscript. After a strict Methodist upbringing, I rebelled, and by the age of 42 I had settled into a comfortable, if somewhat repetitive routine. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Go to bed. Pay the bills each month.
In the summer of 1990 I began my own "conversation with God". I had reached a point in my life where, to quote the words of Barry Manilow, "it was all very nice, but not very well". Increasingly frustrated, I asked the question : "Is this all there is to life ?? Surely there has to be more ???" And God answered : " Well, yes, if this is all you to choose to see, then this is all there is !! But if you only open your eyes, and stopped being so wrapped up in your own little dramas, then you will find that there is so much more to life !"
I suppose He could have said. "Stop being such a self-centred bastard !" In fact SHE did. Through the mouth of my travelling companion, a young lady half my age. She related to me the story at the beginning of Douglas Adam's book "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy". Apparently, our hero Arthur Dent is incensed, because the council are about to knock down his home to make way for a new bypass. He is lying down in front of the bulldozers, when his friend Ford Prefect tells him that the world will end in around 12 minutes. The Earth, it seems, is scheduled for demolition, to make way for a "hyperspatial express route" through our solar system. I had just received my first lesson, "Keep Things In Proportion"
She went on to ask me whether or not I realised that my every thought and feeling had an effect on all those around me. Thus I learned my second lesson, "Keep Your Words In Order. Keep Your Thoughts In Order" For the next year I was privileged to see the world through a different pair of eyes. Like Jan, my companion had packed much heartache into her 21 years, but had never lost that childlike wonder.
My journey of discovery began when she asked me a question. "Why can't we live in a world in which everyone does their best, at what they love doing most, for the benefit of all, with no thought of reward, other than the sheer joy of giving ?" It was a question I could not answer. I asked many people over the next couple of years, and received many excuses, but never, in my opinion, any valid reason. Most popular answer was "You can't change human nature".
1991 found me isolated. The discoveries I had made during 1990 had changed my life forever. I had little or no access to any spiritual books, or conversation. The one thing which saved my sanity was my love of music, and it was through popular music that God continued to talk to me. It was whilst listening to another Barry Manilow track, that I discovered my first "Divine Dichotomy" We are dual beings. A spiritual being and a human being. Our soul longs for the freedom to fully express itself, whilst the ego seeks security. And we learn from a very early age that security means conformity.
The words of the song were:
All the time I thought
That I was wrong
Wanting to be me
But needing to belong
And in another track:
Please don't be scared
Cos I've stood there too
Between survival
And the right thing to do.
And thus the second idea took root.
"A world in which everyone is free to explore, discover and express their own unique spirituality, in an atmosphere of unconditional love and total acceptance."
When Jan and I first came together in 1994, we both had the idea of founding a community of like-minded people. But property costs money, and at that time we had precious little. Jan had founded a small spiritual group in Hampshire, and whilst preparing to give a talk, I happened to look up the word "community" in the dictionary. I was surprised by what I read. "A group of people bound together by a common ideal or purpose". No mention of bricks and mortar anywhere !
And so the idea of a virtual community was born. We realised that physical location was unimportant providing that strong communication links were established. But what would that common ideal or purpose be ??
It is probably worth repeating our twin visions once more.
"A world in which everyone does their best, at what they love doing most, for the benefit of all, with no thought of reward, other than the sheer joy of giving"
"A world in which everyone is free to explore, discover and express their own unique spirituality, in an atmosphere of unconditional love and total acceptance."
In 1999 the idea of the "One Vision Virtual Community" became a reality. Through my work, I had learned to use E Mail, and design and code websites, and soon we were communicating effortlessly all around the world.
The ONE VISION story had begun ….
