God's Dove

A habit has arisen that I'm loathe to put away;
It seems that I take out my Love to look at it each day.
It stunned me so when it first came, I didn't realize
That it was really Love at all, it was such a surprise.

Each day that I interrogate this Love that I have here
I find myself adoring it and holding it more dear.
It doesn't act like other "loves" that deigned to visit me;
Indeed, it acts and carries on completely selflessly.

It seeketh not control at all, it only sheds its Light;
But it has all the Power of God and all of God's own Might.
It fears not sometime banishment nor does it feel alone;
For every sin or mistake made, it knows it can atone.

You know, I'm quite beside myself to understand this Love,
It's not like any love I've known, it must be from above.
Oh, yes, I've thought that I have loved and held another dear
But never have I loved like this, a Love so pure and clear.

I marvel at its willingness to set another free
To be herself or find herself or be what she would be.
I marvel, too, at how it stays so imperturbable
Despite the efforts of the few to create much trouble.

This Love is not the mortal kind that burns in passion hot;
Indeed, it seems it's best defined by all that that is not.
It doesn't lose its patience quick nor is it e'er unkind;
And Truth is what it always picks when forced to speak its mind.

It doesn't side with ego nor with jingoistic zeal;
The wholeness of the world's the only thing that has appeal.
This Love is strange, I do not doubt, its like no one has seen;
But, yet, to me it's real enough, it is the Golden Mean.

One other thing that I must add, this Love has its own cloak
To make the one invisible who seeks its Flame to stoke.
Thus, anyone who looks upon the Flame of this pure Love
Will think they see a common bird when really it's God's Dove.

Oh Paradise, Thou Central Isle

Oh Paradise, Thou God of Form, Thou Central Isle and domicile
Of each, the First, the Second, and the Third Great Source and Center.
How I thank Thee for Thy Radiant Splendor, for Thy Solitude Serene,
And for Thine Holy, Exclusive, and Divine existence.

I bless Thee as the Home of every Heart;
I bless Thee as the destiny of every start;
I bless Thee ever and anon with loving gaze and joyful song;
I bless Thee now and evermore, Thy peaceful shores where I belong.

Thou Home of homes and pattern for all peace and rest
It's by Thy Presence that all space is blessed
And takes upon itself the form and feature Thou hast giv'n
That here, in time, we know both earth and heaven.

Thou holdest me within Thy Grasp, sweetly embraced as suckling child;
Thy pull extendeth far beyond what's known in space, unthought, and wild.
Oh sweetest of the Gardens, Thou, I long Thy Fragrant air to breathe
That I might soon be lifted up, the mortal sword forever sheathed.

Behold, Thou art the Holy Home of Light and Love and Power unknown;
Thou guardest all in far-flung space with lines of force each spun by Grace.
And here, Urantia's lonely voice, I lift my paean to rejoice
In All that Thou dost mean to me in hopes that others soon will see.

Oh Paradise, my Heart's abode, don't let our little world explode
Or fall apart from thoughts impure but keep Your Lines of Love secure.
Thou Central Isle I do implore Thee to embrace us more and more.
For soon the entire world will see, our orbit is Thy Gravity.

Oh Paradise, Thy Might Divine, forever holds the worlds in line,
Forever calls the Dance of Spheres, promenading, bringing near.
We swing abroad through empty space but still held firm in Thy Embrace.
Oh hold us ever near to Thee until we taste Eternity.

Where Do Your Thoughts Go?

Tell me, where do your thoughts go when our lips touch each other
And where do your thoughts go when we lie close together;
Tell me, where do your thoughts go when my image arises
In your mind, in your heart or adoring disguises?

When we kiss my thoughts quiver and dash straightaway
To a meadow in heaven to gambol and play;
When lying beside you my thoughts soon take flight
To the Heart of Creation, filled with Love, filled with Light.

My thoughts are knit close with your Heart and your Love;
My thoughts are sequestered in Heaven above.
My thoughts are ignited by your touch and your smile;
My thoughts of you comfort me mile after mile.

So, tell me, Beloved One, where go thy thoughts
When to thee my image by Heaven is brought?
As an arrow my Love to thee takes instant flight
When an image of you comes to my inner sight.

Life Ain't Easy for a Boy Named Suh

My otherwise bucolic Thanksgiving Day holiday was viciously punctuated by the actions of one of the players on the Detroit Lions football team. In Football-onia, it is the tradition to have the Lions and, usually, the Packers play on Thanksgiving Day; this tradition goes back quite some time. Indeed, it goes back to a time where such actions as I, and millions of others, witnessed might not have brought much more than, perhaps, a penalty. Those were the days when "piling on" was punishable by penalty but not "roughing the passer." If you saw the game, then you know that Suh, after having tackled the opponent, began banging his head on the turf and, when pulled off, stomped the arm of his opponent who was still lying on the ground. Just so you know, this is not a rant about how violent football is or anything like that; it is, however, a comment that takes pointed aim at how certain vocations unwittingly play into the hands of human temperament.

What I mean by this is that certain vocations seem to attract a cadre of individuals who have a temperament for that vocation that is eerily compatible with the vocation's demands. Take, for instance, the fact that police departments around the country are populated by ex-military people. Football, and other sports, seem to straddle the line because there are often people with violent tempers that take up tennis and very often "gentler, kinder" people who find themselves strangely talented for football.

I do not believe that there is anything inherent about any particular sport that makes it either violent or non-violent; I do, however, believe that individuals who have not had adequate expression of their temperament so that they could find a peaceful balance and harmony within themselves, seek out "benign" or "approved" ways of expressing that temperament. In this way, they get to express themselves in a way that is "hidden." What is unique about Thursday's performance by Suh is that his expressing was caught on camera and broadcast to the nation. He then had the temerity to say that he was just "catching his balance."

As of this writing, Suh has not received any punishment from the NFL and I don't really expect him to get much beyond, perhaps, a two game suspension; and that, despite the fact that he is a repeat offender. Situations like this are really quite difficult because, on the one hand, he could be rehabilitated if he could ever "get it all out" in a safe way--that is, safe for him and others; on the other hand, football is not that place and how do we send that message in a way that it can be "heard," "understood," and "complied with"?

Suh's actions were deliberate and vicious and he thinks it was ok to act like that; unless the NFL sends a serious "wake-up call" to Suh, we will see this behavior again, perhaps from even more individuals who think that they make enough money to be able to "afford" whatever penalty the NFL imposes. The athletes that act in this way do so on the basis of an economic calculation; they determine that they can "afford" to act the way they act because it wont "cost" them that much and they are willing to "pay" because getting to "express" whatever is bothering them is more valuable than what it would "cost" them.

Is a pre-signing psychiatric evaluation an option? Rumor has it that Suh will have to take "anger management" courses; that seems "too little, too late." The main concern for me is that there has been precious little said about what the coach should do; everyone seems to be waiting on the NFL to act. In my estimation, the coach is more to blame for his silence...and...here...the silence is the same deafening silence that we heard at Penn State. What is it that the coach is getting out of all of this; whatever it is, on Thursday it wasn't a win.

It's Still a Rose

Although it seems the "bloom is off the rose,"
The Spring is near and this the blossom knows.
The harshness of the winter's snowy storms
Are soon forgotten when the sun of Flora warms.

The petals that have fallen by the way
Are taken up in merry springtime play.
The noble stems that naked stood and straight
Are blooming now and full at cottage gate.

The cares that weighed the former petals down
Have fertilized the newly blooming crown.
How queenly seems this brilliant, blazing flow'r
Regaled with wit and beauty, grace and power.

For hidden deep within its floral heart
It knows it cannot from itself depart.
And 'tis this radiant wisdom that it shows
Within the bloom that always is a rose.

Cain's Disdain

The question of whether Cain sexually harassed, assaulted, or otherwise sexually offended the accusers in his past is settled by Cain himself. Cain's defense up to this point has been to cite his wife's remark to the effect that anyone making such an accusation clearly doesn't know him. This defense depends on the unspoken premise that there is an unimpeachable respect for women lying in the foundation of Cain's character. This premise has been defeated by Cain himself on two instances, the first is the demeaning and disrespectful reference to the previous holder of the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives and the second instance is the recent joke involving Anita Hill.

The office of Speaker of the House of Representatives is an august office and demands a certain modicum of respect. For Cain, during the recent debate, to slight that office by referring to the previous holder as "princess" lays bare his disdain for either the office or the holder. If it is the office, then he has not learned the requisite respect for that office of government and is, thereby, unworthy to serve in the government, therefore, he is, de facto, hardly presidential material and should immediately withdraw from the race before he also sullies the office of President of the United States; if it is the second, then he not only discloses the fact that he has precisely the character of someone who would do the very things he is accused of but he also reveals himself to be bereft of the very character traits of decency, honesty, and forthrightness that are wanted in a president. On those grounds he should, again, immediately remove himself from the race.

In the case of the joke involving Anita Hill, it should be clear to even the most casual observer that his cavalier attitude toward the obvious implications of the reference to Ms. Hill betrayed a sinister glee over discovering a similar "he said; she said" successful strategy. However, whereas Chief Justice Thomas has seen the wisdom of silence since his confirmation, Cain's arrogance about his gaffes is dancing on the weakness of the law in such cases. I daresay that, except for the few that confirmed Thomas, there were precious few who believed him; and, except for the fragmented and "troubled" individuals who continue to support Cain, the very fact that he is unable to either notice his disdain for women or take disdain for women seriously, demonstrates beyond reasonable doubt that he has both the prerequisite character and had the opportunity, by virtue of his office, for behaving as his accusers have said he behaved. Furthermore, his refusal to give a complete answer to the question posed to him during the debate shows an equal disdain for the office of the President of the United States of America by treating it as unworthy of full disclosure in matters of character and that, as Churchill once said. is "something up with which I will not put." Let me just note that, insofar as he attempts to deface and mark the office of POTUS, he comes to that task with the right name.

And now a woman has come forth to say that she had a 13 year affair with Cain and last night he told Wolf Blitzer (aka "Blitz" to Cain) that he didn't have such an affair; and, by the way, Cain announced today that he will be "re-evaluating his campaign"; coincidence? I think not.

"Go away, I"m no good for you..."

In 1965, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons released the hit, "Dawn" in which the phrase (and my title) "go away I'm no good for you..." appears. This phrase gives us a glimpse into a common psychological phenomenon in romantic love, namely, the phenomenon of self-sacrifice for the benefit of the beloved. But there is also another common theme here that is less talked about; and that is the theme of self-hatred. In the song, the singer is trying to persuade Dawn to leave him and stay with another guy and suggests:

"Now think what the future would be
with a poor boy like me..."

compared with what the other fellow has to offer:

'Think, what a big man he'll be
Think, all the places you'll see."

The thing is, although this song is sung by a boy to a girl, it could just as easily be a girl singing to a boy and trying to persuade him to "go away" because of some circumstances in her own life that she thinks are not good for him; or even for their relationship. On the surface it certainly seems as though the singer has the girl's "best interests" at heart when "wants" are subjugated to the assumed superior value of "money," "prestige," or "travel." Indeed, it is just this very juxtaposition that seems to give romantic love all the pathos and drama that make it popular and desirable.

Literature, poetry and songs are littered with references to the self-abasing lover who, in one breath, claims "I love you 'til my dying breath..." while in the next breath warns "I never want to hurt you..." Of course, in the latter phrase, the unspoken promise is: "in all likelihood I will hurt you, so beware." So, how is it that these two very strong feelings are able to co-exist in the same person?

Although we speak of the unconscious, it is not nearly so un- as we might think. In Freud's famous little book, "The Psychopathology of Everyday Life," we get a vivid introduction into how explicit our "sub-conscious" world really is. There he claims that there are no such things as accidents but only expertly planned events kept hidden from our waking mind. In other words, what we usually term "accidents" are actually self-inflicted wounds. He says we always know what we are thinking and how we will act; and we also have a pretty good handle on how willing we are to make changes to that script. In the song, neither character seems willing to give up the assumptions that undergird their positions; the girl is unwilling to relinquish her obvious affinity for the money, prestige, and travel; and the boy has the fear of the responsibility that Love ushers in and also the unwillingness to address the basic insecurity he has about himself that he is unwilling to abandon.

It is not uncommon for individuals to feel "embarrassed" by their "unworthiness" of someone whom they love deeply; in part, that is a function of the Love itself; but it also has something owing to the lack of psychological maturity of the individual. This usually shows up as a feeling of "not being enough" for the other person. The actual form that this feeling takes varies from person to person; women feel it as not being beautiful enough, thin enough, sexy enough, etc; while men experience it as not being strong enough, influential enough, rich enough, etc. In either case, it is a groundless fear because valuable, lasting relationships and authentic Love exist quite apart from all of those considerations.

This is actually the reason that such romantic "scripts" evoke a great deal of sadness in us. We really know that these tactics are false and that Love has no need of these extraneous considerations; yet we willfully abandon Love for some cheap piece of maudlinity and the resulting sadness we feel is the separation anxiety that Love feels for Itself; we fragment Love and split it up and this is grievous to Love.

Imagine, for a moment, the lives of the people in the song if the advice offered is actually heeded; and further imagine that this love they proclaimed for each other was, indeed, Love. Since Love cannot be denied, then no life built around the pretender to Love can ever be brought to Truth. This incongruity will be experienced by each not only in their minds, but in their feelings and body as well. Love is the bond holding all together; to deny its presence is to affirm self-fragmentation. As I wrote in a previous post, you can call a dog's tail a leg all you want, but that doesn't make it a leg; and you can protest that Love is not present, but that cannot make it go away; and no matter how much you call love, Love, it can never hold things together and collapse is unavoidable.

The cure for this, of course, is to grow up and discover the Love that lies behind Being; to discover the Bond uniting all of creation. Be still; know: "I AM" God. Be still; know: "I AM" Love.


Enjoy Frankie and the Four Seasons in this Youtube of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE40KM4SGAY&feature=related

My "Wee bit heap o' leaves and stibble"

Oh, Mighty Presence of the "I AM," in desperation I call and come to Thee. I have come to see my world as it is, a tiny box of shards and rubble, hardly recognizable as having anything to do with a glorious child of God, least of all as the creation of such an exalted being. I see Thee in Thy Dazzling Light, Thy beautiful prismatic color; and I feel Thy Powerful Love and Presence; I hear the soothing, calming tones of Thy Music and I weep when I compare it to my current lot. In this vision I see the prodigal son who comes to himself while in the pigs' sty. I see Thy compassionate smile and hand reaching down to lift me up...I weep in repentance as I accept Thy Gracious Love and Light. Father, I open up my world to You; come and fill it entirely with Thy Presence, pushing out all unlike Itself. I forever renounce any power I have given to "outer" things and accept only Thy working and Thy activity. Take complete control of my mind and body; enter in, take Thy Dominion and hold it forever. My Beautiful Father, thank you for your Love and your Patience; thank You for drawing me to Thee; all I decree for myself I decree for every other in this world. Consume all human imperfection and replace it with the Unfed Flame forever sustained. How do I love Thee...How I do adore Thee...How Thou hast loved me even before the foundations of the earth. The Unfed Flame in my Heart calls to Thee, oh Mighty Presence, and I hear the Harmony of Your Answer reverberating within my Being. Even now, come forth and surge your Presence everywhere in my world; as the child of God I AM I command it as You prefer. Transform my "wee bit heap o' leaves and stibble" into the Glorious Mansion of Light and Love that is worthy of the "I AM" that "I AM."

"...Lest Thou Dash Thy Foot against a stone..." or Calling a Dog's Tail a Leg Doesn't Make it a Leg

In one of the temptations of Christ recorded in Matt 4:6, it is reported that Christ is tempted thusly: "'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" The passage referred to is in Psalms 91:11-12 where it is written: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." This passage is meant to indicate the scope of care that God has for his children, i.e., it is so pervasive that they will be guarded so completely that they will not even stub their toe. In light of the many stubbed toes in the world, this scripture seems to be wanting; but the greater (and more significant) Truth is missed. That Truth is that we are never outside of God's attention; whatever the outer conditions of our life seem to indicate, we are held firmly in the grasp of God's attention; God is always watching. And what is in God's attention is in God's mind, hence, within God; and, since there is no evil in God, we have before us something of a paradox: how can something so apparently evil be in God?

When I was a boy, my minister asked me one day: "If you call a dog's tail a leg, how many legs does it have?" I'm embarrassed to say that I got it wrong because I confused the hypothetical conditions of the question with the reality demanded by the answer to the question. The answer, of course, is "four because calling a dog's tail a leg doesn't make it a leg." To be sure, we see much in our experience to warrant calling it "evil," but, in reality no evil can have been done because no evil can be in God.

This may seem a glib and cavalier answer to the problem of evil but it is only "glib" and "cavalier" because we ascribe "reality" status to separate individuals and we are willing to divide the essential Oneness of the Presence of the "I AM" in order to see each individual as separate from God, i.e., outside God. Calling a person "separate" doesn't make that person separate; and doing "harm" to the shadow of a hand doesn't affect the hand. You may dream that you are chased by a tiger and that during the chase you trip over a root, fall, and skin your knees, but when you awaken there is no blood on the sheets nor the pungent scent of the jungle hanging in the bedroom. But, still, how do we change such disruptive energy as what we have been calling "evil"?

All is in the "I AM" and it is by the "I AM" that we must change it. This means that we immediately rule out one of Hamlet's famous options, that is, we cannot "take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them." But, paradoxically, we also do not have access to the other horn of his dilemma, i.e., "not to be," because we are already a focus of the "I AM" which guarantees our Life. We, therefore, must accept our role as that focus and daily decree: "I AM the Resurrection and the Life"; indeed, hourly if need be.

The "self" that thinks it is apart from the One must be brought back to sanity in the same way it was driven from it, namely, by repeated reminders of what is to be accepted as Truth. The "guard" that God has over each child to watch "lest Thou dash Thy foot against a stone" is not a guard over the illusion of the self but over the actual Self and that Self never stubs its toe. Once we return the seat of our identity to that Self, we will see and live in a completely different world--a world of Light and Love. It is strange to note that although it is impossible to steal what is free; it is not impossible to think you have stolen it and, subsequently, create a world of your own experience as though the impossible had actually happened and there live with all the attendant misery that such a false belief implies and creates.

The Beloved One is never out of mind; ever do thoughts of Love and Light stand guard.

Madoff, the Stockholm Syndrome, 1984, and The Big Lie

I'm hoping that it is not only history and literature wonks that see the connection between the elements in my title but also those who pay close attention to current events. For those who may not be familiar with some of the current events here in the USA, let me say that the first term, Madoff, refers to Bernie Madoff who recently scammed many individuals, including some very high profile individuals, out of millions of dollars. He is included because he illustrates the fact that deception, when aligned with prestige and wealth, and when forcefully and cleverly conveyed, surmounts nearly any obstacle. The insidious aspect of this fraud is that the SEC and FINRA (the financial regulatory administration), were warned on several occasions that this man was involved in fraud, but turned a "deaf ear" to the claims.

The Stockholm Syndrome, as many may already know, is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which bank employees were held hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. This syndrome illustrates that brutal treatment creates a reversal and perversion of perception within the brutalized individual. Recently, here in the US, the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard graphically illustrated this when she told investigators she was a battered wife from Minnesota who was hiding from her abusive husband, and described Garrido, her abductor and sexual abuser, as a "great person" who was "good with her kids." Dugard has since admitted, with great guilt and regret, to forming an emotional bond with Garrido. Dugard was held captive for more than 18 years and bore children by her abuser.

This reversal and perversion of perception that occurs to individuals who are deceived and abused was notably prefigured in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell; however, in that novel, it was not presented as passively arising from within the victims; rather, it appears as a method of brainwashing that was actively visited upon the citizenry by the ruling class. This is clearly demonstrated by some of the more memorable passages:

1. war is peace
freedom is slavery
ignorance is strength --
Official Slogan of the Party

2. Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.

Book One, Chapter III and Book Three, Chapter II

3. In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. It was inevitable that they should make that claim sooner or later: the logic of their position demanded it. Not merely the validity of experience, but the very existence of external reality was tacitly denied by their philosophy.

Book One, Chapter VII

4. And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested.

Book One, Chapter VIII

5. And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn’t really mean it. But that isn’t true. At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there’s no other way of saving yourself and you’re quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself.

Book Three, Chapter VI

The Big Lie, although the name of a film, refers to a statement made by Adolf Hitler in which he maintained the following regarding Germany's loss of the First World War in his book, Mein Kampf. There he laid the blame at the feet of the Jews, claiming that they simply told a big enough lie.

All this was inspired by the principle--which is quite true within itself--that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. —Adolf Hitler , Mein Kampf, vol. I, ch. X.

The principle of the Big Lie is practiced still today, especially in repressive regimes. There, "enemies" of the state are demonized by lies that must get bigger and bigger if they are to have the necessary "force of credibility" to hold the people in check. And it is at this point that the efficacy of the method begins to break down, as we have seen in what has been termed the "Arab Spring." In recent uprisings, the reality of the situation is communicated via the internet and videos from phones. The offending regimes, who wish to deny any of this brutality, are forced to keep journalists out of their country so that they can maintain lies of sufficient proportion; or, to allow journalists to see only what they wish them to see, making sure that the journalists are kept on a "short leash" by their "watchers." Some leaders have even gone to the extreme of creating alternative "news" sources that claim objectivity and then present a completely fabricated account of the situation in an effort to discredit the legitimate accounts. These fabricated accounts claim to have "confessions" of "terrorists" that totally corroborate the position that the oppressors want the citizenry to believe. In this regard, see the passages from 1984 above. Some among the citizenry are so bewildered that they do not know who to believe and suffer severe emotional harm--harm that they understand as patriotism (the Stockholm Syndrome) and are willing to die for the very government that is killing children and saying that others are doing it. Others have ties to the regime, either social ties, ideological ties, or ties by virtue of employment or something else that make them more prone to believe the lies. In these cases, the individuals have fallen prey to the same forces as the victims of Madoff; they are blinded to wrong because of the social, political or other prestigious standing of the despot--a standing and glory in which they are only too pleased to bask, being unwilling to surrender their own social, economic or other standing.

The only way to keep oneself from grave emotional damage and harm in these situations is to completely divorce oneself from any loyalty to any side. One must keep oneself completely focused on only the inner Light. Get a picture of a revered individual in your faith and keep that image before your mind's eye constantly while continually affirming something like: "I AM the Resurrection and the Life." Do not, under any circumstances, get embroiled in this turmoil; simply call upon the Mighty Presence of the "I AM" to bring perfection out of it and turn your attention back to the inner Light and the image of the revered individual. If you do not have any images you can use, let me suggest that you use some image of an Ascended Master, Saint Germain, Lord Maha Chohan, and the like, which you can get on the internet. But, call, call, call the "I AM" Presence into action and take your mind and feelings off the situation.

Don't Look at the Coffee

Phil 4:8 is a commonly quoted verse but I think the real power of the message is often missed. In the KJV, the verse is: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Typically, this verse is used to illustrate the more commonly held maxim, "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," because the emphasis in the exegesis is usually put on the things upon which our thoughts should rest and the wisdom that is brought out of these statements is the wisdom of silence in the absence of anything good to say. However, there is a much deeper wisdom resident here; and it is aptly illustrated daily by servers bringing a single cup of coffee to the table.

Unless you are completely bereft of worldly experience, you have had the opportunity to serve someone a cup of coffee by bringing it to them; this is often done by transporting it on a tray but, if in a more casual surrounding like a home, it may just be carried as a simple cup and saucer or just a mug. In any event, if the cup is almost full, there is the threat of spilling the coffee when walking with it. This threat can be minimized by either of two strategies: the first strategy is to put a teaspoon in the cup and this retards the swishing liquid from building a wavelike momentum and splashing over the sides of the cup because the teaspoon breaks up the movement of the coffee in the cup; the other strategy is to simply not look at the cup while you're walking. This is an amazing phenomenon. If you look at the coffee while carrying it, you are very likely to splash and spill it or to walk very awkwardly. Yet, if you do not look at the cup and keep your eyes on where you are going, intent on the destination, then even a brisk walk will not disturb the coffee. Somehow, your body knows how to keep that perfectly balanced provided you do not think about it.

Of course, you really are thinking about it because that is why you are carrying it; but you are not thinking about it at a level of specificity that demands your focused attention. You have taken your attention to a remove that, although the vista of that view includes the coffee, it's not about the coffee. This is similar to the principle of picking out a spot on the horizon and traveling toward it instead of picking a spot a few hundred yards away in an effort to travel in a straight line. By placing our attention at increasing levels of generality, we allow the world's natural harmony to appear. This may seem incredible to anyone already in the throes of day to day living and whose main activity is "putting out fires," but, back to the coffee, who causes the spill? The fact that one can walk briskly and not spill the coffee demonstrates that it's not the coffee that does the spilling, it's the one who is carrying. This principle may seem like sheer insanity if applied to, say, social, national, or even international situations, but the fact remains that coffee is spilled by the carrier, not by the coffee. So, tense situations in families, cities, nations and within the world, are caused by individuals who are "looking at the coffee," i.e., they have focused their attention on something specific and have not gone to a sufficient remove of generality.

There may be some who doubt that taking one's mind off a problematic situation is enough to reveal the underlying harmony as I have suggested, but it is only because they have not achieved the most general perspective, the consciousness shared by all creation, the "I AM" consciousness. What is decreed in the "I AM" consciousness, is. Replicate this consciousness by knowing and feeling the truth of your decree; for instance, "'I AM' the harmony of my home." Or, "'I AM' the Peace of the earth." Know this! Feel it as having already been accomplished!

The verse immediately preceding this passage says: "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." This promise of peace is not the creation of peace, it's the disclosure of it; the peace of the world is already there in the same way that the stillness of the coffee is already there. We are the disruptors; and we disrupt by our thoughts and feelings focused at a level of specificity that is non-inclusive of the world. We do not need to do anything, in the sense of adding anything to the world, in order to manifest peace; we need only take our attention to a greater remove--a remove that is all inclusive. And this is precisely what is advocated in verse 8; the true, the honest, the just, the pure, the lovely, and the constructive have universal approval and, as such, are at a level of generality to allow the peace already present in the world to reveal itself.

Beloved one, think on these things.

The Snow

Let me share this most precious gift of mine with you. I love the snow. I love the quiet muffled sounds it makes when tumbling down upon itself. And in a crisp clear evening when e'en the moon itself is bundled with a scarf I love to stand out in the snow and watch my breath ascend. I love the quiet of those nights; the solitary crunch of crusted snow with every step I take. I love the radiant moonlight setting all the field of snow aglow and I between the moon above and its reflection here below. I love to pack the snow into a ball or let it cushion playful fall; to skate while snow is falling still, for me, is such a happy thrill as well as sledding down a long, steep hill; I love the snow. I love the fact that it is white, it blinds by day and soothes by night; but, oh, to me, so great a sight; yes, I do love the snow. The faultless plain of pure, clean white just seems to turn the world aright and soften every mortal plight, this loving blanket, snow. Oh come and bring your cooling cause to still the anger, cover flaws. Rest on eyelids and on tongues; on pavements, parks, and ladders' rungs. Beneath we might be green or brown; we might be city, burg, or town; we might be valley, plain or hill but under snow, we're quiet, still. Yes, come and let your cooling sense repay hot temper recompense; and let your frigid blanket hold the fits of rage 'til they get cold. Thou liquid light in frozen white; Thou dust of Love sent from above, forgiving and forgetting all, embrace us whether great or small and let us always strive to be the picture of your purity.

Love Hosts Its Own

It was early in the afternoon when they finally arrived at the mountain ledge they had seen from the cabin. It was right at the treeline and the sweet fragrance of spruce and pine encouraged them to take in deep draughts of air. The ground was still a bit rocky so they held hands as they walked through the stand of evergreens into which they had climbed; they had not gone a hundred paces when they saw laid out before them a grassy mountain meadow, clear and green and sunny. On its edge they could hear a stream and the mountain itself leaped straightaway up to the sky. What a protected hollow they had found; the majestic pines behind them and the grand mountain before them and to the sides made this a perfectly protected little spot...a kind of hideaway that was not at all visible from below. They entered and felt the sun warm upon their faces as a light breeze tousled their hair and the crisp sound of the mountain stream from which they had drunk earlier gurgled at the meadow's edge. The grass was deep and deep green and seemed to billow as they walked; the sky was the deepest blue with large fluffy white clouds sauntering along.
"Let's lie down and look up at the clouds."
"Ok...I was just thinking that..."

Shape after shape passed overhead as each enjoined the other to see the shape that they noticed; laughter ensued and then drowsiness. For a brief time they just rested on that meadow with the sun as sentinel and breeze as fragrant lullaby; the worries of the day, the week, and the lifetime floated gently away with the clouds and they fell into a deep and dreamless sleep where every tiny cell of their body released its care and found itself awash in Light.

One of the many blessings summertime brings is the ever lengthening days; and the softer light of early evening brought a cooler air that soon awakened and revived them for the walk back down to the cabin. Later that night, with a fire roaring in the fireplace and sated appetites, they escaped again to those brief moments in nature's serene silence and repose, falling asleep in each others arms, cradled by the Love that came to them there as they slept upon its lawn, while high up in that mountain meadow, a preternatural glow illumined small white flowers blooming just where they had lain.

Today I've Longed to Be With You

Today I've longed to be with you and in the flesh walk silently;
To feel the wind upon our faces as, motionless, we gaze out to the sea;
To breathe the fresh, clean air apart from war and conflagration;
To sleep and wake to songbirds rather than the distant guns.

I want to let you rest a moment quietly in my Presence,
There to feel the safety and the surety of Love.
To keep your ears from hate and vengeful lies
And let the Light, instead of darkness, wash o'er your eyes.

Would that I could clothe you in my mantle sewn of Peace
And woven with the very strands of Life itself;
To shield you from the strife and turmoil of this hectic life
For just a space of time to let you find your Heart again.

Here, now, I stand serenely in my Garden watching, waiting
For the resolution needed that allows me through the veil to walk
And greet you face to face, and in my Garden talk.
I have so longed to be with you and in my garden talk.

How to Put Your Life Together

A number of years ago, my sister had a particularly traumatic event while I was away at college. She had been engaged to be married and had spent a considerable amount of her earnings to purchase furniture and other things for her new home only to discover that her fiance was being unfaithful. She was disconsolate; coming home from work every day, shutting herself in her room and playing Carole King over and over again. This happened toward the end of my spring semester, lasted through the summer and was still going on when I left for school again in the fall. At the time, I didn't have the tools available to me that I have now to help her sort the whole thing out and help her get back on her feet so, in the event that others may benefit, here's what I might have said to her.

In painful situations such as this one, we come face to face with experiences that we are certain we do not want; and, consequently, seek to avoid having again. However, the power of prevention is only possible if we are not victims; that is, unless we are willing to search out what we contributed to bringing about any particular state of affairs, then we are powerless to change that state of affairs or to prevent it from happening again since we can only change that over which we have some control. It might have been the wisdom of the universe to see that I didn't have these tools then because, now that I think of it, my sister would not have taken very kindly to my saying that she contributed to his unfaithfulness. Of course, this is not what I'm saying at all; what I'm saying is that we create our own experiences and if we are not doing it consciously, then we are likely to get a lot of what we do not want because we do create all the time. The fact that we do end up with a lot of experiences that are, shall I say, unfortunate is ample proof that we have not arrived at mastery over that creative process; and how to achieve that mastery is what I hope to present here.

STAGE ONE--The Mind

Let me begin with the fact that, apart from how we consider nature, there is nothing in our experience that was not first a thought; thought and feeling combine to bring things into manifestation. Obviously, then, if we wish to control what we bring into our experience we must establish control over both our thoughts and our feelings. Again, I'm not sure that at my sister's age she would have had the self-discipline and maturity to be able to exercise the control needed...but...that's water over the wheel and we'll never know. At any rate, the first step in rebuilding your life is to realize that you built the life you've got now. So...are you overweight...do you smoke...do you drink...are you a loner...do you hate your job...whatever the rubble you see as your life, you can rebuild it and regain control of it. In short, you can make your dreams come true; and here's how.

It's one thing to think up something you want; it's another thing entirely to claim it. Without going into too much philosophical detail, the only way to really claim something is to be it; and the only way to do that is to affirm "I Am...(whatever it is you want)." This brings me to my first corollary: think only the thoughts that bring you what you want...visualize it and imagine yourself already enjoying it. The temptation to dwell on past hurts is great but that only serves to bring you more of the same. One question that I might have been able to ask of my sister without her getting too upset is: "what have you learned about your ability to choose love?" I think she would have been willing to consider that question in spite of the fact that every disappointment is really an indictment of our ability to choose, thus, a commentary on whether we can "get it right," or not. Keep in mind, however, that "getting it right" is not concerned with ideal standards set up by parents, church, or state; rather, "getting it right" means "producing happiness in my experience." No one really likes to discover that they are wrong, especially in such emotionally charged situations as love; however, unless you are willing to admit that your life is in rubble, you never take up the rebuilding in earnest. This is the basis of all 12-step programs--you must come to a point where you see that what you are doing is not producing the results that you want. The point of the question is to take the mind off a consideration of the other and put it squarely on oneself; if we continually blame the other, we are inviting more and more of the same type of experiences into our life because that is what we are thinking about and investing it with feeling. This brings me to my second corollary: the intensity of the feeling with which we think the thoughts we think determines the speed with which we manifest those thoughts. It should come as no surprise that feelings of love create lasting constructive experiences while feelings of hate, or even mild dislike, bring about destructive experiences.

Thoughts and feelings are particular instances of attention; they are ways in which we "pay attention." That to which we give our attention, we give our life; and it is by our own life that those creations come alive and are manifest. So, not only must we watch our thoughts and feelings, we must also be aware of everything to which we give our attention--everything from friends to glances at billboards; from music to books to movies and tv; from strangers on the street to foibles of family members. A corollary to this principle is to notice that "vices" come only as a complete world into your experience; that is, it is not possible to isolate a "vice" as an experience, every action or activity, whether virtue or vice, is a hologram of a world, complete with language, fashion, friends, etc. When you are rebuilding your life, it may seem like you are doing it one brick at a time, but you are really undermining a whole world and replacing it with another, more serviceable world. Don't lose sight of this fact: you ARE your world--the "I AM" of you holds everything in your experience in place and to re-place it you will need the assistance of that part of you from which you are estranged in consciousness, the "I AM" Presence within you. Consider the fact that if, in your dream, you trip on a root and skin your knee, you are the root, the knee, and the blood.

A good starting place in getting a "checkup from the neck up" is with Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich; this is an amazing book and very inspiring. Read from it every day. The movie, The Secret, is also a good beginning spot, but I recommend Hill first. If you want some more reading later, contact me and I'll suggest some more.

STAGE TWO--The Body

I call this stage two, but the fact is, they are not stages at all; indeed, they are concurrent. The cleansing and strengthening of the body is essential in putting your life back together. This is not because the body is a platform upon which everything is built, but because it is a radiating center for a Mighty Energy that needs a clear channel through which to flow.

It has been pretty well established that our body renews itself entirely in less than a year; that is, every cell is replace with a new one. Looking at the increasing aging population you wouldn't think that this was the case but it is. The question, then, is: why do we get sick and fall into dysfunction? The answer is simple and has been known for an extremely long time: you are what you eat, both mentally and physically. Fill your mind with positive, loving thoughts of light and your body with food made from light and you will experience both health and longevity. Let me recommend a smoothy that I use:

Green Smoothie
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 piece of ginger root, peeled; about the size of the part of your thumb under the nail.
3 red bell peppers (or 3 yellow, orange or mixed)
1/2 to a whole avocado
3 cups of kale
2 cups of blessed water ("Mighty 'I AM' Presence, bless this water.")
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth--'puree' setting works for me

This will make enough for a day's worth of drinks. As you begin a regimen of re-sensitizing your body to nutrients, you will experience unpleasant symptoms until the body has been detoxified and thrown off the poisons and then you will notice dramatic changes in skin tone, energy, etc. This recipe was taken from There is a Cure for Diabetes by Gabriel Cousens, M.D., a book I discovered when researching diabetes after my sister was diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. Additionally, Doctor Cousens recommends a raw food (not meat) regimen and there are a number of excellent recipe books for that. See, for instance, Jenna Norwood or Ani Phyo on Facebook.

You can greatly accelerate the cleansing of your body with exercise because it forces the body either to burn what is there or eliminate it; this doesn't have to be full-throttled sweat lodge exhaustion either...walk around the mall, swim, or go for a bike ride around the neighborhood. Even small amounts of exercise do wonders for the attitude and self-esteem; and nearly every problem we have has its roots in self-esteem because we don't really know who we are and live as though we are someone we are not.

STAGE THREE--Society

Keep in mind my caveat about these not really being stages and also the insight that both vices and virtues do not appear individually but as worlds. This means that if there is a part of your life with which you are not happy (overweight, always tired, no money, etc.), then your associates and friends are probably contributing to it in an important way. The breakdown in personal judgment that creates the problem with which you are chiefly concerned also infects your ability to choose regarding everything else, and this includes friends--especially friends. In my sister's case, her poor judgment regarding her fiance drove her to choose solitude, when what she needed was social contact. In other cases, the same bad judgment might issue in choosing bad "new best friends." This is because we tend to blame the offender instead of our own bad judgment and we keep creating more of the same for ourselves but with different people. It should come as no surprise that a steady diet of this kind of disappointment will bring about some very low estimates of humanity, eventually driving one to the very behavior disdained in others.

Advanced warning: new friends will not feel comfortable. Take your time; make new friends based on your goals, i.e., if you're in social networks, add some raw food enthusiasts. Look into starting a Mastermind group; this is a group based on the principles of Hill's book and are very powerful in helping you achieve your dreams. Join a networking group like BNI; for professionals, this is an excellent way to socialize with like-minded people.

Invariably, your new choices will rub some of your current friends the "wrong" way and you may "lose" them--but it will only be temporarily. Sooner or later, they will see that they could use a healthy dose of whatever it is you're doing, so don't burn any bridges.

Well...there it is...this is only a sketch but it's enough to get you started. I truly wish I had had this for my sister. Years after her traumatic event she came in contact again with this guy; only this time they married. It was not a happy marriage and it ended badly; she has struggled with weight issues and now diabetes. She hates her job and can't wait until she retires. Your problems aren't "out there," they are within you and unless you change you, you will take the problems with you wherever you go. I'm in your corner, so let's get started!

Questioning the Grounds for Love

Questioning the grounds for love --

Kings are plagued with the dilemma of determining who is really loyal to them and who of their associates seeks to kill them to gain power for themselves. There is a similar dilemma presented to one who, having some extraordinary quality or feature, is led to question the grounds for love by any particular suitor. This is especially true when someone has great wealth ("does she just love me for my money?") but it also happens to individuals who have social standing, a particularly noble pedigree or family lineage, great beauty, or fame. To a certain degree, such conditions seem to give adequate grounds for doubting the presence of love, but do they?

On this model, let's say there are 'n' number of qualities that an individual could have, the "grounds" for doubt would be each of the possible qualities; i.e., that Jack, having 'n' number of qualities, could be loved by Jill for any one or any combination of those qualities. It would then be possible for Jack to say: "Jill doesn't love me, she only loves these qualities and so her love is suspect." Of course, a corollary to this is for Jack to say "what Jill feels for me isn't really love because she only cares for these certain qualities." The assumption here is that there is a residual "Jack" that is left over after we subtract all the qualities and that, since Jill only loves the qualities, she, therefore, doesn't love the residual Jack. But Jack has another problem, not only does he think there is a residual "Jack" left over after the qualities are subtracted, he also thinks that love offered him by Jill is not real love because it is triggered and prompted by the qualities and not by the residual 'Jack.'

Jack's view that there is a "residual" self that lies apart from all the qualities that exhaustively describe Jack is based on the mistaken belief that a "self" can be "inwardly" present with no "outward" clue or effect as to its presence. That is, that it is possible to have a difference inwardly with no difference outwardly. If this were true, then Jack could never be loved because no one would ever be able to detect the "real" Jack. But what we have here is not so much a problem in logic as it is a problem in psychotherapy.

Typically, individuals who are not so distinguished by wealth or fame, etc., do not raise questions when they discover that someone loves them, unless, of course, they are in poverty and someone wealthy "takes a shinin'" to them. That is because to raise the question of the validity of someone's love for you is not really a question of the love but, rather, of your own self-worth. That is, it seems to people raising such questions that the feelings of doubt are about the love offered when the doubt is really a self-doubt; when we raise such questions it is because we do not know who we are. Quite often this happens after many years of marriage and the individuals have changed and grown apart to only wake up one day and discover that the other doesn't really know them at all. Indeed, they have only just begun to know who they are themselves. But hope is not lost; couples counseling is quite effective in helping individuals regain the balance in their relationship provided, that is, that there ever was a balance and not just a detente.

On the other hand, there is a bond of love that transcends the qualities of the individuals involved; that is, the satisfaction of that bond consists in merely finding the other and making the discovery explicit to oneself. Of this bond it is truly said: "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." I have often quipped that marriage, as we know it, could not possibly be ordained by God because if God put two people together they couldn't get asunder; the very fact that divorce is even possible is proof positive that the bond is not the one God ordained. And, as with all things Holy, the guidance and direction for these relationships must begin in the Heart and with God.

Jack's other problem, of not thinking that Jill's love is real, is also a problem of self-worth. Not only is there a lack of confidence in Jack that he is worthy of Jill's love; there is also a decided lack of experience in giving that kind of love. Here I am reminded of Mary Magdelene's song "I Don't Know How to Love Him," from Jesus Christ, Superstar (see link below). In that song, she intimates that she has met a man who inspires love in her but not a love that she immediately recognizes and she, herself, has changed...she continues by saying that "He scares me so. I want him so. I love him so."

But it's no wonder that Jack is confused; we use the term "love" so cavalierly that it barely has any meaning anymore; couple that with the eternal Truth that Love is the hub of all that is and we scarcely know where to begin. But, again, hope is not lost. Once Jack "finds" himself and discovers his "ultimate concerns," then he will attract the Jill for him; and, again, that is a journey that begins in the Heart and with God, the Light of Life.

The attracting is going on all the time; what we currently have, we attracted; and we did it by means of our thoughts and feelings. Jack's "confusion" about love is symptomatic of the changes he is going through in personal growth; when I said he will attract the Jill for him, I meant it quite literally. Once you become clear about what your root values are, then someone with those very values will come into your life...it is the law of our being, which is Love. I have always maintained that marriage is for adults and part of what I mean when I say that is that we cannot possibly attract "the love of our Life" if we have not grown to full-stature in who we know ourselves to be. Childhood sweethearts are not an exception to this because they contribute to that growth in the other and are daily apprised of the progress and make corresponding adjustments in themselves. The situation is quite different for individuals who make their growth in widely different environs and social milieux; in their case, they come together as climbers on different faces of a mountain approach one another the closer they get to the top. Metaphorically, the "top" is the "ultimate concern" that each has identified; as each makes progress to that common concern, they come together as individuals to discover their eternal bond.

As a final comment, let me say that, in the end, Love needs no grounds; it is self-grounding and that upon which we build everything else. The problem that needs solving is how we can contact Love within the Heart of our own consciousness. To seek for something that somehow "justifies" one person's love for another, is, to quote one of my favorites, like "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." We must, instead, see it as the same author put it in his 116th Sonnet:

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

"I Don't Know How to Love Him"

Reflections on Valentine's Day

Janis Ian gave us a dramatic insight into the darker side of Valentine's Day in her song, "At Seventeen,"* when she noted that:

I learned the truth at seventeen
That love was meant for beauty queens
And high school girls with clear skinned smiles
Who married young and then retired
The valentines I never knew
The Friday night charades of youth
Was spent on one more beautiful
At seventeen I learned the truth.

The song continues to eviscerate the maudlin, somewhat hypocritical, notions of romantic love and the effects that that socialized image has upon one who has no access to the social type from which that image is cast.

This example of Ian's also serves to illustrate the linguistic processes of pejoration and amelioration; these are the processes in which the meaning of a word becomes bad or better, respectively, over time. The word "bitch," for instance, illustrates the former while "buggar," the latter. "Bitch" is now a "politically incorrect" word because of its "bad" meaning but its original meaning (and still a vestigial one) is its designation of a female dog. "Buggar" is a term that indicates sodomy but has come to mean something along the lines of "fellow" now.

Ian's song illustrates the pejoration of the notion of Valentine's day but the actual history of Valentine's day, however, is traced back to 270 A.D.

In 270 A.D., marriage had been outlawed by the emperor of Rome, Claudius II. Claudius issued this decree because he thought that married men made bad soldiers since they were reluctant to be torn away from their families in the case of war. Claudius had also outlawed Christianity in this time period because he wished to be praised as the one supreme god, the Emperor of Rome. Valentine was the bishop of Interamna during this period of oppression. Valentine thought that the decrees of Rome were wrong. He believed that people should be free to love God and to marry. Valentine invited the young couples of the area to come to him. When they came, Valentine secretly performed services of matrimony and united the couples.

Valentine was eventually caught and was brought before the emperor. The emperor saw that Valentine had conviction and drive that was unsurpassed among his men. Claudius tried and tried to persuade Valentine to leave Christianity, serve the Roman empire and the Roman gods. In exchange, Claudius would pardon him and make him one of his allies. St. Valentine held to his faith and did not renounce Christ. Because of this, the emperor sentenced him to a three-part execution. First, Valentine would be beaten, then stoned, and then finally, decapitated. Valentine died on February 14th, 270 A.D.

While in prison, waiting for his sentence to be carried out, Valentine fell in love with the jailer's daughter, the blind Asterius. During the course of Valentine's prison stay, a miracle occurred and Asterius regained her sight. Valentine sent her a final farewell note. He signed his last note, "From Your Valentine." Even today, this message remains as the motto for our Valentine's Day celebrations.**

But...this story aside and laying aside, also, all consideration of the commercialized notion of romantic love...don't we have an appreciation for the soft light that shines from another in kindness, in gentleness, and in consideration? I agree; too much has been made of romantic love, because the Pure Love of God goes not below the heart; but, still, let us give due recognition to that soft light because it helps us to find and heal the wounded part of our self about which Ian sang.

A friend was visiting from the east and we were sharing a few moments in reflective conversation when we noticed some girls passing by...all chatty and decked out. He said that he knew all about "that" type of girl "in push-up bras trying to get the attention from men that she didn't get from her daddy..." I knew exactly what he meant and there's a similar statement for young men of that age, too, but it dawned on me that that's the very soil in which these crazy notions of "romantic" love ever get started--fathers are not affectionate or instructive with their children. Consequently, neither the young men nor the young ladies ever come away with anything like self-esteem; they mistake "belonging" to a group, or cadre, for personal authenticity; mistaking, also, the rebellion of style for true courage of convictions. They languish in the loss of personal identity and seek refuge in the empty affirmation offered the body by pleasure.

So...adult up...look approvingly on the young ladies and men that you meet; shine that "soft light" because it's acceptable to everyone...and...Happy Valentine's Day!!


*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CziYn0n6zkI
**http://www.lhmint.org/valentines/story.htm

The Love That Binds

The Love that binds all things together binds us closer still;
It's hard for us to be aware of this, it goes against our will.
We like to think we don't belong to this one or to that
But though, in truth, we two are One, this truth we do combat.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that one will know this first
Before the other gets a chance to work up e'en a thirst
For Love that lives within two stars revolving round about
Each other's brilliant blazing orb and pouring itself out

Upon creation full and free, entirety in all,
Transforming all created form to what it was pre-"fall."
No worries, mate, for you I'll wait until you come to see
That all the love you've ever sought is coming out through me.

Tunisa and Egypt

In my mind, Arabia (and by that I mean the Arab lands and peoples) has a legacy of great light, albeit, as is often the case, distraction and forgetfulness produce shadows. But the Light cannot be hid by shadows indefinitely and, ever and anon, it surges forth with increasing power, asserting its native dominion over all form.

Unless you are among those already working with the Light, you are likely to mistake this surging of Light as chaos--it is not. The increase of Light in our world is literally "shaking the foundations" of both the physical planet and the architectonics of religious and ideological superstructures. It is a little appreciated fact that all is Light and that it is self-luminous, intelligent, substance; meaning that it has an inherent order and form to which every outer form must, sooner or later, capitulate. The days of Light's tolerance are drawing to a close and it is now arrived at the limit of contortion it will abide; the self-corrective measures inherent in Light can be neither gainsaid nor set aside--this is the proverbial "judgment day." It is not, however, like a personal visitation of revenge but, rather, like the natural righting of an overturned flotation device. In any event, resistance is futile.

This self-correction of the Light is how I understand the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt; and these events are but heralds of what is to come elsewhere in the world until the Light takes its full dominion. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to align ourselves with that Light or, sad to say, be eliminated by it. In this regard, let every individual call to their own "I AM" Presence for guidance and deliverance in their own sphere.

Do not mistake this grounded admonition for the ravings of a "fringe" perspective.

The Flower Shop

About a year ago I discovered a beautiful flower shop in a neighborhood that I liked to visit. Recently there was a sign in the window indicating that it had closed. Aside from the particularly crushing news to me, it was a devastating loss to the local neighborhood and city as a whole. The shop was known for its wonderful, inspired arrangements and routinely won the acclaim of the neighborhood and its fame had spread, quite literally, around the world owing to the cosmopolitan mix and flavor of the neighborhood. Although I'm sure that the spot taken by the little shop in the neighborhood will soon be occupied by some other, in my heart it leaves a gaping hole.

I first noticed the shop because its sign had a picture of a flower I knew as a child in Scotland, a gracious flower with slender stem, leafless, except at the base, with paired, pendulous, long, pale pink flowers having a five-lobed corolla. The sign drew me in to see the wonderful other arrangements and species available. I saw that the owner was busy with others so I didn't try to engage her on that visit and just used the opportunity to marvel at all she had put together in that small space.

On subsequent visits I had opportunity to visit with her and found her to be altogether delightful; she was from abroad, thought Beauty had no borders, and loved only God...a refreshing melange for me to discover since I was more used to women who were decidedly less serious about God. She shared with me that the flower pictured on her sign had a special place in her heart and was quite surprised that I even knew what it was; she called it by a name I don't remember now but I know it as Linnaea borealis, one of the few species actually named after the famous botanist, Carolus Linnaeus, because it was his favorite, having originally named it "Linnaea."

In addition to its fragile beauty, this flower has a much more symbolic meaning to me--a meaning that lent depth and substance to my association with the florist. This particular flower is considered to be an "indicator" species, meaning that its presence indicates ancient woodlands and the presence of other species with which it is often in association. Its link to Scotland endears it even more to me and the signature dual, pale pink blooms gives it a profound spiritual significance, since pink is the color of Divine Compassion.

I wish now I had made a greater effort to spend more time with this wonderful, extraordinary, and beautiful woman; meet her family, if I could have, (I don't even know if she has any family here), listen to her music or read the books she loves. I wish I had held her hand. No one seems to know exactly where she went or why she closed her shop; but I know that, for us, the flower was indeed an "indicator" species, indicating a much more ancient footing upon which we rested, she and I. I don't believe in accidental meetings but, for now, the flower we both loved seems not to know its own name; you see, its common name is Twinflower.

"...has he stopped looking?"

This past Saturday, Jan 15th, 2011, I stopped into a Panera's on my way to work to pick up a quick breakfast. As I was getting a glass of water I overheard two men talking at the table next to the drink machine and one was saying to the other "but the question is: has he stopped looking?" The bits and pieces that I was able to catch during my brief tenure indicated that they were discussing some mutual friend's romantic relationship practices and the "health" of them. The phrase I picked out was one person's appraisal of how to tell whether those practices were "healthy" or not, i.e., if the person in question had "stopped looking," then, presumably, they were healthy and he could hope to make the relationship endure.

The touchstone of whether one continues "to look" while in a relationship is an aspect of romantic relationships that is seldom touched upon because we can "make" ourselves "stop looking," by an exercise of simple self-denial; however, such denial doesn't mean that the relationship has anything near the firm footing that it might have had were the "stopping of looking" a result of finding "the one."

The very existence of "the one" is a position that often comes under fire in discussions of romantic love; indeed, of any kind of legitimate, selfless love. The argument is usually developed along the lines of the fact that love is "no respecter" of persons and you can "learn" to love anyone. As true as this is, the conditions of marriage and close familial living, require a serious consideration of other factors.

Additionally, it doesn't take into account those cases in which individuals claim to have found "the one" for them. Such individuals who claim to have found "the one" speak of a bond that lies below, i.e., more fundamental than, the grounds we usually have for the garden variety of love that characterizes most other relationships. In a certain respect, that kind of love, viz,, the kind between people who claim they have found "the one" for them, although it acts selfless, is really self-centered owing to the fact that each sees the other as themselves, i.e., saving the other is saving him/herself. This sense of oneness with the other is universally characteristic of the love that obtains between individuals who claim they have found "the one" for them.

Another characteristic of this love is strange indeed. It is such that it seeks not to change the life of the other; that is, let's suppose that two people, already in marriage relationships, discover that they are "the ones" for each other, they would not disturb those relationships in order to effect their own "oneness." Instead, they would rest serene in the happy fulfillment of having discovered the other, offering whatever help or support they could, should the other need it, and letting their current relationships take their natural course.

Although this option is open to the "ones," their current relationships usually cannot withstand the increased light that this discovery by one partner brings into the relationship and they begin to disintegrate as a result. This disintegration is typically experienced as alienation or a lack of freedom because either the person feels as though affection has been alienated or that there are unspoken demands or expectations that the individual is unwilling to meet. This is not the result of not being loved in the sense of loving referred to above, namely, that anyone can be loved, but, rather, an awareness within the individual who is not "the one" that the founding bond is absent, since, resident within each individual is the yearning for just that very bond with "the one" for them. The awareness of this absent bond is heightened in one individual when that individual comes into the proximity of its presence in another.

In this regard, the suggestion made by the individual above is quite accurate; if someone has stopped looking, then that's a good indication that "the one" has been found; of course, this admonition is only as good as the introspective skills of the individual in question. Someone may think they have stopped looking but really have not...time will tell.

As for me...I have faith I have stopped, but, again...time will tell.

I Dance in Your Light

He shouted wildly, that is, he shouted inside to himself so no one could hear, "I dance in your Light!!" so rapt was he with his feelings. What should he call them? Or, should he call them anything, these feelings he was feeling? He managed a thought or two along the lines of linguistic philosophy cross-bred with Shakespeare's comments on roses. Do we really need names? Can't we just, instead, observe behavior from within the Great Silence? Can we not take note of responses that arise spontaneously within us and then, in mute fashion point with our attention, as if to say, that! We certainly recognize the behavior when it recurs and welcome it but flee its name...or the name it is given by hoi polloi.

Today he was astounded at the feelings that had arisen; partly because they were new, but mostly because they were atypical...at least, for him. What do you call it when your every thought of another has nothing of self-benefit eclipsing the thought; or when, in the course of daily routine, you import that one into every situation and your spirits soar. Or, again, when fraught with cares you rush in silent meditation, there to share and pour out all your heart to just that very one. And can imagination be held at fault when every moment is the birth of yet another future holding both in firm embrace?

He didn't know.

He did, however, take a survey of his acquaintance with pretenders to that throne that lay within his own experience. But naught he'd ever known was anything akin to this; there was nothing left to do but dance within the Light so brightly shining on his path.