All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king
—-J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973)
Our collective human system of being and understanding, having varying degrees of self-awareness, innately cultivates resistance to correction, and may not respond positively to the need for change. Members of our race instead interpret change as a threat to our very safety and integrity, rather than as the potential foundation for all healing and the continuation of the spiritual and physical, support of our very lives. Each human being on our beautiful, but troubled, planet Earth has an innate capacity for dramatic, life changing transformation. We are all capable of launching our own life, our “vehicle for consciousness” into the farthest reaches of consciousness.
This book is a report on how the Spirit Of Life effected a dramatic change in perception and in life, for myself. I had to stop hiding from life, and discard my own “fig leaf” which is Old Testament speak for the need to hide my true nature from myself and others, to not tell my truth to myself and others, and to repress my own creative instincts and nature in order to be accepted by other members of the tribe.
This book’s subtitle could easily be named “Fuck The Fig Leaf, Nakedness Is Where All Healing Is Spiritually Supported”. I never would have thought that by becoming a “spiritual nudist” that I would find my own unique promised land. Jesus and his blood could never work out my redemption, as it was up to me, right NOW, to heal and to accept myself, and learn and live from that new platform of awareness. No teacher has ever existed that can work out our salvation for us, because it is up to US. We are personally responsible for the creation of the life that we want to see, full well knowing that there is also a collective consciousness component that informs our awareness and continuously influences us, while not necessarily having our best interests at heart.
On a day in February of 1989, I had just broken off an engagement to be married to Laurie H, and I was devastated. I went to visit a friend and mentor of mine, Marie Schmidt, an almost ninety year old woman. She was a practitioner of a mystical healing tradition known as the Infinite Way, and she offered me a “healing session” after we had lunch together. I had my doubts, but I had nothing to lose. I was a little curious about this “healing business”, so I went back up to her apartment, still feeling rejected and a bit lonely, and meditated with her for 15 minutes. At the end, Marie spoke the “message” that she heard from Spirit, in regards to me.
“More perfect than you are, you could never be”,
with
“All that is human, is illusion”.
Well, OK, but how can I possibly apply that spiritual salve?
I thanked her for her time, and I then noticed I was totally at peace, and I was “healed” of all of my emotional disturbances around the ending of my engagement to Laurie. It was as if the winds of Spirit had blown away everything from my mind, except peace and joy. Marie’s meditation based dispensation of the Spirit joined with the healing momentum already generated in my life the year before, and this energy did not to wane or waver for many, many years to follow,
As I look at my life’s history, I have been healed by its Loving Mystery
Every realized healing dream starts off as just a wish for better health and peace for one’s self, for a significant other, and/or for the entirety of one’s relationships with their world.. Depending on who we are and what our background in religion or spirituality might be, we may have faith that positive change is inevitable, while those of lesser certainty might cling to the hope that “good” might happen. Then there are those of us who rarely understood or felt faith in anyone or anything, while our hope was invested in “a better day” that never seemed to arrive. As a young person, I had already judged against much of humanity with its constant chaos and drama. I had no faith or hope that I would find a life sustaining truth that might more deeply connect me with my fellow man. Little did I know at the time that my dreams of reaching beyond this dangerous world would best be actualized by developing insight and by understanding our capacity for healing change.
My childhood dream was to become an astronaut, and to then explore the unknown into the farthest reaches of space and time. If I could become a space traveler, i could leave my problems behind by taking a major working adventure vacation far away from Earth . I remained hopeful that I would realize my dream, all the way up to the self-destructive explosion of my life in my teenage years and beyond, where my hopes were destroyed on the launching pad of my life. When I was first forced into recovery from my own chemical dependency and insanity by an early employer, my main dream was to find peace within myself, and to find a self, any self, but hopefully NOT myself that I could learn to understand and love.
“PLEASE don’t make me look at my own issues too closely, Honestly, I don’t know how to look! “
But I would be more than happy to look at another new lover’s issues with her, if that could distract me from addressing my own dysfunction. Poor self-esteem, despair, judgement and conditional acceptance by the supporting culture, alcoholism, and mental illness are NOT the proper fuels to launch one’s life into LOVE”S GREAT UNKNOWN, that is for sure. Self awareness was to take residence within me several years later, when I became sincere about the search for healing Truth.
Even if those who are now lost in the shadows while walking upon the surface of their own “Dark Side Of The Moon”, there still is hope. To be insane in an insane world, to be a stranger in a strange land, is the true new normal for many people presently wandering upon the face of this chaotic planet. How we deal with the insanity determines whether we remain imprisoned, or find our freedom. Blaming others for ones’ present station in life is self-defeating. Yet, that is the first response of an immature mind, a mind not ready and willing to make the necessary adjustments in course to create a new life experience.
Mass hypnosis, oppression, mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism, and their most oppressive spawn, suicide, have been a scourge upon the fabric of human consciousness for time immemorial. Mental illness, drug addiction, alcoholism, and suicidal ideation begins with the loss of personal meaning and choices for life, while companioning with depression, alienation, isolation, despair and loneliness. Suicide is the ultimate act of oppression against self, which has already been oppressed and repressed since birth. Suicide is a cruel act of violence against self, family, friends, and the supporting community. Yet, suicide is perceived by those sufferers to be the only solution for those desperate souls who have reached the end of their options. The statement that the suicide victim makes about our diseased society and its supporting structure of failed family and social networks is almost impossible for our oft-times confused and indifferent civilization to process and integrate into a greater collective healing insight.
Our society continues to churn out potential suicide victims at a catastrophic rate, and that rate will only increase, as the diseases of addiction and mental illness within our culture continues to increase. I have known, and buried, far too many friends and family members who were waiting for a better day, and life, while abusing drugs and alcohol, oppressed by the latest short-sighted political and economic agendas, and/or collapsing into mental illness. My own “wait for a better day” has born great fruits for me, but the fruit was not passively acquired, nor was it gained through waiting for the outer conditions of my life to improve. I first had to confront my own suffering, and the sources within my mind, memory, and heart that would push me towards self-annihilation. Suffering need not be a death sentence, for those who choose to awaken.
Life can be an extremely humbling experience. Those blessed few who stop resisting life and develop the capacity to accept “defeat” are the ones most susceptible to healing. It is when we are defeated, that we become the most receptive to life affirming change and growth. Then we can accept personal responsibility for the rest of our lives, knowing that the willingness, and capacity, for changes in our attitudes and behaviors can now become our “higher power”. When our goal has finally been spotted, or, has spotted us, we each can make our own, unique path towards it. The trail that each one of us blazes is as important as any path made by any prophet who has ever lived, or will live. It is only our ego, or the egos of the hero worshipers of other faiths who have not realized their own highest truth that would say otherwise.
To make dramatic changes in my life, the desire had to come from a place deep within myself. I did not change because my wife and family, my friends, my minister at church, my employer, my political leaders, or my “people pleasing” attitudes cajoled or advised me to change. I had to begin to value myself differently, become conscious that my behavior was causing irreparable harm to myself, to other human beings, to our animal brothers and sisters, and/or to the sustainability for life on this planet, and begin to cultivate inner peace and hope. I understood that my behavior was insane, and that I had a death wish for myself, and/or for others. I sought for a higher power or energy, within myself, to overcome my insanity. Bringing healing to a situation is about recognizing what we are not doing well, and where we can improve, right now, in this moment, to help unfold divine intention. Positive change follows the hearts’ intentions, if the heart is pure. If it is a desire from the Heart, never stop seeking that which seems unattainable, for it is the Heart itself seeking for its own highest expression.
Built right into the very fabric of life, is death itself. There are up to fifty trillion cells within our human bodies which are constantly dying off, and being replaced by others so that we can continue to live, and even evolve (or regress as the situation may dictate). So also should all of our old thoughts die off, to be replaced by newer, more vibrant creations, if we are to continue to live, and grow, and even evolve. Those who do not do the work to shed the old ways, the old thoughts, the incomplete and inaccurate ways of seeing life, and for being in life, will remain the “poor among us”, and more susceptible to the ravages of disease, aging and deterioration of the mind and body. It is IMPOSSIBLE to be present in the past, or in the future. though we can draw from our experience of the past to find the source of our issues that keep us from being fully present RIGHT NOW. How long dare we wait until NOW unfolds in our own lives? Though the disease and despair wrought by toxic male energy remains woven throughout the collective garment that now covers our humanity, there are many threads of hope interwoven within it, as well, and these threads are our hope for transcendence, not for the future, but for RIGHT NOW.
Most forms of insanity can be healed without a lifetime of therapy or taking medications, if it is recognized that at its source, insanity arises from our psychic “pain bodies”, which are habituated, or as I call them, institutionalized thoughts, feelings, and responses that have originated from spiritual wounding from one or more traumatic life events. Remember, not just you and me have suffered from wounding. Our individual and collective wounding is part of the human condition and all of our stories created from that pool of suffering have become institutionalized, normalized, and unconsciously accepted within our culture and it will continue to impact all philosophical understanding.. The unconscious person will continue to weaponize and hold others hostage to their own darkness, until a new way to see life unfolds. Insight will reveal those “pain bodies”, and through the seeing, healing arises.
With our internal headlights now on brights, we can change attitude, change behavior, and change all of our lives. To change my world, I first changed myself, through insight, meditation, making amends to all people who I may have harmed through my insanity, and through carrying the message of recovery and healing to all who are interested in not only hearing my story, but bringing healing to their own lives, as well. I continue to die daily, to all that is not like my true nature. I do not need pills or philosophical ideas to separate me from life’s goodness. I now see the good that is really good, and all of the illusions of self that others, and the past versions of me, offer up to the world as our daily “prayer offerings’ for its conditional acceptance, or its typical rejection.
Though I lost out on my childhood dreams and goals of becoming a space traveler, to “get off this fucking rock”, I was able to live into a new dream. This “fucking rock” transitioned from a living hell, to becoming more of a peaceful paradise, where I became a more conscious traveler through the infinite regions of inner space, or Consciousness itself. My spiritual launching pad only awaited for me to “let go of the controls” to be catapulted into the unknown, mysterious, transformative and healing potential of the infinite. My “spirit rocket” now lifts off daily, without the extra encumbrance of religious and cultural conditioning, misunderstanding, judgement, and all of the superstition which impedes spiritual progress. Love and acceptance of myself and all others, INCLUDING ALL ANIMAL LIFE, now unfolds within me as my primary, life affirming propellant.
To continue to support this process, I always question prevailing attitudes and philosophies of the people in power, be they politicians, employers, pop psychology or spirituality gurus, or religious figures. Healthy skepticism is warranted whenever a person or organization tries to exert pressure on individuals to conform to certain beliefs or traditions. Never sit idly by while witnessing injustice or unfair and hurtful judgement and action meted out by the people in power against innocent people. By your silence, you are supporting the ignorant and the evil doers. They will use your silence to claim that you were in full support of their abhorrent behavior. Do not join in their conspiracy of silence.
To remain healthy, we must be willing to “punch a Nazi”, figuratively speaking, but not those projections created from out of our own wounded past. We must deal directly with the issues of NOW through insight into self, enhanced communication with others and/or outright confrontation with the offensive and antagonistic elements within our society. We are all susceptible to the strong influence of aspects of the darkness from the collective consciousness that we all arose from, and from which we are continuously informed by, so we all must remain vigilant. Our “Presence” does NOT mean the end to darkness, but it allows for all to more consciously navigate our difficult paths while retaining integrity and wholeness.
Shadow Boxers
Oh shadow boxer of Evil, when will you ever tire?
Tis champion of a broken, lonely dream world to which you aspire!
You breath new life into your illusions through continuous mental pugilist blows,
So unclench those mental fists long enough to reveal the One that Peace Knows.
Taking dominion over the world, and then destroying its wildlife, forests, rivers, oceans, and lands was never part of God’s will. It was always part of a worn out patriarchal attitude that still pollutes human awareness to this day. The greed and self-serving interests of our Christian ancestors has been glorified, and exalted, over and above the preservation of our planet, and the cultivation of harmony between the diverse interests of people on this planet. Our politicians and corporate leaders use our Capitalistic economic system to rape and pillage the Earth, and its people, and all of its life.. The “mark of the beast” is seen daily in the attitudes of those who promote the destruction of our environment, and who incite hatred and enmity between people.
The closer I get to my “God’ the more anonymous that I become, and the more my story becomes about the truth of life, and, a little less about myself..My story may have little or no value to you, yet, there is a story, long neglected within your own heart and soul, patiently awaiting its delivery to our world. Your world awaits the King or Queen within you ..You only needs to pick up your own unique crown of the truth of being, and wear it with integrity and love. Take that MAGA hat off, and throw it in the dumpster, the corruption of thought and heart that this hat represents exists at a level far below your real nature, Oh, you don’t want to wear my hat? PERFECT! You should not want to wear the hat of any person but your own unique self, and IT WILL LOOK LIKE NO OTHER..
Never let someone speak for us, as we are responsible for bringing our voice into the world, and having it heard. We should never take for granted our right to freedom of speech and its expression, both at home and in the marketplace. We can find the way to express ourself without sacrificing our integrity, and stand up tall and strong in the face of any ignorant, unfair or unwarranted criticism. We will “cast your pearls before swine”. Our hard-earned deepest truths have little value to those who are considered hypnotized, which are many of the “civilized” and “normalized” citizens within this diseased culture of ours. If they cannot see how our wisdom will increase the size of their bank accounts, increase their prestige and popularity, get them more or better sex, enable them to lose weight or cultivate the perfect body, or just generally appeal to their ego, it will have little value, except “laughing value”. “A prophet is never respected in their own hometown”.
Healthy anger at people, situations, politicians, religious figures, and abusive family members is not only acceptable behavior, it is required for honoring the truth of the moment, and to retain spiritual integrity. Do not follow those well-meaning souls who claim that all anger is hatred, for that is simply not true. Anger becomes dangerous when it does not naturally arise from the moment, but instead from tribal instincts, painful memory and religious and cultural conditioning. Oppression and repression are birthed through people’s needs to control their own fears, and they are incomplete and prematurely aborted responses to environmental threats. Institutionalized anger, or hatred, arises from memories fractured by pain, inadequate education, collectively normalized judgements of all others unlike one’s tribe members, and emotional immaturity, and can be stoked by politicians and religious leaders with ignorant and evil agendas, and it is dangerous, being the source or racism, war, hatred, alienation, and cultural insanity.
I remain concerned about the “unaware ignorance” that is so prevalent within many sections of our society, including elements within the American Christian church. Using a church to get to the truth and beauty of Life can be like using an old Volkswagen Beetle to drive around the world, with a worn out, outdated map. Though Christianity brings a form of comfort with its historical and cultural familiarity to all, for many of us it is a clumsy vehicle for consciousness, with much too philosophically restrictive, time dependent dogma that even postpones “heaven” into a fantasy future after death, with no guarantee that anybody will ever spiritually ascend, no matter how much we try to match “what Jesus would do”, or what the other “prophets” would advise us to do.
Mysticism is at the core of all true religions. Each of us is a mystic, should we shed the oppressive and repressive energies of familial, cultural and religious conditioning. Each one of us should become the leader of our own internal movement towards truth, beauty, love, intelligence, awe, wonder, grace, and miracles. What is the difference between the “mind of God” and the “mind of man”? Ah, the answer is there, for you to discover for yourself. You should never just accept my answers, without your own deepest inquiries into your own personal truth, I have attempted to “capture lightning in a bottle” through my word, and the reader will only retain a glimpse of my own truth, while they are more deeply connecting with their own. Our words will forever remain only flashlights to others, until they become entrained with wholeness, spiritual discernment and integrity, ultimately becoming expressions of our own unique “Light Of Day”.
It is revealing to note how the experience of “enlightenment” allows for the love for all people, and respect for all love based philosophies, yet promotes no dogma, religion or philosophy, as such, for its own support. The prerequisites are a desire for change, self-honesty, insight, mindfulness, meditation, and the developed ability to see beyond the controlling mirages of cultural and religious conditioning. Yet, religions, and their followers, tend to strongly move in tight circles around their own adherents and practices, and often exclude others from their spiritual “inner circles”. And those who point to the benefits of non-religious, spiritual enlightenment are regarded suspiciously, and, in some cases, as manifestations of Satan, or are seen as Infidels, by those who claim to be “religious”.
This book has presented a small portion of my own journey towards healing. As each individual is unique, please do not use my experience to minimize, or maximize, your own. We must eventually find our own direction for life, and not only learn how to think for ourselves, but also to learn how to think and feel with others. We can truly be one with others in a non-controlling, NON-JUDGMENTAL manner, and be with each other with compassion and in communion.
It is of utmost importance to remember that there are three great forces of insanity that members of my family, and our culture, resonate with, which are integral to the Conspiracy Of Silence, and the Common Knowledge Game of human perception. These three manifestations of collective insanity, and the actions that arise from them, have become part of our collective vision, and have carried much of the damaging potential for consciousness throughout history for ALL of us. The following three aspects of our collective disease sets the stage for all divisive attitudes and behaviors, and through our socialization needs encourages tribalism with its bellicose “us versus them” expressions of engagement with others. It has been a decision between “divide and conquer” and “unify and evolve” propositions for humanity for all of time, with the former proposition getting far more play time than the latter throughout our history..
One, there is a perception that if a family member brings harm or damage to another, the “victim” must have somehow deserved it, and they should not expect an explanation, change of behavior, or apology from the abuser or aggressor. In fact, the victim of the aggression will be judged and punished even more harshly by calling a foul, or claiming harm, from the offensive behavior. We can now clearly see one source for the origin of oppression.
Two, there is a perception that we all are of questionable origin, and value, except for, maybe, our self, depending upon who we are unfairly comparing our self to. This is a classic component of the Common Knowledge Game. Depending on the needs of the tribe we belong to, and how much we are acculturated within, we may devalue our self and all others, until that error in thought creates so much suffering that we either annihilate or hide from our self, or begin our “search for truth” to find our own unique place in the Universe, and our true value,. We can now clearly see one source for the origin of repression.
Three, there is the process where crazy making communication is standardized throughout the culture, while abnormal and unhealthy attitudes become “normalized”. We are subjected to the abusive forces of pseudo-love, where our culture, politicians, and authoritative family members are abusive, degrade the dignity of others, and promote values that keep us oppressed and minimized. And then they claim that they are bringing on the pain and heartache because they “love us”. When love is equated with hate by these corrupted people, we all lose our sense of integrity and wholeness. We can clearly see a powerful force for the creation and promotion of cultural and individual schizophrenia.
There has been a term coined to describe the effects of people mutually seeking the best that love can bring out from each other, and it is called the “Michelangelo Effect”. The Michelangelo Effect phenomenon is an interpersonal process observed by psychologists in which close, romantic partners influence or ‘sculpt’ each other. Over time, the Michelangelo effect causes individuals to develop towards what they consider their “ideal selves”. I postulate that if humanity were to see itself with a collective Michelangelo Effect working its magic, we could move in more positive directions towards spiritual healing of our nation, and of each of our citizens. Our ideal self is readily available, only awaiting recognition and the assignment of greatest dignity and value to it by self and others. I value who I am, not who I was, or what I might become. I value you for who you are, in truth, though your unconscious navigation through life may have caused injury to myself or to others. If we can all hold that vision, perhaps the miracle of collective transformation may be facilitated.
The mind must be clear so that the heart can hold others near and dear,
It is healthy to acknowledge that we all need each other. I can’t do this life alone, nor would I ever want that for myself. We are here to help and support each other, and to love each other. Each moment can either be a new beginning, or just the continuation of a painful past where all of human suffering arises from. It is our choice as to how we will experience this moment. I must be willing to travel new paths of consciousness, and never to become too attached to any particular memory, or teacher and their teachings, as it is up to me to work out my own “salvation”. When I let go of the controls, including my own internalized forms of institutionalized thoughts, when I let go of time based thoughts and expectations, when I respect the truth that many times the presence and wisdom of the Great Unknown, rather than just more information and knowledge, is what I am best fed with, that is when I am truly trusting the life force which has always supported me, whether I have recognized its presence or not,
While incarnated into human form, with our poorly illuminated human minds, we can only witness the projections of our minds. All that we will ever see, unto whatever eternity that we can possibly conceive of, is our self, so the most important question for each day is “how will I see myself today?” The answer to that question determines whether I can see through the eyes of the truth of this moment, or just the limited eyes of the past. Each person that I meet either is one of the infinite manifestations of God, deserving ultimate respect and love, or they become just another dead illusion of my aging, conditioned mind. The insight gained through mindful self-examination can erase the blocks to Love’s awareness, and imbue life with a new meaning. Why would anyone just settle for the “finger pointing at the moon” or the verbal description of truth and love, when one could swim in their vast ocean, and be one with them? Sucking more meaning out of someone else’s “finger” will never replace the direct personal experience of our deepest desire, the underlying truth of our own nature,
Be ever vigilant with the internalized image of anything, or anyone. Note how the desire for the image, rather than the truth that underlies it, will attempt to take precedence, and will distort one’s view of the world. The image plays to a small part of fragmented being, whereas the truth plays through the wholeness of the all beings. Lust, greed, selfishness, hatred, and judgement of all others unlike oneself all play to the structure of internalized individualized images. Seeing each other through wholeness and love and thus disempowering the fragmenting images, which is another way of saying “giving forgiveness” allows for right action and healing in the otherwise chaotic and broken world created within the mind of individual self,
The ultimate truth is that “you can’t be real”. For in God’s eyes, there is only one self, one love, one existence, with an infinitude of manifestations. There is no room for “you and me” in ultimate truth, though we must continue to make room for that “illusion” in the relative truth of this world, through practicing forgiveness and letting go, until the final ascension into “enlightenment” or complete spiritual understanding. Finding the true connecting link is the journey into wholeness that our human race must undertake, if it is to survive. When we see our brother and sister as our own self, then we are home. This connecting link is not to be found through our digital devices, or through our “best thinking” or philosophies. It will unfold when we learn how to no longer think time based thoughts, but, instead, eternity based thoughts. That is the only place where Unity will ever be experienced. To see eternity, is to first witness the self without fear and judgement, and then see through the illusions of self to the Heart of Truth.
MOUNTAINS IN THE DESERT
While in realization of Truth, God’s High Mount is found to be just another illusion to climb
The idea infects like a virus to control the innocent, and all fearful, desirous minds.
The non-illuminated, restless mind remains forever devoid of Love’s Rhyme and Truth’s Reason
With its fruitless chasing of desert mirages, until it looks within, and sees the movements that are guilty of treason.
The quickest way to prepare for the new world order (which was once the old world order, by the way) is to get outside of the house, the computer, the movie theater, the Facebook pages, etc. and start getting acquainted with the great outdoors. Once we are free from the encumbrances of our daily lives, we may be more receptive to the call of our spirit. We are not connected to God through our technology. In fact, most of our media related technology has separated us from the quiet state of being that allows God’s will to be readily accepted into consciousness. Our mother Earth, Gaia is a living being, and is the true “son-daughter of God”. And yes, we are children of that sacred child. God’s face is seen clearly, once the detritus of human misunderstanding is moved aside long enough so that Reality may emerge, once again,
We need a real awakening, enlightenment, to change our way of thinking and seeing things. To breathe in and be aware of your body and look deeply into it, realise you are the Earth and your consciousness is also the consciousness of the Earth.”
~Thich Nhat Hanh
Technology is only a tool, though it has become another new world religion, a way of life for far too many people. Our country, and our world, shows the collective effects of falling far short of meeting or even acknowledging the existence of our spiritual needs, or attempting to meet our spiritual needs through illusory processes. Most of our media devices have continued the promotion and distribution of cultural hypnosis, and most people continue to be separated from a greater good through that process. The world exists in a state of hypnosis, and it is easy to see that truth when the mind finally takes itself off of the grid of shared cultural and religious misunderstanding. We can pull our eyes off of the phone display for a moment, and engage the person next to us in conversation. We will all benefit from the exchange. We do not benefit in any spiritual or social way by remaining glued to our phones,
Freedom may not be for everybody now, but it certainly is for me, now, and for all of eternity. I am grateful for my wife Sharon White, who shares in the new/old insight. May all sentient beings be freed from their suffering. But first, all sentient beings must become conscious enough to be aware of the options available to free themselves from their suffering. Pay attention to the man behind the curtain! Get to know him at the deepest level. And then, don’t give up finding truth, beauty, and love until the real Miracle appears in your own life, OK?
Like my father asked, when I was nearly four years old, and finally learned how to talk,
“Will that boy ever run out of things to talk about?” and
“Bruce, would you please shut up!”
Once I started talking I proved that I had the capacity for speech, and A LOT OF IT. Both of my parents wondered, at times, if I would ever shut up. Once a person touches Consciousness, Infinity is the limit to our potential. Yet, my own voice disappeared, after many years of oppression, and repression,
The long-term oppressive effects of the conspiracy of silence that plagues most men will continue to limit our potential to experience happiness and longevity, and love for our life. That certainly was the case for my own life, and nearly eventuated in my early death at thirty years of age,
I am humbled and amazed by both the miracle eternally embedded in SACRED SILENCE, as well as its bridge to human consciousness through the Word. May the Word take a form unique to each of us in all of lives, and lift all of us together into a unity of love, thought, action, and a new shared story of world healing and wholeness. May the Word spontaneously arise from our SACRED SILENCE, and not from the chaos of our troubled past,
As I contemplate the entirety of my life, I see a simple truth arising from the complexities of the details. Silence born of ignorance and oppression brings suffering and disease. Silence born of healing brings joy and love into the world. This same Silence brings forth the capacity to listen with the heart for the deepest meaning embedded within All of Life, in All of Its infinitude of forms, and return the dignity back to each sacred manifestation of life.
Is anybody really listening to each other? Have we given up on trying to communicate with those who trouble us?
Those who have learned how to really listen, hear the “voice for God”. And, we finally get to live in the creation that Love provides for us all, when we accept Love’s vision as our own,
And, no, Father, in whatever form Father may take, I will never “shut up”,
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?
We all have had problems listening to each other. We all have had problems listening to ourselves. Yet, our stories must be told, and we must listen to the “other’s” story, with respect and compassion for ourselves, and for the other. Every good story has an ending. And, so do our bad stories. What value is a story, if it is never told? What value is love, if it is never shared? What is the value of speaking, if nobody is even listening? What is the value of writing, if there is nobody left to read?
We all have infinite value, whether it is ever recognized by another, or not. Discover, enjoy and celebrate INFINITY, rather than the limitations thrust upon us by the deafness of our culture and of our families of origin,
Sing your song, like your life depended on it, BECAUSE, IT DOES! All of our lives depend on each others stories. Those who will not listen to our story, and in turn, will not share their own story with us, are still stuck in their own story of repression and oppression. They are still unconscious participants in the Conspiracy Of Silence,
The sun shines, and the artist interprets its light upon the beautiful landscape, and paints a classic piece of art. The wolf howls in the lonely, cold, snow-covered wilderness, and, miraculously, another wolf a great distance away howls back at him, reassuring both that each other is still there. The bird sings alone in the forest, yet, a hiker stops for a moment, listens, and her heart begins to sing and soar with the bird. The divorced and lonely man sings in the shower, and the salesman at the door hears him, and is so impressed by the man’s voice that he encourages him to try out for a local band. An isolated man stumbles upon the miracle of silence within his being, and a resultant bridge of words subsequently connects this sacred silence to his latest writings, creating beloved poetry and healing balms for all,
As I look at my life’s history, I bear witness to Love and its healing Mystery.
I have penetrated the Conspiracy of Silence, and I have lived well beyond my expiration date. My “miracle experiment” continues in earnest.
My world can never be the same,
How about yours?
Blessed Longing,
by Goethe
(Translated by John O’Donohue)
Tell no one else, only the wise
For the crowd will sneer at one
I wish to praise what is fully alive,
What longs to flame toward death.
When the calm enfolds the love-nights
That created you, where you have created
A feeling from the Unknown steals over you
While the tranquil candle burns.
You remain no longer caught
In the penumbral gloom
You are stirred and new, you desire
To soar to higher creativity.
No distance makes you ambivalent.
You come on wings, enchanted
In such hunger for light, you
Become the butterfly burnt to nothing.
So long as you have not lived this:
To die is to become new,
You remain a gloomy guest
On the dark earth.
