Fireside III
It is to the Village Square that the townspeople come to exchange views and thoughts on their beloved spiritual philosophy, learning from each other in kindness and wisdom. Then when their minds have been filled, they retire to the tavern on the western side of the square where they share in social discussion, learning of each other’s events and challenges, happinesses and sometimes sadnesses, too. With a mug or glass in hand, they collect in front of the great Fireplace that dominates the long wall. Benches and chairs are often filled on market day with those who have come from farther away, bringing news of events and views the local people delight in hearing.
If you are feeling disoriented by all the philosophical talk by the fountain in the Village Square, then come sit down on the bench here with us for a while just to soothe your mind and share a mug of tea or coffee. Let’s all make sure the conversation is quiet and simple, caring and thougtful, exactly the kind of talk you might have around a warm hearth, the only light filling the room coming from the fireplace.
This is the third installment in the Fireside discussion series. After we reach 900 comments, the page takes too long to load on your computer, and so we start another fresh page. To review previous discussions, we keep the old pages (Fireside I and Fireside II) which you can find under the ‘Village’ tab on the navigation bar at the top of screen under the image of the tree.
The calm before the storm is just that, but the storm before the calm has its ebbs and flows. I have just watched a month go bye, in a busy and active way, yet it seemed so slow.
I have no excuses for not posting, and don’t really need one. That’s why I love you guys, and still a part of me feels guilty. Annie it is nice to be missed, and Anne I am glad you stayed too. Tex by any other name is love, unless we are taking about the state of course. And Melody I am glad you are a silent one and are still here.
I have some catching up to do, and I am getting sleepy. So, good night, God bless, and good news tomorrow. Can’t remember if I con-graduated you Winne on being grandma again. Love and advice, right up your alley kid. Love you all, and Mr. Mayor and first lady Pat, behave yourselves.
God bless us every one
Pappa lawrence
(: {{Lawrence}} (:
ps. Thanks yet again for yet another gift, Annie (:
Thanks a, for letting us know about the new KW video. I love his videos. This one is excellent- very “bottom line” stuff. I have been aware for many years now of my constant companions of anger and a sense of unworthiness. Anger and hatred seem to be the same. I used to tell my teacher/friend Roger that I was angry because “I can’t make it so” (make the dream real, and fix it the way I want). I call it ontological anger, because it permeates everything. I think we are angry/have hatred for God and ourselves because we refuse to accept responsibility for the separation. Deep stuff. But as Ken says, at least we can be in touch with the selfishness. Now I am hoping to get in touch with the “love beneath” the hatred and anger.
Hello to Melody, nice to meet cha. I second your praise for Ninja note-taker. I don’t know how one can listen intently and take notes at the same time to the degree that she does. I never see anyone in the audience with a tape recorder, perhaps they are not permitted.
Blessings to all. I am grateful for all of your wonderful insights and sharing.
You’re very welcome, Jacalyn !
It is a most excellent video, and it took me several years to overcome my resistance to hearing and appreciating Ken. Sometime last year, (perhaps a few weeks before you joined us so lovingly in the Village), I was overcome by my feelings for him and his work, and I eventually added the Foundation YouTube channel – the only YouTube channel I have ever subscribed to – onto my menu bar.
I hear you so clearly about this “ontological anger”. I feel it myself. It permeates my daily life, and is ready to flare up on the most trivial things. Luckily for me, I am able to own it, as mine, and have been able to “catch it” in time before it erupts in my immediate family of three (wife and infant son), and with increasing confidence in watching my mind am able to “see” the projection before it hurts either of them. (With other people outside my household, I haven’t had as much success (: — I routinely see my business associates, subordinates, bosses and partner companies as being the “cause” of my anger — well, that’s going to be a longer battle to extricate myself from (:
This particular video of Ken also struck me for a couple of other lines — he says “that we are completely comfortable with the idea of a punishing God”, and for a variety of reasons, some of which I can explain/express, and some which remain inarticulable, it rang true for me.
I can’t remember the other line now (; – have rambled on long enough.
Apologies if I have tested your patience, and nice to have you here. (and neglected to mention a few weeks ago, that it was very cool to know that you used to get Daan Dehn’s newsletters, he seems like quite an interesting fellow-traveller…)
Take care, — and blessings for a good weekend..
a
a, could you send me a link to those ken-vidoes – and particularly his last one?
thanks
and love
Nina
Hi dear Nina,
There’s no link as such. What I do is go to the YouTube main page, and just search for “Foundation for Course in Mircales” in the search box. It should immediately bring up the Foundation “channel” with one easy place with all their videos.
(Of course, now I don’t have to that method anymore (since I have it bookmarked on my menu bar !)
Let me know if you have difficulty with that method above – if you do, I will go to YouTube, do the above, and cut and paste that resultant link to you in a separate email. (don’t have my email application open right now – I try to avoid email as much as possible (;), just the browser, and getting ready to go to sleep – around 2:00 am here in exciting Hong Kong ! (:
love,
a
Thanks, a. I will manage
Here is the URL I use, when I am not going from Jamie’s site – http://www.youtube.com/user/FndtnACIM
Peace to all!
Anne in TN- whereabouts in TN do you live? I live in the very western portion of NC, so I am very close to TN. If you are ever coming east towards Murphy, let me know and perhaps we can meet somewhere.
Huh ?
We can now post URL’s directly into the village. Is the Mayor getting lax ? (:
or does Anne in Tn have special priviledges ?? (:
cheers, and a good week ahead to all,
a
Maybe now that we have to do the math and spambots can’t it is safe for the Mayor to take that restriction off of the village. And since I am assuming he is still out of town in a low wifi zone and isn’t able to manually allow them in a timely manner he trusted it is safe now.
That’s interesting, Pam –
I had the same thought while falling asleep last night – I think the math problems now allow us to post links directly.
Nina, sorry – I didn’t know/think about that angle, and was remiss in sending you the link on this blog. ANyway, hope you got it from Anne in TN, and all well with you ?
love,
a
Oohh I like that URL address Anne, neat and clean.
I subscribe to the Youtube videos so I can get one sent to my email directly. It’s delivered weekly and dare I say better than driving to Temecula.
Now, I will share with you here a not so flattering observation of my ego observing ways. I would notice a slight irritation that there were always at least a 1,000 views prior to my viewing. I would wonder how that could be if its brand new video? Clearly, I signed up so I could be one of the first. Now I see that my delivery time must be delayed by a week cuz I have yet to receive the latest video “getting in touch with our hatred of God”.
Oh the irony!
My cannibalization exposed along with my hatred toward God all via you tube…
Truly, I am never upset for the reason I think.
I know this is a gentle reminder but it doesn’t feel like one. So now my mental scurrying begins I’m wanting to release this hot potato but to whom? I have given up blaming others (mostly). And blaming myself isn’t an option either (I do it daily) maybe I’m getting better its hard to tell. I tire quickly. Sometimes, the only relief is knowing I don’t know what anything is for and I just leave it at that.
I surrender.
BTW today is Charles Dickens 200th Birthday.
One of his phrases is alive and well here in our Village…”God Bless us Every One”
Thanks to our very own Papa Lawrence and the consistency of your closing address over these past years has made me appreciate how powerful a single intention can be.
annie … you brighten this place up so much
mahalo!!
today’s lesson is soooo wonderful
(slightly edited)
Lesson 038
There is nothing my holiness cannot do.
Your holiness reverses all the laws of the world.
It is beyond every restriction of time, space, distance and limits of any kind.
Your holiness is totally unlimited in its power because it establishes you as a Son of God, at one with the Mind of his Creator.
Through your holiness the power of God is made manifest.
Through your holiness the power of God is made available. And there is nothing the power of God cannot do.
Your holiness, then, can remove all pain, can end all sorrow, and can solve all problems. It can do so in connection with yourself and with anyone else. It is equal in its power to help anyone because it is equal in its power to save anyone.
You are holy and so is everything God created. You are holy because all things He created are holy. And all things He created are holy because you are.
In today’s exercises, we will apply the power of your holiness to all problems, difficulties or suffering in any form that you happen to think of, in yourself or in someone else. We will make no distinctions because there are no distinctions.
In the situation involving —- in which
I see myself, there is nothing that my
holiness cannot do
In the situation involving —- in which —- sees
himself, there is nothing my holiness cannot do
There is nothing my holiness cannot do
because the power of God lies in it
The purpose of today’s exercises is to begin to instill in you a sense that you have dominion over all things because of what you are.
~~~~~~~~~
this reminds us each of our super power to bless
to be kind in any situation
~~~~~~~~
may all manner of things be well
may it be so
~~~~~~~~~~
am thankful for all the sharings
am sending aloha and mahalo to each and every one of you
the visibles and the invisibles, I am happy and thankful you are here
Sweet surrender. Guess what showed up in my email box this morning?
you got!
“Getting in touch with our hatred of God”….previous viewings 1006.
It was a good way to start my day (:
And yes I do believe that was our zafu listening with a smile at 6:42 minutes into the lecture.
mahalo sweet friend!
Your joyful presence is always refreshing both here and now on you tube (: Aside from the loving words you write, I have found that I also love the way you space your thoughts. Giving each as much room as they may need.
Often I feel your liteness simply because the words appear to be floating.
I feel that with Nina’s posts too when s h e d e l i b e r a t l y s p a c e s t h e
l e t t e r i n g a p a r t (:
Maybe its a therapist thing. Showing by example that that its ok to take a little time out and look at things from all angles-giving a little space … a little respect.
To expand and trust that there is plenty of space out there to be used and played with it is a beautiful concept.
Posting. It’s a good thing.
ttyl (talk to you later)
Annie
too funny
… since annie has met me and she said it was me in the ken video …
well, I just had to watch it to see who might look something like me
… well my goodness it is me
how did that happen? when??
anyway
too funny
Well, I just had to watch that Ken video again, to catch a glimpse of Zafu. I must say, your countenance radiates so much love! What a blessings you are! Thanks, Annie, for the reference of the exact time.
Kinda missing our dear mayor. When was he scheduled to return?
Here’s a nifty little video (:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwEYYI-AGWs&feature=player_embedded
Well the ability to post video links is being moderated again. Guess you’ll have to wait for the mayor to show-up and allow it through.
How cool is that zafu? One day when you have great grandchildren and the Course in Miracles has gone mainstream you can tell them how you attended lectures at the Foundation and that there is even footage of you in the audience on some ole youtube video (:
I remember often thinking in my youth how lucky those people were that had lived in the time of Jesus. Unaware of the historical significance of listening to him speak and eating the fish and bread that he multiplied. Ok, the people who were there for the loaves and fishes must of known. But I’m guessing the rest of them had no idea that all future generation would be so envious of them.
Now as I sit at the foot of Dr. Ken Wapnick in the year 2012 I see the potential for the same misconception, that bodies matter, to be played out again. Clearly within this very posting there is no denying how part of me enjoys the celebrity of Ken all the while not fully accepting the same message that there is only One Mind making all this up. Quite literally, I was/am one of those people I claimed to have been envious of 2000 years ago. The only difference is now we have purple chairs to sit on and to Tex Anne’s chagrin, no free Salmon. (I’m trying to embrace all your salmon talk Anne). And speaking of gravatars, I think your shorter hair style zafu really lets your radiance come thru as Jacalyn said. And who appreciates all things radiant more than a*, he’s the one who recognized you immediately.
Did you have a good video to post Pam? Will wait for approval (;
OK that was weird the post 819 said it was awaiting moderation but the link still works so I used Cory’s computer to get into the village and it looks like a normal post.
Yes it did work! I didn’t see 819 when I went to go write my post but it was there when I submitted 821. So I went to check it out and what a fun and playful thing to do! New York is cool that way and how fun the human spirit is when its encouraged to be loving. It seems to come so naturally for some. “To infinity and Beyond” was one of my favorites.
Thanks Pam and Cory
Pam, I watched and liked the video very much. Also, there was an arrow, top right hand side of video, if you clicked on it, it took you to another cool video with children on a merry-go-round or carousel. But, if you went longer it got a little weird.
But, thanks a lot Pam, I very much enjoyed it. New York, New York……
Well, back to work, Sharon and I, are going to a goodbye celebration for Kaitlyn’s boyfriend later today. He just got his PhD from Carnegie Mellon and was offered a teaching position at Harverd for two years. Kaitlyn will move up to Boston when she finishes her masters program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, in about a year. Her boy friend Yigit has been shopping for rings.
So, down the road another wedding, and in May a grandson. I am of course happy about all of this, and at the same time feel trapped. I have longed for home for so very long that it has become almost an ache. And, Pam I hear what you say about Ken and at being in a special time and maybe place. I have thought that way. I also know that if it is special, it needs to be forgiven.
I am sorry I didn’t mention it before, Kaitlyn loved her trip to the Baltic Triangle and made it home safe. I am all over the place with my babbling so I will say goodbye.
Love you all
God bless us every One
Annie, I love the Salmon and they love me.
(Whatever does that mean?)
I’ve been dreaming about you! Of all the things!
The UR text workbook site is such a thing of joy me…
it gives me just enough distance and closeness to the words and concepts…
I am able to remember to do the lessons… it is a happy time of wonder for me!
Happy all the way around! It’s good to “know that you know” something is true.
Ken once said that Helen said, when she was asked if actually believed in what
the Course is saying, Helen said ‘I don’t believe it….but I know it is true!”
I know beyond all doubt that this can’t be anything else – except a crazy dream!
Love to Everybody!
Great video Pam…me too Annie that infinity and beyond from the baby..priceless. Wonderful news update about your family Lawrence. Have a great weekend EveryOne love Michele
Anne, when I see the salmonimage, I remember a wonderful gary Larson-cartoon. Lots of salmons are seen jumping up a waterfall, against gravity – and in the stairs beside the waterfall, a salmon dressed in a coat and a fedora is walking…
That’s us, aint it? pretending not to be the salmon of God 🙂
Hey everyone, I’ve ultra busy, burning the candle at both end running around trying to get things up and running and done. It’s great to pop back home here and see everyone’s eyes shining brightly. There’s no change with the posting links policy. I just happened to authorize Anne from TN’s post quite quickly that day. I allow links to be posted when I think they’re of interesting for everybody and of (what I consider to be) good taste. Bad tasting posts, like the cauliflower chewing gum kind, will not be allowed.
I’ve been able to get some work done on some neglected areas of my life lately, and so I should be able to find some time to refresh our little home here a bit. I have an article that needs to be posted, and a youtube, too. Then I had an idea for some Skype get-togethers but just haven’t been able to organize it all.
I noticed Zafu in the youtube, too. A regal, shining presence. Now we know she takes this stuff seriously.
I still think that the site needs a going over. It’s quaint and lovely and all, and has become our charming home, a home that feels so comfortable to all of us who like the Village as it is. I just think that other people might want to be a part of something that looks and feels more ‘spiritual’, or perhaps more ‘serious’ maybe. I don’t have any specific ideas in mind, but if you have any, I’m open. I think we have something lovely here, our little community, the writings and contributions. But I think there’s a little something that’s missing now, that little something that has first-timers want to stay for a while. Let’s face it folks, after two years, perhaps we need to white-wash the walls, plant new flower beds, open the window to a new horizon. Any thoughts?
Mayor…. with all the Anne’s, Annie’s, and Anne’s up in here,
it’s a wonder we get anything done at all!
And Nina – that is funny! The Salmon of God…
The Alpha and the Omega 3!
lol!
Well Hello Mr. Mayor and welcome back to the world of wi-fi connections. Burning candles is so 20th century (: You have been missed! And I do look forward to a nice long post from you.
A New look and a little Spring cleaning is always good. New Horizons sounds like you have some definite ideas yourself. However, I do worry about you worrying that we are not serious enough. I think we are doing a fantastic job of being seriously non serious. Maybe that’s your point? Are you wanting more ponderings of the text/workbook vs daily life happenings?
I know for myself I do enjoy the social aspect tremedously. Which I know is telling of what kind of a Course Student I am. Nonetheless, I love the Village Square with the latest notes from the Foundation or quotes from the Text. But I rarely speak when I pass thru there just a nod of acknowledgment for the gift. Speaking of gifts, I know there is another seminar in Temecula this weekend I won’t be going but I hope Jean is up to taking some more notes.
I’m thinking a new visitor might just need a better introduction to the site. How about having a youtube video of youself Bernard personally welcoming them to the site with an explanation of how the site is set up (serious discussion vs playful discussions how to post with the requirement of rudimentary math just so we know they’ll pass the test…hee hee)
Anywho that’s my spin for this morning. Looking forward to a healthy discussion from all.
Annie
Welcome back Bernard! I’m all for supporting your idea to have a spring refresh. Annie’s idea seems a perfect addition to the home page. A video that both Welcomes new visitors and explains how to best enjoy this village’s diverse offerings. It would be nice to have the Christmas and Santa post filed away rather than on the front page. Perhaps a rather large lovely fresh visual backdrop motif that could change with the seasons for the Guided Tour of the Village’s Purpose and Paths.
Some forums that are established and tend to pick up new readers –
They start with a “Start HERE” type intro…. so an absolute beginner
wouldn’t run away thinking this is a cooking blog for Salmon or something…
If that happens – I sorry from the bottom of my spawning heart!
Also, I like talking about Coursie things…
I tend to talk about Course things in real life…
Each day, and every minute in each day, and every instant that each minute holds.
And then sometimes talk about people who talk about the Course!
I second Annie’s suggestion. And also share the worry that we are not serious enough. Thats sounds like struggle and work and performance and demands. I love that because it is so easy and loving here, I really dare to be honest about what is going on with me and the Course.
In that video of yours – if you choose it – I would mention that we all seem very cosy and familiar, and that that might seem difficult to come into – so i would make really clear that we truly welcome newcomers and will do our best to make them feel welcome.
Anne – Alpha and Omega3 – ah, thats my girl. You never fail to think original and fresh.
hugs and pink champagne to all
Nina
I meant to say that I share the worry that you worry that we are not serious enough. Trust ego to screw up where it is possible.
Hmm. I guess I didn’t express myself properly. I don’t have any issues with the serious/unserious discussion on the site. I think what I meant is that it might be more appropriate for the site to have a more ‘serious’ LOOK to it, like it might be time to downplay the metaphor of the Village to come up with something that people associate more easily with a site for exploring their spiritual questions. This might be, for example, a theme to do with nature, a beautiful horizon or mountain scene, or field, sunlight over a meadow, that kind of thing. But I’ve been wondering if too much emphasis on creating a virtual village has not made people say, nah, I don’t want to play country-bumpkin, I want to be engaged in spiritual discussion with like-minded people. I’m quite sure we could find another presentation for the site that would be more in line with our intentions, interests and friendship.
I’ve had the welcome video planned for aaagggeess. I’ve even written it out and rehearsed it, but just never got around to doing it. So that shall be done. Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
Lastly, the Alpha and the Omega3 – now that is really funny, and I even got it!
Jamie has notes from yesterday’s seminar “The Dawning of Consciousness: The End of Oneness” posted.
…. • See everything as a classroom in which you’re trying to learn to be loving and gentle.
Hugs to all
I’ve been meaning to tell everyone that I highly recommend Ken’s 3 CD set “Looking With Jesus”. It is wonderful. I’ve listened to it about 6 times now, and still get something meaningful out of it at each listening. It is packed with “bottom-line” stuff. On the 2nd CD, he goes into depth about projection. Very helpful!
Thanks, TN Anne, for letting us know about Jamie’s notes!
I guess its true; the fear of my specialness exposed.
If I post – I exist
If someone responds then I’m extra special.
If no one responds
Its because there is no one out there
like Helen said; ‘I don’t believe it….but I know it is true!”
To post or not to post; that is the question.
Dear Bernard,
Personally I like the village theme and I don’t feel like we are bumpkins. Bumpkins implying ,in my neck of the world anyway, that one is of lower intelligence or ignorant of more sophisticated ways of being.
I love the grand trees pictured on the home page and the comments/recent villagers ponderings page.
The motif of a village suggests to me a closeness with my fellow villagers that one might not find in a more metropolis setting and a slower easy going way of being in general with easy access to nature.
Plus the idea of village has positive connotations in popular culture as being more wholesome in some way (even though we know that isn’t necessarily true). Heck even Hillary Rodham Clinton back when she was First Lady of the White House came out with that thing of It takes a village to raise a child. And a lot of people use the phrase Global Village in reference to the world at large and the access to it via the inter-net.
I don’t understand why you feel the need to “look more spiritual” or “look more serious” in order to attract more people to this site.
In fact why is it desirable or even necessary to be more attractive to others in the first place?
If we aren’t “attractive” to them then I would assume this isn’t the place they need to be and visa-versa if we are attractive to them then it is the place they need to be.
I guess what it boils down to is I don’t understand why you see a problem with this site as it is and feel a need to change things to attract people?
This isn’t to say that it would be wrong to change things I’m just am not understanding what the problem is. Could you maybe explain the line of thought that brought you to the conclusion that something needs to change in order to be more attractive to whomever the others might be?
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!
xoxoxoxox
And you and you …. and especially YOU!
happy valentine’s day to everyone
happy share the love day
pam … am so happy you wrote what you wrote … me too!!
everything about this place, our village home, the fireside, the garden, the set up, the look and feel of it … is wonderful
the seriousness or lack there of or where ever on the spectrum the measure of seriousness lands is a place of personal projection …
the words that are written here if read from a happy heart can seem light and happy, if read from a troubled heart may they be of comfort, if read from a lost heart, may these words bring such a heart closer to peace
my support of whatever you decide is truly with you
like pam, just want to share that I love it just the way it is too
it’s more beautiful than you know and is loved and appreciated in ways beyond measure
happy valentine’s day again
may we all be blessed by the kindness of strangers and if possible may we find a way to be that kind stranger to someone today
may we all find ways to say I love you as in the song ‘what a wonderful world’
may our hearts be happy and our minds at peace and our encounters be kind
love to you today
mahalo mahalo …
Pam, Zafu – how relieving to read what is exactly at my mind too: you put such exact words for it. This is exactly where I want to be: there is intimacy here, that opens our hearts. Spiritual discussions…(shudders a little) – no, that is not why i am here. I am here to witness my sisters/brothers lives, witness how it mirrors mine. In “discussions,” it frequently turns into discussions of quotes and metaphysics. We have so many other sites for that.
Bernard – do you in any way think The Village’s “worth” to have anything to do with the numbers of visitors?
It is the Village’s heart that has created our feeling of safety and intimacy. SO much more than “discussion-group”, it is a Place for listening softly to each other.
I’m in agreement with Nina on the “spiritual discussion group” that is not why I am here either. I don’t want to debate in an overt way zen vs. tao and how does it line-up with acim. Acim is spoken here everyday even if we aren’t using “course” language or constantly quoting lines from acim. Even when we quote from zen or tao or anything else it is from an acim perspective and I love that.
As Nina said re 842, “there is intimacy here, that opens our hearts” and this why I am here and I suspect we all are.
The coloured wrapping on the site may change or not – but the heart is the content that stays the same.(:
PS alpha and omega 3 was awesomely clever funny, tex
Happy Heart Day Everyone HUGS
Ooooo, bottom line stuff on the second CD about projection; thats next on my list then. Thanks Jacalyn re.837
Wow, a lot of good stuff going around the village. Keep posting Annie it takes a lot of lights to keep me on the straight and narrow.
Well said Pam, straight from the heart and the pages of Big Blue. The village has it own tempo, always changing in little ways, yet always the same. Our brother Bernard shares our thoughts and feeling I am sure.
But can’t you just feel how he wants to bring acim to others. It is a dirty thankless job, but someone has to do it. We know he is working on the Course in French with others. I figure what he needs is either another site, which is not and easy feat, or at least a new entry page to the site. He could have a section for the Village and its rooms but the main thrust if he wishes is his new vision with its own rooms.
Just thinking out loud. I have taken a lot for granted in my life, I don’t take you all for granted . Let us all be lights for one another that we might truly have vision.
My love to all
God bless us every one
lawrence
Happy Valentine’s Day to my little Village tribe. Sorry I’ve been so quiet lately. But I have been reading nearly daily, only an occasional whirlwind day when I don’t even get the computer turned on. I got healthier, and everyone else got sicker. I keep trying to see them flying off rocks, remembering your hope and true sight, Zafu. Pick my teacher, ego or HS. Pick again, and pick again. Try to remember to be quiet and listen after I supposedly pick HS and ask J to show me how he sees it.
Hey, Bernard, was that holy enough? :>) Somehow, I guiltily doubt it was.
I’m all for creativity and I think it has to flower and keep flowing. So, I can see you changing the home page to anything you like, and whatever excites you for your blog page. Your ideas and decor need to be you.
It is important to attract thousands of people, so this can be a vocation that allows you time to work at it. Blog work takes time, and doesn’t happen on its own while you are constructioning and smacking your thumb with a hammer, or spending your only free time munching a lunch croissant. I suppose people who are learning about the Course want to compare it with Tao and Zen and Adyashanti and Osho and Mooshi (or Moo Shu). And I know I needed to do that at first to understand where it fit inside what I thought were my values and my search till then. Little did i KNOW . . .
And then there was the trying to live in the 3D world, with the Level 1 overview, and Level 2 poetics. In fact, I love to see Bev reliably remembering to put her Course comments at the Village Square, I love the casualness here at the Fireside. Maybe rename the Village Square to a spiritual search motif, and let the Fireside be where we forget what we are trying to do, and just spill out what we really do. This is where we talk about living the Course, or being willing to be willing.
Just like we love what you do here, now, we will love what you grow and expand to do. Just one request, if I may, please do not throw us in the rubbish heap. If you do, I’m going to have to look at Big J, and ask, Is this really happening again? Am I supposed to get rid of my computer?
Annie, if you blog, I exist. And I exist as only Light because we are all the same. Not at all sure about why I seem to keep tripping over these body blobs. Before my DH retired, errands and appts withstanding, I spent mornings reading, meditating, on my laptop doing whatever I wanted to. Now, with him here and also not feeling well, I am up and cooking and keeping him company with whatever he wants to do. I am totally up on all pawnshop valuations and on gold mining in alaska since he’s watching that sh*t. I’m starting to explain to him that I may have to go back to my own personal routines, and not be able to keep him company in front of the tv. I think when he starts to feel better he’ll snap out of it. Vexing as TexAnne might say, eh? Adjusting, I’m willing to adjust. But I really want my old holy ways. Love to all, katrina
You guys, you guys!! Where to start?? Firstly, lastly, mid-ly, and simply – none of this talk about changes has got anything to do with potentially altering this home in any great way. And certainly nothing to do with saying goodbye. No, you’re stuck with me, whether you likes it or not! You just don’t get rid of family that easy, you know. We’re in this together now, till the great cosmic ‘Poof’. Besides which, I need you all – you’re my guinea pigs. Where could I possibly find such understanding and patient, not to mention forgiving, people on whom I can practice all my ‘spiritual’ stuff? Speaking of which…
My thought wasn’t really about trying to be superficially ‘spiritual’ in any way. I’m still a fun, creative and really informal kind of fella. It was just about maybe making the look of the site less ‘rustic’, and maybe bringing in a scenery change that would add a slightly different flavor.
But you’ve all convinced me, I’m won over. Thanks to Pam and Zafu’s wonderfully expressed thoughts, and the others, too. I certainly don’t want anyone to feel I have a problem with rustic country folks. That’s what I am, through and through, and that’s why the site looks like it does. I was just wondering if I shouldn’t try to make the site more visually appealing to folks who come from the city, or are used to other virtual spiritual homes which have a less country look to them.
I really don’t mind what we talk about, as I’ve always said. I agree with all of you who say that the real practice of this Course is in the deepening daily relationship of patience, understanding, honesty and forgiveness we share; certainly not in how many times we say ‘may the Holy Spirit bless your head, thou holy Son of God.’ And for that we can talk about absolutely anything, which we manage to do really well here. I’m really not into holiness, as such, except in Swiss cheese, where it’s quite indispensable. So the mice can sneak through.
I can’t even say that I want thousands, or even hundreds or even tens of dozens of people here. I’m not that concerned really with how many people visit. It would just be too much work to manage with more people. However, if one or two people showed up who were sincerely interested in being part of our little home, but didn’t understand the images, scenery and context we surround ourselves with, then I think I should try to make a bridge to them. But it’s not a priority. It’s true that I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to work on a site in French, plus doing presentations, articles, and starting a group or two here. Then this Friday I’ve managed to get myself invited on to a local radio station. So, lots to do.
Then just yesterday we had a rather big adventure, especially for St Valentine. After enjoying a lovely little breakfast just the two of us, Pat had to drive to work early (7.15). We’ve had lots of snow and ice lately and sub-zero temperatures, but a lot of that had started to thaw. That night we had had a light snowfall of hardly an inch, so nothing really to worry about. I told Pat I would ride with her down to the village and then walk back up with the dog, just to make sure she was safe on the way down. We started down the road and things seemed okay-ish. But coming down a slightly steeper section the road bent ever so slightly to the left, and as Pat corrected her direction, the car just kept on going straight as if on rails. There was nothing we could do, it was clear we were on a sheet of ice, invisible in the pre-dawn light and under a powdering of snow. We slid right off the road, down the bank and the car turned over on its roof.
No one was hurt, it all seemed to happen in slow motion, as if we had already been through this. I felt surprised and yet safe at the same time, as if I knew no one was going to get hurt. That didn’t stop me from being pretty scared for Pat, and the dog, though I didn’t think anyone was hurt because it all happened so slowly, since we were only doing about 15 mile an hour down the road. We all got out of the car by the back door, the crushed roof making things a bit more difficult, but it was okay.
It was quite a site, to see this perfectly good car on its roof, where just one minute before we were toodling down the road happy as Larry. So, as of yesterday, we need to find another car, and to deal with all the residual thoughts that come up of “How could we have been so stupid, why didn’t we do such and such, we just aren’t vigilant enough in life, etc.” I sat for big parts of today just looking at the stream of thoughts the ego can come up with, about guilt, fear, resentment (at whom I don’t know – life/God, I guess). And though both of us might have valid reasons to be self-critical, we haven’t been doing that to ourselves very much. That’s just too easy, and just not interesting. Peacefulness is far more interesting.
So when the car was hauled off to the junk yard (a lovely old Audi 80), we looked at it and our thoughts about it and ourselves, and wanted to find a way of really being peaceful. It was only a whole heap of judgments, thoughts and interpretations that were stopping us from being perfectly peaceful at that time, and we saw it. There was nothing ‘real’ that was ‘making’ us be unhappy, as such. In fact, we looked at the car and started to feel a real peacefulness come to us. We had not ‘hurt’ the car, the car was just a different shape now.
If we looked at it closely, we could even see something beautiful in the shards of glass and new shape of the roof and fenders. They were just a different shape, not a bad one. What made us think there was anything ‘bad’ there as such? Everything, absolutely everything, was a portal back to love and inner beauty. It was all there, all the time. A sunset, a flower, a broken windshield, a concave roof, a broken headlight, a shaft of sunlight, it’s all the same thing. Nothing is there but that quiet space in which everything appears to be occurring. This reminded me of the first lessons in the workbook, which I feel I’m coming to understand much better. The Love of God is in everything in this junkyard with its masses of smashed vehicles, bent, torn and rusting metal, because the Love of God is all there is. Quietness is all there is. No appearances in this world can alter or erase what is truly present.
My conclusion:
“No cars were truly hurt in the making of this dream-scene. The producers take no responsibility for the wild interpretations that people might make while viewing this film. All the characters in this car crash are totally fictitious, absolutely all of them; no resemblance to any real form of Life is intentional or even vaguely possible. Peace be with you, and so it shall be.”
Keep on truckin’, my friends! Have a good one!
Hey this rustic “bumpkin” loooves the holiness of swiss cheese also. (-; And little mices are cutesies.
And dream figures or no I am glad the crash scene was a no one got hurt one. HUGS
Bernard – Love your “conclusion” section. Perfect ! (:
love,
a
Bernard, good to know you Pat and Athos were unharmed in the morning drive to work.