Fireside I
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.
I am simply gaga over the anonymous notes posted from Ken’s workshop last weekend!! That is some of the best content- mind choice advice that could look like”form/directional/behavior” advice ever!! Completely resonated with me. speaking of gaga….the interview in this month’s Vogue with Lady Gaga on the cover, is filled with love and honesty and making it about “them” with love and kindness. I came away with tremendous respect for her after reading what gives her life meaning.
Pam…your #650 above is a Course Haiku. I love your wisdom and the ways you express it. I haven’t read #647 yet. Love to all!
Great EAT PRAY LOVE movie theatre story Annie…i didn’t read the book
Now do you get it? from the lady on the bus …it’s a great story and a great question/reminder for intention/purpose to me that i’m going to ask my self .
Following on from Pam and Michele, I’d say to Annie that she can try to stab me in the back anytime she likes, and I’ll look her in the eyes with the biggest grin and chuckle and laugh and tickle her till the tears start pouring down her face. Great, Pam, even the body’s a prop! Who would have thought of it? It’s like playing with Ken and Barbie dolls, thinking we can get upset because my Ken poked your Ken in the nose… And thanks from the deepest part of my heart, Annie, for you lovely words to me.
Michele, those are really great notes, as you say, over at the Monastery. If I had a little more reserve for serious ACIM thinking, I’d pick up on an idea or two and write a journal entry. But no juices flowing right now! I’ll have to get over to the Tavern and throw down a glass a pomegranate juice to kick start things again.
Pam, I googled the Pancake Man and it’s giving me an idea for maybe trying to sell American style pancakes which no one has heard of over here. The French crepe are much thinner and bigger, and usually contain some filling and are then folded over. But it would be so much fun to try your idea.
Oh, yeah, forget to say HI to Anil, hoping he’s having a good time in the US, and that he has managed to get to Starbucks with his brother in law.
Stateside Anilji ~
Thrilling you’re here in the USA again!
If you still have time in NYC …oh and if you are being joined by Shobha, she might really enjoy the Costume Insitute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I realize she may still be in TX with her cousin is it?
Say since you like Chick Flicks, as does our Mayor Bernard, you may find it wonderous too.
Here’s a bit from their site:
“The Costume Institute houses a collection of more than thirty-five thousand costumes and accessories spanning five continents and as many centuries. Among the preeminent institutions of its kind in the world, The Costume Institute began as the Museum of Costume Art, an independent entity formed in 1937 and led by Neighborhood Playhouse founder Irene Lewisohn. In 1946, with the financial support of the fashion industry, the Museum of Costume Art merged with The Metropolitan Museum of Art as The Costume Institute, and in 1959 became a full-fledged curatorial department. The legendary fashion arbiter Diana Vreeland, who served as special consultant from 1972 until her death in 1989, created a memorable suite of costume exhibitions, including “The World of Balenciaga” (1973), “Hollywood Design” (1974), “The Glory of Russian Costume” (1976), and “Vanity Fair” (1977), galvanizing audiences and setting the standard for costume exhibitions both nationally and internationally.”
Sorry I didn’t think of this earlier for you.
Hi Annie, Michelle, Bernard –
Apologies for a joint message to all (but I have to run shortly and get to bed. Early AM business call tomorrow (:) Now, Annie – before you go feeling sorry for me, let me tell you that I’m one of those people who don’t vacation much (Shobha really dislikes this), but that’s mostly because most days feel like a vacation to me (: —
that can be read many ways, but most bluntly, it means I’m lazy, and don’t work too hard, even on working days (;
And Bernard, coffee at Starbucks was had (but sans brother-in-law), so Katrina will be happy. most recently in Chicago. (yes, Michelle – have moved on from NYC – Shobha still in Dallas, I return there Friday night). Gosh, this is sounding like a blinking travelogue (: Oh well (:
And that was a nice story on the movie review and the posting with the friend, Annie. I still love you lots, and will always do. even if we get into a fight, and i’ll hate you while we’re fighting, and then remember that i’m only fighting with myself, and would rather love you than fight you – and wouldn’t life be grand, if i could do that will all the people in the world, even the ones i instintively dis-like for no good reason at all.
Yes, i get it now (: – that’s what i’m here to practice – to love when i love, and to love even when consumed by hate, until only love remains.
got to run, mah friends.
hugs and kisses to all.
a
ps. Quite interesting being in Chicago. Haven’t been here since 1993. And that was only for a day.
Wow. I mean, W – O – W ! ! “That’s what i’m here to practice – to love when i love, and to love even when consumed by hate, until only love remains.”
Lost for words…
Funny warm fuzzy feeling starting in the toes.
Got that fuzzy warm feeling too from all these exchanges. It’s all gonna be O.K. I know that intellectually and when I allow myself to connect through these correspondences my Spirit feels like it could lift this body up off the floor!
Pamikins the body prop-my stunt double…no one gets hurt…no animals were harmed in the making of this illusion…I like it! It’s like you snapped your fingers and threw me smile and I caught myself being all serious. That always amazes me how easily I slip from completely carefree and lite hearted to someone needs to pay for this attitude.
Bernard it took me a minute to equate the Ken doll with Ken Wapnick. In this world its all about Barbie…she has all the toys. We never really know too much about Ken. Although our Mr.Wapnick makes himself accessible to all, he moves so quickly it’s kinda hard to poke him. Although who hasn’t tried. Everybody wants to play with Ken they just may not know it.
Anil you lazy SOB! I couldn’t love you anymore! W O W is right Bernard!. It is a powerful declaration and worthy of posting in the Village Bulletin. If I may ask Bernard to just remove my name from that posting and place a line there instead so we can fill in the blank keeping it a timeless treasure.
Smiling from ear to ear…Have a beautiful day everyone.
I’m gonna say it…Hugs
Annie
I LOVE coming here. I love being with you all, from all over the world, we still found a way to meet – thanks to Jamie and Bernard.
I had a great experience yesterday. For the 4.time I think, I got in my mail an invitation to an organization that calls itself Swingers. In short, they switch partners. They have sent me their invitations, and I mail them and demand to be deleted from their list, and how the hell did they get that? (well, in a nicer way). I even reported them to an official organization who takes care of spam.
So yesterday here there were, and ego was having a ball! Fear, disgust and ALL the stories I have defined myself by came up, with the corresponding pain and nausea and feelings of being toxic.
And suddenly I had enough. It was NOT going to work to report them or complain or demand my right or anything.
And i got an impulse to read a new book ” Forgiveness is the Home of Miracles” by Robin Busfield. I like it a lot, it is helpful to me. I was reading: (from lesson 181) “Perception has a focus.It is this that gives consistency to what you see. Change but this focus, and you will change accordingly. Your vision now will shift, to give support to the intent which has replaced the one you held before. Remove your focus on your brother’s sins, and you experience the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness.”
So I went to bed and saw these people as sinless, and that their actions were not real and had no power to take away my peace ( or theirs) Suddenly a space opened where I saw them as they are, and their swingers-costumes just fell away. And I also saw that they sent me these emails again and again until I saw them as my brothers.
And if i get another one, that will be an opportunity to see them in truth again.
W O W !!! Ditto all what the Mayor said about Anil´s words. It´s really refreshing to have this Village, the Mayor and you all as companies on our way Home.
Lots of hugs and much love to all.
Have a great day and just remember what Anil said:”That´s what I am here to practice – to love when i love, and to love even when consumed by hate,until only love remains.” Just wonderful, our long life practice. Thanks again.
Lisi
You are correct Nina to include Jamie along with Bernard in the creation of these trans Atlantic communications. Aside from the occasional ‘alert’ that something new is posted at the Monastery one would never have the impression that we are a Sister Site. Has anyone ever invited the Monk or Mother Superior for a drink or bite to eat at their cottage? Not that they would need an invitation. It would be so nice, maybe like on the First Sunday of the Month to meet up with them at the Farmers Market, catch a smile and a heart felt connection and to personally give them the goods we prepared from our gardens instead of leaving them at front door.
I shall speak to the Mayor about a formal invite.
I am with you Annie. Great idea. It will be really wonderful to have them here from time to time. Thanks for all your posts. You always make me smile on my morning coffee. Love you.
Lots hugs all around.
Lisi
Good Morning! Sipping a late coffee and seeing what is happening around the world. That sure would really be a treat to hear from Monk and Mom, or Bonnie and Dreamy. But even if they are silent, I enjoy knowing we are reading the Q&A’s together, and the wonderful Ken notes that show up from time to time. I am so grateful to Jamie for allowing his website to be a place we gather to read them. Smiles across the French countryside, and Annie, I still believe in your hugs! katrina
Hmm. I always felt the presence of lots of our Monastery brothers and sisters looking on quietly. I figured that if they wanted to be quiet meditators sitting on the low stone wall surrounding the village fountain, then that was their perfect way of contributing, and their choice. The day they feel like saying hello, then I hope, I trust, they will feel welcome and embraced when they do show us their lovely presence. I’m not sure there is a way I could really make a better invitation. For whatever reason, it seems our little Village has been reserved specially for us, the few that use it. And I imagine there is a good reason for this, perhaps for us to really get to know each other, to live with each other through our trials and lessons, and share our joys, frustrations, and moments of simple peace and laughter. It’s about us, whether that includes others or not. Here we are. Do we really need anyone else? We is happy as we be, no?
Oh, and I forgot to say, I do miss the others, and wish they were here, too. I remember some of the fabulous things that I learned from my brothers and sisters at the Monastery. Just this morning I was reminded of one of the most potent whispers that really changed my perspective on sharing. It was when a new participant arrived at the Monastery and she was just learning the style of sharing there. There was something a bit biting in her message, and I was just wondering how to respond when I saw that Debbi had already sent in a reply.
She took this person’s critical words and agreed with her, then continued in the same vein, slowly showing how she was capable of finding problems and differences with absolutely everyone and everything. And there was something so kind and understanding in what she said. The person wrote back and said she had understood perfectly, and in the gentlest way possible. It was a really wonderful moment for me.
I saw how I had been tempted to reply with more teaching and theory, pedagogical mutterings of some boring nature that would have just comforted my ego: “I corrected someone’s misgivings, ho-hum, cooler than that you can’t find…” I learned a lot that day. And many other days, too.
Oh, and I also learn just as much from all of you here. You are all very dear to me. Thanks for being my Village companions. Without you, well, what would the Village be?
I love you guys. All of you seen and unseen. Bless us everyone. Is anyone hiccupping yet???? (-;
Oh ha ha funny funny I got post 666. When I was a kid I had a couple of friends that we used to make jokes if we saw a 333 on something that it was only half evil. XD
OMGod I just went back to see who had post 333 and it was ME!!! and Lawrence had 334 and was telling about his brothers busting a gut over his “crow that wouldn’t die” story. Is that weird or what??
Pam, I used to be really scared about those things. Now I see that is silly – but not when I believed in it and made it real for me.If there is something that is not evil, that must be Pam
Good one Pam! Now I’m busting a gut with your observation. That black crow just won’t die…it keeps showing up… truely its evil! Oh I’m sure Lawrence will have a year of hiccuping spells that the doctors will have no explanation for. The irregular esophageal spasms may just do his heart good. An internal massage. Sometimes going backwards is really going forward. Wow, I just impressed myself with that line but before I get too carried away let me say that I can feel Lawrence is blessing us and cheering us on. Good of you to pick up on that Pam.
And I would have never thought to cut the evil in half (hee hee)…makes me think of the two choices we have, right mind (333) wrong mind (666) now how does Anil’s favorite number (555) fit in I’m not sure. So many mysteries for this little Village to solve. I’ll stay tuned for tomorrows episode of homeward bound.
p.s. Katrina girlfriend thank you for holding me up during our last hug…I so want to believe…I do believe. With all the pain and grief your body has put you through all I felt was strength and gentleness. You are a healer. I love the vastness of your heart like that Pacific Ocean that appears along side your posts but right now I see that smile grinning back at me of when we first met. You are such a joy. BTW everytime I use my command up or down arrows on my MAC I think of you…(dozens of times a day) (:
Will let’s see 5’s ehh. Along time ago a friend fanned out a tarot deck and told me to pick a card at random and that it would be my life card, representing the main thing I was to learn in this life. I drew the five of cups. The main symbols of this card are a person standing near a river(the waters/flow of life) and the person is stareing at two cups of wine that have spilled on the ground. Behind the person are three full cups. My friend told me that I needed to stop focusing on what I think I have lost and turn around and focus on the abundance that I still have.
Seems approprite with the news today of the monestary closing down completely amongst other things huh.
And Nina neither are you re.669
The Monastery is a form. The monk is a form. The robes will be gone, the frills, as jamie calls it. I feel excitement: he is taking us all one step further. We are taking this process with him, arent we? and now that he is no monk any longer, he is much closer to us: no more roles.
This is my dream. it is not done to me, but through me.
Dear Everybody, since I write so rarely I find it easier to write in the form of an “oldfashion” letter. First of all: thank you Nina for sending me a mail about your new blog,it made my day and the blue text on Aug.19th was for me 100% !
Bernard, your words from the last paragraphe of your June 18th blog has been with me all summer and most of all:” the world must do what the world must do”… which of course means that” the ego has to do what the ego has to do”. It has been really helpful to repeat these words every time I fall into my own traps. It helps me see the ego not as an enemy but just as very fast and clever thought system that I have created and that I desperately WANT to believe in !
And then to the “big deal department” : I only just learned that the Monastery is closing down ! I will miss it and most of all the notes from Ken’s classes. Now that I mentioned Ken’s classes : there was one new thing for me in the latest class notes, I don’t recall the exact words but something like ” it is all about the others”. Until now we have been trying to undo our ego but now we have to make it about our “brothers”. How do you understand this ? Now my ego is afraid of falling into the “blissninny” trap??
I’m very thankful for this site and I want to send You my Love and my deepest wishes that our classroom experiences won’t be heavier than we can bear ! HUGS from Hedda
Shucks. I didn’t have time to copy the notes at the Monastery from the last Ken workshop. Did anyone make a copy they could send me? While I’m at it, I didn’t get around to copying the notes from the workshop that Jane recorded, in case anyone could send me those excellent notes. That would be very, very much appreciated. I could hardly tell you how much Jamie’s workshop notes have made a difference to me. I still have them in a folder on the dining room table, and use them as often as Ken’s books. They are a gold mine of learning, and give people like me who are unable to attend the workshops often a sense of really participating in Ken’s work in real time.
good morning, y’all.
It’s been an unusual couple of weeks, full of new opportunities to grow, learn and share.
First of all, my White Whale left me stranded at the beach (not such a bad place to hang out) on a Saturday morning. She simply refused to start. Monday morning I called my mechanic and after driving down to have a look, he said she’d have to be towed to his yard….which my RV road assistance was happy to provide at no cost.
My “mechanic” is basically a group of Dominicans, many of them family members, who run a shop in one of the more downtrodden parts of town…enough that they have a sturdy chain link fence for nighttime security. The upshot of it all was that somehow my electrical system got fried….something like a nervous breakdown, I think. No matter how much I refused to support this illusion, it would not go away. We replaced the battery, the ignition, the alternator, the regulator and finally the computer module (which I finally located in Chicago and took several days to arrive). Meanwhile….I was parked and camped out in the repair shop yard…for nearly two weeks….as they tried one thing after another. I felt like family by the time we were done…and maybe that was an important part of the experience, especially since I don’t speak Spanish and only a few of them are fluent in English. But we communicated just fine. They gave me a key to the place so I could come and go at night. I never had such a relationship with those I had only known by way of transient business association. I felt like they’d invited me to sleep on the couch in their living room while they tirelessly tried to figure out why the Whale refused to run. And the yard was but a ten minute walk to work at that. Granted…I didn’t do any laundry for a couple of weeks, but my wardrobe is SO…extensive (not) I was able to get by.
As the days wore on, with every single day offering the hope that it would be the last….I found myself paying more attention to appreciation of the friendliness….lack of fear….that I found in these men. I started to look forward to walking “home” after work, and awakening in the morning to their musical conversations and laughter. My acceptance of the situation….illusion or not….was a path to staying in the moment and being grateful that I’d forgiven myself for my initial alliance with ego…my impatience, discontent, concern about cost, etc. etc. I ended up being pretty darned serene.
Even now, she is running a bit rough…probably due to an injector that would require dismantling half the engine to get at. I’m hoping the gasoline additive will clean it out. If not, I understand I’ll probably get to spend another three days with my new friends. And being thankful that my generator, by which I run my rooftop air conditioning, is working just fine. We’re scheduled to have 4-5 days of 90+ degree weather.
I also got to observe how, in an unpredictable, new situation, I get very focused….my “world” gets much smaller and I eliminate “distractions,” such as visiting or posting here (although I did make the daily trek to the Monastery of the Mists, and just found out this morning that Jamie has altered course).
There have been some other interesting and unusual happenings over the past week, but I’ll save them for another ponder.
blessings
zenbear
Hedda – maybe the notes will be on his new site? I have understood it in this way: only the form of the Monastery and Monks will go. I found particularly wonderful that his first post of all “the forgotten song” is now becoming “the remembered song” – the name of his new website. I think all Ken’links will be there and q and a’s too. And I love your posts and hope you will write again.
And i think I must have had a forewarning that the rooms in the Monastery would close down: I have saved in a folder a lot of the most silly nonsense we did in the grotto, for times where i really need a laugh.Anyone wants to have some of that, i’ll gladly send it over.
Zenbear,
looking forward to your ponderings. There is such a space around your words, I rest there, always breathe fully when i read you. And I also remembered a time where my late husbands old car from old Czechoslovakia
broke down in Sweden – in Uddevalla, a small town…and the strange experience we had there where it seemed that all that was “arranged” for us both to see that it was safe to trust. The mechanic who picked us up in the middle of the night was from Austria, so he could talk to my husband who at that time only spoke German. We did not know how much it would cost.
We had to sleep over at a small hotel. When the bill came(we did not know what it would cost, we did not dare to check (-: we had ex<exactly 2 krones left after paying the mechanic and the hotel.(about 1/4 dollar.) When we drove into the garage at home, the gas was exactly empty.
How sweet to remember this now – thanks for reminding me – I want to trust my script.
I hope you all are feeling peaceful with the closing of the Monastery. Our beloved Jamie is simply shedding a skin, and his presence will be all the fresher and purer for these changes. There is no need to be concerned – Jamie’s life is about serving as a wise teaching resource for all of ACIM students, and he will not be gone for long. (Indeed, he is not gone at all, if anyone needs him.) He will be re-surfacing very soon but in a slightly different, more appropriate form, that is all. It would be very difficult, and not entirely appropriate, for anyone to retain a teaching metaphor such as ‘Monk’ and ‘Monastery’ for too, too long. At some point such a metaphor and structure is no longer needed.
We will all have very fond memories of that place which certainly still lives in my heart in a vibrant and real way. I still get chills when I think of the intense sharing and laughter I found in parading through the corridors and halls of that wonderful place. I’m so happy I got there just in time (April 2009) to really enjoy the crescendo of activity and creativity that burst through its pages. I hope you feel likewise. If I might suggest, perhaps our role is to take the love and generosity we felt during that time and find some way to express them in our lives. There are so many ways of doing this. I’m sure you can come up with one or two. It would be a great pity if we held on to anything else in our memories except the gift Jamie gave us during that time.
I’ve made a little addition to the introduction to the site on the home page. Hope you like it – it’s about you all!
Hedda, I don’t remember exactly either but I took it that Ken has changed the form a bit on the be kind to others for they are innocent and it just comes back to which mode of perception we choose to use. Plus he expanded it to include inanimate objects and food. Hugs.
I have two Theories on yesterdays happenings. The first is from Mr. Ego. The second is from HS
Theory #1
Where to begin? I think the 5’s have it Ms. Pam. Well done pulling that one from the deck. If all mysteries could be solved this easily and quickly this Village would close up shop too. Looks like your personal life reading is in sync with the Village life reading. So let’s not focus on what has spilt to the ground, its soon to be wiped up and erased for good. Let’s focus on the abundance you/we still have.
I should end it here; But I promised a dear friend I would explain my feelings this morning on how I felt when I heard the news of the Monastery closing.
Is it a coincidence that the Monastery is closing after I petitioned a letter from the Mayor to extend an invitation to the Monk and Mother? Did I make up the idea that this was a Sister Site to the Monastery? I honestly can’t recall now if that’s how the Village was birthed or if I imposed that title onto it. If it was all in my mind then just stop reading here. (I know you can get Coursey and answer yes its all in your mind Annie, but if you still feel even a smidgeon of confusion then read on if only to be entertained) All I know is that something still just didn’t feel right btwn our relationship with the Monastery and the Village. I struggled like the slowest kid in a classroom. Everyone else seemed to “get it” and had moved on happily and I still felt like something stunk to high heaven. Geez is this how LA gets its rap…always so dramatic and insisting our feelings must be true and felt by everyone.
So here we go again. I was surprised but not shocked like the first time. I had anticipated that the gallery photos would be the next to go so I exercised some control a while back & asked Emm to remove my picture from the readers gallery. I figured when the next blow came it wouldn’t hurt as much. I was wrong. The surprise is I didn’t see Jaime closing down the whole site. And Zafu I shall borrow your wording and call it what it is; another opportunity for radical acceptance. I’m all for house cleaning and new beginnings but throwing the baby out with the bathwater well that just seems extreme. But ok a new site will open soon, I feel like the message is that this is a clean break from any monk, monkling, monkey business references. Let it be known that from this day forward any connection, vestiges, innuendos of connections with the Village are no more. Jamie has a new life and a second chance with Bonnie. Those are his priorities and rightly so. His attachment to us monklings needs to be severed. We were his bestest teachers…I’m sure Ken told him so.
.
And one final note. The irony that the last candle I lit for Monk under my anonymous title was from the Country of Serbia and Montengero. (FYI Croatians and Serbians have a long history of feuding) This was Spirit playing an inside joke on me. Gosh this Course is so specific. I thought it was about the Monk but its all about me the whole time.
For Our Monk
— from Србија и Црна Гора (Serbia and Montenegro)
Theory #2
And the Truth shall set you Free
*******************************************************************************************
Sorry Bernard I’m not feeling peaceful. Not sure what I’m feeling but at least it isn’t as strong of a negative reaction as the first time Jamie shut stuff down.
I get what Nina is saying about the monastery and monk just being roles that were played(re.672) but at the same time what Annie has to say about throwing the baby out with the bathwater has a validity about it also(re.679). Also I have had a “when is the other shoe going to drop” attitude about Jamie and the monastery since the first abrupt shutdown so I wasn’t to surprised that A: He decided to shutdown. and B: He only gave a one day notice. I guess the surprise for me is that he didn’t do it sooner.
Plays Doris Day theme song: …what ever will be will be, the future is not ours to see…
Bernard, I have the notes and will happily be sending them to you. I guess we’re all egocentric when something happens. I had to chuckle, Annie, when you said your calling the Monastery a sister site could have been a precipitator. I thought it was my thanking him for letting his site to be the place where we read the Q&As and Ken’s notes together. Or mentioning my prying thoughts about Dreamy. But, besides my ego introducing words like ‘prying’ into my guilt, it has also made me wonder if Jamie’s health has been in the same crazy place as mine. I have the same concern about our beloved Debbi. I wish them all the time and space they need to be strong.
Of course the most likely reason is simply the extreme difficulty of getting a website to pay for itself, and even make a living for someone. Most of us are unable to pay much at all. We are able to read various sites, and wonderful information and sharing moves from mind to mind as it should be, but reality dictates that it is not a place to make a living. I don’t think Gary Renard would not be on a plane constantly if he could support his mission from home. Just like you, Anil, maybe? Bernard’s site here is WORTH supporting, but without a thousand subscribers it is too much $ for the web browsing public, most of whom are commonly either subsisting in retirement or broke. The DU board is ok, but i find that my whispers there generally offend Lonni, and are sent back with a judgemental remark. So, I try to restrain myself from getting into that.
More words later about the sadness of discovering my novice robes disolved because Jamie said so. What about my twirling dervish pictures. If i’m not no-kind of monk, what am i?
Hey everyone,
Nice to see some familiar names here. A lot of people I’m very fond of. I’m glad to know The Village has been such a nice social gathering for the friendships that were begun at the monastery.
I thought with the closing of the monastery I’d come over and pop in for a visit to say thank you to all of you who participated, and all of the kindness you’ve shown me through the years. It makes me happy to see you’ve found a new home here.
For anyone concerned about the new site missing FACIM notes or the daily Q&A etc., everything will still be there, only the monk theme will be gone. We’re hoping to be back online tonight, but if not we should be up tomorrow.
The closing of the monastery, no more monk etc., has been in the works for awhile. The timing was set very specifically by Ken; I just happily followed along, as I could see it coming, and was ready and wanted to end it as well. It feels right, and good. Like Bernard said, the monk-metaphor could only last so long, and its time had come. All that is disappearing is a costume over a costume, so nothing much at all. Plain is more helpful now, and I know this decision is a win for everybody.
Thank you for being an integral part of it all, and making it a such a fun time. I hope you will feel as good about this transition as I do.
Love,
Jamie
Morning everybody:
Late for coffee this morning. Lucky Annie left some fresh just brewed coffee for me. Her coffee is always delicious and a good company for reading all your wonderful posts today. This Village is really a good place to be in and I am very grateful to walk my path Home with such companions at my side. Lets wait everybody for the opening of The Remembered Song. It´s going to be joyful.
Have a great week end.
Lots of hugs and love, Lisi
Hey Zenbear, Thanks for the update. I have reread it several times now. Something in it I find comforting but can’t quite put my finger on as yet.
{{{{Katrina}}}}
@zenbear: I have found myself in situations similar to yours, and your post nudged me to observed my own transtion, measured in my responses. there was a time that I would have thrown a tantrum, expecting the universe to rescue me from whatever life-ending scenario I believed had happened to me. With time I learned to just take breaths and put one foot ahead of the other–believe it or not, that represented significant growth! And then I arrived at a place where I could feel the wash of relief pour over me as I relinquished my grip on the illusion…..and embraced a spirit, sure in the knowledge that love would prevail. Perhaps it has been moments of crisis–or at least my perception of crisis–when I have recognized what really matters.
Perhaps it is just semantics here, but as your “world” gets smaller & you are freed from distrations, mine grows larger: I am absorbed by the energy and the spirit, safe and whole and nurtured. It is when my ego is manifest that my world becomes small….so small that I am agitated by every bump, by the slightest inconvenience because I am at the enter of it.
I suspect that I am in my spiritual “right place” when I am fully cognizant that I cannot control the events around me. thank you for a lovely post.
Hi friends –
acimmonk.com now looks like how it used to when it used to get hacked in the old days. just the bare screen and the monk’s lovingly written words.
(pam, if it helps, i’d like to share a thought/thoughts on how i perceive jamie’s mind working- i think once he decides on a course of action, he wants to put it into motion *immediately*. i really don’t think he intends to hurt anyone, or upset anyone, it’s just his way – he likes to get into action mode rapidly, once he knows what he wants to do. others, like some of us, annie(?), you(?), me (?) we tend to want to give notice and plan for changes. just different colors in the same rainbow, dear friend. i trust you don’t perceive this as saying that you *should* be peaceful, or you *shouldn’t* be feeling what you are- if there’s one thing i’ve learned so far, i think i have little or no control on how i feel this moment, and how i will feel the next moment. anyway, apologies for blathering on, if so (: )
katrina – good to hear from you. (i do love travelling – and would travel a lot, even if i didn’t need to travel for business. luckily, my wife also loves travelling/visiting the world)
peaceful saturday in dallas.
love,
a
ps. bernard, dear bro, thanks for architecting those lines into the format you did. it was fun to come to the Village and see those words on the home page !! (:
Bernard:
Loved your expanded version of the Welcome to AcimVillage. Thanks for included all of us. And yes, the affection and love shared here is by no means virtual. It is a real reflex of our oneness. Thanks again for sharing all this with us all.
Lots of hugs, Lisi
Bernard, i just wanted to emphasise that i didn’t mean YOU were egocentric. I was ‘forward referencing’ to my and Annie’s thoughts that we had just said something that might have caused our loss.
Also, i love you and Nina and Lisi for your cheerful and loving reminders to set judgement of whether we are sad or not off on the side and wait and watch with J (both of them). In fact, smile and chuckle a big, like we’re going to a makeshift play stage with sheets for curtains and going to watch a new play idea from the kids on the block. Back when i seemed to recognize the longing to be a monk, i know (and knew) it was just a symbol of my longing to remember the song. And i am very happy and comforted by the truth of what you say.
zenbear, i have a great story to tell you about a 2 week ‘stopover’ in Wales in a very old mercedes which required 7-10 days to get parts from Germany. i need more time than i have at the computer today to tell it.
Nina, i know Bernard posted your new blog site, but i’ve looking all around the village. i must have stored it under a wildflower for safekeeping and can’t see it for all the butterfly and bee (and spider) traffic.
I am going thru storage boxes today and gleefully sorting thru what is valuable and what is not, for a DUMP run tomorrow. Wheeeeee! Catchy, this virgo sorting thing.
And for my little irish leprecaun signoff today (but i will not be gone, unless the creek rises, or God Wills) — into the midst of this i offer — Ta Da —
Tomorrow is my birthday, yuk, yuk.
Time to get baking, and swilling up Chai/Tea/Ale/and all our Nectar concoctions. Somebody send a goat up the path to the Monastery with a note, and tell them we set out plates and cups for them in case they need nourishment and laughter while packing. In fact, we could strap some on the goat and send it up.
love, katrina
Happy Birthday to you and any Lovely Goat-herders out there!
Yodel-lady-whoo!
Annie, after mr ego’s theory, the nr 2 made me chill all over: And the truth shall set you Free.
I love you
Nina
P.S.Katrina: http://ninotchka44.wordpress. com/ (of course no spaces)
First of all, I’m so grateful and happy you clued us in on tomorrow being your birthday Katrina!
Second of all, my discovery yesterday of Jamie’s announcement for a new form for his content had me feeling initially sad and throat lumpish teary. The first time the change came with our Monastery village I really cried. I immeadiately in my heart supported him and was one of the first responders to comment on the site I understood. It really did make sense with his whole new just married II life and about to be new homeowner was truly happy to move forward with him.
I loved Annie’s,Donna D’s candle and Lisi’s too and lit one myself. After that I went to the monastery and scrolled down to oldest 10 posts. The oldest was Oct 2005! I spent most of the day looking at the old posts and I was so lucky to chance upon the post from June 4 2007 that had the 1/2 hr audio clip of Bill Thetfords Memorial service. OMG!!!It was such a blessing to listen to, full of love and humor and wonderful stories. They played a recording of Bill reading one of his favorite passages. Of course Ken spoke and he recounted this funny saying Bill made up based on the “I am not a body I am free”….”I am a body, and I’m sick, hurry up call a Dr. quick”.
I think that audio clip might still be available and I’m going to ask Jamie about it so that we might have it here in our Village or at least know where to find it. I called my daughter’s father,as I knew he would love to listen to it, as most of us here would love to. He was in a business meeting and I told him I’d call him late that night to direct him to which page of the 74 or 76 pages that comprised Jamie’s site.
When I logged on at 7pm I found the site was gone so I was glad I took the stroll I did.
Love to all,
Michele
{{{{{Leni}}}}} just saw your greeting in the Birthday-parlour – wonderful to connect again with you – have been thinking of you often!
#682 here at the Fireside is a pondering from our dear Jamie. It was waiting on my computer since yesterday to okay it (since it was a first comment), but as I was away overnight, I only got to it now. Sorry everyone for the delay.
So great to see you, Hedda, Zenbear and Murril!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Hedda, glad I said something useful! And your thoughts are good for me too, so thank you. Zenbear, what can I say, but fabulous story. I really felt that friendship and the disappearing of barriers between you and your mechanic friends. Murril, every time you pass through it’s like a breath of fresh air.
How wonderful to see Jamie’s gravatar #682…I have forgotten that “name” of the one who just hugged – does any one remember? but it seems it was Jamie all the time – how wonderful -now i only miss the Vigil: that was the only link to the silent ones –
Hi Jamie: Thanks for your words. Thanks for your growing. Just coming from the new webpage “The Remembered Song”, so beautiful, so simple, so clear. Thanks for including all of us in this so joyful feast.
Much love, Lisi
{{{Cordelia}}}
But what’s in a name?
Good of you to stop by Jamie. Sorry I spelled your name incorrectly on that last candle…but like I just said what’s in a name?
See you around and do come visit again.
zenbear I enjoyed the stroll of reflections and gratitude you felt and shared. A timely reminder of the sweet gifts of laughter and friendship. To be given a key is most telling of what a gentle zenbear you must be. Not like we didn’t know that already. It’s good your whale found the Dominicans as only islanders know how to take care of one of their own.
What a warm and wonderful birthday you have all given me, with Bernard’s & Jamie’s notes for perfect timing. Time to return the ‘church’ to the Catholic diocese, and look across the village square to see Jamie and Bonnie sauntering by, Dreamy padding behind, out for an evening walk. We made great play of it, and found a way to make such trusted friends. It was quite a relief to find all the FACIM notes still there, the Q&A’s, and Jamie’s writings. Whew, i find i am still attached to those. But, you know, it is okay to think i’m attached to some things, panic when i think they are going away, and then be relieved to find i still can ‘have’ them. It’s just okay. Ego is like that.
Love to all, see you at the Fireside tomorrow. Endless left over chocolate cake into Eternity . .
I just wanted to say how happy I am that the time was finally right for Jamie to come along and say hello to us. I would really like it if we could welcome him in the warmest, most brotherly way. While there might still be some feelings of upset about the way in which the Village was born, I’d like to remind everyone that it was my brother, Jamie, who made this opportunity available to me, and ultimately, to all of us, and I can only be very grateful for that. And of course, he is the father of all our relationships here at this site (apart from Murrill, perhaps, who strolled in one her own). He is also the father of the name of this page we all love, the “Fireside”. He and I sat up very late one night working things out, and he came up with the idea of a warm, comfortable place like sitting around a fire for being cosy and intimate together. He was thinking of us all the time, and his spirit is very much in these pages. I like that.
I know he is going to be an important healing, loving and learning presence in my life for a long, long time, probably right to the end, and I’m looking forward to that. I hope you can all find a place for him in your heart. My love to you all, B.