Garden
The Quiet Garden of Forgiveness
Love, too, would set a feast before you, on a table covered with a spotless cloth, set in a quiet garden where no sound but singing and a softly joyous whispering is ever heard. T-19.IV.A.16:1
“There is a garden at the foot of this lovely statue with masses and masses of soft white lilies and little paths between to slowly walk and talk with Jesus. There is a fountain nearby and the forever trickling sound of water reminds us to leave the desert of wrong-minded thinking.” (Winnie)
Forgiveness is truly at the heart of the practice of A Course In Miracles. All of us have had moments of shifting our perception of a difficult situation, and finding peace. On this page I offer you the space to tell us about the stories that have stayed in your mind, times when you felt a real change occur in the way you were looking at a problem or upset. Maybe you were encountering aggressiveness in somone, or were being judged and belittled. Perhaps it was a loved one who had left you, or even a pet that had died. Or maybe there was fear, a threat in your life to you or to a loved one. In all these situations, at one time or another you have found peace beyond the pain, release from shame and sadness, and comfort and freedom in their place. There was always a presence there with you, the company of one who loves you and guides you to see differently. If you have had moments of finding that clear presence, please share it with us here.
A little more technically speaking, these would be moments when you reversed the projection and saw that the problem was not outside you, but with you, your perceptions and thoughts. A sudden moment of clarity perhaps when you saw that the upset was having pushed Love away, and not really what was happening outside you. Or perhaps it was just a moment when despite the upset or problem, you felt safely accompanied and that helped you remain unaffected by the problem, to get a little distance from it.
Please try to write concisely if your story requires a lot of explaining (and teach me something about brevity!). Also, please try to share from the heart and not from the head. It is always nice to hear the simple sincerity behind these inspiring stories.
Annie here is the horoscope, You should have gotten.
The Year Ahead
Forecast for August 2013 to August 2014
If You Were Born Today, August 18:
You are at once determined and emotional, so that there is a distinct tough side to your nature, yet a deeper, more sensitive and intuitive side as well. You love to learn, and will constantly seek out experiences that add to your knowledge throughout your life. Your mind is very strong and powerful, sometimes to the point of obsession! You can easily become fixated on one particular thing or feeling. If you pour your focus and determination into a particular life path or goal, your chances of success are great. With self-discipline, you can achieve anything you set your mind upon. You can be rather stubborn and rigid at times, but you are also friendly and likable. Your love life tends to be rather stable, as you think in terms of practicality and the long-term. Famous people born today: Robert Redford, Roman Polanksi, Patrick Swayze, Christian Slater, Maia Mitchell, Edward Norton, Madeleine Stowe.
Your Birthday Year Forecast:
This year, you can feel that your spiritual and material goals harmonize or at least don’t get in each other’s way. Circumstances and your own attitudes facilitate following through on your dreams or turning your visions and ideals into reality. Combining imagination and effort is successful now. There can be a sense that your dreams are realizable, and you can build stronger faith and acceptance.
You have a strong capacity to dedicate yourself to things you hold dear this year, and particularly to a creative vision. Your ideas and plans are especially big and far-reaching right now.
This is a strong year for learning and communications. You are able to find new insight into old problems, and your thinking processes during this period are likely to be especially original. This is a good year for projects involving technology or New Age topics. You may find more opportunities to attend meetings and other organized group activities, to communicate online, and to take part in activities involving computers, science, or metaphysics. Relationships with younger people in your life are rewarding. A subject or even a person can be especially inspiring, prompting you to explore new perspectives.
Fortunately, you have an eye for detail so that even as inspired and imaginative as you can be during this period of your life, you are able to match these things with hard work and dedication, as well as practicality. You may frequently be turned to for advice or asked to speak about important, serious matters.
You might also benefit from publishing, higher education, foreign affairs, and travel this year. This is a year in which you are likely to find many opportunities to expand your horizons and to take on a new perspective. It’s a strong period for life and learning experiences.
This should be a strong year for new learning endeavors, awards and rewards for completed projects, communications, and new life experiences. Your cooperative attitude helps you to succeed across all life departments. You are thinking in big terms, but also willing to put in the effort to work towards your goals.
2013 is a Number Five year for you. Ruled by Mercury. This is a year of exploration and freedom. It’s a time when exploration and reaching out to others brings opportunities. It’s a good time to advertise and sell. Surprises are in store, and the routine is broken. This is a year when exciting relationships can be formed, or, if you are already in a partnership, new life is breathed into the relationship. Advice – explore, look for adventure, keep your eyes open for opportunities, mingle.
2014 will be a Number Six year for you. Ruled by Venus. This is a year of relative contentment. It is a time when love is the easiest to attract, and partnerships formed under this vibration have a better chance for longevity. You are able to attract others, and material things as well, this year. This is a good year for establishing harmony in the family and in the home. Advice – develop existing relationships, be positive and receptive because these kinds of energies help you to attract what you desire.
Tex thank you for your tact. One other thing I have a real memory problem and have been seeing a specialist and have a follow up appointment tomorrow. Annnie I hope I don’t forget you guys and my family both at home and in the Village. I love you all.
Papa lawrence
Bernard if you read this and I am still wrong about something, you must expel me from the village, if for no other reason than these long posts!
Papa Lawrence, sometimes Bernard speaks through different voices, and I can tell you on his behalf that you will never be expelled from Heaven (I mean, this Village) (:
Annie, I doubt you’re reading this, but I’m not just a day late like Tex says, in fact two days late in eastern time/thought ! And more importantly a dollar short as well ! (:
( does that qualify as a birthday greeting ?? (:
Ps. Michele, thanks for being the birthday angel in the Village !
And Tex, I do(did) really want to see Elysium, but today I can only focus on how big that dollar that I am short is ! I get to see clearly how money obsessed I am. And just in writing down that thought comes some relief ! yay ! (:
♡ Well, Well Papa Lawrence, one thing for sure you will never loose your sense of humor or your family here or at home, in that you can be assured. ♡
I quote from the horoscope above:
[You may find more opportunities to attend meetings and other organized group activities, to communicate online, and to take part in activities involving computers, science, or metaphysics.]
I shall take that into consideration and try to embrace that reality; that there is “enough”
enough time- enough energy-enough Love
I see that I have been subscribing to the Scarcity principle the Course speaks of.
And thank you Anil for extending the “Thank You” to Michele as I believe that should have come from me and I neglected to do so in my previous post.
Texas-I shall try and see Elysium soon and get back to you.
I will conclude with something I shared with Ninjanun in my last correspondence to her.
…..One note of interest; I found that I was getting soooo sleepy on the drive back and I was only 15min. on the road. I realized for my own
safety and those around I needed to take a quick 10 min nap and shake off the heaviness. So I took the very next exist but there wasn’t
much around just a gas station and no shady place to rest. When I finished filling my tank with gas I felt a little revived and thought, ok
maybe thats all I needed, and then the Ken CD started playing again and I recognized it was the CD! I was in full blown resistance!
I needed some peppy music to get me home-Ken’s CD of Futility was gonna kill me and who knows who else!
[ok -according to the Course, no humans or animals would have be hurt in the making of this memory]
Hmphff!! and WoW!
I felt dumbfounded there in the middle of nowhere.
My resistance was undeniable.
This was the bestest time to listen….
I don’t get alone time and now my ego was having a tantrum and pulling out all the stops.
Literally making me stop!
So what’s a girl to do?
Nuthin
Observe the anger/resistance
accept the fact I’m not ready to listen
accept the fact I’m shushing that little Guy on my shoulder (just like Ken said that I would)
And try not to fall into the trap of feeling guilty for pushing it all away
I drove home with the music playing and not one ounce of sleepiness
the ego is safe again for a little while
The CD “From Futility to Happiness” [Sisyphus as Everyman] awaits.
Like that line in the Course- “Free will does not mean that you can establish the curriculum.
It means only that you can elect what you want to take at a given time.”
I am Grateful for how the weekend played out-maybe not as I had envisioned, yet I know without a doubt
it was perfect in every way.
xoxo Annie
OMG – Annie!!! And it’s your b-day, well hope you had a good one, sweetheart.
No problem, Lawrence. Thanks for stepping in for me, Anil!
Big hugs to all, gotta run to bed, to work, to bed, to work…
B.
Congrats, Mayor B.
Your last comment makes me think you have graduated from Sisyphus to EveryMan. I’m still making that transition myself, a big week for me as I make some decisions in Vietnam.
Annie dear one, splendid to get two long posts from you in one week. Do you love birthdays as much as Michele does ? If so, I will pray for you to be born again each week ! (:
Oh…and you’re spot on re: Papa L…his sense of humor is unfailing. I love it !
What else can I babble on as I sit around after our board meeting in Vietnam is all done ? Can I wax eloquent on how fun it is to have this place on the Internet where I can find daily connection ? And if I don’t feel connected on a particularly an oh-so blah day, even on those days, it feels “something” (can’t quite say “good”, but it certainly is Something !) (: to come here and relax in the sunshine or the fog ! Go figure.
something is always happening, on the road home, and nothing is really happening, we’ re already home…. Apparently.
Mind-bending. That Jesus guy. I tell ya ! (:
ciao, muchachas and muchachos…
This weekend we are running a two-day ACIM workshop in a town called Figeac. We have twenty people coming from all over France. It’ll be really interesting. I have a few exercises worked out: the gold-fish bowl, Dark Vador and me, Shakespeare and Jesus, Galileo’s glasses, just to make covering the principles a bit more lively. These French really aren’t into long presentations. They want practical exercises, that’s the only thing that keeps them interested.
Hey, and what if we did a workshop over here in English? Any of you like to come? We could kick off the realtime ACIM Village with a couple of these exercises and do them together. Let’s set a date. Who’s in? You’ll like “Galileo’s glasses”.
Bernard, you live on Toulouse ? Or Toulouse is the closest town two hours from where you are ? I am heading to Berlin again next week (3rd trip in two months), so the odds of our meeting continue to increase !
What location would you have the English workshop in ?
Anil
Anil, yes, that would be Toulouse the closest big town 2 hours away, or Limoges (same distance). I’am afraid that for the month of September I wouldn’t be able to find a half day to get down to Toulouse, not for the moment. Every day is booked for the moment. October is not going to be much easier though, since my sister and her family are visiting from Australia for two weeks. Ah, life… But if you’re doing Berlin frequently now, then perhaps there will be another opportunity later on?
We would do an English workshop in the Toulouse or Bordeaux area, if we didn’t do it in Sarlat, a beautiful medieval town close to where we live.
Happy travels, my friend!
I’m ok with Sarlat. It’s actually closer to me from Berlin than Toulouse. (:
what dates are you thinking of for a Sarlat English workshop ? Potentially ? Depending on the dates, I could make it, I might also be able to bring some acim friends from Berlin (but not promising I could pull that off ! (:
Ps. Don’t worry about opportunities to meet. Life is long, my guess/ hunch is that I’m going to live till Dec 2055. But of course I could drop dead tonight. (:
We will meet when we meet (:
Pps. But let me know what date/dates you are thinking for an English language acim workshop. I’m happy to join in if dates work.
Annie – what an awesome story! You always have such clear insights… and good taste in things. Can’t wait to discuss the movie. I am still hooked on Inception, btw…
I return to leave a few pages from the text ” Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood”. It is the book I reach for when words of comfort are needed.
In this journey you have set out upon, you play a dual role, you are both doctor and patient. You are both human and spiritual, wise, and foolish, good and bad, civilized and savage. There are those who say there is no evil. Let us not be confused for there are subtle contradictions that lead to trouble. “In him there is no variableness neither shadow of turning,” he is the light in whom there is no darkness at all; but where light is not, where destructive human emotions are in control, there is the manifestation of darkness, there is human savagery, there is chaos. When the individual wakes to the knowledge that God is to be known and turns his face toward the light he takes the first step toward realization of his godhood; with faith as his shield, the sword of the Spirit in his hand and the spurs of resolution on his feet, he presses on to this fulfillment as the son of God. This is the way to become reborn, the opportunity our human birth has given us. And it is not wise ever to underestimate the strength of our enemy, the prejudices, weaknesses and fearfulness of the human self. We will not suffer such dismay if we know we have them to deal with. But do not give these emotions power over you by dwelling on them in morbid discouragement. This is where you are doctor as well as patient, and awareness of the Love of the indwelling Christ is the medicine, it is the antidote, it is the healing of the Spirit; abide in it, for of yourself you can do nothing and in him all things are possible.
In the human experience are warring natures, hot fermentations, old doubts and cynicsisms, the soul sicknesses from which you can be freed if you will set your heart upon him. His healing balsam is Love, it is given you to compound, it cannot be thrust upon you.
May the Lord of all, the very real and present Saviour, the very quick, the very vital, breathe his health in you and fill you with divine breath; may he hold your mind in stillness, quicken your thoughts, speak with your tongue and listen with your ear; may he give you the impluse of the moment that you may hold it illumined.
One has said, “this is no voyage for a little barque, this which my venturesome prow goes cleaving, nor for a pilot who would spare himself.” And yet today when the earth is more greatly troubled than ever before, whole communities of people turn their faces away from their responsibility to a world in peril. In their daily lives, where vigilance should begin, they cling to habits of comfort and self-indulgence, eyes dull, ears stopped, inertia and indifference like chains upon their feet. At no time is this voyage for a pilot who would spare himself, for his soul’s sake, for his beloved’s sake, and for the sake of his country.
This is a solemn time, for which you have been gently prepared. Keep in the simple path, keep in the Word and it will set you free. And by that is meant that you should be valiant in your insistence upon keeping aware so that you hear the voice within, that the Word may abide in you and in the midst of confusion keep your spirit in peace. This is your role, this is your great service to mankind. Let “I am the Light of the world within thee!” be your battle cry.
It is to the garden in times of turmoil. To lie on the grass, under the cool shade of the trees, and the sunlight dancing through the leaves as I rest.
hafiz said it best,
This separation from God is the hardest work in the world.
I must rest in the garden in the cool shade of those words.
My breathing slows.
What can I do with the dancing tempest of conflicting emotions, playing around below the surface of my mind ?
Nothing.
Just rest.
Amen.
Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase
each other
doesn’t make any sense.
Rumi
(Sufi Mystic 1207-1273 A.D.)
translation by Coleman Barks
may you be well
may you be at peace
may you rest in the shade in the garden
may you be smiling … knowing you are loved so very dearly preciously more than you could have ever imagined
Dearest Peggy,
that first verse is on my card – has been for about 20 years or so –
so lovely to find it here in the Garden
may we all find peace
Michele, Thank You from the bottom of my heart. The following is from a Liverpool poet and childrens’ book writer. It was sent on August 26th and I just found it. My siblings and I are going to clean out my brothers James apartment tomorrow.
I sent a copy of this to our children and my siblings. Timing is everything.
SO MANY DIFFERENT LENGTHS OF TIME
How long does a man live, finally?
Is it a thousand days, or only one?
One week, or a few centuries?
How long does a man’s death last?
And what do we mean when we say, “gone forever” *
Adrift in such preoccupations, we seek clarification.
We can go to the philosophers,
but they will weary of our questions.
We can go to the priests and the rabbis,
but they might be too busy with administrations.
So, how long does a man live, finally?
And how much does he live while he lives?
We fret, and ask so many questions –
then when it comes to us
the answer is so simple.
A man lives for as long as we carry him inside us,
for as long as we carry the harvest of his dreams,
for as long as we ourselves live,
holding memories in common, a man lives.
His lover will carry his man’s scent, his touch;
His child will carry the weight of his love.
One friend will carry his arguments,
another will hum his favourite tunes,
another will still share his terrors.
And the days will pass with baffled faces,
then the weeks, then the months,
then there will be a day when no question is asked,
and the knots of grief will loosen in the stomach,
and the puffed faces will calm.
And on that day, he will not have ceased,
but will have ceased to be separated by death.
How long does a man live, finally?
A man lives so many different lengths of time.
Brian Patten
Announcements
Kenneth Wapnick Health Update
Kenneth was recently hospitalized because of fluid buildup in his pleura. Test results indicate a non-aggressive (slow growing) “non-smoker’s” adeno carcinoma in the bottom of the right lung. Kenneth and Gloria ae consulting with doctors to develop a treatment plan.
We ask that you please refrain from sending gifts and cards, and thank you for your love and good wishes.
We will continue to update this announcement as information becomes available.
Date: 09/06/13
Please pardon my rambling over the news of Ken’s lung cancer.
I think, oh, I have a terrible problem. But i only think it’s a problem because I think I don’t have an answer for it. Then I dwell hard in fear cause — I got no answer to my huge sad problem!
I realized (remembered) that I frigging Never have the answer to ANY thing. Sometimes I have an inclination that a certain way would be copacetic, and that wrinkle settles down. But I recognize that IS guidance that I’m not raising fear against. So, I easily think that it was me who had the answer for that one, when, no, it wasn’t MY answer. I just actually heard an answer.
So, if so much of the time, i get the answers, why make an impassable mountain out of ANY problem? I’m just spending some time believing fear, and blocking the answer.
Sitting here on the couch with Jesus, pondering the frightfulness of my not knowing answers on my own. Watching Jeopardy, with earplugs on, while Big J shouts out the answers. (I can’t even hear the questions, hah! Well, I am confidant I can read lips well enough to know what the questions are). Maybe giving him an occasional scowl cause I’m not important enough, and he’s a big know-it-all. He gives me a big grin and pats my head and waits with me. And continues enjoying the show. His eyes are sparkling (He’s letting them sparkle on purpose) and he is laughing. I’m thinking what kind of dirtbag would do that when we have this BIG problem.
So, if I never really have ANY answers, why am I making a big deal out of this special problem which I have no answer to. Why don’t I just sit here on the porch and wait for the ice cream truck? I like all the different ice cream choices. And if he doesn’t come today, there’s vanilla in the freezer.
Sometimes I just need to have a wild things ruckus before I settle down to listen.
Katrina. your Jesus looks like a version of him that jamie told me about: he said that when I was making up my mind what to believe or do, Jesus was taking big bites of a sandwich. AND he chewed with open mouth, said Jamie.
hehehe. That image stays with me. “Take your time, Nina. This is a really good sandwich.”
big hug, Katrina. I love having you around here in the Village again. Who knows – maybe even Winnie and Ruth Anne will stroll by?
It’s interesting to me how I acccept bad news.
I take it and immediatedly stow it far far away.
I have never been very sure where it goes and never have I followed it or stopped it in its tracks.
“Now is the time to kick up some dirt and make a ruckus,” as Katrina says. I don’t believe Anil, that Katrina is glossing over anything. I see it as just the opposite, her willingness to look and speak of this emotion called sadness that parked itself smack dab in the middle of her heart.
I haven’t even gotten to naming the emotion; as I mentioned above, I took the information and tucked it somewhere safe. Upon hearing the Wapnick health update, I opened the Blue book and read the first thing I found in the Teachers Manual as my instructions for the day and that is still percolating somewhere. The time it will take for it to come back with an emotion attached to it is still an unknown.
The first time I ever heard the quote by Aristole: “Anyone can become angry – that is easy, but to be angry with the right person at the right time, and for the right purpose and in the right way – that is not within everyone’s power and that is not easy.” I realized that my maturity was not marked by how many times this physical body has rotated around the sun but only by this thing called emotional maturity.
And just when I thought I was making some progress in learning to articulate the right emotion at the right time with the right intensity JC comes along with his quip that, “we are never upset for the reason we think.” I Find myself topsy turvy again when looking at these emotional storms and not to mention a bit guarded in a Course community.
I so appreciate the long ramble Katrina and I look forward to your observations with your upcoming Temecula treks.
And Nina thank you for sharing Jamie’s visual of Jesus enjoying that sandwich and eating with his mouth open! If that doesn’t get one back on the silly side-well, dare I say, it would look hopeless.
I hope Jamie is doing ok. I know Ken is like a second Father to him.
On a side note in the past two days I’ve been thinking of the Village family alot and in my driving around town just as I would be thinking of someone in particular, I would see the license plate of that State. I saw a Nebraska plate (hello Pam) which is a rarity. Then Texas which is pretty common (where you been these days Tex). Utah yesterday that one’s not as common (hello Monk) Pennsylvania (howdy Papa) I doubt I’ll see a plate from Hawaii cuz who would leave Hawaii (greetings Peggy) Anyhow, wether I’ve seen your plate or not I’ve been thinking of everyone and I’m sending my Best.
So I see your upcoming lecture shows Cancelled on the Temecula Schedule – Katrina ):
“I Want the Peace of God” — CANCELLED Saturday, 09/21/13
keeping fingers crossed for October.
Dearest Peggy,
Much water has flown through the river since your loving post in 913 above. It was the second time that a post from came from your heart straight to my heart. (I have no doubt that all your posts come from your heart, it is mine that is old and crusty and with lots of walls that prevent all of your messages from reaching through ‘ (:
I felt understood In a way that has happened rarely in my life, and Rumi and you have spoken softly, surely, with great tenderness and support. Thank you is a tame expression to express what I feel, but I guess it must suffice for now (:
Love to you, your Mum, everyone that is blessed to have you in their lives, and to everyone you feel blessed to have in yours.
Anil
aloha anil … my goodness … now you made me cry
This poem came to me today. May it speak to all who seem to be in pain –
this: “If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine” – isn’t it so kenish:)
Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XXIX
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.
And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~
(In Praise of Mortality, translated and edited by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy)
Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the Spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and instead seek God, the one who is present in the tangleldness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God’s being present in the mess of our unfixedness.
Messy Spirituality by michael yaconelli
I know, yes another quote but was one I needed to hear. I purchased this book with a Barnes and Noble Christmas gift card from our son Corey. I don’t like to rush things. In the above you can replace God with the Holy Spirit Jesus “J” what ever floats your boat.
I wonder, how often does our downward gaze keep us from seeing the light that burns bright in all of us. We are never without out it’s presence, Never. This sharing that we do here in the Village and elswhere is kindling. It starts the fire in us that ultimately consumes each and everyone of us. Warmth and light and infinite possibilities are the end result and Love rules our being no longer to know darkness, for it never was.
Papa Lawrence
What a lovely place to come visit with you all. Thanks for making this page a soothing place of reflection and meditation. My love to you all.
mmm kindlings…love sitting around this campfire of Love with my Village Family.
swimming with the turtles is amazing
yesterday the swells and currents and choppy waters made snorkeling a bit of a challenge
I was being tossed about and pulled with the ebb and flow of each wave
all the fish around were also being sucked with the currents back and forth
visibility was low as everything was all stirred up
then this big old turtle comes cruising by … as calm as you can imagine
he’s not being tossed or moved by the currents
he’s using all his ease and grace so naturally … his flipper hands and feet adjusting to keep himself centered and still
even looked at me with such old wisdom
very funny
suddenly I was reminded of the ability to be calm no matter what else is going on around
it is possible
Peggy, Hi – hope the tears were happy tears ! (:
I find the occasions when our Villagers move me to tears are some of my most liberating moments – when I catch a glimmer of the real world, for that Holy Instant.
Nina, I love that poem(never came across it before). It also moved me to tears.
Rilke is sooooooo good. One of my favorite poets of all time.
This comment, in retrospect belongs to the fireside. I ask Annie and Bernard’s forgiveness in letting it stay parked here.
Rilke, Turtles, messy spirituality, and postings gone astray – I love it all!!!
Releasing my need to control my flippers, hands and feet that I may move effortlessly
in God’s Grace Today.
xoxo
aloha
with the rough surf, things happen
on my morning walk I found 3 fish … all flung out of the ocean … up on the lava rocks … in dry tide pools
I looked them over … thought they’d be long gone … each one just laying there still … I saw their little eyes and their little gills … when I picked them up to rescue them, they wiggled … so one by one I brought them back down into the ocean … and all 3 of them swam away the moment they were back in the water!! YAY!!
these were little ones … very much happy to swim away
on a previous walk … there was a rather large octopus tangled up on the sand … thought he was dead too … scooped him up and put him back in the ocean … and he did the most amazing untangling of his long legs … once he got himself all sorted out … he took off too!!
things that need to live in the ocean don’t do well on the sand
I know how they feel
once they are returned to their natural environment, if returned in time, they often are fine
We really are in the right place at the right time all the time!
I still trip myself up on that concept.
So much easier to see that it must be true in regard to someone elses life.
Your morning walk Peggy had to be impeccably timed for such results.
Well our little miracle worker – it can not be a surprise that you have such healing powers to extend. We have all marveled at the untangling of your Mother’s health issues by your simple presence there. Extra time was given.
And what a metaphor for our True life- I’m guessing that’s what you meant when you wrote, “I know how they feel”.
…Once we are returned to our natural environment this dream will be forgotten.
Amen, Annie, Amen (:
This dream will be forgotten in time (:
Is there anything more for me to say ? (:
ps. And I had a happy day today ! (:
Opened the Blue Book for an inspiration – I wanted to offer up a prayer. A morning prayer as we gather our thoughts and prepare for this new day. Though we may be scattered around the globe we know there is only this moment in time. Together with you my brothers and sisters I ask that we may know the Peace of God. I say these words with the burning desire to experience it, if only for one moment.
“Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done”
I pray for that gentle Peace to blanket us as we work thru todays challenges.
Peace my Brothers and Sisters.
Thank you, Annie
Love.
A new post on the home page for everyone: Timeless Love.
Good Morning Bernard.
I see a new gravatar accompanies your new post. Nice (:
You pretty well covered the gamete of thoughts arising from the recent health update posted for Ken. I appreciate the effort and sincerity you expressed and I can see that you have truly been processing the shock of the news. And clearly we will continue to process our feelings as the situation unfolds.
I do have one question-This blog site seems to be the perfect place for us to enter into a deeper dialogue; I was wondering why you would rather we send you personal emails?
Annie, I had the same thought. I miss when we did that and would love to have it back
and B, love your smile. very contageous, makes me wanna hug you:)
Actually, I didn’t want to discourage anyone from making comments here. Sorry if I gave that impression. And, yes, this is a good place to talk about things (I hope you feel). I’ll have to make a little change to the article to make the point. It was just to address a word to those who read here but don’t comment that they have a way of talking about this without making their thoughts public if they prefer. Nothing more than that.
This article was a way of helping myself work through the issues that most of us probably have. There are so many possible thoughts and feelings that might come up, it’s hard to imagine them all. I tried to address them sensitively but without disguising the real issues at hand. There are other ways to address them, and so if the participants of this forum wish to lend their hand, then I’m sure we will be able to provide a loving, kind thought for everyone.
Bernard, thanks for your note. I was not able to follow Annie and Nina’s comment – I see now that it has to do with the new post on the home page, and possible private sharings around that..
The dream gets bizarre, then it doesn’t, then it becomes something else, and when I think I have a handle on it, it shows up as something else entirely.
No wonder, poets, painters, musicians and artists of all hues spend their lives communicating Life.
Incredible really. What it really means.
Love,
Anil
Well thank you for clarifying that Bernard and it seems obvious now that you put it that way (:
Life is just lifing
I have been rolling around in my brain the idea that i have elected to have my teacher become ill, right now, for me — as a teacher at the foundation brought up.
It seems like this Garden of Forgiveness would be appropriate to work this out? — but may need a new page since it is nearing a thousand entries.
In joining with Ken’s new hopeful message, i signed up for the March workshop. It is a beautiful time of year in Temecula. The theme is ‘I am not a breadbox’. So I looked up the reference in Absence From Felicity. Briefly, with no hope to meet Helen’s argument skills, Louis took his nap but put his stinky socks in the breadbox (unconsciously – but passive aggressive nonetheless.).
Helen’s realization was that instead of cramming them down his throat (a possible fantasy that crosses MY mind, not Helen’s – but some form of conflict would have been her normal reaction, too) — she was given the realization that she was not the breadbox. Louis was attacking the breadbox and the bread to get to her. She could elect to see that she didn’t have to accept it as being done to her.
Of course, Ken will probably flesh this out totally different. But asking, “What has this got to do with me?” when we interpret bad things done to us is one of his common points.
Why would I choose now to see my Teacher Source threatened? Hmmm . . .
According to Father Kajetan Esser, OFM, the author of the critical edition of St. Francis’s Writings, the Peace Prayer of St. Francis is most certainly not one of the writings of St. Francis. This prayer appeared during the First World War. It was found written on the observe of a holy card of St. Francis, which was found in a Normal Almanac. The prayer bore no name; but in the English speaking world, on account of this holy card, it came to be called the Peace Prayer of St. Francis.
The Course reminds us that we could see Peace instead of….
I bless the soul who was moved to write out the prayer. It was probably a mother who gave it to her son (this is where my mind goes). That act of Love was for all of us.
Lately, its been my go to prayer.
The Peace Prayer of St. Francis
by an anonymous Norman c. 1915 A.D. Peace Prayer
Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred,
Let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.
O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood,as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Hurray to hearing from you, Donna D. So good to know you are with us. Hope we hear from Pam soon. And Ninja Nun, too! Thanks, Annie, I have always considered that prayer as ‘a plan’. I read it, and then set out to do it. Reminds me of how Ken says we completely understand what he is saying in class until we step outside the double doors of the lobby.
I finished reading your piece (for peace) Bernard. I will need to read it again to hear the whole thing because from when you reminded me of Ken repeating over and over ‘There’s Nobody here’, it keeps reverberating in my head. I think of his glowing grin, and his open arms, and his autograph — ‘is love and peace, Ken’ — all coming from no Body, even though i habitually and compulsively attach it to that body.
My copy of the Lighthouse just arrived, since i get it in the mail. The first line is almost exactly like the ‘I am not a breadbox’ title of the seminar/class in my last post. But this one is interpreted differently than Helen’s experience and my take on its meaning. Ken always surprises me with a different expose’ than my assumptions. I am totally resisting reading this newsletter. Just carrying it around – like Franny in Salinger’s Franny & Zooey.
Thanks for your gentle words, Bernard. I may be hugging my Lighthouse edition, but i’m not disabled on the couch needing chicken soup brought to me! But i did need a lecture from my big brother, hah, hah. I can see this experience of Ken’s (and mine) without the dreadful assumptions and with hope and openness for our shared plan. I think of the room at the Center, so full of people who claim to be sick (me, too) or dealing with some family grief that we claim to be real and Ken saying it is not real! Now, he seems to be sighing at my stubborn and fearful deafness, and just taking me by the hand and walking me through my imagined clouds — he will show me.
It is great fun to see Anil, Bernard, Lawrence, Nina, DonnaD, Peggy, Ann, Annie, me and Pam (silent, but assumed) all here. Seems like tea time. Love to all who know how I feel.
AND, Jean – I know you are here!
Hey Katrina, what a beautifully written note. And so heartfelt. I love the line about Ken’s ‘glowing grin and open arms’. That’s really the most important thing we can learn from him – don’t take anything seriously, you’re loved! Oh, and P.S. you’re not really here. That last little line is so important, but will take a long time to let sink in. It’s because none of us are really here that we can take things less seriously, and we can be truly loved. But it will take us all a lot of practice and willingness to allow these words to begin to make some sense for us. And there’s no hurry. Thanks for your thoughts. Hugs, B.
Katrina, I’m glad you brought up Pam as I have a sense our sister is going thru a hard time right now.
Today we will bring all the love and support of a mothers love (and we will use the image of a great mother, like Anil’s mother) and surround our Pam with a white light of healing love.
Nina our most gifted tea maker has prepared a Norwegian spread and as we break bread together we extend our heartfelt thanks for the friends that have shown us a glimpse of the Glory of God.
Bless our Village of Family and Friends, Amen
About “It is not serious”-theme
I have for 2 weeks Skyped with a friend who has MS. She had a bad time with a crazy father and some violent nuns, and has expressed weird thoughts about God as she puts it. So I suggested we worked together at allowing these crazy God-blocking thoughts to come up and be given over, she was all for it. We intended to have a fun and light time and laugh a lot, and yess! We have. We meet in th name of Love. My friend is not a Course student –
I love to share what we did 2 days ago. I asked her to write it like she experienced it –
Yesterday I had a Skype session with Leelah.
The first thing I tell her was that I am feeling heavy – the heavy feeling has been with me all day.
The she asks me to describe it – I see a big heavy stone dragging me down, pulling me into the earth.
She asks: If it could be a person or a character what would it be?
I see a cartoon figure – it is a figure from a childhood bible called
“Good News for Modern Man.” I didn’t like those graphics when I was a child.
Leelah ask me where it is:
The figure is sitting on a rock outside of a cave. I realize that it is sitting outside of the tomb of Jesus, but in fact, the tomb is empty – it is completely hollow. That is because there never was any Jesus in the tomb, I realize. Nobody died for my sins – that was just a story. My body now feels hollow, like the tomb and the heaviness have dropped away. What a big surprise – nobody died for my sins and I am not guilty – it was just a story (laughing a little and enormously relieved and free feeling.
Leelah asks me if I can invite Love into the hollow tomb and the hollow space in my body.
My arms and legs are filled with golden light and my hands are buzzing with energy – I see that they are holding balls of golden light.
Leelah asks me where I want to put this light and I say into my heart and chest.
When I do this I see that inside the chest is like an abandoned cave – – a broken and sorrowful place.
As I bring the energy in from my hands, torches are lit up on the walls and everything starts to feel more comfortable and soft.
Leelah asks me if I see anyone. I see a woman with long blonde hair lying on a stone bed – at first I wonder if she is dead but I see that she is sleeping.
Leelah asks if she could be me, and I say yes. She is me but also she has been around a long time, a lot longer than me, and these two things do not seem to contradict each other.
Leelah asks is she has anything to say to me and I say yes – she asks me to love myself.
*
Then Leelah shows me how to be witness for her and I feel a little inadequate but try my best anyway. She is feeling a cold pain and a kind of metal band across her shoulders and a wave of black anger coming up.
Then she sees the tomb and enters it. Lots of hysterical giggling as the tomb is full of playful angels – angels pulling funny faces at her, pulling at their cheeks with their hands. We are both laughing a lot at this – and the idea that this story of our guilt and the tomb is just that – a story that the angels can make such a fun joke about.
*
After this:
Nichola is sending me 9 empty emails. When I ask her to look what they really say, she tells me that maybe they are 9 empty tombs.
Giggle
We really need to get it hammered in, don’t we!
*
I love to see Donna D here. Katrina. And Peggy, thank for those warm words to Healing Crisis. Loved the ones about getting a new perspective 🙂
Annie – are you in touch with pam in any way other than mentally?
Hi Everyone, Thanks for the warm thoughts. I’m slowly feeling better as far as pain levels but the oral chemo leaves me feeling bleh in general. and then the low blood levels probably are not helping either. I’ve had 5 infusions in 5 weeks now of red blood cells and/or platelets.
Warm thoughts from me to all of you also.