May the increasing sunlight herald an increase in the light of wisdom, peace, love, and joy to all of you!
Cheers,
Joe
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Hi Friends,
Our last meeting was on 10/8 and, for now, it was our last meeting. As I hope you know by now, or at least catch it here in time, Paula is closing the storefront of Spirit Rising and shifting the focus of the project. Therefore there will be no more meetings of our group there, including tomorrow night (10/22). I hope that you'll stop by and visit with Paula and assist with her Moving Sale by buying some stuff and wishing her well.
Meanwhile, I intend to keep this blog up and running and hopefully we can have some online discussions and community. Also, in the not-too-distant future I will try and find a new place for us to meet - so please keep an eye out.
At our 10/8 meeting we talked about True power - about how the only power that really holds sway in the long run comes from alignment with the Tao (or, if you prefer, God's Will, The Universe, or the Holy Spirit). Anything other than that is like fighting the current of a rushing river, it may get us somewhere, but we will tire quickly and ultimately get washed in the opposite direction (the way we could have been going much more easily and effectively all along) anyway.
However, I did run out into the parking lot with a parting message that I truly believe is far more important - and boy am I glad that I did that now, in hindsight – that is LOVE. Truly, the nitty-gritty techniques and the theories and regalia are all negligible when compared with the ultimate end and goal of engaging, spreading, and sharing Divine Love (unconditional love).
I ought to revisit all this at greater length, of course, but it is now getting late and I am hoping to get this posted in time that you can see it before making the trip tomorrow night. So, ciao for now.
Blessings and Light to you,
Joe
Our last meeting was on 10/8 and, for now, it was our last meeting. As I hope you know by now, or at least catch it here in time, Paula is closing the storefront of Spirit Rising and shifting the focus of the project. Therefore there will be no more meetings of our group there, including tomorrow night (10/22). I hope that you'll stop by and visit with Paula and assist with her Moving Sale by buying some stuff and wishing her well.
Meanwhile, I intend to keep this blog up and running and hopefully we can have some online discussions and community. Also, in the not-too-distant future I will try and find a new place for us to meet - so please keep an eye out.
At our 10/8 meeting we talked about True power - about how the only power that really holds sway in the long run comes from alignment with the Tao (or, if you prefer, God's Will, The Universe, or the Holy Spirit). Anything other than that is like fighting the current of a rushing river, it may get us somewhere, but we will tire quickly and ultimately get washed in the opposite direction (the way we could have been going much more easily and effectively all along) anyway.
However, I did run out into the parking lot with a parting message that I truly believe is far more important - and boy am I glad that I did that now, in hindsight – that is LOVE. Truly, the nitty-gritty techniques and the theories and regalia are all negligible when compared with the ultimate end and goal of engaging, spreading, and sharing Divine Love (unconditional love).
I ought to revisit all this at greater length, of course, but it is now getting late and I am hoping to get this posted in time that you can see it before making the trip tomorrow night. So, ciao for now.
Blessings and Light to you,
Joe
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Follow Up to 9/24/09 Meeting
Hi Again!
Since we talked a bit about Angels this past meeting, it seems appropriate to post a follow up today, the feast day for Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael. On that topic, we talked about the importance of free will and of being sure to ask for help if we need it, rather than assuming it will be automatic. Anyhow - cheers!
We also talked about the peculiarly human obsession with perfectly straight lines and angles - the sort of which are not often, if ever, found in nature. And from there we moved into the topic of man-made borders and the proclivity to break everything into sets and categories and, thereby, to miss out all too often on wholeness. There was particular mention of the borderlessness of the earth as seen from an airplane and that moved me to run to my car and bring in The Flower Kings CD Paradox Hotel in order to play for you the song "Blue Planet," which is about just that sensation only from out in space. It concludes with a recording of an orbiting astronaut reporting how the earth looks to him as he zooms around it high, high overhead.
We also talked about the essential prayer, "Thy Will be done", in recognition of the higher power who knows the score far better than we, and so is uniquely able to know what is best for all concerned. As part of that we talked about the incredibly important virtue of forgiveness. I didn't say it this night, but I consider forgiveness to be as essential a tenet of Christ's teaching as anything save Love itself. I think that it gets far too short a shrift in common religion compared with what it deserves.
On a requested discussion of how best to deal with exceptional, and sometimes painful, empathy, we discussed a visual exercise of seeing a cleansing and shielding, pure white light enveloping us safely in a column from above. Paula also mentioned a quick image of zipping up our previously exposed selves quickly and easily with a large zipper. I then quickly described the "golden egg meditation" that I use to great effect. I haven't been able to find it again on the web, so I'll recap it here myself...
Sit or stand comfortably in a pose suitable to you for comfortable meditation.
Envision a golden (or white?) light streaming down into you from above and flowing through your body.
The light washes through your entire self, healing any ills and washing away any grunge or grime, blockages, blemishes, etcetera - both "real" and otherwise perceived.
All that is washed away passes out through the soles of your feet where it can be absorbed safely by the earth (like electricity to ground, or like fertilizer).
Once the charred and blackened crust around your heart breaks free and washes away, let the light from your heart itself expand outward to surround your entire body, to several inches above your head and even several inches below your feet, even right into the ground itself.
This golden egg of light now delimits a shell around your entire person.
Set this shell so that if any negative energies or thoughtforms are directed at you from outside it, they will bounce off and return to the sender as a blessing. Any positive and/or loving energies, however, will pass easily through to you. Meanwhile, any negative thoughts or energies that you direct outward toward another will bounce off the inside of your golden egg shell and return to you as a blessing, but any positive/loving thoughts and energies will pass on through to those to whom you direct them.
Lastly, we were shown a way to consult with a tree for assistance in developing psychic ability. I am happy to report that I tried it and it worked exceedingly well for me! I drew up a hexagram while out in some woods on a walk but I did not have a copy of the I Ching to consult to see its meaning. So, thinking of the process we'd talked about the night before, I decided to try it. I quieted my mind as best I could quickly and on short notice, placed my hands on a tree's trunk and asked for advice on the implications for my life of the hexagram I'd just drawn. I was encouraged to continue to develop my patience and flow with the river of life, enjoying both the dalliances is swirling side eddies and the rush and exhilaration of riding the crest of a wave. Then I saw the firmness and strength of a mountain reflected in a still, deep lake below. I wondered if the trigrams making the hexagram might actually be "mountain" and "lake" but I wasn't even sure if those were trigrams (I am new to that process and wisdom tradition). Upon later consulting the I Ching, I found that indeed I had drawn a mountain over a lake! I was impressed. I shall have to try this again and see how it goes. I would love to know your experiences and thoughts on the process as well. One of my main goals in our gatherings is to compare and contrast our experiences with various ideas and practices. Alone, with only ourselves as a frame of reference, we can too easily be deluded into thinking that we really know what is going on. With a wider and wider sampling of comparable data from as broad a cross section of people as possible, though, we can more accurately discern patterns, at least, of viable concepts.
Be well! I look forward to seeing you all again next week, 10/8, at Spirit Rising Art in Chelmsford - newcomers always welcome (it's free and easy, just drop in between 6:30 and 8).
Peace,
Joe
Since we talked a bit about Angels this past meeting, it seems appropriate to post a follow up today, the feast day for Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Rafael. On that topic, we talked about the importance of free will and of being sure to ask for help if we need it, rather than assuming it will be automatic. Anyhow - cheers!
We also talked about the peculiarly human obsession with perfectly straight lines and angles - the sort of which are not often, if ever, found in nature. And from there we moved into the topic of man-made borders and the proclivity to break everything into sets and categories and, thereby, to miss out all too often on wholeness. There was particular mention of the borderlessness of the earth as seen from an airplane and that moved me to run to my car and bring in The Flower Kings CD Paradox Hotel in order to play for you the song "Blue Planet," which is about just that sensation only from out in space. It concludes with a recording of an orbiting astronaut reporting how the earth looks to him as he zooms around it high, high overhead.
We also talked about the essential prayer, "Thy Will be done", in recognition of the higher power who knows the score far better than we, and so is uniquely able to know what is best for all concerned. As part of that we talked about the incredibly important virtue of forgiveness. I didn't say it this night, but I consider forgiveness to be as essential a tenet of Christ's teaching as anything save Love itself. I think that it gets far too short a shrift in common religion compared with what it deserves.
On a requested discussion of how best to deal with exceptional, and sometimes painful, empathy, we discussed a visual exercise of seeing a cleansing and shielding, pure white light enveloping us safely in a column from above. Paula also mentioned a quick image of zipping up our previously exposed selves quickly and easily with a large zipper. I then quickly described the "golden egg meditation" that I use to great effect. I haven't been able to find it again on the web, so I'll recap it here myself...
Sit or stand comfortably in a pose suitable to you for comfortable meditation.
Envision a golden (or white?) light streaming down into you from above and flowing through your body.
The light washes through your entire self, healing any ills and washing away any grunge or grime, blockages, blemishes, etcetera - both "real" and otherwise perceived.
All that is washed away passes out through the soles of your feet where it can be absorbed safely by the earth (like electricity to ground, or like fertilizer).
Once the charred and blackened crust around your heart breaks free and washes away, let the light from your heart itself expand outward to surround your entire body, to several inches above your head and even several inches below your feet, even right into the ground itself.
This golden egg of light now delimits a shell around your entire person.
Set this shell so that if any negative energies or thoughtforms are directed at you from outside it, they will bounce off and return to the sender as a blessing. Any positive and/or loving energies, however, will pass easily through to you. Meanwhile, any negative thoughts or energies that you direct outward toward another will bounce off the inside of your golden egg shell and return to you as a blessing, but any positive/loving thoughts and energies will pass on through to those to whom you direct them.
Lastly, we were shown a way to consult with a tree for assistance in developing psychic ability. I am happy to report that I tried it and it worked exceedingly well for me! I drew up a hexagram while out in some woods on a walk but I did not have a copy of the I Ching to consult to see its meaning. So, thinking of the process we'd talked about the night before, I decided to try it. I quieted my mind as best I could quickly and on short notice, placed my hands on a tree's trunk and asked for advice on the implications for my life of the hexagram I'd just drawn. I was encouraged to continue to develop my patience and flow with the river of life, enjoying both the dalliances is swirling side eddies and the rush and exhilaration of riding the crest of a wave. Then I saw the firmness and strength of a mountain reflected in a still, deep lake below. I wondered if the trigrams making the hexagram might actually be "mountain" and "lake" but I wasn't even sure if those were trigrams (I am new to that process and wisdom tradition). Upon later consulting the I Ching, I found that indeed I had drawn a mountain over a lake! I was impressed. I shall have to try this again and see how it goes. I would love to know your experiences and thoughts on the process as well. One of my main goals in our gatherings is to compare and contrast our experiences with various ideas and practices. Alone, with only ourselves as a frame of reference, we can too easily be deluded into thinking that we really know what is going on. With a wider and wider sampling of comparable data from as broad a cross section of people as possible, though, we can more accurately discern patterns, at least, of viable concepts.
Be well! I look forward to seeing you all again next week, 10/8, at Spirit Rising Art in Chelmsford - newcomers always welcome (it's free and easy, just drop in between 6:30 and 8).
Peace,
Joe
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Followup from Thursday, 9/10/09
At our most recent meeting we started out by discussing the accelerated times in which we find ourselves. However, we quickly moved off into some interesting tangents on which I wished to follow up with a little more information.
I mentioned some degree programs that combine the spiritual (internal/subjective) and material (scientific/objective) domains in what is referred to as an "Integral" approach. For more info on these, and as a jumping off point for further investigation (there may be other, similar programs, in New England as well) you may wish to look into...
http://www.jfku.edu/programs/programs/int_theory/
http://www.fielding.edu/programs/hod/isC
http://www.naropa.edu/
We also talked about ways to deal with relationships, particularly close personal relationships, where there are one or more mannerisms or attitudes in the other that particularly aggravate us. We discussed how there might be lessons for us to learn in these moments, particularly difficult but ultimately rewarding (and perhaps even necessary) lessons. I also mentioned the 3-2-1-shadow psychological technology for illuminating those same, sublimated portions of our own psyches so that we might ultimately find that what especially annoys us in another person may be just the thing that we are most upset about, and are hiding from, in ourselves. Here is a more detailed study of this process, which, again, I encourage you to use as a jumping off point for further exploration...
http://integrallife.com/awaken/shadow/practice-3-2-1-shadow-process
Next, as a reminder, I mentioned the synchronous ways our own intuitional urges to clean up and simplify our personal spaces align with Lena Steven's recommendations for September at...
www.thepowerpath.org
I found the independent corroboration in our conversation to be inspirational, at least, and I hope you enjoy the site. It is Shamanically centered, so the one of us studying Shamanism may be especially interested in the perspectives and insights offered there.
Furthermore, we discussed how we might assess situations to decide how we might best act (or refuse to act) in the interest of the greater good. We decided that listening to the quiet and compassionate voice of our own hearts (perhaps, I would suggest, this is the seat of our conscience even) is often wiser and more reliable than our brains/minds and/or other urges and impulses. On that note, I thought about some of this recent work which you may find interesting and valuable...
http://www.heartmath.org/
Lastly, when we discussed the "100th monkey (ape?)" proposition, as Paula explained, where if 100 monkeys in region learn and adapt a new behavior, than monkey's of that same species will display that same behavior in geographically diverse regions all over. On that note I mentioned the work of Rupert Sheldrake, but at the time I couldn't recall the name of his theory. I have now, and synchronistically enough Rupert Sheldrake himself is mentioned at the end of the book that I just finished reading a night or so after our discussion. The theory is called morphic resonance, and another potential jumping off point for more on that can be found here...
http://www.sheldrake.org/homepage.html
I look forward to seeing you and any newcomers at Spirit Rising Art in Chelmsford, MA this coming Thursday, 9/24, starting at 6:30 PM.
Peace,
Joe
I mentioned some degree programs that combine the spiritual (internal/subjective) and material (scientific/objective) domains in what is referred to as an "Integral" approach. For more info on these, and as a jumping off point for further investigation (there may be other, similar programs, in New England as well) you may wish to look into...
http://www.jfku.edu/programs/programs/int_theory/
http://www.fielding.edu/programs/hod/isC
http://www.naropa.edu/
We also talked about ways to deal with relationships, particularly close personal relationships, where there are one or more mannerisms or attitudes in the other that particularly aggravate us. We discussed how there might be lessons for us to learn in these moments, particularly difficult but ultimately rewarding (and perhaps even necessary) lessons. I also mentioned the 3-2-1-shadow psychological technology for illuminating those same, sublimated portions of our own psyches so that we might ultimately find that what especially annoys us in another person may be just the thing that we are most upset about, and are hiding from, in ourselves. Here is a more detailed study of this process, which, again, I encourage you to use as a jumping off point for further exploration...
http://integrallife.com/awaken/shadow/practice-3-2-1-shadow-process
Next, as a reminder, I mentioned the synchronous ways our own intuitional urges to clean up and simplify our personal spaces align with Lena Steven's recommendations for September at...
www.thepowerpath.org
I found the independent corroboration in our conversation to be inspirational, at least, and I hope you enjoy the site. It is Shamanically centered, so the one of us studying Shamanism may be especially interested in the perspectives and insights offered there.
Furthermore, we discussed how we might assess situations to decide how we might best act (or refuse to act) in the interest of the greater good. We decided that listening to the quiet and compassionate voice of our own hearts (perhaps, I would suggest, this is the seat of our conscience even) is often wiser and more reliable than our brains/minds and/or other urges and impulses. On that note, I thought about some of this recent work which you may find interesting and valuable...
http://www.heartmath.org/
Lastly, when we discussed the "100th monkey (ape?)" proposition, as Paula explained, where if 100 monkeys in region learn and adapt a new behavior, than monkey's of that same species will display that same behavior in geographically diverse regions all over. On that note I mentioned the work of Rupert Sheldrake, but at the time I couldn't recall the name of his theory. I have now, and synchronistically enough Rupert Sheldrake himself is mentioned at the end of the book that I just finished reading a night or so after our discussion. The theory is called morphic resonance, and another potential jumping off point for more on that can be found here...
http://www.sheldrake.org/homepage.html
I look forward to seeing you and any newcomers at Spirit Rising Art in Chelmsford, MA this coming Thursday, 9/24, starting at 6:30 PM.
Peace,
Joe
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Welcome and Startup
Hi Friends,
Thanks for the suggestion of using this site and format to plan our topics and allow for followup afterward. Our next meeting will be this Thursday, 9/10/2009, and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I. :-)
Last time we discussed states of consciousness and multiple perspectives and the names and definitions sometimes associated with these. For example, on the varieties of consciousnesses we talked about...
gross - physical - material
subtle - vibrational - emotional - dream
causal - deep sleep/meditation - formless
and for names associated with various perspectives and positions from which those various layers/states of consciousness might be said to be seen/perceived, such as...
mind
body
spirit
soul
emotional body
subtle energy body
etc.
My purpose in this discussion, and conclusion at the end of the night, was that most cultures and schools of thought are largely in agreement on the existence of layers and states of consciousness and the aspects of our selves which perceive and/or inhabit them, but that misunderstanding and and conflicts often arise merely due to differing or vague definitions of the terms. For instance, I heard two very intelligent and, one might say "enlightened", people arguing about what was "higher or deeper" spirit v. soul when it seemed clear to me that they both meant the same things but were using different words, each from his and her own traditions.
So, I encourage you to keep thinking about these things, and to keep open minds as you read others' works, realizing that many different sounding words might be describing the same things, which you yourselves can know in your own experiences, by yet different names. Furthermore, I think thyat this whole notion is largely undeveloped and ripe for a meeting of the minds where experts from all traditions might do well to get together and define a glossary of terms sort of like international standards bodies do with technologies such as the internet and telecommunications.
Anyhow, I would be happy to consider continuing where we left off or picking up a new topic. Hopefully one or more of you will see this in time to chime in with your thoughts. If not, fear not, we will have plenty to talk about, we always do.
Cheers,
Joe
Thanks for the suggestion of using this site and format to plan our topics and allow for followup afterward. Our next meeting will be this Thursday, 9/10/2009, and I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I. :-)
Last time we discussed states of consciousness and multiple perspectives and the names and definitions sometimes associated with these. For example, on the varieties of consciousnesses we talked about...
gross - physical - material
subtle - vibrational - emotional - dream
causal - deep sleep/meditation - formless
and for names associated with various perspectives and positions from which those various layers/states of consciousness might be said to be seen/perceived, such as...
mind
body
spirit
soul
emotional body
subtle energy body
etc.
My purpose in this discussion, and conclusion at the end of the night, was that most cultures and schools of thought are largely in agreement on the existence of layers and states of consciousness and the aspects of our selves which perceive and/or inhabit them, but that misunderstanding and and conflicts often arise merely due to differing or vague definitions of the terms. For instance, I heard two very intelligent and, one might say "enlightened", people arguing about what was "higher or deeper" spirit v. soul when it seemed clear to me that they both meant the same things but were using different words, each from his and her own traditions.
So, I encourage you to keep thinking about these things, and to keep open minds as you read others' works, realizing that many different sounding words might be describing the same things, which you yourselves can know in your own experiences, by yet different names. Furthermore, I think thyat this whole notion is largely undeveloped and ripe for a meeting of the minds where experts from all traditions might do well to get together and define a glossary of terms sort of like international standards bodies do with technologies such as the internet and telecommunications.
Anyhow, I would be happy to consider continuing where we left off or picking up a new topic. Hopefully one or more of you will see this in time to chime in with your thoughts. If not, fear not, we will have plenty to talk about, we always do.
Cheers,
Joe
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