"The mind...attacks and defends against other minds, gathering, storing, and analyzing information --- but it is not at all creative. All true artists, whether they know it or not, create from a place of 'no-mind.' Even the great scientists have reported that their creative breakthroughs came at a time of mental quietude."

--- Eckhart Tolle

"At this place, at this moment in time, all humankind is us, whether we like it or not. I am in you and you in me. All from one clay are made, in one Light shines. One breath pervades all.

We meet no Stranger, but Ourself.

Everything one does as an individual affects the whole. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

--- The Book of the World

"Those who are able to avoid losing what is right in times of darkness and difficulty are therefore considered enlightened."

--- I Ching, (36)

"Whatever you put after the word 'I' when you speak will become and remain your reality. The word 'I' is like a genie in a bottle, It is magic, and brings you what follows."

--- Neale Donald Walsh

"God does not die on the day we cease to believe in God. But we die when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance of wonder renewed daily, the Source of which is beyond all reason."

---Dag Hammarskjold,

former UN Secretary-General

"You are not the labels that people have put on you, or that you have put on yourself. You're not, you're not."

--- Anthony de Mello

Don't consider any act of kindness insignificant.

Touch --- with a lighter hand.

"True compassion is always full of power, and those that are powerful in the true way are full of tenderness. The giving and receiving of tenderness heals. Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity to heal. Touch with a lighter hand."

--- The Book of the World

"Many people 'swing into action' only to make things worse. They're not coming from love, they're coming from negative feelings. They're coming from guilt, anger, hate; from a sense of injustice or whatever...When 'sleeping' people swing into action, they simply substitute one cruelty for another, one injustice for another."

--- Anthony de Mello



"Peace is our natural state of being."

--- Tao Te Ching (31)

"As the life of awareness settles on your darkness, whatever is evil will disappear. Whatever is good will be fostered. You will have to experience that for yourself. "

--- Anthony de Mello

"The way the light shines on that wall there appears different than the way the light shines on this wall over here, yet it is the same light." ~Rumi

"As the Japanese Zen masters say, 'Don't seek the truth; just drop your opinions.' Drop your theories; drop the labels. Truth isn't something you search for. If you stop being opinionated, you would know."

--- Anthony de Mello

Meanness - where does it come from?

Recently, I took my small pup, Sophia, to the vet. While waiting for her to be called back, I took notice of a pit-bull-type dog and his "owner" (not a good word to me but I'll use it for the purpose of communicating). The owner kept yanking on the huge chain around the dogs neck as if dog was doing  something wrong, which he wasn't. The dog was lying down and strained his neck forward to smell other dogs, the owner yanked his chain. The dog moved from a lying position to a sitting position, the owner yanked his chain. At one point, the dog moved from a lying position to a sitting position and the man literally slapped the dog in the face. Just before I said something, the vet-tech intervened.

Immediately, the thought crossed my mind, "Where does meanness like that come from. What in a person's heart encourages such a mean-spirited act?" Then an old adage crossed my mind: "People who are hurting, hurt others."

Purposefully being spiteful or mean to another, whether animal or human, mystifies me (not that I haven't done it myself, lots and lots, but, afterward I'm mystified at myself and regret the meanness).

I've pondered the incident with the dog several days now, and something else occurred to me. Not only do people who are hurting, hurt others, but people who are scared, also hurt others. Fear, founded or not, causes people to lash out and hurt someone else.

When we're suddenly frightened, what's the first thing we do? Lash out. Strike.

It's the same mentally, emotionally, when we're scared or feel threatened, founded or not, we lash out. We strike first, to hurt another.

None of us is exempt from the potential of being mean to another human being --- not because of anything they've done but --- for no other reason than WE carry hurt with us from way back or because we're scared. All of us are capable of doing anything that's human, given the right (or wrong) circumstances.

Striking out because we're scared is an unconscious reaction. All the great spiritual teachers are in agreement that it's important for us to "wake-up" to be more "conscious" --- so we don't hurt others because we're scared. Hurting someone else only adds to the world's misery and suffering. Let's try not to do it. Let's be kinder to each other.

"When you fight against something, you're tied to it. As long as you're fighting it, you are giving it power. You give it as much power as you are using to fight it."

--- Anthony de Mello

"Look for the helpers," is what Mr. Rogers told children to do during hard times. Today a helper named Brad encouraged me to revisit an old friend, Anthony de Mello.

I opened the book to the first paragraph:

"Most people, even though they don't know it are asleep...You know, all mystics...are unanimous on one thing: that all is well, all is well. Though everything is a mess, all is well."

Thanks, Brad, you were a helper.

“Simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and thoughts, you return to the source of being.

Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.” 

--- Lao Tzu

"A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave."

--- Mahatma Gandhi

"The universe is on the side of justice."

--- Martin Luther King, Jr.

(A Testament of Hope, 9)



"Everything the ego tells you that you need will hurt you. For although the ego urges you again and again to get, it leaves you nothing. Therefore ask not of yourself what you need, for you do not know, and your advice to yourself will hurt you. Only the Holy Spirit knows what you need. Leave, then, your needs to the Holy Spirit who will supply them with no emphasis at all upon them. What comes to you from the Holy Spirit comes safely."

--- ACIM, text, 239 (3 Volume set)

"Wise People are not quarrelsome.
Quarrelsome people are not wise."

--- Tao Te Ching (81)



The God that can be described
is not the eternal and infinite God.
What is eternal and infinite cannot be
examined like a bug under a magnifying glass.
To do so, shrinks the Mystery of the Universe down to the size of the human brain.

--- personal interpretation of the Tao Te Ching (1)

In the beginning God created humans in God's own image and likeness. Ten minutes later humans returned the favor.

One of my sons wrote an article on positive values and staying true to them. He titled it: "What's Love Got to Do with It?" His conclusion was: "Everything."

The article was a good one on "walking the talk," putting what we say we believe about love into practice. I wrote, telling him it was a very good article. What he wrote back I will treasure forever:

"I wrote it for you. I tried to write it through your eyes. I understand now why you are doing what you are doing and your strength amazes me. I couldn’t be more proud of the man my Father is.

What I'm learning from your example now will last a lifetime."

**********

"Love is patient. Love is kind. It is not rude. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

"Who makes my mind think?
Who fills my body with vitality?
Who causes my tongue to speak?
Who is that Invisible one who sees through my eyes
And hears through my ears?

The Self is the ear of the ear,
The eye of the eye, the mind of the mind,
The word of words, and the life of life.
Rising above the senses and the mind
And renouncing separate existence,
the wise realize the deathless Self.

It our eyes cannot see, nor words express;
It cannot be grasped even by the mind.

We do not know, we cannot understand,
Because It is different from the known
And It is different from the unknown.

That which makes the tongue speak but cannot be
Spoken by the tongue, know that as the Self.

That which makes the mind think but cannot be
Thought by the mind, that is the Self, indeed.

That which makes the eye see but cannot be
Seen by the eye, that is the Self indeed.

That which makes the ear hear but cannot be
Heard by the ear, that is the Self indeed.

That which makes you draw breath but cannot be
Drawn by your breath, that is the Self indeed.

Rules do not give life.
The Tao gives life.
And the Tao is seen in butterflies
and galaxies.
If children were trusted to discover God
in the center of their own hearts
the world would be at peace.

But we have made systems of rules
and institutions of control.
Accept this as the way things are
but always recognize the limitations of rules,
and the danger of institutions.
Rules can guide a child but cannot define that child.
Institutions can nurture a child
but cannot bring that child to maturity.

For a short while,
when your children are young,
you may be able to coerce good behavior.
But goodness of the heart
can never be coerced.
It can only be encouraged
or discouraged.

--- The Parents Tao Te Ching

"Love is a state of Being. Your love is not outside; it is deep within you. You can never lose it, and it cannot leave you. It is not dependent on some other body, some external form."

--- Eckhart Tolle



Mr. Rogers' version of Namaste...

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed.” Mr. Rogers



 

Who would you be...?

"You can say that you stand apart, put a fence around your yard. You can build a tall rampart and guard it with a gun. You can dig yourself a moat. Burn the bridge and burn the boat. It won't matter that much, you know because all the world is one.

You can march in a big parade every Independence Day. You can raise up your own flag and sing your own anthem. It will ring out in the air with all the other anthems there till the winds of the earth declare all the world is one." (Peter Mayer, songwriter and singer)

These words of Peter Mayer reflect the teachings of Jesus. To discover this for one's self, all that's needed is to read "the letters in red" (some editions of the life of Jesus, have what he said printed in red).

We can say we stand apart, label each other, divide up into them and us, the good (which is always us) and the evil (which is always them) but he truth is, we're all the same. As Peter says, "all the world is one."

Institutions, even religious institutions, divide people into them and us. In politics we have the good guys and the bad guys --- who is good and who is bad depends on whether you're democrat, republican, independent, or some other. Nonetheless, it's those in my party verses those in the other party. Each party fuels negative emotions --- anger, animosity, hatred, feelings of superiority.

Religious institutions are no better. The current state of the christian religion in America, the religion that claims it was founded on the teachings of Jesus,  is just more of the same --- hundreds of denominations saying their way is more right than any other way. Jesus was a Jew. He was born a Jew, lived a Jew and died a Jew, yet many Christians won't recognize Jews as God's children. From the other side of the fence, it's no better as many Jews don't recognize any outside their way of thinking as acceptable, and neither do Muslims. It's all a mess. We build ramparts and moats to protect ourselves. We march in big parades saying how we're right and others are wrong (look at most any "special" parade and see if that's not the case for most all of them).

This is all stuff (ego stuff) we do to make ourselves feel special, superior to others. In making ourselves feel special we tear others down, belittle, berate, and condemn. We hurl insults, hurtful words, and sarcastic comments, and feel justified, for no other reason than the other person isn't on "my team," isn't in my group.

Who would you be without "your team." Who would you be without your political persona? Who would you be without your religious identification. Who would you be without your national identity?

Who would you be?

Namaste: The Divine spark within me recognizes and acknowledges the Divine spark within you.

"Anger usually leads to hatred and hatred is always negative."

--- The Dalai Lama



All the world is one...

You can say that you stand apart
Put a fence around your yard
You can build a tall rampart and guard it with a gun
You can dig yourself a moat
Burn the bridge and burn the boat
It won't matter that much, you know
Because all the world is one, all the world is one

You can march in a big parade
Every Independence Day
You can raise up your own flag and sing your own anthem
It will ring out in the air
With all the other anthems there
Till the winds of the earth declare
All the world is one, all the world is one

Go and ask the Buddha when he's sitting under the tree
Go ask Walt Whitman when he's looking out at the sea
Ask Alan Shepard when he's standing up on the moon
Staring at that pearl of blue

Ask an atom in the breath you take
Ask the water by the river bank
Ask a strand of DNA--it's written in your blood
One life running in your veins
One light from one big bang
You can try and separate it
But all the world is one, all the world is one

You can take an outbound train
Try and make a get-a-way
You can ride off like John Wayne into the setting sun
But earthlings don't leave town
They just go round and round
Until they figure out
All the world is one, all the world is one
All the world is one

--- Peter Mayer

• Do the best you can, whatever arises
• Be at peace with yourself.
• Find a job you enjoy.
• Live in simple conditions; housing, food clothing; get rid of clutter.
• Contact nature every day; feel the earth under your feet.
• Take physical exercise through hard work; through gardening or walking.
• Don't worry; live one day at a time
• Share something every day with someone else; if you live alone, write someone; give something away; help someone else somehow.
• Take time to wonder at life and the world; see some humor in life where you can.
• Observe the one life in all things.
• Be kind to the creatures.

--- Helen Nearing

"The one fact that I would cry from every housetop is this: the Good Life is waiting for us --- here and now."

--- B. F. Skinner



"Human beings live in three spiritual states. In the first we pay no attention to God. We notice only the dirt of the world, the wealth, the children, the men and women. In the second we do nothing but worship God. In the third, the most advanced state, we become silent."

--- Rumi 

Your mission, should you decide to take it...

"Your mission is very simple. You are asked to live so as to demonstrate that you are not an ego."

--- ACIM

Who Am I?

“Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others. You won't die. You will come to life. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are.”  Eckhart Tolle

To my children...

Easy to write. Difficult to do:

Your children are not mere lumps of clay
waiting for your expert hands.
They are the very energy of the universe
and will become what they will become.
They are sacred beings.
If you tamper with them
you will make everyone miserable.

They will find success,
and failure.
They will be happy
and sad.
They will delight you,
and disappoint you.
They will be safe,
and at great risk.
They will live,
and they will die.

Stay at the center of your own soul.
There is nothing else you can do.

---The Parent's Tao Te Ching

"To communicate is to join and to attack is to separate."

ACIM

Words are only symbols, Miss Sally, Part 2

The nurse talks to me in the hall. She says, "I know you say she connects with you, but she never says anything to me. I'll be interested in what happens today. She's especially withdrawn."

I walk into her room. "Hey, Miss Sally, it's Franklin," I say as I walk to the right side of her hospital bed.

I stand directly in her line of sight. "Hey, Miss Sally," I say again. She says nothing in response.

"The last time I was here you had on a beautiful pink blouse. Today you have on a beautiful blue one. It looks nice."

Her hands begin trembling beneath the covers. I think she wants to move the covers a bit to show me her blue blouse. She pulls her left hand from beneath the covers and says, haltingly, "Feel how cold my hands are."

I put my hand in hers. "Oh, my goodness, Miss Sally. Your hand is cold."

She pulls the other one out from beneath the blanket. "And this one," she says.

I hold her other hand, "You're so right. This one is colder than the other one."

"I recognize you," she says, "but I don't know who you are."

"I'm Franklin. The last time I was here you and I recited the twenty-third Psalm together. Do you remember that? The last time I was here you asked me not to forget you. I came back so you'd know I haven't forgotten you."

She then pulls my right hand up to her left cheek and holds it there, tightly, for a long, long time. After several moments she says ever so softly, "I love you so much."

I'm quietly stunned. After a few seconds I respond to her.

"I know you do, Miss Sally. I love  you, too," My eyes well up. She keeps my hand held tightly against her cheek. 

She says several things that I can't make out, but she's looking directly into my eyes. I want to understand, but I simply can't. Perhaps I don't need to understand. Perhaps all I need to do is be here in this moment for her, and for me.

I begin to leave. She holds my hand tighter. I relax and reenter the moment with her.

"I pray every day. I will pray for you," she says.

"Miss Sally, thank you so much. You have no idea how much I need you to pray for me. Thank you. I'll see you again," I say.

"I love you so much," she says as she releases my hands.

Lordy, lordy, lordy there's so much more going on all around us, all the time, than we can even imagine. We need to pay attention.

Doing nothing while your child fails
requires great courage
and is the way of wisdom.

Do not succomb to
berating,
scolding,
interferring,
interrupting,
or controlling
your child.
Let your gentle presence
teach all that is necessary.

---The Parents Tao Te Ching