Category Archives: collaborating

Open Letter to the Elites

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 9, 2020-

Dear souls:

I recently watched the final episode for Season 2, of a science fiction television series, called “Manifest”.  In one of the climactic scenes, a low-level physician confronts a senior intelligence operative, about her duty to share knowledge with those underneath her.  The operative haughtily refers to the doctor as “Little Girl”, and says that, as she is responsible for protecting the nation, such as the doctor are as “insects beneath my shoe”.

It is a cliche, but still true:  “With great power, comes great responsibility”.  We also see that with great power, comes great arrogance.  Common people, whether ruled by those of liberal philosophy or conservative philosophy, are historically seen as nuisances, especially when such commoners speak their peace.

This is as true in self-styled democracies and republics, as in monarchies or dictatorships.  I witnessed the arrogance of power, first hand, in July, 2007, when Federal agents, in three instances, browbeat ordinary citizens going about their business. One of these was my wheelchair-bound wife, ordered out of the area of an overhang, in the midst of a torrential downpour.  We made it to another, more-welcoming shelter, as is often the case, when functionaries overly assert their power-and the citizen must decide to protest or improvise.

I mention these matters, as now we are witnessing the idea phase of the Coronavirusdisease2019 health crisis.  Vaccines are being actively touted, and these could be as simple as the vaccines of the 1950’s-70’s, or as problematic as the heavy metals-laden cocktails of the past three decades.  The latter brings in the most revenue, of course, and so we see entrpreneurs, investors, with scant medical expertise, in the forefront of the research funding.  We also see medical professionals, some of whom are among your number, stating that we ought to prepare to shelter in place until the vaccines are ready for mass distribution-possibly as late as October, 2021.

We see some of the same entrepreneurs calling for microchipping of human beings-a cause celebre of those who wish to control the masses.  Finally, there is a push for 5th Generation (5G) technology, in the communications industry.  This last is deemed essential, for speeding up said communication.

May I ask: Why do we need communication sped up any further?  Where is everyone going, especially following the end of the COVID emergency?  To my mind, one of the lessons of this pandemic is that humanity needs to connect more honestly, more civilly and more slowly with one another.  I see also that we need to live far more in harmony with nature, than the robust technologies being spoonfed us will allow.

I sit at the laptop, and can only sit so long, using my highly magnetic computer mouse, before my hand starts tingling. Then, I know to massage that hand, and apply essential oils.  I know, too, that a more powerful cellular device or computer will aggravate my nerves and blood vessels that much further- and I am in good health.  What of those with underlying health issues?

Friends, we are entering an age of greater spiritual awareness and of a greater sense of individual responsibility.  Fewer people, especially among those born after 1980, are going to kowtow to the “experts” or the “elites”, regardless of how you see yourselves.  As Bob Dylan once wrote: “The old world is rapidly fading.  Get out of the new one if you can’t lend a hand, for the times, they are a-changing.”  One of the features of that new world will be an increase in questioning decisions proferred from on high.

I look forward to that- and rest assured, I will be among those questioning your pronouncements.

May you choose peace and truth,

Gary

Pesach

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 8, 2020-

The Holy Days of major world religions take on extra meaning for many more than just their adherents, in times of peril.  So it is with Passover, the celebration marking the Israelites’ delivery from slavery in Egypt.  The eight-day festival starts this evening, ending on April 16.

The celebration of freedom is ironic, in a time when when a climate of oppression is felt by many, with the sense that things may get worse, before they improve.  Some will feel between a rock and a hard place, as two opposing groups of well-to-do entrepreneurs vie for public support of two very different treatments for COVID19- one, a pill with anecdotal, but not clinical, proof of efficacy; the other, a vaccine that is not likely to be ready for mass usage until the Fall of 2021.  In the meantime, it seems to me that deliverance from THIS pestilence will be up to us laymen, following physical distancing guidelines and self-isolating, for a fair number of weeks or months AND building up our immune systems through improving nutrition, taking natural supplements and getting enough Vitamin D, from sunshine.

I wish all Jews a healthy and happy Passover season-with the rest of us keeping our God-given sense of free will, and using it wisely.

Endurance

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Spiritual, Striving

April 7, 2020-

I have to say this:  I don’t believe that the current virus is a contrived conspiracy to break people’s spirits, so a tyrant can take over.  I have heard this very thing, in so many words, from across the political spectrum.  It’s become a “fill-in-the-blank” exercise, with everyone from the current U. S. President to the Boards of Directors of major pharmaceutical companies being blamed.

That said, the race to see who can postpone public events the furthest out is getting out of hand.  It is giving credence to conspiracy theorists, when the science (if there is any) behind delaying even small events,scheduled for August and September, until November, is not being explained to the people on the street.

If the confidence and cooperation of the public at large is what is desired, then they cannot be treated like mushrooms-kept in the dark, with a diet of dung.  Too many decisions are not communicated well.

I am a very patient man, but if our leaders want the public trust, more had better start explaining their decisions in a clear and concise manner.  People like Queen Elizabeth II and the Governor of Kentucky are able to explain harsh decisions clearly.  Let’s see more do the same.

Change Surely Is A Constant

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Striving

April 6, 2020-

Several people are trying to circulate chain posts around social media. I don’t copy and paste anything, verbatim, as hackers are sometimes behind the posts.  I do note what is making the rounds, though, and one of the most popular items has been a listing of what has changed, in the last five weeks.

I will hold off on making my own list.  We have a way to go, yet, before all is said and done.  I do have a sense that only the most durable and equitable of institutions will still be standing, five years-or even five months, from now.  There will still be banks, and probably credit unions, as we need a medium of exchange to maintain commerce.  There will still be government, hopefully one based on the rule of law.  There will still be regular communication, as we are a social species and will figure a way to keep in touch, even in the absence of what we have now. There will still be goods and services, including restaurants and cafes, for the reason I just mentioned.  Most of all, there will still be the human spirit-alive, well and forward-looking.

We have miles to go, and eons to live.

Full Power

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 4, 2020-

Today, the fourth day of the fourth month, is also seen by numerologists and astrologers  as Universal Year 4. This is figured by adding the digits of the year: 2+0+2+0= 4.  It is considered a year of feminine power, as multiples of two reflect feminine energy, whilst odd-numbered years reflect masculine energy.

I tend to have a balance of the two, having been raised by parents whose power was balanced.  Many, both male and female, who were raised in an imbalance-usually  patriarchic , have judged me as weak or even effeminate, as I  have leaned away from aggression-most of the time, in my earlier days, and always, of late.

Feminine energy, as most of my readers know, is far from weak.  I was raised by a lioness, who nonetheless knew how to nurture, as well how to exact obedience.  My father also showed a good balance of masculine and feminine, in his discipline. So, in my maturity, I chose a career that stressed being both supportive and showing my charges the value of boundaries.  The vast majority of “my kids” have grown to be mature, grounded and productive citizens, even those who have hard lives.

Now, in late middle age, I find myself cheering the arrival of a more balanced culture.  These Twenties are bound to be rough for many, who hang on to shopworn ways of looking at and doing things.  This year has already dragged many through the ringer, and the rest of us just taking one day at a time.  I am still ready to do what is needed to bring in the real sunshine, knowing that the love of the aging is going to be needed, as those of the Rising Generations:  Younger Gen X, Millennials, Generation Z and the Alpha Generation, will be doing the heavy lifting.

Each day is bringing with it, full power-the power each of us needs to effect transition- our own individual, that of the nations and of the planet.  Rise with the Sun, live your day fully and rest well at night.  We are all needed, in our way.

 

Archetypes

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Posted by on in collaborating, Inspiration, Social, Spiritual

April 3, 2020-

In everyone’s life, I think, there are those human phenotypes who one continuously encounters, over and over, especially fulfilling certain roles in the persons’ life.  I reflected today, on those who have done so, in my life.  Although, they don’t know one another and have appeared at different points in my life, they are phenotypically similar.

My mentors and advocates have, for the most part, been either African-American men, in late middle age, with a profound reservoir of spiritual knowledge, or women who are slender, brunette and of medium height, likewise having a wealth of spiritual acumen.  There is one such man among my friends, at this stage of my life, an astrologist with keen intuition.

This second  was true of my mother, yet without my seeking any surrogate, such women have shown up randomly, in my life, since I left home in 1974.  There are several such people in my life, right now,  most notably my primary human spiritual guide, and my best friend.  I do not see any of them as mother figures.

I have frequently encountered people, who seem to have materialized out of nowhere, and after a brief, pleasant exchange, they disappear almost as quickly.  These are, with one exception, also brunette women, of medium height, who are quite a bit younger than those mentioned above.  They seem to have a strong spirituality and have mainly appeared to me when I’ve been hiking.  The one exception resembled my late wife, except she was gaunt in appearance and also appeared to me out of nowhere, when I was hiking in the high desert, some years back.

Finally, among men and boys, I always seem to encounter those with a snarky, fun-loving demeanour, usually when I need to get out of my introvert shell.  They set me straight, though not in a mean way.

Of course, my door is wide open for all manner of people, regardless of phenotype.  Those mentioned above just seem to be who the Universe has guided my way or me to theirs.

 

 

 

 

 

In Trust

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Spiritual, Striving

April 1, 2020-

The past month has been a time of highs and lows, for me,as for many others.  While I am gravely concerned with the rampage of Coronavirusdisease 2019, the lows did not stem primarily from the pandemic.  They were more psychic in nature, as several who claimed to be in tune with an elevated state of mind revealed themselves, especially these past few days, to be as hobbled with political intrigue and conspiracy theory, as the most troubled among my friends.

Trust comes hard for me, for reasons too varied to describe in this post.  I have long sought after those who have a clear view of the Universe as a whole, and of the essentially spiritual nature of humans.  Baha’u’llah, His Teachings and the Faith being built in His Name have given me that comfort.  I likewise feel close to those who understand and embrace the essential Teachings of Christ, Moses, Mohammad, Gautama Siddhartha, Krishna and of the Spirit Guides of ages even further back than our present historical records can fathom.

There have been those who claim knowledge of deeper spiritual truths, but my trust in them has been broken by their fallback into addiction, profanity, a judgmental stance towards others and a claim of superiority.  I do not judge them in kind, but neither can I place my trust in their pronouncements.

Thankfully, those coming from a Higher Realm give all the assurance that I need, in order to press on with what their messages tell me I must do- Stay in place and serve humanity now, and work farther afield, when the crises afflicting us at present are abated.

Pledge

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 31, 2020-

I made a pledge to myself, sometime back.

I will ever support sincere efforts to bring

people together.

I will ever oppose tyranny, obfuscation

and gaslighting,

regardless of their premise.

I will ever support the dignity

of the individual.

I will ever oppose bullying,

whisper campaigns and

“cleansing” of whole

ethnicities, nations,

denominations.

I will ever work to

safeguard the rights

of children and youth.

I will ever oppose those

who deny our young

a voice in their own affairs,

or worse yet,

ignore their needs

for education,

character building

and affirmation.

I will work to

help expand

consciousness.

I will oppose

mindlessness.

Winds and Tremors

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Personal Values, Poetry, Spiritual, Striving

March 30, 2020-

What has changed?

What has been blown away,

by the winds?

What has cracked and fallen,

in the tremors of this

lugubrious season?

Greed is blowing away,

though it is grasping

at branches,

and trying to

deflect our attention.

Pride is collapsing,

being confronted

by a chastening.

Lust is becoming

irrelevant,

in the stirred dust,

of a cosmic haboob.

The selfish cannot

ignore the cries of

babies,

of their grandparents,

of those who can’t move.

on their own.

Those who stand on

ceremony,

are finding

that ladder

is

toppling.

Bedrock, alone,

will keep us upright.

Thirty Days In

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 29, 2020-

I began serious application of Coronavirus Disease 19 response planning, on Leap Day, February 29.  In the past thirty days, these have happened:

Work stopped, on March 6, at 3 p.m.  Part of that was Spring Break, but my employer stopped assigning people on March 11.  I got some pay, this past Friday.

I said “see you soon” to friends who have since closed their businesses, moved away from college dorms, stopped playing gigs in local clubs and are generally sequestered.

Prayed, incessantly.

Learned a  lot about navigating Zoom and opened an account with that medium.  Hosted my first meeting on it, today.

Have been catching up with reading, journaling and, yes, Netflix.

Have made plans for “journeys in place”-studying various topics.

Kept in touch with people across the planet, to see how things are going.

Have done take-out orders, just so some support is going their way.  Same with food boxes  from the Farmers Market and groceries for a pop-up food bank at the Toyota dealership.

It’s standard stuff, and part of being a member of society.  Would do it all over again, no questions asked.

Brighter days are ahead.