Ad Hoc Authority

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on May 26, 2020 in collaborating, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Striving

May 26, 2020-

I began reading the National Geographic, for the month of June, whilst doing my laundry, this afternoon. One of the opinion pieces, about the effect of satire and humour, in getting people to understand science, contained the curious statement that “most scientists” agree the GMO-foods are safe to eat-and that Jimmy Kimmel says they’re safe to eat, as well.

I have never heard Mr. Kimmel speak, about anything. When people talk about dietary or nutritional matters, their main frames of reference are: Their dietary needs and preferences; their investments (GMO foods are lucrative) and their aversion to what they see as lapses in efficiency (Small farms and organic methods are often cited as being “inefficient.”)

I also have a problem with “most…….”. It reminds me of the phrase, “They’re all doing it”. Not being a lemming, or a sheep, I have to weigh trends in my mind, before followong along. Nebulous citations, or quoting lay people, who may or may not be authoritative, or articulate, are not altogether convincing.

Many of the problems into which we have fallen, today, are the results of having followed the words of the loudest voice in the room. Ad hoc authority figures have risen up, at various levels of national life-and in other countries, as well. They set policy by feeling their way. I have to caution my readers, to revert back to conducting scrutiny, to the best of your ability, and not taking anything at face value.

Things that may, or may not, be safe, are not ascertained by saying “The scientists say it’s so!” What scientists? Working for whom? Where are their studies, and the peer reviews, published?

Dreams Not Deferred

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on May 21, 2020 in collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

May 21, 2020-

After visiting the newly reopened American Legion Post 6 and stopping by Bill’s Pizza for a couple of slices, which I then enjoyed at a park bench, in Courthouse Square, I headed along North Cortez Street, and made note of more places re-opening, this coming weekend.

It was another of life’s sublime pleasures, to see a fairly good cross section of our area’s graduating high school seniors, lining up in their vehicles-sedans, trucks, SUVs and Jeeps, preparing for a motorcade through downtown, after which they would go to Pioneer Park, on the north side, for a group celebration. I stayed around and cheered all of the grads, as they drove by my perch on the outside of a long-defunct Chinese restaurant.

This group has been challenged to complete their course of study, in ways not seen since World War II. People of my parents’ generation may well identify, yet at least they got to finish school in their buildings. This spring semester, at all schools, has been an intense swirl of innovation-much of it accomplished on the spur of the moment. The best of it has relied on inquiry and discussion, followed by students coming up with solid new ways to accomplish things that had relied on formula, for far too long.

I had little to do with the achievements of this class of seniors, but I did cheer one young lady, a special needs person, who learned the value of setting personal boundaries and safeguarding herself, without, thankfully, having to undergo trauma. She can now take her place among those pursuing, and realizing, their dreams-hers being to work as a cosmetologist.

May each of these remarkable souls make their mark, not waylaid by any future misfortune-either greater or lesser than the one that interrupted, but did not dismantle, their last year of high school.

Staying My Course

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 20, 2020 in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

April 19, 2020-

Sitting in my comfortable abode, I am pondering the various reactions to both COVID-19 and to the policies that have arisen in its wake. I base my own responses, to the cacophany of ideas, pleas and outright demands that people are making, of one another and of the powers that be, on my inner voice and on the messages from my spirit guides.

1. Isolate, or sally forth- Many say: Stay put, you’re old and at risk! Others say: Don’t let the “guvmint” tell you what to do. Get out and enjoy life!! Me: I have lots to do around Home Base, for now. I can get out, just a bit, support restaurant friends and the Farmers’ Market, with take out orders, wash my clothes and take a nature walk, now and then. I will hang close to home, until at least June 1.

2. Get tested, or lie low- Mainstream health activists say: Get tested! Some add: What’s so terrible about getting microchipped? Others say: Don’t trust Big Pharma-or the Gates Foundation!! Diet and exercise will suffice. Me: I will get tested, if the public health experts mandate testing for the whole populace. I would only get vaccinated IF there was a guarantee that no human body parts were used in the serum, not to mention any heavy metals (Mercury, lead, etc.) . I will never agree to be Microchipped. I do have a predominately organic diet, free of GMOs and use only natural supplements, derived from therapeutic grade essential oils.

3. Open society back up, or extend restrictions- We basically see that ultraconservatives and people of colour are in rare agreement, in demanding that society open back up, immediately. Watching white supremacists and Native American activists say the same thing is quite fascinating. The Other Side says everything from: “Give this two or three more months” to “Whatever we do, let’s not open schools back up until the vaccine is ready-even if it’s August, 2021. In fact, let’s keep everything shut down until that day comes.” This scenario-partly pragmatic, but mostly fear-based, is wishful thinking, and would probably require martial law in order to be effected. Me: I go with 1-2 more months, with society gradually opening up, in the meantime. Schools ought to carefully re-open- one month late, in places, in September, of THIS year.

These are my humble responses, or additions, to the cacophany.

Views from A Deep Place

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on April 16, 2020 in collaborating, Community, Education, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

April 16, 2020-

The young girl read her poem She thanked Coronvirusdisease2019, for bringing things to a halt, for making us take notice of one another and for showing us that we need to use our time more wisely.

I joined a Zoom call this morning, with people from Jordan to New Zealand, from Bolivia to Alaska, joining together in prayer, and a short series of Talking Circles, organized by the Four Worlds International Institute, a spiritual connectedness center, run by First Nations people, in Surrey, BC-south of Vancouver.

Most of the time was spent in prayer and thoughtful remarks. The young girl and her father, Bedouins from Jordan, offered very cogent remarks about the state of the planet and fervent prayers for all humanity to recover fully, from the current crisis. They were followed, not long after, by an Israeli Jew, singing a prayer in Hebrew.

This session lasted two hours, and will be followed, on a daily basis, by a Mayan gentleman, offering a prayer at sunrise. It will be followed, on a weekly basis, each Thursday until May 21, by a similar prayers and Talking Circle format.

A Talking Circle, for those not familiar with it, is a small group of people talking from their hearts, one at a time. Customarily, a Talking Stick is held by the person whose turn it is to speak. No one else may speak until that person finishes. A person may not have a second turn holding the stick, until everyone in the circle has had a chance to speak-though one with nothing to share may pass the stick to the next person.

In the current, digital format, the unmute button serves as Talking Stick. Everyone remains muted, except the person whose turn it is to speak. Six of us, three from Arizona and others from as far away as Norway and Fiji, spoke briefly in introduction to one another. I am sure the conversations will become deeper, as the weeks progress.

This sort of discourse will be where the ideas for spiritual regeneration come.

Light, Out of Calamity

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on March 27, 2020 in collaborating, Community, Education, Historical, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving

March 27, 2020-

In some of mankind’s darkest moments, advances have come from the suffering, like small mammals coming forth after the Age of Dinosaurs. These advances, in short order, became a part of the fabric of human culture.

After the Great Plague, of the Fourteenth Century, Europeans began to return to embracing science, rather than superstition, in treating illnesses. The primacy of Cardinals and Bishops began to face widespread scrutiny, and the stirrings of Protestantism were felt. The Catholic Church itself had to make changes, under Ignatius Loyola. Advances in scientific discovery came, as a result of these trends.

After the American Civil War, the Red Cross was started, by Clara Barton, as a means of assisting soldiers, in time of calamity. It quickly expanded to help society at large, in times of disaster.

After World War I, movements to assist disabled and unassisted veterans, in returning to civilian life began, with the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans. These organizations still make large scale efforts to assist those who suffer from dislocation, or from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

After World War II, mass production of houses, the science of rocketry, television and large computers became part of the civilian world, having been first advanced within the military sphere. From large, room-sized computers have come hundreds of technological products, many of them falling into the realm of nanotechnology.

Now, we will await the advances coming out of the struggle against Coronavirus Disease 2019. Teleconferencing, already available for business, government and limited conversations between family members and other small groups, has exploded in use, as nearly every group, which conducted its business in person, has found ways to meet virtually. Even when the crisis has ended, I can see the sheer range of teleconferencing leading to its continued wide use among the public at large. It will also greatly modify the educational process, even more than it has to date.

The retrofitting of factories that produce a wide variety of products, from airplanes to distilled spirits, are now also producing items that will help face the virus. Ventilators, medical-grade masks and hand sanitizer will still need to be stockpiled, even after this virus has spent its rampage. Preparedness will not soon, if ever, be relegated to the realm of memory.

There will be many tasks, which the technology and skill sets coming out of the current crisis will need to be called to perform. Not the least of these is completing the still gargantuan effort to provide all homes with clean, running water and reliable heat or cooling. This work will occupy post-pandemic humanity for years, if not decades.

Out of the darkness comes a greater light. Baha’u’llah teaches:

“O SON OF MAN! My calamity is My providence, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy. Hasten thereunto that thou mayest become an eternal light and an immortal spirit. This is My command unto thee, do thou observe it.”

Staying Golden

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on March 13, 2020 in collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

March 13, 2020-

As it happened, Friday the Thirteenth saw the climate of upheaval hit a pause button,at least as far as society as a whole was concerned. Of course, COVID19 has yet to run its course, and many are out of work, however temporarily. Remedies,though, are in the offing, both medically and economically. Perhaps, by next Tuesday, toilet tissue will be on the shelves, for more than an hour, again and there will be a sense of recommitment to work and study, as colleges and universities at least adjust to online curricula and some level of financial support comes from a Congress that is intending to work through the worst of the crisis.

This is the first open-ended challenge that humanity, as a whole, has had in a good many years. The other such calamities had human faces: The Axis Powers; Mao’s Cultural Revolution; September, 2001’s terrorist attacks. There were natural catastrophes that were more specific, in terms of dates and locations: Each of the last three viral epidemics; the hurricanes of 2005-until present; the great wildfires and ensuing floods; the many tornadoes, most recently those that hit central Tennessee.

It is being,and will be, handled better than at the onset. Governments are learning that the commitment to public welfare needs to be specific, all hands on deck and long-term. The people are learning that there are times, when being physically distant is an act of love. Both institutions and individuals are learning to trust science.

We are learning what the Gold Standard, in institutional and social life, actually means.

Transference

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on March 6, 2020 in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 6, 2020-

I went into work early today, to have a conversation with my supervisor as to her assessment of my work so far. I had a concern about how well I was being accepted by the close-knot staff, as there have been some expressions of hostility this week.

I need not have worried. Both my supervisor and co-teacher are more than satisfied with the work I’ve done up to now. They both want me to stay and finish helping our special needs student-and I will.

The legacy of Penny’s time and energy with me is, primarily, that she helped me get out of my own little world, giving up alcohol straightaway in 1981, being more present and comfortable in the presence of others, than I had been before we met. It was, arguably, the first time I truly felt accepted by a woman, outside my family, since high school-when I had relatively little trouble getting along with my female schoolmates-even if I didn’t see myself as “dating material”. Thus, what I viewed as rejection by others had much to do with my self-rejection.

Penny helped me transcend a lot of my self-doubt. Some of it resurfaced, in the first years after her passing, but gradually, with travel to Europe, Oahu and northwestern North America, I began to recognize that I was not unworthy of acceptance and true friendship, from a wide variety of people.

My tent is huge. I like people from a number of backgrounds- so whether their musical tastes are Classic Rock, European Classical, Country, Bluegrass, Zydeco, Blues, Jazz, Hip-hop, Metal, ( but not “Death Metal”), Powwow songs or Folk, I enjoy their gatherings. Whether someone is a person of size, svelte, or (like me) somewhere in between, it’s everything else about them-their character, primarily, that matters far more. The same goes for other physical attributes. Ditto, with political leanings, so long as the individual is not clamouring for the death and destruction of those with opposite leanings, be they conservative or liberal. I like my friends to leave their silos and, at least occasionally, listen to the opposite point of view with open ears and minds. Everyone has a piece of the Truth.

So, the most influential soul ever to grace my world still has a day-to-day impact on how I view myself. The spirit tells me to exude love for those around me, as well as for my own self, as life is hard enough for most people.

Playing to Their Strengths

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on February 28, 2020 in collaborating, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Poetry, Social, Striving

February 28, 2020-

Taking advantage of anyone is a sign of weakness.

Few have tried to take advantage of me, lately.

One, who did try, became furious with me,

for saying “No” to his pleas for money.

I do not see this as a loss, for me,

as putting all one’s eggs in a single basket,

is a recipe for disaster.

He’d have done better,

to ask for the help of a group.

I was not his only online friend.

Others in my life now,

are important,

in that my presence is solely

to help them

build on their personal strengths.

Here, I see a steady progress.

This is always the key:

Help others make the most

of what is already inside them.

Love Means Energy

Posted by Sagittarian Seeker on February 14, 2020 in Assistance, children, collaborating, Education, impediments, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Striving

February 14, 2020-

It’s been quite a few years, since Valentine’s Day meant taking time for romance. The last such day was in 2011, and it was to prove the last such day,ever,-at least as far as I know now. Penny wasn’t so much connected with us, but on that day, she was home. She would have about 1 1/2 more weeks, living in the house that we struggled to keep. I got six carnations, placed them in a vase, and made sure she knew they were there. I felt her happiness, at seeing her favourite flowers. The last time I placed carnations in a vase, six months ago, it was at her grave.

The woman closest to me now is not huge on flowers in a vase. She prefers things she can plant. She is also more careful with romance, for good reason. We are the best of friends, and that works well for me. The key is always to meet such of the needs of another person, with which s(he) entrusts you. We are one another’s most fervent well-wisher, sounding board and healer.

There are many other friends in my life, as my readers know-many of you are among them, in real time. In any case, you are friends in spirit, and that has made all the difference, in times of setback and low energy. My friends are a good part of what keeps me going.

Then, there is the purpose-the driving force behind each day, for which I draw breath. Now, it is the life skills development of a young lady, who has spent her brief life working mightily to learn things which so many of us take for granted. She reminds me of my youngest brother, gone these twenty-six years. She is the primary reason for my work, from now until the third week in May.

Love is also putting stock in the Will of God-that things happen for a reason, or for several reasons, all having to do with relationships, with personal development. Some things happen, or don’t happen, according to our human, finite plans-but they always happen for reasons found in the Cosmos. I had planned to visit a friend, whose husband is seriously ill, at an event in her business, this evening. Instead, whilst I was driving to an earlier event, a tire blew and I made it to said earlier event-barely.

Friends there helped me, and thanks to the AAA, my car is at the regular mechanic’s shop. Tomorrow morning will thus be spent with the mechanic and getting the two new tires I seem to need. The tax returns will wait until next week. I will stop at the other friend’s business, tomorrow afternoon. I’ve learned to see even mishaps as blessings.

Love means putting energy into the betterment of those around you, as well as taking care of self.