February 1, 2019-
It is a true state of ecstasy,
to see each person
as s(he) ideally sees self.
It is most fulfilling,
to be free of baggage,
when looking upon
even the most attractive
of women.
This is how real progress
is made,
in solving the issues
that most need solving,
rather than constantly
rehashing issues
which mankind ought
to have resolved,
ages ago.
Let this month
of celebrating love,
be rooted
in celebrating the
whole person.
January 31, 2019-
As there are so many languages and ethnic groups, among the entity that is the human race, and as there are so many species of plants and animals, living on Planet Earth, alone, we may reasonably surmise that there is an infinity of living creatures, composed of any of the several elements, found in the Periodic Table, or perhaps a combination thereof. There could be as many, or more, silicon-based living creatures as/than carbon-based beings, across the Universe.
This leads to the fifth through tenth theoretical dimensions of the physical Universe. They each deal with comparisons between this world and at least one other possible world. The Fifth Dimension would be a world slightly different from ours, which we might compare and contrast with this one. The Sixth Dimension would be a plane of all possible worlds which have the same start conditions as one another. The Seventh Dimension would be a plane of all possible worlds with start conditions that are different from one another. This is the basis for the theory that there are several Universes (if “universe” actually means “one song”, that theory simply means there are several cosmic songs, in one Cosmos. The Eighth Dimension would be a plane of all possible worlds, each with different start conditions and each branching out infinitely. If Earth were to branch out, infinitely, then it is reasonable to expect that we humans would interact with those of other worlds, who are branching out infinitely, as well. The Ninth Dimension would be a plane of all possible worlds, with all possible start conditions AND all possible Laws of Physics. Remember, the Laws of Physics are atmosphere-based and gravity-based. What “flies” on Earth, does not “fly” on Saturn, or, necessarily, on the fourth planet from Sirius. The Tenth Dimension would be the plane of infinite possibilities. There, it could be that we could escape from politics, or death and taxes. https://ultraculture.org/blog/2014/12/16/heres-visual-guide-10-dimensions-reality/
That is the view of Bosonic String theorists. Some of them even posit a Cosmos of at least 26 dimensions, far beyond my level of understanding. You are free to examine that matter. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/292919/why-are-there-specifically-10-11-or-26-dimensions-in-string-theory
However, let me take just a few minutes to ponder what the above means, in terms of the dimensions of human wellness. Man does seem to have an infinite capacity to rationalize. Suppose this ability is actually rooted in a state of alternate realities, each of which could fit the needs of a given world that the Seventh or Eighth Dimensions.
Suppose, also, that the upper dimensions are peopled by those of any number, or combination, of structural elements. How would we communicate with such beings? This may prove a critical issue, perhaps as soon as 200-300 years hence.
It could, finally, be that the Tenth Dimension represents the closest we can imagine to the Reality of God- a State of Being that is far, far beyond it, but which dimension can command the human imagination at its zenith.
I like to think that the fifth-tenth dimensions are the source of all human progress, compelling us to seek, and find, knowledge that our forebears could imagine only dimly, at best. Let us keep trying, and growing.
January 25, 2019-
We had, all in all, a good, productive meeting at work, today and prior to that, I felt a firmer commitment to us paraprofessionals, from our leadership. These set the stage for a productive period, for the rest of the Winter and through the Spring.
It reminds me that my own commitment, to the well-being of humanity, branches off in many directions: Our team and the students; the local Baha’i community, and the wider Prescott/Yavapai County community-through Red Cross, Slow Food, American Legion-and those who are just beloved friends ; my friends who run the businesses around town, which I have come to love and appreciate- Frozen Frannie’s, Ms. Natural’s, Rustic Pie, Cupper’s, Chi’s Cuisine, Raven Cafe, Peregrine Books , Cornerstone Chiropractic, Planet Fitness and, most of all, Prescott Farmers Market; my family, most directly my son and daughter-in-law, mother and siblings-each of whom, are doing just fine. When I’m needed, I will do what is necessary
I have always had a global take on things, though, even when that was considered odd. So, I think, often and pray daily, for people in places which I might visit frequently- Phoenix, Flagstaff, the Verde Valley; not so frequently- Tucson, Superior, Carson City, Orange County, San Diego, Massachusetts,Missouri, Pennsylvania, the Great Lakes region, Virginia, Tennessee and Florida; once and again-the Pacific Northwest, western Europe, Alaska and east Asia- and those places which lie in my future, God willing-Africa, the rest of Europe, Central and South America, south Asia and the Middle East.
Yes, there is a commitment to travel, to visiting and to service where needed. Mainly, though, I am committed to living a full life, to doing the Will of God. Thich Nhat Hanh says commitment has nothing to do with convenience- so be it.
January 22, 2019-
Though I am often content
to live a simple life,
going to and from work
and tending to a small number
of daily and weekly tasks,
when not so engaged.
insights come to mind,
and I am made aware
of things that are to happen,
matters to which I must tend,
in either the near or intermediate future.
Most of these involve
cultivating friendships,
something at which I have improved,
over the years.
A few involve eschewing fellowship
with those who would challenge
the very spirit that keeps
the human race afloat.
Thankfully, I find the former
increasing, daily,
and the latter,
with which I last dealt
in mid-Autumn,
is a rare occurrence.
I feel the power
of the Holy Spirit
and of various angels,
keeping,
as the old popular song goes,
“watch over me”.
Yes, I do get messages,
as to how I should
proceed in certain matters
or where I should go,
on a given day, or
period of time.
These have been
uniformly spot on.
Mistakes have happened
when I have relied only
on my own limited reasoning.
Foresight is there,
waiting for those
who open their
minds and hearts.
January 21, 2019-
My act of service, on this national act of service day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, was to join a determined little family, on a Red Cross project. Sound The Alarm is a nationwide project to ensure that all homes in the United States have access to working smoke detectors, installed free of charge, by Red Cross volunteers or team members from partner agencies, such as a local Fire Department. I have been working with this family, for well over a year, to get this program off the ground in western Yavapai County.
Today, after manning a table for a few hours, outside a closed Boys and Girls Club, in Prescott Valley, we had generated a list of ten clients. One of them asked that his alarms be installed today, so after the tabling activity was finished, we went to his home and installed two alarms. This activity was a significant jump start, to a rather lengthy process.
I was born under the fire sign. Corrective action, the fulfillment of promises and facing even severe challenges, without backing down, have been constant, in my adult life. When I was challenged, last Fall, as to whether that was still the case, I had to recommit to it, though on my own terms, not those that were being dictated to me.
The fire is still here, and I will stand up and work through whatever challenges come, in the remaining future.
January 20, 2019, Scottsdale-
Today is World Religion Day, so after a regular monthly study session, in Prescott Valley, I headed down to the Baha’i Community Center here. There is an annual observance, honouring the commonality of the world’s religions, and most of the major faiths of North America were represented – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikh, Buddhism and Baha’i. (Only the Native American traditional faiths were unrepresented. We consider Catholicism and LDS to be Christianity, as well as the denominations of Protestantism).
This also being the weekend of the Women’s March, the theme of today’s gathering was “The Role of Women in Religion”. It is quite commonly held that the various faiths hold women down, to one extent or another. While a careful examination of various Scriptures shows that this is not so. it is very clear that those who promulgated the major religions, after the Ascensions of their Founders, saw fit to cherry-pick and manipulate the meanings of certain verses, so as to subvert women’s equanimity with men-in all too many instances. I will have more to say about this matter, especially during March, which is Women’s History Month.
I want to note, regarding yesterday’s Women’s March, in Prescott, that several hundred people, of various political standpoints, managed to be in a small space together, displaying signs with their points of view, and managing to not antagonize one another, at least while I was there. This is as it should be. One conservative woman, carrying a “pro-Trump” sign, nonetheless voiced agreement that women must be given the right to speak, on any issue, and be heard, on every issue. Penny and her mother would be shouting in agreement, as do my mother and just about every woman in my family and in my circle of friends.
The fire of purification burns on, in their hearts and in my heart.
Here is a presentation, at any earlier event, by Rev. Renee Morgan Brooks, who sang today, as well. She was a friend and collaborator of Penny’s.
January 13, 2019, Happy Jack, AZ-
I woke this morning, to find six inches of freshly-fallen snow covering the area outside my room at Delta Motel, Winslow. It is a high desert community, and the residents were as surprised as I was, that the serenity brought by snow had descended upon their environs. I’ve liked the Delta, for several years, because of its unpretentious yet immaculate rooms, a few of which had rockabilly themes, under a former owner. The rooms now have a distinctly Southwestern flavour to them.
The snow did leave me to ponder the rest of my day. Having said that I wanted to visit friends on the Hopi Nation, ninety minutes northeast of Winslow, I had to consider the weather and road conditions, plus the fact that I have to be in Phoenix, for an appointment, tomorrow morning.
I opted to head for home, primarily because between Winslow and Prescott there lies high country, regardless of route. There was poor reception for both phone and wifi, so discerning road conditions, later in the day, was problematic. After breakfast, and wishing the caring and efficient motel staff a fine day, I filled my car’s tank at a station across the street. Winslow is famous for the late Glenn Frey’s reminiscence of a girl “slowing down to take a look” at him, whilst he was standing on a corner there. It was rather ironic, that a sweet-faced young lady sat in her car and smilingly watched as I filled up the tank. We never spoke, but her smile was a comfort.
I headed south, as she headed north, and found the road, to this little village on AZ Route 87, very well-plowed and free of ice. This high country town has a small cafe- Tall Pines Cafe, named for the largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest in North America. Fresh chicken noodle soup and delectable quesadillas were my filling lunch. The snow was as fresh here as it was in Winslow, and would cover the ground as far as 2/3 of the way down the rim to Camp Verde.
P.S.-The rest of the drive was uneventful, with bare ground from Camp Verde until I was just about back in Prescott. I take comfort in that farmers will have a leg up, come spring, if the precipitation continues at the level it has fallen, thus far this winter. I will make time to go up to Hopi, later in the Spring, and certainly at some points during Summer.
Nonetheless, surprises from the Universe are part of what keeps me going strong.
January 9, 2019-
The young boy reacted to a task that was beyond his scope of understanding, in the only way he knew: He threw a fit of self-harm and flailing rage. Two women were able to guide him through the anger and calm him down, without any appreciable damage to himself or anyone else. He spent the rest of the day in peace, and participated in afternoon activities.
The past forty-eight hours have seen a fair amount of negativity, in situations far and near:
A dear friend has seen the person closest to her have to be brought to hospital, in a life-threatening emergency. My prayers, and those of dozens of others, have gone up, that he may survive the night and recover. The spouse, or significant other, of a friend is as dear to my heart as the friend.
There was, yesterday, what turned out to be a minor hiccup, in my son’s and daughter-in-law’s planned ceremony to sanctify their civil wedding vows. We maintained patience and the right thing happened-hiccup cured. Ceremony will proceed as planned, in two months’ time.
I had planned, with a group of co-workers and their friends/family, to conduct a clean-up of one of the National Park properties that is not far from here. This morning, an alert, banning the public from said property during the current shutdown, was hastily posted on the park’s website. While I can see any number of concerns that would bring such a response to the offers of a clean-up, (Ours was not the only such offer.), the shutdown as a whole is extremely negative and counterproductive. Our group could clean up any of the National Forest sites in this area, though the U.S. Forest Service is fully operational. We could, as one person elsewhere told me, focus on local neighbourhoods and not worry about Federal land. These two scenarios can, and should, be a regular part of civic life-above and beyond the present impasse. (More on “local vs. global”, in another post.) Our point, though, in THIS situation, is that the National Park System is suffering, mightily, from ongoing neglect during the present shutdown. It needs its citizens to step up, more than ever.
Negative energy is always around, and as darkness is dispelled by light, it can be countered and neutralized by a stronger positive energy. Fighting fire with fire, or mud with more mud, is a short-term strategy, which usually results in the perpetuation of the very iniquity that one seeks to remove. I have found that either maintaining a stronger stance of love, in the face of hate, or cutting off the flow of negativity altogether, has brought the darkness to naught.
January 8, 2019-
The local Sears may well be closing soon, along with most others of that company’s sites. That fact has nothing to do with the title of this post, though.
Prescott has taught me how to be fully part of a community-actually a lesson that Saugus, and later, the Hopi Nation, tried to teach me, years ago, with varying degrees of success. I guess that now, in my advanced middle age, and with a few knockabouts under my belt, people are more easily understood by me, and vice versa.
There is a move afoot for several of us to go to a National Park Service property (to be determined), and engage in a clean-up, this weekend. This is just the latest of examples of why this community has a commitment from my heart to stay and work for the next 2-2.5 years, before family, and the curiosity about the wider world, take primacy in my life, once again. My Faith community, the Red Cross, a local school gardens group, various individual friends-and my co-workers at Prescott High School have kept me well-occupied and quite happily so, especially these past two academic years.
This evening, I went to a fundraiser for our school’s Future Business Leaders of America. Wildflower Bakery, a regional chain, has a new restaurant, within the shopping mall where it has been a fixture for several years. It is visible from the road, and draws a fair crowd. FBLA thus decided to hold its event here. I support as many of these “club dinners” as I can, just out of love. Teens, in my view, deserve all the support they can get, in finding their way to a solid and sustainable future.
I guess this is the impetus to having all these other elements of community take root in my heart.
January 5, 2019, Prescott-
I woke up this morning, my legs stiff from yesterday’s hike, and hit upon the idea of high stepping, as a way of loosening the joints. It worked and my left knee feels mobile and, I dare say, good as new. Many of our difficulties with aging come from disuse, or improper use, of our parts. That’s not the whole shebang, but it does have a lot to do with quality of life, as the years roll on- and I fully intend to go for the maximum.
This evening, I went to watch a silly Transformers film, mainly because the story line was about a teenager in whom no one believed. Such people have been my heart, for so long, that I wanted to see the predictable triumph over self and others, which doesn’t always happen in real time. She fixed a car and made a friend-the rest falling into place, haphazardly, but nicely.
Other films coming up will feature women who stand tall and beat oppressors. This has always been important to me, that both boys and girls know they can go the distance and reach whatever heights to which they aspire-so long as they take life’s setbacks and turn them into comebacks.
Five years ago, this June, I visited the tower where Jeanne d’Arc was imprisoned and stood on the spot where she was immolated. Today, no one gives much thought to the fact that the leader of French resistance to foreign rule was a peasant woman. She is seen as simply having been a leader.
No human, who stands for what is in the heart and does the work necessary to accomplish deeply-cherished goals, is doomed to failure.
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