Category Archives: Inspiration

Ghosts

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Poetry, Social

May 10, 2016, Prescott–

My thoughts go to a place called Xanga.

I’ve been informed that my subscription is over.

The ghost pieces that have built up there,

are to be the stuff of archives.

Bittersweet.

as that was a place I could reach out,

a place where I could learn to accept love from strangers,

a place where I could banter with snarky people,

and a place where I could deal with bullies and trolls.

My imagination ran free,

for the first time in a long while.

Many friendships were made,

many of them still thrive,

in real time.

Some were lost,

in the wake of culture wars,

misunderstandings,

upended relationships.

The wisps of thoughts,

long ago communicated,

as my truest love faded from life,

one hour, one day, one year at a time.

My cyberfriends joined our son,

in holding my hand,

keeping my mind intact,

helping my heart to heal.

As I write,

the cool presence of her spirit,

wafts over my hands,

reassuring.

 

 

In Honour Of….

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Posted by on in Historical, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Spiritual

April 28, 2016, Prescott- I took today off from work, as we Baha’is are so advised, on Holy Days such as this- the Ninth Day of the Ridvan Festival; the Day when, 163 years ago, Baha’u’llah revealed His Station to family and closest associates, while preparing to follow lawful orders and proceed overland, from Baghdad to Constantinople (Istanbul). Their departure would begin in earnest, three days later.

We will gather as a community and celebrate the Anniversary, 1 1/2 hours from now, with sacred readings, contemplation and a fine meal. Baha’u’llah and His entourage, by contrast, frequently had scant food and drink- especially when on the dusty path, northward from Iraq and across Anatolia. The Messengers of God always take on suffering, if only to show us that it can be overcome, in the end.

Ours is not a Faith of asceticism, nor is it favourable towards over-indulgence. We do well, He says, to share good fortune, and not lose heart, in times of scarcity. The former is largely the result of dispassionate hard work. The latter is a reminder that this is a life meant for character building, which can best be achieved in the face of trials. So, at least, is my understanding of it all.

He came to bring unity to mankind- and gave us a blueprint, slowly being understood, and accepted, by more people. It must, however, be done willingly by each individual. The days of forced conversion are being seen for what they were, and will not be repeated.

 

Friends, Like These

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Posted by on in Community, Inspiration, Personal Values

April 12, 2016, Prescott- I was determined to not let yesterday’s minor irritations be like rocks in my shoe. Today started out fresh, with the promise of being a full day- work would be followed by a professional workshop, then a meeting of Slow Food Prescott, with its vegetarian dinner.

I got to work, with plenty of time to spare, and a styrofoam box of freshly made pancakes, from Cupper’s Coffee House- hoping for breakfast time. As it happens, I did enjoy the pancakes, only in the automotive classroom, rather than with my charges in Resource Center. Well, things went smoothly enough, the auto shop students did their own project, and the three classes focused on the academic aspects of automotives were mostly dawdlers, but hardly difficult to manage.

That is one aspect of my current position- flexibility, that will only enhance my position. Be invaluable, the voice said during my meditation, last night, and so the flow took me to a place of worth. During the free hours, I found that my new colleagues were glad for what help I could offer them. It has been a long year for many, and being a voice of reason makes a person welcome, in these parts, by teachers and students alike.

Afterward, a workshop was offered, on the Google calendar, by two imaginative and tech-savvy teachers, one of whom I regard almost as a daughter. She will have a long and fabulous career as an educator. I picked up some good points from this workshop, and can organize my overall time, in a far clearer manner, using this tool.

Slow Food’s April meeting transpired in an amazingly lovely Manzanita Village, a cooperative housing scheme, overlooking the city and some intervening valleys. I didn’t have my camera tonight, but will be sure to go back up there and take a few photos to share, in the not too distant future. The meal featured some fermented foods: Kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir and dosa- a crepe, made from fermented lentils and brown rice, soaked for 24 hours, then blended into a batter. It hails from south India, and was thoroughly delectable. I was even given some batter to take home. So guess what breakfast will be tomorrow!

This sort of feeling more connected has generally happened more in Spring, the past several years- and is what keeps me in growth mode. Friendships like these are worth growing.

And So He Sang

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Poetry

April 7, 2016, Prescott-

The world saw the last  of Merle Haggard, the man, yesterday.

He turned seventy-nine, then he turned and said “Goodbye, all.”

His words to us youth, back in Sixty-Nine and Seventy,

were to never forget the mountain dwellers, the cowboys,

the rednecks and the Blue Collar people, with their lunch pails.

He stood for the veterans, the grunts, the jarheads,

the squids, the flyboys and the weekend warriors.

“Don’t be runnin’ down our country, boys and girls”,

he said, while recounting the blues of the working man.

Then, there was the self-same man calling for an end to war.

There was the singer who stopped to listen, even to those

with a contrary opinion.

The price of that listening was,

you got to see the cowboy, the redneck, the roughneck

as a human being, a child of God, just like you.

He could have named his son Amos Moses,

or Elijah, or Jefferson Davis, or Thomas Jefferson.

He would never have named the boy, “Sue’.

Merle kept on with a Libertarian mind,

Living, and letting live, until he opted for eternity.

 

 

 

 

I Learned…

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Social, Spiritual

April 3, 2016, Prescott- This has been a good weekend. I hiked Segment 4, of Pr scott Circle Trail, in two stages, owing to two separate events, that occurred in the middle of each day. Unfortunately, the photo loading feature on my laptop has stopped working, so I will post about my hikes, once that issue is resolved. Maybe after work tomorrow, I can get some answers.

The middle of the afternoon, yesterday, featured a nice performance by some friends from Chino Valley. These are long-time friends, who host a Drum Circle on the second Friday of every month, and an Interfaith Devotional, on the fourth Friday. They were gracious enough to come to Prescott and present on “Peace and Love”, for an hour or so, making the brightness outside enter a spacious apartment clubhouse. The Brehmers always light up a room.

Conversing with friends always makes any meal better-so discourse on matters of the spirit lifted my spirit, whether over angle food cake with berry sauce, on Thursday night, Hawaiian bento, on Saturday night, a casserole breakfast this morning, or Brunch items, this afternoon, before my second hike. One man, near our group, regaled us with his experiences in a Plains sweat lodge. Such experiences are all the more reason for each of us to get out of our comfort zones, in whatever way works best for an individual.

Now, to get to the title topic. For each of the years of this present decade, thus far, I learned:

2010- Six years ago, spent each of my days with my blessed soul mate, in her hospital room, then in our bedroom, when not working to earn my own keep. I learned that most of those in our lives were on our side.

2011 –  Five years ago, said goodbye to the earthly form of my beloved, saw our son off to his adulthood, and the U.S. Navy, and learned that there was plenty of life ahead for me, on my own.

2012-Four years ago, went many places in honour of Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to North America, in 1912 and found that my heart could be at home in any number of locations.

2013-Three years ago, learned that there are subconscious attitudes and feelings that need to be brought to the surface, rooted out and swept away. No simple statement of “spiritual quest” can exorcise these. They must be acknowledged, and then sent away. Lastly, one atones.

2014-Two years ago, learned that it is not so difficult to get around on my own, even in unfamiliar places, far from here. Learned also, that amazing experiences happen daily, and that one can make gaffes, learn good lessons on one’s feet, and go on to more amazing experiences.

2015- One year ago, learned that intense connections exist between people who live a continent away, and am able to share in those connections.

2016- My roots are sinking deeper, in terms of spiritual ties to people both here, and throughout the nation and world. It is a joy to learn deeper meditation, and to trust myself to live closer to the land, both at home and while traveling. Above all, I am trusting myself more, also thanks to the meditation techniques being learned.

Patty Duke

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Posted by on in Entertainment, Inspiration

April 1, 2016, Prescott- I close my eyes and see her adorable face, times two, engaged in banter- with itself. Such was the life of “identical cousins”, with whom, the snappy theme song promised, “You could lose your mind”. Patty Duke, Hayley Mills, Debbie Watson, and Ann Jillian had my adolescent brain quite engaged, in the days when my female contemporaries were screaming about the Beatles. I enjoyed the lads’ music, along with that of just about every one of their fellow British invaders, and American/Canadian imitators. Until the likes of Marianne Faithfull and Mary Hopkin, though, I found my thrills more on the TV and movie screens, than on vinyl.

Patty Duke had substance, as well, playing one of recent history’s most complicated characters: Helen Keller, in her breakout role. Her range allowed a redo of “The Miracle Worker”, on television, and she made playing Anne Sullivan look easy. I was not allowed to go to see “Valley of the Dolls”, but even at 17, I was discerning enough a movie goer, that I would have passed on it-Patty or no.

Teens grow up, and so Patty became, for a time, Mrs. John Astin- and gave us Sean, of the Rings, and dozens of other film roles. She continued herself, in television, periodically and never quite left our generation’s collective psyche.  Now, she is at rest and it is for the boy of long ago to look back, and say “Thanks, my beautiful screen friend. You played your part in a magnificent youth, very, very well. I’m only sorry there was pain attached.”

 

Dribs and Drabs, On A Final March Morning

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Literary criticism, Personal goals, Striving

March 31, 2016, Prescott- I woke this morning, to an insistence from the Universe, that I not move too quickly, at first. So, the shower was leisurely, a “hit the ground running” job request was declined (Throwing myself together, for a forty-five minute drive, at the last minute, would not have ended well, this morning.)

Some readers think I’m too self-centered. I guess it can look that way, from a distance. Truth is, not an hour goes by, that thoughts and prayers aren’t with someone less fortunate. My thoughts right now are with a young lady whom I regard as a niece, dealing with her second severe loss, in less than a year, and with three young people, in different parts of this continent, whose financial woes are presented as intractable. While I wish I had the resources to get several people straight, my inner Dave Ramsey gets channeled and I can best send them the spiritual energy to make do with what is, and build from there, as I have made myself do- thanks to two men named Dave.

The March lion is a bit tamer today. It’s a bit cool, but that will change, drastically, as April arrives. We’re anticipating temps in the mid-80’s here, next week. Water conservation, at least in my apartment, continues unabated.

My Reading List for April is,at present: Continuing, and finishing, “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself: How to Lose Your Mind and Create a New One”, by Dr. Joe Dispenza ( This is a “get out of your comfort zone” book, lent me by a dear friend); “Atlantis: Insights From A Lost Civilization”, by Shirley Andrews (This one relies on actual science to extrapolate how things were, in that fabled place.); “Marco Polo: The Journey That Changed The World”, by John Man (also relying on historical records to tell the story of the man who helped get Europe out of its medieval doldrums); “The Billionaire’s Vinegar”, by Benjamin Wallace (This is the last of the books given me, by my paternal uncle, and weaves a classic tale of fraud, perpetrated on a naive and greedy man of means); “All The Light We Cannot See”, by Anthony Doerr (This is a tale of two young people, in the Brittany of World War II, who are brought together, in the most harrowing of circumstances.) These, and study of a Baha’i text, will take up my reading April.

The rest of today will be getting errands done, and catching up with friends in town. The lamb is rearing its head, so I must get going.

Out Like A Lion

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Posted by on in Community, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Striving, Uncategorized

March 30, 2016, Prescott- I’ve been pretty busy this week, with work, and a brief foray into the “after work” social gathering scene. I find it still as shallow as it was when I frequented such gatherings, before Penny came along. People have their closed groups, and no matter that one or two might invite a newcomer, out of courtesy, it doesn’t take long for the body language to stiffen and the eye contact to move to those familiar faces.

My thoughts went today to the places where, and the people with whom, I feel at home. Not all are my ever-agreeable supporters. Some are critics, but they are honest critics, and are often quite helpful. As my beloved always said, “The opposite of love is indifference”.

In this hour of a March that is headed out like a lion, after treating us to icy wind and a dusting of snow, I want to honour the places that are homes to me, in the West, since it’s been a while.

Prescott and vicinity, Flagstaff, Marana, Tubac, Bisbee, Thatcher, the Sunnyslope area of Phoenix,  Holbrook, Hopi land, Pine Springs, Reno and Carson City, San Diego and vicinity, Dana Point, San Clemente, Lomita, Santa Barbara, Ojai, Ashland (OR), Portland, Spokane, Anacortes, Wrangell, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Afton (WY), Cortez, Boulder, Colorado Springs, San Luis (CO), Socorro, Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences. I can go to any of these places, and there will be a welcoming presence.

I will talk further about my homes in the Midwest, the South, the Northeast, and the rest of the world, in subsequent posts. The point is, I am ever grateful for all who have reached out, kept faith in me, and not abandoned me out of difference of opinion, hurt feelings, or convenience.

Let’s see whether the March Lion gives way, willingly, to the April Lamb.

Light of the World

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Poetry, Spiritual, Striving

March 25, 2016, Prescott-

The Light spoke:  “I came unto you, and offered Myself unto a crucifix,

upon the Plains of Ganges,

and you slumbered.

Later, I showed you Light and Darkness,

and you made them into caricatures.

I then showed you the Eight-Fold Path,

and you found it too complex.

When I came to you, as a Carpenter, a Fisher of Men,

you asked for Barabbas, and worshiped Mithras.

So, I again let Myself be crucified, that you might be saved.

You responded by quarreling, as to which of you heard Me correctly.

I came to you, in a time of darkness, and showed you the ways to

nationhood, and the gathering of knowledge.

You were  most interested in the battle techniques of My generals.

Still, each time I came, there were those who heard the truth.

Their genetic memory was strong enough, that I came yet again,

and through a life of great heartache and sacrifice, I have brought

you the way to unity, a path towards reaching the Day that shall not

be followed by Night.

As you commemorate My prior sacrifice, will you listen to Me now?”

(This is offered as testament to the Truth, which sacrificed Its

Messenger, on this day, some 1,983  years ago.  It has never left us

alone.)

 

Embered Waves of Brain

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Posted by on in Inner Struggles, Inspiration

March 12, 2016, Prescott- I have often wondered why my mildly autistic brain will start crackling and popping, often at the worst of times. It is usually when I figure myself to be alone, and not accountable to anyone else. I never am alone, in such circumstances. There is always an outlier, or two, around, to observe, and shake their heads. Because of them, I have a better awareness of my surroundings, and control over my thoughts and attendant behaviour.

Baha’u’llah teaches to not be the cause of sorrow to any soul, nor to be the plaything of the foolish. We are, essentially, to be good in groups, and seek the unity of the human race. The basis for all this is scientific, as well as social. So, when reading, today, of the types of brain waves that human beings experience, a lot more made sense to me- about my own behaviour, and that of anyone else. My thanks to Dr. Joe Dispenza,  (Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself) for the refresher on this topic, which I first learned, in 1974, from Dr. Saul Balagura, at the University of Massachusetts.

It goes like this:

Delta waves-These are the lowest frequency brain waves, occurring in infants and those in deep sleep. They are also the default waves of one who is in deep meditation. I’ve had a few people in my life who would swear, on a stack of Holy Books, that I am in permanent Delta mode.

Theta waves- These are found in toddlers and people who are in a hypnotic state. When one is drowsy, neither totally awake nor asleep, Theta waves are in control.

Alpha waves- Children between ages 5-8 experience these waves. So do adults and youth who are in a light meditative state. One is concerned primarily, in this state, with the inner reality. I often lose track of where my car is, in a large parking lot, if I go into Alpha mode, when headed for the building without making note of my location.

Beta waves- These are the waves that are most commonly experienced by “tweens”, teens and adults. You guessed it, there are three levels of Beta. People with high level Beta waves are spring-loaded, tense, in a hair-trigger mode. There is intense analysis of even the most mundane of events. It is exhausting to be in constant High Beta mode.

Gamma waves- T hese are the highest frequency brain waves, limited to Scarlett Johansson’s character, in the film, Lucy, Jim Carrey’s character, in Bruce Almighty, and those who use hallucinogenic substances. Gamma people are at the highest level of sensory awareness, which is likely not maintainable for any appreciable length of time.

My interest in this area stems from both a desire to better understand my own occasional lapses and to use brain waves to formulate deeper behavioural change, which I am told is possible, with proper meditation.