Category Archives: Matters of Faith

Grace

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Education, Family, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

September 5,2024-

Grace be unto the angels who watch over me. Mom and Dad, Penny, Brian, Bunny and Norm, my grandparents, friends Marcia, Gordon, Margaret, Sallie, John H. They bring blessings to this small spiritual center.

Grace and benevolence to those who seek to oppress, that they may make a turn from their pursuit of power, vengeance, retribution, hegemony. May they see the value of unconditional love.

Grace, protection and guidance be to the children and youth, that they may realize their dreams, and bring about a convergence like those which have been tried, so often in the past.

Grace and beneficence to the dour, the tired and the disconsolate, that they may see the beauty and joy that they have overlooked, in the course of their viewing work as drudgery, as a necessary evil.

Grace be unto all the Universe, that every element, every creature be mindful, heartfelt of the Source that brought us all into being.

It was a good day today. The kids and I struggled a bit, with some features of the technological program, but all worked together and we accomplished the tasks. That was the morning, followed by a hearty curried chicken lunch. An evening meeting, of one of the organizations whose leadership I had found a bit oppressive, proved quite welcoming and joyful-with more people in attendance, who had previously avoided “the club”. The leaders themselves were far more cordial than in the recent past. Maybe they are feeling more optimistic, and therefore more expansive.

May it continue.

Loyalty

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

September 3, 2024- The old reminiscing intelligence officer, in the currently-playing film “Reagan”, speaks at one point of the reason people give their lives: “Not for the nation, nor for the Party, the State, or even for God-but for one another. ” It rings true: Behind every sacrifice, there is loyalty to a loved one, or maybe several- Parents for children, and vice versa; siblings for one another; friends, likewise and, occasionally, a few noble souls for their compatriots as a group.

After a recent non-verbal dust-up between me and someone with a more elitist view of life, several friends have asked if there is anything they might do to help. There isn’t, really, and the best thing for me to do is to let the other person alone, and let time do its thing. Personality differences rarely get resolved through intervention, shaming or castigation. People are the sum total of their experiences, plus all that DNA. Only internal processing and heart transformation can lead to a turn-around. Only that turn-around can make someone loyal to others beside self. Besides, I have to fall back on the message of one of Sportage’s bumper stickers: “Love your enemies and you won’t have any”.

My own loyalty to anyone besides myself and my immediate family came late, and came hard. Only giving up alcohol really changed my temperament, and even then, it was Penny’s love, and the Baha’i teachings, that brought my heart more into awareness of a larger circle of humanity. Beforehand, my concern for the human race was present in the background, surfacing on occasion-and therefore coming across as contrived, mainly because internally it was an abstraction.

Now my layered loyalty is what sustains me, both emotionally and physically.

Labour and Love

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

September 2, 2024- My friend across the waters affirmed that I would be cheerfully greeted, when I arrive next week. There is much with which she hopes I can assist, and with that I’ll have no hesitation. As with anything else, it’ll be a day by day process, each day bringing its joys, some plateaus, and a few periods of stop and weigh the best course of action.

Today saw my last time helping with the Soup Kitchen, until I get back. Some of the clients and the chief of volunteers told me I’d be missed, and there will be times that I will be thinking of them all and hoping things are going smoothly. I will take what I’ve learned here and do what I can to apply the skills to tasks that find me, whilst in the Philippines.

My friend and I talked of our departed spouses, and that though they are missed, they send energy to us, that we may continue in labours of love, designed to help the suffering and the destitute. We both trust that the departed are ever with us, unseen yet seeing; intermittently heard, yet always listening; somewhat felt, and ever deeply feeling. After all, it was not that long ago that Penny let me know that “we” (the spirits) had brought my friend and I together.

The remaining tasks here at Home Base I include two short substituting jobs, getting Sportage serviced-even though it will sit idly, in a safe place, for 5-7 weeks, and tending to details relative to the administrative duties I acquired last week. Each is a labour of love and each, properly carried out, will both keep my mind at lease, as to this homefront, whilst I am abroad and make things easier to resume upon my return.

Some, on both sides of the ocean, have expressed their views as to how events should transpire during the next month or so. To them, I say “Live your own life. Friend and I know what our primary tasks are, and those will take precedence. Anything else will happen naturally, or not at all.”

Staying Centered

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Posted by on in collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inner Struggles, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 31, 2024- After running into a couple of Prescott’s elite, this evening, and being greeted with a nod and a sneer, I used Next Door.com to speak to those who would promote Progressive values, many of which are laudable. The progressive elite in this community tend to speak from their heads, not their hearts. After absorbing this, and “sucking it up”, for thirteen years, I finally had enough and let them know. Anyone who wants to foster the community has to first love the people. Having intellectual knowledge of what would be useful does nothing to help, unless the heart is in sync. We have seen the effects of a purely intellectual approach to social discourse and common issues, time and again: Soviet Communism, Kampuchea (Cambodia), North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela-none a bit better than Hitler’s Germany, apartheid-era South Africa, or the enslavement culture of the Antebellum United States, in my book. The heart and head have to be in synchronicity, or the best ideas will die on the vine.

I will shortly be headed to the Philippines, and will spend 5-7 weeks in heart-focused work, all the while keeping a clear head. Some days, I will be in modern accommodations; other days, in small huts, or maybe sometimes in a lean-to. At all times, though, my heart is looking to my mind for direction-and vice versa. In a time of rapid change,which will only accelerate in the final months of this year, such centeredness is the only guarantee of real sanity. One of my well-wishers here in Prescott told me, this afternoon, that there is nothing I have done, in the past three or four years, that is “ordinary or uninteresting”. That may be an overstatement, but it is comforting. It also underscores my need for staying centered.

So does a long month come to an end, and my preparation for a time of lightning-fast change begin. May all be in harmony.

No Scrap Heap

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, impediments, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 29, 2024- “What of us, who are also your friends?”, the voice from 7,500 miles away came, through the medium of the printed Message. This was in reply to my statement that I surely must consult with my dear friend and with Faith community sponsors, before setting an itinerary for service work and other visits, a scant fourteen days from now.

That, however, does not inherently leave anyone out of my life. The Universe has a way of bringing people together when they are supposed to connect. My activities, both here at Home Base I and across North America, especially this year, have fallen into place at precisely the right time for all concerned. I have no reason to believe it will be any different during the upcoming sojourn in the Philippines. The only thing for certain is that, as always anymore, I am determined to not be a burden to anyone. Consultation will help obviate such a state of affairs.

The bottom line is, no one need feel consigned to the scrap heap. We need one another, more than ever, in this time of rapid change, which is likely to only accelerate over the next sixteen months, or longer. Lack of consultation and dearth of appreciation, breed conjecture, false narratives, conspiracy theories and outright mistrust. I will most likely have time to visit with the querulous friend. The visit will fall into the place that it is meant to occupy.

Another Banner Day

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Education, Family, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

August 23, 2024- The little girl introduced herself, about ten minutes after the first group of students came in. When I told her of a newborn baby who shared her name, she shrugged and said “There are a lot of us”.

There was much that was matter-of-fact about this group of children. Even the most squirrely of kids were most responsive when expectations were clearly stated, and most resistant, when they thought I was listening to tattle tales. Those last were discouraged from their snooping and the wayward ones settled down.

Today was a shorter work day, so it took no adjustment to go over and pick up my healed Lenovo, which basically just needed to be cleaned up, internally. We are all set for the next few months, which will be quite full of the unexpected, even aside from my journey across the Pacific.

My family achieved another milestone, of a nature personal to my siblings and me. This is just one less matter that might have been irritating. It was handled professionally and well. It gives me confidence that we are each on the right track in our respective lives.

Another well-lived week has passed, giving more strength for what lies ahead.

Greater Things

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 19, 2024- The full moon rose this evening, known as the Sturgeon Moon, as mid-August was traditionally the time when the sturgeon of the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Lake of the Woods and Lake Nipigon were at their most prolific. Mid-August has ever been an auspicious time.

2024 has been one long, auspicious ride, and I still sense we have a long way to go. This evening, I was asked to take on a position in our Faith community that, fortunately, may be successfully carried out by electronic communication. It will challenge me to make sure that I am able to readily communicate with my fellows in Faith, in Homebase I, with the Regional Baha’i Council for our five-state region and with the Baha’i National Center, outside Chicago-no matter where else I may be called to serve on a temporary basis.

It can be done, I have concluded, after have an hour to contemplate whilst hosting a Spiritual Feast, this evening. We, individually and collectively, are being called to achieve greater things.

There is an old Irish proverb which goes, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” We’ve heard that, in modern times, from the likes of Henry Ford and Tony Robbins-and it holds water. Maybe that’s why I have been at my worst when I’ve sat around and wallowed in the mud of stagnation and worn-out routine. I suspect that I am far from alone, in that regard.

The next three weeks will feature a lot of activity close to HB I, but it will be far from routine. Then will come the striking of a balance between maintaining ties, as described above, and service activities in the Philippines. This is only the beginning of such situations, with rapid change, including a fair amount of transitions of all kinds going on in the background.

Many of us may find ourselves being called to adjust our thinking, our practices and our daily routines, as we approach the height of the Solar Maximum, in early to mid-2025. Earth and its creatures, including mankind, are far from being unaffected by what goes on, in and around the Sun. Let’s keep that in mind, as we continue to rise to the challenges posed by unusual climatic events and by the evolving of our human society.

No matter what one is called to do, a way can be found to achieve it.

Musings on A Simple Sunday

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

August 18, 2024- The gentleman spoke from the porch of the house where he’s lived for almost forty years: “Sure was a beautiful sunset! Did you get to see it?” I replied that I did, and from the nearby ridge that is the top of Acker Hill, sunsets are a common treasure. The small group of residents at the park’s edge, on South Virginia Street have one of the prime comforts, seeing every sunset that cares to show itself. We, their near neighbours, can get our steps in and take in the glory from one of four benches up above.

While I was speaking to the neighbour on the porch, a young woman skirted the sidewalk. I knew I certainly wasn’t going to harm her, but maybe she’s had bad experiences in the past. A few minutes later, a couple approached on the sidewalk, one street over. I do not cross the street to avoid people, regardless of their appearance-and certainly not a neatly-dressed, happy pair who were walking along, holding hands. I just made room and wished them a nice evening.

Sundays are generally open-ended now. I spent the afternoon and early evening helping a friend get through a Baha’i study. To do that, I had to decline two other requests, but such is life, when one event is scheduled, a second is planned shortly afterward and a third is an eleventh hour request, due to the need for a replacement. I most often stick to the first event, and so it was today.

Be A Tiger

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

August 16, 2024- Joseph Campbell, in his 2003 book, Myths of Light, ends his discourse on Eastern religions and thought with the story of “The Tigers and the Goats”. It seems that a pregnant tiger was out seeking food, for herself and her baby. She came upon a herd of goats. Charging and pouncing too hard, she landed roughly, laboured and gave birth, then died.

The goats took pity upon the helpless tiger cub, raised him as one of their own, teaching him to eat grass and bleat. He had no idea there was any difference between him and the goats, though he felt a discomfort. One day, a male tiger came along and charged at the goats, roaring and snarling. The genuine goats scattered, while the tiger-goat stood facing his larger nemesis.

The wise older cat listened, as the tiger-goat explained that he was a grass-eater, a goat. The grown tiger took the juvenile by the neck, led him to a pond and showed him his true likeness. Then he brought his new apprentice to his den, where other tigers were reveling in eating a gazelle they had killed. The young tiger struggled with the meat, but something inside him felt right, and he stayed with the group, learning to seize his true nature.

Each of us should be our true selves. A frugal person, who treasures conserving the best of tradition, cannot pass as a spendthrift or as a free-spirited innovator, without feeling that something is off. Likewise, an innovator, a progressive, fools no one by demanding that tradition be maintained, at all costs. Each can, and hopefully will endeavour to, see the value in what the other is doing, and work to find common ground.

The introvert needs time alone. The extrovert craves company and an expanded network. Most others, like myself, toggle between the two states of being, as ambiverts. Society needs all three personality types.

This is the balance, rooted in the love that was imbued in us by the Divine. We will ever have the process of reaching out, expanding and welcoming more to our circle, then taking time to consolidate and absorb the best of that expansion into our systems.

If you are a tiger, be fierce. If you are an ox, be taurine. If you are a goat, graze peacefully. There is space for all.

The Iron Circle

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, distraction issues, impediments, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

August 12, 2024- His words were unequivocal: “Excuse me, who said it was okay for you to go to the Philippines?” Since this came out of left field, so to speak, and from someone who professes belief in the Oneness of Mankind, I was rather taken aback. Maybe he thought I was moving there for good, or something of that order. Regardless, what I do is not, and never will be, his call. As grateful as I am for the services he has rendered, for a good many years, managing my affairs does not fall among them. (Clarity: The individual is not an officer of any government agency.)

I love a great many people, in this state, across the country and around the world. When it comes to making decisions about my path, however, any consultation is with my son and daughter-in-law, my siblings and their spouses, maybe an aunt or two, a few cousins, four Baha’i friends in the Prescott area (three women and one man), three other women friends here, and three or four other friends around the country. I run things by my dear friend, K, but neither she nor any of the others is under any obligation to answer at a moment’s notice. In each instance, moreover, the answer I get from any of them is not tailored to what they think I want to hear, and that is so much for the better.

The above are my Iron Circle. It is from them, and the inklings I get from my spirit guides, that I base my final course of action. I do not need permission from any random “authority figure”, to go anywhere or do anything. My son and my siblings are the closest, then the others I mentioned. Anyone else is free to disagree with a course of action, but they are not free to exert control. That is the purview of the government alone.

On my way back up to Home Base I, I stopped at Penny’s grave. I got the same answer- “It’s not his call. You know what you have to do; go do it!”

The Iron Circle remains tight, and I am not afraid to cry power.