Category Archives: Spiritual

Leslie Van Houten

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Posted by on in Assistance, Community, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 12, 2023- She was, in her youth, the sort of girl with whom I might have fallen madly in love . That long brown hair, those soulful eyes, and that longing for someone, anyone, who would see her as more than that beautiful outward appearance, made her ‘ripe for rescue’, my mates would’ve said. That was my teenage self’s ideal-a girl who needed me.

That night, though, when her pseudo-rescuer, one Tex Watson, told her to “do something” to their captive, Rosemary LaBianca, an innocent small businesswoman, in the wrong place at the wrong time-on that hot August night, she gave up that humanity, that beauty became a facade-as Leslie the Lost stabbed the frantic woman, who had just become a widow, at the hands of another Manson girl.

That night, I was a continent away, in the initial stages of becoming a man-a trainee in Echo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade-at Fort Jackson, SC. A few of my fellows spoke of hearing something about a crazy-eyed “lunatic”, named Charles Manson, who had gone on a killing spree-and that maybe he had some “hot chicks” doing his dirty work. No one was certain, though, and the talk dried up-to turn, a few days later, to an event we were all missing: The Woodstock Festival, ten hours away, in the Hudson Valley of New York. It was around then that the Drill Instructors began bantering among themselves about what they would do, if they had five minutes alone with Manson-and what they would like to do to some of those girls. Of course, they also said, Woodstock, and its women, were a whole lot closer.

Then we got back to the business of training, qualifying with our rifles and bayonets, passing our Physical Fitness tests and General Knowledge exams, marching on the parade ground-and going on with our Advanced Individual Training.

I mostly forgot about Manson, and his dastardly crew-though every so often, I would be reminded of those horrible acts of savagery-and just how shallow a person’s physical appearance can render her or him, by movies like “Helter Skelter”, and, much later, “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”. Manson got what he deserved. Leslie Van Houten is now out of one prison, but will never get of the other. The prison of public opinion will never see the long-gone pretty teenager. It will forever see the drug-crazed monster, stabbing away at someone presented to her as “the enemy”. The most charitable among us will see an aging lost soul, who has to learn fifty years’ worth of life skills-from driving a car to installing apps on a cellular phone-and good luck in finding a job, college degrees aside. The most astute among young people will see exactly what not to become. I see an indictment of self-centered, abdicating parents, who failed their daughter, terribly.

There, but for a loving family and a decent set of opportunities, might have gone I.

Cosmetics, Patronization and Curbing My Tongue

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

July 11, 2023- Kia Sportage went into the shop this morning, to repair an unsightly set of scratches that were caused a while back, by my bugaboo-not being able to back up straight, for much more than six feet. It’ll be two or three days before the cosmetic fix is done. Speaking of cosmetics, I will purchase a scented oil from one friend, to give to another in a few days.

Gifting has never been an act of patronization, or done out of a sense of obligation. I am happy to offer a gift in acknowledging someone’s special day or personal achievement. My one blind spot, it seems, is giving to panhandlers. The louder and more forceful they are, the less they are absolutely going to get from me. A self-styled Buddhist monk is on the street, day and night, sometimes yelling at those of us who pass him by. Anything I would give him would only be encouraging this behaviour. The police, under Arizona law, cannot detain him unless he puts hands on people or blocks their way. So, he sits on a bench and yells about needing support for his “mission”. We are, in this day and age, quite sensitive about singling out the mentally ill, so I have quietly just moved along.

That brings up my own challenge, of talking out of turn or jumping into other people’s conversations-both features of my residual autism. Having had this happen, twice of late-last night and this morning, I know that there is still a bit of work to be done, at looking before I leap-conversation wise. At tonight’s meeting, I was able to just speak my peace and click the mute button. Zoom is a good way to correct conversational faux pas.

Threads

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Education, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 10, 2023- A few days ago, the social media site, Threads, was established as an alternative to other sites that have grown increasingly capricious in their pronouncements on the state of society. I have left one such site and joined Threads, in order to remain in the company of truth-seeking and open-minded people.

Today was the 173rd anniversary of the execution of al-Bab (The Gate), Who was the Herald of Baha’u’llah’s coming, and thus a monumental figure, and a Messenger of God, in His own right, to us Baha’is. We seek the truth in all matters, and are asked to do so independently. Many times, that goes up against orthodoxy-both of the Right and the Left. Al-Bab’s, and Baha’u’llah’s, Mission transcends the limited views of the political classes, though, and is concerned with establishing the oneness of mankind.

Many of us gathered in observances around the world, at Noon-the hour when al-Bab was executed by firing squad, all those years ago-for challenging the power of the orthodox. There, in July, 1850, was a mirror of the Crucifixion of Jesus the Christ, itself a reflection of the murder of Krishna-and so it has been, from time immemorial. The Messenger of the Divine challenges shopworn Orthodoxy, is pursued and punished by that Orthodoxy’s beneficiaries, and eventually the Messenger’s Teachings are adopted by the masses of humanity.

Progress in the human world always takes time. Everything from teaching a child the essentials of life to establishing friendships, is done one thread at a time. It’s not been easy for this servant of the Creator and many times, it has felt like the threads have been snipped. I know I am not alone-and one of the two new friends I made today, said as much, about her own experiences. Things are getting better, though, and strength comes from endurance, both for individuals and for communities.

All the Messengers of the Divine tell us that this is so, and that it will ever be part of a physical life, until such time as we are united as a Human Race. That day is coming. The threads are getting stronger.

Floating and Flowing

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

July 8, 2023- The young couple with whom I work on Saturday afternoons entered the Raven, as a mutual friend was playing the opening set for tonight’s joyful noise. Preferring the rooftop patio to the stage-side seating, they floated on upstairs, to enjoy their date night, while I went with the flow in the main room.

Life and friendships are like that now. Other than marriage and the parent-young child relationship, the strongest of bonds do not need constant physical presence, in order to thrive. It is actually a throwback to the days of my mid-to-late twenties, when many gatherings were of friends happy to just be doing their own things, and connecting as those activities naturally intertwined. Back then, though, I didn’t really understand, and often felt like I was on the outside, looking in. These days, it all makes more sense. I know I can count on friends, when they are needed-and vice versa.

Earlier to day, I covered for an old friend who was unable to host his weekly online group. Things started slowly, and yet as the hour continued, people floated in to the call. Some stayed, others were on for only a few minutes, while still others came in place of those who left. It was, all in all, an unpredictable, but delightful spiritual session.

My afternoon work, with the Farmers Market team, also started off with each of us doing separate tasks. Before too long, though, we were helping one another, coming up with more efficient ways that each work station could be completed. This makes two weeks in a row that the Market was closed up within ninety minutes of the vendors and patrons leaving.

At tonight’s concert, people floated between tables-and I found myself enjoying the company of the opening artist, and a few friends of the main artist, then sitting alone after they all left, just enjoying the rest of the performance. After a fashion, leaving the table, so that the band’s videographer could have the right vantage point to do his work, and taking a single seat by the piano, to take in the rest of the concert, worked just fine.

Going with the flow has actually made life a whole lot more joyful.

Thirty-Five Gratitudes

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal goals, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

July 7, 2023- “When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love.” – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1911. I have had competing impulses today, and the stronger message from my spirit guides is to focus on gratitude. I have a lot of angst and self-criticism going on today, but not much can be done to rectify the causes of all that-without pondering and listing all the reasons for being grateful.

Today, my son turned 35, and so I feel it useful to list thirty-five things, places and people for which/whom I am grateful.

35. Grand Canyon National Park-both North and South; . 34. San Diego; 33. Dietary protein shakes that have worked; 32. The core group of readers of this blog site; 31. Those who are committed to peace, through dialogue; 30. My large extended family; 29. Newfoundland; 28. My childhood home town- Saugus, MA; 27. My variegated playlist; 26. My book collection; 25. Planet Fitness; 24. The movement towards inclusion and equality; 23. Horses; 22. Historical sites-both domestic and worldwide; 21.Century Lounge and the Raven Cafe; 20. Cape Breton Island; 19. My comfortable Home Base (apartment); 18. Prescott Farmers Market; 16. Brittany (the region); 15. Santa Fe; 14. Butterflies; 13. The ocean; 12. Whales and dolphins; 11. Reusable bags; 10. Mountains; 9. Sunrises and sunsets; 8. Colorado; 7. Arizona as a whole; 6. My closest friends; 5. Children and teenagers; 4. My siblings; 3. My parents; 2. My little family; 1. Spirit guides (and the Baha’i teachings).

This list is not written in order of importance, though the top five are certainly on my mind and in my heart 24/7.

Anonymity, Pride and Self- Preservation

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

July 6, 2023- Brandi waxed effusive, about her blood connections with various First Nations communities-Cherokee, Ojibway, Dineh,Mayan- as well as African-Americans. As we each looked at a chart, showing the ties between various groups, in the Museum of Indigenous Peoples, a block or two from Home Base, talk turned to crafts, such as Navajo rugs and Apache baskets. It turns out she had recently visited Hubbell Trading Post, a Dineh-run National Historic Site in Ganado, north of the Painted Desert. One of the main features of Hubbell is the demonstration spinning, carding and weaving of the great rugs. This sparked her interest in coming over from the Verde Valley with her children, who were enthused about using a mano and metate to grind blue corn and to check out the bones of a smilodon and Columbian mammoth-as well as read about the various Hopi and Zuni kachina dolls.

This fifteen-minute exchange, on my second visit to MIP, showed how relatively easy it is to break through the much-vaunted wall of anonymity, a barrier that is physically reinforced by garage door openers-when the garage is attached to the house, by excessive pride (not the kind that LGBTQ people and before them, Jesse Jackson, Sr., talk about-but the kind that comes before the fall) and by the fear-based focus on self-preservation, that sees monsters under every bed, or in every closet.

It has taken a while, but I am not overly concerned with bogeymen-not with people from other countries taking away my job; not with homeless people walking into my apartment and taking up residence; not with the market whittling away at my savings-and not with fascists forcing one ideology or another on me and mine. Each of those groups is operating, as it were, out of self-preservation, also based on fear. Each wants to be seen, heard, believed and treated with dignity. The rub comes when they are asked to treat everyone else in like manner.

I made a commitment, long ago, to not base friendships on ideology, physical traits, class, faith (or lack thereof)-but on character. There was a time when my own mannerisms were rough and attention to the needs of others was buried under some thick fog. It’s taken time, yet here I am, concerned with well-being of others-not as the abstract concept of my youth, but as a moment to moment, day-to-day modus vivendi.

May this state of mind and heart long continue.

The Sticking Points

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

July 5, 2023- I woke at the usual time today, and after pondering whether to head up to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, for a walk towards Hermit’s Rest-on the west end of the rim, decided to stay put. There were a few uncertainties, with regard to cherished friends and a needy family. No news is okay news, with regard to said friends, and clarification about the family’s needs came, this evening, for settlement tomorrow. The other good thing is that my bear drum has been repaired and is back with me.

A question has arisen, as to why people seem so widely uncaring. I have to note two things:

1. Humanity, and the planet, are in a state of transition. It is pretty much established that a physical being does not take well to change. Bears hate being woken during hibernation; birds dive bomb anyone who disturbs their nest; humans grouse and complain, or worse, when a sudden, inexplicable change takes place. We often lash out at the messenger- nobody around here much likes the National Weather Service telling us that there will be no monsoon until August, if then, and don’t get retirees around here started on the Federal Reserve Board- “Stealing our money!”, is a not uncommon, if oversimplified, refrain.

2. This sort of off-track thinking, and the uncaring attitude that is noticed by people around me, stem more often than not, from either shallow spirituality, or a dearth thereof . Faith, of course, does not prevent challenges and setbacks from coming along, but it does put things into clearer perspective, and, at least for me, makes things easier to bear. If that annoys you, sorry-but not sorry. I am hard-wired to bull my way through things, anymore-having found that the victim mentality into which I was drawn, in the 2000s, and a few times since, resolved nothing and put me in with some nefarious company. I give credit for transformation largely to those I feel are my spirit guides, a concept in which not everyone believes, but here we are.

The difficulties we, and the planet, are facing largely stem from a wide-scale turning away from spirituality-which may not be true of all the individuals who cry “Foul!”, but which has been, and is, occurring for quite some time now, on a fairly grand scale.

I daresay this befogged life is not that for which we are destined. Only turning to the Divine, in what ever way one perceives It, and by banding together to face difficulties,can we hope to overcome any of the challenges that are thrown at us.

Heroes

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 3, 2023- He was arguably one of the finest chefs I ever knew, although my own knowledge of him was fleeting. His wife of forty years was not far behind, in the culinary field. They were, aside from their mastery of the kitchen, a handsome couple, as far back as I can remember. They were both athletic, and highly personable. Rod would tease the heck out of a number of people, including yours truly-but I never got the sense he was putting us down. He and Kathy were never elitists. Rodney P. Lavoie, Senior was a coach, a craftsman and a master of so much that he took on. He was just one of those people whom it was not necessary to know well, in order to admire. It was a shock to learn of his passing, early last week. He was a genuine hero to many young people, in and around the town of my youth.

I’ve had occasion to ponder who the heroic figures in my life have been. What determines that status? It’s not age. I have seen heroic acts by people as young as six. It’s not gender. Many of my heroes, even role models in certain respects, have been women and girls. It’s not familial. Though my parents and relatives are high on the list, there are many, even sometime adversaries, who are there as well. I don’t even have to know them personally. Public figures, and occasional strangers, who don’t shy from tending to the well-being of those around them,

Two men in a nearby community took four relative strangers into their homes, despite their both being fairly ill. One of them has had cancer turn for the worse, and reluctantly asked his boarder to move on, as room had to be made for a live-in caretaker. Another kind soul quickly stepped up and provided living space for the young man. These acts of loving kindness are also the stuff of heroism.

As a community, we have taken time to honour the brave nineteen men who died on Yarnell Hill, ten years ago. Over a dozen First Responders have died in the line of duty, since that harrowing day. That they exhibited heroism and sacrifice goes without saying. The most heartening aspect of this is that their children, and others who learn of them, are drawing the right lessons. Herosim will continue.

David Bowie’s depiction of two brave souls standing by the Berlin Wall, in the dark days of Soviet rule, says it all.

Northern Blazes

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 1, 2023- It was surprisingly pleasant, dismantling the market this afternoon, with my desert cap and its flaps covering the sides and back of my head and neck, while an afternoon breeze counteracted the sun’s heat. We actually finished in less than two hours.

It is only slightly warmer here than it is in places like Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto. We honoured our brave wildland firefighters, 19 of whom died in the line of duty, ten years ago, yesterday. As I write this, thousands of their counterparts are battling blazes in every part of Canada. The smoke from those blazes wafts unbound, down into the southern United States and across the Atlantic, as far as Russia and the Balkans. The long-term prognosis is for hot and dry conditions nationwide, until perhaps mid-August. While that prognosis was dented somewhat, by rain in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, the overall message is: Band together and prepare for a long onslaught by one of nature’s at-once most helpful-and most destructive-forces.

Canada is celebrating its National Day today, and there is, as is human nature’s wont, a sense that the nation will actually get a handle on the fires this time. I certainly hope so. Over the years, I have built fine friendships- albeit long distance, with people across that spacious land.

Here in Prescott, it’s as if we’ve stolen the northern thunder. It’s not Canada Day, per se, but our Independence Day parade was held this morning and our fireworks display will start in about an hour. Much of this is from the business community. Mid-week holiday celebrations have never been too keen with them, since “who likes disruption?” So, the rest of us will relax on Tuesday, while keeping our northern neighbours in positive thought and prayer.

Semper Recordabor

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, impediments, Inspiration, Personal Values, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 30, 2023- The young man stood tall, before his audience of nearly a thousand people, speaking as if to his family. He spoke of numbers: His current age (16); the age of adulthood (18); his age at the time of his father’s tragic passing (6); the number of men who died ten years ago today, in the most lethal wildfire in Arizona history(19). He told of how, each time his father left for work as a Wildland Firefighter, the message was: “You are the man of the house, while I am gone. Obey and protect your mother and guard your brothers and sister.” He became the man of the house for a long, long time, on June 30, 2013. He spoke of his current age as a time of greater responsibility, for which both of his parents had prepared him well. His audience gave him a standing ovation, at the end of a magnificent exhortation to us all, to love one another and honour our community.

Messages came from afar, from our junior United States Senator and our District’s Congressman and directly, from Arizona’s Governor and Prescott’s Mayor, as well as from the Chief of Prescott’s Fire Department and from Arizona’s State Forester. It was Ryder Ashcraft, though, who truly spoke for the Granite Mountain Hotshots and their families-almost in his father’s voice.

I spent much of the day beforehand, hiking four miles roundtrip, on the flank of Yarnell Hill. Well-watered and shielded from the blazing sun, passing before placards honouring each of the nineteen men, I was one of about thirty-six people engaged in the tribute walk. Some made a day of it, going all the way to the vale where the men perished, on that awful afternoon.

Below, a big horn sheep watches over the hikers.

Above, a beam of light makes an exclamation point. It was the perfect spot for noting a superlative.

There are, it seems, always watchers.

Just past the last placard honouring a fallen Hotshot, this boulder evokes a broken heart.

Afterwards, when looking for a place to sit, I found a small spot of curb. Two ladies asked if they could share the space, so room was made for three. A much younger man came along and said we were taking his space. He and family were on blankets behind us, but he wanted an unobstructed view. His three children rolled their eyes at Dad’s protest, and sat on the curb next to me on the other side, with no sense of entitlement. No thing further was heard from him, the rest of the ceremony.

I helped the older of the two women get up and down, for the Pledge of Allegiance and other opening ceremonies. The audience was, for the most part, cooperative and respectful. As our mayor said, we must never forget the sacrifice made, ten years ago.

Semper Recordabor!