The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 46: Where To?

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Posted by on in Entertainment, Family, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Striving, Travel

July 16, 2020- Today is the birthday of one of my best friends, so I will be in her luxuriant garden, later this afternoon, honouring her with gifts and exchanging stories.

As is well known, I am choosing to stay around Prescott for most, if not all of the summer-and am not going outside of Arizona, barring an emergency, until at least mid-October.

Nonetheless, I think it perfectly fine, if people in places less affected by COVID than we are, get out and enjoy salubrious places in their home states. Travel further afield is, in most cases, best saved for less infested times.

So, in the interests of such travel, here are my own top two favourites for in-state jaunts. Many of them, I’ve visited; others are the favourites of friends.

Starting here and working outward:

Arizona- Thumb Butte; Texas Canyon

Southern California- Carbon Canyon; Julian

Northern California- Point Reyes; Lassen Volcanic NP

Nevada- Valley of Fire; Cathedral Gorge

Utah- Natural Bridges; Bryce Canyon

Colorado- El Dorado SP; Seven Falls

New Mexico- Taos; Sandia Crest

Oregon- Crater Lake; Bandon

Washington- Neah Bay; Leavenworth

Alaska- Sitka; Talkeetna

Hawaii- Volcanoes NP; Kauai

Idaho- Hell’s Canyon; Craters of the Moon

Montana- Glacier National Park; Bob Marshall Wilderness

Wyoming- Grand Teton NP; Spirit Tower (“Devils Tower”)

North Dakota- Peace Garden; Theodore Roosevelt NP

South Dakota- Black Elk Peak; Badlands NP

Nebraska- Scotts Bluff National Monument; Henry Doorly Zoo

Kansas- The Hollow Park,Sedan; Flint Hills

Oklahoma- Lakes of the Cherokees; Black Mesa

Texas- Falls of the Pedernales SP; Palo Duro Canyon

Louisiana- North Side of Lake Pontchartrain; Bayou La Batre

Arkansas- Crater of Diamonds; Petit Jean State Park

Missouri- Lake of the Ozarks; Sedalia

Iowa- Lewis & Clark SP; Ledges

Minnesota- Lake Superior shore; Pipestone NM

Wisconsin- Apostle Islands; Door Peninsula

Illinois- Baha’i Temple, Wilmette; Cahokia Mounds

Mississippi- Ocean Springs; Emerald Mound

Tennessee- Shiloh; Lookout Mountain

Kentucky- Land Between the Lakes; Mammoth Cave

Indiana- Indiana Dunes; Brown County

Michigan- Picture Rocks; Keweenaw

Ohio- Bass Islands; Serpent Mound

West Virginia- White Sulphur Springs; Harpers Ferry

Alabama- Tuskegee; Muscle Shoals

Florida- Everglades; Nature Coast

Georgia- Sea Islands; Amicalola Falls

South Carolina- Sea Islands; Travelers Rest

North Carolina- Tryon; Outer Banks Region

Virginia- Shenandoah National Park; Chincoteague

District of Columbia- Rock Creek Park; C & P Canals

Maryland- Eastern Shore; Antietam

Delaware- Cape Henlopen; Fort Christina

Pennsylvania- Valley Forge; Bushkill Falls

New Jersey- Pine Barrens; Ramapo Mts.

New York- Ausable Chasm; Niagara Falls

Connecticut- Taconic Hills; Mystic

Rhode Island- Block Island; Narragansett Beach

Massachusetts- Mt. Greylock; Cape Ann

Vermont- Green Mountains; Lake Champlain

New Hampshire- Presidential Range; Mt. Monadnock

Maine- Mount Desert Island; Moosehead Lake

For the most part, these are sites in nature. In another post, when we are further along in recovery, I will mention my favourite cities, large and small.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 45: The Ebbtide and the Altar

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

July 15, 2020-

I had to pull myself out of one of those funks which occasionally hits, this morning. By mid-afternoon, the ebb tide had turned around, and I found that making a small altar with my ferns, singing bowl, ceramic dolphins, metal whale, small Hopi pot, crystal and small angel had the calming effect that turned the emotional tide in the right direction.

It is never true that people are turning on me, though I used to let that illusion overtake my sense of equilibrium, in earlier days. It is always my inner voice that throws out the aspersions, at people who are just facing their own tough times.

My greater Faith will always be in the Creator, so this place of solace, in my living room, serves the same purpose as a nook in the woods or a soft place in the desert. No matter how long this mix of disease and chaos persists, I will navigate and persist.

The second half of July will find me doing much the same as I’ve been doing, since June 7: Home Base, to downtown, and back, from one Zoom call to another. Life will remain sweet.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 44: And Love Will Steer The Stars

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Posted by on in Assistance, collaborating, Family, Inspiration, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 14, 2020-

Today was Bastille Day, commemorating the ultimate proof that, when rulers ignore the governed, there may be severe consequences-for all concerned. Today also was the final day of the weeklong Harmonic Convergence, an online celebration of our connections to the Universe as a whole.

Unity was the theme, as it was in the last such gathering, in 1987. I saw little evidence of the roiling mayhem that continues on, outside these serene sessions. Our focus was on understanding the connections that this planet has always had with the greater Creation.

Astrology points us to the planet, at long last, entering into the sign of Aquarius, come December. To some, Aquarius is the sign of love and harmony. To others, it is the sign of the ascendancy of technology. I naturally favour the former, finding the latter to be somewhat a harbinger of control, of externally-imposed agendas and of a cold, emotionally-distant society.

There are both positive and negative forces, throughout the Universe, so the dichotomy between which will control our destiny makes it all the more imperative that we rise to control it ourselves. I cannot, very happily, live in a world where there is little concern for anyone outside one’s own space.

Thus, this series of sessions has given a boost to what I have learned, over 38 years, from the Baha’i Teachings. It has given me a boost past the mercantile veneer of “Cosmic Wisdom” which is, at this stage of the game, a means to an end, though I have hope that those who ply the trade of Reiki, and other intuitive arts, will actually come to feel the sentiments they vocalize.

In the last meditation of the series, I closed my eyes and mouthed the mantra, as best as my lungs and diaphragm could muster, for 21minutes. I saw Penny, in a blue-tinted forest, my cousins who have gone on and, my youngest brother, Brian. My departed Godmother, Hazel, Uncle Jim and their rambunctious brother, Charles, were also present. All are in a good place. I felt feline energy, inside the apartment, though none of the ferals has ever been inside here. Lastly, a walk around the perimeter of the place was a marvel of stars and the planets Jupiter and Saturn.

Love is steering me, and the stars. More instructions are coming.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 43: Be Not Proud

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Posted by on in Family, Historical, impediments, Inner Struggles, Inspiration, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 13, 2020-

In 1949, John Gunther wrote an account of the decline in health, and passing, of his son, Johnny. I read this book, “Death Be Not Proud”, in 1962, at the age of 11. It has informed my own attitude and reflections towards the transition of people from this life. My father also read it, and it informed not only his attitiude towards death, but the ferocity of his devotion to us, his five children, especially to his youngest, Brian, and in facing my youngest brother’s disabilities.

The book’s message, of indomitable courage and ferocity, in facing life’s worst challenges, came to mind today, with news of the passing, yesterday, of the actress Kelly Preston, after a two-year battle with cancer. This evening, I learned of the passing, late last month, of a maternal second cousin, after an EIGHTEEN-YEAR battle royale with the same disease. Neither woman lacked the slightest bit of courage and dedication to things far greater than herself. Both were sterling champions. I kept looking at one or more of Penny’s photos, as I prayed for the departed souls. My beloved fought a thirteen-year battle of her own.

Death is any number of things, but one thing it is not- is surrender. I am convinced that every person who has ever faced down danger or disease takes the strengths acquired in the struggle, right along with them, in transitioning to the next series of adventures. I am also convinced that the soul sends clarion calls to those left behind-to remember the struggle and apply the lessons learned, that they, the remnants, and this, the world left behind, can rise and truly shine, brighter than ever.

“Death, be not proud (Holy Sonnet 10)”

John Donne – 1571-1631

“Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou’art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy’or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.”

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 42: Wirepullers

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Posted by on in Community, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Striving

July 12, 2020-

Jessica Whitaker never made it home, early in the morning of July 5, as she walked with her boyfriend and two other friends, in Indianapolis. She told a group of people, who were supporting Black Lives Matter, that she felt “All lives Matter”, leading to the sort of argument that has become all too common, these past several months. The argument ran its course, the two groups went their separate ways and then, someone gunned Jessica down. It is still unclear as to whether the shooting was directly related to the argument, or was committed by an opportunist, seeking to tie BLM to violent crime.

There are wirepullers, agitators, working both sides of the fear-ridden fence. Sloganeering draws such individuals, who have no strong commitment to the beliefs expressed by either side, but who like the mayhem- or the control over one group or the other- or over both groups. I saw this in the 1960’s, when right wing agitators infiltrated the Weather Underground, Students for A Democratic Society and even the Black Panther Party (Yes, there are a few right wing agitators who happen to be Black.) There were, conversely, left-wing agitators who followed Young Americans for Freedom around and behaved badly.

There are those who seek power and control, also with scant actual commitment to one cause or another. Their aim is to create disturbance and to set ordinary people against one another. Then, laws and ordinances can be established, curbing people’s freedom of expression.

I have no dog in the fight over “Masks vs. No Masks”. There is a time and place for wearing masks; a time and place for not wearing them. I will not argue with anyone on either side. It is a prime example of people letting someone manipulate their feelings.

I feel that all life is sacred and have lost friends for having said that adoption is preferable to abortion, while I still maintain that it is a decision best made by the person who is carrying the child. I also remember that, when I was a child, I was the oldest of five and there were times when one of my siblings had needs that eclipsed mine. It’s the same, in my view, with Black Lives Matter. Had more people conducted themselves as if that phrase were embedded in their consciousness, the slogan would not have been deemed necessary and would not have gained traction. Those who seem to need protection are those who deserve immediate attention.


The pendulum has swung back a bit, with the killing of Jessica Whitaker. I don’t hear any Black people saying that she does not deserve justice. Quite the contrary, BLM seems to realize that its credibility is on the line. Hopefully, the social justice movement will see the rights of a now motherless three-year-old and justice for his mother, as equal in value to the rights of those treated so egregiously in Black, First Nations and Latino communities.

I see this as yet another wake-up call, and it is for those who too readily follow one side or another, to re-assess any and all movements initiated too quickly by power brokers on both the Right and the Left.

We, the People, need to take back responsibility for our lives and not be so ready to follow the loudest, or wealthiest, voices in the room.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 41: They, Too, Will Walk Tall

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

July 11, 2020-

Every people has its heroes.

One of the great revelations that has come out of COVID19 is the resurgence of Dineh (Navajo) and Hopi people, who are standing up and taking responsibility in providing for their fellows-especially for the elders. There are those who go out each day, without much rest, and tend to the needs of those in remote parts of the Navajo Nation, bringing critical clean water and other items that are necessary, in fighting the virus. There are those, in the Hopi villages, who bring key items to thei elders, as well, and who watch out for people from outside, who may bring the dreaded pandemic.

These are people with a courageous warrior past, who know how to face even an invisible enemy. They have been hit hard, both by the virus and by the infighting between people inside their respective tribal governments. The people, though, are collectively noticing, and will face down those who are not putting their needs first. They will honour the pandemic warriors, who have swept beyond tribal politics.

There is another part of the world, also with several strong warrior traditions, where people are facing both types of plagues: Africa. I have had several people from that continent approach me as friends-most genuinely, some as mendicants. I have chosen to assist two of the genuine friends, in a concrete and limited manner. Others, as I have anticipated, are emerging-dropping subtle hints that they, too, would like specific assistance.

I am not taking on these additional cases; indeed, as an individual, whose resources are not unlimited, aiding the entire continent-or even more than those with whom I am already involved, is not practical. As a researcher, though, I will post links to organizations which could be contacted by anyone who wishes to rise as a warrior for peace, and assist the people of his/her nation.

Here are several; so my Facebook friends who see this, please take note. I am only one person, and am in late middle age, at that. These organizations, though, are likely to address your personal or communal concerns and issues:

http://www.aag.org/cs/programs/international/developingregions/africa/NGOs

https://www.ongood.ngo/info/resources/25-must-follow-ngos-in-africa

https://ironline.american.edu/five-innovative-ngos-agriculture/

https://www.aidforafrica.org/?cat=85&type=member-charities

https://www.farmafrica.org/

http://www.raptim.org

I believe that many of those who are approaching people in the West, in a sincere belief that we have individual fortunes, which can be tapped to the advantage of African peasants, will find it far more advantageous to follow the lead of the continent’s many rising entrepreneurs, several of whom may be found in the organizations listed above.

May every nation find its path to prosperity.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 40: Discretion

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Posted by on in Assistance, children, collaborating, Family, Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

July 10, 2020-

For these sixty-nine years and change, I have felt two, perhaps semmingly contradictory things: Unconditional love and discernment, with regard to how I spend my time and money. The contradiction clears up, once I remember that unconditional love includes how one is towards self.

So, when someone decides, on my behalf, that THIS is what I should do, for the greater good, THIS is how I will spend my time and THIS is what deserves my financial investment, the door tends to shut-at least until such time as I see the value in being involved. Part of this is my autism, and part of it is that I have received clear guidance from my ancestors and spirit guides.

I appreciate that some in the world feel drawn to me, calling me their brother or father, even though we’ve never met. A few of them have my support, to a certain extent. I will fulfill those commitments I’ve made, but this will NOT open the door to unending work on more projects. I have my path set, for the times when we are dealing better with COVID19 and for when there are other events going on, for which I will need to be elsewhere. During such times, I will not be at the random beck and call of individuals. I will have my family and selected other people as my first priorities.

Yes, this is a statement of discretion, which hopefully will be understood in the spirit of love with which it is offered.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 39: Oppression

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

July 9, 2020-

The Baha’i world commemorated the Martyrdom of al-Bab, the Herald of our Founder’s coming and a Messenger of God, in His own right. Al-Bab announced His Mission, to a lone seeker, in May, 1844. Just six years later, despite having been incarcerated three times, in three separate prisons, by a fearful Muslim clergy and government, His followers numbered in the hundreds of thousands. In that sixth year of His Mission, on July 9, 1850, al-Bab faced a firing squad, in the main public square of Tabriz, a large city in northwest Iran. Accompanied by a steadfast young follower, named Anis, He stood with confidence, as 750 soldiers fired at Him. When the smoke cleared, Anis stood alone. Al-Bab was found, in a room in another part of the prison, completing business He had with another follower, which had been interrupted by the execution. Once the papers were signed, He went with the guards, back to the courtyard. This time, 750 other men stood in file, and fired. When the smoke cleared again, the bodies of al-Bab and Anis were fused together, and their faces untouched, and serene.

This has been corroborated by foreign emissaries, who witnessed the event, and had no impetus to weave a falsehood. As Christ suffered horrifically, at the hands of the Roman Centurions and the Sanhedrin priests, so did al-Bab suffer at the hands of the Muslim clergy and representatives of the Shah.

Oppression has ever been the lot of those whose existence is marginalized by those in power. This is true today, in a good many nations of the world, whether it be directed at African-Americans, First Nations people and cross-border immigrants, in nearly every country of the Western Hemisphere; at Roma people, across the European continent and in the Middle East; at Palestinian Arabs, in several west Asian nations-not just Israel; at lower caste people, Christians and Muslims in India, as well as Christians and Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh; at Dravidians and Black First Nations people, across south Asia; at non-Bantus, across sub-Saharan Africa; and at those not of the Han nation, in China, at non-Burmese, in Myanmar or those not Javanese, in Indonesia. Australian First Nations people face an uphill battle in their country, as do Maoris and other Pacific Islanders, in New Zealand. Whites in South Africa and Zimbabwe find the tables turned on them, with a vengeance. Ainus in Japan, and “Negritos” in the Philippines are still struggling for acceptance.

There are those who want to turn the tables on conservative Christians, in this country. This reflects poorly on those taking that stance. I stand, now, for those oppressed, according to the historical record. This will not be addressed, or corrected, by counter-oppression. The conservative, for one thing, will not change his/her own behaviour, or opinion, by being subjected to reverse oppression. I will not stand idly by, if this happens.

We are all sacred beings, and the time to change our behaviour towards other sacred beings has drawn nigh.

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 38: Things I Like

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Posted by on in Inspiration, Personal goals, Personal Values, Social

July 8, 2020-

I had a good day today, visiting online with a small group of friends and in person with a hard-working friend, who is set to take her first real vacation in two years. I also made the requested headway in my adopted project and got new insights as to what else is needed on it. The surest way to be done with an unsolicited activity is to do it right, the first time.

I want to focus now on ten things I like-both phenomena, and traits of people.

  1. People who walk with their heads held high, and who own their lives.
  2. Happy dogs, cats and horses.
  3. Spirited and respectful discussion.
  4. Well-crafted chocolate and cacao.
  5. Brilliant sunrises and sets.
  6. Organic food products.
  7. Kindness towards people.
  8. Well-informed open-mindedness.
  9. Fresh flowers.
  10. A good, well-told story.

These are a few of the things that come to mind, “when the dog bites; when the bee stings..”

The Summer of the Rising Tides, Day 37: Only Love

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

July 7, 2020-

Today is Aram’s birthday. My calls to/from him are most often open-ended, both in terms of time and subjects of conversation. This morning was no different. Two hours and change about covered the gamut.

These sorts of exchanges with family are all too rare, even in COVID times, but they are invariably infused with love. Today’s topic for Harmonic Convergence was “The Leadership of Love”. There were a wide range of subtopics covered, from how to direct love towards someone who comes across as unloving, to the roots of materialistic society-and what a non-materialistic (love-based) society might resemble.

Aram used to raise the last possibility, in his late teens. I would always point out that we are hard-wired, as a species, to need a medium of exchange-and that currency has been with us, at least since the first coins were minted at the order of King Croesus, if not since his predecessor, Midas of Lydia, amassed gold.

There was a lengthy, and rather ultraconservative, argument presented, this afternoon, that the entire system of financial transaction, from monetized housing to wages themselves, despite having been in place for so many millennia, is not divinely ordained in perpetuity.

Indeed, Baha’u’llah teaches that man is free to continue using money and compound interest as tools to amass such wealth as can be used for the good of mankind-and yet, it is love, not material wealth, that will be the guarantor of the fullness of a spiritually-rooted civilization. Money’s present role as the “lifeblood” of civilization is not guaranteed to remain so.

This is quite simple, when one gives it thought. Money comes and goes, in the lives of most people, as does fame and even public approval. Love, however, can outlast all of these, as it is the bedrock of all life, of all consciousness.

It has ever been, and will always be.