Accept Yourself - No One is Alive who is Youer than You!

To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
e.e. cummings

Deborah Spencer ‎"It's never too late to be who you might have been."
– George Eliot

So far as past errors are concerned, forget them and start afresh, as if it were your first day in this body; but so far as your present contacts are concerned, be kind to them, as if it were your last day in this body.Paul Brunton

ATTACHMENTS HARD TO SHED AS EGO

Wall Photos
By Subodh Kumar Misra · 85 of 93
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Subodh
Every type of attachment is a transference of oneself to another. If a mother loves the child, the mother has gone; only child is there. If the child is unhappy, the mother cannot be happy. If the child goes away from this world, it looks as if the mother herself is dead. It is bondage because the consciousness clings to what we are not; you can never become another. By selfhood what we mean is, we have some status in us which cannot be externalized or transferred to something else. Now the transference which takes place between the Self which we are and the object outside is a false one. All attachments , therefore, are false. It is false because the Self artificially transfers itself to something, while such a transference is not permissible under the very characteristic of the Self. ……Aum!.

Attachments seem to be as hard to shed as the ego.
Maybe it is in the matter of degrees.
Awareness and lowering attachment
and ego seems to be about as good as I can do,
while here in this body?

Love All that has been Created by God

Love all that has been created by God,
both the whole and every grain of sand.
Love every leaf and every ray of light.
Love the beasts and the birds,
love the plants, love every separate fragment.
If you love each separate fragment,
you will understand the
mystery of the whole resting in God.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Beautiful, so true, thank you dear ♥ Ron ♥
Gene Yakub: This is the true way to meditate!
Ron Alexander: YES! thank you Gene! We are trained in Vipassana to watch the smallest particle go by (Law of Temporaryness) and The Dalia Lama wrote a book called "A Universe in every Atom."

William Blake - Auguries of Innocence:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

Equanimity for Progress in Spiritual Growth

Melanie Moore: I am trying in my life to accept both the good and the bad with equanimity.

Melanie L Moore: Equanimity: n, mental calmness,composure,and evenness of temper.

Equanimity for Progress in Spiritual Growth
Buddha's Discourse:
"Bhikkhus, whenever you hear someone criticize the Buddha or Dhamma, do not yield to emotions of anger, irritation, or resentment, which will act as a barrier to your spiritual progress.
Similarly, whenever you hear someone praise the Buddha or Dhamma, do not yield to emotions of happiness, satisfaction, or pride, which will also act as a barrier to your spiritual progress.
Only with a balanced mind, should you correct mistaken statements or acknowledge true ones."
Ron Alexander: Hugh and I came up with "Unity Community of Equanimity" after he asked question about "Community" and I asked question about meditation.

Everything is Going Right for You

Deal with what is in front of you joyfully. Bring joy to the occasion. Your own vibration is the only thing to slow you down, so if you will allow the unfolding to occur, you will see more of what you want popping into your existence. Don’t judge yourself. Where you are is exactly where you should be.



You look at your activity and you think that doesn’t have much to do with where you want to go, and then you louse up your vibration with self-doubt. Then things grind to a halt, as the vortex shifts around your new destiny, a destiny based on loss and lack. You begin to doubt God and doubt the process. When you seed doubt, you reap doubt.



Relax and let go of the self-judgment. If you are going to allow that everything is going exactly right in the Universe, then allow that everything is going exactly right with you also. Lighten up on yourself, lighten up on the Universe, and allow the magic to do its magical thing. The fairies of the universe are lined up to help you, you just have to stay on the boat with Source and quit trying to do it all yourself. Do the fun parts. Do the joyful parts: That is where your connection with Source Energy lies.



You are blessed and loved upon your journey,
~ Twelve



www.TwelveSpirit.net



Beata Bohac
An old man once said, "There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living.

Come as Children again...

"The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives" ~ Albert Einstein ♥

Called a "Beginner's Mind" in Zen Buddhism...

Religio - Divide or Unite?

Dean A. Banks:
Religion comes from the Latin word ‘religio’ which means a binding together of people with common beliefs. If this is true, then we must choose carefully what we believe as well as the people we choose to associate with in our sharing of our beliefs. Believing we are the essence of love is truly being ourselves. When we ‘bind’ ourselves to this belief we are creating a religion of SELF that is the true essence of love. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.

Felicity Williams: Sent to me by a friend many years ago... The devil and his friend.! The devil once went for a walk with a friend. They saw a man stoop down and pick up something from the pathway. " What did the man find?" asked the friend. " A piece of th...e truth" said the devil. " Doesn't that disturb you?" asked the friend. " No it does not," said the devil, " I shall allow him to make a religious belief out of it". A religious belief is a signpost pointing the way to truth,People who cling tenaciously to the signpost, are prevented feom moving towards the truth, because they have the false feeling that they already possess it!!

God made so many different kinds of people;
why would God allow only one way to worship?Martin Buber

Love and Affection as a Universal Religion

Dalai Lama
I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result, not only for ourselves, but also for the society to which we belong. I generally refer to this sort of love and affection as a universal religion. Everyone needs it, believers as much as non-believers. This attitude constitutes the very basis of morality.


Gene Yakub: Of course, we are all fundamentally loving and truthful since we were created by the Creator of the same 'material, just that over aeons we have obscured them with mistaken choices, and continue to do so. Therefore it is a matter of accessing our hearts with total honesty, where Love and Truth reside, to make correct choices. The Monkey Mind is to be used only to put those correct choices into practice


You are beautiful, in so many ways. You have a beautiful heart, soul, mind and... body. You are a beautiful beacon of light in this dark world. You are the moon and the sun, a beautiful guiding star. Without you there is no light in this world. You are essential to my being! You are the rarest of treasures, and, I love you. Thank you.*Dedicated to my Moon
By: GODDESS..



"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." — Joseph Campbell

Wherever you stand... Be the soul of that place. ~ Rumi ♥

Mercy - Let our Compassion be our Divine Mirror

Ever let mercy outweigh all else in you. Let our compassion be a mirror where we may see in ourselves that likeness and that true image which belong to the Divine nature and Divine essence.

St. Isaac of Syria
Directions on Spiritual Training

The Universe wants to shower us with Blessings. Start with Self-Acceptance, Love Everybody and become a Divine Mirror on the Path to Oneness (joy is the realization of the truth of Oneness - Tagore. Blessyourhearts.blogspot.com


In the continuous flow of blessing our heart finds meaning and rest.David Steindl-Rast
A Listening Heart (gratefulness.org)

Spiritual Beings - The Body Goes Back to the Dust

Ida Rose: Dear Mary ,I do not believe in the rapture!!! I believe Devine Creator created us and gave us everlasting life. Each life on earth is lived as different personality according to the lesson the person has to learn, we are spiritual beings living a human experience.The body goes back to the dust, the spirit goes back to higher or spiritual mansions, depends upon the level of you being awake to your spiritual birth. It is that simple for me!! I do not debate this point with onyone. another man's belief is not for me. I know!!! and each person will know sooner or latterI . I ask Spirit to show me , if it does not resonate with my heart, it is not truth to me. To me, God is the only Power. and in God's power , there is truth and love,and no space for religious men beliefts, the bible is the story of every man's life. The gospel of Jesus is how that life ought to be lived with our sisters and brother we meet as we travele this earth.
Craig Moriarty ‎@ Ida, do you believe that Jesus transcended physical death and manifest after doing so? or do you have any knowledge of this?Ida Rose: Mary, we are born spirit,and spirit never die.In the physical you cannot see spirit, however, we feel spirit. When you sleep and your body rest your spirit is release,your dreams are actual experiences of your spirit world. Many times you m...eet your love ones who have passed on when you sleep, because that spirit communes with you then.Tommorow, I shall be seventy one years young. when my dad died, his spirit communed with me always.

Treasure of Really Being Alive

There are few treasures of more lasting worth than the experience of a way of life that is in itself wholly satisfying. Such, after all, are the only possessions of which no fate can deprive us; nothing can alter the fact if, for one moment in eternity, we have really lived.Eric Shipton (thanks gratefulness.org)

"Everything is so Alive, that I can be Alive. Without moving I can see it all. In your Life I see everything that Lives" ~ Pablo Neruda 1♥ (thanks Tammie)



Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go out and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
Howard Thurman(gratefulness.org)

Jean Mitchell: That is exactly what I have been feeling dear ♥ Ron ♥ Treasuring being a live with every breathe, thought, feeling; being part of the tapestry and majesty of the world and not apart. (Took a few wake up calls to get there lol ) Truly grateful to be here in this moment celebrating life, the power of NOW, and ripples on the pool. Bless you.

‎"Live like you were dying" a song by tim mcgraw (Love like you were dying.) Another song title I like is "Alive in the Glory of Love" (SayAnything)

Peace in your heart? With your family?

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. St. Francis of Assisi (gratefulness.org)




If you want peace on earth, go home and love your family. -- Mother Teresa


Bless Your Heart -
In the continuous flow of blessing our heart finds meaning and rest.David Steindl-Rast
A Listening Heart (gratefulness.org)

Disagreement? Maybe Both are Right?

I get confused sometimes: "I am not my body." or "My body is the temple of my Spirit." Then there are questions of becoming egoless or selfless or developing a healthy balanced ego or a strong sense of self. Or are we to be of this world or wait for "Paradise" in the "next life"?
Rev. Margaret Hiller in her talk at Unity today proclaimed:


There is always more than one right answer. Quantum Physics proves this...

What I have learned is that there are two completely different ways to the Absolute. One is negation - it is not this, it is not that, I am not this, I am not that...I am not my body, I am not my ego...and the other is affirmation, Yes, I am that, I am this, I AM - both paths are legitimate. Yet, I choose the more affirmative YES! I AM! The key is picking ONE and sticking with it.Ra Divakar

"The path of negation and the path of affirmation seem to contradict each other. Which one is correct? Which should I adopt?" Peter Oppenheimer inquiry to his guru Nataraja Guru ("Nitya") in his book MIRROR BY THE ROAD.
Guru replied, "It is a disease peculiar to the Western mind to think that things must be either This or That. In the East people think things are once 'both this and that' and neither 'this and that.' Either of these paths, if folllowed diligently to their conclusion, will lead to the Absolute. Think of it in terms of your self. Either you should think, 'I am nothing, not even this body, mind and senses', or you should think 'I am everything, including all the people and things that I perceive.'
"Either of these two visions will eventually bring us peace, understanding and unshakable happiness. All our troubles begin only because we minx tghe two and think
"I am so and so but not such and such. This is me, but that is not me.' Don't you see? Wnen all is nothing but the self, there is no self."
Nataraja Guru (Malayalam:നടരാജ ഗുരു)(Dr. P Natarajan) was a direct disciple of Narayana Guru, a great sage and social reformer of India.


Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,. there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass,. the world is too full to talk ...
Rumi

Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: Love it.♥
April Lang: Keeping it simple sweetie, It is what it is! Avoiding confusiion! ♥
Joyce Ripp: the universe always cuts me some slack.
Craig Moriarty: If we allow love to flow through us unimpeded then we can not be in error.
Brian Tate: LIKE! Not one or the other; it is All things now. Don't try to divide or dissect, just accept!
Alan Brunton: Good one Ron. I used to be a "black or white" person, then I realized it was all about the ride, the journey. Conscious observation of what you experience, beyond the physicality, beyond the emotions allows one to identify the ego and yet not care what it is doing.
Jeanne Porter Ashley: Joyce, me, too! It is me who would beat myself up over decisions and finally I got it -- any decision is a good decision -- make it and move along to the results!
Orandon Marie: Here's what I learned in my journey with paralysis...Negative things are often factual, but that doesn't mean they have to be "real" or "true". ; ) It depends on the energy we bring to the situation. In order to line-up your positive stu...ff? it helps to take a look at the negative, figure out how you are being limited. We do this, not understanding these are personal boundaries we establish with ourselves, so we can experience Divinity, no matter how broken or lost the situation seems. We can use our feelings to navigate a better circumstance... Taoism says to think of the process in terms of "adjustments". It can be a challenge to make adjustments without compassion. Compassion for ourselves...? Yes, that's needed - and if often requires that we drop the ego and just be present.
Ron Alexander: Thanks Angela PeaceMaker Diggs, April Lang, Brian Tate, Alan Brunton, Joyce Ripp, Craig Moriarty, Jeanne, & Orandon for your bright helpful comments plus all you "likers"! Me, I have swung back and forth between the negation path (I am not... my body) to the more affirmative path taught by Unity & Ernest Holmes's Science of Mind. The confusion was being mixed in both paths, and condemning those on the other path. I know I have had some differences about the "ego" - I apologize!
Ron Alexander: I chose the affirmative path, and I am sticking to it, while being aware and acceptance of all paths - I will meet you " in the fields beyond right and wrong where there is no need for talk - peaceful Golden Divine Silence! Blessings to us all!
Jeanne Porter Ashley: Yes, always blessings flowing...<em>

Subodh Kumar Misra: Revelation comes the moment knowledge ceases. There are two possibilities; either we can think about something, or we can enter into it existentially. ………Aum!
Marie Corry: Ra, same as which tree will you choose the tree of the knowledge of good or eveil or the Tree of Life. Sounds to me you've joined us in choosing to partake from the Tree of Life. Yay!
Ron Alexander: I chose the affirmative path, and I am sticking to it, while being aware and acceptance of all paths - I will meet you " in the fields beyond right and wrong where there is no need for talk - peaceful Golden Divine Silence! Blessings to us all!Jeanne Porter Ashley: Yes, always blessings flowing...
Ra Divakar: Subodh Kumar Misra: Revelation comes the moment knowledge ceases. There are two possibilities; either we can think about something, or we can enter into it existentially. ………Aum!
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: Perfect addition Ra Divakar...I love that and Subodh Kumar Misra is surely one whom I cherish. Love sent.♥ Hugs always Ron AlexanderRon Alexander: Thanks again Angela, and I agree about Ra & Subodh' s posts. Here is a quote from one of my favorite present day St. Francis - Brother David of gratefulness.org: Bless Your Heart - In the continuous flow of blessing our heart... finds meaning and rest. David Steindl-Rast - A Listening Heart (Brother David's books are very inspirational - went to a workshop with him at Green Gulch Zen Center. The Zen's love this meditating, open hearted, accepting, aware Mystic Monk.)Adrian Drew Cunningham: Now THAT"S a Wizard!Margaret Allen Hiller: Ron, Wonder if a Brother David Steindl-Rast book would be on the possibility list for Unity's next book group?Bronagh Fitzgerald: no one is without a ego if you didnt have one youd let everyone treat ya like crap its a necessity trick is make sure it aint a diva xxx
Ron Alexander: Hi Rev. Margaret, I recommend GRATEFULNESS: THE HEART OF PRAYER - it would be a big change for the book group, as it is a fast reader. Maybe, just a change the group needs? How long have you been telling us in group - "Maybe they are both right?" Thanks for helping inspire this post!Ron Alexander: Bronagh, I agree - what we need, while in our body, is a healthy well-balanced ego. Being egotistical, an egoist, or an ego-maniac is the ego unbalanced and really trying to overcompensate for a weak sense of self. However, I think becoming egoless is an admirable goal, yet I seriously doubt most can reach that state while still in the body. The less ego-mind we have, the closer we are to the truth ultimately! So again, both are true - the egoless journey appears to be part of the negating journey such as "I am not my body."Ron Alexander: Oh Rev. Margaret, this book MIRROR by the ROAD by Peter Oppenheimer would the an awesome book for the book club!
Ron Alexander: Hmm, well let's remember the point of this dialogue:
"There is always more than one right answer. Quantum Physics proves this..."
Guru replied, "It is a disease peculiar to the Western mind to think that things must be either This or That. In... the East people think things are once 'both this and that' and neither 'this and that.' Either of these paths, ... Either you should think, 'I am nothing, not even this body, mind and senses', or you should think 'I am everything, including all the people and things that I perceive.'
"Either of these two visions will eventually bring us peace, understanding and unshakable happiness. All our troubles begin only because we mix the two and think
"I am so and so but not such and such. This is me, but that is not me.'

Stewart vs. Wallace Comedian vs. "Newscaster"

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart entered the proverbial lion's den, appearing live on Fox News Sunday to debate "media bias" with host Chris Wallace.

Early in the interview, Wallace flashed a previous quote of Stewart's calling Fox News a "relentless agenda-driven 24 hour news opinion propaganda delivery system," and asked Stewart, "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

Stewart responded, "Uh, it's actually quite easy."

Later, when Wallace argued that a clip about Sarah Palin from the Daily Show was political commentary, Stewart told Wallace, "You're insane... Here's the difference between you and I. I'm a comedian first. My comedy is informed by an ideological background, there's no question about that. But the thing that you will never understand...is that Hollywood, yeah, they're liberal, but that's not their primary motivating force. I'm not an activist. I am a comedian."

"Do I want my voice heard?" Stewart continued later. "Absolutely, that's why I got into comedy. Am I an activist, in your mind? A partisan ideological activist?" Wallace responded, "Yeah." "Okay, then I disagree with you," Stewart said. "You can't understand, because of the world that you live in, that there is not a designed ideological agenda on my part to affect partisan change because that's the soup you swim in. And I appreciate that, I understand it. It reminds me of in ideological regimes, they can't understand that there is free media other places because they receive marching orders."

Wise Friends of the World in Oneness

“A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” ~Albert Einstein (Einstein & Rabindranith Tagore - photo - 1930)




Ra Divakar: Never lose a holy curiosity.
Albert Einstein
Ra Divakar: ‎"Joy is the realization of the truth of oneness, the oneness of our soul with supreme love." Tagore (the bearded one in photo)

Marie Corry: yes, I know. It was just an analogy.... But it is only as real as it is when one is dreaming at night. None of it has any real substance. For example when I feel a pain, it seems all too real (and I know all about pain) but now I immeditale...y know the truth that "This pain is not hurting me, because the real I that I AM/YOU ARE cannot feel pain." Same as when I look in the mirror and see wrinkling, that is simply not the truth of who I AM. It is the bastrad father of all lies. As one of my tutors said this morning, once we really begin to see and believe that we are God we will find that we will be acting just like the God that we BE. God does not age, get ill, etc and so on. The inner will eventually conform to the outer. In the meantime we do not ignore such pains and ills, whatever we have to, ie see a docter and get some form of help.
Marie Corry: Oh, and illusion is in no way an easy way out, for fs who wants to suffer years and years of pain and illness and disease. Nope, not me. I've had it and am now claiming my/our real divine inheritance. That's the real easy way out--- albeit eventually.
Unity Walker: ‎@Rajiv.... It's not an easy way out in any sense of the word. It's simply an understanding of the true nature of the material universe. It is an understanding with which many quantum phsycists concur, based upon the innate emptiness of the... atom. We are not sitting around in loin cloths, painted faces, with begging bowls in hand. We are, at least most of us, loving, caring, and highly intelligent people who live life fully, who offer a helping hand to others in need and engaged fully in life head on. This path is NOT an easy way out. But we are provided rest on this path, relief from fear and stress, so that we may keep on keeping on and continue to love one another.Ron Alexander: ‎"Claiming Divine Inheritance!" Awesome comment Marie!Ra Divakar: Yes, "claiming Divine Inheritance" is my path, thanks so much, Marie!Ra Divakar: Thanks for your comments - what I have learned is that there are two completely different ways to the Absolute. One is negation - it is not this, it is not that, I am not this, I am not that... and the other is affirmation, Yes, I am that, I am this, I AM - both paths are legitimate. Yet, I choose the more affirmative YES! I AM! The key is picking ONE and sticking with it.
.Marie Corry: Ra, same as which tree will you choose the tree of the knowledge of good or eveil or the Tree of Life. Sounds to me you've joined us in choosing to partake from the Tree of Life. Yay!
Subodh Kumar Misra: Revelation comes the moment knowledge ceases. There are two possibilities; either we can think about something, or we can enter into it existentially. ………Aum!

Mirror by the Road

Ron Alexander: "The moon wanes toward total emptiness before it begins to wax toward a new fullness. In respiration, an expiration must precede each inspiration." Peter Oppenheimer MIRROR BY THE ROAD

Marin Lodge - years ago - good memories of our brief meeting but sad memories of the "Lodge" - is it still in existence? Enjoying your book much more this time, as I am more involved with Eastern Religions! Thanks, Aum Shanti, ron. .
Peter Oppenheimer:
Hey Ron, good to hear from you. Yeah those were intense times in and around the lodge. No, believe it or not a private family is living in that house nowadays. My Gosh, I don't envy them their dreams which must be infected with the angst of its former inhabitants. Thanks for the kind thoughts about my book. Give me your address. I'll send you the sequel, 15 years in the making. Its verbose title is "Keys to Eden: A Search for Meaning and Celebration at Home, at Work and On the Road." What's your "involvement with Eastern Religions"? Zen perhaps?Take Care........ Peter .
Ron Alexander: Great to hear back from you, Peter. Yes, I am really enjoying and getting so much from MIRROR by the Road. I am getting alot of quotes from there, and looking forward to sequel - 302 tenth ave. N., North Myrtle Beach, S. C. 29582
I have become a Oneness Blessing
Giver via Oneness U. led by Sri AmmaBhagavan (husband and wife team), however my meditation practice is Vipassana (Goenka). I will be going back for my third time in Aug. This time I will be taking my partner Jeanne.
Your book and Ram Dass's book BE LOVE NOW and AmmaBhagavan, plus I live near Meher Baba's International Retreat, make it tempting to become a Bhakti Yogi with a Guru. Yet, so far, it seems contradictory to mix Yoga (I have been a Hatha Yoga teacher in the past) with Buddha's meditation, though Goenka emphasizes that Vipassana is secular! I would appreciate your feedback on this matter. The Dalai Lama sends his Monks to study Vipassana, and they have been my favorite co-students. His Holiness writes that Vipassana is an "Insight Meditation" to study after one learns to concentrate with the breath (Anapana), or a mantra, or however one learns to become single-minded.
I really enjoyed your teacher's description of Oneness Bliss via a definition of Yoga on page 155. Also on page 159 I really like your comments on "Benevolent Grace." I have been blogging about "Karma/Grace" on fb under Ra Divikar (Sanskrit - given me by Swami Vishnu Devananda) and would like to know if there is a word for Grace in Sanskrit or Pali. And I did write that possibly the believe in Oneness is so cellular in India that what we consider "a free Gift from God) is just a given in Eastern Religions? Metta, ron



.

Happiness does not come from objects

...Subodh Kumar Misra:
We are in search of happiness, and not in search of objects. If we are under the wrong notion that we want bungalows, lands, gardens, property, airplanes, friends and relationships, we are groping in the darkness of ignorance. These are not what we want. All these are tools that we use for the purpose of evoking that universal happiness within us. That happiness is the real substance. It cannot be found outside because it lies in the depth of our Being …….Aum!Wall Photos ..

Ra Divakar: ‎"The best and most beautiful things in life are not things." Ron Alexander
Subodh Kumar Misra: All happiness is miraculous, instantaneous, fractional. We cannot be happy for days together. It is not given to us in this mortal world. As long as the search in this phenomenal world continues, we are not ourselves; we have transferred ourselves to objects outside ………Aum!10 Unity Walker: Created as Spirit and remaining as Spirit, I have All That IS at my disposal. What else could I possibly want? I've had all the rest, and it has come and gone, which is proof of its finitude. What I already have is Eternal. YES! AUM~~ AMEN ~~ I AM
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: The Peace that envelopes me Is without price. No one can barter for exchange. Happiness Is the streets that I walk on.....Love Is the sky that hangs above me...Beautiful post Subodh Kumar Misra. Thought provoking indeed...Love sent

Are you addicted to suffering? (and ready to quit)

Suffering comes from your story about what is happening in your life and less about what is actually happening..... Change your story and the way you are interpreting reality and you begin to change your reality. When you change your reality within yourself you shift your experience of your reality outside. Once you understand this, you only suffer if you chose to.
http://kuteblackson.com/blog/?


Most Guru’s or teachers will teach how to avoid suffering. I am going to share with you the 7 steps of how to successfully create suffering in your life, so that you can be aware of them and make different choices.

Suffering can become a very dangerous addiction. An unhealthy way to feel. An ultimately unfulfilling way to feel alive. You can get so used to suffering that it becomes comfortable and familiar. Suffering is the ego’s way of feeling important.

Whether you are a businessman or a buddha, pain is inevitable. There is no way to avoid it. Just by virtue of being in a human body there will be some pain. Trying to avoid pain will only create more suffering. Embrace pain to release yourself from suffering.

Suffering is optional. Suffering is a choice.

Suffering comes from your story about what is happening in your life and less about what is actually happening. What is happening is simply what is happening. The suffering part comes from all your interpretations and meanings about the experience. Change your story and the way you are interpreting reality and you begin to change your reality. When you change your reality within yourself you shift your experience of your reality outside. Once you understand this, you only suffer if you chose to.

What stories are you making up about yourself, your life, your partner, your current experience that is causing you suffering?
The 7 Keys to creating suffering:

1- Resist everything: Resist what is. Resist reality. Fight against what is happening in your life with all your might. This is a guaranteed method to suffer.

Key Solution: Accept what is, so that you can then decide how to shift it.

2- Holding the belief: “The experience that is happening to me should not be happening to me. I should be having some other experience than the one I am having. This shouldn’t be happening to me”. You have probably heard yourself doing some version of this. It just keeps you stuck.

Key Solution: Embrace your current experience. Your current experience is the experience that you are meant to be having because you are having it right now. Trust, and focus on what the you can learn and how you can grow. The experience is here to help you evolve.

3- Focusing on all the things that you cannot control. This will only cause you to feel completely helpless and disempowered. It will leave you in a state of worry and anxiety. Some of us are professional “worriers”. No matter how much you worry it doesn’t actually change the situation. Once you are done worrying the situation will be the same. Worrying is a waste of time.

Key Solution: Focus on what you can control. Take actions that are in your power, step by step.

4- Refusing to change. Keep doing the same over and over and hoping for a different result. Well, as Einstein said is the definition of insanity. Are you so set in your ways that you are afraid of giving up the known suffering for the unknown possibility of happiness?

Key Solution: Embrace change. Be willing to do something different. Let go. Go into the unknown. Take different actions.

5- Give up your responsibility: Be a victim. Play the blame game making everyone else at fault or responsible for your life and how you feel. Unless you take responsibility for your current experience then you are powerless to change it.

Key Solution: Take full responsibility for your current reality and decide what changes you are committed to making. Give up blame.

6- Focus on everything that is wrong in your life. Whether a relationship or person. When you focus on what is wrong, you will surely find what is wrong. You will end up creating more of what is wrong to feel wrong a about. Then the negative cycle continues.

Key Solution: Start focusing on what you are grateful for. Remember all your blessings, and appreciate that daily. What you appreciates, expands. What you thank about comes about.

7- Denial: Lie to yourself and others. Pretend that everything is fine when you know that it isn’t. When you avoid facing what is, you end up staying stuck and repeating the same patterns of pain, and relationship. This only ends up prolonging your suffering.

Key Solution: Tell the truth to yourself first. Tell the truth to those in your life. Be honest. Face reality.

Life is too short to waste spent suffering. Most of what you worry about today you won’t even remember a few months from now. Most of what you are trying to change in people today, you won’t care about on your deathbed.

You hold the padlock and you hold the key to your freedom.

You choose.

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you are ready to make peace with today. Please share in the comments below

P.P.S. Go to my site, www.kuteblackson.com and find out more about my work and receive some great free gifts!

Diversity Within

To fully accept diversity, we need to accept diversity within. (Dr. Dean paraphrased)
Here is copied actual quote: Once diversity is embraced within, then diversity is embraced without. ~Dean A. Banks, D.D.
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Karma & Grace - Means to End Suffering

The Means to End Suffering -

Karma is not "fate". Fate is something out of our control - our "preordained decree of providence." Karma literally means "action". Our own actions are the causes of whatever we experience - "cause and effect."
Everything we encounter in life is the result of our own actions. Consequently we can become mas...ter of our fate by becoming master of our own actions. Each of us is responsible for the actions that give rise to our suffering. Each of us has the means to end the suffering in our actions. The Buddha said:
You are your own master,
You make your own future.
There are three types of actions - physical, vocal & mental. According to Buddha's "Dharma" - the law of nature, the mental is the most important. Both physical and vocal assume totally different significance according to the intention with which it is done.
Physical action could be as opposite as a surgeon cutting with great compassion to a murderer cutting out of hatred. Vocal action could be as opposite as verbal abuse done out of hatred to words used to express love. It is the intention of our actions that determine the result.
It is the mental intentions of our actions which is the real karma, the cause which will give results in future. Understanding this truth the Buddha announced,
Mind precedes all phenomena,
mind matters most, everything is mind-made.
If with an impure mind
you speak or act,
then suffering follows you
as the cartwheel follows the foot of the draft animal.
Ron Alexander: How does Grace work in relation to Karma (cause & effect)?
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: Grace in my understanding is Divine influence and favor. Grace covers All. ♥
Ron Alexander: So Grace can overrule Karma - correct?19 hours ago · Ra Divakar: It is my understanding that in Christianity, no matter what we do - if one is "saved", then the Lord will bless one with Grace, and all past mistakes are forgiven. Is this correct?
Sd Penny: God's: Grace has us all covered!Ron Alexander Feels good, doesn't it, Sd, thank you!
Sd Penny: Amen, Brother! ♥
Ra Divakar: I put this on Unity's comment: In exploring Buddhism - the goal of ending suffering by developing a pure mind vs. Christianity's idea of Grace appears to mean that Christians can put off developing the pure mind. Karma (cause and effect) appears to mean that Buddhists may be more careful for their present actions? What do you think?"
Ra Divakar: Unity Walker RA--My experience tells me the teachings both have aim of pure mind AND the ONEness AND Grace. Grace may be a variable, though I'm not convinced of that. Grace is the gifts we are given that we have not earned--because God's gifts are never earned, but simply given. This includes the gift of spiritual understanding and wisdom AND the power to focus on pure thoughts.
Sd Penny: Yes!
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: I agree 100 percent...Love sent...♥
Ra Divakar: Ah, Grace means we don't have fight, process, work for the Gifts of God! Sounds good to me, thanks Unity! Is there a similar concept in Eastern Religions? I know Oneness is a Universal Truth with all religions I know. Is it possible with the realization of Oneness with God, that Grace is innately understood?
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: I believe so Ra Divakar...Love sent ♥
Ron Alexander: I think you have it, Ra! However, "Never lose a holy curiosity."Albert Einstein
Ra Divakar: And that is why God is called "The Great Mystery" by some Native Indians, right?

Getting Well - Yes!

Robyn Summers-Shelley:
good morning Ron...........stay well............xoxoxo
Robyn pulled the 'Gratitude' card for Ron Alexander using Divine Guidance Oracle Cards!
Gratitude - Divine Guidance Oracle Cards
Gratitude is a very powerful energy which can open both the heart and mind to all the wondrous blessings we are given. Take time each and every day to offer your deepest, heartfelt gratitude for all that you have and are given. Make a conscious effort to... look for all the good that is flowing into your life. Send your love to all those you cherish and love. Your acknowledgement of the Divine flow, that supports and provides for you, opens your energy in a powerful way. You will become your own bright Light, even in the darkest of times.
Divine Guidance Oracle Cards

Ron Alexander: Dear Robyn, perfect card again for me. I am so grateful to you and friends who prayed/visualized with me for clear blood vessels! The stress test was negative for occluded arteries. Yeah! Clearly flowing vessels are a sign of good overall health, though some symptoms remain, that was the best news! Everything else will heal quickly and soon to be in perfect health again. Oneness in Love, ron .
Eva Tzouma:
Good morning angel Ron! You deserve all the love of the universe and you have it!!!! Stay away from any illusion prevents your personal path to the light! I'm glad your health tests were positive and your are well. My love to you and Jeanne, she is such a wonderful woman supporting you in this challenge you are going through. :) .
Ron Alexander: You are so right dear Eva, "To thine own self be kind." (on my dieticians wall yesterday)
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Had busiest most accomplished day I have had in a long time. With great healing Goddesses - Jeanne (with me all day), Erika Kennard (an audioligist), Janet Teel (a dietician), friends Deborah Batts, Jackie Boyce, & Brenda a new friend). The last 4 of us were at the awesome Isle of Light for sunset and full moon rise. So good to be out there, thanks Jackie - great Prayer of Light (we took turns in middle of circle). Great Healing - feels so good to feel healthy again.

Moon Mandalas

The orange bright moon moving through dark space.
Fast moving clouds making mandalas last night.
A ever-changing Rorscharch test - rampant symbology.
Clouds shaping outlines of animals, insects or aliens.
Yet mostly just shadows of luminescence
And how would we know solid Eternal Light
Without the fast passing abstracts of projection?

Mystical Experience

Question about experience during meditation and prayer?
Hi My Friends, I had a experience last night during my nightly meditations and prayers. Normally I feel as if I AM viewing through a clear window, however last night it was different. I began seeing a white mist(no moisture in it) and I walked through it...
Craig Moriarty: You are moving into your Self/ Divine nature/ the real you. Embrace it.
Angela PeaceMaker Diggs: It was a bit strange I must say. I have tried today to repeat it so I can continue on through this tunnel of clouds and sky. Have not been able to achieve it yet. I was able to turn and look behind me and all around. My view was very different and it felt different as well.. Hugs
Gurinder Singh Choudhary: Regular practice of meditation can bless vision and experiences which are very pleasant and sometimes alarming. Enjoy it and carry on your practice on walking on His path.
Dawn Newton: You are integrating this Aspect of Self with Higher Vibrating Aspects of your Self. Merging this body with that vibration Angela. Bi-locating feels this way as well. In fact, the first time I felt myself lifting off the bed in order to go o...n board my Star Family's ship that first time shocked me too; and I stopped myself. Got up and took a bathroom break (pee) and went back into meditation, and then proceeded to bi-locate onto the ship. So, when we get in alignment with our future Aspect of Self we are able to move about 'in that frequency' and it feels like this body is moving about, if you get my drift. Well Done Mate! Keep at it; keep raising your vibe gal pal; opening that Mediation with the Body integrated your past Aspects of self into this body and you get bet those Aspects of you were saying the same thing; during their movement into you here; just as you are saying this here as you move into your Future Aspects of Self now that you've integrate those past Aspects which as you know I teach opens the portals (chakras) on your body so your Future Aspect/s of Self can now contact you. Lovies Dawn
Ron Alexander: I pondered this overnight and thought of a Rumi poem (I think) - "If there no need for a wall, why even install a window much less a door". Once, I had a vision, of a long line of people waiting at a gate, then I looked around and there was no wall, on one side was a beautiful garden with a barely percetible path, which I happily left the line to enter...
Sd Penny: Hello Sista! ♥ I'm not an expert with mediation but I think I am pretty much in a comtemplative prayer state? for much of the day. My heart is on God all the time. I don't listen to worldly data anymore so my mind has become unplugged. ...W...hat I can tell you is that without the world data, I'm receiving more visions, memory 'bubbles', hearing into the other dimensions and 'traveling'; it use to be only when I went to sleep at night but now it also is happening during the day- I enter into another state/consciousness level/realm/world . The unseen realms are mystical, surreal, angelic, beautiful, and many! ~ I cannot even explain it. I've traveled as a light wave too, at incredible speeds into the Universe and witnessed planet earth from a distance several times. So, I think it's all a part of God showing you (us) the more, to help awaken out of the 3d body ID. My experiences keep awakening me greater everytime, there's much more than the limitations we are in with this world. Also when I paint, I witness my spirit body moving my hands, arms to do it. I 'see' the spirit energy moving what I thought was 'me' ~ the body. ♥ I don't try to achieve the state, just letting it flow without effort or resistance. You'll notice that more and more too.See More
Ra Divakar: What a profound experience, and I cannot add anymore Wisdom than I read above - and I agree I think you experienced an opening into Reality, and "walked through it" - Angela - keep on joining into Oneness with Spirit!
If you love truth, be a lover of silence.
Silence, like the sunlight will illuminate you in God.St. Issac - 7th Century Hermit Monk

Lucid Dreaming or Rich Nightmare?

I have been trained in "Lucid Dreaming." That is where you become aware of your dream or nightmare, and be able to transform a nightmare to a positive dream. I have to admit that "training" was an overnight workshop in Berkeley Ca. in the 80's, so I might not have gotten the whole gist of the philosophy? Of course, dream "analysts" think changing your dream is a bad idea. As your so-called "nightmares" contain alot of rich unconscious material that can be "mined" of their value for your "mental health"?
Last night, I had such a nightmare that I was not able to stop until I heard my partner moaning. Here is what I remember. I was in an outdoor place with a syringe that could bring the dead back to life. I had injected it into one small dead animal that scurried off. My dog was looking on, as I then injected a big dead fish. Some kind of green light moved through the fish, and it looked up at me with a very sad quizzical eyes, then I realized there was no water nearbye for it, and it was going to die anyway. My dog had an eye on it, as I wandered off down a path, perhaps looking for water, thinking I should not have left the dog with the fish.
On the path, there was a really large very scruffy, bizarre - looking baboon communicating with another big animal. It eyed me suspiciously, and then I became paranoid that it was following me. I took a turn on the horseshoe-shaped path to get back to my dog and fish. A big old DeSoto automobile crossed my path full of some paranoid-appearing men. Then I noticed all these wild dangerous looking dogs around running past me. Then, all of a sudden, I caught out of the side of my eye, what looked like a big wildcat was jumping at me from behind, and I started back kicking it, then I heard my partner moan. This woke me up, and I realizing I was kicking her near her legs.
I turned over and embraced her while apologizing and realized she was still asleep.
Later, when she woke up, she did admit feeling "beat up" last night, but, thank goodness could not locate any sore areas on her legs.
Any dream analysts or lucid dreamers have any thoughts?
If I had been "lucid" dreaming, I would have found deep water nearbye to throw that fish in, and it would have swam away happily, and then I would not have to have taken that path with all the dangerous animals on it - a preferred happy ending.
However, then I would have missed the rich unconscious material here - anything anybody want to interpret?Interestingly, after awakening, I took Lil on our sunrise walk to the beach, and she picked up a nasty rotten fish out of the sand. I made her spit it out immediately.
Jeanne, when I apologized upon return, heard it and said it was "interesting" and that I "ought to write it down". So here it is and "fish cartoon" is from google images.

Ron: I was reflecting on Lucid Dreaming, and the instructions were to be aware of them and "walk" into the action - becoming an active "change agent" in the dream - to me that was transforming them to make them positive like finding water to thr...ow the revived fish in, and then allow my dog to jump in and swim making the nightmare into a fun dream. Lucid dreaming was sort of like Carlos Castenada "Shamanic Magic" which was popular back then...
Jeanne Porter Ashley: IMHO, that 'action' effectively removes the innate mystical meaning and puts us back into 'cure it' mode that humans use so often... not so much a flow when we 'try' to help it all be better...justsayinJoyce: water=emotions (primordial waters of life)fish are aspects of that, dogs=loyalty, wildcats=silence and secrets.( from Jaimie Sams/Ted Andrews books....) All aspects of yourself. Or it could be the universe asking you to be mindful that your dog spit out nasty fish...A.:
My family and friends seem to think my interpretations of their dreams have merit since they often come to me with a request, so...I'm interested in giving yours a thought. I call mine "flash" interpretations because I look at the whole dream in one block, not individual parts of it, attempt to see the essence of it briefly - in yours I see a strong desire to remove pain/discomfort/all negativity from the lives of those you encounter, but that is warring with your knowledge that everyone needs to encounter and deal with their individual challenges in life. also, that any attempt to remove theirs for them might blind you to certain of your own challenges until they reach a point where they're more difficult to deal with. .....just my thoughts :-) .
Ron Alexander:Alot of accuracy there, I think Alberta, thanks - can I publish it on my site with or without your name? Also, part of it may just be feeling guilt on all t
he fish I killed for food, when sailing around the tropics? I am so grateful, ron
Hi Ron, Let the guilt go Ron....All was created to add to us. Even Christ feed the mass with fish and bread. Look at all the lives you touched. I also look at the fact that as beings come into this existence, they know and understand the contribution. They felt it was worth it to come and serve the greater good. No way of really telling how those you helped feed touched others lives as well. Much Love sent and I am glad it added to your life. Hugs
Thanks Angela, I will let the guilt go, very good, I needed that feedback.
Hi Ron,

J. wrote: "I am answering in a rather fragmented way, but, here it is: my $.02.....This begins with a bunch of question marks at the end of your sentences.... and, in reading it...it appears to me to have a meaning about not being able / not your job / no matter the resources you have at hand..to save any thing / one (B.) who is already on a pth of 'death'..... Paranoid is how you / we have been over the past year / weeks and that has manifested in the men (B.) in the vehicle (DeSoto)...Lil is a good 'guard' over that fish / person / B. who is on that dead path... you cannot save anyone from themselves... no matter how much you / a Libra wants to do so / wants everyone to get along nicely. Your concern for me is very nice and I appreciate the inclusion."
rewritten by J. This begins with a bunch of question marks at the end of your sentences...not wanting them to be statements, and, allowing them to remain open-ended (a Libra trait, for sure). SO, in reading it...it appears to me to have a meaning about not being able / not your job... / no matter the resources you have at hand..to save any thing / anyone who is already on a path of 'death'..... Paranoid is how you / we can choose to react / have been / over your health the past year / weeks and ....that has manifested in the men (you or others) in the vehicle (DeSoto)... Dog is a good 'guard' over that fish / person / who is on that dead path...and, she does not have any compuction about throwing away a useless carcass..... you cannot save anyone from themselves... no matter how much you / a Libra wants to do so / wants everyone to get along nicely."


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Dream interputation from Angela
Between You and Angela PeaceMaker Diggs

Hi Ron,
I hope this day has greeted you with Joy and Happiness. I have read over your dream and I will offer you what I received. I usually read over the dream and different aspects stand out or is highlighted. So what I will do is, I will list what stood out and what I felt it may mean. Do know that the exact meaning can only be found within you. Since the dream is only a extension of you. I hope this offers some insight into what it may be bringing to your table. Hugs

The fact that you was outside in nature points to the vast amount of space your spirit has to accomplish your hearts desire. The syringe shows your desire to inject Love of Life into those who you see as dead. The fact that it basically revolved around the fish shows people in your life that rely on money way too much, you have within you a desire to help them. You want to give them joy, freedom and fun...Good things of Life. The sadness you felt in the fish eyes shows your gift to feel and the green light also highlights the gift to heal others. So your a healer but also empathic. The dog represents your decisions. You may be questioning your choices a little more. Even though you trust your dog you also know the nature of the animal...Make sense I hope. LOL The path represents clarity of thought and peace of mind. The fact that as you wandered from the fish in search of water again shows your commitment to helping and being of service. Dreaming of a baboon in your dream, suggests that you need to be more expressive in your feelings. You need to be more direct in telling others how you feel. The bizarre factor may be the way you feel you appear as you express yourself. That is all good too. The paranoid feeling is simply your fears and ego making you dissect your decisions. It is manifested again in the DeSoto. The fact that there was others driving this vehicle in your dream means you may feel at times your not in control. Someone else is driving you, this does not have to be negative. Actually it is freeing once you concur the fears associated with handing the wheel over...Trust. Now to the point that the path was shaped as a horse shoe....U.... main focus is U for a minute. This is showing that no matter where you go along this path it will lead to right back to you and your happiness. Represent success...The dangerous dogs again are your decisions...as situation and events unfold the choices may appear dangerous but push through this illusion and follow your heart. Now for the wildcats attacking you....this represents a female aspect of yourself...you may be feeling devoured by a emotions at some point. Your strength shines through with your fighting it off. Just remind yourself that there is no reason to fight against it......Well this is what I have got. I do hope it serves to help you. I send my love always. Thank you for allowing me to explore this with you...Hugs ♥

What Can I do to Help Now?

Woke up this morning, smiling, although still not feeling physically up to par. I had epiphany dreams about joy through service. Usually doing the night at some time, I have to use a mantra or escapist fantasy-type dream to go back to sleep. I let the Lil the dog out at about sunrise, and then after reading Ernest Holmes' usually divinely pertinent DAILY WISDOM about "right action is operating in my life now". I heard the dog joyously barking for a walk to the beach. So that was my next step to joy. When getting there, I noticed that the doggie bag dispenser was empty (I bring my own usually), I decided to bring some bags for other doggie owners. Arriving back at house,after feeding Lil, I noticed that flowers needed watering, and gladly watered them. Then I attempted to gently awake J. and asked her out to breakfast. The rest of the day, I hope to be like that, what can I do next to be of service - being kind to people along the way. Then when I give out of energy, and need some rest or nutrition, to gratefully accept what is given to me, asking for what I need if necessary. For giving is receiving and vice-versa.
"Right action means that every legitimate and constructive purpose I have in mind will be successively executed. It means that I will know what to do, how to think, how to act, how to proceed. I definitely declare that since my word is in accord with the Divine Nature, it is actually is the Law of God in my experience enforcing Itself. Hence, there is nothing in me or around me that can limit this word. The power of this Law is with me, and the action that results from this power produces harmony, peace, joy and success." Ernest Holmes (he maintains that the Law of God is synonymous with the Law of Love)
"Knock, And He'll open the door
Vanish, And He'll make you shine like the sun
Fall, And He'll raise you to the heavens
Become nothing, And He'll turn you into everything.Rumi

Mark's wife, Naomi, here.: I've long believed that to not accept a blessing from another is stealing the giver's blessing.

Crone Circle:
yes... ppl need one another to recieve... and to give when needed too. Funny... when you said you thought about service and giving and recieving... I thought about how the yin and yang are both bowing forward into the next... keeping the circle going... giving and recieving... humble and noble.




I find ecstasy in living -- the mere sense of living is joy enough.Emily Dickinson




What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not
able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves?
This is the most important of all voyages of discovery.
Thomas Merton

Have Enough?

The man who knows he has enough is a rich man. Lao-Tzu

Is prosperity or abundance meaning we need more...cash or things?

Most of the more generous people I have met are so-called "poor" people I have met traveling through the country or in "third world" countries. Who is really "poor"?
The greedy wealthy? (and there are generous ones) The collectors who collect and hold on to what the get with all their might? "The best things in life are not things."

The most successful "non-profit" I have studied with is an anomaly. The Indian Teacher was told it would never work in the West. There you cannot even donate until you become a "old student". And to become an "old student" you have to complete ten days of silent meditation ten hours per day and 2 hours of discourse by teacher per day. You have to get there a day early and leave a day late. If you decide to leave
early, they will not accept a donation. They sell nothing at their retreat sites. Yet, they give away alot of information material and cd's.
The staff are unpaid volunteers, yet some of the happiest people I have ever met. And these Meditation Retreats are flourishing. Why?
Because the results are the "end of suffering", and you feel so good, you want to donate, yet they ask for only what you can afford. And I have seen donations of only a few dollars by some youth, who are there overcoming their problems.
Am I going back again? Absolutely, for the third time in August. And this time I will donate more than before, because I can afford more!

Bent Kim Lundberg: This is absolutely true for me ♥ When you recognize that there has always been enough no matter how challenging it looked, and that you are proving exactly that by you being here NOW, you can let go of all worries.
And I also agree, that I ...do not seek money or prosperity, but I am absolutely ONE of the richest persons I know, for the LOVE I experience from my friends are immense, and there is nothing better in universe than that ♥ I so like the Indians way of doing things also ♥ Thank you for sharin this beauty ♥ I LOVE you ♥♥♥
NamasteJeeni Zucchini Bravo! Ron... what a wonderful statement! HubB and I are signed up for another course starting next wednesday. I'll be serving... he'll be sitting. It is always the best of experiences to be around such happy, disciplined people. It is inte...resting to me that many folks think that an organization cannot exist unless its capitalistic - dhamma.org proves otherwise. An organization that accepts no grants and no donations from anyone other than 'old students' - who are just folks like you and me who complete and benefit from the organization. It is rather utopian.

Marie Corry: My friend ususallly collects for the Poppy day appeal and she said what an eye opener it is. She says it's the poor people who give their pennies not the well off people you would expect and the little kiddies who beg their mummies "Please can I put some money in the tin?"
Marie Corry: and yet I read a book about how to get rich and the author claimed rich people are no different than anyone else ie us, who don't have it, that is the only difference and rich people are some of the nicest folk you could ever meet. Well, they might be nice but they are tightfisted sods ennit?
Ra Divakar: I agree! "Poorer" people are usually more generous!
Ra Divakar: Generally speaking Marie, I agree (like the way that rhymes), however I have known some really fine generous rich people who are really wealthy!
Ron Alexander: Thanks Ra, you speak for me, as I agree with you and Marie! (how do you like that rhyming?)
Rob Jackson: ‎"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle , than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."Jeanne Porter Ashley: Jeeni, thanks, that was well said. Marie, thanks for your input. Rob, you believe that?Rob Jackson: Jeanne, I believe you are (phsically) born into this world with everything you will ever need, and that is the way you will leave as well.Ron Alexander: Great answer, Rob - thanks!
Ron Alexander: I was speaking mostly about the way I was treated as a traveler. - usually treated better by people with not much to lose. And I traveled as one with a backpack, a beard and long hair - as a sailor with the same looks. As a hitchhiker, I wo...uld see famileis with nice cars - Mothers (typically) have their children lock their cars. I would make faces and the children would laugh, while the fearful looking Mother trying to shut them up. Just walking in a port after getting off my boat, dock workers would invite me home to hear my stories while feeding me in their humble homes - the same while hitchhikiing through "third world countries, connecting on a spiritual basis - wanting me to get to know their spiritual teacher, guru! I have found these countries to be spiritually- based rather than materially based. Much gentler sweeter more hospitable people!
Ron Alexander: The fearful families were in this country, by the way. As a traveling hippie-looking sailor, I learned what minorities face on the road!
Ron Alexander: Also, thank you Marie for your wonderful sarcasm about "Elton John giving away expensive watches to his friends". I am not good at foreign languages so I traveled with what I called "language of the heart", and I am so grateful how well I ...was treated all over the world especially in so-called "third world countries" Also, I traveled with what the Zen call a "Beginners Mind" - as an open-minded student wanting to learn their customs, their spiritual beliefs, their creative ways, their ways of healing, and mostly they did not even ask for renumeration!
Marie Corry: The thrill for instance of shopping with a friend and being able to say re- her/his purchase, "Put your purse away. Let me buy this for you." or "Im paying for lunch". Better to be a giver but also it is a lesson in being able to be a receiver, but as Yesha said "It is far better to give than receive."
Lydia Porter: ‎@ Marie Cory I've daydreamed about the lottery too and Then I though about the "next day" The difficulties having money can bring to those I love, even myself... Greenhouse plants colapse when suddenly taken out in the sun and wind, plants... that grew outside have no difficulty there... I'm glad I and my friends are garden grown and not "greenhouse plants". I have no money problems , I've got no money to have problems with:) Balance is the key. I've seen greedy givers who keep all the joy of giving for themselvies. You couldn't give them a gift ,they would not accept it.Over time thier gifts took on a sour note.Give Generously and recieve Generously. Many thing are better when they circulate ( Air, water, love, joy , caring...)

Mark's wife, Naomi, here. I've long believed that to not accept a blessing from another is stealing the giver's blessing.

Crone Circle:
yes... ppl need one another to recieve... and to give when needed too. Funny... when you said you thought about service and giving and recieving... I thought about how the yin and yang are both bowing forward into the next... keeping the circle going... giving and recieving... humble and noble.