Grief and gratitude are kindred souls,...REMEMBERING ON MEMORIAL DAY

 

Grief and gratitude are kindred souls, each pointing to the beauty of what is transient and given to us by grace.

PATRICIA CAMPBELL CARLSON

YouTube Dogtags and Body Bags, a Tribute to CWO Barry Alexander

My dear Bro killed on medivac mission with only 2 weeks left. 

Creativity is never used up. Once you realize this, the path of creativity shifts, you adjust your vision to the infinite.

 

Follow the Path of Creativity  Our centering thought for today is: Creativity allows me to give generously.

“In our path back to the Divine Feminine, everyone without exception is on the path of creativity. The source of all creativity is consciousness. The more consciousness you have, the more potential you have to create.” - Deepak Chopra

In Day 20, we explore the infinite source of creativity within us.    In our path back to the Divine Feminine, everyone, without exception, is on the path of creativity. The source of all creativity is consciousness.     The more consciousness you have, the more potential you have to create.     At the source, giving is never exhausted. Creativity is never used up. Once you realize this, the path of creativity shifts, you adjust your vision to the infinite.

Stress is caused by ...

 

Prayer is attuning yourself to the life of the world...

 

Prayer is not sending in an order and expecting it to be fulfilled. Prayer is attuning yourself to the life of the world, to love, the force that moves the sun and the moon and the stars.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Art is not simply works of art;

 

Art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows beauty, that has music in its soul and the color of sunsets in its handkerchief, that can dance on a flaming world and make the world dance too.

W.E.B. DU BOIS

TRUE HEROISM

 

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost.

ARTHUR ASHE

The source of love is here in me.

 

Experience the Fullness of Love Our centering thought for today is: The source of love is here in me.

“By its nature, the true self is your channel to pure bliss-consciousness. Your share of bliss is unlimited. When someone falls in love, the whole world looks more beautiful, every person shines in the light of love, and life is perfect. Where did such a radical change come from? From the true self.” - Deepak Chopra

In our everyday sense of love, we may feel more or less deserving of love because it is generally understood as something given or withheld based on how we or others judge our behavior.     However, at the basis of awareness, our true self is love and joy itself. Our core being is the fullness of love. We always deserve love because our true self is infinite love. This love is the pure nature of our Divine Feminine.     When we connect with another person from this deepest level of our being, this is the love within us flowing to meet the love in another. When we love another person from our source, that love is always unconditional, and it is always full.

If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.

 No LLN (LiveLoveNow)  zoom session today but joining with you all in the Sacred Medicine Valley through prayer, meditation and visualization to polish up our collective stardust.  Here is a quote from the Trappist monk to support us in remembering and honoring the truth of our being - that we are sacred, worthy, luminous being of love that is For Giving. Tomas Pinkson

 

"I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts, the depth of their hearts where neither sin nor knowledge could reach, the core of reality, the person that each one is in the eyes of the divine.  If only they could see themselves as they really are.  If only we could see each other that way all the time.  There would no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.  I suppose the big problem would be that we would fall down and worship each other."

More on the "little things" =

 

The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.

JON KABAT-ZINN

"...it is beauty and sensuality that sparks joy in us and in our lives..."

 

Spark Your Own Sensuality Our centering thought for today is: I rejoice in the sensuality of life.

“It is beauty and the sensuous that connects us to the Divine within. That is what draws us to others, it’s what draws us to experiences, to the beauty of nature, it is beauty and sensuality that sparks joy in us and in our lives. And you don’t have to be afraid of it.” - Alicia Keys

Turn them sideways:

 

Walls turned sideways are bridges.

ANGELA DAVIS

In the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

 

In the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Step into the river lean into the wind let the strength of the earth rise through you.

 

The flower is always the bud’s undoing. Let go then. Step into the river lean into the wind let the strength of the earth rise through you. Watch your fingertips burst into bloom.

PAVITHRA K. MEHTA

NO SELF, NO PROBLEM

 Anatta is the idea that humans have no soul or self. The Buddha taught that people have no soul because nothing is permanent and everything changes. Although the Buddha accepted that we exist as people, he also believed that we can only come closer to enlightenment when we accept that we are changing beings

Anicca (impermanence) - This means instability, or a lack of permanence. Dukkha (dissatisfaction) - This means that everything leads to suffering.

hola hermano -  great wisdom from childhood in the Row your Boat song. i sing it when i am out kayaking or paddling with a minor change - paddle, paddle, paddle your boat, out into the Bay, merrily, merrily, merrily, enjoying this beautiful day.

i agree that on deepest level there is no ego self and that the play of lila/maya is ongoing change so no permanence in any physical object that manifests including us two-leggeds.  soul to me is atman, - the essence of a person which is in fact the same as Brahman, theunchanging, universal spirit or consciousness which underlies all things. 

What happens when you have to row against the current and/or wind?

The real ending of Row, Row, Row is Life is but a dream, If you see an crocodile don't forget to Scream.

Row Row Row Your Boat Gently, Merrily....

 Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

LIFE IS BUT A DREAM - "...astonishing awareness that stretches beyond the bounds of the five senses..."

  hola relatives - Below is a quote from Robert Lawlor in his book Voices of the First Day. Tomas PInkson

"The potential of the dreamtime is still alive within us, physically and psychologically, and holds the promise of an astonishing awareness that stretches beyond the bounds of the five senses.  

No objective can of greater significance for human survival that recovery of the Dreaming."

hola hermano - always good to see you at LLN gatherings. thank you for your support, your sharing and your questions.  

my use of the term Dreaming refers to the creative wisdom powers and forces of the unseen (by ordinary consciousness) infinite cosmic  universe, what physicists call the quantum field, from which all physical, material phenomena come from and return to when their “dance of manifestation” is over.  You might say God’s dreaming which results in physical manifestations of the seen and known universe.  each place, each object of manifestation has its own dreaming, its own energy field of cosmic wisdom and guidance on how to be in good relationship to it if we humble our ego hubris to open and attune with it. 

you dream of a peaceful and just world for all, as do i.  this starts as an idea in our minds, in our dreaming. there is no physical reality to it. but then we work towards realizing that goal on the physical plane through how we act in the world.  the dreaming refers both to our individual dreams and to the dream of creation in all of its forms and to the dreaming of the Great Mystery, the Great Spirit, God, Goddess, Tao from which everything that we know is born from.

hope that helps.

take good care. love, t. (Tomas Pinkson)

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream
Merrily merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream

BORN TO HELP CREATE A NEW WORLD?

 

Creating the brightest gems in a useful life.

 

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

"...the promise of an astonishing awareness..."

 hola relatives - Below is a quote from Robert Lawlor in his book Voices of the First Day. Tomas PInkson

"The potential of the dreamtime is still alive within us, physically and psychologically, and holds the promise of an astonishing awareness that stretches beyond the bounds of the five senses.  

No objective can of greater significance for human survival that recovery of the Dreaming."

The Power of Blessing as a reminder that all of us has everything we need to give a blessing to another which in turn blesses us as well.

 

Also - Sending out some extra kupuri  of support to follow up on this week's sharing on The Power of Blessing as a reminder that all of us has everything we need to give a blessing to another which in turn blesses us as well. Tomas Pinkson

Reminder of what this group is all about - WE ARE BLESSED:

 

Blessing must arise from within your own mind. It is not something that comes from outside. When the positive qualities of your mind increase and the negativities decrease, that is what blessing means. The Tibetan word for blessing … means transforming into magnificent potential. Therefore, blessing refers to the development of virtuous qualities you did not previously have and the improvement of those good qualities you have already developed. ― Dalai Lama XIV

INHALE GRATITUDE, EXHALE GRATITUDE

 

Gratitude is the confidence in life itself. In it, we feel how the same force that pushes grass through cracks in the sidewalk invigorates our own life.

JACK KORNFIELD

GOD ALONE IS CHANGELESS

 LET NOTHING DISTURB YOU.

LET NOTHING FRIGHTEN YOU.

ALL THINGS ARE CHANGING.

GOD ALONE IS CHANGELESS.

PATIENCE ATTAINS THE GOOD. 

ONE WHO HAS GOD

LACKS NOTHING.

GOD ALONE FILLS ALL OUR NEEDS. 

St. Teresa of Avila

IMAGINE...

 

You have to be able to imagine lives that are not yours.

WENDELL BERRY

Soaking in the waters of gladness…

 

Soaking in the waters of gladness…assures us that we live in a world not only filled with violence and hate, but also stubbornly infused with divine surprise, delicious moments, and a flow of freshness that can sustain us through the worst of times.

PATRICIA ADAMS FARMER

We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness!

 

We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of the world.

JACK GILBERt "Ruthless furnace" - do not agree, Ron

When you feel the earth moving, enjoy the motion, uh? however Oprah has more to say...

 

When you feel the earth moving, bring yourself back to the now. You’ll handle whatever shake-up the next moment brings when you get to it. In this moment, you’re still breathing. In this moment, you’ve survived. In this moment, you’re finding a way to step onto higher ground.

OPRAH WINFREY

My Dear Brother Barry Killed in Vietnam 1969

 Barry Kenneth Alexander

Chief Warrant Officer
71ST AHC, 14TH AVN BN, 16TH AVN GROUP, AMERICAL DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Clemson, South Carolina
September 11, 1947 to September 22, 1969
BARRY K ALEXANDER is on the Wall at Panel W18, Line 124

PERSONAL DATA:
Home of Record:	Clemson, SC
Date of birth:	09/11/1947
MILITARY DATA:
Service Branch:	Army of the United States
Grade at loss:	W1
Rank:	Posthumous Promotion as indicated
Promotion Note:	None
ID No:	251764613
MOS:	062B: Helicopter Pilot, Utility and Light Cargo Single Rotor
Length Service:	02
Unit:	71ST AHC, 14TH AVN BN, 16TH AVN GROUP, AMERICAL DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour:	10/14/1968
Incident Date:	09/22/1969
Casualty Date:	09/22/1969
Status Date:	Not Applicable
Status Change:	Not Applicable
Age at Loss:	22
Location:	Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam
Remains:	Body recovered
Repatriated:	Not Applicable
Identified:	Not Applicable
Casualty Type:	Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason:	Helicopter - Pilot
Casualty Detail:	Air loss or crash over land

NEVER LOSE INFINITE HOPE

 

CELEBRATE THE INFINITE

 

Surrender isn’t a sacrifice of the known, but rather a celebration of the infinite.

NIPUN MEHTA

We are called to assist the Earth to heal…

 

We are called to assist the Earth to heal…indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process.

WANGARI MAATHAI

Receiving is giving too. However, the happiest are the Givers~

 

Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.

H. JACKSON BROWN JR.

Slow down, better STOP in the name of LOVE~

 

The times are urgent; let us slow down.

AFRICAN SAYING mOST HUMANS LIVE IN QUIET DESPERATION.

Sensory Awareness Needed to enter the "ravishing" Field of Consciousness

 

To begin to understand the gorgeous fever that is consciousness, we must try to understand the senses and what they can tell us about the ravishing world we have the privilege to inhabit.

DIANE ACKERMAN

The GREAT MYSTERY!

 

We cannot let our ideas blind us to our unknowing.

JANE HIRSHFIELD

BLESS our HEARTS: "Blessing is the invisible bloodstream pulsating through the universe~"

 

Blessing, rightly understood, is the invisible bloodstream pulsating through the universe–alive and life-giving.

BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST