Enjoy your five senses

Enjoy your five senses. Use them wisely to experience your physical dimension, but do not let them deny your psychical expression. Human experience today is limited to the conditioned belief of a renegade mind.

- M. J. Roads

Exercise, week starting Monday, 4/27/2009

Take a few moments each day to experience the reverie described above (or one similar to it). [Page 106 - Description of each person "carrying a stone", and fitting them all together; feelings of brotherhood, cooperation, joy...] You may want to have a special time to do this or use a few minutes before or after your meditation. Allow it to awaken within you the awareness of truly being a part of the scheme of things, and try to hold that awareness in your daily activities.

EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Introduction @ Yahoo! Video

Among the focused exercises Lynn Sparrow Christy had us doing at today’s all-day workshop was something called “energy blockage release techniques.” Here’s a similar example I found online. Give it a try on any “negative” emotions or health issues that are bothering you. Feel your body-brain release them and enjoy!

There is no need to sally forth...

‘There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.’

- Walt Kelley

All Day Workshop: Life Lessons and Soul Purpose Apr 25

All Day Workshop: Life Lessons and Soul Purpose: A Life Course Tune-up
Apr 25 / Sat @ 9:00–4:30 pm

Presentor: Lynn Sparrow Christy

Are you living your soul's deepest values? Do you ever wonder whether you are on track for what your soul had in mind before it took on your current body and life circumstances? Do you often feel stuck in your progress toward life goals and desires? If any of these questions resonate with your experience, this workshop is for you.

(Early registration prices: $89 non-member, $79 member, $59 senior, and $35 for ages 13-22. Event takes place at Hancock United Church of Christ, 1912 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington, MA 02421. [Click for Google map.] Register by calling Edgar Cayce’s A.R.E. at 1-888-273-0020.)

Exercise, week starting Monday, 4/20/2009

Whenever you find yourself talking about another person,speak as if God and the soul of that person were present in that place in that moment.

Exercise, week starting Monday, 4/13/2009

In your daily meditations don't stop at the second level shown in the diagrams ["feeling"]. When you are able to move to the feeling of the affirmation and hold that in silence, allow yourself to move further to a sense of oneness with it (i.e., the being level). If you drift away from the feeling, come back to it immediately, instead of allowing distracting feelings and thoughts to arise. Certainly this is not simply mastered; it takes practice. Record your experiences of working with this experiment.

The world is made up of...

"The doctrine that the world is made up of objects whose existence is independent of human consciousness turns out to be in conflict with quantum mechanics and with facts established by experiment."
-Bernard d'Espagnat

Study group videos, photos, stories sought

The A.R.E. is working on a new instructional video for study groups and they want to feature you and your group!

John Van Auken, popular speaker and A.R.E.’s Outreach Services Supervisor, says, “If your group has an opportunity to video tape a meeting, please send us footage.” He is also looking for “your group pictures, especially action shots, or ‘in the moment’ pictures of your group conducting a meeting. We also welcome personal stories that we could include in the presentation.”

All media (video, pictures, and stories) should be sent to James Van Auken. Contact your study group host for contact information.

Conversations with Mr. Jenkins - Part 1

Conversations with Mr. Jenkins

An Ongoing Dialogue with an errant Body Part

∞∞∞∞

Part 1

In Which Poor Alan is Led Down a Fragrant Country Path Where There be Demons and Vampires

I’ve been having some trouble with my hands lately. For some reason, the tendons seem to be contracting on their own. Sometimes, one finger in particular will get so tight that it will curl down close to my palm and lock in that position, and will not straighten without help.

Last evening, before the discussion group meeting, one of the group members graciously gave me a brief healing session. (No “instantaneous cure” was effected.) Afterwoods, we spoke about the issue. She made the interesting suggestion that I attempt to “talk to it”, and see what I get in response. She suggested that I give the little guy a name – say, “Mr. Jenkins”, and just converse with “him”.

I’ve heard of such things, and done even stranger ones, so what the heck.

So, as I went off to dreamland last night, I suggested to that deeper part of the mind (the one that causes all the trouble), that I might have some intercourse with said entity during the night, and remember it upon awakening. Though I roused during the night a couple times, enough to remember my mission, I got nothing of note.

When morning came, and my dear Georgie (Felix Lovabilicus) was curled up next to my head and letting out his “time for breakfast!” comments every 30 seconds or so, my mind returned to Mr. Jenkins.

Aha! This time, there was something clearly bouncing in my mind, a response to my request: What did I get? “Frangipani.”

Yep.

Up until just now, I only vaguely recognized the name. I had thought it was some kind of snooty European candy or some such. Wikipedia tells me it’s actually another name for plumeria, the lovely flower that you get lei-ed with, when you visit Hawaii. I’ve never actually gotten lei-ed (and it’s also been a bit of a spell for the other spelling, though that’s another matter) but it seems like it would be a nice thing. Especially since it seems typically accompanied by a friendly kiss on the cheek by one of those lovely island lassies…

I actually have one – the plant that is, not the lass -- though it has never shown a whole lot of enthusiasm for my company. At the moment, it has just a few tiny sprouts for leaves, it being naturally leafless, or nearly so, in the winter. It usually leafs out well in the summer, though it will drop them readily if it gets too dry.

So what the heck does this have to do arthritis/tendonitis/whatever? If we are to follow this mad method to its logical conclusion, it only makes sense to see what this odd little reference could mean.

So, hmm. What do we know about “Frangipani”, now that we have the Wikipedia entry in front of us? There’s quite a lot here, now that we look:

1- The genus…[is] native to Mexico, Central America, Southern India and Venezuela… [Relevant? Not so much…]

2- From Mexico and Central America, Plumeria has spread to all tropical areas of the world, especially Hawaii, where it grows so abundantly that many people think that it is indigenous to that island system. [Well, there’s a metaphor here, at least.]

3- ....[possesses] poisonous, milky sap… [OK, now we’re getting somewhere… But no, unless I’m poisoning myself? No. Nothing new being ingested lately.]

4- Frangipani can also be found in Eastern Africa, where they are sometimes referred to in Swahili love poems. [!!? My DEAR Mr. Jenkins! Note to self: Be alert for odd sounds in dreams. May be Swahili. Check town library for Swahili/English dictionary.]

5- Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night in order to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, and simply dupe their pollinators. The moths inadvertently pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar. [! Now THAT is interesting. Am I being “duped”? A hopeless search? “Flowers with no nectar”?? I like that one. Hmmm… ]

6- [They are ] easily propagated by taking a cutting of leafless stem tips in Spring… [Maybe I could grow a whole new hand!]

7- In Mexico, the Nahuatl (Aztec language) name for this plant is "cacalloxochitl", which means "crow flower." [“Nahuatl”. Just love to say that. “Nahuatl”. “Nahuatl”. Fun for the tongue. Also fun is that these are the guys that invented “Xocoatl” – cocoa mixed up with chili pepper and God-knows what else. OK, and they liked to cut out the hearts of their enemies while they were still beating. – and you thought a coffee buzz was bad? Would it be a Bad Thing to have chocolate ice cream for dessert after Mexican food? Surely the government would have made it illegal by now. But I digress…]

8- … in southern and southeastern Asia, … in local folk beliefs [the plants] provide shelter to ghosts and demons. [? Oh???!!]

9- The scent of the Plumeria has been associated with a vampire in Malay folklore, the pontianak. [Maybe it’s OK if I don’t smell like one? Never did smell much like a flower. Never was big on Pontiacs, either.]

10- They are associated with temples in both Hindu and Buddhist cultures… [“My body is a temple…”]

11- In modern Polynesian culture, it can be worn by women to indicate their relationship status - over the right ear if seeking a relationship, and over the left if taken. [Always had trouble with that Right/Left thing. – And irate husbands are notoriously bad at understanding that dyslexia is an actual malady.]

12- In Bangladeshi culture most white flowers, and particularly plumeria … are associated with funerals and death. [“I’m not dead yet!” -- Whack.]

So how about my own, private experience with the plant?

13- Well, like I said, they were never real happy growers for me. I started with three. Now only one left. They need to dry out sufficiently, or they rot. [Symbolic meaning for that?? Been a while since I did any serious drinking. Should have stopped rotting by now.]

14- I got them originally at the flower show as “sticks”. Fat green cigars. Stick it in the dirt, water, pray, and go. [Maybe I’m not doing one of these properly?]

15- And they will drop their leaves readily if too dry. [That Balance Thing again. Always a challenge, that one.]

Thoughts, anyone?

Exercise, week starting Monday, 4/6/2009

Be alert for opportunities to be of service.

Talk by Malcom Smith at Angels by the Sea 4/15

Wed, Apr 15 Eve. 7–9:00 P.M. $20

Come and listen to Malcolm's story, and experience a sample of his Divine Healing Energy. His spiritual journey has taken him from the coal mines of Yorkshire to locations throughout England and the United States.

Angels by the Sea
Village Landing, 170 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360
[Click for Google map | Website ]

Info: Aantre (“On-tray”) Kennedy [781-848-8860] or Betty Pleiss [bettyp508@aol.com, 508-673-0477]).

Local events calendar at: are-northeast.org/boston/cayce-calendar.html.

Communicating participators give meaning to the universe...

The universe gives birth to communicating participators. Communicating participators give meaning to the universe … With such a concept goes the endless series of receding reflections one sees in a pair of facing mirrors.”
-David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order

Naked Through The Gate

"Some people who have come to me have been disappointed to discover that I have no supernatural powers to transmit, no magic wand to wave, no extraordinary knowledge to dispense which can make them instantly wise, loving, and happy. 'Who, then, are you?' they ask. 'What's your secret?' My secret can be summed up in one word: Selflessness. Selflessness is the Truth. Selflessness is the Way. Selflessness is the Fruit. In reality, there is no 'you' nor 'I' nor any 'self' whatsoever. There is only Consciousness Itself—the One True God—which is what we are. All that is necessary is to Realize This, because to Realize This is Wisdom, to Live This is Love, to Be This is Happiness. So, if you really want to know my secret, look to your 'self'. In finding the source of your 'self', you will find Consciousness Itself, and nothing else. Then, you, too, will be free of your self and all its sufferings."

- Joel Morwood

http://www.centerforsacredsciences.org/practices.html

Since the Center was founded in 1987, Joel Morwood has served as the spiritual director and primary teacher for our community of practitioners. Joel's first book, Naked Through the Gate, tells the story of his own spiritual path, culminating in Gnosis, or Awakening, in 1983.

I hit upon this site and this book a few years ago. Both are very much worthy of your perusal. It is a real-life chronicle of the journey of a man of our age, and our culture, into enlightenment.

There is much to be learned here.

It was during that period also that a wonderful thing became clear to me: There are living masters among us.

Not just one or two, but many. The magic of the internet now makes them easy to find, and easy to reference. Even among those who are no longer in the physical, many have written books which are still in print. – And most of these books are either written in, or available as translation in, modern English.

What? I don’t need to read Sanskrit or Greek? -- No, you don’t. You just need to be an honest seeker.

-- Which, of course, you are.

The Boy Who Saw True

This book gets mentioned a lot in the group. Nobody has really said much about what it actually is yet, but the one comment I recall that Patty made was that it's hard to get. Actually, it's not! Check out Amazon:
The Boy Who Saw True
paperback $10.85
"44 Used and new from $7.00"
(A little drilldown shows used paperbacks as low as $2.50 + shipping, also with several in the $4-5$ range)

From the little I could glean via the reviews and the little bit of preview provided, it seems like a quirky and entertaining real-life diary of a young boy from Victorian times, who is psychically gifted...

Maybe one of yous-guys who has actually read it could add your comments?