Happy 2010

“What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”  ~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

~

"Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne  (long, long ago)?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you'll buy your pint cup !
and surely I'll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o' kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

We [too] have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we've wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

We [too] have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine (dawn);
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

And there's a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o' thine !
And we'll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne."

~ 

I Wish everyone, everywhere a year filled with Illumination and Peace.

BE Peaceful
BE Under Standing
BE Loving
BE True

God Is Love
BE Love 

Redemption

It appears as if this little fellow is getting last minute instructions from his predecessor. What a big job for such tiny tyke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Redemption ~ c.1340, "deliverance from sin," from L. redemptionem (nom. redemptio) "a buying back, releasing, ransoming," from redemptus, pp. of redimere "to redeem, buy back," from re- "back" + emere "to take, buy, gain, procure" (see exempt). The -d- is from the Old L. habit of using red- as the form of re- before vowels, and this is practically the sole Eng. word in which it survives. Redemptorist is from Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (founded Naples, 1732, by St. Alphonsus Liguori). In the Mercian hymns, L. redemptionem is glossed by O.E. alesnisse."  ~  Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feliz Navidad

Dear Lord, Jesus Christ,

Happy Birthday!

BE Love

BE Peace

BE

"Oh Crist Mass Tree"

He thinks he understands.
He thinks with his head brain.
She believes she knows.
The voices in her head tell her so.
He thinks he is wise.
He's just learned a few tricks.
 All
Blind pain bodies.
Dictating, orchestrating
In illusion.

What is the duty of a real friend?
What is the greatest Gift you can give?

BE LOVE
BE Happy Holy Days
BE

Remorse of Conscience

Remorse of Conscience. What is it? Those first tastes, those first momentary glimpses of real remorse are enough to send one running a million billion miles away from the spot, only to return years later, often on the death bed, gnashing teeth, finally forced to stop and look at one's own merde. Too late, there one stands naked, fully aware of what one has been during a lifetime of refusing to answer to a higher call.  There, one suffers hellishly for chronic refusal to face the reality of who and what one has been and  done to make one's own and many others lives  miserable parodies of what Human life is truly meant to be. 

Kicking it aside like a bothersome little cur, one only wishes to be rid of this remorse of conscience, this eerie feeling that fills one's inner world in rare moments. At first the sensation of dawning remorse is a scary sort of feeling, an inkling, a momentary knowing that one is in serious error.  In a flash you know, irrefutably, that you  have behaved badly by committing acts based on incorrect beliefs, anger, meanness, jealousy, greed, self pity, egotistical pride, or not getting your way, etc. Whatever the trigger, you are stuck for a moment or two and your reactive actions as you wriggle around inside yourself to get free of the revelations, reactionary justifying and "rationalizing" of your bad behavior only digs you into deeper and  darker places in self. 

Regardless of what methods are used to resist experiences of remorse of conscience and how successful the reactive resistances in those moments are, the same remorse keeps coming back until addressed and dealt with properly. For some, remorse returns only from time to time as a niggling little itch, a teeny twitch of the stomach muscles. For others remorse remains close to the surface, begging at the door of Being, blocking entry to organic experiencing of one's life, keeping one in illusion. Resistance and false resolutions become permanent dark clouds that shadow everything in your life, driving the possibility of Transformation further and further away. Eventually everything in your life is destroyed by avoidance. Your chance at unconditional Love is murdered at your own ego's hand. You lose sight of the way out. Continual loss of Love is the only reward of avoidance.  Soon you forget your true purpose because resistance to and avoidance of the experiencing of remorse of conscience forces one to dance, continually possessed, to negative tunes. One is unable to stop dancing about, blown uncontrollably this way and that like the dancer in the fairy tale, The Red Shoes.

Drink, drugs, the quest for someone to lose yourself in, sex, food, shopping, conquering, killing, maiming, and harming others, lusting after riches, inane onanistic addictions such as incessant telephoning, texting, gossiping, computer usage, TV watching, video gaming, church and religion hopping, excessive proselytizing, hypochondria, doctor shopping, and any other activity in which one engages to 'lose' oneself, or to "pass the time" are all avoidance activities and tactics. Chronic lying, fault finding, blaming others, the use of slander and innuendo to cover one's butt and the internal "accountant's" accountings created by false 'i's" -  those internal desperadoes - those little "voices in the head brain" that stem from real or imagined pain bodies. These are all desperate attempts to escape the inescapable - the experience of real remorse - raw, naked, and truly irrefutable.

Sadly, one has no clue as to what one is throwing away by allowing all this to go on. One allows the idiot head brain to tell the usual lies instead of doing the work to find out for oneself. Some try to ignore the experience of remorse of conscience, preferring instead to pay with ulcers, irritable bowl syndrome, chronic anxiety, cancer, mental "illness", and or other, (often life threatening) dis-eases. By midlife many suffer several of these dis-eases at the same time - so big has the problem become. Many shrivel up inside, unable to breathe as they drown in a sea of negative emotions simply to avoid seeing remorse through from beginning to right end. Making things right, paying back, admission of error, simply saying, "I am sorry." and asking for forgiveness is seemingly, the hardest thing to do for so many people. Instead, new "devils" are created. Genuine Unconditional Love is sacrificed for illusion. Only poor shows of false love are possible for those who do not allow sincere remorse of conscience into their Human experience.That kind of love has no sticking power. It is fluff blown away on the next breeze.

Stay,
Stand Still,
BE
Claim Your Life,
 Listen, Obey,
Submit to God.

 Allow yourself to experience remorse of conscience, come to know and understand it in yourself as well as you know your ABC's and 1 2 3's . Develop a taste for it.  Acknowledge and welcome it's valuable lessons.

Strive to be sinless against self and others.

Own your own Remorse.
Wear it proudly, this Ermine Robe, this Gift of Redemption given by the All. 

Practice saying, "I Am Sorry."
Practice meaning it.

Listen for the True Sound ringing in your Heart that comes when the words are spoken honestly and sincerely. 

See what happens then. Stick around. Glue your feet to the ground and see the new beginnings, no matter what.
Be brave. No jiving and shucking here will do if you are ever to be Master of Self.

Help God.
Help Your-self
Help HUmanity

Have yourself a Merry Little Christ Mass.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"To possess the right to the name of ‘man,’ one must be one. And to be such, one must first of all, with an indefatigable persistence and an unquenchable impulse of desire, issuing from all the separate independent parts constituting one’s entire common presence, that is to say, with a desire issuing simultaneously from thought, feeling, and organic instinct, work on an all-round knowledge of oneself—at the same time struggling unceasingly with one’s subjective weaknesses—and then after-wards, taking one’s stand upon the results thus obtained by one’s consciousness alone, concerning the defects in one’s established subjectivity as well as the elucidated means for the possibility of combating them, strive for their eradication without mercy towards oneself.^" 

 G. I. Gurdjieff, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1950, p. 1209. 


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BE Peacable
BE LOVE
BE

"Sell your cleverness and
Purchase Bewilderment."
                                ~ Rumi

Christmas Turkey

Mr Gurdjieff tells a story about an 83 year old turkey in 1949 shortly before he passed on. It is good to hear his kind, warm voice and sense of humor. Click Oramireally: to hear the actual recording.

Gurdieff: ...They, some year ago, find, understand?, in store one turkey because always what make reserve in frigidaire, understand? Here they put, Marc when was?
Marc: [...]
Gurdjieff: He'll find Chicago what 83 year old, ago, was put for Christmas, somebody buy and find. All newspeople here arrived, I was here and every, nobody here remember, no? 83 years ago was killed and put in frigidaire! [laughter]
Donald Whitcomb: Grey stone from George Washington.
Gurdieff: [laughs], this is, eh, the truth.
Donald Whitcomb: He had the chicken one thing.
Gurdjieff: Read somebody about this?
Wim Nyland: I don't remember 83 years but I remember a very long time.
Gurdjieff: Just I remember very good this, 83 years ago [...] in an exclusive [...]
Man: What was this, a turkey?
Donald Whitcomb: A turkey, very honorable bird.
Gurdjieff [laughs] Yes! In Chicago, Sterling House. And then, in Christmas they serve, somebody buy, turkey [laughs], very good! [laughs] And he accidental mark this thing and then he show somebody and begin all newspeople hear [laughs] and write about this histoire. Exact last year I was here! I go, which is this year, before exact don't know which year, how many?
Man: 39.
Woman: 39.
Other man: Ten years ago.
Gurdjieff: This history was here, that who was here that read the newspaper must have read because all, all newspaper is, was write about this turkey.
Man: Some bird!
Donald Whitcomb: This is one turkey that peacocks cannot outpace!
Gurdjieff: You don't know just because... for 83 years, understand [laughs], in frigidaire! It is already known this, wouldn't eat!y
Donald Whitcomb: Usually after 40 years Americans won't eat turkey. Stink! After 40 years they even throw away.
Gurdjieff: You see, une lutte (a struggle), 83 years!
Donald Whitcomb: Very unusual!
Gurdjieff: This history! [laughs] Good show, and you not astonished I have such memory, hehehe. [lights a cigarette] For events, I very good remember [...] and what country I already writed, a special chapter [...] I remember while, not because for last vision. When publish necessary everything that I liser (read) last. What just say about this turkey already I put in America chapter [...] [laughter]

If Not Love, Then What?

If I am not Love,
What am I?
A thing.
Some... thing.
Unknown to myself.

I told you an hundred times,
"I Love You."
You only heard,
"i love you"
and closed your Heart.

You said,
"Yes, for now."

I answered,
"I Know, nevertheless,
I Love You no matter what."

You turned away
Without Under-Standing.

Love is nothing to fear my Friend.

Listen
BE Listening

Open Your Heart
BE Listening

Open

Love

BE Love

GOD Is Love
                    ~Lalo


BE

Empty

Emptiness
Fills me
With
No limitations
I am No-thing
Alive in
Eternity
Bliss
              ~ LaloBean


GOD IS LOVE
BE GOD
BE LOVE
BE

Compassion Exercise

Ray Palmer's initial presentation of his philosophy and teaching, i.e.: the comic book name and having levels where you are given titles [exchanging one illusion for another for a short time for those who do not follow through with more intensive, longer lasting studies], etc. can be a bit off putting for some of the more dogmatic practitioners of "better ways" out there, however, one could, for higher purposes, intentionally take the attitude of  allowing.

In my estimation, whatever succeeds in getting the habitually negative to learn that it is actually possible to shift attitude by intentionally changing a thought pattern and to become positive, and to actually experience the benefits of that internal shift...  is a 'good thing." Yes? It is a glimpse, a taste... verification that it is possible to change... however minute. Glimpses are good!

Yes, yes, Palmer's Avatar method is not the Work. Listen, I am grateful that so many people who have a wish to be better human beings and who have not found the work, have found other ways to get a few steps ahead. Perhaps these ways will lead to the way each was meant to reach.

I know I made a lot of stops on my way to the Gurdjieff work. One path led to the next. The proliferation of all the New New New Age groups that are popping up everywhere now and the hordes of people flocking to recently empty churches, synagogues, mosques and temples are proof positive that humanity is feeling a real need for something higher than the next line of Gucci's now. It is happening now. All those who begin a sincere search, regardless of where they begin -  do help themselves, the planet and God. Every drop helps.

I've chosen to post this particular  'lesson' today because I believe it would be helpful for the earth if as many people as possible to try it during the next couple of  months, whoever you are, wherever you are at whatever level of enlightenment you are.  For those who are new to this kind of inner work, feel free to write in with your observations, and comments.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Honesty with yourself leads to compassion for others." Ray Palmer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Instructions for the Avatar Times Compassion Exercise:"

"This exercise can be done anywhere that people congregate (airports, malls, parks, beaches, etc.). It should be done on strangers, unobtrusively, from some distance. Try to do all five steps on the same person.

Step 1  With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: "Just like me, this person is seeking some happiness for his/her life."

Step 2  With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: "Just like me, this person is trying to avoid suffering in his/her life."

Step 3  With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: "Just like me, this person has known sadness, loneliness, and despair."

Step 4  With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: "Just like me, this person is seeking to fulfill his/her needs."

Step 5  With attention on the person, repeat to yourself: "Just like me, this person is learning about life."

OPEN your HEART, OPEN your MIND, LISTEN

BE Compassionate
Be Compassion
BE Love
BE

Home For the Holidays

http://laloblogs.blogspot.com/2009/10/going-home.html

A re-post for those who missed it the first time.

 May these Holy days bring Being Love, Peace and Understanding 

BE LOVE

BE PEACE

BE

The Gurdjieff Work: Regarding the 'ideas'.

"The ideas are a summons, a summons towards another world, a call from one who knows and who is able to show us the way. But the transformation of the human being requires something more. It can only be achieved if there is a real meeting between the conscious force which descends and the total commitment that answers it. This brings about a fusion.

A new life can then appear in a new set of conditions which only someone with an objective consciousness can create and develop.

But to understand this one must have passed through all the stages of this development oneself.

Without such experience and understanding the work will lose its effectiveness and the conditions will be wrongly interpreted; they will not be brought at the right moment and one will see situations and efforts remaining on the level of ordinary life and uselessly repeating themselves." ~  Madame Jeanne de Salzmann

To find a group near you ~ The Gurdjieff Foundation 

Grow
BE at Peace

BE Love

BE

HAPPY THANKS ~ GIVING

Thank you dear God for this Experience
This living we are.
Thank you for this amazing World
And this Food,
   this wonderful, strange fruit.
And these incredibly diverse people,
Our people, Our family ~
    the good, the bad, the indifferent.
Without them
     no Love, no Growth.
And... Thank you for You,
Without you ~ only darkness lives.
Thank you for this amazing life Our Dear God
Our Sacred Beloved One.

Amen, Amen, and Amen.

BE Peace
BE Love

Drawing of King Snake sleeping by the oak tree where he is captured - from "Lalo the Snake Catcher" 

'However great the teacher be, she is helpless with the one whose heart is closed.' ~ Unknown


Open your Heart
BE LOVE
BE

TOO MUCH TALKING

There's a whole lot of talking going on.
Too  much talking.
They say yes, they say no.

Others concur,
They disagree.

Hugging
Fighting
Hugging
 
Yes, no, yes, no... maybe.

Bargaining.

A whole lot of talking,
In head brains,
In heart brains.
Too much talking.

Does anyone really hear anything?
Do you know what is really meant?

No...

Filters, filters, everywhere,
Nothing is under~stood.

Filters in the brains,
Filters on the Heart,

Brains on automatic pilot.

Can you hear your cells
Whispering deeper down?
There are the roots of desire.

Do you know how to listen?

Somewhere in those unseen places,
In that deep darkness,
Lives the truth of who you were,
Who you really are,

Who you can be.

There, lie the real gems and secrets,
The treasures you yearn for.

If only you could Hear
In purer states of being,
In true honesty.

Perhaps a wiggling free
From the

Ordinary
Mundane
Hamster wheel
existence

You mistake for living

Could begin,

Opening doors to

Freedom from that deadening mechanicality.

If only...


BE at Peace
BE PEACE
BE

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." ~ Dorothy

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered.
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget by tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, it may never be enough,
But give the world the best you have any way.


You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God.
It never was between you and them anyway.


~ Mother Teresa

Negativity & Emanations

"A person with a strong, active pain-body has a particular emanation that other people perceive as extremely unpleasant. When they meet such a person, some people will immediately want to remove themselves or reduce interaction with him or her to a minimum. They feel repulsed by the person's energy field. Others feel a wave of aggression toward this person, they will be rude or attack  him or her verbally and in some cases, even physically. This means there is something within them that resonates with the other person's pain body. What they react to so strongly is also in them. It is their own pain-body.

Not surprisingly, people with heavy and frequently active pain-bodies often find themselves in conflict situations. Sometimes, of course, they actually provoke them. But at other times, they may not actually do anything. The negativity they emanate is enough to attract hostility and generate conflict. It requires a high degree of Presence to avoid reacting when confronted by someone with such an active pain-body. If you are able to stay present, it sometimes happens that your Presence enables the other person to dis-identify from his or her own pain-body and thus experience the miracle of a sudden awakening. Although the awakening may be short-lived, the awakening process will have become initiated."

Breaking Identification With the Pain Body
Eckhardt Tolle
A New Earth Pages Ch:6: Pg:174

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"From my point of view, he can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind, and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations which proceed from his nature, at the same time conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others." ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gurdjieff exhorts us repeatedly to study (observe) negativity in ourselves by not expressing negative emotions while being organically aware of the sensations in our bodies at the same time. By doing this we bring more of our Presence to the situation we find ourselves in. If we do not allow ourselves to express negative emotions while with others who have a strong pain-body, we begin to see how we are in reality. We all have what Tolle calls pain-bodies - many of them. Some are bigger and louder than others in us. Each of these has a story it tells itself over and over again. Depending on which way the wind blows or what you had for dinner, or whether you got you dollars worth, etc., one or the other of these stands at the forefront of you, pretending to be all of you, and meets the world entrenched in it's own story associating everything to it. It is identified with the story and identifies everything by it's story. It lives in illusion, and allowing it to continue on like that keeps you imprisoned in illusion.

There is an expression, "Fake it til you make it." This can be useful at the beginning, but you can only go so far by "faking it". At some point you must Be what you have been faking or drop the act, come hell or high water. Remember your aim. What do you really want? Who are you? Who do you really wish to Be?


Be at Peace
Be Love
BE

Close Door Open Door Spin Spin Spin

I closed a door
and turned in Grace
First doubtful
Then full on conscious Faith
Spinning
I meet the Beloved
Dancing
Balanced
In
His Embrace

Be In Peace
Know You are Loved
BE

GOSSIP Revisited

I originally posted this topic on 2 September 2009 under the Title: Gossip.

I re-post it today as a reminder that, more often than not, what we say in gossip to our friends and neighbors does permanent harm to everyone concerned.

Gossip is manipulation.
Gossiping damages and halts  your progress and growth.
It can even end your inner work permanently.

Repairing this error is extremely difficult and many do not make it.

Worse yet, this lack of spiritual self control on your part also seriously damages the possibilities for the awakening of those you are gossiping to if they believe  your gossip.

Even if they do not - you have planted negative seeds, which feed their own stories and fears - making their journeys more difficult.

You alienate them from what could save them.

This is especially true when these people are just beginning to know for themselves that they sincerely wish for something higher.

Nothing created in negativity produces anything useful - except very hard lessons (if you can See and Hear) in what comes from intentionally directed negativity for your own selfish ends.


You banish yourself and your listener(s) to illusion.

You are stealing their opportunities to enter into a true spiritual realm of study.

... and giving in to your ego impulses to gossip takes from you what you have worked so hard to earn.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

From the Movie: Doubt  

After being accused of heinous acts, a priest, Father Brendan Flynn, tells the following story to his congregation:

"A man was gossiping with a friend about a man he hardly knew." Father Flynn looks into the eyes of the congregation sitting before him as he speaks, his intense gaze lingering on the faces of his two accusers. "I know none of you have ever done this." People squirm in their seats.

 Father Flynn continues: "That night he had a dream. A great hand appeared over him and pointed a finger down at him. He was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day he went to confession. He got the old parish priest and told him the whole thing."

"Is gossiping a sin?" he asked the old man. "Was that the hand of Almighty God pointing a finger at me? Should I be asking your absolution Father? Father, tell me, have I done something wrong?"

"Yes!", the old priest answered. "Yes! You ignorantly badly brought up man! You've born false witness against your neighbor! You played fast and loose with [her] reputation and you should be heartily ashamed!"


"The man said he was sorry and asked forgiveness."

"Not so fast," said the old priest. "I want you to go home, take a pillow off your bed, take it up to the roof, cut it open with a knife and return here to me."

"So, the man went home, took a pillow off his bed, got a knife from the kitchen, took them up to the roof, and stabbed and cut the pillow open. Then he went back to the priest and told him he'd done what he asked."

"Did you gut the pillow with a knife?" the old priest asked."

"Yes, Father."

"And what was the result?" he asked."

"Feathers." he replied."

"Feathers." the priest repeated nodding his head up and down, yes"

"Feathers everywhere, Father." the man said, not yet getting the point."

The priest then told him: " Now, I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind."

"Well," said the man, "it can't be done, I don't know where they went. They flew all over"

"And that," said the priest, "is GOSSIP!!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If you can take this story into your heart with the appropriate attitude, be you the one who gossips or the one who is "innocently" listening to the gossip, or both, live with it for awhile. You will come to truly understand what it means on a higher level through higher consciousness. If you do that sincerely and are honest with yourself before God, you will be freed from that which causes you to gossip. It is difficult, but the Freedom you earn is worth it in the end.

I once heard, when I was a very young gossip fiend, that gossip kills. As I delved deeper and deeper into inner work in the following years, I discovered it was a lawful truth. Gossip kills.

Know that I Love You,

BE At Peace

Do No more Harm to yourself or to others

EVERYTHING IS Sacred

BE

I AM

Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimer's Research Studies : Curcumin Tumeric

I was searching for information on reducing arterial plaque naturally and came across the following research studies. The research is so impressive I must share it with anyone who has cancer, alzheimer's, heart disease, high blood pressure, eye problems, chronic infections or who knows someone with these illnesses, or wants to prevent them.



"Curcumin, an active compound found in turmeric, helped stop the spread of breast cancer tumor cells to the lungs of mice. Tests have already started in people, too, said Bharat Aggarwal of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who led the study. Earlier research showed that curcumin, an antioxidant, can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory. "


"Curcumin therapy in inflammatory bowel disease: a pilot study.
Dig Dis Sci. 2005 Nov;50(11):2191-3. Holt PR, Katz S, Kirshoff R.
St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center, Columbia University and Strang Cancer Center Research Laboratory, New York, New York."

"Curcumin, a natural compound used as a food additive, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in cell culture and animal studies. A pure curcumin preparation was administered in an open label study to five patients with ulcerative proctitis and five with Crohn's disease. All proctitis patients improved, with reductions in concomitant medications in four, and four of five Crohn's disease patients had lowered CDAI ( crohn's disease activity index ) scores and sedimentation rates. This encouraging pilot study suggests the need for double-blind placebo-controlled follow-up studies."


"Melanoma influence
Curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, interferes with the growth of melanoma cells. Tests in laboratory dishes show that curcumin made melanoma skin cancer cells more likely to self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis."


"Curcumin has the capacity of interact with multiple molecular targets affecting the many processes in cancer formation. Curcumin, in mice, interferes with the spread of breast cancer tumor cells to the lungs. Curcumin administration suppressed two proteins that tumor cells use to keep themselves immortal. Studies evaluating the role of curcumin and cancer continue to advance at a fast rate."


"Inhibition of colonic aberrant crypt foci by curcumin in rats is affected by age.  
Nutr Cancer. 2004;48(1):37-43.
Curcumin has antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and chemopreventive activities. To determine whether aging affects the inhibition of colon carcinogenesis by curcumin, young (6 wk), mature (12 mo), and old (22 mo) F344 male rats were fed either 0.6% curcumin or a control diet. Aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were induced with two weekly s.c. injections of azoxymethane. After an additional 3 mo on the diets, the number, multiplicity, and distribution of ACF were evaluated. Addition of curcumin to the diet reduced the number of ACF by 49% in young rats and by 55% in old rats. However, interestingly, no reduction of ACF was found in mature rats fed curcumin. Inhibition of large ACF was also affected by age, with the greatest reduction of large ACF occurring in old rats. However, animal age did not significantly alter the effect of dietary curcumin on reduction of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in the liver or reduction of serum total cholesterol levels. These results indicate that age may play a significant role in the efficacy of chemoprevention of colon cancer by curcumin."

" Before the 30 day trial was begun the groups were tested for levels of carcinogens in their urine. The Smokers were given turmeric and the non smokers weren't. After the month was up they were both tested again. The smokers urine tested nearly as free of carcinogens as the non smokers! Curcumin boosts phase two liver function where the toxins that are bound with fats are processed and removed."


"Curcumin side effects, toxicity, danger, safety
No apparent curcumin side effects have been reported in the medical literature thus far. Increased body temperature on high doses may be a possible curcumin side effect on high doses. A study performed at the University of Michigan showed no curcumin toxicity at doses up to 6 grams.
   Dose escalation of a curcuminoid formulation. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2006 Mar 17;6:10. Lao CD, Ruffin MT 4th, et al. University of Michigan, 2150 CCGC, Ann Arbor, MI."


Many types of cancer were studied: READ MORE


BE at Peace

 

Going Home

"If you think you're so enlightened go spend a week with your parents." ~ Ram Dass

Gurdjieff taught that ordinary man's thoughts are automatic thoughts [tapes] which  we play over and over in our minds. Eckhardt Tolle calls ordinary thinking "the voices in our heads" and refers to  negative automatic thoughts as "the pain body" or "the story of me". This inner chatter in our brains, these inner stories we tell ourselves automatically, which we call 'thinking',  are triggered by anything and everything. Like leaves on the wind they are blown this way and that and they are constantly running - often without our even noticing what we are thinking.  They are, for the most part, negative thoughts. Whatever you call them, they are habitual, automatic, illusory reactions to the external stimuli in our every day lives, which trigger them. When my mother went off on a tear, nagging the same old tune, we children used to look at each other and joke: "Who put the nickle in?" [the jukebox - Yes, it only cost a nickle at one time long, long ago and far, far away.] We knew it was an habitual rant triggered by something someone had just said or done, or some situation she found herself in. For instance,  whenever we were preparing to visit family she became ridiculously angry. Often we ended up not going at all because she'd worked herself into such a state she had to lie down to rest. Later, when I was in my twenties, I noticed that I did  the same thing.

These ideas about automatic thoughts, behavior and emotions beg the questions: What is real? What are real thinking, feelings and actions? If these thoughts are not me, then who am I? One can begin to find answers through self study. Jesus exhorted: "Know thyself." Why did he say that? What is self study? Does one have to become a priest, a monk, a nun or religious zealot to know oneself? No. One does not. In fact, I believe, as Gurdjieff taught, it is a work best practiced in life. In life, we are exposed to every possible opportunity to observe what we are, as we are at the ordinary level, and in life, we have every possible opportunity to practice countless exercises and methods for transcending the automatic somnambulistic state we usually live in. Today there are innumerable teachers, methods, and organizations that can support one's study. It is important to study with others who have been on a real journey of self study for some time. One can only get so far on one's own.

Two of the most important lessons first taught in real systems of self study are practical lessons, which teach one how to become aware of the sensation of the organic body and how to 'see'  the automatic thoughts. These lessons are taught through instruction in meditation and specific exercises specially designed to help us see these automatic processes in ourselves clearly. Very quickly, serious students are able to verify  that indeed, they are on automatic pilot and living lives in a 'waking' sleep -  which by the way,  makes for very good sheep,  ripe for shearing.  The shearing comes in many guises and forms. One just has to turn the TV sound off and watch the pictures on the screen for about an hour to get an idea of how pervasive this shearing is today. Media, a wonderful technology in and of itself, is used to keep you asleep, hypnotized and enslaved.

During family reunions, each of us played our specific role as laid out from birth - each innocent lambie pie was all primed and ready for the 'shearing' at each event. For my part, after I married and became a mother myself, the entire holiday season automatically kicked off in my mind way before the first gathering in November for Thanksgiving. The internal litany began almost imperceptibly like clockwork at the end of September. By the first of October the internal 'accounts books' [see Nicoll on keeping accounts in Commentaries - Book I] were wide open and out in front of me every day until early March, which is,  as you may notice, way after all the winter holidays are over... and no sooner were they put aside for a short break - out they would come again for Easter. What an amazing internal timekeeper!

The  madness  would begin with mental lists of all the relatives who would be attending gatherings, followed by anxiety and stress about what to cook, what to wear, how I looked, how the house looked, what had I and my husband and son accomplished during the year to make my parents proud since we'd seen them last, and on and on. By 1 November, the associative account keeping was well under way. Each name on the list triggered another thought, which triggered another thought, which triggered another, which triggered another and on and on ad infinitum. By automatic association - grudges, resentments, and old wounds related to each person were  examined, aired out mentally, verbally and emotionally and added to - along with holiday decorations and linens. Last minute Christmas gift buying was  'dealt' with - what a chore it always seemed to be - fraught with anxiety and the need to impress and please.  The lists of gifts that had to be gotten was always accompanied by stomach churning internal and external "litanies" of "why should I have to give anything to this one or that one who did this or that to me or to my son or husband" [who by now were shrugging their shoulders and wondering: "Who put the nickle in?"].  Before I met the Gurdjieff work and began real self study, I tried all the usual recommended methods, means and ways to "get a grip" and to be calmer when around my family. Meditation, breathing exercises, mind control, hypnosis, therapy, and tranquilizers did not help cure this terrible curse over which I had absolutely no power. Without fail, year after year, the automatic processes crippled me emotionally. Poisonous anxiety and negativity oozed through my cells and infected those close to me. I became a card carrying lunatic with a stone heart. There was no real me; I was just a nasty little bundle of angry impatience, resentment, and defensiveness -  a mess that people took for me when it appeared. I did not suffer alone - Everyone else in the family as well as masses of other people on the planet were (and unfortunately still are) in similar, ripe for the shearing, states. We all knew our "roles" and played them perfectly year after year. We were totally unaware that it was all habitual and automatic illusion. We believed that was reality and that was how it had to be. We believed it was real life. More unfortunately it perpetuated ancient rifts in our family, eventually estranging us from one another as adults - in some cases irreparably. Most of us are strangers to one another now I am sad to say.

After I met the work all of that began to change for me, and because it changed for me, it changed, to some extent, for my family. It didn't change immediately, but it did change. It changed because I changed; I learned how to be quiet inside and how to be more discerning and  compassionate. I learned how to sense when the automatic processes began and I learned how to transcend them. Negativity was traded for love, and understanding. I could remember that, above all else, I loved my family - even the ones who enjoyed stepping on my corns and pushed my buttons. I was not perfect but I did get so much better at it every year. "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" became my mantra. I used to (and still do) sing it silently when negativity tries to push in and take over. Sensing my body and breathing were the anchors used to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground.

This doesn't mean one must become a push-over or doormat. Mrs. Lois Bry once said: "Never fear to despise the odious." She was talking about something else at the time, but I found, as with many things that were said to me by the wonderful people I was fortunate to meet and study with in NY, it applied to a myriad of other situations and circumstances on many levels. 

We can go home in the surety that we can be free of the terrible effects habitual negativity. We can be open to love. We can be with our families from an internal place of peaceful intention and share this great  gift with our families and friends by simply Being in peace. We can "conduct [ourselves] justly and tolerantly toward the weaknesses of others" [and our selves] as Mr. Gurdjieff so wisely suggested. We can become remarkable men and women who are living breathing parts of the solution, not parts of the problem. 


Strive to Be Love, Be Happy, Strive to Be Peace

(Brought to you courtesy of Lalo's internal clock :-)*

Tolle: "... you create a mind-made self"

"All the misery on the planet arises due to a personalized sense of "me" or "us." That covers up the essence of who you are. When you are unaware of that inner essence, in the end you always create misery. It's as simple as that. When you don't know who you are, you create a mind-made self as a substitute for your beautiful divine being and cling to that fearful and needy self.
Protecting and enhancing that false sense of self then becomes your primary motivating force."
Eckhardt Tolle

In The Blink of An Eye

To know our lives and this world, as we know it, can all end in the blink of an eye, to remind myself of this reality often, helps me to live my day more intentionally. Remembering that I am going to die helps me to appreciate everything and to LIVE.

BE, LIVE, BREATH, LOVE

Where Is God Just Now?

A kastousilia, according to Gurdjieff’s father, is a (seemingly) ordinary exchange between elders for the benefit of pupils. The following exchange took place between Gurdjieff's father and Father Borsh, Dean of Kars Academy, in Gurdjieff’s father’s workshop.  The story is from Chapter II in Meetings With Remarkable Men,written by Gurdjieff. Meetings  is well worth reading again and again – especially for those who may have forgotten the extraordinary nature and value of the relationship between elder/teacher and pupil in any serious study.
                                                                         ~ ~ ~

Father Dean Borsh (as he walks into the workshop unexpectedly asks): Where is God just now?
Father: He is in heaven.
Father Dean Borsh: What is he doing there?
Father (answers most seriously): God is just now in Sari Kamish.
Father Dean Borsh: What is God doing there?
Father: God is making double ladders there and on the tops of them [is] fastening happiness so that individual people and all nations might ascend and descend.

                                                                        ~ ~ ~

Many tend, over the years, to forget Meetings with Remarkable Men and the stories he tells  about his formative years and the extraordinary people he met during that time who had indelible influences on him. Too many people are content to watch the movie without revisiting the book in which the visual distractions of the actors, scenery and costumes are absent - leaving room for you. When you read the stories, there is just you, the story and God – and maybe Mr. Gurdjieff, off smiling somewhere seeing that perhaps he did not waste his breath.

                                                                          ~ ~ ~

Gurdjieff's story reminds me of  Jacob's dream in the book of Genesis (28:11–19)

     Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to the place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it [or "beside him"] and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it." And he was afraid, and said, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."



Be Calm, Walk Steady In Peace, BE

Manna From Heaven

Drawing ~ Lalo 2008


I met a lovely young man, a seeker of knowledge and wisdom,  at a meeting last week who gave me a book mark, which had the following printed on it:
                                                           ~~~
                                          The Great Commandments
Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
                                                                            Matthew 22:37-40
                                                          ~~~

The young man told us he has always wondered what our purpose on earth is and has searched and searched for the answer. His search has taken him on an interesting journey in his life and, at this time, believes the answer is: "Our highest purpose is to become fully conscious; and when we become fully conscious we become pure love - and by doing so aid, along with others who have attained pure consciousness,  in raising [the vibrational level of] humanity."

Thank you, George, for sharing your self with us. I am glad you are here.

Be at Peace, Be Love, BE

A Natural Conversation

What I Am In This Moment disturbs you. There is no ordinary ‘entertainment’ for the sleeping man in I Am. As you look at me in horror exclaiming: “What’s wrong? Are you dying? Am I dying?” a giggle rises to my chest.  My heart is tickled by your innocence. Compassion comes for Us.

“Maybe.” I answer, “It’s okay, I AM just breathing in This Moment. Relax Your Self. BE Still. BE In Peace. BE.”

As you Stop to breathe, I See You returning Home.

 Hello

What Is This Forgetting

What is this forgetting

Does true human kindness not exist
Its counterfeit employed only when
It fits the agenda of sleeping man

Kings on Queens, wry faces greet the news
Jacks wriggle in their seats.
As a liars “You lie!” lingers in the air
A last ditch accusation
When told you have to share

“Not fair, not fair!” come the cries
From greedy mouths filled with plenty
As those who are hungry stand by
Shocked, incredulous
Stomachs empty
You were heard, you were seen
The world knows what you are

All the trappings in the world
Are not the proof in your pudding

What is this forgetting

Lip service does not serve
In a dying world of broken hearts
Of starving children
The sick and elderly sleeping in the streets
As you play Monopoly with their lives

Do No Harm, Love Thy Neighbor, BE at Peace

Change

Commentaries: Book I: Birdlip, May 4, 1941

"It is very necessary at this moment to understand what the Fourth Way mean. There are four ways of work on oneself. We [practice] the Fourth Way which is the most difficult of all because it must be practiced in the midst of life. The Way of the Fakir - that is - the First Way - the Way of the Monk - that is the Second Way - the way of the Yogi - that is the Third Way, is not our way. We have to speak on the small scale of ourselves, but the point is that we are, even on this small scale, trying to follow the Fourth Way which comes down into external life always when there is a period of disorder and chaos."

"Now I would like to say to you all that some of you do not understand the idea of the Fourth Way - for example, you appear to me to expect that the conditions that have existed at one time must or will always exist. This is quite wrong. The Fourth Way must always be related to the varying circumstances of life and can never become fixed and habitual. Suddenly it may be necessary to alter the whole external scheme of things. I want especially at this moment to have around me people who can understand this and who understand this and can relate themselves to different conditions and still maintain in themselves all the principles and ideas of the work. We have no idea how things will go in the future. But we understand that the work must continue in the future. And that means that people must be able to adjust themselves to completely different external conditions and yet maintain the sense and feeling of the work."

"In the Fourth Way the first main achievement is to become No. 4 man - that is, balanced man or all sided man. Now if some of you have formed an idea of what the external form of the work is from past associations and you find yourselves confronted with an entirely new external state of affairs and become negative you are really useless to me in so far as the Fourth Way is concerned. You must learn that every change in the work externally is always useful to you, whatever form it takes, and all of you must be prepared to follow the work in its changing outer manifestations and at all moments maintain a clear inner attitude towards it. [....]"

"I said a long time ago to you and repeated it several times that the work does not necessarily include coming to the Farm and that the Farm was distinct in a sense from the teaching of the work. The work exists through everyone's attitude towards it and no matter what the external situation may be it should make no difference to work in this sense. I am sorry that I have to say this but it is necessary to do so. For all that I know, we may find ourselves again in quite different circumstances, which again will require a proper understanding, and then again, and then again. People must understand that they are in the Fourth Way and that they must always be able to be "all things to all people" and to develop every side of themselves, in relation to society and to all forms of external life, to a reasonable point: otherwise they do not understand the idea of the Fourth Way which maintains itself in the midst of life amongst everything that goes on, adjusting itself and yet always maintaining itself internally. The Fourth Way is and must be the most "flexible" of all, but it requires a most flexible inner understanding and unless a person can be flexible, and yet maintain the feeling of the work, he is a rather difficult subject in connection with this line of the work. Every change in circumstances provides a very useful chance for everyone to learn something. When I have sufficient people around me whom I can trust, in the sense of their being able to deal normally with every kind of person they meet and with every situation in life, I will feel that I am able to extend the work in the way I wish to extend it eventually. And here I will remind you of "mechanicalness" in the work. If you cannot relate to one side or another in life you must make this one of your aims. There is not a single thing in life about which a man in the Fourth Way should not be knowledgeable, or capable of maintaining himself in connection with it. This Fourth Way is not romantic and it is no use having romantic feelings about the Farm in Essex. This Fourth Way is quite ruthless and as soon as something is finished - that is, gives no longer real value, it is abandoned. [...]"

"I would be very glad if you would all try to understand what I mean because it is important to draw attention to this point owing to the fact that so often everyone begins to "settle down" after a time into some form of Fourth Way work which he thinks is going to go on and on just like that. Unfortunately, such mental and emotional habits can be formed"

"I once said to G.: "Why don't you build more solidly?" (We were building a theater.) He said: "This only temporary. In a very short time everything will be different. Everyone will be elsewhere. Nothing can be built permanently at this moment." So it is necessary for everybody to understand in a way what this means. Many times G. had no work "externally" - that is, no place, no habitation. Everything seemed to have been dissolved away and from the external sensory point of view to have vanished, yet, as you know the work went on and was finally transmitted to this country, and yet this had nothing to do with the external form of the work, with the actual house or the situation and so on, and in view of what G. told me privately I fancy that we can have no permanent home for the work and that we will have to adjust ourselves to every kind of situation in the future. But all of you who have heard the teaching over a sufficient time should be able now to be quite tranquil about change in the external form or the external demands of the work and to relate yourselves instantly to them from the work point of view. The trouble is that things become mechanical and it is necessary for a shock to be given so that things are no longer mechanical. But the work continues in the same way and speaks with the same voice and gives the same force to those who acknowledge and practice it."

~ Maurice Nicoll

Be at Peace, Do no Harm, BE
Home Is where the Heart Is

Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

~ from Transcripts: Meeting 23: Tuesday, 8 February 1944

" Giles: I have little knowledge of myself, especially of my essence. I never know how to be certain of myself. What means of investigation can I use to know if a thing comes from me or not?
Gurdjieff: Now you are philosophising. Necessary begin from something real. Now this is empty for me because you are empty. You did not start on the way of a real man. This is education. Seven factors are absent from your upbringing. I can tell you the first. You are not taught that for you your father is your God. For each man up to a certain age his father must be his God. God loves him who esteems his father. When the father dies, then there is a place where God can enter in. You have not this relationship with your father and your question springs from that. Now take as a task to put down all these factors in yourself which hinder you; establish a real relationship with your father.
Mme Dubeau: But if the father is unworthy - low?
Gurdjieff: Even if he is the worst criminal, if he is merde, the lowest among men, you must recognize your obligation. You don't know why he has become like that. Here is a law. He created you. You owe your existence to him. And he is answerable for your life in another world. If he is lowest of men in the eyes of everyone, let it be so - but inwardly you must feel your obligation. You have to pay him for your existence.
Gilles: But in order to establish a right relationship with someone, one has to be sure of what one is oneself.
Gurdjieff: You divide yourself in two parts. Inwardly you must not identify, outwardly you must play a role. Take all things as your guide. Your task now is to acquire inner freedom. This is the starting point for going further. And for that you have to do what I have told you. What does it mean to play a role? Try to understand it in a broader sense. Do everything that gives him pleasure. If he likes you to sit on his right, sit on his right. If at another moment he prefers the opposite, do it. Subjective role. With each person a different role. You accustom yourself to fulfill obligations. It is one of the aspects of a future free man. Not necessary to philosophise. After, yes. First prepare the ground. The ground has seven aspects. After that you can go as you like. In future, with each man you must play a role; for your egoism. [.....]"

Until the day Lord Pentland suggested the same task to me, I despised my father and my mother. I blamed them for everything that had gone wrong in my life. My father had already passed away and my mother was ill and bedridden. I began visiting my mother once a week after movements class. The class was held early in the morning in Manhattan at the Foundation. I would drive in from Sparkill at 7am, attend class, have breakfast at a diner across the street from Burger Heaven with some classmates and sometimes with Andre, our movements teacher, and then drive out to the Bronx where Mom was living with my older brother.

Mom and I'd had a terrible relationship almost from the time I began to talk. We were like oil and water. This one suggestion from Lord P. was the moving force behind a miraculous reconciliation between my parents and I. What I had not been able to do all my life came so easy through employing the ideas - using the tools given by the system. Mom and I soon became good friends. We were able to talk about those things that had come between us all those years and came to a place of forgiveness and love for each other. We reconciled the past before her death several years later. For this I am eternally grateful.

I also began thinking of my father in a different way. Every time I thought of him, I offered up little conversational prayers to him, and after all this time, I do still think of him almost every day. I thank him for being my dad and for being there for me as much as he could. I apologize for being such a difficult child. I focus on the good times we had - and feel compassion when I remember what he suffered here on earth. He had a very hard life. Both my parents did.

What is offered up to both of them now is a surge of love and gratitude straight from my heart. There is a nice clean light space in my heart now where there was once only darkness and poisonous hatred and resentment. This clean place is where Dad and Mom and others who have passed on live and where we visit from time to time. I write them long letters on the New Year and their birthdays and when I miss them more than usual. It is interesting that I do not remember so much the 'bad' things. It is the good things, the fun times that I remember now.

Be at Peace, Do no harm, Be Still, Be Happy, BE

About the Heart

"There are people who look at life through their brain, their head, and there are others who look at life through their heart. Between these two points of view there is a vast difference; so much difference that something that one person can see on the earth the other sees in heaven, something that one sees as small the other sees as great, of something that one sees as limited the other sees the unlimitedness. These two persons become opposite poles; it is as if one is looking at the sky, the other at the earth. No one will admit that he looks at things with his head; everyone will say, 'I look at life with my heart'. If he knew what it is to look at life from the heart, the best person in the world would say, 'I have not yet learned to look at life from the heart. I would like to know how to do it, I would like to learn it'. One might say that emotional and devotional people are flying in the clouds, while others with their reason and logic are standing on the earth. Yes, it is true...."
~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

continue reading

Listen, BE

Internal Considering

"You know that your natural state is to be very surprised that there is anything *wrong with ourselves. Of course, we often blame ourselves, as it were.We say, for example,: "Yes, I am afraid I was very much to blame for that incident."

"Yes, certainly you were." says the other person.

Are you not then startled? Why, you will be hurt and offended all at once."

"Now, self observation is very harsh and it becomes more harsh. If it is done sincerely it will hurt. But it lets light in and stops all sorts of rank weeds from growing within, and among them, all the strange growths due to internal considering and self pity and song singing. And then at last we begin to see what it means that a man must realize that he is nothing before he can begin to expect to be something"

~ Nicolle, "Commentaries', Book I, Birdlip, March 1, 1943

Perhaps, now, in 2009, the word 'wrong' and all of its ordinary associations can be softened a bit. Taken a bit more objectively wrong = incorrect - something that must be corrected if we are to move forward in inner growth. 'Right' or 'wrong' is not the point however - self observation of internal considering is. When taken with right attitude studying internal considering in ourselves is very valuable. Stand in front of what is 'wrong' in yourself, observe without identifying with and being taken by all the judgment, justification and inner talking about it for as long as you can. What can you see? Do not analyze. Breathe. What is the body doing? Keep it simple. Take pictures, take notes and keep moving forward in your day when the moment passes. Move on to the next moments.

Be Still, Be at Peace, BE

Ostrich

a conversation between King Snake and Lalo
from Lalo the Snake Catcher

"S: Lalo
L: Yes?
S: Is it true that ostriches bury their heads in the ground when they are afraid?
L: No, Snake, it is not. When an ostrich suspects danger is near it drops to the ground and stretches it neck straight out on it. From there it watches the perceived danger very intently and when it thinks the danger is too close, it runs away with great speed.

S: Hmmm… I wonder what an ostrich tastes like.
L: Probably like chicken my dear."

~LaloBean

"Pick a fear and run straight at it." ~ Steve Pavlina

Be at Peace, Be Still, BE

Where Does The Impulse to Gossip Come From?

So, what is gossip after all? For the gossiper isn't it: a form of manipulation, a convincing, a way to get what you want, a way to direct traffic in your own life and control others lives, a way to be to be 'better than', etc. And for the listener: a way to be one of the 'in' crowd, a way to be 'in the know', a way to be important, a way to gather 'ammunition', etc. Where does the impulse to gossip or to listen to gossip come from in yourself? Can you see from what part of yourself this gossip thing emerges and grows. Can you hear your 'accounts keeper's' voice; know it is the mischief maker's tool, the power mongers weapon, the cowards way? Do you hear the inner justifications and rationals you tell yourself to make spreading gossip - rumor, lies and innuendo a guiltless act to yourself? Do you see your self calming mechanisms at work? Is it like a morphine drip for those addicted to gossip?

The next time you are about to speak about someone or listen eagerly to someone who is doing so, look inside, observe yourself - where is the impulse coming from? What is the intention? How do you feel? Is there an edgy eagerness there? Is it real or part of the inner scripts? Can you see what your real purposes and intentions are when speaking about another person or entity?

The idea in the work that there are myriads of little "i's" that are not I (all of myself - together at once) is verifiably true, but as so many practitioners of the method seem to think, this reality does not get me off scott free from paying the bills they run up when I am not paying attention - not awake. At some point in your inner work you must step up and begin to be responsible. Paying these big bills keeps you on your toes - attentive more and more often - blaming others for the bills does not. "The devil made me do it" excuse does not work here. You can do something wrong once, not knowing it is wrong; when you finally do have an organic sense that it is wrong and not from that which is higher in you, and do it again knowing it is wrong, then it is a sin. Knowingly sinning in your work with others repeatedly is to muddy the work of everyone and you are responsible for it.

What is your real intention for engaging in this inner study? What do you wish for - truly? This is not an easy method. There is tremendous resistance to seeing how you really are. You must learn everything you can about the mechanism of resistance to seeing in self observation. You must develop the 'muscles' necessary to stand in front of and to get past the resistance to be able to see what you are seeing to the 'roots' of its existence. How close can you live to yourself - not as a judge, jury and abusive jailer - but as a Loving Guardian of your own inner growth. Can you open your heart to yourself, hold your own (essence) hand and keep moving toward transformation?

When you are speaking to someone, observe yourself, anchor your attention in your body and plant your feet on the ground. Observe what is going on inside you when you speak about people. You will gather a great deal of information that will help you to know yourself.

Be at Peace, Be Brave, Do no Harm

Gossip

I have used this story before - Good stories serve well forever. The following is a story told by a priest to his congregation during a sermon. It comes from the film "Doubt".

"A woman was gossiping with a friend about a man she hardly knew." [I must remind you here that men gossip as much as women do and for all the same reasons. L] The priest looks up at the congregation and says: " I know none of you have ever done this." and then he continues. "That night she had a dream. A great hand appeared over her and pointed a finger down at her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest and told him the whole thing.

"Is gossiping a sin?" she asked the old man. "Was that the hand of Almighty God pointing a finger at me? Should I be asking your absolution Father? Father, tell me, have I done something wrong?"

"Yes!", the priest answered. "Yes! You ignorantly badly brought up [person]! You've born false witness against your neighbor! You played fast and loose with his reputation and you should be heartily ashamed!"

The woman said she was sorry and asked forgiveness.

"Not so fast." said the priest. "I want you to go home, take a pillow off your bed, take it up to the roof, cut it open with a knife and return here to me."

So, the woman went home, took a pillow off her bed, got a knife from the kitchen, took them both up to the roof and stabbed and cut the pillow open. Then she went back to the priest and told him she'd done what he asked.

"Did you gut the pillow with a knife?" he asked.

"Yes, Father."

"And what was the result?" he asked.

"Feathers." she replied.

"Feathers." he repeated nodding his had up and down.

"Feathers everywhere, Father." she said, not yet getting the point.

The priest then told her: " Now, I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind."

Well," said the woman, "it can't be done, I don't know where they went. They flew all over"

"And that," said the priest, "is Gossip!"

If you take this story in on an organic level, either as the one who is gossiping or the one who is "innocently" listening, and live with it for awhile you will really understand what it means on a universal level. I heard, when I was very young, that gossip kills. As the years passed by, I discovered it was really true. Gossip kills everything.

Be At Peace, Do No Harm, BE

The Path of Initiation and Discipleship ~ The Meaning of Initiation

"The meaning of the word 'initiation' can be understood from its association with 'initiative.' It is a fact that every child who is born on earth is born with initiative. However, as it grows, that spirit more or less dies away because the knowledge it gathers in its lifetime makes it doubt. This doubt, increasing more and more, very often makes a man lose the power of initiative, and then he does not want to take another step until he is sure whether there is land or water in front of him. Very often, water looks like land, and land looks like water. According to the mystics, life is an illusion; thus, man bases his reason upon illusion. Nevertheless, the reasoning power which he acquires helps him in his life in the world, although it is very often just this reasoning which holds him back from taking what is called the initiative.

It is through this spirit of initiative that anyone in the world who has accomplished something great, has been able to do so. At the beginning of his efforts, people call such a person mad, fanatical, crazy or devoid of reason, but when they see the results, they think that he is most wise. Great prophets, the builders of nations, famous inventors and great discoverers have all proven this. One may ask then, do they see what is before them in the same way that a reasoning person does? They do, but with different eyes. Their point of view is different; it does not always agree with the point of view of the average person. So, it is natural that people should call them fanatical, although they see perhaps more than all those around them see. Those who have helped themselves to achieve success after complete failure, or to get over an illness after great suffering, have only succeeded in this by the spirit of initiative.

There are different kinds of initiation that souls experience. One is natural initiation, a kind of natural unfoldment for which the soul cannot give any cause or reason. It comes to the soul although no effort or attempt is made by the soul to experience it. Sometimes this initiation comes after great illness, pain or suffering. It comes as an opening up of the horizon, it comes as a flash of light, and in a moment the world seems transformed. It is not that the world has changed; it is that the person has become tuned to a different pitch. He begins to think differently, feel differently, see and act differently; his whole condition begins to change. One might say of him that from that moment on, he begins to live. It may come as a vision, as a dream, as a phenomenon – in any of these forms – one cannot determine the manner in which it will manifest.

Another initiation known to the mystics is the initiation that one receives from a person living on the earth. Every mystical school has its own initiation. In the Orient, where mystical ideas are prevalent and are regarded as most sacred, any person who wishes to tread the spiritual path considers initiation to be the most important thing. If a soul such as Jesus Christ had to be baptized by John the Baptist, then no soul on earth can say, 'I have risen above initiation.' Is that then impossible? Nothing is impossible. It may be possible for a person to jump into the water with the intention of swimming to the port of New York, but his life will be more secure if he books his passage with the normal shipping lines. And the difference between these two souls is the same, or even greater – between the one who wishes to journey on the spiritual path by taking initiation, and the other who refuses to do so.

Initiation by a spiritual teacher means both a trust given by the teacher to the pupil, and a trust given by the pupil to the teacher. And the progress of the one who is initiated depends upon how much he gives himself to the teacher's guidance. One might give only a finger, another even a part of a finger, while a third would give his whole hand. That makes a great difference. A pupil says, 'Well, I will give a certain amount of my time and thought to your guidance, will that be enough?' Then the teacher says, 'Yes, if you think it is enough.' In reality, however, it is never enough. Then one might wonder if one would not be giving up one's own point of view in order to follow someone else's point of view; but actually, if one has a point of view, one never loses it. The point of view that one loses is not one's own. By looking at a thing from another person's point of view, one only enlarges one's own. Then, one has two points of view instead of one. If the thought of the pupil happens to be different from that of the teacher, then by taking the teacher's thought, his own is doubled. The pupil keeps his own point of view just the same, only now he has something for his vision from which to make his choice. The horizon of his thought is expanded. But the pupil who closes himself and says, 'I will guard my point of view or it will escape me,' will never derive any benefit from this attitude.

The mystical path is the most subtle path to tread. The relationship between teacher and pupil is too subtle for words to express. Besides, the language of a mystical teacher is always elusive; you cannot, so to speak, pin him down as to his words. You cannot ask him to say clearly that something is so and so, or such and such. If a mystic does so, he is not a mystic, for a mystic cannot do this. The mystic may seem to be standing on the earth, but he is flying in the air. The air cannot be made into a rock, nor can the mystic be made into a gross entity. His 'yes' does not mean the same as the 'yes' of another, nor does his 'no' mean the same as the 'no' of others. The language of the mystic is not the language of words; it is the language of meaning. It is the greatest distress for a mystic to have to use the words of everyday language, which are not his words. He cannot express himself in these words. We find the same in the actions of the mystic. His outward actions will not express to everybody the meaning which is behind them, and that meaning may be much more important inwardly than the action is outwardly.

The teacher, therefore, tests his pupil continually. He tells him and he does not tell him, for everything must come in its right time. Divine knowledge has never been taught in words, nor will it ever be so taught. The work of a mystical teacher is not to teach, but to tune, to tune the pupil so that he may become the instrument of God. For the mystical teacher is not the player of the instrument; he is the tuner. When he has tuned it, he gives it into the hands of the Player whose instrument it is to play. The duty of the mystical teacher is his service as a tuner.

Dispute with a spiritual teacher is never any good, for the pupil may be speaking one language, while the teacher speaks another; and when there is no common language, then how can the dispute be profitable? Therefore, in the path of mysticism, there is no dispute."

~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

You forfeit what your Heart truly longs for with your disrespectful attitude, your lack of Trust. As long as you cling to that in you which believes you know what is best for you in this work, and you are always right, you will never be Free.

Ponder This