HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Spring Giddiness

"Today, like every other day, we wake up empty

and frightened. Don't open the door to the study
and begin reading. Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

---

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don't go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don't go back to sleep.

---

I would love to kiss you.
The price of kissing is your life.
Now my loving is running toward my life shouting,
What a bargain, let's buy it.

---

Daylight, full of small dancing particles
and the one great turning, our souls
are dancing with you, without feet, they dance.
Can you see them when I whisper in your ear?

---

All day and night, music,
a quiet, bright
reedsong. If it
fades, we fade."

  from The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne, 1995

The Work is Alive and Well

"A. You wrote: Yes, it's through NYC and Paris that I was put in touch with the teacher from India.

L) Good... ... ... What is your 'gut' feeling about the experience?

A) I value lineage as well, for the same reasons, except not wholeheartedly.

L) This is wise. Not everyone is what he or she appears to be. One must be patient and extraordinarily discerning - especially in the work these days - but where does that ability come from? This is a problem for most of us. As we mature on the way we get better and better at it (discernment) if we are making sincere efforts. It is a wait [actively] and see process. During that process infinite patience and sincere efforts are required. One has to always be in question about everything, like a clinical scientist. This is good inner work. So, whether the 'teacher/guide' or "foundation" turns out to be a looney or a sham or not you are still ahead of the curve any disappointment can wreak.

My very first guide in the work told me, "You must question everything, even yourself." and "This [work effort] is like trying to jump over your own knees." and "You will try a million, million times." And my beloved movements teacher shouted at me - "Keep moving, L, keep moving." (I had a tendency to give up when things became  difficult).  These seemingly simple cautions served me well while at the foundation and do to this day. 

A) The Fourth Way, from what I understand, isn't supposed to be permanent.

L) I've discovered that many words like "supposed to be"  and "should" shouldn't" don't really serve us well, to me they are red flags. Nor do labels serve us well either, have you noticed how everything has a label or a category? What is the "Fourth Way" anyway I wonder? http://laloblogs.blogspot.com/2010/10/let-dream-go.html. For those not on the actual way it is a label for a set of ideas in the formatory. For those truly on the way there is only the work [the activity - not the word or its definitions] and the work is far more and far beyond Gurdjieff and his teachings. G's method is what Ouspensky referred to as a 'map'. It is a wonderful map but not the destinations themselves. The destinations are inside each of us who sincerely perseveres - no matter what. Together we are a combination of forces - the work or the way on earth - and together we are connected with a higher combination of forces no longer in the earthly physical (except in that these forces are in us and accessible if we learn to be and are open to them). 

A) It [meaning 4th way] comes in and out of history for a purpose, taking on a certain form, and then dying to it and vanishing from sight.

L) I agree, the label "Fourth Way" will disappear from *sight* - but only to those who are not searching. It will always remain visible and accessible to those who wish for it; those who practice the work with those who are now and have been on the way - just as it was for G and his friends and those who found G. When I refer to the way, it is to something higher, beyond "4th Way" theory. Many call the way God; again, a word meant to define what cannot be defined.

 

A) For it [ I hope by "it" he means the teaching] to not degenerate into its opposite would mean that the Foundation has at least some Men #5 at the helm, which I have no clue about.

L) "It" is not soley to be gleaned from the "Foundation" people [another label like the Sarmoung, etc.] Men and women #'s 5 - 7 do exist, a few may be here and there on earth. I often wonder if the Dalai Lama among others, 5th pr 6th - never having met him f2f I do not know. G and Madam are not gone, nor are Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddhas, or the Ghandis or any of the extraordinary guides who have left the physical body. We who seek, are less than drops of water in the Ocean they are; they still exist - a higher combination of forces - which we have access to whenever we sincerely wish for and work to be able to open to the higher.  In my sleep, I doubt this truth; I believe this is a fairy tale, imagination, when I am Awake, I AM joined with that higher energy.  Have you had glimpses of this experience?

Are you keeping up with______. I am finding it very interesting and receive notices when anyone posts there. It is more practical than theoretical - even though the usual suspects respond to posts there as well - not everyone on _____ is playing with a 'full deck" as you may have surmised from all the bickering that goes on. However, a task, any task is an opportunity to work with others and compare notes. Seek out those who have been educated at the source schools but don't believe everything you 'hear' verify everything for yourself through your own studies and efforts. What is real and true will become clear.  

Be well, A

L ......::::::;;;;;;; wanders away to wash the dishes, wondering if her own deck is full today. ;-)*

The Value of Stories

"I would ask you to remember only this one thing," said Badger. "The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them. And learn to give them away where they are needed. Sometimes a person needs a story more than food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other's memory. This is how people care for themselves. One day you will be good story-tellers. Never forget these obligations."

Crow and Weasel by Barry Lopez
North Point Press
1990







... all I would add is that you strive to tell stories consciously. L.

Be Well,
Be Happy,
BE

Journal: Instructions for Mourning Properly

Grief is a very interesting experience.

Letting go... how does one do that? It's such a popular concept. Dime store advice and methodologies abound. Cast your net for five seconds and there it is, the perfect solution for what ails you. At least, a lot of words about how to cure what ails you. In reality it's best to arm oneself with all the information and theories one can, read everything on what happens during the mourning process and then walk through the fire- suffer until the suffering is over.

This is a natural process. Know you are suffering and why.   Be present as much as possible to what you are feeling, listen to what the mind is saying, it's sure to run through a million scenarios, memories and more. One can be a little self destructive during this time, especially if a lot of self blaming and guilt are attached. Be mindful of how the body is reacting to all this emotion and take care of it during the process.   Journal the experience - write it all down, the good, the bad and the ugly! Honor your feelings, allow yourself to feel. Be a drama queen/king, don't be a drama queen/king. See the drama queen/king in action Cry as much and for as long as it takes. Yell at God. (S/he won't get mad at you.) Take internal notes and pictures along the way, accept yourself as you are, in the most sincere way. Be gentle with yourself, experience what you are experiencing, Get help if you start to think dark thoughts or are drinking too much or relying on drugs to dull the pain.  Allow others to help. Claim your privacy when you need it. Go underground and listen.  Remember to come up for air once in awhile. Don't stay in there for too long (keep a calender) and remember to bathe and change your clothes once in awhile. When the fog begins to lift, be nice to yourself, don't push too hard - take baby steps. Remember to tell God you were sorry for yelling at him/her.


Studies have shown that there are five [basic] stages to mourning:   

• Denial, disbelief, numbness
• Anger, blaming others
• Bargaining (for instance "If I am cured of this cancer, I will never smoke again.")
• Depressed mood, sadness, and crying
• Acceptance, coming to terms with the reality of the situation

  "When someone we love is gone from our lives, it is as if a piece of us has been torn away. The loss rends the fabric of our lives and the wound must be repaired. Grief is that process by which our minds heal this hurt. For us to go on with our lives and again risk caring about others, we need to let go of those we love who are no longer with us. Through this process of mourning, we gradually accept the loss. We allow the dead to be gone from our lives.
At the end of mourning, there is still sadness, but it is a wistful sadness that is tempered by the happy memories that we still possess."  Glenn Brynes, Ph.D., M.D.

BE Good

BE Love

Journal: Juggling

Vintage 1960's Men's or Woman's Lounging Robe or Smoking Jacket

I forgot what it was like to juggle so many balls in the air at once. I'm a little rusty, but am beginning to remember how. The demands of the outer situation are keeping me on my toes and that  magical door to no-time has reopened.

Forced to come out of seclusion, grief is not so  overwhelmingly present; the ice has begun to crack and crocuses are peeking through the snow. They're smiling at me, and from time to time, I smile back. See, the other end of the stick; it's not so bad ;-)  Perhaps the mourning is almost over, we'll see.

In any case, I've decided to add some vintage items to the shop, things I've loved for a long time. It's time to let them go.

L.

My Ten Little Russian "Indians" are almost 100 years old

Changes

A few months ago, faced with yet another catastrophic change, I decided to grab the "other end of the stick" and opened a second online store, this one just for jewelry and small sculptures. It's interesting how this current situation just creeps in when I want to close my eyes to rest late at night, even after all these years of getting free. The mind keeps playing with it, keeping me up til the wee hours. The work, inner and outer, is a blessing. When fully focused for the most part then the mind has something else to do. The silly thing! Stop by and take a peek  at the stores:TheLittleSilverFox and LaloBean... art for the heart; and check out the new studio blog:http://lalobeansstudio.blogspot.com/  New stock is added weekly, so  please come back often and refer your friends.

Be Well
Be Peace
Be Love
BE