Mar 2008
GoodSearch Charity website
31Mar2008 10:01 AM Worthy
CausesPermalink
My loving partner just sent this neat link to
a
site that makes charitable
donations based on visitors
interests;
how cool is that! 
I just searched on
"Solar Electric Light
Fund"
and "Save The Rain"
to give them some support. Now it's your turn!
I just searched on
"Solar Electric Light
Fund"
and "Save The Rain"
to give them some support. Now it's your turn!
|
ACIM podcast... and more connections with
Oprah/Eckhart and ACIM
30Mar2008 08:47 AM Permalink
Here's an
excellent podcast by Beverly
Hutchinson I've listened to that has some
great reminders, and there's always
Gary Renard's
podcasts,
too! (Highly recommended.)
Here is some commentary by fellow ACIM student Jim M. I also found helpful; thanks, Jim!
I am beginning to believe Eckhart Tolle when he says that we egos are "unconscious" -- not conscious that we are just figures in a dream. ACIM seems to want to lift our "consciousness" above the battlefield, above the dream, to see that "we" are the "dreamer" and not a figure in the dream. I found the following discussion by a student of Ken Wapnick on the internet and again it was a knock on the head with a 2-by-4, reminding me that I am not who I think I am. The following concepts may or may not be helpful to others and I could be wrong on my interpretation. It seems that "the Observer" is right-mindedness and "the Dreamer/the Decision-maker" is the other part of the split mind. Who needs make divided decisions but a mind that believes in duality. Eckhart Tolle says the ego, the illusory self-identity, comes from the unobserved mind. The Course does not use the terms "Observer" or "Decision-maker" but does says this:
"Even the relinquishment of your false decision-making prerogative, which the ego guards so jealously, is not accomplished by your wish. It was accomplished for you by the Will of God, Who has not left you comfortless." (T-7.X.7:1-2) "The power of decision, which you made in place of the power of creation, He [the Holy Spirit] would teach you how to use on your behalf." (T-14.VI.5:6) "the existence of the world as you perceive it depends on [your belief of] the body being the decision maker" (M-5.II.1:7) "Forgiveness is still and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, or seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks [observes/the Observer] and waits, and judges not." Neal suggested that I send this out to the group.
So if it goes over like a lead balloon I can blame him! --jim
ACIM and the Observer and the Decision-maker
These are responses to questions about "the observer" from someone named "Jane". My [internet ACIM student] responses come from my own experience; I'm sure it is different for everyone.
---
Q: How do I become more identified with the observer?
A: Simply forgive, and it will happen of itself. It's nothing more than that. It is deserving of all your trust.
The dreamer (decision maker) having chosen the ego, dreams it is a dream figure named Jane. The way home - and home for Jane is the right mind - is for Jane to forgive her Jane-ness. She gets angry, she gets afraid, she worries and gets confused. She is thrilled when her needs are met, or when she receives praise or special attention. Forgive all of that. In the beginning your experience will be that it's Jane doing the forgiving, even though it's the dreamer (decision maker) doing it, because everything is the dreamer. It's just the dreamer dreaming it is "a Jane" doing the forgiving because, for now, that's what is most comfortable for a decision maker who is slowly beginning to turn the boat around (imagine a supertanker in a wide arc). The decision maker is too afraid to be fully in touch with its power of choice, and so still needs to defer this onto a dream figure for its own sense of safety. But that deferment won't last.
As you (a dreamer dreaming you are a dream figure forgiving a dream experience) move more deeply into forgiveness as a practice and process, you will begin to have experiences as something other than a helpless body and dream figure. You will experience yourself as a mind, as a dreamer, a decision maker.
These experiences will likely be brief at first, but will begin to show up more often and last longer and become more profound and attractive. In that experience you won't question what an oberserver is, the experience will answer all questions. The experience is the answer; you'll have no questions... until you return to your experience as a dream figure.
When you do have questions, then that means you're splitting off from the dreamer again, back to the safety of the dream figure. This is normal. Just watch it all, as best and as gently as you can.
What are the things to look out for that tell me I'm in observer mode?
When you are in observer mode you won't need signs, you'll just know. If you're looking for signs or evaluating an experience, you're not in observer mode, which would just be something else to forgive as it's the choice for the ego which results in the desire for litmus tests and specifics and naming etc. And in this forgiving will the experience/observer show up, for it is the process of forgiveness that provides the safety the decision maker needs to awake unto itself as itself.
Can the observer feel emotion? i.e. Love? ...because if it can feel love then that's an emotion and transient and to be forgiven...
The observer doesn't feel emotion as a dream figure knows it. Love as a dream figure is a physical/psychological bodily feeling of love, whereas love as an observer is a mind experience of love that has nothing to do with the body or brain or feelings, and you're it (love). It's what you are... so "you" don't feel it, you are it. You wouldn't say I am feeling love, you would be it... but there are gradations of this experience as the process evolves.
Here is some commentary by fellow ACIM student Jim M. I also found helpful; thanks, Jim!
I am beginning to believe Eckhart Tolle when he says that we egos are "unconscious" -- not conscious that we are just figures in a dream. ACIM seems to want to lift our "consciousness" above the battlefield, above the dream, to see that "we" are the "dreamer" and not a figure in the dream. I found the following discussion by a student of Ken Wapnick on the internet and again it was a knock on the head with a 2-by-4, reminding me that I am not who I think I am. The following concepts may or may not be helpful to others and I could be wrong on my interpretation. It seems that "the Observer" is right-mindedness and "the Dreamer/the Decision-maker" is the other part of the split mind. Who needs make divided decisions but a mind that believes in duality. Eckhart Tolle says the ego, the illusory self-identity, comes from the unobserved mind. The Course does not use the terms "Observer" or "Decision-maker" but does says this:
"Even the relinquishment of your false decision-making prerogative, which the ego guards so jealously, is not accomplished by your wish. It was accomplished for you by the Will of God, Who has not left you comfortless." (T-7.X.7:1-2) "The power of decision, which you made in place of the power of creation, He [the Holy Spirit] would teach you how to use on your behalf." (T-14.VI.5:6) "the existence of the world as you perceive it depends on [your belief of] the body being the decision maker" (M-5.II.1:7) "Forgiveness is still and quietly does nothing. It offends no aspect of reality, or seeks to twist it to appearances it likes. It merely looks [observes/the Observer] and waits, and judges not." Neal suggested that I send this out to the group.
So if it goes over like a lead balloon I can blame him!
--jim
ACIM and the Observer and the Decision-maker
These are responses to questions about "the observer" from someone named "Jane". My [internet ACIM student] responses come from my own experience; I'm sure it is different for everyone.
---
Q: How do I become more identified with the observer?
A: Simply forgive, and it will happen of itself. It's nothing more than that. It is deserving of all your trust.
The dreamer (decision maker) having chosen the ego, dreams it is a dream figure named Jane. The way home - and home for Jane is the right mind - is for Jane to forgive her Jane-ness. She gets angry, she gets afraid, she worries and gets confused. She is thrilled when her needs are met, or when she receives praise or special attention. Forgive all of that. In the beginning your experience will be that it's Jane doing the forgiving, even though it's the dreamer (decision maker) doing it, because everything is the dreamer. It's just the dreamer dreaming it is "a Jane" doing the forgiving because, for now, that's what is most comfortable for a decision maker who is slowly beginning to turn the boat around (imagine a supertanker in a wide arc). The decision maker is too afraid to be fully in touch with its power of choice, and so still needs to defer this onto a dream figure for its own sense of safety. But that deferment won't last.
As you (a dreamer dreaming you are a dream figure forgiving a dream experience) move more deeply into forgiveness as a practice and process, you will begin to have experiences as something other than a helpless body and dream figure. You will experience yourself as a mind, as a dreamer, a decision maker.
These experiences will likely be brief at first, but will begin to show up more often and last longer and become more profound and attractive. In that experience you won't question what an oberserver is, the experience will answer all questions. The experience is the answer; you'll have no questions... until you return to your experience as a dream figure.
When you do have questions, then that means you're splitting off from the dreamer again, back to the safety of the dream figure. This is normal. Just watch it all, as best and as gently as you can.
What are the things to look out for that tell me I'm in observer mode?
When you are in observer mode you won't need signs, you'll just know. If you're looking for signs or evaluating an experience, you're not in observer mode, which would just be something else to forgive as it's the choice for the ego which results in the desire for litmus tests and specifics and naming etc. And in this forgiving will the experience/observer show up, for it is the process of forgiveness that provides the safety the decision maker needs to awake unto itself as itself.
Can the observer feel emotion? i.e. Love? ...because if it can feel love then that's an emotion and transient and to be forgiven...
The observer doesn't feel emotion as a dream figure knows it. Love as a dream figure is a physical/psychological bodily feeling of love, whereas love as an observer is a mind experience of love that has nothing to do with the body or brain or feelings, and you're it (love). It's what you are... so "you" don't feel it, you are it. You wouldn't say I am feeling love, you would be it... but there are gradations of this experience as the process evolves.
Pacific Domes
29Mar2008 07:03 AM Geometry-MathPermalink
A long overdue thanks
to local friend and colleauge Asha who has been
graciously hosting our local Geometers group (we
whimsically call ourselves the "Hedronists" as well)
for many months. (Also thanks to local friend and
colleauge Libby who offered similar gracious
hosting for many months prior!) Asha also heads
up Pacific Domes
which is doing
wonderful things around the (oblate
spheroidal) globe with Buckminster
Fuller's
geodesic invention.
I had the pleasure of building and living in a dome (a Cathedralite Dome kit from Aptos, California) in Georgetown, California in the late 1970's. In addition to just being a great space to be in, since we left quite a bit of our floor plan open, the acoustics were quite interesting, too! A neighbor (and long time mentor, Floyd Edwards who started the Creative Dynamics program (Leadership and Human Relations) my ex-wife and I enjoyed teaching in nearby adult schools for several years) had made a custom battery-operated clock with his airbrushed art, which hung on the wall downstairs next to the woodstove. At the time, we had a slant-board in the upstairs loft (looking up at the top 5 triangles of the dome) for meditation. One day, I realized the loud "tick-tick" I kept hearing was the minuscule sound of this little clock bouncing around the interior surface of the 39' diameter dome... and converging back at a point where my head was... amazingly, one could barely hear the clock standing next to it!
Another fond memory of the dome was the day our generous friends and neighbors spent most of a day helping us raise the 60 plywood-over-beveled-2x4-triangles into place. After hoisting 5 pentagons (all made of triangles) atop a 5' riser wall, then linking them together with 5 hexagons (also made of similar trianges) so we could now remove the supports and (after raising the scaffolding to get to the 21' peak), we finally put the last top 5 triangles of the dome into place. The second to the last triangle was fitted with a sturdy eye bolt, through which a long rope was tied. I got to hop up onto the now-sturdy roof with a sledge hammer and sequentially tap the 3 corners until the last triangle fit perfectly snug and the whole structure (just like Bucky professed) went from a loose wobbly thing to rock 'solid' (not accounting for the vast emptiness of quantum space, of course! To help visualize this 3/8 sphere
dome, check out Poly from Pedagoguery
Software.
and animate the 3-Frequency Icosahedral Geodesic
Sphere (and imagine 5 pentagons (defaulting to red
color) resting on a 'cylinder'. Here's a "bird's
eye view" of the dome we built and lived in, using
a screen snap from Poly with appropriate triangles
grayed out and more dome
resources.
I had the pleasure of building and living in a dome (a Cathedralite Dome kit from Aptos, California) in Georgetown, California in the late 1970's. In addition to just being a great space to be in, since we left quite a bit of our floor plan open, the acoustics were quite interesting, too! A neighbor (and long time mentor, Floyd Edwards who started the Creative Dynamics program (Leadership and Human Relations) my ex-wife and I enjoyed teaching in nearby adult schools for several years) had made a custom battery-operated clock with his airbrushed art, which hung on the wall downstairs next to the woodstove. At the time, we had a slant-board in the upstairs loft (looking up at the top 5 triangles of the dome) for meditation. One day, I realized the loud "tick-tick" I kept hearing was the minuscule sound of this little clock bouncing around the interior surface of the 39' diameter dome... and converging back at a point where my head was... amazingly, one could barely hear the clock standing next to it!
Another fond memory of the dome was the day our generous friends and neighbors spent most of a day helping us raise the 60 plywood-over-beveled-2x4-triangles into place. After hoisting 5 pentagons (all made of triangles) atop a 5' riser wall, then linking them together with 5 hexagons (also made of similar trianges) so we could now remove the supports and (after raising the scaffolding to get to the 21' peak), we finally put the last top 5 triangles of the dome into place. The second to the last triangle was fitted with a sturdy eye bolt, through which a long rope was tied. I got to hop up onto the now-sturdy roof with a sledge hammer and sequentially tap the 3 corners until the last triangle fit perfectly snug and the whole structure (just like Bucky professed) went from a loose wobbly thing to rock 'solid' (not accounting for the vast emptiness of quantum space, of course!
To help visualize this 3/8 sphere
dome, check out Poly from Pedagoguery
Software.
and animate the 3-Frequency Icosahedral Geodesic
Sphere (and imagine 5 pentagons (defaulting to red
color) resting on a 'cylinder'. Here's a "bird's
eye view" of the dome we built and lived in, using
a screen snap from Poly with appropriate triangles
grayed out and more dome
resources.
Sacred Geometry Workshop for Artists in Medford
Oregon - 12April2008 9AM-1PM
Fascinated by the
mystical aesthetic appeal of Renaissance artists like
DaVinci? Numerous artists since antiquity
intentionally used techniques now referred to
as sacred geometry
in their
masterpieces. You can too! Discover the secret
behind the appeal their art holds to this day.
This Hands-on Artist's Workshop will show classic sacred geometry constructions and theory for visual artists - The class will supply all the background needed to incorporate the principles of "interconnectedness" and proportions that represent our cosmic relatedness for any artist with no math background required. Bring a compass and straight-edge to replicate the universal patterns and ratios with the "classic" constructions used by Plato, Pythagoras, Da Vinci, and numerous other ancient, Renaissance and contemporary artists from a variety of media and disciplines.
Projects will include: 2D constructions (Vesica Piscis, Seed of Life, Flower of Life, Golden Rectangles, Golden Triangles, Squaring the Circle, inscribed pentagrams, mandalas, tilings, etc.) as well as 3D polyhedra foldups and working in various 2D and 3D media.
Contact Central Art Supply at 541-773-1444 or Bruce Rawles for details and enrollment. Cost is $20 and includes handout material needed to replicate the workshops projects and references. Autographed, personalized copies of Sacred Geometry Design Sourcebook will be available for puchase as well.
Here is a printable poster about the workshop.
This Hands-on Artist's Workshop will show classic sacred geometry constructions and theory for visual artists - The class will supply all the background needed to incorporate the principles of "interconnectedness" and proportions that represent our cosmic relatedness for any artist with no math background required. Bring a compass and straight-edge to replicate the universal patterns and ratios with the "classic" constructions used by Plato, Pythagoras, Da Vinci, and numerous other ancient, Renaissance and contemporary artists from a variety of media and disciplines.
Projects will include: 2D constructions (Vesica Piscis, Seed of Life, Flower of Life, Golden Rectangles, Golden Triangles, Squaring the Circle, inscribed pentagrams, mandalas, tilings, etc.) as well as 3D polyhedra foldups and working in various 2D and 3D media.
Contact Central Art Supply at 541-773-1444 or Bruce Rawles for details and enrollment. Cost is $20 and includes handout material needed to replicate the workshops projects and references. Autographed, personalized copies of Sacred Geometry Design Sourcebook will be available for puchase as well.
Here is a printable poster about the workshop.
Massage therapist recommendations
18Mar2008 12:39 PM Useful
ResourcesPermalink
Today (thanks to a gift
certificate from my stepson) I enjoyed (like millions
of others) the benefits of therapeutic massage from a
licensed massage therapist, as I have been doing for
decades. Based on this one experience, I would
recommend Tanya Reasor of Bodyworks/Body-n-Balance in
Medford, Oregon as well as our usual LMT (Holly Smith
at Superior Athletic Club in Eagle Point, Oregon).
Also long overdue are thanks to former massage
therapists such as Melissa Silva and many others in
Nevada County, Calif. I also find hot springs soaks quite soothing, as a
complement to regular exercise, stretching/yoga
and good nutrition.
Loremo LS 157MPG car
17Mar2008 10:01 AM SustainabilityPermalink
Thanks to Jerem E. for
alerting me to this 157MPG car (Loremo LS) ... a nice jump in fuel
economy (an appropriate "green" alternative for
St. Patrick's Day! on our way to teleportation - the
ultimate sustainable solution!
on our way to teleportation - the
ultimate sustainable solution!
Dilbert ESP cartoons
Thanks to E. Kellogg
for sending this amusing set of Dilbert cartoons about
ESP;
kinda reminds me of the ESP trials I participated
in with Dr. Charles Tart
at UC Davis in the
mid 1980's... Interestingly, the folks that
EXPECTED they would guess better than the "1 in 5"
(20% "random chance" statistical probability DID
so (often in the high 20, 30 or more % range) for
repeated trials. Even more interesting to me was
the statistically significant LOWER than 20%
results that admitted ESP skeptics garnered,
almost proving their ESP in "reverse expectation
gear"
Jill Bolte Taylor -TED talk
15Mar2008 09:26 AM Film
& VideoPermalink
Thanks to Joline S.,
Daniel H. and Dianna R. for all independently
encouraging me to watch this VERY inspiring TED talk by
Harvard-trained brain scientist, Jill Bolte
Taylor.
When I get 2 or 3 "messages from the universe",
I've learned to REALLY pay attention! Now it's my turn to encourage you
to watch it (if you haven't already.) Her
insights go way beyond our tiny little brains in
our tiny little bodies in this tiny little
galaxy... to the spiritual 'energy' that
encompasses us all, and is ever present within
us, linking us as one.
This powerful talk is a perfect complement to the wisdom in A Course In Miracles and Gary Renard's fun introductions to that wisdom, reminding us that We (with a capital "W") are not bodies, even though "we" have them, and a timely reinforcement to our awareness that exists beyond the ego (which tends to manifest in left-brain bias as Jill demonstrated) that Eckhart Tolle is sharing so eloquently in his class (just watched class #2 as of this writing) with Oprah Winfrey, who is also hosting a radio show and pre-recorded audio with Marianne Williamson.
Now it's my turn to encourage you
to watch it (if you haven't already.) Her
insights go way beyond our tiny little brains in
our tiny little bodies in this tiny little
galaxy... to the spiritual 'energy' that
encompasses us all, and is ever present within
us, linking us as one.
This powerful talk is a perfect complement to the wisdom in A Course In Miracles and Gary Renard's fun introductions to that wisdom, reminding us that We (with a capital "W") are not bodies, even though "we" have them, and a timely reinforcement to our awareness that exists beyond the ego (which tends to manifest in left-brain bias as Jill demonstrated) that Eckhart Tolle is sharing so eloquently in his class (just watched class #2 as of this writing) with Oprah Winfrey, who is also hosting a radio show and pre-recorded audio with Marianne Williamson.
Pi Day
14Mar2008 10:13 AM Geometry-MathPermalink
Sara Frucht Art Opening at the Coffee Mill in Oakland
Calif. 22Mar2008
Anyone who has attended
my multimedia presentations
during the past 4
years has probably seen some of the exquisite
"virtual polyhedra" art of Sara Frucht -
Kaliedoscapes
as she aptly calls
them. Here is a slightly truncated tetrahedron of
mirrors that creates a virtual icosahedron in the
corner...
... and the same amazing model with a little rubber ball rolled in, creating a "virtual dodecahedron" by connecting the midpoints of the reflected spheres:
... and digital fly-through animation she created for a proposed Berkeley Community Garden project.
Her artistic abilities are evidently also at home in "conventional media" as well. Here's the announcement she just sent about her art opening in Oakland, California on March 22, 2008:
===========
Hi Everyone -
Please come to my art opening and reception. Here is the info:
Time: Saturday, March 22, 2-4pm
Place: Coffee Mill & Bakery
3363 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA
(510) 465-4224
(about one block from the Grand lake Theatre)
Featuring the music of fabulous rock and jazz guitarist Toku Woo
I currently have twelve of my acrylic paintings on display. They were all done this past fall and winter. Also showing - paintings by Peter, artist of the Lake. (He also painted all the murals on the walls inside the cafe.)
In case you can't make it to the opening, these paintings will be on display at the Coffee Mill until Saturday, May 3.
I hope to see you there!
Sara Frucht
... and the same amazing model with a little rubber ball rolled in, creating a "virtual dodecahedron" by connecting the midpoints of the reflected spheres:
... and digital fly-through animation she created for a proposed Berkeley Community Garden project.
Her artistic abilities are evidently also at home in "conventional media" as well. Here's the announcement she just sent about her art opening in Oakland, California on March 22, 2008:
===========
Hi Everyone -
Please come to my art opening and reception. Here is the info:
Time: Saturday, March 22, 2-4pm
Place: Coffee Mill & Bakery
3363 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA
(510) 465-4224
(about one block from the Grand lake Theatre)
Featuring the music of fabulous rock and jazz guitarist Toku Woo
I currently have twelve of my acrylic paintings on display. They were all done this past fall and winter. Also showing - paintings by Peter, artist of the Lake. (He also painted all the murals on the walls inside the cafe.)
In case you can't make it to the opening, these paintings will be on display at the Coffee Mill until Saturday, May 3.
I hope to see you there!
Sara Frucht
Birdsong & Coffee
10Mar2008 10:02 PM Film
& VideoPermalink
Birdsong and Coffee - A Wake Up
Call is a
great little documentary (with links to
Community Agroecology
Network and other organizations working
to make a positive difference) about how
shade-grown, fair-trade coffee helps not only
protect the biodiversity in lovely countries
like Costa Rica (which we had the pleasure of
visiting a few years ago), Mexico (likewise on the
fond memories of visiting), El Salvador, and
Nicaragua, but also maintains the vital economy of
coffee farmers in those regions. An important
aspect of the film for me is how students from UC
Santa Cruz were "adopted" by their Central
American families, and they realized how kind and
caring the farmers were both to their families and
the land, and also to the northern researchers. I
didn't realize that coffee, as a world commodity,
is second only to oil! (I'm not even a coffee
drinker, but I love the smell...) Another local
company doing their utmost to make a positive
difference (we love their chocolate!) is
Dagoba. I checked out
Birdsong and Coffee - A Wake Up
Call from RVML.
Bob's Guatemala Photos
09Mar2008 10:31 PM Permalink
Thanks to Bob Burridge
for posting a some photos from our very fun
Guatemala trip last November. There's a
photo of us at the bottom of the page (2nd to
last) .
Sustainable Development using a fractal model
08Mar2008 12:12 PM SustainabilityPermalink
Thanks to Terry Mock
for suggesting this article on sustainable
development (honoring the fractal
interconnectedness between people, ecology and
econony) by William McDonough (featured on
bioneers) & Michael Braungart, as
well as this article he wrote on
Restoration of Sacred
Mythology (with generous cultural
references including the Celtic "World Tree" (of
Life) which is a living metaphor of toroidal
form.
Hyperdimensional Geometry of Music
07Mar2008 10:45 AM Geometry-MathPermalink
Optical Delusions of Consciousness
06Mar2008 12:47 PM Useful
ResourcesPermalink
Thanks to Anita T. for
sending this link to a lavish assortment of optical
illusions; reminders to not take our
minuscule 3D sense perceptions (and particularly
our INTERPRETATIONS of them) too seriously! Here's
a related quote by Albert Einstein:
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." : Albert Einstein - (1879-1955) Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921
"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.
Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." : Albert Einstein - (1879-1955) Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921