"Each of you is his own universe, and your inner and outer realities regularly form your very own Hall of Mirrors." ~The Reconnections.
April, 2007
Virginia Tech Massacre: Web 2.0 Comes through in a Big Way
Never forget Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" in 2006!
April 23, 2007. Many have commented on the style I use to post Reconnections Transmissions. They often describe the Recon Site as a Labyrinth, in which a person can get totally lost for hours and hours! Although some are a bit disdainful of this---begging for more "clarity" and ease of navigation, I owe my inspiration for the "multi-level" effect of the site to Wikipedia: The Free Online Encyclopedia. It is a happy labyrinth indeed, to which this latest public nightmare at Virginia Tech can readily attest.
Within minutes after the killings were publicized, the worldwide editorial staff of Wikipedia sprung into action. They are, for the most part, unpaid and unsupervised---save for the rules and regs that govern the operating procedures for utilizing and contributing to the site. Each article published gets poured over by thousands of pairs of eyes---and regular corrections and upgrades appear almost at the speed of light.
A recent New York Times Article lauded Wikipedia for its continuous, arduous, and utterly compelling coverage of this recent event as it was unfolding. They also cited notably helpful coverage of the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004 and the London Bombings of 2005 as well. Check the above link for more info.
Bravo, Wiki! May you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy, lifetime of service to the world. A service that is born and sustained by LOVE of life and the facts!
RUSH TO JUDGMENT
April 21, 2007. I was driving through the parking lot of a medium-sized strip mall today, and I reached the row where my dry cleaners is located. As I got to a stop sign, I noticed that I should have gone down the previous row, because the arrow on the ground said "one way." The cleaners was two shops over, and I didn't want to drive back so I waited for the guy on my right to pass, so I could cheat and make my naughty little right turn and angle into an empty space in front of the shop.
Though the man on my right had NO stop sign, he remained stopped anyway. I motioned for him to go by, and he just sat there. I motioned again, and then I indicated I wanted to turn. He just sat there. Finally, I backed up so he could turn along side me (even though he appeared to have plenty of room to do that anyway). When he went past, I said to him "No enough room, eh?" in as pleasant a manner as I could. He said "You're going the wrong way." Ooooo...double naughty. I responded: "Yes, I believe I am." He said, "I hope you don't do that on the freeway." I responded: "Yes, I try to avoid it if I can." And he drove on.
As I was angling into the space, I smiled, and thought to myself: "All my life I've been thinking of these kinds of interactions as offenses against me........judgments that I was stupid and should get with the program. But now, with all these insights flooding in from The Reconnections, I can clearly see that what I had was an encounter with ME, the judgmental ME......who goes out of his way to "correct" folks that are not doing things in "the right way."
The Guides teach that all people we encounter.......EACH AND EVERY ONE........are mirrors of some part of us that needs to be noticed and integrated. Some are extras, and some carry key issues. In my conscious concept of myself, I don't tend to think of myself as judgmental. In fact, I see myself as sensitive, polite and caring. Yet here I was, taking up time in a parking lot......(in the form and person of this stern-faced man), making sure to "correct" someone about bending the rules. Naughty! Naughty!
And here is something else the Guides pointed out. They said: "Think of all the people in the world with unhealed "inferiority complexes." If you get them to open up, they'll tell you that the cause of their pervasive shyness was being yelled at and ridiculed when they were growing up. It sounds good, it has a kind of unjust "twang" to it........but really.......how much healing comes from such an insight? Not much, from what I can see.
The truth is........people who get yelled at or hit when they are young are being afforded an opportunity to witness the vengeful, judgmental, cruel parts of THEMSELVES that are hidden way down inside. These are the "givens" in their life equation---unrealized karma. Just because the offensive qualities appear in the form of a teacher, a parent, a priest, or a policeman......they assume that the "source" for their self-loathing comes from outside. People NEVER heal if they reason from that place. Thanks to the sharing of the Guides, we now realize that EVERYTHING seen outside is just a mirror of something inside. If we own it, embrace it, and integrate it.....the job is done.
When this man was confronting me today, I was purposefully alkaline in my response to him. I didn't absorb the shame he was projecting, but I didn't throw it back at him, either. He bounced a few balls of shame over the net, and I let them hit the ground and just lie there. Then I looked in the rear-view mirror and said: "Gotcha." Anything nasty I said back to him would have been instantly felt BY ME, you see? Because that's who I was really dealing with...........
This whole business about "self-image" and "inferiority" is about to go by the wayside. Little by little, we're starting to realize that EVERYTHING OUT THERE is part of "self image".......and the separated, shy, lonely fellow who used to be locked in our "First Person Self" is just an optical illusion.......a tool for differentiation of perception, when dealing with the rest of who we are.
So okay........judgmental attitudes DO exist in me. But I'm still glad I chose to go against traffic and bend the rules, too! <wink> Inside every "prissy puss" who has the compulsion to correct and harass, there also exists a "rebel" who loves to raid the cookie jar and break the rules!
Don't have a COW, man!
Another Transmission from The Reconnections
"Open-Heart Mergery begins when the Planetary Veil becomes punctured, either through conscious collective evolution, or by some traumatic injury. Each individual comes onto the planet with his or her personal Veil, but there is a huge variance in density and permability of their insulation, causing some to be more sensitive than others. Those whose Veils are thicker, protecting them from exposure to what is on "the other side," will be more earthly-focused. Those with thin Veils will be quite susceptible to spiritual stimulation, but may often be vexed by the demands and difficulties of life in physical form.
Lasting and meaningful GLOBAL CONNECTIONS are built when individuals begin to look at the wondrous diversity of their planetary family as true reflections of themselves---mirrors that reveal deeper secrets about who you all are, and what you have come here to do. Such reflections become most apparent, and most compelling, when specialized circumstances suddenly showcase, for all humankind, such common enemies as hunger, illness, gross physical deprivation, and death.
Indeed, such conditions proliferate daily upon your planet. And many souls will be gobbled up by famine, pestilence, or murder during the time it takes for you to read this transmission. But the process which is transforming the Mass Mind upon your planet is set in motion whenever vivid caricatures of these natural horrors are highlighted, amplified, and broadcast around the world through the wonders of your modern media. Let the images draw us all closer together........"
"Yesterday brought one of the cruelest instruments imaginable to illustrate for us all the preciousness and sanctity of life."
~ Julie Still, Virginia Tech Buddhist Community Rep.
A Cat in the Hat, Yes. But a cat on the Bus?
All the cool stuff seems to be happening in England these days. This just came in from a friend in e-mail. Y'all know how I love cats. Some cool kitty in England is earning quite a reputation in his neighborhood. Apparently, he's been spotted getting on and off a local bus, almost daily, as he busily goes from the residential to the business district in his hometown in England. (Everything cool seems to be happening in Britain these days!)
Witnesses have nicknamed him "Mc Cavity," after a character in one of T.S. Elliott's poems about a mystery cat. And what a mystery he is! One of the drivers noticed him jumping off the bus one day, though he never saw the kitty get on. Then came the next day, and the next, and the next.
He always gets on at the same place---near a row of 1950's style houses. He runs under the seat and waits patiently for the bus to move ahead to the next stop. When the doors open he politely jumps off. His destination includes a row of boutiques and a fish and chips place. About the Last Days of Earth, I think the scripture says: "The lion shall lay down with the lamb." What I don't recall is the verse that covers kitty cats taking buses, while refusing to pay!
DJ. 4/15/2007
Wally and the Beave?
Omigod. How old does this make a guy feel? That's Eddie Haskell on the left there, Beaver Cleaver in the middle, and his brother Wally on the right. The original cast of "Leave it to Beaver."
Where Have All the Leaders Gone?
(Lee Iacoca takes on George W. Bush & Co.)
Click the title above for a tasty excerpt. Wow!
April 4, 2007. Victoria Station, London: I have been talking to English friends for about two months now, many of whom are concerned about the rising tide of anger and frustration that seems to be brewing in English cities. There has been a notable increase in police presence, probably to discourage civil uprisings. The anger dwells in the hearts of young people, mostly.......but there are older folks who share it, too. Frustrations over the war, the economy, corruption in high places, lies, betrayals. It can add up to T-R-O-U-B-L-E, if a person doesn't find a way to let off some steam. Apparently, 4,000 Londoners recently found a way to do just that.At a set day and hour (6:53pm, to be exact) a group of local clubbers entered Victoria Station, wearing I-pods with earphones. As a ten second countdown was conducted, they all began dancing wildly, silently, to the music playing in their ears. This event, called a "flash mob," was orchestrated through local web sites and e-bulletins, urging folks to show up at the station at the appointed time, and begin "dancing like you've never danced before."
Some irritated commuters struggled to get past the mob so they could reach their trains on time. Open displays of disgust were not uncommon. But many, many more stood by...amused....and some even joined in the dancing, though they had to imagine their own music.
People of all ages were there. The kids loved it, as kids tend to do. All in all, the party lasted about two hours, until a busload of police came and disbursed the crowd. With tensions in the city being high, it's not unusual that some people got irritated. There are times in life when a person literally needs to be DRAFTED into having fun! That's how conditioned for stress we are these days. What a great ride.
For the full article on this, click HERE.
"Life is too important to be taken seriously."
~Chantale Gratton.
4/6/2007.
Do Something BRAVE today! (And then run like hell!)
Izzat Phunny, or What?
Speaking of Giraffes...........
Here's an opt-tickle Illusion. Look closely, and continuously into this abstract picture. Soon, you'll be able to make out a giraffe among the clouds.
It's amazing! Look NOW.
Love people and use things
Don't love things and use people!
A KNOCK AT THE DUIR...(CLICK HERE)
There is a flash movie on the lower left of the page. Well worth a visit!
Somewhere.............Over the Rainbow...........(click here)
_______________________
Some More Fun and Beautiful Stuff:
LET NO ONE SLEEP! LET NO ONE SLEEP!
OH MY! CHECK IT OUT! "THE CREMATION OF SAM MCGEE"
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