tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13938901386718685362024-03-19T04:17:08.295-07:00Now. Here. This.This is a place where I wax prosaic on just about anything and everything that occurs to me. Comments and dialogue welcome. Ruminations highly encouraged, shallow obsessing, Stream of Consciousness, scattin' and all thattin'.........Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.comBlogger267125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-1484248206379001062012-05-18T22:53:00.000-07:002012-05-18T22:54:01.597-07:00The Taboo Against EcstasyThere is a taboo in this country. There is the buttoned down extreme conservatism co-existent in a schizophrenic relationship with no holds barred, vulgar lowest common denominator reality TV level degeneracy. People imagine that because they have thrown off the shackles of traditional values taught in generations past, that they are somehow free. There are those that imagine they are creating free art. Lady Gaga comes to mind. None of this is free. None of the sports, entertainments, music industry output, filmography touches on the true Ecstasy of Existence itself. We can be decandent all we like. We can be Girls Gone Wild, we can do all manner of hedoism in the name of freedom and youth and rebellion. But none of it is free. None of it really delivers. None of it gets at the ROOT knot in the gut. The tightness in the chest; the always present stress, that within us that makes us tail-gate while driving. That "thing" that is aching for release. Sex momentarily releases some stress. Thank God....and we often do. But stress release, even of aerobic exxercise is still....not it. Not it and we know it. We sense it. But there is no outlet to even articulate what it is we crave; our heart's desire even if we KNEW what it was.<br />
<br />
I am going to suggest that there is a taboo against GENUINE ecstasy in this country. You may NOT be ecstatic. You may be enthusiastic. You may be "stoked" if you live in California. You may be overcome by emotion...say if you win the lottery. A little bit of bliss is allowed. In tiny moments. At a wedding of your children. At a birth of a child. Some of the bliss bleeds through and it is allowed. But all the time? Are you NUTS? Besides, what are you talking about?<br />
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It has been known by the ancients that there is within the human soul a need and deep desire to connect with the Source of all Bliss. The wise of many traditions have known that BLISS is our very nature. The wise in many traditions have taught that there are practices which open one to that very Bliss.....the Bliss, that "nectar of the gods" which is inherent in PRAISE. That's right. PRAISE....of the Divine. Are you a scientist? An atheist? No worries. Bow your head to Nature. Kiss the feet of Oxygen. Can you live without either? You can at least praise the existence given you by oxygen. <br />
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The point is to dissolve into absolute ecstatic bliss though the praise and awakening love by singing and/or dancing our your praise and love to that VERY ONE. Whomoever is your Cosmic Beloved, to that one is due your praise and love. It is not for the sake of that ONE in whom all is suffience and contains all opulences and excellencies....no it for the sake of US....to fulfill our heart's desire...to become utterly and completely given over to ecstatic, to be "beside ourselves" with Joy. Joy, joy and more joy. Loving whole-heartedly that which is whole-heartedly Love-able brings down the torrent of Bliss which is what we really seek in all of our paltry endeavors in the realm of "distraction." Behind very face, in every activity, we are really seeking the face of the Cosmis Beloved. Don't you remember?<br />
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Defy the taboo. Become ecstatic. Get to know your true Self. <br />
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Sufis are one group who have always had a key to Divine Ecstasy. I include this for your foray into breaking taboos. Enjoy. Love.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-59015135826084598492012-05-18T22:23:00.001-07:002012-05-18T22:23:23.391-07:00heyTrudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-42149800746245902072010-03-15T06:25:00.000-07:002010-03-15T06:41:05.327-07:00When to Speak....or Not!Boy. This is new territory for a gal like me, so used to speaking her mind! I have always been honest, sometimes to a fault. In innocuous ways this entails telling my hubby every salacious detail of a walk with our toddler, or the carnitas lunch I had at La Mission, the moment to moment progress of my sore toe etc. It also included stream of consciousness processing of my subconscious mindforms. Oh yes. Were you to be in my family, as my daughter or my husband, any random thought occurring to me, would make its way into YOUR brain. Several months ago, however, events conspired to alert me to the fact that, GUESS WHAT, not everyone is interested in sharing to that extent! I have really reined in, therefore, my tendencies to be "honest". I try very hard now, to not cross boundaries. Just as I do at school with my little ones, give space, observe, knowing that the less interference the better I now do at home. So that is a big Yippee!<div><br /></div><div>At the moment I am looking at two situations in my life with two friends. One has a spouse who is being outrageous in some pretty socially unacceptable behavior and this friend is still in denial. Another is one who has gone back to a "dark side" spiritual teacher who really stifled and hurt her before; really crossing boundaries. This man does NOT treat people with dignity or respect whatsoever. She was so relieved to be OUT of the cult at one point and really found her voice again. Inexplicably she has returned. I've barely said anything at all regarding this turn of events, but did say one MILD thing and she has ceased speaking to me. I do have ways of contacting her if I choose, but I will not.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm holding my tongue in both situations. This is new territory. Wish me luck.</div>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-29880844238097365882010-03-13T09:06:00.000-08:002010-03-13T09:08:21.326-08:00Abuse of Power in Guru LandI'll make it brief for today. This was said my Adyashanti, a teacher I've seen a few times. Never became a 'student' of his, but I do appreciate his point of view. Especially here when he says:<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 15px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); ">"What I tell people is that if you’re seeking enlightenment, your good sense is vital. In fact, you’re going to have to learn to trust it more and more. I think people actually know early on when something’s off about a teacher, but they think they must be wrong, because an enlightened person can’t do any wrong. And that’s not true. Enlightened people can do wrong. They can do harmful things."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;font-size:130%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;font-size:130%;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;">My comment: HELL TO THE YES!</span></span></div>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-50412557630242484182010-02-24T06:41:00.000-08:002010-02-24T06:44:04.300-08:00How I Went from Miserable and Resentful to Blissful and Grateful in 12 Hours<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 18px; font-family:Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">It was March 11, 1981 and I was married to my second husband, Jeff, a fireman with the city of San Jose.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">A little backstory:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The marriage was just an “okay” match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We had fun sometimes, but there was a definite strain of competition in Jeff that I found baffling, being that I was his wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If I accomplished anything of significance, or succeeded in an endeavor, rather than being happy for me he would say how he could probably have done it faster, better, higher, farther etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This competitive “thing” with him was so bad that we couldn’t even play friendly board games or card games together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The last time we’d played Scrabble on a picnic by the Russian River, I’d won the game and he became so furious he took the Scrabble dictionary and threw it into the river, wouldn’t speak to me out of anger for hours.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also I had my own baggage which I’d brought to the marriage, that being a lot of unfinished business with my mom which included heavy resentment over my childhood (she was a critical control freak who never let up from morning til night) and frustration about how she was still trying to manipulate my behavior and decisions based upon criticism and harsh disapproval.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These two people were the closest TO me, other than my little 3 year old daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The combination of their influence in my life PLUS my poor skill level in dealing with either of them, left me in pretty sad shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My response to be resentful, depressed,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>angry and irritable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not fun.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">This one particular day, March 11<sup>th</sup>,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I’d gone to my first appointment with a therapist I’d been to during my divorce from my first husband, Lee.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her name was Marge Weimer and I really liked her and trusted her completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was there because I could no longer stand the state of my “state”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I knew I had major work to do in order to process through all of the crap that was inside of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was pure “yuck”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also I knew that therapy took quite awhile and would be no “enlightenment weekend”.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">At that appointment I described to Marge how I was feeling and basically, other than a few folks, I told her I felt that “everyone is not REAL, nobody is REAL!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Marge, being the good therapist she is asked “WHO is not real?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I replied “I KNOW you are trying to get me to say that I am not real, but it doesn’t FEEL that way to me right now.”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We talked a bit more about I don’t even remember, probably my list of complaints </span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and I scheduled an appointment for the following week and I left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>My mood was black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I felt that I had SO MUCH crap inside of me and that therapy was going to take…well it felt like an infinite amount of time at that point, before I got anything TRULY resolved.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">I went home to my husband and Sarah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She was playing in her room and I remember sitting on the sofa in front of the large picture window in our living room.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Jeff asked me a question and I think I snapped at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I told him also how I was feeling still so much resentment toward my mom.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He sympathized in his way by saying “Well your mom is a shitbird….flying around shitting on everything!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Small comfort.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">That night before we went to bed, Jeff told me that he had been fantasizing lately about going to Argentina WITHOUT me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He then said, he felt that if I didn’t change my behavior and attitude, that he felt he was going to want a divorce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>SHIT!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That just tanked me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Not that he was the love of my life, by any means, but it was the whole idea that I would have a SECOND divorce under my belt at the age of 28!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What a failure I thought I was!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I couldn’t bear what that indicated about me and facing all friends and family with ANOTHER marriage break up.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">After I tucked Sarah in bed for the night, I went into our spare bedroom to be alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I laid on the floor and just sobbed into the carpet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I cannot tell you how miserable I was.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was at the end of my rope, that’s for sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I didn’t know WHAT to do, but having been raised Catholic I did have a vague idea that there MIGHT be a God, some benevolent presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It had been LONG years since my experiences as a child which held me in spiritual thrall at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I’d almost forgotten all about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Catholicism actually had sort of snuffed those<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>feelings out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It sure hadn’t supported<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>or reinforced those sentiments and realizations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So at 28 I had only a remnant of a sense of spirituality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thank God for that I suppose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was at rock bottom in that moment and not knowing what else to do AND feeling mighty angry at FATE, GOD whatever it was I said aloud “If you REALLY EXIST godammit, then you better show me, because I’m DYING down here!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I REALLY meant it, more than anything I’d ever meant in a LONG time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Then, I took a OTC sleep aid and went to bed.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">I awoke at about 4:00 in the morning and immediately felt that familiar sick, heart-sinking feeling that I’d had before I went to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>But now, in the quiet of the night, with ONLY my own psyche to notice, I felt something new; I wanted to die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Not that I wanted to commit suicide, I didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What I wanted was for that hateful, resentful, sick-minded self to DIE, dissolve, disappear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This feeling was so strong that I had an instinctive “pulling away” from within.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is the only way I can describe it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In so doing,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I felt within, a sensation like a earthquake, like a tectonic plate shift, a sensation like a crack within.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The very next moment, IN that crack poured an Avalanche of LOVE, so much so much so that it blasted me wide open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Suddenly I felt totally awash in Love!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>An Ocean of love!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Monumental waves of Love just washing through me in around me and in an INSTANT all of the resentment, hate, disappointment, confusion, depression was utterly utterly GONE! <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">I felt an tremendous Love for ME, from a Presence in my room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was a presence which was loving me so completely that it dwarfed the idea of parental love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Imagine the most loving, most supportive, compassionate, adoring parental love you could possibly dream of and that love was like a thimbleful compared to an Ocean of the Love I was experiencing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This presence was loving me and I saw an image of myself like a newborn in a large pair of hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Tears of love-bliss were streaming down my face, all I could feel was love.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I was feeling love for absolutely everything.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">The next thing that happened was truly amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I began to “see” faces of people I’d forgotten completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I began to understand from the Presence in my room (telepathically) that these were all people for whom I had held some form of resentment in my heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I saw myself as a baby in my playpen on the front lawn of my house and forming a resentment toward the bread man who was talking to my mom!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The faces appeared faster and faster and as they appeared to my mind’s eye they simultaneously passed through my heart which was so filled with love, there was an instantaneous healing and blessing with that person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It was happening so rapidly it felt like warp speed until finally within mere minutes I was in the present moment and had healed everything with everyone in my entire life.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">I began also, to have “Christian” teachings in my mind making sense to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I heard “Father forgive them they know not what they do.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I SAW that anyone anywhere who did something unloving was MERELY AND ONLY because they were not feeling the love-bliss as I now was blessed to be feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There was NO judgment on this!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>NONE!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The Divine mind was showing itself to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I SAW and more than that KNEW that the entire idea of guilt was a manmade construct!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I saw the nature of God was So totally LOVE that there was no room, no space, no thought of anything like guilt, wrong, bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>ALL of us were accepted and loved and adored and cherished just exactly as I was feeling now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>To include EVERYONE, Hitler, Stalin, Genghis Khan, you name it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everyone was precious and perfect and utterly cherished just as they were, in the Divine Heart/mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The entire Catholic and Christian teaching about Hell was totally false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We could never do anything that could separate us from the total love of the Divine and we were always swimming in this Love but without knowing it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">For about two hours I just basked in the love bliss and my heart was so full and I felt so GRATEFUL I cannot describe it fully.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Such gratitude.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This knowledge felt more REAL than anything I’d ever felt before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everything else, ordinary life was sort of stepped down, ratcheted down reality, or as Jesus put it to one of his disciples “veiled”.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I laid in bed just meditating on the love in my heart in a blessed out condition until the sun came up and Jeff woke up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I said good morning to him and he said to me “Something happened to you!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I mean it was THAT obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I was just beaming with joy and love and light….even I realized I actually LOOKED different.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">That day I looked around the world and everything was incredibly BRIGHT and colorful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So many bright colors!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Where before things had literally looked dim and dull, suddenly life was an explosion of color and light!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>WOW!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>it was positively psychedelic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This lasted for MONTHS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also for months, what occurred was that every morning at 4:00 a.m.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I would wake up from “dreaming” that I’d been in a realm where myself and others and ANGELS had been singing or chanting love songs to the Divine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>OR I would wake up from a dream where I had been on a boat with Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Or I would wake up from a dream where I had been questioning Jesus about the Cosmos.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Mostly I would wake up with the sense I had just been meditating in a realm with exalted beings such as angels, but not entirely angels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Just in an exalted realm above the human, that’s all I can say.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">My relationships with everyone improved very much, as you might imagine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I had the impulse to run up to everyone and say “do you know how much God loves you?!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You don’t even know!<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>You are so loved!!”<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But, I restrained myself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> .<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Slowly the brightness of colors went more back to normal but not entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Slowly I began to be less of a bliss ninny, but again, no entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What didn’t come back ever, was poisonous resentment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Also, I totally lost my ability to hate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That never returned at all.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">I was changed at the core of my being and I have been a basically happy person, an optimist and a lover ever since that day.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The “formula” that worked for me was surrender and prayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That is what it took in my case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Giving up, being at rock bottom and reaching out, even angrily to God/Source/Divine….fill in the blank with what has heart and meaning to you.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>IT the Heart, doesn’t care what you call it…..just THAT you call it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">As a side note, I kept my appointment the following week with my therapist Marge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I related this entire story to her and she asked if I would write it down for the meditation class she taught weekly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She said this was an experience that many of them were hoping for through meditation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After our session she walked me to the door and hugged me saying “I feel as if I have been in the Presence of an angel for the last hour.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Thank you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;">Thank you for listening to my Leela.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Wingdings;mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-char-type:symbol;mso-symbol-font-family:Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="News Gothic MT"font-family:";font-size:9.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-3589526175721652732010-02-09T06:22:00.000-08:002010-02-09T06:34:29.366-08:00Can We Close the Zoos Now?When Joelle was little (she is now almost 21) I used to take her to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, Aquarium AND the Zoo each first Wednesday of every month. It was great because each first Wed. is FREE day and we'd pack a lunch and go with friends; the kids in strollers and the moms in sneakers.....we'd make a whole day of it. Many times, it would just be Joelley and me. The Zoo was a favorite.<div><br /></div><div>At that time, I could sense the unhappiness of the animals in captivity, (the elephants were particularly depressed) but Joelle's sense of wonder, amazement, excitement and joy hit the "override" button for me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I can see why at one time, zoos were the only way for children to learn about animals and get a sense of what they were like. At the SF Zoo, they used to have "Zoo Keys" which turned on a little tape recorder that played a brief recording on facts for each animal exhibit. It was educational. Then too, people were less sensitive to the effects on animals in captivity. </div><div><br /></div><div>NOW, however we have Animal Planet. If you are a regular viewer, you can see just about any type of animal, up close, complete with all sorts of facts and simply spectacular footage. With all of this available, are zoos necessary? Are zoos humane, based on what we have learned about animals? Zoos came into being over 100 years ago. It is my belief that they are antiquated, far out dated and unnecessary. I hope they are all eventually closed as the current population of creatures dies off.</div>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-41142760283477230622010-01-23T06:18:00.000-08:002010-01-23T07:22:29.959-08:00SUICIDE is a Permanent Solution to a Temporary Problem<div><br /></div><div>or <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Why the Supreme Court's Decision on Corporate Rights makes our Heroine want to stick her head in a Washing Machine on Extra Spin cycle <i>INSTEAD</i> of a gas oven. Part 1,613</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b>Briiiing! Briiiiiing! Wake up Americans....time to wake UP! In case you've been inundated with only news stories about the weather (it's been raining...who knew!?) let me pass along a bit of important info: Your democracy now sleeps with the fishes. The SCOTUS has decided that Corporations (long legally considered to be 'individuals' by some pretzel logic known only to lawyers) have the right to free speech to the extent that their right to spend money on political campaigns is unlimited. Too late to kiss direct democracy goodbye...we never really had that, but now democracy, small "d" is done, over, kaput. Not only can corporations donate obscene amounts of cash to <i>support their candidate of choice<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">they can spend gazillions of dollars to thwart, suppress, campaign against those candidates they do not want to have elected. Average, everyday Americans don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell now to run a political campaign. Unless they have corporate backing; sponsorship as it were. You want to run for office? You must become a product. </span></i></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Future media broadcast: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the next President of the United States, Ms. Sarah Palin </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">tm, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">a wholly owned subsidiary of Exxon Mobil will be inaugurated on January 20, 2013 in Google Plaza. The President Elect and First Dude have already moved into Halliburton House (formerly known as the White House) and have been settling in. Ms. Palin has been spending the past few days making plans for the redecoration of the Neimann Marcus room.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Those individuals wishing to attend the Inauguration must have their background checks processed and passports stamped by the office of Homeland Security no later than January 1st.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Persons wishing to assemble in the Designated Free Speech Protest Area must have their applications including the $1,000.00 application fee processed and approved by HSA no later than January 5th. Unlawful assembly by persons without permits will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Those convicted will be housed at the Blackwater Correctional Facility in Maryland. Authorities anticipating a large inmate population increase due to this event have made provisions for the newly convicted "overflow" to be transferred to the Focus on the Family </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">tm. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">State Prison. FOTF Prison currently houses convicted abortion providers, pro-choice advocates and gay and lesbian activists. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><i>BREAKING NEWS This just in: </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> Coca Cola Armed Forces have announced that they intend to institute a draft as early as next September to counteract the now double digit desertion numbers among their personnel fighting in the Indian Water conflict along the Ganges River. Anonymous sources say that the new order to shoot on sight any Indian women attempting to access water under cover of night has caused the rise in desertion rates among the Coca Cola troops. Coca Cola officials state that the first round of drafts will be instituted in the Palestinian Work Camp (formerly known as Gaza) which is controlled by Israel Goldman .Sachs.</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Additional Announcement: Comcast Federal Network will have three broadcast channels available for this evening: Lexipro Channel's 24 hour marathon of American Idol, Exxon Mobil News Channel and Levitra/Celias Inc. Channel's Highlights of ESPN.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So yeah, I feel like sticking my head in for a double wash, extra rinse this bad news shit outta my brain cycle, don't you? But because I have faith in human nature ultimately, if not American nature at this point, I would never opt for the Sylvia Plath method of making it all go away.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">But I do believe, THIS time, the Revolution will DEFINITELY NOT be televised.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-8749787839434749712010-01-21T19:04:00.000-08:002010-01-21T19:37:04.159-08:00Child Awakening....Part Two<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Part Two Child Awakening</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My beloved Grandma died when I was three years old.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Just so.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I grokked, in the most comprehensive way, that Life was not therefore a Disneyland place as it had somehow been presented to me.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sure, there </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">was</span></i></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Santa Claus and puppies, ice cream, swings, bicycles, hugs and kisses, Mommies and Daddies, but fundamentally, that was all ultimately meaningless in the face of the fact of DEATH.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My father told me that when we went on a car ride together after my Grandma’s funeral, I said to him “We are all born to die.”</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I got it.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Did I mention that I became depressed?</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Life has a way of making its point, and discovering that point has been </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">my</span></i></span><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> life’s journey.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I don’t recall the exact sequence of events right after my Grandma’s death, as they seem to cascade together as a rain of blessing.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I will just simply describe them, best as I can without a timeline.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">All I know for sure is that soon after this SHOCK of the discovery of mortality, I was once again in that place of simple Awareness frequently. One morning in particular remains as a deep impression in my being. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We had these kindly, elderly next door neighbors we called “Grandma and Grandpa Buckley”.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">They loved my brother and me and we used to go visit them on occasion, without our parents.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Nowadays we would call them “cool”.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">They were relaxed.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">At any rate, one morning I was at their house and I recall that it was early, bright and sunny and Grandpa Buckley was in his little study area behind some partly opened glass French doors, sitting in his easy chair, smoking his pipe.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was in the adjacent small dining room, lying on my tummy under the table, looking at the sunbeams on the carpet.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As morning light always captivated me, I was simply looking at the “brightness”.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Suddenly I sensed a great stillness come over me and beyond me.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It was if Time stopped.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I sensed Eternity in that moment, as if nothing had ever happened before and there WAS nothing else.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The best way I can characterize it was that it felt more REAL and true than how I ordinarily perceived time and reality.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A feeling of bliss permeated my being.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Being approximately 4 years old, I had no context for this experience and had no way to convey it to anyone.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I simply didn’t speak of it.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In fact, I didn’t even feel a desire to tell anyone; it never occurred to me.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Looking back on all of these experiences I can see that it was kind of a set up.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The duck pond, my attraction to the bright sunlight there, my joy in simply observing the loveliness was a beginning of contemplation.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was building capacity as it were.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Then Grandma died and I was smithereened.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I think that was a set up too, for what was to come next.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:";"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As to the exact timing of this, as I said, I can't be sure but the following experience DID occur when I was about 4 years old. It was another bright sunny early weekend morning. I remember it was either a Saturday or Sunday because my parents were still in bed sleeping. I had gotten up and dressed myself in a favorite little dress of mine. I can still remember it; a little yellow dress with puffy sleeves.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Sans Typewriter', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I made my way into our back yard as it was a beautiful sunny morning and I loved being outdoors on days like that. My next recollection is of standing and gazing at the mountain behind the cemeteries, San Bruno mountain and looking at the way the sun made it look so majestic. Its appearance was so beautiful that I was gazing at it in awe. My guess is that I must have been drawn into one of my, now familiar, contemplative states because suddenly "I" felt expanded in all directions to Infinity. My body felt totally huge and then my point of view shifted to up above the rooftops of my neighborhood. I was looking down at the scene below and yet my body encompassed the entire scene below, it all felt "inside" of "ME" and the thought arose: "I have always been and I always will be." I had the sudden realization, but also recollection really, that "I" was the Source and Self of all that is. I knew, again, that there was no threat, no death, no "other" as I was the only ONE. All people, all processes, all objects, the entire Universe was all ONLY ME. I was "being" everybody and everything! I SAW that it was all only a play, an entertainment even, the Universe was something I was Be-ing in order to PLAY!</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Sans Typewriter', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> It really WAS a remembering and I had the distinct sensation of it only being just a second or two that I'd forgotten. There was a thought like "Oh yes, now I remember how it is..." No sooner than I'd Realized my Self and the Truth of Reality, then I was sort of snapped back into my personal little girl bodymind again. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'Lucida Sans Typewriter', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">If I had no context for the other things that had happened to me previously, trust me, I REALLY had no context for this total world shifting experience! I knew it was real, but I also knew I was once again Trudy. I never ever forgot the experience. I never spoke of it, and wouldn't have a context for it, until MUCH later when I learned of Parmahansa Yogananda and his description of Divine Self Realization. Until then I was going to go through many a spiritual winding road before I came across a kindred who could speak of these things.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Lucida Sans Typewriter"font-family:";font-size:16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Lucida Sans Typewriter"font-family:";font-size:16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="Lucida Sans Typewriter"font-family:";font-size:16.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-69130715541547496142010-01-18T11:34:00.000-08:002010-01-18T11:36:40.902-08:00Child Awakening....Part One<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px">We'll start with being born human, shall we?</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">I was born in San Francisco on September 2, 1952 at 3:30 p.m. We lived in South San Francisco in a little village type neighborhood situated directly across the road from all of the Cemeteries in Colma. My earliest memories include walking to the cemetery to visit the very large pond there and feeding the ducks. We did that often. We would bring a bag of bread crumbs with us, my brother in his stroller (or was it buggy back then?) and I at my mother's side. I was very impressed with the size and beauty of the cemetery. There was a large arch at the entry way that looked like the opening to a castle. There were beautiful, long rolling lawns with flowers everywhere. There were large crypts which all looked like Greek temples. Gorgeous ionic columns fronted the crypts and multi-colored stained glass windows made kaleidoscopes of color. There were many trees of all different varieties. There were large statues of angels. To my tiny mind and body it was amazing. I loved it there. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">Additionally in the 1950’s the road was very quiet. The town was very quiet. Once all the fathers went to work, the neighborhood was left to just the mothers and children. Close to 100% of the mothers stayed home to care for the children in those days. It was a slower and quieter lifestyle. Therefore when we would go to feed the ducks, it was quiet except for the ducks and swans. A few cars would pass by, infrequently. There was no loud highway noise like there is today. I remember the way the sun used to look as it shone over the neighborhood and on the cemetery across the road from the duck pond. It would illuminate the dew in the early mornings, (which was generally when we would be there) and it was casting long shadows on the pond as it rose up over the trees to the east. To me it was an enchanted place. It was so very peaceful. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">It was the sunlight that particularly captured my attention; the way it appeared in the quiet early morning hours. A particular response in me began to appear at that age. It began to trigger in me, altered states of consciousness. At least these were my first memories of being so intensely distracted by light that my awareness shifted. At first I noticed was how peaceful I felt at the cemetery duck pond and also there was a sense of expansion as I gazed upon the pond, the scenery, the sunlight on the lawns; I, myself was sort of breathless at the sheer loveliness of it all. I became enraptured, forgetting my little child self’s usual thoughts and concerns. I was transported on a feeling of wonder, awe and love. I suppose I was lost in reverie, but to say that implies I was 'elsewhere', when in fact I felt more present to the actual moment than in my usual state. If my mother or brother spoke to me, then I would sort of snap to, come back to myself just naturally. That phrase! "Come back to myself" says so much! The self I was returning to was personal consciousness, "Trudy" identity. Now I realize that most of us have these moments, the space between thoughts of "I" or "me" or "mine", but they are so subtle they're scarcely noticed.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">The next thing I recall from childhood is something so hugely overwhelming I cannot adequately describe it. By no means do I assume that circumstances in my life are any more intense, exalted, grievous than those in anyone ELSE's life, but I can only reflect upon my own process. Please know that I deeply acknowledge what the "all of us" go through, even if my personal experiences are vastly dissimilar or similar. That said, I'll continue.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">Let me set the stage a bit. As a small child, my chief characteristic was that of quiet observer. Both parents attested to that, however it was my father who accepted it and understood. I didn't have much time with him, however as he was gone each day to work. I DID have my one and only grandmother, my mother's mother (my dad had been raised in an orphanage) who was the light of my life. We were simpatico, we could ride the same "wave" as it were. I had a deep sense that she "groked" me. Where my mother was very concerned with the details of life; the particulars, all of the worrisome "do's" and "don'ts" of 1950's housewifery...(oy!) my grandmother was a much more relaxed human being. I recall sitting on her lap gazing out of our dining room window onto our front lawn where flocks of blackbirds would be eating the bread crumbs we'd put out for them each morning. (Oh yes, oh yes, we kept the neighborhood birds flush with Wonder Bread on BOTH sides of the highway!) She and I would sit peacefully, not saying much, perhaps simply "Look...." Both of us were one with the experience of the birds.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">When Grandma would come to visit she took the streetcar then a bus, down the old El Camino Real to South City and my mother, brother and I would walk to the bus stop to wait for her. When she stepped off of the bus, it felt like Christmas to me...I was so thrilled that she was there. My heart felt near to bursting. We'd walk the few blocks to our house and Grandma would take off her coat and sometimes reach into her pocket and pull out a piece of gum for me. Gum! Gum was not on the shopping list at our house I can assure you! But when Grandma gave it to me, my mother would let me have it. Grandma had such an easy way about her, she always had a smile for me and her eyes were so kind. She exuded peace and serenity even though, I know now, her life with my grandfather was anything BUT peaceful, but that's a story for another day. I can't remember too much of our doings together during her visits; what has impressed me deeply, and did then, was how I FELT in her presence. Now I know it was being in the presence of unconditional love. She had it, she gave it, she WAS it. When she was there, I felt nourished. My soul was fed, nurtured, supported. What can one experience with another human being greater than this? So that was my Grandma. Life with my mother? Not so much....she, poor thing, had issues; a nervous temperament, a mis-matched marriage, gaps within her, those emotional gaps which make for lack of understanding of others. I loved my mother, I truly did, but it was Grandma who was my support, my ally, the Friend of my heart.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">Of course you can guess what's coming....we all have our mellow dramas and this was mine. Yes, she died, suddenly and abruptly. I was still just three years old when my parents told me that Grandma had died. Strangely, I'd already had a convoluted premonition that Grandma was soon to die. Several months before that, she sprained her ankle and was on crutches and when I saw that...her standing on a corner on Church Street in SF with her ankle bandaged, crutches under her arms...I suddenly thought "oh no! Grandma might die from this! Grandma might die SOON!" The fear did not leave me. I became aware of her vulnerability somehow, even though, no one had spoken to me "officially" about death and I'm quite sure I didn't "get" it yet. Quite sure.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT">When my parents did tell me that Grandma had died, I asked if she was coming back ever. My father said "No, dying means that we will never, ever see Grandma again. She's gone and she is never coming back." Blow to my chest! Thud to the gut! Bodily shock! My little mind was trying to wrap around this fact. I asked my father "Does everyone die???" He replied "Everyone dies, we all die someday." Oh....can I explain the Existential Earthquake this knowledge rendered? My psychological and emotional Heart eyes flew wide open and I SAW. Oh. My. God! The generalization took place, that wonderful human feat that separates us from the apes...extrapolation. Suddenly I saw and thought "This place, this realm (not in those exact words mind you, but this is the GIST) is a place where anyone you love can be gone in an instant. Ripped away! This place is not as advertised and represented everywhere as "life"....this is a Hell realm...a place of suffering and we're all headed to more suffering. I got it: Impermanence. First Buddhist Teaching. Life is Suffering. I was in Existential crisis and became deeply depressed. </p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 18.0px News Gothic MT; min-height: 22.0px"><br /></p>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-11148858341944031862009-01-20T06:09:00.000-08:002009-01-20T06:30:35.838-08:00ObamaRama<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: courier new;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">It's ObamaRama today. Historic for so many reasons. The youth vote, the African American vote, the anti-war vote, the Universal healthcare vote, the Education vote, the Labor vote, the Pro-choice vote.....the list goes on. My question: Is Barack Obama really going to carry water for ALL of these constituents?<br /><br />A couple of months ago, I was all excited and twitter-pated when Obama won the election. A big part of my "glow" came from the significance of his election to the African American community AND to those of us who have struggled against racism within our own circles of family and friends, for decades. His election felt like a huge and heavy page turning at last. Stopping McCain was good, that was good.....definitely felt good. I was represented in all of the "special interests" who voted for Obama, being anti-war, pro-choice, pro-Education, pro-Labor etc. His victory was great for me in that regard.<br /><br />Since November, however I have been reading and researching and digging into some areas that have left me with a sense that all might not be as it seems or appears; the appointment of Rahm Emmanuel being the biggest clue. Also the retention of Robert Gates. <br /><br />I am just hoping and praying (in my non-denominational way) that we won't be singing that old Who song, before long: "Won't be Fooled Again", the refrain being:<br /><br />Meet the new boss<br />Same as the old boss<br /><br />I've got the jitters.....and it's not just this big cup of Peets coffee I've been drinking. Time to do some major spiritual re-alignment or I could go into a permanent funk. Having just read in the BBC news that nervous, stressed out people tend to get dementia by a margin of 50% over people who are calm, I've got incentive!<br /><br />Good luck to ALL of us! Peace and good will to all sentient and non-sentient beings! That includes YOU Mr. Obama, may your ObamaRama inspire you to the depths of your soul to really BE all that you can BE in service to the ALL in All.<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-44584662735015206512009-01-18T18:33:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:38:34.600-08:00A Jewish Rabbi tells the Truth about Palestine and GazaI am so happy, so relieved, so grateful to hear this sane man's beautiful words about Judaism. It is true that Iran has been a good host to Jewish people. They even have museums and Jewish synagogues and all sorts of Jewish groups alive and well in Iran.<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7pPq1C5s0SY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7pPq1C5s0SY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-38606778025716852962009-01-13T20:25:00.000-08:002009-01-13T20:26:37.002-08:00A little too KindFor the whole law is fulfilled in one word,<br />"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14<br /><br />I have wept in the night<br />For the shortness of sight<br />That to somebody`s need made me blind;<br /><br />But I have never yet<br />Felt a tinge of regret<br />For being a little too kind.<br /><br />anonymousTrudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-24725004874809699342009-01-13T18:36:00.000-08:002009-01-13T18:37:04.580-08:00Congressman Dennis Kucinich Tells it like it IS<span style="font-size: 18px;font-family:arial;" ><b>US Congressman: Israel war violations 'deliberate'</b></span><p><br /><span style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Congressman Kucinich: America arming Israel with weapons that are used against Palestinian civilians. </span></p><p><br /> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >PACIFICA – Israel must take the responsibility for its attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza, said Congress member Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, during an interview with <i>Democracy Now!</i> on Monday. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"When you look at what the targets of the attacks have been, you know, the Israeli army is given a lot of credit for its precision, so when UN schools are hit, the American university there, when you look at the damage or destruction of the Red Cross’s efforts there, you have to come to an understanding that this is deliberate. This isn’t accidental. Accidents can happen in war, but when you’re using that kind of destructive power, you have to take the responsibility for the consequences of it," said Congressman Kucinich.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" > "There’s no question there’s a use of disproportionate force here, and no amount of reasoning or attempt to try to take the side of Israel is going to remove that single fact," he added.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"Just look at the numbers. Look at the destruction. I mean, believe what you see with your eyes. And that’s, I suppose, one of the reasons why the Israeli government doesn’t want the media to get in there. When you tell civilians to go to a house to be protected, and then you shell that house, I mean, what does that say?" Asked the Congressman. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >Congressman Kucinich said the US must make sure that its military aid to Israel will not continue to be used against the civilian population in Gaza.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"Not only F-16 jets, Apache helicopters, but now we’re seeing white phosphorus used against the people in Gaza. This should be a great concern to every person in this country, because of the amount of money that we’re giving to Israel," said the US Congressman. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >Such use is even in violations of the US conditions. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"In 1976, Congress passed a law that says that if the United States is going to give arms to another country, that it can attach and does attach conditions that says that those arms are transmitted under the condition, first of all, that they’re used for defensive purposes only, and second, that they not be used to escalate a preexisting conflict. On both of those cases, I think that Israel has failed," noted Congressman Kucinich.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >But Israel seems to be encouraged by Washington.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"The Bush administration encouraged Israel to continue the aggression that occurred in South Lebanon that resulted in, the closing days of that war, the destruction of South Lebanon, which is one of the reasons why I’m concerned about what might happen yet in Gaza in the closing days of this current war," said Congressman Kucinich.</span></p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >The US Congressman also addressed the root cause of the conflict - Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"You have to go back to the blockade and the occupation, and you have to look at Israel’s conduct in the West Bank, as well. I mean, if Israel was so gentle with the people of Gaza, you look at the West Bank and look at what’s happened there," he explained. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >But - outside the US - Israel has failed justify its violence.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >"The whole world is watching this, and the world understands what’s happening. You know, no amount of attempt to rationalize this violence in Gaza is going to work for Israel," he said. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >On the timing of the Israeli assault, Congressman Kucinich said: "Israel has a lot of talent, very bright people running their government. They chose to use violence. They chose it on the eve of a presidential inauguration in the United States. They’re trying to take advantage of this situation, because they know the Bush administration couldn't care less about international law." </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >Both the House and Senate passed non-binding resolutions last week in Washington, D.C., overwhelmingly supporting Israel’s offensive in Gaza. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >On Thursday, the Senate passed the resolution by a unanimous voice vote. The House voted on a similar bill Friday.</span></p><p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >The measure passed by a vote of 390 for, five against, twenty-two representatives voting “present.” </span></p> <span style="font-size: 14px;font-family:arial;" >Democratic Congress member Dennis Kucinich of Ohio is one of the five members of the House to vote against the resolution. </span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-5137034096448023942009-01-13T18:27:00.000-08:002009-01-13T18:30:55.058-08:00UK weighs in on Israel, the MPs of Parliament FuriousFrom the News.scotsman.com, this article today:<br /><br />Cross-party fury of MPs at Israel<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Published Date: 13 January 2009<br />By Gerri Peev<br /><br />BRITISH MPs yesterday lined up to give their strongest condemnation yet of Israel's actions in Gaza, branding Ehud Olmert's government "mass murderers" and calling for the country to face sanctions.<br />David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, faced cross-party demands for Israel's ambassador to be expelled from London and for Britain to recall its representative from Tel Aviv.<br /><br />The strongest criticism in the one hour session, that followed a statement from the Foreign Secretary, came from Sir Gerald Kaufman, a former Labour minister, who is Jewish.<br /><br />Directing his fury at the Israeli prime minister, foreign minister and defence minister, he said: "Olmert, (Tzipi] Livni and (Ehud] Barak are mass murderers, war criminals and bring shame on the Jewish people whose Star of David they use as a badge in Gaza."<br /><br />He suggested the British government would have taken a more strident tone if it had been Hamas who had "slaughtered 900 Israelis".<br /><br />Peter Kilfoyle, a former Labour defence minister, also accused Israel of "state-sponsored terrorism" and urged the government to ensure no arms were exported to the country.<br /><br />Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, said if any other democratic state had behaved in the same way, it would be faced with economic sanctions.<br /><br />Michael Howard, the former Conservative leader, took a swipe at the outgoing Bush administration's lack of progress on the Middle East and said there was a "glimmer of hope on the horizon" with the election of Barack Obama, the US president-elect.<br /><br />"It is only the president of the US who has the means to secure the concessions from both sides that are necessary to achieve a viable Palestinian state and a lasting settlement," he said.<br /><br />Chris Mullin, a former Foreign Office minister, said "These are war crimes that we are witnessing in Gaza.<br /><br />"Britain should start talking with EU allies about sanctions and "at the very least to stop selling them weapons and, perhaps, the withdrawal of our ambassador".<br /><br />Mr Miliband rejected calls for severing diplomatic ties and imposing sanctions, saying this would simply isolate Israel. However, he called for abuse allegations made by both sides to be investigated.<br /><br />He added that there was "no evidence" that UK weapons were used by the Israeli defence force in the latest attacks.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-72293072517452468932009-01-13T05:49:00.000-08:002009-01-13T06:08:44.159-08:00Protests in UK.....Our Media won't cover US protests<span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Yesterday morning as I was sweeping the leaves at our school, I was wondering "Where are all of the Bu-Jews? Why are they not out and protesting?" I remember during the Viet Nam war, some Buddhist monks set themselves on fire to protest against the war. Buddhists have traditionally been against wars of all kinds. This kind of violence, where state of the art military is raining down terror on a population <span style="font-style: italic;">TRAPPED </span>like fish in a barrel would seem to be so outrageous that pacifists of ALL kinds would be out in the streets. <br /><br />Jewish people, some friends of mine in fact, have turned to Buddhism as a philosophy, have been on Buddhist retreats in fact. I know of some Jews who have embraced Buddhism to the point of becoming nuns and monks and/or writing books about the practice. So many Jewish folks convert that they are affectionately called "Bu-Jews". Yesterday morning I was asking the question of the Universe: "Where are the Bu-Jews?" In fact, where are the protesters altogether? <br /><br />In a conversation with a friend yesterday I discovered that yes, there ARE protests going on, it is just that OUR US MEDIA DOESN'T DEEM IT NEWSWORTHY to cover it, in print or broadcast. They learned that lesson in Viet Nam. "Don't show actual wars, don't show people's outrage." Have glossy graphics with new scrawl as a talking head describes a white wash version, the official party line slant on it all. In passing they'll mention that some people were protesting but they always cast the protesters in the light of "kooks" "fringe" "extremists", all descriptions being pejorative AND they'll always mention ANY violence on the part of the protesters, even if it is one window broken. The whole idea being that Americans are so damned attached to "private property" that any damage that may occur to this holy of holies de-legitimizes ANY intent or purpose or message of the protesters. It's sort of an innoculation process; TV news viewers are supposed to be so put off that they'll NEVER take the protests seriously EVER.<br /><br />I went on the hunt for news stories about protests that DID get broadcast and I found one in London, UK, where a former UK Ambassador to Uzbakistan, Craig Murray grabs a loudspeaker and speaks his mind and heart. I've posted it here:<br /><br /><br /></span></span><object width="450" height="370"><param name="movie" value="http://www.liveleak.com/e/04d_1231674275"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.liveleak.com/e/04d_1231674275" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="450" height="370"></embed></object>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-69617216266786357022009-01-11T17:57:00.000-08:002009-01-11T18:05:49.050-08:00It's All.....Too Beautiful<object width="425" height="330"><param name="movie" value="http://www.yamelo.com/y0/11471"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="wmode" value="window"></param><embed src="http://www.yamelo.com/y0/11471" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="window" width="425" height="330"></embed><a href="http://www.yamelo.com/clip/small-faces/11471_small-faces-itchycoo-park.html">small faces - itchycoo park</a></object><br /><br /><br />Over bridge of sighs<br />To rest my eyes in shades of green<br />Under dreamin' spires<br />To Itchycoo Park, that's where I've been<br /><br />What did you do there?<br />I got high<br />What did you feel there?<br />Well I cried<br />But why the tears then?<br />I'll tell you why<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br /><br />I feel inclined to blow my mind<br />Get hung up feed the ducks with a bun<br />They all come out to groove about<br />Be nice and have fun in the sun<br /><br />I'll Tell you what I'll do (what will you do?)<br />I'd like to go there now with you<br />You can miss out school (won't that be cool)<br />Why got to learn the words of fools<br />What will we do there?<br />We'll get high<br />What will we touch there?<br />We'll Touch the sky<br />But why the tears there?<br />I'll tell you why<br /><br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br /><br />I feel inclined to blow my mind<br />Get hung up feed the ducks with a bun<br />They all come out to groove about<br />Be nice and have fun in the sun<br /><br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />It's all too beautiful<br />Ha! It's all too beautifulTrudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-67008144742922371602009-01-10T07:10:00.000-08:002009-01-10T07:31:14.343-08:00How to Create MORE Islamic Extremists....<span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;">If ever there was any doubt, that the West's <span style="font-style: italic;">unconditional</span> support of Israel fomented <span style="font-style: italic;">more </span>violence in the Middle East, the latest developments in Israel and Gaza are the perfect case in point.<br /><br />For the slow learners in the Republican party, any straggling Neo-Con sympathizers out there I offer below, an excerpt from today's NY Times article on the anger in Egypt. It's growing. It's predictable and it's understandable. <br /><br />I have railed against Israel's blatant military blitz on the Palestinian people in other posts, so I will assume my position on that is clear and a given on the prison camp that is Gaza. What I want to say is that in my opinion, the Palestinian plight is THE issue of this century. Unless and until the Palestinian people have their OWN SOVEREIGN nation in their own land, going back to the 1967 borders, there will be no Peace possible in the Middle East. Period. THAT is the crux of the matter. Forget oil, forget "strategies" of the West and it's military fantasies about bases, control of resources etc. It's about Palestine.<br /><br />US support and funding of Israel makes us a TARGET. Period. WE are part of the problem and the Muslim world KNOWS it. Iran knows it. Syria knows it. For sure, the people in the streets of Egypt KNOW it. Now they also know that their government, being allied with Israel is part of the problem too. From the NY Times:<br /><br /></span></span></span><p>Nowhere in the Arab world is the gap between the street and the government so wide as here in <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/egypt/index.html?inline=nyt-geo" title="More news and information about Egypt.">Egypt</a>, which has a peace treaty with Israel and has refused to allow free passage of goods and people through its border with Gaza, a decision that has been attacked by Islamic and Arab leaders and proved deeply troubling to many Egyptians. And so the government of President <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/hosni_mubarak/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Hosni Mubarak.">Hosni Mubarak</a> appeared to lean back on its standard formula for preserving authority at Friday Prayer, relying on its security forces to keep calm on the street and government religious institutions like Al Azhar to try to appease public sentiment, in this case by lashing out at the Jews in response to Gaza. </p><p>“The pressure is mounting on Egypt,” said Abdel Raouf el-Reedy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States. “How come you keep the Israeli ambassador here? How come you keep the Egyptian ambassador in Israel? How come you still export gas to Israel in spite of a court order to stop? The system is on the defensive. Public opinion is more clearly on the side of Hamas.”</p><p>The mood on the streets of Cairo feels somber, dark, dejected. There is a heavy security presence. Armed riot police officers are massed outside of professional organizations, like the Doctor’s Syndicate, that are often run by members aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, the officially outlawed but tolerated Islamic movement. Massive troop carriers clog small side streets.</p> Over three days of interviews here, people seemed deflated about the public criticism their country had received, let down by the failure of their own government to help the Palestinians and sickened by the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians, not only combatants but many women and children as well. Over and over, Egyptians said they felt the only ones they could trust were the Islamists — not their government.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">There you have it. The Islamic religionists are going to rise to more prominence. They are the only ones speaking out, forcefully against the actions of Israel. They are earning more and more legitimacy and respect everyday. Is that what we want? It's not what I want; being a woman, I have to say the idea of Medieval religionists seeking to create a Caliphate gaining more power is not in MY best interest or the interest of women everywhere. However, I can understand how this is happening. Our greedy, stupid, callous, paranoid Western stance on Israel/Palestine is the fuel for the propulsion of Islamic fundamentalism. It IS that simple.</span></span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-16643106449636874842009-01-09T15:49:00.000-08:002009-01-09T16:06:01.159-08:00Bruce Cockburn - Rocket Launcher<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/N7vCww3j2-w&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/N7vCww3j2-w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />My dear friend Millie and I had a conversation last night, about the necessity of keeping our attention centered in the positive. She said that for every evil we witness or hear about, we need to balance it out with five positive, grateful, thankful, blessed thoughts...she said the ratio is 5/1. She is probably right. Last night, I agreed. Today I heard that Israel had bombed a UN medical aid convoy, yesterday as well as a Red Cross mission. I've been knowing about them bombing ambulances, but tried not to think about it.<br /><br />Today, I ask myself, do we just continue to look away and play "let's pretend"? Huh? Is that what we do? All us "speer chill" people? At some point do we stand up and fight back? At least, have the emotions of wanting to fight back? The old saying "if these were your kids dying...." They ARE our kids dying!! They are OUR kids! The whole world is YOU. The whole world.......is....you.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-314410683663374072009-01-09T06:25:00.000-08:002009-01-09T06:33:05.304-08:00Gaza Today.....a blog I am now Following...<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">In order to gain some balanced perspective, I have begun following a blog of a fellow who I heard interviewed on Democracy Now, on Free Radio Santa Cruz. His name is Sameh Akram Habeeb.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);">It's an eye-opener to hear the raw story coming out of Gaza. It certainly tells a different tale than the official news from the alphabet channels, ABC etc. Now the front page story on the NY Times is that the U.N. and the Red Cross are de-crying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. My question is, WHEN is the U.N. going to get some teeth? They have produced over 100 "resolutions" scolding Israel and that is what it amounts to; a verbal slap on the wrist. It's a non-event.<br /><br />My second question is: Where is the outrage from the Democrats in Congress? Third question: <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHY is everyone in Washington so freaking scared of AIPAC????!!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">You can access Gaza Today by clicking on the link in "Favorites"</span></span><br /></span></span></span></span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-86138687911569927282009-01-07T06:20:00.000-08:002009-01-07T06:40:30.541-08:00Oxford Professor and Former Israeli Military Man Speaks Out about GazaOxford Professor of international relations Avi Shlaim has written an excellent background piece which analyzes the on-going situation in Gaza from its inception. A good history lesson for those who are interested in how the US is complicit in this, BEYOND just "diplomacy" and the $4 billion in annual aid given to the state of Israel.<br /><br /><br />I wish the incoming Obama administration would meet with this guy. Condi Rice and the Busheviks should get out of this picture NOW. For further reading, here is link to article:<br /><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/07/gaza-israel-palestine</a>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-87773801537974210712009-01-05T06:26:00.000-08:002009-01-05T06:33:56.266-08:00The Heartbreak of Gaza.....<span style="font-family: lucida grande;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I do realize that the conflict between Israel and Gaza, between Israelis and Palestinians is like a Hydra....that it is complex, multi-layered, chock full of "reasons" and its mutual karma is stuck on an Infinity loop. Someone needs to "jump the track" soon or this could get ratcheted up beyond our wildest nightmares.<br /><br />However I do have some feeling about this. I have a pressing sadness, it feels like chest pressure.....like the inability to draw a full breath when I contemplate what is taking place in Gaza. One of the contributing factors is this:<br /><br /></span></span></span>I heard Israel's Defense Minister interviewed; his comments were aired on NPR yesterday. He stated that the reason Israel is going on an all out offensive after "so much restraint" (!!) is that the rocket shells being lobbed into southern Israel had made normal life impossible for Israelis living there. He said that they never knew when rockets would be fired onto their streets, their child's school, their car, etc. He said that Israel finally had to go in to crush Hamas to give Israelis "the peace and tranquility and standard of living they deserve." The life they "deserve".<br /><br />I was aghast at the psychic and emotional disconnect of this man and his sentiments. What about the standard of living of the Palestinians? They have been living in a third world ghetto, cut off from aid for 18 months. Their territory is one big prison, utterly impoverished relative to the territory of Israel. I don't understand how Israel refuses to look at this, unless they view the Palestinian people as "less deserving" humans. Or is it simply "less human"?Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-56424810172730431602009-01-01T09:07:00.000-08:002009-01-01T09:15:40.286-08:00Happy New Year to the Earth, Happy New Year to the People and all Creatures Great and Small<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2A2Jt4WOxN8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2A2Jt4WOxN8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-28522856501525630732008-12-31T07:17:00.000-08:002008-12-31T07:30:46.159-08:00Let's Sage the White House - Get out all of Those Evil Spirits = Dark EnergyKate Clinton said the idea grew from hearing about shamans who cleansed the area around Machu Picchu of evil spirits by saging after George Bush visited.<br /><br />“We are going to meet in Washington at 6PM on January 19th at the new White House visitor's center,” Clinton said in a new interview. “We'll mill around there for a little bit. And then we're just gonna walk over towards the White House, or as close as we can get, with our little sage sticks and try to get out the bad spirits. So, we can clear out the bad spirits in time for the new Obama administration to come in on the next day.” (hundreds have signed up!)<br /><br />http://lauraflanders.firedoglake.com/2008/12/19/saging-the-white-house/<br /><br />above strategy superseded -<br /><br />new meeting place & plan.....<br /><br /><br /><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SG_9bGSYVV8&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SG_9bGSYVV8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="295" width="480"></embed></object><br /><br />This couldn't HURT......Indigenous people are onto something(s) alot deeper and more profound than our current level of human connection with the Soul of the World/Planet. Come to think of it, I'm gonna sage my house after the TV news broadcasting into my living room all of the horror going on in Gaza right now.....the heaviness is palpable. The sadness and deep psychic trauma of that circumstance is best left for another post entirely.<br /><br />Maybe we should sage the entire planet, do a world-wide Puja....Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-47192202386124015992008-12-30T10:30:00.000-08:002008-12-30T10:31:33.824-08:00Uncle Jay Explains the News ....<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TWiXy55OHyY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TWiXy55OHyY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1393890138671868536.post-91166609629764273022008-12-29T08:35:00.000-08:002008-12-29T08:43:45.807-08:00US Media Unconditionally Supports Israel.....Eyes Wide Shut<span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Once again, during an Israeli Military action against Palestinians, the US is silent, the media is silent, even left-wing bloggers are (for the most part) silent when it comes to questioning or criticizing Israel. On Huffington Post I found some excerpts of recent Israeli press commentary and even they have been asking questions that are more pointed than anything to come out of the US. To wit:<br /><br /></span></span></span><p style="font-family: courier new;">One Sunday analysis at <em>Haaretz</em>: "A million and a half human beings, most of them downcast and desperate refugees, live in the conditions of a giant jail, fertile ground for another round of bloodletting. The fact that Hamas may have gone too far with its rockets is not the justification of the Israeli policy for the past few decades, for which it justly merits an Iraqi shoe to the face." </p> <p style="font-family: courier new;">Another opinion piece in <em>Haaretz</em> -- titled, "Neighborhood Bully Strikes Again" -- by Gideon Levy: "Israel embarked yesterday on yet another unnecessary, ill-fated war. On July 16, 2006, four days after the start of the Second Lebanon War, I wrote: 'Every neighborhood has one, a loud-mouthed bully who shouldn't be provoked into anger... Not that the bully's not right - someone did harm him. But the reaction, what a reaction!' Two and a half years later, these words repeat themselves, to our horror, with chilling precision. Within the span of a few hours on a Saturday afternoon, the IDF sowed death and destruction on a scale that the Qassam rockets never approached in all their years, and Operation 'Cast Lead' is only in its infancy."</p> <p style="font-family: courier new;">Also from <em>Haaretz</em>, Zvi Barel writes: "Six months ago Israel asked and received a cease-fire from Hamas. It unilaterally violated it when it blew up a tunnel, while still asking Egypt to get the Islamic group to hold its fire." Yet the U.S. media refers that only Hamas violated the ceasefire.<br /></p><p style="font-family: courier new;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Could it be that the most conservative wing of the Israeli political spectrum, actually resides in the US? </span><br /></p>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05635467785863756197noreply@blogger.com2