Monday, February 28, 2011
What? (poem by Dorothy)
What?
For a long while
bliss
lay hidden
inside me,
bright flame within a dark rock.
Now it is pain.
Light playing over water.
Are these two sides
of the same coin,
different ends of the same rainbow?
Two mysteries
wrapped around
each other
in a single packet,
waiting to be
opened.
Dorothy Walters
February 28, 2011
(picture by N. M. Rai)
Friday, February 25, 2011
Poem by Claire of Assisi
after You!
by Clare of Assisi
(1193? - 1254) Timeline
English version by
Regis J. Armstrong, OFM CAP & Ignatius C. Brady, OFM
Original Language
Italian
Christian : Catholic
13th Century
Draw me after You!
We will run in the fragrance of Your perfumes,
O heavenly Spouse!
I will run and not tire,
until You bring me into the wine-cellar,
until Your left hand is under my head
and Your right hand will embrace me happily
and You will kiss me with the happiest kiss of Your mouth.
Claire's use of explicitly erotic imagery is reminiscent of the tradition of the Beloved Within, found in many middle-Eastern spiritual poems as well as those of the far East. The relation between the spirit and the holy presence is extremely intimate, and frequently manifests as a love relation. So does Kundalini when it arrives as intense (or subtle) bliss.
(image found on Wikipedia)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A Transcendent Experience (Joan Osborne)
| (from Dorothy): Recently I received this excerpt from a friend. It seems to me to be a beautiful description of certain states of consciousness in which we seem--for no apparent reason--to move out of "familiar consciousness" into what I call "transcendental consciousness." It is in those moments that we feel truly connected with "it" (divine consciousness) and our lives are suddenly filled with wonder and a sense of oneness with a deeper reality. Often such states bring us into euphoria or bliss, and we sense that this is who we truly are. This state is also sometimes called "mystic awareness," and we wonder if the mystics exist in this level of consciousness constantly.) The following appeared originally in "Inside the Music, Conversations with Contemporary Musicians about Spirituality, Creativity and Consciousness" by Ehrlich.He interviews blues/rock vocalist Joan Osborne about her spirituality. She's a refugee, a conscious objector, from the Roman Catholic church. She's a wild woman. When he asks her about her religious experience, she talks about encountering spirituality on a roof top.
|
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Integral Tantra
Here is an interesting discussion on Tantra, which is, as the authors point out, one of the most misunderstood experiences in the awakening process. Tantra can "happen" with very little as its stimulus. At its best, it finds the aspirant, and can occur with small bodily movements when the energies are right and when the inner Beloved wishes to express itself.
Tantra can produce "Big Bliss" (as sometimes happens during Kundalini experiences) or "Little Bliss" (as now happens from time to time with me.) In fact, such was my experience this morning, and I always marvel that the sweet energies still may flow, even this far into my process. They are not the "big bang" of the beginning, but rather the soft gentle streams of delight moving subtly (yet delightfully) here and there through the system. I consider such experience "Tantra" though, as I have often said, it must be distinguished from sex as such. It is indeed the state of oneness, little self awareness united with divine love.
Integral Tantra: Bringing Everything to the Path
Contributors:
| Sally Kempton and Ken Wilber talk about the theory and practice of Integral Tantra—the simple recognition of the erotic union of emptiness and form, and that Spirit and matter are ultimately not-two....
| Share42 |
Duration: 56 minutes This is not a discussion about sex. It's a discussion about bliss. It often seems that the word Tantra is mishandled by the West, fantasized and fetishized and repackaged into something more enticing to our collective sexual shadows. But outside the realm of self-help books, soft-core porn, and Sting interviews, Tantra actually has very little to do with sexual virility or finding ways to last longer in bed. Of course there are Tantric traditions that include sexual practices, but at its core Tantra is really just the simple recognition of the erotic union of emptiness and form—that is, that Spirit and matter are ultimately not-two, and if you follow Spirit into the depths of manifestation, you will discover a bliss beyond any you have ever known. Here lies the heart of Integral Tantra. The apparent separation between form and emptiness is the very first boundary we draw in our experience, and is the very last to be transcended on the path to enlightenment. And it is this primordial duality which, throughout the process of evolution, fractalizes into every other dualism in our lives: feminine/masculine, interior/exterior, whole/part, collective/individual, etc. Because Integral Tantra encompasses literally everything, it allows us to bring everything to our spiritual paths, while leading us to the central thread running through every different dualism in existence—pull this thread, and the entire Kosmos comes undone right before (and right behind) our eyes.... We are very happy to present Sally Kempton and Ken Wilber. Sally Kempton, formerly known as Swami Durgananda, is recognized as a powerful meditation guide and as a spiritual teacher who integrates yogic philosophy with daily life. She is the author of the best-selling bookMeditation for the Love of It, and writes the popular Wisdom column for Yoga Journal. She is a teacher in the tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, conducts workshops and retreats on its applied philosophy, and is also a core founder and faculty of iEvolve: Global Practice Community. Ken Wilber is the most widely translated academic writer in America, with 25 books translated into some 30 foreign languages, and is the first philosopher-psychologist to have his Collected Works published while still alive. Wilber is an internationally acknowledged leader and the preeminent scholar of the Integral stage of human development, which continues to gather momentum around the world. His many books, all of which are still in print, can be found at Amazon.com. Ken Wilber is the founder of Integral Institute, Inc., the co-founder of Integral Life, Inc., and the Senior Fellow of Integral Life Spiritual Center. Above selection is from http://integrallife.com/node/95853 To hear or read more, you must sign up and pay a substantial fee. Once again, I feel it is inappropriate to charge for spiritual wisdom at a level that excludes many of us, some of whom have dedicated their lives to advancing spiritual transformation in this world and offered their energies and talents at little or no cost. This talk is only available to Premium Integral Life members. Want to listen? Please login or signup!
Integral Tantra: Bringing Everything to the Path
Right click to download m4b AudioBook 
Sally Kempton
Ken Wilber
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Poem by Stacy Wills
Take a Chance
take a chance today
feel the fierce exuberance
welling up inside you
give yourself permission
to color outside the lines
with every crayon
in your box (and then some!)
climb to the tip of a crescent moon
and dive headlong
into a waiting sea of rainbows
throw away the safety straw
you've been sipping through
and take great gulps
from the cup
of your beautiful life
-stacy wills (1/27/2011)
(artwork by Stacy Wills--see more of her work at www.amagicmomandhermandalas.blogspot.com )
Monday, February 21, 2011
Poem by Mahadev
Sunlight made visible
By Akka Mahadevi
(12th Century)
English version by A. K. Ramanujan
Sunlight made visible
the whole length of sky,
movement of wind,
leaf, flower, all six colours
on tree, bush and creeper:
all this
is the day's worship.
The light of moon, star and fire,
lightnings and all things
that go by the name of light
are the night's worship.
Night and day
in your worship
I forget myself
O lord white as jasmine.
Mahadevi was a saint in ancient India. She was a worshipper of Shiva from an early age. According to legend she was married by arrangement to a King, but she rejected married life to devote herself totally to Shiva and the love of God. It is said that she even took off her clothes and roamed the countryside as a poet/saint (male devotees often did this, but it was frowned upon for women.) The tradition surrounding Mahadevi says she left the world in her twenties, in a flash of light.
(The above picture--found on Google-- is actually of Amma, well known contemporary Indian saint. Her look of ecstasy suggests what Mahadevi probably felt centuries before.)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Kundalini article
Here is an article that was published on one of the list sites several years ago,
and it still carries much information, though I cannot vouch for its validity. One part
that is overlooked is the experience of bliss or transcendent union that are the hallmarks
of advanced Kundalini awakening.
Kundalini, Evolution and Scientific Proof.
by Tom Aston.
Date: Sun, 6 Jul 1997
From: Tom Aston
To: kundalini-l@execpc.com
Subject: Kundalini, Evolution and Scientific Proof
Dear list members,
Here is an overview article on kundalini and evolution starting with Darwin and Gopi Krishna, ending with modern science and parapsychology.
Hope you enjoy it - feel free to pass it on,
Best wishes,
Yogi Tom
Kundalini, Evolution and Scientific Proof
While science has argued that human evolution has been driven by competition, selection and the need to propagate ones genes, the kundalini experience suggests there is a hidden psychospiritual mechanism within each individual which transforms the evolutionary experience from one rooted solely in the physical body and the ego to one in which the integration and purification of the psyche becomes the central goal.
This transcendental view of psychospiritual evolution points to the function of the subtle body comprising the chakras and nadis of yoga as the key to understanding this process.
The individual consciousness is transformed through the action of kundalini on the chakras and subtle energy. Traditionally, this is symbolised by the spiral path of the mystics or individual odyssey of mythology or spiritual pilgrimage of religion.
This process also brings a transformation in the central nervous system and brain as the endocrine system is activated at a subtle level, the sexual fluids can become sublimated, and the whole psychophysical organism purified and refined.
The dietary needs of this evolving psychophysical organism can become unusually sensitive and pure as the body and brain are transformed.
While the West has no explicit cultural or scientific map for the kundalini process, the yogic traditions of the East, particularly Hindu Tantric Yoga and some aspects of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism and Taoism, offer a profound framework of understanding within which the unfolding of the kundalini experience can be viewed.
As kundalini works on the mind, body and spirit, the individual consciousness is gradually immersed in a greater reality than that of the conditioned consciousness be it termed the primordial state of emptiness of Buddhism, the Atman of Hinduism or the Tao of Taoism.
In the Western psychological tradition, Jung acknowledged the validity of this process in human development and growth of the psyche. He pointed to the role of symbolic forms such as mandalas as expressions of the need for the emerging kundalini to find harmony and balance to realise her purpose within the individual.
Unable to find expression in the waking consciousness, kundalini, here seen as the forces of the subconscious, emerges in dreams which must be acknowledged and followed if one is to successfully integrate these forces.
Jung gave the name "individuation" to this process of integration of the psyche, which works through acknowledging both energies emergent from the subconscious which are so easily repressed in Western culture and the complex aspects of an individual personality that need to be balanced through identifying and working with archetypes.
Jung believed that when the emergent energies of the subconscious, such as kundalini, were blocked all kinds of psychosis and mental imbalance resulted. He expanded this view from the individual consciousness to the collective, whereby a whole culture or society would become united in acts of madness such as war or genocide.
Ken Wilber has embraced the unfolding of the kundalini experience within Transpersonal Psychology, which brings together the Western tradition of psychological development which has focussed on the development of the individual ego with the Oriental traditions that have looked to worlds beyond the ego.
But within Transpersonal Psychology, even though it points to the goals of unity, wholeness and integration as the highest state of human consciousness, no special claims for the primacy of kundalini as an evolutionary driving force are made.
In fact, modern psychologists such as Stanislav and Christina Grof, and the late psychiatrist Lee Sannella, have focussed more on kundalini for its tendency to bring spiritual and psychological crisis within the individual.
While kundalini can be compared to the Holy Spirit within Christian mysticism, the New Testament offers no explicit model of psychophysical transformation in the manner of the yogic traditions. Thus, while for someone actually experiencing the Holy Spirit, the correlation with kundalini may make perfect sense and be extremely useful, to someone without a Christian outlook there are few conceptual reference points to understand their experiences and the process of transformation it brings.
Thus, particularly in the climate of secular and scientific Western culture, it may help to distinguish between public and personal models of kundalini awakening.
This is not to say there is anything wrong with theistic belief systems, nor that they fail to explain the kundalini experience, but rather that for a wider public living outside that particular world view or belief system it may not provide a language or conceptual framework with which they can easily sympathise either emotionally or intellectually.
Personal models of kundalini awakening often centre on theistic belief systems, and, as said above, there is clearly nothing wrong with this, for Christianity, Sufism and Kabbala, for instance, all offer profound frameworks within which to view kundalini.
But in terms of gaining a wider public understanding of kundalini, particularly if one hopes to win a wider audience for its relevance to our evolutionary outlook, it may help to look, initially, to psychology and then to the more esoteric forms of Yoga such as Hindu and Buddhist Tantra which provide explicit symbolic forms, for instance, which can be understood intellectually by a disinterested observer, even if they remain unempowered by them in spiritual terms.
Ultimately, it may one day be possible to look to science to provide a model for the kundalini process of awakening and transformation of consciousness.
This would need extremely subtle measuring devices that could monitor the subtle body of the individual as well as detect subtle refinement and healing of the psychophysical mechanism in general.
Whether or not conclusive evidence will ever be gained remains impossible to say, but pioneers such as Dr Hiroshi Motoyama in Japan, who has developed a machine, known as the AMI machine, able to diagnose the energy levels in the chakras and meridians of the body, suggest it is not beyond the bounds of human ingenuity to do so.
Other areas of research such as Kirlian photography and parapsychology should respectively help understand the effects kundalini has on the subtle body and the manifestation of psychic abilities she can bring. But it seems that even the most sophisticated body and brain scanners of modern science and medicine are unable to detect the workings of kundalini.
Even so, meditators have already demonstrated under laboratory conditions how transcendental states of consciousness can be monitored through data readings on brainwave monitors, while yogis have shown how the mind can have dramatic effects on the functioning of the body such as through reducing the rate of heart beat
So it may be simply a matter of time before the refinement of sensory mechanisms, microelectronics and computer software combine to give us a machine capable to proving the effects of kundalini on mind and body to the satisfaction of a sceptical wider public.
In the meantime, people who have experienced kundalini will continue to express and communicate the nature of this experience in those particular ways that are appropriate to their lives to add to the gradual permeation of Western culture with a wider awareness of this extraordinary energy.
All Rights Reserved/Copyright 1997 Silver Dawn Media/Yogi Tom
Editors note: Yogi Tom vanished from the web several years ago. Miss him, we do. If anyone knows where he can be reached, please pass the information on to me. M.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Poem by Lynn Ungar
Camas Lilies
Consider the lilies of the field,
the blue banks of camas
opening into acres of sky along the road.
Would the longing to lie down
and be washed by that beauty
abate if you knew their usefulness,
how the natives ground their bulbs
for flour, how the settlers’ hogs
uprooted them, grunting in gleeful
oblivion as the flowers fell?
And you — what of your rushed
and useful life? Imagine setting it all down —
papers, plans, appointments, everything —
leaving only a note: "Gone
to the fields to be lovely. Be back
when I’m through with blooming."
Even now, unneeded and uneaten,
the camas lilies gaze out above the grass
from their tender blue eyes.
Even in sleep your life will shine.
Make no mistake. Of course
your work will always matter.
Yet Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these.
~ Lynn Ungar ~
(Blessing the Bread)
(image found on google)
Friday, February 18, 2011
poem by Linda Hogan
In addition to the mystery of how matter becomes spirit in an unending process, there is also the mystery of how matter becomes flesh--literally through what we eat and absorb into our bodies. Of course, there are many levels of transformation--and each is, I believe, a mystery in itself.
Linda Hogan expresses this notion beautifully in the following poem, presenting the mystery that surrounds us daily (the food that is changed into our own bodies) in a process which we for the most part take for granted.
Inside
How something is made flesh
no one can say. The buffalo soup
becomes a woman
who sings every day to her horses
or summons another to her private body
saying, come, touch, this is how
it begins, the path of a newly born
who, salvaged from other lives and worlds,
will grow to become a woman, a man,
with a heart that never rests,
and the gathered berries,
th wild grapes
enter the body,
human wine
which can love,
where nothing created is wasted;
the swallowed grain takes you through the dreams
of another night,
the deer meat becomes hands
strong enough to work.
But I love most
the white-haired creature
eating green leaves;
the sun shines there
swallowed, showing in her face
taking in all the light,
and in the end
when the shadow from the ground
enters the body and remains,
in the end, you might say,
This is myself
still unknown, still a mystery.
~ Linda Hogan ~
(Rounding the Human Corners)
(image found on Panhala site)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Awakenings (poem by Dorothy)
Awakenings
Some do it quickly,
like making love over
a short noon break,
lightning flash of illumination,
bursting nova
in the brain.
Others take their time,
are sensuous,
meditative,
thoughtfully absorbing for years
the soft rays of love,
relishing each one.
Others try to follow a book
with its stages
and diagrams,
but they get lost
somewhere
between the
many chakras
and prescriptions.
Who wants to
try to remember
how to breathe in a certain way
or count the petals of a lotus flower
when
making love?
Best to let it happen
in its own manner,
a sly elf
winking down
from the ceiling,
a serous lover
come to call
when least expected.
Dorothy Walters
February 16, 2011
The classic texts describe a model for Kundalini awakening, each chakra opening in turn from base to crown, with the energies traveling upward like a tiny thread through the sushumna. Almost no one actually follows this model. Each person is different, for each has a unique nervous system and level of spiritual development. Kundalini has a mind of its own. It will manifest according to what it feels is appropriate for the student, and the student’s role is to receive and follow, not direct and control. They are a couple operating in tandem to achieve the desired end (integration and grounding of the energies in the overall system of the aspirant.)
(image from unknown source)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Internet Broadcast from South Africa
I have never listened to the broadcasts from this group (out of South Africa), but find their postings of interest. By the way, remember that "Melchizidek" is not a person's name but refers to those who act in a "priestly" (servant of God) role, but do not perform publicly in temples or churches. Jesus was said (by some) to have belonged to this "Order" since he did not serve in a temple. All who serve the higher cause of light and love today and thus promote planetary transformation into universal love are, in this sense, members of the "Order of Melchizidek." The Bodhisattva does much the same.
Dorothy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Arcturian Stargate Series 3 and Unity Grid of Light Transmissions
Teleseminar Series with Anrita Melchizedek
$33 (Approximately [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=hh4qeqcab&et=1104536812232&s=6455&e=001TQlxmLChb5hHh71lV6sSiEv28W9TsWVD1l6-OsUFEbwyC1UNX8G5AaMUPIFJp6zW07gCcLUiBnrIzj1tzVA0bNpkszrl69dZWmsxW62lk9j9zfbd8F44HwRP2AdjAVPN3PV1eunA3Q5VT9w8owxi2mELhKYWarcGj7ce9kvItXStnezdXKAZdtKxoRN0f6U1]?25.00/£21.00/R240)
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Saturday February19th 2011 at 11am PST, 2pm EST, 7pm GMT
London/Lisbon 7pm, Johannesburg 9pm, California 11am, New York 2pm, Sydney 6am (February
20th)
This one and a hour teleconference session includes:
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In this stargate series, you activate the stargate related to the fifth dimension
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octahedron around your body and within your energy field.
You travel through this fifth dimensional stargate and connect initially to the
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Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Rethinking Einstein
Rethinking Einstein (Questions for the Physics Professor)
Einstein posited that gravity between heavenly bodies is caused by the bending of space/time in the cosmos. Many advanced theoretical thinkers have spend years explicating this theory, with all its esoteric features and mystifying details. As unlikely as such a theory might seem, it was for a significant time widely accepted as the final word on universal gravity, space, and time.
I am no theoretical physicist, but I have a counter theory to offer. We now are aware of the many energetic fields surrounding virtually all bodies (see Lynn Taggert’s “The Field” for starters.) We also have the technical expertise to measure the energetic fields of various items, including both inanimate objects and human beings. Many of us can literally feel these energetic emanations in our own bodies. All of us know the simple experiment in which iron filings are pulled into various shapes by the electromagnetic fields of a simple magnet.
My question--why should planets and stars and the other heavenly bodies be any different? Why does science not probe the existence of various energetic fields pulling and pushing the myriad planets and stars and the like as they rotate in space? Why not throw out Einstein, with all his impenetrable complexity, and opt for the simplest answer? Isn’t this method known as Occam’s razor? I
The primary question is: Is it space that bends or the magnetic fields?
I realize it is totally presumptuous of me to dare posit such a notion. But Einstein was no laboratory scientist. He based his ideas on “thought experiments”--why shouldn’t we also have our “aha!” moments (even if on the surface they seem untenable)? And, so far, no one has disproved my theory.
The world is changing--our thought processes are changing--should we not be open to new descriptions of the world we live in--and leave the acceptance or refutation to the scientists?
Dorothy Walters
February 14, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
The Opening of the Heart by Parker Stafford
The heart is often thought of as the symbol of love and connection. We speak of an open heart, a warm heart, a generous heart. Recent research has discovered that the heart actually has its own intelligence, and can react to stimuli more swiftly than the brain itself.
What many may not realize is that the "opening of the heart" is a felt reality as well as a metaphor. Someone versed in energy work told me once that the opening of the heart chakra is the most ecstatic experience of all. And, when my own heart chakra opened many years ago, that proved to be the case. It seemed incredible that so much ecstasy could flood the chest in this prime moment of transcendence.
Teresa of Avila is the best known example of ecstatic opening of the heart. For her, the experience came through the visitation of an angel, who "lanced" her heart with a spear he held in his hand. The Bernini statue in Rome depicts this moment of glorious exaltation.
Such deeply felt heart openings, though not typical, continue to this day. Here is a recent account by Parker Stafford who describes his own intimate experience of opening. Like Teresa, he was visited by an other worldly being, who placed his hand inside Parker's body during the process:
Oh my goodness yes! It stands as one of those singular experiences.
When this being put his hand into my heart he explained that what I was
feeling was the love that in me which was also the Universe. It was the single most
powerful moment of my life (and revealed I think that I share some kind of dual soul
or being with another). I can remember in the midst of the experience
thinking "how on earth can I hold onto this feeling?" I had never experienced
anything so incredible before. He explained in this brief moment that what I was feeling
was my soul love and was also the universe. The way he said that he made no attempt
to divide the experience or to differentiate. It is us, it is the universe as well. When he pulled
his hand out of my heart center, he also pulled out what felt like my insides.
When I read Theresa's account of the angel piercing her heart with
an arrow while drawing out her insides with it each time (which corresponded with the sweetest
of ecstasies) I realized that her description was spot on.
I suspect that my kundalini was awakened as a result of a divestment
of a heavy weight that lifted. When it lifted, I began to feel a kinship with a larger family of being
that I could not quite explain....and odd synchronistic events began to happen....and over a 6 month
period I had all kinds of high strangeness. My awakening was very different from a typical
kundalini awakening. Its one reason why I am writing a book about it because I think we need to
understand this a little better - it feels like we are the forward edge of something
that will only get bigger. Will it get easier? Will we learn enough about the physiology of this
enough to come up with some things that work across the board? Perhaps it will be as much struggle in
proportion to our own inability to let go or surrender.
That opening has fueled an inner alchemy whereby I have sought to feel into my higher self
which is where this bliss resides. I am learning to let go....and all the while I try to call up
the state where my higher self enters by writing this poetry......its like an incantation I do
and it just spills out of me.....this juicy sensual spiritual sexuality that does not seek to divide
but bring all parts of the self together into one wild cacophonous thing as the brain of the
human seeks to anchor all three vibrations together.....no parts tossed or
destroyed.....not even burned away....no no because they will fit....they will fit even if they seem profane.....
by Parker Stafford
May all of us on this day of days enjoy the deepest possible opening of the heart--to love of self and of divine presence and of one another. Only love can save us as we move forward together in this momentous experiment of universal transformation.
Valentine's Blessings to All
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Valentine's Day Greetings
Dear Loved Ones,
The Unitarian Universalists have called for February 14 to be a national "Standing on the Side of Love Day." In particular, we are asked to remember all who have been ostracized and marginalized by society, often with bullying and worse. One day of love can do a lot to counteract the influence of the many days of its opposite as expressed too often by our fellow citizens. For me, their call is of special interest, since I spent many years as a member of the target group (the closet behind the closet.)
Here is their statement:
Monday, February 14th, 2011 is the 2nd Annual “National Standing on the Side of Love Day,” when the very heart of the Standing on the Side of Love campaign comes to life. On this day, and the days surrounding, we re-imagine Valentine’s Day as a holiday of love and acceptance for everyone.
In 2010, we were confronted with so many stories of bullying and name-calling. There were partisan divides, labels and stereotypes, and political decisions motivated by fear.
But how many stories can you remember that shone the spotlight on courageous love?
National Standing on the Side of Love Day is our opportunity to honor courageous love, and recognize those whose words and deeds exemplify the values of inclusion, diversity, community, and equality. When we stand on the side of love, we let our communities know that how we treat each other truly matters.
And here is a Valentine greeting I received recently from a friend:
Happy Valentine's Day!
Dear Friends and Family,
The Unitarian Universalists are calling for Valentine's Day to be
National "Standing on the of Side of Love Day"
This idea started at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville where Jim Adkisson fired into 230 people who were watching a children's performance, killing two and wounding six. (July 27, 2008). He didn't like the congregation's progressive stand on gay rights, telling police that the "ultraliberal church never met a pervert they just didn't embrace."
Standing on the Side of Love is about promoting tolerance and loving your neighbor as yourself.
I am sending that kind of love to you, today and always,
Peggy
P. S. I send this kind of love to everyone reading this as well--Dorothy.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
About Nothing (Poem by Dorothy)
About Nothing
The trouble with my poetry
is that it is about
nothing.
That is to say,
my verses are mainly about
God
and everyone knows
that god is nothing--
not that, not that--
just an emptiness
a space between
heartbeats or
notes on a page,
a single blank space
in the makeup of things
that you can never really
see or
define convincingly.
Successful poets
write about something--
the bread that didn’t rise
properly,
the lover’s groan,
the child who
cried in the night.
My problem, clearly,
is that I never learned to cook,
never planted a garden,
never went out to name
the passing birds.
My words will continue
to praise
nothing,
the presence that
haunts me,
a net thrown out
in a sea
void of fish,
only these small flashing salt crystals
clinging to the ropey knots.
Dorothy Walters
February 12, 2011
