Seasons of the Soul

My friend, Alix

My dear friend, Alix Taylor, was a remarkable woman. She died two years ago on my birthday, and I miss her very much. However, she left a legacy of work that gave expression to her rare soul qualities.

In younger years, Alix grew up in Paris, lived in London and the United States, and was an editor in N.Y. for some of the large publishing houses during her younger years. She was also deeply involved in the study of philosophy, metaphysics, and the spirit that moved within and through life. She knew many famous people who were creating history, and had several books published - one being A Door Ajar, a moving biography of her most interesting life. Alix became a beloved teacher and mystic in her later years. She had an adoring group of followers, for her knowledge of things seen and unseen was prodigious. I met her through a bookstore that we both loved, and was fortunate to call her "friend".

In her eighties, Alix began writing poetry, and I want to bring some of them to this news blog from time to time. Today is the end of November, and the end of our thanksgiving month. There is no one I would like to honor more at this time than my dear friend in spirit, Alix.

We Aged Ones, by Alix Taylor

We aged ones
We remember.
We don't know anything.
We don't understand you when you speak.
We cannot dial the phone.
Surf what you call the web.
But we remember our own web.
Whether we spun it ourselves
Or felt spun by a mysterious hand
Playing our lives, we remember.
We remember, seas and boats.
And love and beaches.
And orchards and woods and love.
And ice cream and apples
And love, and I remember the man
Who was sailing the boat.
Eating apples in the orchard.
Whistling in the wood and our love.

The End of Suffering

Another excellent book to help in the unifying of ourselves is The End of Suffering, by Russell Targ and J.J. Hurtak, Ph.D The subtitle is "Fearless Living in Troubled Times...or How to Get Out of Hell Fast!" That gives you an idea of the wit and wisdom that is contained within.

I'm in the process of reading the book - but here is the gist of it from the cover:

"The hopeful teaching of this book is that while everybody suffers, most of this suffering is unnecessary - it can be overcome. The legacy of Aristotle is that we think that things must be either true or untrue. Thus we tend to think in terms of polarities: good or evil, right or wrong, Democrat or Republican. This friend-or-foe approach may seem to make life asier, but Russell Targ and J.J. Hurtak assert that this worldview only increases our experience of suffering.

In an effort to overcome the polarity of opposites and the accompanying suffering, the authors combine the wisdom of the East with the findings of quantum physics, and uncover a middle ground that shows opposing sides have only the meaning we give them.

Buddha taught us to live a helpful and compassionate life and to surrender our ego to the peace of spaciousness. The middle path of Buddhism shows that things may also be neither true nor not true, or both true and untrue. Remarkably, recent discoveries in modern physics echo these ancient teachings.

This inspiring book puts these perceived opposites - Buddhism and physics - together and shows, step-by-step, how we can learn to surrender the story of who we think we are and experience the end to our suffering."

I've found the book witty and easy to read. The jacket description is much more "serious" in tone than the book itself, and it is because I attended a lecture where both authors spoke, that I bought the book - and am glad I did.

Autumn Falls

               As I look at the leaves on the trees and then after a storm on the ground, I thought of them becoming part of the mulch that will form new soil for next year’s growth. And in this, how we humans are presented with the harvest of our year’s endeavors that becomes the “mulch” for next year’s beginnings.

               In the telling, I wonder how I could possibly write a seasonal newsletter before the flavor of that season is revealed to me. I wonder how magazines are able to be written before a month or quarter is truly upon us. Is it done a year ahead? And if so, how can this moment be captured before it occurs?

               I’ve mentioned it before, and wonder if you’ve also noticed that you cannot project how you will feel, or the insights you will have in the future based on your present vantage point. Looking at the leaves and trees, and translating them to us, how do we know what this year’s nakedness will feel like until the cloak we’ve worn is dropped to reveal the essence of ourselves? I am not the same person I was last fall. My reactions this year are quite different from last. We tend to jump too far ahead - to want too much explained before it’s time.

               So the message of autumn is beauty and exquisite color, followed by necessary shedding and the cleaning up process to remove the remnants of our activities…the leavings. From this we move to winter and pondering…to the barren external landscape that offers room for inner reflection. No more are we dazzled by the leaves, or the colors, or the changing weather. There will be no visual distraction.

               But for now…the falling leaves…the brilliance…this autumn!

KJ

Quote

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be. --Patanjali

The Grace Prayer

As you say the following prayer with sincere feeling, it has an amazing power for healing. Also known as the Surrender Prayer, its purpose is to instill a recognition of states of consciousness that through transformation are brought into reunion with One Divine Mind where all healing occurs. I used this not long ago, and had some remarkable insights as a result.

Father, I thirst...

Into Thy Hands I commit my Spirit...

Thy Will is My Will...

Heal Me at depth...

Reveal that which needs to be healed...

So that I may demonstrate the Love, Wisdom and Power of the One Divine Mind...

And so it is!

             ~~~~~~~~~

Heal me at depth indicates willingness to be healed and transformed at the deep subjective or subconscious level of mind. You are asking for the harmonious activity of Divine Mind within to be revealed in all the memories and perceptions of reality that your soul has accumulated in its many journeys through life.

Reveal that which needs to be healed states your willingness to become fully conscious of any memories or perception of reality that need to be known by you for whatever purpose Divine Mind deems necessary for your continued unfolding into unified consciousness.

KJ

Silly Stuff - Children's Science Exam

If you need a laugh, then read through these Children's Science Exam Answers.

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?                        
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to his adultery.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes
A: Premature death.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen.)
A: The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.

Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarean Section"
A: The Caesarean Section is a district in Rome .

Risk To Be Healed

Thought for the Day:  It is sometimes a great risk to involve ourselves in the process of healing (and I use the term healing in relation to any desired need). What may heal us can be very frightening, life altering, and behavior changing. We all say we WANT to have those things in our lives that will bring us fulfillment, but what we are often really saying is that we want the end result without the ACTION required to achieve it.

When we pray for something, we need be mindful of the prayer. Source registers the prayer, and often the agents of healing related to the prayer appear. The problem is, although we may recognize the possibility, we haven't prepared ourselves to make the journey required. So perhaps prayer should be for the ability to be ready FOR the healing, rather than for the healing itself. In other words, "Help me to prepare myself as needed to receive......" "Help me to recognize the gift of ......in request to my needs." "Help me to have the courage needed to be healed." "Help me to have the courage to take the first steps in relation to my prayer."

And as a good healer acquaintance once said, "When all else fails, use the prayer of the moment - one of my favorites because of its direct simplicity."  Curious, I asked, "What is that?"

He smiled. "It's a one word prayer that gets the point across, and that one word is HELP!"

Whatever the need, whatever the desired outcome, remember the necessity of asking for the ABILITY to recognize the gift that is given, AND the ability to receive it!

KJ

Anything Can Be Healed

I am reading an extraordianry book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in healing. Written by a man who was given two months to live, the author brings us into the world of his own exploration to find the cause of disease and the cure of it. He then goes on to say that ANYTHING can be healed, and proceeds to show how it can be done.

I recently twisted my ankle and landed on my foot, damaging the tendons. I could hardly walk, was on crutches, and had to keep my foot elevated. Since I was "trapped", I picked up this book and began reading the first few chapters. As I read, I could feel a new sensation moving through my entire body, and in a little over an hour, I was able to walk on the foot I had hurt, almost completely pain free. I sensed that something was happening, and that this book, recommended as the only book on healing one would ever need by a healer I greatly respect, most surely has potent information to help us change our state of being.

In his preface, the author states "Before 1975, I didn't believe in any of the ideas contained in this book. It was only because I was diagnosed as being terminally ill with a tumor in my spinal cord and given one or two months to live that I was stimulated to research the relationship between my consciousness and my body in order to heal myself."

"...After two months of working on myself, I was rewarded by hearing the doctors declare that they must have made a mistake. There was no longer a tumor, or any symptoms."

The author then went on to show other people what he had done, and how to heal themselves. He has CD's that lead us into deep meditation and visualization, and I think my own misstep that caused me to be housebound was a blessing in disguise to get me to be still and read this remarkable book. I plan to finish it today - adding to my reasons for which to be grateful at this time of Thanksgiving.

The book I refer to is Anything Can Be Healed, by Martin Brofman. It is available on www.Amazon.com, along with CD's of healing visualizations. If you feel that your health is a result of external influences or that you are a victim of circumstances, think again. This book sets us straight, and helps us to become the magnificent whole, healthy, powerful people we were intended.

KJ

Maya's Song

by Betsy Appell

The night Maya was born to Tama, the clouds sent down sheets of rain, masking Tama’s tears. The sky shook with thunder, drowning her screams. The night Maya was born, her mother died. Tama was a queen, beloved by her tribe. Maya slept with the mother elephants of the tribe. The mother elephants were very sorry for Maya, because she had no mother, and because she had no song.

In this tribe, at its birth each elephant was given a song by its mother. This song was said to be the very soul of the elephant. The tribe would sing an elephant’s song on its birthday, at events honoring that elephant, and at its death. Maya’s mother died before she could give Maya her song. As Maya grew older, the elders remarked on her kind and silent way. She was gentle and loving and, like her mother, honored by her tribe. But as the time drew near for Maya to take her mother’s place as queen, the elders decided that without a song Maya could not be queen. She must, they decided, go out into the world to find her song.

Maya left in the early morning. Although she was just a little elephant, already she seemed to move in shadow. Everyone watched her go, alone down the clean earth path that traveled to places no one had dared go.

Maya came first to a great tree of birds. They were, each of them, full of song. “Please,” Maya said, “I am looking for my song.” But the birds did not respond. Each sang out loudly, as though it were trying very hard to be heard. Maya’s ears began to hurt, and she moved on.

After a day she came to a river. As she drank from it she heard a mosquito hovering near her ear. Mosquitoes whine, she thought. They have a song.

“Please,” Maya said, “I am looking for my song. Can you help me?”

“Hold still,” said the mosquito.

Maya decided that this was not the place to find her song, and moved on.

On the third day, Maya came upon a great lion.

“Please,” she said, “I am very tired. I am looking for my song. Do you know where I can find it?” The lion let out a great roar that echoed beautifully throughout the valley and across the hills. But Maya was not afraid. She was only sad. She had come to find her song, but what she’d found was that everyone else had a song and no help to give her. The lion, seeing that she was not afraid, saw her sadness and was touched by it. He said to her, “you have a song, little elephant. But you must get quiet enough to hear it.” And so she did.

Maya sat still for three days. She did not move. She did no speak. She opened her great ears and her heart and waited. And after three days, she had found her song.

On the seventh day, she returned to her tribe. Everyone gathered around her and she said, “I have found my song. To hear it you must get very quiet.” And they did. No one moved. No one spoke. And in a short time they heard Maya’s song.

The wind rustled through the trees. From far off there was the call of birds. The stream ran hard and steady. And the sweetest of all was what came at intervals - the best representation of Maya - the perfect peace in the pause between sound.

copyright 1997, 2006

The Road to Peace

When I was the acting Director for The People For Peace Foundation in California during the 1980s, we did a study of the root causes of war and peace within an individual as well as society. We determined that peace is not a static love and light state, but a dynamic process that involves conflict. We found that there is a point in the process where conflict either leads to a greater degree of understanding and tangible peace, or deteriorates into further misunderstanding and in its extreme, war.

We were looking for the root causes of the state of peace and war within an individual as well as a society and world. One of the people I interviewed in our process was a negotiator who mentioned that you always have to go to a point upon which you can agree. Sometimes it is the most basic and primal point such as an agreement that I am human and you are human. Hard as it seems, that is at times the only point upon which agreement is found. Yet it is an opening. That piece of information has always stayed with me and reminded me to keep going to the place where I can find agreement within myself or with another. 

And within ourselves when we are in a conflicted state, it is equally important to find a place that we can use as a point of agreement between the warring part of ourselves and the part that longs for peace. In the study we did, it was found that peace is certainly not the absence of war. It is the dynamic process of growing and questioning, and the willingness to confront the hard issues...not a love and light statement that often masks underlying tension and resentment we really feel.

When we pick up the gauntlet of tension and work with it, not against or in denial, we find some powerful possibilities in that raw honesty. Just as we find in successful relationships, peace is not based on passive reaction or giving in to keep the peace.

Real peace is achieved through dynamic interchange and willingness to honor differences, to air them, and the strength and bonding that comes when we surmount the bumps in the road together.

KJ