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mermaidcamp

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Contemplatives in the Desert

June 23, 2014 — 1 Comment

Hilton Big Horn

Hilton Big Horn

I was privileged to spend the weekend with a group of about 170 people who came from all over the country to a conference on the Spirituality of Healing taught by James Finley.  The group included many mental health professionals and teachers who were earning credits in continuing education in their professions.  Many were members of churches with meditation/prayer groups.  I was new to the genre, but felt right at home in he congenial student group. I saw an ad for this in a local paper and followed up with some research into James Finley.  I ordered a couple of audio books he wrote and signed up for the conference.  The resort where it was held is where the Dalai Lama taught in September of 1993, so I have very fond memories of the place.  The Hilton El Conquistador was turned into the the El Comtemplador for a couple of days.  The hotel is dog friendly so my partner and dog could come along for a staycation away from home.  It was a remarkable experience.  I did not photograph the sessions or the participants because I did not want to distract myself from the teaching.  I am happy I made that decision because those photos would add little to this post.

Dr. Finley is very generous with free resources on his website, His teaching in person is designed to pack the time spent together with dense, rich, profound, yet simplistic and practical ideas.  His background allows him to use language of psychotherapy as well as religious language to explain his concepts. He is a brilliant speaker, but the style of presenting really enhances the message he brings.  First of all, he establishes silence in the hall where the conference takes place.  There is time and space outside the room to talk.  On the second day the group broke bad and got noisy, so he asked that we reestablish the silence in the room.  He uses humor to make his point many times, and refers to  patient/clinician dialogs to shed light with specific examples.  In his opening remarks he lets the audience know that trauma is a difficult and personal subject to address.  He encouraged each person to leave the room, move around, take breaks as needed.  He repeated several times, “To thine own self be true.”  This was good for me when I decided the chairs were not sized so well for me, so I took up a spot against the wall where I had support from the wall for sitting or could even lie down.  The sessions covered in sequence his Seven Steps of Spiritual Healing, which logically build upon the preceding steps. He speaks for a little over an hour to cover the material and then a 15-20 minute discussion is opened with the students.  A short break for everyone is followed by the next lecture.  The time is very well ordered and managed to the greatest advantage of the students.  I must say the staff at the resort could not have been more pleasant and helpful, which was icing on the very tasty cake.

He shows the highest regard for the integrity of the students in his assignment of homework.  He gave us several exercises to do on our own that will require a great deal of time and consideration, and then moved on to his core curriculum. If you practice you reap the benefits of practice.  If you don’t, you don’t.  Dr. Finley drives this point home in dramatic and impressive ways in his teaching.  Not only is the task of enlightenment or healing our own responsibility, but we are doing it as a microcosm of all that is.  We can only  put ourselves in the position of least resistance for our desired outcome, and then let go.  Deep meaning, philosophy, poetry, art and love are contained in each precious moment, available to us, and being created by us.  We have all heard such statements somewhere in our past, and may believe them.  What Dr. Finley offers is a system, a practice, a devotional idea to stabilize the consciousness in a state of pure love.  It requires diligence and patience.  He ended by giving us homework for seven years.  It was the perfect wrap up for this conference. He showed how to use lexia divina, discursive meditation, and practice to move into and through the seven steps.  He assigned us a step each week for seven weeks, then do that seven times (49 weeks) after a short break we were to take it up again from the beginning..seven steps, one step a week , repeated 7 times.  Of course, after a break we are to start at the beginning, until we have done this practice for 7 years.  I am sure some kind of heavy duty breakthrough would have to take place if we were all to do our homework.  I love his optimism in assigning it.  If you have a chance to study with these contemplatives, take advantage of it.

 

 

Counting and Comparison

June 20, 2014 — 1 Comment

The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth

The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth

There are different ways to approach finances, but there is only one way to count. You can count by 5’s or by 10’s but when you come up with a sum, that is reality. People today are often confused about what constitutes wealth, security, or satisfaction. One of the problems I notice is the addition of interest rates and complicated denial schemes to hide from financial reality.  When people became accustomed to using credit cards many also abandoned balancing the budget.  Some might believe ignorance is bliss, but when the interest rates catch up with your finances there will be no bliss for you.  The popularity of Suze Orman shows how very well educated and powerful people can be financially illiterate to the point of causing agony in their lives.  When I was a child there were no credit cards.  The parents had metal plates that belonged to specific stores, but I don’t think there was credit advanced.  The bill at the store was paid each month in full.  We did not consider borrowing money to buy everything.  Time was more bountiful too, so people were not strapped to decide which meeting/sporting event/social episode to choose.  We had time for everything, including hopping in the car to drive across the country.  I do not think we need to return to the days of yesteryear to conquer or mathematical shortcomings.  I think we need a simple way to teach those who have always lived in a world with credit cards how to understand compounded interest.

Chris Brogan, one of my favorite authors, has written a book, The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth, that offers a wonderful solution to our dilemma of rampant financial delusion.  He calls it “Mortgage Math”.  It is a brilliant way to compare and bring into focus money that one is contemplating spending.  Instead of trudging onward randomly spending, paying, and wondering how to get out of debt he suggests that each expenditure be compared to something you buy all the time.  A mortgage payment is a very common overhead expense to which people can relate.  If you have to decide if what you will pay (both now and in interest) for something is worth it, just ask how it compares to your mortgage payment.  This adds perspective to an otherwise never-ending spending problem that has buried many Americans in hopeless debt.  I have no mortgage, but I use this system to compare anything to a trip.  I want a first class ticket to Europe, plus time and money to spend months tracking down my dead ancestors in style.  This adventure will be pretty pricey, and I want it more than most day to day things I might purchase.  I am not really saving up for it, but rather am using it as a guideline for comparison.  I am not an interest payer.  I like to be an interest collector, but I still find this idea very useful for attuning with financial reality.  He uses a similar formula to determine how valuable time is.  By limiting meetings to 20 minutes, saying no often, and staying aware that tempus fugit, memento mori, he gives good advice to create frameworks for more abundant free time.  By valuing what you already have, time and freedom of choice, you can make your own financial future more comfortable and successful.  There are many good ideas in this book, but this way of looking at finances and time has great potential to help many get on track and fulfill dreams.

 

Iron John’s Brewing Company in Tucson

June 15, 2014 — 1 Comment

For our Father’s Day fling I took Bob to Iron John’s Brewing Company for some beer and a tee shirt. His needs are simple, with craft beer and tee shirts always hitting the mark. We had tried some of the beers last week at pizza throw down and had agreed that Iron John was our favorite new discovery that intrigued us.  They hold free tastings each Saturday from 11-6pm in their small but very cool artisan brewery and bottle shop.  They are not opening a bar or a restaurant. They have a passion for the art of beer making, and are sticking to producing small batches of seasonally changing beers.  They sell in a few local restaurants, and are open at the brewery Thursday-Saturday for sales of the current line up.  Although I am not much of a beer drinker myself I liked all of the samples I tried.  They take great care to adjust each water source for each beer, sometimes adding minerals to distilled water to arrive at the perfect chemical balance.  They also buy small batches of brewing yeast and grow it themselves to assure quality.  I was impressed with the taste, the tour, and the dedication these folks are showing to making an excellent local product for local consumption.  I am always happy to support locals serving tasty treats to locals.  Bob has a beer collection to make his week a pleasant and delicious one. We recommend a visit  and a tour to anyone who likes beer.

Celebrating the Muses

June 13, 2014 — 2 Comments

Apollo and the 9 muses

Apollo and the 9 muses

In Greek mythology the nine muses are daughters of Mnemosyne.  She was the muse of memory.  Zeus slept with her for 9 nights, resulting in the birth of the 9 muses.  They were raised by Apollo and a nymph in a secluded atmosphere. They became completely dedicated to the arts.  Each was in charge of a different aspect of culture:

  • Calliope-epic song
  • Clio-history
  • Euterpe-lyric song
  • Thalia-comedy
  • Melpomene-tragedy
  • Terpsichore-dance
  • Erato-erotic poetry
  • Polyhymnia-sacred hymns
  • Urania-astronomy

June 14 is celebrated as the birthday of the muses. Have you ever tried to invite a muse for a visit in your creative world?  I have wanted to be more poetic since I discovered my Pilgrim poet ancestor, Mistress Bradstreet.  I made some effort in April to write a poem each day, but I think the missing piece is the muse.  I have trudged away at the poems without inviting a spark or a mystic inspiration to reach into the creative process.  I have assigned myself the job of poet, but have not consulted with the poetic energy that inspires and makes art possible.  Words themselves need a creative current or tradition on which to flow, or the audience will be left flat.  I love comedy the best, although Mistress Bradstreet was more about sacred hymns.  Next time I go out into the world I will ask Thalia to accompany me to find the humor in what I experience.  Which is your favorite muse?  Could you call on them to enhance your creativity more often? I know I could.

Summer Solstice and Sports

June 9, 2014 — 1 Comment

When 21 June rolls around the season is about to change. Solstice is a holiday that has been celebrated around the world for centuries.  For me summer has always meant time to go in the water. I like every kind of water sport from beaches, lakes, rivers , or pools. Swimming, surfing, sailing, paddle boarding, water skiing, or  kayaking, I am happy to watch others with greater skill as well as indulge in trying it all.  I am not a surfer but I admire the skill very much.  I am also a huge fan of all the new ways to capture action video. My high risk sporting days are over, and I am happy to have survived.  These are the sports I like to watch and imagine I am doing myself:

  • Extreme skateboarding
  • Flying around on BMX bikes
  • Water ballet (seriously)
  • Sailing races
  • Rowing races
  • Kayaking
  • River running
  • Surfing
  • Water skiing

I watched X Games from Austin over the weekend and am inspired to see all the tricks and athleticism created by the participants.  They continue to set the bar higher all the time by making up new tricks.  I like all the events that are not motorized.  The mini truck and moto cross rallies are not my style, but I understand that it takes plenty of practice and skill to do that too.  I just can’t imagine myself flipping a motor bike, but somehow I can think of myself flipping and flying on a BMX bike.  I applaud the new sports and the people who continually create them.  I admire surfers the most.   If I could magically be given the ability to surf I would consider all my lifetime wishes to have come true.  What sporting ability do you wish you were granted as a gift on Solstice this year?

 

Pax, Goddess of Peace

June 6, 2014 — 4 Comments

The Roman goddess Pax is in charge of peace.  When I think of Romans the first words that come to my mind are army, Latin, and empire.  We did not translate Latin peace poems in school. We studied the Gallic Wars.  We think of Roman soldiers at the crucifixion of Jesus, and building aqueducts and roads to Rome.  They were strategists and conquerers the likes of which the world had never seen, and some might argue we have not seen since.  They were organized.  They believed in slavery and blood sports.  They are famous for gluttony and excess.  The United States is often compared to the Roman empire for some pretty obvious reasons.

Celebrations were a big part of Roman culture, and Pax has three holidays a year dedicated to her.  The olive branch, a symbol of protection, safety, and peace was used to crown citizens’ heads for this holiday. She is the daughter of Justice and Jupiter.  She is often depicted with a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance.  The Romans believed that prosperity and peace reside together and depend on each other.  The days dedicated to honoring Pax included processions, music, poetry, and olive branches for everyone.  Today when we march for peace we are actually expressing anti-war ideals.  We stop short of truly giving honor to the power of peace.  The Romans managed to conquer the known world and hold processions for peace at the same time.  If we look deeply into our current ideas about peace we might notice that we mean peace on our own terms, or peace by conquest of our enemies.  This is a core issue that could shatter our empire.

Distracted or Connected?

June 2, 2014 — 2 Comments

palo verde

palo verde

The options we have for communication now boggle the mind.  Some minds seem to be desperately boggled by what it takes to tell a story or get a message out to the world today. It is easier than ever because of all the free platforms we can use. It is harder than ever to reach individuals because the competition has grown to include just about everyone on earth. Our message must be not only short and sweet, but must also strike a universal chord.  Leonardo da Vinci, especially toward the end of his life, often wrote about thinking in reverse: “Consider first the end.” and “Think well to the end.” were examples of his frequent statements on this subject. Leonardo left us with designs for flying machines and engineering that had not yet been proven when he died.  His legacy is his art, certainly.  He also left us a very strong and lasting gift of his philosophy.  His practice of connessione refined his sense of mysticism and wholeness.  He sought and found deep connection with all creation that inspired his work.

If you feel connected in a big way, or to a power larger than your own, confidence and ease are natural.  On the other hand, if you feel disconnected from something greater it is possible to entirely loose touch with a realistic self image.  We do not hold onto the same ideas or ideals for our entire life.  The concept of connection may replace true connection, or maybe we always felt like we were separate and drifting.  Now we can substitute chat/tweet/youtube views for personal relationships.  The illusion that these clicks and likes make us part of a clubby group might just be the ruin of true connecting. Take a look at your physical worldly connections (so to speak) and how they relate or substitute for spiritual contact.  I don’t think you need to join a religion or go to a certain building to make contemplation and meditation a part of your own practice.  I feel connected to spirit whenever I:

  • listen to almost any music
  • dance
  • sing
  • use color in a creative way (cook, paint, sew, combine,etc)
  • observe the heavens at night
  • immerse myself in water
  • watch the surf
  • hear poetry
  • write poetry

This list is only a partial, and ever changing accounting of my own ways to notice connessione, or systems.  Once you start to think about it you find that everything does depend on everything else, and we are all connected.  If you feel distracted and want to center your thoughts, remember all the ways the universe has collaborated to create you and keep you alive.  The systems that create us also sustain us.

aloe

aloe

Nextdoor.com, Connections to Your Neighborhood

May 27, 2014 — 2 Comments

Our neighborhood has started to use Nextdoor.com to reach people in our vicinity. I am very impressed with the results after trying it for just a couple of months.  We have 61 members, or 5% of the homes in our neighborhood participating.  The San Diego Police Department has joined Nextdoor and is using it to inform citizens and get tips.  In Tucson we are not yet so lucky as to have communication from or to the cops, but I believe in time all police departments will see the value in sharing information with the community. In San Diego it was very helpful for informing the public about the recent wildfire problems.   The crime and safety features are excellent, but beyond that people are connecting about common interests such as pets (lost and found), gardening, and yard sales.  There have been some really good offers of free construction materials and plants.

I believe this start up has the potential to improve quality of life in ways we have not yet discovered.  I immediately started a garden club, but am not sure what it will do. I am sure it will not hold flower shows like my mother’s garden club did.  We have met each other and exchanged some plants to break the ice.  Water is precious and expensive around here, so gardeners sharing knowledge and plants could turn out to be very helpful.  I don’t care what kind of garden club we become.  I simply love to know others around me who have some common interests.  I have met some of my long distance contacts on social media, but it required travel and some expense.  Meeting my own neighbors is a bit of a cheap thrill in comparison.  It is very fun for me.

As with all things digital the balance between privacy and safety must be considered.  In order to join one must verify that one lives in the neighborhood.  This becomes tricky because some people don’t want to publish their addresses.  I have just now experienced someone joining with a fake ID that is not known at the address he used.  I can’t imagine what a hacker/prowler would want with our lost cat information, but then again I am not a hacker/prowler.  This issue may be a little sticky, but the benefits outweigh the demerits in my opinion.  Also, the CEO of the company is in a spat about a driving incident in San Mateo which could prove to be a drag for the company’s future.  This case will be handled in California courts, and it does not make me love our Nextdoor site any less.  It is my very strong opinion that Nextdoor.com is not only the wave of the future for law enforcement but for an elevated standard of life, liberty and the  pursuit of happiness.  Oakland, CA, Pittsburgh,PA, and other cities have partnered with the site.  If you are interested in starting a site for your neighborhood  you only need 10 people to join to qualify for your free website.  Nextdoor will send out free postcards to let your neighbors know about it.  After you invite more people and the membership reaches about 50 it grows organically.  I enthusiastically urge you to give it a try.  If you start a new site and use my code: nextdoor.com/amazon/?r=awrupt  we will both receive a $25 Amazon gift card.  What is not to like about that?

Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh is Going to Win

May 26, 2014 — 2 Comments

You did not have to be psychic to know that Ho Chi Mihn would win.  The United States had invaded a country in southeast Asia with no previous relationship with the people of that area.  They had instituted a draft to conscript the youth of America to fight in a war of political insanity.  Many died, many more became embittered and seriously addicted to opiates while fighting in a way made up by old white men to conquer Asia.  Lyndon Johnson stood in the spotlight of this ill-conceived battle to create American supremacy throughout the world.  He was a complete tool of what America stood for in the world…which all the youth of America quickly named bullshit.  I was 17 years old, knew friends who joined the Marines, and found the entire idea despicable.   I could not support this kind of slaughter of youth for the ego of old men in power.  I did not want to sacrifice my high school friends to a stupid, ill-timed, ill-executed war for no reason.

I attended the University of Texas, not far from Johnson City, in 1968.  Some high school friends had willingly joined the military, but more had done what they could to avoid being sent to Asia to kill people.  I had no sympathy for those who thought our job was to police the world and make everyone pretend they are aligned with capitalism.  I had already seen that capitalism and communism at that time were virtually the same thing…state capitalism.  I wore a patch on the ass of my jeans that said war is not healthy for children and other living things, and I meant what I said.  My young ass was not alone in expressing this sentiment.  I have been to the war memorial in Washington,DC…I have been on Rolling Thunder weekend, during which ‘Nam Vets and others ride their bikes around our nation’s capitol to make a statement about defending this stuff.  We do not have to believe in the motives or the politics of those who sent our young people into war to risk for no reason in order to honor the sacrifice made.  Some are just loyal, even if the leadership is unethical and delusional.  They die in large numbers throughout history to defend the popular ideas of a small privileged class.  It is time for the United States of America to give up the role of moral police and defender of status quo in the entire word.  It is time to honor those who serve by not sending them into useless and egotistical battles that defend nothing in the end.  It is time to defend our ethics, out morals and our  compassion, and in so doing defend the lives of those we put in danger.  I marched on Washington and ae a little teargas but when the soldiers came back from Viet Nam, it was obvious they had suffered so much more.  The big drug fling, including opiates, LSD, hashish, and more made the ‘Nam Vets the instant commandos of the drug scene upon return.  They knew much more than civilians could know about drugs.  These people had gone on killing sprees on LSD.  This stuff does not just stop after the battle.  PTSD and all the guilty feelings of being at war in somebody else’s country started in Viet Nam.  The decline of the world’s respect for the United States also initiated with the Viet Nam War.  In Viet Nam that war is known as the American War.

Gambler Archetype

May 23, 2014 — 6 Comments

Risk is part of life. The gambler is excited by risk and winning against odds.  This bold, sometimes foolish attitude toward taking risks lands the gambler in trouble.  Betting on companies or new technology can result in very good returns for the confident intuitive investor.  It can also backfire as quickly as a casino game.  Each of us has a unique profile for risky behavior/spending/investing/loyalties.  We may be suspicious of the stock market and decide to collect coins, precious metals, or guns.  We might like to see our assets in the bank earning a little interest.  We may believe that real estate makes us secure, although recent events have shown how volatile real property investments can be.  The truth is that nobody knows what the future will bring.  A well-adjusted approach to gambling is needed to moderate stress.  We can neither gamble away our life savings without consequence, nor can we find a way to be 100% immune to losses.

When circumstances are completely out of your control, as in our recent banking crisis, freaking out will only add to the strain.  Cutting losses is a concept we need to use in life, but we normally learn it by enduring some difficult losses while clinging to some delusion.  The shadow gambler has developed a risk taking addiction, not necessarily in a casino or game setting.  A strong compulsion to take risks will eventually create a personality nobody can trust.  The danger exists in the loss of control over various types of greed.  Politicians risk their reputations on a regular basis.  Money, status, and freedom are at stake.  Do you have a relationship with a gambler?  How is your own relationship with risk?