"One of the greatest threats to spiritual understanding is not when spiritual communication is... how do I say this... popular. Wait... what I'm trying to say is: general acceptance may do more harm than scoffing, because when it becomes part of the mainstream, too many people will want to make it concrete. All we don't need is dogmatic spiritualism. Better it stay fringe but open, than mainstream and closed. Acceptance, but not wholesale mindless adoption.

"The problem with anything that becomes a norm, is that it then stops being organic... unless we are talking about a guy named Norm, but I wasn't. Beware the dwarf, albino, and the mainstream." (9/20/2002 - I#60)



"Remember, dreams are portals, not snapshots. You pass through them, but do not capture them. If you focus on what you see, instead of where they take you, you miss the picture... hee hee. Dreams are not Kodak moments." (10/9/2002 - I#61)



"And so the sunrise illumines the shadowy secret... amazing! But the same sunrise that dissipates the shadows creates new shadows elsewhere. Only when the light shines from within all, will the shadows finally be gone. Just more light does not mean the end of shadows. Ponder that.

"It's a metaphor for spiritual complexity. Just because you see more, does not mean you stop seeing less." (10/13/2002 - I#62)



"You know, it's not darker in a shadow, really. It's just that somewhere else is brighter." (10/16/2002 - I#63)



Ericka's Bench 10/28/2002

Rikkity: "Welcome to this curious mix of sardonic wit and animal barks. Where the great people of history meet and speak... and him, too. So, first out of the gate it's a little giant."

MCP:

"Ok-a. I want to tell you about my journeys. As I would travel, day by day things would change--but just a little. Then, after some weeks, I would realize that things were very different. Little steps in a big difference. For instance, as I traveled east the cheese became slightly softer, and by the end of my time it was little more than thick sour cream. But it had the same function in both cooking and nutrition.

"But from one village to the next the change was barely perceptible. Yet the world then and the world now has things called borders, on each side of which things are said to be noticeably different. So where in human experience is this true. It's not. So why put up with it. I rarely knew where I was according to such things, but I always knew those I was with. Externals mean little, internals mean more. And the small gradations speak more of realities than any big line on a map, because borders speak of differences and my travels enacted connections. And yes, I am the one who told her and taught her about connections, not differences." (10/28/2002 - W#248)

Rikkity: "So lets get on with this cheese thing. Here's MG... or is it GM. Genghis can be either."

GM:

"Hello. I am a barbarian. I am part of a horde. Boy, did we get bad press. Here's what I did for the horde: I cooked and baked and made cheese. And none of us ever attacked anywhere. But I was very good at cheese-making. Know why. It is just like meaning-making. Huh.

"Ok, two types of cheese: hard and soft. And two types of each: new and old. First, the new and old. New is lively, provocative, light on the palate, but without substance. Old is aged, mature, a bit delicate, with physical brittleness, a bit dried up, but contain intense flavors. What is kept is essential. One bite and you remember the old cheese for a long time... just like ideas. Some are fresh but lacking in substance, others have the test of time.

"And then there is hard and soft. The soft cheese just flows. It can be new or old, but it is known for the way it is not rigid. Put it in a dish and it fills the spaces between everything else. It has everything in it. It fills the gaps. But the hard cheeses have been sieved, and much that is watery is gone. It is the essence of cheese with boundaries. Put it in a dish and it just sits there as cheese... like ideas that are hard, fast, clear, steady.

"We speak here about what you call God in ways like cheese. We do! God as the hard essence and God as the flowing promise, and some gods are fresh and some more mature. And I fear you now live physically in and theologically in a Velveeta world... lacking any of the 4 qualities. Mediocre is not what you want in cheese, nor in gods. You want the same range in gods as you like to enjoy in cheese. I've said enough. Goodbye." (10/28/2002 - W#249)

Rikkity: "Ok, moving right along the bench, we come to..."

Tea lady: "Me me me me!"

Rikkity: "Ok, it's time for her."

Tea lady: "Never, I mean never, put clotted cream on toast. Cream on scones, butter on toast. Shall I give you one lump or two. Here you are, dearie. No lemon. The war, you know. Have to keep the troops in their lemons. But I have some milk.

"O dear, my delightful Mr. Polo. Such an athletic name. He's a jockey, I bet. I just love those horses. He was just telling me about how he first tasted tea. I cannot imagine a world without tea. But then I wonder what I do not know about that others will take for granted in their time. O 'tis too much for me. Ta-ta."

Rikkity: "And finally, a man who needs no introduction."

Papa:

"Hi, babe. Still working with the previously auditory impaired. They can't believe some sounds are what they are. They had created feelings about things which are not born out in hearing. They thought all dogs barked the same. And so we have to give them a range of experiences... just like helping Americans to taste cheese. I was given cheese as the theme. I think it's her doing."

Rikkity: "Nachos, anyone?"

Papa: "But I am doing well. Don't like the plane crashes. Will never know the whole truth on that one. But picture me soaring. It is good to talk with you and know there's PB in the closet. Here she is." (10/28/2002 - W#250)

Rikkity: "So that's the Bench. So tune in again, when we will hear the plaintive cry, 'What, no sugar!' Till then, this is me."



"Pearl of wisdom 1: Sure! Pearl of wisdom 2: Don't be so sure! That covers it all.

"The questions of the future are still in the making. From here, you could go a multitude of directions. Things become certain only when they become certain--probability becomes higher, until it is 100% only after. It is not always about choice, as much as recognition. And we only have senses to recognise with, that we have opened.

"You can't see what you can't see. And you can't choose what does not appear to be a choice. For example, say you are choosing between Boston and Asheville and Kansas City. Do you realise your choice could be Tahiti. No, so you don't choose that, but why not. We don't recognise other choices because we just don't--some out of fear, some out of stupidity, some out of ignorance, and some just out of the picture we can see.

"Miracles are just options we didn't know existed. Sometimes we don't do it by trying to see them, but simply by opening our eyes wide, or taking off the blinders. If we seek a vision we don't have, we may miss the vision we need to see. If the focus is on the thing to be seen, and not the seeing, we may miss the gift of eternity." (11/2/2002 - I#64)



"You all speak about the conservation of everything--like in, 'Nothing is ever really lost.' I think even I said that. And guess what, it's true... and it's not true. But first, a little cavear... no no, caveat. Too often, people focus on the persistence of spiritual energy, and they don't remember that all existence (or something like that) has its own persistence. It's not like human soul energy persists but rock energy does not. Big problem of the usual soul theories. Just because you're carbon-based doesn't make you special. Organic and inorganic are another false dualism. When we speak of the persistence of energy, we mean all. And no, there is no special rock heaven... but if they had a Rock and Roll Heaven, they'd sure have a hell of a band.

"So, Point 1: Don't think of human spiritual existence as different or separate or better than any other. Remember, all that is is a part of All That Is. You think God is not a God of rocks and pebbles and stones. So we are talking about the whole thing, and every wittle piece thereof, without end. Except, of course, for that one.

"Now, we often hear that no act of kindness is ever lost... wait, I had one here a moment ago. Where did it go. Ultimately, nothing is lost. But the configuration may be. The basic units of existence are never lost because they are all contained in All That Is. But from that simplest level, all else is combination into complexity. And you can't lose the elements, but you can lose the combinations. True, combinations that are energy-sustaining will endure, but that's not all of them. So the building blocks remain, while the building may be gone. I give an illustrative example. Lights, please.

"In Slide 1, we have a scene at the beach. It is on the Vineyard. In Slide 2, we see Ericka with an unnamed boy and very little... ooops. Slide 3 shows a giant sand castle. Slide 4 shows the tide coming in. Slide 5 shows a beach with no sand castle. Now, thinking about all the slides... except 2... was something created and lost forever. Wellll, yes and no. The sand is always there, the memory persists, but the castle is gone. Ok, lights, please.

"Another example: Long ago, the natives of southern Illinois found deposits of clay. Some of that clay became bricks and were used to build a house at 3412 Russell in St. Louis. Not all the bricks got used. The broken ones were buried in a trash heap, and some others became a sidewalk near the new gardens, and some were sent back for credit but mysteriously disappeared and became a barbeque in the backyard of a trucker. Time passed, and the building needed, but did not want, a change. So new windows were put in, and a few bricks were taken out and became a decorative border on the walkway of the contractor. Now, years later, the house falls into disrepair... or actually ill repute... and a suspicious fire destroys the house. The old bricks are sorted, and some disposed of, and some sold for re-use. About half become the façade of an addition to a historic building out further, where they now comprise the walls of the library wing. And some of the old broken bricks have been pulverized to a fine powder, and used to moderate sandy soil along one of the lakes created out of the pits where long ago there had been a mining operation for clay.

"Now, would you say anything was lost, no. But can you say nothing was lost, no. Much persists, although much does not seem to persist. The trick is to be able to discern what truly persists. It can't get up and leave All That Is. Just like that preacher dude back when said, it's about the transient and permanent. And poor peeps keep looking for the persistence of certain personalities, while what persists may be as hidden as brick dust in the old clay pits. Just a thought.

"In the procession toward ultimate unity of All, there are infinite patterns of persistence, but only one of essence. Ponder that." (11/16/2002 - V#70)



Papa:

"She's not here, I am. Hi. Now, what could this phone call and me have to do with Thanksgiving, other than a long- and best-forgotten recipe for peanut butter stuffing... with no onions. Here's something I learned from my work:

"In any situation things may work or not, and there are three main reasons for failure. 1. The overall design or idea is flawed--like the idea of a cement airplane. Thank goodness the boys used canvas instead. Ok, 1 is basic bad idea. 2 is some flaw in a component of the thing--like the Titanic was a good idea but the watertight compartments were flawed. They only went up part way. And 3. Nothing is wrong with either the idea or the parts, it's just that those are not the right parts for that idea. Diesel fuel is ok, a gasoline engine is a great idea, but don't put diesel in a gas engine.

"So now, Thanksgiving from an engineer's point of view: The first year, the Pilgrims struck out 3 ways. The idea that they were specially blessed did not fill any stomachs, and the crops they chose to plant were perfect but not in New England, and they also managed to do some stupid things like not listening to the natives. So it was flawed and it was wrong and it was stupid. And then they entered the second year and they learned. They modified their ideas and they gave up on crops that didn't thrive and they listened to the natives. And so we have Thanksgiving, and we continue to have it because they learned and remembered. But it is only a real time of thanksgiving when we, too, now in our time ask the 3 questions: Is it a good idea? Are we using the best parts? And are they the right parts? And by 'parts' I mean things like values.

"So, what are you trying to do? And what informs your actions? And are you using the right ones? The great tragedies of humanity--like that first winter--is when we don't ask those questions and think we know. Thanksgiving is not about turkey and gravy nor about peanut butter and bread, but about choices, values, and questions. And we celebrate in this country our heritage to choose freely, value diversely, AND question openly. And if ever a day comes when any one of those is gone, Thanksgiving will be an empty holiday. Do what is right, do it in the right way, do it well!

"See, I did think about bigger things at work than just radar. Although, there was this time in North Africa... o, skip it. Been there, told that. So, thanks for humoring the old man." (11/26/2002 - W#251)



Ericka's Bench 12/3/2002

Marky:

"Bonjour, madame and monsieur. I am doing well, but I do not think my beloved America is well. I sense a blanket of fear. Even in our worst times we had pain and doubt but never fear. We never feared. In small circumstances, yes, but not in large strokes. Surely, faced with a sabre one would be afraid, but not for the course of good, only for one's life. Now most of you have much less to fear for your lives but you fear instead for the course of things. You have lost heart, and there are those who want it so. They want you to feel imperilled so they can live off your fears. Do not grace them thus. Take heart.

"You know that life is not the be-all and end-all; that there is a persistent strain to life. But ideas and faith and hope can be dashed and ended. Surely they will rise again, but only after too many dark ages have passed. So I remind you of what we knew. We all might perish, but we would risk doing so if that meant our lofty ideals would live and thrive. Or, to put it much more crudely, only an ass tries to save his ass when the whole of meaning is on the line.

"Take heart. Do not be timid with what matters. Fear for your own lives only if you have made them bereft of higher meaning through your fears. I do not say this lightly! Take heed and take heart." (12/3/2002 - W#252)

MW:

"Hello, gracious souls of the Earth. I am a tad less antic than our French friend. I am seething but calm. This is not a time for outbursts. They feed into the frenzy. Wild actions give an illusion of being part of the problem, even if offered as solutions. Calm strength, which shows as conviction, will rule the day when the years are measured.

"When a mob arises, the rabble-rouser can get their attention and energy, but the calm speaker can get their commitment and abiding allegiance. This is why my dear George was the general while he seemed less energetic than some hotheads. It is easy to fan the coals into a blaze, but much harder to keep them at a temperature suitable for the tasks without setting the whole house afire. Sometimes the one who gently persists is in the long run the stronger.

"Measure your words and actions. Let them form a cadence of persistent concern, not a raucous shout of alarm. And do, please, sit down now and then for a calming cup of tea. With that, I say fare thee well." (12/3/2002 - W#253)

TL:

"Hello. Just remember that, in a capitalist society, money is energy. So 'follow the energy' means follow the money. This is not about any value larger than greed. But hey, don't knock greed; it's gotten us in some great messes before. But if you can't argue the economics, you won't be able to argue the values either. That's all." (12/3/2002 - W#254)



Ericka's Bench 12/23/2002

Rikkity: "Hi. Ok, it's the famous Christmas show... or it will be famous. Today we have 4 visitors, all of whom claim to be elves. But they are actually people, or spirits, who need a cloak of anonymity and not animosity, but that's what they might get if they didn't pose as elves. Let's call them EA, EB, EC, ED--as in Elf A, Elf B, Elf C, and the wondrous Elf D. Elf D... hmmmmmm, sounds like.... So what's it all about, Elf A."

EA:

"Hi. Let me shrink myself into my elf. Let's talk about the season. What's the reason for the season. Billboards try to tell you to remember Jesus because he's the 'r' for the 's.' Let me suggest that that is just a tad self-serving. Jesus wouldn't have meant anything if no one was looking for both a new Heaven and a new Earth.

"It is often claimed that God made Jesus, Christ. Half true. God made Jesus, but remember God made you and me and we made and make God. It is an eternally inclusive and complementary process. Creation flows from energy and energy flows through creation. But God, or All That Is, did not make Christ; that took all the people who hoped for one and all the people who looked for one and all the people who believed in one and all the people who thought they had met and heard one, and all the people who later believed what was seen and heard without seeing and hearing it themselves. A person is a creature of the universe, but a Christ is the product of a collective longing. And so it is NOT connected to any specific actions or realities, but more to a longing to discover that the essence of the universe can appear in ways that are more magnificent than mundane.

"The rising up of one as a savior is not about him, or her, but about the rising up of the human spirit. And if that rising up occurs in the simplest of souls, then it is not an indication of this one or that being the Christ, but the Christ potential in all of us. I, you, they, we--all have both the potential and, dare I say it, the... hmmmm... destiny to be a Christ, if that means we bear witness in our existence to the whole and the essential unity of that whole. We each are the Christ when we act as if we all are essentially connected. That's the reason for the season--to remind us it's in there, in us." (12/23/2002 - W#255)

"And here's my brother in smallness, Elf B."

EB:

"To Elf B or not to Elf B, that is the question... ooops, I give myself away... ooops. Some would say I was well versed in what I did. But I stole many a line. I did not bring home the Bacon, however. Let me say this: that many a simple tongue has spoken more truth and eloquence than the greatest Oxford don. Oft I sat in taverns and heard the talk of the common folk whose simple phrases belaboured the greatest of human issues. The great trick was to so cast the issues that they seem important and not simply gutter talk. If I had, as I thought to do, writ something about the cobbler and his daughters, it would not have lasted long. But make him a king of the realm, and aha.

"Death, birth, violence, betrayal, mystery, are all parts of everyone's world. Make them the issues of the poor, and the rich can avoid the message. But make them about the rich, and everyone gets the message. So make this season about a king, even though he be but a stable birth, and then even emperors will bow before him. Keep that in mind. Never degrade your message. Aim it high and all shall see.

"And now I, being of turn to leave, do to my colleague bestow the air which is the very breath I take, and in that taking doth I also take my leave." (12/23/2002 - W#256)

EC:

"Fair sex, that's what they say we are. But what makes us fair. I suspect a lonely woman far from home, about to give birth, would know. While the men would worry about municipalities and principalities and lodging and all of that, she would be listening to her body and the soft gentle voice of the universe. And later she would not notice the rude circumstances of the birth, but gazing on his or her eyes would see the universe itself. And at that moment of intersection between here and there, she would of fair mind know the secret of it all.

"The years that follow will try to remove the universal and replace it with particulars, but somewhere in her heart she will always ponder the truth she knew at that instant, and know it is the larger truth of all That Is.

"At the moment of birth, at the end of nine months of personal relationship, just for an instant all mothers sense a flash of awareness that this child is not hers but belongs intrinsically to the universe. Just a thought for a moment, 'This beautiful thing, wondrous beyond words, cannot be mine.' And guess what, that's true. Never forget that." (12/23/2002 - W#257)

"And now, Elf D."

LD:

" 'Tis the season to know that all that will ever be is already. It is like we are living in a giant diamond mine and we are content with mining coal.

"Don't be amazed by what is discovered or what you discover. Be amazed instead by what you do with discoveries. So many great ideas have come to nothing, or even worse. The greatest gift you can give the world is your full use of what you have... and I don't mean material or physical things only. You know about love, care, concern, nurture. Those do not need to be discovered, but how they are expressed needs much work. So focus, not so much on making the ground-breaking discoveries, but rather on the earth-shaking fulfillment of your own resources." (12/23/2002 - W#258)

Rikkity: "By the way, Elf D invented the Bench. Well, that's all, folks. And 4 elves, a dog, and me wishing everyone a season beyond belief but filled with faith. And, as Elf F says, ho ho ho ho. Later, dude."



"Actually, all these spirits--including me--are just whispers of the universe, which you identify in your own way. We are much more a part of the larger whole. But hey, if you need to think about us as personalities, knock yourselves out... unless we are talking about some who have no personalities. 'She has a great personality.'

"Do you think all this wisdom and foolishness arises from individuals? Well if you do, you're wrong. We are but the breathing of the eternal elements. And surprise, so are you! All the talk about personalities, but we consider a person most fully formed as an individual when, in fact, they are most in touch with and expressive of the universal whole.

"And in a society which claims to honor differentiation, that's a problem. If you think you are being you to the greatest extent when you stand out and express unique qualities, then you miss the larger picture. If you were to become so unique that you had no surfaces in common with anyone else, you would never connect in a sustained way, and never be fulfilled. Become yourself, yes! But remember that yourself is only--but always--an expression of the larger unity. So call her M and call him LD... whatever. Those historical personality labels mean nothing; their strands of ideas out of the weave of the whole do. Whatever is truly essential will never need a personality attached to it to make it true or valuable.

"Specific lives that point only to specifics are pretty empty." (12/27/2002 - V#71)



Sandy:

"ARF ARF ARF grrr arf snap snap... woof? Ok, I'll talk in human talk. I can converse in all languages. Dogs can do that! They bark and people in all languages say they bark, or whatever. And if you say 'come' in any language, we come. And if you say 'obey' in any language, we eat your slippers.

"So, another year there. Don't look back too much. Places are just places--even special ones. But ideas and principles are something else. 'Follow your bliss' really means follow what is truly valuable. And remember that sometimes a place is a vehicle for doing something else, and sometimes it's the instrument for getting it done, but it is never the principle itself. Too many people have mistaken Florida and Arizona for retirement. One is a place and the other is a concept. If the place helps you do what needs doing, good. But it isn't the place that is done... except for New Jersey, which should be done in... arrrrrf.

"Have a good year. ARF arf grrrrr woof woof snap." (1/1/2003 - W#259)



"When I speak about the process of fulfillment and connection, and it sounds like stages, I am doing the process a disservice. Don't think of it as links called lives and deaths, but as a flow of spirit with waves of being. And the truth of it is not in the wave nor in the points along the way, but in the effect of the wave on other wave realities. Just as some red in the sky does not make a partial rainbow, it takes all the elements. And so too with life waves. It's in the interactions.

"So, when and if you ask 'What does my life mean,' you've asked the wrong question. 'How does it play out' is a better one. Does it add complementary ripples to the surface or does it cancel the positive wavelets. Are you adding or subtracting. And you can't know the answer to that unless you know the whole picture... and you don't. So the best you can do is to do the best you can do, and have faith. No one life is going to make it or break it, and every life has the potential to make it or break it. And that is not contradictory. It is paradoxical, but only if you think in terms of units, not process. Ponder that.

"If it were as easy as getting your act together, life would be a snap. And you can't see the whole until you are the whole. So, what you often need to know is found when you know it. It's like 'Ok, I've got it,' but then when you can get it, you don't need to. By the time you say 'Aha,' you feel like you've always known. The bleeding obvious is only bleeding true when it's obvious. It's not set yet, so don't put your initials in it. Don't treat the model like reality." (1/7/2003 - V#72)



"So how come everyone thinks that when aliens arrive, they will be physical. With umpteen dimensions to exist in, why do they have to use our big three. Maybe they're already here... oooOOOooo... among you, unseen in other dimensions." (1/17/2003 - I#65)



Ericka's Bench 2/17/2003

GW:

"And a gracious hello to all. Shhh... none of that 'Mr. President' stuff. No one is a good president who ever forgets that he is simply an average man, laid heavy with the mantle of history. Some rise to the burden, and others fall beneath its weight. I can only hope I was among the former. The real test in that, as in all other things, is not what you do with what you choose, but what you do with what chooses you.

"We all presume that life would be full and wonderful and meaningful and easy if we could just have it the way we want it. But, in fact, the joy and pleasure and meaning, and even a sense of ease, comes through our fulfillment of that which occurs without our choice. That is the concept of duty. We make broad choices, and then make the most of what we are called to do in those areas. I chose to be a public servant, and so I needed to serve the public as called upon. I would never have chosen to be general nor president, but it was my duty to my life path. So, too, for other callings. You chose the ministry, not a specific ministry. You were called to do your best, not to do this or that. Those who make their mark on history know this. They exploit opportunity rather than bewail failures.

"Those who think they can plan and control their path are fools. Our destinies are writ large on the parchment of life, often too large for our small human eyes to see in totality. We surmise our portion to be the whole, but 'tis folly to do so.

"Words for today and every day. And I thank you for your kind attention." (2/17/2003 - W#260)

RL:

"Hello, y'all. You see, I was your president, but few could remember. And for too long I was in either nostalgia or disgrace. Yet I tried to be an honorable man. GW was a model for me. He still is. Some would say I presided over the devil and over insurrection. But I tried only to preside over that stupid Jefferson Davis. Whoa, what a dolt!

"Sometimes presidents are not presidents. Sometimes generals are. There is no hard or fast rule. But in my leadership I sought some very simple values: duty, honor, and civility. Duty, not to what was always easy, but to things larger than self; honor to the greater will of that divine providence which holds us all in His hand; and civility to all.

"I sought never to be known for courage or cunning or forcefulness or brutality. I sought not public fame, but only my three virtues. What more does anyone need to do than to serve in duty to one's values, in honor of one's God, and in respect of one's fellow man. And if anyone of the three are forgotten, like a stool without one leg, all else falls. Those who claim to rule but do so without these three, do not. I would rather go to defeat and surrender in virtue than to succeed and triumph without virtue.

"I commend the same to all in this, and take my leave of you. And you sir and madam, I am honored by your thoughtful listening." (2/17/2003 - W#261)

Marky:

"Bonjour. Eef hee ees to be here, I must bee here, too. But of course. Hee ees such a great man. Ah, but vive la différence, for he is the leader and I am the follower. And both are essential to the equation.

"He could not command without officers, and we would not follow the command of one less than a true leader. You see, every system worth its full value must have many layers. A beehive without a queen is a giant swarm of confusion without any production. But a queen without the drones is just a big bug. We are social creatures. We need to work in complex complementary ways. And the social compact, which Mr. Rousseau and others have written of, is the heart of it all. We engage where our talents best lie. Not everyone can be at the top, but each can be at the top of his or her game. I had to remind myself at times that my role was to carry out commands, not to make them.

"One of the great human failures of the Enlightenment was to try to convince all people that they should be kings. But in a kingdom of all kings, who does the work. So work becomes demeaning, and the worker demeaned, while the worker should be venerated for his venerable work. Do not measure your life out in position, but in accomplishment. And I hope I will be more remembered for what I did than that I was a general or a marquis. Keep that in mind." (2/17/2003 - W#262)



Ericka's Bench 3/3/2003

Rikkity: "And so, it's time once again and forever for Ericka's Bench with Rikki's settee... ARF... and Sandy's bed. So today we have three on the Bench and two on the settee... arrr... and two with Sandy. Let's turn to the bench. Here's our first guest, a newcomer, LS."

LS:

"It is my pleasure. This form of communication is new to me, so I beg your indulgence. I wish to consider the question of awareness and cognition, and especially perception.

"Now, the usual assumption is that all objects and events have a nascent quality to them, and it is the task and hope of science to uncover and discover those in such a way that the perceptions and understandings are independent of the peculiar sensibilities of the observer. It is posited that all bodies have a character which stands uniquely and independently, and the so-called proof of this is the proof of science--that I may describe a reality in my time and place, and you may come to the same real description in your time and place. But we need to remember that the basis of this scientific model is the assumption of the independence of you and me.

"However, where is this the case? What person has ever existed outside of connection. If you be religious--and by that I mean of Christian persuasion--then you trace yourself back to a common ancestry. And if you be an atheist, then you make claim upon those who have humanly gone before. The only truly independent observer would be someone who had no claim to connection. And here's a paradox: The surest proof of that would be to reach a different conclusion when observing the same phenomenon. In other words, the sole proof of the basis of scientific methodology lies in its own repudiation. Ponder that. I must go." (3/3/2003 - W#263)

MCP:

"Hi-a. It's-a good to see ya. Sometimes lies are better than truth. Lies that invite a wider vision and do no harm are good. If I say their palaces were adorned with goatskins, no one would care. But if I say they are adorned with gold, ahh. And if the truth is they were adorned with goatskins decorated with gold, what's the problem.

"You always have 2 choices. Since you can't in words or in pictures capture all, then what will you portray? Will it be the lesser or more common, or the greater or more novel. Why accentuate the common. Everyone knows that already. Our minds and spirits and lives grow only by that which seems novel. It is of course common, but it may feel new. The path to the future is to go where things seem novel and dwell there long enough for them to become as if common. For the novel which is two or three steps from you is invisible, but the step away is not. Those hidden understandings appear when we move toward the novel we can see, and not by standing in the common and dreaming.

"And she says I must be dreaming if I think I can take any more time." (3/3/2003 - W#264)

__:

"Hi. I don't know why I am here with these folks. I just came in and sat down and this bright spirit yelled, 'Next!' I think I am glad.

"It has felt like I have been on a long journey, but it also feels like I am never going to get where these folks are. I am not a great thinker, but this time I sense a wholeness about what I know and am. I came only recently, and they say 'Don't unpack.' And so I just am, and surprisingly that seems enough, and at the same time it feels like all. Part of me stirs for a striving, but all of me feels whole and content. Wait... something is calling. I've gotta go." (3/3/2003 - W#265)

Rikkity: 'Hi. So, you've met one on the up and up. Moving on. Awesome. How at peace they are. And now, the Settee. Two not at peace:"

Tea lady 1: "So I says to 'im, 'You may be my brother but I ain't got no obligation to feed you.' "

Tea lady 2: "That's telling 'im. But why the bloody 'ell did you send 'im over to me."

Tea lady 1: "Cause you had them stale crumpets, you did."

Tea lady 2: "Me crumpets aren't stale."

Tea lady 1: "Well, they were that night."

Tea lady 2: "So I am 'spected to feed your loafing brother my stale wares."

Tea lady 1: "Least you could have done was given him some of the dishwater you call tea."

Tea lady 2: "Dishwater! At least I don't use no cottled cream."

Rikkity: "And so we leave the Settee. Lifelong friends in ignorant bliss. A contrast to our previous guest. And by contrast, not by supposed but counterfeit similarity, we find our way. You can only find greater connections when you do not assume all the connections are already revealed in what is purported to be known." (3/3/2003 - W#266)



Ericka's Bench 3/10/2003

Rikkity: "Today just 3 guests... or clients or victims or friends. First an old friend."

LD:

"I want to share some thoughts about greatness of the human capacity for thought and feeling. I offer two tests of that greatness. When one meets a person, one must see if there is a consistency between what is held in principle and what occurs in action. Those who are truly great are those whose lives match their values. 'Luddites' is a term I learned from IN. Where he got it, I don't know. But these are people who hold the knowledge of something emergent, while acting only as if the past is sealed and nothing new is of value. That's an inconsistency. There are others who use the language of love but hold anger and fear out to others. So I am always impressed when I meet someone who is consistent in their person as in their thoughts. Greatness does not mean unchanging, however; it simply means that at a given time and place principle and action are harmonious. This is the challenge of most religions: to get people doing what they know is right. But it is only half the measure of greatness. In fact, living one's values should be ordinary, not extraordinary. Of course, everyone actually lives his or her values. But they may not be the ones professed, or confessed.

"And the second test of greatness, which cannot proceed before the first, is that a great person rises above the ordinary by living consistent with her espoused values, and also entertaining in her mind a whole range of other values as well as actions. It is somewhat like being a Grand Chess Master of living. You play the game as if a certain approach were the best, and you know that if you follow the principles of your plan the game is afoot. But if you play in a way inconsistent with your planned game plan, o boy. This is what is called ordinary. But to rise above it, the master has not only the game plan in mind but is constantly holding the vision of hundreds of alternatives in thought--pondering what the alternative action would be, and then what the whole changed game plan would be.

"And as I said, you can't value that ability until you have the basis of ordinary consistency. For to simply hold a great range of options in mind, without the foundation of the ordinary, is to be mad. To hold to values and actions without any sense of alternative is an equal madness. We have been blessed with the dual capacity to value and to dream. Greatness is a fused ability to do both to the fullest extent; being ordinary is doing it to some extent. I guess sin would be described as either not trying to live by one's professed values, or trying to live by one's professed values alone without change as an option. And sin might also be rambling on like an old fool. Goodbye." (3/10/2003 - W#267)

Rikkity: "After he goes, we always have to clean up. He leaves bits of ideas all around. Sandy sometimes ingests a few bits and burps forever... regurgitated notions. He arfs them up. Ok, that was a friend, here's someone who is a victim."

DT:

"Hi. It is good to be here. Her introduction was not accurate. I am not a victim, but I played one in my last life. And now I know that is not me.

Rikkity: "Yay!"

"Being a victim is not about anyone else.

Rikkity: "Yay!"

"I have come to see that there are people who are terrorized and some who are brutalized, and that does not make them victims automatically. It does if we think what happens to us defines us, but we know otherwise.

Rikkity: "Yay!"

"Victimhood is about gaining energy from others, including those who hurt you. Victims enter into bargains with others, trying to gain energy in exchange for the conditions. Bad bargains. But for those who don't sense their own empowerment no matter what, it seems like the only path.

"The big problem is that so many systems of purported redemption do not emphasize our inherent empowerment that is the natural grace of our existence at any level of complexity. Victimhood is acting out of a lack of belief in our very reality at this level, or any level of spiritual development. It is a doubting that one is really and rightfully here. But just remember this: Almost all spiritual entities which are at this level are fully empowered to be here, and the few which aren't will most likely victimize, not be victims. So if you are where you are, there is no need to be unfit for being there. To see oneself as a victim is to deny oneself. And any systems which imply that you are not sufficient to the task of being you without some outside agency are misleading. Overwhelmingly, if you are here you're up to being here--and not as a matter of catching up, but of fulfilling.

Rikkity: "Yay!"

"I'll leave on that note." (3/10/2003 - W#268)

Rikkity: "Yay! And last but not least, our guest. Another newcomer, BCC. And we don't mean 'blind carbon copy.' Just think what kids will think in 50 years when they see BCC and wonder what the hell 'carbon' is all about."

BCC:

"Hello. I use three letters because I have a complex personality. Actually, I am using the three letters as a device because I want to talk about complexity.

"There is some confusion about complexity. Some want our Spiritual Persistence ideas to suggest that complexity is a sign of spiritual fulfillment--that those who are capable of holding complex thoughts are closer to moving on. Don't take what LD says to imply this.

"Complexity in thought terms is not related to spiritual complexity. Almost all the great teachings of the greatest spiritual masters have been very simple, not complex. Spiritual Persistence can be stated in about 3 simple sentences.

"So don't confuse complexity with fulfillment. Some in the alternative spiritual understandings do this, and it is no different from the Puritan misunderstanding of worldly success with spiritual predestination. While the spiritual runs through all, it does not have a causative relationship. And deep thoughts are not always complex. Elegant solutions hold the beauty of truth.

"And with that I end. Why make it more complex?" (3/10/2003 - W#269)



Ericka's Bench 3/31/2003

Rikkity: "The great majority of spirits stuck in life are going the fear and quick resolution route. And all the quick resolutions have their focus external. I don't give a duck if it's Saddam or George or Dick or Guido, whether it is peace or war... or even Tolstoy. If you aren't speaking to and from the heart of your spirit, you are just casting about for easy fear relief, and easy fear relief is usually the precursor of more fearsome things. Aha, I think she's got it. The fear my dear falls mainly on... hmmm... on der deer.

"So, here's an exercise. Grab your tail... wait, not that one. Sit down and write about your present situation without referring to anybody else--either individually or in groups. So don't write about Osama and don't write about Muslims or Congress or the Boston Red Sox. What you write from your own self is the core of what is happening for you. Ok, I hear you wondering how. I give an example.

"One could say 'I worry for my nephew who is deployed and I think we should do everything as a country to get him home safely' or 'I am worried about potential losses in my life and I pray that they will not happen.' See the difference, because all the rhetoric serves very little except to gather and dissipate energy. The great quantity of energy being used to take positions on this shows how much we all have felt that we have been out of touch with what is happening and the decisions thereon.

"Wildly spread energy seeking easy focus is a symptom of people not in touch with their spirits. Do you really think what you need to learn and remember has anything to do with the specifics of the current events? I think not! Especially when and if the focus is external. Hey, what's this I'm standing on. Hmmm... says 'Ivory 144 Bars.' O, it's my soapbox. I do go on and on. But if I didn't, who would." (3/31/2003 - W#270)

Spirit: "I would."

Rikkity: "Ok, big-mouth, come here. Speak. ARF! Not you, him."

Spirit: "Ok. There is another group I am thinking of, and that is those for whom having an opinion on this would either be a luxury or a threat. The vast majority of spirits in life form do not have enough essentials to rise up to asking the questions. They are naturally self-directed by their circumstance, and opinion seems irrelevant."

"Hey, can I butt in here, too."

Rikkity: "Sure."

Spirit: "What about those who have enough but choose not to examine the situation; who say it's not their business, or who try to claim that; who fill their days with time blocks of activity, but not meaning. Does avoiding focusing on the external issues qualify as better than focusing outside oneself.

"Well, that's another problem. Just because one does not live with extensive external referents, that does not mean that they are focusing internally. Some spend all their energy keeping from spending all their energy externally, and so have nothing left for the internal. It is tricky, but the central teaching of so many has been the same. Look for a spark of creation that is you."

"Right. And the Buddha pointed out that even the person within great suffering can do this. Those without the physical luxuries always have the spiritual necessities at hand. It is never what you have that counts--and surely not what you don't have--but who you are and how you are who you are. And that cannot happen if you look only at what others do and are."

"I agree."

"The path is one."

"Have you said it all."

"Yes, and eternally no. But for now, enough. Agree?"

"Yes, I do, and you."

"Yes."

Rikkity: "I have 3 others here, but don't worry about sorting them out. They know who they are and that's the point, isn't it. And we don't want the SBI after them. So, ponder all that shit." (3/31/2003 - W#271)



"Walk with. Guides simply do that, and I should know! We walk gently with our folk, and in the shared path they come to sense what we know. Conversation always is better than conversion." (4/16/2003 - V#73)



Ericka's Bench 4/18/2003

Rikkity: "Alright, is everyone here? Let's see. He is, he is, she is... uh, she is? There weren't no she's there... or not. Who took the picture? Ok, we've got 13 and a few more. Put down the matzos. Sure, sit. Ok. This is one raucous group, including the ring leader. Now let me just say this: You will not be talking with the man in the middle. Why not? Because he says the real story is about the 12, not about him. Ok everybody throw some lamb on the floor... woof. Cantor Sanford Dogowitz... baaaroof adonai. Don't get him started.

"Here's one of the gang:"

T:

"I don't get it. I keep trying but I just don't get it. I like being with this group, but some of what they say I can't believe. All this talk about the end of the world, not by my thinking. But you know what? They still accept me with all of my doubts. Wouldn't you think they've told me to go home by now, but noooo. I think they like sharpening their arguments with me.

"You see, very often I questioned something he said and the others tell me to shut up, and he just looks at them and smiles and then says 'Why are you so afraid of questions if you think you have the answers.' And then he winks at me. I bet you didn't know he was a winker. The other day when he was coming into town, he sent some people for a ride and said they should say the Master needed it. But what actually happened was that he said 'Say the Master needs it <wink wink>' He knows how to play the system.

"Here's a good friend of mine, but don't let his rough hands put you off." (4/18/2003 - W#272)

P:

"Hello. I always feel very uncomfortable talking. I'm a person of action, not talk. Rather be out on the sea than here in this room. Let's just say I don't have a tongue like some others!

"I just wanted to say that one of the things that must have been left out of the story you get is that all of this took work, and therefore took workers. You can't just go from here to there and dine and meet and preach without some background work. Someone had to know geography or we'd all be spending 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness.

"This whole ministry was an effort, not an ease. I tell you this for reasons that will become evident.

"Watch out for this next guy." (4/18/2003 - W#273)

J:

"They all have it in for me because I'm the only one who will tell him to keep it real. The other day we had a crowd shouting for more. He had spoken about abundance and about freedom and about faith, but they wanted more. And I told him 'Don't go there.' But did he listen... noooo. So, before I can end it, he's talking miracles... and I don't mean little ones. I said 'Stop it or you'll start believing it yourself' and he said 'Maybe I do.'

"That night we had a one-on-one and I set it straight to him: 'Do you want to be remembered for who you were or for what you teach.' He cried. He said 'I'm just a man, so of course I want to be remembered. Would that I were only spirit and that would suffice, but the flesh calls out for memory while the spirit seeks immortality.'

"The greatest lessons of life do not have a name attached to them. And no scripture can be cited except the wisdom of the human soul. I am worried that his humanness will win out over his spirit, and he will continue to preach what is beyond hope instead of preaching hope. A few more times like that and things must change or I'm out of here." (4/18/2003 - W#274)

J:

"Ok, it's my turn. And I'm the one no one ever notices or remembers, but I have something to say!

"If he had gone about preaching alone, he would have faded away quickly. Had he had 1 or 2 friends along, they might have started a club; 5 or 6, maybe an organization. Now do you really think there are 12 of us? Some days we are only 4 or 9 and other times we are 24 or 29. The number of twelve is symbolic, not descriptive. It represents the unity of Israel, of a whole with many branches. But the number is unimportant. The fact that the number is larger than 1 or 2 or 3 or even 10 is what is real. This is a movement larger than self or marriage or family or even religion. And it takes its strength, not from 1 or 2 or 3 or even 10, but from all.

"We have been our weakest when we relied on him, and we have been the strongest when we relied on each other including him. Each brings gifts and graces which in their combination bless us all. Just as our spirits enlarge by connection of spirit to spirit, so too our living movement grows by connection of separate people into a whole. And only where all are welcomed and none are excluded will this message be fully embodied.

"Any one of us could leave the table and it would be the lesser for it, but no one person leaving the group destroys it. No one is greater than any other. When we focus our faith and energy on any one thing or person or scripture, we deny the larger community of faith and possibility. Don't make gods out of any of us unless you are willing to make gods out of all." (4/18/2003 - W#275)

"Hi. I was also there. Remember me. I said I waited table that night. Just wanted to say hi again and thanks for the dog, hehe. He helped clean up. But who put the hat on him? He sure barks funny. He loves lamb scraps. He's in the corner now asleep. But they're going out. Here's your luminous friend:"

Rikkity: "Hi. So, were they cordial... and drunk. So, happy whatever. Hug us all... 26 arms and a tail."



"Will there ever be definitive proof of spirit communication. No, because if there were, you'd all have it together and move on, and some new entities would be taking your clueless places." (4/22/2003 - I#66)



"So, let's get down and serious. It would be a big mistake to confuse fulfillment with completion at any spiritual level. If you look to completion, you miss a very essential piece. For, as an entity comes to truly and fully know itself... and not its elf... it comes into a new level of awareness of its potential. All at once it perceives the way ahead; it senses how it can become more than it is. The spiritual mating plates are suddenly there, and further connection is seen as possible. But if the perception is completion, then no plane surfaces seem to exist by which greater complexity would be possible. It seems like it is over and done with, and so is a dead-end.

"None of us is ever really complete, but we are infinitely fulfilled and fulfillable and filled with potential. So after a few lives of learning and remembering... ok, with some people, more than a few... one gets to a stage like a second first-timer. First-timers think they have it all together, they are finished and complete. The second first-timers are those who have learned and remembered enough to get a sense of themselves as works in progress, but they mistake the work as a single-level project--not finished, but finishable. And so they are often detoured down paths which seem to offer complete answers, and it is only with repeated learning and remembering... and living and enjoying... that they get it that the end of all of this is not an end but a process, and each entity--being a subset of the whole--can never be the whole, but the whole can't be with it out... ooops, without it. This linearity is for shit.

"And the other problem with completion is that it is so final and so individual... ok, that's 2. Fulfillment allows for future greater fulfillment, but completion is stuck. And also, completion is about one entity; fulfillment is about one entity becoming ready to be more than itself... and truly more than its elf. The gnomes are hiding. That old black spiritual Goin' Gnome, Goin' Gnome. 'And when masta done heard us, he be thinkin' about home, but we darkies be singing about gnomes.' Proof? The English abolished slavery centuries earlier, and look at all the free gnomes. Hey John, tell someone in the back row it's about gnomes. 'I'm getting a sense of small creatures in someone's garden. Does anyone back there have a garden.' We love to play. But take seriously the completion-fulfillment dichotomy and its implications for a post-Aristotelian world... whatever that means.

"But it is very very important. Most religious leaders who are not totally wacko are second-time first-timers, because they preach perfectionism of some sort, with an announced or promised arrival. But if it's really process, there is both no arrival and continuous arrivals. Ponder that." (5/15/2003 - V#74)



Ericka's Bench 5/19/2003

Rikkity: "And now, from the hardest place in the universe... ARF... it's the rock solid Bench of Ms. Ericka aka Rikkity. Today we have some guests on the Bench... arfff? O! These aren't our guests sitting here. Who are you."

WS: "We're waiting for a bus."

Rikkity: "To where?"

WS:

"Now that's a complicated story. Call me WS. I got here a long set of adventures ago, and when I first arrived I kept trying to get places. I thought that if I could figure out where I was going I could go there-–just like mortals who worry about going to heaven or hell. Going to either would be better than the torment of not knowing, so I would spend energy trying to find my destination. I didn't care where it was, only what it was. O boy, was I stupid!

"Let's think this thing through... no, let's feel this thing through. I'm waiting to go somewhere and I'm anxious because I don't know where. Just like most spirits in human life, we like to project a speculative future because it feels so good. In fact, we'd rather be told a grim future than be told nothing. We are a fretful level of being. But in fact, and despite our feelings, we can't know where we are going, and trying to do so usually leaves us with another feeling: disappointment. And as one of your favorite groups sings, 'Disappointments are my only appointments.' So, by a focus on destinations to cure one feeling, we set ourselves up for other feelings.

"So eventually, when I discovered that going to supposed destinations didn't work, I stopped. But did I learn? Noooo. So I started to look for ways to get where I had been-–back to the old same old, substituting familiar for unknown. So I'd get on a bus to my old life, but it wasn't there anymore. Wellll actually it was there and is always there, but the 'me' was not the 'me' of then; so the then of now is not about me. There is no time but there is development, fulfillment. So my trips back didn't do it either.

"And then one day when I was coming back with the tears of loss and frustration on my face, so to speak, I looked out the window and saw a sight I had never seen-–hadn't been there and couldn't project it as part of my journey, but there it was and so it became part of my journey. And whoa, it suddenly put in perspective some other elements which had been anxiety-producing mismatches before. Suddenly incongruities became congruous and I felt more whole... ahhhh.... ARFfff. He knows! So then I stopped my trips in search and my trips back. And now I wait for the bus... but which bus. Any one would do. My path can be found along any route.

"There are synchronicities in all places and events. From any path I can see myself more fully. And it's not about destinations. You see, if it's about moving to oneness with the All, then the All will surely be evidenced in any part. I only need to look, not fret. And look for what reveals, not what confirms and comforts; for what reveals will also confirm and comfort, but what feels confirming and comforting does not reveal. Ponder that. So I'm sitting on this bench waiting for the bus... any bus... all buses... omnibuses. And each of them can be mine, as long as I remember to feel comfortable enough to open myself to their journey--which becomes my journey." (5/19/2003 - W#276)

"And this fine woman is RL. Say hi, RL."

RL:

"Hi. I'm waiting, too. I've been waiting. Lots of buses have come and gone. Maybe one of them was mine, but that's ok. There's nothing wrong with waiting. To learn to wait is a grace, for otherwise one buys into time.

"You know, this whole shebang (that's a very technical term to avoid theological controversy over words like universe and creation) this whole shebang is not a race! Since it is an organism of spirit, there is no need to get it 'done'! In fact, getting it done is counterproductive because only in the fullness of infinity is there infinite possibility. So if one fills all with doing, we may rob ourselves of some of that possibility. So just to sit and wait is a part of the process.

"The first bus may not be the best bus, or it could be. Who knows. Probably they all are the best bus, and in the fullness of chance and choice you'll get to ride all you need to. So why not just kick back and relax, because maybe being at the front of the line always robs you of the experience of the middle and the end.

"Ok, everyone in a single line. Whoa, look at the compulsive types. Some compulsively go to the head of the line and some compulsively seek the end... and lots try to hide in the middle. Ok, about face. Whoa, look how anxious the two ends are. Ok, you in the middle. Yes, you! Everyone turn to face her. Whoa, the middles aren't too happy about this. And wait, look over there. Who are those really serene folks. They're the ones who didn't line up and decided to wait. And watch this: Ok, waiters, time to go. And see, they weren't anxious about waiting and they aren't anxious about going. Those who truly know how to wait also know how to truly go. Ponder that." (5/19/2003 - W#277)

"And while you are pondering, here's DN:"

DN:

"Yep, I'm DN. Hmm... I'm the end of de Bench, get it? Hee hee.

"There's no such thing as me. What I mean is there's no such thing as the end. Sure, I'm at the end of the Bench, but look, more people stand beyond me. I'm at the end of a living heritage but more traditions are yet to come. Can you think of anything that has ended. Trick, hee hee, because if you can think of it it hasn't ended. All is retained in the great web of All. It's a net of experiences caught by the passage of being.

"And without time to differentiate, you who were are still-–even as you who are are. It didn't take an annihilation of one to get the other. No ends. Even bread ends live on as sandwiches. And I hate to do this, but the old mantra 'This, too, shall pass' may be comforting but not true. 'This, too, shall be but I shall transcend it.' Because if it were to really cease to be, what would be the point of your learning and remembering? Do not seek to have ends, but seek instead to move along, leaving those things as learning points.

*Murmur...murmur... murmur... murmur*

"Wait... ARF. The crowd grows restless. Yes, I can see it! It's a bus! *Screeeech* Ok, everybody on!" (5/19/2003 - W#278)

Rikkity: "Wow, they all left and now the bench is empty for today's guests. Wait! The guests just left. Come, Sandy. Yes, Sandy? Sandy! O well, I guess he left, too. There's a note on the bench. It says 'I left, too' signed Rikkity. Then I guess I'm not here, either. It also says 'Friday.' Later, dude."



MCP:

"Hi-a. I went out for some food and came back 27 years later, but I got good Chinese takeout. It is truly amazing how little my city has changed.

"While I have your ear, listen closely... but not for very much longer. Here's a question: If I had never come back, would the trip have been a failure. If nothing is ever lost to the universe, then it would still be successful because I established connections where they had not been. Reports are not essences. They may inspire, but too often they have the opposite effect. People see it has been done and think they don't need to do it. But in an organic universe there are always new opportunities along old paths. Ponder that." (6/6/2003 - W#279)



Ericka's Bench 6/9/2003

Rikkity: "Stop, don't sit down! Sandy painted the bench baby blue... wet. I said 'Hey, didn't you remember the Bench' and he said roooof. And I said 'No not roof, Bench.' And he said grrrrr. But wait, it's ok to sit down because there is no time, so it's both wet and dry... just like those pre-approved cards--pending your application. So sit... arrrrr. What's the matter, dog, fur stuck! Hi. Welcome to the Bench, where once again the elite meet to greet and rest their feet. Three guests and a dog. Here's our first guest:

RW:

"Good day to you. I understand that your time faces some serious issues. But what time doesn't. It is not the issue that decides the tenor of the times, but the style and will of the people in meeting the times.

"There are always threats, but does one feel threatened or does one feel challenged to courage. All times produce events of great turmoil, but does one become churned or become learned. All times produce challenges, but does one become defeated or become victorious.

"Victims of their times arise out of their own choices and actions. There is no one time more propitious or more perilous than another. And the great test of leaders is if they point their followers to empowerment or subservience. Real leaders always empower, and charlatans desire servants. And I thank you for your attention. Carry on." (6/9/2003 - W#280)

Rikkity: "Now let's see if he can stand up. He can, without stripes. Good. Wooog. Sandy, let's try a new word. ARF. Let's try 'ark.' What did Noah build. Arf arf. No, try again. Arrg arg. No, focus on the animals. Ark. Good dog. ARK. What did the Harold angels do. ARK. And the Arnold angels. ARK. Ok, here's WL.

WL:

"Hi. I heard what RW and Sandy were saying. Huh. There's a link. Noah built an ark. He built him an arkie arkie. But think about this: The rain is coming. There's gonna be a floodie floodie. And he could have set up a system of warnings: 'Today's flood level is orange.' But he didn't. Instead of vilifying God or the rain, he built the boat. He built a container of hope. He focused on survival of hope over the waters. He was a leader dude. He focused on the future. And he didn't command anyone to do what he wasn't willing to do himself.

"So those who came aboard came for hope and a future. And that's what I have to say. Bye." (6/9/2003 - W#281)

Rikkity: "She's gone. Got up easily and quickly, without harm to body, spirit, or clothing.

"Now, before we proceed, some messages for our vast audience. John says he is ok with a healed spirit and a healing heart. But he's glad he went knowing love more than loss. Trudi says she misses her friends, but she doesn't miss her body! It had worn out. Now she hopes that her beloved will not rush to her side because he is beside her in spirit she knows. And Papa says he is flying by the seat of his pants. So what else is new.

"And now, LD."

LD:

"Hello, gentle folk. You know, it's not what a person does that matters; it's what they could have done but didn't that matters! All I did was try to maximize what I could from my potential--the old notion of the crafts person who has pride. The ditch digger who can create the waterway without collapsing banks is a genius if he does it and a failure if he doesn't. But a great painter is not a failure if she cannot make good ditches. Greatness is not in what you do but in doing what you can, and not shying away from your own potential.

"Much of education is wasted on trying to help people do things they're not good at. Now, dear lady, there's a train leaving the station at 12 noon at 40 miles per hour. How many pecans need to be added to the peanuts so the bar car makes a 14 percent profit. You don't care. But if the question were how to help a client deal with loss, you'd better care.

"What if grades were given, not for competence, but use of abilities. So those who can only draw stick figures would get an A for good stick figures. This would, of course, require honesty about oneself and also an acceptance of the equality of all honest labor. But I advocate for both. Ponder that while I go and do what I can." (6/9/2003 - W#282)

Rikkity: "Hey, LD has blue stripes up his back. But it's ok, he's wearing a striped robe. He came with them before he sat down. And so, that's the blue Bench."



"Dolphins are... whatever. There are many ways to learn. Those who want a working sabbatical make good porpoises. Those who want real sabbaticals: house cats, or slugs, sloths. Most animals are not on sabbatical. Mickey, my gerbil, was not.

"All animals have spirits, but not necessarily on the same spiritual level. And I'm not saying less or more developed, because I don't want to be bitten... grrrrrr. He's got friends, Bruiser the Boxer and Rolf the Rottweiler." (6/16/2003 - V#75)



Ericka's Bench 6/23/2003

Rikkity: "Bench 062303, Take 5: Hi, and welcome to Ericka's Brench... ooops. Bench 062303, Take 6: ARF ARF ARF arf arf arf arf. Hi. So, here we are in the sunny quad of Morse Heaven with 1 guide, 1 dog... Arrrf... and 1 bench. O did I forget 3 guests. That's ok, they're in the green room. Actually, they're in the greenery. Sandy will filch them when needed... grrrr. Ok, fetch, not filch. Bench 062303, Take 7: No, we'll edit. Sandy will fetch them when needed... wooof... or not.

"Our first guest you know as a little girl, but with Papa's help she's a very mature spirit."

Julia:

"Hi. It has been a very long time. You know, Papa and I don't play anymore... welll, we do play gin sometimes. But I have changed so much. I am much more a Pebble than a Mountain. Life, or should I say death, has a way of wearing you down to greatness because it is a process of spiritual refinement--at least for those not first-timers. If you let it, the experience of death slowly, and sometimes not so slowly, washes away what is not important. And while you are left as only a pebble, remember that gems are pebbles and a diamond about the size of a pebble is worth more than a whole pile of coal. The gift of spiritual discernment is the ability to see the essence distilled down to purity. And those who fear death the most are those who fear there will be nothing left after that process. Death does not anoint you with more than you had in life. It just lets you see and know it in vital clarity, and for some such clarity would be too much.

"And here's a little secret: Most spirits have their pebbly essence from the start of each physical representation. When I was that very little girl, I had the essence of what I would have been if I lived longer. Living is often about obscuring the essence and then trying to find it again. So I never had time to lose it but I also never had time to know it, so here on this side I've come to know me... thanks to crazy old Papa.

"Now I am saddened to understand that Mom may be here soon and she is feeling a portion of relief because then she and I won't be separated. But that's not the way it is. There are still too many over there who need her. I don't need her, I just love her. Maybe she thinks she needs me but she doesn't. So her passing may be a real tragedy. We will be together but I won't be the little one she remembers. So many get here and are disappointed. They want us to be unchanged and physical, but with any luck and help we are changed and not physical. And it takes great energy to have to appear to them as if we were.

"One of our great reliefs is when some newly-arrived spirit says 'Finally, I got it. I don't see you. You are, and I know that, but I don't have to go looking anymore.' It takes awhile for a spirit to become really spiritual. Damn physical realities hang on like a bad dream. And here's another kicker: Those who have suffered greatly physically have the most profound and lingering tendencies to keep thinking and sensing physically. You can't focus on pain for a decade and think death wipes all that focus away. They are, indeed, beyond all suffering that is physical but they don't really know that because they continue to suffer psychically. Takes awhile to change the focus... and whiners, don't even get me started!

"So I have changed so much you might not recognize me... unless your soul knows how to hear spirits laugh. Enjoy the Bench, and if you see Papa tell him to write if he gets work. Later, dude." (6/23/2003 - W#283)

Rikkity: "She is sooo different and sooo the same. But she didn't know it. Now, I was going to tell you something but LD said he would do it better. And he does everything better, so here's the old guy with the beard."

LD:

"I don't have a beard! And I don't have an age and I don't have a brain! You and our dear lady talked about this briefly. We are not creatures of cognition here. We don't use brains, they are such an impediment. You with the bodies need brains. They become the interface between your spiritual and physical selves. They mediate function and essence. Couldn't get your arms to move this planchette without a brain. But you could know all the spiritual wisdom you need without one, but you couldn't think about it or talk about it or write about it.

"Most of the development of the human race on Earth has been about the development of the brain, but not the spirit. And you take brain development as advancement, when all it is is product enhancement. I will offer a poor but striking analogy: In 1964, you had computers which could over several days compute the value of pi to hundreds of places. Now you have computers that can calculate the value of pi to thousands of places in nanoseconds, but pi still has the same value. The method was enhanced but the outcome is not really advanced. Pi is. So while humans have been making great brain progress, they aren't really any better at being the spirits they are. Fear still abides.

"So don't search after great cognition from this side. Settle for some more insightful recognitions." (6/23/2003 - W#284)

Rikkity: "He's gone. And our last guest is someone new to you, DI... and not a princess."

DI:

"Hello. I guess I want to follow up on what the others said. There seems to be--and I had it, too--a presumption about over here: instant awareness. But since there is no time, what's instant? I recall. What I guess I mean I now simultaneously sense and don't know is that there are things growing in my awareness whose awareness might mark passages but which are not time delimited. I can't tell if I am going to know these things or if I am going to forget these things. They are a part of my spirit, but yet I am not always aware of them. But I am aware of them being. Now, is that confusing enough.

"If you expect to get here and have everything cleared up, you are in for a big disappointment; for everything is clear and mysterious here. If you could have it just be clear... welll you wouldn't be here! Or, at least, I can say I have met no spirits here for whom it is clear. So I can only guess if it's clear, they're not here! They are not here, yet where they are I don't know. If I did, I would be there! And that's all. Thanks for listening." (6/23/2003 - W#285)

Rikkity: "And so another Bench has come and gone. And now, this is your announcer Miss Ericka Brindl Bishop saying Sandy, clear the bushes... grrrrr. Later, dude."

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