"Ok, a question: Why did
the eternal God need to measure Creation in days, as if
finitude mattered to an infinite dude. I don't know, but
either the story is human or it's wrong; for an eternal
being would have just done it as if there were no
differentiation, for in the fullness of eternity it was
really not time-separated. Just a rambling thought. It
all gets translated by us. So we miss the whole thingie,
yes.
"How about this: 'In the big inning, the Yanks
were....' No, no, no, no, 'In the beginning, all was
naught, and then it was.' Shorter, pithier, more
accurate. And what it really means is, 'In the beginning
of thought like ours, all was naught, and then all was
capable of being thought of as we do.' Was it an act of
creation or perception. Hmmm, ponder that. I theenk I
have said enough. In fact, I have said a central thingie
here I had planned to keep for much further down the
road, but ok. Ponder." (12/9/2000 - V#57)
"There are shoulds in closed systems, but
not in the whole." (12/23/2000 - V#58)
"Prophecy, reality, promise. But what is promise
but a prophecy... and on and on. It is one long spiritual
chain. Forget the Genome
Project, and think about trying to
identify all the spiritual strands in a person or entity.
Now that would be awesome. Ponder that:
Sensing all of your spiritual history and inheritance.
Well you can, and that is what growing spiritual
complexity allows--even as we become more complex, we
become more insightful about our existences. Just as a
human has more memory than an amoeba, think what happens
when you get even more complex. But for tonight, just a
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Sunny Solstice, etc.,
etc., etc." (12/24/2000 - B#34)
In Savannah:
"There are many spirits here and many of them
have been black. Lots of folks who look like moi.
I do believe massa has been in the quarters at night
again. Can't mix and hide it. We be cafe au lait, we be.
Actually, much love did sometimes grow between lovers of
slaves and masters. Don't always judge love by society's
structures. Some of the Southern women were so dainty and
frail that the vapors would keep their husbands away for
months. The pretense was often the marriage, as massa
would find himself with a negress and the poor mistress
would need the ministrations of either the neighbor
and/or the minister and/or the house boy. Marriage in
those days was less about love and more about tradition
and family and expectations. And now not much has been
remembered, even though people claim to have
learned." (12/31/2000 - W#191)
"About the Mona Lisa.
It was not LD in drag. He wanted to make that clear. He
just painted what he saw. A spirit? No and yes. It was a
physical woman, but even she said it made her look
special. It is compelling because it is not obvious. It
contains something that is there but not there. Hey, it's
no photo. And no, it was not designed as a postage
stamp." (1/7/2001 - W#192)
"The big thing about the unity of All That Is is
that it's a unit. But little
brains keep looking to the pieces of
the unit, and it just drives us nuts, so there. Some even
focus on lug nuts. Like trying to talk about the
refrigerator by focusing on the mold in the veggie drawer
(hint hint).
"So, in any situation you need to be able to focus
on the particulars and one step--at
least--of connection. Otherwise, you never move toward
union with All That Is. Like to be an unsignificant, or
insignificant, little blip on the cosmic radar, go ahead.
But for me, I'd rather see the big picture, and that
picture is always ahead, not past or behind. So, that's
my spiel. Take it or leave it. Like it or lump it. Piss
or get off the pot. Without or with fries. Salt or
pepper. Sweet or sour." (1/10/2001 - V#59)
Ericka's Bench 1/14/2001
RS:
"Hello... wait a sec, I need to annoy John Edward.
Now he's looking in his audience for someone with a
relative who has passed with the initials RS. Hey, I was
an only child spinster, so I wish him luck. This segment
will get edited out, I'm sure, before televising. So, I
greet you from the great beyond. You have another
relation here, whose name starts with a letter. Wellll, I
digress when I want to ingest. Some say I am a playful
sprite.
"Anyway, here's an observation: You can't get a real
observation from just one point. If you don't move, you
really don't see--if you believe seeing is
multidimensional. So standing in one place physically,
emotionally, spiritually, makes Johnny a dull boy. If we
can say that, dullness is a lack of perspective. But how.
"If you go to look at sculpture you move your head
this way and that. So do the same with feelings and
experiences and beliefs. The biggest problem is when you
satisfy the needs of others for you to appear consistent.
You know you're doing something right when someone says,
'I'm surprised. I thought you thought this or that, not
what you're saying.' Hey, David would not be David if we
only saw one kind of cheek. So, move your spirit around,
too.
"How much for this cute dog. Rrrrrrf...
this fierce dog... rrrrrrrrrrr. Ok, I'll go."
(1/14/2001 - W#193)
LD:
"Routines are good as a form of discipline, but only
when you know the territory. My good friend MCP tells
about coming upon a man in Asia who was horribly lost. He
was trying to follow the river and he went south, since
that is how all the rivers of his homeland flowed. But
this river flowed north, so his not knowing and his
following his routine meant he was lost. But routines in
familiar territory keep you in familiar territory. Think
'rut.' You know that road but can't get off and can't go
anywhere different. So it is with SP. If you had followed
the routine of Sunday chats eventually the chats would
have shaped SP, and not the other way round. So we rely
on routines to make the familiar easy, but always need to
remember they are also blinders and shapers.
"A routine is a mold which is useful as you fill it
to shape the future, but once it is filled it has no
longer a use. So that is why patterns need to change and
why aging is nature's gift, not nature's curse. If we did
not age routines would never change and we would be
shaped by the known, not the potential. I always had new
ideas when I changed residences.
"So don't mourn the chats. They were fulfilled. Now
move on. And I will do the same before the little canine
shows his teeth....f. Bye." (1/14/2001 -
W#194)
JD:
"Hello and good evening and, if I don't see you,
good morning, too. I resent they stole my line. Anyway,
we seem to be talking about change. And I want to think
about one of the hardest problems of change: Group
change, in its largest form, always turns violent. Wars
are about change, the civil rights movement was about
change, the Reformation was about change.
"Now, when one person changes there is only a ripple
in the person and smaller ripples around; but even those
ripples represent energy. People always say it is work to
change; but no, it is work not to change, but real
change--while it takes effort--always releases energy. At
the end of the change there is energy that was not there
before. 2 types of changes: fission and fusion--change by
moving apart and change by moving together, but both
release energy. Now, when this one and that one change
there is just random energy, and when some change then
some energies may cancel others; but when there is
widespread change and also widespread resistance to
change, there is a lot of energy flowing.
"And this is the point: People focus on the energy
of the change and not the energy released by the change.
So, if enough people change there is all of this
unrecognized energy that is not dealt with--just as in
counseling when people change, if you don't deal with the
released energy they will relapse. So, the world needs to
find ways of recognizing and dealing--not with the
change, but the incidentally released energy. So ponder
that.
"If people don't find a way to deal with the
released energy, they don't find a new pattern; and they
use the energy in destructive ways, which usually means
fear and violence. War is a great release and waster of
the energy created. If the energy of any one of the
historical great changes had been harnessed, the world
would have advanced beyond belief. And with that I go.
Ta-ta, bye-bye. See the energy and deal and
________." (1/14/2001 - W#195)
"So, pay attention. Energy released by change is a
big problem. And moving on into more complexity is a big
change; and so there is a lot... a shitload... of energy
potential in the change, and the sensation of that keeps
some peeps from changing. The final awareness for many
before they connect is how to deal with such tremendous
shared energy. You think fear is a big deal, try not
understood energy!
"So keep on pondering the energy. It has been my
most constant theme. It's all about energy. In any
sustainable entity, the control and use of energy is an
essential issue. And without a balance, then you either
get explosions outward--a coming apart--or inward, like a
black
hole... suuuuck. That's all
for tonight. I haven't got energy to go on."
(1/17/2001 - R#33)
"Let's talk trash... like refuse... like what you
get rid of. Did you ever notice, most people keep trash
and trash valuables. People have something that bothers
them and so they eliminate it... bye-bye, adios.
But wait... if it bothers you, it is in conversation with
your being. Just because you perceive it as negative does
not mean it is.
"Actually, the only stuff physically and emotionally
and spiritually you shed is what has no
meaning--positive or negative--for you.
Everything else is valuable. But too many times we throw
out the negative, keep the worthless, and in the process
devalue the positive. So don't trash anything unless it
is really meaningless to you. And most people live with
lots of meaningless stuff. And one of the tasks of life
is looking at what we keep and asking, 'What does this
mean to me.' If you don't know immediately, trash it,
give it up. Our psychic worlds as humans are too limited
to clutter them up with that crap.
"It's like the person who says 'I've got this great
quotation for you,' and then digs for 3 days through all
kinds of meaningless scraps looking for it. What a waste
of energy. Ah, energy again. If you waste your energy
keeping meaningless stuff in your life, you have that
much less for meaning. Thus spake Rikkity.
"By the way, letting go and trashing are not the
same. Many people let go but do not throw away, so their
lives become cluttered rooms of discards--no longer
meaningful, but still under foot. Sometimes the trashing
is physical, but sometimes it needs to be symbolic or
ritualized. But in our culture we don't have that. More
later." (1/23/2001 - R#34)
"No pearls of wisdom tonight. But here's an opal.
There are many energies that work together; so, like the
seeming luminescence of opal that
does not shine really in the dark but seems to glow in
the light, we each and we all have qualities that appear
in relation to other energies. And we can't relate to
those who we see as connected energies unless we deal
with our own.
"So the question of energy is always complex--we and
the rest in connection, not alone. The opal does not
shine in the dark, and the sun does not an opal make.
Each complements the other. And with that, blessings to
all the seekers and the searchers and the travelers and
the huggers." (1/27/2001 - R#35)
"I talk to you guys, and then your autonomous nerves
take over and spell what you've already 'heard.' So
sometimes it feels like one or the other is leading, but
that's not true. It takes both sensing to do it. And I
don't talk. I speak, which is spiritual. I don't have a
mouth, but I have a spirit which is very talkative."
(1/29/2001 - I#40)
"Some places have more spirits. Go to Casablanca, go
east 1,000 miles. Even spirits don't go there. No party
scene, and we like to hang out with the living. They're
so cute... and gullible. But it's not just the living;
could be spirits, too. Take Burning Man. It's
an empty desert. Then people and spirits come, and you
want to be there. But don't go back off season."
(3/6/2001 - I#41)
"It's like this: When I said that a cell of energy
could include more than a person, and that each party to
the cell would figure in the equation, often by
balancing, I was speaking of two types of shared cells.
One is a pre-entity connection, which is not severed by
that crap called death... a new title for a book, The
Crap Called Death. And the other is the connection
of choice--quite contrary to any entityness... or
entiquity. So in that case, when the physical connection
is gone, so is the sharing of the cell.
"Now this gets complicated, because out of sight may
be out of mind but it's not out of spirit. So if you
leave a connection of choice, but they is... ooops... are
still around in this material energy plane, then there is
still a connection. Which brings up a side topic. Lots of
people have connections of choice, not entiquity, and
then the connection ceases à la 'Dear John.' But then,
years later they find themselves thinking of John or
running into John or hearing about him, and they start
thinking the connection was deeper than realised. 'Wow,'
they say, 'I guess John and I were really meant for each
other and didn't know it. We must be disconnected
soulmates.' But noooo, it's just that John is still
physical and in this material energy plane. Now, if you
were to run into John and he was already dead, then I
think thinking about the other level of connection would
be apropos. Get it. And also, many peeps are not even
really connected to material parents.
"Two types of connection: physical and spiritual,
and one persists and one does not beyond physical
existence. So, not everyone who loses a connection feels
loss... and not everyone who loses a connection feels
eels. In fact, few do and I don't want to meet them.
Don't shake their hands, they'd try to slip out of it
anyway. If you're spiritually connected, you don't lose
it. If you're not, the connection ends with physical
death, but not the end of the seeming relationship. Hey,
death got to change something, but it isn't the spiritual
stuff." (3/7/2001 - V#60)
"It is nearly everyone's problem. How do you hold
these 2 things in mind at the same time: an infinite
spiritual reality and a finite physical one, and not
separate the two. How do you transcend dualism, and still
acknowledge the 2 separate ways of being. And the answer
is: If you knew that, you wouldn't be asking this
question because... ta-da... you would be not
here. It is not a question to be solved and stay as you
are, because physical existence would cease to be what it
is. You could not transcend the question and its inherent
dualism, and still be here. Dumb, but so of this level.
The question puts us here, but if we knew the answer, we
would no longer put the question. And on that hangs all.
Question is ok, but no answer we could get here is it.
And when we have the answer, we can no longer ask that
question, for it will no longer make sense as a question.
That's a definition of a quantum shift. And I think
that's enough." (3/7/2001 - V#61)
In Venice:
MCP:
"Hello-a. So how's-a my city. It was never that wet
when I was there, but it was higher then. We of the past
stood on higher ground, hee hee. So we can look down on
all of you. But there is a lesson in all that, too. The
city you see is in the same place as the city I knew, but
it is not the same city. It is along the path of a city
called Venice. It has its own charms, but not the same as
when I was one of its own. So too with people, ideas,
beliefs. As the path is traveled you may have the
sensation of familiar territory or events, but it is only
the similarities you are noticing while in fact there is
no exact match. I give-a you an example. I talk with you
today. If I had talked with you yesterday that would have
been you not as far along your path. So the one you and
the other you are related but not the same. This may not
seem as evident from day to day, but what if I spoke of
you today and you at age 20. See.
"A continuity of name, location, description does
not imply similarity. We make a big mistake when we see
the similarities and assume continuity and even
identicality... I no-a know your words-a for this. 'Is
not-a match-a, sorry.' 'Gene, I take numbers 13 and 32.'
'Sorry, is not a match.' That's all we get here is
reruns. Even I am a rerun. 'Now appearing in his 985th
season.' But there's a lesson in there. Only reruns are
the same. Even a new episode is different when it's a
rerun; unless the viewers are also reruns then it's
different. So, that's all-a. I go-a, and goodbye."
(3/9/2001 - W#196)
LD:
"Hi. Hello, are you there. I stayed too physical and
material in my work, but hey, it's where the contracts
were. You gotta live, you know. You live in a lucky age
where people who work with spirit can make a living at
it. In my time those were risky. The church frowned on
it. Well, not exactly frowned... more like was deadly
serious about it. They often had a burning desire to have
it their way. I did express spirit through my work when I
could, and even with my devices. Some were designed
supposedly for war but they also brought peace and
security for the little people. And other things made
life easier for people. A good pump could do wonders for
aching backs.
"Sometimes the stated purpose of a thing is not its
greatest use or benefit. So, you just have to let your
mind go and trust the great universal plan of goodness.
And what may seem like something very material may turn
out to be very spiritual. Remember, without that
contraption to print the Bible nothing else would get
printed either. But don't fall for organic tempura on
walls--although it does support a whole guild of artisans
for centuries. With it around, none of them will face a
last supper. I could have invented spaghetti if I had the
time." (3/9/2001 - W#197)
TJ:
"I have always found my sojourns in foreign lands to
inspire in me 2 contrasting sympathies. The first is love
for the other country, its peoples and arts and
histories; and an equal and renewed love for my own
Virginia and its sister states. When we travel the
physical world we come to see wider vistas, and also come
to see familiar sights with new awareness and clarity. It
is always an interaction of the familiar and the unknown
by which both are transformed.
"I, for one, like to stroll this city--so different
from my Monticello; yet, in its own way, just as
pastoral. Where I might see budding cherries, here I find
a pink house. And where I might meet a bovine at home,
here I meet a feline of almost bovine proportions. If you
focus on the differences this place will feel foreign,
strange, alien, even threatening. But see it
connected--even while different--to the familiar, and it
will feel quite normal. And so safe journeys, travelers,
even if you stay." (3/9/2001 - W#198)
MW:
"Gracious good morning. I have never been to your
city but Mr. Jefferson says it is quite fine. I do not
wish to speak on travel, however. I come to encourage, to
send you to your own writing. Each of you has an
important task to undertake, and each is needed by your
age so don't let other things stop or delay this. Our
world cries out for a deeper understanding of both faith
and loss. You together are actually writing a single work
in multiple volumes. How does one deal with grief without
faith. And how is anything called faith untested by
grief. So I encourage your work and if I may be of help
please call on me. Now, I need to find where old
empty-mouth is. Be well." (3/9/2001 - W#199)
Papa:
"Hi, babe. I love this place. I'm still teaching and
guiding and flying and tanning, so to speak. I don't ask
for much, as you know. Except maybe for a whole leg....
grrrrr. Nice doggy. He likes me; this is a game we play.
He only goes for her leg or mine. It is a family thing.
Sandy is part of us... a fuzzy part. But that's another
story, and a long tail at that... snap. So, just
wanted to say hi and now if we all could huddle in close,
hug. Watch out, he's going for your leg... snap."
(3/9/2001 - W#200)
MCP (in Venice):
"Hello-a. So, hows-a my citi. I want to
talk about 2 things you experience there. One is about
boats and one is about ristorantes. Ok-a, boats
first. When I was there, the boatmen would always yell
just before coming to a turn and then they would shut-a
up and listen and see or hear if they heard only their
echo or some other voice. They announced their intentions
but also listened for the intentions of others. Now they
use those awful horns, but it is the same. But people
forget they are boats of life and before they make a turn
or change it is nice to call out and also to listen.
"Now about ristorantes. Look, they all set
up their tables every day. They are ready even if only a
few or no one comes. Always ready to welcome, serve,
nourish. But in the usual times how often do we as people
set the table of life without demanding to know who is
coming. Sometimes you need to set the table of love or
hope or forgiveness or courage for day after day until
someone comes. We have become too quick to want results
and too slow to offer service. Think in your own lives
what tables need to be set and what tables you can set,
not who you want to serve. Ponder all that-a."
(5/16/2001 - W#201)
MW (in Venice):
"Hello, and how are we today. I am most well, thank
you. And your charming daughter is most gracious.
"I want to say something simple and elaborate...
simple but elaborate. Don't obsess. Life is fuller if you
don't, because all obsessions are about putting energy in
the past. So whether it is about loss or clothing choices
or exercise or books or cooking or cleaning or whatever, do
not obsess. And I repeat, it is always about the
past not the future. The future needs no obsession, just
openness. This followed in all things is wise, for when
all is said and done you will remember more of that which
is yet to be than all you have done. When a person dies,
their obsessions turn to dust but their openness is like
a fragrant flower whose scent remains to enliven others.
"Obsession is always self-centered, and therefore
never bending toward universals; and certainly not
connections. Obsessions are the cul-de-sacs of the human
spirit. And while some may be tree-lined and pleasant
they just don't get you anywhere." (5/28/2001 -
W#202)
"Here's something to ponder: In an infinite reality,
there is much more waiting to happen than what you know
has already happened. But you won't get any if you insist
on focusing on the already. Got to give it up to
get it. Remember, you have to pour the flour into the mix
and never have it as flour again if you want a cake. Make
it yellow with yummy icing.
"Ok, pith for tonight: Want to keep your flour, then
forget the promise of cake. But in getting cake, you get
your flour, too. You can have your cake
and eat it, too. Hmmm... it is never gone. You remember
it more fondly than you would flour... and who you ate it
with... and how you left it
out in the rain. But to make things of greater
complexity, you have to mix in. A resource--if it be gold
or jewels or spirit--is not worth anything if it
just sits alone. It has to mix in in commerce or jewelry
or spiritual complexity. I have said enough."
(5/30/2001 - V#62)
"This is about spiritual connecting in ways you
cannot even imagine... aaa... ooo... ayeee...
don't do it with bungee. The natural drive of all spirit
is connection, not differentiation. So no matter how we
manifest, we strive to connect, and the best connection
is always spiritually nourishing... aaa. And here
it doesn't matter our assumed natures, so it is spirit
with spirit and forget things like man, woman... grrrr...
and beast... rrr. All your perversions don't
mean squat here... unless you want to squat. But
seriously, connecting should be what sex is about. You
connect to enrich your spirit, not just to have
bambinos.... grrrr... or puppies. So, even when
physical, it is good to think about it this way... or
not, and just fool around. Relationships in spirit,
without possession and time, are soooo much easier. If
it's deep, then who cares if it is one time or many,
since time is not a measure. But if you get preggers
here, you have little blue and pink spirettos.
<joke>
"Spirit does not beget spirit like matter begets
matter, but spirit enriches spirit--a concept for which
physical language has no words. Gotta get here to find
out. But many who sense they remember from spirit, try to
make it in physical terms. But being a monk is not the
same, sorry guys. It is not about giving up anything.
Enhancement is not about transfer, but about sharing, in
which 1 + 1 = 1. Never more, never less, but not the same
1. Always a unity that adds to 1, but not the same 1, yet
all unities are equal. Ponder that. Sandy lost his shirt
on that game, but he won a shirt on the same games. So he
lost 1, won 1, has 1, but they are not the same. But each
is 1. (Using my dog as an instructional aid.) So that's
that for now. I'm off to have my wanton connection."
(6/8/2001 - V#63)
Papa (in Venice on Father's Day):
"Zoom... hello. I just flew in from the
coast and boy are my arms tired. Ooops... Sandy has them.
What a dog. Smart. I like him... or else he bites. But
for her I love him.
"One of the things I had to learn in my life was
that things happen in steps, not all at once. So I was
Mr. Electrical Genius once, then later I couldn't get
computers much at all. But I did my step. One step at a
time. Too many regret that they were only one step for
that lifetime. They wanted it all and forever. Good way
to set up disappointment. Just do what you need to do.
When I stopped being at the center of things it was time
to move along to other important stuff, like picking her
up at school, and the diner, and the beach, and yes the
chiropracter... boy did she have good hands.
"I am glad I had you. Love you so much. So, thanks
for calling. I'm off... zooooom." (6/18/2001 -
W#203)
Rikkity: "I think he leaves more than he
comes... I don't understand. We're not together a lot,
but we see each other, so to speak. I am working and
dancing and hangin' out. You know, there never is a let
up in the newly dead game. They just keep coming. And
they'll feel much better in the morning.
"I'm in another physical life, but not now, then...
but then is now. I am not there now, but I am there
then... or I am over there now but not then. Is that
clear. Think different planes that share at least one
axis but not all. An intersection, without a traffic
light. Enough for small brains." (6/18/2001 - W#204)
Ericka's Bench 6/29/2001
(In Venice)
Rikkity: "Ok folks and spirits, here we go
with someone you've never met, I think, but who will
scare the bejeesus out of you. It's RE."
RE:
"Hello. So, I'm to be scary... boo. I think what she
was referring to is that I wanted to share that there are
many more stages of grief than 4. Scared yet.
"Fulfillment is only the first stage of another
sequence. Then we have Expression, in which the newly
found spirit as living is then expressed in ways that
were unknown before Fulfillment and exceed Creativity by
a whole degree because Creativity was pre-Fulfillment.
Ok. And then from Expression grows a sense of new
connection, and what we felt most was a loss of
connection. First stage was Loss of other and self,
second phase was rediscovery of self, now we move to
rediscovery of connection; but if it is after Fulfillment
it is not about the specific person or whatever lost, but
about a wider sense of connection because now we know the
lost other as a part of a larger field. We connect to the
field, not the specific. And this is similar to some of
the mystical experiences of oneness, which is a cousin of
a newness... she told me to say that. So yes, Expression,
Connection, Universality--in which the specifics fade
into a much more universal understanding. And here we
find we can lose ourselves without threat. And finally,
Embodiment or Incorporation, when that universality is so
real that we really know that nothing which is of value
is ever lost. Enough for another book?
"Here's the premise: One of the key points of
learning at this spiritual level is about loss, for all
else revolves around it--fear, doubt, faith, courage is
all about loss or potential for loss. So we go through
life merrily singing and dancing and then zap
and we lose it, or her or them or it. That triggers
Kübler-Ross, and we try to not find what was lost but
only our way through the new darkness. Then comes Ms. R's
theory, which is about not only finding the way in the
darkness but also finding ourselves again as transformed
beings. This next theory speaks to finding a world of
being beyond darkness, which is glimpsed in Fulfillment.
In other words, life after a profound and recognized loss
will never be the same and the rest of life is about
dealing with that. So many stages, but none of them for
Durango. I guess I will have to knock. Goodbye."
Rikkity: "Scary... I don't know. It would
mean that you would experience a new loss, for to get
into that you would need to move beyond me as the focus
of the loss, since it is about non-specifics. But since I
am part of the universal, you would give up to gain, and
again nothing would be truly lost but it would feel like
it in the process. More later, but someone is knocking at
my door. Come in. Why, it's MW." (6/29/2001 - W#205)
MW:
"Good day to you both. We are coming to that time of
year when we remember the summons which came forth from
Philadelphia. That we should inscribe independence on our
hearts where it had been spoken only in our souls and a
few taverns. I just want you to remember that it was a
call to political independence and nothing more. In fact,
those of us who lived then know it was a call to great
cooperation and dependence. And as you now would say,
interdependence. I do believe the mistress is a bit
befuddled. Indeed, and in deed the greatest independence
is to be able to know shape and enjoy connections of
one's own choosing, and not the avoidance of connections.
As a great man once said, it is entanglements we must
worry about. He did not say connections or relationships.
So ponder that, and celebrate." (6/29/2001 - W#206)
Rikkity: "And you do know she was referring
to some dude known as GW. Ok, mowing right along... yes,
I have lawn duty this week. And the sheep are on strike.
Just a little physical humor from the spirit space. You
know it is possible to get spirit spacey... when you
forget you are physical and forget to eat, etc. Too many
hours in spirit can make you spirit spacey. Someone else
is sitting on my bench. It's FW, but she's not on today's
program. Hey, FW, cut out. Huh. You were tired. I don't
care. Sit over there. Ok, what's dat I hear. Someone's
knocking on my door. It's Mr. Landlord. No, it's TJ. Come
in."
TJ: "Dear and gracious lady, I think you have
mistaken my visit, for your bench is on my land and rent
is due. O wait, this is spirit. Sorry."
Rikkity: "Well since you are here, why don't
you say hello."
TJ:
"I would be honored to greet your guests. Why! it's
them. Well hello, what a pleasant surprise. You asked
whether we sometimes get the physical and the spiritual
confused. For those of us who still have more physical
experience ahead, which is all of us here, sure. But you,
too, have the same problem, just a mirror image. We are
spirit with issues of physicality, and you are physical
with issues of spirituality. I give you an example:
"You live in a physical world, but you have
spiritual aspirations. So an ideal is glimpsed, a vision
is beheld. Those are spiritual, but you must translate
them into physical for them to be real to you. So far so
good. But then the physical manifestations of the
spiritual impulse get measured and evaluated on physical
terms, and you may end up feeling physically fulfilled
but spiritually empty. To a case at hand in my life--and
I mean physical life, and I don't mean milk. In 1776, I
put to paper my deepest spiritual longings; but then the
spirit was translated into a war and a confederation and
a mess. It was like the physical part was achieved but
the spiritual was still wanting. And so I came back and
added a few, actually 10, thoughts. And I am pleased that
in over 200 years those spiritual concepts have been both
achieved and, constantly needing to be sought, always
measured by their worth in their day--not in mine. Beware
the spiritual which is made too physical--which is my
issue with a Jesus made Christ. I believe you
understand... or not, as she says. Well, off to not tax
any more benches here." (6/29/2001 - W#207)
Rikkity: "And now, the finale... like in
fireworks."
GW:
"Huzzah. I do believe that Mr. Jefferson's
words of independence are surely served by this outburst.
"Hello. It is always a pleasure. But remember that
independence is always a last resort, and only when
things have become intolerable. And the first act after
independence must always be new alliances that face the
future. No one can proceed alone, and no group can
proceed without vision. So the connections and vision
must be complementary; one fulfilling the other in equal
measure. Too often people look to throw off perceived
shackles, but then fail to create real bonds. So, enjoy
the holiday." (7/4/2001 - W#208)
"Now, this is how I see it: I immerse myself in the
pool of thought, and specific thoughts become as visions
to me. That's how I see it." (7/20/2001 - I#42)
A Ghost Story at the Botleigh Grange Hotel
In Southampton, England
(Note: The hotel history states the following: Like
many old English homes, Botleigh Grange has its haunted
chamber. A former owner is said to have kept his daughter
confined in one of the principle rooms owing to the lady
having become "enamoured of a certain gallant
knight". Marks made by her fingernails on the door,
in her frantic efforts to escape before dying of
starvation, were visible for many years. Her spirit may
still walk the landings at the hour of midnight!)
C:
"Hello. I lived here. I died here. Sorry it's not
midnight, tee hee. I did not die of starvation. My
beloved put those scratches on the door. True, my father
locked me away because he did not approve, but while I
was in my room I took to the fever and died within a few
days. I never called out because I was with the fever,
and my lover made the rest up out of his grief knowing my
father in his grief could not dispute it. So don't grieve
for me. I am here because I loved my house. I was offered
food, but sent it away in the first day of illness and
then the offer was not made again, since I had said I
would eat when I felt like it. I was probably already
ill. My beloved climbed up and in, but made those
scratches after I was dead and buried, and whilst the
house was in mourning. That's all. Ta-ta."
Rikkity: "Just had to set that
straight." (7/23/2001 - W#209)
Ericka's Bench 8/20/2001
(Rikkity's 6th Anniversary, Back Home in Williamsburg)
Rikkity: "Six years. Like a moment, and an
eternity. But what a journey. What? A journey, and I
forgot to pack. ArrF. Dogs run in packs. It's not a
bench, it's a settee, with brocade pillows. Here's
someone on the settee, Mr. MCP. He rhymes."
MCP:
"Hello-a. Long time no see-a in Venezia. So I no-a
see. But it is with you wherever you go. I found that in
my travels, too. But the important stuff is more state of
mind, not state of place. So always know where your heart
and soul reside, and your body will feel at home. Without
that you could be at home and feel like a stranger--which
is what many people do. That's a sign of being out of
touch, when you feel like an alien in your own
home." (8/20/2001 - W#210)
CT:
"Sometimes simple things explain better than complex
things. Just because I'm not as deep as some others does
not mean what I say is less valuable. So remember, the
first appeal should be to simplicity. Then later go deep
if needed. Otherwise you waste a lot of energy, which is
often what the modern age is about." (8/20/2001 -
W#211)
Rikkity: "And here's MW. Sort of like a
parade."
MW:
"Good afternoon to you both. There is never an
occasion when graciousness is superfluous. In fact, tact
often carries the day when all else fails. But remember,
it is never gracious to betray one's conscience. Values
truly held need never be abrasive, but always must be
expressed; and so grace bridges the gap." (8/20/2001
- W#212)
GW:
"Gee, she was a woman of few words today. Principles
and values are not the same things. Principles are the
actions which arise from values. But it is possible to
delude oneself into having one without the other. Don't
go there. Both become empty without the other."
(8/20/2001 - W#213)
LD:
"Hello. Building on M and G, ideas grow in the space
between values and principles; but until they can be
connected to both they run the risk of being demonic.
Never trust an idea, or even an invention, which has no
evident value or use; for someone will come along and use
it badly, or value it for evil purpose. Just making
something or thinking something is not enough."
(8/20/2001 - W#214)
C:
"I'm so glad you told them. I have been trying for
years. I doubt they'll see much more of me."
(8/20/2001 - W#215)
Papa:
"Hi, babe. So, you like my films. But boy, did the
dyes fade. Everything fades but what is important: love,
connection. And so here she is." (8/20/2001 - W#216)
Rikkity: "Hi. This settee is crowded. Go! And
so I get in a few words. Not many, but some. If you don't
move on you might as well be a rock. If you see limits
you might as well be a limit. And if you don't have hope
and vision you might as well not be. So, move, trust,
love, and envision without limits because that's what
being is about. And note I didn't say 'being alive' or
'being dead,' just 'being.' That's today's thought.
"And put the car and the road and the crash back
there. It's not what's now. I'm what's now. So did you
hear about the traveling salesman, the bartender, and the
rabbi. I'll save that one. Just this wish: A year ahead
in which you put closure on the stuff that doesn't matter
so you can move ahead on what does. And physical doesn't.
Just a hint: Trash days will become busy. As Thoreau
would say, simplify. Here's a hug." (8/20/2001 -
W#217)
Ericka's Bench 9/12/2001
Rikkity: "Hi. We're too busy to talk. But
wait, I'll go into the future. Ok, that's better...
better in terms of busyness. Yesterday would have been
too busy only if I remained tuned to yesterday. But there
are an infinity of days, and across them all it is good.
"I've seen some I knew but not you. They were a
little shocked to see me here already. (Summer folk...
work), and some others might be here but hey, I don't see
everyone. Maybe if it were to be longterm... but a best
friend from 4th grade, I don't know. GW wants to talk to
you, and so does TJ. Go ahead, Mr. President."
(9/12/2001 - W#218)
GW:
"Good day. I am saddened beyond words. Maybe not for
the same reason you are. I am saddened that people
perceive this as war. War is between masses of people,
and is chosen by both sides--and notice I say 'chosen.'
There are always other choices. And we MUST ALWAYS choose
war reluctantly not joyously; soberly not angrily;
cautiously not with fear, but with courage. And we MUST
ALWAYS war against what is truly the enemy, and not just
some simple excuse." (9/12/2001 - W#219)
TJ:
"We brought about war against a man who was truly
insane--clinically so at the time--but our war was with
him and not with the English people; not even when they
still swore him allegiance. And we fought for our land on
OUR land. We did not attack theirs but secured our own.
In the course of time, the example of our deeds at home
will always be more powerful than any abroad."
(9/12/2001 - W#220)
Rikkity: "They're off... and they're gone.
But so wise. I will only say this: Keep faith, keep
courage, keep hope. And the other emotions--like fear and
anger--get rid of them. Be constant and consistent and
visionary. You'll only go where you are headed, and if
you go to war then that's where you are headed. And the
best thing to do is s-l-o-w t-h-e w-h-o-l-e t-h-i-n-g
d-o-w-n so hotheads may cool and love may be heard above
the noise.
"And remember, the vast majority would rather go to
sleep with hope and security on their minds--not just
here but everywhere. Only a madperson chooses to sleep in
fear. And, once again, think of all those who might be
effected--not just the guilty but also the scared
innocents. Our country is always at its best when it is
focused on the innocents, and the worst when focused on
the guilty. Gotta run. And a fight for peace is better
than a war. Struggle on." (9/12/2001 - W#221)
"So, what a
mess. So if we can find
fault, the world will be perfect,
right? I don't theeenk that's the way it goes. If you
look for fault, you measure by the negative... but if you
look for hope! Think of a newspaper with the big head of:
PEOPLE ARE GOOD TO EACH OTHER. No one would ask whose
fault that is.
"Sometimes one has to let go in order to go on, or
the tragic will catch you and eat you... or worse, sour
you so you become the poison others taste in the act of
living and loving. Don't be a living Sour
Patch Kid. If you become negative, then
it wins." (9/19/2001 - R#36)
"Remember, the perspective you see is only from your
perspective. A complex matrix has many axes, and so, many
visions. And it changes as you do, assuming you change.
But if you hold too tightly to a single vision of any
system, you can't change within that system.
"Change requires openness, and openness requires
change. And since they are, but can't be conceived as,
simultaneous, there is always a leap of faith from change
to vision, and vision to change--hoping to get the
direction right. And here's the important and:
You have to be open to the reality of when the leap has
been in the wrong direction. When vision goes in one
direction and change goes in another direction, you have
to decide whether to follow vision or change. And if you
choose vision, you reach an end of change. But with change,
you'll always be offered new vision. So let change and
openness go hand and hand with vision, but when you need
a course correction, then choose openness and change, and
seek out the new vision or perspective.
"Worse than a person with no
vision, is a person who holds a vision when the realities
have changed and moved on. It's like standing on the
corner, waiting to see a Studebaker go by in 2001 because
Studebakers were always the most innovative cars. Could
miss seeing so much, focusing on what has been, not what is.
Isn't that right. *Wild applause on this side*
"So, that's about focusing the released energy of
change... if that is how you see it *wink wink*. But that
could change *nudge nudge*, and you better be open to it.
Saying no more." (9/27/2001 - I#43)
Ericka's Bench 10/8/2001
LD:
"Hello-a. I talk-a like-a MCP-a because I want to
talk about him, not just near him. He is a very special
man in ways that are not mine. You see, it would be easy
for me to dismiss him; for he isn't a man of ideas. He
does not perceive that which is not yet. His journals are
filled with observations and some pasta stains, and one
little dried leaf of some herb. You see, he takes the
world in and digests it. He finds what is common, whether
it be Mongol or Modena. So he sees and records and
distills, and brings back the distillate. He spends a
decade and more, and produces a book you can read in
hours. And nothing in it is inventive. Despite his
reputation, he did not make any of it up.
"Now, some would say I am demeaning him; for I say
he has done nothing original. And yet he has. He has
allowed himself to travel and observe--and I don't mean
travel the familiar and observe the trivial. He has
traveled the exotic and observed the alien until they
have become familiar. And how many of us ever do any of
that. So I speak of him with a great affection. If I had
taken his journey I would have been more lost in ideas
than observing what was there. And I must add that my
taste for comforts of the flesh would not have led me to
go the journey. I am not one for questionable food and
dirt beds, and so I would not have done what he did.
Would you? But he wishes his own time, so here he
is." (10/8/2001 - W#222)
MCP:
"And I think of my friend, LD. It is true that he
didn't travel as I did, but boy he sure got around. And
his notebooks are filled with more than herbs and pasta.
They are filled with ideas. And what so fascinates me is
that his ideas do not grow solely from what was known. It
is almost like he draws maps of worlds without surveying
the countries, but if you dare follow them you find those
countries are there. I always traveled with maps and
guides and stories and tales, but he sometimes ventures
forth without anything. While I record the details, he is
looking beyond the perceptions to the inspirations.
"He speaks of my courage and I speak of his. Both of
us explored the unknown; his was just in his head. I have
wondered what he would have found had he made my journey;
and I have concluded, not much. But if I made his idea
journeys, I would have little to write about and have
been seriously tempted to create a thousand lies."
(10/8/2001 - W#223)
MW:
"Good gracious. And a good afternoon to you. These
dear gentlemen remind me of a conversation I had with my
dear husband. The war was raging on, and one night he
confided that he wished he had another Lafayette. And
still, on a later eve, he spoke of wishing for another
Wayne. And still later, I think it was a morning, he said
if he had 3 Steubens he would be happy. And I finally
stopped him and asked, 'Would you trade a Lafayette for
another Wayne, or would you trade both for 2 Steubens,'
and he said... and I remember this because he raised his
voice to me and later was most apologetic for it...
'Woman, are you mad! I dare not trade any of these.' And
so I said, 'George, you do not want another Lafayette;
but you want another who brings as special skills as
Lafayette does. If you could, you would get a full, a
new, range of skills.'
"And so, too, with MCP and LD. If each does what
another does, who will fill the gaps. We do not need to
replicate those who are; but rather augment with those
who are needed but not yet there. Each who fills a role
already filled is relinquishing life to some measure. And
those who fill where none now stand bring life a greater
fullness. Never wish to be another. And with that I go to
be the wife of Mr. President, content to be me and not
needing or wanting to be President. And MCP, don't talk
like LD; and LD, do not talk like MCP." (10/8/2001 -
W#224)
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