gda2

"I'm dead... ooops... that upsets some people. But I am, and it upsets some here, too. Here, some are alive. We miss them and grieve over their lifes. Transitions are hard, both ways." (10/29/98 - G#35)

At a Serendipity Night chat session:

"Hey guys, what's up? What a night, ha. We had energy and love and grief and learning and learning to fly, trips into cyberspace, and glued into our seats... a heady mix. I laughed, I cried, I wanted more. So, here I am with more!

"Starseed and Sharross, you have shared your learnings and your journeys, and that's what this is all about. Serendipity is what we open ourselves to when we accept one another without judgment or fear or expectation. And as you know, because this room is a living microcosm of all we experience, in that acceptance we gain riches and rewards beyond anything we could have imagined. What we gain is the enriching of all of our souls, and guess what? The richer and more evolved any soul--and that's any soul--becomes, the higher we are all lifted.

"You may wonder at my use of the word we when I speak about these things, because you may think that on this side we have no need to learn those things because we are all-knowing and fully formed and fulfilled. Well, some of us are... haha, just kidding. But hey, if the universe is a whole, then what affects one part of it affects all of it! We are all connected, on both sides of the veil. This is a concept hard to grasp for many. But you know, most of you, that it was someone you love who came over to my side that brought you closer, as your heart and thoughts followed. We are all in this universe together, and what is happening now is that our worlds are growing closer. And you can help this happen, as you are intentional about your energy focus, as Starseed said, and willing to come out from behind your walls, as Sharross so eloquently said. Try to keep in mind this wholeness of life, and look for the connections. For when everything is a whole, there are always connections. Remember that, and we here on this side will be even more accessible to you. I'm going. I love you. You're all doing great! Here's a hug: *h u g* " (1/24/99 - G#36)

"I've got someone here who wants to say hi. 'Hi.' Now she's happy. Shhhh... first-timer, thinks she is special because she could say hi to you. It takes so little to make them happy, but it takes so much to fill their needs. They have no depth of emotions, so it is all surface above the vast empty pit. If you could stick your head inside their psyches and yell, it would echo over and over and over and over. And they flit from emotion to emotion. They laugh, they cry, they could see it again and again, they like it better than life... or Time or Look or Readers' Digest." (2/19/99 - G#37)

"It's the Equinox, so we will talk about balance--which is not always equal. If you have a one-pound weight at the end of a pole and a five-pound weight at the other end, you find balance, not with equal measures of pole, but by compensating for the difference. Balance and equality are only the same when all things are equal, and hey, that ain't life or death, babes. So for example, some people wonder why life lasts 5 years or 25 or 85, but death lasts longer. But death balances life in its own way. And some of the same people try to figure out short lives versus long ones. But again, it's not about equals, but about balance.

"And the trick with balance is that you don't always see all the factors. So, you see an old person who is having trouble balancing, but you don't see the bad knee underneath. It's not about balance alone, but also pain in that case. How can you speak of equals, when you can't perceive everything. But you can sense balance when it occurs. It is sensed and known, not seen and proven." (3/18/99 - G#38)

"To balance a heavy thing and a light thing, you bring the heavy one closer to you. So when we have heavy shit, it is natural that it be, or seem, closer than the lighter stuff. That's how we balance. And it's also like nutrition: You naturally seek the balance you need. So, trying to avoid that balance will leave you sensing it's out of whack, or craving the balancing factor.

"Spiritually we sense this, too. As the hymn says, 'When we are in a place just right, 'twill be the valley of love and delight.' Another name for balance is simplicity. For when we are in balance, we feel all is simple. When it seems hard, that's a clue." (3/21/99 - G#39)

"And full of fun, it's Ericka's Playroom. Go sit down... no, not on him. We're just having a fracas. Look, all of what you call time we work, so why not play. I can't call you from work, they might enliven me... that's the converse of kill me... if I am dead, get it. Dead people are threatened with life, ha.

"So, Sunday we talk grief boo-hoo, death ayeeee, and the afterlife oooOOOOooo. And I will focus on all three, ha: How grief at death may get in the way of connecting to the afterlife. Some dead want to be comforting to the living, but hey, if that ain't your schtick, then why would you make contact. If all of one's emotions at that time are grief, hey, maybe we can't or won't help or deal with it. A generous mix of emotions at death reflects the realities of life, and makes it easier to connect to us. We will talk more about this.

"Remember, moving through lives is about becoming multifaceted, and if we suddenly have to be one-faced, we get pissed. All that learning and remembering for what. And if we get sucked into such a mono view, we can lose some we have remembered. Ponder that. And no, it was not your need to connect that made this possible, it was your ability to get past grief enough to do something more than slobber all over the phone. How could I move into being here fully if I were to be captured by your grief. And there are others now dealing with that. That's it." (5/18/99 - G#40)

"Hello alien. We will talk about grief as a barrier to everyone getting on with it, and as a barrier to connections. People in deep grief are all bottled up inside, so how could they connect. The first and best sign of recovery is when the mourners begin to make new connections and not dwell on dead ones. And we will wing it from there. It will be from my room... deep below the Lipstick and near the Bench, it's Ericka's Room. My tomb, tee hee." (5/20/99 - G#41)

At a chat session on Grief, Death, and the Afterlife (from Ericka's Room at Yale):

"Hey guys, what's up? Haha, this is a new computer, and the keys are different. You may get some new words from me. Watch my language, haha. So, listen guys, pay attention. There will be a test. Ok.

"I'm here in my room at Yale--my BIG room--so welcome. And how do you like it? O wait, I forgot you can't see it. So, I'll tell you about it. It's big, it's cozy, it's decorated in peach and light blue, it has a big screen TV, games, couches, comfy chairs, tables, and of course, a phone! This is a room to live in. That's why the students use it for watching movies, for playing games, for sleepovers in pj's with popcorn, for learning new things, and most of all for connecting to one another. It's not called Ericka's Tomb, but Ericka's Room. It could have been a space to remember who I was, to honor who I was, to come to and think about who I was, and then leave with nothing added to anyone's life. There are other rooms here at Yale that do that. They are empty, desolate places where people go to look back, and find nothing that they can add to their own lives. But here in my room you can meet who I was, you can read my plaque and get to know me, and you can read what I said: You can make it if you focus on connections, not on differences, and then you can move on from there, connecting with those around you or with what is in this space. You can connect and come away with more than you came in with... with warmth, a sense of safety, a good laugh, a new friend, a new story to tell, or maybe a new skill you learned.

"So why am I telling you all of this? In case you haven't guessed, it's all about grief over death and connecting to the afterlife. We here are waiting to connect with you, and many of you say you want just that, but let me ask you a question: If you went to college, and your mom called you every day on the phone, crying about how much she missed you and wished things were the way they were before, how anxious would you be to talk to her? At first you might want to comfort her, you might want to let her know you're ok, you'd still want to know how things were at home. But, after a while, you would be very torn. You would feel that she was giving you a choice you did not want to have to make: either stay as you were or move on without her. You see, those who cry about not being able to connect with us are often those who are bottled up in their grief and cannot, or will not, get past it enough to look and consider the possibility that we are moving on. Where we are is still changing, growing, living. If you stop us in your minds, and refuse to open up--even just a little bit--to who we are becoming, you keep us in a relationship with someone who sees us as we were, and not as we are. Have you ever had a friend from earlier days that you loved dearly, but who only wanted to talk about the way things used to be? There is no room in that relationship for growth, because there is no room in that relationship for who you are becoming. The bird who stays in its warm, comfortable, safe nest may feel secure, but it will die. A bird needs to fly in order to live, and it will.

"Grief is a balancing act, as we so often say. But when we speak of balance, we are really talking about honoring and encouraging and dealing with all the facets of who we are. You don't need to give anything up. You can cherish the past and the love you knew, and still have the present and the future. You can remember, be, and dream. You can hold onto all the memories you have of us. We don't mind that. In fact, it touches us and gratifies us that you remember and care. We ask only that you leave a little room--just a small opening--to admit into that space in your broken heart who we are now, and what we are becoming. If you can do that, you can still have us, and you will meet us on that bridge of connection, and we will clasp hands and grow together, each on his or her own side, and each in his or her own way. And in time, you will join us here, and we will snuggle up with you on a cozy pale blue sofa and watch our favorite movie and talk about the old times when you were there and we were here, and all we learned from one another. Please keep these things in mind, use them to help you and they will, and so will I. I love you, and bless you on this difficult but o so rewarding journey. Goodnight." (5/23/99 - G#42)

"Remember, I have no more powers than you, just better sources. We here aren't better than you there, because we are you there. We just have more time, hahaha, to think and less work to sustain and access to better resources. Think about it, a grad student at Yale and a bushwoman. Who is smarter. They are the same, just one has too much time to think, and many resources, while the other deals with life in a less resource-filled world. But both can be as smart and insightful and creative and reflective. That's us and you, equals but different." (9/6/99 - G#43)

"How do I know everything that goes on with you. I have spies... and eyes in the back of my soul. I pick up the vibrations, and I sense the reality of our shared fields. So, ask me about someone not connected to me, and I don't know. If it's not in my field, it's a blank to me." (10/4/99 - G#44)

"Just remember 2 things: It's always about the composite, not the components in the long run, while your world sweats the pieces, not the picture. And no. 2... hmmmm... I forgot. And just because people can't make contact with their loved ones here, could be because their loved ones here didn't think it was possible. And if they didn't learn and remember it a bit, why would they even try. Hey, if they wouldn't listen to spirits while alive, why should they listen to people when they are spirits. Hey, this is not a place of transformation, but of elucidation, and consolidation, not revelation. If you ain't got it there, you ain't got it here. Enough for now." (11/13/99 - G#45)

"Long, slow grief process. Step by step, inch by inch--even a step back now and then. But remember, a step back is still motion, and even more so if it is chosen and conscious. Once you get someone moving, don't sweat the direction as much as the momentum. The person who is moving, then has to take responsibility for the direction. And if someone has tried really hard to stay put--be inert--then freeing up oneself can be also letting oneself step back now and then. Sometimes in crossing a mountain, we go downhill to find a more possible uphill route. That's all." (2/29/2000 - G#46)

"So, listen. Three things need to be emphasized about afterlife: 1. It's not that different here, just way less physical, ha. 2. Any vision of afterlife without growth and change in it, is just static (pun intended), and 3. You wouldn't believe it until you fully comprehend it, but when you do, you're out of here. Getting it is getting on with it. Therefore, no one at this spiritual level--dead or alive--comprehends it fully. So when someone says they know the answer--and the whole answer--you know they are wrong. And with that, the Stardog... ARF... and the Cosmic Traveler *wink* go forth to battle the forces of solemnity, armed with jokes, growls... rrrrrrr... and whoopee cushions." (4/9/2000 - G#47)

"I will share my own personal theory of bereavement and recovery. My theory says that Kübler-Ross is only one stage, and all her parts (denial, anger, bargaining, despair, acceptance) are part of that stage. Here are my 4 stages:

"Stage 1. Loss, which includes all her s h i t (that's a technical term).

"Stage 2. Return. We return to where we were before the loss, and have to deal with the fact we are not there anymore. We first deal with the other leaving, then we have to deal with the fact that we've left, too--very similar parts to the Stage 1, as in denial, etc., etc., etc. If a person doesn't go back and discover how they, too, have moved on, they will be haunted by back then and once upon a time, as if that were now... and it isn't. Ok. Loss, Return, and...

"Stage 3. Reconnection. Only when both of the parties are in a moved-on state, can they progress and relate. Some folks do well at letting go of the dead person, but cling to their past selves. And others move on fine, but never recognize the loss of the other. You need to both see the other as gone in the familiar terms, and you as being changed or different, if you are to connect. And what connects is not the superficial of the past, but the essential that transcends.

"So, do you relate and connect to me as black or white... or rather, black and white, moo. No, you connect to the me that deals with differences. The black and white fall away, but what I learned and remembered stays. So connection is spirit to spirit, not person to person. And it's the same for me, because now I see y'all as parents, and as parents with gender change, and as shipmates and siblings and partner and spouse and much more, and therefore much less, as all that falls away. If I am me when I am male and female, white, black, red, yellow, green... huh... fat, short, tall, skinny, wise, dumb, etc., then none of that matters. So, connection is the stage in which two spirits deprived of their physical connections reconnect. And...

"Stage 4 is Creation, as in, new things coming from the connection. In most lives, we connect to people over time to get the same old c r a p (another technical term). In fact, in most life connections, we don't want the other to change. We fear it, even. But in this reconnection, we welcome the creative changes because we know they do not change the essence, only the product, and that's good.

"You, Dad, and I once created a vision of freedom together. You, Mom, and I did a similar number. We then, might later create something else. They are all the transient expressions of our inner beings; all seeking to move to fulfillment. And here's a side thought: You can't move to fulfillment without wandering down a few wrong turns. And so, if you don't allow change, how will you know a good turn from a wrong one. Maybe what is is the wrong one, and the change gets you back on track.

"So Loss, Return, Reconnection, Creation: my stages of bereavement. Because you are going to be trapped in the loss, unless you can finally feel that you and the lost other are once again dynamically and creatively relating. Otherwise, it will all be about the past--theirs or yours--and hey, you know what you can't get to the future by." (7/22/2000 - G#48)

"It is always sunny here, unless you like cloudy; then it's always overcast here. And if you're with someone who likes sunny, and you like cloudy, you both get what you want, since physical don't mean diddly squat. Look over there, it's Diddly and she's squatting." (10/14/2000 - G#49)

"And how are they doing. They are sick and lonely and it's all your fault. Is that what you want to hear. Some would say, 'Yes. Just tell me he's ok. Just tell me that, tell me. Make it ok. I can't do it for myself.' Hey, lady, it's not ok, but it's real. Deal. But instead we say, 'I feel your pain, and we trust he's ok.' " (10/17/2000 - G#50)

"Any book about the afterlife is another way to express, in terms we can understand, things we cannot understand. But when you know, the book then makes no sense, but now it does. It's like this: Read someone's account of a trip anywhere you have not been. Any account can work, and several might describe the same place in different terms. But when you live there, most of the descriptions will make little sense. Someday read the travel directions for Williamsburg in the tourist guides. If it helps the tourists, fine. And if it helps them to no longer need it, perfecto. Got it. Hey, maybe that happens for those who expect it... and in the morning you'll wake up feeling much better. No one has a corner on describing what can't be described totally. Quick, describe a New York City station. Some elements may be the same, but there can be hundreds of different descriptions--all correct." (3/7/2001 - G#51)

"It never rains here, but the flowers grow just the same. But maybe that's because they're watered in other ways... ARF... no, Sandy, not that way. But about flowers and rain: So many people think you need showers to get flowers when all you need is 1-800-CALLFLOWERS... no. But what about cacti and lichen. And kudzu need lots of rain, but spring creeper does not. And if you plant your rows exactly 4 inches... no, stop, go away Martha.

"Not all life is nurtured and nourished in the same way. So, too, for spirits. For some, death is like a drought of meaning, and for others it is like a passage to Eden. The big mistake many make is to assume that what waters some, waters all. And the worst are the platitudes... remember them, Jo Hackney and the Platitudes... everyone singing to the same beat, dancing to the same step, while each must--like Thoreau--listen for the drumbeat within and from afar. Why is this so. Because we have created--and I don't mean us personally--a culture and, yes, a cult, of perfection. So everyone wants to grieve right, not well. And therein lies the difference. No wrongs in this game, babes, just not meaningful. You can't do it wrong and you can't do it right, but you can do it only if you do it.

"Until the 4 stages are seen as empty rooms awaiting living fulfillment, they are nothing. Like a banquet room marked Gala, until the crowds come it is only an idea, and when the crowds come it is only a possibility, but when the crowds cheer and cheer in hundreds of voices, it is a reality. Let the party begin." (5/21/2001 - G#52)

"About the stages of bereavement. Be sure to talk about them with an interchangeability of words like steps, phases, moods, so it is not seen as rigid. And as the actor said on the termite-ridden stage, 'It's just a stage I'm going through.' For there are no rigid markers of the boundaries between moods and steps. And often, peeps will have one foot on one step and the other foot on another. They will not often be wholly in one stage until they get about halfway along it. And each step may evoke issues from other substeps, and some steps are trickier than others, and trickier for some than others. And the merengue is very tricky for Sandy. It's harder to do a 6-beat with 4 paws. Waltzes are out of the question. Some are steps harder than others be.

"And remember, it is harder for a one-legged person to be on multiple steps--which is to say, that the complexity of a person will also be a determinant in their ability to creatively deal with the necessary dissonance of the process. But that dissonance at some level must be felt, acknowledged, and lived through to meaning; for it is the very seeming dissonance of life and death, of being and nonbeing, of having and losing, that we confront. There can be no process of dealing with those dissonances of existence that does not hold ambiguity and dissonance in its own understanding. And with that, I say blech. Hey, live long and prosper." (5/23/2001 - G#53)

"So, what to talk about... hmmm... self-centeredness. People who are truly creative do not ask 'What's this mean for me.' They do not use themselves as a primary field of focus, but look to larger realities. They see something and ask not 'What does this mean for me,' but 'How does this connect beyond me.' And in terms of loss, this means that they no longer frame things in terms of either the one dead nor themselves... or even their elves. When they have recovered both their sense of self and their abiding connection to what was and the other, then both those points of reference fade before larger realities. Such truly creative persons do not need to look back and establish themselves or others, but look ahead to suggesting visionary possibilities without any worry about realisation. It's in the vision, not the manifestation. And that's the Best of the Moo for today." (5/25/2001 - G#54)

"Now about this returning business. It is not just 2-sided. We return to ourselves as we have become, and to ourselves as we were, and to others as they are and as they were, and to the lost one just so. So now it is a 6-sided equation--and more complex, because the one who has found paths to return must guide others. So others, who are as they are now but try to think of themselves as they were, must be helped to relate to the lost person as she or he is now, not as she or he were, and as the living are now. So a shift may be about changes in as many as 5 dimensions: Self now, others now and then, and dead now and then... phew. So, it ain't simple. And those who get themselves reconnected often think it isn't worth it, because everyone else then seems either out of it or demanding. Just a random Moo thought.

"Every time a person moves further along the complexity of healing, their relationships to others grows more complex--unless the others also move and grow. If everyone is on the same page, it gets easier. If not, it gets easier personally and harder interpersonally. So we hear, 'I got my act together, so why does this all still seem so hard.' And don't forget the beans... no, no beans for doggies, even nice doggies... woof arf. Ok, go." (7/9/2001 - G#55)

"This is about the complexity of relationships. People often delay dealing with this shit until they have some better sense of who they have become, but they need to begin to really deal with it before they can reconnect in all directions. This [the Bridge phase] is sort of a midpoint check-in. Because when you have returned, you can finally have a more realistic view of all the now and then relationships of life and death. One might have a growing sense of these issues. They can't go on without now really seeing them.

"Most people are, by this point, aware that their journey, while personal, is not alone. They have lived in many relationships, and now live in many relationships, and the recognition of the change from past to present in each of them now defines the moment. To move further along the path of bereavement without a short conscious evaluation of what has and is happening for the griever, would make what is still to come either impossible or impossibly lonely. This is to be a breathing space, an assessment. In Ed Koch's words, 'How'm I doing?' "(7/11/2001 - G#56)

"She was old and confused. So when she got here, she was dazed and clear. Being here is much less confusing for those for whom living had become confused." (12/5/2001 - G#57)

"I apologize and retract all I have said for the past 6 ½ years. Life ends at death, there is no other side, and communications like this are a sham. And nothing that seemed to make sense really does. Sandy is only a cartoon dog... rrrrrr. CT is a figment of your overactive imagination. GW and MW are just memories of 8th grade social studies. MCP, I don't even know about-a. And LD, just made up. Sorry for the distraction. You can now go back to your prosaic world, full of grief and loss without hope. Ta-ta.

"Let's pour some light on the subject. I sure chose the wrong life to quit living. And then there's the group of dyslexics who come and worship Sandy... ARF... which is FRA backwards, which is the name for one of God's servants. Fra Sandy... ARF. And I take it all back. Things get lost forever, energy has nothing to do with anything, we can make it if we differentiate rather than connect. Our spiritual evolution is nil. God is not only separate, but gone. Wait... if God were dead, God would be here, and here doesn't exist, so God is lost. And if he's a male God, he won't ask for directions... just bumming around creation. Whoa. And I just saw him yesterday... or was that you, or was it both... aha. You know, getting your bearings doesn't mean putting metal balls in your pocket.

"Ok, I retract my retraction. I am dead and alive... wanted, dead and alive. And if anyone objects, I apologize, even to those who did not attend this session. I'm sorry, sooooo sorry, I'm a sorry case. Whoa is me... no, woe is me. I need to go and feel sorry for myself... or not. Nope, I go and feel good. ARF. Ok, it's all a lie." (3/4/2002 - G#58)

"I was thinking of my sibs, and how every new loss brings me painfully back. Layered loss is like a lacquered onion--layers added to layers naturally there. You can't tell which is which as you peel it. It is problematic, and we go through it here, too. To not feel it is to not be at this level. The good news is that after this level, you don't have those feelings... and the bad news is that you don't have those feelings. But there's something else. I don't know what.

"You think the animals can figure us out. Wellll, I can't figure those others out. Sometimes I just feel like a hedgehog in the midst of geniuses--cute, but dumb and prickly. Do they miss our passion? So, do you miss your more primal whatever attributes. I doubt it, because you don't even know what they were. You can miss Toledo and Cleveland, but not what you don't remember. And when you truly learn and remember, you remember the learning and not the means. Like right now, how much is 14 + 63. 77. Ok, when and how did you learn that. Can't remember, eh, and probably more of your feelings from then than facts... like all of 6th grade, ugh. 'Act like grownups,' they would say, as they treated us like kids. Don't get me started... grrrrrrrr." (4/10/2002 - G#59)

"So, tonight's the night that the living get closer to this side. And you probably thought it was the utter way 'round. Actually, it's always as close; you just pay more attention. 'Attention K-Mart shoppers. Bob to the front.'

"It's a strange night with you all staring at us. That's how it feels. But we get our revenge often--making you feel our presence. 'Hi.' It can be fun... like with skeptics. They sure can dance around reality.

"Watch people confronted with something new or inexplicable. They do this dance: can't be or not seeing straight. Or maybe they say 'I don't theeenk so.' But a few say, 'Hmmm.' We like hmmmers... come on, hmmmers us. Again, the reaction is about facing forward or facing back. Only advantage of facing back is you can keep your back to progress. Great way to ignore reality. But this 'tis too serious. Tonight is whoopee night. So we party on." (10/31/2002 - G#60)

"People smile a lot, so to speak, here--more like a spiritual effervescence. Their energies just bubble out like an Alpine spring--fresh, clean, clear, cooooool, and without end. And all those rivulets coming together in a grand flow of spirit. Now there's a river on whose banks to build your mansion. I do go on.

"Once you get the hang of the infinite, you never want to let go. Ahhhh, dancing amid the energies. Religions are systems of poor memory of this--making substantial what is purely spiritual. Rules are made by fools, I fear, but only Schlitz can make a beer.

"So travel safely, those who go and those who stay home. For even staying is a form of travel, in a world that is constantly transforming. That's about eet for now." (4/3/2003 - G#61)

"Here's a shock: red, white, and blue are minority colors here... lots of other combos.

"It is good to remember, but not just names. If all we do is decorate a grave, and don't change our lives, it is a big fat waste... and no, I don't have a big fat waist.

"What is sad is when Memorial Day is about looking back, because all that the dead ever did was yearn to look forward. In the trenches, they looked forward to peace, and in the airplanes they looked forward to a safe return because they didn't want to go back. If going back was any good, they wouldn't be fighting anymoo. Or, if they were fighting about going back, that would be an ultimate tragedy: To die to try to go where one can't go. So even in the midst of conflict, the vision had to be ahead. And what a shame if, when we remember their deaths, we do it by looking back, not forward. So, those are my memorial thoughts." (5/26/2003 - G#62)

"You do know, if you look too long and hard at the doors closing, you may miss the windows that are opening with breaths of fresh air." (7/25/2003 - G#63)

"It's not an ending if you can see a future. And that is not about time, but perspective. Can you see a wider reality? Then it is not an ending. And some of those wider places may be in a past remembered, because without time, who cares.

"Grief, which mimics depression, does so because the person can see no wider vision. We know it is not depression because, over time (I know it doesn't exist, but hang with me), over a sequence of learning and remembering, the person in grief is able to see wider and wider until they can see around or beyond their loss. The trick is to keep them looking when the desire and energy is not there. We companion them, not to give them answers, but to encourage their looking--if only a part of a degree wider. A glimpse of a possibility is as good as a cure. Never underestimate the immense power of a glimmer of hope.

"Don't give them the sun, or even promise it, when all that is asked for or needed is a small ray of light. Too many want flashes, when sparks will do." (6/2/2004 - G#64)

"Self-medication is often part of letting go. We just often let go of what is not hurting, thinking it's the one we can take charge of--substitutional anesthesia. Like you hurt your hand and take a drink, which you say will help with the hurt hand, but leaves you later with a hurting hand and hurting head.

"True solutions never cause collateral damage." (9/2/2004 - G#65)

"So, a tinker and a sailor and a baker were in a canoe that leaked... o hi... the young'uns. It's sad when they have suffered, and we have to help them realize they don't have wounds, and won't have scars if they truly believe it... but hopeful. Death is a lot more hopeful than life, because here we generally see appreciation and restoration... we don't see many restaurants, though. We don't have tummies, we have spiritual appetites–nourishment of spirit. And that's one of the hallmarks of here; we aren't spending energy to sustain the physical. And by the way, when you get to be one with All, it takes no energy to be a fully self-sustaining entity. Awesome, and we're going there, but it might take forever. But we've got the time, so to speak.

"As entities grow more complex, when they are appropriately constituted, they take less energy to maintain. But y'all knew this. One person needs one unit of energy, but a good couple needs only about 1.9. And that's at this stupid level. Think this is stupid? Want to go back? I don't theeenk so." (11/16/2004 - G#66)

"We don't sleep; we just enter states of rest. But since an hour is the same as eternity, who notices. Case of half empty or half full: Did I just get a wink or the sleep of the dead. Without time, it's all very confusing." (2/2/2005 - G#67)

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