Ericka's Bench 11/26/2009

Rikkity: “And now, brought to you by ARF brand paints and finishes, it’s Ericka’s Bench. ARF ARF ARF. If you paint your bench with ARF, you know it’s finished! Grrrrrr.

“Well party goers, it’s another Turkey Day... gobble. Yes, it’s our own turkey. CT. Picture foot tapping, patient foot tapping... not-so-patient foot tapping. Yes, CT has brought in our turkey... gobble gobble. That’s better!

“Well, we’ve got quite the Bench for you: a sot and a wiz and a prez. But which is which. ‘You see through me.’ Of course, you’re not physical. ‘O.’ So, let’s get started. But I forgot one or two. So let’s say: a sot and a wiz and an ace and a prez and a woof. Now, maybe it’s not Sanford... rrrr. Let’s begin.”

Marky:

“Bonjour. The Beaujolais, she has the berries, no? It was my pleasure to sample many options... hic.

“It is such a festive time. The labors are done and the stores are lade and now the wine mellows, and we with it. And all of this with great thanks. One of the problems of the revolution in my country was that in the haste to remove the past, they also removed the source, and so there was no power to which one could give thanks--except perhaps the mob, and they were hardly worthy of thanks.

“With no spirit of public thankfulness, there is also no source of public hope. So my people became easy prey to the charlatans of charisma. When a nation cannot stop and give thanks, it is no longer a nation but just a mob of neighbors.

“So remember this, and also remember that before the Revolution the agencies of government and church told us to whom and how to be thankful. What is the result of mandate or prescription is never thanks of the heart–not real, only thanks of the fears. I raise my glass and offer thanks. Merci, merci à Tout.” (11/26/2009 - W#427)

Rikkity: “So he’s not really a sot, he’s a wino. And now the wiz.”

LD:

“I invented turkey stuffing! They had all this stale bread and I said ‘Stuff it!’ Hello.

“Continuing the theme, real thankfulness is never simply about the past. We do not raise up thanksgiving just for what has been and what has come our way, because such thanks would then raise the question of those whose history of late is hunger and pain and fear. To solely base thanks on what has been achieved is to create two classes: those who are blessed and all the rest.

“But in an abundant world, there are no classes. So part of our thanks must always be for the vision of what might yet be, for in that realm all can participate and have hope. The ancient Hebrews embraced this when, at the end of thanks for liberation, even as they knew not everyone was free, they spoke the words ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ And even the slaved and infirmed and hungry could repeat those words.

“So don’t make thanks a competition, but rather open it as an invitation to the future which is everyone’s birthright, for we know not of any entity which is not intimately part of All That Is And Will Be. So be thankful for the whole, and not the blessings of one’s small portion of the whole. I am off to invent something involving green beans and marshmallows. Wish me well.” (11/26/2009 - W#428)

Rikkity: “Oy. And now the ace.”

Papa:

“Hi. This is pretty lofty company! But LD loves to hear my flying stories. He says ‘Really? It works?’ And I tell him about flying under the bridge and he goes white. And the Frenchman, he likes my Morocco stories... but he doesn’t like Manischewitz. ‘If I wanted to taste table grapes, I would eat them.’ And the rest of the Bench.

“Just remember to remember the best. The rest will dissolve in the flow of existence. And who knows which is which? So don’t obsess over this or that. Live, enjoy, get out of the basement.

“I always wondered, if she weren’t along, if when we got to Providence we might just have kept going. You were always up for an adventure. But no, ‘Turn here, Milt!’ The biggest gifts of life may be just behind the door, in the room where we keep our biggest treasures. Ponder that one.

“I connect with all who matter to me. This is better than dot dash. Ouija Board Operator's Manual. I teach that over here. ‘Say, Mr. Ace, I want to connect with my loved ones. How do I do that.’ Here, read this book. My book title is blank and they see what they want to. So sometimes it’s Ouija and sometimes it’s dreams and sometimes it’s dimes, etc. The same techniques apply. It’s about belief, not about details.” (11/26/2009 - W#429)

“O, here he comes. Mr. President.”

GW: “O, Ace. Talking with babe again?”

Papa: “I am, sir.”

GW: “I’ll speak too, then.

“Gracious good afternoon. Ace is something. There is much you are not yet aware of. And I, too. Just the other day, M was explaining something to me and I nearly dropped my teeth, haha. Didn’t know I had a sense of humor, did you.

“It was one of my greatest pleasures when I proclaimed the first Thanksgiving in our new nation. We were barely a nation, still beset by challenges that would make your days seem calm. But to set aside a day of thoughtfulness about how far we had come and yet how much of the journey remained seemed the greatest responsibility of my office.

“Roads, commerce, armies, and navies pale in comparison to the national spirit, because if we aren’t united in hope, we cannot be united in aught else. O look, my shoes are united. CT. ‘Sir.’ Please. Thanks.

“A nation divided against its hope and vision cannot stand the rigors which will surely come. And now I go with my trusty dog, Shirley. Shirley, come! Woof.” (11/26/2009 - W#430)

Rikkity: “ARF ARF... grrrr. Calm down, you are next. Woof. Grrr ARF rf rf rf rf. He’s saying that what Gus means is... ARF. He wants to remind you that a delicious bone is a sumptuous meal until someone mentions a steak. But even with a steak, the bone meal (not the bonemeal) is still sumptuous. Don’t give thanks for having more or better, just for being... woof arfé.

“And with that, the bench is emptied. And we all salute this day with a tableau of us enacting the first step on Plymouth Rock. The boat approaches, a daring soul steps over the gunwale and steps out... ayeeeeeee.” (11/26/2009 - W#431)



TL:

“Here’s the poop: Things will not get better as long as the focus is on recovery, but only when the focus is on fulfillment. It’s not like the economy was doing so well for everyone that we want to recover it... grrrr. Ok, maybe we do want to re-cover it with a new Naughahyde... f f f f f.

“But seriously, what is the economy of the future? No one seems to be asking that. And what do we do to get there, and how many buggy-whip industries will need to die.

“Maybe car makers and banks are passé. But we wouldn’t know--if we are focusing on recovery--what would be a wellness model for the economy, because right now you are doing the illness thing... ayyyeeee.” (2/18/2010 - W#432)



“Mufi is beyond all words. He’s right here, being borne on a sedan chair of gold. You are worthy--goes back to something that happened in Babylon. You were receptive to some outsider’s spiritual insights. That is not forgotten. Being open has its rewards, and he was one of them. By the way, he’s not a cat here! But then, I’m not a girl and CT’s not a man... no jokes about that.

“Strangers were often not welcomed, but you two did. And you listened to what he had to say-- night after night, way beyond polite. I may be a spirit guide, but he’s a spirit guide guide. Got his act together but delays moving on, to all of our benefits. Wait, he’s eating a ham sandwich... or the spiritual equivalent. Chips? ‘No!’ O.

“Even in transition he didn’t cry out. It was not new to him. He was coming home. That’s him: Your Grace.

“Grace is the expression of the pieces recognizing the whole. Every moment of grace reveals a new and more inclusive reality. And that’s enough about that.” (3/3/2010 - W#433)



JC:

“Greetings. I just have one point to make, and I made it often. It is not about me! It’s about you! And don’t twist it into ‘He did it for me.’ That’s just sophistry. I didn’t do anything for you, I only reminded you to do it for yourself. And here’s a little test I would use when people asked me about this:

“If you are doing for yourself in a genuine way as a positive step forward, you never think about what others could do for you, but what you could do for others.

“If you think it will take the intervention of someone or a force beyond yourself to get you right, you will always be looking for that person or force and trying to see how it can help you. But if you know you are your own savior, you don’t look for help, you offer it. And since I had a deep sense of myself, I could offer to others, who too often misunderstood that as my being their savior. But it was never about me!

“Now, here’s the test: Picture a Christianity without a Jesus. Become the Messiah, rather than worshipping a messiah. Live as a Christ, not worshipping one. I envy Guatama because those who heard him looked for the Buddha self in them, not the Guatama sense in them. They knew he embodied something universal, just as they might. I was not so lucky. I came with a message and they worshipped the messenger. Mohammed can relate! Those who looked for their fulfillment outside of self, distorted it all. That’s my message.

“And again, that wasn’t me (the one on the cross), because it was never about me. And the Romans didn’t care. They just wanted somebody. ‘See, he’s dead. Go away.’ Great bureaucratic blunder.

“And if you find yourself looking to others to fulfill you, beware. And if others look to you for their fulfillment, really beware! That’s all. But if you live that out, it’s enough.” (4/4/2010 - W#434)

Rikkity: “That’s it for today. Short, sweet, simple, but humanly challenging.”



Ericka's Bench 11/20/2010

Rikkity: “With the score tied at 7-7, we now turn to those unlucky souls who have not yet had a chance to beat up Farvard. ‘Huck Farvard!’ Yes, it’s the Bench.

“Alongside the field of glory, we meet up with several Elis and their cohorts. First of all, we whisper the initials, HS.”

HS:

“Hello, all. We have not had much need of my financial counsel. You amazingly eke by while living in paradise. It’s just a matter of dollars and sense.

“Watch out for the growth stocks of Liechtenstein especially. We have been eating! ambrosia, o yes. Keep an eye on the famous clinics–especially the Schaffhausen. And avoid them! Scam! But seriously, that’s all for now.

“Sitting on the bench with me is a tight ass...

Rikkity: “No no no, tight end. Oy, I now know why they aren’t in the game.”

Marky:

“Bonjour. Just because I do not eat the ambrosia, eet ees not that I am a tight derrière. The Nouveau, she is arrivé. And I must compliment her ass... no no no no... her body. That ees eet, she has a fruity body. ‘With the bouquet of a sweat sock.’ My dear monsieur CT, she has the bouquet of a late August après-midi. And I love her.

Rikkity: “We know, you’ve been soused since she got here.”

“Ah, mais oui, but what a way to go. I celebrate life and I celebrate death and I celebrate celebrations.”

Rikkity: “I think we will come back to Marky... f f f f. He’s under the bench with Sandy... f f f. Let’s just say our reserves are getting depleted rapidly. ‘I was never in the reserves!’ No, Papa, you weren’t.”

Papa:

“Hi, babe. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. And I’m grateful for having you as a monkey-face. If I remember, I could make a pretty good monkey face myself. Always good for a laugh from little girls.

“One of the secrets of life is to not take it too seriously. When I did, I had my ‘breakdown’. You see, if I had taken life not so seriously, I could have been more convincing to people of what actually happened. We confuse seriousness with honesty, but actually it’s the other way ‘round. We are most honest when we are not trying to be most earnest.

“...I was distracted by Marky and Sandy. They’re singing loudly! Out of tune! A song about a woman of Calais. She must have been either a beauty or a dog, I can’t tell. It’s either bien or chien. Whatever.

“Seriousness is a mask worn in avoidance of honesty. I do not trust a smile, but I trust a lack of smile less. So I don’t trust any Russians, with good reason. What they did to our family. If your mother makes borscht once more.... I’m surprised dirt sandwiches never became a kosher delicacy.

“I think I have taken up enough, and I need to hide so they won’t send me in. I’m better at waiting!” (11/20/2010 - W#435)

MW:

“My gracious friends, welcome again. I’m glad to see you seated comfortably.

“When my husband first spoke to me about a Proclamation of Thanksgiving, I warned him not to be too religious. I was the more pious of the household, but I knew that even among the loyal staff here, there were many opinions and sympathies as belie faith, and even the Scriptures.

“We had suffered the long deprivations of subservience to bishops in England, and then the years of our freedom-seeking conflict. More than once he said to me, ‘How wonderful that people of such diverse and varied beliefs should unite in a greater cause.’ And I reminded him that he would provide poor recompense for their faith in our cause if he now imposed a single faith upon them. And so, he took to task and mind the duty of speaking of gratitude in the most universal of ways, knowing that the great Fount of Beneficence is not a subscriber to any one creed; that what we sought was an attitude of thanksgivings, not a prayer of Thanksgiving.

“He was wise as usual, and listened to me. And the rest is history. And I now confess this was not of my making, but of my heart’s and soul’s listening. For, so often in the tales of the people, I heard this wisdom.

“I hear a rustling. O, Marquis, it is you. ‘Oui, madame, and eet ees you.’ O dear, I think our guest has overdone it. He sleeps with the hounds... f f f f. I am pleased to see the hounds do not take this seriously... f f f f.

“I shall tell Mister that you and I have spoken, and that you confirm me in my views that his words were wise. As I said, by listening to the words of others, I came to my wisdom as well.” (11/20/2010 - W#436)

Rikkity: “And at the end of the bench, a usually quiet one.”

CT:

“I usually only add the jibes, but at Thanksgiving I need to say something. The table is not set with turkey, it is not set with linen, it is not set with wine... hic... Marky! nor with pies. It is set with spirits made human, who gather in gratitude--not really for the fruits of the Earth, but for the flowering of the spirit. Though a table be meager or plain, if the company be warm and loving, then a Thanksgiving is real. Don’t count the courses, count the connections. It’s as simple as that.

“And at this point, I would chime in, ‘as simple as CT.’ And she would say, ‘Amen!’ ” (11/20/2010 - W#437)

Rikkity: “Amen! Let’s see if he is up to saying anything. F f f f... zzzzzzzzzz. I think not. And so, the subs are on the bench and Farvard is scared. They worry that a drunk and a dog will defeat them. Usually it takes less! Wait! Put the ball down! Grrrrrrr. I’ve got to go.”



JJC:

“Hello. They all talk about a personal relationship with me, but can they relate to a personal talk with me. I doubt it, because their faith is not about me, it’s about some symbol called ‘Jesus’.

“If it were about me, they would say much less about Jesus and more about those things I shared. And let me get this straight: When I say ‘My Father,’ I am using a colloquialism for all that transcends human physical existence–the very root out of which I came, and you come, and she comes, and he comes. ‘I didn’t!’ Ok, you didn’t. ‘O.’ Always one in every crowd. ‘Not this one!’ Would someone check his papers.

“ 'I am the truth (lower voice), the way.' No. I said, 'My way has truth, my way has life, and only through following such a path of values and vision will hope be eternally yours, for everything else is transitory but hope and truth and faith.' It loses something in translation... and some church councils (‘I move we change it to read ‘I am.’ All in favor.). I kept telling them all, it’s not about me. And they kept wanting to make it about me so they couldn’t get blamed. ‘It’s Jesus, not me.’ But I kept saying, ‘No it’s not about me.’ That’s why I quit. Fear of it being about them. Fear of it being about an ordinary human being. Fear that if I could say those things and live that way, they could, too, if they were only fearless.

“Don’t believe in me, believe in the way I believed: passionately, freely, hopefully, courageously, enigmatically. The best faith does not stand on reason, and remains much of a mystery, even as it appears as certain as the dawn. If you can figure it all out, it’s not faith. And only faith can take you to unseen goals. Use a map of the known, if you wish, but you’ll never get anywhere truly new.

“I have to go. Teaching some newbies how to make spiritual sandals for the journey.” (1/20/2011 - W#438)



"Hey, if you can’t use the spirits, what’s the point of us hanging around. I don’t want to be like those poor souls who go down every arrival to see if their loved ones have come to be with them. They hear us so to speak, so to speak, and they ignore it and think of this as a big spiritual reunion center. ‘I’m just waiting for my beloved Sadie and we can be together for eternity.’ No, you can be waiting for Sadie for what seems an eternity. But at least the food is the best you’ve ever tasted.

“There are spirits who just can’t believe this is a transitional element of existence, and consider it a final being place.

“Hey, Bud, Sadie moved on. ‘She wouldn’t do that without me!’ With that understanding, she just might. She thought it would get crowded with her and Herbert and you. It is sort of like the mine head of the trapped miners, when several women found out they were waiting for the same man. Big fallacy of this understanding.” (1/20/2011 - W#439)



“Hi to all my fans. I love you, even if you can’t love back.

“We are all getting to be old farts... but not me. I’m over the edge, beyond time–which might seem great, but not always. Until all you have known are beyond time, it can be troubling. You keep being called back to the limits of time and the fulfillments of the physical. If one didn’t love, then it would be easy.

“So, some occasions occur where I let myself experience the old curse and friend, time. I usually leave just before the papers are overdue. I relive some of my Yale days, but cut out before exams. I seem to spend a lot of time in various refectories. I don’t know why. (In the were as if it is are, but they are are more than were. Confusing? You bet.)

“Time is a blessing and a demon. And yet all is well... except for that and him. ‘I knew it!’ We are not alone, I see. One of the challenges of a connectional spiritual existence is to get alone space, reality, experience.” (2/26/2011 - W#440)



Ericka's Bench 3/26/2011

“Grrrreat. And once again, we welcome you to Ericka’s Bench. I’m Pontius Pilate, speaking for all the maligned spirits of history, reminding you you can’t wipe your history clean but you can shape your future like Jello. Hidden product placements available right here on this Benjamin Moore-painted bench. Wearing a smile and a smart outfit from Express, here’s Rikkity.”

Rikkity: “His first and last job here. But don’t worry, I’ll talk with temp today about a replacement. Oops, hello Benchites... grrr. Whatya doin’, canine. Woof. Printing? Woof. Printing what? Arfé. Jokes? Arfé. Bad jokes, o dear. Do you have to do it here? Grr. O, I see, it’s a bench press. Even CT is groaning.

“But we have a full bench! Crash. Well, not as full anymore. Since you are down and therefore up, why don’t you start, LD.”

LD:

“Hello. Just give me a moment to collect myself. You try sitting next to her! ‘Can you give us just a little hip room, dearie.’ Wham, and I’m down. I think I’ll invent Annoying Benches, with individual armrests between the seats. Hey, Rikkity, how about seatbelts on the bench. ‘LD, just talk, don’t invent.’

“Ok. Most people are sequential thinkers. They do A, then they do B, then they do C. I give you a profound example. They bake a cake, but it’s too big and some spoils, so they think ‘I’ll make smaller ones.’ Ok, cupcakes. But these don’t seem as good, so they vary the recipe and voilà, cookies are born. Then they think icing–red, white, and green, Viva Italia. But that’s it. Boring. Just new shapes and new colors. But a few are synthetic thinkers, and I don’t mean they bake nylon cookies. They are sitting there, nibbling on nuts and chocolate, and suddenly they say, ‘How about we add these,’ and Toll House cookies are born–the greatest thing I didn’t invent. Chewy, yummy, a far cry from a dry sugar cookie with fuchsia icing.

“Sequence takes things to their natural fulfillment; synthetic takes them to their unnatural possibility. Now, do this with any idea. Instead of saying ‘Then,’ say ‘What if’. U.S. bombs Libya and then... or, U.S. bombs Libya, what if then we send them whoopie cushions. See, the pattern breaks. Now, the cushions might not be the best ‘what if’, but it’s a start toward what might be. Try to be creative instead of adaptive. I found it always worked for me.” (3/26/2011 - W#441)

“Here she is.”

Rikkity: “Thank you, o wise one. Ok, if you want to, sure, go ahead. She wanted to take out our recycling. She’s good at that. She doesn’t see any connection between being here and doing good things like that. She says goodness is larger than life. It is Aunt Gloria. She’s helping out. She’s out with arfer. They’re in the alley. He likes her because Papa told him stories about her. She won’t go flying with Papa and Don. So anymoo, are you ready to rumble? Here’s the mighty giant.”

MCP:

“Hey-a. how’s she goin-a. So, I go to China. I have tea. It is so good–worth all the tea in China. Put that in the joke book. But it is so good, I think to myself, ‘I need to take some back.’ So, I fill a canteen. But then I think, ‘This is stupid.’ So, I watch the Chinese as they dry the leaves carefully, rolling them tight so when they dry, I can take gallons with me. I bring it back home, and I take a little and add hot water and wow, I’m back in China. Actually, I serve the tea in China (another one for the book. I’m good at bad.)

“And I think about how much could be shared and transported if we learned the same secret: to distill out what is universal, and could be added back anywhere and then only carry the unique. So many traditions make ritual out of the universal as if it were unique, and never get to the unique. We keep making steaming pots of water and claim the kind of fire or the type of pot or the material of the kettle is important, when all we’ve got is boiling water like everyone else.

“Learn to find and hold and share what is special, and don’t be distracted by claims of the universal being special. And don’t add sugar to green tea. That’s-a all for me-a.” (3/26/2011 - W#442)

Rikkity: “And since we are on this topic... yes, here she is.”

Tea Lady:

“Come on in, lovey. What? 2 of you. There’s no sharing of one cup. It’s 2 cups, or out with the 2 of you. You want what? Green what? Look, I’ve got tea, good English tea. No, not grown in England, but in the Empire. What?!? You didn’t know China was in the Empire. It isn’t, lovey, because the best tea comes, not from China, but from the plantations of Africa. Raised by good gentlemen and picked with clean English hands, if you don’t mind. Sir Thomas himself selected the tea I serve. The package has his signature on it, see. And it being late in the day, you’ll get the full effect of a day’s brewing. If it’s too strong, you can add some sugar.

“Biscuit? I’ve got several kinds. I’ve got red, white, green, and this purpley one. All good biscuits they are. Hear that, that’s the bell for the down train. What, you say, what, you’re off to London. Better hurry. I thought you were off to Bristol. My error. Safe travel. Only a penny farthing. Well, I’m glad I didn’t give them my best service. Closing time, last call. Ok, just a brandy for me. Maybe another.”

Rikkity: “And so we watch the tea lady close her shop. And by twilight she makes her way back to The Shambles, where her meagre room contains only memories and few hopes. But just then, a commotion on the stair arrests her thoughts and she pokes her head out. ‘Do you mind,’ asks Mr. Jaggers. And she says, ‘I do mind, if you don’t mind.’ And we leave them there for other comment and tales. Just down the hall, Jenny Jones... no no no no, stop me, please stop me.

“Well, the bench is not yet empty, hmm. But I invited only three. Who are you.”

RP:

“I’m RP.”

“RP?”

“Yes, RP.”

“Do I know you.”

“No.”

“What’s up.”

“Well, I saw this bench and this cute dog and I said to myself, ‘I think I’ll not got the hang of this speaking thing yet. I think I’ll rest awhile.’ And along came that bearded gent and the little Italian and her, and I listened in. Who are you talking with?”

“Those are parts of my entity-to-be.”

“Entity, what’s that.”

“It’s a combination of being which has persistence across a wide field of complexity possibilities, and I am a manifestation of probabilities within the field.”

“So, you are saying you are the evidential expression of the existential possibilities arising out of a timeless continuum of being meaning.”

“Wow, you got it.”

“Why, that’s simple but amazing. I guess I came to the right place. Is this Athens.”

“No.”

“Is this the home of Socrates?”

“No.”

“O dear, can you say where I am.”

“No.”

“Can you say when I am.”

“No.”

“Can you say I am.”

“Yes, probably.”

“I like this place, time, possibility. Am I alive.”

“No more, and not yet.”

“Hmm, paradoxical and just downright challenging. I am asked to believe that I am beyond time, is that right.”

“Yes, and you have always been, but didn’t understand that.”

“O. And I am beyond place, but at the same time I am placed in connection to all.”

“Yes. And even when you thought your place was in Crete, you were possibly everywhere else, too.”

“Hmm. And you all sit here on benches and speak with spirits.”

“Only on some nexus.”

“Hmm. But it is also all points in a matrix of being--defined by a plane of understanding, but not confined by it.”

“Yes, this is true... or not.”

“Hmm. I think I’ll sit here and ponder.”

“That’s it!”

“What?”

“You got it!”

“I did?”

“You will.”

“I will.”

“Or not... ARF.”

“Here’s that dog again.”

“He’s not a dog, he’s just existing as one.”

“What?”

“Hey, girlfriend, don’t blow my cover.”

“Sandy, speak... ARF. Good boy.”

“Did I just hear the dog talk?”

“No, I’m a ventriloquist.”

“How do you do that without lips.”

“I see you’re getting the idea.”

“I think I’ll sit and ponder.”

“Good. While you do that, I’ll say hi to my friends on the other side.”

“Other side of what?”

“Everything and nothing.”

“Oy.”

“Are you Jewish.”

“No, just perplexed.”

“Ok, sit quietly. Have some tea..” (3/26/2011 - W#443)

Rikkity: “And now, from me to all who care: Love is never constrained or contained by circumstances. It flows across everything we take as boundaries and separations. So, I speak now with you even though I am gone from your time and space, and love connects. Don’t mistake life for tea. Life is just boiling water, but spirit is tea.

A little one may never know her parents as she grows, but she will always know their love. We can’t make existence perfect, because it already is in the great sweep of being, even as it is imperfect in the moment or the place. We have to decide if we will identify with the universal or the particular. Pain abides in both, but pain is only sustained in the particular. Reach out in love and you may not change what is, but you will create love, which cannot be destroyed.

“Fixes all come to their own conclusions, but love never reaches its conclusion. I think that’s all.” (3/26/2011 - W#444)



JC:

“I am, once and always, here.

“Verily I say unto you, what is in your heart shall be written in your life. And none shall ever be able to betray that which is deep in their soul. So, what you mistake for a betrayal of value or virtue is, but really, the revelation of the truth. Don’t ever believe a scoundrel has better sentiments in his imagination. If he did, he would live them.

“Surely there will come a time of fulfillment, or else all dreams are nightmares. Your mistrust of others belies the mistrust of yourself. No one--not even your Father in Heaven--knows the last line of this fair play we all call ‘Life’. Perhaps the script is endless and the cast changing. Will not the author be surprised by outcomes and new revelations.

“About age 42, I had a bad spell. It was almost 10 years after I disappeared, and I was almost recognized, and I thought it a relief that I wasn’t. But as each year went by, the story of my death just grew, and I found that depressing. I preached hope and they spoke fear–like I was no better than a street magician.

“You want your sins washed away? Then stop sinning! Simple. It was never about actions anyway, but about direction. The greatest deed done in hate never matches the poorest deed done in love.

“All I did was so simple. Just be authentic and kind... ‘act a bit crazed, wear old clothes, and rant a bit.’ Ah, my good friend, CT. CT, come here that I might annoy you (present tense of anoint).

“On [Good Friday], I was behind a stall in the market area. It was strange, but not strange. We had rehearsed it: ‘Look Judas, kiss the other guy. I know you like me, but.... Peter, you’ve got to set it up so you are asked three times (the prophecy I would make).’ What if I said 'three', and he only did two. God is in the details... and not the entrails.

“The man who took my place... Have you ever dealt with groupies, sick groupies. Well, he wasn’t one. He believed in my ministry, looked much like me, but was pretty emaciated and was coughing blood. So, he knew the next weeks wouldn’t be pretty. So, did you ever wonder how come the guy on the cross dies in just three hours? when many survived days. He wanted to give his death a meaning. Think about this: I have been at all those banquets, but then suddenly I’m skinny. Ah. We give him a few words to say--all he could handle. When in doubt, toss in a prophetic passage. We all sat around and decided on the seven passages. Originally, he was to say ‘I forgive you because you don’t know what you’re doing,’ but he ad libbed. But it was carefully scripted, right down to the two strangers for the tomb. Want to talk conspiracy theory.

“I always figured I could later come back, but it took on a life of its own. It went like the plague. I think you now say ‘It went viral.’ Within weeks I was so much more than me. I think if I had tried to come back, I’d have to sell melons in Jerusalem. Within weeks I was not me. That felt good. I was off the hook. So I was free, but my ideas had a chance.

“And here’s a clue: It was never about me, so don’t make it about me. You’ve got all you need in you. If you take me in, it will get too crowded and some of you will get squeezed out. And if you can’t differentiate between me and you, please seek medical help.

“I think that’s enough. Others are calling. Do I hear all the prayers. O, yes. But so does everyone. It’s just that very few people pray to Stanley Levitz of Omaha or whoever. I wish they’d pray to someone else. And Mom says, ‘No more.' She’s not taking on new clients.

“See, if you prayed to someone you know, that might actually change the way things happen. A simple prayer to an entity that is connected to your being intimately is more efficacious than one to some famous figure. Spread the energy around. Prayers are like connections sought; seek them close for the biggest response. Whoa, didn’t mean to share that, but it’s true. So, if your partner is ill, don’t pray to me, pray to the partner, asking her or him to be well. Changes the equation, doesn’t it. No repositories of energy... ‘nor suppositories.’ CT, yes.

“So, ponder that.” (4/24/2011 - W#445)



“I’m feeling old because I contain all that has come together to make this entity. And I feel young because I can only imagine what infinite journey lies ahead. It’s like being a 90-year-old 2-year-old. I like it. My legs are old, my eyes are dim, but I see all, and go everywhere.” (5/10/2011 - W#446)



TJ:

“Hello, gracious friends. I am disheartened whenever the ideas of any person are diminished, not because of their content but rather because of their context or their author’s context as seen through the microscope of later assessment.

“When I took knife to the Christian scriptures, I wanted to excise all that had been added by history and keep only what was original. So, too, should we treat all. Don’t think our prejudices of our own age give us a better vision than the prejudices of any other age. Or perhaps we ought to discontinue reverence and consideration of all people, who are surely fallible examples amid the perfect Divine design. Maybe we ought to also erase the names of Buddha and Horace and Cato. But then we should also erase our own names from everything we write or create, lest we claim a perfection not our own. I would rather honor failed humans and learn from them than worship at the idol of perfection. Nothing more need be said, lest all history be erased and all attempts at meaning rendered hollow.

“Thanks for your sharing where and when I cannot. Gracious friends, don’t be... ah, pissed? Be sad, and also feel sympathy for those who can only feel whole by making others less. How empty their lives must be, or else how full of anger. They fear their own fallibility and cannot admit it. Before I go too far, I go.” (5/18/2011 - W#447)



GW:

“Gracious good day. My old friend, Mr. Jefferson, has been monopolizing your time with his own issues, but I must speak. Several of us have been considering an issue on your behalf. I don’t say we have been ‘speaking’, for no words were formed or shared. Let me first share a small portion of how we inform one another:

“A concept, an idea, a notion... ‘a bad dream’... Mr. T., please... will become evident to us, each one becoming aware of it. We each interact with it, and as we interact with the thought-feeling, it is transposed--taking onto itself our additions and subtractions and amendments. It is as if we are interacting with an organism which is a thought, an idea... don’t go there, CT! (I have learned to be vigilant with him.)

“So, thought--which is also feeling and embodiment--flows its own course, steered by those whose interactions it welcomes. So, we were considering some thought for you. Let me try to express it.

“Don’t become the foil of others’ foolishness. It is a way to divert attention from the foolishness of another’s course. So, let the process unfold, because no real learning can take place on a field filled with excuses and bravado. Let each initiative stand on its own. For surely, your energy and that of many others would be taken hostage by people of small vision. In my presidency, I often had to restrain an urge to combat foolishness, and I soon learned that allowing it its own course is best, if there is no threat to body, liberty, or vision. So, we counsel you not to be over and against. Let it unfold. Always act toward vision, not in reaction to actions.

“With that, I stand down.” (5/21/2011 - W#448)



“Mufi is the glue that holds ideas together. Ponder that. He is just that: The spirit of connection. So, he is venerated because without him, we would all get stuck. Now, are you ready for this? Ok, he is a spirit catalyst. He makes growth possible without becoming part of the product. And this he will do until his entity assembles and he moves on. So, every spirit wants him near.

“But he has work ahead, introducing two nerds in Cambridge. And his catalystic style is necessary for a son to be born. Can’t do it without him. He’s (or maybe it’s she is) the roommate of one of us. She loves (or he loves) fur coats. You’ll see. ‘Is Animal Auntie’ or ‘Animal Unk’ coming over,’ a little kid will say. But now he’s just glue to the universal urge to connect. And Sanford is a bit jealous... grrrr... envious... grrrr... appreciative ARF.” (9/5/2011 - W#449)



TJ:

“Gracious friends of liberty, I wanted to remind you that we must always be on our guard against those who would side with us in our struggles to shake off the bounds of tyranny, which they feel deprive them of their rightful standing, but who then quickly propose new models of obedience which do not serve the larger equality but only advance their parochial interests. It is often easy for some to speak of the will and the needs of the people, when they are only really seeking their own ends.

“It is a delicate dance which democracy invites us to partake, not a gallop of heavy feet and measured steps called simply by a replacement caller. The strict code of the English country dance is still oppressive when danced on new ground. What we seek is neither the continuation of old forms of subjugation and authority, nor of replacement systems of personal gain; rather, we seek the means by which all can let the nightmares of the past drift into pleasant dreams for the future. And the one who wakes from a nightmare, only to have the need to rehearse the nightmare to all company, dreams it not once but perpetually. Only when we can daringly and confidently close our eyes and let go of our vigilance because we feel the fulfillment of the dreams of freedom around us in commerce, in religion, in governance, and in nature’s providence, can we finally dream beyond the past.

“We are not created to right wrongs so much as to admit and admire rights! So, beware those who are fascinated by error and driven by need and captured by rules, for they may speak a revolutionary tongue but their lives betray them. And remember always, you are not in the struggle until the victory; the struggle is eternally yours and ours and all people’s.” (1/2/2012 - W#450)



TJ:

“My friends, the essence of liberty is not the absence of form and structure, but a strict adherence to the principles of freedom.” (1/20/2012 - W#451)



JC:

“When we speak out of fear, we will always find answers of error. For in my Father’s house, the small rooms always seem filled, but in the vast chambers there is always room to grow.

“Once there was a man who traveled to a foreign city. But once there, he sought out the quarters of his people, that he might dine safely and with familiarity. Another man traveled also to this city, and sat with the first man over dinner and several cups of wine. As the night wore on, the first said to the second, ‘Isn’t it good we could eat together and be comfortable in familiar surroundings.’ And the second said, ‘But sir, this is all foreign to me, for I am away from my people. The food is not mine, the wine is foreign. But I am comfortable because your company is familiar.’ ‘What?' asked the first. ‘You are a stranger and a foreigner. How can this be so.’ And the second just smiled and said, ‘Because I focused on our connections, not our differences. Go and live likewise.’ ” (1/20/2012 - W#452)

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