The Animal Us

THE ANIMAL US

How do we know that we don’t have fur just underneath our smooth skin? I mean the fur of a black bear, smeared with berries and the blood of fish. Oh, the x-rays won’t spot it. It is rougher than coarse stone, finer than air: this animal body in our bodies, this connection to a miraculous creation.

Part of our brains are on a brilliant kind of autopilot… just brilliant, inventing a million ways to keep insanity going in the world. I mean the oh so familiar dysfunctional disconnection that someone soaked us in, an incessant washing of the brain with the milk of discontent. And so the familiar conditioning says, don’t look too deep into the most of you, you might find too much trouble there, while the symbol making, music loving, heart-beated, drum thumped, danced crazed and wild heart of us goes on whistling dream songs beyond the reach of us, luring us through luminous looks and moments of confusing clarity.

There are birds in our blood, the trees are kissing us with every breath. Great beings watch over us from realms where a thousand earth years are one very interesting day. Some of us are kings in these worlds, some queens, some wizards, some prophets, all adventurers, who signed up to be diminished into flesh, squeezed into this world of forgetfulness, this place where we learn the hard lessons of willfully destroying the web of light through every little discourtesy, with each lie, continually shattering the wonder-child’s trust with this twisted insecurity that drives our greed.

It is closing time now: the night has fallen and we don’t even miss the hidden sun. World makers beat the dead horse and shout, it is bound to get up any minute now. But it is over. The whole system is collapsing. Time to wake up. Time to turn it all around, get down on our knees, look into our children’s questioning eyes, refind the deep soul of us, nuzzle earth. Time to let sharp claws tear our skin open from the inside. And in the dark eyes of the animal us a smile will appear, reflected in each eye, lighting up the distant horizons, spattering golden beauty all over the world.

Illuminating Happiness

"Our minds, which are even now only just awakening after
years of materialism, are infected with the despair of unbelief,
of lack of purpose and ideal. The nightmare of materialism, which
has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game,
is not yet past; it holds the awakening soul still in its grip.
Only a feeble light glimmers like a tiny star in a vast gulf of
darkness. This feeble light is but a presentiment, and the soul,
when it sees it, trembles in doubt whether the light is not a
dream, and the gulf of darkness reality."
Wassily Kandinsky

We live in a time of tremendous uncertainty smeared over with thick veneers of ever whiffle-waffling confidence that science and the purveyors of technology will find the way to solve our exponentially escalating problems so that life will continue ever upward towards its peak of material prosperity and thus some semblance of peace for all. There are real lives at stake here: the hopes and dreams of countless parents for their children’s right to live out their lives in a harmonious world.

The “feeble light” that glimmers is the same Light that Moses knew burning in his bones, that Buddha discovered beyond all form and emotion, that Jesus proclaimed himself to wholly be. It is the Light of Life in all of our eyes, purified of the deeply immersed trauma birthed emotions and their pernicious defense mechanisms and strategies.

How shall the Light emerge and harmonize the body-mind with its own inherent nature of Freedom, peace, spacious bliss, and beauty making instincts?

I wish, wish, wish it could happen because people stretch their imaginations, open up their intuition, affirm the facts they don’t want to admit to and thus start waking up from the corporate spell woven by the super rich, the carrot dangled on the end of their enticingly extended sticks. I wish it didn’t have to come through the intensities of pain inflicted when mutual dreams collapse as the oil-based economic systems of ever increasing growth cough, and choke, sputter and sigh into exhaustion.

It is such a small shift, and yet so momentous, when people put Spirit above money, peace above material prosperity, time for leisure above acquisition, the highest good of their own children and all others above their own self interests. But it will take something powerful to enact it, like economic collapse, like total disillusionment, like the anarchy of despair.

This is just how the majority are, so this is how it will be. But there are many, many people out there, right now, who sense what is coming, who are awakening to a deeper realism, who are thinking for themselves, who are making the time to get in touch with their souls. For them the ancient words of the prophet Isaiah hold true:

“Arise and shine, for your light has come, and the glory (beauty) of the One Light, the Great Love will shine upon you. For though dense darkness covers the earth, the Light will arise upon you…”

In the original language of Hebrew this could also be translated:

Be Luminous for your illuminating happiness is come and the splendor and reality of the One who becomes in time is shining upon you. For the dark that obstructs the Light will fill up the world, but the Eternal One(ness) shall arise upon you, and his splendor shall be seen on you.

Materialism as the controlling paradigm of existence is a dense dark. We have enjoyed the bright side of it, for the material sphere is not evil, of course. So much good has come in the form of tools, knowledge, expertise… and yet, because of vested interests of powerful entities, mankind has been exploited, medicine poisened and drug warped. Massive economic ponzi schemes have been developed which are money making machines for the super rich. Do we really realize that for every corporation that flourishes there are countless small, family run business that go bankrupt and with them dreams destroyed, families stressed, marriages failed, children traumatized?

Do you know that during the recent economic crises the number of billionaires have increased in the world? Just recently the news quoted Warren Buffet as saying, “When it is raining gold it is time to get out the buckets.” His wealth has vastly increased as has most of the most wealthy people in the world. Do you realize that his opportunities for profit come at the expense of millions of poor and middle class families who are losing their homes, their business, their hopes? When are we going to wake up to how things really work in a system of ruthless competition?)

The collapse of a civilization is a major historical event. We are in the midst of one. But the future is very bright for the bright and clear souls who are awake to the true nature of the Universe and the laws of Love that govern the higher good and harmonies. This is one wild ride!

A New Way of Thinking

Einstein wrote, "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything except our way of thinking. Thus we are drifting toward a catastrophe beyond comparison. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive."

Can we hear Einstein with the sobriety and seriousness these words should evoke? A new way of thinking requires a recovery of the truths and values written inside us by the fingers of Nature, or Hand of God. We must let Life start thinking in us. What I mean is there is an inherent wisdom in all Creation. This wisdom does not think in human symbols — but it can! We can allow the Language of Life to harmonize our bodies and brains.

All Life is singing the glory of its existence and the wisdom of its delicate relationships. It is an unbroken field of interrelating energies. All, except for us. We must now clearly see ourselves as broken off from this web through 300 years of excessively left brained thinking and the paradigms of life we have developed that are inherently self-destructive.

It is the nature of the left brain to distinguish differences, to analyze, to break down into parts, to structure in new order. But without the inspired, insightful, creative, mystically related right brain the order it creates is too inclusive and limited. We create independent systems without regard for their relationship to the whole. We are now experiencing the catastrophic potential of such imbalanced and partial thinking. We must, must, must shift to new patterns based on universal values expressed in new ways.

Thomas Berry eloquently echoes this. "The New Prosperity requires a new language. This new language is primarily the language of the earth, a language of living relationships that extend throughout the universe."

New thinking demands a new usage of language. The two are inseparable. If I think differently I will express myself differently. If I am growing more attuned to the rhythms of the stars, the energetic shifts of seasons, the balances or imbalances of our food producing soils, the quality of water, the greater good of humanity and all wild creatures, I will speak of stars, weather, earth, fire, water, birds, deer and bear, the laughter of children.

We have journeyed away from nature for 300 years now and learned much. We are in a tremendous place where we can take the best of our insights, tools and technology and the ones that shall yet be invented in order to create a new world of harmony and peace, where people love nature in a way they never have before: seeing it as both motherly provider and source of inspiration, beauty maker, marvel and delight.

We are on the cusp of a new era. Those who cling to the dying age will resist the changes with all the strength born of their fear or greedy lust for power. Those who let go and embrace the challenges and changes are in for a very inspiring ride through the death of life based on consumption into life based on quality of relationships, simplicity, creative freedom, harmonizing with the whole, sanity and peace.

HEART DANCE

I listen to your eyes
with my whole body
until your eyes open
as my whole body sings
with the beauty of your eyes
seeing my beauty in wonder.

Imagine This

Imagine a world where: all religions realized their founders and visionaries were ultimately pointing beyond tribal concerns to a greater reality, a Oneness of all humanity in Love and freedom as the supreme goal of their visions and dreams.

Imagine a world where the Universe is understood as an open, multidimensional system, and that the Spiritual world is as alive and real to our minds as the realms we perceive with our bodily senses.

Imagine a world where our miraculous human body is seen as the physical expression of higher and more refined levels of energy and awareness that open into realms of inexpressible beauty, harmony, health and Light.

Imagine a world where the dominant paradigm is of service in Love and growth through mutual support for the greater good of all.

Imagine a world where being forgiving and kind to yourself and others is the first rule of healthy existence.

Imagine a world where happiness is understood as the natural results of seeking to contribute to a beautiful environment and the happiness of others in all that we do.

Imagine a world of self -governing local communities that lovingly support all members and trade with other communities in a win/win situation for the greater happiness and welfare of all.

Imagine a world of clean, free energy that is usable on small, local scales, therefore disbanding huge, polluting industries and dysfunctional urbane living isolated from the harmony and beauty of the natural world.

Imagine a world where skilled craftsmanship is highly valued because of the human spirit that is held in it through prolonged attention.

Imagine a world where living simply is widely loved because it frees the mind and heart of non-essential clutter to be available to develop and enjoy deep, meaningful relationships.

Imagine a world where family is a unit of lasting love, mutual support and joyful celebration linked through mutual love and respect to other family units.

Imagine a world where giving loving attention to children and playing with them is a top priority for all.

Imagine a world where effective education and joyful play is one and the same thing.

Imagine a world where the gift of sexual ecstasy is seen as a pure mirror of a deeper tenderness and ecstasy of spirit and is never repressed in fear nor exploited for profit.

Imagine a world where when young people sexually awaken they are never shamed or isolated but rather celebrated by family and friends and given wisdom about how physical ecstasy can unite with a deeper, instinctual opening to God as the pure bliss of Light, Love and endless beauty.

Imagine a world where the making of beauty for the joy of others is as natural a part of daily life as eating or breathing.

Imagine a world where developing artistic expressions of Love and wisdom for the good of all are highly respected and sought after trades.

Imagine a world of community wisdom gathering circles, where every perspective is carefully represented, from the creative, playful artists, to the women and children, to those concerned with economy and communal integrity—and mutual decisions are made as all perspectives are honored and a sense of wisdom and balance illuminates every heart.

Imagine such a harmonious world of beauty and joy. If you can, then simply desire such a world, right here, right now and hold this ideal in your heart as a sign of personal health and you will naturally find yourself part of the immergence of a new world of human happiness and beauty as the old order crumbles and passes away. Never underestimate the power of vision, desire and imagination, nor of the human will united to the wisdom of the Great Love that has conceived this bountiful and beautiful Universe and is for us all in every way.

Bringing Sex and Everything Home

Everybody is looking for God’s Love and doesn’t know it. This was the first revelation of my spiritual awakening: Everyone is looking for God’s Love in the wrong ways, turning everything upside down.

And everyone is looking for pure energy, for the pure essence of everything, for a clean flow of experiecing Life as it really is because this is happiness. Many people are looking for it in sex, because the flow of ecstasy is a pure state of being. It is inherently innocent and joyous and the body’s energetic system knows this is true. The tragedy is they surround that pure flow with darkness. In truth, the darkness feeds on the pure, ecstatic energy; it draws sustenance from the pure Life flow in sex through the delusions of the soul, the twisting influences. So the innocent purity of the ecstatic flow cannot carry over into experiencing the innocent purity, or sacredness of all existence.

To bring sexual energy home to its pure Source is to melt away the attachments, the soulless lust, guilt, shame, shamelessness, and all the rest. To rediscover pure Being at the core of our Being is to be cleansed, to allow the twisted things to become untwisted, all our reversed energies turned back straight. Then our own inner world gets turned right side up, and the world appears as it really is, upside down, with its priorities and most of its beliefs just the opposite of how things really are. This is why Jesus’ first call was “Turn things around, heaven is here.” Turn things around. The way up is down. The way down is up.

Let’s get our heads clear, our hearts open, our innocent energies restored. The realms of pure happiness are right here, in the sky, in the beautiful earth, in the wind, in the trees, in the grass and flowers, in the innocent animals and free-flying birds, in the pure energies of our bodies, in the eyes of our lovers, friends and all the mysterious souls we shall meet.

A Blessing

Words can move us, bore us, bounce us, be us; words can uplift, cast down, spangle, sparkle, twirl us round. Words can color or drain, bring laughter, tears, dagger with pain. Words can conceal, confuse, color or confess. May these words open and bless...

A BLESSING:

May you be sparkling with inspiration, creative, playful, laughing, insightful and above all, flowing with the Love that makes stars burn and flowers unfold, birds sing and fish swirl. May your life grow more open, aware and filled with the wonder and beauty of Life in the great adventure of Love.

So may it be, from the center of all Being to the center of your Being. Yes!