Sexuality Complex

Why should we trudge through life in bodies which seem sometimes foreign to the individual? 
The premise is reincarnation. I believe that before coming into a body, we agree to live in a particular form for the experience of it. The variety of human experience gives any one soul a plethora of possibilities. Our inner being often "remembers" the last life lived, or perhaps many lives lived, which could have been the opposite sex and an identifiable experience. The strength of that memory plays on the present mind and sometimes is in opposition to the outward vehicle (body). This is not the only life you or I have lived, and in the grand scheme of things, is a drop in the bucket. What needs to be learned, and through all the revealing stories of so many transgendered persons (a label created to define sexual "anomalies"), is that we ought not to demonize those who do not fit into the "normal" human category of male or female. Again, the variety of human experience is incredibly diverse, and we must learn to respect that - this fabulous Life (in all its dimensions) is God's drama, and God has allowed/created this diversity to the glory of the Divine Mind. We truly have to ask the question: "What is normal?" And normal is not a divine absolute, it is what we humans, in our various cultures, define as a community/society. It morphs with increasing knowledge of the human/material condition.

Pay Attention!

The morphing seasons,

confused as they are,

will tempt the wondering eye

to not be anxious.

But Wind and Howl

will batter the brain

and force a retreat

to the Cave and Bowel.

When Trees cry out,

and Creatures cower,

and Men wonder in awe,

Then the Force will cause

the planet to reclaim

its balance,

its own,

its peace.

agd

Healing Power of Art - Shaw TV Nanaimo

What Is Truth?

"Life is a mystery which we are called to engage. What we think of as obvious truth today may look like mythology to our descendants in the 23rd or 24th century. Truth may not be relative, but our perception of truth always is. The experience of God may be real and eternal, but our attempt to explain that experience in a Bible, the creeds, our doctrines, dogmas and liturgies is never eternal. That is a fine line to walk. Organized religion constantly falls into idolatry. (emphasis is mine) By that I mean that we relate to things we have created, e.g. the Bible and human creeds, as if they are the truth to which they only point."

John Shelby Spong 

Just play it!

A wonderful harper wrote this poem, and it speaks volumes to all who have performance "jitters."

Recital Poem

Oh, just play it.
Play it. Play it. Play it!
I am the audience
I want to hear you,
Your carefully crafted
Agonizingly wonderful
- or not-
Notes, however they are.
You have worked hard for them
So let them sound
Let them out
Let them sound out
No longer trapped in your fearful hands.
Play it!
                        Sue Richards

What more?

How do I know
when I'm done?

I am a gardener,
a teacher,
a priest,
a preacher,
a contemplative,
a poet,
a church musician,
a music teacher,
a composer of music,
a writer,
a harpist,
an artist.

I entertained people,
counseled people,
inspired people,
helped people,
consoled people,
worked with people,
taught people,
guided people,
and probably misguided some.
(No one's perfect)

Now I see others -
teaching,
preaching,
writing beautiful poetry,
making music,
writing music,
performing music,
entertaining people,
counseling people,
helping people,
consoling people,
working with people,
teaching people,
guiding people
and gathering people.
I empathize,
and I still go
where I am called
to be.

But when do
I let go and say:
"I'm done -
now it's YOUR turn?"

How deep is your ocean?

You see, most people live on the surface of reality =
I have not seen my friend in a week,
I MUST get together with him -
Thus I plan to meet him or talk with him
in order to reconfirm his existence,
and my need to contact him, physically/aurally.
-or -
Oh, that cheesecake was so good! -
I want another piece -
to reinforce the reality of the cheesecake.
So I have to make or buy the cheesecake
in order to confirm its existence
and to reinforce the pleasure of
eating it.

Consciousness (Reality)
is like an ocean.
The deeper one dives,
the more one realizes
the vastness of it -
the Infinity of Consciousness.
In the Infinity of Consciousness,
everything, EVERYTHING  exists -
and is connected,
and time dissolves into the Now.

In the depths of consciousness,
my friend is always there,
and I can visit with him - any time.
I can experience the cheesecake
- any time.
The flourless chocolate cake
tastes as good as if
I had it melting in my mouth.

On the surface of Consciousness
exists the individuality of separateness.
In the depths of Consciousness
exists the Union of Being - where
Everything is Connected.

As Above, So Below - God and Social Media

As Above, So Below

The digital age has more to teach us about God than you might think. We have created a "virtual world" which mirrors and creatively transcends this "real" material world. The possibilities are endless, as it is in God.
Social Media becomes a mode to connect, to network. The contemplative has already discovered that we are all connected, that the universe is a network of living matter, infused with a cloud of knowing which infuses every particle. Life surges within Life. Everything is connected. God is, which connects everything.
Humanity is intimately connected at the center of being. It is only on the surface of Life that we appear to exist separately, individually, an illusion to entertain the One who Is All. This idea may offend some and confuse others, but it is what it is. Yet, what a mind-blowing thought it is - the complexity of Being - creating, maintaining, renewing every particle of Life which forms the larger beings of the universe - from stars to sentient beings - from moment to moment - for an eternal day. This is God's Nirvana, God's Ecstatic Joy. This material universe, these material universes, these quantum material universes, are the virtual realities of God's digital world.
Social media is helping humanity to reconnect, to network again, after a period of time in which we have prized our individuality and uniqueness. But we are unique for one purpose - to excite each others' senses - to wonder at the individuality of life and the plethora of creative expression.
The wonders of this life teach us about God and Reality, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. Computer technology and social media teach us about the reality of God, too. If you have ears to hear and eyes to see, your heart will understand - Everything really is --- Connected. Everything is One.

Not Enough Tears

I have not enough tears
to shed over this
latest atrocity in Kenya.
I am becoming numb.

Fundamentalism pollutes
every religion, every senate.

So-called religious "leaders" -
who are only doing their "job"
mislead and guide astray
the lambs -
have any of them touched
the hem of the divine?
and Jesus warned us -
Beware the false shepherds, and
the wolves in sheep's clothing,

Fundamentalism pollutes
every religion, every senate.

Judaism has not saved the
human heart -
neither has Christianity -
and neither has Islam -
neither Hinduism,
nor Shintu,
nor Confucianism,
nor any religion
in the name of any god.
(There really is only one,
and the One is nameless)

If Islam takes over this country,
I shall quietly disappear -
and you can pick up the pieces.

Ignorance pollutes
every religion, every senate.

You can only save yourself.

agd