Click here to go to the next issue

Highlights Home Page | Receive the Nondual Highlights each day

HIGHLIGHTS #1296 - Sunday, December 22, 2002 - Edited by Gloria Lee      

image from Joe Riley      

Do not despair, my soul!  See, hope is arriving!
The hope of all souls has come from the Invisible.
Do not despair, although Mary is not here;
The light that took Jesus to heaven has come!
Do not despair, my soul, in the shadows of this prison
The King who ransomed Joseph from prison has come!
Jacob has left the tent where he was hiding;
Joseph who tore Zuleikla's veil has come.
You spent all night crying, "My Lord!  My Lord!"
He who heard your "My Lord!  My Lord!" has come.
Your grief lasted so long!  Look, healing is here:
Your door was locked, look, here is the key.
You mourned and fasted before the Table of Heaven:
Break your fast now, for the new moon is born.
Be silent, be silent, for by the command of God
The shock of amazement annihilates all words.


(Rumi - Odes - 'Teachings of Rumi' - Andrew Harvey)  

whispers of the beloved
Sufi Poetry

_________________  

VIORICA WEISSMAN  Million Paths    

One day He told me "One could produce God through  alchemy. But even if that God tells you something  don't believe it. If I come in front of you don't believe it.  The Seer is most important. YOU ARE!. That's most important.  Concentrate on the seer, not the seen. All that you see is false  and the seer alone is true. All that you read, all knowledge you  gather is useless, until you hold on to your Self.  YOU ARE THE TRUTH, not what's being told to you, not what  you see. What you read in books may be knowledge, but not  the truth."

  - Attendant Krishnaswami,
from a 1989 videotaped interview

_________________    

MICHAEL READ NDSN  

The garden of Escher delights

By VICTORIA JAMES
Staff writer

  "Mathematicians," wrote M.C. Escher in a 1958 essay, "have opened the gate leading to an extensive domain, but they have not entered this domain themselves. By their very nature they are more interested in the way in which the gate is opened than in the garden lying behind it."

"There came a moment when it seemed as though scales fell from my eyes. I discovered that technical mastery was no longer my sole aim, for I had become gripped by another desire. . . . Ideas came into my mind quite unrelated to graphic art, notions which so fascinated me that I longed to communicate them to other people. This could not be achieved through words, for these thoughts were not literary ones, but . . . visual images."

...

For as the early works shown here reveal, Escher's world -- of seemingly impossible castles and fantastical beasts in infinite, interlocking patterns -- is actually our world, simply seen through different eyes. The four-dimensional arches of "Other World" (1947) were transported from "Porta Maria dell'Ospidale, Ravello," which Escher engraved in 1932; the tessellated, imaginary beasts resemble the winged lion that stands in the same city's square; the concept of tessellation itself was inspired by the tiles of the Alhambra, Spain, which Escher saw in 1922; the insects that crawl and fly through Escher's multidimensional universes were lovingly detailed in natural-history engravings made in the 1930s.

It's all around us, comes the realization -- if only we learn to look, rather then merely see. "The ideas that are basic to [my works] often bear witness to my amazement and wonder at the laws of nature which operate in the world around us," Escher wrote. "He who wonders, discovers that this is in itself a wonder."

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fa20021113a1.htm

_________________  

JERRY KATZ NDSN    

Politics with a soul. Yes, it is possible

December 23 2002

Several days ago I heard a vice-chancellor of a major university finish a speech by pronouncing that "we are huge, powerful, resourceful and talented and nothing will get in our way". Instantly I understood why the Greens were attracting so many young people and why they won more than 10 per cent of the vote on November 30 in the Victorian election. This old institutional language sounded so hollow. Its zeitgeist was progress and its spirituality an unreflective triumphalism.

By contrast a few weeks earlier I had stood with Bob Brown and church leaders on the steps of the Victorian Parliament at a press conference. As church representatives we mumbled about the regressive redistribution of poker machines' revenue from the poor to the rich. Brown, by contrast, spoke with directness and simplicity. He boldly declared that the promotion of pokies by the state was a profound moral and ethical issue that had to be named. Justice is indivisible and universal. As the traditional institutional custodians of the moral high ground, we as church leaders listened enviously.

Later we remembered ruefully that once we could speak like that. But now our purchase on this moral franchise was gone with too many scandals and cover-ups.

Where did the freshness and moral clarity that Brown epitomises come from?

The Greens' zeitgeist is the ecological belief that all of life is interconnected and that we are dependent on a system of relationships that are universal. The spirituality that flows from such a belief system is to nurture and attend to these relationships - both those of the natural and human worlds.

This belief can function like a religion in giving a "meaning map" and hence a discipleship path to walk that comes from awe for the organic interconnections.

The daily disciplines of meditation, recycling, using public transport and greening one's neighbourhood are parallels to the rhythms of prayer, Bible reading, witness and love of neighbour in Christian teaching.

Many Greens would reject any pseudo-religious tag and point out that scientific discoveries are now demonstrating the insight that everything in the material universe is connected with everything else. The Greens may have intuitively arrived earlier than others at the right conclusion because of the ecological impulse, but eventually it will be empirically verified. But I believe their appeal is deeper than any scientific vindication.

[...]

The Rev Tim Costello is minister of the Collins Street Baptist Church and director of Urban Seed.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/22/1040510962296.html

_________________  

JERRY KATZ NDSN    

http://www.themodern.org/slideshow/index.htm

Museum Website: http://www.mamfw.org/  

_________________  

AL LARUS NDS  

Driving west for Christmas

50 miles on icy roads,
a crossing into darkness
down narrow canyons.
I extend into the car,
rolling tires is my skin
endlessly grasping
holding on through each bend.  

Like life depends on us
becoming one my friend.  

A moon looking round the corner
A wind ripping clouds apart
On each side rising mountains
in soft mirror light.  

Keeping wheels rolling
with a beating heart
across the silver screen,
deep in the stream of stars.

photo by Al Larus

_________________    

JP NDS

Kodo Drums, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz

I picked up my boys on Friday night. They are so beautiful.

Unspeakable Beauty and wisdom and delight. The world is in
good hands with the beings being born now and One Light that
rocks!

My daughter is so beautiful also and she has a heart of dozens
of Lions. She was going out to a party - learning to fly proud on
her own eagle wings. I am so proud of her.

She's a Greek Barbarian and a boykiller if there ever was one. Or
maybe she will be a girlkiller. She is Love. I hope they have
paramedics and body bags wherever she goes.

We drove back in my used gold Maxima. It's pretty well
maintained for an 'old 87. I got it this past July after I came back
from a month long trip to Portland - visiting my dear friend David.
We met years ago when we were naive missionaries and
cultural colonialists - way up in the Andes mountains of Bolivia
near Lake Titicaca.

It looks like a no big deal used average sedan - but under the
hood - oh yeah - it's got the engine of a hot screaming 300ZX -
and the astonished look of the faces of those corporate masters
in their shiny Teutonic machines when this machine goes
vrooooom!

I got the Maxima after I came back from Oregon and was driving
my dying 95 Neon - on my way to pay for my Net service when
WHAM! I got crunched between two cars. The car in front of me
was driven by an amateur judge of competitive rowers. The one
behind me was a pickup truck filled with teenagers who were
drinking and inhaling while wailing.  They were all beautiful. The
Neon turned into an accordion - like me - just wind squeezed out
and played.

So I had the heap towed even though I was broke and I had to
deal with a bunch of Polish mechanics and a Polish claims
adjuster - while the awesome Polish JPII was in Toronto from
Roma on World Youth Day. At least his presence made the
mechanics more eager to be honest.  It's amazing what Love
does in the hearts of people - the energy of Love.

The Neon was a write-off and I got a cheque for a few grand. I
didn't know where to look for a used car. Then, just like the way
Life is - things spontaneously appear. I walked past a garage
near my underground lair and there it was - the gold Maxima -
being sold by an honest mechanic.

Anyway....where was I ....right....being with my boys. We stopped
on the highway at a Petro-Canada to fill up on gas and goodies. I
filled it up with some gas and wondered about the Canadian
Ballard hydrogen fuel cells and how nice that is gonna be. But
the smell of gas got me to focusing on the task at hand.

I have this stupid leak in the neck of the gas tank - right where I
fill it. I pump in the gas and - hell - it just starts leaking out on the
ground - forming a slow spreading slick puddle of quickly
evaporating gas. Thank goodness there's lots of gas.

The three of us got bags of chips, 2 packs of Yu-Gi-Oh cards that
the boys love - and candy and our favorite beverages - SOBE.
Great company - cool product. Those are fine drinks. Our favorite
is Tsunami - an orange cream flavored drink with Yerba Mate -
Guarana and Creatine. Drink down that Lizard! Yeah!

My head was cold.

So I saw they had a promotion on tuques. Those oh so
Canadian standard issue head coverings for all citizens - for
those long cold Canuck winters.

They were selling tuques made by the very superb heartlove
Roots Company that was born right here in Toronto - outfitters of
the coolest and greatest sportswear ever! It's a red tuque with
white trim with a logo of: Roots Canada and a gold Olympic
flame. I ripped it out of the plastic bag and put in of my head!

OPA baby -----oh yeah!

And it is on sale nationwide at Petro-Canada stations for only
$9.99. Buy a bunch and pass them around Jerry!

I couldn't wait to give the boys their Xmas present when we got
back to my little hole in the ground. Why wait? This is Xmas now.
My youngest son Justin couldn't wait either. He is pure Love and
sweetness - he made a glass jar with cut out cards stuck on it
with glue that say Peace On Earth. With a little tealight candle in
it.

I'm a sentimental fool and I cry at things like that - and lots of
things - at the beauty of the heart and Life and what is
experienced. My kids love me - and I love them - deeply and
naturally - what more could a father want?

The boys don't mind my tiny place. It's very funny actually.
Everything. Funny - sad - wondrous. I guess I have a thing for
small solitary dank places with cheap linoleum and the company
of critters.

I scrounged and saved for a while and got them a PS2. They are
so cool. I had them close their eyes. Don't peek okay? Then -
voila - they opened their eyes -  and it was right there in front of
them - already opened - no wrapping - cuz well - I just had to play
it!

We laughed so much. So typical.

I wanted to get them a game and I looked at all the PS2 games
out there. A lot of awesome stuff.  But there was one my heart felt
was truly an out of this world game: Kingdom Hearts - by the
awesome inspired holy women and men at Disney and
Squaresoft.

It's well.....oh  geez.....just TOOOOOO funny when we started
playing it! I guess I could tell you what the game is about - it's
plot - but you can figure it out.

This is all just too funny!

This is the most awesome and wildest Life Love game going!

Right here between us. And all is deeply deeply well and
peaceful and grateful and thunderous.

My kids laugh at me cuz I just suddenly burst out laughing when I
see what I see. They laugh and say "It's just daddy laughing for
no apparent reason again!"

I Love you all so much.

OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Gosh - all this just to save Meg Ryan?

Ruunnnnn Forrest Run!!!!!!!!!!!!!


JP one deathless KODO heart drummer accompanied by Tito
Puente.

Sing it Celia Cruz!

_________________  

JOYCE
HarshaSatsangh

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

Mary Oliver

top of page