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Friday, March 1, 2002

GLORIA LEE
This just in... Even those who may not care much
for poetry, have to see the timeliness of this poem
just happening to be so on topic and relevant to
the gender discussion. This happens fairly often...
in the Islamic culture, the poems of Hafiz are
often consulted like an oracle. People consider the
page they open the book to has an answer to their
question. Well, interesting to consider. -Gloria
 
                                     
LOOK!  I AM A WHALE
 
                                
We live on the Sun’s playground.
 
                                            
Here,
                                
Everyone gets what they want.
 
                           
Sometimes the body of a beautiful woman,
                            
Sometimes the body of a beautiful man,
                                  
Sometimes the body of both
                                           
In one.
 
                                
We used to play that kind of tag
                                    
In the animal world too.
 
                                        
Now a mouse,
                                         
Now a tiger,
                           
Look!  I am a whale – I got tired of the land,
                              
Went back to the ocean for a while.
 
                             
What power is it in our sinew and mind
                                       
That will not die,
 
                          
That keeps us shopping for the perfect dress?
 
                               
We have all heard the Flute Player
                                      
And keep dancing
                                         
Toward Him.
 
                                            
Hafiz,
                                
You have seen the Flute Player
                                     
And cannot help but
                                            
Whirl.
 
 
 
                             
(“The Gift” – versions of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky)
_____________________________________________________________
MICHAEL READ
I'm so witty and pretty and gay!
Zorro the Gay Blade
And in the evening I dress up in women's clothing
and hang around in bars!
hey guys, the word gay means happy. the 'gays'
adapted the word as a way of starting to feel good
about them selves.
talking about sexual practices, can someone who
tattoos and pierces themselves be real non-dualist?
heeheehee
what if your religion told you to masturbate in the
forest three days after the full moon? would you
practice your faith? i would! hahahah better not
take a chance, eh? :-)
and how do they get the hole in the donuts, anyhow?
buncha nutbagz!
oh by the way, do you think that things could be a
bit more, oh i dunno - mellower on this planet?
ain'tcha tired of war?
if you want to change the world, it has been said,
change yourself. the how of it is easy. <wicked
little grin> practice self inquiry in the present
moment. don't waste time thinking about what you
should have done yesterday or look forward to the
breakthrough you know must come tomorrow. do it now
- find out who you am. be present and alive.
sweet dreams! and don't worry about the other guy
just love'm.
________________________________________________________________
MELODY: What is the 'milieu' of being a woman......
beyond what society tells me it is? That's a story
yet unwritten for me.....a road less traveled. And
the more I let go of my fears, defenses,
resistances, and agendas concerning
"woman", the more I'm free to explore and
appreciate whatever experiences I'm given.
SU: Beautiful, yes. And this may include touching
the rythm of the moon reflected in this female
body/mind, it may include fighting heroically with
a sword or fist, it may be all the softness and
comfort in this world, freely given and
miraculously received.
Yours out of the bonds, (nods to eric) Su
 
NINA:
Melody, interesting question, Su, interesting response.
Yesterday I was sorting through mail, dumping most of it in the
recycling when I surfaced a recent UUWorld newsletter. Typically, I
just toss the things. Yesterday, I thought I might as well flip
through it and look at the graphics. Right in the middle of an
article entitled Sacred Anxiety, I spied a full-page chart comparing
the Toxic, Natural, and Sacred Voices. (Speaking of categories..)
Reading what you have written above reminds me of this piece.
In typing out the piece (the whole time thinking: why bother? hehe),
I found it possible to touch base with many areas of 'my life' very
quickly. It strikes me that what is nice about seeing these areas
placed within these three categories is that it is possible to
understand the categories as distinct and to experience the
categories as fluidly interinformative.
yours in the flesh, er bonds, (gives eric an arm noogy)
Nina
Here it is:
Basis:
T- Illusion-based
N- Nature-based
S- Spiritually-based
Time Frame:
T- Past and future
N- Present
S- Eternal present
Purpose:
T- Anti-life, anti-love, distracts us from our true path and
ultimately tries to destroy us.
N- Helps us meet our needs and realize our desires. Warns us of real
dangers, alerts us to opportunities, energizes us for growth.
S- Calls us to be aware of our spiritual self and the deeper
questions in life.
Traditional religious terms:
T- Devil, Hell
N- Natural man/woman, Earth
S- God, Heaven
Source:
T- Misuse of consciousness and ego. Past negative conditioning,
especially from formative years. Negative patterns passed from one
generation to the next. Suppressed desires, memories, and unresolved
inner conflicts.
N- The personal self. Desires, biological needs and drives, emotions.
Realistic concerns about health, love, success.
S- Our spiritual nature. The deeper existential unknowns - "Who am
I?", death, the meaning and purpose of life, the afterlife, God.
Tone:
T- Shames, blames, complains, catastrophizes, and lays guilt trips.
May also indulge in grandiosity, narcissism, and Pollyanna thinking.
N- Calm, respectful, friendly, confident. Can also be excited and
enthusiastic. Logical, rational thinking coupled with emotional
awareness.
S- Unconditionally loving, wise, awe-inspiring, and occasionally
divinely terrifying to the ego.
Mental States:
T- Mental pathology and dysfunction. Anxious, depressed, confused,
low self-esteem, frustrated. Or narcissism, megalomania, lack of
empathy, and abusive.
N- Clarity of thinking, healthy emotional self-awareness, good self-
control and self-expression, Energized, empowered, confident.
S- Deep inner peace, self-acceptance, and empathy for others.
Unconditional love.
Anxiety Reactions:
T- Activated by false alarms, overreacts to or paralyzed by real
alarms. Sees opportunities as dangers. Vague, unrealistic,
unreasonable, ineffective repetitive mental tape.
N- Responds to real dangers. Anxiety is in direct proportion to
degree of danger. Energizes us for new opportunities. Specific,
realistic, reasonable, helpful.
S- Directs our attention to ultimate concerns about the meaning and
purpose of life, the inevitability of eath. Helps us find
unconditional acceptance and serenity.
Duration:
T- Chronic and repetitive.
N- Usually brief and informative.
S- Continuous, but only rarely comes to conscious awareness.
Control:
T- Tries to get us to focus on things beyond our control (like other
people's behavior) while ignoring areas within our control (like our
own thoughts and actions).
N- Directs our attention to responses within our control.
S- Helps us surrender gracefully to what is beyond our control.
Reminds us to take full responsibility for our own experience of life.
Resulting Behavior:
T- Inaction and paralysis or impulsive and counterproductive
behavior. Procrastination, workaholism, addictions, obsessions,
compulsions, worrying.
N- Clarity, decisiveness, effective action, and change.
S- Self-reflection, spiritual awareness, wise and loving responses
to
life.
Effect on growth:
T- Veering off our life's path, getting stuck in stagnant comfort
zones.
N- Active personal growth.
S- Spiritual growth and acceptance.
Skills and techniques needed for mastery:
T- Self-calming, self-aware, emotional self-management skills.
N- Life skills, mental clarity, problem-solving strategies, goal-
achieving action, interpersonal skills.
S- ALigning daily behavior with ethical creed and life purpose.
Meditation, prayer, self-reflection.
Potential Gift:
T- Gets our attention, makes us aware of unresolved
issues and negative programming. Properly used can
lead to healing and self- integration. N- Personal
growth results in successfully surmounting
challenges and achieving goals. More dynamic
relationships, creativity, passion. S- Serenity
results from an unconditional love of life.
Spiritual growth, oneness, compassion, love and
joy.
Key Phrase:
T- Become aware.
N- Do it.
S- Let go.
________________________________________________________________
MELODY:
What if this was what Jesus was alluding to when he
said, "You cannot serve two masters"?
One cannot fight to preserve identity, while at the
same time being willing to allow identity to
'drop'.
That really would be like trying to pick up the
board you're standing on! It just can't be done.
NINA:
Melody, yea..
But on the other hand, I have seen the local
skateboarders... and they are quite capable of
picking up the board they are standing on. That
they do this in pants that will barely stay on
their hips and in sweatshirts that drag their knees
impresses me greatly. There is a new skateboard
park in town with big concrete bowls and
scary-looking cliffs. I suppose the kids like it -
kinda like going to a nice church - but they still
practice their illegal missionary acts of skating
on the edges of concrete plinths around town. I
have noticed that they are winning ever younger
(and even older) converts with their charming
adolescent social posturings. I foresee that there
will be generations to come where most everyone can
lift the board they are standing on. This is
progress. Having your cake and eating it, too. Yep.
Or your donut, or something.
best wishes from one who barely manage to stand on
a moving board, Nina
MELODY: Maybe. :-) I suspect that upon closer
inspection you will notice that they 'give up' that
board...if only for a flash... before they ever
pick it up.
NINA; Huh! I will check this out. Perhaps my
awareness is torn usunder by the loud crash of
wheels and plywood against concrete when they hit
the ground again.
Have you ever marveled about how really good
skateboarders are able to keep their feet on the
board as it shoots into space, sideways, torquing
the whole way? Is it that their feet are pushing
the board? Or that the board is something upon
which to rest their feet? Doesn't it seem that
their feet are being pulled upwards and around by
the board? And then, in the midst of catching air,
the really good ones greet the board with their
hands, just for a moment, before the whole
configuration dissembles?
I have this pet theory that some of those
skateboarders have glued their boards to the
bottoms of their vans sneakers. That would be
cheating, wouldn't it? Is there any such thing as
cheating when it comes to picking up the board one
is standing on? Bypass the practice, just get
straight to the benefits.
NINA: I foresee that there will be generations to
come where most everyone can lift the board they
are standing on. This is progress. Having your cake
and eating it, too. Yep. Or your donut, or
something.
MELODY: Sweet response.
Such an answer might make one feel more comfortable
in an uncertain world for a second.....maybe two.
But I rather suspect Jesus had it right all along.
NINA: Yeah-s'm, you and about 3 billion of my
closest neighbors. Hehe!
What would Jesus do with a board? How do you think
he would look in baggy pants and sweatshirt? How
about vans sneakers and a beenie? He'd prolly fit
right in around here with that beard and long hair.
He would need a few piercings, though. Then he
would really have it right.
Well, you're seemingly serious, I'm seemingly not,
but I get what you're saying.
By the way, skateboarding is not about comfort.
The old skatepark used to be on top of the parking
garage across the street. Though the kids liked the
desolate urban siting, really, they were on top of
the world, they were glad to get the new place with
the smooth, as compared to combed, concrete
surfaces. Perhaps skateboarding is about comfort,
afterall
_________________________________________________________________
HURG
If Rumi is the most well known Sufi poet, Ibn
al-Arabi (1165-1240) is the most influential Sufi
philosopher.
The most famous idea attributed to Ebn al-'Arabi is
wahdat al- wojud "the oneness of being."
Although he never employs the term, the idea is
implicit throughout his writings. In the manner of
both theologians and philosophers, Ebn al-'Arabi
employs the term wojud to refer to God as the
Necessary Being. Like them, he also attributes the
term to everything other than God, but he insists
that wojud does not belong to the things found in
the cosmos in any real sense. Rather, the things
borrow wojud from God, much as the earth borrows
light from the sun.
The issue is how wojud can rightfully be attributed
to the things, also called "entities" (a'yan). From
the perspective of tanzih, Ebn al-'Arabi declares
that wojud belongs to God alone, and, in his famous
phrase, the things "have never smelt a whiff of
wojud." From the point of view of tashbih, he
affirms that all things are wojud's self-disclosure
(tajalli) or self-manifestation (zohur). In sum,
all things are "He/not He" (howa la howa), which is
to say that they are both God and other than God,
both wojud and other than wojud.
The intermediateness of everything that can be
perceived by the senses or the mind brings us back
to imagination, a term that Ebn al- 'Arabi applies
not only to a mode of understanding that grasps
identity rather than difference, but also to the
World of Imagination, which is situated between the
two fundamental worlds that make up the cosmosóthe
world of spirits and the world of bodiesóand which
brings together the qualities of the two sides. In
addition, Ebn al-'Arabi refers to the whole cosmos
as imagination, because it combines the attributes
of wojud and utter nonexistence (Chittick, 1989).
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~godlas/ibnarab.html
___________________________________________________________________
 
JAN SULTAN
"Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about
to sail out to sea and sink." -- Suzuki Roshi

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