archives5

"Clarify, think, cajole, but not argue or debate or defend. If someone says they doubt it, just say, 'Well, maybe you are right... or not.' We have nothing to prove, lots to give. This is not... I repeat, not... a crusade. It's a loving offer. And such an approach will be startlingly new to many--scary, off-putting. But that's the paradigm we are sharing, so we better be it, too." (5/13/98 - Y#25)

"Don't reduce it to words. One of the problems of many people is they feel they have to put words to insights, visions, and feelings. And if they do, they reduce the insights, visions, and feelings to words, and lose something in the translation. So maybe they should be tools, not answers." (5/13/98 - I#16)

"One thing about Korea and Vietnam is that we have generally let go of it; but WWII we had to keep hearing about. It was because it so focused on negative energies, and those people are still feeding it. They don't know any positive direction that is as compelling. And they got their rewards in the '50s from surviving the '40s. And now we have to hear it all here... but not for long." (5/16/98 - R#21)

Marky:

"Those stupid British soldiers with those beavers for heads. Short blokes with rodent brains. Stout not wine, gristle not meat, juices not sauces, and no candies... pies and fruitcakes. The national symbol: fruitcakes. Full of nuts. Tea they call 'cuppa' and dinner they call 'tea.' But wait, we have 'lunch,' but before that we have a 'little lunch.' Go figure. So who knows. But their biggest problem is not that they have quirks, but that they believe that their quirks are norms--not just for them, but everyone.

"One should always remember it is alright to have one's own peculiarities if one knows them as one's own, not as universals. Here's the point: matters of taste are never universal; customs neither. The definition of each is their lack of universality. So, we French want France to be French, but who cares about the rest of the barbarians. When we travel we enjoy what we find, while others enjoy what they take along. Can't learn or remember much from the latter.

"And so I take leave of you, your humble and always wise servant. Beware any who ask you to be spiritual in earthly ways. Get it. Here you play by our rules or you don't play. Au revoir." (6/6/98 - W#93)

Celeste:

"Good afternoon, or morning, or evening. I've lost track of time. And you know I was a tea lady, but what you don't know is why. Actually, I was a professor at a women's college when the war broke out. Soon I was finding myself too often at the depot with one of my young ladies who was there to receive her young man again on stretcher or crutches or bier. I held their hands and took them in for tea. And then I looked around and saw the tearoom filled with strangers, and I knew they all needed to connect. So when my own Willie didn't come home, I signed on part-time at the tearoom. I found too many who ordered tea but wanted life, so I was there to speak of life and trust and understanding and faith. I spoke of half-filled cups overflowing with memories and love. Many a cup turned salty with our tears. And I learned so much and remember it so well. I was blessed.

"Here's my point: we all have much we can do and something we must do and, often, something we have to do. Do what you have to and do what you can, but never--no, never--forsake that which you must. It is the stuff of heart and soul, of saint and seer, of universal and eternal. And often it's over a cup of tea or a quiet drink or a sit at sundown. It often is in the ordinary, not the therapeutic or the counsel or the solemn. I have said enough. Goodbye."

Rikkity: "So, was that a surprise. Don't judge a tea lady by her job." (6/6/98 - W#94)

"You know, the percentage of tea ladies who are wacko is the same as the bishops who are wacko. And so, too, for teachers and presidents and dog catchers. So it's a universal percentage, since spiritual persistence is not about trade or station, but about character and soul. That's where Hinduism gets it wrong. They think the hierarchy is played out in this life, but this life is just one level. No class is better than others. A lowly slave could have been born a prince.

"So remember that some of the Protestants were right: There are no outward signs of development. What appears to be a simple life could just as easily be a final bit of work on a highly evolved spirit. Is washing the piece of marble the beginning or the end of creating the sculpture--both humble acts. Hey, ya never know, duz you. Which was closer to fulfillment, Pharaoh or Moses. The Egyptians thought Pharaoh was either God or close to it, but was he. Ponder. That's enough, and it's sufficient." (6/9/98 - V#31)

"A question: Certs, breath mint or candy mint; light beer, great taste or less filling; zebra, black stripes or white stripes. If you have something that is beyond your comprehension but it is alluded to by 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 models, which is right. All or none, it doesn't matter. Another way of saying it: John starts from L.A. to walk to the Atlantic, Jimmy starts in San Francisco, and José starts in Seattle. Then one of them arrives in Jacksonville; one in Cape Henry; and one in Portland, Maine. Which took the right route. All or none. When you hear what I say, and think about it, it is still only an approximation and a symbol of the whole. So, often you are both right. But when you seek a single solution, none are right.

"Here's a clue... shhhhh... the next level is more complex than this. If you could understand it, you'd already be there or it wouldn't be more complex. So look for the hints, sense the feelings of meaning, know words as mere guesses, and the truth will appear under the tent of the heavens. God, I sound like Gibran. He's cool. And he's dead. Most people are, except first-timers. Think about it. Only first-timers at this level have not been dead. So, there's some stuff to ponder.

"When people want you to make it concrete, they are asking you to make the next level in this one's terms. Can't do it. Hints, signs, symbols, yes, but not facts, figures, details.

"Here's a theological one for you. Now, if this level is a building block of the next, then some of this is reflected in the next. But, as Einstein taught us, we can't tell which way things are going... and it doesn't take a weatherman to tell which way the wind is blowing. But seriously, looking at two adjacent levels, you can't tell if one is the combination of the other or if one is the dissolution of the other. Are we the previous or future level. You can't tell by looking. That's why you need guides, ha. But in this relativistic sense, we are made in the image of the next level, just as the next level is composed of us. Genesis got it right, but nothing that followed from that has. So ponder this. Go ponder. Go. Ponder. But the clue is that if you see it this way, there is motion toward good, wholeness, and fulfillment; and who wants to embrace the other. Go." (6/13/98 - V#32)

"There are just as many smart people there, too. Think about this. Everyone here will, after being here, be there, so you get the benefits. And when someone is ready to move on from there, they don't come here. So if you take the integral of smartness there and here, it is larger there than here. It's just that we have so many more in total, and we know what we know, while you people don't know what you know... you know... no... huh. It's all there and here." (6/16/98 - V#33)

TL:

"Rikkity hasn't changed, no, but yes. It's the same old story: nothing lost but much enhanced. Remember, almost all of what you think of as bad in your world is a lack of something, not the presence of something. So when the void is filled, you lose nothing--literally--and gain something and are enhanced. And now I will go." (6/16/98 - W#95)

"Question: Evil: Systemic quality or situational reality? I can't tell from the great and mighty Rikkity which it is.

"What appears as a continuity of evil is not. It is not a force. It is the situational occurrence of unstable combinations of spiritual energy. It comes and goes. There are few examples of specific atrocities that are the same. People are as inventive with bad as they are with creativity. If there were a continuity of evil it would be the same... not, as it is said, 'rearing its ugly head' in new and pernicious ways. But there appears to be similarity because in the human sphere there are only so many ways that energy sucking seems to manifest itself. So now we use guns and then we used arrows, but both were used to compensate for a feeling of intense need for energy and power.

"It is actually the opposite. If we think of evil as systemic then we spend and focus energy on something that is not real, and that is a form of evil itself. To use energy that could be positive to fill the energy needs of a phantom energy drain is to waste goodness. Let me be specific: Crusades. There was no evil in the Holy Land. Islam is not evil--no more evil than any religion that has grown beyond its spiritual foundation, but it was not specifically evil. But the Crusades spent a lot of energy against supposed evil, and all the energy was wasted with death and suffering while at home people starved. To treat situational badness as evil is as bad as ignoring the situational badness. Both refocus energy in less than good ways. If energy is not focused on connection and connecting it is no better than what it seeks to address." (7/2/98 - R#22)

"Question: How can you say that spirits come back with all they have learned and remembered, when children seem so helpless, clueless, and needing support to grow up? And the answer is 85... no, that's the speed of the train to Philadelphia. This one is:

"There's a big difference between physical growth and spiritual growth. The bodies that house us do need nurture; they are organisms. But our spirits do not need the same. Yes, some children arrive helpless and clueless spiritually (first-timers), but who has ever been a parent without sensing, almost at birth, that there is already personality there that is not the result of nurture or genetics. Some children are born so-called old beings. Not that they are smarter, but that they are wiser--more focused, more fulfilled, more showing a sense of what and who they are.

"In this life, we can nurture our children's bodies, make a safe and open environment for their spirits, and recognize that we and they alike are traveling our paths. And it is not that we are further along, it is just that this time we got back here first. And that mutual need for and to nurture and support, is one more evidence of our connection. So look deep, and you will sense this truth. And if it were not so, how do you explain child prodigies. It came from somewhere beyond." (7/2/98 - V#34)

"If you try to think of existence in terms of time or space, you will miss out on most of what's happening, babe. While an image of Spiritual Persistence may look like physical realities of time and space--like here and now, or there and then--it is all beyond such, except as it plays out in your spiritual dimension.

"Why do people with the first vestiges of intelligence think they know it all and it all looks like their first meager inkling. It would be like trying to describe New York City from the glow on the clouds seen from Trenton. That's it.

"Use the images that work, but remember they are just approximations--no better than an Impressionist's canvas as a road map to anywhere." (7/5/98 - B#17)

Great-grandma Harry:

"So, how you been. Tell me about it--or better don't. I travel and meet the greatest people. I'm dapper. I know how to dress: wingtips, tweed, and the tie and matching handkerchief, and hat--felt, brown with a rakish feather, red. I am happy. It's great, but no market for medical goods. But who needs work.

"I befriend those who are on the road but alone. That is, those who have no contact here nor back there. Some there be who travel the heavens alone but star in their own galaxy, which I help them see. Some recently, and some long dead. And I must go. I go and come." (7/15/98 - W#96)

"Just as in Earthly life, there really are no levels; it is a level, and this place is of the same level. If we had different levels, how would we make the connections we need. We might never meet the one we need. Levels are about differences. And class, all together now, 'You can make it if you focus on connections, not differences.' At the next developmental complexity pattern, it's just one level, too." (7/18/98 - V#35)

"A few thoughts from the eternal Moo. Does meaning increase with the increase of spiritual complexity. No. We always have the potential to find 100% of the daily recommended... no, 100% of the meaning applicable to any level we are in. And while it might seem like a hierarchy, it is not. The meaning that applies at the simplest level unlocks the universe as well as the most sublime. When we reach greater complexity we hold, and have to hold, all that is us.

"It would be like asking, 'Which is more meaningful, 2 + 2 = 4 or a² + 3a - 12 = 15.' They both have equal meaning, and you can't get the more complex without the other. So don't get proud about how much meaning you've discerned. It ain't better than any other level, and it ain't worse. It just is.

"So the question always becomes, 'Do you find this meaningful. If so, how.' And there are no grades. It's like the stupid teachers in middle school who would ask, 'What do you think about this,' and then try to give it a grade. Hey, it's what I was thinking about it. Go for the meaning, and by that I mean personal meaning." (7/28/98 - V#36)

Lenny:

"So how's it going. So look, I got a great deal for you. You could use a new TV. Only $100 for 32-inch. In the original carton. Factory-sealed overstock. No damage. Brand new. I got it at my store at Park and 134th--it's a corner, after 10pm. So maybe $75 and you take 2. So what is it, you don't trust Lenny? She said you fell for everything. So, why do you not trust me and you trust those other dealers and hucks who try to fill your head with garbage. 'Just keep that thought,' she says. I gotta run."

Rikkity: "He's so cute. He's such a dealer. GW will explain. And now, the father of our country--and what a delivery it was." (7/31/98 - W#97)

GW:

"You have met my young acquaintance, Lenny; and you note I don't say friend. But he is full of words, so are so many others. I warn you of this: unless you sanctify your spirit, do not accept the words of such as he.

"Here's what I mean. None of us here would ever suppose to imagine or ordain what the coming age will be like. I can tell you this, however. The coming age will not be built from models that have been or are prescribed, but will arise as the natural consequence of the combined wills of all the beings who shape your world. The human task is to strive for personal fulfillment of spirit, so that the collective spirit may flourish and excel and become fulfilled in itself. If one tries to imagine the forms it will take before they arise naturally, they will be either misled or mistaken or even atrophied. So when a Lenny comes to sell you the future, know that it's not his to give--nor anyone else's--but it is yours and ours and everyone's to create together. Those who have the most complete picture of heaven will probably never see it. So don't be quick to listen to Lenny, or fasten yourself to images and models that do not come from yourself. That is to prejudge.

"But we so long for an answer, we do not hear its eternal chime in the voices of those who join together in the chorus of questions. For the Earth did not spring up from a previous plan, but came forth from the void as the thought-piece of the eternal ones. It was nothing like what had been or been imagined.

"And now I must take a gracious leave of this good company, with warnings that there are Lennys everywhere--even in the spiritual dimension." (7/31/98 - W#98)

"People have this problem of priorities. They often choose to see secondary ones as primary. Look at the trajectory of your life. Are you focused on where you are aiming, or on where you've been, or where you are. Can't get on with the journey facing away from your direction.

"Here's a simple task (no, not to do, but to consider). Write every aspect of your life on a separate 3" x 5" card. Now spread them out, and then look at them all. Which ones look to the future? Throw out the rest. Now, from those, place them in the order of happening. What comes first, and then what will be most productive of the end ones. Those are your priorities. Things that look forward, are doable now, and have the highest likelihood to get you to your goals. It's that simple. Doing now what has the greatest potential to fulfill you in the future. That's Rikkity's lesson for the day." (8/11/98 - B#18)

"People need to know that personal contact is not the only path to spiritual connection. Otherwise, it's like a family reunion at which everyone talks but nothing real gets said. Are we after contact or content. There's a lot of dead tea ladies... and only a few Buddhas." (8/11/98 - V#37)

"You don't have to have a revolution to have revolutionary change. In fact, when you destroy the old to make way for the new, the new will always be connected to the old. But if you allow the old to fade in the bright sunshine of the new, the new can stand alone. So don't point any guns. You are here to build, not destroy. The future will contain the past, but it must contain it as a reality that is, was, or will be subsumed under the rubric of the emergent new order. Hey, you want to create water, you don't do it by destroying hydrogen. Use, not destroy. That's all. " (8/16/98 - Y#26)

"Angels are figments of imagination... or symbols of the interactive nature of the relationship between the temporal physical realm and the eternal manifestation of a spiritual or psychic, I guess, so they're present within existence. Some say guides, some say spirits, the Church copyrighted angels.

"There has always been a need to see some form of the Divine that could literally touch the human. But hey, if you sense the Divine within you, you don't need it. Rather than divine messengers and protectors, we really have divine companions--us and you and them and et al. Ahhh, just call me angel of the morning.

"Angels are not separate. There is only one reality, but it has many levels of complexity. If we had beings who had never been human, then we would have more than one reality. And if we have two, why not three or 87. And some of the 87 could be so-called evil, which is not true. Think of it: a tea-lady reality, unable to sustain itself. No customers.

"You see, in this cleverly and pathetically simple way, I have masterfully demonstrated that there is either a single reality of great complexity, or an infinite number of incomplete and unstable realities. And which do you think can sustain itself. Obviously, the one... and its elves and fairies and gnomes... garden gnomes. But not trolls.

"Here's a thought: If elves and gnomes don't really exist, how come every culture has some form of this being in its mythology. Because it's symbolic of smaller (i.e., less complex) spiritual beings. So see, we know what we don't think we know. And angels symbolize more complex spiritual beings (i.e., God). And we're stuck here in the middle." (9/11/98 - V#38)

"So, listen up. If we focus in a direction, we can access information in that direction, but we may lose it in another. This is an important lesson. You, as physical beings, are limited in the direction of sight and sound and touch and... o yes... spirit. Surprised? If that is a sense, then it also is limited to the extent that you can and do focus and direct it. So some psychics have great powers of vision, but are narrow-minded. The gift of sight does not mean we see all. Not there, not here, not yet.

"One of the aspects of the growing complexity of the spirit is that it takes on more facets, each directed in a unique direction. And the whole and the entity (which are the same) have that many more psychic eyes. When we say 'God is able to see all,' that does not mean he can or she can or it can peek under bathroom stalls. It means that there abides a capacity to receive information from all directions of all natures. It is that the Divine is able to receive all, not that it is able to look at all.

"As we combine in our spiritualpersistence.com, we entities bring, not only our spirits, but also our awarenesses. We grow to become a great array of antennae--open, ready, receptive. At the level we are now, we have many antennae, but not nearly all or enough; and many we have don't get used. So it is good to try to use and develop the ones we have but under-use, but sometimes people, aka entities, try to develop and use antennae they don't have. What a waste. What a tragedy. Example: A person who is fully attuned to Western thought may strive to become attuned to Eastern, but the best they can do is go through the motions, while all the time their capacity for deeper reasoning is neglected. Watch for those who focus on means, not ends, and there they are in costume and play-acting. And remember, no one set of antennae is correct. In the end, we'll need them all. That's it. Ponder it." (9/15/98 - I#17)

GW at a chat session on Energy:

"A gracious good evening to you, and to all your company. I would like to say a few words about war. One of my times was during the American Revolution. The British wanted to keep us as an energy source, so to speak. The British, at that time, were 'collecting' energy sources. We were willing, at first, to comply, because we received from them all manner of advantages--such as an established government, protection from enemies, goods we could not make ourselves, etc. But then the balance began to shift. They began to ask more of us than they gave in return, and we could not live with that. We tried and tried. We made excuses for them and proclaimed our loyalty and asked their indulgence... but they were not indulgent, they were demanding; and we simply hadn't the resources to satisfy their demands. It became impossible for us to live under those conditions. So we revolted, with sadness and regret, but with vision and hope for a better future for this country. And now I thank you for your attendance here, and for listening to this old spirit rant on. I bid you a gracious good evening." (9/27/98 - W#99)

"Fuses all look different. It could be people, or distance, or a setting, or even tranquilizers... whatever stops an undue amount of energy flowing from you without the fuse also taking energy. That's the key. Some people use another person as a fuse between them and another, but that fuse takes as much energy or more. Substitute holes are not fuses. It's not about stopping wasteful energy flow to a certain place, but about stopping it altogether. Got it. It's controlling the energy without using any itself.

"I give another example. You have a pesky acquaintance and she will suck you dry; so you decide to see her only in social settings--that is, not one-on-one. But if the others who fill out the scene demand energy they are not fuses. So, suppose someone else can shut her up but that other needs a lot of attention. What's the difference. Switches change energy direction; fuses protect your spiritual circuits. You can get just as fried by a short circuit to a water pipe as you can to a shit pile. Just because it's pure water doesn't mean the pipe can't suck your energy as much as the shit, ok." (9/29/98 - R#23)

MCP at a chat session on Living and Enjoying:

"Thank-a you-a all! It's good to be here! I want to talk about hats-a. Elissa and RevRandy think I like-a big hats-a because they're funny and because they can see them from a distance. But it's more than that, as you've probably guessed by now. Distance is the key, and my hats keep me just a little bit apart from my friends and fellow travelers.

"Traveling does that, too, does it not. We travel for many reasons: to see new places, to meet new people, to get away from where we've been. But what we usually find when we return is that we have a new perspective on where we started from. We can't see clearly when we're too close, and we can't know one another unless we have a little distance between us. So, when you're on your path and you meet friends and fellow travelers, laugh with them and talk with them, live and enjoy with them, but keep in mind that although they are on the path with you they are not you, you are not them.

"We all have our own place and we are not interchangeable. We are parts of a grand universal puzzle, and we don't yet have the perspective to see the whole picture. Be concerned with your own journey. And have fun! Thanks for listening. I have to go change my hat now. Nice-a to-a meet-a you-a all-a! Buona sera." (10/4/98 - W#100)

"Do we get glimpses of the future in dreams, yes and no. This is not a deterministic universe, but there are certain paths we travel. So, you plan to go to New York City. Will you pass through Philadelphia, yes and no; some will, some won't. And maybe a dream about a cracked bell is not about going there, but about one's crazy family. We learn things, but don't always know where they apply. And sometimes, being clueless lets us be the most aware... or not." (10/6/98 - B#19)

"By the way, I have an option on the Temple of Wisdom. 8 rooms with running water... lots of running water. But here's a question for you: if the inhabitants of Atlantis were basically spiritual and still are, then why the hell does it matter if it is under water. Really spiritual beings of a higher complexity would not be physically inconvenienced by a fall of a physical culture. The true believer does not despair when the temple falls, for the temple was never the faith anyway. It is not a place of dwelling nor creation, but only of illumination and announcement, like all temples and mosques and churches. Any faith that requires a physical home ain't much of a faith.

"Here's another thought. Humanists are so upset by spiritualism, but if they were really human-ists (that's intentional)... human-ists... they would acknowledge that much of being human defies any rational scientific explanation. And pseudo-science is not any better than pseudo-religion... or suede couches... or Naugahyde--genuine Naugahyde™, accept no substitutes.

"The truth is in a religion whose names you cannot pronounce and whose beliefs are beyond beyond belief. And it is one with you and you are one in it, and it is bigger than you and yet you contain it within you, and you cannot know its limits. But someday, in the fullness of time, you will. And then you will know that truth is only a subset of something else, which you cannot name or imagine now, ha." (10/9/98 - I#18)

Marky at a chat session on Learning and Remembering:

"Bonjour, dear friends! Bonjour? Bonsoir. May I have your attention, s'il vous plait? Thank you. I was in the military, so I still say these things. I am a friend of Rikkity's, as you know. I also am her guide, and she is mine. We guide each other. We share our wisdom and learnings and help each other grow. It's about connections... but in a way it is also about differences. And that is what I would like to talk about tonight.

"You all know the Garden of Eden story from Genesis? It is part of our culture; we are weaned on it. But who really understands it? The story is about learning and remembering! Now, Adam and Eve, they had it all--love, and each other, and oolala the food! What didn't they have? They did not have remembering, and never would have it if they stayed in the Garden. Why? Because they had to leave to experience what they had to remember. You cannot learn, and therefore you cannot remember... and they could not learn because they had no personal responsibility! There were no consequences for their actions!

"Now, let's talk about fig leaves. What is that all about? Ok, what do the leaves cover? What is the 'generic' term we use for that 'area'? Private parts, no? It is not about shame, it is not about temptation, it is about keeping what is private private! It is about BOUNDARIES. If there are no boundaries between you, there is no personal responsibility. And if there is no personal responsibility, there is no what? Learning or remembering. To recap: The Garden of Eden story... it is about two people who had no personal responsibility and no consequences for the actions and no boundaries between them. What happened? They could not learn! And if they could not learn, they surely could not remember! So they had to accept responsibility and they had to wear clothing, or fig leaves, to cover what was private so they could have boundaries. And then they began to learn.

"The man and the woman represent different physical energies. They are aspects of the same thing--sexuality--but they are different, and have to experience each other in order to learn certain lessons.They are not the same, and that of course is one of the lessons (a pleasant one, I might add!) The blame comes in when the story is misunderstood. It was not just the woman who wanted that apple. Why is that not clear? The man took it willingly. It was his decision, too. He was not just a 'pawn' in the game! He was a team player. The decision, the choice, was a mutual one and it was made for growth and purpose. This was not a mistake, but what they needed to do in order to become fully who they were. But now I must go. So I bid you all adieu and thank you." (10/11/98 - W#101)

MW at a chat session on Grief, Death, and the Afterlife:

"Dearest friends, I thank you for your gracious attention. My life as MW was filled with loss--2 children and 2 husbands. My darling Patsy was the light of my life. She was but 12 when she passed over here, and then my son followed. I have stood beside the graves of many--both my own family and that of my friends; for in my time, death was a daily visitor and a close companion.

"I would like to share with you some thoughts and questions I have found helpful. We question a lot here, you know--probably more than you do there--and one of my questions has to do with burials. Why is it that we consign our loved ones to the ground? I have pondered this, and I'll tell you what thought has arisen. The Earth is our hope. The Earth contains our hope for healing and rebirth. I do not believe it is 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust.' I believe that we look to the Earth for growth; and so that is where we put our beloved ones, that their death might encourage hope to grow within our souls. The Earth is a healing thing. Anyone who has ever been in pain and found that the song of the birds or the smell of the honeysuckle or the wind through the trees has brought them peace knows what I mean. There is great healing in nature, and we do not often realize this until we are in pain. We take it for granted; but it is our home, our foundation, our security; and yes, our hope for the future.

"Here's another thought for you: if there were a rainstorm, what would survive, the tree or the moss? Silly question, you might say, but let's see what it means. The moss has no roots. It clings to the Earth for dear life, but it doesn't commit to it. It remains on the surface and never really becomes part of it. It cannot withstand a storm because it is not connected and it is not committed to life. The tree grows roots deep into the Earth. Nothing grows deeper roots than trees, and yet it does not stay below the ground; and we do not define a tree by its roots, but there is its connection to life. The tree does not question why or how or how much... it simply accepts, commits, and grows. We all could learn a lot from the strength of trees. They are there for us, and the Earth is there for us--a sort of 'university of the spirit.' So the tree remains through the storm, and the moss washes away. Perhaps the next time you find yourself down on your knees asking 'why,' you might remember this simple story. I leave it for you to ponder, and now I must take my leave. Thank you, dear friends, for your gracious attention and company. I bid you a fond farewell." (10/18/98 - W#102)

TL at a chat session on Time:

"Thank you. It is the end of Daylight Savings Time. Let's think together a bit about how we look at time, because how we look at it has to do with how we experience it. 'Time is money.' You've all heard that expression... well, I was an accountant so that means a lot to me. But hear what these things are saying: time is money, wasting time, spending time, making time, doing time, having time. We are telling ourselves that time is a resource! Time is not an entity (hi, Seth!) in and of itself; it is a resource for us to use, just as numbers are.

"The number 1, is that a thing? Does it exist apart from our idea of it? Did you ever meet a 'one'? How many forty-threes have you encountered in the supermarket lately? We know that numbers have no reality in and of themselves... why then do we persist in believing that days do? Days are only our way of measuring time. Time is a unit of measure, wholly created by man, to be used as a reference; something to put existence into perspective--which, of course, we must do because we cannot physically deal with reality any other way.

"Think about a spreadsheet for a moment. I'm sure that some of you have known the 'joy of budgeting'! A spreadsheet goes in two directions. The columns that go down are the ones we label with our categories, and the lines that go across are the ones for each day. The days are our measurement of time, but in order to sum up our 'balances' and see the totals, we do not look at the entries for each day, we look down the columns. We know that the important thing to look at is the content of the categories, not the daily activity. It's the same with time.You may have one category called 'Eating out at nice restaurants,' one called 'Chatting online with friends,' one called 'Vacations,' one called 'School,' one called 'Love and Marriage,' one called 'Children,' one called 'Holidays,' and on and on and on. Your life is filled with and by these rich and various contents of your categories, not by the hours in your days... or the days of your lives, haha.

"When you want to add up the balance of a life, you do not measure it in how many days a person existed physically, you measure it by how full the columns are. What's the total? We don't care about the crap that goes in between, and we don't care about how long the columns are. What we care about intensely and eternally and completely is this: What fills your columns? I have finished my little speech, and I will bid you all a fond farewell, as my friend MW likes to say. Goodnight, and thank you for having me here. Ahhh, I almost forgot. You may take your break, hahahahaha." (10/25/98 - W#103)

"Now about the blonde woman you saw. Try this on for size: She and the little girl are the same spirit. She has been trying, over time, to be a material girl, if you will. So the difference in age you saw was just a representation of her in terms you could see. You saw her at two attempts--one and the same spirit, trying to get in the same room. And, as you remember from an earlier lesson, children don't have to wait as long to move on; just needed another generation. But spirits don't call dibs. We are not one-dimensional, but if you little brains are going to get it, we need representations that you can get." (10/31/98 - I#19)

At a chat session on Dimensions of the Spirit:

"Ok, please pay attention because there will be a test... probably more than one, haha. This is about dimensions of the spirit. There aren't any, at least not the way you think about them. Spirits don't have dimensions because spirits are not physical. Let's talk about being physical and what that means. How do you become physical? You focus your energy in the physical realm. It takes enormous energy to create the structures of your physical body. You don't think about it. You think it must all be happening somehow... sort of like magic... but you don't think about it unless and until you feel ill or sick or tired. Nevertheless, the energy it takes to sustain that body of yours is unimaginable. Just think how much energy it would take for you to do anything without having to think about it. We call that genius. You're all geniuses in a way. So give yourselves gold stars, and then come on back to reality, hahaha. Ok, we're back.

"Now that you understand (I hope) about energy in the physical, let's point you in another direction. Actually you're already in another direction. By becoming physical you turn your back on the spiritual world. We don't take offense. We know it's what you need to do. But you can learn to turn around again. Where you put your focus is the key that opens the door. It's all about focus and it's all about energy and it's all about love.

"You've heard about people (and Mom is one of them) who've had NDEs. What is it they all talk about. How much love they felt on the other side. They all know that feeling of unconditional, supportive, nonjudgmental, and complete love. You don't feel it. Why is that. Is it because that kind of love is only here? Where is here? That love is all around you, and the reason you don't feel it is because you're focused in another direction. We are right here, as E.T. says (I loved that little guy). Reach out, and listen for the love. Keep your heart open. It doesn't reside in Heaven, or another place, but it is all around you, within you, part of your being, part of the air you breathe. You can have that feeling whenever you want it. So what's the problem. You don't trust yourselves or your perceptions, and that's part of the problem.

"You are taught all your life that there is the real and there is the imaginary or the fantasy. Teachers in school grade you on how well you do what they want you to do. Everyone wants to be liked and have friends, so we go along with the crowd because the crowd supports us and, as I said before, it takes enormous energy (read support and love) to sustain our physical beings. We have to teach ourselves (or you do) that we can make it without that, that the universe is here to help, that spirits are all around us, just waiting to come to our call. The doors are waiting to be opened.

"It takes trust, and it takes courage, and it takes some experience that has cut into your heart and shown what's inside. Once you can trust, you can do anything that you are meant to do. You can truly create your reality, because you understand that all you need to do is reach out for the elements you need out of the materials the universe provides. Your dreams show you that. In dreams you don't focus on the physical. You can be who and where you always are, but just not with your conscious awareness. There's nothing magical about what we do, or what Mom does, or what Ocallah or Di or RevRandy does. This is real life, and all they--and many others of you--do is get glimpses of that which is always there and available. No mystery.

"One more thing: about prayers. Prayer is powerful, but it isn't the words. Does anyone know why it's so powerful? It's your intent, your energy. Prayer is turning around in the other direction. And one more thing: the focus (almost the same thing as intent). But you can do that with anything... pray a letter to someone, pray an action you've always wanted to take, pray a hug or a kindness, pray a dream or a desire. Use that same kind of energy in your daily lives, and then you will see magic! Wow, I've said a lot, ha." (11/1/98 - I#20)

Questions and answers at a chat session on Dimensions of the Spirit:

"So if there is no evil and love is all there is, what should we do with people who seem bent on hurting or taking advantage of us? That is such a problem for so many people. You think if you're strong and loving, that means you have to give--even to those who don't give in return, even to those who give only pain in return. Try to remember that your choices will not make or break someone else. Try to remember that you can, and really must, focus your energy where it will be helpful and creative and loving. But you don't need to focus your energy on feeding those who don't love you back. Give them understanding if you want to, but don't give them your energy to feed on. That will only sustain their need, and not fill it. To fill it they must find ways to create their own energy." (11/1/98 - R#24)

"What about loving our enemies? Loving your enemies does not mean feeding them and making it possible for them to go on hurting you! Loving your enemies simply means acknowledging them as fellow human beings who are on a journey of their own. It means not making them into more than they are. Got it? Ok, good. And with that I gotta go. Goodbye." (11/1/98 - R#25)

"You say there is no devil, Satan. Is our ego actually Satan? The ego is not Satan. The ego is what you need to have in order to deal with physical reality. Now, when we let the fear of the ego's dissolution get the better of us, we feel it is evil, but it's not. Satan is the embodiment of that which we fear. It's made up, and it's sort of like the boogey man parents use to keep their kids in line sometimes. It's an image for that which we don't understand. Physical beings concretize everything. That's why it's so hard for you to learn, and it takes so many lives for you to remember. Try this: every time you find yourself thinking about something abstract using a concrete word or image, stop. Let it feel, let it be, see if that doesn't lead to a different understanding. Don't be so quick to jump to what appears as an answer. It will be likely to lead you to a dead end." (11/1/98 - I#21)

"When we feel alone and abandoned, how can we connect to our green room of friends? What can we do to alleviate the feeling of unconnectedness and loneliness? Ok, we're all here. We haven't gone anywhere. It's your focus that has wandered. Remember that, and look around you in your dark times. All you have to do is remember to look, and then see who appears. And if you focus on looking, believe me, someone will appear to help you." (11/1/98 - I#22)

Terra at a chat session on Purpose of Life, Connection, and the Evolution of the Soul:

"It is my pleasure to be with you. We have not had many chances to speak together, but when we have it was most enjoyable for me. Dear friends, I have come tonight to talk about connection, about separation, and about perspective.

"I made my home in a land very far from here and very different. Our ways were unlike yours and our skies were as well. When I looked up, I saw very different stars, and a different pattern than the one you see. And yet I still saw stars, did I not. And that is a very simple example of how we can focus on connections instead of differences. You see, it starts in these small ways--looking for the universals in our experience; looking for the connections.

"I used to like to ride my beautiful brown mare across our ranch lands. It was a wonderful feeling of freedom--almost like flight. But every so often I would run up against an obstacle... a fence would present itself. I would stop, although I could have forced it to yield to me. I would let it stop me; accepting my boundaries, but knowing I could still see beyond them. I did not have to be on the other side in order to know what it looked like and what was there. You see? So although there was separation, there was connection and understanding.

"Now, I had the gift of seeing in another way as well. I was a psychic, as many of you here are. But in my world and time that separated me from many whom I loved and who loved me. They saw me as different, strange, alien, and they locked me up in an asylum because they didn't know what else to do. You see, they were defined by who they were not, and they were not like me... or so they thought. They could not keep me there, because of course I was not crazy. But it broke my heart at the same time it taught me how we separate ourselves from one another by our own definitions of who we are. What a waste.

"Do you know the story of Pinocchio? Many children love this story, but not many understand its deeper meaning. Pinocchio was Rikkity's favorite children's story, by the way, and so she is grinning at me. Pinocchio had to learn how to be a 'real' boy. That meant he had to learn who he was; but more than that, he had to learn who he was in connection with others, and the only way he could do it was by being 'reborn' from the belly of the whale. Like Jonah. But read the story again and see if you can find the thread that runs through it that you might have missed before. Pinocchio tries to define himself in terms of what he is not, or what he wants to be, or who he believes he should be, or what others say they want him to be. It doesn't work. When he accepts who he is, and his connection to his father, that is when he becomes himself. This may seem simplistic, but often it is the simple things we miss on our journey. Never forget that everything you find in your world is a signpost, a symbol, a puzzle to be deciphered, a code. Physical life is a richness of symbolic meanings.

"And so the next time you look up at the stars, remember that they are not the same stars everyone sees, but that everyone sees stars and admires their light. Be connected to all things loving, protected from all things evil, and guided in all ways gracious. I bid you goodnight." (11/8/98 - W#104)

"About the Earth changes. Look to the flow of time and the cycles of being. It's a cycle, not a trend. Hey, why do you think all that sand is out there in the desert... waiting to be a beach, ha. But yes, there are changes going on, and in about 3 million years this place will look different. And just think about how insignificant the Y2K problem will seem in 2M.

"It's about projection of an inward desire for, or need, to an outward reality. Look back at Jesus's time; it was the same. Apocalypse here and apocalypse now. Yearnings of the soul take root in the prophecies of culture, but manifest in the evolution of perception. The shift is not in reality, but in perception. A long time ago I said that... or not." (11/13/98 - B#20)

At a chat session on Rikkity's Entity and Friends:

"Hey guys, what's up? So, welcome to the end of the rainbow. It's quite a journey we've had together. But it's far from over. As a matter of fact, it's just begun! And it will continue to begin and become, and in another sense it has been and it's over and it was awesome! I am here tonight as Dorothy. I have with me GW as the Cowardly Lion, CT as the Scarecrow, and TL as the Tin Man. Also lurking in the background are MW, Terra, Marky, and MCP. And I believe Papa and Don promised to do a fly-over and buzz the chatroom!

"I'm going to talk to you a little bit about journeys and about doors. Have you ever noticed how many doors are in The Wizard of Oz? Have you ever noticed how many different kinds of doors there are in the story? There are hatches and curtains and heavy wooden gates and beautifully carved portals. This a story about doors. Dorothy must go through one to get to Oz, and then go through a whole series of them before she gets to go home. So, let's all link arms and follow that yellow brick road of learning and remembering together for a while.

"As you skip down the path--or dance, as I like to--with your friends, you will encounter many doors and many experiences. You will care for one another and you will bandage each other's wounds. You will sleep and you will play. You will run and you will hesitate. You will laugh and you will cry in terror and pain. You are all on the same path, the same road, and you travel through so many similar experiences. You will perhaps reach Oz, perhaps not (in this lifetime, I mean). But you will get there eventually, and you will march up to that gate and 'bid it open.' What will your door look like. At that moment, you will need to know what your door looks like--and it will not be the same door everyone passes through. CT and TL and GW and MW and Terra cannot all be channeled at once. Mommy would be upset! Haha. And although we can travel with arms linked together, when we get to our own door it will be ours alone. It is at that point that we must know it and be willing to go through it and be willing to accept that the journey is over at this level. Now, it also means we must trust. We must trust ourselves enough to feel we are finished; and we must trust each other enough to know that, when we take that deep breath and bid our door open and step through to the other side, all of our friends and loved ones will be either waiting there to greet us or will be there in the fullness of time.

"This journey is about trust. And this journey is about connecting with one another and looking behind the curtain without fear. Take my hand, and take the hand of the person next to you. Draw courage from us and from each other. Now look toward your future and know that it is as glorious as the Land of Oz. We are here for a purpose. It is not the purpose that was ordained or determined, but it is happening because we are ready for it to happen. You all are brave and beautiful souls, and we rejoice in your becoming and in your learning and remembering. Stay on the path with one another... follow the Yellow Brick Road and it will lead you to Oz. But to get home you must find the door within your own soul, and click your own heels.

"There's something I want to share with you, because you all have become friends to me. When I left your world, I had learned one thing: how to love. That was my gift and my treasure, and I share it with all of you. I trusted who I was and that who I was was enough. I knew I could not be perfect and that some people wanted me to be. But I trusted I was ok and that if there were things I needed that I did not have, someone else would have them. Two weeks before I died, I wrote this, and it's written on my plaque at my gravesite:

In my world, friends have been seasons and I have lived as treely as a tree can. Shedding shedding always shedding friendly leaves. I want, more than everything, to be granted wings and move with the sun and to be able to hold you all close to me. So sing around me and dance and cry. Yell about frustration and throw things at me. Think about life and touch me and know me. And maybe if I stand really still, and wish really hard for the summer to stay, it won't. But maybe you will.

"And now, with tears in my eyes, I know you will. I love you all. Love one another. Be connected to all things loving, protected from all things evil, and guided in all ways gracious (and forgive mommy's typing for she knows not what she does!). Goodnight." (11/15/98 - W#105)

Papa:

"Hello. Been busy in the basement, hahaha. Actually, Eri is the talker and I'm the doer. I have so many that depend on me. And they are all grateful--not like the living, if you catch my drift. So I stay very busy--which I like--with my stuff. Why is it that if you do it for others, or do it concretely, they say you are working; but if you do it for yourself spiritually, you aren't working. So I choose to say 'busy' not 'work.' All the friends at the beach depend on my wit and wisdom, ha. And Don doesn't like to fly alone. It's like that: busy, but not working. But here we don't need money. And so I've got to go, I'm busy. But thanks for the [anniversary] flowers and peanut butter. Love you." (11/27/98 - W#106)

MW at a chat session on External Expectations:

"Thank you, and welcome to all the dear souls present. I have something to say about expectations that comes from experience. In one of my lives I was quite famous. My husband was actually far more famous than I was, but everyone knew who I was. Or did they. They all thought they knew who I should be, and wanted me to become their expectations; but I was not very good at that. It was interesting what occurred as a result. Instead of seeing me as I really was, they began to see me as what you call 'wishy-washy' or colorless. Ha! that's something I was never accused of being by those who knew me well! And yet, they saw me as invisible because they did not see me as I was.

"Imagine, if you will, a house. The house has many rooms, and in one room a large party is going on. You look for the people you know at that party, and notice that some you thought would be there are not. You sigh and shake your head and think, 'O, I guess they didn't come for some reason.' Now, at the same time, in the next room, are two of the people who you were looking for. One is there to comfort the other. They have separated themselves from the crowd so that they each can get what they need for themselves and for each other. But you don't see them, and you don't even think of looking for them in that other room... of extending your boundaries a little bit to include something new and unexplored. So you miss them. They, on the other hand, know you are there in the other room, but feel no need to interrupt their journey.

"In all our lives, we are sometimes the ones at the party and sometimes the ones in the other room. Try to remember that just because you don't always see what you expect to see in someone, it doesn't mean they are not there for you and don't have gifts to offer. Stay at the party if you must, but understand those who choose not to are not denying or revolting against your expectations... they are only doing what they need to do for themselves. It is a journey we all travel together, this trying to discover who we are. If we can make it less hard on each other, we will all travel faster and in a more direct route. I bid you a fond farewell and a pleasant evening. Thank you for your company and your love, and I offer you mine. Goodnight." (11/29/98 - W#107)

"All the celebrations of the spirit are more about what will come than about what has happened. So D-Day is a loser; Easter is good or bad, depending on your theology; 4th of July can be either as well. Most are ambi-meaningful. But a few are just awful, like Hiroshima Day and Holocaust Remembrance Day. Ramadan is interesting because it embraces both themes--day is loser and night is winner, but only in contrast to day. And anything that celebrates a military victory is a loser, and fleeting anyway. If it doesn't connect beyond one people, POOF. And we are on the verge... don't step on the verge... of some new transglobal celebrations of hope--already but not yet." (12/4/98 - B#21)

TL at a chat session on Balance:

"Hello, everyone! It's so good to be here with you tonight, especially with the holidays coming and the light of peace and hope so abundant within us, if not without in the world. Now, I want to talk about that light, how do we find it and where do we look. In the spirit world there are no dark spaces--except those you keep within yourself. But here in your world you see darkness everywhere. You don't recognize it as being within you. You don't understand that you can choose your focus so you don't see it. You think you must see it because it is there and besides, everyone says so! Bah humbug! The spirit, the light is always there; the darkness and the concrete are your choice to look at.

"Here's an interesting analogy: the Jewish people (and I was one of them in my last life) use the word G-d to denote God. Where's the 'o'? In Hebrew, the vowels were thought of as the spirit of the words and the consonants were the content, or the concrete. You could change a word by changing its vowels, its spirit; and so you did not use the vowels in the name of God! Vowels are also used whenever we speak emotionally: OOOOOO! aaaaaahhh! ayyyyeeeeee! Vowels are the process and the spirit of the words, just as the spirit of the universe is in its changeable essence and not in its concrete content. You know that, and yet you fear change and so you have difficulty finding or focusing on the essence and the spirit.

"Here's another analogy (I like analogies): Have you ever walked a puppy who didn't want to be walked? In that situation you have 3 choices:
1. You can stay with the puppy wherever it has stopped until it changes its mind. If you do that, you might have a long wait, you will miss what's ahead, you will probably get bored as well. But it is the way that takes the least effort and the least faith.
2. You can pull the puppy along. That is a hard thing to do! You will drag the puppy and your back will probably ache and your wrist and fingers will get sore. You will get where you're going but it will take a lot of time and energy. At the end, you will probably need a good rest or you will need to do something for yourself that is energizing. Maybe you will buy yourself a present. Retail therapy, ha. Can you see now how this might relate to the holidays? When we try to drag the past with us, we get tired!
3. Take the leash off and let the puppy go! If the puppy is yours and likes you, chances are it will follow you and you will have both the puppy and your energy and (I know that's 3 things, haha) a future path to envision. The freedom you will feel is the freedom of the energy being available to shine brightly and illuminate that path on your way to the future.

"One day, not too long in the future, we will all celebrate the light that is hope and universal peace. We will no longer wear ourselves out shopping and buying things to make us feel better. We will not need things to make us feel that our needs are being met, for we will have the love and companionship of one another and we will have the unity of this world and my own. All this tonight has been as a way of saying: focus on the light, focus on that which sustains and remains eternally. All people know hope and the yearning for peace. You don't need to know about Christmas to know about that. The holiday that celebrates the light has always been and it will always be. Just as the vowels can change the spirit of a word, our spirit can change the meaning of our experience. It's in your hands, and in your hearts. Thank you, and I hope your holiday season is filled with the light of peace and hope... and that you train that puppy! Goodnight, my friends." (12/6/98 - W#108)

"In fact, the biggest problem we have is when we get the answers and solutions before the questions and problems. So here's a Point to Ponder: The energy spent on a solution with no problem is wasted. And the solution is also wasted, because once shown and found meaningless, it will not be accorded respect when the problem arises, and so it is wasted. So ponder that... or not.

"A road to nowhere is just as much a dead end as a quiet cul-de-sac with beautiful trees and coordinated Cape Cod houses. If you can't get anywhere you need to go on it, it is not a path to you. Pretty deep shit.

"So, while time is not a universal, if things within the moment--which you break out as time, but which has no such inherent quality to it--happen in a different sequence, then your reality would be different. And o yes, Pierre will say you can't have sequence without time, and I ask him why he is stuck in one paradigm without any imagination. Hey buddy, much of what you claim as fact and truth was once as foreign to most thought as this idea is to you. If it doesn't make sense, that doesn't automatically mean it ain't so. In fact, if we stuck with only what we know, we'd be stuck in both time and sequence. Let me just say, Amish and Hassidim. Get the picture. But hey, they both eat kraut (look for connections). They both like to wear black and be irrelevant." (12/9/98 - B#22)

At a chat session on New Year's Eve:

"I have a few words I'd like to share with all of you: from, to, gone, awesome, dude... haha. Ok, but seriously, this is a special night for all of you Earthlings, but really it is just another day. But it does give us a wonderful excuse to speak to each other about certain things that are central to our lives and that are always important, but we focus on them today because we feel an urgency that comes from saying it is the last day of the year. It is just the same with the apocalyptic talk about the last days, and the scary stuff that some people would have you believe about the paradigm shift of the new millennium.

"We are facing a change, it is very true and very real. I should say you are facing a change, but actually it is a change from both sides, because both the physical and spiritual worlds will change--and the rumblings are being heard on both sides. This is a joint effort, you see. You are not here by chance, and we are not where we are by chance. I won't give you details, because the details are in you and in the future you and we here will create together. But I will tell you this: what is coming will connect us. What is coming will bring your world and ours together. Think about that. It sounds so simple, and yet the meaning is huge in scope and importance.

"But you each have work to do before that can happen. And for this New Year's Eve, I would like you to take a look at your life. Take a look at the phases--not each and every day, but the phases and segments of your life. Take what you need from it, treasure what you've learned and remembered, take it with you, and leave the rest behind. But leave it behind knowing it will always be there for you and you will never lose anything. Then look at where you are now. Look around you and at the friends gathered here beside you, look at what matters in your life and who is with you and what fulfills you. Take a good long look at those things and don't rush past them, for they are the keys that will open the door of your future. The future will not come to you by rushing toward it. The future will only be there when you are ready for it--when you know who you are and where you are going and what you need. Then and only then, look ahead, turn your gaze down the path to what shines in the distance, and you will find a new world that shines and sparkles with all the hopes and dreams and yearnings that people have had for all time, and that will connect you with both what you now feel as losses and with a future of peace and wholeness and love that was not even dreamt of, Horatio, ever before. With this I leave you. Ponder it, cherish your dreams, love one another. Be well and be whole and carry the word of spirit into the physical. Goodnight and Happy New Year!" (12/31/98 - B#23)

GW:

"Good morning. I need to say something about personalities and roles. We each have our personalities. We are what we are and what we have learned; that cannot be taken from us. Even in conflict or imprisonment we are who we are, a secret from God Almighty that each is named 'Yahweh, I'm what I am.' But each of us also plays roles, both complex and simple. We live out our truths within the truth-stripping realities of roles.

"Now, if my dear MW will forgive me, I will illustrate. I chose a role of husband and, in that role, I had to surrender some of the truth of my being. It is always so. But in return I received a measure of that which is greater than self. But to think you know me through my role is to get only a distorted piece of me, and some of those pieces are incongruous. 'I' the planter and 'I' the general were not interchangeable and, if I were to be judged as a general by my time as a planter, I would surely be demoted to private at best. We must be clear about this distinction." (1/15/99 - W#109)

TJ:

"Now as to roles, and especially the roles of the public office. We have consented together to form this union of lives and purposes, and in doing so we have asked that each citizen should bear the weight of Mr. W's dual obligations of self and role. The roles of our compact are the roles needed for the welfare of the common good. They do not serve anything more than the common good. They do not serve the laws, which are but the temporal expressions of the larger natural laws which embrace us and which we would do well to embrace. But the laws of 300 years ago and the laws of 1789 are not always consistent, so an appeal to law is insufficient for the cause of roles. No, the cause of roles must always be the common good, and who better to know the common good than the common man or, dear friend, woman.

"When any believe they are invested with more of a sense of this than any other, whether by election or erudition or sanctity, they violate this basic trust of roles. For only the common one, in his simple life, can know where the glimmer of the natural and eternal reveals itself. So, we are reduced to understanding all public roles as a projection of the greater good--not the slave to laws, or the expectation of those who claim some form of special standing. And if that be so, then all roles are fluid and serve only the best interests of the people. And, as our honored GW has said, private and public are two different things; one speaks of my being and the other of my acting in society.

"And so I test myself in this simple manner: is what I am doing serving my sense of who I am, and is it serving the larger good as expressed by the society in which I engage. And I care not for whether it meets expectations of kings or parliaments or Congress or even the press, but if I can walk the streets of my country and know that the vast majority of my fellow citizens believe I am well suited to my role and that I fulfill their will. And if it be the will of them to perceive a greater good without a necessity of examining my inner values, so it is their choice.

"And I should note this as well: the role of president for GW was much different than the role for me; and if we establish that role as if law, then we lose the spirit of the people speaking in their times. Think about your times being governed by the sensibilities of 1800. It wouldn't work. And one more note: if any would claim to define the roles against the will of the people, they shall be as tyrants upon a throne of democracy." (1/15/99 - W#110)

Marky:

"Bonjour. I start with these thoughts: in my time, two great experiments occurred--one in America and one in France. One was filled with hope and one with despair. 'It was the best...' oops. And the French did not enjoy the same success that you did, for too soon there arose those who sought vengeance and who felt that they owned the laws. To speak of human expressions of natural law as eternal laws is to play at demagoguery. What must and will sustain a great nation is always its ultimate appeal to the will of the Creator as lived in the lives of all the people. And I say this from my experience: elected tyrants are no better than any other tyrants. They, in fact, are worse, for they claim to represent but they do not.

"And now to the point that we three find appalling: that some who were elected to serve the people think they are elected to serve a Constitution or a set of values. But, if the Constitution is only the living expression of the people's will to make manifest natural law, and that both Constitution and will can change, then to claim the Constitution as a higher calling than the people is to forsake the roles of their service. It is not the president who should be on trial for his conduct of his role, but Congress for its conduct of its role. The president is doing exactly what the people elected him to do. He is fulfilling his role, but they are not fulfilling theirs. And if a president demanded that Congress live only by the Constitution and not the evolving will of the people, that president would be called a tyrant. So now the Congress is the tyrant, and that makes it even worse." (1/15/99 - W#111)

MCP:

"Hats don't matter. I wear them like roles, but I'm still MCP. And if I wear the wrong-a hat I no get-a invited. So I can do what I want, but I will discover if it was right--not by fashion critics, but by the people.

"And, in my travels, I learned three lessons at least: if you remain inflexible, you die; if you don't listen to the people where you are, you die; and those who would claim special knowledge die. So I traveled with an open mind, and open ears, and took no one as authority simply on their word. And I always came back more myself, and more connected, and more able to express a wider understanding. And I observed this: where the greatest concern was for the letter of the law, there was the greatest lawlessness; and where people lived out their roles in fullness of a greater good, there a greater good was. For when the guides become restraints we have all lost, and when our lives express larger values we all win, and when it exceeds 8 it's too big.

"This is the point: you elected him to wear a size 6, but now some say he should have worn a size 9. But all the country needs is for him to wear a great big 6." (1/15/99 - W#112)

"So for tonight's lesson: If one focuses life on praise, then one focuses externally and misses the reality of the Divine presence within. It ain't out there if it ain't in here. And if you truly know it in here, then you don't praise it, you seek to live it and know it and remember it. That's all, and so simple, too. It is never separate. Nothing of value or worthy of praise is ever separate; it is one with All. So don't say, 'Praise Allah, this tuna sandwich is good.' Just say, 'This tuna sandwich is good,' and the rest is implied by reality." (1/23/99 - V#39)

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