energy

Questions and answers at a chat session:

"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)

"About the Columbine shootings. O, don't make more of it than 2 stupid, crazy, lonely people. It is not symbolic of anything larger, and those who use it for such do violence themselves.

"It is so easy to focus on the negative that we let it win. Gandhi knew this, and believed that he could change the negative by never ever ever being negative. So when he was beaten, he did not beat back nor did he cower. Both would have let the negative win. Only the positive can triumph over the negative and in its wake bring forth the dawn of... wait, that's the campaign speech. But you get the point. Eye on the prize. He was not passive when he peacefully sat down, knowing he would be beaten. That's not passive; slinking home would have been. He was not passive, he was assertive--positively assertive. And here's a test: In any situation, do the people act out of fear or faith. And I don't mean a fearfull faith, I mean an empowering one. That's all you need to know to know which way the wind is blowing." (6/10/99 - R#26)

"Now about the death penalty. Kill the suckers... no, that wasn't it. Mercy and understanding, and let the process take its eternal course. It's more about how people feel about life than it is about death. And in times when people don't really appreciate life, they use death as a means of escape. Bad times always bring about killings. The killings are a symptom, not the real badness. When a group needs to kill, it usually has an incomplete identity of itself. Negative images breed negative actions.

"When we cut short the lives and learnings of people, we may be prolonging the process of their spiritual evolution. With the really evil black holes, no, but with the infinite number of guiltless ones we do--and that holds us back, too. A life in prison could be a life of learning and remembering, but a life cut short like that can't always be. And that's all I will say." (7/1/99 - R#27)

"Hey, never trust anyone who is always up. That's a sign of an energy sucker--use it before you even have it. Not what logic would tell, but the mellow folks have their own internal energy... like wow. And that's all I have to say, man." (11/2/99 - R#28)

"Specific fears have an appeal in a time of uncertain fears. Hell had the biggest play when life was uncertain but no one knew from what. Just as the Enlightenment pulled away the veil of superstition, and fears were made specific but not uncertain, now again veils need to be pulled off to show realities--which are always less frightening than suppositions and mysteries.

"The cult of technology, when it is held in the clench of nerds, creates an uncertain in the rest of us. So only as the secrets of it all are shared without lingo... and also without lingonberries, yum... will we find a way out of the uncertainties. But the nerds hold on tightly because they feel so outside the culture. They like the feeling of superiority they get by keeping everyone else uncertain. And what do the idiots do, they sue Gates and prove he is besieged, and this will work against what should happen. Threaten a technogeek and you get more secrets, not fewer. It has to be a mutual handshake. And most common people are as scared of the technos as they once were of the medieval priest. So I invite in the geeks, and say they are socially accepted, and then they will share and the fears will diminish. Circles of openness.

"So, Y2K was about all of this. So the next time someone fails to program a VCR, they should not curse the VCR or the designers, but call up one of those who know, and ask for help and invite him or her over for dinner and a VCR party. The future of the class struggle will not be economic but technological, and it is not about possessing the objects, but about understanding the principles. Them that's gots the info are top dogs... and the rest of you make fun of them. Remember Peggy Sue Got Married and Richard. She opened to him and he opened to her and fears dissipated, but all the rest stayed in fear. One of the smarts and one of the in-crowd. So ponder that.

"And let me say it again. Once we had tribal war, then racial, then national... and always class. But the coming conflict is about ideas and knowledge supported by technology. If you want to make a difference, focus on that. Give an African American or a Hispanic access to knowledge and technology, and race won't mean shit... oops, I mean beans. And in the coming period, focusing on race or economics will be a handy way to avoid the issues and keep the whole struggle alive with top dogs and fear... or is it hot dogs and beer... no, top dogs and fear." (1/3/2000 - R#29)

"So, you want to know about disassembly. Well, when it happens you get a great shock, so to speak, and the components know that and also know nothing... it's like shock therapy. It wipes the slate clean, but you have a lingering sense you don't want to go there again. There is no conscious memory of being in that combination, and no learning... much less remembering. But if one were to attempt a similar entity assembly, something spiritually primal would scream, Do not. It is so primal and essential that one would have to work to overcome it.

"You wouldn't want any of that entity to exist in memory, because memory is reality. So wipe it clean, or the universe will go to the same place over and over. Notice that while you've had many villains, they are each unique. Only one Hitler, one Vlad, one Jim Jones. If the slate were not cleaned, then you would risk more than one. All cases of evil are unique. That's why systematic attempts to eradicate evil always fail, because they deal with the known--the already evil--and the problem is with the evil yet to come into being. And since the evil is just a random bad combo, you can't systematically deal with randomness. You all try but it don't work, do it. So they try to deal with Hitler as if he were Bismarck and it fails... and Saddam Hussein as if Hitler. So, enough deep shit." (2/15/2000 - R#30)

"Now about racism and addiction. All dysfunction is about energy, and chronic dysfunction is addiction to some form of energy--hate, booze, drugs, violence, religion, and sports... not to mention dogs... rrrrr. It could be anything external to one. Some are addicted to running and some are addicted to sunning... music, cigarettes, fruit punch, peanut butter, applause, quiet. The substance doesn't matter as much, but some also have a physical claim as well." (8/9/2000 - R#31)

"Can't have a rainbow without a clash of water and light. Is it violence or creativity. Ponder that. All physical matter is the product of either thought or violence... hmmm. So, I go... he goes... we go." (11/21/2000 - R#32)

"So, pay attention. Energy released by change is a big problem. And moving on into more complexity is a big change; and so there is a lot... a shitload... of energy potential in the change, and the sensation of that keeps some peeps from changing. The final awareness for many before they connect is how to deal with such tremendous shared energy. You think fear is a big deal, try not understood energy!

"So keep on pondering the energy. It has been my most constant theme. It's all about energy. In any sustainable entity, the control and use of energy is an essential issue. And without a balance, then you either get explosions outward--a coming apart--or inward, like a black hole... suuuuck. That's all for tonight. I haven't got energy to go on." (1/17/2001 - R#33)

"Let's talk trash... like refuse... like what you get rid of. Did you ever notice, most people keep trash and trash valuables. People have something that bothers them and so they eliminate it... bye-bye, adios. But wait... if it bothers you, it is in conversation with your being. Just because you perceive it as negative does not mean it is.

"Actually, the only stuff physically and emotionally and spiritually you shed is what has no meaning--positive or negative--for you. Everything else is valuable. But too many times we throw out the negative, keep the worthless, and in the process devalue the positive. So don't trash anything unless it is really meaningless to you. And most people live with lots of meaningless stuff. And one of the tasks of life is looking at what we keep and asking, 'What does this mean to me.' If you don't know immediately, trash it, give it up. Our psychic worlds as humans are too limited to clutter them up with that crap.

"It's like the person who says 'I've got this great quotation for you,' and then digs for 3 days through all kinds of meaningless scraps looking for it. What a waste of energy. Ah, energy again. If you waste your energy keeping meaningless stuff in your life, you have that much less for meaning. Thus spake Rikkity.

"By the way, letting go and trashing are not the same. Many people let go but do not throw away, so their lives become cluttered rooms of discards--no longer meaningful, but still under foot. Sometimes the trashing is physical, but sometimes it needs to be symbolic or ritualized. But in our culture we don't have that. More later." (1/23/2001 - R#34)

"No pearls of wisdom tonight. But here's an opal. There are many energies that work together; so, like the seeming luminescence of opal that does not shine really in the dark but seems to glow in the light, we each and we all have qualities that appear in relation to other energies. And we can't relate to those who we see as connected energies unless we deal with our own.

"So the question of energy is always complex--we and the rest in connection, not alone. The opal does not shine in the dark, and the sun does not an opal make. Each complements the other. And with that, blessings to all the seekers and the searchers and the travelers and the huggers." (1/27/2001 - R#35)

"So, what a mess. So if we can find fault, the world will be perfect, right? I don't theeenk that's the way it goes. If you look for fault, you measure by the negative... but if you look for hope! Think of a newspaper with the big head of: PEOPLE ARE GOOD TO EACH OTHER. No one would ask whose fault that is.

"Sometimes one has to let go in order to go on, or the tragic will catch you and eat you... or worse, sour you so you become the poison others taste in the act of living and loving. Don't be a living Sour Patch Kid. If you become negative, then it wins." (9/19/2001 - R#36)

"Do auras have auras. Everything has an energy field, so why not energy fields--like ever-slighter ripples going outward. Big dogs have little fleas who bite 'em, and little fleas have littler fleas, and so ad infinitum... grrrr... snap... one less.

"A person dies... plunk. The body gets taken away... wwrrrr (siren). Then later you go to their favorite place and smell them: aura. And suddenly you have a sense of light: aura's aura... which is not Walla Walla... Bora Bora. That's it, I quit." (1/18/2002 - R#37)

"More suicides are disassembled than others. The system just doesn't hold--often sustained for years on external energy. But when the candle burns low for most, it is just a dark day... but for some it is the end of existence.

"Here's a thought that is sure to be controversial, but hey I'm not shy... grrrrr. Go, dog... gggrrrrrrr. When those who have seen it, speak of going to the light, the light is not an external source--like God as a separate entity--but it is the light of one's own being; an awareness at last, without fears and blinders and physical limitations, of what is essentially us: great piercing energy. We walk through the tunnel from the physical into our own gleaming presence. But alas, those caught in darkness without the balanced set of personal... or should I say entital... energies, do not go to the light, for there is no light that is internal to them sufficient to sustain the entity. Or, when you are an entity and truly fit together, you have spiritual energy beyond bounds, contained only in the physical world by your physicality. Whoa.

"But there will be many who want and need and insist to see the light as separate. But... but... but if we are always a part of All That Is, then there is nothing separate. And why can't we affirm that we are the light. Why can't we step back and say, 'Whoa, we're good.' God is reputed to have done that--created, stopped, and said, 'Whoa, it's good.' Well, if it's good enough for God, it's good enough for me! So there. I've said enough.

"Some stupid pride crap keeps us from affirming our goodness. And also a lack of faith in self--which is another name for fear. Ponder that. We are afraid of our own goodness and potential. But some, like Buddha and Mohammed and Jesus, got it. The Kingdom of God is in YOU! So, I guess I've said enough for today." (1/22/2002 - R#38)

"An energy trough is about change. And since people fear change, it's related to fear. Fear is a symptom. But 'I'll remove the cause, but not the symptom.' So long after the trough is gone, the fear of being in it lingers. And most great achievements occur, not on the upswing of the crest, but riding out the energy of the crest as it begins to move trough to trough. So the seeming greatness is usually a product of the crest, not the cause of it. You ride the waves, not the swells. And waves are crests moving to oblivion.

"So, the fear is a memory of the experience of the trough, where everything is uphill, but that fear is only known later, when some of the uphill is already achieved. The social emotions, like personal ones, live with an experience lag. You know people who live on through the worst, then collapse when the worst is over. I think that is eeenough." (4/19/2002 - R#39)

"Know your spirit and honor it. And see who gives off energy and who takes it in. And negativity tries to attract positive energy. But only those lacking focus on lacks." (5/12/2002 - R#40)

"Watch out for them. Them. It's a paranoid thing. If you can have a them to fear, why worry about things you actually could do." (9/12/2002 - R#41)

"So, tonight we talk peas. I believe that if everyone would just boil them lightly and add some salt, the world would be a better place. What. O... never mind.

"Peace is not an end, only the fulfillment of other values. You don't create peace; peace is the reward for things like acceptance and connection. If we want peace, we need to energize those things which promote understanding and cooperation and fellowship... like a giant vegetarian barbeque. If everyone could just have enough food and eat together, oy what a pile of napkins." (9/30/2002 - R#42)

"If you think you are basically ok, you don't use energy on looking for change, but you can still be open to change. Change from contentment is enhancement; change from discontent is striving. One presumes an existing internal identity, and the other seeks an external desired identity. So one seems more energetic, but it ain't necessarily so.

"The same water flowing steadily over the wide river bed contains what it later has falling down the precipice. Don't think the quiet murmur is any less energetic than the roar. And the Grand Canyon was carved by a slow stream, more than a great waterfall." (10/9/2002 - R#43)

"Too many seeds of fear are not only being sown, but harvested. But this is a time to speak out... but only to speak out of vision, not fears or speculation. They have nothing to worry about reactions because those can be turned into fear issues. But visionary talk is really troubling because it has another point of empowerment--always toward, not away. Thus saith the Moo." (10/25/2002 - R#44)

"Many gorged, but few were filled. Those who gorge rarely feel filled. Same with all things. Those who take and take energy rarely feel energized. People who turn up the thermostat rarely feel warm. Moo's Third Law of Thermocrap." (11/29/2002 - R#45)

"Make a positive difference. Otherwise, it's like you were never here... or there... or wherever. And think about this: If you live and do not do anything bad, but also don't add to the plus side, then in effect you are a black hole, sucking in more energy than you give off. Benign is not enough. Beneficial, yes, but not benign. And too many people want to live with the maxim 'Harm nothing,' but that's not enough. Neither is 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.' So always say something significant. Don't worry about nice. Nice people had coffee while the camps were being run. First, do no harm first! But don't stop there. And, of course, no one will get this all figured out in one life, but that's ok.

"So the question is addition, not just neglect. It's like dinner. Just not serving poison is not enough. And what would a gourmet life look like. You know (Buddha, Jesus, etc.).

"By the way, cats are superior to dogs and dogs are superior to cats! Gerbils rule. Snakes are awessssssome. And fish are fine. Shrimp are great... especially with cocktail sauce.

"Being benign is never enough, but good enough is good enough. It's not about perfection, but it is about being on the beneficial side of the scales... be sure to remove the scales. I'd like to weigh in on this. Go ahead.

"It seems often like it is all we can do to keep ourselves neutral, but that is because we have been trained to focus on negatives and sin. If you were to accept that being human is to be fallible, then you could, through that acceptance, begin to focus on potential for good. Ok, take a hot rock and put it in one hand and take a cold rock and put it in the other. You will automatically sense where the midpoint is. Now make it a cold and a freezing rock and you will sense a different midpoint. So if your focus is between evil and benign, the best you can hope for is not too evil. But if it's between benign and beneficial, then you are automatically on the positive side. You--and I mean each person--decides what the scale will be. It is not a product of circumstances, or else everyone from a situation would turn out the same.

"So choose your focus. I've said that before. We can't choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we react. Ponder away." (1/10/2003 - R#46)

"Any form of prejudice denies both sides." (1/17/2003 - R#47)

"What the side of peace must do is to become a constant force--not co-opted by anti anything... or even Auntie Em. And it must be consistent and constant and considerate. And it must not become constipated. By that, I mean stuck on smaller issues or taking too long to digest the fast foods of contemporary culture. It must be responsive and, above all, have a sense of vision and a sense of humor. While this is serious business, it should not be taken over-seriously. Ideologues never will win any hearts. I've said enough." (1/20/2003 - R#48)

"Notice that they speak of mass destruction, not profound human loss." (1/24/2003 - R#49)

"And now some more advice. Don't invest too much energy in reacting to idiots... even Yale idiots. Focus on what is desired, not on what is not... and not at all on who is the person. Wars would rarely happen if there were no focus on personalities. War is a breakdown of ideals and hope into personalities.

"This is not even a crusade. It's a vendetta, a double vendetta. Sort of like the Montagues and the Capulets, Hatfields and McCoys. Bush wants to best Saddam, Saddam wants to beat around the bush. O I slay myself... arf arf arf... and my little dog, too.

"Don't over-analyse. Observe at most, but keep the eyes on the prize." (1/28/2003 - R#50)

"This is a hard time to be speakers of peace, but persevere. It is important not to get sucked in by war focus. And when or if war comes, peace focus will be essential as a way to keep from being gripped by either fear or anger... or gripped by ear... grrrrrr. So, go spread peace." (2/7/2003 - R#51)

"Stay the course of peace. Little boys, Saddam and George, 3 rounds, no holds barred. Saddam should let Al Qaida help him get into the U.S. and go knocking on the White House door. 'Hey, frat boy, come out and say that to my face. Don't you hide behind your Cheney. Get your hinie out from behind Cheney. I'm gonna whump yo' ass. Ok, you win, we become Methodists and hold potluck dinners; I win, you become Muslim and go on Hajj. Want a tag team? I'll bring Khaddafi and you bring Sharon.' Kofi will be referee. And the Pope, he's such a nice-a man. He be working the bell.

"Stupidity. If they only knew the truth, that doing stuff like this is slowing down the spiritual process. Ain't nobody gonna learn and remember nothing worth knowing out of this; just create more pain and hurt and loss and anger and revenge. Who, exactly, who is hurting now will feel better. No one. It's like providing a solution without a real problem. It would be like telling Bush he needed to have chemo because there was a threat of cancer. But no, bet he'd not take that choice. I think I will close now." (2/10/2003 - R#52)

"May we be connected to all things Annan, and protected from all things Bush, and guided with U.N.. Look for the larger picture, always. True in everything! Or look for the union label.

"And we don't even hold all the cards. All we have going for us is, ironically, our weapons of mass destruction. Ideas can kill, that's true. And it is also true that those who fight ideologies often forget that fighting ideologies is an ideology. Make the world safe for a safe world. Actually, at the moment, the greatest fear among the idiot class is that we have built an army against the wrong threat. Today with the right means, 100 people can threaten 1,000,000 troops. And with the right joke, we could knock 'em dead.

"Seriously, all the work against the war just feeds the fears. How about a big ad in the NY Times which says, in big letters: CHILL! IT WILL BE OK. RELAX. CALM DOWN. THERE'S NO HURRY. Or take the money for war and throw a big picnic in Iraq. Such a spread! Catered... 'Mrs. Alfonza, would you like some more tabouli'... with the troops entertaining them after dinner with humorous skits. So I'm figuring 100 million, so if we can get away at $7.50 a head we should be billions to the good. So let's do a midnight buffet and breakfast. You know, with this kind of money we could send everyone to Disney World... but not him. Saddam, you can't go, no pouting. Start air dropping tickets and reservations. 'What are you going to do if there's no war.' 'Go to Disney World!' Burquas with mouse ears. Saddam, you can go, but only if you play Goofy. 'Epcot reports massive increase of reservations at Moroccan restaurant. No one goes to England. But many Iraqis go to France just to say merci.'

"See how this works: You be chillin' and you don't be fearing. We could debate the issues, but that would generate fears. So chill, baby. Maybe some black olive spread on pita, barbecued lamb, lamb kebobs. You got your lamb kebobs and your lamb stew and lamb patties.... " (3/7/2003 - R#53)

This is the prayer we say before each session:
May we be connected to all things loving,
Protected from all things evil,
And guided in all ways gracious.

"Ok, on a day when most are worried about being protected from evil, I want to talk about all ways gracious. For if we truly understand this, then we will not fear evil... though we probably won't want to go to dinner with it.

"Through the many planes of spiritual existence flows a series of threads, which of their very nature is a fulfillment of each. There is the thread of connection and the thread of continuity and the thread of meaning. As we grow in spiritual complexity, those threads become fulfilled, and there is nothing ultimately that any entity can do to thwart that movement. Were you to form an infinite number of unstable combinations at an infinite number of levels of complexity, you would still have an infinite number of opportunities to find fulfillment and connect into greater complexity. And since time is no object, you'd have plenty of chances to do so. The natural propensity is to move toward the higher complexity, no matter how badly you fuck up.

"In fact, if you tried to do otherwise, you'd still get an infinite number of chances to get it right. And here's the kicker: There's nothing you have to do to get those infinite chances--don't have to chant; don't have to pray; don't have to believe in any one religion; don't have to flagellate yourself; don't have to be nice to yucky relatives; don't have to be rich, poor, better or worse, sick or in good health. It just is so! The way things are! And that's the grace of existence.

"Ultimately you can't blow it because All That Is is whole, and if you could blow it, that would ultimately separate you from All That Is, and that's not possible. And if any one entity could ultimately fail at it, then all could fail and All That Is would be All That Is Not! So it is, you are, we are, and that's gracious. And with that vision in mind, you will never really fear evil; for grace is more universal than any evil can be. And if you fear, it is because your thoughts are trapped in time. A wider horizon will always reveal this truth. And that's the way it is... blech. I've said enough." (9/11/2003 - R#54)

"Once upon a time, there were two flies and a flea. The flies didn't treat the flea well. He had never done anything to the flies. When they were busy with garbage, he was busy with a dog... grrrr. When they were sipping refuse swill, he was busy with a cat. But they didn't like him because he was a flea, not a fly. But many lives later he was a fly and they were fleas, and they didn't like him because he was a fly, not a flea. Go figure.

"Why is it that people hate flies and fleas, but treat each other like flies and fleas. I don't know. Too much differentiation, not enough connection. And that's all I'm going to say about that." (9/30/2003 - R#55)

"I can't get no satisfaction. Quick, what's the difference between satisfaction and fulfillment. One is about the past, and the other about the future. When you are fulfilled you are also satisfied, but when you are satisfied you may stop looking for fulfillment." (10/3/2003 - R#56)

"If we focus on subgroups of the whole in an attempt to get to the whole, we get a hole, not the whole.

"Every time we focus on less than All That Is, we settle for less than All That Is. And we all do that, but the question is how little and how limited is the piece we identify with. And one of the best ways to measure is to ask: 'What identifier do I find I need to defend most often.'

"If we need to defend some element of our perceived being, then that element is taking our energy, not supporting or informing it.

"So if you take great offense at a racial, but not racist, comment, you are defining yourself racially--which is one poor and small piece of the All That Is pie. And if you find you now must defend cakes against this identification of All That Is with pies, then you are wasting energy by identifying with cakes.

"In an existence which is bigger than any spiritual pâtisserie, to argue about pies and cakes is to miss the big picture. Small circles keep spirits small in an infinite reality." (12/1/2003 - R#57)

"And now, a hit from the past: wham! That was Napoleon to Josephine over the brioche remark. And now, a low blow: ouch! That was Josephine's knee to Napoleon's crotch over his flack over the brioche remark.

"Everybody is here... but shhhh don't tell Nappy he's going on a trip but won't be coming back. Well, he will be coming back, but as several primal entities. Actually, it is about to happen and it is happening and it happened long ago--all true without time.

"All dictators end up that way. It's like thinking of a good slave master. Good dictator. He was such a nice homicidal maniac. He held the door open on the ovens. And he prayed to Christ like a good Christian." (1/8/2004 - R#58)

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