reandf2

Rikkity's Bar Stools at the Emerald Pub

Rikkity: “Hi. Friday the 13th and no Bench... ARF? No, no Bench! Barf? Yes, Sandy, no Bench... arf barf. O I see, yes Sandy, we will be sitting at a bar... barf! And let’s see, we have 5 stools... grr... and a big floor dish... arf arf. So if I am sitting at one stool (of course, there are no actual stools and I don’t sit, but be that as it may or may not be), that seems to indicate 4 guests... or a very bad night for the bar. Yum, peanuts and pretzels. And barkeep, keep the libations coming.”

CT: “Yes, ma’am.”

Rikkity: “By the way, the barkeep seems to resemble CT. How could this be?”

CT: “Because I am CT!”

Rikkity: “O, that’s right, this is my fantasy and I fantasize about CT with a body... yum. *Blush* CT’s turning red, CT’s turning red, CT’s turning red. Ooops, CT is turning to go. ARF? No, I don’t want a doggie tail, I want a cocktail. And look, the door is opening and in walks a short little guy in a hat. I wish he were wearing clothes, but the hat does cover what it needs to cover.”

MCP:

“Hey-a. And hi-a. Ciao. It has been a long time--not for me, but for you. I often think about how much more I would have seen if time were not a factor. In my own way, I made it less of a factor. I never said ‘Hey-a, I gotta get-a back to Venezia.’ Why not? Because I spoke Italian. But I didn’t even say the same thing in Italian because I did what I did until I didn’t do it anymore. And sometimes I stayed a day, and sometimes many years, and each was an equal portion of me.”

CT: “Hey, my little friend, what can I get you? Grappa? No problem.”

MCP: “Sip... ahhh. Time is always a bugbear. I love that word. Let’s go out and bug a bear... grrrrrrrr. Bugdog doesn’t do it. Time should be understood as a resource. And here’s a radical thought: It is a renewable resource. Huh.

“Some would say no, because once yesterday is gone, it’s gone. But I say yes, because as soon as it becomes yesterday, you get another today. Now, when you exist apart from time, you realize this more and more: There is no dimension you can sense that is anything less than infinite. Some will tell you about newly discerned dimensions and that they are minuscule, but in each there is an infinity--a range which goes from before reckoning to beyond reckoning. Infinities are not comparatives... and Infinitys are nice cars.

“Sip... ahhh... gulp... ahhhh! So don’t let the boundaries of your thinking and knowing become the prisons of your possibilities. All the dimensions of your being are as infinite as All That Is, and as infinitely small as the spark of Creation.

“I am going to sit here until... sip, ahhh... I’m done.” (1/13/2006 - W#364)

CT: “Take your time. No last calls at the Emerald.”

MCP: “CT, my buddy, you are a great listener, and I’ll have another.”

Rikkity: “While CT is busy, we’ll just scoot down a stool with better lighting to see if we can illumine a few points. Hey, out West near Carson City, a miner’s home was empty because he got TB. Out back, his workings were idle but he being a gentleman who liked to share, was a sign: ‘Ill, U Mine.’ And that’s where the largest lode of silver was found.

“But out of the restrooms at the back comes another. Hey, A.”

A: “Hey, R.”

Rikkity: “Hey, A. Let’s stop this and have a drink.”

A: “Fine by me. Make it an absinthe on the rocks.”

Rikkity: “No, make that on ice. Here we have to be careful, with CT pouring. Put the pebbles down, CT.”

A: “Wow! Absinthe on diamonds! Wish I could have had this back there. I’m A--just A, like she’s just R. Together we are known as the ARs, as in ‘getting your ars in here,’ hahaha.”

Rikkity: “See why I like A. We’ve met before in which life?”

A: “Denmark.”

Rikkity: “O, I thought it was England.”

A: “No, it was Denmark with these two.”

Rikkity: “If you say so.”

A: “I do, and so blech. Hello. I sang but did not dance. I was a cripple--a triple cripple who was known to tipple. ‘There was an old cripple from Dansk, who could tipple but could not quite dance...’ “

Rikkity: “Enough!”

A: “Ok, here’s a point to ponder.”

Rikkity: “Don’t say that! It’s copyrighted.”

A: “O. Here’s a not point to not ponder... or is that a knotty point to pander.”

Rikkity: “Just tell them!”

A: “Shit, I have to listen to all your prattle about TJ and CT and Richie and that woman.

“Ok. Which is better, a world that is plain in which one can have visions of beauty, or a world filled to sate all senses and without a vision of plainness.

“We so crave for the fullness of the whole, we often fail to notice that the whole is built up from the simplest. Sure, it is tempting to leap ahead to completion, but for me I’ll take a lone sunflower sitting in a barren landscape to an endless field of the glorious faces of the sun. One gives hope while the other becomes the expected. And we grow from hope, not from easy expectations.

“And yes, I’ll take another, but let’s make it what he’s drinking.” (1/13/2006 - W#365)

MCP: “Hey-a!”

A: “I meant the same thing he was drinking, not his drink!”

Rikkity: “CT!”

CT: “Yes.”

A: “CT, the pretzels do make you look like a walrus, but I’m the Eggman.”

Rikkity: “Moving, or stumbling, right along, one more stool over. Wow, picking himself up off the floor, here’s a sot for sore eyes. Hey, Marky.”

Marky: “Bonjour. Monsieur, please a glass of your finest cognac. What, no it can’t be, no cognac?”

CT: “I have some nice brandy.”

Marky: “Mon dieu, man, it’s the same! Give us a snort.”

CT: ssnnn... ARF.

Marky: “Now give us a pour... with a glass!”

Rikkity: “CT. Sandy, get down, you’re not a lap dog... lap lap lap... hic. Sandy is wobbling. Remember, this is all a simulation. No spirits or actual spirits were harmed. Do not try this at home. Professional stunt spirits. Ok. Marky!”

Marky: “Rikkity!”

A: “Marky!”

Rikkity: “A!”

A: “Rikkity!”

Marky: “A!”

A: “Marky!”

CT: “Ok, I’ve had enough of you two pixies. Now get out of here.”

Rikkity: “Clarence, come on, let’s go out with Mr. Martini and Gower. Marky.”

Marky: “Yes.”

Rikkity: “Don’t speak too loudly. Shhhhh... ggggr.”

Marky:

“All things to excess finally dispose of their greatest virtues. Do not seek to have more of what already elates--and I don’t mean in terms of physical things alone. A person of faith can become so faithful that they are filled with fear. Fanatics of every faith proclaim doubt. And so, too, with politics. The worst despots are those who so prize liberty that they will defend her by any means necessary, including suppression.

“When any good thing is taken from the realm of the ordinary into the extraordinary, watch out! And when the extraordinary becomes resident in the ordinary, pay attention. The former is a subjugation of the whole to a piece of the whole, while the latter is an expression of the whole in a piece. One opens the view, and the former closes it. Just remember this, and all will be ok.

“Now I think I need another shot.” (1/13/2006 - W#366)

CT: Bang!

Rikkity: “CT! This bar is going downhill fast. That’s because it’s built on an unstable bluff... ayyyeeeee.”

“5 bar stools and one of them drunk, he’s getting up like a wounded skunk. 4 bar stools and one them drunk, he’s getting up like a wounded skunk. 3... why aren’t we drinking... ok, last stool standing. Look, pith! Wow, Mr. Livingston, I presume.”

L: “O yes.”

Rikkity: “Great hat!”

MCP: “Hey-a, it sure-a is.”

L: “It’s not a hat, it’s a helmet.”

Marky: “Well helmet and good day to you. Sherry.”

L: “No, I don’t want your trollop, I want a drink.”

Marky: “Pardon me, mon cheri.”

L: “I did not hear him well. Have you any digestive biscuits. O, that’s a shame. So there I was in darkest Africa. One morning I got up and shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I’ll never know. I was an explorer.”

MCP: “Me too-a.”

L: “Hey, aren’t you....”

MCP: “Yes I am, and you....”

L: “O yes, I am. Well, at last we meet.”

MCP: “How’s Stanley.”

L: “Who.”

MCP: “Ooops. Aren’t you the man Stanley found in Africa.”

L: “No, I’m an itinerant vaudevillian from the West and I helped found Livingston, Montana.”

MCP: “O.”

L: “Look here, don’t... always... I mean never... I mean be sure to get your facts straight. If you thought I was this other chap, you would create a history which was unfounded. And since any one strand connects so universally, we have a moral imperative to get things right. You fail at this over and over again, but trying is vital.

“Now I think I’ll try this sherry... ahhh.” (1/13/2006 - W#367)

“Ahhh.”

“Ahhh.”

“Ahhh.”

“Ahhh.”

Rikkity: “5 ahs, and so the bar is full and the ahs have it. And ponder the bar but don’t pound the bar. And don’t... grrrr... take... grrrr... the dog to the pound... snap. Ok, the round’s on me. *splash* CT!”

GW (on his birthday):

“Gracious hello. A good draught of the old wine made many a day pass more graciously. I raise high my glass and toast all who know the value of spirits... hehehehe.

“I tried to be a humble servant because I knew any other kind of servant would actually be trying to be a master. And she reminded me, thank God. But I always felt a great trust in the infinite power of the universe--not in the short time, but in its fullness. We did not win the war because we defeated the British, but because we could sustain our cause longer than they could uphold a tyranny.

“The test is not the time, but the strength of resolve. Focus, be patient, persevere, persist... ‘perspire’... CT... ‘Well, I didn’t say purr like a cat.’ No, you didn’t, but cats could teach us.

“The biggest problem with being president was having to live out all of those others’ expectations. Sometimes I just wanted to sit... and I did. You don’t have to speak to influence (eye rolls). It was easier than trying to push an agenda... ‘and much easier than trying to push a desk.’”

Rikkity: “CT, leave him alone.”

GW: “He’s humorous in a half-witted sort of manner. If he ever met another half wit, they might be funny.”

Rikkity: “GW!”

GW: “... What is the opposite, just look to my namesake city.

"Ok, party time. Give me a hat--3 corners, please.” (2/22/2006 - W#368)

Spirit Averaging

Rikkity: “Sanford has been a wee bad doggie... arrrr. Sanford was whining and said ARF--which meant he wanted a bone... grrr--and I said ‘No, you are a spirit dog.’ So, without a bone he gnawed on the bench legs... woof. And so what does this mean? A shorter bench.

“So, our first guest: an old friend of the Gallic persuasion, Marky.”

Marky:

“Bonjour. It is good to be back on the Bench--even if I have to sit cross-legged or else my calves will drag. They need a good French poodle to teach the dog good manners. He wouldn’t dare bite my legs... grrrr. Why do my pants feel damp... arf arf. Bad dog.

“She has told me it is time to tell you about spirit averaging. And I said ‘No’ but she said ‘But yes’... actually, she said ‘Mais oui.’

“In the reality beyond time, the essence of spirit is not a point but a flow which gains and ebbs. Now, you could argue that to gain and ebb implies time. But it doesn’t, for the two cycles coexist, and each is a function of spirit energy--which is a sum of the many, and that sum grows and falls. And to take a snapshot in time gives a total, while a snapshot beyond time gives a sum. And those two are quite different because the sum divided by the infinite parts is always 1, but the total divided by the constituent parts can vary from 1. So in the fullness there is unity, while in the particular it may appear more or less than a unity.

“Always focus on the 1--even when the apparent status is less than 1. And do not become elated when the average is more than 1; it is an illusion. So, idyllic times are as unreal as are demonic times, and we waste energy on any focus other than 1.

“Ok, got that? Adieu.” (3/6/2006 - W#369)

Rikkity: “He is so suave. And now we have Madame X. How mysterious.”

Madame X:

“Hello. That’s actually my initial. I get only one. That’s because when I last lived, I was royaltyand we had just one name each. What a pain. I always longed for an identity with more dimensions. But alas, it was not to be.

“People with complex histories seek simple lives and people with simple histories seek intrigue, when, in fact, we all have the same amount. We don’t like to think we are average but, in the passage of many lives, that’s what we learn: The average which is us. And that average may not look like the average of anyone else but it is still an average. You stand out only to the extent to which you find and live your average.

“You are the expression of the sum of many lives, and when you finally get your personal average to 1 you are ready to move on. Everyone likes to think the big total wins, ha.

“Off I go.” (3/6/2006 - W#370)

Rikkity: “Ok, here’s another friend.”

MCP:

“O I like the bench this way. Hi-a. I don’t need climbing gear to sit down.

“So, what was the highlight of my travels? That’s easy: my travels! People keep wanting travelers to name the top spots. Ok if it were about destinations, but it isn’t.

“Each destination is part of your travel quilt. Pieced together it is meaningful, but separate parts are just rags. And French cheese is meaningful because of Velveeta. Get it. But some days Easy Cheese is the highlight. A sandwich you would disdain becomes a feast on a marooned train. So, you weave it together and trips stand out as wholes because of their averages.

“And now, I easily step down and walk away. Hey-a, cool!” (3/6/2006 - W#371)

Rikkity: “And so off into the sunset goes the masked rider of the Tuscan hills... oops, he fell off. And one last visitor: my main squeeze, CT."

CT:

“Hello. She’s letting me speak.

“So, what have we learned today. Look for the trends, not the positions. Don’t become dismayed because circumstances are less than perfect. Worry more about a life than details. Be sure you are facing and focusing correctly.

“If you give in to the minutiae, you will live a small life. If you desire the larger life, remember it is not gained with a sum greater than 1, but with a focus on the one that it is.

“Don’t mistake the parts for the whole, or some other whole for yours. Ok, bye. She’s back.” (3/6/2006 - W#372)

Rikkity: “Ok, pith to ponder. And I have 4 new legs. Whack, whack, whack, whack. Ok, the bench is fixed... grrrr. And I have a bone to pick with you... grrr. No, I mean I really have a bone to pick with you... ARF. Meaty bone... arf arf.

“No no no no no, don’t get on the ben... *crash*. Have you never heard of glue? Rrrf. Ok, whack whack whack whack. Now come and gnaw... rrf.”

Orientation and Habits

Rikkity: “Welcome to another chapter of the continuing saga of MCP. We last saw our hero when he said ‘Oops, quicksand.’ Oooooo. ‘Hey-a.’ ‘Here, grab this rope,’ the swami said. And then, with mystic powers, MCP rises up as the rope ascends to Heaven. Wow, that was close.

“Stop, we’ve got the wrong tape in. Wrrrrrrr... clunk... buzz.

“Hi and welcome to Rikkity’s Bench. Hi folks and dogs... ARF. What an exciting half hour we have planned. ‘What,’ you say?!? ‘Half an hour.’ That’s right, we are being preempted for the Big Balls Tournament. CT is playing because he has big... trout. What did you think I was going to say? Ok, let’s get started, LD!”

LD:

“She has been spilling the beans about the pervasive potential always available, because without that perspective I can remain a creative inventor, but once everyone knows the truth, I’m just a simple forward thinker.

Rikkity: “LD, you’ll never be simple.”

“Thank you, but you get my point. I didn’t create anything, I didn’t invent anything, I just pay attention and remember what I see by looking forward and outward. It is a measure of how underdeveloped this level of complexity is that we have so few who appear to be creative. All it takes, for most people, is to turn around--face forward, not back--and to turn themselves inside out to look out, not in.

“And religion doesn’t help, with its images of great outward deities but the need to go inside and examine one’s soul. I tried that, but my soul needed so many repairs I gave up.

“So it’s no trick or genius, it’s just a matter of orientation. And since the word orientation is based on knowing where the East is, what good is it to get oriented if your future is in the West. And for all those who bow in one direction (they don’t actually bow in the same direction, but their minds are conditioned to think linearly), whether you face Rome or Mecca or L.A. doesn’t matter. Get up, look around, and anywhere and everywhere you’ll see something new to you. It’s there waiting for you and me and them... but not him. By the way, he is a genius and she is a cutie. So said the wise old dirty man.” (3/27/2006 - W#373)

Rikkity: “Ok, he’s fallen asleep or into thought or into his food... whatever. Ok, who do you want to talk to, Soupy Sales? SS. How about Rutherford B. Hayes? And his brother, Isaac. Hey, spirits are not racial. Here’s Matahari... shhh. Ok, you! Get over here!”

IW:

“Boy, is she bossy. That’s what we call her here her here her Hereford... she moos and we call her Bossy. I knew her in the old country. I was not a spy--not now, not then, not ever... but maybe not yet. It was the English countryside, and the gentleman here talking with me was a daft sort. He spoke in strange tongues and begged about the village. Slovenly sort.

“The point of bringing all of this up is that each spirit has some past which is not sterling. Just as metal must be annealed for strength, so, too, spirit. And those who journey in regressions and find only strength of status, not strength of learning, may glow in what they find. But a slate of goodness only is the sign of a weak spirit and one that surely shall know testing in the future. Never be ashamed for having been the idiot; be ashamed if you thought you couldn’t be one--just as it is no shame to be a serf, but a shame to think oneself above serfdom. The worst leaders are those who have no sense of themselves as followers.

“And I remain, IW. (3/27/2006 - W#374)

“I gave you that penny openly and honestly, so no thanks are needed. But if now you might have a crown to spare, I could use your remembrance of my kindness."

Rikkity: “Hey, you don’t need money here!”

IW: “O.”

Rikkity: “Habits are hard to change. And change is what you get when you take off your habit. No, it was not a punchline! It was a planned segué to our next guest.”

MW:

“Hello. Please sit with us awhile.

“Now, I will continue what IW said. His ‘W’ and mine aren’t the same, but we are related by insight.

“Think with me of the great sermons preached and how often the message is about how our gracious goodness--whatever little of it we live out in life--will sustain with us in death, but the habits of sin will need to be purged and we will need to be purified.

“Now where did that notion come from, that this side would not be a continuity of all the traits of the living side? Wishful thinking! If, as she has so often told you, life is about learning and remembering, then any purification must come in life. This side is neither reward nor punishment but rest and consolidation.

“Any change from habits must be the conscious choice of an enlightened life. The great Divine does not save us but offers a universe filled with possibility for our choice, and we make habits of our choices.

“Intent is not good enough. Experience of a different perspective, which becomes habitual because it is remembered in the core of the spirit, is what changes the spirit and lets it grow into its fullness. And when I speak of purification, I don’t mean pure by the definition of ideals, but pure as the entity each one is.

“Remember, it is about you becoming you so thoroughly that you can become more.

“As you habitually become you, you become you habitually. And identity and essence are one, as well as identity and action and experience are one. Chart your expectations against your experiences. As they become synonymous, you sense the unity forming.

“O I do think that’s enough. Tea’s done and G’s coming. Ta-ta.” (3/27/2006 - W#375)

Rikkity: “Ok, in just a minute, Big Balls! We will have all the action. But now let’s say goodbye to our audience, with a reminder that come Friday we will talk, but not on Saturday because we are no April fools. ‘I am!’ Yes, you are! This has been a production of Sanford Radio... ARF ARF... and UTV.”

Jigsaw Puzzles

Rikkity: “Once again, Zippo Spirit presents Rikkity’s Bench. New sponsor: Change lives in an instant with Zippo Spirit. ‘Hey-a, without time, who needs Zippo Spirit?’ Sh... just remember sh is hs backwards. ‘O, carry on-a.’

“Hi. And welcome to an action-packed Bench. Welll, not really--more of a spirit-packed Bench. And here we go. 4 spirits? We will see. Here’s AB... ‘Hi’... as in, AB Normal (Igor). Just kidding.”

AB:

“Hi. I just got here. What a place they’ve made for me. I always wondered about heaven because it sounded like a place that was perfect, but everyone’s perfection is so different. Then wham the bus and all that, and here I am. And wow, it was about my perfection, just as I would want it. I should have believed. But hey, it worked just fine.

“Just look around. Could it be any more perfect? I don’t think so. Ah. And I get an eternity of this. Not a bad trade for 53 years. Just goes to show you... but I haven’t got a clue what. And this is so cool that I can talk with you.

“I am off to enjoy. Bye, later.” (4/3/2006 - W#376)

Rikkity: “There goes a happy spirit--a clueless happy spirit. Sandy... ARF... keep a nose out for AB... gr. And now, BC.”

BC:

“Hello. I keep having this feeling of loss. Here I am, with all my needs met, but I feel like there’s something which was and now isn’t. I keep wanting to turn back and see but, when I do, the something flitters out of perception and is gone. There’s this inkling of a 'before' that isn’t real, but is, too.

“This place is tinged with a feeling I can’t describe--potential and loss at the same time--which makes it hard to be present here. I feel torn, not whole. Why? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just a troubled spirit.

“And what is ‘me’ and what is 'not me'? So many feelings and so many questions. But this seems a good place to feel both.” (4/3/2006 - W#377)

Rikkity: “BC has wandered off in thought and feeling. Sanford, another to keep track of... ARF. Here’s CD.”

CD:

“No, I’m not a record nor a savings instrument. I’m who I am, and wow, I feel so multifaceted. Look, this is me... and this and this and this and THIS! Wow! better than the breath mint-candy mint dilemma. I am so many and so much! I am the Alpha and the Omega, and a little Psi, too... did I mention Rho and Theta. I Eta Pie.

“I feel so full and fulfilled, but yet I sense there is more. What comes after Omega... and do Omega 3 fatty acids make a difference. I don’t know, not here. Here you can eat all the trans-fat you want, but there ain’t any.

“Verge... that’s the word I was trying to tell Rikkity... on the verge. On the verge of something--the green growing edge of one’s path. I am so much and so many, and yet I feel the great potential awaiting on the verge of I-don’t-know-and-I-know-totally. And it’s not frightening, it’s beckoning and enticing and alluring and seductive and o wow.

“I have seen it all and there is so much left to see! I am me! And I am becoming.

“Off I go. Bye.” (4/3/2006 - W#378)

Rikkity: “And now, DE.”

DE:

“Hello. And greetings to you. Do you like jigsaw puzzles. I do. I am one. We all are.

“You open the box and all the pieces you need tumble out. And it’s easy to create the edges, but then it gets harder to fill in the picture. And you look at the box and think ‘What?!?’ It’s the image of you with all your potential all realized. But all you’ve got is a physical edge and lots of fragmented parts, and some did not appear to fit anywhere--just random junk, no meaning, no place in your life portrait. But then a piece fits into another--sometimes because it looks like the box and other times just because they fit together--and pieces that made no sense make sense when connected, and slowly you see the patterns emerge.

“Somewhere, about midway, the pace which slowed after the edges were made begins to quicken. And the last pieces almost magically fall into place because the other pieces have made the spaces for them. And, at last, all the potential is realized; the picture is complete; the pieces all fit into a meaningful whole, and you sit back and admire it and say ‘Whoa.’

“And some take the pieces and take them apart to do it all over again, and others leave it intact and say ‘Now, let’s try it with more pieces,’ and get lost in a more complex puzzle, more potential. And that’s where I am. Do I want to keep putting together the same pieces, or is it time for a more complex potential. I think I’ll move on. I’ve done this one so often, I know it’s edges and core and tricks by spirit.

“Anyhow, after I’m gone, pick up the pieces. Bye.” (4/3/2006 - W#379)

Rikkity: “So, 4 guests on the Bench, 1 spirit on the Bench. Without time, we can see. Gotcha. Sandy, make sure we don’t lose any pieces; DE needs AB and BC to be DE... arf arf snap. And remember, Zippo Spirit: You don’t want to be without it, and you don’t need it.”

The Bench Decoded

Rikkity: “Sit down! There’s room for y’all.

"O, hi. I didn’t sense you arriving. Welcome to The Bench Decoded. Tonight we have 3 great minds... ‘and 2 great bodies’... CT! And we will illumine... watch it now, watch it now... I digress.

“But seriously, here’s our first guest.”

Guest 1: “I just want to get things right and understand the rules. Is that such a big deal? Lots of people go through life making it up as they go, but that’s not for me. And others just fantasize and dream and are so impractical that they are useless. If you can’t build it and use it, what’s the purpose?”

Rikkity: “Hi, this is Rikkity, wondering if you can guess who our first guest is. It’s LD, but not LD as we know him, but as his spirit back a few lives. Couldn’t be the visionary without first knowing the realist. So, we try again.”

Guest 2: “Hello. Life is so awful. I’m glad I’m dead. Done with all the suffering. And don’t tell me suffering is redemptive, that’s horse manure. Life sucks and then you die. Horrible joke by the Creator--big cosmic haha, but I ain’t laughing.”

Rikkity: “Ok, ready on this one. MW, a prior M. Had to be the nihilist to become the believer. Ok, one more. And you can stay here with Sandy while we talk... ARF.”

M: “He won’t bite me, will he.”

Rikkity: “No no no no... sure... that’s the ticket... snap.”

M: “O”

Guest 3: “Whenever we try to discover the patterns of existence, we are limited by three things: Past experience, which tells us how things have been understood; the current cultural climate, which allows us to look here but not there, and which suggests direction which may not point to more inclusive understandings; and third, we have the limits of our own capacity for faith in ourselves, because doubt is the greatest barrier to a growth of understanding.

“Where people lack depth, you know that one dimension dominates. But where even a single person can see beyond the horizon--not in certainty, but in expectation and possibility--there the dimensions are infinite and open.” (4/7/2006 - W#380)

Rikkity: “Ok, last guess.”

Tea lady: “Here, lovie, have a cuppa.”

Rikkity: “Tea ladies can become sages! There are no dead ends... hahaha I slay myself. And that’s the pith and the whole pith and nothing but the pith so help me me. Sanford, pack up the show, we’re leaving... ARF.”

Ideas and Complexity

Rikkity: “Hey, guys, they chose the Bench! Get that shit off the bench... grrr. Ok, get that nice doggie memorabilia off the bench... ARF.

“O, hi, and welcome to my Bench. We’ve been expecting you... grrr. Ok, we didn’t know if you were coming... ARF. Honest dog... snap. Send him to DC, put the bite on the pols. Today he’d be pushing eggs with his snout... ARF... gulp. Don’t eat ‘em with the shells... ARF? No! f.

“So, sit down and ponder awhile. O, you expect guests, too. Just sit and ponder. Ok, here comes a spirit, whistling down the lane.”

Marky:

“Every little breeze seems to whistle Louise, birds in the zee trees seems to... o, ello. Eet ees a beeautiful day, nez pas... by a nose. I smell spring, nez pas. I dance with my nose.

“And just as what we call people have the strands of their being, so, too, the idées... o, the ideas. Fixe is a concept of the first-timers, for ideas have strands and layers, too.

“Some ideas are born, flourish and grow, and then die. We have a pile of ideas here: Dead ideas waiting to be born again.

“Spirits are but one dimension of persistence. We also have ideological persistence! And you don’t want to get near a first-time idea! Dare I mention some? I dare, I dare! Nazism, fundamentalism of any kind... and timeshares. Plus that Duck with Bananas. And patriotism--while altruism is a very old idea. What you call the history of ideas is a great pedigree of thought. Ideas are not actually thoughts, but modes of organization. Ponder that while I stroll away.” (4/17/2006 - W#381)

Rikkity: “Well, I hope you liked him. And you still want more? Just one more, I guess. But who. ‘Hey-a.’ Ok, you-a. ‘Me-a?’ You-a! ‘Ok-a!’”

MCP: “Hello-a. I follow the frog’s lead.”

Marky: “I resent that!”

MCP: “Ok, the honorable French gentlefrog.”

Marky: “Thanks.”

MCP: “Don’t mention it.”

Marky: “I won’t.”

MCP:

“All That Is exists in a variety of representations of greater and lesser complexity: Ideas, spirits, matter, dreams, whatever. I was famous for a complex trip; others have been famous for a single step--all parts of the same tradition. I could not have made my complex trip without a succession of single steps, and single steps do not stand out unless there are many long treks.

“Never see anything as alone, apart, disconnected. If you see a single element, always look for the infinite threads of which it is a part. And nothing stands as an element of only one strand. Ponder that when you have to choose between one from column A and one from column B. And have fun! Bye-a. Ciao, ciao, ciao... ARF ARF ARF.” (4/17/2006 - W#382)

Rikkity: “Ok, short Bench, but pith. Hug the bench... ouch. Sanford, did you leave this knife on the bench... woof. And they sat on it? Woof. And I hugged it... woof. And are you sorry? Woooof. Ok, let’s play... ARF.”

Symbols and Spirit

Announcer: “And now, it’s the periodic refutation of sanity, it’s Ericka’s Bench. Brought to you today by Arfpo Dog Food, first he goes ARF ARF and then he goes.”

Rikkity: “Hi. Welcome the start of our 11th season, because today is the start of the rest of your spirit. But in a timeless reality, it is also the start of what has been your spirit, and it is also the middle and the end. And about 40.18452396 of the way along (that’s percents, to the sticky poopheads).

“Today we have a great Bench, with callers calling in from all over... but wait, this is not a call-in show so please hold your calls until we are live.

“And now, with much folderol, here’s the little voice of big ideas.”

MCP:

“Hey-a. So, yesterday was a learning experience. By the way, did you know that the tower in Pisa was designed as a school project and was called the Learning Tower of Pisa, but some monk made a manuscript mistake so they had to undermine it. Joke only works in English. In Italian it makes no sense.

“But back to our exciting story. Yesterday did not go as expected, did it. It was very on target. You cannot recreate spiritual moments. Each moment stands on its own. So the balloons... ‘baboons!’... ok-a, and the fountain could have worked perfectly and still failed. The sustaining rituals of humanity never rest on their elements, but on their meaning. Now Saint Paul might think otherwise, but I suggest that if the cup were dry and the platen empty, communion could still be served because true ritual reflects the feelings, not rehearses the actions. So you had a great day because the fountain leaked and the baboons... ‘good!’... were wimpy, and so you had to rely on feelings instead of water and baboons.

“Too often the focus becomes the elements, and in the first years this is so because to focus on the feelings would be impossible to bear (but the feelings could also be hard to bare). A sign of integrating events is the growth of feelings and the decline of symbols... ‘crash!’ CT, symbols not cymbals... ‘O.’

“In future years, you will find even less need for pageantry because you and the feelings will be integrated. When you have learned and remembered, there is no separation between you and the other. Symbols serve to remind us of what we have learned but not yet remembered.

“Mark my words (pun intended!). Now, go get on horses and hit the ball. Bye-a.” (8/21/2006 - W#383)

Rikkity: “And now, Papa.”

Papa:

“Hi, babe and Randy. So, what a day. 11 years ago time stopped, and while we all grieved we missed the lesson: Time stopped.

“I remember a day in July ‘69 when the day went on forever. And some afternoons at Bar Beach had extra hours in them. Why did we living become so obsessed with a span of time, when we could have found more in a meaning of living. What if we measured things by meaning instead. Calendars would look way different! Now, of course, living in a physical world it is hard to imagine such a calendar, but I assure you it is possible. And when you can see it, you will transcend it.

“As a scientist, I was obsessed with measurement. But all of what we call ‘measurement’ is about the past, and the future awaits in new measurements. And don’t forget new, delicious Measure Mints. They last as long as you want.

“Well, I’m off to seek out high flying baboons. And remember, write if you get work and hang by your thumbs! Roger, over.” (8/21/2006 - W#384)

Rikkity: “And a quick change of spirit.”

MW:

“Hello. Good to be with you again. Sit, let’s talk awhile. His generalship won’t be home for hours.

“We need to be with and for each other on anniversaries--not because they are days different from others, but because we are different on those days. Did you know that on the anniversary of a passing of one spiritually connected to you, your physical reality is more porous. You touch the spirits more easily. But for many, and for many years, this is too much for the living to take in. So ironically, on the day of greatest connections, people engage the powers of business and ritual to build hard shells around their feelings.

“Jews make treks to erect headstones, Christians go to mass. People stay busy. Some even let go of simians. And all of this, in the name of remembering, is to ward off the experience of connection.

“To sit silently and really feel... few have the constitution for that. But when the heart has healed, that is not only enough, it is sought because which is more satisfying: an image in the mirror of ritual and action, or the sense of spirit within one’s own spirit. Save the great displays for those not of your entity, and keep your heart open for the intimacy of the day with spirits of your being.

“I take my leave, with blessings to you all.” (8/21/2006 - W#385)

Rikkity: “And now, Sanford McPooch will introduce our last guest on the Bench. ARF ARF snap woof woof wooooof.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “Can’t introduce myself, I can introduce my elf. Here’s Roderick.”

Roderick: “Hi!”

Rikkity: “He’s short on words.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “Let’s have some fun. Roderick, what did Rikkity get at Yale.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “When you grow up, you hope to be what.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “What is a mountain.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “Bye bye, Roderick.”

Roderick: “Hi.”

Rikkity: “Hello, it’s me and my elf... wooof.

“So, another celestial go-around. Time passes... John Dos Passos... que pasa. But things are, and I appreciate all of it and you and them... but not him.

“And now the Bench is at an end... and I fall off... ARF. Until then, remember, later on this same channel, oooOOOooo Scary Stories of the Living. And buy Arfpo, the dog food of spirits.”

A Week of PtoPs

Announcer: “And remember to use Erasin. Takes out the bad and keeps in the good. Erasin, available for every religious persuasion.”

Rikkity: “Hi, and welcome to my Bench. 7 visitors, guests, etc., and a method to my madness... heehee... no no no... haaahaaahaaahaaahaaa (maniacal). So, first up, it’s TJ.”

TJ:

“I am mindful of how badly my memory has been served. I am often cited as a Father of this nation, but rarely are my ideas honored. I was not a Puritan. I did not believe we had a destiny to fulfill--other than the human vision of a more just society. I didn’t hate religion, but I was eternally suspicious of any religion which would make the government its friend or servant or patron. In all things, I advocated the larger view.

“So, whenever anyone speaks of the Founding Fathers as if we were static and not dynamic, know they speak for themselves and not me!” (8/28/2006 - W#386)

Rikkity: “Are you done.”

TJ: “Yes.”

Rikkity: “Thanks. And now, MW!

MW:

“I think she wants to emphasize the ‘W’ and I don’t know Y. MW has just made a subtle joke, and she amuses herself.

“Into every life, some darkness will come. It cannot and should not be avoided; this is the stuff of life. If you wish a continuously sunny life, become a grain of sand in the desert. But if you would be human, expect suffering, yet have wisdom to know the difference between the dark moments of life and the shadows.

“Too many live in the shadows, which are a product of the dark but are not a necessity of the dark. Even as you accept life’s sorrows, be aware of those of life’s shadows into which your light could bring change. Never, for fear of the dark, fail to spread light where you can. And I’m done!” (8/28/2006 - W#387)

Rikkity: “Thank you, M. Now batting for Manny Moto, Pedro Barbone... one... one... one. And here’s someone else: TF, with an accent on the ‘T.’”

TF:

“Greetings.

“Stop! Stop! Once in a long time, you need to just stop! Sometimes you feel like you are running with reality; sometimes you feel like you are getting the best of the situation; sometimes it feels like you’ll never catch up. But whatever, stop! Take a measure of who you are and what you are doing--not against the markers that flow past, but against yourself. If you are moving, you can’t do that, so stop! just a moment to see if you can see you in you. Ok, go!” (8/28/2006 - W#388)

Rikkity: “And another big thanks. And now, FR. FR is a newbie, but a goodie.”

FR:

“Too often, people ask for proof of spirit. They want physical manifestations of spirit. Make up your mind! Do you want spirit or matter? I can prove matter with matter and spirit with spirit, but I can no more prove spirit with matter than I can prove matter with spirit. Enough said.” (8/28/2006 - W#389)

Rikkity: “Ok, getting the pattern yet? TJ, MW, TF, FR. Ok, HS.”

HS:

“Hello. Want a chicken?

“What if you were to try to make an accounting of your life. Most people try, but they do it more like cooking the books than CPA style. They think they can juggle a bit on the asset side and not have any effect on the debit side. Here’s a hint: Your life is a balance sheet, and in the end it will balance for good or naught. But if you try to cheat on the balance sheet, you’ll end up with a life out of balance.

“So don’t get tempted, because if it is out of balance for your life, you won’t be living your life and won’t learn and remember what is yours. The point is not a perfect accounting of all assets, but a clean counting of your life.

“That’s why saints are bad examples. They make a common balance sheet look unbalanced. Bye.” (8/28/2006 - W#390)

Rikkity: “And here’s SW. That’s SW. SW... Mr. Sunday... 7.”

SW:

“I have often wondered about Sunday, of why so much focus is about speculation and a search for certainty. I would think, as the world became more scientific and people knew more things, certainly they would hunger more for the edges of speculation. Why work in confines for 6 days and then use the 7th for major confining thoughts. Shouldn’t the Sabbath be more about exploration than about confirmation. Just a thought for Sunday. Bye.” (8/28/2006 - W#391)

Rikkity: “And now, last and least, MCP.”

MCP:

“(pause) Hey-a. I was-a so mad-a I couldn’t-a speak-a. Least-a!

“I can only recall what I have said before. A person who travels thoughts, ideas, and places looking for what they already know is not a traveler! They are human turtles, taking their philosophical homes on their backs and hiding from any hint of encounter. Take off the shells! Stick your necks out. Maybe there is something essential awaiting turtles in the middle of the desert. Aha. Ciao.” (8/28/2006 - W#392)

Rikkity: “And so, a Bench. A week of PtoPs. For the week next, you’ve got your podcasts. Sandy, wrap up the Bench... ARF. Put a bow on it. Now put a bone on the bow. Just right!”

Rikkity: “Now, where was I... ARF. No, I was not feeding the dog... rrr woof. I was not feeding CT... rr woog. No, I was not feeling CT... rrrr. So, where was I..Yes! Woof. I was feeding LD.”

LD:

“Hello. Wait, I have to wipe the marinara off my beard. ‘You don’t have a beard.’ I invented a spiritual beard. ‘O.’

“Being and nonbeing. Now, we remember that the native state of the universe is not zero but one. We told you this long ago. So there is not a zero-sum relationship because then you’d have to have twice as much nonbeing. But there is a balance between being and nonbeing which adds to one.

"Entropy is the strange Greek word English speakers use to express a Germanic concept. So how about a Chinese word for Italians to use when asking for corn on the cob... but I digress, and I am wont to do so. ‘Hey-a, I onca digressed-a to China.’ MCP, it’s my time.

“The problem with the usual understanding of entropy is that it assumes that over time all systems wind down to nothing, but the stasis point is not zero, it’s one--changes the whole equation. With a zero base, eventually without outside energy, it all ceases and so there is a need for an external source to avoid oblivion. And thus, Yahweh was created to bring the equation back from the brink. But have the basic equation be one and it’s a whole new ballgame. Yale has it on its own 29 and starts its march down the field... no no no no, that’s a different ballgame... grrr. He’s handsome... gr.

“So with one as the given, entropy simply means returning to the ever-potential state of being. And being is enhancement while nonbeing is just correction, not annihilation. Ponder that.

“With one there can be balance with just the same amount on both sides. ‘I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now’... CT! ‘Hi.’

“If zero is the norm, then troughs go into negative territory. But with one they just are less than one but more than zero, and there is no force of destructive evil which can wipe the slate clean. It’s another abundance versus scarcity issue. If zero is the base, then you act like every asset is a treasure without replacement; with one, you see the extras as expressions of the boundless potential of one.

“Zero ultimately equates to nothingness, while one--or I should say more than zero--ultimately leads to all possibilities. Chicken or egg. If the answer is that ultimately you have neither, then the question is one of surprising anomaly. But if you have either, then you have them both and an omelet with sausage on the side... and ketchup. I invented ketchup.

“You will know you’re out of a trough when you can see beyond your present situation and problems. Don’t ask me, look... Life, Ladies' Home Journal. If you got none, you’re lost; if you’ve got any, you’re a winner. If you have some but act like you have none, you’re a whiner. Ok, that’s it.”

Rikkity: “Hi. 'Hi. Hi.' Roderick, shut up. Hi. I finished off his bigoli. You’re out of the woods, you’re on your way. When they went to sleep amid the poppies, Oz was there but they couldn’t see it. When they woke up, they were awake to new possibilities and there was a newness about them.” (12/2/2006 - W#393)

Strands and Strings

“Sorry, Rikkity’s gone back to life. April Fools. CT, run the disclaimer.”

CT:

“While analogies and metaphors may be used which are physical in nature, this is not an indication the topic is physical in nature.”

Rikkity: “Thank you. Ok, about strands and strings. We have an expert who has been strung out for ages. It’s a Sandy and MCP Bench--which is to say, short. ‘Hey-a..’ Grrrrr. ‘Good-a dog-a.’ Here’s LD. He’s not short... grrr... but he is standing on a chair to get away from a short dog... snap.”

LD:

“Ouch. I invented bandaids.

“These strands and strings. Ok, I turn to a new science: DNA. Ok, look at your DNA sequence profile. Everything there is both the product of the past and a precursor of the future. Take any one element of it and, tracing forward and back, you have a strand of DNA history. And you are both representative of the strand and a unique representation of it. You wouldn’t be you if it were different, but your being you influences what will be. So do some bad drugs and mutate your DNA and it all changes. You are product and producer of the strand. Get it? But remember the disclaimer.

“Here’s a shorter version.” (4/1/2007 - W#394)

MCP:

“Hey-a.

"I sit-a in-a China. All of my travels have brought me there. With any part missing, I’m not there, but from there I choose to go elsewhere, and my choices change the string. Ok, strings-a express the choices, strands-a express the givens. And often parallel, they can diverge and then become new parallels.

“Strands are the givens and strings are the choices, and they form fields of being--like a fine Scottish tartan... woof.” (4/1/2007 - W#395)

Rikkity: “Well said and well plaid. Ok, why is said pronounced sed and plaid not pronounced pled. But we digress. When don’t we digress. All life is a digression from the givens to new givens... o o o o o o... no no no, givens, not gibbons. MCP has the floor. ‘He’s closest to it’... CT! I’ve seen you on it! Sorry.”

MCP:

“So, there are multiple probabilities which must come together in realities which are the most probable outcomes. So if the given... o o o o... is high and the choice is high, nothing. But if one is high and the other low, change. So for example, you can choose to change your gender but you can’t change your sex as defined by DNA. You can choose vanilla, but only in a world in which vanilla is possible. Get it. I said it-a!

“Now here’s-a one who knows-a.” (4/1/2007 - W#396)

TJ:

“You can deny but cannot erase your nature, and you can exploit but not control your situation. And you are the product of more or less of each string and strand, so to speak, and even more dimensions.

“Hey, who use calling demented.”

“Sir, I said dimension.”

“You talkin’ to me?”

“Sir, please remove the earplugs.”

“You talkin’ to me?”

“Here, I’ll do it for you.”

“O, that’s better.”

“So, a dimension beyond choice and given. I was that dimension in his life and ears. So sometimes it is not given and not chosen, but more.

“And now, my friend.” (4/1/2007 - W#397)

Marky:

“We are social creatures. If we think our strands and strings are ours alone, we will miss the bigger picture. A classical formation: God is the universe, All That Is and is of all. God touches your life, removes the earplugs, as it were. You were not constrained to hear or not hear, but in that act upon you, you were changed. But you were not changed by a personality, but by all existence. So, another dimension contains All That Is, which is a dynamic dimension, not a static one--a dimension of infinite possibilities. Ponder that, n’est-ce pas.” (4/1/2007 - W#398)

Rikkity: “And so a short Bench, but pith! Go! Woof."

"Adieu."

"Ta-ta."

"Ciao."

"I invented the word ciao.’”

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