Rikkity:
“And now, straight from a bottle of Beaujolais, here
are the boys of Revolution. Do I have to spell it out for
you? O, I do.”
TJ:
“Huzzah. I was just showing my friend the view from the Western
terrace. I love to haunt there. But they really
don’t understand me. I liked a life full of meaning
and leisure. They had me working all the time. Sometimes
I just sat and thought; other times I just sat.
“Inspiration is a great gift of the Creator by which
we breathe in the pure air of divine possibility, and
incorporate its potential in our thoughts and deeds. Man
is so different than the other animals. Like them, we
take in food and water and air, but their only other
sources of impression are fear and pleasure, whilst we
humans have this capacity to also take in the great
fabric of possibility and tailor it into a suit which we
might wear as our own. Let experience make alterations
that it might fit us well.
“Whenever we fail by our own neglect of the task, or
by the fettering of opportunity by the constraints of
others, we lose some of our humanity. Thus, it is right
and necessary--if we are to call ourselves humans, and
not simply animals--to ensure our sure application of
ourselves to the free exposure of our souls to the
potential of such inspiration. To waken ourselves first,
and then throw off the shackles of our making or our
acceptance, so we can finally dispense with the bonds of
imposed restraint of both state and church, and be
thoroughly human.
“Independence is often seen as a state of
individualization. No, it is rather a state of freedom to
pursue that which is common to all, and by which we bound
ourselves to one another in deepest meaning. Only free
souls can form true community, and all true communities
seek the freedom of their members. ‘And they offer
free eye exams.’ Mr. CT! ‘Well don’t
they?’ Marky, get out your sword. ‘Mais
oui, monsieur. Take that, you cad.’ Ouch. Him,
not me. ‘O.’” (7/4/2008 - W#415)
Rikkity: “And so the party digresses.
What’s this, another empty bottle. Oy.”
Marky:
“Allo. I have a man with me in Virginia who
was like CT. He kept us rolling on the floor, but he was
a great spy. He could charm the redcoat off an officer.
But then he would play the fool, and being the bon
vivant and the fool, others would speak freely in
his presence as he feigned sleep. His mind was filled
with revolution, but his thoughts were filled with
information. And one needs both to make progress.
“The wild-eyed revolutionary who has no use for the
practical is a dangerous companion. And the most informed
soul without a passion for change is a dull and dangerous
friend. Know where you want to go, but also know how to
get there.
“That is the most revolutionary of concepts:
direction and means. Keep them both in
mind. And the truly dangerous have neither, so they
pretend they have both. And since the vast majority have
only one or the other, they are taken in with the
appearance of such certainty. The wise and good always
say something akin to ‘or not,’ while the
dangerous ones say ‘I know!’ If you are
certain, you have no need to be certain--trusting that
what you know to be so will rule the day. ‘But who
rules the night?’ CT! ‘Everyone knows it is
Batman!’ Rikkity! I was seriously making a point and
you egg him on. ‘I’ll egg him.’ Ok.
Hey!” (7/4/2008 - W#416)
Rikkity: “What’s this? Another bottle, oy
vey. Boys, have a great Fourth!”
“Why, we’re already onto a fifth!"
MW:
“Hello. How are you this afternoon.
“Never let any circumstance serve as an excuse to be
less than your full selves as divine providence has
ordained, for while giving in to the temptation of a
lesser self may feel good for the moment, it disappoints
all Creation forever. If we are truly of one creation and
one blood, then whatever you do has effect on all of us.
So even a momentary lapse for convenience or emotion has
set a ripple across all Creation.
“You know you were created out of infinite love and
possibility, and every moment which is not loving or
expressing that potential is denying it, and with that
denial a little bit of possibility dies. There is enough
death in this world. We don’t need to create more
just to satisfy our own personal whims or feelings.
“If you are not enhancing the divine gift of life
you hold as steward, then you are wasting the greatest
gift there is.
“Tea? I know you like yours strong. I do, too.
Otherwise the leaves have died to not give up their
strength. In all things, go for the essence, the
strength. Otherwise you are being wasteful. I go.”
(8/4/2008 - W#417)
Ericka's Bench 9/15/2008
Rikkity: “And now, from the amphitheater at
the corner of Reason and Emotion, it’s Ericka’s
Bench. We have been looking for the bench and here
it is. How did it get here. Grrrr. HS. Grrrr.
CT. Grrrr. MCP. Yelp. Marky. ‘Mais
oui.’ ARF ARF ARF. All of them? ARF! O, why. Woof.
O, I see. Let’s sit on the bench and get started. Grrrr.
Let’s not sit on the bench. Not dry? Grrrr.
O. Wait a petuty, we don’t have bodies, and
spiritual shellac is never wet. Woof woof woof... f f
f f f. Good one, Sandy. F f f f f f.
He’s slaying himself. *Ding ding* No, not sleighing
himself.
“So, let’s get started. For every action
there’s an equal and opposite reaction. Ok,
here’s AE. He knows his physics. He’s no
relative. F f f f. Want a comb? ‘No.’
Ok.”
AE:
“Good afternoon, if it is afternoon where you are.
You know, I always argued that everything depended
on speed, but also on the dimensions of time. And then I
find myself without time–which means all the
calculations don’t apply. Which means here there is
no mass and no time, but there is
distance. How? I still ponder that.
“Does this mean that not all dimensions are
universal? Then that may imply that all dimensions are
particular. I am leaning that way. ‘Well, don’t
fall over.’ CT, as always a voice of reason–as
in, he has no reason to say that! Don’t mess with
the smart man.
“But I am not a genius here, I just play one in
life. No, I was not a genius, but I was observant and
mindful and thoughtful and universal in a sense. Every
new understanding comes from the ability to sense a
larger picture. It is not from creating the
larger picture, but from seeing it. Everybody
knows this from experience. You look out your window for
years and then a stranger comes, looks, and says
‘How long have you had a grapevine,’ and you
say ‘Do I?’ And then you see it.
“Most new ideas are like snakes in the
grasses–there, but unseen. And sometimes we see
their shed skin and say ‘There must be skins in the
grasses,’ and sometimes we hear a hissss
and say ‘There must be a leak in the grasses,’
and then someone comes and shouts ‘Eeeek’
and we see the snake and say ‘Why didn’t I
think snake when I saw the skin and heard the
hiss.’ And sometimes, by the moment of recognition,
the snake is gone and all you get is the skin and the
memory of the hissss.
“Putting it all together does not define genius; it
just defines awareness.
“Hey, we have a caller from life. Are you a
first-time caller? ‘No, I’ve called many
times.’ And your question is? ‘What does
define genius?’ Genius is defined by those who
aren’t as aware. Clueless people always respect
those with clues.
“And is genius all it’s cracked up to be. Only
if it fulfills the person, not the definer–does one
no spiritual good if it does not facilitate learning and
remembering. If I had said ‘O, I see it all
now’ and left it at that, what’s that worth?
“Here’s my magnificent friend, who will
continue.” (9/15/2008 - W#418)
LD:
“It is me. Not him, not her.
“Genius, hmmm. So I see more than some, am
I a genius or a fool. The fool sees all just as much as
the genius. The fool doesn’t know what to make of
it, and the genius knows... 'a hat, a brooch'.... That is
why that scene is genius.
“I drew plans for 10 times more things
that couldn’t work. I threw away those. Genius is
often in knowing what to toss. Editors know this! A full
wastebasket means a good manuscript. If there is nothing
to remove to make it better, then it has little worth.
Genius is honing.
“Gather every stone in a field, and you don’t
have more than a pile of rocks. Take one and sharpen it,
and you have a knife.
“Remember, the greatest treatises of literature are
often one word long: Go! Think! Love! Yes! All else is
not commentary; it’s banter in the cause of
obscuring. Most people would prefer an obscured complex
reality than a sharp view. Pith is so often feared
because it is direct.
“And speaking of taking the less direct path, here
he is.” (9/15/2008 - W#419)
MCP:
“Hey-a. I went from here to there
and back,
so I don’t know what you mean. Most never go from here
to there, much less back to here.
“We speak of journeys... and journies... and paths
which are pathetic, but you have to go somewhere to
journey. Standing still and letting things go by is not a
journey... ‘unless you have a sky box.’ CT, I
sky box-a you.
“So, you can speak of simple and complex travels,
but the simplicity and the complexity don’t matter.
So I took a couple of extra days. Who is counting. But if
I had never come back and spoken of it and written of it,
what would have been the point. Part of it for me was to
share, so we get back to the old rabbi: ‘If I am not for
myself...’ but ‘If I am for myself
alone...’ It’s-a complex.
“Fulfillment alone may make me more ready, and
fulfillment of others may make them more open, but it is
only the combination that can lead to connection. If I
had found connection with those of Asia but not told
others, the first encounters with Asians would have been
as strangers. But I paved the way.
“I am thirsty.” (9/15/2008 - W#420)
Tea lady: “Then just sit down, lovey. A
cuppa?”
MCP: “Now if you mean a cup of tea, as
introduced into the West by that great man, Marco Polo,
then yes.”
Tea lady: “Whatever. Lemon or milk.”
MCP: “Tea!”
Tea lady: “I know that. Lemon or milk.”
MCP: “What?”
Tea lady: “Ok, I’ll bring both.”
MCP: “Both? You said three things.”
Tea lady: “No, just lemon and milk.”
MCP: “But I want tea.”
Tea lady: “I know! What do you take me for,
daft?”
MCP: “So just bring me the three things
then.”
Tea lady: “Three what?”
MCP: “Milk, lemon, tea.”
Tea lady: “And that’s all you’re
having? It’s tea time.”
MCP: “I know and I want tea.”
Tea lady: “Just tea?”
MCP: “And milk and lemon, I guess.”
Tea lady: “Well, it’s for you to know.
And now what can I get you?”
MCP: “Lemon! Milk! And tea!”
Tea lady: “I know! But what can I bring you?
A digestive?”
MCP: “What for. I’m not eating.”
Tea lady: “You’re not eating at tea?”
MCP: “No, I drink tea.”
Tea lady: “Everyone does. But what do you
want for your tea?”
MCP: “This is going to be a journey longer
than my previous one. Let me try. I suppose if it were
cereal time, you’d want to know about my
drink?”
Tea lady: “I would!”
MCP: “So I eat at teatime and drink at cereal
time.”
Tea lady: “Now you’ve got it!”
MCP: “Ok, I’ll eat a cup of tea.”
Tea lady: “Are you daft? Just sit here,
lovey, and I will bring you a trolley of cakes and
fingers.”
MCP: “I don’t even want to know.”
Tea lady: “And a bit of clotted cream.”
MCP: “O no, the milk is off, then?”
Tea lady: “No.”
MCP: “So I am to have tea, lemon, milk, cream
that’s gone bad, and some cakes and fingers. And
they say the Asians are quaint.”
Tea lady: “Are you calling me quaint?”
MCP: “I am!”
Tea lady: “Then you can just get up and walk
out and down to the High Street for your elevens.”
MCP: “I am not going to ask!”
Tea lady: “Ta-ta.”
Rikkity: “And with that, another chapter of One
Man’s Journey comes to a close. In
tonight’s cast were Tea Lady as herself and MCP as
his elf. Be sure to tune in again, when Papa asks the
music question, ‘Why?’ (about Johnny Mercer). UTV. And now, the UTV
Dog... ARRRRF. If MGM can have a lion....”
TL:
“Can’t go in the wrong direction without some
damage. There needs to be a buyout, but it can’t be
suffering-free. Let’s see, have a war but no one has
to sacrifice; have a recession but no one has to
sacrifice. Can’t do it.
“This is a time for the country to come together
sacrificially. And we need to have some bad guys to
punish, but the alleged good guys are also the bad guys.
“What a mess. And all fueled by replacing vision
with dogma, and principles with personalities, and values
with doctrines. The most materially successful economies
are driven by vision, not economics. The material success
requires a spiritual component, which has been
missing.” (10/1/2008 - W#421)
Papa:
“Hi, babe. How are the thumbs. I still like ketchup,
but I can’t get any here. But I can get the concept
of ketchup and its fulfilling attributes–as in,
yummy. But I ponder, was the ketchup yummy or did it make
other foods yummy. I think the latter. I didn’t like
eggs by themselves, but a good dash of the red stuff and ok.
But not on pancakes... except potato pancakes.
“So, I continue to lead spirits out of their
perceived limitations–take them spiritually soaring,
as it were. Haven’t hit a garage yet... ‘but
had a few near misses with carports’... no no no no
no, Mr. CT! He’s a scamp. But she calls him other
things.
“I see her every day, but since there is no time,
every day is eternal. I am never out of touch with her
and you... ‘but not him.’ CT! Ok, you go to the
market and you get 49 cents in change. You put it in your
pocket. You go about other business and don’t give
it any mind. But then you need to buy a chocolate bar,
and you reach into your pocket and say ‘Yes, I have
enough.’ See, the money was always with you, even if
you did not see it or recognize it or think about it.
Sure, the poor change is neglected and forgotten and
ignored, but comes through in the end–just like the
eternal connections you have but don’t always
recognize or remember or think of. Now, what do I do with
the 7 cents I have left? Save it for a rainy day.
“So, I help people become spirits. What?!? They
arrive here as spirits, of course, but they think of
themselves as people. Have to change that–no
thinking, just knowing; no people, just spirits. Can you
imagine trying to combine several people into a more
complex being? Works spiritually but not physically
because to be human is to be differentiated, which
won’t go over very big at the complexity picnic.
“Limitations are flip sides of fulfillment. What you
perceive as the outer edges are actually the vessel you
need to fill in order to get outside that limit. Ponder
that, as she would say.” (11/26/2008 - W#422)
MCP:
“So, I am-a here, so I talk-a. She makes the
shut up. She-a shut up. ‘Mmmmm.’ LD invented this sticky
fabric tape and coated it with feathers. Duck Tape.
This-a tape, she just call-a LD a name-a: 'quack quack'!
I think she is a good joke. ‘Mmmmm.’
Sandy:
“So these waves, they aren’t waves. But the
effect is measured as if they had come
in waves. Again, the reduction of the spiritual to the
physical is not inaccurate, but only incomplete.
“So don’t say something is wrong, but also
don’t say it is right, just say it is–accurate
but not complete, like LD’s ideas. They were not
wrong, but they were not right, either. They were
accurate based on his knowledge, but others with more
knowledge could be more complete. Someone who looks like
a complete fool one day will show himself less a fool
another day. And one who proclaims himself wise one day
will play the fool another.” (6/13/2009 - W#423)
Papa:
“This I can tell you! Don’t ever act like
things are valuable to the extent that they imprison you.
Then they have you, not you have them.
We all lost, or thought we lost, the most valuable thing.
But then we found she wasn’t lost, just we
were.
“And if someone came in and took anything, they
couldn’t get the you of you. Never... no, no always... live like you could
lose it all and not feel the loss. It is hard to do, but
essential learning. Remember it!
“I would say more, but I’ve lost my mind.”
(8/6/2009 - W#424)
Rikkity: “I don’t know much about
Mufi’s other lives, because while spirits are on
sabbatical we don’t engage their story lines. They
are not plugged in because, without time, the other lives
would make the break impossible.
“Sabbaticals are about a chance to disengage and be
something else, without the burdens of history and
future. For example, try to be a Navy captain who goes on
vacation in uniform. So he is old and wise, but now he is
just a cat.
“Even knowing once he has come back here would
change your human relationship with his memory. And his
memory of his life with you has value as it is. Sometimes
you need to know less in order to know more. There’s
a PtoP.” (8/9/2009 - W#425)
TL:
“Hello. Well, I’ve been better. I seem to have
a non-headache. It hurts where I would have a head.
Whatever.
“Just because you are no longer physical,
doesn’t mean you forget your physical ways--anymore
than being physical means you forget your spiritual ways.
Might get vague and neglected, but always remembered.
“So, I can remember stubbing my toe even without
toes, and you can remember floating in meaning even
without being able to float. A warning: Do not try this
when physical!” (9/3/2009 - W#426)
Ericka's Bench 11/26/2009
Rikkity: “And now, brought to you by ARF
brand paints and finishes, it’s Ericka’s
Bench. ARF ARF ARF. If you paint your bench with
ARF, you know it’s finished! Grrrrrr.
“Well party goers, it’s another Turkey Day...
gobble. Yes, it’s our own turkey. CT. Picture foot
tapping, patient foot tapping... not-so-patient foot
tapping. Yes, CT has brought in our turkey... gobble
gobble. That’s better!
“Well, we’ve got quite the Bench for
you: a sot and a wiz and a prez. But which is which.
‘You see through me.’ Of course, you’re
not physical. ‘O.’ So, let’s get started.
But I forgot one or two. So let’s say: a sot and a
wiz and an ace and a prez and a woof. Now, maybe
it’s not Sanford... rrrr. Let’s
begin.”
Marky:
“Bonjour. The Beaujolais, she has the berries, no?
It was my pleasure to sample many options... hic.
“It is such a festive time. The labors are done and
the stores are lade and now the wine mellows, and we with
it. And all of this with great thanks. One of the
problems of the revolution in my country was that in the
haste to remove the past, they also removed the source,
and so there was no power to which one could give
thanks--except perhaps the mob, and they were hardly
worthy of thanks.
“With no spirit of public thankfulness, there is
also no source of public hope. So my people became easy
prey to the charlatans of charisma. When a nation cannot
stop and give thanks, it is no longer a nation but just a
mob of neighbors.
“So remember this, and also remember that before the
Revolution the agencies of government and church told us
to whom and how to be thankful. What is the result of
mandate or prescription is never thanks of the
heart–not real, only thanks of the fears. I raise my
glass and offer thanks. Merci, merci à Tout.”
(11/26/2009 - W#427)
Rikkity: “So he’s not really a sot,
he’s a wino. And now the wiz.”
LD:
“I invented turkey stuffing! They had all this stale
bread and I said ‘Stuff it!’ Hello.
“Continuing the theme, real thankfulness is never
simply about the past. We do not raise up thanksgiving
just for what has been and what has come our way, because
such thanks would then raise the question of those whose
history of late is hunger and pain and fear. To solely
base thanks on what has been achieved is to
create two classes: those who are blessed and all the
rest.
“But in an abundant world, there are no classes. So
part of our thanks must always be for the vision of what
might yet be, for in that realm all can participate and
have hope. The ancient Hebrews embraced this when, at the
end of thanks for liberation, even as they knew not
everyone was free, they spoke the words ‘Next year in Jerusalem.’ And even the
slaved and infirmed and hungry could repeat those words.
“So don’t make thanks a competition, but rather
open it as an invitation to the future which is
everyone’s birthright, for we know not of any entity
which is not intimately part of All That Is And Will Be.
So be thankful for the whole, and not the blessings of
one’s small portion of the whole. I am off to invent
something involving green beans and marshmallows. Wish me
well.” (11/26/2009 - W#428)
Rikkity: “Oy. And now the ace.”
Papa:
“Hi. This is pretty lofty company! But LD loves to
hear my flying stories. He says ‘Really? It
works?’ And I tell him about flying under the bridge
and he goes white. And the Frenchman, he likes my Morocco
stories... but he doesn’t like Manischewitz.
‘If I wanted to taste table grapes, I would eat
them.’ And the rest of the Bench.
“Just remember to remember the best. The rest will
dissolve in the flow of existence. And who knows which is
which? So don’t obsess over this or that.
Live, enjoy, get out of the basement.
“I always wondered, if she weren’t along, if
when we got to Providence we might just have kept going.
You were always up for an adventure. But no, ‘Turn
here, Milt!’ The biggest gifts of life may be just
behind the door, in the room where we keep our biggest
treasures. Ponder that one.
“I connect with all who matter to me. This is better
than dot dash. Ouija Board Operator's Manual. I teach that over here.
‘Say, Mr. Ace, I want to connect with my loved ones.
How do I do that.’ Here, read this book. My book
title is blank and they see what they want to. So
sometimes it’s Ouija and sometimes it’s dreams
and sometimes it’s dimes, etc. The same techniques
apply. It’s about belief, not about details.”
(11/26/2009 - W#429)
“O, here he comes. Mr. President.”
GW: “O, Ace. Talking
with babe again?”
Papa: “I am, sir.”
GW: “I’ll speak too, then.
“Gracious good afternoon. Ace is something. There is
much you are not yet aware of. And I, too. Just the other
day, M was explaining something to me and I nearly
dropped my teeth, haha. Didn’t know I had a sense of
humor, did you.
“It was one of my greatest pleasures when I
proclaimed the first Thanksgiving in our new nation. We
were barely a nation, still beset by challenges that
would make your days seem calm. But to set aside a day of
thoughtfulness about how far we had come and yet how much
of the journey remained seemed the greatest
responsibility of my office.
“Roads, commerce, armies, and navies pale in
comparison to the national spirit, because if we
aren’t united in hope, we cannot be united in aught
else. O look, my shoes are united. CT. ‘Sir.’
Please. Thanks.
“A nation divided against its hope and vision cannot
stand the rigors which will surely come. And now I go
with my trusty dog, Shirley. Shirley, come! Woof.”
(11/26/2009 - W#430)
Rikkity: “ARF ARF... grrrr. Calm
down, you are next. Woof. Grrr ARF rf
rf rf rf. He’s saying that what
Gus means is... ARF. He wants to remind you that a
delicious bone is a sumptuous meal until someone mentions
a steak. But even with a steak, the bone meal (not the
bonemeal) is still sumptuous. Don’t give thanks for
having more or better, just for being... woof arfé.
“And with that, the bench is emptied. And we all
salute this day with a tableau of us enacting the first
step on Plymouth Rock. The boat approaches, a daring soul
steps over the gunwale and steps out... ayeeeeeee.”
(11/26/2009 - W#431)
TL:
“Here’s the poop: Things will not get better as
long as the focus is on recovery, but only when the focus
is on fulfillment. It’s not like the economy was
doing so well for everyone that we want to recover it... grrrr.
Ok, maybe we do want to re-cover it with a new
Naughahyde... f f f f f.
“But seriously, what is the economy of the future?
No one seems to be asking that. And what do we do to get
there, and how many buggy-whip industries will need to
die.
“Maybe car makers and banks are passé. But
we wouldn’t know--if we are focusing on
recovery--what would be a wellness model for the economy,
because right now you are doing the illness thing... ayyyeeee.”
(2/18/2010 - W#432)
“Mufi is beyond all words. He’s right here,
being borne on a sedan chair of gold. You are
worthy--goes back to something that happened in Babylon.
You were receptive to some outsider’s spiritual
insights. That is not forgotten. Being open has its
rewards, and he was one of them. By the way, he’s
not a cat here! But then, I’m not a girl and
CT’s not a man... no jokes about that.
“Strangers were often not welcomed, but you two did.
And you listened to what he had to say-- night after
night, way beyond polite. I may be a spirit guide, but
he’s a spirit guide guide. Got his act together but
delays moving on, to all of our benefits. Wait, he’s
eating a ham sandwich... or the spiritual equivalent.
Chips? ‘No!’ O.
“Even in transition he didn’t cry out. It was
not new to him. He was coming home. That’s him: Your
Grace.“Grace
is the expression of the pieces recognizing the whole.
Every moment of grace reveals a new and more inclusive
reality. And that’s enough about that.”
(3/3/2010 - W#433)
JC:
“Greetings. I just have one point to make, and I
made it often. It is not about me!
It’s about you! And don’t
twist it into ‘He did it for me.’ That’s
just sophistry. I didn’t do anything for you, I only
reminded you to do it for yourself. And here’s a
little test I would use when people asked me about this:
“If you are doing for yourself in a genuine way as a
positive step forward, you never think about what others
could do for you, but what you could do for others.
“If you think it will take the intervention of
someone or a force beyond yourself to get you
right, you will always be looking for that person or
force and trying to see how it can help you. But if you
know you are your own savior, you don’t look for
help, you offer it. And since I had a deep sense of
myself, I could offer to others, who too often
misunderstood that as my being their savior. But it was
never about me!
“Now, here’s the test: Picture a Christianity
without a Jesus. Become the Messiah, rather than
worshipping a messiah. Live as a Christ, not worshipping
one. I envy Guatama because those who heard him looked
for the Buddha self in them, not the Guatama sense in
them. They knew he embodied something universal, just as
they might. I was not so lucky. I came with a message and
they worshipped the messenger. Mohammed can relate! Those
who looked for their fulfillment outside of self,
distorted it all. That’s my message.
“And again, that wasn’t me (the one on the
cross), because it was never about me. And the Romans
didn’t care. They just wanted somebody. ‘See,
he’s dead. Go away.’ Great bureaucratic
blunder.
“And if you find yourself looking to others to
fulfill you, beware. And if others look to you for their
fulfillment, really beware! That’s all. But if you
live that out, it’s enough.” (4/4/2010 - W#434)
Rikkity: “That’s it for today. Short,
sweet, simple, but humanly challenging.”
Ericka's Bench 11/20/2010
Rikkity: “With the score tied at 7-7, we now turn to those unlucky
souls who have not yet had a chance to beat up Farvard.
‘Huck Farvard!’ Yes, it’s the Bench.
“Alongside the field of glory, we meet up with
several Elis and their cohorts. First
of all, we whisper the initials, HS.”
HS:
“Hello, all. We have not had much need of my
financial counsel. You amazingly eke by while living in
paradise. It’s just a matter of dollars and sense.
“Watch out for the growth stocks of Liechtenstein
especially. We have been eating! ambrosia, o yes. Keep an
eye on the famous clinics–especially the Schaffhausen. And avoid them! Scam!
But seriously, that’s all for now.
“Sitting on the bench with me is a tight ass...
Rikkity: “No no no, tight end. Oy, I
now know why they aren’t in the game.”
Marky:
“Bonjour. Just because I do not eat the
ambrosia, eet ees not that I am a tight derrière.
The Nouveau, she is arrivé.
And I must compliment her ass... no no no no... her body.
That ees eet, she has a fruity body. ‘With the
bouquet of a sweat sock.’ My dear monsieur CT, she
has the bouquet of a late August après-midi.
And I love her.
Rikkity: “We know, you’ve been soused
since she got here.”
“Ah, mais oui, but what a way to go. I
celebrate life and I celebrate death and I celebrate
celebrations.”
Rikkity: “I think we will come back to
Marky... f f f f. He’s under the bench with
Sandy... f f f. Let’s just say our reserves
are getting depleted rapidly. ‘I was never in the
reserves!’ No, Papa, you weren’t.”
Papa:
“Hi, babe. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.
And I’m grateful for having you as a monkey-face. If
I remember, I could make a pretty good monkey face
myself. Always good for a laugh from little girls.
“One of the secrets of life is to not take it too
seriously. When I did, I had my ‘breakdown’.
You see, if I had taken life not so seriously, I could
have been more convincing to people of what actually
happened. We confuse seriousness with honesty, but
actually it’s the other way ‘round. We are most
honest when we are not trying to be most earnest.
“...I was distracted by Marky and Sandy.
They’re singing loudly! Out of tune! A song about a
woman of Calais. She must have been either a beauty or a
dog, I can’t tell. It’s either bien or
chien. Whatever.
“Seriousness is a mask worn in avoidance of honesty.
I do not trust a smile, but I trust a lack
of smile less. So I don’t trust any Russians, with
good reason. What they did to our family. If your mother
makes borscht once more.... I’m surprised dirt
sandwiches never became a kosher delicacy.
“I think I have taken up enough, and I need to hide
so they won’t send me in. I’m better at
waiting!” (11/20/2010 - W#435)
MW:
“My gracious friends, welcome again. I’m glad
to see you seated comfortably.
“When my husband first spoke to me about a Proclamation of Thanksgiving, I warned him not to be
too religious. I was the more pious of the household, but
I knew that even among the loyal staff here, there were
many opinions and sympathies as belie faith, and even the
Scriptures.
“We had suffered the long deprivations of
subservience to bishops in England, and then the years of
our freedom-seeking conflict. More than once he said to
me, ‘How wonderful that people of such diverse and
varied beliefs should unite in a greater cause.’ And
I reminded him that he would provide poor recompense for
their faith in our cause if he now imposed a single faith
upon them. And so, he took to task and mind the duty of
speaking of gratitude in the most universal of ways,
knowing that the great Fount of Beneficence is not a
subscriber to any one creed; that what we sought was an
attitude of thanksgivings, not a prayer of Thanksgiving.
“He was wise as usual, and listened to me. And the
rest is history. And I now confess this was not of my
making, but of my heart’s and soul’s listening.
For, so often in the tales of the people, I heard this
wisdom.
“I hear a rustling. O, Marquis, it is you. ‘Oui,
madame, and eet ees you.’ O dear, I think our guest
has overdone it. He sleeps with the hounds... f f f f.
I am pleased to see the hounds do not take this
seriously... f f f f.
“I shall tell Mister that you and I have spoken, and
that you confirm me in my views that his words were wise.
As I said, by listening to the words of others, I came to
my wisdom as well.” (11/20/2010 -
W#436)
Rikkity: “And at the end of the bench, a
usually quiet one.”
CT:
“I usually only add the jibes, but at Thanksgiving I
need to say something. The table is not set with turkey,
it is not set with linen, it is not set with wine... hic...
Marky! nor with pies. It is set with spirits made human,
who gather in gratitude--not really for the fruits of the
Earth, but for the flowering of the spirit. Though a
table be meager or plain, if the company be warm and
loving, then a Thanksgiving is real. Don’t count the
courses, count the connections. It’s as simple as
that.
“And at this point, I would chime in, ‘as
simple as CT.’ And she would say, ‘Amen!’
” (11/20/2010 - W#437)
Rikkity: “Amen! Let’s see if he is up to
saying anything. F f f f... zzzzzzzzzz.
I think not. And so, the subs are on the bench and
Farvard is scared. They worry that a drunk and a dog will
defeat them. Usually it takes less! Wait! Put the ball
down! Grrrrrrr. I’ve got to go.”
JJC:
“Hello. They all talk about a personal
relationship with me, but can they relate to a personal talk
with me. I doubt it, because their faith is not about me,
it’s about some symbol called ‘Jesus’.
“If it were about me, they would say much less about
Jesus and more about those things I shared. And let me
get this straight: When I say ‘My Father,’ I am
using a colloquialism for all that transcends human
physical existence–the very root out of which I
came, and you come, and she comes, and he comes. ‘I
didn’t!’ Ok, you didn’t. ‘O.’
Always one in every crowd. ‘Not this one!’
Would someone check his papers.
“ 'I am the truth (lower voice), the way.'
No. I said, 'My way has truth, my way has life, and only
through following such a path of values and vision will
hope be eternally yours, for everything else is
transitory but hope and truth and faith.' It loses
something in translation... and some church councils (‘I move we change
it to read ‘I am.’ All in favor.). I kept
telling them all, it’s not about me. And they kept
wanting to make it about me so they couldn’t get
blamed. ‘It’s Jesus, not me.’ But I kept
saying, ‘No it’s not about me.’
That’s why I quit. Fear of it being about them. Fear
of it being about an ordinary human being. Fear that if I
could say those things and live that way, they could,
too, if they were only fearless.
“Don’t believe in me, believe in the
way I believed: passionately, freely, hopefully,
courageously, enigmatically. The best faith does not
stand on reason, and remains much of a mystery, even as
it appears as certain as the dawn. If you can figure it
all out, it’s not faith. And only faith can take you
to unseen goals. Use a map of the known, if you wish, but
you’ll never get anywhere truly new.
“I have to go. Teaching some newbies how to make
spiritual sandals for the journey.” (1/20/2011 -
W#438)
"Hey, if
you can’t use the spirits, what’s the point of
us hanging around. I don’t want to be like those
poor souls who go down every arrival to see if their
loved ones have come to be with them. They hear us
so to speak, so to speak, and they ignore it and think of
this as a big spiritual reunion center. ‘I’m
just waiting for my beloved Sadie and we can be together
for eternity.’ No, you can be waiting for Sadie for
what seems an eternity. But at least the food is the best you’ve ever tasted.
“There are spirits who just can’t believe this
is a transitional element of existence, and consider it a
final being place.
“Hey, Bud, Sadie moved on. ‘She wouldn’t
do that without me!’ With that understanding, she
just might. She thought it would get crowded with her and
Herbert and you. It is sort of like the mine head of the trapped miners, when several women found
out they were waiting for the same man. Big fallacy of
this understanding.” (1/20/2011 - W#439)
“Hi to all my fans. I love you, even if you
can’t love back.
“We are all getting to be old farts... but not me.
I’m over the edge, beyond time–which might seem
great, but not always. Until all you have known are
beyond time, it can be troubling. You keep being called
back to the limits of time and the fulfillments of the
physical. If one didn’t love, then it would be easy.
“So, some occasions occur where I let myself
experience the old curse and friend, time. I
usually leave just before the papers are overdue. I
relive some of my Yale days, but cut out before exams. I
seem to spend a lot of time in various refectories. I
don’t know why. (In the were as if it is are,
but they are are more than were.
Confusing? You bet.)
“Time is a blessing and a demon. And yet all is
well... except for that and him. ‘I knew it!’
We are not alone, I see. One of the challenges of a
connectional spiritual existence is to get alone space,
reality, experience.” (2/26/2011 - W#440)
Ericka's Bench 3/26/2011
“Grrrreat. And once again, we welcome
you to Ericka’s Bench. I’m Pontius
Pilate, speaking for all the maligned spirits of history,
reminding you you can’t wipe your history clean but
you can shape your future like Jello. Hidden product
placements available right here on this Benjamin
Moore-painted bench. Wearing a smile and a smart outfit
from Express, here’s Rikkity.”
Rikkity: “His first and last job here. But
don’t worry, I’ll talk with temp today about a
replacement. Oops, hello Benchites... grrr.
Whatya doin’, canine. Woof. Printing? Woof.
Printing what? Arfé. Jokes? Arfé. Bad
jokes, o dear. Do you have to do it here? Grr.
O, I see, it’s a bench press. Even
CT is groaning.
“But we have a full bench! Crash. Well, not
as full anymore. Since you are down and therefore up, why
don’t you start, LD.”
LD:
“Hello. Just give me a moment to collect myself. You
try sitting next to her! ‘Can you give us just a
little hip room, dearie.’ Wham, and
I’m down. I think I’ll invent Annoying Benches,
with individual armrests between the seats. Hey, Rikkity,
how about seatbelts on the bench. ‘LD, just talk,
don’t invent.’
“Ok. Most people are sequential thinkers. They do A,
then they do B, then they do C. I give
you a profound example. They bake a cake, but it’s
too big and some spoils, so they think ‘I’ll
make smaller ones.’ Ok, cupcakes. But these
don’t seem as good, so they vary the recipe and
voilà, cookies are born. Then they think icing–red,
white, and green, Viva Italia. But that’s
it. Boring. Just new shapes and new colors. But a few are
synthetic thinkers, and I don’t mean they bake nylon
cookies. They are sitting there, nibbling on nuts and
chocolate, and suddenly they say, ‘How about we add
these,’ and Toll House cookies are born–the
greatest thing I didn’t invent. Chewy, yummy, a far
cry from a dry sugar cookie with fuchsia icing.
“Sequence takes things to their natural
fulfillment; synthetic takes them to their
unnatural possibility. Now, do this with any idea.
Instead of saying ‘Then,’ say ‘What
if’. U.S. bombs Libya and then...
or, U.S. bombs Libya, what if then we
send them whoopie cushions. See, the pattern breaks. Now,
the cushions might not be the best ‘what if’,
but it’s a start toward what might be. Try to be
creative instead of adaptive. I found it always worked
for me.” (3/26/2011 - W#441)
“Here she is.”
Rikkity: “Thank you, o wise one. Ok, if you
want to, sure, go ahead. She wanted to take out our
recycling. She’s good at that. She doesn’t see
any connection between being here and doing good things
like that. She says goodness is larger than life. It is
Aunt Gloria. She’s helping out. She’s out with
arfer. They’re in the alley. He likes her because
Papa told him stories about her. She won’t go flying
with Papa and Don. So anymoo, are you ready to rumble?
Here’s the mighty giant.”
MCP:
“Hey-a. how’s she goin-a. So, I go to China. I
have tea. It is so good–worth all the tea in China.
Put that in the joke book. But it is so good, I think to
myself, ‘I need to take some back.’ So, I fill
a canteen. But then I think, ‘This is stupid.’
So, I watch the Chinese as they dry the leaves carefully,
rolling them tight so when they dry, I can take gallons
with me. I bring it back home, and I take a little and
add hot water and wow, I’m back in China. Actually,
I serve the tea in China (another one for the book.
I’m good at bad.)
“And I think about how much could be shared and
transported if we learned the same secret: to distill out
what is universal, and could be added back anywhere and
then only carry the unique. So many traditions make
ritual out of the universal as if it were unique, and
never get to the unique. We keep making steaming pots of
water and claim the kind of fire or the type of pot or
the material of the kettle is important, when all
we’ve got is boiling water like everyone else.
“Learn to find and hold and share what is special,
and don’t be distracted by claims of the universal
being special. And don’t add sugar to green tea.
That’s-a all for me-a.” (3/26/2011 - W#442)
Rikkity: “And since we are on this topic...
yes, here she is.”
Tea Lady:
“Come on in, lovey. What? 2 of you. There’s no
sharing of one cup. It’s 2 cups, or out with the 2
of you. You want what? Green what? Look, I’ve got
tea, good English tea. No, not grown in England, but in
the Empire. What?!? You didn’t know China was in the
Empire. It isn’t, lovey, because the best tea comes,
not from China, but from the plantations of Africa.
Raised by good gentlemen and picked with clean English
hands, if you don’t mind. Sir Thomas himself selected the tea I serve. The
package has his signature on it, see. And it being late
in the day, you’ll get the full effect of a
day’s brewing. If it’s too strong, you can add
some sugar.
“Biscuit? I’ve got several kinds. I’ve got
red, white, green, and this purpley one. All good
biscuits they are. Hear that, that’s the bell for
the down train. What, you say, what, you’re off to
London. Better hurry. I thought you were off to Bristol.
My error. Safe travel. Only a penny farthing. Well,
I’m glad I didn’t give them my best service.
Closing time, last call. Ok, just a brandy for me. Maybe
another.”
Rikkity: “And so we watch the tea lady close
her shop. And by twilight she makes her way back to The Shambles, where her meagre room
contains only memories and few hopes. But just then, a
commotion on the stair arrests her thoughts and she pokes
her head out. ‘Do you mind,’ asks Mr. Jaggers.
And she says, ‘I do mind, if you don’t
mind.’ And we leave them there for other comment and
tales. Just down the hall, Jenny Jones... no no no no, stop me,
please stop me.
“Well, the bench is not yet empty, hmm. But
I invited only three. Who are you.”
RP:
“I’m RP.”
“RP?”
“Yes, RP.”
“Do I know you.”
“No.”
“What’s up.”
“Well, I saw this bench and this cute dog and I said
to myself, ‘I think I’ll not got the hang of
this speaking thing yet. I think I’ll rest
awhile.’ And along came that bearded gent and the
little Italian and her, and I listened in. Who are you
talking with?”
“Those are parts of my entity-to-be.”
“Entity, what’s that.”
“It’s a combination of being which has
persistence across a wide field of complexity
possibilities, and I am a manifestation of probabilities
within the field.”
“So, you are saying you are the evidential
expression of the existential possibilities arising out
of a timeless continuum of being meaning.”
“Wow, you got it.”
“Why, that’s simple but amazing. I guess I came
to the right place. Is this Athens.”
“No.”
“Is this the home of Socrates?”
“No.”
“O dear, can you say where I am.”
“No.”
“Can you say when I am.”
“No.”
“Can you say I am.”
“Yes, probably.”
“I like this place, time, possibility. Am I
alive.”
“No more, and not yet.”
“Hmm, paradoxical and just downright
challenging. I am asked to believe that I am beyond time,
is that right.”
“Yes, and you have always been, but didn’t
understand that.”
“O. And I am beyond place, but at the same time I am
placed in connection to all.”
“Yes. And even when you thought your place was in
Crete, you were possibly everywhere else, too.”
“Hmm. And you all sit here on benches and
speak with spirits.”
“Only on some nexus.”
“Hmm. But it is also all points in a matrix
of being--defined by a plane of understanding, but not
confined by it.”
“Yes, this is true... or not.”
“Hmm. I think I’ll sit here and
ponder.”
“That’s it!”
“What?”
“You got it!”
“I did?”
“You will.”
“I will.”
“Or not... ARF.”
“Here’s that dog again.”
“He’s not a dog, he’s just existing as
one.”
“What?”
“Hey, girlfriend, don’t blow my cover.”
“Sandy, speak... ARF. Good boy.”
“Did I just hear the dog talk?”
“No, I’m a ventriloquist.”
“How do you do that without lips.”
“I see you’re getting the idea.”
“I think I’ll sit and ponder.”
“Good. While you do that, I’ll say hi to my
friends on the other side.”
“Other side of what?”
“Everything and nothing.”
“Oy.”
“Are you Jewish.”
“No, just perplexed.”
“Ok, sit quietly. Have some tea..” (3/26/2011 -
W#443)
Rikkity: “And now, from me to all who care:
Love is never constrained or contained by circumstances.
It flows across everything we take as boundaries and
separations. So, I speak now with you even though I am
gone from your time and space, and love connects.
Don’t mistake life for tea. Life is just boiling
water, but spirit is tea.
A little one may never know her parents as she grows, but she
will always know their love. We can’t make existence
perfect, because it already is in the great sweep of
being, even as it is imperfect in the moment or the
place. We have to decide if we will identify with the
universal or the particular. Pain abides in both, but
pain is only sustained in the particular. Reach out in
love and you may not change what is, but you
will create love, which cannot be destroyed.
“Fixes all come to their own conclusions, but love
never reaches its conclusion. I think that’s
all.” (3/26/2011 - W#444)
JC:
“I am, once and always, here.
“Verily I say unto you, what is in your heart shall
be written in your life. And none shall ever be able to
betray that which is deep in their soul. So, what you
mistake for a betrayal of value or virtue is, but really,
the revelation of the truth. Don’t ever believe a
scoundrel has better sentiments in his imagination. If he
did, he would live them.
“Surely there will come a time of fulfillment, or
else all dreams are nightmares. Your mistrust of others
belies the mistrust of yourself. No one--not even your
Father in Heaven--knows the last line of this fair play
we all call ‘Life’. Perhaps the script is
endless and the cast changing. Will not the author be
surprised by outcomes and new revelations.
“About age 42, I had a bad spell. It was almost 10
years after I disappeared, and I was almost recognized,
and I thought it a relief that I wasn’t. But as each
year went by, the story of my death just grew, and I
found that depressing. I preached hope and they spoke
fear–like I was no better than a street magician.
“You want your sins washed away? Then stop sinning!
Simple. It was never about actions anyway, but about
direction. The greatest deed done in hate never matches
the poorest deed done in love.
“All I did was so simple. Just be authentic and
kind... ‘act a bit crazed, wear old clothes, and
rant a bit.’ Ah, my good friend, CT. CT, come here
that I might annoy you (present tense of anoint).
“On [Good Friday], I was behind a stall in the
market area. It was strange, but not strange. We had
rehearsed it: ‘Look Judas, kiss the other guy. I
know you like me, but.... Peter, you’ve got to set
it up so you are asked three times (the prophecy I would
make).’ What if I said 'three', and he only did two.
God is in the details... and not the entrails.
“The man who took my place... Have you ever dealt
with groupies, sick groupies. Well, he wasn’t one.
He believed in my ministry, looked much like me, but was
pretty emaciated and was coughing blood. So, he knew the
next weeks wouldn’t be pretty. So, did you ever
wonder how come the guy on the cross dies in just three
hours? when many survived days. He wanted to give his
death a meaning. Think about this: I have been at all
those banquets, but then suddenly I’m skinny. Ah. We
give him a few words to say--all he could handle. When in
doubt, toss in a prophetic passage. We all sat around and
decided on the seven passages. Originally, he was to say
‘I forgive you because you don’t know what
you’re doing,’ but he ad libbed. But it was
carefully scripted, right down to the two strangers for
the tomb. Want to talk conspiracy theory.
“I always figured I could later come back, but it
took on a life of its own. It went like the plague. I
think you now say ‘It went viral.’ Within weeks
I was so much more than me. I think if I had tried to
come back, I’d have to sell melons in Jerusalem.
Within weeks I was not me. That felt good. I was off the
hook. So I was free, but my ideas had a chance.
“And here’s a clue: It was never about me, so
don’t make it about me. You’ve got all you need
in you. If you take me in, it will get too crowded and
some of you will get squeezed out. And if you can’t
differentiate between me and you, please seek medical
help.
“I think that’s enough. Others are calling. Do
I hear all the prayers. O, yes. But so does everyone.
It’s just that very few people pray to Stanley
Levitz of Omaha or whoever. I wish they’d pray to
someone else. And Mom says, ‘No more.' She’s
not taking on new clients.
“See, if you prayed to someone you know, that might
actually change the way things happen. A simple prayer to
an entity that is connected to your being intimately is
more efficacious than one to some famous figure. Spread
the energy around. Prayers are like connections sought;
seek them close for the biggest response. Whoa,
didn’t mean to share that, but it’s true. So,
if your partner is ill, don’t pray to me, pray to
the partner, asking her or him to be well. Changes the
equation, doesn’t it. No repositories of energy...
‘nor suppositories.’ CT, yes.
“So, ponder that.” (4/24/2011 - W#445)
“I’m feeling old because I contain all that has
come together to make this entity. And I feel young
because I can only imagine what infinite journey lies
ahead. It’s like being a 90-year-old 2-year-old. I
like it. My legs are old, my eyes are dim, but I see all,
and go everywhere.” (5/10/2011 - W#446)
TJ:
“Hello, gracious friends. I am disheartened whenever
the ideas of any person are diminished, not because of
their content but rather because of their context or
their author’s context as seen through the
microscope of later assessment.
“When I took knife to the Christian
scriptures, I wanted to excise all that had been added by
history and keep only what was original. So, too, should
we treat all. Don’t think our prejudices of our own
age give us a better vision than the prejudices of any
other age. Or perhaps we ought to discontinue reverence
and consideration of all people, who are
surely fallible examples amid the perfect Divine design.
Maybe we ought to also erase the names of Buddha and
Horace and Cato. But then we should also erase our own
names from everything we write or create, lest we claim a
perfection not our own. I would rather honor failed
humans and learn from them than worship at the idol of
perfection. Nothing more need be said, lest all history
be erased and all attempts at meaning rendered hollow.
“Thanks for your sharing where and when I cannot.
Gracious friends, don’t be... ah, pissed? Be sad,
and also feel sympathy for those who can only feel whole
by making others less. How empty their lives must be, or
else how full of anger. They fear their own fallibility
and cannot admit it. Before I go too far, I go.”
(5/18/2011 - W#447)
GW:
“Gracious good day. My old friend, Mr. Jefferson,
has been monopolizing your time with his own issues, but
I must speak. Several of us have been considering an
issue on your behalf. I don’t say we have been
‘speaking’, for no words were formed or shared.
Let me first share a small portion of how we inform one
another:
“A concept, an idea, a notion... ‘a bad
dream’... Mr. T., please... will become evident to
us, each one becoming aware of it. We each interact with
it, and as we interact with the thought-feeling, it is
transposed--taking onto itself our additions and
subtractions and amendments. It is as if we are
interacting with an organism which is a thought, an
idea... don’t go there, CT! (I have learned to be
vigilant with him.)
“So, thought--which is also feeling
and embodiment--flows its own course, steered by
those whose interactions it welcomes. So, we were
considering some thought for you. Let me try to express
it.
“Don’t become the foil of others’
foolishness. It is a way to divert attention from the
foolishness of another’s course. So, let the process
unfold, because no real learning can take place on a
field filled with excuses and bravado. Let each
initiative stand on its own. For surely, your energy and
that of many others would be taken hostage by people of
small vision. In my presidency, I often had to restrain
an urge to combat foolishness, and I soon learned that
allowing it its own course is best, if there is no threat
to body, liberty, or vision. So, we counsel you not to be
over and against. Let it unfold. Always act
toward vision, not in reaction to actions.
“With that, I stand down.” (5/21/2011 - W#448)
“Mufi is the glue that holds ideas together. Ponder
that. He is just that: The spirit of connection. So, he
is venerated because without him, we would all get stuck.
Now, are you ready for this? Ok, he is a spirit catalyst.
He makes growth possible without becoming part of the
product. And this he will do until his entity assembles
and he moves on. So, every spirit wants him near.
“But he has work ahead, introducing two nerds in
Cambridge. And his catalystic style is necessary for a
son to be born. Can’t do it without him. He’s
(or maybe it’s she is) the roommate of one
of us. She loves (or he loves) fur coats. You’ll
see. ‘Is Animal Auntie’ or ‘Animal
Unk’ coming over,’ a little kid will say. But
now he’s just glue to the universal urge to connect.
And Sanford is a bit jealous... grrrr...
envious... grrrr... appreciative ARF.”
(9/5/2011 - W#449)
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