e-newsletter From Rachael Hertogs
Mood:  a-ok
Topic: archive newsletters

March 09 Free e-newsletter From Rachael Hertogs Archive newsletters can be found at http://angel-healing.tripod.com   Hello! It has been a while again, and again I have lots of news! I have new products on my website www.moontimes.co.uk …with great books for women (ideal for mothers day gifts!) - Menopausal Years: The Wise Woman Way,  My Little Red Book, The Secret Pleasures of the Menopause and my compilation ‘not for profit’ book- Thirteen moons- Some of you have bought my Women’s Wisdom booklets over the years….well I have taken the ‘best bits’ of the booklets and created a 250+ page book called Thirteen Moons – it includes a Moon Journal for you to fill in and chart the connection between your cycle and the moon, as well as containing many articles by inspiring and amazing women, poems, art, stories and much more! Also products such as women’s health kits, Bella Bees wonderful soothing balms, bamboo and hemp nappies, eco cleaning products, Green Bike oil etc! check it out www.moontimes.co.uk     I also just wanted to highlight to those of you in Bristol….The Bristol Women’s Show, Ashton Gate, Bristol 29th March   £5 entry with loads of freebies, workshops, advice, fashions shows, goody bags http://www.bristolwomensshow.co.uk hope to see you there!   Have a happy mothers day and enjoy the sunshine J blessings, Rachael xxx
Courses and Reiki Shares:
Reiki II Practitioners Class   Reiki II class starts April 14th   -Tuesday Evenings  and runs over 6 weeks in Montpelier    Reiki II is about building on Level I, this level increases the flow of reiki energy and includes a further attunement. Reiki symbols are also given to help with more specific areas of healing and to allow distant treatments. There are a number of requirements and case studies to fulfill before receiving your practitioners certificate. For further information, please contact Rachael on 9537765 email info@rachaelhertogs.co.uk www.rachaelhertogs.co.uk   Reiki Share Dates for 2009- all Shares will be at Akousis  (Fairlawn Rd, Montpelier) Friday Evenings April 24th, June 19th, Aug 7th, Oct 2nd and Dec 4th contact me to confirm attendance.   Menstrual Health Workshop- at The Goddess Show: Bath Show Ground, 7th June I'll be there with my Moon Lodge doing workshops and selling my products! do check their website: http://www.goddessshow.co.uk/welcome.html
The Bristol Green Store EXPANDS….
We now have a stall in the Exchange Hall, St Nicks Market, Corn St, Bristol   We’ll have our usual range of green & practical products from cleaning products such as Soap Nuts, vinegar, organic soap flakes to cloth nappies and wraps (new and 2nd hand), ‘personal care’ items; toothpaste, organic cotton wool, Mooncups….  locally made items such as Bella Bees Balms, Moons Times organic pads & panty liners, Simply Natural Homes natural cleaners, wooden hand crafted items etc We accept Real Nappy Campaign Vouchers and offer Bio D washing up liquid refils! Green Earth Paints, Thermafleece and more still available at our Chessel St Shop Bedminster. website  www.bristolgreenstore.co.uk facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bristol/Bristol-Green-Store/56935198168?ref=share Products on offer at St Nicks- natural cleaning products, Lactivist baby t-shirts, cloth nappies, breast pads, Bella Bees wonderful balms, Moon Times eco sanitary wear, natracare pads, organic cotton wool (throw away and washable!),  wooden goods, recycled china necklaces, green bike oil, and so much more!!
Events and Networking EVENTS pencil in to your diaries.... The Bristol Women’s Show, Ashton Gate, Bristol 29th March   £5 entry with loads of freebies, workshops, advice, fashions shows, goody bags http://www.bristolwomensshow.co.uk   The Goddess Show: Bath Show Ground, 7th June  I'll be there with my Moon Lodge doing workshops and of course selling my products! do check their website: http://www.goddessshow.co.uk/welcome.html   The Garden Festival, Hellens Manor, Herefordshire 13 & 14 June  A wonderful festival celebrating all that’s green: from plants, to hand carved wooden objects, woven baskets, clothes, brick a brac and much more…well worth a visit! http://www.thegardenfestival.co.uk/   Quest Natural Health Show, Newton Abbott Race Course, 2-5 July A wonderful weekend of workshops and stalls and music Moon Times will be there with a stall and Moon Lodge and Joanna who created the Daughters In Flower Cards will be offering readings! http://www.questuk.co.uk      SACRED ARTS CAMP International Dance and Voice Camp 22nd MAY to 30th MAY 09 Held in Chiltern Hills in Oxfordshire, England   Sacred Arts Camp - be part of a delightful international community that honours the spiritual richness of the world. Building Community in rhythm with earth and sky, celebrating life through dance, voice and creative play.   Sacred Arts Camp is an alcohol, drugs and dog free camp!   The Dances of Universal Peace are the main focus of the Camp. These simple, heart-opening dances are based on sacred phrases from the world's spiritual traditions. Sing your heart out; experience the joy of singing together, explore your voice, discover harmony and learn beautiful songs from many traditions. Sharing groups offer opportunities to explore current themes, skills sharing, men’s and women’s groups and celebrating our young adults. For adults & children of all ages, camp is a wonderful place for creativity, play and making new friends. Teenagers form a vibrant community within the camp, creating music, sharing and forming long lasting friendships. CONTACT DETAILS Web: www.sacredartscamp.org Email: hello@sacredeartscamp.org Phone: Diane +44-(0) 1297 33700   Your Community Clinic- see website for dates and venues! Provide yourself with an opportunity for rest and enhance self esteem, feel more peaceful, content, positive and better able to cope with day to day stresses!£10 for 30 mins. Treatments are 30 minutes- although 1 hour sessions can be booked. see web site for therapies, venues and dates www.yourcommunityclinic.com  Peace Dances in Bristol With Tansen - an international teacher and mentor for thedances of universal peace . "The Dances of Universal Peace change lives. And the world changes life by life. All over the earth people long for an alternative to the numbing effects of consumerism, to the fear of diversity that drives humanity apart. They long for an actual experience of reverence for the earth and life in all its forms. The dances show how." Neil Douglas-Klotz.  Dances of Universal Peace offer a way to touch the spiritual essence of ourselves and of others through sacred chant and movement. Saturday 21st March  doors open, drinks available from 10am Horfield Quaker Meeting House 300 Gloucester Rd, Bristol BS7 8PDTickets on the door £25 (£20 concessions)All welcome – no previous experience or pre-booking needed. Please bring veggie lunch to share. Ffi tel Celia 0117 924 1023 celia@beeson-1.demon.co.uk
Flower Eco Tips    When choosing flowers forMother's day and gifts, consider where  your flowers have come from, what  conditions they might have been grown  in, and how far they've had to travel to get to you! Many cut flowers have a sizable carbon footprint because they are grown abroad and shipped thousands of miles to the U.K. Pesticides may also have been used to grow them which can be harmful to both workers and the environment.   Don't despair though there are plenty of greener options available.... 1. Smell the Seasons. Bulb flowers like Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are not far away...we all associate sunflowers with summer - even winter has its share of beautiful, seasonal flowers. 2. Fair Trade flowers - consider the impact on the people in the country they were grown in. Were they grown in heat controlled greenhouses with pesticides and other chemicals? 3. Local or Organic - Use a florist who is knowledgable about selecting sustainable flowers - either grown locally or from an organic farm. Why not ask for biodegradable ribbons and accessories too?
An affirmation for you - Be Open to Healing I am open to my healing angels. I am healthy, whole, and complete. I allow my Inner Light to shine bright.	And to finish:   The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost. -G.K. Chesterton

I Am a Human Being

I Am a Human Being

Afrikaans Ek is 'n menslike wese, dus is geen menslike dinge vir my vreemd nie. Albanian Asgjë njerëzore s'është e huaj për mua përderisa jam njeri. Catalonian Sóc un ésser humà; això fa que rés humà em sigui aliè. Czech Jsem clovek, a nic lidského mi není cizí. Danish Jeg er et menneske, så intet menneskeligt er mig fremmed. Dutch Ik ben een mens, dus niets menselijks is mij vreemd. English I am a human being, so nothing human is alien to me. Estonian Olen inimene, miski inimlik ei ole mulle võõras. Finnish Olen ihminen, eikä mikään inhimillinen ole minulle vierasta. French Je suis un homme, et rien de ce qui est humain ne m'est étranger. Frisian Ikke ben ien minske, dus neat minskliks is me frjemd. German Ich bin ein Mensch, also ist mir nichts Menschliches fremd. Greek (Eimai anthropos ke tipota to anthropino then mou einai xeno.) Grunnegs Ik bin n minsk, dus niks minskleks is mie vrumd. Hebrew (Ben enosh anoxi; ein dvar enosh hazar li.) Hungarian Ember vagyok, es semmi emberitol nem idegenkedem. Icelandic ég er manneskja og því er ekkert mennskt mér framandi. Indonesian Aku adalah seorang manusia : segala sesuatu yang manusiawi tidaklah asing. Irish Is duine daoine mé féin, mar sin mé haon ionadh liom rud ar dith daona. Italian Sono un'essere umano, per cui niente di umano mi è estraneo. Japanese (Watashi wa ningen dearu. Ningen ni kakawaru koto nara nandemo jibun ni muen de aru to wa omowanai.) Korean (Nanun inkan iki taemune inkan e kwalyundoin il iramyon muet ikena nawa kwankyeka uptako saengkak haji ahnunda.) Nepali (Maanchhe nai hu; tyasaile maanchhekai vishaymaa malaai kehi pani chij biraano laagdaina.) Norwegian Jeg er menneske, intet menneskelig er meg fremmed. Papiamentu Mi ta un hende humano, pesei nada humano ta stranjo p'ami. Polish Czlowiekiem jestem i nic co ludzkie nie jest mi obce. Portuguese Eu sou um ser humano, por isso tudo o que é humano não me é alheio. Romani Dooleske ka me som komunis, na tsi komuneskaano naa frendo mange. Romanian Sunt om si nimic din ceea ce este omenesc nu-mi este strain. Russian (Ja chelovek, i nichto chelovecheskoe mne ne chuzhdo.) Sami Dasgo mun lean olmmos, ii miige olmmoslas leat munnje vieris. Serbian Covek sam, i nista ljudsko nije mi strano. Slovak Som clovek, a nic l'udsk mi nie je cudzie. Slovenian Clovek sem, nic clove skega mi ni tuje. Spanish Soy un ser humano, por eso todo lo que es humano no me es ajeno. Swahili Mimi ni mtu, si kitu cha mtu ambacho ni kigeni mwangu. Swedish Jag är människa, intet mänskligt är mig främmande. Tagalog Ako ay isang tao, kaya lahat ng karanasang pang tao ay alam ko Turkish Ben bir insanim ve insane özgü hiçbir sey bana yabanci degildir. Ukrainian (Ia lyudyna, a tomu nishcho lyuds'ke meni ne chuzhe.) Vietnamese Tôi là môt con nguði, cho nên không có dièu gì vé con nguði là la lùng dói vòi tõi.

Publius Terentius Afer (195 or 185 B.C.-159 B.C.) Roman Republic playwright known in English as Terence Quote originally appeared as "Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto" in his 154 B.C. play "Heauton Timorumenos" ("The Self-Tormentor") Translations are by Humanity's Team country coordinators and from contributions to Web site of Belgium's Jos van Geffen

build your own compost loo!

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Healing Cards

see

 http://www.consciousone.com/c1Cards 

DANCE OF 1000 HANDS...

DANCE OF 1000 HANDS... Read the paragraph below FIRST before you watch the video   There is an awesome dance, called the Thousand-Hand Guanyin, which is making the rounds across the net. Considering the tight coordination required, their  accomplishment is nothing short of amazing, even if they were not all deaf.  Yes, you read correctly.  All 21 of the dancers are complete deaf-mutes. Relying only on signals from trainers at the four corners of the stage, these extraordinary dancers deliver a visual spectacle that is at once intricate and stirring.   Its first major international debut was in Athens at the closing ceremonies for the 2004 Paralympics. But it had long been in the repertoire of the Chinese Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe and had traveled to more than 40 countries.   Its lead dancer is 29 year old Tai Lihua, who has a BA from theHubei Fine Arts Institute.  The video was recorded in Beijing during the Spring Festival this year.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgHmSdpjEIk

The Proof is on its way!

It's Finally Time...

THE PROOF
A film that will change the way humanity looks at Oneness

On April 15th, James Twyman releases his new film: THE PROOF. What if it's possible to actually prove that the mystics and saints were correct when they said that we actually are ONE? And what if it could be done in a fun, exciting way that touches millions of people who would not normally be attracted to such ideas?

SEE THE TRAILER:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQR8OIAmeXs

The film will be released as a free gift in April, a downloadable movie that will change the way you look at yourself and the world you live in. Best of all, you'll then have an opportunity to learn how to experience this phenomenon yourself in a special Internet course produced by Hay House.

You won't want to miss this. Spread the word:
PROOF IS ON THE WAY!!!

The Bristol Green Store has EXPANDED!!

The Bristol Green Store has EXPANDED!!

We now have a stall in the Exchange Hall, St Nicks Market, Corn St.

 

Saturday 7^th is our Grand Opening- come along and say hi- have a taster hand massage;

 

sampling some of our local producer-

 

Bella Bees- lovely Hand Balm! (from 11.30am)

 

We’ll have our usual range of green & practical products from cleaning products such as

 

Soap Nuts, vinegar, organic soap flakes to cloth nappies and wraps (new and

 

2nd hand), ‘personal care’ items; toothpaste, organic cotton wool,

 

Mooncups….  locally made items such as Bella Bees Balms, Moons Times organic

 

pads & panty liners, Simply Natural Homes natural cleaners, wooden hand crafted items etc

We accept Real Nappy Campaign Vouchers and offer Bio D washing up liquid refils!

Green Paints, Thermafleece and more still available at our Chessel St Shop Bedminster.

Contact:

Rachael at St Nicks

rachael@bristolgreenstore.co.uk

Emma at Chessel St

emma@bristolgreenstore.co.uk

 

www.bristolgreenstore.co.uk

 

SOUL SIZE
www.lorian.org
 

SOUL SIZE

As we move deeper into what President Obama called in his Inaugural address "this winter of our hardship," some inspiration might not be unwelcome.  During the years I lived in the Findhorn community in northern Scotland, our work itself was inspiring. But we often found inspiration of another sort when we were visited by Sir George Trevelyan, one of the founders of the adult education movement in Britain.  Sir George had a gift for oratory, and his lectures were studies in eloquence, graced with poems that he recited from memory.  It was always thrilling to hear him speak.
 
One of his favorite passages that he introduced to us was from the play A Sleep of Prisoners by Christopher Fry, an English playwright. First produced in 1951, it tells the story of a group of soldiers who are prisoners of war held in an empty church at night.  In the play, one of the characters, Sergeant Meadows says:

The human heart can go the lengths of God.
Dark and cold we may be, but this
Is no winter now. The frozen misery
of centuries breaks, cracks, begins to move;
The thunder is the thunder of the floes,
The thaw, the flood, the upstart Spring.
Thank God our Time is now when wrong
Comes up to face us everywhere,
Never leave us till we take
The longest stride of soul men ever took.
Affairs are now soul size.
The enterprise
Is exploration into God.
Where are you making for? It takes
So many thousand years to wake
But will you wake for pity's sake?
         
For Sir George, this poem encapsulated the times in which we live.  I agree.  And its sentiments are no less true now than they were nearly forty years ago when I first heard them.  Down the years, many of its passages have rung in my memory and have been an inspiration.
         
The human heart can go the lengths of God.  What an amazing statement this is.  In a way it is at the heart of the incarnational worldview I wrote about last month.  It says that as human beings, as individuals with bodies and personalities and all the foibles and challenges of earthly life, there is nothing of God that is closed to us.  We have in ourselves the dimensions of the Sacred.  Our humanity does not separate us from that great Mystery but rather folds us into it. Wherever God loves, our hearts can follow.  And that is everywhere.  In a world still dangerously riven with hatred, strife, fear and anger, it is good to know we have such a power within us. If our hearts can go the length of God, then there is hope and promise we can go the lengths of the differences between us.
      
Thank God our time is now when wrong comes up to face us everywhere.  In an interview when asked how he felt becoming President at a time of major crisis, President Obama said that it was such times that made public service meaningful. In his address to both houses of Congress last night, he revisited this theme, saying, "Those of us gathered here tonight have been called to govern in extraordinary times. It is a tremendous burden, but also a great privilege, one that has been entrusted to few generations of Americans, for in our hands lies the ability to shape our world, for good or for ill." 
         
No one wishes for crisis, but when crises come, they can call forth our best impulses, those of compassion, courage, creativity, and community.  And if there are crimes and evils hidden in the dark places of our society and the darker places of our consciousnesses, all the better they come to the surface to be seen, understood, confronted, and healed.  If our generation is called to bear a burden of that healing, it is a powerful calling and honor and one within our capability.
         
But the playwright is saying more than that crisis brings forth the best in us or gives thanks that evil is being brought into the light.  The full quote is asking that this wrong, coming up to face us everywhere, "never leave us till we take the longest stride of soul men ever took."  It's not the crisis or the confrontation with wrongness that is most important but that we have the opportunity, the impetus, to take that long soul-stride, to stride the "lengths of God."  In short, to fulfill the potential of our human hearts.  Rather than being beaten down by crisis, by evil, by the wrongs of the world, or the challenges and fears of the moment, we need to find that spaciousness of love and hope and vision that can truly transform things.  And we can, for that spaciousness is in us, accessible to beings like us that can "go the lengths of God."
         
The nineteenth century American poet, Sam Walter Foss, wrote in his work ,The Coming American, "Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains..."  The American Rockies inspired awe with their majesty and ruggedness, and the vastness of the American plains offered an unmatched spaciousness and fruitfulness. They were symbols of the challenges and opportunities of a new world, calling to an adventurous and creative spirit. Generations of Americans responded.

But now a poet might write, "Bring me souls to match this world. Bring me hearts to match its life."  It is no mere continent that lies before us now but the earth itself with all its rich diversity and wonder of life and all humanity upon it.  The global challenges we face are as unknown a terrain as the American continent was to the pioneers of two hundred years ago, daunting and yet capable of inspiring our creative spirit.  But to meet these challenges we shall have to let our hearts go "the lengths of God" and find in us the source of our power to create wholeness.  As Fry says, "affairs are now soul size."  So let us be men and women to match our souls.
         
The enterprise is exploration into God.  Yes, it is.  It is an exploration into the sacredness within all things great and small around us and within us. But it's also an exploration into ourselves and into each other in new ways, honoring ways, respectful ways, loving ways, incarnational ways.  We need spirit, but we also need a vision of love for the life of the earth that let's us cherish it as home.  For that life-human life, plant life, animal life, earth life-is all within the length of God.
         
Where are you making for?  This is the question of our time. What is our vision?  What kind of world do we want, for ourselves, for our children, for our children's children?  What kind of world do we want for the fish and the birds, the beasts and the insects, the forests and the meadows, the crops that feed us and the flowers that bring us beauty?  I believe we want to create a world large enough to be a soul home for us and for all beings, loving and large enough to give expression to the soul of the world itself, spacious and whole enough to express the lengths of God.  And I believe we can.  The capacity to do so is innate in us.  If affairs are soul size, we can meet them because we are soul size, too.
         
It takes so many thousand years to wake but will you wake for pity's sake?  This is the call. To wake to ourselves and our incarnations. To wake to each other. To wake to our world as home.  To wake to our hearts that can go the lengths of God.

David Spangler

www.lorian.org

My message is simple. It is that all are everything.

http://www.evolvingtruth.com/333/notbulletproof.html

The Essence of my Message
My message is simple. It is that all are everything.

The consciousness that you are has been every story ever told. This is to realize that every being can say they are, have been, and will be every being they ever experience. We all straddle Hitler, Christ and everything in between. This realization is nothing more than the clear conclusion of All Are One. If the Hitler comment freaks you, know that he was surprisingly not that dissimilar to some western right-wing evangelical teachers or eastern fundamentalists today; meaning you don't have to look to the past to see the energy of his xenophobia/'hatred of other'.

You ARE an individual in any human life, but you are also ALL lifes (past, future, and present) simultaneously. To understand this is to realize that the past and future are in evolution in just the same way the present is. This is how they co-exist but are not predetermined.

This is the release of trying to separate that which we have all been into good and bad, and instead realize that it has all been an amazing journey. This is to see that we have, with total love of our own evolution, chosen all that we have created. In the realization of that choice is the realization that there has never been an external force of darkness or light other than that which has been a reflection of our own power of creation.

If you still need to know that you are all that is good in the universe then go to the 'love and light' New Age philosophies of love. Please note that under the umbrella of New Age there are also wonderful teachings that embrace the all, rather than just love and light.

If you still need to know you are all that is sinned, flawed, and damned (if you look at the small print of Christianity you are going to Hell if you want to have any life at all) then look to the old organized religions of the world. There are more modern forms such as the Course in Miracles and these still say the same thing, which is the mortality, physicality, individuated self is an inferior illusion that you should awaken from. They still point to a force of darkness – your pride and ego for example.

My perspective is that you are everything and your complete freewill is housed within your ability to subjectively interpret this world through infinite combinations of symbology. You are FREE to do this. There is delusion here for to awaken is to see through the illusion of the objective to see that it is all subjective. Science is heading towards this in Quantum Physics. However please know that all the subjectivity interelates in a perfect harmony of experience amongst the shared collective that we call humanity. There is deep meaning in the Universe! It is just all of our own creation and not law from before we existed. We are living our dream, and whether that is one of joy or a nightmare is of our own determinaion.

Simply put, there is no external force that can affect you negatively unless you create it through your belief in negative / fallen / heathen / unconscious forces (the prison of judgement). To see this is to awaken to the illusion, and the wonderment is that this does not destroy the illusion. It is to birth your full power of self-creatorship. For that is all you have the power to ultimately effect - your own experience. All other interaction is by mutually agreed co-creation. The idea you can invade (or be invaded) is actually an illusion. If you invade then you are always invading an aspect of yourself that you are judging. All judgment of other is a reflection of self-judgment.

When you awaken you will have the choice to leave and dis-incarnate if you choose, but it is my feeling that most will remain as when you awaken you realize you are in one of the most wonderful playgrounds ever created, and although things seem a little messed up on the surface level at the moment it will not take many people awakening to start changing all that if it is their joy to do so; for they will not be in opposition to anything, they will simply be transforming what is through knowing of creation.

A Love Letter to America
So though to some people it may seem odd that one of my first awakening actions is to go after collective conscious self-executions, please know I am not feeling this to be a force of darkness I must conquer. America has every right to sit in its current bed with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iraq. What is so surprising to me in this is how in conflict it is with the Obama choice that America has now clearly declared to the world. So know this ... what I am reacting to is not the killing of yourselves, but the way in which it is in total opposition with what you have stated you want to be with the Obama vote.

So though some people may perceive I am attacking / resisting something, I am simply responding to your Obama declaration of intention. For I tell you this America. You CANNOT create the Obama future you desire and have the right to bear arms and the death penalty. Not because I am saying something is impossible, but because you are saying you don't want violence and the choice for guns and the death penalty is the choice to experience violence. It really is very simple to see when you pull your head out of your fear :)

Why do you think all the countries you admire have gotten rid of the death penalty, and the countries you judge are the ones most like you in this. Think about it! You are facing your own judgement of the rest of the world to be inferior. That why you have you needed all those guns and bombs as you were afraid of the perceived 'lack of civilization' in the rest of the world. You voted in Bush because you wanted to destroy the pedestal you put yourselves on; job well done!

Most of Europe released their desire to kill what they feared through what they saw in themselves through the Holocaust. Though you took part in that war you did not see it as being 'of you' hence it was never meant to effect you in quite the same way. You enjoyed being the cavalary that saved the day in the last act. And now you are being your own cavalary. You saved that until now and that has all been wonderful and perfect.

With the Obama choice versus guns and capital punishment I am now just pointing to something that is in direct opposition to what you say you want to be. I love America, and hope with its release of violence I will be able to live their in the future. America has always felt like home to me on some level, but I wouldn't want to currently live there, even with Obama now voted in. A choice for me to move to America today would be the giving up of my right not be shot; for it is written in the law that is the manifestation of every citizen's consensus agreement that you can kill and torture what you fear. I don't want to sign that energetic contract!

America is indeed about to return to what it knows itself to be. One manifestation of this will be the ending of the death penalty, and then the putting down of your need to own guns. I am so happy this IS happening, right now, for I feel it in the heart of the Obama choice.

America, what you are doing is amazing!

With love to America,
Story Waters

p.s. Largely unbelieved fact by Americans. Our cops in the UK do not carry guns around except in very special circumstances. How is that possible the cops don't need guns?!?!? Because we don't have the right to bear arms so we don't have a gun section in our version of Walmart (Asda in the UK)! Trust me, that you have gun sections in Walmart is really, really weird to most of the rest of us; like as unbelievable as our cops not carrying guns is to you.

It is time to start feeling safe in the world America. That is the Obama future you seek. A deep knowing that all is right, that you are safe in what you are. You are NEVER safe with a gun in your hand, or your finger on the execution/invasion button. The choice to release the violence is the facing of what you feared you needed all those guns for in the first place.

http://www.EvolvingTruth.com

WHY WE DO GOOD THINGS
Topic: Musings
WHY WE DO GOOD THINGS

My dad was sometimes very cynical. He claimed that people only do good because it makes them feel good. Any act of generosity according to him always has a self-centered motive. I remember when I was fourteen and a friend telephoned to say that she needed help looking after her mother who was ill. I immediately replied that I would go over and have never forgotten the look in my father's eyes or the cool tone in his voice. 

'Don't fool yourself that you're doing it for her,' he said. 'There's always self-gratification.'

Doing good and self-sacrificing for our families, for our clans and for our species, say some biologists, is a genetic and evolutionary imperative. They suggest that this is the instinctive drive of the 'selfish gene' ensuring that its gene pool survives, even to the cost of its host carrier. This is why, they say, that parents are prepared to sacrifice themselves for their children.

Similar to this, one of the most startling of all religious symbols is the sacrificial symbol of the Rosicrucians, a sixteenth century European mystical society. This symbol is of a pelican, pecking at the flesh on her chest in order to feed her young. This spiritual imperative to self-sacrifice, for many, is the core meaning of Christ on the cross, dying in order to redeem all God's children. In fact, there are many traditions in which deities sacrifice themselves for the benefit of their communities.

So why do we do good? I don't like the three answers that I have just described above.

•    Self-gratification.

•    Genetic imperative.

•    A religious impulse to self-sacrifice.

They may all be part of the equation, but I prefer to think and to feel that something else is at work — something more direct and inspiring.

***

When Copernicus and Galileo said that the Earth was a spinning globe and that the sun was the centre of our system, their colleagues did not believe them. I can easily understand this because my actual second-by-second experience is that I am standing on something flat and stable. It is flat. It is not moving. Surely if the Earth were really spinning and orbiting through space at thousands of miles an hour, I would fall over or fall off. The reality is of course that, because of gravity, we do not experience or feel the movement.

But there are more profound and powerful dynamics in the cosmos than just spinning and orbiting. The universe exploded and emerged from some single incomprehensible event. In fact, everything in the cosmos is perpetually emerging, expanding, growing, developing, changing, flowering, contracting, recycling and re-birthing. We ourselves emerge from single cells to grow and expand. Plants emerge from seeds. These are universal dynamics.

But unlike the motions of the Earth, planets and Sun, which we do not feel, we can and do feel the dynamics of emergence, change and growth.

Within ourselves, if there is no flow, no flexibility and change, we experience physical or psychological stiffness and a loss of good health.

When we are open, flexible and developing, we experience physical and emotional wellbeing.

It is the same with how we behave and feel towards those around us. If our feelings and behaviour are frozen, then it does not feel good. When our feelings and behavior are flexible, supportive and creative, it feels good.

Generosity and service, helping things to grow - these activities put us in harmony with the fundamental dynamics of nature and the universe. It feels good to do good because we are then on the same frequency as spirit. We are cooperating with it, congruent with it, dancing it, enjoying it. This is so very different from behaviour that is frigid, greedy and obstructive.

When we live and behave with generosity, something happens within our chemistry and our consciousness. To be creative and in harmony with the thrust of existence feels good.

We do not do good because it brings self-gratification. We do good because that is part of the natural order of things. It is a way of being fully alive.

***

Of course, to cooperate with this creative cosmic dynamic is difficult when we are lost in illusion, frightened, hungry or insecure. But in times of crisis, heroes emerge who demonstrate poignant courage. Barack Obama's life is one such inspiring story and I recommend both of his books. At the same time, I pray that the more negative forces of politics and history do not corrupt his instinct for service.

Doing good and being of service do not, however, have to be dramatic or visible. Just having a good attitude is of benefit. Moods and attitudes ripple through social networks "like pebbles thrown into a pond", wrote Nicholas Christakis, a professor of sociology at Harvard Medical School, in a recent British Medical Journal. "A friend who lives within a mile (about 1.6 km) and who becomes happy increases the probability that a person is happy by 25%."

His research over a twenty-year period with over four thousand people concluded "People's happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected. This provides further justification for seeing happiness, like health, as a collective phenomenon."

Being of service to our communities, being congruent with the fundamental dynamics of emergence and change, then is not just about overt and recognised acts of benevolence. Doing good is crucially about the type of people we are and the ripples that we send out into the pond.


ENDS


Have you noticed that my series of five weekend workshops begins next week in Glastonbury? 7/8 March - The Golden Thread: The Heart and Power of Spiritual Practice more >>

All my love to you and yours.



William

www.williambloom.com