Sailing in the Same Boat

After an orange cloud--
formed as a result of a dust storm
over the Sahara and caught up
by air currents--
reached the Philippines
and settled there with rain,
I understood that we are all
sailing in the same boat.

~Vladimir Kovalyonok
Astronaut


Of Note: I didn't have a photo of a boat, but I did take this picture tonight of a very orange sky. First spying it when going down to the mailbox, I missed the showiest part by minutes. A person has to be fast to get sunset shots--within minutes the scene is gone forever.

Today Weather Report: We have never had such a warm mid-March as this. Today it was 60 degrees! When our little culvert opened, the melting snow started running down the man-made stream. It wasn't opened at 1 pm, but was by 6 pm. I even weedwacked the canes down around the ponds without a jacket, just a sweater. Sometimes falling through the snow, I got my shoes wet, of course. What a glorious day. If you recall, it was -20 degrees just last week in the morning, so this is quite a change!

Watch For Change Snippet: In the future people will not make money the same way they do now. Reading the tea leaves, companies like Lockheed and Northrup Grumman, who traditionally build military planes, have started engaging in more peaceful pursuits. "We recognized five or so years ago that the industry was changing and that the government was looking at more than just hard power," said one Lockheed executive. Consequently, one of its fastest growing sections is the "Information Systems and Global Services Division," which saw revenues rise 14% in 2008 to $11.61 billion. Examples of its worldwide endeavors include a several million dollar contract training peacekeepers in such places as Darfur. Another helped forge the Afghan constitution. These activities called "soft power" were promoted as the wave of the future by Defense Secretary Robert Gates back in 2007. President Obama has signaled that he will continue the progressive trend. One of the challenges of the current economic downturn is to find more of these opportunities that are based on global cooperation, service to the common good and an understanding that we are all sailing in the same boat.

At the Turning Point

Desire change. Be enthusiastic for that flame
in which a thing escapes your grasp
while it makes a glorious display of transformation.

That designing Spirit, the master mind of all things on earth
loves nothing so much in the sweeping movement of the dance
as the turning point.

~Rainer Maria Rilke
Sonnets to Orpheus: II, 12 (Stanza 1)

Of Note: Spring is finally showing her colors, at least in Texas. Marie sent this view from her churchyard last week. Soon, we will be seeing the same in northern Wisconsin--though "soon" may be a month or more. The change presented by spring is so showy, so grandiose. Over the top, really. I revel in the abrupt transformation every year and know that incrementally more beauty is manifested each year. Not only in my garden but all over the globe. Some may not believe that because of the apparent discord on Earth at the moment. But the Indomitable Spirit can only go one direction in the dance and that's upward and onward.

Today's Weather Report: Alleluhia, it's 50 degrees today! Yesterday as well. For some reason, in the middle of winter, it seems that warm weather will never arrive. But each year it does. Our brains have a way of fooling us that way. More of the same is expected for the next few days so a look-about in the garden will probably be in order--though, nothing but the chives will be peeking out of the ground yet.

News You Can Use Snippet: A minister in Kansas City is on a mission. His program, A Complaint Free World Inc., is distributing purple bracelets that teach people how to end their complaining. Folks are responding enthusiastically and 6 million have been distributed to date. How does the program work? Very simply. If a person finds themselves complaining while wearing the bracelet, they have to switch it to the other arm. The goal is to go 21 days without a switch. Of course, it's not easy to break the all-to-human habit of complaining, but the program sponsor finds it can be done. The secret? New habits can be formed with 21 to 28 days of practice. So like anything else, it's practice, practice, practice. The enterprising minister is also sponsoring a complaint-free cruise next month and a complaint-free trek to Tanzania this summer to build a birthing center. He summed it up this way: " In good times, people often take for granted what they have, and whine about what they don't have. Bad times make people more grateful."

Understanding That Brings Peace

I DO NOT WANT PEACE THAT
PASSETH UNDERSTANDING,
I WANT UNDERSTANDING
THAT BRINGETH PEACE.

~Helen Keller

Of Note: Three major projects are taking my time these days and thus the blog has seen fewer entries. This is most likely a passing phenomenon. Thus, I promise to blog as often as possible without creating too much anxiety on this end because it is a joy to communicate in this way--out to the universe. In the quote above Keller speaks to the fact that understanding precedes peace not the other way around as so many think. When we move to the values that engender right human relations, then peace will prevail. Succeeding generations will wonder why it took us so long to figure it out.

Today's Weather Report: Spring has arrived in Texas apparently because Marie sent several colorful pictures this week of blooming flowers. What a wonderful world that she can take pictures on her iPhone and send them on directly, almost in real time. Here in the northwoods, it was -14 degrees Fahrenheit this morning but Jim said it should be the last time. Think I've heard that before! But full moons and subzero go together, and by the full moon next month we should definitely be past this extremely cold winter. After all, it will officially be spring by then.

Watch For Change Snippet: Planning for a peaceful future takes a group who believe that a world where right human relations prevails is not only possible but exists. After all, energy follows thought. Using the ancient psychological technique of AS IF, they meditate on this dynamic future. Some day, we will thank these forerunners for laying the groundwork that brought an upward shifting to a worn-out world where loving understanding was the exception rather than the norm. It would follow then that history would not be a good indicator of the future. Even now, studies are showing that experience is vastly over-rated and can be a liability in times of change. A professor in France who designed the study said that managers with 10 or more years of experience collectively generated higher costs, more errors and missed more deadlines. Another academic speculated that these men and women get set in their ways and can't change. If these were the only people creating the New World, we'd be in trouble. Thankfully, another group has the matter in hand.

Right Where You Are

THE NEXT MESSAGE YOU NEED
IS ALWAYS RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE.

~Ram Dass

Of Note: This ethereal shot was taken not far from my front door a few years back and captures the scene exactly as it was that evening. Had I not been at that exact location at that moment, I'd have missed this mystical interplay of fog and twilight. One could say I was in the right spot at the right time. Ram Dass would say that we all are. Every day is of our own making for the purpose of the evolution of consciousness. The location is simply the backdrop to the real story of our interrelationships and resultant lessons. If we get too focused on the backdrop, the message might fly right by only making it necessary to return another time. Better to catch it the first time around in whatever place we are.

Today's Weather Report: In the 30's and cloudy. Apparently, the promised snowfall passed us by leaving a skating-rink where our driveway usually is. Jim went out to run yesterday on the road leading to the house and came back after only 10 minutes because of the slippery conditions. Today he went out to the main road and had better luck since the black top is now free of all ice. The houseplants know spring is coming and are sending out a myriad of of new shoots. The bonsai maple hasn't changed it's appearance yet from two sticks with buds, but the day is soon approaching when little leaves will begin to unfurl.

News You Can Use Snippet: Students at the University of Maine recently announced a prototype of an matchmaking wristband mounted with a series of LED lights called a "Friend Finder." Apparently, the gadget is first programmed with information about the wearers interests and tastes. Then, when another user with compatible interests is within 30 feet, the lights flash--"allowing humans to mimic the romantic signaling of fireflies." Must be that students at the University of Maine had too much time on their hands this past winter. Or maybe, this is merely a joke. Certainly meeting new people has not gotten so hard that we must mimic fireflies in their romantic pursuits which some might consider an evolutionary digression. Nope, Facebook is fine, but I'm not too sure about flashing bracelets.

High Spots in Our Lives

There are high spots in all our lives,
and most of them come about through
encouragement from someone else.

~George Adams

Of Note: I have no idea who George Adams is, but he hit the nail on the head with these words. When looking back, how often can we confirm that one person has stood out as helpful during a rocky time? Usually, the light of helpful words or actions still shines many years later. In like manner, the Soul irradiates our path to the summit with loving promptings. We ascend not in darkness but in light. With gratitude. Just like with our friends.

Today's Weather Report: Puddles of water outside the front door greeted me this morning upon rising. The cat who looked out with me appeared puzzled at the sound of dripping off the roof. Then, he went tearing off over the melting snow to points beyond. Until the frost goes out of the ground, the road will be like mush and almost impassable. The only way to traverse the lane is to go fast and not stop for anything. Getting stuck is NO fun, let me tell you--unless you like to play in mud puddles.For some reason, Marie's pictures of Big Bend National Park are attracting my attention this past week or so. Must be because they were taken last April, and we long for April up here in the defrosting northwoods of Wisconsin.

The Path is One

Upon the mountain paths,
one cannot walk either to left or right,
but only straight ahead.
One can neither jump in the abyss,
nor climb upon a steep rock.

The Path is One and the
destination is seen from above.

~M. Morya
Heart, 521


Of Note: Imagine Beings in another dimension looking down at humans in the chaos they've created on Earth. What would they see? It would be my guess that they would see helter-skelter activities motivated by selfishness. Another way is available, that of the straight Path. At first this direction seems restrictive. That is an illusion. In actuality, it leads from the unreal to the Real, from the suffocation of death to the liberation of immortality. A few have followed this Path in the past, but now, humanity has readied itself as a group to follow. When that occurs, a glorious future is guaranteed.

Today's Weather Report: Finally, the cold snap has been broken. The same cold we were experiencing dumped 5 - 8 inches of snow on the eastern seaboard, and school was even out in Washington DC. With partly cloudy skies, it looks like we may get the same here shortly. Marie must know paths well because she takes such great pictures of them. This was taken at Big Bend National Park last spring.

News You Can Use Snippet: Today is Square Root Day: 3-3-09. For the math handicapped, the square root of 3 is 9. The last was 2-2-04 and the next will be 4-4-16. I heard on the news this morning that this event only happens three times a century. Most certainly that is wrong because we will see 5-5-25, 6-6-36, 7-7-49, 8-8-64, 9-9-81 before we start over in the next century. Isn't it interesting that the difference between square roots increases by odd numbers and creates this sequence: 3 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 11 - 13 - 15- 17 etc. Numbers have so many mysteries to impart if only we knew the key.

Continuous Benevolence

The heart that has consecrated
itself to right human relations
radiates benevolence continuously,
independent of volitional sendings.
Similarly, the sun rays are not
sent with premeditation.

~M. Morya
Heart, 63

Of Note: You know how we try to be good all the time? Many times we are not successful, but many times we are. The Great Teacher Morya tells us that if our lives are consecrated to the will-to-good, the heart radiates benevolence involuntarily just like sunshine. This is our future as we strive toward ascent. Oh, how the Earth will sing when Humanity crosses this threshold.

Today's Weather Report: More below zero temps, and we are talking WAY below, like 25 degrees! The same is expected for tonight. Whatever happened to global warming. It seems to have missed us up here in northern Wisconsin. I will be editing my husband's book for the rest of the week so these blogs will be shortened a bit. There have been many, many edits over the last 5 or 6 years so no tears will be shed if this is the last time. Marie provided this luminous shot of a Texas sunset from a stroll last fall. Thanks for sharing!