Stand Firm, Grip Hard, Thrust Upward

BE LIKE A TREE IN
PURSUIT OF YOUR CAUSE.
STAND FIRM, GRIP HARD,
THRUST UPWARD,
BEND TO THE WINDS OF HEAVEN,
AND LEARN TRANQUILITY.

~ Richard St. Barbe Baker

Of Note: People have always been attracted to trees. They are mysterious in their growth and majestic in their beauty. A single "popple" tree, which is common in northern Wisconsin, can cover acres--the part we identify as a tree is simply the upwardly mobile part of a vast root system. In all likelihood that vast subterranean system is the "brains" of the tree, and the trunk and leaf parts are like arms and legs, taking in the rays. Our own bodies are similar--the visible parts of an invisible Self, the real mind of the operation. The Soul is the one, which stands firm and grips hard in pursuit of the evolution of consciousness, its divine destiny. All the while, its sun-drenched vehicle bends to the winds of heaven and through many lifetimes eventually learns tranquility through compassion. By then the lower self knows that the Real is the invisible part and is not taken in by the illusory visible domain. The tree, though, is in the early stages of evolution and has eons to go. In between, it acts as a symbol to us in standing firm and gripping hard until we are able to do it on our own.

Seeing the Dawn

A DREAMER IS ONE WHO CAN
FIND HIS WAY BY MOONLIGHT,
AND HIS PUNISHMENT IS THAT
HE SEES THE DAWN BEFORE
THE REST OF THE WORLD.

~ Oscar Wilde

Of Note: Wonder if Master Albert Einstein was not finished with his work and wanted to come back again to do just that. Seems that might have happened. A 12-year old child prodigy in astrophysics has recently been introduced to the world. He is a normal enough looking American boy, who wears his baseball cap backward and was previously diagnosed with a mild form of autism. But with an IQ of 170, he was solving 5000 piece jigsaw puzzles at age 3 and taught himself calculus, algebra and geometry in two weeks a few years later. He left high school at age 8 to enter college, where he is currently taking advanced classes in astrophysics--and tutoring his peers. Indiana University wants him as a paid researcher. The young genius's YouTube videos show an engaging young man, who is confident, but not overly so, as he tells the audience about the complex calculus equations he is demonstrating. The next thing he wants to take on is the Big Bang Theory and a lead scientist from Princeton, where Einstein used to work, say he is asking the right questions: "The theory that he is working on involves several of the toughest problems in astrophysics and theoretical physics. Anyone who solves these will be in line for a Nobel Prize." We should keep the name Jacob Barnett on our radar screen for it is guaranteed this young man will go far. And just think, he's only 12 and certainly has much to contribute to a needy world in the years to come.

Smiling as Basic Peace Work

IF IN OUR DAILY LIVES WE
CAN SMILE, NOT ONLY WE,
BUT EVERYONE WILL
PROFIT FROM IT.

THIS IS THE BASIC KIND
OF PEACE WORK.

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Of Note: Smiling is the key to connectivity. It can open doors even when two people so not speak the same language. Imagine if people smiled more and fought less. This Smile Revolution could start small, one person to one person at a time. But eventually, one smiling pod would bump up against the next smiling pod. Soon all the cells would coalesce into one big smile. The world would never be the same because smiling not only adjusts our face in a more pleasant looking way but also our brain chemistry. Thus, this revolution would be a major adjustment for humanity's collective brain. Shall we start today?

Living Out Loud

WE ARE HERE TO LIVE OUT LOUD.

~Balzac

Of Note: A computer named Watson recently competed on Jeopardy! and won, hands down. Since then, many have been wringing their hands about how a computer could trump some of the smartest humans around. Others criticized the machine's mistakes, making a long list of transgressions, as if to say "See, it's not so smart after all." The noted author Stephen Baker said both were missing the point. He contends that such question-answering computers will soon be working alongside humans and will push us to reconsider how we learn and think. In his vision of the future, question-answering computers will make their way into law offices, pharmaceutical labs and healthcare settings. People are going to have to adjust and consider how they will "add value that computers cannot." Computers are simply a mechanical extension of the human brain but not the human brain itself. When asked if Watson can think, one of its creators at IBM, replied, "Can a submarine swim?" The Masters have predicted that one day humanity will be free to do what it does best: think, channel and create. The mechanics of daily living will be left to technology, but a technology relegated to the background and not idolized as it is today. Machines will do the work while we do the thinking, which will be based on spiritual values and unselfishly benefit all the kingdoms in nature. Only then will humanity know what "out loud" joyful living is all about.

So Many Little Passings

Life and death
a twisted vine sharing a single root.

A water bright green
stretching to top a twisted yellow
only to wither itself
as another green unfolds overhead.

One leaf atop another
yet under the next
a vibrant tapestry of arcs and falls
all in the act of becoming.

Death is the passing of life
and life is the stringing together
of so many little passings.

~ Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro

Of Note: A question was asked whether some nations are more intrinsically fearful than others. As it turns out, the answer is yes. A definite geographic pattern of fear emerged when people of various nations were asked in six surveys spanning 2000 - 2009 about nuclear conflicts, terrorism, organized crime, medical accidents and avian flu. Topping the list were Malta, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Cyprus followed by the former communist nations. Besides being Mediterranean or former communist countries, the researchers asked themselves if there was a reason for this distribution. Turned out that the most robust determinant was "the proportion of citizens who believed in hell." This is not surprising. The teachings of ageless wisdom expressly state that the dark side keeps the masses in check by an underlying fear of death. Even worse than death would be a belief in hell and eternal damnation as punishment from an angry god from whose wrath we are powerless. This is pure illusion and directly contradictory to the facts but each of us must move through that falsity to arrive at the truth. One day the dark ones will have relinquished their control over humanity, and the fear of death and damnation will be a quaint historical curiosity. Until then, we can help our brothers and sisters, who do harbor that dread, by relinquishing any fear ourselves. The universe will be eternally grateful.

And Where We Stand

WE CANNOT RUN
AWAY FROM WEAKNESS;
WE MUST SOMETIMES
FIGHT IT OUT OR PERISH.
AND IF THAT BE SO,
WHY NOT NOW,
AND WHERE WE STAND?

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Of Note: Research shows that we are subject to more pollution in our homes and offices than anywhere else, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, 2 to 5 times as much as outdoors. Contamination by dozens of indoor pollutants is a concern because we spend 90% of our time inside. Now NASA, conducting experiments for the space program, has determined that the lowly house plant may be the superhero air scrubber. These investigations add to global research that shows plants "can reduce dust participles and contaminants, such as formaldehyde and benzene that come from cigarette smoke, paint, furniture, building materials and other sources." One horticulturist advocates plants because they are an inexpensive fix and can even be propagated by cuttings. Are some plants better than others? This is the question asked by those interested in phytoremediation, the fancy name given to this body of growing research. As it turns out, several common plants have been shown to be good as indoor air scrubbers: English Ivy, Mother-in-law's Tongue, Weeping Fig, Peace Lily, and Asparagus Fern to name a few. The superstars, however, are the Janet Craig and Sweet Chico plants, which reduce volatile organic compounds indoors by 75%. The researchers concluded: "Potted plants can provide an efficient, self-regulating, low-cost, sustainable bio-remediation system for indoor air pollution." The EPA and the Green Building Council are not on board yet and have labeled the experiments inconclusive. Nonetheless, adding plants to an indoor environment is a good idea since it puts us in contact with the subtle but potent green energy of the second kingdom in nature AS IF we were outdoors. If plants also act as super-scrubbers for pollutants, and there is good evidence they do, that is simply another valuable contribution but certainly not the only one nor even the most important.

Giving Yourself More Life

YOU CANNOT ALWAYS GIVE
YOURSELF MORE DAYS,
BUT YOU CAN GIVE
YOUR DAYS MORE LIFE.

~ Anonymous

Of Note: This statement is particularly true for those men and woman serving on death row where the amount of days is court rather than soul determined. Those in opposition to the death penalty were successful recently in blocking one of the death-inducing drugs from being produced in Europe and the UK. Now Texas has responded to that embargo by purchasing pentobarbital, a drug used as a sedative in euthanizing animals, which is readily available in the United States. The FDA has approved its use in humans, but death penalty opponents are already gearing up to pressure the only human pentobarbital manufacturer to cease production. Lundbeck Inc, a subsidiary of a Danish corporation, was looking at ways to stop distribution to prisons for use in executions and has sent letters to the Ohio, Texas and Oklahoma prison systems saying as much. Texas is particularly anxious to procure the drug because 5 prisoners are scheduled to be executed in the next four months, adding to the 450 have been killed over the last 25 years. The Lone Star State is coming under increased scrutiny for a criminal justice system that appears to lack the proper brakes in death penalty cases, which often hit minorities disproportionately. It is the tight international network of death penalty opponents that can be thanked for years of effort in this regard.