I dreamt a few nights ago…”it is not about the wound, it’s about the vessel.” Perhaps the vessel is the collective visioning. Thank you for this Deena, intrepid tracker that you are. And deep bows to the Spirits. ❤️
Can there be a vision with so much darkness? I wonder. Can those suffering in the Middle East have a vision? Can there be a vision for those experiencing injustice? The dying wild life at the expense of human development and cruelty? I rise each day with hopes of making a difference, by caring for my 15 year old 4-legged companion and by being an activist for those without a voice, but that has its consequences these days.
Peace be with you. May you find your footing through the darkness.
Thank you, Victoria. Not a vision but the need to vision a way out of this. That is not knowing how to meet the horror, not having the skill as humans to stop ourselves, then might we receive understanding of how to proceed from the Others? It is not my personal footing I seek but the footing you are seeking as well, for all those suffering so greatly at this time. Thank you for caring deeply.
Thank you Nancy for writing, for confirming the message with your own experience, and for the long years we have had knowing of the other’s deep commitment.
Deena, your words and feelings remind me of an I Ching admonition, "The best way to combat evil is to make energetic progress in the good." I read this while living in a war-ravaged time and place. Reading your heart in your words, I see no easy answers or viewpoints that make anything going on acceptable. I can only sing with you. We are thousands upon thousands of years long, and I pray for our continuation as part of the total fabric of this extraordinary world. May it come around. May we all have the courage to see it and do all that we can. We sing together now. We sing together now. With love., we sing. Thank you!
Dear Stan: I have heard you sing. Your songs are deep prayers. They tell the spirits that we are here and they tell the spirits that we honor them and all life. Thank you for your prayers, and our determined commitment, despite all, to a future.
All week I have been hearing a message from the spirits telling me to pray that my eyes be purified so that I can receive a vision. I've also been praying for my ears and mouth to be purified as well, so I can hear if the vision wants to be expressed in words, and if so, that I speak them lucidly and with precision.
I feel compelled to respond to what you offered through your writing. I am struck by the wisdom of visioning that was shared with you by the Spirits.
I would like to suggest that we already have the vision, and that now - the eternal, continuous now, always present to us as we are present to it - is the time for choice.
The vision we already have is that there are no others. There is only many of us. And each of us is a part of the whole of us. And the whole of us is within each part. I am a part and you are a part, but we are the whole. And each part of the whole determines the state of the whole. Not through vision, which is what we begin with towards the determined direction, but through choice. Not simply one choice - not just the choice to go, be there or to envision -, but through every single choice we make. And we have lots of choices to make, as the options are always present in the continuous unfolding of the present.
To this specific point, I would like to use the example of what you wrote.
You stated you "could not resist the addictive pull" to engage with the machine, and later that you were "a captive" of it. The truth, however, is that you are a maker of choices, like all the rest of us, responsible for your own actions and therefore for the state of your being. And it is the state of your being, reflective of each of your choices, of the responsibility you have at each moment, that determines the direction we are moving in. There is no other: only parts within parts within the whole. And each part has to make the right choices for itself first, before it can assist the rest in making the right choices for themselves so that we are all making the right choices together.
This choice-making responsibility we have is a practice. If the pull towards the undesirable is irresistible as you mentioned, we know we are not very skilled in it; there are options available that we are neglecting. Healthier options.
I'm not sure this is supposed to be a wake-up call, a call to sobriety, or simply a call to awareness, but I am here with the intention to bring you the gift of yourself. I am alerting you, anyway, to the direction you have been taking. It was somewhat surprising to me that in the change-of-plans notice for the last Community Council due to the heat, you mentioned your concern for the suffering of the machines (the equipment) to corroborate the change of plans, but did not mention your concern for your fellow humans. The selection of words in that notice was an oddity to me that made me question the alignment of your choices. What are your choices really aligning with? I firmly believe you are not a captive to any machine or any addiction, and that even though there may be an inner sway it is nonetheless happening inside of you, and therefore is of your own making and of your own responsibility.
I mean no disrespect, only kindness and encouragement, and I really appreciate your vulnerability in sharing with us.
Humor is good medicine. Thank you for the reminder. It's not always easy for me to detect it. I usually need it announced, but many humor administrators believe it defeats its purpose. So I suffer from a chronic case of self-medicating.
Thank you so much for your devotion to visioning, Deena. The lure of the iPhone - loud and right there, portal into endless conflicts and arguments - vs the seemingly subtler calls of the wild and unseen. Yet these are far 'louder' if we are listening. You show us how to vision by how you meander associatively, notice, listen, and respond.
Dear Deena, this note of yours inspires me, the miracle of composing prayers, intensely intentional songs directed to Spirit, as active manifestations.
Here, the connecting we do through the written word feels often more real than spoken words.
Bearing witness to joy and suffering in equal measure because they feel equal with levity and gravity.
Here in Jerusalem the muezzin almost shouts the call to prayer. His voice carries anger that is plaintive and righteous.
On another note - literally another note… reading, “Here in Jerusalem the muezzin…” Given the horror of the war against the Palestinians it stirs my heart to learn that, nevertheless, that glorious call to prayer is still heard five times a day. I have heard it many times but never as magnificentlyas one dawn it echoed from a tin shack hidden behind boulders on the rocky path up to Mt. Sinai.
I can sense that in my body. I once lived right next to and I mean RIGHT NEXT TO the loudspeaker for a huge mosque in Cairo. 4am and even the air was abruptly awakened. I can hear a chorus of calls to prayer, from villages surrounding Jerusalem, all slightly out of sync but more or less starting and ending within a few minutes of each other. It is spine chilling, as the sounds ride the air and dawning light. I will try and send you a recording x
I love this question ['How shall we save beauty, mystery and the imagination, and also the wonders of all the beings in concert in the natural world?'], and the way Arkan Lushwala and you respond.
Lovely writing, especially evocation of place, the courage to go more deeply into the question and the vision of the four ravens - perhaps you could describe what was conveyed to you by their black flight 💚
Rereading your words, Deena, and after listening to Arkan Lushwala's talk, I am ready for what this day offers. "The whole universe wants to help us" [Arkan's words] to overcome the notion of "human supremacy". Sometimes I feel that all we humans need is to learn to bow.
Thomas Merton wrote: "Every plant that stands in the light of the sun is a saint and an outlaw." There is no human supremacy in these words, or in the plant or the sun or the poet or the earth.
I dreamt a few nights ago…”it is not about the wound, it’s about the vessel.” Perhaps the vessel is the collective visioning. Thank you for this Deena, intrepid tracker that you are. And deep bows to the Spirits. ❤️
What am amazing dream from the dream spirits which we must take into our deep heartfelt consideration. Thank you so, Nora
Can there be a vision with so much darkness? I wonder. Can those suffering in the Middle East have a vision? Can there be a vision for those experiencing injustice? The dying wild life at the expense of human development and cruelty? I rise each day with hopes of making a difference, by caring for my 15 year old 4-legged companion and by being an activist for those without a voice, but that has its consequences these days.
Peace be with you. May you find your footing through the darkness.
Thank you, Victoria. Not a vision but the need to vision a way out of this. That is not knowing how to meet the horror, not having the skill as humans to stop ourselves, then might we receive understanding of how to proceed from the Others? It is not my personal footing I seek but the footing you are seeking as well, for all those suffering so greatly at this time. Thank you for caring deeply.
I hasten to reach back after receiving this missive from afar and yet so near. Thank you, Deena.
this is the message I have received as well and I'm filled with gratitude for you, your intrepid spirit, your generosity of heart.
Thank you Nancy for writing, for confirming the message with your own experience, and for the long years we have had knowing of the other’s deep commitment.
Deena, your words and feelings remind me of an I Ching admonition, "The best way to combat evil is to make energetic progress in the good." I read this while living in a war-ravaged time and place. Reading your heart in your words, I see no easy answers or viewpoints that make anything going on acceptable. I can only sing with you. We are thousands upon thousands of years long, and I pray for our continuation as part of the total fabric of this extraordinary world. May it come around. May we all have the courage to see it and do all that we can. We sing together now. We sing together now. With love., we sing. Thank you!
Dear Stan: I have heard you sing. Your songs are deep prayers. They tell the spirits that we are here and they tell the spirits that we honor them and all life. Thank you for your prayers, and our determined commitment, despite all, to a future.
All week I have been hearing a message from the spirits telling me to pray that my eyes be purified so that I can receive a vision. I've also been praying for my ears and mouth to be purified as well, so I can hear if the vision wants to be expressed in words, and if so, that I speak them lucidly and with precision.
Perhaps the call to vision is an aspect of morphic resonance and we’re tapped into what the times require.
It feels that way, Deena.
Hello Deena,
I feel compelled to respond to what you offered through your writing. I am struck by the wisdom of visioning that was shared with you by the Spirits.
I would like to suggest that we already have the vision, and that now - the eternal, continuous now, always present to us as we are present to it - is the time for choice.
The vision we already have is that there are no others. There is only many of us. And each of us is a part of the whole of us. And the whole of us is within each part. I am a part and you are a part, but we are the whole. And each part of the whole determines the state of the whole. Not through vision, which is what we begin with towards the determined direction, but through choice. Not simply one choice - not just the choice to go, be there or to envision -, but through every single choice we make. And we have lots of choices to make, as the options are always present in the continuous unfolding of the present.
To this specific point, I would like to use the example of what you wrote.
You stated you "could not resist the addictive pull" to engage with the machine, and later that you were "a captive" of it. The truth, however, is that you are a maker of choices, like all the rest of us, responsible for your own actions and therefore for the state of your being. And it is the state of your being, reflective of each of your choices, of the responsibility you have at each moment, that determines the direction we are moving in. There is no other: only parts within parts within the whole. And each part has to make the right choices for itself first, before it can assist the rest in making the right choices for themselves so that we are all making the right choices together.
This choice-making responsibility we have is a practice. If the pull towards the undesirable is irresistible as you mentioned, we know we are not very skilled in it; there are options available that we are neglecting. Healthier options.
I'm not sure this is supposed to be a wake-up call, a call to sobriety, or simply a call to awareness, but I am here with the intention to bring you the gift of yourself. I am alerting you, anyway, to the direction you have been taking. It was somewhat surprising to me that in the change-of-plans notice for the last Community Council due to the heat, you mentioned your concern for the suffering of the machines (the equipment) to corroborate the change of plans, but did not mention your concern for your fellow humans. The selection of words in that notice was an oddity to me that made me question the alignment of your choices. What are your choices really aligning with? I firmly believe you are not a captive to any machine or any addiction, and that even though there may be an inner sway it is nonetheless happening inside of you, and therefore is of your own making and of your own responsibility.
I mean no disrespect, only kindness and encouragement, and I really appreciate your vulnerability in sharing with us.
a little bit of humor is needed when the great heat descends. Thanks, Alex, for your consistent wisdom.
Humor is good medicine. Thank you for the reminder. It's not always easy for me to detect it. I usually need it announced, but many humor administrators believe it defeats its purpose. So I suffer from a chronic case of self-medicating.
Beautiful. Thank you, Deena.
Thank you so much for your devotion to visioning, Deena. The lure of the iPhone - loud and right there, portal into endless conflicts and arguments - vs the seemingly subtler calls of the wild and unseen. Yet these are far 'louder' if we are listening. You show us how to vision by how you meander associatively, notice, listen, and respond.
Dear Deena, this note of yours inspires me, the miracle of composing prayers, intensely intentional songs directed to Spirit, as active manifestations.
Here, the connecting we do through the written word feels often more real than spoken words.
Bearing witness to joy and suffering in equal measure because they feel equal with levity and gravity.
Here in Jerusalem the muezzin almost shouts the call to prayer. His voice carries anger that is plaintive and righteous.
On another note - literally another note… reading, “Here in Jerusalem the muezzin…” Given the horror of the war against the Palestinians it stirs my heart to learn that, nevertheless, that glorious call to prayer is still heard five times a day. I have heard it many times but never as magnificentlyas one dawn it echoed from a tin shack hidden behind boulders on the rocky path up to Mt. Sinai.
I can sense that in my body. I once lived right next to and I mean RIGHT NEXT TO the loudspeaker for a huge mosque in Cairo. 4am and even the air was abruptly awakened. I can hear a chorus of calls to prayer, from villages surrounding Jerusalem, all slightly out of sync but more or less starting and ending within a few minutes of each other. It is spine chilling, as the sounds ride the air and dawning light. I will try and send you a recording x
I love this question ['How shall we save beauty, mystery and the imagination, and also the wonders of all the beings in concert in the natural world?'], and the way Arkan Lushwala and you respond.
With gratitude
I think you will be very moved by Arkan if you get a chance to listen to his entire talk. Link is at the very bottom of the piece. Blessings, Deena
Lovely writing, especially evocation of place, the courage to go more deeply into the question and the vision of the four ravens - perhaps you could describe what was conveyed to you by their black flight 💚
They seemed to be confirming what was being transmitted.
I am blessed by your wisdom, words and vision. Thank you
Thank you for the world we create together.
Thank you. Visioning and embodying.
Rereading your words, Deena, and after listening to Arkan Lushwala's talk, I am ready for what this day offers. "The whole universe wants to help us" [Arkan's words] to overcome the notion of "human supremacy". Sometimes I feel that all we humans need is to learn to bow.
Thomas Merton wrote: "Every plant that stands in the light of the sun is a saint and an outlaw." There is no human supremacy in these words, or in the plant or the sun or the poet or the earth.