The Littlest Angel

Dear friends, a close friend of mine named Irene, who has been a great source of support over this past year, has a Very Special Request: A little girl by the name of Ziarah, who is 3-1/2,will be going into Children's Hospital in Vancouver on December 5th. She needs surgery to remove as much cancer as possible from her mouth and lip. They can't get it all, because she would bleed to death. Please spare a moment on December 5th to pray for Ziarah and her family.

Addendum

If I may, I would like to share this story. Perhaps some of you are already familiar with it: The Folded Napkin ... A Truckers Story I try not to be biased, but I had my doubts about hiring Stevie. His placement counselor assured me that he would be a good, reliable busboy. But I had never had a mentally handicapped employee and wasn't sure I wanted one. I wasn't sure how my customers would react to Stevie. He was short, a little dumpy with the smooth facial features and thick-tongued speech of Downs Syndrome. I wasn't worried about most of my trucker customers because truckers don't generally care who buses tables as long as the meatloaf platter is good and the pies are homemade. The four-wheeler drivers were the ones who concerned me; the mouthy college kids traveling to school; the yuppie snobs who secretly polish their silverware with their napkins for fear of catching some dreaded "truck stop germ" the pairs of white-shirted business men on expense accounts who think every truck stop waitress wants to be flirted with. I knew those people would be uncomfortable around Stevie so I closely watched him for the first few weeks. I shouldn't have worried. After the first week, Stevie had my staff wrapped around his stubby little finger, and within a month my truck regulars had adopted him as their official truck stop mascot. After that, I really didn't care what the rest of the customers thought of him. He was like a 21-year-old in blue jeans and Nikes, eager to laugh and eager to please, but fierce in his attention to his duties. Every salt and pepper shaker was exactly in its place, not a bread crumb or coffee spill was visible when Stevie got done with the table. Our only problem was persuading him to wait to clean a table until after the customers were finished. He would hover in the background, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, scanning the dining room until a table was empty. Then he would scurry to the empty table and carefully bus dishes and glasses onto cart and meticulously wipe the table up with a practiced flourish of his rag. If he thought a customer was watching, his brow would pucker with added concentration. He took pride in doing his job exactly right, and you had to love how hard he tried to please each and every person he met. Over time, we learned that he lived with his mother, a widow who was disabled after repeated surgeries for cancer. They lived on their Social Security benefits in public housing two miles from the truck stop. Their social worker, who stopped to check on him every so often, admitted they had fallen between the cracks. Money was tight, and what I paid him was probably the difference between them being able to live together and Stevie being sent to a group home. That's why the restaurant was a gloomy place that morning last August, the first morning in three years that Stevie missed work. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester getting a new valve or something put in his heart. His social worker said that people with Downs Syndrome often have heart problems at an early age so this wasn't unexpected, and there was a good chance he would come through the surgery in good shape and be back at work in a few months. A ripple of excitement ran through the staff later that morning when word came that he was out of surgery, in recovery, and doing fine. Frannie, the head waitress, let out a war hoop and did a little dance in the aisle when she heard the good news. Bell Ringer, one of our regular trucker customers, stared at the sight of this 50-year-old grandmother of four doing a victory shimmy beside his table. Frannie blushed, smoothed her apron and shot Belle Ringer a withering look. He grinned. "OK, Frannie, what was that all about?" he asked. "We just got word that Stevie is out of surgery and going to be okay." "I was wondering where he was. I had a new joke to tell him. What was the surgery about?" Frannie quickly told Bell Ringer and the other two drivers sitting at his booth about Stevie's surgery, then sighed: "Yeah, I'm glad he is going to be OK," she said. "But I don't know how he and his Mom are going to handle all the bills. From what I hear, they're barely getting by as it is." Belle Ringer nodded thoughtfully, and Frannie hurried off to wait on the rest of her tables. Since I hadn't had time to round up a busboy to replace Stevie and really didn't want to replace him, the girls were busing their own tables that day until we decided what to do. After the morning rush, Frannie walked into my office. She had a couple of paper napkins in her hand and a funny look on her face. "What's up?" I asked. "I didn't get that table where Bell Ringer and his friends were sitting cleared off after they left, and Pony Pete and Tony Tipper were sitting there when I got back to clean it off," she said. "This was folded and tucked under a coffee cup." She handed the napkin to me, and three $20 bills fell onto my desk when I opened it. On the outside, in big, bold letters, was printed "Something For Stevie. Pony Pete asked me what that was all about," she said, "so I told him about Stevie and his Mom and everything, and Pete looked at Tony and Tony looked at Pete, and they ended up giving me this." She handed me another paper napkin that had "Something For Stevie" scrawled on its outside. Two $50 bills were tucked within its folds. Frannie looked at me with wet, shiny eyes, shook her head and said simply: "truckers." That was three months ago. Today is Thanksgiving, the first day Stevie is supposed to be back to work. His placement worker said he's been counting the days until the doctor said he could work, and it didn't matter at all that it was a holiday. He called 10 times in the past week, making sure we knew he was coming, fearful that we had forgotten him or that his job was in jeopardy. I arranged to have his mother bring him to work. I then met them in the parking lot and invited them both to celebrate his day back. Stevie was thinner and paler, but couldn't stop grinning as he pushed through the doors and headed for the back room where his apron and busing cart were waiting. "Hold up there, Stevie, not so fast," I said. I took him and his mother by their arms. "Work can wait for a minute. To celebrate you coming back, breakfast for you and your mother is on me!" I led them toward a large corner booth at the rear of the room. I could feel and hear the rest of the staff following behind as we marched through the dining room. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw booth after booth of grinning truckers empty and join the procession. We stopped in front of the big table. Its surface was covered with coffee cups, saucers and dinner plates, all sitting slightly crooked on dozens of folded paper napkins. "First thing you have to do, Stevie, is clean up this mess," I said. I tried to sound stern. Stevie looked at me, and then at his mother, then pulled out one of the napkins. It had "Something for Stevie" printed on the outside. As he picked it up, two $10 bills fell onto the table. Stevie stared at the money, then at all the napkins peeking from beneath the tableware, each with his name printed or scrawled on it. I turned to his mother. "There's more than $10,000 in cash and checks on table, all from truckers and trucking companies that heard about your problems.”Happy Thanksgiving," Well, it got real noisy about that time, with everybody hollering and shouting, and there were a few tears, as well. But you know what's funny? While everybody else was busy shaking hands and hugging each other, Stevie, with a big, big smile on his face, was busy clearing all the cups and dishes from the table. Best worker I ever hired. Plant a seed and watch it grow. At this point, you can bury this inspirational message or forward it fulfilling the need! If you shed a tear, hug yourself, because you are a compassionate person. Well... Don't just sit there! Share this story!

Advent

Have you noticed how the world around us seems to be moving faster and faster these days? It feels as if we are caught in a vortex, spinning in ever-tightening circles, towards a single point. Our current cycle of time is winding down, according to the Mayan calendar, which will end on December 21st of this year. This also means that we are preparing for something new, and this too, one can almost feel, certainly intuitively, if not yet physically. For my family, this is certainly the case. My daughter, who last year suffered a complete nervous breakdown, to the point where she could barely even leave the house for months, will be presenting me with my first grandchild next spring. For myself, I am exploring a new profession, medical office assistant, as a tentative first step into the healing arts ("mommy doctor" not withstanding). We have learned that working in a medical office, one must keep one's distance from the patients - i.e., not get personally involved. This is generally because most people go to a doctor because they need something: a prescription, a lab test, surgical procedure, etc. You can't give in to your own feelings, or else they will walk all over you in order to get what they need. I know this sounds pretty cold, but just look at the way people behave at a sale in a department store, for example. On the other hand, as a volunteer with the Red Cross at a local equipment loan depot, I can show all the compassion and empathy I wish. I can try to make every person who walks through our door feel special and attended to as completely as possible. These are people who also come because they need something: either they, a spouse or a parent, a neighbour, sometimes even a child, are in need of equipment to help them recover from surgery. A separate program can help people who need equipment long-term who are low-income. There are also those who come in, trying to help a loved one who is palliative. It is my privilege to extend help to everyone to the best of my ability. Our friends in the States have just finished celebrating their Thanksgiving, and perhaps it is appropriate that for them the two celebrations of Thanksgiving and Christmas are so closely linked, especially after the terrible weather they have had this year: widespread drought and flood. So let's give thanks, count our blessings and find ways over Advent to not only prepare our hearts, but find meaningful ways of expressing, our joy and gratitude, especially to those in need.

A Creative Writing Story Stumbled on Upon Contemplation of Several Pieces of Weavery at Camphill Cascadia

During the Living Gold 2012 Conference this past summer one of many workshops offered was a creative writing class and was much enjoyed by many who attended. Now recently Reverend Susan Locey has begun a Bible study group on the Gospel of the week where we talk about meanings in the words of scripture and then we shift gears and take a theme from the subject matter discussed and begin our own creative writings. I attended the first one but for different reasons was not able to make it to the next two. However I had a sudden insight into an idea of my own which I will explain shortly. Quite a few years ago my Grandfather on my Father's side sent me a cassette tape with a meditation story on it. The point of it was to relax and to equate goals in one's life with objects or places in the story in order to focus and find ways to achieve these goals. The story I am posting today is in a similar vein although here the point is mostly relaxation by becoming immersed in the description of a particular landscape, hopefully enjoyable to the intended reader. The scenes are mostly actual places I have been to here in British Columbia but I have drawn them all together to within a few kilometers of each other to create a new but not entirely implausible place. A few weeks ago during my lunch break I was looking at some weavery which had just been brought over to the new location for the weaving workshop in the downstairs of Sophia House. There where seven pieces visible and later the lady running the workshop told me there are five more behind the seven to correspond to the twelve months of the year. On the seven pieces I could see the three primary colours red, yellow and blue and the three colours I have always thought of as in between, namely orange, purple and green. The seventh was a shade of blue between blue and purple. I had the sudden thought "What could that mean, an extra shade of blue?"
Well, this was the result:


                                     Many Shades of Blue and Green along a Western Shore

It is late summer and you are in a sailboat at the very end of a narrow inlet somewhere up the coast of British Columbia in western Canada. Your life partner has stayed back for a few days in a coast town along the more open ocean visiting friends. It is quiet except for the occasional lapping of tide water on the smallish round stones and sea kelps along the shore. It is a somewhat cloudy day but every once in a while the sun comes out for half an hour or more. This seems a little intimidating here at the end of the ocean and what with the silence but wait a second: "Isn't this just the thing many people wish for; to be removed from the noise and worrying minutiae of city life?" you think. You lean back against a railing, put your feet up, hands behind your head and close your eyes. "Ah yes, this is just the thing." Now you realize there are other sounds: a gull mewing far off down the inlet, a very distant fog horn, tiny groans from your vessel as the slight swells of the ocean shift you around and a faint rushing, maybe a set of rapids or a waterfall in the stream which enters this small bay. Also there are smells too: the salt and sea plants all around, and the almost new finish on your boat deck whenever the sun begins to warm it. Slowly you re-open your eyes and take in the sights anew. Peering over the edge of your sailing craft and looking more carefully into the almost calm water you see the ocean plant life is an absolute riot of reds, greens and yellows. In fact, this whole biosphere, the whole valley surrounding this seemingly unnamed? inlet is a wild blend of blues in the sky and the waters, greens in the tall trees, bushes below and mosses on overhanging bluffs on either side. As if in answer to your question you hear an eagle and a raven communicating their differences of opinion, the one briefly screams and the other responds with a deeper, guttural sound. You understand what sounds like "Aaahe, Wahk!" You think: "I will name this place Ah, Walk Inlet. What a good idea, time for a walk..."

You head below deck and quickly make a lettuce, tomato and corned beef sandwich, a PB&J and grab a liter of sun brewed tea you made back in Vancouver a few weeks ago and stuff it all into a day pack. You put on your yellow knee high gumboots with the drawstring at the top for wading in shallows, chuck the anchor into a jumble of rocks likely looking good enough to hold the sailboat, flip the small inflatable boat overboard and head to shore. Once the inflatable is tied to a branch on a large driftwood log you make your way up the rest of the beach, over a bit of fairly level grass at the top edge and along what looks like an old deer path near the stream which heads into the forest, tending leftwards at a bit of an angle but gently curving in places too. Several hundred yards in you see what you heard before, there is a small waterfall, probably big enough to shower under if the weather was hotter. The water is somewhat tinted like a weak tea from the presence of Cedar trees in the area. Dogwood trees are leaning over pools in the stream which is narrower but deeper here than at the ocean's edge. The leaves of the Dogwoods are turning red in spots and falling off while still somewhat green. Some of the leaves float away slowly, others stick to stones and the roots of ferns along the banks. It is very peaceful here and the air has an extremely clean but pleasant aroma to it, many different forest scents mingle in this area of low ground. Patches of blue sky and white clouds reflect off the pool surfaces as you make your way over large, dark coloured boulders while avoiding the slippery, algae covered spots. The valley narrows gradually and the path you pick through the woods slowly heads up to higher ground. After a time you can occasionally see larger patches of exquisite blue sky. After a couple of hours of hiking, enough to make you sweat but still a very enjoyable walk, you reach a sort of ridge shaded over with Big Leaf Maples and tall Cedars. The deer trails just beyond criss-cross each other on a small plateau with ferns, salal and mounds of moss all around; you choose one of the more distinct trails and head inland further still. After several more minutes of hiking the forest canopy gradually lightens and then suddenly is open.

You are at the western edge of a very wide and shallow valley. Looking at the distant hills and mountains beyond you can observe the sea fogs turned into clouds pushed up against them and hovering just below their peaks. Here before you, in the lee of the weather system, behind the tall Cedars and several hillocks which you had made your way around and through you can see it is pleasantly sunny. The stream you had been following is now a marsh off to you right, dotted with bright yellow skunk cabbages, many reeds of various species and several dead trees standing in the dark shallows. The water is relatively clear but looks dark from a low angle because of the thick mat of rotted vegetation a couple of feet down. Following a relatively bare bank under more widely spaced, shorter coniferous trees and the odd fallen trunk you make your way into the valley. About another half an hour later there are larger clearings and even meadows slightly uphill from the bank you have been walking along. Stopping in one of the meadows you stand perfectly still and simply absorb what is around you. Something about the vegetation is a little different here. Walking closer to the rough circle of shrubs and trees around you notice a few species which you have not seen before anywhere along the coast. Some seem to be flowers and bushes of more domesticated varieties. The Ravens here speak in a different tone and utter 'new words' to your ears. There is simply a unique feel to this spot. Several yards back of the clearing is a slightly smaller stream than the one down hill nearer to the sea. There is a relatively dry log nearby where you sit down and eat the lunch you brought along. You sigh and are at utter peace with everything here and with all in your life. Even if a bear were to show up at the forest edge you would not care, after all you know they are usually only a threat if they are very hungry, irritated by human provocation or if you are too close to a mother's cub. Behind the log is an area of dry leaves and fern fronds. You lie down and take a nap. Waking a few times only briefly enough to realize the warm air and to hear a few buzzing insects, you dream of other amazing places you have been to in years gone by. One is a beach you were at as a toddler with your parents on the west coast of Vancouver Island. At the time the view along the dry sand and over the light green bushes with the bright hot sun behind looked practically tropical. Several years later you could not help wondering "How the heck did I know about the tropics when I was a very young child?" Could it be a feeling related to a possible past life experience? Suddenly you wake and see the sun has advanced a fair bit across the sky, a couple of hours worth at least. Getting up you brush a few leaves away, gather your things and make your way back to the lower edge of the meadow. You turn around and carefully look over this amazing haven in the midst of nature once more.

Beyond the ridge, on the way back down the stream by the pools you wonder if this place where you lunched and slept may have been a Native settlement in times gone by. "How far back?" you muse. "A few years, decades or even centuries?" Back at the rubber raft and on the way over to the sailing boat you realize what a very magical place this whole valley is. You intend to come back sometime again. As a matter of fact, you decide to stay the night on board the boat and to do some more exploring tomorrow. Who knows, maybe there are some petroglyphs on the bluffs, a totem pole somewhere in the trees along this beach or an artifact of some kind which Natives of a previous settlement may have left lying amongst the deep, dark mosses...

Resonating

Dear Friends, as promised, a brief discussion on resonating.
One of the highlights of the Living Gold conference for me was the singing in the chapel, especially for the Close of Day service. This service, in and of itself, is very beautiful, but even more so when you have over 150 voices singing together in harmony to a timeless piece of classical music. Like experiencing a full orchestra, live, there is something that hangs in the air afterwards. What is it about music that has the power to affect us so deeply? It is not only the chords but also the timing. I like to say that music is the window of the Spirit. This is because of soundwaves, which our bodies are intrinsically wired to respond to. It is one of those things that transcends language, race and culture. (This is also an encouragement for people to consider attending the Ring Cycle being produced in August 2013 by the Seattle Opera Company, according to Wagner's indications, and accompanied by talks by Daniel Hafner. We can get a group rate for all 4 operas - contact Susan Locey for more details.)
Imagine a world where we would be able to utilize the electromagnetic energy of our heart in a positive way, for healing. This is not so far-fetched as it sounds. A machine was first invented in the late 1800's, but was not completely understood and was not successful for mass production, as tuning must be done for each individual person.
Most of us are familiar with tuning forks, which were invented, believe it or not, in the 1700's. Today's quartz clocks and watches use a tiny internal tuning fork for timekeeping. Most of us are also familiar with "ultrasound" as a diagnostic tool in medicine. This is nothing more than electrical current applied across the facets of a quartz crystal, at one million cycles, or Hertz, per second.
The human heartbeat functions normally around 1.2 Hz cycles per second. I love the fact that the name given to this measurement is Hertz. Of course, it is named after the scientist who was able to demonstrate this, but this word is also very close to the German word, herz, or heart.
Soundwaves are also used in newer medical techniques such as lithotripsy, and alternative medicine such as sonopuncture and polarity therapy. Most of us are also familiar with the use of crystals for therapeutic healing. This is the direction we are moving in. What we can do now with the use of machines and externally created electrical current, we may soon be able to do simply by using the positive, loving energy from our own bodies. However, where there is a positive, there is also a negative, and we will have to be careful to use this energy only for healing, and not for destructive, purposes.

Stay tuned!
Sparky

Song for today: Beach Boys: good vibrations

A Will of Iron

Do you remember this song, We are the World? It was a very famous and powerful song in its time, partly because so many vocal artists participated, but also because it was an attempt to create a feeling of community and focus on an area of the world in crisis. It was a call for individuals to listen to their hearts, and join together, not only in singing but working together, to strive to make the world a better place, one person and one act at a time.
These feelings and desires usually arise out of crisis. Our movement for religious renewal, the movement of the Red Cross and the movement of Amnesty International, all speak to this.
Today, we are witnessing unrest on a global scale in many areas: political, social, economic, environmental, which in turn is echoed by the Earth itself - weather patterns, earthquakes, flooding, fires, drought. Something new is needed.
In spite of all the good intentions of the United Nations Assembly, many are starting to question its efficacy. Abuses of human rights continue, even in civilized countries like Canada. We are still a long ways from the ideals of the Charter of Human Rights. Why?
This is because our governments lack the political will to embrace these ideals. If there is to be change, it must come from a grassroots movement, from a groundswell of humanity.
Take for example the current crisis in mining interests in South Africa, Latin and South America. An international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights was signed and ratified by over 160 states in 1966. An interesting point is that the United States and South Africa are some of the few holdouts to ratifying this covenant, to this day.
A report is submitted every 5 years by each state and reviewed by a committee of 18 members, who are elected every 4 years. The problem is, this committee has no teeth. An optional protocol to this covenant was created in 2009 which would recognize the competence of the committee to consider complaints from individuals. So far, only 8 parties have signed and ratified this protocol, which requires 10 before it can come into effect. The desire is there, but not the will.
Where governments lack willpower, it must then come from the people. More and more, our ability to show compassion, empathy, love, patience and forgiveness, must come to the fore. This does not come out of ourselves, but out of the working of the Holy Spirit in us. It is the working of the heart. We are beginning to hear and learn more about the unbelievable nature of heart forces. Believe it or not, the heart creates electrical and magnetic waves that can extend many kilometres. Your positive im"pulses" can literally have an effect at a great distance.
What we do as individuals impacts our personal lives; what we do as a collective humanity affects not only the present but the future.
One of my most favorite activities in August is star-gazing. In particular, the Perseid meteor shower. Out of curiosity, I wondered if Rudolf Steiner had anything to say about this particular annual cosmic event. It turns out he did:
It is the cosmic manifestation of the iron of the Archangel Michael's sword, whose purpose is to wage war on, and drive out, anxiety, fear and hate, from our blood, which emotions in turn create illusion and cloud Universal Truth.
Change must come about now through nonviolence, through overcoming hate with love, fear with compassion, anxiety with empathy, woundedness with healing.
Pretty heavy stuff.
Sparky

Fool's Gold

Okay folks, settle in for a lively discussion.
The mention of fool's gold, or pyrite, came up in our discussion group after one particular lecture during the Living Gold conference.
We are starting to realize more and more that the pursuit of money for its own purpose, or immoral purposes, is a "fool's errand". Millions of dollars are exchanged, gained and lost every day on the stock market. A person can be a millionaire on paper, but in reality this means nothing - it is only numbers. It is not a good thing to invest in stocks simply in the hope of increasing one's monetary assets. It means you are receiving something without having worked for it yourself, and in many cases, you don't know and don't care how this stock increases, or dividends are earned. You don't care if it means that other people end up losing their jobs, if it ruins the environment, what long term effects this operation has on future generations. You are separated from the operating and functioning of the company involved. It's like buying a lottery ticket and hoping you will win, it is money you are hoping will somehow magically appear out of nowhere, sometimes for the most selfish and materialistic of reasons. We have all heard the saying, "you can't take it with you." This is fool's gold - the wish for money and material things simply for their own sake.
In the case of Canadian mining interests that are in fact ruining the environment and violating human rights, what can be done? First and foremost, we here in Canada have freedom of speech without fear of being shot at (usually). This means we can speak out, protest, inform, proclaim what is happening. If there is anything a company hates, it is bad publicity. We have the opportunities and possibility to do this, whereas it cannot be done in the area it is actually happening, for fear of reprisals.
Secondly, there can be a healing approach to the damage being done. We know from Dr. Emoto's work, that it is possible for a group to come together and "heal" bodies of water. We know also that the work of our congregations is a very special kind of healing, not just for the members, but also for the region and country in which they live. A spiritual kind of healing which can manifest itself also in the physical world.
Lastly, each of us can work on our own spiritual development until we come to the realization that we are all connected on a higher level, and more and more, even on a physical level. What we think and what we do, really "matters". This sounds a little like Zen or Buddhism, doesn't it? We in the Western world are still discovering and learning how to incorporate ancient Eastern wisdom. Not just from a religious context, but even a scientific one.
Here's a very interesting quote I just came across the other day, by John E. Mack, M.D., Pulitzer-Prize winning author and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School:
"..we are now witnessing a coming together of science, psychology and spirituality after centuries of ideological and disciplinary fragmentation. Both modern physics and depth psychology are revealing to us a universe in which...all that we can perceive around us is connected by resonances, both physical and nonphysical, that can make the possibility of universal justice, truth and love more than just a utopian fantasy."
Next blog, good vibrations and resonating.
Cheers
Sparky

Amnesty International

Hi there, me again.
As I mentioned in my last blog, it is time to shine a spotlight on Canadian mining interests in other areas of the world.
It turns out that Amnesty International is another agency already involved.
Why Amnesty, you might ask?
If you follow it, or have a brief look, you may notice that there was an article in June from Latin America. A female activist was SHOT, while protesting the absence of human rights inculcated by Canadian mining in her area. In Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina, mining interests are given carte blanche to mis-appropriate people's homes and land without compensation, due process, etc.
Executives and government leaders who participate in such decisions and actions may think they do not have to take responsibility because they are at arms-length, but this is not the case. If not in the here and now, we know they will be held accountable to a Higher Court in the future; however, we have seen that more and more, these decision-makers are being held accountable for bad decisions. I wonder where these mining executives would be prosecuted? Perhaps in the World Court in The Hague, where, by the way, another Vancouver organization now has its base - Greenpeace. How ironic!
In my opinion, it's hypocritcal for Canada to critize other countries' human rights violations when we do not hold our companies to account in the countries in which they operate.
In a book I mentioned previously called Presence, by authors Peter Senge, C. Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers, examples are given where it is possible for corporations, governments and civil societies to work together, through an agency called Global Leadership Initiative. Where there is a will on the part of the "players", it is possible to sit down and work towards sustainable development. The corporation, Shell International, is a primary example in this book. This is one of the few lights of hope for the future in addressing critical global challenges.
Some people argue that politics (and economics) and religion should not mix, and may wonder why I am doing a blog on such a subject. The fact is that the former has the power to break one's spirit. In some countries, religion is forced to follow the "party line". In some countries, perhaps, the state church is powerless to protect human rights and human dignity. They can only offer hope to their parishioners for a better life in the realm of the heavens.
However, my friends, as we learned during our week at the Living Gold Conference, this is in fact, not the only scenario.
More later.
Sparky

Canadian Mining Interests in South America

Dear Friends,
I would be remiss in being grateful for everything we received during Living Gold 2012, if I did not bring up this subject.
It was put before us, very concisely, by different groups from South America.
Especially for Canadians, who like to think we are one of the "nicest" countries, this is an international disgrace. It is our shame in the most far-reaching sense of the word.
We cannot claim ignorance, now that it has been brought to our attention. It is one of the deepest wrongs in terms of economics, that public shareholders often have no clue as to what a company actually does, or how their operations impact the country in which they are working or have vested interests.
These were words of truth, which we must pay attention to. Not only is the land itself being destroyed, but through the use of poisonous chemicals, the water as well. Try to imagine just exactly how cyanide and mercury destroy the soil and water. Try to imagine what happens to the people working with these poisons, and communities who live nearby. What is it doing to the children??? We have all heard of the long term devastation of nuclear plant meltdowns - this is equally as horrendous.
The huge amounts of water used is water desperately needed for communities.
Canadian mining interests in South America are depriving communities of land and water needed to sustain life itself. It does not provide a great deal of local employment, nor does it mean communities benefit in other ways to much extent, as we all have heard of the corruption in various governments.
It is time to shine a spotlight on these practices, just as was done in the blood diamonds of South Africa.
One only has to take a very short look on the internet to find reliable reports:
Check out articles in The Guardian (Povertymatters blog) and the Smithsonian.com (the devastating costs of the Amazon Gold Rush) for starters.
As global citizens, we cannot pretend that our actions and consumerism here in North America have no impact anywhere else - they can and they do, to our shame. We have to be responsible in terms of what we buy, and where and how we choose to invest. Is it sustainable, how does it impact local communities and economies. Who exactly is benefitting?
It's bad enough we allow these things to happen here at home. It's time we took responsibility for how we impact innocent and vulnerable people elsewhere.

Sparky

Living Gold 2012 one and a half weeks later

With this post I wish to explain a few things to people who could not make it to the Conference. The photo here is from inside the Shawnigan Lake School Chapel which stands on a huge grounds of stunning landscaping. While not being a stone structure which has stood since the Middle Ages as in Europe, it is still a very beautiful building. Inside it is panelled in fir veneers and solid woods, much of it in old growth clear fir. The alter you see was set up by Bruce before things really got under way on the first evening when Susan Locey gave her opening words "What are we doing here?" The painting is by Christer Ekstrom, some of his works were on sale during the eight days we were there too. I took this picture just before one of the workshops I was attending: 'Music for the Renewed Sacraments - Experience in Listening' led by Lothar Reubke. The workshop was always at the same time of day so the Sun always came through the western windows in just about the same way, yes we had good weather every day too. Most days we had The Act of Consecration of Man with mostly fifteen priests attending! right after breakfast which was usually followed by a lecture on the subjects of physical and spiritual gold, always by a different speaker but often translated by the same fellow (Paul Corman from South America). Sometimes the lectures were in English with Spanish translation, sometimes the other way around; two included slideshows as a supplement. Then after a break we had separate discussion groups to go over with each other what had been covered in the lecture which was sometimes very helpful because the subject matter could at times get very deep and a little hard to understand. After discussions was lunch followed by workshop1 then another break and workshop 2. The workshops covered subjects as diverse as physical crafts, movement as in Spatial Dynamics, comedy class, smaller discussions on different topics, creative writing, bee keeping, singing and so on, I believe there were some thirty 'shops'. Then we had dinner for a while which was always a great time to really talk to others and relax because we knew a real treat was just around the corner. There was Valeria Betancourt from South America who played many pieces, classical and newer on a grand piano without any sheet music visible, at least from where I was sitting! Also two open stage nights with many acts on a whole variety of subjects. A great highlight was stand-up comedy by Ron Koetzsch who poked playful fun at Anthroposophists. There was the Vancouver Camphill presentation of "The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily" play with several people being overheard saying it was the highlight of the Conference. Then at our last full day together we had presentations from the various workshops. It was really interesting to see what everyone else had been up to in the last days, always enlightening, beautiful or entertaining or all at once. Wednesday afternoon, basically in the middle of things, we all had free time with many local excursions underway. Across the road from the school's driveway entrance is their rowing equiptment storage and a dock were one could sit and enjoy the lake or just plain old jump right in! Just as Susan Locey began things, Richard Dancey from Chicago finished it all off after the Act of Consecration with a forum and closing words on the last Sunday. Of course besides check in and check out the "bookends" of these days were mealtimes but the really memorable meal was when we all sang 'Allelujah' in rounds at lunch one day to thank the amazing kitchen staff who worked so very hard to keep everyone in physical nutrition, it seemed everything else was of a spiritual nourishment. Oh, I cannot forget, there was a store set up near the inside of the entry to the huge dining hall where vendors from various countries were selling handmade and other goods, some items were also raffled off during the workshops presentations.
All in all it was a very good experience, I am pretty sure most everyone reluctantly left but with a treasure or treasures to last a very long time.
I was going to include something I wrote from the creative writing class I took there but in lieu of going on too long here I will save that for another time.
With shimmers of gold now floating in ether spaces, until later, from Felix.

First Impressions - Go Forth With Joy!

My hope is that many other people will find this blogspot to be a way of expressing all the many facets of the Living Gold Conference that occurred last week on Vancouver Island.

So much was given to the participants in such a short period of time that it will take many weeks and months to absorb everything we heard, felt and thought.

In a way it is perhaps best to start at the end and work backwards to the beginning.

As Sunday approached and we were aware that our time together was ending, it was a bittersweet moment. For a few short days, we had been lifted up into a higher realm of consciousness, and it was time to "come back down to earth". Nevertheless, as we prepared to depart, we all did so with a feeling of great joy and thankfulness for the many gifts we had received and the strengthening of community, in a very broad sense of the word.

It will be each individual's task now to take what we have been given, and find ways of allowing this to live in us and through us.

In the workshop presentations Saturday evening, Les Tulloch mentioned that there had been a great deal of healing in the course of the week in his spacial dynamics class.
For me, too, it was a time of spiritual healing. The huge load of pain and grief I had been carrying around for the past 4 years was lifted, and I feel now that I can face whatever comes in the future. I have been given a glimpse of the far distant future, and it will be one of great joy and peace. Similar to giving birth, it makes all the pain and suffering that must occur beforehand, worthwhile.

For my son as well, this will be the greatest birthday gift he could ever receive. Knowing that he belongs to a much larger community than our small outpost in Vancouver and meeting and making many new friends in Los Comunidad Christianos Internationale, both near and far. He will know that he is "held", no matter where he finds himself in the world, and most importantly, connected.

I thank each of you who made this journey with us. For many, it was literally a long and difficult place to get to. For some, who had been to the East Coast, but never to the West, I hope it was a revelation, or perhaps one could even say an apocalypse, or lifting of a veil, to see what lives and is possible, in a different part of the world, or even a continent.

Last but not least, my deepest gratitude to Susan Locey, who is living proof that "In God, all things are possible."

Sparky

Annual migration/polar shift

Dear Friends:
My grandmother's second husband, Ernie Paynter, whom she married at the age of 77, devoted much of his life to wildlife conservation, and was formally recognized for his efforts to save the Sandhill Crane.
In the depths of winter, I wait for the first birdcall, signalling that spring is not far off. At our local man-made lake, several kinds of ducks and geese stay for the winter, and we always look forward to seeing the baby ducklings. A pair of ducks even come over to the waterway in our complex, looking for a quiet, safe place to lay their eggs. Sometimes there are other kinds of birds who stop over on their long migration south.
As you can see from the above map, the migration of the Swainson's hawk is one of the longest, 10,000 kms., from as far north as Alaska, all the way down to Argentina, between August and November each year. They stop and gather near Veracruz in Mexico on the way down, in the hundreds of thousands. They travel through Colombia, Brazil and Argentina.
It's an interesting thing that in July, Vancouver is preparing to welcome a number of people from our South American congregations - a polar shift, or reverse migration - if you like. The equator cuts across near the top of Brazil, and Vancouver, at the 49th parallel North, would be equivalent to the southern point where Chile and Argentina meet, in the South.
Our friends will find themselves in a different kind of rainforest, but no less abundant in terms of varieties of plants, birds and fish. We like to consider ourselves the "California of the North", enjoying mild winters compared to the rest of Canada, or even BC. (Hey Steph, do you think we could borrow the Stanley Cup just for a little while?)
As in the spring, when everyone can finally open their doors and windows to the sun and fresh air, we will be opening our homes and hearts to our friends from down south. We will have the chance to see things from a completely different point of view. I imagine it could be like "upgrading" from black and white, to technicolor, or listening to the difference between a "western hoe-down" and a conga beat. Imagine the difference between a mallard duck and gorgeously arrayed parrot, or between a dandelion and an orchid. Consider the soft musical cadence of Spanish or Portugese compared to the straight, clipped English language.
This is a window to a whole new world of possibilities, to open up all your senses, consider things from a new perspective. We showed the world how warm Vancouver can be in the middle of winter 2 years ago. Let's see what we can do now in high summer.
Mi casa es su casa

Sparky

P.S. Sometimes a song runs through my head as I am writing, and for this blog, I would like to ask you if you know the ABBA song, "I have a Dream" from Mama Mia. A Spanish version is also available, called "Estoy Sonando"
Maybe I will bring it with me to the conference.

Christening by Rev. Richard Lewis in Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada

The christening table and the accessories for the baptism of first-born Stephan Alexander Scharnberg by Rev. Richard Lewis from Los Angeles, California, USA on Sunday, May 23, 1963 in the Scharnberg home, a converted logging bunkhouse on Neva Road in Lake Cowichan, Vancouver Island, B.C., Canada. Richard Lewis accompanied Dr. Lauenstein from West Germany on a North America-wide tour. After my christening, Richard Lewis continued north to Sproat Lake near Port Alberni, also on Vancouver Island, for the baptism of the first-born Krack child, Marius, and then to the Lower Mainland to baptize the second-born Rachel son, Andrew, at the Rachel’s new home on Cooper Road in Richmond.

Travel has always been an important part of my life. I’ve been on the road since before I was born. I was conceived on the return half of my parents’ honeymoon road trip to northern Mexico, on a US Army cot in the Waldorf School in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. At our first home, the bunkhouse, father planted me a birth tree, a Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), out front, still standing to this day at over 60 feet tall.

The baptisms are mentioned in the booklet, The Standing Wave (a biographical sketch of The Christian Community in British Columbia since the founding and further development) as remembered by Janet and Dean Rachel, published privately at Michaelmas 2005, with proceeds going to The Christian Community.

[1959 Kodak Retina IIIS (Type 027) rangefinder 35-mm roll film camera, s/n 86125, with Schneider-Kreuznach Retina-Xenon 50-mm f/1.9 Synchro Compur lens, s/n 6841319; Kodak Plus-X Pan ISO 125/22° 36-exposure black & white negative film]

© Copyright photograph by Uwe Kündrunar Scharnberg, May 1963 / Stephan Alexander Scharnberg, May 2012

I am the Life and the Resurrection

Dear Friends, during this Easter time, my heart has been filled with gratitude. I have been very thankful to be at home the past two months, spending more time with my children. This alone has been a gift - the gift of time. It has also meant I have been able to take up some volunteer work in the community, reconnecting with old friends, giving a little more time at church, and making new friends. I am grateful for all the people who have come into my life during the past few years, and their love and support for me and my children. I have time to take pleasure in welcoming the longer days, luxuriating in the warmth-giving Sun, and watching blossoms burst forth.

I have also had time to take up more reading. A book my sister gave me for Christmas, which I took in hand last week, is called, The boy who came back from heaven. It's a true story, which happened in Ohio, written by the father and son of a family whose lives were changed forever, due to a horrendous car accident. This story of a child who "died" and went to heaven, and his slow return to the land of the living, is full of miracles from start to finish. I wept through almost every page. You see, when you have experienced pain in your own life, it can lead to being more open to the pain of others. It also is helpful to read about trials in other people's lives, as it makes you more thankful for what you have. The mother in this story also has a blogsite: amomonamission, if you are curious to learn more.

This story is ongoing. It is about Life. It's about walking with God. It's about opening up your heart to the Christ. These words stood out for me today during the service: Those who bring Christ to life within themselves. It's a phrase written over and over in this book as well: The Kingdom of God is everywhere - it is NOW! It is not somewhere in the distant future, in an imaginary place, it can be here and now, if only we can allow our hearts to open like a seed. For it is Love that brings forth the blooms, and it is Love that calls forth our true selves.

Do you know this song? Cherish the Love, by Kool and the Gang

Sparky

Dragon Ships

This month, during the time of Passiontide, I want to touch on the theme of exploration. You see, I have a confession to make: I have EDD. Have you ever heard of this acronym? Probably not, because I just invented it. It stands for Explore, Discover and Develop. If you think back to the middle ages, this was a time of great exploration, the earliest and most wide-ranging being the Vikings. Being Scottish, Irish and Swedish (Canadian), I figure that makes me pure Viking! The Vikings were famous for their dragon ships. Not only did they sail south and west, but they also travelled by land as far east as Sicily and Constantinople. There are now theories that they reached not just the east coast of Canada, but also the west coast. I wanted to present the image of a dragon ship, as it ties back into my earlier blogs on the Chinese year of the Dragon.

EDD can hit you at any age. Adolescents are encouraged to explore, discover and develop their skills and talents. It's unbelievably difficult for teenagers today to do that. All sorts of things get in the way: television, computers, video games, ipods, cell phones. This age of electronics conspires to create a cacaphony of noise and artificial images, striving to prevent them from doing any real inner work.

In going through a time of change, as I am now, I have to do the same thing. What marketable skills do I possess or could I develop? That's a very hard thing at my age. It's a very interesting thing that 5 or 6 years ago, when I was on the brink of a major change spiritually, the first volume of Esoteric Lessons came into my hands. Now, the second volume has arrived and I have the time and opportunity to discover and explore each lesson.

EDD can apply not just to individuals, but to groups as well. Our congregations are also going through a time of change. The impulse that led to the founding of our little communities is fading. Something new must be "discovered" and "developed". It is a time of "dying" and "rebirth". We are called upon every evening as individuals, and every Sunday as a community, to once again "die into Christ".

This year we mark the 90th birthday of the founding of The Church of The Christian Community, or TCC. (Privately, I like to refer to it as TLC). It's an interesting thing that it falls in the year 2012. We are being called, both as individuals, and as communities, to prepare for something new. Do you know this motto, "Be Prepared"? It's the motto for the Girl Guides. It is also the motto for my alma mater - Nous sommes prets - we are prepared. Simon Fraser University, named after another famous explorer (Scottish), sits atop a mountain in the heart of Vancouver, almost at the foot of which, is our church. For 4 years, I bussed, drove, and traipsed in heavy snow, up and down this mountain. What I could do in my 20's physically, I must now find a way to do inwardly. It means creating a space for movement - a movement of spiritual renewal.

Skol

Sparky

God's mighty creation

In the early 1980's I lived in Europe for three years, to be exact in southern Germany in the state of Bavaria, southwest of Munich, in an area known as Vierseenland (four seas or lakes land), in a town called Wessling beside a small lake (Wesslinger See). I was learning the trade of cabinetmaking and early on I did not know too many people there except the friends of my parents I was living with. I would not say it was a rough time in my life but there were days when I was a little lonely. Anyway, one day, around this time of year, I decided to go for walk after having studied my cabinetmaking theory for several hours. Wessling lies just on the northern edge of a huge but shallow valley which extends pretty much all the way south to the Alps. At the very time I came upon this scene there was a moment of twilight magic. About seven or eight years later, when I was living in the Lower Mainland, I woke up suddenly with all the ideas for a poem fresh in my mind. I had to get pencil and paper right away or my flash of insight would have been gone forever, or at least in the way I had "heard" it. I am not joking when I say this: I literally woke up and each and every word of this poem came crysal clear into my mind in one contious stream before I got up to write it all down.
Here it is:

  Distant Spires

   The evening light warm did fall

slanting slow through beechwood 'halls'.

Ancient images I beheld

as I did see a slaten spire shining fair

miles off, standing high of dusk befallen air

creasting high on a distant darkened hill

proud upon it's Alpen sill.

  There, further past a dimmer, orange, snowy range

it seemed to me

that I could look  upon a far-off

warm blue sea.

   Felix Hayo Scharnberg

It is a short poem but it is also an explanation of the singular beauty of God's creation in nature.

The beechwood trees I was walking through were so dense I could think of them like an outdoor hallway.

The ancient images were connected to all the activities of people living in this part of the world for the centuries gone by. Slaten spire refers to a fairly well known church known as Kloster Andechs, by the way they make very good beer in this tiny hamlet if you are into that sort of thing. To explain the whole scene some more: from near where I was standing all the way to the Alps over 100 km away the valley was in evening shadow. The exceptions were this Kloster Andechs with its slate tower still in sunlight and then the entire north wall of the Alps with colours of yellow to oranges on it's snowbanks to blues and darker purple on the rocky parts. Then, with this side of the Alps still being  in a sort of wintery state and having been in California and Mexico a couple of times I could imagine the warm Mediterranean Sea south of this impressive mountain range. Of course, the darking night sky leads into outer space and the vastness of all the rest of God's mighty creation! Here also is a photo of this Kloster Andechs that was taken at a different time during my stay. It is a very idyllic place, of which there are many in Europe.







Raising Consciousness, Part IV

Dear Friends, I had meant to do this blog at a little later date, but it is better for me to do it today, before hard reality sets in.

In the first part, I talked about being able to see things from different points of view. This is also a very important part of raising consciousness, of looking at things objectively rather than subjectively. This is a very important step - to put aside your own viewpoint and consider someone else's.

Today, my company was informed that we will be shutting down in a few short months. This is a result of being bought by a larger company 18 months ago. It's nothing new in the world of business and economics. I will be laid off shortly, after 5 years. As a single mom, in the world's 2nd most expensive place to live in the world, it is a little alarming and daunting. But that is not what I want to talk about.

I started in 2006, working as a temporary office worker. It had been 12 years since I had been in the workforce. The first day back in an office was horrible. After the first hour I wanted to cry, and by lunchtime I wanted to go home and never come back. I couldn't do that, because I knew I had to get back to work to support my family. I was also struggling to manage my rheumatoid arthritis. Because of my job, my wrists and feet literally ached for months.

After about a year, though, I found the rhythm to what I was doing. It was a start up company, and I had 4 people working under me, just trying to keep up with the deluge of work. I loved it! People appreciated my being there, I felt valued, I was making some money, working outside the home, meeting people. I had a job in which I could make my own decisions, organize my work, set my own pace.

The thing I loved most though, was the people. I had a chance to meet and work with people from all over the world: India, Sri Lanka, Romania, Germany, France, Madagascar, Africa, the Philippines, China, without going very far at all! My travel opportunities off the continent have been limited so far to the UK and Hawaii, not very exciting, but eye-opening nevertheless.

The point is, my life has been enriched by the people I have met from different cultures. It doesn't matter if it is for only a short time, or long, and hopefully theirs were enriched in return. It may be hard for someone to imagine who is a "world traveller", who is used to seeing different places and people. Who takes "hopping across the pond" very lightly, as matter of fact. This is not the case for me. My parents grew up in small towns on the Prairies, and never dreamed that one day they might get to see places like the Sandwich Islands, Borneo, Scandinavia, or Australia, but they did!

Having the chance to meet someone from another country is something I would put a high value on, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of a larger, world-view, and especially for those who might otherwise never have an opportunity to expand their own. The benefit of hosting and enabling an inter-continental conference works both ways, my friends, both ways.

Sparks

Raising Consciousness, Part III

It's amazing what you can find surfing the internet, and where it leads you. This picture is on the Colorado Plateau, near a spot called the 4 corners, taken in a rare year when the elements come together in such a way that the desert becomes a carpet of purple flowers. It is a flowering, or bursting forth, but not just out of nowhere. In between, the rhythmn of the seasonal cycles works. This is a definition for "epiphany" which I like very much. That special moment occurs often only after long, hard, repetitious movement or work. (remember I promised to bring up repetition?) When the time is right, something miraculous can happen.
The same can happen in the different ages of man. What happened in between 1000 AD and 2000 AD? The Renaissance! A seemingly sudden flowering of literature, science, art, religion and politics. It involved social and political upheaval, and has been called the "bridge" between the modern and middle ages. Of course, it did not happen without a lot of hard work on the part of pioneers like Archimedes, Socrates, and so on.
What often happens, though, is that a person's work or genius is not fully recognized or appreciated until decades, if not centuries later. The common man simply is not ready, and cannot fathom it until a great deal of time has passed.

This year, 2012, I feel we are once again on the verge of the opportunity for a "renaissance", or flowering in similar areas: medicine, agriculture, religion, education, socio/political arenas. Perhaps it could be said that through the work of a great pioneer, 100 years ago, and the steady devotion to his work that has taken place over the past few decades. Perhaps Dr. Steiner's work, otherwise known as anthroposophy, could be called the "bridge" into the future. It's kind of like learning how to play a musical instrument: you have to practice scales and chords endlessly, until you can do them in your sleep. Only when you have become a "master" is there the possibility for you to make the leap to "maestro".

In Alfred Heidenreich's 1942 lecture, he acknowledged that his generation might not see the actualization of Steiner's work, certainly not to the extent that they had hoped. Today, 70 years later, thanks to all the hard work performed with sincere dedication, I think we can be more optimistic.

Raising consciousness is what our Living Gold Conference (or as I like to call it, our big fat Canadian Conference) this summer is all about. There will be workshops on numbers, comparative religions, spacial dynamics, music, singing, sculpture, economics, historical occurrences - even on humor! Do you know the phrase "live large"? It means take everything to the max, take everything in, stretch the boundaries, tear down the walls. Oh and yes, Vancouver Island also offers bungee jumping...

Go for the Gold!
Sparky

Raising Consciousness, Part II

Hi there. Today I want to present 3 images: the cadeuceus (on the right), the one below, called a taijitu, better known as yin and yang and one more, without an actual picture.

Notice that neither half of the taijitu is completely black or completely white. Theoretically, no one is completely bad or completely good. It also introduces the concept of "chi", or "life energy". You probably have realized by now the connection between ancient mythology and yoga, as discussed in my previous blog. The answer is of course, that yoga goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. So too does a practice in China called chi gung, or qigong. It is similar to t'ai chi, which personally I find a lot easier to try than yoga - it's downright embarrassing watching me try to get down onto, and up off of, a floor mat.

Typically, a qigong practice involves rhythmic breathing, coordinated with slow, stylized repetition of fluid movement, and a calm mindful state. From a philosophical point of view, it is believed to help develop human potential, allow access to higher realms of awareness, and awaken one's true nature. Please note the phrase, "repetition" - I will come back to this in my next blog.

Did you pick up on the word "dynamic" in the previous blog? I like this word a lot. What other words can you think of that include this one? How about spacial dynamics, or bio-dynamics? I am going to try out spacial dynamics for the first time this Sunday after church, courtesy of one of our members, Les Tulloch, who will be presenting a workshop on this at the Living Gold conference, together with a colleague from Argentina.

I like the use of symbols, as they tend to be universally recognized, which is good when you are addressing someone who may not be entirely familiar with your own language. Numbers are also universal symbols. Another member of our church, Felix Scharnberg, introduced the concept of "fractals" to us awhile ago - positively fascinating. The image for this concept could be the spiral. It's a fact that our world could not exist without numbers, - even we as human beings would not exist. Think of the symbol for DNA.

This brings us to the second symbol, the caduceus. It is associated with the god Mercury, and the metal by the same name. In Greco-Roman times, this god stood for trade, commerce, negotiation, an equal exchange, or balance (this is what yin and yang is about as well - balance - it ties in nicely with our Living Gold conference, too). Under the Greek name, Hermes, he stood for initiation, shepherd, numbers, divine messenger, and mediator between the physical and spiritual worlds.

Now I want to give you the last symbol: the feathered serpent of ancient Mexico, Quetzalcoatl. He was the patron god of priesthood, learning, knowledge, and represented the evolution of human consciousness. One of our workshops during the conference will be on the Virgin of Guadalupe, presented by my friend, Stephanie Georgieff.

These are all just tidbits, which I hope will entice you to look into further. My final blog on this subject will be in a few days, around the 4th and last Sunday of Epiphany, where I hope to tie everything neatly together.

Wish me luck! or maybe I should say, Kung Hei Fat Choy!

Sparky

Raising Consciousness

In case you are wondering, Chinese New Year is once again almost upon us. This year will be the Year of the Dragon! Unlike in western mythology, Chinese dragons are considered very lucky. It's a symbol for power, excellence, heroism, perseverance, nobility and divinity. He is energetic, decisive, optimistic, and wise. It is a portent for dynamic energy. He can sometimes be portrayed with wings.

It turns out that there are all different kinds of dragons, and the one for this year in particular is a water dragon. It has been 60 years since the last such creature. Water ameliorates the fiery nature, allowing it to make very considered decisions, taking into account all sides or points of view, to see all the possibilities and potentialities.

There is a new theory out of MIT, based on 10 years' worth of research, called Theory U, by C. Otto Scharmer. The book is still on my "to read" list, but was recommended by a friend in the U.K., Tom Ravetz. There are three basic steps: opening the mind (accessing one's authentic Self and recognizing one's blind spots), opening the heart (jettisoning all your emotional baggage and ideas you are tied to) and opening the will (taking everything up to a higher level, or consciousness). In other words, "leading from the future as it emerges". It is reminiscent of Japanese "circle groups" that were popular in business a couple of decades ago, but with a creative or artistic twist. You don't know what is possible until you knock down the walls and open things up, kind of like the story of Joshua and the city of Jericho.

Now if you had used the term "raising consciousness" 200 years ago, people would have said you were daft. It was only in certain circles that this was acknowledged, primarily amongst the priesthood, in fact going back at least 2500 years, in other words it was more or less a secret. Only since perhaps the 1960's has this concept entered everyday language, and perhaps partly due to the pioneering work of Rudolf Steiner , 100 years ago.

Kundalini yoga in particular, embodied this idea, which arrived in the U.S. in 1969. I want to quote a wonderful definition: Practitioners call Kundalini yoga the yoga of awareness because it focuses primarily on practices that expand sensory awareness and intuition in order to raise individual consciousness and merge it with the Infinite consciousness of God. Its purpose is to cultivate the creative spiritual potential of a human to uphold values, speak truth, and focus on the compassion and consciousness needed to serve and heal others. In its highest form, it is practiced for the purpose of opening the heart center, serving others, attaining self-realization.

How did we jump from Chinese mythology to yoga? How did we get from something that goes back perhaps 4000 years to the present?

That, my friends, is the subject of my next blog, but I will give you a hint: the Dragon is the 5th sign of the Chinese Zodiac, and that is a very interesting number.

Stay tuned!

Sparky

Christmas entryway arch

Sparky had the idea of taking a photo of our front entrance as it was decorated for the twelve days of Christmas so I took my camera on Monday. After the service I had taken a few head on from the stairs by the bus stop, then I went for a short hike through the trails in direction Confederation Park. When I got back I took one more look and decided to try one at a slight angle. This one just looked better plus I got the top of the shrub that almost died on us a few years ago!