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SUMMARY:peace\, love\, happiness & understanding  8/4/22
DESCRIPTION:Edith Mirante in Chin State\, Burma \n  \nTHE OPEN ROAD \npeace\, love\, happiness & understanding \nAugust 4\, 2022 \n  \nADVENTURE TALES! \n  \nI asked some friends to send in stories of adventures they had. First to reply was Edith Mirante\, who is a member of the Society of Women Geographers: \n  \nThe Society of Woman Geographers was established in 1925 at a time when women were excluded from membership in most professional organizations\, such as the Explorers Club\, who would not admit women until 1981. It is based in Washington\, D.C.\, and has 500 members. \n  \nThe society was organized by four friends\, Gertrude Emerson Sen\, Marguerite Harrison\, Blair Niles and Gertrude Mathews Shelby\, to bring together women interested in geography\, world exploration\, anthropology and related fields. Membership was restricted to women who had “done distinctive work whereby they have added to the world’s store of knowledge concerning the countries on which they have specialized\, and have published in magazines or in book form a record of their work.”   \n  \n—from Wikipedia \n  \nHere’s what Edith wrote: \n  \nBeing an adventurer is intrinsic to my personality. I’ve always sought the “unsafe path” and accepted the dangers & misadventures that come with that. I try to use those reckless proclivities for good\, investigating human rights issues and environmental crises in remote\, sometimes war torn\, regions — especially the frontiers of Burma (Myanmar). My three books\, Burmese Looking Glass\, Down the Rat Hole and The Wind in the Bamboo are adventure stories as much as political & historical narratives.  \n  \n======= \n  \nIn the Pines\, Burma \n  \nI had gotten used to riding on the back of small motorbikes\, which had only recently replaced study mountain ponies in Chin State\, a rugged\, mostly roadless region of western Burma (Myanmar.) I managed not to upset the balance — or fall off — even on convoluted dirt tracks and rickety bamboo bridges\, as I researched the region’s environmental issues in 2016 with the assistance of some motorbiking local enviro activists. \n  \nMining (nickel and other minerals) was of particular interest to me. I had read in a local news outlet that Valvum\, a village reachable from Tedim town was the site of “ongoing coal mining work managed by a Japanese company.” Low-grade\, highly polluting coal is mined in some areas of Burma and with coal’s disastrous climate-changing effects for the whole world\, the Valvum operation was certainly worth investigating.  \n  \nGunning the bikes up and down narrow\, rock-strewn trails\, we got to Valvum mid-morning. I drank tea with some women who were smoking cheroots in a dark\, smoky house. Burma was enjoying a period of relative freedom for civil society after decades of brutal military dictatorship. But those changes were recent and I was concerned about possible scrutiny of our visit\, whether by government agents or mining company thugs. So I tried to make sure I wouldn’t be getting anyone in trouble by visiting the mine. A village representative reassured us: “It is no problem to go there. They are expecting you there.” \n  \nPast the village the swerve\, wobble and roll of our bikes disturbed the silence of khasi pine and rhododendron forest until a fence appeared and a couple of mine employees waved us through the gate. The owner\, a 70 year old Japanese eccentric married to a local woman\, was away\, they told me. But they were happy to show me the operation: “Here are the four ovens where we make the coal.” So it turned out to be not a coal mine at all. This was a charcoal making project. The words for coal and charcoal are very similar in Burmese\, as in English.  \n  \nAlthough charcoal is used for household cooking throughout Burma\, this product was apparently for export to Japan\, where special charcoals are often used as air freshener\, commanding high prices for small amounts. I was certainly relieved that it was not a coal mine. But I learned that this charcoal business was having its own environmental impact: depleting the area around Valvum of four types of trees\, described in the local language as thal sing\, lim sing\, nai sing and se sing.  \n  \nI mentioned that bamboo\, a plentiful and thoroughly renewable resource\, could be used instead for export quality charcoal. In Japan bamboo charcoal is prized and costly\, for incense or just displayed in a bowl to purify the air. Chin State reminded me of Appalachia in many ways (the rhody forests\, the Christian hymns resounding in mountain churches\, those blue ridges\, hollers and mines.) One place’s pollution or deforestation is another part of the world’s clean breath of air.  \n  \nLeaving Valvum we reached the main road\, where I had to wrap up in scarves like a nomad raider to keep the dust out of my lungs. Six years on\, that entire region has become a horrifying conflict zone. Since the Feb. 1\, 2021 coup in Myanmar\, entire towns and villages have been burned across Chin State by the shock troops of the regime. Civilians fled to neighboring India. The young environmentalists I knew and other activists fight back with guerrilla tactics\, as armed convoys invade their land. The pine forests are now resistance strongholds.  \n  \n—Edith Mirante\, 2022 \nfor more about Chin State: \nhttps://www.projectmaje.org/chin_report_2021.htm \n* \n  \nVW Bug in Mud \n  \nWe had this bright idea to take a short cut on a road that faded from gravel to dirt to mud. “Maybe if we go fast enough we can get through that big puddle.” Nope. We were stalled with wheels spinning\, car body resting in muck. Did I mention we were ten miles from anywhere…my baby sister was with us…it was dusk? Well\, we gathered a heap of flat rocks\, lifted the car high enough to place pavers under each wheel (playing mighty Archimedes with a dead tree we plucked from the ground)\, laud down stones to fill the ruts\, revved it\, and roared onward…arriving home to the frightened family around midnight. A sturdy lesson in foolishness and self-reliance. \n  \n—Kim Stafford \n* \n  \na seagull conversation     \n  \non a chilly autumn afternoon \nwith the barest minimum of experience \nI’m cautiously paddling a kayak  \naround and among a group of small islands  \noff the jagged coast of Connecticut \ngently encouraged and accompanied by \nan athletic younger brother and his mate  \neach in their own kayak  \nmaneuvering with skill far superior to my own \n  \nat the moment  \nI have unintentionally wandered out of their sight   \nsuddenly alone in an unfamiliar domain \nI calm a rising concern with assurances  \nmy partners are almost certainly  \non the far side of the next small island  \nor the island just beyond  \n  \nmeanwhile  \nI contemplate the territorial agreement  \nthe local cormorants and seagulls appear to have made  \noccupying alternate perching rocks  \ntwelve to fifteen feet apart \nthat surround the island I’m slowly moving past \n  \nclenched postures and cold stares make it clear \nagreement has also been reached  \nthat my presence is entirely unwelcome \n  \nas I round the narrow end of the island  \none of the gulls hunkered on a rock just ahead  \nconfronts me with the abrasive\, demanding cry  \nthat seems to express the hardcore seagull personality  \n  \nafter a tense moment\, I try to soften the mood \nwith a modestly accurate but gentler seagull impression \n  \nthe gull’s harsh scream in response  \nis a furious reply to a personal insult  \n  \nmy attempt to back away with a shorter\, less ragged cry \nbrings a jagged challenge to deadly combat \n  \nmy third pass at making peace is cut short \nby a piercing shriek that must be a crippling curse  \n  \nand the gull lifts its wings and rises from its perch  \n  \nI pause and drift for a moment \nresting the double-blade paddle across my lap \nand watch the departing gull fly slowly but deliberately  \nin a remarkably straight line away from the nose of my kayak  \n  \nI’m just beginning to consider the possibility  \nof feeling guilty about disturbing this gull in the first place \nwhen the bird makes a tight turn mid-air \nprecisely reversing its course \nnow heading on a line directly toward my kayak  \n  \nin the time it takes to think: what the hell?  \nI see a slender rope of firm black and white matter  \nalmost two feet long and growing  \ndescending from beneath the bird’s tail  \n  \nswiftly lengthening and steadily on-coming  \nthis two-tone cord of seagull rebuke   \nis truly surreal and completely unnerving  \n  \nas the gull and dangling cord close in     \nI panic and thrust the right side of my paddle into the air  \nhoping to deflect the incoming projectile  \n  \nmy awkward parry is completely mistimed \nand the sudden movement sends the kayak tipping wildly to the left  \nI manage to right the boat but a generous amount of ocean water  \nhas washed into the kayak’s snug seating compartment  \n  \nthe frigid ocean stings as it soaks into my pants \nbut I can’t take my eyes off the approaching nightmare cord  \nwhich the gull suddenly releases  \ndropping it into the water a couple of feet in front of my kayak  \n  \nrelief begins to flood my mind before I realize   \nthis cunning seagull has very nearly \nsent me tumbling into the icy autumn Atlantic \n  \nlater that evening\, in warm dry clothes   \ncomes the bottom line: \nif the intruder’s pants are wet  \nthe seagull’s point is made   \n  \n—Nick Eldredge   2022 \n* \n  \nI’ve had an adventure or two in my day. Most of them a long time ago. I lived in India for a couple years. I was a gold miner in Northern California. I had a job where I was paid for sleeping. Another job was testing beet pulp pellets for hardness\, durability and fine particle content. Once\, when free climbing in the Wallowa Mountains\, I found myself on a rock ledge from where I could not go up and could not go back down. Somehow\, I lived to tell the tale. But that is not the tale I’m going to tell now… \n  \nI was awakened by a phone call in the middle of the night in the Fall of 1998. It was World Class Oddball Ken Campbell calling from London. “Johnny\,” he said. “Would you like to enroll in the School for Phils?” “I don’t know\, Ken. What is the School for Phils?” Ken explained that the little voices inside his head were telling him that it was important to usher in the Millennium by performing The Warp every weekend of 1999\, and that he needed to train up a team of Phils\, because if someone tried to play the part of Philip Masters every weekend for a year\, it would kill them. \n  \n“When does the School for Phils begin?” “One week from today.” “It’s tempting. I’d have to quit my job…” “Are you in?” \n  \nA week later\, I found myself in a smoke-filled basement in Camden Town. There were about six guys\, besides myself. Oliver Senton was giving us a briefing. He had played the part of Philip Masters. According to the Guinness Book of  World Records\, it is the longest part in the longest play in the English language. After a few days\, enrollment in the School for Phils had dwindled to one. Me. \n  \nThe Warp is a play unlike any other. It’s Neil Oram’s autobiography\, from 1959 to 1979\, in roughly the same way that Jack Kerouac’s On the Road is autobiographical. As in Kerouac’s book\, the names have been changed\, but the events recounted actually happened. At least this was Neil’s version of what happened and he was completely sincere when he said he didn’t make anything up. Neil Oram has the most astonishing memory of anyone I have ever met. When he wrote his play in 1979\, he could remember conversations he had fifteen and twenty years earlier. \n  \nRehearsals couldn’t begin until I was “off book.” It took me four months to learn my lines. I started every day at 8 a.m.\, seven days a week\, and worked on my lines till midnight. When I got tested\, it took more than eight hours to say my lines\, with someone giving me just my cues. The other actors all knew their parts. We only rehearsed for five days\, with everyone lining up to do their scenes with me. When we performed the play at the Roundhouse\, the performance began at 8 pm on Saturday and ended at 7 pm the following day. I was onstage the whole time. \n  \nA play that is more than 20 hours long sounds like it might be boring. When Ken directed The Warp there was not a dull moment. He was a comic genius\, the funniest man I have ever known. I don’t know how Neil felt about this\, but Ken directed his earnest account of his life journey for maximum laughs.  \n  \nThe first time I saw the play\, I was playing a small part\, Ralph Beak. He doesn’t come onstage for at least the first twelve hours\, so I got to watch the first half of the play as an audience member\, and it was the most exhilarating theatrical experience of my life. The energy that the actors brought to every scene was incredible! There are dozens of characters and more than 120 scenes. In every scene the actors were trying to outdo the previous scene. After eight hours of this barrage on my nervous system I was in a state of ecstasy. I felt like I had died and gone to Theater Paradise. \n  \nI had a little time off from line-learning\, when our theater company would perform Macbeth in Pidgin English at the Piccadilly Theatre on London’s West End. \n  \nI performed the part of Philip Masters in The Warp three times\, in early 1999\, before returning to The States. At the end of the 23 hour-long performances\, the audience stood up and shouted and cheered for about ten minutes. It’s the only time in my acting career that I got to feel what rock stars must feel when the crowd goes wild. \n  \n—Johnny Stallings \n* \n  \nReflections On the Art of “The Adventure” \n  \nThe Oxford Dictionary suggests adventure might be a “daring enterprise\,” describes adventurism as a “tendency to take risks\,” and offers up synonyms such as “audacious\, brave\, reckless\, valiant\,” and “risky.” \n  \nDefining adventure seems very subjective and individual to me. Certainly one person’s daring is another person’s ho-hum. I do feel (for myself) it requires “loose ends\,” cannot be over-planned\, must include improvisation and unknowns\, and necessitates I be “in the moment.” Thus I might say our entire life is an adventure as we navigate the surges\, eddies\, and constant strivings that are elements of being alive. \n  \nRather than describe one specific episode of bravado\, I’ve conceived a list of possibilities I hope will touch many: \n  \n—(Here’s the big one) Being with “me”…phew! (Can you relate?) \n—Family reunions (‘nough said) \n—First stroke of brush on canvas \n—The turn of a thought \n—Being member of Johnny’s dialogue group \n—Hiking in bear country \n—Being a part of OHOM circle of friends \n—Making new friends \n—Imagining in new ways \n—Prison \n—Going to the library/book store \n—Writing first word of poem/essay \n—Stepping onstage in front of an audience \n  \nHere’s a few more: \n  \n—Agreeing \n—Listening \n—Changing \n—Loving \n—Smiling \n—Commitment \n—Birth/Death \n  \nAnd as a last thought: \n  \n—This moment! \n  \nConclusion: we all\, at every moment are engaged in the living act of \n“The Adventure” \n  \nPeace and Love To All \n  \n—Abe Green  2022 \n  \n(Note to readers: peace\, love\, happiness & understanding now comes out on the first Thursday of every month\, instead of every other Thursday.)
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/peace-love-happiness-understanding-8-4-22/
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SUMMARY:Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue  8/15/22
DESCRIPTION:  \n  \nOpen Road Meditation & Mindfulness Dialogue \n  \nAugust 15\, 2022 \n  \nWe are what we think. \nAll that we are arises with our thoughts. \nWith our thoughts we make the world. \n  \n—opening lines from The Dhammapada\, sayings of the Buddha\, translated by Thomas Byrom \n* \n  \nOur goal should be to live life in radical amazement\, [to] get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed. \n  \n—Abraham Joshua Heschel  (thanks to Mark Alter for this) \n* \n  \nThe Patience of Ordinary Things \n  \nIt is a kind of love\, is it not? \nHow the cup holds the tea\, \nHow the chair stands sturdy and foursquare\, \nHow the floor receives the bottoms of shoes \nOr toes. How soles of feet know \nWhere they’re supposed to be. \nI’ve been thinking about the patience \nOf ordinary things\, how clothes \nWait respectfully in closets \nAnd soap dries quietly in the dish\, \nAnd towels drink the wet \nFrom the skin of the back. \nAnd the lovely repetition of stairs. \nAnd what is more generous than a window? \n  \n—Pat Schneider\, shared by Jeffrey Sher \n* \n  \nYou are enough \n  \nPeace Is This Moment Without Judgment  \n~Dorothy Hunt \n  \nDo you think peace requires an end to war?  \nOr tigers eating only vegetables?  \nDoes peace require an absence from your boss\, your spouse\, yourself? …  \nDo you think peace will come some other place than here?  \nSome other time than Now? In some other heart than yours? \n  \nPeace is this moment without judgment.  \nThat is all. This moment in the Heart-space  \nwhere everything that is is welcome.  \nPeace is this moment without thinking  \nthat it should be some other way\,  \nthat you should feel some other thing\,  \nthat your life should unfold according to your plans. \n  \nPeace is this moment without judgment\,  \nthis moment in the heart-space where  \neverything that is is welcome. \n  \nI’ve been thinking a lot about equanimity in conversation and relationships lately and where that often breaks down. Our choice of words\, tone of voice and sometimes the decision to speak or not speak—all contribute to our ability to cultivate equanimity.  \n  \nIt is difficult enough sometimes when we are alone to create a space for equanimity to enter. It can be much more difficult to create that space when we are inside of an interaction with another person who is having their own experience. They are on their own journey. A journey you have no control over.   \n  \nAn interaction does not have to be a reaction. This is where\, when things get heated in a conversation\, I often break down. My ego says\, “Prove your point!” “Tell her how you are right and she is wrong!” Or “Don’t stop until you win the argument!”  \n  \nThe ego can fool us into believing that we are not enough and can make things appear black and white.  \nIf I’m right\, he’s wrong. \nI either want something or I don’t. \n  \nBut there is a gray area. It begins with awareness.  \nAwareness shows up as an open mind\, flexibility\, lack of bias and positive expectations. \nAwareness is knowing that you are enough.  \n  \nUnderstanding what we carry within us and thoughtfully using our words to express ourselves is a huge practice.  \n  \nPema Chödrön says that when feelings of attraction or aversion arise\, we can “use our biases as stepping-stones for connecting with the confusion of others.” When we become intimate with and accepting of our own feelings\, we see more clearly how everyone gets hooked by their hopes and fears. From this\, “a bigger perspective can emerge.” \n  \nToday\, start with knowing that you are enough.  \n  \nPractice \n  \nI invite you to imagine a calming\, blue circle of light within your throat. The throat being the place of right speech\, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively.  \n  \nWith every inhale\, imagine the blue light gaining more and more clarity. \nWith every exhale\, allowing your light to be shared. \n  \n—Nicole Rush \n* \n  \n#152  The Biggest Obstacle \n  \n“Often it is our own knowledge that is the biggest obstacle to us touching suchness. That is why it’s very important to learn how to release our own views. Knowledge is the obstacle to knowledge. If you are dogmatic in your way of thinking\, it is very difficult to receive new insights\, to conceive of new theories and understandings about the world.”  \n—from Your True Home by Thich Nhat Hanh \n  \n“Learning how to release our own views…”  Indeed! This is a big one. \n  \nI must admit that I am sometimes snide\, judgmental and knee-jerk defensive. This I am ashamed to admit. I have to say that it comes from a long ago place—older sister comes to mind\, but my overall nature is one of positivity\, connection\, engagement and desire for understanding. The negative part—might I say ‘sliver?’—comes from a lack of knowledge or understanding on my part. I know that. And I am very aware when it arises in my mind. \n  \nI seek understanding. I seek connection. Almost every Saturday I make the drive out I84 to Umatilla to Two Rivers Correctional Institution. Every week I pass by the small towns of Biggs\, Rufus\, pass the signs to Ione and Heppner\, Irrigon. I understand that in these towns just the word ‘liberal\,’ or ‘liberalism’ in its present day connotation (even though ‘liberal’ comes from the Latin\, liber\, meaning free\, which don’t we all\, conservative or otherwise\, believe in?) can conjure uncertainty\, mistrust\, fear\, often anger in the hearts and minds of many of these residents—across the country. David and I enjoy riding our bikes in the wide open country surrounding these quiet places. When we drive into town\, bikes instead of guns hitched to the back of our car\, wrapped in Spandex instead of Carhartts\, I stifle the urge to ask for a  soy latte and go for black coffee every time. Still\, don’t we just scream ‘liberal yuppies’ to the locals? Yet each time I’m faced with this I try to engage and find commonalities: ‘I see you have peach pie on the menu. Do you bake them all yourself? Yes? I bet it’s the best! I‘ve never quite been able to get the consistency right; can you give me some tips?’  Like that. I’m sincere\, and it usually works. It’s an ice breaker. There are always commonalities. \n  \nMore on releasing our views: When I arrive at TRCI\, I make my way to room 19-27 and meet with our group of 12-20 men. I love them. I love being with them\, listening to their thoughts\, their hopes and fears. I admire them; I believe in them. We do not talk about politics or religion—that is part of the understanding. If we were to talk about politics\, undoubtedly I would find some BIG differences in our views. BUT!!! I would still love them! And because of this\, I would be able to listen to them open-mindedly if we were to talk about politics. I have no doubt.  \n  \nOne more on releasing our own views: After the stunning screening of Midsummer Night’s Dream last Sunday\, I floated out of the theater. There on the sidewalk I saw one of our released men who had been in the theater. He called out\, ‘Hey\, Jude!’ I cried out and gave him a big hug. His head was shaved\, he had earphones slung around his neck\, underneath his tank top he was covered with tatts. Clearly\, if I had seen him on the street and didn’t know him\, I might have clutched my purse closer\, shifted my eyes\, hurried my step\, perhaps even crossed the street. Scary (a little). But I know him. He is a wonderful man! I love him!  \n  \nWhether it’s knowledge about things or people\, being open to differences\, taking the time to learn\, to introduce ourselves\, talk to and understand others not like us is the basis of love. It all leads to love. \n  \n“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others\, by means of love\, friendship\, indignation\, compassion.”  Simone de Beauvoir   \n  \n—Jude Russell \n* \n  \nJuly 17\, 2022 \n  \nFirst\, let me say that I believe I am going out tomorrow for surgery on my hip. (One or the other\, don’t know yet which is first.) I am feeling excited\, nervous—all butterfly-tingly with uncertainty because this is all new to me. \n  \nThis is my first major hospital thing; invasive\, life-altering surgery ever….It’s going to take weeks to heal and recover. And\, no one (who is special to me\, or who really cares about me) is going to be there with me. In fact I can’t even call or email anyone\, even though I’m 98% certain it’s tomorrow\, because “If I know then they ‘HAVE TO RESCHEDULE\,’ because I’m not supposed to know. Yet\, I know! \n  \nSo\, it’s also exciting because it’s something new and scary. I’ll have a story to tell—soon. I’m certain all will go well\, everything will be “normal.” BUT\, what if it’s not?! (dramatic voice for effect and heightened suspense…) Oh! So\, what if?  Even death is a great adventure. I’d be wherever the next step lands. No matter what. I’d be where I am. My only death-fear is the process of lingering in a slow\, agonizing sort of death. (I’m just back from theatre and feeling a bit dramatic-excited too.) \n  \nSo\, that’s me. That’s my moment\, right now. That’s where I’m starting…. \n  \nJuly 19\, 2022 \n  \nI thought yesterday was to be my surgery. Turns out it was the final consult to confirm the procedure and answer any remaining concerns. So\, I’ll go soon\, just not yesterday. I\, at first\, was excited/anxious at the thought of getting this done and the recovery adventure started. By the time I was called out at 12 p.m. I was nervous. Then\, when I was told it was only another consult—well\, I was needing to focus on breathing and contemplate what the heck was transpiring….There was lots of energy to funnel or transform through breathing. By the time I saw the doctor I was at ease. \n  \nJuly 25\, 2022 \n  \nTomorrow should\, most likely (I hope) be my first hip replacement. I am very much feeling the excitement of anticipation for the long awaited “good” thing. I would liken this to what I felt on Christmas Eve: going to bed early\, believing all the myths surrounding\, only to wake early (too early! Like 4 or 5 a.m. too early) and anxiously await my parents’ “sleeping in” and late waking before I could selfishly dig in for a “big-haul.” \n  \nJuly 29\, 2022  #322 Concentrated Pleasure (from Your True Home) \n  \nWell\, I’m recovering from hip replacement. While I’m not a “great” practitioner—i.e. meditating frequently—I have managed to survive two challenging nights so far\, through deliberate breathing. It helps. Pain is still a challenge\, but that will fade as healing continues. \n  \nIt’s peculiar how at each turn of my life GOD places just what I need to read or hear right in the midst of my path. Today’s comments from Thây are no different. I am at the phase where I make many small walking journeys. Journeys to the toilet\, eight feet away; or to my door and back\, ten-plus feet; or up and down the long haul of the Infirmary\, 50 or more for the whole trip. Any one\, and each one\, will be a perfect chance to focus 100% of my attention on what I’m doing—i.e. walking fully with both sides. It isn’t as easy as I desire\, but it is a thing I can do…. \n  \n323  \nThe Kingdom of God Is Right Here \n  \nThe Kingdom of God is not a mere notion. It is a reality that can be touched in everyday life. The Kingdom of God is now or never\, and we all have the ability to touch it—not only with our minds\, but with our feet. The energy of mindfulness helps you with this. With one mindful step\, you touch the Kingdom of God.   \n—Thich Nhat Hanh\, from Your True Home \n  \nJuly 31\, 2022  #323  The Kingdom of God Is Right Here \n  \nI am in day 4\, over 100 hours from my hip replacement on Wednesday\, July 27th\, from 7:30 a.m. to about 8:40. It has been an interesting and challenging journey since. \n  \nPain was a piece of the early challenges and it has since faded to a memory of what I once knew as an intensity never before felt pre-surgery. My balance is not back to 100%\, but I am strengthening as I can\, as often as I can. I have been blessed by Creator GOD with a strong healthy body and mind\, and a quick recovery. I anticipate seeing the provider on Monday\, August 1st\, and moving back to my unit shortly thereafter….So\, for all my friends\, well-wishers and benefactors\, I am well on my way to a full and lasting recovery from surgery. \n  \nToday’s reading is accurate. The Kingdom of God is now. Many have taught that it is later. I fear this is due to a refusal or inability to see living in the NOW as part of life as it was created to be. Each of us can experience “Heaven on Earth” in the now\, through mindfulness. I also hope and suspect (believe) that a paradise\, aka heaven\, nirvana\, etc.\, will be awaiting us as this life ends. Thanks to religious syncretism it may be impossible to know for certain\, until we transition to the next stage of life—after death. \n  \nLike Thây\, I think it is possible to perceive\, “taste\,” sample\, get a sense of that life in the NOW through mindfulness…. \n  \nI haven’t written much this month….I wish each one well\, as TRCI has “outbreaks” and further quarantining…I hope your journey into NOW is as life affirming and assisting as I’ve experienced. \n  \n(Yesterday (8/14) I got an email from Michel Deforge. (JS)) \n  \nI’m two weeks\, five days since [hip] surgery and I’m doing great! Today\, I walked for 20 minutes while carrying my walker\, instead of using it for balance. The last 3 minutes were balanced without even taking the walker with me. I was able to do 10 stand ups (reverse squatting – getting up from sitting surface)\, along with some leg raises earlier this morning. So\, yes I’m doing quite well on my recovery! I hope to get the other one done in early September. TBD… \n  \n—Michel Deforge \n* \n      Prophets to Live By \n  \nSuch great days for the prophecy business— \nin news and views it’s hard to choose one voice \nthat rings true\, someone to put your money on\, \nsomeone whose claims might go the distance \n  \nThe best is yet to come! shout redwings teetering \non cattail spires\, while in cedar shadows raven scoffs \nThings will only get worse. Which will you believe \nwhen the crows begin\, It shall come to pass…and list \n  \ntheir raucous tabloid hints\, while from the shadows \nunknown voices whistle\, hoot\, and shriek? How can you \nkeep your own counsel then? How can you take them all \nwith a grain of salt\, but seek your own conclusions when \n  \nthere’s a moment of silence\, a dusky breath held\, then \na song sparrow chants\, Did anyone notice dawn? \n  \n—Kim Stafford \n* \n  \nI enjoy books\, especially books that change the way I see\, experience and understand the world. Many books have helped me on my spiritual journey. Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda got me interested in meditation\, on a quest for samādhi. Many meditators of my generation learned about zazen\, “sitting meditation\,” from Shunryu Suzuki’s book Zen Mind\, Beginner’s Mind. I read a lot of books by J. Krishnamurti\, whose original approach to “freedom from the known” is very stimulating. My favorites among his many books are The Only Revolution and Krishnamurti’s Notebook. Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” expanded my vision in many ways. Many religious traditions make a distinction between “the spirit\,” which is sacred\, and “the flesh\,” which is not. For Walt\, everyone and everything is sacred. People can spend years striving to achieve enlightenment. In Talks With Ramana Maharshi\, the South Indian sage reminds people again and again that there is nothing to strive for since our true self is always already Divine. Similarly\, Bankei (1622-1693) taught that our “unborn Buddha nature” is our true nature. It’s who we are. Norman Wadell’s translation of Bankei’s talks\, The Unborn is excellent. My favorite ancient wisdom text is Tao Te Ching. The translation by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English is my favorite\, along with its gorgeous black and white photographs. A book I like to read and re-read is Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics by R. H. Blyth. The past couple years I’ve been listening to lively audio recordings of talks by Alan Watts\, and reading the poems and meditations of Thomas Traherne\, the Seventeenth Century Christian mystic. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of my favorite guides for living a life soaked in peace\, love and happiness. I long ago lost count of how many people I’ve given his book Your True Home. Well\, that’s a few of my favorites for now. \n  \nMay all people be happy. \nMay we live in peace & love. \n  \n—Johnny Stallings
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/meditation-mindfulness-dialogue-8-15-22/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220828T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220828T170000
DTSTAMP:20260426T203043
CREATED:20220820T002001Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220910T220703Z
UID:3201-1661698800-1661706000@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Bibliophiles Unanimous!  8/28/22
DESCRIPTION:painting by Mark Andres \n  \nBeloved Bibliophiles!  \n  \nOn Sunday\, August 28th\, at 3 pm\, we will gather once again on Zoom to talk about books and other things. We will attempt to answer the question: Read Any Good Books Lately?  \n  \nHere’s the link:  \n  \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/87614013058 \n  \nI hope to see you there!  \n  \npeace\, love & happiness   \nJohnny
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/bibliophiles-unanimous-8-28-22/
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220828T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20220828T203000
DTSTAMP:20260426T203043
CREATED:20220824T182638Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220824T182822Z
UID:3210-1661713200-1661718600@openroadpdx.com
SUMMARY:Max Walter performs Spirit of Carl Sandburg
DESCRIPTION:Max Walter will perform his solo show “Spirit of Carl Sandburg” this Sunday\, August 28th\, at 7 pm (PDT). The performance is in Bellingham\, Washington. For those of us who can’t be there\, here is the link to the website from where you can live stream the performance:\n  \nSpirit of Carl Sandburg – Center for Spiritual Living Bellingham (csl-bellingham.org)\n \n  \nI’m really looking forward to this! \n  \n  \npeace & love \nJohnny
URL:https://openroadpdx.com/event/max-walter-performs-spirit-of-carl-sandburg/
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