Animal Communication

I was so moved by this amazing film that I must share it with all of you. The Animal Communicator directed by Craig Foster and produced by Vyv Simson asks a very important question: What if you could talk to animals and have them talk back to you?

The film’s description tells it all: “Anna Breytenbach has dedicated her life to what she calls interspecies communication. She sends detailed messages to animals through pictures and thoughts. She then receives messages of remarkable clarity back from the animals.

Anna can feel the scars hidden under a monkey’s fur, she can understand the detailed story that is causing a bird’s trauma, she transforms a deadly snarling leopard into a relaxed content cat – the whole animal kingdom comes alive in a way never seen before – wild birds land on her shoulders, fish gather around her when she swims, and wild unfamiliar baboons lie on her body as if she is one of their own.

This is the first full length documentary film on the art of animal communication.”

This is a gorgeous and moving film that asks us all to look deeply into the eyes of our fellow planet mates and see the love, life and intelligence that lives there just as it does in each of us humans. I personally love animals and every time I look into the eyes of one of them I cannot fathom how it is the we can see them as inferior. It is time to recognize that animals are not some kind of simpleton that we can treat with incredible cruelty and they will not feel it. They also have feelings, memories, loves and hates just as we do.

To watch the 52 minute film click the link below:

The Animal Communicator

Let’s Sing for Harmony

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If you like to sing please come and join us March 27th at Charlotte’s Place to sing a new version of our National Anthem.

This anthem is not about “bombs bursting in air” but about “people free with their prayer”. It’s time to shift the consciousness from war to harmony among all of us.

Take time to learn the new words of the song before March 27th.
Oh, say can you see by this day’s brilliant light
How so joyf’lly we’ve made out of many, one dreaming?
Take broad stripes and bright stars and a unified sight
O’er the country we watch all our new neighbors beaming.
And the freedom that’s here, people free with their prayer,
Give proof every year that E Pluribus we share.
Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and diverse home we’ve made.
Join us March 27th from 10:00AM to 12 Noon at Charlotte’s Place, 109 Greenwich Street above Rector Street. Please RSVP info@epluribus.us

Community

I just, finally, managed to see Invictus which is one movie I really wanted to see. I think I have never been so moved by a film as much as I was by this film. I was on the way to Greece in a plane where the sound was terrible the screen a postage stamp and the distractions endless and in spite of all that Invictus drew me in like no other film.

Community – I am struck by how powerfully needful we are of this. What is it – Unity in Community? The word means – in unity. Millions of South Africans black and white coming together to celebrate a rugby team. A team playing as a cohesive group and coming together to perform in excellence. Is there any need as a human greater than this need to belong? Perhaps a greater need than food, water or even sex is our need to belong and to be a part of something greater than ourselves. There is where our truth lies, this is the essence of our truth, our core nature – we are one.

I delighted in “on the money” cheesy moments of the film where a young black boy sneaks into the hearts of the white taxi drivers just to listen to the world cup game. I revel and thrill to the powerful Maori war dance which is led by a white New Zealander and strikes terror into the opponent Spring Bok team. I loved the white Afrikaner presidential security guard teaching his disinterested black politico counterpart about rugby until together they rejoice in a remarkable Spring Bok – no – a remarkable South African win of the World Cup.

I hate to watch sports and I think it is a waste of time and yet here is a song to unity in community teamwork. Like another film of extraordinary compassion and grace, The Blind Side; Invictus touches our core humanity, it highlights how much we need each other regardless of race, creed, ideologies or location, we need to support, love and respect each other in order to shine and express our excellent individual self. These two films are harbingers of heaven, they are songs of unity that invite us to examine our supernature the essential self of us that is beyond individual but belongs to the greater whole of humanity.

I have always said if a child is playing with a knife don’t just snatch it away from them but substitute it with a very attractive toy – the knife will be forgotten in a flash. Nelson Mandela did that with rugby. By focussing the entire country, blacks and whites on the game he created a unity that could never come from any political maneuvers.

I think my favorite line in the film is “Soccer is a gentleman’s game played by houligans – Rugby is a houligan’s game played by gentlemen.” To me that says it all – there are no boundaries, no rules except those that we make for ourselves and then unthinkingly abide by. I yearn, ache for the unconditional family of man, for unity in community, for unyielding grace and fierce respect to each other. For the most part the family man functions with elegance and unity if it didn’t there could never be so many of us. But unfortunately many abberant conflicts suck all the oxygen out of our general harmony. Reframing the focus like Nelson Mandela did is a brilliant move, reminding us of this brilliance with Clint Eastwood’s film Invictus is another brilliant move. I watched four other films on my way to and from Greece, it’s a long flight, and the rest of them were insipid compared to the rich relevance of Invictus.

Invictus shows us that we can ‘play’ on opposite teams to test our prowess, push and jostle each other but then we go home as equals, as lovers of one game, residents in the same life that we share together as one in many forms. Today I am on top tomorrow you wear the crown, today I am white in another life black, what’s the difference? The energy of unity is extraordinary, we can do anything together. Together we transcend the stars. Not to drag anyone down, that is never my goal here, but look for a moment what happens with partisanship – division. Even the best organization, the most powerful group will fail when undermined by partisanship. We do ourselves disservice when we withhold full authorization to those we put in power by that we withhold our own power.

Unity is our essential nature. It is a societal norm that continues to inspire and draw people together. We form groups in national, cultural, spiritual, artistic, intellectual and generational tribes. We revel in those associations, identify ourselves by our tribe. But that is not all that we are, our transcendent energetic being includes all those and more. You are all and much more.

Full Disclosure

You may be noticing a very odd manifestation evidencing that Heaven is Here and that is the amazing amount of unsavory secrets coming out. Why now? And why with such venom? How is it that venomous behaviour could resonate with Heaven?

It’s very simple, the light is turning on. We are in the in between space of dawn and we all know it somewhere within our being. None of us is immune to the powerful light of consciousness beaming our way and about to rise in full clarity and so we prepare in the ways that we know. The deceptive games of Captains and Kings of industry, banking, politics, military, or public institutions flourished in the dark where secret deals and alliances could create a powerful stranglehold on wealth and energy. I am talking not about energy like gas, oil or nuclear here but about that sacred sovereign energy of a human life; the right to good work, abundant nourishment, joy in community, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. This is the most painful theft and it has happened throughout our known history in blatant forms and in not so obvious ways. I am not here to ponder the misery many have been subjected to in countless centuries and cultures. So know the point is made and let’s move on to see how Heaven manifests in the dark.

The light comes on and there is a mad flurry to save the old power structure; to maintain controls as they were but it’s too late. We are watching it all in action. It seems everyday a politician is outed for graft or personal indiscretions, another government policy hotly debated for its worthiness. The divisions of points of view radically shifted to opposite sides and opinions locked in step within one dimensional talking points. This is all part of disclosure. It is time to see very clearly where we have been, what sort of reality we have built for ourselves. The light is on and that light is the internet, the media, twitter and cell phones, you-tube and the blogosphere. This is where secrets slide into view and where the real incentives for behaviors begin to show. The transparent media is a manifest form of the light of consciousness that we are being gifted with right now.

I am not here to hash out conspiracy theories or report new stories but simply to point out this growing phenomenon of uncertainty and collapse within the structures we thought we knew. Perhaps the clearest and most apparent so far was the global banking failure. Here is a construct developed over centuries and fully dependent on trust, without trust the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. The banking system is probably still not done with its reorganization. We have seen how radically out of balance with sustainable business practice modern banking became, and though we’ve been through a collapse the practices that caused that are not checked yet. The good news is that more Light is coming and with that comes growth and flourishing. New systems of sharing energy will appear, they are probably already set up and ready to fall into service the minute the behemoths that suck our attention get out of the way.

Full disclosure means not only do we see what is ugly and not wanted; that which we need to clear out and throw out but it means we find deep in our closets that which is treasured and refound. The most important things that we can find are our own balance and equanimity. It is time to see that our relationships with our community are rich and fulfilling in ways that a price cannot be estimated. The monetizing of everything from our moments to our handiwork to our piece of land even the parts of our body and our health will loosen its stranglehold and we can find ourselves breathing free air again. Keep your eyes open for those new systems of support that will come forth. Do what ever you can to support them.

Walking the Earth

Walking the Earth is a light weaving practice for Peace and Harmony. There are two parts to the exercise one is awareness of your transcendent self, and that through the other which is awareness of the physical self. It is a practice and a prayer for peace and harmony, an invocation that invites the awareness and embodiment of peace to be here with us right now.

First while walking as you normally do visualize a bright flame of white light and send it down from the center of your heart and through your feet into the center of the earth. See this light connect your heart to the heart of Gaia, think of her as live, conscious, vibrant and feel her welcome.

Then shoot that flame up from your heart and out through the top of your head beyond the stratosphere of the earth and on up into the center of the universe and the heart of God; feel his welcome. Remember always to ground first, especially if you are walking the city streets.

Now you are walking a column of light and consciousness, walk with this awareness as long as you wish and wherever you wish. You are weaving light as you do; bringing consciousness and love wherever you go. I find this to be a sweet and calming practice that brings me into the moment of the walk and creates space to enjoy each step with focus and purpose.

The second part of the practice is to be very aware of your body. This I learned from my cat, Takata, who at one time extricated himself from a tight corner at the food bowl by very carefully backing out so as not to disturb his brother, Hawayo, who was still eating at the same bowl. When I saw this I thought about the times I have bumped people on the street and also those times that I have been bumped, sometimes quite hard.
Remember that walking with awareness creates a respect for yourself, your body, your space, and therefore also the space of others who may be not quite as aware as you are. With this awareness and grace we can move through our world and our lives in this garden of grace without even the slightest disturbance of the body and mind and thereby practice harmony.

If bumped do not consider it an affront or disrespect, I know this is hard, I have a hard time with it; but instead think of it as a blessing. Imagine a piece of your sacred light bouncing from you through the bump to the other and lighting them up with the gift of the light that you have cultivated. Like a match lighting another match. After all it takes two to bump and somewhere an unconscious agreement for this magical encounter and exchange arose between you.
Think of a school of fish or a flock of birds moving together in perfect synchrony. Remember that we are that harmony too – always.

Unum meaning?

Now that I am beginning to develop the products associated with this art series, I think it is important to clarify the true meaning of this E Pluribus initiative. I am not really in the business of selling flags, or making and selling cards, posters, jewelry or other hopefully exciting items that may come from the E Pluribus inspiration, I am only in the business of touching an idea and attempting to make that idea real, tasty and deeply felt. That idea is that we are all one – UNUM. However, I hope that you will buy these products so that together we may share this principle of unity and respect for each other.

E Pluribus might be thought of as a new idea technology. It is a technology for living together. Think of it, billions of dollars are spent almost daily on the technology of war, technology to keep us apart and fearful of each other; what if we spent even a fraction of that considering how we can live together in harmony?

This is not really a new idea; it has been done throughout history. There have always been intersections of culture where brilliant enhancements to civilization have blossomed. Pasta, flamenco, and jazz grew by cultural fusion. Silk, coffee and law as we know it would not enhance our lives if not for exchange of ideas and of knowledge.

We are one in so many ways as humans no matter what race we are our DNA proves to be only minimally variable. But what about the greater part of ourselves – that part that feels, loves, cares, strives, shares, expresses and lives? That part of us that seeks out love and cares for family; how different is that in each of us? I can only imagine how you may feel when you experience loss or love or triumph or humiliation by examining how I feel under those circumstances. When I do that and I conclude that my experience is probably similar if not the same as yours then I desire from the bottom of my heart that you will have the very best experience in this life.

One of the best books I’ve ever read, The Bhagavad Gita, speaks of the nature of war and refers to the dharmic war as opposed to the adharmic war. The dharmic war is the righteous war, not in the Christian sense of a righteousness that is explained or taught but in a sense that is a heartfelt understanding of what is good and right and respectful. In the adharmic war the opponent is seen as inhuman, some kind of devil and is treated as less than oneself and represented as evil. Sound familiar? This is how human beings can be convinced to kill someone else who is exactly like themselves- a person who strives to live a good life and provide the best for their family.

I know: some of my friends think I’m crazy. So OK maybe there are a few “bad apples” but the rest of us don’t need to follow those trouble makers. If we follow our hearts we can’t follow trouble.

Instead let’s look for and create technologies for living together. This E Pluribus initiative is about inspiration and celebration of diversity, it is about showing off how we can live together even though we may live differently. DIverse dress, food, music, customs, celebrations, worship, lifestyles and yes, even religions enhance our civilized world. I hope to build an E PLURIBUS shop where you can share your products that celebrate diversity along with mine. All ideas are welcome and will be carefully considered.

My first recommendation in the spirit of this blog is a new book by Ed Strosser and Michael Prince entitled, “STUPID WARS”. The premise of the book is if we haven’t learned how to stop fighting each other by reading about “successful” war efforts then let’s examine the really dumb campaigns. I haven’t finished the book so I am not writing a review, but right off the top it is funny and engaging.

buy STUPID WARS

www.stupidwars.com

Remember the Flushing Remonstrance

Last week I was amazed and not surprised to learn about the Flushing Remonstrance, today is the 350 year anniversary of that remarkable act of courage by 30 inhabitants of the Town of Flushing. All United States citizens should know it, I was amazed that I had never heard of this document before but not surprised that such a thing would originate in Queens. Queens is a remarkable example of harmonious coexistence of diverse cultures and respect for all religions today and so it is not surprising that even in its origins it was so.

The Flushing Remonstrance is a remarkable protest written in 1657 by the Town Clerk and the Schout (or sheriff) and also signed by 28 residents of the colony. It was delivered to Peter Stuyvesant in response to a decree that no colonist should welcome Quakers into the community. Peter Stuyvesant was then governor of the New Netherlands.
I particularly love this part of the remonstrance:

“The law of love, peace and liberty in the states extending to Jews, Turks and Egyptians, as they are considered sons of Adam, which is the glory of the outward state of Holland, soe love, peace and liberty, extending to all in Christ Jesus, condemns hatred, war and bondage.”

It goes on to include Presbyterians, Independents, Baptists or Quakers as those they would be glad to,”see anything of God in them, desiring to doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe unto us”
And finally to make the point perfectly clear the concluding chapter says this:

“Therefore if any of these said persons come in love unto us, we cannot in conscience lay violent hands upon them, but give them free egresse and regresse unto our Town, and houses, as God shall persuade our consciences”

As a result of the letter Stuyvesant jailed and then banished the Town Clerk and the Shout and appointed a new Flushing Town government.

It takes individuals to make war and it takes individuals to make peace. If we are looking carefully at events today and back through history we may notice that it takes much more courage to make peace than it does to make war. It is ironic, sad, and immensely disappointing that on this historic day of remembering the signing of the Flushing Remonstrance that we hear about the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. So many Pakistanis have been welcomed into Queens. I ask a simple question – if Pakistanis can live in harmony in Queens with Jews, Christians and Hindus in close proximity; how can this kind of harmony and respect infect the consciousness of those in Pakistan.
Even though this is a document not well remembered and little celebrated, the Flushing Remonstrance is a document of such significance that its brilliant ideals were incorporated into the United States Constitution 134 years after its signing in the First Amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”

Please remember the Flushing Remonstrance; celebrate its high ideals. Like the inhabitants of the new Town of Flushing in 1657 we live in a very small world – people of diverse religions and cultures live right next door. We are all siblings and we are enriched by the presence of diverse ideas, expressions, and paths to the divine.

To read the Flushing Remonstrance please go to: http://www.nyym.org/flushing/remons.html

To read the Constitution go to: http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am1