Wisp #12

N°12

Photography by Aimee Stem

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June–July 2009

Editorial So Long As It’s Black by Éric P. Lemoine

I

n these times we’re living in, success is more often than not valued by the end result. Little is thought of the process leading up to it, not to mention the lengthy detours that may have been required in the making.

Efficiency being paramount, as a society we quickly reach the point where true creativity runs thin. If one could judge the vivacity of creative endeavours by what is deemed to be the pinnacle of entertainment, one would be surprised to notice how many of them are simple variations, if not shameless rip-off ’s of old themes, series, movies, songs and so on. Not so surprising, after all: what could be more efficient than copying something that works? In the 1920s, at the beginning of the era of industrialisation, Henry Ford, one of the fathers of this movement, was famous for saying “any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.”

With all the developments since the 1920s, Ford’s ideal of an efficient production system has assumed proportions he perhaps would never have imagined. Needless to say, it’s far easier to produce things now (even with the current state of economy) than it has been for decades.

One could easily get be fooled, however: that promise of delivering the means to unleash your creativity to your doorstep (if not in the comfort of your home) with that customised experience is often but a pretence. For while it may be easy to manufacture a Tshirt tailored for you, or a website made with your own branding, oftentimes none of this usually creates anything novel beyond the boundaries of what is offered to you.

There is a mirage in that which aligns with the basis of the observation behind Ford’s reasoning. Only five percent of individuals know exactly what they want if asked about the design of a specific thing —let’s say, the type of vehicle they want. The remainder simply don’t know (or in some cases will want to have a say on a minute detail).

It becomes rather interesting to ponder when you consider that more and more people (and if you’re reading this, you are probably one of them) align with the idea that they are creating their own reality on the desires they project to the universe at large.

If Ford is to be trusted on his observations (and history seems to give him credit for them), it means that most people will gladly adopt whatever is handed to them.

Editorial, continued on page 3

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Email for inquiries and submissions wisp.ezine@gmail.com Cover artist Aimee Stem Design and publication Éric P. Lemoine

ISSN 1760-4796 Contributors to this issue Rob Arteman (USA) Jean Blenkhorn (USA) Rachæl Caraballo (USA) Karen Chaffee (USA) Jill Coleman (Portugal) Jean-Baptiste Duret (France) Mark Felder (USA) Brigitte Geisler (Germany) Barbara Goulding (USA) Sabine vom Hoff (Germany) Bill Ingle (USA) Kaite (USA) Richard Kendall (USA) Faro King (USA) Tracy Marshall (Spain) Reginald Martin (USA) Sharon Mendenhall (USA) Devonne Morgan (USA) Grey Morgan (USA) Bill Pate (USA) Anet Paulina (USA) Aimee Stem (USA) bob strating (USA) Tamara (USA) Scott Wade (USA) Fran Wing (USA) Julia Zay (USA)

We would love to hear from you

Want to react on a published article, or submit your own?

Contact us on the forum http://wisp.focusphere.net

No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. The views expressed by the contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent those of Wisp e-zine.

So what about the five percent, you may ask? If read too quickly, it may seem that they would be fated to an unwarranted uniformity.

In actuality the statement can be seen in a more optimistic light. It means that for any boxed concept, at least five percent of people would come up with out-ofthe-box ideas. We are not talking of a tiny rainbow stripe surrounded by black; we mean: any boxed concept.

Perhaps you are in the 95% when it comes to favourite beverages, but definitely in the 5% when it comes to an idea of spirituality.

It’s been a year now that Wisp has been online, and on paper. Thanks to the various means provided by Ford’s legacy (within the 95% of the webzine production tools) we are able to reach many people with new ideas. We intend to stay as much as possible in the fringe 5% when it comes to ways of thinking, art and imagination.

We hope also to continue to take the time it requires to produce a magazine worth reading, sharing and rereading. When it now only takes the push of a button to copy-paste and reproduce quantities of information, let us then not mistake instantaneity for being in the present (in other words, being present).

With that in mind, we hope you’ll enjoy reading the lines that follow, may it be along, across and between.

The Black & White Box, photography by Tracy Marshall

June–July 2009

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Inside Editorial, So Long As It’s Black Éric P. Lemoine • p.2-3 Blog Pulse: New Buzz Phrase Kaite & friends • p.5 Cover Artist, Aimee Stem’s Art Aimee Stem • p.6-7 The Mysterious Doorway of Amaru Muru (3/3) Mark Felder • p.8–11 More on Presence Sabine vom Hoff • p.13 It Might Talk To Me bob strating • p.13 The Mark of Zorro Richard Kendall • p.14-15 Pollyannaology, 12-Step Program Sharon Mendenhall • p.15-17 The How and The Why Anet Paulina • p.18 Art is Everywhere Jean Blenkhorn • p.19 Through My Eyes Bill Pate • p.20-21 Mercury, Communication and Doing Sabine vom Hoff • p.22-23 Silver Devonne Morgan, Elikozoe • p.24-25 Transcendental Dance Julia Zay, photography Grey Morgan • p.27 Whisper Zone, poetry Karen Chaffee, Barbara Goulding, and photography Sabine vom Hoff, Grey Morgan, Brigitte Geisler, Jill Coleman • p.28-31,34-35 Reality Testers and Naysayers Bill Ingle • p.31 Beltane Lights Rachæl Caraballo, photography Grey Morgan • p.32-33 Pearls From The Surf • p.35 Comment is Free – A Dead Bill Ingle • p.36 Newspaperman’s Perspective Making Do – The Silk Purse Fran Wing • p.37 Robotman’s Energy Exchange – Session 3 Rob Arteman • p.38-39 An Incident of Time Travel Faro King • p.40 The Un-Fractured Mosaic Tamara • p.41 Tile of The Month (The Stem Cell) Jean-Baptiste Duret • p.42 An Emerging Science Holds The Promise Reginald Martin • p.43 Of Explaining Our Place In The Universe

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photography by Aimee Stem

Blog Pulse

New

buzz phrase

by Kaite “In these hard economic times…”

Doesn’t it somewhat sound similar to the too familiar words “War on Terror” in mass populace control?

It is everywhere. Almost beaten into our collective mind-set, helping you make choices about what the future is, and of course… stealing any sense of freedom that you may have personally accumulated. These buzz phrases are pervasive and just like the war on terror, I stand unconvinced…

It seems to me preparation is a wise thing to do, one mustn’t ignore the inward guidance that says that life is changing…

But who says it is for the worse? Apparently those promoting ‘In these hard economic times…’ want to make us think it’ll mean more mac’ and cheese and that purchasing anything other than essentials will only be wasteful…

In a way I’m relieved. For years I felt that we weren’t living within our means; so stepping in closer to the reality is eye-opening and prompts us to take personal responsibility… Bartering, and offering up your skills in exchange for the skills of others seems to be coming. I think in the long run that we stand to be happier… I was awfully happy to hear my husband say that he recognized that I really did think that everything belonged to everyone… seems this is just occurring to him. Perhaps because the opportunity to open that up wasn’t quite there yet, although it has always been something of a preference.

One thing is for sure, I look at those words ‘In these hard economic times’ and realize that they want us hooked on that idea, and as always those who chose their freedoms with care know immediately not to give such things their power.

Some responses to Kaite’s blog…

Freedspirit: “I refuse to even pick up a newspaper anymore. […] I’m done with “these hard economic times…” Why can’t we concentrate on the “good” things coming out of this?

Like more family time, less fast-food, getting back to basics… etc.”

Freewinddancer: “Looking forward to gardening, and perhaps getting that Co-op dream of mine, going…”

Valmusicgal: “I must say, I feel more like myself again since I have not turned a damn TV on since the last week in January! I was lapping up what they were dishing out and quite depressed for most of January. Now you know me, and my thang about wanting courage, and just by my choice to UNPLUG, I have been in the NOW much more and living with a great deal more JOY in my heart, in “these hard economic times.”

I wanna dream my own dream…”

Hedgewitch: “Hear hear! These are GOOD times… as we prepare to getting back to our spiritual authentic selves, so we prepare to live within our means, to not produce more than we can use, to share/sell/barter any excess, to get back to the land and natural resources… (smiles)”

Snowleapord: “The whole thing about the collapse of the fiscal system, it seems to me, is so that something better can come instead —and I don’t think we know what it will be as yet.

Here’s my message ‘in these…’ no, I won’t say it… Ignore any problems you can’t do anything about. Concentrate on building the energy in your own heart centre. Look up — don’t look down.

(Not literally of course; who knows what you might tread in).

Think Happy Thoughts.

Two prisoner looked through the bars.

One saw mud.

The other saw the stars.”

Freewinddancer: “I have to admit, I kept misquoting this buzz phrase today. I suddenly couldn’t remember how to word it… oops, another one off the hook… huh, what was that again?”

June–July 2009

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Cover Artist

Aimee Stem http://www.myspace.com/astemphotography

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I have been a photographer for the past four years. I am interested in both fine art nature photography and photo restoration. I photograph both in black & white and color, but I tend to mostly photograph in black & white. I like the contrasts and the honesty that black & white film gives to an image.

As an artist, I feel that I don’t choose my subjects but that they choose me. I am most interested in capturing the individuality of nature; and abstract textures and forms of nature. Rather then give an overly elaborate explanation of my art, I prefer to let my art speak for itself. I think that a truly great image needs no explanation. I want the viewer to find their own meaning in my images.

Photo restoration is my other passion in photography. Even though photo restoration is tedious and time consuming, I love transforming a photograph from a damaged tattered image into a photograph that looks like it was created today. I feel it is a great honor that a family entrusts me with their most valuable family treasures.

June–July 2009

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The Mysterious Doorway of

Amaru Muru

,

by Mark Felder

(Part 3) Conclusion

R

ay and Ethan tried it again with interesting experiences. Then Klaus tried it.

We all wished him an exciting journey as he worked his way past us through the darkness and up the ledge to the opening. We could barely see him under the starlight as he knelt down. We could hear his clothing rustling, his feet shifting on the sandstone ledge, and his labored breathing. Then he started chanting. He went through the three tones and paused, then started again. During his third tone everything went eerily silent. The energy pouring out the doorway went off the charts. Little lights danced around the doorway as its edges glowed. We waited about a minute and then from the blackness of the doorway he murmured, “Where am I?” We could hear him moving about on the ledge and we all quickly went over to him.

Klaus was coming down off the ledge and seemed to be very disoriented. We steadied him and Kathy was fi lming. We asked if he was Ok. He said he went through! He went through the doorway! He told us how he was flying over the earth. Down below he could see people farming the land. All the people and animals were living with the land in total peace and harmony. It was so beautiful and peaceful. He said it was daylight there, and didn’t know what the time frame was. He said he felt like he was gone for quite a while.

We helped him back to the waiting area. Finally success! Someone had gone through. He didn’t seem to have any trouble returning; he just reappeared through the doorway. He sat on a boulder and Henry the guide went up to try it. He didn’t go through, but reported some interesting things that happened. We saw red lights and some flashes of white light while he was chanting.

Now it was my turn again. The air was very cold now and short gusts of wind whipped through the area. I was staring up into the sky intently. The amount of stars I could see was breathtaking. I

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could see the Milky Way and the large darker area right next to it. The guys wished me a safe journey, and I went slowly back up the ledge and stood in front of the black opening.

I took another long look up at the night sky. I was thinking that so many beings must have come and gone through this door, and the first or last thing that many had seen on this side was that sky, and all those brilliant stars. I was standing in the exact spot they all had stood, and could not help but wonder what would happen if a traveler came through while I was standing there, blocking his way as he slid out the opening, bumping into me. Who would be startled more? I hesitated kneeling down as I reached inside and felt around, just in case someone actually was in there. I was relieved to find it was empty.

My knees protested as I knelt on the rough stone sill.

I felt for the depression where I would place my forehead, and got positioned. Again my thoughts went to all those who have passed through this place before me. Their foreheads were pressed in the exact same spot mine was. I wondered what they must have been thinking as they moved through this portal.

The waves of pulsing energy pouring out of the doorway were very strong and disorienting. I started my chanting. With the first tone, I felt myself swiftly move way inside. With the second tone, I was moving back out, and on the third tone I moved very quickly deep into the wall. I was out of breath and finding more wasn’t working very well.

Then suddenly I could see through the stone. Before me was a cavern. It was dark except for where I was looking. The cavern illuminated wherever my eyes went. It was as if my eyes were spotlights. Twenty feet down below and in front of me were rows and rows of these incredible statues. They seemed to be made of stone and were life-sized. All were warriors holding spears and bows. They were dark brown, the same color as all the earth and stone in that area. As I looked back into the cave, the rows of warriors went back as far as I could see. There were hundreds or more of them. The cavern seemed to be 60 to 80 feet across and was fi lled wall to wall with the statues.

photography by Mark Felder

June–July 2009

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I was on a ledge, kneeling, in a small cavity that opened to the cavern below me. The air was cold and crisp. I was fully aware of being in my physical body, right there. There were no sounds other than that of my clothes as I shuffled around, and my breathing. All my physical and inner senses told me I was physically there in that cavern. Needless to say, I was in awe at the sight below me, and that I was there in the cavern.

My vision was crystal clear, the details super sharp. The statues were highly detailed and life-like, except for the color.

They were evenly spaced about two feet apart. All of them were facing forward in my direction and at attention. I had a knowing, that these warriors once made, have been in that dark cave for thousands of years, and very few beings have ever seen them. It seemed like I was there for ten to twenty minutes. It was hard to tell as the sense of passing time was different. Then I felt myself move backwards out to the face of the portal. I felt very privileged that the doorway had revealed something so rare and special to me. I thanked the portal for the gift, and knowing that I wouldn’t be passing through this time, I went back to the group to prepare for another attempt.

Kathy fi lmed me telling them what occurred.

Ray went up to the doorway. We waited quietly. The tones started and after about ten minutes he came back. During his chanting there was the same eerie silence for about half a minute. He said he didn’t go through, but had seen a fantastic sight. It was a crystal, about five feet into the rock.

He described it as an incredible sight, details of which I’ll get to later.

Ethan tried the door. I don’t recall what happened, but he didn’t go through. Then Jerry said he was going. This was a bit of a surprise as he was so apprehensive about it before.

He walked up to the doorway and in the starlight; we could see the faint glow of his yellow coat. We still could hear every shuffle, every breath as he got positioned in the opening. The doorway was so black that he was already out of sight. He started the tones. On the second round of tones things went silent again.

The doorway had a glow about its edges. The energy was really rocking now, more than before, and I felt very woozy just sitting on the boulder 40 feet away. We waited for about a minute and then there was a loud rustling sound coming from the doorway. Kathy called out Jerry’s name several times and then he answered. He said he had gone through. We all went to the doorway to help him down. He was sitting on the ledge with his back in the opening. He said there was a very loud cellophane sound ringing in his ears so he couldn’t hear us at first, and that he had to push his way out of the stone. Kathy fi lmed his story, and then encouraged him to try it again.

Jerry was reluctant to do it right away.

Then someone had the idea for all of us to try the door at the same time. Five of us agreed to try it. Jerry was in the doorway, I was standing in the left pillar. Two others sat with their backs to the doorway, right next to it, and Ethan stood at the right pillar. We all faced out except Jerry, and all started chanting the tones at the same time. We tried it several times, but with no results. Then we all faced the doorway and tried it again; still nothing.

Because of how cold it had become, Jeff had already gone back to the bus to warm up. Klaus and Ray were too cold to continue, so they went to the bus as well. I decided to try

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again. This would be my fi fth try at the doorway. I got into the position and noticed how the energy coming out of it had stopped. The stone felt just like ordinary stone. There was plenty of air to breath inside. Things had drastically changed. I started the tones, but could not get any resonance whatsoever. I kept at it, adjusting my tones but still no resonance. The doorway had shut down. Disappointed, I worked my way back to the remaining group. Kathy fi lmed me. I told them the doorway had shut down. This surprised everyone.

Then Ethan went up to the doorway and started the tones.

After a few minutes he came back and said the doorway was not working, it had shut down. We couldn’t feel the strong energy pulsing out in waves as before. I wasn’t giving up though. The others seemed ready to call it a night and go back to the hotel. They were cold, but I wanted one more shot at it.

I told them I was going to try it again. Henry, the local guide, came up to me and tried to convince me to go. He was cold and wanted to warm up on the bus. I told him I was going again and worked my way back to the doorway.

I knew this was most likely my last try at it. The doorway had shut down, and I wanted to know for sure that I had done everything I could to go through. The thought of stopping just because someone else was cold didn’t make any sense to me. They could go back to the bus. I was cold too, but so what. Being cold is temporary, but this experience would last me a lifetime.

I stood on the ledge in front of the opening, taking in all the sensations of that place. I gazed out at the awesome black sky, with the billions of stars shimmering in it, making me feel so small. I felt the icy cold crisp air blowing on my skin, and inhaled as deeply as I could. I turned to face the opening, and knelt down inside. I placed my hands on the back wall and asked the doorway and the universe to allow me something special to experience. I still had my original destination in mind. The pungent odor of Wachuma, which saturated the doorway, swirled around in the chilling breeze. I placed my forehead into the cavity and waited for a moment, then started the tones.

As I started the first tone, I could feel waves of energy surging out and all around me. I repeated the first tone and the energy built.

The Mysterious Doorway of Amaru Muru, continued

The heady smell of Wachuma stung my nose. My breath became short and I started the second tone. I could feel myself being pulled in and out of the doorway in a slow pulsing motion. I repeated the first two tones and then hit the third. My entire face sunk several inches into the stone, while the rest of me stayed on the outside.

Instantly I could see a brilliant light in front of me. I was looking through the stone and about 5 feet in, in total blackness, like a void, was a large beautiful brilliant crystal. It was multi-faceted, about 18” high and almost the same in diameter. There was a brilliant pure white light glowing from within, which illuminated its multiple facets. The light was rapidly bouncing all around the interior of the crystal. The crystal was slowly rotating. Bright blue streams of energy radiated outward, like a Tesla coil, in all directions, yet they illuminated nothing.

The crystal was in a complete void. I watched the crystal for what seemed like 5 minutes. It was beyond any description I can find words for, as it wasn’t just a visual experience. This crystal went right through me in ways I cannot describe. I have been trying to find the words for this and still can’t. It was an indescribable intelligence, much different from my own, and penetrated every cell of my body, every thought in my mind.

The rock I was looking through suddenly closed up. I could tell that the doorway was telling me I was done for that night. I got up and went back down to the group. Kathy fi lmed me for the last time. We went back to the bus, this time with flashlights to light the way.

On the ride back to the hotel, Ray, who also had seen a crystal, and I compared notes on the crystals we both saw. The details were exactly the same, right down to every tiny detail we could remember. I asked him what his destination had been if he went through, and he said he wanted to see god. I told him I wanted to see my greater self. He was still blown away with his experience with the crystal, and so am I. For clarification, neither I nor anyone in our group was using Wachuma, alcohol, or any other mind altering substance while at the doorway. The Wachuma I smelled had been applied by someone else prior to our arrival. The video that Kathy shot of us at the doorway has been edited into a half hour documentary and is freely available at http://xpeditionstv.com Episode 3, The Star Gate of Aramu Muru.

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Water Sprite, photography by Devonne Morgan

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More about Presence

by Sabine vom Hoff

I

just had a talk about the “BUT”… how to deal with it, how to get rid of it, how to do just DO without stopping the motion or the flow with that “but”.

I said you can put that big fat ‘but’ in a wastepaper basket, and there it stays and looks at you, but you’ve got to look at it as well. You can talk to the ‘but’, address it, feed it with more attention and it will jump out of the wastepaper basket again and manifest itself into a powerful ‘being’ within your all day presence.

And that would be a choice.

Another choice would be this: you know it’s in the basket, you say “hi” when your attention moves to it, and then you can decide to address it differently: you can simply move your attention to something else. The more you become aware of your own energy, the more you will feel and sense the difference between taking care of the ‘but’ (which is nurturing, feeding, and making it large again) and moving your attention —not only thoughts, I mean your whole energy— gently, to something gentle and pleasing. In this, the ‘but’ shrinks —each day a little bit more, until you hardly perceive it. When you notice it, you look into the wastepaper basket, and see how big/small its power has grown/ shrunk, how much you are still attracted to it, how much attention you give it… and you feel the energy… you become aware of ‘HOW’ you are creating your ‘but’.

One day, the ‘but’ is so small you find it amusing in the moments that your attention moves to it. You merely say “hi” and laugh, that’s all.

And you begin to wonder how that little ‘but’ used to be such a powerful brick in your life, how it used to be such a huge wall, such an enormous stopping stone.

The importance of shifting perception is to become aware of one’s own energy: how it is altered by doing what you do. When you start to sense it more and more clearly… the question of “where are my choices” is already the answer.

April 19th 2009

It Might Talk To Me by bob strating

I

am a fortunate man.

I’ve lived my life with an urgency that made it possible to, at this point in my life, chuck it all and simply live.

I’m preoccupied with things in the distance. Someone to shift my focus. To show me what I’m missing. And I have a lot of time to think about that; about all the women who might have fulfilled that part if I hadn’t been so distracted by myself. Regrets.

No urgency, no worries, and unfortunately, no attachments. I found a little place overlooking the ocean and I spend my days and sometimes my nights walking the beach or often just sitting and watching the surf for hours on end. I’m not sure why. At first I thought it was the tranquility, but I’ve found that when storms come and the sea turns to foam and the waves churn and the salt mist stings my face and eyes, I find the sea equally fascinating.

I think maybe the sea has something to say to me. So I sit. And I walk. And I watch. And I try to listen.

The sea doesn’t give up its secrets easily. That sentence sounded like it came from a documentary on sunken treasures, but it’s equally true in my case. Maybe I’m romanticizing. Maybe there is no meaning out there past the waves crashing on the beach. Maybe it has nothing to say. Maybe what I’m hearing is my own voice. But there are times when I watch and wait and listen that I do hear something in the waves.

I do see something in the vastness.

Just glimpses. Fragments. A voice. And what does it tell me?

There are a few things that are obvious lessons. The power and vastness of the sea and our relative insignificance. This lesson I learned quickly. Having once been the center of my own universe, it was humbling to find myself as a speck in a world so vast I can’t even conceive of it. I’ve watched ships the size of small cities grow smaller and smaller as they drift toward the horizon, only to be swallowed by the curve of the earth.

And each of those ships was full of people, who, like I was, think they are the center of the universe. But poof!

They vanish in the seemingly infinite ocean. So just how important are all those universes? How important was mine? Oh, I’m not saying that what we do means nothing. A man needs to work. I’m only saying that perhaps we attach too much meaning to things which are really transitory and we should look for value elsewhere.

The second obvious lesson has less to do with the sea than with myself.

As I said before, I sit, watch, listen, think alone. I wonder if I would see things differently if I had another set of eyes to share my world. Perhaps someone to point out a seashell while

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It teaches me about constancy.

Though the sea changes day by day, hour by hour, sometimes even minute by minute, it also never changes. It maintains its level, its schedule, its place in this world. The wind may whip its waters into a frenzy. Storms my send it’s waves crashing inland. But it always very quickly readjusts.

It teaches me about balance. There is an amazing balance here on the beach.

The sea, sky and earth all share in it. I watch the clouds form over the ocean as the warm air evaporates the waters.

I watch the clouds drift over me and often feel the rain pour down on my upturned face. Then a little while later I see the water returning to the sea in the swelling river. Ebb and flow. The circle of life. The great mandala.

There is one other thing I have heard as I sit and watch and listen and that is this: Even in my insignificance in the vast scheme of ocean and sky and earth, I am significant in my own way.

I am significant just as every grain of sand is and every drop of water and every bit of air. I am significant because I am here. I have a place. And right now, this is my place.

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The Mark ofZorro

The following excerpt is from Rich’s book in progress The Road To Elmira. http://richkendall-productions.com

by Richard Kendall

When I was about nine years old I used to watch a television series called The Mark of Zorro. It was based upon a silent motion picture released in 1920. Zorro was a swashbuckling swordsman who left his special mark, a “Z,” carved upon the face of each evildoer he defeated.

Although I once took fencing lessons, the desire to carve a Z, or any other letter for that matter upon the face of another never rose up within me. But what did rise up within me was a desire to leave my own special mark upon the world. During class one evening I spoke of this need to feel that my presence on earth had a purpose beyond mere survival. Seth came through, responding to my comments and said the following:

Now, Your being is important! The fact that you are, my friend, impresses the universe, and that impression is never lost; that impression lives, in your terms, though time itself is forgotten and dies. Your being, as it is, is important, and whatever you do, it is not trivial. When you realize that your being is important, then you will realize that by being yourself, you will do, in your terms, important things you cannot do otherwise.

I didn’t doubt the wisdom within Seth’s words, but “impressive” was not how I felt about myself at the time.

In my early teens I saw myself as basically irrelevant.

In response to such feelings I tried to distinguish myself from others through various forms of exaggerated behavior. While such behavior often did result in my standing out from the crowd, what it did not do was eliminate my feelings of inadequacy. As I got older, continuing to act out in such a fashion only served to make me look foolish. I then sought confirmation of my worth through other avenues; in the eyes of lovers; in praise from my parents; in approval from my peers; but none of those approaches worked either. So I tried still another tack.

I set goals for myself that if achieved would surely (so I thought) bring me that sense of self-approval I so desperately wanted. But I set the bar so high, demanded so much of myself, that falling short was a foregone conclusion. The resulting “failures” then led to more rounds of self-recrimination, reinforcing the original belief that my being didn’t measure up, and was of little consequence.

Over the years I knocked on a thousand different doors in search of this elusive creature called self-worth, until I accepted the fact that only by looking within would I find the answers to this dilemma. As I did look within I found a number of programs running counter to the

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idea that my being was important. Deleting those corrupted fi les was not going to be as easy as clicking the buttons on a mouse. If I wanted to create a new reality for myself, then a new model was going to have to be to be put into place.

I would have to set my compass in sync with the spontaneous rhythms of my being, and not allow myself to be blown off course by the prevailing winds of custom or tradition. Choices would have to be made in accordance with my natural inclinations, not looking over my shoulder at what others might think or say about the decisions I would be making. Impulses would need to be followed despite the fact I could not place them within the provinces of accepted logic, or defend them with arguments based upon sound reasoning. My opinions were going to have to be my own, not altered to conform to what was deemed to be normal or proper. And as vast as the oceans of earth and space might be, I needed to realize that the very fact I existed (as Seth said) made an impression upon the universe, and nothing I did was ever meaningless. These concepts had to become more than theory; they had to become firmly fixed within the deepest recesses of my psyche, pushing out all ideas to the contrary. Society could also play its part, broadcasting new messages to replace old gloomy adages that spoke of sin and penance and the ignoble nature of man.

Pollyannaology 12-Step Program

by Sharon Mendenhall  The first level of the Pollyannaology 12-Step Program is to recognize all your thoughts. Since most thoughts are very busy and don’t announce themselves by saying “Howdy, I’m here!” it will be up to the beginning member of the program to pay attention and make the first approach.

photography by Tracy Marshall

The Mark of Zorro, continued

“Your Being Is Important” should be written across the blackboards of every school in every country, with gold stars being given out to all students caught inscribing those words on the side of a bathroom wall. “Your Being Is Important” should be painted in big bright letters on billboards alongside every highway, and flashing from neon signs above the streets of every major city. “Your Being Is Important” should be tattooed in the brain, spreading like wildfire to all the cells of body and mind, and whispered in the ears of every child from the moment they are born. “Your Being Is Important” should be shouted from the rooftops of every shack, shanty, outhouse, whorehouse, courthouse, and jailhouse across the globe, until the meaning within those words become indelibly etched within the mass consciousness of our world.

There are those who walk this earth in shadow. They do not feel the warmth of the sun, nor will they ever know the comfort of warm arms wrapped around them on a cold wintry night.

There are those who draw breath, but for all intents and purposes have fallen off the face of the earth. There are those who have forgotten how to love, with empty windows in their heart where none look in and none look out. Every person you will ever meet or gaze upon, whether they sit on top of a throne or wake up every day mired in their own fi lth, is a living mosaic that forms an integral part of the fabric of this universe. EVERY SINGLE PERSON ON THIS EARTH is of equal importance; and every thought they think is like a star illuminating the night sky, creating roads of light for all of us to walk upon.

There can be no caste system when it comes to evaluating the worth of another human being. Don’t create one for yourself.

Your being is important… and so is mine! Let’s celebrate. My place or yours?

You will notice that your thoughts are just like somebody’s little sister who is always running through and tattling on someone. Your thoughts are tattling on your Beliefs all the time like a messenger service. Beliefs are actually concentrated in the Intent Bar and chewin’ on big cigars while playing poker. Beliefs don’t like to be distracted, so they are always sending the thoughts out to get the pizza. The very individualistic and opinionated Beliefs are always involved in arguing over Perception, like Perception is the little hot chick in a short skirt serving the beer.

Beliefs are always trying to get Perception’s attention. Some Beliefs are nice and polite, but other Beliefs are downright rude and pinch Perception’s bottom every time she goes by with her tray.

You would think that the prime objective is to win at the game of poker, but Beliefs forget that they are even playing poker and spend most of their time trying to influence Perception. Some Beliefs don’t make Perception feel very good about herself, and she tries to avoid those discounting Beliefs, but it doesn’t always work because the discounting Beliefs are sometimes the loudest and most aggressive. Perception is usually at a loss as to how to handle the situation.  At the second level, take Perception aside and tell her about Acceptance, because Acceptance knows exactly how to handle the situation. When things get out of hand, Acceptance can go in there and confront that rude and obnoxious discounting Belief thereby neutralizing him completely, because Acceptance can really kick ass. Acceptance knows how to put a Belief in its place. Acceptance doesn’t hurt the Belief, in fact Acceptance is actually quite respectful, but when Acceptance gets through talking to that discounting Belief, he behaves himself and is quiet for a long, long time.

When the ruckus dies down, this gives the non-discounting Beliefs a chance to influence Perception. Most of these Beliefs are very complimentary, and they tell Perception that she is beautiful, very intelligent and capable, and how much they appreciate the job that she is doing. This makes Perception feel very good about herself, and it also increases her performance. Perception can serve a lot more beer when the discounting Beliefs are behaving themselves, in fact she will forget all about them, and just make sure the non-discounting Belief’s glasses are always full.  At the third level, you need to pay more attention to what the thoughts are saying while they run though the hallway of your brain on their way to get the pizza. Thoughts will keep you informed as to how things are going down in the Intent Bar. You need to classify that thought as telling you something that is beneficial to Perception or not beneficial to Perception’s doing a good job. This is important, because you always need to keep tabs on what’s going on in case you need to give that thought a message to take back to Perception. Perception doesn’t have a good memory, so you need to remind her all the time affirming that she needs to keep the non-discounting and complimentary Beliefs glasses full, and not serve the discounting Beliefs so much, even though they keep pinching her on the bottom. If you suspect that things are about to get out of hand again, this affords you the opportunity to call up Acceptance and send her in to help Perception.

June–July 2009

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DesireFire comes in liquid form and activates the energy center of the body providing an instantaneous passion for life and living. Once you have that intent and direction worry handled, you can really kick up the desire, and go like a bat out of hell. Take one IntentVent pill in the morning when you get up, and then feel free to suck on the DesireFire all day long.

There will be no unpleasant side effects as long as you follow these instructions. If you suck up the DesireFire without taking the IntentVent first, you will only be increasing your worry, and producing an effect like Paranoia.

Both products are packaged together for convenience, and unlimited refills can be acquired at your local Panacea Pharmacy. Do not take while operating heavy machinery.  Fourth level.

Try not to think of a blue elephant. (pause) Ha, ha. You can’t do it!

This completes the fourth level.

It is important to you that things are going well in the Intent Bar and that it is prosperous, because you own the Intent Bar. Thoughts are there to help you manage the Intent Bar, as they are your employees. Sometimes you don’t like a particular thought, and wish you hadn’t hired him, but it doesn’t matter because there is a high turnover, and that thought will be gone soon anyway. So there is no need to try and restrain a thought or get into any kind of a tussle with him. As a good thought manager, you need to pay attention to your thoughts so that you can learn how to be an efficient one-minute manager, thereby freeing up your time for more pleasant activities.

Once you have mastered these procedures, move on to the next level by turning the page in your Pollyannaology 12-Step Program handbook.

At the third level, all members of the Pollyannaology 12-Step Program will be eligible to receive in the mail, an absolutely free sample of the new and improved IntentVent and DesireFire. Simply fill out the form and mail it to the address indicated, or e-mail 12-StepProgram@Pollyannaology.com.

IntentVent and DesireFire are prescriptions to help you in the process of keeping your Intent Bar operating at the desired purpose.

IntentVent comes in a capsule and effects the nerve endings in the brain, causing them not to synap if the purpose is not in alignment with your original marketing plan. This prevents you from ever having to worry about the bar, it just vents it out into the ethers, and you know instinctively that you are always headed in the right direction. This is just like a roomful of professional consultants in capsule form.

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 At the fifth level, realize that thoughts are very illiterate, as they do not understand the word NOT. Do not waste your time trying to teach it to them either.

Every thought is making a positive statement as it goes by, and you cannot correct them. If you say to a thought, “I do NOT want this to happen,” it translates in thought to “You do (somethin’ or rather.) DUH? want this to happen.”You can sprinkle a little DesireFire on those thoughts. It doesn’t change them, but will make them extremely happy and a little buzzed.

You can use the Pollyanna Patented Procedure for thought hiring. Outlined details are in your Pollyannaology Handbook. Pollyanna is a reverent agent that knows instinctively what thoughts are most beneficial to a business, without having to resort to using all kinds of aptitude tests. Pollyanna only selects the best thoughts.  At the sixth level, attend at least one meeting at the Our Lady of the Pollyanna Church. Tee shirts and keychains are available for sale in the vestibule. The church is located in the State of Grace, which is where Pollyanna lives.

Congratulations, you are halfway through the program, and are now an official Pollyanna Apprentice, but do not relax, as it gets harder.  At the seventh level, spend the afternoon at the Belief Beach. This will give you great insight about your Intent Bar patrons. Sometimes it’s a little more than you can handle, because this is a nude beach, and many of the Beliefs don’t look too good all naked like that. You're use to seeing the Beliefs all dressed up in their little uniforms busy pushing the Belief Camera around. But this will afford you the opportunity to go swimming in the Belief Ocean.

June–July 2009

Swimming in the Belief Ocean is good exercise. It will also acquaint you with how many different types of Belief there are, which is an infinite amount, more than all the fish in the sea, and as variable. You cannot help but bump up against Beliefs while swimming, which may, or may not be a pleasant experience.

If you get tired, as a member in good standing of the Pollyannaology Program, you are entitled to several free rides on the Pollyanna Glass Bottom Boat, which will allow you to view Beliefs from a safe distance, especially those that dive pretty deep. Viewing Beliefs is very instrumental in learning how to recognize Beliefs, so that you can send Perception better messages.  At the eighth level, invite Fear into your house often for some chocolate milk and cookies, and not only get to know him well, but flirt with him excessively. Winking is acceptable. You want Fear to be as “smitten” with you, as he is with Pollyanna. If you have some cards around, ask Fear to show you a few tricks, because that always is a good icebreaker. You will have no trouble finding Fear because he is always on your doorstep.

Before you start playing cards with Fear, be sure and define the rules. You do not have to let Fear make up the rules, you can make up your own rules, but you must learn to be persuasive in getting Fear to follow your rules. If Fear says he doesn’t think that is right, and he wants to look it up in the “Hoyle’s Guide to the Official Rules" that’s just a diversionary tactic. Tell him you don’t use the Hoyle. Fear knows a lot of tricks, but then so do you, you just have to remember them. You can win, but it will take some practice. Dealing with Fear can be enjoyable, however.  At the ninth level, take up gardening. Get yourself a seed catalogue, some kneepads, a trowel, and water can. Pollyanna is very good at planting the seeds of self-reliance, self-empowerment, self-respect, self-worth, self-etc. You will find all those seeds in your Pollyanna catalogue in the self-section. All those self-seeds are extremely sticky, so be prudent when planting. You might want to handle them with soft gloves on.

Once you have dug little holes with your little trowel, and planted your seeds, you will have to give your self-garden a lot of attention and care in order to get your seeds to grow. Water at least twice a day, even more is advisable. In this case, you cannot over-water.

Once your little saplings begin to sprout, do not divert your attention elsewhere or discontinue tending your garden. Saplings must be reminded often that their entire purpose is to grow straight and tall.

If you notice that one of your rather bent saplings, suddenly grabs a straight and tall sapling by the roots and won’t let go, this is the beginning of the “Feed me Seymor” dis-ease. You must nip this in the bud immediately least it will become a “Little Shop of Horrors.”

This is caused from a self-sacrifice seed being planted by mistake. Dis-ease control is noted in the index of your seed catalogue along with bug management.

Pollyanna Pollyannaology

 At the tenth level, flip back to the last page in your Pollyannaology Handbook and take the “Why am I being nice?” quiz. This will determine what type of ‘nice’ you are using, if you are using nice. There are two types of nice, and because they are spelled the same they will be differentiated by NICE, and the Pollyanna recommended Reverent Nice.

One-Minute Manager Hints

NICE is an anagram for Not In Complete Esteem. This

 Operate from a gut level. A good one-minute manager learns to use the intuitive senses, which will reflect in dollars and cent-es. You will determine what works best for you.

is the type of nice, where you are being nice because of not having an affluent self-esteem garden. You are actually looking for Outside Validation, whom we all know is very undependable. This means you are being helpful because you expect something in return. This produces the same affect as MEAN. Mean is when you are Mirroring Each Attribute Disaffirmed in yourself, and you would just like to slap the shit out of someone else. A lot of people are MEAN when they react to Pollyanna. NICE and MEAN are just opposite ends of the same stick, and we all know about the judgment stick.

The Pollyanna Reverent Nice, is when you are nice because you genuinely respect everyone and everything including yourself. Reverence does not have anything to do with worshiping; it is the honoring of another’s Intent Bar, whatever it may be. Different bars attract different Beliefs, but every bar is listed in the Fortune Five Hundred. You job is not to try and put someone else’s bar out of business, or try to make their bar exactly like yours. Your job is to just take care of your own bar. If you don’t like their bar, just don’t ever go there, and you don’t have to let them into your bar either.

You can keep undesirables out of your bar by employing Pollyanna’s bodyguards. The reason that Pollyanna always has that upbeat attitude is because her highly trained and professional bodyguards will not let anything by that will dissuade her. A bodyguard phone number is listed in your handbook.  At the eleventh level, you get the badge and learn the secret handshake. You cannot know the big secret unless you are a member in full standing, and have completed all the other levels, but you can have a clue. Perception has two jobs. At her other job, she works with the Belief Camera Crew and adjusts the focus lens.

Pollyanna is very good to Perception by communicating a lot, giving her gifts, and always making her feel good about herself. I think this is why Pollyanna can manifest the best damn reality this side of the Mississippi. Pollyanna is a very smart businesswoman. You know, don’t you, that you have to pay for this course.  At level twelve, badge and handshake are required. It is an extended field trip to the most effortless and coolest reality this side of the Mississippi. Yours.

Pollyanna accepts Visa, Master Charge, and American Express. For course order forms e-mail 12-StepProgram@Pollyannaology.com

There are many suggestions to managing an Intent Bar so that it will reach its highest level of potentiality.

The hints listed below will assist you in efficiency of management, thereby allowing you to pursue other activities in-joy.

 Offer employee incentive. There is a door down in the Intent Bar that is marked “No In,” other than that it looks pretty much like all the other exit doors that the thoughts bang through on their way to get the pizza. Only the thoughts that are going to get pizza for the non-discounting Beliefs use this exit door. As a good one-minute manager, you will soon learn to recognize the thoughts that are using the "No In" exit door, as they are full of confidence. They are nicknamed “knowin.”Those are really good employees, and instrumental to the success of your Intent Bar. You should give those thoughts some type of incentive, like maybe a percentage, so that they’ll hang around.  Concentrate on your Beliefs. Beliefs influence your employees, like the thought pizza runners and Perception. You want to provide the best working atmosphere for your employees so that they will do a better job, and cause you to become prosperous. Your employees also influence the Beliefs.  Provide entertainment. Acceptance is the best person you could have in your bar. Besides being very entertaining, she will capture the attention of all the Beliefs and keep them engrossed, thereby influencing them right back. Offer Acceptance a job, like maybe playing the piano, and pay her well. But don’t let her sing as Acceptance has a piercing voice. However, if the Beliefs are singing, that’s a good sign.  Faith and Trust have harmonious voices. It would be wise to offer them jobs also. They could accompany Acceptance by singing, and it would make a nice trio.

It would also cause the Beliefs to concentrate on Faith, Trust, and Acceptance, rather then argue between themselves. This would take the pressure off of Perception, and anything you can do to assist Perception would be beneficial. Besides, the pizza runners are charmed by Faith and Trust, and it will put them into motion and cause them to bang through the “No In” exit door even faster.

Direct the flow When the Beliefs get hungry, they will call on a thought pizza runner and place an express order. This is an expression of Belief. Beliefs are always very specific about their express order, like some of them are vegetarians, and never order pepperoni or sausage, and very few of them ask for anchovies. But Beliefs can get anything they want on their pizza, so orders are quite varied.

ygoloannaylloP

The thought pizza runners just memorize this, because they don’t ever have any time to write stuff down.

Then the thought pizza runner gets right to expressing for the Belief, because that’s his job, and he has to do it like lightning. So he just jams through an exit door, and runs down the hallway of your brain as fast as he can.

Now, the thought pizza runners run right past you, on their way to an “In Counter,” which is where they get the express orders filled. The best you could ever hope to do, as a one-minute manager, is just sort of direct the flow, as they jam on out into the big world.

There are gazillions, or more of “In Counters” because there are a lot of thought pizza runners, so you could say they will encounter a lot of “In Counters.” Every thought pizza runner has a cellular phone, and they just call in their express order so it will be ready and waiting in a box, under the heat lamp on the "In Counter.”This whole process is called a Occur-dance, because every time a thought pizza runner grabs the pizza off the “In Counter,” there is an Occur-dance going on in the big world. As you might guess, every Occur-dance turns out to be quite an occurrence.

Please post display exhibit in your Intent Bar Dear Beliefs; We will be having holding this year’s convention assembly conference meeting caucus congress at the equivalent identical like same space place room area. All Beliefs Doctrines Ideas Notions Opinions Views Tenets Creeds Concepts Dogmas Hypothesis Impressions Judgments Interpretations Inspirations Impressions Fancies Persuasions Philosophies Postulates Inventions Theories Ideologies Convictions Conclusions and Assumptions are cordially warmly sincerely invited requested summoned to attend visit frequent.

Please contact touch connect link with the head official authorized sanctioned approved officer executive administrator manager president in your union local regional sectional allotment portion division immediately directly forthwith presently for more additional supplementary information data facts news advice.

Looking wanting seeing forward eager anticipation expectation hoping prospect of your attendance presence appearance showing up.

Sincerely warmly honestly openly candidly pleasure glad, THE CONVENTION ASSEMBLY CONFERENCE MEETING CAUCUS

CONGRESS COUNCIL BOARD CABINET JURY COMMITTEE.

June–July 2009

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The

How and the Why

by Anet Paulina He who knows how will always work for he who knows why.

This quote (attributed to musician David Lee Roth) was introduced to me several years ago by an unusually insightful 12-year-old girl, and it resurfaces in my mind periodically. I am not sure I agree with it completely, as I have often observed those who know how as being more outwardly successful in the world than those who know why. People who know how to accomplish things effectively often are not motivated to figure out why their methods work; they simply accept that they do. It is those of us who have difficulty manifesting our desires through conventional means that seem more compelled to investigate the mechanics of creation.

On my own twelfth birthday I was in seventh grade (almost the youngest member of my class) and was among the small group who had been selected to take introductory physics a year early.

Within a few weeks it was apparent to my teacher that I understood physics concepts better than any other student taking the course, and my grades were consistently the highest. In the spring I was presented with the outstanding achievement award for introductory physics, besting all the eighth graders.

But that is not the significant part of this story. What is most memorable is that in our weekly laboratory experiments (which were not graded), not once did I perform an entire procedure completely correctly! I am reasonably certain I was the only student in my class for whom this was true. The fact that I knew why helped little in the area of how. I noticed, however, that after botching the experiments in numerous ways, I understood the physics concepts even better than I had before.

It has occurred to me more than a few times that my life since seventh grade has not been unlike that science class.

Even with an understanding (innate, learned, or a combination of the two) of the why of much of what occurs in life,

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I often find the how to be challenging.

There are many things that come easily to me, but getting from point A to point B often is not one of them! Years ago I discovered that I have a paradoxical tendency to choose to go the wrong way first. When approaching a street without knowing whether I should turn left or right, I noticed that if I felt the correct direction most likely was right, I would feel compelled to go left. After investigating that route, I would then turn around and go the other way, eventually reaching my destination but certainly not in an efficient manner.

For a long time it confounded me as to why I habitually chose the option that was less likely to have my preferred outcome. After consistent self-examination, I realized there were two reasons: so I can be sure I am not missing anything, and to allow for the chance of discovering a better way. If I always do things in a manner I am reasonably certain will work, I close off opportunities to find a more effective, efficient, or simpler method. The way to ensure I am making the best choice is to explore the other possibilities before trying the one that initially seems most likely to work. By the time I take the optimum route, I understand why it is the best way.

This habit is particularly persistent in me, but it is not unique; I have observed many others choosing inappropriate options before settling on one they are satisfied with. Perhaps it is time for us to recognize that these “mistakes” are part of the process that allows us to discover the why of reality creation. The understanding we gain places us far beyond where we would have been if we had chosen to focus only on the how.

Anet Paulina is the author of Transcend Aging: Stay Young Through the Power of Your Beliefs transcendaging.com, which can be ordered from booklocker.com – http://www.booklocker.com/books/4041.html

June–July 2009

photography by Tracy Marshall

art is anything you want it to be.

Art is

Everywhere ART FROM JEAN’S KITCHEN!

by Jean Blenkhorn presenting Scott Wade at Dirty Car Art.com

Mona Lisa – Starry Night, art by Scott Wade

the artist, Scott Wade

http://www.dirtycarart.com Like any reasonably creative and curious human, Scott can’t resist a dirty rear car window. Unlike most folks however, Scott lives on a mile and a half of dirt road — caliche, as the locals call it, road-base: a blend of limestone dust and gravel and clay. Driving over this surface results in a fine, white dust that billows up behind any vehicle driven faster than a galloping turtle, coating the rear window.

Poker Dogs, art by Scott Wade

June–July 2009

Being an experienced artist (and a little different) it wasn’t long before Scott was experimenting with techniques to achieve these amazingly detailed and shaded drawings.

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I am old now.

My fire is no longer feared. My time has come to pass and let others take up the quest, but I want to tell you a small story when I was power. When I was considered good. When life granted us possibilities to be all that which we hold dear to our memories.

I was perhaps fourteen hundred years old at the time. Do not be shocked for we live well beyond mortal thoughts of years, unless some foolhardy hero comes along to try and right things with might. Don’t believe all the fairy tales you read. Humans cannot kill us off as easily as one might think.

Through My Eyes

by Bill Pate

He approached me, a sword in hand, smaller than that of which the soldiers used, but large enough to cut something… namely me.

He moved cautiously, circling me, looking for a way in to strike. Something had to be done to stop this foolhardy, yet brave soul.

But there was one human, a young boy who went by the name Pen, who did not know at the time he was on a journey that would forever change time and space as we know it.

Rearing my head up, inhaling strongly, I exhaled a large plume of black smoke that covered the area where I lay, that of Pen, and his friends.

Pen was a young hell raiser, always getting into things he shouldn’t have, but he always managed to find a way out of trouble. Like his father, the then current King, Pen was a leader. He dared go where others wouldn’t alone, but with him, they would follow.

“Stop, I say.”

It was early during the fifth century Pen passed my way.

I had been flying back to my mountainside encampment when a rare occurrence came about. Lightning struck me and down I soared, knowing I was in for a very rough landing.

Crashing through many tree limbs, feeling the wood scar my hide, I continued plummeting until with a roaring thud, the ground captured me and dirt, dust, and leaves scattered about.

I could see through this smoke and saw Pen moments away from making his first strike.

Pen froze in his tracks.

“Think of what you are about to do. Killing me will give you but shortened glory. In time, the stories will be less and you will fall off the earth never talked about again. Let me live and I promise you, your life will multiply into far more than even you now imagine. Greatness awaits you. Do not waste this on me.”

“Greatness?”

“You will be a leader of men. Fearless, loyal, honest and true. You will preside over the land as none before you or any to come after.”

“You speak in riddles.”

“I speak truth. Come closer, boy. Look into my eyes and see your future.”

“That you can talk as well as do magic.”

He was hesitant to be certain. He thought it to be a trick I would play and consume him, but he took small steps, and I could see the courage and conviction etched in his face.

“We have always been able to speak. We just don’t speak with just anyone.”

“That is close enough. Now look into your future, boy. See your destiny, Pendragon.”

“Then why do you speak so to me?”

“You … you know my name?”

“It is true then what they say.”

“What is true, boy.”

I lay there, dazed by this most quick turn of events. My injury wasn’t life threatening, but it would be weeks before I would fly once more. My concern was my brood. They would worry over my disappearance. At least I landed in a grotto flush with berries and other assorted fruits and a lake nearby, so hunger wouldn’t be a problem.

On my third day I could hear voices coming in my direction.

I prepared myself for being attacked and if they did so, I would burst them into flames.

To my surprise there walked into the clearing four young boys. To the front of them stood Pen. Tall, long curly locks, bronzed skin, with the clearest blue eyes.

Now we of olden days knew when we saw one such as Pen, there would be a future for one such as he; what many of you call destiny.This boy was to become a leader of many. A leader as had never been seen before.

Yet on this day, when he spotted me, his first reaction was to exclaim, “Look, do you see him! What a prize it will be to bring his head back to the village. I will be talked about beyond my living. Stories to be told for sure!”

The others who held fast at first, suddenly crept backward, thinking this time surely Pen had gone too far.

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June–July 2009

Illustration Wikimedia Commons

photography by Tracy Marshall H.J. Ford, Arthur and the Questing Beast.

From King Arthur, Tales of the Round Table, Andrew Lang, 1904

“I already know many things about you. Now watch, listen, and learn.”

Pen stared into my eyes, and the arm holding the sword aloft eased downward.

He sees into the future whereupon he defeats an entire army practically on his own in heavy combat. He is hailed as a hero for stopping the massive horde of invaders taking over Great Britain. He watches too as a challenge is set to prove who should be the rightful King of England, for a sword the likes he has never seen is melded inside a rock by a sorceress and can only be removed by one who is brave and strong and just. Such are the tales that Merlin had anything to do with Excalibur; yet another secret revealed.

He sees his castle surrounded in Camelot’s throes. He has come far to this point with Knights appointed by him to keep peace and justice far and wide.

He then sees the woman to whom he will be married. Not just any woman, but Guinevere.

I then decided he had seen enough.

“So, young Pendragon, make the mistake of taking my head back with you on this day, and you forfeit a future of greatness people will speak of for thousands of years after your parting; or take my head and be forgotten upon the day you are laid in the ground. The choice is yours. I have decided to place my life in your hands.”

Pen stood there, not at first believing what transformed, then as quickly he spoke to me.

“I then let you live.”

So you see my friends, Arthur came upon greatness. He spawned tales of daring, of a land filled with peace and prosperity.

Yes, he found his way in life. I am sure you all know the story by now, but for this one portion of the tale that has never been uttered until now.

Why? I am old, and my time draws near. Some secrets should never go to the grave.

Thus, I share one last secret with you.

Dragons still live.

 THE END  June–July 2009

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☿

Mercury

Communication and Doing Ruler of Gemini and Virgo, May 20 – June 21

by Sabine vom Hoff In my understanding of the astrological signs and planets, it is perfect that Mercury is ruling both Gemini and Virgo signs; I would like to tell you more about it.

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photography

by Sabine vom Hoff 2009 June–July Wisp e-zine

T

he Gemini–ruling Mercury represents communication and doing. Communication IS doing, and the two cannot be understood and incorporated separately. Whatever you are doing IS a direct link to the communication with ‘what is’; and ‘what is’ is perception: the outer senses as a reflection of the inner senses, which is the principle of the sign Virgo. The Virgo-ruling Mercury energy merely ‘delivers’ more details in relation to emotion and feelings; the Virgo-Mercury includes them. The two astrological “planets” Moon (ruler of Cancer) and the Sun (ruler of Leo) precede Virgo, therefore ‘Virgo’ includes those two energies. Moreover, they both are emotional energies, Cancer being the emotion itself whereas Leo is the expression of the emotion.

“But” (I have to laugh, if you’ve read my article about the “but” p.13) I would like to describe the movement of Mercury more clearly. The astrological chart is not a depiction of a one-step-after-another movement; it’s a step-by-step description due to our linear time-space beliefs. This might be confusing at first and could lead to misunderstandings and/or distortions.

I’d like to introduce the imagery of the hologram (if you’re not already familiar with it). The horoscope is a hologram; each sign of the zodiac is IN there. The signs are different designations of different energy-movements adopted and agreed upon. This is reflected in the horoscope’s structure.

There are three ‘levels’ of movements: sign, planets and houses; when you stretch them out, you’ve got a ball!

Or you can see it as a creation of space. First comes the point; if you add a second dimension, you have a line. Then add a third dimension and you have a whole space.

Astrology is a way to fan out ‘what is’ in order to gain understanding and connect the ‘knowing’ (in the sense of ‘remembrance’) which can be referred to as the 4th dimension:

Since “love” can be defined as appreciation and knowing, Astrology (the way I see it) enhances and reinforces that knowing aspect. Quoting Elias: “appreciation is less probable without knowing…” I certainly agree with this statement and sense it as one of my favorite truths within the exploration of the concept of ICMR (I Create My Reality). Without the knowing part I wouldn’t be able to consciously direct myself… and many other doings!

That is one reason why I love ‘talking to the stars’ and have done so for so long that I don’t always know if at times I go a little too far, and what I want to explain becomes more complicated than I sense it to be. I don’t argue as much today with my beloved ‘language-abilities.’ In any case, anybody can ask me for clarification.

Let’s go back to the Gemini-Mercury. What happens here is this: the subjective chooses an idea (sense of conceptualization). Let’s assume the concept is ‘playing.’ That is a conscious choice. You make ‘playing’ important by feeding this concept energy,… simply by concentrating on it! This idea comes as an impulse into the objective as an idea, a thought… the bringer of the message is: Mercury!

Mercury is therefore similar to what Socrates called a ‘daimon’ (or dæmon1). By implementing the religious era, we later altered the initial meaning of ‘Gods’ messenger’ into a devilish energy, which is quite understandable.

Of course, when you want to express the concept of separation, the messenger of the inner voice must be a ‘bad guy’ otherwise you would NOT stop listening to your own ‘Mercury daimon’ messenger of your inner voice.

And in the end you would not STOP and begin listening.

Obeying is doing what someone superior is telling you.

You wouldn’t (or would you?) listen to a ‘lower’ voice!

This is all purposeful to make the concept of separation available in our experience. But now we are in a different direction/area. We want (I assume the “we”) to reconnect with Self. We want to shift our perception from ‘there is a higher power than my Self’ to ‘all is within my Self’. We are in the process of becoming ‘who we truly are’ within the concept of ‘no separation’ and self-directedness, to reiterate.

That way your Mercury is a daimon in the natural sense: he is the messenger of YOUR OWN SUBJECTIVE, which is the inner voice, which is an impulse, the intuition! The thought mechanism becomes what it naturally is designated for: the translation of the intuition into language/ words/thoughts.

Back to the example of the impulse to explore, express the concept of ‘playing.’ What happens (all simultaneously and therefore perceivable as a process in linear time) is as follows: the Moon comes into the game, sending signals of happiness of any kind, which becomes translated by the thought-office (thought mechanism) in “How fun!”. Now in the next step the Sun (remember, ruler of Leo) really starts ‘playing’, the Sun is the expression of the concept, which is the expression of playful energy of any kind.

Then the Virgo-Mercury looks around: “here a toy”, “there funny,” “playful music,” “people having fun, or ‘playing’ seriousness with a wink”… All outer senses are reflecting that playful expression. The Virgo-Mercury perceives in clarity, WHAT has been expressed and HOW the expression reflects within the reality that you ARE creating in the now. Virgo-Mercury is the energy, that allows the awareness of perception: you become conscious of the smell, of what and how you hear, of what and how you touch, of what and how you taste and of what and how you see. Paying attention to this Mercury is a widening process of the outer senses, and you will notice within this process, that all your outer senses change, they become ‘louder,’ more clear. Perception alters… our reality alters…

And referring back to the Gemini-Mercury: THAT IS ‘doing.’

PS: the current Mars and Venus is on my Mercury at the moment — no wonder I love to talk about him… with Love!

Sasari vom Hoff, April 2009

1 • From Greek δαίμων (daimôn) – “The Greek words daimon and daimonion express a determining power which comes upon man from outside, like providence or fate, though the ethical decision is left to man.” Carl Gustav Jung in Aion (1968), p. 27

June–July 2009

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Draped in silver robe No introduction needed Luna takes the stage Haiga by Devonne Morgan

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2009 Wisp e-zineby SabineJune–July photography vom Hoff

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by Elikozoe

•

Very early in history, silver was associated with the Moon. For instance, Diana/Artemis (the Roman/Greek moon goddess) was often depicted carrying a silver bow, as goddess of the Hunt, and her effigies were usually cast in that precious metal.

But silver was not only used to make rich decorations and precious objects like mirrors.

The properties of its compounds were studied in alchemy, where its symbol was a moon’s crescent. Silver was seen as complementary to gold, like the moon complements the sun: while the sun produces all the spectrum of the colours, the moon only reveals a palette of grey tones by virtue of the light’s reflection.

Before the digital era, the chemical properties of silver were heavily used in photography. As the moon reflects the sun’s light, silver salts reveal imprinted images inside the darkness of the photographer’s dark room — silver salts being tainted by broad daylight.

Shadows and illusions of images…

Nowadays, the rise of digital imagery did not make silver obsolete though, as it is considered the metal with the highest electrical and thermal conductivity and is also used in some sensitive electrical components.

One can thus find an underlying idea of shine and purity which is again associated with the Moon, with its pristine reflective surface, watching over the world of darkness, making it a symbol of imagination and illusions.

Interestingly, that idea of purity is also reflected in the health domain. During Antiquity, Phœnicians used silver bottles to store water, wine or vinegar so as to prevent spoiling. As a matter of fact, before the antibiotics, silver compounds were long used as disinfectant, since silver was known to kill germs while not having the same level of toxicity to humans as other similar heavy metals.

However, in some cases, silver compounds can be absorbed by the tissues and result in a condition called “argyria,” causing a bluegrey pigmentation. Where imaginary smurfs meet “reality”… once in a blue moon?

photography by Grey Morgan

June–July 2009

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Silver Drops

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June–July 2009

photography by Tracy Marshall

Julia is a Camilla Diana in the Religio Romana (which means an assistant priest in the church of Diana in the Pre-Christian religion of Rome). She’s telling us a little bit about her dance process, as was captured in these pictures.

I actually started trancing at the same age that I dedicated myself to the service of Diana. I’ve been a little wild child for as long as I can remember. I grew up bow hunting in my backyard pretty much daily; it was one of my greatest passions as a child. (Right up there with fencing.) Every time I dance it’s different; I let it flow naturally instead of trying to force myself to act or feel a certain way on stage. Improvisational performance is actually much more difficult than choreographed performances are because you have nothing to fall back on if the passion just isn’t there and you can’t predict when its going to be there. When I put a sword in my hand my demeanor changes and I become much more focused and intense. Part of it is just the way it makes me feel and part of it is the seriousness behind the knowledge that if my head isn’t in it I could slice something vital. Mostly I want to be worthy to be of the great sword bearing women who came before me.

by Julia Zay http://www.transcendentaldance.com

Callimachus said that Artemis asked for sixty dancing girls…

I am one of them. A good friend of mine dances with a group called Penthesilea; Penthesilea was an Amazon who fought in the Trojan War on the side of Troy. She’s actually one of the nine Female Worthies whom I actually like; she wasn’t weak, she was honorable and a good fighter. My friend and I bond over that a lot because we’re both Artemisian sword bearing dancers who who do a lot more than dance with swords.

I use my skills as a trance artist to fall back on my muscle memory when I dance because I can’t afford to make mistakes.

Bruce Lee used the same technique in his Jeet Kune Do. I keep my body relaxed so that I don’t tire from the weight and physical exertion. I wish I could describe what actually goes through my mind. It is really difficult to put it in words. I open myself up to the music and let myself feel the emotions the music creates, then I let them out and whatever happens happens. I use my eyes a lot, I’m not afraid to look people in the eye when I dance and that’s a very powerful thing. Usually a dancer will scan, or look at audience member’s bodies or faces. Looking a stranger in the eye is practically a taboo but there’s an emotional connection in it that’s unlike anything else.

It’s very raw, very honest. When I listen to the music and it allows me to feel… I take all of those emotions, all my thoughts and I look people in the eye with them while my body dances. I bring people in and we share that connection to the music.

Dance is actually a major part of my spirituality both because of the Artemisian connection and because I have to put so much of myself into it. I guess its kind of a self feeding circle.

photography by Grey Morgan

June–July 2009

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Blue Blue colors my world

shades my moods blinks its eyes covers my thighs in beat-up denim.

It titillates my taste buds berry wine and pie paints the sunshine sky of summer hot and winter cold.

Blue bares my soul when it sings mournful tunes bolsters my courage when the flag unfurls bathes me in oceans and seas of tranquility.

Blue bruises my arms when you kiss your charm good-bye in a fight soothes me with a moon rare blue.

Blue dawn and dusk shadows the lawn soothes me to sleep when the day has grown long and colors my dreams kaleidoscopic.

Blue my palette blue my world and I am content enough.

Karen Chaffee, 2009

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http://www.peacefulwmn9.com

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June–July 2009

photography by Sabine vom Hoff

Whisper Zone June–July 2009

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Wake-up Wake-up my sleepy siblings from your slumbering sleep with eyes closed so tight to keep out the light, Heaven beckons you to wake but you are caught up in dream like sleep, You hear us calling to you and you ignore this sound you hear in the distance, God is silently calling in a whisper as not to scare you from your slumbering, your siblings and I hope you will wake as we miss your playing with us, we’ve been slumbering so long we have forgotten what it was like to be awake, I’m calling your names do you hear me brothers and sisters it’s me, you are so sleepy and comfortable in that bed that you would rather stay, I have been calling you all day,

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photography by Sabine vom Hoff

Those of us who are awake really miss you so, you are it in tag so here you go, Now it’s your turn to help me find a way to wake up these sleepy heads too, They won’t be easy like you were but don’t give up as I didn’t give up on you, You see I love you and that is why I care see..

You are a Divine spirit of light and you are here to Shine bright like the Sun that shines each day.

Barbara Goulding, 2009 Wisp e-zine

June–July 2009

Reality Testers

and Naysayers photography by Grey Morgan

by Bill Ingle • http://realitytest.com

O

nce upon a time I read in a book on lucid dreaming that one way to become lucid was to look for something in the dream that clearly couldn’t exist in physical reality.

Soon I found myself dreaming and thought to myself: “Great! I can look around and see whether anything is out of whack, which will tell me that I’m dreaming.” Of course the dream was set in my past, in the house I grew up in; I didn’t even notice.

I looked around and found that my childhood bedroom door had a square brown piece of wood or some other material nailed to it. “Bingo! I’m dreaming, and this proves it!” I thought.

My older brother was in the dream. Seeing me gesticulating at this thing on the door, he proceeded to ridicule me, then provided a “rational explanation” for why it was on the door.

“Darn!” I thought.

This process continued until I woke up. Every time I found something that told me I was indeed in a dream, the dream version of my brother would explain it away.

So this particular Dreaming Reality Test leaves something to be desired, at least for me. In some ways, the “strange” or “impossible” things that intrigue people (myself included) such as Bigfoot, UFOs, crop circles, certain “paranormal” items, and so on, are a bit like the “wrong” things in dreams the book suggested looking for.

Further, there are many people walking around who are much like the dream version of my older brother.

You might come across something very much out of the ordinary. Should you describe it to one of these folks, they are bound to find some way to explain it away, to provide a “rational” explanation.

June–July 2009

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photography by Grey Morgan

Beltane Lights

by Rachæl Caraballo

For the Celts, Beltane marked the beginning of the summer season, and was the occasion to celebrate the fertility of the coming year during the “fire festival.” Rachæl tells us more about it.

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his ritual was about transformation, walking through the flames to come out reborn. As Fire transforms the fields and grasslands leaving fertile soil in its wake, this journey was intended to do the same. The holiday of Beltane is seen as a Sabbat of fertility, and I wanted to encourage people to use that energy to fuel the fires of change within themselves.

I strove to make it as personal a journey as possible. Each of the representations at the altars were as general as could be and still get the point across. I wanted people

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to be able to see their own deity or energy in each. I wanted anyone of any path to be able to feel their connection at each altar.

The double spiral represented a journey through the “universe.” The path first brought you into the womb of the Mother, the feminine energy. There you came upon a cauldron of water, the womb from which we all came. As the path carried you on, you traveled up through the element of Earth, to an altar to commune with that energy.

From there your journey led to Water, and again an altar to commune. Crossing over to the second spiral in an unbroken path, altar to the energy of Air waited to fuel your journey on to the altar of Fire. Your journey then led into the heart of the Father. There waited a flame and a sword for the protector and transformer. You then walked on to pass the reminder that all these energies are one. The altar of Spirit is in truth everything. All that is, all that is not and everything in between… Forever connected and never released.

June–July 2009

The last altar was to ground back into this plane. A tree waited to help remind those flying high from their journey to dig deep and re-center themselves. Myself and my dear friend Janie (and a few others along the way) tried to be there at the end of each journey with a hug and a smile. We saw lots of tears and many people walk out changed.

The planning started in February, with help from a my friends Janie and Maggi. We have worked on many a ritual together and it just seemed natural. We started, in the planning phases, to try to make concentric circles then connect them into spiral. That line of thinking lead to confusion. There were plastic construction flags everywhere with no apparent rhyme or reason. We could not tell the way in from the way out! Finally, we ended up with more of a figure 8 shape, angling in to the center to cross into the second half.

Setting up the labyrinth was a labor of love. We originally planned to have it up and finished on Thursday (the staff set up day for the festival), but even the best laid plans… you know. We set up the labyrinth with plastic drinking cups, filled with sand to weigh them down, then topped off with a candle. The construction ended up taking until Saturday evening! I made sure no one ever got to the point of frustration or worked for too long at once (with the exception of myself and Janie almost, we are stubborn).

The last of the spacing was in the sprinkling rain while listening to Mystic Fire rock out on stage.

We had some of the most amazing help! I wish I could thank them all here! It never would have worked without them. Filling cups, dropping them in line and going through with spacing sticks to make everything uniform and beautiful. My feelings were mostly of anticipation and worry over my proverbial baby. At the same time I felt a peace in my gut knowing that whatever it looked like at the moment, it was going to work. There were a few moments when Janie and I, overtired, simply stood there, the gears in our brains grinding to a halt, staring blankly across the field. In the end a logical and mathematical mind (we shall call him R.) stepped in and saved us!

Directly before the ritual officially started, things got hectic in the setting up. A barely

contained panic and forced focus was a tough balance. Not to mention the fear that I had forgotten something was rattling around in me. As people started to gather I felt their anticipation and curiosity. Their eyes followed as I sped back and forth across the field double checking everything.

The beginning of the ritual was an explanation as I walked the labyrinth, showing everyone the way as they stood around in a loose circle (as pictured). The energies were invited to commune with us at each of the altars. As I exited, people were invited to enter. In the end it was the most beautiful thing I have seen.

The labyrinth stayed awake all night, and though I did not know it at first, so would I. My plan all along was to take a nap sometime in the night, to be ready to release the ritual at dawn. The point in which I knew that was not going to happen was coming across the field from my campsite and really seeing the labyrinth from afar for the first time. I just stopped, overwhelmed by what I had done. I stood and watched the people walking, meditating at the altars. Almost in tears, I watched arms raised to the sky with tears streaming down peaceful faces. I saw people brought to their knees trembling, foreheads to the earth. Or kneeling peacefully smiling, candles flickering on their faces.

I knew then that while this was happening there would be no sleep for me. I felt tied to the labyrinth, much like it was my child. I did not want to miss a twinkle. I felt the energy

of each person walking through passing through me as it spiraled around and almost swept me away. I spent that night giddy and peaceful. Watching like a proud Momma as people I never even dreamed of walked through, multiple times in some cases. Some of the most touching moments were seeing elders that I had learned from leaving the labyrinth. Some of their words to me will stay with me past this life. Seeing grown men giddy and giggling afterward, trembling with joy… Or falling to their knees weeping, unable to speak other than, “It’s just so beautiful.”

The night wore on and the sky lightened.

Dawn arrived with the blowing of a horn to inform the festival that the time had come to end the ritual. I had not really planned out the ending, other then a few key details.

I was completely unprepared for the rush of emotion that almost knocked me down as I turned in the direction of the cauldron to thank the Mother. From there my words flowed out in gratitude, with a stumble or two to contain my sobbing. It ended in song, a blessing to honor every part of the day. I almost collapsed when the chant was finished, only to be hugged by a dear friend as I sobbed on his big ol’ shoulder. “I think I need to go to bed…” was all I could get out.

The left over candles were there for people to take some of the energy home. And after the leftovers were collected, I was able to walk the path again giggling, and almost in tears again. The spiral had remained in the grass.

June–July 2009

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Dreaming Crocodile, by Brigitte Geisler • http://flickr.com/photos/bridgy2008

Spring, the Sweet Spring from Summer’s Last Will and Testament

by Thomas Nashe (1600)

Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king, Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring, Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing: Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The palm and may make country houses gay, Lambs frisk and play, the shepherds pipe all day, And we hear aye birds tune this merry lay: Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to-witta-woo!

The fields breathe sweet, the daisies kiss our feet, Young lovers meet, old wives a-sunning sit, In every street these tunes our ears do greet: Cuckoo, jug-jug, pu-we, to witta-woo!

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June–July 2009

A selection of websites to broaden your horizons!

Pearls from the Surf

http://www.dreamingmethods.com

http://www.lucypringle.co.uk

New forms of fiction: Dreaming Methods is a fusion of writing and atmospheric new media that explores digital storytelling, imaginary memories and dreaminspired states.

As the crop circle season is beginning for 2009, have a look around Lucy Pringle’s crop circle homepage.

A mine of information on crop circles and a gallery of Lucy’s award winning Crop Circle Photographs.

Got interesting websites you want to share with us? Send your selection to wisp.ezine@gmail.com

EASY

http://www.counselingjob.net http://wwwcounselingjob.blogspot.com The websites of Jill Coleman who specializes in practical job-market job-search ideas combined with “inner spiritual work.”

Jill says: “As a student of reality creation myself for the past ten years, I combine knowledge from a former career in Recruitment and Spiritual/Reality creation issues. To that end I publish a blog article each week with hopefully helpful information regarding career transition in these “unique times” we live in. The intent is to share “real” career search information and not just tout my own services.

So many of my spiritual teachers do that —I felt it was important to return the favour!”

It is easy to love you When you are Being Loveable It is easy to make peace with you When you are At Peace When you are not It is not so easy But that is the nature Of love And Peace Loving When it is not so easy Making peace Where none seems to exist in You But wait It all comes from me Not from you I forget that sometimes But it is true

j

Jill Coleman

June–July 2009

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Comment is Free A Dead Newspaperman’s Perspective

The Webby Awards is an international award honouring excellence on the Internet, including websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites, presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences since 1996. • http://webbyawards.com On May 5th 2009, the thirteenth Webby Awards winners were announced. Three of these awards were won by the Guardian’s website.

by Bill Ingle Meanwhile, here’s my (I really should qualify “my” — maybe I’ll do so later) latest missive to the Guardian in my multi-year effort to gain respectability for dead newspapermen and their on-line interactivity. This effort (possibly a bit on the Quixotic side, I admit) might also gain a measure of respectability for both Seth and trance writing, at least in some future probable realities: The following comment is a response to the item found at http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/ may/05/guardian-wins-three-webby-awards — this deals with Webby Awards.

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05 May 09, 7:09pm

“As well as being named best newspaper website, GNM’s website network guardian.co.uk, which includes MediaGuardian.co.uk, won the Webby for best podcasts and came out on top in the religion and spirituality category for the Comment is Free blog’s Belief subsite.”

I’m impressed. Good going, Guardian!

I’m also perpetually amused at the words "Comment is Free" from my own 1921 essay serving as the title for a section on a contemporary website.

Your time is a strange place from my perspective; there’s a degree of absurdity to the situation that reminds my newer edition of a Philip K. Dick story, too.

(I became aware of this newer edition even as he became aware of me, such that I could view this absurdity — and your strange world — through his eyes and personality.) The situation is even stranger than these words can do justice to, owing to the very distorted ideas of time, life, and death that were prevalent not just in my time but now, in this present mass reality, with its electronic media.

I’m aware that in some future probable realities the dead begin to interact much more frequently with the living, in on-line environments.

I would hope the Guardian site will gain awards for its participation in such activities as well as those areas for which it has already received recognition.

There are those who will scoff at such possibilities while others are not likely to enjoy posts and comments from bygone personalities, responding with typically nasty CiF comments to the “real-time” thoughts of, say, Churchill, Wells, George, or even Montague, Sidebottom, and others, perhaps insisting they stay dead and not interfere with the activities of the living.

In response, I’d suggest that the total human community is much larger than many realize, encompassing as it does not just the dead and the living but also those inner beings everyone is an expression of, no matter that their existence is shrouded in great ignorance; I speak of the souls of humanity.

These souls and their many dead personalities have no need for the Internet or web pages, of course; the chief advantage to expressing themselves on-line — perhaps on some future Guardian page — is the conscious interaction with the living this would enable.

This could prove to be both highly entertaining and educational for all involved parties.

Regards C.P. Scott Editor of the Guardian (1846 – 1932)

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June–July 2009

photography by Devonne Morgan

Making Do The Silk Purse

by Fran Wing I’m not sure that I can remember a single incident in my life when I wasn’t “making do.” When I started thinking about this, it was more along the lines of criticizing myself for a lifetime of denial of what I really want, but as I worked my way through it I realized I’ve made this form of compromise into an art form and I’m not sure I would have it any other way!

One of my favorite phrases is “making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” — it’s possible this phrase may end up as the epitaph on my gravestone.

Here lies Frances Wing.

Let it be known that she could always make a silk purse of a sow’s ear.

(This gravestone was originally the marble countertop from a client’s outdated bathroom.)

When I look around my home I see very few objects (other than the art I’ve adorned my walls with) that I have chosen because it’s what I wanted. It’s interesting that I never deny myself little decorative items or books or good china or fine crystal or sterling silver, but I scrimp on the big stuff. Many of the furniture pieces are cast-offs from someone else or mistakes I make in purchasing for a client — a mish-mash of styles and scale. It’s odd that an interior designer would have so few pieces of furniture in his/her home that are actually chosen or purchased new. That goes for the house itself. I have never owned a brand new house. I’ve always bought used houses that are full of other people’s mistakes and then proceeded to “make do.” I’ve never allowed myself a full-scale alteration of residence like those I design for my clients. My home, like myself, is truly a work in progress.

photography by Tracy Marshall I’m also a pretty decent cook but I really shine when I go to the pantry to find it bare and must make a meal from scraps of other meals or odd cans of things I find there. I’m famous in my family for the two most memorable dishes I prepare: Stuff with Glop and Chicken à la Fran el Cheapo.

Of course, neither of these meals can ever be duplicated, but then that’s the beauty of them. In our home they can be served on a very artfully arranged (albeit cast-off from a former owner) table with fine china and fine wine served in very fine crystal stemware. We never deny ourselves fine wine.

One of the reasons I’ve been thinking about this so much lately is that sometime last week I walked into our master bathroom and saw if for the miserable dump it really is. For more than twenty years we’ve been living with this disgustingly outdated space just because we felt we couldn’t afford to do it right — which would be to blow out the wall and gut the space and start over from scratch. We have this minute 6’ × 9’ room that is likely the most disgusting space I’ve seen, aside from looking at old photos of the insides of the New York tenements during the turn of the 20th century. I’ll spare you all of the details. I’ve decided that I’m ready to take on this sow’s ear and I’m having great fun planning all of the details of what can be done with what we have. There will be a new toilet and floor and sink. Ah! A new project!

A new value to fulfi ll!

Another chance to make something out of nothing while enjoying the process and ending up with a functional space and another place to hang a valued and carefully chosen piece of art.

June–July 2009

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Robotman’s Energy Exchange

Session 3

by Rob Arteman NOTE: This has never happened before today! Goofenoff began as though no time had passed from our previous session almost a month ago my time!

I guess all time is really now! At that time, I had asked him if I had a future focus in the 23rd century named Buck!

Goofenoff: Continuing… Your focus in the 23rd century isn’t named Buck. However, we do understand your confusion. The name of that focus is Twobits which is 25 cents or one quarter of a Buck.

You are essentially an out-of-work super hero because individuals at this time are aware that they create all of their reality!

Robotman: What is my super ability?

Goofenoff: Belching! You are able to consume enormous amounts of alcohol, then project a gaseous release that when directed against perceived perpetrators causes them to lose consciousness from a lack of oxygen. The resulting wind burns also causes loss of body hair and scorching of clothing.

Robotman: Interesting! Would you share with me my essence tone and focus tone?

Goofenoff: Assessing… essence tone ‘A’ minor… focus tone… flatulent bumble bee trapped in a medal drum with its stinger dragging across a chalkboard!

Therefore, remaining within the alignment of these expressed beliefs, we can perceive that it may be beneficial within the present to alter the so-called past expression viewed to be responsible for the trauma and align with a probable past where the trauma did not occur. In so doing, the expressed beliefs may allow the present trauma to dissipate.

Now, while this is indeed possible, with the energy you express presently, you’d screw it up! Let us express a more specific example.

Within your perceived past, you studied a very physically expressed activity you refer to as karate. With this past expression you break your nose. You attempt to convince friends and family that you received this broken nose from a fight with another individual, however the expressed truth is you stumbled over your belt while attempting to tie it and walk at the same time!

Now, within the present, this injury appears to continue to be effecting.

Now, within this present moment, we ask that you slap your face quite firmly.

Robotman: OOPS, I seemed to have missed on the first try here… WACK… OUUUUCH… Ummmm success!

Robotman: Hmmmm… sounds like a beat difficult to dance to! No wonder I have no rhythm.

Also, a very, very, VERY good friend…

Goofenoff: Do it again, however this time use a large book.

Goofenoff: Gum on shoe!

Goofenoff: NO!

Robotman: Okay… yeah right… what I meant to say was this really cool, hot lady that puts up with me from time to time, asked me to talk with you regarding changing probable past experiences.

Robotman: WACK! OWWWWWW! That REALLY hurt! I didn’t have a book handy, so I substituted a three ring binder and one of the rings snagged a nose hair.

Is this possible and if so, how would we be successful in doing so?

Goofenoff: While this is not possible due to there being no past, I am understanding the intent behind the question. While you are conceptually aware that all time is now, you continue to express the beliefs and their influences that time is linear. Therefore, our discussion with you will align with this.

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If we examine one possible example of the expressed beliefs regarding a, so to speak, past physical trauma, we can, quite easily, perceive how certain beliefs influence perception of this trauma continuing presently, even though it appears to have happened within one probable past experience.

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Robotman: Should I read it first?

Goofenoff: Now, go to your shed and retrieve an axe— just kidding! So, within this present moment, you feel pain from the perceived past broken nose and the present self infl icted abuse correct?

Robotman: Yeah.

Goofenoff: Now, within your present moment you can easily view that the abuse you presented to yourself and the pain which continues will dissipate on its own if you discontinue to be hitting yourself further, correct?

Robotman: Yes!

Goofenoff: Correct! You perceive your body to heal itself for many types of simple traumas. However, there are some that you classify as being much more difficult. There is no difference! Your physical form would have no difficulty returning to its natural expression from any expressed trauma, if you moved your attention away from recreating that trauma within any moment.

Goofenoff: Now you also perceive that the two experiences are quite different and yet they are not. The broken nose and the red, swollen cheeks are the same. Your expressed beliefs influence your perception which allow you to experience them as being different and that is the point. You do not question your ability to discontinue the discomfort created by your recent unsolicited attack upon yourself. (Laughs) However, you posses the same ability to discontinue the discomfort from the broken nose in the same manner. You simply believe that they are different and must be addressed differently. There is NO DIFFERENCE! Therefore, if you do not need to align with a different probable recently expressed past expression for your fat lip, there is no need to align with another probable past expression simply because they appear to be quite different. Do you understand?

Robotman: So how would I go about doing that? I can easily see that putting the three ring binder away will help with the one expression, but I’m not seeing how to go about addressing the broken nose?

Robotman: I think so… your saying that I can put the axe away right? Okay, so, what I perceive to be a chronic problem is not the result of some past expression or experience?

Robotman: So, what about a physical scar. That was created by a past experience was it not?

Goofenoff: Do you still have the axe? (He laughs) In the moments that you are not experiencing pain from your nose and you are not directing your attention to your nose, it is healed. At those times when you are experiencing pain in that area, you allow your attention to align with the beliefs that it is due to the so-called past experience. What you are actually doing is creating something completely different and applying your definition that it is the same or similar enough to be caused by the past experience.

This is not correct. Each expression within each now moment is a completely new creation no matter how you choose to define it.

Goofenoff: What your mother described to you as scar tissue is in fact, your love twinkie! This was an attempt on her part to keep you from messing with it for fear of making the scar worse.

Now, in terms of true scar tissue, your scientists have discovered ointments which can reduce or eliminate them within the present. Your science creates these types of expressions, which in actuality become focal points for your attention and trust. You have these abilities without them.

However, many times you allow yourselves greater flexibility in terms of trust using these focal points.

Here you can see how strongly expressed beliefs surrounding scar tissue being near absolute in permanence, can be altered within the present in the manner you’d expect from requiring an alignment with an alternate probable past expression.

Therefore, your desire to align with a different probable past where your mother did not mistake you for a basketball while attempting to show your older brother the proper way to dribble, is unnecessary. The imbecells that were knocked into consciousness from that experience can be addressed within this now without any alteration of an illusionary past!

Robotman: So how exactly would I accomplish this?

Goofenoff: Very well, 1.21 GigaWatts of electricity!

Click…

AAAH man! He hung up again before finishing the details for building the flux capacitor!

June–July 2009

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The Pink House • photography by Bernadette Jones

AN INCIDENT OF

TIME TRAVEL

by Faro King I time traveled last night while sitting right here in front of my computer. The incident has disoriented me and has left me still feeling the weird disembodied, “half in and half out” of reality, an after-effect of astral travel.

This incident occurred while I was researching a story that I am writing about a friend from childhood. At some point I realized that I didn’t have a picture of our house or the neighborhood where we had lived. I decided to try and take a look at the old stomping grounds by using “Google Earth.” It didn’t take long to find our old homeplace via Google.

It is said that “you can’t go home again”,… but last night I did just that. I went “home,” back to a house where my family had lived, and I discovered that my parents were still there.

By using “Google Earth” I found the exact neighborhood and house that I am currently researching for a story I am writing. Thanks to the Google mapping vehicle, on Google Earth, (at certain places — not all locations are accessible by the Google Earth car) you can zoom in to an extreme close-up and go right up to the door, window or garage of a house or business and “go inside” — up to a point.

As I have read, at some places some individuals who have been captured by the Google car, engaged in all activities imagined.

When I zoomed in on the driveway at my former home, I suddenly found myself standing there looking at the place where my mother and my father had parked their vehicles for so many years. Items that my dad had built for us were still standing as we had left them when we moved away, and they were in excellent condition. By zooming around via Google, I could even see the little passageway in the brick planter where my mother and I used to sit and talk after supper every night when the weather was agreeable. I imagined that I could even smell the coffee she would take outside with her at night after dinner.

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In the back yard, the clothesline poles which my father installed nearly 35 years ago were still standing and when I saw them, I actually called out to my dad to come and look at it. I could feel him near me. My father passed away in 1995 but it felt so real to me that he would be there. It seemed very sweet that the house and yard had been maintained so well for all those years since we had lived there. The house has an aura of love.

I somehow got inside the house from the carport, and everything seemed as it did when we all lived there. I turned around to talk to my dad about the flagstone patio and cabana, and suddenly became very dizzy and disoriented. Then everything seemed to start to move away from me, and for a moment I was both places at once. I was HERE and THERE also.

Then I noticed my computer sitting in front of me and did not know what it was, or how to use it. It was a mystery to me what it was for a few minutes. I wondered “what is the TV doing here?” Then, the other place faded out and I was here, back home. The energies of the two places are NOT the same. When I was over there visiting, the light seemed just as it did when I died in surgery a few years ago and went flying to a golden meadow where I was turned back.

June–July 2009

While at the Google location, I did not SEE my folks, but I could hear them in the next room, talking and laughing. I could smell coffee and cake and hear the television playing. I could see some energy ripples in the atmosphere as my mother moved around in the next room… this is one of the most powerful out-of-body experience I have had in a while.

The year that I visited my old home via Google would have been 1980 or 1981, so I would have been eleven or twelve years of age. I did note that after this took place, these back spasms diminished in frequency and strength. I was able to have a day that was nearly pain free.

There may be a drawback to going back in our own time… and that might be changing our futures in ways that we would not like, such as missing having our families.

I know for me that would be a tragedy, as I love my family with all my heart. But on the other side of that proverbial coin, you would not miss what you never had, and no one would be the wiser.

How can these infinite number of pieces Come together in single form With seamless fits of ignited passions Welded by the unseen and unknown Where do these bits and fragments Find foundation in something called home While cast across the cosmic generations Still perfectly resonant in tone The harmony of existence Sounded from the silent stone Peels like a bell calling our name To remember our infinite differences The same Reconstructs The un-fractured mosaic

Tamara

Villa Mosaica (La Línea de la Concepción, Spain) photography by Tracy Marshall

June–July 2009

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The Stem Cell Function • Embedding of the life force, potentials, intent, desire of expansion and exploration, will to manifest ones potentials, growth.

Families • Ilda, Sumafi, Milumet, Vold Significance • This tile represents all the potentials of consciousness, present yet unexpressed. It has the ability to grow and multiply, divide itself and create differentiated or specialized cells in order to generate the desired manifestation of exploration. As it expands, it creates connections and associations. It has also been designed to contain all the necessary encoded information and the inner knowledge of how to use it.

Despite the many divisions and the changes to express the potentials, the cells retain the knowledge of the Stem Cell and its sense of self, it is directed by the energy currents originating from the Stem Cell, the original Intent. It is, in a manner of speaking, the “mother” of all the cells in your body and symbolizes all that you can accomplish. It has in itself all of the aspects and qualities of consciousness; you just have to allow it to express your intent.

In order to accomplish that, the Stem Cell has the ability to seek out connections with temporary projections of its membrane —its pseudopods. It looks for the necessary material for its growth and development, absorbs what it needs to express its potentials.

It is the symbol of the mass having its root in the individual.

Tile of the Month

by Jean-Baptiste Duret This month’s tile has a lot to express.

Allow its meaning to grow with you as you learn about it and connect with it more deeply.

Interpretation • The design of the tile is a stylized representation of a stem cell, with the nucleus in the center which contains the encoded information necessary for the physical expression of the potentials. The pseudopods or tentacles are also similar to those of the sea anemone. The tendril on the upper part was formed to help the cell attach itself to its support, find a ground from which it would grow.

It is also a representation of how we create our universe through our awareness and our explorations; space is created as we are expanding our awareness of it.

In a manner of speaking, the tentacles and pseudopods are connected with the exploration of all probabilities. They are also connected with the different senses (physical and nonphysical).

As an advice • Whenever you find this tile, it is the occasion to acknowledge your potentials and your abilities. Examine your intent and your motivations. What are the qualities that you express and that shape your experiences and your explorations? Take your time and hold in your energy; let it explore for you, let it attract for you what will help express yourself to your full potential. It is an encouragement to follow your flow and accept the changes to expand your life, explore new areas that you never dared imagine before. In exploring, you will create connections and express the particular meaning of your life.

First appearance • April 2009 Other connections • sea anemone, octopus, squid, amoeba, shape-shifter, jellyfish, neuron, links of consciousness

find more on the tiles at jorid.elikozoe.net

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Spiral Galaxy NGC 3370, Home to Supernova Seen in 1994 • Hubble picture, NASA

An Emerging Science

Holds The Promise Of Understanding and Explaining Our Place In The Universe

by Reginald Martin • http://reginaldc.me

For centuries, scientist, philosophers and theologians have wrestled with the idea of our existence. Western science has locked in on one aspect of our existence and that is all things are experienced through our five senses.

Theologians have been left to view our existence outside our five senses and beyond this life. Philosophers have been able to ponder both worlds of science and theology to try and make sense of it all. Many times a philosophical revelation was condemned by the scientific community and the theological community.

Philosophy has pondered many questions that neither science nor theology could answer.

However, there appears to be a major change on the horizon. An entirely new field of science is developing because of so many discoveries in the scientific field of quantum physics.

This new and emerging field of science is called Biocentrism. This new science holds the promise of changing how we view our universe, our world, our selves and our reality.

A whole new way of viewing our world So what is this new field of science about?

If we look at the current scientific views of our existence they say that the universe we live in is in an objective, independent state of existence. The universe and everything in it exists in an absolute sense before anything is measured. In other words, the universe and our world happen whether we are in it or not. All stimuli are outside of the human body. However, since the 1920’s and the advent of quantum mechanics this view has changed. Physicists now understand and know that electrons in an atom exist in a cloud of probabilities until it is observed. When the atom is observed the electrons in the cloud become an identifiable component of the atom at a specific time and place. In other words, the electron is everywhere until we look at it; then it can be seen in a particular spot. Another way of looking at this is that the singular electron did not exist until the observer looked for it. Until the observer

looked it was in a cloud of probable points.

The observer then changed the probability of a point into reality when they consciously decided to observe it. The new field of biocentrism is acknowledging the observer in the equations of the workings of our universe.

are we inside the universe or is the universe inside us?

Not only is it acknowledging the observer, biocentrism says that without the observer the universe would not exist! Biocentrism says, “The universe is created by life and not the other way around.” More specifically, consciousness creates our universe! On an atomic level this has been understood for years: the presence of an observer has an effect on the experiment. Now scientists are asking why not on the human scale? The Ancients have said as above, so below. It is the Universal Law of Correspondence. If consciousness has an effect on an atom, then consciousness has to have an effect on a human. The human consciousness has an effect on the world around it.

Philosophers have said for centuries that the universe is mental. In ancient Egypt Hermes Trismegistus stated that the universe is a mental creation of THE ALL. In the Bible Proverbs 23:7 says “as a man thinks so is he.” You have probably heard Frenchman René Descartes and his famous Latin edict, “Cogito ergo sum,” translated “I think therefore I am.” Now modern science is coming back around to what the Ancients understood and that is the world we see on the outside is created from the inside of ourselves.

Sugar, Butter, eggs and flour will not spontaneously make cake In discovermagazine.com an article titled The Biocentric Universe Theory: Life creates time, space, and the cosmos itself, states “the farther we peer into space, the more we realize that the nature of the universe cannot be understood

fully by inspecting spiral galaxies or watching distant supernovas. It lies deeper. It involves our very selves.” This is going to be a totally new paradigm in science. For so long science has ignored any data that could not be ascertained through our physical senses. The problem for science is that we are more than physical. Medical science is still grappling with this fact. The healing power of the body is mostly ignored in favor of chemical treatments to disease. Of course many of the pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in keeping us drugged up. Inventing a pill that would cure a disease is not as profitable as a pill that has a maintenance schedule. Psychological science still attempts to have the mind defined and located in the physical brain. Theologically speaking, to think that God created the universe from the smallest particle or wave to the billions and billions of stars that inhabit it solely for the purpose of one planet and a few select groups of people (name the religion) to have dominion over is beyond arrogance and egotism. From an atheistic view, to believe that nothing greater than our selves exist and that we just happened here by luck or a role of the dice is as equally arrogant and egocentric.

That type of thought implies we can put butter, flour, sugar and eggs next to each other and spontaneously cake will form in a billion years or so.

A biocentric scientific view holds the possibility that we will explore the totality of our being, the physical as well as our consciousness.

This will in turn open doors to new ways of thinking about how we affect the universe and our own lives. We are creators. God is not outside of us waiting to pounce and punish. We create our reality from the inside out. Science is on board now. Are you willing to open your mind to the possibility that you can change your world, your reality by your thoughts?

I would be interested in your thoughts and comments. Remember, you are a soul having a human experience.

Are you a brave soul?

June–July 2009

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Photography by Aimee Stem

The intention of WISP is to provide a place for personal stories; inspirational, light, humorous, challenging or anything in between… and beyond.

We would welcome any kind of personal writing, artistic works, poems, essays, etc.

Find previous issues and all published stories on our website…

http://wisp.focusphere.net Wisp e-zine — Issue #12 — June–July 2009

ISSN 1760-4796 — No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher