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 In past newslog entries, I have noted that several people have written about depression. There are alot of discussions as to just exactly what depression is. Is it a biochemical imbalance - a deficiency of serotonin? Or is it perhaps a spiritual affliction? Or could it be one of a myriad of other paradigms? Which of these views is valid? In any case, this weekend, I had a few insights and experiences which came out of my own visit from the depression demons. I hope that these insights can be of benefit to others who are also visited by the curse of depression. More >
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 This weekend, Gwyn and I got a chance to go see the new Harry Potter movie. And it is fastastic. More >
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In the last day or two, a number of people have written and posted - with some very positive vibes. Thank you.
One of the things that I sense from what people have written is that there is alot of healing and recovery going on. A few weeks ago I sensed alot of angst "out there". Now the sense is one of recovery and healing - that many are climbing out of the hole of difficulty - or moving beyond whatever was at issue at the time.
It is as if the collective/aggregate were pausing, recovering, centering, and catching the breath before moving on to the next thing that awaits. More >
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 In the last article about the MN state Democratic convention, I described the electricity that I felt, the sense of sweeping change. There was the sense that the old ways no longer work, and that it's time to replace them with the new.
One of the most important things that I noticed was just exactly where in the party this energy was - it was with the Kucinich campaign. It is indeed time to change. At all levels. Truly the old ways no longer work. But just exactly who's old ways are we talking about? More >
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 Note: this is the first of two postings on my adventures and misadventures within the state Democratic party machine. This one is a very positive posting and describes the sense of optimism and the powerful winds of change that we all felt there.
The next one will look at some of the issues that I saw, and more about how change is needed. More >
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 Hi All,
A very dark episode in the whole cold fusion story is just now unfolding. Apparently Dr. Eugene Mallove was killed a few days ago under what appears to be very suspicious circumstances.
Click here for details. More >
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In the last week or two, I have heard more and more people tell me how they feel an increasing level of anxiety, depression and overall gloom. I have wondered if it was simply the weird weather we have had this spring, or if there is something else afoot. However in the last couple of days I too have felt this same sense - a perception of "gathering darkness". More >
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Last weekend, I attended the local DFL (Democratic-Farm-Labor party, the Democratic party in Minnesota) convention, where we selected delegates to the state and congressional-district conventions. Politics is always a fascinating thing both to participate in, and to observe, and this time was no exception. At this convention, I noted some very interesting dynamics between the people involved. More >
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 According to traditional Christian teachings, the season of Lent is one of preparation and austerity. It is a time when the faithful prepare for the tragedy of the Cross, and the promise of the Resurrection. I thought about this in a slightly different way this morning, as I looked out the window at a gray March sky.
The first word that entered my mind, to describe the morning, was that very term, "austere". It was a bleak, blustery sky, with a cold wind out of the north. There were a few flakes of snow floating in the air. The brief flicker of spring warmth seemed to have been snuffed out by the chill resurgence of winter, a reminder that winter was not finished yet.
I have never considered myself a traditional follower of any religion, even though I was raised a Lutheran. But I was taught all the traditional teachings - including those about Lent. And somehow this day seemed to perfectly echo the traditional lenten theme - a time of sparseness and of preparation for the challenge and the hope that lies ahead.
I had been sick for most of Friday and Saturday, with a roaring sinus infection. It had forced me to miss a day of work at a time when our project is at it's busiest. It had also forced me to miss the monthly Minnisota MUFON UFO investigators meeting. And thus, I was not be able to give the talk I had put together (those who know me, will know that thngs have to be pretty extreme for me to miss a MUFON meeting... :-) ... ). All in all, it was a less than pleasant turn of events from what had eariler promised to be a fun and interesting weekend.
The day on Saturday was instead spent mostly asleep. When awake, it was occupied with sipping echinachea tea and trying not to feel too disappointed at the turn of events. It was a time of trying to stay focused in the present moment - and I realized that perhaps, this was the lesson that the Universe was trying to teach me on this day.
Maybe the point of the day was the necessity of avoiding attachment to outcomes. Maybe the lesson was once again, that of mindfulness. It was one of those lessons that each of us can espouse so easily, especially after reading books such as Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now". Yet when the chips are down, it can be so hard to actually put this wisdom into practice. Perhaps, I decided, the Universe felt that once again, I needed yet another lesson in how to be Mindful - and so this one came in the form of a sinus infection and a missed UFO investigators' meeting.
The next day, Sunday, I felt alot better - still a bit cruddy, but at least passably human. I managed to drain my sinuses by means of a hot shower (a small portable Roto-Rooter would have been nice), to eat breakfast and to get ready for Church. The sky was gray and depressing outside, and closely matched my mood. A very gray cloud hung over this human as he got dressed and ready.
A short time later, having eaten breakfast, Gwyn and I were off to church - with me looking forward to my usual nap during the sermon :-). But today, I was captured by the message in an entirely different way. The sermon was on Lent - a very brief(!) talk by the minister on the emptiness that seems to come in preparation for the Christian holy days. I smiled as the gears started turning in my mind (and as this article began to take shape).
One key point was that the time of preparation, then of pain, ends up as a time of resurrection and of hope. The master theme of the story is just this - that what, at one moment, may seem to be the most hopeless, can actually turn out to be our greatest joy. And this was the message that got my attention. And as the service ended, and a brief social hour began, my spirits felt trememdously uplifted by this thought.
As we stepped out of church and headed off to our next destination, a nearby lunch counter for after-church coffee and conversation, I noticed that the clouds had begun to part. The sun shone through the breaking cloud deck. Blue sky was starting to replace the gray of the morning. To me, it was as if somehow God was accenting the message I had just heard, that after darkness and gray comes hope and light.
I looked up at the sunburst and smiled as we got into the car. Life in the present moment can truly be sunny and beautiful. More >
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 This evening, Gwyn and I attended a choir concert put on by the Jamestown College choir. This was a program of mideival through 19th century Russian-German religious music, presented at our church in Minneapolis. This choir has got to be one of the best I've heard in a long time. The music, sung both in German and in English, triggered the imagination and gave me somewhat of a feel of being a 19th century Russo-German.
The Russian-Germans were a protestant group of economic and religious refugee/settlers from Germany, who set up a series of religious settlements in Russia in the 19th century. They developed a very fertile musical heritage that carries through to this day. It was carried to the USA in the late 19th and early 20th century, and is prominent in the Dakotas and the Canadian plains provinces. Alas, the group that remained in Russia apparently ended up coming to grief during the Stalin era, when many of them perished. To read the blerb about their history in the program, and then listen to the music the choir sang, gave me an eerie, often sad sense of history.
It was very intersting to attend this concert, in the context of having attended the SF/Fantasy convention a few days before. In both, I got a sense of being in another place and time. It was a similar sense, even though the places and times were very much different. And yet, as I mentioned in the previous article, on the MarsCon SF Convo, at times there was a rennaisance fair flavor to some of it. So in that sense, the feeling was familiar, although nowhere near identical.
What this concert did show to me once again, was the hauntingly beautiful power that music can have to transport us to another place and time - be it past, present or future. More >
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Exploring the emerging consciousness, the Universal Mind and the coming changes - as well as other general stuff... |
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I had been looking for some time for an on-line forum and collaboration site, and I think that at last I have found it. My hats off to the innovators, creators and maintainers of this site. This e-place is wonderful. |
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