LOVELIGHT
magazine
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February 2009***Vol. 6, no.2
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Managing Editors: Adamaria Francis and a Franciscan Taoist
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Special thanks to, and public acknowledgment of, the following contributors to this issue: Dave Barry, Jeremy Bentham, Barbara Baty, Jim Dwyer, Maureen Dwyer, Chris Finer, Funny Times, Mick Gallagher, Daniel Kurtzman, Raymond Lesser, Chuck Shepherd, Cherigene Slaughter, and Dennis Spencer
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LOVELIGHT
MAGAZINE: WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT
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aid you to feel good!:) If you are
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PEOPLE NOT TAKING THEIR MEDS: A LITTLE MORE PATIENCE, PLEASE!
From
the Funny Times:
In an article entitled, "The Great Depression Goes Off Its Meds," in the February 2009 edition, Raymond Lesser writes that dispensed prescriptions for antidepressant meds have recently dropped by 29%. Are people less depressed? Probably not; But in the wake of great economic stresses, many simply cannot afford to get their meds. People are actually "made crazier" by the New Depression.
This is "the tightest prescription market" in decades. "Cash-strapped" people are starting to "skip their pills." Drugstores are getting so desperate that they are actually calling customers. If patients die, stores will have a huge overinventory.
An npr poll found that one in four Ohioans have collection agencies after them! The most common reason? "Unpaid health-bills."
People, understandably, prefer to buy food and feel down than to starve while feeling better! A huge economic "bubble" has appeared in the anti-depressant market: In 1993, sales totaled two billion dollars; by 2007, they had reached twelve! Last year, 237 million prescriptions for antidepressants were dispensed!
Ironically, the pills might have contributed to the economic collapse; for investors were often exuberantly optimistic, perhaps under the influence of these prescription-meds. Investors might simply have been "high"! Their natural balance between greed and fear might have been upset. "Wall Street traders began popping Prozac" and related psychotropics. This made them "fearless" (read "careless").
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GIGGLES AND CHUCKLES: HUMORTHERAPY
From the Funny Times, February 2009:
Dave Barry says that the Economic Stabilization Act of twenty-oh-eight stabilized the economy for "approximately 2.7 seconds, after which it resumed going down the toilet."
John McCain, in the presidential debates, was said to look and act like "Walter Brennan."
During one conference, the executives of the three big automakers in the U.S. shamelessly flew to Washington, D.C. in three separate corporate jets in order to beg for money! They asked for $25 billion to continue to "make cars that Americans are not buying."
In space, a hi-tech toilet went askew, and an astronaut attempted to repair the multibillion-dollar space-station. But he accidentally let go of a $100,000 tool-bag, and it drifted away, taking with it a special washer that cost $17,000 with it! NASA plans to hire a "space-plumber" who "charges $38 million an hour"!
BUSH: YET ANOTHER GREAT SHAME!
Daniel Kurtzman writes about bush: "In his parting words at his final G8 Summit, president bush ended a private meeting with world leaders by saying, "Good-bye from the world's biggest polluter"! He then grinned widely, like an idiot. All the others were shocked at this behavior, in which the pres made fun of the world's most challenging problem!
Chuck Shepherd writes about Michelle Allen, a woman from Middletown, Ohio, who was dressed in a fullbody cowsuit in her mugshot.
Phillippia Faust of Atlanta, Georgia,, offered $10,000 for any engaged couple who had abstained from sex, and who planned to do so until the wedding. She had no takers!
REAL SLAPSTICK. A 49-year old man had the bright idea of using a forklift to steal an atm and drop it from a fifty-foot cliff, breaking it open. But both crook and forklift-loader, and the atm all crashed together, falling ingloriously from the height!
The Great American Insurance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, refused to pay death-benefits for several office-workers in an office-fire. The argument of the greedy company was that, since the workers had died from smoke-inhalation, they had not died "from fire," but from "air-pollution"!
***
CHRISTMAS RUINED BY COMPLAINING, sent in by Mick Gallagher
December 8: The first snow of the season tumbled down from the sky, and my wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes
drift down from heaven. It was so romantic that we felt like newlyweds again. We love snow!
December 9: We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the whole world? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had! Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon, the snowplow covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life!
December 12: The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment! No snow on Christmas would be a bummer!
December 14: Lovely snow! Eight inches. The temperature dropped to 20 below. The cold makes everything sparkle. The wind took my breath away, but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back and buried everything again. I didn't realize that I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish that I wouldn't huff and puff so!
December 15: Twenty inches forecast. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for my wife's car, and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. My wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out. That's silly!
December 16: Ice storm. Fell on the ice in the driveway putting
down salt. Hurt like mad! My wife laughed for an hour, which I think was
very cruel.
December 17: Still way below freezing. Roads too icy to go anywhere. Electricity off for five hours. Had to pile the blankets on. Nothing to do but stare at my wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought that wood stove, but won't admit it. I hate it when she's right! Freezing to death in my own living room!
December 20: Electricity's back on, but had another 14 inches of the horrible white stuff last night. More shoveling! Took all day! Snowplow came by twice. Tried to find neighbor kid to shovel, but too busy playing hockey! I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower, and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob said I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.
December 22: My neighbor Bob was right about a white Christmas: thirteen more inches of the white stuff fell today; and it's so cold, it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel; and then I had to pee. By the time that I got undressed, and dressed again, I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob, who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter, but he says he's too busy. I think he's lying.
December 23: Only two inches of snow today. It warmed up to 0. My wife wanted me to decorate the house. What is she-- nuts? Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says that she did; but I think she's lying.
December 24: Six inches. Snow packed so hard by snowplow, I broke shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the Neanderthal who drives that snowplow, I'll drag him through the snow and beat him to death with my broken shovel! I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling; and then he comes at one hundred miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been! Tonight, my wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the snowplow.
December 25: Merry frickin' Christmas! Twenty more inches of the white (now gray) slop tonight. Snowed in! The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. I hate the snow! Then, the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation; I hit him over the head with my shovel. My wife says that I have a bad attitude. I think she's a frickin idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.
December 26: Still snowed in. Why did I ever move here? It was all HER idea.
She's really getting on my nerves.
December 27: Temperature dropped to 30 below and pipes froze; plumber came after 14 hours of waiting; charged me "only" $1,400 to replace all pipes.
December 28: Warmed up to above 20 below. Still snowed in. The witch is driving me crazy!
December 29: Ten more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in.
That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?
December 30: Roof caved in. I beat up the snowplow driver, and now he is suing me for a million dollars, not only for the beating, but also for trying to hit him with the broken snow shovel! My wife went home to her mother. Nine more inches predicted.
December 31: Set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.
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PAINFUL MISDIAGNOSIS, sent in by Cherigene Slaughter
During the service, the minister
asked whether anyone would like to express praise for prayers which had been answered.
A lady said, "I have a reason
to thank the Lord.
Two months ago, my husband had a
terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating!"
You could hear an audible gasp from the men as they imagined the pain!
She continued, "He was unable to hold me or the children and every
move caused him terrible pain. We prayed
as the doctors performed a delicate operation. They were able to piece together the crushed remnants of
Jim's scrotum and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."
Again, the men squirmed
uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery!
She continued, "Now, he's out of the hospital; and the doctors say that, with time, his scrotum should recover completely." All the men sighed with relief.
One man rose and said, "I'm her husband, and I would like to tell my wife, the word
is 'sternum!'"
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WHY?: INQUIRIES ABOUT EVERYDAY STUFF, sent in by Barbara Baty
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Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know
the batteries are almost dead?***Why do banks charge a fee on 'insufficient
funds' when they know that there is already not enough money?***Why does
someone believe you when you say there are a thousand million stars in
our galaxy, but have to check when you say the paint is still wet?***Why
doesn't Tarzan have a beard?***Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest,
but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?***Why do Kamikaze pilots wear
helmets?***Whose idea was it to put an 'S' in the word 'lisp'?***If people
evolved from apes, why are there still apes?***Why is it that no matter
what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?***Is there ever
a day when mattresses are not on sale?***Why do people constantly return
to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have
materialized?***Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with
their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it
down to give the vacuum one more chance?***Why is it that no plastic bag will
open from the end on your first try?***How do those dead bugs get into
enclosed light fixtures?***When we are in the supermarket and someone rams
our ankle with a shopping cart, then apologizes for doing so, why do we say,
"It's alright"? Well,
it isn't alright, so why don't we say, "That really hurt; why don't you
watch where you're going"?***Why is it that whenever you attempt to
catch something that's falling off the table, you always knock over something
else?***In winter, why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in
summer, when we complained about the heat?***How come you never hear
father-in-law jokes?***The statistics on sanity: one out of every four
persons is suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three
best friends -- if they're okay, then it's you. |
WORDS BY WHICH TO THINK AND LIVE, sent
in by Barbara Baty
"Life moves
pretty fast. If you don't stop and
look around once in a while, you could miss it."-- F. Bueller
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" Some stories don't have a clear
beginning, middle, and end. Life
is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and
making the best of it, without
knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious
ambiguity."--Gilda Radnor
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"Be ready to change
your mind, or your mind will
change you."-- Henry
Wilson
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"We live in a fantasy world of
illusion. The great task of life
is to find reality."--
Iris Murdoch
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"You can always count on the U.S. to
do the right thing -- once it has exhausted the
alternatives."-- Winston
Churchill
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"It's good sense to take a method and
try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.
But, above all, try something."-- Franklin Delano Roosevelt
***
"We must take change by the hand
or change will take us by the throat."-- Winston Churchill
***
"Don't dwell on your mistakes;
get it right the next time."-- Kirk Speraw
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HARRY TRUMAN
VERSUS TODAY'S LEECHES, sent in by Jim Dwyer
Harry Truman made as
many important decisions re our nation's history as any of the
other presidents. A measure of his
greatness might rest on what he did after he left the White House.
The only asset he had when he died was the house in which he had
lived in Independence, Missouri. His wife had inherited the house from her mother. And, other than their years in the
White House, they lived their entire lives there.
When he retired from office in 1952, his income was a U.S.
Army pension of $13,507.72 a year.
After Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess drove home
to Missouri by themselves. There were no Secret Service following them.
When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he
declined, stating, "You don't want me. You want the office of the president, and that doesn't
belong to me. It belongs to
the American people, and it's not for sale."
Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award
him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept
it, writing, "I don't consider that I have done anything which
should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise."
As president, he had paid for all of his own travel expenses
and food.
Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in
on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth. [Bush hid millions.] Today, many in Congress also have found a way to become
quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices. Political offices are now for
sale.
Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, "My
choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or
a politician. And, to tell
the truth, there's hardly any difference."
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SMALL WHITE ENVELOPE, sent in by Jim Dwyer
An envelope stuck in the branches of our Christmas tree. No identification. It has peeked through the branches for
the past 10 years.
It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas -- not the true
meaning, but the commercial aspects-- overspending, frantic running around at
the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and dusting powder for Grandma. He hated the gifts given in desperation
because you couldn't think of anything else.
Knowing this, I decided to bypass the usual gifts, and reached for
something special.
Our son Kevin, who was twelve, was wrestling at the junior level at
school. There was a non-league
match against another team sponsored by an inner-city church. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so
ragged that shoestrings seemed to hold them together, presented a sharp
contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new
wrestling shoes. As the match
began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear,
a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a "luxury" the ragtag
team could not afford.
We ended up walloping them. We took every weightclass. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered
around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't
acknowledge defeat.
Mike shook his head sadly. "I
wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this
could take the heart right out of them."
Mike loved kids-- all kids-- and he knew them, having coached more than
once.
That's when the idea for his gift came. An assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes was purchased
in his name; they were sent anonymously to the inner-city church.
On Christmas Eve, an envelope was placed on the tree, the note inside
telling Mike this was his gift. His
smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding
years. For each Christmas, the tradition was followed-- one year sending a
group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check
to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week
before Christmas, etc. The
envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning, and
our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation
as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but
the envelope never lost its allure.
And the story doesn't end there. We lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was
still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an
envelope on the tree, and in the morning it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the
others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown; and, someday,
it will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree
with wide-eyed anticipation
watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the
true Christmas spirit this year and always.
******
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GOD LIVES
UNDER THE BED , sent in by Maureen Dwyer
My brother Kevin believes that God lives under his bed. He was praying out loud in his
dark bedroom, and I stopped to listen, as he said, "Are
you there, God?' he said.
"Where are you? Oh, I
see. Under the bed."
I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room. Kevin's unique
perspectives are often a source of amusement. But that night something else lingered
long after the humor. I realized
for the first time the very different world
Kevin lives in. He was
born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties
during labor. Apart from his
size (he's 6-foot-2), there are few ways in which
he is an adult.
He
reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7-year-old, and
he
always will. He will
probably always believe that God lives under his bed,
that Santa Claus fills the space under
our tree every Christmas and that
airplanes
stay up in the sky because angels carry them.
I remember wondering whether Kevin realizes that he is different. Is he
ever
dissatisfied with his monotonous life? Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop
for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, return to
eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to
bed.
The only variation in the entire scheme is laundry, when he hovers excitedly
over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child. He does not seem dissatisfied: He lopes out to the bus every
morning at 7:05, eager for a day of simple work. He wrings his hands excitedly while the
water boils on the stove before dinner, and he stays up late
twice a week to gather our dirty laundry for his next day's
laundry chores.
And Saturdays-oh, the bliss of Saturdays! That's the day my Dad takes
Kevin
to the airport to have a soft drink, watch the planes land, and
speculate loudly on the destination of each passenger inside: "That one's goin' to Chi-car-go!"
Kevin shouts as he claps his hands.
His anticipation is so great that he can hardly sleep on Friday nights.
And so goes his world of daily rituals and weekend field
trips. He doesn't know what it
means to be discontented.
His life is simple. He will
never know the entanglements of wealth or power, and he does not care
what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats. His needs have always been met,
and he never worries that one day they might not be. His hands are diligent. Kevin is never so happy as when he
is working. When he unloads
the dishwasher or vacuums the carpet, his heart is completely
in it. He does not shrink
from a job when it is begun, and he does not leave a job
until it is finished. But when his
tasks are done, Kevin knows how to relax.
He is not obsessed with his work or the work of others. His heart is pure. He still believes that everyone tells
the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you
apologize instead of arguing.
Free from pride and unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not
afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry, or sorry. He is always transparent, always
sincere.
And he trusts God.
Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he
comes as a child. Kevin
seems to know God-- to really be friends with Her/ Him in a way that
is difficult for an "educated" person to grasp. God seems like
his closest companion and dearest friend.
In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy
the
security Kevin has in his simple faith. It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has
some divine knowing that rises above my mortal questions.
It is then that I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the
handicap . I am. My obligations, my fear, my pride,
my circumstances - they all become disabilities when I do not trust
them to God's care.
Who knows whether Kevin comprehends things I can never learn? After all, he has
spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark
and
soaking up the goodness and love of God. And one day, when the mysteries of
heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God
really is to our hearts, I'll realize that God heard the simple
prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed.
*****
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|
A GREAT RECIPE, sent in by Jim Dwyer 16. Frame every so-called "disaster"
with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"***17.
Forgive everyone for everything.***18. What other people think of you is none
of your business.***19. GOD heals everything-- but you have to ask Her/Him.***20.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change.***21. Your job won't take
care of you when you are sick. Your
friends will. Stay in
touch!***22. Envy is a waste of time.
You already have all that you need.***23. Each night before you go to
bed complete the following statements: "I am thankful for__________." "Today
I accomplished_________."***24. Remember that you are too blessed to be
stressed.***25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many
blessings. You'll be smiling
before you know it! ****** ***** |
MADE IN THE USA,
sent in by Maureen Dwyer
In our current economic situation, every little thing we buy ordo affects someone else's job. I think this lady is on the right track. Let's get behind her! She wrote:" This might seem like a funny email but I was so surprised by what I discovered, I had to share it with you. When I think of the job situation, I can't help but think this helps. If these were the only things we bought, think of the impact! This past weekend I needed 60 W light bulbs and Bounce dryer sheets. I was in the light bulb aisle; right next to the GE brand I normally buy was an off brand labeled "Everyday Value." I picked up both and compared the stats. They were the same except for the price. The GE bulbs cost more than the "Everyday Value" brand; but thething that surprised me was GE was made in Mexico, and the "Everyday Value" brand was made in the USA. So throw out the myth that you cannot find products you use every day that are made right here-- from a company in Cleveland Ohio! So on to another aisle - Bounce Dryer Sheets. Bounce was more money and made in Canada, the "Everyday Value" brand was less, and MADE IN THE USA! I did laundry yesterday; and the dryer sheets performedjust like the Bounce Free I have been using for years and at almost half theprice!********** COFFEE FILTERS, sent in by Chris Finer
Coffee filters-- who
knew? And you can buy 1,000 at
the Dollar Tree for a dollar.
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters
make excellent covers.***2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll
leave windows sparkling.***3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a
coffee filter between each two dishes.***4. Filter broken
cork from wine. If you break the
cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.***
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet.
Place a coffee filter in the skillet
to absorb moisture and prevent rust.***6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.***7.
Recycle frying oil. After
frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.***8. Weigh
chopped foods. Place chopped
ingredients in a coffee filter
on a kitchen scale.***9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy
foods.***10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot
with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.***11. Prevent a
Popsicle from dripping. Poke one
or two holes as
needed in a coffee filter.***12. Do you think we used expensive strips to
wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee
filters.***13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French
fries, chicken fingers, etc
on them. Soaks out all the
grease.***14. Keep in the bathroom.
They make great "razor nick fixers." (for
those of u shaving your legs or faces).
*****
*****
ON COMPASSION TOWARDS ANIMALS, sent in by Barbara Baty
An article by Jeremy Bentham:
There are some who believe in compassion towards all living
things.
Many of us have pets now or have had pets in the past, and we can
completely understand compassion towards animals. You wouldnÕt want to hurt your beloved pet, would you? Extend that empathy, compassion and
kindness to all other animals, including animals raised and killed for food,
clothing, or other such uses.
Most people donÕt make this connection, because food is seen as
food, not a living, feeling creature who might suffer. Most of us are very removed from this
suffering in modern life, as a whole series of steps have to be taken to get
the meat (or other product) from the living animal to our plates. Raising and
slaughtering the animal is done in another part of the world. Then the meat is
processed, packaged, packed, shipped, chopped, cooked, and served, depending on
the food.
If we could see first-hand the conditions that these animals live
in, how theyÕre treated, what theyÕre fed and shot up with, we might feel
differently. ItÕs not just the killing of an animal that causes suffering
(although often
itÕs done in very inhumane ways), but their living conditions from
birth to death.
Animals in our society are treated as non-living, non-feeling
objects, and yet they arenÕt. They suffer, just as we do.
Anyway, I wonÕt go on and on about this; I just wanted to bring it
up as a subject for consideration, thought, discussion. I know many of you will disagree, or
scoff, but at any rate I think itÕs a worthy topic, for anyone who cares about
compassion.
ÒThe greatness of a nation and its moral
progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.Ó—Gandhi
*****
*****
The Way of Compassion: Matrix-ideas
***
The Way of Compassion [1] is an integrated, cohesive pattern of thinking. It unites a wide, beautiful spectrum of thinkers from many cultures and centuries. [2] Its origins are lost in the mists of very ancient antiquity.
It is not a religion, but it contains most important spiritual ideas. [3] It differs from religion in that it has no prescribed formal Scriptures, no formal leadership, no doctrinal or dogmatic structure, and no clear exclusive historical connections with any of the world's religions.
This Way is commonly called "mysticism,"[4] a word that has been brutally abused.
Its voices range from the ancient to the modern, from Plato to Thomas Merton. Aldous Huxley popularized mysticism in his great modern mystical classic The Perennial Philosophy. The mystic is also a "psychonaut" (explorer of inner space). Mystical thinkers include the famous, and the unknown. Models of this Way include Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Patanjali, Al Hallaj, Solomon, and representatives of every great religious tradition.
But traditional religion has not been the warm bosom-buddy of the Way. The Way usually has stood as the unrelenting enemy of orthodoxy and traditionalism. It has been the enemy of organizationalism, institutionalism, hierarchy, and organized doctrine. Why?
Because it teaches that the most important thing in the universe is outside of all organization, all religion, all teachings, all Scriptures. This is Mind. Its advocates have been unbending free-lancers from its beginning, and organized systems do not like free-lancers messing up their tidy categories.
Mystics have always insisted uncompromisingly that "God" was not a "big daddy in the sky." [5] God, they said, was vast, enormous, immense Mind—of a truly incomprehensible giganticity, beyond all religions. So, it is fairly obvious why, in pointing out the insufficiencies of religion, mystics were never popular among religious people. Mystics also insisted that God was Love—Love plus nothing, and religionists always wanted a more authoritarian Chief, Manager, or Supervisor. They also wanted a more punitive "Parent."
Meanwhile, mystics insisted that Love was the highest component of Mind. Since God was Mind, then God was Love. But even the idea of "Love" has stirred up a hornet's nest! Some religion accepts it, in a dilute form, but many have not implemented it, in their history. Religion has done great good, and enormous evil!
Jan van Ruysbroeck (1293-1381) was a mystic. [6] He wrote, "When we go out in Love,... and die to allÉ ignorance,... then we are ... transformed." He made it very clear that Love is the transformative Power in life, not obedience to religion or conformity to dogma. This was a flash-point in mysticism. Mystics said that a person who had Love had already all that she needed—even without religion! For if God was Love, how could you "add to" Love?
John Tauler (1300-1361) was also a mystic.[7] He summed it up as, God "overflows in ineffable Love." This simple idea was the nuclear concept, the Matrix, of all mysticism; everything else orbited around it.
The Platonist Christian Thomas Traherne (1636-1674) also wrote mystically. [8] He said, "God's Love is the Fountain of all." In this, he agreed with all Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, and other mystics everywhere. The mystics of all traditions were the ones that the poet George MacDonald (1824-1905) had in mind when he wrote of "those that hold Love the only good in the world."
The very best in religion has always been precisely this incredibly powerful "Love" of mystics. Sadly, it has never been popularly translated into operation, or fully implemented. For the zenith of religion is spirituality. Spirituality is Love, and Love is mysticism. This is represented by religion's best people of peace-- their mystics.
This is another
matrix-idea of mysticism: What
matters in religion, said mystics, is much more than merely what you
believe. How you live dwarfs any intellectual beliefs. They
went so far as to say that beliefs were disposable, but living in kindness, goodness, and compassion
was not! God (ultimate Mind) does
not really care what you believe; He/She cares only about how you
live.
This is another matrix-idea: Truth is not a "group-effort." It is a personal journey of discovery. Mysticism appealed to the loner, or to the individualist and very independent thinker. Its very diaphanicity made it suspicious to the orthodox.
Another matrix-idea: Spirituality did not have to be joined with religion. The orthodox could not even conceive of a spiritual path that was stripped of the hierarchy, dogma, clergy, history, and Scripture. Yet mystics insisted on the healthy independence of the truly spiritual. This freaked out the orthodox! Even the Theologica Germanica (late 1300's), otherwise mystical in some ways, panicked at the thought of mystics being really independent.[9] The "flight of the alone to the Alone," as Dionysius (c. 500) had called it, was "dangerous," the book claimed, joining with fretful orthodoxy. The universe was scary, filled with "demons," "dragons," and "satan"! It was no place for na•ve, trusting "children."
Another matrix-idea: The cosmos was friendly! Mystics tried to be childlike, but not childish. They tried to follow the advice of Jesus, and live like the flowers and the birds, without worry, without controlling. They tried to cultivate "faith," which taught that there was already a Power that regulated everything.[10] And since that Power was Love, they had no reason to live in fear or worry. As Jesus said, "Never be anxious about the morrow."
In his famous words, "Lest ye be as little children, ye shall not see the Kingdom," the word used here was mistranslated. It meant, not "little children," but "nursing infants." To live like a "nursing infant" was to live completely without worry, concern, fear, or control. It was absolutely, totally, completely to relax, and to trust the Flow to carry you, even as a loving mother carries and cares for her nursing infant.
Another matrix-idea was that the material world was a dream. The mystics called the material world maya, an ancient word meaning "illusion." Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), speaking of personal contentment, wrote, "I am happy in a dream." God, as Lord Krishna, in the mystical classic The Celestial Song of God, [11] declares the cosmos to be a product of Mind, as does Jesus in the mystical Gospel of Thomas.[12] The image of the world as dream is also fundamental to the great mystical literature of India called the Upanishads, written from the eighth to the sixth centuries BCE. [13]
And there is simply no way to disprove that the world is a dream; for anything that you could do, you could also dream that you were doing! The writer C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) wrote, "I have called my material surroundings a 'stage-set.'"
Sometimes, we all get glimpses of the idea that everyday life is not absolutely real, especially when something incredibly horrific happens to us! For only a moment, we feel as if we are in a dream. Mystics say that this is a glimpse of Reality.
Mystics have another matrix-idea: They try to erase their personal desires, so that a higher Mind can work through them. We are taught to believe that life should be packed to overflowing with desires—that the more we desire, the happier we can be! But depression is the number one mental challenge in our society, affecting perhaps as many as twenty-five percent of us. Mystics say that there is no relationship between material wealth and happiness, and the stats seem to verify this. If desire does not create happiness, what about the absence of desire?
Mystics, who practice simplicity and renunciation (turning away from desire) have traditionally been extremely happy, joyful, and fulfilled beings! In fact, they are well known for their frequent references to joy, bliss, and even ecstasy! [14] But they have always taught that personal desire blocks interior Light.
Marguerite Porete (1250-1310) writes, "If she [the mystic] does any exterior thing, it is always without her self." In erasing and deleting personal desires, mystics go a step further, and try even to do away with their whole human identity. For they believe that, within the Mind, there lies a higher Self, a spiritual identity. This is a Mind of enormous wisdom, centuries-old, in the Unconscious. It is the "soul."
Instead of guiding her responses and all her actions, the mystic seeks a state of thoughtfree Mindclarity in which the greater Mind ("Tao") can operate through and within her. Again, Porete writes, "If God does His work in her, it is by Him in her, without her self..." "For she has nothing of her self."
She does not control every act by the conscious mind. Nor does she hold on to results. She works without "anxiety and doubt," and, "Works cease, when Love has her practice." For when Love takes over, she can simply relax into the great Flow, and let Love carry her, working through her. In this sense, the mystic is like a piece of driftwood being carried to its destination by an enormous river.
"She [the mystic] has no more any will, any longer than the dead." This does not mean that all will (desire) has been drained from her, but that all personal will has vanished. She wants only what Love wants. This is the "will of God."
God, or Love, "has by His Love transformed her into Love." Love is "the One in Whom she is melted and dissolved." "This is pleasing to Love, and the soul is Love."[15]
This is the greater Unconscious, or the soul. Deepest Mind (Spirit; God) exists within
it. St. John of the Cross (1542-1591) mentions how the soul "rests transformed in
God through Love."
And where is this Love-God? John answers, "God is always present in the soul.
"God will so communicate His supernatural Being to it [the soul] that it will appear to be
God Himself." Indeed, the soul is God, say mystics, "by participation." Catherine of
Genoa (1447-1510) wrote, "Myself is God, nor is any other self known to me except
God."
The continuous, consistent practice of Love actually begins to transform the soul into
Love, making it like God. Clement of Alexandria (C 150-215) wrote, "It is the greatest
of all lessons to know oneself. For if one knows oneself, one will know God. And, knowing God, that person will be made like God."
In time, this deeper Mind (Soulmind) begins to lose its definition, its boundaries, and merges indistinguishably with the deepest Mind (God or Spirit) [In many systems of
metaphysics )including some Christian and Jewish forms of mysticism), this soul is the "higher Self, or "Holy Spirit,"" and in spiritual psychology, the "deeper Self." But this "higher self" (Soul) is not the deepest Self; for that is God (pure Love).]
This is another matrix-idea: The soul is not "separate" from God. Both are Mind. The Soul, as a relatively "little" Mind, grows from the One, the great Mind.
Julian of Norwich (1342-1420) wrote "Between God and the Soul there is no 'between'." God is just a much deeper Mind. God is Lovemind; and, as the soul fills itself with Love, it more and more resembles the Lovemind until it actually becomes indistinguishable from It (Godmind). For soul, as Mind, is intrinsically "one" with Mind; and God is also Mind. So,
in Mind, they not only touch, but fuse, merge, and meld. The mystic is dissolved into great Mind like salt in water; she disappears into It.
The mystic Ruysbroeck (1293-1381) said, "What we behold, that we are." So, when the soul beholds the Allgood, the pure Mind, it has itself become pure Mind. But when it falls into the illusion of a "material" world of "physical" things, it is lost in that darkness.
For the Self is a Mind, not a body. The body, like the world, is only a dream within Mind.
The dreamnature of the world was implied by one of the desert fathers, Allois, who said, "I alone and God are in this world." Of the enlightened one, Brother Lawrence (1605-1691) wrote the same thing. Of the awakened, he says: "Only God and he are in
the world." Hindu mystics take it a step further: "Only God is in the world, for God is the world." If this is so, the entire world must be "good." Yet it is filled with horrors!
This is another
matrix-idea of mysticism: Despite
appearances, all the world is good.
The mystic assumes, not that the
world is flawed, but that her understanding might be. So, she must turn the mirror of analysis upon herself, and
ask about her "judgments"
Is the world horrible, or is the horror all within her mind? Is it possible that some things that
she calls "evil" might actually be good?
We get a clue from karma. This teaches that souls return to earth to learn lessons. Often, they must suffer terrible pains in order to learn never to inflict pain upon others. [16] This means, for example, that the rapist must reincarnate as a woman, or little girl, and become the "innocent" victim of his own crime. No other crime is more
hideously, nightmarishly repulsive and
ghastly; and no other "punishment" could ever "fit" this horrific violation!
From this higher perspective, the most evil and vile activities are seen as at least "educational." They exist, not in random, meaningless madness, but to teach the Soulmind. And what is being taught? The Way of Love, peace, and forgiveness. Seen
through this lens, even the most filthy activities can be seen as serving Love, or the good. They at once create justice and educate Souls.
This is the "allgood" cosmos
in which the mystic can live.
But even seeing that Òeverything is good," due to karma, mysticism still has a large hole in it. It is only a tiny part of Reality ("truth") to see that the cosmos is a dream. To make it whole, it needs yet another matrix-idea: It needs the moral and ethical restraint,
and unifying matrix, of Love. Mysticism without Love is an impossibility, an oxymoron,
like a square circle. Love is the very nucleus of mysticism, its indispensable heart. [17]
Without this enriching Love, the "world as dream" view simply degenerates into selfish solipsism.
The matrix-idea of world as dream creates another matrix-idea: All the cosmos exists within the One. The One is She/He who dreams up the "material"cosmos. It all exists within the Mind. It is all the perfect dream of a perfect
Dreamer, Who lives deeply in the collective Unconscious.
This, in turn,
generates another matrix-idea: The
"original sin" was dualism. What is dualism? It is the illusion that
anything or anyone exists "outside" the One, the perfect
Mind, the Dreamer, God. For nothing, and no one, can exist outside the Mind. Why?
Because everything—the entire
cosmos—is Its dream.
In the Genesis allegory, this "original sin" was illustrated symbolically or
parabolically. It was represented by "eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Clearly, the problem with this "sin" was not "knowledge," for knowledge is a good, constructive, enlightening factor of life. So, the problem must have lain in the kind of knowledge involved.
So, what kind of knowledge was it? It was the kind involved in "good and evil." This illusion set up an "opposite" to good. This illusion was called "evil," and it was seen to
be as real as the good. But the
good was God. The Good filled the
one Mind. It also filled the
cosmos in every microparticle. It
was
absolutely real. (It was "truth.") It had no real opposite.
The "original sin" was setting up, and believing in, an "opposite" to the One.
Now, by definition, this was an opposite to Reality ("truth"). That would have to be "unreality." So, it would have to be illusion. This is simply an oblique way of saying that evil is illusion. Stated variantly, Love has no real opposite. It does have a
conceptual opposite, and that is fear.
For the one
Mind is all that has ever really existed!
Mystics recognize that only this perfect Mind is Reality. This Reality is Love. It is the Mind. It is the only Mind that has ever existed. It exists in you as "your" mind, and in
me as "my" mind. God is Mind. God is Love. So, Love is the only nature of Mind. It follows that Love is "truth." So, Love is Reality. All that seems to be "outside of Love"
*****
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If you have any questions about psychology, spirituality, the Way of mysticism, its history, or any related topics, please drop us a line at: rmfrancis@juno.com
is illusion, a dream!
The
Blossoming of Heartmind: Review of
Evelyn Underhill's Mysticism
In 1974, I had just resigned my position as a minister in an extreme rightwing (conservative) cult, for reasons of conscience. I had no idea what the word "mysticism" even meant, although I would likely have thought it "demonic," according to my bias and bigotry. Now, mysticism is my entire life and passion, my great joy. That year, the long path began when Evelyn Underhill's book Mysticism, first published in 1911, came into my life.
This book was first released in the early twentieth century. Back then, clarity was, it seems, virtually unknown. Writers followed the tradition of using complex words and intricate sentences to display their personal erudition. Sadly, there is some of this in this excellent book; it needs to be "translated," in many sections; and other sections need to be rewritten entirely, in updated, simplified English. It needs, in other words, clarification and simplification.[18] It is written in formal British prose. This is all but unintelligible to the average modern American reader.
Underhill presents the mystical Way as progressive. It is the cosmos blossoming into God, or, in her words, "the universe flowering into Deity." She presents mysticism as a movement in progress, a motion, a dynamic rather than static approach. Like the cosmos, it is always evolving—newly in each mind that it touches, or that touches it.
It is ecospiritual; it is at the heart of "earth-based spirituality" such as that practiced by native Americans. Indeed, their high shamans saw all life as sacred. Black Elk describes the feeling of no longer being a part of the cosmos, but whole, or holy, "united" with it. He mentions the dissolution of the "illusion" of "separation."
This is the essence of monism, the philosophy of which mysticism is a flower. Monism, as Underhill explains, means this: There is only one Reality in all the cosmos. It is Mind. And there is only one Mind, of which we are all a part. The "external and material" cosmos is neither; it is a dream within this great mind, as are we. This Mind has no real opposite, for It is Reality. ("Reality" is a popular mystical name for God.) Any "opposite" to Reality is, by simple definition, unreality or illusion.
Falling from this deep realization is the "mother" of all other errors. It is the fall from grace into the illusion of dualism. Dualism is the illusion that anyone or anything can ever exist apart from, or outside of, the one Mind.
Underhill outlines the basic interfaces among the sciences, arts, philosophies, and religions with mysticism.
She combines a natural propensity for things mystical with her own deeply religious nature. She alternates, in her prose, among the poetic, the lucid, and the impenetrable. There are specimens of all three in her writing, but it is hard to go very wrong with a great subject/theme! Here is one sample of her better and clearer writing: "By false desires and false thoughts, man has built up for himself a false universe: As a mollusk, by the deliberate and persistent absorption of lime, and rejection of all else, can build up for itself a hard shell, which shuts it from the external world, and only represents, in a distorted and unrecognizable form, the ocean from which it was obtained."
This ultracomplex and too-long sentence betrays some of the density of her expressions. Ideally, it should have been broken down to at least two smaller sentences, if her intent really were to teach others. Perhaps it was; but she also gives way to the tendency for early twentieth-century writers to self-display.
Inevitably, her sections on "vitalism" and psychology are dated. But her analysis of the mystical path, changeless since the beginning, remain pristine and relevant. Her description of the three phases of mysticism, e. g., purgation, illumination, and Union, are perennially valid.
The study is heavily Western in its approach, and quotes, although rather extensively, from exclusively Western mystics. Thus, it deletes many of the clearest and simplest, as well as most profound, examples of mysticism on our planet—the Hindu, Buddhist, and the Taoist.
Underhill's book is considered a "classic," not only because of its age, but because it is so richly peppered with direct quotations from some of the greatest Western mystics from every time-period. It is nevertheless also a practical guidebook or manual for anyone interested in cultivating the flower of mysticism within her own heart.
It not only advocates, but also tells what to avoid in the name of "mysticism." For there are many frauds, charlatans, and fakes who use the name "mysticism" to obtain a false credential, an air of depth, wisdom, or credibility. Even many cults, which can be harmful, present themselves as "mystical." And often, pretentious gurus present themselves as "mystical masters." These are obviously pretenders, for the very last thing a true master would ever call herself is a "master"!
The book is good, but not perfect. She misunderstands a few concepts, and comes across at times as a person who "knows everything" about truth (reality). No one has ever achieved this. And mystics, who treasure both realism and humility, will be the very first to admit that they do not know everything about everything!
Underhill is careful to point out what mysticism is not. For this word "mysticism" might well be the most misunderstood word in the history of the world! Mysticism is not nonsense. It is not prescientific or antiscientific thinking. It is not magic or occultism. It is not just any religious speculation. It is the art of consciously uniting the conscious (aware) mind with the Unconscious at its deepest level. For the "Unconscious" consists of two parts, only one of which is known to psychology—the subconscious. But psychology knows almost nothing of the other part of the Unconscious—the Superconscious. This is so deep a level that it is collective (shared by all life). It is a limitless pool of Love, Light, wisdom, understanding, and tranquility in the most profound "oceanic" depth of Mind. It is "Spirit" or "God."
Mysticism is also a matter of some knowledge, and Underhill's is well-defined and complete. She is a scholar, although not a giant. Mysticism, though, is not part of the facile, childish, shallow "new-age" literature that litters so many bookshelves and bookstores. It is profound, scholarly, deep, and wise. It is a book well worth reading, and rereading. It is a life-changing, mind-changing verbal adventure!
[1] See my Journey to the Center of the Soul: Mysticism Made Simple (Liberty Township, Ohio; Love Ministries, Inc., 2003) for a comprehensive introduction to the intercultural and ancient Way of mysticism.
[2] See Men Who Walked With God, by Sheldon Cheney (NY; Alfred Knopf, 1945)
[3] For more information on the differences between religion and spirituality please see Coming Home: the Experience of Enlightenment in Sacred Traditions by Lex Hixon, (NY; Doubleday, 1978)
[4] For a fine, general introduction to the whole subject, please see the excellent Mysticism, originally published in 1911 by Evelyn Underhill (NY; Meridian Books, 1957)
[5] See my Jehovah Goodbye: the "New Theism" of Love (Liberty Township, Ohio; Love Ministries, Inc., 2000)
[6] See Selections from Ruysbroeck (London; Lightning Source, 1974)
[7] Spiritual Conferences by John Tauler (St Louis; Herder, 1961)
[8] Centuries by Thomas Traherne (NY; Harper and Brothers, 1960)
[9] Theologica Germanica by Thomas S. Kepler (Cleveland, World Publishing, 1952)
[10] This is the core-teaching of a form of mysticism known as "Taoism". It is introduced by the legendary sage Lao Tzu in his Chinese mystical classic The Book of the Great Mind and Its Expression (Tao Te Ching) Please see the 1990 edition of Tao Te Ching: the Classic Book of Integrity and the Way (NY; Bantam, 1990) See also my Luminous Jewels of Love and Light, Volume 2, Part V.
[11] The Bhagavad-Gita translated by Barbara Stoler-Miller (NY; Bantam, 1986)
[12] The Gospel of Thomas: The Hidden Sayings of Jesus (San Francisco; Harper, 1992)
[13] The Upanishads translated by Eknath Easwaran (New Delhi; Nilgiri Press, 1987)
[14] Ecstasy: Understanding the Psychology of Joy by Robert Johnson (San Francisco; Harper and Row, 1987)
[15] The Mirror for Simple Souls by Marquerite Porete (NY; Crossroads Publishing, 1981)
[16] Other Lives, Other Selves: a Jungian Psychotherapist Discovers Past Lives by Roger J. Woolger, (NY; Bantam Press, 1988)
[17] Please see my Falling In Love With Your Self: Love and the Inner Beloved (Liberty Township, Ohio, Love Ministries, Inc., 2003)
[18] Underhill's
book became the skeletal matrix for my book Journey to the Center of the
Soul: Mysticism Made Simple (Liberty Township, Ohio; Love Ministries, Inc., 2003)
So, to some extent, this simplification has already been accomplished.