Sent in by marcia lehman

LOVELIGHT

Magazine

September 2006

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Vol. 3, no.9

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Managing editors: Richard Francis and Ada Maria Francis

Contributors to this issue: Jim Dwyer, Chris Finer, Marcia Lehman, Steven McDaniel,

Ty Scharrer,Geoffrey Stoermer, Isaiah Toran

LOVELIGHT MAGAZINE: WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT

Lovelight magazine is free. It comes directly to your inboxscreen once a month, to bring a little sunshine into your life. We hope to bring you at least a few laughs, in the "Humor Therapy" section. But life, as we know, is not all laughs. So, we hope also to share with you some pleasant and sweet thoughts-- and maybe even some life-lessons. If you see any jokes that make your roar or cry with silly humor, please send them along to us.

Lovelight wants to promote peace and harmony. We would also love to aid you personally to overcome any problems that you might have. If you are working on any religious, psychological, or spiritual problems, we encourage you to write to us at rmfrancis@juno.com

We also want to present "miniparables" to help you grow. So, if you come across any wise or touching pieces, not copyrighted, fairly short, please share them with the efamily. Please send them to the magazine, at the same address. Also welcome are practical tips that can make life easier or safer. We also welcome short pieces on personal philosophies, interesting facts, wordplays, and spirituality, especially those that emphasize the value of compassion and other forms of Love. We reserve the right to make whatever changes that we deem necessary or desirable before inclusion in Lovelight magazine.

Your email name/address will not be shared. Please share, send, or copy, this magazine, or any parts of it. Share it with all your friends, and all others. Please use it on your websites. Also, if your friends are inclined, please have them send us their emailaddress and request a personal subscription.

This is published as a "light" introduction to spirituality. It is designed especially for those who have little or no interest in the "heavier" aspects of spirituality. Indeed, it has proved useful to reach many with no compelling interest in the subjects of agapology (the psychology of Love) or the Way of Love (spirituality). And it is also great, fun reading for all the rest of us!:) This collection would make a sweet gift for a loved one. Happy reading!:)

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REQUEST FOR HEALING ENERGY

To all of our readers of Lovelight: Richard Francis recently broke his left leg. He had surgery last weekend and is at home healing. We ask that all of you send him your good and loving energy so that his healing will be swift and complete.

Many thanks, AdaMaria Francis

THE CALL OF COMPASSION, sent in by Marcia Lehman

Stop thinking that this is all there is.
Realize that for every ongoing war, religious outrage,

environmental devastation, and bogus Iraqi attack plan,
there are a thousand counterbalancing acts of staggering generosity,
art, and beauty happening all over the world, right now.

From flowerboxes to cathedrals. All resist the urge to nihilism.
Seek out nuance, counterargument,

Subtle irony, Balance, and perspective.

Realize that the divine is not quite what you think it might be,
that old methods of imploring, say, a cantankerous bearded

patriarchal figure to please oh yes smite your enemies
might be a bit antiquated.

Realize that this is the perfect moment to change the energy of the world,
to step right up and crank your personal volume right when it all seems dark,
bitter, offensive, acrimonious and bilious,
There's your opening.
Remember magic.
And finally, believe that you are part of a groundswell,
a resistance, a seemingly small but actually very, very large
impending karmic overhaul, a great shift, the beginning of

something important and unstoppable.

The world needs your help.

You are being implored.
This is a time of war mongering and bitterness.
You are being implored.

You can do something.
Now is your chance.

-- Mark Morford, columnist

Portland

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BENEFITS OF HYDROGEN PEROXIDE, by Becky Ransey, sent in by Chris Finer

Most doctors don't tell you about peroxide, because they would lose thousands of dollars.

1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe.) No more canker sores and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use instead of mouthwash. (Small print says mouth wash and gargle on the bottle).***2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to minimize germs.***3. Clean your counters, table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh scent. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe, or spray it on the counters.***4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.***5. I had fungus on my feet for years - until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.***6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My (doctor-)husband has seen gangrene that would not respond to any medication, but was healed by soaking in peroxide.***8. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water; and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming septic system (as bleach or most disinfectants will).***9. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture whenever you have a cold, or plugged sinuses. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes then blow nose.***10. For toothache when you cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.***11. If you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide burnt blonde hair, but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown. It also lightens gradually; so, no drastic change.***12. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.***13. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites. If there is blood on clothing, Pour directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.***14. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors, and there is no smearing-- which is why I like it.

I could go on and on. With the prices of other products soaring, I'm glad there's a way to save so much money in such a simple, healthy way.

*****

LET'S LAUGH TOGETHER: HUMOR THERAPY

BLOND YEAR, sent in by Chris Finer

January - Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.

February - Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels......bottles
won't fit in typewriter!!!

March - Got really excited.....finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months.....box
said "2-4 years!"

April - Trapped on escalator for hours....power went out!!!

May - Tried to make Kool-Aid.....wrong instructions....8 cups of water
won't fit into packet!!!

June - Tried to go water skiing.....couldn't find a lake with a slope

July - Lost breast-stroke swimming competition... other swimmers cheated,
they used their arms!!!

August - Got locked out of my car in rain storm.....car swamped because
soft-top was open.

September - The capital of California is "C".....isn't it???

October - Hate M &M's.....they are so hard to peel.

November - Baked turkey for 4 1/2 days....instructions said 1 hour per
pound and I weigh 108!!!

December - Couldn't call 911....."duh".....there's no "eleven" button on
the stupid phone!!!

Sensible Observations, sent in by Geoffrey Stoermer

1) When I die, I want to die like my grandfather--who died peacefully in
his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car."
--Author Unknown

2) Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache,
do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children."
--Author Unknown

3) "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that.

It's called EVERYBODY!!!!!!!! ..... and they meet at the Bar."
--Drew Carey

4) "The problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable
job, but if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the

night, drop them off at the wrong houses ."
--Jeff Foxworthy

5) "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an
infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life, without even considering

if there is a man on base!!!!!"
--Dave Barry

6) "Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat
it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they
should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, the day before
they leave you, they should have to find you a temp."
--Bob Ettinger

7) "My Mom said she learned how to swim when someone took her out in the
lake and threw her off the boat. I said, 'Mom, they weren't trying to teach
you how to swim.'"
--Paula Poundstone

8) "A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal
skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: "Duh."
--Conan O'Brien

9) "Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my
fish burger and I realize, Oh my God.... I could be eating a slow learner."
--Lynda Montgomery

10) "I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York
said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough in the

winter and not hot and sticky enough in summer .
Let's go west.'"

--Richard Jeni

11) "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would
be dead."
--Johnny Carson

12) "Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
--Paul Rodriguez

13) "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law."
--Jerry Seinfeld

14) "Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?"
--Warren Hutcherson

15) "Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same."
--Oscar Wilde

16) "Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of
Congress.. But I repeat myself."
--Mark Twain

17) "Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least
they can find Afghanistan."
--A. Whitney Brown

18) "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a
look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"
--Dave Barry

19) Do you know why they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" was taken.
--Unknown, presumed deceased

20) "Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another
beer."
W. C. Fields

Mother-in-law, sent in by Chris Finer

A man, his wife, and mother-in-law went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there the mother-in-law passed away. The undertaker told them, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home.

The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150."

The man replied, "Long ago a man died here, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead."

I just can't take that chance."

NEOLOGISM CONTEST, sent in by Chris Finer

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.) the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.) appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.) to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.) to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.) impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.) describes a condition in which you absent-mindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.) to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.) olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.) a rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle (n.) a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.) the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n) a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.) a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.) (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.) an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

A LOVE OF THE SHRUB, sent in by Ty Scharrer

First I love george bush because the cranky doper rush says that I should. This drug-head rush is a brilliant brave man who has been right for so long. But don't put me to the test; actually, I can't remember the last time that he was right about anything. Rush tells me what to think so I don't have to worry. He knows, because he is God's older brother. And I'm just a brainless little ditto-head.

I love bush also because he is a warpresident. He bravely went into the Air National Guard when that wimp Kerry just drove boats around Vietnam. The bush has real character. He has real flaws: He is an unrepentant alcoholic. He has been caught driving stupid-drunk (no one could tell the difference). He is unable to speak well. He is caught in continuous and repeated lies, but we are all imperfect. He has practiced mass-murder for greed, but not a lot. That is the kind of uneducated guy I like, not that snooty Mr. Perfect Speaker Kerry who never was arrested for a felony.

I like the shrub because he has spent us into perpetual oblivion. I adore a huge deficit, because Americans love a challenge; and think how challenging it will be to dig ourselves out of the huge financial hole he has dug for us, our children and our grandchildren. Bush cannot create a real budget, and so, he just gives away millions to rich friends and their corporations. If you are rich enough, there is something charming about that, in a dumb way. I love bush because he knows you can stop forest fires by cutting down trees, and that if you bomb a bird habitat until the birds become rare, more people will pay attention to those birds.

I love the bush because he is trying to stop poor people from getting drugs they need (to live) from Canada. If people can't afford drugs, well they should just have been born rich. And if they can't be bothered to be born rich, then they should just die.

I love that shrub because he keeps everything secret from me. I don't need to know who is formulating government policy, why the policies are enacted, or even WHAT the policies are. George Bush has had the holy hand of God involved in his regime's ascendancy to the Presidency, and who am I to question God? Whatever bush does is okay, for it is blessed by God. It is just fine with me. blessed! Glory!

I love bush because he whipped up America to go to war with Iraq while Osama still ran free. Osama wasn't the threat Saddam was, because Saddam had WMDs or he didn't, and Saddam had connections to Osama and even if he didn't he might have. Plus, the war massacred a hundred thousand innocent people who aren't rich, and spent more of our money, which is just a bigger challenge Americans love.

I love bush because the powers of the police have been expanded, which is needed in times of wars, especially wars in which WMDs aren't found. We can trust the police to do the right thing, especially when bush-judges rule on cases involving abuse of police power.

I love bush because he wants to give 11 million illegal aliens the right to get social security, then go home and have us send the checks out of the country. That makes GOOD SENSE to me!

I love bush because his presidential package was impressive when he went on the aircraft carrier to announce Mission Accomplished!

I like bush because he cut taxes during a surplus and then during a recession; and if you keep cutting taxes, eventually the government will go broke-- which is really his secret agenda.

I like bush because he banned stem cell research and if it is God's will people die from diabetes, Parkinson's, cancer, heart disease, or anything else, who are we to meddle? Better to let the extra zygotes be thrown out, than to let some scientist use them to cure disease!

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COWBOY AND YUPPIE, sent in by Geoffrey Stoermer

A cowboy was herding his cows in a remote pasture when suddenly a
brand-new bmw advanced out of a dust cloud towards him. The driver, a young

man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses
and YSL tie, leaned out the window and asked the cowboy,
"If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd,
will you give me a calf?"

The cowboy looks at his peacefully grazing herd, and answered, "Sure. Why not?"

The yuppie parked his car, whipped out his enotebook, connected
it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfed to a NASA page on the
Internet where he called up a gps satellite navigation system to get an
exact fix on his location. He then fed this into another NASA satellite
that scanned the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. He then opened the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exported it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany.

Within seconds, he received an email on his Palm Pilot that the image had
been processed and the data stored. He then accessed an ms-sql database through an odbconnected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes,
received a response. Finally, he printed out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
miniaturized hp LaserJet printer; he finally turned to the cowboy and said,
“You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," said the cowboy. He watched the yuppie select one of the animals; he looked on amused as he stuffed it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy said to him, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?"

He thought about it for a second and then said, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a Congressman for the U.S. Government", said the cowboy.

"Wow! That's correct," said the yuppie. "But how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required." answered the cowboy. "You showed up here even
though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already
knew.

WHAT KIND OF BUG IS A "BEATLE"? sent in by Jim Dwyer

With the passing of time, many old phrases or references become obsolete or even disappear. This is unfortunate because some of them are very appropriate and humorous. Here is a list that I came up with that I remember my parents and grandparents using that we don't hear much anymore. Perhaps you have some memorable old phrases of your own that you could add to the list:

A Bone to Pick (someone who wants to discuss a disagreement).***An Axe to Grind (Someone who has a hidden motive.This phrase is said to have originated from Benjamin Franklin who told a story about a devious man who asked how a grinding wheel worked. He ended up walking away with his axe sharpened free of charge.)***A bad apple spoils the whole barrel (one corrupt person can cause all the others to go bad if you don't remove the bad one.)***At sea (lost or not understanding something).***Bad Egg (Someone who is not a good person).***Barking at a knot (meaning that your efforts were as useless as a dog barking at a knot.)***Bee in your bonnet (To have an idea that won't let loose).***Been through the mill (had a rough time of it)***Between hay and grass (Not a child or an adult).***Blinky (Between sweet and sour, as in milk).***Calaboose (a jail).***Cattywampus (Something that sits crooked such as a piece of furniture sitting at an angle)***Dicker (To barter or trade)***Feather In Your Cap (to accomplish a goal. This came from years ago in wartime when warriors might receive a feather they would put in their caps for defeating an enemy)***Hold your horses (Be patient!)***I reckon (I suppose)***Jawing (Talking or arguing)***Madder than an old wet hen (really angry)***Needs taken down a notch or two (like notches in a belt usually a person who thinks too highly of herself and needs humility).***No Spring Chicken (Not young anymore)***Persnickety (overly particular or snobbish)***Pert-near (short for pretty near; close; approximation.)***Pretty is as pretty does (your actions are more important than your looks)***Scalawag (a rascal or unprincipled person)***Scarce as hen's teeth (something difficult to obtain; very rare.)***Skedaddle (Get out of here quickly)***Sparking (courting)***Straight from the Horse's Mouth (privileged information from the original source).***Stringing around, gallivanting around, or piddling (Not doing anything of value; just hanging out or wasting time.)***Sunday go to meetin' dress (The best dress you had)***We wash up real fine (we can look good if we really want.)***Tie the Knot (to get married)***Too many irons in the fire (to be involved in too many things)***Tuckered out (tired and all worn out)***Under the weather (not feeling good. This term came from going below deck on
ships due to seasickness. Thus you go below or under the weather.)***Wearing your "best bib and tucker" (Being all dressed up)***You ain't the only duck in the pond (It's not all about you)***Well, if you hold your horses, I reckon I'll get this whole kit and caboodle done and sent off to you. Please don't be too persnickety and get a bee in
your bonnet because I've been pretty tuckered out and at sea lately because I'm no spring chicken. I haven't been just stringin' around and I know I'm not the only duck in the pond, but I do have too many irons in the fire. I might just be barking at a knot, but I have tried to give this article more than just a lick and a promise.

*****

LOVE-LETTERS FROM OUR BUDS, PALS, AND FRIENDS,

GIBSON AND BIGOTRY, from Liquid Eyes (Isaiah Toran):

Greetings,

Hoping your well and enjoying the ride home from the radio station.
Congrats on another wonderful show…

It was interesting about what you mentioned about being a person of love and not getting caught up in the religious loops. Mel Gibson rants against Jews in drunken-driving arrest…. The one who is to be so religious and all that...blah blah blah.

He apologized for his “despicable” anti-semitic rant when he was arrested. Gibson, 50, is alleged to have tried to escape when he was pulled over. [He] then launched into a barrage of anti- semitic curses against the arresting sheriffs.

Police have confirmed the actor and director… was found to have a blood- alcohol
level of 0.12%....

Gibson… said: “I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested, and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable. I am deeply ashamed of everything I said….I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse.”

Gibson was stopped for driving at 87mph in a 45mph zone on the notoriously dangerous
road. He sat at the wheel of his Lexus LS 430 and repeatedly said: “My life is f*****.”

Gibson, a strict Catholic, then launched into an anti-semitic tirade, referring to “f*** Jews,” and stating that “the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”….

If these reports are true, they will likely cause a storm of protest in Hollywood, where many of the industry-leaders are Jewish.

This is not the first time the actor has confronted allegations of anti-semitism. Gibson faced similar accusations when making his… movie, "The Passion Of the Christ, whose dialogue is in Aramaic. The subtitle to one line, spoken by a Jewish priest, about

Jesus' blood being “on us and our children” was removed to placate his critics.

There is also a family history [of anti-Semitism]. Gibson’s father Hutton has been
branded a Holocaust denier for claiming that the extermination of six million Jews

is largely a myth and that many of the supposed victims had moved to Brooklyn.

The actor has admitted “atrocities” were committed during the second world war but has stopped short of criticizing his 87-year-old father, who is also a devout Catholic.

…How's that for a role model?...

Love and Blessings,,

Liquid Eyes

***

BUTTERFLY DREAM, from Steven McDaniel:

Hi brother,

Missing you. [Here is a selection from a Taoist mystical classic:] "Once upon a time, I, Chuang Tzu, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chuang Tzu. Soon I awoke, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. Between a man and a butterfly there is necessarily a distinction. The transition is called the transformation of material things. (Chuang Tzu)

love, light,

Steven

*****

WORDS BY WHICH TO LIVE, sent in by Chris Finer

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."--Abraham Lincoln

***

"What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul."-- Yiddish proverb

*****

JW'S LIKE RAVENS, sent in by Ty Scharrer

By Terry Johnson:

On upon a morning, dreary,
as I pondered weak and weary
over many a quaint and curious volume
of forgotten doctrine and Watchtower law.

all was quiet, no one talking,
and suddenly there came a knocking,
as if a giant clock tick-tocking,
knocking on my own front door,
only this, and nothing more.

Ah, distinctly I remember,
that Saturday in mid-September,
When I was visited by a member
of that group I was part of no more,
only this, and nothing more.

"They've found me," I said in quiet terror
Why are they here, is it an error?
Surely they don't want to have me
in their busy group once more!
only this and nothing more

I heard the knock, but I resisted,
and that annoying knock persisted,
the Witness on my porch insisted,
that I answer my front door,
only this and nothing more.

Alas, the door I opened wide,
and saw him standing there outside
in a suit with necktie nicely tied
"Hello, Sir", he said, smiling wide
and I hoped that he'd say nothing more.

"I'm here", he said, to fill a need,
With magazines and books to read,
to show you how you can survive
the coming Armageddon war
he set his book bag on the floor.

"It's obvious the world ain’t working
the devil, he is surely smirking,
over all the evil he's inspired,
but God has a remedy in store."
I sighed, I'd heard it all before.

"Buy a book and have a study"
learn from me, I'll be your buddy
and in time perhaps you'll join us,
saving souls from door to door."
boring already, and still more.

"The time is short for God to act,
it's coming soon, and that's a fact.
so sell your home and quit your job,
and leave your friends. We'll find you more"
He smiled, but said nothing more.

I listened and I stood politely,
but inside felt anger burning brightly.
did he not know his message had
ruined many lives before?
With promises, and nothing more.

As I watched the man I wondered,
should I tell how often Brooklyn's blundered,
Does he know his message that "Time is short"
has been preached for a hundred years or more?
the dates have changed, but nothing more.

Should I tell him of the rules that changed,
of doctrines gone or rearranged
by men who claim to speak for God
in those magazines, now at my door?
selling promises, and nothing more.

Does he know the heavy price he'll pay,
if he ever thinks in his own way?
or breaks any of so many rules,
and each year they just add more.

Should I tell of my own family, taken,
their affections now forsaken,
'cause long ago I did awaken
to the lies that I'd believed before,
and had preached gladly, door to door.

Should I tell him of my father, dying,
old and feeble, but still trying
to make it to the paradise
that was always just "a few years more"?

In truth I knew not what to say,
so I asked the man, "Please go away.
don't bother me with your books
I know I've read them all before."
the door closed and I said nothing more.

Should I have told him that the truth I've found
is not in books so brightly bound
and not from a place or learned man,
and the world is not in Satan's hand?

Perhaps I should have warned him so
but this day was so long ago,
I said nothing as he left my door'
and I saw this Witness, nevermore.

Terry Allan Poe

*******

The Myth of Solid Matter: Mysticism and Physics

*****

A "mystic" is a being who practices and encounters the deepest spirituality within her own mind. She practices the spiritual exercise of meditation, going deeply into Mind, to find "God" (love). "Mysticism" is probably the single most abused and misunderstood word in the history of the English language. It is wrong and inaccurate to associate it with the magical, the paranormal, the pre-scientific or antiscientific. These usage-errors are often made by precisely the people who should make it their business to know better-- religious leaders, reporters, parapsychologists, and authors.

The mystical lifestyle bends the mystic's mind into certain recognitions and beliefs [which she also sees as "truth" (reality).] She believes that matter is Mind-energy at a very fundamental level.

She does not believe that matter is simply hallucinatory. She does not believe that it is a normal kind of dream-substance. Her relationship with matter is quite complex. She believes that it is guided and limited by scientific law. And, as long as she lives in a "material" body, or world, she too is guided, and limited, by that same law. But she differs from the materialist, or average physicist, because she believes that this law is unconsciously Mind-generated. For she also believes that the whole world is the same kind of "psychogenic" phenomenon.

The mystic is different from the average person in that she believes that matter and Mind have a very special, interwoven, and interactive relationship. In the ultimate, overall analysis, she believes that all "matter" is a form, or expression, of Mind. This belief, too, is complex and rather involved. She believes that Mind has many levels in the Unconscious. (Because this is "super-personal" at some deep levels, it is initiated with a higher-case letter.) Among the levels of the Unconscious are:

1) the personal unconscious, containing memories and data going all the way back to her birth; 2) the Soul-mind, containing memories and data going back to before her birth, including karmic records (memories); 3) the collective, in which she shares telepathically but unconsciously with all other minds, creating a massive Supermind (including the akashic records, or enormous and varied group-memories); this is the source of "scientific law"; 4) Coremind, a beautiful and perfect "galaxy" of infinite, illimitable Mind. It is purest love and pristine beauty. This Mind is Reality. It alone is absolute (non-relative). This Mind is the only Reality in all the cosmos. It exists within every person, deeply unconsciously, and is shared by all. It is from this level that the cosmos is dreamed into being; so, this level is also called the "Creator" or the "Dreamer." This deepest level is also called Spirit, Brahman, Tao, Superconscious, universal Mind, cosmic Mind, perfect Mind, Holy Spirit, Buddha-nature, Christ-nature, God, etc. Although omnipotent and omniscient, this Mind wills itself into a kind of "hypnotic amnesia," in which It wills Itself to forget or cloud Its true Identity. It "plays the roles" of "separate souls," or "wears them as masks." Actually, in the history of the cosmos, no soul-mind has ever been "separate" from this vast Mind. All are, always, one with It.

As we study the Mind and cosmos, especially matter and its ultra-substructure, with increasing exactitude and sophistication, many very basic assumptions are called into serious question. Surprisingly, one of the most foundational is the very existence of "solid matter." While it was the basis for all Newtonian physics, quantum physics actually calls its very absolute (non-relative) existence into serious question. Thus does the most recent neophysics move a significant step closer to mysticism. For both deny the absolute reality of matter (though both accept its "relative," "secondary," everyday existence.

Neither mysticism nor physics denies the plain and obvious existence of the world; both agree that it does exist. But it is in explanation of the reality and nature of matter that they both disagree with the "common sense" or "Newtonian" explanations: The world is really nothing like it appears or seems to be.

In both systems, that which appears to be "matter" is really a form of energy. The mystic says that it is all simply "Mind." The neophysicist says that it is all "energy." Since "Mind" can also be seen as "energy," it can be seen as a convergence of mysticism and physics. The two used to be deadly arch-enemies.

For it was the study of matter that used to define "materialism," or "materialistic science." Matter defined all of science, the whole material world. It was concentration on the observable characteristics of this "solid matter" that distinguished physics from other sciences, and from spiritual arts. But, as we probed carefully and meticulously into the ultra-structure of matter, we discovered that all matter consisted of smaller particles. And, amazingly, when those so-called "particles" were closely examined, they ultimately disappeared into energy-waves. No "ultimately small particle" was ever discovered, as was expected. At an ultimate level, quantum physics showed, the entire "solid" cosmos consisted of these non-physical "waves of energy."

We started by discovering that atoms were, of course, made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, plus very much empty space. But that the atom was over 99% empty space was only the first of many astonishing discoveries about matter. For those parts of the atom that were not empty space-- the so-called "particles" (protons, neutrons, electrons)-- had no solidity about them. They were not literal "particles" at all, not tiny bits of matter. Instead, they were packets of energy called "quanta." Thus did the name "quantum physics" come about.

All the solid universe-- from human bones to the ground filled with plants, was made of atoms. Therefore, it was extremely important to discover whatever we could about atoms. For the question of the ultra-structure of atoms was the fundamental scientific inquiry about the cosmos itself. And its answers spoke to our identities, structures, and even destinies.

Ancient mystics said, "The cosmos is light." ("Light" was the ancient word for "energy.") This "photocosmic" view implied that the universe was all energy. That, in turn, implied that the "solid" world of everyday reality was a product of the sensory system and its limitations. Physics adamantly denied this as fantastic nonsense, and did so for centuries. In time, in fact, physics and mysticism were arch-enemies, at each other's throats. For they postulated two antithetical universes-- one made of pure energy, and the other populated by assemblies of material and solid objects.

The very last event that a historian of science would postulate would have been a convergence of the two-- especially one that confirmed the mystical cosmos and denied the validity of the solid cosmos. But, strangely, this is precisely what has occurred in the most sophisticated experiments with matter.

This report will carefully examine the world of the deepest spirituality-- that of the mystics.[1] Later, we will look more closely at quantum (microparticle, subatomic) physics.[2]

This report begins with the perspective that there cannot be, and in fact are not, two valid ways to interpret this world. The mystical view and the ultra-rational view of the quantum physicist are not oppositional, but complementary. They cooperate like two symmetric hands cooperating in a delicate operation.

Ancient Greek philosophers were called "physicists" (Greek, physicoi) because they speculated about the origin of the physical world. This term included such thinkers as the very ancient (c. 700 BCE) Hesiod. It also included Thales, Anaximander, Anaximines, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Xenophanes, and their philosophic "family." Most of these thinkers, with the possible exception of Heraclitus and Xenophanes, were not really "spiritual" in the modern sense.

But they did illustrate the possibility of the convergence of a kind of "science" with philosophy. And, since philosophy clearly overlaps with spirituality, if it also overlapped with science, that would tend to bring together what seem to be very diverse and widely separated-- science and spirituality. Of course, it is also true that, at the early time of these Greek philosophers (seventh to fifth centuries BCE), science and philosophy had not yet even diverged as separate entities. Still, we can learn much from this irregular union of "unrelated" fields.

These philosophers enjoyed a convergence of philosophy and "physics," although of a very different kind than modern physics. At any rate, the convergence of physics with spirituality-- a kind of "pneumophysics"-- could have enormous power, much greater than either of the disciplines alone.[3]

We know that the mind has some limited power. It can often precipitate changes in the body, for example. Some metaphysicists are simply carried away by unrealistic wishful thinking. They believe that the conscious mind can do absolutely anything. This fantasy-based concept is not supported by science. It is the result of desperation and poor reasoning- and observation-skills.

But physics and mysticism do make natural bedfellows. In their "mystical marriage," there might be some beautiful "offspring." Here are three items that mark a mystical view of the world: 1) a pervasive underlying "unity" or "oneness" among apparently disparate and separate processes, objects, or events. All that really matters about a "thing" is its relationships to the Whole. 2) Past, present, and future are illusions. Everything that happens occurs in an "eternal now." 3) There is a better way to gain understanding than through the senses. In fact, the purely sensory perspective might distort the genuine, underlying reality, which is thought to be very different. Neophysics is in full agreement about all three criteria.

Still, it would be stretching matters totally out of proportion to say that physics supports some of the more inane and spectacular claims for the "mind's power" over matter. Physics does not teach, or support, that the mind can bend spoons or move items telekinetically. Instead, however, the two pursuits (mysticism and physics) might act like the component atoms of a water-molecule: When hydrogen and oxygen bond in the form of water, it takes energy to separate them, for they have formed an entirely new molecular entity. Perhaps "pneumophysics," spiritual physics, is analogous to this kind of entity, a whole much greater than its parts. For if the two disciplines ever do converge formally, it will represent an entirely new perspective. Then, it would require huge energy, and much time, to separate them.

In the material world, physics is all about the discovery of reality ("truth"). Mysticism (deep experiential spirituality) is also about the discovery of "truth" (Reality.) This discovery, in mysticism, includes enlightenment. Buddhists say of enlightenment, "It is not an achievement, but a discovery." So, both physics and metaphysics are in hot pursuit of reality or "truth." But although they share in common this elevated goal, until recently, they behaved as if they were speaking of completely separate universes. More recently, however, they have started to speak a very similar "language." It has grown clearer that they are discussing the same rather odd cosmos.

Both modern physics and mysticism pronounce that the world is not really as it appears to be. In physics, all "solid" structures are made up of extremely "nanoscopic" bits of energy, rushing around at nearly the speed of light. That is bizarre enough that it almost makes the mystical interpretation of the world look "normal." But not quite; the mystical world is said to be the dream of a great Mind, a Mind so vast that it contains and produces all other minds. The famous mystical Zen master Dogen (1200-1253) said that human beings misconstrue their "disposition" as the "world."[4]

Sir Arthur Eddington said something very similar. He held that the mind constructs a "framework" of "laws," and then, fits nature into that framework. The mind "regains… what it has put into nature."[5]

This reminds one irresistibly of the mystic Padmasambhava, of the eighth century, the founder of Tantric yoga, who said, "All appearances are … one's own concept, selfcontained in the mind, like reflections in a mirror."

Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976) also wrote, "Our experiments are not nature itself, but a nature changed and transformed by our activity."[6]

Human beings, when at their very best, act as a "vessel," "vehicle," "conduit," or "instrument" for vast Mind. The essence of this great Mind is both wisdom and love. If mysticism defines the cosmos as free energy-- and it does-- then "Mind" is the matrix that holds the energy into forms such as bodies, trees, planets, and all other "material" objects. So, when we clear our minds of normal content, say mystics, this Mind is "revealed" to us. It is a vast, galactic pool of love, wisdom, beauty, and sheer, unlimited knowledge. It is the Source-mind that Western culture has always called "God."

This great Mind, or "Creator," is very deep within the unconscious mind of every sentient (self-aware) being. It is within all of us, at this moment. Mystics say that It uses our minds to "dream" the cosmos into being, so that all reality is a dream-image-- that is, light held together by Mind.

[1] Some of the information in the following pages has been adapted from Lawrence LeShan, The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist: Towards a General Theory of the Paranormal (New York; Viking Press, 1974)

[2] "Neophysics" is a study of the ultra-small. So, in discussing it, we will sometimes use words that begin with the prefixes "micro-" and "nano-," which in Greek mean very tiny. We will also use the double-prefix "micro-nano-" if it seems appropriate.

[3] Some of the data of this report were drawn and adapted from the groundbreaking book The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the parallels Between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism, by Fritjof Capra (Boston, MA; Shambhala Publications, 1991)

[4] Phillip Kapleau, editor, The Three Pillars of Zen (Boston; Beacon Press, 1967), p. 297

[5] Arthur Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World (New York; MacMillan, 1931), p. 467

[6] Werner Heisenberg, Philosophic Problems of Nuclear Science (Greenwich, CT; Fawcett, 1966), p. 81