Sunday, October 3, 2021

Separation: The 2nd Veil of Illusion

 by Rev. Amari Magdalena

Separation. In my book “Unbecoming Me,” separation is the 2nd veil of illusion.  It begins with the separation from the umbilical cord at birth.  Emotional events that follow through our lives may keep many in the second veil for perhaps their lifetime. Surrendering that veil of illusion requires trust, of yourself and trust of others.

What we’ve observed in our population since 2016 is a growing separation due, in part, to disparate views and entrenched unwillingness to consider reevaluation of what have become solidified values.

The media can, in part, be held accountable for this fractioning with severe biases and false reporting becoming new true source for way too many. We teetered on disillusion of our democracy on January 6th with a shocking insurrection.

Add to this, we’ve been living uncomfortably with a global pandemic which has been met with the same depth of resistance and misinformation.  Many people don’t know anymore who to believe. Some wave flags of freedom without the understanding of just what freedom is about.

Thus, neighbor to neighbor may be avoiding one another or alternatively confronting each other. We’ve made manifest what a spiritual counselor told me years ago: “If you treat your neighbor the way that you treat yourself, they’d move!”

In my spiritual belief system, I believe there is no separation between us, energetically. At the very essence level of beingness, there simply is no “us and them.” Sitting today listening to a presentation about the concept that we are all energetically together and that impact one of us, impacts all of us, I was reminded that I’ve felt separation from family since early childhood. I’ve always thought of myself as a round peg in a square hole. 

As I reflected on this, I thought of something said in the movie “My Great Big Fat Greek Wedding” by the father of the bride. He was explaining that the name Miller (son-in-law’s last name) distilled down stands for apples and their Greek name stilled down meant oranges. He then said, “apples and oranges, we’re different but were still fruit!”

Got me considering further that round and square are just two of many shapes in math, in the universe, and in life.  Were all shapes though we are all members of the greater human family. While I was contemplating sending love to the greater occupants of the Universe, it was a reminder to start with the family and come to acceptance that we are different, and it is past time to simply accept the difference rather than separate. And, hopefully, in acceptance, I would cease to feel an outsider and end that final veil of separation. 

I’m in hopes that we will all, lay our burdens of separation down and just accept our human family in more loving thoughts.  Don’t have to live with them; only let the illusionary divide dissolve and return to the nothingness from which it came.

Peace Be.

“Whether you know it or not, we leave parts of ourselves wherever we go.” Simon Van Booy

“The greatest illusion in the world is the illusion of separation.  Things you think are separate and different are actually one and the same. We are all one people, but we live as if divided.” Abhay Sutar

“We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.” Thich Nhat Hanh

“…For all we touch bears us, and all that touches us we bear, and we are either full harvests or famines of our own delusion.” Amari Magdalena



Sunday, August 22, 2021

Privilege Most White Americans Enjoy

 

By Rev. Amari Magdalena



I was thinking about this when I awoke today. I’ve fallen below middle class economically and yet my life, in comparison, with so many in the U.S. and everywhere is luxurious. When I awakened and sat for a few moments on the bed, I was sitting on a high-end mattress designed to give full body support and sleeping on a pillow with similar properties.

Getting out of bed, I wandered into the bathroom and sat on a toilet with an upgraded toilet seat, running water, and excrement swished down the pipes.  I did not have to wander outside in heat or cold to go to the bathroom that even with chemicals, stunk and was NOT environmentally controlled.

I washed my face with warm water from my plumbed in sink and did my morning routine with upscale soap and toweled dry with soft fabric towels. Grabbed the morning medications and vitamins and wandered into the kitchen where I have a stove, oven, microwave, garbage disposal, fan, lights etc.  Opened the refrigerator to see what I fancied for breakfast.  Had no gnawing hunger that would go unsated. Ate designer yogurt, drank designer coffee, and nibbled on a few designer crackers.

Then I wandered into my closet to choose from a slew of clothing possibilities, that I deem needing replacement because some are showing wear and picked from the many choices clothing suitable for the season and weather forecast. Didn’t get to choose pretty shoes, woe is me, as I had to wear my designer tennis shoes with the Richie brace to help my ankle. Pulled on the compression socks while bemoaning, for a minute, just how unfashionable they were rather than saying thank heavens I have the correct attire for the body I live in. Oh, and I forgot that I put on my designer (some by me) jewelry to accent my outfit.

Drove my designer Hybrid Prius with its 50 miles per hour gas consumption to downtown Las Cruces to attend services in a properly masked congregation and separated for COVID-19 exposure room.  Was able to make a donation and enjoyed a great service replete with music, meditation, and stimulating address. Drove home in the same designer car.

The temperatures were rising as I drove, and my little designer car’s air conditioning easily kept the car’s interior very comfortable. I got out of my car and endured (😊) less than a minute of 90-degree temperatures, stepping into my air-conditioned apartment at a very comfortable 78 degrees.  Poured myself a glass of filtered water from my designer filtering pitcher and relaxed into the afternoon.

Was hungry when I arrived home nearing 1 pm and noshed on chips, salsa, and crackers-designer of course!  Then sat at my designer, top of the line, computer with my designer orthopedic chair, and desk at appropriate ergonomic height to spend time answering emails, texts (from my designer two phones), and contemplating doing some work (remote work).

And here I am making a point of our collective frame of reference that begs new understanding and labeling.  Even at this point in my life, I see all the entitlement and privilege that even on what is now considered poverty living, I am comfortable beyond half of the world’s imagining.

No crazed religious zealots are taking over my country and mouthing promises never to be kept while frightened citizenry literally run for their lives to a possible chance of freedom. The air in my city is not filled with smoke from engaged weapons of destruction used to keep people in fear. Troops are not marching down my street breaking into homes and taking people into custody. I am not asked to wear hot, uncomfortable clothing that annihilates my identify and robs me of long fought for equitable freedoms and whose adherence to, will be necessary if I am to live.

Too many voices today ask what our country can do for them, not what they can do for our country. Assumptions of entitlement run rampart along with privilege. We have SO much here, isn’t it a bit past time to begin a regimen of gratitude and thankfulness for the bounty most of us enjoy even with reduced income?

Yes, I work hard as I approach my eighties and some of it is very stressful taking a toll on my health.  Yes, I have a lot of health issues now.  Yes, I have debts to be concerned about too often.  Yes, I made the choice to work so that I could afford to live a tad more comfortably. Yes, I made choices that have created the me of now and who cares!

I recognized this day just how very privileged I am and as I look about, and say Thank You! I hope more and more of us will wake up to the lives we lead that are so far above real need that it is ridiculous. And even more importantly, have us recognize the real obligation for giving back from our abundance each in our own way. In other words, sharing our world in ways that may ultimately lift the lives of others vs. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-or not, just too rich not to recognize the need to share from our excess.

“I was not born with a silver spoon, but an old rusty steel spoon bent all out of shape. Over the year's I made that old spoon straight again. I polished that spoon so hard, now my spoon shines just as if it were made of newly minted silver...!”
― Craig Langstaff

“When I think about creating abundance, it's not about creating a life of luxury for everybody on this planet; it's about creating a life of possibility. It is about taking that which was scarce and making it abundant.” Peter Diamandis

 

Sunday, July 25, 2021

Mortality

By Rev. Amari Magdalena

 


Perhaps if I didn’t choose to live in the bubble that my daughter often refers to as my way of life, I’d have noticed symptoms of a heart that was experiencing struggles.  Given that I am rapidly approaching membership in the octogenarian tribe, logically I may have imagined the things that come up for many with age. True I’d been experiencing the most intense body breakdown period of my life, yet still I denied.

Of course, that was easy as some of the symptoms were well aligned with my lung issues and had been for some time.  Breathlessness?  Many had observed over the years how breathless I became with excitement.  Then again, moving back to higher altitude added to the excuses.

It was quite the shock when my excellent medical practitioner upon receiving the CT scan called me late in the afternoon and advised me to immediately see a heart physician who was waiting for me. Seems the report indicated an aorta aneurysm. Got to the new doc and immediately had an EKG and much more intense heart exam. He ordered an Electrocardiogram for the next day.

Other surprise was that the Mitral Prolapse that I’d known about for 41 years but thought had gone away (no one mentioned it anymore) was leaking. The electrocardiogram also showed the aneurysm to be larger than the CT scan showed and more leaks.  I laughingly shared that I’d always been a “bleeding heart liberal.”  Jokes aside I was mystified as to why this had all happened, and no one had ever noticed some of the telltale signs. Guess that knowledge went with the demise of the annual physical that health insurance axed.

Next, I was sent to the partner of the heart doc who started talking chemical stress tests and catherization along with stents etc.  My initial shock kept me somewhat insulated from the truth though in panic I began to take care of end-of-life details and expenses.  The latter seemed such b.s. in a society tethered to the almighty dollar. We pay both ways, in and out, or our relatives do.

Time seemed of the essence, and I started running around like a chicken who’d just lost their head. Once I saw heart doc #2, we decided to do nothing but get the ole B.P. down before charting the course. A month's reprise was in the offing. That has now given me time to contemplate. I decided to stop all the craziness and sit with a possible exit before I’d imagined it.  Yes, I do realize that lots of people in their seventies check out, just didn’t imagine I’d be one of them.

Denial and delusion are such masters of the great cover up.  Despite them, I’ve found myself tearing up a whole lot more than in the past couple of decades.  I began to look around at all the ‘stuff’ I’ve acquired that has brought me such beauty and discern who would get what in the will’s addendum. Got the medical directives signed and posted the DNR to the refrigerator.

Shock has worn off now and I am more at peace with whatever is to be the outcome. Hopefully my creativity will take up some of the hours of suspense and meditation will fill in the rest. It all got me thinking about a song in the movie, “Playing by Heart” entitled Walk into This Room.

Synthesized, it is about laying down our burden basket and walking into the light of love.  I realized we don’t have to wait for that crossover of the rainbow bridge to do so.  I used to have a First American burden basket on my wall.  I’m thinking that I’ll have one again.  In fact, I feel we would all benefit by having one.  If we simply write down what’s weighting us (or simply state it aloud and metaphorically add it to the basket) and then surrender it to the basket it can lift off any encumbrance. At year’s end, the year's burdens can be consigned it to flame.

I may still not know the outcome of this glitch in my health.  I do know that it is what it is and that all the angst in the world will not change anything. I do know, and have taught, that the word stressed turned around spells desserts.  I will choose to lay it down and walk into that world of light and love, here or there.  Ultimately, peace will prevail, and the right milestone will be celebrated.

"Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you." -Shannon Alder



Monday, December 28, 2020

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men

 by Rev. Amari Magdalena

A year is closing, the first year of the 20’s decade. Turned out to be not what we were expecting or wishing for as we rang it in 12 months ago.  Physical, economic, mental, and emotional challenges were presented to us on so many fronts of life that we had come to accept as ‘normal.’ We had a rude awakening!

We had to surrender physical touch with many in our groups.  Many people could no longer go into their work settings. Those that did, because their profession was considered ‘essential,’ were much more exposed to the deadly pandemic that was sweeping across the globe. Others worked from home.

Political battles took horrendously ugly turns as citizen against citizen flashed in mobs on our visual devices.  Families became unraveled over their political differences.  Hate bubbled up along with growing prejudice broadcast in living color from law officers choking a man to death with a neck hold.

We ran out of toilet paper and other essentials as hoarding cleared shelves at our local stores. Supplies of other things we had taken for granted, disappeared.  In most places shutdowns to help prevent the spread, caused local businesses to close as big box stores had better distribution systems to deliver goods survived.

Sadness, anger, despair, hate, and depression visited the emotions of many of us as the world we had come to assume permanent began to unravel.  The disease began to spread and reach into sections originally spared as many chose to deny the crisis and leadership labeled it a hoax.  First wave penetrated the populous as medical facilities became overwhelmed.  Pictures of body bags stacked on racks haunted our dreams of reality.

As the pandemic grew exponentially, so did enmity and harsh political oppositions.  We had to fight for the right to vote in absentia.  Yet the election finally happened and a winner by over 7 million votes was evidenced.  Yet, enmity and divide did not abate fueled by denial of the outcome by leadership and cult followers.

Now we have arrived at the closing curtain of 2020 and are holding our breaths with hopes for 2021. Some will imbibe in alcohol or drugs to enter 2021.  Others will hide hoping that a repeat year will not be seen.  Songs of love and peace and holiday lights may remind many of us to breathe and begin to bridge the chasm of divide and reunite with our families.

Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men will play loud enough for us to hear over the din of descension.  Many of us will be reminded to set aside our staunch postures of “they are wrong, we’re right” and remember our mission is peace.  Others will, yet to be freed of egoic positions, deny any possibility of reunion.

Yet reunion is no longer a subject of maybe, it is an imperative for salvation.  The salvaging will not be just mere humanity.  The ecological damage to our planet and human sustainability will be demanded of us to remedy.  We will be faced harshly with the reality of what kind of world we will leave to the coming generations who are bluntly holding us responsible for our poor choices.

So, beyond the horns blowing, fireworks exploding, campaign bottles popping and a sigh of relief, will be the loudest call for humanity ever to do a search and rescue operation for Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men.  We can pretend, yet not escape the truth.  Foolishness of submersion in self and fueling division will render a massive annihilation. If seventy-years are to be repeated it will indeed be the war to end all wars.

Thus, I appeal to you this pivotal night to lay down the swords of hatred, division, and separation. Become soldiers for peace. Demand a Department of Peace among our governmental agencies. Check yourself out in terms of your biases.  Be bold enough to embrace differences until you can distill the points of dissention down to commonalities that clearly bring peace among people and goodwill to all sentient beings on the planet. Time for the resurgence of the Flower children’s mantra “Make love not war!”

 They asked her, “What is the key to saving the world?”

She answered: “You! You are the key.  Heal yourself, know yourself, make yourself whole and free.  Release all limits so that your love can flow unconditionally for yourself and the world, this will open the heaven of your heart completely and it will guide you without fail.” Yung Pueblo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Quotation used in El Mundo Bueno: Saving Humanity and Our Glorious Planet by Amari Magdalena

 


Friday, December 27, 2019

Time Passages

by Rev. Amari Magdalena


It seems we are closing the second decade of the 21st century on a Ring of Fire eclipse.  Though I know time is an illusion and construct of the rational mind, I am struck by this moment.  We might say that time is the way we measure energy which is all around us all of the time. That said, in this material world we attach much to our calendars and timepieces.  And so it is that we close a period of ten years looking to the skies for answers.

Broadcasters seem to agree that it has been the best and worst of times in many ways for different people.  Some have amassed great wealth while others have experienced a shattering of the American Dream of working hard and improving their lot in life.  Poverty and Wealth have both grown somewhat more lopsided. The fabric of citizen unity has suffered rips and tears. Conversely, consciousness has risen steadily during this decade. The new birth of Earth has had its bumps.  Yet, as futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard, noted birth is not always smooth and easy.  Significant upside, we’ve connected globally through social media bringing us the world. This decade, in its close, seems to have been oppositional.  The pendulum which frequently swings to extremes has taken a sharp launch to the right and is in much need of finding middle ground.

We tend to view these passages personally and collectively.  On a personal note, I lost my last parent, four good friends, and other younger relatives. Gained three granddaughters and another grandson. Wrote and published seven books. I made four big moves: one within a state, three others to different states circling from sun to rain to sun.  I’ve held numerous ceremonies celebrating seasons and continued to teach ancient wisdom and pathways to peace.  Evidence suggests I’ve surrendered being paired.  No doubt I’ve accumulated more stuff than I now have room for and see the benefit in simplification.  Moved out of middle age into the elder realm.  Quite a passage!

Where does it leave us to acknowledge that 87,360 hours (5,252,429 minutes) have buzzed by? What do we do with this knowledge of our, and others, memories of chunks of time wrapped in ten years? How do we glean the gold from the dross and offer it to the Gods imploring them for a more promising future? In which way do we celebrate without losing the important lessons. Which Cave Center meditation will assist us in shedding what no longer serves us and igniting a torch of hope for the future?

We can make plans and temp the Gods!  We can, as Robert Kennedy said, dream dreams that never were and say why not! We can laud the young people coming up with new visions and energy to revive or planet. We can take time to smell the roses, applaud magnificent sunsets, and keep improving our ability to love without conditions while serving our fellow Earthship occupants. We can engage life and not choose to sit this one out. We can forgive and embrace forgetting. Ultimately, we can choose to find beauty each day, express gratitude, extend kind-filled acknowledgements, and enjoy this wondrous illusion. We can foster hope and continue our journeys as Peace Pilgrims until we cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Prognosticators say were headed for glory. Hallelujah! Time passages buy me a ticket on the last train home tonight!  

"You can start anew at any given moment.  Life is just the passage of time and it's up to you to pass it as you please."  Charlotte Eriksson

"The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time." James Taylor




Sunday, December 8, 2019

A Sensory World

By Rev. Amari Magdalena


As I drive about at this holiday season and see all of the displays of Light and enjoy the smells of Cedar, Cinnamon, and Ginger, I am reminded of what an amazing sensory world we live in.  In the rush of our daily lives, I feel we often take our five senses for granted until some event triggers a memory or an acknowledgement.

While we have five physical senses, we’ve also a sixth sense that may or may not be well developed. Sight is a miracle for those blessed with sightedness. Our eyes are the windows to the world.  They can afford us an unparalleled vision of beauty or expose us to the worst visions of humanity.  I’ve chosen to see or seek beauty in this elder passage of my life.  If I should have negativity or worry descend, I direct my focus to beauty.  And, beauty is all around us if we just look beyond the limiting vision of our living boxes. I believe beauty is the portal to the soul.

Hearing the sounds of a beautiful symphony, lullaby or Gregorian chant can trigger a splash of positive endorphins and oxytocin hormones being released in our oft stressed systems. We hold so many memories of the music of our generation.  Music can also be cacophony and grate on our peace.  Science is now learning that even the planets and stars have a sound. Sound can open doors to new worlds, if we are willing to listen. Folks with clairaudience have fine tuned the sounds to understand messages from beyond our normal range of listening.

Touch!  So vital to newborns under all circumstances and a needed commodity throughout life. The Puritan, WASP, influence in the early founding of what we call America, led to less touch than is desirable.  As our melting pot of a country has brought peoples of all cultures, we see more touch demonstrated in some than others.  Lack of touch can lead to depression. Kinds of touch in our environment speaks volumes to our mental states: soft, soothing, harsh, rugged, etc. Touch is ultimately about connection. The more, and better quality hugs we receive, the more we feel our existence is affirmed and valued.

Smell, and all the memories associated with it, may be carried from childhood through our adulthood.  The scent of our familiar family has a long-lasting impact on our later connection with people who enter our lives.  We do not all smell alike. Mother’s bond with their newly born infants through smell-they smell like the mother. Scents can enhance our natural smell or repulse others.  Scent sensitivities are growing as natural ones are replaced with chemicals. Even our mental outlook can be impacted by smell.  Surrounding our homes with scents that speak to us in a most positive way, can be uplifting.

Taste, and our culinary preferences, have evolved into an entire smorgasbord of foodie industries. We equate taste with other aspects of life also.  We might say an interaction left a bad taste in our mouths.  Conversely, we exclaim, “Yum!” at a great experience or culinary delight. Another expression of taste is with a value judgment-good taste or poor taste in friendships, home décor, etc.  When our taste buds are keenly developed in all aspects of life, we tend to be more open to the new and untried. 

Development of our Sixth Sense can open a whole world beyond the material. I believe that all of us have the capacity to open that 3rd Eye.  Much of our early conditioning impacts whether we’ll allow that awakening. When we trust that there is indeed more than what seems to be through our illusions of permanence, a wondrous world of possibility invites our tenancy. With the opening we have a foot in both worlds.

Years ago, I read in a Reader’s Digest article that listed the true capacity of our five physical senses. An example of this is: “See a small candle flame from 30 miles away on a clear, dark night.” Other examples spoke to the other senses.  Our crowded cities with overload on our natural senses have dulled most of them.  Isn’t it time to reclaim this sensory world? In wide open spaces, in nature, away from the proverbial madding crowd, we may discover a world of wonder.

I encourage us all to not depend on seasons or holidays to reawaken our senses.  Choose now to value them, activate them, and experience one of the true joys of having a human body. Add a color to your décor.  Try some new music. Add a new spice to food. Find a pleasant natural aromatherapy oil to diffuse in your living room and bedroom. Choose a new fabric in your clothing or furniture. Experience more of life! And, if you trust yourself, do something to wake up your sixth sense!  And remember, love is the poetry of the senses. (Honore de Balzac)

"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul." Oscar Wilde

"There are four Powers: memory and intellect, desire and covetousness.  The first two are mental and the others sensual.  The three senses: sight, hearing, and smell cannot well be prevented; touch and taste not at all." Leonardo da Vinci

"Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that called Body is a portion of Soul discerned by the five senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age." William Blake








Sunday, December 1, 2019

Saving Humanity and the Planet


by Rev. Amari Magdalena



A wonderful Zen Buddhist Monk at CSL Las Cruces today addressed three poisons and their remedies.  He specifically mentioned: greed, hate, and delusion the cures for which are wisdom, generosity, and loving kindness. These are also referred to as non-delusion, non-attachment, and non-hatred. The latter represent wholesome factors. Right now, our world is squeezing through the center of a very tight hourglass of change as it has become top heavy with greed, hate, and delusion.  It’s a pretty painful process. Many do wish the sand  to reach the other side as time chases us.

At the risk of being redundant, may I remind us all that so many things have created this moment: political unrest; increasing poverty; disappearing niceness, moral compass, and manners; uncontrolled growth at the top tier of economics; changing weather patterns; and the ever-shifting sands of history. All empires fail and have throughout history. Power has been rested away from one group to another, repeatedly.  As the empire waned, many poisons were evidenced. 

While this feels like very bad news, one can look at it as a necessary process to foster a quantum leap in human evolution.  If we are to have a eco evolution, the human evolution must be accelerated.  Polarity and duality have no place in this process, or it will surely derail good intentions, affirmation and prayers for good, and the shreds of a humane society necessary to fuel and foster the evolution.

Delusion is but one aspect of the poison yet a very important one.  In metaphysics, along with many indigenous understandings of the corridor West, it signifies the grand delusion.  If we are to push this process through the narrows, we each will need to explore our own 7 veils of illusion* and remove them. Easier said than done, at times, yet we no longer have the luxury of holding tightly to our comfortable denusions (denial and delusions). 

As the monk said, we can no longer be satisfied with Talking our Talk; time now to Walk the Walk in real time. This requires us to wake the hell up in every given moment, not just in consciousness groups or spiritual gatherings.  As an insurance company may ask us to put a monitor on our mileage for better potential insurance rates, it is time for us to monitor our thoughts for salvation of humanity.
For several decades now many of us have gathered in consciousness groups that meet once a week or occasionally.  We come away inspired and committed to making a positive change. Some of the enthusiasm results in creating organizations for good.  That is fantastic! Yet it doesn’t solve the problem though it punctures a small hole in the back log of hourglass sand and allows a trickle to reach the new.

What then is necessary beyond continual vigilance on our thinking and exploring more avenues for change?  Finding ways to significantly get in the touch with those who are different than ourselves.  Releasing any smugness in the belief that we’re doing great good and should be receiving accolades for our efforts. Retiring the Ego.

We must include the ‘others’ that our judgment views are separate from us. We’ll need to behold the golden threads of essential light and energy that connects us all. Will it be possible to connect with everyone, perhaps not? Yet, yes, we can attempt to widen our circle of influence and levels of understanding of apparent differences.  When we have opportunity and access, we can see the Divine in those we connect with, even for brief moments.  The others, we can simply extend loving kindness to their souls.  We could even use the Shamanic Journey to connect with those that we are unable to reach in the relative world-totem to totem.

Even small acknowledgements like speaking the name of the person who is serving us, whose tag gives us that information, can be beneficial.  We can join groups that are not all espousing the very same things we are about and just be ourselves. We can ask questions in of people in the group about what they want out of life and how they see the world. Active efforts, no more exalted rhetoric, are much needed.  Stepping into another person’s moccasins, even for moments, will help us find the light connections. Releasing the concept of separate races and epidermal distinctions.

Asking ourselves in each interaction: am I being wise; am I able to be of generous service; is my attitude and behavior conveying loving kindness?  And, when those attributes are not prevalent, stop the interaction, back up and start anew.  Refrain from self-flagellation as it tends to being things back to the self and cause angst and self-judgment. Become the person of a world where everyone thrives.  Then, and only then, can the clogged sands pour effortlessly into the other side of the hourglass and save humanity and the planet.

“We must flex our heart muscles not only to include the least, the last, the lost, but also to include whomever we are currently referring to as ‘snowflake’ or ‘deplorable’ instead of God’s name for all of us which is ‘Beloved.’”  Rev. Robin Bartlett

"A Religion of Evolution: that, when all is said and done is what Man needs ever more explicitly if he is to survive and 'superlive,' as soon as he becomes conscious of his power to ultra-hominize himself and of his duty to do so." Pierre Teilhard de Chardin



*7 Veils of Illusion from Unbecoming Me: The Ultimate Shapeshifters Journey