Who are the people around us who practice kindness and compassion? Who are those from whom we can draw wisdom? And what is the wisdom, the kindness, the compassion that they bestow upon us in their words and actions?
I invite you to post the names of people who impart wisdom or who live wisely. They may be people you know personally. They may be famous or unsung. They may be contemporary or not. For the wonderful thing about wisdom is that it is timeless. Indeed, true wisdom seems to have the character of something that endures, that conveys a kind of meaning which transcends time and place.
Erikson identified wisdom as the fruit and virtue of Stage 8: The ability, through facing one's own mortality, to face death without fear. And through facing one's own mortality, choosing to turn and invest one's life with a desire to pass on that wisdom to others.
Here at the Cafe many of us were privileged to interact with Lux Umbra Dei. At the time he came to the Cafe he was already weakened with a battle with cancer and had endured surgery, chemo, and radiation. Though he has not written anything here since the third week of December, his spirit lives on. And I'd like to quote from one of his posts in mid November called The Great Community because I believe it exemplifies a message of wisdom and can guide us in finding further examples, of wise people and wise words:
The comments in that post by Lux are well worth rereading if you have the time. But I'd like to quote from part of my response to Lux:
There are many famous people, in addition to the Dalai Lama who are people of wisdom. I would include among them Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela among others. But there are many unsung and unknown people as well, people who have faced death or given themselves to a cause or simply learned from their own suffering and facing the trials of life.
Here is the wisdom of someone else facing death with courage and even joy. This comes from the words of a Jewish woman about to die in a concentration camp, as reported by Victor Frankl when discussing the "inner greatness" he sometimes witnessed in the camps:
Victor Frankl survived the camps. He wrote a number of books and urged that finding meaning, even in the midst of suffering and death, is the key to surviving anything - with dignity and humanity and a care and concern for your fellow person.
Here is Theophane the Monk with another teaching tale, one which demonstrates that arriving at wisdom and the care and concern for all that underlies this stage is a deveopmental process and involves a personal transformation:
And the very last thing I'd like to share was posted on my blog from yesterday - by MBH, describing a passage from self-centeredness to selflessness and a willingness to see others, even strangers, as part of Life and thus as worthwhile and valuable enough to risk one's very life for. This is just a bit from the tail end of a much longer comment:
I could write a good deal more. This is a very important stage of development, one not everyone reaches. But one which seems particularly geared to community, from which we can all learn via those who do reach it. Many traditions have recorded the wisdom of such people and passed it along, at times as sacred scriptures, at other times as art or music or poetry or their sayings have been gathered up an and published, because such people are needed by communities, their words and actions becoming beacons of hope, especially in dark times.
I hope you'll take some time to write your own thoughts or provide quotes or names of people of wisdom or stories of people you've known.
Peace be with you. And with all beings.
Addendum:
Here is a powerful example of what Stage 8 is all about: It is Passover. And one Jewish family's Seder (Passover meal) is described. Then, side by side with a description of that celebration of "liberation" - a blog describes the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. It is a powerful and poignant message of Wisdom. The true meaning of Shalom. (NB: Unfortunately all the TPM Cafe links are now broken as TPM deleted all the Cafe bloga.)
PERMALINK
April 11, 2009 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
I invite you to post the names of people who impart wisdom or who live wisely. They may be people you know personally. They may be famous or unsung. They may be contemporary or not. For the wonderful thing about wisdom is that it is timeless. Indeed, true wisdom seems to have the character of something that endures, that conveys a kind of meaning which transcends time and place.
Erikson identified wisdom as the fruit and virtue of Stage 8: The ability, through facing one's own mortality, to face death without fear. And through facing one's own mortality, choosing to turn and invest one's life with a desire to pass on that wisdom to others.
Here at the Cafe many of us were privileged to interact with Lux Umbra Dei. At the time he came to the Cafe he was already weakened with a battle with cancer and had endured surgery, chemo, and radiation. Though he has not written anything here since the third week of December, his spirit lives on. And I'd like to quote from one of his posts in mid November called The Great Community because I believe it exemplifies a message of wisdom and can guide us in finding further examples, of wise people and wise words:
When we talk about morality and ethics and community and dignity we are sometimes unaware of the hillside from which we gaze out at these issues. That hillside is our definition of our own selves.
We have to re-examine what "human" means when it relates to moral dilemmas, community, and compassion.
Lets leave that term aside for a bit and look at the concept of personhood. Who qualifies? It is a little like expanding the voting franchise. From landed white males, to minorities, and finally to women and youths. Who falls under the aegis of our compassion and concern and our sense of right and wrong?
Perhaps the time has come to expand it. And if we do center it on a definition like: "that which can give rise in us of compassion and concern", then we might extend our ethical umbrella out to cover starfish, trees, and the very earth itself. And so too our sense of community.
When we do, we probably will find that there is a deepening of our concern for each others as persons and as humans.
The comments in that post by Lux are well worth rereading if you have the time. But I'd like to quote from part of my response to Lux:
Was it you recently who spoke of a "loosening of ego boundaries?" (It could have been you, but it wasn't, I now recall.) But that's what you're describing here. Where our sense of "self" enlarges beyond our skin, beyond what we see or feel or even know. And we feel a kinship with others, with our planet and its inhabitants, with the cosmos - and beyond.
The Tibetan Buddhists have a very specific type of meditation, geared to helping people enlarge those ego boundaries. It's called Tong Len and I believe it's described in the Dalai Lama's book on ethics. But essentially it consists of repeating a series of blessings or prayers - for beneficence - on yourself, then those close to you, then those farther removed from you, then even enemies... and of course you could take it as far as you want to include plants, animals, whomever, whatever.
Some individuals, the Dalai Lama is one, have so embodied compassion (and thus allowed ego boundaries to loosen) that simply being in their presence fosters peace and calm and seems to deepen or enlarge oneself at the same time.
There are many famous people, in addition to the Dalai Lama who are people of wisdom. I would include among them Gandhi, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandela among others. But there are many unsung and unknown people as well, people who have faced death or given themselves to a cause or simply learned from their own suffering and facing the trials of life.
Here is the wisdom of someone else facing death with courage and even joy. This comes from the words of a Jewish woman about to die in a concentration camp, as reported by Victor Frankl when discussing the "inner greatness" he sometimes witnessed in the camps:
It is a simple story. There is little to tell and it may sound as if I had invented it; but to me it seems like a poem.
This young woman knew that she would die in the next few days. But when I talked to her she was cheerful in spite of this knowledge. "I am grateful that fate has hit me so hard," she told me. "In my former life I was spoiled and I did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously." Pointing through the window of the hut, she said, "This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness." Through the window she could see just one branch of a chestnut tree, and on the branch were two blossoms. "I often talk to this tree," she said to me. I was startled and I didn't quite know how to take her words. Was she delirious? Did she have occasional hallucinations? Anxiously I asked if the tree replied. "Yes." What did it say to her? She answered, "It said to me, 'I am here -- I am here -- I am life, eternal life.'"
[From, now titled, Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl]
Victor Frankl survived the camps. He wrote a number of books and urged that finding meaning, even in the midst of suffering and death, is the key to surviving anything - with dignity and humanity and a care and concern for your fellow person.
Here is Theophane the Monk with another teaching tale, one which demonstrates that arriving at wisdom and the care and concern for all that underlies this stage is a deveopmental process and involves a personal transformation:
The Well
Up there each one gets what he wants. I came there a wounded man, sorely hurt by my brothers. I went to the well as directed and shouted down: "Solitude!" And that's what I got. What a relief! You have no idea. How I needed that rest.
After a few years, however, I began to long for community. I thought of the example and teaching of Christ. Was it right to be alone so much? So I went to the well. "Community," I shouted. I got it. Beautiful -- for a while.
Well, there were ups and downs. At one point it got so distressing that I went to the well and shouted, "Death." I died. Peace at last. My troubles were over. I really enjoyed it.
It wasn't long, though, before I got to thinking, "Well life -- at least you're alive -- it isn't all that bad. It's up to you. It's what you make of it. And you can help people. Here -- what can I do?"
I began to wish I could go to the well and get back my life. But I couldn't get there, and if I could have, I had no breath to shout. I was just dead. Couldn't someone else go and shout for me? It didn't seem to occur to them. They saw me lying there, but no one thought to bring me back to life. Why were they so thoughtless, so selfish?
At last someone did think of it. He went to the well and called down: "Life for my brother." I rose from the dead. Oh, to be alive again, to breathe, to see, to walk, to hear, to relate to people.
But where was that man who raised me up? I asked everyone I met, "Have you seen the man who raised me from the dead?" They thought I was crazy. "No one comes back from the grave." "Called down the well for you? You call down for yourself, not for someone else." I searched all over. And you know, I passed many a grave before it finally occurred to me that someone else might be longing to return to life. I ran to the well. "Life for my brothers!" Ah, then I saw in the water way down there the face of the one who raised me from the dead."
[From Tales of a Magic Monastery by Theophane the Monk]
And the very last thing I'd like to share was posted on my blog from yesterday - by MBH, describing a passage from self-centeredness to selflessness and a willingness to see others, even strangers, as part of Life and thus as worthwhile and valuable enough to risk one's very life for. This is just a bit from the tail end of a much longer comment:
If it's rational to save the life of a stranger, then it must also be rational to improve the life of a stranger.I've actually run across a number of people who have developed from thinking that everyone should be totally independent and just take care of themselves and their families, but who have changed radically , often because adversity hit them, through loss of a job or loss of health. And through facing adversity they came to a wider and deeper view of all humanity and began to care about their fellow person - as themselves.
.....
You do realize this means your going to have to change a lot of things about the way you live your life?
"{extended exhale} Yeah."
I could write a good deal more. This is a very important stage of development, one not everyone reaches. But one which seems particularly geared to community, from which we can all learn via those who do reach it. Many traditions have recorded the wisdom of such people and passed it along, at times as sacred scriptures, at other times as art or music or poetry or their sayings have been gathered up an and published, because such people are needed by communities, their words and actions becoming beacons of hope, especially in dark times.
I hope you'll take some time to write your own thoughts or provide quotes or names of people of wisdom or stories of people you've known.
Peace be with you. And with all beings.
Addendum:
Here is a powerful example of what Stage 8 is all about: It is Passover. And one Jewish family's Seder (Passover meal) is described. Then, side by side with a description of that celebration of "liberation" - a blog describes the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza. It is a powerful and poignant message of Wisdom. The true meaning of Shalom. (NB: Unfortunately all the TPM Cafe links are now broken as TPM deleted all the Cafe bloga.)
There's a meditation I learned from the Order of the Golden Dawn that is similiar to what you described regarding Tibetan Buddhism:
As you breathe, visualize the symbol of Venus (the symbol of the feminine). Imagine the symbol to be the purest flaming white. Embed ten holes of black fire into the venus symbol, and breathe in its light. As you breathe out you chant "Ah-ha-voh" the word for the planet of love. You can extend this meditation to yourself and slowly expand it to your loved ones, your kindred spirits, and eventually to the entire planet, even the most reviled and evil of people.
It is from this meditation that I realized that even Hitler was a little boy who had been beaten by his father, coddled by his mother, and then subject to the trauma of the Great War. While there is no forgiveness for his crimes, there is an understanding in my heart that violence and trauma can turn a little boy or girl into a monster.
As far as wisdom teachers, there are many, but my mind right now is focused on Erich Fromm and his book "On Loving." He makes the point that love is extraordinarily difficult to achieve and rarely encountered without problems. His lesson is to start young, as children, and the habit blossoms into the concrete reality of true egoless love for self and others.
As you breathe, visualize the symbol of Venus (the symbol of the feminine). Imagine the symbol to be the purest flaming white. Embed ten holes of black fire into the venus symbol, and breathe in its light. As you breathe out you chant "Ah-ha-voh" the word for the planet of love. You can extend this meditation to yourself and slowly expand it to your loved ones, your kindred spirits, and eventually to the entire planet, even the most reviled and evil of people.
It is from this meditation that I realized that even Hitler was a little boy who had been beaten by his father, coddled by his mother, and then subject to the trauma of the Great War. While there is no forgiveness for his crimes, there is an understanding in my heart that violence and trauma can turn a little boy or girl into a monster.
As far as wisdom teachers, there are many, but my mind right now is focused on Erich Fromm and his book "On Loving." He makes the point that love is extraordinarily difficult to achieve and rarely encountered without problems. His lesson is to start young, as children, and the habit blossoms into the concrete reality of true egoless love for self and others.
Beautiful comment, Zipperupus. And that reminds me of Martin Buber - who wrote of the "I-thou" relationship. And of his disciple Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, someone I heard speak as a Sophomore in college. He was the first truly wise person I had ever come in contact with. He spoke in simple sentences, each one dripping profound meaning. Later on I met John Main, a Benedictine, who had first learned meditation in the east from a Hindu Swami, and the Dalai Lama. From him you receive a transmission of your own incalculable worth. Wow! And I have read Ruth Burrows (a Carmelite) and Jean-Marie Howe (a Trappist nun, with whom I exchanged a couple of emails) both women full of wisdom and compassion.
Thank you for your meditation.
Thank you for your meditation.
Interesting 'coincidences' here Thera. I spent part of last evening re-reading some of Lux's posts. I've been thinking about him as I see his position on the 'most followed' list drop. Funny, that first sentence of yours in this post too. Lux was the first name that popped into my mind in response to it. Your mention of the role adversity can play in developing compassion is I think a key here. Until one sees oneself as part of a larger whole, than the meager being, scratching out a living for oneself and one's immediate family, opposing a hostile world, we really have no perspective on who or what we actually are. You've given us a lot to ponder.
Bless you, dear miguelito. Your words are profound.
As always, a thought provoking and inspirational post.
miguelitoh's and zipperupus's words are so profound too and mirror my beliefs, that I think I will contemplate all for awhile as I can't say it better or anymore touching.
For now, all I can imagine contributing is that the list of those who have enriched my life with kindness is too great to list. I have learned my life is better when I choose recall and dwell on this than on the opposite.
Thanks TheraP!
miguelitoh's and zipperupus's words are so profound too and mirror my beliefs, that I think I will contemplate all for awhile as I can't say it better or anymore touching.
For now, all I can imagine contributing is that the list of those who have enriched my life with kindness is too great to list. I have learned my life is better when I choose recall and dwell on this than on the opposite.
Thanks TheraP!
You have touched on something very important. Gratitude. And the fact that gratitude, in and of itself, is also tranformative. That if we focus on what we have received and appreciate all the beauty and goodness that comes our way, it can lift our spirits - even in the midst of trials.
Thank you for that!
Thank you for that!
Only the word "gratitude" was supposed to be bold. I should have previewed. :-)
"Who are the people around us who practice kindness and compassion?"
For one, you, TheraP. Thank you for imparting your words of wisdom, kindness, and compassion. And, how you bring it out of others. Excellent series.
For one, you, TheraP. Thank you for imparting your words of wisdom, kindness, and compassion. And, how you bring it out of others. Excellent series.
Ack!, that was my thought. You, dearest TheraP.
You.
=D
You.
=D
Agreed Steve. All Thera's blogs and comments spread loving kindness and an uncanny wisdom. She helps people understand. She makes people feel valuable. She encourages people to grow.
It's one thing to move through the stages of development. It's a totally different ballgame to help others move through too. Thera is a gift to us all.
It's one thing to move through the stages of development. It's a totally different ballgame to help others move through too. Thera is a gift to us all.
What great kindness - coming from all of you above. All on this thread. And so many others.
I am touched beyond words.
Namaste.
I am touched beyond words.
Namaste.
You are providing a lot of thought provoking ideas and asking for a lot in this post. I don't think I can fully respond because there is so much to respond both to and with.
I think my clearest response would be that the truths leaping out from your post, when boiled down to their essence, have a great deal in common with the first and simplest lessons we are all taught as children and in some sense that we possess from birth. The idea of universality, oneness with others, responsibility to the world and universe in which you live and not just for your individual self, the idea that we have great power to do for others and that we can recognize that when we do for others or for something beyond ourselves that we benefit from that.
Loving service to others without any expectation of material reward in any conventional sense is the idea and way of life that is, I think, at the core of all the great spiritual traditions of the earth. If we recognize that we are not separate entities in the universe but a part of the universe in which everything is connected it helps people to act in ways that are less selfish, more caring, and less fearful.
I keep learning about this and appreciating it and being awed by it and challenged. The sources I have learned from are inumerable. LIke others here I must say you are one TheraP. I continue to believe that there must be something to uniting the hearts and minds of humanity in a harmonious pattern of behavior, belief, and emotion and that if a certain critical mass is reached a great age of enlightenment could come into being.
Thanks for focusing on and leading us down this path.
I think my clearest response would be that the truths leaping out from your post, when boiled down to their essence, have a great deal in common with the first and simplest lessons we are all taught as children and in some sense that we possess from birth. The idea of universality, oneness with others, responsibility to the world and universe in which you live and not just for your individual self, the idea that we have great power to do for others and that we can recognize that when we do for others or for something beyond ourselves that we benefit from that.
Loving service to others without any expectation of material reward in any conventional sense is the idea and way of life that is, I think, at the core of all the great spiritual traditions of the earth. If we recognize that we are not separate entities in the universe but a part of the universe in which everything is connected it helps people to act in ways that are less selfish, more caring, and less fearful.
I keep learning about this and appreciating it and being awed by it and challenged. The sources I have learned from are inumerable. LIke others here I must say you are one TheraP. I continue to believe that there must be something to uniting the hearts and minds of humanity in a harmonious pattern of behavior, belief, and emotion and that if a certain critical mass is reached a great age of enlightenment could come into being.
Thanks for focusing on and leading us down this path.
You have summarized the main points well, oleeb. And I really like how Erikson places what most would consider the pinnacle of spiritual growth as the pinnacle of psycho-social development. Yes, these are the truths which we are taught, if we are fortunate, yet the truths can become embodied over time - which is something else altogether. When you meet such people, and they are rare, you know it immediately. In India, there is a tradition of simply gazing at the Holy Person - darshan it is called. With the idea that just being in the "presence" of holiness is somehow a blessing. With these rare individuals, that makes so much sense. Few words are needed. And "presence" is everything.
By the way I do not mean to suggest that someone must follow a spiritual path to reach Stage 8. Erikson never says that - and it is clear that people grow and develop by many paths - often because life has dealt them painful cards and they somehow rise to the occasion and afterward are never the same.
The interesting thing about the United States is that for all the greed and selfishness that you can find, there is a remarkably fertile soil here for spirituality of all types. Bigots aside, this is in some ways also a remarkably tolerant society. And may that increase. Perhaps indeed this financial meltdown and the horrors that occurred under bush may lead to some kind of transformation in society. I can't predict. It could go either way. But we can certainly hope and work for a positive transformation, rather than "the decline and fall".
By the way I do not mean to suggest that someone must follow a spiritual path to reach Stage 8. Erikson never says that - and it is clear that people grow and develop by many paths - often because life has dealt them painful cards and they somehow rise to the occasion and afterward are never the same.
The interesting thing about the United States is that for all the greed and selfishness that you can find, there is a remarkably fertile soil here for spirituality of all types. Bigots aside, this is in some ways also a remarkably tolerant society. And may that increase. Perhaps indeed this financial meltdown and the horrors that occurred under bush may lead to some kind of transformation in society. I can't predict. It could go either way. But we can certainly hope and work for a positive transformation, rather than "the decline and fall".
oleeb and Thera, I love where both of you are going with this. The ideas of reaching critical mass and transformation. It reminds me of Promised Land Buddhism: the idea that enlightenment in yourself is only partial enlightenment but enlightenment amongst a group, a country, ultimately a world--that is real Enlightenment. Thich Nhat Hahn writes that--like Thera says--the United States is the perfect place for something like this to be sparked. Our consumerism, for all its vices, is just a vehicle. Once the right set of ideas take the wheel, we may progress into a, so to speak, new world. To think of it in Eriksonian language--since Buddhism is only one perspective--we could collectively attain the 8th stage of development. I don't know if it's realistic that every single person gets there, but if enough do, then bigots can be irrelevant and violence can be marginalized.
To be quite honest, I haven't thought about this sort of thing in a long time. I don't think it's Utopian--it's not about a perfect world, just a qualitatively better and more sustainable world. I agree too that for all the pain experienced today, potentially all the more growth tomorrow. It's always darkest before the dawn.
To be quite honest, I haven't thought about this sort of thing in a long time. I don't think it's Utopian--it's not about a perfect world, just a qualitatively better and more sustainable world. I agree too that for all the pain experienced today, potentially all the more growth tomorrow. It's always darkest before the dawn.
I like where you're going with this. Because Stage 8, I think, is all about doing whatever one can to provide the fertile soil so your fellow persons can develop to their full extent - whatever that might be. And I think that to the extent we can foster not only development in every stage - but across those 8 domains you mention - we can, as a society, as a world (I would hope) move toward greater peace and compassion and kindness.
Which actually makes me think of another blog to do in future. But I'll leave it there. Something Gandhi learned. But I'm not sure what stage it's at. I have to think about it - related to aggression and how we cannot let go of it till we have "owned" it first.
Wonderful, beneficial comment. (I will now put my thinking cap on....)
Which actually makes me think of another blog to do in future. But I'll leave it there. Something Gandhi learned. But I'm not sure what stage it's at. I have to think about it - related to aggression and how we cannot let go of it till we have "owned" it first.
Wonderful, beneficial comment. (I will now put my thinking cap on....)
Points well taken Thera. There is no agression to let go of if one hasn't owned agression as a universal reaction. It's like the first time Ghandi witnessed his people being abused by the British. His response was to ask, "how do I do things like that?" or "how am I guilty of this sort of domination?" Most people would become enraged and reactionary. But he took the whole thing in. He saw beyond his ego, the egos of the British, the egos of his own people. He just saw a certain dynamic playing itself out in the process of Life. He did not judge one side or the other. He just asked, "how does one change this dynamic?" And his answer was a question:
The British play the role of villain. The Indians play the role of victim. What would happen if we interupt this script. What would happen if we refuse to recognize ourselves as victims and the British as villains? What would happen?
The British play the role of villain. The Indians play the role of victim. What would happen if we interupt this script. What would happen if we refuse to recognize ourselves as victims and the British as villains? What would happen?
Actually, Gandhi came to that conclusion after trying to teach non-violence to children. He concluded they can't grow up "non-violent" - they need to own their aggression first. And then learn to give it up.
But I am sure the process you describe fits for the larger society of adults and our understanding that our own anger is a human emotion that we all share. Compassion for that. And so on.
But I am sure the process you describe fits for the larger society of adults and our understanding that our own anger is a human emotion that we all share. Compassion for that. And so on.
I stand corrected. Thank you.
It's very hard for me to distinguish owning anger from being motivated by anger. I know that owning anger entails awareness, while being motivated by anger entails reacting. On the raw emotional level, being motivated by anger, for me, can masquerade as awareness.
It's very hard for me to distinguish owning anger from being motivated by anger. I know that owning anger entails awareness, while being motivated by anger entails reacting. On the raw emotional level, being motivated by anger, for me, can masquerade as awareness.
Yes, I understand where the confusion would come from. Sometimes I have had trouble getting patients to understand that "all your feelings are ok" - and it's one thing to "have" them and be aware of them, but another thing entirely to "act" on them. That's the kind of thinking little children can't do. Even adolescents have trouble putting it into practice. Boy is that hard one, isn't it? Putting it into practice, I mean. (So this is definitely a developmental thing - and if we move to the level of society... well, we're not there yet, are we?)
I didn't mean for you to feel badly. How could you read my mind after all? But I've thought so, so much about this - for years. I learned a lot from Gandhi. A lot.
I didn't mean for you to feel badly. How could you read my mind after all? But I've thought so, so much about this - for years. I learned a lot from Gandhi. A lot.
Yeah, great point. As a society we've certainly learned the value of mistrust the hard way. Now we're all--consciously or not--working through stage II as a country. "Do we burn down bankers' houses?" "Do we sulk in self-pity?" Or, "Do we work to reconstruct for the future?"
If we act on our anger then we burn down houses. If we disown our anger then we sulk. But if we process our anger--own it and understand it--then we can reconstruct for another day or another generation.
You didn't make me feel bad Thera. Whenever I'm corrected, I know it means I'm learning something!!! I love to be corrected!!!
If we act on our anger then we burn down houses. If we disown our anger then we sulk. But if we process our anger--own it and understand it--then we can reconstruct for another day or another generation.
You didn't make me feel bad Thera. Whenever I'm corrected, I know it means I'm learning something!!! I love to be corrected!!!
I love your definition of where we're at as a country. If we can channel the anger constructively, we can move into stage 3! :)
I read Victor Frankl's book many years ago, some 25 years or more. It was a deeply moving work and is quite an appropriate reference for your post here. I don't have the book now but can almost remember the quote from the title page. Something like:
"From the ashes of my heart I will build my temple."
Was that it? If you still have the book.
"From the ashes of my heart I will build my temple."
Was that it? If you still have the book.
I wish I had the book with the quote you mention. My copy is so old that the title has changed! The one I have is: From Death Camp to Existentialism, which is not even the translation of the original German, which would be more like "A Psychologist survives the concentration camp." Since he published many books and may have revised them in addition to changing some titles, he may have added quotes, like the one you mention.
Thank you for that touching addition, MacCrea. Yes, it is a deeply moving account. And I certainly add my voice to yours.
The manner in which this man not only survived but lived to teach others the value and uniqueness of suffering is an amazing tribute to the human spirit, stretched to its limit and then transformed in the process.
My copy was published in '59 and was a used copy I picked up somewhere in the 70's I believe. (It has notes from someone who must have read Tillich.)
Thank you for that touching addition, MacCrea. Yes, it is a deeply moving account. And I certainly add my voice to yours.
The manner in which this man not only survived but lived to teach others the value and uniqueness of suffering is an amazing tribute to the human spirit, stretched to its limit and then transformed in the process.
My copy was published in '59 and was a used copy I picked up somewhere in the 70's I believe. (It has notes from someone who must have read Tillich.)
TheraP, I just saw your invitation to drop off this poem. Thanks for the invite! I was inspired by dickday's hillaarious writing but then this came out.
To RUSH (And other troll Ty-Rants)
April 7, 2009
Your political nukes
wring the atom
of miracles
Still dreamt alive
in subtle play with
hum of words and swords
of light
Your muttering breath
moans and muffles ash
in zero
Sometimes words wince reflexively
or whine into a mope
Rather small we end up
without answers
Swords onetime drawn
by rumor or sad whispers
while love’s kind labor
leaves the room
sighing
To RUSH (And other troll Ty-Rants)
April 7, 2009
Your political nukes
wring the atom
of miracles
Still dreamt alive
in subtle play with
hum of words and swords
of light
Your muttering breath
moans and muffles ash
in zero
Sometimes words wince reflexively
or whine into a mope
Rather small we end up
without answers
Swords onetime drawn
by rumor or sad whispers
while love’s kind labor
leaves the room
sighing
That is so beautiful, stratofrog. So beautiful....
This speaks directly to you and to the appreciation we have for you because you focus strongly and kindly and wisely and help us to focus as well. Thank you TheraP!!!
From The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto
on The Spirit of Words
From The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto
on The Spirit of Words
I sometimes use Einstein’s theory of relativity (E=MC2) to explain this principle. This formula has an additional important meaning. The general understanding is that E = MC2 means “energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.” However, we can also interpret C as consciousness instead of the speed of light. Since M represents mass, we can interpret it as the number of people consciously focused.
What a wonderful thought that quote contains. Makes me wonder if minds, intent on doing good, could literally affect the quanta throughout the universe. Thank you!
the number of people consciously focused
.
Speaking of Einstein . . .
The other day I left a comment somewhere to someone about being lost.
But let me reword it this way:
~OGD~
Speaking of Einstein . . .
The other day I left a comment somewhere to someone about being lost.
But let me reword it this way:
In some points in time we all face being lost in our own midnight muddle. And all the while we're lost we never acknowledge so many others who are aware and understand that there are a million thousand smiles that spill into an Einstein infinity.Thera and so many others throughout these particular discussions that Thera has conducted have brought forth many a smile within this infinity.
~OGD~
And since you're celebrating smiles, there are so many times I come to TPM and reach such great humor. And there is no doubt that humor and LOL truly do lift one's spirits.
Your idea fits with the Gratitude idea up above. And also with stratofrog's. To remind ourselves that where we're stuck - at any one point - is not universal. That some are able to "focus" on the good. That some are smiling. That some are grateful. That we are part of a universe so much larger than ourselves - and just thinking that may provide perspective, which helps us step out of the small circumstances we feel trapped in.
So many kind words here. Let us focus our hearts and direct this kindness to the universe. :-)
Your idea fits with the Gratitude idea up above. And also with stratofrog's. To remind ourselves that where we're stuck - at any one point - is not universal. That some are able to "focus" on the good. That some are smiling. That some are grateful. That we are part of a universe so much larger than ourselves - and just thinking that may provide perspective, which helps us step out of the small circumstances we feel trapped in.
So many kind words here. Let us focus our hearts and direct this kindness to the universe. :-)
I don't want this blog to get lost. It is an example, I think, of Stage 8:
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/colindale/2009/04/we-had-a-family-seder-last-nig.php?ref=reccafe
Take time to read it. The "point" of the blog is in the second paragraph. But the first paragraph sets the scene. Then you'll get the point better!
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/colindale/2009/04/we-had-a-family-seder-last-nig.php?ref=reccafe
Take time to read it. The "point" of the blog is in the second paragraph. But the first paragraph sets the scene. Then you'll get the point better!
I have now linked this in the post above. It is that important!
Mighty synchronous timing Thera!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102883919
Overcoming oppression. Perfect.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102883919
Overcoming oppression. Perfect.
Thank you for that! What a wonderful set of coincidences! A time of special blessing.
Thera and all:
If we take this stage and think of it in relationship to the original post in this sequence regarding "vision quests" especially in terms of cermonial "coming of age" rites of our Native American forebearers. There are two examples of this I can think of...and I must appoligize as I can't remember where I read them it was so many long years ago.
The first is, I believe from the woodland indian traditions and was one of those group teaching sessions so many of our eastern indian tribes practiced (the original charter shcool system?)
They would gather all the male youth around a particularly large tree in the forrest and ask each one to reach his arms around the tree and encomapss it in his grasp. This was of course impossible for any one of them but if they all grasped hands then as a group they accomplished the task easily.
There was a starkly similar story from the plains tribes involving cutting a particular wild horse from a herd. I didn't link them as the same teaching lesson regarding team work until many years later....I guess I'm a slow learner.
If you read enough of the various books about our Native American's you will come across story after story that reflects their wisdom teachings especially as relates to an individual's place within their given society. Everyone had a roll within the structure of the group and that roll would be determined when he/she was a youth partly by gender assigned tasks within the given culture and partly by the skills or talents a youth would exhibt as they developed. Even today no one wants to be the last person chosen for a team
One last item that for some reason has been rolling around it this old head of mine since your posts last week.
When the Christian Missionaries began their "salvation" of the "heather redman" They were aghast at the Indian rite of praying over a kill or at the time of harvest thanking this plant or creature for giving his life to sustain the people. The Missionaries thought this was being multi-deity and they preached against it with great fervor that the indian must abanondon this savage belief of God being present in evry living thing and pray only to the one God...and then closed this emphatic teaching with a blessing to God the Father , Jesus the son and the Holy Ghost...sounds like three Gods if you don't know the background huh. To this day I wonder who was really confused regarding this.
Anyway I'm rambling so I'll leave this one here for now... Love your posts even from my days as only a lurker. Solving the worlds problems may not be in the grasp of this group as some of the local resident trolls love to point out, but, for me anyway, knowing a group of folks like so many of you that have commented on this thread, are out there genuinely concerned and talking about issues great and small gives this old fool hope for the future
If we take this stage and think of it in relationship to the original post in this sequence regarding "vision quests" especially in terms of cermonial "coming of age" rites of our Native American forebearers. There are two examples of this I can think of...and I must appoligize as I can't remember where I read them it was so many long years ago.
The first is, I believe from the woodland indian traditions and was one of those group teaching sessions so many of our eastern indian tribes practiced (the original charter shcool system?)
They would gather all the male youth around a particularly large tree in the forrest and ask each one to reach his arms around the tree and encomapss it in his grasp. This was of course impossible for any one of them but if they all grasped hands then as a group they accomplished the task easily.
There was a starkly similar story from the plains tribes involving cutting a particular wild horse from a herd. I didn't link them as the same teaching lesson regarding team work until many years later....I guess I'm a slow learner.
If you read enough of the various books about our Native American's you will come across story after story that reflects their wisdom teachings especially as relates to an individual's place within their given society. Everyone had a roll within the structure of the group and that roll would be determined when he/she was a youth partly by gender assigned tasks within the given culture and partly by the skills or talents a youth would exhibt as they developed. Even today no one wants to be the last person chosen for a team
One last item that for some reason has been rolling around it this old head of mine since your posts last week.
When the Christian Missionaries began their "salvation" of the "heather redman" They were aghast at the Indian rite of praying over a kill or at the time of harvest thanking this plant or creature for giving his life to sustain the people. The Missionaries thought this was being multi-deity and they preached against it with great fervor that the indian must abanondon this savage belief of God being present in evry living thing and pray only to the one God...and then closed this emphatic teaching with a blessing to God the Father , Jesus the son and the Holy Ghost...sounds like three Gods if you don't know the background huh. To this day I wonder who was really confused regarding this.
Anyway I'm rambling so I'll leave this one here for now... Love your posts even from my days as only a lurker. Solving the worlds problems may not be in the grasp of this group as some of the local resident trolls love to point out, but, for me anyway, knowing a group of folks like so many of you that have commented on this thread, are out there genuinely concerned and talking about issues great and small gives this old fool hope for the future
Thank you for your wonderful comment, which extends this topic so beautifully.
There is no doubt that when people band together to span a tree or a topic or to play various roles in a common task that the world, the very cosmos, is richer for that cooperation.
Yes, we may not be able to "make" things happen - yet who can say what seeds we may be planting, seeds which work to change minds and hearts in ways we may never know. It is always worth trying - that is selfless action: To act without expectation of the consequences. Simply because it is right.
Your comment is so rich with ideas...
Namaste.
There is no doubt that when people band together to span a tree or a topic or to play various roles in a common task that the world, the very cosmos, is richer for that cooperation.
Yes, we may not be able to "make" things happen - yet who can say what seeds we may be planting, seeds which work to change minds and hearts in ways we may never know. It is always worth trying - that is selfless action: To act without expectation of the consequences. Simply because it is right.
Your comment is so rich with ideas...
Namaste.
TheraP: I have been away for days completing a project. How lovely it is, then, to return to find the Cafe in a kind and gentle, contemplative mode. I know, before I even read the preceding blogs in your series, that yours is the primary influence in this gentling. My respect and affection for you grows, exponentially, blog to blog. And isn't it lovely that, independently, three people have cited Lux today?
Today is a day of remembrance. And blessing. Your presence, among them.
I have been with my son, away for a short time, I read this this AM and rec'd of course. I remember that Lux was one of the first to read my comments and my first blogs.
Lux would come across a blog he liked, and without spending a sec thinking about would 'leap' and express his strong feelings for the message of the post. I commented about that. There was emotion. There was someone who would get excited when he read something that he liked. He helped me understand how simple opinions, regardless of who made them, could be exciting.
And then, one day he was gone.
You can meet someone, and really like them and then they are gone.
Mortality. It just really struck me with Lux.
Lux would come across a blog he liked, and without spending a sec thinking about would 'leap' and express his strong feelings for the message of the post. I commented about that. There was emotion. There was someone who would get excited when he read something that he liked. He helped me understand how simple opinions, regardless of who made them, could be exciting.
And then, one day he was gone.
You can meet someone, and really like them and then they are gone.
Mortality. It just really struck me with Lux.
Mortality. Face that and you're close to Stage 8!
Lux has given us many gifts - including that last one. (I'm guessing.)
I feel Lux is part of me now. I really do. As if a short time of knowing him - and then losing him - had made a permanent mark upon my soul.
(I hope your son is well...)
Lux has given us many gifts - including that last one. (I'm guessing.)
I feel Lux is part of me now. I really do. As if a short time of knowing him - and then losing him - had made a permanent mark upon my soul.
(I hope your son is well...)
To Lux. And, TheraP and Dick, to friends. And to kindness.
Amen.
Thanks. I miss Lux. too.
April 11, 2009 3:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
