Hello from California

Hi All,

Just wanted to send a cheery hello from Lake Arrowhead, CA. Joe and I are here until June 27. The weather is beautiful here. Waiting for our daughter and granddaughter to arrive. They'll be spending the weekend with us. Can't wait!

Hope you're having a great weekend too!

Love to all,

Joe and Gloria

Guiltlessness: we are all Innocent

 First, just on a basic level, we can remind ourselves that guilt has no benefit of any sort and only increases our neurotic attachment to the self. But, more importantly, we can see that guilt is actually the way we try to escape responsibility for our actions and circumstances. We feel guilty when we don’t fully accept our circumstances. Instead, we continually try to protect and cherish this imaginary self. When we feel guilty, we are actually substantiating this “self” even further, rather than honestly looking at the situation in front of us. If we remember that the mind is innocent, even though we so often act out of ignorance we can distance ourselves from the situation enough to actually look at it honestly. Guilt, on the other hand, is a sidetrack with no resolution—it’s endless. You may feel like you are facing something because you are steeped in it—kind of rubbing your nose in how very bad it is—but actually you are not accepting it.

Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche with Pema Chodron

Insights on having no Enemies Within and no Enemies Outside

May we learn from yesterday, live with love today and serve the needs of tomorrow

Marrianne Williamson

. http://bit.ly/jN52Vy

There are two great forces in the world. One is the force of killing. People who are not afraid to kill govern nations, make wars, and control much of the activity of our world. There is great strength in not being afraid to kill. The other source of strength in the world--the real strength--is in people who are not afraid to die. These are people who have touched the very source of their being, who have looked into themselves in such a deep way that they understand and acknowledge and accept death, and in a way, have already died. They have seen beyond the separateness of the ego's shell, and they bring to life the fearlessness and the caring born of love and truth. This is a force that can meet the force of someone who is not afraid to kill.

Jack Kornfield

http://www.viet.net/anson/ebud/ebdha219.htm

Simple yet Profound

Mingyur Rinpoche leads us to experience our sense of embodiment more fully, then to expand our awareness to include what is happening in our immediate surroundings, to the space in which all experiences manifest and dissolve, and finally to the fresh, open awareness that is with us each and every moment. http://tergar.org/resources/guidedmeditation.shtml

Hopelssness

hope in hopelessness

"As the world grows ever darker, I've been forcing myself to think about hope. I watch as the world and the people near me experience increased grief and suffering, as aggression and violence move into all relationships, personal and global, and as decisions are made from insecurity and fear. How is it possible to feel hopeful, to look forward to a more positive future? The biblical psalmist wrote, "Without vision, the people perish." Am I perishing?"

Gratitude for Life

I just recieved this precious video and it reminded me to have gratitude for all the blessings that life has give me and I wanted to share it with those precious people around me.  May all benefit from it.

A Bolt of Hope

huffingtonpost article

Just when it seemed that all of Washington had lost its values and its connection with the American people, a bolt of hope has arrived. It is the People's Budget put forward by the co-chairs of the 80-member Congressional Progressive Caucus. Their plan is humane, responsible, and most of all sensible, reflecting the true values of the American people and the real needs of the floundering economy. Unlike Paul Ryan's almost absurdly vicious attack on the poor and working class, the People's Budget would close the deficit by raising taxes on the rich, taming health care costs (including a public option), and ending the military spending on wars and wasteful weapons systems.

In the Circle we are all Equal

Susan StantonGrandmothers Circle the Earth Foundation

Circle Teachings

The Circle is without beginning, and without end. We step into the Circle, it welcomes us and claims us its own. As we step into our place we find that there is no one but us who can stand in that place. No one but us. That is both a blessi...ng and a res...ponsibility. We are accountable for both what we learn and share in the Circle. If you have ever sat with the Elders, you will know that they never speak in haste. Why? Because a word once spoken can never be recalled. The Circle demands Truth. In the Circle each voice is heard. Each voice is important, and will be given the respect of the Circle. What is said in the Circle stays in the Circle. There is no gossiping. There is no cross talk. There is no interruption. There are no put downs. There are no accusations. There is no fingerpointing. There is no arguing. The Circle holds a Life of its own. In the Circle there is no one higher or lower than another. We are all equal. We are all given a voice. The Circle honors all Life, and those who understand the Teachings of the Circle honor all Life as well. If you have any unkind feelings toward anyone in the Circle you are asked to remove yourself as the Spirit of the Circle should be unrestrained. No harsh words find space in the Circle. The Circle is a place of Peace and unconditional love. The Circle is the place where Peace wll bring healing. The Circle is a place of quiet power. The Circle is a place of Wisdom, where the Ancestors whisper as the two-leggeds speak.

We are all One, maybe?

What does it mean that we are all one?  Where does the ego fit into all this?  Does it mean that I have to loose my identity of who I think I am?  These questions have been revolving through my mind and my heart for several years.  I don't claim to have a real answer but just more questions to ponder.

Although the more movement I have made from my mind to my heart the more I feel some satisfaction, some sense of peace.  Somewhere I have heard that the greatest distance on the universe is the distance between our mind and our heart. Maybe so, I know that it sometimes feels that way. It could be that I am discovering that in all reality it may be the shortest distance, too.  It could be that is both and at the same time neither.

I remember that when I was running the men's group for the local women's battered home,  the men would often claim that the reason they hit their wives/partners is because they made them do it.  I saw it as part of their treatment that they begin to have an awareness of taking ownership and responsibility for their own actions.  I tried several tactics including using the manual that was provided to begin to crack open the seed in their heads in order for them to receive some insights into their behavior.   One of the tactics was to use their reason and their tendency for self-cherishing for the benefit of all.  We as a group began to realize that we were unconsciously giving our power away to someone else by blaming others for our own behavior.

Hello and Thank You

Carlos, thank you for inviting me to the "Cafeteros Corner". I look forward to chatting with many of the Cafeteros in the near future.

Thanks for such a special day last Friday! There have been four answers to prayer from our prayer requests on Friday! The Creator is so good!! Love you,

Prima Gloria

What do lions and dogs have to do with meditation?

Conan the two year old male Chihuahua joins his hands in prayer beside Buddhist priest Joei Yoshikuni at a temple in Okinawa Prefecture Japan

What do lions and dogs have to do with meditation?

Aloha E Grandmothers, message from Susan Stanton

 Aloha E Grandmothers        

I have a strong feeling that we need to build a Lodge prior to the Gathering and the Grandmothers sit in it together and pray hard! I would like to request that you bring myself and Marjorie and Roanna (if possible) in on the 29th so that we can help put one together on the 30th with Jon Marie pouring. I also feel that we must include more emphasis on Ceremony every day, as this Gathering is so important that Pele is spitting fire to remind us of that!

We have the Ring of Fire in motion now, and many will be affected. The Sun (of special meaning now for those of us who Sundance) is also in the most powerful time (24) in the history of our Earth and we expect activity as has never been seen before!

The Military camp is symbolic of the war mentality that must be transcended - transmuted with love and prayers in every ceremony and Circle; we can no longer go on like this and as someone said last night "the People are leadng the power now, not the power leading the People". We have to pray for peace, and pray hard.

There was a brief synopsis in the news this morning of all the major changes that the other planets in our solar system are experiencing. Not to mention the new planet that "suddenly appeared" out of nowhere! Time is accelerating beyond our understanding and we have to do everything we can to assist with stabilizing the global net.....

The United Nations has finally noticed that the bees are disappearing!

We should have women rushing to join us in these Circles! We have so much work to do!

What can I do to help you bring attention to this Gathering? My time and energy are yours....

Nya weh Gowa,

Love Big Love to you all,

Susan

There’s nothing stronger than gentleness

UCLA's basketball coach John Wooden's favorite quote was from Abraham Lincoln: "There’s nothing stronger than gentleness"

Mis hermanos you have been that example for me,  the gentle turtle, the crow that cleans up the negative emotions, coyote corazon that honors and protects the women nation.

I am grateful to be in your company. Aho

Que Pasa Hemanos

We spoke of being able to touch base with each other even though we don't frequent the Air Coffee Corner.  It was great being in your company the other day, conjuring the old memories and spirits.  By the way, Happy Losar, Happy Tibetan New Year.  Lori and I went for a walk at Ft. Bayard.  Checkout the new improvements at the Arenas Valley entrance.  It was a little breezy, but it felt great to get outdoors.  Its time for the bears to stop hibernating and for the lizards to get out and sit in the sun.  Hold my tacos esse.