We are beginning to explore new corners of our portion of reality and are opening as a flower opens, to discover what we have been, potentially, all along.  The blue sky of spring is outside of ourselves, but we learn some of the infinite possibilities of the universe when we find ourselves responding to it. Within us is the infinite past, the mystery of the universe. It is our universe, but our universe is apparently only one of a great many universes.

What we know is only a small part of what is. The massed banks of stars in he night sky whisper about other universes of thought and space and time and existence.  It is an infinity of small perceptual universes: all of the insects on earth; all of the animals above and below the waters; all of the strange crystallizations of the nature of the universe; the atoms becoming trees and stars; sea horses and plants.

This infinity cannot be destroyed. If all of the sea horses should die, we would still be in the kind of universe that creates sea horses. If all the stars should disappear the dusts of space would make new ones.  It hardly seems important, from the viewpoint of eternity, what particular aspects of the universe are expressed on a minor planet such as ours. Once again we reach those un-answerable questions. At the center of mechanics there is mystery. We are a mystery, and we live in mystery. And we know it, some of us.

Explaining how something works does not explain how it exists. Are the leverages with in our universe becoming available to us?  Quoting from Evelyn Underhill, from Mysticism, [1974, New American Library]:
 

 "... we are the gods that our ancestors told stories about. We fly from one part of the globe to another in a matter of hours; we instantly communicate over thousands of miles; we can commit mayhem in moments, move mountains in minutes, and every night we sit in front of our magic picture box and find out what all the other gods are up to....”

“ We are magnified through space and time, our senses enlarged, our whims accelerated.... We are at a time in human history and planetary development when we are becoming aware of the stupendous unconscious knowledge and skillful orchestration that is going on in ourselves as well as in the outer cosmos all the time. We are at a crossing point in human history..."

"...the earth has grown through us a brain and nervous system, but now these systems need to grow a larger psyche to contain them and to learn how to use them.  Thus the task of our time, evolutionary governance, is one of matching the increasing complexity of external reality with a corresponding increase in the depth and breadth of our psychic reality." -

"True illumination, like all real and vital experience, consists rather in breathing of a certain atmosphere, the living at certain levels of consciousness, than in the acquirement of specific information."
 

Spiritual traditions speak of embodying the divinity within. When we recognize that we, and everyone with whom we interact, are in fact, a spark of divine goodness, we can meet Essence to Essence. We can see others as they truly are, which is a healing act in itself. Mirroring that reality back and being fully present, are the corner stones of healing and health. World peace starts at home.

Man’s greatest inhumanity to man has invariably come in the guise of bigotry. “If we are right then surely, they must be wrong.”  This dismemberment of the psyche into a good and worthless portion has mostly been based on ignorance, superstition or religious belief.

That which we do not understand, we are more likely to put up on a pedestal and make into a deity or a devil. The most vulnerable are always the most superstitious and fearful, and hateful. These are the ones that seek to exclude others. Understanding and enlightenment brings inclusion.

Whatever is classic is always embodies the things we all have in common— coming into being and passing away, love and tragedy, that which we care about most deeply. The true function of art and religion is to afford our imagination with appropriate ways of feeling and behavior. By putting us in touch with the larger cycles of nature our sense of awe and wonderment is renewed.

Without that we are less likely to know what we feel and are we are more likely to imitate others and become just another member of a tribe, clan, gang, or “ism.” Divorcing one's self from dreams, from feeling, caring, is to give up individuality. This is dangerous because once this fine line has been crossed, surrender to a system of some kind becomes ever easier. Once in a state of denial, anything can be ignored. Once enslaved by a system, atrocity can be only a step away.

The nature of the human spirit is love. But falling in and out of love can lead to aloofness and frigidity even where a deep, spiritual bond, once existed.  Longevity in human relationships depends primarily on feelings. How another person feels around you is really the determining factor. It's pretty hard to be "in love" when you are already "in anger".  Many people carry enormous stress loads and they do not even realize it!

Too often we seem to be only crashing into each other without any real connection, resulting in a longing to know that we are cared for in some significant way. We want to move beyond isolation and conflict into cooperation and a more positive flow of energy so we can develop a deeper spiritual connection. But it becomes apparent that often we aren't communicating very well.

Are men hard wired for violence and aggression, and women for passivity? Women have long suffered the pain of being devalued. They also have a more immediate sense of pain and grief. Menstruation itself is a kind of loss, a kind of mini-death within. Women are more immediately in touch with the emotional significances of experiences such as coming into being and passing away. Thankfully, their psyche seems geared to nurturance.  Will they be the ones to show the way?

The Men's movement gurus tell us that the way for men to find the appropriate mode of feeling and behavior is a descent through grief and ashes, in order to come to terms with the philosophical implications of violence. Since the invention of weapons of mass destruction, violence certainly has new significance.

Self-realization (spiritual achievement) and health do not always go hand-in-hand.  But we now know that there is a very real correlation between your thoughts, emotions and attitudes and your level of well-being. The Internet does seem to offer some promising new alternatives as a new way to stimulate dialog and understanding.  It is then, to this that these pages are dedicated.