01

Carl Jung was the Shaman/Hustler/Hokum-master of his age.
He created an entire psyche-scam,
an artifice composed of little more than
smoke and mirrors
to distract the attention
of those seeking his help
away from the simple secret source
of their escape from their
so-called "neurosis"
back to "the face that was theirs
before they were born."

Jung developed an entire lexicon
of terms that have no meaning whatsoever
apart from the meaning he said they had--
and no one could ever quite understand
what he meant by the words 
or his definitions/explanations

("Neurosis" "Archetypes" "complex"
"individuation" "mysterium coniunctionis"
"anima" "animus" "shadow" "alchemy," etc.)
which kept everyone's attention diverted 
from the central feature of Jung's therapy:
reconnecting people with their own heart;
redirecting them to their own life.

Jung found that reuniting people
with their own spirit/energy/vitality
restored their own sense of balance and harmony,
which was the key in returning them
to the joy and satisfaction
of the life that was theirs to live.

But he knew no one would go there directly.
They had to be sent on a mysterious voyage
to the truth if they were ever to buy into it.
So he led them on a merry search for themselves
through a dreamworld of their own making.

And it worked wonders for those who were prone
to wonderment,
and it did not work at all
for those who were not.

Here are a few statements straight
from the heart of the Master:

“Follow that will and that way which experience confirms to be your own.” 

“Trust that which gives you meaning and accept it as your guide.” 

“We only gain merit and psychological development by accepting ourselves as we are, and by being serious enough to live the life we are entrusted with.” 

“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” 

“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.”

“In the final analysis, we count for something only because of the essential that we embody. If we do not embody that, life is wasted.”

“At bottom, there is only one striving, namely the striving after your own being.”  

“Particular care and attention must be given to that delicate plant ‘individuality’ if it is to grow and develop.” 

And on and on like that...

From antiquity,
all of the stories that matter to us
are about the return to what matters to us.

All of the great quests of lore
are quests for the heart of who we are.

All of the central themes of literature
through the ages 
are the same themes in every age:

Death and resurrection.
Turning and becoming.
Sin and repentance.
Betrayal and atonement. 
From bondage to freedom.
From being lost to being found.
From sickness to health.
From darkness to light.
Etc.

These are the themes that run through
our own life.
They speak directly to our heart/soul/psyche.
We are what we seek.
And we don't have to go anywhere
to make the journey to healing and wholeness.
We only have to open ourselves
here and now
to the truth of our own being,
and become who we are
within the context and circumstances
of the time and place of our living.

–0–

02

Chang Ling (AKA Chang Tao Ling, etc.) was born
in the beginning of the Common Era
in the province of Szechwan, China,
and laid the foundation
for the transformation of the world.

He created a "Savior Mystique,"
and organized a religious following
regimenting life around a core belief
in the resilient harmony at the heart
of one's own self
and the spirit of right relationship
with one's neighbors and all sentient beings.

His method of healing (According to Martin Palmer,
in his book "The Elements of Taoism") 
consisted of having "the person seeking healing...
to write out all of their sins and failures...and
holding the paper (containing the list)
above their head wade out into a river (where 
they submerged themselves under the water
and let go of the paper,
allowing the river to carry it away,
then stand up and return to shore) cleansed
of all of their failures and shortcomings
and (healed) of their illness."

Create the proper environment
so that people are psychologically prepared
to be saved,
and they will be saved.
All of the great healers heal in this way.
It is the placebo effect applied/experienced
on a mass level 
(which makes it all the more effective).

And, once we understand the basis
of our own restoration,
we can apply it to ourselves
without getting wet,
simply by letting go of our attachment
to our sins and failures
and allowing ourselves to live
at one with the truth of our own being--
with "the face that was ours
before we were born,"
no matter what.

We will sacrifice ourselves
in the service of something.
It would be wise (and healing)
to sacrifice ourselves
in the service of our own true self
at the heart of who we are.

–0–

03

It all comes down to,
and flows from,
sincerity and integrity. 

What these words attempt to express
constitutes the foundation--
the adamantine core--
of life and being,
both individually and collectively.

The most important thing we can do,
for ourselves and the larger community
(communities) of which we are a part,
is to live consciously,
with mindful, 
compassionate,
awareness,
in the service of sincerity and integrity,
moment by moment,
day by day,
in each situation as it arises,
our entire life long.

In conjunction with sincerity and integrity,
we need to be intently and intentionally,
consciously, mindfully, aware 
of the state of our balance and harmony,
and the quality of our spirit, energy and vitality.

These are the seven markers
indicating/expressing/exhibiting 
our degree of wellness
and the quality of our life.

To know how well we are doing,
we only have to take a reading 
of these seven areas of our experience.

Simply give yourself a number 
between 0 and 10,
with 10 being complete perfection,
and 0 being a total void,
and plot yourself throughout the day/week.

Commune silently with yourself
on a regular basis
to see how you might alter your life
to raise your numbers--
not thinking/planning as is our wont, 
but simply watching in the silence
for what emerges/arises/appears/occurs
to lead you along the way
toward the wholeness that is recognized
through balance, harmony, sincerity,
integrity, spirit, energy, vitality
flowing through our life
and transforming the way we live
in each situation as it arises.

Your life will change
without you doing anything
to make change happen.
Of itself.

And you will find that you are
as the Buddha,
One Thus Come.

All because you sat quietly
in the silence,
as the Buddha did
(And as Jesus did,
and as all have done
who share The Way of Life and Being).

–0–

04

Do not have to know "Why?"!

Start with "Why anything?,"
and keep asking, "Why?" of every answer,
and you will eventually get to, "I don't know?"

At the bottom of every "Why?" is "I don't know."

"What?" and "How?" are operative questions.
Ask them.

"What?" is a heart question.

"How?" is a head question.

"What?" is a feeling question.

"How?" is a thinking question.

We feel our way to "What?"
We think our way to "How?"
And we have to ask "Why?"
until we get to "I don't know."

Sit in the silence with "I don't know,"
until something occurs/arises/emerges
unbidden, un-thought, simply realized,
and carry that with you in your awareness
until something shifts within,
and your perspective changes
automatically,
without you doing anything
to make it happen.

This is called 
"Growing yourself up over time."

–0–

05

01

The work, the task,
the hero's journey,
in every age for everyone
is the same
across time and space.

It comes down to this:
Being true to ourselves--
exhibiting, expressing, serving
our original nature,
with the gifts/daemon/virtues/
specialties/knacks/preferences/
genius/etc.
that come with us from the womb--
within the circumstances
of the times and place of our living.

If you think that is easy,
climb into the ring with it,
and see if you can last 
three minutes
of the opening round.

The good news is that
it doesn't ever get
more difficult than
taking you in one hand,
and your circumstances 
in the other hand,
and getting the two hands together
over the course of your life.

It may help to think about 
how this might work for someone else
instead of yourself,
because it might be easier to see
someone else's gifts and original nature
than your own.

Let's take Tevya, for example,
from The Fiddler on the Roof.
How does Tevya work out
being true to himself
within the circumstances
of the concrete and steel 
of New York City?

It would be easier 
if he could keep walking
to the Catskills or the Adirondacks,
and by a small farm
with a cow and some chickens.

But, confine him to NYC,
and his task might become 
insurmountable.
Particularly if you reduce his income
to what he might earn selling newspapers
on some street corner.

He would need someone to talk to then,
someone to listen to him,
and help him sort things out,
identify the nature of his problem
with crystal clarity,
and think through how to be who he is
even there.

Let's say that someone is you.
How would you help Tevya
find himself
and be who he is
in New York City?

You are Tevya's muse
and his oracle.
Take it from here...

–0–

02

A rock has no trouble 
being its natural self.
Nor, does a lion,
or an eagle,
or a humpback whale.
They have no choice in the matter,
for one thing.

And, for another, 
they have no one telling them
not to do it the way they are doing it,
but to do it some other way instead.

They don't even have someone asking them,
"Who do you want to be when you grow up?"

They have it made.

Not so much you and I.

It is our place to realize,
bring forth
and serve our distinctiveness,
our style,
our "thing"
within the times and circumstances of our living.

In that work, it helps to be attuned to
our natural drifts and propensities,
our inclinations and our bents.

I have never liked to get my hands dirty.
My mother laughed telling everyone
throughout her life
that I made mud pies with two sticks.

My fifth-grade teacher, Ms. Unglesby,
told my mom one parent's day,
"Jimmy spends a lot of time 
looking out the window."
I still do.

There are things that are
characteristically "us"
that identify and define us
from the beginning.

It is ours to find them,
honor them,
and work them into our life,
perhaps building our life around them,
centered on them,
grounded in them,
proud to be who and how we are!

–0–

03

Doing what needs to be done here and now,
moment to moment,
keeps us focused on what's happening
and what can be done about it,
assisting it,
resisting it,
responding to it--
and helping us to remain immune
to being emotionally hijacked by it.

"This is how things are,
and this is what can be done about it,
and that's that,"
is a wonderful reminder of our limitations
and vulnerabilities.

Being as vulnerable as we are--
without being overwhelmed and undone
by the facts limiting our living--
is the fulcrum
that pivots the "is"
into the "will be."

Sounds crazy, but.
That's because it IS crazy.
Crazy sane.

This is how it works:
Starting with how things are
(Hopeless, pointless, futile and absurd)
lifts us to the vantage point of release
and freedom
through the simple response of,
"So what? Who cares? What difference does that make?"
Which connects us to the under-girding realization
that we are here to do what can be done,
and if nothing can be done,
that pivots us to doing what can be done
about nothing being able to be done.

Now, we have a different problem,
and one that we can do something about.
We can shift our attitude from being helplessly
unable to do anything about our situation,
into being very potent and capable
of adopting an attitude,
perspective,
frame of mind
that renders us immune to being immobolized
and despondent
by refusing to let it "get us down,"
and determining to go right on being who we are,
offering what is ours to serve and share,
"Anyway, Nevertheless, Even so!"

Even in situations in which nothing can be done,
something needs to be done that can be done.

In a prisoner of war camp,
with no hope of escape or rescue,
the prisoners can still be of help to one another,
can still dress as sharply as they can,
can still stand defiantly at attention,
can still carry out their duties and responsibilities
to themselves and each other,
etc.
"Anyway, Nevertheless, Even so!"

Our demeanor and our attitude is always our call.
And it still matters how we live
when nothing seems to matter at all.
If we are going to take anything on faith,
take it on faith
that it matters how we live,
and live as though it matters how we live,
trusting that to make all the difference,
all the way to our very last breath.

And it will!

And if it doesn't, so what?
It made all the difference in our life,
all the way to the end.

–0–

04

If we can have a way
without having to have our way,
we will pave the way
for the way
and transform the world.

Having to have our way
is the way
that prevents the way
from being realized
in the time and place
of our living,
and leads to the wasteland
of our discontent
and the loss of vitality
and radiance
worldwide.

Placing ourselves 
in the service
of that which needs to be done
regardless of its implications
for us personally,
frees us to be what the situation
calls for
and enables is to rise
to any occasion
without being hampered
by thought of advantage or gain,
and allows us to respond
with sincerity and spontaneity
to the moment at hand,
opening the way
for things to be exactly 
what they should be,
as blessing and grace
upon all concerned.

All because we said, "Yes," 
to what was happening
and assisted its happening,
with nothing in mind
and no idea of what we were doing--
as a child might say
exactly the right thing
in exactly the right way
in turning the moment
into a brush with mystery
and wonder,
causing our souls 
to leap, and twinkle, and dance.

01

When we are not instigating,
not contriving,
not exploiting,
not manipulating,
not setting things up,
not arranging for something to happen,
not striving,
not pushing,
not forcing,
not straining,
not stressing out,
but are simply being present
in the moment
and allowing things to just happen,
everything happens as it should.

Try it sometimes.
Participate in some moment
without trying to get something 
to happen there.

Just be present,
attentive,
engaged,
but not in charge, 
not in control,
not directing,
just watching,
letting things take 
their own course,
noticing how things just happen
of their own accord,
when no one has ambitions,
and no one exercises power
and authority.

It's magical.

The occasion seems
to have a mind of its own.
Things happen as they should
and no one makes it so.

We can be forgiven for thinking
that Carl Jung might be right 
when he said, “Our life is not made by ourselves. 
The main bulk of it is brought 
into existence by forces that are hidden to us.” 

And when we operate our life
with a light touch,
giving "the hidden forces"
room to operate,
things tend to happen of themselves,
exactly as they should.

And no one knows what to make of it.

–0–

02

I have a friend who was always
playing around with drawing
and lettering.

In jr. high, he noticed the lettering
on school buses was chipping off
and wearing away,
so he would climb over the fence
at the bus yard and touch up the letters.
The authorities caught him doing it,
and paid him to do it.

He grew up,
graduated from college
started his own sign company,
and has made a comfortable living
drawing and lettering.

This is letting your life 
guide you through your life.

During college and somewhat afterwards,
he took up sailing,
and told me,
"I became a sailor
the day I realized
the sea was out to get me."

He learned to read the sea
and live within the boundaries 
the sea set,
knowing what he could get by with,
and what he had no business
doing.
Knowing "the sea was out to get me"
had meaning on two different levels,
and if he ignored one,
the other would not be lenient or forgiving.

It was the same knack 
he used with his life.
His life was out to get him,
and when he lived out of that 
understanding,
he was well served.
And when he tried to force his way
onto his life,
compelling it to be what he wanted it to be,
thought it ought to be
(He tried playing basketball for a while),
his life banged him around
like the sea would
when he tried sailing against
the prevailing wisdom of the wind and waves.

The lesson here is see what you look at,
by taking the time to really look at it
and know what it is telling you,
and what doors are open,
and what doors are shut,
and walk through the open doors.

Letting our life have its way with us
is an art to be learned by living,
just as sailing is to be learned by sailing,
knowing what is called for
and what has no business being.

Your life is out to get you.
Know what that means,
and adjust your living accordingly.

–0–

03

We are all on our own,
with only our sense of what is working
and what is not
to guide us.

Working in terms of what?

The question is ours to answer.
And we have to be right about it.

Our life teaches us to be right about it.
Which means we have to be open
to changing our mind
about what it means 
for something to work/not work.

To refuse to change our mind
about what is important,
is to bang away at what 
we have no business having/doing
our entire life long,
hellbent and determined
to have our way or die trying.

Cemeteries are filled with people
who died trying,
or quit trying and died without a clue.

Life and living are for finding out 
what is important
and serving it with filial devotion
and liege loyalty.

What does it mean for our life to be working?
For our life to not be working?
Working in terms of what?
Working in light of what?
What matters most?
What is guiding our boat
on its path through the sea?
What are we trying to have
that isn't worth having?
How are we being asked
to change our mind
about what is important?

Those who can change their mind
when their mind needs to be changed,
live a lot better life
than those who cannot.

–0–

04

Sitting with our life
in stillness and silence,
listening,
looking,
waiting to see, hear
what is waiting to be seen, heard,
is the ground 
of all that follows.

The path to the path of life and being.
The path to the path
to the mystery of life and being.

We never know what is going on,
or what it means,
or where its going,
or what it will lead to.
It's all a mystery
unfolding into mystery and wonder.

We go "Aha!" all the time,
as though that means something.
It just indicates a connection
has been made with what has gone before,
in a "That meant THIS!" kind of way--
but we have no idea of what THIS may mean,
or lead to,
or what we are being asked to do now,
so we are always being asked
to sit in the stillness and silence,
listening, looking...

We can never rush ahead,
thinking we have it now at last,
and know what's what
and where its going 
and what we need to do
to make it happen.

Whenever we make something happen,
the wrong thing happens,
and we have to return to the stillness
and the silence,
and allow the mystery to unfold
into mystery and wonder.

–0–

05

"To bide our time"
means waiting for the time to be right to act.

How do we know?

What is the difference between "not now"
and "now"?

How often do we say "not now"
when we mean "never"?

All photographs are better in some times
than in others.
This could mean a time for better lighting.
Or a better sky.
Or no wind.
Or no people.
Or more people.
Etc.
Depending on what the photographer's
desired outcome for the photograph is.

The right time depends upon what needs to happen,
and whether this is the most propitious time
for it to happen,
with "favorable" meaning "desirable."

Ah, but, that supposes we know what to desire.
That is one thing with a photograph,
and another thing with abstract things
like whom to marry,
what career to pursue,
where to live,
what "success" means,
or "happiness",
etc.

What is desirable here?
What are we waiting on to know and to act?

We step into darkness and foreboding like that
(Snaps fingers).
We don't know what we are doing,
or what to do
or when to do it
about most of the things that matter.

Where are we better off?
How can we tell?
How do we know?
Better in terms of what?

It helps if we listen to our hearts,
and to our stomachs,
and to our bones,
and to our balance and harmony,
and to our spirit, energy, vitality,
and to our nighttime dreams.

Our body knows.
Let your body be your guide.
And choose your friends wisely.
Hang with those
who listen to their body,
and are friends with stillness and silence.
Be like them in those respects.

You could do a lot worse.

–0–

01

Our original nature
is the super hero
we have been hoping for
to deliver us.

We come forth from the womb
with everything we need
to find what we need
to do what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises
throughout our life.

Adam and Eve were Jesus of Nazareth
and turned away from the adventure
they were born to live
because it wasn't what they had in mind.

Story sound familiar?
It should.
It is our story.
Nope. Not that life.
We all said.
This life! This is the one I want!
And we cut ties with our original nature
and freelanced it into the far reaches
of the wasteland.

Look around.
If this isn't a wasteland,
I'm hallucinating,
because I see a wasteland
rolling out forever 
in all directions.

It's time to find our way back
to the face that was ours 
before we were born.

You have probably heard me say it before,
here it comes again:
The way back to Eden 
winds through the heart of Gethsemane
and across the face of Golgotha.

That means we have to die to the life 
we have in mind for ourselves,
in order to live the life our original nature
was born to live,
the life that still waits to be lived--
even now, even yet.

We have what remains of the time left for living
to reconcile ourselves with the life 
that is our life to live,
put ourselves in accord with The Way
that is our way out of the wasteland
into the land of promise
for those ready to do what needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
using the gifts of our original nature,
for the joy of doing the work
that is ours to do,
and the satisfaction of having done it,
moment by moment,
through all the days that lie ahead--
beginning right here, right now.

We live in an emergency room
with exactly the gifts needed
by everything that comes through the door.
It only takes believing it,
and living as though it is so,
for it to be so
every day.

Stop thinking "original sin,"
and start thinking "original nature,"
and let yours start making the difference
that makes a difference 
in your life and in the world around you!

–0–

02

We find our way 
to the life that is ours to live
by paying attention
to what stirs our soul,
and to what nauseates us
at the very idea.

It is the Hot-And-Cold game
all the way to the grave.

Are we getting warmer or colder?

That is all we need to know.

To not know,
or to not care about knowing,
seals us into a lifetime
of rigor mortis
that is satisfied
with being dead long before our time--
and we become those
Jesus was talking about
when he advised 
leaving the dead to bury the dead.

We have from now 
until the time we actually die
to be alive in the time left for living--
by knowing what calls our name,
and living in its service
with each breath we take.

–0–

03

Developing our relationship
with our original nature
means developing our trust in ourselves
in giving rein to our spontaneous
sincerity and action.

Whatever is sincere--
without contrivance
or calculation,
and no idea of personal 
benefit, profit or gain--
and spontaneous,
is likely to arise
from deep within,
and is a reflection 
of our sense of what needs to be done
in the situation
that is unfolding before us.

As we trust ourselves to our inner sense
of what is called for,
we will be living from instinct,
intuition and grace,
without being able to explain
our motive or our reasoning
beyond saying,
"It felt like the right thing to do
at the time."

Living in the service of 
the right thing to do at the time
is the kind of life
that transforms the world.

–0–

04

Carl Jung said, “It is the individual’s task 
to differentiate themselves 
from all the others 
and stand on their own feet...
To do this,
they must first return 
to the fundamental facts 
of their own being--
irrespective of all authority and tradition--
and allow themselves 
to become conscious of their distinctiveness."

To do this is to unite 
with our original nature,
which is the heart of Taoist teaching
from 3,000 years BCE.

We live to become who we are
within the context and circumstances--
the authority and traditions--
of the time and place of our life.

The work is eternal and on-going
between the individual's responsiblity
to himself/herself,
and their responsibility
to the culture of which 
they are a part.

This is the tension between
"the primary mask"
and "the antithetical mask"
W.B. Yeats identified,
between who we are asked to be
by the culture into which we are born,
and who we are asked to be
by our original nature
that we are born to exhibit and express
within the culture.

We are born to the struggle
of giving birth to ourselves
within a hostile and restrictive
environment.

And so, Jung can say,
“The idea of a second birth 
is found at all times 
and in all places. 
In the earliest beginnings of medicine 
it was a magical means of healing; 
in many religions it is 
the central mystical experience; 
it is the key idea in medieval, 
occult philosophy.” 

And, “As a pioneer, 
you must be able 
to put some trust 
in your intuition 
and follow your feeling 
even at the risk of going wrong.”

And, “The acceptance of oneself 
is the essence 
of the whole moral problem 
and the epitome 
of a whole outlook on life.” 

And, I would add, the summation
of our struggle to be healed,
and whole,
and saved,
and well.

Jesus said, "Why don't you judge
for yourselves what is right?"

"We are the sculptor
and we are the stone,"
(Alex Carrel)--
our work is to carve out
who we are--
to live out our original nature--
within the culture
that supports our existence.

–0–

05

Martin Palmer translates the first
few verses of the Tao te Ching--
the ones normally rendered,
"The Tao that can be said/told/explained/defined
is not the Eternal Tao"--
in this way:
"The path that can be discerned as a path
is not a reliable path."

That is beautiful,
and puts me in mind 
of Jesus' statement,
"The spirit is like the wind
that blows where it will."

Not even the wind knows 
what it is doing next.
God's will is like the spirit
that is like the wind
that blows where it is called to go.

God's will is not some legal decree
set in stone through all of time,
the ten commandments not withstanding
(Jesus' "You have heard it said,
but I say unto you..." is evidence enough
of that).

God's will is born of the moment,
dancing with the time and place 
of its execution.
Now it is like this.
Then it was like that.
And in the future it will be something else.

And so, we have to be alert,
awake, aware,
because we do not know the time of our visitation,
or what will be asked of us then,
and in all times following.

What has been the case 
will not necessarily be the case.
We can't count on anything
but our sense of which way the wind is blowing,
our feel for what is being called for,
and our faith in our ability to dance 
to the tune of the here and now--
with Jesus' "Who do YOU say that I am?"
and his, "Blessed are you if you know what you are doing!"
ringing in our ears.

01

Religion exists by virtue of
extortion and bribery.

They both have temporal and eternal aspects.

Extortion's temporal expressions
take the form of shunning/banning/exclusion
and excommunication.
And its eternal expression 
is hell with its torture and anguish.

Bribery's temporal form is Baptism 
and Communion 
and their assurances of the blessings
of God's grace and forgiveness,
and the supportive presence 
of the Communion of the Saints.
And its eternal form is the promise
of the glories of heaven everlasting.

There is something to get from religion,
and something to avoid having.
That is why we should be religious.

Spirituality takes the AA path
of "attraction not promotion/coercion,"
and trusts the joy and satisfaction
of living out of our own original nature
to be enough to keep us involved 
with the tasks of spiritual practice.

"Sincerity and spontaneity, 
not contrivance/exploitation/manipulation"
is the anchoring orientation of spirituality,
which eschews theology, doctrine, and dogma
in favor of the personal experience
of numinous, ineffable, reality
through art, music, nature
and the right kind of relationships with other people,
as the means to find the support necessary
to sustain adherents path through life.

Believing that the way we live matters--to us
and to "The Way"--and having faith in oneself
to have what is needed to find what is needed
to do what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
lead to the realization 
that we already are spiritual beings.

Knowing that is to take up the work of being who we are--
finding and living our life--
the life that is our life to live,
by doing what has life for us
within the context and circumstances of our living.

Balancing the opposites,
integrating the contradictions,
bearing the pain of polarities and contraries,
in harmonizing the forces of good and bad,
right and wrong, etc.
within all the relationships t
hat define and limit our life.

Our spiritual practice comes down to
understanding that we all are Sisyphus
rolling his rock up the hill,
following it down the hill,
to roll it back up the hill,
and that the real work of being Sisyphus
is to develop an attitude and demeanor 
that allows us to accept our work
and find joy, satisfaction and purpose
in our life 
throughout the time left for living.

Saying, "YES!", to life just as it is
is the spiritual task of life,
and it is the simple secret
of being fully alive in the life 
that is ours to live,
in each situation as it arises.

–0–

02

The ground of happiness,
joy and satisfaction
is found in living 
to honor,
exhibit
and express our original nature
("the face that was ours
before we were born)
within the context and circumstances
of our life,
by serving and sharing
the gifts/daemon(sounds like "diamond")/
shtick/specialties/qualities/virtues/
knacks/interests/etc
that came with us from the womb
in each situation as it arises
all our life long--
by doing what needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
where it needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done
for the joy of doing it
and the satisfaction of having done it,
moment by moment,
day by day,
forever.

If you can do better than that,
do it!

–0–

03

Blaise Pascal wrote (in 1654), 
“All of humanity's problems stem 
from man's inability to sit quietly 
in a room alone.” 

Adam and Eve were sure 
they could improve on Paradise,
and we have been at it ever since.

"Making Things Better"
could be the motto of every age.

All the wars,
and the genocide,
and the crusades,
and the heresy trials,
and the witch hunts, 
and the colonization,
and the planned conquest of space...
are all about Making Things Better.

For whom?
By when?

The questions are not asked.
The quest has its own momentum.
All we know is we need some relief.
Our Spirit, Energy, and Vitality
have gone flat.
Our Balance and Harmony 
are tangled and fighting it out.
Anything would be better than this.
And off we go.

Even if we only take our mind
off our misery,
it will be worth it for a while.

We can't stand being alone
with our own company.

Let's have ourselves a little war.
Take over some nation.
Get our mind off our troubles
by making trouble for someone else.

It's the best we can do.
If we could think of something better,
we would be on it.
"Like the white on mashed potatoes."

Blaise Pascal was talking about us.

We are a dissatisfied lot.
And need to be entertained,
distracted, cheered-up.
Continually.

Maybe, if we sought the Center,
we could find all the adventure
we can manage
stirring within.

Who is game?

The chase is on!

–0–

04

What's your shtick?
Your specialty?
Your "thing"?

What is "it" for you?
What makes your little heart sing
and your little toes dance?

What is  your deep joy
and the love of your life?

What, when you are engaged in it,
makes time stand still,
or makes the minutes fly by
so that you can't believe
how long you have been at it?

How do you build your life around it?
How do you blend it into your life?
How does your life harmonize
with your bliss
to create rapture and radiance,
wonder and beauty?

If you know what I am talking about,
keep doing what you are doing!

If you have no idea of what I am talking about,
ponder the matter of your soul's true joy,
and see where you are blocking the way,
turning aside from the path,
and refusing to follow the impulse
of your heart's true love.

And get with the program!

01

We keep looking for something
to make it easy to grow up,
while avoiding the matter
until we find what we are looking for.

All it takes is standing up
and doing what needs to be done.
Time after time.
Without emotional response.

We spill the milk.
We clean the milk up.
Period.
No remonstrating.
No drama.
No whining.
No moaning.
No complaining.
No rolling in the floor crying.

We look for solutions to problems
and go down the list
until we find what works
with all things considered.

Growing up is a matter of 
sizing things up
in each situation as it arises,
and doing what needs to be done,
the way it needs to be done,
when it needs to be done,
because it needs to be done,
moment by moment,
day by day.

This is also the central feature
of a life grounded in the present
and doing what is called for
by the context and circumstances
of this time and place.

It doesn't matter what we want
or how we feel
or what mood we are in
or what the implications 
are for us personally.

What matters is responding to the moment
the way the moment needs to be responded to.

Like emergency room personnel 
greeting whatever comes through the door.

We live in an emergency room.
What happens throughout each day
is ours to deal with
in ways appropriate to the occasion
in each situation as it arises.

All. Day. Long.

That will grow us up
in no time at all.

–0–

02

We have all we need
to find what we need
to do what needs to be done.

Always have,
always will.

What it takes 
to do what it takes
is the "Thy will not mine,
be done" mentallity
that is the hallmark
of the Garden of Gethsemane--
with the "Thy" understood to be
the situation at hand
and the Tao-Mind-Psyche-Awareness
that always has pace and timing
as its highest priority,
and knows beyond knowing
what is called for
in this time and place
for all times and places
there ever have been or will be.

If you are going to take anything on faith,
let it be this,
and get "Thy will not mine be done"
down, operational and in place
for all the times and places 
of your life.

–0–

03

Doing what needs to be done
with what we have to work with
in each situation as it arises
is always the challenge.

This is the choice of Adam and Eve
in the Garden of Eden
in each situation as it arises.

There is what needs to be done,
and what we want to do,
and what we have to work with,
and that's it.

It is never more difficult that this.

What are we going to do,
here and now?

The future hinges on the response we make
to the moment of our living,
moment-by-moment.

This is the choice of Jesus of Nazareth
in the Garden of Gethsemane
in each situation as it arises.

It is never more difficult than this.

What are we going to do,
here and now?

Everything hangs in the balance.

Waiting.

–0–

04

"Here we are, now what?"
is always the operative question,
in each situation as it arises.

It requires stopping, looking, listening,
to know what's what
and what needs to be done about it.

And the answer is always the same:
"The next thing."

The next thing, 
right here, right now.

Forget the overall response to the overall need.
Forget the general strategy necessary
for impacting The Situation As A Whole
nation-wide and world-wide.

Focus on the moment of our breathing,
of our being,
right here,
right now.

What is the next thing here and now?
Do that.

Without losing sight of the long term
and the bigger picture.

We walk two paths at the same time.
And the path to then and there
is also the path through the here and now.
Do not ignore the present moment,
absorbed in the ultimate and the absolute.

01

Psyche-Tao-Mind-God 
(And where do those lines lie?)
don't seem to have any idea
of what they are doing.

The old Shaman and Taoists,
who got it started
5,000 years or so BCE
had no idea of a point.

Their basic thrust was,
"Don't try to make the world better,
just sick to the Way
(And "the Way" was very much
here and now,
day by day).

"Eat when hungry,
rest when tired,"
and "chop wood, carry water,"
were their focus and goal.

"Do now what needs to be done now,"
and "let tomorrow's trouble
wait until tomorrow,"
was their guiding mantra.

It would be a different world
if Al Gore had won the election.
Winston Churchill made all the difference
over his term in office,
Franklin Delano and Eleanor Roosevelt
made all the difference
during theirs.

After Dwight Eisenhower,
money called the political shots
and everything--and I mean everything--
was done,
not to make a difference,
but to make a profit.

"Profit At Any Price!"
has been Capitalism's motto
ever since.

Socialism is feared by the Capitalists
because profits would go down
if the people started benefiting
from the goods and services 
of government--
and that will never do.

And, here we are,
now what?

Now, we know that a difference 
not only can be made,
but also will be made,
for good or ill, 
depending on who and what
are making the choices
and leading the way.

And The Way has no real say
in that matter.
Psyche-Tao-Mind-God seems to be content
with the particular
with no interest whatsoever
in the general or the overall.

Carl Jung thought Psyche's goal
is "individuation"--
the individual's task 
of being the best they can be,
and "letting the outcome be the outcome."

Which is the theme of the Bhagavad Gita--
from around 400 years BCE,
and is the sum of the Hindu idea
of where things are going.

Christianity doesn't care about
making a global difference,
"Just believe in Jesus,
keep your nose clean,
and it all will be made up to you
in the coming Kingdom of God."

In the meantime,
Money Rules!
And all Money cares about
is Making More Money!

We can individuate all we want,
but the environment is going to hell
and taking us with it.

And Money is buying the votes
of the people who could put a stop to it 
if they were individuated enough
to draw the right lines
consistently,
reliably,
over time.

Which takes focus, 
concentration,
awareness
and commitment to a cause
that will last longer 
than they will live.

Money is betting on that 
not happening.

And that looks like a safe bet to me.
And the end of the world as well.

–0–

02

The American Indians had it made
until the American Calvary road into their life.

It's always something.
To disrupt and scatter,
pillage, plunder, destroy.

We are always having to deal with something.
Something we don't like
and wish weren't there.

It's what we do best.
It's what we are built for.
It's our shtick. 

You might think we would have settled 
into it by now,
but noooooo.
We always act like it is the very first time.

We flounder, and flounce and wail
forever,
and then we get up and do
what needs to be done.

As a species, I'm talking about.
Individuals, not so much.
Individually, we have a hard time
getting past disappointment and dismay.

We could work on that.
It would give us focus and direction.

Managing our life and our attitude,
day-to-day,
actually, moment-to-moment,
would be an improvement.
We think things are going to be like this
and they are like that,
and we become undone
like that.

We start with squaring ourselves up
with the here and now,
the right here, right now--
with what is happening 
and what needs to be done about it,
and doing it the way it needs to be done
in each situation as it arises.

Without taking our eye off
the over-all situation regarding
our life in the world,
and what needs to happen there
for the good of the whole.

We have to walk two paths at the same time,
maintaining our balance and harmony
on both paths at all times.

It requires awareness/focus/attention.
And distance from emotional involvement
with what is going on on either path.

Emotional involvement is having a vested interest
in the outcome.
It is having an agenda.
A plan.
A way.
My Way.
Now!

My Way Now! is the source of all of our problems today
everyday.

Can't have a Way on The Way.

On The Way, 
it is always, "Okay, now what?"
And doing it as it needs to be done
in light of the situation as a whole.

Our will does not matter.
We have to set ourselves aside
in sincere service to the good of the situation
before us right here, right now.

We have such a hard time
with this simple concept.
Our Way Now means too much to us.
Growing up is getting over that.
And growing up is so very hard to do.
It is the hardest thing.
And the thing that matters most.
The thing upon which every other thing hinges.

If you are ever going to do anything,
let it be growing up!
Everything else will fall into place
around that.

–0–

03

My intentional focus
directing my life
through every situation that arises
is to see what I am looking at
and to do what needs to be done about it,
with the right attitude/spirit/frame of mind.

Noticing and being disappointed
in my failure to do this,
helps me be better at it.

It is like learning to make really good
chicken noodle soup
by making a lot of bad chicken noodle soup
and letting your mistakes and errors
guide and direct your choices and actions
the next time you make chicken noodle soup.

We are making chicken noodle soup here.
Compassionate,
non-judgmental,
awareness guides our way.
And recognizing mistakes and errors
is not to judge mistakes and errors
in such a way as to interfere
with your ability to live in light
of what needs to be done
in each situation as it arises,
but in such a way as it guides
each step along the path.

This reminds me of Jesus saying,
"Judge not that you may not be judged,"
in one minute,
and saying,
"Don't cast your pearls before swine,"
in the next.

Discernment carries us forward,
moment-by-moment,
day-by-day.

–0–

04

We are killing ourselves
and destroying the planet
in the unrelenting quest
for an ever-increasing standard of living
and an always larger bottom line.
Money wants more money all of the time.
There is no limit to our 
money-hunger
and it is killing us.

Greed at once runs and ruins the world.

If you want to fix something,
fix that.

There is no fix to that.
And, so, we have to turn
to a higher power.

We have to call on the Psyche
to help us stop ourselves.

It works the other way.
The Psyche is geared to helping us
stop ourselves
when it comes to ignoring our Original Nature
and merrily going our own way.

This is the story of the Garden of Eden,
which can be read as Psyche abandoning 
us to our insatiable desires,
and saying, in effect,
"Okay. Now see how you like having your way
all of the time!"

We have reached the limit of time allowed.
We are creating a world we cannot live in.
We are destroying, not only Eden,
but everything else as well.

The environment is gearing up
to bring an end to life on the planet,
and starting over
without the human element.

We need the Psyche to stop us
before we stop ourselves,
though it may be too late.
It has been calling to us
all these years.
Now it has to stop us altogether.

The COVID Variants may be the plan.

The Psyche has to become the active agent
in stopping the madness of Greed encroachment
into all aspects of life.

It could do so by restricting our swallowing
and limiting our breathing
until we change our mind about what is important,
and start living within limits acceptable to the planet
around the world.

Psyche ought to know where to draw the lines,
and we could learn to live within them,
if our ability to swallow and breathe
were severely hampered.

That would get our attention,
and require immediate action.
The way of Jungian analysis 
and individual adjustment
is taking too long,
and was globally ineffective
from the start.

We need a world-wide plague
starting right now.

If the Psyche cares about what is good for us
and the planet,
it will be bad for us
starting right now.

Well?

–0–

01

There is what we do to pay the bills,
and there is what we pay the bills to do.
Which is the most important?
Which is the easiest?

Everybody thinks money 
is the most important thing.
Few people have a clear understanding
of what money is for.
Of what bills are the right bills,
and what bills are the wrong bills.
Of what we need money 
in order to do.

We have to work this out 
for ourselves.

What are we paying the bills to do?
What MUST we do with our life?
What are we here to serve and to do?
What MUST we do?

"I have no say in the matter, Gibbs.
It's the pirate's life for me. 
Savvy?" (Captain Jack Sparrow)

What matter is it
that we have no say in?
What is the equivalent 
of the pirate's life for us?

Then comes the question
of how much money we will need
to do that,
and what can we do 
to make that much money.

And we cannot think our way
to the answers!

We feel our way there.
We live our way there.
We have to start paying attention.

What has always been "it" for you?
Start with that
and see what emerges,
arises,
appears,
occurs to you
as you circumambulate 
what has always been "it" for you,
waiting to see what comes to mind.

Carry this with you through each day,
wondering,
imagining,
woolgathering,
looking,
listening,
musing on
what for you is 
what a pirate's life was
for Captain Jack Sparrow.

That is the treasure you seek.
Everything falls into place
around that.

Don't stop questing 
until the deed is done!

–0–

02

Laughter and tears,
tears and laughter,
say it all.

As much as can be said.
As much as needs be said.

But.

They have to be the 
right kind of laughter,
and the right kind of tears.

That's the stipulation
that transforms the game.

It isn't just about laughing and crying.
It is about laughing and crying
from the right vantage point,
with the right perspective.

With the perspective
that sees rightly
and knows truly,
so that you have no alternative
but to burst forth
in laughter or tears
or both.

Laughter and tears 
go where words cannot follow.

"The Tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao."

"The path that can be discerned
is not a reliable path."

We have to live our way there,
with our eyes open.
Slip sliding all the way.

Which is, itself,
a fit occasion
for laughter and tears.

As all occasions are,

Because all occasions,
and every single thing,
are truth waiting to be seen
and received
with laughter
and with tears.

01

How do you maintain/restore 
your balance and harmony?

How do you serve/sustain
your spirit, energy, vitality?

These are the five indicators
of a life well-lived.
Without them in place,
you are faking it,
grinding it out,
looking for escape and refuge,
hoping for deliverance,
wishing you were dead,
or that somebody else was.

The times are always desperate
and the money is never enough
(Billionaires are always acting
as though they are just scraping by.
They worry about their money
more than poor people do.
It's Crazy-Stupid to the core).

Take a personal inventory
at least daily,
doing a check list
of the five markers:
___Balance
___Harmony
___Spirit
___Energy
___Vitality

And find what you need to do to
Serve
Sustain
Restore
Maintain
all five.

And do it.

At least daily.

–0–

02

All it takes 
is being right about 
what needs to be done
and doing it--
in each situation as it arises,
situation by situation,
day by day,
year by year.

Nothing to it.

The easiest way to be right
about what needs to be done
is to be wrong about it
with your eyes open.

Time will tell if it is right or wrong.

If it is right, great.
If it is wrong, great--
that means you stop doing it
and start doing what needs to be done now.
That means doing what you think is right
and needs to be done.

Time will tell.
If you are right this time, great.
If you are wrong again, great--
that means you stop doing it,
and start doing what needs to be done now...

It's like this all the way to being right at last!

Only it isn't at last.

Then, you have to be right about what needs to be done
in the next situation as it arises,
and repeat the process
until you are right again at last.

Only it isn't really last.

Get it?

Do it!