ALL THAT IS IS...

"While All is THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in ALL. To him who truly understands this truth hath come great knowledge."--the Kybalion

Devil's Kitchen Greybull, Wyoming

Plant Vibrations on the Kin Domain

It's almost that time. I can hardly wait. But I must. The obsession has begun. The question remains, can I wait long enough for that perfect moment when nature meets palette in perfect harmony? Too soon and the miracle will fall flat, too late and splat. Wonder what I'm talking about don't you?

Every gardener can probably relate. I'm referring to that first succulent red tomato started from energized seed placed beneath my tongue (in the method suggested by Anastasia), then planted in soil caressed by my hand, to in turn be nurtured by the moon, strengthened by the sun, nursed by the sweet rains and nourished by the mother earth. Yes, I'm truly obsessed with my plants.


My tomatoes are heirloom seeds for a beefsteak variety. In the photo you can see the creeping pink flush which will darken over the next few days. You can see also the bio-nature powder I sprinkled on after having to pull up and dispose of a plant last week which had become infested with tomato worms. So far the other five plants haven't shown signs so I hope the natural stuff works. I REALLY don't want to do anything more drastic. In fact, gulp, I'd probably pull up the entire crop if I couldn't get them under control using soaps or natural oils. However, for now, all is good. The white cloth has really kept down the other insects. The product is some of the same Agribon cloth I use for weather and rabbit protection. Recall my spring deluge, they had eaten down three tomato plants before I could get an effective enclosure made and buy a trap. I am determined to figure out urban gardening. I know more answers will come as I learn more from people like Rudolf Steiner. City issues are different from country issues but all can be solved. The nature elementals are everywhere if we are quiet enough to call upon them and listen. In the city the quiet listening is often the challenge.

BTW, for those curious, there wasn't another opossum today. Do you think six is all for me? Five were my catch and one was the neighbor's catch. We were totally prepared for all thirteen. They are playing together fancifully in the woods by a creek five miles from my house.

Biodynamic Farming Links

Today I spent working in the garden and being present to several welcome visitors from near and far. Although life can be filled with ebbs and flows of unpredictable possibilities, I allocate some time each day to personal spiritual growth. At this moment, I am quite intrigued by Biodynamic Farming and Rudolf Steiner's work. I am very pleased to see a society of people who make his material available on the Internet. The free archive I've accessed several times is impressive and worth perusal and a donation. For those who don't know anything about Rudolf Steiner or biodynamic farming, I've pasted a blurb here with a connecting link.

"Rudolf Steiner created and launched ‘biodynamic’ farming — a specific form of agriculture which has come to be regarded as ‘premium organic.’ However, the agriculture Steiner speaks of in this book is much more than organic, and involves working with the cosmos, earth, and spiritual entities. To facilitate this, Steiner prescribes specific ‘preparations’ for the soil, as well as other distinct methods born from his profound understanding of the material as well as spiritual worlds. He presents a comprehensive picture of the complex dynamic relationships at work in nature and gives basic indications of the practical measures which are necessary for bringing them into full play."

Opossum Saga, TBC

Remember the July 22 post? On the morning following the solar eclipse, I had an opossum in my trap. For those who didn't see the post and explanation here are a few brief facts.

"Opossum is the only marsupial on the North American continent--meaning it raises its young in a pouch. The pouch contains thirteen nipples. There can be more than thirteen young born but only thirteen survive. The number turns out to be highly symbolic having nothing to do with bad luck. Thirteen represents the symbol for the one great sun around which the twelve signs of the zodiac revolve. Opossum is the symbol of the sun within. As a spirit animal, it has the unique ability to divert attention by displaying the right appearance. Opossum can teach us how to adjust our behaviors and appearances for the greatest benefit." Ted Andrews, Animal Speak

So today, July 28, I relocated the fifth opossum in a row. I do believe I will be working with all thirteen. BTW, they adore peanut butter. Nothing like nature to remind me of my purpose. I haven't done much reflecting on dominion versus domination. As a Kin Domain co-creator, I have a responsibility to understand dominion. I have some ideas brewing in my thoughts. Right now I'll continue to study Rudolph Steiner and bio-dynamic farming.

Kin Domain Chicken Speak

Winona stared at the foreign entity in her space. This was not one of her sisters and certainly not one of her relatives. The gray-gloved mother had once again deigned to bring something into her territory for the shear joy of change. Hadn't anyone ever informed gray-gloved mother dear that chickens, are well...chicken?

Fear and curiosity riddled her nerves sending electrical discharges through her feet. In response to the unpleasant tingle, she lifted and shook each claw. Maybe if she fluffed her wings and fanned her tail feathers the elongated, opague object would know who was head of this roost.

After several circles, on the VERY far periphery--at least as far as her cage box allowed--and several of her deep-throated hums, she took a position of higher elevation and cocked her head. No sound from the entity. She twitched and glanced left, her sisters were another story. Bunch of twittering cowards all crowded into the corner of the small roost alcove. Some days it was a real pain being the chieftain, or is that chieftess, of this brood. If she cowered now she'd become fodder for their perpetual gossip mill. She raised her beak in the hopes of being heard above the din of humming.

"Wilma quit your bawking, " Winona clacked. "Get over here. You stand guard while I get a closer look."

"Bawkay," Wilma clucked, "Tell me what to do."

For all the world, Winona wanted to roll her eyes heavenward, but alas, chickens have bodily limitations.

"Stare." Winona cackled. "If you see anything change give me one long baawk."

As her sister held the sentinel position, Winona crept forward, extended her beak, craned her neck and viewed the object from right and left, left and right, up and down. The red definitely had her attention. If only the entire world could be red she'd be in chicken nirvana.

Just as her sister, Wilma lost her nerve and hid her head in the grass, no sand here and she wasn't an ostrich any way, Winona stretched forth her beak, which for a chicken is somewhat an involuntary reaction, and pecked the red dot.

"Water," Winona squawked to the bystanders.

"Bawk, really?" Her sisters Whinney, Willy, and the miserable sentinel, Wilma cooed.


Just to be sure. Winona gave the red dot one more aggressive peck.

The cool, fresh fluid dribbled down her throat. Not bad at all. The gray-gloved mother had finally figured out that stale, poop water was a chicken's daily curse.

"Come and get it ladies," Winona twerped. "We just got one of those new-fangled inventions called the Avian Aqua Miser. Let's clack together and tell every gray-gloved mother in the world about this gadget. Don't they know that with this available around the world, we'd all hum in harmony."


**Today's blog is dedicated to Anna and Mark and their work on the Walden Effect a true space of love and Kin Domain.

The Garden Ringing Cedar

The other day I was working with the runner on my chicken tractor and turned to spy a new angle of the garden. From down low looking up, the giant sunflower towered over the peppers, tomatoes, green beans, and zucchini.

I clicked a mental picture and imagined what the border of future Kin Domains might resemble with rows of ancient Siberian Cedar trees looming above all in order to draw upon the energy in the universe and slip that energy into the mother earth.


Perhaps this is one reason why Anastasia says every garden needs sunflowers--definitely because they follow the sun and remind us of the power in the ray but also for the imagery they create in the immediate vista.


As perspective the fence in the background is 4 1/2 feet high, the tomatoes are 5 1/2 feet high and thus the sunflower is 12 feet? I may just measure this one to appease my curiosity.


Beautiful, bountiful tidings to one and all.

Bumble Bee

This spring, in my make-shift greenhouse, I started some anise hyssop. I had about thirty plants. They were incredibly easy to transplant-- very hardy and eager to grow. I filled in a nice curve of garden edge next to the house, yet near a window, where I could watch the activity.

Yes, there is plenty of activity. These plants bring bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. I snapped this picture this morning after I finished harvesting produce. The bees were buzzing in all their glory oblivious to me. Can you find them in this photo?

Kin Alchemy

Ever wonder what happens to certain traditions and why they change? I often ponder the meaning behind actions. For those of you who grew up reading Erma Bombeck, you might remember the story of the woman who always cut off the end of a ham because her grandmother and her mother had done it. When said woman asked her grandmother why, the reply was that her pan had not been big enough.

From the time I was born my grandparents gave me silver dollars for All special occasions, i.e., birthday, Christmas, Easter. For a long time my mother saved these for me but when times were hard she was forced to use them to buy shoes and other childhood necessities. I remember the first time the coin tradition changed--1970. I received a crisp fiat bill in my card. From that time forward it was never quite the same opening those cards from my grandmas and grandpas. In my kid eyes and heart that shiny silver coin meant more than the new paper dollar.

Anyone who works metaphysics and understands alchemy understands the significance of the change. The message of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune had energetically shifted when the coin was replaced with paper. Over the years, this had bothered me. One day, I finally took all the treasury notes and saved dollars and bought silver bullion to replace them. I believe the energetic in this metal is what my grandparents and great parents really wanted for me. Since I want my ancestors, my forebears' wisdom as part of my life, I keep these few transition coins close so I can see and touch them. These coins hold the legacy of abundance, prosperity, and good fortune.

Message to Cosmic Kin

Today is the rising of Sirius. The energy reminds me to celebrate--to give gratitude for ALL THAT IS. I engage my soul and lean upon it and engage my spirit and build upon it. Through vivid imagery, I sprinkle blessings of light. May the peace within you join with the love you are and in so doing fire up the world to an ever higher vibration. Celebrate today. Happy birth day! Happiness always.

Go check it out--

"To Egypt, the 23rd of July, when Sirius starts to rise the waters of the Nile begin to flood. Then it meant fertility, that is one reason, for she was Isis. Sirius, Isis, the great mother of the gods... Our solar system is born in from the womb of Isis. Sirius B, which is Isis , is made of iron (radio astronomy has shown). The iron of Sirius b, is the same as the iron in our blood and the iron of Earth and of our solar system. Sirius is our blood. We resonate to her. She is older than our solar system, which is a combination of interstellar debris, including the gas clouds, our sperm of Osiris/Orion. The iron in our blood comes from Sirius, its position in the sky, could thus be considered to resonate to Sirius's position of influence. Iron is the only true magnetic element.(Robert Temple)"

All this and a solar eclipse, too!

Kin Critters

If you have followed my blog since April, you know I've had revolving issues with rabbits and squirrels. After many garden re-plantings and repairs, I invested in a live trap and relocated several of these animals. Since mid June I have had minimal problems. However, yesterday, I noticed several ripe and ready zucchini had been partially eaten. From the teeth marks, I figured I had another determined squirrel and set my trap with peanut butter. This morning who should I see "playing dead" in the trap--opossum.

I finished my chores then took him or her away for relocation. This was the slowest release ever. All the other relocatees have shot out of the trap like a bolt of lightening. This time I opened the door and he/she literally ambled into the high grasses towards the woods as if on a Sunday stroll . When I returned home, I looked up the spirit message behind opossum using Ted Andrews's, Animal Speak.

I discovered that opossum is the only marsupial on the North American continent--meaning it raises its young in a pouch. The pouch contains thirteen nipples. There can be more than thirteen young born but only thirteen survive. The number turns out to be highly symbolic having nothing to do with bad luck. Thirteen represents the symbol for the one great sun around which the twelve signs of the zodiac revolve. Opossum is the symbol of the sun within. As a spirit animal, it has the unique ability to divert attention by displaying the right appearance. Opossum can teach us how to adjust our behaviors and appearances for the greatest benefit.

Yesterday, July 21, was the solar eclipse which for us in the Midwest happened at night. So wow, with the symbolism of opossum and the timing of the eclipse, I'd say this was a very strong spirit message to me. As I start the new projects I have planned, I'll be ever vigilant of this application. Blessings to all.

Saturn Song

A simple thought for reflection on this day of solar eclipse.

A Saturn Song by John Jocelyn

Man suffers most from what he fears;
He dreds the most what ne'er appears;
Thus does he often bear far more
Than God for him did hold in store.

Light and love above, within, around, below--today be love, perfection, co-creator!

More on Plants Helping Plants

We are so fortunate to have a plethora of choices to help support our Kin Domain gardens. Besides Anastasia's (from the Ringing Cedar series) suggestions, bio dynamics, organic practices, companion planting and perma-culture techniques to help support healthy crops and deter pests, there are essential plant oils. Below are some practices used by a friend of mine, Leann, who is Reiki Master and nature spirit from the Dagara tradition. She and her friend Cindy share tips on using essential oils in the garden.

"This is the second year I've been keeping pests from my vegetable garden with essential oils. I use a garden sprayer and add oils to the water it disperses. This year I've done the same with our apple trees, strawberries, raspberries and flowers. The benefits are many-I can keep my garden 'chemical free' and I have no worries about my animals walking on the wet areas. I use about 15 drops each of Purification, Oregano, and Peppermint. I spray about once a week. Not only do the bugs disappear but I feel that the oils are improving the growing process...."

If you want to know the coverage rate and more about essential oils, you can contact Leann at the above link. Have a great gardening week!

Solar Eclipse Energy

Below is an excerpt of a newsletter by my friend Kitty Hatcher. Kitty has an awesome beginning astrology workbook available, The Art of Interpretation: Beginning Astrology Workbook. She pairs her astrology knowledge with tarot cards giving the receiver depth, breath, and application. For those of you who are wanting to make monumental changes and take on new projects in your lives, this eclipse gives you the energetic opportunity. Now might be the time to start working toward your Kin Domain or co-creating a Space of Love.

Solar Eclipse July 21 at 10:35 p.m. EDT (29 Cancer 26)

Visible from Asia and the western Pacific. The eclipse will not be visible from North America.

A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun. This is only possible when the Moon is in the New Moon phase.

The eclipse on July 21 will be the longest total solar eclipse in this century. The next longest total solar eclipse will happen June 13, 2132. Many astrologers believe the length of an eclipse corresponds in years to its astrological influence. If this is so, the influence of this eclipse should last about seven years.

A solar Eclipse acts like a catalyst for new beginnings. Since this eclipse falls on the last degree of Cancer, it suggests we must first let go of emotional stagnation and outdated habit patterns in order to make room for new growth and opportunity.

Projects started and intentions set during the two weeks following a solar eclipse take on added significance. However, it is best not to start a new project on the day of an eclipse because the energy is too new and too intense. Also, important information concerning the project may not yet be available. For most of us, the best days to start new projects after the eclipse will be July 26 or 27.

People most affected by this eclipse are people with planets near twenty-nine degrees of Cancer or Capricorn and everyone born between July 19 - 23, December 20 - 24, April 18 - 22 and September 21 – 25 and areas of the world where the eclipse is most visible.

Some fun computer graphics of the eclipse.

Planting and Pickling

So much life, so little time. Seems like I need to get rid of the time component. Hmmm...

Today is garden day. The beautiful weather is an opportune time to replant the cool weather crops for fall. I'll be putting in kale and collards as well as some lettuces. I am also canning some cucumbers for winter pickles.

My recipe is simple. I put in some onion and garlic (from my garden) with the dill and cucumbers. This year I'm experimenting with grape leaves. I've put one in each jar. The belief is that the pickles will retain their crunchy texture. I'll be sure to let you know.

So it's off to the kitchen for me.

Reclaim the Earth-- One yard at a Time

These lovely plants are pumpkins. I snapped this picture today after several hours of side-dressing the plants with compost. Last fall, I proposed we use a small portion of a local church property to grow a pumpkin patch with the proceeds to benefit the local food bank. The congregation wanted to understand sustainable agriculture. I saw an opportunity to reclaim the earth--clean up our own backyard so to speak.

The project is also an opportunity to educate the congregation. Many have never grown anything but some of these very same members were the first to step forward and take a week of patch care involving watering and weeding. In March, I used the lasagna layer technique to prepare the ground as this was clay sod. So far the patch is thriving.

If this project goes well I hope to see the congregation explore a type of neighborhood community garden. As you can see from the photo, the location of the church property stretches up to a large apartment complex. Perhaps some of these residents would enjoy working with the earth and growing fresh vegetables. Check back here in a few weeks for updates on the community project.

Free Book and Kin Domain Support

It is only by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.Where you stumble there lies your treasure. The very cave you are afraid to enter turns out to be the source of what you are looking for. ~Joseph Campbell

Stop by my website. In exchange for a donation to support Kin Domains, you can download a free pdf. book, Portal to Peace.

Enjoy a 100,000 word, paranormal story filled with metaphysics and a unique relationship that breaches the element of time.

Share my artistic endeavors with others, too.
Blessings today!

Paul Hawken, Space of Love Advocate

This fabulous article titled, You are Brilliant and the Earth is Hiring, is one of many contained in the newly released SOL issue.

The Commencement Address by Paul Hawken to the Class of 2009, University of Portland.

"When I was invited to give this speech, I was asked if I could give a simple short talk that was 'direct, naked, taut, honest, passionate, lean, shivering, startling, and graceful.' No pressure there. Let’s begin with the startling part. Class of 2009: you are going to have to figure out what it means to be a human being on earth at a time when every living system is declining, and the rate of decline is accelerating. Kind of a mind‐boggling situation... but not one peer‐reviewed paper published in the last thirty years can refute that statement. Basically, civilization needs a new operating system, you are the programmers, and we need it within a few decades..."

If you would like to read the entire address by Paul Hawken, visit the Space of Love magazine.

SOL Magazine Issue # 4 July 2009.

* Paul Hawken is a renowned entrepreneur, visionary environmental activist, and author of many books, most recently Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming. He was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters by University president Father Bill Beauchamp, C.S.C., in May, when he delivered this superb speech. Our thanks especially to Erica Linson for her help making that moment possible. www.paulhawken.com

Write your Book of Kin

"What can help the [children]newcomers to the world determine where the truth and where the falsehood lies...the Book of Kin. In it a mother and a father will write for their son and daughter about what is the most important thing that needs to be created for happiness in life. The children will continue to record the Book of Kin. There will be no wiser and truer books for families anywhere on the Earth. All the knowledge of their pristine origins will be poured into it." (p.244, Book 6:The Book of Kin)

Think about it--what is the most important thing that needs to be created for happiness in life? Can you answer this question without pause? I've read the entire set of Ringing Cedar Series by Vladimir Megre and I still get a quick catch in my throat when presented with this question. However, it doesn't take long for my mind to respond because I've created an image. A Space of Love. How the space is created is the story for your Book of Kin.

Can you begin writing yours? Where will you start? Anastasia, the visionary of the Ringing Cedar Series and of Kin Domains, says to begin your Book of Kin with your own birth, your name, and then ask for what purpose and with what thoughts you take up the pen and start this important book. Next, write about what plan you have for the future and from there the rest will follow. It may come in fits and starts, but it will come and it will hold all the knowledge of your pristine origins.

Chicken Tractor--Not

For those of you who missed the segment on the chicken tractor, I've re-posted some pictures. As you can see it is not a tractor at all but rather a movable coop. The chicken tractor idea was coined by Andy Lee and Pat Foreman. A tractor moves and tills soil and wherever you move the coop the chickens scratch and turn over soil, soooo chicken tractor.

However, what you see here is a coop which I designed and built to work in my yard. Since I have few tools and even fewer carpentry skills, I am rather proud of my final product. When the weather begins to change, I'll tackle the winter challenge of remodeling an insulated dog house. For all you chicken fans and hobby carpenters, you'll have to keep up with postings to see my outcome. BTW, my chickens are much, much bigger now. They are almost eleven weeks old and love to perch on the bar I made them as well as the top of the hut. I'm enjoying learning chicken language. They really make some fascinating sounds. I love it when they are content. It reminds me of the pleasure I take in a purring kitten.

Co-cultivator, Co-creator

Below is a fabulous vision of what Anastasia, the Russian recluse, cites in the Ringing Cedar series and further proof of her vision and teachings reaching across time and space. I was blessed with bearing witness to what was originally presented as a sermon on July 4, 2009, and doubly blessed by being given permission to put it on my blog for others to read. This is not a fast read but a reflective read. I hope members of the Anastasia community will find their way here.

Bliss [Ananda] by Dr. Whom?

It is my “story” –... that leads me to be present today to present to you on “Bliss”, and this present-ation will, of course, in turn, become a –- new –- part of “my story”, and a [smaller] part of each of your stories as well.

There are four episodes of “my story” that are most relevant to the topic of “Bliss” [Ananda] [and to its shadow-topic, its other, “Iblis”, about which I learned from my erstwhile spiritual and mathematical teacher, Dr. Charles Musès].

1. In 1959, I had a dream – a sleeping dream of Vision-like vividness and intensity –- which became the one and only dream that has stayed with me ever since, scarcely ever leaving my waking mind.

Sparing you the details, let me say only that, in the imagination of this Dream, I was transported to a different civilization, and into the sanctuary of one of its churches, whose altar was inscribed –- carved in stone –- with an inscription that was both a scripture, and a mathematical equation; a scripture-equation that described the self-unfolding of the cosmos. Thus did I encounter a vision of the re-unification of Science & Religion, and of the «Dharma» of my life.

I will try to be true to that vision … –- attempting to make it speak both to those in this congregation who are of a scientific and/or an atheistic persuasion, and to those who are of a theistic persuasion as well.

2. In 1968, I met a beautiful being, a person of the female persuasion, a fellow student at U. C. Berkeley, who incarnated my most far-reaching vision, at the time, of the feminine divine.

Indeed, she exceeded that vision. Before meeting her, I’d read a book entitled “Psychic Research Behind the Iron Curtain”, which showed me there was knowledge in the ancient psycho-physiological traditions of yoga.

The greed for knowledge had always been the primary form of greed motivating my life up to then, and I could not resist experimenting with yogic meditation, when she urged me to take up the correspondence course in yoga offered by Self-Realization Fellowship, the source for her yogic practice as well. Well, in the end, I lost the lady, but I kept the Gift with which she had gifted me.

3. In 1975, during the Kriya Yoga meditation for whose techniques I had, by then, recently qualified, I experienced a breakthrough, accompanied by a poem, which took shape in my mind unbidden as this breakthrough experience unfolded. I suddenly knew what “yogic Bliss” meant. This poem, entitled “Ananda”, goes as follows –-

“The Rock is Rolled Aside

The Spring is Sprung

Ananda Flows Within

Ever New.

Ever The Same.

Absolute Security.

Absolute Adventure.”

4. In 1996, after ~“40 years” of roaming a terrain as sparse of clues as a desert is parched of water -- of clues few and far between, albeit cumulative -- I suddenly saw, in the depths of the details of my professional work, and “hidden in plain sight”, the new arithmetic that enabled me to formulate, for the first time, a rudimentary version the “Cosmos Equation” of my 1959 Dream-Vision.

Ever since that day, like an idea-Mantra[m], like an idea-Mandala, that equation, with its seven-symbol succinctness, ever revolves in my mind’s eye, awakening in my heart the Bliss of beholding, as if being there & seeing, the self-creation of the cosmos as a whole, even at scales of space beyond what my senses can encompass to witness, & for far past times, wherein my body, & its sensorium, could have had no existence to witness.

Apart from Mantra and Mandala, apart from Meditation –- I’ve noticed! –- our minds tend to grow cataracts too!

But what if we were really “in touch with reality”; what if we suddenly awakened in this present moment – RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW?

What if we were suddenly, shockingly, really “present and accounted” for, all re-collected, in all of our parts, in all of our present selves, in all of our past selves, altogether, as one, whole, vividly-alive NOW?

Our hair would stand up on the backs of our necks. Our jaws would be agape, mouths dropping, wide open, in utter awe! –- and this, no matter whether theist, or

a-theist we be!

Now, maybe, after a time, for mere convenience, we might, in polite company, lift our jaws back closed. But the inner emotion of awe and wonder would persist, sans these bodily signs notwithstanding.

Why?

Because the power that constructed the cosmos is still here.

That power is present, right here, right now!

The power that constructed the cosmos is not distant. It is not remote. It is not located simply “back there”, in the distant past. Nor is it now, but only way “out there” in space, hidden in inaccessible galactic immensities. It is right here, “hidden in plain sight”.

“The creation” –- the self-construction of the cosmos – is not remote in time. “Creation” did not happen just once, "way back at the beginning".

The creation continues. It is “still” going on, right here, right now. And we are a part of it.

Whatever you may think this power of creation ultimately is – “immanent” or “transcendent”; “material”, or “spiritual” – it is manifestly here, manifestly now! – all the time; ‘all the space’!

First, before we think it, we may feel it; we may experience it outwardly. It is all around us. And, it is – quite literally – inside us.

Feel it! Know the Bliss, the Ecstasy, of knowing it!

We are part of this cosmos; part of this vast Dance of “uni”-“verse”; of together-turning, of turning [“verse”] in unison [“uni”] –- the planets rotating, turning about their own centers, turning on their axes, & revolving, turning about their suns as centers, &, turning, together with their suns, about their galactic centers: vun vast Valtz, as Lawrence Welk might say!

This “present” that we share – right here, right now – is, indeed, a gift, a “present”. It is one that has been “PRE-sent”; sent from the “PRE-“; sent from the past. It is the gift of the past, the cumulation and the ‘present-tation’ of all that has been “present-ed” before, and always with the addition of something new, something ‘un-prece[nt]-[de]nted’, that has never been ‘prece[de]nt-ed’ before.

But what is the “pre” from which this NOW, this “uni-verse” is “sent”?

Our scientists have reconstructed it.

They have identified a swarming, burgeoning, and formidably fecund single population of pre-sub-atomic, pre-nuclear “particles”; units of ‘matterized energy’, mysterious points of light –- the “quarks”, et al. -- that launched the building of everything; of everything that we see around us right now. They are the power that built the universe!

But how did this fecund swarm build itself up into the world that we know today?

There is an old German word -- «aufheben» -- which means, e.g., to pick-up a stone from the ground, and to raise it to eye-level. Thus, it means to change the position of the stone, to negate that position, & to preserve it in our grasp, & to elevate it as well.

«Aufheben» also describes what the cosmos-content does to itself, in creating new, unprecedented content; in creating, not just new beings, but new kinds of being; new “ontology”.

This self-«aufheben» of the content of the cosmos is accomplished by ‘self-meta-«monad»-ization’, that is, by ‘self-meta-unit-ization’. «Monad» is Greek for “unit”.

The qualitative units, or «monads», that our scientists call “quarks”, et al., once their population, and its spatial concentration, grows to a sufficient level, birth new populations, of a new kind of qualitative unit, a meta-unit –- the “sub-atomic particle” unit –- i.e., to populations of ‘meta-quarks’, e.g., protons, each made up of a heterogeneous multiplicity of quarks.

These new populations of sub-atomic “particle” units, once grown to sufficient quantity & density, birth populations of atom-units, i.e., populations of meta-sub-atomic “particle” units, made of a heterogeneous multiplicity of sub-atomic “particle” sub-units.

These new populations of atom units, once they grow to sufficient quantity & density, birth populations of molecule units, i.e., populations of meta-atoms, meta-atomic units, each one made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of atom-units.

These new populations of molecule units, once they grow to sufficient quantity & density, birth populations of prokaryotic “living” cell units, i.e., populations of meta-molecules, meta-molecular units, each one made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of molecule units.

If you want to understand this production of novelty – of new “ontology” – via ‘meta-unit-ization’ by an example closer to home, consider that part of human Nature which is written language.

Start from phonetic letters. Each word is a ‘meta-letter’ unit, typically made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of letter–units. Each sentence is a meta-word unit, typically made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of word-units. Each paragraph is a meta-sentence unit, typically made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of sentence-units. Each chapter is a meta-paragraph unit, typically made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of paragraph-units. Each book is a meta-chapter unit, typically made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of chapter-units. A library unit is –- well, you get the idea!

Sentential propositions like ‘The cosmos constructs the cosmos.’, or ‘The cosmos constructs itself.’, and the included sentential proposition ‘Humanity constructs humanity.’, or ‘Humanity constructs itself.’, are known as “[self-]reflexive” sentences, because, in them, the sentential subject and the sentential object are identical -- the same [pro-]noun, the same name.

“Self-reflexive” means “bending” [“flex”] “back upon” [“re-“] “self”.

This linguistic, i.e., this syntactical-semantical, ‘self-reflexivity’, is often used to describe physical ‘self-refluxivity’, where the word ‘self-refluxion’ means a “flowing” [“flux”] “back to” [“re-“] “self”.

Both of these terms –- the term ‘self-reflexive’ and the term ‘self-refluxive’ –- describe processes pervasive in both ancient and modern human thought, and also, per human thought, in the world outside of human minds, including:

· Yogic meditation, whereby human, conscious attention is turned back around upon, and focused back upon, itself, or upon the very psycho-physiological organs by which human conscious attention is generated, or manifested, creating ‘attention [to] attention’, or ‘consciousness of consciousness itself’.

· “[The Law of] «Karma»”, Sanskrit for “action”, per which each action flows back to and acts back upon the source of that action.

· The “Paradoxes” of non-dialectical, Formal Logic, & of Set Theory, e.g., of the sentential proposition “This sentence is false.”, which self-oscillates its own truth-value, and of “The Set of All Sets”, forever failing to be itself by lacking its own subsets as members. Add those missing subsets to this set, & it becomes a larger, different set, adumbrating yet new subsets that it does not yet contain.

· The Mathematical nonlinearity of nonlinear differential equations, which assert, e.g., that the quantitative velocity of the evolution of the state of a dynamic[al] system is equal to the self-reflexive self-operation of that state.

· The logic of dialectics, seeing the ‘intra-duality’, or ‘self-duality’, within each entity, “between” its aspect as sentential subject/agent, and its aspect as sentential object, such that the internal opposition between those two aspects manifests as a continual self-development of that subject/object entity; a continual expansion of its internal “ontology”, to the point of eventual self-transcendence.

And the entities which built our world, which built us, are still with us.

Your body, scientists tell us, is made of organs, all made up out of “eukaryotic”, or nucleated –- centered -- cells.

Each of your body’s eukaryotic cells is made up out of a heterogeneous multiplicity of “prokaryotic” cells, earlier, smaller cells that mutually “self-internalized” to form the eukaryotes –- that is, to form what we term the ‘meta-prokaryotes’.

Each of your body’s prokaryotes is made of molecules.

Each of your body’s molecules is made of “atoms”.

Each of your body’s “atoms” is made of sub-atomic “particles”.

And, each of your body’s sub-atomic “particles” is made up out of a vast & heterogeneous multiplicity of the pre-sub-atomic, pre-nuclear “particles”, including the “quarks”; of those “particles” that form, i.e., what we identified as “the power which built the cosmos”.

They are still HERE.

They are still NOW.

They are outside us, “without us”: Everything around us is made of what they made.

They are within us. Every kind of thing around us is also inside us.

We are made of what they made.

We are they.

We cannot see them, but they are everywhere, in all that we see.

But, if “the power which created the universe” is so present, and so accessible to us, to put it to use, in our own further creation, why are we not jaws-agape in awe; why are we not awake to this presence, why are we not continually in the Bliss of this realization?

That is: why are we still ever in “The Pursuit of Happiness”, rather than celebrating, and reveling in, its continual [re-]achievement?

Let us take recourse to some early ‘mytho-theologies’, or some ‘theo-mythologies’, that supply some otherwise missing metaphors, useful in answering this crucial, and most ‘hyper-practical’, question of all questions.

The ancient Egyptians described the cause of the “un-bliss-full”, and “unawake” condition of humanity by the word “isf-t”. This word names a condition of being “cut off from the source”.

This “isf-t” condition arises in us, per some very ancient theologies, or mythologies, as the consequence of a poisonous paradigm controlling our behavior –- called the “Image of Iblis” -- calamitously infecting our consciousness, in an inherited spiritual catastrophe that befell our remotest ancestors, and their Deity.

This controlling behavioral paradigm is a seeking to monopolize the source of life for ourselves alone, thus excluding and depriving all others of life-[re-]source(s), or, failing that, is a seeking to rob the life-[re-]source(s) of others, so as to “light-en” our resulting darkness, at their expense; at the expense of their loss of their life [re-]source(s); to gain at the expense of others.

The “karmic refluxion” of this paradigm, of its behavior, it seems, is to constrict the flow of life-support from our own inward source. What we [would] do to others thus befalls us. We become “cut-off” from the inward [re-]source(s) of our life/light, in direct proportion as our actions deprive others of theirs. We become darkened, weakened, and de-energized: “isf-t”.

It is as if a noose of our «karma» tightens around the “tunnel of Light” –- perhaps one and the same with the proverbial “tunnel” that has [the] “Light” at the end of it; the “tunnel” that many have reported seeing, near-death; the tunnel that the yogis call “The Mouth of God [of Brahma]”, associating it with the physical structure of the “brain stem”, the “medulla oblongata”, into which every [«Om»-ic] “Word” unit, every unit of life-force, uttered into it by God, may sustain and advance the life of the soul that occupies the human body which contains that “brain stem” –- as if that Light-tunnel becomes narrowed in radius, to nearly nothing, as an inner, self-reflexive, ‘self-refluxive’ result of our attempted negation of others’.

Thus, our Bliss is lost. “Iblis” replaces it.

How, then, does yogic meditation help to re-generate your Bliss?

Perhaps it is because, metaphorically, in meditation, you suspend your “isf-t”-ing activities, and the umbilical cord of Light within you begins to relax a little; begins to widen its radius, allowing more life-sustaining Light to “well-up” within your medulla oblongata, to flow into the body/mind which your soul currently inhabits.

What if our channels of Light, of Life Force, were to open wide? Would we become "En-Light-ened"? Would we have halos around our heads?

What, then, IS “Bliss”?

Is it some changeless, immutable, frozen state of mind?

What do I think?

That Bliss-Ananda is nothing short of the feeling of creation itself.

I feel Ananda as something deeply dynamic; as something ever new.

In deep meditation, the Bliss that I feel seems to be a response to the feeling of being nourished, of being sustained from some secret inside and transcendental source; the feeling of being sustainedly created; of being created again and again and ever anew within.

When not in deep meditation, when my attention beholds that which surrounds us, I experience Ananda as the Bliss of beholding the ongoing creation outside me, all around me, without me. I feel the same Bliss when I contemplate “The Universal Equation”; when it “re-minds” my mind of the vast, interdependent web of creation as a whole, including that before me in time, and that beyond me in space, and that beyond my senses now, equally, in the imperceptibly small, and in the imperceptibly large as well.

Yet both of these forms of Bliss are passive.

In my first-found way of Bliss, via meditation, something else seemed to be sustaining creation –- to be continuing the [re-]creation of me.

In my second way, via the sensuous contemplation of my surroundings, and via the cognitive contemplation of “The Universal Equation”, once again, something else seemed to sustain the creation –- of everything else, of everything other [than me].

Is there a “third way” of Bliss, one that transcends this passivity?

I say “Yes”!

Because we are part of that “everything” that is created, and that, in its turn, creates!

We are made of “the power that constructed the universe”; and we are therefore also part of it.

The creation not only continues:

It continues, in part, through us.

“Humanity constructs itself.”

We are all co-creators of humanity.

We are all co-creators of the cosmos.

You are a part of that self-construction of humanity, & a part of that larger self-construction of the cosmos.

And this remains so, whether you know it or not,

whether you make effort to do well at it or not.

Whether you know it or not, whether you do it well or not, you are making history. Your life, your acts, are the substance out of which history is made.

In this closing, please consider the closing words of the Afterword, by Karl Seldon, to a text entitled Dialectical Ideography –-

“Overcome we, the Iblis within ourselves, and the cosmos will be our canvas. We ourselves will be our works of art. We ourselves will be our work of art.”

I urge you: become the co-cultivator, the co-creator, of your own “Garden” within the larger “Garden” of this «kosmos», and do so in alignment with the paradoxical, karmic, dialectical, cosmological principle of “win-win” creativity!

THERE’S NO STOPPING YOU THEN!

“There’s no stopping you then!” in the sense that you will no longer be stopping[-up] yourself, from within, or stopping[-up] yourself from the outer reflux of your own attempted stoppings[-up] of others. And --

You will reap the Bliss of conscious, cosmological co-creativity.

What each one of us does with our lives, if we do it well, matters -- and though it appear to be the tiniest of deeds today, against the vast scale of the cosmos –- each such deed is a seed that will sprout into cosmological consequence in the future, and for all futurity –- e.g., via the children with whom you Gift the world, and via the care with which you Gift them, and via the cultural and economic infrastructure which you build, as the collective body of humanity.

Now it is time for me to return into silence, and to sit down, and for you to do what you will [do]; for you to do what you will to do.

Amrta!

Sustainable Urban Farming

Urban farming at its best! Check this out-- Will Allen, Milwaukee Urban farmer is doing what many of us want to do and know is correct. We must create Kin Domains and a Space of Love right where we are. We must clean up the mess we label urban and suburban living and then address the longer term issues of kin domains into perpetuity. Read more about his work at Growing Power.

Where are the Bees?

Now that I have lots of flowers blooming and vegetables filled with blossoms, I've been watching for honey bees. Yesterday I finally spotted one. My tallest sunflower had a visitor. Lack of bees has me concerned.

Because honey bees fall under the nuisance category for life in the city hives are not permitted. How are urban gardens to thrive without bees? One more law to examine. One more opportunity to educate people.

Wasps sting, bumble bees sting but honey bees just move around me in the garden. They don't feel threatened and they have a clear goal so why would they attack?

Kin Domain Fledgling

Today my Kin Domain was host to a robin fledgling. While I feed my chickens the little one sat as still as could be in the grass. At one point I had to move a hose which I needed to get water for my chickens and which would have become an obstacle for the bird. As I approached the little bird with very slow movements, the mother and father birds chirped and weaved about encouraging their young offspring to take flight.

The scene reminded me of how we sound when our child is about to take first steps or ride on a bicycle for the first time. In the insistent chirps I could hear mental echoes of come on, you can do it, I know you can. Just put one foot in front of the other. or in this case, just spread your wings and flap.

And so it went from the bird parents until I reached down and gave the reluctant baby a gentle tap under the tail with my gloved index finger. The little one flew several feet and landed on a wire screen used to protect a giant sunflower. The parents were mighty happy. Many proud chirps abounded. I moved my hose to get water for the chickens. Snapped a picture of the fledgling, then left them to celebrate the happy outcome of their little chick taking flight.

What a great day!

Kin Domain Happiness Rating

How satisfied are your with your life? With all of the economic casualties, I've wondered when Americans would turn toward the ideas of Kin Domains. Do we really need a lesson from other countries? Surely we remember how to be satified in life. Perhaps all the complications of free choice has buried our memory. Check out this article then start to dream a different dream for the world.

"Costa Ricans report the highest life satisfaction in the world and have the second-highest average life expectancy of the new world (second to Canada)," the organization said in a statement.

They "also have an ecological footprint that means that the country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of ... consuming its fair share of the Earth's natural resourceKs."

Kin Domain Medicine Chest

When I do herbal presentations to various groups around the country, I generally begin with this plant. The flower you see here is Calendula. Many herbalist call this flower the medicine chest of herbals. The yellow and orange flowers are harvested and contain a very sticky resin. I love plucking these flowers only to return the next day and witness double the amount of blossoms reproduced. Obviously, they like to be picked!

The flowers can be dried using the sun or a dehydrator. They can be put into a vegetable glycerin (use a coconut oil glycerin) to make a lotion. They can be put in coconut oil to make the base for body products like lip balm. See some of my early posts for recipes. Calendula is so human body friendly that it is in almost all baby care products. It can be consumed as a beverage as well as applied to the skin as a topical balm.

Calendula has spirit enough for everyone--from babies to elderly. The yellow-gold flower reminds me of the energy of the sun and the sticky resin reminds me of the healing properties of honey.

Calendula Ointment

Ingredients:
2 oz calendula infused oil (olive oil or coconut oil base)
2 oz extra virgin coconut oil
½ oz beeswax
1 tsp. lanolin

Combine the above ingredients in a Pyrex measuring cup. Place cup in a shallow pan of water and gently heat. When ingredients have assimilated, pour into a 4 oz container with a tight lid. Long shelf life if kept away from heat and light.

Garden Magic

For those of you who have been following along the past few months, you'll remember when I discussed the lasagna garden technique and showed pictures of each phase. If you weren't able to read the posts back in March, then what you see here to the right is the before picture. With elbow grease and a co-creating boost from nature the result is the after picture posted below.

It is only July 1st and already everything is lush.
The sudden heat has boosted growth to phenomenal rates. Each day something new makes it to the dinner table. I wonder if I'll be replanting in late July or early August to get some second harvests before the frost.


When I look at the variation in these photos I see magic. Garden magic. No wonder I get excited when I plant that first seed of the season!