We all must mourn the loss of innocence—of the delusion that everyone cares about others’ best interests—and accept the existence of evil in the world. In an Absolute sense, everything arises from Love. Dante understood this; in his Commedia, evil is simply twisted Love. But though evil, like everything else, arises from Love, it rejects its origin and deludes itself …
Shrinking the Monster….
When we encounter someone who is evil, we usually react with fear. We do not understand them and want to run away. They are monsters to us, and we feel powerless. If we want to shrink these monsters, we must begin the process of uncovering how they came to be as they are. These monsters are human beings who committed …
The Wounded Foursquare ….
Wounded Cared for Educated Indulged Stella, a young woman who identifies herself as good, was stopped on the street by another young woman. Stella was asked for $380 to pay rent, as the young woman would be deported if she did not come up with that sum. Rather than delving deeper to verify her story, rather than going with the …
JOYOUS….
Joyous Despairing Intoxicated Grounded When reflecting on a foursquare to paint, I begin with the top left quality, knowing that each component of the foursquare must not be conflated with the other three. Every quality has its own vibration that arises from within, becoming less subtle and more material. As the vibration manifests, letters express it, and a word is …
Lessons from My Mother….
I could have learned to be just like my mother. Though as a child I did not want to be like her, we unconsciously pick up the qualities of our first caregivers and live them out even in our repulsions—and our repulsions can bind us even more than our attractions. If not for Baba I may have ended up as …
The Life of Anastasia….
It’s customary to deliver a eulogy when someone dies. Though the word generally means “praise”, in the most literal sense it translates from the Greek as “good word”. Sharing my understanding of my mother’s life and the part she played in her little corner of the world stage is itself a “good word”, so I will offer this blog and …
Thankfulness….
In America we celebrate Thanksgiving. In this day and age we may be finding it difficult to say and be Thankful. The world is having a rather rough go of it. We are being challenged everywhere we turn. Thank you God. Thank you Baba for showing me that God is everywhere and God’s action is always Love. Therefore each test …
Living Humility….
Everyone agrees that humility is a virtue. But no one really wants it. We all either redefine and belittle it as a kind of lightweight modesty or deride it as belonging to losers. True humility, though, requires great courage, because it consists in surrendering our separateness completely to God. In your life, if God is the doer, then you are …
The Delusion of Ownership as Love….
Ownership is called love. Therefore, objectifying is love. Therefore, love is essentially pornographic. Therefore, power is love. Love is therefore the pleasure of possession and control. To own and feel the pleasure of ownership is to love. To be owned is to be loved. Therefore, the beloved’s obligation is to be always willing to be an object, to have no …
Fulfilling the Mission….
In order to fulfill a mission, we have to know the mission. We mustn’t fool ourselves or others with a misguided sense of mission. And if we are going to take on a mission, we must be willing to see it through. If at some point we decide to abandon the mission, we must also be responsible for that decision. …