Lightly tread
upon gentle earth
love and gratitude
stirs my heart
to deep grottoes
of soulful joy
touching untouchable spirit
praying at Terra's alter
in the cathedral of Giaa
nursed by the milk of compassion
love in the absolute
holy and pure
my love is everywhere
in every rock
in every tree
in every beating heart
in the moon
and in the stars
in the eyes of strangers
and in the embrace of one so sweet
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Change Happens
Every once in a while an injustice occurs that you just can't let pass. Yesterday was one of those times.
The Oakland Police, in a rather heavy handed fashion, removed the "Occupy Oakland" protest from Oscar Grant Plaza (Frank Ogawa). An army of riot police, many from other cities, attacked the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. They destroyed the encampment and hauled scores off to jail There were also injuries among the among the occupiers including some that required hospitalization. I just couldn't let that go. I called off sick from my job (I'm not proud of that my boss is a good guy and I hated being dishonest with him but this is bigger then my job) and went to the march. There were a lot of people, at least a thousand and probably more. The cops were visibly tense. I'd like to think that it is because they share more identity with the protest then the corporate interests that put them on the line.
It was a very diverse crowd, all ages and ethnicities. There were the usual bunch of oddballs and anarchists but there were also a lot of older, middle class people. Unions were represented and I saw one woman wearing her Kaiser Hospital ID, (she is an RN). It was an interesting contrast to see the smiles and hugs and overall joy along with waves and honks of support from passing motorists, against the backdrop of stoney faced, helmeted riot police. It was truly illustrative of the disconnect between the ruling elite and the working people which have come to call themselves the "99%". I witnesses the occasional skirmish and I'm sure there were arrests but you have to expect that, we are fighting for our lives and the lives of our children. Emotions are bound to get intense.
They have stolen so much from us that we are starting to see a future that is becoming dark and scary. We have been fed so many lies that we are full to the bursting point. We have seen our tax dollars squandered on the mass murder of people who never harmed us at the expense of the lives, bodies and minds of our kids. They tell us how wonderful they are going to make things for us, invoking God and Country while they pick our pockets, rob our homes and rape creation. Now they have started an attempt to neutralize protest and kill the peoples ability to bring about change.
This is it, there is no tomorrow. We have to stand up and fight (peacefully and with love) if we are to have a future for ourselves and our kids. We have to show the lies for what they are and be bringers of truth. We have to reject the exploitation of the planet for profit and reject the rampant materialism that divides us and sets us against one another. We must look for spiritual health and happiness. I promise you won't find that at Wal-Mart.
It is our community. We built it. We keep it running. We must act with love and support to our working brothers and sisters, and that includes police officers who are part of our family too. If we are to have anything resembling a happy and livable future we must love our fellow beings and the cosmos as a whole first and put away the self centered worship of wealth. It is our only option.
The Oakland Police, in a rather heavy handed fashion, removed the "Occupy Oakland" protest from Oscar Grant Plaza (Frank Ogawa). An army of riot police, many from other cities, attacked the protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. They destroyed the encampment and hauled scores off to jail There were also injuries among the among the occupiers including some that required hospitalization. I just couldn't let that go. I called off sick from my job (I'm not proud of that my boss is a good guy and I hated being dishonest with him but this is bigger then my job) and went to the march. There were a lot of people, at least a thousand and probably more. The cops were visibly tense. I'd like to think that it is because they share more identity with the protest then the corporate interests that put them on the line.
It was a very diverse crowd, all ages and ethnicities. There were the usual bunch of oddballs and anarchists but there were also a lot of older, middle class people. Unions were represented and I saw one woman wearing her Kaiser Hospital ID, (she is an RN). It was an interesting contrast to see the smiles and hugs and overall joy along with waves and honks of support from passing motorists, against the backdrop of stoney faced, helmeted riot police. It was truly illustrative of the disconnect between the ruling elite and the working people which have come to call themselves the "99%". I witnesses the occasional skirmish and I'm sure there were arrests but you have to expect that, we are fighting for our lives and the lives of our children. Emotions are bound to get intense.
They have stolen so much from us that we are starting to see a future that is becoming dark and scary. We have been fed so many lies that we are full to the bursting point. We have seen our tax dollars squandered on the mass murder of people who never harmed us at the expense of the lives, bodies and minds of our kids. They tell us how wonderful they are going to make things for us, invoking God and Country while they pick our pockets, rob our homes and rape creation. Now they have started an attempt to neutralize protest and kill the peoples ability to bring about change.
This is it, there is no tomorrow. We have to stand up and fight (peacefully and with love) if we are to have a future for ourselves and our kids. We have to show the lies for what they are and be bringers of truth. We have to reject the exploitation of the planet for profit and reject the rampant materialism that divides us and sets us against one another. We must look for spiritual health and happiness. I promise you won't find that at Wal-Mart.
It is our community. We built it. We keep it running. We must act with love and support to our working brothers and sisters, and that includes police officers who are part of our family too. If we are to have anything resembling a happy and livable future we must love our fellow beings and the cosmos as a whole first and put away the self centered worship of wealth. It is our only option.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Blessings and Praise
There is an ivory moon set against indigo skies in the company of stars that are the light of God smiling through from the cosmos. I thank our magnificent creator for the blessings that I have been gifted today and everyday. I pray that the peace in my heart finds its way to all beings and the love of God rules the day.
There is beauty in the contemplation of a blade of grass. There is grace in every bloom and in the hum of bees. There is joy in the song of birds, even the squawk of a raven. There is love in the sparkle of a dogs eye and in the plaintive bark of sea lions.
Gratitude is the light that illuminates a lonely journey and Gods love warms the coldest of hearts. Life is the gift of the spirit. Relish it, delight in it. Always remember that you are a child of God and through Gods love you are strong and you are fabulous.
There is beauty in the contemplation of a blade of grass. There is grace in every bloom and in the hum of bees. There is joy in the song of birds, even the squawk of a raven. There is love in the sparkle of a dogs eye and in the plaintive bark of sea lions.
Gratitude is the light that illuminates a lonely journey and Gods love warms the coldest of hearts. Life is the gift of the spirit. Relish it, delight in it. Always remember that you are a child of God and through Gods love you are strong and you are fabulous.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Indestructable Love
"The attainment of freedom, whether for a man, nation or the world, must be in exact proportion to the attainment of non-violence by each"-Mahatma Gandhi.
Our nation is in the grip of bondage. We are slaves to a consumerism that is rammed down our throats through every sort of media imaginable and we have become bloated and addicted not only to wealth but the mere promise of wealth. Our addiction has become so acute that we have become savage and warlike out of fear of being cut off from that which we so desperately crave.
Now, in October of 2012 we find ourselves engaged in a war that has lasted ten years. Nobody seems to remember what our original mission was and nobody can think of anything good that has resulted in our involvement. We send our children overseas to kill and sometimes be killed or maimed and the only object seems to be corporate profit.
Today, we made a stand. Myself and what had to be at least a thousand other people took to the streets in San Francisco gave voice to our better natures and denounced the corporate exploiters that have brought our country to the brink of ruin. It was a joyful gathering of young and old, and all creeds and orientations. We came together and roared with a single mighty voice that we will no longer tolerate the violence and corruption that have become the hallmark of our political and economic system. No longer will we accept the hollow words of bought and paid for politicians that the carnage of war and the gutting of social services is in the best interests of we the people while a select group of moneyed corporate aristocrats profit on the broken backs and bodies of working people and do not carry their fair share of the burden of a healthy community.
I wish I could adequately describe the elation and joy I felt to be part of such a gathering. The unity of spirit and purpose was uplifting beyond measure. It was the breaking of chains that had kept me earthbound for so long. It was truly a liberation of the soul.
Violence is the province of the wealthy. Throughout history it has been their tool to maintain there grip on the throats of the people but they cannot fight love. They can kill or imprison the body but they cannot kill our love for our fellow beings, only we can do that. To live lovingly and peacefully is a victory nobody can take from us and I saw victory today in San Francisco.
Our nation is in the grip of bondage. We are slaves to a consumerism that is rammed down our throats through every sort of media imaginable and we have become bloated and addicted not only to wealth but the mere promise of wealth. Our addiction has become so acute that we have become savage and warlike out of fear of being cut off from that which we so desperately crave.
Now, in October of 2012 we find ourselves engaged in a war that has lasted ten years. Nobody seems to remember what our original mission was and nobody can think of anything good that has resulted in our involvement. We send our children overseas to kill and sometimes be killed or maimed and the only object seems to be corporate profit.
Today, we made a stand. Myself and what had to be at least a thousand other people took to the streets in San Francisco gave voice to our better natures and denounced the corporate exploiters that have brought our country to the brink of ruin. It was a joyful gathering of young and old, and all creeds and orientations. We came together and roared with a single mighty voice that we will no longer tolerate the violence and corruption that have become the hallmark of our political and economic system. No longer will we accept the hollow words of bought and paid for politicians that the carnage of war and the gutting of social services is in the best interests of we the people while a select group of moneyed corporate aristocrats profit on the broken backs and bodies of working people and do not carry their fair share of the burden of a healthy community.
I wish I could adequately describe the elation and joy I felt to be part of such a gathering. The unity of spirit and purpose was uplifting beyond measure. It was the breaking of chains that had kept me earthbound for so long. It was truly a liberation of the soul.
Violence is the province of the wealthy. Throughout history it has been their tool to maintain there grip on the throats of the people but they cannot fight love. They can kill or imprison the body but they cannot kill our love for our fellow beings, only we can do that. To live lovingly and peacefully is a victory nobody can take from us and I saw victory today in San Francisco.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The Criminalization of Protest
The Constitution of the United States guarantees the right of "Peaceable Assembly" but if a group of people does anything ,more then stand around sucking their thumbs, they will run afoul of one or more local statutes and risk arrest.
This afternoon I dedicated myself to speaking out against a system and a paradigm that is not only unsustainable but threatens the very existence of human kind: the exploitation/extraction economic system perpetuated by the global corporate elite. I spent some time with the incredibly courageous young people of "Occupy San Francisco", a group in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" in New York City.
For some time now, Occupy SF has been camped in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on Market Street. Last night, the SFPD decided to act. According to the coordinators of the movement,leaflets were passed out by officers informing the protesters that although the SFPD respects their right to peaceably assemble, they listed six local statutes that the protesters had violated. One was the newly instituted "Sit/Lie" law. This law was created to prevent homeless people from camping in front of downtown merchants and frightening away trade. Now this law might be understandable, although dubious on a moral level, in a city that lives and dies by tourism, but now it has been used to stifle political decent.
The other violations cited also were generally laws that have to do with cooking, camping and food distribution, on the sidewalk that also were created to criminalize homelessness. To me this really pointed up the interconnectedness of all things, how harassment of those on the bottom of the social/economic ladder spreads to the rungs above. The biblical quote of Mathew 25:40 (one of my personal favorites) "What ever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me."
What this means on a secular level is that when one segment of society is repressed, society as a whole is at risk of the very same repression. These "Quality of Life" laws are more and more being used by local police agencies to harass and spread a feeling of insecurity among anyone who wants to stand against the injustices perpetrated by the moneyed elite
This is a direct result of "Corporate Person-hood". Since corporations have been declared to have equal rights to individuals, and money has been determined to be the same as free speech, it is a natural progression that corporate money floods the political system making the civil leadership dependent on it for reelection. Since civil laws are enforced by civil leaders through the police, it is not surprising that the law would be slanted in favor of the segments of society that have the most money.
"Peaceable Assembly" may be protected but if you say anything or do anything while you are assembled, you will likely wind up in the slammer.
This afternoon I dedicated myself to speaking out against a system and a paradigm that is not only unsustainable but threatens the very existence of human kind: the exploitation/extraction economic system perpetuated by the global corporate elite. I spent some time with the incredibly courageous young people of "Occupy San Francisco", a group in solidarity with "Occupy Wall Street" in New York City.
For some time now, Occupy SF has been camped in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco on Market Street. Last night, the SFPD decided to act. According to the coordinators of the movement,leaflets were passed out by officers informing the protesters that although the SFPD respects their right to peaceably assemble, they listed six local statutes that the protesters had violated. One was the newly instituted "Sit/Lie" law. This law was created to prevent homeless people from camping in front of downtown merchants and frightening away trade. Now this law might be understandable, although dubious on a moral level, in a city that lives and dies by tourism, but now it has been used to stifle political decent.
The other violations cited also were generally laws that have to do with cooking, camping and food distribution, on the sidewalk that also were created to criminalize homelessness. To me this really pointed up the interconnectedness of all things, how harassment of those on the bottom of the social/economic ladder spreads to the rungs above. The biblical quote of Mathew 25:40 (one of my personal favorites) "What ever you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me."
What this means on a secular level is that when one segment of society is repressed, society as a whole is at risk of the very same repression. These "Quality of Life" laws are more and more being used by local police agencies to harass and spread a feeling of insecurity among anyone who wants to stand against the injustices perpetrated by the moneyed elite
This is a direct result of "Corporate Person-hood". Since corporations have been declared to have equal rights to individuals, and money has been determined to be the same as free speech, it is a natural progression that corporate money floods the political system making the civil leadership dependent on it for reelection. Since civil laws are enforced by civil leaders through the police, it is not surprising that the law would be slanted in favor of the segments of society that have the most money.
"Peaceable Assembly" may be protected but if you say anything or do anything while you are assembled, you will likely wind up in the slammer.
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