Here and Now...What's Happening?

[Carmody]

Yes, as the potency of the thinning of the veil, or rather orientation to it increases, in intensity, things will become more..potent. It's probably near impossible to find any image of me on the net, these days. 5-6 years back, if one had my name, they could so so. Not anymore.

[1inMany]

My brother has gone down the path of drugs and alcohol. Again. He took the external drive and blamed it on M and her friend. And he lied to Mike's face for four hours. Mike ran a search on the computer and found out the precise moment the external drive was unplugged and the online activity in surrounding moments. My brother is 51 years old, and the only explanation for doing such a horrid thing to get M in hot water is the drugs and alcohol.

M started saving money when she was probably 14. She did a lot of hard work to save 5's and 10's, and ended up with about $300. She started using the 5's and 10's at school, was giving money to people at school who needed lunch money and such. Then she found out my brother needed $150 to pay an outstanding fine in order to get his drivers license back. She gave it to him as a gift, asked not to be paid back.

*sigh*

How quickly he has forgotten. How quickly he has forgotten that we gave him a home when he had nowhere to turn, we paid his fines and got him back and forth to probation appointments, welcomed him into our family, basic necessities taken care of...

*sigh*

Mike gets a little too angry. He does. He severs relationships like he cuts a piece of string. And I have never seen him repair one. After having been stolen from and lied to, the only thing worse is that he almost damaged his relationship with M irreparably. I just know I would not want to be in my brother's shoes today. He will be out of our house, one way or another, by the end of the day. This I know.

I am so glad I showed unwavering support for M, even when the facts might not have been obvious to others. She crawled in bed with me sometime during the night, which hasn't happened in years. I asked her about it this morning, thinking she might have had a nightmare. No, she just wanted to be close. That certainly touched me.

Emotions are all over the place, situations come and go, I'm trying to find one thing that always stays the same. I guess that is called stability. That's what I'm searching for internally today.

Love you all,

[ulli]

Posted by 1inMany (here)
My brother has gone down the path of drugs and alcohol. Again. He took the external drive and blamed it on M and her friend. And he lied to Mike's face for four hours. Mike ran a search on the computer and found out the precise moment the external drive was unplugged and the online activity in surrounding moments. My brother is 51 years old, and the only explanation for doing such a horrid thing to get M in hot water is the drugs and alcohol.

M started saving money when she was probably 14. She did a lot of hard work to save 5's and 10's, and ended up with about $300. She started using the 5's and 10's at school, was giving money to people at school who needed lunch money and such. Then she found out my brother needed $150 to pay an outstanding fine in order to get his drivers license back. She gave it to him as a gift, asked not to be paid back.

*sigh*

How quickly he has forgotten. How quickly he has forgotten that we gave him a home when he had nowhere to turn, we paid his fines and got him back and forth to probation appointments, welcomed him into our family, basic necessities taken care of...

*sigh*

Mike gets a little too angry. He does. He severs relationships like he cuts a piece of string. And I have never seen him repair one. After having been stolen from and lied to, the only thing worse is that he almost damaged his relationship with M irreparably. I just know I would not want to be in my brother's shoes today. He will be out of our house, one way or another, by the end of the day. This I know.

I am so glad I showed unwavering support for M, even when the facts might not have been obvious to others. She crawled in bed with me sometime during the night, which hasn't happened in years. I asked her about it this morning, thinking she might have had a nightmare. No, she just wanted to be close. That certainly touched me.

Emotions are all over the place, situations come and go, I'm trying to find one thing that always stays the same. I guess that is called stability. That's what I'm searching for internally today.

Love you all,

When one stops helping such a person it doesn't mean that one stops being helpful.
One simply stops being an enabler.

More alcoholics have woken up when their last family member
slammed the door in their faces in the middle of a snow storm than at any other time.

[1inMany]

Thank you, Ulli.

[Carmody]

We (the greater/royal we) had to do that with an extended family member. When he repeatedly arrived on the doorstep, drunk and high, in the company of Police, shirt and clothes torn.

"Not Here, no more, not again", are the kind of words spoken.

[Carmody]

Oct 22nd, Scorpio has arrived...(Libra turns to Scorpio) (justice leaves the stage in turn for stealth vengeance, or something like that)

Isn't it just like Scorpio, to have a hidden watery eclipse...

Total Solar Eclipse
New Moon November 13 21:57 Scorpio.

Beliefs & values shift. Death, rebirth.

Outstanding eclipse Map 5:17 pmEST 2:17 pmPST

Sabian Symbol for 21-22 degrees Scorpio:

Hunters Shooting Wild Ducks

It is interesting to look at it with respect to flow, from one state to another. In this case, seemingly..relevant. to ponder potentials in flow.

To look at 21 degrees and then 23 degrees, with the 22 degree, the eclipse degree... in the middle.

In that case, it looks like this:

20-21 deg Scorpio

Obeying His Conscience, A Soldier Resists Orders
~~
21-22 deg Scorpio

Hunters Shooting Wild Ducks
~~
22-23 deg Scorpio

A Rabbit Metamorphoses Into A Nature Spirit

[ulli]

Posted by Carmody (here)
Oct 22nd, Scorpio has arrived...(Libra turns to Scorpio) (justice leaves the stage in turn for stealth vengeance, or something like that)

The good news is that as the sun enters Scorpio it will immediately make a lovely trine to Neptune in Pisces.
For one glorious day. An inter-dimensional star gate opens which will make prayers get answered.

But the day after there comes a crunch....two days from now...
the sun conjunct Saturn at 1 degree Scorpio.
This will partially block the sun's life giving energies for one day,
and more restrictive laws can then be implemented.
A good time to do a special meditation-prayer session to hold the balance.

[1inMany]

What a sad thing, addiction. It is devastating for so many. There will come a time when it is gone, with all the negative energies it will die. It takes so many lives with it, though. Of course, this is a bit confusing because as I know this on the one hand, on the other hand I have the knowledge that all is as it should be. That is confusing, because though everything is as it should be, at the same time addiction should not be. A paradox.

I remember a student I had, a teenage girl who looked to be about 19. I have been thinking about her lately. Kristin, I will call her. Immediately upon her arrival, I recall noticing the last name on her schoolwork being different from the last name on her legal paperwork. I, of course, called her by the name she wrote. She mentioned it to me one day, how it touched her that I used the correct name, that I did not call her by the other name, that I never asked her about the difference. Then she recounted her story.

The name on her legal paperwork was her married name, her maiden name was the one she preferred as she was trying to get a divorce. Her husband was a gang banger, in prison, and had abused her. He had also introduced her to meth, an addiction she kicked on her own a few months before finding our school. She had no money and no idea what was entailed in getting a divorce. She had no permanent home, though she was staying with her older sister. I do not recall where her mother was, but her father was in prison for statutory rape of one of her friends. And she was actually 15 years old.

At the same time addiction twists and knots up lives and robs so many of precious time and energy, a sense of wonder and hope exists with that same sense that All is Well. Sometimes it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that these two conditions exist simultaneously.

It's Okay.

[ulli]

The thing about the middle path is this...when holding a paradox before one's eyes
it allows one to see both sides of an issue. So it can give that vantage point of looking down into the valleys from a mountain peak. Or the rims of those bowls Carmody was speaking of a while ago....
But if one makes a fixation out of it, like a belief system which promotes non-interference, passivity, or even permissiveness, then it begs the question why live on this planet in the first place? Only to learn some lessons? Which lessons?

In the realm of ideas there is creativity, but those ideas need to be passed on to someone who can put them into action.
Who is that to be? This leads me to the idea behind elections, and who to vote for...
Who will be the best representative of one's own future vision...not only one's own temporary interest.
Does that vision involve the planet as a whole or only the nation one lives in?
The Here and Now is the breeding ground for the future.
Just pondering

[Belle]

Posted by astrid (here)
But industrial things have always fascinated me, when i was dealing in Antiques it was
into old industrial relics, i restored some amazing old workbenches that now have a second life as interior pieces.

This part of your post reminded me of Steampunk Art...a combination of the latest technology within a Victorian setting/item...such as an antique cast iron cooking stove fitted with the latest cooktop...that began sometime in the 1980's.

More examples of Steampunk art consist of modern robots featuring old-fashioned watch parts, high-tech laptops outfitted with crude wooden and brass casings, and a baby chick mounted to appear realistic, save for the cogs and machinery exposed in its back.

Check out this Steampunk house in Sharon, Massachusetts at http://steampunkworkshop.com/visit-steampunked-home

Awesome and very creative...

[Marianne]

Posted by Belle (here)

Posted by astrid (here)
But industrial things have always fascinated me, when i was dealing in Antiques it was
into old industrial relics, i restored some amazing old workbenches that now have a second life as interior pieces.

This part of your post reminded me of Steampunk Art...a combination of the latest technology within a Victorian setting/item...such as an antique cast iron cooking stove fitted with the latest cooktop...that began sometime in the 1980's.

More examples of Steampunk art consist of modern robots featuring old-fashioned watch parts, high-tech laptops outfitted with crude wooden and brass casings, and a baby chick mounted to appear realistic, save for the cogs and machinery exposed in its back.

Check out this Steampunk house in Sharon, Massachusetts at http://steampunkworkshop.com/visit-steampunked-home

Awesome and very creative...

I was looking at the Steampunk Tarot deck the other day in the bookstore. Didn't get it then but kept thinking of it ... your post nails it for me, Belle!

[donk]

I feel for you 1inmany, Sunday morning I had to intervene on a "man" I have known since we were kids, whom I trusted with my life, my family...everything.

Found out he used my resources to fuel a coke-then-crack bender all summer and I was immediately in one revelation set back to to hole deeper than I was in two years ago--thanks to his conscious choices to steal from me, while playing with my kids and joking around about the junkie took me two years ago..I almost lost it when I looked in his eyes, told him eff you for not knowing who you are, for choosing whateverthef*ck it was you chose to show me, to be toward me.

i knew at that moment his friends and family wanted help him, and all I could think about was myself, how much I wanted to project my pain and discomfort on to him, I had to leave because I didn't want him to "turn it around" or whatever these people (that I love) envisioned--I wanted him to suffer. A test to what I thought was my unconditional love. That moment, I was my old self. I had a panic attack on my way to the car after I stormed out having said peace...then I felt better, found some peace, and could even feel the light of forgiveness coming.

i can't give THAT to him though, not yet. The spoiled piece of human waste needs to learn personal responsibility, something he was never taught. That is my gift to him, that maybe he can learn empathy. I know (and told him) that our relationship, our experiences together for the last 20 years were real, I loved him and trusted him and felt closer than family...which is true. The "Cherokee story" of the two wolves flashed in my head, and when I looked in his eyes I saw them both, the nasty one he chose fed sheepishly trying to "protect" the good one, cowering and shaking and trying to take the blindside we gave him.

The worst part is, we missed his rock bottom. When I started asking him to come up with what he had of mine, I let the excuses go for a couple weeks--not believing he could stab my back and rip heart out while raping my family. It never occured to me not to trust him. He was too smart, too self aware. The thought comes in, for next time I speak to him: Are you a vampire (predator) or zombie (parasite). He seems too smart for a zombie, I believed him to be good, our love to be too real for him to be a coniving calculating blood sucker. Cocaine clouds all of that, apprarantly--every bit as bad as the opiates (which I got burned by before).

I just can't relate. I will be giving up the addiction i been putting off (THC) due to the problems it causes my family (unbeknowst to them). I can't afford it anymore, and I can't risk it. It is hard for me to know that I project that on everyone I love ("that" being the inability to put my addiction ahead of the chance of hurting others). It kills me to have to rethink my trusting nature, and faith in people. I hate that he made feel this way.

At the same time addiction twists and knots up lives and robs so many of precious time and energy, a sense of wonder and hope exists with that same sense that All is Well. Sometimes it is difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that these two conditions exist simultaneously.

It's Okay.

I know this is true, but in my case I am forced to be the hope. I have to find a way to teach the schmuck (that I can't even bear to think about being around) personal responsibility, if his brother and family and rest of friends let him get away this, nothing will stop him from victim #4--as I was the only one materially effected. I have to use time and energy I barely have or that wonder and hope will instead be another tragedy. UGH

[Guest]

Over the last month I have had very little sleep. Either going into my own junk to clear or into the spirit world to work and learn. At first it drove me nuts. But then I relaxed into it -went with it- and the work to do became much clearer and easier. Breaking and working through some of my own self imposed beliefs, created structures and those that I took on imposed by others.
During this last weekend had dreams about concrete structures and family; evaporating walls and imposed societal structures. I also had dreams of lost children -working with spirit to bring back (integrating) their soul and spirit and helping them to move on. There were times when it all felt arduous but I kept with it. The illusion can be so very strong. Being exact was important. Cannot miss anything. Rough going for me for a little while -but the task was done for now and I did eventually get some pure restful sleep.

All of this talk of structures, dreams, society, addiction, Uranus and Neptune in Pisces reminded me of Gestalt and Fritz Perls & Laura Perls -his wife.



When I was in my late 20's I had a good friend who taught metaphysics and parapsychology at one of the local colleges and lead a Noetic Science ION chapter. He had studied at the Eselan Institute and was associated with the Consciousness Dept. in the extended University program at the University. He invited me to one of the Noetic meetings to hear a woman give a talk on hypnotherapy and European Gestalt. After the meeting I introduced my-self to her and we agreed to meet up for tea. I spent the next 2 1/2 years 2 hours (sometimes more) a day 4 to 5 days a week working with her. We worked in backgrounds, foregrounds, bottom-top, dreams, feelings, parts and the whole, colors, sounds, spaces, the abstract, geometric structure & malleable structure and with spirit -here and now.

“Teaching means to show a person that something is possible.”
― Frederick S. Perls



“I have one aim only: to impart a fraction of the meaning of the word now.”
― Frederick S. Perls


Basic Concepts
The Phenomenological Perspective

Phenomenology is a discipline that helps people stand aside from their usual way of thinking so that they can tell the difference between what is actually being perceived and felt in the current situation and what is residue from the past (Idhe, 1977). A Gestalt exploration respects, uses and clarifies immediate, "naive" perception "undebauched by learning" (Wertheimer, 1945, p. 331). Gestalt therapy treats what is "subjectively" felt in the present, as well as what is "objectively" observed, as real and important data. This contrasts with approaches that treat what the patient experiences as "mere appearances" and uses interpretation to find "real meaning."
The goal of Gestalt phenomenological exploration is awareness, or insight. "Insight is a patterning of the perceptual field in such a way that the significant realities are apparent; it is the formation of a gestalt in which the relevant factors fall into place with respect to the whole" (Heidbreder, 1933, p. 355). In Gestalt therapy insight is clear understanding of the structure of the situation being studied.
Awareness without systematic exploration is not ordinarily sufficient to develop insight. Therefore, Gestalt therapy uses focused awareness and experimentation to achieve insight. How one becomes aware is crucial to any phenomenological investigation. The phenomenologist studies not only personal awareness but also the awareness process itself. The patient is to learn how to become aware of awareness. How the therapist and the patient experience their relationship is of special concern in Gestalt therapy (Yontef, 1976, 1982, 1983).

The Field Theory Perspective

The field is a whole in which the parts are in immediate relationship and responsive to each other and no part is uninfluenced by what goes on elsewhere in the field. The field replaces the notion of discrete, isolated particles. The person in his or her life space constitutes a field.

The Existential Perspective

Existentialism is based on the phenomenological method. Existential phenomenologists focus on people's existence, relations with each other, joys and suffering, etc., as directly experienced.
Most people operate in an unstated context of conventional thought that obscures or avoids acknowledging how the world is. This is especially true of one's relations in the world and one's choices. Self-deception is the basis of in-authenticity: living that is not based on the truth of oneself in the world leads to feelings of dread, guilt and anxiety. Gestalt therapy provides a way of being authentic and meaningfully responsible for oneself. By becoming aware, one becomes able to choose and/or organize one's own existence in a meaningful manner (Jacobs, 1978; Yontef, 1982, 1983).
The existential view holds that people are endlessly remaking or discovering themselves. There is no essence of human nature to be discovered "once and for all." There are always new horizons, new problems and new opportunities.
http://www.gestalt.org/yontef.htm



“Lose your mind and come to your senses.”
― Frederick S. Perls





Love


Nora

[1inMany]

On a lighter note, M comes up with some darned funny justification for those who partake of ye ole herb. She is on one of those "Legalize Marijuana" kicks. She knows that Mike and I don't "approve" of her smoking it, and for the most part she doesn't (any more)...but I have a hunch that once in a while...and if that's all it is, then who cares?!

Anyway, yesterday she decided that marijuana cures brain cancer. "Oh, really?" I asked. "Sure," she says, "if cancer is your brain making too many cells, and pot kills your brain cells, then it is the cure."

*chuckle*

[PurpleLama]

Television is a better "cure", then. Ha.

[ulli]

Nora, you just reminded me of another book I once cherished, lent out and never got back,
but also having not thought about Fritz Perls in a while, just yesterday mentioned him to a friend.
Gestalt therapy is a real short-cut to enlightenment.

[Carmody]

yes, it is not difficult, at all. The getting over the ego/self hump is the hard part. Kinda blocks the door (so you can't get by) like some hulking punk with an attitude. Like a bad mimic/echo issue.

[Carmody]

gobble gobble.

These guys seem to be breeding faster than the rabbits. I see none of the regular big males in this group..so...it has to be a different group.

[thunder24]

Posted by Carmody (here)
gobble gobble.

These guys seem to be breeding faster than the rabbits. I see none of the regular big males in this group..so...it has to be a different group.

thats a great pic carmody, In my county i have seen three different flocks with a white one in each flock... One day I saw two flocks miles apart, both with a white one... kewl pic

peace

[1inMany]

I finally figured out what is in the yard that makes it painful to walk with just bare feet: Burrs!



And, Ohhhhhhh, MamaDog. There should really be a caption to this picture....hahahahhaahahaha





Poor, miserable baby. I can now feel her puppies moving...