"The Myth of Normal"

[Lou Gold]

OK! Please take your time and notice that I offered two post responses to your critical comments. Thank you for putting your best into this.

Lou,
I will now send you my response as a private message. You are welcome to put it partially or entirely in a public post, if this is integral, or in any way beneficial, to your wish of baring witness, and offering a personal testament in this forum.

Thank you, Federica. What a lovely message. Your understanding warms my heart.

I have no need to repost your message. I've been here just as a storyteller but, like fingerprints, we've all got our own story. As far as a personal testament is concerned, I'd just like folks to know that, as I said, dying is the best school yet. I'm surely not anticipating a future as I was 6 years ago in a prescient poem of "Perhaps," I've had a great life: climbed some hills and won some awards; fell off some cliffs and earned some scars. Looking back, the awards mean little and the scars are precious treasures -- great teachings.

I'm here in Hawaiian paradise now and enjoying the freedom to create and to be helpful toward others. The gift of being able to give is immense. Compassion is a joy of giving. I feel humbled and very happy. And, yes, I have a tremendous debt of gratitude to Santo Daime, its sacrament, rituals and living Doctrine of Jesus Christ and the Queen of the Forest. Beyond this, it seems as all just more commentary. I no longer feel a need to tell a big story. For this too, I am very grateful.

Love and light to all.

Storyteller that I am, I would like to add a story about appreciating the great diversity of spiritual paths. This one comes from a Native American Lakota elder who was asked about mixing paths or different medicine ways. He said that all sincere paths lead to the same place, to the center. You can think of it like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. However, you need to be careful when the wheel is spinning. It's moving fast at the outer rim, there's distance between the spokes and it can be a bumpy ride. This is not a good time to check out many paths. You can get lost or even fall off the wheel. It's best to hold on tightly and learn everything you can from the path you've chosen. Later on, when you get closer to the center, the spinning is calmer and the spokes are very close together. Now it will be easy to move among the spokes without fear of losing your way home.

[Federica]

Lou,
I will now send you my response as a private message. You are welcome to put it partially or entirely in a public post, if this is integral, or in any way beneficial, to your wish of baring witness, and offering a personal testament in this forum.

Thank you, Federica. What a lovely message. Your understanding warms my heart.

I have no need to repost your message. I've been here just as a storyteller but, like fingerprints, we've all got our own story. As far as a personal testament is concerned, I'd just like folks to know that, as I said, dying is the best school yet. I'm surely not anticipating a future as I was 6 years ago in a prescient poem of "Perhaps," I've had a great life: climbed some hills and won some awards; fell off some cliffs and earned some scars. Looking back, the awards mean little and the scars are precious treasures -- great teachings.

I'm here in Hawaiian paradise now and enjoying the freedom to create and to be helpful toward others. The gift of being able to give is immense. Compassion is a joy of giving. I feel humbled and very happy. And, yes, I have a tremendous debt of gratitude to Santo Daime, its sacrament, rituals and living Doctrine of Jesus Christ and the Queen of the Forest. Beyond this, it seems as all just more commentary. I no longer feel a need to tell a big story. For this too, I am very grateful.

Love and light to all.

Storyteller that I am, I would like to add a story about appreciating the great diversity of spiritual paths. This one comes from a Native American Lakota elder who was asked about mixing paths or different medicine ways. He said that all sincere paths lead to the same place, to the center. You can think of it like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. However, you need to be careful when the wheel is spinning. It's moving fast at the outer rim, there's distance between the spokes and it can be a bumpy ride. This is not a good time to check out many paths. You can get lost or even fall off the wheel. It's best to hold on tightly and learn everything you can from the path you've chosen. Later on, when you get closer to the center, the spinning is calmer and the spokes are very close together. Now it will be easy to move among the spokes without fear of losing your way home.

Thanks, Lou for sharing your happy message and for the wishes!

I am sure you won’t be surprised with the following comment on the story about the smorgasbord of paths as spokes of a bike wheel. The question that comes to mind is: if the one truth, or good, lives at the center of the wheel, and there are many paths, or many spokes leading there, what kind of reality are you immersed in while you are on your way? What is the quality of that medium you are part of, as you are holding tight to one of the spokes? At what point does non-truth become truth along the spoke? And if the path are all different, and all true all along at the same time, why are they not parallel? How does that spoke-specific truth get lost along the way?

[Lou Gold]

Thank you, Federica. What a lovely message. Your understanding warms my heart.

I have no need to repost your message. I've been here just as a storyteller but, like fingerprints, we've all got our own story. As far as a personal testament is concerned, I'd just like folks to know that, as I said, dying is the best school yet. I'm surely not anticipating a future as I was 6 years ago in a prescient poem of "Perhaps," I've had a great life: climbed some hills and won some awards; fell off some cliffs and earned some scars. Looking back, the awards mean little and the scars are precious treasures -- great teachings.

I'm here in Hawaiian paradise now and enjoying the freedom to create and to be helpful toward others. The gift of being able to give is immense. Compassion is a joy of giving. I feel humbled and very happy. And, yes, I have a tremendous debt of gratitude to Santo Daime, its sacrament, rituals and living Doctrine of Jesus Christ and the Queen of the Forest. Beyond this, it seems as all just more commentary. I no longer feel a need to tell a big story. For this too, I am very grateful.

Love and light to all.

Storyteller that I am, I would like to add a story about appreciating the great diversity of spiritual paths. This one comes from a Native American Lakota elder who was asked about mixing paths or different medicine ways. He said that all sincere paths lead to the same place, to the center. You can think of it like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. However, you need to be careful when the wheel is spinning. It's moving fast at the outer rim, there's distance between the spokes and it can be a bumpy ride. This is not a good time to check out many paths. You can get lost or even fall off the wheel. It's best to hold on tightly and learn everything you can from the path you've chosen. Later on, when you get closer to the center, the spinning is calmer and the spokes are very close together. Now it will be easy to move among the spokes without fear of losing your way home.

Thanks, Lou for sharing your happy message and for the wishes!

I am sure you won’t be surprised with the following comment on the story about the smorgasbord of paths as spokes of a bike wheel. The question that comes to mind is: if the one truth, or good, lives at the center of the wheel, and there are many paths, or many spokes leading there, what kind of reality are you immersed in while you are on your way? What is the quality of that medium you are part of, as you are holding tight to one of the spokes? At what point does non-truth become truth along the spoke? And if the path are all different, and all true all along at the same time, why are they not parallel? How does that spoke-specific truth get lost along the way?

I guess I'll have to let you figure it out, Federica. I don't believe the elder was holding a smorgasbord in mind. I think a Buddhist might say something like, "with practice dharma moves toward Dharma." I, personally, just showed up, did my work and learned many things that I never approached with a pre-formulated question. Guess I've been more an exploring artist than an experimenting scientist. Perhaps one might say that the quality starts as a childlike curiosity and matures into a firm inner faith and the early holding tight becomes a calm clarity. I dunno. I've never heard myself say this before. Thank you for the question.

You ask why are the paths aligned radially rather than in parallel. My guess would be that the radial allows both diversity and oneness, which is akin to a "peace that passeth understanding." I'm just offering an intuition. No need to make a big deal of it.

[Federica]

Storyteller that I am, I would like to add a story about appreciating the great diversity of spiritual paths. This one comes from a Native American Lakota elder who was asked about mixing paths or different medicine ways. He said that all sincere paths lead to the same place, to the center. You can think of it like the spokes on a bicycle wheel. However, you need to be careful when the wheel is spinning. It's moving fast at the outer rim, there's distance between the spokes and it can be a bumpy ride. This is not a good time to check out many paths. You can get lost or even fall off the wheel. It's best to hold on tightly and learn everything you can from the path you've chosen. Later on, when you get closer to the center, the spinning is calmer and the spokes are very close together. Now it will be easy to move among the spokes without fear of losing your way home.

Thanks, Lou for sharing your happy message and for the wishes!

I am sure you won’t be surprised with the following comment on the story about the smorgasbord of paths as spokes of a bike wheel. The question that comes to mind is: if the one truth, or good, lives at the center of the wheel, and there are many paths, or many spokes leading there, what kind of reality are you immersed in while you are on your way? What is the quality of that medium you are part of, as you are holding tight to one of the spokes? At what point does non-truth become truth along the spoke? And if the path are all different, and all true all along at the same time, why are they not parallel? How does that spoke-specific truth get lost along the way?

I guess I'll have to let you figure it out, Federica. I think a Buddhist might say something like, "with practice dharma moves toward Dharma." I, personally, just showed up, did my work and learned many things that I never approached with a pre-formulated question. Guess I've been more an exploring artist than an experimenting scientist. Perhaps one might say that the quality starts as a childlike curiosity and matures into a firm inner faith. I dunno. I've never heard myself say this before. Thank you for the question.

You ask why are the paths aligned radially rather than in parallel. My guess would be that the radial allows both diversity and oneness, which is akin to a "peace that passeth understanding." I'm just offering an intuition. No need to make a big deal of it.

I like that you are telling things to yourself, and to us, for the first time!
Thank you, Lou, and also for your intuition. No big deals will be made of this offering : )

[Lou Gold]

Thanks, Lou for sharing your happy message and for the wishes!

I am sure you won’t be surprised with the following comment on the story about the smorgasbord of paths as spokes of a bike wheel. The question that comes to mind is: if the one truth, or good, lives at the center of the wheel, and there are many paths, or many spokes leading there, what kind of reality are you immersed in while you are on your way? What is the quality of that medium you are part of, as you are holding tight to one of the spokes? At what point does non-truth become truth along the spoke? And if the path are all different, and all true all along at the same time, why are they not parallel? How does that spoke-specific truth get lost along the way?

I guess I'll have to let you figure it out, Federica. I think a Buddhist might say something like, "with practice dharma moves toward Dharma." I, personally, just showed up, did my work and learned many things that I never approached with a pre-formulated question. Guess I've been more an exploring artist than an experimenting scientist. Perhaps one might say that the quality starts as a childlike curiosity and matures into a firm inner faith. I dunno. I've never heard myself say this before. Thank you for the question.

You ask why are the paths aligned radially rather than in parallel. My guess would be that the radial allows both diversity and oneness, which is akin to a "peace that passeth understanding." I'm just offering an intuition. No need to make a big deal of it.

I like that you are telling things to yourself, and to us, for the first time!
Thank you, Lou, and also for your intuition. No big deals will be made of this offering : )

I guess, not surprisingly, this Sunday morning message and reference from the marginalian newsletter showed up in my in-box right after my last post here..

[Federica]

I guess, not surprisingly, this Sunday morning message and reference from the marginalian newsletter showed up in my in-box right after my last post here..

Roger that, Lou. Let's see how long it will take before you weigh into the debate in some other thread