Halloween

       This Halloween Beth and I did a small experiment of sorts by which we set our container of candy on the edge of the porch, just at the top of the stairs. We sat in the chairs and welcomed the kids as they approached and encouraged them to take some. They all did but showed mild hesitation at our unorthodox method and we noticed that only 4 out of 23 children said 'thank you'. So we modified our approach and personally held the candy bucket while on the porch and later when we went back inside the house. In the latter cases all of the children said 'thank you' and seemed much more relaxed about the whole encounter. There was something about holding the candy container that personalized the exchange and made it more specifically from us rather than the impersonal top of the stairs. That so minor a difference would increase the politeness and social 'civility' of the kids was surprising, but real.
    Research has shown that merely holding a warm drink versus a cold drink causes people to regard strangers as more trustworthy, so there are many ways we respond to the world- sometimes unconsciously. This Halloween observation seems to be one of them.

The Fall of Rome

   For several years during the mid 90’s I passed thousands of solitary hours in what the Buddhists would call a “walking meditation”-thinking, and writing, and observing Nature and the world. In that time I experienced states of mind and insights that come only after one has quieted the mind and removed distractions. In science they describe such inspirations as “favoring the prepared mind”.  That is, such ‘discoveries’ are available to anyone who puts in the time and study, for it enables them to see things not apparent to the casual observer. Jane Goodall first observing tool use and extreme violence among chimpanzees is an example.
  One evening in 1996 I had been concentrating on atoms and electrons and photons and trying to figure out how such energy systems related to what we call life and consciousness. Suddenly (… a relative expression, for I had been focusing for over an hour) I experienced a low energy mind state that I had not had before and have not had since. The sensation was as though my mind was suddenly dulled to a foggy, yet still fully alert awareness, at which point I seemed to notice a pervading intelligence in the rocks and other traditionally non living matter. I recall walking another mile in this seemingly lower energy state, questioning its validity, asking the powers that be if I was supposed to accept that there was intelligence in door knobs? Yet I could not deny that this perception was as real as the light striking my retina or the sounds on my eardrum, and I had not noticed it before because I had not heretofore put in the time and effort. In a real sense until that particular walk I was not prepared to experience that insight and would have derided myself as delusional without a second thought. For a scientific comparison, humans were ignorant of many phenomena until we developed the proper instruments to perceive them, but that did not invalidate their reality. They just needed to be discovered. In that way I consider the human mind capable of perceiving many things that cannot necessarily be measured with instruments-yet-but that does not invalidate their reality.
         When thinking on these things there is always skepticism because people sometimes hear voices or experience mind states that are genuinely delusional, yet it is the direct experience of this ‘universal intelligence’ that convinced me of its reality;  no amount of analysis or scientific inquiry since that moment has lessened my conviction. Science and logic no more touch that kind of perception than they touch emotion or explain color to a blind man. No doubt it is a fine line between ‘seeing is believing’ and ‘believing is seeing’, but the line exists and many things require an open mind-not a gullible one.  
          One persistent thought over the years as I have watched the news and contrasted the outer world with the inner states of my solitude is that-in universal terms-we human beings are an immature species. It is profound humility rather than vanity that has me thinking that way, for this so called universal intelligence seems to imply that we have a long way to go to attain the loving, inclusive wisdom that truly defines Creation. If there are no borders, and no superior races, nor species, and an indivisible, unified thread pervading the Universe, then the walls and divisions people put between themselves and other species is the true illusion/delusion. They expose our ignorance regarding the underlying nature of reality. Yet Never have I perceived our immaturity in a negative sense, rather this higher intelligence suggests we are children striving to advance to some better, more loving and tolerant awareness within the Universal stage.
     So I watch the emotionally dysfunctional men in power and it troubles me to know that they have the capacity to launch nuclear weapons. I watch the intolerant, divisive behaviors of racists and homophobes and sexists and religious fanatics and know that they are miles..no, thousands of hours of reflection away from comprehending esoteric ideas like universal intelligence. Because we are each responsible for our own personal growth, I fear such people will never learn humility before it is too late for the planet. As Voltaire observed, “Anyone who has the power to make you believe in absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” I do not despair over such things, but mourn for the loss of reason and compassion, and wonder if human nature shall ever rise from this quagmire before we destroy ourselves. So Rome fell after a long flourishing, and in this interconnected, overpopulated, world there is less and less room for bravado and ignorance, yet that is precisely what has gained favor. It is incumbent upon the reasonable to defend truth wherever they must, and I draw upon my long ago meditations for the courage to do so.
    POSTSCRIPT: To that end I am inspired by Aaron Courtney, the man who hugged the Nazi sympathizer in Florida yesterday and asked him "Why do you hate me?", to which the man replied, "I don't know".