Rites of Passage...

Rites of Passages refer to those times that mark a transition from one stage of life to another, celebrate births, passing to the hereafter, and perhaps other major transitions.


The can be formal tribal and cultural ceremonies... or they may be more subtle or unannounced transitions that are discovered after the fact as a major turning point.


Rites of passage may be transitions in consciousness... as the mind expands to new realms of awareness beyond normal or convention time/space frames of reference...


I found this writing from the Native American traditions that relates to Life's rites of passage:


"The changes of many winters

   mark the cycles of the Wheel,

The lines across my ancient face

   show all that I can feel,

The nature of my passage

   remains a mystery,

For in my heart of hearts,

   I hold my destiny.

When I was but an infant

   in the beginning of time,

I marveled at the wonder of

   discoveries I did find.

Now that I am ancient,

   I have learned once again,

That the weight of every winter,

   brings discovery like a friend."


~ from Sacred Path Cards by Hancoka Olowampi (Midnight Song) - aka Jamie Sams


A transition or passage brings a celebration of the new along with the letting go of what was...

Winter is a time when the Great Mother does some snoozing and awaits the new creations of spring...

Life continues its dancing dynamics during every season and we discover the emergence of new adventures around each corner...

Let gratitude find a nesting place in the barren branches of wintry transitions... and hope in the springs blossoms hidden in dormant roots... 

"Gasland" Exposes Corporate Egoic Greed

 

 

"Gasland" Exposes Corporate Egoic Greed

The world continues to expose our brothers and sisters who are dazzling in their mindsets that support greed, secrecy, and outright lies. I am not surprised any longer and know that many remain asleep and unconscious to the deeper spirit of Life Energy that connects all.

I continue to do what I can to stand in the path of injustice and 'sanctified' criminality in the guise of corporate expansionism, 'the greater good,' and capitalism.

Last night I viewed a documentary entitled "Gasland" which clearly showed the damaging impact of hydro fracturing... or fracking... that is used to drill wells for natural gas. The system is designed to quickly shatter shale layers and utilizes a variety of toxic chemicals to do so. There was much secrecy in the way this has been done and both minimalization and deceit used in response to complaints. The process can affect our water supplies on a grand scale and is already detrimental to all living things at the local level by what is dumped and evaporated into the air through this mining process.

It was obvious, and even confessed, that politicians will support the oil and gas industry because it provides jobs and dollars. This support turns a deaf ear to real complaints and makes those who have been harmed look as if they are troublemakers. Industry CEOs and spoke 'men' testified in hearings and repeated the same mantra that the reports were exaggerated and/or unsubstantiated.

If we are given a chance, it seems prudent and essential to place a moratorium on these practices until a full disclosure of impact can be studied. It seems that there is little or no will to do much since there is so much lobbying money from the oil and gas industry to politicians which keeps any form of oversight or protective regulations off the legislative docket.

As I watched "Gasland" I felt a sense of sadness along with about every emotion you could mention...from rage to disappointment to despair to sickness... I needed air... and was thankful that the air outside the theater was at least a bit more pure that of the polluted air surrounding the gas mining wells which creates symptoms in those who breathe it...

I am no longer surprised that corporations, government agencies, politicians, and individuals glide easily from one job to another within these different sectors... all playing the bidding of the industrial and military networks and the banking cartel that controls the wealth. If I were totally cynical, I might say that all is controlled by a few in a totally selfish and egoic manner that has little to no respect for Life except for how it is defined within their locked mindset run by fear, greed, and control... And I am no longer surprised that politicians say what is convenient, that corporate executives carefully script their statements as to not admit any liability, and that banking chairman continue to play a shell game without oversight. It is not a government of , by, and for the people. If it can be called anything it is a game of smoke and mirrors in which actual fascism is presented as participatory democracy so the people can continue to be enslaved.

Anyone who has looked beneath the surface of world events realizes that most wars are all about resources and their attached money. The bankers fund both sides and always win. The rich protect their wealth and their family and friends and care nothing about the rest of LIFE's beings. Most of us have been manipulated into a false sense of freedom, when in fact we are enslaved through indebtedness to an economic fiat currency system that is doomed to fail and we, as citizens of the USA are the debt holders.

I write this as a statement of what is...as I see it... It has little to do with the Life Spirit that is always free and always the richest source of Love, Joy, and Peace for our human soul. I hope that we will continue to wake up as a species. I hope we will continue to stand peacefully in the way of the destruction of our planet and the Life on it. I also know our beloved mother Earth will survive and possibly thrive... even if it takes a million years after we are gone...

We do live in a world where the ego, both individual and corporate ego, is locked into myths and mindsets and will do anything to protect the egoic realm. It is almost certain that for both individuals and collective systems, there will need to be major cracks occur in the egoic shell for both individual and collective/corporate consciousness to move beyond the sleeping giant of the present.

The present moment is our gift. The energy of Life and Love is our fuel. The joy and peace that resides within and beyond our addiction to thinking provides more than hope... we find our real Life and connection to LIFE SOURCE... to 'God'... if we can let go of some of the historical definitions.... In the Oneness that is LIFE we see what is and we can stand in a Power that is beyond this world's egoic obsession with physical and psychological control by others. We can recognize the thoughts and feelings that arise as we watch injustice occur, and we can choose our response from solid ground... beyond the reactions fighting and war and making someone an enemy.

So, today I got up, had breakfast, talked to my friends, and went about my day, pretty much like any other day... I am grateful for Life and Love, for the softness of a kiss, and the warmth of an embrace... thankful for dependent pets and hot soup on a cool day... I am thankful for all who continue to stand in the face of overwhelming odds... I am grateful that we can still Love from our hearts, even those who really do not know what they are doing... They forget and are lost in trances of collective myths that remain in slumber... We can continue to stop them and must, and we can continue to forgive them, for they know not what they do... and we must... if we are to continue to Live with our hearts open.

John Hutchinson
October 15, 2010

______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com- [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

~~~

"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~

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Our Words of Wisdom

Thanks to those who responded... if you wish to add your words of wisdom, send them in and I'll add them to the Sundance blog post.... and now....

OUR WORDS OF WISDOM

The following are bits of wisdom from some friends and neighbors who responded to a request to share some words of wisdom with loved ones pretending that they would be taking off on an adventurous journey to space... not knowing when he or she would return...

Love - Honor

• "Love is all you need to bring with you through life. 
  It is the answer to all of the questions." 
• "The only place to find timeless Love is in the center of the universe inside your heart. As you love and accept yourself and life, you are truly free to love Life and others."
• "...Honor [yourself] and love [yourself]... and to go to Delphi!!!"

• "...that [you] are loved for who [you are]....

Present Moment - Now

• "Life is a moment and in that moment we find all moments!"
• Be Here Now in this Present Moment, since that is the only place or time you will find Life."

Change

• "Life is change and we are life so change we must if we shall live." 
• "Life is a river of changes; do not resist the river's current."

One

• "Life is ONE and completely interconnected; Live as if every other being is you, because they are!"

Unique Gifts - Share

• "[your] greatest gifts to share with [yourself] and others are those that bring [you] joy and make [your] heart sing and to remember that as [you]  travel this journey: I would ask [you] to remember what makes [you] unique and then to share that with the world... As long as [you] share [yourself] in a healthy and happy manner [you] will be provided for in this physical world..." 

Not alone

• "...I am always with [you]  as is spirit and [your] guides, angels and teachers and that all [you] have to do is think of me and feel me and I am there;  that [you] are loved for who [you are]....

Important Data and Info

• "I will make sure [you] know how and where all my important papers are so that if something happened [you] will know where [your] physical earth securities were... 

Delay Leaving

• "And lastly I wouldn't even think of going until [you are] at least 18!!!!!!! 

Peace and Love.... John 
______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com - [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

~~~

"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~ 

[Email Preferences: You are receiving this email either because you indicated a preference for receiving information contained in this message or you haven't as yet specified the types of emails you prefer to receive from me... visit www.EZ-1111.com ...to choose your email interests or to discontinue receiving emails from John or Sundance Center.]

Discovering the mystery of God

Discovering the mystery of God...

by Joan Chittister

 The Sufi tell stories that say all I think I'll ever know about finding God.

The first story is a disarming and compelling one. It is also, I think, a troublesome one, a fascinating one, a chastening one: "Help us to find God," the seeker begged the Elder. "No one can help you there," the Elder answered. "But why not?" the seeker insisted. "For the same reason that no one can help a fish to find the ocean." The answer is clear: There is no one who can help us find what we already have.

The second story is even more challenging. "Once upon a time," the Sufi say, "a seeker ran through the streets shouting over and over again, 'We must put God into our lives. We must put God into our lives.'" "Ah, poor soul," an Elder smiled wanly. "If only we realized the truth: God is always in our lives. The spiritual task is simply to recognize that."

As a Benedictine, a disciple of an order historically devoted to the Sacrament of the Ordinary, I know how disappointing, how exhilarating that kind of advice can be. The neophyte seeks to pass the test of spiritual heroics; the wise seek to accomplish only the testimony of integrity. The young think the task is to buy God by their good efforts; the insightful know that the task is to want God beyond the lure of lesser ends, including even the trappings of spirituality.

For my own part, I entered religious life intent on being spiritually intrepid. I wanted something far more romantic than the Sacrament of the Ordinary. I expected to find formulas tried and true, ideas that were esoteric, a life that was mystical, a regimen that was at least duly demanding, if not momentously ascetic. What I found were spiritual manuals that were convoluted and academic, at best, and a community that was simple and centered in God always. The writers had missed the mark; the women were living the life. It was very disappointing. And it was very right.

God is not in the whirlwind, not in blustering and show, Scripture teaches us. God is in the breeze, in the very atmosphere around us, in the little things that shape our lives. God is in the contradictions that assail us, in the circumstances that challenge us, in the attitudes that impel us, in the motives that drive us, in the life goals that demonstrate our real aspirations, in the burdens that wear us down, in the actions that give witness to the values in our hearts. God is in the stuff of life, not in the airy-fairy of fertile imaginations bent on the pursuit of the preternatural. God is where we are, including in the very weaknesses that vie for our souls.

God is not a mystery to be sought in strange places and arcane ways. God is a mystery to be discovered within us and around us. And savored.

-from "O Wonder of Wonders," by Joan Chittister in How can I find God?, ed. James Martin, S.J. (Triumph Books)

Thanks to MZL for sharing this piece... 

Peace and Love.... John 
______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com- [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

~~~

"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~

Sponsored in part by the following affiliate sites:

-  Max International Nutritional Supplements and Income Opportunity

-  Gold Savings Plan and Income Opportunity from KB Gold

~~~

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Banning Genetically Modified Foods [GMOs]

This Toxic Food is BANNED in Europe - But They're Treating us Like Boneheads

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/09/jeff-smith-interview-gmo-week.aspx 

Thanks to BH for passing this along...

Peace and Love.... John 
______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com- [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

~~~

"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~

Sponsored in part by the following affiliate sites:

-  Max International Nutritional Supplements and Income Opportunity

-  Gold Savings Plan and Income Opportunity from KB Gold

~~~

[Email Preferences: You are receiving this email either because you indicated a preference for receiving information contained in this message or you haven't as yet specified the types of emails you prefer to receive from me... visit www.EZ-1111.com...to choose your email interests or to discontinue receiving emails from John or Sundance Center.

"If the crick don't rise..."

"If the crick don't rise..."

To sit with no other human beings in the room...

To sit and type the words you read

You have entered this space in some other Now... 'This Now-Now'

Infused with the same Life that formed these symbols out of nothingness

The same Life that reads these symbol-word-language-forms

Now

Life... is

This Moment... is

This Life situation... is

We are one Life animating All

All-Ways in the Now... in this present moment...

We talk in time-formed language and suggest there is a future since we can think ahead and say "I will be meeting you at five o'clock." ...

And if we meet...when we meet... it will be now...

Life is only present in this moment...

We consider the 'past-Nows' when we recall an experience and memory of that experience... and we may define it by our opinion as being a pleasurable or painful memory...or something in between...

We consider possible 'future-Nows' when we plan and hope and dream... and we may wish for a better 'future-now' which probably means we are resisting this-Now... or we may create fantasies of future-Nows that are worse and so we conjure up fear in this present moment about something that is totally unreal and not present except in our thinking...

And now we get to the 'Real-Now'... the absolute and only 'Now' is 'this Now'...

This Present Moment... where Life continues its journey and acts through the various forms that it creates...

Stop and pause the train of thought...

Look and Listen to the Life that is...

Beyond labels... and definitions... and interpretations...

Be with what is...

Allowing without resistance...

This is Life...

Not 'my' life... for I am not separate from Life...

Not 'your' life... for you and Life are not separate ...

This is IT... this very Moment... this IS LIFE...

Enter the Now-Gate ...

Welcome to the only 'day' of Life...

which is continuously NOW...

We tend to divide everything in segments and categories and files and labels and days and months and years...all so we can have some illusion of manipulation, control, and record... AND...we may lose sight of the timeless quality of real LIFE... the present...

Thursday is a label that signifies nothing... if I am astute and have done my homework, I will be able to recite to you that yesterday was 'Wednesday' and tomorrow will be 'Friday'... but these days exist only in our mind... our collective mind in most cases...

They are only formed constructs to help us organize and keep life somewhat manageable... I have made some plans to fly to Denver in a 'future Now'... I really do not know if that will ever happen... We have come up with sayings that help to convey the uncertainty of 'future-Nows'... sayings like: "Lord willing" or "If the crick don't rise"... and so on... We need to operate in conventional ways in order for there to be order... so 800 people do not show up to get on an airplane the holds 33 beings... so someone might be there to pick me up when and if the airplane lands where it is intended to land... and so on...

And all these events... that we can plan ahead of time... may or may not occur... and if they do... each event will be in the Present Moment...always... none has ever experienced the future... although sometimes people do have glimpses from time to time ... which is a topic for another Now...

So we plan with a consideration for the uncertainty of LIFE... with a certain acceptance and flexibility... so when Life doesn't go exactly as 'we' planned or expected, we can adjust rather than resist what is actually happening. I would guess most if not all frustration and suffering comes from resisting what is .... the actual life situation in which we find ourselves... When we resist, we strengthen our ego by blaming others or ourselves... as if somehow life has struck us with a sucker punch... and the ego begins to play with ideas that of course Life is unfair and we must be singled out to experience this unfairness...  so our egoic mind processes quickly the likely suspects for blame... God... others... and sometimes ourselves...

Or we become quite philosophical and began to ask why... which is often another ego game that shoves us into identification as a 'victim'...  

If we are to remain awake and aware... we must be vigilant and observe the mind games our ego plays to try to distract us from being present... at times like a trickster that will go to any lengths to have the ego maintain its control...

The ego is not evil and is a natural part of the domestication process as we grow within families, tribes, and collective mindsets... There is almost an irony that we spend years in strengthening the ego in order to operate in our everyday world and then... after years of growing the personality strength, we find that we are really trying to let go of the ego so we can be more present in a new way... from a new dimension the transcends the personal... that gets the bigger picture... the transcends fear... regret... and even hope... all are mind games to focus on something other than simply being present right now... right Now!

We let go of what was ...and what will be...so that what is... can Be!

Peace and Love.... John 
______________________________________________________

John Hutchinson
www.SundanceWellnessCenter.com - [latest post to blog]www.sunhutch.com - [blog intro page]Lancaster, Pa

~~~

"God, the supreme artist, uses our life for the creation of art. We are the instruments through which the force of life expresses itself. We express our art in everything we say, everything we do. The creation is ongoing, it is endless, it is happening in every moment." ~ don Miguel Ruiz 

~~~

Sponsored in part by the following affiliate sites:

-  Max International Nutritional Supplements and Income Opportunity

-  Gold Savings Plan and Income Opportunity from KB Gold

~~~

[Email Preferences: You are receiving this email either because you indicated a preference for receiving information contained in this message or you haven't as yet specified the types of emails you prefer to receive from me... visit www.EZ-1111.com ...to choose your email interests or to discontinue receiving emails from John or Sundance Center.]