Glo & Friends

[Guest guest]

I started off answering a personal post from Glo, but realized when

I'd finished it, that it was also a suitable catch up post for all of

my new friends (list mates?), so I'm sending it along.

I live within the commuter circle of Manhattan, a town in NJ called

Essex Fells. I'm fine, and thanks for asking. I've just assumed that

you were thinking over my last post,and/or otherwise

concerned/investigating/empathizing with the terrible tragedy that,

I'm sorry to say, I think is just beginning. Already, one of my

mother's friend's husband hasn't been in contact for the last 2 days.

It's hard, and impossible for me, personally, not to think the worst.

The ripple effect of this cataclsym is just beginning to be felt.

Whole corporations may go down before this is over. Morgan Stanley

currently estimates that 3,500 hundred of it's employees may have

died in the 5 floors of one of the twin towers that was their

national headquarters. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to see

one of our major airlines failing before this whole thing gets back

in gear. A realistic appraisal of the human tragedy catalysed by this

terrible event is hard to grasp, even theoretically; but it's going to

be awesome, on the nature of a limited war. Financial markets, the

insurance industry, with all the human lives and the correlary links

rippling out and out in this interconnected world we live in. Just

think, NY is currently estimating that 350 of it's most heroic and

competent firefighters have died. Whole fire companies have ceased to

exist. The devestation is incalculable. Think of a neighborhood fire,

now, today. In NYC there are almost no fire companies equiped to

carry even 50% of their former load. Police. Crime. People who need

something as simple as car insurance, without which you cannot drive

in NY State, must be having an impossible time.

For myself, between fits of compassionate seizure, for lack of a

better phrase, I find myself watching and listening to lists like

ours, and watching their reactions to this event, while feeling quite

a "remove" from some of them. In the main, I find myself reacting in a

quite judgemental way. On the whole, we "spiritual types" are an

almost hopelessly adolescent and childishly reactive bunch. It's not

a very pretty or encouraging picture. My own ongoing adolescence and

reactivity hasn't been much of a secret to me; but I see that I'm

still learning about myself. Tragedy, like all upheavals, brings out

the best and the worst in people, so I'm equally fascinated to observe

both my own thoughts and actions, as well as what I can make out of

the thoughts and actions of others.

Glo, I hope this situation doesn't involve anyone you're close to in

any life threatening or debilitating way. I haven't looked at the

lists today, but yesterday I got the impression that Harsha, Jerry,

Glen, and you are alright. I like to imagine that you're all in touch

privately while this ugly, tragic and fascinating game unfolds.

For the rest of you, I hope all of you are alright. If you live around

NY or DC, a trip to the blood clinic or your local hospital to give

blood, the real "gift that keeps on giving", is bound to be really

helpful to someone, even if it isn't used immediately in the

aftermath of these life altering days.

yours in the bonds,

eric

[Guest guest]

EBlackstead (AT) cs (DOT) com

[EBlackstead (AT) cs (DOT) com]Thursday, September 13, 2001 8:23

AMglee (AT) intrepid (DOT) net; ;

NondualsalonSubject: Glo &

FriendsGlo, I hope this situation doesn't involve anyone you're close

to in any life threatening or debilitating way. I haven't looked at

the lists today, but yesterday I got the impression that Harsha,

Jerry, Glen, and you are alright. I like to imagine that you're all

in touch privately while this ugly, tragic and fascinating game

unfolds. ********************************** Dear Eric,

I am in touch with some people as they are going through the sadness

and the generalized grief. We all are. Yesterday, a professor showed

me a note from a student who had not heard from a family member yet

who works in the trade center. What to do? It will take weeks to know

things with certainty.

We have become aware at our college of two very recent graduates who

were on one of the planes that was crashed. The East coast is hard

hit psychologically. We have placed a lot of students in the

financial world of New York like many other business colleges. Many

of their family members work their as well.

Yesterday in the lunch room, a professor told me that when he worked

on one of the top floors of the World Trade Center as a broker, they

had a fire and they all had to run down the stairs. He said that

after climbing down 50 or 60 floors, the legs find it hard to keep

going. Only fear motivates. Many people collapse. One can only

imagine what happened and what people went through.

I posted this earlier today and will repeat it here. We are available

as a community if people need to share their feelings.

"I wanted to post this to both list as I was thinking of all of you

yesterday as David (Hodges), Christiana, Antoine, Kheyala, Xan, Diana

and I joined and chatted at the website. It was the first time

that I had used the Chat option at and it was quite good. I was

able to write posts and also hear the voices of Christiana and Antoine

as well. It is quite remarkable, the technology we have to communicate

at so many levels .

I am thinking of Sunday afternoon as regular chat sessions around 2pm

or so. If other times are better, we are open to suggestions. I

envision these chats as community fellowships in real time for mutual

support having the same context of amity and mutual respect that we

have at .

There is a lot of sadness and grief due to the recent attacks in New

York and Washington. If you are interested in sharing your feelings

in spiritual fellowship in the context of universal love and in the

spirit of compassion, Please come. I was thinking of you all Greg,

Mazie, Eric, Bruce, Jody, Gloria, Dan and so many others and said to

David that next time we will give more notice so more can join us.

Love to all

Harsha

[Guest guest]

Dear Eric,

Thank you for writing. I had only some vague idea you lived in the NYC

environs, and was concerned. My husband had once lived in NYC and then

your area of New Jersey for many years, but those he knew would be

similarly retired now. People still have a need to be in touch with

their own family and loved ones now, no matter how seemingly remote

from this tragedy. The reality is we have all been affected and will

be by the aftermath, in ways we have perhaps yet to realize. Like

most people I watched events unfold, numbed by the enormity of those

surreal images. Some of the worst minutes of anxiety that day were

the 20 or so before we heard that Greg was indeed ok. And then I had

to wonder how many people did lose their Greg Goode, their so alive

and vibrant, treasured friend. The hardest part has come later when

those unimaginable numbers begin to be images of once smiling faces

and personal stories shown on TV.

Jerry's post that day about people running for their lives, fleeing

from the smoke made me think of those incredible people who actually

run toward danger, the firemen and rescuers who went in the one place

the whole world least wanted to be that day. And lost their lives

because they had a commitment to help. Thank God today five of them

were found still alive.

So yes, Eric, I have been going thru pretty much what everyone else

has and I don't have any original thoughts to contribute, either.

Like you, watching all the predictable kneejerk reactions, including

that judgmentalism which is after all the major temptation of 'holier

than thou' that all spiritual types are prone to have. There does seem

to be an enormous gulf or disconnect between the political vengenance

reactions reported in the media and the spiritual calls for peace

made on these lists. I think so far the only guy who has got his

country's politics well connected to its spirituality is the dear old

Dalai Lama. Yet everyone is just doing whatever makes them feel more

ok, what seems to them to put their world back in order, if they can.

You know, Eric, there both is and isn't any behind the scenes private

communication going on here. Just one of the things that helps me

feel it's all okay, is that I feel so invisibly connected with many

people I know here, there is no need to outwardly talk to know their

thoughts and hearts at a time like this. The list messages have been

appreciated too.

Much love to all,

Gloria

- EBlackstead (AT) cs (DOT) com

glee (AT) intrepid (DOT) net ; ; Nondualsalon

Thursday, September 13, 2001 8:23 AM

Glo & Friends

Glo & Friends, I started off answering a personal post from Glo, but

realized when I'd finished it, that it was also a suitable catch up

post for all of my new friends (list mates?), so I'm sending it

along. I snip