Thank you

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for being here and we welcome all. What Greg said is true of

also "We don't pull them in the door when they come, and we

don't slam the door in their butts when they go." Such poetry describes our

attitude. Are you listening Mark? (:-).

 

Thanks Jessica for your sharing. We are all one in humanity and so

understand the nature of coming together and separation and possibly the

pain and grief it can involve. Lessons all of us have to work through one

time or another. Thank you Amanda, Linda, and Anna Maria for your comments

and instructive points. Amanda said, we should pack lightly. Sometimes how

much we have to pack is not up to us. Moving is good in a way though. We

throw away or give away things we have not used in years. I am getting ready

to donate an old car to the salvation army I have not used in several

months. It has just been sitting around. Thank you Nasir, Moller, Greg,

Gloria, Michael, Mace, JB, Tony and others for your recent contributions.

 

It seems to me that there is a fundamental loneliness in all human beings.

Social and personal relationships are wonderful and yet generally put the

loneliness in the background from time to time. We come alone in this world

and we leave alone. In each other we recognize the same longings and dreams

it seems.

 

In the Jaina tradition, all experiences are considered the play of Soul

(Consciousness) and Matter (Karma). According to Jainism, the Soul has a

natural upward movement to the highest point in evolution (Siddhahood).

Karmas hinder that movement and as the Soul sheds more and more Karmas it

becomes lighter and lighter and eventually becomes free of matter all

together. Jainism is the religion of my teacher. My teacher used to visit

Ramana Maharshi in his teen years. Once my teacher visited Ramana and wanted

to ask a question about the highest state. The Sage was then keeping

silence. But he looked at my teacher, who was then a young boy and smiled.

Ramana Maharshi then pointed his finger towards his heart and then pointed

the finger towards the sky. The Sage of Arunachala was pointing out that the

Highest Reality and The Deepest Reality are Absolutely Identical.

 

This morning as I drove to school, I was listening to an oldie goldie

station. The song went something like...I don't remember exactly.

 

"I was sixteen and she was sixteen, and I loved her sooooooooo

She was sixteen, she was sixteen, and her eyes glowed

she was sixteen, she was sixteen, and I loved her sooooooooo

She was too young to fall in love, and I was too young to know."

 

Love to all

Harsha

[Guest guest]

Hey, Harsha,

I like these occasional collective thank you's.

You know, Harsha, I am teetering between self destruction and self acceptance

- walking the razors edge as it were. Why am I doing this?

I don't know - I suppose it's my karma, my tendencies working themselves

out. My experiencing directly self-hatred so that I can decide once and

for all that it is a dumb idea, held only by dufus's of the first order.

(or is that just another example of my practicing that which I am arguing

against?)

One of the things I am doing is withdrawing from is my career.

I don't think I've ever been really interested in it, and finally I see

that it is not a good thing to do something that someone else wants done

but that I don't feel invested in. Being in the process though is

painful and I am thrashing about in a variety of venues from the energies

that I am releasing (I dunno what that means, but I sure am thrashing about).

Anyway, you asked me to be involved in some projects, which do interest

me, but one day I was feeling as though my career transition was not about

waking up and transitioning into a better way of living, but was about

failing at the original career - a taste of the abyss. My response

to that feeling was to invest everything in it and fail at my life (have

you ever been suicidal? it's not pleasant), and so I started lashing out

at loved ones and generally trying to alienate everyone so that I could

feel justified in this feeling of failure. Interestingly enough,

I seem to have failed at this because of the very supportive group of people

here and at NDS, where I am over my limit for the day, so this is only

going here...)

I cannot promise myself that I will never do this self destructive thing

again (and won't try to promise others things I can't promise myself -that

is a core thing that is changing too. In general I have tended not to keep

promises to myself as much as promises to others - I think that needs to

change as well.) Anyway, I am rambling, but I want to say that as far as

door opening and closing, I was delighted when you opened doors to me (I

truly felt the love that you are, and I truly am grateful), and as for

closing doors and walking out, this is my best attempt to live the life

I am living and I do not wish to close any doors here, and I do not wish

to have them slammed shut, and your not slamming them shut is a sign of

a truly loving and kind man who has broken the chain of action/response

which causes so much pain in the world. So if you would consent to

be my running mate, we will thrash neo to within an inch of his life in

this election... (oh wait, that's another list. In the (hopefully) immortal

words of Emily Latella, "never mind")

Now give me a hug and make me poetry editor so I can reject your poetry.

It stinks. Unless you have made someone else poetry editor. In that

case, make me senior poetry editor - oh, just kidding, I'll settle for

assistant poetry editor as long as the salary is over $100k.

Love, Mark

by the way, you've been sounding authoritative lately. I think

you have potential as a leader of men. Have you thought about running

for vice president? Oh, there's Emily again. I think I'm channeling

Gilda Radner. Now wouldn't that be fun? I miss her.

"Harsha (Dr. Harsh K. Luthar)" wrote:

Thanks everyone for being here and we welcome

all. What Greg said is true of

also "We don't pull them in the door when they come,

and we

don't slam the door in their butts when they go." Such poetry describes

our

attitude. Are you listening Mark? (:-).

 

Love to all

Harsha

[Guest guest]

mark.otter writes:

>...as far as door opening and closing, I was delighted when you opened

>doors to me (I truly felt the love that you are, and I truly am

>grateful), and as for closing doors and walking out, this is my best

>attempt to live the life I am living and I do not wish to close any

>doors here, and I do not wish to have them slammed shut...

 

Hello Mark -- thanks for this from-the-heart post. Let me know if I can

do anything at all for you.

 

It's been said that when one door closes, another one opens, but those

hallways sure are a bitch!

 

Namaste, my friend-

 

Mike

[Guest guest]

Thank you Mike! I appreciate your friendship.

 

Love, Mark

 

UnbrknCh8n wrote:

> Hello Mark -- thanks for this from-the-heart post. Let me know if I

> can

> do anything at all for you.

>

> It's been said that when one door closes, another one opens, but those

>

> hallways sure are a bitch!

>

> Namaste, my friend-

>

> Mike