Non-Linear Time: Here, There and Everywhere

"...the distinction between past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." ~ Albert Einstein

Today at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT on The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast: Non-Linear Time: Here, There and Everywhere. Listen live or to the podcast afterwards.

What are the truly astonishing implications of non-linear time? How is our linear thinking impacting our perspectives on what is truly possible? How does it impact our understanding of life on Earth, life beyond the Earth and even life on the "other side", beyond the veil?

 

 

All We Need

"All you need is Love . . ." ~ The Beatles

 

What more needs to be said?

What if?

"What the world needs now is love, sweet love..." ~ Jackie DeShannon

 

What if Unconditional Love was at the Center?  

Everything would change. 

 

Free to Be

"Give the world the gift of YOU. Be yourself." ~ Susan Larison Danz

 

When I was a young child in the early 70's, I remember a television special (I think it was on television, anyway) with the title Free to Be You and Me.  I can't quite remember it, and I think I only saw it once, but the title and overall feeling of whatever this was made such an impression on my young mind and heart that I never forgot how it felt.  

I looked it up just now, and I really don't think I ever have.  There are all sorts of entries.  I vaguely recall music.  I do remember Marlo Thomas, smiling.

But most of all, I remember the words:  Free to Be You and Me

It was joyful and exuberant, as I recall.  It felt like a celebration.  It still has much to teach us.

Hat photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Random Redwood and Buffalo Sightings

"Where have all the flowers gone?" ~ Pete Seeger

Redwood Logging Train (early 1900's), Public Domain

I know we all know this, to some degree or another, and I did, too - but I was rather spontaneously watching a program on PBS about the Redwood Forest in Calfornia earlier today, and in passing, it was stated that 95% of the original forest was cut down.

Within the past hour, something came across my Facebook feed about buffalo herds, how the remaining herds all came from less than 2 dozen left, originating from Chicago in 1900, after the others were slaughtered.

And then I saw a random post on Twitter from Elon Musk - actually it was a reply to a post from Elon Musk that just happened to flash by.  The original post stated that some day when we become "multiplanetary" (more on this in a moment), it may be that species that disappear on Earth could still be on Mars.  Someone responded, saying maybe we should stay home and take care of the Earth and watch Star Trek instead.

And then I was thinking about the old 1970's movie Silent Running, in which a spacefaring horticulturist is attempting to preserve plants from Earth (with the help of some little robots, which at one point I heard partially inspired R2D2). 

As far as "multiplanetary" goes, how tragic it is that we are placing all our focus on "multiplanetary" instead of multidimensional.  If we would focus our expansion on the latter, everything becomes possible (including "multiplanetary" and this planet, and the fates of the people who live on it). But we just keep on with the same old path which led to decimated Redwoods and disappearing buffalo herds.  If we don't learn very soon, there won't be any planets Humanity will inhabit.  We'll find another way, and do, but how sad our misguided materialism is metastasizing. 

 

Love is the Answer

"Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13

It's time to revisit 1 Corinthians 13, the Love Chapter.  Why?  Because Love is the Answer.  What 1 Corinthians 13 has to say tells us everything we need to know about what we need to be focusing on right now in the world.  It doesn't matter what your spiritual background may be - 1 Corinthians 13 has something important to say to you.  Love never fails.

Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT, listen live to 1 Corinthians 13: Love is the Answer on The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast, or to the podcast afterwards at the same link.

 Heart on Trail photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Trust, Trust, Trust

 "Love can never lead you astray. Trust Love to guide you Home." ~ Susan Larison Danz

Sometimes we find ourselves repeating the word:  Trust.  There are many things that happen in the world which undermine trust.  As human beings, we fail.  But we must never give up.  Because Trust is worth it. 

 

 

Blue Skies photo by Susan Larison Danz. 

The Soul is Not Containable

"Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter." ~ Yoda

  

As I write, I'm listening to someone talking about AI on the radio.  We hear so often from people who have a strictly materialistic, non-spiritual view of reality who claim that it is possible to essentially duplicate, read or preserve your mind using mechanistic means.  The entire assumption (and it absolutely is an assumption) is based on an unproven premise about Reality, of course.  

Anyone who has seen evidence of Spirituality knows we cannot be "contained" in this way - because we aren't what "they" think we are, no matter how arrogantly they proclaim it.  How sad they're missing out on actual Awareness - but there is always a chance to discover it.  There are so many more "useful" things we could be studying.

We yearn for immortality, it seems, but if they could create what they seek, they would be trapped, not freed, not forever of course, as that's impossible, but in ways that are unnatural - and undesirable.  We aren't intended to be trapped.  This state is temporary.  

Our minds are not our Souls.   It's like grasping for a rope at the edge of a cliff when we can fly.  

 

 

Light Reflected photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Love Train

"Start a love train, love train..." ~ The O'Jays

 

Love is the only way forward.  

There was never any other way, really. 

Love is the way.

 

Authenticity, Again

"Surrendering your authenticity to be heard is ironically the path to silencing your voice." ~ Susan Larison Danz

When we're aware of it, we tend to revisit it, again and again and again.  And as we learn and grow and go deeper, it goes deeper, too.  

Authenticity. 

It meets us where we are, if we allow it - or perhaps we meet it in the middle - or sometimes we miss it entirely, and even intentionally.

And that's the problem.

We yearn for what this is.  We seek it.  And if we are fortunate, at least we get a handle on it within our own heads (and hearts).

But that doesn't mean we can adequately share it, should we choose to, even when we want to.

And when we can't, sometimes skimming the surface just isn't enough.

Is this enough?  Here?  Actually, yes.  In this moment, yes.  That's not always true.  But sometimes, yes.  

Authenticity is a journey.

 

Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz. 

Balance

"The key to keeping your balance is knowing when you've lost it." ~ Unknown

 

I was talking to a friend about balance tonight.  Why is the desire for such a simple, straightforward concept so elusive on the planet?  We seesaw between one edge or the other - and lose sight of the Center. I'm not saying balance itself is necessarily easy to create, but when we aren't even looking for it, we lose our way.

Rainbow Photo by Susan Larison Danz

Trusting the Path

"Be thankful for all of life's nuances - and keep trusting!" ~ Susan Larison Danz

It seems it is a continual experience as a parent, even as many years pass, to repeatedly need to surrender to trust.  I'm not sure we ever really master this, though I suppose we can improve.  Spirituality does help.  

What does it mean to trust the path?  

It's not just about trusting in your own path - it is trusting in the paths of everyone you care about - and yes, of course, the two are not completely separate.  

There's always some new experience, some new challenge, some new adventure, and it begins even before the very first moment, which is an adventure in itself.  

Do we ever really learn to surrender?  Perhaps, and maybe not.  It's a process that repeats.  

Eventually, of course, it happens in reverse, and they are needing to trust in YOUR path, too, so it's a mutual experience.  This is Love on Planet Earth.

The more we can manage to trust the path, even when it's difficult, the more we can breathe into it, the more approachable it becomes.  Is it ever really perfect?  Does it need to be?  

 

 Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.

 

Honesty and Fear

 "I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. 

  

Listen live to The Frontier Beyond Fear Blog Talk Radio program Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT:  Honesty and Fear  (The program will be available at the same link afterwards, too).

How is being fearful related to honesty?  How can fear not only impact what people share with us, but how we accept the information, and how we share things ourselves?  How can we be more discerning by becoming more aware of our own relationship with fear? 

What is the distinction between discretion and dishonest omission?  We can still be discreet and authentic, in appropriate circumstances.  How can we honor this in others and in ourselves? 

How can we come to understand that all paths to authenticity are essentially a lifelong journey?  We can realize we are imperfect, even while increasing our conscious intent to be authentic and empathic. 

Greater awareness can help us, in every way, as well as respect for ourselves and one another.  This also leads to more courage, which can help us immensely. 

When we are intimidated or disabled by fear, we are unable to see things with clarity.  This can often lead to harmful or hasty choices, for ourselves and our societies. 

What is a better path forward?  How can we discover it?  Host Susan Larison Danz reflects on these important topics.  It is very likely she will also introduce another passage from history or literature as a part of the exploration.

The Frontier Beyond Fear is in its 11th year, with over 400 episodes.

 

Forest Path photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Voices

“Study the past if you would define the future.” ~ Confucius

 

Making the time to listen to voices of the past is increasingly establishing itself as a day-to-day pattern in my life.  The past has a great deal to teach us.  It can teach us about passageways and perceptions that led to more expansive places, and it can teach us about corridors that narrowed into dead ends.  I particularly appreciate listening to first-hand accounts, rather than second-hand interpretations.  

The voices of history can speak to us in other ways as well - through poetry, through music, through art.  

If we want to navigate productively and expansively through this current perilous era, we don't need to do it alone.  Others have seen things.  Others have chosen.  Others have spoken.  They have much to tell us.   

 

Reflection photo by Susan Larison Danz. 

Enabling Trust

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln

It's surprisingly simple.  What enables Trust?  Honesty.  When honesty and transparency are missing, trust is missing, too.  

All forms of authenticity require a journey, and even being honest about that helps to enable trust.

Life is often confusing, especially in times like these.  Open vulnerability, including admitting mistakes, is all a part of the journey to trust.  And forgiveness.  Which leads to even greater trust.

We need more of this, not less.

Spring Tree photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Stereotypes

"As Napoleon once said 'What is history, but a fable agreed upon?'" ~ Dan Brown

Looking at History through the lens of what people chose to write about is an increasingly interesting pursuit for me.  Sometimes the descriptions surrounding a particular writer or an era of writing speak to me of our own times.  Today in an American Literature book, I was fascinated to read that not all Puritans, in fact many Puritans, did not fit the stereotype of a Puritan that I have essentially been taught since childhood.  

I was surprised to read this in an introduction:  "Puritans in general were lovers of life, their clergy were well-educated scholars in whom the Renaissance lamp of humanism still burned.  They did not forbid gaily colored clothes if they could get them..."  This passage did not neglect to mention that there were indeed harsh things that happened within Puritan culture, but that was not the entire story.  It said that many Puritans even drank in moderation, enjoyed the arts and made several advances in education that we tend not to think about (like creating Harvard).

History is far more nuanced than we tend to know.

 

Tree photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Blossoming in Place

 "Bloom where you are planted." ~ Saint Francis de Sales

This particular lesson has returned to me many times in my life.  I recall first seeing it as a child, and I know it was written on something in the home where I grew up, but I can't quite recall where. 

I was reminded of it today.  Wherever we find ourselves, we can still blossom.  We are here on Earth to grow.

Flower photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Staying on the Path

"Listen to simplicity. Its gentle voice has much to say." ~ Susan Larison Danz

Every once in a while, we think perhaps we are headed in a particular new direction.  Then, all of a sudden, something happens to shift it.  It may shift it slightly.  It may shift it dramatically.  The key question in the process is:  Are we listening all along the way?

This happened to me today, with something I had tentatively planned (unrelated to my work), and it sure seemed like things were heading that way, but then I felt things begin to change, and as I listened and aligned with how this felt, I realized this particular change in direction was feeling less likely, and less necessary.  And circumstances became stronger, positively supporting the current path. 

And I realized:  All is well.

 

Forest path photo by Susan Larison Danz. 

Hope, Revisited

"To the poor loveless ever-anxious crowd, 

Ah! from the soul itself must issue forth

A light, a glory, a fair luminous cloud       

Enveloping the Earth" 

~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Today's Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast explored Hope:

We could all use some time reflecting on Hope.  Host Susan Larison Danz shares how we can find our way to Hope, no matter what is going on in our lives or our world.

A portion of the poem Dejection: An Ode is read and discussed as a part of this program.  It is very approachable for all listeners and was written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1802.  Samuel lived 1772-1834 and struggled with a number of things in his life - heartbreak, financial failure, doubt and serious addiction - and yet he writes of how he looks for hope and joy in this poem.  There is also a brief reference in this program to the phrase "Hope springs eternal", written by Alexander Pope.  When we read literature, we find it is more approachable than we realize, and we can learn so many things useful for improving our lives and world today through studying the writing of imperfect lives in imperfect times, just as our own lives and times are imperfect.

Listen to the podcast here:  Reflections on Hope

 

Azaleas photo by Susan Larison Danz.

 

 

Reflections on Hope

 "Hope springs eternal..." ~ Alexander Pope

Listen live to The Frontier Beyond Fear broadcast Saturday at 1 PM PDT/4 PM EDT (or to the podcast at the same link afterwards):  Reflections on Hope

 

 

 

Flower photo by Susan Larison Danz.

Coincidentally....

"The most important things are the hardest to say." ~ Stephen King

Oddly related to what I had to say yesterday about free expression, I had an experience today, and in a respectful and compassionate, yet relatively open and honest way, which I hope is a "glitch", in which some private messages in a conversation on a social media platform mysteriously vanished.  It's been several years since this particular platform has been "glitchy" in that way, and so I wondered.

I do hope it is simply a random glitch.  And even if it is, do you see how we have all become more sensitive to such things?  And why?

And so it is I'm here again, writing.   And will find more ways, not less.