Something To Chew On - from Laurence Holden

And something to chew on:
"...whatever ideas are put forward, one thorny question remains: How can something as immaterial as consciousness ever arise from something as unconscious as matter?

If the anomaly persists, despite all attempts to explain it, then maybe the fundamental assumptions of the prevailing worldview need to be questioned. This is what Copernicus did when confronted with the perplexing motion of the planets. He challenged the geocentric worldview, showing that if the sun, not the earth, was at the center, then the movements of the planets began to make sense. But people don't easily let go of cherished assumptions. Even when, 70 years later, the discoveries of Galileo and Kepler confirmed Copernicus's proposal, the establishment was loath to accept the new model. Only when Newton formulated his laws of motion, providing a mathematical explanation of the planets' paths, did the new paradigm start gaining wider acceptance.

The continued failure of our attempts to account for consciousness suggests that we too should question our basic assumptions. The current scientific worldview holds that the material world--the world of space, time and matter -- is the primary reality. It is therefore assumed that the internal world of mind must somehow emerge from the world of matter. But if this assumption is getting us nowhere, perhaps we should consider alternatives.

One alternative that is gaining increasing attention is the view that the capacity for experience is not itself a product of the brain. This is not to say that the brain is not responsible for what we experience -- there is ample evidence for a strong correlation between what goes on in the brain and what goes on in the mind -- only that the brain is not responsible for experience itself. Instead, the capacity for consciousness is an inherent quality of life itself.

In this model, consciousness is like the light in a film projector. The film needs the light in order for an image to appear, but it does not create the light. In a similar way, the brain creates the images, thoughts, feelings and other experiences of which we are aware, but awareness itself is already present.

All that we have discovered about the correlations between the brain and experience still holds true. This is usually the case with a paradigm shift; the new includes the old. But it also resolves the anomaly that the old could not explain. In this case, we no longer need scratch our heads wondering how the brain generates the capacity for experience.

This proposal is so contrary to the current paradigm, that die-hard materialists easily ridicule and dismiss it. But we should not forget the bishops of Galileo's time who refused to look through his telescope because they knew his discovery was impossible." - Peter Russell
(http://www.peterrussell.com/SP/huff1brainconsc.php)

Living at the edges of time...

August 8, 2011
Last Spring/Summer, I was getting the feeling that the layers/dimensions of time/s were compressing and I was sensing a bleedthrough happening more and more. Lately, though, I have progressed from my feelings about dimensions/time-space frames bleeding through and compressing, to them approaching integration into only one time-space continuum. This is what the shift is all about. Then end of separate dimensions/layers of time and the beginning of the ONE CONSCIOUSNESS as an integrated whole. I am more and more aware of soul groups gathering in a more organized fashion - I find myself more and more readily with folks I resonate to and so I think about cymatics and how as the Earth’s vibration rises, of course we reorganize into more complex and beautiful arrangements. Of course we find our way to those we’ve shared lifetimes with (or more accurately, are always sharing with them). Perhaps, more realistically, they are actually pieces and parts of US. As the layers converge, we will integrate into our original ONE. One self. And ultimately, perhaps, one consciousness that is comprised by us ALL. Of course then I think it can’t matter that we gravitate toward a select few - for we all still comprise the whole. But then no, I remember we are but parts of the whole, and so of course those of us who are the liver are together, those who are the feet are together and so on. We are still one body. We must still find our design and fit our roles together. Complete the circuit, the circle, repolarize. Only when we are ready to act as one will we complete this unification. What can make us do this? What can make us ready to act as ONE?????

Strange Times

It's been a strange week, what with birds falling from the sky in so many places and dead fishes washing ashore on various continents. We really must become clear about how we and the earth are like mirrors for each other. If we have a high cancer rate, it is reflected in our being a cancer upon the earth.

Something tells me that if we start treating the earth as our bodies - and our bodies as the earth - we can somehow turn it all around. Can we do this? Can we care for ourselves fully? Can we care for our planet fully?

None of this is easy. It's so much easier to go the easy route. But that's actually a lie. It's so much easier to do what's needed. But there's only one way to find out the truth in that statement.

And to find this out, we must find the truth of what's really needed and act upon it.

Sending Forth...

I had a dream yesterday morning - Thanksgiving morning - in which a woman approached me seeking wisdom. Here is what I shared with her. I am happy that I remembered this dream, as it is obviously information that is beneficial to me, and maybe you will find it useful as well. I hope so...

November 25, 2010 Thanksgiving
...I tell her about projecting love forward. That if we project our love out in front of us - forward - that there can be no failure, no disappointment, nothing other than joy or success or satisfaction and connection. No matter what happens, if what we project is love, is our essence, our soul in its divine radiant purity, there is nothing but good that can come from this. There can then be no fear, no scarcity, no lack, no loss. There will always be love, no matter what, because it is what we are putting out in front of ourselves. While I am explaining this, I am seeing a bright white light with indigo edges, projecting forth from my heart, extending several feet in front of me. Sort of like a small lightning burst that is continuous in flow...

Slow down, and take stock...

STOP. STOP THE WORLD FOR A MOMENT, AND TAKE STOCK. ON WHAT ARE YOU PLACING YOUR ATTENTION?

I recently had an idea around attention. I had been thinking on the notion of how powerful our attention is. How our attention is what really enlivens our ideas, our pursuits, the fruits of our labors - and the world in general. I think about what people are paying attention to - on the internet, on television, in movies, in families and friends around us, on politics, on government, on fears, hopes, desires, dreams and on and on.

It occurred to me that it might an interesting exercise for us to stop and take stock of where our attention is placed. Take some time and stop the world, still the mind and then gently ask ourselves where our focus is on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and more importantly, moment to moment basis. One way to start would be to simply make a list of our daily focus of attention, from hour to hour.

Perhaps the moments in between chores, job and home, quiet moments at home or in the car between places are the gems. What are we thinking of when we don’t have to be engaged with an obligation - where are our daydreams taking us? (or are we busy on our blackberries, or compulsively checking our email or facebook as we walk past the computer, just out of habit?)

I am guessing that even just doing this exercise will enhance our conscious presence of mind and awareness of our thoughts in a constructive way. Perhaps we’ll notice the bird singing outside our window, or remember the dream we had last night that got covered over by busy-ness as soon as our feet hit the floor this morning.

I think it’s those thoughts that flit by when we are in between that sometimes have the most to offer. And that it is important to create or allow for these spaces in the between, where we can wake up to our true voice underneath it all. And remind ourselves to come back to center and pay attention. Real attention, with presence.

And in doing this, my guess is that we will notice some areas of focus that we can allow to fall away - that aren't really constructive.

In reading over this post, I am struck by the way we use the term, to "pay attention." Imagine that our attention is actually a currency (current=energy) much like money, but in reality more dear. If we think about our attention as valuable as (really more than) money - how does this affect how we "spend" or "pay" our attention?

What are you paying attention to?

We Are Always Dreaming

A poem by Laurence Holden

WE ARE ALWAYS DREAMING

We are always dreaming,
the good life, the bad life,
the life not lived.

In our ceremonies
we mark our bodies
with the signs of our dreams,
flames and crosses and circles.

Wearing our dream marks
we carry our whole lives
into the country of our days.

We must do this - keep it up,
this dreaming into our waking country,
keep it going, keep it safe,
even into the desert of our selves.

- Laurence Holden, 3/09

New Post from Cyndi Crocket

What keeps me up at night:

I envision a beautiful world, where unconditional love, authenticity, peace, awareness, sharing, caring, creativity, freedom and contribution are pillar values. A world where we truly love ourselves and deeply love one another, thereby fulfilling each other’s inherent need for acceptance and survival. A global society which cherishes our earth mother and reverence for all the life that she sustains.

I envision a gold standard of achievement and success based on what we contribute to the beauty of our world, through our gifts, talents and passions. A simpler life, one of value and contribution in being who we are as children of the Universe living in wonder. A world that thrives synchronistically as a result of living in harmony with natural laws and the core essence of our being through our natural creativity. A culture that reveres natural and physical laws, and serves our brothers and sisters as we are all one. A society that encourages and fosters creativity rather than conformity. A world that we create through giving back more than we take.

I envision an abundant garden of Eden right here, right now. Heaven on earth. Join me in this vision, and let’s co-create a beautiful world. It is simple, really. It all begins with me, you and the awareness of choices we make in each moment to fulfill our purpose for being here on this planet at this particular moment in time; an opportunity to heal our world through our acts of love and contribution. It begins with loving ourselves first and then emanating that love outwards to others. Let us create this wave of love right here, right now.

We are always dreaming...

We are in a time of dreaming now - dreaming the now, dreaming the future, dreaming the past anew. What are you dreaming into being now?

Lately I have been noticing how a lot of dreamers are having more and more similar dreams. Common themes or elements are appearing with more frequency, it seems. I have seen a few bicycle dreams, where there is some kind of struggle happening. I'm feeling like these bicycles have something to do with the place/time where two worlds, or two cycles are coming together, and the struggles we are going through with this transition. And there are several that involve some kind of haze or not being able to see clearly the way ahead, but needing to continue on the path anyway.

These are profound messages, in my experience of them - oh, and a friend told me that in her dream (which I was also in), there were words in the sky, saying "IT'S UP TO YOU" and "YOU CAN DO SOMETHING" (and she said it was the collective "you"). To me, this was a direct message to all of us, so relevant now in terms of consciously manifesting the world before us. My friend even said that she thought this dream was really for me.

Anyway - our dreams are so powerful. Our sleeping dreams come from a place of source or collective, often unimpaired by our conscious involvement, and can tell us so much. That said, our waking dreams have even more power, because our consciousness is added to them - the power of our will goes behind all our thoughts, whether we realize it or not. Makes me want to be so much more careful with my thoughts and words...


"Lake Dreaming" by Honor Woodard Oil on Birch 2006

Poem by Thomas Rain Crowe

May It Continue

May the brown earth and the green leaves
thrive in color and in grace.
May it continue.

May the clear air and the cumulocirrus clouds
be there in the sky and in each breath, always.
May it continue.

May the water made of sweet minerals and salt
in small streams and large rivers
flow forever and forever flow to the seas.
May it continue.

May the sun shine warm and bright
and the moon give light at night--shining from shook foil.
May it continue.

May the beautiful birds of Hawaii and
the luminous parrots of Peru fly far and fast
and may their number grow.
May it continue.

May the deer and the elk, the antelope and the ibis
move and migrate, leap and lope across plain
and wooded plateau.
May it continue.

May the whale and the dolphin and the manatee
swim deep in dark oceans and lagoons and sing.
May it continue.

May the elephants forever in families roam,
trunk to tail, trumpeting bliss.
May it continue.

May waves of warm frost linger in bush and blaze
that puts fire in the peat of loam. And let lick cry from ripe vine.
May it continue.

May the rose climb through
the cold murmur of morning dirt.
May dark mulch coax tendrils from sleep.
May it continue.

May wild words come flying from green coils and
may each breath rustle through the beard of blue moss
in the sound of song.
May it continue.

-Thomas Rain Crowe

Poetry...

From Laurence Holden, Artist and Poet:

I want to say:

Poetry is the tongue of our nature spirit.
Images are the eyes of our nature spirit.
Heartbeat is the breath of our nature spirit.

Surely sewn we are
out of the wonder of this world.

- Laurence Holden