| Rayne Today Searching for dharma, in spite of the weather...
Recharged the personal battery Exactly what I needed, feel like I went to a pep rally and indulged in sensory overload. Marianne Williamson was riled up and on fire; she spoke about our need to realize we need to leave behind our prolonged post-adolescence in this country and move on to our adult role. (Déjà vu, I believe I posted something pretty damned close to this in one of Jan’s recent posts about Americans and language!). She maintains we’re failing to see ourselves not only as static particles, but as dynamic waves of energy, that we don’t see we continue to evolve as mankind has all along. We aren’t recognizing failures and disasters like 9/11 for opportunities to stretch out and grow ourselves to our next level of potential and our ability to reach far into the future. Marianne was preaching to the choir here – the leaders of this country act like “pugnacious teenagers” and not like mature adults. We’re acting like irresponsible children because we subscribe to the belief that our government directs us and takes care of us, when the truth is that the government should be directed by us. There was plenty more but I’m too fried to blog it out, especially since I’m still assimilating it myself. Suffice it to say I felt invigorated spending time with a large congregation of people of like-mindedness. It gets to be rather draining to spend time in contact with people who are so rah-rah-Republican-Dubya-can’t-do-wrong; it’s spiritually toxic for me. This was restorative. After attending the service, my friend and I went to a favorite gourmet grocery and indulged ourselves in nearly two hours of shopping to our hearts’ (and stomachs’) bliss. Damage was not as bad as my last trip, thank goodness; I didn’t wince too badly at the checkout. Cart was loaded with: § loaf of Tuscan Rustic bread (massive boule of bread, 2+ pounds, only $2.80 and GOOD!) § loaf of Rustic multigrain bread § large bottle Italian extra virgin olive oil (mmm-mmm, sampled in store, lovely fruity taste) § large bottle Greek Kalamata extra virgin olive oil (didn’t have my brand, hope this one’s good) § 2 bottles vox populi (see MSNBC article) § 1 bottle Fat Bastard Chardonnay 2001 (FB Shiraz is amusing yet inexpensive, hope this is amusing too!) § 2 cartons gourmet meringue cookies (no fat/cholesterol bribes for hubby) § 1 package cinnamon puff pastry cookies (low fat/no cholesterol bribes for hubby) § Kalamata olive paste spread § Anchovy paste § 4 pounds different whole wheat Italian pastas § large bouquet of fresh basil (still had their roots attached!?) § 1 pound French olives with herbs § 1 pound Greek oil-cured olives § 2 chubs smoked whitefish sausage § 1 chub French saucisson in black pepper § 1 pound fresh white asparagus I’d eaten nothing since breakfast and fell on the olives, bread and olive oil with a glass of wine as soon as I got the bags unpacked. Omigod, the Tuscan loaf was insanely tasty, tender white inside, crusty-crunchy outside, fresh this morning. The whole family gorged themselves on it while we worked on cooking dinner together. In retrospect, it was kind of like communion at the end of a very long day of service. I think I could do it again next week!  comment []WARNING: SLOW SUNDAY BLOGGER AHEAD… I’m going to do something outside of my regular Sunday routine with a close friend of mine; we’re heading to Renaissance Unity Church for Sunday services. (Weather permitting, I should qualify. There was a Snow Emergency declared in It’s about a two-hour drive; we’ll have some time to download and gab about a bunch of stuff on the way there. A stop at our favorite gourmet grocery store after the service before we head back north (tantamount to another religious experience, this place is that good). And two hours to hash over the service on the way back. We’ll be all Marianne Williamson’d out by the time we get home. Right about now, that’s a benefit. No, I’m not particularly religious; I’d willing label myself as spiritual instead. Raised in the Catholic Church, I’ve been unhappy for years (decades, truth be told) with the Church for dozens of reasons. But I do believe there is a higher, positive and organizing force in the Universe. There is something larger than each of us, than the universe, which entangles, underpins and binds it all. I can’t now label it as a single entity. My belief in science is just as strong as my belief in this higher power; it could be this dynamic that hampers my labeling this just yet. There’s still so much to learn in this world that I can’t subscribe to absolutism. Labeling would be a step in that direction, and I’m not ready for it. Our most important physicists (ex. de Broglie, Einstein, Eddington, Pauli, Shroedinger) believed in a higher power. Most were very spiritual people, if not religious. Many claimed it was their belief system that encouraged them to seek the truth in science; their findings did not persuade them to dissolve their beliefs. I can understand why they felt as they did. If most of what we know of the world is actually comprised of space between material, the gaps between electrons and protons and neutrons, muons and quarks, what is it that keeps this entirety of non-material and material from flying apart? What is it that shapes and molds this stuff if most of the universe is not material mass but a thin soup of particles in a vast non-mass space? Is it possible the glue is our will? Is it possible it’s Divine Will? Is it both? And if we and/or the Universal entity can will into place this universe as we know it, can we together will something different into being on this small blue speck of material we call Earth? Hence the trip to Marianne’s neighborhood, in search of like-minded individuals who believe it is possible to pray and will something better. It certainly can’t hurt and it could very well help. - - - Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. ~ Marianne Williamson
from A Return to Love, Chapter 7, Section 3 comment []
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