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| The following comes from a handout from the August 4, 2007 NIGHT of BE-WITCH-ment. It was a wondrous night of intense, depthful, meaningful sharing.
Provocative, deep HITS (Doors) From The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho to begin our sharing Selected by Red Bear 1. A new witch hunt is starting to gain ground. This time the weapon isn’t the re-hot iron, but irony and repression. Anyone who happens to discover a gift and dares to speak of their abilities is usually regarded with distrust. 2. No one can manipulate anyone else. In any relationship, both parties know what they’re doing, even if one of them complains later on that they were used. 3. Our time on the earth is sacred, and we should celebrate every moment. …(We have been conditioned and taught that) There are no more rituals. Ordinary actions can no longer be transformed into manifestations of the sacred. 4. … she was someone who, by the simple fact of having little to lose or hope for in life, took greater risks than other people and ended up being transformed into the forces she thought she mastered. 5. I saw things are never absolute; they depend on individuals’ perceptions. And the best way to know who we are is often to find out how others see us. This doesn’t mean we should do what others expect us to do, but it helps us to understand ourselves better. 6. Music isn’t just something that comforts or distracts us, it goes beyond that---it’s and ideology. You can judge people by the kind of music they listen to. 7. … I had chosen in the belief that love conquers all. And it isn’t true. Sometimes love carries us into the abyss, taking with us—to make matters worse—the people we love. 8. …that’s its possible to love more than one person in a lifetime. You can’t measure love the way you can the length of a road or the height of a building. 9. A saint is someone who lives his or her life with dignity. … All we have to do is understand that we’re all here for a reason and to commit ourselves to that. 10. I realize the word soul might be missed understood, so I suggest we use the word intuition instead, And if that word is equally hard to swallow, then let’s use the term primary emotions, which sounds more scientific, although, in fact, it has rather less meaning than the other two words. 11. The first lesson, and perhaps the most difficult, was: “Patience!” … now I’m being forced to do the most difficult thing in the world---slow down. Why is patience so important? Because it makes us pay attention. 12. I explained that before the word comes the thought. And before the thought, there is the divine spark that places it there. Everything, absolutely everything on this earth makes sense, and even the slightest things are worthy of our consideration. 13. What is a teacher? I’ll tell you: it isn’t someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give her best in order to discover what she already knows, 14. …when you feel uncomfortable in that position, you mustn’t think it’s false or artificial: it’s real and true precisely because it’s difficult….The simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be, even though, at first, it may seem uncomfortable. 15. But I could see her aura, her anxiety, She was very like me at her age: full of internal and external wounds that drove me to want to heal people on the physical plane and to help them find their path on the spiritual plane. 16. Your wounds will help you, my dear. 17. At such moments, when the body sets the soul free, the soul either rises up to the heavens or descends into hell, depending on the person’s state of mind. In both cases, it learns what it needs to learn: to destroy or heal. 18. Now she knew where to find me. If it was written that we would meet again we would. The important thing is to allow fate to intervene in our lives and decide what is best for everyone. 19. When I die, bury me standing, because I’ve spent all my life on my knees! 20. We women, when we’re searching for meaning to our lives or the path of knowledge, always identify with one of four classic archetypes: The Virgin (and I’m not speaking here of a sexual virgin) is the one whose search for meaning springs from her complete independence, and everything she learns is the fruit of her ability to take challenges alone. The Martyr finds her way to self-knowledge through pain, surrender and suffering. The Saint finds her true reason for living in unconditional love and in her ability to give without asking anything in return, Finally, the Witch justifies her existence by going in search of complete and limitless pleasure. 21. We don’t possess the earth, the earth possesses us… Our laws were nature’s laws… We don’t believe God made the universe. We believe God is the universe and that we are contained in him and he is us. ..we should call “him” goddess or Mother. 22. (goddess or Mother) Not like the woman who gives her daughter up to an orphanage. But like the Woman in all of us, who protects us when we are in danger. She will always with us while we perform our daily tasks with love and joy, understand that nothing is suffering, that everything is a way of praising Creation. 23. You asked me about the church we just saw: I don’t know when it was built and I’m not interested. My temple is the park, the sky, the water in the lake, and the streams that feeds it. My people are those who share my ideas and not those I’m bound to by bonds of blood. My ritual is being with those people and celebrating everything around me. 24. Learn, but always learn with other people by your side. Don’t be alone in the search because if you take a wrong step, you’ll have no one there to help put you right. 25. After all what is happiness? Love, they tell me. But love doesn’t bring and never has brought happiness. On the contrary, it’s a state of constant anxiety, a battlefield; it’s sleepless nights, asking ourselves all the time if we’re doing the right thing. Real love is composed of ecstasy and agony. 26. I spent a lot of my life looking for happiness: now what I want is joy. Joy is like sex---it begins and ends. I want pleasure. I want to be contented, but happiness? I no longer fall into that trap. 27. Simply believe---don’t doubt. …Let go of the idea that the path will lead you to your goal, The truth is that with each step we take, we arrive. Repeat that to yourself each morning: “I’ve arrived.” That way you’ll find it easier to stay in touch with each second of your day. 28. Good, we’re on the right path. You, like me, are a dissatisfied person. Your ”reality” does not coincide with the “reality” of other people. 29. Teach people to be different. 30. I don’t think you’re giving life the attention it deserves. 31. Try to fill your life again with a little fantasy… Forget everything you’ve learned about the stars and they’ll once more be transformed into angels, or into children, or whatever you believe at that moment. It won’t make you more stupid---after all, it’s only a game---but it could enrich your life. 32. …more and more people are becoming interested in pagan traditions. Why? Because God the Father is associated with rigor and discipline of worship, whereas Mother Goddess who places the importance of love above and beyond all the usual prohibitions and taboos… According to pagan tradition, nature worship is more important than reverence for a sacred book. The Goddess is in everything and everything is part of the Goddess. The world is merely an expression of her goodness. 33. The new paganism shows man is capable of living without an institutionalized religion, while still continuing the spiritual search to justify his existence. If God is Mother, then we need only gather together with other people and adore her through rituals intended to satisfy the female soul, rituals involving dance, fire, water, air, earth, songs, music, flowers and beauty. 34. If you go to a psychiatrist, you have to talk, If you go to church, you listen to a sermon, If you go in search of magic, you find a teacher who wants to explain the world to you and who gives you a series of rituals to follow. But silence? Why did it make me feel so uncomfortable? 35. Try to be different. That’s all. … But as you experienced yourself---being silent is different. 36. Try to feel good about yourself even when you feel like the least worthy of creatures. Reject all those negative thoughts and let the Mother take possession of your body and soul; surrender yourself to dance or to silence or to ordinary, everyday activities… Everything is worship if your mind is focused on the present moment. 37. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything. When you don’t know something ask or go away and find out. But when you do act, be like the silent, flowing river and open yourself to greater energy. 38. Be clear. 40. Concentrate. 41. According to etiquette this means, “She needs me to do this because she’s fragile,” but in my soul is written,: “I’m being treated like a goddess. I’m a queen.” I’m not here to work for the feminist cause, because both men and women are a manifestation of the Mother, Divine Unity. No one can be greater than that. 42. That’s the main aim of life---revelation! You make yourself into a channel, you listen to yourself and are surprised how capable you are. 43. What is a ritual? It means transforming something monotonous into something different, rhythmic, capable of channeling the Unity. 44. You are what you believe yourself to be. 45. Don’t be like those people who believe in “positive thinking” and tell themselves they’re loved, strong and capable. You don’t need to do that, because you know it 45.(cont) already. And when you doubt it---which happens, I think, quite often at this stage of evolution---do as I suggest. Instead of trying to prove you’re better than you think, just laugh. Laugh at your worries and insecurities. View your anxieties with humor. 46. Groups challenge us. Groups allow us to choose our affinities. Groups create collective energy, and ecstasy comes more easily because everyone infects everyone else. Groups can also destroy us, of course, but that’s part of life and the human condition---living with other people. 47. I’ve always been convinced that women have a supernatural ability to know what’s going on in a men’s soul. 48. I immediately had to reject the first and most logical explanation, that we’re nourished through the umbilical cord, which is why the navel, for us, is the center of life. A psychologist immediately pointed out that the theory made no sense at all; man’s central idea is always to “cut” the umbilical cord and, from then on, the brain or the heart become the more important symbols. 49. Carl Gustav Jung said we all drank from the same world spring. It’s called the “soul of the world”. 50. Jung divided individual progress into four stages. The first was the Persona---the mask we use every day, pretending to be who we are… The Shadow is our dark side, which distracts us from how we should act and behave. When we try to free ourselves from the Persona, we turn on a light inside us and we see the cobwebs, the cowardice, the meanness. The Shadow is there to stop our progress and it usually succeeds, and we turn back to what we were before we doubted. However, some do survive this encounter with their own cobwebs, saying, “Yes, I have a few faults, but I’m good enough, and I want to go forward.” At this moment, the Shadow disappears and we come into contact with the Soul. By Soul, Jung didn’t mean “soul” in the religious sense; he speaks of a return to the Soul of the World, the source of all knowledge. Instincts become sharper, emotions more radical, the interpretation of signs becomes more important than logic, perceptions of reality grow less rigid. We start to struggle with things to which we are unaccustomed and we start to react in ways that we ourselves find unexpected. And we discover that if we channel that continuous flow of energy, we can organize it around a solid center, what Jung calls the Wise Old Man for men and the Great Mother for women. 51. One of those symbols of rebirth is the navel. In the navel of Vishnu, the Indian divinity responsible for creation and destructions, sits the god who will rule each cycle. Yogis consider the navel one of the chakras, one of the sacred points on the human body. Primitive tribes often used monuments in the place that they believed was the navel of the world. In South America, people who go into trance say that the true human being is a luminous egg that connects with other people through filaments that emerge from the navel. The mandala, a design said to simulate meditation, is a symbolic representation of this. 52. What is the secret of life? We call it “grace” or “blessing”. 53. Our imagination is larger than the world around us; we go beyond our limits. 54. We’re constantly destroying and rebuilding ourselves. Everything in your life has followed the same pattern from lost to found. 55. What experience? Living as a human being and a divinity. Moving from tension to relaxation. From relaxation into trance, from trance into a more intense contact with other people. From that contact back into tension, and so on, like the serpent swallowing its own tail. It was no easy matter, mainly because it requires 55. (cont,) unconditional love, which does not fear suffering, rejection, loss. Whoever drinks this water once can never quench their thirst at other springs. 56. People learn twenty-five percent from their teacher, twenty-five percent from listening to themselves, twenty-five percent from their friends, and twenty-five percent from time. 57. You’re asking the wrong question. What you need to know is are you in a position to give him the love he needs. And whatever happens or doesn’t happen will be equally gratifying. Knowing that you are capable of love is enough. If it isn’t him, it will be someone else. You’ve discovered a wellspring; simply allow it to flow and it will fill your world. Don’t try to keep a safe distance so as to see what happens. Don’t wait to be certain before you take a step. What you give, you will receive, although it might sometimes come from the place you least expect. 58. I am Hagia Sofia, universal wisdom. I came into this world accompanied only by Love. I am the beginning of everything and before I existed there was chaos. Therefore, if any of you wish to control the forces that prevail in chaos, do not ask Hagia Sofia. For me, love fills everything. It cannot be desired because it is an end in itself. It cannot betray because it has nothing to do with possession. It cannot be held prisoner because it is a river and will overflow its banks. Anyone who tries to imprison love will cut off the spring that feeds it, and the trapped water will grow stagnant and rank. 59. You are not here to receive definite answers. My mission is to provoke you. 60. In the past, both governors and governed went to oracles who would foretell the future. The future, however, is unreliable because it is guided by decisions made in the here and now. Keep the bicycle moving, because if you stop pedaling, you will fall off. 61. Anyone who believes that have failed will always fail. Anyone who believes that they cannot behave any differently will be destroyed by routine. Anyone who has decided to block all changes will be transformed into dust. 62. Let’s move to the ritual. Where did you learn the ritual, anyway? I’m going to learn it now. I no longer need to remove myself from my normal rhythm in order to enter into contact with the spark from the Mother, because once the spark is installed inside you, it’s easy to find again. I know which door I need to open, even though it’s concealed among many other entrances and exists. All I need is a little silence. 63. You were radiating a special light: Charisma---the divine force that manifests itself in men and women. The supernatural power we don’t need to show anyone because everyone can see it, even usually insensitive people. But it only happens when we’re naked, when we die to the world and are reborn to ourselves. 64. My dream doesn’t require that of me. I have only to surrender myself to it, and if I find myself suffering, grit my teeth, because the suffering will pass. … In that journey where suffering seemed to be the only rule. I struggled for things for which there was no pint struggling. Like love, for example. People either feel it or they don’t, and there isn’t a force in the world that can make them feel it. … In the name of all I’ve learned about relationships between men and women, I’ve been trying to fight against things that weren’t worth the struggle. And that includes you. 65. I want everything. I want savagery and tenderness. I want to upset the neighbors and placate them to. I don’t want a woman in my bed, I want men, real men, like you for example. Whether they love me or are merely using me, it doesn’t matter. My love is greater than that. I want to love freely, and I want to allow the people around me to do the same. 66. I’m speaking to a woman who can hear me, in a world where all men have gone deaf. I thought he meant me, but the woman he was referring to was the forest itself. 67. But all you will achieve is to repeat what has been done since man was man---keeping things organized, … Thousands of years ago, weren’t we capable to building enormous structure like the pyramids? Weren’t we capable of worshiping gods, weaving, making fire, finding lovers and wives, sending written messages? Of course we were. But although we’ve succeeded in replacing slaves with wage slaves, all the advances we have made have been in the field of science. Human beings are still asking the same questions as their ancestors. In short, they haven’t evolved at all. 68. Why do you call him a protector? Because he told me that there were two traditions, one that makes us repeat the same thing for centuries at a time, and another that opens the door into the unknown. 69. As long as God is merely man, we’ll always have enough food to eat and somewhere to live. When the Mother finally regains her freedom, we might have to sleep rough and live on love, or we might be able to balance emotion and work. 70. But my one prayer is this: “Please, God, my Mother, don’t give up until I’ve taken on the shape you wish for me. Do this by whatever means you think best, for as long as you like, but never throw me on the scrap heap of souls.” 71. This brought me closer to nature, to the oral tradition, and to plants. Back in Britain, I decided to talk to other doctors and I asked them: “Do you always know exactly which medicines to prescribe or are you sometimes guided by intuition?” Almost all them, once they dropped their guard, admitted that they were often guided by a voice and that when they ignored the advice of the voice, they ended up giving the wrong treatment. Obviously they make use of all the available technology, but they know there is a corner, a dark corner, where lies the real meaning for cure, and the best decision to make. 72. The established religions no longer ask fundamental questions about our identity and our reason for living. Instead, they concentrate purely on a series of dogmas and rules concerned only with fitting in with a particular social order and political organization. People in search of real spirituality are, therefore, setting off in new directions, and that inevitably means a return to the past and to primitive religions, before the religions were contaminated by the structures of power. 73. We all have a duty to love and to allow love to manifest itself in the way it thinks best. 74. What is sin? It is a sin to prevent Love from showing itself. 75. Today I can see people’s auras. I can awaken the Mother in my soul. My life has meaning now, and I know what I’m fighting for. … What else have you gained? The joy of being alive. I know that I’m here, and that everything is a miracle, a revelation. 76. But it’s dark. There’s enough light from the full moon even if its obscured by clouds. Train your eyes: they were made to see more than you think. 77. In order for us to liberate the energy of our strength, our weakness must first have a chance to reveal itself. In order to understand the powers we carry within us and the secrets that have already been revealed, it was first necessary to allow the surface—expectations, fears, appearances—to be burned away. 78. But a mother doesn’t have to understand anything, she simply has to love and protect. And feel proud. 79. … we were living in age in which slavery was the only path to happiness. Free will demands immense responsibility; it’s hard work, it brings anguish and suffering. 80. Eat in moderation, but take pleasure in eating; it isn’t what enters a person’s mouth that’s evil, but what leaves it. Remember that for millennia we have struggled in order to keep from starving. Whose idea was it that we had to be thin all our lives? I’ll tell you: the vampires of the soul, those who so afraid of the future that they think it’s possible to stop the wheels of time… Use the energy and effort you put into dieting to nourish yourself with spiritual bread. Know that the Great Mother gives generously and wisely. Respect that and you get no fatter than passing time demands. Instead of artificially burning those calories, try to transform them into the energy required to fight for your dreams. No one ever stayed slim for long because of a diet. 81. They say that extroverts are unhappier than introverts and have to compensate for this by constantly proving to themselves how happy and content and at ease with life they are. 82. What is love, then? The soul, blood and body of the Great Mother. I love you as exiled souls love each other when they meet in the middle of the desert. 83. The energy of love can never be lost---it is more powerful than anything and shows itself in many ways. 84. Love is not a habit or commitment, or a debt. It isn’t what romantic songs tell us---love simply is. … No definitions. Love and don’t ask too many questions. Just love. 85. When hatred makes a person grow, it’s transformed into one of many ways of loving. 86. Love simply is. 87. The real Tradition is that the teacher never tells the disciple what he or she should do. They are merely traveling companions, sharing the same uncomfortable feeling of “estrangement” when confronted with ever-changing perceptions, broadening horizons, closing doors, rivers that sometimes seem to block the path and which, in fact, should never be crossed, but followed. There is only one difference between teacher and disciple: the former is slightly less afraid than the latter. … because every path and destination is unique to the individual. |
| Adventures in Self & Soul Workshops
(Inspired by Morton Mintz) presents The Roots of the Inner Tree The Core of the Fire Within the Mountain The Flowing Inner River Soaring in the Inner Sky: Building, Developing, Enhancing SELF Retreat October 12-14, 2007 ~ Friday-Sunday Devil’s/Spirit Lake, Wisconsin Red Bear and Loving, Flowing Dolphin, Guides Beyond ego that pretends to be SELF Beyond persona that portrays SELF Beyond “journeying” lingo that describes SELF Beyond mediocrity, cheatedness, deprivation, struggling, succumbing, fighting, inflating, deflating, survival, comfort, pleasure, victim, rescuer, martyr, single-double-triple sink holes, futility, feebleness, impotence, invisibility, grandiosity that is NOT SELF A RETREAT all about your true SELF…. Nothing less and no-thing more The cost of the Retreat is $200 that includes materials, lodging and food. This Retreat is for adults, young adults and older adolescents on a journey who are seeking to go deeper… much deeper into the realms of true SELF. (Note: This is not a beginner’s retreat.) Deadline to apply for this Retreat is September 28th, 2007. Call Red Bear (Kevin Dubrow LCSW) at 708.387.1210 to discuss if this Retreat is right for you and to register. ___________________________________________________________________________ Dugas and Sedona, Arizona November 14-18, 2007 RETREAT MY INNER & OUTER STORY: WRITING THE NOVEL OF YOUR PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Red Bear and Desert Lizard, Guides Cost is $800 includes retreat materials, lodging and meals. Call Red Bear (Kevin Dubrow LCSW) at 708.387.1210 to discuss if this Retreat is right for you and to register. Deadline to apply is November 1, 2007 Our 7th Retreat in Arizona |
| RED BEAR'S JOURNEY SEPTEMBER Issue 2007 A Newsletter by Red Bear (Kevin Dubrow LCSW) September 2007 * Dedicated to those willing to learn from pain Dubrow & Associates * 3640 Prairie Ave., Brookfield, IL 60513 * All calls to 708.387.1210 _____________________________________________________________________________ King and Queen Change by Red Bear Of course, change takes place ceaselessly, inexhaustible, inevitably One can no more stop change then dance in a hurricane Change unalterable in its complexity yet unmodifiable in its simplicity Oh, my fellow tiny humans who live in counts of decades if graced You have no power over change Whether good change, bad change, good~bad change, desired change, unwanted change Your tears or fists Your words or signs do naught to ever so slightly impede change Your illusions of logic or delusions of irrationality are like falling autumn leaves into the rushing river of change Your schools and rules – Your churches and money Your museums and corporations – Your families and nations Your contracts and promissory notes like sand taken by the ocean tide of change Your hopes and fears – Your dreams and goals Your ignorance and knowledge – Your science and fantasies resemble the cicada’s brief life after 17 years of dormancy as all else changes all around, above, below, within Your brush and pen – Your computer and SUV Your fast food value meal and frozen microwave-able food bag Your golf score and credit number are barely the evaporating morning dew on your chemically induced green lawn Change is the constant that comes as She will in Chaos that allows no order and the briefest of structures (if that at all) In facing one’s impotence before King Change and accepting one’s powerlessness before Queen change An awareness can happen An awakening can take place This epiphany, illumination, enlightenment comes with the highest of cost that can only be paid with Emptying, Healing, Transformation, Transcendence Otherwise your life, your very being, is reduced to just surviving change or not surviving at all The long forgotten ancients and ancestors knew this truth- Oh, they lived in aliveness this wisdom Change is You get no voice or vote Emptying, Healing, Transformation, Transcendence is a calling Do you hear it Will you listen to it Will you be alive in/with/for it _____________________________________________________________________________ The Wheel of Suffering By Red Bear I wrote this for a young man I am MENTORING who keeps being stuck in the Wheel of Suffering. The Wheel of Suffering can also be understood as the Cycle of Addiction. Many mentorees I shared this with found it very helpful and suggested I put it in my newsletter. See the WHEEL OF SUFFERING as a cycle that keeps going round and round without end. We start at Conditioning then return to Conditioning when the cycle starts again. CONDITIONING Conditioned thoughts, emotions, senses, behavior --- leads to--- PATTERNS Patterns of thinking, feeling, sensing, behavior --- leads to--- HABITS Habitual thoughts, feelings, sensing, behavior Scripts ~ Tapes ~ Personas ~ Routines --- leads to --- SUFFERING Causing others’ suffering Causing one’s self suffering Inviting or accepting others’ suffering till one suffers --- leads to --- DEFENSIVENESS and ATTACKING (Denial… Hostility… Resentment… Rage…) --- leads to --- RATIONALIZATION and/or INTELLECTUALIZATION --- leads to --- GAMES and GAME PLAYING Especially VICTIM~PERSECUTOR~RESCUER game --- leads to --- ANXIETY and FEAR --- leads to --- SHAME and GUILT GUILT and SHAME --- leads to --- OUTER PUNISHMENT FROM OTHERS INNER PUNISHMENT FROM ONE’S SELF (Note: This also leads to many consequences in one’s outer life and inner world.) --- leads to --- REPENTANCE --- leads to --- OUTER PSEUDO UNDERSTANDING INNER PSEUDO INSIGHT --- leads to --- ERRATIC, INCONSISTENT ATTEMPTS AT OUTER CHANGE ERRACTIC, INCONSISTENT ATTEMPT AT INNER CHANGE (Note: Sometimes, these attempts at change can last awhile, but do NOT last and are not built upon) --- leads to --- CONDITIONING (go back to where the Wheel of Suffering began as the Wheel keeps turning and turning) Sometimes, a person can be stuck at one part of the Wheel of Suffering for a long time… even an entire life. However, one usually just keeps turning on the Wheel. Unfortunately, most people keep trying to get “better” at being on the Wheel of Suffering and this keeps them just as stuck as if they didn’t try at all. One must EMPTY the WHEEL OF SUFFERING. This is a painful process… a challenging and difficult journey. Before the Wheel of Suffering is truly EMPTIED, there can be no true HEALING or TRANFORMATION. _____________________________________________________________________________ Be a FOOL by Red Bear Ignorant people know everything they could possibly need to know. Further, ignorant people are not open to learning, change and growth from within themselves or from the outer world. Stupid people also know everything they could possibly ever need to know as well as knowing everything that others should know; stupid people are closed off from learning too. The FOOL knows they know very little or nothing. Therefore, the FOOL seeks to constantly and continually be open to learning from within, others, books, life experiences and any sources available. The wise one has been a fool that has discovered, rediscovered, claimed, reclaimed and returned to wisdom. The FOOL who persists in their folly becomes wise. I share in mentorship that a journeyer spends about 75% of their life being a FOOL and is graced with wisdom 25% of their lives. The FOOL’s great gift is confusion; thus, seeking to enter, embrace, and accept confusion as a wondrous, yet often painful, compass for learning and growth. The persistent, persevering FOOL becomes a HERO; sometimes, a foolish hero and, other times, a heroic fool. If not very aware, alert, mindful and heart-ful, one can become a tragic “hero”, a martyr “hero”, or a conquering “hero” which is NOT being a HERO at all! The Hero opens the archetypal door to becoming a Warrior, a Lover and a Sage (Wise Old Man or Wise Old Woman). Therefore, one must ceaselessly return to being a Fool to evolve and develop their Hero, Warrior, Lover and Safe. A Fool is naïve, idealistic, carefree, imaginative and curious with an innate trust and faith. Being reckless and destructive is not being the Fool. The Fool is not mean, harmful or hurtful. However, the Fool can be quite oblivious and easily distracted. The danger in being a Fool is become so ego-absorbed, ego-involved, and egocentric that they become narcissistic and STOP being a true Fool. There is a charming, endearing quality to being a Fool that often attracts others to their aid and development. The Fool is ever opening to learning and this attracts teachers, guides and mentors to their evolving and developing. ENJOY BEING THE FOOL TODAY! _____________________________________________________________________________ An Ear Full by Red Bear It was a gradual hearing loss. He noticed when students talked from the right side of the room he was able to hear them less and less. He tried to just forget about it, but the problems worsen. He tried to remedy the problem on his own to no avail. He began to hear very little coming from the right and then began to have hearing loss on his left too. Sometimes, he cried thinking he would go deaf. What was required was surgery to put in a small implant into his right ear. It was an outpatient surgery procedure taking less than two hours, but he would take a full month before he would fully recover. During the 30 days, he would be disoriented at times and would often lose his balance; there would be no exercise or strenuous activities allowed. After the surgery, he went to his home for the first few days of recovery which were uneventful due to taking lots of pain killers that made it easy to sleep and sleep; though, he could recall no dreams upon awakening. By the third day, he was able to eat soft food and get outside a bit. After seeing the surgeon a week after surgery, he was told there was nothing else to be done, but wait and see. However, the surgeon said he may only gain partial hearing in his right ear and, the bombshell dropped, he would need similar surgery in his left ear in the coming year. He decided to spend the rest of the recovery period in a small rental cabin that was in a forest known as the Ancient Woods. Alone in the cabin, he mostly rested or took short walks; he was able to read and write as well. After awhile, he felt too rested and started taking longer walks. On one of these walks, he saw a very old man resting under a giant oak. The man was the most elderly person he had ever seen and was dressed in clothes that seemed purchased in a thrift store long ago. Thereafter, he would visit with the elder gentleman and they would talk away the hours mostly about the trees, mountains, streams, creatures of the forest and the forest itself. He told the old one about his surgery and the old one suggested some herbs and plants that grew in this forest that may help. He thanked the old one for his concern, but wanted to adhere to what was strictly medically prescribed. He was able to hear better in his right hear, but only marginally so. He was beginning to lose more hearing in his left ear. He was angry. He was scared. He was pissed off. He was worried. He was outraged. He was overwhelmed with anxiety. Only a few days before he needed to return home and begin the new school year, he decided to try the herbs and plants the old wise one suggested. The old one said he would have to take a strong dose initially then a smaller dose from then on. He returned to teaching and it was a nightmare. He could only hear on the right side if he was close to a student and his left side hearing was only a bit better and seemed to be fading fast. The surgeon recommended a hearing aid in his left ear and it was worth a try to do the implant in his left ear; there were no assurance either would help. Besides, these choices seemed terrible. About four weeks into taking the herbs and plants, he felt his hearing in both ears improving. By the second month, he was hearing better than he had ever heard. He would return to the forest to receive the herbs, plants and flowers he needed. The old one showed him how to find the herbs, plants and flowers in the forest and the ways to prepare them into a tincture. He couldn’t thank the old guy enough and bought him a bunch of clothes for all the forest seasons. The old guy laughed and said his rags had done him well, but now he would be on the cover of some field and stream magazine for best-dressed senior citizen. After three months, an amazing event took place; perhaps, an event beyond extraordinary amounting to a miracle. He had perfect hearing in the classroom, but was also able to hear everything his students thought and felt beyond the words they spoke. He was even able to hear all his students’ thoughts and emotions that they couldn’t put words too. Wherever he went, he was able to hear everything in a person’s mind and heart…. to what their Soul would say if their Soul spoke. This unbelievable gift of what he called inner hearing extended to dogs and cats then to birds, then to all creatures and then to all that was alive. He could hear flowers and bees, trees and bushes, grass and … He could hear the wind, the clouds, the waves, the stars, the Moon, the Sun… He didn’t dare tell anyone of his astounding gift because he knew what judgments would be made and the consequences thereafter. He kept going back to the ancient forest to try to find the old man, but he was not to be found. Perhaps, the old one knew he would be gone and that is why he was taught how to find the herbs, plants and flowers and how to make the tincture. His gift of inner hearing sent his life in many, many different directions that couldn’t have been imagined by him in the past. He yearned to tell someone and have the tincture available for everyone. However, when he gave this much thought, he realized very sadly this would lead to no good given the times and culture he lived in. He continued teaching and began to write books based on what he learned from his inner hearing. The books he wrote based on inner hearing and education were never published. The other books he wrote got a limited publication ending up buried in the New Age section near the books on finding ghosts and what can be learned from Egyptian mummies. However, other shoe hit. He began to gradually lose vision in his right eye then the same began to happen much more slowly in his left eye. The surgeons offered different surgery options with different possible results and side effects; some amount of blindness would occur no matter what. He put off the surgery for quite awhile. He decided to go back to the old cabin in the ancient woods to decide what to do. Walking in the ancient forest ruminating on his options, he found a very old woman under an ancient maple tree. If possible she was even older than the old man who had saved his hearing and much more. When he told her what had happen to his hearing and how now he had inner hearing he felt incredibly relieved to have finally been able to tell someone. The old woman told him this was a gift many had ages ago. He then told her about his gradual lose of sight leading to surgery whose outcome was unknown or blindness. She told him that she could show him herbs, plants and flowers to make into a tincture for vision and sight. After the second month of taking the herbs, plants and flowers, his vision was better than it had ever been. During the third month, an amazing event took place with his vision… he was gifted with another miracle like inner hearing, but now with his vision and sight. He called this truly seeing and true vision. He began to journey with these gifts and oh what a journey it was. Dedicated to Loving Flowing Dolphin _____________________________________________________________________________ The Path to Inspiration by Rishi This was written by a man I am mentoring who is learning about the illusion of motivation and the truth of inspiration to guide his journey. His assignment was simple: write about INSPIRATION. Like my I Ching reading you gave me told me, I need to become inspired from within. How will I start to become inspired from within? I need to empty the blocks that are blocking my inspiration. These blocks consist of negative thoughts, negative energy, negative forecasting. Once I begin to have trust and faith in myself, I will be able to start and complete all my tasks. I have to see that life is amazing. I have become desensitized due to my surroundings and environment: each of my parents’ houses, cars, things and more we’ve bought. Like Buddha taught, there is a path to end suffering. The path is the Noble Eightfold Path. I need to read the Eightfold Path everyday. If I start becoming inspired from within, I will inspire those who surround me to become inspired. It will rub off, no less. This would be nothing less than extraordinary. In my vocation, I seek to inspire all who work with me on the movies I write and direct. Imagine the possibilities! All my work will be truly original because it will have my fresh, own voice. I will create new trends and eras. I will be at the forefront of a new wave of art. Regardless of the result, I will be creatively inspired and inspired creatively. Hooray! I need to quit trying to make long strides and make small steps instead. Hardly anybody wins the lottery. They get to their vocational successes through making many, many small steps. Once I realize I need to take small steps and not big steps, I will not be overwhelmed any longer. SMALL STEPS RISHI! I have to realize the power of NOW. There is no past and there is no future to negatively judge myself by; these are all illusions. My parents have taught me to repent the past and hope for the future. Both of these are terrible ways of living. I MUST empty these ASAP. The power of NOW is so beautiful! I must realize that in life there is so, so much to do and be and enjoy and love! Life is not about sitting around all day on the Internet. Laziness doesn’t exist! Boredom doesn’t exist! Procrastination doesn’t exist! Why doesn’t so-called laziness exist? When I think about myself a lot, I’m not really lazy. I am impatient. I don’t have trust and faith in myself. Maybe they said to have trust and faith in friends or family, but the word SELF never existed. The word SOUL was intellectualized and was a figment of imagination. It is time for Rishi to empty all this negativity. Rishi is at a crossroad. Be brave, be courageous, overcome this fear… have trust and faith, enjoy, love, live, and BE ALIVE! Experience life to the fullest. Be fully alive! Stop judging, comparing, competing, condemning and criticizing! Empty all the MORE, DIFFERENT, BETTER VOICES from my outer life and inner world! Empty all that blocks my Self, my Soul, my Art, my Inspiration, and My Aliveness! (I recommend reading the works of Tolle: Power of Now, Stillness Speaks and The New Earth. Parts of what Rishi shares so wondrously come from Tolle’s teachings.) _____________________________________________________________________________ The Way of Tea by Red Bear Long ago in ancient China, Li Sung was recognized as the master of tea. His writings on tea had won him great acclaim and vast wealth. He even had an audience with the Emperor who gave him many honorary titles. At the bequest of the royal court, he was diligently working on a massive book entitled The Way of Tea that would be the definitive guide to tea preparation. In his great house, Li Sung worked from sunrise to well past sunset on his book. He felt tremendous pressure not to leave anything out about tea preparation and to make his book perfect. After months of barely leaving his writing desk, Li Sung began to get headaches, cramps and suffer from exhaustion. The palace doctor was called and told him he must stop his work for a recovery period; he must go into the mountains to breathe fresh air and just rest. He could bring nothing to write with. Reluctantly, Li Sung went to a lodge in the Purple Dragon Mountains hoping to return to his writing as soon as possible. After several days and nights of relaxation, Li Sung began to get restless and decided to take a long stroll. On his meandering walk, he saw in the distance someone enter what was the most dilapidated dwelling he had ever seen. His curiosity aroused he decided to take a closer look, Approaching the dwelling, he saw it was just some tree limbs braced against a rock face covered with reeds, moss and leaves. Out of the hut came an elderly man whose disheveled beard went down to his waist wearing tattered and torn rags as clothing. Li Sung announced his presence to the old one who asked if he would like to have a rather ordinary cup of tea. Li Sung agreed as he was amused and thought it be entertaining to sit with this hermit. He wondered to himself how he would drink inferior tea. When Li Sung introduced himself formally. The old one smiled and said he had last used a name so long ago he forgot what it was. He told Li Sung he could call him the Essence of Simplicity as that is how he lived. He then laughed out loud and said perhaps it was best for Li Sung to call him the Difficulty of Complexity as that often fit him well. He then took an old leather bag and very slowly and carefully poured water till it a beaten copper pot was half full. He told Li Sung the water in the pot came from a secret spring way up in the mountains that only he knew about. Li Sung was intrigued, as he had written many chapters on the proper water for tea preparation. The Essence of Simplicity put the pot on a fire that was a pit in what would pass as the center of the hut. He told Li Sung that the wood he used for the fire was cedar, which would provide a nice fragrance to the cooking water. Just as the water began to boil, he took it off the fire and told Li Sung that it had to rest for awhile, He added the water was too stirred up after its dance and had to become more peaceful before the tea could be added. He reached into a faded bag and slowly with softness pulled out a small hand full of tealeaves. The Essence of Simplicity told Li Sung that the tealeaves came from the very upper branches from an ancient tea tree that was used for the same purposes by the Immortal Masters. He gently put the tealeaves into the now hot still waters. He recited aloud a short prayer sharing gratitude for being given the gift of the tealeaves and water to make tea. The Essence of Simplicity told Li Sung they would have to give the marriage of the water and tealeaves time to brew. He shared it was the marriage of the Earth that gave the gift of tea and Heaven that brought down the rain for the water. When he deemed the marriage had enough time to mellow, he poured two cups of tea into old wood bowls that clearly showed they had been used for a long, long time. The Essence of Simplicity said the wood in the bowl had to come from a dead elder tree that was so enormous it seemed to touch the sky. He gave one of the bowls of tea to Li Sung who was surprised he added nothing to the plain brewed tea. Li Sung had wrote many, many chapters in his book on what to add to tea before drinking. Li Sung declared it was the finest tea he had ever had the privilege to drink; he raved on about the worth and merit of the tea’s aroma and taste. The Essence of Simplicity laughed thanking Li Sung for the generous words of praise, but stated it was rather ordinary tea. The next day when Li Sung went back to the Essence of Simplicity’s hut there was not a trace anyone had ever been there. Li Sung chuckled wondering if the experience the other day had just been a dream. Li Sung returned to his great house and finished his 1,200-page book: The Way of Tea. The time with the Essence of Simplicity seemed totally forgotten. The Way of Tea described in great detail the whole process of making a proper cup of tea and was the seminal work for all of China for hundreds and hundreds of years. It is studied by scholars today for not only the making of proper tea, but the way to live one’s life. When Li Sung became a very old man he disappeared from his great house. No one knew when he had left or where he had gone. Many thought, he had went off to die and be buried in some remote village with his ancestors. However, Li Sung had never forgotten the Essence of Simplicity and his way of tea. He had gone up to live out his days in the Purple Dragon Mountains in a hut in order to find the secret spring and the ancient tea tree. He planned to live the rest of his life making rather ordinary tea then enjoy the drinking of it. This story was created and told around an August fire then written to be shared with you. It was inspired and based on the story, “Lu Yu Meets a True Tea Master”, by Solala Towler from The Empty Vessel (Summer 2007). It is one of the best stories I have ever read. _____________________________________________________________________________ Three Short Poems from Devil’s/Spirit Lake by Red Bear Water glimmers Waves shimmer Clouds sail above There I sit witnessing Rocky mounds Sand and stones The lake ebbs and flows Beneath the oak serenity Cigar enjoyed Unsmoked tobacco Given to the 7 Directions A simple ceremony _____________________________________________________________________________ An Uncensored Guide to Modern Living by Red Bear Always be BUSY! When not busy, find a meaningless leisure activity that provides comfort and pleasure. Always need, want, and desire MORE, DIFFERENT, BETTER. Eliminate even the idea or concept of enoughness and abundance. Compete with others. Judge others. Compare yourself to others. Places roles and obligations to others on the highest rung of your priority ladder. Strictly adhere to a rigid and dogmatic ways of thinking that controls and dominates all emotions and behavior. Seek power and status. Seek recognition and benefit for all you do. Read only for meaningless time filling pleasure or what is necessary for your job. The exception is to read quick fix, microwave, simplistic self- help (actually ego-help) books to solve all relationship problems (i.e. marriage, parenting). Your organizing principle must dictate that most if not all of your waking moments must be about acquiring money, amassing money, spending money, the lack of money in the present, the potential lack of money in the future. Resist all change. Seek to avoid all conflict. Seek to avoid or as soon as possible eliminate PAIN. Treat your body as non-existent or as a garbage dump. Put into your body whatever you wish… crap that passes as food, alcohol, drugs, nicotine… Avoid exercise. Depend on pills from pharmaceutical companies to fix whatever is wrong with you. See vitamins, herbs and natural sources of healing as unproved quackery. School teaches you all you need to know. A parent’s job is to prepare their child for independent financial living. Marriage is a business. Marriage is a financial partnership. Be suspicious and, if possible, totally avoid exposure from anything and anyone one different from you. And do NOT try to BE different yourself! Treat anxiety, panic and fear as something that should be gotten rid of as quickly as possible and offering nothing to learn from; the same with depression and despair. Treat anger as something to be managed. See humans as not a part of Nature. Treat Nature as scenery. Treat Nature as a Home Depot for whatever humans need. Understand global warming is a hoax perpetuated by liberal environmental kooks. There is no way we will run out of drinkable water or air to breathe. NO WAY! _____________________________________________________________________________ A Day at Devil’s/Spirit Lake by Red Bear They talk and talk and never shut up without having anything to say They babble and babble to feed the fires of illusion in their factory of personas They deflate most and inflate a few Criticize, compare, condemn most Beatify, glorify, make heroic few They spew forth their ignorance vomiting their stupidity about those different than themselves They ignore their children except to yell and bark commands and feed them crap They drink and drink depending on demographics some guzzle beer, others wine coolers, some wine, others booze till they feel oh so good or feel nothing at all They look down or straight ahead or at nothing at all They never look up They never look within Loudness passes as passion Obnoxiousness passes as fondness Greed passes as creativity Consuming passes as aliveness I seek to empty all this to non-attach to the negativity it stirs up within me For inside me is all this too Meaningless pleasure seeking Anger, despair, fear Banal deadness I empty it all The lake is beautiful The trees are beautiful The rocks, stones, cliffs are beautiful The breeze and wind is beautiful The blueness, clouds, sun is beautiful The young children playing are beautiful The young couple walking arm in arm is beautiful My Soul-mate floating on her bright yellow raft Is beautiful I am beautiful All this is within me too The passion and peacefulness The being and aliveness The creativity and creation The oneness and the ONE _____________________________________________________________________________ The PIPE STONE by Red Bear A story inspired by actual events in the Wisconsin Dells on July 3rd, 2007; many of the facts are made up… the story is true. The medicine man was getting too old to make the leap, but the People needed him to stand on top of Pipe Rock. He pulled out the ancient medicine pipe made of a deer antler and apiece of old oak. He put the sacred mishma in the pipe bowl as he had done hundreds of times before and had been done by medicine people since the dawn of time. Lighting the herbal mixture, he stood chanting to each of the 7 Directions. His strong and beautiful chant was sung with great humility and gratitude as well as equally great attention and intention. The People needed guidance. He opened to vision and messages from the Ancients and Ancestors, from the Guides and Totems, from the Great Mystery. A day before the 4th of July, the German Sheppard, whose name was never given, jumped the 5 feet from the cliff to the top of the stone tower, as he had done hundreds of times before. There was a young man on top of the stone tower giving the dog treats for his jumps. The tourist took pictures as they had since the first stop action photograph in the world was taken here many years ago by H.H. Bennett, who had his son make the first leap; this first stop action photo ever taken was in newspapers and magazines around the globe. The dog jumped the second time so more pictures could be snapped and he could get treats. The third time the dog jumped, he crashed into the young man, who was jumping to get back to the cliff to leave. The dog fell 80 feet into a net. The young man fell into the cliff stone and to the ground 100 feet from the top of the stone tower. The dog was shaking in the net. The young man was in a broken heap on the ground. One of us from the tourist boat was a paramedic. He rushed to the young man’s body as did our guide, Kristy; we found out Kristy was the sister of the injured young man whose name was Ezra. The captain, Harlan who was a retired high school science teacher, rushed back and forth in a frenzied panic; Harlan was Kristy and Ezra’s uncle. Several of us tourists had cell phones and there was a flurry of 911 calls. Some of the tourist gawked at Ezra, some went back to the boat, and some continued on a previously recommended short hike. My wife and I were visibly shaken as we were for the rest of the day and nights and days to follow; we went back to the boat. One of us tourists had videotaped the whole horrible event and was playing it over and over again. About 45 minutes later after a medivac helicopter had arrived, the boat left the dock to return to our starting and ending point. It could have been my imagination, but I didn’t hear a sound the whole way back from any of us tourists. Many, many, many full moons ago under an ancient sky, the People discovered Pipe Rock. The medicine clan saw that it had very powerful energy and strong medicine. They called it Pipe Rock because it resembled a pipe stem coming out of the ground with a pipe bowl at its summit. Only medicine men and medicine women were allowed on Pipe Rock for sacred ceremonies and rituals. The People would gather on the ground around Pipe Rock for feasts and fires. Many, many Winters passed and trouble came to the People. Troubles grew and grew like a wild forest fire. Now, the Chiefs and the Council of Elders came to the top of Pipe Rock to join the medicine men and medicine women. The People gathered around the sacred tower waiting for vision and messages from those old ones on the top of Pipe Rock to guide, help and save the People. Time flew by like the turkey vultures that lived and flew near and around Pipe Rock. The People faced overwhelming adversity and possible extinction. Now, Pipe Rock was used a place for the remaining Warriors to come. The Warriors joined the Medicine Clan, Chiefs, and Council of Elders in sacred ceremonies and rituals to give them strength, courage, bravery and vision; unfortunately, also to prepare for dying, death and returning to the Great Circle and Great Mystery. The People were no longer. Pipe Rock remained unseen and untouched for a very, very long time. A successful white business tycoon purchased thousands of acres of land for about a buck an acre; he had connections and power where both served his desires well. When his surveying team discovered Pipe Rock, they told the tycoon about it and he had a brilliant idea. He started up tourist boats with the main attraction coming to Pipe Rock. Research told about some religious stuff Indians did on and around Pipe Rock. He renamed Pipe Rock with a better name calling it Indian Stone Tower. He found some mixed breed Injuns and paid them in booze to jump the 5 feet from a cliff to the top of Indian Stone Tower. He had them dressed in Taiwan Indian-looking costumes that he also had other drunken Injuns wear to play Taiwanese drums, erratically dance around in circles and make loud guttural noises. The tourist ate this up! It became one of the number one tourist attractions in the entire Midwest; tourists came from all 50 states and around the world. The tycoon sold all the land including Indian Stone Tower to another successful entrepreneur. This new owner was very religious and got rid of all the drunken Injuns. Now college students were costumed as Indians. College students now made the 5 foot leaps and played the drums, danced in circled and yelled what they thought Indians would yell. No one noticed or cared about the difference. Indian Stone Tower remained a tourist magnet bringing in big money. The next owner of the land including Indian Stone Tower was one of the country’s biggest real estate developers. He put up lots of motels, hotels, condos, casinos, spas, golf courses, restaurants, strip malls and stores. He had a road built close to Indian Stone Tower so that there could be a cafeteria, concession stands and gift shops. His insurance company wouldn’t insure humans making the 5 foot leap from the cliff to Indian Stone Tower. He got college students who were good with animals to get dogs from the local pound and get them to make the jump for dog biscuits. No one cared about the fake Indian show anymore allowing it to be eliminated. For about 15 years, a succession of dogs had made the 5-foot leap and the tourists kept flocking to watch and spend their vacation dollars. The tourists boats now going out to the unnamed stone tower continued, but were not in the top 10 of tourist attractions in the area anymore… more of just a ride on the water in a boat with a brief stop to see a dog jump. We got off the tourist boat. There was someone telling people that there would be no more boats going out to Indian Stone Tower that day; they could come back tomorrow with first boat leaving with a complete breakfast buffet at 7:15 am. My wife and I decided to just go back to our cabin, as we had nothing left. All we could talk about or sit in silence about was Ezra’s falling, banging on the cliffs on the way down and lying there battered and broken. The next day I tried to find out about Ezra, but those I reached made it seem like it never happened. I was told the tourist boats to Indian Stone Tower were leaving approximately every 45 minutes and advanced ticket purchase was recommended especially for the gourmet steak dinner and all you could drink buffet boat. After the vacation, I did some research. From several news sources, I learned that Ezra, a 19-year-old college student majoring in marketing at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, had died from injuries as a result of an accident in the Wisconsin Dells area. There was no mention of the German Sheppard or Pipe Rock. On a journey, one seeks to learn how to be BIG and how to be small. One also seeks to learn how to be STRONG and how to be soft. The following poem came out of my work to learn to find strength in softness and softness in strength. Softness and Strength by Red Bear Softness penetrates to the very essence The softness of water, tears, breaks open the hardest stone, the shutdown heart Strength flows from the very essence The Warrior’s hand gives the sweetest touch the cleanest cut Soft words melt glaciers creating the great Ocean Strong words plead for openness and vulnerability _____________________________________________________________________________ A Rant on: Who is this Newsletter Written for? by Red Bear Of course, this newsletter is not only written by me, but for me. All that I write comes from me, is me and seeks to teach and guide me. Often, I wonder if I started and continue Red Bear’s Journey just to have an excuse, a rationale, and an outer justification to write. I also ponder if my newsletters are boats to have my voice go out in waves on the great Ocean we all share. Beyond this, who is this newsletter and all my newsletters written for? Many times, I feel that no one reads the newsletter. Okay not actually no one. Other times, I wonder if anyone sees the blood, sweat and tears… the giggles and joy… the truth and wisdom… the craziness… the peacefulness… the rage… the passion… the confusion… the quest… the call... Do people truly read anymore beyond what their ego can quickly grasp and forget or functionally use or misuse? Do people read anymore beyond pleasure with words being pills and the book the drug? Do people read to stretch themselves beyond their reach? Do people read to reach well beyond their grasp? Do people understand that POETRY is the closest the SOUL comes to words? Do people understand you can throw out everything (all!) you learned about poetry and just write poems from one’s true mind, heart and SOUL? Do people understand that without poetry, stories, myths, legends, fairy tales one lives in POVERTY? There is so much poverty of the mind, the heart, the Soul in our culture. Do people understand their lives are a story? Do people understand that all we share with others are stories? If you do NOT share meaningful, painful, silly, foolish, wise, crazy, loving stories it is because you are NOT meaningful, learning from pain, silly, foolish, wise, crazy and loving. Rilke stated he shares with those who know secret things or he is alone. If you are not an evolving, developing story and you do not share evolving developing stories, you probably not only don’t know any secrets, but do not even know or care that you don’t know any secrets. Beyond poetry and stories, Red Bear’s Journey shares ceremonies and rituals and is a ceremony and ritual. Ceremonies and rituals bring us to our core, center, roots of humility, gratitude, attention, intention, Soulfulness, connectiveness, interconnectiveness, Sacredness, Holiness…. Poetry, stories, ceremonies and rituals AWAKEN us… remind us we are ALIVE… guide us to REMEMBER what we need to learn from the past… guide us to be alert, aware, mindful and heartful/heart-flowing in each present moment (the sacred and holy here-and-now)… guide us to have VISION for our individual and collective futures… This newsletter is written for those of you who have read this rant and laughed, cried, was in pain, was confused, was overwhelmed, felt a kindred spirit, was pissed off, wanted to yell, wanted a hug or to hug, wanted to climb a mountain and give the entire world your own version of this rant… It is written for those who are willing to understand reality is often far from truth, far from wise, far from loving… It is written for those that do NOT succumb to survival, comfort, pleasure based existences. It is written for those unwilling to sleep while Rome burns. It is written for those who have seen the amazing Sicko by Michael Moore and do NOT get cynically spun by inner and outer spin-doctors. I agree with Bill Maher that Moore is a prophet… he is a modern hero. (Bill Maher is awesome too.) And everything in all Moore’s documentaries (and you need to see each one) are TRUE even if the facts and statistics can be spun this way and that. It is written for those who realize the SOUL can’t be bought, but can be blocked, by outer possessions, consuming, abusing… It is written for those who are open to healing and transformation and those who are wounded healers and guides for transformation, It is written by those that have had the courage and bravery, the foolishness and wisdom, the craziness and lovingness to not surrender and live based on the insanity that this culture passes as the only way. It is written for those that have emptied hope and hopelessness, who have emptied belief and doubt and seek to be ALIVE in TRUST and FAITH… to have trust and faith in that which does NOT have dogma and doctrine… that has but the tiniest structure… that is CHAOS… and when trust and faith seems lacking or missing… they QUESTION… and even question when they have trust and faith. This newsletter is written for those that have emptied lifestyles and living out moronic, idiot scripts to being ALIVE. This newsletter is written for those that understand how difficult and challenging yet crucial and vital it is to stay awake, alert, aware, mindful and heart-ful of the outer world, their outer lives and their inner world. This newsletter is for those who understand you can’t find the inner world on Map Quest. Well, maybe this newsletter is just written for me or maybe not. Either way… it continues to evolve and develop as I journey. This RANT is over! Well, at least I’ve stopped writing. Remember, RANTING is great for your individual journey, for relationship journeys and for group/communal journeys. _____________________________________________________________________________ The Sacred Intuition VisionQuest Sedona, Arizona * May 2007 This was an amazing experience on so many, many levels and in so many, many ways; words fail to even approach describing it. When people ask what is a VisionQuest or what happens on a VisionQuest, I just want to laugh and cry, chant and dance then open my Soul so they can see what it truly is. I usually write a poem about Quests, but this time I wrote what follows about all who shared this amazing experience and created an equally amazing sangha. (Note: Who could believe this is our 7th VisionQuest in Sedona? Meehwetch to Lizard, Dolphin and RavenStar who have always been there in so many ways.) Desert Lizard ~ The Eagle soars with the Swallows ~ A Guide of Journeys evolves and deepens as she shares from an authentic genuine true space… a Woman’s wisdom ~ Strong/soft ~ BIG/small ~ She is (be’s) it all Red Bear ~ The Voice without Voice speaks ~ Earth/Fire/Air/Water ~ Sacred Intuition Shaman with Vision ~ Be Strong in My Convictions RavenStar ~ Return of the Puer Extraordinaire as this Soulful Woman teachers and guides her Soul-mate ~ Opening to the Soul as a Healer and Healing of/with/to Soul with Fairies too Sitting Wolf with Bright Vulture ~ Invisibility found and its vanishing ~ Manhood realizes ~ A NEW journey opens (WOW!) ~ A young Shaman Emerges and Steps up BIG Time (oh yeah baby!) Loving Flowing Dolphin ~ Being the fool then Anguish emptied ~ A True Voice Received ~ A Stronger Warrior emerges ~ LOVE unleashed ~ Soul-mate Discovered ~ A BIG Guide/Teacher emerges Singing Waters ~ The Long (Long) wait is over as Singing Waters now is ready to be rebirthed ~ Double Sink Hole to be filled with a flowing Stream then Moving River of Waters ~ “Sedona Experience” to be replaced with ALIVENESS NOW that deepens and flows White Deer ~ Standing Proud and Tall with Strength ~ Steps Up! ~ “HERs” emptied ~ Deep Core returned to ~ Soft Beautiful Anima Soul released ~ NOW to BE and be Sad Blue Dolphin ~ Mediocrity embraced and emptied ~ Trust and Faith discovered missing and restored ~ Strong soft charismatic medicine emerges ~ A NEW Rock Star Super Star Journey begins (watch out!) Buffalo Woman ~ The Gift of Sacred Intuition heightens ascends descends snakes in ~ Haze vanishing ~ Emotions purer and softer ~ Core building ~ Beautiful Soul ready to BE (Sad) Spirited Butterfly ~ NO Ed Jr.! Her True Voice opens in Strength-Softness-BIGNESS-smallness ~ Her Soul heals and she is transformed ~ The Butterfly ready to soar deeply with Core (Self) and Soul (Level II) ~ Her food artistry dazzles the masses Gliding Otter ~ THIS IS TRULY NOT THE SAME PERSON WHO BEGAN THIS QUEST! ~ Wow! ~ Personas die ~ Emptying ~ Healing ~ Transformation ~ The pain of the abandoned, caged little girl opens and she is free ~ A young Beautiful Soulful Woman is born ~ An amazing journey NOW begins Beautiful Hummingbird with White Elk ~ A robbed dead boy is emptied ~ Personas, games, and illusions die ~ WOW does he become Passionately ALIVE ~ A Noble, Strong Honoring Honorable Soft Beautiful Young Man is birthed and NOW begins his journey Soft Beautiful Tigress ~ Die or else! ~ Masculine machines dies ~ Her LOVE a vast Chaotic flourishing Jungle connecting with the Ocean ~ No longer a reminding pebble ~ A Soft Beautiful Woman begins a whole holy new journey NOW White Wolf ~ Die or gone! ~ Personas/Ego emptied ~ PAIN and pain and PAIN comes forth and embraced ~ WHY? (NO!!!!) ~ YES! (YES!!!!) ~ A Soulful Proud Humble Soft Strong Warrior emerges to begin his journey anew NOW (get out of his way!) See in this newsletter information on our next Arizona experience… our RETREAT November 14-18th, 2007…the next VisionQuest will be in Sedona, Arizona in May 2008. _____________________________________________________________________________ Since 1976 Red Bear (Kevin Dubrow LCSW) Mentor ~ Guide ~ Shaman of journeys for Men and Women of journeys for Adults, Young Adults and Adolescents of journeys with/to/for SELF and SOUL that utilizes many schools, traditions and models of counseling and therapy, but goes way beyond, beneath, above Red Bear’s mentoring is rooted and flowing in ~ Emptying ~ Healing ~ ~ Tranformation ~ Transcendence ~ Call 708.387.1210 (On this website, go to Mentorship, Shamanic Practice, Background information) _____________________________________________________________________________ Tom Sitting Wolf Undine LSW offers counseling and therapy for teenagers, their parents and families. He utilizes an innovative, alternative approach… while also drawing on traditional models. Teenagers who are angry (very angry)… underachieving (or not achieving at all)… depressed or despairing (given up)… respond incredibly well to the help and guidance he shares. Call 708.387.1210 (On this website, check on Background Information about Tom Undine, Social Worker.) _____________________________________________________________________________ Over 40 themes and topics for workshops, training and consultation for your school, agency or individual professional evolution & development. Developed and led by Red Bear (Kevin Dubrow LCSW) (On this website, go to workshops. training and consultation or call 708.3971210.) _____________________________________________________________________________ What is the I Ching? How does an oracle from thousands (6,000? 10,000?) years ago, the I Ching, know my past, present and future? Why do some readings take 90 minutes and some 4 hours? Why is it still utilized in China to guide every aspect of life? Why did Carl Gustav Jung use the I Ching for all those he worked with and for himself? Why are there 100s of translations of the I Ching and which ones do you use for readings? Why has Red Bear studied and utilized the I Ching since 1971 for his journey and to help guide others? (See the I Ching section on this website for information about readings for individuals, groups and workshops on the I Ching… or cal 708.3871210.) _____________________________________________________________________________ SPEAKING TURTLE SPEAKS: STORYTELLING PROGRAMS THE GREEN MAN AND THE GREEN WOMAN WALKING ON THE EARTH MOTHER UNDER FATHER SKY: A CELEBRATION OF NATURE Environmental Talks and Workshops Call Red Bear at 708.387.1210 Call to discuss your specific storytelling and nature workshop/program needs for your school, agency, organization, or conference. |