Posts Tagged ‘Nature’

Hydrologic Logic:
What People Can Learn From Snowflakes

“Be melting snow.
Wash yourself of yourself.”
~ Rumi
“Love is the water of life,
jump into this water.”
~ Rumi
“To understand water is to understand the cosmos,
the marvels of nature, and life itself.”
~ Masaru Emoto





Hydrologic Logic: What People Can Learn From Snowflakes

Perennial wisdom says we can learn about ourselves by closely observing all of Nature’s manifestations and processes.

“As above, so below; as below, so above.”
~ The Kybalion, Hermetic axiom

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”
~ Albert Einstein


So, what can we learn about ourselves by studying snowflakes and hydrologic processes?

Science tells us that though countless trillions of snowflakes have fallen on earth each has a unique form; that each snowflake is an hexagonally symmetrical crystalline form which begins around a tiny speck of dust – as each pearl forms around a sand particle – but that no two snowflakes are exactly alike.

How amazing!!! http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/faqs/faqs.htm

Yet, despite this wondrous and unimaginable diversity of forms, all snowflakes have a common essence – frozen water – H20.

When a snowflake melts, it returns to and merges with its watery source, which is perpetually recycled. So, each snowflake’s essence is the same – recycled water, which has formed countless unique prior snowflakes.

Not only do miraculously unique snowflakes originate from their common watery essence, but science says that such essence is indestructible. Water – a liquid – is a form of ‘matter’ which is merely manifest energy: E=mc2. And energy can’t be destroyed. It just recycles endlessly from formlessness to differing forms and phenomena. So, in their essence, snowflakes are immortal energy.

People are like snowflakes

Like miraculously unique snowflakes, each of the countless humans who has inhabited Earth has had a unique form and genetic makeup. Like snowflakes, human physical bodies are composed of common elemental earth constituents, including mostly water. People’s physical bodies – like snowflakes – appear for a twinkling of time, die and ‘melt’ back into the watery Earth.

But, presumably unlike snowflakes, each of us is aware of our environment and of our life’s experiences; and this awareness is our entire existence. So, while unique snowflakes are united in glorious diversity by their common watery essence, physically unique human beings, are unified not only by their common elemental earthly constituents but, also, by their by their common essence – consciousness, which is the sole context of human beingness.

Snowflakes appear in Nature and, apparently, are peacefully at one with Nature until they disappear. Humans appear in Nature but – unlike snowflakes – we have great intelligence and we think a lot. And through thought we identify ourselves as our perceived separate forms. Thus, we think that we are entities “condemned” by nature to inevitable bodily death. But we don’t know what will happen to us upon such death.

So, we become afraid of dying; of giving up the known for the unknown. And, through thought, we try to “protect” and preserve our ephemeral physical forms and to deter or psychologically deny their inevitable demise. Accordingly, our lives are often marked by mental afflictions causing conflicts, problems and suffering, which disturb our peace and awareness of at-one-ment with Nature.

What people can learn from snowflakes

Q. So, what can people learn from snowflakes?

A. To let go and ‘go with the flow’; to ‘cool it’ and to not worry about our inevitable disappearance.

We can realize that we are much more than our unique physical forms, or our thoughts. That like snowflakes we are inextricably interdependent essential elements of Nature; that Nature is our nature, until we melt into Mystery and disappear into Nature’s Eternal Essence.

Realizing this, we can begin more and more to self-identify with Nature as our immortal Essence rather than with our ephemeral forms and thoughts; and, gradually, we can expand our perceived boundaries, to ever evolve as these boundaries dissolve.

Thus, we can more and more live with less and less anxiety, fear and worry. Though in this life we may never totally transcend entity identity, often we can just be at peace – as immortal awareness.

And so,

“As we lose our fear, Of leaving life, We shall gain the art of living life.”

And – like snowflakes – maybe some day we’ll be ‘recycled’ some way. e.g. http://www.victorzammit.com/Whenwedie/whatdoeshappen.htm

Or maybe not. e.g. http://tinyurl.com/mlw6erq

In all events, – like snowflakes – we need not worry about leaving. For

“It is in dying [to ego life] that we are reborn to Eternal Life.”
~ Saint Francis of Assisi, peace prayer


Conclusion

People can learn from snowflakes to let go and go with Nature’s flow, until we become immortal; we can learn that

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
~ Lao Tzu


And that:

“The dewdrop belongs to the sea. Separated, it is vulnerable to the sun and wind and other elements of nature; but when the droplet returns to its source, it becomes magnified in oneness with the sea. So it is with your life. United to God you become immortal.’
~ Paramahansa Yogananda


So, as elements of Nature, we need not worry, and can be happy and peaceful as we melt into our immortal Source – like snowflakes!

Namaste!

Ron Rattner



Hydrologic Logic Epilogue, May, 2020, Honoring Dr. Masaru Emoto .

Dear Friends,

In recent messages and postings I’ve optimistically opined that the current coronavirus pandemic emergency has given us an unprecedented opportunity to co-create a new and wonderful world of happiness, harmony and health for everyone everywhere.  And I’ve tried to suggest how that can happen, if we follow our hearts, instead of being paralyzed by propaganda provoked fear and panic.

Did you know that the Earth is 70 percent water, and that people are 70 percent water; and, that according to NASA“Water is the fundamental ingredient for life on Earth” ?

The foregoing essay was originally inspired by the ancient hermetic axiom, ‘as above, so below’ and by advice of my Guruji and other wisdom teachers to learn from Nature. Later in 2004, via the film “What the Bleep Do We Know?”, I was deeply impressed on discovering the pioneering research of Dr. Masaru Emoto whose astonishing discoveries, documented photographically, have led to awakened awareness about water as Earth’s most precious resource.

Dr. Emoto discovered that molecules of water are affected by our thoughts, words, and feelings, so that that humans can positively impact the earth and our personal health through loving, grateful and harmonious attitudes and actions, especially with attention to water; that since the Earth is 70 percent water and people are 70 percent water, he theorized that we can heal our planet and ourselves by consciously expressing love and goodwill to and through water.

He explained and demonstrated that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific concentrated thoughts are directed toward them; that water from clear springs and water that has been exposed to loving words shows brilliant, complex, and colorful hexagonal snowflake patterns, whereas polluted water, or water exposed to anger or other negative thoughts, forms incomplete, asymmetrical patterns with dull colors.

Also Dr. Emoto described the ability of water – like a liquid computer – to absorb, hold, and even retransmit human feelings and emotions. Using high-speed photography, he found that crystals formed in frozen water reveal changes when specific, concentrated thoughts are directed toward it. Music, visual images, words written on paper, and photographs also have an impact on the crystalline structures. These methods even experimentally worked on asymmetrical Tokyo tap water. Dr. Emoto theorized that since water has the ability to receive a wide range of frequencies, it can also reflect the universe in this manner.

Especially in these unprecedented times of worldwide pandemic panic when insanely delusional human behaviors imminently threaten Earth-life as we have known it, we have unprecedented opportunity to gratefully and lovingly cherish and harmoniously heal our precious watery world, which appears blue from outer space, and was thus eloquently described by legendary astronomer Carl Sagan as a “pale blue dot” in this vast universe.

Invocation

Instead of being paralyzed by fear and panic, may we follow our hearts, rather than unfounded official edicts, to collectively and cooperatively realize an abiding “new normal” era of cooperation, harmony and peace on our precious planet.

So let us gratefully and lovingly be guided by these wise words from Paramahansa Yogananda:

“Every day should be a day of Thanksgiving for all the gifts of Life — sunshine, water, the luscious fruits and greens, which we receive as indirect gifts from the Great Giver.”

“Affirm divine calmness and peace, and send out only thoughts of love and goodwill if you want to live in peace and harmony.
Never get angry, for anger poisons your system.”


And so shall it be!

Ron Rattner

“The Secret Life of Water”

Embedded below are three brief videos:
A memorable two minute scene from “What the Bleep Do We Know?”;
A one minute+ video showing hexagonal crystals forming in Tokyo tap water;
And a beautiful nine minute video with healing music, watery photography, and with words from Dr. Emoto titled “The Secret Life of Water” . ENJOY!







Paradise Paradoxities

“He who has not looked on Sorrow will never see Joy.”
“… joy and sorrow are inseparable. . .
together they come and when one sits alone with you . . .
remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being,
the more joy you can contain.”
~ Kahlil Gibran
“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.”
~ Carl Jung
“None can reach Heaven who has not passed through hell”
~ Sri Aurobindo -“Savitri,” Book II, Canto VIII.
“Only by joy and sorrow does a person know anything about themselves and their destiny.
They learn what to do and what to avoid.”
~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.
~ William Blake
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls;
the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
~ Khalil Gibran


Paradise Paradoxities

We can not reach heaven
without passing through hell.

In duality domain
ev’ry pleasure’s
wrapped in pain.

Within each joy
is an oy/oy/oy.

So, when you’re feeling forlorn,
remember this:

Misery is the mother of Bliss.




Ron’s comment and recitation of “Paradise Paradoxities”.

Listen to



Ron’s explanation and dedication of “Paradise Paradoxities”

Dear Friends,

The foregoing whimsical verses about paradox, pain and sorrow were composed after I began realizing that the most psychologically challenging experiences of my life had resulted in its greatest blessings.

I was an ‘up-tight’ secular litigation lawyer, until a heartbreaking midlife divorce sparked a previously unimaginable spiritual awakening, which proved a supreme blessing leading to meeting my beloved Guruji on the luckiest day of my life – and thereafter to previously unimagined happiness and fulfillment.

In retrospectively remembering the most difficult experiences of this lifetime I have adopted a philosophy that Cosmic harmony assures that (knowingly or unknowingly) everything happens in our best interests, because it affords us incentive and opportunity to evolve spiritually – which is our life’s purpose.

I have realized that though we may not be free to choose sometimes difficult or painful outer circumstances in our life, we are always free to choose our psychological attitude about those circumstances.

Thus every painful earth-life experience which arouses an elevated attitude can prove to be a disguised blessing, furthering our spiritual evolution toward ultimate transcendence of psychological suffering.  And, the greater our suffering, the greater its potential blessing.

We’ve become students on the ‘Earth branch of the great Cosmic university’ to learn to open our hearts with kindness and compassion, and in universal communion with divine LOVE.

“[W]hen our hearts are authentically open to universal
communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one.”
~  Pope Francis (from Laudato Si climate encyclical message)


So paradoxically, life’s most painful and difficult experiences can often prove the biggest blessings, because they bestow greatest evolutionary incentives and opportunities.  For most of us suffering is an indispensable incentive to spiritual evolution – “no pain, no gain”.

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.”

~ Carl Jung
“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls;
the most massive characters are seared with scars.” 
~ Khalil Gibran
“None can reach Heaven who has not passed through hell”
~ Sri Aurobindo -“Savitri,” Book II, Canto VIII.


And our spiritual evolution requires non-resistant acceptance or ‘surrender’ to earth-life’s inevitable ups and down. Instead of resisting life’s ever changing currents, we must learn to “go with the flow”.  Everyone wants happiness.  But we must learn to avoid attachment to pleasures which will inevitably bring pain.

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.”
~Lao Tzu
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy; 
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sun rise.
~ William Blake


The foregoing quotations and whimsical “Paradise Paradoxities” lines can remind us of the foregoing principles. 

May they spur our spiritual ascensions to higher dimensions – to universal communion with divine LOVE!

And so may it be!

Ron Rattner

I’ve Found A Faith-Based Life
~ Ron’s Memoirs

“Faith is different from proof;
the latter is human, the former is a gift from God.”
~ Blaise Pascal
“The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. …To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness.”

~ Albert Einstein – The Merging of Spirit and Science




I’ve Found A Faith-Based Life

My life has become faith-based.

I follow my faith,
but I’m not affiliated
with any organized religion or other belief system.

After many years of questioning,
I’ve found faith beyond belief,
beyond dogmas or theology.

I’ve found faith in everything everywhere,
and in the impenetrable Mystery
beyond every form or phenomenon.

I’ve found faith in my Self and in Nature.

I’ve found the faith to follow my Heart.

Mine is not a blind faith based on fear or doubt,
or on inculcated or adopted ideas of others.

It is an abiding inner knowledge,
flowing from a long life
of reflective personal and trans-personal
experience and observation;

An insight arising from – but transcending – reason,
consistent and harmonious with
the highest welfare and unity of all Life.

My life experience has shown that our universe
is a magnificent, marvelous, miraculous and awe-inspiring “reality”;

That immanent in each life-form and in all manifestation
is an ineffable eternal Awareness:

An Intelligence or Divinity
which is the mysterious matrix,
Essence and Source of our reality.

My life experience has thus
indelibly instilled in me
an abiding faith in that Source*

As a purposeful evolutionary impetus in each of us;

A faith that from that Source
we get what we need when we need it,

Assuring that ultimately everything happens for the best,
to promote our evolution;

A faith that we are inevitably evolving toward
harmonious universal expression of greatest good –

As Peace, Truth, Joy, Love, and Compassion.

With such Faith, I am empowered to follow my Heart,
without worry, fear or doubt;

To accept inevitable and inescapable
life difficulties and uncertainties,
and yet to live openly, spontaneously and authentically.

So, without any religious affiliation,
I’ve become a faithful follower:

I follow my Faith;
I follow the Way;
I follow my Heart.

And this above all,

It is my Faith that enables me to be true to my Self.


Footnote.

*Innumerable names – God, Love, Nature, etc. – may be used to signify that Source or any of its infinite aspects. Or as in the Jewish tradition it may be acknowledged that no name can denominate “That” which is beyond conception or expression – since naming limits the illimitable and ineffable Infinite Reality.



Ron’s audio recitation of “I’ve Found A Faith-Based Life”

Listen to



Ron’s 2019 memoir epilogue to “I’ve Found A Faith-Based Life”

Dear Friends,

The foregoing poem explains insights arising from previously unimagined paradigms of “reality” and “self-identity”, experienced following a profound 1976 midlife awakening. It was composed during a post-retirement reclusive period, and first posted soon after the 2010 launching of SillySutras.com.

Since composing “I’ve Found A Faith-Based Life”, I’ve kept experiencing an evolutionary awakening process, and sharing further spiritual insights therefrom. And since then I have continued to be more than ever blessed with a “faith-based life”.

My miraculous survival and healing from a 2014 near death taxicab rundown, has sparked subtly significant attitudinal changes, bringing unprecedented happiness and gratitude for this precious human lifetime, with evolutionary acceptance of Life even beyond that described in the above original essay/poem.

With enhanced faith in the Divine, rather than mere belief, I have now given my ‘irrevocable power of attorney” to The Lone Arranger to resolve all worldly problems and sufferings, and to forgivingly ‘adjudge’ all those who ignorantly cause them.

And more than ever before, I now see this world mostly as a Divine play of consciousness – like a marvelous movie, or mental mirage or simulated holographic ‘reality’ – without fear of physical death, and with absolute Faith in its ultimate Divine denouement.

These verses are respectfully offered to inspire our ever expanding
faith-based acceptance of Life, as it is,
With ever growing Peace, Truth, Joy, Love, and Compassion.

And so may it be!

Ron Rattner

You’ve Got Mail – a Manifestation Miracle Synchronicity Story


“When events seeming random happen in tandem,
It’s then we know we’re in the flow –
the Tao; the Eternal NOW.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings

“According to Vedanta, there are two symptoms of enlightenment. They are indications that a transformation is taking place within you toward a higher level of consciousness.
The first symptom is that you stop worrying. Things do not bother you anymore. You become lighthearted and full of joy.
The second symptom is that you encounter more and more meaningful coincidences in your life, more and more synchronicities – and this accelerates to the point where you actually experience the miraculous.”
~ Deepak Chopra, SynchroDestiny




Ron’s Introduction.

Since my midlife awakening over forty years ago, I have experienced many synchronicities and serendipities, which I’ve deemed divine blessings and meaningful signs of spiritual evolution. After launching SillySutras.com I posted various amazing synchronicity stories. But soon my synchronicities began happening so frequently that I’ve hardly found time to describe them online.

Almost always I have quickly recognized these synchronicities as meaningful. Many of them have been “manifestation miracles”, noteworthy manifestations of intended circumstances or desired objects.

But recently I’ve experienced a mysterious DVD manifestation miracle, which didn’t provide a desired object or fulfillment of intentions. Statistically, the odds of this DVD’s appearance at that time and place were probably zero. However, I couldn’t quickly understand it as a meaningful divine blessing. Now, after much reflection, I may have finally solved that mystery.

So to help us all discover blessings in our synchronicity experiences, I’ve decided to share this synchronicity story online.

Ron’s “You’ve Got Mail” DVD manifestation miracle story.

On June 29, 2014, I experienced a near-death taxicab rundown, from which with divine grace I miraculously survived and slowly recovered. Almost four years later, on June 9, 2018, I suffered a painfully disabling trip and fall ‘accident’ on a concrete sidewalk near my apartment. Thereafter, for the first time since miraculously recovering from the taxicab rundown, I could hardly walk, and needed a cane to move about, even indoors. But again with divine grace I slowly regained ability to walk without a cane and disabling pain.

On Saturday afternoon, June 29, 2018, exactly four years after the taxicab rundown incident, I asked Brian Uyeno, long-time lobby attendant in my large condominium building, whether the US mail had been delivered. Brian, a movie enthusiast, promptly responded “You’ve Got Mail”. And then, gratuitously he recommended that I watch a pleasantly enjoyable twenty year old romantic comedy titled “You’ve Got Mail”, co-starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

Surprised, by Brian’s unexpected movie endorsement, I explained to him that twenty years ago (as a “high-rise hermit”) I rarely watched movies; that I’d never heard of “You’ve Got Mail” or Meg Ryan, though a few years ago I much enjoyed a legendary Tom Hanks film, “Forrest Gump”.

Thanking Brian, I told him that except for classic films, I still had little desire to watch movies. As we parted, I had no intention whatsoever of seeing “You’ve Got Mail”, despite Brian’s friendly recommendation.

A few days later, on the afternoon of July 4th, I drove to Fort Mason, San Francisco, intending to walk by the Bay. But, because of officially anticipated large attendance at scheduled holiday fireworks displays, parking was only available to permit holders. So US Park Rangers turned me around at the gate. I then futilely looked for holiday street parking, but was obliged to return home, without an intended walk by the Bay.

It was a lovely summer afternoon. So I decided to take a short walk near my apartment, for fresh air. Momentarily, I began walking westward toward the setting sunlight. But suddenly I decided to turn around, and walked eastward to the place where (on June 9th) I tripped and fell, thinking that maybe I could discover what had caused that sudden fall.

Soon I arrived at and inspected the sidewalk where I fell, without solving the trip and fall mystery. So I began to resume my eastward walk. Only a few meters from the accident site, I observed an object upon an adjacent building ledge which attracted my curiosity. So I approached it, and found a flawless “You’ve Got Mail” DVD, in an apparently brand new container. (See above photo scan).

Immediately, I assumed that the universe had miraculously produced that DVD to give me a meaningful message. So, despite my previous disinterest, I soon attentively watched “You’ve Got Mail”.

A manifestation miracle mystery.

On viewing “You’ve Got Mail” I found the film to be (as represented by Brian) an entertaining romantic comedy story, with excellent acting, graphics, musical background, and a cleverly written script. But I was unable to discern any divine or meaningful message from the universe. So the reason for the miraculous manifestation of that DVD remained an unsolved mystery, on which I continued to reflect.

In so reflecting, I initially wondered whether the “You’ve Got Mail” incident, was associated with my miraculous survival and healing from the taxicab rundown and later trip and fall injuries, which I deemed divine blessings. But I couldn’t readily discern any such connection.

On further reflection I realized that I had become so accustomed and attached to receiving miraculous manifestations of intended circumstances or desired objects that I was beginning to forget the fundamental spiritual significance of such amazing synchronicities.

Whether or not otherwise ‘meaningful’, all miraculous synchronicities in time are emblematic of Reality beyond time, and are noteworthy reminders that all earthly lives are enfolded and guided by such Reality, which is divine LOVE.

So I now see this DVD manifestation miracle as a noteworthy reminder of a blessed new life phase, which began with my miraculous survival and recovery from the near-death taxicab rundown:

For the past four years I have been experiencing subtly elevated awareness, with a very stilled mind; so that I am mostly seeing the world as movies, without fear of death, while gratefully enjoying unprecedented FAITH that divine LOVE is determining and guiding all that happens to all of us in this precious human lifetime.

Moral of the “You’ve Got Mail” mystery story.

Regardless of whether miraculous synchronicities in time involve meaningful manifestations of intended circumstances or desired objects, they are emblematic of Reality beyond time, and are noteworthy reminders that our earthly lives are enfolded and guided by divine LOVE, to which we can fearlessly surrender.

May they help us remember that

“Synchronicity is choreographed by a great,

pervasive intelligence that lies at the heart of nature,

and is manifest in each of us through what we call the soul.”

~ Deepak Chopra, Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

Dedication.

Especially for those of us who’ve ever wondered about ‘miraculous’ synchronicities, this story is dedicated to our growing remembrance and realization that our synchronicities or coincidences in time are spiritually significant signs of Reality beyond time. (See https://sillysutras.com/synchronicities-and-coincidences/ )

And so may it be!

Ron Rattner

We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World – A Sutra Song Synchronicity Story


Butterflies are living
metaphors for metamorphosis.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“What the caterpillar calls the end,
the master calls a butterfly.”
~ Richard Bach



Ron’s Introduction about composing “We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World”

After my mid-life spiritual awakening and newfound interest in spiritual evolution, I began to regularly and reflectively walk alone by San Francisco Bay, as a kind of informal spiritual practice.

While walking by the Bay, I synchronistically began “channeling” spiritual sayings, rhymes and poems. Often, too, I’d spontaneously sing original melodies to accompany my poems and rhymes. As I walked, I regularly wrote the words that came to me. But, mostly I forgot the melodies, which I couldn’t write.

One of the few songs with melody that I remembered, I called “Come Be Butterflies in a Caterpillar World.” It was “channelled” as I reflected on beautiful butterflies as living metaphors for metamorphosis.

After composing the butterfly song I rarely sang it, and it wasn’t otherwise performed or known to others except for a few of my friends.

Synchronicity Story about first public performances of “We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World”

But beginning in late 2008 Rob Tobias, an Oregon musician/songwriter/singer and videographer, and longtime partner of my niece Janice Medvin, started filming me for a biographical documentary record of eccentric Uncle Ron’s spiritual journey from litigation to meditation and beyond.

From many hours of raw footage, Rob created a 38 minute documentary film which he titled: “Walks With Ron (A Spiritual Memoir)” Included in the film are various archival audio-visual materials and music written and arranged by Rob. Rob has posted the film on YouTube and encourages its free sharing. (See https://sillysutras.com/walks-with-ron-a-brief-film-about-ron-rattner/)

In sharing my stories on film with Rob, I sang the butterfly song. Rob liked it, worked out musical notation, and began singing the song solo and in performances with his band, The Northwest Express. And in 2012 he released a professional CD including the song. You can find his recording at RobTobias.com.

In early July 2012, Rob repeatedly sang the song at the Oregon Country Faire, to appreciative audiences. On returning home to Eugene, he was amazed to find that someone anonymously had posted a sign on a telephone pole across from his house, that said, “Be a Butterfly in a Caterpillar World.”

Here it is:



Despite repeated inquiries, Rob could not discover the sign’s mysterious origin. But after viewing its message countless times, in September 2012 Rob decided to give a Rosh Hashanah talk about metamorphosis and transformative change as co-leader of a Jewish Renewal group in Eugene. On explaining this decision to his co-leaders, Rob offered to show them the butterfly sign which had been in place earlier that day. But on returning home with his friends, Rob discovered that the sign had suddenly disappeared, just as mysteriously as it had suddenly appeared weeks before in July.

In October 2012, during a trip to New England, Rob unexpectedly and synchronistically performed the butterfly song in Burlington, Vermont at a school assembly of over 300 enthusiastic children, and at a hipster pub where four children mysteriously appeared to do a butterfly dance. [A youtube video of Rob’s performance at the school assembly is embedded below.]

Ron’s dedication of We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World

As a heartfelt participant in our collective evolutionary transformation into an enlightened new age of harmony, peace and joy, I humbly offer this butterfly song.

May it remind us of our divine human potential to discover – like caterpillars – a previously unimaginable wonderful new life reality beyond our “self-woven karmic cocoons”.


To Life! Enjoy!!


Ron’s audio singing of We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World

Listen to



Lyrics – We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World

We’re just butterflies,
We’re just butterflies,
We’re just butterflies,
In a caterpillar world.

Hey we’re flyin’ high,
See us flutter by,
Way up in the sky,
In a caterpillar world.

[1st Refrain]

After many moons
In our cocoons,
Totally transformed we’ve been,
From chrysalis to crystaline.

Then, leaving cares and apprehensions
We’ve flown to joyous new dimensions.
But the world keeps creeping and crawling,
So we’re just flying and calling.

Come be butterflies,
Come be butterflies,
Come be butterflies,
O’er a caterpillar world.

Wake up and arise,
Fly up to the skies,
Come be butterflies
From a caterpillar world.

Come now claim your prize
To be very wise
Flying through the skies
O’er a caterpillar world

[2nd Refrain]

Until bye and bye,
Never knowing why,
You’ve soared ever high
To a beautiful heaven above.

[2nd Refrain]


Rob Tobias singing We’re Just Butterflies In A Caterpillar World at Integrated Arts Academy, Burlington VT:



Let’s Learn To BE – Memory Free – NOW!

“Mind is memory, at whatever level, by whatever name you call it; mind is the product of the past, it is founded on the past, which is memory, a conditioned state.”
~ J. Krishnamurti
“Truth is not a memory, because truth is ever new, constantly transforming itself. (M)emory is a hindrance to the understanding of what is. The timeless can be only when memory, which is the `me’ and the `mine’, ceases.”
~ J. Krishnamurti
Forget who you think you are
to know what you really are.
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings




Let’s Learn To BE – Memory Free – NOW!

The power of memory
is a great gift.

But the power authentically
to BE –
beyond memory –
is a greater gift.

For memory is then,
while life is
NOW.

So, let’s learn to BE
– Memory Free –

NOW!



Ron’s recitation of “Let’s Learn To BE – Memory Free – NOW”

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Ron’s explanation of “Let’s Learn To BE – Memory Free – NOW”

Dear Friends,

After my spiritual awakening I intuited that “This world is wrought with naught but thought”. Later I discovered Buddhist sutras stating that “With our thoughts, we make the world.”

Whereupon, I became (and remain) extremely curious about the nature of “mind” – which is our ‘thought processor’.

And soon thereafter I discovered the above teachings of Indian sage J. Krishnamurti that “mind is memory” and “a hindrance to the understanding of” Truth, which is always new and NOW.

Inspired by Krishnamurti I have written many sutras, poems, and essays about “mind” as memory. One of those poems, “Let’s Learn To BE – Memory Free – NOW!” is posted above to help remind us that “Life is NOW, ever NOW, never then”.

That

“Life can be found only in the present moment.

The past is gone, the future is not yet here,

and if we do not go back to ourselves in the present moment,

we cannot be in touch with life.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh


And so may it be!

Ron Rattner

Peace Pilgrim: An Authentic American Sage Who Walked Her Talk

“We are all cells in the body of humanity — all of us, all over the world.
Each one has a contribution to make,
and will know from within what this contribution is,
but no one can find inner peace except by working,
not in a self-centered way, but for the whole human family.”
~ Peace Pilgrim
“I feel a complete protection on my pilgrimage. God is my shield.
There are no accidents in the Divine Plan nor does God leave us unattended. No one walks so safely as those who walk humbly and harmlessly with great love and great faith.”
~ Peace Pilgrim
“Evil cannot be overcome by more evil. Evil can only be overcome by good. It is the lesson of the way of love.”
~ Peace Pilgrim

Peace Pilgrim (July 18, 1908 – July 7, 1981)
© James B. Burton – Friends of Peace Pilgrim


Peace Pilgrim: An Authentic American Sage Who Walked Her Talk

Peace Pilgrim was an authentic American spiritual teacher whose life and words have inspired countless people worldwide.

Until 1953 she had lived as Mildred Ryder, an apparently “normal” middle class American woman, without formal religious or spiritual training or discipline. Whereupon after a midlife spiritual awakening period, she took a vow of poverty – renouncing her past history, name, and worldly possessions – and at age forty five embarked from California on an extraordinary coast to coast walking pilgrimage, vowing to “remain a wanderer until mankind has learned the way of peace.”

Thereafter for twenty eight years she walked all over the US well over 25,000 miles, carrying her few possessions in her clothing, which always included an outer blue tunic embroidered with the name “Peace Pilgrim”. True to her vow of poverty she walked penniless and without asking for money, food or lodging, but accepting only nourishment and shelter which was freely offered by kind strangers – and not even accepting rides instead of walking everywhere.


Wherever she went she spontaneously shared deep spiritual wisdom in simple and understandable language. Peace Pilgrim was authentically unique yet universal, transcending religious, secular, or nationalistic bounds. Her life was her message. And she truly walked her talk.

Following her 1981 death in a car collision, an inspiring book about Peace Pilgrim and her teachings was compiled, published, translated into many non-English languages, and distributed worldwide and without charge by a small group of her dedicated friends known as “Friends of Peace Pilgrim”. Due to generous donations, the printed book became a freely distributed world spiritual classic, with numerous re-printings.

Entitled “Peace Pilgrim – Her Life and Work in Her Own Words”, it also became available as an audiobook and as a free pdf download together with much more information about Peace Pilgrim at this website http://www.peacepilgrim.org

Also, “Friends of Peace Pilgrim” have produced and freely distributed an extremely uplifting and excellent one hour documentary video about her life and teachings, titled: “Peace Pilgrim: An American Sage Who Walked Her Talk”. A YouTube video of that film is linked below, and sincerely recommended.

Peace Pilgrim (July 18, 1908 – July 7, 1981)
© Friends of Peace Pilgrim


Ron’s Comments about Peace Pilgrim

After reading the Peace Pilgrim book and watching the video, we may wonder what happened in the 1950’s to Mildred Ryder, an apparently “normal” middle class American woman, that transformed her into a unique sage. How was it that without formal religious or spiritual training or discipline, she became Peace Pilgrim, a saintly ascetic and renunciate spontaneously sharing perennial spiritual truths, in simple understandable language with unconditional love, insight and integrity?

Perhaps, answers to these questions can be found in Peace Pilgrim’s simple yet profound words, as quoted in “Peace Pilgrim – Her Life and Work in Her Own Words”, like these:

“As I looked about the world, so much of it impoverished, I became increasingly uncomfortable about having so much while my brothers and sisters were starving. Finally I had to find another way. The turning point came when, in desperation and out of a very deep seeking for a meaningful way of life, I walked all one night through the woods. I came to a moonlit glade and prayed. I felt a complete willingness, without any reservations, to give my life–to dedicate my life–to service. “Please use me!” I prayed to God. And a great peace came over me.” ~ Pg. 7

“There was a time – when I attained inner peace – when I died, utterly died to myself. I have since renounced my previous identity. I can see no reason to dwell upon my past, it is dead and should not be resurrected. Don’t inquire of me – ask me about my message. It is not important to remember the messenger, just remember the message.” ~ Pg. 126

“Intellectually I touched God many times as truth and emotionally I touched God as love. I touched God as goodness. I touched God as kindness. It came to me that God is a creative force, a motivating power, an over-all intelligence, an ever-present, all pervading spirit — which binds everything in the universe together and gives life to everything. That brought God  close. I could not be where God is not. You are within God. God  is within you.” ~ Pg. 2

“When love fills your life all limitations are gone. The medicine this sick world needs so badly is love.” ~ Pg. 12

“Of course, I love everyone I meet. How could I fail to! Within everyone is the spark of God. I am not concerned with racial or ethnic background or the color of one’s skin; all people look to me like shining lights! I see in all creatures the reflections of God. All people are my kinfolk – people to me are beautiful!” ~ Pg. 50

“If you don’t know what God’s guidance for your life is, you might try seeking in receptive silence.  I used to walk receptive and silent amidst the beauties of nature.  Wonderful insights would come to me which I then put into practice in my life.” ~ Pg. 76

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others. Inner peace is not found by staying on the surface of life, or by attempting to escape from life through any means. Inner peace is found by facing life squarely, solving its problems, and delving as far beneath its surface as possible to discover its verities and realities.” ~ Pg. 132

If you are harboring the slightest bitterness toward anyone, or any unkind thoughts of any sort whatever, you must get rid of them quickly. They are not hurting anyone but you. It isn’t enough just to do right things and say right things – you must also think right things before your life can come into harmony.” ~ Pg. 16

“How often are you worrying about the present moment?  The present is usually all right.  If you’re worrying, you’re either agonizing over the past which you should have forgotten long ago, or else you’re apprehensive over the future which hasn’t even come yet.  We tend to skim right over the present moment which is the only moment God gives any of us to live.  If you don’t live the present moment, you never get around to living at all.  And if you do live the present moment, you tend not to worry.  For me, every moment is a new and wonderful opportunity to be of service.” ~ Pg. 64


Video – Peace Pilgrim: An American Sage Who Walked Her Talk





Conclusion

Inspired by Peace Pilgrim’s visionary legacy of nonviolence, peace and love, may each of us in our own way and our own time discover and be guided by that universal light of Love and Truth within all of us.

May we together live as One Love in peace and harmony with Nature.

And so it shall be!

Epilogue

Peace Pilgrim’s twenty eight year peace odyssey occurred during very tumultuous and dangerous times when the world was threatened with a possible World War III nuclear holocaust between the US and Soviet superpowers, while plagued by alleged anti-Communist wars in Korea and Vietnam, and elsewhere. Also, domestically these were dark days of assassinations by their own government of peace proponents President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr.. Moreover ‘red-scare’ McCarthyism was so rampant that J. Edgar Hoover even regarded Albert Einstein as a security risk.

Peace Pilgrim was adamantly opposed to war and violence, but she primarily taught love and inner peace as the only solutions, because

“Evil cannot be overcome by more evil. Evil can only be overcome by good. It is the lesson of the way of love.”

Yet – like Dr. King – she publicly proclaimed that we were spending more than enough on wars and weapons to comfortably care for every human on planet Earth. So the FBI also had a file on her as a possible ‘subversive’.

Before her passing Peace Pilgrim believed her peace pilgrimage was succeeding because people worldwide feared nuclear annihilation and weren’t insane enough to allow that to happen. Nonetheless, we are again threatened with possible ‘red scare’ nuclear catastrophe as the US Empire is psychopathically spending billions to upgrade an atomic weapons arsenal already more than capable of destroying life on our precious planet.

Consequently, Peace Pilgrim’s message of perennial spiritual and political wisdom may be more crucially relevant to these troubled times than it was when she walked her talk. And her teachings – expressed from deep experience in simple understandable language with unconditional love, insight and integrity – may be more inspiring and important than ever before, imparting crucial ‘critical mass’ spiritual energy.

And so may it be!

We Are All Relatives!

“We are born and reborn countless number of times, and it is possible that each being has been our parent at one time or another.  Therefore, it is likely that all beings in this universe have familial connections.”

~ H. H. Dalai Lama, from ‘The Path to Tranquility: Daily Wisdom”
“In this wonderful world of relativity,
we are all relatives.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven

is my brother and sister and mother.”

~ Matthew 12:50





We Are All Relatives!

In this wonderful world of relativity,

We are all relatives.

We are all connected kith and kin,

With our precious planet,
and all Life therein.

We all belong here,
as we all long here –

For everlasting LOVE.

So as ONE earth-life family,
let us live our lives with LOVE

As the Kin-dom of Heaven,

Blessed on Earth,
as it is Above.

AND SO IT SHALL BE!



Ron’s audio recitation of “We Are All Relatives”

Listen to


What is Perfection?

“All people are flawed;
none are perfect.
But the most flawed,
are those who think or claim they’re perfect.”
~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings
“Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth
who continually does good and who never sins”
~ Ecclesiastes 7:20
“The man with insight enough to admit his limitations

comes nearest to perfection.”

~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
“Were I to await perfection, my book would never be finished.”
~ Chinese Proverb
“Nowadays the world is becoming increasingly materialistic,
and mankind is reaching toward the very zenith of external progress,
driven by an insatiable desire for power and vast possessions.
Yet by this vain striving for perfection in a world where everything is relative, they wander even further away from inward peace and happiness of the mind.”
~ H.H. the Dalai Lama
“Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything,

That’s how the light gets in.”

~ Leonard Cohen
“This is the very perfection of a man,

to find out his own imperfections.”

~ Saint Augustine
“Advance, and never halt,
for advancing is perfection.”

~ Kahlil Gibran
“Perfection is a state in which things are the way they are,

and are not the way they are not.

As you can see, this universe is perfect.”

~ Werner Erhard, est
“Incarnation is limitation.”
“All is perfection,

but nobody’s perfect.”

~ Ron Rattner, Sutra Sayings





What is Perfection?

Q. What is perfection?

A. “Perfection” is an idea;
a conception in duality reality.

Perfection implies imperfection.

So in relative reality we can’t have perfection without imperfection.

And in Ultimate Reality beyond relative reality,
there is no perfection.

Ultimate Reality is beyond conception,
and so beyond “perfection”.


Ron’s Reflections on “What is Perfection?”

Dear Friends,

Have you ever met a ‘perfect’ person?  Or perceived or projected “perfection” in this crazy world of ecological, political, and economic crises and constant conflicts?   Have you ever considered seeking inner “perfection” as a life goal? 

Before my mid-life change of life, I had never reflected on ideas of “perfection”.  

But soon thereafter I attended “est”, an impactful self-help seminar where I was first exposed to certain Eastern spirituality principles skillfully collected and experientially presented to help participants radically transform their lives. 

The key est teaching was acceptance of the present moment – emotionally accepting “what is” because it could not be otherwise.  [See Getting “IT” at est, ] Apt to this teaching was the foregoing “perfection” definition, by est’s founder Werner Erhard:  

“Perfection is a state in which things are the way they are, 
and are not the way they are not.  
As you can see, this universe is perfect.”

Intrigued by est, I began reflecting about “perfection” and sometimes wrote sutras and essays, later posted online.  Accordingly, many Silly Sutras postings deal with my evolving reflections on “perfection”. Because these reflections significantly have helped my spiritual opening process, I have shared them hoping they may help others, as they have helped me.

After est, I soon realized that in our phenomenal duality reality “perfection” is an idea, which implies it’s opposite – imperfection; that we can’t have one, without the other. So, a “perfect” person isn’t possible.

Ultimately, I became persuaded by non-duality teachings discouraging “vain striving for perfection in a world where everything is relative” – and impermanent.

But for a while I mistakenly believed that there were exceptions to my conclusion that an infallible “perfect” person isn’t possible.

This happened after I was blessed to meet my beloved venerable Hindu guru, Sri Dhyanyogi Madhusudandas. [ See The Luckiest Day of My Life ~ Meeting My Spiritual Master ] and also met certain other “enlightened” spiritual teachers in the US and India. Whereupon, I became a “born-again Hindu”, and read and recited Eastern scriptures and liturgy glorifying divinity of “gurus” and awakened “buddhas”. 

Naively, I thereafter began projecting “perfection” onto Guruji and a few other “enlightened” teachers. But, ultimately, I realized from inner and outer experience that incarnation is limitation, and that however evolved an incarnate being may be s/he is fallible; that here on Earth, where we experience life in apparent physical bodies, human fallibility ‘goes with the territory’ – that “to err is human”.

With that realization, I ceased projecting “perfection” onto individuals and began relying on inner – not outer – authority. No longer a “born-again Hindu” I became, and remain, an “Uncertain Undo” , seeking relief from belief.

My devotional motto became, and remains:

“Adoration of the Infinite; not adulation of the incarnate”.

And I wrote The Law of Flaw, a poem beginning with these verses:

All people are flawed;

none are perfect.

But the most flawed,

are those who think or claim they’re perfect.


In reading the seemingly contradictory above quotes about perfection please remember that in this impermanent world of relativity and duality words often point paradoxically or metaphorically to Eternal truth, which is ineffable. So

“The truest sayings are paradoxical.”
~ Lao Tzu

 
Whether or not we may agree that “perfection is a state in which things are the way they are, and are not the way they are not”,  I hope this perfection definition helps you – as it helped me – find inner peace and happiness by emotionally accepting “what is” NOW, because it could not be otherwise. 

But let us remember that emotionally accepting the present moment need not deter us from questioning or nonviolently resisting – like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi – pervasive suffering and injustice caused by human ignorance and greed, while envisioning our evolutionary transcendence thereof. 

And so may it be!

Ron Rattner

How St. Francis of Assisi Inspires Pope Francis


“[W]hen our hearts are authentically open to universal
communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one.”

“Francis helps us to see . . .the heart of what it is to be human ”

“Saint Francis shows us just how inseparable the bond is . . . .
between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” 

“The poverty and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of asceticism, but something much more radical:
a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used and controlled.” 

~  Pope Francis (from Laudato Si* climate encyclical message)


Saint Francis of Assisi


Ron’s Introduction.

Like millions of others worldwide I was deeply moved and inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 visit to the USA.  On conclusion of that visit I wondered why the Pope – a Jesuit from Latin America – had been inspired to become first in history to take the papal name Francis.  

I soon discovered a probable answer to this question in introductory paragraphs of the Pope’s recent profound climate encyclical message, Laudato Si, or “Praised Be” [*see footnote] specifically referring to the exemplary and inspiring life of the Pope’s namesake Saint Francis of Assisi. Those paragraphs explain why the Saint is revered not only by the Pope and countless Christians, but by numerous others world-wide for his simple life of heartfelt universal love and oneness with Nature.

To honor Saint Francis and the Pope I am sharing with you below those inspiring words of Pope Francis expressing reverence for his namesake. 

Encyclical message.

The encyclical message opens with these words:

1. “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured 
flowers and herbs”.[1] 

2. This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.


Then, after briefly summarizing apt teachings of his papal predecessors, the Pope explicitly explains his inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi as follows:

10. I do not want to write this Encyclical without turning to that attractive and compelling figure, whose name I took as my guide and inspiration when I was elected Bishop of Rome. I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, 
and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God’s creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is 
between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace. 

11. Francis helps us to see that an integral ecology calls for openness to categories which transcend the language of mathematics and biology, and take us to the heart of what it is to be human. Just as happens when we fall in love with someone, whenever he would gaze at the sun, the moon or the smallest of animals, he burst into song, drawing all other creatures into his praise. He communed with 
all creation, even preaching to the flowers, inviting them “to praise the Lord, just as if they were endowed with reason”.[19] His response to the world around him was so much more than intellectual appreciation or economic calculus, for to him each and every creature was a sister united to him by bonds of affection. That is why he felt called to care for all that exists. His disciple Saint Bonaventure 
tells us that, “from a reflection on the primary source of all things, filled with even more abundant piety, he would call creatures, no matter how small, by the name of ‘brother’ or ‘sister’”.[20] Such a conviction cannot be written off as naive romanticism, for it affects the choices which determine our behaviour. If we approach nature and the environment without this openness to awe and wonder, if 
we no longer speak the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel intimately united with all that exists, then sobriety and care will well up spontaneously. The poverty and austerity of Saint Francis were no mere veneer of asceticism, but something much more radical: a refusal to turn reality into an object simply to be used and controlled. 

12. What is more, Saint Francis, faithful to Scripture, invites us to see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. “Through the greatness and the beauty of creatures one comes to know by analogy their maker” (Wis 13:5); indeed, “his eternal power and divinity have been made known through his works since the creation of 
the world” (Rom 1:20). For this reason, Francis asked that part of the friary garden always be left untouched, so that wild flowers and herbs could grow there, and those who saw them could raise their minds to God, the Creator of such beauty.[21] Rather than a problem to be solved, the world is a joyful mystery to be contemplated with gladness and praise.

 


Later the Pope cites the Saint as inspiring us to commune with Nature in open hearted compassion for for all beings and all Life:

91. A sense of deep communion with the rest of nature cannot be real if our hearts lack tenderness, compassion and concern for our fellow human beings. It is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted. This compromises the 
very meaning of our struggle for the sake of the environment. It is no coincidence that, in the canticle in which Saint Francis praises God for his creatures, he goes on to say: “Praised be you my Lord, through those who give pardon for your love”. Everything is connected. Concern for the environment thus needs to be joined to a sincere love for our fellow human beings and an unwavering commitment 
to resolving the problems of society. 

92. Moreover, when our hearts are authentically open to universal communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one.

221. May the power and the light of the grace we have received also be evident in our relationship to other creatures and to the world around us. In this way,  we will help nurture that sublime fraternity with all creation which Saint Francis of Assisi so radiantly embodied.


Footnote.

*“Laudato Si”, or “Praised Be.” is a refrain from “The Canticle of the Creatures,” a hymn composed by St. Francis of Assisi.

 
Conclusion.

While remembering and honoring Saint Francis, let us deeply consider and heed the Pope’s wise and profound words addressed to all Humankind, not just to Catholic hierarchy and laity. 
 
Thereby may every one of us – each from our unique perspective and in our unique way – help Humankind urgently address and peacefully resolve immense ecological, political, and economic crises and conflicts confronting us internationally and interpersonally.

And so may it be!