No More Than Four

There is something utterly unique about the number four. Do you know what it is? Take your time and think about it. Take days if you have the discipline. It isn't something arbitrary or open to speculation. There is only one answer that fulfills the 'utterly unique' criteria. So, lets see how much thought you give this question before you look for the answer. (given below)

This is the type of attitude I need you to bring to this site. You must develop the ability to see beyond what you have been conditioned to see. That something 'utterly unique' is contained in these posts specific to you. If I'm not putting up new content doesn't mean your answer (or next step in the process) hasn't already been addressed. Make use of the archives. The 'arrow of time' is convenient for human understanding, but is irrelevant to God.

So, if you haven't already been exposed to this fact about 4, it is unlikely you will ever look at the number in the same way. Similarly, after a visit to this site, you wouldn't look at yourself in the same way, either.


                                                                                      ANSWER
One: has three. Two: has three. Three: has five. Four: has FOUR! Five: has four. Six: has three. Seven: has five. Eight: has five. Nine: has four. Ten: has three. Eleven: has six...got it now? [letters = number]

Kick 'Em When Their Down

You are predisposed to, "blame the victim." This is known as the "Just World Fallacy." (Melvin J. Lerner and Carolyn H. Simmons 1966) Coupled with 'affect reaction' and 'negativity bias,' the difficulty in maintaining emotional balance is a daunting task. Be that as it may, I have suggested a way of handling it. G-G-G. But you have to put in the work.

Remember as a child the 'connect the dots' books? By following the dots one was able to produce a picture (drawing) of some animal or object. What was once a vague outline became something tangible. So it is with G-G-G. You have to connect the dots. Even when the outcome (picture) is murky, or in question, follow the dots! (there are now 360 of them)

Millions of years of evolution isn't something we can wave a stick at and, presto!, undo. Still, I have provided the quickest, most efficient way, of rewiring your neural net. Laugh at it, disparage it, revile it, but for God's sake (and yours) try it! If the last 'G' (God) is abhorrent to you, leave it out. Work with Gift and Gratitude. (the last G is simply a bonus anyway) But 'work' you must.

"Cognitive theories of emotion posit that affective responses may be shaped by how individuals interpret emotion-eliciting situations. This study tested whether individual differences in interpretation bias (i.e., interpreting ambiguous scenario's in a more negative or positive manner) independently predict trait resilience and depression in medical interns. Those with a more positive interpretation bias had a higher trait resilience and a 6-fold decreased depressive symptom risk during internship. The predictive power of interpretation bias for decreased depression symptoms held over and above initial depressive symptoms, demographics and trait reappraisal. Assessing positive interpretation bias may have practical utility for predicting future well-being in at risk populations." (see; Positive interpretations bias predicts well-being in medical interns. Birgit Kleim, Hanna Thorn, Ulrike Ehlert 6-24-14  Frontiers in Psychology)

Here is the thing...if you are depressed, or a victim, people will eventually determine your depression or victimization as your fault! (Just World Fallacy) That you're getting what you deserve. Guess how you are going to react to that? You are going to fall further into your depressed state. I wish more than that for you. I do not wish to give you my boot, but a boost. But you have to put in the work.

Islamic Mysticism

ALL...AH!

You get that, you've really got something.

(out "succinct-ed" by Alan Watts)

Mind If I Play Through?

Some think I talk (type) too much. That I never use one word when ten are available. They're right. So, for all you 'succinctists' out there, let me make a concession. I'll put it as simply as I ever have.

"I am the Source and I am the Course." 

You get that, you've really got something.

Back Stage

The dynamic of what just took place on this blog was rather interesting, wasn't it? Take another look at the last paragraph of the May 30th post, "What Next?" Now look at the last sentence. (That's  what's next...) The June 1st title was, "I Knew That Was Going To Happen!," where I smugly admit G-G-G is like the scientific theory of determinism. And yesterday brought us "Manifestation," a first time ever (for this site) guest blog by Robin Lee.

Know this--I first became aware of Robin Lee May 4th of last month. I read an article about soul mates at "Rebelle Society," that happened to be penned by her. I was curious and looked to see if she was on Facebook. She was, so I 'messaged' to tell her how much I enjoyed her article. Her reply was gracious. No further contact was made until yesterday (though I had made comments on her thread) when I asked permission to use "Love Letter." That article was actually written a year ago--June 1st of 2015. Here is Robin's explanation for posting it on Facebook: "One year ago today I published this piece after writing while shaking from the very core of my being, in the midst of one of the most deeply painful (read: transformative) periods of my life so far. May it be of service to you as we transition gradually out of spring and into the full bloom of summer. Trust, and let go."

Know this--within an hour of my post of June 1st, I had read Robin's Facebook entry and messaged Gwenn. (11:10 AM PST) I asked her if it was possible to place an entire article (and picture) in the blog rather than 'linking' it. She didn't respond until the next morning, June 2nd. (6:12 AM). She said that yes, it could be done, but to e-mail it to her. I said I would do so after obtaining the authors permission. By 6:47 AM I had Robin's authorization. The rest was a waiting game. Gwenn is a very busy girl. I knew she was teaching a yoga class that morning and the best case scenario for getting the post back would be mid-afternoon. It was 7:27 PM when Gwenn let me know I could look over the results. At 8:44 PM it (Manifestation) was published. The importance I placed on getting it posted in one calendar day had been realized. (I felt the whole dynamic to be so wonderfully revealing that it became, in my mind, time sensitive.)

Know this--nobody really likes to hear how sausage is made, you just want to enjoy them. And reading about the nuts and bolts that go into a post, or a series of posts, is boring. But think: What Next--I Knew That Was Going to Happen!--Manifestation. It doesn't get any more overt. God is hitting you over the head with a spiritual 2 x 4. And if you can't recognize God when He appears, how will you be able to test the validity of G-G-G?

Manifestation

I teach Gift-Gratitude-God. Taking events in your life, no matter there outward appearance, and perceiving them as a 'gift.' I have suggested that if you do so, and are genuinely grateful for the gift, an aspect of God will be revealed. Today, I am going to share with you how this would look. One manifestation of the Infinite. The article below was written by a young woman named Robin Lee. I asked her permission to use the piece. I ask you to remove your sandals* before reading it.

A LOVE LETTER TO THE TIME YOU GAVE YOUR POWER AWAY

JUN 1, 2015 VIA ROBIN LEE 

Remember this moment — where you remembered your heart. Remember the messages — pounding deep inside, rising up with a howling and a headdress on.

It was you, saying to yourself, “I’m sorry.” Remember how, when you breathed, you felt the tightness in your heart, in your chest. You gave the pain a location. Your desire to be loved, but not because you are needy, because you have so much love to give, and you are getting even better at it.

Remember the call to return to yourself, for you have now experienced leaving once again. An experiment. The time you chose to hand your power over, almost entirely, to see how it felt. To see if it was indeed a release, as it can be for some, sometimes.

Remember that the aching you feel is not a longing for a person, it is a begging to return to your truth, to your light, because that is your purpose, you golden soul. The healing is hard because the path of the warrior is not easy, yet here you are, coming home with your battle cry laced with hearts.

A confusion about what lifts you up, what serves a purpose, what is meant to be — the questions don’t always have easy answers — but one thing is for sure, the only constant is change. The only question worth focusing on is where to find more kindling.

How to grow the flames, how to lace up the armor, how to break down the walls with your bare hands and your smile large and your laughter echoing just loud enough to emanate to the very core of the earth. And blossom you shall, my love. Now, as ever before, as always.

To rain your words and presence upon the world like a perfect summer burst, caught with your tongue out, trying to catch it all. The lesson driven home: your power can never really truly be taken, but it can always be reclaimed.

This process makes you stronger, and here you are, with arms like wings that still stretch wide to embrace. They welcome, because life is nothing if not the ultimate training in just showing up, and eventually, fearlessly.

Just arriving. Just breathing. Just descending upon the present moment with every ounce and atom and captivating sparkle that you, my love, are composed of. Cosmos and dust and skin and bones and every beautiful twist and shake this Universe has ever dreamed up, all in one place, uniquely.

Just fanning the flames of others, and doing the circular dance where all that love will always come back to you in the end, some way, somehow.

Openness is the quality of your eyes, mind, and windows, of your limitless heart, of your perfect mouth speaking words and slinging sparks and licking the horizon with such gentle ease — it speaks volumes and stacks novels while you think you’re just dreaming out loud.

In tiny tremors echoing somewhere to someone, or many, who are finding their way to you with magnetic force — the earth quakes with how full of life you are. It trembles for you to keep touching the tender parts of everyone around you in the way only your silver-strand-spooling fingers know how.

You weave fields and quilts of secret messages and quiet kisses everyday. Even when your thoughts are heavy, the stars are still showing up to meet you. The moon is still rising to lull you and call you and piece out your wildest notions to compose your Sunday best. Your most elegant outfit. You, exactly as you are.

A wave and song of indescribable molecules that make the world spin one breath at a time. You inhale and exhale with the force of every god or goddess incarnate while you strut down the street, and you think you’re just walking. You, my love, you radiate.

Your constellation is burnt into the ether, into the everything, making your stamp and your mark with every letter you bind together. You were never lost, but you are always being found, uncovering, peeling back the layers, seeing just how far you can expand. That’s the big secret, the giant adventure; your smallness is an illusion.

Nothing can be taken from you, because it will only ever fit into your perfect form, your gilded container, my love, you breath of grace. In the hour of feeling reduced, of feeling diminished, of feeling vacant — may you always know that you, my love, you radiate.

In the moment you notice, you are already on your way home, and there will be flowers for you.

 ---------------------  

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* "remove your sandals," is a reference to Moses' meeting with God on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 3:5)

I Knew That Was Going To Happen!

The following is from Sean Carroll's (theoretical physicist at California Institute of Technology) new book "The Big Picture." (Dutton-Penguin Random House 2016)

"There is a bit of a mismatch between Laplace's (Pierre-Simon Marquis de Laplace) notion of determinism and what most people think of when they hear the 'the future is determined.' The latter phrase conjures up images of destiny or fate--the idea that what will eventually happen has 'already been decided,' with the implication that it's been decided by someone, or something."

"The physical notion of determinism is different from destiny or fate in a subtle but crucial way: because Laplace's Demon doesn't actually exist, the future may be determined by the present, but literally nobody knows what it will be. When we think of destiny, we think of something like the Three Fates of Greek mythology or the Weird Sisters of Shakespeare's Macbeth, wizened oracles who will use riddles to indicate our future path, from which we will try to escape from and fail. The real universe is nothing like that. It's more like an annoying child who likes to approach people and say, 'I know what's going to happen next!' Then, when you ask what will happen, the child says, 'I can't tell you.' And after it happens, they say, 'See? I knew that was going to happen!' That's the universe for you."

I can't begin to tell you how amused I was by this example. And it was difficult not to add my own emphasis or italics. (the paragraphs appear exactly as they do in the book, with the exception of giving you Laplace's full name) Here is a theoretical physicist saying determinism is like a bratty, know-it-all kid, messing with your mind. Which reminds me exactly of how I come across! The whole process of G-G-G is determined. If you follow the formula, the outcome is assured. If you don't follow the formula, the outcome is assured. ('I know what's going to happen next!') The choice people make is obvious--easily detectable in body language, facial expression, and what is at the core of their conversation(s).

So why do people make the choices they make? Here is the beginning of the answer: "The most serious lying is when we know perfectly well that we do not and cannot know the truth about things and never act accordingly. We always think and act as though we do know the truth. This is lying. For instance, we know nothing about ourselves, and we really know we know nothing, yet we never recognize or admit the fact; we never confess it even to ourselves, we think and act and speak as though we knew who we are. (emphasis mine) This is the origin, the beginning of lying." ~Ouspensky The Fourth Way