Christy (and allBDNOW'ers)
 
Can I add* to:
 
<< "...Rudolf Steiner described these times as 'standing at the grave of civilization'...">>
 
Note:  The following quotes come from  "Wie erlangt man Erkenntniss der hoheren Welten? (1904-1905)"  (or How to Acquire Knowledge of the HIGHER Worlds) 
 
(*a Free translation)
 
-"... Today's civilization is more inclined to criticize, judge, and condemn, then to have confidence and to respect...all criticism without appeal rids the soul from the forces that would of brought it to superior knowledge, while these forces are increased by devotion, admiration, and respect (he's referring to, for example, searching, with love, to discover the good qualities of mankind...see the good side of life".   He admits that our society has acquired great technological advances because of our critical minds, but, this at the price of our spiritual lives.  (somekind of tradeoff rule and what does appeal mean?)
 
-" ... In your moments of calmness where, in a return to yourself, you become aware of the deforming actions of blame and things that prevent life and the motions of the universe, these moments bring us closer to spiritual knowledge..."
 
-" ... The entrance of the disciple in the path of knowledge comes without noise, people are unaware..."
 
 
Personally, I think that Monsanto (for example) are money driven and have no respect for the spiritual life.  What we see happening now is the hardening of a past dominating philosophy; the end tail of the industrial era's thinking pattern.  As generations turn over, thoughts change, and eventually we will see its manifested in the material world.  A similar analogy is the 'tug but and the barge'; while the tug but is turning in a new direction the barge is still going straight.  No sense focusing on the barge...  look at the direction of the tug boat.  But then again one can speculate that the tug but is going straight to hell...  Om Mani Pedme Hung...Om Mani Pedme Hung...Om Mani Pedme Hung...  (Tibetan Mantra of Compassion and Love)
 
But that just me I can be wrong.
 
Be your breath, Ah
Smile, Hey
And relax, Ho
And remember this, You can't miss.
 
Rbn
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: July 28, 2002 10:52 AM
Subject: Re: FW: [globalnews] Stop the Corporate Takeover of our Water

>> Is it better to stiffle negative feelings,
let a lot of things just go by and always try to feel appreciation for
everything?   The two philosophies are at odds.  I find it hard to relax
when
there is so much work that needs to be done.  Is this the half-full,
half-empty
conundrum or is this a change of emphasis from accomplishing things by doing
to
accomplishing things simply by feeling good and staying plugged in to your
Guidance?.....I think this question applies to what is happening in the
world today that we
are all thinking about all the time...how DO you turn it aroundóby having
fairbooths about it in enemy territory or simply by having strong good
feelings
about how you would like things to be and enjoying life?<<

Unfortunately Merla, you are one of the ones who sees what is happening, and
you can't ignore it!!! And also, you are doing  work for all of the millions
of people who know something is happening which is destroying our
environment and human health, and are too lazy to do anything about it.

And the inner struggle goes with the territory. Don't give up Merla, we need
hundreds of you! My guess is that all of your work and activism is a result
of plugging into your guidance and feeling good, as you said above.

Gandhi and the Dalai Lama come to mind, two examples of human beings who
seem to be wise, joyful, positive and patient in the face of extreme
political and social adversity. I feel it to be a matter of having the
ability to maintain an inner perspective through a strong spiritual faith
that will give us strength to be part of a desperately needed outspoken
minority.

I think we have to be cautious about regarding these Monsantos as 'our
enemy'. They are corporations comprised of individuals who have lost their
way, and bought into a social system that happens to be destroying cultures
and environments. Each is a divine individuality with potential to grow. If
we can move in truth, with out judgment, our efforts will be pure and
strong.

So find what you love, if your passion is to be a revolutionary Earth
Firster, burning down subdivisions, then so be it. If your passion is to
raise beautiful gardens and never leave your place, then so be it. Each is a
valid effort to usher in a just world. The bottom line is that there is no
denying that we are up against something HUGE in our times. Rudolf Steiner
described these times as 'standing at the grave of civilization'.

Personally, Chris and I grapple with this all the time. Most of our efforts
are focused on promoting the positive alternative, yet it is so connected
with speaking out against the opposition, that we many times can't avoid it.
We have had the police search our green house for pot as a result of
speaking out against factory farming in our county. At a spiritual health
fair in Nashville recently, a man told me I was killing people by passing
out literature against genetically engineered food, he believes that people
who were once starving are now fed as a result of this technology. And on
and on.

Go Girl!
Christy

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