The OM Heard 'Round the World

Today, July 10, 2010, I joined with others beginning a process of meditation for the healing of our Mother Earth. People all over the world are participating in this effort. In the United States we are particularly focused the healing of the Gulf of Mexico due to the abuse of the planet through the spilling of its deep life-blood of oil. You can join us and/or include your own particular focus for planetary healing. Below is an outline for the meditation session, or you can use your own, but joining in this particular one will increase the effect of our effort many times over.

Meditation to hold the field for Earth Healing Day – August 15, 2010

Daily practice, begin at 7:00 AM -- July 10th through Aug 15th

1. Sit quietly for a couple of minutes to reaffirm your intention to serve the planet at this

time.

2. Be aware of the spiritual forces now congealing around the planet to facilitate your

meditation and Earth’s healing.

3. Raise your intention to amplify your service to Earth, and visualize people all around

the world learning about Earth Healing Day (August 15), sharing knowledge of the

event with all their friends and spiritual family members and joyously looking forward

to the time when they can sound The OM Heard ‘Round the World.

4. Then, in your mind, fast-forward to August 15th, and visualize a million people all

around the world observing their clocks, waiting for noon to arrive in their own time

zone. At the appointed time, see them joining with others (whether going outside or

sitting in a room of their choice), and sounding the syllable OM with their full voice

and full intention to cleanse, heal and bless the planet.

5. As they all become fully engaged in their chanting, visualize a group of 300 people

assembled in Denver, joyously chanting OM together, and directing the vibration of

their combined voices into the Gulf of Mexico, setting up a pure vibration of the OM

that adds oxygen to the depleted waters, dissolves the oil and chemicals in the water,

and provides healing and restoration for all the precious marine animals and plants

that have been caused to suffer so in the oil tragedy.

6. Next see successive groups of 300 meeting in various cities around the world, such as

New York City, Montreal, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Omaha, New Orleans,

Corpus Christi, Calgary, Portland, San Francisco, Tokyo, Sydney, Bogotá, Christ

Church, Mumbai, Delhi, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Bangkok, Chang Mai, Hanoi, Kuala

Lumpur, Rangoon, Phnom Penh, Lhasa, Katmandu, Canberra, Wellington, Bamako,

Pretoria, Cape Town, Monte Carlo, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Abuja, London, Paris,

Copenhagen, Berlin, Stockholm, Helsinki, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, Amsterdam,

Brussels, etc, etc., etc. You do not have to go through all these (unless you find it

helpful), but create a global focus, rather than a local one.

7. Let your visualization next see the entire planet with myriad lights blinking on, each

one representing a group of people coming together, meditating and chanting OM on

August 15 at noon in their time zone.

8. If you can, sit and listen to The Om Heard ‘Round the World that will be generated on

August 15, and dedicate that powerful sound force to the cleansing and healing of

planet Earth.

9. As you listen, project yourself forward in time to August 15th, and begin sounding OM

with the great planetary chorus. Chant with this great choir for about five minutes.

10. Allow the chanting to come to a close, but keep the energy generated alive and vibrant

in your meditation room or area.

11. Sit for a moment in the aura of The Om Heard ‘Round the World, allowing your heart

to open completely to this vibration, and bringing in the presence of that energy to

carry with you all day.

12. When complete, give thanks for the privilege of serving Earth and all Her living beings,

give thanks for the power of the Divine to grace your meditation, give thanks for all the

people who are also doing this meditation, and give thanks for all those planetary

citizens who will participate with you in Earth Healing Day. So be it!

The Independent Party is For Real in Oregon!

Today I can actually cast a vote for a candidate representing the Independent Party. I will be joining 55,000 other Oregonians who finally can voice their choice for a candidate instead of having to sit by while the Democrats and Republicans held their primaries. This is a small beginning for what I hope will grow nationwide allowing us to move beyond the limitations of choice to what the party elders determine should be the ones for whom we can vote in primaries.

There are many minority parties in Oregon who seldom get the notice they deserve as they offer a variety of options not considered by the traditional electorate. In this new option candidates from these parties as well as the Republicans and Democrats can choose to be listed and voted for by the Independent Party members. It should be an interesting experiment. I will be voting via the Internet today!

Does Anything Really Make A Difference Anymore?

One of the network channels offers a weekly news item on their program dedicated to persons who are making a difference in our sometimes-discouraging world of affairs.  This effort to show bright spots in what is often a shadowy world of indifference and self-centeredness is certainly needed.  When one news story after another can make one feel that there is little reason to be hopeful, little cause for celebrating our apparent successes, it is not difficult to understand why so many people are angry, disillusioned or just plain don’t care anymore!

I find myself slipping into that mood at times.  After the tragic years of the Bush/Cheney administration and the long-lasting destruction caused by their narrow-minded aggressive tendencies, it will be generations before we overcome the devastating effects of their so-called leadership.  Today, we need only look at the ruining of the environment in the Gulf of Mexico, the loss of livelihood of family businesses built over generations, the death of untold numbers of fish, fowl, mammals and other life forms to realize that our country (its politicians and business leaders) have abandoned the principles that made this country what it was on its way to becoming.  I say on its way to becoming because we had only begun to realize the limitless capacity of our citizens to invent, build and deploy imaginative ideas and products for the benefit of humankind.

I am not a Tea Party person nor am I a sympathizer with most of what I see them display through their thoughtless accusations and actions. Really, some of these people must be from another planet!  That we as a nation have come to the point where our mutual anger and frustration has taken on the psuedo leadership of dropout dysfunctionaries as Sarah Palin and the discredited John McCain only shows how far from understanding our democracy and its founding documents we have come.

I cannot even begin to put into words my disgust about the priorities our Congressional members have determined to be important.  What I can say is that they are clearly based on greed and avarice. The money that controls our representatives and senators has become so much a part of their function that they can in no way continue to represent the people.  They clearly are in bed with their financiers.  Look at the literal bed-hopping of the Minerals Management Agency office in Denver, responsible for granting licenses and policing the oil companies.  And, again, look at the Gulf disaster. It is government policy and lack of enforcement of big business that has largely been responsible for the chaos we are currently facing.

Even in the face of these catastrophes the Republicans maintain their belief that business does not need regulation.  It needs to be left free to market action.  This belief that business will self-control is an impossible dream when the unimaginable amounts of money to be gained are on the table, up for grabs for those who don’t give a damn about people or country! Don’t begin to disregard my comments as simply the rant of an unhappy Democrat.  I am NOT a Democrat either.  Neither of the two parties offers policies or purposes that are compatible with my own. 

What I am in favor of is the real grass roots efforts of those who are free of party dictates.  I believe wholesale change in government is necessary—Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court.  Consistent with this concept is my belief in the need for a Constitutional Convention, the purpose of which is to re-evaluate the relationship of that document to the desires and priorities of we the people.  The world we live in is a vastly different world than that of our forefathers.  Just as any business with an operational procedures manual must regularly update that document so that it represents current priorities and policies, so must our government review and update our Constitution where necessary.  It may not require any changes, but just reading it again should be a benefit.  I recently picked up a copy and read it thoroughly.  I keep it handy for when stupidity raises its ugly head so I can remind myself of what our founders really said, not what someone thought was in there.

The difficulty of bringing about change in our country today was clearly demonstrated following the last election.  A majority of people said they believed in the change Obama promised.  Unfortunately, we forgot that no one has the power to change anything where government is concerned.  I fully supported Obama and I was also swept up in the belief that here was a person who could really get it done!  Well, he couldn’t and he didn’t. Maybe his staff isn’t as good at managing government as it was in managing a campaign. It certainly does not help that the Republicans simply decided to withdraw from any role in governing.  Saying “No” was all they had to do to stop change in its tracks.  And of course we all know the Democrats are the original “bad news bears” whose way to handle differences of opinion is to form a circular firing squad.  OMG, is this not clearly apparent to the general public?  I guess not.  And because I see no real powerful leadership, I am deeply concerned.  I probably will not be around when the pillars of democracy tumble, as they surely will if nothing changes. 

So, why should I care?  Does anything really make a difference any more?  I have to find my own answer to this question, as each of you who have continued to read this far along in this essay will have to do. It is not my nature to be negative. However, I am so totally disgusted with the apparent hopelessness of the situation that I just do not have an answer.  I write.  That is something I know a little about.  I wish I were able to be eloquent enough, with opportunities sufficient to command an audience, that together we could begin to make the difference that will bring the true light of individual responsibility and strength of character to lead that is needed.

I am not going to give up.  I think I will have to give up listening to the news, however. 

The State of Excitement!

When I arose Saturday morning the sun was bright, the sky was blue and everything seemed all right with the world! May was the third wettest month since 1998 and we had the lowest average high temperature on record. Taking that into consideration, it was time to fly the coop! After my morning coffee ritual I headed to the mountains, Detroit Lake and McKenzie Pass along the branches of the Santiam River. OMG this is a great state!

You cannot really avoid taking the freeway for parts of the trip—getting to and getting from the mountains. But once you head east from Interstate Hwy 5 you quickly know why you love traveling in Oregon.

Detroit dam was completed in 1953—the year I graduated from high school for heaven’s sake---by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam created 400 foot (122 m) deep Detroit Lake, more than 9 miles (14 km) long with 32 miles (51 km) of shoreline. Following around the lake and heading south, I stopped at a little restaurant at Marion Forks for lunch. Several years ago on a similar trip I had stopped there and had a great meal. On that visit much of Oregon was in a wildfire zone and we were actually told we might have to evacuate the restaurant immediately if the warning came from the Forest Service. Turns out the restaurant survived. It is now under new ownership, but the food was still very good, plus the hummingbirds put on quite a show outside the windows at the feeders.

You rise to an elevation of about 4000 feet on this loop trip. In the beginning you do not realize that you are climbing to that elevation, but after connecting with Highway 20 and heading west the road weaved down through the gorgeous mountain passes for miles before coming out at Sweet Home to the flatlands of the Willamette Valley. Then to the freeway again, heading north toward home. How great it is to live in this state of excitement! Actually, the Oregon State motto is: “She Flies with Her Own Wings” and was adopted by the 1987 Legislature as the state motto.

I hope you enjoy a few of the photos taken along the way. Check them out here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dan.perin/DetroitLakeMcKenziePass?authkey=Gv1sRgCKflvuvrkpeaMA#

Devil In the Details

Well, here are the Big Three for me! The Devil in my Details consists of self-doubt, guilt and anger. I observed the encroachment of these three characteristics in my consciousness the other day and realized it was familiar territory. Whenever I find myself in a situation that causes me to doubt myself in some way I seem to begin to feel guilty. What should I have done that I didn’t? How could I be so stupid as to make that mistake again? Am I ever going to get beyond this crazy feeling that I am just not good enough? It isn’t long before I drop into the pit of anger. I get mad at myself for the shortcomings, the lack of self-confidence and the vulnerability that I feel. 

It doesn’t seem to make any difference how much success I have experienced or how many things I have done right. Whenever the self-doubt appears, immediately all the positive accomplishments are not enough to prevent feeling the guilt for not achieving more, or particularly, not seeming successful in the most recent effort. The anger comes because I know better. Then I get angrier with myself because if I know better, why in the dickens am I feeling this way? 

Your anger is like a flower. In the beginning you may not understand the nature of your anger, or why it has come up. But if you know how to embrace it with the energy of mindfulness, it will begin to open. You may be sitting, following your breathing, or you may be practicing walking meditation to generate the energy of mindfulness and embrace your anger. After ten or twenty minutes your anger will have to open herself to you, and suddenly, you will see the true nature of your anger. It may have arisen just because of a wrong perception or the lack of skillfulness.   --Anger: Wisdom For Cooling the Flames, Thich Nhat Hanh, Riverhead Books

Certainly self-doubt could be considered a “wrong perception” as pointed out in the text above. If I want the flower of my anger to reveal itself to me, changing my self-perception is a critical starting point. It may seem impossible to change my mind when anger sets in due to self-doubt. However, that is exactly what must be done. Correctly perceiving myself as a capable, competent spiritual being expressing, learning and growing in this physical body is how I remind myself of the correct perceptions of self. This is precisely how skillfulness in mind action comes about.


There are many occasions that can generate self-doubt. Perhaps someone didn’t respond to me as I expected him or her to. I remember back in my seminary days how the subject of expectations came up in regard to giving someone a gift or doing something nice for another person. I had been brought up to always send a thank you card or do something nice in return. The lesson that came up was that when you give a gift it is only a gift so long as there are no expectations connected with it. Doing something nice for someone only counts if there is no quid pro quo. One might respond that common courtesy would dictate one should say “Thank you,” when given a gift. That is another lesson for the recipient to learn if they choose to. My lesson is to give and totally let the gift go. No hoped for response and no waiting around for “appreciation.”


Self-doubt also springs from realizing that you have said or done something that turned out to be off base. Sometimes you know this as soon as you speak a word and wish you could take it back. At that point one might feel a bit sheepish. The degree of self-doubt one feels might relate to how apparent the gaff was. If no one else noticed, you might be less affected. If your words or actions were like yelling in the library you may well sink deep within yourself and beat yourself up for a long time. This is when guilt begins to surface. If the guilt is not addressed quickly, anger follows. For me, that anger is almost always self-directed. No matter what case might be built for blaming someone else, I often take that blame to myself. I am certainly not trying to be a martyr. It is simply recognition of how my lack of skillfulness surfaces when I let my thoughts and feelings center on self-doubt.


That downward spiral is so self-defeating. When one is on that course it seems nothing helps in turning around and climbing back to the surface of self-respect, confidence and empowerment over conditions in your life. If you are alone, or feel that you are, the journey is even more difficult. I am on that journey right now, and fortunately I have companions on the path. Were it not for these companions, I would have little incentive to plod on. That little glimmer of hope that recognizes there are those who believe in me, no matter what, gives me the strength and reason to stay on course until I am once again on top of things.

I do not know how anyone truly alone in his or her life journey can survive! 

My instincts tell me that no person is really alone, though he or she may not yet have determined how to reach out for help, believing someone cares. I wish I could somehow impart that belief to anyone who feels alone so clearly that they would never feel that way again. What I can do is remember the story of the unfolding of the flower of anger and remind others of the positive perceptions and skillfulness that open the way to new possibilities and new ways of thinking about your true self. The devil in the details can be overcome. I believe this for myself. I believe this for you.