Hi, because of the popularity of the Guestbook 2000, we've decided to add a new feature to the Humancafe, which will enable users to post messages, follow-ups, to have threaded discussions on a variety of user-created topics. We hope this new feature is useful to you, and welcome your feedback.
Humancafe.com

TRANSLATORS: ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN, ITALIAN,
PORTUGUESE, SPANISH:

http://translator.dictionary.com/fcgi/translate
includes dictionary

http://babelfish.altavista.com/cgi-bin/translate?

http://babelfish.altavista.com/translate.dyn

http://translator.go.com/search_trans?url=http%3A//www.ideaeng.com/sb.html&lk=noframes

FREE WILL: We live in an interactive universe.
It is not only determinism, nor is it only free
will. Reality already determines for us our
existence, but it also determined for us our
identity, the freedom to be who we are as
conscious beings. These two interact, like
friends or foes. I choose my actions in reality,
and reality responds, to which I then can choose
to respond. But this would not be so if I were
not conscious. I choose this.

Lupi di roma... Ivan, Come controlatte i lupi?... how do you take care of your wolf dogs? Are they difficult to control?
Rome, Italy. 30 oct. 1999

hi ivan it's chiara here from glasgow... i would like to know whether you have news from that crazy italian woman called celsia.
is she still in italy?
when will she go back to US?
please tell her i'm waiting to hear from her and that both you and her can write me at:
kiaraberni@hotmail.com
thanks so much
yours
kiara

In answer to 30 October: "Lupi di Roma".
Our wolf-dogs, Karu and Gentle, are very special
beings. They have strong personalities,
independent, and obey when they desire to. They
are keen observers of all things we do and very
loving. Cinzia and I treat them with respect and
dignity, and for this they love us and obey us.
Being very intelligent animals, their feelings are
easily hurt, so we must be careful not to betray
them or hurt their feelings. We are their top
alpha people, so they try to please us as much as
they can, though they are also naughty at times.
We love them. Ivan

man do not quit playing because they are old,
they grow old, because they quit playing.

Stop learning stop growing. Stop growing, stop living. No man stop playing. mark

Animal Souls:

"Animals share with us the privilege of having a
soul." --Pythagoras

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's
soul remains unawakened." --Anatole France

With love from all the animals at:
Heart and Soul Animal Sanctuary, 369 Montezuma,
PMB 130, Santa Fe, NM 87501. 505-455-2774.

OUR-SIDE -- the way to World Peace:

http://www.our-si
de.com/ good page!

INTRODUCTION
In the beginning you were born; in the end, you
will die.
The "In-between" is called "life".
Have a dream and then follow it. If you don't have
a dream... adopt mine!
Let's leave this world a better place than we
found it!
While you are here, you will have many loyalties.
This book invites you to add one more... to draw
one larger circle in your mind and join together
in thoughts and prayers and purpose with All Other
Human Beings to form "OUR SIDE" - "THE HUMAN SIDE"
with five common missions and one common goal for
all - that finally PEACE MAY PREVAIL ON EARTH

By ialexa8476 on Friday, September 10, 1999 -
08:16 pm:
A purely secular question: Was Jesus Christ a
Being of such intense psychic sensitivity that He
could feel the whole world's pain? And if so, did
this intense burden of our pain drive Him into
such torment that in the end the only path open to
Him was to be crucified? Did His pain, his
crucifixion, then become a catalyst for a whole
world's psychic awakening? If so, can it happen
again?

By Anonymous on Tuesday, February 8, 2000 - 09:06
pm:
NEW GOD, THE SON...

"The process, which is taking place on Earth, is
the process of God's making it fertile for the
birth of a New God, God the Son. Therefore, among
us, the Universe and its structure arouse
interest. In the best instants of life our soul
directs by the ideas to stars and further them.
The brain and genetic code, were absorbed into our
process of perfection from the laws of physics,
and furthermore have a kind and all-understanding
soul. They are the embryos of the new God,
released from the burden of unnecessary memory of
the material world."


http://hometown.aol.com/Parkhom/Ch9.html by Vlad
Parkhom: God and the Idea, ch.

--------------------------------------------------
----------------------


* Ê Ê * Ê Ê * Ê Ê * Ê Ê * Ê Ê * Ê Ê *

Rev:5:1 And I saw in the right hand of him that
sat on the throne a book written within and on the
backside, sealed with seven seals. 5:2 And I
saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice,
Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the
seals thereof?

http://nitpik.com/Bible/index.html

By Anonymous on Saturday, December 25, 1999 -
10:49 am:
LOVE LIFE

"Give all you can from love. Take all you can
from love. It is the most important thing while
you live in this life."

--Roberto Salvi, Roma.it (1917-1999)

By Anonymous on Friday, February 18, 2000 - 12:40
am:
BRUNO: Da "Il Messaggero" Roma

Venerdì 18 Febbraio 2000 Il Papa chiede scusa per
Giordano Bruno. Ma ne condanna la dottrina
«Peccato il rogo, ma non lo riabilito»

CITTÀ DEL VATICANO - Il «profondo rammarico» della
Chiesa per il rogo che, 400 anni fa, arse vivo
Giordano Bruno, è stato espresso ieri, a nome del
Papa, dal cardinale Angelo Sodano in una lettera
ad un convegno organizzato a Napoli. Il filosofo
non viene riabilitato perché il suo pensiero
ritenuto «incompatibile» con la fede cristiana.
Non sono condannati i giudici ma le procedure
dell’Inquisizione perché «la verità non può essere
imposta con la forza».

http://www.ilmessaggero.it

========================================

Axioms from "OUR SIDE", (The Way to World Peace):


AXIOM NUMBER ONE
If we start with conflicting assumptions we will
end with conflicting results.

AXIOM NUMBER TWO
If we decide we do not want conflicting results
(such as nuclear war) we must re-start our
thinking from the beginning from compatible
axioms. We need not agree upon everything but we
must give number one priority to those axioms upon
which we do agree.

AXIOM NUMBER THREE
To solve a problem one treats its source... not
its symptoms.

AXIOM NUMBER FOUR
We can enlarge our horizons if we want to.

AXIOM NUMBER FIVE
Believing something doesn't make it true. There
are many beliefs but only one truth. Keep looking
for the truth.

AXIOM NUMBER SIX
It is better to seek the truth together and build
for the common good than to argue over conflicting
historical beliefs and destroy each other.

AXIOM NUMBER SEVEN
Each person is entitled to his or her own beliefs
until the truth is known but he or she must allow
others the same right.
...
Go to:
http://www.our-side.com/chap4-axioms.htm
for full text, and all chapters.

"Read with the spirit of breathing in, as if
drinking from the essence of life; then stop, and
listen, and be; breathe out with your own words,
to teach others, with the essence of your soul."
--ankeom

SAVE THE WHALES

There can be no better spokesperson for saving the
whales than a whale himself. We saw Shamu at Sea
World in San Diego, California. To see this great
water mammal perform with love and care for his
trainers, and theirs for him, is a truly awe
inspiring sight which eventually tugs at our
heart, no matter how hardened by our everyday
world. Shamu's, and the other whales and dolphins
and sea lions, performances are truly an act of
communications with us humans, heart shakra to
heart shakra, their acts of love. -- Ivan A.

http://www.shamu.com
/ Seal World- Shamu Adventure
- see Live "Shamu Cam"
http://www.s
avethewhales.org/ To save the whales,
and all marine mammals

...................................
............

Response to "Human Souls" April 2, 2000, in the
Forum: "Christ's Awakening the World," Quote:

"They that are of the same grade and
station are fully aware of one another's capacity,
character, accomplishments and merits. 'They that
are of a lower grade, however, are incapable of
comprehending adequately the station, or of
estimating the merits, of those that rank above
them.' Each shall receive his share from thy Lord.
"

by Bah'u'll.h, "The Human Soul"

As I understand it, a greater person, more
enlightened and capable of greater mental or
spiritual capacity, is more or of higher station
than a lesser person. Therefore, being of lesser
station, the lower grade person is incapable of
understanding the full merits of the person who is
above. But this goes contrary to experience: a
teacher, who is above the pupil, is able to
transmit knowledge and experience to the pupil,
who is a lesser person, so the lower can
understand the greater. Why would this not apply
to all men, so that they could in fact be treated
as equals? If there is to be a unity of mankind,
than the idea of a greater or lower station of the
soul should be replaced with the concept of
equality of beings, because a greater person is in
that higher station mainly because he can transmit
his knowledge to those who are beneath, to make
them equal. This is what makes them great
teachers in the eyes of God. Do others agree with
this? I am seeking consensus on this.

Jebel

6 BILLION

"There may be 6 billion people in the world, and
with them 6 billion religions, but there is only
One God."

--This aside came out during a Baha'i fireside in
Newport Beach, Calif., presided over by a
wonderful young speaker, Sarah T., who spoke on
education and spirituality in a modern,
atheistically and materialistically driven world,
where the separations of church and state are
sometimes taken to extremes, to the detriment of
the spiritual development of our society's young
people. A period of free discussion followed
where all present expressed their ideas. The
Baha'is believe that each new age brings about a
new revelation from God in the form of a
messenger, or prophet or manifestation, going back
to unknown times, and now starting with Zoroaster,
Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohammed, and
ending with Baha'u'allah, each representing a
progressive revelation to address the new
developments of civilization, as it is needed for
their time. In the current era, their
manifestation, Baha'u'allah, teaches unity for the
whole world, equality of men and women, universal
compulsory education, and the independent
investigation of truth, the oneness of God,
amongst others. This current Prophet would then
be followed by another in about one thousand
years.
It is my thought, however, that though a
progressive development of human ideas may
eventually lead to a hightened awareness and a
liberation of beliefs, even to where all human
beings on Earth may form in their hearts their own
version of God, the Unknowable Essence, in
relation to their identity, the Who they are in
God's universe, (see Habeas Mentem), it is
unlikely this idea of such spiritual freedom would
be endorsed by any of the world's present
religions. Since each seeks dominance for its own
version of God and His Kingdom on Earth, each thus
demands allegiance to that interpretation. Then,
is freedom of belief, or even New Age, with its
open ended explorations into the nature of belief,
still too new an idea for this civilization, since
it may actually represent a threat to the values
of current religions? The messengers may be many,
but there is only one God.

Ivan

Tiye's Letter to Aegyptus

My beloved, how I yearn to be in your arms again,
like we were on so many stolen nights, holding
each other tight in the glow of our love. I
remember the words of the poem we read to each
other.

"When I kiss your parted lips, I am happy,
Even without the sweetest wine of the lotus,
For you are the water of my life...
How sweet to bathe in your presence.
In the water my dress of royal linen clings wet to my skin,
So you may see my beauty, and I yours,
Rising like the moon on the swollen Nile..."

Do you remember our times together? When I would
sleep curled in your arms, your beautiful warmth
behind me? I was warmed then in my heart like
never before, or since. I miss you, my beautiful
Aggy. I miss you more than my words can say. But
the gods decreed that our love be apart. And now
that you are farther from me than ever before, I
feel my love for you has reached it greatest
heights. There is no fairer soul in all the land
of Egypt to take away my loneliness for you. For
that, I would have to venture far, to the far ends
of the four corners of the Earth, and even then I
am sure I would not find it. I thirst in the
desert of my soul, for I may never drink your love
again. In this, I make my solemn promise, that
should my eyes again be blessed with your
beautiful presence, I will come to you. No matter
how, no matter how difficult, I will find you. I
would endure all evils, walk through fire, endure
all pain, just to be with you for a moment. I
truly believe in my heart that your wife, being a
woman, would understand. By Amen, the lot of
women is hard in this life. But I know she would
understand. It grieves me so to see how you
suffered. In the same gravity, I ask that you
help me with your understanding of what I am about
to say. The one man who most stood between us,
who made our lives so difficult, has asked for my
hand in marriage. I am torn, Aggy, and do not
know how to reply. Should I accept Him? Should I
place conditions on our betrothal? It is a matter
of state, and by law, as Queen, I am obliged to
marry the High Priest, if it is asked of me. Oh,
help me my beautiful Man. There is none like you
under the Sun in the Universe. I know not what to
do and pray for God to deliver us.

I am always yours in my heart, for none can ever
come between us, as our Son is our witness. My
beloved, you are the love of my life. Amen.
(signed with Her Royal Cartouche) Tiye.

* * * * * * *

Authors note: This above letter was found with
the papyrus scrolls and is thus included as a
postscript to Aegyptus's tale. It had been
damaged, but readable. A corner of the letter had
been burned.

(18th Dynasty, Egypt, c. 1500 BC)

Global Village:

With communications, internet, jet travel,
international finance, we may be closing in the
circle of our Global Village. Some feel this is
regrettable, because indigenous cultures will be
lost for all time. The modern world with its
wealth and technology will displace more simple
cultures. But this may not necessarily be so.
See how eager are people in developing countries
to acquire the goods and knowledge of the more
developed world. But then see how eagerly
travelers from the developed world seek out the
beauty and simplicity, even spirituality, of the
lesser developed world. Both want from the other,
and so both will merge in their own way in time.
There is room in our Global Village for a
kaleidoscope of cultures, all interacting in their
own way with the future. The world can never
remain static, with its past wars and disease and
intolerance of others. We must progress into our
new Global Village, for now there are many of us,
and if we do not learn to live together as one
planet, we will surely perish.

Earth Citizen

TECHNO SEX MUSIC

I think sex and powerful techno music is a symbol
of our age. In Medieval times it was cathedrals
and crusades and serfdom. In Roman times it was
conquest and slaves and gladiators, which gave us
the flip side, Christianity. Medieval times gave
us the Renaissance. What will our new age bring?
Technology, sex, power, money, crime, rock, drugs,
surely these must bring us something good, no?

THE FREEDOM TO BE FREE

"The freedom we now need is the inner freedom that
allows us to think more intelligently. The
freedom to draw more deeply on our creativity and
use it in ways that are in our true best interest;
the freedom to follow our vision and find that
which we truly seek.
This is the opportunity that our many physical
freedoms are opening us to: self liberation. The
freeing of our minds so that we may be our true,
authentic selves."

By Peter Russell, "Waking up in Time", pg. 130,
Origin Press, CA, 1992.

I.E.. The right to be who we are.
(See 12 Keys to understanding Habeas Mentem) at
www.HumanCafe.com
or go to:
htt
p://www.humancafe.com/titlepage.htm

FOR ADDITIONAL WORKS BY PETER RUSSELL, go to:
http://www.pete
russell.com

NOT JUDGED

By our actions and thoughts, we may be measured as
human beings, as persons, but we may not be
judged, by anyone.

Habeas Mentem

ALONE

Alone. I am alone. All alone. Who I am, that I
am. I am glad. It's okay.

'O'

AGABAGA: about us

agabaga.com provides direct access to a phenomenal
store of explanatory knowledge about this world.

The Internet, as the most democratic invention of
our time, generates the possibility for people
around the world to communicate with each other
without applying for visas, paying airfares, being
away from family and work or creating inconvenient
health conditions due to traveling.  Applying the
web’s newest technologies, agabaga.com offers
individuals an opportunity to communicate from the
privacy of their homes with the world’s
independent thinkers. Students are able to receive
lectures, take courses and speak to teachers
person-to-person by using their PCs. agabaga's
software is user-friendly and does not require any
special knowledge.

our history
We started in 1987 in Moscow, Russia, when life
was effervescing with progressive change.  For
years people had to follow spiritless, officially
accepted theories and were deprived not only of
creating a life style they considered meaningful,
but of sharing their thoughts about it as well.
Inward Path magazine was the first journal to
explore the importance of an individual's inner
world. "The situation on the planet, as well as in
your community or country," the publication
emphasized,  "is a consequence of collective
mentality, which is made up of the inner lives of
individuals. In order to be creators of our
environment, we need to study the world within us
in addition to and as well as we study the
universe around us."

h
ttp://www.agabaga.com/mall/about_us.htm

 contact us
Agabaga's main office
agabaga.com
P.O. Box 600
Grangeville, Idaho,
83530-0600, USA

POINT OF VIEW

Everything that comes from us is only our Point of
View. Everything we think of, believe in, and
accept as true is all, nevertheless, only an
opinion formed by our mind. No matter how
factual, rational, logical, and scientific we may
think we are, once we accept an idea, we "buy"
into it, and it becomes ours. But it still is
only our "point of view". It is impossible for
this to be otherwise. So no matter what "truth"
we feel we offer by word or script, either
initiated from us or in response to another's
thoughts and action, they are always of necessity
only our "opinion" from our perspective, what we
had accepted. So, we must understand that
everything said to us by another is only their
point of view, and everything we say to another,
no matter what we believe, is only our point of
view. In fact, all facts are really only
opinions, from a given point of view.

-------------------------------------------------

....."The wrong in the world continues to exist
just because people talk only of their ideals, and
do not strive to put them into practice. If
actions took the place of words, the world's
misery would very soon be changed into comfort."

- Abdu'l-Bahá, 'Paris Talks', p.16


------------------------------------------------

A PRAYER:

May there today be peace within you.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you
are meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities
that are born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received,
and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing that you are a child
of God.
Let His presence settle into your bones, and
allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, and to
bask in the sun.
It is there for each and every one of you.

ART

Art is beauty. Art is freedom.
Art is crumbs of heaven on earth.

THANK YOU !

If there is one word we should know for our whole
planet, it is this:

Ahsante, Danke, Diolch, Dodje, Domo, Dyakoyu,
Dzieki, Gracias, Grazie, Efhareesto, Kamsa, Kawp
Koon, Koszonom, Kushukuru, Mahalo, Mercie,
Obrigado, Shukr'an, Spassiba, Takk, Tashakoti,
Thanebadt, Xiexie... Thank you!

This is the word of unity and peace.

THANK YOU

It takes courage to trust;
It takes trust to find agreement;
It takes agreement to have cooperation;
It takes cooperation to form goodwill;
It takes goodwill to have an open heart;
It takes an open heart to love.

If anyone asks: Who are you?
Answer: I am who I am.
I do not live in competition, in fear,
But like water flowing into a calm pool,
I live in compassion and thankfulness.
With my open hands, I live in peace.

Thank you.

http://www.humancafe.com/discus/index.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03016a.htm

Giordano Bruno

Italian philosopher, b. at Nola in Campania, in
the Kingdom of Naples, in 1548; d. at Rome, 1600.
At the age of eleven he went to Naples, to study
"humanity, logic, and dialectic", and, four years
later, he entered the Order of St. Dominic, giving
up his worldly name of Filippo and taking that of
Giordano. He made his novitiate at Naples and
continued to study there. In 1572 he was ordained
priest.
It seems, however, that, even as a novice, he
attracted attention by the originality of his
views and by his outspoken criticism of accepted
theological doctrines. After his ordination things
reached such a pass that, in 1576, formal
accusation of heresy was brought against him.
Thereupon he went to Rome, but, apparently, did
not mend his manner of speaking of the mysteries
of faith; for the accusations were renewed against
him at the convent of the Minerva. Within a few
months of his arrival he fled the city and cast
off all allegiance to his order.
From this point on, his life-story is the tale of
his wanderings from one country to another and of
his failure to find peace anywhere. He tarried
awhile in several Italian cities, and in 1579 went
to Geneva, where he seems to have adopted the
Calvinist faith, although afterwards, before the
ecclesiastical tribunal at Venice, he steadfastly
denied that he had ever joined the Reformed
Church. This much at least is certain; he was
excommunicated by the Calvinist Council on account
of his disrespectful attitude towards the heads of
that Church and was obliged to leave the city.
Thence he went to Toulouse, Lyons, and (in 1581)
to Paris.
At Lyons he completed his "Clavis Magna", or
"Great Key" to the art of remembering. In Paris he
published several works which further developed
his art of memory-training and revealed the
two-fold influence of Raymond Lully and the
neo-Platonists. In 1582 he published a
characteristic work, "Il candelaio", or "The
Torchbearer", a satire in which he exhibits in a
marked degree the false taste then in vogue among
the humanists, many of whom mistook obscenity for
humour. While at Paris he lectured publicly on
philosophy, under the auspices, as it seems, of
the College of Cambrai, the forerunner of the
College of France.
In 1583 he crossed over to England, and, for a
time at least, enjoyed the favour of Queen
Elizabeth and the friendship of Sir Philip Sidney.
To the latter he dedicated the most bitter of his
attacks on the Catholic Church, "Il spaccio della
bestia trionfante", "The Expulsion of the
Triumphant Beast", published in 1584. He visited
Oxford, and, on being refused the privilege of
lecturing there, he published (1584) his "Cena
delle ceneri", or "Ash-Wednesday Supper", in which
he attacked the Oxford professors, saying that
they knew more about beer than about Greek. In
1585 he returned to France, and during the year
which he spent in Paris at this time made several
attempts to become reconciled to the Catholic
Church, all of which failed because of his refusal
to accept the condition imposed, namely, that he
should return to his order....
To the works of Bruno already mentioned the
following are to be added: "Della causa, principio
ed uno"; "Dell' infinito universo e dei mondi";
"De Compendiosâ Architecturâ"; "De Triplici
Minimo"; "De Monade, Numero et Figurâ." In these
"the Nolan" expounds a system of philosophy in
which the principal elements are neo-Platonism,
materialistic monism, rational mysticism (after
the manner of Raymond Lully), and the naturalistic
concept of the unity of the material world
(inspired by the Copernican astronomy). His
attitude towards Aristotle is best illustrated by
his reiterated assertion that the natural
philosophy of the Stagirite is vitiated by the
predominance of the dialectical over the
mathematical mode of conceiving natural phenomena.
Towards the Scholastics in general his feeling was
one of undisguised contempt; he excepted, however,
Albert tbe Great and St. Thomas, for whom he
always maintained a high degree of respect. He
wished to reform the Aristotelean philosophy, and
yet he was bitterly opposed to his contemporaries,
Ramus and Patrizzi, whose efforts were directed
towards the same obect. He was acquainted, though
only in a superficial way, with the writings of
the pre-Socratic philosophers of Greece, and with
the works of the neo-Platonists, especially with
the books falsely attributed to Iamblichus and
Plotinus. From the neo-Platonists he derived the
tendency of his thought towards monism. From the
pre-Socratic philosophers he borrowed the
materialistic interpretation of the One. From the
Copernican doctrine, which was attracting so much
attention in the century in which he lived, he
learned to identify the material One with the
visible, infinite, heliocentric universe.

The latest edition of Bruno's works is by Tocco,
Opere latine di G. B. (Florence, 1889); Opere
inedite (Naples, 1891); (Leipzig, 1829, 1830). See
also: McIntyre, Giordano Bruno (London and New
York, 1903); Frith, Life of G. B. (London and
Boston, 1887); Adamson in Development of Modern
Philosophy (London, 1903), II, 23-44; Höffding,
Hist. of Modern Philosophy, tr. Meyer (London,
1900), I, 110 sqq.; Stöckl, Gesch. der Phil. des
Mittelalters (Mainz, 1866), III, 106 sqq.; Turner,
Hist. of Phil. (Boston, 1903), 429 sqq.
WILLIAM TURNER
Transcribed by Fr.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2001! SOUL MATES

Every year we circle the sun, we seek to find balance between the virtues and trials of our life on Earth. And like the atoms of a magnetic rod of iron, whose poles are balanced within, we nevertheless influence direction on all those around us. We are all as soul mates on this beautiful blue sphere, traveling within the great cycles of life, to learn or teach, as may be our calling. And like the tides of the moon, we move our world in ways that oftentimes are invisible to us. As one year ends and a new one dawns, I hope for us all that we be both teachers and students in this great universe-ity of life. Wishing you all the very Happiest New Year, in Joy and Health and Love.

--Ivan Alexander

THANKS FOR SENDING...

Dear Ivan,
thanks for sending me the Habeas Mentem, and thank
you greatly for writing it.
There is an incredible amount of care,
observation, soul searching and intellectual
energy abundant within it.
What I particularly like is the evolution that has
taken place over the years, the gentle carving of
truths from roughshod ideas, peripheral
perceptions and obscure innermost perceptions...

I believe that something entirely different to
what is present is also necessary to allow and to
accelerate the changes that I believe should come
to circumvent or at least deflect us from the
regimes that the wicked brilliance, rational
selfish, and plain despotic mindless amongst us,
are inviting.
I have felt on the cusp of it, at the rim of a
truth, so encompassing, so all consuming that one
so mentally active, so eager and hungry as I, gets
lost in the moment, perhaps in the egoic or at
least lower mental machinations of my own
conditioned nature, before the decoding can even
begin.
I have seen the images, found the words fluently,
in the depth of the night, in the most virtual
waking memories, in the most abstract of states,
and in the fragments of dreams.
In poetry, I have also struck upon its soundnote,
in the throes of passion or music, or both and
neither.
I have spoken of its riddlesome nature in a
blinding clarity when I have had an inviolable
audience, such is the fragility and retreating
nature of the ego attached to this particular
beholder of the Archaeus.

I feel that all ideas, attitudes, perceptions,
language, sciences.....are inadequate in their
sophistication yet overcomplex, in their ability
to reflect the new emergent light.

I could go on with analogy, speculation and
certain intuitions, but as these things are in a
constant flux, but seem to resolve a specificity
of direction, of intelligent purpose, I will await
feedback and gently turn with the rhythmn and
grace afforded us.

I feel the need for assitance and encouragement.
But I will not forego my responsibility, I will
not let go of the dream.

I would like to begin a dialogue.......
I pray you have some time to allow this for
according to your script, and the feeling i have
inside, you are good company indeed.

With love and respect,

AG

(entered by permission/edit/IDA ivan@humancafe.com)

RIGHT ON.

It's
time
we begin
to move on
beyond
(a culture of)
fear,
greed,
rational despotism.


Go
for
the dream.

(ed.)

LEADERSHIP AND PHILOSOPHY IN BUSINESS

http://www.pib.net/

Peter Koestenbaum/info@pib.net

**************************************************
KOESTENBAUM'S WEEKLY LEADERSHIP THOUGHT

Are you everything or are you nothing? To the
extent that you can fathom the farthest stars,
project your mind even to the closest galaxy, the
Andromeda, and grasp in your mind that it takes
light two million years to reach us, that the blur
which you see in the sky on a clear night is not
that galaxy anymore but is what it was two million
years ago, and that it takes light one hundred
thousand years to cross that tiny smudge in the
sky -- then you stand in awe of the magnitude of a
mind that can invent such a picture, demonstrate
its truth, and hold such a vast image in its
grasp. And you say, indeed the mind is infinite.
And then you place yourself inside this colossal
picture -- only the tiniest fragment of the total
Universe that you can envision, an infinitesimal
and insignificant speck of dust. And at that
moment you realize that far from being everything,
you are indeed nothing. Your infinite mind, which
is you, sees yourself as an infinitesimal nothing,
which is also you, all at one and the same time.
That is why you are both everything and nothing.

                                                  
                February 23, 2001

http://www.pib.net/

HUMANS BEING FRIENDS

Human Beings have a need to belong to a village or
tribe. This is why we have associations, clubs,
fraternities, communities, countries, even
spiritual membership in world religions. I claim
no membership to any tribe, being a citizen of the
world, a global village. Instead, I am a Friend
to all.

To all my friends at HumanCafe. Thank you.
I.

ACHIEVEMENT THROUGH WHOLENESS AND AWARENESS:

http://www.atwahome.com/

Settle all issues of your life by confirming for
yourself the purpose and meaning of life without
any reference to science, religion, schools of
philosophy, or mysticism -just using your head to
observe illustrated mechanical facts.
  Learn the most valuable and best kept secret in
the universe; how, why, when, and where everyone
gets proof it's not true.

LIFTING THE VEIL OF TEARS:
by Ibn Warraq

" The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(adopted on December 10, 1948, by the General
Assembly of the United Nations in Paris and
ratified by most Muslim countries) at no point has
recourse to a religious argument. These rights are
based on natural rights, which any adult human
being capable of choice has..."

http://www.secularhumanism.org/library/fi/warraq_17_4.html

NUDE UNDER THE MOON

Fear of nudity is a fear of our own rejection.
To be nude is to be free.
We are all beautiful.

(telmentcast from full moon, night of 6 May, 2001)

Moon

I prefer nude sunbathing.

Fear of nudity is taught by society.
Society is an influence that may be circumvented.

Individuals, however have taught me much.
Rejection as well as acceptance.

GLASS BEADS?

Being wealthy in a world which does not understand
your wealth is of little value, only so
many glass beads.

This is the same post as on: http://examinedlifejournal.com/discus/index.html
under the heading "Existentialism, Dualism, and Truth". Ivan

***
FAST FOODS AND TRUTH.

In the spirit of intuitive exploration, this page started with making breakfast (see WJ's first entry, Existentialism, Dualism, and Truth, above). I would like to take this one step further and show how 'fast foods' can be related to 'truth'.

We had explored here the Big Questions of existence, of subjective vs. objective definitions of reality, of intuition vs. reason, of human consciousness vs. infinity, and of philosophy vs. psychology; all stated in the pursuit of the big Truth. What I think has been missing so far is Personal Truth. What is it we believe in our hearts that is true to us, what is right for us? For example, let's say that I believe that the food served in fast food restaurants is injurious to our health, and that a steady diet of this will kill you. So naturally, I will avoid eating hamburgers and French fries with a shake, unless there is nothing else to eat, and thus exercise my choices as is my personal truth's belief. But what if we posted a page on this board that dealt with this issue, in search of its bigger Truth, and we came to the conclusion that indeed fast foods are bad for us, even evil, and that it is a universal travesty for such foods to be sold in the first place. What then? Do we petition the FDA to close down all fast food restaurants? Or do we conclude that each person has the right to eat bad food and suffer the 'reality' consequences that their health will suffer? Naturally, some will be offended, since this may be their favorite cuisine; or it could be a royal feast to a starving man. But what if we succeeded, pressured the government, and the FDA closed down all fast food joints, and now the choice of whether or not one eats burgers and fries is taken away? Or the other side, where the Big Truth is powerwalking, combined with happy thoughts and fresh squeezed juices, is the path to a long and healthy life, and it becomes compulsory, starting with grade school, for everyone to follow this. I must admit that I cringe whenever I see the word 'compulsory'. But is this the end result of philosophy, or even religion, once a Truth is found? So this is the fundamental question: Once we have a Truth, then what? At what point does a Personal Truth turn into a Big Truth, or against it? Or should there be some self correcting mechanism that in the end always preserves for us a freedom of choice?

Another matter comes to mind, as mentioned in a post above: public safety laws, parent-child relations, compulsory military service, compulsory education. These all have the same characteristics of being society's ideas
of Truth then formalized into laws of social conduct and obligations. However, take the public safety laws, for example. What if you have a car on a desert island, and the roads there are totally yours? Then you need no driver's license, since you injure only yourself if you drive badly. Now, if there are two cars, then already some rule of the road must be established, so you wouldn't keep having head on collisions. Adding more cars complicates it sufficiently to where there are formalized rules of driving, and a competency test to make sure you can handle the road. But there is still choice here, since the personal truth, that I want to drive a car and know how, is now in agreement with the interactions of all the other cars who are out there, to my benefit. So it becomes a matter of interactivity between drivers, and for this there has to be some agreement as to how this will be carried out. This is different from the Fast Food example, since 'on the road' the injury is potentially to someone else, whereas in the fast food it is only to oneself. Prohibition comes to mind, but that failed, since it encouraged more drinking. Butthe 'interactivity' rule would be true for any society. We have laws, a social contract, democratic rule, because that is how we structured our agreements to interact within society. The other side would be anarchy, which serves no one's interest. How about smoking bans? This is a growing currency in California, where I live, and has met minor resistance. Yet, except for the secondary smoke issue, here is an alleged good that is being forced on everyone. It so happens that I agree with it, same as I wear seat belts, so I am glad that my personal truth coincides with that of the bigger truth. But what if it didn't? And this is the issue, what happens when we do not agree? Are we then forced into becoming illegals?

So this is the puzzle: How do we reconcile, or find agreement, between a Personal Truth and a Big Truth, especially one that has become accepted by society?

In the parent-child scenario, a parent has virtual total rule over the child. But then a child is not yet free to be him or her self, so the concept of agreement becomes messy, since there are the child's potentialities to be considered. In the old days, slave owners had the power of life and death over their slaves. Society may impose rules regarding levels of abuse that are acceptable, but no more. Now, since slavery has been outlawed, and is mostly extinct except for cases of child prostitution, etc., society no longer supports such totally coercive interhuman relationships. But getting back to the fast foods example, if my personal truth is so compelling that it forces me to find ways to spread it to society at large, in the way school prayers were eliminated from public schools by the US Supreme Court by one woman's crusade, for example; then do I have the right to force this agreement on everyone else? And if my Truth is indeed so great that I succeed in convincing the powers of society, such as the FDA, or society at large, that fast foods are bad for us, or maybe herbal medicines, or saving open wilderness areas, then do I have the right to do so?

I think it comes down to what are our social agreements. If we structured our social contract such that power pressure groups can influence what is then decided for us, then that is what we have 'tacitly' agreed to. If there is no agreement, then it is the responsibility of those who are aware of it to change it through the legal means available. But that is the philosophical dilemma, since then are we not exercising our belief in what is a Personal Truth by forcing it onto the bigger Truth of our social contract? In my philosophical thinking, I have not truly found a solution to this. The way I handled it, thus, was to call for a Law of Agreement, where individuals cannot coerce one another against their agreement. That was my Personal and Big Truth combined. But it seems that there are holes in this. Given the laws under which we live, and to which we are forced to agree with, this may not always be allowed. For example, if I grow 'the weed' for my smoking pleasure, I am in violation to the social agreement, though I harm no one other than myself, if that. I can understand that I may not be allowed to sell it or give it away, since this then falls into the domain of interactivity with others. But what I am trying to understand is this: Can a Big Truth become coercive, by forcing us against our Personal Truths? I think this is so. And other than becoming aware of it, and then always choosing to act secretly, and with risk, in a way that is true to my belief, I am powerless, for then I am in violation of what had become a bigger Truth. Is there room here for, akin to a freedom of choice, a Freedom of Agreements? Maybe, but this would have to be defined that such agreements are non-coercive to others who are not part of the agreement.

So next time you order a burger and shake with fries, be glad that a Big Truth had not been imposed on your personal choice what food to eat, yet, and that our nation's founding fathers thought it important to safeguard for us some freedom of choice. Think about it, the Truth may be inside that little paper bag. Well, at the very least, it's food for thought.

***

The Important Things in Life

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. "Now,"said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal." "Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

But then... A student then took the jar which the other students and the professor agreed was full, and proceeded to pour in a glass of wine. Of course the wine filled the remaining spaces within the jar making the jar truly full.

The moral of this tale is: That no matter how full your life is, there is always room for WINE. (don't miss the point) have fun in life.

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/view1.asp?dep=2&full=0&item=97%2E19

MY MUSE

She who was my Muse in childhood, and I spent many afternoons there, is my Muse still. And I found her not in New York, nor Rome, but in the deserts of Santa Fe! Coincidence or fate, or hands of the gods?

Ivan

The following was sent to me today by a friend, David, who lives in NY:

Hello friends,

Where to begin? I'm alive... and it seems that all my friends, family and colleagues are safe and accounted for.

Tuesday began as a beautiful morning in New York City. I woke up early, ate breakfast, did a little yoga, read the paper, sent a few emails and began preparing for a day of desk work and a few meetings. The next thing I knew, there was a knock on my door and something was said that just didn't seem to make sense. However, the words terrorist attack came through, so I headed to the TV room to see if there was any news. When the first channels
turned out to be black, I experienced the first of what would become many layers of the reality that we were facing.

What were the very next layers? The truth is, I suspect they were the same that people all over the world experienced. I was glued to CNN and the few other channels that came in for the rest of the day. The horrors on the screen were made more surreal by the fact that out the window it continued to be a sunny, cool, early fall day. I was sitting in the relative safety and comfort of my apartment, yet knew that the scenes of utter terror were taking
place just across town.

When I first decided to head outside in the late afternoon, I was again struck by the gorgeous blue sky...that is, until I looked down Park Avenue and saw smoke rising into the sky from above the Met Life building. As I was heading to the grocery store to pick up a few items I noticed that the 92nd Street Y (a Jewish community center) was closed and the entire block was closed off with police barricades. This is sometimes the case when there is a
state of alert in the city due to events in the middle east. The grocery store was much more crowded than would ordinarily be the case at that time of day and the supplies of bread and water were already dwindling. Nobody was panicked or seemed to be hoarding food though. In fact everyone was quite calm and extra courteous.

Later in the afternoon I went out to wander the neighborhood and have dinner and drinks (well, mostly drinks) with a close friend who is a journalist and music critic. It was comforting to simply be out on the sidewalks with other New Yorkers. Even though our attention was riveted to the television screens above the bar, it wasn't as lonely or scary as sitting at home watching those images. When Bush addressed the nation all conversation at the bar
ceased. Although Bushs words and attitude seemed basically appropriate, there is something about this man that I cant quite relate to. His sincerity often strikes me at the faux sincerity of a frat boy making an obligatory speech.

On Wednesday a close friend who lives near Charlottesville, Virginia called me in tears and another angle of this catastrophe occurred to me. For people living in other parts of the world who have friends and family in New York, the fear is of a different variety. Writing this email comes partly from a desire to make family and friends not feel so out of touch with what we're going through here. Another reason for it is that I felt a need to simply
have something to focus on for a while as there is little else to do. I prepared several times to head out on bicycle to the nearest hospital to donate blood, but each time I learned that they either had enough blood or that they were sending people away as they didn't have enough bags to store the blood.

When watching television become just too much to take, I decided to switch on the radio. The first station I tried was WNYC, one of the two local NPR affiliates, but there was no signal. I then recalled that their antenna used to sit on top of one of the twin towers. It also then occurred to me that there would be no concert or radio broadcast of Thursday's New York Guitar Festival. While everyone who worked so hard with me (at WNYC, Merkin Hall,
DAddario Foundation) to make this event possible understood the necessity of the cancellation, we also feel determined to make sure next week's event -- a concert tribute to Jerry Garcia -- takes place. Perhaps not unlike Isaac Stern's decision to take off his gas mask during the Gulf War and play a concert for a Tel Aviv audience, I feel that music and art takes on special significance at times like these. I read that the Metropolitan museum
decided to stay open yesterday as a symbolic gesture. Unless unforeseen issues arise, we are operating on the assumption that next week's sold-out show will take place without disruption.

And speaking of music, the other NPR affiliate is had been programing music with a healing theme. It has been very nice to hear the likes of Ritchie Havens, Bob Dylan, CSN, Emmy Lou Harris and Joni Mitchell in between the news reports.

On a sadder note, I can hardly find the words to tell you how upset I became while watching one particular news conference. It was being given by Mayor Giuliani, Governor Pataki and other officials. At one point a fire department official had the unfortunate job of sharing the news about the several hundred firefighters who were missing, including the number one and two fire chiefs. I don't recall ever seeing a fireman almost fall apart like that. I
hope I never see something like that again.

I don't want to give the impression that all is sadness though. I'm incredibly proud of the many things I've seen regular new Yorkers do. An exhausted-looking fireman giving up his seat on the subway (he was heading back downtown to work another 24-hour shift) to an older woman who was crying. The multiplex movie theater at Union Square that posted flyers saying that all movies, popcorn and soda would be free that day. The regional manager standing
outside of Circuit City who noticed me looking in the window and insisted that he'd try to get me what I needed even though the store wasn't officially open yet (he came out ten minutes later with the phone cable that I needed for my lap top).

Yesterday two friends and I decided to go out to the movies (we paid since the offerings at the free theater -- including Apocalypse Now -- weren't what we were in the mood for). The Closet, a French comedy with Gerard Depardu, provided a wonderful, much-needed respite. Afterwards we went out to a festive Mexican restaurant that had a separate menu just for Tequilas. Just as soon as the food, alcohol and crowd started to lift our spirits, we were
jolted back into reality by the sound flatbed tractor trailers with huge generators driving down Second Avenue. This scene would repeat itself numerous times. I have seen convoys of massive military trucks and earth moving equipment that I though only existed in war zones or Die Hard movies. When last night we started to notice some taxi cabs, civilian cars and supermarket delivery trucks back on the roads we took it as a sign that things were slowly
getting back to some sense of normalcy.

On Thursday morning some regular non-news programing was on television so I ended up watching cartoons. I had never seem the Nick Jr. network before but I felt like it was an important public service to be showing cartoons without commercial breaks so that people, especially kids, could have something light and pleasant to focus on. When the New York Times finally arrived, some of the soft news sections had reappeared. Seeing the arts, food and
home sections reminded me of a story an Israeli friends told me a few years ago. After a horribly long run of terrorist incidents, she described to me in an email how amazing it was to see a headline about an Israeli who made it to the NBA -- the first news she read that didn't include body counts.

Anyway, I'm down in Ocean Grove now and let me tell you, I feel a heck of a lot calmer. I don't have a television here, so Ill just be listening to the radio from time to time and picking up the New York Times each morning from the shop down the block like I normally would. Mostly I think Ill be taking long walks on the beach, cooking, playing guitar and seeing friends. It's always nice to be down at the shore, but this weekend is specially
nice.

Peace, ds

9/14/01

Ron

Looking forward to better and happier days

For more posts on "September 11th remembered", please use back arrow to return to the FORUM, and then click on post: "What is the meaning of War?"

--editor

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2001

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This is a time to reflect and be thankful for all the good things we have in the world, our families, our loved ones, our health. And it is also a time to remember those who had difficulties and tragedies in their lives, and how important it is to lend our help and support when we are able. It has been a difficult year, yet from adversity rises our strength, and the greatness that is a country built on the principles of freedom, under God, to welcome and inspire the world. And for this we should also be thankful to our founding fathers who had the vision to create America.

With love and best wishes, Ivan

God Bless.

No matter what you think:

“There are no facts, only interpretations”.

-Friedrich Nietzsche

STOP AND THINK


A young, successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into his car side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"


The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."


Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.


"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:


Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!


God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.


It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!


"The rarest and most uncommon commodity in today's society is common sense."

UFO?

I would like to report a possible sighting.

Last week, Wednesday evening (Jan. 9, 2002, about 7:30PM), while we were walking the dogs atop the mesa at Fairview Park, Costa Mesa, CA., we saw a light in the western night sky, over the Pacific Ocean, migrating north towards Los Angeles. It was at about 40 degrees elevation and moving erratically, though in a more or less straight path, and it glowed reddish. Because it was noiseless, we thought it maybe was a balloon, but moved too quickly, faster than any wind would carry it. It might have been a helicopter, except there were no flashing lights, and it had no engine noise. When it got over what we would guess to be L.A., it seemed to climb and then stop. Then it dropped what looked like an ejection of sparks or burning material, which fell from it but quickly extinguished. Then the light got smaller and climbed higher, then disappeared. The whole event lasted maybe five minutes.

We are not aware than anyone reported this to the local media, as neither did we. Could it have been a UFO?

A group of Geography students studied the Seven
Wonders of the World. At the end of that section,
the students were asked to list what they think
were considered to be the present Seven Wonders of
the World. Though there was some disagreement, the
Following got the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids,
2. Taj Mahal,
3. Grand Canyon,
4. Panama Canal,
5. Empire State Building,
6. St. Peter's Basilica,
7. China's Great Wall.

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that
one student, a quiet girl, hadn't turned in her
paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having
trouble with her list. The quiet girl replied,
"Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have,
and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven
Wonders of the World are:

1. to touch

2. to taste

3. to see

4. to hear

ah....

5. to feel

6. to laugh

7. and to love

The room was so full of silence it was deafening!

What are your odds?

Think if your odds of hitting the Lottery is one
in 50 million, it would be like throwing a dart at
the map of France (population about 50 million) to
find the location of a particular individual, say
Jacques Du Prix. What are your chances of finding
Jacques? That's what your odds are on the
Lottery! Think about it, and yet, somebody wins.

(As told to Ivan A. by Adam S.)

The odds win!

Needless to say, neither Ivan A. nor Adam S. won
on this last... yet. Jacques is safe for another
day...