Babel

Blog

  • Oneness and the Heart of the World

    Father Thomas Keating talks about God’s dynamic nature and the Divine Oneness of ‘All That Is’ in this wonderful inspirational video. He is wise, speaks from the heart and is sure to bring a smile. He says this about Oneness…

    “We’re (human beings) moving into Oneness. In other words a Oneness that we already have but at various levels of our being; and hence we’re aware of the Oneness in different ways, and in different intensities, and in different levels and able to respond as our awareness of this presence keeps evolving. The presence keeps expanding and becoming more penetrating, more enveloping, more involved with each of our bodily, mental, physical and spiritual activities or capacities. So we’re always experiencing this Oneness, but when does it become that, which is described as there being ‘No other’? This is something that maybe we could talk about tomorrow after a good nights sleep.

    That’s really very advanced and has few (as far as we know about it from reports) people who actually experience it as a permanent state of awareness or consciousness. Who have become not only ‘the Other’, but are ‘the Other’ in a way. Now this doesn’t in anyway deny the distinction between God and us which is infinite. It does deny the separation…”

    Hope you enjoy watching the video and listening to his wisdom as much as I did. It wouldn’t embed so follow the link to watch the video if you like. Enjoy!

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

    Oneness and the Heart of the World from Global Oneness Project.

    The Global Oneness Project: http://globalonenessproject.org/              Father Keating’s works: http://www.snowmass.org/keating.htm

  • Points to Ponder

    One day in 1991 my Highest-Self gave me a series of lessons and Truths which really didn’t mean much to me at the time. Today I saw them again and had many revelations. Here they are for you to ponder too. Enjoy!

    • Remember: Discipline – monitor your thoughts, words, emotions and actions
    • Harmony in your life is a gauge of the effectiveness of your work
    • If things are not harmonous or working, look to your thoughts, words, emotions and actions
    • Put nothing outside of yourself. You create your reality totally
    • Forget all you have learned in this life
    • Strive to be the best you can be – for you
    • Know thyself – be who you are rather than who others perceive you to be or what they tell you to be
    • Have Faith – know what you think will affect your life
    • Words can heal or harm; create or destroy
    • Everything (thoughts, words, emotions, places, songs, etc.) has a vibration. It will either resonate to harmony or discord within you. That which is discordant move away from or change your perception of it
    • All in life is learned perception – change your mind, change your perception. Coming to a new level of understanding, changes your perception
    • There is nothing wrong or bad in the Universe – only your perception of it. What appears bad to someone may be a wonderful blessing to another
    • Only you can be responsible for you – take charge of your life
    • Your biggest opportunity/challenge, is your soul’s loving way of getting you to change your mind. It’s like a joke. How loving or peaceful or joyfilled did you think you were – the challenge is humbling, the more pompus your position the bigger the challenge, but it is only perceived. The True challenge is to be fully who you are, in all situations, 100% of the time
    • Honor others by listening and responding when asked. Everyone has their own level of reality and understanding, offer yours only when asked, otherwise it may be an intrusion
    • Be loving and compassionate in all things – simply by allowing the fullness of Love and Compassion (which you Truly are) to flow through you

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

  • Befuddled by Burgeoning Bag Bedlam

    I’ve got burgeoning bags, sacks, pokes. Plastic or paper I keep ’em both. Never know when you might need one. Used to store the plastic ones inside the paper, ’til I bought one of those pretty cloth bag dispensers at the crafts fair last year. What a great idea, organized storage and easy access too! But the bags multiply faster than I can use them. So now it’s buried under piles of bags; can’t even see a corner of it. Wonder to myself “Why’d I buy that thing? What was I thinking?”

    The other day, I brought a load of groceries home. Put ’em away. Gathered up all the bags, opened the closet door and bags started jumping out. Picked ’em up, wad ’em into a tight ball, opened the door, shoved, then closed it fast. I swear, these befuddling bags are like bunnies doing some strange mating ritual night and day… ever burgeoning. Seems like they’re having a party in there. Creating bedlam. Pushin’ on the door, trying to get out and find another place to multiply. I’m Befuddled by Burgeoning Bag Bedlam.

    My roommate watching this drama unfold, pulls out her collection of canvas totes, mesh and string shopping bags . And says to me, “Ever considered totes?” I reply, “Totes?” Looking over the collection of bags in her hands I say, “Canvas totes? I’m not planning a trip, just buying groceries. I use paper or plastic.” She opens the closet door and lots of plastic shopping bags tumble down on her head and she says, “Let’s recycle these.” I reply, “I might need ’em for garbage or storage or something.” She says, ‘Let’s keep some and recycle the rest.” I think to myself, “I’ve got a closet full. A few is all I need. But, but, but… I might need ’em for something. You just never know. They come in handy.” I’ve got a duolouge going on in my head. Those befuddling bags are using mind control. Beaming me, ‘Keep them all. You’ll need them’. Why else would I think I have to keep a closet full of bags? Uncomfortably I sigh and give an affirmative nod.

    We gather them up and head to the recycling center. On the way, we notice thousands of plastic bags strewn everywhere… along the road side, in the median, even in the forest on both sides of the road. Divide and conquer. I can hear them whispering, ‘Resistance is futile’, like the Borg, and we are a lesser life-form. I say, “The bags are multiplying under our noses, overtaking the world.” My roommate says, “If we recycle or stop using them altogether, there won’t be any to take over.” I reply, “You mean, prove our superior intelligence.” Laughing she says, “Exactly.”

    On our way home we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. When we pulled out our canvas totes the cashier deducted $.05 for each plastic bag we didn’t use. Wow! How cool is that! Save the environment and a bit of cash too.

    EPIPHANY: Stop the plastic invasion, use canvas totes and save a few cents.

    Another problem solved. Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with that pretty cloth bag dispenser.

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

  • Ten Commandments of Life

    I wrote this in 1990 as a reminder to myself. I was sitting on the beach in Kauai, Hawaii contemplating my life. Would it apply universally?

    Ten Commandments of Life by Bonnee Klein Gilligan

    • FIRST – Fully and unconditionally love yourself. Recognize your Divinity. Honor yourself.
    • SECOND – Unconditionally love and accept others. Recognize their Divinity and honor them.
    • THIRD – Take responsibility for your actions. You always have a choice; how you feel, act or what you say. Act, don’t react.
    • FOURTH – Be a Master of Divine expression. Live the Universal Laws of Love, Peace, Truth.
    • FIFTH – You create your life (by your choices, feelings and actions). Live in joy.
    • SIXTH – Let go and allow (let God). Listen to and follow, unconditionally, your small quiet voice; your spirit (God).
    • SEVENTH – Be thankful and humble. Give thanks for what you have and receive. Be grateful.
    • EIGHT – Your sustenance comes from inside you (God). Trust. You will always be provided for.
    • NINTH – Your body is the temple of your soul. Nurture and care for yourself.
    • TENTH – Live in the present moment. Life can only be experienced NOW.

  • Wild Weird Weather Wonderings

    We’ve been having really weird weather. I live in the high desert. It’s been colder then usual this year and winder too. And May, whoa… stranger than I ever remember. Started off down right frigid. Warmed up to darn cold. Got sweltering hot for a day or two, then back down… brrrrr, cold. I’m wondering, “Do I leave the windows open or close them? Cover the plants? Water them? What? Do I wear a sweater, jeans and jacket? Or tank top and shorts?” My body isn’t adjusting. My plants are in shock. It’s crazy confused! Seems nothing is normal anymore. The other day heard someone say, “Normal? What’s that?”

    Got me wondering, “Know what I feel, but what’s real? What’s actual?” So I looked online at weather.com. The experts say the averages for May are high 87F and low 47F. Average means, normal, right? The actual temperatures for the first 2 days in May, 54F high and 23F low. Wow that’s sure not normal. The 3rd through the 9th it warmed up a wee bit to highs in the mid-60s, lows 22F to 35F with lots of wind. That fits with what I felt… frigid. I know, I know it isn’t that cold. But hey, when you’re acclimatized to Arizona hot, that feels like the Arctic North. And it’s May, it’s supposed to be hot already!

    May 10th and 11th warmed up to 71F; the 12th was 65F with lots of wind. The 13th was only 48F and it rained. Feels like a weather see saw… up, down, up, down. 14th thru 16th were in the low to mid 60s again with more wind. The 17th was 74F, then it warmed up closer to normal in the low to mid 80s the 18th thru the 20th. The 19th the thermometer on my porch read 100F. I remember ’cause the past couple of days I’d been sitting on the porch enjoying a Sangria and watching the golfers drive by and that day was so hot I stayed inside. I was surprised it was only 84F. The 21st cooled down again to 65F. Geez!

    On the 22 we drove to Flagstaff. As we rounded the top of the hill it began snowing lightly. I’m pleasantly surprised and shocked. Snow in late May? In Arizona? My roommate calls a friend and reports this anomaly to her voice mail. It snowed lightly all day. We wore our heaviest jackets to keep warm. Glad I keep mine in the car, didn’t start out wearing one. We started home after dark. I was driving. It’s now snowing so hard I can’t see the road. We pass under a flashing yellow sign that says, “Warning, winter driving conditions.” I think to myself, “Really! I never would have noticed. I’m in weather hell, I know it.”

    A bit befuddled, I say to my roommate, “What’s going on?” She replies, ‘I’d guess it’s the result of greenhouse gas emissions. You know… global warming.’ I think to myself, “Yea, the latest buzz word” and say, ‘Seems more like global cooling to me.’ She says, “Temperatures have generally been going up for a while now, and worldwide weather weirdness like this have been occurring more frequently.” “Hunh!” I grunt.

    Got me wondering some more. So I looked online for weather weirdness around the globe. I was in awe of what I found. Seems we’ve got a bad case of global warming. But the experts don’t all agree. Do I believe the experts or my own eyes? I’m in a quandary.

    I tell my roommate, “We’ve got global warming! It’s huge! I can’t change it!” She says, “Yes you can… the solution begins at home. Change your carbon footprint.” I reply, “Carbon foot print? Last time I looked there was no carbon on my feet.” My roommate laughs and says, “No silly.” I say, “Need to wash my feet? What?” She says, “No just change your impact. Lessen your output. You know like walk, bike or drive a hybrid. Buy products that are energy efficient. Look into what you can do then do it. You make a difference. It all starts with you.”

    EPIPANY: I make a difference. Less output means a cleaner world.

    We dance around the house singing (to the song Revolution by the Beatles)…

    ‘We say we want to change pollution!
    Well you know.
    We all want to change the world.
    We’ll tell you that there is a solution.
    Well, you know.
    We all want to change the world.
    But when you talk about obstruction.
    Don’t you know that you can count me out.
    Don’t you know it starts with me…. alright. alright, alright, alright.’

    Come on, everybody sing….

    A few links:
    NOAA Weather Hazards/Climate Extremes May 2008
    An Inconvenient Truth

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan