I write a lot about philosophical concepts, and that might lead some to believe that I live in some sort of make-believe world. I don’t. My world right now is a challenge from the standpoint of very material things; however, my beliefs, my heart truths, have carried me into wonderful, surreal, bordering on supernatural associations.
Last night my post about my very real life experiences of yesterday involved with a charity, The Frozen Cup, affirms to me the validity of the things about which I speak. My heart led me to that association, and a former student — such an amazing young man — has followed his heart in establishing the charity, along with many other works. I am thankful that he even recognized me in a liquor store several years ago, where we were both perusing craft beers. See what I mean — real life. That meeting, one in which we were both just following our hearts, resulted in the fellowship of our hearts, which means that I am part of his vision while pursuing my own. We reinforce each other, and I cannot tell you how very blessed I am that a young, dynamic guy values me and includes me in his pursuit of happiness and fulfillment of his purpose. This is a cause for joy, praise, rejoicing to my heart. This is because my expressions in writing and life are an organic, holistic flow. Therefore, when I write about my childhood memories or artists like Vincent and Dali and Chihuly or authors and poets or education or history, social issues, or any of the other topics I cover, these are all tied directly in my mind and heart to my philosophy. I have summed it up under the title of the Grand Unified Theory of Humanity because that involves awakening to self, coming to be aware of who we are at our core being, which leads us to discover our personal truth and opens the door for creating a life purpose consistent with that core Self. This takes away the emptiness, discontent, dissatisfaction that many people feel. Without these negative feelings, the ego has little with which to work, which means that mean, ugly actions lose their motivation, which means that we can value fellow humans for who and what they truly are, which means that we can have gratitude and joy in life in a daily way. I admit that this is idealistic, but it becomes realistic when you speak with your heart about it, think about it, filter life, everything, through the heart and then act on it, act according to it. It truly produces praise and helps you to become a co-creator with the Universe and Great Spirit of all. It does away with hatred; it ushers in acceptance — no, more than acceptance, love. When we are in a state of gratitude, we love. Therefore, when I write about someone like Walt Whitman, I do it to help you discover, help me discover, the joys of knowing self through our own hearts and entering into and extending our fellowship with our own hearts. And lo and behold, when that happens, we find that we send out vibrations that attract others who are in fellowship with their own hearts, and we enter into a mutual fellowship of our hearts. This is why the novel that I have written, which is not yet published, because I’m waiting on my editor (patience, Mike, patience), is titled The Fellowship of the Heart. For just a bit — and I will finish this tomorrow — I would like to carry forward my thoughts on Walt’s poem, “A Song of Joys.” My heart is filled with joys tonight, and even though I am tired and had to excuse myself from the company of a friend, I think relaying my thoughts on this is important enough to warrant it. What? Only 20 or so people may read this? Doesn’t matter. This is my heart truth and the result of fellowship with my own heart. Let me very briefly, then, relate Walt’s poem to my experience yesterday. At the charity event, I worked all day in an effort devoted to raising awareness about autism and raising funds, too, to help families affected by autism. And a young autistic boy who overcame one of his challenges by looking me in the eye and smiling gave my great joy, deep joy. O for the joy of connecting with someone who knows that a piece of bubble gum will make me happy! At that moment, that was all he wanted. I could actually list many moments, but this one framed the whole day for me. In “A Song of Joys,” Walt listed people and situations that any of us encounter on any given day, just like I could have for yesterday — people working together, people enthused about their job, people making sacrifices. Common, everyday things: “O for the voices of animals — O for the swiftness and balance of fishes! / O for the foreign of raindrops in a song! / O for the sunshine and motions of waves in a song! // O the engineer’s joys! to go with a locomotive! / To hear the hiss of steam, the merry shriek, the steam whistle, the laughing locomotive…” Who hasn’t watched fish swimming, heard animals calling, barking, chirping, howling? Who hasn’t seen rain falling or the sunshine or ocean or lake waves? Common, everyday things, right? Yet, how many people look at a locomotive and see it laughing? Heart — not ego. In the middle of all this, Walt throws in this little praise, this little joy: “O the joy of that vast elemental sympathy which only the human is capable of generating and emitting in steady and limitless floods.” Ego might say, “What’s the big deal? Such silly little gestures and thoughts don’t earn you a buck. What good does it do for others? Do they even know what you’re thinking?” Well, they may or may not, but it doesn’t matter. On a day like this where I have worked my ass off for others and for our myself, days when like at this very moment my eyes are burning they are so tired, these “elemental sympathies” that have been exercised by me generate and emit into unseen but real realms the positivity of life, the joys of life, the songs that cheer, encourage, and empower all of us. I think we need such elemental sympathies — an understanding and appreciation of the greatness and joys in the basics of everyday life — today more than ever. How about you? Have you looked around today and seen and appreciated the deep, spiritual joys all around us? I have smiled today at the blessings of life, and it is only with and through my heart that it has been possible. O the joy of friends, family, and acquaintances who are living life the best they can. Oh, and strangers and enemies, too!
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Have you ever noticed how just listing positive traits, characteristics, or events creates an attitude of thanksgiving, gratitude, and sometimes even praise? I am not going to speak about all of the psychological and physical benefits of having an attitude of gratitude, because they have been discussed, and they are many. Thankfulness, true thankfulness, feels good and when it involves another human being, it creates deeper connections.
Have you ever used your spiritual eyes and ears to appreciate your life — you know, the people you are around every day, the common duties and necessities of each day? It really is simple, but it is not easy. The ego definitely is not comfortable with this sort of exercise at first: Why should I? They are mean or stupid or not as good as me or…? Isn’t this job the cause of my unhappiness? Why should I try to find one freakin’ thing good about it? Why should I praise or say anything good about somebody doing a job no better than mine? You know why? Because it feels good. Because it makes me value myself and my life more. Because it makes me stop being so defensive. Know how that works? When we are critical and negative, deep down our ego is telling us that others are thinking or saying the same things about us, so we better defend and make them look worse than we are. Feels good in the moment, maybe, but if you really think about it later, it makes you feel dirty and ashamed. If it doesn’t, you are really a slave to your self-serving ego. But let’s go on with a practical illustration of how one man did this. Walt Whitman wrote a lovely poem called “A Song of Joys” in which he looks at the common, daily lives of people, places, things, and situations around him. There’s a catch, however; his evaluation of his physical observations was energized by his spiritual sensing mechanism, his heart. When the heart senses, it doesn’t do so for any motive but to feel good and be in a state of love and peace. Hear Walt’s expressions at the outset: “O to make the most jubilant song! / Full of music — full of manhood, womanhood, and infancy! / Full of common employments — full of grain and trees. // O for the voices of animals — O for the swiftness and balance of fishes? / O for the dropping of raindrops in a song! / O for the sunshine and option of waves in a song! / O the joy of my spirit — it is uncaged — it darts like lightning.” See what praise does for the spirit? No matter how much ego says, “I just don’t feel like it. Leave me alone,” if we shut ego up, we will have an uncaged spirit, and do you know what an uncaged spirit does? Praises — AND energizes, even when we are bone-weary, dejected, or confused. A joyful spirit creates internal motivation to help us get up and move and express that joy. You know what, I will speak more about the rest of Walt’s poem tomorrow. Right now, I will share part of my day with you. A younger friend of mind and his wife have a vision and heart to help families affected by autism. They have done much over the past four years for this, but today was the first day that I was privileged to be involved in one of the fund-raising events that they create and sponsor. Great, and I would like to write a lot more about this, and will in the future, but I am, as I write this, in one of those bone-weary, bleary-eyed states. But my heart is overflowing with gratitude for the work of this day that dozens and dozens of people made a reality. I could have gone through this whole day, beginning with my Morning Pages at 4:00 to be ready to be helping by 8:30, and I would have just been happy to help, which would have been fine. However, through the course of this day, I saw little children playing tag, running aimlessly, sliding with abandon, and shooting hockey pucks across an ice rink now reduced to just the concrete floor for the summer months. They were there because their parents wanted to participate in the floor hockey-type fundraiser, and some of the kids did, too. After a full eight hours, in which I sat for a grand total of maybe 30 minutes, I met the son of one of the very good hockey players there. His son is autistic. I spoke with him a bit, and he impulsively hugged me. (As I write this, my eyes are filled with gratitude). A few minutes later in all the busy-ness of breaking down our whole set-up, I saw the boy and his little brother trying to score bubble gum from a row of machines. Nothing. I knew their dad would be back in a few seconds, but I pulled out a couple of quarters to put in the machines. I made sure the boy was looking at me when I asked him what he wanted. Their dad showed up and said they didn’t need anything. I told him it was too late, and little brother was making his wishes clearly known. But his older brother — not so easy. He didn’t want the same thing. He pointed to his choice. I got down low and looked at him and asked him if that was what he wanted. “Yes.” I gave him the quarter and showed him how to put it in and turn the handle, which he kind of knew. He dropped the quarter and we both got down on our hands and knees, looking for it. He got his bubble gum. His dad said, “What do you say to Mr. DePung?” “Thank you, Mr. DePung,” he said with his back turned to me. “Look him in the eye when you say that,” Dad told him. He turned and looked me in the eye. “Thank you, Mr. DePung.” Then, he gave me a sweet little smile. Not so easy, really, for a boy like him with a virtual stranger. My heart was filled as I saw the love of his dad in making sure his son did the things that will help him to compensate and learn through his challenges. And as I look back on the day, I think of the folks who showed up early, industriously putting together little hockey platforms and nets, constructing 18 or so scoreboards, hanging banners and bracket boards and price guides, setting up food and registration tables, filming the day’s activities, playing in the event, paying for the event, buying merchandise from that table — all of it, all of them, because they care. And I got to know some people throughout the day who I was barely aware of previously, good people, thoughtful people. It fills my heart with joy. It makes me thankful. And I don’t know what the outcome of this gratitude will be, but I know that a little boy with autism who wanted bubble gum helped me view this whole, wonderful, and exhausting day from the eyes and ears of my heart, and that makes this a day that I will remember. Thank you Steve and Olivia, Shannon, and Kelly — and each of you who were in that arena today. Thank you for caring for others; thank you for giving me the gift of gratitude. I have enjoyed thinking about life, the Universe, Earth, and Nature in terms of the vibrational songs that they emit, the songs that we can perceive and compose to express our own feelings. As I have considered these songs of existence, Walt Whitman’s work in Leaves of Grass, his own songs, and his spirit have sung sweetness, sanity, wisdom, creativity, and joy to me; they have encouraged and affirmed my own songs and added to the harmony and fullness of them as well as offered new thoughts, fresh insights.
Walt is known as the foremost and representative poet of American democracy, and I believe that his place as such was built on something deeper than many commentators consider: a metaphysical foundation and an analysis based on the self-awakening of individuals. He wrote his heart, and because of walking in the fellowship of the heart, he did not put much stock in others’ opinions of his work or in the reactions of critics to his writing or philosophies. This focus of looking at life in a holistic, spiritual sense becomes evident in “Song of Prudence.” In this poem, Walt sees something as common as Manhattan and its environs and receives, senses something much deeper than the common: “Manhattan’s streets I saunter’d pondering, / On Time, Space, Reality — on such as these, and abreast with Prudence.” And it is not common prudence. This distinction has direct bearing on the aspect of Walt’s view of life — not just “Well, here’s a street, and the people are working. It would be prudent if they would save their money for retirement.” No, it’s a prudence beyond the common, beyond the physical streets of Manhattan. He clarifies how he hears the vibrations, the inspiration, that translates into his song: “The last explanation always remains to be made about prudence, / Little and large alike drop quietly aside from the prudence that suits immortality.” Get that? “Prudence that suits immortality.” The wisdom that one uses to think beyond and listen and see beyond what we sense physically is different than the prudence used to simply address physical, mortal, temporal topics. How? “The soul is of itself, / All verges to it, all has reference to what ensues, / All that a person does, says, thinks, is of consequence,… / But the same affects him or her onward afterward through the indirect lifetime.” Like I said — metaphysical, holistically bound together are the soul and body, so the spiritual, soul characteristics need to be brought into the observation of the spiritual senses. When this happens, voila, a song is born — when the right prudence, good judgment, wisdom, is applied: “All that a male or female does, that is vigorous, benevolent, clean, is so much profit… / In the unshakable order of the universe and through the whole scope of it forever. // Who has been wise receives interest…” And then Walt goes on to list many things that may seem inconsequential or forgotten or not observed or considered in common, everyday ways of thinking. There are too many to quote here, but they are beautiful and end like this: “All suggestions of the divine mind of man or the divinity of his mouth, or the shaping of his great hands, / All that is well thought or said… .” These things of the soul and work of one’s hands are often thought small and inconsequential. All of the things listed, though, will come into operation for eternity: “Did you guess any thing lived only its moment? / The world does not so exist, no parts palpable or impalpable so exist…” This is prudence used to observe and make judgments about mortal bodies containing an immortal essence. All that is done in the mortal ripples into immortality, eternity. And we need to learn to judge ourselves and, as Walt did, not give a damn about the opinions or judgments of others. How do we view what we do in the light of eternity? “Now I breathe the work of the prudence that walks abreast with time, space, reality, / That answers the pride which refuses every lesson but its own.” Only my opinion counts when it comes to judging the validity of the work I do based on the knowledge and fellowship of my heart, and that which is good, which is spiritually prudent, “is well thought or said this day on any part of the globe, or on any of the wandering stars…” The spiritual and physical are intimately linked; to sense and address only the physical leads to untold sorrow, confusion, desperation, and a host of other ills, especially an emptiness in the: “Whatever is prudence is indivisible, / Declines to separate one part of life from every part, / …Knows that only that person has really learn’d who has learn’d to prefer results, / Who favors body and soul the same, / Who perceives the indirect assuredly following the direct…” No wonder so many folks today feel incomplete, feel like they don’t know self, aren’t living their lives with purpose; it has to be each one’s, each individual’s, purpose, truth, reality which is judged as prudent by them and which has results beyond the end of physical life. I rejoice in this “Song of Prudence.” I know who I am and what I am to be living. It’s prudent for me, and even though I know others who are close to me don’t think I’m being wise, it doesn’t matter. My time, space, and reality are filled with my purpose to be a discoverer and help others discover, and I am doing this for now through my writing and activities associated with that. What about you? Be prudent; judge yourself for yourself, not anyone else. Know and live your heart, create your purpose, and actively do something about that — a mission of action. That’s my song, well, at least one of them. I’ve written for several days now about sound being pressure waves, and those waves can take myriad forms and target myriad directions. When talented people apply those sounds to specific patterns to create various effects on others, we have, among many possibilities, music. When Walt Whitman, using his heart as filter, listener, and receiver discerned specific spiritual sound patterns from life around him, he interpreted and played them for us in his words, a poetry of songs, many songs. And he plays them for us, his readers, in his words.
In “A Song for Occupations,” Walt shares a wealth of ideas about an idealized democracy. I have shared before that idealism floats my boat, because ultimately, I, who am an idealist at heart and one who because of that reduces everything I can to the least common denominator, believe that Walt knew the reality of the fellowship of the heart. He was self-awakened and self-aware, and because of that, he stood out as someone who was often scoffed and avoided. Yet, he would never have spoken ill of anyone who detested him. It didn’t matter; he heard the songs of the world, the Universe, of life, and and the Spirit. He did not need anyone else’s approval or approbation. Neither should we. That is an ego move and motive. He was, however, one who looked into his life and nation and saw the possibilities, which is why I say that he was an idealist. I believe he discerned the possibilities promised in the foundations of this nation, America. This nation embodied any who could come here and live their hearts and their truth and allow others to do the same. In some unstated ways, it was a foundation of love, because a nation that is built on self-awakening as a prerequisite for truly entering into all the possibilities of “certain unalienable rights” is a nation that countenances love in its composition. I don’t, however, believe that America has ever been close to realizing the fullness of that, but we are not finished yet. Becaue of that, though, any movements, of hatred, prejudice, bigotry, exclusion, or any energies approximating those are anti-American. What song did Walt perceive that sang the possibilities of America? It was the song of an idealized democracy, built on the individual who would responsibly, lovingly, live their truth in their daily lives — the “I,” “You,” engaged in an awakened, self-aware life who valued all others who were doing the same, and those who struggled who had not awakened to the voice of their own hearts. He appreciated, accepted, and embraced all, no matter their beliefs or attitudes toward his beliefs or attitudes. And this is the music in “A Song for Occupations.” Note, it is FOR them, whoever is engaged in various callings, jobs, activities — FOR them, to help them hear the music, the song, the light and revelatory truth of the Spirit of the Universe. Not all will hear, but that doesn’t affect Walt. If you have never read this grand poem, I would recommend it. Let me help give a little perspective through his words. “A Song for occupations! / In the labor of engines and trades and the labor of fields I find the developments, / And find the eternal meanings.” Walt makes it clear that he looked for the movement, mark, and unity of the Spirit in all around him — not some weird, ethereal, supernatural environment but rather the one that he saw in everyday life. What do we purpose to look for, to understand, to learn from everyday life? Nothing? It doesn’t matter? Things don’t change? It wont’t do anything for me? It won’t help me? Do any of these thoughts come to your mind? Would you consider asking yourself what might happen if you, too, looked for “the developments,” “the eternal meanings?” How would it change your perception of others who don’t think exactly like you, don’t look like you, believe like you? I guarantee you right now that if you held a recently beating heart in your hands, you would not have one inkling, one iota of insight into who or what the possessor of that heart was, believed, or had done. It is the life of whoever embodied it. Cannot we understand that life is to be valued, appreciated, and loved? Walt did. He saw the power and potential of each heart, each workwoman and workman. (Isn’t it ironic that I just had to tell my computer to learn the spelling of workwoman, even though Walt uses the word in this poem?) He says, “We consider bible and religions divine — I do not say that are not divine, / I say they have all grown out of you… / It is not they who give the life, it is you who give the life, / … The sum of all known reverence I add up in you whoever you are…” He sees the possibilities in everyone, the equality, the unity, the divine power not only in the women and men but also in each thing, tool, product, occupation, relationship — all exists for the “I” “You!” and the “I” and “You,” exist for all. The individual gives meaning to anyone or anything else. This is a corollary to my Grand Unified Theory of Humanity, the common spirit of all, unifying all, manifested in all, and all without meaning except for our identity, interaction, and appreciation of it — because we have awakened to self. Significance, meaning, connection, and unity are found in hearing our hearts; then, we realize, as Walt does, that “Laws, courts, the forming of States, the charters of cities, the going and coming of commerce and mails, are all for you. …” Walt goes on to speak of philosophies, politics, civilization, cultures, art, statistics, history, poems: “If you were not breathing and walking here, where would they all be? … / All architecture is what you do to it when you look upon it… / All music is what awakes from you when you are reminded by the instruments.” All of life’s meaning rest in you and I, and it is a mystery in many ways. Walt acknowledges this himself: “Does all sit there with you, with the mystic unseen soul? // Strange and hard that paradox true I give, / Objects gross and the unseen soul are one.” Then, he goes on for two pages listing jobs, workers, tools, and all associated with those as the ones in whom all the Universe resides: all is from you; all is for you; you are for all, no matter what your employ, beliefs, actions — you relate to, affect, and are united with all of history and it is all for you. Like I said, a mystery in some ways. But not in others. Sometimes mysteries are mysteries because we think that a simple explanation cannot possibly be THE explanation. Walt saw the grand scheme of life in the everyday, common people, products, and ideas around him. He saw that all related to the rest: “I intend to reach them my hand, and make as much of them as I do of men and women like you.” Have we extended the thoughts and hands of acceptance, recognition, unity, peace, and love to our Universe and all in it? If so, we have heard the very music of the cosmos, the song of the Spirit of all, and that song is for us, no matter what we do — “A Song for Occupations.” I almost apologized for another post on Walt Whitman, but why? My heart asks me Does it fulfill your purpose? Yes, it does. Does it help you express your love to others? It does, so I continue these posts as a love offering.
May I confess something else to you, whoever reads this? I always struggle with my training to speak of literature in the present tense, just like not using the plural they instead of he or she. Stupid. So, I may mix tenses and joyfully make English teachers cringe. I was one! Walt Whitman was a visionary in many ways, and yet he was solidly rooted in his now. I ponder over his life without worrying much about it, because at times, he seemed like he was in favor of the Civil War. He wasn’t, really, but he, like Lincoln, solidly thought that the preservation of the Union of states was crucial. Why? I think that both of them believed like I do, or rather I believe as they did. That belief is founded in what I have termed my Grand Unified Theory of Humanity, something that was embodied, in my opinion, in the Declaration of Independence. It is based on the concept that the essence of our existence is to hear our own hearts, discover core Self, and create our life purpose to express our love to the world and connect with the Spirit of all. When Walt wrote “I Hear America Singing,” he captured what he sensed via the fellowship of his heart with Spirit. When anyone taps into the Spirit of all, they develop an acute, new sense of hearing because the vibrational energies of life emit songs, deep expressions of their essence, to any who will discern. Does anyone need to know this or discern this to live? No, but so much beauty goes undetected, and the ripples of that beauty will spread, when it is perceived, to unknown blessings. How? Well listen to some of what Walt saw with his physical eyes, and when he processed his observations in the fellowship of his heart, he heard these “carols” — celebratory songs — in the poem: “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, / Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, / The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,… / The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work, or of the girl sewing or washing…” And so Walt goes through more very common, representative people. The fact that they are common, everyday things says that he saw something more than just their simple efforts. He held their picture in his mind until their very essence was revealed to him, an essence of a song, a melody, that each life sang at a spiritual level. Now, whether people are aware of it or not, for someone in the fellowship of the heart, those songs waft their melodies to the spiritual ears of the Spirit of all, which makes their tunes available to those functioning through their heart rather than ego. It’s like those in the fellowship of the heart belong to a spiritual iTunes. Which makes me ask myself, and you since you are reading this, what kind of music am I writing with my life? What melody does the Spirit hear, do those who care to listen hear? A funeral dirge? An angry chant? A love song? A song of social justice? What is it that you or I compose and play in our daily lives? Our lives, actions, thoughts, words strike the chords, inform the spiritual band, orchestra about how our lives, our beings, resonate with the rest of creation. Pretty cool, huh? But it can be a bit scary, too, if we choose to live through ego. Some might question this idea of each of us being composers with our lives in a spiritual sense, but let Walt answer for himself: “Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else, / The day what belongs to the day — at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly, / Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.” Note how personal it is, “each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else.” Again, I must seriously consider this: What does my daily life sound like to those who listen for my song? What does yours? Do we realize that we either add to beautiful harmony or create discord, but whatever we sing, it’s there to be heard, loud and clear: “Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs.” For those who know and appreciate life and walk in their hearts of love, they can embrace and accept all. Walt did, even the Civil War and everything associated with it. He had to accept, but he also interpreted and made sense of it. The sense he made was that it happened and it would only lead to an ever-evolving America, not just a superior nation because of military or economic or political dominance, but rather because it was, to him, a nation in which we could each sing our songs through our lives, discover our hearts, live our truths, and still emerge as individuals comprising a grand, majestic, joyful orchestra. What chair have you taken in the orchestra of life? What tone does your soul add to the composition? Have you heard your heart to know who you are, to know the line of melody that you are contributing to the Universe? I hope so, because you and I, well, we really have a great sound! |
Questions to consider:How many times have you asked yourself or simply thought about the following questions?
Who am I, really? What is my truth? How do my actions reveal what I really feel and believe? What would I do with my life if I could do anything? What is my passion? Why am I here? How can I discover answers to any of these questions? If you have considered any of these questions, I hope that my experiences and writing will give you some guidance. Please read my blog and comment and share your thoughts. I would love to hear from you! Archives
December 2019
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