Thank you for this, you’ve got me on the edge of my seat for the next post. I think about these things every day. The door that opens within an individual to come out of the state of separation and into the state where we are so interwoven within what you name the Transcendent is what rivets me the most. I want to help at that intersection. I can see that it changes everything.
Richard, this part of your poem does not make sense to me: "all the participants free from impunity." Impunity is defined as "exemption from punishment." If one is free of that exemption, it means they are subject to punishment, not free of punishment.
I've found, in practice, working with several thousand people over more than 25 years as a clinical psychologist, that all kinds of complex, multi dimensional combinations of needs are woven together.
in one case, a young teen with cognitive abilities like that of a 6 year old, who was constantly fighting with everyone around him, seemed to almost completely resolve his anger when he was given an opportunity to spend time with residents in a nursing home where his great aunt lived. He loved to talk with them, to bring them food and other treats, and that gave him a sense of purpose.
yet I've met others who simply needed to learn to eat simply, exercise regularly and sleep well.
Still another involves a vet with severe PTSD whose symptoms went into compete remission when we talked about what his soul was longing for (he was a devout Catholic who had lost all faith in the church).
I'd love to hear more from you about concrete examples of collective openings to the Divine that you see having a powerful impact in the world. I have been looking for the past 50+ years; I see infinitely more of it than I did then, but it still seems like tiny lights here and there.
Where I find the most hope is in the astonishingly rapid overturning of 400 years of materialistic belief among top scientists. I knew, in 1970, this would happen one day, but I expected it to happen more toward the end of the 21st century, never thinking I would live to see it!
Don, your stories are so heartwarming. I can truly feel what you are saying in your writing right now. Thank you so much. So rich and such wisdom. I love how your stories show that healing and awakening often emerge through relationship—through the rediscovery of meaning in service, connection, and love.
I share your sense that the “tiny lights” are multiplying, and what gives me hope is seeing them begin to weave together.
In Symbiotic Culture, I describe this as collective openings to the Divine order made tangible—villages, neighborhoods, and local networks reorienting around purpose, trust, and mutual care. I’ve witnessed it in community renewal efforts from Reno to Sri Lanka, and in faith-based and civic networks now forming new relational ecosystems.
It’s the same luminous thread you describe—Love expressing itself through service and belonging, one circle at a time. My book is especially for those who are already on their religious or spiritual path, maybe for decades, who need a simple framework to help them connect the "scattered humanity" that is ready to connect the dots right where they are.
It doesn't take money or time, and you don't even have to create a formal organization to achieve great, accelerated results.
Yes, materialism is actually 2,500 years old, and you're right: it is now seen by many as empty. It doesn't mean rejecting materialism, but integrating ways of knowing in an integrated fashion—bringing rational and spiritual knowing together seamlessly in a whole person.
As I indicated in the introduction, while not a Christian — I grew up in a secular Jewish household — I have taken the core message of Jesus to heart. TO ME reads funny- Jesus was a Jew and so his message was a Jewish one! I wonder if there are other Jewish thinkers that were similar in approach??
Ironic, no? Well, the answer gets complicated. Yes, he was a Jewish teacher, but the claims of the earlier followers (who came to be called Christians) saw him as the actual embodiment of the Logos. Think of this as God wanting to redeem and teach us by taking on human form and being born, living amongst us, dying, and being resurrected. He was God among us. So, to me Jesus wasn't just a wisdom teacher, but he was both human and divine in a way we can follow but not be the same as.
In that sense he was a singular figure different than all other religious figures or deities.
Thank you for this, you’ve got me on the edge of my seat for the next post. I think about these things every day. The door that opens within an individual to come out of the state of separation and into the state where we are so interwoven within what you name the Transcendent is what rivets me the most. I want to help at that intersection. I can see that it changes everything.
It's great to hear from you Mary. Looking forward to continued interaction as we build a community of wonderful people like yourself.
Richard, this part of your poem does not make sense to me: "all the participants free from impunity." Impunity is defined as "exemption from punishment." If one is free of that exemption, it means they are subject to punishment, not free of punishment.
I've found, in practice, working with several thousand people over more than 25 years as a clinical psychologist, that all kinds of complex, multi dimensional combinations of needs are woven together.
in one case, a young teen with cognitive abilities like that of a 6 year old, who was constantly fighting with everyone around him, seemed to almost completely resolve his anger when he was given an opportunity to spend time with residents in a nursing home where his great aunt lived. He loved to talk with them, to bring them food and other treats, and that gave him a sense of purpose.
yet I've met others who simply needed to learn to eat simply, exercise regularly and sleep well.
Still another involves a vet with severe PTSD whose symptoms went into compete remission when we talked about what his soul was longing for (he was a devout Catholic who had lost all faith in the church).
I'd love to hear more from you about concrete examples of collective openings to the Divine that you see having a powerful impact in the world. I have been looking for the past 50+ years; I see infinitely more of it than I did then, but it still seems like tiny lights here and there.
Where I find the most hope is in the astonishingly rapid overturning of 400 years of materialistic belief among top scientists. I knew, in 1970, this would happen one day, but I expected it to happen more toward the end of the 21st century, never thinking I would live to see it!
Don, your stories are so heartwarming. I can truly feel what you are saying in your writing right now. Thank you so much. So rich and such wisdom. I love how your stories show that healing and awakening often emerge through relationship—through the rediscovery of meaning in service, connection, and love.
I share your sense that the “tiny lights” are multiplying, and what gives me hope is seeing them begin to weave together.
In Symbiotic Culture, I describe this as collective openings to the Divine order made tangible—villages, neighborhoods, and local networks reorienting around purpose, trust, and mutual care. I’ve witnessed it in community renewal efforts from Reno to Sri Lanka, and in faith-based and civic networks now forming new relational ecosystems.
It’s the same luminous thread you describe—Love expressing itself through service and belonging, one circle at a time. My book is especially for those who are already on their religious or spiritual path, maybe for decades, who need a simple framework to help them connect the "scattered humanity" that is ready to connect the dots right where they are.
It doesn't take money or time, and you don't even have to create a formal organization to achieve great, accelerated results.
Yes, materialism is actually 2,500 years old, and you're right: it is now seen by many as empty. It doesn't mean rejecting materialism, but integrating ways of knowing in an integrated fashion—bringing rational and spiritual knowing together seamlessly in a whole person.
As I indicated in the introduction, while not a Christian — I grew up in a secular Jewish household — I have taken the core message of Jesus to heart. TO ME reads funny- Jesus was a Jew and so his message was a Jewish one! I wonder if there are other Jewish thinkers that were similar in approach??
Ironic, no? Well, the answer gets complicated. Yes, he was a Jewish teacher, but the claims of the earlier followers (who came to be called Christians) saw him as the actual embodiment of the Logos. Think of this as God wanting to redeem and teach us by taking on human form and being born, living amongst us, dying, and being resurrected. He was God among us. So, to me Jesus wasn't just a wisdom teacher, but he was both human and divine in a way we can follow but not be the same as.
In that sense he was a singular figure different than all other religious figures or deities.