The Aikido of International Relations

Carrying forward with the thoughts on reaching a realistic balance between violence and nonviolence in today's world. Probably one of the most misused terms used to describe the tension holding any given society together is "peace". I suppose that one possibly would say that peace is the absence of violence in a given societal group. If that is your working definition then you don't have a problem, except for "enforcement".. But if you describe peace as some quantitative level of prosperity, respect for human rights, freedom and equality then it becomes much more problematic. In my opinion these are essential to any real concept of peace. The notable examples of "peace" in our human existence has fallen within the first definition. The absence of violence between subjugation and uprising, or collapse. One can probably point all the way back to the prehistorical examples and the biblical and ancient texts certainly have no shortage of these examples. The "Pax Roma" (the peace under the conquered world of the Roman Empire; The first and second World Wars (The Great War and the War to end all Wars). Even the phrase utilized by most Catholics and some other denominations in greeting each other is "the Peace of Christ". That peace for most is the celebration of peace "within" the Christian community, more accurately within their denomination. Until the "overarching universal" nature of "Christ" is understood by the soul of all using it that phrase really does ring shallow. My Christ, the One worthy of my worship is bigger than Christianity. Of course many Christians, most notably the right wing of the fundamentalist camp would be quick to point that crying for Peace! Peace! insures that the Antichrist is at hand and the end of ages is near. To me this is a gross misuse of the Old Testament scriptures and contrary to the not so secret message of Jesus in the New. One will quickly see dualistic extremes in other faith traditions as well calling for a holy war to purge the world of the evil one. We just have to find a better way. In the book by Becker referred to earlier he speaks of Erich Fromm in regard to the source of these group dynamics. He says..."Fromm has insisted..on the importance of what he calls "incestuous symbiosis": the fear of emerging out of the family and into the world on one's own responsibility and powers; the desire to keep oneself tucked into a larger source of power. It is these things which make for the mystique of "group", "nation", "blood", "mother or fatherland", and the like. These feelings are embedded in one's earliest experiences of comfortable merger with the mother." With such primal forces at play with our multiplicity of "groups" in our societies today it seems to me that maybe the concept of a "Mother Earth" is of some help in finding the comforting universality of creation. Somehow in today's conversations we must find a nonthreatening way to view the future. Even with the despair seen every day on the news we must remain optimistic! What is the alternative? A significant number of loving people can see that they may be "Raptured" off of the Earth before it all collapses but why does that preclude their working to bring a period of justice, love and peace to the world while they're waiting? I see that that is the message to all, of all faiths, and even to those of no faith if they can see the signs from those in our past who have done Love as a way of life.

As Marianne alluded to referring to the path of our hero's of the 60's "...They pointed to the next step in America's moral evolution-the expansion of our compassion-and that is a step by definition repudiates oppression and injustice.". And further "We need to recreate politics now as a mystical pursuit, bringing our souls to bear on the effort to make the world a better place.".

That better way needs to be a vast consensus on the goal of society and a loving path of international relations. With that consensus we need a method to protect that goal from the radicals on the periphery of the world community. That could be fulfilled by the exercise of that "Prime Directive" concept, the non offensive might part, not the sacred sovereignty part.

It is time for the world to rethink the concept of the United Nations. It has the potential to do much, much more in the realm of international cooperation toward Peace. It has done much good in the area of child rescue, peace keeping presence, disaster relief. However due mostly to the limitations set upon it at its inception there is very little real power for enforcement at any real level of humanitarian concern. The five members of the Security Council need to forgo their veto power in the interest of international responsibility. The current level of effectiveness of the United Nations is hamstrung by the multiplicity of international treaty's and opposing ally agreements. There needs to be a better international conversation on the goals of anti-terrorism, human rights, anti-genocide, disease containment and education. I am not saying that all nations should disarm but I am saying that the human community must embrace a common committed goal of bringing these affronts to human dignity to an end. We have the resources and the communication to do it; We just need the dedication to that purpose. We are tied together in so many ways. We should be able to use these ties for the common good.

Sovereignty is not all bad just as the ego is not all bad. It recognizes, and honors, our differences. It is necessary for our identity. We are at a point in the earths existence where we don't need to "multiply and subdue the earth". We need to nurture what we have been gifted with. Those of us who have been most blessed need to lead the movement toward that goal. There is a Wikipedia definition of the concept of "Contingent Sovereignty" which is very good and in the next post I will insert the full comment. For now I just want to state that we need to rethink the concept in light of our international responsibilities.

I'm not just talking about an international military police force. In modern police science there is much more than force involved in keeping the law. Although that level of force must be present to use as a last resort in the defense of society, international society. The full scope of these non violent options are greater in scope than I am aware of but I am acquainted with some efforts. I watch TV . We have community service officers which work in the areas of "at risk" elements of society. We have Volunteers in the areas of education and mentoring of youth without adult guidance. Sometimes just having a police presence gives a community a sense of calm. In the bigger picture we have the capability of diplomatic negotiations and overtures and probably one of the most effective measures in this interdependent world would be the use of economic sanctions and incentives. The list goes on but the point is that with a hands on "Love" physical violence can be reduced.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art developed by Morikei Neshiba. It is described as " ..the way of harmonious spirit..goal to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker from injury" (Wikipedia). This may be a little bit of a simplistic look at a very involved problem but I think that this is not a bad model for approaching the ills of society. If we, as a world, can convene a "Bill of Human Rights" and put a lot of resources toward it's peaceable attainment. And then devise a way of minimal force to insure peace, rescuing the victim as well as the offender (if possible) ; What a wonderful world this would be. Peace! RV

The Prime Directive

The object of this post is the subject of violence. As stated in the close of the last post this is a subject of much controversy and passion. A most appropriate area of reflection during the week remembered by most of the Christian world as being the "Passion" of Christ. I have picked the title "The Prime Directive" as kind of a reference to the original Star Trek series. Upon further research I guess that name isn't 100% accurate as the term was used to keep star fleet vessels from interfering with extant civilizations. It was a derivative of what was called the "Westphalian doctrine of sovereignty" and was intended as a policy by which one nation/force would not be allowed to interfere in another's internal workings. That doctrine is under challenge in light of the changing nature of world organizations and the interdependency of cultures and nation states. One challenge to the Westphalian model is termed the concept of "Contingent Sovereignty" and I'd like to describe and comment on in the next post. The aspect of the "Prime Directive" which I was impressed with at the time and the focus which I'm referring to here is the idea that force was limited to defensive use only. This approach is an important one and as with most defenses can be misapplied as well as aggressive force and also non-violent protest. It is in that area I'd like to dwell for a bit.

Non violence is a great concept. If you would use a term as the common characteristic of such great world leaders as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, the Dali Lama, and of course Jesus the Christ that concept would probably be "Non Violence". Another descriptive term for this concept would be "Peace" and possibly "Love". As beautiful and altruistic as these concepts are they certainly have not been the best accurate descriptor of the human experience so far. I know that many of the great writers and speakers of this movement today and in ages past make a very good case for "Love" to be the guide for our lives both intrapersonally and societal or international. And as much as I would long for such a reality it appears to be just that, a guide, toward the realization of the dream. It has not proven to be practical in the larger scope of existence. It has been an effective modus in a smaller scale and that in itself is encouraging for the long haul. We lament the assassinations of these great masters and the corruption of their dreams but those dreams are still there for us to model to the best we can. We speak against the imperialization of the life of Jesus but through the ages His lessons have been exemplified by many saints. I'm sure other traditions have examples as well. In the case of M. Gandhi, at least as I've understood his story, it is sobering to realize that even though he was seen as the father of India he underwent deadly fasts even after Independence from England as the country just couldn't get along in peace. To resolve the Muslim/Hindu breach they ended up not with one loving democracy but two separate states of Pakistan and India. My point here is that it appears non violence is a goal to strive for but may in reality be one extreme on the dualistic pendulum of Peace and violence. I don't deny that the practice may have great results and is a most effective course of protest. In the earlier post I quoted Marianne as saying "the soul without body is ineffective and the body without the soul is dangerous". Nonviolence I see as the soul without the body. I believe that as idealistically bad violence seems to be I don't know of a father or mother who wouldn't go to all physical lengths possible to Defend their spouse or children. I do not see defense of life to be in conflict with God's plan. Of course the word plan may not be best here since the ultimate Plan is to have a world peopled with image fullfillers, image of God masters. Maybe a better word would be God's path as that suggests a Pilgrim journey.
The other extreme of this dualistic pendulum has no shortage of examples in the personal all the way up to the world view even including the ecological crisis we are facing in this new millennium. Brian McLaren stated in a recent article about "Christian Militias"; ...is the question of whether we believe God is violent. There is no question that Christians, Muslims, Jews, and others have been violent in God's name...The question is whether we believe violence is inherent to the character of God. A nonviolent God cannot be enlisted to sanction aggression, but a violent one is handy for that purpose." Sanction aggression is the key to that statement as in my humble opinion aggression is not synonymous with defense of life. Of course we humans have been defining all kinds of aggression over the ages as being "defensive" and thereby "good" and "Godly". There is the difficulty to redefining the terms. As most of these writers have stated in many different contexts the Self, Ego, Selfishness, and even in the international sense "Sovereignty" puts the "us" in opposition to "them". Good and bad. Right and wrong. We have to as a human race redefine our terms of engagement to be more "Godlike" and Loving! A reduction of the dualistic extremes of our past. And at the same time to honor that which is good in our history. Finding that new path is what I would call the Prime Directive. To find a path through our past, using the strength of the present, to reach for the stars and the heavens in the future. As Marianne said, "..turn our backs on our lower natures, allowing the angels to breath within us." Live Long and Prosper! "-"' , In the Spirit of the Christ! Roberto Vincente

Morphic Resonance?

Blessings to you as we approach the Easter week! This posting may take a while as there is much swirling about in this mind of mine right now. But that swirling is really part of that spiritual force which is directing my path of the future. At least my future and I'm prayerful it is part of a much bigger happening. So onward in the hope that this will be efficacious to others as it has been for me. The more I'm exposed to these current writers and personalities the more excited I'm becoming as to the possibilities for our world, our great land, and the overarching Christic Consciousness of the message of Jesus! Quite a package.

I mentioned earlier that it is easier to highlight the non substantive parts of Richard Rohr's work as so much is rich. One of the writers referenced in his "Naked Now" book is Marianne Williamson. The book referred to is "Healing the Soul of America" and I must say that her stuff is almost as rich as Richard's work. I will be quoting some of her work in this post. She has also written "A Return to Love". Agape Love for her, and many, is the answer. No Beatles pun intended, but they were there in the 60's which is an important era to this Soul of America book. Marianne sees that we took steps in the 60's to reclaim the beauty of our founding principles but then our leaders were shot and we were seduced into a materialistic addiction. John, Bobby, Martin,..."and the bullets that shot them psychically struck us all. Millions of us became in many ways like the son of Robert Kennedy, who having watched his father murdered on television, got stoned and never recovered." "They said, "Let us honor all life." That is what made them so dangerous to the status quo. For that they lived, and for that they died. They pointed to the next step in America's moral evolution -- the expansion of our compassion -- and that is a step that by definition repudiates oppression and injustice." "Our leaders assassinated, our ranks dispersed, our generation received loud instructions: go home now, scatter, go to your rooms, and enjoy yourselves with all the toys we sell you." If Abraham's, Martin's, and John's dreams could be resurrected in this new millennium then that would be beautiful and a victory for Love. "To blend love and politics is indeed audacious. Politics is a fear-based pursuit in America today, and love is the only thing that fear fears. Love is the ultimate political rebellion." And "like a beautiful treasure housed in a decrepit building, our democratic principles are too good for our politics." Could this be something akin to an Audacity of Hope? Further she beautifully states "That place in each of us is the place of our true power; ..from that .. sacred place that we genuinely join with others...from joining we emerge truly changed, having fertilized the garden that could YET become our Eden. We turn our backs on our lower natures, allowing the angels to breath within us."

The tone of that last quote points to the perspective from which Marianne approaches today's philosophical, political, and spiritual dynamics. I believe that she is right on as to her approach but one point should be noted. The existential and mystical perspectives have been at odds throughout our existence. It appears to me that both have valid positions and it would best serve our future if we can respectfully maintain a balance, without resulting in inaction, toward the progress of all mankind. She also touches on this concept several times in relating to the connectedness of all creation, the yin and yang, right and left brain, the body and the soul. "Americans have the yang; it's time to reclaim the yin. We have the intelligence; it's time to retrieve our souls....Democracy is profoundly relevant to the evolution of humanity, and as such it carries the psychological momentum to create miracles in the strangest places." "From the early American Quakers to H.D.Thoreau, to M. Gandhi, to M.L.King,jr, the effort to bridge the inner-outer duality has been one of the high points of human philosophy and endeavor."... "Soul without body is ineffective in the world, and body without soul is dangerous." "...conscious today of the interconnectedness of all aspects of our being...Mind and body are not separate, machinelike components of a compartmentalized self, although the thought that they are--the Newtonian paradigm--has permeated the present age." "...science has corrected and improved upon Newtonian physics...the principles of quantum physics, proving that reality is not quite as solid or objective or deterministic as Newton thought." "...biologist Rupert Sheldrake has posited the notion of "morphic resonance", suggesting that there is a unified field of consciousness connecting all life." ""The more I study physics," said Einstein, "the more I am drawn to metaphysics."" And finally regarding the balancing act she states "Today, the rationalism of the European Enlightenment is being repudiated by a more soulful worldview, just as in a previous age, Renaissance and Enlightenment philosophy repudiated the overly mystified thinking of the Middle Ages. In every historical era there ensues a creative argument with the past..." The operative words here are "repudiated" and "creative". One wonders where is the "building on the past" effort vs repudiating and is the "creative" truly creative or just the victorious new thought. It seems to me that this is a good time to reflect upon the point so as to not go "overboard" to a "dualistic" swing! Honor and build; Don't just throw the bastards out.

I'm of the hope that the relatedness of these concepts bode for a hopeful future but at this point I will stop. The reason being that there are several important tangents from these points which can be very problematic and I would like to touch on them next time. These are the areas of "non-violence", "sovereignty" and the "prime directive", and the "dualistic extremes". Pax Christi! RV

The Circle of Life

Circles of Life and connectedness seem to be my theme for today. The past few days I've been presented with several conversations and challenges which are really quite connected. That fact may not seem obvious at first but it sure appears so to me. Last Friday at the "Omega House" gathering we continued discussing the Becker book referred to earlier. In the philosophical subject of the elements of human composition I brought up the area of "Noetic" sciences as being one inquiry into the dualistic/opposing parts of a human which could help explain the middle ground. I know Rich asked me rhetorically what "Noetic" meant as he would have a whole lot better grasp on the concept than I do. I however couldn't really define the term except in vague terms. Someone else defined it as relating to the mind. That really didn't do it for me but my ignorance had to let the issue go. In reality the term is a little nebulous as to the span of areas of study. Noetic comes from the Greek "Nous" and appears to not have a direct English translation. The Institute on Noetic Sciences defines it as an "inner knowing = a kind of intuitive consciousness direct and immediate access to knowledge beyond what is available to our "Normal" senses and the power of reason." The span of study is huge including the healing power of the mind regarding the body(among other subjects), paraphyschology, astral projection of the mind, and many others. The Institute was founded in the mid 70's by Astronaut Edgar Mitchell and others following his return from space. He was so amazed by the sight of the Earth from space that he felt there had to be more than "Just" science behind it all. So as I see it Noetics is trying to deal with/experience the uncertainty or Mystery of that which is holding it all together. And attempting to possibly measure some of this force. The flux or circle of life. Becker is writing about the philosopher Kierkegaard and says"...progression in...the possibilities of heroism...Man breaks through the bounds of mearly cultural heroism; he destroys the character lie that had him perform as a hero in the everyday social scheme of things; and by doing so he opens himself up to infinity, to the possibility of cosmic heroism, to the very service of God. His life thereby acquires ultimate value in place of mearly social and cultural, historic value. He links his secret inner self, his authentic talent, his deepest feelings of uniqueness, his inner yearnings for absolute significance, to the very ground of creation....Cosmic Heroism." To me that mystery and force of creation is what the noetics are trying to measure and what not only Becker and Kierkegaard but also Mclaren and Rohr are getting at with the relation of all creation with the Creator. That mystery and "dance" is also a pretty good description of the Trinity. I was thinking at Sheritas Labyrinth today about how the labyrinth concept, circular and interconnected path leading to the center of it all, is a physical symbol of what is being said here. And maybe the living Thyme path between all those paths is representing that mysterious noetic force within it all, holding it all and enhancing it all.

So a respected friend and I were discussing life, specifically the afterlife, the other day. I told him of my letter to my loved ones after Sheritas passing and he was telling me about a book he had heard of that was spoken of on the Today show. The book is titled "Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near Death Experiences" by Dr Jeffrey Long. The interview was on January 2oth of this year and I'll try to insert a link. The interview was well done and could very well be supportive to one questioning these issues. "These issues" to me do refer to this same force which continues onward beyond this ol earth. I'm not sure if the term afterlife is really the best one to use. It seems by calling the eternal existence "life" it automatically puts a picture in our finite minds of something related to this body and this earth. I'm pretty sure that that dimension is beyond our accurate description, as is proven by "golden streets and pearly gates". Going back to Becker ..."as long as man is an ambiguous creature he can never banish anxiety; what he can do instead is to use anxiety as an eternal spring for growth into new dimensions of thought and trust. Faith poses a new life task, the adventure in openness to a multi-dimensional reality." I knew I was going to like this guy. Pax Christi! RV Dr Long - http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34953759/

A Rose by any Other Name!

So to carry on from yesterday. Becker is a good writer and I believe his work will help me to understand better the world of Philosophy. It is slow reading for me as many terms are like a foreign language to me. The first three chapters seem to be a good exposition of the "Hero" concept. As he is a really good source I will continue to insert a few quotes as I go along here. He says regarding the volumn of thought "In times such as ours there is a great pressure to come up with concepts that help men understand their dilemma; there is an urge toward vital ideas, toward a simplification of needless intellectual complexity." It seems the first couple of chapters he is presenting a very dualistic nature of man. I'm pretty sure he is going to rise above this viewpoint in future chapters. It seems to me that the dividing of the human condition into the poles of a) Bodies and symbols, b) Bodies and self, and c)Bodies and essence is actually very dualistic and decries the concept of the homogenity of all creation. I believe that he may end up going to a concept that it is all connected; Philosophy, and Science, and Theology or Religion. I hope so. This will be a short posting as just had to have some dental work done so feeling kind of punk. I've stated before that I don't believe there is a practical or even an efficatious way to talk about man and not talk religion. I am refreshed to read the following from Becker; "Society itself is a codified hero system, which means that society everywhere is a living myth of the significance of human life,...Every society thus is a "religion" whether it thinks so or not: ... no matter how much they may try to disguise themselves by omitting religious and spiritual ideas from their lives." Take Care! RV

THE Paradox!!

So yesterday I wrote of a new "different " book I was reading, coming from a Philosophical rather than a Theological viewpoint. Have really not read that far yet but this guy Becker seems to be a good writer and certainly is seemingly in line with my journey so far. This of course makes him a very together kind of thinker as well as being a good writer :) Before going further today thought I'd paste a scripture quote I picked up from the "Sojourners" e-blurb I get daily. Just struck me that it is a really good example to show the ultimate paradox which is Jesus.

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.
- Galatians 3:28-29

Makes me happy to call myself a Christian! In the purest sense of the term.

So the name of the book is "The Denial of Death" by Ernest Becker. The forward, written by Sam Keen, is actually pretty keen. Sorry about that! He states "In the years since his death (1974),Becker has been widely recognized as one of the great spiritual cartographers of our age and a wise physician of the soul....the bitter medicine he prescribes--contemplation of the horror of our inevitable death--is, paradoxically (there's that word again), the tincture that adds sweetness to mortality." "Society provides the second line of defense against our natural impotence by creating a Hero system that allows us to believe that we transcend death by participating in something of lasting worth." and"There are signs-- the acceptance of Becker's work being one--that some individuals are awakening from the long, dark night of tribalism and nationalism and developing what Tillich called a transmoral conscience, an ethic that is universal rather than ethnic."

One of the earlier philosophers which Becker uses a lot is Otto Rank. He quotes Rank at the start of his preface, and I couldn't agree more, but it doesn't seem to be stopping me from my own writing. He quotes "for the time being I give up writing--there is already too much truth in the world--an overproduction which apparently cannot be consumed!" and then Becker goes on to write "...knowledge is in a state of useless overproduction...it is strewn all over the place, spoken in a thousand competitive voices...There is no throbbing vital center...There has to be revealed the harmony that unites many different positions, so that the "sterile and ignorant polemics" can be abated." and "I have had the growing realization aver the past few years that the problem of man's knowledge is not to oppose and demolish opposing views, but to include them in a larger theoretical structure...The problem is to find the truth underneath the exaggeration, to cut away the excess elaboration or distortion and include that truth where it fits." Sound anything like what Rohr has been saying? Have a simply Christic Day! RV

Little Gems of Wisdom and Paradox!

Good Sunday Morning! I like Sundays. A lot of the eventful things of my life seem to have occurred on this day of the week but won't go into that now, or ever. My daughter tells me that no one will want to read these posts because the title is too religious. I'm sure she is right but I mostly wrote these "Gems" as a journal of thoughts for myself and I'm too cyber challenged to change the title now anyway. So I suppose it is what it is, at least for now. I have explained the meanings behind the title earlier on and I'll stand on that for the justification if I need one. Sometime in the near future I will write more on what may be seen as a deviation from my path. I have started a new book not written by either of my favorite writers/mentors. It is a book of Philosophy suggested by the facilitator at the Omega House here in Ashland, Rich Lang. It deals with these issues of life but from a more rounded perspective than from solely a Theological point. Of course I'm not of the belief that Richard and Brian are coming from strictly a theological viewpoint anyhow. That would be very dualistic of me/us now wouldn't it!! As my friends at Dutch Brothers like to say about their coffee "its all good". That's a little simplistic but it is all connected. I thought about changing the title of this blog to "Littlegemsofwisdomandparadox". Seemed like a cute title and not so "religious" sounding. It seems that Gems, precious ones at that, have been having an impact in my life. I'm referring not to seemingly inanimate precious stones here but to the precious ones who have crossed my path. It seems that Wisdom is a gift we can glean from the past and carry forward into the future. It is the "wisdom of the ages" gleaned away from our egocentric focus which may save us all and help us to be all we can be. It seems that recognizing and valuing the Paradoxes of life may be the safest path to finding this wisdom. So there is the "non-religious" reasoning behind the thought. But on the other hand I have a tendency to view it all as "religious" even if it's "secular". Back to this later. Again "Happy Sunday"! RV

Paradox Revisited!

In an earlier post I spoke of Paradox and have referred to how Richard has referred to the concept in his book "The Naked Now". I want to revisit the concept briefly as I've just finished the book and there are a couple of juicy bits I'd like to share. Again the definition of dealing with something or some concept which appears paradoxical is "grasping the truth of something that seems a contradiction." (The usual response to the paradoxical in a dualistic mindset is to ignore or refute that which does not fit into an "A" or "B" universe. Experiencing the "Third" eye or path has been present in the Christian mystical tradition as well as others but we didn't recognize these as mysteries we just turned them into doctrinal beliefs.) "Think of Jesus = human AND divine, Mary = Virgin AND Mother, God = one AND three(Trinity), Eucharist = bread AND Jesus. Because paradox undermines dual thinking at its very root, the dualistic mind immediately attacks paradox as weak thinking or confusion, separate from hard logic." "Jesus, as the icon of Christ Consciousness(1Corinthians 2:16), is the total template of total paradox: human yet divine, heavenly yet earthly, physical yet spiritual, possessing a male body yet a female soul, killed yet alive, powerless yet powerful, victim yet victor, failure yet redeemer, marginalized yet central, singular yet everyone, incarnate yet cosmic, nailed yet liberated, resolving the great philosophical problem of the one and the many.... Jesus is the microcosm of the macrocosm.." And " Although I am a Catholic Christian, I am impressed that all three of the great Asian religions - Hindu Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism, and Chinese Taoism - build upon a worldview of nonduality and paradox. Nor did Christianity overlook this identical insight. We merely said it a different way--...the unitive way or divine intimacy,(think Catholicum or universal)...Nonduality is expressed differently in different schools, and I do not fully agree with them all, but in Christianity nonduality was not a philosophical principle, not pantheism in any form, nor a denial of necessary differences. The nondual paradox and mystery was for Christians A Living Person, an Icon we could Gaze Upon and Fall In Love With. Jesus... That makes me joyful to be a Christian." (Non grammatical caps are mine, RV). Thank you, Richard! Last night I watched the movie "Gandi". It occurs to me that that wonderful man of God epitomized the sentiment of the last statement. He was a Hindu but considered himself to be "All of the Above" as a child of God. It is ironic that the prime result of his life's work at that time was the separation of India into the Muslim state of Pakistan and the Hindu state of India; and doubly ironic that he was finally shot by a religious zealot. My God... Please Open our eyes and hearts!! RV

Nature of a Labyrinth

So it occurs to me that maybe there is a corelation between my spiritual journey lately and a continuing desire to install other labyrinths. My original desire was to honor Sherita and one of the last places we spent time together was at a labyrinth in Palos Verdes Estates, Southern California. I never seemed to pronounce the word correctly, she had experienced labyrinths in her worship team travels, and there was a real pretty one at a Neighborhood Church of God near where we were staying for the clinical trial. Anyway it worked out great to do one in her memory at Ashland Community Hospital. Many of our friends and coworkers helped put it in place. The spot is very peaceful although it is literally right in the middle of the hospital. When one reflects on the "contemplative" focus of Richard Rohr a labyrinth is a perfect place to be alone with God. Having ancient roots but no "denominational" home it is very much the fabric from which an all inclusive "God" experience can be partaken. I hope I will be able to install others in the future. Included below is the text of the brochure put together for her memorial. Peace! RV

Conceived and installed during the winter of 2008 in honor of Sherita Pearl Vlach. Sherita was employed at Ashland Community Hospital in the Admissions Department for many years and on September 14, 2008 she lost a brief valiant battle with Pancreatic cancer. The memorial plaque at the center briefly tells her story; “A Moment In Our Lives ~ Eternally In Our Hearts!”.
This garden monument is more than a traditional labyrinth. It has many unique features incorporated within it’s structure. This in itself is a symbol of the uniqueness of Sherita as a wife, mother, grandmother, educator, businesswoman, singer, and healthcare professional. She epitomized the spirit of “Planetree”. This labyrinth is smaller than some and of a more contemporary design. It is a “five circuit Neomedieval Chelsea” design. Ashland Community Hospital is also smaller than some but that is proven everyday to be a very good thing.
The labyrinth concept has ancient origins and only since the middle ages been utilized as a symbol of Christian Meditation. The differences from the original use are interesting and bear mentioning here. Symbols have been used as touch points in many spiritual traditions. Originally a labyrinth was a maze with one path to the center and many dead ends. Walls to hide the path were also common. A modern labyrinth has no walls to hide the path and no dead ends. The goal is readily visible. You are only asked to focus and meditate on that goal. The center of Sherita’s Labyrinth is a bubbling water feature symbolizing the life giving nature of living water. A solid symbol of God. Between the admittedly narrow paver paths are planted several varieties of thyme which provide for an aromatherapy path, especially as one may stray. Please enjoy your time of reflection and may peace be with you!
　
Many of Sherita’s friends have contributed to this art form in her memory, both in the form of cash and labors of Love. Bob and the family wish to thank them for their generosity. In addition to the contributions of many individuals special thanks are in order to the following organizations;
Ashland Community Hospital
Leave Your Mark memorial pavers
Ashland Parks and Cemetery Departments
　
Please use caution when walking the path. Pavers (cobblestones) naturally have uneven surfaces and the use of this monument is at your own risk. Enjoy!