David Barnes and Lou Rotola April 8, 2001 Sunrise Ranch
Mariya Kasow played the drum, accompanied by Arrow Flora on the didgeridoo, while David Barnes read a poem he wrote
David Barnes— We are going to share a poem with you called spirit dancing. It's about the Creator's Law, which we know is the law of giving and receiving in balance. It's about celebrating living the law around the cycles of the seasons—dancing the law—spirit dancing.
spirit dancing
the creator's Law bids us to dance
the solar pulse calls us to dance
the mother's heartbeat leads us to dance
the dance of the spirit draws us together
the creator's Law bids us to dance
we all are related in the dance of the Law
the Law is a gift
living is giving
dancing the gift
dancing the circle
dancing the cycle
round
seasons of plenty
dancing the cycle round seasons of plenty
dancing the seasons round cycles of giving
dancing to celebrate rhythms of living
we dance and we celebrate — living the Law
giving and receiving — being the Law
sowing and reaping — thankful for Law
the seed and the harvest — receiving the Law
ebbing and flowing — breathing the Law
the light and the dark — encircled by Law
the sun and the earth — oneness in Law
the rhythms of being — dancing the Law
dancing the Law brings a knowing in living
the Law brings us plenty
the Law brings us balance
the Law brings connection
the Law brings us power
a stranger arrived in the garden of glory
with ambitions and fears and demons and noise and obsessions
with
illusions of progress
convictions of sin
and they did their best
to stop
both the music and the dance
but the tide can't be turned
and the music plays on
and the heartbeat is heard
and the dance is forever
here
in this day
we join in the music and the dance of a joyous creation
woman and man — wakan and skan
dancing our love
for the
lord of the dance
dancing our love
for the
goddess of rhythm
the creator's Law bids us to dance
the solar pulse calls us to dance
the mother's heartbeat leads us to dance
the dance of the spirit draws us together
we all are related in the dance of the Law
the creator's Law bids us to dance
it's a good day to dance
it's a good day to dance
it's a good day to dance
I've been thinking about language, and the use of various languages to communicate. Some varied forms of language have already been used this morning; the language of the drum, and the language of the didgeridoo; the language of the spirit expressed through Mariya and Arrow. The language of the poetry, the words selected to clothe the rhythm, the information conveyed, the spirit of the words. I've been thinking of what could be called the one language, or the language of oneness—the language of love. You could say the true language, which, no doubt, has many dialects and formations, but it all finds its origin in the substance of love and the spirit of love.
What causes me to begin to think about this is what could be considered as a failure to communicate—to speak clearly, to hear what is being said, to understand what is being said, and to communicate on the basis of truly listening and hearing and understanding. Asking myself the questions: What am I missing? Why aren't we communicating? Why aren't we hearing each other? Why are we misinterpreting what one another is saying? What must I do different? How can this be made right? How can the channels of clear communication—listening, speaking, understanding—be opened more fully than they are? I wrote a few things about this a few days ago. Here is one paragraph:
“Language is enformed by such factors as the spoken word; the silent sound; the quality of the atmosphere; the known and emphasized meanings of specific words; the rhythm, poetry, cadence, and feeling; facial expressions; both the spoken and unspoken emotional and intellectual content of the words and postures; overt and covert action at multiple levels; the appearance of doing nothing, which actually is doing something; actual and interpreted national and cultural differences and biases; the levels of being that are in expression at any particular moment; and the collective interpretations and translations that are shared by individuals relative to the cultural accumulation of all these elements.” There are many other things that could be mentioned.
There is a new language that I am beginning to learn, that we are all beginning to learn. I say, “beginning” because it has been happening over recent decades, over this century predominantly. It can be described quite precisely as the language of love, and the language of oneness, which is the language of spirit—the language of the wholeness of spirit, the holiness of spirit; a sacred language, which isn't religious languag, arising out of religious beliefs, but it is a language that carries a current of spirit born out of a consciousness of oneness—oneness in Being.
It seems to me that in the development of clear communication, and a language which allows for that—taking into consideration all those factors that I mentioned—that we must begin in an awareness of eternal Divine Being, true Being, God Being and the spirit of God Being. Being God in expression in human form, there is awareness of a spirit that is released through all forms that are at hand for communication. Obviously, if our own identity and orientation is not in Divine Being, it is in limited human-ego being present. And if that is the case we find ourselves, if not, at the least, mis-communicating, then, taken to the extreme, at war with one another, perpetuating violence on the earth in relationship to one another, and in relationship to God—we have an antagonistic attitude relative to the Source of life itself, and certainly an antagonistic attitude towards all the kingdoms of creation. And we have no great capacity to communicate with one another, or with plant, animal, rock and soil—all those levels of creation that we as mankind have opportunity to be in communion with, by reason of the spirit of love, the spirit of God, the spirit of Divine Being, the spirit of all that is whole and wholesome and holy.
And so, if we're not actually living in that holy spirit we are living in and through, to put it simply, a cultic state of consciousness—an environment that has been set up and established to make us as secure and as comfortable as possible in what is inevitably and ultimately an impossible and uncomfortable situation! And we find ourselves, with our particular brand of cultic consciousness, in a standoff against others with their particular brand of cultic consciousness. We try to communicate from one bubble, one level of cultic domain, through the membrane, into another. We may appear to have a certain level of communication within that particular isolated bubble, but it's only within that, and it's only in appearance. It isn't true communication, and it isn't born of the language of love, and it isn't born out of oneness. It's born of separation and fear. Now, fortunately, there are those who are coming out of that—the bubble is bursting, the membrane is dissolving, in the hearts of those who are attuned to the spirit of love, the holy spirit, the spirit of truth, and are keen to bring spirit dancing in a vibrancy of life.
I was thinking about the great burning that is going on in the world, a great fire burning at many levels—burning up the cultic state of consciousness really, and burning up all that would maintain it! But the particular burning I've been thinking of is occurring in two locations on the planet. One is in the rainforests—let's say, of Brazil—the destruction and the burning of the forests to make pastureland to raise beef for the American and European market. As Gary Snyder put it, in his poem titled Mother Earth: Her Whales, in the rainforest there are: “Thirty thousand kinds of unknown plants.The living actual people of the jungle sold and tortured.” Sold, and tortured in the destruction—a fire unleashed by the greed of those who function within the political and economic and social and educational cults that the world accepts in the name of security; accepts as being essential to a wholesome and healthy and productive and enjoyable life.
Then there's that other fire that is raging in Europe. It's not the witch-burning this time. It's foot-and-mouth disease. It's the pigs and the sheep and the cattle—the four-footed ones. Mad cow disease, they call it. Isn't it tragically ironic that they're burning the forests in Brazil to make pastureland to raise cattle for the European market, and they're burning the cattle in Europe, because of the imbalance and the disease that is present in Europe and Brazil. Thinking about that, I can't help but feel that it has a lot to do with the fact that human beings don't know how to communicate with their brothers and sisters, and all their relations.
There are people who have a unique touch with the plant life, the rock life, the animal life on the planet, the touch of magic, the capacity to communicate, and a great love that allows it to be so for them; something instinctual, innate, a gift, a divine gift that has come through. When you are around such people you notice that there is a sense of great respect for all of creation and a love for the Creator, a love for God, a sense of Divine Being present within the heart of that one, although they may not talk about it that way.
But we do have the capacities, whether they're used or not, for communion—which is oneness, which is love—that proceeds from a quality of communication with Divine Being, whether that Divine Being relates to how we express toward one another—recognizing the sacred core that is present, and giving life to each other—or relates to communion in the sense of an invisible, upwelling through the heart of a spirit of gratitude and closeness, and in awareness of what has been established here on this planet. An awareness of who we are as human Beings, and awareness of the great angelic hosts, the focalizations of archangelic consciousness with whom it is possible, by reason of the spirit, to enter into union, the substance of which brings peace on earth—in our own hearts first. It brings a quality of language born of a mind that is becoming increasingly still, and filled with light, with understanding; and peace on earth in relationship to who and what we are as Divine Man and Divine Woman, present in human form to provide what comes by reason of our presence in relationship to the other levels and the other kingdoms of creation.
We gain a sense that there is the capacity for a full spectrum of communication—upward, outward, downward, all around—by reason of an increasing consciousness of Spirit Being present on earth in human form, and in expression. Spirit dancing. The Word expressed. The Word of God, it's been called—and that's communication, isn't it? To speak the Word of God. By the very word itself, it implies expression and communication: the Word of life, the Word of love, truthful words. And by reason of that expression in relationship to all things—not just talking, in all things—allowing all circumstances to be a vehicle for the conveyance of this one language, the language of oneness, the language of love. So we need to make the necessary and essential adjustments when those things come out of our mouth that are not true to that spirit. Loving that spirit; so that one is listening to what it is that is taking place, listening to one another, listening to what comes out of one's own mouth and out of one's own heart. And, listening in this way, born of love, let the change occur so that the expression that comes through the spoken word—such a powerful medium!—is increasingly in harmony with the core of Spirit Being that I am. Loving the Language of the Gods, the language of spirit; and recognizing that each one, each Being, each human Being, will speak that language in a divinely distinctive manner. It may be, for some, dominantly through words. We all will have to speak, inevitably; most through the spoken word, but also through all the other ways in which we can speak and share in the language, the music and the rhythm of the spirit.
Relative to the animals and plants, the torture of the “living actual people of the jungle” (sometimes it sounds like a jungle around here, with all the sounds of living creation): let us love them! Speak with them, invite what they would have to say into the circle of the life that we center. It is said that Man, Divine Man and Divine Woman, was to have dominion over the earth, and all the things of the earth. But there's nothing in the spirit of that particular phrase which implies imposition. It is actually referring to the dominion of the spirit which, when expressed, doesn't lead any one or any level of creation into bondage, or into suffering, into prison. It doesn't cause manipulation, genetic or otherwise. It brings a focus of creative spirit into the world—and the spirit of love is not about to destroy! It offers transformation, upliftment and welcome, an invitation to come close; to speak, to listen, to hear, and to create together.
Something has to change in the heart, for the language of the spirit to be understood and to be expressed—a renewal and a regeneration of the substance of the heart—because the language of the spirit is a fiery language! And it takes a clear channel and a purified mechanism for it to come through. And, in fact, it's in the process of burning its way through, from the inside out; from the inner dimensions of Being to the outer, so that the outer and the inner can burn together in the heart, which is the altar, the meeting point between the two domains, in oneness.
So, we who live and associate together by reason of knowing this place of Being, have an opportunity to let these things that I'm speaking of prevail—in relationship to the majesty of life, in all its forms, that is all around us all the time; and in relationship to one another, and the core purpose of communion that is established in this holy place as the reason for its Being. If we don't let these things prevail, what we we do and create becomes just another cult: people in bondage in their particular little bubble, or their little collective bubble; bouncing off each other, knowing a few others that we say are our particular friends. And if we do let these things prevail, we set in motion a whirlwind of genuine spirit which assists in the dissolution of all cultic consciousness everywhere! Our own, whatever might remain; and all that which is present in the world. And it's a controlled burn; it's not a wildfire. It is a fire that will take care of all of this in a decent and orderly manner, and leave all things free in the substance of love, in oneness—leaving us aware of our Divine heredity, and the culture that extends from that heredity, and the language that extends out of that culture, and the right communication that is established by reason of the understanding and the speaking of the language. And then the torture is drawn to a close, and the spirit dance proceeds.
And now, Joseph Flora will play some more on the didgeridoo; and then our friend Lou Rotola will share some of the wisdom and magic of his spirit with us all.
Lou Rotola — I certainly appreciate what we've been sharing. I had the feeling, as David was speaking, that the angels of heaven and earth were singing and dancing with great joy, with the exquisite sounds, and the poetry. And thank you too, Joseph. It's a wonderful thing to give opportunity for people to express their gifts, their unique divine gifts as individual, unique, divine beings.
Listening to David, I couldn't help thinking that language is such a challenging thing. For the most part, I think it's because words are used without any knowing of the reality of the symbol of the word, or the words. And it tends to deceive the person into thinking that they know something, when the truth of the matter is they know about something that may lead them to knowing something, because words have a way of clothing the inner reality, as does every other kind of expression. But “to be silent and to hear the whisper of God” are potent words—not just because Emerson said it, and not just because I'm saying it.
I'm always reminded of the great story of Abraham, and I'm sure some of you are aware of it. At the time of Abraham, the highest form of worship was to sacrifice your firstborn son. He had a son, Isaac, and he took him up into the mountain to sacrifice him, because that was the way of the land, or the way of the people, the culture. But he didn't sacrifice his son. He sacrificed a ram. I understand that in many philosophies the ram is symbolic of the human mind, so in essence that's what he really sacrificed. You could say he sacrificed the culture—he broke a pattern.
I've always loved that story, and I've always given a lot of thought to it. And I can see how this compulsion was moving in Abraham—I would call it the instinctual compulsion. The instinctual compulsion is what governs and moves the tides of the ocean, the seasons; it's the instinctual compulsion that's causing this renewal of spring, the Goddess, the birthing—a time of celebration. I also gave some thought to the question, What causes inspiration? There are so many inspirational books written; it's necessary that we inspire each other, and I think that's good and healthy. But in Abraham's case, there was no other history for him to read, nowhere to find any inspiration about any alternative to sacrificing life, his son. But the instinctual compulsion conspires to find its way into expression. There's no denying that the Law is the Law, as David's poem was indicating. This instinctual compulsion brings inspiration if there's any modicum of openness. And sure enough, Abraham had it, and that's the reason he was able to change that whole pattern. But the change wasn't made from the standpoint of not liking what was outside. That's the whole point. The change was emanating from within him. The inspiration came from within, not from anyone else. That's the message, if there ever was a message given of what we call the Emissaries of Divine Light. Inspiration comes from within, change comes from within, the control is from within. We tend to give it away. About ten years ago people were saying, “Don't give your power away to people you can't trust.” Well, don't give your power away to anybody, regardless of trust. You're the vehicle for that power, the truth of that power. And consequently this one man changed things, because he allowed himself to be a vehicle through which the divine inspiration could move.
Now of course we still have killing, sacrificing of life. It's probably more on an installment plan that we kill each other, because of a lack of the language of love. But human beings, myself included, don't want to look at these things. Well, I don't think Abraham looked at it. He probably wasn't too happy about having to kill his son; I don't know if anyone else would be either. We might say, how crazy could people be in those days? People of today always think that people of yesterday didn't know too much, but yesterday was a step that helped get us here today, and that includes the substance of the people of that time. But change came, and that's how change comes. It certainly doesn't come, as I've found out, by rebelling or fighting or anything like that.
A couple of weeks ago, Marsha was saying something to the effect that God longs to be known. I would agree with that wholeheartedly. The longing of God's heart, of His spirit, is to be known in the human heart. And I would think, if there is sadness anywhere, there is sadness in the heart of God, if I could describe it that way, because God, which is love, is not known in its fullness. But Abraham got to know that spirit; maybe there was a longing in Abraham's heart. I think there's a longing in the heart of humanity to know God. And the only reason why there is that longing is because, as I said, there is a longing in the heart of God. It's essential, I feel, to pause, to be silent and listen. We have so much bombarding from everywhere, including our own mental facilities, our own busy thoughts, that we tend to miss the whispering of God. It's been said that if you're one with God, or if you're in attunement with God, you won't beg anymore—and there's more to begging than just asking somebody for something. But here we are, made in the image and likeness of this great Spirit, ready to sing our song.
I want to read something. It's taken from a presentation by Martin Cecil, called The Artistry of Living. Living—some people used to say, “The art of living—what's that about?” Well, real living tends to be so far removed from what we're really doing. One of the Beatles, John Lennon, said that life is what happens while we're busy making other plans—for the future. Here's the excerpt. It touched me very deeply:
“Let us not be too quick to judge that someone else has made a slip. How do you know it is a slip? There is a tremendous flexibility in the divine design. The tendency in human consciousness is to try to make things conform to some concept that someone has developed as to how things should be. Each individual is unique. Each must express that uniqueness to be right. Don't judge what may indeed simply be the unfolding uniqueness appearing through somebody else...
“It is true there are certain basic principles—certain fundamental techniques, I suppose you could say—as there are certainly in flying an airplane. You can't ignore those things ever as long as you fly the airplane. But in this artistry of living we discover that there is function in so many more dimensions that we cannot possibly become rigid in our approach. Let us exhibit a willingness to allow our own individual uniqueness to take form, and let us be willing to let it be so for others.
“One of the evidences of a leader in this regard is not seen in someone who imposes his own pattern on everybody else—‘Well, you've got to do the same thing that I do, exactly’—but the leadership is revealed in the attitude of willingness to let each person be him- or herself and not to be too quick to judge that some seeming slip is necessarily a slip. Let it prove itself out. It may be found that another door is opened on the basis of what at first seemed to be a slip. There is a willingness to let others be what they are because we have been allowed to be what we are—patience, understanding, delight in the evidences of uniqueness which appear...
“What you do will be unique to you. But of course, to find that uniqueness you must develop your proficiency as an artist; otherwise you find that you start imposing something that is not genuinely you. The true uniqueness of the individual is never imposed. There is always that beautiful flexibility and vision which is capable of encompassing the uniqueness of others without being fearful of that and trying to shut it off because somehow or other you think that you wouldn't be able to handle it or relate to it. If we are centered in spirit we can relate to spirit wherever it appears; there is no problem.”
I would also like to read some words concerning having an organization versus being part of a divine organism. This selection comes from another talk by Martin Cecil, which was entitled A Family in Love.
“We have an organization related to this ministry, because seemingly this is necessary for function in the world which man has made, but the organization in this regard relates to the world which man has made and it has no validity insofar as its external form is concerned in the world that God makes. In this sense it could be seen that there are two things. There is the external organization, which incidentally I have endeavored to keep to a minimum. Sometimes I am asked as to how many members there are of the church. I never quite know what the reply should be to that question. Do you consider yourselves to be members of the church? I suppose some of you do, and that is all right, but it does not necessarily indicate that you are experiencing the reality of the divine organism. We have a church, so there must be members. We have a board of trustees who handle the business as it relates to the necessities in man's world, and we have an incorporated name. To this extent we align ourselves with man's world. This is one thing, and I think it can be recognized that such organization is necessary, but let it never be assumed that by joining the church one could thereby become a member of the divine organism.
“On the other hand, there is this other thing, which does not relate at all to any human organization. It is the experience of a living organism, and we experience it individually to the extent that we ourselves begin to live. We begin to become aware of the reality of the chosen people. Becoming aware of this, let us never fall into the trap into which the children of Israel fell, so that there begins to be an exclusive attitude, the attitude which says, in effect: ‘We are the people; those who are not sharing in this are not worthy of consideration.’ Let us never assume a superior attitude. The very fact that such an attitude might be assumed, or an exclusive attitude, is indication that the person who does accept such an attitude in relationship to himself is not experiencing what it means to be one of the chosen people. Who are the chosen people? Those who begin to share divine identity. And anyone, anywhere, may do it. It is not in any sense exclusive. Because of increasing loyalty to the Lord, a loyalty which transcends all other loyalties, we begin to emerge into this wonderful experience of being members of a living organism. The experience which we have had in this regard thus far is a little thing, but we should know that it is real…
“Humility—no attitude of exclusiveness or superiority. We do not thank God that we are better than other people, because most likely we are not. And if we were, would that be good? We do not need to be better than other people. All we need to be is what we truly are, and what we truly are is neither better nor worse than others. It is right. It is perfect. We may recognize that there is, in divine identity, divine individuality. We are our individual selves. No one else can be us and we can be no one else. This being the case, it is never a matter of better or worse. It is just a matter of being oneself in the divine sense. To the extent that there is this dawning experience of something divinely wonderful, we discover our relationship with brothers and sisters in the divine family.”
I heard that spirit and those words about thirty-eight years ago, and I thought that was the most wonderful thing I'd ever heard. The easiest thing is to be who I am. I don't have to copy someone else, I don't have to compare myself with someone else. Of course I was tarnished with the same brush as anyone else was—the need to look important, to compare myself with others, to see how important I was compared to someone else; to be jealous or envious of someone else, of their important roles and positions and what-have-you. Baseball players have a hard time with that one. No, all that's needed is just to be oneself.
Abraham exemplified that, and he proved that the positive control that governs human beings is from within. In saying that, it makes us check all the other controls that govern us, because this instinctual compulsion conspires to find expression—you can't prevent it. It conspires, it knows—the Law knows no other way, as the poem was saying. Thank God, there's no escape. I don't think any of us want to escape, but to have in our hearts this spirit of what we've been sharing this morning, and to let our lives demonstrate that spirit, so that our living is a celebration of God, the God that I am.
So, it's great to share this time with all of you. And I want to thank you, David, for preparing the heaven with these wonderful people. I'd like to invite our musicians to play some more, if you would—and as they're playing we may feel respectfully that we can move on as it's fitting, to have lunch together. Thank you.
