Space Invaders? by Julie

Toni Petrinovich sacred at anacortes.net
Mon Sep 17 13:20:08 PDT 2001


and thus we are then in the arena of the heart, dwelling in the One Heart,
open to All.

Toni

----- Original Message -----
From: "Julie Smith" <jsmith at mosquitonet.com>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 10:13 AM
Subject: Re: Space Invaders? by Julie


> Dear Paul,
>
> One of my dearest friends often sends me the same message..... take care
to
> open up to ALL voices, even those with which you disagree.  I agree with
him
> and with you.  It is only by listening deeply to all voices that we will
> ever understand all that needs to be understood.
>
> Some on this list have talked about the three arenas in which we operate:
> thought, word, and deed.  I hear Florian and Birgitt and others inviting
us
> to operate from the arena of thought.  This is the most powerful and
elegant
> arena that is available to most of us, especially when we aim our thought
on
> ideas that can be shared by all and therefore amplified by all.  The one
> thought capable of being shared by everyone is love.
>
> For many of the rest of us, the dialogue is about whether we should
operate
> in the arena of word or deed.  I think the discussion you and I are now
> having, Paul, is that one.  From those who choose the arena of deeds, of
> physical retalitation, I hear many ideas with which I agree: compassion
for
> victims, a desire to protect and nurture, a desire to prevent future harm.
> When I listen deeply for the truth coming from those who would retaliate,
> this is what I hear.  I respect and admire those who care so deeply for so
> many.
>
> Others on this list have talked about Einstein's comment that we cannot
> solve problems at the level at which they occured, that we must move to a
> higher level.  The problem in this case manifested in the arena of deed,
> culminating in the death of the physical bodies of thousands of people.
If
> Einstein was right, we need to move up a level.  To the arena of words,
and
> to the arena of thought.
>
> And how can I resist, Paul, this comment from you:
>
> > I am saying this because one of the premises of Space Invaders is that
> those
> > excluded had Hate in their hearts.  Now, you may have reached a point in
> your
> > personal development where you can shift someone's Hate, assuming it is
> truly
> > Hate....
>
> I find myself smiling, even though the topic is so grim.  I don't have the
> power to shift anyone.  But sometimes I can open myself wide enough to see
> what is already there.  When I'm open enough to see the good and reflect
> back what I see, the good becomes stronger, better, wiser.
>
> Julie
>
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>From  Mon Sep 17 13:40:49 2001
Message-Id: <MON.17.SEP.2001.134049.0700.>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:40:49 -0700
Reply-To: bjpeters at amug.org
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: BJ Peters <bjpeters at amug.org>
Subject: Re: A unique opportunity
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Peggy-- The world is very blessed to have you doing this work with this
population at this time. You have received wonderful suggestions for reframing
the theme, and I have nothing to add to their wisdom. I have only positive
energy to send your way, and I do send it. . .

Blessings --BJ

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>From  Mon Sep 17 13:49:58 2001
Message-Id: <MON.17.SEP.2001.134958.0700.>
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:49:58 -0700
Reply-To: bjpeters at amug.org
To: OSLIST <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
From: BJ Peters <bjpeters at amug.org>
Subject: Dealing with September 11, 2001
MIME-Version: 1.0
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I want to deeply thank everyone on this list - those who have contributed with
messages and those who have contributed by being in and holding the sacred
space of our collective grieving. Until now, I needed to be one of the latter.
Like many, I have been staying with my confusion while attempting to sort
through my feelings and reactions and connect with my own inner wisdom about
how to respond. So many of your words have touched my being, made me weep and
think and feel our connection and love, even when I did not necessarily agree.

What is there for me today is an emerging awareness of the various levels on
which I sense we are all dealing. The two that keep showing up as part of my
own confusion are: 1) my personal choice options for response, and 2) the
global or national options for solution. When I allow myself to contemplate and
discuss the latter, I am often at odds with the former.

And I have many more questions than I have answers:
- How can I support a solution that calls for more hate and violence when my
choice for life is love and non-violence?
- How do I hold the terrorized and the terrorists, including individuals and
our government leaders who want to - and do - retaliate, with love in my heart?

- How can I respond to friends who say their choices for life are, like mine,
for love and non-violence and in the next breath utter a wish for seeing a
bullet in the forehead of Osama bin Laden?
- How can I respond to friends who believe it right to hate individuals who
commit despicable acts?
- How do I hold onto the belief that good and evil are only the "spin" we put
on things in light of this massive deliberate destruction of human life?

In my meditation on this the other day, the word "listen" came to me. Perhaps
my lesson is to learn to live in the questions without immediate (or ever)
answers. And I'm thinking that my struggle is probably that of a spiritual
novice who has not yet attained the ability to live beyond the snare of
polarities. I thank you for letting me air my humanness in this safe space.

May we all be blessed with wisdom and acceptance in these troubled times.

BJ Peters, Consultant
bjpeters at amug.org

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive
out hate; only love can do that." --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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