Table of Contents

Introduction

A Spirit-Being Perspective

Continuing Interrelated Developments

Beyond

A Dyadic Biography

Introduction

February 2009. Believing as I do that there are invisible dimensions to events, these writings first took visible form in the summer of 2006. Earlier that year, beginning with the spring equinox on March 20, 2006, I had been living my life in four time frames, weaving them all together as harmoniously and artistically as I could. The first one was natural world time—the daily sun cycle and seasons, the moon and tide occurrences, flowering, fruiting, and the basic processes of life. Another was cultural time—clocks, watches, television and radio schedules, and appointments. The third time frame was multidimensional divine time, that is, emphases I had made and make in the spacious present that translate into natural world time and cultural world time when it’s appropriate to do so. And the fourth was my time.

I had designated the natural world year from the spring equinox on March 20, 2006, to the spring equinox in 2007 as “My Year of Putting It All Together,” where I would actively be bringing to the present lessons I had learned throughout my Life. Then during the second quarter of the four natural world seasons, in the summer I read Daniel Pinchbeck’s recently published book, 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. While it was one of a long line of important books for me, it was also a catalyst to decide to update my own writings with new ones.

Within 2012's pages, Pinchbeck described some of the focuses and happenings that don’t usually show up on our mainstream cultural radar screens. Two thousand and twelve refers to the ancient Mayan prophecy about the end of the current cycle of time, where the cultural world as-we-know-it will end and a new reality will be manifesting. He also brought in the Hopi prophecy according to their cosmology, about the forthcoming end of their current Fourth World cycle. Now those were not new ideas to me, as I had read Frank Waters’ Book of the Hopi decades ago along with some of the Mayan forecasts, but I thought Pinchbeck did an admirable job filling it all in, and mingling many current-day realities together. To my way of thinking, he had formed quite a clear picture of the global environmental reality, together with the economic reality—and their ongoing interrelationship.

My own response at first to the probability that the winter solstice of December 21, 2012, will be the time date in which our current-day culture ends, was “maybe.” And that was also my response to one perspective I read that in 2008 the whole reality based upon money would collapse. Certainly in terms of results, in many areas I had been seeing an escalation of energies. Within my worldview of what I’ve called a spirit-being experiment for the past thousands of years, it seemed to me it definitely was coming to a conclusion and completion, both environmentally and economically.

I also thought Pinchbeck put forth some good ideas about what he called the “interim period,” where he said we humans have the opportunity to develop alternative support systems, including localized organic food production, alternative energy, conflict-resolution projects, and complementary currencies that can be applied on an increasingly large scale as old structures continue to give way.

Along the lines of opportunities, one night in July 2006 I had many dreams around the perspective that in every event and situation there are always opportunities and answers to be aware of—if one is looking at life that way. Hence, I am personally choosing to see what is happening globally and nationally as opportunities for me to do the very best I can to get my part right without energizing any fears, while also seeing everyone as totally free to make their own choices.

 

Providing more background. It was almost ten cultural years ago that I began writing God’s River of Love, the book my partner, Jim, and I published in 2003. At the time it was a tapestry of major aspects of my worldview. My goal had been to open windows and doors to other ways of thinking, which to my mind I achieved. This included expanding perspectives regarding our identity as humans and our ideas about God or no God. I thought about the book as a probable bridge from where we are as a global species to different realities.

In its fourth section, I described Jim and I creating the Empowered Spirit Family at the soul level. Within my worldview, the soul level is the big cauldron that contains all human constructed designs from our past and present, along with the experiences amidst them that have been playing out for the past thousands of years. I set forth an open invitation, saying, “Let’s learn from what we’ve all been doing and design afresh, not using ‘the troublemakers’ with our new construction.” Well, as far as my experiences in the physical dimension are concerned thus far, no one has taken me up on my invitation, although there may be considerable activity in inner dimensions.

Currently, I’m not hearing any individual’s or group’s worldview as having enough inclusiveness, potency, and generosity to be able to be a centrality and organizing force for all the disparate belief constructions being energized at this time. And so I have been playing with one to do that.

The pith of what I am setting forth in these new writings is this: I think “how it all works” is very fluid and flexible. And even though I see each individual and group worldview as a viable and valid perspective about “reality,” I believe some come closer to fundamental principles than do others. Yes, I believe there are some basic designs, both in divinity overall and for our Earth system. Therefore, even though culturally fashioned personal and group belief constructions have been and are being mixed into the basic designs of “how it all works” and the basic designs of our Earth system, they can be replaced as the “software.”

At the same time, I also choose to believe that each person’s and group’s worldview has value and validity for those who use it—and actually for all of us as fellow spirit-beings in terms of Understanding what develops when certain patterns are energized. Those cultural design constructions often include the emotion of fear and its emotional relatives that are used in relationship with other belief constructions and thought patterns connected with fear. And, I believe all of our Lives and stories about them have value in terms of what I think has been a collaborative spirit-being experiment for thousands of years.

Starting in the later 1970s, these are some of what I have seen and see are the underlying, trouble-making cultural designs (the software), which along with fear have played out as I’ve watched our global lives and events unfold, resulting in violence, wars, and other painful experiences of various kinds:

 

I think one’s identity and identification processes as humans are at the center of any expansions we make as culturally programmed spirit-beings, that is, who/what is the “I”? I’m suggesting that as individuals we shift more weight to what I’m calling “the Essential I” and spirit-beingness, playing around with more conscious awareness regarding processes I believe we all are using, oftentimes automatically within very limited belief enclosures.

The basic Essential I, as I Understand it, is each of us as pure awareness amidst an environment of vibrant stillness where there are unlimited creative probabilities available as choices we can give energy to as each of us goes forth into spirit-beingness and a relationship with this system of reality. As an Essential I, my experience is being part of Oneness and at the same time knowing myself as myself and no other. Awareness is key here.

So, one of my own personal contributions in the present is in the form of what I am writing—Within the River of Love, Translations and Applications—including a potential replacement for the culturally designed structure we are currently using and experiencing. Also, for quite some time on a continuous daily basis I pray for appropriate divine help and guidance in highest good terms, to be available for each of us and our body organisms—and all beings everywhere. (I’m using “highest good” to mean beneficial, healthy, enhancing, and expanding. I have heard the highest good to be like water, benefitting all without strife.)

Even though I address many of the focuses other writers and speakers do, at the same time I believe I am adding fresh elements to the mix, some of which are:

Now if I’m close to “how it all works,” there is an invisible group mind each of us is connected with in various ways, depending on our focuses. Therefore, since I believe there are multidimensional connections among all of us, and by designing an overall worldview and perspective I think can work, I’m making that available in the group mind for others to take a look at and possibly choose to play with in their own way, even if they don’t physically read or hear what I’m saying.

 

 

By July 2008, as I continued to be aware of and Understand what was happening currently, where along with multiple technological communications there was a visibly accelerated, speeded-up entertainment reality occurring here in the United States, I questioned where we are going to take all this as a culture—again asking myself about my contributions.

Then as I analyzed things, I saw my writings possibly requiring more effort than some people are accustomed to put forth mentally … and at the same time I had an inward picture of myself around 1960—lying on the floor in the family room in our southern California home—reading French writer Simone de Beauvoir's book, The Second Sex. At my side was a very large Webster‘s dictionary, where I looked up words and concepts I wasn't familiar with. All the while I was amazed that a female could write with so much intelligence and power.

When I think about that experience I am enormously grateful that Simone de Beauvoir wrote what she wrote, giving me and others the opportunity to reflect upon her views—and in my case, to greatly expand my capabilities and ideas about myself. Hence, I am choosing to keep the manuscript as it is, not making it more “populist” … and, to be continually focused on writing as clearly as I can.

 

Using a combination of cultural and natural world time, this book's first two sections are framed by the natural world year from March 20, 2006, through March 20, 2007, and written during that “time.” Then the third section, “Beyond,” written in 2008, picks up the narrative again from the spring equinox in 2007, and on through the next spring equinox in 2008, ending on August 2, 2008. Therefore, the manuscript was completed before the unfolding financial crisis visibly emerged in the United States and around the globe later in the year.

Certainly Life is an ongoing process. In early December 2008, the only book publication company I had submitted an inquiry to about the manuscript sent a very gracious refusal. I chose to translate their action within a highest-good, all-things-considered framework, turning inside for answers to the question, “What now?” What I interpreted as divine guidance is that the manuscript had been put back into my composite Being hands, which included relationships with my two primary spirit-being fellow travelers: my partner, Jim, and birth-daughter, Kim.

So, my first divine guidance implementation was to further edit the manuscript with the goal of getting it as perfect as I could, with the skills I had at the time. Then Kim became involved, reading it as a whole one weekend and giving valuable feedbacks. I treasured her inputs because for years Kim has been seeing herself as a bridge from our current-day culture to a better one, living her day-by-day Life with purposeful meaningfulness, both within her community and reaching out to other regions. Finally, with considerable emotional satisfaction, I've now been able to present her with the best worldview I am able to formulate, that I wasn't capable of doing in earlier years when I irrationally believed all children deserved to be born into a sane and healthy world. Therefore, Within is part of my contribution to that potential sane and healthy reality.

Simultaneously, Jim and I became collaborators, playing even more with the probability where he would use the skills and artistry he had been developing for years with his extensive studies of Adobe's Master Suite, to construct a dyadic website we would co-design, wherein my manuscript would be set forth on the Internet. That led to this website. Along with the manuscript and the website overall, Jim would also be able to use some of his photographs. With considerable enthusiasm, he was looking forward to the whole creative process!

My current-day perspective is that Being an increasingly skillful artist of one's Life is a wonderful emphasis, which includes one's relationships. Previously, Jim had read Within and had also offered valuable ideas. In this situation, he was appropriately occupied with other related activities. Looking back over decades of involvements with both Jim and Kim, my heartfelt Love and Appreciation for each of them—and their individual artistry—has continued to grow over the years! From the beginning of my partnership with Jim, when Kim was almost thirteen, I said, “I come with child.”

Meanwhile, the context of our Lives—and everyone else's—was and is being lived within the larger national and global realities. The national and global economy began to visibly collapse in the fall of 2008, and has continued to unravel. In the present, newly-inaugurated U.S. President Obama and his Administration have full plates of interrelated situations, where they are doing what they can to implement an intelligent, effective overall strategy. Jim and my heartfelt best wishes are being sent to them all!

Nonetheless, the perspective Jim and I continue to have, which is developed within the manuscript, is that the overall global and national U.S. economy, along with our species' past-present environmental relationship with the basic Earth system, are interrelated. Together, they have been and are largely built upon an unsustainable, shifting sands foundation. Recently, a respected group of global economists and others I've heard on National Public Radio (NPR) have formed a consensus that 2009 will be a financial disaster, and 2010 will more than likely be better … but after that, they question what will happen because most of the U.S. stimulus money is being set forth for only two years. Some think there will be a slow economic recovery, and others see we humans in uncharted global waters.

Another dramatic global event has also taken place since the manuscript was completed on August 2, 2008. International oil prices have dropped considerably, where gas at the pump is now—in later February 2009—around $2.00 a gallon in our area, down from about $4.00 a gallon in 2008. Therefore, Russia and other oil-exporting countries no longer have as much money or political/economic power as they did before.

In all-things-considered terms, Jim and I have decided to put my manuscript on the Internet within our website at this time, where others will have the opportunity to both read it and play with any ideas that resonate with them. I sincerely believe everyone–as a composite Being—is fully capable of going beyond their current-day Lives, with increasingly more personal potency.

As for Jim and I, we are designing where we are leaving most of this spring, summer, and fall of 2009 open. I have been and am seeing my Life as an expanding process—from potential to potential, from matrix to matrix, and to even deeper and more inclusive wavelengths. My body organism is really ready for its new reality! And Jim is really looking forward to integrating other ways of Being, that don't use cultural patterns, all of which for him includes a certain amount of anonymity. Both individually and dyadically, we're energizing our own Tree of Healthy, New Lives. Then, in conjunction with our website, we will each be starting a blog.

My previous book, God’s River of Love, goes extensively into aspects of my developing worldview and provides much of the background for Jim and my lives together through the cultural year 2002. So within the forthcoming pages, in the first two sections I’ll only summarize what I think specifically pertains to what I am saying now, while also adding appropriate new background materials.

As I did before, I am speaking from a horizontal position and perspective, amongst a vast circle of friends. In God’s River of Love I wrote: “Just as I have been strengthened and empowered with what others have shared in their writings when they have carried their voices onto printed pages, I too am setting forth ideas, stories, and pictures in words that may strike strengthening and empowering chords within other people.” That is still my emphasis. One more emphasis I've made in all my writings is to be as authentic and accurate as I am capable of Being when describing events, including those described herein from the past two-and-a-half years.

 

 

For the sake of further clarity, this is a simplified time line from 1970 when Jim and I first met, about our J and J lives before these writings began in the later summer of 2006:

 

May 8, 1970—in the afternoon Jim and I met pool-side at the Spa Hotel in Palm Springs, California … and over the forthcoming months we developed our relationship. At the time I was a second grade teacher in southern California, and Jim was a national sales manager with a large automotive parts manufacturer in Michigan. The big three U.S. automakers—General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler—were some of his customers.

Early September 1970—Jim moved from Michigan to southern California to co-form a dyadic relationship with me. We were married October 30, 1970, in Palm Springs. When Jim changed his career in 1970, for the next period of time he was amidst the beginning phase of what became an ever-expanding financial services industry.

In 1975, during portions of the later spring and summer, Jim and I spent seven-and-a-half weeks in the Caribbean, standing back and reflecting, getting more perspective about our Lives and where to go from there.

In later August 1975, we moved to a foothill community in northern California on the western side of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where we built a modest, mortgage-free home on three plus acres. Over time we also built a large organic garden/orchard where we grew most of the food we ate, as we practiced our version of “voluntary simplicity.” All of this was a big directional shift from our previous lives.

From 1976 through 1980, we experientially explored our area and other western U.S. states; we also participated in and studied multiple spiritual activities.

Leading up to my father's passing in September 1979, I went into a crisis that gave me the impetus to go deeply and widely into my identity, relationships, and to do what I could to figure out “how it all works.”

By 1981 Jim and I decided to study for and co-write a manuscript that became Something Different. When it didn't sell we cashed in our equity and, with our dog, Rusty, moved to Michigan in February 1986, to a working class community close to Jim's alma mater, Michigan State University. There, we spent another period of time studying and rewriting, but again the results didn't sell.

Next, in December 1988 we moved to a southwest Michigan community, where over time we built our own real estate and financial services business.

On October 30, 1998, after Jim's father's passing, we moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Jim could more easily fulfill his responsibilities to his mother as her only child. In early 1999 I began to write what became by 2002, God’s River of Love.

A week after 9/11/01 Jim's mother had a series of strokes, leading to hospitalization and Jim selling the family home.

On October 30, 2002, we—Jim, me, and his mother—all moved to northwest lower Michigan where Jim's mother was in a nearby care facility. In September 2003, God’s River of Love visibly emerged in book form. And January 31, 2004, Jim's mother passed on easily.

During 2004, 2005, and 2006—leading up to the time this manuscript‘s writings began to visibly emerge in the summer of 2006, I was involved with a study process which was the forerunner to these writings. I was also doing some marketing and local book signings for God's River of Love. Then at the spring equinox in March 2006, I began a new natural world year of “Putting It All Together.”

Meanwhile during 2004-2006, Jim was extensively studying Apple's iLife and iWork computer programs, from which he transitioned into Adobe's Creative Suite, learning how to combine photographs, videos, and text into hard copy and electronic form. He also was furthering his golf skills, converting the area around our house into a small orchard and wildlife refuge for birds and other natural-world species members, and continuing to expand his Understanding of the current-day world and himself as a multidimensional Being.

Along with my participation, too, in outdoor plantings, together during those years we continued to explore the local and regional environment—both the natural world and the human-designed culture. Within a larger framework, we were both furthering the early stages of Being artists of the spirit.

 

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