HARM NONE: Is this possible or advisable?

"First, do no harm" is part of the Hypocratic Oath. We are advised to do as we will, as long as we don't hurt anyone. Harm none.

But is this possible, probable or advisable.

Even a surgeon, in his effort to repair damaged organs, must first make an incision. This is harm. The body does not distinguish between a surgeon's knife or the knife of an attacker. It is a wound. It is 'harm' to the physical body.

"Do as you will as long as we don't hurt anyone." None of us will do this if we are being threatened, restricted or manipulated in any way by another.

Richard Bach, in his book Illusions, pointed this out. The messianic character conjured up a Dracula-type dude to make his point. The character wanted to drink the student-messiah's blood, in order to LIVE! The student said NO and threatened to deck the vampire if he came any closer... which would, of course, leave the vampire not only decked, but starving.

Ya see...? HARM.

If our desire for self-preservation, self-fulfillment, independence, whatEVER, requires us setting someone ELSE out of the way, then we will do it. Right? I can say this because I have spent alot of my energy TRYING to do no harm, and often to my own detriment. It is the tendency of many to try and please those deemed more powerful... to "take it", lest we hurt somebody.

HOWEVER, if someone steps on your toes and won't get off and you really want them off, you just might have to SHOVE them and SHOVING them might hurt them. The point being, if they are harmed in the process of the shoving, in essence they are harming themselves. I mean, they wouldn't get off your toes, now would they. "Harm none" can trap us if we aren't careful. Who else will be our champion if not we ourselves. Oh well...

Now if I can just figure out how all of this applies to life on planet earth, I'll let you know. In the meantime...

Do what you will... HARM if you HAVE to,

Vim

PS That being said, it is NEVER advisable to SHOOT ONESELF IN THE FOOT!!!

RELATED ARTICLE
SOMETIMES YA GOTTA BE THE TSUNAMI

Christmas and Earth Changes... is there a connection?

The following thread appeared before Christmas at the Earthboppin' EQ site. Seemed like a good one to share. It went something like this... [my thanks to Sandy and Sheila for their contributions to this thread]...

-------
SANDY: Looks like a Christmas tree all lit up... [referring to the high eq activity indicated on the IRIS seismic monitor on Dec. 23]


VIM: Just wondering... if the outer world reflects our inner world, do you suppose these holiday seasons have become just too 'disturbing' for most of us. Alot of emotion gets packed into these few weeks. Obligation. Family dysfunction. Loneliness. An emphasis on loved ones we've lost over time.

Could it be that the inner traumas people face at holiday time are mirrored out into the earth? And that is why so many earth events happen this time of year. This is metaphysics, I know, but I'm thinking it and thot I'd mention it.
BTW
PS Skip the season if ya want to. Your peace is the peace of the world.

SHEILA: seems that many things come into play this year that are worth processing. First, the juxtaposition between material and spiritual, the former shouts out to buy "things" while the soul yearns for spiritual transformation.

Also, within my own world, there is this great need to help others less fortunate rather than choosing to gratify the material wishes of loved ones who already have too much.

Early this am, I watched a very interesting roundtable discussion on moral, ethical values and how they play out in everyday situations. For instance, do you give a homeless person money that might be used for booze, or withhold that much needed money because you are afraid they won't spend it according to your values. One person said Christ would give unquestioningly. Others said, cure the root problem of homelessness in this country.

I just read that in my small city, on any given night, there are at least 2500 homeless people. Nationwide 2 million people have been homeless at some time during the year. How do I process the glad tidings of the season knowing these facts?

Indeed, alot of emotions surface this season and how Mother Earth processes this energy ..... how I wish any of us knew.

Earth changes have been happening long before this young species called homo sapiens peopled it's surface.

75,000 years ago, Toba volcano exploded with such force, it killed off all but about 12% of our species, along with many other lifeforms. Who knows what factors came into play back then. Who knows now.

Yet, there is this certain feeling now that things are changing quickly, that collectively, the human race needs to find a common ground of peace and goodwill. I strive to find inner serenity not only to cope but to add to this collective conscious awareness. If emotions can affect elements like water, then it must be that our thoughts, feelings and doings, will certainly have consequences in the natural.

All of that said, it might be time to not "skip" the season, but to metamorphose it into a higher purpose, one soul at a time.

If the Yogis are right, that cause and affect create this world of Illusion, Maya, and that each soul finds it's freedom through an individual journey to enlightenment then each step of the journey is the process itself, not just the destination.

Vimala, you brought up so many thoughtful questions, and I did try to post a reply on your board, but does one have to be a blogger to do this? Anyway, am thinking out loud here, trying to fathom what if any, affects we do have on these earthly events. It sort of looks like a cycle of action, reaction to me.

Earth happens, we react, she reacts, we act, etc.

Last night, I asked God if there were any planets out there that are more stable, more amenable to life than Earth....she answered "that's for me to know and you to find out"!

Hmmm, back to the journey, one step, one precious moment at a time.

EARTHBOPPIN' THREAD LINK

Matty: Is Life Really so HARD???

This post is amazing in that it comes from Ian Xel Lungold's widow Matty [Mayan Majix]. If ever life should seem hard or fearful, it should be for her, and yet she has spoken volumes in these few lines. Enjoy the read and take it to heart... May we be aware of our fears, and banish them with knowledge and gratitude of heart. This IS our time, our hour.
Be fearless,
Be EASY:-)
Vim

The ethics committee is gaining momentum, those who continue to reside within that ‘power’ station are losing ground, when they don’t have ‘fear’ to feed on, they will perish. . . so, when ever you find yourself being frightened, notice it, then you can create newly what you want, rather than what you don’t want. . . This is our time to ‘speak’ straight, LISTEN to yourself as closely as you listen to others. . . what I hear the most is; how HARD it is, “it’s so hard to change” well, yes, if you say so. . . look at that statement, is it hard to change? Is it really? Why would you make it so hard, who’s in there? Who’s speaking?

From the Oxford American Dictionary
HARD:
1: Firm, not yielding to pressure, not easily cut. 2: difficult to do or understand or answer. 3: causing unhappiness, difficult to bear.

Is this the way you perceive yourself? I don’t think so. . .

So, drop that word, drop should, and why, drop ‘it can’t happen’, or 'it won’t happen', drop fear, get yourself a box, or a paper bag, write them down, say a prayer, give thanks for your life, and burn them, gather yourselves together; remember what the Hopi said, banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary… this is our time, our time to gather our family, the fourth night is where the children step out and into the spot light, the bible said, “the children will lead us.”

The lessons are done, now, it’s for us to ‘remember’. . . knowing who you are, knowing, remembering that you are a spiritual being, having this human experience. . . we chose this time, we’ve chosen it because of the New World that we’re creating, you and me. . . remembering that LOVE is our foundation, the straight is so clear, whatever you’ve piled on top of the love, it’s time to peal it all off, polish it up, spit shine.

Make it so you can see your reflection, aah, the beautiful one is here, welcome back. . .

MORE AT LINK
MATTY's JOURNAL

Winter Solstice: Here Comes the Sun...

Solstice.
Sun standing still.
Turning point.
Optimism returns.
Here comes the sun.

Sing it George...

HERE COMES THE SUN
by
George Harrison

Here comes the sun, do do do do,
Here comes the sun, and I say,
it's all right

Little darling,
it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling,
it feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, do do do do,
Here comes the sun, and I say,
it's all right

Little darling,
the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling,
it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, do do do do,
Here comes the sun, and I say,
it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes,
sun, sun, sun, here it comes,

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes,
sun, sun, sun, here it comes,

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling,
I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling,
it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, do do do do,
Here comes the sun,
and I say
It's all right,

Here comes the sun, do do do do,
Here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right

copyright Northern Songs

Be...

Be well
Be strong
Be powerful
For that is what you are.

Be real
See all
Be grateful
For that is WHY you are.

Peace within & without,
Vim

The Christmas that Wasn't...

I remember reading posts early on this year, that this would be the 'Christmas that wasn't.' Just wondering how that is playing out for everybody. My sister did not decorate this year. After losing her father-in-law, her grandmother-in-law, and her best friend's husband unexpectedly in death, they just don't feel like 'doing the season' this year. I don't blame them.

My dad's friend sells crafts at Christmas time. This year he is barely covering expenses. Money is tight for alot of people. Heating bills and gasoline prices notwithstanding. Benefit cuts here and salary cuts there have to put a damper on things.

I can't imagine that New Orleans will be too cheerful this season. And families of NYC transit workers are probably not too sure about things, either. The season is becoming a regular nuisance.

Dis-Illusion-ment can be a good thing. We go through the motions with alot of life's events. Is it bad to finally get tired of it? Tired of the constant bad news? Tired of the rat race? Tired of cheap stuff and temporary thrills and all of the emotional roller-coastering that goes with it?

So maybe someone somewhere will take the signs he/she is giving him/herself and ask that greatest, most expansive question of all...WHY? And when they ask, maybe the still, small voice that has failed to get their attention until now, will be able to give them the Answer. And then maybe "the Christmas that wasn't" will become a new kind of season that will be, forever and ever, all that they ever imagined if could be.

Peace on Earth,
Peace in YOU...
Vim

Happy Birthday, Uli Jon Roth...

Legendary Scorpions Guitarist

Who Chose His Dream over Mega-Fame
Creator of the Sky Guitar
Beautiful Music
and
Keeper of the Hendrix/Dannemann Spiritual Legacy...
All the Best to You, Uli!
ULI JON ROTH

On the Cycle of Good-bye...

"Dont be
dismayed at good-byes.
A farewell is necessary before
you can meet
again.
And meeting
again, after moments or
lifetimes, is certain for
those who are
friends...

"The mark
of your ignorance is the depth
of your belief in injustice
and tragedy.
What the caterpillar
calls the end of the world,
the master calls a
butterfly."

--Messiahs Handbook
from Illusions: The Adventures of a
Reluctant Messiah
by Richard Bach

John Lennon...Dare to IMAGINE...

John Lennon
October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

Dare to Imagine
Even if it Gets You Killed
Real Dreamers Never Die

V

Imagine

Imagine there's no heaven,
It's easy if you try,
No hell below us,
Above us only sky,
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no country,
It isn't hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

Imagine no possesions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one,
I hope some day you'll join us,
And the world will live as one.
-----------------------------------------------
Written by: John Lennon
© Bag Productions, Inc.

Zen......Behold......OM

SOURCE:

The ROCK BALANCING ART of BILL DAN

The Worst Winter in History... AND???

Hostile weather forces people inside.
Where they have to deal with themselves.
This is what we have been neglecting.
So the weather is here to help.

Have heard from friends here and there
that things in their worlds are not going well.
What was going along ok is now a mess.
Seems like these personal/relationship storms
are producing a similar effect.
As without, so within.

So we go inside ourselves and look out
and look around and look under and in
and on and on.
Do you see what I mean?

This weather is reflecting the present condition
and dare I say, our DESIRE to be stopped in our tracks.

On some level we need to rest and reassess.
The whole social and meteorological thing IS at our command.
So we make the best of our down time.

Everything will be OK.
Just taking the steps, ya know?
Let is snow;-)

Vim

Inspired by the following article
SCHADENFREUD IS NO FUN
It's About To Hit The Fan
by Phil Brennan

Go and Be Happy, OK???

Let us take time to revisit a great author, Richard Bach, creator of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. This excerpt is from his book Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. The piece begins with an astonished crowd's reaction to their Master who has just said, "I quit..."
Enjoy! --Vim

For a moment the multitude was stricken dumb with astonishment.

And he said unto them, "If a man told God that he wanted most of all to help the suffering world, no matter the price to himself, and God answered and told him what he must do, should the man do as he is told?"

"Of course, Master!" cried the many. "It should be pleasure for him to suffer the tortures of hell itself, should God ask it!"

"No matter what those tortures nor how difficult the task?"

"Honor to be hanged, glory to be nailed to a tree and burned, if so be that God has asked," said they.

"And what would you do," the Master said unto the multitude, "if God spoke directly to your face and said, "I COMMAND THAT YOU BE HAPPY IN THE WORLD, AS LONG AS YOU LIVE!" What would you do then?"

And the Multitude was silent, not a voice, not a sound was heard upon the hillsides, across the valleys where they stood.

And the Master said unto the silence, "In the path of our happiness shall we find the learning for which we have chosen this lifetime. So it is that I have learned this day, and choose to leave you now to walk your own path, as you please."

And he went his way through the crowds and left them, and he returned to the everyday world of men and machines.

In Remembrance... World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day... again. A time to focus once again on a world tragedy and to remember those who have left us by this most courageous route. I like to think of the souls who left us in that first frightening decade as first-wave angels. Those who were lucky enough to go through it with eyes wide open, were able to face the molecular rearranging that the experience held. Many who lived superficial lives were given the opportunity to access a deeper part of themselves and come through with a very great gift indeed.

My friend George Coleman, who was a co-editor at Putnam for years before he passed on, spoke volumes when he told me, "Religion has take our Spirituality away from us. AIDS has given it back to us again." AIDS has give Spirtuality back to many of us...AIDS patients as well as loved ones looking on.

The whole experience has had the effect of a spiritual boot-camp in which many were trained to look at the world through new eyes. These are lessons that others are just now entering upon. When 9/11 happened, there was a sense in which many affected by AIDS had already "been there, done that." Not the event itself, but the dealing with the situation. The ground work had already been laid for coping with such things. We had been to hell and back and thus were not taken totally off guard to find ourselves at the doorway once more.

For this, I am greatful for the experience of front row, center seat to the AIDS drama. I did not carry AIDS in my physical body, but only in my spiritual body. Billy did the hands on work of surviving. I got to watch. We were in it together in some strange way. When he left the world in 1992, I got to stay here without him, but WITH the fortitude that the experience afforded. I doubt I am the only one. I also doubt that AIDS is the only means to this kind of fortitude... this kind of spiritual preparation that makes it possible to face the many challenges of these changing times.

So this is my salute to all of you...wherever you may find yourselves. First-wave angels and those who benefitted by their lives and deaths. You are not forgotten. Your gifts to us remain. We continue to live our lives with the strength you gave us... the strength we gave OURSELVES because of the dance you chose to dance. We love you and thank you and heed your very compelling challenge to..."Carry on."

SAFELY THROUGH THE FIRE
A Story of Love, Loss, and Rebirth