Monthly Archives: April 2010
Answers to Questions about Vietnam War
Old love songs morph into new spirituals
A soldier bows in salute to heartfelt words
Light shines here from a tip of the candle
‘Veterans are the light at the tip of the candle,’ illuminating the way for the whole nation.
If veterans can achieve awareness, transformation, understanding, and peace, they can share with the rest of society the realities of war.
And they can teach us how to make peace with ourselves and each other, so we never have to use violence to resolve conflicts again.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
The following is a message I left shortly after writing the quotes from Thich Nhat Hahn. I’ll never forget the experience meditating with him and other veterans who got together during the retreat and even had pictures taken:
‘Awake’ Now from the War of Thunder
The Outcome Doesn’t Matter
50 chews per bite is goal, not meals’ end!
The outcome doesn’t matter
Imperfect clergy always been kinda cool
I could never be a clergyman.
I curse too much.
Damn it!
See. I can’t go 12 words without letting out some sort of “expleted deleted word,” even one as mild as a “damn.”
‘Cost of War’ explodes at Omega Institute
I loathe my inconsistencies on grief, and how I dealt with death and injuries while serving in the military.
I blame the Army for not giving me the chance to mourn someone on first hearing of their senseless death. I blame myself for choosing to be a good soldier and not a compassionate human being, placing country first — before God and humanity.
War guilt haunts veteran year after year
I knew something was wrong when I saw the radio operator’s face. He handed me the mike attached to the bulky radio strapped on his back. The private, new in-country, made no eye contact, and was hesitant in his actions.
I identified myself by a “call sign” and heard someone say in a code that the leader of the third platoon had just been wounded, and that I was ordered to move my first platoon to give him assistance.
Merging Two into One Okay, Michael J
Grief delayed me while in military service
I was in the Army less than a week when the news hit me. I had my head shaven; my civilian clothes exchanged for fatigue pants and a shirt, not to mention boots and headgear, something I had never worn before in my life.
Got drafted on the Third of June, the day that Billie Jo McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge! I was 19 years old in 1968 — knew no one — and was away from my Philadelphia, PA, home for the first time.
Hudson River magic calls me to Omega
Got a check for $9 in the mail yesterday. It was for travel expenses on a trip I took five months ago. It came to me like magic. I must have lost it in the IKEA store of Conshohocken, and it just appeared out of nowhere for my return trip.
Back to the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies. A campus in Rhinebeck, NY, where I will return today (April 21, 2010) for another retreat on PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
Be ‘Gentle,’ not Meek, to Inherit the Earth
Ever meet someone who wanted to grow up “Meek?”
You know, as in “the ‘Meek‘ shall inherit the Earth?”
“Eat your Wheaties, and you too can become as Meek as Babe Ruth,” is a jingle I bet you never heard out of Madison Avenue. Or how about “The Army builds meek men one body at a time?”
Old warriors share PTSD woes with young
Never thought of myself as a “warrior.” Wasn’t that a term used by Third World tribes or ancient civilizations building empires on one war after another?
A warrior was someone who didn’t mind taking another life, or at least someone trained to dwell not on any moral implications of war. Warriors were as much a part of life as shopkeepers, scholars, and clerics. All served society. All provided some good, didn’t they?
Sutta Nipata calls me to Omega Institute
Will return to Omega Institute this week for a 5-day Retreat to meditate on PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) with veterans led by the Rev. Claude AnShin Thomas, an ordained Buddhist monk and a Vietnam War veteran.
Jump at Chance to Finally Let Your Self Go
John 13. Verses 3-4 says:
“So during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.”
Meditate and it will ‘erase’ all but the Now
Ruby,
You tell me you wish that we could have an eraser in our lives to go back and “Erase Our Mistakes.”
Over and over and over. Because we tend to make the same mistakes repeatedly.
Meditation can “erase” a lot.
Focus on Nothing but the Very Present
I focus on the present. Gently nudge out thoughts of yesterday and the future and try to keep my senses on the “now.” I listen to sounds, feel the chair beneath my legs and butt, as well as my hands on my lap and the air around me. I let the itch remain “unscratched” and it goes away.
Mistakes don’t seem to matter. At least when I ease myself into the moment and away from the chattering nabobs of negativism. All dissolve, drift away.
Forgiveness Granted from the Divine
I “flow” with my breath, following it in and out of my nostrils, “feeling” it in the upper front part of my skull, all the time “forgiving” myself for not meeting my expectations and/or making the plans for tomorrow. The “Divine” in me grants absolution without the “Hail Mary’s” and the “Our Fathers.”
And I go and sin no more.
Until the next couple of breaths.
—————-
And I do it all over again!
Michael J
For more see: Finding my way back
Writing clears up the ‘clogged up’ space
Josie,
Writing opens my sinuses.
Well, maybe not really.
But it does open an awareness through a part of my body that seemed to have been “clogged up” or “stuck” just a few seconds before I started to put ideas out for someone to see on paper.
Always Look Within, To Now See Outside
Put a finger on ‘Sa Ta Na Ma’ Meditation
Got a quick “fix” for you. But don’t try to finger this “hit” unless you’re alone, or with someone you trust.
It is what I call a “tactile chant.” Oh, I know what you’re going to say. Here’s more New Age stuff. Another scam for the public. Spiritual babble for a get-rich scheme. But you’d be wrong. Dead wrong. About something that could enhance your Life!
Loving, Longing, Yearning for My Beloved
When will I see my Beloved? To feel arms surround me, a touch to comfort me, the warmth of an embrace to shelter me from any harm man can devise against another.
I seek protection in those arms. The reward You bestow for simply living, for being alive in the moment when my Love ripens and blossoms, nurtured like a flower by Your sun during the day, and Your cool breeze to help petals close at night.
Need spiritual evolution now, not hereafter
A body speaks its mind to free and heal you
Take a risk; a new you may emerge from it!
A card turned over as I accidentally moved my hand to uncover four other small cards randomly picked from a tray on the carpeted floor. Sitting in the Lotus position with a legless “cloth” chair to support my back, I leaned over to read the card.
“Risk” is all that it said. There was a tiny picture of an angel that somehow reminded me of pre-teen girls who just gave up playing with dolls and turned to thoughts of Celestial Beings. Not the Old Testament God Almighty with Fire and Brimstone, but the soft, gentle “Angels” that serve as guardians.
Recalling a Few (25) of My Favorite Things
I wish all of our days could be filled with memories of the greatest moments of our lives. None of mine would go down in history or make it into Guinness Book of World Records.
But each is worth its weight in gold, a treasure of memories that anyone, even a prisoner serving a life-sentence behind bars, is free to recall anytime, anyplace.
I dig chicks: all eight that just hatched!
2010 Time Capsule: Nick’s HS Class Trip
Fowl locked up after spiritual book bash
The rooster rushed me as I turned my back. I had just gotten two paperback books from the mailbox and was preparing to feed him.
He got right into my face. Literally, as I bent to ward off his assault with the only protection I held in my hands. The books.
Make yourself a clean, well-lighted place
There’s nothing like a clean, well-lighted sink.
Got three of them shining the other day. I usually wipe one every morning I shower, removing the half-used toothpaste drops, moustache trimmings and occasional pieces of hair from a head that doesn’t need to lose any more. Hair, that is.
40 years later, I learn about ‘Nothing’
It took me 40 years, but I think I finally realized what John Lennon was saying in one of the last songs he wrote and sang with the Beatles.
“Nothing,” a term used by Eastern mystics, was the meditative “void” he meant, when saying “it” was going to “change my world.” You remember the lyric and haunting melody, if not the words of the song. A movie using the title was made: “Across the Universe.”
Writing the old-fashioned way inspires me
Prolific is as Prolific Does.
Got inspired to write while working on my third cup of coffee. I wait the 90 minutes I’ve given to a meeting I scheduled at IKEA in Conshohocken, PA, for Highly Sensitive Persons (HSP).  Continue reading
Now is when path and goal merge as one
Remembering the Greatest Time of my Life
Miracle copies manifest at Philly VA Center
Does the Universe conspire to create minor miracles on a given day? Yes. But only if you believe in modern-day miracles.
I experienced several on February 16, 2010, with the last manifesting over a two-day period in the history of miracles for Contoveros. (For the series, see Rooster helps open path to miraculous day)
Contoveros 
“Ain’t gonna study war no more . . .”
That was the song veterans and family members of vets sang at the retreat with Thích Nhất Hạnh at Blue Cliff Monastery, upstate New York. We formed a group which included the daughter of General William C. Westmoreland, once the commander of the Army during the Vietnam War.
Thầy held a special place for veterans from the United States who faced war and believed we could help others see the futility of all wars!
(See https://contoveros.com/2017/03/15/thich-nhat-hanh-sees-the-suffering-in-us/)
Lyrics
I’m gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside,
Down by the riverside, down by the riverside
I’m gonna lay down my burden, down by the riverside,
I’m gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more
I ain’t a gonna study war no more, I ain’t a gonna study war no more