BEING ALONE TOGETHER PART 1
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From: Jonathan S.
Date: Friday, September 21, 2007, 5:01 PM
Subject: Being Alone Together Part 1
ID: 258545

Namaste every-One,

This is the first of a two part posting.

Synchronistically, at the same time that Constance wrote about George Fox, the Quakers and the soul, I have been guided to read two books by Parker Palmer called, Let Your Life Speak and A Hidden Wholeness.

For those of you who aren't familiar with him, he is an educator that writes about the soul and community. His views are highly influenced by his own spirituality and being part of the Quaker community. He spent over ten years in a teacher/facilitator role at a Quaker retreat center near Philadephia, PA called Pendle Hill (http://www.pendlehill.org/).

In light of what James Davis and Bruce wrote about words, I feel a strong connection with Palmer's style of writing. You might say that I feel a " resonance " with his message. I find when reading his words that there is a stirring in my soul.

In A Hidden Wholeness, he describes our inner and outer lives as unfolding in stages from a " divided life " towards what he calls an " undivided life. " He uses a few illustrations that progress from a simple strip of paper, to a circle, to a " Mobius strip " which looks similar to the infinity symbol (lemniscate).

In describing the mobius strip in relation to our inner and outer lives he writes:

" The mechanics of the Mobius strip are mysterious, but its message is clear: whatever is inside us continually flows outward to help form, or deform, the world-and whatever is outside us continually flows inward to help form, or deform, our lives. The Mobius strip is like life itself: here, ultimately, there is only one reality. " (A Hidden Wholeness, p. 47)

He also writes about nurturing the soul in solitude and community or what he calls, " Being Alone Together. " When I read these words they had such a simple yet profound effect within myself. There is an elegance to this phrase that expresses what seems to be the essence of the conditions required for the soul to find its voice in the world.

He writes about, " circles of trust." Here are a few paragraphs that descibe what a " circle of trust " is which seem to mesh beautifully with the emerging, unfolding, evolving " network of circles " concept that has already been created by Bruce.

In the second part of this post I will share some passages from, A Hidden Wholeness and welcome comments/feedback as it relates to what is emerging here.

Om Shanti,

Jonathan