Your Soul Food for the Week of July 4th 2021: When We Open Our Minds, We Open Our World!

Your Soul Food for the week of July 4th 2021: When We Open Our Minds, We Open Our World!

Happy Soul Food Friday for the Week of Independence Day!

This week:

  • When We Open Our Minds, We Open Our World!
  • Two Twice-Weekly Healing Steps for Independence Day
  • Inspiring Independence Day Quotes:

When We Open Our Minds, We Open Our World!

We asked 67 people from all over the world to take a DNA test. It turns out they have much more in common with other nationalities than they thought … It’s easy to think there are more things dividing us than uniting us. But we actually have much more in common with other nationalities than you’d think. At momondo we believe that everybody should be able to travel the world, to meet other people, and experience other cultures and religions. Travel opens our minds: when we experience something different, we begin to see things differently. Share this video, and help us spread the word – and open our world.

momondo – The DNA Journey – YouTube


EDITOR’S PICK SONDERMANN | Two Twice-Weekly Healing Steps for Independence Day

On this 244th celebration of Independence Day, those on both sides of our country’s divide can agree on the depth of the split and the pervasive animus and ill will it has generated.
There will be little concurrence on who is in the right and who lobbed the first grenade. But at least there is a shared recognition of the magnitude of the schism, long in its acceleration and showing few signs of slowing down.

Of course, there are plenty among us occupying shades of the political center and less invested in the polarized enmity while reserving disdain for the noisemakers on both extremes. Though those on the hard poles are ever louder and more dominant in shaping what passes for public discourse.
Sadly, we live in a tribal era. That is true in many places around the globe and certainly in our republic approaching a quarter of a millennium in precious longevity. Over those years, there have been only a few times when the political fracture was so pronounced and disabling. One of those episodes produced an actual Civil War.

The inescapable irony is that our nation is far more integrated and accepting in so many ways while it grows ever more politically alienated.
Our neighborhoods and workplaces have never been more welcoming to people of all skin tones, ethnic origins, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, you name it.
Gay marriage is now fully legal with widespread, rapidly growing cultural acceptance. Interracial and interreligious marriage long ago ceased to be controversial except in the most close-minded quarters. But a lifelong, commitment between someone from the left and their beloved from the right? Whoa there.
Sixty years ago, a mere 4% of Americans approved of a marital union across racial lines. Today, that number is around 87%. Twenty years ago, a sizeable majority of Americans opposed gay marriage. Now, that approval number is above 60% and climbing quickly.
Meanwhile, depending on the survey and how the question is worded, between 50% and 60% of both Democrats and Republicans oppose the notion of their son or daughter marrying someone from the dreaded other party.

So what is to be done beyond treating Fourth of July fireworks as ordnance to direct at your neighbor with the objectionable yard sign?
The suggestion here is to own the problem and, each of us, our part in it, some with more role than others, and to focus on small, modest steps. This state of affairs did not come to pass overnight and it will not dissipate suddenly.
Incremental understanding will go far. What better time to start than on the celebration of America’s Declaration of Independence? New Year’s Day can have its resolutions often centered on personal improvement. For the Fourth, a personal intention can lead to civic healing.

With that in mind, and again starting small, let me offer two steps to commit to over this patriotic holiday. Both share a common denominator, that being to consciously poke a few holes in the bubbles in which most of us live.
Up first, declare an aim and make a plan to bring into your circle two new friends or associates of a significantly different political mindset than your own. Or reconnect with someone you disowned in a political uproar.
Seek these people out and find opportunities for interaction. Break bread; go for a walk; catch a ballgame. Most importantly, dial your ears up and your vocal chords down. Otherwise put, go into these conversations with the idea of listening far more than talking. And listen to hear and learn, not to rebut and argue.

Next, get started on a plan to do something very similar with your media consumption. Find two news or opinion outlets coming from a viewpoint alien to your own and make them a part of your media diet.
If you’re a regular viewer of Fox News, change the channel twice a week to MSNBC or CNN or even PBS. (Well, maybe not CNN. There are limits. But you get the idea.)
Do the inverse if your comfort zone is one of the liberal cable channels or the major broadcast networks. In this case, breathe deeply and twice weekly take in a dose of Fox News – again with a premium on listening.

For extra credit, consciously dial back on the television provocateurs on both poles. Turn off Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson on one end, and Rachel Maddow and Chris Cuomo on the other, in favor of shows with at least a pretense of balance and a lot less righteous smarminess.
Ditto for print journalism and commentary. If your home base is the editorial page of The New York Times, change it up a couple of times each week in reading publications and writers coming from a more conservative angle.
Similarly, if your normal fare is the Wall Street Journal editorial page or right-leaning online publications, challenge yourself to regularly incorporate columns from the left.

Media bubbles are every bit as confining as personal bubbles. If your rooting interest is with writers like David French and Thomas Sowell, read more by E.J. Dionne and Nicholas Kristof. Or vice versa. And make a point to read intelligent writers lacking a fixed ideological axis. Megan McArdle and Matt Taibbi are two worthwhile places to start.

That is a two-step program – two willful acts to begin to puncture our isolating, alternative-resistant bubbles. There is no expectation that anyone change their mind or their loyalty. But maybe some will gain an openness, perhaps even an appreciation, for those who think differently along with an understanding of how they came to their opinions and worldview.

What a leap forward it would be if we simply recognized that those on the other side of the divide do not wear horns. (Except for the shirtless guy with the furry hat who was part of the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol. That outfit definitely came with horns.)

All of this just might feel good in beginning to release the political blinders and partisan dependency that entrap us individually and poison our nation.

Happy Fourth.


https://www.coloradopolitics.com/columnists/sondermann-two-twice-weekly-healing-steps-for-independence-day/article_797ec350-d928-11eb-b7f9-4719e28e506c.html

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator.


Inspiring Independence Day Quotes:

America isn’t perfect. We’ll always have work to do. But the freedoms we have here have made America a top destination for those seeking a better life, and that won’t be changing anytime soon. In celebration of Independence Day, here are 10 quotes on freedom and liberty that help us understand some of the reasons we fought so hard for our independence 245 years ago…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of it. The history of liberty is a history of resistance.” – Woodrow Wilson

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

“It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” – Samuel Adams

“If you’re not ready to die for it, put the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.” – Malcolm X

“We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.” – William Faulkner

“I’d like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be also free.” – Rosa Parks

“My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

“We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something, for liberty and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to.” – Ronald Reagan

“In America, change is possible. It’s in our hands. Together, I know we’ll get there. Look how far we’ve already come.” – Barack Obama

Hope you all had a fantastic 4th and that we all appreciate and enjoy our freedoms, now more than ever!

Thanks this week go to Kurt C, Bob C, & Doug W.

Please pay it forward!

Love,

Neville

“Heaven on Earth is a choice you must
make, not a place we must find.”–Wayne Dyer


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Your Soul Food for Friday July 2 2021: 50 Pictures That Prove That Humanity Isn’t Always The Absolute Worst and More…

Your Soul Food for Friday July 2 2021: 50 Pictures That Prove That Humanity Isn’t Always The Absolute Worst and More…

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week

A Fork in the Road

On Leadership

Weak leaders blame the messenger. They see problems as threats to their ego.
Strong leaders thank the messenger. They see problems as threats to their mission.
Great leaders promote the messenger. They see recognizing and raising problems as acts of vision and courage.

-Adam Grant

10 Leadership Habits of Highly Effective Leaders:

While it is hard for two experts to agree on one definition of leadership, this article will not give you a single skill or formula to be a better leader. Instead, it provides something better, 10 habits that you need to gain influence with the courage to develop your team’s potential.

10 Leadership Habits of Highly Effective Leaders | by Luay Rahil, MBA | ILLUMINATION | Jun, 2021 | Medium

Defining Authenticity by Seth Godin:

For me, it’s not “do what you feel like doing,” because that’s unlikely to be useful.

You might feel like hanging out on the beach, telling off your boss or generally making nothing much of value. Authenticity as an impulse is hardly something to aspire to.

It’s not, “say whatever is on your mind,” either.

Instead, I define it as, “consistent emotional labor.”

We call a brand or a person authentic when they’re consistent, when they act the same way whether or not someone is looking. Someone is authentic when their actions are in alignment with what they promise.

Showing up as a pro.

Keeping promises.

Even when you don’t feel like it.

Especially when you don’t.

Less Brainstorming, More Daydreaming?

This Creative Facilitator Says Yes
In 1920s London, Queen Mary, the formidable wife of King George V, made a visit to the Royal St. Mary’s Hospital in London. On her tour was a display of “microbial art,” the hobby of one of the doctors, including a Union Jack created in a petri dish by the meticulous use of different species of fungus. The Queen sped past dismissively. What on earth could such nonsense have to do with the urgent work of such a prestigious hospital?

Creative exec: “Less brainstorming, more daydreaming” (fastcompany.com)

 

 

Why Some Biologists and Ecologists Think Social Media is a Risk to Humanity:

Social media has drastically restructured the way we communicate in an incredibly short period of time. We can discover, “Like,” click on, and share information faster than ever before, guided by algorithms most of us don’t quite understand. And while some social scientists, journalists, and activists have been raising concerns about how this is affecting our democracy, mental health, and relationships, we haven’t seen biologists and ecologists weighing in as much. That’s changed with a new paper published in the prestigious science journal PNAS earlier this month, titled “Stewardship of global collective behavior.”

Why biologists like Carl Bergstrom are warning that social media is a risk to humanity – Vox

 

 

William Blake: Biography Offers Glimpse into Artist and Poet’s Visionary Mind:

His divine and mind-bending experiences informed Blake’s world view and inspired his deeply philosophical illustrated texts like Jerusalem and Milton. As a result, though, he was deemed mad by much of 18th and 19th Century England, and died penniless and largely unheralded. Nowadays, he is widely considered one of UK’s most influential and respected artists and poets. And in a new biography, William Blake vs the World, author John Higgs argues we are now far better placed to understand what was going on inside his head.

William Blake: Biography offers glimpse into artist and poet’s visionary mind – BBC News

 

Woman Looking to Adopt a Pet From a Pennsylvania Shelter Finds the Dog She Lost 2 Years Ago:

A Pennsylvania woman shared an emotional reunion with the dog she lost over two years ago at the Lehigh County Humane Society after spotting the canine on the shelter’s website.

Woman Looking For Pet to Adopt Finds Lost Dog at Pennsylvania Shelter | PEOPLE.com

50 Pictures That Prove That Humanity Isn’t Always The Absolute Worst:

50 Pictures That Prove The World Isn’t A Big Giant Steaming Pile Of Garbage (buzzfeed.com)

Thanks this week go to Jason P and all of thee!

Please pay it forward

Love,

Neville

“Leadership should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it.”

-Marian Anderson

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Your Soul Food Friday for June 25 2021: Feel Good Moments, Artists of Life, Celebrating Fathers, Happy Vacation Planning, Transcendent Leadership and More…

Happy Soul Food Friday!

Who Is In?

A few weeks ago, in a message headlined “The End of Soul Food Friday?” I shared with all of you that Soul Food Friday needed a new home and some help, including underwriting part of the expense of hosting the site and the monthly subscription fees to maintain the site after 13 years.

An anonymous donor and dear friend of mine offered to match the first $100 as a way to support this ongoing effort. 

Heartfelt thanks to Ricardo & Laurie R, Vicente R, Matt N, Genevieve T, Louis L, Killu S, Jaime M, Lee B, Jason M, Malcolm A, Frank M, Linda P, James W, Sean C, John R and Francisco E for stepping up with your kind contributions to keeping Soul Food Friday going!

If you would choose to make a contribution of any size to keep this labor of love alive, simply click below.

It is strictly a pay what you want model predicated on the Law of Reciprocity, where “largesse begets largess”

Click on the link below!

Donate (paypal.com)

Thank you for your consideration & stay soul-filled!

Love,

Neville

A Feel Good Moment-

Woodchuck Rides on Golden Retriever’s Back Across Lake, Gives Dog a ‘Little Kiss’:

Woodchuck Rides on Golden Retriever’s Back in Massachusetts Lake | PEOPLE.com

The Artist of Life In The Art Scene:

Neville Billimoria: The Artist of Life by In The Art Scene • A podcast on Anchor

This episode is an interview with me by Ron and Galina, the creators and curators of In the Art Scene, about how to be an artist of life to become a happier person, to help heal our community and even the world.

This episode covers:

  • Education as a Key to Communal Wellbeing
  • Bridging the West and the East
  • How I Became a Martial Artist in the First Place
  • A Different Kind of Dojo Where It Is NOT About Fighting But About Living Well
  • The Intersection of Yoga and the Martial Arts
  • Defining Success in YOUR Practice

The episode and a blog post are available here.

Sincerely, 

Sign Up For The Newsletter

Looking Back- Celebrating Fathers:

“It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.”—Barack Obama

For decades, men have been honored for being providers. I’d like to now see them honored for their caretaking and caregiving as well. It’s time…

These Unappreciated Animal Dads Make Big Sacrifices for Their Young:

From bullfrogs that build ditches to help their tadpoles to foxes that give their kits “lessons,” some animal fathers are more involved in raising their young than many realize.

These unappreciated animal dads make big sacrifices for their young (nationalgeographic.com)

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela

Looking Forward- Tired of being cooped up and planning your next vacation?

Plan Ahead. Don’t Post. And seven other rules for a happy vacation by Arthur C. Brooks

How to Plan the Best Vacation for Your Happiness – The Atlantic

Playing the Long Game-

Transcendent Leadership- Follow Your Heart’s Wisdom:

We’re mutually traversing some of the most perplexing times in recent history and some leaders’ response to this has been to harden themselves. If we choose to do this, we cut ourselves off from each other, because after all, connection is the heart of our humanity. Being vulnerable, heart-opened and heart-led has never been more essential…

Transcendent Leadership: Follow Your Heart’s Wisdom (forbes.com)

Hustle Culture is Burning Us Out!

Here are three more productive ways to achieve success

Stop hustling and try more productive ways to achieve goals (fastcompany.com)

4 Morning Habits of the Longest-Living People in the World:

4 Morning Habits for Longevity, Inspired by Blue Zones | Well+Good (wellandgood.com)

Healing Reimagined: Reconnecting Traditional Healing with Modern Medicine:

In a world coming of age in the shadows of social media giants, we are in the midst of a losing battle to train empathetic and situationally aware doctors, nurses, and health care professionals.

Making contact and connection with people who seek healing has never been more difficult. Our technology driven approach to medicine often leaves much to be desired at the juncture of the doctor-patient relationship. In addition, the generational tendency to avoid or limit physical social interaction has stunted our greatest asset in our struggle for progress in compassionate patient care.

Healing Reimagined follows the author’s lifetime quest for the meaning of healing, intricately bridging underlying fundamental themes of traditional medicine and the communication deficiencies of modern medicine. Linking modern neurology and psychology with cross-cultural ancient healing traditions, we trace the thread that leads from the wisdom of traditional healing practices to the forefront of leading-edge research.

Healing Reimagined: Reconnecting Traditional Healing with Modern Medicine: Ching DDS, Karl: 9781736734728: Amazon.com: Books

If You Are Local

College Grads What’s Next?

The Pain of Discipline or the Pain of Regret

College Grad (Filling the Gap) – Career and Life Coaching (careerswithwings.com)

“Keep your sense of proportion by regularly, preferably daily, visiting the natural world.”
— Caitlin Matthews

Magical Pictures of Nature

These Breathtaking Natural Wonders No Longer Exist:

Natural and Human-Caused Forces Constantly Reshape Earth’s Landscape

Landscapes shape our sense of place, yet Earth is constantly changing. The forces of volcanism, wind, water, sun, and, yes, people, relentlessly conspire to transform what we consider familiar terrain—pummeling cliffs into beaches, eroding vast canyons, forming new land with bubbling lava, and shifting the course of mighty rivers. 

As we return to travel, we shouldn’t be surprised to find some things have changed. After all, change is the only constant—an idea seeded by Greek philosopher Heraclitus back in the fifth century B.C. and echoed by philosophers since. But people often forget that Heraclitus believed fear of change is also a constant. Perhaps it’s this sense of looming impermanence that compels travelers to see natural wonders before they’re forever changed. 

These breathtaking natural wonders no longer exist (nationalgeographic.com)

Thanks this week go to Ron & Galina M, Arthur B, Elaine T, Marcy M, Mehrad N, and another big shout out to Ricardo & Laurie R, Vicente R, Matt N, Genevieve T, Louis L, Killu S, Jaime M, Lee B, Jason M, Malcolm A, Frank M, Linda P, James W, Sean C, John R and Francisco E for making this mission possible!

Please pay it forward,  live soul-filled, and do subscribe to Soul Food Friday if you dig it!

Love,

Neville

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Your Soul Food for Friday June 18, 2021: Learning About and Supporting Our Collective Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Happy Soul Food Friday!

“There are no strangers, there are only friends we haven’t met yet”…

This week: Juneteenth

This week is a good time to reflect on our country, its treatment of Black people, and to consider how our collective commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion can help unite our diverse society to explore and find solutions to end systemic racism

Congress Passes Legislation to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

It’s the first federal holiday approved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983

Congress passes legislation to make Juneteenth a federal holiday – ABC News (go.com)

June 19 marks a pivotal event in our country’s history. While the Emancipation Proclamation became official on January 1, 1863, many enslaved Africans lived in states where slavery continued or where they did not know that they were free. On June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger informed more than 250,000 slaves in Texas that they were legally freed. The annual celebration of Juneteenth began a year later on June 19, 1866.

Also known as “Freedom Day,” “Emancipation Day” or “Jubilee,” Juneteenth is one of our country’s oldest celebrations of the abolition of slavery, but not every American is familiar with the observance. This year, we are hopeful that many more people in our UC San Diego community will take the opportunity to learn more about Juneteenth and explore the history and meaning of this annual event. Although Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, most states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation recognizing it as a holiday or observance. California recognizes the third Saturday of June in each year as Juneteenth National Freedom Day: A Day of Observance.

This is a good time to reflect on our country, its treatment of Black people, and to consider how our collective commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion can help unite our diverse society to explore and find solutions to end systemic racism.


“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

 — Dr Martin Luther King Jr

The Danger of Silence with Clint Smith: (4 mins)

“We spend so much time listening to the things people are saying that we rarely pay attention to the things they don’t,” says slam poet and teacher Clint Smith. A short, powerful piece from the heart, about finding the courage to speak up against ignorance and injustice.

The danger of silence | Clint Smith – YouTube

Ted Talk: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race with Jay Smooth: (11 mins)

Jay Smooth is host of New York’s longest running hip-hop radio show, the Underground Railroad on WBAI 99.5 FM in NY, and is an acclaimed commentator on politics and culture

TEDxHampshireCollege – Jay Smooth – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race – YouTube

Stages of Multicultural Curriculum Transformation and Leveraging the Promise and Possibility of Education:

Just as there are several conceptualizations for multicultural education there are several perceptions as to what constitutes multicultural curriculum transformation. Approaches for multicultural curriculum transformation range from slight curricular changes to a fully-revised social awareness and action conceptualizations. James Banks (1993), Peggy McIntosh (2000) and others have formulated continuums for curricular reform that help move transformation efforts from the former toward the latter. An informed and educated society is our way forward to equity and inclusion.

Multicultural Education – Stages of Multicultural Curriculum Transformation (edchange.org)

Treasure Them!

Sure, Lovers and Children are Great. But Friends are more than ever the Heart of Happiness, of Family and of Love Itself…

As an evolutionary anthropologist, I have wrestled with the question ‘What is love?’ for more than a decade.

At first glance, the answer is straightforward. After all, my many research subjects all have their own answers to share.

And herein lies the fundamental problem for someone who would like to find a nice straightforward answer: love is complicated.

Treasure your friends, the top of your love hierarchy | Aeon Essays

Thanks this week go to UC San Diego and their EDI focus, the North County Philanthropic Council with their commitment to DEI for our community, and all my friends in both low and high places!

Love All,

Neville

“Rules without Relationship lead to Rebellion.” –Andy Stanley

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Your Soul Food for Friday June 11th 2021 The Week of World’s Oceans Day with Twenty Predictions for the Transformative 2020’s

Happy Soul Food Friday!

A Penny for My Thoughts?

“The End of Soul Food Friday?”

A few weeks ago, I shared with all of you that Soul Food Friday needs a new home and some support in various ways, one of which includes underwriting part of the expense of hosting the site and the monthly subscription fees to sustain this labor of love after more than 13 years of posting every week.

An anonymous donor and dear friend of mine has offered to match the first $100 as a way to support this ongoing effort. 

Would you be willing to contribute any amount to keep Soul Food coming to your email box?

It is a pay what you choose/can afford model, and if yes, here’s how you can help: 

Please click on this link below and any contribution up to $100 will be matched:

Donate (paypal.com)

Thank you for your consideration & stay soul-filled!

Love,

Neville

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”

This week:

  • Staying in Tune with Our Inner and Outer Nature as we Celebrate World’s Oceans Day
  • Sir David Attenborough Explains What He Thinks Needs to Happen to Save The Planet
  • Twenty Predictions for the Transformative 2020’s with Yanik Silver
  • Elephant Pays Respects to Its Trainer with Heartbreaking Trunk Salute!

The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods

The ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth. The ocean produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen, it is home to most of earth’s biodiversity, and is the main source of protein for more than a billion people around the world. Not to mention, the ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.

The ocean is now in need of our support.

With 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished. To protect and preserve the ocean and all it sustains, we must create a new balance, rooted in true understanding of the ocean and how humanity relates to it. We must build a connection to the ocean that is inclusive, innovative, and informed by lessons from the past.

“The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods” is the theme for World Oceans Day 2021, as well as a declaration of intentions that launches a decade of challenges to get the Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”, by 2030.

World Oceans Day | United Nations

There’s a New Ocean Now—Can You Name All 5?

There’s a new ocean now—can you name all 5? (nationalgeographic.com)

Sir David Attenborough Explains What He Thinks Needs to Happen to Save The Planet:

The legendary wildlife filmmaker shares why urgent action on climate change is crucial and why we need to save nature in order to save ourselves

Sir David Attenborough explains what he thinks needs to happen to save the planet – 60 Minutes – CBS News

Twenty Predictions for the Transformative 2020’s with Yanik Silver:

We are on the verge of a new age. Everything is accelerating faster and faster, and nearly every system is ready to be rebuilt to truly serve our world.

We stand at the threshold of a great potential. This decade will see more exponential growth, accelerated change and transformation than we have witnessed over the last 50—or maybe even 100—years (or more). And the good news is we get to consciously co-create our next stage.

The year 2020 is truly a landmark year. Just as 20/20 equals perfect vision, these enlightening predictions are a preview of what is on the horizon and what will happen in tandem with an increased awakening of consciousness.

This growing consciousness then becomes the true bedrock for all our decisions, actions, thoughts, and intentions, impacting everything spanning our communities, culture, commerce, and even a greater cosmic story, all unfolding here this decade.  Buckle up….

20Predictionsforthe2020s.pdf | Powered by Box

Elephant Pays Respects to Its Trainer with Heartbreaking Trunk Salute!


Kunnakkad Damodaran Nair, known as Omanchetan, 74, died from cancer last Thursday after caring for elephants for six decades in Kottayam, Kerala.

Elephant pays final respects to trainer with salute of its trunk after walking 15 miles to see body | Daily Mail Online

Thanks this week go to John R, Matt N, Ricardo R, Yanik S, and Stewards of Our Tiny Blue Planet Everywhere!

Please pay it forward.

Love,

Neville

  • Persist no matter what
  • Endure discomfort
  • Request help
  • Steadfastly hold on to your beliefs and values
  • Envision triumph
  • Very consistently keep at it
  • Embrace adversity as your teacher
  • Refuse to give up
  • Enjoy and celebrate every tiny bit of progress!

— From the Best Way Out is Always Through by BJ Gallagher

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Your Soul Food for Friday June 4th 2021: National Gun Violence Awareness Day #WearOrange on June 4, How We Tell Time and Positive Forces of Nature

Your Soul Food for Friday June 4th 2021: National Gun Violence Awareness Day #WearOrange on June 4, How We Tell Time, & Positive Forces of Nature

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week:

The 7th National Gun Violence Awareness Day is June 4 

June 4th is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, when we start Wear Orange Weekend to honor the people shot and killed or wounded by gun violence, and the survivors of gun violence. We honor them and renew our commitment to ending gun violence in America by taking action and taking part in Wear Orange.

How to Participate in Wear Orange | Everytown Support Fund | Everytown Support Fund

Violent Death Rates in the US Compared to those of the Other High-Income Countries:

We can do better!

The US firearm homicide rate is 24.9 times higher than in other high-income countries.

The US firearm suicide rate was 9.8 times higher than in other high-income countries.

83.7% of all firearm deaths occurred in the US.

91.7% of women and 98.1% of all children killed by firearms were in the US.

Firearm homicide rates in low-gun states were 13.5 times higher than other countries.

Violent death rates in the US compared to those of the other high-income countries, 2015 – ScienceDirect

The Hands of Time are Frozen at 7:39—Whether A.M. or P.M., I’ll Never Know: By Korn Ferry CEO Gary Burnison



Over the past year, staring at me on my desk has been a pocket watch on a chain—the one that had been passed down from my grandfather to my father to me. My grandfather carried it to work every day—first at the railroad and later at a wheat mill.


Throughout the pandemic, I’ve frequently held this watch in my hand, a tangible connection to my past. And it occurred to me—it will never tell time in the present again. Sure, I could probably get it fixed. But this heirloom is more poignant to me as a reminder to savor the past—while not trying to stay there. After all, time is the most precious of all commodities—we can’t make more of it.


This realization seemed particularly meaningful given the conversations we’ve been having recently. Just the other day, while speaking to a client’s leadership team, I was asked, “When are things going to get back to the way they were?” My answer was instantaneous: “They’re not—there’s no going back.”


Time has not stood still for any of us. Nor can we simply turn the clock back to 2019 and start again. That moment is gone forever.


It’s like a saying shared with me recently by an executive who had been in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for 33 years: “These things are irrelevant to fighter pilots: the runway behind them, the altitude above them, and three seconds ago.”


This is our “telling time.” Given what we know now—about ourselves and each other—we no longer contemplate when we will move forward. The only question is how. We have three choices: procrastinate, pause, or push.


The starting point is to accurately perceive the reality of today—an unbiased picture of where we are—personally and organizationally. Anticipation comes next. It’s future-focused, projecting beyond the horizon—Plan C for Plan B for Plan A. Navigation is the companion to anticipation—course correcting in real time. Together, they keep the wind at our back.


If anticipation is the course we chart, and navigation is the ship’s mast—then agility is the rudder. Indeed, these times take world-class agility that stretches our intellectual and strategic abilities to navigate in the moment.


As we anticipate and navigate, we keep making our way. After all, the path of progress is never linear. But that’s how we develop agility—from our experiences, both positive and negative.


Not that long ago, my daughter, Emily, and I were out riding our bicycles. The street was busy, so we rode on the sidewalk. Suddenly, as if from out of nowhere, a dog raced toward us and sank his teeth into my leg, just above the ankle. Fortunately, the dog had its shots and didn’t do any real damage. Afterwards, I had plenty of time to reflect on exactly what happened.


First of all, we were riding on the sidewalk, which was not where we were supposed to be. And, second, we failed to notice the dog on the lawn, which no doubt got scared as we “invaded” its space. Wrong place, wrong time. The fault was ours, not the dog’s—lesson learned.


Now with summer coming, I anticipate long bike rides on the weekends. But I won’t be riding on the sidewalk—agility ensures learning never ends. Here are some thoughts:

Connecting time and space. When I spoke with Nathan Blain, an organizational expert in our firm, this week, I asked him about the top concern he’s hearing from clients these days. He didn’t hesitate in his response: “Connectivity.” He shared a conversation he had the other day with a senior leader who expressed concern that, while her teams were productive, continued isolation is creating a culture of verticality—working only for their managers instead of working horizontally as part of cross-functional teams. “This organization had committed so much time and effort to collaboration, they can’t get caught up in silos again,” he told me. Regardless of where or how we work, we need a horizontal mindset—taking the time to connect across our organizational space, even as scattered as it might be right now.

Survival of the agile. Amid great uncertainty and ambiguity for more than a year—when change has been the only constant—agility was our survival. There was no other option. Although our firm’s research reveals there are many types of agility, learning agility tops them all. All of us have had to become increasingly learning agile—synthesizing and applying our past experiences in real time to fluid, changing conditions. Or, as I like to say—knowing what to do when we don’t know what to do. So, why learning agility and why now? The ability to navigate ever-present ambiguity with agility separates those who are merely effective from those who are truly exceptional. Agility transmutes loss into learning in first-time situations; the new world belongs to the most agile. Learning agile people are insatiably curious and engaged with the world around them. They don’t just rely on the same old solutions and status quo problem-solving tactics that worked in the past. They’re willing to go against the grain of what they know how to do and prefer to do.

Tempus fugit. Time flies. It’s wisdom as old as time itself, captured by the poet Virgil in 29 B.C.—and it’s as true today as it ever was. If we become stuck in the past, unable to keep pace, we will be left behind. As Ken Blanchard, the management expert and co-author of The One Minute Manager, described in a conversation we had a few years ago, we all must be the “president of the present” and the “president of the future”— both at the same time. If the past 15 months have taught us anything, it’s the importance of adaptability. This is the equivalent of surfing: paddling out and choosing the right wave. While you ride that wave, you decide whether to take it all the way to shore—or bail out and find a better one. We make our path as we walk it, with agility and learning in the moment—while elevating our horizon. Just like that old watch, nostalgia has its attraction—but all that remains are shadows of what was. In the words of Spanish poet Antonio Machado:

“Wanderer, your footsteps are the road, and nothing more; wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking. By walking one makes the road, and upon glancing behind one sees the path that never will be trod again. Wanderer, there is no road—Only wakes upon the sea.” Look up, look out, look forward. Indeed, a new world is right in front of us—waiting for us to discover. That’s how we tell time.  

Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza: Stars praise Madison Keys for heartfelt campaign:
The tennis stars took to social media to express their support for the initiative

Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza: Stars praise Madison Keys for heartfelt campaign | GiveMeSport

The Story of an Adopted Pet Dog Who Adopted His Own Pet Dog
Whoobie loved his owner so much, he thought it might be fun to have a little pet of his own. Whoobie was the smartest dog I have ever known. He was quick to learn tricks: all the typical ones like sit, lay down, roll over, and stay. Then he learned to shut doors and drawers. He danced on request. He could find any toy by name. If I said “run,” he would. If I told him we were having a visitor soon, he would sit at the window and wait, then howl with excitement when he heard the vehicle pull up…

The Story of an Adopted Pet Dog Who Adopted His Own Pet Dog | Reader’s Digest (rd.com)

6-Year-old Football Player is Force to be Reckoned with On the Field
A video of her playing went viral on social media!

6-year-old football player is force to be reckoned with on the field | GMA (goodmorningamerica.com)

Thanks this week go to Ron M, Paula M, and Friends Everywhere!

Please pay it forward

Love,

Neville

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”—Paul Valery

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Your Soul Food for Friday May 28 2021: You Are Not Alone- Navigating the 4th Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Plus Meet the Happiest Man in the World

Happy Soul Food Friday!

This week: Mental Health Awareness Month- You Are Not Alone!

May is Mental Health Awareness Month:

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. During May, NAMI joins the national movement to raise awareness about mental health. Each year we fight stigma, provide support, educate the public and advocate for policies that support people with mental illness and their families.

Mental Health Month | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness

Why ‘getting back to normal’ may actually feel terrifying: (Nat Geo)

After a year of anxiety, anger, and burnout, many people are struggling with returning to pre-pandemic behaviors. Experts weigh in on ways to work through the trauma. Doctors are forecasting what some experts are now calling “the fourth wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say the mental health impacts will be “profound and far-reaching,” likely outlasting the physical health impacts, and straining already-stretched mental health systems in the United States and worldwide.

Some 15 months of lockdowns, loneliness, Zoom calls, grief, illness, monotony, job loss, and economic hardship has caused “an extraordinary rise in anxiety and depression,” says Boston College developmental psychologist Rebekah Levine Coley. “The level of these disorders … are unprecedented.”

During the pandemic’s first nine months, six times as many American adults reported mental health issues  The inability to cope has sparked other, darker consequences. Soaring suicide rates in Japan prompted the appointment of a “minister of loneliness” in February. Suicide hasn’t spiked in the U.S. or Europe, but with many still in survival mode, trauma symptoms could manifest later.

The U.S. saw a sharp rise in other “deaths of despair” in 2020. Drug overdoses, mostly from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, may have exceeded 90,000, up from 70,630 in 2019. While numbers had been climbing, that was the largest rise in two decades.

Why ‘getting back to normal’ may actually feel terrifying (nationalgeographic.com)

Shift Happens- A Prospective Response for All Communities:

The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement (Medium.com)

Healing centered engagement is asset driven and focuses on the well-being we want, rather than symptoms we want to suppress…

During the early 1990s experts promoted the term “resiliency,” which is the capacity to adapt, navigate and bounce back from adverse and challenging life experiences. Trauma informed care encourages support and treatment to the whole person, rather than focusing on only treating individual symptoms or specific behaviors.

The term healing-centered engagement expands how we think about responses to trauma and offers more holistic approach to fostering well-being.

A healing centered approach to addressing trauma requires a different question that moves beyond “what happened to you” to “what’s right with you” and views those exposed to trauma as agents in the creation of their own well-being, rather than victims of traumatic events. Healing centered engagement is akin to the South African term “Ubuntu” meaning that humanness is found through our interdependence, collective engagement and service to others… 

https://ginwright.medium.com/the-future-of-healing-shifting-from-trauma-informed-care-to-healing-centered-engagement-634f557ce69c

Meet the Happiest Man in the World:

Meet Eddie Jaku, a 101-year-old Auschwitz survivor who describes himself as “the happiest man in the world.” He recently opened up to NBC’s Harry Smith about the secrets of living a life with kindness and gratitude. “Where there is life, there is hope,” he said. 

Midweek State of Mind | Maria Shriver

Thanks this week go to Kurt C, Maria Shriver, Eddie Jaku and Mental Health Advocates Everywhere!

Please pay it forward.

Love,

Neville

“Out of all-inclusive, unconditional compassion comes the healing of all mankind.”

— Dr. David Hawkins

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Your Soul Food for Friday May 21st 2021: A Path with Heart

This week:

  • A Path with Heart
  • Meet America’s Newest Chess Master, 10-Year-Old Tanitoluwa Adewumi
  • How Can You Be Sure Someone Has True Leadership Skills? Look for These 4 Signs
  • 10 DEI Resolutions for 2021

Look to this day! 
For it is life, the very life of life. 
In its brief course 
Lie all the verities and realities of your existence: 
The bliss of growth; 
The glory of action; 
The splendor of achievement; 

For yesterday is but a dream, 
And tomorrow is only a vision; 
But today, well lived, makes every yesterday 
a dream of happiness, 
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well towards this day…

-Kalidasa

An excerpt adapted from A Path with Heart courtesy of Ken B:

My teacher, Jack Kornfield, published a beautiful and poignant article today about how to confront the most difficult situations in our lives with grace and wisdom.

“Very often what nourishes our spirit most is what brings us face to face with our greatest limitations and difficulties. My teacher Ajahn Chah called this “practicing against the grain,” or “facing into one’s difficulties.” Every life has periods and situations of great difficulty that call on our spirit. Sometimes we are faced with the pain or illness of a child or a parent we love dearly. Sometimes it is a loss we face in career or business. Sometimes it is just our own loneliness or confusion or fear. Sometimes we are forced to live with painful circumstances or difficult people. In this time of pandemic these problems can become more intense. Yet in these very difficulties, we can learn the true strength of our practice. At these times, the wisdom we have cultivated and the depth of our love is our chief resource. To meditate, to pray, to practice at such times can be like pouring soothing balm onto the aches of our heart. The great forces of greed, hatred, fear, and ignorance that we encounter can be met by the equally great courage of our heart.

Freedom is born out of our capacity to work with any energy or difficulty that arises. It’s the freedom to enter wisely into all the realms of this world, the beautiful and painful realms, the realms of sickness and health, the realms of war and of peace. We can’t find freedom in some other place or some other time, we must find it here and now in this very life.

Often we see only two choices for dealing with our problems. One is to suppress them and deny them, to try to fill our lives with only light, beauty, and ideal feelings. In the long run we find that this does not work, for what we suppress with one hand or one part of our body cries out from another. If we suppress thoughts in the mind, we get ulcers; and if we clench problems in our body, our mind later becomes agitated or rigid, filled with unfaced fear. A second strategy is the opposite, to let all our reactions out, freely venting our feelings about each situation. This, too, becomes a problem, for if we act out every feeling that arises, all our dislikes, opinions, and agitations, our habitual reactions grow until they become tiresome, painful, confusing, contradictory, difficult, and finally overwhelming. What is left? The third alternative is the power of our wakeful and attentive heart. We can face these forces, these difficulties with loving awareness.

The maturity we can develop in approaching our difficulties is illustrated by the traditional story of a poisoned tree. On first discovering a poisoned tree, some people see only its danger. Their immediate reaction is, “Let’s cut this down before we are hurt. Let’s cut it down before anyone else eats the poisoned fruit.” This resembles our initial response to the difficulties that arise in our lives, when we encounter aggression, compulsion, greed, or fear, when we are faced with stress, loss, conflict, depression, or sorrow in ourselves and in those around us. Our initial response is to avoid them, saying, “These poisons afflict us. Let us uproot them; let us be rid of them. Let us cut them down.”

Other people, who have journeyed further along the spiritual path, discover this poisoned tree and do not meet it with aversion. They have realized that to open to life requires a deep and heartfelt compassion for all. Knowing the poisoned tree is somehow a part of us, they say, “Let us not cut it down. Instead, let’s have compassion for the tree as well.” So out of kindness they build a fence around the tree so that others may not be poisoned and the tree may also have its life. This second approach shows a profound shift of relationship from judgment and fear to compassion.

A third type of person, who has traveled yet deeper in spiritual life, sees this same tree. This person, who has gained much vision, looks and says, “Oh, a poisoned tree. Perfect! Just what I was looking for.” This individual picks the poisoned fruit, investigates its properties, mixes it with other ingredients, and uses the poison as a great medicine to heal the sick and transform the ills of the world.

How can we do this? We can develop the seeds of wisdom, peace, and wholeness within each of our difficulties. We can make our very difficulties the place of our practice. Then our life becomes not a struggle with success and failure but a dance of the heart. Where better to meditate, to steady our hearts, to practice patience, calm, generosity, compassion than in our tough times? This is where the straw becomes spun into the gold of love.

MEDITATION: REFLECTING ON DIFFICULTY

Sit quietly, feeling the rhythm of your breathing, allowing yourself to become calm and receptive. Then think of a difficulty that you face, whether in your spiritual practice or anywhere in your life. As you sense this difficulty, take your time. Notice how it affects your body, how it feels in the heart, its energy in the mind. Feeling it carefully, begin to ask yourself a few questions, listening inwardly for their answers.

  • How have I approached this difficulty so far?
  • How have I suffered by my own response and reaction to it?
  • What does this problem ask me to let go of?
  • What suffering here is unavoidable, is my measure to accept?
  • What happens if I bring tender compassion to all the parts of this difficulty?
  • What courage is asked as I respond?
  • What great lesson might it be able to teach me?
  • What is the gold, the value, hidden in this situation?

In using this reflection to consider your difficulties, the understanding and openings may come slowly. Take your time. As with all meditations, it can be helpful to repeat this reflection a number of times, listening each time for deeper answers from your body, heart, and spirit.

Excerpt adapted from A Path with Heart

Meet America’s Newest Chess Master, 10-Year-Old Tanitoluwa Adewumi
At 10 years old, Tanitoluwa Adewumi just became one of the youngest chess masters in the United States — and he’s not done yet. He says he hopes to become the world’s youngest grandmaster.

Meet America’s Newest Chess Master. He’s 10 : NPR

How Can You Be Sure Someone Has True Leadership Skills? Look for These 4 Signs
How the pandemic has positively changed leadership as we know it.

How Can You Be Sure Someone Has True Leadership Skills? Look for These 4 Signs | Inc.com

10 DEI Resolutions for 2021:

10 DEI Resolutions for 2021 | National Diversity Council Newsletter (ndcnews.org)

Thanks this week go to Dr Billy, Ken B, & the NCPC.

Please pay it forward with heart!

Love,

Neville

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds.

Your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and wonderful world.

Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”   

— Patanjali

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The End of Soul Food Friday?

Happy Soul Food Friday!

“Is this the beginning, or is this the end? When will I see you again…”

Hi all,

After 13+ years, and over 670 posts going every week, rain or shine, Soul Food Friday now needs a new home.

What started out as a weekly email to friends and fam, with the sole intention of putting some positive energy out into the universe has grown over the years to over 6,000 people all over the world on the email list, and is now in need of a bit of help.

How you might consider helping:

  • If you have WordPress and/or MailChimp skills, I could use some help preparing and posting the content each week
  • If you see this blog as a force for good and positivity in your life, you might consider underwriting part of the expense of hosting the site and the monthly subscription fees (both relatively modest) to keep this going
  • If you would like to sponsor the site- recognizing that I refuse to be beholden to any agenda or ideology besides recognizing the positivity in humankind, and speaking truth to power when we are not modeling that- I am happy to chat further
  • If you would like to keep receiving this weekly missive in the meantime, please subscribe on the Soul Food Friday website, so I know the lemon is worth the squeeze, and I will keep on keeping on
  • If you believe that each of us can make a difference of consequence, do amplify positivity in the world with your gifts, talents, strengths and interests- we are better together!

For everything there is a season, and if this is the sunset of one thing for the sunrise of something else, so be it.

Should, on the other hand, this be a perennial then I am happy to play on, with a little help from my friends!

This week, I was featured on the Play Your Position Podcast that is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

It was a fun interview with Mary Lou Kayser which is kind of a “best of” interview as it speaks to so many of the topics that matter deeply to me and influenced by so many of you over the years.

You can listen to it here: http://playyourpositionpodcast.com/neville-billimoria/

To new beginnings..

Thanks this week go to all my supports and influencers over the last 13 years, too many to mention each and every one of you, including but not limited to, Danny F, Alan D, the Conscious Leaders Men’s Group, the Far Future Design Society, the Bright Lights, the Mission Fed team, NCPC and the local philanthropic community, Steve S and the Chamber of Purpose pathfinders, all my nonprofit partners and friends changing the world through social mission work, Aoinagi Ken Shu Kai bringing the wisdom traditions to the UC San Diego campus ecosystem for nearly 4 decades, Tim D and the Port team, all our amazing partners and luminaries in education both in the K-12 districts, in the private and charter community, and the social entrepreneurs like John C, and last and certainly not least, my family that have taught me to love better and wider.

The list is long and if I left you out, my apologies. Please know that you made a difference in my life and that of others…

Pay it forward!

Love All,

Neville

“Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
–Viktor Frankl

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Your Soul Food For the Week of Global Love Day 2021: Celebrating Our Humanity, Mr. Tayer, Supermoons Around the World, Aging Well & How To Be An Adult

Happy Soul Food Friday

This week:

Celebrate Our Humanity with Global Love Day, May 1:

Global Love Day – The Love Foundation

“Mr. Tayer,” by Jean Houston:

When I was about fourteen I was seized by enormous waves of grief over my parents’ breakup.  I had read somewhere that running would help dispel anguish, so I began to run to school every day down Park Avenue in New York City. I was a great big overgrown girl (5 feet eleven by the age of eleven) and one day I ran into a rather frail old gentleman in his seventies and knocked the wind out of him. He laughed as I helped him to his feet and asked me in French- accented speech, “Are you planning to run like that for the rest of your life?”

“Yes, sir” I replied. “It looks that way.”

“Well, Bon Voyage!” he said.

“Bon Voyage!” I answered and sped on my way.

About a week later I was walking down Park Avenue with my fox terrier, Champ, and again I met the old gentleman.

“Ah.” he greeted me, “my friend the runner, and with a fox terrier. I knew one like that years ago in France. Where are you going?”

“Well, sir.” I replied, “I’m taking Champ to Central Park.”

“I will go with you.” he informed me. “I will take my constitutional.”

And thereafter, for about a year or so, the old gentleman and I would meet and walk together often several times a week in Central Park. He had a long French name but asked me to call him by the first part of it, which was “Mr. Tayer” as far as I could make out.

The walks were magical and full of delight. Not only did Mr. Tayer seem to have absolutely no self-consciousness, but he was always being seized by wonder and astonishment over the simplest things. He was constantly and literally falling into love. I remember one time when he suddenly fell on his knees, his long Gallic nose raking the ground, and exclaimed to me, “Jeanne, look at the caterpillar. Ahhhh!” I joined him on the ground to see what had evoked so profound a response that he was seized by the essence of caterpillar. “How beautiful it is”, he remarked, “this little green being with its wonderful funny little feet. Exquisite! Little furry body, little green feet on the road to metamorphosis.” He then regarded me with equal delight. “Jeanne, can you feel yourself to be a caterpillar?”

“Oh yes.” I replied with the baleful knowing of a gangly, pimply faced teenager.

“Then think of your own metamorphosis.” he suggested. “What will you be when you become a butterfly, une papillon, eh? What is the butterfly of Jeanne?” (What a great question for a fourteen-year-old girl!) His long, gothic, comic-tragic face would nod with wonder. “Eh, Jeanne, look at the clouds! God’s calligraphy in the sky! All that transforming. moving, changing, dissolving, becoming. Jeanne, become a cloud and become all the forms that ever were.”

Or there was the time that Mr. Tayer and I leaned into the strong wind that suddenly whipped through Central Park, and he told me, “Jeanne, sniff the wind.” I joined him in taking great snorts of wind. “The same wind may once have been sniffed by Jesus Christ (sniff). by Alexander the Great (sniff), by Napoleon (sniff), by Voltaire (sniff), by Marie Antoinette (sniff)!” (There seemed to be a lot of French people in that wind.) “Now sniff this next gust of wind in very deeply for it contains.. . Jeanne d’Arc! Sniff the wind once sniffed by Jeanne dArc. Be filled with the winds of history.”

It was wonderful. People of all ages followed us around, laughing—not at us but with us. Old Mr. Tayer was truly diaphanous to every moment and being with him was like being in attendance at God’s own party, a continuous celebration of life and its mysteries. But mostly Mr. Tayer was so full of vital sap and juice that he seemed to flow with everything. Always he saw the interconnections between things—the way that everything in the universe, from fox terriers to tree bark to somebody’s red hat to the mind of God, was related to everything else and was very, very good.

He wasn’t merely a great appreciator, engaged by all his senses. He was truly penetrated by the reality that was yearning for him as much as he was yearning for it. He talked to the trees, to the wind, to the rocks as dear friends, as beloved even. ‘Ah, my friend, the mica schist layer, do you remember when…?” And I would swear that the mica schist would begin to glitter back. I mean, mica schist will do that, but on a cloudy day?! Everything was treated as personal, as sentient, as “thou.” And everything that was thou was ensouled with being. and it thou-ed back to him. So when I walked with him, I felt as though a spotlight was following us, bringing radiance and light everywhere. And I was constantly seized by astonishment in the presence of this infinitely beautiful man, who radiated such sweetness, such kindness.

I remember one occasion when he was quietly watching a very old woman watching a young boy play a game. “Madame”, he suddenly addressed her. She looked up, surprised that a stranger in Central Park would speak to her. “Madame,” he repeated, “why are you so fascinated by what that little boy is doing?” The old woman was startled by the question, but the kindly face of Mr. Tayer seemed to allay her fears and evoke her memories. “Well, sir,” she replied in an ancient but pensive voice, “the game that boy is playing is like one I played in this park around 1880, only it’s a mite different.” We noticed that the boy was listening, so Mr. Tayer promptly included him in the conversation. “Young fellow, would you like to learn the game as it was played so many years ago?”

“Well. . .yeah. sure, why not?” the boy replied. And soon the young boy and the old woman were making friends and sharing old and new variations on the game—as unlikely an incident to occur in Central Park as could be imagined.

But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about Mr. Tayer was the way that he would suddenly look at you. He looked at you with wonder and astonishment joined to unconditional love joined to a whimsical regarding of you as the cluttered house that hides the holy one. I felt myself primed to the depths by such seeing. I felt evolutionary forces wake up in me by such seeing, every cell and thought and potential palpably changed. I was yeasted, greened, awakened by such seeing, and the defeats and denigrations of adolescence redeemed. I would go home and tell my mother, who was a little skeptical about my walking with an old man in the park so often, “Mother, I was with my old man again, and when I am with him, I leave my littleness behind.” That deeply moved her. You could not be stuck in littleness and be in the radiant field of Mr. Tayer.

The last time that I ever saw him was the Thursday before Easter Sunday, 1955. I brought him the shell of a snail. “Ah. Escargot.” he exclaimed and then proceeded to wax ecstatic for the better part of an hour. Snail shells, and galaxies, and the convolutions in the brain, the whorl of flowers and the meanderings of rivers were taken up into a great hymn to the spiraling evolution of spirit and matter. When he had finished, his voice dropped, and he whispered almost in prayer, “Omega …omega. . .omega..” Finally he looked up and said to me quietly, “Au revoir, Jeanne”.

“Au revoir, Mr. Tayer,” I replied, “I’ll meet you at the same time next Tuesday.”

For some reason. Champ, my fox terrier didn’t want to budge, and when I pulled him along, he whimpered, looking back at Mr. Tayer, his tail between his legs. The following Tuesday I was there waiting where we always met at the corner of Park Avenue and 83rd Street. He didn’t come. The following Thursday I waited again. Still he didn’t come. The dog looked up at me sadly. For the next eight weeks I continued to wait, but he never came again. It turned out that he had suddenly died that Easter Sunday but I didn’t find that out for years.

Some years later, someone handed me a book without a cover which was titled The Phenomenon of Man. As I read the book I found it strangely familiar in its concepts. Occasional words and expressions loomed up as echoes from my past. When, later in the book, I came across the concept of the “Omega point.” I was certain. I asked to see the jacket of the book, looked at the author’s picture, and, of course, recognized him immediately. There was no forgetting or mistaking that face. Mr. Tayer was Teilhard de Chardin, the great priest-scientist, poet and mystic, and during that lovely and luminous year I had been meeting him outside the Jesuit rectory of St. Ignatius where he was living most of the time.

I have often wondered if it was my simplicity and innocence that allowed the fullness of Teilhard’s being to be revealed. To me he was never the great priest-paleontologist Pere Teilhard. He was old Mr. Tayer. Why did he always come and walk with me every Tuesday and Thursday, even though I’m sure he had better things to do? Was it that in seeing me so completely, he himself could be completely seen at a time when his writings, his work, were proscribed by the Church, when he was not permitted to teach, or even to talk about his ideas? As I later found out, he was undergoing at that time the most excruciating agony that there is—the agony of utter disempowerment and psychological crucifixion. And yet to me he was always so present—whimsical, engaging, empowering. How could that be?

I think it was because Teilhard had what few Church officials did—the power and grace of the Love that passes all understanding. He could write about love being the evolutionary force, the Omega point, that lures the world and ourselves into becoming, because he experienced that love in a piece of rock, in the wag of a dog’s tail, in the eyes of a child. He was so in love with everything that he talked in great particularity, even to me as an adolescent, about the desire atoms have for each other, the yearning of molecules, of organisms, of bodies, of planets, of galaxies, all of creation longing for that radiant bonding, for joining, for the deepening of their condition, for becoming more by virtue of yearning for and finding the other. He knew about the search for the Beloved. His model was Christ. For Teilhard de Chardin, Christ was the Beloved of the soul.

Years later, while addressing some Jesuits, a very old Jesuit came up to me.  He was a friend of Teilhard’s—and he told me how Teilhard used to talk of his encounters in the Park with a girl called Jeanne.

Jean Houston
Pomona, New York
March, 1988

“The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love.

And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire!”–Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

What the Supermoon Looked Like Around the World:
The moon is nearly as close as it gets to Earth on its orbit, creating a spectacular sight!

April’s ‘pink’ supermoon across the world – in pictures | Science | The Guardian

5 Nudges That Work Better Than a Vaccine Mandate, According to an Employment Law Expert:
You have incredible influence to nudge your team to get their Covid shots. Don’t be shy about exercising it.

Vaccine Mandates Aren’t the Best Way to Nudge Your Employees to Get Their Shots  | Inc.com

Why Longevity Experts Say You Should Get in the Habit of Sitting on the Floor:
With caveats.

Sitting on the Floor Is Great For Your Health and Longevity | Well+Good (wellandgood.com)

Your Turn: How to Be an Adult:

Julie Lythcott-Haims’s new book, Your Turn: How to Be an Adult, is a handbook on adulthood. Her 2017 memoir, Real American, is the story of her coming to terms with her biracial identity. She is the former dean of freshmen and undergraduate advising at Stanford, where she earned her B.A. She also earned a law degree from Harvard and a master’s in fine arts and writing from California College of the Arts.

Author’s Advice To Millennials: Manage Your Money And Stop Pleasing Others : NPR

Thanks this week go to Mehrad N for the Dr. Tayer story, and to lovers of humanity everywhere!

Please pay it forward.

Love,
Neville

“When you squeeze an orange, orange juice comes
out — because that’s what’s inside. When you
are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.”

— Dr. Wayne Dyer: Motivational author and speaker

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