Dinner & A Dead Gal, Session 306
November 22, 2008, 4:36 PM.
Participants: Joanne, Paul, Caryn, George, Jeanette, Sarah, Tom, Ester, Nardine (Heathcote Vic, Australia), Christoph (Vienna), and Rumi the cat.
We had another excellent session this past Saturday evening. Ten people attended from three time zones, including Joanne’s mother, Jeanette, who was out for her annual Thanksgiving visit from Evansville, Indiana.
Rose opened the floor and asked Nardine to share her impressions about the recent elections in the USA. Nardine, who lives in Australia, mentioned that she didn’t follow the specifics of US politics, but was encouraged by the election of Barack Obama. She also mentioned that they had recently elected a new Prime Minister who had more progressive views, and that was similar imagery.
Rose went on to mention that this was all shift imagery, and that the Obama’s have “heart-ways” – a new theme she went on to explore. It was not accidental that she had put Nardine on the spot, because her intent name is Heart Whisperer. Rose then went on to explain the need for “heart-sense” (a play on the term “horse-sense”), something that is held in “heart-space.”
Rose said that there will be a growth in the shift in terms of “heart-space.”
[This is an interesting expansion of Elias’ concept of widening awareness, but from an empathic or fealing perspective. Also, in an interesting sync, our Zen Calendar daily quote for Sunday read: “Everything comes from your own heart. This is what one ancient called ‘bringing out the family treasure’.”]
Rose humorously referred to Joanne “weary girl” – a play on “weany girl” – because she has been working so hard this year on multiple fronts.
Rose mentioned that Dick Cheney, outgoing Vice President of the USA, had difficulty with his heart-space, and cited his chronic heart problems as evidence of his inability to maintain a healthy heart-space, as he was stuck in his view of his body and mind. So now, in terms of an opening heart-space, “the game is on!”
Nardine gracefully acknowledged being put on the spot and gave herSelf credit for not discounting self, as has been a pattern in the past. And since she’s been addressing to those fears, she wanted to give herSelf a well deserved pat on the back, to which I could only second her emotion!
[It’s wonderful to see people getting comfortable with Rose and doing the practices and work, and more importantly, getting results!]
Rose again reminded everyone that she doesn’t know everything [an important claim of fallibility that all authentic transpersonal teachers make].
I asked a question about the recent election and stock market tanking (bank, credit, and housing crisis) and wondered about the probabilities involved. In other words, how close was Obama to losing, since the stock market crashing had a lot to do with McCain’s defeat?
Rose gave a long answer. She suggested that since we have selected this shift to unfold, that Obama’s election and McCain’s defeat will help in that regard. Rose added that John McCain had, in effect, sabotaged his own campaign by contradicting himself, and making poor decisions that adversely affected his campaign.
At one point she used the phrase “ontologically suspect,” which seemed like a non sequitur, because ontology has to do with the nature of being. As I wondered if it was a distortion, an interesting thing happened. Rose instantly stopped, as if directly answering my mental question, and revisited and redefined that phrase.
I checked the recording and here’s what she said: “(McCain) did want to allow the ontologically suspect presidency to rest in another’s hands – ontologically suspect in the sense that sometimes the respect that is incurred in the realization of the presidency isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The respect that is engaged, in some ways, is not truly desired.”
[Rose sometimes uses words like “theatrics” and “ontology” when Joanne is getting in the way, so this was an interesting example of something getting distorted, Rose correcting as she goes along, and me simultaneously tuning into that process. This reminded me of a story Ellen Gilbert shared from a recent Kris Int’l. Session, in which she became aware of simultaneously interacting with Kris on another “layer” of consciousness.]
Tom asked a question about Proposition 8, which had just passed in the recent California elections. It defined marriage as being only between a man and woman, and was a real setback for civil rights, ironically, in light of the advances realized by the African-American community, who, it turned out, 70% had voted FOR Prop 8.
Rose said, “The way of spirit is the way of self.” She then coined a new word [what else is new?] “g-i-n-t-o,” a combination of gin and into to mean “gin running into spirit ways.” For example, people took a banned substance like gin during the Prohibition, and still moved into spirit by making their own “illegal” bathtub gin. The gin was in our hands, the same way we take the laws into our own hands when we know they are unfair and unjust. Rose encouraged us all to “drink in fully the way of spirit.”
[This doesn’t mean Rose promotes alcohol abuse and addiction, but that we, the people, know when laws are unjust and always do something to circumvent and overthrow them in the long run. The same applies to same sex marriage. It IS a civil right, and history has shown that conservative values eventually give way to more progressive views and laws.]
Rose mentioned that our myths need to change and are changing to help us define a new story, a new worldview.
I also mentioned that in integral terms, that gender, orientation, and preference are three subsets of the belief system of sexuality according to Elias. In integral terms, they form a “horizontal” typology that influences our perception in all stages of “vertical” development. In collective terms, there are three main worldview systems whose dynamics influence global politics: traditional (40%), modern (30%), and postmodern/integral (25%). So the first two systems STILL contain many conservative values and have a @50-70% majority on issues like same-sex marriage. Until the collective widens awareness, including Rose’s lovely heart-sense and heart-space metaphors, there won’ be a majority who hold mature worldcentric values that support equal rights on a systemic scale.
[As a side note, during this exchange I also had a very strong impression that Seth’s value fulfillment, one of his eleven laws of the inner universe, was metaphysically equivalent to Ken Wilber’s Eros/Agape. That is, value fulfillment drives the evolutionary AND involutionary currents that underlie all human reality creation and strongly influence the widening of individual and collective awareness over long periods of history. However, there’s no guarantee that human collectives will widen. They can regress (e.g., Dark Ages) and arrest (e.g., divine right of kings) for long periods of time as history also shows.]
Caryn asked a question about Jim Jones and the mass suicide at Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. She had seen a documentary on its 30th anniversary.
Rose mentioned that many of Jones’ followers had given up their individual power to join his religious group. She also labeled him a psycho- and sociopath [meaning his innate sense of violation was egocentric – me-centered. It was no higher than a 2-7 year olds’ sense of right and wrong. But this didn’t happen overnight as Jim Jones had previously done many wonderful things in his ministry, but something changed for the worse after the move to Guyana, and it resulted in the deaths of 913 people, including the murder of a congressman from California.]
Rose said that Jones did NOT use his heart-sense in the final stages of the group’s time in Guyana. His lack of empathy allowed him to move into an immoral area. Rose then circled back to the US elections and mentioned that healthy governance requires leaders to use their heart-sense so that people can thrive, and develop their greatest potentials.
Caryn wondered how our heart-sense manifests. Rose replied that our intentionality is innately meant to not hurt others. It’s about helping, not hurting. People thrive when they connect with their intent. So it’s connected to how deeply we align with our intents.
[By implication, when we go to the dark or pathological side, we somehow lose our way and disconnect from our intent. When we really connect with our intent, like Barack Obama, for example, we tend to allow ourselves and others to thrive.]
[I also connected Rose’s new concept of “heart-sense” to Seth’s fealing-tone and empathy, for when we really connect with others-as-Self we begin to authentically “walk a mile in their shoes.”]
Tom asked about what happened at Jonestown from a mass co-creation perspective? Rose said that people need to love themselves first, before they can truly love others, and that many of those individuals did not truly love themselves, and that something got lost in the process of leaving the USA and starting over in a new country. Rose said that heart-sense is all about loving self, so that we may love others! We have to learn to connect the dots, and heart-sense helps to facilitate this.
[I also had an impression that dealt with the notion of ideals – thinking of Seth’s practicing idealist – becoming corrupted by a pathological leader who had absolute power over his flock. Most traditional religious groups that go to the dark side are based on what Ken Wilber calls dominator hierarchies.]
Nardine rounded out the first half by acknowledging the importance of loving self as much as others.
We broke at 5:35 PM for a dinner feast that consisted of a chicken stew, BBQ chicken, tortillas, potato and veggie salads, beans, rice, and rolls.
Based on conversations raging over the dinner break, Rose began the second half on how we give up our power to authorities outside ourselves, and how we’re slowly but surely learning to become our own authorities during this shift in consciousness.
[This takes getting used because we’re taught as children to defer to authority on all fronts, including parents, teachers, police, political and religious leaders.]
Christoph asked a question about his intent name, as he was getting closer and knew that it had to do with “helping people lose their fears.” [Christoph is Tumold belonging-to, Milumet aligned, and a medical student.] Rose told us all that we could don our “medical hats” and heal ourselves of our fears! Rose also gave Christoph a working name of “Fear Healer” to help him with his intent name.
Rose then shared that the “weary girl” I had a fear of breathing.
[Joanne has had asthma since she was two years old, and remembers holding her breath to stop crying while being yelled at by her father to do so.]
Rose reminded us that fear helps to get out attention into areas of health that need it.
[Elias also claims that emotion is an avenue of essence communication. So fear is another direct communication from essence to get our attention! I’m also talking about anxieties and other neurotic symptoms that accrue as we deal with the vagaries of life. By the time we reach adulthood many of us acquire a lot of emotional baggage, but Rose is showing how it can be used as a tool to help us heal and move on.]
I commented that I had continued to do work on my intent name (Kagid al tumbra) and wanted to translate it into an English “name.” In a morning meditation last week I got the theme of “how things work” in relation to my interests in teaching, music making, and lucid dreaming. I then added “Explorer of How Things Work,” but realized that was too masculine, too common.
So I went into the fealing side, the feminine side, and added “Fealer of How Things Work.” It placed an emphasis on emotions and fealings that I continue to work on getting more in touch with. So I suggested that Christoph’s intent name might include “Fealer of People Losing Fears” to help him make further connections.
Rose then moved into fears again, and asked anyone who was comfortable to share a fear that they had connected with.
[It was also a Workshop theme, so it has been in play for many months now.]
Ester shared that she had a fear of “wasting space” in the group, meaning that she fealt resistance in asking questions because her needs weren’t as important as others in the group.
Ester then shared a story from her private session in which Rose pronounced the name of the Greek goddess Hecate differently, and it threw her for a loop. Rose pronounced it hek-kate and Ester pronounced it as heh-kah-tay. So Ester had trouble connecting with Rose’s pronunciation, and assumed it was the only correct one because, well, Rose was the expert. Right!?
Put another way, Ester discounted self until she finally realized that she was giving up her power, once again. So she took it back when she continued to work with her preferred way of saying Hecate! However, interestingly, in time she also began to connect with Rose’s way of saying it too.
Rose said that we do mythically portray essence or inner self as gods and goddesses, and that’s perfectly okay. She acknowledged that Ester was also exploring the sounds of words and their energetic meanings. Rose next acknowledged the importance of questioning authority, and reminded us again, that she’s not the final say on things, and we must learn to become our own authority.
This reminded me of the American comedian George Carlin who recently passed away, and always told his audience to QUESTION AUTHORITY! I realized that he was the perfect example of what Rose calls The Contrary Self, whose purpose within each of us is to constructively promote thriving, healthy people and communities.
Gordon, who joined us late, mentioned that his “spirit guides” had helped him to face his fears by no longer ignoring them. So any time he experiences a fear, he now does his best to keep it in awareness and seek its cause, which helps to neutralize it.
[Put another way, Rose is pointing out how fear can be used as a tool – the signal, the emotional communication – to help us notice, recognize, identify, address to, and neutralize our fears.]
There were additional questions and answers. Christoph asked about his nine-year old dog who is having health problems. The vet said he would require surgery to remove his testicles in order to reduce the testosterone in his system. Christoph understood that his dog mirrors his own issues, but at the same time creates its own reality.
[Still, castration is a serious issue for any man! For me, it comes down to the quality of a life in terms of making any decision to have this kind of irreversible operation.]
Rose raised the fear of death, and Christoph recognized that he was exploring that.
[We all have it, and we all have psychological defenses to cope with it such as denial and repression.]
Rose used another one of her neologisms – healp – to help and heal, and given the intent name that Christoph is exploring (Fear Healer), it is clear that his dog is lending energy to healp him face his own fears so that he may healp others face and heal theirs.
Rose didn’t offer any final decision on whether his dog should have the surgery. She suggested he rest-in-Rose to seek his own impressions and trust his inner authority to make the best decision for everyone involved.
Nardine mentioned that it is a process to learn to be brave together [as no decision effects only one person or dog. These important decisions affect the whole family.]
Rose wrapped things up, said her fond farewells, and left the building at 7:11 PM. We thanked her, as always, and I made a few announcements:
1. There are new transcripts on the website, including JoRose speaking at the recent Colorado Seth Conference to her largest audience yet (over 80 people).
2. A new podcast is published on the Essence of Rose website every Monday after a group session.
3. There is a new email list on NWV – The RoseVine – moderated by Nardine Neilson. There’s a couple of interesting Topics on the Workshop and Intent Names.
4. A 3-CD set plus print materials are now available from the Face Your Fears/Follow Your intent Workshop.
5. I just got the “green light” from the publisher we met at the Seth Conference on the outline I submitted to write a “Seth for Dummies” book. They are adding it to their Fall 2009 lineup. Stay tuned for details.
We thanked everyone on the phone for attending, and said our goodbyes. We had tea and desert, which consisted of macaroons and apple pie. A delicious time was had by all, even Rumi the cat.
Our house guests stayed and talked until just before 10 PM. when Joanne and I turned into pumpkins. The next D&DG session will be on Saturday December 13, 2008. Thanks to all who attended!