Beyond The Wall

9-19-2004

Since I have no way to research a subject and no one here to edit anything, I must be a keen observer of the ordinary, seemingly insignificant events here, and mine them for the spiritual nuggets they contain. (For example, raindrops on a window).

Have You seen the movie “What The Bleep Do We Know?!” In the October issue of Science of Mind magazine there is an interesting story about the making of this movie. The first paragraph states the following:

“If there was a movie – an entertaining movie no less – that contained the real secrets for a happy and fulfilled life, would you see it? If this same movie told its message using beautiful animation, a storyline that you could identify with, and cutting edge information from quantum physics, molecular biology, and spirituality, would you see it? If this movie whacked you right between the eyes (in a good way, of course) in demonstrating how all human beings really do create their own realities, would you see it?”

It looks like it’s a fascinating movie. And an entertaining one with an improbable name is delivering this news to the world.

On a lighter note, you probably noticed that our little cartoon dog character Ralph is helping to deliver this letter to you. He wants me to tell you a joke about one of his kin – a dachshund. I want you to know that I hesitated doing this, but Ralph insisted. Ready? Brace yourself…

Q. Why did the cowboy buy a dachshund?

A. Someone told him to “Get along little doggie!”

Have I told you about my two new students? They are identical twins names Juan and Amal. Last week, Amal just disappeared from the yard. He couldn’t be found anywhere. I didn’t get alarmed, though, because I knew that if you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Amal.

When Juan plays golf, I wonder if he ever shoots a hold in Juan. (I wonder about things like that). After telling that Juan, I think I’d better disappear…quickly!

8-8-2004

We’re getting many new inmates here and they seem to be getting younger and younger (or maybe I’m just getting older and older). A large majority are here for drug-related offenses, and they need to be in drug rehabilitation facilities rather than in prison. Also, they need to be taught skills that will enable them to be productive citizens.

Instead, they are warehoused here. They are “numbed down” with psych drugs and simply confined to dormitories. What a waste! And then those in the system wonder why so many of these fellows keep returning to prison.

Last Friday, a number of these young ones gathered at one of the tables in the classroom. I overheard one of them tell the others – Mr. Brown is a real cool dude!” I think this is probably the highest compliment that is given around here so maybe I am making a difference. I hope so.

I especially enjoyed your article in Seasons of the Soul called “Summer and Politics.” You are so right about media distortions. They’re giving the public what it wants, though. If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.

Each night we (the general public) turn on the evening news to be mesmerized by the latest horrific crimes and terrorist bombings, the most recent scandals, and all the freshest gossip.

Indeed, what is even worse than this vicarious thrill is the fact that we are inundated with so many tragedies that we have become nearly immune to them, and only the grandest catastrophes now move us. Our minds are slowly fading into habit and insensitivity. It’s time we become more discerning, more thoughtful, more intelligently independent, and not merely dull receptors of this media-driven triviality and nonsense.

Our perceptions color our world. Harassed by negative perceptions, we miss much that is beautiful and calming. May we question our vision of the world, our worldview of fears and prejudices, and maybe with a little luck, we may see things anew.

And how do we respond to this media manipulation, this constant barrage of fear and negativity? Albert Schweitzer gave an answer to this when he wrote the following:

“To question whether I’m a pessimist or an optimist, I answer that my knowledge is pessimistic, but my willing and hoping are optimistic.”

He reminds us that we need a little pessimism (healthy skepticism) to give us caution and to deal realistically with “what is”, and at the same time, we also need optimism to hope and dream and build a better future (idealism). Learning to enjoy the rhythms of this dance is to grow and transform.

Chicken or Egg?

Which One Started It All?

(author unknown)

First let me say that although the chicken, like all other living creatures, is mysterious enough, the egg is even more so. For an egg not only contains the equivalent of a clock, a compass, nest-building instructions, menus, sheet music, and sometimes a map of the stars, but it also can talk and hold a conversation, and it is immortal.

Would a talking egg surprise you? Consider the fact that most eggs, particularly birds’ eggs, are laid one at a time, and a clutch of them may appear during a span of a week or more. Yet it is vital that they hatch within a few hours of each other so the last baby bird to emerge will not be trampled to death by its much older and bigger brothers and sisters. For this reason the eggs of many different ages somehow coordinate their hatching, which is done by direct communication – egg to egg and often egg to mother and mother to egg.

For a day or two before the egg hatches, some air accumulates in it, and in this air the developing chick starts to utter peeping sounds and eventually to peck against the shell. Since eggs in a nest generally touch each other, the sounds in them are easily transmitted from one to another as a sort of telegraphic code.

The immortality of an egg derives from the abstract nature of its genes, for these can produce a bird that, even if kept indoors and prevented from seeing or hearing any other bird, can nevertheless sing the songs of its species and navigate by stars it never knew existed. Furthermore, the egg does not have to die, for it normally grows into an adult bird, specifically a bird that in turn may lay eggs that prolong life indefinitely – showing that, from the egg’s point of view, a chicken is primarily a lonely egg’s way of getting another egg.

This line of thinking leads us to our long-awaited answer to this ancient dilemma of “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” The egg wins hands down.

Punctuation Marks

by Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2004

It’s high time we praise the humble comma! Add this unpretentious little mark to the present clause, and, suddenly, the mind is quite literally given pause to think; take it out if you wish or forget it and the mind is deprived of a resting place. Yet the comma gets no respect. It’s almost like a writer’s smudge. Small, we claim, is beautiful (especially in the age of the microchip). Yet what is so often used and so rarely recalled as the comma – unless it be the breath itself?

Punctuation marks are the road signs placed along the highway of our communications – to control speeds, provide directions, and prevent head-on collisions. A period has the unblinking finality of a red light; the comma is the flashing yellow light that asks us only to slow down; and the semi-colon is a stop sign that tells us to ease gradually to a halt, before gradually starting up again. By establishing the relations between words, punctuation establishes the relations between people using words.

Punctuation, then, is a pillar that holds society upright. (A run-on sentence, its phrases piling up without division, is as unsightly as a sink piled high with dirty dishes).

Punctuation scores the music in our minds, gets our thoughts moving to the rhythm of our hearts. It’s the notation in the sheet music of words, telling us where to rest, or when to raise our voices; telling us that the meaning of our words lies not so much in the units but in the pauses, the pacing, and the phrasing. It adjusts the tone and color and volume till the feeling comes into perfect focus.

Thus, all these tiny scratches give us breadth and depth. A world that has only periods is a world without inflections. It’s a world without shade. It’s a music without sharps and flats.

A comma can let us hear a voice break, or a heart. Punctuation, in fact, is a labor of love.

The Ripple Effect

by Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2004

The classroom was quiet as I helped Jim, a fellow prisoner, with his math. He has had a long, difficult struggle with drugs and is trying to rehabilitate himself. Jim left the table during a break and while he was gone, I grabbed his paper and drew a cartoon character who was smiling with his arms outstretched. Under it, I wrote – “HORRAH FOR JIM!”

When he returned, he looked at the drawing and his eyes filled with tears. He said, “That’s a message from God! Earlier I was offered drugs and I said ‘No!’ This is God speaking through you to encourage me!”

I thought I was cheering him on with his math, but he experienced it from an entirely different level. This reminded me that there is so much to be learned from a moment like this. It is sometimes hard to see how our actions – drops in the proverbial bucket – matter. Instead, we feel our tiny drops evaporate before they touch the ground. If only we could see the bucket filling!

As we go about our daily activities, it is important to remember that we are part of something bigger in ways we never know. Each time we embrace possibility instead of despair, it is like a pebble cast in a pond. Good deeds create ripples that spread in all directions.

The call to help others is a yearning from the heart to live and move beyond ourselves. This call is the heart of our humanity – being here, open and giving to others. When we restrict the natural compassion of the heart, a tension develops between the head and the heart that often leaves us tentative and confused. As we reach out, then pull back, love and fear are pitted against one another. As hard as this is for us, what must it be like for those who need our help?

However, when we perform caring acts for one another, we glimpse and essential quality of our being. A little comfort has been shared, and we feel a little more at home with ourselves. We’re reminded of who we are and what we have to offer to others.

Though we are not able to fully see the ripple effect of our actions, we can be lights for each other, and through each other’s illumination, we will see the way. Each of us is a seed, a silent promise, and it is always spring.

7-28-2004

It’s the middle of the night and I’m wide awake so I thought it would be a good time to visit with you.

I’ll enclose a few items that I hope you will enjoy –

First there is “The Ripple Effect”. This is a short essay on an incident that I told you about in a previous letter. It’s a powerful reminder of how we are constantly affecting the lives of others. For example, our little buddy, Ralph, has been working as classroom mascot. He appears on students papers with words of encouragement. Recently, we had a GED graduation ceremony and much to my surprise, many of the fellows wanted Ralph on their GED diplomas! I hesitated because I felt that I was defacing a very official-looking document, but they insisted. We never touch people so lightly that we do not leave a trace, do we?

Next, I’ll enclose “Punctuation Marks.” Many of my students have not been appreciating the value of punctuation, and I thought this would help them to appreciate it. The lowly comma, in particular, has been getting a “bum rap,” so this is largely in its defense.

A sentence that I like to use to show the value of commas is –

“WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS LOST”

Without punctuation, it’s the woman who is lost. However, when we put in two commas, it’s the man who is lost.

“WOMAN, WITHOUT HER, MAN IS LOST”

And lastly, I saw an article that I thought you would find interesting. It explores the age-old question of “Which came first – the chicken or the egg?” It’s a question that has long been debated by philosophers and theologians.

I would like to take this question to a deeper level, a more profound one, and ask this question –

“Which came first – the chicken salad sandwich or the egg salad sandwich?”

I don’t want to be an egghead and egg you on with a question like this. If I did, I might have egg on my face. Then, the yolk would be on me!

After carrying on like this, you are probably wishing you had rotten eggs to throw at me, so I’ll close quickly and duck.

7-11-2004

As you probably noticed from the envelope flap, my dog cartoon character Ralph is helping to deliver this to you. He has been a little feisty lately. Being a dog, he thinks he can dog me with his dogmatic doggerel. He has even threatened to tell his ma about me. I guess that’s his dogma! By collie, Ralph, you mutt be quiet and just deliver the mail.

He has been doing double duty, not only as a mail carrier, but also as a classroom mascot. He appears on student’s papers with words of encouragement. When I passed out the GED awards recently, many of the students asked for Ralph to appear on their diplomas.

We’ve been working on vocabulary in class and I have been teaching deeper meaings of some familiar words. Here are a few of them –

COFFEE – A person who is coughed upon

FLABBERGASTED – appalled over how much weight you have gained

LYMPH – to walk with a lisp

FLATULENCE – the emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller

RECTITUDE – the formal dignified demeanor assumed by a proctologist immediately before he examines you

ASTERISK – to inquire about danger.

Isn’t it great to not only enlarge our vocabulary, but also to learn the deeper meanings of words like these?!

Remembering To Bounce

By Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2004

With the weight of the world on our shoulders, getting off the ground becomes problematic. Our minds have trouble soaring aloft because they are heavy laden with cares, anxieties, worries and deadlines of one sort or another. These things have a psychological weight that smothers our capacity to imagine and to play. Burdened so, we forget to lighten up, to let our hair down and go lightly through the days and nights. We forget about our wings so our wings forget about us.

However, we can easily arouse the miraculous, the awe inside. One of our finest capacities as human beings is to wonder at ourselves and the world; to bring curiosity, vitality, and bounce to our lives.

Here is an exercise for your “awe muscle,” which is the muscle that makes your jaw drop open in amazement. Often a little reflection on something like the simple fact of your beating heart – a muscle that automatically flexes a few billion times in an average human lifespan and pumps blood through a circulatory system that if laid end to end would stretch all the way around the earth – can completely change your mood.

Being willing to bounce means being willing to be stretched, to expand and take in the enormity of it all – ourselves, the world, the mystery. We belong to the stars in the night sky and to the silence of the wilderness in the darkness. We are made to express ourselves in singing, dancing, studying, learning, working, and playing. We belong to all of this and much more. This is our awe. And it is awesome.

Several years ago, the Dalai Lama was scheduled to speak in Madison Square Garden. After the crowd of thousands was seated, the Dalai Lama entered, walked down the carpet and climbed the steps to take a seat at the top of the throne. To make the seat comfortable, the organizers had placed mattresses at the top, covered by carpet and silk. When the Dalai Lama sat down on the throne, it bounced. A smile lit his face. He bounced again and smiled some more. Then, in front of thousands of students, he bounced up and down as happily as a child.

In the mist of it all, may you also remember to bounce.

6-6-2004

Thanks so much for the birthday card and the money order. I feel richly blessed. It will help me to buy some needed personal items. There is one horrifying result of this, though. I will be able to buy more stamps and writing pads and send more bad puns to you!

I think you should make sure your pun helmets are thickly insulated.

I hope this finds you both “fit as a fiddle” and “bright-eyed and bushy tailed.” Do you ever wonder where clichés like these come from?

I tell my students to avoid clichés like the plague. They’re old hat and if they use them, their essays will fall flat as a pancake and will go over like a lead balloon.

Have you read the weather reports about how hot it has been in the desert here? It was so hot this morning I saw a bird trying to pull a worm out of the ground and I’ll swear he was using a potholder.

It’s really been dry, too. I can’t vouch for this because there are no trees on this yard, but I hear that it’s been so dry the trees are whistlin’ for the dogs.

I know that you like accurate weather reporting as much as I do and we must remember that exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

I haven’t felt like my life has had much “bounce” or vitality lately so I decided that was exactly what I needed to write about. Thus, we have “Remembering To Bounce” which I’ll enclose for you. It was therapeutic for me to explore it a bit and, in so doing, it reminded me to be more playful.

May you bounce higher than ever today!

Healing Our Hurt

By Charles “Tom” Brown

Copyright 2004

The news today is filled with accounts of terror and violence. Nothing gets our attention quite like loss and tragedy. Hurt stretches us, pushes us to grow, to develop new levels of ourselves. We have many lessons to learn in life, and each one is generally punctuated with an experience of pain.

What we find, however, as we look deeper within, is that our rage, our fears, do not stay forever. Rage turns into sorrow, sorrow turns into tears; tears may fall for a long time, but then the sun comes out. The armoring around our pain gradually softens, and in the midst of our grieving, the pain finally finds release.

It is at this point that we discover that our hearts can grow strong in the broken places. We find a way in which sorrow can heal, allowing us to grow into our fullest, most compassionate identity, our greatness of heart.

In our issue-oriented world, we think the enemy is outside, and we must struggle against those who are outside our group, our party. When we seek to strike back and blame, we distract ourselves from an exquisite opportunity to pay attention, to see, even in the pain, a place of grace, a moment of spiritual promise and healing.

Finally, there is the realization that the warfare is inside, not just inside the “others,” but inside me. Warfare is also in me, and I am called to seek wholeness inside myself and be an agent for peace. If I am growing toward wholeness, I will be a source of life for the world around me.

May each of us remember this: “God’s understanding, forgiveness, compassion, love, and purpose are large enough to include the most heinous terrorists and their acts. Perhaps a deeper understanding of this is what we came here to discover.