Beyond The Wall

Send Tom A Birthday Greeting!

5-12-06

Editor’s Note: Later this month, Tom will have a birthday (May 25). If you enjoy reading his essays and the BLOG site, it would be great to send him a birthday card and let him know you are out here and benefit from his wit and wisdom.

You can write to Tom at anytime, for he welcomes and appreciates letters and cards.

His address is:

Charles “Tom” Brown

#140237

ASPC – Lewis

Barchey Blue – D2-E-5

P.O. Box 3200

Buckeye, AZ 85326

In a time when we watch people who have REALLY committed crimes against others, such as the upper management crew from ENRON, it is disgusting to know that these people will get minimum sentences after bilking investors and states of billions of dollars. Yet, Tom, whose mistake was judgment – not criminal intent – has received a horrific sentence of 17 years because of false testimony and inaccurate figures presented to a judge without benefit of jury trial…all because of extremely poor legal representation.   

Tom understands Karma, and recognizes that there is more to this than meets the eye. Yet, I know this prolonged imprisonment is difficult – especially since he was stripped of everything, including social security. At his age – now in his seventies – this is a very hard pill to swallow. What will he have to come out to when he will be beyond retirement age, yet have his life’s savings and social security taken from him? On top of the punitive sentence meted out, everything is gone.

Tom has now been in prison for almost eight years. All his requests for new trial or parole have been summarily dismissed. He has no money to hire counsel, or to defend himself, so he is a forgotten one. However, he has the gift of his insights, and the willingness to share his wisdom with the rest of us.  We are better for the sharing, and we can let him know that he is not forgotten. Please consider sending a card to acknowledge him and let him know you have benefited from reading his work. It’s a simple thing for us to do – but a very big thing for him.

Thanks for reading Tom’s BLOG.

Editor, Kathleen

The Dream

by Charles "Tom" Brown

Copyright 2006

It was such a disappointment to wake up from the dream and find myself lying on my bed in a prison dormitory.

If only I could go back to the dream. It was there that I discovered that there was no one but me in all the human bodies that I had always believed to be other people. No matter how I saw anyone, I was just seeing myself that way. No matter how I treated anyone, I was just treating myself that way. No matter how I felt toward anyone, I was just feeling that way about myself.

What if this dream turned out to be true? It would mean that everyone would be another version of myself, another expression of how I could be, another expression of how I actually am. I would be connected to life in all its forms, to every human being no matter how different he or she might appear to be, to every animal, to every plant, to all that is.

In looking further into the dream, I would come to the conclusion that the essence of this Oneness is a Consciousness that shines forth from every pair of eyes, beats from every heart, speaks with every voice and meets Itself wherever it goes.

If we all truly believed that we are One, we would never allow 400 children an hour to die of starvation or 200,000 to be murdered in Darfur. We would not allow ourselves to be impotent in the face of genocide. We would rise up in the first hour that occurred and say, “No, we cannot allow ourselves to do this to ourselves”.

In a perfect dream, I envision a world in which we all deeply understand and functionally practice the truth of who we are. Then…

*there would be no wars because we wouldn’t fight.

*there would be no hunger because we would feed each other.

*there would be no environmental breakdown because we would love ourselves, each other, and our planet too much to destroy it.

*there would be no prejudice, oppression, or violence of any kind

*there would be no sorrow.

*there would only be peace

4-30-2006

Thank you again for the BLOG site. We have a common purpose in all of this – to make a positive difference in the lives of others – and our BLOG sites are helping to do that.

In my journal, I’ve been writing about time recently. It’s passing so quickly, I have to shake my head in disbelief. In order to get another viewpoint on this subject, I think I’ll ask my little buddy, Ralphie, what he thinks…

(Ralphie is Tom’s cartoon dog)

Tom: “Ralphie, what can you tell me about time?”

Ralphie: “Just this: Procrastinate NOW and plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.”

Tom: “No, no, Ralphie. Let’s be serious. No more ‘smart answers’. What is the wisest way we can look at the past and the future? Give us one-word answers.”

Ralphie: “That’s easy: For all that has been; THANKS! For all that shall be: YES!”

Tom: “Wow, Ralphie, that says a lot – to be grateful for what has been and to be open and receptive to what shall be. That advice is so good I may not be taking you to obedience school after all!”

On another subject, these birthdays keep coming, don’t they, even when we’re not ready for them, and we try to deny them. There are certain advantages to getting older, though. It rounds off the rough corners and allows us to become deeper and more harmonious. At this stage we are blessed with an enormous opportunity to develop and embody wisdom and character. We enjoy limitless possibilities to restore, renew, and heal ourselves.

In many ways, it is a gift that our life here is limited and impermanent. We hold it more dear because this is so. We learn to live with a reverence for all things and a deep gratefulness for a simple day upon this beautiful planet.

Enclosed is my latest essay – “The Dream.” Our challenge is to be fully present and to accept “what is”, while at the same time, to dream of “what could be” and to work for change. It’s a delicate balance and this essay addresses the dream of “what could be.”