Beyond The Wall

On Being Real

by Charles “Tom” Brown
Copyright 2007

The most precious gift we can give to each other is more of our authentic self. It’s so simple and yet so brave to say that we are hurt when we are hurt, that we are sad when we are sad, that we are scared when we are scared.

We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are when beneath every anger is a wound to be healed and beneath every attitude is the want to be loved. When we hesitate in being direct, we unknowingly slip something on, some added layer of protection that keeps us from feeling the world, and often that covering is the beginning of a loneliness which, if not put down, diminishes our chance for joy.

This covering is like living our lives wearing gloves every time we touch something, and then, forgetting we chose to put them on, we complain that nothing feels quite real. In this way, our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face the world, but to “unglove” ourselves.

The awakened moment is an unprotected meeting with what is – a full contact sport. Our true calling is to find out what it is to be an authentic human being. We are invited to be intimate with the world and experience the bones and breath of each moment.

We can remain who we think we are and sink further into the troubled world we have already made, or we can allow our hearts to crack open like cosmic eggs, out of which will emerge transformed creatures – our true selves. Look at it closely, in yourself and others, and tell me that creature does not have wings.

7-29-07

Thanks so much for your help with the defense fund. The letter expressing my need was a hard one for me to write, but there are times when we simply need each other.

This adventure of setting up a defense fund, hiring an attorney, and applying for a clemency hearing, is helping me to more fully live what I’ve written about over the years. I’m finding out that what was hard to do (writing that letter) can truly be a blessing. It has strengthened my faith and helped me to trust the divine process behind it all.

I told my little buddy, Ralphie (Tom’s cartoon dog), how all of this is beginning to unfold, and I expected some smart remark from him. He usually has one. This time, though, he was speechless. In fact, he became a little teary.

The value of being real has been deeply impressed upon me. This means saying we’re hurting when we’re hurting and we’re in need when we’re in need. It means accepting and embracing it all. An essay on this subject explores it a little further. “On Being Real” is enclosed.

Our journey of awakening is located right in the middle of all of this, right in the middle of life. Our true calling is to find out what it is to be a human being. The quest is about transformation rather than perfection. No moment is unwanted, and thus, awakening is possible right where we are. “We are invited to be intimate with the world and experience the bones and breath of each moment.”

We keep looking for the wings of a sparrow when the wings of an eagle have already been given us. We’re all like birds who have forgotten we have these wings and we were meant to spread them and fly. All we have to do is flap.

Shall we do a little flapping? Wheeee! What a magnificent view from up here.
From the “lofty regions”, I’m sending boundless love!

Defense Fund Is In Place!

Thank you to all supporters of Tom Brown....his defense fund has been put in place, and the attorney is researching his case so that he may present appropriate defense at the next Clemency Hearing scheduled in the Fall. Let's say our prayers for Tom. His prison ministry has been valuable, but it would be very nice for him to be able to continue his ministry of the soul from outside!

An Extraordinary Day

By Charles “Tom” Brown
Copyright 2007

For an ordinary day, we can choose to allow our minds to be programmed by the worldy viewpoint that dominates the earth. We can make sure we’re keeping tabs on everything by reading the morning newspapers and watching the television news. This will bring us current on the wars, the terrorist attacks, the latest murders, the economy, the gossip, the natural disasters…all of it. We will have an ordinary day.

However, we need not let fear steal our day; we can set our day upon another course. Each of us has an inner room where we can visit to be cleansed of fear-based thoughts and feelings. When we begin our morning within it, the mind receives a radiance that illumines our thinking as we go through the day. There are many prayer and meditation techniques, and they are paths to this inner room.

As we move through this extraordinary day, let’s remember to do the following:
· Focus on the goodness. See the innate goodness in every being, no matter what they are “bringing to the table.”
· Say this simple prayer – “Bless the. Change me”. When our hearts are closed and clogged with judgment and resentment, this simple prayer puts everything in perspective.
· Be grateful. Give thanks for everything. It’s a form of the heart opening, of attention shifting from “my wants and needs” to just gratitude.
· Remember to smile. A smile is like a comforting hand, a warm blanket, a long-lost friend, a blessing
· Find someone to help. In helping others, we help ourselves in ways that are truly enriching.

And finally, keep the door to the heart open. This door is always near. Truth opens it. Love opens it. Humility opens it. Sadness can open it if felt to its center. Silence and time open it if we enter them and don’t just watch them. This is the doorway that lets us experience the miraculous in the mundane, the extraordinary in the ordinary.