presents a free newsletter for friends of generosity incorporated

Welcome
Feature from Independence, West Virginia
Dreams of Goodness
Why the Kidneys?
Book Recommendations
Goodness in the News?
Who’s Who in Goodness
The Child's Garden
Poetry

From the Editor

NE

Thanks to Cammie Doty, Carol Bucklew anewsletter.

Tamar Frankiel, Editor

Feature from Independence, West Virginia

This month's principle is Goodness. Here is a teaching from one of our dream sisters:

My husband has Pluto in Goodness. He can think like an animal. He knows where the wild turkeys will roost tonight, why the deer are in this thicket instead of that, watches which way the wind is blowing. I always thought he would have been a good veterinarian. He can lay hands on tame or wild animals and knows how they think. Interestingly, the area of his back where his kidneys are is always cold to touch. We used to have a bull named Paul. Once in awhile he'd go over the fence to visit the neighbor's cows. Ed would just yell at him to get him to come home. "Paul, get over here. You know you don't below over there!!!" Paul would growl and snort, but he'd obey.

Once we had a cow (who looked more like a wild donkey) who wouldn't let her calf nurse. Ed would have to tie her up and then she'd kick the calf in the head. He told her she was a stupid bitch and she had until the week-end to decide what she was going to do. If she was still kicking her calf, he would take her to the sale. She relented.

Carol Bucklew

Dreams of Goodness

We can learn about the principles by examining our dreams. Often Goodness appears in our dreams in the guise of animals. If you want to see a variety of deep dream-encounters with animals, go to www.turtledreamers.com, click to go into the Dreamspace, and find the “Animal Dreams” section on the open forum.

I leave my motel room to go to a meeting, but stop in the bathroom. I see in the mirror that I have a problem with my skirt, so I go back to my room but then I don’t have my key. I’ll have to go down to the lobby to get it.

I take a short cut down the back stairs. They’re narrow stone steps. A dwarf in front of me is going very slow, but then I see a wide place where I can go around him. I go to the back entrance, but it’s flooded with water, above ankle height. I find a side door, a screen door that’s open and walk in. Wild animals are there. A small leopard is sleeping. A hippo pokes his head out his window and I realize I can’t get by without being nuzzled. I might wake the leopard too, so I retreat and go to the front lobby. There are birds there; one lands on each hand and maybe one on my shoulder. I shake them off. A lion come toward me; a man says, “don’t worry about him, but watch out for the penguin.” A large human-size bird, vaguely penguinish, is standing there ­ the face is more like an owl and the stomach isn’t pure white. The bird is black-brown-grey with streaks of reddish brown. I go on through and get to my room and then to the conference. .

The dreamer’s repeated attempts to get to the her destination are a common dream theme ­ we call it trying to get through the ‘membrane’ between this reality and the next. Eventually she finds a way by going down and back ­ suggesting the principles which are represented on prior levels of evolution. She uses stone steps, suggesting the mineral world, and sees a dwarf, suggesting the devic worlds. Finally she encounters the animals, the realm of Goodness. The humanoid/penguinoid bird suggests the transition to consciousness. There she is warned ­ for only humans have the capacity to violate Goodness.

I have been given a beautiful dark chestnut horse. I find myself astride him, feeling very at ease and comfortable. I am amazed that I feel so sure of what I'm doing as I haven't ridden for over thirty years. I guide him without even needing to use the reins. He and I are one with each other and I barely need to use any physical direction as he seems to know intuitively where I want him to go. We are riding down a corridor inside a huge old building, maybe a museum. There is a wide doorway to my left which I intend to ride through but somehow we overshoot the gap. I'm momentarily concerned, then no problem, the horse immediately hears my instruction and turns back through the doorway.

We enter a field where there is some kind of fair is happening. People, including some of my family members are sitting talking under canopies. I pat the horse and praise him, then dismount and remove his bridle so he can be free for a while. He immediately begins eating mouthfuls of incredibly bright emerald green grass. 'Of course!' I think, he's hungry now. 'I mustn't forget that he needs food.' I awoke feeling a tremendous love for the horse.

The horse and the rider in many traditions are a metaphor for body and soul, or ego and soul. When the body and ego-self are guided by the soul, we feel the essence of Goodness. Even when we overshoot our mark, as in the dreamer missing the doorway, it is easy to fix; this is the attitude that is willing to admit mistakes and learn from them. The conclusion reminds us that the soul can actually forget the needs of the body! Each needs to hear from the other.

Here are three bird dreams from different dreamers over a span of years:

A chickadee came through the window and onto my hand. I thought for sure it was panicked bird time. The chickadee hopped off my hand and went into the hall and then into the bathroom. I followed her. She poked at a shirt on the floor. She asked, "Why did you take off this skin?"
I answered, "Because it is dirty. It needs to be washed."
She cocked her head and replied, "There is nothing wrong with this skin; just dunk it in the river water several times.”
She then hopped toward the kitchen. I went to the door to let her out. She had a moment of panic as she came back to the living room. She calmed and hopped toward me. She fluttered around a moment and then exited through the open door.
I noticed then that though the layout of my apartment was the same as where I live in waking, the outside was different. There was an old white house with a porch that came off in an ell where my neighbor's apartments would be. I knew that the person who had lived there had just died. I wasn't sure how I felt about the woman who had moved in.

Then a bluejay came in and talked to me, but I don’t know what he said. He went out and in his place appeared a gorgeous red fox. EOD .

I was taking care of two children of a famous star. These kids were unusual. One was actually a yellow bird, the other a brown teddy bear, but they were both also human and very intelligent. We were in a resort with lots of people around, so I was especially watchful, as I knew the possibility of kidnapping was high.
A dream sister criticized the parent, assuming that he was an "absentee" type dad because of his career. I knew this to not be the case. This dad was extremely hands-on and was actually a wonderful father. The teddy bear kid was insulted by this woman's insinuation. I put the bird in his stroller (he was asleep) and took the teddy bear kid for a walk. The walk was a little treacherous, as there was a lot of construction around. I walked carefully and explained to the teddy bear kid that the woman was simply making a wrong assumption, and that we needed to simply correct her rather than be angry at her. Many celebrities do emotionally abandon their children. The teddy bear kid agreed, and we returned to the lobby.
The yellow bird kid was not in his stroller. I panicked a little. How could I have been so stupid as to leave him? I asked someone nearby if he had seen where he went. The man indicated that he was in the bathroom. I opened the bathroom door. He had gotten locked in, was confused and scared, and had flown into the mirror several times, damaging one of his wings and losing many of his feathers. I took him in my hand, put him in a little wooden oblong bowl that had the Virgin of Guadalupe carved in the bottom, and said the Reiki prayers for his healing. Everyone was staring at me in disbelief as he began to recover. For his privacy, I put him back in his stroller and covered it, so that he could complete the healing process without being disturbed. EOD.

A lot of yellow chickadees appear, along with golden yellow, almost orange baby chicks with aura-type feathers. Two, mother and chick, perch on my finger. The mother feeds the chick from her beak then both look at me. Then I see 3 paragraphs from a wise philosopher explaining a parable, comparing chickadees, ourselves, and the Divine. EOD.

These dreams illustrate some of the ways that animals not only bless us with their honesty about the world, but also how the consciousness of animal and human intertwine. In the first, the bird teaches the dreamer with regard to her “skin,” and also gives the dreamer a glimpse of how her “inside” is different from her “outside.” In the second, the dreamer teaches the animal in the form of a teddy bear and heals the bird with the power of the Mother. In the third, the mother feeds the chickadee (in an unusual yellow color), a kind of demonstration to the dreamer, and the philosopher clarifies: this is a parallel with our relation to God. Since the colors are orange and yellow, we may think of this as an instruction in Divine Wisdom. Goodness asks for simplicity, authenticity, caring, and wise teaching.

To find Goodness in your dreams, look for references to the kidneys ... animals ... the colors orange, gold, or amber . . . the number 8.

Why the Kidneys?

The sages of the Talmud say that the kidneys advise a person (from Psalm 16.7). One kidney represents the good inclination, the other the impulse to turn away from good. Thus the kidneys are a metaphor for discernment. In the physical body they filter out what is useful from what is not. Situated at the middle of the body toward the back, their work is not felt when they are working correctly, but crucial for the functioning of the body. Similarly, our ability to discern what is good for a person and for society enables choice among alternatives, thus providing the foundation for ethical consciousness. Yet much of our decision-making is based on unconscious motives. By becoming conscious of the work of Goodness in our lives, we will amplify our ability for spiritual discernment.

Book Recommendations

Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness by Sylvia Boorstein
An interpretation of the Buddhist “perfections of the heart” by one of the leading teachers of Theravada Buddhist traditions of insight meditation. Her emphasis on attention to “what is” exemplifies the principle of Goodness in our work too.

Human Goodness by Yi-Fu Tuan
One of the world’s outstanding geographers, known for his studies of the way places shape and are shaped by the human mind, Tuan is also a humanistic philosopher. Here he presents a series of biographical sketches and vignettes illustrating the variety of those who lived good lives, including not only Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa but Mozart and Keats.

Goodness in the News

Goodness can manifest in news about people doing good, of course, but also in news about our animal friends:

• Headline: Principal Offers Kidney
  James Friel, “The Goodness of America,” in The New American, March 2008. Online via AccessMyLibrary, http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34220378_ITM
  When a 13-year old at his middle school was diagnosed with kidney disease, her principal offered his kidney. "I just had this overwhelming feeling," Friel told reporters. "It's the right thing to do. I've spent 24 years of my life trying to make a difference in the lives of kids, and if this isn't making a difference in the life of a child, I don't know what is."

• Headline: The Goodness of Goats
  Alan Crowell, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel 4-29-07
  Abby Pirri plays with her parent's goats during the Sherman Farm's goat enterprise open house Saturday in Fairfield. The licensed goat dairy farm sells raw goat milk and soft cheese, and provides replacement does for breeders as well as male goats for meat.

6. Who's Who in Goodness

The famous people listed below have Sun in Goodness. Are there some that stand out as “fitting” the principle particularly well?

• Chelsea Clinton, 1980-
  Daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton. After attending Stanford, earned a master’s degree in International relations at Oxford; works in financial industry.

• Jerry Seinfeld, 1954-
  American comedian and actor, often described as an “observational comedian.” Best known for the long-running comedy series Seinfeld (1989-98) in which he played a version of himself.

• Lily Tomlin, 1939-
  Award-winning American actress, comedian, writer and producer; her body of work has spanned more than 40 years.
  
  
• Lee Trevino, 1939-
  American professional golfer with a self-taught style, highly successful in the PGA in the 1970s; he has been an icon for Mexican Americans.
  
  
• Lou Rawls, 1933-2006
  Soul music singer beginning in the 1960s, known for decades of work as a philanthropist for African American colleges.
  
  
• Joanne Woodward, 1930-
  Award-winning American actress, known for roles in The Long Hot Summer (with husband Paul Newman) and The Three Faces of Eve .
  
  
• Ralph Nader, 1934-
  Early consumer protection advocate and environmentalist; third-party candidate for President, first as an independent and then, in 1996 and 2000, as the Green Party candidate.
  
  
• Jimmy Carter, 1924-
  Former president of the United States (1976-80), known since then for his work with Habitat for Humanity and other global charitable causes.
  
  
• Milton Friedman, 1912-2006
  American Nobel Laureate economic theorist, influential leader of the University of Chicago school of economics. His revised libertarian political philosophy insisted on minimizing the role of government in favor of the private sector.
  
  
• Emperor Hirohito, 1901-1989
  Officially Emperor Showa, the longest-reigning Japanese emperor, the 124th, who after being defeated in World War II presided over Japan’s transformation into a constitutional democracy (though the office of emperor continued to exist).
  
  
• Duke Ellington, 1899-1974
  American jazz composer, pianist, and band leader, one of the most influential figures in jazz, if not in all American music. Those who impressed him he called “beyond category."
  
  
• Rudyard Kipling, 1865-1936
  Indian-born British poet, famous for The Jungle Book; his works, both prose and verse, were very popular in his time, though he later was criticized for having been the “prophet of British imperialism.”
  
  
• William Randolph Hearst, 1863-1951
  Newspaper magnate who, starting with the San Francisco Examiner, built a nationwide chain of papers, highly successful until the Great Depression. His life was fictionalized in Orson Welles’ famous movie Citizen Kane.
  
  
• John Steinbeck, 1902-1968
  California-born writer, known especially for Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, and Of Mice and Men; he drew on his experiences and talents as a reporter to create highly realistic stories.
  

7. The Child's Garden

The spiritual parenting of our children ­ through studying their principles ­ teaches us as well as them. We at Generosity Incorporated believe that bringing this work to the next generation can be one of the most powerful forces to heal humanity. Here’s an example of learning from our children:

One of my sons has Goodness in Neptune, his birth group. He has always had a gentle and sensitive spirit even though it did not always manifest in that way! Here is an example of how Goodness was flowing through him in ways beyond his years during a critical time.

When he was about 14, his father was in a serious accident and almost died. For about two weeks his dad was in intensive care, and my son did not leave my side. He sat with me and the many friends who came to the hospital to support us for hours on end. When the doctors came to report on his dad’s condition, he was right there and didn’t miss a word. When his dad came home from the hospital two months later, he assisted and supported him with love and devotion.

Months later the three of us were walking down the hall of a motel, and two teen-aged boys began to make fun of the way his dad was walking (he had a severe limp as a result of the accident), and my son went right up to them and said, “That’s my Dad! Leave him alone.” He was able to teach Goodness to his age group ­ perhaps his Neptune principle companions.

During this time it was easy to see God’s loving kindness flowing through my son.

­Peggy Hays

8. Poetry

GOODNESS
© Betty Luceigh, 12/06
Printed with the author’s permission.

A wise one taught me
the observer cannot observe itself,
just as the breeze cannot blow upon itself
nor the moon shine upon itself.

So, too, our eye cannot see itself
yet the Mind knows the eye has seen
by the experience of seen objects.

Is it also so with Goodness?
Is Goodness unable to observe itself?
Is it the Heart that knows the essence of Goodness
by the experience of the deeds it induces?

We know the intrinsic purpose of eyes
by what they bring to our awareness
of shape and color and texture and depth.
Do we learn the intrinsic quality of Goodness
by what Goodness moves into deeds
of generosity and kindness and honesty?

Perhaps we are each imbued with Goodness
as a gift of our Divine origin,
but like eyes with lids closed can never experience themselves,
so we may never experience the presence of Goodness
unless we open ourselves to its expressed action.

I walked this morning among the country trees
with the birds snacking on seeds
and water making its gentle way along the river.
And for a few transcendent moments
I experienced their shared harmony with Goodness.
I was so moved to be embraced by their unreserved giving
that I returned to my garden
and planted a new flower in exchange.

presents a free newsletter for friends of generosity incorporated