We are all Part of the Earth

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Nature in Balance

“Fill the earth with your songs of gratitude.” Charles Spurgeon

This past autumn, a group of volunteers came together to plant a teaching garden for the girls and boys at the Oso Lake Camp. This garden is filled with drought resistant plants which are native to California. The plants provide good habitat for California quail, butterflies and other native birds and wildlife. All of these plants were used by the indigenous native California tribes for medicinal purposes. One of the plants, for example, is Eriogonum fasciculatum var. foliolosum, California Buckwheat. It has flowers, leaves and seeds that are all used by butterflies and small birds. The buckwheats are very important butterfly plants and are one of the pillars of their communities. Another plant, Baccharis pilularis consanguinea, Coyote Brush, provides a place for Jays to plant acorns under the bushes. Baccharis species are the nectary sources for most of the predatory wasps, native skippers (small butterflies) and native flies. The Mexican elderberry or Tapiro,(Sambucus mexicana) is a deciduous shrub to tree with butter yellow flowers in April-August followed by purple berries in September-October. If you look carefully as you pass an Elderberry you may see a hummingbird, butterfly, chipmunk, Jay, Thrasher, or other bird as it is an excellent wildlife plant.

Indigenous people everywhere hold the view that we are all part of the earth in which we are related to all things and each thing has its place and purpose in this living world. There is a natural order that creates life and balance to this ecosystem. When we support this natural system we live in harmony with all of our relations. Our purpose in planting this garden was to teach the younger generation the importance of habitat restoration to maintain the natural order of their local environment. Rather than just taking from the earth, we can make a choice to replenish, to revere, and to support growth of all living things. To choose otherwise contributes to imbalance and a future of greater uncertainty.

While we planted we remembered that the soil cares for us as we care for the soil. As we felt the joy of cooperation and achievement through working together we realized that we are a natural part of the ecosystem that sustains life.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the project.

Gene and Joyce Stone

Monday, November 16, 2015

Religious Wars! Is that really what's going on?

It is extremely difficult to think that in the year 2015 we are still having to fight religious wars between the different faiths. 90% of the world's population believe in one form or another that there is a God or something greater than ourselves! I do not believe that this is truly a war between the religions. I believe it is a war for power on many levels, but a war nonetheless. One that we need to deal with quickly and effectively.

When I first heard of the psychopathic terrorist attacks in France on Friday, the warrior in me rose up immediately even at the age of 70. I'm happy to say that quickly my Spiritual Warrior overtook my human instinct for revenge. As Mahatma Gandhi once said an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. It seems to me we are on the brink of going blind. Do I believe that all Muslims are terrorists? I do not! I do not believe a majority of people of any religious faith are terrorists. I do believe there are a few confused and dangerous people in all of the world's religions today, as it has always been. What seems to be worse to me are the people that "hijack religious beliefs of any faith" for their own purposes to gain power. This I consider "EVIL."

We have from the beginning of time dealt with threats and war, with more threats and more war in return. That approach has always taken us deeper into the darkness of this world. Just look at our history to understand this. All life is precious! We all have the right to protect themselves in the times of trouble. The question is what is the best way to protect ourselves? It is my belief that we should all stand together as human beings and protect the rights of all of us to search and develop our understanding of the Creator God and how we wish to live our lives. So it is the obligation and responsibility of all good people to protect these rights for all. This means as all good people around our world, we must act together to stop those who would deny us the sacred right of understanding and living our own faith. I am talking here to every believer and non believer. Will we really let a few thousand psychopaths divide the majority of us from making the world a better place for all?

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Divine Purpose

The purpose of life is to be free from suffering and to attain infinite bliss consciousness that is God. Mankind is engaged in an eternal quest for that “something else” he hopes will bring him happiness, complete and unending. Many people may doubt that finding God is the purpose of life; but everyone can accept the idea that the purpose of life is to find happiness. I say that God is Happiness. God is Bliss. God is Love. God is Joy that will never go away from your soul. No one else can give it to you. You must continuously cultivate it yourself.

If we are attuned to God, our perception is limitless, pervading everywhere in the oceanic flow of the Divine Presence. When the Spirit is known, and when we know ourselves as Spirit, there is no land or sea, no earth or sky--all is Spirit. From the writings of Yogananda

THE QUESTION IS, HOW DO WE FIND AND MANIFEST IN OUR LIFE AND ACTIONS THIS DIVINE PURPOSE?

For me, being a human being, it has become quite simple. Divine Purpose is clarified and given with each breath I take. It is so simple, yet elusive, I breathe in Oneness, I breathe out Oneness! Knowing that all I am and all that I do comes from that Oneness, and for the good of all that Creator has created. Are my actions divine? Are yours? The answer is "Yes" always, our nature is to be Divine even when we may think we miss the mark. Take the Oneness of the Creator and the Creation with you as you Walk in Good in this the Circle of Life.

We all will find our path, each in our own way!

The understanding of this and the path it takes us down in this life is the perfection of Spirit in all of us. Those different paths of life and understanding is what completes the Circle for all of us. I trust your choices along the way.

We weave our personal vision together to form a common vision of good for ourselves and for our planet. Joining with all our relations, we can learn to walk peacefully upon Mother Earth, knowing that she provides for all living things. We are all part of the Earth and part of the Divine Purpose in this the CIRCLE OF LIFE.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Finding your Divine Purpose in the Circle of Life

The purpose of life is to be free from suffering and to attain infinite bliss consciousness that is God.

Mankind is engaged in an eternal quest for that “something else” he hopes will bring him happiness, complete and unending. Many people may doubt that finding God is the purpose of life; but everyone can accept the idea that the purpose of life is to find happiness. I say that God is Happiness. He is Bliss. He is Love. He is Joy that will never go away from your soul. So why shouldn’t you try to acquire that Happiness? No one else can give it to you. You must continuously cultivate it yourself.

The love of God, the love of the Spirit, is an all-consuming love. Once you have experienced it, it shall lead you on and on in the eternal realms. That love will never be taken away from your heart. It shall burn there, and in its fire you shall find the great magnetism of Spirit that draws others unto you, and attracts whatsoever you truly need or desire.

Man has come on earth solely to learn to know God; he is here for no other reason. This is the true message of the Lord. To all those who seek and love Him, He tells of that great Life where there is no pain, no old age, no war, no death — only eternal assurance. In that Life nothing is destroyed. There is only ineffable happiness that will never grow stale — a happiness always new. From the writings of Yogananda

For me, being a human being, it has become quite simple. Divine Purpose is clarified and given with each breath I take. It is so simple, yet elusive, I breathe in Oneness, I breathe out Oneness! Knowing that all I am and all that I do comes from that Oneness, and for the good of all that Creator has created. Are my actions divine, are yours? The answer is "Yes" always, our nature is to be Divine even when we may miss the mark. Take the Oneness of the Creator and the Creation with you as you walk in Good in this the Circle of Life. Gene Stone

Monday, September 14, 2015

The love of the Creator and the Creation is meant to unite us not divided us.

Some religions and people believe there is only one true religion, and that religion knows everything, is and has everything, and can do everything. I'm not one of the people that believes that. I believe that all the religions combined, all the people on earth combined, and all things in the universe combined, and more makeup the one true Creator or God. And even that statement is putting limitations on the Creator, which I believe in reality we cannot do.

There is one thing that I am sure of and that is our concepts of religion and God should not separate human beings at all. It should in fact united us in the belief that God is alive and bigger than all of us, and we share that in common. Only by working together can our understanding of this Great Mystery become greater and more complete.

The love of the Creator and the Creation is meant to unite us not divided us. This I know!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

What are you doing for your Mother on EARTH DAY 2015?

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Socrates

“Earth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. Earth Day was founded by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in first held on April 22, 1970. While this first Earth Day was focused on the United States, an organization launched by Denis Hayes, who was the original national coordinator in 1970, took it international in 1990 and organized events in 141 nations.It is celebrated in more than 175 countries.” Wikipedia reference

Just as we humans need to protect, nurture, and feed ourselves, we can offer to the planet, our Mother Earth, respect, protection, and nurturance. “Given the present rate of planetary pollution and destruction, we need to negotiate a detente with nature and ourselves.” Paul Hawken. There are many positive actions taking place all over the world. For instance, there are over six thousand different women’s groups in Africa planting trees and four thousand organizations in North America have adopted a river, creek, or stream. Organic agriculture is the fastest growing sector of farming in North America, Japan, Mexico and Europe. There are three thousand organizations that educate farmers, customers and legislators about sustainable and biological agriculture. The world is now understanding the need to move away from the dirty carbon based energies of the past 150 years into the clean and renewable energy future. Solar, wind and wave energy technologies are just a few of the bright stars this future will be based on.

Our indigenous first peoples of the Americas have given the long held wisdom that we should always be thinking of the next seven generations to come in our interactions with Mother Earth. It is said that we do not own the earth, we borrow it from our children. Many of us are just now coming to understand that the earth is taking care of us and not the other way around. Our actions have far reaching effects and consequences on our planet, climate, oceans and air. Droughts, flooding, super storms, melting of the glaciers and the ice caps in the north and south poles are just some indications of severe climate change.

“Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, help us to find the way to refresh your lands.

We pray for the power to refresh your lands.

Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters.

We pray for your knowledge to find a way to cleanse the waters.

Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork.

We pray for your strength to restore the beauty of your handiwork.

Great Spirit, whose great creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them.

We pray for your power to replenish the earth.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity.

We pray for the wisdom to find the way to restore our humanity.” UN Environmental Sabbath Program

It was our honor yesterday to help the Cub Scouts of troop 714 of San Clemente Las Palmas school to plant eight California Laurel Bay trees for their Earth Day celebration in their new camping area at Oso Lake. This was the first experience planting trees for this troop. They worked hard digging the holes, preparing the soil and placing the trees in the ground. As we worked together, we had the opportunity to share the value of planting trees and how this action helps the future of the planet. The scouts were amazed to learn that trees breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. As the work continued, their understanding of the cycle of life deepened. As we finished placing the last tree in the ground, a red tail hawk flew directly over our heads making her voice known to all of us. It was clear that this sign was a good one and the spirit of the hawk was saying thank you.

How can we help to make Earth Day everyday? Here are some ideas:

Plant trees

Conserve water

Walk or ride your bike to school or work

Use public transportation

Recycle

Compost

Make your home energy efficient

To learn more visit the websites below:

http://www.wattlesswednesday.org/

http://www.earthday.org/2015?gclid=Cj0KEQjwpM2pBRChsZCzm_CU0t4BEiQAxDVFmlR83yiKujlmwwxzuClFLM_WXxTekrzZFZDkx5nj7ScaAnXj8P8HAQ

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/save-earth-top-ten.htm

http://www.plant-for-the-planet-billiontreecampaign.org/

Remember, on Earth Day and everyday, we are all part of the earth.

Love,

Joyce and Gene

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Tree of Life

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness”. John Muir

While hiking through the woods in Sequoia National Park one summer, we came upon a grove of redwood trees. Entering the group of Standing Ones, we felt ourselves become quiet as the awe within us grew. The trees formed an almost perfect circle. Allowing the silence of the place to sink in, we breathed deeply of the forest scent and relaxed into the peace surrounding us. In this sacred grove of trees, we felt the connection with the Infinite.

In our home, we have on our walls beautiful woven pieces depicting “The Tree of Life”

symbol. Each was created by a weaver from a different culture: Indian, Guatemalan, Native American. The Tree of Life is a common image in art from around the world. This ancient symbol is understood by people everywhere. The symbol speaks of roots buried in the earth with branches stretching upward to the sky. The tree serves as a living connection between this and other worlds. Many myths describe gods and their messengers traveling from one world to another by climbing up or down the tree.

Long ago, in many cultures, trees were intensely worshipped. The Native American peoples called them the “Standing Ones.” They respectfully used trees for medicine, food, fiber, dye, musical instruments, lodges for habitation and ceremony, and many other things. Something precious was lost once modern peoples no longer viewed trees as living beings. It became easy to clear cut acres and acres of trees to use as lumber without a thought of how great a loss this created. For the sake of our Mother Earth, it is time to recall Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s words, “Reverence for all life.”

We cannot live without trees. Trees are called “the lungs of the world.” They clean the air we breathe, taking in the carbon dioxide we exhale and we breathe the oxygen they exhale. Trees are needed to produce rain and without the rain, topsoil is blown away, leading to the creation of deserts and hunger from famine.

“Oxford University scientists, after years of research, have determined the best technology to suck carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and try to reverse global warming is to plant trees.” (Bloomberg News)

Over the past seven years, we have planted over two hundred trees in Orange County, CA. Man has taken so many trees that it is now time for us to reforest the earth that provides us with the basis for all life. Your help is desperately needed to replenish trees, locally and around the world. “God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools.” John Muir We must always remember that we are all part of the earth.