1948 - 2024

GIST MAGAZINE

Spring 2007

GIST Magazine
3-year old Ebube visits Campus. Ebube's mom, aunt, grandmother and grandfather are UNI students

In This Issue:

God's Pocket
If I Like Me, Then That Is All That Matters

Serendipity
The Brain Is An Organ Of The Mind

EJ Shares
Illusion or Reality

Practitioner Letter
Facts Are Facts, Right?

 

Practitioner Letter - Spring 2007 Issue

Facts Are Facts, Right?

Oh, I do remember very well how easy it is to insist on an apparent fact by saying, "I saw it with my own eyes," or, "I was there and did not see it," not being aware of what I know now - that I live in a relative world and appearances are fleeting things that change as I change my angle from which I observe. My metaphysical angle is what I have as preconceived "facts" (judgment, prejudice, conditioning) in my consciousness. It is said that the native Indians were not able to see the ship of Columbus as it approached the shores of America, because they had no concept in their mind of how a ship looked like. Therefore, I see things that are unfamiliar to me - not really with my eyes but as what my brain interprets it. Just the other day we experienced an amusing interpretation of a "fact" here on our UNI campus. It was late afternoon and dark, deep hanging clouds announced early shades of dawn, wrapping our valley into a peaceful quietness. The loudly insistent ringing of the telephone inappropriately put an end to the meditative stillness. On the other end was our neighbor Julie informing us excitedly that her neighbors from up the hill had just called. They had observed a red parachute descending on our property - and to please tell us about it as they were concerned that the parachute might have gotten caught in one of the big live oak trees. Well, the only available car at the Monastery at this moment was a little red rental from our guest Henri from Florida. He immediately jumped up and offered to go and search for the foreign object. It wasn’t long and he was back pulling something long and awkwardly big from his car. When we saw it we all burst into a happy laughter. The red parachute turned out to be a huge, at least 12 foot long Valentine’s bouquet of balloons, red, silver and pink, with a big center balloon with a diameter of at least four foot, with the lovely message: I love you. What a beautiful little story to remind me that things I see are not always what they seem to be. And it confirms that I am wise to observe life with a nonjudgmental attitude especially when I want to "enlighten" the world with my "facts." Not all interpretations end with a happy laughter and I love you written all over it!

—Dr Sylvia M Enz