2007-05-02

After Morning Offering I came upstairs to work on the new Avalon Journal blog. Gary had gotten me started by organizing the template for it on blogger.com. I needed to do several things. Firstly, Gary had asked me to fill in my profile – favorite movies, favorite music, that sort of detail. It had not occurred to me that anyone would be interested, but Gary said that about 1500 people, so far, had clicked on the profile only to find nuttin, honey. Can’t have that!

So I spent most of the morning, first writing about myself and then deleting stuff from my compositions. It turns out that in no case was I initially able to express myself in the number of characters allowed by blogger. I suppose they have to set these limits in order to avoid getting their site overloaded with dissertations on biographical details from blabbermouths like me.

One feature I could not for the life of me figure out in this “Profile” was the area where they ask you to write a thank you note to your aunt for the gift of a syrup dispenser shaped like a rooster. Why ever, may I ask, was THAT in there? I filled it in, however. It was not optional. Perhaps the maker of that site needed to write a thank you note to his aunt for such a bibelot! I hope he can use what I wrote for him!

I broke for lunch and hit it lucky – Gary had leftovers from his breakfast, which he fondly calls his Big Honking Breakfast Burrito. I gathered his leftover veggies and turkey burger and made a meal of that.

Back upstairs, I opened the Avalon Journal and it, too, required some introductory description, so I wrote that and then, finally, was able to get to the writing of my initial entry. I checked back in the archives of the Avalon Journal on www.llresearch.org and found that the latest entries there were from November of 2005. They had been made by Vara. I hoped to create a bridge between her last entries and today's new one, which is the first of many i will make, hopefully, as Jim and I will visit Avalon frequently prior to moving there. I will write about each visit I make. Jim said he might write entries as well from time to time, which would be a consummation greatly to be desired.

On Avalon, that last summer and fall of the volunteers in 2005, there had been an increasingly difficult atmosphere of arguments and hurt feelings among the volunteers there. I could have detailed the disintegration process at length. And yet it felt to me that this was largely irrelevant information, since it was only part of an underlying pattern.

That larger pattern is that the volunteers came to live in Avalon’s psychic energy scoop only to meet themselves and dislike parts of what they saw. Denial was rampant: that can’t be anything about me! So each exteriorized the vision, got cranky or ill or otherwise motivated to leave and fled, a few even calling Avalon evil or filled with negative energy.

And I felt that the reason for this was not in any of the volunteers, one by one, but in the very nature of the geography at Avalon. It is a scoop, a psychic collector, because of its tea-cup-shaped acreage.

Avalon is a valley, with a creek bisecting the bottomland. On all four sides rise knobs, the local name for foothills, all the knobs being still on our 93-acre property. There is no open area for psychic energy to vent. So whatever psychic “stuff” one brings to Avalon’s acres is intensified and out-pictured as a natural result of being in that scoop. That is the story I told in my first Avalon Journal entry.

I had just a bit of time, after I finished that entry, to check in with my to-do list, and was able to check two more things off the list before quitting work for the day.

Gina Jones had sent me her book, Flying Between Heaven and Earth, for my recommendation and inclusion in our L/L Research order form. It is a charming book but the focus is not clear enough on TLOO for me to wish to do so, IMO. Also, another author had sent me his book on conscious process while suffering. He also wanted a publicity blurb from me.

In both cases, while their work is interesting and worthy, it is not something people would universally bless me for recommending. So I declined to send a blurb to either author. I feel like a grinch saying no to these honorable authors and seekers, but when I do recommend something, you can count on my feeling it is a work of great value which impinges on or harmonizes with TLOO and is fun to read.

I asked Gary to let both of these authors know that when we start up our brand-new bring4th site, we will have a “friends of” section where links to both of those works will easily go. We aren’t ready for this yet. Gary and I are currently in the midst of arranging a meeting between our new volunteer webmaster for B4 and us here at Camelot. We have invited him to spend a weekend with us to work out the details on start-up, envisioning and planning it together. It should be a wonderful time for allowing L/L Research’s service to expand along the lines spirit encourages us to go.

Meanwhile, Gary discovered that the superannuated B4 site has not yet been taken down. The service supposedly ran out on April 15th, so they are way late on deleting that old material, none of which is needed any longer, as we have taken from that site what we need and placed it elsewhere, mostly on “Carla’s Page” and “Carla’s Blog” on the www.llresearch.org site. Gary will write the people who have that server and ask them again to remove B4. We want it gone completely before we begin working with a new B4 site.

I got my very first negative feedback on my UPI articles, after writing them weekly for over a year, from a woman who felt that, in the column entitled Words of Power, I was insinuating that all men of color used foul language when speaking of women. It goes to show you what a tricky thing it is to communicate. I had clearly reserved this usage for entertainers and rappers who were men of color. I wrote her – she is an old, old friend of L/L Research – and pointed these things out and then apologized, handsomely I hope, for giving her even a moment of catalyst. I think she does know any insult on my part was unintentional.

While I am speaking of Fikisha – for she was my critic – let me recommend to you her web site, http://www.caceinternational.com/getupstandupbookcontactus.html. You can also Google-search by her name, Fikisha Cumbo, and see what else she is up to these days. She is a media figure in the New York City area and does great work there, opening people’s minds to spiritual principles. She is also a powerful advocate for reggae and expecially Bob Marley, about whom she wrote a richly photographed book. Marley is a wonderfully harmonious voice for unity and oneness.

On another subject entirely, I am thrilled to say that the first of the four people we invited to join L/L’s Board of Directors, Bill H, called today to accept the position. What great news for us all! Bill has been behind many initiatives which have aided L/L, including the Matching Funds Campaign last Christmas, and he has a solid and long-standing affection for TLOO and our work in general. It is great to have him on board, pun intended!

With just a minute of my work day left, I checked my e-mail Inbox and found something to which I could respond quickly. I asked Gary to encourage Venice R, who has a health remedy, a green tea compound, she would like to send me, to do so. I already drink green tea each morning and sometimes at eventide also and swear by its benefits, so I would be interested in trying a more concentrated dosage of the active elements in green tea which, as I understand it, is what this compound is.

Mick had been mowing and mowing some more all day and rolled in fairly late, having been gone all day in very uncertain weather, mowing between the raindrops. Heavier weather has been predicted for tomorrow and he wanted to gain on the day ahead. He got everything done! I would have bet against that, as he had a heroic stack of lawns and chores for his customers on his agenda for today, but by golly, he knocked out every job. and were his customers glad to see him! Often Jim is the only mower out in the neighborhood, for he uses every moment, even the iffy ones, to great effect. So his reliability factor is outstanding.

Mick and I enjoyed our whirlpool and bath and relaxed together for about 45 minutes, after which it was time for me to attend choir rehearsal at St. Luke’s. I was experiencing a lot of symptoms and almost stayed home, but I do love so much to rehearse. It is a true luxury for me, as when I come to perform the work during the service, sufficient rehearsal raises my eyes from the page to the directions of the choirmistress. I sing so much better when I already know the notes well and can pay attention to the direction, the composer’s nuances and what the words to the piece are saying.

Home again, I joined Gary and Jim for supper and the Gaia Meditation, after which Gary retired for the night. We watched a couple of CSI episodes and then retired ourselves, turning out the lights at 11 PM.