Bruce Lipton and Tom Campbell: Biologist and Physicist Discuss Past and Future Evolution of Consciousness

Hap, our friendly physicist, provided the link below for all to enjoy.  A fascinating discussion on the evolution of consciousness.  Enjoy. 
--ACOF Administration

On June 26, 2012, in association with MBT Events, we took Tom and Pamela Campbell to the home of Bruce and Margaret Lipton for an historic discussion between these two giants of New Science. Bruce Lipton is an Epigenetic Biologist and Tom Campbell is a NASA Physicist and each has stepped outside the box of their respective disciplines to bring to us what we believe will be the future where Biology and Physics share the same concepts and understandings and will bring us much closer to a unified scientific interaction with our whole cosmos.

More on The Shift: The New Meaning of Responsibility --by Gary Zukav

"Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die" is from Alfred Lord Tennyson, "The Charge of the Light Brigade."

I lived Alfred Tennyson's words before I read them. My need to enlist in the Army while the Vietnam War painfully unfolded, volunteer for airborne training, and then for the Special Forces (Green Berets) was moved by the same impulse they describe - to demonstrate my nobility, courage, and worthiness by blind adherence to authority. I did not question my authority (Lyndon Johnson was President and Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense). I did not question anything. I was too much in need of validation, admiration, and a sense of value. I held it to be my responsibility to carry out the orders of others, and the responsibility of others to carry out mine. The military gave me a sense of belonging and pride and they were so important to me that the price of blind obedience did not seem repugnant. On the contrary, it seemed necessary.

Shifted --by Dick Sutphen

A conversation came up at meditation last night on the subject of "The Shift."  Accordingly, we are including here an article by our good friend Dick Sutphen regarding The Shift from 2005.  We hope you enjoy an oldie but goodie. 
--ACOF Administration

I am going to talk about shifting as if it were so. Although there appears to be supportive evidence, it is still a belief, and beliefs are something we do not know.

“Shift thinking” says the vibrational rate of our planet is accelerating to the point of activating metaphysically-oriented people. By activating, I mean their thinking is already more in tune with higher vibration, so they are experiencing and responding to this planetary increase more than others. They are being “shifted” or “called” to do more and be more ... and to walk away from negativity.

Carlos Santana on Peace

A Message that Stands; The Aurora, CO Shootings

Dear friends,  When the Japan experienced the Tsunami in 2011, Thich Nhat Hanh gave the response pasted below. I thought of this response over the weekend when the tragic killings in Colorado took place. The response remains true in this circumstance as well, and so I provide it again. Please hold all those affected by this tragic event in the Light of your hearts.
--ACOF Administration

***

As we contemplate the great number of people who have died in this tragedy, we may feel very strongly that we ourselves, in some part or manner, also have died.

The pain of one part of humankind is the pain of the whole of humankind. And the human species and the planet Earth are one body. What happens to one part of the body happens to the whole body.

An event such as this reminds us of the impermanent nature of our lives. It helps us remember that what's most important is to love each other, to be there for each other, and to treasure each moment we have that we are alive. This is the best that we can do for those who have died: we can live in such a way that they continue, beautifully, in us.

Here in France and at our practice centers all over the world, our brothers and sisters will continue to chant for you, sending you the energy of peace, healing and protection.

Our prayers are with you.

~As shared by Thich Nhat Hanh in 2011 for the people of Japan after the Tsunami

Forgiveness Prayer --as offered by Roberta Herzog

The Art of Forgiveness: Forgiveness is typically defined as “the process of concluding resentment, indignation, or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference, or mistake…” More importantly, it is a choice that you decide to make because you desire to move on from the pain. Feelings such as anger and resentment are not supportive of your optimal emotional or physical health. By releasing a person or event that has caused you pain, you create an opportunity to shift your energy and emotions and move forward from this hurt. Forgiveness does not justify wrong actions, or excuse ill-doing, but it is a powerful healing tool that will release you from your own suffering and allows your thoughts and heart to focus on new and positive experiences.

Old Time --by Stephen Jenkinson, MTS, MSW

My daughter made the many mile drive to our farm to be with me on Father's Day, and I rewarded her by at one point talking about how I'm getting older. As is proper, she refused to have the conversation, which deepens my respect and admiration of her. Eventually we will have the conversation, hopefully quite a few times, and we'll join hands as older parents and older children can do, each of us having made it to a certain ripeness that can come from hanging around long enough, each of us no longer undone by the gentler knowledge that our time together has a certain shine and depth that comes from knowing that those times won't, can't, shouldn't stretch unconditionally and endlessly into a future we once thought ourselves and each other entitled to. They won't last, in other words.

New Beginnings --by Jim Selman

One of the toughest things we ever learn is to "let go." I can' t remember all the times I have made resolutions or tried to "reinvent" myself or start over in one way or another. Every time we end a relationship or a job or some deeply ingrained habit (whether voluntary or involuntary) we must confront the break between the certain past and the possible future. And as far as I know there is no way to create and experience a "new" future without letting go of the past.

But what does it mean to let go?

Edgar Cayce & ARE's 41st ANNUAL MID-SOUTH FALL RETREAT, October 26-28, 2012, Montgomery Bell State Park, Burns, TN

Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records: 

Soul Mates & The Nature of Time

featuring Kevin Todeschi

PROGRAM:  Every thought, word, deed, feeling, and intention that has ever been generated has been miraculously preserved forever in an etheric storehouse of knowledge known as the Akashic Records. Frequently referred to throughout the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, they are also called the "Book of Life" or simply "The Book." Edgar Cayce accessed his information from these records. They provided him with an incredible breadth and depth of information. And yet the Akashic Records - the source from which he received all his insights and prophecies - are open and accessible to us all. Kevin is the Executive Director & CEO of A.R.E. and Atlantic University, a renowned Cayce scholar, lecturer, and the author of more than twenty books on Cayce including Edgar Cayce on the Akashic Records, Edgar Cayce on Soul Mates and Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation and Family Karma. This program will let you explore your own past, witness the future you are creating, and hear about the possibility of having experiences beyond the illusion of time.

TUITION: Before Sept. 11, 2012: $55 per person; $40 for Seniors, 2 from same family, and students. After Sept 11, 2012, $75 per person for ALL. For information contact Registrar, Emily Fox-Hill 901-626-4233 efoxhill@aol.com

Heart Sutra Commentary, The Heart of Understanding --by Thich Nhat Hanh

HEART SUTRA COMMENTARY

An extract from The Heart of Understanding by Thich Nhat Hanh

Through mindfulness we experience Interbeing

which means everything is in everything else.

Therefore, one should know that Perfect Understanding

is a great mantra, is the highest mantra,

is the unequalled mantra, the destroyer of all suffering,

the incorruptible truth.

This is the mantra:  "Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha."

A MANTRA IS something that you utter when your body, your mind and your breath are at one in deep concentration. When you dwell in that deep concentration, you look into things and see them as clearly as you see an orange that you hold in the palm of your hand. Looking deeply into the five skandhas, Avalokitesvara (the Buddha) saw the nature of inter-being and overcame all pain. He became completely liberated. It was in that state of deep concentration, of joy, of liberation, that he uttered something important. That is why his utterance is a mantra.

Lessons I've Learned From My 2- and 3-Legged Dogs –by Domenick Scudera

Two special guys are in my life: my dogs, Festus and Cyrus. Festus is a three-legged pit bull/Rottweiler. Cyrus is a tiny terrier born without front legs. Both dogs have been trained and certified as therapy dogs, and they volunteer and visit patients in hospitals each week. These dogs are my greatest teachers. Here are some of the simple lessons that I have learned from them:

Be Yourself. Festus has an unusual gait. Cyrus uses a wheeled cart to walk. People stare and point at them wherever they go, as if they were freaks in a circus. But being different is not something that the dogs recognize or care about. If someone gawks, it does not affect them in any way. These dogs are perfect as they are. They do not care what other people think of them.