Insights while On the Road in Cuba (edited 8/26/2014)

Dear Friends

The following from a translation of the Tao (pronounced Dao) by Lao Tsu written centuries before the time of Jesus from World Religions by Huston Smith in the library of Ramon Gonzalez, Gibara, Cuba, 2/2014.

There is a being wonderful, perfect.  It existed before the heaven and earth.

How quiet it is!

How spiritual it is!

It stands alone but does not change.

It moves around and around but on that account does not suffer.

All of life comes from it.

It wraps everything with its love as a garment but claims no honor and does not demand to be Lord.

I do not know its name and so I call it Tao, The Way and I rejoice in its power.

Hay un ser maravilloso y perfecto.  Esistia antes del cielo y la tierra.

Que tranquillo esta!

Que espiritual esta!

Se queda solo y no cambia.

Se mueve por todos lados y por eso no sufre.

Toda la vida viene de este ser.

Envuelve todo dentro su amor como una prenda y aun reclama ningún honor o requiere que sea llamado El Señor.

No sabe su nombre y por eso lo llamo Tao, El Camino y  se regojito en su poder.

In the book of Exodus, Chapter 3, vs 13,   Moses asks God how he should respond when the children of Israel ask who has sent me to you.  And God said to Moses "I am who I am."  Thus you shall say..."I am has sent me to you." 

In the time of the Christ Jesus says:

"I AM                                        Jesus                           The Way"

Love

He did not say worship me but follow me - my example - The Way. 

The Way as demonstrated in his life and teachings and those of other spiritual masters through the ages is self denying, sacrificial Love for others.  It remains The Way to peace on earth and peace with the earth.   It is the only energy than can transform and drive out other energies of lower vibration. 

And from a more contemporary perspective quoted from Being Zen by Ezra  Bayda.

Epilogue

What Is Our Life About?

Our aspiration, our calling, our desire for a genuine life,
is to see the truth of who we really are --

that the nature of our Being is connectedness and love,

not the illusion of a separate self to which our suffering clings.

It is from this awareness that Life can flow through us;

the Unconditioned manifesting freely as our conditioned
body.

And what is the path (Way)

To learn to reside in whatever life presents

To learn to attend to all those things

that block the flow of a more open life:

and to see them as the very path to awakening--

all the constructs, the identities,

the holding  back, the protections,

all the fears, the self-judgments, the blame--

all that separates us from letting life be,

And what is the path (Way)?

To turn away from constantly seeking comfort

and from trying to avoid pain,

To open to the willingness to just be,

 in this very moment;

exactly as it is.

No longer so ready to be caught

in the relentlessly spinning mind. 

Practice is about awakening to the true Self: (our true nature or essence)

no one special to be,

nowhere to go,

just being.

We are so much more that just this body,

just this personal drama.

As we cling to our fear.

and our shame, and our suffering,

we forsake the gratitude of living from our natural being.

So where, in this very moment, do we cling to our views?

Softening around the mind's incessant judgment,

we can awaken the heart that seeks to be awakened. 

And when the veil of separation rises,

Life simply unfolds as it will.

No longer caught in the self-centered dream.

we can give ourselves to others,

like a white bird in the snow.

Time is fleeting,

Don't hold back.

Appreciate this precious life.

Peace Rider

On the Road in Cuba 7/31 - 8/15/2014, Highlights

Dear Friends of Peace Rider,

I didn't have time to finish a post from Cuba as it happened.  This was a different trip, more directly personal following up on friendships from my earlier February and March ride in eastern Cuba.  I didn't take a bicycle this time.

August 8, 2014

This is dengue fever country.  I no sooner sat down at the Hotel computer when I was advised to leave so fumigation could begin.  It's a 45 minute walk from the Hotel Comordoro to where I'm staying in Miramar (embassy row) part of Havana. 

Highlights

Flying with Molly N. on the same flight from Fairbanks to Portland.  She said she'd seen me earlier then caught me by total surprise in a long security line.  We had a lot to catch up on.  I hadn't seen her for over a year after moving to Portland with her two boys following a divorce.  It was a joyful beginning to a new adventure and opportunity.  I couldn't have asked for better. 

Long hair, dressed in white Jimmy be Free playing music for peace and peddling his CD's in the Portland airport.  He was good,  playing a modified seven string acoustic viola.  It was a soothing as well as a welcome ambiance to what one normally gets.  He said he had to try out for the airport gig and share the slot with others. 

Meeting Amy a young lady waiting to board the same flight to Los Angeles from Portland.  I noticed the words "recognize you inner light" tattooed on her left arm as I recall.  That resonated with me and started a conversation about spiritual journeys.  She wasn't finding acceptance of her path among her peers.  Quite remarkable who comes into your life when you open yourself and just let life flow.

Meeting an older Mexican gentleman (I didn't get his name) in the bowels of the Mexico City airport.  He asked if I needed help.  I did.  After two all nighters on airplanes I arrived in a state of near total befuddlement.  He noticed.  Thank You and you.  We walked in the same direction for awhile.  He told me he was a translator working with indigenous people in Chiapas.  I said I'd also been there. He then told me he had been robbed.  A cab he got into (not sure where) stopped after a few blocks and picked up another man, a setup.  They stole his computer and ID he said.  They would have killed him if he'd resisted showing by gesture being knifed.  He was looking for a friend who worked at the airport who could help him.  

Acceptance as part of my new Cuban family. The singing and dance antics along with the "issues" of being five and eight years old for the children.  The singing and dancing seem to be in the blood of Cubans.  New experiences for all of us.  Living the reality of being among the poor in Havana and being hungry.  As Kikito the older son of Maribel said wages are low while costs in Havana are high. This is true throughout the country but more so here.  The joy simple conveniences we take for granted can bring for those who can't afford them.

It wasn't the trip I had envisioned but it turned out to be rich in new experiences and understandings.  I'll have more to say about that in a future posting.

P' lante, onward,

Peace Rider

On the Road from Havana, Cuba Aug. 7, 2014

Arrive safely in Havana a week ago very tired.  Met up with my friends here and staying with them, trying to decide what to do next.

We will head east in a few days.

Preempted by hotel fumigation.  More down the road.

Don