Virtually Incorrect

" The world is not an unfortunate accident: it is a miracle moving towards its expression."
~ The Mother

R ~
When you left, I wondered how that elongated car would drive, or rather how I would drive it. I watched you all waddle into Singapore airlines - waddling from the way the luggage looked wobbling behind you, plastic wheeled carry-ons in revolt against an earth which at some point in their creation they had agreed to roll upon. Who could mire down a journey such as this, the four of you flying before you ever boarded any plane? Anyway, the image of waddling ducks came to mind - a duck migration to Singapore. I was grateful you were among wonderful friends and fuller within myself because of meeting them. Questions remained. How will you be different when you return? Will Mirra dance? How will India show up to Makasha and Katharine who have visited before? What new possibilities will you imagine into together in the presence of the energy of that magical place? What will you dream real? I hold the space for your magical unencumbrances. Know that I am connected with you always. Love, ~K

R ~
The elongated car drove itself back to our place without hesitation - a horse remanding itself to it's stable. A police car trailed for about 3 miles, then broke off in hot pursuit of some Century Boulevard perp. I vaguely wondered how I'd explain myself if I got stopped, then forgot about it as I flailed to put out the reading light while negotiating three lanes of traffic, lurching forward each time I pressed the gas with a foot which had yet to make friends with the power pedal design. While nursing intermittent paroxysms of whiplash, you were in my thoughts, even as I dashed headlong down the Playa Vista hill into that thick and mysterious fogbank. The fog usurped my vision somewhere around Water's Edge, which is no where near water at all, of course, and I got home by feel rather than by sight.

As soon as I walked through the door (no mean feat considering it was closed at the time), the cats were hollering in tandem for their long overdue evening meal, their meows fierce operatic rantings, unlike the unegoic mews of the more docile of their species. The apartment still resonated with everyone's energy and it took some adjustment, as it always does, for my being to understand that the lights were on, but no one was home. I cried a little over this gnaw of emptiness, but not much, then chanted a gleeful chant for your safe arrival, and your safe return. My body weary, I busied myself afterward with mindless things as the fog enfolded even the interior spaces. The air hung wet with it. After a while, the cats and I flounced on the sofa - insouciant - and looked at some television. I fell asleep there, prior to your takeoff, and woke up in the middle of the night, wondering what continent you might have gotten to now. Love, ~ K

". . .the spiritual revolution waits for its hour and throws up meanwhile its waves here and there."
~ Sri Aurobindo

R ~

I spend part of the day tracking your flight - I have seen your landing in Tapei and in hours you will be happily in Singapore! When I wake up tomorrow you will be nearly to Chennai. It amazes me still that in such a short time a person's body can travel half way around the world like that. I wonder how much time it takes for the person to arrive? Love, ~ K

R ~
The Singapore Airlines website says you've arrived in Singapore! At 11:46p tomorrow. I still can't get my head around the time change thing. Even tho' we yesterday were in the same time zone, we're now nearly a day apart - your time on earth has in effect been lengthened by a day simply by sitting in a closed container for 15 hours. Talk about time travel! It reminds me of several connections I have with Singapore, the one I'm most present with being a phone call from Dad from there when I was working at Disney in Florida. It seems like such a far away place. Love, ~ K

R ~
The world carries on while you're on the other side of the world. Arnold is still the Gubernator - tho' it still seems like some comedic dream from which we could all collectively wake if we chose to - and he's having a tete-a-tete with the Shrub tomorrow in our neighborhood - somewhere around Riverside.

More interestingly - in your neck of the woods - a new species of frog is discovered in India - it's purple and very cute. I somehow find this profound as it's a species heretofore thought to be extinct. The picture of it looks rather amorphous, purple and blobby - the type of Pongo creature certain Teddy Bears would befriend and name "Purple Blob Frog," or "Purply Blurply" for short.

China completed it's first manned space flight without incident and it is cause for massive celebration in that country. The launch wasn't televised until after the fact, in case there was an accident. The astronaut was 38 years old.

Some airline, whose name I missed on the news, is creating the longest airline flight in history - 18 hours - from Los Angeles to Singapore. Hmmm. . .another synchronicity? <g>

The cats are playing now as the sky turns from pink to gray, Pookie hurtling himself all over the floor, Sascha hiding under any object she can find, large or small.

I start to read "Beyond the Human Species." The first quote by Aurobindo, some of which I've excerpted already in these peculiar multi-voiced ramblings, is beautiful:

"The changes we see in the world today are intellectual, moral, physical in their ideal and intention: the spiritual revolution waits for its hour and throws up meanwhile its waves here and there. Until it comes, the sense of the others cannot be understood and till then all interpretations of present happenings and forecast of man's future are vain things. For its nature, power, event are that which will determine the next cycle of our humanity." ~ Sri Aurobindo

I don't quite understand that last sentence, but it's beautiful nonetheless.

I also check out Cirque du Soleil's "Zoomanity" website. It looks erotic and sensual with lots of G-strings and people kissing and writhing atop one another - from midgets to an interracial male couple, to exquisitely costumed other gendered creatures.

All these things happened on this day, while you were arriving, and still will be by the time you read this. Hopefully you are sweet dreaming by now and catching up for the wonders you are about to experience. Love, ~ K

R~
We are having the most exceptional weather now. Temperature 80 degrees and sunny - clear sky. It is the end of summer we missed owing to all that fog. The ocean rises and falls with it's own contrasting tumult, a remnant of some turbulence far out at sea. I lolligag in the sand waiting for the dolphins to come, stare at the sky and think about what you might be doing in this moment, 15 hours ahead of us. Are you sleeping still, or perhaps just waking? Have you adjusted to the time shift of mortals? What newness are you integrating with, if you are integrating yet at all.

News Capsules in no particular order:
The House and Senate vote by an overwhelming majority to give the Shrub his $87 billion for reconstruction of Iraq. I've concluded that they're all cowards at this point, but then who can expect more from people who voted almost unanimously (with the exception of one person who is now dead) to pass the Patriot Act.

I'm thinking about getting another cat as I've run into an odd circumstance that warrants it.

I went to find a voter registration form for you and couldn't find one. Later at the car wash, one manisfested beneath the seat of the car. I can't imagine how it got there, where it came from, unless you had gotten it for yourself. Nonetheless, I appreciated the miracle of it's arriving and placed it on your pile to fill out and send in once you come home (I am requesting it).

Pookie's seizuring somewhat, but I'm changing out his food. Leslie gave me some Juice Plus for Cats (yes they really make the stuff) as a gift and I'm going to start them on it today and see how that helps Pookie's seizures. He's done so well and hasn't had any in ages, so I supposed it's o.k. that he has them every now and again. It doesn't seem to hurt him any, but I don't know about the inside of him.

A certain Teddy Bear has run off with the video camera and is taking pictures of everything in sight for his website.

The U.N. has voted almost unanimously to support the U.S. in the reconstruction of Iraq (most countries will send no troops). I still can't comprehend the kind of message we are sending to the Shrub. Sanctioning what he did and will continue to do. In a recent speech he actually said that our new policy in the war on terrorism is strike before they do whereever we think they might be. Now they're focussing on blowing up Iran and there are actually discussions about it - followed by Syria. When are we going to impeach this man for war crimes? Is the entire country anesthetized? (sp?)

October wired was written just for me - with articles about political blogs and Open Source and Linus Torvalds as "the leader of the free world" and the Wachowski brothers, etc., etc., etc. It's very interesting reading. Mutually contributing collaborations. What is the "architecture of participation" in other aspects of life (phrase from October "Wired" pg. 164). So, thanks, Wired!

Also immersed in Queen E again. Got the "Elisabeth" movie from Netflix by mistake - it was supposed to be a documentary about her life, but instead that wonderful movie was inside the sleeve, so I watched. I'm kind of obsessed with her, especially concerning her surrender to a higher purpose for which she was particularly designed. I didn't realize how many languages she spoke until I read about it in her biography - Italien, French, Greek, Latin, English. She used to do translations for fun in her spare time. Back to the movie, an Indian from India directed it, interestingly enough. I can't remember his name just now. He said that from the point of view of Eastern philosophy, the reason he cast Kate Blanchette to play Elisabeth was because it was their destiny to do the project together. I'm still amazed that Queen E. survived against all odds and hundreds of assassination attempts. Her protectors must have been the most powerful people on the planet, if not somewhere greater.

That's the news from here. Love, ~K

Written by Sir Walter Raleigh to Queen Elisabeth:

Praised be Diana's fair and harmless light,
Praised be the dews wherewith she moists the ground;
Praised be her beams, the glory of the night,
Praised be her power, by which all powers abound.
Praised be her nymphs, with whom she decks the woods,
Praised be her knights, in whom true honour lives,
Praised be that force, by which she moves the floods;
Let that Diana shine, which all these gives.

In heaven Queen she is among the spheres;
In aye she mistress-like makes all things pure;
Eternity in her oft change she bears;
She beauty is, by her the fair endure.

Time wears her not, she doth his chariot guide,
Mortality below her orb is placed;
By her the virtue of the stars down slide;
In her is virtue's perfect image cast
A knowledge pure is it her worth to know;
With Circes let them dwell that think not so.

From "Elizabeth I" by Anne Somerset, pg. 354

THIS PLACE WHERE YOU ARE RIGHT NOW

This place where you are right now
God circled on a map for you.

Whereever your eyes and arms and heart can move
Against the earth and sky,
The Beloved has bowed there ~

Our Beloved has bowed there knowing
You were coming.

I could tell you a priceless secret about
Your real worth, dear pilgrim,

But any unkindness to yourself,
Any confusion about others,

Will keep one
From accepting the grace, the love,

The sublime freedom
Divine knowledge always offers to you.

Never mind, Hafiz, about
The great requirements this path demands
Of the wayfarers,

For your soul is too full of wine tonight
To withhold the wondrous Truth from this world.

But because I am so clever and generous,
I have already clearly woven a resplendent lock
Of His tresses

As a remarkable truth and gift
In this poem for you.

R ~
As a final post of the day, I have to say that I'm thinking a lot about Dad tonight. He's such a remarkable person who has reinvented himself since the age of 70. He sent us all a picture of his 2nd place win in the Boston 1/2 Marathon and the silver plate they awarded announcing it. I'm amazed that he's running so soon after the last one; more amazed that he's doing it at the age of 74! I'd place the pictures here, but he hasn't given me permission. I find his life inspiring.

I realize that perhaps these mundane ramblings of mine don't have much meaning to you in the world you're in now, but I share them just the same. They are a window to my world. I know you would be doing the same if you were living your life through your laptop. I'm grateful you are not for a change <g>. The contact of humans can be often more rewarding. Love, ~ K

R ~
Today I rise up in a dense fog (outside) which delays any sort of dawn. I harvest a laundry early and wonder when the light will come. By 9:30 I am on a joyous bike ride up and down the coast and by 11:45 I've already returned from it, after 17 miles of pedalling and some stopping. The sun's warmth reduces human alienation and disenfranchisement at times and such is the case today as is evidenced by the ever more jocund quotidien of roller bladers, joggers, walkers, and bike-riders. Many babies are about, and children, too. The bike path is not too jammed for a day as lovely as this. Perhaps others expect this unseasonable autumn deception to give way to more clouds and fog, and thus stay away from the beach. All in all, it is a lazy, easy, summer feeling here. Nonetheless, I push myself very hard in the presence of few vehicular or bipedal obstacles to go the distance before stopping to admire the shape the surf is in. A child squeals in the water, running and playing some form of frisbee with an octagonal object, too far distant for me to discern what it is. There are no birds for some reason. The tide is going out but still hurtles quite a spray on the fence by the life guard stand where we always stop to rest. I see no dolphins, but then, I don't look very hard. I walk a little in the sand and feel the beat of the sun on my face. It feels good to this Vitamin D deprived person.

When I return home, I continue reaming out our lives. This is a fascination as old parts of ourselves, parts we don't even remember existed, or parts which we at the very least thought were extinct, resurrect themselves - an old photo, a videotape, a long forgotten playbill, an ancient piece of computer equipment. Funny how the fabric of our realities is made up of bits and pieces we've created, yet rarely remembered once the creating of them is done.

Thinking of you and hoping you are well, unmildewed, and full of new possibilities. Love, ~ K

R ~
It was great talking to you last night! It's amazing to think that your motorcycle broke down somewhere in the south of India enabling us to speak as if you were right in the next room. I'm glad to know you're safe and well. What an adventure!

I heard the oddest piece of news on the radio - actually a rather extensive story about it - cloning beef cattle for meat. It seems they're already doing it and the FDA hasn't gotten involved until now because when they were queried about it by the original entrepreneur of the idea, they said it was a subject that was completely off their radar and therefore not something they were going to worry about. Is it safe? Who knows! The breeder who received the clones was concerned about immune disorders, etc., but found the cattle were healthier than most of his other stock. It stunned me that so complex a thing as cloning cattle could be talked about so nonchalantly by farmers, newscasters, the FDA, as if there was no connection between those cows and us. As if ingesting the non-natural things was the most normal thing in the world. Sheesh!

Pookie is recovering from his seizures owing to the change in food, although rather more slowly than I would like. I've learned also what keeps the cats attacking the bedding at night. They bring their toy mice up there and bury them in the quilts. Then dive after them. Sascha kept me up the whole night with the racket of it. Oddly, I'm not tired about it today. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them both at play. They are such cats! The essence of cats!

Also, tho' you are far distant from it, I'm marvelling at the world of blogging and how incredible it is. Love, ~ K

R ~
I was thinking about how interesting the blogosphere is. That I'm writing to you and you're not there, but you sort of are there. I mean, at some point you will receive this. We have some experience with this because of how we met - on the Internet (before anybody knew it was the Internet, except for some under the radar folks like you and Tim Berners Lee and Mark Pesce types, seeing the future for those of us with more limited vision or no vision at all) and the communicating is easy. I can imagine you reading this and it's having some impact on you, probably limited owing to the impact other things are having on you just now. But it's as if I'm writing to you and to anyone who might read this, too, as if there is this collective consciousness that I'm really speaking to and not just to you. Somehow the writing becomes different because of that - as if a group energy were writing it rather than just one person to another person. Do you know what I mean? Love, ~ K

Hi Kimi, Thank you so much for all your wonderful posting here! It's amazing how connected to you they help me to feel. You are my Perfect One. I haven't time now to say much, my friend and roomate Bill Lathrop is waiting for me to finish so we can go check out the Auroville Germany Bakery, which everyone says is the most deliciously sweet place to eat here. It's late afternoon, so I'm at my hypoglycemic low point, so need to eat soon. Whoops, the monsoon just started again, a huge downpour outside, leaking thru the thatched roof here, they have to shut down the computers now. I love you! ~ ron

R ~
Thanks for posting something - I wondered when you would see the lengthy missives. It is a Thursday afternoon and the heat wave is still on - sunny/hazy still at the beach and pleasant enough, but in the valley it was 100 again. These are record temps. here for this time of year. I wonder why? It was also great to speak to you last night - you sounded like you were in the next room. Isn't the Net great? I can just imagine you and Grace trapsing around the Indian countryside in the monsoon! The images are compelling and I hope you are recording them on your camera.

Work has become a nausea in a way as we're all bearing the brunt of people with addiction problems in places of power. I don't know how it will resolve itself, but it is becoming more and more unpleasant. Fortunately, I think this is simply a cleansing, but while it's going on, it's gruesome. My hours are short, tho', except for Fridays, so I focus on other things. Mainly, as I mentioned, the "architecture of participation" and all that that concerns.

I got us new cell phones which are quite amazing and a cheap service for all of it. The picture-taking phones along with the various services were too expensive, so I went with picture phones only that have web micro-browsers so you can do email and download weather apps, your own photos for sharing, games, etc., etc. They're motorola phones. I'll see how I like it. Anyway, you will have a cell phone when you come back and we get 1000 mobile to mobile minutes so we can gab with each other, plus unlimited nites and weekends and 500 daytime minutes. With the amount I don't use, I figured that would be enuf.

As I mentioned, Jeff H. called and said he looks forward to speaking with you soon.

Now I'm going or a workout. Take good care of yourself. Love, ~ K

Hi Kimi, I just sent you a quick email re the horrific fires and that I'm still doing well here. I have to run now to get back to Verite in time for dinner, but just wanted to send you a quick hello here. I've been updating my Journey to Auroville blog so there's much more there re my adventures here. I love you so much! - Please take extra good care of yourself during these strange times. ~ ronjon