Saturday 8/8/09 Going With The Flow

Early this morning, before going out to work, I sat down in front of the computer to check for incoming emails, and to see how that little amber Dog Float auction ended. Before hitting the sack, I'd put a decent bid in, and was leading, but found that someone had overbid me. Maybe another one will surface someday?

It's great that after a lull of good Euro auctions, finally, some exciting floats have appeared. There are a number of beautiful Euros, and Asian floats ending soon. I've got my eye on a few of them, but am holding out for an email from a friend. Still, I might try for one or two of those great floats.

Included with the news of not winning the Dog Float auction, there was an email from Per. I had written him yesterday to wish the travelers "Bon Voyage," and Per wrote back. The first email was written to Per, followed by his reply:


Hi Per,

I guess you are getting fully packed for the trip today? I've been wanting to do two things: write you to tell you how excited I am, and to wish you a wonderful time.

I'm just about ready to post the initial blog entry about the expedition, and will do so before the night is over. It's tough having the crew here, spending time with the family, and attending to my own needs. It's a magnificent life-no matter what!

Have a great start tomorrow. I look forward to hearing from you.

Per's return email:


Hi Tom and thank you!

Will leave Bergen early in the morning, about 16 hours from sending this email. 06:00European time on Sunday morning. A little non-scheduled delay, caused by the photo gear distributor for my brother-in-law's ordered photo equipment. It didn't arrive as promised, and we had to wait. Distributor didn't have what he promised, and we had to buy another model and a different lense for my brother-in-law's photo equipment. Too bad, but that's the way it is!

Will send a few pictures from my phone when we are driving across sea and high mountains later on.

We will follow your blog, and my sister and Tone will too!

Take good care and say, "Hello!" to all glass float friends out there.

Per

Sendt fra min iPhone

Den 7. aug. 2009 kl. 17.47 skrev trizzo8037@comcast.net

Hmm. Mixed reactions after reading those two emails.

Timing is what it is. After reading Carlos Castanada's, THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN, when I was in the Navy, stationed with a squadron on Washington State's Whidbey Island back in '71, and later, JOURNEY TO IXTLAN, I learned about the "Path With A Heart." The protagonist, Don Juan, a Yaqui Indian medicinal plant gatherer, who turned out to be the author's teacher of another reality, spoke to Carlos about the path. He told him that one can follow many paths in their life. That it was good to try them out, but one needed to know when a path did not have a heart. When you were on the wrong path, things just didn't work out well, and one needed to know when to stop. If you continued to follow the wrong path, negativity would be your companion, and possibly death would pay you a visit. But when you were on the "Path With A Heart," one needed to follow it with eyes wide open, breathlessly.

At that time in my life, the journey of self discovery, and the search for the meaning of my life occupied much of my time. The social revolution taking place then, as well as the Vietnam War impacted those years for everyone. Studying other philosophies, religions, and lifestyles filled my reading time. I took Don Juan's words to heart, and learned how to find those wonderful paths.

Later, I found that for me, there is something that I like to call, "The Timing of the Earth." That phrase was the answer to the question I had to consider. Do we have a timing that works to put us where we need to be, at the right moments, to live the correct life for each of us? Listening to my inner voice was my first lesson.

The reality of that voice's existence happened one San Francisco afternoon. Having just broken up with a girlfriend, my '71 Superbeetle was packed with my belongings, and I was headed to a friends house to move in. Stopped at an intersection, wondering whether I should go left or right. Either direction would have gotten me to my destination. I remember hearing the thought, "go left." Instead, I turned right, and at the corner of Polk Street, made a left. There was a redlight in front of me to watch, pedestrians crossing each corner, traffic everywhere doing its thing and a kaleidoscope of beautiful girls in my eyes...it was a lot to consider before proceeding. Two blocks later, I was pulled over by the flashing lights of a police car behind me, and then an officer standing beside me and asking for my credentials. One ticket later for some small infraction, (when you live and drive in a city, there are a bunch of small offenses ready to raid your wallet) I remembered that my first choice was to turn left instead of right. I didn't listen to myself, and was 20 bucks leaner.

Time was necessary to build the confidence needed for me to first, get in touch with my inner voice, and secondly to listen and follow that voice whenever I had to make a decision. I started learning to do that by trying to hear my inner voice while confronted with making small choices. As the confidence built up after seeing those small choices turn out well, I progressed to being in touch with my inner voice, and listening to it whenever a serious life choice presented itself.

They key to doing that is to shut off the rational voice we all have. That voice is our learned voice-taught to us by our loved ones and our culture. It's a decent voice but is also the rational, "do it this way," voice. In order to hear my inner voice, and to shut off the rational voice, I stop thinking, and ask myself the question I'm pondering. The trick is to listen for the first answer that comes into my mind. That first answer is my inner voice.

Once I learned that there is a reality that is separate, which could be found by following the Path With A Heart, by listening to my true self, and allowing my imagination to help shape my life, there was no turning back. That knowledge has given me the happiness to truly appreciate the gift of my life. I live without fear.

If you have not learned and applied this knowledge, and desire to try it out, start with small choices. I don't want to be responsible for calamity, but do want to let you know something about me.

The expedition's delay is part of the timing of this trip. As I tried to tell Per on the last expedition, you cannot force things. It's much better to get into the flow of the trip, and to follow your imagination. Once Per and his brother-in-law get started, it's going to be great to watch this trip unfold. What kind of path will they travel? What gifts will come to them? I can't wait!

The attached photos show the boat they have at their disposal, and the cabin they will live in. The boat has a lot of space for fishing gear, and when not fishing, lots of glass floats. Wouldn't you just love to be with them!