Video of Dave's introduction and meditation (31 minutes)

Shown or mentioned at the meeting:

"Community" (5 min) - Jack Kornfield & Tara Brach

In this video, Jack Kornfield tells a wonderful story of the spontaneous and surprising emergence of cross-species community initiated by a chimpanzee. In Tara Brach's section, she suggests that what is often the most important thing near life's end, feeling connected to others, is also the most important thing during the whole of our lives, but that we sometimes forget that. She says that ""it's in the field of relationship that the magic happens".

Here Is Real Magic: A Magician's Search for Wonder - book by Nate Staniforth

    A human being is a part of the whole, called by us "Universe", a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.
    This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
   Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
           - Albert Einstein

    Nothing is inconsequential. Each grain of sand holds amazing secrets. Each event contains mysterious messages. Every encounter with another being is a point of contact upon which the universe pivots. When we enter into this frame of mind, reality as we see it becomes a vast opportunity to experience the interconnectedness of all creation. From this perspective, we come to the realization that every piece is integral in the unfolding of creation, including us.
           - from Free Will and the Mind of God by David Cooper

    When we are free of mental concepts and our senses are awake, the sounds, smells, images, and vibrations we experience connect us with all life everywhere. It is not my pain, it is the earth’s pain. It is not my aliveness but simply life – unfolding and intense, mysterious and beautiful. By meeting the changing dance of sensation with Radical Acceptance, we discover our intrinsic belonging to this world. We are “no thing” – not limited to any passing experience – and "everything”, belonging to the whole.
           - from Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

    ... circles of trust ... are a rare form of community - one that supports rather than supplants the individual quest for integrity. That is rooted in two basic beliefs:
    First, we all have an inner teacher whose guidance is more reliable than anything we can get from a doctrine, ideology, collective belief system, institution, or leader.
    Second, we all need other people to invite, amplify, and help us discern the inner teacher's voice for at least three reasons:
    • The journey toward inner truth is too taxing to be made solo: lacking support, the solitary traveler soon becomes weary or fearful and is likely to quit the road.
    • The path is too deeply hidden to be traveled without company: finding our way involves clues that are subtle and sometimes misleading, requiring the kind of discernment that can happen only in dialogue.
    • The destination is too daunting to be achieved alone: we need community to find the courage to venture into the alien lands to which the inner teacher may call us.
           - from A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life by Parker Palmer

    Anyone who has been part of an inspired demonstration, such as a protest against nuclear weapons or a candlelight walk for women's rights, knows the exhilaration of being part of something larger than oneself, united with others for a cause. Even baking whole wheat rolls in a shelter kitchen or organizing an office to recycle its computer paper, people have experienced the satisfaction that comes from being part of community working for change. This basic sharing of space and purpose can remind us of the simple truth that we are all members of the world community, here to help one another on our common journey home.
    Working in groups has the advantage of fulfilling our yearning for community. Many of us in the white mainstream of this country come from dysfunctional, nonnurturing, unloving families. Our rituals and traditions are largely gone, and our sense of belonging has weakened; the emphasis in our culture on competition and individual achievement has eroded our sense of community and solidarity. No longer tribal, we still need support, loving care, and interaction with a variety of other human beings; as is better known among other subcultures, it is rare for a single relationship or the nuclear family to satisfy all human needs.
           - from Compassion in Action by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush