December 1, 2024

Today we enter December. Even with the weather, the end of the year deadlines, the commercial pressures to spend and give, and anxiety around what January 2025 may bring, this month still carries a spiritual undercurrent. Despite bickering, threats and division, December's spiritual atmosphere holds the promise of a collective longing: Peace on Earth; Good Will to All. December's spiritual undercurrent is not exclusively about the Christian celebration of Jesus' birth; there is no established fact that proves the actual date of Jesus' birth. Some portion of Hanukah's 8 day celebration, as well as ancient pagan rites, have for centuries been held in December. The December solstice was central to early human recognition of the cyclical movement of warmth and light in an annual progression. The cycles of the solar return add to our capacity for awe and wonder, and set the field for spiritual awareness. As the light of our 24 hour day fades quickly, and darkness expands and extends further and further, consider how that alters your personal awareness of your world.

Most Americans have the modern ease of electricity, lighting and heat, food, water, shelter, and systems of safety, work, and entertainment. But not everyone has. Consider those who struggle within your own system of family and friends, neighbors, city dwellers and in the world beyond. It easy to lose that thread of spirituality when cold, dark winter arrives. Then again, we can grow so accomplished or busy with our modern conveniences, that we too, no longer register the mystery of the seasons, and the miracle of night and day in rotation. When we no longer take the time to contemplate the stars of December, we lose our spiritual thread as well.

So this month, I invite you to practicing a new awareness of the mystery of December. Consider, this particular week, a way to bring more warmth and light into your world, as counter balance. I offer a counter balance to the fading natural light, as well as, a way to soothe any darkening of your own psyche, and a way to lift the emotional life of others. This is not about trying to rescue the fallen, or fix the broken. Rather, this is about discovering a gentleness that eases into this season. Try the counter-balance of kindness. This is kindness for it's own sake.

Kindness includes action that is helpful, without any fussing over it, or judging, or expecting another's gratitude. Kindness overlooks the flawed response. Kindness isn't quite the same as Love, but it is a step that opens you to your capacity to Love. It is an awareness that life can be a struggle that is eased by connection, support, and shared awareness. "We are in this boat together", includes those we encounter only once, fleetingly. Yet. our kindness carries impact. Reflect on it, meditate with the feel of it. Most significantly, practice it for a few days.

Kindness includes being kind to yourself, your mistakes and your limitations, your demands on yourself and life in general. If you are kind to yourself, it is easier to extend that kindness to others, even to the way of things, so that life is no longer a combative struggle with the elements, the traffic, the bills.... Kindness includes "doing" and/or "giving", but it is also a look, a gesture, a smile, an unspoken softness. This week, try planting this seed of "Peace on Earth, Good Will to All". (Susan Nettleton)

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Dalai Lama

for poetry:

https://www.yourdailypoem.com/listpoem.jsp?poem_id=2330

https://www.best-poems.net/.../what_i_have_learned_so_far...

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse...

November 24, 2024

This Sunday, many Americans are already on the road (or in the air), traveling with a shared destination--not a shared place, but an event, Thanksgiving Day with a social time of feasting. As family and friends share the holiday meal, Thanksgiving brings an echo of ancient harvest festivals that have taken place around the world for centuries. The theme of Harvest also resonates with our dependency on Nature; food--the fuel for our bodies--arises from Nature. We have learned to gather, plant and cultivate, combine and cook, and even genetically engineer food, yet we remain dependent on the natural world, as a part of the natural world.

Thanksgiving reminds us that we are an evolving species. As much as some people long to stay rooted in the traditional Thanksgiving story of American history to highlight the peaceful sharing of food at the harvest feast, that story too has evolved. We now have counter holidays in remembrance of the wars that raged as settlers arrived to occupy land that had been the home and sustenance of native Americans, bringing devastating consequences and suffering. On the West Coast, Unthanksgiving Day takes place on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay (since 1975) and on the East Coast, in New England, the holiday-as-protest is named "A National Day of Mourning" (since 1970). Both serve to honor the lives and traditions of Indigenous Americans, and educate non-natives on both the history and current struggles of Native Americans.

The Wonder of American Thanksgiving is that these events will all be taking place on Thursday, not as spurious eruptions, or calculated political disruptions (there is over 50 years of tradition in the Thanksgiving counter-movement). All these events together are a sprouting and growth of our need to acknowledge the Harvest and collectively digest the Truth. Across the globe, people still war over land. Yet, war is destructive not just to human lives and cultures, but to Nature. We depend on Nature and Nature's phenomenal diversity; we depend on our neighbors; we depend on one another; we depend on differences, movement and counter movement, and we depend on Truth.

Gratitude is the heart's awareness of Good. It is not about the intellect. We don't have to fabricate gratitude, or justify gratitude--we let it rise in us, naturally. If you find yourself grumbling this week, let it be. You are not going to be grateful all the time. We struggle with life's twists and turns; we struggle with the curve balls and the counter movement. But when we do take the time to settle and let ourselves stop, turn inward, and remember that we live, move, and have our being in a vast, vast Field of Being, beyond the measures of our social order, we find Peace again, and we are thankful. Enjoy the Fall Harvest, wherever it leads you. (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://allpoetry.com/Gratitude-To-The-Unknown-Instructors https://readalittlepoetry.com/.../at-least-by-raymond.../ https://gladdestthing.com/poems/poem-without-a-categoy

November 17, 2024

Today's post is a section of this morning's Zoom talk, "Spirituality, Plain and Simple", by Dr. Susan Nettleton, which will be posted posted on the website hillsidesource.com later this month.

"Spirituality is about a sense of connection to something greater than the self we regularly experience in daily life, and leads us to seek or find purpose, meaning, and connection with THAT. Religion has the tone of a more formal codification of spirituality with very specific rules of behavior and practice, beliefs and usually hierarchical organization, and clear obligations lived in community. Differentiating religion and spirituality is a contemporary construct that has become more popular as western culture shifted away from traditional practices and beliefs when they have seemed out of sync with our changing lifestyles and cultural understanding. Today, post election 2024, it's really hard to say, except to acknowledge religious conflict.

Our focus on the plain and simple today aims at the individual, but inevitably leads us back to our place in the whole of life, which carries the whole of human society and culture, as well as the whole of nature. I realize that collectively, most people are exposed to religious teachings at an early age by the surrounding culture. Depending on where we are raised, we i develop our ideas as aspects of culture; even if you are not brought up in a specific religion, most of us are exposed to it. Here I'm trying to get you to differentiate what you were taught v.s. what came to you from within yourself-- outer exposure versus inner discovery. Part of plain and simple is the reflection on early spiritual experiences that were probably not named as such. My earliest memory on this level was a kind of self-soothing discovery, at least that's how I would explain it from the psychological level. But having worked with so many people from various backgrounds, and heard so many early childhood stories, along with life turning points, I see there is a pull in us, toward the larger reality, that we can call a spiritual movement or perhaps primal memory that is the unbroken link, thread, to the Greater Whole, direct and spontaneous. My own early memory was at night, falling asleep with this kind of worked-through-puzzle, that I was laying in bed and my head touched the pillow and the pillow touched the sheet, and the sheet touched the blanket, and the blanket went to the floor and the floor touched the walls, and the walls touched the ceiling, the ceiling touched the light, connecting ceiling and floors to the hallway, and ...well everything, everything was connected, woven--the inside wall to the outside wall, to the ground and grass which ran to the pine tree. I was next to the tree, because I was touching the pillow ...It was a realization of the interconnections of everything....by then I was asleep. Now, it reminds me of that quote "This Is It and I Am It" (see link below),written by poet and filmmaker James Broughton. In his autobiography, he wrote of a childhood vision that introduced him to his muse, Hermy. Hermy announced Broughton would be a poet, and if he followed the game of life well enough, he would become "a useful spokesman for Big Joy."

Now it would be easy to dismiss either childhood experience as altered memory or dream state, but my point here is to look at innate spiritually. Why not talk in terms that include personal experience that is not influenced or "contaminated" by cultural shaping? I'm quite sure, no one in my family told me about unity of form, ever. And Broughton's experience was meaningful for him. To me, plain and simple spirituality is a return to direct experience.

In his book, The Song of the Bird, Anthony De Mellow writes of sitting with a Teacher who's sermon that day was only one puzzling sentence, "All I do is sit by the bank of the river, selling river water." De Mello comments,"I was so busy buying the water, that I failed to see the river". Life is flowing, always. What we need, what sustains us, directs and guides us, is flowing. But we are so busy trying to find our answers, have a breakthrough, or a demonstration, to use a New Thought term, we miss the given directive. (Susan Nettleton)

For some of today's poetry: https://poetrynap.com/this-is-it-by-james-broughton/

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/.../traveler-your... https://hellopoetry.com/poem/14511/just-now/

November 13, 2024

Announcement to all!

Hillside will hold a Zoom Service, Sunday, November 17, 2024

with Dr. Susan Nettleton

Topic: Spirituality, Plain and Simple

Date: November 17, 2024

Time: 11:00 AM Mountain Time, 10:00 AM Pacific Time

If you are not on our email list for Zoom service and would like to

attend, please email us at Hillsideew@aol.com or through the contact page on our website: Hillsidesource.com or message us on Facebook with your email address.

November 10, 2024

My usual intent with these Sunday posts is to encourage you to move into each new week with a spiritual perspective. Because we live both in the world of society and the world of nature surrounded by a vast expanse of "outer" space, the Spiritual permeating all, is easily lost in the struggles of modern life. The post from last Sunday was submerged in a flood of news, anxiety, threats, shocks as well as celebrations aimed at the U.S. elections. It is easy to be swept away by the tremendous power of social media, television and online programing. We, collectively, have been wondering how the news and passionate campaigning which overtook simple conversation would fare once the election results were clear. Now that it is, have you reclaimed your space of Peace yet?

Tomorrow is Veteran's day, a national holiday. It is a day set aside to honor the men and women of the American military, in gratitude for their service and sacrifice, seen and unseen. That service has been grounded in democracy, and ultimately, in service of Peace for the U.S.A. and really, the entire world. We can argue about what is the path to political peace, or to social peace, but the arguments themselves unravel the deeper, abiding Spiritual Peace. So I encourage you this week to find the time to remember those who have served in war and in the prevention of war, those who give of themselves in service to sustain American democracy. And, most importantly, I encourage you to take the week to reclaim your own Peace within.

Reclaiming your inner Peace may well mean stepping back from the election uproar until your own path is clarified or renewed. If you need a point of focus, consider the contemplation practice I wrote about in the November 3 post. And if the upheavals and post-election happenings seem too much, join me next Sunday, May 17, at 11:00 a.m. MT on Zoom, for "Spirituality, Plain and Simple". If you are not on our mailing list and you would like to attend Sunday's meeting, email me at hillsideew@aol.com. Peace, let it begin with you. (Susan Nettleton)

“Do you have the patience to wait

Till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving

Till the right action arises by itself?” Lao Tzu

for poetry: https://hellopoetry.com/poem/5056/peace/ https://allpoetry.com/poem/8507381-Peace-by-Patrick-Kavanagh https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Ivelearnedto/index.html

November 3, 2024

Today, I am inviting you to a contemplation practice and I encourage you to extend the practice beyond just today if possible, all the way through Tuesday (Election Day) and the entire week ahead. Contemplation, like many spiritual practices, can be defined in varied ways. For this week, I am outlining a general definition of contemplation as "constant"remembrance, by repetition of, and reflection on, a specific word or phrase. This is similar to mantra meditation that is practiced by mental and usually silent, repetition of a word or phrase that serves to focus your attention as you let go of other thoughts and feelings as they arise. In meditation, attention and thoughts (and feelings of different types) come and go, and as we recognize that, we gently return our attention back to our mantra, and regain a relaxed state. When I say 'relaxed', I am specifically including muscle relaxation, throughout the body, as best we can. Of course there are other forms of meditation that involve imagery or sounds or movement, but the point for today, and the week ahead, is contemplation.

This contemplation is not just an intellectual exercise. It is a spiritual practice that is moving you toward new insight or understanding. Keep the practice easy; simply move through the day, into the evening and night, waking up the next day with your same word or phrase. Let it run through your mind throughout the day. When you forget, which you inevitably will, you forget. But, the practice itself will cycle back to you at some point and you will pick it up again.

This particular week, such a practice offers a fresh perspective, a personal spiritual perspective, however the election may be unfolding. Let it stay an undercurrent, moving inside you while you watch whatever updates and news, and otherwise go about your life. As it echoes in you, let it be private. If you want to share your experience with anyone, wait until you have completed the practice. And let it be positive; affirmations lend themselves well to contemplation. There is enough frightful speculation floating around this week; explore the Good. Consider your contemplation extending to, or connecting, with the larger Life, the All. A possible starting point might be a single word repetition like Peace, Healing, Love, Light, or Gratitude , or simply "Here." Or a phrase, "An Open Door", "Wisdom's Gift", "Newness of Life", "Where I Belong", or "It's all Grace", or from last weeks post, "Wonder unto Wonder".

Yesterday, when I sat to meditate, I realized I had not given myself a phrase to contemplate this week! So I sat in silence briefly, inviting the right phrase to come to me. Despite my advise to keep yours private until the week is done, I decided to share mine and the story behind it. I first practiced contemplation 45 years ago in a class designed by Albuquerque minister Helen Brungardt-Pope, that included 6 phrases for contemplation, to be practiced sequentially, one per week for six weeks. Initially, Larry Morris, was the teacher, but after the first meeting, he was suddenly hired as an English Professor at Eastern New Mexico University and left. Helen continued the class. While I did complete the contemplation sequence, the intensity peaked as I (along with Helen and Larry and several others from the group) attended a meditation retreat at the Grand Tetons. The class contemplation practice that week was "I am." One night during that retreat, walking back to my cabin through a moonlit field, repeating "I am", I had a life changing, self-shattering, mystical experience. In the years that later unfolded, Larry returned to Albuquerque, I began ministerial studies, Helen eventually left Albuquerque, and Hillside Church was formed. I do not remember the whole of the class practice; my life had changed. But in meditation yesterday, one of the phrases from that original class came to me for contemplation this week: "Thou art That."

Don't overthink this process. There will be pauses in your practice, when you find yourself, bringing the word(s) into new perspective for you at this time in your life. Life is change. Let Life lead you. (Susan Nettleton)

For Poetry: https://grateful.org/resource/today-when-i-could-do-nothing/ https://thevalueofsparrows.wordpress.com/.../poetry.../ https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Descendfromy/index.html

For Larry Morris' perspective-- https://hillsidesource.com/.../2018/6/16/motionless-doing...

October 27, 2024

For many people, this last week of October brings parties, festivals, and preparations around the theme of Halloween. Halloween evolved from All Hallows' Eve, the night before All Hallows' Day, or as we term it now, All Saints' Day, celebrated in Catholicism as well as several other Christian denominations. I always find it an interesting cultural twist that Halloween is counterbalanced with All Saints' Day on November 1 and All Souls' Day, November 2, first reverently giving honor to all Saints, known and unknown. Then the following day, is given to remembering and praying for faithful Souls who have passed on (depending on different traditions that may include those who attain heaven, or those who are in purgatory, still fulfilling penance). These two celebrations overlap with Day of the Dead, a more social, family recognition of friends and family members who have died, now celebrated throughout many countries, but with deep roots in Mexico. Here, we also have the belief that there is a space in time when those who have died can intersect with the living, briefly returning for a reunion. So the end of October and the beginning of November brings an energy of meeting, past and present, life and death, the terrifying forms and the sweet treats of life, daily human life co-mingling, touching transcendent spirituality, and love that is lost, then cyclically returned--in a magical, mystical dance.

As we all plow through these times we live in, the transition from October to November also brings the national and state elections to another kind of co-mingling of opposing politics. As yet, we are moving toward unknown outcome. Yesterday in meditation, I found myself wandering in thought. My wandering went to wondering: what comes next? I know many are not just wondering, but are are worrying--with all sorts of frightening possibilities popping up in their minds--many triggered by social media from the thoughts and images of others, created for the sole purpose of stirring fear and conflict. In my meditation, I unexpectedly saw a link between worry and wonder. Wondering what might happen can take a turn to worry, Worry turns to fear. Fear feeds itself. Can we shift our worry back to wonder? And then, consider wonder not as a verb, but wonder as a noun: Wonder. This is word play, yes, but it led my thoughts back to stillness, peace and the Wonder of it All. That Wonder supersedes the fears of the unknown and clarifies your own personal path.

So let today, and the week ahead bring you Wonder, not worry. Even if you choose not to join in the revelry of Halloween, the sanctity of All Saints Day and prayers of All Souls Day, or none of the often intense emotions and liveliness of Day of the Dead, know that millions of people do, in this transition to November. That in itself is Wondrous. Rituals are their own form of the Wondrous. You can find your Wonder to lift you past election intensity, and remind you of your Larger Life. Meditation can open that door. (Susan Nettleton)

For poetry: https://www.awakin.org/v2/read/view.php?tid=475&op=audio https://kundalinisplendor.blogspot.com/.../deeper... https://www.bartleby.com/.../249-the-mystic-trumpeter/

October 13, 2024

This morning I am reflecting on spiritual acceptance. I purposefully qualify the word "acceptance" by linking it to the "spiritual"underpinnings of life. Although, depending on your idea of spirituality, we struggle with behaviors, situations and outcomes on all sorts of human and social levels, labeling them as unacceptable or grudgingly tolerating as part of the human mix, spiritual Acceptance is a step toward Peace in the larger movement of Life. Acceptance is receiving with recognition that this, whatever 'this' is, is happening or has happened. Since there are obviously many aspects of Life that we do not understand, and life includes loss and suffering, as well as beauty, companionship and joy, spiritual Acceptance involves clarity and faith.

Years ago, a friend of mine told me the story of their early life in Germany during WWII, the continuous bombing where they lived, and the family's dramatic escape to America. The trauma impacted their entire life, affecting education, jobs, relationships and my friend's later attempts at meditation. As I usually do, I talked about forgiveness as the path to healing. This friend wasn't sure forgiveness was possible and left to consider it. Some time later, when we spoke again, they told me that forgiveness remained out of reach, but new Peace and deeper meditation had come through Acceptance. This conversation in turn, gave me new perspective on the power of Acceptance as well as the blocking power of denial. There are layers of meaning in both denial and acceptance. Denial can be protective. New Thought has a prescription for denying the power and 'substance' of adverse events in order to free our thinking to accept the Good we are seeking. But that can easily degrade into psychological denial--crippling our ability to digest, and come to terms with overwhelmingly painful or frightening events. Ironically, when we are able to integrate both the painful and the deeply satisfying wonders of our life, in Acceptance--however we get there--we know both Peace and Gratitude. Life opens in new ways.

Acceptance is not then just about trauma or the flaws of others or our dissatisfaction with ourselves and our life. Spiritual Acceptance includes our ability to graciously recognize and receive gifts which are freely given. We receive and learn acceptance on the level of human relationships, in the world of nature, and in our spiritual practice. Ultimately, we learn to accept the unearned Grace of God. Before I settled into writing this post, I decided to first venture outside and empty my recycling bin. What a magnificent, clear October day! As I came back to the front door, I gazed at the mountains to the North and scanned the trees around me, looking up at the high tree right next to the front door. All the lower limbs had recently been trimmed away and today, the high branches were suddenly full of apricots! There are other fruit trees in the yard, but I have never seen any sign of fruit on this tree, where I have exited and entered daily for 3 summers. I was stunned. When had they arrived? How could I not know this was a fruit tree? Did the pre-storm pruning bring the fruit? What about the extreme heat? I have no answer, but I have a harvest of apricots. "Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest," flashed through my mind. What other ripening nourishment awaits your acceptance? (Susan Nettleton)

https://www.greatestpoems.com/love-after-love/... https://www.greatestpoems.com/mending-wall/#more-380 https://allpoetry.com/Human-Family https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../WhenWorld/index.html

October 6, 2024

October has arrived! This weekend in Albuquerque brings one of the most photographed events in the world, the International Balloon Fiesta. The skies will be filled with an unimaginable array of colors and shapes as hundreds of hot air balloons rise in succession and float across the city. If you are in Albuquerque, there's no way to ignore them; you simply have to stop, and look upward. If you ever longed to recapture the joy of childhood wonder--no matter how brief--let those balloon work their magic. Yes, the traffic and influx of travelers can be vexing, so look up. Rise above it all. For those not in New Mexico this year, myself included, there are many videos online that offer a sprinkling of balloon magic.

I open this post with the Balloon Fiesta, to counter the worldwide tension of this month. There are heavy happenings in the world right now, with war escalation in the Middle East, the disastrous flooding of Hurricane Helene and more storms and floods on the horizon, as we come to grasp climate change. We are on the cusp now of a divisive election that adds to a collective uncertainty across the globe--all the more reason to look up and around for October's gifts. This morning in meditation, I heard one single bird exquisitely announcing the clear day. My mind told me it was signaling nearby birds, but my heart said his song was to me, with only a prefabricated wall of separation between us. It was a reminder of the interconnected web of life we share.

When we can realize and accept that we have what we personally need, it is natural to share and support others; right action flows out of us, like bird song. Life taking care of life is not just a transcendental or abstract thing; it includes our personal lives, and our collective care. It includes the realm of prayer support, the realm of forgiveness even in the faee of meanness and other trespasses. It includes as well, feet on the ground action, showing up, giving, sharing. What unites you to the world around you? What isolates you? To give in these ways really requires that we are a part of the Whole. So look up, above and beyond your usual frame. Even if you are far from a balloon filled sky, or your vision is physically obscured, sweep beyond the frame.

When I was twenty, I attended a University retreat for educators in Houston, held at a lovely monastery with a quadrant court yard. I was very focused on academics, but I met someone who wanted to talk about spiritual matters. Standing in the courtyard with a cloudy sky overhead, my new friend challenged me with, "Look around you, look at that sky, how can feel this is all there is to the world and there is nothing beyond all of this?" I looked up.In that moment there was a loud thunderclap and a powerful lightning bolt flashed across the sky above me. Then that light burst open my thought structure. I entered my Path. Don't underestimate the sky or the bird outside singing, or the bloom at your doorstep. Spiritual windows are everywhere today. Look up! Look around! (Susan Nettleton)

for poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../WhyINeedBird/index.html https://poets.org/poem/more-loving-one https://literatureapp.com/sylvia-plath/balloons https://allpoetry.com/A-lightning-flash

September 29, 2024

Last week I encouraged a Sunday spiritual practice of recognizing, naming, and appreciating the Good. Of course spiritual practice is not bound to Sunday tradition, but it is strengthened by consistency and routine, in whatever rhythm fits your life. Today, I want to add another element to expand an awareness of Good, our capacity to change perspective. Change of perspective can be subtle or dramatic and comes more easily to some than others. Ironically, too rigid a practice can settle-in and actually resist the further insight that comes from shifting perspective.

Earlier this is week I received a notice of a research study published recently in BMC (BioMed Central. DOI: 10.1186/s12916-024-03569-8) The article inspired me to consider the intricacy of our human capacity to view events from different angles, and the complexity of the way our minds draw conclusions that re-enforce--or challenge--our habitual interpretations of life events. Perspective and interpretation feed our default view of Life. The workings of our intellect and logic, as well as intuition and faith, give name and shape, and ultimately meaning, to our days. Yet, perception is not solely choice. Much of our brain circuitry seemingly operates on it's own. How do we change perspective?

This research project looked at the human skill of mental rotation as a possible way to lower post-traumatic distress. The research was part of a future goal to develop tools to prevent and decrease early symptoms of PTSD. This controlled study followed 164 health care professionals who were experiencing disturbing, intrusive memories with involuntary images of traumatic events during the COVID-19 pandemic. It involved a one-time-only instruction: researchers selected a visual image that "triggered" the participants memories, and then taught them to shift their awareness from the trigger to an unrelated, imagery-based, visuospatial task. The task was to play the computer game Tetris for 20 minutes. The game requires "mental rotation", our ability to imagine what something would look like if it were rotated to a different position and could be seen from a different angle. The successful player mentally rotates each upcoming digital block so that it can be strategically placed to complete lines of blocks. The theory here is that activation of mental rotation competes with the cognitive mechanism of intrusive memory, and thereby reduces and/or prevents disturbing memory images. Participants recorded any intrusive episodes of memory-images daily, for up to 6 months. Analysis showed remarkable decrease of traumatic image intrusion, with only the 1 training session.

This research pinpoints a specific path of healing of the mind's intrusive and disruptive reminders of trauma, by shifting awareness to mental rotation that "sees" the possibility of a change of perspective to complete the game "puzzle". The fascinating aspect to me is the seemingly unrelated activities. The puzzle game apparently "blocks" the disruptive memory. This is not an isolated phenomena, because the gaming industry has produced other types of digital therapy for other disorders, including PTSD, ADHD, as well as games that boost mental acuity in aging. They all re-enforce, in one way or another, changes of perspective--seeing Life from a different point of view, different from the confines of our personal concerns and consciousness.

In a spiritual process of discovering Life as an unfolding Good, sooner or later, we open the door of personal perception and it expands beyond the ideas we have been faithfully (or fearfully) rehearsing. To me, this snippet of research is a reminder of the power of re-arrangement, that we often resist. Re-arrangement inevitably provokes our perspective. Whether it is an unexpected rearrangement of our schedule, or of our "things", our relationships, our ideas and feeling states, or our physical bodies--consider it may be a call to a change of perspective, a healing, a fresh expansion of Good. (Susan Nettleton)

for perspective poetry:

https://allpoetry.com/.../11611734-The-Changing-Light-by... https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../Mydailyactiv/index.html https://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php%253Fdate...