Inner/Outer Path

In a section of the Utne Reader online I read an article about Visionaries who are changing the world.  One article that spoke to me was an interview with Parker J. Palmer in which he spoke of the idea of living life on the "Mobius strip".  The mobius strip is a geometric idea where one takes a long rectangular strip, say of paper, and twists one end 180 degrees and then connects the 2 ends to make a loop with one continuous edge or side.  For Palmer the idea is that one might live so that the inner self blends into the outer self.


The path that I have been following has been a step to just that very thing.  The goal is to dissolve the distinctions between what I believe to be true, to be morally correct or ethically right, from what I practice in my everyday life.  From the smallest thing to the larger ideas.


Why kill when I don't have to?  So, I catch the fly, ant, moth, spider, and set them outside of the house.  I know they will die eventually and that death is a part of the life cycle, but it is not necessary for me to kill always and compassion, when practiced, brings different kinds of answers to the questions I face each day.


Life on the mobius strip would not have a vegetarian working at a butcher shop, nor would it have a person who believes money is at the root of our evils, making a large salary and having his taxes and savings funding the efforts of those who would corrupt his world.


Life on the mobius strip is another way of saying live what you believe.  It is a more logical and reasonable Path.

I just looked away for a moment!

How did this:

	"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
—United States Constitution, Preamble

Become this:

"We the Greedy Corporations of the United States, in Order to form a more

 perfect money machine, further injustice, insure domestic unrest, and provide for the defense

 of whats ours, compromise the general Welfare, and secure the resources of the land 

for ourselves and our investors, do corrupt 

and commandeer this Constitution of the United States of America." 

If we want it back we at least have to ask.  Maybe even loudly and more than once.

Twelve Steps on the path to "Occupy Earth"

Why stop at "Occupy Wall Street"?  Why not Occupy America, the Earth, Life?

In reading thru the Alcoholics Anonymous entry in Wikipedia, particularly the "Twelve Steps" program, after attending an Occupy Wall Street satellite rally last night, I was inspired to adapt them to a broader use.  Here's my attempt.


1.  Admit that we have a problem, that we are locked in an unREASONABLE life style, and that this live style has become unmanageable.

2.  Come to understand that a PATH greater than our individual paths can lead us to reason.

3.  Make a decision to accept our destination in the journey of living and dying that defines our world.

4.  Make a fearless, honest and never ending inventory of our motivations and desires, weakness and corruptions

5.  Admit to ourselves, our God, and to our community how we contribute to the corruption and exploitation of our planet.

6.  Become ready for our Community responsibilities, social conventions and ethical obligations to our fellow inhabitants of the planet to guide us in freedom from our self destructive ways.

7.  Humbly seek a reasonable path by involvement and discussion with other living beings.

8.  Make a list of all the ways we personally damage our earth, weaken our cultural heritage, block social exchange, discourage open mindedness, and allow hate, and be willing to make personal changes.

9.  Make amends and change in your own life where it is reasonable to do so.

10.  Be mindful of the way we go thru life and make continued efforts to live a reasonable and compassionate life.

11.  Spend time thinking about our part in our society and engage in the processes that shape our world.

12.  Experience an awakening as to how far off the path of reason we have wandered.  Try to carry this thought to other human beings.  Try to practice the principles in our lives, in personal habits and professional pursuits, in mundane chores and spiritual meditations, that help to restore us to a path of reason.