If the threat or reality of war is a symptom, the disease is the missing elder and her/his awareness. Let's deal with the symptom-- avoid war at all costs, but concentrate on more awareness between us everywhere. Besides being either pro- or anti-war, use your awareness to sense the deep and subtle unsaid feelings hidden beneath the words. Model deep democracy, show the inner experience hidden by outer discussion. Notice that the governments, the "leaders" and people you speak of are actually roles and ghost roles. They are spirits of the (so-called) good and evil energies, non local dream figures residing everywhere. After running away from, or putting out fires, enter them. Sit more quietly in the fire. Speak for these figures as if they were not fully aware of the depths from which they are speaking. Speak of missing pride, issues of fear, the sense of safety located outside of time. Move slowly, keeping your feet anchored deeply in the earth of your awareness. Model the world you want. Gandhi said it all; "Model the change you want to see in the world." Help organizations and spiritual traditions without open forums or traditions of dialogue to speak and dream together. That's how to contribute to a world seeking community interactions more wonderful than peace.

For an interview with Arny and Amy on related ideas, see the Wisdom Radio interview with Michael and Justine Toms from "Spirit of the Times" Dec 30, 2002, 1-2Hr $19.95 call, Tel 304 323 8213, Production Assistant, bjriffe@wisdommedia.com

It was encouraging to read ideas from Arny's "Quantum Mind" reflected in Doris Lora's "A Dyadic' Model Of Reality (which appeared in the first volume of Shift Magazine, December 03,(of the Institute of Noetic Sciences on page 22). Scientist, astronaut, and I.O.N.'s visionary founder, Edgar Mitchell postulates that awareness and intention, ..are the roots or seeds of self-reflective consciousness.precursors of consciousness... and the beginnings of the universe.

October 2003

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to work in Salt Lake, focusing on religious differences. It was a moving experience to process conflicts during our work in Salt Lake City (organized by. Randee Levine randee@igc.org and co sponsored by the University of Utah Communications Department).

There were two core processes. While listening to various sides deeply express their feelings and opinions, the group briefly explored the persecution of the early U.S. Mormons. Though painful, we have a glimpse into the possible feelings of the persecutor and the one being killed. Afterwards, deep feeling and personal stories emerged. We understood, that many religious conflicts may stagnate without carefully re-exploring the history of persecution.

The second core process emerged in connection with the civil rights of Lesbian and Gays. The history of the church emerged again after many opinions and deep feelings were expressed. One participant was able to express the imagination of the spirit of Hyram Smith, brother of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. Both men had been assassinated in the Carthage Jail.

Transformed and deepened through the imagination (or experience) of death, the open mindedness of this spirit relieved many so that in spite of ongoing tension, small embers of hope appeared when the mystery of and freedom to love was mentioned. It was an honor to be present in SLC.

August 2003

Summer 2003

Japanese newspaper reviews of Arny's "Sitting in the Fire."

Thanks to Yukio Fujmi and Akira Aoki for translating the review and to Jiro for converting to .html

More Japanese translations are available on this website.

May 2003

Among the central themes we encountered during the worldwork events this May 03 in London, Zurich and Tokyo were the Iraq conflict, Irish/English tension, Korean/Japanese interaction, Israel/Palestine conflict, men's power, violence in schools and the love behind it all

April 2003

Connections Between Psychology + Physics With Special Focus On Body Symptoms, was a very creative project for us. We enjoyed sharing our work, and gained a great deal by meeting other therapists, mathematicians, physicists and astronauts. We spoke and demonstrated ideas about the body, myths, wave equations, parallel worlds, superposition, and what the essence means in "healing".

Download an unedited report of that Lecture."

March 29, 2003

A Next Step is for pro and anti war groups to gather in one room. If you listen closely, you might hear the different coalitions saying:

1. COALITION OF "THE WILLING": We know what's right, do what we say, or else!

2. COALITION OF THE "INVADED": Get off our land and people, and do what we say or else!

3. COALITION OF "THE PEACEFUL": (To government authorities) Stop fighting or else we'll overthrow you with our numbers!

4. COALITION OF "GHOSTS". The first two of you killed us, and the third ignores us. No one talks to ghosts. But we alone know that the four of us will always be. Without us, you get stuck being only yourselves. That's what war is. We know we are all one another at different times.

March 19, 2003

This short piece was written a half-hour before we heard of the outbreak of war in Iraq. Below, we refer to the potentially annihilating action of the highly reported and sought after "weapons of mass destruction". Such destruction is not only a very possible real outer fact, but also a metaphor for disrupting our normal consciousness, as can occur for example, in near death conditions. The brevity of the following is due to the crisis moment. We try to state concisely how our most human race might gain as well as lose from the events facing us in war

Roles:

Everyone has her or his own understanding and way of dealing with war. When we, Amy and Arny, think about war we ponder its many roles. One such role constantly discussed in the media is "Weapons of mass destruction". Since this role is spoken about as a danger but never represented as a momentary experience, "weapons" become ghost-like. We call them a "ghost role" in contrast to more obvious roles such as nations or their leaders. Ghost roles float "out there", but never represented since everyone denies their existence in his or her own territory. Ghost roles are aspects of all of us, in every leader and country. In brief, the "weapons" are our destructive powers. Such "ghosts" terrify the global community. Because of these ghosts, we are all on the verge of getting annihilated, or are in danger of annihilating someone or something else.

Extremes :

During painful and extreme periods, we all fall back onto the little we know for certain about this world. We -- Amy and Arny-- know that individuals and worlds explode and go into extreme states of behavior when tension and longstanding differences have been marginalized for too long. The resulting extreme states of consciousness obliterate our everyday consciousness. The global sense of the world prior to war is annihilated by the power of "weapons of mass destruction".

'Death" and Facilitation :

One possible outcome of extreme, sad and terrifying processes is psychological death. Our everyday consciousness is annihilated and no longer exists as our old self, as one PART of a larger process. "I" disappear --- as a PART of the whole. When extreme states annihilate us, we are not only in danger of dying. A fortunate psychological change can temporarily free us from one-sidedness. Near death the agony and ecstasy of being an individual sometimes turns into worldly detachment. If we get detached from world conflict, we can use awareness we couldn't use before. As observers --and not only participants-we can notice "now this, now and that. Now awareness of the violence so long put aside--- now awareness of the peacefulness so long yearned for by all. Now me, now you, now all of us. Now the past, then the future. Now east, south, now west, and north". In this way, each process is noticed and interacted with, perhaps valued.

A Key to War :

Since we believe that WAR IS ANY CONFLICT WITHOUT A FACILITATOR. a key to war lies in the impending psychological death; i.e. detachment and facilitation. Thus, to stop war, use awareness to co-facilitate. Until now, world terror created war and bloodshed only rarely ending "one-sidedness". We believe that understanding such war processes and roles, comprehending the possible meanings of "weapons of mass destruction" will create new awareness. In this way, we can temporarily step out of conflict to facilitate it.

Co-facilitate :

Therefore, each of us should notice what she is doing right now; namely avoiding war, fighting, meditating, standing for peace, for war, for awareness or for whatever. Then in addition to what you are doing, use awareness to co-facilitate events. Let your own side arise and fall, let the facilitator appear. Any concomitant activism you are interested in, will work better. We know awareness reduces war. Our activism is to inspire everyone to not only take part in war, but to work together and notice the threat of war before it breaks out. Explore madness and turn it into understanding.

War's meaning :

The eyes you look through determine war's meaning. But in the dreamworld, war is like death. It makes you see through the eyes of the dreammaker that everything is needed. The worst evil may be our insistence that everything is only real, and not inside or between us.

German version

Japanese version

March 7-8, 2003

Challenges and Perspectives Exploratory Colloquium initiated on behalf of the European Union; Commissioner of Science and Technology Busquin. European Group on Life Sciences.
Rome
To what extent is Modern Biology having an impact on the perception of ourselves and how Life Sciences Research is and will influence the course of our cultures and our societies? Science and values. Genetics versus freedom: Rationality versus emotion... cultures.. democracy. The two cultures: co-existence or new synthesis? Possible Future Conference.

Download Arny's Letter to the first exploratory meeting -"Life Science and Democracy" (with minor details omitted).

January 17, 2003

This community clinic (no charge) began with the quote on the brochure from the author, Susan Griffin, "Any illness can be read as a metaphor of the soul. But it is not just one soul that lies in the balance. Illness of every kind holds up a mirror to society". We opened the clinic as a dreamland version of worldwork, in which the body could mirror the problems of societies. During the first community evening in Portland one person worked on his experience of paralysis and how the wisdom of his heart helped him recuperate in spite of medical viewpoints that he would never walk again. Then a physician worked in the center on the problem of chronic fatigue, showing how the artist in all of us is protected when dreams inhibit the everyday person from being normal. One woman found that a monster sitting on her stiff neck containing her own amazing power. Many of the hundred people present found community learning in the wisdom of the heart, fatigue from being normal, and power hidden in a sore neck!