Sending Out Beacons

(originally posted at Oprah dot com blogs)

I've learned something interesting at the Oprah/A New Earth message board, as well as from my experiences on the Conversations with God - Messenger's Circle board last summer and fall. It's about "those who accept" and "those who reject" - the lovers and the fighters, to assign a pair of words.

When we visit these sort of places and speak our mind on something near and dear to our hearts, such as our philosophy, religion, beliefs, or what have you, we are sending out a beacon of very bright light - a signal beacon. The messages I mostly refer to here are the ones that state that "I Know the Way to Peace, let me share some thoughts" - or some variant of that.

Each of us has our own "peace story", and strong convictions about it's correctness, so we know that in the end, for us, it will all be good. For Now, as far as we are each concerned, it's all good. Because it is all good in the end, it makes not a lick of difference what the message is or whether or not everyone agrees. (This applies of course to those whose message is that Life is mostly, or all, bad too, for they are coming from a place of being all good with the fact that it is bad. Weird, I know.)

When we send out such a beacon fellow travelers are drawn to it, and the gathering crowd consists partly of those in support of the beacon's message - fellow Lover Beacons- as well as naysayers - Beacons with Their Own Message. Since their beacons point a different way, we could call them the "Dim Beacons" - no offense here, just working the analogy. Generally these Dim Beacons are perceived as the enemy, and hence the term "the fighters". The Message Beacon sees them as fighters of the Proper Message, in other words.

A third, usually smaller portion of the crowd consists of little flickers of light - the Leaning Toward Lovers, I call them. Imagine little Bic lighter sized beacons way in the back of the crowd of Dim Beacons, standing on tiptoe, trying to get close enough to bask in the glow of this attractive bright Message Beacon, and the Fellow Lover Beacons. Trying to hear the Message Beacon's message...

Here's the funny thing, to me. The original beacon of light, the person with the message of salvation for Others, tends to engage the darkness! Generally fellow beacons come to their aid, and generally the darkness swells in response and pretty soon it's gettting pretty ugly. The original message - I know the way to peace, or some variation - is immediately lost.
And here is the sad thing to me - the Leaning Toward Lover Beacons are completely overlooked by the big Message Beacon and the Lover Beacons. They're too busy fighting and arguing with those who may never hear them, many of whom love to fight too. It's why they came when the Message Beacon lit up.

Why do the Message Beacons totally ignore those that are receptive to their Truth? Odd, from where I stand.

And, ironically, they have demonstrated for the Leaning Toward Lover Beacons that their Loving Way of salvation through peace is the long way 'round - LifeTime engagement in a chosen fight with legions of naysayers. Not only that, but when one legion has dissembled, they will call new legions to them, that they may carry on the fight.

Interesting, to me. Good for a chuckle, and a shake of the head...

I told this to a poet at an open mic last night - he was a poet of doom and gloom - a really nice, laughing guy, pre-occupied with Gloomy Rain people. I commended him for that, but said it is the long way round. You complain of the people that cannot stand the rain, and how they darken a potentially bright world. You say they need to fix their outlook on the rain and become happy, so that you too can then be happy, with them.

I said, "Dude, you're totally ignoring those of us who love the rain already, and choosing to walk alongside the gloomy-rain people and try to beat them into loving the rain. It's okay to do that, but what about someone who is beginning to think that loving the rain is a good thing. Will they learn that rain-lovers beat on gloomy-rain people when it rains? Is that the way in which you celebrate this rain that you Love? Just a question. IYou are a beacon, you know." He nodded. He knew.

I smiled, and bowed, and thanked him for his poetry. I had an umbrella, but never opened it. I walked out into the pouring rain, whistling.

**

You can see this at play on this board. Eckhart has sent out an intensely bright Message Beacon. A huge crowd has gathered, and the fight has ensued in many corners of it.

The stunningly bright exception is that Eckhart has engaged no one in battle, for that was His Stupidly Simple Message of the Way to Peace.

Eckhart knew all along he was not the Beacon, allowing him to walk away from it, for it has a Life of its own. Indeed it is Life ItSelf.

Dance In the Moment - Rain or Shine...

Peace,

Greg Allen