Do something

 Michelle Obama, in her inspiring speech at the Democratic National Convention this week directed all of us watching to do something instead of only talking about electing Kamala Harris as our next President. 

Writing this blog is something I can do.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the convention. The first night my sister was visiting and we watched together. We grew up with the value of tikkun olam or healing the world as a major value in our Jewish family. We both know how thrilled our dead mother would have been to have a female president. 

We watched the state roll call for nominating Kamala. Even though it was symbolic, the building of positive energy and pride in each state was palpable. And it was such fun! Feeling the momentum of joy build from the first night through the whole four nights was such a powerful experience in my body.

All different shades ages and walks of life were represented. And so many vibrant strong articulate women of color speaking their truth with passion.

The second night was highlighted by Michelle and Barack Obama. Michelle’s fiery speech was about the choice between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and the very real need for action to support our democracy. Barack followed Michelle. I loved when Barack said he was the only one stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama. 

I remembered how hopeful I felt campaigning for Barack for both his terms. What I feel now is strong hope again. My song We Are All One felt like it was coming true in the unifying energy of the convention.

The third day was highlighted by Tim Walz’s folksy realness. I felt the love his family has for him and learned that his son Gus is neurodiverse and his daughter is named hope. Tim and Gwen Walz named their daughter Hope because of the many challenges they faced with infertility and their eventual success with several rounds of in vitro fertilization. The personal glimpse into the lives of the people speaking made them feel accessible to me.

Although the warnings about Donald Trump’s goals of authoritarianism  were woven through the entire convention, they were’t delivered with a mean spirited or derisive energy. I appreciated that. The convention was about celebrating Kamala Harris and uniting our country behind shared responsibility for all of us. I was reminded of Thict Naht Nahn’s concept of interbeing, which means we are all connected. I heard very little booing. The focus was on celebrating the possibilities we can create together.

The last night of the convention was about Kamala Harris and introducing her to us. I learned that Thursday August 22 when Kamala accepted her party’s nomination for president was also her 10th wedding anniversary with Doug Enhoff. Hearing about their blended family I was moved to explore more and learned that Kamala became the courageous stepmother to two teenagers in 2014. Also I learned that the children’ s biological mother Kristen collaborates in their three prong parenting model and is an ardent supporter of Kamala and Kamala’s campaign.

I found Kamala’s speech to be touching and reassuring and motivating. She was warm and direct and clear about her values and goals. She was accessible and open. I felt like I knew who she was and liked who she was. Her speech was powerful and successful in presenting herself well to all of us watching. People were calling her a joyful warrior. It so seemed to fit her. Her toughness and tenacity were in full bloom yet her joy radiated also. 

I am so excited for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to be running this country. I know it will take a lot of hard work on this campaign to get there.  I am visualizing Kamala Harris with her hand on the Bible being sworn in in January of 2025. I am imagining how thrilling it will feel in my body to have the first woman of color being sworn in as president of the United States of America.

Thank you for listening. I ask for help from wherever it is available to give all of us who want Kamala Harris to be our next president, the energy to do what it takes to make it happen.

Unicon

 Are you familiar with the concept of paranoia? Paranoia is the irrational belief that the universe is conspiring against you. There is a little known opposite to this condition. It’s called pronoia. Pronoia is the irrational belief that the universe is conspiring in your behalf.

I believe in pronoia. When I first heard the concept of pronoia I thought if I am going to be irrational I would rather believe with all my heart that the universe has my back rather than is out to get me.

My wise daughter and I were having a conversation about pronoia as a desired state. She found it unfortunate that to remember the concept of pronoia she had to first think of paranoia and its opposite to get her mind there.

Monnya renamed pronoia Unicon which is a simple way of noticing and naming that the universe is conspiring for your good. Since then I have shared the concept of Unicon with others. All of us now recognize when something feels like Unicon. There are small coincidences that occur every day that, to me, have always felt like synchronicities. When I am missing someone and they call me, when I find in my home, exactly what I thought I needed to go out and buy. Unicon is when something seems to be a perfect fit for my mood or my body or my soul. Unicon is when an answer to my wishes or my intentions or my hopes and dreams is suddenly apparent right in front of my face. Unicon is when someone says exactly what I need to hear or it comes in a text or an email or a quote. Unicon Unicon Unicon

It is a delight to look for evidence of Unicon. When I look the evidence is everywhere. I know now that this belief in Unicon brings me delight and joy. I chose to believe that the universe is conspiring for my good. This belief creates safety and confidence. It feeds on itself. The more I look for the evidence of Unicon the more noticeable it is. The more I see Unicon the more I trust and have confidence that the universe is indeed conspiring in my behalf. 

Sometimes what is happening to me like a big disappointment like sleeping through some event I thought was important doesn’t appear to be Unicon. It appears to represent a character flaw in me. I also believe in ultimate Unicon. Ultimate Unicon is the belief that although the universe is conspiring for my good, it isn’t always apparent to me in the moment. Sometimes the Ultimate support of the universe with everything that happens to me is not even apparent to me in the same year or even decade.

My first divorce was devastating to me. I had the idea that without working on a relationship and making myself accountable for my unskilled behavior, my marriage would last forever. Also I was unaware that compassion for my young husband’s issues would have helped me to do good personal work. He was similarly delusional. When we split up I felt like the bottom had come out of my life. I was lost and scared and began, motivated by the pain of abandonment,  the journey of personal and spiritual growth that I have now been on for almost fifty years. That divorce woke me up and ultimately was the best thing that ever happened to me. It took me about seven years of spiritual seeking to get to that realization. 

I began to grow up and eventually learned that being an adult meant dealing with experiencing and releasing the past. My parents were not the bad guys, only flawed humans loving me imperfectly so I could learn to love myself.  Ultimate Unicon.

The big picture is a harder fit for Unicon. How could the suffering in the world and war and injustice and oppression and hatred and global warming and Donald Trump be part of the universe conspiring for our good? That isn’t clear to me at all from the vantage point I have now. Maybe all I can do is whatever I can to alleviate suffering, own my own stuff, comitt to learning and growth, and hope that out of all that more will be revealed.

What do you notice about Unicon in yourself and in your own life? I appreciate noticing Unicon because it makes me feel more grateful. I am grateful to share Unicon with you.

We Are All One

                        We Are All One- Lyrics of first verse

When I look into your eyes I see who I am.

When I look into your eyes I know who I am.

When I look into your eyes my heart opens wide

When I look into your eyes my judgements subside.

And I see, And I know, 

We are all one (repeat 4X)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Black and white. Rich and poor. Left and right. Old and young.     

We are all one (repeat 4X)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Songs come through me. They have since I was a little girl. My pre-school report card said, Andie sings and makes up songs. As an adult, during the process of losing most of my hearing, it became less and less possible for me to listen to music. Music sounded like pots banging together.

After receiving my cochlear implant and after hours and hours of practice,  music began to be a pleasurable experience again. I began to sing every day and the song We Are All One bubbled up. I am so grateful that my implant gave me back my music.

For the past two years I have been practicing with a meditation sangha or community in the tradition of Thict Naht Hahn. His concept of inter-being means the connection of all living things. Inter-being was really an inspiration to me and is reflected in my song. I sang my song on my birthday at my sangha and shared it with the community. Then there was an arts night where people shared their original creations and I sang my song again.

John Bickham, who is a member of my sangha and a superb musician, asked me if he could put my song to music. I am an untrained singer and can barely read music. I was thrilled at his offer. I got to record my song in his studio and then he created the beautiful soundtrack which enhanced the song immeasurably. I am so grateful to John. John and his wife Rita also did the lovely backup vocals for my song.

The next step was posting the song on Facebook and YouTube. My daughter Monnya and I painted pictures for the video and she created the visuals for the video using our artwork. She did a wonderful job. 

We posted the song on Valentine’s Day. It is my gift of Love to the world. My vision is to spread the message of we are all one to the world.

Please help me to spread the message by going to YouTube and searching for We Are All One by Andrea Silver and sharing my song with whoever you think would benefit from it. Thank you, I am grateful for the opportunity to create this song and share its message. We Are All One.

Interspecies connection- the fly and I

 Hello, I’m not sure how to write about this. Here goes. A few nights ago I was in the middle of a class and I noticed a fly on my living room floor on its back struggling to turn over. Upon closer observation I could see that one leg and one wing were different from the other leg and wing. The fly struggled and struggled and was unable to move from its back to its front and move away. As I watched I thought, maybe I could help. 

I remembered the story of the boy watching a butterfly struggle to get out of its cocoon. After a while he decided to help. Part of the butterfly’s transformation was the struggle to break through from the cocoon to emerge and fly away. The boy helped the butterfly get out and it immediately died as it emerged.

So I watched for a long time rooting for the fly to turn over on its own. I felt connected to the fly and its perseverance was inspiring to me.  I then decided to try and help not knowing if my help would even be helpful. With the arm of my glasses I gently turned the fly over. He or she began to move. What a triumph! Then in a few seconds she/he was back on her back and struggling to turn back over again. I am going to use they as a pronoun. I think they would have liked that. By now the fly’s journey had my complete attention and we completed our ritual many more times. I would turn them over and they would begin to walk and then they would be flipped over back on to their back. I tried to make a little ramp to even out the discrepancies between the leg and wing on one side. That allowed them to stay on their front a little longer. We kept at this for a very long time. The fly’s efforts to right themselves never availed. They didn’t seem to effort any less as time went on. Eventually I knew I had to stop and go to bed. After several failed attempts to let go and leave the fly to its struggles alone, I was finally able to go upstairs and get ready for bed. I was so inspired by the tenacious spirit of the fly.

In the morning I came down and observed that the fly had ceased moving and was dead. I felt sad and wondered if my helping had prolonged a struggle that would have ended in an easier death. I could make up lots of stories about what I think this fly’s experience might have been. I don’t know how this all works. It got me thinking about life and death and rebirth and how all of life is a mystery and a miracle.

What I do know is that my experience with this fly changed me. I have always had the belief that we are all interconnected. I don’t know that I would have included flies before. Later that day I held a little service for the fly and asked how it wanted me to dispose of its body. Intuitively I felt that it wanted to be composted and that’s what I did. Who knows where that information came from? I have thought about the fly fondly many times since I put them in the compost. This experience of interspecies connection was very strong and I am grateful.  Have you had similar personal experiences?