"Be embraced ye millions!
This kiss to the whole world!
Brothers! Above the canopy of stars
Surely a loving father dwells."
Sir Georg Solti with the score of Beethoven's Symphony #9
Welcome all. It is terrific to gather again in friendship and agreement to joyfully sound the tone together.
As many of you are probably aware, our dear friend John Amey passed away on July the 6th. For those who knew John he had a deep spiritual core, giving selflessly to serve a higher purpose. I would like to read a poem of his that speaks of his large and gentle spirit. It is entitled In Attunement.
"The real purpose of our bodies, minds and hearts begins to be known as they become independent of the control of external influences. If independence means anything, to me, it's this."
John Gray: Welcome! It is July 4, 2021, close to the midpoint of the calendar year. Most of us who knew Tessa Maskell are aware she passed away last week. James Maskell posted on Instagram, “My mother, Tessa Elizabeth Maskell, has taken the next step in her journey! So grateful to have spent four profound days together at the end of this week. The greatest compliment I can give [her] is that [she] inspired my curiosity and then life’s work and [she was] way ahead of [her] time.”
Continue reading…"There is an intensification of the representation of the center around which everything revolves, and it's brought more to point in human experience, beginning with oneSelf."
Today is the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s officially the first day of summer. It’s exactly the reverse, of course, in the Southern Hemisphere. The solstice comes about when the Northern pole of the earth has its maximum tilt toward the sun. Over the past few weeks, I have been very conscious of the intensification of the light. I found myself waking up earlier and earlier, as the days got longer. In the Arctic Circle it’s continuous daylight at this time of year. Light fills the world. This is also Father’s Day. Our sun is a beautiful symbol of the radiant warmth of the Father of all things
Continue reading…"Only a collective awakening will make a difference, with enough people accurately expressing spirit to inspire others to remember who they are."
We use the word, “service,” to describe our time together. Usually when people gather in conferences or religious establishments, the participants hope to get something useful out of it, a nugget perhaps, to help them. However, we are together this morning to give. That is service—to serve. Life flows outward freely; it is not looking to get anything. If we are in alignment with the current of life, we are interested in giving, in releasing what is within, out into our worlds.
Continue reading…"Why focus on the crack in the egg? Let's focus on what's being born!"
Kate Isaacs: Welcome everybody, and welcome to all the mothers who are nurturing and tending and stewarding our children and our planet and the next generation of all things. And welcome to the fathers, the brothers, the uncles, the sons who are looking after all of us women and protecting us as we go about doing what we women do.
There is an inspiring line in a recent TV show called Friday Night Lights, which is about a high school football team. The team’s motto was “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose.” I want to riff on that a bit and say “Clear minds. Open hearts, Can’t lose.” It might at times look like you are losing, but you aren’t, in fact, if you’re proceeding with an open heart.
Continue reading…"Loving the One who breathes us draws us into oneness with Him or Her."
Pamela Gray: It’s wonderful to be together! Sanford, the music you chose to begin our hour is an important part of this gathering. It set the atmosphere beautifully.
I want to comment on the role that our collective presence plays in the Tone of Life gatherings every two weeks. Whatever was in focus the time before has now moved on in a continuum. As its content penetrates deeply in heart and mind and is fleshed out in our living, the collective substance becomes greater than it was before. It’s my pleasure to step into this substance today and offer something with all of you and more, into the world.
Continue reading…"We are oriented not in what is changing, but in the radiant outflow ... It is always available, and simply needs our consistent expression."
Human beings live for the most part in a splintered and fragmented world, a world of separation. This appears to most people as an inevitability, a fixed inexorable reality to which one must simply adjust. People are divided from one another; nations are suspicious and at times hostile or worse; organizations have “siloed” separate units; political tribes live in their own “echo chambers.” The experience is so complete that questioning it seems to be an exercise in futility, a kind of intellectual or spiritual fantasy. So-called serious people dismiss the idea that there might be any way around this. Yet there are all kinds of reasons why that thought might be challenged.
Continue reading…"To the extent that we are consciously rooted and identified in the tone, the possibilities of expanded personal and collective expression are vast."
Sanford Baran: Although I am the one who is officially scheduled to be the presenter for today’s teleconference, it’s actually a team of us who have come together, and this coming together has occurred quite organically over the last number of weeks. Joining me as co-presenters this morning are Jack and Brenda Jenkins from 108 Mile Ranch in British Columbia, Canada and Alex Bootzin in Pacifica, California.
It’s really been fun working together from our far-flung homes. Our status of working remotely notwithstanding, I’ve been impressed by what can occur as there is agreement, friendship and a joy to create. Although we are geographically separate, the fact is we are in one place together.
Continue reading…"Our inner reality has always loved us and guided us; we have not always been listening. But, when we yield to our inner Selves, we are not diminished but enlarged, free and boundless."
Aurora Borealis -- courtesy Pictures 806
Christina Pivarnik: I’m so excited to be with all of you this morning in this context! Many of you are longtime, dear friends. Others of you, I haven’t had the privilege to meet in person, but the connection in spirit is there regardless. It’s a pleasure to see and hear all of you and to acknowledge the locations we span together, nearly halfway around the planet. It’s such a joy to be able to spend this time together with you.
Continue reading…"In the rising up, our minds and hearts are cleansed, purified and restored."
Two days ago, February 12th, a new lunar year began, according to the Chinese calendar. A lunar year consists of 12 lunar months, approximately 354 days in all, and it’s linked to the repeating 12-year Chinese Zodiac cycle. This lunar new year marks the transition from a year of the rat to a year of the ox—the latter a sign that symbolizes strength, respect and fairness. Sounds good to me! The world would certainly benefit from strength, respect and fairness. Happy New Year.
Continue reading…