Being present weaves untethered souls together
Though he has been twice nominated for Nobel Peace Prize, written 400 plus papers, received research grants and appointments from both Yale and Princeton, authored 88 books, and at 88 years old is one of our century’s greatest thinkers, not everyone is familiar with his name. Dr. Ervin Laszlo among being a child prodigy, philosopher, and humanitarian, is my friend. But the miraculous journey that led me to his doorstep two summers ago is a story for another time. The gratitude I feel for a fateful dinner with Ervin and my husband in Chicago almost 4 years ago has had an influence that will last a lifetime. Today, I wish to share this excerpt below, which was handwritten in my journal from 2018.
July 24, 2018 …
Sitting in Ervin’s guest house in Tuscany, I find myself inspired beyond words by his presence. Carita, his wife of more than 60 years embodies a kindness, and ownership of her own personality and grace that is the essence of balance by a woman empowered as well as a devoted wife…a beautiful example of how those two can and do co-exist. Sitting in his library/study/office was awe-inspiring… Oh my goodness… all the books! The energy of the room ripe with knowledge moved me.
Ervin is an eternal student and constant teacher and I strive to be the same. Having just come in from an evening that started in sunlight amid the blooming flowers, and ended with starlight and red wine dining al fresco, out on their courtyard, I feel both filled to the brim and thirsting for more of the amazing conversations.
These words come tumbling from my heart and soul onto paper – not as “guiding lights” of wisdom. They are thoughts synthesized from the greats with the hope to open the hearts of humanity and in doing so, open the doors to souls of each person who sees them, reads them, hears them, and feels them.
We sat outside tonight. Ervin, Carita, my husband, and myself, the aging, sweet light-haired golden Labrador at our feet. The moon wasn’t quite full, but majestic and large enough to smile its brightness upon us… I want to remember every detail.
What comes to me is that at the dinner table, we opened our hearts and mouths at the same time. It is what I have taught others for what seems like decades.
Open your mouth and your heart at the same time and connect. With yourself, with others, and with the extraordinary.
What is the extraordinary. I always use it as a noun, not an adjective.
God is the extraordinary.
Thought is the extraordinary.
Love is the extraordinary.
Can you be a novice and a master at life? Yes – we are both. In the same way that we are both students and teachers. At 53, am I still a novice. Oh yes! The newness of life challenges us every day. We are faced with novel and unique situations daily, and while experience may help sometimes, it can also hold us back. Experience can be a bit like fashion, what works today will not help you even just a few years later when it is out of style and irrelevant. And sometimes it takes a while to come back to a moment in time that is working again. So experience alone is not a guaranteed upper hand. I am so thrilled to feel like a novice at life, figuring things out, and bring fresh, child-like wonder to each moment….and I am also thrilled to feel that there are a few things that I have mastered, like listening and trusting my heart, leaving judgment behind and in the wake of acceptance, and seeking first to understand. Leading with love, I sure hope it’s true that I have mastered that.
As always, I am thinking about love. Love should test you and leave you somewhat undone. In the same breath, love should lift you to heights of awe that you have never known. Love is magical.
Maybe because of Ervin’s calm connection to love, our conversations tonight felt like dancing …
Individual awakened souls dance directly with love, with the extraordinary. (Being in this state of dancing with love is where I intend to stay) Being present weaves untethered souls together.
Ok, Lynda… yes, I am talking to myself…that’s a good one. Worth re-writing.
Being present weaves untethered souls together.
To date, my most relevant quote, which I already used once here, comes to mind again. Open your heart and your mouth at the same time. Sometimes it is better to close your mouth, but keep your heart open. Keep your heart open, it’s the channel.
In the aftermath of the evening, I wonder what knits humanity together?
Connections! How do we connect? Watch, listen, share… BE.
The world needs us to be connected, so love is amplified and envelops us in a cocoon of unity.
The work of being is the work of being human, it is the work of love.
The state of connecting, the state of being human is also the state of love. At our core we know, we are both the drop and the ocean. Our still small voice of intuition is our personal expression of not just hearing, but listening to the extraordinary, to God, to the Universe … I usually just refer to it all as Love. So we listen to love so that we can discover and re-discover the learnings and “knowing” that reside within us. Intuition is a deep form of listening, that when trusted, can return us to the center of life and oneness – also known as the extraordinary…. Goodnight Tuscany, Goodnight Moon.
Those were the ramblings of my inspired heart on July 24th, 2018. Today is October 24th, 2020. I for one needed to read them, and I hope you did too.