Status Report
For all interested parties
September 2004
Hello again. Yup, it's me.
I thought it was time to give you an update.
With the passing of Labor Day weekend, what we traditionally think of as summer is over. I spent most of the summer in contemplation & correspondence.
Contemplation: Most mornings I would rise between 2:00 am & 4:00 am, go to my balcony & lie on the hammock, gazing at the stars. During August Andromeda is immediately overhead at 3:00 am, and the Great Galaxy appears quite clearly to the naked eye (if you live away from the city lights) as a patch of fuzz. The light in that fuzz traveled 2,300,000 years, flying 186,000 miles every second, for the privilege of entering my eye. It makes me wonder...
Communication: I've answered 610 emails in 2004 to date, and they keep coming. For this I am grateful.
One of the main things I contemplate is the communication. What people write about, how best to respond. There is quite a pattern recurring in response to my documents, and they show me very clearly what my next steps should be, if for no other reason than to address the major concerns people have.
Here's a little self-examination, as to how I am doing regarding my own plans. In January I said:
I have learned that commitments are very touchy things. A commitment that cannot be kept because it was based on insufficient data cannot be called a failure. So, based on what I know now, the following will be happening for TCoY in 2004, subject to change, of course:
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I am going to invest in a typing-tutor program, so I can learn to type as fast as I think. I've spent 20 years looking at the keyboard, and I am handicapped by this. Status: Bought it, worked on it. But no, I still need to look at the keyboard when I type, and no I cannot type nearly as fast as I think. |
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We are going to begin posting a Book-by-Book commentary on the Bible. "The Church of Yahweh's Guide to the bible for the Modern Man." Hundreds of pages are ready to go. I will start posting them in 2004. Status: Cancelled, at least for now. The person who was going to be the main author of this got involved in other projects. Still a great idea, but it's in the future, as in 2007 or so. |
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We will make available nearly all the writings on the TCoY website in book form. The covers have been printed. The first 2 passes of editing have been done. What's left is some fine-tuning wordsmithing & formatting. For 2004, 3 volumes are currently planned: |
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Volume 1 - The Trinity. Contains the documents about God's Name, In the Garden and The Stations of the Cross, and Life in the Spirit. Status: This volume has been printed. We did a test run of only 100 copies, and 80 are left. It is far from perfect, as there are some minor typos in it. But it is available, and if you want one just let me know. They cost me $35 each, and I sell them for cost. |
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Volume 2 - God Consciousness. Status: Still being edited. |
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Volume 3 - TCoY. Contains my autobiography Transcendent Experiences, including Dare the Devil. Status: Still being edited. The truth is, I hired not one but three different editors to finalize these documents, starting back in March, and to date not one page has been returned. |
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The original jewelry I've been talking about for so long will finally be available on the website. I have prototypes of all the designs, and it's just a matter of attending to some details. Status: Many pieces are done. They need to be photographed, put on the site, a paypal account established, links written, etc. . No, it hasn't been done. There just seems to be more important items. |
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Posting the FAQs, doctrinal statements, and things like that that I've just procrastinated on. Status: Completely written in my brain, waiting for the typing. |
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Hoped for, desired, but not to be done until all the others are complete: Starting TCoY Radio, a 24/7 web-radio station. Status: Great idea, no action taken yet. I simply have no time. |
Clearly there's much left to be done. And I'm changing the list. Everything there is lovely, but the above list is now a 2005 list, at the very earliest.
"Connections" fell with a dull Thud. At least here, people really do not like documents that require / request some kind of response from them. And if anything in Connections is right (and no one has written to correct me on anything) then we all need to be involved in feeding the poor and making the world a better place. These are actions which people are predisposed to prefer not having to do. Typical email response:
"I found a few jewels of perception and explanation, what brings me back, but there were also your opinions of matters of "this world". Although your opinions are as valid as anyone's (okay, more valid than most people's), that is still what they are and they sound to my ear (or eyes in this case) in the realm of those who give opinions as you put it on AM radio (no offense). It is your gift of understanding and wealth of study of things not of this world which makes you stand out of the crowd to me. "
Oh well.
Here's my fundamental issue with Connections and the comments I've gained from it. Most people, so it seems from their actions, experience religion as separate from their daily lives, and certainly separate from politics. This is a part of the fractured existence that is the very essence of the plague that curses us. In other words, Connections is 100% right. We do live in a fractured world, where we cannot even connect the dots in our own lives. Unless matters "not of this world" connect directly to us, here & now, in this world, then any ideas or talk about the next world is useless. So I can't be surprised that folks who live in such a fractured existence would be less than enthusiastic about such a piece.
Clearly, things "not of this world" is precisely what people want most from me.
Do you know what the #1 most read & enthusiastically received document is in The Church of Yahweh? It is the most far-out, other-worldly thing here: The Revealing Science of God. That is a constant surprise to me, but "facts is facts." As a reader put it:
"We need you to tell us what God smells like. We already know the world stinks."
I take these things very much to heart. There's no point in seeking feedback if I'm just going to ignore all the feedback, right? So, on the one hand, I certainly will not pander just to what is popular; simply because we like it does not mean it is good for us. On the other hand, I must be aware of and respond to the very real longings people have. Ultimately I cannot control how they (you) respond anyway.
I will write what people are most interested in, but continue to connect it to their lives here & now. I know of no other pathway.
So.....here's where I stand now. Based on the communications I've had, and the contemplations I've done on them, these are the items that people are most interested in, in this order.
- I'll finish the Treatise On Cosmology. Originally I was going to walk the reader step by step, like walking slowly down the steps into the pool. But if I ever return to that approach, it will be years from now. The new document will be much shorter, presenting what I have to say without all the background & preparation that I was looking for in version 1. Then I'll just let people ask whatever questions they have.
- I'll post the FAQs & Doctrine Statement, just so I can say I've done it. I do, indeed, answer the same questions over & over, and this should help regain some time.
- "This world sucks, I hate my life, and I wish I was dead." With so much negativity out there, even good people are losing heart. How does one avoid the "head buried in the sand" approach and, with full knowledge of the world's pain and suffering, still find joy? I'll give you the best answers I have.
- "I have real problems with the Old Testament. All this killing. I just don't see how it can have anything to do with God." This will be a survey of the history of the Unfolding of God Consciousness on the planet, and a pointing to the next steps.
Now, for my request. My biggest conflict in life is being able to properly balance the business world & the ministry. Everything you see here in The church of Yahweh, all 1,200 plus pages of it, is 100% an individual work of love. Clearly, TCOY could take as much of my time as I would give to it. The biggest block of waking time is currently allocated to the business. Finding and keeping the proper balance between the two, and the wisdom to do so, is my greatest prayer request.
So I ask you to picture me, with all my questions and doubt, with Yhwh showering me with His Light and Wisdom.
We will continue the journey together.
Peace, Ahyh
